[Warmachinez]

Hi everyone!

I've been playing SR since 2nd edition, but oddly enough, me and my players never really do more then 3 or 4 games with the same characters, so i never really needed to develop an interesting story, i just sent then on runs and that was it... Probably why we never continued those games...

As of now, I have been GMing a game for 4 sessions, they ahve done 3 runs and I was about to call it quits... But then saw all the nice images in the general discussion thread and got motivated to continue my campaign. Why i need your help, is to develop a compelling story arc. I already have an idea for the next run, I just dont know where it will lead, I want something EPIC. Dont hesitate to as k questions (it will help me develop my ideas) or even correct me (I can take it). See below for info on the team and what i have planned so far.

Keep in mind I am playing tonight (Friday), so any ideas would be great.

The team is a group of 3 characters who know the rules and setting well enough. They play as pros:
Human Samurai
Elf Gun adept
Human Mage (with Imp Invis spell)

NPC's: Double-O - Hacker that I control and he lives with the team (He will be leaving on a vacation, but coming back later)

What I have planned for tonight:
Fixer will call one of them up and ask them to meet a Johnson (unknown and new in town) in a nice luxurious downtown hotel.
Johnson will be an elf with enough muscle to show that he is a big player. He will pay better then average and he wants the job done discretly. HE will provide the Runners with the Captains retinal scan (see below).

Job offer
The team will need to sneak onto a big anchored ship 2hours passed the international waters/UCAS border. Once on the ship they need to upload a file in the navigation database. The navigation area can only be accessed by using the first mates handprint and they can only upload the file if they have the Captains retinal profile. Job needs to be done within 72h.
Additional info: Crew of about 40 with a 10 man security team (equivalent to corpsec), including 1 rigger and 1 mage.

Obstacles planned
Runners dont have a boat, they will need to acquire one, johnson cannot help.
Coast guard patrol will intercept then within UCAS waters, they will not pursue into international waters.
Sneak onto the boat
They need to get the firstmates hand print
upload file
sneak off the boat
SecTeam if things go wrong
etc. Players are unpredictable

Aftermath
The file they will upload will steer the boat and make it crash in the harbor/docks. I'm thinking Toxic waste could spill all over the harbor and Docks area? Not sure...

How do I turn this into a story arch? Your help will be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[khirareq]

Instead of a standard Johnson, make the guy a Toxic Mage.  The Toxic doesn't have to be obvious, but the mage should be.  Fetishes and magical protection.  Also, instead of a high falutin restaurant, have them meet in a dive underneath a powerplant, or outside an industrial area.  A hint to plant suspicion, don't make it too obvious.  Anyway, they steal a boat (fun fact - I bet none of them can pilot a boat!  feel free to rub that in.)  or some other means of transport to the tanker.  Go ahead and let them complete their mission however they'd planned, but on the way out they are intercepted by a coven from the Sisterhood of Ariadne (Street Magic p 74).  The group trashes their ride, then splits into two - one group goes to invade the cockpit and stop the ship from crashing, the other takes on the runners.  While they fight, one of the sisters points out (correctly!) that they've been sent on a mission by a toxic shaman to crash a boat laden with chemicals onto a populated shore.  Let the runners beat back whichever force they choose, but they get away (water spirits rock!), because if you make them interesting enough they can be recurring characters.  The runners have to make some choices - fight the distraction group or try and get the team going for the cockpit?  Try and turn the boat around or crash with it into the shore?  Complete the mission, or help the witches?  Whatever they chose, they are gonna tick the other group off.

[khirareq]

Most boats, like most other vehicles in shadowrun, have a pilot rating that allows them to pilot themselves.  So you just have to steal it.  Though doing that without a hacker may be a challenge.  Of course the runners know this and may hire a smuggler, summon a spirit, rent some jet skis - who knows?  I have yet to have a team fail a mission because they couldn't think of a way to get from point A to point B.  I might cut out the scene where they get intercepted by the UCAS, but I figured that would probably be replaced by the coven anyway, since it is not terribly important to the story.

[Warmachinez]

Khirareq : Thanks for the idea, I will pop open Street Magic and give that a read when I get home. I REALLY like all the choices they will have to make with your proposed scenario. Consider your idea taken!

All4BigGuns : I understand what you are saying, but sometimes its nice to let the runners tackle a problem instead of knowing that they will role 15 dice and automaticly succeed. All they need to do is hire a rigger or get a chopper or a boat. Hell even a submarine would work. LOL. I appreciate your input though.

Thanks to both of you.

If anyone else has ideas, for complications or follow-ups feel free!

[Warmachinez]

Ok so following this good idea, a few questions have popped up.

1- Can Toxic mages summon other spirits then Toxic Spirits? Reason I am asking is that my Mage player will surely look in the astral and if a Toxic Spirit is there then the surprise is gone. But I would like to let my player know that this Johnson clearly can control some spirits...

