Hi,
Possibly this was answered already: how does BitD (as a general system, not particularly to the setting) treat
-Selling things?
-Buying things?
And other ways of changing the equipment list on my character.
Specifically not talking about A Big Thing Which Is Hard To Sell/Buy (as this obviously is a score in itself or even a project to work on first), but something smaller, which to whole group feels it’s obvious it will not be a risk for a crew to obtain/move; it isn’t so cheap that can be ignored, but can be bought for a Coin or two; is NOT one-use (so isn’t an Asset to acquire)
Example: I want to buy a lantern. Or a climbing kit. Or a nice dress to mingle
As for your examples, both lanterns and climbing gear can be acquired freely. One coin is the equivalent to a briefcase full of money, and it’s assumed that you can get anything cheaper relatively easily–the lantern and climbing gear appear to be on all playbooks load section, meaning that after a score has started you can just say that you’ve brought them as long as you haven’t exceeded your load.
If your looking for something very specific, such as that fine dress the book recommends that you make it a long-term project, meaning rather than think of it as simply going and buying a dress, your character is looking around town for the right dress. Or you may simply have it as an acquired asset and say the dress is reusable; but wearing the same dress to multiple high-class parties? How gauche.
One of the things I met recently was a shadowrun game in which player wanted to acquire a silencer. It was ruled to be a 6-clock long term project. My understanding is silencer is a small and cheap enough item to be bought relatively freely by any gang, installed relatively simply by any gunsmith and not one-use, so I was a bit surprised
1 Coin is (according to the book) a full purse, i.e. around a week’s wages. I think a really fancy dress, suitable for socialising amongst nobility, probably would indeed cost a week’s wages. A VERY fancy dress, suitable for wowing the nobility, would be a project.
That said: if my group said “we want to go to that party being held by Lord so-and-so” it wouldn’t occur to me to make them pay money for special clothes. I’d probably just let it slide, because I don’t want them to waste time raising money for goddamn clothes. Maybe I’d assume the clothes they’re wearing are sort of cheap items designed to look fancier than they are, analogous to knock-off brand goods. Perhaps a consequence of a failed roll at the party might be that someone notices.
Joshua Fox so they can say “we pay 1 coin each and have generally fancy enough dress for the event”, correct?
“we pay 1 coin each and have generally fancy enough dress for the event” is pretty much the point of the Acquire Asset downtime action.
Specific thing I have issue with Acquire Asset is that said asset must be temporary
You don’t need to be caught on a detail like that. If the asset you’re trying to acquire doesn’t make sense as a temporary thing, have it be permanent. There’s a whole chapter in the book suggesting larger changes to it’s rules than that.
Yeah, this is one of those situations where you just make a decision and go with it – there isn’t a rule that tells you the “right” way to do it.
Also a fancy dress is kinda temporary. You can keep the dress and wear it at another occasion, but it would not be trendy anymore. So you keep the object, but lose the fancy part (except if you do some modification on the dress).
Ганс Андроид In some cases “temporary” means it’s used up after one use, in other cases “temporary” means it’s not useful unless you spend upkeep on it. In the case of a fancy dress, you gotta pay to get it again because you need to get it laundered or mended or that colour isn’t really in season anymore.
Joshua Fox I think your right at least as beginning scoundresl go. Once the tier is high enough the dress may just be a “disguise” item and once a players stash is high enough they start having said dresses in their wardrobe.
For a no stash beginning scoundrel? Certainly aquire that item and pay the coin.
Honestly, the constantly having to Acquire the same Assets over and over at the lowest tiers of play is a painful truism: it is expensive to be poor. Nothing you buy is good quality, and it never lasts — you’re always sinking money into maintaining it, or constantly replacing it.
The hardscrabble life of Doskvol is all about this. While you were asking generally how does the system — not the setting — handle this, I think it’s safe to say the system is definitely reflecting the setting here.
Matthew Terry Alfred Rudzki Hitchcock thank you, this makes the situation a bit clearer. Overall thinking I had here is how to sync situation in fiction vs rules.
Don’t forget about “Modifying and Item” on pg. 225.
So if your trying to “buy” a permanent silencer for a pistol then you just need to decide if it’s a simple, significant, or (arcane/spark/alchem) modification; roll Tinker and spend coin to make up the difference until you have accounted for the Tier level of the item.
So you have a downtime action in which the outcome is a permanent item you can use indefinitely (something that doesn’t need to be “invented” whole cloth).
Omari Brooks that’s exactly what I needed, thank you!