Let me be brutally honest here: it ain't much. Now, that's not to say that being a shadowrunner alone is going to have you rolling in Nuyen. Every business has dry spells, and if your reputation takes a hit, expect those dry spells to be long, hard, and probably cold (or hot, depending on the season). The business of being a private investigator is pretty boring. Lots of surveillance, talking to people (who usually don't want to talk to you), more surveillance, undercover business investigations, background checks, license plate and Social Security searches, and paperwork... oh, God, the paperwork...
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| In Nuyen we trust, provided it's legit... Image ©2016 Jeff Laubenstein, featured in Challenge Magazine #56. |
To fully understand how things are in the Sixth World, let's look at how lifestyles are defined briefly in the 20th Anniversary rulebook (p.86-87); the Nuyen amounts given are monthly expenses followed by starting funds:
- Street (Free; 1D6 x 10¥ starting): Literally living on the street; few or no expenses; eating out of the trash.
- Squatter (500¥; 2D6 x 20¥ starting): One step up from the street; a jury-rigged shelter, abandoned building or the like.
- Low (2,000¥; 3D6 x 50¥ starting): An apartment, but nothing to brag about. Just you and the masses.
- Middle (5,000¥; 4D6 x 100¥ starting): Nice house or condo, maybe even real food.
- High (10,000¥; 4D6 x 500¥ starting): A high-rise luxury flat, building security and good food on demand.
- Luxury (100,000¥; 4D6 x 1,000¥ starting): Imagine it, friend, just imagine it.
Being investigators, your pay is going to be hourly and depend on the type(s) of services rendered. Charges for an investigation usually entail a minimum number of hours (2-8) depending on the type of services needed. Brief initial consultations are free, but actual office time is chargeable, including initial interview with the client and typing up a formal report. The hourly rate goes up for out-of-town (x1.5), evening (x1.25), or weekend work (x2). If all three factors are figured in, it's usually going to be triple the normal rate.
Expenses will usually include:
- Administrative setup fees of 50¥ - 150¥ per case.
- Mileage of .75¥ per mile driven.
- Cost of lodging and other travel costs.
- 6¥ per 5'x7' digital image or 30¥ (flat fee) for video surveillance.
- GPS monitoring runs 50¥ - 75¥ per day with a 3-day minimum.
- Necessary state or federal fees and lab fees.
Retainers
are figured on estimates on the number of billable hours required.
Simple projects might range from 500¥ - 2,000¥. More complicated and
time-consuming situations will run around 3,000¥ to 10,000¥. The
billable amount is deducted from the retainer as the investigation
progresses. If it takes longer or requires more effort than expected,
the investigator contacts the client for authorization to keep
working and to get additional payment. If a case doesn't take as long
as expected, the remaining amount may be refundable, but is normally
subject to a minimum charge. That minimum charge is usually 750¥
to 1,000¥.
Of course, you can't guarantee results and the total number of hours varies. An easily resolved marital infidelity case might run between 500¥ and 1,500¥ or it may jump up to between 2,000¥ and 5,000¥ if the lovebirds are extra squirrelly and change their meeting spots at random; a criminal defense investigation running 25-50 hours might total between 1,000¥ and 6,000¥; and a very complex investigation, such as searching for a birth parent or adopted child might total 5,000¥ to 10,000¥.
Background checks are usually a flat fee of 20¥ - 200¥ or more, depending on how in-depth the client wants them to be. The minimum “no hit” fee is 20¥ if nothing out of the ordinary is found.
Of course, you can't guarantee results and the total number of hours varies. An easily resolved marital infidelity case might run between 500¥ and 1,500¥ or it may jump up to between 2,000¥ and 5,000¥ if the lovebirds are extra squirrelly and change their meeting spots at random; a criminal defense investigation running 25-50 hours might total between 1,000¥ and 6,000¥; and a very complex investigation, such as searching for a birth parent or adopted child might total 5,000¥ to 10,000¥.
Background checks are usually a flat fee of 20¥ - 200¥ or more, depending on how in-depth the client wants them to be. The minimum “no hit” fee is 20¥ if nothing out of the ordinary is found.
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| Mr. Johnson's First Rule: Speak softly and carry a big credstick. Image by Jim Nelson from The Neo-Anarchist's Guide to Real Life, ©2016 Catalyst Game Labs. |
The big money is going to be coming from high-profile, dangerous jobs, some (meaning "most") of which will be "off-the-books". In these situations, it's going to be a "flat fee" - meaning you'll get paid once the job is done (unless Mr. Johnson gives you an advance of some sort) and the price is either set by Mr. Johnson or, if you're good enough, negotiated and agreed upon. In those rare "feel good warm fuzzy" jobs where you're helping the disadvantaged, you'll be lucky to get paid as most clients in such a situation don't have much money, if any. Bare minimum, you'll probably come away with some contacts, allies, or markers to call in the next time you're in over your head.
So, all that being said, how much will your character actually make every two weeks? I could launch into a system to roll that up but that's more work for everyone than it's worth. Figure that if your character has the "Middle" budget lifestyle (5,000¥ per month) or less, you'll be making that in an "average" month without any added side jobs. I may institute a rule to see if business is better or worse than usual each month, but I haven't sorted that out yet.
EDIT: Well, having done all sorts of mental gymnastics, paged through a number of organizational books (Threats, Underworld Sourcebook, etc.) as well as looked at the rules for groups as contacts, I'm still kind of up in the air with regard to how to implement a rule about how business is going each month. I've got a system brewing, but I'm wrestling with how best to keep it simple. While I'd love to have some general stats, I may just chuck it all and just go with the flow of the story. Watch this space for more details...
EDIT #2: So, after rolling ideas around in my head, I've decided to just go with the flow of the story. The reason behind this is two-fold: first, it follows the best gamemastering motto ever - Keep It Simple. Second, statting up organizations with mechanical metadata just brings Shadowrun a step closer to what people have stereotyped it as, "Cyberpunk D&D". As I've stated before, Shadowrun defies that stereotype on so many levels, no matter what William Gibson wants us to believe.
