[MijRai]

There's an easier method.  Roll in a 'Lifestyle SIN' to your Lifestyle.  It is the one you use to buy groceries, the name on your rent checks, the one you have on you out in town when not working, etc.  Multiple Lifestyles, multiple Lifestyle SINs.  You have other fake SINs to use on the job. 

[Marcus Gideon]

There's an easier method.  Roll in a 'Lifestyle SIN' to your Lifestyle.  It is the one you use to buy groceries, the name on your rent checks, the one you have on you out in town when not working, etc.  Multiple Lifestyles, multiple Lifestyle SINs.  You have other fake SINs to use on the job.

And is this default Lifestyle SIN the one that has a registered firearm associated with the home address? The one that is a licensed heavy weapons expert authorized to carry military grade ammunition around town? The one that the cops will come looking for when shit hits the fan anywhere in town? Or is this default SIN just a cheap Rating 1 meant to barely pass inspection.

All the rest of that stuff is still going to require more expensive cover documents which need to be purchased separately if you want to look the part. Otherwise you may as well not have any kind of SIN at all, and suffer the consequences if and when they arise. Which is why the books say most Runners are SINless, and pay their rent in cash.

[All4BigGuns]

All you're doing is illustrating the problems inherent in bothering to have any of that at all. The absolute best way to handle such is a little term I first heard on these boards "hand-wavium".

[Marcus Gideon]

Which is fine. You don't *need* to purchase SINs or licenses. You can run in the shadows without them. But... if anyone questions you carrying all those weapons and such, you won't have any excuse.

If you hand wave SINs and licenses, you're completely invalidating the whole point of "running in the shadows". Suddenly everything you do is legal. You're no longer independent hired mercenaries working for the highest bidder. Now you're no better than Knight Errant or Lonestar.

[All4BigGuns]

Which is fine. You don't *need* to purchase SINs or licenses. You can run in the shadows without them. But... if anyone questions you carrying all those weapons and such, you won't have any excuse.

If you hand wave SINs and licenses, you're completely invalidating the whole point of "running in the shadows". Suddenly everything you do is legal. You're no longer independent hired mercenaries working for the highest bidder. Now you're no better than Knight Errant or Lonestar.

Unfortunately, that way only functions if they aren't included in the rule book. It's a pointless addition that creates a 'tax' on just about every character, but 'hand waving' can't be done while they're present.

[Marcus Gideon]

And if you ignore them completely, it completely alters "legality" throughout the universe. Toddlers taking grenades and rocket launchers to school. Angry wageslaves taking out their road rage on each other with up-armored Humvees sporting machine gun turrets. Argumentative Redditors hacking the shit out of each other with their store bought Cyberdecks.

If you simply ignore the repercussions of having some things (R)estricted to licensed personnel, or (F)orbidden for civilian use, then Cthulhu wins.

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.

[Herr Brackhaus]

Say it with me, All4BigGuns: "In my opinion."

I like the added complexity SINs and licenses bring to a game. At our table, these things doesn't make for just a "tax", or "a pointless addition". To us, the challenge of keeping track of which ID you used on which run so you know which ones might be burned doesn't detract from the game, they add to it. Granted, it may not be for everyone, but neither is keeping accurate count of rounds used in order to restock, or keeping track of how long your flyspy has been airborne so you know when it'll run out of fuel.

All I'm asking is that you stop being so bombastic in your statements and just voice your opinions as just that. Or, to use a term you yourself seem quite fond of; stop trying to tell me how to play the game...

[Rooks]

And if you ignore them completely, it completely alters "legality" throughout the universe. Toddlers taking grenades and rocket launchers to school. Angry wageslaves taking out their road rage on each other with up-armored Humvees sporting machine gun turrets. Argumentative Redditors hacking the shit out of each other with their store bought Cyberdecks.

If you simply ignore the repercussions of having some things (R)estricted to licensed personnel, or (F)orbidden for civilian use, then Cthulhu wins.

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.

You are right they use tasers and morgan thunder clouds instead

[Dinendae]

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.

[Coyote]

I like the added complexity SINs and licenses bring to a game. At our table, these things doesn't make for just a "tax", or "a pointless addition". To us, the challenge of keeping track of which ID you used on which run so you know which ones might be burned doesn't detract from the game, they add to it. Granted, it may not be for everyone, but neither is keeping accurate count of rounds used in order to restock, or keeping track of how long your flyspy has been airborne so you know when it'll run out of fuel.

Same here. If you don't keep track of fake SINs and licenses, then you probably shouldn't keep track of ammo, grenades used, drams of regs, etc. Which is also a viable game and faster, but not necessarily the same thing. Shadowrun 5e has so many different items for sale, that it seems the game is intended towards a minutiae-oriented style. It can be played with a lot of generalization and hand-waving away details, but that hardly seems like the most likely intention of the writers given how much detail they put into equipment rather than just putting a single "papers" item.

But a game where they put a single "papers" item would likely also have a single "increased speed cyberware" item at different rankings, also, and I think most of us prefer the complexity of mixing and matching your cyberware, bioware, spells, foci, decks, programs, drones, weapons, etc.