From:	Chris Siebenmann <cks@********.UTCS.TORONTO.EDU>
Subject:	Re: Getting hired, some thoughts:
Date:	Tue, 24 Aug 1993 21:26:49 -0400

| BULL! most johnsons are, and should be, representatives of the
| corporation...they would be experienced in the shadowrunning
| business...

Be that as it may, FASA modules are rife with first-time Johnsons,
including some of the big ones (MARIA MERCURIAL, UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD,
and the new one involving Urban Brawl spring to mind). Non-virgin
Johnsons are nice when you find them, but I wouldn't expect 'em until
you get moderately well established. Almost any Johnson you're supposed
to be sympathetic to will be inexperienced.

| > - If you deal with a fixer, the fixer will have done all the homework
| > first [...]
| yeah right....i make all my players get their own info...the fixer is
| nothing but a go between... [...]

Generally this is 'homework from the Johnson'; a good fixer avoids you
having to pry all those bits and pieces of important information out of
the employer, and will simply cough them up if you have a need to know.
Sometimes they'll verify stuff the Johnson tells them, if it's easy
(making sure that the target really is as unimportant as was claimed,
and so on).

General rule: if the fixer as a cutout isn't doing you any good,
why *are* you letting him skim a percentage off the top of the fee?
Ergo good fixers make it worth it to keep them in the loop, to both
parties.

Corollary: If your fixer doesn't tell you about something, and he's
good, then it's irrelevant for the job -- or at least he thought it was.

| i do use fixers in my game that specialize in certain areas... [...]

Oh, definetly. There are lots of different sorts of fixers (almost as
many as there are different fixers). Someday I may write up my opinions
on the sort of vague different sorts I see out there.

- cks