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Message no. 1
From: Thomas Schreiner <schreini@**.FH-AUGSBURG.DE>
Subject: What is a Contact?
Date: Sat, 2 Sep 1995 23:56:00 +0200
What is a Contact?

Is he/she only a Phonenumber which a player could call to get some
information/gear and to pay him/her? Or is he/she a friend of the
runner? Do they know each other and go together to bars and partys?
What sort of friend-/relationship is between them?

Thanks in advance

-----------///------------------------------------------------------
/// Email: Schreini@**********.Fh-Augsburg.de
---------///--------------------------------------------------------
\\\/// Use your Brain
------\XX/----------------------------------------- Clawfinger -----
Message no. 2
From: "S.F. Eley" <gt6877c@*****.GATECH.EDU>
Subject: Re: What is a Contact?
Date: Sat, 2 Sep 1995 18:24:53 -0400
> What is a Contact?
>
> Is he/she only a Phonenumber which a player could call to get some
> information/gear and to pay him/her? Or is he/she a friend of the
> runner? Do they know each other and go together to bars and partys?

Yes. >8->


> What sort of friend-/relationship is between them?

It really depends.. Sometimes it's a friend, sometimes it's someone who
owes the runner a favor (or vice versa), sometimes it's a paid associate.
Could be almost anything -- whatever makes sense to those particular
individuals. The only game-mechanic limitation is that a contact won't
(usually) stick his/her neck out for the runner. That's a buddy.


Blessings,

_TNX._

--
Stephen F. Eley (-) gt6877c@*****.gatech.edu )-( Student Pagan Community
http://wc62.residence.gatech.edu| "I wish those who unsettle you
My opinions are my opinions. | would mutilate themselves!"
Please don't blame anyone else. | - Galatians 5:12, RSV
Message no. 3
From: Christopher Maley <cmaley@******.LINFIELD.EDU>
Subject: Re: What is a Contact?
Date: Sat, 2 Sep 1995 17:50:03 -0700
On Sat, 2 Sep 1995, Thomas Schreiner wrote:

> What is a Contact?
>
> Is he/she only a Phonenumber which a player could call to get some
> information/gear and to pay him/her? Or is he/she a friend of the
> runner? Do they know each other and go together to bars and partys?
> What sort of friend-/relationship is between them?
>
> Thanks in advance
>
> -----------///------------------------------------------------------
> /// Email: Schreini@**********.Fh-Augsburg.de
> ---------///--------------------------------------------------------
> \\\/// Use your Brain
> ------\XX/----------------------------------------- Clawfinger -----
>
I think that depends on you. Although in the books a contact does
not cost as much as a follower or a gang member, which might imply a
weaker relationship, I think that the contact concept is meant as a
vehicle to include not only buisness contacts, but also ex-spouses,
ex-roomates, etc. In the shadowrun novels when a main character like Dirk
Montgomery, or Sam Werner meet an ex-girlfriend it would count as a
contact, not a follower or a gang member. In your campaign its up to you
to decide how much of a role a contact plays, and how much of a
personality a contact has. In my campaign whenever a player has a
contact I have them give their contact a name, a corp (if applicable),
and some of the personality they want their contact to display. Like I
said before, I think it's entirely up to you.

-C.M.

"Let me write the songs of a nation, and I care not who writes
its laws."
-Plato
Message no. 4
From: Jason Ustica <usticaj@****.COM>
Subject: Re: What is a Contact?
Date: Sun, 3 Sep 1995 01:09:38 -0700
On Sat, 2 Sep 1995, Christopher Maley wrote:

> On Sat, 2 Sep 1995, Thomas Schreiner wrote:
>
> > What is a Contact?
>
> not cost as much as a follower or a gang member, which might imply a
> weaker relationship, I think that the contact concept is meant as a
> vehicle to include not only buisness contacts, but also ex-spouses,
> ex-roomates, etc.

Also, don't be afraid (if you're the GM) to yank a runners contact. I
once had a runner who had a Lone Star cop as a contact. I needed some
info about a Lone Star detective, so I naturally I called him up and we
arranged a meet. Unfortunately, the day before, our party had gotten a
little... how should I say it... out of hand with some major firepower,
and needless to say a significant number of innocent bystanders got
wasted. So anyway, I go and meet my LS cop contact at a small resturant.
We talk, I get the info I needed, and in turn he asks me about the
incident I was involved in the day before. I tell him about it (stupidly
thinking he was going to put our aqquaintence before his job), then I say
good bye and get up to leave. As I approach the front door, I notice
through the window a Lone Star APC parked outside with it's complement
of SWAT team members pouring out and surrounding the building. I turn
around to see my contact informing me I have the right to remain silent,
blah blah blah, and to lay down on the ground. I was pretty pissed, so I
killed the contact for being a jerk, and, though it wasn't easy ,believe
me, I escaped capture from the SWAT team.

