Steve

I plan on watching it.
 
Having Dean Cain and Helen Slater play Kara's Earth parents is a great casting gag.

I plan on watching it.
 
Having Dean Cain and Helen Slater play Kara's Earth parents is a great casting gag.

I vote to extend things into next week rather than rush through matches this week.

I vote to extend things into next week rather than rush through matches this week.

The shadowrunners were an ork/troll group. Against stereotype, they specialized in stealth, subtlety, bluff, illusion, deception and misdirection.
 
Cast of characters: 
Dent: ork, rat shaman
No-Step / Gomi No ShuShu: ork, snake shaman, healer
Byte Force: ork, decker, chemist
Eye Spy: ork, rigger, drones, paramedic
Audacity Jane: ork, combat, stealth, security systems
Happy Jack: troll, combat, disguise, negotiator
Universal Brotherhood ("UB"): a charitable fringe religious organization; secretly controlled by insect sprits
SIN: System ID Number; a combination of a social security number, driver's license, passport and debit card number
 
Universal Brotherhood - Getting Out of Dodge
 
Eye Spy: "These raids are just going to get harder and harder until the UB mops the floor with us."
Audacity Jane: "If they're smart, they'll reinforce the Seattle chapterhouses with additional guards from outside the area."
Happy Jack: "I certainly hope they do."
Eye Spy: "Do you have a death wish?"
Happy Jack: "No. I plan to start hitting chapterhouses in other cities."
 
Eye Spy: "How are we going to get our gear to other cities? Border guards and airport security tend to be really picky about those things."
Happy Jack: "We're going to get another vehicle. One more suited for hopping around the country."
Eye Spy: "YES!! We can finally get a helicopter."
Happy Jack: "I found something that's better. A blimp."
Eye Spy: "A blimp? It will take us forever to get anyplace."
Happy Jack: "These aren't your grandparents' Goodyear blimps. Cruising speed around 180 kmph. Top speed double that. They're harder to spot with radar or IR than anything short of a stealth glider. They're used by executives to get around cities and between cities, so everyone will assume we're rich and important. They also have enough range to get across the continent without refueling."
Audacity Jane: "They may be hard to spot with electronics, but they're really easy to spot with a Mark I eyeball."
Happy Jack: "I know. That's why I want to put LED panels on it. When we're cruising around cities at night, we can disguise ourselves as an advert-blimp. Nobody pays attention to those, and nobody expects one to spit out an infiltration team."
Audacity Jane: "You've got to be kidding. Your way to hide a blimp is to cover it in brightly lit advertisements?"
 
Eye Spy: "So where are we going to hit the UB next?"
No-Step: "California Free State would be a logical next stop. It's close. The UB was founded there, so they have a large presence."
Happy Jack: "That's the main reason I want to hit them somewhere else. I'm guessing they can follow the same trail of logic."
Dent: "So you're going to come up with an illogical way of choosing targets?"
 
Since the team was supporting their attacks on the UB chapterhouses by smuggling, the actual targets were chosen by which countries had inflated/deflated prices for certain goods.
 
Byte Force: "Where are we going first?"
Happy Jack: "Confederate American States."
No-Step: "Should I even bother asking what is overpriced there?"
Happy Jack: "Anything electronic. There's a huge tariff in order to 'protect' the nearly nonexistent domestic electronics industry. It artificially inflates the prices."
No-Step: "And what goods are available at cheap prices?"
Happy Jack: "Guns and ammo."
No-Step: "Are the Confederates deliberately trying to live up to the stereotypes?"
 
The team was understandably paranoid about the UB catching up with them when they sold living flesh form insect spirits to the biotech megacorps:
Each of the megacorps had employees that were UB members.
Some of those members were human form insect spirits capable of masking their true nature.
The human form insect spirits would act in the best interest of the hive/queen.
Even the non-possessed UB members might be persuaded to act in the UB's interest, instead of their corp's interest.
 
No-Step: "Wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that the UB will attack us when we attempt to hand over the live flesh form?"
Happy Jack: "It's highly likely. That's why we're not going to be there."
No-Step: "So who is going to the meet in our place?"
Happy Jack: "Nobody. We'll talk to the buyer on the phone, they'll deposit the money in a numbered account, and we'll get the flesh form there some other way."
Byte Force: "We can always send the flesh form by robocab."
Eye Spy: "We could steal a car and program the autopilot."
Dent: "I could mind control a courier into delivering it."
Audacity Jane: "Candygram."
 
Byte Force had been busy inventing new toys to use against the UB....
 
Byte Force: "This is pretty straightforward. I found a heat-resistant insecticide to coat flechettes with. If I'm right, you might be able to kill true form insect spirits with them."
Audacity Jane: "And if you're wrong?"
Byte Force: (shrugging) "Then it's like shooting an elephant with a BB gun. It's not going to hurt the elephant, but it might make it mad."
Audacity Jane: "And the only way to know whether you're right or wrong is for me to risk my life testing it...."
No-Step: "That's the joy of the scientific method."
 
Byte Force: "I figured out a way to make the UB's building unusable ... and it's not covered by their insurance."
Audacity Jane: "A nuclear warhead?"
Byte Force: "Stink bombs. I made some gas and paint grenades filled with putrescine, cadaverine, skatole and butryc acid."
No-Step: "So it smells like dead bodies and ... what else?"
Byte Force: "It smells like rotting meat, feces and vomit."
Dent: "That should cut the attendance at their meetings."
Eye Spy: (turning slightly green) "Crap. I think I'm going to get sick just thinking about it."
Happy Jack: "Well ... stop thinking about it."
Eye Spy: "..."
Happy Jack: "And just to set the ground rules for Byte Force's super-stinker ... if anyone ever uses that on a building that I'm in, or one that I need to go into, I will kill them myself."
 
Audacity Jane: "Is that stink bomb really going to be effective? Some insects really like those smells."
Byte Force: "But normal people don't. That's who I want to drive away from the building."
Dent: "If any of the UB members don't seem completely grossed out by the smell, you'll know they're insect possessed."
 
The team performed reconnaissance on the the target UB building in the normal manner. They abducted one of the UB members who also worked there as a janitor.
 
Dent: (after performing Mind Probe) "This seems wrong. The inner sanctum is on the top floor, not the basement or ground floor like normal."
No-Step: "Some insects prefer to live above ground or higher up."
Happy Jack: "Bees, wasps..."
Eye Spy: "I suppose butterflies would be a bit too much to hope for."
 
After killing the queen and capturing a live flesh form insect spirit, it was time to sell it.
 
Gomi No ShuShu: "My hunters captured a live specimen in Oklahoma City. Where would you like them to deliver it?"
Shiawase procurement specialist: "I thought you were going to deliver one in Seattle."
Gomi No ShuShu: "That's the challenge with live specimens. You have to acquire them where you can find them." (pause) "Shiawase has some large facilities in Oklahoma City. Your local people can handle the pick-up."
Shiawase procurement specialist: "They're not experts in handling paranormal animals."
Gomi No ShuShu: "The specimen will be heavily sedated, securely bound and muzzled. They will only need sufficient skills to pick up and carry dead weight."
Shiawase procurement specialist: "..."
 
The Shiawase procurement specialist seemed slightly surprised that Gomi No ShuShu requested that the payment be wired to a numbered account, rather than given in the usual certified credsticks.
 
Gomi No ShuShu: "Oh ... one more thing." (pause) "You may want to bring additional security personnel to the
Shiawase procurement specialist: "Why?"
Gomi No ShuShu: "I believe a number of Shiawase employees are involved with the former owner of the specimen. Therefore, I'm a bit concerned that there may be a security leak on your end."
Shiawase procurement specialist: (sounding slightly angry) "Which Shiawase employees?"
Gomi No ShuShu: (cheerfully) "I would be happy to discuss the sale of that information ... right after we complete the delivery of the specimen and the wire transfer of funds."
 
After the call was complete....
 
