INTRODUCTION 4 Picking Up the Pieces 17 Smuggler Hospitality 55

ADVENTURE BASICS 5 Awarding Karma 17 The Spirit World 57

Welcome to First Runl 6 SUPERNOVA 18 Picking Up the Pieces 58
What Is an Adventure? 6 Preparing to Play 18 Getting Home 58
What Is a Scenario? 6 Increasing the Difficulty 20 What's Next 59
What Is a Gamemaster? 6 Background StOIY 20 Awarding Karma 59
Solving Problems 7 Things to Know 21 Legwork 59
House Rules 7 Time·Line 21 Cast of Shadows 59
Steps to Gamemasterlng 7 A Job Is A Job Is A Job 21 Shadowlore 64
Step One: Read the Adventure 7 Milk Run 24
Step Two: Assess the Adventure 7 Waiting Is the Hardest Part 29
Step Three: Know the Characters 7 Four Corners 30
Step Four: Write Yourself Notes 8 No One Will Believe You 33
Step Five: Don't Panic! 8 Too Much of a Good thing 36
General Adventure Rules 8 Picking Up the Pieces 38
Using Legwork 8 What's Next 38
Non-Player Characters 10 Awarding Karma 39
FOODRGHT H Legwork 39
What's Up, Chummer? H Cast of Shadows 40
Tell It To Them Straight 12 Shadowlore 43
Hooks 12 sm OF DESECRATION 44
Behind the Scenes 13 Preparing to Play 44
Stuffer Shack 13 Experienced Gamemasters and
Stuffer Shack Map Key 13 Players 44
Who's on the Inside 14 Background StolY 46
Bring on the Noise! 14 Things to Know 47
The Chiller Thrillers 15 A Walk on the Awakened Side 47
Supermarket Sweep 17 Mother Nature 48
Cleaning Up 17 Wreckage 51
Debugging 17 The Path of Most Resistance 53

2 First Run I ..·..··....·..·..·....·..........···..·..·..·.......·....·........··..··..·..·.....·.............................................................................................................................

 Markus, Olives, Silke, Steffen, Timo, all the Shadowrun fans at
the International Spieltag in Essen, Jens Koch, who not only
played but let me use his table, and of course Werner, Guido,
"Crazy," Tina and Deitrich

Project Editing
Diane Pi ron-Gelman
Sharon Turner Mulvihill

Shadowrun Line Developer

Michael Mulvihill

Editorial Staff
Editorial Director
Donna Ippolito
Managing Editor
Sharon Turner Mulvihill
Assistant Editor
Robert Boyle

Art Staff
Art Director
Jim Nelson
Cover Art
Matt Wilson
Cover Design and Layout
Jim Nelson
Illustration
CREDITS Peter Bergting, Paul Bonner, Doug Chaffee, Scott James,
Paolo Parente, Steve Prescott, Marc Sasso, Matt Wilson
Writing
Michael Mulvihill Dedication
To the three most important women in my life: my mom,
Special Thanks to Randall Bills (who took a basic set of ideas Nancy, the strongest woman I ever met; Sharon-without her,
and made a plot and title for Supernova), Tom Dowd (original none of this would be possible; and Clementine, who was
author of Food Fight), Steve Kenson (who allowed me to born during the hardest part of my life so that I could still see
rewrite an adventure he submitted to create Site of potential and hope in humanity-plus she's already an experi-
Desecration) and Lou Prosperi (who came up with a demo enced game convention attendee.
adventure outline years ago that I used until I folded it into
Supernova) Shadowrun® is a Registered Trademark of FASA Corporation.
First Run™ is a Trademark of FASA Corporation.
Project Development Copyright © 1999 FASA Corporation.
Michael Mulvihill All Rights Reserved. Printed in the U. S. A.

Playtesters Published by FASA Corporation '1100 W. Cermak Road' Suite

My group: Randall Bills, Tara Bills, Bryan Nystul and th'e ever B305 • Chicago, IL 60608
famous Flake
In Canada: Richard Bing, Linda Boden, Dave Cane, Greg FASA Corporation can be reached on America Online
Davidson, Shawn De Salvo, Joshua Garratt, Richard Landry, (E. Mail- FASAlnfo (BattleTech, Shadowrun, General
Roger Landry, Stuart Mosley, Mark Reist, Don Tam, and Steve Information) or FASA Art (Art Comments) in the Online Gaming
and Jen Helleiner area (Keyword "Gaming"). Via InterNet use <AOL Account
In Antwerp: Edwin, Emile, Joost, Mark, Vincent, Robert and Name>@AOL.COM, but please, no list or server subscriptions.
Ruben and all the Shadowrun fans at Fantasy World 10; plus Thanks!
Gerard (Enzo) Van De Voir and Francis (Longtooth) Verwerft,
and even Stefan (Slice) Pauwels (though he didn't get to Visit FASA on the World Wide Web at http://www.FASA.com
play); a special thanks to Tom (Draco) Witsel and Peter T'sas
In Germany: Angelika, Casten, Felix I, Felix Z, Hajo, Ingram,

............................................................................................................................................................................................................... I First Run ~

 r irst Run! is a Shadowrun game accessory that was created to help you play, teach, or learn the rules and world
of Shadowrun as presented in the third edition of the game. In First Run! you learn as you go; each adventure
increases the difficulty and the options of game play. For new gamemasters we provide hints, help and basics
to learn how to gamemaster. If you are an experienced gamemaster, then you will find these adventures tai-
lor-made for teaching new players. Even experienced players will find the adventures a challenge if the gamemas-
ter uses the options provided to increase the difficulty.
Adventure Basics is exactly that, a section devoted to showing you how to read, use and understand the pub-
lished FASA adventures for Shadowrun. This section breaks down each adventure into its component scenarios,
and then each scenario into sections for easy reference. Next, we explore the job of the gamemaster, offering hints
for making the job a bit easier and some insight into house rules and problem solving. Finally, we cover such
diverse topics as determining information for legwork and creating NPCs and their gear.
The first adventure is really just a scenario that is as old as the Shadowrun universe and extremely popular.
Food Fight first appeared in Shadowrun, First Edition, and has a cult following. Updated for the third edition, this
classic is a no-holds-barred free-for-all shoot-out in a convenience store between the player characters and a street
gang hell-bent on destruction. This basic scenario is a quick, fun way to teach the basics of combat and magic, with
some minor roleplaying options.
The second adventure, Supernova, is a full-fledged adventure that takes the characters from a meet with Mr.
Johnson to a shadowrun on a research facility that includes enough twists and turns to keep even the most jaded
players guessing. This adventure features decking and rigging options so that decker and rigger characters can
strut their stuff. Supernova also provides a wide variety of options for the gamemaster, in order to cover as many
potential charac;t~[ actions and reactions as possible.
The final adv,,~nture, Site of Desecration, is an adventure written in the traditional FASA style. It gives the
gamemaster more control over the plot and direction of the story and even allows him or her to determine the
exact nature of the main villain. This adventure takes place outside the sprawl in the Native American lands just
east of Seattle, giving the gamemaster and players a glimpse of other directions in which you can take your
shadowrun campaign.
Each adventure offers ideas and options for customizing the adventure to your specific group, including
three new sections. Pushing the Enve/ope suggests ways an experienced gamemaster can run these same
adventures for experienced players. What's Next shows gamemasters the possibilities for tying the adventure
into a larger campaign setting. Shadow/ore tells you where you can find more information on the subject mat-
ter, non-player characters, or the theme of the adventure in other Shadowrun products and novels.

l...l First Run I····. · · . ·. . · · . ·. ·. ·. · · · · · . ·. ·. ············...................................................................................................................................................

S weat replaces the rain on your brow.
The warehouse looms before you like a black fortress, filled with treasure and death. It's
your first shadowrun, and all you need to remember is how to do your job. If you do it
right, everything's cake. If you do it wrong ... but hey, you never do it wrong.
Enough of that now. The advance man signals the all dear in your headset, and adrenaline
pumps you up. You stroll up to the office door, hoping that the invisibility spell the mage tossed
on you works as well on guards as it does on your own team. You figure you all bumped into each
other about 150 times by this point. The lock is a cheap electronic; a few twists with the tools you
brought pops it without setting off any alarm klaxons. You pause, take a deep breath and slowly
open the door. Before you is the black interior of the warehouse office. A light flickers, and you
realize the guard is watching a tridcast with his back to you. It gets simpler as you go .
. Now it's your turn to call the shots. The lazy corp stooge is watching a mind-numbing vid-
exploitation show; he's no threat. You give the signal and wait for the team to come out from
cover. Tress sneaks past you; if you hadn't seen her in action before, you wouldn't have noticed
her. Bosco the ork, master of weapons and death-dealing, has his hand over his gun's laser
sight as he sets up to cover Tress.
Solaris, the mage, drops her spell. Though you don't notice much of a difference, some-
how you feel naked without it. You grip your Ares Predator, and you and Solaris head down the
hallway to the warehouse proper. In and out with information as quietly as possible-that's
what the Johnson ordered and that's what you're going to do. What's the point of earning
nuyen if you aren't there to spend it?
A second all dear in the headset lets you know Tress has taken care of the guard. You wait
until Bosco and Tress join you and then walk through the warehouse door. Once again, you per-
form your own kind of magic on the lock system-they haven't invented a maglock that can
stop you. You open the door to pitch blackness. A smile creeps across your face.
Shadowrunning ain'tthat hard ...
Suddenly the warehouse seems to explode into blinding light. Your first reaction is to
cover your eyes. sad choice. You hear a popping sound; Tress falls to the ground, blood seep-
ing from her head. Bosco grabs her as you slam the door and run.
Grin gone, you adapt your snappy adage. Shadowrunning ain't that hard ... surviving it is.

First Run 5 J
WELCOME TO FIRST RUN! reference and overview. It also tells you how a given scenario
First Run! is a special Shadowrun adventure designed for connects to those before and after it.
new players and gamemasters. Though it can be easily adapt- Tell It To Them Straight: Generally written to be read out
ed for more experienced players, this adventure is primarily loud, this section is what the gamemaster tells the players. You
intended to help new players learn the basics of playing can impart the information in any way that seems appropriate--
Shadowrun. It helps get players started and walks gamemas- in a funny voice, as Matrix or computer data, in a nighttime phone
ters through all the steps of creating a fun and fast-paced call, or even in a question-and-answer session with the players.
adventure for their player group. Hooks: This section offers hints on mood and other fea-
First Run! includes three ready-to-play adventures. The tures that set the stage for the scenario. It also reminds the
first is a wild and wacky combat scenario that takes place in a gamemaster of twists and hidden information that the player
Stuffer Shack. Entitled Food Fight, this mini-adventure lets characters mayor may not discover.
everyone, including the gamemaster, learn as they go. It Behind the Scenes: This section includes the bulk of the
requires no plot or story, or any previous knowledge of information for the scenario. It lays out for the gamemaster
Shadowrun or gamemastering. The second adventure, what needs to be set in motion and how subsequent actions
Supernova, is a longer adventure with a plot, non-player char- unfold. It also covers how non-player characters react to the
acters and options for follow-up adventures. The third adven- player characters' actions. Depending on the individual sce-
ture, Site of Desecration, is similar to Supernova but offers nariO, Behind the Scenes may include maps, descriptions of
gamemasters and players a few additional challenges. important items, information that player characters can gather
First Run! is intended for use with Shadowrun, Third through legwork, statistics for non-player characters or critters,
Edition. The Shadowrun Gamemaster's Screen is recommend- and information on what the player characters discover.
ed, as it contains all of the tables a gamemaster is most likely Debugging: This section offers solutions to potential prob-
to consult. No other products are needed to play First Run! lems the gamemaster may encounter in a scenario. While we
can't foresee everything or guess what every group will do,
WHAT IS AN ADVENTURE? Debugging gives the gamemaster ideas on how to handle it
when the players do something unexpected.
The typical Shadowrun adventure revolves around a single
At the end of the adventure, after the scenarios, is a chap-
shadowrun. The runners are hired to do a job; they research var-
ter titled Picking Up the Pieces. This chapter wraps up the
ious aspects of it, plan their attack, do the job and (if they survive)
adventure and breaks down some of the adventure's final
get paid. An adventure is usually equivalent to a movie' in scope,
actions into separate sections. Picking Up the Pieces includes
with a beginning, middle and end. How expansive each section
the following subsections:
of the adventure is depends on the overall plot. Some adventures
It's a Wrap: This section deals with potential fallout, play-
are straightforward-go to the warehouse, steal the prototype
er questions, future developments, plot ideas and other items
and bring it back. Others are more elaborate--go to the ware-
that wrap up the adventure (or explain why it doesn't get
house, steal the prototype, leave documentation to frame my
wrapped up).
competition and plant false data in their computers, and then
Awarding Karma: This section contains guidelines for
bring the prototype back to me. Oh, and I don't know how to use
awarding Karma to individual player characters.
the prototype, so you'd better grab the scientist in charge of the
Legwork: At any time during an adventure, the player
operation ... plus dodge their security, the competitor's security
characters might search for information using their contacts,
and the cops. Do all that and then I'll pay you.
various Matrix connections, or even astral space. Because play-
As player characters go on more adventures and
ers may choose to do this at any time, all of the possible
encounter more situations, adventures can take on epic pro-
searches and results are gathered together in the Legwork sec-
portions. Such adventures expand into campaigns made up of
tion. Having all the information in one place makes for easy
multiple adventures. Villains reappear and past mistakes come
gamemaster reference.
back to haunt the player characters. These are the types of
Cast of Shadows: This section includes descriptions,
events that make roleplaying exciting.
background information and game statistics for important non-
player characters in the adventure. These characters have fully
WHAT IS A SCENARIO?
fleshed-out histories as well as complete statistics, just like
Every adventure includes various encounters, from getting
player characters.
hired to fighting the gargoyle to negotiating for more money
because the run was harder than expected. These encounters
are called scenarios. A series of scenarios makes up an adven- WHAT IS A GAMEMASTER?
ture. Food Fight (p. II) is a single scenario; Supernova (p. 18) Roleplaying or storytelling games like Shadowrun require
is an adventure made up of six scenarios. Each scenario a gamemaster. The gamemaster's role is unique, though simi-
includes the following subsections, which help gamemasters lar in many ways to a typical player's. The gamemaster pre-
deal with the information necessary to run the scenario. sents the situations in which the player characters find them-
What's Up, Chummer?: This section offers a synopsis of selves. He or she plays all opposition, contacts, friends and
the action in the scenario. The gamemaster can use it as a quick enemies, and gives the game its atmosphere. You might say
that the gamemaster's "character" is the world of Shadowrun.

EJ First Run j .................................................................................................................................................................................................................

 Though in some ways the gamemaster might seem to be That said, every gamemaster should go through the fol-
the enemy of the players and their characters, nothing could be lowing basic steps in order to run a fun, successful and stress-
further from the truth. The gamemaster is as much a part of free game.
Shadowrun as the players. Both want the same thing out of the
game session: to have a fun and exciting time. Ideally, STEP ONE: READ THE ADVENTURE
gamemasters and players work together to create interesting Sure, it sounds obvious--it's also absolutely necessary.
stories, conflicts and situations. Before beginning play, the gamemaster should read the adven-
ture from start to finish. This lets you know the overall plot,
SOLVING PROBLEMS what the characters need to accomplish and where the prob-
Teamwork notwithstanding, the gamemaster has final lem points are. For example, if the adventure includes a sce-
authority over the application and interpretation of the nario in which the player characters take on a biker gang and
Shadowrun, Third Edition rules. However, gamemasters don't there's a chance all the characters may die, you need to be
need to be rules experts or know every possible situational out- aware of that beforehand (if nothing else, it will remind you to
come. The gamemaster's most important function is to keep review the rigger and vehicle combat rules!). Also, Shadowrun
the story rolling and set standards for rules that apply to every- adventures turn on plot twists, backstabbings, double-crosses,
one (including the gamemaster). If the gamemaster manages corporate espionage and other forms of intrigues; the
these two things, he or she can virtually guarantee a successful gamemaster must know about all of these before the players
and fun game session. do. Trust us: no one wants to hear the gamemaster mutter, "I
The SR3 rulebook is like the Constitution. It lays the didn't know that was going to happen!" in the middle of a
groundwork for all the rules but does not include their every tough encounter. .
application. Determining that is usually the gamemaster's Given the number of plot twists in a typical Shadowrun
hardest job. Being a judge is hard work; sometimes you have adventure, it doesn't hurt to skim through upcoming scenarios
to be tough and tell people things they don't want to hear. during the game session to keep the plot fresh in your mind.
Players should understand this before they sit down to play.
If conflicting interpretations of the rules arise, first try to STEP TWO: ASSESS THE ADVENTURE
find another way to resolve the action that is causing the con- Adventures are written on paper, not in stone. That means
flict. That way you can keep the story going rather than letting if something in an adventure doesn't scan for you, you can
the game session grind to a halt. The player and gamemaster change it. If your player group hates Renraku but the adventure
can then discuss the rules problem after the session is over. centers on a hit against Yamatetsu, feel free to make Renraku
Another way of solving such conflicts is to roll a die: an even the target. If the main villain reminds you of a villain you used
result means the player's way goes, while an odd result means in a previous game, use that villain instead. If your players pre-
the dispute goes the gamemaster's way. This strategy also fer a subtle, conspiracy-laden game to a blowout with giant
allows the story to continue, and neither gamemaster nor play- running gun battles, downplay the fights and play up the con-
er has any room for complaint. The randomness of the universe spiracy. If an adventure generally doesn't appeal to you but
has spoken. After the session, the player and gamemaster can contains some good ideas that you want to use in your own
hammer out their differences. adventure, do so. We don't mind-honest.

HOUSE RULES STEP THREE: KNOW THE CHARACTERS

In Shadowrun as in other games, rules are rules. But it's The biggest mistake gamemasters make is not knowing
also your game, and as with every game ever invented, play- the characters that their players bring to the table. You can
ers will come up with "house" rules and gamemaster options. solve this problem in several simple ways. Photocopy charac-
Doing so is not a problem. However, if you create your own ter record sheets or create a second one for your use. Jot down
rules and options or choose to disregard certain "official" rules, notes on the characters' contacts, skills and attributes. It's
the gamemaster must make sure everyone at the table knows especially important for the gamemaster to keep special note
those rules ahead of time. Also, a fair house rule should affect of the characters' gear: ammo runs out, spells always work the
player and non-player characters in the same way. If it doesn't, same way and have the same drain from session to session,
the gamemaster should rethink the house rule. and decker utilities always work the same way.
Once game play begins, you'll find that players strive for
STEPS TO GAMEMASTERING consistency and will develop routines for their characters that
Every gamemaster who has ever run a game session has help make your job easier. Write those down, too. If Angus the
his or her own style of preparation. There is no right or wrong Rat shaman always calls up a spirit before entering a building,
way to prepare to run a Shadowrun game. Do whatever you note that routine on Angus's character sheet or on a separate
feel comfortable with and whatever makes it fun for you. sheet of notes.
Gamemastering is work, but it should also be enjoyable. When
gamemastering is no longer fun, it's time to let another player STEP fOUR: WRITE YOURSELf NOTES
be the gamemaster. Because you are the one who keeps the story mOVing,
write yourself notes about it. They can be elaborate (a complete

First Run 7
 description and statistics for a non-player character, an outline
of the entire adventure) or simple (page references in the pub-
lished adventure). Useful notes are anything that reminds you
of what you want to cover and where to find the necessalY
information in any Shadowrun product. No two gamemasters
take notes in the same way; there is no right or wrong way to
do this. Do whatever you feel comfortable with, and adapt your
style when something doesn't work.

STEP fiVE: DON'T PANICI

Gamemastering is a lot of work, and sometimes you just
can't find stuff when you need to-plot elements are forgotten,
clues get left out, you can't find a rule, players want to do
something you didn't think was possible, and so on. Any or all
of these things can happen at any time, and usually all of them
happen on the game day for which you just didn't have time to
prepare. Well, don't worry about it. If you need to look stuff up,
do so; if the session slows down while you search the adven-
ture for a missing piece of information, so be it. Players will
understand and forgive. (If they don't, make them be the
gamemaster next week.)

GENERAL ADVENTURE RULES

Published Shadowrun adventures are written in a specific
style. The following paragraphs will help you understand that
style and use it in your own campaigns. Published adventures
are also written for a middle level of play with a straight-ahead
plot format. They need to be that way in order to convey the
story elements and necessary information in the right order. As
gamemaster, however, you know your player group best. You
know whether your group will believe the plot, whether their
characters are too strong or too weak for the non-player char-
acters, and what style of game play they like. If you don't know
these things, you'll learn as your group keeps playing. With
these facts in mind, look at a published adventure as a frame-
work, with certain constant elements that you can adapt to
make your game run smoothly and consistently.

USING LEGWORK
Shadowrun makes extensive use of contacts and their
information to let runners find out what's going on. Legwork
can consume a gamemaster as players demand more and more
facts before they do anything. The Legwork section of pub- a
lished adventure allows the gamemaster to give players bits
and pieces of information with varying levels of detail, so that
the players can learn something but not necessarily everything.
Typical legwork involves using a Charisma-based skill (usu-
ally Etiquette) as described on p. 94, SR3. The player character
rolls a number of dice equal to his or her Etiquette Skill Rating
against a given target number, with the number of successes
determining exactly how much information the player gets. The
table below lists the type of information a character can learn
from legwork.
A character receives all the information for numbers of suc-
cesses below the actual number rolled. For example, a player
who rolls 3 successes would learn the information for 1 and 2
successes as well as that listed for three successes.

eli First Run I .................................................................................................................................................................................................................

 3 TekLon lost a lot of business during
the corp war. Some investment
company pulled out.
4 Lakeview International Holding
Company pulled their backing.
TekLon's owners didn't know
how deep they were in to this
company.
5 Lakeview was actually a Fuchi shell
company; Novatech and Renraku are
both claiming investment ownership.
6+ Next week, TekLon's supposed to
Using Knowledge Skills announce its revolutionary micro-
In SR3, characters have Knowledge Skills, which means tronics cirCUitry. That should save
that they know some things without help from contacts (just their bacon.
like information you know without having to look it up).
Gamemasters can use Knowledge Skills to have characters RKLON ELECTRONICS
make dice rolls without meeting contacts. Determine the tar- Street Level Contacts (Target Number 4)
get number for these rolls using the Target Number Difficulty
Table on p. 92, SR3. The player then rolls dice equal to his or Success Results
her character's rating in a given Knowledge Skill, with the num- o TekLon-sounds like a new electronic
ber of successes determining how much information the char- band from the Tir.
acter learns. The information can be the same as a character Yeah, I heard of them. I read their
might get through contacts, or it can be specific information name on some cyberarm bits that
that the gamemaster wants to make sure the characters know. blew off a ganger once.
Knowledge Skills are a great way to add your own spin or 2 TekLon ... yeah. They don't make
sourcebook information to an adventure. cyberware, chummer, they make the
little things inside cyberware that make it
Who Knows What work so well.
Many times, a character gets different information from 3 They hit the skids during the corp war.
different contacts. For example, a Lone Star contact and a bar- I think their nuyen dried up.
tender contact will have different information; it's up to the 4 Rumor had it that Fuchi owned them.
gamemaster to determine who knows what and who has more There's no proof, though they let a
useful information. lot of scientists go when Fuchi bit the big one.
In long-term campaigns, contacts should take on their 5 I hear the owners had no idea Fuchi
own personalities. At some point the gamemaster will need to was backing them. When that corp
create those contacts as fully fleshed-out characters, using the split up and Novatech and Renraku both came
character creation rules in SR3 and giving them backgrounds knocking at the front door for TekLon's stuff,
and Knowledge Skills. Having done this, the gamemaster can the owners were a little surprised.
easily create character-specific information. Sometimes, how- 6+ I hear they're trying to make a go of it
ever, information is something that contacts know across the without the big boys' backing.
board. The examples below, taken from Supernova (p. 18), Supposedly they made some kind of
show how the same type of information can plausibly come microtronics breakthrough.
from different contacts.
For a corporate-level contact, the infomation above is
RKLON ELECTRONICS much more detailed. That type of contact doesn't give out
Corporate Contacts (Target Number 4)/Matrix search by much misinformation (unless, of course, the gamemaster wants
decker In system (See Milk Run, pp. 25-26) them to), and they tend to have dry facts. The street contact
has a little more flair. Such contacts may boast more or offer
Success Results more misinformation, but the facts are in there somewhere.
o Never heard of them. They aren't in Both types of contact give the same information, but with a dif-
my database or corporate listing. ferent attitude and style. The typical corp contact gives more
A microtronics manufacturing business details, while the typical street contact gives more
company in Auburn. attitude and feeling.
2 They claim that 75 percent of all
cyberlimbs include TekLon
microtronics.

First Run 9
NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS ing or classification of magical gear also appears in parentheses.
Non-player characters (NPCs) are essential to any adven- Damage Codes (where applicable) are listed in brackets.
ture. They are the metahuman element that faces off against Weapons are the most diverse items and are listed in alpha-
the player characters. From Mr. Johnson to the unnamed secu- betical order. In brackets following each weapon's name is an
rity guard to the most famous person in Shadowrun, NPCs are abbreviation of its class, followed by the firing mode(s), Damage
created in a way similar to player characters. Code, and its ammo and reload system. Recoil compensation
The gamemaster need not create an NPC using the Priority and other attachments also appear in brackets. For guns and
System in SRJ. You can give them any statistics you want. other ranged weapons, the base range for each weapon and the
Average attributes for the various metahuman races appear on base target number (TN) without recoil modifications are listed
p. 19 of the Critters book in the Shadowrun, Third Edition below these statistics. The target number for each range appears
Gamemaster Screen. Use those numbers as a base and raise or in parentheses following each range. Melee weapons list the
lower them as you see fit. NPCs can have any numbers up to Damage Code and range (if any) in brackets. Damage codes for
the maximum attributes on p. 245, SRJ, and can have any skills items that do damage based on the strength of the wielder have
or specializations that the gamemaster desires. The NPCs in already been calculated. Armor is listed separately, with its rat-
published adventures tend to fall in the middle ground. If they ing in brackets. Multiple pieces are listed in alphabetical order.
are too weak or too strong for your campaign or your group's Cyberware is listed alphabetically within its own section.
level of play, adjust the numbers. The name of each piece of cyberware is listed first, with its grade
If you need to create an NPC quickly, you can use the sam- and rating following in parentheses. Any information in brackets
ple character statistics in SRJ, as well as any pregenerated char- refers to something contained within that piece of cyberware.
acter in any published Shadowrun product. A decker's cyberdeck is always listed before any other
gear, with its MPCP Rating and other adaptations in brackets,
Game Statistics followed by attachments and programs with their ratings.
NPC statistics are always written in the same format: their Vehicles are listed alphabetically with regular gear. Weaponry
attributes are listed in the first two lines, followed by Initiative, affixed to firmpoints and hardpoints is listed in parentheses; if
dice pools, Karma pool and professional rating: race, and then the vehicle is rigged or customized for remote control, that is
any skills, spells, gear, or cyberware. also noted in parentheses.

B Q S C I W E M R Weapons:
3 3 3 4 6 6 6 o 4 AK-97 [AR, SA/BF/FA, 8M, 38 (c1) w/2 extra clips, folding
INIT: 4 + lD6 stock (-1 to recoil), Gas Vent 3 (-3 to recoil), Smartgun Link]
Dice Pools: Combat 7 Range (TN): 0-50 (2),51-150 (3),151-350 (4),351-500 (7)
Karma Pool/Professional Rating: 1/ 1 Colt American L36 [LP, SA, 6L, 11 (c1)]
Race: Human, or one of the metahuman races Range (TN): 0-5 (4), 6-15 (5),16-30 (6),31-50 (9)
Active Skills: Biotech 2 (Cybertechnology Implantation 4), Car Concussion Grenade [12M Stun]
3, Computer 4 (Cybernetics 6), Electronics 6, Etiquette 4 Sword [8M, + 1 reach]
(Corporate 7), Negotiation 8 Armor:
Knowledge Skills: Corporate Politics 6, Cybertechnology 3, Lined Coat [4/2]
Novatech Structure 5, Microtronics 4, Psychology 6, Renraku Cyberware:
Structure 3 Cyberarm (obvious) (alphaware) [with built-in Smartgun Link,
Spells: Analyze Truth 3, Ignite 4, Manabolt 5, Magic Fingers Strength Enhancement (Rating 2) and Retractable Spur]
4, Mask 4, Shadow 4, Stunball 4, Gear:
Novatech Hyperdeck-6 [MPCP Rating 6, Response Increase I]
Gear with hitcher jacks and the following programs: Analyze 4,
In printed products, most NPCs have a specific list of gear. Browse 4, Commlink 6, Deception 4, Decrypt 5, Read/Write
However, that list isn't necessarily all they have or own. If the 4, Sleaze 5
player characters never trust a Mr. Johnson unless he carries a Fetish (Heal), Shamanic Lodge (Rating 5)
heavy pistol, then give him one. Because gear includes every- Hughes WK-2 Stallion Rotorcraft (rigged) with External
thing a character owns, it is broken down into separate sections Hardpoints (Ares Vermicide Autocannon, smartlinked, 100
for weapons, armor and cyberware. Any remaining gear is self- rounds)
explanatory and generally standard, and is listed in alphabeti- Micro-transceiver (Rating 1)
cal order.
A sample gear listing appears below. Ratings, if applicable,
are listed after the piece of gear in parentheses. The specific rat-

10 1 First Run I····················································.............................................................................................................................................................

r ood FIght is an introductory shoot-out scenario that gives gamemasters, and players with
. new characters, a sense for the Shadowrun combat system. Don't worry about roleplaying
in this scene; all it's designed to do is introduce you to playing the game, rolling dice and
having fun.
Any character types can participate in Food Fight. If the players have not yet created their
own characters, the gamemaster can assign, or let the players choose, characters from the
Sample Characters chapter beginning on p. 65, SR3. The opposition in this scenario is a mix of
mostly muscle, with a little magic thrown in.
What makes Food Fight more interesting than some squalid brawl in an alley is the envi-
ronment. Imagine half-a-dozen chimpanzees going berserk in your local supermarket. Then
give them big guns. Nowyou've got the picture!

