Shadowrun
Shadowrun General => Gear => Topic started by: RagallachMC on <11-06-14/1350:46>
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How much would a decent bicycle cost? Something a bike courier might use.
How much for a parachute? A BASE jumping style rig.
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How much would a decent bicycle cost? Something a bike courier might use.
Feels like there are two questions in there.
I thought they (bike couriers) used stripped down bikes....?
No gears. No breaks. Minimal moving parts. Nothing that can really break. Cheap.
aka "Fixies" or "Fixed-Gear Bicycle"
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Moyer_Cycles_I.jpg/800px-Moyer_Cycles_I.jpg)
(http://cf-resrc.outsideonline.com/C=W100P,H100P/S=W800,U/O=90,P/http://media.outsideonline.com/images/regenold-fixed-gear.jpg)
(http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2011/10/bike-messenger-riding-fixed-gear-bike.jpg)
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Are bike couriers still a thing when we have cheap drones that work 24/7 to deliver packages?
Anyway, the cost of a bicycle was covered way back when, I think in 4th edition (though it might have been 3rd) - I'd anticipate the cost hasn't changed much. I just tried to find it, and I couldn't find it in my 3rd or 4th edition books. It may have been way before that.
Generally when you can't find the cost of something that has a real-world equivalent, just grab a few examples of what you're looking for and average the cost out. If you're looking for something like a fixed-gear bike, you'd be looking at 400¥. For something like a 21-speed, you'd be looking at 2500¥. And for a generic kid's bike you might be looking at about 150¥.
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Are bike couriers still a thing when we have cheap drones that work 24/7 to deliver packages?
Doesn't some place have like a 100% eco friendly environment? I think it was a European Country, but I can't remember. I would think they might use Bike Couriers there, instead of drones.
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Are bike couriers still a thing when we have cheap drones that work 24/7 to deliver packages?
Doesn't some place have like a 100% eco friendly environment? I think it was a European Country, but I can't remember. I would think they might use Bike Couriers there, instead of drones.
Also, drones can be hacked. At least a bike courier can try to escape if someone tries to snatch his package.
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someone tries to snatch his package.
Giggity.
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RadiKS is the way to go. Drones cost money for gas, electricity, yadda. A 15-year-old on a bike / roller skates / skateboard will work for a much lower startup / maintenance cost.
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RadiKS is the way to go. Drones cost money for gas, electricity, yadda. A 15-year-old on a bike / roller skates / skateboard will work for a much lower startup / maintenance cost.
Have you seen how some of those 15-year-olds eat though? That gets expensive. I get your point though.
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someone tries to snatch his package.
Giggity.
"Yo Babe, do you work for RadiKS? Because I caught you scanning my package."
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Parachutes are in Arsenal (4th edition) and somewhere in 3rd edition. A standard parachute runs ¥500, low altitude is ¥120 and HALO runs ¥2000, at 4th edition anyway. There are no rules for bikes, or other people-powered vehicles, but there should be.
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Metahuman couriers would still probably be the standard. Drones are okay when they don't have to do anything complicated, but without a rigger they don't deal well with the unexpected. A person is better equipped to deal with the traffic jams, gang wars, construction and general chaos of the 2070 urban environment. The same reason they exist today. Bikes, smart skateboards, even cyberware rollerblades or parkour adepts can all make a human courier a very effective choice to quickly move time-sensitive goods and data.
As for the cost of a bicycle, in RL that can very from under a hundred bucks to several thousand with the difference in performance being small enough that the game stats would be almost identical.
Given how compact and cheap motors and power supplies are in 2070, it is also likely that almost every bike would have an electric motor in the wheel hubs to either provide assistance on hills, or allow even greater speeds, which blurs the line between bikes and motorcycles. Mostly it allows you to ignore hills and such to make the rules more streamlined.
I would treat bicycles as a type of motorcycle, maybe adjusting certain stats based on the rider.
Something like this maybe:
| Handling | Accel | Speed | Body | Armor | Sensor |
| Road Bike | 5/3 | 2 | (STR+AGI)/3* | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Mountain Bike | 5/5 | 1 | (STR+AGI)/3** | 2 | 1 | 1 |
* Round up
** Round down
Appropriate cost would probably fall somewhere around 300-500¥.
