Mr. Black's Essential Shadowrun Trideography is Live!

Just a small update. Mr. Black has finally posted Mr. Black's Essential Shadowrun Trideography. This page is where you will find movies and TV shows dissected for what they can add to your game. It is not about how good or bad or cyberpunk the show is. It is solely a discussion about memorable characters a GM can drop in, examinations of themes (intended or not), or the feel and look of a scene a GM can use to illustrate a location to his players, or kick-ass quotes to unleash upon them. It is also not definitive, exclusive, or finished. Mr. Black will add to it when he is ready. Mr. Black is also not here to wordfight over: what films/TV shows are in the list; films/TV shows should be in the list; what he thinks about them; or what GM's can take away from them. Mr. Black is willing to listen to suggestions of what to add next; leave your suggestions in the comments. Mr. Black is also willing to discuss the works in general and perhaps what else can be gained by watching them; again, feel free to add to the comments. Did you take away something else entirely from the work? Send it to Mr.Black via e-mail; perhaps he will publish it. Then again, perhaps not; he is old and cranky. Nonetheless, we start with Blade Runner, Burn Notice and Robocop. Yes, the original. What, did you think Mr. Black has time to waste watching trashy unneeded remakes? (And has there been a more criminal use of an up-coming foreign director on his first American film? Mr. Black thinks not.) Now go read up, then re-watch and go stun your players.

Seattle Olympics 2076, Hell on Earth, Part 2, Timeline of Evil

 "You see, Mr. Gittes, most people never have to face the fact that at the right time and right place, they’re capable of anything.” - Noah Cross, Chinatown.

Why Kenneth Brackhaven? He seems like a nice chap. He didn't actually run the Humanis Policub after all. Mr. Black chooses Kennie because he is in power, and because he fits. Let us remember, that as powerful racists come, he is to the purple born. Sort of. His "father", like a true scion of Noah Cross, eliminated his 12-year old son who goblinized as an Ork and replaced him with Kenneth. That's right, good old Charles whacked his flesh and blood and replaced him with an orphaned street urchin, to get the pure-bred child he wanted. When you start from that kind of evil, you have no place to go but up.

So Mr. Black has laid out a scenario for evil in Seattle, disguised by the 2076 Olympics. This time we go more in depth. Once again, let's start simply. Here is a rough timeline for these events:

