|
I dont know posted:They are awakened sea lions, and still lack opposable thumbs and real intelligence. They can be trained to perform tricks and tasks at roughly the level of dogs. 
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 02:49
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 19, 2024 11:40 |
|
|
U.T. Raptor posted:Should have been awakened manatees Those are the north american version of selkies actually.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 03:08
|
|
|
I dont know posted:They are awakened sea lions, and still lack opposable thumbs and real intelligence. They can be trained to perform tricks and tasks at roughly the level of dogs. Sailors, desperate, long months at sea, called seamen (hee-hee-hee!), etc. A slight improvement over manatees (the original mermaids), but still.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 05:51
|
|
|
Part 15 - Turnabout Trial  The fancy-looking penthouse floor appears dark and quiet. If luck's on our side there won't be anyone for James to antagonize up here. Aside from ourselves of course.   Yeah, I've got it. Okay. Once I'm there, I can put the penthouse door in maintenance mode. That'll set its key code combination to "11111," so we shouldn't have any trouble getting in to plant the cameras.So first to room 303 for the access panel, then to the penthouse apartment for the cameras. Clear enough.  We've been making halfway decent time - not good, but not terrible. But I can't afford any more delays.[He cracks his knuckles.] I hope that no one else gets in our way, for their own sake.This conversation is supposed to be slightly different since we didn't make the first floor hostile, but it's not a major difference. You aren't hurting anyone unless I order you to. You got that? Yeah? Well, you are, so shut up and deal with it.[She shakes her head in disgust.] God, I wish that we didn't need you to finish this job.Jana, the voice of the people. [Another sneer.] Sadly for all of us, you do. Oh, and by the way... we're going to have words when this run is over, mouse. [A stream of caustic syllables pours out of the elf's mouth. His back is stooped under the weight of his pack, but his hands have clenched into fists.] I want to get this over with, Rosa. I want to get away from these people and go home.You can say that again. If nothing else our own team will feel like a well-oiled machine where everyone gets along swell after we're through with this.  Passing through the penthouse suite for now, we find ourselves in front of rooms 301 and 302, both locked tight with door codes. Access to these rooms isn't necessary to finish the mission, and depending on how you do things it's entirely possible to never find out the codes for either of them.  Thanks to our little deal with the stressed-out ork downstairs who told us to pick up the money from his room, we do have the the code for 301 in hand. Feels kind of wrong to be honest, entering someone's apartment completely legally and without any kind of deception involved like this.  Just like the man said, there's a credstick worth 200 nuyen on his table. We paid 150 for that Jolt but hey, profit is profit.  A more interesting aspect of this room is that it's the only one connected to the fire escape we spotted from street level. Makes you wonder if "increased odds of not dying horribly in a fire" is a feature you have to pay extra for.  But as tempting as it is we can't leave this place behind just yet, so we back out and return to the hallway. We lack the code for room 302, so we check out an unlabeled door further in, also locked tight.  Unfortunately, the only way to do anything here is with decking which nobody in our group is capable of. With a cyberdeck and 4 Decking one can take a Matrix run here which ultimately not only yields the codes for rooms 301 and 302 but also lets you open a utility hatch which allows for an immediate exit back to the mission's starting point. This is the only way to acquire the room 302 code and to open the hatch, so we unfortunately have no choice but to forgo them both. Decker privilege strikes again. But, for the sake of completion, I'll show off the contents of room 302 regardless. The code is always the same - 38297 - so it's easy enough to cheat your way in by looking it up if you are so inclined. Still, the following section should be considered strictly non-canon. If anyone tries to claim otherwise, immediate legal action can and most assuredly will be taken.  Just like with 301, there's something interesting on the room 302 table. Not money though, but instead a letter of some kind.  ...You know in hindsight, maybe we would've been better off ignoring this room like we were supposed to.  Even if you look up the code to this room, getting anything of actual value here still requires 4 Decking (but no cyberdeck) in order to access the locked down bedroom computer.    Yep, stealing a sex tape in order to sell it to the highest bidder is how you get the pay data for this mission. Classy as hell. But we won't, because none of this ever happened. The unexpectedly steamy but strictly non-canon zone ends here.  Here's our destination, room 303. We punch in the door code 14291 and step inside.  Pretty large place, but none of the rooms hold anything of value or interest. According to the almighty golden handprint the access panel is located behind this large painting, and so far it has given us no reason to doubt its directions.  Okay, I guess that this is me...[She pulls a multi-tool from her belt and uses it to loosen the bolts that hold the panel in place. Pulling up a schematic on her PDA, she examines the terminal's wiring.] Hurry it up, woman. The clock is ticking. Don't rush me. This is complicated. All right.[She taps the elf on the knee.] I'm gonna need that... thing... now. There you go, you dumb ox. Do something useful for a change. Stay cool, man. We're almost done. [If the elf understands you, he shows no sign of it. He continues to stare James down, and the mage continues to ignore him.]Good thing we're almost done, this sexual tension is getting unbearable.   