[Glitch]

Greetings, all!

As the subject implies, I'm starting a new Shadowrun campaign (my first in about seven years), with new players (who have never played Shadowrun before).

I basically need advice on two points:

• Getting the characters together
• Cultivating and respecting the "feel" of the Sixth World

To address the first point:

I have four players, all of whom are good people who are invested in their characters. They aren't problem players in any respect: they don't want to hoard loot or abuse the rules. All they want to do is escape to the shadows for a few hours at a time, using a character tailored to their personality. Character creation was a dream come true: I asked them what they wanted to be, and they told me; I told them the best way to make it happen. I have no desire to mess with my players in any way, except perhaps by putting them in situations in which they must make some pretty hard choices.

Unfortunately, the characters are from vastly different walks of life, and none of them know each other! I need a way to get them all together that is not a ridiculously contrived coincidence. To that, end I will describe my characters for you (note that these stories are not necessarily finalized; some details are subject to change if the Shadowrun world does not permit them):

• A quiet, introspective, SINless young man named Daniel, who immigrated to Seattle from Aztlan and then went off the grid in Seattle's version of Central Park in response to a strong sense of alienation and dissatisfaction with society. Strong dyslexia prevents him from reading and writing, but he has a ferocious aptitude to learn (he basically learned everything he needed to know about survival from museums). Some of the things he observed in museums gave him an affinity for ritual; soon after, he heard the call of Wolf, and taught himself rudimentary sorcery with Wolf's assistance (his Sorcery skill is very low). With his magic and his horticultural, medicinal, and diplomatic skills, Daniel has accrued a number of contacts in the area, and he has become a respected, neutral figure on the streets: he's an equal-opportunity helper whose neutrality is even respected by rival street gangs. Unfortunately, Wolf demands a pack, so Daniel has turned his eyes to Seattle to find one.
• A UCAS FBI Agent named Elizabeth Presley. She is a Lion shaman and has access to a wide variety of useful skills, including abilities as an interrogator, negotiator, and criminologist. She is mostly used by the FBI to assense crime scenes in search of evidence (how?). Unfortunately, her work has become routine; she longs for adventure, but she hasn't yet learned the dark side adventure can take
• Hariko, young Japanese woman who works as a yakuza bodyguard. Her parents were killed when she was a child; their killer kidnapped her, took both her eyes with a hot poker, and then forced her to fight other children in an underground arena. Nigh-supernatural aptitude and will to survive allowed her to thrive there, but the experience basically stamped the sentimentality out of her. Her express goal is to deny cause-and-effect by living an unintentioned life, purely in the moment, without consideration of past, future, or morality (I should note that this is exactly opposite of the player; she is approaching this character as a challenge to play against type). Hariko's skill as a combatant landed her a job as a bodyguard for a low-level yakuza coordinator; her skill earned her both fame and cyberware, further augmenting her combat abilities. She refuses to use guns; her only weapons are her body, swords, and a compound bow. (I should note that I'm not sure whether or not Hariko is SINless).
• A teenage child who was abandoned by drug-addict parents. His remarkable memory contains a "map" of Seattle, including hot spots, safe spots, and places to avoid. Lots of folks owe him favors; he's neither strong nor skilled in a fight, but he knows how and when to run. He has some latent talent for magic, but he has received no totemic call or training in Sorcery or Conjuring (that will come with Karma).

As you can see, it's an eclectic cast. Besides getting these folks together (THAT will take some doing), my biggest problem is that all of them are altruistic (even Hariko's player -- she's gonna have to work HARD to play her character!), and thereby inclined to nuanced, progressive solutions.

But Shadowrun is not usually a place for nuanced, progressive solutions. Which brings me to my second question: how do I respect the world of Shadowrun? WellsIDidIt mentioned a spectrum from Pink Mohawk to Black Trenchcoat, and I want to respect it ALL.

My last experience with Shadowrun was seven years ago, and we were playing third edition (there were still deckers back then!). I've never read the books, and the only lore I have to go with is from the manuals (I also read the wikis a lot). To my knowledge, the Sixth World is defined by the following tensions:

• The private sector versus public needs: can megacorporations really provide for humanity?
• Various nationalist or quasi-nationalist interests: the Native American Nations, the UCAS, Tir Tairngire, and... Aztlan?
• The little guy (SINless or otherwise) versus The Man (in this case, The Man is usually corporate)
• The Horrors and their heralds (Insect Spirits, Shedim, Wraiths, and blood mages) versus those who are in the know and determined to do something about it (though they don't always agree on the means)
• Toxic Shamans as a manifestation of the need for environmental and spiritual reform
• The ever-present conflict between post-humanism and the loss of humanity
• The conflict between sentiment and survival
• Egalitarianism, respect for life, free will, and nuance versus black-and-white and conservative thinking[/lil]
  

If I'm correct (and I'm pretty sure I'm close), most Shadowrun campaigns will fall somewhere within the above net.

