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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 26 2007, 11:51 PM (202 Views) | |
| Post #1 Oct 26 2007, 11:51 PM | DaFranker |
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Connecting Jackpoint VPN … … Matrix Access ID Spoofed. … Encryption Keys Generated. … Connected to Onion Routers. > Login **************************** > Enter Passcode **************************** … Biometric Scan Confirmed. Connected to <ERROR: NODE UNKNOWN> >>>>Open Thread/Subnode221.251.2 >>>>Thread Access Restrictions:: <Yes/No> >>>>Format:: <Open Post/Comment Only/Read Only> >>>>File Attachment:: <Yes/No> >>>>Thread Descriptor:: Seattle Locales >>>>Thread Posted By User:: The Smiling Bandit >It seems we have been missing some information regarding the important spots for shadowrunners in Seattle. I will be regularly posting information concerning some of the most branché establishments and the places where people like you will be. Feel free to suggest or add your own places, or request information about one in particular. >The Smiling Bandit
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| Post #2 Nov 7 2007, 09:43 PM | DaFranker |
> Getting invited to a meeting at the Eye is a good indication that you've hit the big time in the Seattle shadows. If you ever get the opportunity, be sure to make a good impression, or you won't be invited back. > ZapperWeisman > Gynt, the owner, is a dapper dwarf with a neatly trimmed beard and fine tastes (in clothes, food, wine and just about everything else). He seems to know everyone who's anyone in the metroplex, and hobnobs with the creme de la creme of Seattle society. He was rumored to be good friend swith the late Don James O'Malley of the seattle Mafia, which made the Needle somewhat less popular with the yakuza. That may have changed. > Dan the Man > The Eye may be “big time,” but veteran shadowrunners wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot troll. It’s a cliché. All that “see and be seen” shit is bogus—when you’re a real runner (not some wannabe with too much cred, too much luck, and too much ego) you don’t want to be seen. Anybody who goes here (runners or Johnsons) is just trying to impress somebody. Beware. > Sticks > Couldn’t get a reservation again, eh Sticks? > Dr. Spin
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| Post #3 Dec 11 2007, 07:32 PM | DaFranker |
> The holos really are first-rate: most of the time you can’t tell if that sim starlet you’re dancing next to is real or an amazingly accurate holo. They like to seed their dance floors with the famous and beautiful to get people in the partying mood. They also use hidden tight-beam audio to zap people with whispered messages that only they can hear. > Slamm-0! > Infinity’s major claim to shadowrunner fame is that they have the best high-security meeting rooms in Seattle. They’re set up so you can see some of them (and they can see you) from the dance floor, but others you wouldn’t even know were there if you didn’t have reason to. They do each of their rooms in a single color scheme: the higher up the ROYGBIV scale you go, the more secure (and more expensive) the room. The ultraviolet room is saved for “special guests.” > Haze > Oddly, nobody seems to know who owns this place. Sure, there are rumors—everything from the Yak or the Mafia up to some dragon or another—but the ownership is snarled up in so much red tape and dummy corporations that it’s impossible to find out for sure. One things’s certain—considering how fast this place went up and opened for business, whoever’s behind it has some serious clout and equally serious cred. > Cosmo
> When the old manager, Al Castanzo, died recently, the owners brought in a new guy—a dwarf named Vincent O’Halloran. Trouble is, now that Vince is in place, he’s making noises about breaking ties with the Yaks who’ve been providing security and courting the Finnigan Mafia family instead. Nobody knows if the Finnigans have something on him, but if they don’t get it straightened out, O’Halloran’s not long for this world. > 2XL > I’d hate to see anything happen to the 93, but biz is biz. You don’t screw with the Yaks. > Kia
> These guys are pretty serious about their secrecy—they employ hackers to scour the Matrix for any references to them. If they find one, they wipe it. > Dr. Spin > If you ever manage to get inside, don’t even think of trying to take pictures or sending anything out. The walls block wireless and radio, and the astral wards are nigh invulnerable. Their security methods are scary. If they catch you, the least of your worries will be losing your membership. > Danger Sensei > Most of the corps have memberships that let them admit guests on their cards, so they use it to entertain out-of-town biz associates. If you can wrangle a way in, it’s a great place to make all kinds of contacts. They don’t take just anybody, though, so if you’re a lowlife or a newbie, don’t even bother. > Cosmo
