[Weldûn]

It seems sometimes that Johnson's are notorious for betraying their "Deniable Assets", and I've even been in a campaign where every second or third run had our Johnson stabbing us in the back. Now, this isn't intended to discuss how bad (or not-so-bad, depending on your opinion) that particular GM was, but to discuss why a Johnson would or wouldn't betray the Runners. What brought this to mind was a post in the Quote of the Week thread.

During the price negotiation, the team was not able to talk him into giving more money, but were able to talk him into including his hat in his negotiations. Fast forward to the end of the run, and the Johnson tried to have them killed when it came time to pay up. Which led to....
"It was the hat. He really didn't want to give up that hat."
(They really should've seen that coming. He was slovenly dressed and they met in a really crappy dive bar for which you had to wind through some back alleys, and he was offering 45,000¥ for a really simple data plant operation... I gave them all the clues I had that this was a setup. In their defense, most of them are novices who had yet to be betrayed by a Johnson.)

At least this Johnson had a decent reason to betray the Runners. He simply didn't have the money he promised them. But my feeling is that if the Johnson is betraying you, the first thing you should be doing is looking at your own team. Why? Because there's simply no percentage in it for most Johnsons. The team has already proven itself a capable and resourceful group by successfully completing the run (usually with some unforeseen complication cropping up) and are a proven asset, not to mention extremely dangerous. They are an asset which the Johnson can rely on for later endeavors. A team of capable runners is a valuable asset to be cherished and nurtured, perhaps in the manner of mushrooms, yes (i.e. kept mostly in the dark and fed bull****), but that's as much for their protection as it is for the Johnson's interests. And the payment for the run implicitly includes payment for remaining discreet about the details of any jobs taken and completed. So, in my opinion, if your team is being betrayed by your Johnson the first place to look at your team, because you've probably picked up a reputation for being indiscreet and cannot be trusted to keep the details confidential. In other words, you're more of a liability than an asset.

But, as the quote points out, there are other reasons for a Johnson to betray your team. So, what are some of those reasons?

[CanRay]

Change in orders from higher up is a major one.  Middle of the Shadowrun, the plans changed in management at a meeting the Mr. Johnson wasn't high enough ranking to have been part of.  He only got the memo about the time the fourth security guard get ventilated and found out that the destruction 'Run was supposed to be a stealth datasteal.  Oops.  Problem is, the memo is dated/timed to be before the meeting, despite the late delivery (Damn Technomancers playing around with the SMTP Servers!).

So, the group has violated the contract.  So sorry, time to liquidate and make it look like they disobeyed orders and are not only deniable, but disposable to cover Mr. Johnson's own ass to lower the fallout of the failed 'Run.

On the bright side, he is invited to the Office Supply Procurement and Securities Meeting made next week.  Maybe the Shadowrunners will kill him before he has to sit through another lecture on the careful use of Corporate Supply, as using too many staples and paperclips can cause the downfall of the whole Megacorporation!

[Tex Muldoon]

A Johnson will betray a team if they know too much, or are getting information that they shouldn't be getting. If your team steals some paydata that wasn't meant to be seen and can be traced back to them they may get betrayed on the next hire. Also Johnsons betray if you do too many jobs because they have too much knowledge about the inner workings of the company. I make it a rule to kill a team after 5-7 runs with the same Johnson. The team may do good work but some of the members may have work with them in the past. Also attitude plays a big role in a meet, a smart ass should never be the one to handle the negotiation. How you present yourself and your team is a big part of the meet. NEVER EVER be rude to the Johnson. This fact can not be stressed enough. Your rep can attest to your badass-ness.  Lastly the Johnson may just be cheap and can't afford to pay the runners, mostly happens with smaller corps or subsidaries. I hope this helps you out and can get some insight in why they betray runners.

[Weldûn]

Jeez CanRay! I think I can count the amount of post that I've made that you haven't replied to in under 10 minutes on one... finger!

But mad love for weighing in on the next most likely candidate. Another is that the Johnson was intentionally kept out of the loop on all the details, for the same reasons why a Johnson will withhold information from the runners, only the nice and neat "elegant" solution that the team came up with danced all over the real purpose of the job, and the higher ups now want to sanitize the external portion of the screw-up. Although on one run, the Johnson came clean in that instance, and proceeded to not only pay us, but immediately hire us to sanitize the higher-ups. Good times.

[Nath]

using too many staples and paperclips can cause the downfall of the whole Megacorporation!

"It looks like you're trying to hire deniable assets! Would you like help?"

[CanRay]

I kept trying to get my group to do legwork when I was running...  I honestly did.  But no, they didn't.

I gave them every clue that the Mr. Johnson they were dealing with had extensive ulterior motives.  Nervous twitches, bad "newbie" mistakes (Corporate cufflinks, ten-year tie pin), things like that.  Stuff that would have screamed to me "SET UP!!!", but they took it at face value of "Oh, this is some idiot trying to play Mr. Johnson."  *Shakes Head*

They were lucky that he only set up the meet at a really bad bar and then just never showed up.  Just faded away into the Shadows...