WHAT'S UP, CHUMMER?

SO the player characters are up late and hungry. There's only one place to go-the 24-hour
Stuffer Shack down on the corner. But all is not quiet on the lean and mean streets of Seattle.
As soon as the player characters are inside foraging for sustenance, the Stuffer Shack will be
robbed of everything not hammered down.
The thieves are members of a thrill-gang called the Chiller Thrillers. They have a major case
of the munchies and will load up on stuffers, but they'll also be looking for anything of value
the customers might be carrying. They don't mind killing or maiming someone to get loot. In
fact, they don't mind killing someone just for the heck of it. They will fight until killed or inca-
pacitated-they will not back down.
The player characters go into the store and scatter to their favorite aisles. As soon as the
characters have separated, the Chiller Thrillers inside (SlicerDicer, Static, and Zany) signal
Catcher that the place is ripe for plucking.
The other gangers jump out of their van in the parking lot. As they jander into the store,
Spike smashes the PanicButton™ box outside so that it can't be used. Anyone hanging around
by the entrance is ordered inside at gunpoint. When Spike kicks the door open, the three rob-
bers already inside pull their guns and order everyone they can see to raise their hands.

First Run It
 Until a firefight begins,
the Chiller Thrillers behave The SIu.ffer Shach PB= Panic Button 0 = Cameras
with casual brutality to-
ward everyone in the
place. If they want some-
thing, they take it. If any-
one objects, they shoot
®
them. They will try to goad
people into fighting.
The gang becomes
more wantonly abusive the
longer they remain unop-
posed. Zany and Wiley
body-search people for Aisle 13
valuables, though they start
with people other than a
player character. After Aisle 11 Aisle 12
they've collected all the
valuables, the gangers start @ Aisle 9 Aisle 10
to smash up the place.

TELL IT TO o Aisle 7 Aisle 8

THEM STRAIGHT
It's the great equaliz- PB © AisleS Aisle 6
er. It'll stop a troll the size o
of a car as easily as the
Aisle 3 Aisle 4
smallest dwarf or the
thinnest elf. It ain't a
weapon, a spell, or even a ® Aisle 1 Aisle 2
dragon-it's hunger. When
it's time to eat, you just
gotta get the stuffers into
your stomach before you
go berserk. What are stuffers? They used to be called junk food stare indicates that she probably only has one asset and you've
or munchies. They're probably just as good for you as nutrisoy already noticed it. Coming out of the storeroom is a dwarf
and krill-filler, regardless of those ads from the Nutrition wearing an apron and hauling a load of NutraSoy Energy
Council. Cakes™ (both kinds, the original Euro-Chocolate and the new
Caribbean flavor).
When the pangs hit, there's only one place to go (espe-
cially when the sun rises in about an hour) to find that kind of Talking non-stop (mainly repeating the phrases, "Stop
chow. It's the place everyone loves to hate. Stuffer Shack. that!", "Drop that!", "Put that down!" and "Get over here!") is
an obese woman with a shopping cart and an equally obese
When the characters arrive at the Stuffer Shack, read the child who seems to want one of everything the store offers.
following aloud: In other words, everything is normal for a Stuffer Shack,
Great tracts of neon and fluorescent lights that leach away even at 4 a.m.
color to make everything a uniform, dull gray indicate that you There are other people shopping in the store, but you
have arrived at the home of synth-alcohol, soykaf, porno-sim- hardly notice them as your stomach growls again and you head
chips, Holohayo 3D greeting cards, pneumatic fluid for your for your gut rotter of choice.
bike, cheap fetish trinkets for the magical wannabes, soygrits,
and a full line of stuffers with no redeeming nutritional or social HOOKS
value. Yep, the good 01' Stuffer Shack, home to a smell you Stress the familiar surroundings. Each Stuffer Shack looks
can't recognize (and probably don't want to) and thousands of exactly like every other, so the runners probably could naVigate
nuyen worth of stomach-rotting chow. As an added benefit, the aisles with their eyes closed-not to mention that they've
it's open 24-7-365. spent so much nuyen in these places over the years that they
It's pretty busy for this time of night, especially since tor- should own stock. They don't even need to think about what
rential rain like you just ran through usually keeps normal peo- to get because they always get the same things. Stuffer Shacks
ple at home. The elf girl behind the counter looks like an angel; boast average security, so carrying any weapon with a
even the fluorescent lights can't dull her beauty. Her vacant Conceal ability Rating less than 5 will clear the place out and the

12 1 First Run I··········.. ···· ....·····....·.. ········· .. ··· .. ···· ..·.. ·····......................................................................................................................................:.........:..
 manager (the dwarf) will hit the PanicButton™ to call Lone Star. display sign in the middle of the shelf hawks the latest "Beauty
Runn,ers would know this but the players may not, so make this and Her Beasts" simsense chip.
point 'discreetly before they go in. When the Chiller Thrillers On the right are snacks to go with the vids-sodas,
arrive and the action begins, it should be loud, shocking and a soynuts, Siurpee-doos, Zap-corn, and a host of individually
little di'sconcerting even for experienced shadowrunners. wrapped treats.
Aisle 10: Use'N'Lose disposable plastic products, such as
BEHIND THE SCENES clothing, tablecloths, containers, utensils and umbrellas.
This section defines certain "players" involved in the scene Aisle 1 1: Baked goodies, such as cakes, doughnuts, twisters,
(the people, places and things that affect what happens), pro- Sweeteez and Krak-L-Snaps. The NutraSoy Energy Cakes™ dis-
viding the information you need to run the action. play that Mr. Nick is building is located at the end of this aisle
facing Area E.
STUffER SHACK Aisle 12: Breakfast foods, such as AlmostEgg, BacoSoy and
When the team arrives, either by vehicle or on foot, they ready-to-eat cereals (including Maxiblast Sugar Bombs in three
have to cross the parking lot to get inside. The fact that it's rain- popular flavors: Red, Green and Purple!).
ing buckets ought to discourage loitering. Containing a half- Aisle 13: Soykafs, teas and herbal teas, Koko chocolate substi-
dozen cars and vans, a pair of bikes and an electro-scoot, the tute and beverage mixes.
lot looks tame enough. No one is hanging around outside in Aisle 14: On the left, Aztex-mex cuisine, ranging from mild
the rain, but if the team decides that it is standard operating ("Wussy") to very spicy ("Meltdown"). Most products feature
procedure for one of them to do so, that's all right. the stepped-pyramid logo of Aztechnology on the label.
When the team heads inside, you can read them a sam- . On the right, guaranteed organic health foods imported
piing of merchandise from the Map Key or photocopy the map directly from various Native American Nations and Elven
and key and let them see it for themselves. Encourage the char- Wines from Tir Tairngire. Prices are very high. Perishables are in
acters to choose what they intend to buy and then make a bee- Areas K and J.
line for that section of Stuffer Shack. The map shows the posi- Aisle t 5: On the right, chips, dips, crackers, cookies, twitters,
tion of the other people in the store. The descriptions of these choco-slurps and berry-bombers.
ordinary citizens appear on p. 14. The characters can make a On the left are candies and other mega-carbohydrate-death
Perception Success Test to spot concealed weapons on any of stuffers like Boostergum, SucroZoom, and Womp-Snappers.
these guys (Target Number 8), but if the target noticed the Aisle 16: On the left are soypasta, sauces, ramen noodles, and
character checking him out he would presumably' snarl, cup-a-soup products.
"Whaddaya scopin' me for, chummer?" On the right are soups and stews, both freeze-dried mixes
and prepackaged heat-and-serves.
STUfFER SHACK MAP KEY Aisle 17: On the right are plasti-packed fruit dishes and veg-
There are four vid-cameras in the store. One above the etables that are gamma-ray treated to retard spoilage. There
checkout counter (Area A) focuses on the patron and the cash are small radiation wrappers on the packaging.
register, while a second one above the counter focuses on the Aisle 18: Flour, raw nutrisoy and flavor additives, krill-filler, tex-
front door. A third one monitors the back corner between tured vegetable protein, dextro- and levo-sugars and sugar
Areas J and K. The fourth camera scans the parking lot. There is substitutes.
a PanicButton™ under the counter with direct access to Lone Area A: The checkout counter. Besides the elf woman working
Star and a second button in the manager's office. here, there's a bar-code scanner, cash register terminal, cred-
stik receptor and various counter displays.
Aisle 1: Air filters, radon testers, water purifiers, DetoxyTM Area B: Everyone's favorite, the simsense arcade games are
products ("Clean Your Oxy ... Use Detoxy!") and other envi- located here. There are four different games: "Little Mutant Vik
ronmental and antipollution products for the home. Ninja Cyberboy! 3," "Orbital Ninja Death Commando 5," "The
Aisle 2: Automotive and bike supplies. All-New Ultimate Bike Race Ninja Street Duel," and "Street
Aisle 3: Soaps, detergents, bug sprays, roach condos, rat Fighting Magical Ninja 8." Each is 1¥ per minute of play-just
traps, big rat traps and so on. slot your credstik and put on the 'trodes.
Aisle 4: Small hardware, household goods, paints and sprays. Area C: The manager's office. It includes a second PanicButton™,
Aisle 5: Personal hygiene soaps, sprays, pads, strips and his shotgun and the recorder for the security cameras.
spritzes, in regular or industrial strength. Area D: This is a locked display of cheap, personal electronics
Aisle 6: First aid supplies, along with a big sign reading: "Don't such as personal computers, cheap CD and chip players, data
Wait To Get Hit ... Stock Your Medkit!" There are also patent readers and portable simsense rigs.
medicines, vitamins and so forth. Area E: The dispenser bars for liquid and viscous products such
Aisle 7: Pet foods and supplies. as Shmoozies, Snorkels, Shakeups, Soykaf, Fizzygoo and so on
Aisle 8: Small appliances, such as Zap-a-Nuke microwaves, are located here. It also features Ludivenko Lovely Soya-
Toast-R-ovens, coffee makers and so on. Sioppies with the DoubleThick option.
Aisle 9: On the left is a locked display of simchips and Area f: The Cook-It-Yourself microwave, the rotating pizza dis-
simdisks, both audio and video, for purchase or rental. A big play machine, the Synthmeat "Hot Dog" dispenser and the Soy

First Run t::3i

Patty Yummy Burger Grill-O-Matic are located here. The table leather shirt and a white fringed leathe'r vest. He also has sev-
in this section offers plates, cups, napkins, plastic knives and eral kilograms of FauxGold™ jewelry hanging around his neck.
plastic sporks. Angie is wearing a skintight black leather jump suit featuring
Area G: The employee lounge, featuring the time clock, toilets, about forty-two working zippers and with nearly eight meters
lockers, a sofa and some chairs. The attached area is the restroom. of mesh chain wrapped around her body and appendages. jack
Area H: The stockroom. There is a door in this room that leads has a Walther Palm-Pistol (Skill: Pistol 1) in his white leather
to the alley behind the store. boot and Angie has a Beretta Model 10 IT (Skill: Pistol 1) in her
Area J: The cold food items are stocked here. The microwave- shoulder bag. The Scatmans will dive to the ground and will not
able foods are closest to Area F; the rest are "homemade sand- fire their weapons, except in self-defense.
wiches and meals shipped in overnight," plus kafsoda, syn- SlicerDlcer, Zany and Static are scouts for the Chiller
thjuice, and soymilk. Thriller gang (see The Chiller Thrillers, p. 15). All three are
Area K: Frozen foods of all kinds, with quiescently frozen con- humans. SlicerDicer is dressed like a japanese warrior wannabe:
fections near Aisles 1 and 2. his hair is in a samurai topknot and dyed bright red. He is wear-
Area L: This area contains a tiny, dusty and yellowing display of ing a short japanese-style jacket and has some sort of long sack
books and magazines in actual hardcopy format. There are also over one shoulder. When the player characters come in, he's
two NewsFax printout terminals and a HoloQuik copy machine. walking down Aisle 1. Zany is dressed to get noticed in a long
coat over a skimpy pair of cut-offs and a halter top. The duster
WHO'S ON THE INSIDE has a gory emblem on its back, a skull with a bloodstained ici-
The non-player characters in the Stuffer Shack and their cle stuck through its left eye. Her shoulder bag contains an Ares
location in the store appear below. Each of these characters Predator. She is sitting on the counter between Areas E and F,
uses the Average Metahuman attributes found on p. 19 of the sipping a drink. Static is dressed in baggy fatigues and an armor
Critters book in the Shadowrun, Third Edition Gamemaster coat covered with circuit diagrams. His hair is pure white and
Screen. Any specific gear or skills are noted in the descriptions cropped close to his skull. His temples are studded with about
of the non-player characters. half-a-dozen jacks. Static stands in Aisle 8 carrying on an ani-
Wanda is the checkout clerk. She has bright orange hair mated conversation with a toaster oven display. He has a
cemented into a single spike. She reacts to events or com- Defiance shotgun concealed under his coat.
ments a few seconds after they occur. She stands behind the
checkout counter (Area A) and stays there. She also forgets to BRING ON THE NOISE!
hit the PanicButtonTM. Once the players get inside the Stuffer Shack, ask where
Mr. Nick is the manager. He seems to live at the Stuffer they are going. Once they reach those sections, SlicerDicer
Shack, always working, always restocking. He has a Defiance walks over to Wanda at the counter and begins to flirt with her.
shotgun under his desk (Skill: Shotgun 2). He will hide behind Add that action to the rest of the chaos-Mrs. Needles'
the boxes of NutraSoy Energy Cakes™, and then take advan- screeching and Louis' never-ending questions as well as
tage of his diminutive size to hide behind displays and shelv- Timmy's reaction to Wanda's reaction to SlicerDicer and Mr.
ing units until he reaches his office. If he manages to pull this Nick's ongoing stocking regime.
off, he will try to ambush the robbers from his room. He's in The signal for Catcher to bring in the rest of the gang is
the process of building a display at the end of Aisle 11. SlicerDicer going to the counter. Let the player characters go
Mrs. Needles is an obese human woman dragging a small about their business; the gang can enter any time after
child along as she shops. When the robbery begins, she pushes SlicerDicer starts chatting up Wanda. The gang has the Initiative
her shopping cart down Aisle 5 like a professional Urban Brawl at the beginning of this scene; the players may not roll Initiative
player, then hides behind her cart and screams herself hoarse. until the following event tal<es place.
Louis Needles is a streetwise urchin who keeps talking
throughout the robbery. He asks each person in the store if As Catcher and the rest of the gang bust through the door,
they are shadowrunners (even the Chillers). If he gets a positive read the following aloud:
response, then he asks if they ever met a dragon, or a ghoul, Wanda screams. You look up and the samurai wannabe has
or a vampire, or a spirit, or a ... you get the idea. a katana in his hand with the business end at Wanda's throat. In
Johnny, the stockboy, is a gangly, pimpled human still in the blink of an eye, the front door crashes open and three people
some phase of puberty. He wears a Stuffer Shack apron and is rush in, all screaming at the top of their lungs. One of them, a
sitting on the floor stocking boxes of soup in Aisle 16. He col- human who looks like he would weigh 46 kilograms if 40 kilo-
lapses full-length on the floor as soon as he realizes what's hap- grams of cement were attached to him, stops screaming and
pening and will try to keep out of sight throughout the robbery. unloads his shotgun at the display behind the counter that con-
Timmy Thinners is a scrawny elf dressed in tattered black tains the camera monitors. An electrical buzz filters through the
leathers. Timmy is scoping the audio players in Area D and try- shocked silence in the store (even Mrs. Needles shuts up for a sec-
ing to get up the courage to talk to Wanda. ond-before she starts screaming). The guy wielding the shotgun
Jack and Angle Seatman are in Aisle 7 buying cat food. then shouts, "I am the King of the sprawl and it's time to collect
jack and Angie are rocker royalty wannabes. jack is dressed taxes! Gimme everything you got, you drek-eatin' slime!"
head to toe in skintight white leather pants, a sleeveless white Now the players can roll Initiative.

1'-1 First Run I··················· .. ····················· .. ···· .. ····· ..........................................................................................................................................................

THE CHILLER THRILLERS
The Chiller Thrillers are the lowest of the sprawl gangs.
They hang together strictly to hurt people, steal their stuff and
do whatever Catcher tells them to do. You can flesh out these
characters as much as you want, though the skills and gear
below provide enough information to play the scenario. If you
want to give them more depth or different gear, go right
ahead. Keep in mind, however, that this scenario is just to give
everyone a chance to learn the Combat Turn sequence and the
game-this scene is not meant to be a do-or-die situation.
The gang's symbol is a skull, pierced through the left eye
socket with a bloody icicle.

Catcher
The human leader of the Chiller Thrillers is psychotic. As
evidence, he keeps giggling throughout the gunfight. He posi-
tions himself behind the counter to make sure that Wanda does
not push the PanicButtonTM, as well as using her and the
counter as a shield (this gives Catcher partial cover).

B Q S C W E M R
5 6 5 6 4 4 4.25 0 5 (6)
INIT: 5 (6) + 1D6 (2D6)
Dice Pools: Combat 7
Karma Pool/Professional Rating: 2/4
Race: Human
Active Skills: Etiquette 2 (Street 4), Intimidation 5,
Leadership 2, Motorcycle 3, Pistol 5, Shotgun 5, Unarmed
Combat 3, plus any additional skills at level 3
Weapons:
Defiance T-250 Shotgun [Shotgun, SA, lOS, 5(m) with 3 extra
magazines, smartgun link]
Range (TN): 0-10 (2), 11-40 (3), 21-50 (4),51-100 (7)
Ruger Super Warhawk [HP, SS, 10M, 6(cy), smartgun link]
Range (TN): 0-5 (2), 6-20 (3),21-40 (4), 41-60 (7)
Armor: Armor jacket with the Chiller Thrillers gang sign [5/3]
Cyberware: Boosted Reflexes level 2, Smartgun Link 3, Pistol 3, Throwing Weapons 4, Unarmed Combat 3, plus
any additional skills at level 3
SlicerDlcer
Weapons:
This ganger fancies himself a Japanese bushi-an honor- Ares Predator [HP, SA, 9M, 15(cI)]
able warrior-except that he likes to prey on the weak and Range (TN): 0-5 (4), 6-20 (5),21-40 (6), 41-60 (9)
helpless. His weapon of choice is his katana. He accepts any- Katana [HTH, Reach + 1, 9M]
thing that even sounds like a challenge to single combat, and Retractable Spur [HTH, no reach bonus, 6M]
he offers his own challenge immediately after Catcher says his 9 Shuriken [6L]
piece. When he swings into combat, he shouts kiai. Irno one
Armor: Armor jacket cut to look like a Japanese bushi tunic [5/3]
answers his challenge, he walks toward the nearest non-gang Cyberware: Retractable Spur, Boosted Reflexes 1
member while performing some fancy sword work, essentially
herding the noncoms until someone stands up to him. Static
Static looks a little older than the other gangers. He appears
B Q S C W E M R to be all muscle, though only a mage could tell if it's real, chem-
5 6 6 3 6 4 5.2 0 6 ically created, or cybernetic. Whatever he did to his body, his
INIT: 6 +lD6 (+206) mind took the brunt of the damage. Dimwitted and probably
Dice Pools: Combat 8 insane, he talks to objects becquse they are friendlier than people.
Karma Pool/Professional RatIng: 2/4 He'd just rather kill all the people and leave the objects. He pulls
Race: Human his shotgun out but will not fire until a non-ganger does some-
Active Skills: Athletics 4, Etiquette 1 (Street 4), Cyber thing to an object (the gamemaster can decide what· sets him
Implant Combat 4, Edged Weapons 3 (Katana 5), Motorcycle off-anything from dropping an item to tossing an object at a

First Run t~
ganger); then that person becomes his primary target. He can be Weapons:
talked out of his vengeance-seeking rage if you convince him that H&..K 227 [SMG, SA/BF/FA, 7M, 28(c) with folding stock
he is hurting as many objects as you are. To persuade Static to (recoil -1), gas vent 2 on the barrel (recoil -2), laser sight
stop firing, make a Success Contest, with Static making a Success underbarrel, smartgun link]
Test using his Intelligence against the Skill or Attribute Range (TN): 0-10 (2),11-40 (3), 41-80 (4),21-150 (6)
(Intelligence) the character is using. The player character makes a Hand Razors [HTH, no reach bonus, 4L]
Success Test using their Skill or Attribute against Static's Armor: Armored Long coat with Chiller Thriller gang sign [4/2]
Willpower. If the player achieves more successes, Static will stop Cyberware: Boosted Reflexes 1, Hand Razors, Smartgun Link
firing for a number of Combat Turns equal to the number of the
player's net successes. As soon as someone "harms" another Spike
object, it starts all over again. The newest member of the gang looks and acts like a new-
bie. He's not really interested in killing anyone-he just wants
B Q S C I W E M R food and loot, and maybe some free games on the vids. Wiley
6 (9) 4 (6) 6 3 2 4 2.2 o 3 constantly has to remind him to cover the customers because
INIT: 3 +ID6 he's always distracted by the stuff he's shoving into his pock-
Dice Pools: Combat 6 ets. During the robbery, he checks out the high scores on the
Karma Pool/Professional Rating: 2/4 vid games and then grabs a handful of pornos from the
Race: Human sim/vidchip section. After that, he just wanders through the
Active Skills: Athletics 2, Computers 4 (was 6 but "lost" 2 aisles opening food packages and tasting things. Whatever he
pOints), Etiquette 1 (Street 2), Motorcycle 1, Pistols 6, Shot- likes he sticks into his coat along with a lot of kitschy trinkets.
guns 6, Unarmed Combat 6, plus any additional skills at level 3
Weapons: B Q S C I W E M R
Defiance T-250 Shotgun [Shotgun, SA, lOS, 5(m) with 3 extra 5 4 4 4 5 5 6 o 4
magazines] INIT: 4 + lD6
Range (TN): 0-10 (4), 11-40 (5), 21-50 (6),51-100 (9) Dice Pools: Combat 7
Super Shock Taser [Special/LP, SA, lOS, 4(mlJ Karma Pool/Professional Rating: 2/3
Range (TN): 0-:'; (4), 6-15 (5), 16-30 (6),31-50 (9) Race: Human
Retractable Spur1HTH, no reach bonus, 6M] Active Skills: Etiquette 2 (Street 4), Motorcycle 3, Pistol 3,
9 Shuriken [6L] Unarmed Combat 2, plus any other skills at level 3
Armor: Armor jacket covered with hand-drawn circuitry [5/3] Weapons:
Cyberware: 2 Chipjacks (1 plugged), 3 Datajacks (2 plugged), Ares Predator [HP, SA, 9M, 15(c1) plus 3 extra clips]
Muscle Replacement 2, Bone Lacing (plastic), Retractable Spur Range (TN): 0-5 (4), 6-20 (5), 21-40 (6), 41-60 (9)
Armor: Armor jacket with the Chiller Thrillers gang sign [5/3]
Zany Cyberware: None
Zany is the gang's chick. She knows it and they know it.
And she'll do whatever it takes to make sure you know it, too. Wiley
She uses her gender to get what she wants, switching from sex A Coyote shaman, Wiley is dressed in a full-length synth-
kitten to homicidal maniac in an instant. She will make a play fur armored coat. His greasy brown hair is done up in a bee-
for any male human or elf in the shadowrunner team, volun- hive of dirt and mud, feathers, twigs and small rocks. A bulging
teering to search them herself. This makes Wiley insanely jeal- leather pouch hangs from his belt and he is festooned with
ous (which is her goal, of course), and he will go after any play- fetishes. Wiley is also a maniac. During the robbery, he will tag
er character who shows any interest in Zany. If a firefight starts along behind Zany by clambering over the tops of displays and
she'll fire at will. She is wearing high heels, which means she shelves. In moments of excitement, he howls.
suffers the modifier for walking or running on difficult ground
(see Ranged Combat Modifiers Table, p. 112 in SR3). They also B Q S C W E M R
click as she walks because both toe and heel are armored 5 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 4
spikes (4M Physical damage). INIT: +ID6
Dice Pools: Combat 7, Spell 5
B Q S C I W E M R Karma Pool/Professional Rating: 2/4
4 4 4 6 5 5 4.4 o 4 Race: Human
INIT: + 1D6 (+2D6) Active Skills: Conjuring 2, Etiquette 2 (Street 3), Motorcycle
Dice Pools: Combat 7 3, Pistol 3, Sorcery 5, Unarmed Combat 3, plus any additional
Karma Pool/Professional Rating: 2/4 skills at level 3
Race: Human Spells: Confusion 3, Death Touch 4, Lightning Bolt 4, Mana
Active Skills: Etiquette 4 (Street 6), Intimidation 4, Bolt 4, Heal 5
Leadership 2, Motorcycle 5, Submachine Guns 4, Unarmed Weapons:
Combat 3 (Kick 5), plus any other skills at level 3 Colt-American L36 [LP, SA, 6L, 12(c)]
Range (TN): 0-5 (4), 6-15 (5), 16-30 (6),31-50 (9)

tEl Firs~ .................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Armor: Armor coat with synth-fur [4/2]
Gear: 4 Expendable Spell Foci (all at Force 2, 1 each for com-
bat, health, manipulation and illusion spells)

SUPERMARKET SWEEP
A supermarket is a dynamic battleground. Things break.
Stuff spills. Colorful substances spurt allover the place. Every
time someone fires their gun, roll 1D6 and consult the Food
Fight Table to see what breaks and the effect it has on the fight.
If the shot is made in Burst Fire mode, add + 1 to the first roll.
If the shot is taken in Full Auto mode, add +2 to the first roll.
Then roll 2D6 to determine what the explosion looks like.
When the players take a shot, let them roll for the result on the
Food Fight Table.
The result of the roll is cumulative; the target suffers the
results for each level below the die roll result. In other words,
on a die roll result of 6 the target must make a Damage Test,
and suffers the +2 Visibility Modifier to attacks (4-5) and the
Difficult Terrain Modifier (2-3).

CLEANING UP
Because shadowrunners are usually more profeSSional
than gangers, the runner team should come out on top in this
scene. They may have prevented the robbery, but the proper-
ty damage far outweighs any gratitude Stuffer Shack, Inc.
might feel toward the runners. The badges are on the way in
response to the disturbance, and the shadowrunners most like-
ly feel no urge to explain to Lone Star Security why they were
packing all that hardware. Police statements create a perma-
nent record ("Just what is your SIN, citizen?"), which means
there is going to be too much light around here for those who
prefer the shadows.
If Johnny, Mr. Nick, or Wanda are still alive, they thank the
characters for keeping them that way and suggest that, they be
on their way before Lone Star shows up to ask them questions
they may not want to answer. Mr. Nick also tells them to help
themselves to anything still edible on the way out.

DEBUGGING
If the characters are out-manned and out-gunned in this
scene, they may die. Shadowrun can be a deadly game; if you
think the player characters might be slaughtered, consider using
one of the following options (or make up one of your own) to AWARDING KARMA
keep them alive. You may have the gangers stop shooting at any Events like Food Fight can be a pretty standard part of a
character who appears down and out (has taken a Serious or person's day in the world of 2060, so you only get 1 point of
Deadly wound). The gangers can also split after grabbing Wanda, Karma for surviving. Because the Chiller Thrillers are nasty
a bunch of goodies and any cash or credsticks. opposition, you get an additional point of Karma for facing
them down. This means that each character in the scenario gets
PICKING UP THE PIECES 2 points of Karma, plus any other individual awards the
gamemaster considers appropriate according to the rules on p.
In a standard adventure, this section offers the gamemaster
244ofSR3.
all the facts he needs to run the adventure. Picking up the Pieces
indudes any follow-ups to the adventure; guidelines for awarding
Karma, legwork sections and the Cast of Shadows, the descrip-
tions and stats for the main non-player characters. Because this is
just a scenario. at this pOint you and the player characters can ride
on over to Supernova and playa complete adventure.

First Run 17
 S upernova is an adventure made up of multiple scenarios that tell a complete story. It serves
as a good introduction to the world of Shadowrun for new players because it covers many
of the most exdting elements of the game. Supernova is also a useful first adventure for
inexperienced gamemasters (or experienced gamemasters unfamiliar with Shadowrun)
because we walk you through all the steps of sending a team on a run and explain how to
expand the events of this adventure into additional runs or incorporate them into a campaign.
Experienced gamemasters may add more flavor or subplots to the adventure if they so desire,
but doing so is not necessary to play, gamemaster, or enjoy Supernova. This adventure is
designed to be played over multiple game sessions, though experienced gamemasters may
find they can complete the adventure in one evening.

PREPARING TO PLAY
Whether you are new to gamemastering or an experienced gamemaster teaching new play-
ers, the first thing you need to do is read this adventure from beginning to end. Then read it
again, this time taking notes. Look for the sections that may be more difficult to run (large-scale
combats, for example). Note who has what gun and the firing rate of each weapon. Note the
spells being used and review how they work. Make a copy of the map on p. 27 for the players.
Don't be discouraged if you have to look up information during the game session-every
gamemaster does. Gamemastering isn't about being better than everyone else at Shadowrun,;
it means you tell the story and arbitrate the action. It also means you learn things as you
gamemaster more often. The first time you gamemaster a session, you may need to look up a
lot of information; if you note what you looked up, you'll know what to prepare ahead of time
for the next session.
Finally, remember that you are playing a game (as well as running it), so have fun. If you
really like some element of Shadowrun that isn't part of this adventure, add it. Nothing written
here is so important that it can't be adjusted, adapted, or deleted altogether. The goal is for you
and your friends to enjoy playing Shadowrun.

18 First Run / .................................................................................................................................................................................................................

'" - ._,._"":: <;'\,~. ~-=-v- ....