> For a particular type of runner (and I by this mean the type who tends toward violent jobs) this place is as good as a hiring hall. Even the Johnsons are tough—they have to be, or they’d get eaten alive. > Riser > Yeah, a great place—if getting raped in the bathroom or having your head caved in for your cheap commlink are your idea of fun. > Baka Dabora |
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| Post #4 Dec 11 2007, 07:41 PM | DaFranker |
> The Rhino, aside from having the best ribs in town, is also one of the best places to pick up work if you’re an ork shadowrunner who’s new in town. It’s also a good place to pick up a guide who will take you into the parts of the Underground that most tourists don’t get to see, but you’ll have to impress him or her first. > Sounder
> Nobody knows how they do it, but they seem to be frighteningly effective at separating legitimate customers from snoopy cops and animal-rights activists. If you’re one of these and you manage to get in, you’ll find to your embarrassment that your “piasma steak” is good old-fashioned cow when you hurry off with your doggy bag to have it analyzed. > Glasswalker > The Peaceable Kingdom is run by Pan Wenshi, whose ties to the Octagon Triad run deep. Think twice before you try to save the furry animals by messing with these guys, or you might end up on the menu. And I mean that literally—some of their customers have more exotic tastes than others. > Hannibelle > There’s work to be had here on both sides: the Kingdom pays well for paranimal species delivered alive, and the animal-lib rads people pay well for information or help in shutting them down. > Cosmo
> Keep your eyes open if you venture in, especially if you don’t know anybody—many of the permanent residents there are as brutal and dangerous as anybody in Seattle. > Sounder > Let’s just say it, shall we? Most of the residents are Ghostdamned mutants. We’re talking several irradiated generations of living here in some cases, and some of the younger batch aren’t pretty—in fact, some wouldn’t even call them metahuman any more. And the “animals” they keep as pets aren’t any better. The local shamans do their best to help the squatters, but magic isn’t exactly easy in the area, and some of them have grown a little strange from living there. > Plan 9 > I’ve heard that several local shamans have banded together and had some success in cleaning up the radiation. They finance their operation by running a smuggling ring to bring telesma back from the Cascades, some of which helps to fuel their cleanup project. They can always use help if you’re looking to sweeten your cred balance while making a difference—a good difference. > Winterhawk |
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| Post #5 Dec 11 2007, 08:06 PM | DaFranker |
> Mama’s a first-class enchanter who likes to experiment. She often hires runners to pick up whatever crazy-ass ingredients she needs for what she’s building. Be aware, though, sometimes what she needs is alive … > Jimmy No > Even though Raj seems like he’s not quite right in the head, don’t underestimate him. He’s a powerful mage. If you threaten Mama, you’re liable to find yourself missing vital body parts. > Winterhawk
> Talk to one of the bartenders here, an elf woman named Lila, and she can hook you up with all kinds of pharmaceutical goodies to enhance your experience, especially bliss, psyche, and zen. > Jimmy No > You’re forgetting the big one. Cocoon is popular with adepts because they can score the deepweed they need to allow them to astrally perceive and get in on the action. > Nephrine
> I have an old picture of that statue from back in ’53, and it’s not the same statue as the one currently in place—one of the arms is in a different position (Link). Think maybe the story is true, and the real statue is hidden away somewhere? > FastJack > C’mon, ’Jack, I’ve seen you doctor pictures with more expertise than that. No way am I buying into one of your pranks again. > Snopes > The new owner, an elf named Cheri Ostler, is sometimes seen with a gray cat that assenses strangely. Some of the patrons swear they’ve seen a bigger version of the same cat prowling around the neighborhood late at night, but no one’s been able to prove it. > Winterhawk
