Hey guys
I'm a new Shadowrun GM (yeap, another one).
(and if you're my player, you must not read this thread...)I've only played Shadowrun once, via Skype, and loved it. As I found some players who wanted to play, I'm going to GM some one-shots, with the first being next week.
I've 5 players, one being a SR3 veteran, two players who already made some games, and two SR newbies, who played other RPGs.
Here is the thing : I played in Seattle, and loved the city. I wandered in the SR4 books and clearly prefered the 2050 wired-deckers feeling. So i'm gonna play in a Seattle 2050 setting of some sort...
I read the 3rd ed Seattle book (even if it is 2060, it's closer than the 4th edition book ^^), and the first seasons of the missions.
As some of my players played some of the missions, and as I always prefered to run my own adventures, I'm getting ideas from the classics together, to build my first one-shot.
It's clearly inspired from Johnny Mnemonic, the Hospital Episode of Firefly (1x09 - Ariel), and missions from the firsts seasons.
Some low-level med corp (or branch of a corp) is using a mnemonic-type messenger to transit some data (let's say it's to avoid the high cost of anti-hacking tech). The data is encrypted using a hardware located in vaults in some of its research and production facility, one being in Seattle (I think in Auburn).
Another corp is hiring the PCs to catch the messenger (in a 2 random vehicle convoy), between an airport/docs and the facility. They must also get the decrypting hardware from the facility. They are implicitly authorized to steal meds from the facility.
The point of the convoy being stealth, they don't always stay in contact with the facility, even if the rendez-vous is in a fixed time range. The drivers aren't even from the corp, but are in fact a low-rep little 'runner team, so most of the company can't sell info about the messenger.
Obviously, if the messenger doesn't get to the facility in the time range, the security would be increased, and getting the hardware may be prevented.
The Johnson warning them that, if they can't get the messenger, they must kill him, but the reward will be really low, in this case. In the other hand, getting both the Messenger and the hardware rewards double. The Johnson also warn them about the drivers/bodyguards being runners, who may or may not try to warn before shooting... The rendez-vous is the next day.
Now, I'm trying to prepare how the players may try to get the most out of it... and how they could get some info out of their legwork...
If i was playing this "thing", I may try to find out who sold this type of job, and infos about that. Also, try to find what are the time-range of the previous rendez-vous, from camera shooting or contacts. Maybe even try to find the road they took previously, to get some cameras on it, and be sure about when the convoy comes.
Then, try to get an ambush set, not too close from the facility (not to warn them with the potential gunfire sounds), but not too far (if the convoy doesn't go in the exact same road, they may be near). Trying to ambush the "enemy" runners team before they get into the vehicle, to get the VIP directly from the airport, but it needs more infos from the legwork.
After the ambush, a more classic B&E operation in the Research facility is to be done. If nobody evaded the ambush and the vehicles are intact/replaceable, trying to enter through the front-door may be possible.
So, err ... That's it. I'm slowly getting some things together about how I could manage the different things from the one-shot, trying to make/get some plans for the Facility and its neighborhood, the security involved, this sort of things ...
And I'd like some help on this :
What would you prepare in this sort of mission ?thanks for the (hopefully) incoming answers
PS: Yeap, I know some of my sentences hardly make sense ... not a native English speaker ... :/