That's it? [She taps the screen of her PDA.] According to this, yes. The penthouse's security system should be inactive. Let's move, then. To hell with the cleanup, we'll be gone before anyone notices anything anyway.Maybe it's time to bring up the incredibly obvious question on everyone's mind right now. Just a second. What was that canister that you put into the terminal? [She shrugs.] Beats me. For all I know, it could be full of pixie dust. They said that I had to wire it into the wall at this junction, so I did. I'm not comfortable with how little we know about this run. The Lodge?Wow, how intimidating. Sure wouldn't want to be in the neighborhood when things heat up with their sworn rivals The Barn and The Nursing Home. [His eyes widen incredulously.] You don't even know who you're working for, do you? You're leading this team, and you don't have a clue--  Aw crud.   You! The lady from the cyberware kiosk! What the hell is going on here?[He advances on you, full of bluster and bravado.] This is my apartment! I own it! You can't just waltz in here and start pulling the walls apart without my consent! We're maintenance. Look at the uniforms. Yeah, I *see* that. But that doesn't give you the right to force your way into my home and start tearing up my walls! At the *very* least, you should've given me advance notice.[James shoots you an irritated glance.] This is a waste of time, and I'm already running late. If you don't take care of this idiot, I will. [The elf barks something out at James. The sound is uncharacteristically ugly, all harsh consonants and sibilant hisses.] Keep your mouth shut, James. I'll talk this out with our friend here. [He bristles.] Talk this out? The hell with that, we have a job to do and he's in the way. Deal with him, and do it fast so that we can get back on track!You sure are making things easier by saying all of this extremely loudly right in front of the guy you man-shaped blob of living garbage  [The mage raises an eyebrow, smiling.] Do you now? I'm a member of the Homeowners' Association for this level. You know what that means? I have a *lot* of pull with building management.[He thrusts an outstretched finger at James.] Your days wearing that uniform are numbered. I promise you that! Calm down, sir. There must be a problem at Dispatch. You should have received a work order last week. I didn't receive a *thing* from Dispatch, or from anyone else for that matter. My wife and I are entertaining guests here in an hour and a half, and our living room is *ruined.* I need to know that you're going to *fix* this, *and* that you'll clean the place back up, *and* that you'll put a new coat of wax on the floors. I need-- James! Stand down! We do NOT need to kill this man! Ah for gently caress's sa-  Oh wait, that's right, we rerouted the alarms on that security console downstairs. Maybe we still have a chance to salvage this despite James' best efforts at ruining everything. [The homeowner backpedals, trying to put a wall between himself and James. He's moving too slowly - much too slowly.] Everybody STAND DOWN! Welp nevermind, it's all gone hosed now. Stop, drat it! We need him alive to complete the run!The elf's finally had enough and as a consequence we now have to make a choice - either we protect James against him or help him kill the mage, in effect abandoning the job and cutting our ties with the Lodge. The most classic of shadowrunning dilemmas, doing what's necessary for the job versus doing what feels right. So what do we do? It's ultimately not that hard of a choice - at the end of the day we're still a professional, and while we're not averse to making changes to the plan if necessary, James being an idiot scumbag is simply not enough a reason to throw an entire run away. Plus if we fail, Jana will also fail right with us and for her the consequences are likely to be worse than for us. Worry not though, we'll come back later to check out the alternative path as well. [You step between the elf and James.] I hate the bastard, too, but Jana's right - we need him.[The elf comes up short, staring at you. He sweeps his vision from you to Jana to James. Then he exhales heavily and spits out a jumble of broken German.]   And so despite our best efforts, things finally reached a breaking point. Really though, with Mind Wipe we could take the elf on by our lonesome and with two other people with us, this can hardly be called a fight. Now this would be a very different story had we not managed to avoid an alarm thus far as we'd now also be facing a sizeable squad of security guards in the hallway which, depending on your character, can be a pretty rough and prolonged battle with just Jana and James (or the elf). Between the decision of who to side with and the alarm situation, this entire section is a pretty good example of how much more your choices and actions matter in Dragonfall compared to DMS.  Sorry, pal. If only you could've waited until after we placed the cameras...  You've been insulting him ever since we arrived here. What did you think was going to happen? [His face flushes red.] If you'd been a better group leader, you wouldn't have let that happen. You'd have-- For the love of God, shut up. Just stop talking. We're both sick to death of you. You *need* me to-- To finish the mission, yeah. That's true. But if you don't shut that smug mouth of yours right *now,* you're gonna arrive at your meeting without a tongue. Ah, that felt good at least. In hard times you gotta enjoy the small victories.  We're one man down, but the show must go on. Instead of a security guard bloodbath our stealthy approach allows us to just waltz on over to the penthouse door and punch in the override code, 11111.  Right, we're here to place three cameras, one in each room. Might as well start from the closest one.   Done. Get moving on to the next one. At least he seems to know what he's doing on this front. Lucky for him. Bedroom camera's next.   While we're in the kitchen for the third camera, we also relieve the owner from the burden of a single Advanced Medkit.   You don't seem to realize you're no longer indispensable as of about five seconds ago, buddy. This entire run is a test. I think that you're here to tempt me into losing my cool. That isn't gonna happen.[That infuriating smirk returns to James' face.] Yeah, that's right. This is all about you. Just keep on believing that, and see where it gets you.  