> Be careful: they aren’t too discriminating about checking their doctors’ credentials, so it’s hit and miss depending on which one you get. If you have to use their services, look for Dr. Alvarez in Auburn. > Hannibelle > They also don’t look too closely at their patients’ bona fides. They’ll do kids, criminals, the SINless—if you have the cred and you can flash them a halfway believable fake ID, you’re in. On the other hand, they don’t exactly protect their client’s information too well, either—so if you need to hack some suit’s daily med dosage… > The Smiling Bandit
> Lou does magical tattoos, too—very expensive, but worth it from what I’ve heard. He doesn’t advertise the fact that he’s magically active. > Winterhawk > If you want magical stuff, it’s worth trying to see his assistant. Her name’s Selena, and she’s only there occasionally—never on a schedule. Rumor is that she’s a free spirit. If you think Lou does some amazing work, you should see what she comes up with. > Jimmy No > Lou is uncanny about tapping into what you want, even if you don’t know it. If you’re brave enough, go into his shop and tell him to just do what he feels. I’ve never met anyone who’s been dissatisfied with the results. > Ethernaut > He does a lot of work for the Yakuza, so if you’ve got a beef with them, stay away from his shop. > Kia
> The Body Mall is a crapshoot. If you lose, you’re likely to end up on Tamanous’s supply manifest. If you absolutely must go there, look for Dr. Elaine Pinsky or Dr. Moe Arasaka. Dr. Arasaka’s the biggest, scariest-looking troll you’re likely to see, but he’s a damned good doc and he won’t carve you up for parts. > Hannibelle > I’ve heard that the Yaks are moving in on Tamanous’s turf at the Body Mall, still trying to get their organlegging operations off the ground. Nothing like two sets of ghouls hovering over your body before you’re dead. > Butch > You guys are paranoid. I’ve had plenty of work done at the Body Mall and I’m still here. You just have to keep your wits about you and your friends close by. That’s smart in any circumstances. > Sounder |
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| Post #6 Dec 11 2007, 08:46 PM | DaFranker |
> This place has got some weird AR iconography—all that dinosaur tech’s overlaid to make it look like it’s alive. Eyes, tentacles, the whole bit. It’s creepy, if you ask me. > FastJack > Maybe so, but this is the place to go if you need somebody to wrench on your old-style cyberdeck, help you deal with obsolete media formats, or even hook you up with some nonstandard techs. Most hackers these days are all about software, but a good hardware geek can be worth her weight in gold when you need her. > Slamm-0!
> He’s not kidding. One night I was at Tux’s when a couple of Matrix gangs got into a difference of opinion over what the place should look like. One side wanted a geisha house while the other one wanted a circus theme. I’ll tell you, those geisha girls with monkey heads and clown shoes looked weird, but damn, they gave good virtual foot rubs! > Slamm-0!
> If you’re looking for big firepower, talk to a dwarf named Otto who’s got a gun shop down at the south end of the second floor. He’s connected with the Red Hot Nukes and he can get you some major bang-bang. Tell him I sent you. > Beaker > The lady who runs Fatima’s Magical Emporium on the third floor is actually a free spirit, and she’s always looking for new exotic materials for her telesma. Check with her if you’ve got any or if you want a job hunting for some. > Winterhawk
> She’s not kidding—this place is a treasure trove of surveillance gear, spy stuff, and practical jokes that you can rig for all sorts of uses their creators never intended. They’ve got a whole showroom down in the basement dedicated to the kind of stuff that the average customer doesn’t get to see. None of it’s illegal per se, but it’s pretty obvious how to modify it so it will be. If you can’t figure it out, ask—their employees are very helpful. Some of them are former shadowrunners. > Clockwork > Sometimes they hire runners as testers for some of their new gear, so be sure to ask around if you’re looking for work. To paraphrase an old flatscreen movie, “Little surprises around every corner, but nothing deadly… yet.” > Rigger X
> If you’re thinking of accessing the ACHE via the Ork Underground, think again—the military grew wise to that trick and tracked down most (if not all) of the access points to seal them. They still keep a close eye on them, just to make sure no one tries to break through again. > Traveler Jones
> Take him seriously—part of the reason they’ve sealed off the top floors is because they haven’t yet been able to flush out and deal with all of the little toys and traps left behind by the mad AI and its minions. > Slamm-0!
