Trimming the fat, What do you have when you have nothing? Options

[Eyeless Blond]

Every once in awhile someone tries to post up aj topic based around what you generally carry on a run. Usually these topic end up, IMO, with ridiculous laundry lists of gear, more than you can usually fit into a duffel bag, with supplementary lists that frequently won't fit in a car, let alone on someone trying to travel light and not be stick out too much.

So, let's try something different. Let's say you have... 2kg to work with, plus clothing. 2 "SR standard" kilograms, which is really more like 2 pounds. What do you carry? We'll even make this a little easier and say you're not planning on a run, but just normal street use.

[Smiley]

Monofilament whip and tons of patches. If there's any weight left... knives.

[Fresno Bob]

A pistol.

[FrostyNSO]

Cellphone and a credstick

By using that cellphone and credstick, I can come accross whatever I need. Plus i don't have any heat for the cops to sweat me about.

[Eyeless Blond]

I guess I'll put mine in too, just to get things started. Other than the psec, this is stuff I usually carry around with me IRL, so I assume most runners would carry around at least the equivalent:

Psec (DNI-enabled if the char has a datajack)
Watch (Not needed if you've got a math SPU)
Ballpoint pen
Small multitool or swiss armmy knife
"Real" wallet (front pocket) with ID and ~50 bucks in small bills (A runner probably wouldn't have the ID, but a little cash is always important to have around.)
"Fake" wallet (back pocket) with scraps of paper (fun with pickpocketers! :))

I also carry around a monocular, but that's because I'm just shy of legally blind and I need it to read fast food menus and street signs and stuff. Mine's expensive, but you can get something cheap like a golf scope pretty easily. I could imagine this being useful for lots of people without vision mag cyberware, and for a mage this kind of thing would be invaluable.

Keep it coming guys.

[Morgannah]

I guess part of it would depend on which "streets" the character was visiting. ;)

Most of my characters would stick to the basics:

Hardliner gloves (Or shock gloves, in Morganna's case)
Pager-10, cell phone (depending on preference)
Pocketknife or combat knife (depending on the neighborhood)
Possibly a sidearm (again, depending on the neighborhood)
Cash and credsticks, though only for one ID at a time
Low light/thermo goggles (as shades, naturally)

My mage (Morg) also tended to carry around a lot of expendable anchoring foci when we had those things houseruled. *sighs* Those were the days....

[mfb]

hm. i've actually done this, with my main character--got drugged and kidnapped from a picnic in his own damn backyard, ended up in Charlotte, NC with nothing but the clothes on his back. he's a combat adept, though, and his buddy--a sam--got dragged along with him. we did pretty well, i think.

if i had to do it again... shock gloves. the white troll supremacists we woke up to weren't fun to take down.

[Critias]

I had a good time. Shock gloves would'a been nice, but we obviously didn't need them.

[The White Dwarf]

Never bothered to add up the listed weights, as theyre useless when you can just toss this stuff in your pockets in real life without problems. Anyhow, heres the list of stuff Id just be carrying on me for walkin around or getting groceries or something else mundane in character.

Hold-Out (never be unarmed, small enough to always carry, and yes its useful)
P-Sec (DNI adapted if appropriate)
Multi-Tool
Lighter
Flash-Pak
Hardliner Gloves (if skilled in unarmed)
Credstick (either certified or fake, type and balance depends on character/situation)

Also be safe to assume Im wearing some kinda generic jeans and a shirt, good pair of sneakers, probably have shades or a jacket/trench. None of it super armored but probably at least securetech type stuff, depends on the character really. Form Fitting for day wear is not assumed unless I have some reason to state otherwise in character.

[toturi]

Armour (Rapid Transit or just SecureTech)
Credstick (with a SIN)
Cellphone

[nick012000]

Eh. I always play a million nuyen character, so I've always got the following:

Melee Weapon (if no cyber weapons)
Gun (probably rifle of some description)
Form Fitting Armor, full body suit
Mortimer Greatcoat line coat
Armante Ancien Line scarf
Rapid Transit hemet

If I had to pick one thing out of the lot, however, I'd go with the gun. My gaming group's general strategy for SR is "Kill them all before they react". Works pretty dang well, too. Last run we killed a vampire blood mage (and his two vampire minions), and the run before that we killed a level 4 initiate (and his street sam guards). Oh, and when that run started, our karma was in the mid-upper teens.

[Edward]

My standard cary is

1 light pistol
Several anchoring foci (no weight worth noting)
Dozens of cornels of true elements (expendable spell foci, no weight worth noting)
Pocket sectary
Credsticks (at lest 2 certified)

Maybe some armour

For a job worth trouble
Med kit
Power focus (staff)
1 heavy pistol
1 clip for heavy pistol

I think that stays below 2kg, the staff may be to heavy

Arcology runs tend to get a bit heavy, I think I will be going in with a levitate spell on my backpack. 30kg of ammunition on a mage????

some characters is would play would have a lot of trouble, the rigger for example, even if you don’t include his drones the deck ways 5kg+

Edward

[Eyeless Blond]

Is anchoring really any good at all? I can't for the life of me figure out what they do for you that a sustainning focus doesn't. You still have to resist Drain; the thing's active even when the spell's not; etc etc. The only thing I can see them helping with is the Detect Bullet/Bullet Barrier combo and its ilk but even that's not really very useful.

