Starting a Shadowrun Game, Need some Ideas

[TwoBitWriter]

I have Gm'd a few Shadowrun 4th Edition games in the past, and some 3rd Edition as well.
But the game I am starting in a few weeks is 4th Ed. I am letting the party build using standard 400 BP with some changes.

1) Orks cost 30 BP instead of 20. I had too many instances of players wanting to be Orks because their Attribute bonuses far out-weigh the BP cost. I even had an all-ork party once, and I want more diversity.
2) No starting weapons over 10 Availability, I don't like the fact that players can now start with monofilament whips...

Beyond that I need some campaign ideas. I have a couple tossed around and would like your opinion/suggestions. The underlying theme though is that I want to avoid a "mission-based" game, where every session begins with "You get a call from your Fixer/Johnson/Contact/etc." My intention is to make it a bit more free-ranging where the players have to find their own jobs, the jobs don't come to them. My hope is that this will encourage more interaction with the 6th world and better roleplaying. The setting will be Seattle and the year will be 2070 to fit the 4th Ed set-up better.

1) Almost directly ripped from the SNES Shadowrun game (which I'm confident none of my players are very familiar with) the shadowrunners are in possession of an extremely advanced anti-AI program that has the potential to completely change the wireless matrix as it stands. They are unable to upload it themselves and the ones who can are all dead. At the same time they are pressed on all sides by any corporation, large or small, that has an interest in the Matrix (which means pretty much all of them.) Spirits and a dragon will be involved.

2) The party is in a band, and they mix in Shadowrunning along with playing gigs and trying to get discovered. I like this idea, and the few I have talked to about it have said that it sounds like it could be fun, but am not entirely sure how to go about running it and keeping each gig interesting beyond rolling some dice to determine if you play well or not.

3) Using only 300 BP to make their characters and heavy restrictions on starting gear, the players are strictly small-time. Some of them might not even be shadowrunners at all! Most of the players would have a SIN starting out. However, that all gets lost in one turbulent day where the corp where they work (A small one) gets raided and completely destroyed by some elite paramilitary organization. They players find that their identities have been erased and their homes under surveillance. They have to turn to the streets for survival, and find themselves having to become shadowrunners just to earn some nuyen.

Those are the three I have. I am trying to think of more, but I could use some help.
Thanks!

[Ralfarius]

I always liked the idea of turning the tables with the players. Instead of shadow runners, they start out as Docwagon operators or, like, Lone Star officers. It might seem counterintuitive to your non-missiony aspirations, but being part of a larger organization lends an entire new aspect of social interactions.

Do the characters aspire to greater things? Maybe climbing the ladder, garnering better positions, better paycheques, and greater requisitioning ability. What are they willing to do to get it? Maybe someone above or below them is looking for the same thing, and part of their machinations involve removing the characters from the picture. If they get framed for something, they'd even have to go rogue to stay alive, then either clear their names, or get back at whomever set them up.

[Gorbash Kazdar]

2) No starting weapons over 10 Availability, I don't like the fact that players can now start with monofilament whips...

The only potential issue I see here is that the Ingram White Knight is over 10 Availability, which means no one can have an LMG to start with. That's not necessarily a bad thing in general, but if you have a rigger player they might be a bit peeved. Otherwise, the only weapons from the main book you're losing are some other potentially problematic ones anyways (the AM-CMDT auto-shotgun, the Ares Alpha AR, the PJSS Elephant rifle, and the MMG).

By the way, how experienced is your group? This may affect some suggestions.

1) Almost directly ripped from the SNES Shadowrun game (which I'm confident none of my players are very familiar with) the shadowrunners are in possession of an extremely advanced anti-AI program that has the potential to completely change the wireless matrix as it stands. They are unable to upload it themselves and the ones who can are all dead. At the same time they are pressed on all sides by any corporation, large or small, that has an interest in the Matrix (which means pretty much all of them.) Spirits and a dragon will be involved.

It's interesting, but gets them involved in some heavy stuff very quickly. It may also limit how much normal mission type things that can do; it could easily overtake the free reign idea you mention, since they could easily get locked into the metaplot. Also don't forget the potential 'runner tendency to cut bait and run if things get too hot - as a player myself, I've dumped paydata and gear that could have landed a big score because I felt that the risk was too high.

2) The party is in a band, and they mix in Shadowrunning along with playing gigs and trying to get discovered. I like this idea, and the few I have talked to about it have said that it sounds like it could be fun, but am not entirely sure how to go about running it and keeping each gig interesting beyond rolling some dice to determine if you play well or not.

I really like this one. The flavor of it is fun, the scramble to make it can add a lot of great roleplaying moments, and the characters will likely be more interesting than your run-of-the-mill 'runners. One hurdle is making sure everyone is on the same page as for what kind of band it is, but doing a dedicated character creation session would likely address that.

As far as doing gigs, you probably should have a few gigs go down as just skill checks to get rep/nuyen - if they can't pull off a normal show every now and then, it will likely get frustrating. When you do want to make a gig interesting, though, you can try a few things. One is to have a 'run and a gig both go down on the same night, meaning the crew has to juggle responsibilities and work multiple tight deadlines lest they screw their fans or their Johnson. Another is to mix job offers and loot handoffs into the gigs - it provides good cover for that sort of thing, but will likely require the players to step carefully.

