Meeting Mr. Johnson(s)

The Mr. Johnson is a time-honored tradition of Shadowrun.  You go on Shadowruns, courtesy of Mr. Johnson.  Sometimes, this is very organic.  Something is going on and you need to go take care of it.  Sometimes, this is very terrible, doing work for the corp guys one way or another.  This game so far is unusual in that you won't necessarily do work for a corporation, ever.  You might.  But it's probably not going to happen.  Each Mr. Johnson is loaded in their own way and will get you things you couldn't normally get through your usual contacts.


There's the public information that each Mr. Johnson has on them.  They're supposed to be anonymous, deniable assets in their own right, but ultimately they do have information that sneaks out about them and becomes a big deal.  They try to avoid the sticky situations that arise, but the surfacing of an evil blast from the past would make anyone go into a tailspin and go into hiding.

Of course, Mr. Johnsons are connected - they have lots of money, connections, and interests to keep going. They can't just vanish off the face of the earth.  They have to do something often a lot crazier, which means relying on go-betweens, their personal armies, and (most importantly) shadowrunners.  That's where you come thundering in.  We already know that there's five possibly employers kicking around that have made a big stink in your lives.  Let's go over them, complete with some pictures, shall we?

The Fantom, Name Unknown

Metatype: Human-like Ork; Augmentation Status: Heavy Awakened Status: Nonexistant; Resonance: Nonexistant.

Quote: "I've done a lot of crazy things, but I've never taken on a dragon on foot before. Standard operation when dealing with a dragon is to pick up sticks and run the hell away! Trolls don't seem to know any better. Heh!"

Public Shadow Knowledge: Everyone knew about the Fantom, back during the 40s. He was the man that defined the concept of street samurai. He even had his own version of the ancestral daisho. Modified rapier without the typical all-encompassing hilt along with a main gauche similarly modified. His hands were augmented with gecko gripping pads, leaving it impossible for him to be disarmed. He was outfitted with the latest in thermoptic camo tech, making him part ninja, part samurai, and part fencer. When half of his face was blown off and reconstructed, he stopped his usual mercenary work to focus on the brutal reality of the Sixth World as well as revenge against the man that betrayed him: Bad Eagle. His methods bordered on the tactics of an anarchist, many said. The mask, the blades, the cloaks, and the theatricality have inspired generations.

What You Know: He works for both the Ork Underground as well as The Ancients, being the one responsible for ensuring that the unofficial district and the enormous elven gang had a treaty signed between them. The reasons for this are wholly his own. He's still a big, intimidating man that still gets juiced gunning down the right people for the right price. Technically, he only moonlights, his main business being for open-minded fringe factions of significant size.

Flynt Ryan, "Gumshoe"

Metatype: Human; Augmentation Status: Prosthetics Only; Awakened Status: Nonexistant; Resonance: Nonexistant.

Quote: "I don't treat shadowrunners like animals because they might be the heroes that Seattle deserves. Not the heroes we need, but definitely the ones we deserve."

Public Shadow Knowledge: Everyone that was doing jobs in Downtown knew something about Flynt. He had this keen eye, you couldn't ever lie to him, and he was the type that got quite a few shadowrunners put away that were reckless, out of control, or the type that weren't quiet. Being loud got you on his radar, and Flynt put you out. After Knight Errant won the contract to Seattle, he was sacked along with the rest of the detectives. The people who knew the most were kicked first, so Flynt was part of the first round. He responded to Knight Errant's moves by subverting them, hanging out to dry a lot of the new crew coming in, and letting a number of shadowrunners go that would one day actually thank him and respect him for letting them free. He took their thank-yous and turned them into I.O.U.s, developing a network almost overnight of criminals and deniable assets. It's the sort of success story that makes everyone turn to jelly inside. He was screwed over by a politician, he's screwed that politician right back ever since, in a very deniable fashion.

What You Know: He's the only person you've met that you can trust inside of five words and the only one that will shoot you straight every time. If he even suspects that you're not worth his time, he'll ask you to leave. Since you've all been worth his time and he's been worth yours, he's adamant that you work with him to take down Knight Errant and their pyramid. He's got his leads as to who's behind all of this, but without evidence, he can't do anything about recent events. He's still looking for concrete proof from the other two gangs he's tapped you to investigate.

Oyabun Kentaro Sato, "Shogun Slayer"

Metatype: Human; Augmentation Status: Minor Cyberware, Minor Bioware, Leonization Therapy; Awakened Status: Nonexistant; Resonance: Nonexistant.

