[FastJack]

Sniper fire. As they are talking to him, the sniper fires and mortally wounds him. The players dive for cover, unable to reach him due to the sniper keeping them pinned.

[Thermo]

Have him get infected with weaponized nanotech, such as Surtr

Surtr
Vector: Contact, Inhalation Speed: 1 minute Penetration: 0
Power: 10
Effect: Physical damage (special)
Developed for interdiction purposes by Zeta-Imp Chem and stolen by the Winternight cult to use in their doomsday plans, surtr is an aerosol vector nanoweapon. This hard machine system is designed to remain airborne for up to 30 minutes on micro- propellers (while in this state it is vulnerable to strong winds and dissipation will reduce Power at the gamemaster’s discretion). While in suspension, surer appears as a cloud of red-dish dust. When it comes into contact with organic tissue, its internal and external membranes collapse and its deadly payload of exotic chemicals mix. These chemicals react with water molecules in cells, acting as accelerants. The result is spontaneous combustion of living tissues, burning the victim at temperatures up to 500 degrees Celsius. Treat surtr damage as Fire damage (p. 155, SR4) only affecting organic tissue at first (though burning tissue may ignite other materials).

[wastedwalker]

Have him behind a door, he "saves" the PC's by noticing a trap before they can get in. He tells them who might be behind it. Now you have them finishing a job and wanting payback for a failed hit on them. Maybe add in an explosion or two. But a room with Ringu in it would have the guy dying with no chance for saving and his finals act would be to save their life and hopefully ensure they follow through.

[Reaver]

There are magical techniques to ensuring silence. The Triads use them why not someone else? So far, none has survived the ritual... No medical or magical ability has stopped the death of anyone who "betrays" the caster of the spell.

Or like Fastjack said sniper fire. Have the first shot mortally wound him, he tells the runners the goods, the Mage heals him.... Second shot cores his skull..... (ie: fills his damage overflow)

[Crash_00]

Also, if you're wanting to just keep the group medic from healing him, give him a high Willpower and Magic Resistant 4 as a positive quality.

[Mystic]

Corn..nuts.

 

Or maybe some kind of food alergy previously unknown. Allergic to Soy all of the sudden? DAMN!

[Charybdis]

Mage: Ignite is a good spell. It takes a couple of rounds to kill, but is very hard to stop (even with counterspelling). Between the confusion and screams as the courier starts rolling around on the floor in agony (and cooking flesh) he can yell out some clues about
'...that damned pyromaniac!...
'...should never have taken this job...'
...'etc etc

Sniper: <Someone mentioned before but it's simple enough to mention twice>

Poison: Have the courier eat something and start frothing at the mouth. Let it take a while to kill him by just sucking down damage boxes like a ticking clock....Courier knows he's dead, but has a couple of combat turns to get a message out.

[Sichr]

I have my first game this Friday night and I just realized a potential problem with my story.

At the beginning of the story, an NPC courier will hire the PCs to protect him while he delivers a dingus to its next location.  The NPC needs to die right after hiring the PCs, leaving the job in their hands.  How can I kill the NPC, but have him live long enough to make a dramatic, dying plea to the PCs and yet keep the PC mage from healing him?  Any ideas?

Do it in the background count domain Give him Magical resistance 4 Positive quality....Poison him...but only if mage doesn`t have detox spell.
Like manz others said...shot him...and during the healing procedure....shot him again.

[revaddict]

Okay, I appreciate all the thoughts!

As was pointed out, the difficulty isn't killing the NPC; it's killing him but making sure he gives the PCs the info they need before he dies--without the PC's mage healing him.

My original idea was that the NPC gets mortally wounded in a drive-by shooting as they walk out of the bar where he hires the PCs and then, bleeding to death on the sidewalk, he tells them where to take the dingus.  Now that I think about it more, there's no reason he can't give them that information when he hires them; then he's expendable after that.  One head shot will put him down before the team's mage can heal him.

I do like the idea someone suggested of having him die off-camera while leaving info for the PCs over the phone.  I think about that more too.

