[bmoham]

I'm building a technomancer face character, so the trick of throwing him into a rigger cocoon for combat won't work. I considered arming a transteed, but think it might make sense to have an unarmed (but probably armored) transteed and a separate weapons platform.

Some possibilities I'm kicking around are a) pilot upgrade to my gun b) a smart firing platform  c) a small drone with a weapon mount.

Since whatever it is will be my primary weapon I want it to be portable (like I could put it in a hidden compartment in my transteed) or be able to sneakily follow me around.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Also, I have arsenal, unwired, runner's companion, and the main book, so I'd prefer suggestions in those.

Thanks

[UmaroVI]

Why is the rigger cocoon out? You can talk to people just fine while in one (because of AR), and it totally legal.

The Smart Firing Platform is not a good plan; it's large and Forbidden, and not easy to hide, either. The pilot upgrade required Propulsion as well to count as a drone, but that is one perfectly good option; it's 14F to get a walking one, though, so wait until after chargen. The Ford LEBD-1 is my recommendation for a weapons platform drone.

[rasmusnicolaj]

Or you could just step out of you cocoon when talking with people.
You don't need to go to a meet incased in armor and with weapons all over the place 

I think I would make him a technoshaman drone rigger.
Then you could have a nice van to drive around in with room for drones.
A few flying combat drones for when the manure hits the celing-mounted rotaing device (that would be option C).
Small spy drones to give you intel - can back up your facing with the right setup of programs.
Relay drones for when you need to hack a place but don't want to go their in the flesh.

Rasmus

[bmoham]

Getting into and out of a cocoon takes a while, if I recall correctly.
Here's what I'm thinking.
AR only works for folks who have the right gear. So if you're talking with regular folks in the slums then an AR projection will be invisible. Hell, one of the guys in my home game doesn't have any ear enhancements, so he couldn't hear AR projections till I bought him an earpiece (or he decided to pull out him comm). There might be rules for creating a 3d hologram that's visible to the naked eye  (If so, can someone point me to them) but even so, the hologram couldn't knock on a door, pick up a briefcase, etc.
I could eject from my rigger cocoon to talk, but if negotiation fails then I spend the entire combat running away/trying to get back into my cocoon.
Am I misunderstanding something? It seems like a good face should be able to talk to anyone and adapt smoothly if negotiations go south.

I like the LEBD-1, and can even get a license for it, but it seems a bit obvious. Sometimes that might be handy (especially with adds like pimped ride and custom look for the gun to get +2-+4 to intimidate). Would a drone launcher be a good way to keep it out of sight when I don't want to be quite as ... distinctive? Or should I just plan to buy a piloted small pistol at some point in the future.
Incidentally, how the heck do you get a flying gun? It looks like it takes more slots than guns have.

I also like the idea of having a nice van to stay in when they don't need me to physically be there (like when we know there's going to be a fight). I'm looking at the General Production COP.

Thanks

[Lethe]

There might be rules for creating a 3d hologram that's visible to the naked eye  (If so, can someone point me to them)

Holo projector, SR4A,p329. Also look at the list whats already included in a commlink, p.327.

[bmoham]

Holo projector, SR4A,p329.

Holo projector is exactly what I was looking for. I knew it had to be somewhere. Wonder what sort of slot it would be to mount on a drone.  Doesn't solve my problem completely, but it does give me more options.

Thanks

[UmaroVI]

The LEBD-1 is as small and legal as you can get on a drone that has a weapon mount outside of the pistol-drone. I guess, technically, there's the option of getting a totally legal drone with Mechanical Arms and having it use an actual weapon (rather than a weapon mount) as well. The Evo Orderly is a good choice for this.

[JustADude]

The LEBD-1 is as small and legal as you can get on a drone that has a weapon mount outside of the pistol-drone. I guess, technically, there's the option of getting a totally legal drone with Mechanical Arms and having it use an actual weapon (rather than a weapon mount) as well. The Evo Orderly is a good choice for this.

Was there ever an official ruling over whether that uses Gunnery or the actual weapon skill?

[Henzington]

weapon skill is actually holding the weapon anytime you fire if from a mount be it a drone or vechile its gunnery

[JustADude]

weapon skill is actually holding the weapon anytime you fire if from a mount be it a drone or vechile its gunnery

Right, but if you're jumped into a Humanoid Drone and using the weapon in Mechanical Arms, does it count as drone gunnery or firing the weapon with your own two hands?

[ArkangelWinter]

Somehow my common sense says use Automatics, but I'm willing to bet RAW is gonna lean toward Gunnery. I couldnt find a specific mention in any of the books I own.

[UmaroVI]

Cyborgs are explicitly allowed to use either the weapon skill or gunnery, their choice. Otherwise, there's no rules for that situation.

[ArkangelWinter]

I forgot to check Augmentation. +1 to you sir

[JustADude]

Cyborgs are explicitly allowed to use either the weapon skill or gunnery, their choice. Otherwise, there's no rules for that situation.

I'd definitely say Cyborgs would count as jumped-in Riggers when using a drone-body. So there we go.