In SR we plan if we go to the tropics or somewhere special but do you adjust your gear in your home town depending on the weather?

RL I'm planing on going out on my bike later and it's supposed to be RL temp in the upper 90's today. There is no way I can wear my usualy bike jacket. I'll be risking heat stroke in my usual leathers. seattle has, I think pretty steady temps but Philly can be at the brutal ends of the psecturm . Anyone wearing an armored jacket in summer here or NYC is going to be having regular chats with Doc Wagon drivers. I'm guessing the same is true in Texas or even parts of the border states even like Tennesee. could you ever wear heavy gear in LA? New Orleans?

There have been temperature regulated armored clothes for quite some time in SR.
It'll be conspicuous but you can still wear that heavy black trenchcoat in summer.

I tell my players to keep that in mind. If they want to wear the heavy armoured wear in the summer, they need to pay for the climate adaptations, and they usually just wear whatever PPP/form-fitting gear they have that can be easily hidden for a simple ride around town/johnson meet (if in a public place)

A good reason to perform Shadowruns in Winnipeg: Armour makes really good winter weather! Especially Lined Coats, the synthleather cuts the wind nicely and the ballistic lining works really well to keep you warm!

Don't forget your kevlar toque and gloves!

Yes, but that is true of anywhere in Canada.

No. No. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...

Winnipeg has harsh weather by even Canadian standards. You will *NOT* look out of place with bulky attire, be it from winter clothing or gear underneath it. (Layered clothing is the most popular way for locals to handle things, with a oversized light leather jacket overtop everything to cut the wind. I prove myself "Another damned immigrant" by having different coats and wearing what's appropriate.).

The rest of Canada, yes, cold weather in Winter, but not nearly as bad. It's the wind chill. I grew up in the mountains of Northern Ontario, and even I'm still adjusting to Winnipeg six years later. Hell, I heard a couple complain about how the Winters weren't nearly as bad as in "The Old Country", I asked where that was, "Siberia" was their answer.

Summers in Canada are pretty decent, but you can get away with a bit of light armor with the comment "I'm from Texas" or some other rationalization. I know a few folks from the Caribbean who never felt warm for their entire stay in Canada (Even the summer.).

EDIT: I also suggest Winnipeg as a township near the area is a T-Bird stop in canon, and it's near a border which allows for lots of shenanigans. Especially as Aztechnology is a major proponent in that country up north of the UCAS.

Not so much Vancouver, but otherwise yeah that would be true of most of Canada in winter.

My group runs in LA (thus far without the stupidity of the paparzzi), and thus far the whole heat thing hasn't really come up. Then again I don't think anyone in my group actually uses an armor jacket. The troll in our second group will, but then again, who is going to tell a troll what he can or can't wear? Personally my character's non-run wear is an armored t-shirt and jeans, obvious forearm guards designed to look like leather bracers and shin guards worn under the jeans. If he's expecting trouble he throws an armored vest on under the t-shirt, but that starts to look pretty obvious.

While I would tend to agree that armouring *down* for warm weather should happen.... well, there just aren't any game mechanics in the game to punish you for not doing it. And as far as I'm concerned, there are SO many logical or other errors in the game, I certainly won't apply common sense to a field where I could really DIE if I do.

Occasion appropriate is the limit. Weather... phht, it's a distopia, as far as I'm concerned it's cold and rainy all the time.

For those who like their realism, but still don't want their characters dying... how about this as a house-rule suggestion:
Whenever you voluntarily apply common sense and thereby gimp yourself, you get one bonus use of edge for the duration of the run. (That is, at the same number of dice you normally get.)

Smart Insulation Orthoskin Upgrade, well worth the cost!

Still doesn't let you blend in with the crowd when you're wearing a heavy jacket while everyone else is suffering from the Texas Heat, however, and there would be social modifiers for that. At the very least, Cops would know who to target as "Looking to start some drek by walking around armoured up."

Hope your Street Sam isn't going out without the face as back up...

