It's mentioned but not defined in the SR4 book, and it's not on the Sixth World Wiki. What in blue blazes are NERPS?

Nerps are a running gag from the early sourcebooks. They'd have various adverts for Nerps but never make it clear exactly what they are. I've had some fun with this in the past. I had one character would always buy some Nerps whenever he visited the local StufferShack, and always for wildly different reasons.

"Oh, and some Nerps please. I need to clean the mildew from my shower."
"And a pack of Nerps, please. My breath just doesn't feel as fresh as it could be."
"Tube of Nerps, please. I've a feeling I'll be getting lucky tonight."
"Mustn't forget the Nerps. I'm cooking dinner for that special someone in my life."
etc etc.

I've also heard this defined as "Non-Essential Role Playing Stuff", which fits nicely into WyldKarde's description.

Did anyone from FASA ever clear up what it was?

Glayvin--Because it will inevitably come up, the use of the Search feature on the boards is often very useful in answering questions like "What is X?"

Shown here

You can't be serious.

The other rumor is "Nothing Ever Really Pleases Steve," a reference to a certain FASA editor.


In any case: NERPS for flu!

NERPS is.

It's made out of worms that sigh constantly?

NERPS: they're worth living for.

Necessary Equipment Regarding Personal Survival
Norwegian Equadors Republican Party Sisterhood
Noob Equipment Rusty Parts Store
Nubian Echoshaman Running Partly Shadows
Nifty Economical Rigger Pimp SUV

Another common explanation is/was:

Net Enhancements for Role Playing Shadowrun, though that may have been Gurth's personal take on it.

Nerps: it's whats for dinner

New England Role-Playing Society.

One of my favorite things in a game was TACOs... Totally Arbitrary Collectible Objects. Can't for the life of me remember the game's name, but it was a console-rpg style thing based on the Quake 2 engine.

This discusion remindes me of other RPG systems where 90% of your kit is NERPs. I wonder if that could be done for SR. I find I spend too much time buy equipment.

It turned out that the brown NERPS wasn't able to get soap scum off of tile as well as it were supposed to, so the marketing kinda flopped.

As much as I hate the D20 system there is one thing I like in D20 modern:
In D20 modern you have a purchase skill (though in SR I would make it an ability) that is a measure of how easy it is to buy things (ie through credit cards, cashflow, etc). It would be nice if SR had a similar system.

But you can also use Cha + Intimidate, and you get extra dice if you seem to be the one with the advantage (you're armed and he's not, the guy thinks you're bigger/stronger/more skilled in combat than him, etc.).

I think using Cha + Intimidate to try and get gear is a quick way to get one of your contacts to use Strength + Running (Away), then Cha + Negotiation (Hiring Goon Squads).

To the original question:

Never Expect Repeat Plaid Shirts

I came up with this after realizing just now my boss has been wearing the same plaid shirt since Wednesday.

I was talking to a friend about it and I thought of a system that could be used. Before I state the system I wanted to point out that the system would be separate form Cha or any social skill because it is more based around your ability to aquire resources with the current resources at your disposal (ie credit cards, cash, credit, etc). Start off with an ability (call it resources) that you can have at any level (though to keep it in line with the SR money system I would put it at 5BP/Level). If there is an item with a rating equal or less then half your resources rating you can get that item for free (note: GM may want to stack items to increase their resource rating to counter abuse of this rule). Anything greater then 1/2 but equal or less then the resources rating, you roll your resources rating versus the availability fo the item. If you succed you get the item, if you fail you don't. If the item is breater then your resource rating you roll as above to try to get the item. If you succeed then you reduce your resource rating equal to the number of points over your resource rating that the item is. This is a result of spending too much money on a single item. Further more I thing that you should get a free lifestyle based on your resource rating (you can ask for a higher lifestyle but it will reduce your rating).

NERPS is people!

I always thought that NERPS was like Soylent Green, but Non-Essential RolePlaying Stuff, makes more sense.

I knew someone would remember that.

The granular NERPS were supposed to be a sequel to that game, but people figured out they worked well as baffles in car mufflers. Needless to say, it's almost impossible to find a copy.

I hear that at one point it meant Nothing Ever Really Pleases Steve.


Anyway, I'm off to go get me some of those new green NERPS, heard they will do great things for my bike's engine.

It might have been SR3, but I think i remember you used Ettiquite for getting stuff and Negotiations to reduce the price. Why not just use the same system in SR4?

NERPS

Good for you, bad for you, eat it or wear it,
use it for anything just make sure you share it!

Now available in single portion packs for applications that require a small explosion, or for dieters who are watching their carbs.

I accidentally mixed up my packs of NERPS a bit ago, when I was trying to do some makeup for a first aid class. Let me tell you, when the patient's wounds suddenly started singing "Oh, Canada," it was a sight...

I hate to say this, but I would think how much money a character can pull together for an item would be represented by how much money they actually have, possibly selling their lifestyle as a last resort as per the rules.

Funny little tidbit...

If you look on the back of the SR4 rulebook...

NERPS is a registered trademark of WizKids.

http://archive.dumpshock.com/ArchiveShowAr...cle.php3?ID=351

A bit of NERPS courtesy of Paolo Marcucci