Shadowrun

Shadowrun General => Gear => Topic started by: Twitch on <04-12-13/1958:23>

Title: Rigger gear?
Post by: Twitch on <04-12-13/1958:23>
I'm currently rolling up a rigger for a possible play-by-post campaign, and I'm having a ton of fun picking out goodies to buy. So I thought I'd ask the forums -- what do you guys consider essential rigger gear? What's your favorite bit of cool tech, drone or otherwise?
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: Mantis on <04-12-13/2033:12>
Rigger control gear, tricked out commlink and a fine selection of special purpose drones. Something for spying and surveillance (eye spy or flying eye are good choices), something for combat (doberman of course) and something to carry it all (Bulldog or Hermes). Then kit the drones out with things like chameleon coating and extra fuel tanks as well as upgraded sensors to make them useful in their roles. Beyond that, it comes down to flavour and just how much cash I've got available.
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: Mirikon on <04-12-13/2048:26>
First, pick up This Old Drone. Then grab the Reaper. Spend the extra 25% to refit it back to milspec and remove the Obsolete trait. Throw on a chameleon coating. Now you have a drone that is hard to spot, can keep flying for hours without refueling, and has four hard points for ordinance. My current favorite loadout includes an Ares MP-LMG with EXEX ammo, and three quad-rack mounts (Eurowar Antiques), one with the Azzie Iron Bomb in Arsenal, one with the Ares firebomb in MilSpecTech, and the last with Dagger anti-tank rockets from Eurowar Antiques. All of this is Availability 12 or under. Sure, it won't be much good on 'quiet' runs, but when drek hits the occilating wind-moving device, and you need to go from 'quiet' to 'loud', having this baby on standby overhead is a DAMN good thing.

Second, a Steel Lynx or similar, with your machine gun of choice and EXEX ammo. Throw on some extra armor and a chameleon coating. Still Availability 12 or under, and this one can follow you into buildings.

Third, a rotodrone of some sort, chameleon coated, and equipped with a battle rifle (and ammo bins). Makes for a very effective sniper, or as a way to distract an enemy without going full on Apocalypse Now on them with the Reaper.

Fourth, if you still have cash, grab a spy drone of some kind.

Yes, maybe I do go overboard with the chameleon coating at times, but it is easier to drive down the road with your drones in stealth mode than dealing with what the Knights say about you carrying that much ordinance through the sprawl.
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: All4BigGuns on <04-12-13/2057:10>
The LEBD-1 would be a decent choice for the roto-drone that Mirikon mentioned. Maybe a Fly Spy for the spy drone.
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: Twitch on <04-12-13/2102:32>
First, pick up This Old Drone. Then grab the Reaper.

It's... beautiful. o.o

The LEBD-1 would be a decent choice for the roto-drone that Mirikon mentioned. Maybe a Fly Spy for the spy drone.

I've already got a Strato-9 with battle rifle, LEBD-1, and a handful of Fly Spies with all the trimmings. 1000 karma builds are fun.
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: All4BigGuns on <04-12-13/2109:14>
Only thing with the Reaper is that judging from the shadow-talk accompanying it, not only would the extra money need to be paid to remove Obsolete, but it would need Rigger Adaptation added.

Quote from: This Old Drone page 23
> This would actually still be a decent combat drone if could actually be, well,
rigged.
> Clockwork
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: Mirikon on <04-12-13/2117:15>
The lack of rigger adaptation is part of the Obsolete quality, A4BG.

Obsolete: The vehicle uses a very old version of control software (or maybe even none at all), rendering it incompatible with current remote control rigs and AR technology. It may be considered a traffic hazard or be illegal to operate in certain jurisdictions. The vehicle does not possess the Rigger Adaptation Trait as standard. The vehicle’s device rating (p. 222, SR4A) is three less than a comparable modern device’s would be (to a minimum of 1), e.g., An M1A2 tank would have a device rating of 2, rather than the normal rating of 5 for military equipment.

So remove that Obsolete quality, and it goes to a Rating 5 for military equipment, and can be rigged as normal. Doing that costs about 25% of the base cost (per Used Car Lot). Since the Reaper's base cost is 22000 nuyen, that's going to be about 5500 nuyen. Not bad for increasing the matrix stats by 3 and adding in the ability to be rigged. The body is really low, so going with the chameleon coating on everything is more effective than armor.
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: All4BigGuns on <04-12-13/2128:05>
I could see that interpretation, however, I could also see a GM saying that removing Obsolete only restores the Matrix Attributes, but that Rigger Adaptation has to be added separately.

I'd probably go ahead and rule it the way you said, but I'd be prepared for the other one if on the other side of the screen.
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: RHat on <04-12-13/2146:58>
Drone Bus is always a good plan.

Basically, you take a transit bus (in Arsenal as the Conestoga Vista), which has 20 Body and therefore 20 slots for modification.  You can give it an enhanced rigger cocoon, and both vehicle and personal armour for 5 slots.  Leaving you 15 slots of play for drone racks.  You could have a multilaunch, a large, and two small landing; two large landing and a small landing; 5 small landing; two large, three small, and a mini, 5 multilaunch...  Whatever configuration suits your drone setup.

For combat drones, the Steel Lynx is always a good choice - you can put on whatever LMG you can get to begin with, and then give it ammo bins and walker mode, followed by whatever 1 slot mod you want.
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: All4BigGuns on <04-12-13/2153:14>
Steel Lynx is good, yeah, but I just don't understand the lack of love the Doberman gets. It seems like a pretty decent drone to me.
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: RHat on <04-12-13/2155:31>
It's good, but the Lynx has better armour, and with the walker upgrade better handling.
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: Mirikon on <04-12-13/2157:04>
Lynx has better armor, and it is big enough that you can take cover behind it if you need to.
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: All4BigGuns on <04-12-13/2158:03>
It's good, but the Lynx has better armour, and with the walker upgrade better handling.