2- This Coven that will intercept my PC's, they are a pretty small group. So i'm thinking there will be 2 members of the coven plus 3 gals (they seem to only trust women) each to follow them as muscle. Does that make sense? Also how strong are these Witches? Initiated?

Thanks!

[khirareq]

I don't have my Street Magic book on me, so I'm not sure if Toxic mages can summon non-toxic spirits or not.  If not, he can always get a loaner from his favorite talsimonger.  NPCs have contacts too.  If it becomes an issue, don't have him use protection - a powerful magical aura is sufficient hint.

The Sisters are as big as you need them to be.  They are a magical group and can initiate if you think that is needed, though I find a couple of witches with a handful of large spirits should be more than enough of a challenge.  Might want to read up on the possession rules; if I remember correctly, Wiccan is a possession tradition.  And possession is nasty, especially with channeling.

[Walks Through Walls]

Toxic mages can only summon toxic spirits. Khirareq's idea of a loaner spirit is a good one, but I also agree that a powerful aura should let them know that he has the ability. The other thing to think about is what does a spirit being there really add to the scene? With a powerful aura and other signs it will be obvious that he is magically active so is the spirit needed?

If you wanted to take it up another notch you could have the mage wearing items that are fairly obviously magical yet if the groups mage assenses his aura he shows as mudane (he is using masking to hide his true aura), but he has spells active on him and what are obviously foci in astral space.

In my opinion no matter how the scene with the boat ends up when they go to get paid after the run the original Johnson doesn't show up. Have the money loaded to their comlinks via the matrix if you want them to still get paid, but make it so the Johnson is lurking out there at the end of it.

[AndyNakamura]

Andy's Brief Intro to Story Composing:

Part 1: Introduction.
The protagonists are called to the adventure, and begin preparations, In SR, this is usually when the team meets the Johnson, gets the mission, and starts doing their legwork. This is a good spot to introduce the antagonist - maybe not in person, but through cat's paws, like thugs out to harass and intimidate them. The first problems (e.g. , the lack of the boat) should not be too challenging to accomplish.

Part 2: The Development / The Buildup
The protagonists actually embark on the adventure. This may include more advanced preparations, following up on the first clues, travel to the mission site, or the beginning of the run itself. The team will face increasingly powerful opposition, and start uncovering clues to what is really going on. It's called The Buildup because it builds up dramatic tension that gets resolved in the next part

Part 3: The Climax
This is the most action-packed part of the adventure, when the protagonists realize What Exactly Is Going On, or face down the Big Bad. Usually marked by a sudden change of pace and mood. Several climaxes are possible per story - you alternate between buildup and climax, each time building up more and more tension until the Grand Finalle. E.g., the multi-climax run may have the fight with the Big Bad, the escape and chase scene, and the double-cross by the Johnson. One cool thing to do is make the players feel they've taken down something bigger than them, and barely escaped with their lives. Hard to do, but you should see the high-fives when it's done right.

Part 4: The Aftermath.
The heroes either return to receive their just reward, or lay low and let the heart die down, or ride off into the sunset. A SR classic Johnson Doublecross can be played as a false aftermath, building up to the final climax and the true aftermath after that.

GM's Job:
Start with the story you want to tell. It can be "Corps are evil", "Magic is cool", "Matrix is even cooler", or just "I had MichaelBay-O's for breakfast and want to see stuff blowing up". Develop on that.
Figure out the protagonists' motivation, even if it's just "We want to complete Johnson's mission".
Create a suitable antagonist(s) to challenge the protagonists. Give him a motivation too - even if it's "I want to take over the word just for the heck of it."
Think on how can the protagonists accomplish their goal / thwart the villain's plans. Figure out what obstacles can the antagonist throw at them.
For each obstacle, figure out the likely ways to overcome them (and whether the antagonist thought of that too). Think on what help the protagonists may need - introduce plot devices and secondary characters as necessary.
Figure out the motivations for each secondary character. They will not help the protagonists just like that, each will have their own reasons to do so - money, revenge, or just plain goodness of the heart.
Be prepared for the players to thwart your plans. Improvise as necessary.

[AndyNakamura]

In your case, this will break down as follows:

Introduction:
The party meets the Johnson and gets the job. They will research the security on the ship. Double-O may ask for the copy of the file to research. He may contact the team with the specs and the description on what the file will do (which may be contrary to the Johnson's original description of a data-copy soft). They contact whoever has the boat and acquire it (ideas: down-on-luck fisherman / pirate selling his prize possession, tough smuggler offering a ride). They may also dig up some info on their Johnson (see below) - or the contact they ask for it will get back to them only in the last round of Development.

Development 1:
Sneaking / blasting / bluffing their way past the coast guard and the guards on the boat.

Climax 1:
Once on the boat, the characters discover it is loaded with vile-looking barrels. Investigating them, they find that the barrels are labelled as toxic waste. Putting two and two together should result in a moral quandary - do they complete the mission, or contribute to the pollution?

