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What are your typical jobs you GM ?

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Seras

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« on: <06-16-18/1918:30> »
Hi, my group is starting to move away from standard shadowrunning into the mercenary / smuggler route.

Note: I always make certain job offers to the players, then let them decide which on they want, I'll say: " You have a break inn that pays X, a transport job that pays X, a spy  job  offering y or a muscle legbracking Job with Y pay. Details will only be given by the Johnson after you take the job. Secrecy and all that. "

I am okay with that, I want my players to have fun, but it make me wonder. Do you play standard shadowrun or have you ever played an alternate campain ?

What was your favorite session ?

Thanks Seras
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PiXeL01

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« Reply #1 on: <06-16-18/1932:43> »
Usually I play standard campaigns though I try to string the jobs together in a connecting story instead of just single scenarios.
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Stainless Steel Devil Rat

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« Reply #2 on: <06-16-18/1937:57> »
I once ran a sandbox smugglers campaign.  The party collectively owned their LAV and had to worry about all the usual free trader concerns: which port of call to visit next in order to find the most profitable cargoes, etc.  And on top of that I made a mini-game based around "running the autobahn" in full EMCON as described in the Denver box set, where people across all the LAV's crew positions had to cooperate for maximum success.

Honestly I had more fun designing the campaign than the players did playing it.  We ended up transitioning from being smugglers to just being conventional Shadowrunners doing one job after another for various Johnsons to keep the players happy/interested. That's how it goes sometimes.
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Reaver

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« Reply #3 on: <06-16-18/2012:56> »
As a GM, I too run a long term campaign style, where the missions have an interconnected plot.

But for the most part, my players are free to "choose" their jobs. (I use a similiar system to you, offering them a choice of several runs.)

However, I have found that give  enough time and motivation, players end up designing their own missions 😉
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Spooky

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« Reply #4 on: <06-18-18/1517:28> »
I run a long term story arc series. I have players put together their team, decide what kinds of missions they want, and then have my fixer deliver those kinds of jobs (mostly). So, depending on the particular group, I might be running mostly blow that up types, or find this thing, or get that person, which again depends on what the group wants most. I do occasionally throw them into a mission with a different type, just to keep them on their toes, but I mostly stay in their comfort zone. I've had groups start and end in Seattle, and others started in L.A. and wound up as globe trotters. Every table has a long term process of working towards the moment of "oh my, that's a BIG hammer of doom trying to land on us", because this is Shadowrun. Some get there faster than others.
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Overbyte

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« Reply #5 on: <06-25-18/0522:04> »
I run what appears to be (judging by these boards) a very atypical campaign.
There are only (currently) 2 players and a lot of what they do is not "runs". Instead it is more "stuff happens" cause you lead interesting lives and know interesting people.

For instance, an NPC shaman friend wants to Initiate and is going to do a walk-about, but wants protection from the Troll Samurai. They go walking in some pretty unsavory places and a whole series of events unfold.. they accidentally interrupt a drug deal between a Mob guy and some gangers and end up killing all of them (cause that's what happens when you take a shot at a Troll with a ton of cyberware). This gets the attention of the local mob boss who calls them in for questioning since he didn't know about the deal, and them the gangers want to know what happened to their buddies. This leads to more encounters with mobsters and gangers and a job from the gangers to kidnap the chemist responsible for making the designer drugs. No Johnsons, or fixers or legwork. Just stuff happening.

I do however, throw in "real shadowrunning" in between usually using some pre-made SR missions but alter the background (and adventure sometimes) a little to better fit in with the characters. I try to play to both my characters strengths (so they can command larger payouts) in terms of job generalities, and their weaknesses (for more interesting dice rolling) in terms of adventure details.

I don't usually give my guys many choices, because that would mean I would have to make up all the adventures they MIGHT take and as Trevor Noah says "Ain't nobody got time for that!".
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Beta

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« Reply #6 on: <06-25-18/1624:49> »
I'm a bit closer to Overbyte's situation.  I'm running a one player game (well, two of them now -- first got high powered enough that we started a second one back at base level, so I could make use of more of the published stuff, like Missions).  I mix in more standard runs (often adapted from published sources) with stuff that is more personal to the character and people they know and with stuff that is driven by previous plot points.  And I guess I should add 'stuff that is to set the stage for future runs, of any of the above categories.'  It is amazing how many of those started to happen as the main game accumulated more karma.  Kind of needed to introduce a lot of bigger players and larger happenings so that when stuff really goes down it matters more.

Michael Chandra

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« Reply #7 on: <06-25-18/1638:45> »
Hm... I never really analysed the 52-game campaign I ran, or the short campaigns for Open Events...

I guess one of the types I run can be described as 'The Hunt': Do legwork to figure out what's going on exactly, more legwork en-scene to track down the target, then take them down. Could be a Yakuza they must hunt down before HTR manages (they technically beat HTR by 6 seconds, so they made the J pay them), Wendigo causing trouble in the OU, a Toxic taking over some harvesting grounds in the Plastic Jungle, the Cyber Zombies that went with their Doctor into the ARCE basements and actually turned out to be Shedim, the criminals kidnapping Deckers everywhere, the runners that kidnapped a Johnson's daughter...

