[TX_DM]

I'm thinking of getting involved at my local game store and trying out being a Shadowrun Agent but I've got to know...

Are these standard Shadowrun style adventures?

i.e. You meet Mr Johnson, you steal/kill/extract the data/item/guy from the corp/gang/tribe then, the module raises stakes on you that it's all really to save the city/race/world/president/some kids and you have the standard finish of honor vs greed, you get the bonus karma or the cash, but not both.

I'm not trying to knock the old format, but there are other options rather than this, and I would like to know if the official material is exploring those options before I spend money and time on Modules.

[Valashar]

Missions adventures follow a fairly standard intro/legwork/job+complications/payoff format. Some of them have a few curve balls thrown in just to give the PCs something to react to (such as coming across an unrelated kidnapping on their way to a meet... do they ignore/help the victims/help the kidnappers), and sometimes the adventure includes multiple small, interconnected jobs for different Johnsons (Season 5-01 is like this).

The reason that they keep this format for Missions adventures is that they are all meant to be run inside a span of 3.5-4 hours (the length of a standard convention time slot). This length of time also works well for those Agents who run events at their local shops or conventions for whoever might want to give the game a try. That way neither the prospective players or the Agent needs to commit to either a long evening or multiple sessions to complete an adventure.

Now for those GMs who wish to use Missions adventures in their own games without the need for keeping things within an allotted time-frame, each adventure includes way to stretch it out somewhat or crank up the challenge.

[Michael Chandra]

The seasons also follow a developing storyline, for example in Season 4 0+1+3+5+7+9+11 were Ork Underground and 0+2+4+6+8+10+12 were Artefacts. Given the Corp contacts and other contacts for Season 5, my theory is that Season 5 will also be running two storylines, one dealing with Corps getting their hands on intel and/or land rights and one dealing with other things.

Though the CMPs they're currently releasing for non-convention LC games for SR4+SR5 (Sprawl Wilds and Firing Line) are solitary missions, though some do have ties with a few metaplot lines. For example, Carbon Copy is part of the Copycat Killer + Silver Platter (SRM04-05) + Carbon Copy line and features Sybil at its finest, whereas Ashes CMP and Ashes Sprawl Wilds are both part of the Ork Underground storyline.

Let's do a quick analysis of a few random ones.

Brothers United: You are asked for help by a Chicago veteran who wants help investigating the creeps he's getting. You check out a school, figure out who's doing what, figure out who the bad guys are and follow them to their nest, then find out it's an actual nest and end up having to kill bugs and stop a Queen ritual. Afterwards, you can either destroy the artefact they used or sell it to one of the 4 corps.

Manhunt: A former cop was helping a guy investigate strange animal deaths near a farm in the Barrens. They were attacked overnight and now need supplies and backup. The runners go there in a gang convoy and start digging around for intel, then during the night the attack begins. They can figure out what exactly has been going on, or find out partially, and even have the option (though it's not written explicitly what that gives you except notoriety and needs errata) of selling someone out.

Assassin Nation: The party is hired to break into the District Attorney's home and score some info. When they get there, they find the DA and his wife killed and the cops on their way. As they run, they find out they've been framed not only for the murder on the DA and nearly every single Assistant District Attorney (save the one), but also for killing everyone at a meeting from a Pro-Prop23 organization. They can get some hints from one of the news channels or go at it themselves. They find the Johnson but he gets shot up and they have to defend themselves for a short while, then the cops arrive. Tosh takes them in and lets two witnesses confirm they're innocent, then the real plan is exposed and they get to bust the ones responsible and clear their names.

[TX_DM]

Of all those adventures listed, the Assassin Nation one actually sounds well thought out and interesting.

I can see why they need to keep the time limit to a certain amount of hours but surely a playtest or two would get that sorted. If it doesn't, then as a GM you can just slow down or speed up the narrative as required.

Looking at Assassin Nations' plot summary that's immediate character investment right there.

BAM you're blamed for killing a major public figure, the cops are not going to rest until you're brought in, dead or alive.
However, it can annoy players to get stuck on a roller-coaster ride through a barrens adventure that lacks options. I like this
kind of adventure as a DM because when players are invested, there's better roleplay and gameplay in general. When people
are annoyed about plots on rails, that's when they randomly shoot Mr Johnson or toss a grenade out on the freeway for fun.

As a player it's annoying to get into an adventure that you can see the end coming from a mile away. At that point it quits being
a game and becomes MST3K at everything the DM says.

Anyways, thanks for the replies, I appreciate it.

[Michael Chandra]

Don't worry about that, the twists in Missions are rather hard to spot whenever they apply, whereas sometimes there's really no need for a twist but it all simply depends on how well your plan goes. For example, SRM04-01 is a simple snatch-and-deliver drop involving a senator, in Free Taiwan the Johnson is a fake trying to frame the real thing as an April's Fools joke, while Burn is a simple investigation job.

[TX_DM]

I remember way, way WAYYY back in some old days when Cyberpunk 2020 was played at cons and Maximum Mike occasionally ran one or two of those games.

(If you don't know about those days, that's okay, they were a long time ago, as in pre year 2000)

Back then what we did at conventions was the DM brought a set of pre-gen characters and the DM made the adventure. He wasn't responsible for bringing snacks, but making sure to fill his time 'block' which usually consisted of 4 hours, table cleanup and submitting the results of the game, results like who was the best roleplayer and why. Then, those results would get totaled up and players might get trophies and the like for good Role Play over the course of the convention and the like.

Quite obviously I haven't run a convention game in a while.

Now it looks like the players make the characters, the company makes the adventure, and the DM role is more of a referee and mediator than anything else. After the game is complete, players and DM's do karma changes to characters as applicable and claim their Living Campaign rewards, on the honor system.

I'm just making sure that I've got the right idea for what the Living Campaign is and all.

[Michael Chandra]

That sounds about right. Of course the GM also has to improvise and adjust. Debriefing logs are signed by the GM by the way.

[Timothy M. Patrick]

Another thing to note on running events at a store as an agent you do not have to run missions you can run anything you dream up as long as it is open to the public. Missions work because they are part of a shared universe where the players can influence the story. I hope you get things going as always contact Ray Rigel at sinthalix@yahoo.com for more detailed questions.

Hope to see you aboard soon