Full Version: Basic weapons.
| QUOTE (Austere Emancipator) |
| Except that USD could have been exchanged to UCD at any fathomable rate. For example, at the time of introduction of the current version of the UCD, one USD could have bought you a hundred billion UCD (hyperdeflation, I don't think that has ever happened), or you could have needed a hundred billion USD to get one UCD (hyperinflation, more common than you'd think). The canonical base exchange rate between UCD and NUY is 4:1, CAD to NUY is 3:1. They can be found here. The rules on how they shift are delightfully broken. I'd link a thread from the old forums where someone totally broke the economy with them in a few months or years, making trillions in the process. However, the Jive forum Search command, being true to form, cannot find a single message in the Shadowrun forum with the word "rate" in it. |
My point is that if 2060 nuyen == 2004 USD and if 2060 nuyen = 5 x 2060 UCASD, 2004 USD == 5 x 2060 UCASD, or 500% inflation.
If I misremembered and it's actually four UCASD per nuyen, just swap the number four in.
On the money: We are looking at it the wrong way. This isn't about inflation. The prices can mostly be explained by simple supply and demand.
Honestly. Who, living in the cities and wastelands of the sixth world isn't going to want some kind of protection?
It doesn’t matter how expensive the gun, or the bullets are. They are as necessary as eating food in this world, and the arms dealers can jack up the price because demand is high and people will pay.
On gangs.
A large gang increases in power exponentially. The more individuals you have in a gang, the more skills you have. The more contacts you have. A gang of 50 orks, who absolutely need to get armed, have no problem charging into a gun store with the few guns they do have, and taking whatever they want. In the same gang, you probably have enough lower level skills in chemistry, firearms repair and mechanics to build anything the gang would really need.
I agree that the weapons desired within any size of gang are going to be the most intimidating weapons then can find, and still conceal. If a rival ganger can see that you have a weapon from a mile away, then they know what they need to do to one-up you.
Body armor.
Gang leaders, their enforcers, and money makers would all have access to reasonable body armor. But the errand boy with the browning in his pants probably doesn’t.
Magic
Generally I would leave the magic to the gang leaders and top levels. I could see a Rat Shaman gathering a gang of toughs and followers to do his bidding under the guidence of the spirit. Gangs exist for all sorts of reasons, I mean what is the difference between a gang and a well armed cult or militia?
Gangers in the sixth world are a survival caste at the weakest and insurgents at the greatest. A gang can become a force of nature in a local area. The have no problem adapting strategy to whatever works best, because those who don't adapt don't survive.
So basically, a ganger is going to have whatever works for the run. They could really have anything, they are the wild card of the sixth world. Unpredictable.
Honestly. Who, living in the cities and wastelands of the sixth world isn't going to want some kind of protection?
It doesn’t matter how expensive the gun, or the bullets are. They are as necessary as eating food in this world, and the arms dealers can jack up the price because demand is high and people will pay.
On gangs.
A large gang increases in power exponentially. The more individuals you have in a gang, the more skills you have. The more contacts you have. A gang of 50 orks, who absolutely need to get armed, have no problem charging into a gun store with the few guns they do have, and taking whatever they want. In the same gang, you probably have enough lower level skills in chemistry, firearms repair and mechanics to build anything the gang would really need.
I agree that the weapons desired within any size of gang are going to be the most intimidating weapons then can find, and still conceal. If a rival ganger can see that you have a weapon from a mile away, then they know what they need to do to one-up you.
Body armor.
Gang leaders, their enforcers, and money makers would all have access to reasonable body armor. But the errand boy with the browning in his pants probably doesn’t.
Magic
Generally I would leave the magic to the gang leaders and top levels. I could see a Rat Shaman gathering a gang of toughs and followers to do his bidding under the guidence of the spirit. Gangs exist for all sorts of reasons, I mean what is the difference between a gang and a well armed cult or militia?
Gangers in the sixth world are a survival caste at the weakest and insurgents at the greatest. A gang can become a force of nature in a local area. The have no problem adapting strategy to whatever works best, because those who don't adapt don't survive.
So basically, a ganger is going to have whatever works for the run. They could really have anything, they are the wild card of the sixth world. Unpredictable.
Arethusa: That might work, but "2060 nuyen == 2004 USD" is a pretty damn big IF. And that's still not inflation, or at the very least you cannot possibly know whether it's because of inflation. There could still have been hyperinflation or deflation in UCAS, because the unit of currency has changed, possibly repeatedly, and we have no way of knowing what the rates were.
| QUOTE (easytohate) |
| Honestly. Who, living in the cities and wastelands of the sixth world isn't going to want some kind of protection? It doesn’t matter how expensive the gun, or the bullets are. They are as necessary as eating food in this world, and the arms dealers can jack up the price because demand is high and people will pay. |
It just doesn't work like that. The price elasticity of demand of ammunition is certainly not 0, not even close. (PED > 0) + competition = not a whole lot of freedom to jack up prices. Also note that, IRL, guns & ammo are generally cheaper in places where they are used in large numbers.