> Mitsuhama also operates “zero-zones” at its other Seattle facilities. For example, its Cavilard Research Park in Bellevue—where they developed the prototype bio-drones you now see on the market—is completely locked down by security riggers. They also make heavy use of RFID-readers to track personnel (and spot unauthorized persons) as well as jamming or blocking wireless in critical areas. They don’t fuck around. > Pistons |
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| Post #7 Dec 11 2007, 09:30 PM | DaFranker |
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>>>>Open Thread/Subnode221.253.7 >>>>Thread Access Restrictions:: <Yes/No> >>>>Format:: <Open Post/Comment Only/Read Only> >>>>File Attachment:: <Yes/No> >>>>Thread Descriptor:: The Seattle Runner Scene >>>>Thread Posted By User:: Cosmo Seattle was an early adopter of the shadowrunning trend. It may be due to the city’s unique status as an isolated port, simultaneously surrounded by enemies and serving as a major international gateway. Or it may be due to the eclectic mix of corporate interests crammed together in a small region, enticing them all to poke and prod at their competitors. Or it may have something to do with the massive gap between rich and poor, particularly the sprawl’s widespread urban ghettoes, large SINless population, and the simple economics that make street crime a way of life for so many. More likely, it’s the combination of these factors all in one area, creating the perfect blend of high tech and low-life that draws shady corporate, political, and criminal interests together. Whatever the reasons, the shadows are an integral part of Seattle’s history now, spawning an entire mythology of events and characters. It’s no surprise to see newsfeed pundits and bloggers calling Seattle a “criminal mecca,” “lawless frontier town,” or “vice capital” when you have major trid series and sim-flicks that sensationalize the Seattle shadows (sometimes based on real people and events). With regular (and sometimes hysterical) media coverage, Seattle’s runner population is alternately idolized as dashing Robin Hood-esque heroes and castigated as a major threat to public safety. Though you’ll see politicos and blowhards calling for a law enforcement crackdown to rid the streets of hoodlums and terrorists, the truth is the street element is entrenched here. It’s far too valuable to the thousands of Mr. Johnsons and their influential superiors, who need the shadows so that they don’t get their own hands dirty. Your average Seattleite knows the score and they actually accept the runner scene with a sense of pride, each claiming to their buddies that they actually know a shadowrunner or two—through a friend of a friend, of course. All this serves to make Seattle an actual runner haven of sorts—the corps know to hire here and the runners know to come here for work. In fact, across the UCAS and even the NAN states, Seattle is considered a virtual paradise for runner wannabes, the place to go to get into the big time. Every ganger in the sprawl who’s ever toted a gun fancies himself a runner, and the local data havens have a hard time keeping the script kiddies and shadow-paparazzi out. > People go fanatic over the strangest things, and the shadows are no exceptions. There are trid pirates and newsfeeds that do nothing but comment and speculate on shadow activity in the sprawl. Most of it’s crap compiled by fans who get a vicarious thrill out of following some runner’s every move. Heck, some of these runner-stalkers can been more of a nuisance than Star surveillance or some enemy’s subtle vendetta. But occasionally the shadow press contains some interesting factoids, or can be useful as a way to spread your own red herrings. > Dr. Spin > It’s also really frickin’ annoying. Last time a wanna-be barfed on my boat, I nearly left him on Vashon Island next to the ghoul colony. Mr. “Lookin’ for Excitement” got more than he could handle just on the pleasure cruise, much less on a real run. Amateurs. > Sounder While it’s a good sign to see fresh faces and talent coming into the scene, fact is a lot of the new arrivals are in over their heads. So here’s a short primer on Seattle’s runner scene for those of you are who new to it. It may be worth passing on to that new kid before he gets himself killed. [size=4]SEATTLE ETIQUETTE[/size] Newbs and foreign runners need to know a few things about how the shadows are run in Seattle (or, sometimes, anywhere at all). Most of these are common sense, but you’d be surprised how many times an up-and-coming runner’s career was cut painfully short by not following the same rules as everyone else. On the other hand, guarantees are few in the sprawl—you might stumble into a meet where the players do things according to their own rules and anything I tell you might just land you in hot