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[Gilliam]

     ok, I've been asked into a new gaming group, to take over for their "career GM."  He's been stuck running EVERYTHING for them for quite a while now, and I'm being pulled in to give him some relief.  They would like me to run shadowrun, and I plan on taking sR4 with me, since none of them have played shadowrun before.  The group, I am told, is made up of experienced roleplayers, so they should get the hang of it quick, once they get acquainted with the setting.

     What I'm looking for, is a few plausible small runs, things that should get over in 1 session each, maybe 2 (something I'm horrible about....).  Runs intended for 2-3 people, we're going to start small, get a couple of peole familiar with the rules-set and work the rest of the group in later.

     I've had one session with the start of the group already, just to make characters.  I discovered that one of them had actually played SR3 once, but the run aborted in the middle, and never went anywhere else.  He's put together a passably dangerous street samurai type, without going uber-chrome.  The other player involved has chosen a shaman.  

     any ideas?  I keep trying to design small runs to use to teach aspects of the system, but they grow into uber-crazy death runs for experienced players.  I'm giving up and farming these out.  I'll be grateful for any help you guys can give.

[ROOTless]

Do the cahracters know eachother already, or do they have to be introduced to eachother as well?

[Gilliam]

the characters haven't had any back-story fleshed out yet, the character creation meeting was a while ago, but I believe I'd intended them to have run with each other before.  I like to role-play out the characters meeting up for the first time, but I find it tends to drag on and kill the spirit of the game...so I tend not to do it anymore.

[swirler]

wow
i have been lax in my reading here apperently
have you looked at that starter module for SR4 "On the run"?

[Gilliam]

I've run it twice, with some more experienced players... and I've found that it's actually a little too complex.  There is also a point in that plotline that just doesn't jive with me.  I have had groups take 6 sessions on that storyline and STILL NOT FINISH IT.  I want to work with some 1-session runs.  Unfortunately, I seem to be incapable of running a 4-hour session that actually finishes a mission.  I need help coming up with some quick plots that I can throw the new group through.

PS... we still haven't managed to arrange a meeting (LOL)

I'm leaning toward the "fixer calls you up and hands you a meeting time" model....

[kv]

It kind of sucks, but it works.

Another good way to put a group together is to run each of them through a "try-out," where they have to survive an ordeal to get a job offer. It works slightly better than having a crowd come out, and possibly having runners leave with the group.

If you run a try-out, do something small. Have the runner sign up for "a meet" and tell them the Johnson will meet them at a stuffer shack. (This works better if you do it one at a time, or in small groups) When they show up for the stuffer shack, they're there for something like thirty seconds before the local ork or troll gang shows up to shake down the place. They've been paid beforehand, so they'll have a few credsticks once the runners kill them. Once the runners have dealt with the gang, a man in a suit shows up, informs them they've successfully completed the application, and that Mister Johnson will meet them at a private booth at Dante's (or some place equally prestigious).

If you run the groups seperately (but at the same time in-game), then have all of the players show up for the private booth meeting with Mister Johnson at the same time. Insta-group.

  -kv

[Fortune]

You could always give a couple of the Shadowrun Missions a shot.

[swirler]

hey, dunno if youve gotten it yet, but the contacts and adventures booklet that comes with the GM screen has, well contacts and adventures
heh
bunch of plot hooks  there
ive only glanced through them so i dunno how usefull they are, but they may be what you are lookin for

[Zone]

You can always throw the old "You are all in the wrong place at the wrong time and have to stick together for survival" scneario at them.  It has many incarnations.

[Ouija]

I remember years ago on Blackjack's site having 501 Burned Out Shadowrun Ideas, or something like that.  I printed it and still to this day use it from time to time when needing some creativity.

[kv]

Well, grab a keyboard and hook some brutha's up!

  -kv

[Ouija]

Echo that, I'm all over it!

[kv]

Oh, and some sistas. We have Zone, and occasionally Peaches or Luna or Elena.

  -kv

[Zone]

Aww, thanks, Kid, but da guyz won't let me run SR.  They know the books by rote and get annoyed when I have to stop and look stuff up.  I'm happy being the the girl with the explosives here 

[kv]

You're still on second edition, though, right? If you push into third edition, you would have the edge.

Plus, I think every guy here has most of the out of print books on PDF, and you can have them free of charge.

  -kv