[Phylos Fett]

Okay - what is your favorite opposition to throw against a team of 'runners? Do you prefer Critters, Gangs (or a particular one), Private Security (of a particular type), Lone Star/Knight Errant, a Megacorporation (or a particular one), or something else?

Let's hear what you like as a recurring theme, or even something that finds its way into every campaign you run.

[Joush]

Current game:

A Humanis offshoot that calls themselves Humanity First, they tend to wear red jackets, hoodies or at least a red lapel pin or tie. The higher ranked members tend to be well connected men with clean hands and good alibis, while they have middlemen focus on recruitment of SINless, disenfranchised humans from the sprawl with anger and desperation to belong to something in equal measure.

Armor vest and machine pistols are their favorite toys, many of their street level "soldiers" also carry a few doses of cram.

I like them because they range from little more then a vicious, raciest street gang up to slick political players. Their hate of magic, metahumans and 'race traitors' means it's easy for them to come into conflict, and their basic soldiers are disposable assets that don't spark a serious investigation if runners have to kill them. While the street smart SINless can come up with clever tactics, if they do something stupid or don't have much discipline with firearms, it's not a big deal.

Drones are also fun to use as antagonist, as nobody cares if they get killed and it allows hacker types to really shine. Relatively modest and cheap ones make a good encounter that will fight hard with no regard for self preservation. 


Even before Shadowrun though, groups of thugs, badly trained mercenaries / militia and others armed with sub machine guns or machine pistols were a common foe in modern games. Automatic fire from such weapons puts an impressive amount of fire out and can deal serious injury, but player characters with decent body armor can typically survive such attacks relatively well.

[nakano]

MCT and their Yak friends tend to be a pretty common one for me, based on a couple of factors.  Their hardcore 0 zone attitude makes characters hate them.  Add to that the traditional Japanese racism and the dislike grows.  Heap on top of that the yakuza ties and the presence of MCT Department 13 and you have a corp that my players love to hate, that offers me as the GM, many different ways of challenging them.

[Walks Through Walls]

For the big picture metaplots I currently have a vampire cabal (similar to the idea of Vampire the game's city groups), a toxic shaman group (though very behind the scenes still), and a soon to be free spirit they have interacted with. They also just ran into some bug spirits for the first time and this may become part of a bigger plot soon.

For the adventure to adventure runs it has mainly been against lower tier corporations though they just finished a run against MCT. 

[ARC]

Ghouls and Halloweeners.  Can't beat them in the month of October.  Nor any other month.  Need a quick baddie, Halloweeners or Ghouls.

[CanRay]

Honestly?  I think my group's greatest enemies were themselves. 

EDIT:  As I said once:  "You know, I could probably send you guys out for a can of Campbells Chicken Soup and you'd entertain me for hours."

[Crimsondude]

Yakuza, and specifically the Yak slavers.

Those were the games where the mission was simple: Kill everything in a suit. Whenever someone wanted to kill something and just blow off some steam we'd raid a bunraku den or transit warehouse. In one instance the Yaks had the poor idea to raid a run-down Puyallup Barrens building where an MPA cyber-adept was holed up. He led an especially ruthless counter-raid by the surviving friends and family of the women the Yaks took.

[FastJack]

Cyberzombies and Insect Spirits.

Yes, I'm a cruel and heartless GM.

[CanRay]

Cyberzombies and Insect Spirits.

Yes, I'm a cruel and heartless GM.

Stupid commute...

[ARC]

Halloweeners and ghouls are my favorite but I can go along with insect spirits.  Mason hates them with a passion.  I love messing with him.

[CanRay]

Let's see, Lone Star, dock workers, security guards, the Mousketeer SWAT Team (No, I'm not joking), Nuns backed up by a Crucified Jesus (Who got angry enough to get down and start beating people with it), the San Diego Police Department (A wholly owned subsidiary of Aztechnology), a legion of ComiCon attendees in Batman Costumes, Lone Star again, Halloweeners, Halloweeners and Lone Star at the same time, a scary Eurotrash German...  Trying to see if I forgot anyone...

EDIT:  Oh, right, a surveillance team they know was tapping their communications and they talked openly about geeking them in plain language, referring to them as a Government Agency (Actually they were a lower-paid subsidiary of Lone Star.  And they shorted out some electronics when that was just casually being discussed.).

[Crash_00]

A.) Insect Spirits
B.) Opposing Shadowrun Team
C.) Insect Spirits
D.) Lone Star/Knight Errant
E.) Insect Spirits
F.) Ghouls
G.) Insect Spirits
H.) Gangers (low-power with hordes of members in the barrens usually)
I.) Insect Spirits
J.) Elite Corporate Strike Teams

Yes, I love Insect Spirits that much. I tend to run dark and gritty games filled with just as much sheer horror as suspense though.

[Mystic]

Lets see...based on what my current group has done in the past...in no particular order...

1) The Triads and the Yaks (mentioned togeather because this group managed to piss them off at the SAME TIME!)
2) Knight Errant (local LEOs in my game)
3) The Mafia
4) The FBI
5) The 475 Slayers (local go-gang)
6) The Glass Breakers (local street gang)
7) Doc Wagon (don't ask)
Renraku/Red Samurai
9) Black Market human-slave ring
10) Blood Mage Cabal
11) Freelance hit-teams
12) Salvation Army (no, I wish I was kidding)

[Mason]

The Salvation Army? Really? Please elaborate on that one!

I like using corpsec and shadow denizens, with a smattering of spirits. In other words, I try not to make the opponents too out there except in special circumstances.

[CanRay]

*Sings "Onward Christian Soldiers" in the key of off*

Hey, in the Sixth World, the Salvation Army likely has a very powerful group of magicians and an artillery division.