[jcook119]

Hi guys,

Still working on a character or two for Gencon. I have two questions:

1) Can I buy any Restricted or Forbidden items as long as the availability number is <= 12?
2) Do I have to buy a license for every restricted item? What else do I need licenses for? Driving? Concelaed weapons? Carrying weapons? Breathing?

Finally...I realized that all of my events are 2010 scenarios, not 2011. Do tose take place in Seattle, or somewhere else? Anything special I need to do because of that? Can I use a character I play in these 2010 missions in a 2011 mission?

Thanks,
James

[Tsuzua]

1.) Yeah pretty much. 
2.) Technically yes.  There's a fake license for everything.  In practice, I'm not sure if it has ever come up for me.  Typically you should be fine with a Fake SIN and a few licenses on the big stuff.  The GM might go hard on you, but I haven't really encountered or heard of a GM that has.

As for your events, if they are CMPs (typically they'll be like CMP-20XX or something like that), they are season neutral.  You can be in any season and it's cool.  CMPs can take place pretty much anywhere.

If they're just SRM-0X, then they're tied to a season (most likely 4) and any character you play in it will be "set" to that season.  You can go forward in seasons whenever but you can't go back. 

If you want help on your characters, feel free to post up a rough draft on the Character Creation forum.   

[Dr. Meatgrinder]

A license seems to be required for magic use (SR4A, 19), as well as for each weapon or piece of "offensive" 'ware (like at least one of the archetypes has) and activity (SR4A, 331-2).  It seems like each weapon must be licensed separately, but a single concealed carry license allows concealed carry of any weapon you have a license to possess.

From below, legal SINs can get legal licenses, though there's no crunch for that.  In any case, licenses can be acquired for restricted items, but not forbidden items.

Legality (SR4A, 313):

A restricted item may be purchased, owned, and transported under special circumstances.  For example, you are allowed to purchase and own a gun when you have a firearms license for it. To carry a gun with you, you may need a more specific concealed carry permit.  If you threaten someone with it or use it to shoot at someone, all the force of the law comes crashing down on you. Licenses can be obtained through legal channels, as long as you are an upright citizen in possession of a legal SIN. Shadowrunners with fake SINs can of course obtain similar fake licenses (p. 332). A fake license is always connected to a fake SIN, and if one of them is exposed, the other will also become worthless.

A forbidden item may never be legally purchased or owned, let alone transported or used, by a private person. Don’t get caught.

What this means, though, is that you can purchase R and F availability items during character creation, as long as it's A <= 12 (or 20 for the Restricted Gear quality).  You can buy licenses for the R stuff, but don't get caught carrying the F stuff, because you can't buy a license for it.

Functionally, it's a 4-hour time slot, so I've never seen licenses enforced (or enforced them myself as a GM) except in particularly egregious cases.  Like walking up to a checkpoint in Manhattan carrying an assault cannon...in which case a license probably wouldn't solve your problem even if you could have one.

[UmaroVI]

In Missions, the sole time I've seen licenses come up is get past police checkpoints to do stuff like cross borders or go into zones or whatever. This is probably a good thing because the legality rules are incoherent and illogical, and anything that brushes them under the rug is fine by me.

That means for any R or F item, you should either be able to hide it or have a license for it. It might be a good idea to have a license for any of your guns even if they are concealable, since those are often looked for. Note that "cyberware scanner = can't hide anything" so don't bother licensing your cyberware unless it's visible on the outside.

In summary, katana? Have a license. Muscle toner? Don't bother. Foci? Have a license for that.

[squee_nabob]

One other thing: I’ve seen missions where they throw the legality rules out the window and make new ones. They may put you in corp territory and tell you that now all drones are at least restricted and you won’t have the correct licenses because you didn’t know you needed them.

Don’t sweat licenses. My plan for my new character is to buy them the run after they screw me over. I’ll get stopped, asked where my license is for something minor, and then I will explain my license is stun bolt.

If they are going to hassle you, they will find a reason, and a license won’t save you. 

