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Old 07-03-2013, 03:42 PM   #1
Khannis
 
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Default Yet another Signature Gear Question

Sorry if this has been asked several times already, I did some search-fu (which may have been fail) and couldn't find the answer to this specific question, I would appreciate it if you guys could help me.

Signature Gear has a cost based on the average campaign starting wealth, crystal clear. But what if the item in question cannot be bought or sold, and therefore has no price?

To be more specific, me and my friends are tinkering with the idea of playing in the Fallout setting (perhaps with a few adaptations), and one of the character ideas we've been throwing around is that of an West Coast Enclave Remnant in the 2270-80s, and he would obviously have a precious, although somewhat battered, suit of Advanced Mk I Power Armor. For those unfamiliar with the setting, what this basically means is that this armor was built with closely guarded technology, that is no longer available (at least in the campaign area). So if the suit was somehow lost or destroyed, the character couldn't possibly buy another under any circumstance, and could only conceivably find another in abandoned hidden bunkers, of which there would be at most 3 or 4 in a 500km radius around the campaign starting area (so VERY hard to find).

So how could I work out it's cost? It has absolutely no market value since very few people know they exist, and fewer yet know how to operate or repair it. Even in the extremely unlikely event that a "prospector" (salvager) found one, it wouldn't be able to do anything with it except perhaps strip down the components and sell them.
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Old 07-03-2013, 03:51 PM   #2
Anaraxes
 
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Default Re: Yet another Signature Gear Question

It's not "gear" it's if that special and unique. You could treat it as a Gadget, or just assign it to PCs "for free" as a plot device or campaign advantage.

You also might be interested in PK's house rules separating Sig Gear into its "plot protection" versus "trade CP for equipment" components. They're still based on a price in $, but if you don't like the notion of a Gadget, then you might be able to estimate a CP cost just for Plot Protected.
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Old 07-03-2013, 03:53 PM   #3
Anthony
 
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Default Re: Yet another Signature Gear Question

Quote:
Originally Posted by Khannis View Post
Sorry if this has been asked several times already, I did some search-fu (which may have been fail) and couldn't find the answer to this specific question, I would appreciate it if you guys could help me.

Signature Gear has a cost based on the average campaign starting wealth, crystal clear. But what if the item in question cannot be bought or sold, and therefore has no price?
Usually it means that you have to buy it as a gadget, but the fact something is normally not available for sale means that you take an unusual background to reflect access to things that are not normally for sale and then pay what it would cost if it were available.
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Old 07-03-2013, 04:11 PM   #4
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Default Re: Yet another Signature Gear Question

Sorry if I misunderstood something, but the Gadget Limitations part says:

"However, he (the GM) should charge points only for items that even the most advanced technology could not produce - and even then, only if those items are not for sale at any price in the game world."

In this case, the most advanced can, and has, produced it. In fact, other models of this type of suit are still rumored to be produced in other parts of the U.S.A., in unknown (and faraway) locations.
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Old 07-03-2013, 04:22 PM   #5
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Default Re: Yet another Signature Gear Question

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In this case, the most advanced can, and has, produced it. In fact, other models of this type of suit are still rumored to be produced in other parts of the U.S.A., in unknown (and faraway) locations.
In that case, it's a combination of signature gear and unusual background (access to things that are not normally for sale).
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Old 07-03-2013, 04:37 PM   #6
Khannis
 
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Default Re: Yet another Signature Gear Question

I got that, I just don't know how to work out the cost, as it would involve pricing something that has never been sold.
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Old 07-03-2013, 04:40 PM   #7
gilbertocarlos
 
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Default Re: Yet another Signature Gear Question

If it could be produced on the past but is no longer possible, it's a gadget.
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Old 07-03-2013, 04:40 PM   #8
Anthony
 
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I got that, I just don't know how to work out the cost, as it would involve pricing something that has never been sold.
If it was produced in the past, it was sold in the past.
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Old 07-03-2013, 04:40 PM   #9
sir_pudding
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Default Re: Yet another Signature Gear Question

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Originally Posted by Khannis View Post
I got that, I just don't know how to work out the cost, as it would involve pricing something that has never been sold.
Take the normal cost of the Power Armor and multiply it by 2^n where n is the difference in TLs.
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Old 07-03-2013, 04:55 PM   #10
Khannis
 
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If it was produced in the past, it was sold in the past.
No, it wasn't. If it was produced in a top-secret facility for use by a top secret, self-sufficient organization, it cannot have been sold, ever. The Enclave scientists produced it, the Enclave soldiers used, and that was about it.

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Originally Posted by sir_pudding View Post
Take the normal cost of the Power Armor and multiply it by 2^n where n is the difference in TLs.
Yes, but what's the normal cost? I know what I have to do after I get a number, the problem is just that, getting a number. Because cost is based on the fact that you want to trade something, and in this case, even if there was anyone that wanted to sell it, no one would want to buy it.
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