Shadowrun
Shadowrun Play => Character creation and critique => Topic started by: JmOz01 on <04-11-15/1731:26>
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You Don’t Know Jack
The Corps is mother, the corps is farther, as an old flatvid show would say. For the man known as Jack this was true. His parents were wageslaves of Shiawase. Both worked as security for a small R&D facility, one as a Spider, the other as a guard. They were good employees, and soon they started producing future wageslaves.
Then one day they did not return home, the reason why was never told to Jack. What was known, and are his earliest memories, was that he was taken to a Corp ran orphanage.
His childhood was fairly normal, for an orphan. He went to Corp ran schools, learned how to be loyal, how to work hard, and basically be an idea wageslave. He showed an aptitude early on for technology, especially the matrix, so the Corp seeing a future Spider started training him. However stories of his father’s nobility has led him to have an interest in the Samurai as well.
Then a funny thing happened when he reached the age of 13, for he showed another aptitude, this one with magic. That is when an exec named (NAME) became involved, his pet project was a new type of “security” force, one that would be more flexible than the current forces. Seeing a possible candidate he took Jack under his wing, making him a member of his house hold.
The next five years were spent in training, making his talents even better. Unfortunately (NAME) had upset some, and it was decided to take him, and his pet project, out of the picture. The attack was quick, professional, and successful. Except for Jack all were dead. Knowing his duty was to avenge the death of his master, and realizing that while an honorable man does not strike from the shadows, he may hide in them he left enough evidence that one of the dead shadow runners was him (Including his deck).
He now seeks out the shadowrunner who took his swords as trophies, but he also searches for who arranged the hit, for he does not seek vengeance on the blade, but he that wielded it.
Currently Shiawase thinks him dead and he pursues his quest from the shadows of Seattle.
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Jack
METATYPE: HUMAN
B 3, A 3, R 1/3, S 1, W 5, L 5, I 5, C 5, ESS 5.92, EDG 2, M 5
Condition Monitor (P/S): 10 / 11
Armor: 9
Limits: Physical 3, Mental 7, Social 7
Physical Initiative: 6/8+3D6
Active Skills: Arcana (Spell Design +2) 1, Assensing 3, Automatics (Submachine Guns +2) 4, Biotech Group 1, Close Combat Group 4, Computer 5, Counterspelling 5, Cracking Group 5, Etiquette 3, Hardware (Cyberdecks +2) 1, Perception 5, Pistols (Semi-Automatics +2) 2, Sneaking 4, Software (Data Bombs +2) 1, Spellcasting (Health Spells +2) 6
Knowledge Skills: Code of Bushido 3, Corp Culture (Shiawase +2) 1, Magical Theroy 3, Matrix Security 3, Myths & Legends (Samurai +2) 1, Poetry 1, Small Unit Tactics (Urban +2) 1, Sprawl Life 1
Languages: English 3, Japanese N
Qualities: Big Regret, Code of Honor: The Path of the Samurai (10dicepool vs. 4), Focused Concentration (3), Mentor Spirit: Magician Powers: Bear, Magician Powers, Overclocker, Poor Self Control - Compulsive (Personal) (1): Clear his name, Quick Healer, Records on File (1): corp, Shinto Mystic Adept
Spells: Clairvoyance, Heal, Increase Agility, Lightning Bolt, Stunball
Adept Powers: Astral Perception, Attribute Boost (2): Strength (7dicepool), Improved Reflexes (2), Memory Displacement, Natural Immunity (2), Nimble Fingers
Augmentations:
. . Datajack (Alphaware)
Gear:
. . Armor Vest
. . Backpack
. . Certified Credstick, Standard
. . Glasses (1) w/ Image Link
. . Identity: Specify Name w/ Fake License: Magic (1), Fake License: Weapon (1), Fake SIN (1), (1 month) Squatter Lifestyle
. . Kimono
. . Meta Link Commlink w/ Mapsoft: Campaign City
Weapons:
. . Fichetti Security 600 [Light Pistol, Acc 7, DV 7P, AP –, SA, RC (1), 30 (c)] w/ Folding Stock, Laser Sight, (30x) Regular Ammo
. . Bokken [Club, Reach 1, Acc 4, DV 4P, AP –]
. . Knife [Blade, Acc 5, DV 2P, AP -1]
Contacts:
Dan the Ghoul (Connection 2, Loyalty 2)
Sam Man (Connection 4, Loyalty 2)
Street Doc (Connection 4, Loyalty 1)
Starting ¥: 2D6 × 40¥
Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at http://www.wolflair.com
Shadowrun © 2005-2015 The Topps Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Shadowrun is a registered trademark of The Topps Company, Inc.
