| From: | TopCat <topcat@******.net> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Killing in Shadowrun... |
| Date: | Wed, 22 May 1996 17:49:47 -0500 |
>lost, not earning a return or paid as dividends. Efficiency pays off. A
>company that doesn't do this makes more profit than one who does: for
>every newyen silted away to boost security or earn extra money, there
>will be dozens gone into personal accounts, "travel expenses",
>"miscellaneous disbursements"...
This is where we differ and greatly so. Money that doesn't pay directly to
the corp immediately is not necessarily money lost. Money spent on a team
to kill a runner team will pay off in the long run by making it more
expensive to your rivals to hire runners to hit you. In the Aztlan
sourcebook (and I'm sure that Corp Shadowfiles has this too) they mention
such practices, but on a different scale. Aztechnology, when it wished to
buy a corp, began a process that cost them 200 million nuyen without
immediate return before they actually got the corp. Years later, corps fear
being beaten to death in the market like that corp was and they fold much
easier when Aztechnology comes knocking. That 200 million "lost" has paid
off in the long run in big ways.
Corps, even today, drop hundreds of thousands (millions aren't uncommon)
into things that won't ever pay off in a direct manner. Like vacation time
for employees, retirement accounts, travel expenses, security, and dozens of
other things. They do pay off, just not in a direct "cash in my hands now"
kind of way.
>>Is it worth it to publicize the fact that your rival corp got infiltrated?
>>You betcha. An anonymous phone call can cost your rival a huge amount of
>>money and most likely get you some in the deal. So not only did you nail
>>them with the run, but you also nailed them with bad publicity.
>All depends. "We leaked a story about the "theft" of a key project a
>while ago. Played the bear market on the shares, sold long when they
>dropped and made a *fortune*, but it was justified under "security
>considerations" - because the stock recovered when we proved the story
>false. Of course we warned our major investors. The small guys? Too bad,
>them's the breaks."
"Then why is your former top researcher known to be working for the other
corp now? That was the story that was 'leaked'. You're saying it isn't
true? Oh, you've decided to change your mind now? The employee just left,
huh? And you let him? Ok, yep, gotcha. I'll get right on publicizing that..."
Next day in the paper: Researcher switches corps, former corp tries to
cover up it's loss by saying it didn't happen and that they had fabricated
the whole thing, then that it did, but that the guy left on his own and they
let him. Meanwhile the new employer just shakes his head and pities the
incompetence of the other corp. From the researcher himself: "Working for
them was sheer hell, I never got to do all that I could, but with this corp
my abilities are shining and great new things are sure to come. I mean,
just look at how they're handling this, they're totally incompetent". I can
hear the sound of falling market value from way over here.
>What if I plant evidence, a few days after the run, that a rival runner
>did my hit? I might even get paid twice: once for the job, again to take
>the patsy out :) The corporation doesn't get vengeance, the runners who
>actually did the job are still free, and you just made a set of enemies.
And so did you, the patsy's friends will remember that your actions led to
his death. You did cover your tracks with the corp though (assuming that
you did so well enough that they can't figure it out, which is assuming a
lot). If you didn't cover them well enough, then you're back to square one.
>Miss, hit the wrong person, or get team-members captured, and you have a
>lot of explaining to do. Why are your heavily-armed soldiers in the UCAS
>without permission? "Corporate death squads roam city!" bellow the
>screamsheets. Yes, it happens all the time, but nobody gets proof.
Are my heavily armed soldiers connected in any way to my corp? No. Do they
fly the corporate colors and sing the company song as they shoot the town to
pieces? No. Corps are not that stupid.
>And if your target escapes the first attempt - as PC runners are prone
>to do - then you may run into *big* problems. Terrorism is relatively
>easy when you're a runner. The corp has an airline? A few fully-loaded
>929s crash, and a terrorist claims responsibility. There goes that
>airline's profitability, here come some massive lawsuits from the
>famililes of the dead.
Once again, thing shave changed in 2057. It isn't as easy to sneak a bomb
aboard a plane now, nor is it easy to sabotage a plane. Chem-sniffers and
scanners of all sorts from cyberware to magical handle former threats like
bombs and terrorism much easier than we can today. Good luck trying to
break through THAT security to get a job done.
>>Is it worth it to let this be known? It could be worth it to let the media
>>know that a prominent scientist was kidnapped from your facility and has
>>been spotted working in your rivals facility. May not have to lift a finger
>>after that, the authorities can handle it from there. It could be worth it
>>to make it known in some circles that the team that did the run was
>>eliminated, whether to scare off potential attacks or to build confidence
>>within the corp. It could be worth it to keep everything dead quiet, but
>>that's nearly impossible.
>Why would "the authorities" do anything? "The authorities" for
that
>jurisdiction are the people who paid to "renegotiate his contract of
>employment". The runners are in an area outside your control and all you
>can do is issue a request for their extradition, which will be used to
>trade for any outstanding warrants for your people.
Runner commits crime in Arcology (somehow he managed). He escapes to UCAS
territory. Corp asks UCAS for the criminal. UCAS says we can't find him.
Corp puts a bounty on the runner's head. Within two weeks he is dumped on
the corp's doorstep. Bounty paid, problem solved.
>>Corps need to be played like they are in 2057, not like they are in USA
>>1996. Many of the old restrictions are gone and that should be remembered.
>>The world has changed greatly, there's been plagues and wars like we've
>>never seen in our lives. Things have changed and the people changed with
them.
>Some corps do this... It makes it more expensive to run against them. It
>means there's a cachet to having done so and survived: it's a fast
>ticket to reputatiton. The hottest youngsters want to play on
>Aztechnology's lawn :) That can be a problem. You evolve runners fast,
>and you are dealing with those who have talent, little to lose, no
>reason for any restraint, and a loose grasp on reality. Pretty
>dangerous.
Reputation can and will get you dead. Either by you slipping up and
bragging or by the gunslinger mentality runner who says he's hotter drek
than you are and he wants to prove it. If the runner has that loose of a
grip on reality, then he won't live to see his second run.
>Other corporations keep their security inside the fence. It's very hard
>to carry out a run against them, and they go all-out to stop you.
>Succeed and get away, and unless you were careless, brutal or messy, you
>walk. This time. No wasted effort hunting down shadow assets: you even
>employ them, so you can build a file on them, so if you *do* need to
>reel them in you can do so. But because, for the same amout of money,
>you have more men manning the walls, the runners get in less often.
>*That* is the aim of security.
All corps keep security of that level (usually more than enough) inside
their fences. The one's who go the extra yard do so both inside and out.
As I mentioned before, corps seem pretty incompetent in your game.
>[snipped "You kill runners so I won't work for you because I'm afraid
you'll kill me"]
Only if they're working for the other guy do they worry about you killing
them. If they work for you, they know that you treat your people well and
pay well and they won't have a worry in their mind.
-------------------------------------
"I was thinking of the immortal words
of Socrates, who said: I drank what?"
-- Real Genius
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TopCat at the bottom...