Thanks so much for your help!

[Sichr]

Okay, I appreciate all the thoughts!

As was pointed out, the difficulty isn't killing the NPC; it's killing him but making sure he gives the PCs the info they need before he dies--without the PC's mage healing him.

My original idea was that the NPC gets mortally wounded in a drive-by shooting as they walk out of the bar where he hires the PCs and then, bleeding to death on the sidewalk, he tells them where to take the dingus.  Now that I think about it more, there's no reason he can't give them that information when he hires them; then he's expendable after that.  One head shot will put him down before the team's mage can heal him.

I do like the idea someone suggested of having him die off-camera while leaving info for the PCs over the phone.  I think about that more too.

Thanks so much for your help!

Whoy dont have this info on his commlink, protected by IC, so players have to put some efforts into gaining it.The sure wont let this pass so easilly that they wont search the body and look for some leads as who and why did it to the NPC...

[dashifen]

You could also simply not kill him but incapacitate him in some way that he can't do the courier job himself.    Have him step off a curb and get hit by a car, live through the accident, but need medical attention beyond what can be provided on the street and/or magic.  Give him two cyberlegs and they get mangled in the crash.  He's alive, and the mage can patch up his hurt, but unless the team has a cybertechnician and a place to do the work, he's going to need to see a mechanic before he's doing much courier-ing.

[Zilfer]

You could also simply not kill him but incapacitate him in some way that he can't do the courier job himself.    Have him step off a curb and get hit by a car, live through the accident, but need medical attention beyond what can be provided on the street and/or magic.  Give him two cyberlegs and they get mangled in the crash.  He's alive, and the mage can patch up his hurt, but unless the team has a cybertechnician and a place to do the work, he's going to need to see a mechanic before he's doing much courier-ing.

Nice. Can't heal what's not there!

[Chaemera]

To quickly combine a few points people have made regarding style, intent, and the willing suspension of disbelief, kill the guy off-scene in such a manner that the information is provided to the players because most any other solution will present an opportunity for the players to stop his death.

To take some of the good examples of ways to kill the guy:

Sniper fire? Meet Slow (War) or Physical Barrier (core book) or bound spirit of any variety to interpose. Beefy troll. Convenient cover.

Poison? Detox spell, Rating 6 Medkit + Edge.

Cranial bomb? I'm looking for easier money than this...

And if you work around your players long enough to make sure the guy's dead, you've defeated your players and left them frustrated at you, not the antagonist. Killing him off-screen lets the players off the hook for not saving him and there are dozens of reasons they might want to complete the job.

[Chrona]

However you decide to kill the NPC to make sure they do the job have the Payment kept in escrow with it transferred to them by who they're delivering it to.

[Joush]

You can always keep it simple when you need someone to die dramaticly.. At the cost of being a little cheap, tell the healer that the person is beyond the help of anyone but a major medical facility right now. Tell them that they can make a test to make the man die conforbly, but that there's no real way to save him.

Most players understand when something happens to an NPC and it's for dramatic reasons. Some players will feel cheated if their healer can't save the person, but just assure them that you can't save them all.

IE: "You come across a courier standing over the bodies of two unknown men, but it looks like they got him pretty well too. Blood stains the whole front of his bullet riddled armor and flecks his lips as he takes a shuddering breath.

'Hey Chummer, need a job?'

He ask with gallows humor, his own life already spent, the only thing keeping him alive his rapidly failing cybernetic enhancements. With aid, he might live for half an hour before death peacefully clams him. Without, he's going to die in agony before he finishes the cigarette he's trying to light with a broken hand."

This is the "DM Fillibuster" method. It introduces the setting and certain immutable facts: The man's dead. But it also gives them things they can do, and makes the medic/healer useful. (Keep him alive longer to give them more information and maybe a point of Karma for letting another shadowrunner die easy, job handed off and in a haze of painkillers.)

Or you could always go crazy, and let them save the man if they really try. Just have him too weak/wounded to finish the job in that case, and maybe show up later walking with a cane or on a new cyberlimb.