Lesson 3:
More of where to look:
Looting skills are particularly useful when dealing with dead smugglers or couriers. I've found gems in cigarette packs, cred sticks in knife handles and brush handles, and diamonds frozen in ice cream. (the Tasty Freeze guy was a smuggler, it was cool. Chocolate AND pretty sparkles! A girl's two best friends. :-) This I do not recommend for sensitive electronics though, cause when you let the magic smoke out they stop working, or so my friend Vixen tells me.
I have also seen cyberlimbs with built in compartments as well as the more well known hidden linings in clothes, suitcases etc. Be sure not to overlook pocket litter. I found 1/2 movie ticket stub once, which was matched by a courier's contact- numbered matchbook. (Played a hunch on that one. ) You never know what might be a key to get you into some little hiddie hole. Keys could be a whole lesson in and of itself. I have seen rings that form circuits for opening safe doors, cell phones that broadcast key tones for recognition, encrypted pocket secretaries and all kinds of ingenious ways to keep people out of stuff and just as many ways to get into it.
Another area to think about is the use of magic for looting. Discovery magic is an exhaustive subject and is far beyond the scoop of this article but here are a few ideas to tickle your thinking. A hearth spirit is very handy to search for hidden objects in an area, spells can be crafted to illuminate and reveal hidden goodies, and an astral search can also reveal things like hidden compartments in floors and walls. A good mage or shaman should be use to looking at things from a perspective of " what you see (at first) is not always what you get."
Bodies are not the only things with which to practice your new found looting skills. You should also spend time going over your own doss with an eye for not only where to hide things but where to look. Also remember that the van that the other team was driving, the drones that the dead rigger won't ever use again, and all of that tech is going to be picked up by the reclaimators unless you grab it.
Learn and practice diligently these skills and they will serve you for life. -Mask (10:46:37/ 03-06-58)