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We need to outsmart/outlive Hans Brackhaus

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El Diablo

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« on: <05-01-16/2315:38> »
Hey, hello. Yes, my team is in quite the predicament. Mind to read and help?

SPOILER WARNING: If you want to play a 4th edition adventure where Hans is present and is located in Dubai, please don't read this. Maybe pray for my soul or something. Send some good luck charms as well.

We were interviewed by Hans Brackhaus and then accepted the job along with 72,000 nuyens for expenses: food, travel, weapons, etc. Any spare money and product bought with such money must be returned (food, hotels and bullets are obviously not returned). A job for Hans Brackhaus! That's always bad news but we need money, everyone needs money. He gave us 48 hours to get IMPORTANT information/paydata 'cause he will lose clients: he needs a list of the clients that are being stolen/blackmailed by Ares and NeoNET. Such list means 50 million nuyens.

Ares: Ok, easy. We did it in less than 24 hours and even avoided a major fight. We have the paydata with us. That's 25 million nuyen, maybe.

NeoNET: Our glorious leader made a bad call despite several warnings and we lost half team, 3 members, and our only clue dissapeared while the rest ran to safety. No contact/plot hook will help us now (GM explained that out of game). We failed the mission. We just failed, there's no way on Earth that we can finish the mission within the next 24 hours. A miracle, perhaps, but there's no miracle for Runners, right?

We have 24 hours to escape, outsmart Hans or simply dissapear. We might... No, we ARE gonna get Wanted quality (we can live with that, I guess). To avoid In Debt or something similar, we SHOULD return the money. Issue is money was spent and probably the 3 survivors won't be able to complete the money. Could we blackmail Hans with half the job? "Hey, buddy, I failed, I want to live, take half your product and leave us alone. Go away".

I wish for a proper answer beyond "Make a new PC". This is a roleplaying game, I want my character to try something, to survive. I understand all the metagame implications of the name Hans Brackhaus. I know Megacorporations are impossible to beat by mere Runners but I believe 50 million means NOTHING to such corps.
Booyah!

fseperent

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« Reply #1 on: <05-01-16/2341:49> »
I would advise handing over the Ares paydata and the money and pray Hans doesn't feel like sending assassins immediately.
Your team might of gotten away clean with Ares, but NeoNET will have information on your team, or be able to identify your team.
I would also advise plastic surgery for your team and new biometrics.

50 million might mean nothing to a megacorp, but they've killed over a LOT less.

Best option would be to disappear and pray.

Herr Brackhaus

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« Reply #2 on: <05-02-16/0012:50> »
Good luck.

L

El Diablo

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« Reply #3 on: <05-02-16/0021:50> »
Booyah!

Mirikon

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« Reply #4 on: <05-02-16/0041:57> »
OK, first things first. Hand over the Ares paydata. Don't even play games about that. Don't bother asking about the money. Just skip town.

Lose yourself in a new sprawl, and try rebuilding that rep.
Greataxe - Apply directly to source of problem, repeat as needed.

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AwesomenessDog

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« Reply #5 on: <05-02-16/0128:29> »
This is just my observations from the personalities of dragons (since he is either a representative or actually king):
They like respect and stalwartness but not when it directly challenges their own athority.
They don't like failure (at all), but are the most logical beings in existence.
On the above, they think all metas to be their significant lessers and would likely not bother dealing with you unless you wronged them intentionally.

Here are the possible actions to be takes:
Run now, don't look back.
Admit failure and give all/part/none of the stuff to Hans.
Throw your leader under the bus and give all/part/none of the stuff to Hans.
Say "F*ck it!" and go out fighting.

Here is the possible outcomes for each:
If you run, he will assume you are simply leaving with his 70k forward and send a team after you assuming he finds no evidence of your actions; if he does, he will most likely put a shadow bounty on your heads.
If you admit failure in the method of communication and offer what you have left of the forward up and the Ares data, he will likely let you go but put you on a black list for his work or other affilitated megacorp work, not like you did anything wrong or failure doesn't happen; he might give you the money or some of it, but there isn't enough known about him to predict that. You certainly haven't stolen from him. However if you withhold data or anything, expect him to assume you're stealing from him.
If you throw your leader under the bus, the other two can frame it (in the third member's absence) that he sabotaged the mission and can completely remove any fault from the others. The leader will most certainly be dragon toast, but unless a fit of rage hits Hans, then he has no reason to kill the others.
I don't need to explain the last one.

I personally recommend the second option because, if you give the whole story, Hans will most likely kill just the leader for serious incompetence but let you and the other guy walk with a very hard slap on the wrist. That said, the are not in any way sound predictors because of the volatility of dragons and their affiliates so come with backup characters ready.

Jack_Spade

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« Reply #6 on: <05-02-16/0333:21> »
If it's Brackhaus, he'll have a contingency planned in case you fail.
Don't complicate his plans by trying to outsmart him. Give him the data and whatever is left of your retainer.
Integrity and taking responsibility for your actions just might get you out alive - running and obfuscating will certainly annoy him, outright betrayal will get you his full attention. Try to avoid that.
talk think matrix

To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield
Revenant Kynos Isaint Rex

Herr Brackhaus

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« Reply #7 on: <05-02-16/0625:20> »
If it's Brackhaus, he'll have a contingency planned in case you fail.
Very astute; I do in fact have several contingencies in this case. None of them pleasant.

