[Lusis]

Quick question: if I kill an enemy with a smartlinked gun, how usable is that gun in the short term?

Can I immediately connect my smartlink to it?
-If so, do I need to roll a test to hack it?
-if not, can the weapon be used without the smartlink bonus?
-If no to either, and I do not have the skills to hack the gun, what is the guidelines for getting an NPC to do it?

Thanks in advance.

[Reaver]

Depends.

If it has a bio-safety, then the gun doesn't work for you. Period. (And could in fact hurt or kill you!)

Then there is the whole ownership thing to deal with.... which means you could in fact have painted yourself with a huge legal matrix bullseye that links you to the assault/murder!

To fix this, you need to follow the 'change ownership' rules in the matrix section.

As to getting an NPC to do this, that is what contacts are for....

[Xenon]

No, it is not yours.
- Use existing rules for taking over ownership
- Yes, you can use it as a regular firearm without bonuses.
- You are probably better off buying your own weapon. SR isn't really about looting your opponents....

[MijRai]

Bah, looting is the standard practice of every game where morality is gray.  How else do you make side-profits?  You have to be careful about what you take, of course, but still.

[ZeConster]

Looting is one thing, but keeping the gear and being able to use it is a bit trickier.

[Reaver]

In a game all about the 'quick get in, do the job, quick get out" , stopping for several minutes to pick over the dead and dying for armor, guns and commlinks seems a bit counter productive. After all that is the seconds/minutes you should be using to beat feet and get the heck out of there before the guys in the heavy armor and mini-guns with magic and spirit support arrive...

[ZeConster]

After a fight, there's a good chance your mage will need 10-20 seconds to wipe their astral signature anyway, so you might as well spend a few IPs looting the bodies.

[lazlo]

Most guns probably aren't worth the bother, dealing with changing ownership and/or dealing with tracking of the device.  Commlinks, however, can often provide valuable information about a subject (doesn't much matter if subject is Security Guard Bob).  Also, always keep in mind your timetable and professionalism (do you really want a reputation as a looter?).

Still there are guns and other items that might be worth the effort.  That's why you have a smallish locker-sized Faraday cage in the back of your van (maybe under some seats).  Just throw the loot in there and let your hacker deal with ownership at leisure.

[JimmyCrisis]

Firearm safety varies widely between models IRL, extrapolate that into 2075.  I would use the following as a guide, but adjust according to weapon, owners preference, and other circumstances.

No Link:  weapon is ready to go, can be fired by anyone holding it, unless other safety measures in place.

External Smartlink:  weapon has been modified to fire wirelessly, but that would not exclude manual operation.   The weapon should be capable of firing, but with no benefit from the smartlink unless marks are added.

Internal Smartlink:  the smartlink has been fully integrated into the weapon, only a registered user or owner can fire it.

[Xenon]

Still there are guns and other items that might be worth the effort.  That's why you have a smallish locker-sized Faraday cage in the back of your van (maybe under some seats).  Just throw the loot in there and let your hacker deal with ownership at leisure.

The device you are trying to change ownership need to be connected to the Matrix during the extended test (confirmed by Aaron).

If you are going to steal stuff to use as your own (and not fence for cash) you pretty much need to neutralize the owner first as he automatically spot all his devices once they are connected to the matrix. Trying to steal corporate owned devices to use as your own is a bad idea as the corp will have ample time to track you down while you are trying to convert ownership.

Or, as the book put it; Corporations and governments use this registration system to keep track of their equipment. A security guard’s weapon might be in her holster, but its owner is the corp that employs her. This makes it relatively simple to track down thieves, deserters, and looters...

[lazlo]

Still there are guns and other items that might be worth the effort.  That's why you have a smallish locker-sized Faraday cage in the back of your van (maybe under some seats).  Just throw the loot in there and let your hacker deal with ownership at leisure.

The device you are trying to change ownership need to be connected to the Matrix during the extended test (confirmed by Aaron).

Yes, I realize that.  I perhaps wasn't clear that the purpose of the cage is that you can take it out and do the owner transfer later (in a relatively safe location) without having to worry about being traced in the short term.

[Xenon]

I see. My bad