As for pissing off Mr. Johnsons, they learned that one quick enough.  The one I love to use had a tendency of making things easily understood by holding meetings in warehouses full of angry Orks with shotguns and assault rifles, paying bonuses in collectable switchblades, and leaving town when the heat was on in a whaling vessel that was having depth charges loaded onto it for a "nice, casual fishing trip."  They were also impressed that he was able to get a beat-up ice cream truck in fifteen minutes flat.

...

Scary part was, that was actually part of the story in my head, and they had no idea their pay was actually going to be in it...  They ended up using it in the 'Run.

using too many staples and paperclips can cause the downfall of the whole Megacorporation!

"It looks like you're trying to hire deniable assets! Would you like help?"

KILL IT WITH ELECTRONIC FIRE!  THEN REAL FIRE!

Anyhow, professionals use the soykaff budget.  It's less watched and has a larger slush fund.

[Mystic]

...as using too many staples and paperclips can cause the downfall of the whole Megacorporation!

Hacker trick #56. Re-do the master supply mainfest, re-direct funds for Security Forces: Ammo, to Secretarial Servies: paperclips, and vice versa.

And watch hilarity ensue.

But no, there are too many reasons for Mr. Johnson to stick the knife in your back. Most of them usually fall under the catagories of: Runners done messed up and or Runners=scapegoats.  Normally, its the former more than the latter because teams that consistantly prove themselves can be a valuable asset and why waste a perfectly good asset? But, as already stated, and this can't be expressed enough: Runners are DENIABLE assets and even the best ones can and WILL be sacrificed if it serves the greater good of the company/Mr. Johnson.

[The Big Peat]

I am not a fan of the Johnson double-cross.

Well, I am, but not at the rates some people seem to suggest it happens.

Ultimately, the impression I get both from reading the background and my own thinking on what it must be like, is its a trust game. If there isn't at least some trust there it doesn't happen. If Runners can't go to a meet, do the job, then return to collect their cash without being more than fairly sure that they will get gold and not lead then they wouldn't run. There are other ways to make money from crime. For running to make sense, to me, betrayal must be at least quite uncommon. Runners talk to each other as well. Johnsons with a bad rep for betrayal get noted - and enough Johnsons are noticeable enough that it will stick in at least some cases. If a certain company tends to bump off runners after six or so jobs to stop them knowing too much to use Tex's example... you stop taking jobs from them after 3-4. Or at all. Leave it to the idiots and wannabes. Fixers talk to each other too and usually do at least some dirt-digging on a Johnson before handing over their valuable assets. Johnsons who get Runners killed - for whatever reasons - are not popular Johnsons.

Plus, Runners - or good Runners - are valuable assets. They are the goose that lays the golden egg. Admittedly, there's quite a few such geese, but there are still quite a few considerations to be balanced against "I kill them, they don't talk and don't need paying". Yes, sometimes it needs doing... but generally it doesn't. Generally.

Anyway. My mini-rant on the subject of Johnson betrayal aside...

I ran one Johnson betrayal in my last game session. I even asked for help plotting it. The reason for the betrayal though was that an old friend of the Johnson wanted them dead and asked him to achieve this. A set up from beginning to end. Like the story in the Anniversary corebook. The exact circumstances very much confused my players as well, whcih was also pleasing. If you are going to do the double-cross, far better if you can avoid the blame.

Next time I run, I think I might throw in the accidental betrayal... plus have a secondary Johnson contacing them asking them to do the double-cross and see how they react. It cuts both ways after all.

[The Cat]

The few times as a GM I've had a Johnson betray a team were what I still think of as "good reasons."  In no particular order:

1. The team knows too much.  The run was of a nature where they were expected to succeed (no reason to hire them if that wasn't so) but would come out of it battered enough to be easy targets for elimination to keep the Johnson's employers completely covered.

2. Revenge.  The team was never expected to succeed and were being sent on a suicide mission because the honked off someone with the necessary cred and contacts to get rid of them.  There usually was a "real mission" involved, but it was more for the disruption of a rival than whatever the runners were told it was.

3. The team moved first.  The team, in some way, betrayed Mr. J so he's done the same to protect himself.

4. The team screwed up royally.  They may have succeeded but they could lead the target right back to the Johnson, so he's cleaning up the trail.

5. The pay was way more than Mr. J was willing to pay, but he cut the deal anyway.  This happens when there's some "in trade" dealing as part of the deal (I want GEAR-X when we're done with this).

6. They're a decoy.  Their run is a smokescreen for the real mission.  This is less a direct betrayal by Mr. J than one done indirectly.  Their mission either doesn't exist or doesn't exist in anything like they were told and often, the target was tipped off.

7. Mr. J is not who he claimed to be.  The team is told J works for Corp-X, he really works for Corp-Y and is trying to get the team wary or hostile towards Corp-X.

8. Mr. J himself was betrayed.  The Johnson's sponsor has turned on him and between giving out the job and the job being completed, J's been cut loose.  He can't pay.  He'll either run or try to eliminate the team to keep them from doing the same to him.