~iliiiiiii:r~·"":vl - ...._ ....._ _ _..........._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _........."""".. " ..,.--_ .... ~ -.. _,_, '_ .r< _ _ _ .~. _ _ _ _ _ _ ---
 INCREASING THE DlmCULTY and owners all have holding companies, shell companies and
- If you are an experienced gamemaster showing new play- investment companies, which in turn have their own holding
ers how to play Shadowrun, or if you are a new gamemaster companies, shell companies and investment companies. By the
with experienced players and you want to give them more time you get down to the little two-guy software company in
than a simple run, you can add more story elements to the mix. Tallahassee, florida, neither the two guys nor the public has any
Suggestions for how to make each scenario more difficult idea where their start-up money really came from or who has
appear in each Behind the Scenes subsection under the head- purchased shares in that company.
ing Pus~i.~g the Envelope. When fuchi broke up, some of the links and paper trails
connecting fuchi to the little guys disappeared in the conflicts.
BACKGROUND STORY These "orphan companies" suddenly faced radical changes-
The year is 2061 , and Seattle has been on the front line of some saw their income dry up as their investors divested or
a series of conflicts that have the shadow community working found themselves in a tug of war between the various parts of
overtime. If it isn't one criminal organization versus another, their parent company. The latter happened to TekLon
it's corp versus corp. The biggest battles took place between Electronics because the company's work in advanced cybertech
Renraku Computer Systems and fuchi Industrial Electronics. designs is too valuable to be "orphaned" in the corp war.
In the end, fuchi ceased to exist. However, corp wars Though TekLon had no idea fuchi had invested so heavily in it,
rarely end c1eanly-especially in the case of fuchi, which was both Novatech and Renraku now claim to be TekLon's legiti-
really three separate corporations under one name. The mate parent company. Though employees loyal to both sides
Americas Division belonged to Richard Villiers, who saw the are still working at TekLon, the company has so far managed to
writing on the wall and created a separate corporation named remain independent of either corporation. The stakes are high
Novatech before fuchi collapsed. The owner of the Asian for this particular company, however, and both megacorps
Division, Shikei Nakatomi, also jumped ship with his properties intend to win the contest. Renraku plans to take the corporation
and joined the dreaded enemy Renraku. The last owner, Korin by force, while Novatech has decided on a stealthier approach.
Yamana of the Pan Europa Division, finally admitted defeat and
joined Shiawase. Backstabblng
The collapse of fuchi should have put Renraku on top of the The players are contacted by a fixer (or any other contact
world, but Renraku wasn't so lucky. The conflict between the the gamemaster wishes to use) to meet with a Mr. Johnson.
corps began when Villiers, through his agent Miles Lanier, man- Nigel Terwilliger is that Johnson, and he's in big trouble. Nigel,
aged to uncover Renraku's most private secrets. He then used you see, screwed up bad. A cleanup speCialist working for
that information to expose Renraku's underhanded business Novatech, he inserts himself into various facilities belonging to
practices and severely damage Renraku's stock and public orphan corporations and secures information or technology
image. At about the same time, Renraku lost many of its proto- that Novatech wants. At the same time, he attempts to bring
types in a strange Matrix accident, which put the corp even fur- the orphan corp into the Novatech fold-or, if necessary, takes
ther behind the competition. Renraku survived all of these attacks the corp down so that its valuable assets don't end up in the
and even shored up its sagging bottom line with the acquisition hands of Renraku or Shiawase (or any other corporation) as a
of Nakatomi's third of fuchi. But this "victory" was short-lived. result of corporate infighting. Nigel was inserted into TekLon to
The corp's pride and joy, the Renraku Arcology in Seattle, unex- grab a prototype of a nearly complete cybernetic head and
pectedly went off-line, trapping nearly one hundred thousand then set up TekLon's research lab for destruction. A simple
people inside and locking itself off from the outside world. No operation for a pro like Nigel.
one can get in; only horror stories and bodies come out, and no There's one catch, however: Nigel sold out. Renraku's
one is sure exactly what is going on. head honchos offered him lots of nuyen to make sure they also
Though reeling from yet another blow to their corporate received a copy of everything taken or saved (or maybe he
image, Nakatomi and the Renraku board of directors still see could just forget to destroy something ... who would know
Villiers and Novatech as their main enemy and plot to wage a except his Renraku bosses?). Nigel found it easy at first to play
shadow war against the new megacorp. Meanwhile, Novatech one side against the other, and over time he established a high-
is looking to consolidate its position by gathering as much ly profitable relationship with Renral<u.
information on-and power from-its rival as possible while By the time he arrived at TekLon, though, Nigel had begun
Renraku is distracted by internal problems. This adventure falls to get sloppy. His failure to take the appropriate precautions led
squarely into that conflict. a fellow TekLon employee-Elizabeth Chavez, a research scien-
tist loyal to Novatech-to discover his double-dealing. Unwilling
Orphan Corporations to see Novatech hurt, Chavez preempted Terwilliger's move and
. The publication of Dunkelzahn's will revealed that the took off with a case he'd left in his lab. She assumed (wrongly)
great dragon had held positions with many companies and that the case contained something belonging to Novatech. In
invested in countless others, all without anyone knowing it. fact, however, the case contains a copy of several research files
Often, even the owners of the companies were in the dark that Novatech already has, which Nigel had intended to give to
about who really owned them. Corporations and their investors Renraku. The prototype intended for Novatech is in another case,
which is still in Terwilliger's laboratory.

20 First Run / .................................................................................................................................................................................................................

.
~:-"--~, "'~.~....~ .-,"""'--------------------------------------
 Terwilliger has every intention of delivering the prototype Lanier kills Nigel for his double-'dealing. At this point, the Red
head to his employers at Novatech ... but if Elizabeth Chavez Samurai and their cyberzombie attack the building. Lanier asks
gives what she's got to Novatech as well, her action will the runner team to cover them as they escape, promising them
expose him as a double agent. He needs the runners to take a reward later.
the case with the head and give it to Chavez in exchange for If Lanier and Villiers get safely away, the player charac-
the other case. Chavez will then give Novatech exactly what ters receive a generous payout--and, of course, an offer of
it's expecting to get, thereby covering Nigel's butt. future work.
Of course, nothing is ever that simple in Shadowrun ...
THINGS TO KNOW
Running the Shadows Everything the gamemaster needs to know to run this
Once the player characters have agreed to take the job, adventure is provided in the background information above or in
the adventure is pretty much a straight shot, all taking place the Behind the Scenes sections of the adventure scenarios.
within an evening (see the time line on p. 22). Nigel needs the Likewise, everything the player characters need to know can be
runners to get started immediately, and so comes prepared ,learned through legwork in the course of the adventure-the
with a map of the sewers near the corp facility on which an runners do not need any previous knowledge of events in order
underground entrance to the TekLon laboratory is clearly t succeed in this shadowrun. The information they may search
marked. As it happens, Renraku has decided to push up its fd during the adventure appears in the Legwork section, p. 39
timetable for hitting TekLon (mainly because Nigel tipped the of icking Up the Pieces. The section What's Next, p. 38, pro-
corp off about a Novatech plan to destroy the research). vid s additional information and lists other Shadowrun products
Renraku's forces attack while the player characters are in the that can help you spin this adventure into a campaign. The
lab. After the runners retrieve the case (Terwilliger doesn't tell Sha ow/ore section, p. 43, lists Shadowrun sources for informa-
them what's in it), they are to hook up with Elizabeth to make tion at can be used to flesh out the background stories of the
the swap. The player characters can use their contacts to fill main on-player characters in this adventure.
them in on any information regarding TekLon, Novatech, \
\
Renraku, or any other aspect of the job about which they may TIME LINE
be curious. Mu~h like police work, shadowrunning consists of a lot of
Nigel contacts Elizabeth and essentially blackmails her into boring time spent in painstaking research and waiting around
going along with the switch. He proposes a deal; if she agrees for something to happen, interspersed with brief jolts of terrify-
to help him cover his tracks, he'll give her the case containing ing action.\Mr. Johnson is on a tight deadline with this adven-
the item that Novatech really needs. If she insists on giving the ture, howe~er, so things happen pretty quickly. The breakdown
case full of copied research to Novatech and thereby exposing on p. 22 su~ests the approximate times at which the scenar-
him, he'll hand over the really valuable item to Renraku, which ios should t ke place, which should give the gamemaster a
will hurt Novatech much more than his own double-dealing. guideline for ow to pace each scenario. Various unpredictable
Chavez buys the line, and Nigel sets up a meet with the run- circumstances\ from player/character paranoia to the
ners deep in Seattle's warehouse district. gamemaster ad~ng outside events, may alter the time line.
Unknown to him or the runners, the case Elizabeth stole
contains a Renraku tracldng device (the corp's insurance against A JOB IS A J~ IS A JOB
anything going wrong), and Renraku's elite Red Samurai have
tracked it down. Elizabeth arrives at the meet with the case but WHAT'S UP, CHUMMER?
dies almost immediately. The Red Samurai switch their attack to In this scenario, the shadowrunners meet Mr. Johnson,
the player characters without missing a beat, significantly out- Nigel Terwilliger. Nigel is clearly not used to being a Johnson-
classing the runners by virtue of the cyberzombie (a metahuman he's way too nervous, and he's hoping desperately that the
more machine than meat) fighting on their side. runners will be willing to save his hoop from one big frying
After (just barely) surviving this hard-fought battle, the pan. He contacted a fixer, and the fixer contacted the runner
runners have both cases, in addition to a datapad Elizabeth was team. If the runners are newbies, their fixer gives them the job
carrying that includes information on a meet for a payoff later because he/she thinks it will be good experience. If the team is
that same evening. They may decide to go to Elizabeth's meet experienced, the fixer gives them this milk run as a reward for
to see if they can salvage some nuyen from this job. The pulling off a couple of really tough jobs lately.
address turns out to be a monolithic black office building in the The other clue that Mr. Johnson hasn't done this much
downtown area; the datapad also includes an alphanumeric before is the meet's location-it takes place in a famous shad-
code written next to the address, which the player characters owrunner hangout, Club Penumbra. Nigel chose the nightclub
may deduce is the entry code for the building. Once inside, the because he'd heard it was the place where shadowrunners
runners find themselves face-to-face with Richard Villiers, meet. He makes a good offer-no money up-front, but 20,000
owner of Novatech; Miles Lanier, head of Novatech security; nuyen per character upon completion of the mission. The only
and, to their surprise, their Mr. Johnson (Nigel). If the runners catch is that the runners must get on the job immediately.
turn over the cases and datapad, they receive their promised Nigel came prepared: he gives the runners a special sol-
pay. After reading Elizabeth's notes in the datapad, Miles vent to break down the ferrocrete wall that blocks their entry

First Run 21
into TekLon, a map of the sewer and of the TekLon lab called nuyen per person for this job, which should be finished by
the Pit, a wrist cell phone and a description of the object he morning. Are you in?"
wants them to obtain.
When the players agree to take the Job, read the following
RLL IT TO THEM STRAIGHT out loud:
The call comes in from your fixer: you've got yourself a job "Okay, here's the deal," the Johnson says as he unfolds the
if you can get to Club Penumbra in the next half-hour. The code map. "You enter the tunnel here in Auburn and travel along it
word to get in is "Nigel." You call the gang and head out to one for about a kilometer until you hit a wall. This wall is your
of Seattle's most notorious nightclubs. entrance into a small corp called TekLon. You spray this solvent
Club Penumbra is decorated in two basic colors: black and on the wall-one can for getting in and one for getting out-
more black (the walls, the furniture, the tables, the bar,· the and the wall will turn all gooey. You can move through the
dance f1oor-everything is black). The throbbing music is so goo, but it won't stick to you. When you reach the other side,
loud that everything seems to vibrate; it's a perfect accompa- you'll be in the lab."
niment to one of the city's most famous laser light shows. Club You can't help but notice that the map is labeled the Pit.
Penumbra is the number-one place to meet Johnsons, or so the The Johnson continues, "The room you need to get to is
rumors go. this one." He pOints to a large room opposite from where you
Today, though, reality sinks in. The club seems dead, and enter. "You should see a case in the room that looks like this
it is-another casualty of the corp war. Its location near the one (he indicates his silver case), except that it has a big, mul-
Renraku Arcology used to be an advantage; now it lies too ticolored starburst on one side. Don't bother trying to open it;
close for comfort to the UCAS military security zone surround- it'll be the only one in the room, and it's locked anyway. Just
ing the corp facility. Shadowrunners and military police don't take it and leave. And don't worry about security; I've already
mix well, so biz has been slow at Penumbra lately. taken care of it.
The bouncer is a troll with metal spikes implanted in the "As soon as you get out of the sewer tunnel, go into hid-
tips of his tusks. You give him the password and he escorts you ing. I don't care where you go or what you do, just don't lose
to a booth occupied by a nervous-looking human male. He's the case. Contact me when you're safe, and I'll call you on this
sitting with his arm over a silver case that's just a bit bigger phone (he hands it to the nearest player) and give you an
than a briefcase. address. Take the case to that location; there'll be someone
"Hi, urn, I'm Ni ... urn, I mean, Mr. Johnson, and I need to there with another case that looks almost identical. Exchange
hire someone for a job to be done tonight. I just need an object cases with that person. Two hours after that, meet me back
retrieved from a lab. I can get you in and out with a minimum here with the case and I'll have your nuyen."
of fuss. Once you get the object, you just lay low until I call you
on this phone. I can't pay you up-front but I'll give you 20,000

22 First Run I·. ·. · ·. ·. · · . ·. · · · · . · · · ·. · · · · ·. · · . · ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 HOOKS
If the runner team is inexperienced, play up their sur-
roundings. Everything in Club Penumbra looks like it has to do
with shadowrunners. Evel)lone has something to hide and acts
like it. No one looks anyone in the eye. Let the players know
that their characters have crossed over into a world that, up to
now, they knew vel)l little about.
Nigel acts extremely nervous. He's always looking over
his shoulder, and he's on the verge of panic about how long the
planning is taking. He's as new at being a Mr. Johnson as the
characters are at running.

BEHIND THE. SCENf.S

This scenario introduces the characters to the art of getting
hired. The first thing most characters would know and most
players will forget is the concealability of weapons. This is an
especially important issue when the runners are out on the
street or going into the club. If they don't want trouble from
the law or the bouncer, they should pack their most easily con-
cealable weapons, which usually means anything with a
Concealability Rating higher than 5.
If evel)l weapon the runners own is more obvious than
that, they should consider buying a bigger coat or a smaller
gun before the next time they head out. For this adventure, you
can allow them to carl)l more noticeable weapons, but the
characters run the risk of attracting attention from the UCAS
Using Magic
milital)l patrolling the streets around the club. If a runner's
Any character with astral perception or projection might
weapon has a ConcealabiJity Rating of 4 or less and the player
also choose to assense the Johnson to confirm that all is as it
characters spend any amount of time on the street (or riding
seems. Other than his extreme nervousness and a datajack in
"open" vehicles such as motorcycles), roll 106. On a result of
his temple, Nigel is exactly what he appears to be-a mundane
1, a milital)l guard notices the team. Next, roll a Perception
human. Nigel's complete stats and description appear in Cast of
Test for the guard against the weapon's Concealability Rating to
Shadows, p. 40. .
determine whether the guard notices that the team is carl)ling
If a magically· active character uses any of the following
concealed weapons. If the guard achieves even 1 success, he
spells to get information on Nigel, that character learns the
or she has spotted the weapons. Consult the rules for Legality
information indicated after the spell. Because of his profession,
Codes (p. 273, SR3) for guidelines on how to handle the situa-
Nigel knows to watch for a character casting a spell. Make a test
tion. UCAS milital)l personnel have a MilitaJY Procedures
for Nigel to notice evel)l time a character casts a spell, using the
Knowledge Skill of 5, which counts as a Police Procedure Skill
rules on p. 162 of SR3. Because of Nigel's experience and train-
because they are securing the area around the Penumbra. If the
ing, reduce the target number by 1.
test using this skill is successful, the character is busted.
Analyze Truth: For the most part, this Johnson is telling the
If the characters make it to the club without anyone notic-
truth. He foresees no problems with the run. He believes his plan
ing their weapons, the bouncer will relieve the characters of
will work and thinks the whole thing can be wrapped up this
any weapon that has a Concealability Rating of 4 or lower and
evening. When he says the security has been taken care of, he
store it for the players in what amounts to the armament coat-
means it. It mayor may not occur to the player characters that
room. Club Penumbra is a "safe" zone for runners, and no one
even though security personnel may not respond to their intru-
is allowed to upset that balance.
sion, the security cameras will still be recording their actions.
Detect Enemies: The runners have no known enemies in
Meeting the Johnson
the club.
In hiring meets, characters can make any number of
Detect Magic: The Johnson is not magically active and is
Perception Tests to notice things about the Johnson or their sur-
not carl)ling any magical items. This may not be true of others
roundings. The Perception Test Table below contains a list
in the club (and they may not appreciate a player character
appropriate to this meet. The gamemaster may add other
scoping them out).
results if he or she wishes to expand the players' options. A
Mind Probe: Nigel has been trained to notice this spell and
character will learn evel)lthing listed for the success level he or
knows what it does. If a character uses Mind Probe, Nigel
she rolls, as well as the information for lower success levels. For
makes a Perception Test against the Force of the spell. If Nigel
example, if a character rolls 3 successes, he or she also learns
achieves even 1 success, he walks out of the meet. Mind Probe
the information for 1 and 2 successes.

............................................................................................................................................................................................................... I First Run 2::i

 is an illegal spell, and the offending mage may find it tough to DEBUGGING
explain how he or she came to be using it. The main thing that can go wrong in this scenario is if the
player characters decide to make trouble outside the scope of
Taking the Job the adventure.
If the player characters jump at this job and accept the If the team decides to travel the streets of Seattle with all
terms offered, let them. The pay is excellent, plenty of nuyen of their weapons, they might be arrested by the UCAS military.
for what seems to be a very simple mission. This guy even did Unlike Lone Star, the military can shoot first and ask questions
the planning for the,n. Most players, however, won't want to later, and will gladly do so if the player characters give them too
leave the table without negotiating. much attitude. The military does not negotiate. Use the Red
Any character with Negotiation Skill can negotiate with Samurai stats on p. 40 for the soldiers, and let them open fire if
Nigel. A team only gets one chance at negotiation, however, the player characters make the slightest move. This will teach
so the character with the highest skill rating usually takes the them that shadowrunners need to put the emphasis on shadow!
lead. Use the rules on p. 93 of SR3 for the Negotiation Test. If The runners may decide to cause trouble in Club
the character achieves 1 success, Nigel gets mad. He believes Penumbra, though they should know better. If they just have to
that 20,000 nuyen per character is more than enough for this have it their way, every other patron in the club tries to take
job (and he's right). He refuses to offer more nuyen, even them down. Club Penumbra is neutral turf, a rare commodity in
though he could likely get the money back from either Seattle, and anyone who violates that unwritten rule will swift-
Novatech or Renraku upon delivery of the goods. In lieu of ly find themselves on the wrong side of the law, the military
more money, for 1 success Nigel will give up his van, an unar- and the rest of the shadow community. The Sample Characters
mored Ares Roadmaster. A standard model, this variant does starting on p. 65 of SR3 make good club patrons.
not feature a datajack, remote control interface, or vehicle con- If the runners attempt to harm or kill Nigel, the team will
trol rig adaptation. never get another run from the fixer who set them up for the
For 2 successes, Nigel offers an additional up-front pay- job. A Mr. Johnson is a runner's meal ticket; killing him means
ment of 5,000 nuyen that the characters can split however they the runners lose their paycheck, earn a huge negative reputa-
want. For 3 or more successes, he offers a maglock passkey to tion and basically end their careers in the shadows.
a locked storeroom· that he claims contains electronic equip-
ment with possible resale value on the street. He pOints out the MILK RUN
room on the TekLon map (room number 3).
Because he figured his offer was generous, Nigel didn't WHAT'S UP, CHUMMER?
plan to negotiate, so the extra 5,000 nuyen is all he can offer. After a quick stop to collect their gear, the runners head to
This 5,ooo-nuyen credstick is his operating allowance from where the map begins--an entrance to the sewer system in
Novatech for anything he might need while doing his dirty work. Seattle's Auburn district. The tunnel the characters need to use is
If the runners question Nigel's claim about taking care of not actually part of the sewer system (in other words, no pollut-
security, he shows them his security clearance. If they press for ed, germ-filled, deadly water), but is an access tunnel used to lay
specifics on just how he plans to divert security, he tells them cables. The player characters make it to the wall without incident
that no personnel will be in that wing, the cameras will be on and use the spray Mr. Johnson gave them, which causes the wall
but unmonitored, and the runners will still need to defeat the to bubble until it becomes a gray, rubbery, gelatinlike substance.
maglocks. Naturally, he won't mention that security will be The team can then climb through the wall. On the other side of
occupied with the attack by Renraku forces. If asked specifical- the wall is the Alpha Wing of TekLon. A quick search reveals a
ly about TekLon, he will say that it is an electronics company, security jackpoint. A physical search (and the map) leads the run-
and that's all they need to know. ners to the case, which is right where Nigel left it. As soon as the
characters find the case, they hear explosions and other sounds
PUSHING THE ENVELOPE of combat in another part of the building. Steel doors separate
The suggestions in this section allow gamemasters to add the team from the war zone, but not for long-they can see
more depth to Supernova by creating more intrigue or action. imprints of fists appear in the door as someone or something
In this scenario, gamemasters can't really push the envelope on tries to break through. This marks the first appearance of the
negotiation. However, if any character achieves 4 or more suc- cyberzombie; though the characters don't actually encounter it,
cesses on a Perception Test, the character notices a couple of it gives them something to dread facing.
military officers talking with two elves two booths away. The The tunnel takes the runners safely back to the surface, and
character must cast a C1airvaudience spell or have hearing the team heads for their safehouse.
enhancements to hear the following words and phrases: arcol-
ogy, Ork Underground, entrance unguarded, drone sample, TELL IT TO THEM STRAIGHT
and hiring in the next few days. This incident is a red herring A quick stopover at your safehouse to grab your gear, and
for this particular adventure, and so the gamemaster should then it's time to meet up with your teammates before heading
make sure that the runners don't get too distracted by it. out to Auburn. The adrenaline is starting to kick in. Time to hit
However, it can make a terrific follow-up adventure. the shadows!

L-1_2_"4_---'--_F._irs_t_R_u_n--lI··············· .. ··········· .................................................................................................................................................................................... .

The Tunnel Entrance ters spray the wall with the solvent, the sprayed section takes
The tunnel is right where the johnson said it was. about 5 minutes to stop bubbling. A character who touches it
Removing the manhole cover is easy enough, and the drop during this time must make a Body (6) Test. If the test fails, the
into the tunnel goes smoothly. It's blacker than black down character takes one box of Physical damage and suffers a +2
there, so dark that even your buddies with cybereyes are hav- penalty to all target numbers for actions using the affected hand
ing a tough time adjusting. within the next 24 hours. If the character doesn't say which hand
he or she used, assume it is the character's gun hand.
In the Tunnel A mage character using astral perception can see that the
The tunnel is dry, but it smells like someone lived (and wall has a ward-a type of astral barrier-on it. The ward is per-
most likely died) down here. The kilometer you have to travel manent, with a Force of 6. See p. 174 of SR3 for rules regard-
seems really long, especially when the darkness seems to close ing passing through wards. No one will come running if a char-
in on you with every step. You've never been so glad to see acter breaches this astral wall; the TekLon security mages have
anything as you are to see that wall; you're not sure how much a much more serious threat on their hands.
longer you could have taken the claustrophobic conditions.
You use one can of the johnson's spray and then watch as Entering Alpha Wing
the wall begins to bubble and turn a shade of gray you can't The characters break through the wall and into a storage
really call a color. When the sprayed area stops bubbling, the room whose metal shelves are loaded with hospital gear. Only
wall looks like a giant piece of rubber. Sticking your hand three characters can fit in the room at one time, so the charac-
through it feels like punching through a wall of gelatin--cool! ters must either unlock the maglocks (see below) immediately
or' else some of them must stay in the tunnel. If a character
In Alpha Wing decides to dive into the room from the tunnel without scoping
Welcome to TekLon. Climbing through the wall leaves you the room out first, have that character make an Athletics (6)
exactly where the johnson said you'd be. A security box flash- Test. If successful, the character takes a Moderate Stun Wound;
es near the light switch. The room is filled with metal shelves; if not, the character takes a Serious Stun Wound from crashing
some contain boxes, others are covered with things in plastic into the door and the metal shelves. The character can make a
bags, and still others have what looks like blankets piled high Body (4) Test to resist that damage, with every 2 successes
on them. You're in-now to find that case. staging the damage down one level.
The most important task the runners face is shutting off
HOOKS any security devices. The players have two options, depending
The twist in this scenario is that the runners meet no oppo- on the make-up of the group. If the team includes a decker,
sition. In fact, this should be the easiest run they have ever that character can access the security system at the box near
gone or will ever go on-but they don't know that. Play up the the light switch. He or she can then open the door and control
runners' paranoia; make them wonder what might be behind most of the security devices in Alpha Wing. If the group does
each door and around each corner. The utter emptiness of the not have a decker, a character with Electronics Skill must han-
wing should make them feel confused and jittery; the attack on dle each maglock separately. The security cameras will contin-
the other side of the steel door should shock them and make ue to record the runners' actions, unless the team plans on dis-
them wonder what they might have done to cause it. abling them individually.

BEHIND THE SCENES The Decking Option

In this scenario, shadowrunners can act like shadowrun- In a super-secure area like a research lab, the decker
ners, with full gear, weapons and attitude. They must also rely should be prepared for the worst-a Red Hard host with a min-
on their brains, however, so make sure they have the gear they imum Security Value of 8 and set to kill. The johnson did his
need: the map, the phone, the two cans of spray solvent and a part, however, and took much of the security off-line, prepar-
flashlight or some other light source to let them see in the tun- ing for Renraku's attack. The actual system is rated Easy
nel. Remind them a few times that they are heading into a tun- Orange, with the following system ratings: 4/10/10/10/10/6.
nel-pitch black, claustrophobic, scary-until they get the idea. For a complete explanation of system ratings, see p. 205, SR3.
Nigel's map (p. 27) is fairly exact, and the player charac- From the security box in the storage room, the decker can
ters should easily be able to follow it. The tunnel smells awful; control all the cameras as well as the maglocks on the large
each character must make a successful Willpower (4) Test not doors and the elevator. The large doors with locks, marked A, B,
to get sick. Characters who fail the test become physically ill C, D and E (see below; also see the map on p. 27), are the only
and vomit in the tunnel. A vomiting character must make an maglocks connected to this system. The locks for the office doors
unaugmented Body (6) Test. If a character fails this test, he or are simple card readers and are not part of the system.
she is sick enough to take one box of Stun damage. The first thing a decker needs to do is Log On To Host. This
Cables on the tunnel floor can trip a runner, as can the odd operation requires a Success Contest, with the decker using his
bit of garbage, but mainly this tunnel serves to get the characters Computer Skill plus any Hacking Pool dice against the host's
to the TekLon laboratory wall. The distance from the entry in Access Rating (lOin this case) minus any utilities the decker
Auburn to the wall is just under one kilometer. Once the charac- may have that help with Access Tests. Even though security

............................................................................................................................................................................................................... I First Run I 25

 will not respond to the decker's mistakes and miscues, the slave node appears as a room with a sofa and twenty-two
gamemaster should still roll for Security Tests (a Success monitors, one for each camera.
Contest pitting the host's Security Value against the decker's
Detection Factor). Note the success of any such tests as if the The Electronics Option
system will go on alert. Each maglock can be defeated by any character with
The decker should be able to get into the system. From Electronics Skill. The maglocks on doors A through E are all
there, he or she will probably want to perform various actions; Rating 5; those not in the system are Rating 3. The cameras
the most likely are described below. The decker is decking appear to be on, indicated by the glowing red light below each
directly into the slave node that controls the maglocks. lens. However, cameras that should move to scan an area are
Take control of cameras: This operation is a two-step not moving. A character who rolls 2 successes on an
process. The decker must first perform a Locate Slave opera- Electronics (4) Test can take any camera off-line with no physi-
tion to find the camera slave monitoring location and then per- cal damage to it. One success leaves evidence of tampering.
form a Control Slave operation to control each camera. The The character will need to find something to stand on, as the
decker must maintain a Free Action in every Initiative pass to walls in this area are three meters high. Alternatively, runners
keep the cameras under control. may shoot the cameras, though that strategy leaves evidence
Send tape loop: This is an Edit Slave operation and can be of tampering and also makes noise. Each camera has a Barrier
performed on one camera at a time. The operation is monitored. Rating of 2.
Open maglocks: The decker is in the Maglock Room (see
TekLon System Sculpture, below). From there, he or she must Alpha Wing Key
make a Control Slave operation to open all locks or must open The following description of Alpha Wing includes room
them one at a time. If the decker opens one lock at a time, he numbers and other notes that appear on the map (p. 27). The
or she must perform Control Slave for each lock. entire wing is illuminated in "safety lighting," which means that
Analyze host: This is an Analyze Host operation. It tells every fifth or sixth fluorescent light is always on. Special light-
the decker that the system should be much tougher (Red Hard) ing is noted in the appropriate room description.
and that security response seems off-line.
Control elevator: The elevator is an old-fashioned model Room t (Maglock A): The storage room through which the
with an on-off switch. Theoretically, the decker can control it player characters enter contains metal· shelves filled with ban-
from this node; however, the switch is off, and so the ele,(ator dages, blankets, gauze and items in sealed plastic bags. There
is off-line. is a maglock panel in the wall.
If the decker wants to search for information on various
items, let him. He or she will discover that the entire TekLon Room 2: This area looks like a post- or pre-op room. It contains
Matrix PLTG is Orange Easy and is set up like the Host to Host five beds, all empty and with clean sheets on them. Each bed
description on p. 204 of SR3. The system appears to contain no has a small table next to it, as well as floor jacks for oxygen and
Ie. The decker can perform successful Locate File operations on other gases. There is a nurses' station against the back wall
such keywords or phrases as TekLon Industries (or, more between rooms 1 and 3. This area contains three security cam-
specifically, TekLon's company profile), the Pit, Alpha Wing; or eras and is illuminated in standard safety lighting. The doors
Terwilliger (assuming a character spotted the latter by rolling 5 between this area and rooms 5 and 6 are double swinging
successes on the Perception Test during the initial meet with doors without a lock.
the Johnson). The keywords "research" or "valuable data" will The elevator door on this side is closed, and there is only
reveal nothing. After completing the Locate File operation, the one wall button.
decker can also perform Locate Access Node in order to access
this node from outside the TekLon lab. Note how many suc- Room 3 (Maglock B): This is the room that Nigel Terwilliger
cesses the decker achieves in the Locate File operation; that identified as holding sellable electronics (assuming the runners
number equals the number of files found on the subject in got that far during the initial negotiations; see A Job Is it Job Is it
question. The decker must go to the host where the files are Job, p. 21). It includes medkit supplies, stim and trauma patch-
stored in order to read the information. es, surgical equipment and electronic monitoring equipment.
The security system is Host D. Host A is a public host that
includes a basic company profile, an on-line catalog and other Room 4/4a: This room is an operating theater. The room is
"public" information. Host B holds company and personnel empty except for five skeletons made of resin, one for each
records. Host C holds sales and financial records. Host E holds race of humanity, along the far wall opposite the doors to
information on research, Alpha Wing and the Pit. Once in a Room 2. Each of this room's four cameras is connected to a
host, the decker can perform a Decrypt File operation to large monitor above the theater. The monitors are not on,
remove Scramble 4 IC (see p. 228, SR3). The decker may then though the cameras seem to be. The safety lighting in this
read or download whatever file he's interested in. The informa- room is on the walls, rather than fluorescent lighting. A set of
tion the decker finds appears on p. 39 in the Legwork section. double swinging doors connects the theater to Room 5.
TekLon System Sculpture: The Maglock Room slave node Room 4a is a set of seats above the theater, separated from
appears as a room with five large power switches. The Camera Room 4 by a glass wall (Barrier Rating 4). In addition, there is a

aIEl First Run I···. · · ·. · · · . . ·. . · ·. . . ·. . . · · . . · · ·. · · . . . · . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

window (Barrier Rating 2) above the stage at slides back as soon as the maglock is opened. This section of
Room 8. the lab contains two stationary cameras, three lab benches
with microscopes, other electronic and microtronic gear, and
Room 5: This room is a pre-surgery chamber for the doctor. It an off-line computer terminal. Near the door to Room 9b are
contains sinks, shelves full of surgical gear and various two complete envirosuits and helmets.
machines on wheels. The elevator door on this side is open and
the elevator switch is on the panel. The room has one lower Room 9b: A single door connects this part of the lab to 9c,
level and two upper levels. The room's two security cameras and another to 9a. 9b is a "clean room." Each of its ten work-
appear to be scanning cameras, but they are not moving. stations is enclosed in glass, with two armholes through which
scientists can work on the microtronics. Each workstation has
Room 6: This room is a dressing room. It contains clothes racks a stool in front of it. There is no security lighting in this room,
with surgical scrubs as well as two couches and two chairs. though some ambient light comes from the machines that are
There are no security cameras. The doors to rooms 5 and 7 are on. For purposes of Perception Tests, apply a +6 modifier to
standard doors and are unlocked. notice anything in this room without using a second light
source.
Room 7 (Maglock e): This area is space for the staircase that If the characters have a light source or make a successful
leads up to Room 8. The doors at the top are double doors Perception Test, they discover in one corner of the "clean
made of glass, with a maglock. One camera scans this room, room" a complete human skeleton made of microtronics. The
which is illuminated by regular lights in wall sconces. skeleton is missing a head.

