Stashes, Places to hide stuff Options

[Chrysalis]

Hi,

Someone started up talking about places to hide things and I thought I would start up a thread on it.

I guess the major question though is what would you have hidden in your hide-a-hole. Gun, documents, disguise, another gun. The problem I see is that with the digital age, it is hard to scoop out the internal commlink and put in a new one or even bother with documentation since it is all electronic anyways. This would leave us with gun, and another gun to hide.

It also raises the question on how many can afford to keep multiple stashes with hidden weapons in them.

I suppose though that if you wanted to create a stash and had the dosh for it, here are some thoughts:

Car. Traditional thing to do, but instead of leaving it on the street choose a nice residential parking lot where you rent a parking space. Remove the engine, expand the trunk and you can fit an anti-matériél rifle, submachineguns, additional cyborg body in there without the suspension giving away what the car is holding. Of course this is only going to set you back by about a million nuyen.

A simpler, less expensive stash is removing a brick in a public restroom and replacing it with a hollowed out brick. Simple and effective.

The more elaborate version of the brick-in-the-wall is building a stash in a building during construction. The only effective way to find it is when the building is being renovated.

A locker while not safe is reliable. It could be a spa, a gym, or any other club where after registration you get a key to your personal locker.


Any other thoughts on stashes?

[ArkonC]

There's a thread on that here...

[Cthulhudreams]

The other thread doesnt really cover 'what needs to be hid' which is a pretty important question.

To my mind, what you need is a commlink (preferably loaded with a copy of your programs, and definitely loaded with a fake SIN that has a linked bank account with money in it), a gun (one of the discreet MAD detector proof weapons is a prime choice, complemented with a monowhip if you have the skill) and as many changes of clothes as you can jam in the locker in a bag. So you can get changed once 'at the scene' and then again as soon as you have left the scene.

I'd want several light armoured clothing outfits for that, and possibly an armored jacket (leaving it in the bag and putting it on later will change your look)

[ArkonC]

Well, it has some good ideas for spots to hide shit though...

[Crusher Bob]

A gun seems like the last thing to add to your stash, since a single weapon will probably not help that much if you are on the run.

For stuff to keep in a stash:

Things that let you fit back in, that make you invisible again"

A way to defeat common restraints and tracking measures: (handcuff key, tag eraser, etc)
A way to clean yourself up (remove all that blood, or whatever)
A medkit
A change of clothing (and probably a change of armor as well)
A disguise kit, if you have the skill.
Even if you don't various toiletry items like hair dye, a razor, etc can change your appearance plenty.
A new fake ID + commlink
Enough money for at least a week of laying low (500Y or more)

If in a remote location already, then enough food and or water to lie low for a while, plus any special gear needed to survive there (camping gear, etc). Remember though that since you were on the run to begin with, there was some risk of you being tracked to your stash. Displace from the place that you used the tag erasers (and similar goodies) so that someone following you to your last tracked location won't find your dumb ass in a tent on that spot.

Once you have all that, you can think about adding a weapon, plus any specialty gear related to your skills (programs, drones, etc)
Also, a means of transportation would be nice to have too

[Cthulhudreams]

Tag eraser and a medkit is a blood good point actually.

[Heath Robinson]

Attach a metal box containing your gear to a Stormcloud or equivalent miniblimp drone. Encrypt its node and be sure to load it with an ECCM program to help it deal with jamming attempts. Stormclouds should be pretty common around the city given their endurance and observation capacity, they'll find use watching traffic and scanning for crimes in progress.

You could give the Stormcloud a more complex set of commands, getting it to notify you periodically to ensure it's still active. You might also add some sensors to ensure that nothing's breached the box. Admittedly, it's totally impossible to remove all risk and you can never be totally satisfied but this is what I consider a relatively secure stash.

I shouldn't need to mention this, but when you need to access your stash you connect to the drone (you should have a copy of the encryption key and so can access it as easily as any other drone) and get it to meet you somewhere.

As for what it might contain, well that's dependant a lot on your situation when making it. I'd try to fit in the following.