[Bull]

I should define License for Missions play.  *sigh*  Another thing for the list.

FOr my money, License work like they do in the "real world".  YOu buy one license per "Category", and need to register all appropriate items to that License.  So Drivers License, Magic License, Firearms License.  YOu can also get things like a Bodyguard License or Private Investigators License, which don't necessarily allow you to do anything directly, but they make good cover and give you a reason to be places and could probably cover things like Restricted Sensor and "Spy" type gear.  I'd also say things like a fake Press Pass or a fake Policeman's Badge fall into this category as well.

And, as a note...  You can never be licensed for Forbidden items.  Only Restricted.  So as the book says, don't get caught with it.

And generally, we try to minimize it unless it's a point where it makes sense to check SINs and Licenses, generally to speed up play, but individual GMs may add checks in more often at their discretion.

Bull

[UmaroVI]

While I agree with you that this is how license should work, in SR4A that isn't how they do work - if you look at the sample characters, they buy licenses for specific guns. The Street Samurai had to buy a separate license for each of her two Ares Predator IVs.

I wouldn't object if you wanted to try to make a system that made some sense for SRM, mind you, but it would be houserules rather than clarification.

[Teknodragon]

I should define License for Missions play.  *sigh*  Another thing for the list.

FOr my money, License work like they do in the "real world".  YOu buy one license per "Category", and need to register all appropriate items to that License.  So Drivers License, Magic License, Firearms License.  YOu can also get things like a Bodyguard License or Private Investigators License, which don't necessarily allow you to do anything directly, but they make good cover and give you a reason to be places and could probably cover things like Restricted Sensor and "Spy" type gear.  I'd also say things like a fake Press Pass or a fake Policeman's Badge fall into this category as well.

And, as a note...  You can never be licensed for Forbidden items.  Only Restricted.  So as the book says, don't get caught with it.

And generally, we try to minimize it unless it's a point where it makes sense to check SINs and Licenses, generally to speed up play, but individual GMs may add checks in more often at their discretion.

Bull

Whoa. _generic_ firearms licence? That... just made life (and a spreadsheet) sooo much easier!

[Frankie the Fomori]

I love what bull posted...As a GM it makes more sense then a License for each Item. I wil use this in my home games, thank you very much Bull.

[jcook119]

Thanks for the info folks. I think I will use Bull's idea of one license for Firearms, and go from there. I might get hassled by a GM about it, but since it sounds like there are no hard rules on it I will probably be OK.

As for the missions events, all of the ones I am signed up for are CMP, so it sounds like I am good.

[squee_nabob]

+1 love for Bulls License ideas. Just make them like the colored passes in season 3 (some stuff at the end of the FAQ that’s area dependent). Along with a “Firearms License” you could get a Hacker License, Armor License, Drone License, Cyberware License, and all sorts of great things that simplify the game!

[Dr. Meatgrinder]

One license for "possession of firearms" or even one generic "license to carry" makes sense for streamlining play.

It's hard to generalize, given that weapons possession/carry laws vary widely between jurisdictions, both in RL and in-game.  RL example:  In Texas, you don't need a license to own a firearm (aside from the federal background check that occurs when you buy it) and you only need a license for carry.  In New York, you register each individual firearm, and good luck getting a license to carry at all unless you're a LEO.  Given that difference, one could justify having the firearms laws vary between NYC (SRM 03) and Seattle (SRM 04).

Even driver's licenses vary in RL by what class of vehicle you're allowed to drive.  A passenger car driver's license does not permit you to operate a tractor-trailer, for example, nor does it necessarily even permit you to drive a motorcycle.

But yes, there's nothing served except administrivia by requiring characters to list their 37 fake licenses for each specific weapon, activity, etc..  It should be enough to specify "weapons", "magic use", or other broad category, noting that generally nothing with an availability of F can be licensed.

Although technically you shouldn't have the same firearm licensed under more than one SIN.  I don't think it's really spelled out, but you run into the same issue as if the cops run your prints and two SINs come up...even worse if that firearm is known to have been used in a crime.