I was gonna attempt my first rigger character and so i started rereading the rigger sections. Now i have questions:

#1. Whether im jumped in or not a drone can only fire one weapon for a complex action?? Is there any way to link weapons together so that i can fire them all at once with a complex action albiet they will all shoot at a single target? Am I missing something here or what because even people who are not ambidextrous can fire two weapons twice per phase

#2. Drones usually have 3 IP and Pilot+response initiative while they are not controlled. When they are controlled they use the riggers initiative. Which means the rigger is VR and is either using cold or hot sim so thats a max of 2-3 IP's and Reaction+Intuition right ?

#3. No matter what type of weapon i have attached to a drone i use gunnery to fire it if im using a jumped in rigger? Otherwise i go with the skillsoft for that weapon?

Hmmmm i've seen people using sprites to drive drones and stuff but i dont think i've seen any techno's rigging vehichles... That sounds like a really freaking kool idea. I dont see those sissy techno's being able to doo all the dirty greasy work of repairing drones and fixing vehichles and working on stuff phyiscally though..

Maybe i will have a techno guy to drive and control things and a dwarf mechanic/builder guy to make the stuff.

I wont bother talking about making drones and stuff since that supplemental is not out and they dont over it in the core book but i'd LOVE to have a meter tall sphere droid like a droideka from star wars lol. I dont know how it will go up stairs or over obstacles outside but if its inside a building i plan on use grappling hooks to fire into the ceilings and pull itself up hehe.

1) That's right, just one weapon at a time. Currently there are no rules for tying multiple weapons together. Several people have suggested bolting autonomous smart firing platforms to your drones or vehicles. They would essentially be drones without their own movement capabilities.

2) Yep.

3) Yep again.

As far as a mechanic/builder type character. Those guys require different sizes of space for tools and stuff. A shop is the largest if i recall right and is immobile. Doesnt that make those characters like easy pickings for GM's to raid and destroy frequently?

That would suck if you had to constantly rebuild workshops and stuff.

That's why, as a mechanic/builder, you're careful with your fake IDs and a number of other things. If you've got an entirely different "person" who's doing all the building work, maybe a fake storefront or some other stuff to cover it (or you've got a deal going with a real shop to let you be "an employee" there that nobody asks questions of) it's possible to stay low profile.

Trust me, this isn't nearly as bad as things like decking used to be... a stray round in a firefight could trash a million-nuyen cyberdeck in a flash.

I've found that riggers are generally better off commanding a drone to fire on its own. It's less skill intensive and has the same effect, plus the rigger can have his own IPs and doesn't have to worry about someone sneaking up on his meatbody while in VR.

That's the route I took with my sam/rigger. I don't even have the gunnery skill. Of course, it also means that I'm running alongside the team, so don't get that "live in the van" safety bubble that a lot of riggers like to have. I prefer it that way, but some don't.

hmm, how many drones out there have the ability to carry more then one weapon anyways? there are 3 drones that have a body of 3 and 3 more that have a body of 4. nothing bigger.

ok, so you could turn a vehicle into a very big drone but thats hardly cost effective

and there are now 3 ways to "control" a drone.

1. issue commands to it (go to these coordinates, shoot any metahuman-shaped object in front of you).

2. take remote control of it using a combo of skill and the command pogram. im guessing its basicly like remote controling a model vehicle with a camera attached so that you see where your going.

3. jumped in using VR. now you are the drone. you feel any bump in the road, any bullet that impact with the armor and so on.

hmm, i wonder how 3 is combined with having your persona parked in some node. i guess that you need to jump out of the drone before you can focus on the node, realy bad idea if you get targeted by IC

I don't know, a remote controlled citymaster could make for some serious diversions. Or maybe not...

Beat cop to dispatch: "Do we go after the rogue citymaster or the robbery being reported over on 5th avenue?"

Dispatch: "We need all available units at the Citymaster, we just can't bring that thing down!"

Beat cop: "You're breaking up."

2 minutes later 30 squad cars roll up at the robbery because their drivers don't relish the idea of going against an urban assault vehicle.

or they get their hackers to go in and try to take over control of the citymaster, and then use it to go after the robbery.

remember, if you can do it, so can the npc's...

Hopefully if you cana fford a remote control citymaster you can afford a cadre of hackers to protect it.

and that scentence moved it out of the reach of most runner teams in my view

In SR3 were there any limits on capacity for vehichles (bulldog) and was it possable to make hidden pop out gun mounts?

Just being a citymaster didn't put it out of their reach? I don't have a book handy, but I thought that was over 300,000 .

Abbandon: Yes to both counts. The rigger book had very detailed design and storage rules for vehicles. The SR4 version is certain to have something similar, and hopefully simpler (not that the old rules were too complex, they could just be pretty time consuming).

and kinda over the top at the extreme end.
anyone for a mach 1 van?

i kinda recall that they would have customization rules this time round, but not design rules...

That kinda sucks. Just because crazy stuff could happen with the old rules didn't mean they should be scrapped. That "GM Approval" step is all important. If mach 1 vans match the campaign then go for it.

I'd like to see the rigger that could handle driving at mach 1.

in theory, anyone could as there was no g-force rules.

ok, so there was some speed modifiers for vehicle tasks and all that, but you could in theory drive said van at mach 1 downtown

Even if you were a 500 pound mass of cellulite stuck in your bed because your forklift broke you could still handle it. You're a rigger, who needs meat?

Should a rigger take the Cracking skill group for electronic warfare and hacking? If im a rigger i should probably count on having my toys stolen all the time and should have some way of getting them back. or would there be an easier way for me to get back control of my toys??

i think thats a good idea.
given that the matrix now is wireless, and that older SR versions had electronic warfare options for riggers that allowed them to hijack each others drones, i would assume that a rigger worth his title would atleast know a thing or two about it.

Another thing to remember is that you can load your drones up with IC. Most drones come with one or two autosofts, and really only need Clearsight (perception), Targetting (shootin stuff), and Maneuver (getting where you want to go). I may have missed one, as I'm sitting here sure there's one other I bought for my drones, but I can't think of it.

Upgrade your stats (especially response and system/pilot). That way you can have 3 autosofts and the rest of the space can be filled with IC. For example, you can have a system and response of 5 and run 9 programs (3 autosofts and 6 IC). Your response will be lowered by one, but you'll have a hefty wall put up against hackers.

And of course, always max your firewall.

What do you mean by 6 IC? 6 agents that have multiple programs in them ?

6 copies of your favorite Intrusion Countermeasure program.

On the citymaster, it's the initial availability that sets it apart form a starting character owning one. The cost is just over 50K.

Ah. What am I thinking of then? Some vehicle that costs slightly over 300,000. Stupid leaky brain...