Development 2:
As the characters discuss the situation, they are discovered (if they did not blow their cover earlier) by no one other than the first mate / captain (who should also have access to the nav comp). An alarm is raised, and the runner team guarding the boat joins the battle. During the battle, the characters may overhear the opposing team mentioning their employer - same guy as the one who hired the characters - or recover a commlink with his description. Or, go with Khirareq's idea of an opposing team trying to save the ship.

Climax 2:
After an epic firefight, the team escapes to their boat. Whether they uploaded the virus or not, the target ship is badly damaged during the battle, and goes down in flames as the runners speed away from it.

Development 3:
The team's contact (Double-O?) gets back to them with the info on their Johnson. Whether he is a toxic shaman out to do his thing, or a corp exec staging an attack on the ship in order to dump toxic waste with impunity is up to you. He may even be a toxic shaman working for a corp! Either way, he sett the team up to take the blame for the attack, and how the characters deal with him is up to them.

Climax 3:
The team now needs to decide whether to take the money, or to cross Johnson back.  If they take the money, he will invite them to work with him in the future, implying that the characters are not too dissimilar from him (which should be smug and repulsive enough to make the players sick). If they decide to attack, a fight with him and his guards ensues.

Aftermath:
If the characters do decide to seek revenge, they may claim the bounty on the toxic shaman's head, or get a piece of corporate blackmail to wave around, or even both. Whatever they do, they now have to lay low as the authorities search for a group of terrorists matching their description.

This is shaping up as a cool plot. +1 with my respects, dude.

[AndyNakamura]

...MichaelBay-O's...

Exploding with awesome!

(I'll get my coat.)

[Operator]

...MichaelBay-O's...

Exploding with awesome!

(I'll get my coat.)

I think I've seen those before at the local store. They were $99.99 for a box, half of which was air.

In any event, I like both the original idea and the way it was expanded upon in this thread.

[Warmachinez]

Thanks everyone!

I will update with a brief overview of how te game went on Monday.

Cheers!

[Bastwolf]

I would say this is a perfect place to introduce a plot/ reoccurring Villan. He just so happens to be the owner of the boat (not the captain) and meets the group after they finish the mission (but does not stop it as he has no knowledge of the situation) and perhaps "saves" them from the crash (of course he survives).

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

Owner of a sizeable ship carrying toxic waste (perhaps to a cracking/cleaning plant) is not going to be on the boat in the first place, i.e. he's not going to be running any risk of NOT surviving.  Just a point.

However, it isn't a bad idea.  Your fellows may have been playing the same character for 3 or 4 runs, then dropping them in favor of another; you need to hook them into continuing.  While hopefully you've already done that, I'd suggest that the above-mentioned owner of the aforementioned ship be a corporation.  Feel free to have the Division head turn into their personal nemeses.

How?  I'm glad you asked.

• First, start small.  Hiring a couple of low-rent snoops to suss them out and report all the PC's actions to him is a great start.
• Next, give the PCS a reputation for the toxic ship run.  "Oh, you're the guys who assaulted that Poseidon Freight ship.  I got just the job for you ..."  Hire them to pull another run against his company - completely seperate, perhaps, but still - against his company.  Do this two or three times in the span of seven or eight runs - enough to be significant, to give them a rep as having a beef against Poseidon, but not so much that it's ALL the work they do.
• Next, have him start monkeywrenching their plans.  His snoops tell him of a run they're undertaking, so he sends a couple runners he has on retainer to screw with 'em - even if it's only alerting the security of the installation they're in the middle of infiltrating.  Make sure that during this time, you give them NO runs against Poseidon Freight.  Offer them one or two - runs that come in just as (or just after) they've accepted another job - but make it obvious that they can't do both at the same time.  (North side / south side, whatever.)  Their rep is still going, but other people have their employment for now.
• Let them get pissed against the retainer shadowrunners, enough to want to interrogate them instead of kill them.  This may take three or four runs, maybe less.  Make sure they don't get a chance for three or four runs, though, at least.  Let them capture the fellows then, and - in exchange for their life, wholeness of body and magic, and liberty - the guys will tell the PCs who their employer is.  If the players renege, let it get out - the fellows uploaded it to a dead-drop or something. Burn them for doing it if they do.  No contacts will talk to them, -4 point hit on their rep, +4 point hit on their notoriety, +4 hit on their public profile.
• Not the end of the road, even if they do that.  Smart runners will keep the runners-on-a-leash in lockdown while they do the next part - go after the Poseidon exec.  If it's what you want, feel free to have them whack the guy.  But ....
• ... Poseidon Freight is owned by another corporation, perhaps one whose owner has big sharp teeth.  Or one that plays with blood magic.  Or ... or ... or ...  Basically, it doesn't have to stop there.