Room 8: This is the hallway for the laboratory floor. One regu- Room 9c (Maglock E): This room is a duplicate of room 9a,
lar door leads to Room 4a, two to Room 11; none is locked. The with two exceptions. All the security lights are off, and the
doors to rooms 1Oa-f are regular doors with passcard locks that case with the starburst on it is sitting on one lab bench. Any
are not connected to the security system. The doors to 9a and character who sees the logo can make a Corporate Knowledge
9c are glass (Barrier Rating 6) and slide into the walls. All cam- Skill (4) Test or Corporate Etiquette Skill (5) Test. With 1 or
eras on this level are scanning cameras. The floor is carpeted more successes, the character recognizes the starburst as the
and the area has standard security lighting. new logo for Novatech Inc. The case is locked with a Rating 4
At the end of the hall is a giant steel door (Barrier Rating electronic lock. The runners do not need a second source of
16). This door is not on the security Matrix and the decker can- light to find the case. Unknown to them, it contains a micro-
not locate it (suggesting that there might be a trapdoor host in tronic head.
the TekLon system). The doors and walls from Room 8 through
Room 9c are protected by Force 12 wards. Rooms tO-tOf: These rooms are personal offices. All are dark;
each office has a regular door lock with a passcard reader. The
Room 9a (Maglock D): This room is one-third of the micro- offices are full of personal belongings, books, texts and a com-
tronics laboratory. The entire lab is glass-walled, and the door puter terminal on each desk. Some rooms hold up to three

First Run 27
 employees. Room lOa is number 100 and the numbers contin-
ue to 105.

Room .1:
This lounge contains a coffee machine, vending
mac~ines, a refrigerator, a stove and a microwave oven. The
furniture consists of two sofas, several chairs and one circular
table. Magazines on the table include Cybertechnology Today,
Microtronics Digest, and Science, Health and Magic. The room
has two doors; it contains no security lighting or cameras.

The Renraku Attack

Once the player characters have grabbed the case, they
should make a beeline for the exit. This run has been too darn
easy; the total lack of opposition so far should make them high-
ly paranoid by now. As soon as the runners have the case in
hand, allow any runner on the top level (Rooms 8-11) to make a
Perception (4) Test. A runner who rolls 2 successes hears explo-
sions coming from the wall on the other side of the steel door.
Once the team hears the explosion, up the ante. Describe
more explosions and the sound of gunfire. This should scare
the runners enough to get them moving faster. Allow for one
last Perception (4) Test by any character or characters nearest
the steel door. One success allows that character to see what
looks like a fist trying to punch through the metal.
If the team includes a decker, the system goes on alert and
becomes Red Hard, but no IC attacks. This oddity should panic
the decker. The player characters should escape without much
more than hard breathing and a thrill of fear.

PUSHING THE ENVELOPE

This run is supposed to be clean and easy, and so it should
be nerve-racking. The runners should have no encounters in the
tunnel on the way to Alpha Wing, but they can meet some crit-
ters when fleeing the site. The most effective is a swarm of
devil rats (3 per character); see p. 25 of Critters for a descrip-
tion and statistics. This or any other critter encounter should be
brief, however, and more of a nuisance than deadly. The
gamemaster can also use any critters of his or her choice to
annoy and distract the runners.
After the explosion, the lab can go on alert. Klaxons and
sirens can go off, and cleaning drones and other electronic
equipment can turn on (radios, the monitors in Room 4, taped
warnings, lights, etc.). These events don't make the adventure
any tougher, but they do provide more distractions. The
gamemaster may wish to have a security drone not tied into
the slave host appear from around a corner and begin attack-
ing the runners. However, this is the most extreme opposition
the runners should encounter, and it should not be deadly.
(There will be enough death and destruction later .... )
If the decker is sitting around doing nothing, have some IC
attack him-basic Probe or Crippler IC, enough to make him
nervous but not to do lasting damage.

DEBUGGING
Very little can go wrong in this scenario except slow and dis-
tracted player characters who decide to investigate every room
and door as well as everything in the rooms. If your players do

28 First Run I···················································· .............................................................................................................................................................

that, have the Renraku attack occur earlier and force the players' they use the contact. See the Legwork section (p. 39) for infor-
hands. If players want to scope out the territory, the TekLon facil- mation that contacts can offer.
ity is five buildings connected by sidewalks. All of the buildings Recovery time: If any characters took Stun damage during
are fenced and guarded. A character with the Security prior scenarios, they can heal up during this time as long as
Knowledge Skill can determine that the buildings have under- they don't do anything else. If they want to connect with 'con-
ground complexes attached. A mage character can see spirits on tacts or perform other actions, they cannot heal damage.
call in astral space, but none of them is near the runners' building. Characters who took Physical damage do not have sufficient
downtime to recover naturally; they can heal only by using the
WAITING IS THE HARDEST PART Heal or Treat spell or stim patches.
Summoning spirits: As no more than two hours will
elapse between calling Mr. Johnson and getting the call back
WHAT'S UP, CHUMMER?
for the meet, mages can only summon up to Force 2 elemen-
This scenario offers the runners a bit of a breather. Once in
tals. Such characters would also need to be dropped off at their
their vehicles, they can hit the road and stay there or go to a
library and hermetic circle. Shamans can conjure spirits when-
safe house. They won't spend much time at either place; after
ever they choose because they need not go through a conjur-
2 hours maximum, they'll be heading out again. The goal for
ing ritual in advance (see p. 186, SR3).
this scenario is to let the runners catch their breath and prepare
Decking: Deckers can seek out information on various
for the following scenarios.
news nets or Shadowland, provided they can access a jack-
point. The Legwork section (p. 39) describes what a character
TELL IT TO THEM STRAIGHT
might find from these sources. If the decker decides to access
The trip back to Auburn seems much faster than the trip to
the node he found with the Locate Access Node operation
the wall; that tends to happen when you're running for your
while in the TekLon lab, he finds that the entire TekLon system
life. You leap out of the tunnel a kilometer away from TekLon
is now Red Hard (see p. 205, SR3).
and look back to see the damage. Helicopters with halogen
The system's ratings are Red-8/16/14/18/18/18. Use the
lights that cut through the night like lasers are circling above
Sample Security Sheaf on p. 211 of SR3 if the decker decides
the place where you just were like vultures over a carcass.
to scope the system out. If he or she succeeds at this, the char-
Smoke is rising from the building, and you can still hear explo-
acter will discover that files are being erased.
sions. Lone Star and DocWagon sirens are rising over the din.
Opening the case: The case has a Rating 6 electronic lock-
Time for you to get out of here.
ing mechanism. A character with Electronics Skill and an
Electronics Kit can attempt to open it by making an Electronics
When the runners call Mr. Johnson, read the following:
(6) Test. The character must roll 2 successes per latch to open
'This is Ni ... I mean, Johnson, um, Mr. Johnson," says the
the case without any signs of tampering. One success will open
voice over the phone. "Did you get it? Okay, don't open it. I
the case but will leave evidence behind. Alternatively, the
have to call the contact you'll be meeting. I'll call you back on
characters may choose to shoot the locks or smash the case
this phone with the time and place."
open. The case's Barrier Rating is 4, and the delicately con-
structed cybernetic skull inside it will take damage. The dam-
HOOKS
age will be noticed at the trade-off meet, and the runners
Downtime. Let the player characters catch their breath.
should expect to see less nuyen.
Make them wonder ... can any run really be this easy?
The head is freaky to look at. It has eyes, lips, ears and so
on, made completely out of microtronics. It has no skin or hair.
BEHIND THE SCENES
A character with Electronics Skill can analyze the head but will
Renraku's attack team will not chase the runners (though
not be able to figure out how it works. A character with a
you can up the paranoia by having Lone Star vehicles cruise
Microtronics Specialization of Electronics or Knowledge Skills
by). If the player characters want to stay on the road, let them.
in cybertechnology, microtronics, or a similar skill can deter-
They can also go to a safe house or other hide-out.
mine that the head is an advanced design using cutting-edge
Below are some suggestions for dealing with typical
technology, and that it is not finished. The Target Number for
downtime activities.
any such test is 12.
Getting In touch with contacts: Keep in mind that it's just
after midnight. Corporate contacts may not appreciate being
PUSHING THE ENVELOPE
woken up to chat about some company they may never have
The gamemaster can't make much of anything tougher in
heard of. Others, like fixers or bartenders, are probably work-
this scenario, though there's nothing wrong with including a
ing and so are unlikely to drop everything to answer the play-
gang encounter to keep the pressure on. If you want the team
ers' questions right away. Such contacts may well help the
to rely on their wits, have the Johnson tell them the trade-off
player characters, but they might not be happy about it. To
meet will be in half an hour; this leaves the runners with no
make up for the inconvenience, the player characters may need
time for anything except healing Stun damage and slapping on
to be extra-friendly and spread around the nuyen the next time
some stim patches.

............................................................................................................................................................................................................... I First Run 29

DEBUGGING named Elizabeth Chavez. After you make the switch, contact
Not much can go wrong in this scenario. The team got the me and I'll let you know where we'll meet. Oh, yeah-don't
case and is now gearing up for the next scene. Some teams that open this case, either."
opened the case and found the head may decide to offer it to the
highest bidder-a dangerous tactic that in the long run will come When the player characters reach the corner, read the fol-
back to haunt them. If the runners are determined to cut out lowing aloud:
now, have a character with Etiquette (Corporate) Skill make a roll This is the place; a deserted, four-corner intersection. No
against Target Number 2. That character will know these facts of cars, no people, little light ... a good spot for a meet. Whoever
life: first, you don't screw your employer because no one will Elizabeth Chavez is, she knows her stuff. The warehouses are all
ever hire you again. No Johnson wants to deal with unreliable four stories high and the entrances are flush with the front of the
runners. Second, whoever might buy the head will not give the building, so you can't use doorways for cover. An alley half a
team as much money as they have on the table now. block down on tOOth Street runs parallel with Main Street. Fire
If the players insist on selling out, so be it. They'd better escapes on the alley side of the buildings will give you access to
get a lot of nuyen for the head because they won't be earning the roofs; not a bad spot to hide out and a possible escape route
money shadowrunning for a long, long time. if things turn ugly. Time to plan a little defensive strategy.

FOUR CORNERS Once the player characters are In position, read the
following:
WHAT'S UP, CHUMMER? The wait goes on. Zero hour arrives; Chavez is late. You
Up until now, this adventure has turned on stealth and give her five minutes; then you're going to call the Johnson and
sneaking, with high levels of paranoia. In this scenario the big tell him you've been stood up.
guns blaze, the spells fly and characters may die.
Nigel Terwilliger gives the runners an address in Bellevue's When Elizabeth arrives, read the following. Do not read
warehouse neighborhood-a typical corner intersection, tOOth until the events In Behind the Scenes occur:
and Main. As the player characters are waiting there, an obvi- You spot a vehicle coming down the road, swerving from
ously damaged car with an equally damaged driver careens one side of the street to the other. A motorcycle, maybe; it only
down Main Street. The car swerves from curb to curb before it has one headlight. The vehicle leaps up on the curb and
slams into a street lamp and stops dead. As the driver's head careens down the sidewalk for a while, and then swerves back
smacks the horn, distracting the player characters, two heli- into the street. As it gets closer, you can see it's a car. A badly
copters arrive and unload deadly cargo-two units of Renraku damaged car-smoke is pouring from the engine, and sparks
Red Samurai. The Red Samurai are known throughout the shad- from the rear bumper and muffler dragging along the ground
ows as Renraku's elite combat and security thugs. Using tether make it look like a bizarre fireworks display. The car is still
lines, they land and either open fire on the player characters or weaving frantically; the driver has obviously lost control. The
head for the car. They are after the case stolen by Elizabeth car jumps the curb on the north side of Main Street and hits the
Chavez (the occupant of the car), and they will fight to the traffic light head-on. The crunch of the impact is drowned out
death for it. . by the teeth-on-edge sound of a car horn blaring through the
Following the car is a van carrying two hermetic mages. night: NNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!
These mages are part of the Red Samurai unit and also control
Renraku's secret weapon-a fully armed, working HOOKS
cyberzombie! It's combat time, pure and simple. Guns, magic and a blar-
In Shadowrun, a cyberzombie is a human that is literally ing car horn in the background make for an intense life-or-
more machine than man. Magic and science have combined death struggle. This scenario should remind the runners why
their worst aspects and created a creature that should be dead they get paid so well. Don't get discouraged by the combat's
but stays alive and fights like a one-man army. For more infor- scale or length of time; the players will be much more con-
mation on cyberzombies, see Behind the Scenes below and cerned with surviving.
Cast of Shadows, p.40.
The combat continues until one side pulls out. For both BEHIND THE SCENES
sides, the goal is Chavez's case; the player characters should The four-corner intersection is exactly as described-a nor-
realize that unless they get it, they won't get paid. When the mal spot in the warehouse district with no one around. If a
runners reach the car, they find Elizabeth dead. On the front magically active character decides to astrally investigate the
seat next to her is the case and her personal datapad (PDA). warehouse, he or she will find some rats, a cat or two and a
guard dog in each, none of which is magically active.
TELL IT TO THEM STRAIGHT Once the players pick their positions, note which one has
The phone's ring is jarring. You grab it and answer before Nigel's case. At five minutes after the meet time, when the
it can ring a second time. The familiar voice says, "You have players should be starting to get anxious, have any character in
two hours to get down to the warehouse district in Bellevue. position to see down Main Street make a Perception (4) Test.
The address is tOOth and Main. Your contact is an elven female Characters with optical magnification or enhanced hearing can

I ~0 I First Run I .................................................................................................................................................................................................................

reduce the target number for this test by the rating of the effect. Once given an order, the cyberzombie will continue car-
appropriate device. Mages viewing astral space can make this rying it out until he's finished and then some. For example, if
same test at Target Number 5. If any character's test succeeds, told to fire on the troll street samurai, he will keep doing so
read the passage above for when Elizabeth Chavez arrives. even after reducing the troll to a wet spot on the cement. In
After you read that passage and before the runners can order for the zombie to perform any action, he must make a
react, have all the characters make a second Perception Test. successful Willpower Test. The target number depends on the
The Target Number is 4 for a mage in astral space. For astrally situation, listed below:
perceiving magicians and for characters with hearing dampen-
ers or optical magnification, the Target Number is 5. For other Situation Target Number
characters, the Target Number is 6. For characters with hearing Mages request an action 2
amplification, the Target Number is 8. If any character rolls a Continue the same action (done at
single success on this test, that character spots the Renraku the start of every Combat Turn)' 3
helicopters flying in stealth mode. If the character is in astral Other Red Samurai request an action 4
space, he or she must get back in his or her body in order to Anyone else requests an action 8
warn the rest of the team.
At this point, roll Initiative. , If the cyberzombie makes 3 of these tests in a row, he will
continue this action unabated until someone requests another
The Red Samurai action. No more tests are necessary.
Each Red Samurai hit squad consists of a five-man team:
four fighters of various types and one hermetic mage. The two Running the Red Samurai Team
samurai teams that rappel out of the helicopter on tether lines As gamemaster, you are the Red Samurai team. Use the
are the guys with the guns and the firepower. The two mages information in this section to figure out exactly what the team
arrive later in the Combat Turn. A player character with any will do in the early stages of the combat.
kind of Corporate Security or Military Knowledge Skill or with Once a character notices the helicopters, the Red Samurai
Leadership Skill can make a test against Target Number 5 to make their free-fall dive on tether lines. At this pOint, roll
determine that the arriving goons are Red Samurai. Rolling 2 Initiative. This is the first Combat Turn.
successes on the test lets the character know that the Red
Samurai typically travel in five-man teams, not four-man teams. Combat Tum t: Roll one Initiative for the entire gun-Wielding
With 3 successes, the character notes that the helicopters did Red Samurai contingent. They will all go on this initiative. Then
not lay down ground-support fire, which means that some- roll a second Initiative for the mages; both will go on this ini-
thing on the ground is too important to risk damaging. tiative. Do not roll the cyberzombie's initiative for the first
One samurai team will land in the center of the intersec- Combat Turn.
tion, the second in the road behind Chavez's car. Their goal is The Red Samurai will land on the ground on their initiative
to get the case from the vehicle. They will fire back at anyone in the first pass; that is their action. Apply a +2 target modifier
who fires on them and will fight until the last one drops. The for the player characters to hit them in the first pass. If the
helicopters will leave as soon as they've dropped their troops samurai have more Initiative passes in this turn, they will
and will return only to pick up the squad with the case. remain stationary, negating any movement penalties. They do
The Red Samurai mages arrive in the van via IOOth Street not hold their actions. Standard operating procedure for the
and attempt to block the intersection. They are aware of the Red Samurai is to attack two different targets in the same
gunfight and have spells and the cyberzombie ready to go. Combat Phase, and so they suffer the modifier for shooting at
two targets.
The Cyberzomble During the first pass, on the mages' Initiative, any character
The following rules for the cyberzombie are limited to facing south on lOOth St. can make a Perception (6) Test to see
those needed to run him effectively. The cyberzombie is a first- the headlights of the mages' van. If the mages have only one
generation creation and has weaknesses along with his formi- action, nothing else will happen during that Combat Turn. If the
dable firepower and armor (see Cast of Shadows, p. 40). When mages have more than one action, they will arrive just south of
describing him, play up his inhuman physical appearance; the intersection (off the map and still south of the alley). This
mention such details as his third arm, his unblinking eye, and allows every character along lOOth St. to see the van.
the fact that he appears to be more metal than flesh.
The cyberzombie has no concept of personal safety and Combat Turn 2: Roll one Initiative for the gun guys, one for the
will stay in the street firing even if everyone around him is mages and one for the cyberzombie. The group of gun guys in
dead. Until the mages command him to attack, he won't the center of the intersection will start trying to pick off the
"remember" why he's there. Play it as if he is stuck in a pro- player characters, most often shooting at whoever shot at
gramming loop. He can be standing there with a gun pointed them. On the first Initiative pass, the gun guys on Main Street
at a character's head, but he won't pull the trigger because he behind Chavez's car will head for the car. In the second pass
can't quite remember how. For game mechanic purposes, use (and subsequent ones, if any), they will attempt to shoot out
the Critter power Confusion (p. 263, sR3) to simulate this the car windows, until fired upon.

First Run ::U

 - .. --~~----

---- - -----=-~ -----

The mages' van will stop in the center of the intersection If the cyberzombie sees two characters with cases (assum-
(without hitting the other Red Samurai there) on the mages' turn ing that the player characters grabbed the one in the car and
of the first Initiative pass. The cyberzombie will take no actions in are holding on to the one with the Novatech logo), the cyber-
the first pass. For dramatic effect, the gamemaster can have the zombie will become confused per the confusion critter power
back of the van open and the zombie standing there, backlit and (see p. 263, SR3).
menacing. In the second Initiative pass (if the mages have one),
the cyberzombie will hold his actions until one of the mages Combat Turn 3: Again, roll one initiative for the gun guys, one
commands him to do something. The other mage will cast a for the mages and one for the cyberzombie. If the mages did
spell. If the mages do not have a second Initiative pass, these not have a second Initiative pass in the previous turn, they will
events will happen in the third Combat Turn. The cyberzombie is take the actions described above in Combat Turn 2. At the end
equipped with a headware communication system, so the of Combat Turn 3, the Red Samurai forces at Chavez's car will
mages need not give their orders out loud. have grabbed the case. They don't care about the personal dig-
The mages will give the following commands, in the fol- ital assistant.
lowing order:
t. Attack any character with a case. Combat Turn 4: Roll Initiative for any survivors from the
2. Get the case out of Chavez's car (the mages only give Renraku team. For the remainder of the turn, they will head
this order if the Red Samurai soldiers are all dead). toward the van.
3. Attack the character doing the most damage (usually,
this means the one with the most powerful gun). Combat Turn 5: The van leaves at the first Initiative rolled for
4. Attack anyone firing on the Red Samurai. any survivors except the cyberzombie (he doesn't drive).
5. Attack any mages or shamans among the runners.

_~_2_-,-_~_jr._s_t_R_u_n---,I····························· ....................................................................................................................................................................................
LI
 Running the Combat only be detected when it is on or the case is open. The AOD has
The player characters can get Chavez's case in a number of a Rating of 8. If the player characters want to open this case, use
ways. The most effective is to take out the Red Samurai before the same rules as for opening the case with the cyberhead in it
they reach Chavez's car or the van arrives. If the van arrives, the (see p. 29 of Waiting /5 The Hardest Part). The Renraku case con-
runners should take out the mages. If they kill the mages, the tains twelve optical disks. A decker wanting to look at them
cyberzombie has no one to give him orders, and so he will just before the drop-off would need a portable disk reader.
stand there. In most cases, the player characters will not need
to kill the cyberzombie (of course, they don't know that). One PUSHING THE ENVELOPE
way to give a character the chills is to have the cyberzombie This scenario is pretty tough already. If the player characters
focus the laser sights of both his guns on the character's chest, seem to be handling the Red Samurai too easily, the gamemas-
head, or groin. The cyberzombie will track the combat and ter can try three simple fixes. First, have a third team of Red
even follow a character with his sights, but he will not pull the Samurai drop from the sky (mage and all). Second, have the
trigger until ordered to do so. mages give the cyberzombie orders before the van arrives at the
Effective use of spells and spirits will work in the player intersection. This fix allows the cyberzombie to take actions even
characters' favor. The Renraku mages have no spirits on call, if the runners take out the mages right away. Third, the mages
being more concerned with managing their cyberzombie. can have elementals on call and can use them in their first action.
Alternatively, the player characters might use a stealthier Typically, these mages use fire or air elementals.
approach such as invisibility, chaos spells, or the spirit powers
of concealment or confusion to get to the case while the fire- DEBUGGING
fight rages. This strategy is somewhat tricky, but the player Three main things can go wrong in this scenario. First and
characters can pull it off with lots of creativity. most obvious, the player characters may start dropping like
flies. If that happens, let it; Shadowrun is a deadly game. Have
Chavez's Car DocWagon come and pick them up. If the entire team ends up
When the runners reach the car (after the combat is over or in a DocWagon clinic, the cybernetic head is stolen from
the samurai have been dealt with), they see Chavez's dead body DocWagon's storage. The player characters get a nominal
slumped against the steering wheel. On the seat next to her are nuyen settlement, but that's it.
the metal case and a personal digital assistant (PDA)-a hand- If the player characters run away, have Mr. johnson call
held computer notepad. The player characters most likely will them and ask what happened. He will offer only half the money
take both. If they don't, remind them that Chavez no longer has for the case they took from his lab, since they only did half the
any use for the PDA and that Renraku will likely be sending peo- job. If the runners decide to get out while the getting is good,
ple to this spot. If there's anything on the PDA about the runners, no problem. If they decide to keep the cyberhead, however,
they certainly don't want it falling into Renraku's hands. Renraku (whose operatives taped the whole thing via the
Any player character with a Renraku contact, the Etiquette cyberzombie's head camera) or Novatech operatives will attack
(Corporate) Skill, or any Corporate Knowledge Skill will instant- them. Both sides want the head, and neither will stop until the
ly recognize the Renraku logo on Chavez's case. player characters are dead (they don't know how much the
runners know, and they won't take any chances).
After the Combat Finally, the player characters may not pick up the PDA. If
Once the combat is over, the characters have both cases; they have both cases, Mr. johnson will call and give them the
at this point, they most likely will want to get their money and address and code for the payoff meet. In this situation, Nigel
lay low. Theoretically they might be able to get more nuyen will spin the story in No One WiJ/ Believe You to make it look
with both cases in their possession, but they will probably want like Chavez was the double agent.
to take care of biz ASAP. Calling the johnson gets them no
answer, however-a fact that should panic them a bit. NO ONE WILL BELIEVE YOU
If the runners examine the PDA, they will discover that
only Chavez's one-week personal calendar opens easily with- WHAT'S UP, CHUMMER?
out a password. There are only two entries for yesterday's In this scenario, the player characters find out what's going
date. The one at 3 p.m. says "Accosted N"; the one at 5 p.m. on. If they play their cards right, they get big money and some
says "Switched N's cases." The next notation, at 12:30 a.m. markers they can cash in later.
today's date, says "N called about meet." An entry for 2 a.m. The runners go to the address listed in the PDA-a new-
says "Swap cases." The last entry, at 3 a.m., reads "Payout @ looking building downtown. Only one elevator is working and
3844 Belmont Avenue, code #68GTH773KNl." After the run- it only has one button, marked "Penthouse." The runners arrive
ners fail to get ahold of Mr. johnson, the payout note in the at the penthouse, and the elevator opens on a room that takes
PDA should prompt them to make that meet and hopefully get. up the entire fourteenth floor. In the room are three humans:
some cash out of the deal. the johnson, Richard Villiers (owner of Novatech and one of the
The Renraku case contains an activate-on-demand (AOD) ten most powerful men in the world), and Miles Lanier, head of
tracking signal, which enabled the Red Samurai to track Chavez. Novatech's security (a man coldly calculating enough to pull
The signal is still active. The device is inside the case and can the greatest scam ever perpetrated on a megacorporation).

