Hey Guys,

I know the shadowrun universe for a long time, having played long time ago (SR2 times!). I discover the SR4 and want to organize some campaigns with SR4, but I get stuck with some Rigger/Spider/Vehicle related rules. I'll try below to show what's bothering me, if some of you with practical game experience could help, that would be awesome!

Vehicle Attributes:

The SR4 core book is great. I have the 20th anniversary edition, and it really looks nice. But as the previous ones, the riggers are always left behind. Now with wireless rules and drones there, it really is a must to have a good rigger with you, as well as understanding the rules to handle these riggers and drones. And the core book there gets really dry. I mean, for a simple attribute test there is a practical example at the end of each rule, for riggers there is in total 2-3 pages of confused stuff without one practical example. Anyway, coming to the point:
A vehicle, in rigging words, is considered a device, right?
As such, its attribute are Pilot (instead of System), Firewall, Signal, and Response, right?
What is the cost for that?
If you want to upgrade from a standard drone, you have to upgrade from the standard rating 3 (all drones and vehicles having a device rating of 3, right?) to 4, which is the max available Pilot rating at Character creation, right?
And no need to upgrade the other attributes higher, because the pilot (representing system) is the limiting attribute, right?
So, now, I buy my drone of the shelf, with Rating 3.
I upgrade everything to Rating 4, I have to pay:
2500 for Pilot rating 4
500 for signal rating 4
2000 for Firewall rating 4
2000 for Response rating 4
, right?

Autosofts

Now to the Autosofts. If you look at the sample character "Drone Rigger", he has the programs in his commlink, but not specifically loaded into the different drones (which would cost more, as you would have to pay the same autosoft for each). How can he use that into the drones/vehicles? These autosofts, according to the "common rigger/drone test" table in the core book, come into play only when the drone/vehicle is in autonomous mode. So how does that work that the rigger has the autosoft in his commlink and sends it somehow to the drone? Can someone explain how that works, in terms of play/actions?

In the arsenal book, some drones come preequipped with Autosofts, which is also confusing...

Spider fights

If a rigger tries to win a matrix fight over a security rigger/spider, how does that work? Is that a fight that has to run with typical hacker programs such as "Black hammer" and the like, or what? In the story posted on the shadowrun official web page (http://www.shadowrun4.com/fiction/r2_1.shtml) there is the story of a rigger deploying its drones and fighting a spider to take control over security systems of a Corp R&D compound. Great story by the way, I wish they would take it and break it down step by step explaining in terms of game rules how that works...

OK, enough for now. I still have a huge question mark on ECM/ECCM measures, but the supplement Unwired should answer those... hopefully?

Do you know if Catalyst is planning to release a supplement for riggers, or do they think with unwired everything is covered?

Keep you heads low companeros of the shadows,
Ricomoh.

Yup, everything is a file device.


Everything that has a weapon mount is a security vehicle with R4 and the real badass stuff qualifies as mlitary (R5)


The pilot is the drone's OS, so you will need to upgrade the Response.


The same way you transfer every other file from one commlink to the next - "I upload the defense autosoft to the doberman"


Jennifer Harding provides: http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?show...st&p=804857

In short: Yes, if you want to get a rigger out of the drone you need to kick his ass out of the Matrix. Or at least convince him that it would be a good idea to retreat.

Allright, thanks for that.
Pilot is now clear, it's written (how to miss the forest behind the tree or something like that).
Response is the limiting factor, understood as well.

"I upload the defense autosoft in the dobermann"... That counting as a what action? Simple, complex, free? You'd have the reference to any SR4 book, by any chance? Can't find it (but like I said, I'm still a virgin when it comes to Unwired).

Keep you head low,
Ricomoh

The Matrix chapter of the BBB (Big Black Book, the core rulebook) has a section on the various possible actions. You spend a simple action to start the transfer, which takes until the end of the turn, then the drone will have to spend a complex action to run the program.

Here is a nice summary of all the common matrix rules, together with the behind the scenes version of GAME, SET, AND MATCH I linked above you should be good to go.

Thanks mate, I'll read it all, see after that what holes remain!

Keep your head low,
Ricomoh