Looting the Landscape, job openings in pillage and rapine Options

[tschofie]

While reading the thread on payment for runs, I found a sidenote on looting. This is probably more than a little naive, but... it actually never occurred to me that looting was, well, permissible -- or even possible. We've never even picked up downed enemies' weaponry, let alone engaged in the more devious methods that have been hinted at.

Needless to say, I am quite excited. Does one normally get, say, half the list price for weaponry? Or a fifth the street price? Is it tough to transport 'stolen' bio/cyber-ware? Are there items that most fixers won't handle? What diverse objects have you (or your gamers) stolen? Any particularly innovative tips?

In short... what are the mechanics of swiping stuff? And how can I go about looting without being abrasive, interrupting game flow, or risking GM wrath?

Many thanks,
TS

_____

Don't worry about people stealing your ideas.
If your ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats.
--Howard Aiken

[Chibu]

Well, a few weeks ago, Nightshade stole an Ares Dragon. This would have been hard to fence, but, the company no longer existed... ^-^

But, the price you get really depends on how you sell it. if you give it to a fixer and say "sell this for me," you may get a tenth to a fifth of the list price. But, if you sell it yourself, you can distinctly get more than that. Especially if you have a negotiation skill. ^-^

[Herald of Verjig...]

I think you can pawn stuff for up to 50% of base cost to a fence if you make a good enough negotiations test. See main book, "Fencing the Loot" section or something like that vaguely near the equipment section.

[Dawnshadow]

Best example of looting in my memory.

My second run ever. We were doing reasonably well, had an adept and a Sammy kidnap someone we needed to extract information from.

There was a security guard, talking on something.. and the Sammy leaned out of the car and shot him down. In the middle of a rich neighbourhood. With a cop car behind him, and trid-bots in the air. The other adept saw the entire thing on the news.

When said other adept, and the other Sam, managed to rescue the first two with an ambush that took out the cops (got some REALLY lucky rolls). Runners decided to vacate Seattle.

Had the idiot sam stop by the adepts place to help them gather their stuff up. He arrived with a duffle bag, armour and weapons packed away in it. They said that they had some extra stuff in the basement, so he went down with them to get it.. he walked into the room. The adepts stepped in after him.

The adepts both drew predators and shot him in the back. He was still alive (but had taken deadly damage) when they took out the knives and removed his cyberware, adding it to a second duffle bag. Fixer gave us.. shoot.. I don't know what the value was. I think it was something like half cost at street index + paid for our passage out of Seattle.

(Note: I was one of the adepts, not the idiot)

For looting in general? If it's something small just grab it on the way past.. if it's something major, well, be inventive. Just don't walk down the street carrying someone's severed cyberarm.

[Kanada Ten]

My advice is: don't loot unless it's part of a job. Everything can be traced, even more so if you took it from a security force - and if you took it from a syndicate, they're likely the ones offering to buy it.

[Gyro the Greek S...]

Be careful about organ-legging, though. Tanamous has their dirty little fingers drek-deep in that, and they don't like competition. Not to mention the Yaks and God-knows-who-else.

Cyberwear's slightly easier to pawn off, 'specially if you got a street doc who buys the stuff on the cheap.

Usually my players are in a hurry, and grab whatever's fast and obvious. If they decide to just give it to their fixer, they get 30% of the street value of the item. They can get better deals if they sell to an actual dealer or pawn it off themselves, but they haven't done this yet.

There are also some things their 'general' fixer can't get or sell for them; heavy munitions, for instance. For this, they have to go to other contacts.

[Gyro the Greek S...]

[Kanada Ten]

[Dawnshadow]

Don't loot from those who have friends/employers/partners that will hunt you down and kill you -- unless you want them to come after you so you can kill them and loot their corpses too.

[James McMurray]

Perhaps its from years of playing D&D, but if my players (and me when I'm playing) have the time, they grab everything not nailed down. This usually just involves the weapons from the opposition, but could also involve armor, or other stuff. The "other stuff" hasn't happened yet, but they've generally been too rushed for a good search.

[Paul]

I think kaneda ten hasit one. If you have to ask the Johnson, the answer is likely no. My players have "looted", we prefer acquire thank you, at various times-but I'll be honest they won't just take everything. It has to be something that either is worth selling, or keeping.

The more you take the more you have to sell, and therefore the more chances some pissed off corp might run across your little firesale, or trace the goods back to you.

That said, the corps can't afford to track down every item lifted from them-it has make good economic sense or be pretty conveinant for tracking purposes to do so.

[JaronK]

AFAIK, in real life fencing goods nets about 10% of the market value of the item, if that helps.

And you can loot all you want, but be aware that serial numbers can be traced.

JaronK

[toturi]

My gaming group has a standard procedure. If the GM (that is me) is stupid enough to put the heavy or expensive stuff in the hands of the opposition, then the PCs are not going to be stupid enough to refuse taking them off the cold dead hands of their enemies.

By Canon, there is no game mechanic to trace stolen mechandise. And you know me: what is not Canon is not in my game.

[mfb]

SR3 page 237 has rules for selling illicit gear on the street.

[Kanada Ten]

[hahnsoo]

[toturi]

[Edward]

I find weapons to be of relatively low value once you fence them. Not worth the time and risk. I will acquire them only if my ammunition supply is depleting.

When the job allows it I always loot a few extra things.

EG the job is to steal a prototype. As far as time and load permit take everything else in the room that looks valuable, any computers in the vicinity (or there data storage modals if load is an issue) and everything vaguely resembling pay data on there system. Also riding other rooms nearby in a similar manner

Not only do you get to make a bit extra on the side but you make it harder for them to know what you where really after.

I almost always ask the Johnson what he feels about his runners making additional acquisitions (obviously not for zero notice runs) responses range from no to it serves my interest sometimes with a first right of purchase demand.

Edward

[fistandantilus4....]

We just go for the expensive stuff. Nice example, played in the Mercurial adventure a while back. At one point, there's a decker w/ an excalibur deck. Of course we grabbed it, who wouldn't!? Good idea? maybe not, but we got a ton of cash for it selling it off to a local deckmeister.
Usually though, when I grab stuff, I don't fence it. I give it to a contact that may find it useful. More of the "trading favors" variety. Saved my butt more than a few times.

[Kanada Ten]

The rules for tracing them and what they do are under "Hustle It Along" right previous.

[toturi]

No mention of fence or fencing in Connected, K10. And it brings me back to the point that there are no rules for tracing stolen merchandise if they do not sell them. If Runner A uses that Thunderbolt that he stole from that LS last week, LS has no rules to trace it to being the one stolen last week.

[Kagetenshi]

[Rev]

It mainly depends on how much the loot is worth to you compared to your other sources of financing. If you are being payed poorly enough looting even pistols starts to make sense sometimes. If you are making more money you would only be tempted by rarer and more lucritave things.

In general the higher the value and especially the availability of the fenced good the more traceable it should be. Also the longer you wait before selling it the safer it should be. If you go on a shooting spree and kill ten guards someplace and the next day you are selling ten of thier blood spattered standard issue weapons you are definately giving the fence more than weapons to sell. If you wait a couple months or sell them in smaller batches it is just another few smg's with some brown smudges you picked up in some illegal way.

[Kanada Ten]

[Edward]

There may be exceptions to this but I like to clean anything I loot before I sell it. Blood stains and dirt traces are not good, the sterilise spell is.

Edward