Dent: "I guess we'll be able to tell if he's connected to the UB if he refuses to pay us."
Happy Jack: "If he's working for the UB, then he's definitely going to pay us."
Audacity Jane: "Why? They're not dumb enough to pay to get their bug back."
Happy Jack: "It's the oldest trick in the book for tracking down who is behind a crime. Follow the money. He'll pay us just to see who collects the money."
Audacity Jane: "So we will get paid. We just won't be able to get our money back without getting killed."
Happy Jack: "Sure we can. We'll just have to launder it first."
 
In order to transport the flesh form insect spirit to the Shiawase procurement specialist (without having to go themselves), they loaded it into a robocab and sent it on its way.
 
Dent: "I thought robocabs required a SIN to use."
Byte Force: "We paid with a certified credstick, then used a SIN to activate the cab."
Dent: "Whose SIN did you use?"
Byte Force: "I borrowed a dummy SIN from the morgue."
Audacity Jane: "If you needed a dummy's SIN, you could have just borrowed Dent's."
 
Eye Spy: "I don't understand. Doesn't the system check to make sure the person's not dead?"
Audacity Jane: "Or audit afterward to make sure nobody is using the dead person's SIN?"
Byte Force: "A dummy SIN is used to process a Jon Doe through the morgue. First they have to activate the SIN in order to process the John Doe through the morgue. After they've finished activating his SIN and processing him through the morgue, they then process his death certificate and deactivate the SIN."
No-Step: "Your tax dollars at work."
Audacity Jane: "That would be more disturbing if we actually paid taxes."
Byte Force: "The system only performs a cursory SIN check if you're doing a legal purchase. As long as you have the money, the SIN check is a rubber stamp."
Happy Jack: "If Shiawase or the UB tries to backtrack where the cab came from, the cab records will lead back to this spot..."
Audacity Jane: "... chosen for the lack of security cameras ..."
Happy Jack: "... and the money trail will lead back to a dead SINless guy. I'm absolutely positive he won't rat us out."
 
No-Step called the procurement specialist one more time....
 
No- Step: "The specimen is en route. Let your people know that it will be arriving in a robocab."
Shiawase procurement specialist: "You squeezed into a robocab with a dangerous paranormal animal?"

No- Step: "Of course not. The specimen is in the robocab. I'm not getting within miles of the delivery site."
Shiawase procurement specialist: "..."

No- Step: "I told you that Shiawase might have a security leak. I'm not risking my life on the belief that you plugged it. I can complete the rest of our business from this end of the phone."

The shadowrunners were an ork/troll group. Against stereotype, they specialized in stealth, subtlety, bluff, illusion, deception and misdirection.
 
Cast of characters: 
Dent: ork, rat shaman
No-Step / Gomi No ShuShu: ork, snake shaman, healer
Byte Force: ork, decker, chemist
Eye Spy: ork, rigger, drones, paramedic
Audacity Jane: ork, combat, stealth, security systems
Happy Jack: troll, combat, disguise, negotiator
Universal Brotherhood ("UB"): a charitable fringe religious organization; secretly controlled by insect sprits
 
Universal Brotherhood - The Saga Continues
 
For their next attack, the team chose the Universal Brotherhood chapterhouse in Auburn, which was controlled by termite spirits.
 
Audacity Jane: "When we attack the Auburn chapterhouse, let's break into one of the top floors."
Eye Spy: "Why? Isn't the hive in the basement?"
Audacity Jane: "We can take the elevator straight to the basement ... and nobody will expect us to break into the third or fourth floor when everything important is in the basement."
No-Step: "There's a difference between 'nobody will expect it' and 'it's a good idea'."
 
Byte Force: "I don't want to use cell phone jammers for this attack. If UB security is smart, they'll be listening for those by now and use them to trigger alarms."
Audacity Jane: "That's going to put us on a really tight timetable. Lone Star has a much better response rate in Auburn than Redmond."
Byte Force: "Don't worry about that. I have another way to slow them down."
Eye Spy: "Any time one of you says 'don't worry about that,' you make the rest of us worry more."
Byte Force: "Lone Star is going to get bombarded with several 'officer down' and 'officer needs assistance' calls at the same time you enter the chapterhouse. I think those will take priority over any calls from the UB."
 
Audacity Jane: "I can override the elevator controls, so nobody can use it but us. But that won't stop the UB guards from coming down the stairs behind us."
Happy Jack: "That's easy. We can use a paint grenade to slow down the reinforcements."
Audacity Jane: "How is a paint grenade going to do that?"
Byte Force: "I've taken the paint out of several of them and replaced it with lubricant."
Dent: "Won't that make them get downstairs even faster?"
 
As the team battled the flesh form and true form termite spirits in the basement...
 
Dent: "This building can't be worth very much ... it's infested with termites."
 
After killing the queen, Jack put a few flesh forms into body bags and dragged them into the elevator. No-Step, on the other hand, hid a few noisemakers around the basement.
 
Dent: "Is that your idea of helping?"
No-Step: "If we fire these off after we take the elevator back to the third floor, the remaining guards will be too busy storming the basement to look for us there."
 
After the raid, the Universal Brotherhood was forced to perform more spin control. The team, on the other hand was perfectly willing to provide anonymous tips to investigative reporters.
 
Anonymous tip: The Universal Brotherhood blamed the first attack on a homeless, mentally disturbed troll. They're blaming the second attack on a hate group. However, the Universal Brotherhood's security guards at both chapterhouses were taken out by narcojet darts and neurostun gas. That seems rather sophisticated for a homeless troll, and it seems like a soft touch for a hate group.
 
Anonymous tip: Have you checked out the ammo that the Universal Brotherhood security guards use? Their machine pistols are loaded with armor piercing discarding sabot rounds. How does a non-profit charity group get the legal clearance to use those?
 
In order to get the megacorps in on the action, it was time to start selling flesh forms to the megacorps "procurement specialists."
 
Happy Jack: "No-Step, you get to adopt a new identity and sell the flesh forms to the corps."
No-Step: "Why am I getting this job?"
Happy Jack: "Most of the megacorps who deal in biotech are Japanese owned. Those guys are notoriously biased against metahumans. You can disguise yourself as an overweight human. I'm three meters tall. I can only disguise myself as another troll."
 
No-Step adopted the alternate identity of Gomi No ShuShu, human, American-born, of Japanese descent.
 
Gomi No ShuShu: (to a prospective client) "I understand you're generally in the market for biological samples. Would you be in the market for samples of a previously unknown paranormal animal?"
Yamametsu procurement specialist: "First, you would need to persuade me that you had discovered a paranormal species that we're not already in possession of."
Gomi No ShuShu: (showing the buyer a picture of the flesh form insect spirit) "This is what my associates killed. We believe that it's a paranormal species, rather than genetic engineered. However, I suspect you would be interested in it either way."
Yamametsu procurement specialist: "Does it have anything that would make it commercially valuable?"
Gomi No ShuShu: "Security applications. It was being used to guard the sensitive areas in a building."
Yamametsu procurement specialist: "What size sample did your people get?"
Gomi No ShuShu: "Two nearly-complete bodies. And they've been kept refrigerated."
Yamametsu procurement specialist: "Nearly complete?"
Gomi No ShuShu: "There's a few bullet holes in each."
 
Yamametsu procurement specialist: "I can't authorize a very large payment, since this could still turn out to be worthless."
Gomi No ShuShu: "My associates said they would accept a modest payment for these preliminary samples."
Yamametsu procurement specialist: "Preliminary samples...?"
Gomi No ShuShu: "They're confident that you'll want to purchase a live sample later, and they intend to charge a much higher price for that."
Yamametsu procurement specialist: "They have a live sample?"
Gomi No ShuShu: "They know where to get one."
 
Afterwards...
 
Happy Jack: "Good work No-Step. Now you just need to sell some to MCT, Renraku and Shiawase." (long pause) "And you also need to sell the mostly-human flesh forms to Saeder Krupp."
No-Step: "Nobody is going to think that the mostly-human ones are paranormal animals."
Happy Jack: "Of course not. That's why you're selling them as examples of a new form of bioware."
Dent: "That's risky. Ripping off Saeder Krupp is a good way to get on Lofwyr's bad side."
Happy Jack: "Lofwyr's been around at least since the 4th Age. I'm going to bet he knows exactly what a flesh form is. This is my way of sending him a message."
Dent: "If he ever sees it."
Happy Jack: "Lofwyr's the micromanager from hell. He'll find out about it."
 