Well, we almost got through this thing without having to kill anyone except for our angry friend. Case you're wondering, there's no way to avoid this particular alarm no matter what you do.  You can, however, make dealing with it easier for yourself. Deckers have it easiest - they can simply take the utility hatch they opened in the earlier Matrix run straight back to the beginning. Bastards. Anyone with access to room 301 like ourselves can take the second easiest path, namely this fire escape which leads down to street level. Otherwise the only option is to take the elevator back down and fight your way through the building, potentially for a second time already. All in all we get off pretty easy, managing to skip the vast majority of combat in this mission.  Having made our way down, we're immediately thrown in combat mode even though there are no enemies visible in the immediate vicinity.  That obviously doesn't last as we're greeted by a pair of Knight-Errant Enforcers and a Captain having a nice company picnic in the park. NEW MUSIC:   (Unlike the other two composers, Everist always does completely separate ambient and combat tracks. I kind of liked having combat and ambient versions of the same track so it's a slight bummer, but luckily they're always good stuff.)  This is a remarkably annoying spot to fight in, with the enemies entrenched behind both walls and cover while our only hiding place is behind the pair of statues outside the building entrance. You'd think the park gate where Jana is positioned would count as cover but nope, you can't take cover behind corners unless they're specifically meant for it.  Both sides exchange potshots for a while but it's very slow going, so we instead get in position to rush through the gates and into the park itself.  James bravely volunteers to shed his blood by going in first and eating all the bullets. Such an honorable guy, didn't think he had it in him.  Now in a much easier position, he puts on a light show with Mana Ball and finishes off the first Enforcer.  We're still in the backlines, doing the things we usually do from a very safe distance. With one guard down and the captain rendered helpless, life has already become a lot easier.  The remaining guard promptly gets a taste of Jana's taser which manages to crit hard enough to knock out a small elephant. Must've hit a sensitive spot.  The tenacious captain manages to live through the wiping session and puts our recently purchased suit to the test.  We pay back in kind, proving that at least on the heat resistance front their armor fails to get a passing mark. Too bad.  James wrap things up with Acid Bolt. This might very well be the only time you'll get to see this spell at least from our side, so savor the moment.  The only thing left standing between us and freedom now is the humorless guard from the beginning of the mission. As a 50 HP grenadier this guy could be pretty nasty with some backup, but by his lonesome he's nothing more than a final speed bump.  At least now he'll never have to do paperwork again.  And that's it. We're done at last.   For once, he and I are in agreement. I can't put this place behind me quickly enough. All I want to do is go home, hug my cat, and forget that tonight ever happened.There are some variations in the conversation here depending on who's alive and who isn't. Should James die in combat during the escape, you get this exchange instead: quote:
Had Jana died but James lived, you simply jump right into making the call. And if both Jana and James get killed, you get an internal observation from the player character about the mission being accomplished but "at a heavy cost." Regardless they all merge here.   Rosa. The job is done, I trust? Yes. Everything has been completed to your specifications. Very good. Now, if you please: give me a status update on the members of your team.It probably goes without saying that this entire scene is rather different if you blow the run and help the elf kill James, but we'll get to that later. The elf from Tir Tairngire turned on us. We had to put him down. But Jana and James are both alive and well.[You hear Luca cluck his tongue softly.] Interesting. James' continued survival, on the other hand, was not expected. You are a very patient woman, Rosa.[He smiles.] This has been most informative. Again, we have some variations depending on who's still around and breathing. If Jana survived but James died: quote:
And if Jana died but James survived: quote:
Should the whole team be dead you basically get Luca's second line above, claiming that their lives weren't particularly important and you completing the job is what counts. Now. Let us see how adequately you completed the task that I set before you. Enter the following code into your PDA, if you please: 5256719.   ...You're sure that this room is secure? You've done a full sweep? Absolutely, sir. We've run multiple sweeps with a complete sensor package, and we brought in a mage to search for signs of astral tampering. It all checks out clean. You're completely safe in here. [He lets out a heavy sigh.] Thank God. Call downstairs and let my wife and kid know that it's safe to come up. Will do, sir. Is there anything else that I can do for you tonight? No, thank you, that will be all. You have a goo--  ...Now hold on a minute. ...And that takes care of that. Please return to the Kreuzbasar; the remainder of your post-run interview will conclude upon your arrival. Hang on! What the hell was *that?* This run wasn't a surveillance operation. It was an assassination. It was both. And both tasks were carried out to the letter. You should be pleased, Rosa. The run was a resounding success. When you described this run to me, you left out the part where we planted a bomb. That's a hell of an omission. I told you what you had to do. Your job was to plant the bugs - a task that you succeeded in admirably, I might add. Jana's was to plant the bomb. But we can discuss all of this upon your return.One cold son of a bitch, this guy. [Jana covers her mouth with her hand, a horrified expression on her face.] Oh God. I killed someone. That man is dead because of me.  Say it louder, why don't you. I don't think they heard you in France. I haven't heard a response from you, Rosa. Shall I make the preparations for your post-run interview? Are you ready to continue your test? You're damned right we're going to talk about this, Luca. I'll be on the next train home. And so thanks to our skill and competence the job was finished to the letter with (almost) minimal casualties - meaning in the end the seemingly enslaved elf is dead, the racist rear end in a top hat is paid and gets away scott-free, Luca gets exactly what he wants and Jana's ordinary life with her cat and her boyfriend is probably ruined forever. Welcome to the Sixth World, enjoy your stay. Time for us to return home. Kanfy fucked around with this message at 12:48 on May 11, 2018 |