• 2040's - Brackhaven creates, funds and runs several Citizen's Committees for Security (CCFS), thinly veiled political action groups fronting for the Humanis Policlub.
• 2057 - Kenneth Brackhaven loses his bid for the UCAS Presidential suite. His new plan starts to simmer...
• 2058-2069 - The Road to Purgatory Phase. Brackhaven starts politicizing his money, supporting candidates throughout the Seattle Metroplex government and within Seattle's districts. His support, both covert and overt, of various Policlubs (and through them, terrorist organizations) grows.
• 2064 - Dr. Klaus Uwe Heiden, famed geneticist, winner of Moms of Metahumans' Humane Scientist of the Year award, enters the leadership of Alamos 20,000. Yes, that Alamos 20,000. According to Grima at ShadowSEA, his experiments "Make Josef Mengele look like Albert Schweitzer."
• 2065 - Karl Brackhaven, Kenneth's uncle and head of the Seattle branch of the Humanis Policlub, passes away. Kenneth quietly puts in a proxy leader, one clean enough to keep Kenneth's name out of things. Ties to Alamos 20,000 and the Human Nation terrorist organizations are hidden even deeper.
• 2069 - The Olympic Organizing Committee confirms Seattle for the 2076 Summer Olympic Games.
• 2069 onward - Brackhaven Investments, through many, many shell companies, begins buying official titles throughout Seattle, but focusing on the Redmond Barrens.
• 2069 onward - Totally unrelated, the CCFS's, Humanis, Ministry of Mankind and other policlubs and religious groups trumpet "Jobs for Seattle" campaigns, tying the Olympics with construction and hospitality jobs. Support for the Olympic movement grows.
• 2069 - Crowning the Prince of Darkness Phase. Kenneth Brackhaven joins the Republican party, leaving the Archconservative party. 
• 2070-He defeats UCAS Ellen Danquist in the Republican Primaries for the Seattle Gubernatorial Republican ticket.
• 2070 - Kenneth Brackhaven wins election for Seattle Governor, during a heated election full of dirty tricks and shadowruns.
• 2070 - 
• 2071 - Governor Brackhaven replaces the Director of the Seattle Olympic Organizing Committee (SOOC) with William Roper. Firms throughout Seattle scramble to get on (or stay on) a new "Approved Vendors" list.
• 2071 - The SOOC Director releases amended list of approved firms and construction sites for the Olympics. Additionally, many properties in Redmond are purchased by the Metroplex.
• 2071 - Unemployment drops 2% in Seattle. While many policlubs champion this metric, KSAF and others notice the discrepancies between employment numbers for humans (a huge drop) and those for metahumans and immigrants.
• 2071 - Various shell companies start construction of  "Temporary Citizen Housing" (TCH's) in Snohomish and outer Everett. Additionally, the Metagenics Research Consortium opens a research facility in Snohomish.
• 2071 - Governor Brackhaven announces Redmond Reclamation Project", highlighting upgrades to property and infrastructure, and many jobs the Project will bring to the Metroplex.
• 2072 - Roger Soaring Owl resigns as CEO of Knight Errant.
• 2072 - Governor Brackhaven replaces Lone Star's policing contract and brings in Knight Errant. Bounties on Redmond Ghouls peg out at 500 nuyen.
• 2072 onward - Knight Errant "escorts" Barrens residents to Snohomish TCH's.
• 2072 - Various grass-roots groups protest the TCH's and the transportation of citizens. The Brackhaven administration counters with ads of happy citizens excited about better housing and jobs involving the Olympics.
• 2073 - February 7th - Seattle's annual Night of Rage rally turns violent as unprecedented numbers turn out to protest. 12 people, including a Knight Errant officer are killed, and hundreds hurt as bricks, bottle and tear gas fly.
• 2073 - The Razing of Redmond. 17 People are injured when a building collapses on an Olympic construction site. The SOOC condemns the loss of life, but notes that the original residents had been moved out of the building 34 days before. None of the dead have SINs, and 14 are metahumans. Protests of the "Redmond Reclamation Project" begin in earnest, with picketers at construction sites and outside SOOC headquarters and Seattle city hall. Push back by Humanis and others. KSAF and other news media make note of "Shock Squads" using high-end weaponry against gang members of the Crimson Crush in the Redmond Barrens.
• 2073 - Salish-Shidhe protests incidents with armed teams along northern Seattle border.
• 2074 - Night of Rage II Phase. MoM denounces TCH's "as nothing more than concentration camps..."
• 2074 - February 7th - This year's Night of Rage Remembrance Rally is even more brutal. Knight Errant turns out in force, but 46 are killed when a magician releases several spirits upon the crowd. Both KE and protesters blame the other, but no arrests are made. MoM cautions for peace, but asks why is is no progress on the "Spirit Slaughterer". ORC also asks for calm, but the SOS denounces both KE and the Brackhaven administration. "Spirit Slaughterer" graffiti starts appearing around Seattle.
• 2074 - Construction accidents on Olympics sites grow to Qatar World Cup levels. KSAF and MoM note that immigrant and metahuman workers make up over 70% of all killed, and 65% of wounded, and 85% of all hospitalized. Both call for review of Olympic labor. The Governor responds by implying that both groups lack the education for the jobs they hold, and that is the reason for higher injury/death rates. Various policlubs flood media, accusing KSAF and MoM as unpatriotic and anti-labor.
• 2075 - February 5th - Governor Brackhaven declares martial law for the next 4 days and mobilizes the Metroplex Guard on the night of the 6th. However, the Barrens is left open, and only a coalition of the Crimson Crush, the 162's, and the Rusted Stilettos(!), along with Barrens residents stops the Plastic Gardens from burning down.
• 2075 - The Sons of Sauron torch an Olympic construction site in Redmond Barrens. The Governor, Knight Errant Chief of Station and various civil and political organizations denounce the act as terrorism. Attacks, verbal and physical, on metahumans mount. Governor Brackhaven openly discusses mobilizing the Metroplex Guard to protect construction sites. "The activities of these thugs cannot be tolerated. They seek to besmirch all Seattleites. But we will not bow down. We will not give in to their insidious threats. Rise up Seattle, and show the world what
• 2075 - November 1st - The Desolation Angels engage in strike upon the Frank T. Black TCH. Rumors abound that the TCH has been taken over by insect spirits. 4 days later a Red Cross investigation lodges a protest, as over 40% of the original inhabitants are gone...
• 2075- Now...

