[FutureBoy]

I recently introduced my team to a Johnson that likes to pay out in prizes and fun instead of cold hard cash. It's a gimmick I've carried over from an old group I ran with where the GM would hand out things like vehicles(stolen), experimental tech(dangerous), magic goods(cursed) and such. It was fun, especially when we wouldn't know what we were getting until after the run was completed. Like a violent Christmas.

Well, no sooner do I introduce the Johnson than I blank on ideas. I came up with some interesting weapons, drones and passports for the Tirs but some of the more exciting stuff seems to escape me. So I ask you, Shadowrun Forum, what would you want to get? What would you want to give? How are you?

[Charybdis]

I have given assorted crazy things out to PC's, and sometimes when tthey're on a run, they'll pick up weird and wacky looking things out of uncontrollable curiosity.

I've also rewarded them with some of the luxury awesome things that a high-level SINner could do, but criminals could normally never register for (due to background check requirements):

Examples of the good stuff a friendly Johnson would deliberately hand out are:

• Art Objects: Contemporary paintings, statues,
• Popular Memorabilia Signed Elvis Photo, backstage Maria Mercurial tickets for the group, Slash's big Top Hat, Charlie Chaplin's cane from 'The Tramp', Muhammed Ali's gloves from 'Rumble in the Jungle'
• Antiques: Victorian jewellry, Luxury chair from French royalty, 1st edition of Tom Sawyer, WWII Enigma machine 
• Thrill Rides and holidays: Juggernaut hunting, Low-Orbit Freefall experience, Personal learjet destinations, Bahamas scuba-diving, Aspen ski-trip, weekend trip to 6-star Las-Vegas hotel
• Weird stuff: Lump of unrefined orichalcum, glowing amethyst figurine, unidentified orchid potplant, genuine certified 19th century treasure map
• Useful stuff: Access to a black market weapons expo, high level programs, initial meetings with useful contacts (Street Docs, Snitches, Friendly police, Informants etc), logins to Shadowland (Now Jackpoint)

[CanRay]

Favors and Contacts are also good rewards.  Hooding will be paid like this most often.

Do a few good deeds for a neighborhood, and when the Cops are pounding on your door, the nice old Troll Lady across the hall might come while they're questioning you to thank you for helping bring up her groceries at the time they're demanding to know where you were, and might even bring cookies.

[savaze]

Access to labs, libraries, facilities, and fabricators are also nice for PC's who don't necessarily have permanent abodes or the resources to have them (for long)...

[CanRay]

A lifetime supple of Ghettobraü.  Which is one can, really.

[John Shull]

Making the rewards unique to the Johnson and the Johnson's resources is great and I love doing that myself.  An adventure my players liked a lot was running for a Johnson who was trying to liquidate their marital holdings while running from one corp to another corp.  He was giving a painting named "Morning Glow Finds Them" of a sunlit valley with a family milling about a modern cottage.  It was a wedding present from the art dealer wives parents.  One of the PC's just wanted the painting and took no cash on the run.  She still has it in a secure enviro container in the roof of the car.  She leans her seat all back, pulls her moonroof shield bullet barrier back, and just stares at it while pulsing her stereo.  I love the group I game with.  They make it really fun stories and fun hang with. 

[John Shull]

Discovered payment is also a really fun thing that happens sometimes.   Group is crashing for grub at Sinfuls, a high end middle class restaurant chain in my West Coast.  (They truly overspend on food as one member doubled down on metabolic enhancers and platelette factory and was eating 6 to 8 real meals a day.  He reasoned he could not just eat the high protein pastes only so much before he went nuts and the rest of the team usually eats with him when he eats upscale.)  Sinfuls is comfort food in high caloric bombardments.  They gameplan while picking through the electric menus streaming through their cells and that's when the group they are competing with show and offer to by them off.  Things go awry.  The place gets blown apart crossfire style but the team goes out of the way to save the wait staff.  Save for a waitress who wouldn't come back they have a haven when the heat is on now.  Almost like a group contact who knows how to make a basket of spicy faux chicken appear in their mists when they least expect it.  Story wise I loved that.

[CanRay]

My group was once rewarded with a keg of really bad beer.

They still have it.  Whenever they want a drink bad enough to risk the heat to go and hit a bar, they look at the keg and think twice.

I call it "The Dwarf Bread of Beer".

[The Seven]

I have given assorted crazy things out to PC's, and sometimes when tthey're on a run, they'll pick up weird and wacky looking things out of uncontrollable curiosity.

