Please Answer Me This..., Generic SR4 rules questions Options

[Riley37]

BBB p. 245: Gas Mask gives Immunity to inhalation toxins
BBB p. 327: Gas Mask gives +2 vs "gas substances"

Dammit Wizkids, make a choice and stick with it!

Gas Mask costs $100 and is at least as good as Respirator 2 which costs $200
Buy Respirator 1 or 2 only if you dislike wearing a gas mask for social/style reasons.
I would house-rule that goggles give +2 to resist the contact effect of CS and Pepper Punch, so the combo of goggles + Respirator 2 would give the same benefits as the p. 327 ruling on gas mask.

In Japan I've seen people dressed in suits wearing dust-type filters in public quite casually; I've heard that the usual reason is either "I have a cold and am trying not to spread it" or "I have asthma" or some such. But it ain't taboo. If American customs in Sixth World are influenced by Japanese culture, and/or by VITAS, then wearing a respirator is not an attention magnet.

[Fortune]

[Fortune]

[ThreeGee]

[Larsine]

[Ghost in the Mac...]

[WearzManySkins]

@Redjack
TB they will, I do not recall now but maybe Anthrax, but then again the military regards there immunizations program as the first line of defense. :D Damn still remember the effects of Yellow Fever cocktail immunizations.*shudders*

But in my gas mask the filters I changed out with much better ones, ie finer filters. But my mask was for ship board duty, so being hot was not generally an option. Most of the spaces I was manning had to be air conditioned, in one case to extreme levels.

Basically it depends upon how large the carrier particle/particles are.

I have to correct my NBC NCO, due to his inaccuracies regarding nerve agents and the history of same. He was saying that if you see drops of a nerve agent, use the Mark etc blotter paper to removed the nerve agent. I pointed out to him that the 3 nerve agents developed in WWII, if you could see a drop of it on you, you were dead,,your brain was not yet notified of the fact. Note I said drop not droplets. My routine for a chemical alarm hit the "chicken injector" first thing. But the first series of the "chicken injector" could inject into a concrete slab. :D

But then my NBC/ABC education was way prior to my entry in the military, try middle school, I wrote a report/essay which my teacher did not care for at all, gave me a good grade but did not care for the subject matter, last time she let me have a wide open choice for essay/report subjects. :D

[Ghost in the Mac...]

Gas Masks vs Respirators

So, from what I'm gathering, you can either spend 100 :nuyen: for perfect protection or up to 600 :nuyen: for far less; there is no mechanical difference in SR4 between the two that would make the more expensive respirators preferable.

There are potential social or aesthetic reasons to choose a respirator over a gas mask. But then, in 2070, the opposite might well be true. I can definitely see gas mask fashion (particularly in the grunge-air cities like Seattle). I imagine that all the big fashion industries would put out lines of designer gas masks -- beware the etiquette faux pas of showing up to a high society gig in last year's model! You could also build in your choice of vision mods.

-~GitM

[Jaid]

in SR4, gas masks are what you wear when you're expecting someone to try to use poisonous gas attacks on you.

respirators are what you wear when you expect to encounter heavy pollution/smog.

and while some things may become fashionable, i have a hard time believing that gas masks will ever reach that point while the atmosphere is still breathable.

so if you're looking for inhalation vector toxin protection while you're just out and about, you wear a respirator. if drawing attention to yourself is what you want, then a gas mask is the choice for you. if you just don't expect to run into anyone (or if you're already screwed if you run into anyone) then a gas mask is the choice for you.

but if you're trying to walk around the city without drawing attention, you want a respirator.

[Ghost in the Mac...]

Considering that respirators are so much more expensive yet so much less effective, I can easily imagine gas masks being a popular choice for anybody living in the city who is strapped for :nuyen: or who has more pressing expenses. Which, honestly, would be a fair portion of the population. Gas masks would become a common sight on the streets during bad air days for the same reason Wal-Mart stays open -- people are cheap.

Once gas masks are worth no more than a raised eyebrow, then gas mask fashion can't be far behind.

And remember the insane cosmopolitan atmosphere of Seattle (particularly with the introduction of Augmentation). If you're walking around the city with fiber-optic hair cascading a rainbow of flowing colors, somehow I don't think your gas mask's going to be the "attention attracting" concern.

-~GitM

[Fortune]

I think covering your face in public in any paranoid society would be cause enough to attract attention.

[Simon May]

Looking at Asian cultures right now, many people in polluted areas such as Bangkok or Hong Kong actually do wear masks for breathing reasons. I don't see why anyone would think twice if businessmen, policemen, workers and schoolkids all wear masks outside.

[Cain]

[Fortune]

[Fortune]

[Narse]

Well, since everybody can hold their breath for at least 16 combat rounds, just cap the guy who through the gas grenade, then take your gas mask out of your bag and put it on. Oh, and you can make a swimming + willpower test to extend the period you can hold your breath for, your successes each add 1 combat turn, after that you just start taking stun at a rate of 1 per combat turn. So you should have plenty of time to get your unfashionable gas mask on. I mean has anyone ever been involved in SR4 combat that takes more than 18 combat turns?

[DTFarstar]

You still take the first dose, unless you have a turn to hold your breath before the gas goes off.

Chris

[Buster]

Regarding gas masks being shocking to wear in public: remember we're talking about 2070, not 2007. By 2070, crystal clear plastic could easily be as thin and clear as plastic Reynoldswrap and as strong as leather, so there's no need to wear those thick rubber hoods like the WWII gas masks. By 2070, a full hood gas mask could be no more shocking than a clear plastic bubble.

[Fortune]

People are still people, and are not going to carry around a full-face bubble when they can slip a respirator in their pocket that will do pretty much the exact same job. Keep in mind that we are not talking about defending against nerve gas attacks here ... merely a breathing aid for those extra smog-heavy days in Seattle.

[Buster]

True, and I'm thinking that's why respirators are more expensive than gas masks. Sophisticated people wear the expensive respirators up their noses, while the gutter trash wear the cheapo plastic bag gas masks over their heads. Wealthier people can ride in taxis, but the masses need a full plastic hood to keep the acid rain off while they wait for the bus.

[Jaid]

also, i disagree with the theory that people will buy the cheap gas mask instead of the expensive-but-fashionable respirator.

why, you ask? because i've lived in places where the average person lives in a trailer and owns a $30,000 truck, that's why =P

[Mr. Croup]

Gas Masks do have the advantage that, when you're on that high profile run, if you're already wearing one then it a) has you already prepared for any possible use of gas and b) it obscures your face so that it's hard to ID you. Assuming you're nice enough to leave witnesses breathing rather than just mearly beaten senseless.

[Nikoli]

True. I always have a respirator, even if a cheapo. Not for the gasses, but for the anonymity.

[Narse]

[DTFarstar]

Never specifically said except in example text, which I know is usually a bad thing to go by, but I think it makes sense. If a grenade comes flying in and explodes before you can react you will probably take a lungful before you think to hold your breath and put on the mask. I might give players of more professionally trained characters a composure test to see if they inhale. Obviously if it land, you have a round, then it goes off, you can declare your breath holding then. I wouldn't say it take an action per se, but unless you are delaying a turn you can't interrupt things and you DO have to declare so you can time it. So, I would say as soon as you want to hold your breath and nothing is going on you can. However, in the "a grenade comes flying through the window spewing gas everywhere around and on you" I wouldn't let someone say "Psha, well I just hold my breath then DUH!" till they actually have a chance to react.