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Honestly...lotta wasted skills.
I get that some of it is for backstory purposes, like arcana, if you were a wagemage.
But you have 5 ways to hit people (6 with spells) and that is just absurd and it may make for a decent story but it doesn't make for a good character.
Computer 5 for what? You're not a decker. You don't need anywhere near that much for a good Data Search legwork.
Biotech 1 is trash, you're limited to healing 1 box of damage on 6 dice and you don't even have a medkit, that is really pointless.
You have Hardware and Software and Cracking for some reason, though you're not a decker and pools of 8 are more likely to get you killed/something broken than to fix anything. Seriously, a pool of 10 in Cracking is not impressive. And you don't have a deck so it doesn't even matter.
Stop trying to be a 1-man team because that just does not work in this system. Drop or at least lower the stuff outside of your core concept because, guaranteed, someone on your team should be doing it better.
And, again, 5 ways to hurt someone in the meat isn't being prepared, it's a massive amount of redundancy that will never, ever make itself worthwhile.
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Actually, by design, someone on the team should be doing EVERYTHING I do better. The character is designed to be the "Fallback" guy, that guy who is able to assist the primary, and fill in when needed (but not the first choice). I personally enjoy being the guy who can always help, but is not the best in the party.
As for the deck...first priority is kill a guy and get one :)
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Actually, by design, someone on the team should be doing EVERYTHING I do better. The character is designed to be the "Fallback" guy, that guy who is able to assist the primary, and fill in when needed (but not the first choice). I personally enjoy being the guy who can always help, but is not the best in the party.
As for the deck...first priority is kill a guy and get one :)
If you play in a classic Shadowrun setting my question as a GM would be: why would a Johnson hire Jack? If he is missing somebody in his runner team, he will hire a specialist to fill up the gap. If not - why hire somebody else? It would only mean that a) he picked bad runner (and this would mean that he has no money or is a douchebag) or b) that he has not enough information about the run's target (and this would also mean that he is a douchebag).
If your group is fine with it - go ahead :) But if not, the reason is exactly what WhiskeyJack pointed out: you're a generalist, not a specialist. I personally like it to play a Jack of all trades (which could be an interesting quality for this character btw, not only namewise), but Shadowrun is not the system for it.
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I agree. Its ok, even preferable to have some secondary skill areas. The problem here is that you don't have a primary skill area. Pick something and be much better at it, and then pick up another area or two that you are fair in. Don't try to do everything, you end up being fair to crappy in everything going that way. Your team will expect you to excel in your main focus, not be so-so in everything and likely be be outclassed by the first really nasty opponent you run into, be it matrix, magic, or physical.
Also, if I were your GM I would hand this character back to you an tell you to try again over the issue of not having a deck if you are going to be a decker. Gear is a game balance thing in Shadowrun. You have to invest priority in gear if you want to be the matrix guy (and not technomancer). If you honestly think you are just going to go find some schmuck with a piece of restricted electronics worth a couple of hundred thousand nuyen, "kill him" , and walk away with a free deck like its a easy and obvious thing, well, i will just say it would never, ever, fly at my table and leave it at that.