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 12:44
|
|
|
Poor Jana. And now they have kompromat on her and can keep forcing her to act as their electronic handyman.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 13:09
|
|
|
Yeah, I remember that run. For some reason, on the way out, James kept being in the way of my mage's AoE fireball spells and eventually burnt to a crisp. Damndest thing, that. What a tragic accident.
|
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 13:10
|
|
|
Gah, this run is the absolute WORST. Makes some of the jobs to come after feel downright virtuous by comparison. TheMcD posted:Yeah, I remember that run. For some reason, on the way out, James kept being in the way of my mage's AoE fireball spells and eventually burnt to a crisp. Damndest thing, that. What a tragic accident. Goodness me, what terrible luck. Such a shame.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 14:47
|
|
|
I managed to miss both shortcuts out on each of my runs and had to keep the smug rear end in a top hat alive for backup.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 15:20
|
|
|
Kanfy posted:
A bit strange that they're having this conversation in a building that just had a shootout happen in/around it.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 15:44
|
|
|
And a witness report of homicidal weirdos loving around next door
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 15:47
|
|
|
*extremely Welcome to the Jungle voice* ~welcome to the shadows~ ~your Johnson is a gently caress~
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 16:12
|
|
|
Ze Pollack posted:*extremely Welcome to the Jungle voice* 
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 17:27
|
|
|
I really liked this mission. Everything about it just screamed "proper Shadowrun" to me.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 17:52
|
|
|
I had to let James live, mostly because nothing about the mission really told me that anyone who dies in combat dies in the story (not the case in the rest of the game, obviously). What happens if you get him killed in a clash with security on floor one?
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 18:24
|
|
|
Xander77 posted:What happens if you get him killed in a clash with security on floor one? Presumably the mission fails as you cannot cloak the cameras without him.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 18:30
|
|
|
Yup, we were just tricked into committing a terrorist bombing. Lesson learned: never deal with a hipster. Kanfy posted:And so thanks to our skill and competence the job was finished to the letter with (almost) minimal casualties - meaning in the end the seemingly enslaved elf is dead, the racist rear end in a top hat is paid and gets away scott-free, Luca gets exactly what he wants and Jana's ordinary life with her cat and her boyfriend is probably ruined forever. I have the feeling that James' horrified look is him realizing that if they were expecting him to die that means they want to get rid of him and that his days are numbered. AceOfFlames fucked around with this message at 20:59 on May 11, 2018 |
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 19:15
|
|
|
It also means that all our comments about him being an insignificant little poo poo are absolutely true. And he's about to find out just how insignificant.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 19:29
|
|
|
AceOfFlames posted:Yup, we were just tricked into committing a terrorist bombing. Yeah, it says a lot about the organization that they are completely willing to say that it right in front of him. Both the arrogance and the cruelty.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 19:34
|
|
|
This will all be worth it for the fabulous rewards of evil.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 19:38
|
|
|
Fighting Trousers posted:Gah, this run is the absolute WORST. Makes some of the jobs to come after feel downright virtuous by comparison. I was too much of a care bear to go through with the run after James pissed off the elf one time too many. He ate lead. A lot of it. And I promptly said gently caress the Lodge. Yeah, yeah, a runner with scruples, a unicorn in this business, but whatevs, everything about this run just pissed me off. Might not have been the most lucrative solution, but once I heard that this was for "the Lodge", it only made me want to screw them over even more for metaplot reasons. gently caress Duerr and James and all their smug faces. You gonna show the post run briefing if you kill James before the cameras are planted? GhostStalker fucked around with this message at 19:57 on May 11, 2018 |
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 19:54
|
|
|
Yeah this is the one that made me go Decker, because gently caress the courtyard fight with those two useless bozos as allies, and I missed the Jolt seller so double gently caress trying to fight my way out through the lobby.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 19:55
|
|
|
