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Dumpshock Forums _ Shadowrun _ Lifestyles
Posted by: Lilt Aug 16 2003, 03:51 PM
What lifestyle would your characters (present, in design, or past) maintain using the rules from the sprawl survival guide?
I think my Talismonger character would go for the following if he had the choice:
Space: Luxury(5) (for his enchanting shop, hermetic circle, ETC)
Security: High(4) (Good but not awakened, I can deal with that bit)
Furnishings: Low(2) (not one for flashy stuff)
Entertainment: Low(2) (again, he dosen't feel the need for anything fancy)
Comforts: Middle(3) (enchanting can be tiresome work)
Area: Middle(3) (don't want unnececary corp attention or too much vandalism)
This comes to 5 + 4 + 2 + 2 + 3 + 3 = 19 points
Which is a base of 5850 Nuyen per month.
Edges/Flaws
Manaline (In an ideal world) +0.3
Vigilant Security (Always useful) +0.15
This comes to: 0.3 + 0.15 = 0.45 edges worth which modifies the cost as such:
1.45 * 5850 = 8482.5 Nuyen per month.
Slightly expencive but a good all-rounder.
Posted by: K Oz Aug 16 2003, 08:39 PM
First to say, the new Lifestyle rules kick a$$. I think we introduce them in our next SR session.
For my troll mage:
- Area Street equivalent, 0 points (hey, he lives in the Barrens)
- Comforts Middle, 3 points (he sometimes likes real food and constantly needs water and power for his job; ah, he's a part-time street doc, although currently stuck in the Tir, but that's another story)
- Entertainment Low, 2 points
- Furnishings Middle, 3 points (you need something sturdy if you're a troll)
- Security Middle, 3 points (good maglocks and a contract witht he local gang)
- Space High, 4 points (although it's not permitted according to the rules due to the Area rating, I think he needs it for his body shop)
That makes an overall sum of 15 points = 3,000 ¥.
Edges/Flaws
No More Neighbors +0.15
Rough Neigbourhood (should be standard in the Barrens) -0.15
This leaves the sum at: 3,000 ¥. Much more than I paid for my normal low lifestyle, but also much more realistic. Now I just have to come up with a decent combination for my troll model/mercenary/fitness club owner/bounty hunter 
Posted by: hobgoblin Aug 16 2003, 10:14 PM
hmm, looks like that book is full of nice little stuff 
Posted by: Ulfgeir Aug 16 2003, 10:43 PM
Sigh, I got to get a job so I can buy all those books I am missing from 3rd edition. and I definetly need to start playing more again... Seems to bes lots of goodies there.
/Ulfgeir
Posted by: Hida Tsuzua Aug 17 2003, 04:33 AM
It looks good. Here's hoping it gets reprinted soon. The lifestyles look great and one of my characters has needed something like this for a long time.
Posted by: RangerJoe Aug 17 2003, 06:42 AM
As soon as I read the SSG rules on lifestyles, I thought of my Ork decker, Gritz. He lives in a small room off of a large storm drain tunnel (read: small as in a small apartment, large as in large enough to park a small RV in….) which is inhabited by himself and a small pack of semi-awakened mutant cockroaches. How was I going to explain this lifestyle to my gm….
Area: E—Gritz lives in a fairly industrial area, part of Seattle’s mini-rust-belt. Thankfully its away from prying eyes. Unfortunately, it also means he needs to install some discreet security.
Comforts: Low—Yes there’s a fridge, and he has running water and power (both illegally siphoned, of course). He’s even got a shower stall and a small bathroom unit… I’d just check to see that one of the roaches is not smoking in the shower before one hops in. Yes, the cockroaches drink all the Soyafizz, but as a rule, they’ll steal a few cans to help replenish the supply.
Entertainment: Low—“drinking with your homies on the stoop” sort of summed it up. Problem is, Gritz is a real big sports fan (got himself a crush on a cheerleader, he does), so some yen gets blown on nosebleed seats or pay (steal)-per-view trid.
Furnishings: Low—Card table, a few seats (the cockroaches play a lot of poker under that single hanging bulb), an ork-sized bed, a ratty couch (don’t sleep on the couch!).
Security: Middle—This is not accomplished by traditional security, as Gritz lives in a revamped sewer tunnel! When Gritz found the spot, the drain exit had a large steel grill welded over it. A few hours and a couple a grand later, and said grill was now a remotely activated portcullis with a decent maglock. The chamber that Gritz lives in has no security per se (just a large, water-tight, bulk-head style door with no lock…. he’s gonna get around to fixing that some day….), other than his roommates, who go a long way towards keeping out trouble. Security also factors in keeping his mini-‘bago safe (keeping the capacitors charged, the codes current, etc.)
