The Ultimate Rigger/Hacker setup (Drone Focus, Command Vehicle/ Dronerigger/Hacker), Munchkins to me! Options

[onlyghostdancesw...]

As it says on the tin. I'm looking to make a really good drone focused rigger (normal build rules but also include wishlisted items/mods). Ideally having some sort of command and control vehicle that wouldnt be too obvious on the edge of the barrens and tacoma docks (no citymasters). Id like an even balance between combat aerial and ground drones as well as cov ops spy types.


If you focus more on hacking and rigging then list those toys as well please.

[Shadoweyes]

Any flavours or character type you want to play? The paranoid, the mech street sam, infiltrator, swarm master, the build it yourselfer?

Straight rigger (just drones) or rigger/hacker?

Surged/non surged

Bioware or cyberware?

For that matter, adept, mage, technomancer, or pleeb?

[Headshot_Joe]

As far as "mobile base" goes, you realistically shouldn't need anything too terribly huge most of the time, and when you do, you can pull a trailer.

Last game I was in, we just used a GMC Bulldog with a few cheap performance upgrades. We'd modify it to fit whatever mission we were going to be on, if we had the time, otherwise just make it as inconspicuous as possible. Our main magic user ran an antique shop as his day job, and used his skills at faking antiques to artificailly weather the van, so it didn't look freash painted, if we needed it. You'd be surprised the places a generic-looking laundry service van can go without question.

Some of the disguises included:
Plumber's van (rocket launchers are easy to make look like pipe)

Roofer's van (gives you an excuse to be on the roof)

Electrician's van (nobody bats an eye when these are full of tech goods)

Ambulance (Corp sec goons actually helped us extract their boss when we convinced them he needed medical help)

HazMat van (when you pull up in one of these and enter a building in full chem gear, it vacates right quick)

Pest Control (ever have to steal a paranormal lab animal?)

Trid News Van (sometimes being the press is the perfect way to gather intel)

Parks/Forestry Service (for those out-of-town gigs, and occasional smuggling)


I'm sure there were more, we changed it up almost every job we had. And on the few occasions we were caught, it was easy enough to destroy the van, escape, and get a new one.

Much cheaper than investing in some huge expensive Rigger Wet-Dream, that can't even make corners, and is suspicious-looking as hell.

Plus, going cheaper on the vehicle leaves you more money for drones and other gear. Our rigger also went cheap on the drones, picking up a ton of little surveillance bots, a few rotodrones with smgs or small nade launchers, and a big, high-altitude over-watch drone. Again, the idea was to have things as disposable as possible, so if we did lose something, it couldn't be traced easily, and was cheap to replace. And the more money we got, the larger his drone swarm grew. Eventuallt hd did pick up some nice ones, IIRC, but always reserved them to task he was sure to get them back from. Even so much as putting his team mates at risk to spare his drones damage or loss...

[Shadoweyes]

human
Body 4
Agility 2
Reaction 6 (10)
Strength 2
Intuition 5
Charisma 2
Logic 2
Willpower 3
Edge 4

surge 3
biocompatability (cyber)
Metagenic improvement (reaction)
+1 min/+1 max reaction
More than Metahuman
Restricted gear R2 Move By Wire (secondhand)

Neg qualities are up to you, I would suggest in debt as you are likely to need more startup money.

Cracking group 4
Electronics group 2
Mechanic group 1
Armourer 1
Pilot Ground 1
Pilot Air remote/vtol 6.5
Gunnery remote 4.5
Dodge ranged 4.5
Navigation 1


'Ware
Move by Wire II, secondhand, +4 rea, +2 dodge, +2 init passes, r4 skillwires
3.24e 42,500ny
Comlink alpha 0.14e 4,000
Hot sim module alpha 0.14e 10,000
Control Rig alpha 0.42e 10,000
Datajack x3 alpha 0.14e 3,000

Comlink
Response r6 8,000
signal r6 3,000
customized interface 250
optimized 500
hardening r6 150
simsense accelerator 15,000
skinlink 50



"command vehicle" GMC bulldog (20 slots) 16 body
Turbocharger I/1
Turbocharger II/1
Rigger cocoon II/2
Armour 20/1
Large drone rack/4
Small drone landing rackx4/8
Satellite uplink/1
Smart Tires or runflats
Vehicle can carry 5 combat drones for moments notice release. vehicle has no space for weapons or life support though. as an option, negotiate with your GM about size/cost of a drone trailer.

