Hello Runners,

My group has slowly but surely turned into a true mirrored shades group and its getting difficult to bring new players into the loop due to the paranoia factor. One thing in particular is we have a hard time explaining to new players what equipment is needed to be a properly paranoid person.

I was wondering if anyone could help build a list of tools of paranoia, I will be happy to get it started with:

A briefcase/gym-bag/backpack
At least 2 Rating 3 Fake SINs
At least 3 Safehouses (low lifestyle apartments, prerented coffin motels, booked motel rooms etc.)
Tag eraser
No less than 2 commlinks, one running your SIN with legitimate programs slaved to your commlink with Ripped programs
A handful of certified credsticks with different denominations
Several sets of clothing with RFID tags erased/removed
Rewritable RFID tags for clothing
Pencil Box, satchel covered in RFID blocking paint (to hold loose RFID tags.)

Facial disguises, from cosmetics (A Disguise Tool Kit/Shop), Latex Face Mask, or even Nanopaste or Altskin Disguises if you need to make a quick change.

Vehicles, Agents, and Drones
Mandatory Matrix Tools for Infiltrators, Street Samurai, and Gunslingers
Commlink Security for Non-Hackers
A Shadowrunner's Best Practices, V0.1

Some of these are more applicable than others, though all have their merit to the question posed.

Appendices for Free Spirit PCs:

1) "Not the drone you are seeking" - be whatever or whomever you want, never the same one

Powers
Aura Masking
Realistic Form
Mutable Form

Skills
Disguise

Spells
Fashion
Makeover
Mindprobe

Metamagics
Cleansing
Filtering

Yea, and then you get Masking as soon as you can and we have the perfect infiltrator.

The Erased quality.




-k

The Aura Masking power combines the abilities of the Masking and Extended Masking metamagics.

This. These days, I build 390 BP characters with a 25-point PQ limit and Erased 10.

I alway ruled that you need a hacker contact with at least 5 loyalty for erased to work.

Then in your games, I would make 384 BP-characters with a PQ cap of 25, Erased 10, and a 1/5 Hacker contact that I probably never even named.

Not really.

I could be someone with a hidden agenda that wants to use the character later. It's an expensive quality by itself and forcing on another contact would be rather bad.

Not to mention that this person might not even BE a contact because the character has no way to reach said person. Contacts can usually be contacted and used. This is a quality that is always ON even if the contact would DIE.

Erased could just as easily represent a powerful virus that selectively deletes anything related to the character.
Or an AI who likes to watch the character's exploits and stops the cops finding him so that said antics continue.
Or a vindictive ex-girlfriend who's hired an unimaginative hacker to ruin the character's virtual life, not realizing that they were actually doing them a favor.

..one solution is also former employer, whose hacker's make it work..
Records on File + Erased

I (as a GM) would also accept Deep Cover, Synthetic Sympathy or a Resonance Bond for Erased to work - or a really good RP reason. But just taking Erased and calling it a day will not work at my table.

Well, taking Erased and giving a good explanation should be mandatory.

Just saying "I got this" won't cut it. But forcing ANOTHER quality to justify one quality then you might as well call it ONE quality with a varying cost depending on if the associated quality is a bonus or cost.

My players are more in the "I got this" crowd - they can either be lazy and buy a contact or a second PQ, or they work on their characters background.

Best excuse ever.

I try *bows*