Salvage & Scrap

**Salvaged parts and scrap material** are a mainstay in the Belt and outer planets, where reusing what you have is a necessity and a way of life. For anyone that hasn't sold their soul to a corp, recycling junk parts and repairing their stuff is just as important as living and breathing. Belters especially have an almost obsessive need to keep spare parts about for when sudden repairs are needed, which they often are.

With a few tens of billions of people in the system, there's plenty of junk to dig through for the bits and pieces anyone could need. In theory, all this junk's getting recycled and reused at some point, but recycling takes time, effort, and labour so it's always behind schedule. Whether it's floating in space, buried in a scrapyard outside a city station box block, or taken off a corpse you just shot, there's plenty of little treasures for the intrepid salvager to find, if they're willing to brave the risks.

## Components

Components are the currency of the tech junkie. When you salvage from junkyards or disassemble some items, you'll get a number of components that you can later use to fashion new upgrades, fabricate new items, or even repair existing ones.

When determining the required components for an upgrade or fabrication, you must generally gather enough components together to match the cost. **Components come in bundles that cannot be split up, so some component cost may be wasted.** The GM will also specify if you need components of a specific type to complete the upgrade or fabrication. In this case, components of that type must make up some part of the cost.

Components can be upgraded to a higher tier by a skilled enough Tech (Maker Skill 6 or higher). To do so, you require components of a lower tier with a value equal to double the next tier. You can only upgrade components one tier at a time.

## Salvaging

The concept of salvaging is pretty simple. You go to an area full of wrecked stuff, you sort through the trash, and you pull out some treasures to make use of or sell. Sometimes those treasures are pieces and parts to be recycled, like copper wiring and circuit boards and junk. Other times, you'll find some broken swag that, with a little TLC, will transform into a fully usable piece of gear.

When you’re salvaging you’re either looking for specifically components or willing to take whatever you can find. If you’re looking exclusively for salvage components, you can only find components during your trip, but have a better chance of finding higher grade components. Otherwise, you'll find a random assortment of components, with the added chance of potentially finding random items that might actually be functional with some repair.

Make a Basic Tech Skill Check to determine the worth of the salvage you find. The higher the check, the more you salvage and the better the equipment you find. The DV changes based on whether you are looking for a specific category of goods or taking whatever you can find. If you roll a Critical Failure, you run intro trouble while salvaging, as per the GM's discretion.

## Disassembly

Another method to acquire compnents is to disassemble an existing item. Disassembly can only be carried out on items that are not damaged or broken, because otherwise the components you get are also broken. When disassembling an item, you get components from categories that make sense for the item in question. The value of components you acquire from disassembly cannot exceed half the value of the item you are disassembling.

Make a Basic Tech Skill Check to determine the worth of the components you get from disassembly. The higher the check, the more components you acquire. If you roll a Critical Failure, disassembly fails and the item is now broken.

## Fabrication

Techs with *Fabrication Expertise* can fabricate an existing item or one invented by the Tech using *Invention Expertise* from materials. To make an item, you roll TECH + the TECH Skill that the item is typically repaired with + your Rank in this specialty + 1d10.

When fabricating an item, the csot of components must equal half the price of the item being fabricated, which the fabrication consumes. The DV and the time it takes to make the item is based on the price of the item being fabricated. On a failed Check, halfway through the fabrication process, you realize that you'll have to start again from scratch. The materials purchased to make the item are uninjured.

## Upgrading

Techs with *Upgrade Expertise* can improve items in a variety of ways, listed below. **To upgrade an item, you roll TECH + the TECH Skill that the item is typically repaired with + your Rank in this specialty + 1d10.** On a failed Check, halfway through the upgrade, you realize that you'll have to start again from scratch. The materials purchased to make the upgrade and the item to be upgraded are both uninjured. An item can only benefit from 1 upgrade at a time, but this upgrade can always be replaced with a new one if needed. Components used in the replaced upgrade are lost.

When making an upgrade, the cost of components must equal the price of the item being upgraded, which the upgrade consumes. The DV and the time it takes to install the upgrade is based on the price of the item being upgraded. On a failed Check, halfway through the upgrade, you realize that you'll have to start again from scratch. The materials purchased to make the upgrade and the item to be upgraded are both uninjured.

### Available Upgrades

* Lower the Humanity Loss of non-borgware cyberware by 1d6 if its typical humanity loss would be 2d6 or greater.
* Increase the number slots of a type an item already has for options, attachments, Programs/Hardware, etc. by one.
* Simplify the item, halving the time it takes to make any future full repair to the item.
* Grant a typically non-concealable onehanded weapon the ability to be concealed.
* Increase a Standard Quality Weapon to an Excellent Quality Weapon.
* Grant a weapon attachment slot to an exotic weapon.
* Increase an item's SP by 1, but only if it had any to begin with.
* Create a vehicle upgrade that only requires a Nomad Role Ability Rank of 1.
* Install an upgrade invented by a Tech using *Invention Expertise*.