Equipment

Whether you are ‘packing’, ‘strapped’ or just plain armed, many folks in the ‘Verse travel the Black with a little friend or two, or fifteen. Whether you wield a knife, a toolkit, a six shooter, a scalpel or sniper rifle the equipment you carry is there to help you live your life. Within this chapter we document how you go about obtaining and using your tools.

Starting Money
Each player begins play with  equipment  up to  a  value dependent  upon  their Sophistication. Any unspent money from this equipment allocation will be placed in the character’s bank account or given to them physically depending upon their origin and background.

Core worlders will have Credits and Border/Frontier worlders will have Dollars unless requested otherwise beforehand.

A character with the Assets merit has an additional 250 with which to purchase starting equipment.

Exchange Rate
1 Credit = 50 Dollars

The 'Verse contains both Credits, typically used in the Core World, and Dollars, typically used in the Border and beyond. The official exchange rate holds at 50 to 1, though this is prone to fluctuations IC.

Starting equipment
The following is a list of items that may be purchased at start up. Some items listed here have role- played IC effects (such as a first aid kit) and are of value, some have actual effects (such as vision enhancement goggles) but are sufficiently rare IC to have a cost despite their effects not having a rules mechanic.

Other items listed have either an IC mechanic or actual effect but are of negligible IC cost so are listed simply to remind players they may possess these items. Interesting gadgets and gizmos are encouraged.

You will be able to purchase most items from local traders once play begins but the prices will vary from world to world depending on the local supplies.

Characters can start play with items listed as 40 credits or less and will often be able to find such items readily, the more expensive an item to harder to source it will be and will be reliant on background and having an IC reason okayed by plot. Military grade items will require specialist contacts to source.

Armour
{| class="wikitable" ! style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;" | Armour ! style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;" | HP Bonus ! style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;" | Cost (In Credits)

Light Armour
For use with the Armour [Light] skill.

Typically represented by Stab Vests, Heavy Leathers or Light Joint Padding. One body area must be fully,covered.
 * style="text-align: center;" | +2
 * style="text-align: center;" | 20

Medium Armour
For use with the Armour [Medium] skill.

Typically represented by Flak Vests or Reinforced Heavy Leathers. Three body areas must be fully covered.
 * style="text-align: center;" | +3
 * style="text-align: center;" | 40

Heavy Armour
For use with the Armour [Heavy] skill.

Typically represented by Full Ballistic Armour, Full Riot Armour or Similar. All body area (head, chest,,arms, legs) must be covered.
 * style="text-align: center;" | +4
 * style="text-align: center;" | 60
 * }

Restricted Weapons
While this list is a base line, Other Restricted Weapons may exist. Contact your local arms dealer for prices! These prices may also vary dependent on who your talking to, where you're buying from and how much they like you. Remember to treat your gun runners well, otherwise you might getting the surplus unification war rounds rather than the nice shiny ones which.. fell off the back of that alliance mule.

Ammunition
Each firearm carried has a set number of shots, whilst it is understood that in the normal game situations you will have a large amount of ammunition for your pistols and ordinary rifles, you should still reload once you have fired as many shots as the weapon should carry.

For the most part ammunition is considered part of character routine upkeep costs in downtime, however specialist ammunition requires seeking out the right authorisations and a fairly flexible definition of your entitlement to it.

IC, ammo for more specialist weapons is represented by phys reps (i.e. explosives) or limited number of damage calls.

All firearms are grouped into skill sets and it is the skill set that the weapon uses that defines the damage done, so all pistols do ‘Single’, rifles do ‘double’ and Sniper Rifles do ‘Quad’ as discussed in the main rules. Each phys rep governs the number of shots a weapon can make before needing to be role-played reloading, e.g. a double barrelled shotgun or derringer clearly only make two shots were as most semi-automatic/pump-up shotguns carry around eight.

Machine Gun And Sniper Rifle Ammunition
These heavy weapons are more expensive to run than their small arms counterparts. Highly specialised rounds or Rounds in great quantity have to be procured before every mission.

For each Machine gun and Sniper rifle your crew wishes to use, you must pay an upkeep.

500 Credits Per Downtime for Machine Guns.

800 Credits Per Downtime for Sniper Rifles.

The below table gives a rough indication of how many rounds are in each weapons magazine, clip or belt.

This might differ between weapon platforms within their own class, but these numbers represent a general figure.

