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Running a Rifts Russia campaign, and we have a PC Heavy 'Borg. They're currently in a city, doing a little downtime activity, and the heavy 'borg is looking for some side-work.

I'm looking for ideas that would suit a 12 foot tall machine besides "be big and kill things." I was thinking hired muscle for a local underworld boss, but does anyone have any ideas for suitable side-work that doesn't involve the obvious combat roles?

Extra difficulty: They're visitors in New Moscow, the New Soviet Capital City. And since The State assigns work and housing to citizens, they're only there as visitors, and thus, are not entitled to work positions, so any job would be "under-the-table" anyway. Have I painted myself into a corner here?

Your average heavy borg would be best employed in the same field as other heavy equipment. The main problem is, finding work that is actually profitable. Accounting for wear and tear on the cyborg's body, and upkeep and maintenance costs, the job better pay very well.

Think of jobs for borgs differently than people. any schmuck can flip a burger, but flipping burgers doesn't pay enough to replace a damaged left femoral stabilizer. Think of Borg jobs more like equipment rentals. Farmer john could rent a tractor and pay two guys to work three days to remove those stumps and boulders from the back 40, or he can hire one cyborg to do it in an afternoon.

I would look for day labor, jobs including farm work (walking tractor!), demolition, mining, heavy labor (walking forklift!), and construction. Permanent jobs in those fields, however, would likely be taken by other, more specialized personnel. Professional cyborgs with specialized adaptations (loader arms, jackhammer arms, tractor legs, etc.) would be preferred over an adventurer bristling with guns in most permanent jobs.

There's also the violence/crime/mercenary route, but that's just getting back to being big and killing things.

For the double difficulty suggestion: If the state controls the jobs and the labor, wouldn't there be a bustling black market for labor otherwise unavailable from the state? Perhaps the state will plow your field, but not for a few more weeks. Hiring Bruno the unlicensed borg contractor gets it done very much sooner, if under the table.

That is EXACTLY the spark I was looking for! Excellent suggestions, thank you!