Cheap Decker/Hackers, what do they need beyond starting gear? Options

[MortVent]

I just did a workup -

Add the price of a commlink (not included)
Programs -
All Common Use, Rtg 6 : 4,200
All Hacking, Rtg 6: 90,000
Firewall 6: 3,000
System 6: 3,000
Agent 4: 10,000
IC 4: 10,000

Commlink Upgrades/Accessories:
Response 5: 4,000
Signal 5: 4,000
AR Gloves: 250
Satellite Link: 500
Sim Module - Hot Sim Modified: 250
Skinlink: 50
Subvocal Microphone: 50
Trodes: 50
AR Glasses or monocle w/Image Link: 50

Total: 126,400

Add a Hardware shop for 5000, and during one month of downtime (less actually) if the char has 4,500 they can upgrade response and signal to 6.

So taking the cheapest commlink and shop total = 131,900 (27BP) to get max gear for a decker/hacker except for the Agent and IC cores.

But I think this may be intentional since a street sam can max out their essence and tech at start too.

May be a good thing or bad, as the decker is no longer a time/resource sink that made riggers look cheap at times. Now Riggers are the resource drain, got to buy them drones.

Scary part is if the team is willing to fork over cash for lifestyle, the decker/hacker can break the protection on the software and share it with the rest of the team easily (and upgrade their commlinks a lot cheaper)

[MortVent]

wow... got an error screen and when I hit the shadowrun 4 forum... 3 diffrent topics :-/

[Bull]

Yeah, it's been happening lately for some reason. I'm cleaning em up as best I can :)

Bull

[Phoniex]

Yeah, its kinda sad you can tack on everything you need for hacking in 27 buildpoints and one rating 3 skill for 12 BP. I mean at that price, every street sam out there should pick up hacking 3, and just enjoy. And the worse thing is that technomancers that do the same thing and normally ONLY that, yeah they cost:

Technomancer quality: 5BP
Reasonace attribute 5 : 40BP
Logic x 2 complex forms at reasonace rating (assuming logic of 4) 8*5=40BP

So about 3 times the cost of the hacker for 1 less die (assume equal hacking skill, but programs rating 6 compared to rating 5 complex forms) for the technomancer.

So why play the technomancer again? Why not tack on 1 profession rating skill and about 20 BP worth of :nuyen: on a sammy and do it just as well if not better than the technomancer?

[apple]

[Rotbart van Dain...]

Much less Cash than Karma. ;)

[MortVent]

Yeah, a technomancer can breach some limits with thier version of initiation.

[Orient]

The highest System rating I found in SR4 was the Novatech Navi OS, with a System of 4. Shouldn't that limit all programs used on the Commlink to a maximum effective rating of 4? Or is there a list of upgrades that have escaped my notice in there somewhere...?

[hahnsoo]

[Orient]

Oh. Yes. *ahem*

I'm blind, apparently.

[MortVent]

well at start all programs operate at raiting 5 till the hardware gets upgraded, but once that is upgraded (cheeply at 4.5k and less than a month) all work at the full rating.

[Ranneko]

Technomancers have the advantage in the long run, and at this point as far as I can see, Technomancers are the only things that can get 4 init passes in the matrix, as well as ratings higher than 6 for the various aspects of their living persona.

[MortVent]

yep, and only savant style adept hackers got a chance to keep up (and karma wise just as expensive)

[odd thing is nobody complains about insane dice pools for combat adepts... but savant adepts... oh boy]

[Phoniex]