[Denkiman]

Hi guys!

I am new here. Living in germany. Mastering a SR4 group. I would like to ask you for some tips to a specific challenge.

Yesterday we tried a new concept. The players characters care themselves for a run. They sit together and gather ideas how to make fast money and do all the following work. My job is to be prepared. I created a variety of characters and locations and constructed the links between those just while we where playing. It worked out. We had a fun time.
My players decided to abduct a female popstar to blackmail the relatives. They prepared well and it worked out. We had to cut yesterday evening because it got late at the point on which they entered the hideout for the celebrity. Now to my question to you.
I have got time until next tuesday to think about ways for lonestar and the husband to rescue the abducted one.
Further info for you. She is hold in the basemanet of an abandoned house in the redmond barrens, provided with a head com blocker and surrounded by bancircle (i don't lnow the english term. its the bubble that prevents being seen by magic).

Could you give me some inspiration?

[Sliver]

Well it seems that your players have taken all of the necessary precautions, but take into consideration how far the opposition is willing to go to get that girl back. Keep in mind their motivations, and be sure to add in a way for them to discover where she is being held.

Perhaps have the NPC's attack the PC's one by one and try and crack one of them down. Take advantage of every fuck-up that the PC's make, but don't take too much advantage. Their plans should work out in the end, but be sure make them work for their money.

[CanRay]

OK, they're in the Barrens, a fairly lawless place.  Full of homeless and SINless and other metahuman refuse.  Are they sure they weren't seen going into the building with a couple of trussed up bodies that they pulled out of the GMC Stepvan (Or did the Germans get a better version of *THAT* as well?)?  Don't forget that bums and hobos just blend into the background and are barely noticed by most people, Shadowrunners included, but they have eyes, ears, and contacts.  Sometimes those contacts are Shadowrunners themselves.

Information is currency in the Barrens.  Let's give an example:  "Honest" Harry the Hobo saw the group with the bodies, and is begging his Mafia Soldier contact for drink money when he hears about the abduction over the radio.  Instead of begging, he's happy that he can earn some honest coin and sells the intelligence about the group's movements to Tony.  Tony uses the intel to leverage himself higher up the food chain to his Caporegime.  Said Captain then confirms the intel with a few other contacts he and his Soldati has on the street (Is the group paying attention to what's going on outside?).  Hey, looks like he has a good possibility for some good work.  He talks to the Underboss for advice with this intel, and they decide to "Sell" it to Lone Star in exchange for some...  "Understanding" with the Parole Boards in Lone Star Prisons.  And thus a good safehouse with the best in technological and magical protection is broken by one guy seeing the wrong thing at the wrong time.  Social Networking, Version 1.0.

Legwork.  It's the cornerstone of Shadowruns as well, and is how the PCs find chinks in their target's armour as well.  It works both ways, however.

[James McMurray]

We just had a discussion about this sort of thing in our group. It boils down to this: if the team can expect to reasonably be able to find a target that's gone to ground, then other groups with the same or better resources can reasonably expect to be able to find them when they do the same. The reason they don't is that there's rarely any percentage in it for them. By the time a typical runner team is found they'll have already handed the goods over to a Johnson they don't know. It's better for the corps or the cops to put their effort into finding the Johnson himself.

Now, if the team is the Johnson because they're doing their own thing and if they still have the goods (in this case a hostage), then they'd better be pushing the timeline because sooner or later they're going to be found.

[John Shull]

Two quick things on holding the girl.  One if they are barricading themselves up in the barrens the locals, as mentioned earlier in posts, may take notice and sell you out.  If a protection gang or local mafia find out there is crime going down in their backyard, they will 'tax' the runners for the privledge.  They will also try to just takeover the job if the team is careless.  The team also should make allowances for magic tracking of the girl.  She may have magicians doing a ritual track of her.  They need to account for that. 

Lastly the hand off is tricky and they have to negotiate with the family to work it out.  If they have a negotiator working the job for them it will get harder.  He will want prooof of life and has a basket of tricks to control where and how the money is paid, tracking the runners, etc.  Payoff has a ton of issues to deal with.

[Sichr]

Check my PbP game...the basic concept is opposite: to find the boy that was kidnapped...but you can see how tem works and how traces are being assembled...they are no way too far now, still on the beginning, but just for inspiration...you can find link in my signature.
Good luck and please, keep us posted about further developement

[CanRay]

You should also be careful of what friends she might have.

[Sichr]

awesome....

[Cass100199]

Make them RP the "holding". Is she a diva? Is she sweet and nice? When a member of the team goes out for food, etc. Is he/ she checking for tails?

[Sichr]

Maybe even she could play her games on someone from the team

[Morg]

Play her out as sweet and kind get the players to love her try then have her corp sponsor say "Horizon" set up the meet have a sniper shoot her heart out and then film the runners standing around her body Horizon blame her death on street crime makes a spin off cop show. Horizon the runs with a memorial concert for her with a new star and some package music files honoring her memory then sweep it all under the table. Make the new star seem like a fabricated hollow replacement. example same dress style sings her music have her get body sculpting bit by bit to look like her twin. Play it up to get your players in an emotionally dark place and then have their fixer drop the name of the man responsible her husband and see where they go with that.

it's fun times for my players

[CanRay]

Make them RP the "holding". Is she a diva? Is she sweet and nice? When a member of the team goes out for food, etc. Is he/ she checking for tails?

GTA IV had a nice scene where you have to kidnap someone and deal with all her BS.  A guy that has gone through drek his whole life finds it to be one of the most horrendous things he's had to do...

[Sichr]

BS??

[Canticle]

Play her out as sweet and kind get the players to love her try then have her corp sponsor say "Horizon" set up the meet have a sniper shoot her heart out and then film the runners standing around her body Horizon blame her death on street crime makes a spin off cop show. Horizon the runs with a memorial concert for her with a new star and some package music files honoring her memory then sweep it all under the table. Make the new star seem like a fabricated hollow replacement. example same dress style sings her music have her get body sculpting bit by bit to look like her twin. Play it up to get your players in an emotionally dark place and then have their fixer drop the name of the man responsible her husband and see where they go with that.

it's fun times for my players

This is something I like. Not only does someone find the PCs, but they kick them until they are down and its not until all their wounds are covered in salt that they get a moment to see if they can break out of the closet. Kudos to you sir.

[Cass100199]

BS??

Bull **** [manure]