Feeling The Run

by Branson Hagerty

If somebody put a shotgun up my nose and started screaming at me to state, it two words, what the most important aspects of any shadowrun are I’d have to say: Mood and Purpose. Then I’d get my head blown off because the guy with the shotgun would count “and” as a third word. In any case, knowing what you’re doing and knowing how you can, or allowed, to go about doing it are two essential ideas to keep in mind, whether your behind or in front of the GM screen.

Knowing what your doing is usually the easiest of the two to understand. If you’re on an Extraction run you know that unless you extract something, preferably the person you’re hired to extract, you won’t get paid. If your supposed to Deliver something it’d damn well better end up in the hands of whomever your supposed to deliver it to. Usually the objective is a bit more precise and complicated than the flat examples above but, regardless of how complicated your purpose may be, simply knowing what it is makes life a lot easier, regardless of which end of the table your sitting at.

But another equally important, yet often forgotten, aspect of a shadowrun is exactly how your supposed to go about doing it. The “how” of a shadowrun, along with many other things, is normally determined by the mood of the run itself. The mood difference between an extraction at Renraku, which would involve a lot of highly skilled and extremely smart people trained for decades to thwart runners, and an extraction at Devil Chem Underground Kill All Research Labs, which would involve a lot of ex mercenaries cybered to negative essence and toting rocket launchers, would be noticeably different. Over time I’ve found that the moods of shadowruns, like the objectives, fall into certain categories, a few of which I will list later on.

The mood of a shadowrun doesn’t just dictate how the PCs and NPCs should be feeling emotionally at the time; it also dictates what weapons they can carry, how they have to act, what they should wear, and numerous other little things, like whether or not a silencer is required. When performing an Extraction at Renraku the runners couldn’t go rushing in with bazookas or they’d be instantly slaughtered by sentry guns. The run requires an extreme amount of finesse, professionalism, and grace. On the other hand, an extraction at an illegal chemical lab defended by a contingent of mercenaries may require that the runners rent a Panzer and learn how to use heavy weapons if they wish to survive. Even performing legwork for these differing runs would require a change in the way a runner may normally conduct themselves. If research for the Renraku run requires that they meet with a guy at Chez Rico then the runners better not be brazen and defensive or the guy they’re talking with may call up Renraku collect and tell the head of security that there are a couple of punks sniffing for info. Likewise, for the merc run the first acceptable action when meeting with a contact may be to punch him in the face lest he think your some kind of wussy negotiator trying to sweet talk some information out of him. Hell, he may want the PC to try to floor him before he’ll start talking.

A GM’s job is to make sure the runners know which mood is currently “active” and when one mood changes to another. After meeting with the guy at Chez Rico the runners may learn that they have to meet with some guy named Philly The Stink who works at a bar called Bash In Your Goddamned Head. If the runners are smart they’ll stop home and trade their Tres Chic and their Lightfire for an armor jacket and an SMG.

Knowing the mood of a run also helps a lot in designing adventures in the first place. If I know I’m going to write a Nasty Extraction I can more easily center my thoughts on the subject of large guns, mean people, and lots of violence. Once you give a run a “theme”; like Elite Raid, Professional Kidnapping, Adrenaline Contraband; the runs almost write themselves.

Below are a few of the general moods which tend to permeate my shadowruns. Enjoy.

Nasty: These runs involve meeting, dealing with, and fighting a lot of really mean, nasty, disgusting people. Usually nobody wants to negotiate, preferring to fight out the simplest argument instead. The locations involved are usually drunkard bars, makeshift combat arenas, broken buildings, etc. The environment usually involves incessant red rain and foul smelling fumes. Reputation usually doesn’t mean a damn thing, the only thing which really matters is how much muscle and firepower you have. Loyalties are rare and backstabbing is frequent. NPCs tend to be large, heavily modified and armored, sluggish, and deadly. Nasty runs frequently generate heavy casualties on both the PC and NPC side.

Elite: These runs require subtlety, grace, charisma, and a silencer. The runners are normally unable to carry sufficient firepower to get out of a tough situation if they begin to screw up so they must try extremely hard not to screw up in the first place. High octane firefights are very rare and when they do erupt they are highly lethal to the PCs who will end up facing well armed and trained corporate guards, response police, etc. Metal detectors, badge scanners, and surveillance cameras are plentiful thus allowing little freedom for the runners to carry weapons or discuss their mission openly. Even wearing armor may not be possible in many situations. Perhaps the most important aspect of Elite runs is that the NPCs are extremely intelligent and ready to hit the panic button at the slightest hint that the person they’re speaking with may have adverse means.