I've also rewarded them with some of the luxury awesome things that a high-level SINner could do, but criminals could normally never register for (due to background check requirements):

Examples of the good stuff a friendly Johnson would deliberately hand out are:

• Art Objects: Contemporary paintings, statues,
• Popular Memorabilia Signed Elvis Photo, backstage Maria Mercurial tickets for the group, Slash's big Top Hat, Charlie Chaplin's cane from 'The Tramp', Muhammed Ali's gloves from 'Rumble in the Jungle'
• Antiques: Victorian jewellry, Luxury chair from French royalty, 1st edition of Tom Sawyer, WWII Enigma machine 
• Thrill Rides and holidays: Juggernaut hunting, Low-Orbit Freefall experience, Personal learjet destinations, Bahamas scuba-diving, Aspen ski-trip, weekend trip to 6-star Las-Vegas hotel
• Weird stuff: Lump of unrefined orichalcum, glowing amethyst figurine, unidentified orchid potplant, genuine certified 19th century treasure map
• Useful stuff: Access to a black market weapons expo, high level programs, initial meetings with useful contacts (Street Docs, Snitches, Friendly police, Informants etc), logins to Shadowland (Now Jackpoint)

You, sir, looks like a damn good GM. I'll use some of those ideas, thank you.

One thing I try to do as often as the game's events allow is to subtly introduce events in-game that could lead to a sub-plot and potential money rewards. That's good for those exhausting/dangerous runs where the Johnson doesn't pay Nuyen.

A good example would be asking for random Perception rolls with high thresholds in odd moments (for instance, when they're in the pub discussing a B&E plan or taking a dump in a public can) and overhear a conversation about a low-security drug/BTL/whatever exchange. If they decide to pursue and are successful in acquiring the loot, voilá.

[CanRay]

One of my Mr. Johnsons that I like to use a lot pays in hard cash money from various countries/corporations.  Big briefcases stuffed full of UCAS$1000 dollar bills, for example.

My group found out (The easy way for once) that having a large amount of untraceable, hard cash tends to raise eyebrows, and has learned that a good money launderer is a great thing to have.

[Damien Granz]

Take in consideration who the Johnson is, also. Each corp has their own specialties, and it can make the game more personable (and make the characters make preferences for one Johnson over the other), if you consider the source of the job in mind when haggling out a price.

It can build a new dynamic of suspense or choice, do they work for one mega when the job doesn't have their best interest at heart, because they're the ones that shell out the loot they like, or do they work for a different side (even if just 'hooding, which was mentioned earlier) who doesn't pay as well monetarily, but can help in other ways. Contacts or access to gear or medicine and teaching can go a long way. Even if somebody can't pay, per say, for a job, they might get them access to something they wouldn't otherwise have, and that might be better for them than having extra nuyen with nothing to spend it on filling up space in their sticks.

Heck, rewards could even come in the form of services.

I wholeheartedly endorse the idea of giving rewards that aren't just straight up injections of nuyen.

[Charybdis]

You, sir, looks like a damn good GM. I'll use some of those ideas, thank you.

Thanks for the compliment  , and please indeed, feel free to utilise accordingly

One thing I try to do as often as the game's events allow is to subtly introduce events in-game that could lead to a sub-plot and potential money rewards. That's good for those exhausting/dangerous runs where the Johnson doesn't pay Nuyen.

I too like doing this, but rarely in a nice, clear cut setting.

I like giving the runners a hard choice: Stick to Mission, or Pursue new option?
Is the new option worth risking the mission? Easy, Hard? OK to remember for later?

One of my PC's has good Yak contacts, and basically feeds them useful information from whatever runs we're on. It's going to earn the PC some serious notoriety when people find out who the informant is, but in the mean time it's upping personal Yak Loyalty/Connection ratings (as well as Bank balance).

You can't please everyone

[The Seven]

I like giving the runners a hard choice: Stick to Mission, or Pursue new option?
Is the new option worth risking the mission? Easy, Hard? OK to remember for later?

 

That is also a very good idea. Can I play in one of your games?

[Charybdis]

That is also a very good idea. Can I play in one of your games?

If I ever get off my @ss and organise a PbP, you'll be the first to know

Until then, it's local only with me and some old University mates 1/fortnight.... darned life stuff constantly intrudes on my gaming options....

[The Seven]

darned life stuff constantly intrudes on my gaming options....

I hear you, bro.