Whetted your appetite? In Parts 3 and more, we will discuss how your crew fits into all of this.

10 in Ten - The Olympics Bluebacks Edition

Hershe - "Oh, yeah? A million greenbacks? I got 10 million of them in the next room."

Snake - "Un-uh. Bluebacks."

Hershe - "Oh, come on, Snake."

Snake - "Bluebacks. I swear to God..." - Snake Plissken negotiating with Hershe Las Palmas, Escape from LA

So several members of the ShadowGrid forums have been talking about the upcoming 2076 Seattle Summer Olympics, especially Geekman047. With that in mind, Mr. Black presents the following 10 in Ten - The Olympics Bluebacks Edition. This 10 in Ten is a little looser than normal, more of a primer of ideas as opposed to 10 concrete ideas. Mr. Black will be blogging more about the evil of these Olympics, but thought you GM's could all use something more "generic". And all of these ideas can be used along side the Horror of the 2076 Olympics. So use, abuse, and enjoy. And make sure you get paid in Bluebacks, not that Seattle Olympic Committee Greenback script.

1. Drug testing is always a part of the Olympics. Whether Mr. Johnson wants you to plant a tainted sample (to disqualify another athlete), plant a pure but counterfeit sample (to protect his athlete from being exposed for a drug cheat), or just corrupt/rig the drug testing equipment itself (hack your way in and then do either or both!), you are sure to be handling piss and/or blood this summer. Just be careful who pees in the bottle; for some runners taking drugs is more than a lifestyle-it is a job require. Part of said drug testing is the actual taking of drugs. Whether the Crew gets drugs for his client, or to plant drugs on/in his client's competition is up to you and Mr. Johnson. Actual performance enhancers (like Bliss, Cram, Jazz, Kamikaze, steroids, etc.,) and dubious performance enhancers (like weed, coffee, etc,) are all on the menu. Heck, just spiking an athlete's cola with extra caffeine could be enough get them disqualified. Can the crew smuggle in some Mega-Jolt Super-Caff soda, disguised in Omega Fizz cans? Or alter all the soda dispensers to switch to Mega-Jolt as needed? The last will require work on the dispensers and keeping 24-hour watch on them; a good job for a hacker heavy Crew.
2. Your Crew may be doing so many drug runs that they threaten to quit. "That's 20 runs on the testing facility in 3 days! We need a break!" Which will impact their Street Cred of course. And maybe more. Mr. Johnson, desperate for one more medalist, decides that blackmail/extortion is the way to go. He doesn't care about repercussions, as he will be out of North America in a day or so. And if the Crew decides to hunt him down in whatever piss-hole Eastern European Bloc country/African hell-hole/Middle Eastern waste-war-land he is hiding in, then you just got two Runs for the price of one. And the extra one involves international travel and a whole new hyper-corrupt landscape.
3. Depending on what year it is in your game will dictate the amount of construction that is taking place. The OOC usually nominates the winning city 8 years ahead of time to allow time for planning and financing all that construction. So you can have your Crew do runs involving construction plots from about 2069 onward. Putting pressure on bidding firms to drop out of said bidding (classic extortion/blackmail here, nothing fancy), conducting runs on their construction sites to make them look disreputable (destroying work so it can't be done on time), altering construction materials to make them weaker (Concrete is key here. What do the runners care about how many people die when the building collapses?**), falsifying work documents to show the firm's racial make-up isn't up to snuff to qualify for government work (not enough metahumans for UCAS regulations, or too many metahumans for Kennie's Big Plans), organizing demonstrations outside of current projects to make firms look bad, there is lots of work for Crews. And all these different types of jobs allow work based on the Crew's skills, a big bonus for GM's.
4. Mr. Johnson has a problem. His client never thought he would get the bid for constructing the Paul Schell Badminton Facility*. The client's bid was waaay under the others, and now he is running out of money to continue. So Mr. Johnson wants a simple arson, one that will pass an arson investigation. His client hopes to collect the insurance money and then bow out. You know, if the Runners don't blackmail him first...