Johnsonchat: The Johnson relationship is a tricky beast in the tabletop. The name itself is a hint - 'Mr Johnson' was how the corporate suit would anonymize themselves, because they won't use their real name when dealing with Shadowrunners. The mutual distrust plus the existence of the 'betrayed by the employer' trope in the cyberpunk fiction the game draws from built upon itself to a ludicrous degree. By the time I got into the game, the 'Betrayed by the Johnson' twist was less of a twist and more expected and planned for every single time by every team of runners. It got to the point that they'd actually be put off-balance and start getting paranoid and second-guessing what just happened if the Johnson just paid them the agreed-upon fee peacefully. The idea that a Johnson didn't screw the party in some way became unthinkable, so if they didn't stab you in the back to pocket the fee they must be screwing you in some other way. Exchanging your plans for the Johnson meet became something of a pastime in the community, growing ever more elaborate and paranoid. Fourth Edition is (AFAIK) when they introduced codified 'Contact Loyalty', which went some way to mitigate this. If you spend your precious Build Points on having your Johnson on your character sheet, then you could actually have a stat defining how loyal they are to you, from a completely mercenary relationship at level 1 to having them willing to stick their neck out for you at level 3 or even having them willing to risk their life and livelihood for you at rating 6. If you throw about eight of your build points into locking down your Johnson, you could have it mechanically guaranteed that your Johnson won't try to knock you off just to pocket the funds, or if they're the middleman, that they'll tip you off if the employer is acting shady and you need to start taking precautions. A small price to pay, considering that the average entry level for Shadowrunners was 400 build points in 4e. In this way, the runner-Johnson relationship evolved. Betrayal was no longer a given, but complications still need to be thrown in, so Johnsons developed quirks. Perhaps they have a preference for a certain approach to runs, offering extra pay if you colour within their lines. Perhaps they keep secrets from the runners. Perhaps their goals are terrible. The clearcut inevitable betrayal of the previous generation of Johnsons gave way to the shades of grey of having to decide whether you wanted this person to be a major part of your life and career. I haven't played the game nor do I know the metaplot of the group, so I can't say one way or the other, but my impression is that the Lodge probably won't try to screw the protagonist for their fee. But their goals are murky and violent. So the question is not: do you trust them? Instead: do you want to be a part of that? Does enough nuyen wash the blood from your hands?
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 20:26
|
|
|
Tehan posted:my impression is that the Lodge probably won't try to screw the protagonist for their fee. Dude literally just told a guy that he's a disposable asset that they expected to die on the mission. They have no problem at all loving their runners over. Have to admit though that I actually like this result bettor for him. The dead don't suffer after all, and that rear end in a top hat is going to spend the rest of his (probably very short) life a paranoid wreck.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 20:57
|
|
|
Tehan posted:In this way, the runner-Johnson relationship evolved. Betrayal was no longer a given, but complications still need to be thrown in, so Johnsons developed quirks. Perhaps they have a preference for a certain approach to runs, offering extra pay if you colour within their lines. Perhaps they keep secrets from the runners. Perhaps their goals are terrible. The clearcut inevitable betrayal of the previous generation of Johnsons gave way to the shades of grey of having to decide whether you wanted this person to be a major part of your life and career. The Johnson concept has inspired some genuinely interesting study, because the concept is a core part of the cyberpunk mythos and yet the figure is inherently untrustworthy. I particularly liked one sourcebook (precisely which one, I've sadly forgotten) noting the quirks of different nationalities and corporations. Not every part of the globe has the suave dark-glasses hacker figure or the dark-suited man with a bulging briefcase and shoulder holster. It gave a wonderful rundown of what a sinister fixer is expected to look like to different cultures and regions. I remember German ones gave the name "Herr Schmidt" or "Herr Meier", and I do hope we run into one.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 21:06
|
|
|
AceOfFlames posted:Yup, we were just tricked into committing a terrorist bombing. Now now, not necessarily a terrorist bombing. I had less problem with blowing up some corp's joint when doing this run, and mainly felt bad that I couldn't cap James in the subway at the end/save the elf. I was also surprised that Dana wasn't a mole keeping tabs on me. Tehan posted:Johnsonchat: I like the notion that there are Johnsons that you can trust to some extent as you build a relationship, and also that it makes you going outside your usual Johnson a much more freighted choice. I'd imagine in the runner's world a Johnson's good reputation is worth their weight in gold. Which is a good reason for them to pay out for the run... it's just bad luck that one of the runners happened to get hit by a car while crossing the street a week later, and that another was blown up in that gas leak.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 21:13
|
|
|
'Herr Schmidt' was made famous by the smash hit trideo series 'Karl Kombatmage'  habeasdorkus posted:I like the notion that there are Johnsons that you can trust to some extent as you build a relationship, and also that it makes you going outside your usual Johnson a much more freighted choice. I'd imagine in the runner's world a Johnson's good reputation is worth their weight in gold. Which is a good reason for them to pay out for the run... it's just bad luck that one of the runners happened to get hit by a car while crossing the street a week later, and that another was blown up in that gas leak. It's also a drat useful GM tool. If the group is up for a full arc filled with paranoia and uneasy alliances and whatnot, introduce a new and unknown Johnson and have the crew sniff around the job and play the angles and decide whether to take the job and if so how to mitigate the risk. If instead the group is in the mood for a oneshot run to clear the palate or build up resources or just because it's a Saturday afternoon and half the players are already drinking, have the job delivered by a known and trusted Johnson so they can concentrate all their efforts on the job itself.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 21:27
