The Dope Show: Shadowrun's 'Ghost Cartels' by CTP
Tempo - the latest magically-enhanced drug to hit the streets. It's about to change your life forever, and rock the criminal underworld to its core.
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$25.00
/ Session
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1 player following this game
Weekly / Saturday - 3:00 AM UTC
Session Duration / 3–3.5 hours
Campaign Length / 25–35 Sessions
0 / 5 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
'Ghost Cartels' is a campaign designed for Shadowrun 4e, and is a departure from the 'typical' activities that many runners get up to. Instead of working for nameless Mr. Johnsons and dancing to the tune of the megacorps, your character will become inextricably tied up with powerful criminal syndicates. The game begins in February, 2071. 'Tempo' has just arrived on the scene; it is a Bioengineered Awakened Drug (BAD), which can temporarily provide magical abilities to users, even those without the Gift. What starts as a trendy novelty high swiftly begins to disrupt the balance of power in the underworld; criminal syndicates in sprawls around the globe reignite old rivalries and settle old scores as the Nuyen and drugs begin flowing in the increasingly dangerous streets. Where Tempo comes from, who makes it, and how exactly it works remain mysteries as law enforcement agencies and the megacorps scramble for a response. You are a Shadowrunner, a SINless deniable asset doing dangerous jobs for enough nuyen to keep the lights on. What begins as a few odd runs for tempo pushers evolves into an increasingly dangerous destiny as you get closer and closer to the powers behind the drug taking the world by storm. Money and power beyond your wildest dreams could be yours... but how far are you willing to go? In 'Ghost Cartels,' you're going to be doing bad things for bad people. You're a criminal, working for criminals, pushing a drug that is ruining lives and sparking numerous international crises. Loyalty and trust are in short supply, but paranoia, addiction, and violence lurks behind every new run. This is a truly globe-spanning campaign that will see your characters on a whirlwind tour of famous sprawls around the world. The action begins in Seattle, but expect to visit Hong Kong, Neo Tokyo, Los Angeles, and more as you get deeper and deeper in the tempo craze. This is definitely a game for mature audiences. Addiction, substance abuse, betrayal, and violence will feature heavily. You're working for bad people. Either your character has few scruples as long as the money is good, or you'll have to sell your soul just to keep yourself out of an early grave. This is definitely the Shadowrun equivalent of 'Scarface,' 'Narcos,' or 'Breaking Bad.' This campaign was written in 2008, so expect the accompanying 20 year drift in how the topic of drugs and crime is viewed compared to the modern era. While we will establish boundaries and expectations during Session 0, you need to be ready for a mature, dark setting.
Game style
Rule of Cool (RoC)
Roleplay Heavy
Tactical / Crunchy
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(22)
1 year on StartPlaying
142 games hosted
Highly rated for: Knows the Rules, Beginner Friendly, Inclusive
About me
The name's Seth, but you can call me CTP! My goal is to provide the best gaming experience for you that I possibly can, and I have high standards! I've got over 20 years of TTRPG experience; at least 50% of that time was as a DM/GM running games for my friends. I consider myself an exceptional GM. I balance improv, acting, fun voices and accents, and thorough system knowledge with a sense of fairness, excitement, narrative development, and humor. I run pre-written material as well as creating my own adventures and campaigns. I also know what it's like from the players' POV. https://www.youtube.com/@CTP_GNG ^ check out my silly gaming YouTube channel if you want to hear some voices and SUCH; the Legend of Legaia playlist has a lot of voice acting nonsense I tell you what boy howdy.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
You can make your character using the standard 400 build point method, or you can use the standard karma (750 karma) or priority method from Runner's Companion if you prefer. If you are very new to the system and overwhelmed by all of the choices, I might suggest the priority method to help guide you if nothing else. I will be happy to assist in character creation either during session 0 or as a one-on-one before the game gets started. All options in the Shadowrun 4e 20th Anniversary edition core rule book are on the table, as well as everything from Runner's Companion, Arsenal, Augmentation, Street Magic, and Unwired. Everything else is on a case-by-case basis, with a big no-no attached to anything from the War! supplement. Build the kind of shadowrunner you want to make! If the team ends up without a hacker, a mage, or anything of a more esoteric nature, don't sweat it. Don't feel like you need to 'fill missing roles.' The campaign will adapt to the cast of characters we create. With that said, expect to perform acts of reconnaissance, shadowing, sabotage, assassination, security, infiltration, and smuggling. Given the globe-trotting nature of the campaign, I would encourage a 'travel light' and flexible mindset. Don't invest lots of resources in a home base or sweet ride, because there might come a time when you need to get out of town in a hurry... Note also that 'Ghost Cartels' has a timeline of events that develop regardless what the players do, and the 'main plot' moves along at a pretty brisk clip. This is not a good game for tinkering with long term projects in a garage, making custom items or mods, researching long and complicated ritual magic, or coding custom programs from scratch.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
The Shadowrun 4e core rules can be found for free on the 'internets,' feel free to send me a message and I'll guide you in the right direction. You can also hunt down 'chummer' for 4e if you would like some assistance on keeping things organized. Otherwise, I will help guide you through the character generation process. I encourage everyone to keep a decently up-to-date character sheet, and take notes! There's going to be a lot of characters to meet. I will be using Foundry VTT for handling rolls, visual aids and maps, and music. All you need is a stable internet connection, a web browser, and a Discord account! If you are unfamiliar with the Shadowrun setting, I encourage you to do some googling. It's a very strange alternate history cyberpunk / fantasy future, where magic returned to the world in 2011 and rocked the globe with catastrophic natural disasters. Emerging from the ashes of the old world, the 'Sixth World' is dominated by powerful mega corporations, shadowy criminal syndicates, dragons, and everyone else caught in-between.
What CockroachTeaParty brings to the table
With my games, you get dedication, consistency, communication, and commitment. You're paying for a premium gaming experience and I aim to deliver! Shadowrun 4e can be a bit of a bloated, disorganized mess of a system... but I love it. If you are feeling overwhelmed, fret not, as I will be here to help guide you through it. We're not going to lose ourselves in the deep weeds of the system, especially in areas where people are not explicitly interested. We'll let the rules help guide and shape the story, but ultimately the main driver is going to be your decisions and the relationships you develop, both with your fellow shadowrunners and the colorful cast of unsavory characters you're going to meet. 'Ghost Cartels' is designed to adapt to your decisions, and it even has a baked-in assumption that whole chunks of the book might get skipped or ignored depending on player decisions. My job is to keep things moving and adapt to your fickle whims. Expect lots of interesting characters, voice acting, ambient music, and high-stakes heists and fights. We're going to be leaning towards the 'Rule of Cool' here as best we can, but if you want to roll up your sleeves and engage with the eccentricities of the system, I will happily rise to the challenge. Based on my experiences with Shadowrun 4e, about 75% of the initial workload is simply making your character. I will happily provide what insight and guidance I can; if you have a character concept, chances are it can be realized. The core book will get you 90% of the way there in most cases; the other splats are there for the brave and daring, and I can lend you my suggestions and expertise. Why not a more modern edition of Shadowrun? Well, this just happens to be the edition I know, choom.
Homebrew rules
In case you missed it: War! is explicitly banned, and this is not a good game for long-term projects, creating custom spells, doing long ritual magic, coding new programs from scratch, etc.; the events of Ghost Cartels takes place over the course of 9 months or so.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How CockroachTeaParty creates a safe table
We'll discuss the various mature themes during Session 0 and establish boundaries. You're always free to send me a PM on Discord or here on SPG if you have any concerns. I want to make a comfortable and safe place to game!
Content warnings
Safety tools used