[Randommagic64xd]

In the midst of attempting to run a PbP game, I've come to realize that I don't have a solid grasp on how a Shadowrun game should be structured, both for individual runs and the campaign as a whole. To that end, I've started looking over premade material to start building a sense of what a run, or a campaign, should look like. But first, I would like some suggestions on good modules to look over. I don't have a preference between Mohawk or Trenchcoat, just as long as it made for a memorable session(s).

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

A run should have the same sort of basic structure as a story:

                  Setup - Action - Consequence - Reaction - Consequence - Twist/Adversity - Success - Aftershocks.

For a shadowrun, this means:

Setup: The meet for the job, with a Johnson or their fixer.
Planning: Determining how to go about the job; this includes footwork.
Intrusion: Getting In.
The Job: Getting It Done.
Exfiltration: Getting out.
The Meet: Getting paid.
Laying Low: Keep quiet, however you do it.

Depending on the opposition, Complications for a shadowrun can crop up at any time - someone has a plant on the Johnson, and is going to screw with you even before the job offer; the 1e adventure 'DNA/DOA' has this.  Someone gets wind of the job while you're doing your footwork, and turns it into a race.  You get made on the way in, during the job, or on the way out, and have to pull out the heavy weapons.  Or the corp you hit manages to track something (the gizmo, the rumormill, whatever) and jumps everyone during the Meet.

Or, you know, Aztechnology sends goons after you while you're sitting at the bar.

Almost anything, really, is a good idea to look at; the latest idea books (like Jet Set) have things broken down fairly nicely, and there's a whole bunch of them together so you can get a sense of the rhythm of these things.

[Glyph]

One thing to keep in mind is that while setting up the job is fairly linear, the execution of the job by the PC's is very open.  In other words, as GM, you determine the job, the stats for the NPC's and obstacles, and the possible complications (rival team, betrayal, etc.).  After that... it is largely in the hands of the PC's where it goes from there.   They have a goal (say, stealing an item), but how they do it (or even if they do it) is up to them.  They could come up with a clever plan that bypasses all of the security you set up, or they could be stopped cold by a simple locked door.  They could switch sides, or blow the whole thing off and go to a bar, or decide to auction the item to the highest bidder after the Johnson betrays them.

The key to GMing this is to not have a "plot" set in stone, but have the NPC's and the game world react appropriately to the runners.  You don't have to pull your punches, especially if the PC's do something stupid, but don't punish them simply because they didn't choose a predetermined "right" option.

[Sphinx]

I only read them, never actually ran them, but Ghost Cartels and Emergence from SR4 struck me as excellent campaigns, with a number of connected, challenging missions building toward a major campaign event.

[Scott1228]

My guys had real fun with some of the stuff from Bloody Business. One is still dating one of the marks from the first run lol