Unsurprisingly, a couple weeks after Saeder Krupp bought the specimens (for 5,000 nuyen apiece), No-Step / Gomi No ShuShu received a voice mail from a Saeder Krupp fixer. Byte Force set up an untraceable call.
 
Han Brackhaus of Saeder Krupp: "I am willing to pay 10,000 nuyen to learn where you acquired the specimens you sold us."
Gomi No ShuShu: "Let me discuss your offer with my associate."
No-Step put Brackhaus on hold and had a quick discussion with Happy Jack.
Gomi No ShuShu: "My associate tells me that if all you want is the location of those three specimens, he will provide it for free ... and he will refund 10,000 nuyen of the 15,000 nuyen deposit you paid me."
Hans Brackhaus: "That's a ... surprising offer."
Gomi No ShuShu: "However, if you want to know every location where he personally  encountered 'specimens' like that, he will keep the deposit and require an additional 35,000 nuyen. If you want you want his list of suspected locations, it will cost 250,000."
Hans Brackhaus: "Why would I consider paying that much for suspected locations?"
Gomi No ShuShu: "Based on his sampling, he says that he's 95% confident that over 50% of them have specimens at that location."
Hans Brackhaus: "That's still a large amount of money for 'suspected' locations."
Gomi No ShuShu: "It's a large number of suspected locations."
Hans Brackhaus: (long pause) "How large?"
Gomi No ShuShu: "A three digit number."
Hans Brackhaus: "I ... I'll need to get back in touch."

The shadowrunners were an ork/troll group. Against stereotype, they specialized in stealth, subtlety, bluff, illusion, deception and misdirection.
 
Cast of characters: 
Dent: ork, rat shaman
No-Step: ork, snake shaman, healer
Byte Force: ork, decker, chemist
Eye Spy: ork, rigger, drones, paramedic
Audacity Jane: ork, combat, stealth, security systems
Jonathan Bridges / Happy Jack: troll, combat, disguise, negotiator
Danial Simpson (NPC): a pudgy, middle-aged junior exec at Renraku; was given his position by his father-in-law
Victoria Delling (NPC): Danial Simpson's mistress; went missing after receiving a unique necklace called Blood
Detective Bambra (NPC): a private investigator hired by Danial Simpson's wife to find evidence of Danial Simpson's affair
Universal Brotherhood ("UB"): a charitable fringe religious organization; secretly controlled by insect spirits

HMHVV: Human Meta-Human Vampiric Virus
 

Missing Blood, part 9 - Aftermath
 
The raid on the Universal Brotherhood's Redmond chapterhouse was successful. The team had recovered the missing necklace, Blood. They had found the missing girl, Victoria Delling, and had put her out of her (insect possessed) misery. And the Redmond chapterhouse was being investigated for a HMHVV outbreak ... which would be a seriously nasty thing ... except when compared to their actual activities.
 
Byte Force: (posting to a Humanis Policlub forum under the handle 'VampireHater') "You won't believe what those bleeding-heart metahuman-loving slags at the Universal Brotherhood are doing. They're helping HMHVV infected monsters like loup-garou, dour and nosferatu by hiding them in their chapterhouses. Not only are those idiots going to get themselves killed, they're going to get a bunch of decent humans sucked dry because they think those monsters have 'rights'. Anything that believes that people are food has rights. The right to DIE!!!!!"
Eye Spy: (reading what Byte Force had posted) "If Humanis tries to tangle with the UB, they're going to get slaughtered."
Audacity Jane: "Awww ... you're breaking my heart."
 
Then there was Judy, the human form fly spirit captured in the raid.
 
Dent: "I don't want to read that thing's mind. It could drive me insane."
Happy Jack: "I thought shamans could take control of spirits. You could just compel her to tell us what we want to know."
Dent: "In order to take control a spirit, I have to wrest control away from the summoner."
Happy Jack: "The summoner ... you mean that thing I killed in the basement last night? I don't think it will be putting up much of a struggle."
Dent: "Um ... this could be easier than I originally thought."
 
The afternoon after the raid, No-Step disguised himself as Detective Bambra in order to update Mrs. Simpson on his investigation into her husband's affair. In order to cover for the flaws in his disguise, he made himself look bruised and swolen.
 
Mrs. Simpson: "What happened to you?"
No-Step / Detective Bambra: "Your husband's mistress ... some of her friends objected to my investigation."
Mrs. Simpson: "Do you have evidence that I can use this time?"
No-Step / Detective Bambra: "Absolutely. I used the bug you planted to pull a message off your husband's answering machine."
No-Step showed Mrs. Simpson the vidphone message Victoria Delling had left for Danial thanking him for the necklace ... while wearing the very distinctive necklace, Blood.
No-Step / Detective Bambra: "I think I was able to erase the message before your husband saw it. He'll be completely surprised when you show it to him."
Mrs. Simpson: "I'm going to play it for him right after he gives me that whore's necklace."
No-Step / Detective Bambra: "About that ..." (handing her a box) "... I was able to get to the necklace before he was."
Mrs. Simpson: "Thank you sooo much. I think I'm going to give him divorce papers as an anniversary present." (eyes flashing with anger) "I want to see how he tries to weasel out of all of this."
 
Jonathan Bridges, on the other hand, had to apologize to Danial for failing to recover the necklace.
 
Danial Simpson: "Did you get it?"
Jonathan Bridges: "I'm afraid our investigation hit a dead end. I believe we found Ms. Delling's body, but we would need a DNA test to confirm that."
Danial Simpson: "She's ... she's dead?"
Jonathan Bridges: "Someone tried to dispose of her body by feeding it to the ghouls. That's why I'm not 100% certain that it was her."
Danial Simpson: "And there was no sign of the necklace?"
Jonathan Bridges: "It's a rough neighborhood. If anyone knew she had it, they may have killed her for it."
Danial looked aghast.
Jonathan Bridges: "We snooped around at the local fences, but any competent fence would be smart enough to just try to sell the stones, which are far harder to trace."
 
No-Step: (after Jonathan/Jack had returned from talking to Danial) "Do you have any idea what you've just done?!?"
Happy Jack: "Yep."
No-Step: "He's going to think his wife murdered Victoria!"
Happy Jack: "I certainly hope he's smart enough to reach that conclusion. I practically drew him a map."
No-Step: "He's probably going to murder her!"
Happy Jack: "And if he does, he's no longer going to be a junior exec at Renraku. He'll be a convict ... and safely out of the reach of the UB."
No-Step: "You're setting him up in order to ... save him?"
Happy Jack: "Nah. I'm setting him up in order to frag with the UB."
 
Hours later the leader of the UB, Galen Walker, gave a press conference in front of the Octagon, the largest  UB chapterhouse in Seattle. Byte Force slipped a list of questions onto a couple reporters' PDAs. Dent used his Influence spell to ensure they would ask the questions at the press conference.
 
Galen Walker: "... According to what we have learned from the Lone Star officers who investigated the tragedy at our Redmond chapterhouse, the attacker was a homeless troll, probably suffering from some form of mental illness. Contrary to initial reports, there is no indication this troll suffered from HMHVV. He was the chapterhouse's soup kitchen, receiving dinner when the attack began. Despite yesterday's tragedy, the Universal Brotherhood remains dedicated to helping the poor."
reporter #1: "Was this incident in any way related to the murder of Madame Ulishia four days ago?"
Galen Walker: "Who?"
reporter #1: "She was a member of the Redmond chapterhouse who was murdered in her home. Are you saying that there's no connection?"
Galen Walker: "Not that I'm aware of."
reporter #2: "Is there any connection to the murder of Christine Simpson? She was murdered just over an hour ago at the Glass Onion."
Galen Walker: "I'm afraid that this is the first that I've heard of this. She was a member?"
reporter #2: "No. Her husband was a brand new member of the Octogon chapterhouse. He's the one who murdered her in front of a crowd of witnesses."
Galen Walker: "I'm not sure why you believe that there's a connection between these unrelated...."
reporter #1: "What about the attempted murder of Patrick Bambra at his office four days ago? The five men who tried to kill him were all members of the Universal Brotherhood."
Galen Walker: "I'm not sure where you're getting this information...."
reporter #1: "Do you need to confirm that they were Universal Brotherhood members? I have their names."
reporter #2: "Is this level of violence normal for the Universal Brotherhood?"
And that's when Dent and No-Step's swarm of watchers came in for the attack. As a spirit-possessed human form, Galen Walker could see them coming. He made the extremely sensible decision to flee for the safety of the chapterhouse's magickal ward.
Audacity Jane: "Do you want me to pop him?"
Happy Jack: "Hold your fire. Right now, it looks like he ran away from some tough questions. If you kill him, it will look like he ran away from an attack."
No-Step: "He did run away from an attack."
Happy Jack: "An attack that none of the reporters or cameras could see. Let him be the one to try to sell that excuse to the media."