I usually give gangs anything that doesn't seem like it uses high technology.
AK-97s, Non Smartlinked pistols, some SMGs Mac-10 types. Shotguns, varied from the roomsweeper, to a semi auto. No burst or full auto shotguns.
Disposable rocket launchers, hand grenades, knives clubs, swords, axes, spears. No mono whips, no centuion laser axe, no vibrosword, no grenade launchers unless mounted on an AK-97.
Armor is usually armored vest with plates standard issue.
It really depends the type of gang. A low end street gang might have pistols and melee. Or if I'm running a Militant Gang they'll be armed to the gills and ready to take out a few blocks.
Personal Favorite to arm a GangerPunk crew of taggers or snatch and grabbers is simple Pepper Spray, or sling shots with capsul rounds of pepper spray or some other annoyance. Spray paint + lighter makes a decent mini flame thrower.
I had a full out Pyro Gang, every member had a flame thrower and an assortment of white phospor grenades, and white phosphor ammo, and Big D's flame shell for shotguns. Every single one of them wore A Victory heavy suit with full heat retardant mods.
Group: Napalm Angels
Leader's Name: Napalm Jesus
Race: Ork
Gender: Male
Awakened: Sorcery Adept Hermetic focus on Fire
B: 8
Q: 4
S: 6
C: 3
I: 5
W: 5
E: 5.3
M: 5(7)
Initiative: 5+1d6
Initiate Grade: 2
Essence lost: Drug addiction .3 Smartlink Package .4
ACTIVE SKILLS:
Clubs: 4
Biotech(First Aid): 1/3
Spray Weapon(Flame Thrower): 6(
Leadership: 3
Etiquette(Street): 2(4)
Negotiation(Scare Tactics): 2(4)
Intimidation(Bible Quotation): 3(5)
Sorcery: 6
Stealth: 3
Bike: 5
KNOWLEDGE SKILLS:
Chemistry(Flamable Material): 2(4)
BBQ Cuisine: 2
Magical Background: 4
Arson: 4
Town of choice Area Knowlege: 3
Religion(Bible): 3(5)
Spells:
Fireball F6 (EX: Drain FE: Learn)
Control Flame F4
Heal F6 (EX: Drain)
Add in a few others for flavor.
Equipment:
Force 5 Spell Focus (Fireball) A Zippo Lighter
Custom Flame thrower 3 X ammo capacity, and Barrier rating 18 to puncture. Double Range.
Light Security Armor Fire mods, and flame style paint job.
2nd in Command: Dances-With-Fire Female AmerInd Shaman of the Phoenix
Mode of operation: Terror, chaos, burnination.
Gang Base of ops: A burned out hospital with connected church in a bad part of town. Also Mobile with motorcycles
Gang Membership: 30-45
These guys were fun to run. The leader is a madman, he thinks burning the world will save humanity and allow the souls of the burned to reach heaven, and it's his job to send them there. The group's face was able to broker a deal with them, offering them occasional jobs of burning heritics, also for about 50,000 yen kept them from burning the group's shaman as a witch.
AK-97s, Non Smartlinked pistols, some SMGs Mac-10 types. Shotguns, varied from the roomsweeper, to a semi auto. No burst or full auto shotguns.
Disposable rocket launchers, hand grenades, knives clubs, swords, axes, spears. No mono whips, no centuion laser axe, no vibrosword, no grenade launchers unless mounted on an AK-97.
Armor is usually armored vest with plates standard issue.
It really depends the type of gang. A low end street gang might have pistols and melee. Or if I'm running a Militant Gang they'll be armed to the gills and ready to take out a few blocks.
Personal Favorite to arm a GangerPunk crew of taggers or snatch and grabbers is simple Pepper Spray, or sling shots with capsul rounds of pepper spray or some other annoyance. Spray paint + lighter makes a decent mini flame thrower.
I had a full out Pyro Gang, every member had a flame thrower and an assortment of white phospor grenades, and white phosphor ammo, and Big D's flame shell for shotguns. Every single one of them wore A Victory heavy suit with full heat retardant mods.
Group: Napalm Angels
Leader's Name: Napalm Jesus
Race: Ork
Gender: Male
Awakened: Sorcery Adept Hermetic focus on Fire
B: 8
Q: 4
S: 6
C: 3
I: 5
W: 5
E: 5.3
M: 5(7)
Initiative: 5+1d6
Initiate Grade: 2
Essence lost: Drug addiction .3 Smartlink Package .4
ACTIVE SKILLS:
Clubs: 4
Biotech(First Aid): 1/3
Spray Weapon(Flame Thrower): 6(
Leadership: 3
Etiquette(Street): 2(4)
Negotiation(Scare Tactics): 2(4)
Intimidation(Bible Quotation): 3(5)
Sorcery: 6
Stealth: 3
Bike: 5
KNOWLEDGE SKILLS:
Chemistry(Flamable Material): 2(4)
BBQ Cuisine: 2
Magical Background: 4
Arson: 4
Town of choice Area Knowlege: 3
Religion(Bible): 3(5)
Spells:
Fireball F6 (EX: Drain FE: Learn)
Control Flame F4
Heal F6 (EX: Drain)
Add in a few others for flavor.
