Tomorrow, I'll be helping one of my fellow players making his character, and he wants to make a hacker. He is unfamiliar with the system, hasn't been roleplaying for 5 or 6 years, and I know him to be the type who hates to fiddle around for hours with detailed equipment lists - he is the type that tells the GM 'can't I just spend X gp/nuyen/dollars/whatever and have everything I need?'. So, I was thinking that I'd present him with a simple package for stash.

The trouble is, I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around all the gadgets in 4E. What does one really NEED? Trodes, AR gloves, imagelink - what is all that good for? (I had enough trouble figuring out this for my own character, who isn't really Matrix-based at all) I have no idea what else he wants the character to be, except a hacker - I could guess combat decker, but he might decide to go for a gadgeteer or face type. I know that a hacking adept would be real nice - but I also think that the GM would kill us both if we tried. We get 450 BP and main book only - no taking stuff from Unwired or anything else.

Help would be appreciated!

Just trodes with skinlink (100¥), a Hermes Ikon with skinlink running Novatech Navi (4550¥), possibly with a Hot Sim module (250¥). That's your computer and your interface (direct to brain, handles all AR, VR, communications, etc.). You can run rating 4 programs, and you'll need several:

Common Use (400¥ each): Analyze, Browse, Command, Edit, Encrypt, Scan
Hacking (4000¥ each): Spoof, ECCM, Attack, Armor, Decrypt, Exploit, Stealth, Track, Sniffer, Data Bomb, Defuse, Biofeedback Filter

Some of those are more vital than others, but a real hacker probably needs all of them at some rating, if not the max. If you religiously avoid VR/Hot Sim, you can probably ditch Biofeedback, for example. If you get all that gear and each of those programs at Rating 4, that's 55,050¥ (very doable).

Without Unwired, you're missing out on a lot of hacker stuff, but you also don't have to buy any of it.

Optional Gear: Sat Link, various sensors (esp. Radio Signal Scanner, although its fluff doesn't match its crunch), Jammer, Agents/IC…

Also: Drones. Riggers *are* hackers in SR4 (basically), and hacking drones is an important aspect. You don't have to have your own, but a few Fly-Spies at minimum supports the hacker's role as command-and-control.

Ouch no taking stuff from unwired?
That's harsh for a hacker. It's like asking a Street Sam or Rigger not to take anything from Arsenal.

What about things from augmentation?

Gear:
Commlink - Either the Hermes Ikon or the Transys Avalon, with the Response 5/Signal 5 upgrade. The only reason to get the Fairlight Caliban is if you intend to boost it to a 7 signal. Otherwise it's completely worthless.
Holo Projector, electronic paper, Satellite Link, Subvoc Microphone, stealth tags,white noise generator, Tag Eraser, Headjammer, Area Jammer, directional Jammer.




Cyber:
Hot Sim Module
Datajack
Math SPU
Attention Co-processor
Encephalon II
sleep regulator

Thanks - this is exactly what I was looking for. I'll be picking up Unwired, for no other reason than that I want him to pirate some programs for my own character. Unfortunately, the LFGS was all out of Shadowrun.

Now, my powergaming-knee-jerk reaction is, shouldn't he be getting upgrades to pretty much everything (perhaps except signal)? It doesn't cost THAT much, and it sure is nice to get Response, System and Firewall up to 6. Or?

Check out PACKS.

http://ancientfiles.dumpshock.com/Docs/PACKS_Platinum.pdf

The 'Off The Shelf Hacker' Profile p. 12 or any of the Basic Hacker kits on p. 19 seem especially of interest to your friend.

The problem with maxing out (some) of the attributes to 6 is availability. The other two (I forget which but there are two you can take to 6 with no problem and two you can't) you definitely should take to 6 and you might even want to spring for Restricted Gear to take one of the others to 6.

I thought the OP was trying to be simple, but yes, you can boost your Response to 5 (not 6, yet) and get System 5, and *then* you can buy rating 5 programs. You should also boost your Firewall (I forgot!).
These items are basically worthless, and these items aren't really 'hacker' gear.

The PACKS bits use Unwired and Arsenal, I believe?

Electronic paper is very cool for being able to actually 'hand' whatever it is you printed (like a map of that facility you're infiltrating) to your team mates and being able to draw on it on the table rather than everyone having their own version on their own commlinks.

Everything else is very situationally effective, but I'm not sure why you would say that a subvocal microphone is worthless. Subvocalizing is awesome. (Or can you just THINK at people in VR? Even so Subvocal seems useful for AR unless you have a headware commlink and again can just think at people.)

