[Poindexter]

Ok, I've started up a new game, based in seattle cause there seems to be the most source material for that city.
It's a five man crew led by an elven rigger. he's assembled a team consisting of a dwarven hermetic summoner, a human B&E specialist with a mild BTL addiction and a guardian spirit, a troll mage with a bad reputation from his days as a gangland executioner, and a human decker who studies kendo and dresses like a traditional samurai.

Their first run has come from a Mr johnson known to the rigger, and it involves stealing a prototype BMW concept car thats in town for a car show. They've gotta get it before it leaves town today. The job pays 8000, +10% if the car is drivable on delivery, +40% if in perfect condition. This concept car has a built in, detachable aerial drone housed in it's rooftop, and has no physical controls of any sort. It is made with the high class luxury leisure driver in mind.
The car is brought to and from the city on a high speed mag lev train, and will be hard to hit once the train starts moving. It will be moved between the train station and the convention center by truck. I've decided that it's not heavily guarded during transit, only 3 low level security guards, and a local decker assigned to its matrix security while its in town. The twist is, a freak thunderstorm, the likes of which doesn't happen but maybe once or twice a year goes off, and the car show ends up getting cancelled at the last minute due to weather. Whatever careful plans the runners have laid down will have to be revised and improvised on the fly, all while competing with rain and wind on a near biblical scale.

Anyone have any advice or suggestions that might help the story or the action overall?

I've already decided against hail, cause i just feel like that would be a dick move, dangling that +40% in front of them and then yanking it away, but all other suggestions are welcome.

[Bushw4cker]

8K seems light for stealing a BMW concept car, even with the potential 4k bonus. The Car is probably worth at least 50k to 100+ k if it goes into production. I would double the potential, which is just 5K shy per runner.

I would go with the Hail, make the characters try to think of inventive ways to keep the car from getting damaged. In 2075, I would think it would have to be pretty big hail to damage a car. Just think about the technology in last 20 years for cars with dent resistant paneling.

To make things more interesting, you could have another team looking to steal the car as well.

Could get into chase with KE. They can pull you over for anything, even driving while Troll.

[Poindexter]

8K seems light for stealing a BMW concept car, even with the potential 4k bonus. The Car is probably worth at least 50k to 100+ k if it goes into production. I would double the potential, which is just 5K shy per runner.

i figured the car was probably valued at 100, worth 50 stolen, and mr johnson wants 40 of it for himself, cause he's a greedy bastard.

I would go with the Hail, make the characters try to think of inventive ways to keep the car from getting damaged. In 2075, I would think it would have to be pretty big hail to damage a car. Just think about the technology in last 20 years for cars with dent resistant paneling.

good point. HAIL IT IS!!!

To make things more interesting, you could have another team looking to steal the car as well.

i had thought about that, but i wanted to save it for later, after they've had a chance to meet some other runners first. I want them to really have to think before they pull the trigger, y'know?

Could get into chase with KE. They can pull you over for anything, even driving while Troll.

Definately! Any advice on doing chase scenes?

[Bushw4cker]

The value of the Concept Car is that it is unique. You say Concept Car, but you might want to go with Prototype. I did quick wiki search...

A concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not be mass-produced. General Motors designer Harley Earl is generally credited with inventing the concept car, and did much to popularize it through its traveling Motorama shows of the 1950s.

Concept cars never go into production directly. In modern times all would have to undergo many changes before the design is finalized for the sake of practicality, safety, the meeting the burden of regulatory compliance, and cost. A "production-intent" vehicle, as opposed to a concept vehicle, serves this purpose.[2] They are also known as prototype cars, but should not be confused with prototype race cars such as the Le Mans Prototype.

Concept cars are often radical in engine or design. Some use non-traditional, exotic, or expensive materials, ranging from paper to carbon fiber to refined alloys. Others have unique layouts, such as gullwing doors, 3 or 5 (or more) wheels, or special abilities not usually found on cars. Because of these often impractical or unprofitable leanings, many concept cars never get past scale models, or even drawings in computer design. Other more traditional concepts can be developed into fully drivable (operational) vehicles with a working drivetrain and accessories. The state of most concept cars lies somewhere in between and does not represent the final product. A very small proportion of concept cars are functional to any useful extent, some cannot move safely at anything above 10 mph.[citation needed]

If drivable, the drivetrain is often borrowed from a production vehicle from the same company, or may have defects and imperfections in design. They can also be quite refined[citation needed], such as General Motors' Cadillac Sixteen concept.[3]

After a concept car's useful life is over, the cars are usually destroyed. Some survive, however, either in a company's museum or hidden away in storage. One unused but operational concept car that languished for years in the North Hollywood, California shop of car customizer George Barris, Ford Motor Company's "Lincoln Futura" from 1954, received a new lease on life as the Batmobile in the Batman series that debuted in 1966 on the ABC Television Network.


