Re: [HOE] Pricing...

[Darrin Bright <darrin@neobright.net>]

At 05:55 PM 8/27/00 -0700, you wrote:
>Hello, all...first-time-posting...
>
>Um...in your valued and esteemed opinions, what do you
>think a link to ComSat and the necessary broadcasting
>hardware would cost?  Mobile broadcasting
>hardware-like the kind you could load up into the back
>of a van.  I mean in belongin's points...I'd
>appreciate the comments...thanks to you all!


Well, that depends on how much of an influence you want ComSat to be in
your campaign. Even with a state-of-the-art set of communications
equipment, it's still up to ComSat whether or not it wants to communicate. 

Beyond talking to ComSat, a set of communications hardware with enough
range to talk to satellites in orbit could be incredibly useful to the
Combine, especially if they're short on that sort of hardware. And
cannibalizing that hardware for parts would be a Junker's wet dream... so...

1-2 pts if the hardware is very limited (backpack sized), and communication
is usually one-way... in other words, ComSat decides when it wants to
communicate, and doesn't respond to PC queries. It basically only works
when you, the Marshall, decide it does... the unit could be barely working,
or only works after 6-8 straight hours of fiddling with it.

3-4 pts if the hardware is more advanced than a backpack unit and more
reliable, as in they can contact ComSat on their own and it sometimes
responds to their requests. It would still probably require a lot of
jury-rigging and tinkering rolls to keep it in working order.

5 pts if it's van-sized and can link up with anything in orbit whenever the
PCs want, and is reliable enough to only require limited maintenance.

Regardless of what points you eventually decide on, make sure you let the
PCs know that such high-tech equipment is going to attract a lot of
unwanted attention, probably from the Combine or Junkers looking for parts.