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Playing a vigilante. What is your take?

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Nightmaster

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« on: <03-14-19/1057:59> »
Well, I am looking for diferent perspectives on this matter.

Assuming you guys would make a vigilante character, how would be your take on it on the world of Shadowrun? How would be his "Modus Operandi", his gear (canon gear only), his atribute focus and etc.

I am curious because I am playing a runner that is turning into a vigilante due to several circunstances that happened lately in the game and thus I wanna know how other players and GMs would play such type of character.

Any input is appreciated.  :)
« Last Edit: <03-15-19/1832:21> by Nightmaster »

DigitalZombie

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« Reply #1 on: <03-16-19/0521:43> »
I guess for most vigilantes the end justifies the means.
So maybe a bit of demolitions,  Use of poisons, extreme contacts like terra first, avenger toxic shamans etc.

Qualities like biased (corps, government, law enforcements).

In the end though I think what mostly separates a vigilante from a vanilla shadowrunner would be attitude.


« Last Edit: <03-16-19/1031:30> by DigitalZombie »

Reaver

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« Reply #2 on: <03-16-19/0615:16> »
One man's Vigilante is another man's Terrorist....


SR is full of Vigilante/terrorists to take a gander at. From Humanis to Terra First to Mothers Of Metahumans, if there is a Cause, their is someone who will champion an extreme action.

If you are looking for some more pulpy examples, then there is the Punisher, or Grifter from the comics...
 
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Marcus

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« Reply #3 on: <03-16-19/1203:02> »
The Term Vigilante is Dangerous.
Being a Good guy runner is not about being a vigilante.

It's having a good code and following it. (You can have a code and still be bad.)

It's about doing the hard right thing over the wrong profitable thing.

It's about saving the innocent at great personal risk.

It's about avenging your fallen comrade, not for revenge, but because that bad guy has to be stopped, b/c they will keep doing horrible things.

It's about doing a job for no reason other then they need your help, or are just otherwise good people.

It's about helping clean up the damage done to the world and not just contributing to it.

It's about knowing Tenamous is just wrong and putting two in head any agent of theirs you meet, but not going looking for them.

I could go on for a couple pages but you get the idea.

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kyoto kid

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« Reply #4 on: <03-16-19/1715:18> »
...when I hear the term "vigilante" I think of those groups of self appointed "solder wannabes" who wear fatigues, carry semi auto (sometimes modified to full auto) rifles, seem to have some sort of chip on their shoulders (often politically motivated), and subscribe to some type of conspiracy theory.

...just my two ¥.
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PiXeL01

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« Reply #5 on: <03-16-19/2014:31> »
That would be militia, no?

Whenever I hear vigilante in terms of Shadowrun I always think of the fiction including the Dragonslayer followers.
Vigilante in SR would be hooders, those fighting for the local community and keeping it safe.
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Tarislar

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« Reply #6 on: <03-16-19/2056:20> »
his gear (canon gear only)

All he needs is a black shirt with a dripping skull face on it. 

kyoto kid

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« Reply #7 on: <03-17-19/0106:31> »
That would be militia, no?

Whenever I hear vigilante in terms of Shadowrun I always think of the fiction including the Dragonslayer followers.
Vigilante in SR would be hooders, those fighting for the local community and keeping it safe.
...many also consider themselves "vigilantes".
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Stainless Steel Devil Rat

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« Reply #8 on: <03-17-19/1111:10> »
vig·i·lan·te
/ˌvijəˈlan(t)ē/
noun
noun: vigilante; plural noun: vigilantes
a member of a self-appointed group of citizens who undertake law enforcement in their community without legal authority, typically because the legal agencies are thought to be inadequate.


The Shadowrun setting is fertile ground for vigilantes.  Lone Star/contracted law enforcement is inadequate in certain areas (the Barrens) and for protecting the rights of certain denizens (the SINless)? Wow, news flash!
RPG mechanics exist to give structure and consistency to the game world, true, but at the end of the day, you’re fighting dragons with algebra and random number generators.

Fedifensor

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« Reply #9 on: <03-22-19/0917:15> »
My current character in Missions is...The Shroud!


"Who knows what evil lurks in the heart of the megacorp?  The Shroud knows!"


"The weed of corporate crime bears bitter fruit."


(This is what happens when you used to have a major BTL addiction...)


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A vigilante character's biggest issue in Shadowrun is that the default assumption is that you're doing this for the money.  There will be some logic hoops you'll have to jump through when a mission asks you to, for example, work for the Yakuza and shake down a store owner.  The "stopping a greater evil involves some sacrifice" is the usual goto for getting past such things.  It also helps if you do things like secretly funnel money to the store owner afterwards so he gets back on his feet.

Grizzly

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« Reply #10 on: <03-25-19/0803:25> »
vig·i·lan·te
/ˌvijəˈlan(t)ē/
noun
noun: vigilante; plural noun: vigilantes
a member of a self-appointed group of citizens who undertake law enforcement in their community without legal authority, typically because the legal agencies are thought to be inadequate.


The Shadowrun setting is fertile ground for vigilantes.  Lone Star/contracted law enforcement is inadequate in certain areas (the Barrens) and for protecting the rights of certain denizens (the SINless)? Wow, news flash!

I always thought that this was part of the reason that so many gangs are openly tolerated in many parts of Seattle - they tend to stay on their own 'turf' and, while they can certainly be horrible to those they claim to 'protect', they do provide a certain level of security as the gang organization needs a certain level of local stability to operate/feed on.  If they treat you better than the police, even if only by a little bit, then they might appear to be a better option.

IIRC even in semi-safe B and C zones full of SINners, when the cops show up they do so in force like they're expecting an ambush as standard procedure.

Jayde Moon

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« Reply #11 on: <03-25-19/1026:02> »
Sure.  Either as a campaign designed around it, with 'hooding' as a major campaign theme...

Or even a single character in the group... fighting crime is $$$ and taking shadowruns (that stay in the boundaries of your characters values) helps pay the bills.

And could lead to interesting situations when the group gets dragged into criminal vendettas against the vigilante.
That's just like... your opinion, man.

ORTEGA76

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« Reply #12 on: <04-20-19/1051:19> »
As a big fan of the Arrow tv series, I've played a vigilante style character and it worked out really well. Lots of fun in combat and great rp. No crazy uniforms but you DO need some calling cards or a signature.

1. Code of Honor is important. Who or what will you allow to be collateral damage? If you are a anti-corporate crusader, are you fine with a wageslave janitor or secretary getting caught in an explosion you rigged to sabotage something? If you go after a go-gang hideout, are the "old ladies" fair game?

2. In an age of gel rounds and stun bolts, do you have to kill to get your point across? Are your kills clean or are they just disguised torture?

3. Targets are often a product of your background, as someone else pointed out. With corporate police contracts, if you are poor or meta you can bet your 'hood gets no coverage or you treated like scum by badge carrying thugs. That means you may have a long history of taking things into your own hands. Maybe you were a rookie Lone Star cop who joined after watching too many trid shows and found the reality too distasteful. Maybe your family had trouble paying protection to the local Yaks and now you are out to make them pay.

4. Relationship with the law? Do you cooperate with them? Got a disillusioned detective contact who slides you info on targets or hires you for low pay runs against scumbag criminals?

5. Crime pays. What do you do with the proceeds of crime? Say you hit a gang that's been running drugs for the Triads. Sure, you take the money and guns for yourself but what about the drugs? Destroy them? Sell them for more money to fund your operations? What does your crew want to do?

This can be a really fun character to play at a street-level where you are hungry for resources and shit can be reallllllly personal.