Autosofts
Manouver 3 (VTOL)
Targeting 3 (automatics/longarms)
Electronic Warfare 3
ECCM 6 w. optimization 3 7.5kny (this and EW allows the drone to stay active and connected while being jammed. at an R10 jammer, the drone has signal 4)

Large drone(s)
Dalmation (VTOL) or Steel Lynx (wheeled)
sensor upgrades:
camera r6 x2 1,200ny
smartlink 500 ny
radio signal scanner r6 150
(so long as all sensors are r6, vehicle now has sensor 6)
armour 12 2,400ny
satellite uplink 500ny
Weapon Mount, fixed, remote 2,000ny
HK 22X (smg) w. belt/drum fed mod (probably your fastest and cheapest overall buy, smartlink and silencer included, drumfeed to maximize ammo, and only one mod)
ak-97 with smartlink (int), drumfed (cheap weapon, and cheap addons. good for vehicles. requires 2+ mods)
ares desert strike with smartlink (ext), integral slilencer, and electronic firing (long range, -8 to hear it, and high damage. comes with high costs.)
Einfield AS-7 w. ext smartlink (BF shotgun, pretty simple, pretty effective. low ammo storage)

Small Drones
Rotodrone
same as above except:
Armour 9 1,800ny

Stormcloud
Signal retransmitter
Sun Cell

micro/mini drones
Shiawase Kanmushi (crawler drone)
camera upgrade r6
chameleon coating
signal retransmitter (as a heads up, the drone gets effective signal 6)

Flyspy
camera upgrade r6
chameleon coating
additional fuel tanks
signal retrans


With the high reaction you'll have, you'll actually be able to manually drive vehicles better than you can rig them (response+skill vs reaction+skill), and be very good at avoiding damge (DP for full defence is 18 vs ranged w/o modifiers, 14 while rigging). with three meat passes and four virtual passes, and the ability to jump in/out of drones as a free action, you should be able to control a large area easily. This setup is a bit more for courier/chase setups, but has the staying power you'll probably need.

as an alternate to the above C+C vehicle, this is one that I found makes a more mobile setup, though it lacks the drone carrying capacity, sometimes you just need to be mobile.

Handling +1 Accel 15/20 Speed 75 Pilot 1 Body 6 Armour 12 Sensor 6
Horseman 6 12000 (alternate with four tires for stability)
Advanced cargo module +4x run flat tires 6000
sensor upgrades: camera r6x2 1200
remove atmospheric sensor (maxed at 3), for radio signal scanner r6 150
Armour 12 2400
Rigger coccoon, enhanced 4000
Satelite uplink 500
Turbocharger 1200
Gridguide Override 1000
Mechanical arm (x2) Obv Cyberarm [15] 6800 13600
(it does say in the "mechanical arm" segment that its up to your GM if they will allow mods to vehicle arms. Use fixed weapon mounts if he doesnt like them)
Bulk Mod 1 1000
Cybergun (smg) 10 2500
Drum Mod 1000
Smartlink
Supressor 600
electronic firing 1000
Clip Port 1 100
Grapple Gun 5 500
100ft Microwire 100
12 rnd magx4 (50 rounds, gel)
100 rnd drumx4 (400 rnd, gel) 1350
100 rnd drumx4 (400 rnd, norm) 800

For extra fun, overmodify a chameleon coating onto it.

[Neraph]

Vehicles, Drones, and Agents.

There's some ideas for you.

[_Pax._]

COMMAND TRUCK:

GMC Hermes Van. 45,000¥, comes with two Landing Drone Racks, 6 points of armor, and plenty of room for mods. Found in Arsenal. You could put a whole Nexus in there, and laugh in the face of "program limits". (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)



For drones? I'm a fan of LTA drones on long-duration overwatch.

Observer platform: Renraku Stormcloud; Chameleon Coating, Improved Economy, Additional Fuel Tank, Improved Sensor Array; Covert Ops R3; 10,350¥
Has an impressive 120hrs endurance (that's 5 solid days between recharges, kids), good sensor capabilities (and remember, the Stormcloud comes with Clearsight R3), and can do a passable job of "look inconspicuous" - either with outright camoflage, or in high-traffic areas, altering it's colors/"livery" to blend in.

