[Shadowrun] Vamp-Hunter Campaign Input Needed

Szechuan · Post by **Szechuan** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 1:17 am

This summer I'm planning on getting the group together and doing a street-level (90 points or around 300 BeCKS karma, whatever works out best) SR campaign.

The idea is that, after several runs to get the players and characters situated, their group stumbles onto a small gang of Vampire Pawns or a minor underling. Depending on their course of action and said Vamp's involvement in their run, they could very well get dragged into a sort of survival-oriented vamp-hunting campaign.
I kind of envision it as a group of young gangers of above average capabilities being pitted against foes that far better equipped, but perhaps underestimating them a bit. They'd need skill, legwork, and a lot of luck to get out alive. Until it got resolved, they'd be like their own Johnsons; making hits against the Vamp's holdings in an attempt to find out where he is or steal his resources.
Assuming they make it through this, they'd likely attract the attention of several prospective employers, make a few enemies, and score a lot of smuggled goods and bits of obscure 6th-world Arcana.
I don't plan on railroading them, and am likely to fill them in OOC a little bit to see if they're interested before the plot-type stuff starts.

Does the idea sound at all feasible, or am I trying something really far-fetched? Comments, questions, observations, criticisms, cynicisms, queries and inquiries welcome!

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 1:27 am

Take it slow, play up on the vamps subtly. Also, be aware of how capable the group is agaisnt creatures that regenerate.

Szechuan · Post by **Szechuan** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 1:56 am

I'm aware of just how dangerous regenerating critters are. As far as the Vamps go, there will be clues. If the runners sneak into their target, or hurt them badly enough, they may catch clues as to the nature of their opponents.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 2:15 am

Regeneration can make for some interesting descriptions of combat (much better than "You attack him with the axe. Roll dice. It hits. Brandy, you're next.")

Szechuan · Post by **Szechuan** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 2:24 am

*nod*

Some of the Players have run into Vamps before. It'd be neat to have them not be able to put one down until they fluke-shot them in the head or something. Hopefully they'll be able to roleplay it all well enough.

Cash · Post by **Cash** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 9:26 am

What's their motivation for going up against vamps?

DV8 · Post by **DV8** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 9:29 am

Lost Boys 2060!

Jestyr · Post by **Jestyr** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 10:10 am

Cash is right; really, they've got to have a reason. Otherwise it's "Dude, going up against vampires? Screw that, I'm off to mug little old ladies again."

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 10:58 am

I can see that, although it can be more than that, of course.

Lets see options:

1. "Rich Stuff"-to quote the goonies, the vamps have something valueable and the PCs know it. And at least think they can do something with it.

2."I hate these undead creeps." The just can't let something this evil and hideous live.

3."You dissed my bitch." Now die. disrespect is a big thing in Gang Circles.

4. "This is our turf." No suckface will be allowed.

Start out slow. A Vampire wouldn't need to reveal himself quickly in a large city-his pawns could do the work. Savor that first meeting, keep the number slow. One really nasty Vamp is way cooler than thirty fuckboys.

Hope this helps.

DV8 · Post by **DV8** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 10:59 am

And please let it be more than the stereotypical "we have to protect our turf"/"we're too hardcore for that vampire" deal.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 11:04 am

Well I tried to keep it basic, so it was malleable, but yeah thats like every John Carpenter movie ever made.

Anguirel · Post by **Anguirel** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 5:16 pm

Also keep in mind that SR vampires aren't inherently evil. They're people with a disease.

There was also a reasonably good thread on DSF that you might want to look at.

FlakJacket · Post by **FlakJacket** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 9:42 pm

Anguirel wrote:Also keep in mind that SR vampires aren't inherently evil. They're people with a disease.

Testify to that. One group I gamed with we had a semi-regular contact that was a vampire who was cleaning out part of some shite-hole neighbourhood. Gangers? Lunch. Chip dealers? Tea. Pimps? Light evening snack. Neighbourhood aside, he only fed off of people whom he considered to be 'bad guys'. Yeah he might have been a 'blood sucker', but you couldn't get anybody in that neighbourhood to say a bad thing about the bloke.