Basically, if the runners do something stupid with a contact to the point
that the contact wouldn't want to help the runner any more, don't be
afraid to yank it. In the end I wasn't mad my cop contact tried to arrest
me, he had the perfect chance to advance his career by apprehending a
vicious murderer. Of course, I wasn't going to let him get away with it,
hence the reason I wasted him.

I think the moral of the story is that contacts are just that: contacts.
They aren't friends, they are aqquaintences. Like an old high school
chum, or someone you used to work with, or even, for lack of a better
example, the members of this mailing list. I don't know anything about
you people, yet we still interact every day. If I saw, perhaps in your
sig, that you worked for a certain company, I could possibly write to you
and ask you a little inside info on it. Of course a little cash would
butter you up, but if the info I wanted was too sensitive, you would tell
me either to take a hike, or to give you a whole bunch more money. That's
how I imagine contacts would worl in the SR context.

Hope my explanation and example helps more than confuses. :)
--
Jason Ustica * Coming to you from Lancaster,CA * Email: usticaj@****.com
Message no. 5
From: Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject: Re: What is a Contact?
Date: Sun, 3 Sep 1995 10:27:05 +0200
> Is he/she only a Phonenumber which a player could call to get some
>information/gear and to pay him/her? Or is he/she a friend of the
>runner? Do they know each other and go together to bars and partys?
>What sort of friend-/relationship is between them?

Not quite a friend; I'd define it more like "someone you know." Maybe you
see them in bars and they would recognize you, say "hi" and everything, but
not much more. Then if you need something you go pay them a visit, and if
they need something, they'll pay you a visit (that reminds me: do people use
that a lot? Contacts coming to the PCs and say "Hey, I need you to do this
and that"? I know it doesn't happen very often in my game.)

> \\\/// Use your Brain

Don't you mean "Tell me the truth <dirty word :>"? :)

--
Gurth@******.nl - Gurth@***.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Rechter: "Waarom verbouwde u nederwiet in uw kassen?"
Man: "Probeert u maar eens komkommers te verkopen aan een coffee shop."
-> Unofficial Shadowrun Guru & NERPS Project Leader <-
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Message no. 6
From: "Sgt. Pepper" <GRBENNET@*****.CIS.ECU.EDU>
Subject: Re: What is a Contact?
Date: Sun, 3 Sep 1995 04:50:58 EDT
On Sun, 3 Sep 1995 10:27:05 +0200 Gurth said:

>
>Not quite a friend; I'd define it more like "someone you know." Maybe you
>see them in bars and they would recognize you, say "hi" and everything, but
>not much more. Then if you need something you go pay them a visit, and if
>they need something, they'll pay you a visit (that reminds me: do people use
>that a lot? Contacts coming to the PCs and say "Hey, I need you to do this
>and that"? I know it doesn't happen very often in my game.)
>
>
I've always seens contacts as someone you go to for "small" favors.
Someone who might know a certain piece of info, can get you a coupla guns,
will find out something for you. A contact will not stick their necks out
for you, unless you pay them, in which case they become employees 8-)

Sgt. Pepper

"I MAY BE SANE BUT I'M CRAZIER THAN YOU" O O
NOSALGIA ISN'T WHAT IT USED TO BE. ^
SOMEONE WHO THINKS LOGICALLY IS A NICE _____/
CONTRAST TO THE REAL WORLD.
THERE IS ALWAYS ONE MORE IMBECILE THAN YOU COUNTED ON.
IF YOU CAN SMILE WHEN THINGS GO WRONG, YOU HAVE SOMEONE IN
MIND TO BLAME.
COMMON SENSE REALLY AIN'T ALL THAT COMMON.

GeekCodev2.1

GM/ED d--(++) H+ s+: g+ p? au+ a26 w+ v-(*) c+ u- P? !L !3 E? !N k- w+
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Message no. 7
From: Paul Jonathan Adam <Paul@********.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject: Re: What is a Contact?
Date: Sun, 3 Sep 1995 12:56:42 GMT
> What is a Contact?
> Is he/she only a Phonenumber which a player could call to get some
> information/gear and to pay him/her? Or is he/she a friend of the
> runner? Do they know each other and go together to bars and partys?
> What sort of friend-/relationship is between them?
> Thanks in advance

A contact you acquire in character generation, in my game, is someone
rather above "acquaintance". Someone who owes you a few favours, or who
knew you in a bad spot a while ago: Lynch's police contact is an old
Desert Wars buddy.

What does that mean? It means the guy will cut Lynch a small amount of
slack... once, Lynch called him and heard "No, sir, I'm not available for
that duty. There's a criminal called Lynch at large, and a major manhunt
is underway." He won't help his friend: he won't betray his job. What he will
do is give an old friend a warning, then do his job.