Well, to return to the original question, and speaking as a considerable fan of Call of Cthulhu (the game) and anything written by HPL, I think for me the difference is best described by the word "atmosphere." 
 
Clearly Indiana Jones is a globe-trotting adventurer, in the classic mold of people like Doc Savage (if not so "super-powery"), while the average protagonist of a Cthulhu Mythos story is more like Marcus Brody.  Except that Marcus Brody doesn't know anyone even remotely like Indy, and instead has to deal with the situation on his own.  And except that the situation doesn't involve murdering Nazis stealing an ancient artifact as the primary opponents, but monsters so beyond the average mortal's ability to deal with them that the most frequent recourse for the protagonist is either death (often by suicide) or a rapid descent into madness.  Even when purely mortal cultists are the primary enemy (as in in the eponymous Call of Cthulhu itself, they are actually not considered the worst part of the story; but merely lesser manifestations of the incredible evil and corruption of the primary foe (that being whichever Great Old One the protagonist is being forced to confront).
 
Nor is any of what's going on really "magic" -- even though it may be described that way by mere humans; but instead is a manifestation of Clarke's Law though more focused on mathematics and physics than merely on technology.  Or, to rephrase Clarke's Law:  "Any sufficiently advanced mathematical, geometrical or physical sciences skill is indistinguishable from magic."  Given that HPL was an atheist, his "magical systems" (at least according to his letters) were intended to merely be mysterious manifestations of outre math and scientific understandings -- indeed in Dreams in the Witchhouse, he clearly makes that connection as Walter Gilman both slowly goes mad and increasingly interacts with Keziah and Brown Jenkin as his understanding of "non-Euclidean" geometry grows.
 
So while it would clearly be possible to interpret Indiana Jones adventures in terms of the Cthulhu Mythos, they would cease being the free-wheeling pulp adventures they are, and would instead become dark stories of cosmic horror in which Indy and his friends would be consumed by horrific deaths at the hands of frequently nearly indescribably monsters and beings and the survivors would steadily descend into abject madness more as a defense mechanism than anything else.  Which brings us back to the "atmosphere" argument I launched in the beginning.  In Cthulhu Mythos stories and games, the world is a terrible place, concealing inconceivable evil and terror which can only be "defeated" by nearly impossible efforts, usually costing the protagonist either his life or sanity, and which really only constitutes a minor setback for the entities being opposed.  In Indiana Jones, a single (talented, but basically normal) human opposes and overcomes more common "evils," albeit with many "cliffhanging" opportunities along the way, and with the help of some loyal, but probably not terribly impressive friends.  Indy suffers no real negative consequences of his confrontations with his enemy; he's not driven insane, nor is he killed (though he may take a beating along the way), nor is he left with deeper questions as to the meaning of it all. ("What's that?"  "The Ark of the Covenant."  "The Ark of the Covenant?  Are you sure?"  "Pretty sure." -- and thus a major event in Indy's life is dismissed in one flip exchange.  Whereas in a more Mythos-oriented tale, merely seeing the image might be enough of a shock to send him fleeing from the tunnel he's in towards the more sane light of day.)
 
In game terms, it's why Call of Cthulhu has a "Sanity" mechanism (which will eventually and unavoidably remove any character that physically survives the game through guaranteed madness), and D6, Pulp Hero, and so on doesn't really (though you could certainly add one if you liked).  I note in passing that in Chaosium's house organ for Basic Roleplaying, Uncounted Worlds, they have replacement rules for "Stress" instead of "Sanity" which removes the inevitable descent into madness from the game and replaces it with a more "shock" -like mechanism suitable for more pulpy roleplaying -- and which, unless over-damaged through lack of time to relax and heal, can be completely recovered from with no lasting ill effects.  Whether "Stress" is any more a description of reality than "Sanity" is, I'll leave to the sufferers from PTSD to determine.
 
Anyway, that's my $0.40 worth (that much, because I probably went on about 20 times as long as anyone wanted me to).  ;-)

The shadowrunners were an ork/troll group. Against stereotype, they specialized in stealth, subtlety, bluff, illusion, deception and misdirection.
 
Cast of characters: 
Dent: ork, rat shaman
No-Step: ork, snake shaman, healer
Byte Force: ork, decker, chemist
Eye Spy: ork, rigger, drones, paramedic
Audacity Jane: ork, combat, stealth, security systems
Happy Jack: troll, combat, disguise, negotiator
Madame Ulishia (NPC): a fortune teller; had been possessed by an insect spirit and slain by ant spirits
Universal Brotherhood ("UB"): a charitable fringe religious organization
 
Missing Blood, part 6 - The Best Laid Plans
 
The Universal Brotherhood was secretly being controlled by insect spirits. The team had decided to start by taking out the UB's Redmond chapterhouse.
 
Planning the assault:
 
Byte Force: "The UB doesn't have any security systems that connect to the Matrix ... or any other security systems for that matter. I can run a simultaneous assault against their system in order to get at their money, but that's about the extent of it."
Dent: "That's an extremely valuable contribution."
Byte Force: "It might also be a deadly one. If one of their members is connected in the banking business, they could tie that money to us."
Happy Jack: "That's what money laundering is for. We may give up most of the money, but it becomes nearly impossible to track the money to us."
No-Step: "If they have a person inside the bank, they could find the money launderer as easily as they could find us. I'm sure they'd be willing to torture information out of him."
Happy Jack: "That's why I intend to launder the money through the Yakuza. If the UB wants to tangle with the Yaks in order to get to us, I'm willing to let them start a war."
 
Audacity Jane: (to Dent and No-Step) "Are you sending in spirits like you did when we went after Euphoria?"
Dent: "We can't send in city spirits. It's a hearth spirit domain."
No-Step: "I don't want to summon a hearth spirit in there. We'd get something worse than that abomination you summoned at Madame Ulishia's."
Dent: "And there's a ward around the building, which would keep watcher spirits out."
Happy Jack: "Does it keep them out forever, or do they have to break through it?"
Dent: "They have to break through it ... which is going to alert whomever put it up."
Audacity Jane: "That's fine. If they're busy defending the ward against your spirits, then they're not protecting the targets inside from me."
 
Happy Jack: "I think we need to brainstorm different tricks and tactics to use against them."
Audacity Jane: "We do that for every job."
Happy Jack: "Yes ... but this time is different. According to the investigative reporters, there are over 400 chapterhouses. That means we'll be hitting the UB more than once."
Byte Force: "You think they'll learn our habits."
Dent: "Wait ... Is this all we're going to do from now on? We could spend years fighting them without wiping them out."
Happy Jack: "Consider that incentive to brainstorm some alternate ways to bring them down."
Dent: "..."
 
Byte Force: "I combed through the UB's membership roles for the Redmond chapterhouse. I think they have about 16 security guards per shift. Ex-gang members and ex-street samurai wannabes. No serious muscle."
No-Step: "What about human form insect spirits?"
Byte Force: "That's the good news. Other than Madame Ulishia, they only have one other human form in this chapterhouse. Her name is Judy. She works at the information desk in front."
Audacity Jane: "I think Judy is about to become the victim of random street violence."
Happy Jack: "Or become a casualty of a fatal workplace accident."
 