Space: Middle—Okay. There is enough room to park a small RV in the drain, so I suppose it’s kind of large. When the roaches snore too loudly (as in after a wild bender), Gritz has been known to sleep out in the car.
Edges and Flaws:
Inconspicuous housing (+0.10): Did I mention the tunnel is down a tiny gravel road on a steep embankment, in an area with several of such features.
Helpful neighbors (+0.05): I was going to call them roommates, but the roaches are slightly transient, don’t help with the bills (well, not a lot), and just don’t make sense under the RM rule. They do keep their eyes and feelers open, though, helping keep things safe. Afterall, it’s their tunnel, too.
Water-tight (+0.05): Oh boy, if it weren’t….. The RV has a good enviroseal on it, and strong wheel clamps to keep it from being damaged/lost during a major drainage event.
Crashpad (-0.10): It’s hard to impress someone with this place (well, in general, I guess, but especially when there’s half a dozen child-sized roaches passed out on the floor/bed/couch, smoking, and boozing).
Infestation (-0.10): Oh, it’s not just the roaches (then again, it’d be at –0.20 if the roaches were not so territorial).
Net = 0
Price = (0+2+2+2+3+3)(1.00) = 12 = 1,000 nY per month.
And it’s home.
Posted by: Clipwing Aug 17 2003, 07:09 AM
| QUOTE (RangerJoe) |
| ...inhabited by himself and a small pack of semi-awakened mutant cockroaches.... |
Hehe, inspired by the classic movie Joe's Apartment? That was a fraggin' funny flick!
Posted by: Kagetenshi Aug 17 2003, 07:44 AM
Character: A human ex-merc decker/sniper who has recently found herself adrift in Seattle.
Middle: 4 months (Apartment in Bellevue, Major's usual dwelling.)
Area: Middle/B (3)
Comforts: Middle (3)
Entertainment: Middle (3)
Furnishings: Low (2)
Security: High (4)
Space: Middle (3)
A smallish apartment within a generally more luxurious complex, Major hasn't had the time yet to furnish the apartment.
Trigger-happy landlord, Patchwork engineering, Hasty access, One step away from everything
Low: 5 months (A very out-of-the-way apartment in the Redmond barrens)
Area: Z (-1)
Comforts: Low (2)
Entertainment: Low (2)
Furnishings: Squatter (1)
Security: Luxury (5)
Space: Middle (3)
A former Aleph safehouse, this building in the midst of the Barrens is tucked into a little corner with an ungodly amount of security for its location. Comforts and furnishings aren't a priority; the only reason it has any entertainment capability in the least is the need for a matrix hookup. It used to have high-speed matrix access, but Major downgraded it for cost reasons.
Defensive Setup, Reliable Utilities, Escape Tunnel, Middle of Nowhere, Patchwork Engineering, Victoly Gardens
Squatter: Paid (A small abandoned warehouse in Tacoma. A former security guard's office adjoining a small shower and bathroom provides the sleeping quarters here. Empty crates, boxes, and barrels litter parts of the floor, but there is still a decent amount of open space.)
Area: D (1)
Comforts: Squatter (1)
Entertainment: Street (0)
Furnishings: Street (0)
Security: Low (2)
Space: Low (2)
No more neighbors, Inconspicuous Housing, Bad insulation, Cacophonous neighborhood, Horrible view, No hazard alarm, Patchwork engineering
~J
Posted by: Lilt Aug 17 2003, 10:43 AM
I agree with that point about space and area. Surely in cheap areas it would be perfectly possible to buy a warehouse or similar?
Apart from that these lifestyle rules are good at helping you envision where you live. I might even get the characters in my current game to create their lifestyles by the book... Let's face it; they could just add one point to one aspect (security for example) removing one point from something else (furnishings?)
Posted by: Kagetenshi Aug 17 2003, 08:21 PM
Lilt, all of the lifestyles I posted above were designed off of lifestyles purchased before SSG came out; they were designed to cost exactly the same as the base lifestyle cost for their respective catagory.
~J
Posted by: Lilt Aug 17 2003, 09:18 PM
I noticed. I was considering doing that with my enchanter character before I realised that I could pay more to get his enchanting shop and hermetic circle on a mannaline.
