Here is a brief rundown of all the big boys, the 10 AAA rated megacorps of Shadowrun. Forget your governments, in Shadowrun the megas are where all the big decisions are made. Half the governments of the world are in corporate pockets anyway, and those that aren’t are usually that way because they are too small to be bothered with.
For each corporation, I’ve listed their world headquarters, main areas of interest (although it should be kept in mind that most megas at least dabble in pretty much every field, through one subsidiary or another), and a brief description of what they are like. I’ve also listed some of their subsidiaries where its relevant, in brackets. Finally, I’ve put in a little bit of what to watch for as Shadowrunners.
Ares Macrotechnology
World HQ: Detroit, UCAS
Main Interests: Security (Knight Errant, a rival of Lone Star), military, automotive (General Motors), Aerospace (NASA) and entertainment.
Description: One of the first megacorps, Ares has a good reputation in the Shadows as far as AAA’s go. Often seen as being traditionally “American”, patriotic, militaristic and a bit keen to charge in guns blazing. They do like their public work, as evidenced by the Ares Firewatch teams: highly trained and funded teams dedicated to rooting out and destroying Insect Spirits. Of course, as anyone who has looked into the history of Chicago in SR knows, it doesn’t always work out as planned…
Running Info: Generally, good people to work for. They are still a megacorp though, so don’t be surprised if they do screw you. They are just less likely too than most.
Aztechnology (aka Azzies or the Big A)
World HQ: Tenochtitlán, Aztlan
Main Interests: Consumer goods, military tech, magical goods
Description: The Azzies have a weird image. For the general public, they produce lots of cheap but decent goods. They are the ASDA smartprice equivalent, and most of the food available at the cheaper end of the market comes from Aztechnology or their subsidiaries. If you asked any random joe about them, the only other fact they could offer you that they pretty much are the government of Aztlan (not officially, but effectively) and that they like to keep up the old Aztec traditions. People in the Shadows know this is all due to the Azzies having some of the best PR guys in the world. They are deeply bad news. The megacorp was constructed from a handful of Columbian drugs cartels, and are now involved in blood magic and screwing people over.
Running Info: Watch your asses. They pay well, and are much less fussy about things like collateral damage than most, but they also sacrifice someone every morning to make sure the sun comes up and are rumoured to have more than one toxic spirit (think demons, basically) on the payroll. Hell, there are some rumours that its blood spirits doing the paying. So work for them, sure, as they wont always screw you over, just be prepared that some part of the run will probably be bad news.
Evo (formerly Yamatetsu)
World HQ: Vladivostok, Russia
Main Interests: Transhumanism, Nanotechnology, bioware, anything new and weird.
Description: Evo are one of the more peculiar AAA’s. They are Japanese in origin, but now based out of Vladivostok and with a significant number of Russians in high up positions, and Buttercup, the majority shareholder, is a powerful free spirit who was mates with Dunkhelzahn and looks like a small girl. They like to be on the cutting edge of technology, and can occasionally be found running around like crazy people just *ahead* of the cutting edge. Evo is, for example, the only corp so far to establish a footing on another planet, with their colony base on the surface of Mars. Other than being generally weird and a little scary, their big thing is products that take metahumans into account: ie goods designed for the huge hands of Trolls, or the tiny bodies of pixies, or the lack of arms of a naga.
Running Info: Ok to work for, especially good if you are an unusual minority. Just be prepared for your runs to take a dive into crazytown.
Horizon
World HQ: LA
Main Interests: Media, pharmaceuticals, media, property development and media. Also media.
Description: Horizon pretty much run Hollywood, and are a bunch of media daaaalings. They can probably be best summed up by their most recent invention, the P2 network. Part social networking application, part social hierarchy, the P2 network ranks two things: how many people are “following” you, and how close you are to Horizon CEO Gary Cline. Sounds like wank, but if you are doing any work in LA, you need to get on the P2 network, get people following you and get as close as you can to the CEO. Its all about who you know. If your rating is bad, you know nobody, and if you know nobody, you are a nobody, and who wants to associate themselves with nobodies? Feel free to be sick into your mouth a little.
Running Info: Expect media and entertainment related runs: looking after the latest star, getting some up and coming act to sign a contract with Horizon, or rubbish someones P2 rating out of spite. A lot of the people you will work for/with will probably remind you of Paris Hilton. If you can cope with that, their money is good.