Bonus points if your GM lets you stow a Holo Projector as "cargo", or gecko-taped to the drone, in order to pass it off as a "flying billboard" in commercial zones (like a shopping center or outdoor sporting event, for example). If not, you could always go without the Improved Economy, and go with "Special Machinery: Holo Projector" instead.

A variant that replaces the Improved Sensor Array with a Retrans Unit would also be useful.

[Modular Man]

Oh, I may get to like this thread. Let's see if we can gather new input here.

As always, I highly recommend a few drones that can work in a workshop, like the Manservant. Equip them with the right autosofts and minor repairs and modifications will be done without contacts or overtime payment.

Some specifications would be nice, though. I personally like a do-it-yourself take on the topic, trying to get a lot of things fairly cheap, letting the character use stolen goods if necessary and possible. So I took the juryrigger quality and custom-brewed a few nice tools from toy drones (currently finishing that project). Equipping household drones (e.g. said Manservant) with loot taken from some gangers is also not below my character's standard.

That being said, I recommend having a quick convertible kit on hand: Turn that usual, boring car you just got into something more fitting for a rigger.

[ Spoiler ]

You'll need non-linear junction detectors, a way to sniff for hidden nodes and such, a HERF gun (for those RFIDs you just found), a welding laser (for those embedded too deep) to clean the car. Then, add new RFIDs, put in Spoof Chips, screw on morphing license plates and add some distinctive features that will distinguish them from before. You can cut most of that if the car is actually yours and you are in a hurry.
Next upgrade those sensors that actually have a rating, like cameras and radar, and get a rigger adaption.

It's nice if you have a command vehicle, but having a cheap sports car on the side for running may pay out in the long run.

[Shadoweyes]

Do it yourself character should probably run as much +log as they can for quicker build times, 5/6 base, cerebral booster, encephalon 2, r3 neocortical nanites (and focus reality amplifier), etc. As well as a t/m contact with mecanical sprites for "stability" power (rush a job at no chance to glitch) high mechanical skill.

As for worker drones, you may as well load up a beaver drone with some quality autosofts. Slightly more expensive, but also readily available from any drone construction site you can find. Just be sure to rewrite ownership and de-tag the thing thoroughly.

The big thing becomes getting a hold of a facility. You can start with one so why not.

[Udoshi]

You'll need non-linear junction detectors

Nice idea! However, a Cyberware scanner with a datasoft for RFID chips to expand the database of what it can detect is perhaps superior to a NLJD. Also rather cheap.

[Modular Man]

I'm very careful as to exploiting the powers of the cheap cyberware scanner, 'cause I fear that the more powers attribute to them, the more my GM will use them against me - which could ruin the fun for my group. It's kind of an unspoken gentleman's agreement.
Otherwise I'd be using them as a cheap, short-ranged Ultra-Wideband Radar. They may not show living tissue very well, but that datajack floating behind that wall surely is attached to another metahuman.
Improvising like that would fit a juryrigger, though...

I recently cooked up the idea of having the rigger's implanted (or external) sim-module connect to a nexus stored in a drone, aerial or otherwise. Upgrade both parts to signal 5 and you're looking at a nice possible distance between the two. Jammers might be problematic, though, because I don't know whether sim-modules as peripheral nodes can actually run ECCM. Of course, this was my take on not needing a command vehicle.

General advice: Drones, many of them. The cheaper they are, the easier you can afford to sacrifice them. More bullets in the air, if aimed in the general right direction, also can work.
Negotiate the budget for expenses (read: (possibly) destroyed drones) beforehand, both with the Johnson and with the team.

