Runner's Companion.pdf - Free

Simon Wentworth (order #1132857) 9advanced contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130SAMPLE VIRTUAL CONTACTSThese groups are just a small sampling of the various networksavailable on the Matrix. There’s at least one network available forevery career, hobby, fetish, or pop culture icon imaginable.The ExchangeUses: Favors, jobs, karmic paybackThe Exchange is a seemingly anonymous virtual private network(VPN) established for doing and receiving favors. Its centralfocus is the notion of “pay it forward.” The Exchange works as abackground utility that tracks a member’s location and situation.It constantly analyzes the member’s situation and compares this informationwith the physical locations and assets of other members.At those times when another member might be of assistance to amember, it may call on one of those other members for an act ofminor assistance. Members who respond to the VPN’s requests forassistance become more likely to receive assistance in the future.The favors that The Exchange will grant or request are minorthings. However, these minor actions may have enormous repercussions.A car might block an alley just in time to allow a memberto escape pursuit. A loud noise might divert someone’s attentionat just the right instant. The backdoor to a club might open just asa member needs to get inside.It’s unclear who has access to The Exchange database.However, it’s important to realize that the entity behind the VPNknows a great deal about the personalities, locations, and activitiesof all of the members.The OutpostUses: Mercenary news, training, recruiting, jobsSimilar Contacts: MET2000 Sub-Contractor NodeThe Outpost is a globally accessible virtual private networkfocused on facilitating communication between mercenary units.It was established in the late 2040s and has grown and expandedin the decades since. There are active forums and constant chatswhere members trade war stories, find job openings, and discussthe latest in bleeding edge weapon tech.The Outpost maintains a close watch on media outlets forany conflicts, and it can send automated alerts to members aboutpotential contracts from the War Room. News of force build-ups,excessive casualties, changes in alliances, or any number of othercriteria can trigger these alerts. Further, the membership constantlyrates the factions in ongoing conflicts, based upon their paymentreliability and assignment risks.A combat simulator, “The Range,” runs constantly on thesite. Hackers can practice their cybercombat skills in a non-lethalmanner here. Similarly, combat specialists can enter an AR environmentwhere they can compete in ongoing tournament play.ShadowSEAUses: Shadow news, jobs, fencingSimilar Contacts: The Helix, The Broken ArrowShadowSEA is a well-established virtual private network(VPN) for those who are active in the shadow community of theSeattle sprawl. Membership ranges from respected prime runnersto the youngest wannabes. Fixers and Mr. Johnsons sometimes recruitteams using the profiles that freelancers maintain on the site.ShadowSEA also maintains an active marketplace where memberscan negotiate deals to exchange illicit goods.Members constantly update an extensive library of profiles onthe activities of the movers and shakers in Seattle’s. These includefigures involved in the sprawl’s political, criminal, and corporatefactions. Additional information is also maintained for facilitiesmost likely to be targeted by shadowrunners. One of the mostcommon ways for a member to build their reputation is to uploadfloor plans, procedural manuals, and corporate organizationalcharts from recent jobs. The downside is that the most up-to-dateinformation generally reflects a facility that’s on high alert due to arecent hit. As a consequence, this information can rapidly becomeoutdated.The anonymity that ShadowSEA requires dictates that it’snot a secure resource. Teams have been set-up by contacts metthrough ShadowSEA—especially after bragging about particularlysuccessful jobs.Warezhouse 24Uses: Hacker updates, file-sharing, warez and patch tradingSimilar Contacts: London Eye, Trading Post, The Black HatThis illegal cracker operation has been around since shortlyafter the Crash 2.0. It is a virtual private network whose physicallocation remains a mystery. Though most of the users are NorthAmerican, the hardware is rumored to be in some legal no-man’sland like Bogotá, Lagos or Caracas. Finding and connecting tothe appropriate node involves a blind drop of an identificationkey to an address in the Caracas Matrix. Once this is verified theuser receives an read-and-wipe email with a link to the VPN’scurrent address.Initial access is by invitation from an active member only.Applicants undergo a vetting process and must complete a hackdetermined by a randomly selected current member. If approved,hackers gain access to the boards, freeware, exploit intel updates,new software reviews, security systems and IC specifications, hacklogs, and other Matrix intel.Like other such groups, Warezhouse 24 offers accreditedpeer-to-peer program and patch-trading. With 85 members andgrowing, someone is always willing to trade for or sell a specific programor patch. Many regulars prefer trading one for one though,rather than selling their warez to leechers and scriptkiddies.Unlike some hacker nodes, Warezhouse 24 has no bias againsteither technomancers or AIs, and both are welcome.Warezhouse 24 also possesses a reputation system linkedto hacker feats and the quality of software the user designs. Aconstantly updated job board contains work for hire offers andpeople looking to cooperate in software design and programmingprojects.LegworkObtaining information is often the most critical step to successfullycompleting a job. An easy way to determine how muchinformation a relevant contact has about a situation is for the GMto make a Connection + Connection Test for the contact. Theresults of this test can determine how many ranks of informationthe contact knows about the question. Refer to the RelevantRunner’s Companion