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The deck comment was a joke. More likely it will be using the actual decker's if something happens to him (And saving up a crap load to get a crappy one). FYI: Originally I had taken a 50k loan to get a deck, decided other complications were more inline with the character and had to cut it (It was a hard decision for me)
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Let me explain my goals for the character (Besides the RPG clearing his name)
If we think of character generation as making a character with the 5 priorities being how we focus all of are resources instead of what categories they go into
A-Primary (Decker-Hot deck, high skills in cracking and computers, high Logic)
B-Support for Primary (Decker-High other computer skills, high Intuition, various gear)
C-Secondary skill set (Decker-Some combat skills, decent Agility & Willpower, weapons and armor)
D- Good Flavor (Decker-Has some negotiations, repair skills, all other characteristics)
E-Poor Favor
I am trying to make a character who instead of being A+B+C+D+E would be C+C+C+C+C
So my question is would this character be able to do his designated goal of being a back up and helpful with out stealing limelight.
I do need a deck and think I might take the in debt quality back to get a basic one,( or play with the other priorities to see if I can squeeze my wealth to D instead of E), that is a EXTREMLY good point. However would everyone agree that 10 dice on the matrix is to low to be any help? That is what I am actually asking about
Edit: He is very good at one very small but useful thing: Healing spell 17dice pool
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I'm replying on my phone but will try to either put up an edit to this post or make another more thorough post when I get home. But what it boils down to is there are a lot of things you can do secondary in this game but frankly decker isn't one of them. I'm not sure that the aid rules would apply for you helping the decker and you can't really do it alone. If you really want to be a decker I'd look at getting Improved Ability for Hacking. Adepts make incredible AR hackers though.
I was thinking about the "why would you get hired" question and forgot to include that in my last post; glad others brought it up.
And seriously you have way too many combat skills. There's no point in them if you're also wanting to deck AND cast.
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I do need a deck and think I might take the in debt quality back to get a basic one,( or play with the other priorities to see if I can squeeze my wealth to D instead of E), that is a EXTREMLY good point. However would everyone agree that 10 dice on the matrix is to low to be any help? That is what I am actually asking about
Edit: He is very good at one very small but useful thing: Healing spell 17dice pool
This. You need a deck. You can't just say you are a secondary decker and will pick up your main's deck, if his brain gets fried. I see a problem with this - but let me answer you first. No, 10 dice won't be enough. Sadly :/ If you working your way through the barrens or a low zone - it may be okay. But as soon as you're trying to get into a normal to high class building or even fighting another decker, you are screwed. And a 50.000 Nuyen deck won't help you. The problem is, you are reliant so heavily on the ratings of the deck, that there is no reason to start below the hermes charriot. If you can pick up the Renraku it's even better.
Yeah, healing is cool. If you like it, maybe think about a doc? And this is no offense, this is a serious suggestion. Let me explain why (and what i ment with the problem above):
You said you like to be a supporter. Helping out the guys in your group. That's cool (honestly!). I like it. The problem is: if you play a "jack of all trades, master of none" you will face the problem that being worse then your opponent gets you killed quickly. Can't cast a magician to death? He will fry your body. Can't shoot the Sam down? He will crush you. Can't defeat the enemy decker? He will fry your brain. In Shadowrun surviving is really to be BETTER then your enemies.
And the second problem with this is: You don't have a lot to do on the table. If you don't have a lot of initiative, you are very much limited in fights. So you - as a player - will have long downtimes, watching your buddies (re)act. The same as a secondary decker: it's not really fun to watch your main decker doing the stuff, just waiting for him to get his head down - or too much overwatch score.
In this case: Maybe think about changing the characters concept a bit and stay closer to your own preferation of supporting the party! Ever thought about an hermetig support mage/doctor? You can pick a high Logic + Will, combine it with high Biotech-Skillgroup and spellcasting/summoning. Adding a few support spells like heal, increased reaction and maybe the concentrate quality and you will be a GREAT help for your group - not retaking somebodies place, but instead pushing the limits of your buddies into the skies. You have a lot more to do and everybody will happily rely on Jack - Master of Support ;)
I was thinking about the "why would you get hired" question and forgot to include that in my last post; glad others brought it up.
And seriously you have way too many combat skills. There's no point in them if you're also wanting to deck AND cast.