On another note; Looking at the gargoyle totem; it requires for the character to live in a penthouse-style area. How much more do people think this would cost? I'm thinking that you need to have at-least a high area but not all tall buildings are in A rated neighborhoods. Maybe just add a flat +1 cost on the lifestyles table?
Posted by: Talia Invierno Aug 19 2003, 03:04 PM
Far too much fun, this: for more than a few PCs and NPCs, I ended up not only with their own floor plans but with the building and the other tenants - which discovered some new NPCs, some interesting interwebbing (you already know each other!?), and turned into new possibilities for storyline and defensive runs. We've already converted the system into an amended table for fast cross-reference (also saves wear and tear on the book).
Re space and area (and I really wish "living space" and "location" had been used instead - I find the original two terms confusing): it is noted (p.128) that "the gamemaster should use these as guidelines, but should also feel free to set his own limitations or ignore the limitations if a good explanation is provided". In fact, squatting an abandoned warehouse in a Z-zone is among the examples (that might possibly break the rules) given.
Posted by: Jérémie Aug 19 2003, 07:05 PM
| QUOTE |
| What lifestyle would your characters (present, in design, or past) maintain using the rules from the sprawl survival guide? |
It depends... what kind of character is it... for exemple:
He is an old runner.. he starts in 2049 when in just arrived in Seattle. He runs for a couple of years, bad days, good days, but he stay alive. He stoped around 2053/54, when he's old gang going apart, and one of the last run was an hell of a run for a major mega, and he got some serious cash. Maybe enough to go to under the sun by the sea in a foreign country. But he's an elf, and he knows he's going to live a long time, and he do not want to stay on the beach for one or two centuries. So he stays on his ground, where he knows a lot of people, while his teamates (well, the ones still alive) going to retire to Denver, NY, south Germany, and so on.
He doesn't care what media and wageslave says, Lone Star is another gang like any other one, well better equiped, but no different. So he's looking for a place to install a cyber shop, he do not want to risk his brain everyday by craking black fragging ice, but he's willing to teach some new kids on the block, to modify some deck, and to buy & sell some favors. So he want to move to a place where the star (or any corpsec) would not bother him, and since he got little, ahem problems with 2 major mega in Seattle, he want to stay low profile. He looked for several month for the perfect place, a house, not too much neighboors, in a barrens (and not Redmond, he doesn't want to have to kill a brainless humanis-wanabe everyday) and with good power lines, that's essential. And then, in install a little bedroom in the basement, and his shop in the first floor. He closes every window, buy some serious security, use a emanation of the Ancients to get security in the neighboordhood, and so on.
In stats, this well be:
- Area: Z zone, -1 pt: Puyallup barrens, north of it.
- Comfort: middle, 3 pts.: he's got good (for the zone) powerage (boosted, of course), a single little drone to take care of dust and pests, and so one. Nothing fancy, he doesn't care, he spend most of his days out or jacked, for a couple of years now the day by day shoping is taken care by a kiddie.
- Entertainment: middle, 3pts: basic (for a decker) matrix line that he did not use (he's using satellite uplink only, and he's boosting the provider) and well enough trideo and so on for him.
- Furnishing: low, 2 pts: very "zen" déco: basic metallic shelves for the shop, a fridge a standard oven a rounded table and a asian bed nothing else in his bedroom.
- Security: high, 4 pts: well he *knows* there are people who wants him dead, and he knows what are to easy to defeat. The local security gang can handle others gangers and random violence, he want something to delay heavy hit-team (FRT, swat corpsec) to allow him to escape, and take care of burglers. Since he's pay for the wards, the sentries, the level-10 maglock and so on by he's own pocket, luxury seems a little too much for a barrens hold out. He's place is not near a zero-zone or red corp zone, but it's certainly a nightmare to take to the average joe shadowrunner/swat men.
- Space: middle, 3 pts: well it's just a small house, the second and third floor have been destroyed years ago, so there is just a shop, a bedroom in basement, a little room for furnitures, and another little room to kiddies training.
- +0.15 No neighboors: a house, surrounded by waste, the first neighboors is at least 10 meters away.
- +0.30 privacy screen 3: a lot of work and tools to avoid detection and spying, no windows, and so on.
- +0.10 reliable utilies: since he do not want a power shortage while is hacking something, he's got a diesel backup generator.
- 0.15 drived security: he's got heavy acointance with the Ancients, and they are backing up the local gang, and he has paied them and do a little brawling-training with them, they know how to handle this.
