[Twitch]

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?

[Mantis]

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.

[Mirikon]

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.

[All4BigGuns]

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

[Twitch]

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.

[All4BigGuns]

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.

> This would actually still be a decent combat drone if could actually be, well,
rigged.
> Clockwork

[Mirikon]

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.

[All4BigGuns]

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.

[RHat]

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.

[All4BigGuns]

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.

[RHat]

It's good, but the Lynx has better armour, and with the walker upgrade better handling.

[Mirikon]

Lynx has better armor, and it is big enough that you can take cover behind it if you need to.

[All4BigGuns]

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.

[RHat]

Actually, the Doberman's explicitly a walker.  Or, rather, crawler.

[All4BigGuns]

Actually, the Doberman's explicitly a walker.  Or, rather, crawler.

Damn. Picture looked wheeled to me