Audacity Jane: "So are we sneaking in through one of the upper floors?"
Happy Jack: "I'd rather go in through the soup kitchen."
Audacity Jane: "Any excuse for you to play dress up."
Happy Jack: "The homeless carry a lot of crap around with them. That means we can sneak a lot of gear in while looking just like everyone else."
Dent: "But you only get to pull that trick once. After that they'll install security scanners and put more security in the soup kitchens."
Happy Jack: "Yep. Even a basic scanner will set them back 15,000 nuyen. Multiply it by 400 chapterhouses. That's a nice little hit to their cash flow."
No-Step: "That's not much compared to how much nuyen they're pulling in."
Happy Jack: "A few million nuyen here, a few million there ... pretty soon it starts adding up to some real money."

So one of my players creates a new superhero called Doctor Enigma, with a long and storied history and an archenemy called The Black Scarab. On his character sheet, it says "Hunted by the Black Scarab." This means pretty much, the guy is bound to show up every so often and make the hero's life completely miserable.
 The relationship between the characters was meant to be adversarial but cordial, in a sort of "I really do apologize for throwing you into that pit of snakes."
 "And I am sorry for crushing your leg with that log," etc.
 Also integral to the story is the fact that Doctor Enigma and the Black Scarab were in love with the same woman, and Esmerelda chose Doctor Enigma. Doctor Enigma didn't age. Esmerelda did.
 So he's young and handsome, and she's elderly and on her deathbed. Not so great.
 But wait. There's more. So the heroes encounter The Black Scarab, and he tells Doctor Enigma that he's dying. The player flips out. He's like "how?"
 The villain says "The ring makes me immortal. It doesn't make me immune to neurological disorders or, unfortunately, Lou Gerihg's disease. So I am looking for a successor."
 They talk for a bit, exchange cordialities, and the villain leaves. An occult plot happens, during which time the Black Scarab is not present.
 So Doctor Enigma gets back to his mansion to discover this heap of ash in his easy chair, along with this note.
 "Dear Doctor Enigma,'
       I must apologize for the unfortunate state in which you find me, but if you are reading this, I am dead. There could truly only be one worthy successor for the power of the Black Scarab, and so I have given it's power to our Esmerelda. I am certain that this gift will be looked upon in the manner in which it was intended.
 Farewell, old enemy,

 The Black Scarab."
 Player: THAT (Censored)! Not only did he restore my wife to health, which I have been unable to do, not only did he turn my own wife against me, and make me incapable of harming my greatest enemy in any way, but now he's DEAD, and I can't do anything about it! And on top of it, the son of a (consored) died in my favorite easy chair!
  So now she's young and attractive, but irredeemably evil! Ooops. Fortunately, the players ALL love this twist, regardless of how mean it is. (And it is pretty mean.)

The shadowrunners were an ork/troll group. Against stereotype, they specialized in stealth, subtlety, bluff, illusion, deception and misdirection.
 
Cast of characters: 
Dent: ork, rat shaman
No-Step: ork, snake shaman, healer
Byte Force: ork, decker, chemist
Eye Spy: ork, rigger, drones, paramedic
Audacity Jane: ork, combat, stealth, security systems
Jonathan Bridges / Happy Jack: troll, combat, disguise, negotiator
Urlan Manes (NPC): President/CEO of Global Technologies; hired the team to recover stolen goods
Roxanne Wunter (NPC): Senior VP at Global; Urlan's liaison to the team
Thomas Martelli (NPC): Senior VP at Global; Urlan's rival
 
Dreamchipper - Fixing the Meeting
This module was previously described by Drhoz (here).
 
The team had recovered all three chips about 30 hours before the deadline. A decision was made to wait another 12 hours before giving Urlan Manes and Roxanne Wunter the good news.
 
Dent: "Why are we waiting? Is this going to give us some negotiating leverage?"
No-Step: "No. We're going to have to run some kind of op to ensure that Martelli wins. I'd prefer to get a full eight hours of sleep before that happens."
 
Once rested, the team met to brainstorm a way to turn the tables on Urlan and Roxanne.
 
No-Step: "We'll need to come up with something exceptionally subtle. Otherwise Urlan and Roxanne will suspect that we were behind it."
Audacity Jane: "Why would we have to be subtle? After Roxanne leaves her meeting with Jack, we grab her and hold her until after the meeting. Urlan will be missing his chips again, and he'll be missing one of his VPs."
No-Step: "And who besides us will know about the meeting?"
Happy Jack: "Martelli found out about the other meeting. He's the person who will benefit most. He'll be the main suspect. He'll have plausible deniability, but they will suspect that he is behind it. And to a certain extent, they will be right."
Eye Spy: "But everyone knows that Jonathan Bridges works with a bunch of orks."
Byte Force: "Urlan and Roxanne might not. They've never met any of us."
Happy Jack: "Jonathan Bridges' team is made of orks and trolls. Guess who works with a team of just orks? Martelli."
 
Byte Force: "Martelli could be the weak link. He's met you before. If you negotiate with him, he could put two and two together."
Happy Jack: "I won't be negotiating with him. While I'm meeting with Roxanne, one of you will contact Martelli." (pause) "No-Step has the skills to pull it off. And if Martelli refuses to take his call, No-Step can just project astrally."
Audacity Jane: "No-Step doesn't lie nearly as well as you do."
Happy Jack: "But he likes to sell win-win solutions. And that's exactly what we're doing with Martelli."
No-Step: "What should I do if Martelli flat-out refuses to reach a deal?"
Happy Jack: "Then he loses to Urlan. Stupidity is its own reward."
 
Surprisingly, Urlan and Roxanne wanted to wait until early Friday morning, hours before the shareholders' meeting, to collect the dreamchips. As before, they both attended and they both arrived early. They also brought an extra attendee.
 
Dent: "Their guest looks like a techie, but he has two bodyguards that look like retired military."
Eye Spy: "And there's a military vehicle parked a block away, with 8 more people in it. I think it's a trap."
Happy Jack: "I think it's their buyer. The army is supposed to be buying these things. Those bodyguards are probably active soldiers at Fort Lewis. The techie is probably an officer or a specialist."
Audacity Jane: "So, do we have to take on a squad of soldiers to get the chips back?"
No-Step: "Why would we? If we abduct Urlan and Roxanne, they can't announce to the shareholders that they saved their pet project."
 
Just before Jonathan Bridges went into the meeting...
 
Jonathan Bridges: "No-Step, I have one piece of advice for your negotiation."
No-Step: "And what might that be?"
Jonathan Bridges: "You like to beat around the bush when you negotiate. Martelli is blunt."
No-Step: "So what course of action would you advise?"
Jonathan Bridges: "At the beginning, be blunt enough to get his attention. Then you can beat around the bush all you want."
 
No-Step: "And I have one piece of advice for your meeting."
Jonathan Bridges: "What's that?"
No-Step: "You're going in without back-up this time. Try not to get killed."
 
As Jonathan Bridges entered the back bar...
 
Roxanne's bodyguard: "I see that you're still traveling with invisible bodyguards."
Jonathan Bridges: "There are two generally accepted strategies for bodyguards. One is to have obvious bodyguards. The better strategy is to have obvious bodyguards for show, and inconspicuous bodyguards to provide the real protection."
Roxanne's bodyguard: "And you think it's even better to do without the obvious bodyguards entirely?"
Jonathan Bridges: "No. I am my obvious bodyguard."
 
And No-Step made his call to Martelli's private phone number....
 
Thomas Martelli Jr.: "Who are you and what do you want?"
No-Step: "You are about to lose control of your daddy's company ... again."
Thomas Martelli Jr.: "WHAT !!"
Audacity Jane: (under her breath to Dent) "Yep. That was blunt enough."
No-Step: "Do I have your undivided attention? Splendid. Mr. Urlan Manes has recovered his stolen property. I'm sure he is looking forward to announcing that to the shareholders in a few hours."
Thomas Martelli Jr.: "Who are you?"
No-Step: "I'm in a position to make Mr. Manes and Ms. Wunter late to the meeting. Very late. Days late. And I can also ensure Tee Hee gets delivered to you, rather than them. Does that interest you?"
Thomas Martelli Jr.: "And what's in it for you?"
No-Step: "Coincidentally, that was going to be my question to you. What is in it for me?"
 