Mitsuhama
World HQ: Kyoto
Main Interests: Computing, heavy industry, magic
Description: Rumour is that Mitsuhama is in bed with the Yakuza, and there certainly seems to be a lot of evidence to suggest that. Of course, whether it is a case of the Yakuza controlling a megacorp or a megacorp owning its own crime syndicate is a more complicated question. They are a very traditionalist Japanese megacorp, very much into honour and saving face. Their connections with the Yaks also means they have an extra level of deniability as far as the corporate court goes, so they can often get away with naughty behaviour that other corps cant.
Running Info: Doing jobs for Mitsuhama often basically means doing jobs for the Yakuza, but don’t presume that this is always the case. What is like the yakuza is how they treat their employees, including Shadowrunners. They will very rarely stab their runners in the back, so do well, and you will be rewarded well. Mess up though, and you will be expected to either make up for it for free, or die.
Neonet
World HQ: Boston
Main interests: Matrix infrastructure (Novatech), cyberware, electronics, software, biotech, aerospace, small arms…
Description: You could be forgiven for thinking that Neonet are skilled in some sort of corporate based voodoo, based on their history. Based on the remains of the now defunct megacorp Fuchi, their IPO was one of the main causes of the second big matrix crash that completely boned the planet for a short time. However, coming out of that mess they somehow secured a major place in setting up the backbone for what would be the wireless Matrix. The fact that damn near every computer system on the planet is now reliant on a structure maintained largely by Neonets subsidiaries has firmly secured their AAA status.
Running Info: Expect matrix heavy runs, although that doesn’t necessarily mean it will all be hacker work: B and E can be much easier than breaking down firewalls.
Renraku Computer Systems
World HQ: Chiba, Japan
Main interests: matrix software and communications
Descriptions: Once one of the biggest players in the corporate world, Ren took quite a hit when their biggest project, the Renraku Arcology in Seattle, turned out to house a mad AI that locked the place down, killed most of the inhabitants, and then tried to take over the matrix. The Neonet IPO may have been the catalyst for the second matrix crash, but Renrakus Deus AI is the big bad that made it happen. The Arcology has since been taken over by the Seattle metroplex and renamed the ACHE (Arcology Community Housing Project), although there’s still rumoured to be some nasty and weird things lurking in the miles of corridors that are still locked off from the public. If it were not for the fact that Renraku still holds a large amount of the communications network in Asia, and they are still one of the worlds largest suppliers of data storage, they would have lost AAA status along with the ACHE.
Running Info: Ren are kind of keeping their heads down at the moment, as they are still recovering from the Crash. However, they are still a mega and therefore still have dirty work to be done. Some of it may involve going into the ACHE to recover lost goods or data: be warned, the ACHE is like something from SLA, all badness, downtrodden residents and hidden horrors. To add to the fun, getting in and out involves some super tight security, so don’t expect to be able to wander in with all your gear.
Saeder-Krupp
World HQ: Essen, Germany
Main interests: Heavy industries, chemicals, finance, aerospace.
Description: SK is, without doubt, the biggest of the big boys. It’s the largest, most powerful AAA corp there is, and it is nearly entirely owned by the dragon Lofwyr, an ancient great dragon and arguably the most powerful person on the planet. Formed from a handful of well known present day companies including BMW, the company was bought up in a careful and extremely sneaky take over by the dragon when he realised that sitting on a pile of shiny things was a bit out of date, and he wanted a more modern “hoard”. He treats SK very much with the care and obsessive attention that other dragons reserve for their gold.
Running Info: There are two things to note about working for SK. First, if you think Mitsuhama are unsympathetic to failure, you will be astonished at what SK do. If you mess up, you should dump your IDs, flee the country, and still try and make up for it before they find out what has happened. Even then, you will probably end up wyrmfood. Secondly, there is a saying in Shadowrun; “Never deal with a dragon”. SK is owned by a dragon, and its almost certain that whatever you are doing, and however “black” the operation might be, Lofwyr will know about it. Make of that what you will.
Shiawase
World HQ: Osaka, Japan
Main Interests: Everything ever, but especially nuclear power and environmental engineering.