............................................................................................................................................................................................................... I First Run I ::.::. I

 The runners have hit the big time. the impression that he means it and can do it, even though he
As the scene unfolds, the player characters will learn that appears unarmed. Miles then asks the runners what he can get
Nigel Terwilliger was working for both Renraku and Novatech. them to drink, but he does not take their weapons from them.
He panicked when Elizabeth Chavez took the case meant for
Renraku, and he hired the runners to get it back. They will also Once the runners sit down, read the following:
learn that Lanier and Villiers play for keeps but can be very fair Richard Villiers leans casually against the table and eyes
if the players are honest with them. you. "Now, my friends, please explain how you came to have
Gamemaster Note: Much of Tel/It To Them Straight below my property in your possession."
depends on the player characters' actions in the presence of Gamemaster Note: The precise wording of this opening
Villiers and Lanier, what the player characters bring into the salvo depends on what the player characters brought to the
room, and what they say. Gamemasters should turn these facts meet. If they come in with the Novatech case, lead off with the
into a bit of conversation between Villiers, the player characters above sentence. If they come in with the Renraku case, replace
and Nigel. Take note of logical queries to the player characters. "my property" with "my enemies' property." If they come in
with only the PDA, Villiers will ask what he can do for them.
TELL IT TO THEM STRAIGHT Remember, the player characters must have the PDA with them
The address in the PDA is downtown-an office building, in order to enter the building and convince whomever they are
so shiny-new that it might have gone up just last week. The meeting that they have an appointment. Let the player charac-
glass double doors in the front have a maglock with an ters explain the night's events. Villiers will let them talk, every
alphanumeric keypad. The lobby is deserted. Safety lighting once in a while asking Nigel for confirmation--especially if
illuminates the marble floor and the walls of polished black what the runners say points to Nigel's error in some way.
wood. Light shines from a single open elevator. There is no call Villiers never lets Nigel complete a sentence, mainly because
button on the wall near it, and only a single button on the Nigel is so nervous he's stammering. Play this up.
inside. The button says "Penthouse." Villiers will respond to certain key statements made by the
player characters. If they mention Renraku, Villiers asks Nigel
When the runners go upstairs, read the following aloud: exactly how Renraku came to be involved in his business. If the
The doors open soundlessly onto a vast expanse. The pent- runners say Chavez is dead, Villiers asks Nigel how such a valu-
house takes up the entire fourteenth floor. Along the right-hand able and loyal employee could go bad.
wall is a series of video monitors, half showing various news-
casts and the rest displaying stock exchanges from all over the Once the runners have finished their story, the following
world. There's a full bar along the left wall, which is all windows occurs:
as far as you can tell. The view outside is spectacular. You see Villiers asks, "Exactly how much did my employee Nigel
five wooden desks in the room; the biggest one, easily ten offer you?" When the runners respond, Villiers will say,
meters long, stands near the back wall. Behind it are shelves "Generous with my money, aren't you, Nigel?" At this point,
stuffed with books and papers. Framed photos sit on almost Villiers will have Lanier open the case the runners brought
every flat surface, and each desk has a computer terminal. and examine it. When he says everything's OK, the players
In front of you is an entertainment pit with a circular fire- can see what's inside the case if they haven't before. The
place. On the far end of the pit is a large round meeting table, cybernetic head is described on p. 29 of Waiting Is the
also with a computer terminal. Your Johnson is sitting at the Hardest Part. Villiers then opens a briefcase similar to the one
table, looking even more nervous than he did at Club Nigel had when he met the runners and drops jet-black cred-
Penumbra. The other two men in the room are standing next sticks in the center of the table. Each is worth 10,000 nuyen;
to the Johnson, looking at the computer monitor. Everything in Villiers keeps dropping them until the total matches the fee
the room looks custom-made, right down to the pieces of the runners claimed earlier. After tossing down the last stick,
dwarf- and troll-sized furniture. Villiers says, "Now-is our business over, or do you have any-
One of the strangers looks up and says, "None of these thing else for me?"
people looks much like my loyal employee, Elizabeth Chavez, Gamemaster Note: Again, the exact events of this scene
do they, Nigel? Welcome. It looks like my trip to Seattle will depend on what the runners have. If they offer to sell Villiers
involve business after all. Miles, escort our guests to some the PDA, he laughs, grabs two more credsticks and tosses
seats and get them drinks." them on the table. If the runners just give it to him, he says,
Gamemaster Note: Miles Lanier walks over to the player "Thanks. I'll remember that."
characters and says, clearly and confidently, ''I'm Miles Lanier.
I advise against making any attempt to use ... " At this pOint, Spilling the Beans
he will list every potentially dangerous item the characters are Lanier will take the PDA to a desk and plug it into a larg-
carrying or might use, from guns to knives to cyberware to er computer. He will then summarize the text, as in the follow-
magic. When he reaches the end of the list, he finishes up with, ing paragraphs:
"Should you be foolish enough to try using any of those items Elizabeth Chavez noticed that certain ofTekLon's research
in this room, I'll have to kill you." He doesn't smile when he files were missing or destroyed. She soon discovered that
says this; he simply states it as a fact. The players should get Nigel was responsible and confronted him about it. He. said

1 ~...., 1 First Run I· .......... ·.. ·.... ·.. ·............ ·.... ·.. ·.. ·.. ·.................................. ·.. ·.........................................................................................................................
that they both worked for the same team-Novatech-and that having drinks and talking biz with Richard Villiers. The runners
he was taking orders from Miles Lanier. should feel privileged, honored and a bit like fish out of water.
Villiers looks at Nigel and says, "So far, so good." Villiers works on a level that few ever see, and now they're
Unsure whether to believe Nigel, Elizabeth kept an eye on mixed up in it. Kind of puts everything in perspective ....
him. On the same day that Nigel later hired the runners and
Renraku attacked TekLon, she saw him copy several files and BEHIND THE SCENES
place them in a case. After that, he made a call to arrange "an This scenario allows the gamemaster to roleplay. Have fun
event" for the evening. with it. Each character is different; use those differences. Nigel
"An event," Villiers says. "A fairly violent one, Nigel." He is the stumbling idiot who thought he was much bigger than
presses a button; one of the wall-mounted screens shows a he really was. Miles Lanier is confident, deadly, and for all the
force of helicopters opening fire on a small group of security runners know, a future employer. And Richard Villiers-what
guards at the entrance to a corporate facility. The player char- can you say about him? Rich, powerful and something of a
acters can see a TekLon Industries sign in the baCkground. showman ... but the runners can't tell if this show is for them
Continuing his summary, Lanier says that while Nigel was or for Nigel. To roleplay him, act as If Villiers knows exactly
on the phone, Elizabeth grabbed the case full of files and took what people intend to do before they even think of it.
off. Nigel spotted her and ran out after her. The site of this meet is downtown, so the runners need to
"Did you panic, Nigel?" Villers asks, his voice quiet and look and act a little laid-back ... not easy to do after most of
cold. "Did you leave our case behind in your panic?" them have taken some kind of damage. 3844 Belmont Avenue
Lanier goes on. It seems Elizabeth received a call from is afourteen-story office building, with a single front entrance.
Nigel at about 12:30 a.m., asking for a meet to exchange Safety lighting is on and one elevator is open.
cases. If she agreed (and thereby helped Nigel cover his hoop), Any mages astrally scanning the building will find nothing
Novatech would get its valuable property. If she refused, Nigel out of the ordinary until they scan the fourteenth floor, which
would take the cyberhead straight to Renraku. She agreed and has a Force 14 ward. The elevator shaft is not warded, but the
placed a call to her contact at Novatech, who told her to make opening to the fourteenth floor is. A decker character will
the swap and then go to the Belmont address at 3. She then notice that the maglock and keypad for the front doors include
called Nigel and arranged the case exchange for 2 a.m. no datajack or electronic jackpoint., The maglock is battery-
At this point, Villiers explains to the runners about orphan operated and isn't connected to the Matrix. Both of these facts
corporations and some of the corp war fallout. He tells them should warn the runners that something major is up. If the run-
that Nigel goes into corporate facilities to make sure that ners try anything inside the building, Lanier will introduce him-
Novatech-and no one else-gets whatever valuable data they self over the speaker system and ask them politely to play nice.
have. Villiers ends by saying, "Unfortunately for Nigel here, I He will only ask once. If they don't play along, it's up to you to
have more than one loyal employee." At that moment, Nigel dictate his response, but it should be subtle and deadly.
slumps forward. The runners see Lanier standing behind him Once in the penthouse, the runners should make a test
with a silenced pistol, which is still smoking. using Corporate Etiquette or any Corporate Knowledge Skill
against a Target Number 4. With 1 success, they recognize
The Renraku Case Richard Villiers. With 2 successes, they recognize Miles Lanier
After all this, Villiers offers to buy the Renraku case from also. During their stay in the penthouse, any headware com-
the runners. If they have it with them, he picks up the briefcase munications gear that the runners may be sporting is jammed.
with the credsticks and dumps out the rest of its contents on Lanier is tuned to the frequency the runners were using, how-
the table, doubling the number of credsticks. He then reaches ever, and will' relay any messages they receive while there.
into Nigel's pockets and pulls out two yellow and two orange Everything else in this scenario is left to the player charac-
standard credsticks, saying, "He won't be needing them any- ters to soak up and enjoy. The more Nigel takes the heat, the
more." The yellow credsticks carry 1,000 nuyen each, the more the runners should realize that they will be rewarded for
orange ones 500 nuyen each. doing their job.
If the runners stowed the Renraku case in their vehicle or
with a teammate outside, Villiers offers to meet in the garage. PUSHING THE ENVELOPE
He shows them the rest of the credsticks and says, "You'll get What more can you push-drinks with Lanier and Villiers!
this down there." He then goes through Nigel's pockets, pulls
out the four credsticks and says, "Here's my good-faith DEBUGGING
deposit. He won't need them. Meet you downstairs." If the The only way this scenario can go badly wrong is if the play-
player characters stashed the case elsewhere-at a safe house, ers have a brain hemorrhage and try to kill Lanier and Villiers. If
for example-Villiers says and does the same things but sug- this happens, the gamemaster has several choices. You can let it
gests making the exchange in the garage in half an hour. happen, in which case the building blows up and kills everyone
inside as Villiers dies. Subsequently, let the players discover that
HOOKS the Villiers and Lanier in the building were impostors. That
Awe. That word sums up this scene. Shadowrunners never should teach them not to mess with the big guys.
ever meet the big players, and yet here the player characters are

First Run' I :315 I

 If the runners pull out their weapons, all the lights go off. could buy and sell you and your family for generations--says,
The room fills with smoke and Neuro-stun gas (see p. 250, "Would you mind doing me a favor? Apparently, I need some-
SR3). Villers and Lanier seem unaffected (they actually step into one to run interference for me. Are you game?"
a sealed chamber with a Barrier Rating 12). The gas continues Gamemaster Note: If all the runners are in the penthouse,
to flood the penthouse until the player characters are uncon- let them answer immediately. Lanier will go to the bookcases
scious. They will wake up groggy, just in time to see Lanier behind the largest desk and press a button, whereupon an ele-
pointing a gun between their eyes and saying, "I warned you. vator door opens. If a character stays below, either in the lobby
Goodbye." Bang; the player character is dead .. or in a vehicle, he or she spots three vans pulling up in front of
If that doesn't work or it doesn't suit your style, have a the building. They look like the van that held the cyberzombie
Force 12 hearth spirit appear as soon as the runners pull their and the mages in Four Corners. Lanier will pass along any radio
guns, attempt any mana manipulation for spellcasting, or make message sent by the runner on watch to his or her chummers
any aggressive move. The spirit will use its Guard and in the penthouse.
Concealment abilities to protect Villiers and Lanier. A Force 12
fire elemental will then appear and attack the runners. It won't If the runners must get the case from elsewhere, read the
stop until they are dead. If they manage to banish or destroy it, following:
a second Force 12 fire elemental will appear and continue the The garage door opens. The place is empty except for a jet-
attack. As the runners' charred remains smolder, remind the black Westwind 2000. You hope that's Villiers' car, because the
players that they were warned. windows are blacl< and you can't see anything but your reflection.
Whatever happens, Lanier and Villiers should not die. They Miles Lanier steps out of the car with the briefcase full of
are two of the smartest humans on the planet, survivors who credsticks. He opens it and there they are-black gold. You
never underestimate the opposition. They know that, and so hand him the Renraku case. He places it on the hood and
should the runners. opens it. You see twelve optical disks, carefully packed. You
also see Lanier suddenly look concerned. "We're going to have
TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING trouble, Richard," he says as he pulls out an electronic doohick-
ey with a flashing red light. "They know where we are." He
WHAT'S UP, CHUMMER? places the device on the ground, pulls a gun and shoots it.
Renraku has tracked the case full of disks, the runners, and Richard Villiers steps out of the car and takes a look at the
possibly Lanier and Villiers, depending on the location of the case and the shattered gadget. Then the owner and CEO of
case. The final conflict in this scenario should take place in the Novatech Inc., one of the ten megacorporations that rule the
garage and is meant to allow the runners to help Villiers and world-a man who could buy and sell you and your family for
Lanier escape. Villiers will offer the player characters some generations-says, "Can you do me a favor? Apparently, I
future payment for running interference and saving their butts. need someone to run interference for me. Are you game?"
The outcome of the scenario Four Corners (p. 30) will Gamemaster Note: If a character is on watch outside the
determine whether the cyberzombie is present at this battle. garage, events unfold as in the Gamemaster Note above,
Regardless, three teams of Red Samurai arrive and trY to bl9Ck except that the runners' communication devices work.
the garage entrance. The player characters only need to open
up a path big enough for their vehicle and Villiers' Eurocar If the runners agree to help, read the following:
Westwind 2000. Once away from the garage, with a briefcase Villiers smiles. "Great. I'll have to owe you a favor; it
full of untraceable credsticks and no way to be found, they can seems our financial dealings have left me short of nuyen on
hide out, recover and count their blessings (and nuyen). hand. I didn't realize I was going to need to fund an army."
Lanier grins at that, the only time you've seen him smile
TELL IT TO THEM STRAIGHT tonight. "Don't worry-we'll find you and you'll get paid."
If the runners brought the Renraku case with them, read the
following aloud: If the runners refuse to help, read the following:
You bring out the Renraku case, eyeing those credsticks "No problem," Villiers says. "I understand you'd rather cut
the way a baby eyes candy. Lanier grabs it before it hits the out while you're ahead." Despite his words, he seems disap-
table. He takes it over to where the cyberhead is and then pulls pointed.
out a few toys you've seen before: scanners, jamming devices "Just so you know," Lanier says coldly, "right now,
and other electronic countermeasures. As the case clicks open, Renraku doesn't know who has their case and who doesn't.
Lanier says, "We're going to have trouble, Richard." He pulls You just lost an opportunity to get paid to go home."
out an electronic device with a flashing red light. "They know Gamemaster Note: If Lanier's statement changes the
where we are." Then he walks over to the bar, drops the device runners' minds, read them the section given for agreeing to
in the sink and turns on the water. You hear the gadget spark, help. If they still refuse, let them go. Lanier is correct-Renraku
flash and fizz out. doesn't know who has the case, and so the runners need to
Richard Villiers--owner and CEO of Novatech Inc., one of escape, too.
the ten megacorporations that rule the world, and a man who

:51 EI First Run , .................................................................................................................................................................................................................

 .~

'. ,~ ~.
,--~/ .

-_.---

HOOKS The Renraku Force

This time it's all biz. Megacorps never give up: they use, Renraku's troops are the same type of Red Samurai units
chew up, spit out and use more shadowrunners. After all the that the runners fought in Four Corners. Their statistics appear
runners have been through in the past eight hours, this sce- in Cast of Shadows, p. 40. Two of the three vans block access
nario should start out as the perfect capper to the evening-the to the road; one blocks the ramp. If the cyberzombie is still
unexpected boon of nuyen and friendly drinks with a major alive, he will make the frontal assault. If not, Renraku sends a
corporate CEO. Once the runners find out that Chavez's case team to blow up the garage door.
was bugged and that Renraku is still tracking it down, they The cyberzombie will attack the door as soon as the deal
should grasp the hard truth that the shadows are a never-end- has been made. If the runners have agreed to help Villiers, let
ing chess match with the player characters as pawns. them spring into action at this point. If not, they must still fight
to get out. The mages give the following commands to the
BEHIND THE SCENES cyberzombie, in the following order:
Villiers and Lanier are in charge. Their confidence never 1. Attack the garage door.
wavers. When Villiers asks the runners to help him out, he 2. Attack the first person the zombie sees (this order will
does so knowing that a man like him can get away with ask- change to "Attack the first vehicle" as soon as the mages real-
ing total strangers to act as cannon fodder for the approaching ize that no one has set up any fortifications). Roll 1D6. On an
Renraku troops. odd result, the cyberzombie attacks the runners' vehicle; on an
The garage is one floor below the lobby. A short drive- even result, Villiers' vehicle.
way/ramp leads to the garage door, which opens for the runners 3. Disable the vehicle and search it for the case.
and closes behind them. Villiers' car is the only vehicle present. 4. Move on to the next vehicle.

............................................................................................................................................................................................................... _F:_ir._"St_R_u_n----L_~_7----'1
LI
 The Great Escape ters had the case Renraku wants and are buying time, Have
To escape, all the runners need to do is get past the vans, Villiers get out of his car with a case, walk over to a Red
Renraku is expecting a massive firefight, not a quick fade by a Samurai and identify himself. He explains that the disks the
small group, If the runner team includes a rigger, the scenario runners tried to sell him were fake and that the runners still
is his or her time to shine, have the originals. After some phone calls, the Red Samurai
The rigger must make three maneuvers: one to get past will let Villiers go and take the runners into custody. The run-
the cyberzombie or the Red Samurai team that blows open the ners will be tortured until someone at Renraku believes their
garage door, one to get past the van on the ramp, and one to story. Extremely painful mind probe spells will do that. Weeks
bypass the blockade on the road, Use the Driving Test later, the runners are released with neither credsticks nor gear.
Modifiers on p. 134, SR3. The garage area is Tight Terrain, so Never screw over someone more powerful than you.
apply a +3 modifier. The situation is stressful, and so the
gamemaster should apply an additional +2 modifier. The vans PICKING UP THE PIECES
are Renraku's home-brewed version of the Ares Road master;
This section contains all the miscellaneous information the
for statistics, see p. 309, SR3.
gamemaster needs to know.
If the rigger succeeds at each test, the runners' vehicle
zooms past the surprised Renraku troops and escapes. Villiers'
WHAT'S NEXT
Westwind follows. The player characters can then head any-
If the runners help Villiers and Lanier get away, they have
where they want to lay low.
made powerful friends and will get plenty of job offers from
If the rigger fails any test, he or she rams the vehicle into
Novatech. They will also have made lots of enemies at Renraku,
the cyberzombie or one of the vans. To calculate the results,
who will be mightily displeased with the runners for robbing
use the Ramming rules on p. 143, SR3. If the runners' vehicle
them and damaging an expensive cyberzombie. However, the
rams hard enough to crash, Villiers and Lanier will make one
shadows are a mercenary place, and Renraku recognizes a tal-
attempt to help the runners out before moving on. However,
ented team when it hits them and wins. Plus, nothing would
they do this only if the players agreed to help Villiers. This
make some people at Renraku happier than to steal one of
attempted aid can take various forms: a well-placed grenade
Richard Villiers' teams away.
that opens up a hole in Renraku's defenses, or a hidden
The gamemaster can use the Shadowrun adventure set
weapon on Villiers' car. Villiers will fire the weapon at the
Blood in the Boardroom as a logical next step. If the runners
Renraku forces, giving the runners time to come up with a new
caught wind of companies hiring people to go inside the
plan. If the runners refused to help Villiers, he and Lanier use
Renraku Arcology, Renraku Arcology: Shutdown would be an
the crash as a diversion and plow through the opposition, leav-
excellent source of additional adventures. Finally, the New
ing the runners to fight it out on their own.
Seattle sourcebook fleshes out the local setting and is brim-
ming with adventure ideas and plot lines.
PUSHING THE ENVELOPE
To up the power level in this scenario, add a unit that can
Cashing in the Favor
give chase to the Renraku teams. This will give the rigger a
The favor the runners earned from Villiers should not be
chase scene and create a moving firefight.
anything so dull as a lump sum of cash. Instead, make it some-
thing that really saves the runners' bacon or comes out of
DEBUGGING
nowhere. If the player characters rack up hospital bills or need
The characters might die in this scenario. It happens-
cyberware (see the Debugging section of Too Much of a Good
Shadowrun is a tough universe. If the characters are injured,
Thing), they will get word that the debt to their mysterious
have DocWagon arrive immediately, as if under a Platinum
benefactor has been paid.
contract. The runners will find that a benefactor has paid their
Other ideas for the favor include free cyberware, adept
hospital bills and the cost of any cyberware (alpha grade).
training, gear, vehicles, or spells; being saved from a life-
The second problem arises if the runners crash and can't
threatening jam; mysterious benefactors helping out at the
get out. In this case, they can fight to the death or give the Red
eleventh hour; or even waking up one day to discover that they
Samurai the big innocence act. After all, they have neither the
now own an island in the Caribbean. Anything is possible.
disks nor the head. Renraku will take them in for questioning
Villiers' payback is also a good way to introduce new technol-
and will have video feed of the Four Corners fight. The corp
ogy or gear to the players as future sourcebooks come out.
may also have video footage from TekLon, if the runner team
Remember that Villiers respects the characters for their pro-
didn't cut the camera feeds or place a tape loop over them.
fessionalism and for what they did. If they maintain that relation-
After a day of interrogation, the runners get word that they are
Ship, he will bend over backward to help them out. He appreci-
to be released. Renraku confiscates their gear but allows them
ated their dedication, though of course he will try to use them. He
to keep their credsticks. Later, the runners will get word that
believes that if he's friendly and supportive, the runners will keep
their hospital-bill debt (if any) has been paid off.
working for him with no questions asked. (His kind of runners.)
If the runners decide to trap Villiers and Lanier and play for
However, if they show up at his office at 10 a.m. and demand all
more cash from Renraku for turning them over, let them try. As
kinds of stuff, he will get it for them, smile and call it even. Then
of Renraku's last dealings with the runners, the player charac-
he will tell Lanier to make sure they never see another sunrise.

1 :::. a 1 First Run I····························.. ·· .. ····················...........................................................................................................................................................

 AWARDING KARMA 5 I hear the owners had no idea Fuchi was backing
Award individual Karma according to the rules on p. 244, them. When that corp split up and Novatech and
SR3. Award Karma to each team member based on the follow- Renraku both came knocking at the front door for
ing achievements: TekLon's stuff, the owners were a little surprised.
Surviving the run 2 points 6+ I hear they're trying to make a go of it without the
Threat Level 1 point big boys' backing. Supposedly they madesome
Not trying to harm Villiers or Lanier point kind of microtronics breakthrough.
Killing the cyberzombie point
NIGEL TERWILLIGER
LEGWORK Appropriate Contacts (Target Number 4)
This section is intended for the gamemaster's use when
the player characters do research or legwork on any of the top- Success Result
ics they find throughout the adventure. The runners will know o Yeah, I heard of him. Isn't he TekLon's lead singer?
certain bits of common knowledge: who Renraku and I ain't heard of him, so he's probably not a regular
Novatech are, for example, or the history of the corp war. If the Johnson.
players start asking questions not covered in the following 2 The name rings a bell. I think he had some sort of
pages, have them make dice rolls and refer to the table in role in the corp war, but I'm not sure what sidehe
Using Legwork, p. 8 of Adventure Basics. was on.
3 I haven't heard his name since the corp war broke
TEKLON ELECTRONICS out. He used to work for Fuchi. Infiltration special-
Corporate Contacts (Target Number 4)/Matrlx search by ist, I think.
decker In system (see Milk Run, p. 25) 4 I think he landed with Novatech, but that could be a
cover. He's been seen working in a few orphancorps
Success Result in this area, but who's to say what side he's on?
o Never heard of them. They aren't in my database 5+ He's been pretty busy lately. Hooked up with
or corporate listing. TekLon, a cyberware company over in Auburn.
1 A microtronics manufacturing company in Auburn. Which means something is going to come down-
2 TekLon claims that 75 percent of all cyberlimbs most likely those former Fuchi playmates are going
include TekLon microtronics. to war again.
3 TekLon lost a lot of business during the corp war.
Some investment company pulled out. NIGEL TERWILLIGER
4 Lakeview International Holding Company pulled Appropriate Contacts (Target Number 4): Novatech, Renraku
their backing. TekLon's owners didn't know how or Matrix search by decker In system (see Milk Run, p. 25)
deep they were into this company.
5 Lakeview was actually a Fuchi shell company; Success Result
Novatech and Renraku are both claiming o An employee of TekLon E.lectronics.
investment ownership. Recently hired by TekLon's Research Division as a
6+ Next week, TekLon's supposed to announce its technician/consultant. He was assigned to TekLon's
revolutionary microtronics circuitry. That should top-secret microtronics project and allowed access
save its bacon. to all research files-security grade Delta Four.
2 Nigel has been known to work late into the night.
TEKLON ELECTRONICS His record is clean, even a bit bland, and he has
Street Level Contacts (Target Number 4) shown no interest in revelations that Renraku
aswell as Novatech has an interest in TekLon.
Success Result 3 His last job was at Abstract Media Services, where
o TekLon-sounds like a new electronic band from he worked as a technician/consultant.
the Tir. 4 Novatech and Shiawase fought over Abstract
Yeah, I heard of them. I read their name on some Media Services; the company was destroyed when
cyberarm bits that blew off a ganger once. its money ran out. Abstract was doing research into
2 TekLon ... yeah. They don't make cyberware, optical storage units that were supposedlygoing to
chummer, they make the little things insidecyber- revolutionize the market.
ware that make it work so well. 5 Abstract Media Services was heavily funded by
3 They hit the skids during the corp war. I think their Fuchi, which didn't come to light until after Fuchi
nuyen dried up. went under. Nigel was one of the last employees
4 Rumor had it that Fuchi owned them. There's no let go. He went to TekLon two days after Novatech
proof, though they let a lot of scientists go when revealed its interest in that company, along with
Fuchi bit the big one. TekLon's connection to Fuchi.

............................................................................................................................................................................................................... I First Run I :319 I

 6+ Nigel daims never to have worked in Seattle before Red Samaurl
his job with Abstract Media Services. However, The Red Samurai are Renraku's elite soldiers. The individu-
other people swear he worked for them or seem to als in this adventure are trainees, with statistics a bit lower than
remember someone who looked like him at about the top Red Samurai, but they're still pretty darn tough. To keep
six different corps. Of course, he's so average-look- their opponents off-balance, the Red Samurai never speak out
ing that they might be mistaken. loud. Instead, they communicate via their headware. In keeping
with Renraku's pervasive racial prejudice, the corp employs
CAST OF SHADOWS mostly humans as security personnel; however, the mages
The following section contains descriptions and statistics attached to the teams in this adventure are elves. According to
for the non-player characters who will have the greatest impact Renraku, orks, dwarfs and trolls can't be trusted; all other things
on events and with whom the player characters will have the being equal, the Red Samurai will attack metahuman characters
most dealings throughout the adventure. Feel free to adjust before humans. A Red Samurai's fist does 8M Stun damage. All
character attributes or add skills and gear to better match your cyberware is alpha grade unless otherwise noted.
team's level of play. As written, the NPCs work well for starting
characters and gamemasters because they are not too elabo- Gun Guys (4 per team)
rate or too tough to kill. Knowledge Skills are listed to add B Q S C W E M R
depth to the characters; gamemasters may add more for a spe- 5 (6) 6 5 2 5 42.1405(7)
cific perspective or a wider range of interests. INIT: 5 (7) + 106 (+3D6)
Dice Pools: Combat 7
Nigel Terwilliger Karma Pool/Professional Rating: 2/4
Nigel Terwilliger has a gift for blending in. He is so utterly Race: Human
average, so unremarkable, that he can walk into any office, sit Active Skills: Assault Rifles 4 (AK-97 6), Athletics 6, Biotech
at a desk and pretend to work and no one would notice him. 2 (First Aid 4), Demolitions 3, Electronics 4, Etiquette 2
This ability, which would have been a weakness for most peo- (Corporate 3, Military 4), Leadership 3 (Tactics 4), Pistols 6,
ple, Nigel turned into a strength. He became a corporate infil- Unarmed Combat 6
trator for Fuchi-a good one. Eventually, however, he started to Knowledge Skills: Corporate Politics 2, Psychology 2,
feel untouchable. At that point, he got sloppy, convinced that Renraku Structure 6, Security Procedures 4
no one could see through his machinations. Unfortunately for Weapons:
him, he was wrong. AK-97 [AR, SA/BF/FA, 8M, 38(d) w/2 extra dips, folding
Nigel is 35, a bit portly and with some gray at the temples. stock (-1 to recoil), plus Gas Vent 3 (-3 to recoil) and smart-
He is not used to being in his present precarious position. Just gun link]
yesterday, he had it all figured out and was riding the gravy train; Range (TN): 0-50 (2),51-150 (3), 151-350 (4), 351-500 (7)
now his life depends on his ability to pull off one more scam. Browning Max-Power [HP, SA, 9M, 10(d) w/3 extra dips, all
explosive ammo (Power Rating increases by 1), smartgun link]
B Q S C W E M R Range (TN): 0-5 (2), 6-20 (3), 21-40 (4), 41-60 (7)
3 3 3 4 6 6 5.8 o 4 Armor: 7/7 (8)
INIT: 4 +ID6 Cyberware: Bone Lacing [aluminum], Boosted Reflexes 3,
Dice Pools: Combat 7 Cybereyes [flare compensation, display link, image link, low-
Karma Pool/Professional Rating: 1/ 1 light, thermographic], Smartgun Link
Race: Human Gear: Medium security armor with helmet. The armor is red
Active Skills: Biotech 2 (Cybertechnology Implantation 4), Car and black; the helmet's faceplate is black plexiglas.
3, Computer 4 (Cybernetics 6), Electronics 6, Etiquette 4
(Corporate 7), Negotiation 8 Mages (. per team)
Knowledge Skills: Corporate Politics 3 (Novatech 6, Renraku B Q S C W E M R
4), Cybertechnology 3, Microtronics 4, Psychology 6, Seattle 3 7 2 6 5 6 6 6 6
Corporate History 7 IN IT: 6 + 106 (+2D6)
Weapons: Colt American L36 [LP, SA, 6L, 11 (d)] Dice Pools: Astral Combat 8, Combat 9, Spell 5
Range (TN): 0-5 (4), 6-15 (5),16-30 (6),31-50 (9) Karma Pool/Professional Rating: 2/4
Cyberware: Datajack Race: Elf
Armor: 0/0 Active Skills: Aura Reading 6, Athletics 4, Biotech 2 (First Aid
Gear: 2 handset cell phones 4), Car 4, Conjuring 6, Clubs 5, Etiquette 2 (Corporate 3,
Ordinary dothes (gray suit, white shirt, red tie) Military 4), Leadership 2, Pistols 4, Sorcery 6
Silver briefcase containing Nigel's TekLon ID, a map and two Knowledge Skills: Corporate Politics 2, Psychology 2,
spray bottles Renraku Structure 6, Security Procedures 4
Spells: Acid Stream 5, Confusion 6, Decrease Attribute 6,
Fling 5, Fireball 5, Lightning Bolt 6, Increase Reflexes 4,
Stun ball 6

'1...10 First Run I····················································.............................................................................................................................................................

Weapons:
Browning Max-Power [HP, SA, 9M, 15(c1) w/3 extra clips, all
explosive ammo (Power Rating increases by 1), smart gog-
gles in helmet]
Range (TN): 0-5 (3), 6-20 (4),21-40 (5), 41-60 (8)
Stun Baton (Reach I, 6S Stun)
Armor: 7/6
Gear: Light security armor with helmet (red and black, with
black plexiglas faceplate; helmet is equipped with smart gog-
gles, transceiver and heads-up display)
Power Focus (Force 4)
Sustaining Focus (Force 4; Renraku pin on clothes, worn
inside the armor; sustaining Increase Reflexes + 1)

The Cyberzomble
This abomination of magiC and cyberware is actually a
human being-the brain and a few internal organs, at least. The
cyberzombie is included in this adventure as a plot device, and
also to drill home the point to the players that the Awakened
world of 2061 is a wild and weird place where they know less
than they think they do.
The cyberzombie contains advanced cybernetics that do
not appear in SR3. Don't let that bother you. Just describe the
zombie and go on. Try to make the players feel shocked, sur-
prised, or even disgusted by this travesty of a human.
The cyberzombie is almost all metal, with only a little flesh
left visible. He has such bizarre things as a cybertorso, a cyber-
skull and-strangest of all-a third arm that rises out of his
back just above his left shoulder. The zombie's speed rivals the
fastest wired street samurai on the team; when standing still,
he appears to be in a state of seizure, ready to move again in
a blink of the eye.
The cyberware described on p. 42 is not a complete list,
but any additional ware does not change the zombie's listed
attributes and skills.