The team planned to capture Urlan and Roxanne when they reached their helicopter. The first step, while they were still in the meeting, was to capture the helicopter pilot.
 
No-Step: "This is going to be complicated. That helicopter is heavily armored. In this neighborhood, the pilot is sure to keep the doors locked. And if he sees trouble, all he has to do is get on the radio before we're able to stop him."
Dent: "I bet you 5,000 nuyen that I can get the pilot out the helicopter without him warning the others. I don't even need any help from any of you."
Audacity Jane: "I'm not going to let you blow this mission just so you can flex your ego."
Dent: (whispering his plan to Jane) "I'll cast silence so he can't say anything over the radio. Then I'll have my city spirit materialize inside the helicopter and use its Fear power."
Audacity Jane: (to No-Step) "I'll bet you 10,000 nuyen that Dent can do it."
Unsurprisingly, No-Step declined to take the bet.
 
No-Step disguised Eye Spy as the pilot, so Urlan and Roxanne's bodyguards wouldn't realize anything was wrong when they returned to the helicopter.
 
Dent: "Where is the best place for us to hide for the ambush?"
Audacity Jane: "I'm going to hide inside the helicopter. It's the one place in this neighborhood that the bodyguards will consider 'safe', so they won't be prepared to defend against an attack from that direction."
 
No-Step used his city spirit's Concealment power to hide Jane inside the helicopter. Nobody realized she was there until Roxanne and Urlan had boarded the helicopter ... and Jane had shot them with narcojet darts.
 
Audacity Jane: (to the bodyguards) "Hi there. I'm using your boss as a human shield."
 
Eye Spy forced the bodyguards' hand by taking the helicopter up into a hover 5 meters over the tarmac. The bodyguards had to jump and climb to try to get into the 'escaping' helicopter.
 
Audacity Jane: (seeing a bodyguard struggling to hold his gun, climb into the helicopter, and shoot simultaneously) "Let me guess ... your training didn't cover this?"
 
Dent wanted to steal the helicopter, which led to a disagreement.
 
Dent: "We could sell it for at least another 100,000 nuyen."
Eye Spy: "It's too easy to track, especially in a city."
Audacity Jane: "And we don't steal from our current employer."
Dent: "Urlan is our ex-employer. He's fair game."
Audacity Jane: "The helicopter belongs to Global, not Urlan. Martelli is our current employer, and in a few hours, he should control Global."
 
Eye Spy programmed the autopilot to fly the helicopter (and the unconscious pilot and bodyguards) back to Global.
 
No-Step: "They're going to have an interesting afternoon of debriefings."
Eye Spy: "It could be worse. They could be dead."
Happy Jack: "Spoken like someone who has never experienced a corporate 'debriefing'."
 
No-Step met with Martelli at the docks to hand over Tee Hee and get paid.
 
No-Step: (manifesting out of the Astral to where he could be seen and heard) "Good evening, Mr. Martelli. Congratulations on your coup at the shareholders meeting."
Thomas Martelli Jr.: "Cut the drek. Where is my decker?"
Audacity Jane stepped out of the shadows and opened the doors of one of the containers, revealing Tee Hee.
Thomas Martelli Jr.: "Nice ... but I'm thinking we should renegotiate our deal."
No-Step: "We completed our portion in full."
Thomas Martelli Jr.: "You're going to turn Urlan and Roxanne over directly to me. For that, you get half of the remaining fee. Otherwise, there's nothing stopping me from killing your razor and taking what I want."
No-Step: "Actually, there are several things preventing you from doing that."
Thomas Martelli Jr.: "Like what?"
No-Step: "First, Tee Hee's belt is made of detcord. If you try to avoid paying, you will no longer be playing with a full decker."
Thomas Martelli Jr.: "..."
No-Step: "Second, there are three heavy weapons aimed at you and your compatriots."
Audacity Jane: "I'm sure you're bullet-proof, but we don't particularly care."
Thomas Martelli Jr.: "..."
Audacity Jane: "And third, I'm wearing a heart monitor that's linked to a dead-man switch. If I die, you boys get to find out where I hid the fuel-air explosive."
No-Step: "The rest of our precautions will remain a surprise."
Audacity Jane: "A girl's got to have her secrets."
Thomas Martelli Jr.: (bursting out laughing) "I like you. We have to do business again sometime."

Shadowrun 2070 – the main difference being that 2050 is cyberpunk as imagined in the 80s, and 2070 as it's imagined now. Wifi, Augmented Reality, RFID chips and 3D Printing everywhere.

Streetrat: Son of Labrat, Ork Rigger
Ripper K: Orca-form Changeling, Face and Brawler
Oracle: White-hat hacker
Giant Dad: Apparently human, also supposedly called The Legend, who rumour holds has been around forever.
Astronauta Peligroso: Troll Luchadore
Ocelot: Elf gunslinger

Giant Dad: I'm going to call you Astroboy. So what brings you to Seattle, Astroboy?
Astronauta: The food.

Oracle: We COULD strap you down and have a machine-gun installed in your arse. If you really want.

Ripper OoC: I wonder if the Tokyo Parasite Museum has got any interesting specimens since the start of the Sixth Age.
Giant Dad: Probably – behold! The Insect Shaman! And its natural enemy, the Dwarf with the Incendiary Grenade Launcher.
Ocelot: We call him Warhammer.
Giant Dad: Check out the front of the museum, where you can get the action figure! Comes with its own lighter. Start 'em young.
Ocelot: Known bugs – may set your entire house on fire.
Giant Dad: Has been known to start laughing in the presence of naked flame.

Insect Spirits are bad news. Just ask Chicago. THAT was the kind of situation that would have required experts, like our old characters.

Inkubus: You really want to give me the chance to set off a nuclear device in the middle of an Insect Hive? Wow – I thought I'd never get to top that Ambergel factory.

GM: On goes the mask.
Astronauta: It never comes off. I Live Every Day In The Luchadore Way.

The other PCs haven’t met the charming but rather fearsome-looking Ripper before, and are further unaware of his ‘adult entertainment’ work. This leads to some amusing conversations.

Giant Dad: What the fuck is that!
Ripper K: The name's Ripper – nice to meet you.
Ocelot: I'm Elise – I mean Ocelot!
Ripper K: That's OK, most of the people I work with use assumed names.

Astronauta: You look like you could go a few rounds – we should give it a go some time.
Ripper K: Thanks. I'd enjoy that.
GM: *hysterical laughter*

Off to the Infinity Club, where the music is as loud as can be expected, despite our ear-plugs.

Streetrat: I can still hear it – it's coming in through my Eustachian tubes.

Ocelot OoC: I'm wondering if we've been hired by Inkubus. 'Ah, I can't be bothered recovering it myself – I'll just hire somebody'
Streetrat OoC: 'I've got six girls to entertain'

This is, as you may have guessed, the same module he's already run for Ripper and another group of players. I guess I won't be doubling up my XP points then, and I'll have to try extra hard to suppress player knowledge. Not that I mind, overly - it's easy enough to let the other players come up with ideas, then run with them. Anyway - Nabo, the Ork music star and likely after the stolen disc.

Giant Dad: He sounds like an Ork version of Justin Beiber. I hate him already.

Ripper K: I wonder if my agent knows his agent.
Oracle: Are you talking about Agent Programs?
Ripper K: No, theatrical agent. Well, specialist theatre.

The module now takes a different path to the version our GM ran online for the other players. Oracle hits the social media to locate which hotel Nabo is staying at, and dispatches a mini-blimp drone through which he can hack into Nabo's internet node. We probably won't even have to go to the concert.

Oracle's player: This will take a while.
GM: No it won't.
Oracle's player: Wait, what?
GM: He left an open node.
Oracle: OK gang, this is going to take a few hou- ….. scratch that, this guy is a complete moron.

Oracle gleefully forwards everything Nabo is doing to the rest of the team, and plants one of his software agents inside the node.

Oracle: ORAC, you're up.
Ripper K: Do you have one named Zen, as well?