That Could be part of the Fun of the Run, when the Runners find out that the "Concept" car Barely goes more then 20kph

If the Troll is in the Car, KE could just try to pull them over for that. Maybe have the runners try to get out of the situation by using Social Skills at first. Have KE check their Fake Drivers License, SINs. If that fails..

I felt one of the mistakes I made when I first started GMing was that I had a Linear plot set in mind for players. I now try to keep things more open and not try to force them down the plot I have written up. I try to anticipate what they are going to do, so I'm not blindsided as much, but when I write up stuff now, I usually include a few options for the way things could possibly go.

[Bushw4cker]

If you want some extra fun for you campaign. Check out the "Flavors" Encounter Post. I posted a bunch of stuff on that one.

[Poindexter]

I already knew the basic difference between concept and prototype, but i DIDN'T know that concept cars are often not fully functional.
I'm TOTALLY using that.

i dont think the troll will fit in this car, but there's still a million reasons they could get pulled over.
I've been running games for about 25 years, and i think ive gotten pretty good at it, BUT- once the guy in car A decides he wants to escape and the guy in car B decides he wants to catch him, my GMing takes a big dump. I LOVE chase scenes in movies, and have always wanted to be able to run them well in RPGs, but i just SUCK at it.
Any advice for how to keep the adrenaline up?

[Bushw4cker]

Are you running 5th edition?

Your chase scene is going to be interesting when the Rigger is Pulling the Concept car behind his vehicle. One thing I do for my games is I have a giant Dry Erase board. I have the Players make their characters/vehicles/drones/spirits out of modeling clay. That can help for vehicle chases when the distance changes between vehicles often.

[Poindexter]

i AM playing 5th, but this will be both my and my group's first time with the system.
I was INDEED planning on having the rigger either steal the truck that the car is in, but stealing a tow-truck could be a really fun alternate way to go as well.

[Bushw4cker]

5th Edition chase rules seem alright. I've only looked through them once. Don't have a rigger yet.. and next few runs, don't plan on having any chase scenes. My players are playing a Technomancer (Who is going to Submerge when he gets enough Karma, and take control rig Echo.), An Ex-Lonestar Former Detective, A Elf Sorcerer/Face, and a Fomori(Troll Metatype) Mystic Adept.

Well good luck with your game.

Check out "Flavor" Post

[Poindexter]

gave it a read, and there's some good stuff in there.
Some downright goofy shit too, but mostly good stuff.

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

Steal the truck it's in, not the car itself.  Do that without alerting KE, and you've got yourself no reason for the Boys In Blue to pull you over 'driving while Troll.'

That said, the dry-erase board is a good idea.  Some other tricks:

• Hot Wheels.  If you have one, or some, drag those suckers out.  Put 'em on the table and randomly adjust the non-important-vehicles to open up or interfere with sight lines, that sort of thing. 
• Familiarize yourself with the range tables for weapons, as well as the two 'environments' for vehicular events.  SR5 is set up for exciting chases, whether it's blazing along at lightning speeds through light traffic on a freeway, or dodging (or plowing, if you have something heavy enough) through tight street-level traffic.
• ESPECIALLY familiarize yourself with the actions that drivers can take, whether that's rigger or otherwise.  If they do it right, they won't have to worry about damaging the vehicle; I can think of three ways where nobody'll even know it's gone until it doesn't show up to get put back on the train.  If they DO have to get dirty, though, knowing what the guy behind the wheel (real or virtual) can do with the vehicle is critical.

Otherwise, it's honestly like any other heist.  Set yourself up a few tally sheets: what happens if they try to steal the thing itself, what happens if they attempt a Mad-Max-style hijacking on the road, what happens if they cause a multi-tire blowout of the transporting truck, then show up with their own transporter 'a little bit early' while their heavy hitter violently delays the one the other guys send.

Speaking for myself, I would not go with a concept car; it has no real new technology, it's simply to check out peoples' reaction to changes in appearance, and proposed technologies.  The prototype is going to be your golden child, the one that's actually worth enough moolah to steal - because it does have that new tech.  Oh, you may still have functional issues, a limiter put on it, whatever - but the key here is whether or not it is worth stealing.  And if it's worth stealing, well ... I'd give them 15k each, +5k if its internals are intact, +10k if it's in clean condition, for a max of 30k each.  Simply put, if it's a prototype, then it's got generally-working examples of Rival Motor Co.'s technology, and that is worth cash to Mr. J.  Quite a bit, in fact ...

[Poindexter]

Steal the truck it's in, not the car itself.  Do that without alerting KE, and you've got yourself no reason for the Boys In Blue to pull you over 'driving while Troll.'

