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NPC gear, gear from dead players or as gifts from other players during Missions

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HMelrose

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« on: <02-15-17/1728:43> »
I know this has been discussed in a few of the threads (see below) but I didn't really see a clarification on it. I'm new to Missions play, having come from Organized Play systems from Pathfinder, Warmachine and others, the rules here are a little different and a lot more Player/GM trusting. I'm not complaining, I just want to make sure everything is kosher and I'm not breaking the basic blanket rules on the FAQ.

I've played First Taste and it was okay.

In my second mission in a Roll20 group, I acquired an AK-97, a Browning, and a combat knife from some NPC's. The GM didn't say I couldn't keep it, he just said there might be consequences. Do I get to keep the guns or not? Should I just get rid of them?

In my third mission again with the Roll20 group, a player had to leave early, he was a rigger and had a van, we needed to escape and he said use my van, me being the only one with the pilot groundcraft skill, I drove us away. The other player told me I could keep the van, but the GM didn't really say anything about it. Now we haven't seen or heard from that player in a couple of games.

I've now played my fourth and fifth Missions, at a CON, but didn't need to drive for one of the games, the other I did. I told the GM about the third Mission game at the beginning before we started playing and how I acquired the van. He was okay with it. So do I get to keep a mildly geared van or do I not?

My friends and I have had discussions and we haven't been able to decide whether I can keep the guns, or the van. Reading the blanket rules, it sounds like if its not way over the top, like an "Attack Helicopter" then its up to the GM and okay, as long as it doesn't break the game? My Character isn't a Rigger, he's an Elven Gun Adept with some Face abilities. However, my friends argument is that the van alone is over 30K Nuyen and that exceeds the Missions reward levels (They also come from Pathfinder Society) and I can see their point, but to me its just a van to get around in.

What are your thoughts?

Topic: Looting the fallen?
http://forums.shadowruntabletop.com/index.php?topic=19317.15

Topic: Looting and Gear 
http://forums.shadowruntabletop.com/index.php?topic=11649
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Teutonic Overlord

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« Reply #1 on: <02-16-17/0731:03> »
The following excerpts are our stance on your questions.

This is taken from the boiler template found in every Mission.

A Note on Loot and Looting
Gamemasters should be careful what they allow players access to, because they can and will try to steal everything not nailed down (and even then, they often have pry bars and claw hammers to deal with those nails). Shadowrun Missions operate under the assumption that two players who have run the same missions will have roughly the same amount of resources available to them (give or take some negotiation and a little bit of minor loot fenced), so when players are able to steal and fence a lot of gear or are able to get their hands on high-priced vehicles, cyberdecks, or foci, it can unbalance the game and make it unfair to players who didn’t have the opportunity to get those items. Gamemasters should avoid letting the players get into a position to do high value looting whenever possible.


This is from the SRM FAQ, Section 6

Can we trade money or gear between players?
Yes, but only within reason. Giving someone an extra gun, or spotting them an extra 1,000¥ for some gear because they’re short is no big deal. However, you should not be giving away large, expensive items or large sums of nuyen. This is primarily to prevent abuse in games where someone is just sitting in to play a session or two, so they just dump their gear and money on their teammates at the end of the game since they’re not planning to play that character anymore.
To set a hard limit on this, gamemasters should not allow players to give away more than 5,000¥ worth of cash and 5,000¥ in gear (using base book value for the gear) per game session.

As you stated, we place our trust in GMs and players.  Keeping the AK-97, Browning, and combat knife would be something I would allow at a table as well.  I would just remind the player that they need to change ownership (SR5, pgs. 236-237) for any devices with wireless functionality.  If I have the same group play, as GM, I would have notes about it so I can enact the consequences for not doing so later on.  However, due to the nature of open play, it's not really practical because attendance will usually vary.

As far as the van, I would say no at my table since that's what's in the FAQ.
Ray Rigel
Former Shadowrun Missions Developer and Event Coordinator
Catalyst Demo Team

HMelrose

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« Reply #2 on: <02-18-17/1457:46> »
After reading a bit more, I can agree that the van's worth breaks the spirit of missions rewards. And we've discussed the guns further and my character is going to toss them as they might have Corp RFID tags that could be tracked. I don't need that kind of heat, especially when it wasn't me who killed the security guard on our first run. I'll say I tossed them on my fourth run into the scattergraves. Thanks for the response!
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