But that list doesn't tell me what it smells like on the streets of Seattle. It doesn't tell me whether the fashion statement of choice is tats and died hair or trench coats and sunglasses. It doesn't tell me what kind of tattoos are popular, and why. It doesn't tell me what Mr. Johnson sounds like when he talks. It doesn't tell me what a bar tender or a fixer looks like. It doesn't tell me what my FBI agent's office looks like, or what her daily duties are, or what clothes she wears. It doesn't tell me what a yakuza operation looks like. It doesn't tell me about life in Seattle's equivalent of Central Park.

In short, it doesn't tell me anything about daily life in the Sixth World.

In closing, then: how do I bring my eclectic characters together, and how do I bring them face-to-face with the hard edges of the Sixth World without frustrating them?

Thanks in advance! I'm glad the Shadowrun community is still alive and well -- to me, Shadowrun was always a gathering place for eclectic, subversive folks, a bright spot of hope in a world that seems more and more like a car driving at 90mph towards a brick wall -- and everyone in the car is laughing and talking about how fancy the car is instead of putting on the brakes.

Cheers, all!

[TheNarrator]

Interesting characters you have there. Sounds like the sort of protagonists you need for a great story.

Usually, Shadowrun is the easiest game in which to bring the player characters together. If they're all runners, then they're all told to work on the same job by a fixer. This group is trickier. The SINless man and abandoned child might decide to seek to make a living doing any work they can find in the shadows, and the yakuza bodyguard already works for criminals and might decide to go freelance, but the FBI agent doesn't seem likely to start doing crime for hire. (Unless she is, in which case we're back to the "a fixer sets you up" plan. Altruistic nature doesn't necessarily mean you can't shadowrun. Some runs involve helping people, outside the bounds of the law or on the down-low.)

One possibility is that the FBI agent needs some off-the-books help for a case, possibly because someone in power doesn't want the case solved, and hires the other three. Two of them have extensive contacts in the underworld, and one has a detailed knowledge of the city and could act as a guide. They can open doors that a badge won't. This could be an arrangement made through a fixer for nuyen, or they could already be aware of each other and just do it as an exchange of favors. (They may have things that they want from her as well. For instance, Hariko might want to see the file on her parents' murder.)

A more contrived method for introductions is just for them to be in the same place when something bad happens, and end up accidentally working together to deal with it. Two shamans (one a federal agent) and a street sam might decide to try to fight whatever this bad thing is, and the kid might show them a way out.

Also, if Daniel knows a lot of people on the streets, he might know the kid already. He might also know Hariko, or know of her. If Presley encounters Daniel in the course of a case, he might lead her to the other two.

Alternately, if Presely has to go see a yakuza boss as part of an investigation, Hariko might be there. If bad guys try to jump her on the way back to her car, Hariko could intervene, because "it would be an unacceptable breach of hospitality to allow a guest to come to harm after leaving."

Street people make good information sources. People don't notice them, but they're everywhere. Presley might see the kid around and trade him food and cash for the word on the street.

Anyway, those are the ideas I had offhand.

[Warmachinez]

The Narrator seems to have a buch of good ideas. I really support the "FBI needs street help" idea.

I also find that you have established a realyl nice list of concepts for your campaign.
•The private sector versus public needs: can megacorporations really provide for humanity?
•Various nationalist or quasi-nationalist interests: the Native American Nations, the UCAS, Tir Tairngire, and... Aztlan?
•The little guy (SINless or otherwise) versus The Man (in this case, The Man is usually corporate)
•The Horrors and their heralds (Insect Spirits, Shedim, Wraiths, and blood mages) versus those who are in the know and determined to do something about it (though they don't always agree on the means)
•Toxic Shamans as a manifestation of the need for environmental and spiritual reform
•The ever-present conflict between post-humanism and the loss of humanity
•The conflict between sentiment and survival
•Egalitarianism, respect for life, free will, and nuance versus black-and-white and conservative thinking[/lil]

My questions to you, in order to have a better idea how all of your runs will feel is to determine, which one of those concepts to you want to play with. To me this is the best and most important part of planning a campaign and rests completely within GM control. YEY!!! 

[Glitch]

Altruistic nature doesn't necessarily mean you can't shadowrun. Some runs involve helping people, outside the bounds of the law or on the down-low.)

That's actually something I was trying to avoid, for this reason: to me, Shadowrun is, in part, about moral ambiguity: sure, you might take on a shadowrun wherein you seem to be helping people, but more often than not, the run ends up shafting someone else -- like, say, Mr. Johnson paying you to run arms to rebels somewhere, only for those arms to be fitted with tracers to help Lone Star burn out the rebels (or some such). You get paid; they get dead.