Using trodes (50¥), you can 'think' at anyone, yes. At any time, regardless of VR status.

I can see your point about the paper, but everyone should have commlinks. AR is what sharing maps with collaborative editing is all about.

Stealth Tags are super useful
You ever run an Op where your mage uses a spirit to put stealth tags on every guard in the building? Then you use your tactnet to plot down where every guard is in the facility and to build an internal map of the facility?

Holo Projector and Electronic paper are strictly roleplaying items. It's true. But that's only if your GM is all lax on the tech.
Subvoc microphones are useful if you want to be able to communicate quietly without needing the matrix up to DNI.

Headjammers ARE useful for screwing with hackers with internal commlinks.

Stealth tags (and headjammers) have a use, but not a particularly 'hacker' use. They're gear, not 'hacker gear', is all I meant. My little text markers are mixed up, you're right.

Technically, if you're trying to avoid Matrix use, you can use trodes to 'think' into your MicroTransceiver (the only way to avoid the Matrix, btw).

I guess I need trodes for my guy as well, then . . .

Yera: Well, yes, I wanted it simple - but I want it simple for HIM, not for me. I don't mind crushing numbers or going into detail on the system - I just want to have something ready that he can use straight out of the box.

Either way, all of this is very helpful, thank you all.

Sigh Trodes
*grumble*

but you're right of course. All you really need is a commlink, trodes, and a microtranceiver.

CRUSH those numbers.

I recommend using a MATH-SPU headware implant for all your CRUSHing needs.

Oh, in all seriousness, you're really going to want to get Encephalon if you can afford it. It is essentially Smartlink for Hackers.

Unfortunately, it is from AU . . . so we can't get that either.

So, here's mine, rejiggered for 'optimized' stats:

Just trodes with skinlink (100¥), a Hermes Ikon (if you want Signal>5, start with a better comm) with skinlink (3050¥), possibly with a Hot Sim module (250¥). Upgrade Response to 5 (4000¥), Signal to 5 (1000¥, really only for beating Jamming), System to 5 (3000¥), and Firewall to 6 (3000¥, it can exceed System/Response, IIRC)

Common Use (500¥ each): Analyze, Browse, Command, Edit, Encrypt, Scan
Hacking (5000¥ each): Spoof, ECCM, Attack, Armor, Decrypt, Exploit, Stealth, Track, Sniffer, Data Bomb, Defuse, Biofeedback Filter

Total: 63000¥ programs, 14400¥ comm/trodes/Matrix Attributes = 77400¥

--
Ware: Cerebral Booster is an option if you actually use Logic (not required at all for hacking). As mentioned, Sleep Regulator is kinda cool. … That's basically it, in the core book.

This is good, again, thanks. I think I need to browse the Agent rules again as well, those seem really nifty. Do I need to buy one agent program for every instance I want to run, or can one make 'copies' of agents and place one in the comm, one in the gun, one in the street sam's cyberarm, and so on?

Under the core rules, you need to buy individual copies.

There goes the plan of getting a pirated copy for my own character . . . really need to buy Unwired.

Yeah. With Piracy, your program cost above drops from 63000 to 6300. Although, there are more fun programs in Unwired and Arsenal to spend that money on.

Core book programs don't degrade
and aren't registered

One more question - do the trodes really need a skinlink? Don't they in a way 'include' a skinlink, since creating a direct connection between man and machine is their purpose?

They need a skinlink to connect to the commlink otherwise you need wireless or wired connections.

The trode is your keyboard.

You still need to 'plug' it into the computer.

Ahhh, I am catching up.

Honestly, I tend to think of skipping Unwired and Augmentation as a boon for Hackers provided the GM is designing the game world under the same constraints. So, yeah, you can't pirate everything. That's not that big of a deal given that you probably won't even need to since you're saving 75k by not having to buy a rating 2 Encephalon and boatload of extra programs to keep up with TMs, AIs and a whole boatload of new tricks. Likewise, the corps have always been able to outspend a mere shadow hacker. The less options there are, the easier it is for your character to keep up with the arms race. Hackers may top out early under BBB-only rules, but that's not necessarily a bad thing if you want to branch your Hacker into fighting, armorer, medical or piloting skills. So while Augmentation and Arsenal may be useful to a samurai, that's largely because frankly, most of that junk is dirt cheap (like FFBA) or isn't really THAT much better than corebook alternatives (the Alpha, White Knight and Smartgun X are all good guns by any standard, and they're corebook). Post-Unwired/Augmentation Hackers, on the other hand, are either loads more expensive or stuck using pirated software and hoping it doesn't catch up with them at a bad time.