9. Mr. Johnson was flat wrong.  Whatever he told the team was honestly wrong.  He thought it was true, but in reality things were very different and far more difficult than the team expected and might even be beyond what they can handle.

10. Johnson is really a cop.  As cop, fed or corp security his job is to get the runners into a position where they can be apprehended with minimal effort and danger.  He'll give them a "sneaky sneaky no-killing infiltration" job on a strict time table that requires them to leave the heavy ordinance behind.  Next thing the team knows, they've wandered right into an ambush against overwhelming force and they're caught without their best toys for such a situation.

[Mystic]

10. Johnson is really a cop.  As cop, fed or corp security his job is to get the runners into a position where they can be apprehended with minimal effort and danger.  He'll give them a "sneaky sneaky no-killing infiltration" job on a strict time table that requires them to leave the heavy ordinance behind.  Next thing the team knows, they've wandered right into an ambush against overwhelming force and they're caught without their best toys for such a situation.

OK, gonna play Devil's Advocate for some food for thought here for a moment, so don't take this personaly. 

I know it's just a game, but one would need to be careful over this one becasue of a single word: ENTRAPMENT. Mr. Johnson is specifically hiring the runners to do something illegal. He is the one making the offer, telling the runners what to do/go after/etc, and has initiated the job. Johnson is now directly responsible for and helping the runners commit the crime in question...thats called conspiracy, also a crime, and even more reason why Mr. Johnson IS Mr. Johnson in SR. It's the same reason why all undercover officers must be very careful and not initiate any unlawful activity; why undercover officers posing as prostitutes must let the johns initiate things first and vice versa. It's also why undercover officers working on line to catch predators have to let them make the first move.

Feds would know better as they still have to obey the law. This would also likely torpedo their career and call all of their other cases into question. Most Feds wouldn't risk that. Even compaines that provide law enforcement have to abide by the law, its part of the contract, and any lawyer would eat this alive. Corporate security, why? Why go through such lengths? If a corp wants to get back at runners, it's easier to simply to metaphorically frag them and be done with it.

Why not just bust them at the meet? Why not just get them seperated and tail them to bust them later? Why go after them when they are most vulnerable instead of at least semi-ready. Why risk unnecessary damage to property and or death of officers? Besides, how many runners are dumb enough to go in without "Plan B" (aka the BIG very-lethal guns for just such a situation).

Now, I admit, that crooked cops/etc could do this, but the runners had better be "killed while trying to escape" or something, otherwise Johnson risks being discovered. It's still a viable plan and plot hook, but sometimes players are quick to pounce on such things and could see a GM pushing this more as a screw-job, especially if the crooked cop angle is pushed too far. It's a delicate balancing act. A cop's job is not to make people commit crimes, but to prevent and or apprehend them when they do.

And like I said, just playing Devil's Advocate.  But +1 for the rest.

[Weldûn]

Nice ones, especially Cat. I'm seeing mentioning of "the team fragged up" so let's widen the thread a bit to also detail some of the way teams can do this. My personal "favorite" reason to start killing my fellow teammates comes from hackers. Sometimes you get a run where part of the objective is for your target to have no clue that you hit them. Difficult, as it limits the ways in which you can circumvent security. But, while inside their system, the hacker comes across a choice piece of paydata and decides to take it. Worse, they decide to sell it through their fixer rather than offering it to the Johnson. Corporations and the like have eyes and ears in the shadow community, and selling paydata like that, especially data about secret projects can be a big give-away. Now, say this data was only located on a secure, off-line system? Well, if your target get's wind of it, while your hacker is crowing about getting payed twice for the same job, they've now jeopardized getting paid in the first place, especially as your Johnson almost certainly has their network listening for whisper of the stealth op.

[Medicineman]

But, as the quote points out, there are other reasons for a Johnson to betray your team. So, what are some of those reasons?
A stupid but (sadly) often used reason is:
 because its an old Cyberpunk tradition
Aka "the Run ain't over unless the Johnson crossed You twice"

He who dances with the Wild Geese
Medicineman

[StarManta]

In the particular case I was quoting, the Yakuza already had a hit out on the team. The Johnson, who has friends within the Yakuza, asked them to wait until after they pulled this job so he could get a run done on the cheap.

You're right, though, in general: in a normal situation, it makes little sense for a Johnson to betray his team and these should be the exception and not the rule (but just common enough to keep your players paranoid.) In my initial plans the Yakuza weren't involved - the Johnson had simply hired a different guy to kill the team - but I realized on thinking about it that a hit man capable of taking out the runner team would probably cost at least as much as simply paying the runner team in the first place. So I added the Yakuza angle.

And he really did like that hat.

[TheWanderingJewels]

Sousvelliance tech is going to make it much harder for Johnsons to betray the players cleanly. And with the Advent of technomancers, security will take a dive if the players monitor thier fixer on the sly

[bigity]

Wasn't there some great stuff written on Mr. Johnson betrayals and all that in Mr. Johnson's Little Black Book?  It talked about professionalism etc etc.