The rule of the game is to either blend in (Black Trenchoat) or stand out in a way that isn't overtly and obviously dangerous (Pink Mohawk).

And I stand closer to the Black Trenchcoat side of that meter. That said, if a character can come up with a convincing lie, and pass it off on the dice roll, I'll accept a little bulky armour. In some cases, my NPCs can get away with it, although the most prominent one for that is a Hobgoblin Gang chapter head who likes to break walls with a club in his spare time. The police don't normally bother him in his territory unless someone else has done the dirty work first.

I don't see the problem with simply hitting up the armored clothing dealers locally and seeing what's available. The books are a starting place, not a limit.

So, related to this:

We've got all manner of upgrades to clothing to deal with acid rain and all that. How often does environmental pollution and foul weather really occur in games?

I'm thinking about assigning each region (Seattle, LA..) an Environment&Weather table; every day, just roll 2d6 to see how the weather is going:

0-2: Totally placid; next weather roll at -2
3: Calm; next weather roll at -1
4: ...
5: Foggy
6: Smog (triggers Pollutant Allergy)
7: Nothing special
8: Acid Rains (triggers Pollutant Allergy)
9: ...
10: Rain without pollution
11: Heavy weather; next weather roll is at +1, civil air traffic shuts down
12+: Extremely heavy weather; next weather roll is at +2, air travel completely impossible

Or something like that. I recently became a fan of Random [...] Tables again. And yeah, that table looks harsh; meant to.

My husband has a very old copy of the Dragon magazine that has aweather chart in it. Soemone with way too much timeo n their hand workedo ut the percentages of weather- temperature and precipitation for each month. He used his own location and then worked out a formula for temperature changes depending on how far north of south you go.

he said it worked fine for D&D but is less good for other stuff because it didn't allow for regional changes- like how Seattle is very wet.

Yes. Last game I ran was set in Minneapolis and in winter, winter gear was important. It also helped conceal things, but that's besides the point. And this time, I'm doing Vietnam, so yeah, it's going to be something I'll enforce if people are trying to wear bulky shit. Besides, even without the environment, actual jungle-trained fighters are going to be doing circles around anybody doing that. Although the two characters I've received so far are a hilltribe guerrilla (still working out the details, but probably Central Highlands Montagnard of some sort) and the other's a centaur razorgirl loosely inspired by Rainbowdash, so maybe it won't be an issue.

Yeah well Vietnam the GI's in the 1960's had armored vests and the modern troops in Iraq are wearing full body armor so it can be done without over heating but they stand out. You want to blend in your a shadowrunner, not a stormtrooper. And that armored jacket that looks like motor cycle leathers looks great in October is going to really stand out in July.

I have mentioned before but RL a couple of years ago I was in the town of New Hope PA, an artsy town along the Delaware, just north of where Washington crossed in 1776. Nice shops and restaurants and stuff. I was wearing a linen suit (skirt, blouse and jacket) and kept the jacket on because I had a (legal) gun on my hip. Going into a shop two old ladies were coming out. One looked at me and said "Oh my dear, take that jacket off, you're making me feel hot just looking at it." All I could think was "I'll make you feel much more uncomfortable if I do."

I was dressed, pretty much, for the place and the environment but still stood out. Image if I had my bike leathers on instead. She might not have said something but the 'witness' might have remembered me even more. Had something gone down I would just have been in her memory as the small woman with dark hair in a tan suit. If I'd been in leathers she certainly would have remembered me.

You seem to have an interesting job

If you had been in the leathers refusing to take them off, she'd likely have dialed 91, and had her finger hovering over the 1 button still.

Actually Bike Leathers might not stand out in any weather. They are worn for safety, and it isn't that odd to prefer being too hot to having the flesh torn for your body.

Never worn a set around a bunch of straights, have you? Even without extensive patches they tend to freak folks out.

My experience at least.

