[Zilfer]

Alright title somewhat decieving, this is from a DM perspective.

Tomorrow I'm probably going to DM shadowrun and i'm assuming the group will want to start where they left off. So currently, got a situation where they are trying to get a little revenge on a mage that got some of them arrested, (the mage also killed one in the hospital disguising it as a heart attack <.< I foiled that but law enforcement hasn't been able to track her down yet so ) I'll give you a little backstory

The DM/GM who introduced us to Shadowrun ran a mission where we had to find someone's missing Sister as well as someone else's missing lover had disappeared about the same time. The trail led us here, and if ended with us having to kill people who had been trapped below a floor. We first freed them from the weird pentagram floor that was wood, and then they started to attack like they were mind controlled. Needless to say these are teenagers and the like, my guy (Zilfer) would not kill them. Everyone else got their hands dirty after realizing we weren't going to get through this without doing something to these possessed people attacking. Well the one facing me was like a 16 year old girl so i opted to subdue her managed to do it long enough until everyone had killed the other 9 people attacking. (this guns and knives....<.< yeah the people i run with are vicious... xD poor Zilfer who has morals.) Anyways we tired her up along with my friend's(a PC) sister. They seem to come out of it and are now screaming that we killed people and where are they ect. <.< Really confusing so we go looking around the room because there's a barrier stopping us from continuign to explore the basement. I go down to where the people had been below the floor and search. Find a bone knife stabbed into the middle of a pentagram i pick it up and the barrier goes away. So those above continue on, see a figure throw a fire ball at them. (Well this should have been a hint in a thin hallway anyways) looks like he's got a young female on the bed and the shadowy figure pulls forth a knife. The drunk of the party (and luckiest... 8 edge and all) pulls out his gun quick draw and drops the guy. They rescue the lady and help her back to the main part. Well with all this gunfire going on downstairs someone heard and called the cops. I during this time had wandered to the room my friends had left to go check the body of "Lord Necrosis" (I should also mention the room they found him was through an Illusion'd wall that was down the hallway from the barrier so you couldn't see the room once you went in...) So I arrive as the police are breaking down the stairs to the place, and they are making everyone drop their guns, I find the body of the guy is gone. (So i'm thinking wow this is a clever trap) The girl off the table actually lives here, and is saying they were playing fun make believe. (backed up by the 2 survivors who seem to have forgotten everything that happened, and proceed to arrest everyone, the drunk had slipped down below the floor looking for something and I was here watching everyone get arrested through the wall thinking what i should do. (one of my first games after all and i'm just a semi ok Mundane gunslinger). So this Woman says "There's another one! beneath the floor!" So they go down and search for him and find him, because there were too many of them searching a small place the DM called that mr 8 edge and rediculous infiltration was still found. Almost impossible not to. So I think that I'm next in the arresting so I pull out my current favorite weapon, the Ares Viper Slivergun and point it at the back of her head just on the otherside of the illusion wall getting ready to knock this for lack of a better word Slitch's head off. Well she doesn't call me out so I wait for the police to leave and infiltrate my way out being the only one to get away.

Next session, this lady manages to find our friend who was "forgotten" in the hospital because of Erased, meanwhile one other friend was switching cells and had erased as well. (8 edge) So he used his one phone call to call his friend who was a swat team member? (something like that) Anyways he heads down to the station after hearing him say the "he messed up killing a few people" he gets there and he had been switched with someone who only had an DUI. <.< needless to say his friend got him out of jail and asked him to come over to the BBQ this weekend. XD (6 loyalty xD)

Well I have been searching for my friends trying to stay low, I even tried to sell that dagger but my smuggler friend saw it and told me that she wasn't going to sell it. So I went out to a blackout zone and destroyed the damn thing. (blast of evil energy probably just plot driven right there but cool I shot it with a pistol with like 10 extra hits on it blew up and sent me flying out of the alleyway. XD got the hell outta dodge then) I found the death of my Russian mage friend, before the string i had pulled for my dective contact. He called up told me info i already knew but i pushed him a little bit further. He told me the mage died from a "heart attack" told him that didn't match up with what put him in the hospital. A bullet to the back of the head doesn't cause heart attacks. He asks me if i'm sure, he could get into trouble digging any deeper and wanted to make sure I was sure about this. Told him i was, (rolled my knowledge skill I never thought would come in handy.... Human Anatomy/Biology can't remember which word i put for it) and reexplained why he wouldn't have had a heart attack and that i suspected foul play. He calls back thanking me, he got a promotion for that find, but they hadn't located the woman yet.... <.< Pretty much the end of that session was everyone escaping one person dying and me trying to evade anything that she might find on me.