|
|
|
I think I missed something, because I'm confused. What's a Johnson? From reading the last few posts, I gather it's someone who passes on jobs, but I thought that was a fixer?
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 23:06
|
|
|
EggsAisle posted:I think I missed something, because I'm confused. What's a Johnson? From reading the last few posts, I gather it's someone who passes on jobs, but I thought that was a fixer?
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 23:08
|
|
|
Yeah, Mr/Mrs Johnson is the person with a problem. Your fixer is the man in the middle, who can put Johnsons in touch with runners and (hopefully) vet each party to ensure as much as possible that they're on the up and up with each other.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 23:12
|
|
|
Poil posted:The Johnson is the one who contacts the fixer about needing runners for a job and the fixer sets up the meeting. I fairly certain. Yeah, or sometimes runners arrange things directly with the Johnson. This may happens when runners are just starting out and don't have a fixer yet, or they may cut their fixer out to get a larger share of the take or for some other reason. Cutting out your fixer to work directly with a Johnson is an extraordinary bad idea for a number of reasons, as Monika volunteered to demonstrate.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 23:14
|
|
|
EggsAisle posted:I think I missed something, because I'm confused. What's a Johnson? From reading the last few posts, I gather it's someone who passes on jobs, but I thought that was a fixer? The fixer is the guy who collects the runners' jobs for them. Think of them as the coordinator for a contract agency. "Mr. Johnson" is the moniker/role of a corporate flunky who needs something handled off the books/with deniability. It both points to their need to remain at least superficially anonymous, and to their ultimate interchangeable nature--the old Mr. Johnson retired/got transferred, now Mr. Johnson here has a job for you. Some relationships are closer than others.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 23:16
|
|
|
Fixers help a Shadowrunner Get Stuff. Need to find a rare gun? A fixer can probably help you find a seller, or a place to smash and grab. Need to sell something? A Fixer can help find an interested buyer and set up a meet. Need a job? A Fixer helps you find someone who needs violence and skullduggery, discriminate or indiscriminate, and will pay lots for the appropriate talent. They get an appropriate cut of whatever deal - a finder's fee or a share of the spoils. The person the Fixer helps you find is in the UCAS called Mr. Johnson, named both for anonymity and for associations with sex work, because corporate Johnsons are potentially undeservedly infamous for leaving out critical, need-to-know information and screwing over runners. Mind you, this is bad behavior in general and a repeatedly traitorous Johnson soon ends up either dead at the hands of his own betrayal or no longer finding schmucks via fixers unless he pays far more than it's worth.. but there's always the *chance* that you aren't worth keeping alive after you accomplish whatever task set before you. Other terms include Herr/Frau Schmidt in Germany, Herr Keller in Switzerland, Herr/Doktor Nowak in Austria, Mr. Smith or Mr. Jones in Great Britain, Mr. Tanaka in Japan, Mr. Wu in China and Hong Kong, Mr. Kim in Korea, Seo Silva in Brazil, Mr. Khan n in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Senor Fernandez in Spain... mostly chosen for sounding relatively anonymous. As we saw in the last mission of the previous Returns LP, Saeder-Krupp diverges a bit; all SK resource managers are called Hans Brackhaus. Which is also the metahuman alias of the CEO, Lofwyr. They essentially don't want to be 'anonymous' so much. They want you to know they speak with the backing of a dragon, and loving with them is akin to loving with that dragon. Edit: To clarify, the idea is that 99% of the time you don't get screwed over, but that 1% of the time gets infamous enough that it becomes the meme. Nekomimi-Maiden fucked around with this message at 00:05 on May 12, 2018 |
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 23:32
|
|
|
The whole inbuilt assumption that Mr. Johnson is 90% likely to screw you over makes me really glad that Blades in the Dark specifically tells the GM to not screw over the players when it comes to payout. If they complete the job, no matter how badly, they get paid. You can't have the client double-cross them, or have it turn out to be a sting, or have it so when the PCs show up at the meet everyone's been killed by forces unknown. The reasoning is that, in Blades, the players are going to have a ton of other trouble coming at them in all directions as it is, so don't make them worry about this, too.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 23:47
|
|
|
I never understood the fun in dealing with Johnsons who just exist to screw you over. Occasionally sure but if it happens often I would only get annoyed and rather just put a bullet in their head during the first meeting. Pretty much the same result but a lot quicker. Oh and then the group's decker will steal their car to pay for the run. Lack of trust is within the setting but if you can rely on them betraying to that level you why even bother pretending? Granted at that point, or before, you should take it up with the GM and not start trying to sabotage the game.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2018 23:58
|
|
|
I feel like fifth edition really pulls hard in the other direction about Johnson screw overs. It suggests that it be used sparingly, if at all. In any of the games I've run the most backstabby action comes from enemies the players have made although I do think that having the Johnson be dead when you get to the drop-off makes for a really compelling jumping off point for more drama.
