So after reviewing the SR5 book, I noticed the Chrysler-Nissan Patrol-1 is absent. If I am running a game, what type of vehicles would you recommend I use for Lonestar patrols (or are considered canon)? What I'm considering:

1) Ford Americar. Slow, lightly armored, and cheap. Much worse than how the Patrol-1 is described.
2) Hyundai Shin-Hyung. Fast, maneuverable, lightly armored, relatively inexpensive. Similar in performance to the Patrol-1, although with lighter armor. The fluff description however makes me think more of a Honda Civic or a CRV than it does a cop car.
3) Eurocar Westwind 3000. Super fast, moderately armored, and very expensive. As it's comparable models are Porsches and Ferraris, this seems much more like a rich play-toy than it does something Lonestar would buy a fleet of.
4) Ares Roadmaster. Slow, Heavily armored. Basically a Brinks truck. Again, this may be appropriate for SWAT response, but it doesn't feel like a normal patrol vehicle.

What do you all think?
-DrZ

They drive a Matrix-enabled Ford Americar with VCR-implanted drivers. Thanks to Cloud Computing, the vehicle has three times the armour and better Body, and thanks to the Speed bonus if a Rigger control it is a s fast as a sports car.

You can always fake a Patrol-1 until they get statted up.

Sarcasm aside, it's actually a clever idea to have a central Lonestar Rigger control the cars via a RCC setup like drones. It could direct dispatches around like AWACS, and the drivers in the car could take over if the Rigger jumped out or they needed to control it in a crash. Disadvantages would be jamming the signal, or 'runners hacking the connection and driving the Lonestar car into a pole.

EDIT: Whatdya know? One of the RCC decks is the "Lone Star Remote Commander"...

According the Lone Star sourcebook, Riggers (were) typically employed in Air-Patrol, rigging one-man gunships/patrol copters as well as keeping a handle on the legion of observation drones LS normally has dispersed over the city, so one of the flyboys giving your patrol cops a hand when the drek hits the fan is not too far fetched... at least until their own crafts catches up and they let up with their own ordnance.

Having chromed (even with VCR) cops on Patrol is not unheard of, but *definitely* not the norm. Heck LS came up with Jazz because it's average boys - without wares of their own! - in blue had a tendency to go SPLAT! when runners with wired reflexes pasted them all over the sidewalk.

Hm, does Rigging remotely run into the same spam/noise problems decking does?

It does, but if you're doing it through an RCC you have tools to mitigate it.

Since it took me an inordinately long time to figure this out, the device rating of your RCC is split between your Sharing Rating and your Noise Reduction Rating. So, if I have a Rating 6 RCC, I can have 4 Noise Reduction, 2 Sharing; or 3 and 3, etc. Changing the ratings is a "Change Device Mode" action.

-DrZ

For some reason, this seems fitting.

~Umi

I did consider including the Scorpion, but I didn't want to confuse the "patrol car" issue. I think the Scorpion is a fine stand-in for a cop bike, though.

-DrZ

Didn't LS lose their Seattle contract to KE?

If that's in the supplemental / plot related stuff then I'm sure you're right. That said, KE needs a patrol car too...

-DrZ

I think LS still has the contract for certain sections of Seattle, just not the majority of it anymore.

And no, that shouldn't be supplemental, that was in SR4.

~Umi

I want to say it happened back in SR4, I admit I've been reading more of the rules and less of the fluff to get a full grasp on it.

last i heard, LS only had the prisons.

ironically, this means KE wants to arrest people to make it look good on them, but doesn't want those people to go to prison for very long because that makes their competitors get rich... would be funny if KE was investing lots of money towards making laws more lenient than you'd expect in a dystopia purely to spite LS.

"oh man, you robbed a bank? you're gonna be in here for *at least* a week!"

I imagine the number of "killed during apprehension" would creep up. Round up a couple bums, plant some evidence and guns, and shoot them.

Never plant guns. Guns are too easy to trace. Knives are the weapon of choice to plant on a questionable shoot.

KE's Patrol Car is listed in Shadowrun Missions: Burn.

Assuming KE does things the same way.

Hurry up and get your toaster mission written up so you can plug something new.

You mean like this book new?

That is a collaborative effort not a "CanRay Special".

