Looks great
@kittyumbrass !
So, plot for the game, in general, does require the teensiest bit of Shadowrun lore knowledge. I'll try to explain as I go.
In the world of Shadowrun, the Corps (corporations) are the primary players, even on par with/over the power level of a country's government. Most Shadowrunners are people who're taking jobs from the Corps who don't want to have their company logo on the front page news when their corporate espionage is revealed or when their latest product mysteriously ends up in the hands of the competition. "Mr. Johnson" is the code-name given by the individual who's telling a Shadowrunner where to go and what shady, underhanded "problems" to solve. In this case, your group of runners has been contacted by a Mr. Johnson who asks that you do a series of tasks, typical runner jobs. The exception is, he wants you to wear BTL recorders on all your jobs.
BTL stands for "Better Than Life", a type of chip that records brain-waves and data from the wearer that other individuals can then "slot" to experience (think SUPER immersive Virtual reality). Someone slotting a BTL chip experiences EVERYTHING that was recorded, all the senses, the moods and emotions of the person who made the recording, everything.
(It is worth noting that BTL chips are typically not sold "raw" as without a light edit, you'd not only get the emotions and sensations of your favorite movie star living the James Bond lifestyle, but you'd also get his stray thoughts about what he's planning to have for lunch that day and how he's worried he might be losing his hair). Because of the high volume of data involved, BTL chips are not something that can be fabricated wholesale, you can edit out, but it's nigh on impossible to "edit in" something that wasn't there before. BTL is a legal technology, but it's also widely known to be an addictive drug; who wouldn't want to trade their crappy 9-5 wageslave lifestyle for that of a movie star's? BTL addicts live two lives, their real life where all they want to do is earn money to support their BTL chip habit, their second life being that of someone who's gotten a better hand dealt to them.
Now, one thing that you have to remember is that while BTL the technology is legal, there are certain "recordings" that you'd only be able to find on the black market, mostly things that are criminal acts, or things that might be considered high level espionage. Ever wonder what it would be like to be hit by lightning, but not willing to go out in the rain in a tin-foil hat? You can find a chip of someone who'd decided they wanted their next of kin to be rich and offered to record the moment of his death. Just not going to be at your local Blockbusters.
So, getting back to our plot, your Mr. Johnson has the request that you wear the BTL recording devices while you're carrying out the jobs, as the group he represents doesn't really need the jobs done so much as they want to sell these "edgier" recordings. And each of you will be offered "incentives" for adding more extreme or requested events to your escapades. Naturally, Mr. Johnson won't tell you the name of the company he works for, since what he's doing is borderline if not outright illegal. But that's where the money is.
Now, this doesn't necessarily mean you'll be a group of evil-doers and adrenaline freaks. You will always have the option to turn down an incentive; especially given that if you get caught doing something really EXTRA for that extra payout, there's a very good chance that you're not getting bailed out by your employer. He can always hire another runner, you've only got your team that you can really count on. If you take an incentive but then later regret what you did in the heat of the greedy moment, you might run a job to find a hacker outside of Mr. Johnson's pay to make the incident "disappear". Depending on how you do your runs and what sorts of reputations you develop, you might gain more from holding out from doing every incentive until there's something really good offered...or until you really need that cash.
Final note. For those unfamiliar with the setting, Shadowrun is, point blank, a dystopian world. Even without any creative liberties I take with the environment/worldbuilding, there are established rules and lore for everything from drug use to prostitution to slavery and all sorts of scummy deeds in between.
PLEASE tell me if there are things you do not want to show up. As the GM, I WILL WORK WITH YOU to make sure that you enjoy the game. And, right from the get-go, though there are lore items about child pornography and underage prostitutes, those things will not show up in this game. There will be no incentives for those items, and if you want your character to take part in such things, I will flatly refuse. It will not happen.
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Topic: Shadowrun! (Read 366 times)