Just looking through the vehicles in arsenal, and I noticed that not only does the semi have better acceleration than the roadmaster, but no availability cost, and its not standardly armored. Plus, they're common, all over the place. Yes, they're more expensive, but they have more room for modifications, and are less likely to draw all sorts of attention.

Not to mention you can use a trailer as well and add to the idea that you are a legitimate cargo carrier, while providing a convienient staging place for the team to leave/meet up both before and after the run. Not to mention plenty of room for loot/bodies/etc.

Feel free to make your own recommendations to which vehicles would suit the rigger command base style of use and why. I'll be posting later with my fully modified Zugmaschine.

As promised, my Zugmaschine that I'd use if I was playing a command post style rigger. Legal for chargen of course.

Zugmashine + Trailer Total Cost: 235,200



To drop the cost by 50k, you can drop the tower and the dragonflies, but thats your defense against drones. The arm should suffice (str 24) for dealing with other vehicles through punching. (Though, I guess technically, punches do Stun, so it wouldn't do anything at all). Hrm. Maybe I"ll give it 2 bows and a rating 24 bow instead! /sarcasm

KITT!

Looks more like Goliath.

Oh, I definitely agree. It's not new though. I've preferred the Semi over a Roadmaster for a long time. I like to add patches (because covering the whole thing is ridiculously expensive) of Ruthenium Polymers to the trailer so that I can change the logo depending on the situation. It's easier to park outside of an Ares facility with a trailer marked Ares.

Also, since there's room, i usually add living amenities.

And as for the mechanical arm? Well, obviously you need an absurdly large katana to go with it. it's just cooler to have your Semi cut a car in half IMO ^-^

I just actually looked at the spoiler... "Chameleon Coating" is only 25K? it's like 2 million for Ruthenium in SR2 >_<

My thoughts exactly. I can't say how long I've wanted to play a character who parks his car inside a moving semi.

Its actually Body X 1,000Â¥

Lots of high end tech from previous editions are surprisingly cheep and available in SR4.

Well, actually I thought that the price was fair, i just can never afford it. Also, my semi only has a body of 5

The reason it's expensive in 2nd edition is for game balance. It really shouldn't be very easy to make a Semi invisible (except for magic ) Anyway, I'm fine with the cost of it, like i said. I should look through the rules for 4th edition sometime and make a character so i can find out whether or not the rules are broken more or less than before.

Hmm... Maybe i'll do that this weekend (probably not though)

It actually doesn't make it invisible. Just puts a -4 perception modifier on it. Less likely to be noticed would probably be more correct.

The thing about a semi is that it's literally a criminal magnet in the bad parts of town, because of that they don't usually go there. Thus it's going to be a large conspicous target. The roadmaster on the other hand is the default heavy delivery truck and should therefore be fairly ubiquitous, and since it's got a reputation for toughness, most Go gangers will spare it casual harrassment.

-NR.

Roadmasters are not heavy delivery trucks. Period. They also aren't all that ubiquitous. They have more of a reputation of being the car that SWAT teams and the like drive, and as such are not a common sight.

As far as the barrens go, of course you wouldn't take it in there. You wouldn't take any 30k¥+ vehicle into the barrens unless you were definitely not alone.

I wouldn't take anything that cost more than a Burnt BTL Chip to the Barrens without worrying someone jackin' me for it!

Teh Rigger's Best Friend has always been, and will continue to be, teh Bulldog Step-Van. COmmon as *dirt*, silly rugged, and roomy enough for a whole team.

We Heart Bulldogs.

235k is not pratical for a starting character, especially a rigger. 15k is not going to cover his drone and cyber needs.

He has enough drone to support the command base. Riggers don't really need cyber so much anymore. And you could always make him a techno. Again, this is not a drone style rigger, it is a command bunker/getaway drive style.

Well, my riggers (SR2) always start with a frosty mil yen. As such, I usually have a pretty sweet Base of Operations.

350,000Â¥ give or take, for my last Semi. And as for gangs? Take them as contacts. It's the way to go for a rigger. You can hide anywhere.

I don't mind taking my absurdly tricked out Roadmaster into the Barrens. An Ingram White Knight in a concealed mount, a grenade launcher, and a shotgun- Anti-Theft 2, a Rating 6 Agent, with Firewall 6, Analyze 6, and Black Hammer 6 with the autosofts to use all of them and some pretty good sensors. It will take more than most gangs are willing to deal with to steal it. Also, I typically

Are you sure you're not thinking of the Citymaster? Th Roadmaster is just a armored delivery truck, which given the dystopian future of cyberpunk would just be the norm.