Equipment:
Force 5 Spell Focus (Fireball) A Zippo Lighter
Custom Flame thrower 3 X ammo capacity, and Barrier rating 18 to puncture. Double Range.
Light Security Armor Fire mods, and flame style paint job.
2nd in Command: Dances-With-Fire Female AmerInd Shaman of the Phoenix
Mode of operation: Terror, chaos, burnination.
Gang Base of ops: A burned out hospital with connected church in a bad part of town. Also Mobile with motorcycles
Gang Membership: 30-45
These guys were fun to run. The leader is a madman, he thinks burning the world will save humanity and allow the souls of the burned to reach heaven, and it's his job to send them there. The group's face was able to broker a deal with them, offering them occasional jobs of burning heritics, also for about 50,000 yen kept them from burning the group's shaman as a witch.
| QUOTE (Austere Emancipator) |
| Arethusa: That might work, but "2060 nuyen == 2004 USD" is a pretty damn big IF. And that's still not inflation, or at the very least you cannot possibly know whether it's because of inflation. There could still have been hyperinflation or deflation in UCAS, because the unit of currency has changed, possibly repeatedly, and we have no way of knowing what the rates were. |
Actually, I never took it as a big if because I remember it being stated in some sourcebook that the two were equal. I might be misremembering, though; might've just been something my GM said. Regardless, to say it was inflation is a little premature, but I can leave it at that as there is no way the economics of Shadowrun were ever given any in depth work; it basically comes down to inflation being a conveniently simple explanation.
| QUOTE (Arethusa) |
| a conveniently simple explanation |
A bit like the "Being Stuck In A Methane Burnination Chamber Makes The Diamond Very Angry" explanation for Dikote?
What is the damage code for a Molotov cocktail or a areole flame thrower or a fertiliser bomb.
I am looking for the mechanics for the weapons that a gang without contacts (or temporarily without money) can improvise.
Edward
I am looking for the mechanics for the weapons that a gang without contacts (or temporarily without money) can improvise.
Edward
Molotov Cocktail: 6M (Throwing Weapons Skill, Shuriken Range)
Hair Spray Flame Thrower: 4L (Spray Weapons Skill, 2 Meters Range)
Fertilizer Bomb: Improved Explosives rules (Demolitions Skill, Variable Range)
Hair Spray Flame Thrower: 4L (Spray Weapons Skill, 2 Meters Range)
Fertilizer Bomb: Improved Explosives rules (Demolitions Skill, Variable Range)
don't know if this will help anyone here, but...
SR currency conversion calculator
It doesn't convert to present currency, only other SR currencies.
Just in case anyone tries to take a go at figuring it out long hand.
SR currency conversion calculator
It doesn't convert to present currency, only other SR currencies.
Just in case anyone tries to take a go at figuring it out long hand.
| QUOTE (Austere Emancipator) | ||
A bit like the "Being Stuck In A Methane Burnination Chamber Makes The Diamond Very Angry" explanation for Dikote? |
Exactly!
| QUOTE (Austere Emancipator) |
| They can be found here. The rules on how they shift are delightfully broken. I'd link a thread from the old forums where someone totally broke the economy with them in a few months or years, making trillions in the process. However, the Jive forum Search command, being true to form, cannot find a single message in the Shadowrun forum with the word "rate" in it. |
I can't get the Jive forums to load, but I do still have the links to the exchange rate example itself.
http://www.ci-n.com/~jcampbel/rpgs/shadowr...lticurrency.php
http://www.ci-n.com/~jcampbel/rpgs/shadowr...wpercentage.php
| QUOTE (Sahandrian) |
| I can't get the Jive forums to load, but I do still have the links to the exchange rate example itself. http://www.ci-n.com/~jcampbel/rpgs/shadowr...lticurrency.php http://www.ci-n.com/~jcampbel/rpgs/shadowr...wpercentage.php |
Heh. It's always strange seeing other people posting links into my site...
I just, uh, happened to recall who'd posted the original thread, so I was able to find it by searching by username and then going through the posts it listed from the appropriate era. Trying to narrow it down by searching for words that I knew were used in the initial post produced no results at all.
This page exploits the rules as written. Because currency values under those rules move in a narrow and predictable range, it's pretty easy to precisely calculate their true value over the long term. The script just compares the short-term values and the true values for each of the currencies and buys whichever one is most undervalued, waits 12 hours for a new set of totally random values, then repeats until filthy rich.
This one I put together at the request of someone in the old thread. It operates under the assumption that the exchange rate percentages given on the table were typos (which is unlikely, because it would make the rest of the table inconsistent), and should be an order of magnitude lower. Note that, while its profits aren't as insanely high as the first one, it still makes a pretty healthy profit (2000% return on investment isn't uncommon) with basically zero risk.
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