Undeleting Nabo's data enables us to backtrack to a elven decker named Zipper, and the Cathode Glow Club, and any amount of unreleased song lyrics and Ork Porn. Also a photo of the stolen disc, and a disc sleeve saying "Carrion Sessions '48 - For Enlightenment, seek out absent friends." The plan – have Ripper seduce Zipper. Complication – Ripper doesn't know a damn thing about retro tech.

Giant Dad: We need to geek him up.
Oracle: What? Oh, you mean Clank.
Giant Dad: How do you feel about spikes?
Oracle: Nah – cogs and brass.

Giant Dad: You'll need to wear a top hat.
Ripper K: I've worn worse.
Astronauta: And a monocle.

The augmented reality sprites at the club all have googly eyes, like Clippy. And they're all watching us.

Streetrat: If any of them actually are Clippy they have to die.
Ocelot: We're being watched by the spirit of Microsoft Office

Giant Dad: And then a barfight broke out over Mario Party.

Ripper manages to seduce not only Zipper, but her dwarf friend as well, and after reducing them both to happy unconsciousness unlocks the door for everybody else. The disc isn't in her apartment, but there is a handwritten letter from one Loomis directing her to set up the auction. There's a Kerwin Loomis who runs a nightclub called Coda out in the Barrens.

Streetrat: Coder as in programmer or Coda as in epilogue?
Ripper K: It's a musical term too. So that's two links. And a pun, too, since the disc has musical data.

Ripper K: At this rate the client is going to regret agreeing to that early completion bonus.

The Coda is the worst kind of dive. Happily, Loomis has an apartment above the club, and Streetrat's drones spot the suspicious activity next door before we blunder into it ourselves. He switches his POV to one of the drones and investigates closer – there's a team of armed and armoured individuals watching the club. And one of them is probably a mage. Happily, suddenly appearing at all the doors and windows with two armed drones and three scary-looking individuals demoralises them so completely they readily agree to Ripper's terms. They go wait at the local Stuffer Shack, while we – still posing as some kind of Barrens organised crime syndicate – go have a private word with Mr Loomis. Then they can do whatever they like with him. Evidently nobody told this team of runners that another team had been hired for the job. We head in to have a polite chat with Loomis, who panics and threatens to break the disc. He also insists the disc was willed to him by his father – the big-name rocker K-spot. There never was a theft.

Oracle: So how much were we being paid not to care?

Loomis caves, especially after he finds out just how many people already know about the disc.

Giant Dad: How much are you willing to pay to get out of here alive?

We drop Loomis off at the Ork Underground and head back to the Cathode Glow to use their vintage tech to find out what's actually ON this disc. It seems to be music data, as claimed, but there are multiple levels of encryption on it.

Giant Dad: Don't mind us, Astronauta and I will just be having Fight Club outside.
Ripper K: If anybody asks just tell them you're re-enacting John Carpenter films.

The music is melancholy and introspective.

Giant Dad: We're listening to Linkin Park?

But since we're good shadowrunners, it's time to take the disc to the client. We'll just neglect to mention the one-to-one copy we made so Oracle can run full decryption on it. We will include all the data we have on that other team, including the number of their fixer. But either way, our Mr Johnson seems very pleased – especially since we got it all done in less than 24 hours. The other group of players is still slogging through the same module four sessions later - and that other shadowrunner team are probably still waiting at the Stuffer Shack.




D&D - mostly a continuation of a dungeon crawl, and the capture of the enemy wizard, whereupon things become Political. It's always so helpful when the bad guys keep copies of their correspondence around the lair.

Kavorog: Murder and psychopathy are all part of being an adventurer.

We find a satchel full of potions and adventuring gear in the bottom of a cistern.

Kavorog: Looks like a bug-out bag. Or a bugbear-out bag.

GM: What do you want to do with these guys?
Lamech: Skin them and use their scrotums as a coin purse.
GM: You're a bloodthirsty little... aren't you?

To a prisoner -

Lamech: So, Mr. Human Shield – you don't mind me calling you Human Shield, do you? - What else should we know about this dungeon?

I think this is one of the keys - you could more simply say that in most S&S magic happens "off stage". It happens, but it's not the protagonists doing it. The various characters in classic S&S generally live in worlds with plenty of magic – if it’s not wizards, it’s elder horrors or eldritch creatures – but they are not themselves generally magical or magicians. Conan’s the prototype, of course, but there were plenty of others in the same vein. It’s not all sandals and loincloths, either: Conan (and plenty of others) spent as much time leading knights in plate armour as he did careering about as a mercenary in a mail shirt.
 
But things have changed since the classic days. Fafhrd and the Mouser are mid-period S&S, but even though the Mouser started as an apprentice wizard, in the few stories where he uses magic, it inevitably goes wrong, and he does most of his problem solving with his brain (not his best part, actually) or his sword. It’s still classic S&S fantasy. Elric, on the other hand, was a deliberate attempt to move away from the classic S&S genre. Where Conan is manly, and brawny and decisive, Elric is sensitive, feeble and pensive. Where Conan triumphs by force of arms and things - no matter how dark – resolve themselves in the end, they almost inevitably go pear-shaped as soon as Elric draws a blade. Where Conan – though a barbarian – is innately decent and honest, Elric – though an educated nobleman - is conniving (also petulant, vindictive and petty). Conan starts from nothing and ends up a ruler. Elric starts as a ruler and ends up (quite literally) with nothing. And most of all, Elric is a sorcerer. Unlike Conan, he’s a swordman entirely by accident and necessity.
 
I think that’s where things started to diverge. For me at least, Elric was a break from the tropes of S&S – certainly Moorcock has said explicitly that was his intention - and represents a new genre (I call it Epic Fantasy, for want of a better word). Like any genre definition, the edges are a bit fuzzy, but the whole Conan/Kull/Brak/Fafhrd and Mouser genre is mostly about the main character and their particular trials and tribulations. If Kull dies, he loses the throne. But Elric and the whole Eternal Champions team/Corwin of Amber and their ilk, in contrast are typically fighting for the survival of the world and/or universe as we know it. If they fail, everybody dies. And I don't think it's a coincidence that in Epic Fantasy, some or all protagonists do have magic powers.
 
So while both types of stories involve plenty of sorcery and plenty of people getting stabbed with bits of pointy metal, the whole atmosphere and style is very different. 
 
 
cheers, Mark

As the Token Female Member of This Action-Adventure Team, My Job is to Kick.

Two of the stories at least have become standards in Western collections of "fairy tales" or children's stories: Aladdin and the Lamp, and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.
 
I read Burton's translation, but it was decades ago. Here is what I remember.
 
Djinn, in a sometimes bewildering variety of tribes and types, are prominent. Their capricious actions often set the plot in motion, as for example on a lark picking up a person and conveying them across the world in their sleep so that they awaken to find themselves in a strange land, in a strange city, and in someone else's bed (and not alone in it either) or suddenly appearing out of nowhere to threaten death to a person who has inadvertently offended them, who must usually be rescued by thier own or another's quick thinking or persuasive speech or some stroke of outrageous fortune.
 
There are human magicians as well, often as villains but also as allies of the protagonists. Most of them seem to know forty modes of enchantment, by the least of which they can remove the stones of this city to beyond Mount Kaf.
 
I do seem to recall an enchannted sword or two, and other wondrous items such as flying carpets, lamps that summon Djinn, a statue of a horse that flies (that is, a flying statue of a horse, not just a statue of a flying horse,) magic rings, etc.
 
Kings and rulers can be as capricious as Djinn; the frame story features a king who made a practice of frequently marrying, and promptly executing his bride, and while he does cease and desist that habit, he isn't really called to account for it either.
 
I seem to recall that viziers were loyal more often than not, even though kings did not always reward loyalty.
 
There are some surprisingly amazonian women. In one tale, a whole nation of warrior women, and in another, a martially inclined woman falls in love with the hero (who I don't recall doing any fighting on his own behalf) and cuts through an army to get herself and him out of her horrible infidel land and back to his wholesome Muslim country.
 
"Infidels" are generally bad guys of course; the worst are the fire worshippers, who are capable of all manner of depravity. Oddly enough, despite supposedly being good Moslems, the heroes often get to indulge in wine and women. But never bacon.
 