Hmm, different strokes I guess. Everyone around here runs their games w/ the barrens as the default PC home area.

-NR

Why not? Rent is cheap, the neighbours are friendly (When they realize just how heavily armed you are), few issues with playing your music too loud...

In SR3, the better the cargo space, the better the vehicle, because it could stack more and more armor to the point of being invincible, as well as carry more additional mods.

But in SR4, there is a hard cap on armor, right? The description for armor is really confusing. But it sounds like you can only have 10 concealed armor, and then add 20 regular armor and 10 smart armor. And I think any vehicle with a body of at least 10 can accommodate that. So there is no longer a reason to go for the highest possible cargo capacity, it makes more sense to get something a little faster and more maneuverable as I see it. You still can't hardly get any concealed armor worth mentioning, and obvious armor, though you can have a lot of it, has the downside of being obvious...

I try to keep the armour at a reasonable level anyway. I think the highest I ever went was 11. That was actually on a sports car for an Adept with too much money to spend. The Semi had 10. Sure, for barely any extra money, I could get 40 armour, but it just seems silly to me.

Considering that the roadmaster now comes with gun ports, life support, and heavy armor, no, I think that the roadmaster has adopted the role of the now missing citymaster.

You mean the missing Citymaster which is detailed on page 341 of the SR4 core rulerook (aka BBB), right? That missing Citymaster?

Yeah, that one!

Does anyone else see a problem with a hard to see Semi... Or less likely to be noticed or what have you?

Well, heres how I see it (Or don't or don't notice it)

A Chameleon Paint Semi is something I don't think would go over very well. I guess it would work out about as well as camo netting if hiding in the woods from an air strike or something, but on the streets, that's a bit of a stretch.

Well, you can rules lawyer this one into place if you really want, and give them Optimus Prime with new Camo paintjob.

The REAL problem with having an invisible or hard to see semi, is getting around. I mean, its not a good vehicle to drive down the street, if Granny in her Caddy, or the Soccer mom in the minivan, or even the sarariman on autopilot cant see it. Getting around town at all would be a real challenge, to say nothing of the size and city streets issue.

Oh the hilarity that would ensue trying to drive it around, this big behemoth tractor trailer getting beaned by a minivan because it was too hard to see. Hey, at least when the cops come to clean up the accident you can say "Hey this thing is HUGE!?! Couldn't you see it for chrissakes!? "

Oh yeah... not to mention stuffing bodies into it?

Do NOT want to be near that one in the summer...

Not necessarily the semi per se, more along the lines fo the honking huge shadow it casts.

If I'm a guard at a high security facility and I see a semi shaped shadow moving but no semi, I begin to think it's recon by missile fire time

-NR

What's probably more useful is a photovoltaic semi (which ruthenium counts as, I think). You can change the colour of any part of it, you can even make it look dirtier or cleaner, with rust overlay images. So it can camouflage in the sense that the opposition might go "wait, IS that the truck we were chasing, I was sure it was a rusty white truck, not a black truck" and before they have time to go "OH PHOTOVOL-" you've hit them with a missile or rounded a corner. Also ruthenium might work when hiding the truck in an industrial area or even a forested area (if you can find some-where to fit your truck there).


Anyway, the best command center for a rigger is not a semi-trailer rig anyway. It's a Lockheed C-260. It's got so much space that you can fit a few other vehicles in it, plus an extra sensor suite and some living amenities. And it can fly. That's awesome.

The problem with a semi is not that's uncommon, which it isn't, but rather that it has associated behavior associated with it.

as long as your semi is always cruising down the highway, you're good. But when you have to go in town, you'll hit problems. Semis can't go into certain residential areas and you will almost never expect to see a semi parked out front of an facility ... especially if it's "from" the same company. Semis go to the loading dock. If the Ares guard sees an Ares semi out front, he'll investigate/send someone to investigate.

If you pull into the loading dock, well ... you have the dock's security procedures to deal with there too.

The best rigger vehicle is going to be a van. The ubiquitous delivery/repair/contractor/inspector/exterminator/catering/hitman van. It can go anywhere and, if you program it with some polished paint jobs and some faux chipping/rust and it can disappear anywhere.

I just purchased Arsenal to see what all the hubbub is about... And I am now suffering from info overload, so much info, so many new options and when I checked, I was barely halfway through the book!

Yep! One of the best "Gear Books" I've picked up in a long time!

Cudos CGL!

Well I agree the the Semi can't usually just drive up to a building and park out front. But, I generally like to park a few blocks away and fire up some drones. (hell, I could park a few dozen kilometers away for that matter, but whatever) And yes, Had I the cash for Ruthenium, It's really best for a stationary semi. Hiding in an alley, in the woods. But being able to change the paint-job on the fly is always useful as well.