You're welcome ;)
No, seriously, this is a big problem with this character. It would feel a bit odd to hire him. Maybe he will fit well in a street level grey coat group, with a more "story-driven&character-centered" story line (without a lot of Johnsons), but not in a "classic" Shadowrun concept, sorry.
And what WhiskeyJack said! Forgot about pointing out the weapon skills. But like I said above, i would suggest to rethink the whole concept of the character.
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I want everyone to know that I am taking your comments seriously, while I do have some definite ideas that go against the grain for the character, I have found your comments useful. I guess what I am trying to say is that I really appreciate the advise and thank you. I am going to go back to revising the character some to incorporate your suggestions to make it match my wants as much as possible while being as effective as the limited concept will allow.
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Trodes!!! For the sweet love of Karma. Your losing a whole point of magic for a datajack. Do you know what the 6th point of magic is worth in terms of Karma?
Forget having a hole drilled, trodes work just fine.
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Long term plan is a whole point of essence lost to Cyberware before he is done (Datajack, Eyes, Orthoskin, etc...) I kind of did the datajack as a "Don't get use to it before it's gone" type of thing...
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Orthoskin isn't worth it. Soak is super cheap to come by in this game. Better things to fill the rest of that -1 Essence: low-rating cybereyes (smartlink mostly - vision mag etc aren't bad but really a smartlink retinal implant might be sufficient); Muscle Toner; Tailored Pheromones (only if you want to be a face sometimes); Cerebral Boosters (if your build is LOG-dependent or you're in a LOG-based magic tradition).
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Well I have a lot of time to decide on all the cyberware. The main thing I want is a good pair of eyes with Flare comp and smartlink, probably a vision (Thermo or low light) and maybe vis mag or the other vision. As for the boost in logic, took care of that on the rewrite which I will be posting in the next post.
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Ok, I have listened to you all, really I have. :)
Still trying to be a bit of everything, but reduced the weapon skills to 2 (Blades and Auto's). I also changed the spells a little to play up on my great casting of health based spells while being able to help myself with my other goals. As seen he will normally have one of his increase spells up depending on what "mode" he is in. Add +3 to Agility and logic when reviewing
I did talk to the GM, and he is allowing me to take in debt at 0 karma with a karma payback of 0 (Still on the hook for the 75k). I know the deck ain't great but overclocker should help
I realize that I have my weapon specs for weapons I don't carry. That is in part character story part, and part planning on fixing with money after game starts
Thinking of dropping the datajack to a standard instead of an alpha. At which point I can reexamine some of the gear.
Jack
METATYPE: HUMAN
B 3, A 3, R 1/3, S 1, W 5, L 5, I 5, C 5, ESS 5.92, EDG 2, M 5
Condition Monitor (P/S): 10 / 11
Armor: 9
Limits: Physical 3, Mental 7, Social 7
Physical Initiative: 6/8+3D6
Matrix Initiative: 8+3D6
Active Skills: Arcana 2, Assensing 3, Automatics (Submachine Guns +2) 4, Biotech Group 1, Blades (Swords +2) 6, Clubs 2, Computer 4, Conjuring Group 3, Counterspelling 5, Cracking Group 4, Influence Group 2, Perception 5, Sneaking 4, Software 2, Spellcasting (Health Spells +2) 6
Knowledge Skills: Code of Bushido 3, Corp Culture (Shiawase +2) 1, Magical Theroy 3, Matrix Security 3, Myths & Legends (Samurai +2) 1, Poetry 1, Small Unit Tactics (Urban +2) 1, Sprawl Life 1
Languages: English 3, Japanese N
Qualities: Big Regret, Code of Honor: The Path of the Samurai (10dicepool vs. 4), Focused Concentration (3), In Debt (Borrowed 50,000¥, Owes 75,000¥) (10), Mentor Spirit: Magician Powers: Bear, Magician Powers, Overclocker, Poor Self Control - Compulsive (Personal) (1): Clear his name, Quick Healer, Records on File (1): Sin, Shinto Mystic Adept