You can also use their status as a band to enable runs as well. This would work especially well for extractions or theft 'runs - it can get the crew into places they normally wouldn't be able to go, or might allow them to lure a target out of his or her normal security envelope if the target becomes a fan. The band in this case provides a unique combination of services that would allow them to pull off jobs others couldn't do - or, at least, couldn't do as quietly or efficiently. Again, the 'runners will need to be discrete and careful to both pull of the run without ruining their rep as a band.

The last idea is the gig as run. In this case, the band has to use their runner skills in order to get to play at all. A couple different versions of this could work. For example, they get the chance to play at a certain club, but a rival band wanted to gig and hires a rival 'runner team to prevent the band from making their play date (likely non-lethal interference, but YMMV). A Variation on this would be the 'runners getting hired to play at a party for a crime boss' kid or just some ganger's block party, and getting targeted by a rival gang to make their employer lose face (this works well if you replace gangs with corps, too).

Perhaps they hosed a rival 'runner team, and that team has figured out that their opponents were the band (or even could have mistaken another 'runner team for the band!), and have decided to take revenge by wrecking a concert, forcing the band to use their 'runner skills to make sure the gig goes smoothly. Again, you could have the folks trying to mess up the concert be a corp or gang instead - maybe the band is getting too popular and another corp wants them gone before they threaten that corp's pet band, or maybe the team refused to hire the gang as security despite playing on their turf. You could even have the target be the employer for the gig instead, and have the 'runners dragged into the mess as collateral.

In fact, with that last variation, a concert organizer or club owner dealing with problems from a gang might hire the band specifically to take their enemies down a peg. In this case it isn't a gig that turns into a run, it's a gig that IS a run from the get go.

Lastly, the band can also pull guerrilla concerts, where they play somewhere they aren't really supposed to as a sort of publicity stunt. Getting to the top of the Space Needle, playing a quick set, and then getting out without getting arrested, for example. This could also be done as a distraction run utilizing the team's unique skills.

In any case, it would probably be a good idea to also have a number of runs revolving around the entertainment industry in general, even when the band is just doing the shadowrunning thing.

I have some other campaign ideas I can suggest, but this is already pretty long and I need to organize them, so more later.

[BRC]

I ran a Docwagon campaign once, it didn't work that well because I was highly limited in terms of what I could do.



What might be fun though, is the PC's are lonestar undercover's, trying to infiltrate the shadows in order to expose big criminals (Well, Big Criminals that hav't bribed lonestar anyway.) So they need to hide their true purposes while gaining reputation and contacts in the shadows. Kind of like The Departed, trying to get enough of a rep that big criminals will trust them.

[TwoBitWriter]

The only potential issue I see here is that the Ingram White Knight is over 10 Availability, which means no one can have an LMG to start with. That's not necessarily a bad thing in general, but if you have a rigger player they might be a bit peeved. Otherwise, the only weapons from the main book you're losing are some other potentially problematic ones anyways (the AM-CMDT auto-shotgun, the Ares Alpha AR, the PJSS Elephant rifle, and the MMG).

By the way, how experienced is your group? This may affect some suggestions.

I forgot to post that I was going to make an exception for the LMG. I was just worried about the exact weapons you mentioned, as well as the mono-whip.

The group has two people who are very experienced at roleplaying, mostly d20, but they have delved into Shadowrun as much as I have. Three are new to roleplaying and Shadowrun, but they have a couple of games under their belts and have a generally good idea of how to run things (I still kinda have to walk them through a few things, but they are avoiding magic and hacking at the moment so its not terribly game-slowing.)

I love your ideas for the Rock Band campaign theme. I didn't think of much of the stuff you posted. Thanks a bunch for the ideas! Naturally a band would have to contend with multiple Entertainment corps trying to profit off of them.

As for the undercover thing, Commie, I think it would be a great idea but I am concerned that if I start them off as members of some organization (DocWagon, LoneStar, etc) then it runs the heavy risk of falling into a mission-based game. I really want my players to drive the story onward, with me handling the consequences of their actions. It would be hard to do if you have orders to follow.

Thanks for the input so far... I would love to hear more.

Edit: And what about increasing the BP cost of Orks? I tried playing the race-card more (upping costs and generally making things hell for metas) but that can only go so far, not EVERY merchant/johnson/street doc can be racist.

[Megafly]

We had fun a while back with all the PC's on an "Urban Brawl" team

the GM gets take a mental holiday every few sessions and not do as much preperation because we have a "match" made of pure sweet combat.

much better than being in a band, and you get to travel.

see also "Blood of Heroes" and "Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligans Island"

[BRC]

To prevent it from becoming a mission-based thing, you give them vauge orders, Somthing along the lines of "Go out there and feed and disrupt crime whenever it's convienent and dosn't blow your cover. If you really, really need to talk to us, call this one guy." Maybe LS can, if they turn in targets, give them a bonus, but doing so may make people suspicious, so It's their choice to prevent a crime, or aid it in the hopes of making people trust them more so they can prevent a worse crime from occuring later on.

[TwoBitWriter]

Kinda like a Splinter Cell: Double Agent sort of thing then right? I think that would work alright... I am going to bring it up with my group, along with the other ideas, and see what they like best.