I like to be a few blocks away so I can be close enough for a fast get-away, but far enough that anyone who cares to check me out shouldn't be a problem as the target isn't anywhere near me.

But, there definitely is something to be said for a good ol' maintainence van.

Hook a trailer on it, one with "Stuffer Shack" labels, and you can park it near almost any neighbourhood and noone will notice. "Oh, the guy's on break/doing datawork/waiting for the next delivery time".

And, hey, look, more room for Drones!

Just remember, with that color-changing paint dealio, you can make your entire truck match the terrain on the other side of it, and super impose the image of say a VW bug in the middle of the trailer. Then no one will notice you as you sneak through residential streets!

One, having chameleon paint doesn't mean you have to turn it to invisible mode.

Two, the point of the truck isn't to pull up the the building, its to provide a safe, mobile command base for the runners to have.

Three, Delivery vans are for the samurai to purchase, they're the ones who're gonna be inside them, not the rigger.

With "Combat Pizza" painted on the side?

I agree with Tarantula. A semi or a transport makes a poor combat vehicle, mostly because it can't be very fast or maneuverable. The #1 important thing in chase combat is to go really really fast and leave your enemies in the dust. If they can chase you, they can keep escalating the battle, and before you know it you might have attack helicopters going after you. But if they lose track of you, you're safe. IMO, the best rigger would have a command vehicle that can hold a smaller getaway car with some speed and maneuverability. The command vehicle would just drive around in an aimless holding pattern on autopilot while the team does the run. When it's time to escape, the getaway car speeds away, makes sure it's lost all pursuit, and then drives up a ramp into the command vehicle. Thus, the getaway car is actually not on the streets, no amount of canvassing will ever find it, and the runners are also out of view. All the enemy can see is a regular transport, which if properly disguised they will not look twice at.

My real question is: when is obvious armor appropriate? Most of the time, your getaway vehicle will need to go places without attracting attention. Armor isn't Forbidden, but it will still prompt police and security to check who you are and what you're doing, which may become a problem if your fake license doesn't go through. But for heavy combat, armor is the rigger's ace in the hole - having 20-30 armor means that you lol at almost all weapons in existence. But when is that level of armor smart for a runner to have? Just on combat drones that stay out of sight inside another vehicle until needed?

Really? Rheuthimium (sp?) polymers got sort of sucky then... Just like the rules to get in the way of a great idea.

Actually my Semi is pretty fast and maneuverable. Sure it cost extra, but that's fine with me.

Also, Ruthenium Polymers still CAN make you invisible, but you're allowed to also use them to change the color of the car, or whatever, as well. You can also use them to have your semi sitting on the side of the road and play Star Wars on the side of it. It's a pretty sweet material when you think about it. Lots of applications in addition to being invisible.

Then that'sx a flaw in the system that probably ought to be adressed. There are several truckdrivers in my family, and growing up on a farm, I've pulled my share of large trailers. Ask any of us and we'll tell you that semi's are inherently unstable. Without a trailer (bobcat as the slang goes) the weigh distribution is wrong and they tend to spin out when manuvered agressively. With a trailer they have a high center of gravity and the length to wheel base ratio is bad ju ju, especially when you consider that the majority of the that length and mass rides behind a single pivot point (the kingpost). Manuver a loaded semi agressively, at speed, will result in one of three scenarios. 1. Jackknife, 2. Rollover or 3. blown tires (which usually leads to 1 or 2).

-NR

There are a lot of defensive and offensive options you could pack into a semi, but if your using the thing right (as Larme suggested) they are really a waste of money.

Stick a retrains unit and satellite communication in the thing and park it at a construction site 2 or 3 kilometers from the target 2 or 3 days before the run. Control the thing remotely and use it to launch and recover drones, but any infil or exfil your team does should be in smaller fast-moving vehicles. The day after the run your rigger jumps back into the semi remotely (via the sat link from anywhere else in the world) and casually drives it away.

Armor, weapons and speed are all icing on the cake, but they should only come into play if the shit really hits the fan, in which case your greatest concern is just trying to stay alive and ditching your expensive MCC toy might not be a bad option.

Which, if you'll look, is why mine comes with the stock armor, stock speed, and for weaponry has some oil/smoke sprayers and the GTS tower drone to launch.

It is meant to be the riggers command post baby, with the sammies picking up the tab for the ride they want to be driving them out of the facility.

All good choices, man.

I'm just wondering... did Arsenal come out with rules for cargo capacity in vehicles? And how to judge if they will carry a troll/drone/other vehicle/dead body?

We're covering that here.

Thanks!