- +0.10 escape tunnel: in the (not used for decades) sewers from he's basement he's got a secured doors to escape in case of troubles. Never has to used it for know, but better be safe than sorry.
- -0.15 rough neighborhood: well when you go out you definitely need to pack in some bang bang, these people are hungry and some of them way too much chipped. They may be nice when you know them, but it's no vacation if you do not know your turf.
- -0.05 bad reputation: Fast Free Pizza yes ? A double cheese regina to deliver *where* ? Are you nuts ? I am no combat-taxi !
Posted by: Zazen Aug 19 2003, 09:33 PM
The common theme seems to be enhanced security and substandard furnishings, entertainment, and comfort.
So does anyone actually care that their character gets The Weather Channel and a Sharper Image Massaging Chair, or is everyone more concerned with with paranoia? 
Posted by: MachineProphet Aug 19 2003, 09:52 PM
| QUOTE (Zazen) |
| The common theme seems to be enhanced security and substandard furnishings, entertainment, and comfort. So does anyone actually care that their character gets The Weather Channel and a Sharper Image Massaging Chair, or is everyone more concerned with with paranoia? |
| QUOTE |
| The common theme seems to be enhanced security and substandard furnishings, entertainment, and comfort. So does anyone actually care that their character gets The Weather Channel and a Sharper Image Massaging Chair, or is everyone more concerned with with paranoia? |
I never design a character with less than Middle-class living. I haven't got the Sprawl Survival Guide, but I get the gist of what's happening. I like to think that my characters live pretty well. What's the point of Shadowrunning if you don't?
Posted by: Ancient History Aug 19 2003, 09:53 PM
It's all about the manaline, baby.
Posted by: Indy Aug 19 2003, 10:48 PM
I dunno. The missus and I bought a new house a couple of months back and I've already replaced the locks and added exterior lighting, but we staill have the same crappy hand-me-down furniture that we've owned for the last five+ years.
For someone who leads a life of crime, good security might make a place more comfortable than a leather sofa.
Indy
Posted by: Halbmetallmensch Aug 19 2003, 10:56 PM
| QUOTE (Zazen) |
| So does anyone actually care that their character gets The Weather Channel and a Sharper Image Massaging Chair, or is everyone more concerned with with paranoia? |
Sure! Furnishings, entertainment and comforts are important. But to tell the truth, I expected exactly that to happen with the rules (meaning: the common theme you mentioned).
My character certainly wants some comforts in his live. He doesn't need especially big apartments. Sure, he prefers to live in low to middle-class districts, simply because he feels out of place in the higher-class districts (but of course he also doesn`t need the daily fight for survival found in the slums/barrens. A little bit rough and run down is ok, but not to bad). But some luxury is also important to him. At least as long as he has the money
Posted by: Nomad Aug 19 2003, 11:13 PM
Manaline combined with astral magnet.
Ghostbusters anyone?
Posted by: Jérémie Aug 20 2003, 12:32 AM
| QUOTE |
| The common theme seems to be enhanced security and substandard furnishings, entertainment, and comfort. |
That was foreseeable (spelling ?). But this may be specific case, in my case this is one (old) PC who spend one, max 2 hours a day aware of his home. For others PC, it might be totally different.
And btw, I think the rule take that in account. Compare the luxury space/furniture/etc with luxury security.. for a few bucks and contacts, you can easily got better security than the luxury's one, but the other one are really heavy on nuyens.
Posted by: John Campbell Aug 20 2003, 03:24 AM
| QUOTE (MachineProphet) |
| I never design a character with less than Middle-class living. I haven't got the Sprawl Survival Guide, but I get the gist of what's happening. I like to think that my characters live pretty well. What's the point of Shadowrunning if you don't? |
Alternatively, if you've already got a comfortable middle-class life, why are you out there risking your neck shadowrunning to begin with?
Also, for some people, creature comforts are simply not their primary motivator. My current PC once chose to spend nine days crucified on a tree while a talking squirrel revealed the secrets of the universe to him. Living in a crappy apartment barely even registers on his discomfort scale, and if doing so helps him advance his magic, he'll do it without a second thought. Of course, the girlfriend and the cat have their own agendas that require consideration...
That PC is currently living a plain old Low lifestyle month-to-month (despite having the cred readily available to buy his current lifestyle up to permanent twice over). I'm staying in a cheap efficiency apartment while saving up for things that're more important to me than mere creature comforts... namely, an enchanting shop. However, once I can afford the enchanting shop, I'm going to need a place to set it up, so, with luck, I'll be real estate shopping fairly soon. My ideal target lifestyle looks something like:
Area: Middle (3) (Low'd work too, but I said "ideal"...)