Szechuan · Post by **Szechuan** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 9:59 pm

Cash wrote:What's their motivation for going up against vamps?

I'm still working out the details on this. I'm fully aware that smart characters would try to give me the double-deuce and, as Jestyr put it, go back to mugging old ladies. As such, I'm looking at a combination of the four ideas Paul gave me. I'm thinking that at first they either happen to piss off the vampire indirectly or his Pawns start moving in on their turf.

It'd evolve kind of like a cat and mouse game with them constantly being harried by this guy's underlings while on runs and during downtime, and them hitting the Vamp's holdings in turn. Perhaps a Johnson with similar interests will start feeding them information to get free assistance in dealing with his enemy.
Basically they'd be so pissed off at the fucker that by the time they find out he's a vamp, they're happy to do the extra work it takes to off him permanently.

FlakJacket · Post by **FlakJacket** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 10:47 pm

Szechuan wrote:It'd evolve kind of like a cat and mouse game with them constantly being harried by this guy's underlings while on runs and during downtime, and them hitting the Vamp's holdings in turn.

Question. Why is the vampire so mad at them? If he's going to expend the resources to mess with them all over the place, why not go the easy route and just off them?

Basically they'd be so pissed off at the fucker that by the time they find out he's a vamp, they're happy to do the extra work it takes to off him permanently.

Or maybe they see how much he's managed to do them over and say screw this, we're cutting our losses. But that's more a RL attitude than an RPG one.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Fri Apr 25, 2003 12:11 am

Good questions Flak.

I agree wholeheartedly-in my own game Vampires are much rarer than in traditional SR, and pretty much inherently evil-I subscribe to the cool parts of White Wolf games for background. I know I suck. Running into an actual Vampire is bad news. Very bad news.

Most of the Vampires in my game make exstensive use of pawns and underlings, not all of them are aware of who they work for. Thats not to say you won't ever encounter them, just that people who tend to live hundreds of years take the long view on things.

Szechuan · Post by **Szechuan** » Fri Apr 25, 2003 3:21 am

Flak, I already answered your first question.

The players' decisions are something I can't count on so I'm not going to throw my eggs in one basket, but I think I can come up with a decent enough setup. They're a fairly resourceful group, too, so I hink they'd be able to find some interesting ways to get back at this guy.

lordhellion · Post by **lordhellion** » Fri Apr 25, 2003 5:46 am

Here's what I'd do:

Your vamp is part of the "Vampire Conspiracy" from the Threats book. He's been hassling people in this scumbag of a neighborhood because he's harvesting test subjects for HMHVV altering studies. Of course, no one's going to miss a low-life street folk, and in a bad enough neighborhood Lone Star could care less.

The intro can start off simple enough--the group sees a bunch of toughs (the pawns) trying to haul a person or two kicking and screaming into an unmarked van or abandoned basement or whatever works. Ganger ego if enough to make the players interfere (yes, the "This is our turf" scenario, but at this point they think it's another gang, not vampiric minions).

Paint out some intruigue, leave clues, force some detective work. Make the players work to find out what they're up against. The first scuffle shouldn't give away anything more obvious than the pawns had an edge and, probably, could have wiped the floor with the players if they hadn't fled. Don't do anything that can't be explained by cyberware or maybe a nifty spell. Let the players wade into this plot slowly, so that they're in over their head before they realize what's going on.

Anguirel · Post by **Anguirel** » Fri Apr 25, 2003 6:06 am

... Then turn them all into Vampires and make their next characters next of kin and they have to hunt their old characters.

lordhellion · Post by **lordhellion** » Fri Apr 25, 2003 6:14 am

...OR pretend we can GM like adults and interweave in other characters who are caught in the middle of the vampires plans, whether aware of it or not--the crazed irrational vampire hunter who can help the players if they can tolerate him, the city politician who is inadvertantly running a campaign off the dollar of a lobbyist working for the vampire in hopes of political favors down the road, the middle-aged disgruntled daughter of the vampire that was concieved before infection, etc.

Szechuan · Post by **Szechuan** » Sat Apr 26, 2003 8:27 pm

Great minds think alike, hellion. You've basically fleshed out the idea I had in my head.

Where've you been anyway?