• Small, concealable (from MAD as well as visual sensors) and disposable weapon with a single clip of S-n-S, preferably not on any records.
• A backup commlink containing a fresh, unsuspicious SIN (with bank accounts that have movement) and a set of replacement programs.
• Data storage devices containing dirt on a number of significant people in various different organised crime groups.
• Some C-squared, olfactory camo and artificial skin.
• A spare set of clothing.
• A radio frequency scanner and/or non-linear junction detector.
• A few doses of G3.
• Certified credsticks worth enough to get yourself somewhere safer.
• A few doses to salve your addictions, if any.

If the situation is safe enough for now, you can try to use the dirt to get yourself cleaned of all tracking devices. Tags are not a real concern given their pitiful Signal rating (3m radius, as if you're going to be able to tailed so close when you're so jumpy) so a tag eraser isn't going to help much. Leaving bugs behind is the best option, so scanning for them will help quite a bit - just be sure to dump them all in the same place or it'll become immediately obvious that you're avoiding being followed.

Cleaning up your presence in an area with the C-squared will prevent any trackers from following you within an area and the olfactory camo will prevent them from following your presence by searching for your exit path, the artificial skin will seal up your wounds and prevent your extra set of clothes from being ruined. If your persuers are going to find it too easy to get to you, just get a ticket out of there on your fresh SIN and blackmail with your dirt from afar.

Be sure to send the drone somewhere you intend not to go and then find somewhere else that's safe to go - maybe another stash that is similarly equipped to add additional layers of misdirection to try to throw off more skilled pursuers. Use the G3 to avoid fatigue for moving fast over long distances, you might need to keep moving. The weapon is for emergency defense only, which is why you only have a single clip, that and plausible weight allowances for the drone.

[Chrysalis]

Things I would put in a stash

Car/tickets/other

Small duffel bag with:

• Two sets of clothes
• Hacksaw
• Leatherman
• Culinary torch
• Cash money
• Alternative SINs
• First aid kit
• Baby wipes

[Earlydawn]

Attach a metal box containing your gear to a Stormcloud or equivalent miniblimp drone. Encrypt its node and be sure to load it with an ECCM program to help it deal with jamming attempts. Stormclouds should be pretty common around the city given their endurance and observation capacity, they'll find use watching traffic and scanning for crimes in progress.

For some reason, I don't think the metro equivelent of the Federal Aviation Administration is going to let a blimp registered to a non-corporate entity orbit the spawl and suck up valuable airspace. At the very least, they'd run a check on the SIN that it's attached to. With the level of paranoia towards terrorism that's inevitable in 2070, I'd probably be pretty extensive too.

[Kanada Ten]

At the very least, they'd run a check on the SIN that it's attached to. With the level of paranoia towards terrorism that's inevitable in 2070, I'd probably be pretty extensive too.

If your SIN isn't good enough to pass the MAA scans, it wouldn't be very much use for trying to ditch the city anyway.

Camera drones are very prevalent in some sprawls and probably have their own skylanes, likely below most passenger/cargo air traffic. It has mentioned before that the drone industry pushes these products as a hobby, so I'd imagine that if you're paying your fees and registering your flight plan, it won't be a problem. Expensive? Yes, but not prohibitively so, unless you're underpaid.

[Serial_Peacemake...]

Well another drone idea is that you can always set a car up to go onto the Grid Guide, and just stay there. Though maintenance is an issue. The best part is when you call it in, you also have a car which at the very least you can hawk to get some nuyen. What you would actually put in your stash is most likely the basics, I would think some food would be a must actually. Really sucks to have yourself traced because you went to get a bite to eat at the Stuffer shack. I'm also wondering if perhaps you would not be better off having some kind of gems or other material you can trade for more money.

[Earlydawn]

If your SIN isn't good enough to pass the MAA scans, it wouldn't be very much use for trying to ditch the city anyway.

Camera drones are very prevalent in some sprawls and probably have their own skylanes, likely below most passenger/cargo air traffic. It has mentioned before that the drone industry pushes these products as a hobby, so I'd imagine that if you're paying your fees and registering your flight plan, it won't be a problem. Expensive? Yes, but not prohibitively so, unless you're underpaid.

I still see it as far too much exposure. I seriously doubt that there's going to be much in the way of drones that are maintaining altitude that aren't government or Lone Star. I think that this idea would have a better chance of working out in the Barrens, outside the high security sectors, although then you risk the idea of getting it shot down.

