Infiltrate the facility

[Erkenfresh]

Hey guys. I've got a neat little adventure planned for my players starting this week in the Terran Empires setting. The players are pirates, but not totally bad people, just a little trigger happy that's all. ;)

The players will be hired by Draconis Defenseworks to steal a weapon prototype from a rival company. I think the reward will be tempting enough for them to accept but if they don't I'll just have to save this one for another time, no biggie. The prototype is being created in a secure facility on some planet I haven't picked out yet.

This could draw out to a simple blast all the security guards and get the prototype out but I'd prefer a more subtle approach. I'm thinking of fleshing out more on who works there and their motives, maybe some who are disgruntled with their employment.

Anyway, if you're bored and think you might have some neat ideas I could use, post a reply. I'll be thinking about this a lot more today. ;)

[CBikle]

Depends on how much you want to complicate things, but here's a thought:

A far more ruthless gang of pirates/terrorists also attack the facility with the intent of stealing the same device (or possibly a different and far more dangerous weapon). You know the PCs better than I do, but this might force them into a situation where they have to protect the personnel (and their families ?), from the evil pirates.

If you want to complicate matters still, the weapon could in fact be a killer robot or bio-engineered lifeform that escapes (ideally due to actions caused by the evil pirates) and starts to go on a killing spree.

[Erkenfresh]

I think I intend the weapon to be just a simple laser cannon that's slightly better than the Mark XX laser with some prototypy limitations, most notably a 8- Burnout roll. That way if they decide to keep it, they might only get one or two shots per adventure before having to pay through the nose or spend time to figure out how to fix it.

Gerotech Prototype Laser: Multipower, 454-point reserve, (454 Active Points); all slots Activation Roll 8-, Burnout (-1 1/2), OIF Bulky (-1), Real Weapon (-1/4), Extra Time (Delayed Phase, -1/4)6u 1)
Near-Target Beam Mode: Killing Attack - Ranged 11d6, Armor Piercing x1 (+1/2) (247 Active Points)25
etc. etc.

I really like your idea of a rival band of pirates trying to take it. It's a good way to force the players to decide what side they are on. They've already antagonized an organization of bounty hunters, so they could play the "bad guys".

[BobGreenwade]

Rather than Erkenfresh's laser, maybe you could make it a Pulson weapon instead (see G&G). :)

And "third parties" always make for good plot complications. Between the SH book and various issues of Digital Hero you should be able to find plenty.

You could even bring in an appearance of Khanal Tsamliew (DH21) for a really nasty interrogation sequence.

[BigJackBrass]

Perhaps a classic double-cross: The characters are hired to run a security test for Draconis by stealing a dummy prototype from their own facility. Naturally, this will discourage PCs from inflicting lethal damage (I hope!) The patron turns out to be representing a different corporation, the weapon is not a dummy and Draconis is the unwitting target (so their security people will use lethal force if necessary.)

Or perhaps there are factions within Draconis and the characters really are working for the company they think they're working for, it's just not such a simple situation as they believed.

[Erkenfresh]

That's a cool idea too. But, the party may have a hard time believing that a legit company would hire a bunch of criminals to perform a security test. Perhaps if they were someone else, it'd be more plausible.

[The Monster]

Perhaps a rival gang of pirates has set up the players? They got word of the target, arranged for the players to be hired for the job (or hired them themselves), then tipped off the lab that an attack was coming.
Then they hang around, and when the fight gets really intense, the rival gang waltzes in the back way (the one they didn't tell the players about) and makes off with the goods. At least that's their plan...

Another option: there's an inside man, who's willing to help but insists that the players take him along when they leave. Maybe he's got his whole family hiding in the closet, so that they can be brought out of the clutches of the "evil" lab agency. Of course, he's the one who designed the thing, and in its current damaged/unassembled state, it will never work.
Of course, he could be a plant, too, and act as a beacon for security forces.

There may not be a weapon - it's a false lead, maybe planted by the "target" to incriminate Draconis as a legal and/or PR ploy.


...or have I GMed too much Shadowrun?