That said, the dry-erase board is a good idea.  Some other tricks:

• Hot Wheels.  If you have one, or some, drag those suckers out.  Put 'em on the table and randomly adjust the non-important-vehicles to open up or interfere with sight lines, that sort of thing. 
• Familiarize yourself with the range tables for weapons, as well as the two 'environments' for vehicular events.  SR5 is set up for exciting chases, whether it's blazing along at lightning speeds through light traffic on a freeway, or dodging (or plowing, if you have something heavy enough) through tight street-level traffic.
• ESPECIALLY familiarize yourself with the actions that drivers can take, whether that's rigger or otherwise.  If they do it right, they won't have to worry about damaging the vehicle; I can think of three ways where nobody'll even know it's gone until it doesn't show up to get put back on the train.  If they DO have to get dirty, though, knowing what the guy behind the wheel (real or virtual) can do with the vehicle is critical.

Otherwise, it's honestly like any other heist.  Set yourself up a few tally sheets: what happens if they try to steal the thing itself, what happens if they attempt a Mad-Max-style hijacking on the road, what happens if they cause a multi-tire blowout of the transporting truck, then show up with their own transporter 'a little bit early' while their heavy hitter violently delays the one the other guys send.

Speaking for myself, I would not go with a concept car; it has no real new technology, it's simply to check out peoples' reaction to changes in appearance, and proposed technologies.  The prototype is going to be your golden child, the one that's actually worth enough moolah to steal - because it does have that new tech.  Oh, you may still have functional issues, a limiter put on it, whatever - but the key here is whether or not it is worth stealing.  And if it's worth stealing, well ... I'd give them 15k each, +5k if its internals are intact, +10k if it's in clean condition, for a max of 30k each.  Simply put, if it's a prototype, then it's got generally-working examples of Rival Motor Co.'s technology, and that is worth cash to Mr. J.  Quite a bit, in fact ...

HOTWHEELS!!!
Jesus, why did i never think of freakin HOTWHEELS?!?!?!

Also, while i agree with all the points you made about working tech and price, i have a tendency to give out too much too fast in games, and this being the first run for a bunch of street level characters, i just don't wanna give em that much money. I mean, 15 is more than twice what some of these fuckers started off with, y'know? On the other hand, i don't wanna start the game off by setting an unrealistic precedent with money. that can only work at cross purposes to player immersion.
Any ideas for a happy medium in there somewhere? The target can change if it needs to. This BMW aint set in stone per se, i just saw an article about an IRL concept car with an aerial drone in the rooftop and it made me think, y'know?
Mr J aint gotta be in this for money or tech, this could just be a pissing contest between he and a personal rival. could just be to make a point, "look what i can do if i wanna" kind of thing.

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

The question I can't answer (and that you have to) is whether or not what they're being hired to steal is highly self-mobile or not.  If it's highly self-mobile - a car, a drone, a helo, a motorcycle - then instead of making it a new one, make it an old one.  "Yeah, you're stealing a 1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse."  If you're doing this, then it's a rivalry - 'Dr. Jones, again we see there is nothing you can possess which I cannot take away.'  It allows Mr. Johnson to not care about the condition of the vehicle when he gets it - getting it is the primary importance, and the vehicle itself is not in and of itself excessively valuable.  No new technology, no interesting gadget, nothing like that - just bragging rights, and it's even better bragging if it's in pristine condition when he shows it off to his rival.

If it doesn't need to be mobile, then don't let them know what it is at all.  "It's big, it's bulky, it's in a frickin' crate, and you don't need to know what the hell it is."  Give them a bonus for the thing not taking damage - but impose a penalty if they peek, and make sure there's some way for the Johnson to know if they did.

[SirValeq]

You might change the target by looking at the prices in the rulebook. Sports cars or limos too expensive? Have them steal a prototype eco-friendly family van (cheaper, but potentially even more profitable to a Johnson). Or a motorcycle. Or a wheeled drone.
Would a prototype new bike for Combat Biking be worth less or more than a luxurious BMW?

[Reiper]

I felt one of the mistakes I made when I first started GMing was that I had a Linear plot set in mind for players. I now try to keep things more open and not try to force them down the plot I have written up. I try to anticipate what they are going to do, so I'm not blindsided as much, but when I write up stuff now, I usually include a few options for the way things could possibly go.

Same with me, I try to do more open runs now and anticipate things, but even then I get blind sided all of the time. And since I'm OCD about having good maps for everything it causes me to almost have a panic attack when they are trying to hit a scene I'm not prepared for (I can do a real quick one but it isn't up to my standards).

So now I find myself with about 10 extra maps on Roll20 that I made just incase they try to do a scene I'm not planned for, I can match it to what works best.

But the key to ShadowRun GMing is flexibility i think.