[i]"It all began with a simple job." That's how all the good tales start, don't they? One run by a group of regular folk that suddenly turns 'em into saviors, or else winds 'em up dead. That's what an adventure is. Well, I hate adventure. Like to keep my nose and my shoes clean. Unfortunately, life in the sprawl don't always play to our wants, does it?[/i]
	- "So you wanna be a Shadowrunner?", Peter Brown, 2065, ch.1 pg.1

The culture center of the Confederation of American States, New Orleans, Louisiana, exists as a sort of cultural gumbo. Cultures mash and rail against each other, never quite mixing in the way you'd hope. Still, if you're looking for a place to get away from the tight, business-suit regulation of one of them uppity UCAS burgs, there's none better. Every day's a party here, unless you're nonhuman. Or anything other than white or black.

For you and your team, it was promised to be a getaway. A bad run-in up north meant you had to flee the country, and your usual Johnson provided you the means to get here and stay for a while. Expense paid, on the condition that you do a bit of work for some friends of his while you're in the city. Null sweat, you've done runs all around UCAS, even some in the Native lands. With your team at your back, you can do anything. But he did leave you with a firm warning. Things work a bit different down south, he said. Try not to get in over your head.

You've been provided a safe home base. A nicely sized condo overlooking the water. Real posh, must have cost him a dime. Beyond that, you've got official papers, everything to keep you in the city and on the right side of the law, if that's how you choose to play. As of this moment, you've been in the city for seven days, after which you were promised contact from your Johnson's friend with some work for you. You haven't been told any details about your new employer, only that they would contact you today. What sort of work would they have for you down here in a foreign country? If you wind up in a foreign jail, you might never make it home, so you'll have to play it real cool. Get you and your team through the days in one piece so that you can go back home and resume your regular life. Oh, and try not to deal with any dragons.

[hr]

So, off the back of another Shadowrun RP that just went up which the GM unfortunately had to put on hold, I've been in the mood for some 'running. This RP is going to be slightly longform, but it will be structured, mostly segmented into missions and inbetweens. There's a solid beginning and an end, and even a middle if the group craves direction. Think of this more as an actual Shadowrun campaign with me as the GM rather than, say, a free-form community-written novel. You will be following the backbone of a story, but of course you're free to determine its outcome as we go.

[b]Do I need to know about Shadowrun to participate?[/b] Nope. It will help you understand the lore and lingo, but a background in Shadowrun won't be necessary to follow the plot. Anything you need reference to should be found on the [url=http://shadowrun.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page]Shadowrun Wiki[/url].

[b]How many players are you looking to accept?[/b] I'd like to leave it open-ended for now, but it's been a long time since I GM'd anything on the site, so I'd rather things not get too chaotic. If it looks like we're overflowing, I'll put a hard cap on and update this post, but for now, anybody's welcome. Experience dictates that not everyone who applies will stick through for the long run anyway, so why kneecap myself?

[b]When does this story take place on the timeline?[/b] For my own sanity, we'll be running in the 'present day' in standard lore. That is to say, post-2072. For ease's sake the RP will start in [u]April 2075[/u]

[b]Am I free to do anything with my character? Could I be any metatype? Awakened? A Technomancer?[/b] You can do whatever. There's no BP point limit or anything, and my GM style is hand-wavey. If you can justify something unusual, I'm open to it, but the more unusual, the better your justification should be. Also keep in mind that we're running in a city that doesn't place a lot of importance on tolerance. You can be a 9 foot troll, but don't expect doors, restaurants or cops to always accomodate you.

[b]What's the approximate skill level of the team?[/b] Enough to be able to stand on your own two feet in the shadows, but not enough to actually want to do so. Each character should have their place in the team without dragging everyone down, but I don't want any badass heroes either. Rule of thumb is that if your character is so strong they could do these runs by themselves, then why wouldn't they just do that and keep all the money for themselves? As long as you've got strengths and weaknesses, your skill level is up to you.

[b]Anything else I should keep in mind?[/b] Keep in mind that your team has been together for a while now. Your character should have been with the team for at least a month (so long enough to know the other members) or up to two years (if you're a founding member.) You can be from anywhere in or around UCAS, since the team travels, or you can be a foreigner if you want, but nobody should be from Louisiana, since part of the RP is being out of your element.

Anybody interested can go ahead and fill out a character sheet, and I'll evaluate them as I get time. Creativity with the CS is encouraged if you want, but please at least touch the bases below while you're doing it.