[bigdamnhero]

Are you looking for ways to encourage your trigger-happy players into developing a more subtle approach? If that's the case, one possibility is to simply take their guns away from them: planetary authorities use very sophisticated weapons scanners, and they can't leave the ship unless they leave their guns behind. Or go the other direction, where you set up the facility's security force as being so overwhelming that it would be blatantly suicidal to try anything overt. No obvious flaws in the security system, no unlocked backdoors, etc. If this goes against what the players are used to, you may have to be a little forceful about making the point. ("Make an INT roll...You're pretty certain that would be a really dumb idea.")

Disgruntled employees are always a good hook, or even just employees who owe money at the tracks and need cash fast. Or employees that can be seduced, tricked, or impersonated. One of my favorite tricks is posing as the UPS guy/pizza guy/phone repair guy/etc.


bigdamnhero
“What's the fun of being a grownup if you can't be childish?”

[Old Man]

Perhaps a rival gang of pirates has set up the players? They got word of the target, arranged for the players to be hired for the job (or hired them themselves), then tipped off the lab that an attack was coming.

I'd opt for 'hired them themselves'. Nothing motivates the players more than being set up and stabbed in the back, then left behind to take the fall.

[BlackSword]

I like the idea of a second gang attacking the facility at the same time. Especially if the players quietly entered the facility, and suddenly they find themselves in the position of trying to help the innocents caught in the crossfire, while stealing the device they came to get. If you are trying to flesh out the people, then there's nothing like having the PCs and NPCs locked in a cafeteria trying to find some way out to bring out some emotions.

Another option: there's an inside man, who's willing to help but insists that the players take him along when they leave. Maybe he's got his whole family hiding in the closet, so that they can be brought out of the clutches of the "evil" lab agency. Of course, he's the one who designed the thing, and in its current damaged/unassembled state, it will never work.
Of course, he could be a plant, too, and act as a beacon for security forces.
Depending on the scrupples of the team. The inside man could have leaked to Draconis that he had the designs, but lied. He just wants/needs a ride off the planet for his family and the only way he could get was by convincing Draconis he had something to sell them.

[Erkenfresh]

Thanks, more great ideas. I'm not trying to force them to be sneaky so much as just looking for things to make it more interesting. I think I've got what I need. ;)

[Outsider]

Here's another option...

The security department at the lab is afraid that its budget is goung to be cut, so the director of security (incognito/thru cutouts) hires the PCs to break in and steal the laser cannon. He leaks just enough information about the security layout that the PCs will do well, but so that the security team will be able to stop them. He will look good, as he will lead from (not-quite) the front in the final scene, his department will look good for having stopped the breakin by armed and dangerous criminals, and their budget will be saved.

Unknown to the Director, though, one of his ambitious underlings has hired (using similar incognito/cutout methods) a second team of even more armed and more dangerous guys to break in and succeed. The second team is told that a bunch of patsies (the PCs) have been hired to act as a diversion to draw off much of the security force. His angle is that not only will the budget be saved, but his boss will be canned, leaving him in position to take over the department.



Edit : Hah! several hours too late, it seems... thats what I get for typing a post, then taking a 6 hour nap :)

[Erkenfresh]

No, that's really good too. How do you guys come up with this stuff? Years of practice I imagine...

[Erkenfresh]

OK, so I've run the first session of this. I decided to take Outsider's suggestion for the most part. Security in the building has had it's budget cut again for the last five consecutive quarters. The chief of security has a friend take a trip to Drago's Retreat to hire a crew to steal the laser, giving them a false location in the building to find it. What he doesn't know is that two of his lieutenants (one day shift ex-criminal, one night shift destitue bum) are going to take the advantage to steal the laser themselves using their own hired crew while the first team is trying to steal the laser.

The first session was a lot of fun with the players trying to figure out how to get inside. In order to get a look at the entrance, one posed as a magazine salesman during the guards' shift change. He was doing well until the chief asked for some samples and he didn't have any. They also managed to hack into a database to find a fake ID with which to rent a truck to haul the laser. Finally, to get inside, they decided to pose as a senator and his bodyguards showing up for a surprise inspection. Of course, the chief, knowing that these were the fallguys, "believed" their story and is about to escort them to the laser to inspect it.

The trap is laid, they just have to walk in. Your suggestions have turned what could have been a boring straightforward mission into something much more colorful. Thanks!