Stop working for the man, start working against the man.



My theory is this--Shadowrunners don't do this for the money. They do this for the ability to get out of the system and do something that society says is wrong--like stopping the megacorps or caring for the environment or doing magic the way you want to do it.



Make this a prerequisite of the character, and you'll be AMAZED at what happens. Instead of thinking as 'running as "you know, a job", suddenly you're fighting the man. Sure, you might be taking money from Megacorp A, but then you use that to fight Megacorp B and probably learn a little more about A to begin with and...



Add to this the "self-trained" element of punk music. Don't use the corp cyberdeck loaded with spyware and apps you won't need, build one yourself with eight old cellphones and a keyboard you found at a recycling plant. Don't get the fleshlike cyber arm--get the one that's been jailbreaked and uploaded with new moves and works better so fuck the warranty. Don't summon that elemental--every time you do a tiny bit of mojo is going back to the secret society that wrote the incantation. No, call on this guy--it's stronger and meaner, but he'll take a joke and worst of all he's creative...



Punk, to me, is "the bastards at the top want to grind you down--so you grind right back". Don't fit in, and make it that the characters and players feel that. Then let them revel in it.