Well next mission we ran into another pain in our side "Mountain that moves" <.< he's a troll so you get the picture. anyways long story short on this one, my gunslinger is now a "companion" to this dragon in this room that is highly magical and has a matrix interface. My character wise would want to be free however, even if he has access to things in Ares' Technology. (No i'm not the pet of Damien knight before you ask, I'm pet to a Dragon called "The Archivist" <.<')

So that DM isn't doing shadowrun anymore and I didn't want our first character's to just sit on the shelf, so I thought I'd take on some of the storyline on that so we could eventually use our characters. (mine is going to be a bitch to get out of.... An Ares' Headquarters, next to a dragon... for 13 years o.O' think Zilfer would be 36 when he gets out.) Anyways so I had the group meet with someone over the matrix on a russian server, offering 100,000 to kill this mage who they are familiar with. They took it up, I just want to make it dangerous enough for that amount of money. (Highest amount i think i've given for a mission thus far has been 30,000?)

So here's a little bit about the current mission that they've done thus far.... and what I have in my head.

Anyways, they found where she moved to. A high pent house in a 70 story building or so(I'm thinking maybe the Columbia tower in Seattle. Biggest building there currently IRL) Wanted to know what things you could throw at a group to make this session a bit dangerous. The person is a blood mage (I've yet to go over what that can entirely mean), and they appear to be from a wealthy family. Ironically (or at least i think so) this mage is got to be around 17-19 because when we first met this mage she was holding a party at her nice house which was like 5 stories.... o.O' and had a basement.... we're all the fun kicked in.

(Kinda did this post out of order... aw well my bad)

I'm thinking the group is going to try a frontal assault on this, first sneaking in and if that doesn't work blowing their way in. I'm not sure they'll do too much legwork on what she's doing currently, or how to give out that information in the first place. I had a vague thought that i'd be interesting if they found out she was holding a party.... a masked party so it would be hard to spot her.

I mainly wanted to know how to even the odds a bit for this mage because i know 1 vs a group of shadowrunners often doesn't work because focused fire = death in this game. I've also read a topic where you focus on one person at a time and play to their weaknesses.  (Thankfully they actually opted to bring a mage on this mission (I'm allowing one of them to play a second character)) In the end i want them to succeed but not that easily.

If they don't succeed I'll use this villian as perhaps a reoccuring one.

So Idea's thoughts suggestions? Also sorry the post is out of order and it may have information not prataining to the main subject. Thanks! Hopefully I get some responces before tomorrow, since I know you all are good brain stormers here.

[slapbetcommissioner]

A few very powerful blood spirits could gum up the works.   Maybe the mage is dating a highly competent street samurai or physical adept.   Perhaps she also pays the buildings security spider to keep an extra eye on her place.    In the end the group will still get her, but then you have the whole "wealthy family" revenge angle.   Perhaps she comes from a line of blood mages.  wah-ho.  Think of how that terrible "Next of Kin" movie would have been different if everyone had been a blood mage.

[Mirikon]

And don't forget the possibility that there might be competition. You bust into her lair, just as another team hits, and takes you for security...

[tzizimine]

Some things that any mage in SR that has been in the biz for a while will have or do...


1. A decent magical lodge. They are cheap, provide a ward from other mages and go into effect whenever the owner is inside. The size of the magical lodge is still dependent on the ward dimensions, but one thing all mages know is that other mages are a pain in the ass. So don't forget warding to protect from any PC mages


2. A summoned watcher spirit and one summoned other spirit at all times. Watchers are always Force 1 so they are easy and free to summon. Yes, they don't do much, but the mage is always aware of the spirit's condition so if the Watcher sees the party, it can warn the mage. If the party banishes the watcher, the mage knows anyway and is still warned. The other spirit is also free to summon and is more powerful, but can be a little heavy on the drain, depending on Force. And given that both go away and sundown/sunrise, the mage will need to re-summon them often


3. Bound Spirits: If the mage has the money, which isn't a lot, to bind spirits, they will. Give them orders like Guard an area, Conceal the mage, or Alert/Attack anyone that isn't supposed to be there (this last one requires some creativity as spirits aren't great on making choices due to lack of modern day context).


4. Wards: Again, mages will know that other mages are a pain in the ass. And so, the alternate wards from Street Magic, like Alarm Ward or Trap Ward should be placed as liberally as their Magic + Willpower, time and karma (if long term) will allow.


5. Mirrors and Line of Sight: Mages like mirrors and fiber optic cables, but only ones they control. If the mage has LOS through a mirror or optic cable, that gives them the drop on someone in the next room over. Just be careful with mirrors because that method of LOS, while easiest, works both ways.


6. Technology and Object Resistance: If there are things that the mage wants to manipulate magically in her environment, she will want a low Object Resistance (hand-made natural things). Likewise, if there are things that she doesn't want anyone to manipulate magically, she will want a high Object Resistance. A lot of this is based on the money she has access to, but even a basic commlink has a Object Resistance of 5, where a knife of beach glass is a 1.


