Changing Stripes

While this one-shot was written with Shadowrun in mind, it can be played in any modern or cyberpunk setting. Sample Characters can be found here.

Hanging at a bar, the runners are contacted by their Fixer with a rush job: A Ms. Johnson needs their help ASAP. She's a Shadowrunner by the name of Barong, who is currently undergoing surgery at a Streetdoc after a botched run. As she is incapacitated, she needs runners to finish her job. Needless to say, she's offering a desperation fee.
Barong explains that she was tasked to rescue a tiger from an illegal wildlife auction. During her infiltration, a guest by the name of Maddox Weber brought in a private army and robbed the auction and its guests. Now Barong needs the tiger rescued out of Weber's hands, and can arrange extra payment for whatever other animals the team manages to save.

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Barong

Metatype

Ork

Gender

Female

Birth Year

2052

Awakened/Ware

Physical Adept

Type

Shadowrunner

Personality

Vicious

Barong is an adept who has a heavy preference towards eco-terrorism and screwing over rich folks. She runs with a small group of like-minded runners, including James, a physical adept capable of temporarily changing into a tiger. Alongside a summoner and technomancer, the four tend to do a good job.
Barong is telling the truth about the auction, but she's not mentioning that her way in was James turning into a tiger for her to 'auction off'. When the run went sideways, James was among the animals stolen. Now he's kept sedated at Weber's mansion, while his team is too injured to save him. And there's a big deadline: The drugs are preventing James from changing back, and if he's not saved in time, his very mind may permanently turn into a tiger's.

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The Run

Maddox Weber is holding a party to show off his recent acquisitions. This means a lot of security, but also lots of distractions. The team can either infiltrate as guests, pretend to be kitchen staff, or sneak onto the terrain after some distractions. They might even find some security with a conscience they can bribe or blackmail, though that is a risky approach.
Once on the grounds, they need to figure out where their target is kept, and how to get him out. There's several transport vehicles, and the good news is that security systems are mostly focused on keeping the animals in, not criminals out. The bad news is that Weber is giving some guests private tours, so the team can't depend on fixed security patrols.

Johnson

Barong

Job Type

Theft

Opposition

Professional Security

Base Rewards

¥7,000 ~ ¥10,000 each
8 Karma

Word on the street

"Barong? Yeah I heard of her. Runs with a tight crew, which will chew up and spit out its opposition. Don't cross her."

"That Maddox Weber dude is just an arse who likes showing off living prizes. He treats his 'pets' like crap. Sickens me."

"Look mate, either you surrender quietly, or we take you down and feed you to the beasts while the guests watch."

"I... Thank you. I'm afraid of what would have happened to me without you."

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The Complications

Some of the staff members are covertly skimming the sedatives, which means a lot of animals aren't as sedated as they may appear. Sudden roars end up giving the runners away, turning the situation in a big fight. On the bright side, the guards have at occasion tormented the predators. If they play their cards right, the runners can fight alongside the animals.
James, meanwhile, shows a high amount of intellect but also a simple-minded bloodthirst. Unless the runners actively restrain him, he'll start hunting down Weber, even if they use antidotes to awaken his human mind. This turns the run from a rescue job into a wetwork run real fast.

The Aftermath

If the team saved James, Barong is extremely grateful. Afterwards the team will find themselves approached by various eco-terrorists with good-paying sabotage jobs. The more brutal they handled Weber, the more brutal and high-paying the jobs they're offered are.
If the team failed, Barong is heartbroken. The next day, her team massacres every person remaining at Weber's mansion grounds. The deaths are so brutal that the authorities put out international warrants for their arrest. As for James, his friends are now desperately looking for ways for him to regain his human nature.