Adrenaline: Everybody in these runs are wired and paranoid. Many do heavy BTL chipping or ingest conventional amphetamine substances in order to keep going. Locations tend to involve high octane techno nightclubs, trid theaters playing Natural Born Killers like movies, and chaotic drug bars. The weather is almost always torrential rain and frequent lightning. NPCs can be from virtually any walk of life, but they usually have a fairly large amount of money to blow on drugs, women/men, clubs, and so on. When violence breaks out it is fast and furious, the rush of adrenaline and drugs overriding all senses of logic. To somebody with low reflexes Adrenaline runs are a death trap and many may find it necessary to take reaction enhancing drugs or BTLs just so they can endure the environment without dying or losing their mind. Adrenaline runs are insanity set to music and gunfire.

Dirt: Dirt runs are extremely depressing to everybody involved. The NPCs have nothing, the PCs have lost everything, there is no food, no water, no nada. Settings include desolate sections of the barrens, abandoned towns, or remote deserts. The weather is hot and dry and the air is full of dust. Any available weapons are old, low on ammo, and tend to jam. Vehicles barely run. These runs also tend to take place during the day, which is hell for a runner. The NPCs tend to be suicidal, willing to do anything for a buck or simply die for the sake of dying. Dirt runs are rare and a run usually doesn’t become Dirt until the runners have severely screwed something up or the GM has railroaded them into such a situation for the sake of humbling their egos.

Hurt: Hurt runs are designed to create friction between a runner’s professional duty and their morals. At the end of these runs the runners usually feel like crap because they had to screw over completely innocent people for the sake of getting their 40,000 nuyen. The NPCs tend to be ordinary people going about their ordinary lives and who are intrinsically involved in the plot whether they know it or not. When they get into an adverse situation the NPCs’ only thought is “Why me?”. These people are constantly getting caught in the crossfire, innocent pawns in a chess game they do not wish to play. Locations tend to involve humanitarian organizations, schools, legitimate stores, and so on. The weather is pleasant. Violence tends to take place in areas where the potential exists for a lot of innocent people getting hurt. Usually Hurt runs don’t involve directly killing ordinary people but have an underlying tone implying that the runners are doing something which will cause extreme pain to the sweet old lady they passed on their way into the building. The GM must grab onto the runners’ hearts and squeeze, stopping just before they say “I quit. I can’t take it anymore”.

Professional: These runs involve dealing with NPCs who have been in the business of shadowrunning and crime as long as the runner, if not longer. They have their technique down just right, know just how hard to push somebody before they should stop, and have an outstanding reputation. Anything that happens during the game is slick and slyly executed. The NPCs rarely overlook things, leave no back doors, and generally find a way to thwart anything the runners try to do; always walking a step ahead. They are smart and well connected. Professional NPCs also tend to have well developed personalities, and many have grasped the concept of acts of mercy towards any weaker foe they defeat. Locations involve high-tech shadowrunner hideouts, high-tech garages, and just generally high tech everything. The weather is usually somber, gray, with a little bit of drizzle. Combat is slow and calculated, rarely generating heavy casualties on the PC side unless the PCs decide to fight like a bunch of madmen in which case a processional NPC will kill them simply because they make the profession look bad. Respect is very important in Professional runs and not showing proper respect can be detrimental to both reputation and health. Finally, the effects of breaking a contract on the professional level will absolutely destroy a runners rep.

Beck: These types of runs may be unique to my games and are named after the general alcoholic, white trash, country bumpkin feel generated by the music of Beck. My use of such runs may also have something to do with me having lived in western Maryland for several years. In any case, these runs take place in backwards rural towns filled with ignorant, slightly inbred NPCs. The only vehicles available are pick-up trucks and the only firearms available are shotguns. Locations involve rodeos, saloons, the front porch of Ma’s house, and swimmin’ holes. Virtually any type of run can have a Beck mood attached to it. (Beck Thefts may involve stealing a magical tractor or Beck Contraband may involve shipping marijuana.) This doesn’t mean that Beck runs are a piece of cake. If the runners violate the standards of a particular town they may find themselves faced with a posse the size of a hundred overall clad, closely related people coming after them with shotguns.

P.S. The following is a list of shadowrun “topics” which I normally use in conjunction with a mood to generate a final run theme. They originally appeared on a Random Table located on my page. Again, enjoy:

Assassination
Attention
Bodyguard
Backup
Bombing
Casualty
Challenge
Clean
Contest
Contraband
Corrupt
Cover-up
Damage
Decoy
Demoralize
Destroy
Dump
Enforcement
Excavation
Exonerate
Extortion
Extraction
Fear
Fence
Foil
Forgive
Frame
Front
Game
Guard
Hijack
Horror
Humiliate
Implement
Infiltration
Information
Instigate
Intelligence
Jam
Kidnapping
Legal
Manipulate
Messenger
Passive
Please
Poisoning
Prank
Redirect
Raid
Recovery
Rescue
Robbery
Sabotage
Scout
Search
Shaft
Slam
Slap
Suicide
Support
Terror
Theft
Topple
Tracking
Transport
Vanishing
Weapons
Wipeout

Contact: Text By Branson Hagerty (bhagerty@thunder.ocis.temple.edu)