I'd rather like the players to experience stuff like that. That way, if they choose to take up Robin Hooding, they do so based on their own experiences (and, in theory, with their own finances).

One possibility is that the FBI agent needs some off-the-books help for a case, possibly because someone in power doesn't want the case solved, and hires the other three. Two of them have extensive contacts in the underworld, and one has a detailed knowledge of the city and could act as a guide. They can open doors that a badge won't. This could be an arrangement made through a fixer for nuyen, or they could already be aware of each other and just do it as an exchange of favors. (They may have things that they want from her as well. For instance, Hariko might want to see the file on her parents' murder.)

That is a fantastic idea. I was originally planning for someone in the yakuza not wanting the case solved, but this works much better.

I'd like to know more, though. Specifically:

• What kind of authority, and capability, does the UCAS FBI have in the Sixth World? In the Fifth World, they solve crimes that cross state lines (more or less); what is their job in the Sixth World?
• What, exactly, is forensics like in the Sixth World?  I mean, assensing victims for traces of magical signatures, astral detection of evidence, things like that; but I haven't even begun to unravel the ramifications of magic, crime, and criminology
  
  • The FBI have traditionally opposed organized crime -- what is the relationship between the UCAS presence in Seattle, the yakuza, and the megacorporations?  The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?
  • What is the relationship between SINs, the UCAS, the corporations, and the yakuza? I ask because having a SIN means being "on the grid:" you can legally purchase food, education, health care, etc. And having a SIN is dependent on your parents. Of course, there's an extent to which having a SIN also means having to bow and scrape before the Powers That Be -- and a lot of people might prefer to eke out a living some other way, rather than wear the yoke of Good Corporate Citizen. Hence the black market -- for food, weapons, and health care. But where do the yakuza fall? Do organized criminals have SINs? The whole point of Shadowrunners being SINless is that they're deniable assets -- without a SIN, they don't officially exist; the corporation responsible for a bunch of runners who get caught can say, "People? What people? We have no idea what you're talking about!" But yakuza and other criminals aren't necessarily runners -- they break the law, but they probably still EXIST within the system. Or do they?
    
    You're right, though: information and food are alternative currencies -- and if it ever got out that Elizabeth was getting help from the yakuza, it might help to have the yakuza owe her a favor.
    
    Thanks!

[beowulf_of_wa]

Altruistic nature doesn't necessarily mean you can't shadowrun. Some runs involve helping people, outside the bounds of the law or on the down-low.)

to me, Shadowrun is, in part, about moral ambiguity:  more often than not, the run ends up shafting someone else

I'd rather like the players to experience stuff like that. That way, if they choose to take up Robin Hooding, they do so based on their own experiences (and, in theory, with their own finances).

• What kind of authority, and capability, does the UCAS FBI have in the Sixth World? In the Fifth World, they solve crimes that cross state lines (more or less); what is their job in the Sixth World?

same job description as current, possible addition of authority to investigate across national boundaries (though not necessarily recognized by other nations)
overall, same job and less power to do it, leading to an overwhelming feeling of underwhelming power. call it the constriction of the red tape boa.

[Walks Through Walls]

While they have the same authority in my opinion they have less power. I don't think they would legally be crossing national borders to investigate or if they did they wouldn't have any jurisdiction.

This is exasperated by the fact that the AA and megacorps have extraterritoriality so don't and often won't play ball with them. Because of the waning power of the governments as compared to the big corporations this has been made worse.

So while still important they aren't the big fish in the pond any more.

[Glitch]

...your description of the FBI as limited by the extraterritoriality of corporations actually makes my job a helluva a lot easier.

I mean, think about it: the fact that the FBI, which is under a legal obligation to investigate crimes that take place on UCAS soil, cannot investigate corporations for the single reason that they are, effectively, other countries means that the FBI will, by necessity, hire shadowrunners to get anything done against corps.

Of course, investigating corporations might fall outside the FBI's jurisdiction -- since each corporation is effectively a country unto itself, the FBI might only be charged with investigating crimes committed by UCAS citizens. Anything else would be basically a diplomatic, espionage, or military matter.

Hell, it could be a very simple equation from here:
1). Corporation messes with FBI character
2). FBI character cannot legally respond
3). FBI character either enters the shadows herself OR hires runners on the FBI's behalf (or her own) using a discretionary fund

Of course, that is a VERY loose plot. Needs moar substance.

Cheers!  Keep the ideas coming!

[TheNarrator]

Of course, investigating corporations might fall outside the FBI's jurisdiction -- since each corporation is effectively a country unto itself, the FBI might only be charged with investigating crimes committed by UCAS citizens. Anything else would be basically a diplomatic, espionage, or military matter.

