What can be more iconic to the bounty hunter than her full complement of gadgets and tricks, each serving a purpose on the hunt for her target? Let this article be your guide in the form of a kit list for the novice bounty hunter. Higher end, and thus more expensive, kit will be dealt with in future articles.
Finding Your Target
Gas grenades, stun rifles, and whipcords will not help the novice hunter if they cannot find their target.
A good set of binoculars will go a long way (EotE, p. 175). You can cheap out with macrobinoculars at 75 credits or upgrade to electrobinoculars at 250 credits. Both provide image amplification, allowing you to search for and monitor your quarry at standoff range. Use these to gather information to plan your takedown. Electrobinoculars will not only let you remove a Setback die due to range or low light, it also outputs more information which can likely be parlayed into Boost dice due to proper planning and ambush tactics.
Continuing the theme of reconnaissance with standoff, consider the Recon Remote (Dangerous Covenants, p. 57). For 250 credits you get a fruit sized, 360 degree, night vision equipped remote capable of operating up to 20 km away. Consider additional remotes as circumstance allow as you can link up to four remotes to one control unit.
Channel your inner Star Wars villain with the Surveillance Tagger (EotE, p. 176). At 175 credits per tagger you won’t be treating these as disposable initially, but the options they provide cannot be overlooked. You can slap one of these taggers on the target’s speeder or starship to mitigate against their escape in case they give you the slip during the takedown.
Finally, remember the grease that keeps the underworld moving is money. Keep some spare credits on hand for bribes and information. Know a good pickpocket on world? It’s a risk, but consider paying them off to reverse pickpocket one of those Surveillance Taggers onto the target for you.
Capturing Your Target
Your role is to bring the target back alive to the bounty authority. Most targets will be keenly aware of the bounty on their heads. They will be ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble.
The accurately named Glop Grenade (Enter the Unknown, p. 42) is a near-miracle in both utility and economy. If you can hit your target with the grenade they will automatically be Ensnared for three rounds preventing them from taking any maneuvers, barring a successful Hard Athletics Check as an action to escape. Think about this: while ensnared they cannot run, they cannot draw a weapon. Not only does this increase your capture chance while decreasing the odds of anyone getting hurt, it does all that for just 100 credits which includes five refills!
Gas grenades (Lords of Nal Hutta, p. 102) can quickly immobilize and overwhelm the target. The key to using gas grenades is to ensure they are used in tight spaces, this increases the duration of the gas to five rounds instead of two. Empty gas grenades are 50 credits. Non-lethal options include Anesthetic and Neuroparalytic “sedatives.”
Anesthetic is 35 credits a dose and is a legitimate medical supply. There should be no problem acquiring doses, after all a licensed bounty hunter needs medical supplies, right? Anesthetic works to render the target unconscious, dealing 5 strain on a failed Resilience check. While not a small amount of strain by any means one can see how opting to use an anesthetic grenade in tight spaces, thus increasing the duration of the gas cloud to five turns, gains the potential to outright incapacitate the target.
Neuroparalytics are harder to come by at 75 credits a dose with a Restricted rating. You won’t be able to walk into your local drugstore and pick these up over the counter; instead, look to the black market until you can find a connection to purchase supplies legally. Neuroparalytics immobilize the target on a failed Hard Resilience check for three rounds with generally no ability to shake off the effect. This is competing with the Glop Grenade mentioned above which is cheaper but runs the chance of the target breaking free, as opposed to this Neuroparalytic option which is not guaranteed to affect the target but is all but guaranteed to last the full duration.
Once the target has ceased resistance, a hunter needs reliable restraints to secure the target for transport. Common binders (EotE, p. 178) are an economical and relatively effective solution at 25 credits, but can be escaped by either a Daunting Athletics or Coordination check. If you are looking for something more secure, then look to Magnacuffs (Far Horizons, p. 46), which for 100 credits gives peace of mind that targets will need to make a Formidable Coordination check to escape – Magnacuffs are far too strong to simply brute force open.
Staying Alive
You can’t collect a bounty if you are dead. This section has suggestions on not only pieces of kit to keep you alive, but also how to set up some of your essentials to maximize survivability.
It may seem simple, but ensure your comlink is set up for hands free usage. Set up a headset, helmet, or wrist mounted system to keep your hands free to keep weapons at the ready, targets under positive physical control, and to prevent the need to waste a Maneuver in a critical situation to fish out a handheld comlink.
If gas grenades are part of your arsenal you will need protection, lest you get a taste of your own medicine. Strap on a serviceable respirator mask (EotE, p. 179) and you will be immune to the effects of gas grenades for just 25 credits. It goes without saying that this is only a help when you are actually wearing the mask; it’s not comfortable but do yourself a favour and put yours on before a takedown.
Bounty hunting is a dangerous job. You or a teammate will eventually get hurt, which is why you need emergency medical supplies. Click here for Linda Whitson’s article on medical gear. For the bounty hunter, make sure you pack a couple stimpacks per hunter at a minimum with one emergency medpac per team. These are not just for the hunters: if the takedown goes sideways and the target is injured, you will need to stabilize them for transport. This is both good business sense and keeps to the Hunter’s Creed, “Capture by Design; Kill by Necessity.” Spread your stimpacks across team members and have them carried in an easy to access, standardized place. This way a hunter can apply her own stimpack as self-aid, and if she goes down her teammate can use the casualty’s own stimpack as buddy-aid.
On the topic of pouches and pockets, a hunter can find themselves quickly loaded up on kit. Look to a paramilitary solution with Load-Bearing Gear (AoR, p. 198), representing military webbing or tactical vests at 100 credits. Combine with a utility belt and backpack as required. While you can retrieve an item from a backpack with a maneuver, just the same as from a vest or belt, I still recommend prioritizing items onto your vest. This is not just for roleplaying satisfaction but also more readily defines the item as “easily accessible” as per the Quick Draw talent (EotE, p. 141). What “easily accessible” means will vary from table to table, but I suggest weapons and items stowed in tacvests/webbing, on a utility belt, or in readily accessible pockets meet the criteria, but items at the bottom of a backpack are not. Strap your blaster in a holster and keep items you need quick access to (a few grenades, respirator mask, extra reloads, a set of binders) in your vest or on your belt. Taking the time to consider where your character carries their kit will bring more certainty to “easily accessible” and also help solidify the appearance of your hunter both to yourself and to other players at the table.
If you are forced to prioritize kit due to minimizing Obligation or seeking extra XP, then look at picking up a few items from each section to start with. A set of macrobinoculars, a glop grenade with refills, binders, and a few stimpacks form a good starting loadout. Add more kit as you go and in cooperation with your teammates. Bear in mind this article is a guide, not a prescription. Use this as a starting point for thinking about your loadout, then share your opinion in the comments below. Good hunting.
Christopher Hunt
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