Shadowrun
Shadowrun General => General Discussion => Topic started by: StarManta on <08-06-11/1604:15>
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I know that Corp land is extraterritorial and legally treated as its own country in most ways, but how does that affect Shadowrunners? I haven't read much in detail in the sourcebooks, nor has it yet come up in any games I've played in.
(and obviously if there are any sourcebooks that address this sort of thing, even from older editions, I'd like to read them)
For example:
- Are most corp lands fenced-off enclaves? Do they more or less allow free passage in and out of their general area, and only restrict their more sensitive areas?
- Do you have to pass through customs?
- Once you're inside, how does it differ from the outside, aside from the corp's security forces replacing Lone Star? Do the bars on Ares land all serve Ares-owned brands of beer? Do people on Shiawase land wear Shiawase-made business suits?
- I've read that DocWagon has contracts with some, but not all, major corps to be able to enter their land. Is it listed anywhere which corps these are?
- And finally, do the answers to all of these questions vary wildly from corp to corp and are just entirely subject to GM fiat?
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Generally speaking, it will be Corp dominate in the form of its companies. From what i understand, Extraterritoriality only extends to businesses with directly under a division corp unless the Big Name label is on it. For example, unless you are in Atzlan (and even some of them are obscure), Aztechnology operates through distant subsidiaries without putting their name on it obviously. As such, they DO NOT benefit from extraterritoriality. Horizon, however, puts their name on EVERYTHING, so they have a freakish amount of corporate land to operate on.
The styles wage-slaves favor are the styles typically sponsored by the corp they live in, but it does depend. For example, Shiawase folks on Shiawase land will probably prefer threadss from Vashon Island (one of their clothing lines IIRC). If someone maintains dual citizenship (Ares and UCAS, for example, as much of Detroit is), they will potentially wear threads from other lines, where smaller companies and corps can compete. But successful (and popular) wage-slaves will likely wear the Victory line of clothes to represent their loyalty and dedication to Ares.
As for how it is different, how is it different going from the Northern US to the Southern Canada? Not drastically different, but subtle changes. Different brands of beer are more popular. Uniforms of the guards trying to arrest you are different, and they might use some different equipment (Horizon guys using gel/SnS/Tasers, while Azzies are carrying everything but the kitchen sink).
And regarding DocWagon, nothing I have seen is set, except regarding Evo, since CrashCart is a subsidiary of Evo. But there were reports of CrashCart and DocWagon working together to cover overlapping areas. DocWagon generally has to request permission from the parent company if extraterritoriality is involved. Usually it is given, then "clients" are turned over to Lone Star/or the invaded corporation if trespassing was involved and the corporation (for whatever reason) allowed the extraction of the DocWagon clients.
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I have never really seen any thing written, but I've always taken the path that says that ALL entries into Corp Zones is challenged to some degree. Whether it be electronically, verbally, physically or a combination of all with some magic thrown in any noticed entry will be challenged. Most (if not all) extraterritoriality zones are going to be separated from the outlying areas by fencing at the least. The Corps have pretty much defined paranoia in Shadowrun.
As for DocWagon (and others) I imagine that they usually broadcast to the Corp that they are requesting admittance before entry. Getting blown out of the air would certainly ruin the extraction. If they are coming for one of that Corp's citizens then I wouldn't be surprised if they notify the Corp of this. If it is someone else...like a Shadowrunner, this information is probably kept quiet. Thus the Rescuebus may get denied entry.
When it comes to 'inside' the zones I imagine that this is as diverse as the individual Corporate territory. Aztlan will likely be heavily indoctrinating their 'slaves by only serving them Aztlaner (and their subsidiaries) goodies. Ares being supposedly big on individuality is likely a bit more...diversified in its items carried. In all cases though I would think it would heavily favor the host Corp.
Internal Security: I imagine that almost every Corp citizen/slave is going to get some sort of RFID tag/tracker. The more...individually minded corps will likely plant this tag in their corporate supplied PAN to their workers. This will allow them into the appropriate areas and keep them out of unauthorized zones. My take at least.
In all things though, GMs get to make it however they want it.