Maybe it is your attitude. If you think of them as straights I doubt you are putting off a good vibe. Though honestly I suspect you are just seeing people noticing you are in bike leathers and interpreting that as freaking out. I've never noticed any issues when wearing biking leathers around any group of people.

All depends on the surroundings. Plenty of folks (including some who buy and wear those leathers in the first place) still equate riding leathers with biker gangs and motorcycle clubs and such. Whether the gear is practical or not, there are an awful lot of people who'll give someone a second glance, cross the street to avoid them, or hold their purse a little tighter when they see black leathers, vests, etc.

I was seven (maybe eight). Perhaps it was the attitude the group was giving off as well that I didn't pick up on at such a tender age.

EDIT: There's also a few issues with outlaw bike gangs (1%ers) back then until they were dealt with.

Winnipeg at the center of the continent is well known for the cold and the wind... and flooding in the spring. Why anyone would live there.... well, there's the phenomenal ballet company.

But .... the rest of Canada??

I live in Toronto, and the weather here is tropical compared to Winnipeg. I've also lived in northern Alberta, where the winter cold is sentient and out to get you. Then there's the Northwest Territories where my nephew worked. He just smiles when I talk about the cold in Alberta.

I'm of the opinion that the First Nations People that were around in Winnipeg when the Europeans settled there had a big ass laugh, "Man, can you believe those idiot white men? I mean, we only visit there in the nice part of the year for trading, they're going to live there ALL YEAR LONG!" Of course, it's an Urban Reserve now, so I'm not sure how to take it from there...

I grew up in a mountain (Impact Crater-created valley to be exact) in Northern Ontario. The cold didn't even need to be sentient to get you, there was enough of it to be everywhere. In addition, most years there was enough snow to bury me standing up (I'm over six feet tall.).

And, yeah, the Territories, dear $Deity the Territories!

So, to sum up, if you're in Canada, body armour won't go noticed, and you'll still probably want to put a wind-proof greatcoat over it. (Or have a bunch of warm clothing under an armoured greatcoat.).

It also probably depends on the style of bike leathers, your general appearance outside leathers etc. One of my friends can do a reasonable impression of a half giant and with his epic beard he might intimidate people with or without bike leathers. Showing up on the bike just seals the deal. The more racing style leathers though don't really intimidate people in the slightest. In SR though I suspect lots of people drive bikes for the money saving/energy saving benefits so leathers might be common, on the other hand GO Gangs are a bit more prevalent so they might give off a more threatening vibe. Depends on how you play it, but isn't that what the social skills are for. You can pull your self off as corp commuter biker by carrying your self in the right fashion, you come off threatening and they see the leathers as Go Gang guy.




I'm from California and the heaviest clothes I had was a long coat meant for rain and mist. When I moved to NY I stood out in winter because I was under dressed. They were like dude aren't you cold. That first winter was brutal as I learned to dress for the cold.

That could be it. The folks my parents hung around with (And my parents themselves, actually) pretty much were stereotypical "Bad Bikers" even if they were very decent people whose only connection to the Outlaw Bike Gangs was joining them on Toy Runs and "Ride For Sight". And, considering that fellow attendees included policemen, doctors, lawyers, a judge, and a person on the city council at the same rallies...

But, yeah, they were not wearing racing leathers at all. My Father had a "Cop Cut" jacket, in fact. (Watch the "Mad Max" series to see what that looks like.). I just wish I could fit into my leathers again.

The point remains that SR has specificallly civilian armoured "bike" clothes, like the Urban Explorer suit.

SR also completely ignores bike leathers that you pull over your normal clothes, which are actually the most commonplace type in Germany, I believe. You wear your normal clothes - even just shorts and a shirt, and then slip the leathers on top - and they are really well padded, too. If you're going at 100mph the wind will cool you off . You could also stuff a ton of ballistic armour in those and go unnoticed.

It would get weird to get out of a car in one those suits, though, so... if you're a shadowrunner in a warm climate, it might pay to use a bike. Might make it harder to conceal the machine guns, but... there are plenty of small guns that pack enough of a punch.