[noparse][b]Real Name:[/b]
[b]Alias:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Metatype:[/b]
[b]Specialization:[/b] (Samurai/Adept/Mage/Shaman/Technomancer/etc)
[b]Appearance:[/b] (You can provide a supplementary picture if you want, but I'd like a written synopsis first and foremost.)
[b]Personality:[/b]
[b]Bio:[/b] (A couple of paragraphs here. Not looking for a novel, but enough to root your character in the world, please.)
[b]Cyberware/Bioware:[/b] (Essence will play a role here, so be wary of loading yourself up too much.)
[b]Loadout:[/b] (Everything you brought with you goes here. Guns, armor, decks, tools, etc. If your character has a vehicle, put it here too.)
[b]Opinion of teammates:[/b] (As new characters are accepted, please remark on what your character thinks of them. For new applicants, leave this field blank until there's a team to comment on.)[/noparse]

[hr]


[hider=Legend][img]http://i.imgur.com/5FW15uc.png[/img]
1. "Waterfront Condominiums and Hotel." - Your place.
2. "Big Bob's Stuffer Shack" - 'Big Ork Meals at Cheap Ork Prices, like momma used to make.' Specializes in soul food, notoriously large servings. You have a discount here, which is convenient for filling up before a run. There are no meals on the menu which don't include meat.
3. From left to right:
	-Chairman Wok's (Pan-Asian cuisine)
	-Garden of Eden (Vegan and Whole foods)
	-Down Home Louisiana (Traditional Cajun grill)
	-Starbucks (Cheap Soykaf by the barrel, but offers real coffee, if you're willing to pay for it.)
4. "Samuel's" - Hoity Toity dance club and retreat for rich white humans. Other races of humanity are allowed in, but Metahumans are turned away at the door.
5. "Under the Floorboards" - Scuzzy metahuman bar. Humans are technically allowed in, but might not leave in one piece if they overstay their welcome. Run by a massive Troll named Griff.
6. "Han's Computing" - Computer repair, electronic tools and program shop
7. "Gunz r Us" - Huge firearms chain. There's a shooting range in the back. Rumor has it they deal in illegal weaponry if you know a certain phrase (you don't, currently.)
8. "Fire and Ice" - Magic Shop, caters to all brands of magic, though the owner himself is a shaman rather than a mage.

The light grey represents other hotels. If you've rented a separate room, odds are it will be in one of these two places.

The beige is the start of a relatively large suburb.

The white buildings on the right are all warehouses, and the blue arrow points in the direction of the water, not far from your 
building.

The nearest hospital is about a five minute drive down 42nd Street, past the suburbs.[/hider]


[hider=Room Info][img]http://i.imgur.com/iIIvtij.png[/img]
The rooms on the right hand side are open to all members of the team and have simple deadbolt locks, nothing more. The safe room to the far right has a complicated electronic lock that needs codes from two or more team members to open (everyone was given an individual code upon check-in.) It would be a good place to store things that you don't want the cleaning lady to accidentally stumble upon, or to hide out in case of emergency, but it's almost prohibitively secure. Since it needs two or more people to open, you can't stash anything truly private in there. The common area has the usual amenities. Fridge, cooking supplies, media players, all sorts of stuff. The only access to the place is through an elevator at the front. Everyone was given an electronic card when they checked in, and you simply scan the card in the elevator and it will drop you off at your floor. There is no way to access floors you don't have the card for, so you don't know your neighbors.[/hider]

[hider=Details on the botched run]-It was a high paying job, the kind you don't really turn down, even if you've got a bad feeling. That said, you never saw any of it, since you had to get the hell out. Your usual Johnson called it your 'Expense budget.'

-You don't know all that much about Johnson. He's a dark-skinned human, seems close to his late 40s. He won't tell you his real name or who he's working for. Real old-fashioned type. He's all business most of the time, but he pays well and up until now, none of his jobs have really been a bust. You use him frequently because he's extremely good at tolerating your BS.

-The job was a prison break in Detroit, busting a client out of a Knight Errant holding facility. It was going smoothly, very little violence, but the client was a plant. He pulled a gun and the alarms were triggered right away.

-You had to fight your way out in full force. You managed to get out after a huge amount of hassle, but you were then informed that you needed to flee the country, which leads us to 'present day' so to speak. You're here waiting for your heat to cool down and for Johnson to make sure all his sources are in order.[/hider]