A fixer the team knows sends in a message, and wants to talk to them at a local mid-range restaurant this evening. "Chummers. I've got a bit of a job, but I want to tell you about it in person. Meet me at Viggos, the Italian place, yeah, you know the one. Say, 7pm tonight? Now, be on your best behaviour, we'll both profit." The meet is in the team’s local area, so should present no problem moving about or reaching the meet state.

The three places the data could be planted are at Bella's house, at her workplace, or sold directly to a journalist or databroker. The four assassination locations that will be covered are at Bella's house, at her workplace, during a visit to the Barrens, and while transiting.

As a GM, you can never fully prepare for your players’ choices, but there are a number of common paths that will be covered here. If the players head away from these, it is ok to guide them back so this document can support you. In time, you will have enough skills to handle any plan the players come up with.

The runners will have to decide where to plant the data, where to conduct the assassination, and how to deal with both the general security in the area, as well as Bella and her guards.

The evidence is prefabricated, and will be given to the runners who just have to plant it. Bella herself travels with bodyguards due to entering the barrens often, but lives and works in a middle lifestyle secured suburban development.

Ronaldo Histeriga has been insulted by Bella Valentino, and wants her discredited and removed. Bella is head of a special education charity, whose barrens holdings are in the area that Ronaldo would like to demolish and then use the land for a factory staffed by SINless. Ronaldo wants the runners to plant evidence that Bella was stealing from the charity, then kill her.

GM help is presented in white boxes, and help the GM with handling various parts of the run that might be delicate, difficult or unfamiliar.

Gravedirt Slinging is a classical 'bad feels' Shadowrun. It is a straight up set of bad deeds, for money. Shadowrunners are often asked to do such things, and introducing them early is a good way to show the setting to new players. The GM should let players who come up with effective solutions to succeed, and to trust in the skills and knowledge of the characters. Most of all, Shadowrun is not a game of fighting your way through, but solving the problem posed in the way that you are most comfortable and skilled at.

The Game Master should read over this entire document and familiarise themselves with it, then we can get into the game.

After you have talked over what is acceptable or not, you will need a Game Master (GM), pens, pencils, dice, and some characters. You can make your own, or you can use /u/Bamce 's pregenerated starting characters .

The starting point for any Role Playing Game (RPG) should be a Session Zero. This is a conversation about what themes, scenes, morals, and limits the table is comfortable with. This is especially important in a game with dark themes and actions, such as Shadowrun. This Geek and Sundry pages gives a good overview. . This run requires that both players and GMs be ok with the darker side of the setting, as the main objective is murder.

The purpose of this document is to help a newer (or experienced) Game Master (GM) take some novice players and play Shadowrun. While this is mechanically suited for 5th Edition, the themes and setting should be easily adaptable.

The trideo news flicked to a local community item. The scene showed a middle aged elven woman in presentable, semi-professional dress slapping a clean cut orkish man across the face as she was on the edge of tears. The orkish man in a business suit stood, hand to face, then glowered at her and walked away. Voiceover: "Today local business leader Ronaldo Histeriga caused a scene at a local charity, as an attempt to buy out the last property holding out against his factory development failed again, the owner refusing to sell"

Shadowrunners with cars will be able to drive right outside the meet location before Gridguide sends the car to a parking garage, those without will have to walk or get the bus. As the characters travel, talk about the mid-rise buildings covered in AR, the slightly glitchy matrix connection from too many people and not enough signal. Have average people going about their day, but make sure to describe how alleyways are avoided, and how trash piles up in the corners. This isn't populous, clean and safe downtown, this is suburbia, the sprawl where there isn't enough of what's needed, and a little too much of what should be avoided.

The security corporation with the local contract will stop anyone with overt weapons or armour, but presentation of appropriate licenses will cause the officers to give a verbal warning and send the character on their way. If the weapon or armour is Forbidden, it will be a 3000n¥ fine and the character will be detained for six hours, causing them to miss the meet.

The only place you can walk around overtly armed is the Barrens.

As the characters arrive at Viggo's, those with a Knowledge Skill relating to Organised Crime can make a Threshold 3 test. If successful, reveal that Viggo's is a front owned by a Mafia family, and would be a poor place to try anything overt. Reaching the door, a troll and a human are standing outside, and will ask the characters for their weapons. If the PCs refuse to hand over any weapons the troll just notes something in AR, then lets the PCs in anyway.

NPCs might communicate and change their behaviour based on how you act.

Entering the restaurant, the waiter seating customers shows the runners to a slightly isolated table where their fixer is sitting. If characters opt to examine the room, on casual glance it is a moderately well done Italian eatery, with AR enhancements to the decor. A Perception (2) test reveals about eight well-muscled men and women, mainly humans and orks scattered throughout the otherwise normal mid-range diners. If a player gets 4 hits on the perception test, reveal that, three clean shaven orks in suits sit in an opposite corner, looking more professional and out of place compared to the diners or mobsters.

Organised Crime has more discrete security, but is definitely protected.

If the PCs relinquished their weapons freely, the characters’ fixer bids them sit, but tells them not to order anything yet. "If you haven't twigged, this is a mob place. Don't do anything stupid. Now, I've got a guy who is willing to pay good money for a two part job, but the catch is it is not for any bleeding heart, weak willed types. Got it?" If the characters agree, their fixer points out Ronaldo Histeriga where he and two bodyguards are sitting in the far corner. "I'm trying to build a relationship here, and this will help us all in the future. There's Mr Johnson. Go, have the talk, then come back here and I'll buy you dinner and give you a few bits of advice."

If the PCs didn't hand over weapons, their fixer angrily motions for them to sit down. "Drekheads. I said play ball. These are mobsters, and you're not making either of us look good. Job is a two parter to ice some charity case. Go talk to that human over there, get the job, and try to not frag anything else up." The fixer then puts a hand to his head, clearly unwilling to deal with the runners, and directs the characters to a Mob Lieutenant at the bar.

Playing by the rules makes things easier.

Ronaldo is out of place in a well-made, expensive suit, but is calm in the surroundings. He's professional looking, with slick black hair and professional anti-aging surgeries. He opens with a joke "You're not the waiter with my wine!" He bids them to take a seat. "I want someone killed. I also want certain information planted where it will be found, so that they are out of the way in a very permanent fashion." Mr Johnson will pause to notice how the characters react. If nobody seems as if they will seriously object, he continues.

"Bella Valentino has made herself into a problem and needs to die. I've got no real requirements past her departure. Then, I need some information placed where it will be found. I've assembled some background information on her on this chip, and the information to be placed on this one." Two datachips are slid into the middle of the table, and a credstick joins them. "This is the payment, 10kn¥ each. Non-negotiable, and you've got a week. Any questions?" After the players finish asking questions, Ronaldo bids them farewell. "Do this job well, and you'll have someone who knows who you are in the underground. That's worth something." After the back and forth, Ronaldo stands, nods to his two bodyguards and leaves the table with the two chips and the credstick on it.

Doing good work can leave you with connections.

The Mob Lieutenant at the bar is heavy set human wearing a shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a face that holds the marks of many fights. "So you're the new blood that doesn't know how to behave professional. Oh well." He lets them stand. "I'm Mr Johnson, and I need Bella Valentino killed. Just ice her however you like, but you only have a week to do it. Then, put this data somewhere where it will be found. I've got some helpful data for probates like yourself. Pay is 8kn¥, take it or leave it." After the players finish asking questions, the Lieutenant leaves the two chips and the credstick on the bar and walks to a nearby table with his buddies.