water. The best advice I can offer is that you research the situation ahead of time, keep your cool, and use your best judgment. In worst cases, always try to get out first, hide second, and figure things out third. Fixers First rule of running in Seattle: get a fixer. In a town this crowded with talent, if you don’t have a fixer working your rep, you’re nobody. Fortunately there are a lot fixers out there looking for new teams to add to their stable, though you can be sure they’ll only pass you small-time jobs until you prove you’re a professional—no matter what sort of rep you had in another city or how many references you have. Pick your fixer carefully (if you have a choice, that is)—they have reps too, and it’s hard to be in this business long without making some enemies. Some are strictly small fry, but you can always work your way up the ladder. Alternately, if you can’t find a fixer, get a regular gig with a crime family that regular outsources. The Mafia and the Yaks always have freelance gigs for which they want some extra plausible deniability. Just make sure you don’t get too tight with them, or you may soon be considered part of the family whether you want to be or not—and once you’re in, you’re in for life. > Note that in Seattle, fixers rarely get invited to the initial meet between Mr. Johnson and the runners. The underground grapevine is simply too extensive here, and Mr. Johnson usually only wants to give the fixer as much info as is necessary to find a properly qualified team. For the most part, fixers are treated as talent scouts rather than middle-man. A lot of fixers prefer this too, as the less they’re involved in the run, the less they have to worry about getting caught up in a messy situation if the team screws up. > Haze If you’re new to town, a fixer is also your best bet for acquiring gear. They’re likely to have all the necessary contacts and will be way more adept at navigating the underworld black market dynamics than you. If all else fails and you need to acquire something yourself, start at the Crime Mall in Puyallup and hope for the best. Street Cred The freelance criminal community in Seattle is large enough to populate an arcology. On the one hand, this sea of crooks makes it easier for all of us to swim around in without getting caught. On the other hand, everybody tends to know a lot of other somebodies, and word has a way of traveling faster than light if you’re not careful. To top it off, all of those other runners out there are your allies, enemies, and competition all rolled into one. If you play the scene well, you might just have fewer bullets in you at the end of the night than the others. The first thing to remember here is that your street cred really matters. If you’ve got a decent rep and the right contacts, then there’s an entire underworld of resources available to you. If you fuck that up and develop a reputation as a guy who shoots his mouth off, doesn’t take things seriously, or fails to back up his buddies or honor a deal, then you will very quickly become a nobody in this town. Friends and contacts will simply evaporate or refuse to deal with you if you don’t maintain a good record. > Who you are or were on the streets of your home town means shit to most Seattle runners. We’re a fairly cosmopolitan city, but we don’t keep track of who’s the big dawg in every sprawl. If you want respect in the Seattle shadows, you have to earn it local. Partly that’s because the Seattle runner crowd has a rather elitist self-perspective, seeing itself as one of the only runner havens that really matters. That’s not even nearly accurate, of course—I’d personally be more inclined to give props to someone who spent years running the shadows of some locked-down corporate bubble like Neo-Tokyo as compared to the easy time runners have it here in the Emerald City. > Traveler Jones > Don’t take that to assume that no one’s ever heard of you in Seattle. Most of the Triads know who’s who in Hong Kong, for example, and you can bet your ass the other syndicates and corps keep an eye out for anyone with a rep from out of town. > Jimmy No > Yeah, that’s the disadvantage to everyone being so connected—you’ve gotta run farther than Seattle to escape some trouble you started somewhere else. > Traveler Jones This is more important than ever given that even shadowrunners are tapped into Seattle’s online social reputation networks. ShadowSea runs a “credit rating” routine that calculates a score for you based on feedback from other runners and shadow contacts. You’d be amazed at how fast your credit will take a dive if you stiff your fixer or get your face splashed all over the evening news. > It can be especially bad news if your ShadowSea Credit takes a blow in the middle of a deal. I’ve walked out on clients mid-transaction more than once because I’m always careful