[TheCommanders]

So I was gming for players I play with about once a week, and one of them was playing an explosives expert. He used the rules in arsenal to craft explosives, and so started with hundreds of kilos of plastic and foam explosives. I kinda just ran with it at the time, but I'm curious to know if it's explicitly stated anywhere that you can or cannot craft items during character creations (and thus incur reduced costs, and avoiding some availability issues).

I briefly checked to see if this question had been asked before and didn't see it anywhere, but if it has, linking me to that convo would be fine.

Thanks,

TheCommanders

[baronspam]

If the character wants to start with piles of explosives right out of character creation I think they would need to pay the nuyen cost for them.  Starting nuyen isn't a bankroll they get to go out and spend, it represents the value of gear, implants, etc that the character would have aquired before play started, be it purchased, manufactured, stolen, inherited, found next to I-5, whatever.  Its a balance thing as much as anything else.

A character with a good chemistry skill and the right shop could certainly start cooking once play started.  They would both need to pay for the shop/facility equipment, and figure a space for it in their lifestyle cost.  Some of this stuff may be quite smelly or noisy, so I doubt you would want to do this in your appartment.   

Also, contacts might be needed to purchase the raw ingredients without attracting attention.  Someone purchasing large amounts of amonium nitrate and fuel oil and shipping it to an address that is not a farm is very likely going to get a visit from Knight Errant.  There is a real world perposal that trace materials called taggants be added to things like fertilzers in case anyone makes a bomb out of it to make it easier to trace the source.  In the sixth worth with both more advanced technology and magical means available bomb makers would have to be very, very clever or incredibly paranoid about their source materails to avoid having their work traced back to them.

[TheCommanders]

Thanks. I kinda figured as much, but I wanted something better to say to my player than, "uh 'cause I said so... shut up...."

Anyway, thanks.

[John Shull]

Thanks. I kinda figured as much, but I wanted something better to say to my player than, "uh 'cause I said so... shut up...."

Anyway, thanks.

I have found because I said so really useful. 

Actually I think everything you want made by character ready at gametime costs you points.  Summoned spirit favors, contacts, bonded magic items, etc are all events where you used skills and got lasting results but really just bought it a character creation and this shouldn't be any different.  So if the PC wants IED, improvised explosive devises he made ready from the jump it should cost him a couple of points, maybe a half point per point of skill pool that created it, to have it.  Just like everything elese in the game.     

You should believe this however if for no other reason than I said so, or at least typed it bravado filled fashion.  I did not use emoticons or weird fonts and bolding cause I just don't roll that way.  I hope it was helpful.

[TheCommanders]

Interesting idea, I'll keep it in mind.

[John Shull]

Didnt mean to come across so snarky on my previous post.  My apologizes.  Sometimes my sense of whimsy doesn't make it through the keyboard and it comes across jerky.