Spells: Heal, Increase Agility, Increase Logic, Powerbolt, Stunball
Adept Powers: Astral Perception, Attribute Boost (2): Strength (7dicepool), Improved Reflexes (2), Memory Displacement, Natural Immunity (2), Nimble Fingers
Augmentations:
. . Datajack (Alphaware)
Gear:
. . Armor Vest
. . Backpack
. . Certified Credstick, Standard
. . Erika MCD-1 w/ Encryption, Sim Module, Modified for Hot Sim
. . Flashlight
. . Glasses (1) w/ Image Link
. . Identity: Specify Name w/ Fake License: Decker (1), Fake License: Magic (1), Fake License: Weapon (1), Fake SIN (1), (1 month) Squatter Lifestyle
. . Meta Link Commlink w/ Datasoft: The Art of War, The Book of Five Rings, The Tale of the Heike, and other assorted samurai , Mapsoft: Campaign City
. . Plastic Restraints x20
. . Respirator (1)
Weapons:
. . Ceska Black Scorpion [Machine Pistol, Acc 5, DV 6P, AP –, SA/BF, RC (1), 35 (c)] w/ Folding Stock, (100x) Regular Ammo, Spare Clips
. . Bokken [Club, Reach 1, Acc 4, DV 4P, AP –]
. . Knife [Blade, Acc 5, DV 2P, AP -1]
Contacts:
Dan the Ghoul (Connection 2, Loyalty 2)
Sam Man (Connection 4, Loyalty 2)
Saw (Connection 4, Loyalty 1)
Starting ¥: 2D6 × 40¥
Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at http://www.wolflair.com
Shadowrun © 2005-2015 The Topps Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Shadowrun is a registered trademark of The Topps Company, Inc.
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I'm not as experienced as other posters, but a few things that stood out to me:
Limits:
Physical Limit of 3 - You can only get 3 hits on various physical tests (like dodging ...) so your character seems pretty squishy
Skills
Arcana 2 - Arcana isn't used for too much at the start, I'd drop that
Assessing 3 - Assessing is very useful, you'd probably want to raise that (even for a jack of all trades)
Automatics - Even with your specialization you're only rolling 9 dice ... this is pretty low. I'd take 2 points something (Clubs, since its useless) to boost this up.
Blades - You pumped this a bit, but your physical limit is so low ...
Clubs 2 - You already have blades and automatics, whats the point of having clubs?
Conjuring Group 3 - This is pretty useless for you. You don't get enough dice for binding, really, and banishing is not worth it unless you're built for it. So you're essentially taking the group for summoning, which seems a waste. Why not use those points in the electronics group instead. Then you also free up points you put in Computer and Software (heck, you could take summoning 6 with the points you free up).
Influence Group 2 - You'll have a dice pool of 7 for these tests, which is honestly a bit of a waste. Instead you should put the points towards the cracking group
Augmentations:
Why start with a datajack? You can always add it later. It just makes you a lot weaker out of char-gen for almost no benefit
Gear:
You've taken blades with a proficiency in swords ... and you're not starting with a sword.
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Note: Increased Agility and Focused concentration 3. This makes the martial skills 12. Also the limit on weapons is based on accuracy not physical
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Good thing to hear, you didn't take our comments personal ;) Really looking forward to see your char, so let's start right away :)
1) Don't be angry, but: could you skip the 2 points in clubs? Actually Blades 6 (+Swords) should be WAY enough to act in CC. You would save 2 skillpoints/6 karma (forgot if you did Priorities or KarmaGen).
2) The Conjuring group on 3 won't help you very much - sadly :/ I would suggest to skip it (save 30 karma) and bring summoning up to 5 (spending 30 karma). Banishing and Binding are actually not very easy. You won't come very far with a DP of 9. Only if you plan ahead for the future (i.e. putting more karma in the skill group later on) it is okay to grab it like this. But keep in mind: you only save karma by grabbing a skill group, if you really use ALL THREE skills. If you only need two, you start to save karma just raising these two by themselves.
3) Would drop Arcana to 1 and save one skillpoint/4 karma. A DP of 6 or 7 - not much difference, and you will rarely use it. It is a nice-to-have-skill though.