My advice: run.

L

Coyote

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« Reply #8 on: <05-02-16/0845:55> »
If it's Brackhaus, he'll have a contingency planned in case you fail.
Very astute; I do in fact have several contingencies in this case. None of them pleasant.

My advice: run.

L

Never believe a dragon, or follow its advice when it seems to be giving it for free.

And, skipping back to the original topic: I don't really buy in the whole "contingency upon contingency" idea that dragons like to put out. Not because they're not capable of it if they don't want, but because it's inefficient. Consider how busy Lofwyr must be to run his companies, the Loremaster position, influence the Corporate Court... and also deal as an active Mr Johnson. Does he really want to take the time to set up 2x or 3x the number of shadowrunning teams just in order to have backups and contingency plans? It's not worth his time and it's not worth his money. It is more efficient to make the best hires at the time, and then hire cleaners after the fact if something goes wrong, than to pro-actively hire cleaners every time he hires some shadowrunners. At least, unless you think that the teams that he hires have less than a 50% success rate.

For shadowrunning reputation, it's not usually helpful to cut and run. Doing the best of a botched job and refunding the money is probably the best way to deal with any failed run, whether the Johnson is a dragon or just a corporate exec. Either dragons or execs may hire other teams in order to punish a shadowrunning team, but they are more likely to do so in order to punish betrayal or unprofessional behavior, than to punish simple failure. It's a fact of corporate life: sometimes the deals that you make turn out to be duds, and you lose money on the deal. It's counterproductive to throw more money away in order to punish the failure, as long as the failure was not because of actions that really need to be punished. Remember that dragons are logical, and if Hans hires strike teams to go after every shadowrunner that fails one of his contracts, not only will he spend a lot of money on all those strike teams, but shadowrunners will scurry away like cockroaches when he comes calling, and he'll have to spend lots and lots of money in overpaying them, or in framing or blackmailing them, in order to force them to work for him. It's more logical to treat with them like other Mr Johnsons... maybe a bit harsher than most, but he also supposedly pays better than most. As long as he doesn't get unreasonably harsh, he's not being inefficient. Which is why you want to make it reasonable for him to let you go, and unreasonable for him to strike after you. And that means doing the best that you can on his behalf now that the run is botched: give him everything that you obtained, and as much of the money as you can return, and promise to refund the rest quickly. After that, it would be unprofessional on his behalf to hunt you down as an example.
« Last Edit: <05-02-16/1021:04> by Coyote »

Jack_Spade

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« Reply #9 on: <05-02-16/1119:41> »
I think you misunderstood me.
The contingency is not for finding an punishing the failed runners, but to salvage the run.
As you correctly say, there is no money in petty revenge against a team for being unlucky.
talk think matrix

To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield
Revenant Kynos Isaint Rex

Herr Brackhaus

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« Reply #10 on: <05-02-16/1128:45> »
Minor point of contention; I am no longer Loremaster, I gave that particular ... honor... to Celedyr.

And there may not be money in petty revenge, but scared runners are ever so tasty.

L

Bewilderbeast

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« Reply #11 on: <05-02-16/1216:47> »
Arrange a dead drop. Include the Ares data, what's left of the advance, and the most obsequious, fawning apology note you can devise.

Burn your SINs, start over in a new sprawl, and then start watching your back the rest of your life. Right now, the guy has no reason to come after you beyond annoyance. Don't give him any new ones.
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El Diablo

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« Reply #12 on: <05-03-16/1040:45> »
In the end we apologized, returned the paydata, most of the money and left.

No Wanted and no In Debt. Just in the blacklist of SK for a while. Maybe forever. I can live with that.

Thanks for the suggestions.
Booyah!

AwesomenessDog

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« Reply #13 on: <05-03-16/1757:38> »
I can live with that.
At least for a little while longer,

Darkhorse

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« Reply #14 on: <05-03-16/1907:27> »
If it's Brackhaus, he'll have a contingency planned in case you fail.
Don't complicate his plans by trying to outsmart him. Give him the data and whatever is left of your retainer.
Integrity and taking responsibility for your actions just might get you out alive - running and obfuscating will certainly annoy him, outright betrayal will get you his full attention. Try to avoid that.

this, 100%.

Dragons have a long memory and a long reach, especially one with a megacorp at his beck and call. burn your IDs, get a good Decker to scrub you out of the Matrix. you might have to destroy your lifestyles and pay for a whole new package.

return his retainer in full if at all possible, turn over whatever part of the mission you were able to retrieve. face up to your actions, but dont throw yourself at his mercy. dont try to doublecross him, but dont beg and plead. do your best to leave yourself an out if things go worse.

unless...

youre sure you cant recover from this? NeoNET isnt going anywhere. youll have a harder time succeeding, but since most runners dont strike twice, maybe that's an edge for you?