Runner Groups

Runners not only make a name for themselves individually, but as teams. Most runners have a select group of associates that they prefer to work with, this is known as a runner team. With advancements in society and shadowrunning, runner teams have become stronger as units. Runner teams tend to have a team name they are known by, and are commonly afforded more respect and opportunities than lone runners. They typically consist of a core group of shadowrunners, and often some behind-the scenes support staff. After new shadowrunners meet up and find a group they like working with, forming a team is perfectly natural. A team can accrue competence and ethics scores together.

Here are some of the teams you might meet in Seattle, and what you might know about them.

The Gullwings

Rikku, Yuna, and Paine, the primary members of The Gullwings

These girls are hailed as heroes when they show up to save the day. Seen more and more on the Laplace Mail, the Gullwings are one of Seattle's most up-and-coming runner groups. They're often seen responding to emergencies in between their various heists and capers. The Gullwings are generally well-liked and due to their high white-hat score don't generate too much heat as long as they keep things reasonable. People give the Gullwings the Benefit of the doubt and assume that anyone who gets hit by them must have been up to no good anyway. It is suspected by some of those in the know that the Gullwings work closely with, or may even be sponsored by Arcadia, though of course there's no proof. Furthermore, the Gullwings do so much to keep Seattle safe that there are often "more pressing matters to look into" when a Gullwings incident lands in front of the police.
White-hat score: 135, Grey-hat score: 75, Black-hat score: 2


Bart Company

Crimson of Bart Company

Presently one of Seattle's most well respected runner groups, Bart Company has a well-earned reputation for pure competence. Bart company's most prominent member, who goes by the runner name Crimson Storm, is rumored to be an entirely mundane human with no cyberware, who is nonetheless possibly one of the most powerful individual runners in the northwest. Generally people would assume that that couldn't be right, but she seems to be on the cutting edge of the "Revolutionary Evolution", and Bart Company always gets the job done. It's known that Bart Company's other members all compare quite well against Crimson, and that's a fact that strikes fear into their targets and lets them name their prices to Johnsons. Bart Company works clean and professional, but seems to have at least some ethics. They keep their heat down by being damn good, avoiding creating grudges, and making sure that people know they're better off staying out of their way.
White-hat score: 25, Grey-hat score: 198, Black-hat score 15


The Plan From Panama

Also known as the Panama Plan, or, ironically, the Men in White Hats, The Plan From Panama is a long-running runner group rumored to be older than the Laplace Mail itself. They keep a relatively large membership for a runner group, bordering on being the size of a gang or small syndicate. The Panama Plan is quite competent, and they have no reservations about getting their hands dirty. They've been known to engage in slavery, poaching of sentient protected species, and many acts of espionage and kidnapping. They're rumored to have worked for the likes of the Triads, Aztechnology and Renraku, but they aren't picky at all. The Men in White Hats don't do good deeds, but have a startling ability to blend in, and a pervasive network of connections. Some of their runs end up getting foiled by the Gullwings, or other white-hat groups, but no one in the city thinks the Gullwings alone will be enough to keep them from spreading their influence even further and deeper.
White-hat score: 0, Grey-hat score: 110, Black-hat score: 140

Nightmare

Seeming to come from nowhere some time ago, Nightmare has been painting Seattle red. Another group with a large and rotating membership, nightmare is known for exceptionally violent, and sometimes even Raider-esque massacres and carnage. Unfortunately they are far more organized than any group of Raiders. Nightmare generates extreme amounts of heat, but seems to feed on it, sometimes choosing to go through Lonestar barricades and hard-points purely as a show of force. People hire nightmare when they not only  need a job done, but a message sent, and Nightmare carries out such tasks with grim efficiency and sadism. Nightmare has been terrorizing Seattle and it seems like no one can stop them.
White-hat score: 0, Grey-hat score: 170, Black-hat score: 255 (max)