[Shadoweyes]

The problem with "all the drones" is that a rigger can theoretically become a one man army, complete with infiltration, weapon skills, dodging ability and all that solely by upgrading to r6 response (8k), r6 pilot (15k/type) and various autosofts (4.5k? ea) for 10dp against anything. without rigging. now the group doesnt need a sam, infil, adept, and if you have a halfdecent skillwire prog and cha, a face. The law also looks down on people transporting 20 kill-assault drones anywhere (a bulldog can only theoretically carry five drones, cuz weapon mount rules are silly), and reacts harsher when they find them. The other problem with sacraficing drones is that you have to replace them. Unless you have good connections to a supplier willing to sell under the table, or can buy them legitimately, and then somehow hide that you're using them to shadowrun, or some sort of other sillyness (i just bought a factory suited for making drones), every time you want to replace one, you have to go find your contact, work out a deal, he has to go "find" them, and then smuggle them in, then, once you buy them, you have to strip them of various devices and software (you are in the middle of a firefight in a zero zero zone and all of a sudden the drones update their pilot programs, or even just manufacturer admin accs), then modify them with weapons, armour, and whatever other fun you have. it ends up being cheap, but at the cost of time. Upgrading from rotodrones to dalmations and getting an extra four dice to resist damage can make all the difference (armour+3, bod+1)

the other problem with drones is the downtime. unless you want to spend 200k on a facility and enough connstruction drones to repair everything, and pay for the repairs at 1% TV/box. and at that point, you may as well go legit.

nexus is only really needed if you are trying to connect all the drones, all the weapons, and all of your opponents things to your com at once. a r5 system can have 10 subscriptions. given that you can subscribe multiple drones to the same slot and have to settle for giving them all the same command (kill that guy there), i dont terribly see a reason for a nexus.

as for signal, an r5 upgrade is 1k, an r6 is 3k, and a sat uplink (r8) is 500 for both vehicle and com. Just upload everything with a sat link, an elec warfare AS at r3 (you only need one copy for ALL of your drones), and an r6 ECCM with a R3 optimization option (6k+1.5k) the drone will be able to talk through pretty much everything, and its available at creation! or just a signal repeater for 1k for vehicles, which effectively gives everything it can talk to (mutual range) a r6 signal. (including the drone its mounted on). it costs a modification slot, but so does a satelite uplink.

Edit: for extra fun, mount a "workshop" option to your vehicle right next to your Valkyrie module. for three slots, you will never be stuck without good tools or a doctor!

[_Pax._]

The problem with "all the drones" is that a rigger can theoretically become a one man army, complete with infiltration, weapon skills, dodging ability and all that solely by upgrading to r6 response (8k), r6 pilot (15k/type) and various autosofts (4.5k? ea) for 10dp against anything. without rigging.

.... except Autosofts don't work that way?

For one, they only benefit vehicles and drones. For two, I believe they run ON THE DRONE, not the rigger's commlink.

(a bulldog can only theoretically carry five drones, cuz weapon mount rules are silly)

Five racks. Which can be Multilaunch racks. Which can hold, IIRc, 10 minidrones or 20 microdrones. Each.

Or, one of the racks cna hold and deploy a drone that ITSELF has a Multilaunch rack.

Unless you have good connections to a supplier willing to sell under the table, or can buy them legitimately, [...]

Depends on teh drone. For a lot of "combat drones", replacing the WEAPON is harder than replacing the drone itself.

An MCT-Nissan Rotodrone is Availability 6. No R, no F. Just availability 6. As does a GMC-Nissan Doberman, or a Renraku Stormcloud. A Lonestar LEBD-1 is 6R, which is basically "don't get caught with it" and/or "blow some ¥ on a fake license".

So sure, yes, it'll take a bit of looking around to find one for sale - a few days, maybe. But it's not a huge drama issue. R4 or better Spirit Binding and Ritual Sorcery materials are actually harder to get.

(you are in the middle of a firefight in a zero zero zone and all of a sudden the drones update their pilot programs, or even just manufacturer admin accs)

::sigh::

the other problem with drones is the downtime. unless you want to spend 200k on a facility and enough connstruction drones to repair everything, and pay for the repairs at 1% TV/box. and at that point, you may as well go legit.

You don't need a facility to repair damage boxes.

nexus is only really needed if you are trying to connect all the drones, all the weapons, and all of your opponents things to your com at once. a r5 system can have 10 subscriptions. given that you can subscribe multiple drones to the same slot and have to settle for giving them all the same command (kill that guy there), i dont terribly see a reason for a nexus.

The OP talked about seconding as a Hacker. And the suggestion for a nexus wasn't about Subscriptions, it was about program limits.