Quote: "Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Corruption is a crime. Crime doesn't pay. I. . . think I was going somewhere more poignant with that."

Public Shadow Knowledge: He owns the Satomobile Factory after he pried it from the cold dead fingers of the former Oyabun of the Yakuza in Renton, muscling his way in by his hacking skills. The factory is as green energy-wise as factories come, being one of the few true zero-sum factories in the world with regards to energy. He's known for putting that public face first and keeping his shadow face more concealed and gentle. The media won't tell you that he's into augmentation projects galore and is one of the few non-corporate owners of a deltaware clinic. He's fudged paperwork a few times for people personally, but he can't afford to get his hands dirty. He's loved by his subordinates, his employees, and even by the drek at the bottom of the Yakuza ladder. Some say he has an army all his own. This is why the other Oyabun don't dare make a move against him, let alone pressure him into drugs or prostitution. He seeks to make augmentation more universalized, more modular, and more accepted, contrary to the other Oyabun that want to keep people down where they belong. He aspires to the Yakuza ideals of old: existing to protect the people because the Samurai and the Shogun will not. Rumor has it that he hacks into major Japanese corporation databases occasionally to let himself know that he's got what it takes to still trade secrets in this day and age. Maybe that's why the Yakuza don't want to take him down. Their secrets might all come out en masse.

What You Know: He's Dancer's dad. At least, that's what Kiwi said very loudly. He's the one that had a granddaughter kidnapped, the one you all rescued. He seems to be one of the good guys, despite his Yak status. Good enough of a good guy that Flynt Ryan still coordinates and works with him, all these years later. That being said, he owns more than a few clinics these days. Maybe he'll do some work for you in trade for a Run. He will be retaliating against Bad Eagle in the near future, this much is certain.

Eoghim L'rannoth, "The Other Baggins"

Metatype: Human (Halfling); Augmentation Status: None; Awakened Status: Nonexistant; Resonance: Powerful Technomancer.

Quote: "With the right prosthetics and the right surgeon, even a cripple can walk."
"I'm not a cripple!"
"And I'm not a halfling!"

Public Shadow Knowledge: The half-man, they liked to call him back then. Few people knew what halflings were, let alone what they even meant to the general public. Often mistaken for a gnome, he let more than a few people know back in the day what the real story was, but since then he's enjoyed the confusion. Leaving people in the lurch about the exact details of his metavariance was what he did best, along with rigging. He was an accomplished rigger before he went into the nightclub business, providing fantasies to people who paid the right price for them. He was a technomancer before they were even studied, categorized, or named in public. He seemed to have little to do with Crash 2.0, perhaps even was one of the few people that didn't suffer ill effects from it. A man full of personality, he talks his way out of situations or uses his army of subsentient drones to perforate people. People like him and they like his talkative drones. The Blue Parrot is still a very popular place, his haven.

What You Know: He's very suspicious of outsiders since Bad Eagle kidnapped his wife, but has a keen interest in Fourth World artifacts, desiring to assemble a device from these artifacts. What these artifacts might make when they're assembled is anyone's guess. Maybe sometime he might let you into his Fourth World Vault, if he has one?

Emilia Krauss, "Gungniria"

Metatype: Elf; Augmentation Status: None; Awakened Status: Powerful Ásatru; Resonance: Nonexistant.

Quote: "I just need to be alone for a little bit so I can study without any crazy Shadowrunners wanting to make my acquaintance. . . Shadowrunners in this town are CRAZY!"

Public Shadow Knowledge: Most people associate the Norse traditions with heavy metal music and beating people to death with whatever they can get their hands on. This isn't the case with Madame Krauss. Fiercely powerful with nordic magics and a staunch believer in the principles of the Aesir as well as the precedence of an origin in Alfheim, she was quite possibly born before the Awakening of 2011, a head full of piercings and a body full of tattoos. When the Awakening came, as the story goes, she flared like a bonfire in pitch black, becoming full of magic within moments. This led her to becoming one of the more potent shadowrunners that have plied their trade, her seeming kindness and openness a sign of traditional Nordic hospitality. The truth of the matter is: if you fuck with her, expect her to do whatever it takes to take you down permanently, going so far as to call her fellow 'warriors' (shadowrunners) from back in the day to come and stop you.

What You Know: She was one of the people kidnapped by Bad Eagle, but she looks a lot older than the woman that you all remember rescuing. Kiwi might have more information about that, since she was the one that returned her to her estate. How could a powerful magician like her even be possibly kidnapped?