I finally got my regular group to agree to start up a new campaign. Everyone is shelfing their 300+ karma characters for brand new pre-generated characters. Yay... I find this refreshing.

Anyhow, I'm writing the first run for them and I thought I'd do a distraction run where the runners are nobodies so far... just culled from the shadows. The Johnson will be looking to hire the team of four (combat shaman, car rigger, two generalist/sam/firearms characters). The Johnson will be falsely representing an eco-terrorist group and hire the runners to vandalize some yet un-named company, while the real team of higher-skilled runners will extract some yet un-thought-of something or other. My team will take the heat with security, while the others get in and out unmolested.

So my question is, what kind of business would make a good eco-target (plausible that is)? And what kind of material or data would the main group be extracting from it? Add to that, who would the Johnson really be? Also, what kind of pay scale should I set on this, considering that the only thing the runners think they're being paid for is for some vandalism... not to take security heat while the other team waltzes in?

Just looking for some ideas...

Two hooks from New Seattle which you can transplant to the city of your choice once you know how things work there.

There's a neat pseudo-plot idea about vandalizing the Shiawase fusion reactors - Here's the hook.

Be careful with that riger’s costs. When I build riggers that tend to have monthly expenses approaching 15K (5-7K for vehicles, med lifestyle, garage lifestyle, safe house) and then there is the cost of ammunition and repairs.

If the runs are only going to be worth average 2.5k each (10K between 4) everybody’s fixed expenses should be under that extraordinary expenses and dry spells are what should make the PCs sweat form money.

unfortunately that means your rigger is going to be limited to 150k in vehicles owned if he wants to be able to afford the maintenance costs. Not necessarily a problem just don’t take cash A and spend 700K on vehicles like I normally do.

Edward

The two hooks I was going to mention were covered by Doc.

But...if you want to go with something a bit more exotic there are opportunities to the north (Alaska and BC namely) to sabotage some oil extraction-related facilities, mining, timber extraction, maybe even wildilfe exploitation. Or even possibly a fishing (whaling?) outfit such as a processing plant, dock, ship, or what have you. Another thing to keep in mind. ANY manufacturing facility produces potentially polluting byproducts amd each megacorp owns numerous smaller corporations producting everything from chips to food to plastics to tires to toys, so....with the future of the campaign in mind you could really make it ANYTHING you want and have it be owned by ANY corp you want in order to segway into the next part of your campaign. good luck.

Be careful about runs up in BC/Alaska area tho - you might refer to Target: Wastelands for rules dealing with arctic fields. Better alternatives would be any particular area that is rife with pollution or is close to nature - nuclear/fusion power plants, rivers, air pollution, etc. Places like Detroit might work for this, or Pittsburgh - high industrial areas. I just mentioned the two because they occured to me the fastest...and frankly those two outlines can be twisted to fit practically any major city, so don't feel constrained to Seattle.

As far as money is concerned - make sure they are aware that they won't be paid much until they get farther up the food chain, so to speak. If anything, this SHOULD make them more cautious so they actually make a profit out of the deal rather than take a loss monetarily and physically.

I would pay them whatever you feel fits into the economy of your game. My PC has refused runs before because of low pay. Why risk security when you can just engage in petty crime and make nearly as much with less risk? I wouldn't feel constrained to offering low nuyen just because they are "starting out".

I had thought of the maintenance cost issue for the rigger. The second run, which I'll GM for them on the same day as the first, will take place 3 weeks after the first. So technically, they'll get two runs in one month.

The second run is an extortion gig paid for by a pharmaceutical company against a pro-life organization's spokesperson. Should ruffle a few feathers to boot, too.