A Response 5 / System 5 commlink can only run 4 programs (or, 9 programs if 5 of them have the Ergonomic option) without degrating performance.

A Response 5 / system 5 Nexus with a 30 program limit .... can run 29 programs before performance loss, none of them being Ergonomic.

[_Pax._]

Just upload everything with a sat link,

Sattelite links are inherently VERY directional. It uses a DISH. Seriously, read the description carefully, right in the main book.

an elec warfare AS at r3 (you only need one copy for ALL of your drones),

Not necessarily. If your GM is using the rules in Unwired, for Pirated versus Legit programs .... either you get one copy for each drone, OR, you spend large chunks of time each month patching the bejesus out of your software.

and an r6 ECCM with a R3 optimization option (6k+1.5k)

.... and if you run any other programs - like, say, Targetting, so that your drone can hit the proverbial broad side of a barn - and your Response dips to 2, on the spot.

or just a signal repeater for 1k for vehicles, which effectively gives everything it can talk to (mutual range) a r6 signal.

No, it doesn't work that way. The Repeater has Signal 6 - but if the drone you're trying to talk to only has Signal 4, then it's only in mutual signal range with the repeater, at Sig4 distances or less.

Edit: for extra fun, mount a "workshop" option to your vehicle right next to your Valkyrie module. for three slots, you will never be stuck without good tools or a doctor!

.... and the book specifically cautions GMs against allowing this, without imposing some serious caveats. At the very least, she should charge more than 3 slots. And should require you to stop and "set up" the 'shop.

[Udoshi]

For one, they only benefit vehicles and drones. For two, I believe they run ON THE DRONE, not the rigger's commlink.

This isn't necessarily true. After all, there isn't a strict need to run the skillsofts or autosofts locally. The same networked-skillwires technique(unwired 193) can apply here. The key is that only one entity may use the program at any given time. You show up for work, and the office network allocates you the skills you need for your shift for the day, and when you leave you no longer have those skills.

Its entirely possible to run a central nexus that offloads all the drone ware and allocates it as needed, and would generally be good practice to make that same defense computer as a Centralized Tacnet hub.

[_Pax._]

RE: networked skillsofts: ah, that's pretty cool. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Oh, and by the by: if that TacNet hub also happens to be a Nexus, it can pack a LOT of IC to directly engage anyone trying to break in. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) You'd only need R4 hardware, maybe excepting Signal, too.

[Udoshi]

Actually, Nexi server platforms are so robust that System is NOT limited by Response

One of my unfinished projects involved making Cyberdexus(a few-user nexi) for personal hacking use, basically the bigger laptop version of commlinks based around this idea. Turns out system 6 is pretty cheapto get, if you don't mind starting with a response of 3.(due to availability).

This makes networked skillsofts and autosofts even more attractive. Hell, even an Evo Mobile Terminus(a defense server that can DODGE? Yes please!) can be had for 3bp or so.

[_Pax._]

Actually, Nexi server platforms are so robust that System is NOT limited by Response

You'll still probably want to crank Response up pretty high, since it factors into almost everything you do, at least for Rigging.

This makes networked skillsofts and autosofts even more attractive. Hell, even an Evo Mobile Terminus(a defense server that can DODGE? Yes please!) can be had for 3bp or so.

Love the Mobile Terminus.

Great as an AI's home node, really - self-mobile? YES PLEASE! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[onlyghostdancesw...]

This isn't necessarily true. After all, there isn't a strict need to run the skillsofts or autosofts locally. The same networked-skillwires technique(unwired 193) can apply here. The key is that only one entity may use the program at any given time. You show up for work, and the office network allocates you the skills you need for your shift for the day, and when you leave you no longer have those skills.

Its entirely possible to run a central nexus that offloads all the drone ware and allocates it as needed, and would generally be good practice to make that same defense computer as a Centralized Tacnet hub.

This... this is why i love my fellow munchkins of dumpshock.... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/vegm.gif)

[Shadoweyes]

.... except Autosofts don't work that way?

For one, they only benefit vehicles and drones. For two, I believe they run ON THE DRONE, not the rigger's commlink.

a jumped in rigger can only control one vehicle. for ALL THE DRONES, they will be running by themselves anyway. also you can just slave the drone to your com/nexus and have the program run on your link so long as you have signal connection. I think anyway... I forget the rules for slaving.