You know, I never understood why most players would want a machine gun anyway. If you`re already in over your head enough that you need it, the run is likely botched.

Yes, there are circumstances, like a military campaign, or the occasional cover fire where they are helpful. I would just prefer to have a shotgun/rifle or a sidearm in most cases.

Machine Guns are great when mounted on drones. Not so good when mounted on the sociopathic troll who really likes loud noises.

Depends on the campaign style. Not everyone is into the nothing goes wrong because we are super professional dudes. A lot of campaign styles have almost required fight scenes of sometimes large size. I know in 3e on they really made the push in the fluff to crap on all other styles of play than super professional dude and his super professional teammates but lots of people like different game styles.

And sometimes you want people to know you're coming for them, and what better way than to write your name in the wall with a belt-fed weapon system?

Worked for Kane when he was hunting for Kat after all.

EDIT: There's times when you need to be calm, professional, discrete. And then there's times for when the lined coats come off, the combat armour goes on, and the dreky end of the stick is turned around...

Sure you should be planning things out to some degree, but some campaigns rely on combat a lot. In our last SR campaign I was playing a character called Boomtown/AKA Joe Cannon a heavy weapons and demolitions expert based street sam. Who got his arm bit off when he shoved a crap ton of explosives down a queen insect spirits throat, and then since I was broke I went on about 6 runs before I could afford to buy a cyber arm(-2 die penalty since I was now shooting lefty). Fun campaign but not exactly the only carry a side arm style.

He used stealth and cons when he could, but lots of runs were physical infiltration style runs and once you are sneaking in and get caught I don't think the guards are going to go soft on you because you have a SMG instead of a machine gun when they attack you. Now if you are conning your way in or something where the machine gun breaks the run don't take it. But if you are relying on stealth and control of the security systems but if spotted are otherwise an obvious infiltrator big guns can help get you out alive.

The current campaign is a bit more professional in style and is also a lot of fun.

May I make a suggestion on the issue of armor and local style?

Perhaps I am reading it wrong but in a setting with animated tattoos and what have you, what is stopping a shadowrunner from programing their camouflage/chameleon/modified suit to have patterns that look socially acceptable?

Beyond that, there are enviromental modifications as well, cooling/heating/sweat wicking systems, heck, there is probably a off the shelf or jury rigged setup so you can recycle bodily waste into energy or other useful byproducts as a back up to what your solar cells aren't grabbing from your enviroment.

Oh, and BC along the coast of the Pacific is really not any different than Seattle in most cases, sometimes they get frozen when I am still getting soaked by the downpour of the sideways rain. When it does manage to snow, it quickly melts and turns into flooded areas and a slush that will hydroplane you as quick as a wink, which of course has the rest of Canada wondering why an inch or two of snow gets us car accidents up the wazoo in our mountainous/hilly terrain when they are measuring their snow in feet. A military man once told me he had spent plenty of time on exercises on the prairies, the shield, and above the 60th parallel but he was never as cold as when he spent a night on a mountain on Vancouver Island because the wet air combined with the wind sapped heat from him in seconds regardless of what he was wearing.

That's why I laugh when I think of Seattle shadowrunners who don't have rain gear or at the very least a wet suit as a default in their gear.

I have a story idea that incorporates the most angry characters I have ever conceived of. One is Ice Cold (The Accountant From Hell), another two are Pink Mohawk (Nas and Pup the Dog Shaman), and one is Black Trenchcoat (I haven't worked him completely out yet but have mentioned him here.).

Clothing and armour plays heavily into the group and story, and you're able to tell what kind of person and personality the characters have just from what they wear. Especially when they change their outfits and you realize that all you've seen so far was them acting professional and discrete.

To play to the infamous trope "The Coats Come Off", when they gear up big time, and you see just how much they were holding back before, well, "Of Drek." is putting it mildly.

