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[Capt_North]

Capt'n here. With things as they have been im looking at another season of CL if a job dont turn my way soon. With that in mind, i came up with a new story thing for shadowrun game if i do go there, or start playing here, or whatever..

This time its just solid shadowrun, no earthdawn or so much, but more of just straight corpo action.

I got this weird idea of Arms testing tournaments(sp) basicly where underground vendors and the like gather to show off their newest tech and so forth. They hire a group of runners or the like and they go at it through various diffrent tasks to show what technology does best in situations, from just being able to last the longest in harsh enviroments while the people wearing them are fighting, to even net battles showing of whos cyberdeck and programs work best, even mages showing off new spells, foci, fetishes, or whatever they make.

The people watching include other shadowrunners, fixers, people wanting to watch a good old fashioned blood bath, The Criminal Underworld looking for new enforcers, and the Corpos watching to see what "free agents" are making good equipment and if they are worth a shot at recruiting.  At the second spot, you have the runners being watched, basicly a big talent show, its showing off who among the people competing are going to be worth while to hire for runs, Winners get more contracts, losers that live get to pull the kiddy jobs to try and get by, and the dead losers get sent off to where ever people like that end up... *coughs*chopshops*coughs*

Now not to make it look like a simple arena style fight, you have the espionage side. Runners are Encouraged to check out the compitition, steal parts, sabotage, and do the stuff they are suppose to do either for their favor in the next fight, or the guys they arent fighting right now want the people they are about to fight to have some "complications". Not to mention that some these guys will pay a fortune to get the schematics on their opisitions equipment, not to mention working parts (either before, or after they are attached). And then there is the fact they have to do it without getting caught.

It gives characters a good chance to get some decent parts, and for later in on some players, chance to visit higher level cyber clinics for the fabled "Delta" grade or whatnot.

Players could be rounded up easy, they find it themselves, are recruited willingly, recruited unwillingly (contact or family or whatever used as hostages to make them go in), or whatever you think would work best, and rewards could be almost anything from the standard Nuyen small fortune, old debts erased, getting someone else in their debt, a chance at some Cutting edge chrome put in them (Make sure you read the contract), and what not else.....
And to make it fair, there is the down side to losing, besides dying. The people they are working for could put them deeper indebt, charge them for the equipment that got broken (which they could do even if the person won. True Corpo style. "Ok. And here are your bill." Bill.. We won, you promised us 50000 if we won. "Oh yes, but you caused alot of damage to our prototypes, then there was the cost of giving you the implant, and removing the implant, The room you rented from us between fights, and medical bills....) or again, whatever the side they are working for feels like if they are in a situation to push it on them.

Kinda slim and not worked out, but from general idea what do you guys think?

[BornKrazi]

I say where do I send my character too?  And when do we get started?

[kv]

I like the angle, but it would be easy to implement even in a normal shadowrun game- merely have the runners hired (and supplied with tech) to hit an antartic research facility (that's hostile terrain if I've ever heard of it), and let them know that there will be competing runners, and they should take good care of the weapons.

Oh, and they have to wear these datafeed cams. Just so Mr. Johnson knows what's going on.

When, in reality, they're the newest models for the Blammo! Guns Line!

  -kv

[BornKrazi]

Doesn't SK have a facility in Antartica?

[kv]

Who doesn't have a facility in Antartica? Bascially free security- you don't need lots of topside guards, and it's easy to see planes and ships coming from miles away.

  -kv

[BornKrazi]

Actually I heard that the SK facility there is home to some pretty gnarly toys...stuff certain people my be interested in...

[Curris]

My only beef with the idea is that, for the most part, Corps try to deny the whole running operation. If you claim to never hire criminals for corporate espionage, they you show up at a convention like this, you'll get some bad press. Same goes for the runners. If you want a life in the shadows, well, people will have cameras and high security there. You will be seen and photographed, and especially if you win.

You will be exposed and you may as well sign up for a criminal sin.

Additionally, since naturally this will be the site of many runs/sabotages/spying, it seems like a great risk to partcipate. Why would the corps volunteer to display their cutting edge gear, when they want it to remain a secret weapon. Or if it is a one-of-a-kind item, this is equivalent to putting it in extreme danger. No press, even good press with buyers attached is worth losing your major money maker.

Or maybe I'm just looking for reasons. . . Other than that, it sounds like loads of fun.

You just need to keep it well advertised in the runner crowd and hidden from the public crowd. . .

[Capt_North]

............

this isnt exactly a main stream event. its got unliscened flesh mechanics, underworld mafia. Its not like theres a red carpet with a cybernetic joan rivers trying to do interviews. its an underworld event that doubles as a bloodsport to most, and a hiring ground. Its also a testing ground to show off what they have, or what they want others to think they have, or show others that discontinued peice of equipment everybody is looking for Is still around if you dont mind paying with your nose and couple other vital organs. And in that part the Corps dont really make a big presence, and if they are its through a shadow corp to hide it. Largely its some unoffical and unregistered mechanic who wants his name out in the shadows to pull in some runner looking for that wiz gear they heard about.

I would have figured that keeping something like this underwraps was co... sorry, my bad, i forgot common sense is no longer common. But pretty much a given in all other words. And as for advertising, that what fixers are for. Their main job is to match talent to the job and keep an eye out for anybody who might be good in the future. Or just make the part look good and show how durabile it is while they get mangled.

[Gabriel]

I see this working much better as a military thing, not a corporate thing. The corps could participate as the arms dealers, but I just don't see a mafia boss being able to design, manufacture, and seel weapons of any sort on the open market. A government, however, WOULD do this sort of thing. In fact the USA does it all the time. And it's legal. So, stage this run someplase the the Pueblo Corporate Council, where things are much more corp-freindly, or the Sioux Nation, or even the CAS or UCAS, and I think you have a very plausible setting.

In fact, you could easily keep the runner angle since the one thing a corporation REALLY wants is a good look at all of the other corporations. So take is as written fact that every corporation dislpaying it's goods will have some undercover runners there on-site. All of thier normal tech-support and demonstration experts ares till there to add validity, but the runners are always in the background doing what they do best. And yes, you could still have all of the "demonstraions" going on behind the scenes. After all, the military can only get so much information from a sales pitch, and the media doesn't need to see all of the "inside" negotiations.

Gabriel

[mercy]

and rember the event will be riddled with the starr / knight erant undercover ops trying to doc as many runners as they can includeing dna prints

[Capt_North]

The mafiaosos arent looking to sell parts of their own design. they are looking to either hire someone to design for them, steal them, and look for new muscle. Find some new runner who looks good and convince him that being an enforcer is much better then a runner, they have their own clinic, regular like pay, and all the other things a runner gets, cept the garuntee there is at least gonna be enough work to get by, and all that respect junk as well. And Mercy's point is something i had forgotten about completely. Thanks for bringing that one on in.

[mercy]

its kind of a given that anything that big cant be kept secret and  star / kinght erant arnt stupid  because despite what some might think
not all star/knight erant are not stupid because if they were they wouldnt be the 2 biggest privite aw enforcemnt angecys

[kv]

Well, they can be paid to keep riff-raff out, and thus keep thier fingers out of the pie (they couldn't secretly track the event AND protect it- that would be a conflict of interest that they could be sued for!).

  -kv

[Gabriel]

LOL, yeah, because as a runner, that's what really scares me: law suites.

Gabriel

[Capt_North]

Though, Knight Errant and Star are both corp owned and ran right? Even if denying it and what not, i doubt the Corps want their own scouts getting caught in the sticky by their own forces. Subtle encouragement, or discouragement, could be used to keep them quiet and out of sight, or whatever.