(Edit): The low-light and thermo shades I really like, and the lighter. Good ideas. Anyting else?

[nezumi]

Utility knife
duct tape
cell phone
two credsticks (probably both faked)
GM permitting, I'd probably prefer steel toed boots over hardliner gloves. It seems they'd have the same effect, but would raise a lot less suspicion
Bubble gum
Cool shades.

[wagnern]

Armor:
second skin
Futura suit

Weapons:
Brace of pistols
Telescoping staff

Equiptment:
Wrist phone watch thing
Wallet with credstick
A couple nutra or granola bars to apease the super-thyroid and the symbiotes.

If we have to go uber light , I drop one of the pistols and the staff. If we are going heavy I will take a couple spare clips. I want to get a set of extended clips, some form fitting body armor, and a secure vest for when we need to go uber heavy.

[Dawnshadow]

Umm... normal street use is kindof odd with the Street Sam.

Street Sam:
Armour. Usually vest with plates, securetech long coat.
Some certified cred sticks.
ID.
2 concealed, quickdraw holsters with his pistols. (which adds up to something like 10 SR kg.. they're big, but legal) If he can't carry them, they're in the bike. Nice secure compartment.

MW Adept:
armour.
Power focus, two sustaining foci. (negligable weight).
Daggers (2).
Some cred, not much.
Cellphone

[wagnern]

[Edward]

My GM house ruled anchoring so it is useful, if you don’t have such replace with sustaining foci.

Edward

[The White Dwarf]

I love the people constantly wearing form fitting and hauling large firearms 24/7. Like they never take it off or dont mind the inconvienance of needing to keep a rifle under a coat while trying to get milk off the rack at the local stuffershack. No wait, actually its absurd.

Its one thing to be ultra paranoid during a high intensity setup for a run, wearing form fitting while you case the target or soemthing. But even SR's dont wear formfitting between jobs to go grocery shopping. Let alone carry rifle sized weapons around. Or dozens of foci stuffed in a pocket.

Its a little off topic I know, but think about it. Which one of you would happily put on a wetsuit every morning after the shower and then wear it around all day. A heavy-weave shirt and pants, and a leather jacket or something okay I can see that. It makes sense youd wear something. But form fitting and a plated vest everytime you leave the house is kinda stretching it. A large firearm is definatly stretching it. Its just not practical, even for SRs. Too much work, too much exposure. On a run is one thing, casually strolling about 'off hours' is another.

[Smiley]

[Eyeless Blond]

And, if you're living in the Z-zones or similar, which are closer to Iraq's streets today than Americas, that kind of thing would be appropriate; in fact it'd be a bit of a faux pas to *not* have a bit of obvious armor and/or weaponry sticking out. If you're browsing the shops downtown, or worse, heading to the Needle for lunch with a client it wouldn't be.

The weapons and armor and such do have their places, but it's much more important to define those places than some other equipment. What I'm really looking for are a few good items to have *everywhere*, whether you're running in the Barrens or schmoosing in high society or anything in between. And we've been seeing some good ideas so far; keep 'em up.

[Edward]

Wether you wear armour in your day to day life depends on where you live.

Timothy carter for example lived in an a very bad part of town, there where a fiew blocks controlled tightly buy the mafia, to whom he payed a lot of nuyen for protection (between rent protection illegal matrix access and the fact that they owned the local shop I think they where getting 90% of my lifestyle payments). Having payed that he was quite safe within those few blocks but if he was going further than the corner store then armour and some vehicle mounted guns where a necessity of survival.

Another character lived in Redmond (the bad part) he was an athlete’s way adept he would walk down the street with a goodly amount of armour and a hocky stick (weapon) as well as 24 (6 dicoated 12 high density plastic) darts. He carried these things in case he met somebody that didn’t know him (or wanted to prove how buff they where) a samy was in a similar situation, he carried 2 SMGs and a heavy pistol to the grocery store, only the pistol was concealed.

when the cops refuse to enter your suburb you go to the grocery store armed.

All you really need regardless of where you are is a pocket sectary, it incorporates all the important things anybody needs to be able to run a small business on the go and it is appropriate in almost any situation (keep it out of sight if your worried about thieves) everything else depends on the character.

Edward

[Guest_Crimsondude 2.0_*]

[Edward]

There are 2 types of people that don’t get robed in the barons

Those that don’t look like they have anything worth the effort

And those that look like it will be too much effort to be worth it.

Edward

[Charon]