So my players all put their money together and bought their local bar. It's a runner bar, of course, and on top of the money for drinks and whatnot they're pulling in some fixer money. I've already knocked the value of a low lifestyle off their monthly lifestyle charges, but I'd like to be able to have some variable incomes from the bar from month to month. They've bought the skill 'bar management'...should it just be a regular skill roll? Are their rules for running a business anywhere? Surely someone somewhere has done this before...any advice?

There would probably have to be some etiquette rolls in there too. Sure you can manage the bar, but can you deal with the patrons in a positive basis. Can you also keep certain groups (gangs, lone-star) from coming in and ruffing up your patrons? Or a least making it less comfortable to be at the bar.

Running a business? Sometimes you are lucky to find rules for just regular running. The closest thing i can think of is the cash for working a day job. BTW i'd think that the Day Job drawbacks should likely also apply.

Although considering you put up equity you'd like see payback on that, a large portion of RL bars aren't primarily owned for making money [selling booze]. They are often more like having you own social club, for picking up women, fronts for selling 'other' stuff that has higher margins, etc. Sounds like this bar falls into that catagory. Just handle the fixer money descretely and treat the legal business side as break even, or maybe a bit above, but costs a Day Job (1) flaw (without the normal 1,000 /week pay) to one or two of the runners.

Well, let's see...

You can make good money by making the bar into a safe place to arrange meets. Neutral ground, enforced. They should invest in at least as much security as a McHugh's, and they may want to go so far as to hire a couple of security consultants to go over their set-up with a fine-toothed comb and identify flaws for dealing with.

They may want to re-tool the bar to have the Defensive Architecture edge, which will probably bring in steady income - if Joe Runner knows that your bar is a safe place, shadowrunner friendly, and in the event someone DOES come after him, not only will he not be alone in the ensuing firefight, but he knows the place is defensible. They may even want to go to lengths to ensure this - provide privacy booths with complementary white noise generators, etcetera.

In short, let them manage it how they will. At the beginning of each month, ask yourself the following:

1: "If I were Joe Average, would I want to have my drinks here?"

2: "If I were Joe Shadowrunner, would I want to have my drinks and meets here?"

3: "If I were Joe Fixer, would I want to have my drinks and meets here."

4: "If I were Mr. Johnson, would I want to have my meets here."

5: "If I were Joe Sprawl-Ganger, would I want to make trouble here."



These are all interconnected.

The building's security draws Joe Average through Mr. Johnson, and is anathema to Joe Sprawl-Ganger. Conversely, low security is anathema to everyone but Joe Sprawl-Ganger.

Joe Average draws Joe Sprawl-Ganger, but too much of Joe Average repels Joe Shadowrunner and Joe Fixer. You don't want to conduct your bisuness in places teeming with normals. Mr. Johnson is indifferent to Joe Average.

Joe Shadowrunner draws Joe Fixer, and large numbers of Joe Shadowrunner boost the security of the building. You're not likely to get attacked in a place where every effing person is carrying an Ares Predator, at the low end of the personal armaments spectrum. Mr. Johnson is put off by large numbers of Joe Shadowrunner.

Joe Fixer draws Joe Shadowrunner and Mr. Johnson. It's what he does, after all.

Mr. Johnson draws Joe Shadowrunner, Joe Fixer, and Joe Sprawl-Ganger. Mr. Johnson naturally usually looks like a 'mark' to a sprawl ganger, even if the opposite is quite the case.

Joe Sprawl-Ganger drives everyone else off in large numbers. He may be a boozehound the likes of which none of the others are, but the fights, the breakings of objects, and the roughing up of people will inevitably sink your margins into the red. Joe Sprawl-Ganger dosen't like places with large numbers of Joe Shadowrunner, because Joe Shadowrunner is by and large capable of kicking Joe Sprawl-Ganger's ass, the ass of all his chummers, and unlike Joe Sprawl-Ganger, Joe Shadowrunner fights with lethal force and efficiency.

I, as a GM, think the bar would be most useful as a plot device rather than an actual money making front. Throw them a pittance in profit (d6 x 1,000 or so) and then feel free to have friendly and unfriendly gangs move in, fugitives hole up in their basement and high class visitors come expecting security (presumably with a plot tied to each).

However, if your players are bent on turning this into 'SmallBusinessRun" I would recommend having them make many bar management tests and have to roleplay through failed tests (make up an appropriate failure mode such as gangers showing up, martial law being declared or a crooked cop having their liquor license pulled).

Just have the bar return Investment/100 pr. month.

Thats the same as buying a permanent lifestyle, but instead of it paying for a lifestyle, you get the cash out.

Similarly, if they sell the joint, they get 90% of their investment back.

Then you, the GM, just tell the players how much they must invest to pump up security and sp on, and as the right clienteele is attracted by this, the profit stays Investment/100.