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Metahuman couriers would still probably be the standard. Drones are okay when they don't have to do anything complicated, but without a rigger they don't deal well with the unexpected. A person is better equipped to deal with the traffic jams, gang wars, construction and general chaos of the 2070 urban environment.
Also: A courier might know, where all of these are likely to happen in the near future. And while a knowsoft might solve that problem for your drone, drones don't work well in many parts of your average sprawl as they need wifi coverage. Read: Chicago and Seattle Ork Underground are no-go zones for drones without a rigger.
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Are bike couriers still a thing when we have cheap drones that work 24/7 to deliver packages?
Doesn't some place have like a 100% eco friendly environment? I think it was a European Country, but I can't remember. I would think they might use Bike Couriers there, instead of drones.
Also, drones can be hacked. At least a bike courier can try to escape if someone tries to snatch his package.
Sadly, the kid is also cheaper to replace should things go south.
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Are bike couriers still a thing when we have cheap drones that work 24/7 to deliver packages?
Doesn't some place have like a 100% eco friendly environment? I think it was a European Country, but I can't remember. I would think they might use Bike Couriers there, instead of drones.
Also, drones can be hacked. At least a bike courier can try to escape if someone tries to snatch his package.
Sadly, the kid is also cheaper to replace should things go south.
It's only sad if you're the kid. From the corp's perspective that's a positive.
On the other hand, the kid is also worth less on the open market than the drone is. Even if there is a slave trade or body shop that might want them, a street-wise, geared-up, corp-associated kid on a bike or skateboard is not a likely target when there are hundreds of barrens and street kids in any given city. Shadowrunners would be a bigger risk than muggers or kidnappers for a courier, and then only if they were hired to retrieve the package.
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How much would a decent bicycle cost? Something a bike courier might use.
How much for a parachute? A BASE jumping style rig.
My groups tend to assume that inflation equals zero because it makes prices relateable. Hence, google or amazon it, pick the average, done. While that makes some things cheaper/more pricey, it keeps the game real simple and preserves the player's natural instincts for what is expensive and what is cheap.
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Actually, inflation has tripled to quadrupled the price - past editions had monetary exchange rates placing the UCAS dollar at 3.5-4.5:1 trade with the nuyen. However, in relation to the nuyen, current prices are roughly equivalent - probably deliberately, done for just your reason, to make prices relatable. And I wouldn't pick the average; give them the range. And if they lowball the 'super-discount!' version, make a mental note and have a chance for that item to crap out on them at a high-stress point.
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Ammunition is still definitely inflated in price; even with the current market (fears over 'assault weapon' bans and the like), a normal round isn't going over a dollar per, and it's 20 nuyen for 10 normal rounds currently. That doesn't even get into the cost for flechettes/buckshot.
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I guess they decided to partially implement Chris Rock's bullet control ideas.
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I guess they decided to partially implement Chris Rock's bullet control ideas.
Good reference.
"There would be no more innocent bystanders if bullets cost 5000 dollars..."
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Ammunition is still definitely inflated in price; even with the current market (fears over 'assault weapon' bans and the like), a normal round isn't going over a dollar per, and it's 20 nuyen for 10 normal rounds currently. That doesn't even get into the cost for flechettes/buckshot.
The economy is vastly different as well, so it's hard to judge. The US has been carved up like a turkey, so while Seattle may be a trade hub, anything traveling by truck or rail has to pass through a couple of countries to get delivered, and some of those have well armed or hostile borders. Not to mention that ammo is cheap only when it's not being used.
I think the best metric to compare the value of the dollar is the cost of a moderate lifestyle - ¥5000 - to what the cost of living is for a single person living a middle class life style in Seattle today. I'm ballparking based on a website from a quick google search, but they suggested to use 2/3 the median income as the lower limit for middle class. In 2012, the median income was approx $88000, making 2/3 about $58700 - just a hair less than the yearly cost of a middle class lifestyle in shadowrun - ¥60000. A person living paycheck to paycheck could still afford all the amenities of a middle class lifestyle without generating any surplus. That seems to be a good baseline for the price of a lifestyle, anyway.
So based on that conjecture, I'm going to say that $1.00 is approximately ¥1.00. Any fluctuations from today's prices represent scarcity, demand, or other economic factors driving the prices up or down. Makes me wonder what the cellphone plan is for a Fairlight Caliban (shudder).