[Ryo]

Shadowrun is a fantastically lethal game, where one false move can lead to a world of pain for a player that has not yet learned the importance of common sense in the shadows. So I was thinking it'd be really helpful, for old GMs and newbies looking to run a game alike, to construct a list of things that they can use to really put the fear into their players, and make them actually think before they act.

To start us off, I can't help but go straight to the Sympathetic Detonation rules in Arsenal, which cover a set of guidelines for having a set of explosives triggered by an unrelated explosion, resulting in a chain reaction of DV bonuses and chunky salsa. Got a trigger happy street sam walking around with a bandoleer of high explosives strapped to his chest? Well put one well placed shot with an Explosive round, or toss a grenade anywhere in his general direction, and laugh maniacally as he paints the walls with his gooey innards.

[Crash_00]

Knockdown, Falling, and Good Cover.

One of my favorite Sec. Force Tactics non-lethal tactics is to have the three armed with SMGs wide burst gel rounds at a target followed by the one with a shotgun putting a narrow burst of gel rounds into them (I rarely use SnS on my NPCs just because I don't like the fun factor of it). Combined with a +4 DV called shot and possibly some edge, this will usually eat enough reaction or dodge out of the players pool to send them on their ass. Being on your ass is a bad thing in a firefight, unless you're on your ass behind cover.

Falling. Being on your ass is bad, but getting knocked down somewhere treacherously high is even worse. I don't even try to get characters while their in unbalanced situations, but its amazing how many times they decide to botch a job while hanging from that fire-escape or free climbing the ferris wheel. One ten meter fall will turn that frown further down.

Good Cover. A +4 to Reaction for defending against attacks is enough to put a normal brute into Why Won't He Just Die territory. To top this off, when players see a group moving in tactically sticking to good cover, they know its going to be a better trained group of hostiles as well meaning there's one hell of a fight brewing.

[Ryo]

Suppressive Fire.

How do you even the odds between a tweaked out Street Sam sporting 4 passes and the gangers with their measly 1? Get them behind cover with their full auto SMGs laying down some suppressive fire. Anyone caught moving through the field gets to roll Reaction+Edge or catch some bullets, and the field stays suppressed until the shooter's next action phase. So your one IP ganger can keep an area protected until the next combat turn, for only 20 bullets, while your fully wired players have to hug cover until its over.

And while we're at it, Monofilament Trip Wires, for the shadowrunner who doesn't look before he leaps. Remember kids, Perception Checks save lives!

[JustADude]

Suppressive Fire.

How do you even the odds between a tweaked out Street Sam sporting 4 passes and the gangers with their measly 1? Get them behind cover with their full auto SMGs laying down some suppressive fire. Anyone caught moving through the field gets to roll Reaction+Edge or catch some bullets, and the field stays suppressed until the shooter's next action phase. So your one IP ganger can keep an area protected until the next combat turn, for only 20 bullets, while your fully wired players have to hug cover until its over.

And while we're at it, Monofilament Trip Wires, for the shadowrunner who doesn't look before he leaps. Remember kids, Perception Checks save lives!

Of course, that 4-IP Street Sam, given that he's bought a Rank 3 IP Booster, is probably going to have enough Reaction + Edge to dance through that hail of bullets without a care in the world and plant one in the face of the guy holding down the trigger.

No, what you have to do is use many Gangers with overlapping fields of suppressive fire.

[Ryo]

Suppressive Fire.

How do you even the odds between a tweaked out Street Sam sporting 4 passes and the gangers with their measly 1? Get them behind cover with their full auto SMGs laying down some suppressive fire. Anyone caught moving through the field gets to roll Reaction+Edge or catch some bullets, and the field stays suppressed until the shooter's next action phase. So your one IP ganger can keep an area protected until the next combat turn, for only 20 bullets, while your fully wired players have to hug cover until its over.

And while we're at it, Monofilament Trip Wires, for the shadowrunner who doesn't look before he leaps. Remember kids, Perception Checks save lives!

Of course, that 4-IP Street Sam, given that he's bought a Rank 3 IP Booster, is probably going to have enough Reaction + Edge to dance through that hail of bullets without a care in the world and plant one in the face of the guy holding down the trigger.

No, what you have to do is use many Gangers with overlapping fields of suppressive fire.

It isn't that easy to avoid suppressive fire, but yes, if your wired sam is so slick that he can dance around bullets, that's what the overlapping suppressive fire fields in War! are for.

[beowulf_of_wa]

their own caffeine fueled idiocy, combined with the tired/bored/frustrated GM, which leads to halls full of monowire grids, firelance turrets in mirror halls, dragons on crack in the barrens, and cthulhu in a tea cup.

[Lethe]

1. If they don't work clean, let the police have a profile about them.
2. If at any point they are too obvious in their doings, let a profile specialized SWAT unit arrive that is able to take them out.
3. Use fire attacks and let their ammo clips explode, if they carry too much stuff with them.
4. Have MAD detectors at every corner.
5. Let the sammie get used to cyber-safety and the mage to mage masks.
6. Let the enemies be very stealthy if appropriate: ambushs!
7. If they step out of line at any point, send in the SWAT team again.

At the end of the day, they will be afraid to leave their safe houses at all. Wait, they don't have any.....

[Mirikon]

Flyspy drones that spray a mist of stealth RFID tags.

Bugs

Fights in a chemical plant over large vats of suspicious goo

Bugs

Toxic mages

Bugs

Aztech Reprisals

Bugs

Blood mages

Bugs

Dragons

Bugs

[JustADude]

Flyspy drones that spray a mist of stealth RFID tags.

Bugs

Fights in a chemical plant over large vats of suspicious goo

Bugs

Toxic mages

Bugs

Aztech Reprisals

Bugs

Blood mages

Bugs

Dragons

Bugs

I think you forgot "Bugs". 

[The_Gun_Nut]

My wrath.

[Crash_00]

I think you forgot "Bugs".

Na, they're there. He just didn't put enough emphasis on them is all. I think there should have been two bugs per other listing. That definitely would have put them closer to how fearful players should be of them.

[beowulf_of_wa]

hell, we've all forgotten the most feared item in the world of Shadowrun.

NERPS!!!!!!!!

[farothel]

You're all wrong.  What players should fear is a GM with an overactive imagination. 

[Unwirklich]

There are so many ways to turn environment into hazard.
Weather. Slopes. Trees. Ice. Botanical warfare.

[CanRay]

You're all wrong.  What players should fear is a GM with an overactive imagination. 

A bored GM with...