[deek]

Normally, when I plan a mission, I build in a handful of unknowns.  For instance, say the run is to infiltrate a host for pay data, but the Johnson has info that the host is conducting tests/patches, so a terminal won't be online, but will still have copies of the files.  It is suppose to happen over the weekend.  I add a complication that the patches are taking place early, so if the runners don't discover than during Legwork, they can still complete the mission, but it will be a bit harder.

I'll add 2-3 complications for most missions, but none of them are going to ruin the run, just make it more difficult.  If the players spend a ton of time in Legwork, for things I don't really care about, I just let them get whatever info they want, as it doesn't really impact the mission.  Hopefully, I can move through that really fast instead of playing every mundane detail out.  My players usually get the drift of what's important and what is not.

[SoulGambit]

Good replies, thanks everyone. Question: Crunch mentioned office plants stopping mages. Can anyone point out where that is?

[Silence]

Look under Astral Projection.

[Crunch]

Good replies, thanks everyone. Question: Crunch mentioned office plants stopping mages. Can anyone point out where that is?

I'm not sure of where, or if, it's mentioned in SR5, but an Astral form cannot pass through another living aura. Given that Astral bodies have no mass and cannot displace even light physical bodies, one off the standard security measures for Astral securiy (from the Corporate Security book for 3rd Edition maybe. Great book mostly fluff) is to let Ivy grow over the walls of the building and encourage office plants and the like. At one point there was even a system that used Astrally Enhanced Bacteria to trap Mages.

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

Living auras - plants, animals, and people, even magically-active ones who aren't astrally active - can be passed through, as their aura is only an astral shadow.  Passing through it is like passing through a shadow IRL.  Only something astrally active - a dual-natured critter or plant, an assensing mage, or a mystic barrier - is 'physical' in the astral, and cannot be moved.

Corporations have taken to growing Awakened (meaning dual-natured) ivy on the walls of their corp facilities as a defense against astral intruders for decades at this point, and because astral forms don't have real mass (clouds of FAB being a sort of exception) the astral intruder can't get through.

[Carz]

Corporations have taken to growing Awakened (meaning dual-natured) ivy on the walls of their corp facilities as a defense against astral intruders for decades at this point, and because astral forms don't have real mass (clouds of FAB being a sort of exception) the astral intruder can't get through.

In 4th ed, anything that blocks an astral form has a barrier rating - and thus can be bypassed or fought. With the notable exception of the earth itself; and I suspect it does have a rating, its just impossibly high.

The older editions did have things living things with auras that blocked mages but could not be fought or bypassed.

[Xzylvador]

There's Glomoss that lights up when magic presence/activity is nearby, which can alert guards that something's going on and contact the security wagemage (to send a spirit for) for an astral look around. Iirc, it dies when it's triggered, though. So it'll need to be replaced regularily. Also random spirits or other astral things just flying past will trigger (and kill) it.

There's Awakened Ivy (Street Magic) which is grown to form walls. Requires some maintenance but it forms an actual astral barrier which, when projecting, can only be destroyed by astral combat. And when a mage does that, the plant rapidly decays, alerting mundanes that there's been a breach.
(I'm almost certain there's a second plant with almost the same function, too... Biofiber or something? AFB at the moment. If I remember, I'll try looking it up tonight.)

There's also the Guardian Vines (Street Magic), though I wouldn't recommend putting them anywhere your own employees would go. Their astral form moves around, though, so maybe you could put it in locked closets or something?

Haven Lily (also Street Magic) creates mana ebbs up to rating 3, severely weakening mages/spirits.

That said. None of these plants are selective. They'll hinder the company's magic security as much as they do enemy mages/spirits. It might be possible to come up with an attuned version of them, though, maybe them ignoring/only targetting a specific type of magic. It's not really RAW, but not too far-fetched neither imho. But this does create a potential security hole too if the magical infiltrators use (or pretend to with Masking) the same type of magic.

[Selach]

This is Shadowrun. Legwork is a big part of the game. They have skills and contacts. That being said, I put my players on a clock. Legwork takes time. It also can cause problems in the present and future. My last run featured the face agreeing to owe a favor to the head of the Vory for info. He will have to pay and I look forward to it.  Good legwork makes for great roleplaying. The matrix stuff can be handled quikly. But humint is slow and risky. If your players are enjoying the legwork, relax and enjoy it with them.