4) Rather then Software i would pick up Hardware (fixing stuff is more common then creating programs).
5) Keep in mind that most social skills are opposed tests. This means, that your DP of 7 with all skills of the influence group are not worth as much as normal 7 dice would be. Keep in mind that a DP of 6 would be a normal pool of your target, you're trying to influence. If you really want to succed in some social tests, i would suggest to have at least a DP of 10.
6) The physical limit is way too low. Shooting/dodging/slicing/dicing - all with a limit of 3? You will need at least 5 to make it work. Half of your dice pool is a good amount, so perfect would be 7 actually (for swords with a DP of 14, if your AGI boost works as intended).
Rest of the skills look good. Maxing out stuff is (almost) always good ;)
And just for clarification: I'm as well the flavour kind of guy, who needs a kick in the ass to make his characters straight forward and not too much JoaT. So, this is really no offense, i'm just writing down, what i see so far!
Hm... taking the Erika Cyberdeck, hm? Okay. Then try at least to pick up the Transys Avalon Commlink (5 grants). You can use it as the master of your pan. The best firewall you can get out of your deck is 4 (3 + 1 out of Overclock). The Avalon has a Device Rating of 6, which is easily 1 or even 5 points better. For only 5.000, a price boost of only 10% of the deck's cost. Maybe this will help you out a bit (and your group, if they rely on you as a decker).
Edit: Was mistaken, as you can re-read here:
http://forums.shadowruntabletop.com/rules-and-such/matrix-defenses-commlink-and-deck-interactions-datajack-to-deck/msg366908/#msg366908
But honestly: with attributes of 5-3-2-1(which you can switch to 6 slaving it to the commlink), it won't be easy. And also you can only run 1(!) program at the time. That means, you have to constantly switch programs. Don't know, if this is a good idea actually. But give it a try. We will see, how your GM will handle it.
One thing to the Glasses w/ smartlink: Keep in mind that you can only use vision enhancements with spellcasting, if you have paid Essence for it. But you can use it for shooting, no problem.
Pretty weird weapons... like i said, no need for the club. A knife is... okay (but a BIG knife is no big investment, right?). And the MP is maybe the worst i've seen so far :D Keep in mind that the FA mode allows you to shoot suppressing fire, which is very useful. And a damage value of 6 is very low. A SMG is not really expensive, maybe you can switch it up for the Ares SIGMA 3 or the Ingram Smartgun.
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Note: Increased Agility and Focused concentration 3. This makes the martial skills 12. Also the limit on weapons is based on accuracy not physical
As far as i know, you pick the lower limit. A high accuracy won't help anybody, who has shaking hands like the target shivering in fear in front of your gun's barrel ^^
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Read example on pg 47. Clearly defines that ACC not Phys lim
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Read example on pg 47. Clearly defines that ACC not Phys lim
This is true (as far as I know), however specific defense actions still use your physical limit. Those would be relevant if you are investing heavily in melee weaponry
*EDIT* Also, I've seen mentioned elsewhere on this forum that your primary attack should use 14-16 dice, while your secondary can be around 10-12. You do need some attack you know will be fairly reliable in downing enemies.
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Read example on pg 47. Clearly defines that ACC not Phys lim
Wow. Really? Don't have the book here right now. If this is right, it would be more then... okay, whatsoever. Next question actually is, what do you do when you hit a target in CC. Because you won't do damage with STR 1 :/ So maybe grab Clubs instead and go for a Stun Baton? Or Exotic Melee (Chainsaw) and take the free 12P/-8 Ash Arms Monofilament Chainsaw ;)
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Biotech Group 1 and no medkit: still just a huge waste, oh you healed someone of 1 box....terrible.
Attribute Boost: STR doesn't add to melee damage. Read the power. It's worthless.
Conjuring Group 3: as others said you won't be able to summon anything of high enough Force to be good, let alone Bind it
Clubs 2: still bad
Software 2: still pretty pointless
Arcana 2: in practice, only important to initiate, i.e. something you buy with karma not something that gives you any benefit at start
Powerbolt is a much worse spell than Lightning Bolt. By far.
