Shadowrun 4e, a few questions [solved]

[Kaulesh]

I'm playing in a game of Shadowrun tomorrow. None of the people in the game have ever used this system (including the GM), so we're in the somewhat undesirable situation of having inexperienced players taking on intensive roles. I'm playing a hacker.

1) It's mentioned that your commlink's response is decreased if you have system*2 programs actively running. That means I can have a potentially unlimited number of programs installed on a single commlink with no downsides, correct? The reason I'm asking is that a post I've read either here or elsewhere mentioned keeping separate commlinks for hacking and rigging and I'm not sure why.

2) I would like to acquire some restricted equipment. I have a SIN, both legit and not. Does it cost anything to get a legit license for said restricted equipment? The only cost in the core book is for fake licenses - real ones are seemingly mentioned nowhere.

3) To be an effective hacker, I know I need a good commlink and a simrig. Are sim modules and datajacks required also? I could have sworn that (some?) commlinks came with sim modules, but I can't find that information anywhere.

Thanks for taking the time to read. Hopefully someone can help this poor newbie.

[VirOath]

2) I would like to acquire some restricted equipment. I have a SIN, both legit and not. Does it cost anything to get a legit license for said restricted equipment? The only cost in the core book is for fake licenses - real ones are seemingly mentioned nowhere.

For a Shadowrunner, a legit SIN is a liability hence why it gives you Bonus Point during char gen. It means that the real you is in the database. Fake SINs are for people that would like to have them and the upsides, but need something that can be discarded quickly. Fake Permits for restricted weapons are tied to SINs, real or fake, and are falsely tied to the weapons. Getting a real permit for a real SIN isn't mentioned in the books because it means going through the bureaucracy and trouble of getting a legal permit for a weapon, which is a huge liability as it is actually tied to the weapon. That is all information on the gun is logged, and if so much as a bullet fired is traced back to it from a crimescene or run then you become wanted by Lonestar/Corp.

You will rarely be acquiring items from legal means, this is what the Black and Grey markets are for. Cred Sticks and Trade are the method of payment as it leaves no trails, while using Cred Sticks might raise a few eyebrows at legitimate businesses depending on what you are buying. You don't need permits for the guns, real or fake, it''s just that getting caught with the weapons by Lonestar would push for wanting to see those permits and SINs. Generally, if you have a Fake SIN but no permit for a restricted weapon, you'll end up with the weapon confiscated, a fine, and a mark against your SIN. Since it's fake, you can just throw it away and get a new one. Mind you, getting caught using a weapon for a crime is always very, very bad.

Point is, conceal and carry. Lined coats and concealable holsters are standard affair, and for most day to day use the biggest thing that would be carried on your person would be a heavy pistol, machine pistol or SMG, depending on what you could hide. Mind you all of this will only come into play in High Sec, like the Downtown of a major city, or a Corp Controlled subdivision. Low and No Sec, like the slums, you'll get away with alot more (Like openly carrying an assault rifle in the slums). Even so, you can bribe and finesse your way out of a lot of situations and for most of the time the only time you would be wanting heavy firepower in High Sec was when you were looking to start trouble, on a Run, in which case it's more about not getting detected.

Besides, hiding big things is what vehicles are for.

3) To be an effective hacker, I know I need a good commlink and a simrig. Are sim modules and datajacks required also? I could have sworn that (some?) commlinks came with sim modules, but I can't find that information anywhere.

Thanks for taking the time to read. Hopefully someone can help this poor newbie.

Read the part right before the commlink listing, and the equipment that can be added to commlinks. You'll find what you are after there. Datajacks and headware are no longer 'needed' but are still useful, the world turned wireless after all. Headware can't be taken away if captured, and a wired connection can't be interrupted by white noise or jammers. At the very least I would recommend most Shadowrunners having the cheap Skinlink attached to their comms, letting them act as if wired to everything they are carrying. Harder to track, hack and jam. Though as a hacker, being jammed entirely means that you can't do what you do, but still being in access with your PAN is valuable.



I hope the above wasn't a data overload, but I tried to cover the bases. Best thing you can do is do a simple Matrix Run with your DM before you start the game to see if you have any holes in your character and smooth things out.

[Swordguy]

1) It's mentioned that your commlink's response is decreased if you have system*2 programs actively running. That means I can have a potentially unlimited number of programs installed on a single commlink with no downsides, correct? The reason I'm asking is that a post I've read either here or elsewhere mentioned keeping separate commlinks for hacking and rigging and I'm not sure why.

You can have a theoretically infinite number of programs installed. SR4 no longer tracks data storage capacity; it slows down the game, and the rates of data storage in the game weren't even close to keeping up with real life (thus breaking verisimilitude for some members of the playtest team).

The reason you keep separate commlinks is because you tweak the hardware to be good at one thing using a given commlink. Everything gets installed across *both* commlinks, but the hardware in one will be better for Rigging and the other will be better for Hacking (notably, Rigging generally requires less programs simultaneously running, but a better Signal so you can control your stuff from further away).

The other stuff, VirOath pretty much already got.

[Kaulesh]

You two have been a great help. With this info, I'm certain I can pull together a decent character.

I thought I could bypass part of the downside of having a SIN by taking the Erased quality, but I doubt we'll be getting very deep into that aspect of play. I think I'll trade it out for something else.

Marking as [solved]