Permits and Legality Options

[OSUMacbeth]

In my group, we tend to usually get permits for almost everything we have. I currently have a permit for my TMP, my Smartlink 2, and my Synaptic Accelerator. Now, after we successfully get a permit, we simply use our character's SINs (in most cases) to purchase the item without street index. Is there a downside to this? Are we doing something wrong? The only downside I can see is if a weapon or piece of equipment registered to you were found at the scene of a crime, which would be very bad for you, but it's unlikely, for instance, that my synaptic accelerator or SL2 will fall out while I'm in the middle of commiting a crime. I'd like to hear any opinions you all have on both the way we do things, and on staying "legal" in general.

OSUMacbeth

[Wounded Ronin]

Well, to get a permit you need to have some excuse as to why you need the equipment; according to SR3 you can't simply automatically get permits for everything, but rather only for things that you can convince a corporate entity or government that you have a legitimate need for.

So, things like a synaptic accelerator or a smartlink...those would be very very hard to justify for a private citizen, right? "Oh, yeah, I have my smartlink here in case my house gets robbed. Then I'll use it with my smartlinked submachinegun."

That just wouldn't fly; if I were the GM, I'd only allow permits for things like pistols, shotguns, and sport rifles, but not for things like grenades and automatic weapons and military cyberware.

[OSUMacbeth]

The best I can come up with is that my character is a licensed bodyguard. Which is true, actually. I always figured that all those reasons and such were abstracted away into the ettiquette roll, thus why it gets harder with the more powerful items.

OSUMacbeth

[Westiex]

The availability only applies to getting items in an illegal manner - if you're a licensed security provider, for instance, then you can buy security grade vehicles without the street index or having to bother about rolling for availbility.

As a note, if you buy anything legally, there are all sorts of records - credit trails, inventory, and prehaps surveillance footage.

If they company discovers that you're a shadowrunner, they're likely to turn the information over to the police.

(P273, SR3)

[Fox1]

[nezumi]

For ware, there are a few things to keep in mind:

1) As Ronin said, if you don't have a reason for the ware, you won't be able to register it.
2) This is linked to a SIN which will have other information on you presumably (at minimum, reasonably accurate biometrics). This means if a legal entity, like LS, is after you and knows who you are, they can look you up and find out what ware you have in advance.
3) If you're using your permanent SIN, well, you've just redflagged yourself for all time as a dangerous individual. If you're using a fake SIN, if you have to lose your SIN for whatever reason (and lets be honest, that comes up several times in a shadowrunner's life), the money you've spent to register everything is now wasted, and you have one more tie to your old life in the systems. I suspect who owns which piece of military hardware is a bit tougher to hack into than your credit report, which means your old SIN might hang on to you a little longer than you're comfortable with.
4) Most ware is largely invisible, except to cyberware scanners (and even then...) It's probably easier to make a fake permit than to get a real one.

Of course, if you are in fact a legal person who plans on staying on the better side of the law for your game (like bounty hunters, security resources, etc.) registering your gear is a very good idea. But if you change shoes often... Maybe not so worth it.

[OSUMacbeth]

Lol, people knowing my abilities in advance is not a consideration for me. As a former novatech employee, I have a Dossier on File. (Flaw)

OSUMacbeth

[ShadowDragon8685]

One easy pay, and the pain goes away....

Get a level 2 or level 3 contact in the govvie or high up in the corporate worlds. Slip him enough cash, and you can get a permit for a laser-armed Panzer.

[Sabosect]

I dunno. The CAS official keeps refusing to sell, or give a permit for, an aircraft carrier.

It's not that we can afford it. It's that we are trying to set him up and have leverage over him later.

[Sunday_Gamer]

Nova has permits and wouldn't you know it, he's a licensed bodyguard.

I have a permit on one of my identities with a few spell permits and a summoning license, it's corporate backed. Saved some corp mucky mucks life one time and it turned out he had this thing for not owing anyone anything. He just kept bugging me and bugging me about "what I wanted" till I eventually just gave up and told him to get me a permit.

Haven't had to use it yet.

Kong