Well let's invent something shall we? It might not be what becomes official later, but it may work for now.

So a Hyundai Shin-Hyung is the closest thing we have stats for to a basic decent performing sedan:
Handling 5/4, speed 6, acceleration 3, body 10, armor 6, pilot 1, sensor 2, seats 4, $28,500

Now the Mitsubishi Nightsky is an armored limo, which we can borrow the armor rating from (15) as it's a decent armor rating for a subtly armored vehicle.

I'm also guessing the police vehicle is going to have a slightly better pilot and sensor system, maybe on par with the SK-Bently Concordat luxury car. (sensor 4, pilot 2)

SO... my theory for a basic police patrol car, a sedan type frame with some basic armoring, and enough handling and speed to deal with minor chases, as well as some decent sensors and pilot in case they need to be auto driven or remote controlled:

Knight's Errant Destrier Squad Car
Handling 5/4, Speed 6, Acceleration 3, Body 12, Armor 15, Pilot 3, Sensor 4, Seats 4*, Availability 16R, $??,???
The Destrier is the basic patrol vehicle for Knights Errant Security officers, and is in many ways similar to the basic patrol vehicle used by Lone Star and other private security firms. It features a subtle but effective of internal armoring, a secure back seat for containing up to two prisoners, advanced electronics and sensors, and enough horse power to handle a the odd chase with go-gangers or fleeing shadowrun teams. The special Knights Errant touch that differentiates it from similar vehicle of it's class is the rear drone launcher, designed to mount a medium Roto-Drone for easy deployment and recapture. It's launch-and-capture pad system uses up a third of the available trunk space compared to similar models, but the ability to quickly launch a flying eye-in-the-sky or drone sniper, or reclaim one for rapid redeployment, makes it ideal for the rapid response police business. The cars, although lacking a rigger adaptation, have a smart enough sensor and pilot system that a precinct spider-rigger can easily send the vehicles, unmanned if necessary, to a hot spot, where their drone payload can quickly be used to scout, observe, or even fire on dangerous suspects. Knight Errant policy is to keep all the vehicles in precinct slaved to a "secure" precinct host for just such uses. Most department have rating 4 [Destrier] Maneuvering autosoft, and a rating 4 Clearsight autosoft running on the host rigger command console, in addition to software for the roto-drones. There are reports that the KE Riggers have occasionally taken remote control of vehicles and sent maned units into situations that the people on the ground would have preferred to avoid.

Sounds pretty good. As far as price goes, based on comparing the 4ed Patrol One to a Comet, I'd add about 12K to the price of the Shin-Hyung to account for the extra armor, lack of engine improvement, improved sensors and the drone rack. That would bring it in at $40,500. Admittedly that is is significantly higher than the Patrol One from the previous edition, but the comparable stats are marginally better and it has a drone rack. I think anywhere from 35K to 45K is a reasonable price for your KE Destrier. I assume this is an Ares model of sedan?

Also, a question: Why the 16R availability? The Patrol One is only a 12R, making it available to a starting character in 4ed. All of the stats you co-opted from other vehicles are not restricted levels in the least. Your Destrier isn't armed and a drone rack isn't even a restricted item in it's own right. The only reason it is an R is because it is a police vehicle. With the prolific nature of KE (not to mention Ares, assuming they are the manufacturer), these things should be pretty plentiful. I would go with a 12R instead of the 16R.

Vlad

Here are the two stats blocks for the vehicles we introduced for Seeason 4 of Missions as Knight Errant began flexing their muscles in Seattle. These are SR4 stats still, keep in mind.

KNIGHT ERRANT CHARGER LS

Ares’ answer to the Chrysler-Nissan Patrol-1, this heavy-duty automobile is built for power, speed, and protection. Introduced only three short years ago in select areas, Ares put the KE Charger into full production for all their Knight Errant offices in 2072 after receiving the police contract for Seattle. The distinctive red on black design and the gold KE shield are now a common sight anywhere that Knight Errant patrols.

