1) When you are converting gear picks to increase your Possessions score, do you include your CHA bonus picks as part of the equation? I assumed not because the examples didn't mention it and it seemed like you'd be adding it twice (for Wealth distribution as well as boosting Possessions), but the "from any source" part of the description has a player convinced you do.
I would say your players are correct, since in the base system you benefit twice from your Charisma. A literal reading of the RAW supports that as well since the CHA picks are not referred to with a different name in the rules.
2) I'm a little unclear about class abilities and how they interact with your Possessions slots. I'm guessing that Gear Prep boosts one slot's Caliber? Does Custom Ride "fix" one slot as only a vehicle slot? And does Armor Use increase your Possessions score, as seems to be implied by the "extra gear = +1 Possessions" rule, or does it act a separate and distinct slot?
Custom ride works just like
heavily armed in the example in the Altered Character Options sidebar on page four of the full PDF. It boosts the caliber of one slot by one, but then you can only purchase a vehicle with it.
Gear prep boosts one slot, but does not limit the gear type.
Armor use grants you exactly what the ability says and the armor has it's own slot seperate from your possessions, per the first bullet point under Step 2 on the same page.
3) Is Extra Gear relevant anymore? If one extra gear pick results in +1 to Possessions, doesn't it make more sense to get Pack Rat instead (+2 Possessions)? It wouldn't bug me as much if it wasn't tied to things like Signature Gear.
Extra Gear is relevant because you can't take Pack Rat twice. Not to mention that per the RAW, you can take Extra Gear more then once, adding one to your Possessions score each time. Extra Gear isn't the initial feat for the chain you're thinking of, Favored Gear is.[/quote]
4) If I use the Unrestricted Gear campaign quality, can it apply to categories rather than individual gear picks? It mentions something of the sort with the Restricted Gear quality, but it only talks about 10 specific items per XP penalty with Unrestricted.
I would say no because restricting character access to gear (even to a caliber tier) hurts the players proportionally far less then letting them access stuff helps them. It's also not that useful as gear isn't restricted by caliber so much as by nature. All machine guns are R, for instance regardless of Caliber.