[raggedhalo]

So, as I said here, my current table is on hiatus due to some interpersonal problems between two of the players.  I've put together one three-player (plus me as GM) campaign pitch for half the table, and another one for the other half*; I'd really like it if you fine people could give it the once-over and give me your feedback.


Influences:

TV:   Alias
Human Target
Spooks
Film:   Bourne series
Collateral
Haywire
Mission: Impossible series
Ronin
The Transporter

Concept:

I’d like to run a Shadowrun game influenced by the above, where the PCs are a team of highly competent, highly resourced and highly supported “intelligence contractors” (read: salaried shadowrunners) working for Aegis Cognito. Your characters will receive their assignments from their AC handler, along with all necessary intelligence dossiers and high remuneration, in exchange for a high success rate and total confidentiality.

Your characters won’t need to worry too much about legwork, as their handler will be able to detail other operatives to gather information you say you need. Planning will be a big part of the game, and much like spy movies, at least some of the fun will come from the times where your plans don’t quite match reality.

You’ll start as a newly-formed team of Aegis Cognito operatives from a variety of backgrounds, whether ex-military, ex-intelligence, ex-corp, ex-shadowrunner or something else. Your job spec will be that you’ll do corporate espionage, whether that’s datasteals, extractions, or even wetwork or demolition jobs. There’s a tendency away from paramilitary work but Aegis Cognito are a mercenary corporation and operate without much of an ethical dimension aside from the profit motive.

Your characters will likely feel a lot like regular shadowrunners, with two key differences: first of all, you’ll have much more support (see above) and second of all, you won’t ever meet Mr. Johnson. Your handler will essentially fill the role of fixer, being both the source of your mission briefings and equipment (although a lot of missions will need you to engage in on-site procurement). There will be a great deal of international travel, not least because Aegis Cognito has twenty-two offices across four continents and you could be working out of any of them at any time. That means that characters could come from anywhere in the world. I hope that the campaign will develop in such a way that there will be many high-stakes activities that challenge your characters’ morals and capabilities, with the end result being lots of fun for everyone.

Character Creation

Character Creation

We will be using the Shadowrun 4th Edition rules, specifically the 20th Anniversary Edition (errata to older versions of SR4 are available at http://shadowrun4.com/resources/sr4a/sr4a_changes.pdf) and all the various supplements (Arsenal, Augmentation, Street Magic, Runner’s Companion, Unwired). Each player should answer the 20 Questions (below) for their character, and will receive 5 Karma for thoughtful and complete answers. In particular, I’m keen that characters have the various “hooks” provided by a social life – friends, family, confidantes, cellmates, romantic relationships, old school friends, that sort of thing. They do represent vulnerabilities and extra factors to consider and juggle, but they’re also where a lot of potential story and challenge could come from. Do you keep your job a secret from them, or do they think you’re in sales and travel a lot for work? Or are they the street gang you used to run with? Each character will have had to pass a strict background check before Aegis Cognito employed them, so please consider that when planning who to play.

Characters should be created using 1,000 Karma using the Karma-gen rules from the Runner’s Companion. However, each character starts with the following skills at rating 2 for free:
•   Computer
•   Data Search
•   Dodge
•   Etiquette
•   Infiltration
•   Perception
•   One of Blades, Clubs, Pistols, Thrown Weapons, and Unarmed Combat

If you want to take a skill group containing one or more of the skills above, then you can “trade in” the free skills for Karma to spend on the relevant skill group. Naturally, such skill groups must be at least level 2 and can be no higher than level 4, per the normal rules.

Note that you will generally be provided with gear and clean IDs for each new job, based on your requisitions and so you needn’t worry about basic things unless you especially want to – perhaps as part of an IC back-up plan! You can buy gear up to Availability 20 (30 with Restricted Gear). Likewise, Aegis Cognito will provide a High Lifestyle in any one city where they have an office for each character. You don’t all have to live in the same city!

Everyone starts with the 5-point version of the SINner Negative Quality, a 15-point Day Job Negative Quality, and the Records On File Negative Quality. This does not count against the maximum of number of Negative Qualities you can take. You may not choose the SINner flaw again.