Law Enforcement agencies have jurisdiction based on where the crime took place, not the citizenship of the perpetrator. Foreign nationals are only protected from local law enforcement if they have diplomatic immunity. If a suspect commits a crime in one nation and then escapes into another nation, then it becomes a matter of extradition, which means that the nation the suspect has fled to has to agree to turn him over to the nation where the crime was committed. However, many nations are notoriously reluctant to extradite their own citizens (i.e. Roman Polansky). More to the point, if someone wanted for a crime was hiding out in megacorporate territory, and they were in some way valuable to the megacorp, then the megacorp would likely ignore any requests for extradition. The offended nations might hire some shadowrunners to somehow get the suspect onto their soil so that they could arrest him.

Also, with so many police departments replaced by private security corporations, federal agencies are pretty much the only real cops left. There's nowhere else to turn for justice.

[JustADude]

Hell, it could be a very simple equation from here:
1). Corporation messes with FBI character
2). FBI character cannot legally respond
3). FBI character either enters the shadows herself OR hires runners on the FBI's behalf (or her own) using a discretionary fund

Of course, that is a VERY loose plot. Needs moar substance.

Cheers!  Keep the ideas coming!

Corporate type, someone high up on the food chain, does something horrible. As horrible as your group can stomach on an out-of-character level. The kind of horrible that makes real-world cops seriously consider killing the guy "while resisting arrest" when they finally get a chance to bag him and then, if he does live to go to prison, gets him stuck in "protective" solitary confinement because even normal low-life scum would be lining up to kill this guy.

FBI agent finds out but, because of jurisdictional issues... something like building it happened/happens in being owned by the corp, making it extraterritorial... they can't do anything. He's even told them "Yeah, I do it. And you can't touch me. So sit and spin, feebs." More appropriately worded, of course. This kind of taunting, as one might imagine, pisses the agent off like nobody's business. Enough to access files on known and suspected Shadowrunners, and make use of it.

They dig through the files and find a team to get the job done (the PCs, of course), and and make the approach. Cash money is low, given the budget, but probably comes along with goodies in the form of favors, or "lost" evidence.

[beowulf_of_wa]

cyrus the virus "playing" bernie madoff while a corp citizen of Aztechnology in Seattle?

[JustADude]

cyrus the virus "playing" bernie madoff while a corp citizen of Aztechnology in Seattle?

Nah, Bernie Madoff is scum, but he's just a financial criminal... Aztechnology is definitely the Mega to do it with, though.

I was thinking (if the group can handle it) of something more along the lines of human trafficking or other horrible violations. Specifically applied to children, if you really want to hammer home that this guy is a Complete Monster.

The reason I say Aztechnology is perfect is that, given how bad things are for people abducted and taken to Central America right now, in the real world... well, when you try to calculate "Dystopian Future" from it you can't get any more horrible, so you have to go "wider spread".

[TheNarrator]

FBI agent finds out but, because of jurisdictional issues... something like building it happened/happens in being owned by the corp, making it extraterritorial... they can't do anything.

Even if the crime happened in the UCAS, all he'd have to do is flee to megacorporate extraterritorial land, and he'd be beyond their reach. If he's a bigwig, then the megacorp probably won't extradite, and the UCAS probably isn't going to launch a commando raid into foreign territory to get him. But if shadowrunners extract him and dump him in UCAS territory, suddenly he can be arrested.

The reason I say Aztechnology is perfect is that, given how bad things are for people abducted and taken to Central America right now, in the real world... well, when you try to calculate "Dystopian Future" from it you can't get any more horrible, so you have to go "wider spread".

Not to mention all of the horrible things that Aztechnology already does in canon. You gotta get those blood magic sacrifices somewhere....

[Glitch]

Nice to see a fellow troper, JustADude -- I find it helps to know which tropes I'm playing with when I set up a campaign, since the more common tropes asymptotically approach cliche. =)

Also, thanks for the campaign advice -- I'm liking your ideas. Giving the FBI agent an incentive to dive into the shadows to pursue justice is a grand idea, and if her goals were in line with the yakuza's goals, then you have a recipe for "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Thanks to everyone in this thread for their contributions; any more ideas would be much appreciated!

[JustADude]

Nice to see a fellow troper, JustADude -- I find it helps to know which tropes I'm playing with when I set up a campaign, since the more common tropes asymptotically approach cliche. =)

Tropes are a great shorthand for conveying narrative meaning in modular, easily combined chunks.

In fact, I'd say they're a lot like Legos... you can make anything and everything out of them if you combine them right, and the more you have ("know" in this case) the easier it is to plug the right ones together to get what you want.

[GiraffeShaman]

Something that comes up in Cop/crime TV shows at times is the villian who is impossible to take down legally because they are an informant for some federal agency such as the FBI. It might be an interesting twist if  they found out that the big bad villian is being protected by her own agency, the FBI, say because they are a very important informant on some corp or syndicate.