Shadowrun
Shadowrun General => Gear => Topic started by: Chalkarts on <01-16-20/0030:32>
-
Skillwires,
I've seen some love of them, and quite a bit of distaste for them for various reasons.
When you've used them or seen them used, what were the interesting things they were used for?
I've played a face who had all the etiquettes and languages on chip so he could be socially talented in all situations.
I'd suspect people would be leary of them as a combat mainstay because of the edge issue.
What about wired driving, good by human standards but by no means a rigger.
What kind of skillwire heavy characters are you most familiar with?
-
A fair amount I think has to do with which edition one uses and whether the campaign tends toward being roleplay/skill heavy.
I've used them most in NPCs usually for some business-related skills though the son of one of my PCs was a data courier built originally in 4e/A then converted to 5e which was something of a challenge.
While predominantly still an NPC, I will likely play him soon in an upcoming one-off planned for our kids. It allowed for him to be rather effective in covering all the needed skills.
-
It allowed for him to be rather effective in covering all the needed skills.
I like having about 2-3 skills that I have to spend Karma on to make superior, but spending Nuyen to pay for all the regular stuff like Repair skills or Medicine/First Aid. a lot of those are Mission Specific type things that won't likely come up on every run. I spend that Karma Boosting my attributes and 2-3 skills I'll use for every mission.
Strong, Fast, Friendly, and can make you any meal or cocktail you'll ever want, fix any vehicle you need, and even build an off grid emergency shelter in a pinch, as long as he has the chips, which he keeps cataloged and stored in a smuggling compartment.
-
I have always toyed with the idea, but never went through with it.
Presonally I have always felt weird about skillwires. In the backround they metion that skillware killed the labor unions and droppes wages....but when I look at the price of those things...it really is just cheaper to send your wage slave to school :o
I can see the military or emergency services have a place for them...but still think they are to expensive for what they do....
-
Depends on how the sottware copy protection works. If one skillsoft can be loaded onto 1000 laborers' skillwires, it gets pretty affordable.
-
Have a master skillsoft on your Host, workers clocking in load the skillsoft, workers clocking out unload them (can't risk them working for someone else with OUR software!). And then runners are hired to secretly replace the master skillsoft with a slightly-sabotaged one. Three months later cars start falling apart due to faulty construction.
-
And as for the economics of fronting the price of the expensive skillwires themselves... 1) just implant used grade. It's cheaper, and to heck with your
slave's workers' essence, and 2) three words explains the economics of implanting expensive cyber in menial labor: Company Fragging Store. Work off the cost of the expensive chrome your 'recipient's employer provided you. Oh, it'll take decades to pay off? How will you afford to eat in the meantime? Well we'll be happy to giveyou you advances on your future paychecks in corp scrip. That are only redeemable in company stores. Oh you HAVE to buy from company stores, since stuffer shacks only take bona fide nuyen? *rubs nipples* Well a good thing for us you're captive consumers and have no choice but to pay whatever we feel like charging... and to go forever deeper and deeper into debt to the company....
-
You don't want them deeper and deeper in debt, but you want them restricted enough it's not worth switching, and with net rewards small enough that maybe after 50 years they have a very small pension. The implants are corporate property, so need to be turned in if you quit. You don't build up skills yourself, so you have nothing special to offer. And not many companies would hire you if you already proved you're not an obedient slave.
-
Well the whole point of a company store strategy is your workers don't GET to quit. Indentured servitude where financial pressure, rather than the force of the law, prevents emancipation.
-
You don't want them deeper and deeper in debt, but you want them restricted enough it's not worth switching, and with net rewards small enough that maybe after 50 years they have a very small pension. The implants are corporate property, so need to be turned in if you quit. You don't build up skills yourself, so you have nothing special to offer. And not many companies would hire you if you already proved you're not an obedient slave.
What's it like to live in a country with actual consumer protection laws? Is it nice? I hear it's nice. I bet it's nice.