B Q. S C I W E M R
4 (11) 4 (7) 6 (9) 2 5 5 o 4 (10)
• Special. Use 2 for any Essence Test requiring a dice roll or
target number.
INIT: 4 (10) +106 (+406)
Dice Pools: Combat 8
Karma Pool/Professional RatIng: 2/4
Race: Human
Active Skills: Assault Rifles 4 (AK-97 6), Athletics 6, Cyber
Implant Combat 5, Heavy Weapons 6, Pistols 6, Rifles 6,
Submachine Guns 6, Unarmed Combat 6
Knowledge Skills: None that anyone can tell
Weapons:
AK-97 [AR, SA/BF/FA, 8M, 38(c1) w/2 extra clips, folding
stock (-1 to recoil), Gas Vent 3 (-3 to recoil), special recoil
compensation in third arm (-3 to recoil), smartgun link]
Range (TN): 0-50 (2),51-150 (3), 151-350 (4), 351-500 (7)
Ingram Valiant LMG [LMG, BF/FA, 7S, 50(c) w/3 extra clips
and hip pad (-1 to recoil), Gas Vent 2 (-2 to recoil), special
arm-mounted gyromounts (-6 to total recoil), smartgun link].

First Run I ....n

 Because this is a heavy weapon, all uncompensated recoil is
doubled; see p. Ill, SRJ.
Range (TN): 0-75 (2), 76-200 (3),201-400 (4), 401-800 (7)
Cyberspurs (9M damage)
Armor: 8/8
Cyberware: Virtually all of the cyberzombie's exterior has been
replaced with obvious cyberparts, including both legs, both
arms, torso and skull. The two normal arms and the third arm
have unusual gyro recoil dampeners that act like pistons when
the zombie fires any weapons. The zombie also has cyberspurs
in both of his normal hands. In addition, he has cybereyes
[camera, flare compensation, display link, image link, low-light,
thermographicl, a smartgun link, a datajack, a headware radio,
a subvocal microphone, cyberears [hearing amplification,
dampeners, Level 3 sound filter], and several other internal
devices.
Gear: None, aside from weapons
Notes: If a magician looks at the cyberzombie from the astral
plane, he or she sees that the cyberzombie is dual-natured. In
some places it appears to be polluting the mana. Most of the
cyberzombie's astral presence looks devoid of Iife-a slick,
black spot that leaves wisps of darkness in the mana as the
zombie moves from place to place. In the center of this black-
ness are the vibrant colors signifying life that every mage rec-
ognizes as the mark of a dual-natured presence. This area is
surrounded by the black "negative mana" and appears near
where the heart would be in a human body. Richard Villiers began his career as a corporate raider who
In game terms, the cyberzombie is a dual being, but the somehow came to own the Boston-based corporation that
"negative mana" applies a +4 modifier to any spell cast at it developed the first gray-market cyberdeck. When the compa-
from astral space. Obviously, some dark magic is keeping the ny's two owners died under mysterious circumstances, the cor-
entity alive, and so the cyberzombie also receives 2 extra dice porate offices were ransacked and their research destroyed.
for any Spell Resistance Test. These dice are not a pool that Within a few years, however, Villiers-the trashed company's
needs to refresh, but function like a standard dice roll. The sole owner-was able to offer to Fuchi the remains of his cor-
zombie appears to be magically active and magically resistant poration. Among its assets were the cyberdeck concept, which
at the same time. had the potential to make Fuchi a megacorp and put it on the
If an astrally projecting magician character tries to pass Corporate Court. In exchange, Villiers demanded and got one-
through the cyberzombie, he or she automatically takes one third ownership of Fuchi. Many years later, clever maneuvering
box of Stun damage (no Resistance Test is required). The char- enabled him to destroy Fuchi and come close to taking down
acter must return to his or her body immediately. Passing Renraku in the process. He came out of the corp war richer,
through the zombie makes the character feel as if someone had more powerful, and more feared than any other CEO on the
kicked him in the stomach-he can't catch his breath and he planet. His machinations swiftly became known as the "Villiers
can no longer sense his own magic. The physical effects end Maneuver," in which someone seemingly sabotages his own
when the character reaches his body. The psychological effects work only to reveal something stronger and better in its place.
can remain as long as the gamemaster wants. Miles Lanier has been with Villiers since .. , well, no one
A mage who assenses a cyberzombie receives a strange really knows how long. All people know is that he created the
reading, as if the cyberzombie has negative Essence. Any mag- building blocks of megacorporate security. Every decker, street
ically active character should find this highly disturbing. sammy and rigger who ever attacked a Fuchi-owned company
knows what a genius (or evil bastich) Lanier is. His only weak
RICHARD VILUERS AND MILES LANIER spot was magical security-or so everyone thought, until the
Richard Villiers is the owner and CEO of Novatech Inc. Miles new Novatech headquarters in Boston was unveiled. Early
Lanier is Novatech's head of corporate and personal security. The astral recon shows it to have some of the tightest magical pro-
two men are friends as well as partners; not only do they run one tection in the world.
of the world's most powerful megacorporations, but they also Miles Lanier became a household name when Dunkelzahn
managed to rip apart one megacorp and almost destroy a sec- bequeathed him a seat on the Renraku board of directors.
ond. They are cold, calculating and deadly businessmen who Lanier publicly claimed to have had no previous contact with
almost always succeed. On the rare occasions when something Dunkelzahn (that he knew of, anyway), and several investiga-
doesn't go right, you don't want to be in their way. tors have since corroborated that statement .. To all appear-

I ...., 2 I First Run I .................................................................................................................................................................................................................

 ances, the Renraku bequest came as a complete surprise, In addition to being a businessman, Villiers is a salesman
which Lanier soon turned to his and Novatech's advantage. and showman to the nth degree. Wherever he goes, he's the
While on Renraku's board of directors, Lanier exposed center of attention. A master strategist, he knows just when
Renraku's deepest secret-a plan for Matrix domination. and how to spring things on people. No longer married, Villiers
Simultaneously, he revealed that he was working for Villiers usually travels alone; he is consistently touted as one of the
and Fuchi during his entire tenure on the board. This revelation, sexiest men and most eligible bachelors in the UCAS.
together with Renraku's mysterious Matrix crash and problems
at its Seattle arcology, almost collapsed the corp's entire cyber- Playing Vllliers and lanier
netic research division. When Richard Villiers publicly These characters have no written statistics; their stats and
announced the formation of Novatech, Lanier sold his Renraku skills are whatever the gamemaster needs them to be. With
shares (making him very, very rich) and agreed to work for regard to attributes, Villiers and Lanier should have higher
Novatech as head of security. Intelligence and Willpower ratings than the player characters;
When roleplaying these two characters, remember that the rest of their Attributes should also exceed the runners',
both are businessmen first and foremost. They crush, disman- though not by much. Neither man is overtly cybered, though
tle and confuse their competition. Exactly how they do that can both have datajacks. Their skill levels should be equal to or bet-
change radically from situation to situation, as long as they can ter than those of the player characters; social and Intelligence-
plausibly claim some kind of victory. Owing a group of shad- based skill levels should be radically higher. Lanier's combat
owrunners a favor is a minor inconvenience if it means harm- skill levels should also be higher than the runners', but he usu-
ing Renraku and giving Novatech an edge. Shadowrunners are ally outsmarts people rather than beating them in a firefight.
pawns in struggles between titans, and Lanier and Villiers will Both of these characters are super-confident, convinced
use them as such. However, they also understand the metahu- they are always in the right. They understand the purpose of
man animal better than most and know they'll frequently need the shadows and shadowrunners and the value of keeping
runners to do things they can't take care of personally. shadow-denizens gueSSing.
With Villiers and Lanier, even life and death are business.
Neither man got where he is by underestimating anyone, not SHADOWLORE
even a bunch of newbie runners. This section suggests products and novels that highlight
and/or provide background on some of the major characters
Physical Descriptions and events in this adventure.
Miles Lanier is in his mid-forties, though most people The corporate war begins subtly in Portfolio of a Dragon:
who've met him swear he's only thirty. His youthful appearance Dunkelzahn's Secrets (FASA product #7122), when Miles
works to his advantage, as people tend to underestimate him. Lanier, a little-known executive (outside the shadow commu-
He's a bit taller than average, somewhat slight, and generally nity, anyway) is given shares in Renraku. Lanier's story unfolds
looks like a typical corporate suit. His chestnut hair always looks in the novels Headhunters (#5630) and Technobabel (#5711).
about a week overdue for a cut. Lanier's most impressive feature The entire corp war is played out in the adventure set Blood in
is his eyes. They're brown, so dark they look almost black, and the Boardroom (#7327).
he never seems to blink. Many people assume Lanier has With the creation of Novatech, Richard Villiers moved his
cybereyes, though he never says whether they are or not if asked operation from New York to Boston, the city where he grew
about them. His eyes show strength and confidence and tend to up. More information about his past and Novatech's future
make people believe anything he says. More than a few of the appears in Target: UCAS (#72 14). Descriptions of all the mega-
world's toughest sammys and mercs say Lanier has the eyes of corporations and their shadow activities can be found in the
a warrior-they display the coldness and harshness of man who Corporate Download sourcebook (#7125); Renraku's troubles
has seen death many times from the winning end. are covered in Renraku Arcology: Shutdown (#7328).
Lanier rarely smiles or laughs, and he tends to let his Cyberzombies and advanced microelectronics for metahu-
actions do the talking. A keen observer, he notices things most mans will appear in Man and Machine (#7126). The
people don't see even after having them pointed out. Dragonheart Saga novel trilogy-Stranger Souls (#5629),
Richard Villiers is Lanier's opposite in almost every way. In Clockwork Asylum (#5631) and Beyond the Pale (#5710)-fea-
his mid-fifties, Villiers looks it. He appears to be a man at the tures a cyberzombie that can help the gamemaster understand
height of his powers, but still young enough to keep his king- how to work with such an overpowering character. Finally, for
dom growing. A bit shorter than Lanier, he is also more solid- more information on using the Matrix and on security, IC and
ly built and darker, with black hair and an olive cast to his skin. utility options, see Virtual Realities 2.0 (#7904).
He has no obvious cyberware and credits a photographic
memory for his amazing ability to recall things.

First Run
 S ite of Desecration is a different type of adventure, one that is closer in style and complex-
ity to other published Shadowrun adventures. First, it gives you more freedom as
gamemaster to incorporate ideas from other sources. It is also less linear, which allows you
to add your own scenarios and side-plots between scenarios in the adventure.
Unlike Supernova, this adventure takes place outside the sprawl, which offers new players
and gamemasters more insight into the world of Shadowrun.

PREPARING TO PLAY
Reading through this adventure, you. will see points where you can invent adventure ideas
and even additional scenarios if you wish without losing the basic story line of Site of
Desecration. This adventure includes another runner team with its own agenda; dealings with
this team can lead to contacts, more scenarios, or even adventure campaigns. When running
adventures written in the style of Site of Desecration, it is even more important to take notes
in order to remember and use ideas that occur to you while running the adventure, or you
might spot a connection to something completely independent of the written adventure.
This adventure is written in a looser style than Supernova, so don't get discouraged if you
have to look things up during the game session. Remember, you are playing a game as well as
running it, so have fun. If you like something in Shadowrun that doesn't appear in this adven-
ture, add it. Nothing written here is so important that it can't be adjusted, adapted, or deleted
altogether, if doing so will make a more entertaining adventure for you and your players.

EXPERIENCED GAMEMASHRS AND PLAYERS

If you are an experienced gamemaster showing new players how to play Shadowrun, or if
you are a new gamemaster with experienced players and you want to give them more than a
simple run, you can add some story elements to the mix in Site of Desecration. Recommended
ways to make each scenario tougher appear under Pushing the Envelope.

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BACKGROUND STORY added firepower and fighting strength. as well as to get the
Shadowrun doesn't mean corp versus corp all the time. telesma to the talismonger. Not long afterward. the runners
Sometimes, runners get hired to do something someone else stumble on Kaztok. who is shaking down a farmer for helping
lacks the resources (or the guts) to do themselves. This is the smugglers. After a quick confrontation in which the Old One
case in Site of Desecration. turns the tide with his Fear and Confusion powers. the runners
The area in the Cascade Mountains known as the Tooth, and the Pentagon are taken to the Tooth Warrior camp. the site
part of the lands claimed by the Cascade Ork tribe, has been a where the Ares Dragon crashed.
smuggler haven for years along the lucrative route between At this place. known as the Site of Desecration. the runners
Seattle and the rest of the UCAS. In general, the smugglers and can negotiate for their release and for some kind of exchange
the people of the Tooth have a friendly relationship. In for Daisy's smuggled telesma. Meanwhile, they can also try to
exchange for the relative security of the region, the smugglers convince the Old One that Kaztok is using him to harm inno-
always leave behind a little something-usually goods that are cent people. The battle to decide who's right ends when Kaztok
common and inexpensive elsewhere, but that the local farmers shoots an unarmed runner and the Old One turns the camp
can't get because the Tooth is so isolated. Some local residents inside out. Only then do the player characters discover who
aren't satisfied with what the smugglers leave, however. They was really controlling whom.
want the guns, cyberware and decks, alcohol and BTL chips
that many smugglers carry. One of the folks displeased with The Old One
the status quo is a troll named Kaztok. Before running this adventure. make sure you understand
One day an Ares Dragon rotorcraft converted for smug- the nature of the Old One. He is a man-of-the-woods. a pow-
gling crashes in the Cascades. Kaztok sees the craft coming erful nature spirit independent of any conjurer. shaman. or
down and rushes to the site to check for salvage. While search- domain. Everything you need to know about this creature
ing the wreckage, he comes across an old man, sitting so still appears on p. 63 of this adventure and on p. 35 of Critters.
that at first Kaztok mistook him for a tree stump. The Old One, Most important, the Old One has his own will and his own rea-
as he calls himself, asks Kaztok who destroyed the woods. Not sons for existing.
really understanding the question, Kaztok says, "Smugglers." The Old One's motives are left up to you. along with the
The Old One swears to avenge himself on the smugglers who question of how often you want this character to appear in your
destroyed his forest. Kaztok sees this as an excellent opportu- campaigns. In the adventure as written. the Old One is looking
nity to stick it to the smugglers who come to the Tooth and for someone to trust him and take him to places he has heard
leave without giving him and his friends more of their expen- smugglers talk about. He had hoped Kaztok would decide to
sive and illicit wares. become a smuggler and take the Old One with him. but Kaztok
The next band of smugglers to arrive at the Tooth, led by was too power-hungry and dimwitted. In the end. Kaztok seals
the well-known and experienced Denver Bob, is ambushed by his own fate by mistakenly believing he controlled the Old One
the Tooth Warriors. Kaztok formed and is leading this newborn when. in fact. the Old One controlled him.
opposition, with support from the Old One-specifically, his As gamemaster. you can change the Old One's subtle
powers of Fear and Confusion. Denver Bob, running guns from manipulations to fit your game. For example, the Old One
Seattle into Denver, expected no opposition at the Tooth; the might truly want the smugglers to stop poisoning the region
ambush takes him and his group by surprise. The Tooth and is waiting for the right team to take it to a place where it
Warriors get Bob's shipment of guns, and Bob's rotorcraft can kill smugglers without affecting the people in the Tooth. Or
crashes as he tries to escape (the Old One's Accident power at the Old One might be curious about metahumanity and want to
work). Bob and his team are presumed dead. push people to their limits just to see what they will and won't
A month later, the player characters are hired by a talis- do. If he could take a down-and-out troll from a simple farm
monger named Daisy (you can substitute another talismonger community and make him king (so to speak), what can he do
contact if you want) to go into Cascade Ork land and meet with to professional tough guys? Or maybe the Old One is just plain
a smuggler team known as the Pentagon. The Pentagon are car- manipulative and enjoys making metahumanity jump through
rying magical goods up from New Orleans-specifically, telesma hoops. His move on Kaztok was his boldest yet. Now that he
used to make magical foci. They've arranged to deliver the has some powerful characters on hand. how much more might
goods to the talismonger for an agreed-upon price in nuyen and he accomplish?
goods. A simple enough job, or so it seems. Part of the adven-
ture is the trip to the hidden spot deep in the Cascade A Smuggler's Life
Mountains, outside the comfortable familiarity of the sprawl. The Pentagon is a team of professional smugglers.
At the meet. the runners discover that the Pentagon has Smugglers operate under very different circumstances from
been ambushed and their cargo stolen. With the help of a ordinary runners. In some ways they have more freedom, but
strange being that they called "the Old One" (a man-of-the- they also take more risks. Smugglers are independent opera-
woods; for more information. see p. 63). the Tooth Warriors tors who call their own shots, but any setback comes out of
attacked the Pentagon and took the valuable magical telesma. their own pockets. No Johnson hires them to move goods from
The Pentagon members barely escaped with their lives and one place to another; if they don't make their deliveries, they
now must retrieve their goods. They want the runners for don't get paid, and they often are held personally liable for the

I ..., f] First Run I .................................................................................................................................................................................................................

k -_ _ _ _ ~ ________ ~
loss by their would-be buyers. Most smugglers, however, familiar sprawl. Daisy's shop, The Magic Touch, looks closed.
would rather take those chances than ever work for a Johnson. The outside lights are off, but you can see a few lights still burn-
Also, smugglers work for anyone. They will fight to the ing in the rear. As you're deciding between back door or front,
death if they need to and then turn around and make a deal you see Daisy pacing near the front door.
with the guys they were firing at just seconds before. Nuyen
and reputation are the only things that matter to a typical Talking with DaIsy
smuggler. A smuggler without a rep is nothing more than a ''I'm in an old-fashioned squeeze," Daisy says after letting
street punk. If a smuggler's rep gets damaged (through rumors you in. "I need to meet some people carrying some telesma
of dropping cargo, stiffing buyers, and so on), they start to lose and other things I can use to enchant foci. I'm talking quality
business. That means no nuyen, and no nuyen means they goods, smuggled up from New Orleans. Trouble is, I also need
can't sUNive. to go out of town for a couple of days. It's an emergency, and
I can't get out of it. I need to get that stuff here, or I'll lose a lot
THINGS TO KNOW of future work and plenty of business. I need someone I can
As gamemaster, you don't need to spend months doing trust, with some street experience, to deal with these guys.
research on the adventure background. Everything you need to "They're called the Pentagon. I'm supposed to meet them
know is in the above sections, and more specific information in Hemlock Pass, in Cascade Ork territory. I can show you how
will be revealed as needed throughout the adventure. We rec- to get there. All I need you to do is to pay them with this and
ommend using the Shadowrun Gamemaster Screen and use my password: 'House of the Rising Sun ain't never been
Critters book as reference tools. Critters offers you some wild good to elf women.' You shouldn't nave too much trouble; the
paranormal animals to toss at the player characters, as well as Cascade Orks are pretty smuggler-friendly, and the Pentagon
describing the powers of the man-of-the-woods. The Legwork should have taken care of any potential problems. The meet
section (p. 59) of Picking Up the Pieces offers information you and pickup is tomorrow at noon. They'll be in a GMC Banshee."
can feed to the players during the game. What's Next (p. 59) When the player characters ask about payment, Daisy
provides information and suggests other Shadowrun products gives a neNOUS silly-me laugh and says, "The mages can have
that you can use to spin this adventure into a campaign. At the anything in my shop you want. For the others, is 5,000 nuyen
end of the adventure, the Shadow/ore section lists Shadowrun each OK?"
products that will help you flesh out the backgrounds of impor-
tant non-player characters in this adventure. HOOKS
This scenario is on the up-and-up. Daisy is not asking the
A WALK ON THE AWAKENED SIDE runners to do anything except meet with the smugglers and
make a payment. She isn't expecting any trouble and could
WHAT'S UP, CHUMMER? really use the help.
Mr. Johnson-in this case, Ms. Johnson-is a talismonger
who needs help. She gets in touch with a magically active play- BEHIND THE SCENES
er character (anyone who has a talismonger contact) and Daisy Quallon is a beautiful elf of mixed Native American
sounds him or her out about a job. Talismongers don't typical- and Caucasian blood (even she doesn't know how mixed). She
ly hire runners directly, but as a contact of one of the player has lived in Seattle for most of her adult life, though she was born
characters, she feels she can trust them. She needs the player to an elf and an Amerindian in the disputed northern Californian
characters to meet some smugglers in Cascade Ork territory, Free State. Her parents came to Seattle to escape persecution
pick up her packages, pay the smugglers and bring her stuff from the elves of Tir Tairngire and anti-elf Californians.
back. Though simple enough, the trip is illegal. and so the run- Though Daisy is a magician, she never really shadowruns.
ners may have run-ins with the Metroplex Guard and Salish- She is content to make magical foci and deal in the magical
Shidhe police. underground. She doesn't consider meeting with smugglers
and picking up her goods a shadowrun because it seems so
TELL IT TO THEM STRAIGHT easy. If asked, she will admit that paying the runner team hurts
Read the following to a magician In the group: her bottom line, but she needs the smuggled telesma to fulfill
The voice on the phone is your talismonger, Daisy. Your some lucrative commissions. No, she won't reveal for whom.
contacts don't usually call you, and you wonder what's up. Daisy's statistics appear on p. 59 of Cast of Shadows.
"I need help from a shadowrunning team ... you're part of The exchange happeriS at noon during the week. Any
one, aren't you?" Daisy asks. "Can you come to my shop after- weekday is fine.
hours and bring whoever you think you might need? Oh, and
have you ever been to the Cascade Mountains ... ?" The Magic Touch
Daisy operates a talismonger store in the Renton district,
When the runners reach Dalsy's shop, read the following way out by the Salish-Shidhe border. This area of Renton is
aloud: home to large numbers of metahumans and Native Americans.
It's a long ride to the far end of Renton. The closer you get, In some ways it doesn't feel much like the sprawl, but more
the more it feels like the wilds of the NAN lands instead of the like a suburb ... trees, grass, flowers, small animals that actual-

First Run
 Iy fear metahumans and that won't chew off a limb upon see- virtual instructor chips to documentaries to kids' animation to
ing them. The place is definitely out of the typical runner's nor- the worst porno sims ever cranked out of Los Angeles. The box
mal realm of experience. contains about 250 chips, plus five BTLs hidden under a false
The shop is just off Interstate 90, and plenty of Metroplex bottom. The third box is filled to the rim with fetishes and other
Guards are around on duty or patrol. They shouldn't bother the trinkets, obviously not magical but made to look that way. This
runners unless the player characters are driving obviously box also has a false bottom that conceals a Novatech Sandman
armed vehicles. The Metroplex Guard's job in this part of town simsense deck. The fourth box contains "urban sprawl good-
is to keep trouble from creeping across the border and to stop ies," mostly T-shirts and hats from various Seattle locations and
smuggling. Being metroplex citizens (or at least being on the sports teams. It also holds two bottles of sake and five Japanese
right side of the fence) means the guard won't really bother the jewelry boxes made of ebony, painted and carved with intri-
runners unless someone gets an itchy trigger finger. cate landscapes. This box's false bottom hides a well-used
Daisy's shop has a Force 6 hermetic circle in the back room. Sony CTY-360-D cyberdeck.
The circle is painted on the floor tiles, making an elaborate piece Daisy is expecting four crates in return. One is a watertight
of art that should impress not only magicians, but also any char- container full of "live" coral reef. The second watertight box
acter with an artistic background or skill. Any character assens- contains swamp dirt and what looks like crayfish. The third con-
ing the area will discover that Daisy has three Force 6 elemental tains vials of dust and dirt (actually graveyard dirt and crushed
spirits bound to her: one fire, one air and one earth. bones), and the final crate holds Caribbean League rum.

The Meet PUSHING THE ENVELOPE

Make Daisy a contact for a magician player character, or Not much can be pushed in this scenario.
any other character who might have a talismonger contact. It's
okay if the player character has not used the contact before. DEBUGGING
The character creation system assumes that all contacts know E.xcept for Daisy not paying much, little can go wrong in
the player characters from some point in the past. It is up to this scenario. The player characters should pick up on the fact
you and the chosen player to flesh out Daisy's relationship to that Daisy is embarrassed about having to ask for their aid. She
the characters. isn't trying to trick them; she just got caught in an odd position
Daisy won't negotiate over pay; this is a take-it-or-Ieave-it and needs help to get out of it.
job. She is trying to cover the player characters' time, and
mage characters shouldn't ask for stuff that would really cost MOTHER NATURE
her. She is primarily offering raw materials-for anything she
has to make (for example, any focus that costs more than 5,000 WHAT'S UP, CHUMMER?
nuyen) she will allow the character to put his or her 5,000 The player characters easily cross over into Salish-Shidhe
nuyen toward the purchase, but the character must pay the dif- lands via Interstate 90 and then head to the town of Denny
ference in cost above 5,000. A runner who wants such an item Creek, about an hour from the Seattle border. Once at Denny
can use his or her 5,000 nuyen fee as a "down payment"; if the Creek, the team switches to side roads, access roads and, in
player can persuade the others to give up their shares, each some cases, no roads whatsoever to get to the meeting place
additional 5,000 nuyen can go toward the focus. at Hemlock Pass. The access roads follow the Denny Creek to
If the contacted magician refuses the payment and takes its source; after that point, the runners will need to travel off-
the job as a favor for a friend, Daisy's contact level may road. The trip is pretty and the land is somewhat wild-looking,
increase. If the talismonger contact is Levell, she becomes a especially to players who've never ventured out of the sprawl.
Level 2 contact. If a Level 2 contact, she can become a Level 3
contact only if the entire group forgoes payment. If they do so, TELL IT TO THEM STRAIGHT
each runner also gets Daisy as a talismonger contact at Level 1 When the runners start out, read the following aloud:
(those who already have a Level 1 talismonger contact end up It's a crisp morning in the sprawl. You can't see the sun
with two talismonger contacts). through the smog, but you're pretty sure it's out there. Your
Daisy can't afford more than her initial offer. She won't get vehicle is packed, and it's time to hit the road.
paid until she makes the foci with the smuggled telesma, and
that will take lots of time. If the characters travel by road, read the following:
The trip along the 1-90 seems the same as usual until you
Taking the Job reach the east end of Renton. There you see the border: a little
Assuming the player characters take the job, Daisy gives station on both sides of the road, with Metroplex Guard vehi-
them a map (see p. 49) of the route to Hemlock Pass and four cles looking menacing in the early morning light. The flashing
boxes. The first box is a crate of elven wine. Anyone with an lights at the crossing are green, meaning you picked a good
appropriate background skill can tell that the wine is pretty time to hit the border. Tensions must be down because they're
good and would probably fetch a smuggler some decent letting you through with no problem.
nuyen. The second is a crate full of simchips-everything from

LI_'4_H_---'---_F._ir._s_t_R_u_n--.JI············································ .....................................................................................................................................................................
Site of Desecration Road map

Hemlock Pass
•

SALISH-SHIDH£
COUNCIL

First Run ..., 9

If the characters travel by air, read the following: Crossing in an aircraft means more scrutiny only because
You fly low along the Redmond Barrens and then down the border guards must log everything that flies over. False IDs
toward the border. The Barrens is the sprawl's darkest hellhole, allow the player characters to come over clean; a low-altitude
and the border guards know it; they don't expect the dregs of border crossing at an isolated spot will likewise get them in free
society to have state-of-the-art, low-flying aircraft, and so the and clear. In most cases, once the vehicle has entered airspace
border is a cinch to cross as long as you stay out of range of the on the other side, it is assumed to have cleared the border
radio towers along 1-90. Once in Salish-Shidhe, you can bring check and will attract no further attention unless it does some-
your vehicle up to normal heights and play sightseer. thing suspicious. Any vehicle acting in a suspicious manner that
doesn't come up on border crossing records is in trouble.
HOOKS
Leaving the sprawl should make the player characters feel Denny Creek
like fish out of water. They are absolutely on their own, with no Denny Creek makes its nuyen from interstate travelers,
real back-up and never knowing when something might go tourists (skiers, hikers, bird and paranormal animal spotters,
wrong. They are also foreigners. Play that up. In Salish and rafters) and farming. Though it looks like a "tourist town" built
Cascade Ork lands, they will be treated like outsiders no mat- to resemble outsiders' visions of a small NAN city, real people
ter how good a sprawl rep they have (if any). The slightest hint live and thrive there. The player characters won't see many
of antisocial behavior will draw unwelcome attention. It's also orks, trolls, or dwarfs, and even elves are clearly a minority.
broad daylight, which means the shadows aren't as deep or Most of the few orks, trolls and dwarfs seem to be outsiders-
dark as usual ... . not from the sprawl. but hicks from outside Denny Creek.
Prices for items in Denny Creek are two times the going
BEHIND THE SCENES rate in Seattle. The player characters cannot purchase anything
The player characters need an off-road vehicle, or else illegal, but bows, arrows and knives are legal in the NAN.
they'll end up dOing an awful lot of walking. Daisy tells them Heading out of town along Denny Creek itself is simple;
they will need to take Interstate 90 East out of the sprawl to the just follow the signs and the creekside road. There are two
town of Denny Creek. From there, they must follow the creek main stops along this route: one at Keekwulee Falls and one at
north into the Cascade Mountains, all the way to its source. Snowshoe Falls, both prime hiking and rafting spots about
After that, they'll head off-road until they reach Hemlock Pass, halfway up the creek. The rest of the way to the source is via
about a mile north of the creek source. If the runners do not dirt paths. Off-road, the land is trackless wilderness, as magiC
own an off-road vehicle (a Ford Bison or a GMC Banshee, for and the general NAN lifestyle favor the growth of the wild.
example, though they would need to stay away from cities in
the latter), they will have a tough time getting around in the Encounters
mountains. They can use vrOLs or rotorcraft, but keep in mind If you wish, you can flesh out various encounters in this
that most such vehicles are not roomy enough to accommo- scenario. A few examples are described below.
date an entire team. Also, guard patrols are likely to show Border crossing on alert: Have the border guards stop
much more interest in fliers than in ground vehicles. One way the player characters and check their IDs. Guards on the Seattle
to get around this is to have a team decker download a false side are only looking for people with outstanding warrants, and
ID, allowing the vehicle to pass as a tourist aircraft. so their ID reader is a mere Rating 2. The Salish-Shidhe author-
If the runners cross the border in a GMC Banshee, they ities are checking a little deeper, so they use a Rating 3 reader.
can't take 1-90; such vehicles are highly unusual in the city, and Use the rules on p. 239, SR3, to resolve any ID problems.
the Metroplex Guard will stop them. They will need to cross PreJudice: During any long stopover in Denny Creek, the
via a more isolated spot, like the Redmond Barrens. See the player characters may encounter anti-sprawl sentiment, espe-
map on p. 49 for the route to the smugglers' drop. cially among the prevalent humans. The Cascade humans tend
to despise the Seattle sprawl, seeing it as a blight on "their"
Crossing the Border Pacific Northwest. Dealing with such people should not get the
The 1-90 border crossing should be fairly simple. The road- player characters in real trouble, but it might cause them some
way is a major interstate, and both Seattle and Salish-Shidhe interesting roleplaying problems. Use the rules for Charisma-
would take a lot of heat if they made this crossing take too linked skills, p. 92, SR3.
long. In most cases, leaving the metroplex is not a problem, Change of scenery: For sprawl-based characters, this trip
though entering can be. The scenario is set up to allow the should be akin to going to Mars. The raw, wild ruggedness of
player characters to pass, assuming that they are not doing the Cascade Mountains should inspire awe. Shamans who play
anything or visibly in possession of anything obviously illegal. urban-based totems may feel out of sorts, while those with less
They will, of course, be stopped if they are foolish enough to urban totems may feel a certain freedom and exhilaration. An
leave the hard point-mounted Vindicator minigun sitting out Eagle shaman may wander off and be found staring in rapture
atop their vehicle, or if the team's street sammy is polishing his over a waterfall on the very edge of a precipice, while a Mouse
gun in plain sight. They should not be stopped if they and their shaman may feel too frightened to look out the window of the
vehicle look normal. runners' vehicle. A Cat shaman may stare wide-eyed at every-
thing; though the typical Cat shaman rarely needs to ponder

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 his existence (because Cat rules all it sees), out here there are When the runners approach the wreck, read the following
no boundaries and way too much territory to control. aloud:
Going off-road: Once the road ends, the runners are on This is what happens when a manmade flying machine hits
difficult terrain (treat it as Restricted, with a +3 movement mod- good old Mother Earth. Mom survives, and the machine is
ifier). Though the player characters are not in a combat situation, reduced to its natural components, crumpled like paper.
you can still have the rigger make a standard Driving Test every
so often (see p. 134, SR3). A failure indicates something unex- After a few minutes of searching, read the following:
pected-a tree in the middle of the road, a mud puddle that You can't get close enough to the wreckage to see if any-
traps the vehicle, the road suddenly ends in a cliff, or anything one is still alive. Then bullets splinter the rock near your feet,
else you can dream up to keep the rigger on his toes. and you figure someone is still alive someplace nearby.
Critter encounters: The player characters are traveling
through living, breathing forests full of living, breathing critters. Once the Pentagon team Is revealed, read the following:
In addition to mundane critters (see p. 19 of the Critter book in A dwarf walks out from behind a rock, his hands raised.
the Gamemaster Screen), the forest can harbor any Awakened One arm is bandaged, and he has a cut across his head.
beasties you want. Those native to forests or mountains are "J'm Pounder, leader of the Pentagon," he says. "You had us
best. Examples include aardwolves, barghests, blood kites, worried-we were expecting Daisy. We thought it was another
cerebus hounds, dzoo-noo-qua, griffins, harpies, imperial attack. Come on out, people, Daisy must've sent these guys ... "
eagles, thunderbirds and lesser thunderbirds (terrific for foiling Out of the brush and from behind various boulders come the
that annoying GPS system), oracle owls, piasmae and rest of the Pentagon. Two women, an ork and a human, appear
shapeshifters. As gamemaster, you make the choice. Be cre- fro'm behind two rocks. Another ork woman carrying what looks
ative; any critter can be anywhere in Shadowrun if the like a human child comes out from the scrub near the base of the
gamemaster wants it there. valley. She says, "I don't think Heeley's doing very well."

