‘ere ins PRE: a ait oeINTRODUCTION ANATOMY OF A SHADOWRUN The Setup The Style of Game Different Group Possibilities ‘Character Creation ‘Meet the Team ‘Group NPCs Bringing It Together Stereotypes Keep the Game Moving, Meeting Mr. Johnson nding a Team Types of Johnsons Meetings Negotiation and Payment Wrapping up the Meet When Meets Go Bad Legwork Contacts Online Research Surveillance The Opposition The Road Less Travelled The Run The Goal Atmosphere Location Tempo 4 5 5 5 8 10 u 2 13 1B ia 16 16 7 19 20 21 2 2 24 25 25 26 26 2B 28 29 30 30 Character Planning Obstacles anc Opposition Getaways Getting Caughe Aftermath ‘Meeting Mr: Johnson ‘Once More Getting Paid Loase Ends Laying Low Healing Reputation Downtime Gamemaster Concerns Incorporating Riggers Deckers Creating Story Arcs Dynamic Wor '& Consequences IT’S WHO You KNow ‘Who Watches The Watchmen? Comorate Security Rent-a-Cop Parasecurity Expert Supply Sergeant Mercenary Securlty Rigger ‘The Show Must Go On Sleazy Tabloid Reporter ‘Mr. Johnson's Little Black Book | «= sacar 31 31 32 3 32 32 38 3a 34 34 34 35 Eamest Muckraker Tid Pirate Club Owner Club Hopper Simsense Star By Any Means Necessary (rk Nation Organizer Upright Humanis Member Terrafirst! Activist Terrorist ‘Cult Member Freedom Fighter Here Come the Suits Corporate Headhunter Mr Poet Mixed-up Middle Manager Corp Bodyguard Corp Decker Corp Scientist Down and Dirty Pimp Tamanous Member Reluctant Ganger Joygiet Squatter Street Vendor Ghoul rime, Ine. YYalaiza Elder at a2 a2 B 43 44 45 45 46 ar 47 ar 2 9 50 3 31 52 52 33 53‘Ambitious Mafia Lieutenant 53, Triad Member sa Family Member 5a Bookie 55 Shark Lawyer 55 SiNiess in Seattle 56 High Stakes Negotiator 56 Troll Street Dealer 56 Talent Scout 37 ID Manufacturer st Gunsmith 58 Fence 58 Workin’ the Mojo 59 Lorekeeper 59 Antiquities & Oddities Dealer 59 Arificer/Enchanter 0 Talislegger 60 Wie Kid Ganger 61 Hermetic Academic 61 To Serve and Protect oe Highway Patrol ez ‘SWAT Team Member os Police Chief 8 ‘Metroplex Guardsman 8 Forensics Expert 64 Prison Guard 64 Essential Services 65 DocWagen Paramedic 85 Elite Black Cline Cybersurgeon 55 Paramed Shaman 66 Firefighter 66 Dock Worker or Taxi Driver or City Services Worker or Contacts Are People, Too 68. [NPC Gimmicks 6 WHERE IT'S AT 70 Spraw Sites 70 ‘Apariments 70 Bars B City Streets a Corporate Offices 76 Hotels nm Houses 1 Laboratories 9 Nightclubs Bi On the Ousside 82 Restaurants 33 Stores 84 Warehouse 86, Miscellaneous 87 Set Design for the Shadows 90 Neighborhood Generation Charts 90, Location Charts 31 ‘ON THE RUN 93 One Shots, 93 Sit on This 94 Moving Violation 96 Deliver Me From Evil 7 Policies ” Mister, Can You Help Me Find My Parents? 98 Kidnapped! 99 ‘The Haunting of ‘Alyssa Camanack 100 ‘Trouble on Fifth Avenue 10 What Are You Playing Af? 102 A Matter of Job Security 103 ‘The Big Nothing 104 Where the Wild Things Are 105 Random Encounters 107 Gang Encounters 107 Police Encounters 109 Raclal Encounters 110 Social Encounters ut ‘Organized Crime Encounters 112 ‘Magic Encounters 13 Runs on the Fly 5 GAME INFORMATION 116 ‘Running Low-Level Campaigns 116 ‘Running High-Level Campaigns 118 Reputation 120 Street Cred 120 Notoriety 120 Public Awareness 121 Prejudice 121 Quick Resolution Systems 122 Decking 1 Vehicle Combat 124 MR. JOHNSON’S LITTLE BLACK BOOK CREDITS WRITING Anatomy of a Shadowrun: Steve Ratkovitch, Costén Sequeiros and Malik Toms with Rob Boyle and Elissa Carey It's Who You Know: Robyn King Nitschke Where It's At: Malik Tors On the Run: Maik Toms with Robyn King-Nitschke Game Information: Rob Boyle, Elissa Carey and Steve Rathovite, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Rob Boyle ‘SHADOWRUN LINE DEVELOPER Rob Boyle EDITING Rob Boyle, Elissa Carey, Jack Graharn, ‘Michelle Lyons ART Art Direction Rob Boyle Cover Art ‘Adi Geanov Cover Design Jason Vargas Layout Jason Vargas Ilustration Dave Allsop, Steven Bagatzky, Shane Coppage. Steve Ells. Lary MacDougal Mare Sasso, Klaus Scherwinsle SPECIAL THANKS TO Thanks also to Christian Lonsing and Jason Hardy for your Input Copyright© 2004 WiKids Ine. All Rights Reserved. Mr. Johnson's Little Black Book, Shaclowrun and WK Games are registered trademarks ancior trae marks of Wizkids In. In the United States and/or other countries. No part ofthis work may be reproduced, stored ina retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission In wrting oF the Copyright Owner, nor be otherwise cir culated in any form other than that in ‘which iis published. Fist Printing by FanPro LLC, Chicago, Ilinois, USA. Printed in the USA. Find us online: [email protected]. (Shaclowsun questions) hutpi//wwew shaciowruntpg.com (official Shaclowtun website) hitpi//orfanpro.com, (FanPro website) http://www wiakidsgames.com (Wizkids website) 2 ‘Mr, Johnson's Little Black Book‘Mr, Johnson's Little Black Book is a gamemaster compan Jon for Shadowrun, Third Edtion. Though many pars oft will be fon interest to players, the primary purpose ofthis book is to