[codeN1nj4]

Hello again

During my next session it will be possible for the team to gain control of a drug lab stocked with a decent amount of raw materials. Since the mission is a hood job (they're knocking off a small, overly aggressive gang of drug dealers) without pay I feel like the loot level reflects the amount of danger well. Looking through Arsenal I noticed that there was an explicit warning about balancing chemistry in the game.

How many of you have had experience with drug labs in your campaigns? And what do you think about handing control of one over to the PCs?

I'm somewhat worried that I may have missed something that will unbalance the game. Thanks for reading.

[All4BigGuns]

Well, if they do take it over, then it probably means you aren't paying enough and they're looking for other ways to get decent nuyen. Not saying you are or you aren't, but I could see it being a driving force in actually taking it.

[codeN1nj4]

Well, if they do take it over, then it probably means you aren't paying enough and they're looking for other ways to get decent nuyen. Not saying you are or you aren't, but I could see it being a driving force in actually taking it.

Even though their pay is on par I'm pretty sure they will end up utilizing it. One of the members is an avid drug user (most of his negative qualities are addictions) and the team seems somewhat keen on running some smuggling operations.

The characters are new, and they happened to synch up well with the rewards I placed for this run lol.

[JustADude]

Well, if they do take it over, then it probably means you aren't paying enough and they're looking for other ways to get decent nuyen. Not saying you are or you aren't, but I could see it being a driving force in actually taking it.

Even though their pay is on par I'm pretty sure they will end up utilizing it. One of the members is an avid drug user (most of his negative qualities are addictions) and the team seems somewhat keen on running some smuggling operations.

The characters are new, and they happened to synch up well with the rewards I placed for this run lol.

Really, 'balance' is all relative. In a cooperative game, all that matters is that the players can get the objective done and feel like they feel properly challenged without being stifled.

Just plan their jobs expecting them to have access to ready supplies of chemicals and drugs, and all's well.

[Kot]

I would think of the moral side of this mission more, than the amount and value of the drugs. You want your game turned into "breaking bad, Shadowrun edition"? Go ahead, see how much fun is destroying people's lives with drugs in this already miserable system...
This is cyberpunk. Say no to drugs!
... cyber/bioware, the Matrix and magic are way better.

[Lysanderz]

Kot, when it is Sgt. Abraham, the surgery-phobic former lone star beat cop, versus an ork assailant.... I'll take the drugs.

[codeN1nj4]

@JustADude: While I'm sure I can always throw an appropriate challenge at the party I was hoping to keep their progression somewhat linear. My concern is that the party will gain an unplanned jump in power due to some unforeseen circumstance.

@Kot: The morality of the mission is what I'm looking to play on. Throughout the various runs I will be dropping hooks to pull the party to one side or the other. And there is an abundance of cyber/bioware, the matrix, and magic in both the party as well as the individual runs. They're some of my favorite aspects lol.

[Xzylvador]

A lab's just a lab. No distribution makes it very hard to do anything. Setting up a distribution network yourself takes LOTS of time. Distributing by selling on the streets yourself means a risk of getting caught and a very low time/profit ratio. You can't just tap people on their shoulders and ask them to deal for you neither, chances are that the ones who would do so are already affiliated elsewhere.
Either way, you'll be in direct competition with other gangs/mafia/Yakuza already working that region and they will bomb the lab first chance they get.
Eventually they'll also need new supplies.
So they have to make deals,  and it's very likely they'll end up paying a large share of their gains to fund transportation, 'protection', suppies etc.
If they decide to go for full profitabilty, the game will stop being Shadowrun, they won't have time to do missions and probably won't get offered jobs anyways, they're just too hot to be associated with and have a bad rep.
If they want to keep running, which I assume is the case, they'll have to outsource. You as the GM decide how much profit they keep and how much they have to pay for all the rest. That's how you balance it.

[farothel]

As Xzy said, running a drug lab isn't all that easy.  Of course, the player with all his addictions can profit as he can get his fix without having to pay for it (for a while at least, and at the risk that his addictions get worse).  That is if any of the players knows chemistry, otherwise one of the following will probably happen:
-they blow themselves up.
-they make something that doesn't work, pissing clients off
-they make something that works differently, killing clients off

The way I would do this as a player is to empty the lab and check who is in control of the drug trade in a certain region you want to gain some friends in and then try to sell the supplies and equipment to said organisation.  Sell it for below the price and you have some money but more important, some extra contacts which you can use later.