Comforts: Middle (3) (Soy sucks. Reliable power and water for the shop are good, too.)
Entertainment: Low (2)
Furnishings: Low (2)
Security: Middle (3) (Secure is good, but I don't want an external agency nosing around the place, so I'll stick with the passive stuff. And given what I do for a living, I should be able to provide a fair amount of my own security...)
Space: High (4) (Need room for the enchanting shop, the forge, the brewery, the cat, the arsenal, the library, etc... and, hey, being able to draw a Rating 6 hermetic circle in the living room is always a bonus. This is my primary reason for relocating.)
17 points: 4,350Y base.
No More Neighbors (+0.15) (I like my privacy. And given my tendency to do things like shaping steel at 2am, I suspect potential neighbors would appreciate not living next door to me, too.)
Middle of Nowhere (-0.05) (Given the other requirements, it seems likely.)
Escape Tunnel (+0.10) (Tunnels are cool!)
Manaline In The Basement (+0.30) (I expect Dalassa to shoot this one down, but, hey, I can hope.
)6,525Y with the manaline, 5,220Y without.
Posted by: Lilt Aug 20 2003, 11:59 PM
I agree that there is a trend emerging on the high security front but that does make sense for shadowrunner types. After-all many runners have expensive items (foci, decks, vehicles, ETC) stashed there that they might not want to take everywhere and might not want to go wandering.
Incidentally: How much would you charge for a hefty safe with a high-rating lock on it? Rather; would you charge more than the base-price of a maglock of the desired rating? (priced on P294,Sr3)
Posted by: Gorath Aug 22 2003, 06:33 AM
What Area modificator would you give someone that lives in the Orc Underground?
I always thought having access to OU gives your character a big advandtage...
Posted by: Jérémie Aug 22 2003, 07:23 AM
The access is an advantage (5 mns to everything, or something like that).
For the area, hard to tell. Middle ?
Posted by: Cain Aug 22 2003, 05:14 PM
Well, the place where my team moved is a three-acre rural homestead. Since there are six of us, including a troll and a sam with a suprathyroid, we didn't go quite as low on comforts:
Area: Middle (not enough people for a lot of crime)
Comforts: Middle (Got to keep everyone in food!)
Entertainment: Low (far away from everything)
Furnishings: Middle (lots of troll-modifed furniture)
Security: Luxury, prepaid
Space: Luxury, prepaid (no landlord)
The edges and flaws include one custom package, which I'll explain afterwards:
Edges:
Escape Tunnel : +.10
Inconspicuous Housing: +.10
Privacy Screen x3: +.30
Defensive setup: +.10
Reliable Utilities: +.10
Vigilant Security: +.15
-------------------
Total edges: +.85
Flaws:
Bad reputation: -.05
Middle of nowhere: -.05
No security contract * (package): -.45
Mail Leftovers: -.05
Patchwork Engineering: -.05
-----------------------------
Total flaws: -.65
Net edges/flaws: +.20
* No Security Contract: For whatever reason, your home is usually not serviced be external security providers. You might be outside the local Lone Star service area, or maybe you're not on the best of terms with the local gangs. In either case, if you get into trouble, there probably won't be anyone coming to help you. You're dependant on your own defensive forces.
(This is a combination of Underpaid Security and Unreliable Security x5.)
Posted by: Lilt Aug 23 2003, 12:19 PM
Ow. I thought there was a maximum of 5 Edges/Flaws per lifestyle? Page Ref... Ah: Under the edges and flaws example, P137, SSG. Anyway: I personally do disagree with that rule slightly as one lifestyle can be very different from the next. I'd probably assess that on a case-by-case basis as a hard number is a bit restrictive.
Also: that no security contract package is woth .5 more than unreliable security 5 and underpaid security. Are you sure you don't meanunreliable security 6?
Posted by: Lilt Aug 23 2003, 12:45 PM
For the ork underground; The only game effect of area is how common crime is. As I suspect petty crime or similar is quite common in the underground; you'd be looking at an E area (street) with the better parts being Ds (squatter). It also isn't that expencive to live there so the above fits with those numbers. StFor the edges and flaws I'd stick most of the flaws about the area being unpleasant/noisy/smelly with no privacy (that'd be most of them then) with the edges of friendly neighbours, 5 minutes from everything, ETC.
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