HANDL ACCEL SPEED PILOT BODY ARM SENS AVAIL COST
+3 15/50 200 3 10 12 3 18R 90,500¥

Std. Upgrades: Anti-theft System, Passenger Protection 4, Personal Armor 8, Ram Plate, Rigger Cocoon Enhanced (Optional), Road Strip Ejector, Off-Road Suspension, Turbocharger

(>) It’s a shame this thing is currently only distributed to Knight Errant. It would make a great “shadowrunmobile”.
(>) Hard Exit

(>) So? Just steal one, strip out the RFID, and give it a new paint job. Problem solved.
(>) Kane

(>) No, not really. Ares doesn’t sell a non-cop version. They’re not available on the street at all. So if Knight Errant sees you driving down the road in one, they’re going to pull you over and ask some very uncomfortable questions. Unless you’re Knight Errant, you don’t have one.
(>) Hard Exit


KNIGHT ERRANT LANCER XT

An upgraded version of the Knight Errant Charger, the Lancer sacrifices speed for more armor and integrated weapons systems. The Lancer is primarily used by Knight Errant High Threat Response teams, or issued when officers know they’re going into a dangerous situation.

HANDL ACCEL SPEED PILOT BODY ARM SENS AVAIL COST
+3 10/40 160 3 12 16 3 24F 130,000¥

Std. Upgrades: Anti-theft System, Passenger Protection 6, Personal Armor 10, Ram Plate, Rigger Cocoon Enhanced (Optional), Road Strip Ejector, Off-Road Suspension, 2 Reinforced Weapon Mount (Fixed, Internal Visibility, Remote Control, front mounted), Reinforced Weapon Mount (Turret, Internal Concealment, Remote Control, rear mounted)

Fine Bull, give people a reason not to buy "Burn". See if I care.

They show up in like 3 other adventures too,. so hush

And ideally they're buying adventures for, you know, the adventure. Not the gear that they can;t even use.

Well, they can use it. They just need to not run into KE while using it.

It could be nice to have one for a campaign down in Tenochtitlan, for example. Not exactly subtle, but hey.

~Umi

I think this is a good start, but you are probably making it too badass. There is going to be a tradeoff in performance if you're adding that much weight from actual armor (as opposed to implied armor from the vehicle). I'd lower the handling and acceleration 1, take the body back down to 10. If you feel the pilot/sensor ratings are appropriate then keep them.

Looking at the 4th ed versions Bull Posted, I think you're right.

Handling 4/3, Speed 5, Acceleration 2, Body 10, Armor 12, Pilot 3, Sensor 3, Seats 4*, Availability 16R, $??,???

I'd also give it spot lights, anti-theft, ram plate, road strip ejector, and passenger armor too, but rules for that are lacking at the minute. We technically don't have rules for the drone launch/landing pad yet either, but it's fairly easy to say "it launches a drone, and the drone can land there too" compared to trying to throw out rules and prices for road strips.

That said, the rigger pod from the 4th edition cop cars isn't likely so common any more now that rigging requires a Control Rig implant. I'm guessing most cops don't have one.

I'm leaving the availability at 16R. The 4th edition version was apparently 18R. I'm still not sure what to do about the price, but for the purposes of having something to throw at the players that they can't easily buy on their own, I think that's not much of an issue until we get a real official set of stats, or at least enough similar vehicles to develop a price base.

Your stats look pretty solid. As far as the drone pad is concerned, a Control Rig is only important if you want to jump in. Technically, if you have Computer skill and a sufficient commlink, couldn't you just issue commands to the drone's Pilot program and leave the Control Rig for an off-site rigger?

Oh I figure the drone pad can stay for exactly the reasons your lay out. It's the rigger pod (the 4th edition vehicle mod that was an armored pod for a rigger to be protected in while in VR) that I think is no longer needed. Under 4th edition rules, all the cop would need is a DNI, like a datajack or commlink, in order to take advantage of rigging the cop car and using the pod, but under 5th edition he needs a whole special set of brain implants that I just don't see Knights Errant investing into all of their patrol officers.

In borrowing aspects from the 4th edition knights errant cars posted by Bull, the rigger pod is something I think is a little over the top for a patrol car in 4th, and is very unlikely in 5th. The drone pad is my idea, as I think it's an interesting addition to a two-man patrol unit. I'm not sure Knights Errant would actually spring for the extra costs of installing one in each cop car, but I think it's a fun idea, and valuable in an ubran sprawl environment where heavily armed shadowrunners and gangers aren't that uncommon of a "call."