Although they shouldn’t be seen as a strait-jacket, I would draw your attention to the eight team roles from Runner’s Companion and suggest that you design your character to fill no more than two of them. We will talk in more detail about this when we do character generation, but the idea is for people not to step on one another’s toes so that everyone gets the chance to shine. The roles are:

•   Close Quarters Combat: physical engagement with the enemy
•   Fire Support: taking down enemies at range and suppressing opposition
•   Infiltration: entering areas physically without raising suspicion
•   Investigation: gathering relevant information pertinent to the job in hand
•   Magical Support: keeping the team safe from magical threats, and gathering astral intelligence
•   Matrix Support: primary defence against online threats, plus hacking and Matrix-based intelligence gathering
•   Negotiation: handling most contact with people outside the team
•   Transportation: planning, co-ordinating and enabling movement from point-to-point for the entire team

There are basically three approaches that can be taken to each of these team roles – the physical, the magical, and the technological. For example, a physical approach to Fire Support might be a sniper on a rooftop or a troll with a machine gun. The magical approach might make liberal use of combat spells and spirit powers. The technological approach might be to set up sentry guns and use drone and vehicle weapons to get total coverage. While certain roles lend themselves more obviously to one approach or another, there is no reason why any role couldn’t be done by taking any approach (or mix of approaches). Note that you don’t need to cover all eight if you don’t want to. As long as both people involved are OK with it, doubling up on a particular role would be fine, although it would bring with it some difficulties. Likewise, if someone wants to only cover one area as a specialist, that’s grand.

There are also some secondary roles that can be taken on in addition to those above:
•   Demolitions – blowing shit up
•   Leader or Tactical Co-ordinator – command & control in the field
•   Logistics – keep everyone stocked up on the latest gear and consumables
•   Medic – keep the team healthy and alive

It might be worth each of you considering taking on one of these too.

My initial feeling is that the team needs to be able to cover the physical world, the astral plane and the Matrix. However, it’s often not very much fun to be the person who stays in the van while the others go off and do things, so it would be best if everyone was at least a little combat-capable with at least two Initiative Passes in a combat situation.

I’m perfectly happy for you to ignore the Investigation, Transport and Logistics roles if you like, as your handler can deal with all those things if needed. Likewise, Matrix Support would be the easiest thing for you to ditch after that.


How does that sound?  They'll be going through Boardroom Backstabs, Corporate Intrigue, Jet Set and Twilight Horizon.


*: actually, one player will be in both games, because a) we live together and b) she's not involved in the dispute.

[Csjarrat]

make sure you scale the baddies up to match your team, giving all those skills at rating 2 is quite generous.
might be worth limiting the addiction negative qualites to mild only. cant see a decent outfit taking on heavy coke or btl addicts tbh

[raggedhalo]

It's another 56 Karma, making them 1116 Karma characters straight out the gate...that sort of feels about right in comparison to my other campaign, where the characters are 1130 Karma.  You're right that the opposition will need to be a bit tougher, but that's no problem.

I'm not sure about the Addiction thing, as I quite like the idea of someone struggling to hide their love of novacoke (or whatever) from their superiors whilst at work.

[Prodigy]

Love the idea. Are you running it pbp or irl?

[All4BigGuns]

Quick question, those Negative Qualities you're 'automatically giving', are you giving them the points for them? I'd personally suggest you do so.

[raggedhalo]

Prodigy - IRL, on alternate Tuesdays.  Glad you like it!

A4BG - I'm giving them the points, although I suppose I might have argued that I was giving them the points but then directing how they're spent.  Hence a total of 1116 Karma (1,000 for turning up, 56 in free skills, 60 from the Negative Qualities).

[All4BigGuns]

Prodigy - IRL, on alternate Tuesdays.  Glad you like it!

A4BG - I'm giving them the points, although I suppose I might have argued that I was giving them the points but then directing how they're spent.  Hence a total of 1116 Karma (1,000 for turning up, 56 in free skills, 60 from the Negative Qualities).

Wish I could get a game with that many points... 

[Prodigy]

What city?

[All4BigGuns]

What city?

Way down here in Texas.

[Prodigy]

I am way down here in Texas too. Houston area.

[All4BigGuns]

I am way down here in Texas too. Houston area.

Opposite end of the state. Probably around 8 to 10 hours away from there. I doubt you've heard of Wichita Falls.

[Prodigy]

Oh yeah I grew up in Lawton, OK about 45 min from Wichita Falls. Right off I-35

[Prodigy]

I meant I-44. Lived in Norman, OK a long time.

[All4BigGuns]

*blinks* Small world.

[Mirikon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxvlKp-76io