[summers307]

Running a campaign, and running low on steam. I'm trying to think of an interesting (and creative) way to continue the session. Here I present what has happened thus far in story format. I'd love it if anyone could throw me plot twists/hooks on how to keep it going and reaching a thrilling climax.

The story involves Flash (hacker), Mike (shaman), Murphy (Tank), and Macgyver (demolitions).

Under the employ of a mafia don "Kiosk", the party has been hired to help the CEO of one of the mega-corps that Kiosk is not on friendly terms with in order to advance his goals with this corp. The CEO, named Michelle Neuveu (new-voh), has had her daughter kidnapped by a radical terrorist group called the Neo Panther Group (NPG). The NPG made ransom demands, but the mega-corp refused to let the mother pay up, as it would make the mega-corp look weak. In addition, the daughter had unfortunate ties to the NPG, so the mega-corp deemed her as "expendable". The mother has considerable funds, and wants her daughter back. The PC's are tasked to return her daughter and also keep their activities as legal as possible, with the one condition being no involving innocents. The mother wants her daughter back, but if she is caught funding the operation she will lose her status and her money.

After Flash utilized one of his contacts who could find profiles, he discovered that the NPG and the Yakuza are currently locked in a turf war. Using his contact to narrow down current activity, Mike summoned the spirit of air and sent him to search for the kidnapped girl. After 8 hours, the spirit of air returned and reported that it found the girl holed up in a run down motel in the middle of the ghetto. The PC's drove in, trying hard to avoid been seen as martial law had been declared and a group of metahumans armed to the teeth is just begging to be arrested.

Upon coming closer to the motel, they discovered a war zone. Yakuza on motorcycles lapping the building strafing it with automatic fire from machine pistols. NPG members in full chem gear and hunting rifles spraying tear gas on the intersections. The PC's quickly jumped in and dropped all combatants, leaving one from each group alive to interrogate.

The NPG was strong willed enough to only reveal that they did have the girl, but she was taken by the Yakuza. The Yakuza only threatened that what they stole was now theirs, and they would soon be marked by the "Ivory Hand". With a few new cycles, the PC's fled the scene.


The only hooks I have so far is that one of the PC's contacts is currently scrounging up safe houses and known locations of rest for each group (NPG and Yakuza), and the hook the Ivory Hand (select group of wendigos employed by the Yakuza mages).

WHO WANTS TO ADD TO MY STORY?

[Mithlas]

Dunno how many parties are active, but one amusing thing to see happen (and occurs a fair bit in the real world) is that a third party neither the Yaks nor NPG managed to get her.

Assuming she really was taken by them, the daughter could be a starry-eyed freedom fighter that grabbed some paydata and wasn't really kidnapped, but the Yak has an idea of the paydata she snuck out and wants that more than the girl, but she hid it somewhere and her injuries are interfering with her memory. This would annoy the Yakuza, and they may be prepping her for torture, mindsifting, or they might be starting to decide she's not worth anything and either preparing to dispose of her or recycle her into a personafixed slave.

[Walks Through Walls]

Another option could be that the girl isn't really what she seems to be. Have her be an operative of some sort either working for the  corporation or maybe getting dirt on the company or someone inside for Knight Errant, the Corporate Court, or some other group. The connections with the NPG that she has could be part of her cover and working to get information. Now she has escaped the Yakuza who pulled her from the NPG and she isn't sure who she can trust since someone has double crossed her.

So now the characters have to track her down, convince her that they can be trusted, and then either return her to her mother or possibly help her find out what is going on.

[GiraffeShaman]

You could keep it quite simple, especially since this is a new group, and just have the Yakuza sell them the girl or trade for future favors. It would be just like the Yakuza to turn their turf war into an image booster when they put it out that they rescued the girl, while profiting off it.

The Yakuza are a thousand times as vicious as a bunch of gangers, but they are also a ton more image concious. All the larger mafias are, but probaly the Yaks the most. One of my favorite Yakuza scenes in writing was in a Nyx Smith Novel. The team's decker is on the street in Seattle's International district. The traffic isn't stopping for pedestrians, so this Yakuza enforcer in a fine suit steps right out into traffic and all traffic stops. The pedestrians cross and everyone there applauds the Yakuza enforcer.