Five racks. Which can be Multilaunch racks. Which can hold, IIRc, 10 minidrones or 20 microdrones. Each.

Or, one of the racks cna hold and deploy a drone that ITSELF has a Multilaunch rack.

Multilaunch drone racks need min 10 body. you can put a mini drone rack on any heavy combat drone (bod 4). also even the "combat" minidrones have sucky DV's.

Depends on teh drone. For a lot of "combat drones", replacing the WEAPON is harder than replacing the drone itself.

depends on what you're using. an ak-97 is 4R. And most shadowrunners i know of know more weapons dealers than drone suppliers.

An MCT-Nissan Rotodrone is Availability 6. No R, no F. Just availability 6. As does a GMC-Nissan Doberman, or a Renraku Stormcloud. A Lonestar LEBD-1 is 6R, which is basically "don't get caught with it" and/or "blow some ¥ on a fake license".

So sure, yes, it'll take a bit of looking around to find one for sale - a few days, maybe. But it's not a huge drama issue. R4 or better Spirit Binding and Ritual Sorcery materials are actually harder to get.

You're right, buying a done wont be that much of an issue. Just so long as the player doesnt buy 12 of them at once from a single supplier right after getting 12 nuked by lone star/corp goons. Also weapon mount materials are 8F min. so the drone is obtainable easily, but trying to re-weaponize it wont be.

You don't need a facility to repair damage boxes.

sure, but trying to refit anything major (ie more than armour dings) requires at least a shop, and the +6 for superior tools makes all the difference. Not to mention the logistics of trying to fit multiple vehicles/drones into a shop makes my head hurt.

[Shadoweyes]

The OP talked about seconding as a Hacker. And the suggestion for a nexus wasn't about Subscriptions, it was about program limits.

A Response 5 / System 5 commlink can only run 4 programs (or, 9 programs if 5 of them have the Ergonomic option) without degrating performance.

A Response 5 / system 5 Nexus with a 30 program limit .... can run 29 programs before performance loss, none of them being Ergonomic.

makes sense. I thought a com had higher prog limit.

Sattelite links are inherently VERY directional. It uses a DISH. Seriously, read the description carefully, right in the main book.

yes it uses a dish. to connect to a satelite. which then talks to other satelite linked things. or to wireless towers which then talk to things. whichever works out easiest. It also doesnt give rules requiring anything else to have a satelite link, nor what happens when it cant reach the satelite (like if there's an r1 area jammer active). so "acts like signal 8" and if everything is sat linked, there should be less of an issue for a GM to not allow it. I think what you're thinking of is directional antenna.

Not necessarily. If your GM is using the rules in Unwired, for Pirated versus Legit programs .... either you get one copy for each drone, OR, you spend large chunks of time each month patching the bejesus out of your software.

which would happen to any hacker using agents, or a hacker who has a copy of every program, etc. its also not hard to have one copy that is "legit and protected" and updates regularly, which you then crack, and replace your outdated programs on your vehicles/com/nexus. There's a reason I dont think the degradation rules see much of the light of day. Then again I could be wrong. and if they do get used, its probably easier to have a legit software provider that you spend a bit of time each month visiting and taking their copies, rather than try to update yours.

.... and if you run any other programs - like, say, Targeting, so that your drone can hit the proverbial broad side of a barn - and your Response dips to 2, on the spot.

Agreed, see above, I thought a comlink would be able to run more programs. note to self, invest in ergonomic autosofts. if thats a thing... nope. not a thing. Harsh. wonder what the cost is to install a nexi on a drone...

No, it doesn't work that way. The Repeater has Signal 6 - but if the drone you're trying to talk to only has Signal 4, then it's only in mutual signal range with the repeater, at Sig4 distances or less.