to monitor their credit in real-time AR. I don’t want to be the one who gets tagged as the last person to help out a pariah, as it may affect my rep as well. > Am-mut Community The major advantage to working the shadows in Seattle is simply how resourceful this runner scene can be. The poor, SINless, criminals, and other “low-lifes” can stick together and cooperate just as effectively as they can tear each other apart, and more than a few have learned that they can even prosper by doing so. What you end up with are a lot of social cliques, neighborhood groups, unofficial hobbyist clubs, and intentional collectives that get together to pool their resources, share information, and otherwise work together for the benefit of a group as a whole. These manifest in all sorts of ways, from self-sufficient squatter farms to communityminded black clinics to magic groups and rigger mechanic pools. > The rad communities out in the Barrens are a good example of this sort of intentional living, where people have intentionally gravitated to these lawless areas so they can live according to the tenets of a particular political philosophy (or religion or other ideology). The anarchists in Puyallup, for example, don’t buy into that survival of the fittest crap that some of the gangs do—they live and work according to basic principles of individual responsibility and mutual aid. The people living in those squats know they can rely on each other for backup, whether it’s getting stitched up by a Black Cross medic or needing some repair work done. > Aufheben > Unfortunately, even in the runner scene you do still find a fair amount of old-fashioned prejudice, whether it’s someone with anti-meta thing, a mage-o-phobe, or someone who’s stuck on gender and sexuality issues. In fact, there are certain networks that allow these bigots to simply do their own thing, but Old Boys clubs (or whatever) of that sort have fewer options when working. > Fatima > Some of these traditions just refuse to die. Take gillettes—razorgirls with as much attitude and ability as any male street samurai you care to name. Even though the Seattle runner scene has a high (if not equal) percentage of women, you still see a big proportion of gillettes out there, all heavy on the attitude and determined to prove something whether it needs proving or not. Some of the more charismatic ones gather all-girl gangs around themselves or organize prostitutes to act against rapists and violent pimps. Younger girls learn how to take care of themselves, get some cyber, and perpetuate the cycle. > Hannibelle Another good thing about this interlocking community is that you don’t necessarily need cold hard credit to make a purchase. Untraceable credsticks are the preferred currency, of course, but a lot of dealers in Seattle will take anything that’s not hot, up to and including bearer bonds, corporate stock, megacorporate scrip, gold and silver bullion, vehicles, weapons, property, information/paydata, and underworld markers. In fact, barter is the norm in the Barrens, where electronic currency simply doesn’t play much of a role in the local economy. At the least, you always have your own personal services to trade, as any boytoy or joygirl can tell you. |
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| Post #8 Dec 12 2007, 09:53 PM | DaFranker |
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GETTING WORK The beauty of the Seattle shadows is that you can find just about any type of work. Unless your specialty is decapitations via snowboard or something equally esoteric, odds are someone in Seattle is in need of your services—especially if your talent is something basic like “meathead punch.” Truth is, there are so many job possibilities in Seattle that you can always count on not having to do Yet Another Damn Identical Mission. You can pull bodyguard duty for a politico’s scheming spouse one week, hack the specs for a wiz new corp prototype the next, spice up the week after that with a mob-sponsored hijacking, and cap off the month with a little blackmail job on behalf of some activist cause. If you get bored beating around the sprawl you can always take a little road trip over to the Salish-Shidhe (or even Tir Tairngire) for some illegal talislegging or critter poaching. Of course, some jobs are more common than others in Seattle or have a certain local spin on them, sometimes depending on which street you're walking on or which gang you work for. Hooding A surprising number of Seattle runners take on “hooding” jobs—as in, that Robin character who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. Hooding jobs generally involve working for an underdog against somebody more powerful and oppressive, like helping a dwarf neighborhood chase off a threatening Humanis-backed gang, or backing up a squatter community that’s threatened with