[Eric da MAJ]

I see a lot of runners making a mistake with their so-called "safe house". It's obviously not a safe house but a headquarters - an expensive and permanent HQ.  An HQ is just a nice fat, juicy, surface to air missile target for enemies more powerful and more sneaky than you could reasonably deal with.  It's called Shadowrun for a reason.

Real safe house ideas>

1. Davy Jones Locker. A strategically placed, fully stocked, waterproof storage container sunk up river from the bridge where you jump your Suzuki Mirage during a dramatic high-speed chase.  Just add a retractable remotely operated cable to drag you there and apparatus to ensure you have breathable air for a month and you're good to go.

2. Grandma's. No, not YOUR grandma. Just an old homeless lady with most of her mental facilities left.  You throw on a magic disguise, introduce yourself as her long lost nephew, and graciously put her up in a medium lifestyle apartment in another town.  You keep the Nuyen flowing for food, rent, trid and drop by once in a while to maintain your role with her and the neighborhood.  When the drek hits the fan, of course grandma will take you in.  And if necessary your five weird looking poker buddies.  Just keep your feet off the furniture and be nice to the cats.

3. Road Trip.  Get another storage container, fully stocked. Put a label on it such as "toxic manure".  Contract random truck companies via the matrix to haul it randomly throughout North America on secondary roads.  You might even send it on a slow boat to China. Once there, get rejected by customs and get a slow boat back.

4. Dirt Nap.  Buy a mausoleum "to replace the old family plot which is flooded or full" under a fake SIN.  Stock it with coffins full of supplies.  Get inhumed when the drek hits the fan.  In this option you can add alarms, matrix connections, security cams, even guards.  Gotta keep the ancestors safe from ghouls after all. 

5. Temp.  Work a deal with a Johnson to get a job nights at a distant Stuffer Shack (like Neo Tokyo) in lieu of payment, date TBD, under a fake SIN.  Rotate to different coffin hotels. Practice: "Do you want soy fries and flavor packs with that?".

6. Shell Game.  Set up all five of these options. Choose one. Monitor the other four. If one gets raided it will tell you volumes about your communication security and/or friends.  Admittedly this is only an option for a well heeled runner.

[Kiirnodel]

Woah there, quite the thread necromancy going on here.

Eric, if you were wanting to start a discussion about proper Safehouse choices, I suggest starting a new thread in the General Discussions section.

[Sendaz]

Maybe he was stuck in one of his 'safehouse' containers for a couple of years until just recently?

[忍]

Just like this back-up *zing*

[Eric da MAJ]

With the speed this forum used to move at, it took me this long to post.

[barkley]

Nice to hear that

[Prime Mover]

I know its necromancy but what the hell.  My runners actually used Grandma's house back in second edition when they where in London.  Killed two birds with one stone, place to fall back to and a local for some basic intel.

[CanRay]

I see a lot of runners making a mistake with their so-called "safe house". It's obviously not a safe house but a headquarters - an expensive and permanent HQ.  An HQ is just a nice fat, juicy, surface to air missile target for enemies more powerful and more sneaky than you could reasonably deal with.  It's called Shadowrun for a reason.

Real safe house ideas>

1. Davy Jones Locker. A strategically placed, fully stocked, waterproof storage container sunk up river from the bridge where you jump your Suzuki Mirage during a dramatic high-speed chase.  Just add a retractable remotely operated cable to drag you there and apparatus to ensure you have breathable air for a month and you're good to go.

2. Grandma's. No, not YOUR grandma. Just an old homeless lady with most of her mental facilities left.  You throw on a magic disguise, introduce yourself as her long lost nephew, and graciously put her up in a medium lifestyle apartment in another town.  You keep the Nuyen flowing for food, rent, trid and drop by once in a while to maintain your role with her and the neighborhood.  When the drek hits the fan, of course grandma will take you in.  And if necessary your five weird looking poker buddies.  Just keep your feet off the furniture and be nice to the cats.

3. Road Trip.  Get another storage container, fully stocked. Put a label on it such as "toxic manure".  Contract random truck companies via the matrix to haul it randomly throughout North America on secondary roads.  You might even send it on a slow boat to China. Once there, get rejected by customs and get a slow boat back.

4. Dirt Nap.  Buy a mausoleum "to replace the old family plot which is flooded or full" under a fake SIN.  Stock it with coffins full of supplies.  Get inhumed when the drek hits the fan.  In this option you can add alarms, matrix connections, security cams, even guards.  Gotta keep the ancestors safe from ghouls after all. 

5. Temp.  Work a deal with a Johnson to get a job nights at a distant Stuffer Shack (like Neo Tokyo) in lieu of payment, date TBD, under a fake SIN.  Rotate to different coffin hotels. Practice: "Do you want soy fries and flavor packs with that?".

6. Shell Game.  Set up all five of these options. Choose one. Monitor the other four. If one gets raided it will tell you volumes about your communication security and/or friends.  Admittedly this is only an option for a well heeled runner.

I think I adequately described which to use for what.   

1:  Remember:  Entertainment.  That's going to be a horrible month of no cable trid!

2:  This was in the book, not directly, but insinuated.  I've also used this as a meet-up place with a Johnson the group already knew (as opposed to one a Fixer was setting them up with.).

3:  Walking The Earth.  Again, described in the book.

4:  Ah yes, the Jake Armitage Special!  From the SNES cartridge to Shadowrun:  Returns, your favorite ghoul(ish) Dog Shaman/Street Samurai/Decker Galore at his finest!

5:  I think most 'runners will be eating their gun before the week is out.  I also introduced my group to Sixth World call centres, and they refuse to enter them ever again.  Even if they did kidnap one of their favorite NPCs from one.

6:  That implies an interconnection you don't want with Safehouses and Bolt Holes.  If one gets burned bad enough, it can lead to the others.  Recording and looking at the details later, OTOH...

Glad to have someone narco this thread nicely.  Always happy to revisit my first book.   

I know its necromancy but what the hell.  My runners actually used Grandma's house back in second edition when they where in London.  Killed two birds with one stone, place to fall back to and a local for some basic intel.

Sweet to know!

My group met up with a Johnson at a poor old lady's house who thought they were her various grandkids.  Yes, even when one was a dwarf and another a troll (she was really far gone.).  It brightened up her day, and she had no idea they were talking about doing a 'run into San Diego Comic Con.