5. Just as the 2016 Rio Olympics resulted in a toxic waste site/sailing venue, and the Sydney Olympics before them, the hurried state of construction is sure to do the same in Seattle. And where you find toxic sites, you find toxic spirits, and toxic shamans. And now Mr. Johnson needs you to clear the Harry White Soccer Grounds* of such a shaman. The Grounds are huge, with 3 full-sized pitches being built. The crew is on a clock, as the Seattle Olympic Committee is sending an inspection team to the site to check on the progress. And this all needs to be kept quiet, big explosions and running street fights are out. Publicity of such an event would cost millions...
6. Or maybe the city just gives in. And the Crew gets hired as one of many off-the-book teams to keep an eye out for pissed of toxic spirits. Too bad they got hired to sit on a boat in Lake Washington and patrol the sailboat races. Mr. Black knows he hates facing angry water spirits while sitting in the water. Or worse, they could be watching the rowing events (those little boats splinter quickly, hard to save those folks, and there goes the bonus money!) or kayaking events (pissed off toxic spirits AND white water rafting? Sounds like fun, right?)
7. While the UCAS national team is guaranteed a spot in the Soccer competition, spots on the team have to be earned. Or bought. Mr. Johnson needs the Crew to thin down the competition for his client. This may take several runs, injuring some athletes, buying out others, and smearing the rest (drug use is a good way to go.) The Crew has to be careful, as key players are still needed so that the team doesn't suck. The client is looking for a medal, not just participation. Mr. Johnson is looking at bench players here. But mistakes happen, and they may lead to bitter repercussions...
8. The previous run idea could be applied to any of the lesser team sports (field hockey, volley ball, etc.) However Basketball is big time. While the UCAS team is not what it once was (with the UCAS losing much of it's territory and all) it is still a favorite for a medal. And lots of star power in this sport.So trying to manipulate the roster is going to be "Win Big/Lose Big". Either the players succeed and get a huge payout, or they screw it up and get found out nationally. You can bet the teams of the players they messed over will want revenge, not to mention the very rich players themselves, and possibly the Players Union. Hell, if they hurt the wrong players the Mafia will come after them for screwing up the betting odds...
9. Becoming an officer of the Seattle Olympic Committee is quite the resume-maker. One is sure to get amazing job offers from any of the Big Ten; some will want the ex-officer just for publicity reasons. So getting appointed is quite the hurdle. Thus Mr. Johnson needs to make his client sparkle so that a contender looks dirty. The Crew will need to find some dirt or just plain make some up. If you are running Kennie's Big Plans, just being anti-Humanis may be enough. Unless he needs a "token" on the Committee, that is.
10. Anytime world-class sporting events are held in Western countries, someone is sure to seek asylum. And the Olympics are no exception. Generally the athletes just walk out into the street and ask for it. However this extraction is semi-Hostile; the target wants out but their country is against it, and is providing extra security for it's athletes and staff. Compounding the extraction is Knight Errant's on-site security; they are the security providers for the Seattle Olympics (why do you think the Brackhaven administration choose them? Kennie gets two jobs for the price of one...) And current Olympic security is no joke. The threat of terrorism is higher than ever, making the Olympic Village extremely well-guarded. And the stadiums are no joke either. They are sure to have intrusive searches and sensors at the entrances. Can the crew grab the athlete and get him/her to a UCAS government building all while dodging foreign security teams and Knight Errant? Need to step this up a peg? Make the country Lagos and the athlete a Ghoul to increase the moral dilemmas for your players and Crew.

*All facilities described here are named after Seattle mayors, as found here.
**Causing guilt among your players (after the building they altered concrete collapses, killing hundreds of innocent women and children) is just pure bonus fun! You can decide what to do with the character with the Street Samurai Honor Code....

Seattle Olympics 2076 - Hell on Earth, Part 1

"You tell them I'm coming, and Hell's coming with me, you hear? Hell's coming with me!" - Wyatt Earp, Tombstone.

