PURCHASING GEAR
In order to purchase gear, characters must use an appropriate
contact (see Contacts, p. 253) to see if the item is available.
Generally, fixers act as the middlemen in such situations,
shopping out gear requests from shadowrunners to the various
black market providers they know. Two factors determine
whether the gear is obtainable and how much it will cost:
Availability and Street Index.
In order to purchase gear, characters must use an appropriate
contact (see Contacts, p. 253) to see if the item is available.
Generally, fixers act as the middlemen in such situations,
shopping out gear requests from shadowrunners to the various
black market providers they know. Two factors determine
whether the gear is obtainable and how much it will cost:
Availability and Street Index.
AVAILABILITY
Availability represents how hard is it to track down a specific item. This code is intended as a guideline for the gamemaster, who should adjust the listed value based on the particular campaign and situation. The Availability Code exists to make sure that the more unique, high-end or rare an item is, the harder it is and the longer it takes to get.
The Availability Code consists of two numbers, separated by a slash. The number to the left is a target number that represents the difficulty of obtaining the item; the one to the right represents the base time necessary to acquire it. Both come into play whenever a character wants to get his hands on a particular piece of gear.
To see if a character can obtain a desired item, the player gets in touch with a contact (usually a fixer) and makes an Etiquette Test. He or she rolls a number of dice equal to the character’s Etiquette Skill, working his contacts in order to find a source that has the connections to the gear. See Contacts, p. 253 for more information on handling these interactions. Some contacts will be better sources for certain types of g ear. Talismongers,for example, are an ideal contact for magical items, but not very good at acquiring weapons.
If the Etiquette Test succeeds, the character has found a source and placed the order. The gamemaster divides the successes from the Etiquette Test into the base time needed to obtain the item (the number after the slash). This part of the Availability Code appears in hours, days or months. The base time divided by the number of successes provides the actual time it takes the source to locate the item. Halfway through this period, face-to-face negotiations to determine the actual cost take place (see Street Index and Cost, p. 273).
Availability represents how hard is it to track down a specific item. This code is intended as a guideline for the gamemaster, who should adjust the listed value based on the particular campaign and situation. The Availability Code exists to make sure that the more unique, high-end or rare an item is, the harder it is and the longer it takes to get.
The Availability Code consists of two numbers, separated by a slash. The number to the left is a target number that represents the difficulty of obtaining the item; the one to the right represents the base time necessary to acquire it. Both come into play whenever a character wants to get his hands on a particular piece of gear.
To see if a character can obtain a desired item, the player gets in touch with a contact (usually a fixer) and makes an Etiquette Test. He or she rolls a number of dice equal to the character’s Etiquette Skill, working his contacts in order to find a source that has the connections to the gear. See Contacts, p. 253 for more information on handling these interactions. Some contacts will be better sources for certain types of g ear. Talismongers,for example, are an ideal contact for magical items, but not very good at acquiring weapons.
If the Etiquette Test succeeds, the character has found a source and placed the order. The gamemaster divides the successes from the Etiquette Test into the base time needed to obtain the item (the number after the slash). This part of the Availability Code appears in hours, days or months. The base time divided by the number of successes provides the actual time it takes the source to locate the item. Halfway through this period, face-to-face negotiations to determine the actual cost take place (see Street Index and Cost, p. 273).
street costs situation cost adjustment
Item counterfeit –.2 SI
Item stolen –.2 SI
Item used –.2 SI
Item used in a crime under investigation –.1 SI
Price war between rival dealers –.1 SI
Market flooded –.1 SI
Distribution channels monopolized +.2 SI
Law enforcement crackdown on item +.5 SI
Market dry +.2 SI
Item counterfeit –.2 SI
Item stolen –.2 SI
Item used –.2 SI
Item used in a crime under investigation –.1 SI
Price war between rival dealers –.1 SI
Market flooded –.1 SI
Distribution channels monopolized +.2 SI
Law enforcement crackdown on item +.5 SI
Market dry +.2 SI
availability
At the gamemaster’s discretion, the character may add 2 days to the acquisition time period and + .1 to the Street Index (increasing the cost) in order to reduce the Availability target number by 1. This means the character has put the word out that time and nuyen are not obstacles to acquiring the item.
At the gamemaster’s discretion, the character may add 2 days to the acquisition time period and + .1 to the Street Index (increasing the cost) in order to reduce the Availability target number by 1. This means the character has put the word out that time and nuyen are not obstacles to acquiring the item.
STREET INDEX AND COST
The cost for items in the Gear List is the legal retail cost. The Street Index, a multiplier to that base cost, comes into play when calculating the effects of the black market (where 99.9 percent of all deals involving shadowrunners will take place).