eviction by a gentrifying corp. Contrary to popular opinion, hooding doesn’t mean working for free—though it usually means working for cheap or at least accepting alternative means of payment, which could be anything from free repair work to a lifetime supply of garlic and tomatoes from a community garden. Seattle is a neighborhood town, and every ’hood has its share of problems, whether it’s Yakuza enforcers, predatory thrill gangs, police brutality, or marauding rapists. The poorer the area, the less options the people have to deal with whatever’s plaguing them. Occasionally the residents will band together against a threat, but they simply may not have the skills, resources, or guts to face it down properly. Turning to the authorities is rarely an option, as the people in power quite often are part of the problem. > A lot of squatter communities in Redmond steal their water or electricity from pipes feeding into corporate installations. The corps don’t take kind to this, of course, but residents sometimes pool their resources to hire runners to keep the tap quiet, leverage some blackmail, or otherwise give the corp a reason to look the other way. > Aufheben Hooding may not pay the bills, but it does pay off in job satisfaction. It’s hard to say why a lot of runners do it. Some of them clearly just believe their own media hype as crusaders of the downtrodden—that is, until some BTL-addict tries to mug them, in which case their class solidarity goes out the chamber with their shell casing. A lot of runners clearly believe in working for a good cause, though, especially those who lean towards being anarchists or eco-activists or rads anyway. Some simply remember their roots and what a struggle they had surviving on the sprawl streets, and their conscience simply moves them to lend a helping hand. Corp Work The fact that so many major corporate interests have a presence in Seattle makes it an ideal place to find corp-infiltration work, especially when there’s any sort of shake-up going on. There were so many extractions in this city back in 2065 that it probably set a world record; certainly enough that it could be considered a city sport. With so many corporate facilities in close proximity, they just can’t seem to avoid sniping at each other, especially with such a larger runner base on hand to take advantage of. With a solid rep and an ambitious fixer, you can pick and choose what sort of corp-related work you want to take. Tired of working for Shiawase? No problem, Mitsuhama’s hiring. Have a personal preference for silent B&E jobs rather than a sabotage run that requires playing lead tag with a corp-sec squad? Omae, somebody’s offering what you need. Word to the wise: the corps play this game as well as all the rest of us and they keep their ears to the ground. They have spies and agents and snitches all over the sprawl, so be careful about spilling to your contact that you’re on a run against Ares, or that some new Johnson from Monobe hired you. They also keep careful records and have long memories, so be wary about taking jobs from a corp just a year after you blew up their new manufacturing plant, no matter how clean you think you were. > Seattle Johnsons are experts at faking what corp they work for, so don’t ever buy the “he’s wearing Evo cufflinks, so he must work for Evo trick.” The experienced ones will go through elaborate pains to conceal their arrival and departure from the meet, will only hand over thoroughly sanitized contact data, and will plant numerous red herrings to make you think they work for someone else. The good ones are expert actors too, and will play the role of “novice Johnson” to the hilt just to throw you off track. > Haze > Truth is, though, the Seattle shadows are a competitive working environment. A lot of corporate Johnsons simply don’t last long. If they don’t screw up in some way that requires them to be relocated or “let go,” they may run afoul of internal politics, get gunned down in a deal gone bad, or simply have a nervous breakdown from the stress. Even if they’re good enough to become long-timers, they have to worry about their face and MO becoming known around town. With that kind of turnover, you can expect most Seattle Johnsons to be fresh faces or out-of-town transplants—which doesn’t mean they’re naïve. They make up for the lack of direct personal knowledge of the local shadows with access to the corp’s black ops knowledge databanks. > Kia B & E stands for breaking and entering. Most runs involve B & E in some way, whether to steal research, commit sabotage, plant false evidence or otherwise further the nefarious plot of this week’s Mr. Johnson. Security in 2070 has become an art form, ranging from mundane retinal-scan maglocks to concertina wire electrified fences to patrolling spirits to full-blown security hackers and riggers mixing