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2018 00:01
|
|
|
GunnerJ posted:This will all be worth it for the fabulous rewards of evil. YES. So faubulous. Nothing of this " Doing good is its own reward" hippie bullshit. Nekomimi-Maiden posted:Other terms include [...] Canada is obviously a moose in a suit called Mr. Bunyan and Australia has Mr. Crocodile Dundee. OutofSight fucked around with this message at 00:30 on May 12, 2018 |
|
#
?
May 12, 2018 00:02
|
|
|
OutofSight posted:Canada is obviously a moose in a suit called Mr. Bunyan and Australia has Mr. Crocodile Dundee. Canada doesn't exist anymore, they'd be Mr. Johnsons along with the rest of the UCAS. Poil posted:I never understood the fun in dealing with Johnsons who just exist to screw you over. Occasionally sure but if it happens often I would only get annoyed and rather just put a bullet in their head during the first meeting. Pretty much the same result but a lot quicker. Oh and then the group's decker will steal their car to pay for the run. Lack of trust is within the setting but if you can rely on them betraying to that level you why even bother pretending? Ditto. Having a Johnson screw you over once in a while makes for a carefully cultivated paranoia. Having it happen all the time seems unfun and really doesn't make sense if a corp wants to keep hiring runners, since it'll filter through the runner networks that after taking a job for so and so corp, the team always winds up dead or screwed over.
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2018 00:25
|
|
|
RudeCat posted:I feel like fifth edition really pulls hard in the other direction about Johnson screw overs. It suggests that it be used sparingly, if at all. In any of the games I've run the most backstabby action comes from enemies the players have made although I do think that having the Johnson be dead when you get to the drop-off makes for a really compelling jumping off point for more drama. It's always been overstated. The whole "Johnson screws you over bit" is SUPPOSED to be rare, as being a Shadowrunner wouldn't be a lucrative career choice if it was super common. It's basically a stereotype vs. reality. It might be true in certain cases, but it most certainly ain't the normal rule. As for it being the norm in tabletop - well, it's an easy (but not necessarily good) way to make a story happen. mauman fucked around with this message at 01:11 on May 12, 2018 |
|
#
?
May 12, 2018 00:26
|
|
|
Loxbourne posted:The Johnson concept has inspired some genuinely interesting study, because the concept is a core part of the cyberpunk mythos and yet the figure is inherently untrustworthy. It might have been Mr. Johnson's Little Black Book, which is all about planning adventures from the initial meeting with Johnson to the final payoff or screw-over. Roleplaying notes for lots of different Johnson and contact examples. Seed ideas for all kinds of runs. I've been reading it while trying to plan my own campaign.