About those forty modes of enchantment. Transportation must be one (I think taking a city to Mount Kaf and back must be a graduation exercise at Enchanter's School) but Transformation is maybe even more popular. Alchemists change base metal into gold, curses change people into asses or apes or dogs, two Djinn fight a shapeshifter's duel in which each becomes in turn over a dozen different animals and objects, a vengeful sorceress traps a prince in a form designed for suffering; flesh from the waist up, stone from the wast down, alive and conscious but fixed in place.
 
Absolutely incredible coincidence happens almost as a matter of course. If something occurs that seems like a million to one chance, just wait ten minutes and something will happen that's ten million to one. Sudden reversals by which fortunes are won and lost cycle repeatedly. And those fortunes can be staggering; kings and rich merchants may seem to have unlimited wealth.
 
Battles, when they occur, tend to be an epic clash of armies more often than a pair of duelling swordsmen, but most heroes - while shown to be, or implied to be, capable of fighting if necessary - are more the trickster type, if they're not downright thieves or con men. Even caliphs and sultans may don disguises and go about incognito, looking for trouble.
 
If there is one motivation stronger than gold - from the poor person's desperate need to get enough to have some security or stability, to an ambitous merchant's hunger for profit driving him to risky and long voyages - it is love. Men and women kill for love, die for love, die OF love even. There is even one story, reminiscent of something out of chivalric romance, in which a man proclaims his undying love of a woman after seeing her portrait. Naturally, he ends up with her.
 
That's the Thousand and One Nights as I remember them. Now you have me really wishing I still had that book....
 
Lucius Alexander
 
There were no palindromedaries, but I suspect a palindromedary would be right at home in some of those stories....

I've been poking at making a desert campaign setting that will probably use Al Qadim and Dark Sun for inspiration sources when it suddenly occurred to me that an Arabian Nights style campaign seems to be very much a Swords & Sorcery type of setting, maybe with a few more magic trinkets like a flying carpet scattered here and there. Heroes are usually warriors and thieves (like Aladdin and Sinbad) and the villain is often a sorcerer using spirits to work magic. Does that seems an accurate way to look at it?

I've always felt that the heavier the hype, the more likely it will suck.

The Bipolar Express

The Bipolar Express

The Bipolar Express

It makes me wonder what religious schools are like in fantasy worlds. Do most clerical aspirants not take an elective in Undead Lore?

That way lies madness. 

I didn't see it mentioned, but the old Johnny Quest cartoon was very much Pulp.

That reminds me of a couple things I pulled in MMOs. (In general, names have been changed ... because I can't remember them.)
 
-------------------------
 
in Everquest (the original one)
 
I was running my bard (Staccato) through West Freeport (one of the starting cities), when I heard the following...
 
Newbie: "Everyone watch out! There's a druid killing noobs in the arena!!!"
Dr00d: "free druid buffs in the arena"
 
I checked the list of players in the zone, and the Dr00d was the second highest level player ... a 34th level druid.
The highest level player was Staccato ... a 60th level bard.
 
The list didn't mention that Staccato worshiped the Tribunal ... the gods of justice.
 
What happens when a follower of the Tribunal discovers that a druid is making false promises in order to trick newbies into getting killed?
What happens when the druid announces that he's located in a free-for-all PvP Arena?
 
Staccato entered the Arena invisibly. The Dr00d didn't notice Staccato until Staccato charmed him. When you're charmed, your avatar responds to all the normal pet commands. Some of them are lots of fun in PvP.
Dr00d: "Staccato is my master."
Dr00d: "Staccato is my master."
Dr00d: "Staccato is my master."
Staccato: "You got that right."   Charm only lasts for 30 seconds, and you have to wait for it to break before you can reapply it. I was a little worried that the Dr00d might escape when charm broke, so I quickly switched over to mezzing him ... because I could do that forever.  
Well, maybe not forever. After about 5 minutes, the Dr00d decided that he could disconnect from the internet, which would disconnect him from the game and log him out. Of course, his avatar stayed in the game for another 15 seconds. How long do you think it takes a 60th level bard to kill a 34th level druid?
 
Less than 15 seconds.
 
Staccato: using guildchat "There was a druid offering free buffs to newbies in the Freeport Arena, then killing them."
Guildmember #1: "That's horrible."
Guildmember #2: "I ought to go there and kill him."
Staccato: "Too late. I beat you to it."
Guildmembers: "lol"
 
Two minutes later...
 
Dr00d: in a private message "u killed me"
Staccato: "Yep. If I catch you killing newbies again, I'll kill you again."
Dr00d: "u made me lose xp."
This was surprising. PvP kills aren't supposed to cause XP loss.
Staccato: "Serves you right."
Dr00d: "i reported u to the gms"
Staccato: "For killing you in the Arena? Let me know when they laugh in your face."
Dr00d: "im goin 2 report u 2 ur guild get u kicked out"
Staccato: in guildchat "The druid is back. He wants to report me to my guild."
GuildOfficer #1: "Give him my name. I want to tell him off."
GuildOfficer #2: "Me too."
GuildOfficer #3: "Definitely give him my name."
Staccato: in a private message to the Dr00d "Several officers are online. Would you like a list of names?"
 
-------------------------
 
In City of Heroes
 
This took place in The Hollows, which is a low-level zone. The Hollows were very dangerous to travel through. There were obstructed lines of sight, so you could run into enemies before you spotted them. The enemies hung out in large groups, capable of quickly killing most newbies. And newbies didn't have advanced travel powers (Fly, Superspeed, Superleap, Teleport), which would help them cross the zone quickly and safely.
 
Newbies could get access to low level travel powers (i.e. Hover, Recall Friend). Even though Hover was painfully slow (slower than walking, and who does that in an MMO) it was popular because it was the only safe way to get yourself across The Hollows. Recall Friend was also useful. It allowed you to teleport your teammates to a spot near you. If you could get to the entrance of the mission (without dying), you could safely bring your teammates to the mission. This saved time, since newbies would sometimes die multiple times when trying to get to missions.
 
Good samaritans would also offer to use Recall Friend to help newbies leave The Hollows. You would invite them to your team, they would teleport you to a spot near them (and they'd be near the zone entrance), and you'd safely leave.
 
On the day this occurred, I was playing my Warshade. Warshades were a prestige class, and they got one perk that set them apart at low levels ... Warshades got the Teleport power for free at level 1. I had also chosen the Recall Friend skill, since it's useful for helping teammates.
 
...
 
I was using Teleport to leave The Hollows one day, and I noticed something strange. Near the entrance, there was someone standing on top of the guard tower, and there were several heroes inside the guard tower. The person on top of the guard tower wasn't too strange. Newbies could hover to get to the roof of the guard tower. But it wasn't possible for people to run, jump or fly through the windows of the guard tower. They weren't big enough.
 
I watched for a few minutes until I figured out what was going on. The windows were big enough to teleport through. One person had used Hover to get to the roof of the guard tower. He then offered to team up with people and use Recall Friend to help them leave The Hollows. The inside of the guard tower was close enough to the roof for him to dump the newbies inside. Once they were there, he would disband from the team and they were stuck.
 
I snuck back out into The Hollows, and pretended like I needed a ride out. He used Recall Friend to dump me into the guard tower -but- as soon as I landed in the guard tower, I used Recall Friend to teleport him right next to me. He disbanded, then realized he was stuck inside with everyone else. I then invited all of his victims to team up with me. I used Teleport to get out of the guard tower, then used Recall Friend to get everyone else out too.
 
Except for the "hero" who had pulled the stunt. I left him there.

Never underestimate the power of the press to make a superhero's life more difficult.
 
A laboratory accident is like a box of chocolates. You never know what abilities you'll wind up getting.
 
One world's mutant terrorist is another world's freedom fighter.
 
Stick to dealing with supervillains robbing banks. If you try to solve a real world problem with superpowers, the press will crucify you if you make a mistake and the government will start getting twitchy if you succeed.
 
Never get into a romance with someone more powerful than yourself. If the relationship ends badly, you can be in for a world of hurt.