[Rockopolis]

From the SR4 Anniversary book, there was a story about putting together a hidden camera reality tv show about Shadowrunning; I thought it was a cool idea, but it seemed impractical; too much like bragging about your runs.

I was wondering, though, it seems a similar but slightly more practical (and horrible) concept would be to set up a runner with a simrig, and use his collected experience to instruct and skillwire up clones or (since clones are expensive) peasants into a stable of cheap runners.
Seems like it would appeal to the corps; standardized, manufactured, easily managed.  Something you can inventory and sell.  A good way to reduce what little power the Shadowrunners have; flooding the market will knock at least 10% off the hiring fees of the Shadowrunners, and keep the proles down, because there's no 'easy' jobs to ease newcomers into the shadows.  Might come back to bite you in the ass when there's no 'allstars' left, though I suppose anyone who survives has to be really good.  Plus, they're probably going to be smashing looms trying to sabotage your facilities.

Kinda pricey, though.  After development costs, for each, uh, unit, you'd need about ¥8000 for a rating 4 set of skillwires, and probably another ¥5000 or ¥10000 for cranial bomb to ensure compliance/destroy the evidence.  Maybe ¥350 for a BTL sim module, to run a Personafix.  And the more you upgrade or equip the runners, the more it costs you.  It might actually be preferable to upgrade them somewhat, as even the basics cost enough that you probably don't want to expend them willy-nilly.  And you might want some basic cyber and bioware to make sure they're all at the same standard.
You'd probably want them to complete at least two missions before you start to see a savings of any kind.
I suppose it also depends on how tight a rein you keep on them.  It's like AI, I guess; the more flexible they are, the more likely they are to try to exterminate humanity.

Might make an interesting run or campaign, at least.  Or I could try making this as a character...haven't had much luck with that lately.
You know, I'm not sure whether this reminds me more of that Direct TV ad or Metal Gear Solid.  Maybe Soldier or Blade Runner...I could get used to an army of Rutger Hauers.

[CanRay]

Shadowrunner Bunraku Parlors?

[Rockopolis]

I guess, as expensive as they seem, they're a way cheaper and easier alternative to the Augmentation's Cutting Edge Cyborgs and Cyberzombies.
They don't require rare, one of a kind labs, a zillion dollars to make, or massive upkeep, and all the upgrades and repair work is done with the usual, widely available cyberware/bioware and chop shops.
They're like the economy version of cyborgs/cyberzombies.  Econoborgs?  There's gotta be a better nickname.
For the price of an invoked memory stimulator, you can probably make three or four of these guys.

On the other hand, the biodrone's CAST system seems like a nice bundle for this; it's like a discounted Move by Wire system, actually.  And it has the added bonus of being even more demeaning, like wearing a dog collar.  It does start pushing them into a higher price bracket, though; might be better for a premium model.
Metadrones?

They seem like they'd be a decent plot device, to make things harder on the Shadowrunners; "Why should I pay you this exorbitant sum?  I can just open a six-pack of meat puppets for a fraction of the cost.  No backtalk, either."

EDIT: You know, I wasn't sure if this should go in Gear or General.
EDIT EDIT:  Give them a false front and you can start building Snatchers.

[savaze]

One of the problems with making 'canned' runners is that they exactly that. They don't understand and have as broad a spectrum as someone who's taken the time and effort to learn all that stuff. Which runs the risk of someone who's a lot less skilled of overcoming the chipper by some out-of-the-box thinking.

Another problem with mass produced runners is that they need really expensive equipment to do what needs being done (ideally a pricey move-by-wire system to save costs and some very restricted gear) and corps aren't going to entrust that kind of capital in a nobody.

Maybe an alternative is jacking trainees into a full VR sim that's fast forwarded^10 with all the best trainers and awesomely programed IC to represent some variation in drills.

-Or-

Chipping someone to be an assassin by overriding there serotonin and other chems when they're REMing with a onetime use chip with full skill-sets and an innocuous skill that's left after the fact. Maybe the innocent assassin isn't so innocent at all and they're the real mark that's been deviously setup for some heinous crime they can't walk away from.

[John Shull]

You also lose the deniable part of deniable asset when you start mass producing runners.  Also there is the x factor.  Runners are creative, adaptable, and hardcore.  Not the easiest qualities to load up via chip.  You might make a canned crew to frame a crew of runners to go down for a job.  That could be an interesting game, tracking down a crew that is bringing you heat and burning bridges to your Johnsons by pulling off jobs on your signature on your contacts.   

[Xzylvador]

Lack of plausible deniability was the first thing that entered my mind too.
Second problem perhaps being a lack of versatility. Sure you can manifacture a bunch of streetsams, magic will be a problem; And the strength of a shadowrun team comes from the differences between the 'runners, each has their own specialty, own way of seeing things and solving problems; that's why they sometimes can turn an impossible mission into a success (and annoy GM's to death by doing a lot of stuff he can't prepare for).
A team of 5 (near-)identical "runners out of a can" won't have that. In fact, after a while, they might be acting so predictable they're worthless because everyone knows their standard MO. "Guard the door? Nah, pull all the guards away from the front and backdoor, have them aiming at that vent over there and that roof window over there, fire some shots at exactly 12:04 and 58 seconds, they'll be dead 2 seconds before they attack."

[CanRay]

It's also really hard to find "Anti-Authority v5.2" and "Neo-@ v2.0" PersonaSoft chips. 

[Dead Monky]

I can't help but think that real ShadowRunners would start hunting these dorks for sport.  I know my players would. 

[CanRay]

I can't help but think that real ShadowRunners would start hunting these dorks for sport.  I know my players would.

Hell, I know a few Mr. Johnsons that would pay a bounty on these posers!

"They're ruining the business, you know.  Used to be a gentleman and woman's business, right?  Shooting people in the face for money.  Now, now they turn it into some mass produced drek.  It's like Pop music."

[Dead Monky]

Heh.  An entire niche market could crop up.  Johnsons hiring real Runners to hunt down the poseurs.  Lucrative and fun!

[CanRay]

"This is worse than those cheap Korean-Knock Off Ninjas!" 

[Valashar]

Oh, dear blessed Dog, thank you!

In my SR campaign, there are a small handful of groups that could back-end a project like this. And I, too, of course, have players that would jump at the chance to go on a Most Dangerous Game (because you could hurt yourself laughing) style run to mop up some tank-born wannabes.

I could also see some P2.0 types paying serious subscription coin to both watch something like that and to spend a week or so at a kind of Runner Resort where they get slotted with some personnachips and geared up to play runner.

[Glyph]

The megacorps already have the equivalent of runners - company men.  They don't need skillwires or personafix chips, either - they just take the best of their people, and augment them.  The primary reason they use runners at all, as everyone else has already pointed out, is the deniability factor.

Still, the idea could be salvaged as something some other player in the shadows is trying to do.  Some new criminal element, needing an edge to take on the established power players.  Or maybe a terrorist group.  They could abduct corporate factory workers who already have skillwires (the most expensive of the needed implants), then add in some psychotropic conditioning, a few combat skillsofts downloaded from some hacker haven, and maybe a kicker like an area cranial bomb or a single-use autoinjector of K-10 (or some less extreme combat drug).