I also disagree that you need a solid SIN to enter or leave the city.. at the most, they just want to make sure you actually have one. The idea of individually checking the SIN validity of the tens of thousands of people who enter and leave the sprawls is totally different then checking into the pilot's license / flight plan legitimacy of only a couple hundred aircraft in the core of the city at any given time.

[Zen Shooter01]

In the ground. Find a piece of unpaved dirt and bury a Pelican case in it. Memorize the GPS coordinates.

Or get a safety deposit box. In the 6th World there would be a great demand for safety deposit box services - there would be buildings layered with automated security where customers could rent safes or vaults of various sizes, from shoebox to garage sized, to store jewelry, art, bullion, vehicles, anything.

I just ran an adventure that involved one.

[Kanada Ten]

I also disagree that you need a solid SIN to enter or leave the city.. at the most, they just want to make sure you actually have one. The idea of individually checking the SIN validity of the tens of thousands of people who enter and leave the sprawls is totally different then checking into the pilot's license / flight plan legitimacy of only a couple hundred aircraft in the core of the city at any given time.

A couple of hundred? We're playing different worlds, I think, as mini-blimps are frekking everwhere and automatically intergrated into the air traffic with a GridGuide type system, IMO. Plus, as a soild plan too escape a city would have to include the possibility air transport, or during terror alerts, etc, thus the SIN should be as fool proof as possible.

[djinni]

I'm also wondering if perhaps you would not be better off having some kind of gems or other material you can trade for more money.

hard currency is looked at suspiciously, almost all transactions are done electronically.

[Kairo]

Things I would put in a stash

Car/tickets/other

Small duffel bag with:

• Two sets of clothes
• Hacksaw
• Leatherman
• Culinary torch
• Cash money
• Alternative SINs
• First aid kit
• Baby wipes

Yes, never discount the importance of baby wipes. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[WearzManySkins]

hard currency is looked at suspiciously, almost all transactions are done electronically.

Depends on where you are?

AAA zones yes, Z zones electronic is a no go. Also in the Ork Underground also, more of a "Barter" economy. Tourist areas in the Ork Underground yes electronic would work.

If you have to use a Bug Out Bag or Drop I do not think spending money in AAA zones would be a smart idea, I could seem more dealings in Z type zones if you are on the run.

WMS

[Spike]

A gun seems like the last thing to add to your stash, since a single weapon will probably not help that much if you are on the run.

???


You've been reading/playing Shadowrun a leeeetle too long if that made sense to you. PLAYERS don't ever seem to ditch weapons/have them taken and need a new gun. PLAYERS tend to think you need half a dozen or more guns to be 'reasonably well armed'. Even in Shadowrun a single gun is all that's necessary to kill a fool. Its the difference between being able to shoot your way out of a situation or having to run across that open feild as the other guy shoots you.


Runner Bob, on the job, finds the Johnson set his team up on that MCT raid. Security was waiting for them and the team shot their way out, leaving bodies and empty guns lying on the ground behind them as they fled. The team scatters, each headed to their doss to rearm and reload. Bob ran into a sec team near the gate and was hit with a stun baton a few times, disarmed, but managed to escape in the confusion while the Mage unleashed all his bound spirits at once to run rampant over the compound. He knows that all he has to do is get to the rally point and the team will exfil to the Carib League to hid out until the heat dies down... they've got it all planned.

Bob gets within sight of his Doss when the entire building goes up in flames, he can see the MCT company men loitering outside, he knows they'll be on him soon, they've got paracritters with 'em, the kind that can track your aura... So he breaks off into the alleyway and heads for his stash. He's good so he's got plenty all over the city, especially around his 'hood, where hes most likely to need them. Behind him he can hear the scrabble of hard claws on the asphalt, the distant shouts of dangerous men with guns behind them. Hes only got 30 seconds once he grabs the Bugout Bag from the hidden hook in the sewer grate. He yanks it open, grabs the Stimpatch to wash away the lingering fog from the stun batons and...


He's got two options here. If he put a GUN in the freaking BAG he can shoot the damn paracritters before they eat his face off and be gone before their handlers catch up. In 8 hours he'll be chilling on a beach with an umbrella drink served by a half naked girl of the race of his chosing.

If he DIDN"T put a gun in his bag, the paracritters eat him. He can't outrun 'em, and he can't fight 'em off empty handed. He's Fonged. There will be pain. Lots and lots of pain. PAIN!