You're right, I explained this terribly... I think you got what I meant though. Repeater is cheaper than R6 signal (because that makes sense >.>)

.... and the book specifically cautions GMs against allowing this, without imposing some serious caveats. At the very least, she should charge more than 3 slots. And should require you to stop and "set up" the 'shop.

agreed. its totally stupid, and shouldnt be allowed. Just like you can mount a fixed Main Gun on a Horseman PMV with any of the mods. for only two slots!? or that you can mount a Valkyrie module on an aerial drone, and just have it come over and auto-stabilize your teammates? And with a proper autosoft, fix them back to full/almost full health? or that a vehicle needs to upgrade to improved sensor package to be able to put more cameras on the vehicle. Etc, etc. I was trying to be facetious. Just like when I was talking about making a PMV into a one man army, then applying a chameleon coating.


nitpicking aside, setting everything up so it has r6 signal or sat links, or etc, then slaving it to your over-powered nexus, and running everything off of it is such a perfect idea, that i dont know why i didnt think of it before... The drones cant be hacked (you are forced to try and hack the nexus) and you can run as many programs as you want. /drool

Edit: ran a few scenarios, cheapest I can get an r6 nexus with 20 persona/subscription limit and 50 program limit is 30.2kny. ffs.

[Udoshi]

nitpicking aside, setting everything up so it has r6 signal or sat links, or etc, then slaving it to your over-powered nexus, and running everything off of it is such a perfect idea, that i dont know why i didnt think of it before... The drones cant be hacked (you are forced to try and hack the nexus) and you can run as many programs as you want. /drool

Edit: ran a few scenarios, cheapest I can get an r6 nexus with 20 persona/subscription limit and 50 program limit is 30.2kny. ffs.

Slaving isn't the end-all-be-all of hacking invulnerability. If anything, its a liability because if it's compromised so is everything it's connected to - and any network path to an drone is still a network path into the server, so be wary. Such a setup is rather vulnerable to spoofing.

THAT BEING SAID, your best bet in terms of cost is to do some self-assembly: use a an aftermarket response 6 chip in it. (assuming Persona 20 and ProgramLimit 50) Availability 24 hurts a lot, But Rating(6)xProcessor Limit(50)x100y is only 15k if you assemble it yourself, since per the core book it costs half market price in parts and some Hardware tests.
Then, the software package for System 6 for the same attribute values is.... 6000 nuyen, compared to 3000 for a commlink rating 6 program. If you dropped your Persona Limit to 10 it would be the same price.
Firewall is still pricey as fuck though, and arguably the most important (IMG:style_emoticons/default/frown.gif)

[KarmaInferno]

Just a note - if you're willing to lob the drones out the door manually, you can fit as many as the GM allows into the passenger/cargo space.

Launch racks just speed up the process.



-k

[_Pax._]

I think what you're thinking of is directional antenna.

No. I was talking about the Satellite link. I've seen folks, on this very forum, think the Satellite Link gave an omnidirectional Signal 8 link with anything. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

which would happen to any hacker using agents, or a hacker who has a copy of every program, etc. its also not hard to have one copy that is "legit and protected" and updates regularly, which you then crack, and replace your outdated programs on your vehicles/com/nexus. There's a reason I dont think the degradation rules see much of the light of day. Then again I could be wrong. and if they do get used, its probably easier to have a legit software provider that you spend a bit of time each month visiting and taking their copies, rather than try to update yours.

Having played a 1,000-Karma Hacker Adept, with high-teens to low-twenties die pools for thingslike patching and cracing .... anything over 4 or 5 programs, and you're spendingmore time keeping up with degradation, than you will spend actually shadowrunning. Or sleeping, for that matter.

wonder what the cost is to install a nexi on a drone...

Buy a drone. Buy a nexus. Say "this nexus, is in/on that drone".

Example: Evo Mobile Terminus. Essentially, a nexus with wheels.

agreed. its totally stupid, and shouldnt be allowed.

Well, no, it shouldn't be BANNED, either. It's just, not something you're going to be easily able to make use of.

I was at a state fair several months ago (end of last summer, into early autumn). It included some sort of racing league, little miniature cars of some sort. Anyway - severalof the racers had pretty complete shops, that they carried around in box trailers - eight by eight by ten or twelve feet, call them. The trick is, they had to UNPACK about half of the "shop", in order to make use of it. IOW, there was a set-up and break-down process involved. And it did require something like ... well, I assume the whole interior of that trailer wasn't jam-packed like sardines. So call it, um, 200 or 300 cubic feet of volume, for it all.

nitpicking aside, setting everything up so it has r6 signal or sat links, or etc, then slaving it to your over-powered nexus, and running everything off of it is such a perfect idea, that i dont know why i didnt think of it before...