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2018 00:35
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 19, 2024 11:40 |
|
|
According to the German wiki, in Australia, Johnsons are called 'Macquarie'. It's not a common name for people here, but it's a ludicrously common name for everything else. It's a neat little touch. From the Corporate Court splatbook, Corporate Johnsons: Ares: For runners that have proven themselves with a job or two, they provide detailed dossiers to go with assignments and throws in free medical, with the aim of securing them as permanent assets. Doing a run for Ares and then turning around and doing one against them pisses them off worse than if you'd just hit them twice, though. They don't ask for exclusivity, but they very much will punish double-dealing. Aztechnology: Aztechnology, Aztlan, and the 'Path of the Sun' Aztec revival religion are one big package, and your average Aztechnology Johnson will believe implicitly in all three. They've also got a belief that their in-house elites, the Guerreros, can do anything a runner can do only better, so they'll view runners as even more disposable than the other AAAs do. There's really no good reason to ever work for Aztechnology, and as such their Johnsons often pretend to be from other companies, or just don't reveal the company they work for. Evo: They've got 'EvoCulture' that creates 'EvoPeople', incentivized corporate social events to emphasize harmony and open-mindedness, and the Evo Johnsons are the product of this. They tend to be open-minded in dealing, offering all sorts of Evo products and services instead of or along with cold, hard cash to make a Runner feel valued. It doesn't stop them from screwing you, but they'll apologize and mean it as they do so. They're also the most metahuman-friendly of the AAAs, since the primary shareholder is a Free Spirit called Buttercup. Horizon: Are loving terrifying. They've weaponized social media to create the most bulletproof cultural persona since Dunkelzahn even though they do just as much heinous poo poo as any of the AAAs and possibly worse, since their human networking projects tend to creep far too close to 'hive mind' for comfort. Their Johnsons tend to be True Believers and if they do turn on you - which they will in an instant if you're more of a liability than an asset - you can expect to be erased from history for good measure. But while you're in their good books, expect them to act in exactly the right way to engender good feelings in you, and to pay for post-run R&R trips as a sweetener. Mitsuhama: They were a Yakuza money-laundering operation that got way out of hand, and don't you forget it. Their Johnson are control freaks and have every step of your run mapped out before you even get the call, deviation is heavily frowned upon, and failure is unacceptable. On the bright side, they provide equipment and even fire support for when poo poo hits the fan. Another cute quirk: often, they'll require biometrics from you before you work for them, and though they expect you to work for others on the side, if you ever run against Mitsuhama, those biometrics can and will be used against you by their wage-mages. NeoNET: More than any of the other AAAs, NeoNET is a morass of consortiums, affiliates and subsidiaries rather than one unified company. This lack of corporate identity means there's no real norms for NeoNET Johnsons. Be prepared for anything. Renraku: Another Japanacorp, this one very much likes to have the upper hand when dealing with Shadowrunners. Their Johnsons are called Mr Satou, and it's important to know which Johnsons are Satous because if you're being hired to do a run against Renraku it might be Renraku hiring you - they take penetration testing very seriously. They also like to have their runners on permanent and exclusive retainers, and if their runners slip their leash, they have an elite cadre of anti-runner warriors called Red Samurai and they aren't shy about deploying them. Saeder-Krupp: As mentioned earlier, every S-K Johnson is Mr Hans Brackhaus, the metahuman alias of the Great Dragon, Lofwyr. S-K is not a company. It is a non-traditional take on a dragon's hoard that merely resembles a company. As such, think long and hard before loving with them, because there's no sort of 'proportionate response' or 'cost-benefit analysis' in whether they strike back, just pure retribution. They prefer to keep things in-house, turning to Shadowrunners only when a job is urgent, dangerous, requires a great deal of brute force, or all of the above. As such, the runners they do work with tend to be the upper echelons of the Shadowrunner community. Shiawase: The third Japanacorp is very Japan; Shinto is the company religion and the Chairwomen of the Board is also the wife of the Emperor. Corporate culture is enforced openly and stringently from the top down. They believe in being polite, being knowledgeable, maintaining face, and demanding respect. Their Johnsons are Naka-udo-san, which is an old name for marriage arrangers, which is a metaphor you could chew over for days. They never speak directly, often prefer to oversee things personally, and have a trademark type of shadowrun where they basically pay runners to crash shareholder meetings of rival or target corporations, disrupt proceedings, and try to provoke the board members of the corporation to act in a way that causes them to lose face. Wuxing: If you tried to list the AAAs, Wuxing is likely to be the one you forget. They do a little bit of everything, and they don't maintain a public image; they maintain the lack of one. Mostly what they are is a middle-man, working behind the scenes; money-lending and transportation. If the average citizen looked, they could probably find something made by Wuxing in their home, of a reasonably priced and reasonably serviceable product that doesn't excel or disappoint. But chances are, most of what they own was transported by Wuxing at at least one point in the manufacturing process. They believe in guanxi, hierarchical relationships built on trust, respect, and reciprocity. If you're in good standing with a Wuxing Johnson, they will never, ever betray you, and will go out of their way to smooth out the little bumps in life for you; but they expect you to be there when they need you in exchange. As well as this, the guanxi extends to their corporate model - below Wuxing is an endless horde of affiliated minor companies, and they regularly employ shadowrunners to perform jobs on behalf of their favoured companies. They're also the ones that hire shadowrunners to disrupt the feng shui in the offices of their rivals. Tehan fucked around with this message at 01:00 on May 12, 2018 |
|
#
?
May 12, 2018 00:57
|
|