The only real way to build a decker/mage is to make a decker primary whose decking is boosted by magic, i.e. sustained spells and often adept powers. Your build doesn't work because the decking and magic are trying to do two different things but you still only get so many actions a pass. If you have 8 options and can only use 1 per pass, you're being very wasteful. It's better to cut that down to 3-4 options, of which you select 1. Take for example Clubs. You're better off running than fighting with a club with that dice pool, or I dunno, CASTING A SPELL as you are heavily invested in.
You've built a character who is trying to be a street sam, a mage, AND a decker. It doesn't really work and it shows.
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I think the TO suffers from the same addiction as myself, trying to build high diversified characters (skillwise). A lot in this thread reminds me of the stuff i actually do in my own...
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Just read attribute boost: nothing about it not adding to damage. It does not add to limits or initiative, but says nothing about damage. Which also answers the 1 Str question :)
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Just read attribute boost: nothing about it not adding to damage. It does not add to limits or initiative, but says nothing about damage. Which also answers the 1 Str question :)
"This only affects your dice pools; your Physical limit and Initiative ratings don’t change with Attribute Boost."
Damage is not a dice pool. It's a static value, like Initiative or a Limit.
As it is, the only real worthwhile boosts are AGI, for to-hit, and REA, to boost dodge rolls (but not initiative). BOD isn't worth it because soak is such a cheaply-obtained resource.
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Yup, your right. Need to rethink this some...maybe replace the attribute boost with Criticals...that would be +1 (I also plan on karma to raise strength)
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Yup, your right. Need to rethink this some...maybe replace the attribute boost with Criticals...that would be +1 (I also plan on karma to raise strength)
I know you're going for jack of all trades, but I think you need to cut back some of that in order to enable you to be passable at multiple roles
Completely drop blades and forget about engaging in melee. Just use automatics and spells for combat.
Like Whiskeyjack suggested, focus on decking with spells as a backup. That already gives you a wide range of skills; magical, hacking, maybe even some hardware as well. You'll have spell attacks, you'll have weapon attacks. You won't be as strong in magical combat as a focused mage, you won't be anywhere near a street sam in physical combat, and you'll hopefully be passable in matrix combat.
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To much of the background of the character for me to completely drop the sword fighting, would be more likely to drop Automatics first (after all range is covered with spells). However here is the current version. I dropped agility by one to add one to strength. Also got rid of the attribute push for crit strike. Some other shifting around to have him have swords
Jack "Ultra" Lee
METATYPE: HUMAN
B 2, A 2, R 1/3, S 2, W 5, L 5, I 6, C 5, ESS 5.9, EDG 2, M 5
Condition Monitor (P/S): 9 / 11
Armor: 11
Limits: Physical 4, Mental 7, Social 7
Physical Initiative: 7/9+3D6
Matrix Initiative: 9+3D6
Active Skills: Arcana 2, Assensing 4, Automatics (Submachine Guns +2) 4, Blades (Swords +2) 6, Counterspelling 5, Cracking Group 4, Electronics Group 4, Influence Group 2, Perception 6, Sneaking (Urban +2) 4, Spellcasting (Health Spells +2) 6, Summoning 5
Knowledge Skills: Code of Bushido 3, Corp Culture (Shiawase +2) 2, Magical Theroy 3, Matrix Security 3, Myths & Legends (Samurai +2) 1, Poetry 1, Small Unit Tactics (Urban +2) 1, Sprawl Life 1