provide gamemasters with suggestions and tools for making their own Shadowrun games and campaigns more interesting. ‘The only section ofthis book that players should not react Is the (On the Run chapter—you wouldn't want to spoil the excitement by reading an adventure’s plot in advance now, would you? ‘This book aims to fil the gap left by two out-of-print rulebooks ‘created! during the fist and sec ‘ond editions of the game. The first was Spraw Sites, which pro- vided an array of location arche- types with maps, random sprawl ‘encounter charts. and, ‘contact/archetype listings (for Shadownun, First Edition). The second was the Contacts book included with the gamemaster’s screen for Shadowrun, Second Edition. Though there is some overlap, the material in Mr Johnson's Little Black Book Is entirely new. Gamemasters may also find the gamemaster section of the Shadowrun Companion and the descriptions of daly Ife Im the 20605 given in Sprawi Survival Gutde useful for bringing their game worlds to Iie. ‘Mr. Johnson's Little Black Book star off with Anatomy of a Shadowrun, which guides the gamemaster through the stan- ‘dard process of hiring the runners. to commit a erime, step-by-step, It also provides a ton of _gamemaster advice for handling, other elements of a Shadowrun ‘campaign, including character creation, incorporating deckers and creating a dynamic and fluld setting. This is the where {you'll find the bulk of practical advice in the book; we suggest that all Shadowrun gamemasters read through it carefully. ‘Te second chapter, t's Who You Know, delves into con tacts, Over sixty ferent contacts are detalle, from all walks. of life. The contacts are grouped together by type (corporate security, media, underworld, magical, etc), with attrbutes, 12 | Mr Johnson's Little Black Book skills, gear and plot hooks listed for each, The first three contacts In each category are expansions ofa single contact archetype— rather than include a generic Mr Johnson, for example, we have a corporate headhunter, Mr Fixit and a mbxed-up middle man- ‘ager. Each contac includes a short write-up explaining who the contact is and how they might interact with player characters This same chapter also includes suggestions for giving each of your NPCs a “gimmick” to make them notable. Where It's Atis devoted to locations. Over forty distinct places are described, broken down by category (bars. city streets, laboratories, et). Rather than generic archetypes, each location is given specific details, but they can easily be placed in just about any locale or even modified slightly to be a sepa rate and distinct place. A quick neighborhood generation sys tem Is also provided, allowing a -gamemaster to roll up a quick location on the fy, as well as a list of location gimmiks for glu ing each locale that unique feel ‘The next chapter, On the Run, features a dozen short ‘adventure plots for gamemasters who need to put ogether a quick run with no preparation time. A section of short random encoul ters follows, for gamemasters who need a short and quick sce natio to throw at some characters in the midst of a nun, or between runs. A system for randomly gen- erating shaciowruns on the fy is also included, Wrapping up the book, Game information, starts off with rules and guidelines for running, low-level or high-powered Shadowrun campaigns, including alternate character creation ‘systems. Thi i followed by sections on using reputation (both street cred and nototlety) and. prejudice (expanding from racism based on metatype to include numerous other factor) The book wraps up with rules and advice for quickly resolving, decking runs and vehicle combat so that they are faster and less complicatedit of \ LS amemastering any roleplaying game can be a challenging task. While Shadowrun source- books aim to provicle gamemasters a host of events, characters, locations and plot hooks, putting these ideas together along with some of your own design is not aways easy. The ‘Shadowrun Companion offers guidance on how to create and run enjoyable games, but there are many issues stil unexplored, ranging from portraying. believable Mr. Johnson to effectively Incorporating. decking and rigging without the other players feeling bored or cheated. In this chapter, we attempt (© walk through the entire process of running 2 Shadowrun game/campaign, step-by-step. This advice Is designed (0 help both experlenced ‘gamemasters and newbies create memorable games, and to assist in satisfactorily jugaling {and resolving the most common problems that ean occu. ‘THE SETUP Let's be frank: gamemastering Is a tough Job. Not only must you have ideas and be able to adjust things on the ly, but you must be a good facilitator ancl administer to your player's needs. IF you don't already have a group of players, you must fist ind or assemble one. You must determine what sort of game the group will play, referee your players’ character gen- ‘ration, incorporate the characters into the game, give each