PUSHING THE ENVELOPE HOOKS

You can push the envelope a lot in this scenario, depend- The crash scene should be unexpected and somewhat
ing on how tough you want to make the above encounters. If depressing. No one wants to see that kind of sight. The bullets
you decide that the border guards or Metroplex Guards were should be even more unexpected. The smugglers don't know
deceived, lied to, or shot at, use the statistics for the gun- who the runners are, so they assume the worst. Once they dis-
wielding Red Samurai from Supernova, giving them armor cover that the runners are the "good guys," they drop the com-
vests with plates in place of the Red Samurai's armor. bat and come out. No harm, no foul.

DEBUGGING BEHIND THE SCENES

Not a lot can go wrong, unless the player characters start This scenario begins as a typical shoot-first-ask-questions-
a border shoot-out or the rigger loses control and the runners' later encounter. Hopefully, no one will get hurt. The wreckage is
vehicle plummets over one of the falls. Try to keep the group's real, and the runners should wonder if anyone survived the crash.
mind on the job at hand. This is also a scenario in which you The many protruding ends of hot, twisted metal make wandering
can plant the seeds of future adventures. through the wreck dangerous. Each character within the area of
impact (determined by the gamemaster) must make a Willpower
WRECKAGE (4) Test. If the test fails, assume the player character saw some-
thing unsettling that i~ actually something else perfectly normal-
WHAT'S UP, CHUMMER? a burning duffel bag that looks like a body, a section of twisted
In this scenario, the player characters run across what's left metal that looks like a crushed hand, and so on. Such a character
of the smugglers' vehicle, as well as the smugglers themselves. will leave the area and refuse to go back into it. He or she might
The battle should be short, ending as soon as the battered even have psychological scars from the incident, for as long as
smugglers give up or the player characters figure out what you want them to last-at least one vivid nightmare might be
happened. The runners meet the survivors of the Pentagon and good enough. Any successes on a Perception (6) Test will reveal
learn that to get their pay, they'll have to head to the Tooth ... the word "Pentagon" on a interior piece of metal.
straight into the enclave of a tribe of Cascade Orks that has A mage in astral space will be able to see the Pentagon
Daisy's cargo. members easily but will notice two of the Pentagon astrally
perceiving him or her.
TELL IT TO THEM STRAIGHT
As you climb higher, the temperature gets colder. When The Pentagon
you hit Hemlock Pass, you see what looks like fog settling in The five members of the Pentagon smuggling team are
over part of the valley below ... except that it smells like sulfur Pounder, Breetva, Heeley, Red-Scale-Snake and Night-Strike-
and burning fuel, and you can see the twisted hulk of some- Woman. Pounder is a black dwarf from New Orleans and the
thing Sitting about 50 meters inside the pass. leader of the Pentagon. He's their spokesperson, but he lets
Breetva do all the negotiating. Breetva is a tall, human brunette

............................................................................................................................................................................................................... [!1fSt Run 5 t

 /( \
I

of Russian descent, with a definite accent. The team's rigger is If any smuggler takes more than a Moderate wound, that
a human named Heeley, who looks about twelve years old but character will make a bird call and Pounder will call for a cease-
talks and acts like an adult; he speaks with an obvious south- fire. Pounder will also call for a cease-fire if the player charac-
ern drawl. Red-Scale-Snake, a Snake shaman, is a female ters call the smugglers out at any time, using the password
Amerindian ork from the Pueblo Corporate Council. Her twin Daisy gave them or mentioning her name or even the
sister, Night-Strike-Woman, is a physical adept. The runners Pentagon's name.
probably won't realize this until they see her in hand-to-hand
combat. Complete statistics for the Pentagon appear on p. 60, Pounder's Story
Cast of Shadows. Each member of the group is an accom- After introductions have been made and everyone is more
plished smuggler and could easily survive on their own if nec- comfortable, Pounder will ask the runners to explain what hap-
essary. The player characters will not be able to divide the pened with Daisy before he tells them anything. Once he feels
Pentagon against themselves, should they try. reassured, he will explain what befell his group. He can tell his
At the time of the scenario, Heeley has taken Deadly Stun story in fits and spurts while the runners help the Pentagon
damage and is with Night-Strike-Woman. Strike has taken no gather their belongings from the wreckage and heal Heeley,
damage, nor has Breetva. Red-Scale~Snake has a Light Red-Scale-Snake and anyone hit by the recent gunfire. The
Physical wound and Serious Stun damage. Pounder has Light action is left up to the gamemaster.
Physical damage. "We stopped in the Tooth, a Cascade Ork settlement on the
other side of this ridge," Pounder says, pointing eastward. "We
The Discovery always stop there and wait until the pickup time. They're good
Pounder will fire on the player characters to keep them people in the Tooth-we've been trading with them for years
away from the wreckage but will not try to hit them. As the along this route, which is called the Big Dance." "They've been
leader, he will be the first to try making contact. Apart from good to us, and we've been good to them. We arrived about
Pounder's initial shots, the smugglers will fire back only if fired two hours ago, but no one came out to meet us. That only hap-
upon. They are well hidden; spotting them requires Z success- pened one other time, when some Salish-Shidhe scouts were in
es on a Perception (6) Test. A character with smuggling or any the area on a routine smuggling sting. So while we waited, Red
tactical or survival background skills can use those skills for a checked things out astrally. As she was lying there, her body
complementary test (see p. 97, SR3). started to shake and her nose bled, and we knew we were
going to have some astral company.

52 First Run I·········.... ··········. ···········. ················. ·.......................................................................................................................................................

 "Before we could leave, we were surrounded by a gang of for most megacorps. She begins by offering to smuggle in one
thugs who called themselves the Tooth Warriors. They took our thing, then two, then three. She knows everything the
cargo and grabbed our ready weapons. The moment Red Pentagon offers is coming out of the group's pocket, and so is
returned to her body, Heeley lifted off. We needed time to a shrewder bargainer than any player character.
gather our wits, talk with Daisy, and get some help. We'd hard-
ly gotten off the ground when something happened. Heeley PUSHING THE ENVELOPE
said he lost control of the vehicle for a moment; he'd barely There's not much to push in this scenario; it's primarily a
made it over the ridge when we hit some really odd weather. roleplaying encounter.
Heeley lost total control then. Before we knew what had hap-
pened, Heeley was telling us to brace for impact, and we crash- DEBUGGING
landed here. When we saw your vehicle pull up, we thought The two biggest problems can occur if either side begins
you were more Tooth Warriors coming to pick the carcasses." slaughtering the other in combat. If the player characters are win-
Red-Scale-Snake says, "I do not know what I fought. We ning, have the Pentagon aim toward the runners' vehicle. As that
do not have such spirits in the desert. I went to search the is the runners' only way out of the Cascades, it shouldn't take too
Tooth to see if scouts were there. I found a few near our land- long before someone panics and ends the combat. Also, even in
ing site, but I saw a strange spirit. It was a glorious rainbow of her weakened state, Red-Scale-Snake might still summon a
colors in a humanoid shape. At first I thought Snake had led me mountain, forest, or wind spirit to even the odds. If the Pentagon
to the metaplanes. Then the spirit attacked me, faster than I is winning, have them call off the attack and talk peace.
thought possible. I escaped back to my body, but still never If the player characters want to end their venture outside
saw the warriors around our vehicle. When they attacked, I the· sprawl here, that's not a problem. (Really.) To keep them
thought Snake had taken me on a quest. Somebody up there interested, try the following options. Have Breetva explain that
is a drek-hot shaman. I still don't feel too well." Daisy wanted the smuggled items on a rush job, so they must
be important. Or have a player character remember that Daisy
The Choice won't get paid unless she completes the magic items she's
The story told, Breetva offers a deal. The Pentagon mem- been commissioned to make, which means retrieving the
bers want to go back to the Tooth and retrieve their stolen stolen telesma. A magician making an Intelligence (4) Test or
cargo. Without it, they're stranded in the middle of a hostile any character with a background skill in Magic (Target Number
country's roughest terrain. They don't expect the player char- 5), will know with 1 success that magical telesma is rare and
acters to give them their payment without the smuggled valuable; furthermore, it must be high-quality and worth the
goods in exchange, and the wreck of their vehicle leaves them runners' effort if Daisy is going to the trouble of smuggling it
in no position to take it "on loan" (promising the goods on the into the UCAS.
next haul). The smugglers feel they can afford a loss on their If the runners leave, put them through some of the events
return trip, provided they can trade Daisy's goods for the teles- in Mother Nature (see p. 48). Daisy will not pay them, and her
ma stolen by the Tooth Warriors. They are willing to give contact level will drop. If Daisy was a Level 1 contact, she ceas-
Daisy's telesma to the player characters and hopefully gain es to be a contact for that character.
enough in the trade to get a vehicle that can take them into
Seattle (or possibly hop a ride with the runners back into the THE PATH Of MOST RESISTANCE
city). If they can make the trade, their rep won't suffer and they
can still get work. If rumor gets out that they failed to make a WHAT'S UP, CHUMMER?
trade, they can kiss the smuggling biz good-bye. In this encounter, the player characters meet the full force
Breetva wants the player characters to accompany the of the spirit power behind the Tooth Warriors. The Old One is
Pentagon to the Tooth and act as muscle for the trade. They will a man-of-the-woods, a nature spirit that exists without being
get the telesma in return, which lets them fulfill their part of the conjured and whose powers and Force depend upon no
deal. In addition, the Pentagon will let their Seattle contacts shaman. He is not naive (though he acts that way) and is allow-
know that the player characters helped them out, which might ing the leader of the Tooth Warriors to pursue his own agenda
well net the runners some extra work in the metroplex. The for now. Kaztok's agenda is simple and brutal-to lure smug-
smugglers have nothing else to offer at this time, but the play- glers in and take their cargo.
er characters might be able to negotiate for future goods. If
successful, the runners would get a smuggled version of the TELL IT TO THEM STRAIGHT
item in question the next time the Pentagon will be in Seattle- The sky is full of stars. You've heard rumors of how daz-
sometime in the nearest month, rounded up (see Availability, zling the stars look in the wilderness, but you knew better than
p. zn, SR3). Any item that costs more than to,Ooo nuyen will to believe what stoned-out shamans say in the sprawl. Now
be worth the cost without Street Index. you're seeing it for yourself, and you realize that the stoned-
Offer this only if the player characters are going to pull out shamans didn't go far enough. So many fragging stars ....
out, as a last-ditch effort to keep them interested. Breetva has Pounder puts out the fire with a handful of dirt and says,
negotiated with the lowest street scum, pirates, the Mafia, the "Now's the time. We need to sneak in at night, so we can fig-
Yakuza, and various international cartels, as well as operatives ure out what's what and who's who. We can walk it or drive

First Run
 around the valley. I recommend walking, but then I don't have Actions and Reactions
a vehicle." In addition to the Old One and Kaztok, there are at least
six Tooth Warriors present, three trolls and three orks. If that
Once the group Is out of the pass, read the following aloud: number doesn't seem to offer enough of a threat for the play-
The forest gets a bit thicker up here, though you can hear er characters, feel free to add more warriors. For complete sta-
generators and see the lights of houses. From a nearby clearing, tistics, see Cast of Shadows, p. 59. Three Tooth Warriors are in
you can hear angry voices. A group of trolls and orks is milling the barn working over Denver Bob and the other still-conscious
around the front of a house while a large troll harasses a family smuggler. The other three are standing watch over the farmer,
of orks. Their small barn is open; two humans are getting whose name is Crescent Eye. Crescent Eye's family stands near
worked over inside. An elf is lying unconscious on the straw. their house, while Kaztok and Crescent Eye are close enough
Off to the side stands a man thinner than anyone you've to the barn to see the smugglers' punishment. The Old One is
ever seen. When you take your eyes off him, it takes awhile to at the edge of the forest that surrounds the farmland. He shows
find him again. He looks almost like a sapling tree. no reaction to anything.
Pounder says, "That looks like the Black Dog team-smug- The player characters should get the impreSSion that the
glers from Denver who disappeared about a week ago. man-of-the-woods answers to Kaztok, which is exactly the way
Breetva, isn't that Denver Bob?" the Old One wants it. The scenario can unfold in many differ-
ent ways; the wild card is the player characters' reaction to
HOOKS each action described below.
The player characters are completely out of their element,
but they should feel a bit more comfortable under the present Action A: Denver Bob screams in pain as a troll cracks him in
circumstances. They can at least figure out who's bad and who's the ribs with a board.
good. Kaztok and the Old One hold all the cards. The Old One's Reaction t: If the runners don't try or plan something,
power is off the scale compared to what the runners are used Night-Strike-Woman leaps from the group's hiding place,
to, and they have likely never met anyone or anything like him sprints to the barn and starts mixing it up with the Tooth
before. Play up the mystery. Remember, the Awakening has Warriors. She will get caught eventually, but not until she takes
more surprises up its sleeve than the runners can imagine. down a troll or two.
Reaction 2: Pounder will give everyone up in order to
BEHIND THE SCENES save Strike and hopefully come out ahead. If this happens, go
Kaztok has discovered that some farmers outside the to Smuggler Hospitality (p. 55).
Tooth have been sheltering a band of smugglers he thought
he'd killed. That's not good for his new business, so he needs Action B: Kaztok says loudly to the Old One that Crescent Eye
to teach a few lessons. wants to cut down more woods so smugglers can land.
When the runners first see him, Kaztok is clearly speaking Reaction t: The Old One seems to disappear into the
to the owner of the farm. His voice is too low to make out ground and then remanifests as an indistinct form. Crescent
words, but his anger is clearly audible to the player characters. Eye screams and tries to run, but the warriors grab him and
Mages with Clairaudience and characters with hearing amplifi- drag him closer to the Old One. A wave of panic sweeps over
cation can hear the following conversation: the entire area as the Old One uses his Fear power.
Kaztok: You're ruining everything. Can't you understand Reaction 2: The waves of fear are so powerful that even
what we have here? The Old One's power is incredible. We can the warriors start to flee. Then suddenly they all stop moving
get things we've only dreamed of. and stand around as if completely bewildered; this effect is
Farmer: But Denver Bob brought medicine for Morning caused by the Old One's Confusion power.
Dawn when she was sick. All he wanted in payment was a Reaction 3: If either power works on the player characters
home-cooked meal. He isn't anyone's enemy, no matter what or if they will be discovered and brought under Kaztok's iron
the Old One says. fist for questioning, go to Smuggler Hospitality.
Kaztok: The Old One does what I tell him. I tell him the
smugglers are harming his forest, and he takes care of them for Action C: If any character goes astral (perception or projection),
us. Look how much stuff we got from those smugglers last the Old One discovers him. The spirit leaves the astral so that the
month! Guns, cyberdecks and electronics-all because I con- magically active player character and smugglers can't follow
vinced the Old One they were evil. him, and then reappears near the player characters. Without the
Farmer: But the smugglers always give us something Old One, Kaztok doesn't bother Crescent Eye anymore. The
when they come through. Isn't that enough? Tooth Warriors take the remnants of Denver Bob's group and
Kaztok: Something?! Look at all the stuff that passes us by! leave, warning Crescent Eye not to let this happen again.
I want it, and I'm gonna get it. As long as I control the Old Reaction t: This situation is the most advantageous to the
One, I control the Tooth-and as long as I do that, I control the player characters because the man-of-the-woods is away from
smugglers. I get everything, and no two-bit farmer is gonna Kaztok. Alone, the spirit may be reasoned with. He initially
get in my way. appears as a deep patch of shadow, a small woodland animal

1 5'Ll 1 First Run I····· .. ····· .. ·········· .. ·.. ······· .... ··········· .. ······ ......................................................................................................................................................
or a young tree. He will ask the player characters if they are wealth; after all, they're shadowrunners, and everyone knows
smugglers. Use the information on p. 56 under Talking With shadowrunners pack state-of-the-art equipment (or at least
the Old One to see if any of the runners can convince the Old newer equipment than Kaztok's).
One they might be friendly.
Reaction 2: If the player characters attack the Old One, he TELL IT TO THEM STRAIGHT
will use his Confusion and Accident powers, then Fear. He does- If one more troll pushes you, you'll snap. The only thing
n't fear the characters and turns them over to Kaztok to see what keeping you from hitting the nearest thug is the fact that they
they are made of. Go to Smuggler Hospitality, below. have the guns. Also, they seem to know all the nooks and cran-
Reaction 3: If the runners try to dispel or trick the Old One, nies of the forest and the mountainside at night better than you
he will use his Accident power to cause a gun to go off and get could naVigate it in daylight.
the Tooth Warriors' attention. Go to Smuggler Hospitality. A clearing opens before you, the trees that once filled it
cleft in two as if by a giant blunt object. You realize that the
Action D: The player characters decide to open fire on every- blunt object was an Ares Dragon rotorcraft that had the mis-
one in sight, hoping to take out Kaztok and his minions. fortune of hitting the earth nose first. The camp around the
Reaction 1': The Old One uses all of his powers to stop the shattered wreckage of the Dragon is full of fires-at least
player characters. If any of them survive, go to Smuggler twelve at first glance-around which trolls and orks are stand-
Hospitality. ing around drinking. Lamps hang off the Dragon; the play of
shadows across it makes it look like a giant dinosaur skeleton.
PUSHING THE ENVELOPE "Welcome to the Site of Desecration," Kaztok says. "Now
Because the runners are spending so much time in the I arid the Old One will decide whether you live or die."
wild during this encounter, you can use any of the encounters
in Mother Nature (p. 48) to liven up the day. Remember to HOOKS
keep them more annoying than deadly; however, also keep in Once again, the player characters get tossed into a totally
mind that facing Kaztok and company slightly wounded may unfamiliar situation-this time a mock trial, with a power-hun-
make the runners feel less invincible. You can also add more gry troll and a mysterious spirit as their judges. The key to sur-
troll and ork warriors to the mix if the runners think they can vival is whom the characters see as the most important of the
take everyone by force. two. If they disagree, let them. No one can be sure where the
power lies.
DEBUGGING
The real wild card here is the Pentagon, whose agenda is BEHIND THE SCENES
very different from the player characters'. Surviving and not The Site of Desecration is a shrine created from the rem-
losing their reputation are much more important to them than nants of total destruction. Countless lights hang on the crashed
who's right or wrong. Their world is a lot less black-and-white; Ares Dragon, and tents have been pitched all over the place.
it's more the color of nuyen. If it makes more sense to deal, At least a dozen campfires are burning, many of them cooking
they will-dealing is always better than fighting or killing. Use food whose smells can only appeal to an ork or a troll. There
that. If the runner team can't make a decision, have one of the are fifty orks and trolls in camp, none of whom looks like a
Pentagon smugglers try to make contact with the man-of-the- trained mage or shaman.
woods or with Kaztok. This will force the runners to react. just It takes the player characters awhile to see the Old One.
make sure the smugglers are thinking bottom line-trades, a He goes where he wants, constantly popping in and out of the
vehicle and a way out with their goods. Don't make them act physical plane in different tree, animal and metahuman forms.
against the player characters just for the sake of conflict. Like all
plausible characters, the smugglers should be consistent. Talking With Kaztok
Kaztok is convinced that the Pentagon cmugglers have
goods that his warriors didn't discover on their T-bird before it
SMUGGLER HOSPITALITY
took off. He wants that stuff in exchange for letting them walk
away. He is also convinced that the player characters have
WHAT'S UP, CHUMMER?
items of their own that he might like, especially if anyone men-
In this scenario, the player characters must use their wits to
tions that they are shadowrunners and not smugglers. Breetva
come out on top. Kaztok takes them, the Pentagon, Crescent Eye
will do most of the talking for the Pentagon and will get angry
and the Denver smugglers to the Site of Desecration, the home
if a player character tries to cut the team's own deal. She will
of the Tooth Warriors. The warriors' camp has sprung up around
begin by offering Daisy's sake for the stolen goods, hoping that
the Ares Dragon crash site. This forested area is also home to the
the Tooth Warriors will take the alcohol. After that, she offers
man-of-the-woods. The scenario offers the player characters a
the rest of the sprawl goods. Next, she offers the Novatech
chance to talk with the Old One and help "free" him from Kaztok
simsense deck and some chips, appealing to the warriors'
(which is exactly what the man-of-the-woods wants).
thuggish nature with combat and sex sims. Remember that
Kaztok will listen to Breetva and Pounder as they try to
Breetva knows what the Pentagon has to trade even if the play-
deal with him. He is less drawn by their proposed deal than by
er characters never look in Daisy's boxes.
his conviction that the player characters have some hidden

............................................................................................................................................................................................................... I First Run I 55 I

 Neither the Pentagon nor the runners will get Daisy's rum
back, as the warriors have drunk most of it. Push that point
home by having Kaztok guzzle rum while negotiations are
going on. Individual Pentagon members talking with Kaztok
include Sreetva, Pounder and Heeley.

Talking With the Old One

Talking with the man-of-the-woods is an interesting expe-
rience, as he shifts from form to form throughout. Any player
character wishing to talk one-on-one with the Old One must
make a successful Charisma (7) Test to get the spirit interested.
A successful test will also show the man-of-the-woods which
runner has the strength of character to be trustworthy. Non-
player characters who try to talk with the spirit include Crescent
Eye, Night-Strike-Woman and Red-Scale-Snake. The player
characters' goal is to convince the Old One that they are good
people and that he should use his influence over Kaztok to let
them go.
The Old One will test the characters however he can to see
who is the strongest and whom he should use to get what he
wants. The Charisma (7) Test above is one of the spirit's crite-
ria. A shaman can impress the Old One by calling forth a for-
est, mountain, or wind spirit of Force 7 or greater; similarly, a
mage can call up a Force 8 or greater elemental. Any character
whose Charisma Test succeeds may also make a Willpower (7)
Test; successes achieved on this test enable the character to tell
that the Old One is making him or her jump through hoops for
some reason. Each success allows for such "clarity of thought"
regarding one contest; the character will not necessarily rec-
ognize what is really happening in other contests. The Old One
will know when the character is aware of what's going on and
will try to exclude the character during that particular contest.
To achieve their goal, the player characters should try to
convince the man-of-the-woods that they will not harm him or
any of his friends (including the forest), that smugglers are not
bad and also will not harm him or the woods, that Kaztok is
using him for power and revenge, and that the people of the
Tooth only fear Kaztok because of the Old One's power. The
Old One will play along.
The player characters may also attempt to tell the man-of-
the-woods what happened to the crashed Ares Dragon. If they
check out the crash site, a team rigger can make a Rotor
Aircraft (4) Test to find out the facts. Consult the table below to
see what he or she discovers. A character can use the highest-
rated of either a flying craft SIR skill or a Knowledge Skill deal-
ing with aircraft as a complementary skill. Heeley can also help
out, though a player character should make the first attempt.
A mage assensing the crash will find that no metahumans
were in the Dragon when it went down, and that the site
exudes panic and doom.

Successes Information
1 This vehicle was equipped for smuggling, not
combat.
Z The rigger dumped its fuel to avoid an explosion.
3 The rigger jacked out before impact.
4 The crew bailed out.

5Ea 1 First Run I .. · ...... · .... · ........ · .... · .......... · .... · .... · .... · ...... · .. · .. · ........ · ...... · .... · ....................................................................................................................... .
 5 The vehicle has below-standard sensors for player character. If you chose two characters, the bullet hits the
mountain flying. player character. Go to The Spirit World, below.
6+ A ripped-off section of the main rotor caused
the crash. PUSHING THE ENVELOPE
This scenario is already pretty difficult, but you can have
The Old One's Tests the Old One put the player characters through even tougher
The Old One may try any or all of the following to test the tests, such as a pit fight. The Old One can also use his Weather
player characters' mettle: Control power to cause rain, snow, or fog that will make the
• The spirit uses his Accident power to knock a player charac- existing tests harder.
ter into a very drunk troll. Let a fight brew. This test is excellent
for a character who lacks strong combat skills. Give the troll a DEBUGGING
+ t modifier for fighting drunk (this negates the troll's Reach The biggest challenge in this scenario is handling the Old
bonus). One's tests. Have the man-of-the-woods act naive all the while
• The spirit forces a non-troll or ork player character to eat the he is testing the characters. Let the tests come out of roleplay-
Tooth Warriors' food. Start with a Willpower (4) Test and ing; turn the players' plans into contests that the Old One
increase the target number by t for each spoonful. When the watches. Finally, let the player characters make Willpower Tests
player character finally fails a test, have him or her make a Body every so often, especially after making a point to the man-of-
(4) Test or take t box each of Light Stun and PhYSical damage. the-woods about the fact that he is being controlled. This will
• The spirit uses its concealment power on the runners in order convince them that they are getting through to him.
to check on the Black Dog smuggling group. The spirit then
revokes the power at the last moment, when the greatest THE SPIRIT WORLD
number of Tooth Warriors are around. The player characters can
either fight or use their wits to get out of trouble. WHAT'S UP, CHUMMER?
• The spirit uses his Fear power to make Crescent Eye flee into In this scenario, the spirit finishes with Kaztok and reveals
the woods (the Old One will claim that the farmer escaped) its true nature.
and tells the runners to go get him while the Old Olle covers
for them. The gamemaster decides how long it takes before the RLL IT TO THEM STRAIGHT
runners find Crescent Eye and/or the Tooth Warriors discover A shot rings out; then all hell breaks loose. Waves of panic
that the player characters are missing. and confusion seem to pour over the camp. Dozens of orks and
trolls, the smugglers, practically everyone is either standing
The Bottom Line around like an idiot or running like a terrified small child into
If the runners make a deal to get out, let them. The Tooth the dark forest. The weird thing is, you feel nothing. You're just
Warriors will probably force them to leave without most of their watching the action, as if someone had plugged you into a
gear but will let them keep the crates that belong to Daisy. simdeck.
Kaztok will send two people--two runners, two smugglers, You and your teammates seem to be the only ones unaf-
or a mix-to get the crates, or whatever else he may have fected. Even Kaztok is just standing there stupefied, looking at
promised to the player characters, from his hidden stash of the gun in his hand as if he's never seen one before.
stolen goods. The rest he keeps in camp. This gives the runners The Old One's form has changed again, from an old man
more chances to convince the Old One that they are on his side. to a tree that looks possessed by a demon-the kind of rattling,
Any character with enhanced hearing or clairaudience will over- branch-tossing apparition that scares little children during a
hear Kaztok's plan to double-cross the player characters; if you raging storm. The nightmare tree moves toward [the character
want to, you can use this incident as one of the Old One's tests. the Old One singled outJ.
When the player characters return with the crates, Kaztok "Kaztok has outlived his usefulness to me," the spirit says, in
tells them that the Old One doubts they told the truth and that a voice like a storm wind. "I need someone stronger. someone
they must remain as his guests like the smuggler teams. The who can take me beyond these woods. You will do this for me."
Old One will not disagree, even if he never spoke with Kaztok. Kaztok's gun goes off. The bullet hits a rock, then ricochets
At this pOint, any player character who spent time with the off the shell of the Ares Dragon and hits Kaztok in the head.
Old One can try to plead the team's case. The camp goes silent The big troll crumples bleeding to the ground.
as the Old One responds-he will save one character to be his "Accidents happen," the Old One says, while the wind
companion, and the rest are Kaztok's to play with. The howls around you like laughter.
gamemaster decides who the lucky character is; however, it
should be a player character or one runner and one member of HOOKS
the Pentagon. This scene should border on chaos, as if any misstep might
A furious Kaztok screams, "No! I am your master! You lis- provoke another outburst from the Old One. The player char-
ten only to me!" He fires his Ares Predator and hits the chosen acters are holding their lives in their hands, as well as the lives
of the Pentagon and the Black Dogs.

