Ye-ah...and your Half Orc just caught fire. And died. Sad. Oh well. Although honestly, that sounds like a COOL character concept. I would totally bonus you XP for it. Especially as the bard diverted the party on some "absolutely essential" side quest across town..the the finest pastry shop in Waterdeep. HIL arious.
Or in CPunk,
"Egads. Well, Trauma Team had to land their (stealthed) AV-4 SOMEwhere, didn't they? Why were you walking there?"
Suhiira
Cyberpunk 2020 absolutely has gear inflation. It's just that all the gear is available at the start...only you can't a) afford it or b) find it yet. You know this.
But yeah, a COT-rigged, accurized, re-ported medium handgun firing DPU or Frag Flechettes kicks -ass- over a bog-standard 10mm not doing those things.
Total gear bloat. It's GREAT! If managed properly.