Looking for a grand theme to hang your campaign on? One that has the feel of those great and terrible revelations from the 1st/2nd Edition days (you know, Universal Brotherhood, Threats, Atzlan blood magic, etc.,) but is up to date, current (2070-ish) and unknown to your players (as long as they aren't reading this!)? Then sit down, grab some soycaf, and prepare to challenge your players. Because the Seattle Olympics are coming to town, and Hell is coming with them.

While Hell is not the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks about the Olympics (bad mascots, rampant bribery, and rampant Jingoism are, however.) But there is something darker at the heart of the 2076 Olympics. Darker than bankrupting Third World countries in the name of social progress and a world stage. Darker than unknowingly taking transgenic drugs falsely prescribed as "vitamin supplements" in the belief they will gain you two-tenths of a second. Darker than "amateur" athletes being genetically modified and abused since they were 3-year-olds.We are talking about human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!

But let's start slow. Facility construction is where this all starts. Depending on what year it is in your game will dictate the amount of construction that is taking place. The OOC usually nominates the winning city 15 years ahead of time to allow time for planning and financing all that construction. And depending on who is your Governor (currently and officially that Arch-Conservative, arch-racist, Kenneth Brackhaven, CEO and COB of Brackhaven Investments) will dictate how much corruption, civil unrest and how dystopian this period goes. In a city like Seattle, there is not a lot of desirable land just sitting around to build stadiums on. So where is all going? Puyallup? Maybe for indoor sports, but all that ash and lava fall won't do it for outdoor endeavors. That leaves us with parts of Tacoma and Renton, Snohomish and the Barrens. Yes, the Barrens. Where else is a cold-hearted slitch like Kennie Brackhaven going to steal enough land to build on, all while skimming millions off the top? And you know that bastinge is doing just that, all behind a tightly woven web of shell companies. Heck, he probably decided to run for Governor to help with all that land he bought on the DL, and no one is the wiser. And no one votes in the Barrens. Heck they ain't even citizens! This will make the displacement of all those undesirables so much easier politically, and make the Razing of Chavez Ravine look like a cake walk.

Is that KSAF down on the right?

Or not. Depending on the GM's needs, those SINless hordes may go quietly to "temporary internment camps", or they may rise up and fight. It will start with simple unrest, become demonstrations against construction sites, and then riots when the displacement teams come to usher the soon-to-be homeless out. It can then grow to full-blown insurrection. Which was probably Kennie's evil plan all along. Buy the land through proxies using his company's money. Work with Uncle Karl (Kennie's Uncle Karl Brackhaven is the head of the Seattle branch of Humanis. See where this is going?) to promote a "Jobs for Seattleites" political campaign to get the Humans on board. Sell said land to Seattle, guided by his political muscle and title. Throw the SINless (and non-human) off that land and into concentration camps. When said less-than-humans fight back, use it to show how inhuman, uncivilized and dangerous they are, allowing Kennie to throw even more into concentration camps, all against the backdrop of "Saving the Olympics" from the barbarians. And skim lots of money from building permits, construction bids, and every other kind of dirty financial trick he can. Cause someone has to live rich and fund Humanis.

The Seattle Metroplex Guard escort former Barrens inhabitants to "Temporary Housing Facilities"

Whether this is all Battle of Chavez Ravine levels, Rodney King riots level, or Warsaw vs the Nazis level of all-out genocidal racial war, is all up to the GM and how bad/dystopian he wants it to be. And this can be very, very dark. Kicked out of your home, forced into a concentration camp, but taking the only job you can find, 16 hours-a-day of hard, physical construction work in the "company store" building structures you will never be allowed to see, let alone allowed to enter, sorts of dark. This can be "build the death camps you are sentenced to" kind of dark. And only the Crew stands between Brackhaven and the Seattle Olympic Holocaust. Can the Crew expose Kennie's web of lies? Can they break the silence and drag Kennie, Brackhaven Investments, and good old Uncle Karl into the gutter, where they belong? And do it while dodging ghoul hunting packs, angry street riots, volatile gangs, Humanis goon squads, Seattle Metroplex Guard peacekeepers/riot breakers, and Kennie's shadowy hit squads? Good luck, chummer, good luck.