And of course 'The Smackdown', where you know in advance where you're going and simply go about figuring out how to kick their asses: A Vory boss inside his Mansion's basement (~18 Initiative Scores for ~36 individuals spread out over Matrix and Physical...), a Bug Hive (with Line-of-Sight Maptool map and several tricks and ambushes), a Humanis compound in the Barrens...

I could grab the list of runs I did for the campaign in SR5 and do a full analysis, but these are the more spectacular ones (asides from 'The Ambush', where you go in for a job and things go south during the meet, cue 'you run outside for a quick pickup? Okay roll Perception-3', 'okay that's 0 dice', 'phew').

I don't offer multiple runs btw, they simply got offers through their contacts that fit their style and often fit the red storyline.
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prismite

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« Reply #8 on: <07-13-18/1534:14> »
I wish I was independently wealthy so I could dedicate the amount of time necessary to offer my runners their choice of run. I'm waaaaay too busy for that. Truth be told, its kind of against the image I hold of SR anyway. If people are lining up to give you work then you're not really struggling anymore. SR is in a dystopian universe, after all.

Thats not to say that my characters/players dont eventually prosper. We've had a few guys retire at our table after big pay-offs and some that eventually graduated from runner to actual citizen or more.

That being said, i like to run over-arching stories that take 5-10 sessions to complete. My problem is that most of my players are pink-mohawk types and react with a red-hot barrel before asking questions. It's fine ... just shortens a lot of my stories, heh.

Because of my group, missions center around wetwork and infiltration whether they were designed that way or not.
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Reaver

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« Reply #9 on: <07-13-18/1641:50> »
I wish I was independently wealthy so I could dedicate the amount of time necessary to offer my runners their choice of run. I'm waaaaay too busy for that.

It's really not that hard :P

You start with the notes of the last mission you ran them on, and stick them in a file folder. Continue to do that for every mission you run with this current group.

Then, with the NEXT group, you have a file folder of "ready made" missions that you, yourself can go through, and select which ones work best for the current team.
Sure you may have to change a few small details (names, employer, that type of stuff) but you have the meat of the run already done.

I have done this now for years, so my file folder contains literally hundreds of missions of various lengths and objectives that I pick and choose from to suit the team, as well as offer a choice to players to keep their interest in the game alive. (because, lets face it, sometimes something different is good).

Sure the plots change, the names change, and maybe even the reasons change, but the general flow and layout is already done. I find it saves me a huge amount of time in the long run.
Where am I going? And why am I in a hand basket ???

Remember: You can't fix Stupid. But you can beat on it with a 2x4 until it smartens up! Or dies.

prismite

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« Reply #10 on: <07-13-18/2014:41> »
I wish I was independently wealthy so I could dedicate the amount of time necessary to offer my runners their choice of run. I'm waaaaay too busy for that.

It's really not that hard :P

You start with the notes of the last mission you ran them on, and stick them in a file folder. Continue to do that for every mission you run with this current group.

Then, with the NEXT group, you have a file folder of "ready made" missions that you, yourself can go through, and select which ones work best for the current team.
Sure you may have to change a few small details (names, employer, that type of stuff) but you have the meat of the run already done.

I have done this now for years, so my file folder contains literally hundreds of missions of various lengths and objectives that I pick and choose from to suit the team, as well as offer a choice to players to keep their interest in the game alive. (because, lets face it, sometimes something different is good).

Sure the plots change, the names change, and maybe even the reasons change, but the general flow and layout is already done. I find it saves me a huge amount of time in the long run.

Wanna help a brotha out and share some of those files?
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Overbyte

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« Reply #11 on: <07-14-18/0645:12> »
Yah.. I'd like to have a host of pre-made missions. :)
I don't run games every week for 20 years to have that. I've played too many other games. :)
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Reaver

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« Reply #12 on: <07-14-18/1559:55> »
I can throw some outlines up online if you guys want.

I'll have to type them out from my short hand scribbles, but I currently have the time to post a few note ends that can be adapted for use by anyone.
Where am I going? And why am I in a hand basket ???

Remember: You can't fix Stupid. But you can beat on it with a 2x4 until it smartens up! Or dies.

Overbyte

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« Reply #13 on: <07-14-18/1606:49> »
That would be awesome. Even though my game is very much tailored to the two guys playing, some outlines of jobs/missions that I could adapt would be nice starting points.
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Reaver

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« Reply #14 on: <07-14-18/1720:02> »
located in a new thread in the GM section.

First mission is up. I picked one just for you Overbyte as it can be used with a single person, provided they have the tools/skills.
Where am I going? And why am I in a hand basket ???

Remember: You can't fix Stupid. But you can beat on it with a 2x4 until it smartens up! Or dies.