Firearms
Below is a list of common weapons and also some unusual ones that make their way into the ‘Verse. These are just examples to inspire players whilst outlining what is expected of more specialist equipment.

Restricted access weapons will need justification to the game team to be bought. This may be a strong military background, active law enforcement, black market contacts etc. Alternatively, they may be found or sought out ingame.

Advanced Weapons need specialist maintenance if damaged (i.e. a Mechanic with Mechanic Spec or Knowledge Gunsmithing) and are vulnerable to damage (i.e. from direct impact, fire, EMP blast)

Silencers and Laser Dots
In a calls based system, it is hard to represent a silenced/suppressed firearm. Although you may fit the phys rep onto your gun, it will have no direct IC impact to reduce confusion. The exception to this the Ref Supervised action Sniper shot.

Laser dots sights, although realistic, can pose a threat to vision if of high enough strength. For this reason, we ask our players to not use them with their guns. Rail attached flashlights should be used sensibly (i.e. be cautious to not disrupt people's night-vision over rough terrain).

Certain weapons have special considerations available to them and these are listed below:

Stun weapons
All types of stun weaponry do the normal level of damage for their size but as Stun damage meaning instead of putting the target into their bleed count it will instead render them unconscious. They are advanced weaponry which is more complicated to fix anything that goes wrong with them, requiring a mechanic with specialized knowledge to repair.

Shotguns
Within close range shotguns can call for Double Knockdown or Open Lock on a locked unarmoured door.

Machine Pistols
These weapons can be wielded single handily and if used with the Sinister Dexter Virtuoso, dual wielded to call for Covering Fire three times a day.

Machine Gun
LMG's can be used to call for Heavy Fire three times a day. Machine Guns are restricted items requiring specialist contacts to acquire and supply with ammunition, often security forces will expect such items to be registered and explained why you have them with you.

Sniper Rifles
Specialist Rifles with magnified optics grant use of Virtuoso Dead Shot (only whilst firing a sniper rifle). With Ref supervision, may grant an extended (.i.e. outside of voice range) shot. Role-play and highly accurate description of target expected. Only to be used when no active combat is occurring. Sniper Rifles are restricted items and require specialist contacts to acquire and supply with ammunition, often security forces will expect such items to be registered and explained why you have them with you.

Grenade Launchers
Launchers designed to lob explosive projectiles over a short distance.

These weapons are military grade, expensive and hard to come by. Requiring specialist contacts to acquire and specialist mechanics to repair.

Rounds for these launchers come in a wide range of types and grades, from frags to the highly technologically advanced stun.

Rocket-propelled Grenade, Rocket and Missile Launchers
Devastatingly powerful in the right hands, these weapons come from the Humble Chem Rocket to the Military Grade Anti-Tank Guided Missile. Ref Supervision is required when preparing to fire one of these weapons.

Rockets, RPG's and Missiles come in a range of costs, but all are expensive. Even more so to those with no legal reason to own one.

These weapons are advanced weaponry which are more complicated to fix anything that goes wrong with them, requiring a mechanic with specialized knowledge to repair.

Shuttles
Used for short atmospheric runs, transferring cargo between ships with incompatible docking hatches or entering the atmosphere when your ship doesn't have an atmospheric flight capability.

Shuttles

Brand new - 4,000 Credits

20 Year Old - 2,000 Credits

Ex-Military Shuttles

20 Year Old - 6,000 Credits (Unarmed)

Mules
Mules are smaller planet based cargo or personnel haulers designed to carry and run around. Some feature anti-gravity drive whereas others employ the trusty wheel to get about. Investors will not purchase second hand or dated mules as they are considered little more than scrap, however second hand dealers can be found on most frontier settlements if you have spare dollars.

Grav mule: 1000 credits new.

Land mule: 200 credits new.

La Matte Grapeshot
The La Matte Grapeshot was originally an antique from Earth that was but due to a vid-hero of a popular show on the Cortex was re-made as a cartridge firing weapon.

Assault Rifle with underbarrel armaments
Alliance infantry often opted to sacrifice a degree of accuracy for a little extra oomph on the battlefield and instead of attaching handy lights or laser sights to the under rail of their assault rifles they would instead use either a one-shot shotgun or a grenade launcher.

Laser Pistol
Since Lassetter made the first laser pistol these age old stalwarts of science fiction have become science fact to anyone rich enough to own one.