I had a GM run something like that, but TBH it got a bit samey. If you do run something like that I think you need to put in a lot of work to include tracking down the cars, and to ensure the kinds of thefts stay varied. The most interesting boosts were those where the GM made it more of a heist job, and the whole team could get involved. The rest of the time IC we paid a hacker to search the license database, the mage, the rigger and the street sam drove to the address, the rigger broke into the target vehicle, the mage vehicle masked it, and then all the three drove back to the safe house with their own vehicle and the stolen one.

After 4 or 5 cars that became extremely tedious.

As a single run, or a couple back to backers, it could be fun, tho'. It might work as a great side adventure for a rigger and maybe a "stealth guy." You know... something to do when the entire party isn't there.. or a springboard for them to bring another storyline back to the whole group. Maybe they see or hear something while on their multi-car theft spree. Or maybe their Johnson screws them over hard on the run, so they go back to the group with plans on taking this guy down and steal all the cars back.

Vlad

As noted, opinions vary. In some cases you can dissuade looting behavior through mechanics like Notoriety. "We hear you're a Runner that also organlegs, sorry we don't want you." Your rep on Jackpoint or various Shadowboards might also tank.

Looting can be managed by 'realistic' time constraints. Depending on where you've whacked the crew or found the motherlode, you can have all the time in the world, to no time at all, to grab the goodies before the HTR team busts in, miniguns ablazing.

Nowadays, in Sr4, theoretically one of your best bets would be to grab the guy's commlink. Its the all-in-one trove of potentially useful stuff. Make sure the thing can't squawk (its off, its in a shielded bag, etc) and make sure when you turn the thing back on to see what goodies it might have, you're in a shielded room where your techdude can work their magic.

Guns can be useful loot, but as with other stuff, nowadays chances are they're tagged in some way.

No one uses cred sticks anymore unless the live in a C or Z zone. Best you might get off of a security guard is some corp scrip.

Americars are no longer easy to steal, and covered in RFID tags out the wazoo. My group found that out the hard way when they stole a EuroCar Westwind 3000-SUX Edition. Lo-Jack exists IRL, why wouldn't an equivilent exist in Shadowrun, eh?

But if you got the time to wipe them, or can get it quickly to a Chop Shop in the Barrens where there is no Matrix Feed, you're golden.

Also, my group just missed out on a large collection of High-Def Sony Trids. I'm feeling particularily happy about that. They got no money for that run. Lots of Karma, but no money.

If there is time, need, and think you can get away with it sure. Organ legging is a tough call but situations can sometimes present themselves. Really its the situation and how it effects your Rep.

On my 3rd ed Rigger we were having a vehicle chase where we were being chased by another runner team. Things were about even.... when out of the blue a free spirit wandered into the mix. It had taken a liking to the tailing group and well... did that one thing where it pulls your spirit out of your body to go eat later or something. So we were left with a vehicle with 3-4 perfectly intact bodies. We couldnt just leave this there in the street (from what i remember the vehicle rolled to a stop intact). I said I "knew someone that could dispose of this" and well even at a 10-30% nuyen return on their stuff greatly funded my new purchases of toys. The rest of the players never figured out how I came into the large amounts of cash I was throwing around, but I was upgrading their stuff to so they turned a blind eye.


As for car stealing. My 4th ed Technomacner often takes cars; but generally return it after I get to where i'm going. Ahh the joys of self driving cars. "thanks for the lift, now go home"

Funny to see this thread up near the top tonight...

On the subject of looting, I suppose it depends on what you're enemies bring to the party and how much time you have to cart it away. Our group somehow managed to take out a Mitsuhama strike team in medium milspec armor, along with two cyborg drones, in just under 9 seconds tonight. Most of the strike team was taken out by running them down with an antique bulldozer. Since we had already cleared out the on-site security for the black research facility we hit, and our technomancer had jammed the strike team so they couldn't send for reinforcements, we managed to grab some pretty sweet stuff...

...including the modified Skytrain they rode in on.

We're now on our way to Hong Kong to get this thing coated with ruthenium polymers and otherwise modded into a stealth weapons platform/mobile base/staging area. Things have gotten a bit too hot for us in Seattle right now. Our new long term goal: World Domination.

Total haul was something like: 1 HS-950 skytrain with autocannon, approx. 10 suits of medium milspec armor, in various states of repair, (We'll likely have to mix & match the helmets from the ones that got hit by the bulldozer with the body armor of the ones headshot by the sniper.) a like number of Ares Alphas, 1 Repair Drone & 1 computer stolen from the research facility.

Also the 1,000 I hacked from the 'till of a cybercafe earlier in the run.