Currently, I only have a synopsis that I've shared with a few people about it... "Pure distilled awesome" is how it's been described.

But I got other projects first, and I have a dozen ideas like this. But it's a prime example of how clothing and armour can affect people's view of you, even when you don't need to take weather into consideration.

Having been on the receiving end of such weather, in several countries in fact, while I was in the Marine Corps, I can totally understand where that sentiment is coming from.

Considering the availability of climate-controlled clothing, I don't think bulky clothes are necessarily out of place anywhere. Just say you wouldn't be without your air-conditioned overcoat in this heat. Hey, make it true, even. Winter and rain need less justification, but climate control on all your heavy gear is still a great idea.

What I wouldn't give for climate controlled coats IRL!

I've always wondered just how bulky SRs so called Armored Jackets are supposed to be. Even a standard police "bullet proof" vest is fairly bulky and can affect your movement unless you have one of the smaller ones that only covers the center mass area. The material's also fairly obvious.

Of course, armor isn't illegal in SR (the standard stuff anyway), and climate control would be nice. Heck , beyond even heavy armor. I'm from Cali and hate going out of state. Haven't found any place with better weather than San Diego.

That being said, I've been in Texas in July with flak and helmet. It sucks, but you can get used to it. Guys that go to the desert say pretty much the same thing. You can work with it, once you get used to how it feels. But I've noticed as I travel more that locals tend to know when you're dressing different. Seattle is a huge melting pot, so it would be less an issue there. As long as you had a serious rain coat anyways.

People are able to easily notice that I'm an "Immigrant" to Winnipeg because I have multiple coats, while locals layer (With an oversized light leather or pleather jacket on top, usually.).

My main character either uses just pistols/SMGs, or machineguns. Not much in between.

Most day-to-day runner situations can be resolved with pistols.

If it's time to pull out the bigger guns, you are pretty much throwing subtlety to the winds ALREADY, might as well go with REALLY big guns.

Then again, this character has a tank gun in the rigged van, so he might be a wee bit biased about the utility of heavy weaponry.


As far as wearing flashy or memorable clothing, sometimes it's a GOOD thing. Many folks will be paying more attention to the outfit than the face of it's wearer.

"What did he look like?" "Well, he was dressed in great big army fatigues and his buddy was in bright pink leathers." "Did you get a good look at their faces?" "I'm sorry, I couldn't get past the pink."






-k

Tank gun in the Van? Yeah, I'd agree that he is a bit biased.

Wearing outlandish clothing and distinctive items is an old trick to get people to not notice your face or other features. Flashy rings, loud shirts, and so on. And all easily disposed of in a dumpster with a little bit of petrol and a cigarette-matchbook "Timer".

That trick has been used since the... Forever.

Was in a Missions game, where (no spoilers) we needed a distraction at a nightclub so the other party members could have a conversation with a fellow without the half dozen bodyguards in the room noticing.

So my PC turns his ruthenium polymer'd Armani suit to max bright white, and struts out into the middle of the dance floor and runs Travolta 12.7, after a few moments strobing his suit in time to the music. I think there may have been a conga line at some point. The PC ended up leaving the club with like two dozen phone numbers from folks of varied gender.

The rest of the party managed to meet with the NPC without a hitch.






-k

That... Has to be the most epic plan I have ever heard.

Simply amazing to behold... Wish I had thought of that one.

Hey, not all shadowruns have to be black ops mercs scowling in the shadows.







-k

Too True... Still, that was enlightened... Kudos...

To harp on this and a couple other points, unless you're out in the mojave, it rarely gets to the point of being too hot for a riding jacket. And I certainly don't get any looks for it. Hell, I get more strange looks wearing scrubs than a black leather jacket with padding. (I blame it only being 6'3"). Hell, in San Francisco, it can be just as cold during the summer as the winter in the rest of the state just because of the offshore winds. But generally, runners in the LA area can wear pretty much anything and not stand out much, heh, even more so in West Hollywood.