[SamTwist]

Good day to all!

Based on your experiences, is it best to handle Shadowrun games as a contract to contract basis for the players or to develop an overarching storyline in the long run?

I was caught off guard in my last game, I had one of the players background catching up with him to make the story more compelling, but one character/player didn't want to be involved because there was no money in it for him. I didn't want for him to sit around the table doing nothing the whole evening so I improvised a run and left the mystery and everything I had planned on the side to use in a later game.

[Csjarrat]

i find it varies massively from group to group. some players like the long story arc with recurring characters, some like to just do the job/get paid/go home.
I would sit down and talk through it with your players and come to some concensus. if you're all pulling in different directions then your game wont last very long.

[farothel]

We have those 'background' runs for all players, so even if there's no money in it for one player, it means that if you help the others with their problems, you will get help when yours catch up with you.  Maybe do a run like that with background of the player who had problems with it first and if you do one for one of the others and he doesn't want to join in, remind him that the others did it for him and that he owns them a favour for it.

[The_Hyphenator]

I like to work individual PCs' backstories into a campaign. I find it helps encourage players to make specific choices about who their characters are, and it allows for some good roleplaying. I also make it clear from the get-go that I'm going to be working everybody's character into the story somehow, so that way when one PC is spotlighted, the others are more willing to play along so the others will return the courtesy when it gets to be their turn.

[Poindexter]

Don't give the merc a choice.
When dude A's problems show up, have em show up with guns.
whether there's money in it or not, Dude B is gonna have dude A's back, cause of the whole, not-gettin-shot thing.

[Reiper]

Don't give the merc a choice.
When dude A's problems show up, have em show up with guns.
whether there's money in it or not, Dude B is gonna have dude A's back, cause of the whole, not-gettin-shot thing.

I can usually tempt my teams with loot, even the mercs.

[MachineGunBallet]

Figure out what kind of players you have.  If you've got a crew of gun bunnies, they aren't going to have fun with a thinking adventure.

[Wavefire]

1.   Inform the players what kind of campaign you'd like to run and ask if that seems fun to them. If Yes go to 2. If No go to 5.
2.   Run the campaign as you'd like it, if one guy doesn't want to help the others unless paid let him sit out that night and face the social consequences from the rest of the team.
3.   Try to involve hesitant players by making a few evenings about them, makes everyone identify more with their chars.
4.   Have recurring NPC's. Buying a gun is always fun, getting a deal from the fixer you helped 6 evenings prior is awesome.
5.   Run one offs until either you or them get bored and then have the conversation again.