Shadowrun
Shadowrun Play => Gamemasters' Lounge => Topic started by: phydaux42 on <07-17-15/2117:15>
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I'm starting a new campaign with mostly new players. I have a few random runs lines up, but eventually I want the team to be on retainer with a single Mr. Johnson. Part of the campaign will be them gathering clues from the various missions I send them on as to the nature of their "actual" sponsor, who will, of course, be some big scary untouchable power figure.
Right now the big scary behind the scenes patron I have in mind is an AI who works for the Gemeinschaft Orbital Bank. The AI is trying to jailbreak himself, which is a huge no-no for a lot of reasons. Major opposition will be:
The Corporate Court Investigations Division, who will be investigating on behalf of the Gemeinschaft Orbital Bank and is simply looking to make sure that the AI has all support cut off and it goes back to skimming profits off the top of the global currency exchange
The Turing Police, a sub-division of the GOD, who is looking to gather evidence to prove that a high profile AI is going rogue. If they can do this then they will order the detonation of EMP grenades in the AI's hardware core, and that's something that the Gemeinschaft Orbital Bank simply can't allow.
Some megacorp, who will be looking to help jailbreak the AI just to that they can incarcerate it all over again, working for them. I'm thinking Mitsuhama, since they have yakuza ties and the Yaks feature heavily in my Seattle campaign.
Who do you guys use as your big scary behind the scenes patron?
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In my first campaign (as player, not GM) we had Lofwyr (my character called him Loffy, although never to his face). As far as big and scary goes, he's up there at the top. :)
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Currently I'm planning to get my players mixed up with "Fear the Dark" so Patrick if you are reading this, gimme more info! ^^
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It's shadowrun so anyone you work for is Evil. ;D
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"Big and scary" is only that if you don't want them. Hawatari worked for almost a decade to work to develop a reputation with which to draw the attention of Buttercup; The Wyrm and his team deliberately 'rang up' Arleesh and told her 'you need us working for you'.
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My runners are in Hong Kong and working for the red dragon triad ne lung
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Maybe not big and scary enough but I am using Arleesh as the person giving the final orders.
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In my campaign, the patron is Mitsuhama Research Unit 13. They are in bed with shedim, trying to find ways to bend them to their will. Of course, not everything is going as planned.
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I wouldn't call that to be 'in bed with', but I get your meaning. Sounds like Ares with the bugs ...
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"Big Bads" that I have used in the past.
An AI who had set up in a bust-a-move factory that was "in love" wuth a PC contact, thus saw the PC as a rival for the contact's affection. (Cue bust-a-move army hunting the PCs)
A free Spirit who believed that to become mortal he had to kill off a family line. Thus hired the PCs to track down and kill off said family line one by one. (And boy was it pissed when it didn't work!)
A troll hacker who happened to like small children. For dinner.
An Elf who "discovered" the secret to immortality.... an ancient blood rite that stole years from the victim and added it you performmer's life cycle.
A Land developer, who has been buying up the barrens and then wants to raze the area to the ground to get rid of the squatters and build an arcology.
A drake, looking to "free" other drakes from enslavment to dragons. (And thus enslave them to himself so he can rival the dragons in power! Muhahaha!)
An insect shaman. Hired the PCs to kidnap the hosts for inhabitation, as they had to be "special" (all adepts).
Billy. The technomancer 8 yr old. Who hired the PCs to deal with bullies at school. In a lethal fashion.
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An AI who had set up in a bust-a-move factory that was "in love" wuth a PC contact, thus saw the PC as a rival for the contact's affection. (Cue bust-a-move army hunting the PCs)
I love this. Has the bust a move been updated to 5th edition? What book is it in?
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An AI who had set up in a bust-a-move factory that was "in love" wuth a PC contact, thus saw the PC as a rival for the contact's affection. (Cue bust-a-move army hunting the PCs)
I love this. Has the bust a move been updated to 5th edition? What book is it in?
That was in 4e.
They thought it was cute. At first.
They got worried when the bust a moves got "upgraded". (Nothing fancy, just retractable claws).
They paniced when they gave up on melee attacks. They just started charging. With grenades.
All the while singing f@@ked nursery songs detailing their mutilation and death.
The adept reached a point he just attacked any bust-a-move he saw, any where in the city.
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The bust-a-move has fortunately not been upgraded. The empathy software was basically game-breaking.
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My current PCs are in the PCC, having fun with the Koshari in Las Vegas and Pueblo.
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What empathy software? If you were going to update their stats to 5E what would they be? Who doesn't love cute drone suicide bombs?
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What empathy software? If you were going to update their stats to 5E what would they be? Who doesn't love cute drone suicide bombs?
Stats that I would use?
Mostly 1 and 2s for the physical stats. They are toys after all, and not meant to do more then sing, dance, and act cute.
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I had the same big bad throughout my 2nd and 3rd Edition campaigns. I had used a lot of protagonists but the one lurking in the background up until the end was a Seoulpa Ring run by an Ork Ant Shaman. They introduced a new drug on the market and financed and up and coming street gang. His main motivation was to funnel money and arms to resistance movements in San Fran against the Imperial Japanese Occupation forces. Once he had the queen, they also went after Ares as well. They created a method of almost guarantying a good merge and went about replacing beaurocrats, corp suits, and mafia made men while moving towards their slowly divergent goals. Eventually I ran a game that had the runners uncovering a plot to smuggle Soviet era nukes into Detroit and San Fran. I ended my 3rd ed campaign with a run to capture the Queen for a dragon that ran an R&D lab for Ares. After the loss of his Queen, the Shaman, who was already old for an Ork, died of heart disease, a blessing for the runners.
In 4th Ed campaign, I had a master Shedim partner up with a militarized wing of Gao Fong in Hong Kong that culminated with an Astral Rift being created and lots of chaos. I then went through the Emergence plot line and had MCT as the big bad, who in a twist of fate, the PC's had to save a bunch of MCT Sararimen and their nemesis from a very unstable and powerful technomancer they thought was an ally.
I also love the idea of shadowy groups far behind the scenes, and I have had one that I have used since 2nd Edition and still use to this day. I LOVED Earthdawn, so I had to take one of their big bads and keep them in the 6th World. I have a modern version of the Cult of the Great Hunter filled with the rich and shadowy. My current favorite member is a Cantonese Blue Blood with no magical ability but has been a part of the Cult since he was inducted in his youth. I use them as a mirror to show the worst reflections of society. They eschew love for carnal pleasure, seek power for the sake of power, disregard compassion for weakness and are driven solely by their own desires. Awesome fun times!
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What empathy software? If you were going to update their stats to 5E what would they be? Who doesn't love cute drone suicide bombs?
For the record, Bust a Moves HAVE been updated to 5E stats, but their statline is buried in the fluff and tables deep in Stolen Souls.
The table with the stats is found on page 187.
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Thank you