metahuman sensibilities with the unblinking eye of technology. Any runner team worth its name is going to need the know-how, the creativity, or the brute force to bypass these defenses. Courier runs are glorified delivery jobs. Most often, the object to be delivered is of strategic or monetary importance or is otherwise valuable and so needs protection from others who want it. Runners hired for these jobs must make sure the object reaches its destination safely and intact. Datasteals are jobs where a hacker works his way into a computer system host and steals information. While this can often be done from a remote location, they often prefer to work on site, doing their technical magic in concert with the other members of the team—disabling and obstructing security systems, allowing the team to penetrate to the core of even the blackest facilities. This infiltration is often necessary, as many government and corporate computer hosts remain disconnected from the Matrix for security reasons. Extractions are frequently arranged by corporations who wish to steal valuable personnel from other corporations. Top research scientists, skilled financial agents, and other suits with valuable knowledge are hot commodities and are suitably protected. The “victims” in many extractions are willing targets—employees who have decided to defect to another corp. Some corporations consider certain personnel so valuable that they would rather see them dead than working for a rival; attempts to extract these people may fall afoul of deadly contingency plans. Smuggling is similar to courier work, though smugglers usually have their own specially equipped vehicles for sneaking goods across borders and outrunning (or outgunning) the law. Smuggling can be quite lucrative if the runner knows the markets. Such work usually goes hand in hand with piracy, as pirates are often the cheapest source of illicit goods. Smuggling is done through various means and with many different vehicles, but the smuggler’s choice is undoubtedly the Scout-class, vectored-thrust, low-altitude vehicle (LAV) known as the thunderbird, or t-bird. Structure hits are sabotage runs intended to do structural damage to the target that will cost time, nuyen, work, and perhaps more to repair or recover from. Runs of this nature often involve large explosions, making demolitions a useful skill. Structure hits can be accomplished via other methods, however, from smart corrosives to rampaging elementals to pushing the right button at the wrong time. An additional twist are tailchasers, or simply “distraction runs” where a team of runners may be hired to pull off a flashy run like wetwork or a structure hit … but really, they’re just around to distract corp security and confuse everyone while another runner team takes on a more understated job such as an extraction or B&E. While security is busy dealing with the fallout from the first runner team’s actions, the second team sneaks in and takes what they want—whether it be a metahuman, a piece of hot tech, or some paydata. This second job may not be fully discovered for hours or even days. Wetwork is assassination, pure and simple. Many runners refuse to take these jobs and view dirtying their hands for money in this way as vile. The world of 2070 contains many factions, each with multitudes of enemies who they may find most convenient and cost effective to simply remove. Corporations or underworld figures sometimes place bounties on certain individuals; collecting on these can be profitable, if risky. These types of criminal operations are just the beginning of a long list of shadowrunning possibilities. Some runs may be simple investigations or may involve low-level criminal activity such as BTL-dealing, Matrix bank fraud, or holdups. Breaking the law can easily become an everyday occurrence for runners. In fact, some runners break it simply by their existence, because they possess illegal cyberware or practice magic without a license. While some runners have legitimate jobs, many do not have SINs, and so they work and travel with false identities. Much of the weaponry and gear associated with shadowrunning is also restricted, and so runners must take care to cache their gear and maintain safehouses. This gets even more complex if the runners have to cross borders, a common occurrence for established shadowrunner teams. Some jobs will take runners across borders or overseas because the sponsor backing the job wants to use operatives that are unlikely to be recognized, or maybe because the sponsor has simply burned too many bridges in that country. Other jobs may lead runners across the globe in unexpected ways—they could be chasing a sim star gone missing, or a piece of art that “walked away” from its museum home. |
Crusader (6)
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3:46 AM Jul 11