Now for the blood mages...


Blood Mages need to (or really REALLY should) be initiated with the Sacrifice metamagic technique from Street Magic. Read the full entry but the basic concept is that if the mage has a willing or helpless target within reach when they cast a spell/summon a spirit, as part of the spell (no action), they injure the target and target takes the drain instead of the mage. Blood mages will have some living creature (or many living creatures) to use this ability on, so make sure your blood mage has some 'sacrifices' to use and don't be afraid of the overchannelling since the mage won't take the drain anyway.


Blood Spirits: See Spirits above, but realize that blood spirits are not natural or common so don't use them in places were anyone (i.e. local law enforcement) has a chance of noticing them.


Other tricks: Since blood mages are (usually) initiates, why stick with only one grade. Give her a few more for Masking, Extended Masking, Quickening, Anchoring or Invoking (probably not all, but 2-3). Where a regular blood spirit is nasty, an invoked blood spirit is out right mean.




All of this is based on the idea of the mage working mostly alone, which is never a good thing for anyone. Add in hired help / brainwashed servants / a security rigger with drones and the blood mage should feel safe in her abode. And worst case scenario, don't forget an escape plan. Every mage should have at least 3.

[beowulf_of_wa]

QFT and stolen for player guidance.

[Walks Through Walls]

A tactic that works well for a single mage against a group is send in a spirit to engage their magic user (and if possible get them to advance ahead of the others) then hit the rest of the group with an area effect spell. Stunball is particularly effective since it has a low drain. Now you can hinder several characters at once or even drop some and even up the odds some.

If you go with the mage being initiated using anchoring with area effect spells as the team approaches makes great traps (and also warns the mage). Also using an attack and fall back strategy can sting out the team to allow the mage to try and pick them off or slow them down so the mage can get reinforcements (In the form of building security, spirits or allies)

[Zilfer]

Thanks for the responces one and all. I lucked out and most people were busy this weekend. So now I get to grab some of your ideas and think on how hard i want this to come out to be. Hell with what Tzizi said about that blood mage metamagic feat, I think it will already be a much tougher battle, especially if I take out the mage they are bringing. XD This probably will be an interesting session, I just need to figure out the layout of this house now. Possibly the ground floors or some other floors.

That's a really nasty metamagic feat but I guess that's why Blood Magic is for NPC's only <.< (if i remember reading that correctly somewhere...)

The mirror bit will be interesting, that could make for a nasty zigzag hallway. xD

+1's to you all!

[tzizimine]

Yes, blood mages 'should' be NPC only. Sadly, they detailed exactly how it works, so some GMs would allow it, but there is a reason by the Big D put a bounty on blood mages. They are 'evil' in the truest sense of the term.

[Zilfer]

Yes, blood mages 'should' be NPC only. Sadly, they detailed exactly how it works, so some GMs would allow it, but there is a reason by the Big D put a bounty on blood mages. They are 'evil' in the truest sense of the term.

That was a Million dollar bounty if caught alive right?

[tzizimine]

I think it was dead or alive, because Big D knows no one is crazy is enough to try to capture one...

[Mirikon]

To further encourage an end to the use of blood magic by Aztechnology and other parties, I offer a bounty of 1 million nuyen on any blood mages captured alive and delivered to the Dunkelzahn Institute of Magical Research for the purposes of studying the effects of blood magic use on metahumanity. I further authorize the Draco Foundation to provide suitable rewards for the receipt of verifiable accounts of blood magic use, the rewards to reflect the usefulness of the information provided.

That's 1 million nuyen only if the blood mage is both captured alive, and delivered to the DIMR, still alive. Which means you have to take precautions to keep the mage from causing trouble as you transport them to one of their offices. I believe their only main branches in North America are the HQ in Boston, and a branch in Denver. Meaning if you're in, say, Seattle, you have to travel across several borders with a blood mage who almost certainly does NOT want to be where he is, and keep him from causing problems with your transport.

[tzizimine]

I stand corrected... still, I go with the shot/blast/cremate on sight with blood mages... seems safer that way...

[Zilfer]

They want revenge so i think they'll be going for the kill anyways and  yes... my games in seattle since i'm only an hour away from it.

[Zilfer]

I'm almost thinking I have too much firepower now against them with that draining to other people metamagic feat. O.o' I've played a mage outside of when I DM and I've dropped a whole room with a F12 stunball, in fact i've done it multiple times. If i could siphon off that to someone else that leaves quite a bit of firepower there... o.O'

Let's just say I think i easily have a few ways to make this a "close to the chest" battle through this nice top floor appartment/suite. o.O'

I also like the future hook of a family member or boyfriend or something like that coming back to huant them.

[Zilfer]

Can i set up a spirit to attack if a warning ward is activated? o.O'