Likewise, Lynch has a duty not to ask for too much from his friend. Occasional
requests for info - "Can you check on this vehicle for me?" are OK. But if
the owner of that vehicle dies messily two days later, that counts as a
betrayal.

And, sometimes, Lynch has been asked for things: "This guy works for Yamaetsu
and he's dealing BTLs. We don't have jurisdiction. Can you... do something
about it?" This comes under the heading of Lynch doing *his* job...

It's basically up to the GM as to what constitutes a "contact": just make
sure your players are aware of your ruling. For instance, when Lynch did
DNA-DOA, he was the first rescuer Dr Owens saw: she considered he saved her
life. The GM ruled that made her a "contact-plus" who would take more risks
and do more to help Lynch than most.

After several runs for a local oyabun, where Lynch impressed with his ability
and (surprisingly) his social skills, he gained that oyabun as a contact.
He has access to information that others do not... for a price. The point of
having that contact is that otherwise he couldn't even negotiate the price of
that information: but Sugai will sometimes contact Lynch, to inform him that
he has data on a certain matter available. The price can be high, though,
if rarely financial.

Main point of all this rambling: contacts are people too and have their own
motivations. They aren't puppets for the PCs: and sometimes it's a two-way
street, because *you* are a contact for that person and maybe they need a
favour.

--
"When you have shot and killed a man, you have defined your attitude towards
him. You have offered a definite answer to a definite problem. For better
or for worse, you have acted decisively.
In fact, the next move is up to him." <R.A. Lafferty>

Paul J. Adam paul@********.demon.co.uk
Message no. 8
From: Allen Versfeld <aversfel@****.CS.UNP.AC.ZA>
Subject: Re: What is a Contact?
Date: Mon, 4 Sep 1995 10:12:54 +0200
On Sat, 2 Sep 1995, Thomas Schreiner wrote:

> What is a Contact?
>
> Is he/she only a Phonenumber which a player could call to get some
> information/gear and to pay him/her? Or is he/she a friend of the
> runner? Do they know each other and go together to bars and partys?
> What sort of friend-/relationship is between them?
>
> Thanks in advance
>
If you read the SRII chapter on contacts (I think it is called contacts -
pretty sure in fact), they have quite a good explanation.
basically, a contact is somebody with whom you have worked before. you
know each other, and you trust each othr - to a point. generally, the
idea is that you don't ask too much, and you can rely on them. put them
in danger, though...

---------------------------
"any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"
- Clarke
"any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology"
- Murphy
"any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged
demo" - Old Programmer Saying
aversfel@****.cs.unp.ac.za
homepage opening soon

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Message no. 9
From: Marc A Renouf <jormung@*****.UMICH.EDU>
Subject: Re: What is a Contact?
Date: Tue, 5 Sep 1995 12:46:11 -0400
Quite a few people have put up some really good thoughts on just
what makes a contact. I'd just like to add some food-for-thought.
Consider the following:
Your contact doesn't need to like you. Your contact can, in fact,
hate your guts. But maybe you have something to hold over them.
Blackmail photos, evidence of embezzlement, or some such.
As a GM, it is my job to make things interesting for the
players. Contacts are the perfect opportunity to flesh out your campaign
world. They are people and as such they have their own motives, methods,
prejudices, beliefs, and fears. GM's should think about *how* the player
knows the contact. Why does Jaques Egnard, maitre d' of the chiquest
club in town give info to Leonard Dubrovnik, samurai scumbag from the bad
half of the Redmond Barrens? Why would Jaques tell Lenny what the movers
and shakers talked about while dining? Perhaps it is not friendship at
all. Perhaps Jaques Egnard was Harold Calloway in his earlier years, a
fact that Leonard (who went to the same elementary school) remembers very
well. A word dropped to certain members of the press...scandalous!
The nature of how the character knows the contact shapes the
interactions between them. As a GM, contacts are your chance to let your
theatrical creativity go gonzo.
Almost as important as who the contact *is* is what the contact
*knows*. For this one, all I can say is "use your head." Gang members
are going to know next to nil about the intricacies of multinational
banking and finance and who's conducting hostile takeovers of whom.
Likewise, bankers probably won't be able to tell you who's in control of
the Blue Devils right now and what that means to the local BTL traffic.
And probably niether of them will be able to tell you why the operating
parameters of this Sleaze VI are different from the norm. Likewise,
don't be afraid to have contacts get pissed-off at PC's for asking stupid
questions. Once the players figure out that certain contacts have
certain areas of expertise, they will cease in that annoying habit of
calling everyone they know every time they need a single piece of
information.
More rant later once I have some time to collect my thoughts...

Marc

Further Reading

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