Ahh, that's probably why I get the Doberman. I tend to not worry about Pilot Anthroform, and I think that would be needed for the other.
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: RHat on <04-12-13/2205:40>
Actually, the Doberman's explicitly a walker.  Or, rather, crawler.
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: All4BigGuns on <04-12-13/2208:58>
Actually, the Doberman's explicitly a walker.  Or, rather, crawler.

Damn. Picture looked wheeled to me :(
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: RHat on <04-12-13/2218:37>
Where is its picture, anyways?
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: All4BigGuns on <04-12-13/2219:24>
Where is its picture, anyways?

I tried looking for it, but I guess I was thinking of something else because I couldn't find it.
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: RiggerBob on <04-13-13/0542:08>
A very old Doberman picture (2nd Ed. if i remember correctly):
(http://www.gods-inc.de/macavity/IsleOfShadows/vehicles/gm-doberman.jpg)
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: Mantis on <04-13-13/0558:12>
Mirikon, where are you getting Eurowar Antiques from? That book has been advertised at the beginning of so many books for like the last year or more. Still haven't seen it in either PDF or print.
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: Twitch on <04-13-13/0644:29>
Wait, Eurowar Antiques is real?

On-topic: I'm becoming very fond of the Rover 2068 SUV. Strip out the fancy wet bar and you double the passenger capacity, and it makes a good transport vehicle that doesn't scream "I am a shadowrunner."
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: Mirikon on <04-13-13/0752:10>
Eurowar Antiques is part of Runner's Black Book 2074, and the information is also included in one of the data packages for the Hero Lab chargen aid.
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: mtfeeney = Baron on <04-14-13/0817:53>
Where is the info about removing obsolete/obsolescent from old stuff?  I've checked This Old Drone, Mil Spec Tech and Mil Spec Tech 2.
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: All4BigGuns on <04-14-13/0851:06>
Where is the info about removing obsolete/obsolescent from old stuff?  I've checked This Old Drone, Mil Spec Tech and Mil Spec Tech 2.

Used Car Lot.
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: Chrona on <04-14-13/1747:48>
First, pick up This Old Drone. Then grab the Reaper. Spend the extra 25% to refit it back to milspec and remove the Obsolete trait. Throw on a chameleon coating. Now you have a drone that is hard to spot, can keep flying for hours without refueling, and has four hard points for ordinance. My current favorite loadout includes an Ares MP-LMG with EXEX ammo, and three quad-rack mounts (Eurowar Antiques), one with the Azzie Iron Bomb in Arsenal, one with the Ares firebomb in MilSpecTech, and the last with Dagger anti-tank rockets from Eurowar Antiques. All of this is Availability 12 or under. Sure, it won't be much good on 'quiet' runs, but when drek hits the occilating wind-moving device, and you need to go from 'quiet' to 'loud', having this baby on standby overhead is a DAMN good thing.

[spoiler](http://www.mindwafers.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Reaper_drone_by_ZuStorm.png)[/spoiler]
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: Mirikon on <04-15-13/0035:06>
First, pick up This Old Drone. Then grab the Reaper. Spend the extra 25% to refit it back to milspec and remove the Obsolete trait. Throw on a chameleon coating. Now you have a drone that is hard to spot, can keep flying for hours without refueling, and has four hard points for ordinance. My current favorite loadout includes an Ares MP-LMG with EXEX ammo, and three quad-rack mounts (Eurowar Antiques), one with the Azzie Iron Bomb in Arsenal, one with the Ares firebomb in MilSpecTech, and the last with Dagger anti-tank rockets from Eurowar Antiques. All of this is Availability 12 or under. Sure, it won't be much good on 'quiet' runs, but when drek hits the occilating wind-moving device, and you need to go from 'quiet' to 'loud', having this baby on standby overhead is a DAMN good thing.

[spoiler](http://www.mindwafers.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Reaper_drone_by_ZuStorm.png)[/spoiler]
Yeah, pretty much. :)
Title: Re: Rigger gear?
Post by: CanRay on <04-15-13/0102:26>
First, pick up This Old Drone. Then grab the Reaper. Spend the extra 25% to refit it back to milspec and remove the Obsolete trait. Throw on a chameleon coating. Now you have a drone that is hard to spot, can keep flying for hours without refueling, and has four hard points for ordinance. My current favorite loadout includes an Ares MP-LMG with EXEX ammo, and three quad-rack mounts (Eurowar Antiques), one with the Azzie Iron Bomb in Arsenal, one with the Ares firebomb in MilSpecTech, and the last with Dagger anti-tank rockets from Eurowar Antiques. All of this is Availability 12 or under. Sure, it won't be much good on 'quiet' runs, but when drek hits the occilating wind-moving device, and you need to go from 'quiet' to 'loud', having this baby on standby overhead is a DAMN good thing.
[spoiler](http://www.mindwafers.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Reaper_drone_by_ZuStorm.png)[/spoiler]
"Persuing suspected Shadowrunners in a late-model grey Ares Roadmaster, license plate being scanned HOLY SON OF A SLITCH!!!  Scanning ended automatically by ECM systems in the car...  Apparently something doesn't like us trying anything active on that Roadmast...  DID THE EXPRESSWAY WHERE WE WERE JUST BLOW UP?"  "Suggest you disengage pursuit after connecting with the Metroplex Guard who are now taking over the investigation."  "Suggest you have a new set of PANTS for us when we get back to the station!"  "Please observe standard communications protocol."