Anyway, this could lead to further job offers from the Yakuza and perhaps an ongoing rivalry with the Panthers.

Also, who is behind the Panthers? I'm thinking someone must be if they are tangling with the Yakuza. Even the larger gangs rarely do that without backing. It's a bit like a AA or single A corp messing with a mega. Terrorists, at least the serious ones, don't tend to get into turf wars as well. The serious ones work in cells and do things like bomb a site, then leave the city and start over somewhere else.

[summers307]

I'll admit that I didn't put too much thought into the NPG's backing. The story that would make the most sense is that they would be funded by enforcing drug cartels and providing security. I invented this group, basing them off of the Black Panther Party, saying that as time moved on, another group is trying to ressurect the old name, this time relying on guerrilla tactics and violence to get what they want.

Having the Yakuza strike a deal with the PC's is actually a sound idea....*had sudden moment of clarity*.....and they want the PC's to find the hold-ups of the NPG's and bring back the heads of the most notable leaders and their lieutenants! This way the Yaks can strike a deal in the beginning of the campaign while still retaining the girl AND a good combat scenario to end the session.

I only have one loose end at this point though. The wendingos have already been alluded too (not the fact that they are paracritters) and that they do at least have affiliation with the Yaks. Any thoughts on still using them while still leaving the Yaks willing to make a deal?

[Mystalya]

You have a lot of corps and gang wars going on. Perhaps insert something magically oriented to switch it up?

Maybe the Groups/Corps are after something IN that area (different plot line) and they want before another group takes claim of it. The runners are getting caught in the crossfire and it's complicating their current mission.

Just something my brain spat out.

[GiraffeShaman]

I only have one loose end at this point though. The wendingos have already been alluded too (not the fact that they are paracritters) and that they do at least have affiliation with the Yaks. Any thoughts on still using them while still leaving the Yaks willing to make a deal?

It does seem like a good idea to cool things with the Yaks, because them being long term enemies of the players will be hard to play out with the party surviving. The Yakuza are pretty much tied with the Mob for the largest of syndicates, which is a bit like them being the megacorps of the Barrens and such places.

As for the Wendigo, the Yaks should turn on them at the first opportunity. There's a big thing about the Japanese looking down on metahumans, especially orks, and even more especially wendigos. If you read the Secrets of Power trilogy starting with Never Deal with a Dragon, by Robert Charrett, the character's sister is an ork turned wendigo, and they get into this, as she is put on an island where the Japanese send such people.

Maybe it's a Yak Lieutenant who has allied with the wendigos to gain some power. His bosses find out, are disgusted, and hire the players to go kill him and his bodyguards/lackeys. Or cut off his fingers, which is a Yak favorite, and it means he can be brought back later for revenge.

Also keep in mind, wendigos are hard to ally with long term. They usually turn on allies. They are probaly in the process of forming a cult full of people they've used their powers to turn into cannibals, and later plan to eat .them. They probaly plan to eat whoever is allied with them at some point, then use their magic to vanish into the deep wildnerness to avoid any heat.

I don't know how you'd classify the Panthers. It depends on what their goals are and what methods they use to achieve those goals. If they are about some kind of profit making activity, they are probaly a gang. If they want to hold territory they are probaly a gang. Also, racial prejudice based on skin color is extremely rare in Shadowrun. There's so much more to hate on in this world and often you see a bunch of people of different races all getting together to hate on orks or mages, and so on. If they have political goals, they might be terrorists, if they use terror such as bombs or gases to achieve goals. The New Panthers could just be a minor gang that took it to sound cool, or to try to gain some credibility from it. Kind of like calling your self the new Bloods or some such.

Often terrorists don't bother to hold territory though as it makes them easier to defeat. There is some crossover though. Just look at the relationship in the real world with the Taliban. In SR I know there is a real relationsihp between the Ork Underground and the Sons of Sauron Ork terrorists. But the Sons of Sauron often move around, especially their legendary bombers. I love using these guys, as few  things scare the hell out of players than knowing a bomb might go off any time in their lives. Not many can soak that.

[summers307]

Even though I love these forums, it's making me painfully aware of how little I know of this universe.