First Run
 BEHIND THE SCENES A case of six rifles, twelve SMGs or twenty-four pistols
This scenario requires you to choose a goal for the man-of- Ammunition for the above weapons in all types
the-woods. As written, it assumes that the Old One ultimately Simchips
wants to learn more about the world. If you want a different Electronics and electronics kits
motive, then change this section accordingly. Medical supplies, including patches and medkits
Alcohol or drugs from a specific region (elven or California
More Deals wines, Caribbean rum, Japanese sake)
After the panic dies down, the Old One states plainly what Magical telesma, magical items and non-magical Native
he wants. American artifacts (animal bones, artwork,
"I want to leave here. I have lived here longer than any of masks and so on)
you have been alive, and I've heard tales of. other places from Regional goodies (clothes, hats and such from sports
the smugglers who come through. I want to see those places. teams, tourist stuff from different parts of the UCAS)
Can you take me there?" Personal computers, cheap cyberdecks
This demand is another test. The man-of-the-woods and other accessories
knows that the player characters aren't smugglers. How they Daisy's crates (Breetva will point out what the runners
respond will determine what the Old One does. might give Daisy in compensation for the rum)
Something exotic: a vehicle, a high-end cyberdeck, an ani
Honesty Is the Best Policy mal, a valuable piece of artwork, a state-of-the-art drone,
The runners may explain that they aren't smugglers, but and so on
shadowrunners doing a favor for a friend, and that the
Pentagon or the Black Dogs would be better able to do what PUSHING THE ENVELOPE
the Old One wants. If so, the Old One tells them that they are While fear and confusion run rampant through the camp,
strong of will and have passed the ultimate test. He then leave some of the Tooth Warriors unaffected. This situation
releases the Pentagon from the Confusion power and takes the might lead to a fight between the player characters (with little
whole bunch-smugglers, player characters and all-to or no gear) and the armed trolls and orks. Alternatively, have
Kaztok's stash of stolen goods (see The Stash, below). people from the Tooth arrive with hunting guns and farm
The smugglers are easily persuaded to take the Old One implements to rescue Crescent Eye. Either way, combat adds
along with them, especially if he gives them most of the stash. to the chaos and tests the runners' ability to survive.
With it, they can get another vehicle, make a little profit and
stay in biz. The smugglers will overlook the past if they can DEBUGGING
make a decent deal. If having the man-of-the-woods go with the player charac-
ters seems to make them too powerful, have the Pentagon keep
What's One Little fib? trying to "steal" him away, or have him announce that he
If the runners decide to play along instead of telling the changed his mind and decided to go with the smugglers. The
truth, just saying, "Sure, we can take you there" won't do it. latter allows the player characters to take some of the stash
The player characters must make a Charisma (7) Test followed without giving them a powerful spirit ally too. If that doesn't
by a Willpower (7) Test to convince the Old One that they can work, have the man-of-the-woods go with the player characters
do what he wants. Note the number of successes rolled on until they reach Daisy. Picking Up the Pieces (below) includes
each test. various options for more adventures with the Old One.
Assuming the runners succeed, the Old One releases the
Pentagon from confusion and takes everyone to the stash, then PICKING UP THE PIECES
allows the runners to pick up Daisy's crates and something in This section contains all the miscellaneous information the
compensation for her lost case of rum. If the player characters gamemaster needs to know to run Site of Desecration, includ-
fail, the Old One shows the group the stash and then hits them ing descriptions and game statistics for important non-player
with his Fear power, sending them fleeing into the woods. When characters.
the runners regroup, only Daisy's crates will be left in the stash.
If a character succeeds at the tests, make them for the GETTING HOME
Pentagon as well. The Pentagon must roll the same number or After all the excitement, the runners' trip home should be
more successes to change the Old One's mind. If they pull this relatively simple. You can throw in some near-misses, and
off, the spirit announces that he has decided to go with them maybe a problem at the border if the group has the Old One
and that they can divide Kaztok's stash as they see fit. If the with them.
Pentagon fails, the Old One uses his Fear power to send them Depending on what happens, the player characters may
running and then leaves with the player characters. wish to wait until morning before heading out of the mountains
and back to the sprawl. Plenty of local farmers will put them up
The Stash for the night; in return for this hospitality, the player characters
The stash can contain anything you want it to; some sug- should give something to the farmer in question. If the charac-
gestions are given below. ters opt for honesty in The Spirit World (Hone5ty Is the Best

5 H First Run , .....................................................................................................;...........................................................................................................

 Policy, p. 58), they can hang with the Pentagon for the discusses all kinds of ship-based smuggling and piracy; if your
evening. They will also get the smugglers as a contact, either players seem interested, you can use this sourcebook as a
individually or as a group, which can open up opportunities for launching pad to places all over the world. Target: Smuggler
smuggling runs (see What's Next, below). Word also gets back Havens contains information on overland smuggling in North
to the Black Dogs of the runners' aid to their fellow smugglers. America, including adventure options and ideas for running
While the Dogs won't become contacts, the player characters that type of campaign. It also describes border crossings in
will have netted themselves some good public relations in the detail.
smuggling biz. Finally, the New Seattle sourcebook fleshes out the local
If the runners chose not to be honest, they can still leave setting of this adventure and contains plenty of adventure
on good terms if they manage not to royally screw up their ideas and plot lines.
relationship with the Old One and the Pentagon. The
gamemaster makes that determination; however, if the player AWARDING KARMA
characters or the Pentagon get nailed by the Old One's Fear Award individual Karma according to the rules on p. 244,
power at the goodie stash, the smugglers will not become con- SRJ. Award Karma to each team member based on the follow-
tacts for the run,ners. ing table. If the player characters return to Daisy without her
No matter what happens, the runners return to Seattle late magical goods, they earn only the Karma for Threat level.
in the second day. Daisy will not be back yet, so they must wait Surviving the run 2 points
until the third day to deliver her goods. Because it will be late Threat level 1-3 points'
in the day by the time they get out of the mountains, they can Surviving the Old One's tests, 1-3 points'
stay in Denny Creek posing as tourists in order to leave during 'The gamemaster determines the pOints awarded, depending
the morning rush, when they are less likely to get caught at the on the difficulty of the encounters and events.
Seattle border. As long as one player character has a credstick
and is willing to pay for rooms, the team shouldn't run into any LEGWORK
trouble (aside from some odd stares-shadowrunners rarely The player characters can't do much legwork in this adven-
make plausible tourists). ture, as most of their contacts don't know much about regions
outside the sprawl. If they want to research smuggling or the
Life With the Old One Cascade Mountains, give the information on p. 46 for smug-
Life with the Old One will be short. When the runners gling and on p. 320, SRJ, for the Cascade Mountains and the
deliver the goods to Daisy, she will recognize the man-of-the- localorks.
woods for what he is. While the runners look around the shop,
Daisy will call her contacts with Hestaby (see Daisy Qual/on, CAST OF SHADOWS
below). The dragon will send her own messenger to the man- This section contains background information and game
of-the-woods in astral space. After that, the Old One will man- statistics for the non-player characters who have the greatest
ifest and tell the team that they have done well, but that now impact on the adventure and with whom the player characters
he needs someone stronger. He will then disappear from the will have the most dealings. Feel free to adjust the listed attrib-
player characters' lives. If a mage assenses the astral, he or she utes or add skills and gear to better match your group's level
gets an overwhelming feeling of power that dwarfs anything of play. The NPCs as written work well for starting characters
previously sensed around the man-of-the-woods. To reflect the and gamemasters, as they are neither too elaborate nor too
various levels of magic used in Daisy's shop, raise the Target tough to kill. Their statistics include Knowledge Skills to add
Number for the mage's test to 6. depth to the characters; gamemasters can add more if they
want a specific perspective or a wider range of interests.
WHAT'S NEXT
The player characters can go in many directions from here. DAISY QUALLON
Assuming they got out with her stuff, Daisy will be happy to Daisy is a twenty-five-year-old elf with green, eyes and
contact them for magical runs in the future. She might even blond hair, dyed at least six different colors in places. Probably
introduce them to those above her in Hestaby's organization, one of the most attractive women the runners have ever met,
who might involve the player characters in search and surveil- she could easily have been a sim starlet or a model. Instead,
lance runs. she runs a modest talismonger shop in the far eastern section
Having dabbled in smuggling, the player characters may of Renton, as near to the Salish-Shidhe border as possible. Her
get hired as couriers or as muscle for deals going down. The family history is in the Behind the Scenes section of A Walk on
Pentagon is as good as their word; whether or not they the Awakened Side (see p. 47). Daisy also gathers information
become contacts for the player characters, they spread the on magical undercurrents in Seattle, the NAN territories and
word in the sprawl that the runners helped them out and are a even Tir Tairngire for the great dragon Hestaby. Hestaby lives
trustworthy team. on Mount Shasta, in the disputed area between the California
Gamemasters who want to delve deeper into smuggling- Free State and Tir Tairngire. Hestaby has been extremely active
based adventures will find the Cyberpirates and Target: since Dunkelzahn's death, and her intelligence network
Smuggler Havens sourcebooks extremely useful. Cyberpirates stretches around the world. Daisy will never reveal her alle-

............................................................................................................................................................................................................... I First Run 59

giance to the dragon or where she gets her information, but
gamemasters can use this background information as a hook
for future adventures.
Daisy uses the Enchanting Skill to make magic items. This
skill is fully explained in Magic in the Shadows but is cited
below for completeness.

B Q SCI W E M R
2 4 6 5 6 6 6 4
INIT: 4 + I D6, Astral 25 + I D6
Dice Pools: Astral Combat 8, Combat 7, SpellS
Karma Pool/Professional Rating: 2/3
Race: Elf
Active Skills: Aura Reading 6, Conjuring 6, Enchanting 6,
Etiquette 4 (Magical Groups 6), Instruction 4, Negotiations 3,
Pistols 4, Sorcery 6, Stealth 3
Knowledge Skills: Magic Background 4, Magical Groups 3
(Hestaby's Organization 5), Magical Sites 4, Smuggler Trading
2, Tir Tairngire/Northern California Political Struggles 4
Spells: Analyze Truth 5, Clairaudience 6, Confusion 3, Control
Actions 5, Detect Enemies 4, Detect Magic 5, Fling 5,
Invisibility 4, Levitate 4, Magic Fingers 6, Mask 3, Shadow 5,
Stunball 5, Stunbolt 4
Weapons:
Browning Max Power [HP, SA, 9M, 10(c)]
Range (TN): 0-5 (4), 6-20 (5),21-40 (6), 41-60 (9)
Armor: While in her shop, she wears real leather [2/1] but
also owns a Lined Coat [4/2]
Gear: As appropriate to her shop (see The Magic Touch, p. 47)

Knowledge Skills: Merchandise Inspection 5, New Orleans

THE PENTAGON
Politics 5 (Mafia 7), Salish Shidhe 2 (Read/Write 0), Smuggler
The Pentagon is a group of smugglers who specialize in
Havens 6, Smuggling Routes 7
the long route between New Orleans and Seattle. Sometimes
Weapons:
they travel south through Denver, other times north via
Ares Predator [HP, SA, 9M, 15(c), smartlinked]
Minneapolis. They have an excellent reputation for delivering
Range (TN): 0-5 (2), 6-20 (3), 21-40 (4), 41-60 (7)
the goods with a minimum of heat. They have worked for Daisy
FN-HAR [Assault Rifle, 8M, SA/BF/FA 35(c), smartlinked]
before and are happy to get her the items she requested.
Range (TN): 0-5 (2), 6-20 (3),21-40 (4), 41-60 (7)
Survival Knife [7L]
Pounder
2 defensive grenades [lOS]
Pounder is a black dwarf with a laid-back New Orleans atti-
Armor: Lined Coat [4/2], full suit of forest camo [3/2]
tude, but he gets dangerous when annoyed. He founded the
Cyberware: Smartlink
Pentagon and has held the group together during bad times.
Gear: Survival kit
He has total faith in his team and lets them operate almost
hands-off. He's the contact man-he knows lots of people and
Breetva
can get his hands on just about anything. If it exists, Pounder
Breetva (Russian for "razor") is a native Russian whom
can find it and smuggle it to you.
Pounder met on a smuggling run into Vladivostok. Breetva's
ability to negotiate an excellent deal impressed Pounder; he
B Q S C I W E M R
was even more impressed when she killed her double-crossing
6 3 5 2 3 4 5.5 o 3
suppliers for foolishly attempting to take advantage of her.
INIT: 3 + ID6
Convinced she would make a perfect addition to the team he
Dice Pools: Combat 5
was putting together, Pounder brought her to New Orleans.
Karma Pool/Professional Rating: 3/3
Breetva is the team's negotiator (thick accent and all). She han-
Race: Dwarf
dles the deals, and so far she has gotten the Pentagon top jobs
Active Skills: Assault Rifle 4, Car 4, Edge Weapons 4,
and exchanges. She is a brunette of average height, with a rock-
Etiquette 2 (Smuggling 6), Gunnery 5, Leadership 5, Pistols 4,
hard body and a rep for being able to drink everyone under the
Stealth 4, Throwing Weapons 4, Unarmed Combat 5
table. In New Orleans, that reputation is constantly challenged.

EaO 1 First Run I··· .. ······· .. ··················· .. ······ .. ····· .. ······· ........................................................................................................................................................
 B Q S C W E M R
5 4 (5) 5 (6) 3 4 3 1.96 o 4 (6)
INIT: 4 (6~ + 106 (206)
Dice Pools: Combat 6
Karma Pool/Professional Rating: 3/3
Race: Human
Active Skills: Car 4, Cyber-Implant Combat 1 (Spurs 6),
Edged Weapons 4 (Knife 6), Etiquette 3 (Smuggling 6),
Gunnery 4, Intimidation 4, leadership 3, Negotiations 8,
Pistols 6, Stealth 3, Throwing Weapons 3, Unarmed Combat 4
Knowledge Skills: Merchandise Inspection 6, Russian 4
(Read/Write 2), Smuggler Havens 6, Smuggling Routes 4,
Yakuza Politics 3
Weapons:
Ares Predator [HP, SA, 9M, 15(c), smartlinked]
Range (TN): 0-5 (2), 6-20 (3),21-40 (4), 41-60 (7)
Remington Roomsweeper [HP, SA, 9M, 8(m), smartlinked]
Range (TN): 0-5 (2), 6-20 (3),21-40 (4), 41-60 (7)
Ceska Black Scorpion [MP, SA/BF, 6l, 35(c), smartlinked, fold-
ing stock (-1 recoil)]
Range (TN): 0-5 (2), 6-20 (3),21-40 (4), 41-60 (7)
Retractable Spurs [HTH, no Reach bonus, 6M]
Survival Knife [8l]
2 defensive grenades [lOS]
Armor: Armored Jacket [5/3], full suit of forest camo [3/2]
Cyberware: Cybereyes [lOW-light], Muscle Replacement 1,
Reflex Trigger, Retractable Hand Spurs (alphaware), Smartlink
(alphaware), Wired Reflexes 1
Gear: Survival kit

Heeley
Heeley is the Pentagon's rigger. He'd put his heart and
soul into his GMC Banshee, which he named Creole lady.
When the player characters meet him, his lady has been
smashed into its component parts, and he's somewhat Knowledge Skills: Jazz 3 (New Orleans 5), NAN Border
depressed about that. Though well into his thirties, Heeley Patrol Tactics 6, Smuggler Havens 6, Smuggling Routes 8
looks about twelve. He has been with Pounder the longest; the Weapons:
two of them used to act as middlemen in New Orleans Ceska Black Scorpion [MP, SA/BF, 6l, 35(c), smartlinked, fold-
between pirates (who didn't want to dock) and smugglers ing stock (-1 recoil)]
(who had no desire to go out to sea). Heeley speaks with a Range (TN): 0-5 (2), 6-20 (3),21-40 (4),41-60 (7)
heavy Creole accent, and it is often difficult for those outside Survival Knife [6l]
the team to understand him. Armor: Full suit of forest camo [5/3]
Heeley uses his looks to his advantage. He loves to act like Cyberware: Cybereyes (flare compensation, low-light and
a newbie rigger to get people into betting competitions-hav- thermographic), Oatajack (alphaware). Smartlink (alphaware),
ing Breetva on his side has gotten him out of many a ja~ when Vehicle Control Rig 2
his marks discover that they've been had. Gear: Survival kit

B Q SCI WE M R Red-Scale-Snake
5 6 4 3 6 5 2.24 0 6 Red-Scale-Snake and her sister Night-Strike-Woman are
INIT: 6 + 106, Rigging INIT: 10 + 306 twin orks from the Pueblo Corporate Council. They were
Dice Pools: Combat 8, Control 10 Pounder's first shipment-exotic sex slaves for a rich CAS
Karma Pool/Professional Rating: 3/3 landowner, whom they killed almost upon arrival. They subse-
Race: Human quently ended up homeless in New Orleans, where Pounder
Active Skills: Car 5, Car (B/R) 4, Computer 3, Electronics 5, found them. Feeling responsible for their fate, he asked them
Etiquette 3 (Motorheads 6), Ground Vehicles (B/R) 4, Gunnery to work with him, as he had no magical back-up and saw how
5, Motorboats 4, Pistols 3, Vector Thrust Vehicles 5 (GMC well they worked together. Since that day, Pounder has had no
Banshee 7), Vector Thrust Vehicles (B/R) 5 stomach for the slave trade. Red and Strike never bring it up.

First Run 61
 (Read/Write 2). Pueblo Tribe Chants and Dances 5. Reptiles 2
(Snakes 6). Swamp Territory 2
Totem: Snake (+2 dice for detection. health and illusion
spells. +2 dice for Mountain Spirits. -1 die for all spells cast
during combat)
Spells: Analyze Truth 3. Antidote Toxin 5 (t). Hibernate 3 (t).
Ignite 4. Manabolt 5. Magic Fingers 4. Mask 4. Shadow 4.
Stun ball 4. Treat 5 (t)
Weapons:
Colt America L36 [LP. SA. 6L. 1 1(c)]
Range (TN): 0-5 (4). 6-15 (5). 16-30 (6).31-50 (9)
Medium Crossbow [6M] with 20 bolts
Range (TN): 0-15 (4). 16-60 (5).61-150 (6). 150-250 (9)
Survival Knife [7L]
Armor: Lined Coat [4/2]. real leather painted with a hognose
snake pattern (also called the puff adder) [2/1]
Gear: Survival kit; wooden wand carved in the form of a
snake (power Focus 2); necklace of colored glass beads
(Manipulation Spell Focus 3); 3 pouches filled with powdered
herbs. molted snakeskin and snake skull [these act as fetishes
for health spells. noted above with (t); all three items reduce
Drain]

Nlght-Strlke-Woman
Night-Strike-Woman is bigger and stronge'r than her min-
utes-younger sister and protected Red when they were chil-
dren. She follows her sister's lead novil. knowing that Red is
wiser than she in the ways of Snake. Strike rarely talks. letting
Red do it for both of them. The sisters' brief time as slaves left
more of a mark on Strike; being sold by an unscrupulous tribal
leader shattered her image of the tribe she had loved and trust-
ed. Pounder's willingness to help the sisters restored some of
her faith. however. Of all her travels as a smuggler. she most
loves the trips into tribal lands. where she can hear the stories
and legends of the different peoples. She especially loves the
Red-Scale-Snake's totem is Snake. and her shamanic mask mixing of "tribes" in New Orleans. where she can hear African.
marks her skin with gray. silver and black scaled bands that South American and Caribbean legends and lore.
spread outward in circles from her mouth. Her eyes become
slits and she delivers her spells in a sibilant hiss. She has long B Q SCI WE M R
red hair that reaches almost to the ground when combed 858334664
straight out. customarily held up by a snake bone. She also has INIT: 4 (6) + 106 (206)
a habit of peeling dry skin as if she was molting. which out- Dice Pools: Combat 6 (8)
siders frequently find disturbing (her buddies in the Pentagon Karma Pool/Professional Rating: 3/3
are used to it). Generally pleasant. she appears to have suffered Race: Ork
no ill effects from her brief time as cargo. though she clearly Active Skills: Athletics 6. Biotech 3. Etiquette 2 (Tribal 3).
enjoys her freedom. Pistols 4. Projectile Weapons 3 (Crossbow 6). Stealth 6.
Unarmed Combat 6 (8)
B Q SCI WE M R Knowledge Skills: Magical Background 4. NAN History 4.
635536663 NAN Lore 2 (Pueblo 5). Pueblo 5 (Read/Write 2). Pueblo Tribe
INIT: 3 + 106. Astral 23 + 106 Chants and Dances 6
Pools: Astral Combat 7. Combat 6. Spell 5 Powers: Combat Sense 2. Improved Ability (Unarmed
Karma Pool/Professional Rating: 3/3 Combat) 2. Improved Reflexes 1. Killing Hands (M). Missile
Race: Ork Parry. Pain Resistance 2. Rapid Healing 2
Active Skills: Aura Reading 5. Biotech 4. Conjuring 6. Weapons:
Negotiation 3. Pistols 2. Projectile Weapons 1 (Crossbow 5). Ceska Black Scorpion [MP. SA/BF. 6L. 35(c). smartlinked. fold-
Sorcery 5. Stealth 4 ing stock (-1 recoil)]
Knowledge Skills: Magical Background 4. Pueblo 5 Range (TN): 0-5 (2). 6-20 (3). 21-40 (4). 41-60 (7)

EI a First Run I···. · ·. · · . ·. ·. ·. · · . ·. · · · · · · · · ·. · · . ·. ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..

 Heavy Crossbow [8S] with 20 bolts
Range (TN): ~O (4), 41-120 (5), 121-320 (6),321-480 (9)
Survival Knife [1 Ol]
Armor: Lined Coat [4/2]. real leather painted with a hognose
snake pattern by Red [2/1]
Gear: Survival kit, medicine pouch (non-magical tribal fetishes)

THE OLD ONE

The Old One is a man-of-the-woods, a rare and powerful
forest spirit that has somehow become attached to the physi-
cal plane. He normally appears as a smaller-than-average
human dressed in tribal clothing. He can also appear as a deep
patch of shadow, a walking tree, or a talking woodland animal.
When assensed, the man-of-the-woods appears as a flickering,
shimmering humanoid. More free-willed than the average
nature spirit, these beings can leave their domains but cannot
exercise all of their powers outside their territory.
The man-of-the-woods defies the conventions of magic.
This spirit is not conjured, but appears at its own whim.
Dispelling a man-of-the-woods means removing it from the
physical plane for a number of hours equal to the Force of the
banisher. It then returns, usually angry and looking for revenge.
The motives of a typical man-of-the-woods often seem
alien and incomprehensible to metahumanity, and the Old One
is no exception. The gamemaster decides exactly what the Old
One's motives are (see The Old One, p. 46). The Old One will
not die in combat but will leave for the metaplanes if he takes
too much damage and return later to begin his plotting anew.
He makes an excellent recurring character, turning up in various
forms and with various attitudes to plague the player characters.

B Q. S C W E M R
12 8x 2 9 7 7 7 7/A 7
INIT: 17 + 1D6, Astral 27 + 1D6
Dice Pools: Astral Combat 10, Combat 11
Karma Pool/Professional Rating: 4/3
Attacks: 7S
Powers: Accident (Domain), Concealment (Domain),
Confusion (Domain), Fear (Domain), Immunity (Normal
Weapons), Magical Guard, Materialization, Movement,
Weather Control

KAZTOK Old One, and the lure of being able to play with stuff they could
Kaztok is taller, fatter, and a touch smarter than the aver- never afford, Kaztok gathers more disenfranchised trolls and orks
age troll, which makes him an excellent leader of the newly to his side as the Tooth Warriors. Under his leadership,' the Tooth
formed Tooth Warriors and the perfect patsy for the Old One. Warriors have been waylaying smugglers in the Tooth for a month
He has dreams of power and is therefore easily manipulated. before the player characters and the Pentagon arrive.
Frustrated as smugglers come into the Tooth and leave with
"the good stuff," dissatisfied with what the smugglers leave B Q. S C I W E M It
behind but lacking the courage or willpower to act, he spends 11 (12) 3 9 3 3 5 6 3
most of his time drinking and plotting how he'll knock the INIT: 3 + 106
smugglers down a peg. He finally gets his chance when he Dice Pools: Combat 5
sees an Ares Dragon crash. While scavenging the wreckage, he Karma Pool/Professional Rating: 2/3
comes across the Old One. Race: Troll
The Old One convinces Kaztok that he is under the troll's Active Skills: Edged Weapons 2 (Knife 4), Intimidation 5,
command, giving Kaztok the muscle to overpower and rip off leadership 2, Negotiation 2, Pistols 5, Rifles 5, Unarmed
various smuggling teams. Through intimidation, the power of the Combat 5

............................................................................................................................................................................................................... I First Run I EI~ I

Knowledge Skills: Cascade Mountains Terrain 6, Cascade Ork Crescent Eye
Lore 4, Salish Shidhe Politics 2, Smuggler Trading 3, Crescent Eye is a farmer caught between a rock (the Tooth
Smuggling Routes 2 Warriors) and a hard place (loyalty to the Black Dogs). He doesn't
Weapons: mean to cause trouble, but he is also a man of conscience who
Ares Predator [HP, SA, 9M, 15(c)] opposes Kaztok's plans. •
Range (TN): 0-5 (4), 6-20 (5),21-40 (6), 41-60 (9)
Leadership Staff [II M, Stun, + I reach bonus] B Q S C I W E M R
Survival Knife [II L, + I reach bonus] 5 3 4 2 2 3 6 2
Armor: Lined Coat [4/2] INIT: 2 + 106
Gear: Camouflage clothing under leather coat; carries a Dice Pools: Combat 4
Leadership Staff that looks like part of the rudder from the Karma Pool/Professional Rating: I / I
Ares Dragon's landing gear Race: Ork
Active Skills: Rifles I, Shotguns I, Unarmed Combat I
THE TOOTH WARRIORS Knowledge Skills: Farming 3, Salish Shidhe Politics 2 (Cascade
Politics 4)
B Q S C I W E M R Gear: Leather Jacket [2/ I]
8 (9) 2 7 2 2 2 6 2
INIT: 2 + 106 SHADOWLORE
Dice Pools: Combat 3 Gamemasters can And out more information on smuggling
Karma Pool/Professional Rating: 1/ I and magical threats in various Shadowrun sources.
Race: Troll Cyberpirates (FASA Product #7124) covers the basics of piracy
and smuggling, including examples of how and why smug-
B Q S C W E M R glers operate. Target: Smuggler Havens (#7215) describes
6 3 5 2 2 3 6 2 overland smuggling throughout North America, including the
INIT: 2 + 106 routes taken by the Pentagon; it also contains border-crossing
Dice Pools: Combat 4 encounters for all the North American nations, as well as a
Karma Pool/Professional Rating: I / I detailed description of the smuggling scene in New Orleans.
Race: Ork The Underworld Sourcebook (#7123) features major criminal
Active Skills: Edged Weapons I (Knife 2), (Choose one: organizations in the world of Shadowrun and can help give
Pistols 5, Rifles 5, Shotguns 5, or Unarmed Combat 5) depth to any smuggling operation.
Knowledge Skills: Cascade Mountains Terrain 6, Cascade Ork The Shadowrun Gamemaster Screen (#7002), which
Lore 4 includes the Critters book, is useful for any gamemaster who
Weapons (based on Active Skill): wants to add more creatures and animals to adventures and
Ares Predator [HP, SA, 9M, 15(c)] campaigns. The adventure set Predator and Prey (#7324) takes
Range (TN): 0-5 (4), 6-20 (5). 21-40 (6), 41-60 (9) runners out of the sprawl and pits them against various para-
Remington 750 [Rifle, SA, 75, 5(m) with laser sight] normal animals.
Range (TN): 0-100 (3), 101-250 (4),250-500 (5), For more information on magical threats, as well as rules
501-750 (8) for enchanting and telesma, see the Third Edition sourcebook
DeAance T-250 [Shotgun, SA, 105, 5(m)]. long-barrel version Magic in the Shadows (#7909). Finally, New Seattle (#7216)
Range (TN): 0-10 (4),11-20 (5),21-50 (6),51-100 (9) contains in-depth background on the PaciAc Northwest and its
Survival Knife [9L, + I reach bonus for trolls; 7L for orks] relationship to the Seattle sprawl.
Armor: Real Leather [2/ I]
Gear: Anything required for good storytelling

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