[Mmurphy]

I know what my outcome is going to be (but if someone comes up with a better one, I can change my plans):

So a group of 3 shadowrunners (sam, adept, and mage--mostly investigative).  A fixer calls the adept with a potential meet-up if they are willing.  The runners meet a single man, mid to late 30's in an abandoned warehouse (in the warehouse district of Tacoma).  The man wants the runners to kidnap a target; Mr. Johnson (who's manner, talk, and dress is that of a police officer) does not know if the victim is willing or not and offers them a photo (5 years old) and a name (no other information). He also gives them a key to a safe deposit box in a downtown bank with instructions that the payment for the run is within the safe deposit box and can be viewed at any time but not withdrawn for 48 hours.  The runners agree to the terms.

Using a hacker contact, one of the runners gets information on the target (Dr. Wheeler, female, human age 41) and on Mr. Johnson.  The hacker is able to determine that the target works for Appletime Robotics and where their offices in Seattle are located.  The hacker also determines that Mr. Johnson is an FBI agent currently on administrative leave pending a psychological evaluation and is missing from the DC area.  The FBI has put out a large 'finders' fee for said Mr. Johnson (the FBI does not come right out and state it, but implies dead is preferable).

The runners stake out and then break into Appletime building.  The building turns out to be an illegal medical experimentation facility.  Each room has 1 human patient and 2 ghoul patients interconnected with wires and IV tubes.  The doctor is guarded by 4 roving guards.  After a brief fire fight, 3 guards down and the Dr. unconscious, the 4th guard follows protocol and sets the building on fire and sets it to explode (the place was performing illegal operations) so no one can trace what was going on (that is/was the assumption).  The runners escape and start transporting her to Mr. Johnson.  As they get closer, 4 black SUV's rush past the runners (in their own car) and the runners think the FBI is getting close to Mr. Johnson so they call the number given to warn him.  Unbeknownst to them, this group of SUV's is the backup FBI squad and Mr. Johnson is dead.  About 10 seconds after getting off the com-link, one of the SUV’s makes a hard 180 and starts to come back to the runners who then in turn make a 180 and attempt to run.  The mage has no spells that can influence a car and the FBI has a rigger and mage in their car.  The runners decide to ditch the car and get away on foot.  The sam is carrying Dr. Wheeler (still knocked out) and runs into an abandoned building.  The FBI mage (in astral) follows the sam (easier to catch a target that is carrying someone).  The sam escapes through the sewer (and kills Dr. Wheeler in the escape but does not know she is dead) and makes his way to a doctor contact.  After looking at  Wheeler, the doctor contact said (and I quote) “she’s dead Jim”.  The doctor contact then drops unconscious as well and about 10 minutes later wakes up and attempts to kill the sam; who ends up killing his doctor contact as he has the wrong bullets in his gun (at this point the sam calls the other runners in a panic).  A bit more happens and the runners determine that Appletime is a front for Winternight and Dr. Wheeler is implanted with a nano-hive that allow the Nanites to ‘control’ a dead body using electrical currents to stimulate the muscles, in effect turning the dead into zombies (and the Nanites can infect the living, killing them too). 

At this point the runners say “well, our Johnson is dead, and our target is dead; the job is done”.  This leaves me with Winternight still in control of the tech that makes nanite-zombies and more than willing to use it.  There is more, such as a field reporter trying to move up and out of Seattle, the head FBI agent being a winternight agent and having him plant evidence against people (including the runners), but that is not important.

After all this, the question is, would you have Winternight unleash a nanotech-zombie plague on Seattle? 

[Katrex]

Seems a little beyond the capabilities of nanites, especialy since they dont replicate, you need a nanohive. They can maybe move from one person to another, but a plague is a bit rediculous. So my answer is no. But it's up to you.

[Mmurphy]

Maybe I should clarify.  The zombies have the hive, they just attack and infect (then the Nantes die in both).  It would be more of about 1 hour of terror; kinda what I envision Winternight doing, striking fear then disappearing.  Only the bodies with the hive would be a 'zombie'.  This is where the ghouls came in, the ghouls have some type of magical agency that allows the mix of magic and technology to work (kind of like how a nuke goes off in Chicago but does no damage).

[Katrex]

Hmmm, Well it could be interesting, just dont make it a big thing have the charecters sleep through it report x number of deaths. Just to sorta say, yep you dont have to do everything but this is what happens. Some charecters wont care others will could be interesting to see how people roleplay that over fighting a bunch of zombies.

[Mithlas]

I would think that you could do the same kind of thing with a bio/chem weapon of some kind - there are regions of the brain that regulate aggression and impulse, as well as those that help us differentiate people and concepts. If you can get a cocktail or bacteria that can damage those specific areas then you can get some viciously mean enemies with no concept of fear or holding back. Personally, I think those would be likelier than the nanohive option (namely because of cost - nanohives are $10k per rating per hive), but a disease can be the gift that keeps on giving...

[lurkeroutthere]

Honestly, winterknight doesn't think small time. One city isn't enough. If they are compromised in Seattle they will move their operation elsewhere especially because even with nanotech they'll presumably need to prepare further before swinging things into high gear.

Also at the risk of sounding harsh it sounds like you've got a bit of. "The runners didn't do what I intended for them to do and heroically fight on against the evil cult without getting paid, so now ghoul apocalypse." I would curb that impulse.

[Reaver]

meh,

Action/Reaction effect.

with no real reason to go on, I understand the team dropping the run....

As to what happens... time to do the big "gloss" effect. let tehm hear about a string of random attacks by people going nuts in the area where the run fell apart... then a few days latter that it appears to be some sort of bio weapon... then a few days later some more info.


But the run is done, time to move on to the next one. All you are doing is giving your world some color and flavor, not trying to punish the players.