Bad Weather, Bad Company

Bad Weather, Bad Company is a starting-to-mid-level adventure intended to be used either as a one-shot adventure, or as the first installment of the (As of Yet Un-named) campaign. It will involve some underworld associations and should be usable in any campaign as a one-shotter with no tweaking at all.

Preparing to Play
This adventure takes place in Seattle. Bad Weather, Bad Company is suggested for almost all of the sample characters included in the SR3 Core Rulebook, and any combination thereof will suffice, although characters should be somewhat capable in combat. The characters will be interacting with the Yakuza, so Humans, Dwarfs, and Elves are preferred (though by no means necessary) due to the racism prevalent within the Yakuza's ranks.

Background Story
The Seattle Underworld has often been a hotbed of diplomacy, warfare, broken alliances and broken hearts. It's not just the Mafia and Yakuza anymore, and even with those two, it's difficult to know exactly who you might be working for. With the Triads and Seoulpa Rings gaining notoriety, the competition has become even more cutthroat than ever, as the underworld organizations fight for the scraps of the Seattle Metroplex, and the enormous money to be made there.

The Shotozumi-Rengo (Seattle Yakuza) has been at odds with the Mafia for quite some time, and both sides are constantly looking for ways to throw a wrench into the plans of the other. The Yaks have caught wind of special package coming into Seattle that the Bigio Family is expecting. Better yet, they know when and where the exchange is going to take place.

This is where the runners get mixed up. One of the character's contacts sets up a meet with an agent of the Shotozumi-Rengo who hires the runners. The job is to get the package, and deliver it to the agent.


Eastern Hospitality

What's Up, Chummer?
This is when the players will meet their Yakuza agent, and Mr. Johnson, Jekku. Very clean cut, immaculate in his appearance, and very well-dressed. Jekku meets the team at a private table at the Waterfront Wayside, an upscale seafood restaurant on the downtown waterfront. Rumor has it that the Yakuza run a bunraku brothel on the restaurant's second floor for the high rollers. Attire for the occasion should be "black tie". Dressed down characters will be met with strange looks, and be asked to wear a loaner sport coat upon entering. Obviously, no obvious weapons should be brought along. Jekku is originally from Japan. If any of the runners happen to greet Jekku in Japanese, or display a good command of the Japanese language before he offers them the job, he will be visably impressed, and offer the team an additional 10% in pay.

Tell It To Them Straight
At 7 a.m., your fixer calls. He's found a job that he thinks you should excel at, and suggests that you arrive at the Waterfront Wayside Restaurant at 6 p.m. that evening. He instructs you to ask for a Mr. Jekku, and to dress "black tie". Furthermore, he suggests that not show up with any obvious weaponry.

Upon arrival, you inform the server that you are here to see Mr. Jekku. He says that you have been expected and shows you to Jekku's table, where he sits with a glass of red wine and a menu for each team member. The restaurant is very busy and the sound of conversation permeates the entire place. A very well dressed Asian man greets you cordially.

"Good evening, I am Jekku. I am so happy to see that our mutual friend was able to get a hold of you on such short notice. I am Jekku. Please, have a seat and let us order something to eat. After dinner we will discuss business."

After enjoying a very fine meal, Jekku takes care of the considerable bill and gets down to business:
"A very fine meal, I must say. Now about the task I need completed: Our friend tells me that such a task should be no problem for you. I offer twenty thousand nuyen per person, with five thousand to be paid in advance. The job is to take place in five days. Can I count upon you?"

If the players try to negotiate up the price:
"Times are hard, and I regret that I can not offer you more money at this point in our relationship. Though I do have an access code to a private matrix host. The information within the system may assist you in performing this task. Beyond that, any data you find is yours to have."

When the players agree to take the job:
"Very well then. An intercepted data transaction indicates a package will be coming into the city in five days, and I need you to retrieve this package for me. Smugglers will be giving this package to some Mafia couriers from the Bigio family at 11 p.m., five days from now, at the docks in Tacoma. More specifically, pier 13. We do not know what this package looks like, only that it is the sole delivery expected that night, and that it should be no bigger than a large briefcase. It matters not to me whether you steal it from the smugglers before the exchange, the mafia after the exchange, or both of them during the exchange, so long as the package is delivered to me by 7 a.m. the following morning. Contact me through our mutual friend and we will arrange another meet when it is time."

Hooks
A fairly cut and dry run with a good payoff, but with enough options to give the team some freedom in how they take care of business. Also, what exactly is this package and who does it belong to? Would the mafia pay more to get it back?

Behind The Scenes
Jekku is well-respected within the Shotozumi clan of the Yakuza and is a noted problem solver. His last regular team of SR's disappeared two months ago and he is searching for another team to act as long-term agents for him. He is aware of the contents of the package but has no desire to let the players know that. If the players are successful, he plans to use them for future assignments, and possibly "bring them into the fold" at a later date, if they display consistant competence and loyalty.

Pushing The Envelope
If there needs to be more action, Lone Star has been investigating the Waterfront Wayside Restaurant due to the alleged rumors of it being a front for illegal Yakuza activites and may just have enough information to finally raid the place, and turn up the heat on the Yakuza in downtown. Especially if they decide to do so during Jekku's dinner with the players.

Debugging
If the players refuse the job, it's pretty much over. Most players should know this.
If players show up for dinner under-dressed, they will be asked to wear a loaner coat before entering. If characters bring obvious weapons, they will be asked to leave by on-site security, which in this case, means Yakuza.

Basically, I just wanna know if this is too clich'e, too corny, or too stupid. Should I keep going with it?

Oh, and I'll let you know what's in the case in the next installment if I do one.

The Johnson may not volunteer that he has the access code to that datastore right off the bat -- the PCs should have to negotiate for that. "Well, I can't make any more funds available for you, but I /do/ have this passcode..."

For what the job is described to be, so far, the pay seems quite high -- that may just be how the pay scale works in your game, or it may be a sign of Things to Come. Hard to tell, at this point.

The pay is high because of what is inside the case, and also because Jekku is trying to illustrate that if the players continue to work with him, they'll be well-compensated (he is looking for long-termers afterall)

To a lesser extant, I am of the school, that runners be paid more for shadowrunning than if they were boosting cars or making foci on their own. But that's an aside.

That's a good idea with the negotiating for the access code, I'll go ahead and change that on my draft. Great idea!

*Ok, updated and fixed. That look good?

One of the most obvious questions to ask is what are the weight, dimensions, and fragility of the package? A package might be a briefcase full of chips, or it might be a 10 ton shipping container full of imported marble to line the Don's new house. While making off with 10 tons of fine marble would certainly be an interesting run...

So a short description of the package would be desireable too.

I love it-

Its a straight forward shadowrun, but leaves the runners a lot of room to plan, recon and adlib their attack. Too many missions the runners are guided on a leash to the finish pretty much. I find it more enjoyable for me as a player, and when I GM, to give the characters as much freedom as possible.

*added

"and that it should be no bigger than a large briefcase."

The johnson knows what the package is but doesn't know how it will be transported (other than by the smugglers), or what it looks like. He is making an educated guess.

You might want to rethink the passcode. You know like when it seems like a dream run, easy, with the Johnson providing things, maybe it is too good to be true?

Don't worry, it won't give them anything too useful, not even really any paydata, just a few tidbits they can use to plan on.