The Street Index affects the price of the item if purchased through the shadow or gray markets. Because obtaining something illegally usually involves the item going through numerous middlemen (from thieves to their fences to black marketeers to fixers to the runners), the price of an item tends to rise dramatically, especially if it is a hot commodity.
After successfully locating the object through contacts, the character must negotiate the price. The asking street price for gear is equal to the Cost of the item multiplied by the Street Index, plus any modifiers added by attempts to reduce the base time for Availability. That price becomes the new base cost for the item. Source and buyer participate in a Success Contest, pitting their Negotiations Skill Ratings against each other’s Intelligence.
Whoever rolls the most successes—the source or the buyer—may adjust the price in his or her favor by 5 percent for every net success. For example, if the player rolls 4 successes and the contact/gamemaster rolls only 2, the buyer has achieved 2 more successes than the contact/gamemaster and so can knock the price down by 10 percent. If the player loses, the gamemaster can either raise the price or demand the extra percenage up front as a down payment. Many contacts will accept cash on hand and a lower price, rather than a higher price and no operating expenses.
If the buyer cannot or will not pay the resulting price, the deal is off. Fixers frown on their deals falling through because the buyer is stingy. To reflect this, gamemasters can adjust the Availability target number upward the next time the character searches for something through that contact.
With the price agreed upon and any down payments made, a time and place for pickup is arranged. The deal goes down, with the contact bringing the gear and the character the nuyen.
The cost for items in the Gear List is the legal retail cost. The Street Index, a multiplier to that base cost, comes into play when calculating the effects of the black market (where 99.9 percent of all deals involving shadowrunners will take place).
The Street Index affects the price of the item if purchased through the shadow or gray markets. Because obtaining something illegally usually involves the item going through numerous middlemen (from thieves to their fences to black marketeers to fixers to the runners), the price of an item tends to rise dramatically, especially if it is a hot commodity.
After successfully locating the object through contacts, the character must negotiate the price. The asking street price for gear is equal to the Cost of the item multiplied by the Street Index, plus any modifiers added by attempts to reduce the base time for Availability. That price becomes the new base cost for the item. Source and buyer participate in a Success Contest, pitting their Negotiations Skill Ratings against each other’s Intelligence.
Whoever rolls the most successes—the source or the buyer—may adjust the price in his or her favor by 5 percent for every net success. For example, if the player rolls 4 successes and the contact/gamemaster rolls only 2, the buyer has achieved 2 more successes than the contact/gamemaster and so can knock the price down by 10 percent. If the player loses, the gamemaster can either raise the price or demand the extra percenage up front as a down payment. Many contacts will accept cash on hand and a lower price, rather than a higher price and no operating expenses.
If the buyer cannot or will not pay the resulting price, the deal is off. Fixers frown on their deals falling through because the buyer is stingy. To reflect this, gamemasters can adjust the Availability target number upward the next time the character searches for something through that contact.
With the price agreed upon and any down payments made, a time and place for pickup is arranged. The deal goes down, with the contact bringing the gear and the character the nuyen.
The Negotiation
Whoever rolls the most successes—the source or the buyer—may adjust the price in his or her favor by 5 percent for every net success. For example, if the player rolls 4 successes and the contact/gamemaster rolls only 2, the buyer has achieved 2 more successes than the contact/gamemaster and so can knock the price down by 10 percent. If the player loses, the gamemaster can either raise the price or demand the e xtrapercenage up front as a down payment. Many contacts will accept cash on hand and a lower price, rather than a higher price and no operating expenses.
If the buyer cannot or will not pay the resulting price, thedeal is off. Fixers frown on their deals falling through because the buyer is stingy. To reflect this, gamemasters can adjust the Availability target number upward the next time the character searches for something through that contact. With the price agreed upon and any down payments made, a time and place for pickup is arranged. The deal goes down, with the contact bringing the gear and the character the nuyen
Whoever rolls the most successes—the source or the buyer—may adjust the price in his or her favor by 5 percent for every net success. For example, if the player rolls 4 successes and the contact/gamemaster rolls only 2, the buyer has achieved 2 more successes than the contact/gamemaster and so can knock the price down by 10 percent. If the player loses, the gamemaster can either raise the price or demand the e xtrapercenage up front as a down payment. Many contacts will accept cash on hand and a lower price, rather than a higher price and no operating expenses.
If the buyer cannot or will not pay the resulting price, thedeal is off. Fixers frown on their deals falling through because the buyer is stingy. To reflect this, gamemasters can adjust the Availability target number upward the next time the character searches for something through that contact. With the price agreed upon and any down payments made, a time and place for pickup is arranged. The deal goes down, with the contact bringing the gear and the character the nuyen