And then someone drops an R6 jammer, with gecko tape, onto whaerever that nexus is located - and your whole net dissolves, sending each drone nto local mode, under the control onlyof it's own Pilot program.

"All your eggs in one basket" isn't always a good idea.

The drones cant be hacked (you are forced to try and hack the nexus) and you can run as many programs as you want. /drool

Yes, they can be hacked. That's what "Spoof" is for - you spoof a command, to look like it comes from the nexus .... switching the drone's subscription to YOUR commlink. Poof, free drone! And the NExus' security didn't mean jack over diddly.

Edit: ran a few scenarios, cheapest I can get an r6 nexus with 20 persona/subscription limit and 50 program limit is 30.2kny. ffs.

Yeah, and look at the Availability of that nexus.

[_Pax._]

Launch racks just speed up the process.

And a couple of them also let you heave those drones back INSIDE your truck, or whatever. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Without having to stop, or even slow down!

[Shadoweyes]

Having played a 1,000-Karma Hacker Adept, with high-teens to low-twenties die pools for thingslike patching and cracing .... anything over 4 or 5 programs, and you're spendingmore time keeping up with degradation, than you will spend actually shadowrunning. Or sleeping, for that matter.

O.o sounds shiny, and a terrible situation. how would any halfdecent hacker be able to sustain all those programs?

Well, no, it shouldn't be BANNED, either. It's just, not something you're going to be easily able to make use of.

I was at a state fair several months ago (end of last summer, into early autumn). It included some sort of racing league, little miniature cars of some sort. Anyway - severalof the racers had pretty complete shops, that they carried around in box trailers - eight by eight by ten or twelve feet, call them. The trick is, they had to UNPACK about half of the "shop", in order to make use of it. IOW, there was a set-up and break-down process involved. And it did require something like ... well, I assume the whole interior of that trailer wasn't jam-packed like sardines. So call it, um, 200 or 300 cubic feet of volume, for it all.

people will always find a way... I was trying to say that shop+valkyrie shouldnt be allowed. its like trying to fit all the above gear into an ambulance with people in it.

And then someone drops an R6 jammer, with gecko tape, onto whaerever that nexus is located - and your whole net dissolves, sending each drone nto local mode, under the control onlyof it's own Pilot program.

"All your eggs in one basket" isn't always a good idea.

Yes, it basically sets you up for failure unless you're running one of the new ares warmachines from rigger 4. However if I was installing such a thing, it would probably be on some sort of tank-like gunboat. or just a chameleon coated drone with as much ECM and reduced profile upgrade, as I could. Redundancy would probably be good as well, but buying more than one nexi gets expensive... I think I'm going to spend a bit more time working on this...

stealth and good ECCM would be your best friends. ECCM 6, optimization (ECCM) and a skinweb array (because this thing makes sense at all), should give you 8 ECCM to fight jammers with.

Yes, they can be hacked. That's what "Spoof" is for - you spoof a command, to look like it comes from the nexus .... switching the drone's subscription to YOUR commlink. Poof, free drone! And the NExus' security didn't mean jack over diddly.

FFS, i forgot about spoof... I hate spoof... why does EW have to be so convoluted. Uhh, tack r10 smart jammers on all the drones? (lets you communicate without having to punch through the jammer)

Yeah, and look at the Availability of that nexus.

24 to buy an out-of-the-box r6 nexus. making one at the start of the game would be better, extended test log+hardware (12/1day), 15k for the materials for response.

I tried getting a little sneaky. Buy an r3 nexus, 3*50*50 (7.5k) avail 12, r6 system with persona limit 24 (avail is PL/2) for 7.2k (14.7k) and firewall r6 for 15k (29.7k) avail 10, signal 4 0.5k, satelite link 0.5k (30.2k). I missed a step when pricing it apparently... response six upgrade= 8k, so 38.7k for a pretty much maxed out nexus at chargen.

@Udoshi
the problem starts to become is "persona limit" the same or similar to "subscription limit"? I think in this case, they would be the same. If you're trying to hook up three vehicles, ten drones, all of your gear, all of your team-mates comlinks, and then maybe some of the other guy's weapons, drones, coms, etc, that persona limit becomes incredibly important.