sounds like fun, I prefer those games that are sandbox but the problem here is I don't play shadowrun. I've never even seen the rules or know what style of play it is. I hope you find people that can play in such a world because I know from personal experience just how hard it can be putting that much effort into a game that you're running. I try and DM a similar way myself, though my players are friends, and tend to want leading by the nose, and it hurts each and every time I have to pull on that lead to get them moving, so I know what effort goes into a game like this. My own preferences for game-play are personal story driven, and If it makes sense for my character to have something, he generally does. an example: (from DnD, the game I play most of the time) Gilbert Nimblefingers, halfing tailor. a History: Gilbert, as a young lad, grew up in the metropolitan city of Mher, a rich and constantly evolving trade city that controlled most fo the trade from the north and from across the eastern oceans. He lived with his parents, a very respectable and reasonably well-off couple by the names of Margeri and Foren, who ran a business together making gowns and shoes for the influential (and rich) ladies of the court. His mother, one of the best seamstresses in town, trained him from a young age to sew and cut fabric, and as he grew older, he was often stuck working in her workshop instead of out playing with his friends. His father also took him under his wing as his apprentice, teaching his the intricacies of leather and how to shape a boot or slipper to make it comfortable, while leaving it looking as if it belonged with the outfits that his mother made. Needless to say, Gilbert, being a young lad with better things to do with his time, rebelled against this treatment, believing it to be too much work and would often take the opportunities that presented themselves to sneak out of the house, where he quickly found friends amongst the gutter rats and orphans that ran the streets. reveling in his new-found freedom, the young halfling would sneak out at night to join in their 'play', seeing what things they could take from the market place to feed themselves, or what stories they could invent to explain their actions when caught. As they grew older, (and he did not) their play became more and more serious, until eventually the lad in charge of the gang asked Gilbert if he thought he could help them with a real job, one that would help his friends in a real way. Gilbert, still being a young halfing, and reckless in his belief that what they did never hurt anyone, was more than susceptible to his persuasion, and after a few misgivings, was eager to show his friends that he was as good as he always boasted he was. The lads of the gang had a plan all set out, where Gilbert only had to slip through a high window that only a child, or a very small halfing, could slip through and open the front door of the house from the inside. Gilbert found he enjoyed the thrill of it all, and very quickly became the key to many such break-ins, sometimes through windows left slightly ajar, sometimes through chimneys that were not secured properly ( or blocked with bars he could just squeeze through, given his small stature - which even for a halfling was small, with his own height barely topping 2 feet at the time. It was this that lead to his being caught - In his pride, he boasted that he could do better than the houses of merchants and the common folk, and get them a real score. Working with his parents as he did, he was often tasked with hanging the clothes on wicker frames that held the clothing to the right size and shape to match the wearer of the outfit, with handles of sorts made to stick up through the neck of the outfit that a stout rod or staff could be threaded through to lift the wicker frame, and the clothing hanging on it, from the ground. All this covered by a light canvas covering that protected the clothing from the elements, and he had a plan that would get him inside the mansions he needed to with no-one the wiser. When it came time to deliver the next set of clothing, he hung a sling of sorts to sit in from the loops that the stave would thread (the only part of the wicker framework that was made from real wood and could support even his slight weight) and was carried right into the manor of the person who has ordered the dress, and left alone long enough in the room of the lady to switch his hiding place (and take with him his sling). Suffice to say, that the robbery went off brilliantly, and Gilbert left the manor through the kitchens, where he let himself be thrown away with the slop of the day, collected every other morning or so by a man who collected the large buckets of unwanted food for a small fee, and sold it on to a man who raised pigs in the city itself, and needed the scraps to fatten his sows. Laughing, Gilbert showed his prizes to the lads the next day, pockets filled with silver and gold, rings that sparkled and caught the light on the gemstones that adorned them, but never told them how he did accomplish it. He did, however, set up another such 'job', using the same method of ingress, and utilizing the same method of egress, with one one small change - this time, there was a ball, and the amount of scraps that would be thrown out would fill several buckets. Gilbert was delivered to the mansion where the ball was to take place, and again successfully snuck out from his hiding place and enjoyed an afternoon of watching the owner of the gown prepare herself for the ball, which was to be her 16th name-day celebration. Feeling clever, Gilbert was soon slipping from room to room, filling pockets with every bit of silver or gold he could find, regretting only that the most impressive pieces were down in the ballroom already. hiding the jewelry in a closet in an out of the way corner, Gilbert then took himself back to the room of the young woman, hiding himself in her wardrobe, hidden by the folds of dresses that hung there, and waited. hours later, he was awoken by the sounds of servants scurrying about - lighting the fire, heating up a bed-stone to warm the blankets of their lady, and preparing the room for her return. half an hour later the young lady returned, and spoke for an hour with her maid, while preparing herself for bed. Gilbert watched as she removed her jewelry, the platinum piece that this particular house was famous for placed on a stand by her mirror while she gushed over her night. finally, exhausted and out of things to say, her maid ushered her to bed, and left the lady there to sleep while she retired to her own room adjacent to the ladies own. After what seemed an age, an impatient Gilbert snuck out from his hiding place and padded over to the nightstand, where he silently plucked the rings from the counter and took the necklace of platinum and diamond, lifting it from its place on the stand. With a glance behind him as he left the room, he quickly moved through the now silent and quiet house, freezing whenever he thought he heard someone coming, or saw a light under a door. moving the loot down to the kitchens, he quickly hid it all in the buckets of scraps, in three pouches each filled to bursting. Then he moved on to the silver cutlery, normally locked away but out from the nights revelry and waiting to be cleaned. With a grin he took all the cutlery and placed it under the scraps, hidden well from sight, and then cleaned the benches down, leaving them tidy and clean; with a little luck, no-one would notice the cutlery missing for a while if everyone thought that it had already been done. When it came time for the scraps to be picked up, a new fellow was driving the wagon, and he had bought three others to help him. Odd as that was to the staff of the kitchen, they thought little of it as (it being before dawn) the lad explained that his uncle, the cartdriver, was under the weather, and had asked him to help out. he bought his friends to keep him company and to help lift the scraps to the back of the wagon, as he has been told it was likely to be a fairly big haul. Once the wagon was away with the scraps, the lad driving the wagon knocked on the side of a bucket, and asked if he was in there. Gilbert, a smile on his face, popped up covered in scraps from one of the buckets and the lad, who of course was the one in charge of the gang, wearing the paltinum necklace. a year later gilbert's friends were caught and he was forced to run because they gave the authorities his name, though only his first (he had always kept his second name to himself, as most of the street children had none themselves) and he had no choice but to leave town or bring shame to his family, who could not afford to lose their name. after all, the authorities were lookign for a halfling the name of Gilbert, and without actually having him, thy could never be sure it was the right one.