character equal time and so forth. If you don't coordinate effectively, you can quickly be overwhelmed; if your players grow frustrated, no one will enjoy the time they spend playing. Careful consideration of the fel- lowing advice, however, can nip many potential prablems in the bud. ‘THE STYLE OF GAME ‘The first step when designing a campaign Is to decide the style ofthe game. You should get the players’ input before forming too many Ideas, so that they're interested and invest- fein the setting and the campaign. The more you tailor the game to Incorporate your play- ers’ wishes, the more it wil satisfy them. Additional advice In this ven can be found on pp. 103-4 of the Shadowrun Companion, in case more help or insplration s needed, Setting ‘The game's style is partially predicated on its primary setting, or home base. Your cho- sen setting will determine what important figures are present and the extent of their influ- ‘Mr. Johnson’ Little Black Book] =A WORLD OUTSIDE THE SHADOWRUNNERS ‘game des’ daped sly o the charac hey hare o belong ‘somewhere. The seting isn't ust «locaton, it’ also the people who live tn, prblens, hives, To ene o rt ga, you reed io create a living world. This sep so cover the important laa qroups, ego anil, {oxmal and nai. These may ready be desided in oer source books ike Treats 2) or may be new, created spec for he cam- poign The goals nat cover every asad, but o make them fa “ea” ‘ang complexity can do hs, bu thera oy iso make hom ech. “Tis achton cud be related o what he plyers hae don, but ‘an oncther casos depend solely on ther groups er evens usd the corals inflene. Sich changes don't eed obo obvious, bu ts ‘npn that he players can lookback and understand why everyhing happened (because the Mob boss wos going after the Yakuzobut you must take your players’ preferences and maturity lev- ‘ls into account before Implementing these things. Will the _game have explicit violent sex? What about cannibalism? Such ‘Mr, Johnson’ Little Black Book | 28 |Issues are especially Important when dealing with drastic changes in a character's personality due fo In-game events, ‘especially ones that can happen in the real world. The key is 0 know your players and face it sensitively and delicately, per- haps asking their feelings about certain matters rst or stopping a session if they fee! too uncomfortable to continue. Respect Is, the word to keep in mind, LOCATION ‘While the average shadowrun involves breaking into a corporate facility or laboratory, a run can take place anywhere. A local shopping mall, a warehouse or a private home can al, be shadowrun settings—anywhere works, just make it vivid and interesting, See p. 70 for some sample locations and tips ‘on generating them on the fy. ‘When preparing a location for a game, it's important to think about the four "S's": scope, size, surroundings and security. ‘Scope Scope refers to the overall purpose and reason for the location’s existence and how It relates to the Shaclowrun uni verse. It may simply be a warehouse storing automotive parts for Ares, or it could be a world-class research facility testing, ‘experimental bioware on critters. Knowing the reason for the location's existence makes describing it much easier and helps bring it alive forthe players. Ste ‘Based on the scope and function of a location, how big does the location need to be? A small research lab with only -ene-or two functions isn’t going to require a multi-level buld- ing. while one of the most popular nightclubs in town should have more than a small bar and a few booths. Size affects ‘everything, from secutty to role-playing. A bigger place usu: ally comes with more security, witnesses and civilians, but also, allows the runners to blend easier in the crowd. Surroundings ‘Surroundings include the immediate terrain around the locale, as well as its overall placement within the city or coun- ttyside. It is easy to overlook these detalls, but they can have 4 big an impact on how the players plan for a run as the secu- tty ofthe locaton itself. The surroundings often possess strate- le value for the runners (for example, a free apartment fram, ‘which t0 conduct surveillance); on other occasions they can become more of a problem than the objective itself (gated, resorts protected by Knight Errant, neighborhoods protected, by gangs or a wiklerness home to critters that the characters, aren't used to dealing with). Security ‘The location’s security dictates what the opposition wall bbe. Security comes in three forms: physical (layout, physical defenses and personne), technica (sensors, electronic devices, riggers and Matrix sec) and magical (spirits, magicians, astral barriers and critters). You can mix these elements together to AO | Mr johnson’s Littie Black Book | —--—~ ‘create the easiest milk run or the deadliest meat-grinder night mare. The level of security should be logical and realist, fting ‘whatever is being protected. Cyberzombies and black IC will not be guarding a worn-