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6E: Runner Team Whereabouts

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Greysword:
Hi everyone,

I have a clarification question for a typical runner team (Face, Sam, Mage, Decker, Rigger) in sixth edition.  In the following scenarios, where is everyone's body and mind going to be?  Meaning, where is each of the archetypes in the physical world and where are they in the virtual/astral world (if applicable)?

Scenario 1: The team is entering a factory or warehouse to sabotage/destroy a machine or palate of crates.  Which characters are physically entering the factory and which are staying in the vehicle?  What are the characters outside of the building likely to be doing?

Scenario 2: The team is tasked with infiltrating an archology complex to find and capture someone.  What is the likely dispersion of the team once they enter the archology grounds and where are they/what are they doing when they locate the building with the target?

Scenario 3: The team is required to enter the regional headquarters of a corporation to obtain pay data from a secured computer deep inside the building.  Where is everyone and what are they likely to be doing (like #1)?

Lastly, for those archetypes that always stay outside the building/area/danger, how are they being guarded?  For those who are dual engaged (a mage following the team but needed to astrally project, a decker tagging along needing to go into VR, or a rigger going in that needs to rig into a drone/vehicle/building system), what does the rest of the team do with their bodies?

Thank you for your help and patience in this thought exercise!  It helps me understand how things are in sixth edition.

Xenon:
In my experience it is typically easier and more fun (for all parties involved) to keep the team together as much as possible, moving as a team. Magicians can provide magical support without using astral projection and they can also view the astral plane while still having control of their meat body by using astral perception. Technology specialists (such as Riggers, Drone Operators and Hackers, etc) can provide matrix firewall defense by slaving team member PANs to theirs and they can wireless control their vehicles, drones or hack networks around them while still having control of their meat body (by using augmented reality rather than virtual reality). The components and the rules are all there to support this. But what if the teams more squishy members must to go rag-doll-mode (or take a bullet to the knee and can't walk anymore)? Well.. that is perhaps why the team's tusker should not skip out on his strength attribute ;-)

But with a skilled GM to facilitate the experience it is also possible to split the team up. You need to quite frequently switch scenes though (similar to how they would film an action movie with multiple heroes working towards the same goal but are at different locations). Of the archetypes you mentioned the Face is often skilled at social infiltration (fast talk, seduction, impersonating, performance, directing, commanding, intimidating, etc) while the Sam is typically skilled at physical infiltration (sneaking, hiding, climbing, crawling, jumping, hand to hand combat, silenced take-downs, etc) which open up a few options for the players how they want to infiltrate. The others can take on a more remote supporting role. You could for example have a magician in astral space scouting the place out, instructing their spirits and manifesting to communicate to their teammates on the physical plane even though their meat body is actually miles away. The rigger's meat body could be located in a rigger's cocoon in a van that is driving around in the neighborhood on auto pilot a few km away while his mind is jumped into a combat helicopter or surveillance drone to provide support or a possible extraction in the meat world for the rest of the team. Maybe the hacker is laying unconscious in the back of the same van while hacking the facilities network via hot-sim to control cameras, sensors, elevators, alarms etc to make the infiltration go smooth. The team's sniper  (which seem to be a popular fantasy that is also often "remote") is perhaps located on the roof across the road providing overwatch with his .50 cal sniper rifle in case the shit hits the fan. etc.

Banshee:
Um ..  there is no right or wrong answer to any of those scenarios other than whatever the party decides to do.

Greysword:
Thanks Xenon and Banshee.  If I can ask a clarifying question, it seems like in 4th edition, the party was generally split up during a run.  5th edition tried to entice the group to stay together.  Which angle does 6th edition attempt to take?  It almost seems like we are back to a split party again.

Thanks again for your help!

Lewis Greywolf:
My players tend to do astral and matrix recon first, then everyone goes in for the actual run. 

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