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A) A corp enclave is extra-territorial. The corp retains rights as to how thorough their 'customs' screening needs to be, and may increase it accordingly for sensitive areas of the compound
B) Corp businesses operating in public areas (Malls, street-fronts etc) are not Extra-territorial. Thus if crimes are committed, they have to report them to the local authorities, and not just hold data themselves (but you can BET MONEY they'll keep a copy of all data for their own investigations and follow-ups as required.
C) DocWagon is just another corp (and not even AA/AAA status granting Extra-territoriality), and thus always needs permission to enter Extra-Territorial grounds even for emergency/HTR callouts. Depending on the corp in question (ARES vs Aztech for example) they may even have an existing contract with the corp allowing something like:
- immediate, unchallenged access to perform medical procedures on ARES personnel (as identified by Commlink/RFID)
- no access unless expressly permitted on case-by-case basis
- Conditional access with a corp escort
- or any number of other options
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I know that Corp land is extraterritorial and legally treated as its own country in most ways, but how does that affect Shadowrunners? I haven't read much in detail in the sourcebooks, nor has it yet come up in any games I've played in.
(and obviously if there are any sourcebooks that address this sort of thing, even from older editions, I'd like to read them)
For example:
- Are most corp lands fenced-off enclaves? Do they more or less allow free passage in and out of their general area, and only restrict their more sensitive areas?
- Do you have to pass through customs?
- Once you're inside, how does it differ from the outside, aside from the corp's security forces replacing Lone Star? Do the bars on Ares land all serve Ares-owned brands of beer? Do people on Shiawase land wear Shiawase-made business suits?
- I've read that DocWagon has contracts with some, but not all, major corps to be able to enter their land. Is it listed anywhere which corps these are?
- And finally, do the answers to all of these questions vary wildly from corp to corp and are just entirely subject to GM fiat?
Corp lands will have some level of control and security. At least in my mind they don't control large amounts of territory like the UCAS or the CSA do, but might control areas up to the size of neighborhoods. Extraterritoriality basically means if you are on their property and doing something shady you have no civil rights and they can do whatever they want to you.
The amount of security depends on the circumstances. A corporate owned suburb is basically a gated community like any other, either a level 3 or 4 neighborhood depending on who lives there, the security is just from the corporation rather than a private security company like Lonestar or Knight Errant. Other facilities (warehouses, docks, office buildings, factories, labs, etc) have security in proportion to their value. A warehouse full of packing peanuts has two night watchmen with tasers and a big dog. A cutting edge lab with valuable paydata and prototypes will have highly trained and well armed guards, drones, matrix security, wards, an in-house mage, watcher spirits, an elemental or two, etc.
All corps will control access to their property in one way or another. The level of security depends again on the circumstances and value of the property. The packing peanut depot you probably need a van, a clipboard, and a decent cover story to get through the gate during business hours. The lab, you are looking at security checks on your SIN, biometrics, MAD scanners, maybe someone awakened to check you aura as well.
Once inside again keep in mind corps don't hold countries, they hold real estate within countries. You are probably never that far from the "border". About brand loyalty- I live in a city with a huge Nike facility. From what I have heard, if you are an employee you damn well DO NOT show up to work wearing a pair or Rebocks.
On Docwagon- docwagon will not violate extraterritoriality without permission. If they get a call from a customer on corporate land they are going to contact corporate security for permission to enter their airspace. A runner in trouble needs to get clear of corporate territory before hitting their doc wagon bracelet. A doc wagon contract is a very useful thing, but they are not going to pull you out of a hot zone if a corporation is involved. They are medical air ambulance service, not the 82nd airborne.
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Pretty much detailed info on this topic is in one of the corp books, can remember which one, can check tonight. Extraterritoriality does not only apply to corp enclaves. It can even apply to a floor in a building. You enter a floor in a building belonging to a corp - you are under their jurisdiction.
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Good example of living in extraterritorial area you can find in Neal Stephensons book "Snowcrash"
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Snow Crash is the way I always imagined it, with the added touch of an RFID tag that pops up a giant disclaimer / terms of service ARO. "By crossing the border, you agree that any actions you take that are not in the best interest of (insert megacorp here) or explicitly endorsed by (insert megacorp here) may pose a direct physical risk to you..."
And on and on for 200 pages :)