...except Mirikon, he's going to steam roll everything I could throw at the team because he's basically a power house. As for screwing with the character in other ways that is really really hard to do in game on a run...
Serious, I've been sitting on this post for a while, because I'm not sure how to write it in such a way that doesn't come off as preachy. That's not my intent; I'm just trying to help you get past what appears to be a major stumbling block for you. I've been having fun in this game, and I think you can be a great GM--but you seem to periodically get caught up in the mindset of "damage = danger", which limits your approaches to things.
Tach is a really strong character in a straight-up firefight, sure; his potential damage output is scary. Rybka's social interaction skills are equally out there. And
this guy, from a new game that you're starting up, has a ridiculous armor pool; how you're going to scratch him at all is beyond me. My point is that SR characters (heck, characters from pretty much any RPG out there other than Mouse Guard) are generally over-powered compared to standard opposition. Add them together as a team, where everyone's weaknesses are matched by someone else's strengths
1, and it can be a real challenge for the GM to come up with a realistic situation which actually contains some level of challenge for the characters. It's relatively easy to respond to a strong team by strengthening the opposition, increasing their numbers and/or giving them better equipment, but that approach can also come across as ham-handed.
A more challenging response, though ultimately (in my opinion and experience) more rewarding for players and the GM, is to come up with situations for the characters which play off of their weaknesses. Give them a choice where the "correct" answer isn't obvious (I think you were doing this well where we weren't sure about whether to hand the book over to Mr. Johnson), or where a character's natural tendencies (based off of their qualities & backstories) would lead them to do something which might not be to the team's benefit
2. These are the moments where good roleplaying really shines out, and can lead to some very intense situations
3.
And you don't need to wait for a break in the combat for pulling something on a character--in fact, sometimes the danger can be amplified by doing something in the middle of combat. For instance, how would Tach have responded during the diner brawl if he'd gotten an alert from his warehouse's security system about a potential break-in? Or what would have happened if the goons had aimed a directional jammer at his tank drone (instead of the anti-vehicle missile)
4?
All that said, I am really sad to see this game fall apart. I was having fun, and the roleplaying was great
5. Maybe we could take a few days, catch our breaths, and start back up (potentially with a wave of the GM's hand to change the scene away from the diner)?
1 Of course, if you manage to get the team to split up....
2 Hank had a couple moments like this--first, when he tried to go solo against the gangers who were spying on them in the warehouse, and then when he tried to run away from the diner with the book, leaving his teammates to find their own ways out of the mess.
3 I'm really curious what the team would have done if Hank had gotten away......
4 Remember, as an AI, he uses his sensors to see, in addition to controlling all his drones; this could have ended up doing more damage than a missile ever could.
5 I liked the sexual tension between Smiley and Rybka, and agreed with Hank that the two of them could cause real problems if they couldn't keep their relationship professional. And having a big bumbling troll for my elf to play off of was fun. And Tach's tri-d induced paranoia had lots of potential...