Yeah. Put a damm gun in the damn bag. These are emergency measures involving violent people with violent lives. Hell, put a couple grenades in the bag if your game is so violent that a single gun is a 'non-threat'.

[kanislatrans]

Here's how I design my stashes:

4 Golden Apex™caffeinated energy bars. (the ones with the ape swinging up the mountain on the wrapper)

2 1 liter bottles Everpure™ caffeinated spring water.

4 BrightEyes™ stimulant patches

2 Brand-aid™ trauma patches

2 Glo-stix™ disposable light tubes

1 Ares Silver Fang™ combat knife

1 pistol (what ever I have laying around after a run) with I clip s-n-s and 1 clip APDS

2 100 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) certified cred sticks

1000 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) in various corp script

1 off the shelf disposable com (registered to an equally disposable fake sin)

1 better comlink with a much better fake sin and programs.

2 sets of clothes, 1 street and one working class stiff ( not so much a disguise but something to blend in with)

toiletry set with hair dye , razor ect.

respirator,med kit, and other urban necessities(including 1 roll of duct tape. Ya gotta have duct tape)

1 armored vest

all fits in a medium duffle that fits in a plastic garbage bag.

this kit will fit in most lockers-attics-sewer grates- buried under someones dog house- ect

My ork street sammy had 12 of these hidden. My mage only 4.

The sammy abandoned all exept the one he was carrying when a run went really, really bad in Hong Kong. He was last seen heading for Australia. Wired all his cash to the kids and ex wife and headed south. I hope he made it. I really liked that Tusker (IMG:style_emoticons/default/frown.gif)

[Fix-it]

Green Boxes, from the modern conspiracy/horror game Delta Green, are excellent examples.

[Crusher Bob]

If he DIDN"T put a gun in his bag, the paracritters eat him. He can't outrun 'em, and he can't fight 'em off empty handed. He's Fonged. There will be pain. Lots and lots of pain. PAIN!

Ah yes, because having a weapon turns you from a bloody poor SOB on the run back into a death dealing god.

As a shadow runner, your greatest asset and defense is your anonymity. When on the run, your first objective (barring any sucking chest wounds) is to get that back. Get out of the handcuffs, destroy the tracking devices, patch up your wounds, change clothes, and disappear. Sure it would be helpful to be armed, but consider how you would set up your stash if you didn't have enough funds or space to fit everything

[MaxHunter]

still. you can't convince me not to hide a pistol. You never know, you know? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

One of my additions to the stash is the Fake SIN with air ticket for a place a couple continents away...

Cheers,

Max

[Spike]

Ah yes, because having a weapon turns you from a bloody poor SOB on the run back into a death dealing god.

Unless you are an adept with killing hands or some sort of cybered CQB specialist, it makes the difference between being a pure victim and being able to deal with a threat while it's still manageable, yes. And if a single heavy pistol is what you'd chose to discard over, say, three pairs of clothing (like some have posted), or a spare set of armor (as almost everyone has posted)... or any of a number of things (not to mention the fact that money is electronic, so its not like you're tearing out 100,000 nuyen bundles from your briefcase to make room for the gun....)

Don't get me wrong, I agree that anonymity and the ability to move unnoticed is a very powerful asset for a Shadowrunner, particularly one on the run. However, without a weapon you only have ONE option when threatened. With a weapon you don't lose that option, but you gain others.

And more than anonymity, options are a Runners greatest tools when the drek is impacting the rotary air circulator at high velocity.

If you are a mage I can see why a weapon might not be high on the list... though again, I'd prefer to retain that option over not.




Or need I remind you how in Die Hard the number TWO priorty was shoes. Number one was Guns.

[Cain]

To get things slightly back to placement: I was watching Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and I remembered one of the stash places from one of the movies: a masuoleum. No one but the most die-hard necrophiliacs will mess with it; and thanks to the Shedim threat, they'll usually be warded. You get the best of all possible worlds.

[Cthulhudreams]

MAD proof guns and monowhips are a free ride. Impossible to find with metal dectors etc, and your stealth group one should be able to keep it under your hat from visual inspections, so unless they go for a pat down, they won't find it. And its one shot or garotte that no-one expects.