Description: The original megacorp, Shiawase are behind the court case that established corporate extraterritoriality laws, which in turn effectively instigated the age of the megacorp. A traditional Japanese family controlled company, its occasionally susceptible to infighting between the different familial factions. Recently undergone quite a rearrangement of the management structure following the second Crash.
Running Info: Pretty similar to Renraku, except that there is a fair chance that your Shiawase Johnson could be hiring you for a hit on another part of Shiawase. It can get messy if you don’t keep tabs on who is allied with who.
Wuxing Inc
World HQ: Hong Kong Free Enterprise Enclave
Main Interests: Finance, Shipping and magic
Description: Wuxing suddenly had mega status thrust on them in the wake of Dunkelzhans death, when he left a huge amount of money and shiney things to the CEO. Canny investment and buying up smaller companies after the crash has secured their place in AAA status. Although they were originally interested in mundane things, they put significant investment into magic based projects, giving them the reputation of the “Mystic” Megacorp.
Description: I’ll be honest, I have no idea. I’ll get back to you on that.
Other significant players
These guys are, for one reason or another, not AAA corps, but they still have clout, and you are likely to run into some, if not all of them at some point.
Zurich-Orbital Gemeinschaftsbank
The ZOG is the main banking organization in Shadowrun. Partially owned by all the major megas (Each of the big ten has an exact 10% share), it controls the Nuyen. The ZOG main headquarters isn’t really a World HQ as such, being (as the company name implies) an arcology sized space station. It has some of the most advanced security of all forms known to man, and houses the members of the Corporate Court.
Running Info: Forget it. It might be the biggest bank in the world, but doing a heist on it is almost impossible. *if* you managed to get past the firewalls and the army of IC sat there ready to fry your brain, or *if* you somehow managed to infiltrate the station and get out with your ass intact, you would have managed to piss off the richest people in the world, and every one of the AAA corps, simultaneously. In all likelihood, you would be recipient of an Omega Order from the Corporate Court. When you consider that the only other individual I can think of to receive an Omega Order was assassinated with a Thorstrike (orbital cannon, think tactical nuke without all the messy radiation), you can see how serious the shit you would be in is.
Corporate Court
The Corporate Court is the regulatory body for megacorporations. All laws that affect what a mega can and cant do are passed and upheld by the Corporate Court. Each of the megas has representatives on the court, although the fact that there are 13 members and only 10 corporations means it isn’t always totally fair. Most of the members live in the ZOG station for security reasons. Corporate Law is enforced largely through threat: if any corporation goes too far it can be subject to an Omega Order. This is basically a no holds barred “get im!” permit: all the other corporations are allowed to do what they like to a corporation with an Order against them without fear of political reprisals from the other corps, up to and including full on invasions or use of WMD’s.
Running Info: You are never really going to go after the corporate court, as that would be a bit like saying you were going up against the UN or something. However, the Omega Orders are something to look out for. They don’t happen often (needless to say, the megas tend to try and get away without pissing off absolutely everyone at once), but when they do its Big Risks, Big Money time for runners.
LoneStar
Technically not a AAA as they are not big enough, the Star are still prominent as they managed to secure contracts with a number of significant places, including the biggest city in the world, the Seattle Metroplex. Essentially, they are a private company that provides the same services you would expect from the real world law enforcement: everything from street cops to prisons to the FBI. Note that although they are the most well known police horse, they are not the only one: Knight Errant, NYPD Inc and others can be found in other ‘plexes, and some don’t have specific law enforcement companies at all, relying on megacorp security.
Running Info: Seriously? They are the police. Treat them like the police, and you wont go far wrong. Some of them are doing it to Uphold The Law, some of them are just doing it because it’s a steady job, and some of them are corrupt buggers. The only difference between them and “real” cops is the way cases are assigned: There is a program that sets resources based on two factors: Public image and effort involved to solve. Some street kid gets shivved behind a Stuffer Shack with no witnesses? It’ll be added to one cops already overburdened to do list. Big important sim-star gets their posh car stolen from in front a popular night spot? The star will be all over it. If you want to avoid the Star, make sure the effort you put into hiding your trail is proportional to how public the crime is.
I’ll add more as and when it occurs to me to do so.
Shadowrun: megacorps and other scary groups
Moderator: Forum Moderators