Languages: English 4, Japanese N
Qualities: Big Regret, Code of Honor: The Path of the Samurai (10dicepool vs. 4), Focused Concentration (3), In Debt (Borrowed 50,000¥, Owes 75,000¥) (10), Mentor Spirit: Magician Powers: Bear, Magician Powers, Overclocker, Poor Self Control - Compulsive (Personal) (1): Clear his name, Quick Healer, Records on File (1): Sin, Shinto Mystic Adept
Spells: Heal, Increase Agility, Increase Logic, Powerbolt, Stunball
Adept Powers: Astral Perception, Attribute Boost (2): Strength (7dicepool), Critical Strike: Blades, Improved Potential: Physical Limit, Improved Reflexes (2)
Augmentations:
. . Datajack
Gear:
. . Armor Vest
. . Backpack
. . Certified Credstick, Standard
. . Erika MCD-1 w/ Encryption, Sim Module, Modified for Hot Sim
. . Flashlight
. . Glasses (1) w/ Image Link
. . Helmet
. . Jonah Rim w/ Fake License: Decker (1), Fake License: Magic (1), Fake License: Weapon (1), Fake SIN (1), (1 month) Squatter Lifestyle
. . Kimono
. . Meta Link Commlink w/ Datasoft: The Art of War, The Book of Five Rings, The Tale of the Heike, and other assorted samurai , Mapsoft: Campaign City
. . Plastic Restraints x20
. . Respirator (1)
Weapons:
. . Bokken [Club, Reach 1, Acc 4, DV 5P, AP –]
. . Knife [Blade, Acc 5, DV 4P, AP -1]
. . Wakizashi [Blade,Blade, Reach 1, Acc 6, DV 6P, AP -2]
Contacts:
Dan the Ghoul (Connection 2, Loyalty 2)
Sam Man (Connection 4, Loyalty 2)
Saw (Connection 4, Loyalty 1)
Starting ¥: 25 + (2D6 × 40)¥
Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at http://www.wolflair.com
Shadowrun © 2005-2015 The Topps Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Shadowrun is a registered trademark of The Topps Company, Inc.
Did Change out for Lightning Bolt
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So I am really starting to suspect my GM just likes delaying the game so that I keep tinkering...He knows I can't help myself
So current version, he is poor in physical combat still, but his karma will be going to helping there. Plan is to improve agility then strength and reaction
Otherwise I think that with judicial use of BUFF spells he should work fairly well as a Face, a Decker, Combat Mage, or a (ranged) street sam
Please note, goal is to be passable in each roll but not overshadow the real ones (IE the dedicated decker should be better etc...). The name Jonah is a inside joke/reference that I hope a fellow player will get
Not sure if I like the Street name of Jack now that he does not have a data jack...
Jack
METATYPE: HUMAN
B 3, A 1, R 1/3, S 2/3, W 5, L 3, I 6, C 3, ESS 6, EDG 3, M 6
Condition Monitor (P/S): 10 / 11
Armor: 9
Limits: Physical 4, Mental 6, Social 6
Physical Initiative: 7/9+3D6
Matrix Initiative: 9+3D6
Active Skills: Assensing 6, Automatics (Submachine Guns +2) 6, Blades (Swords +2) 6, Counterspelling 6, Cracking Group 6, Electronics Group 4, Etiquette (Corporate +2) 4, Negotiation (Bargaining +2) 4, Perception 6, Sneaking 6, Spellcasting 6
Knowledge Skills: Code of Bushido 4, Corp Culture (Shiawase +2) 2, Myths & Legends (Samurai +2) 2, Small Unit Tactics (Urban +2) 2
Languages: English (Speak +2) 4, Japanese N
Qualities: Big Regret, Buddhist Mystic Adept, Code of Honor: The Path of the Samurai (8dicepool vs. 4), Focused Concentration (3), In Debt (Borrowed 50,000¥, Owes 75,000¥) (10), Mentor Spirit: Magician Powers: Bear, Magician Powers, Poor Self Control - Compulsive (Personal) (1): Clear his name, Quick Healer, Records on File (1): Shiawase
Spells: Heal, Increase Agility, Increase Charisma, Increase Logic, Lightning Bolt, Magic Fingers, Stunball
Adept Powers: Astral Perception, Improved Ability (2): Computer, Improved Physical Attribute (1): Strength, Improved Reflexes (2), Improved Sense: Damper, Improved Sense: Ultrasound Sensor
Gear:
. . Armor Vest
. . Certified Credstick, Standard
. . Erika MCD-1 w/ Browse, Datasoft: The Art of War, The Book of Five Rings, The Tale of the Heike, and other assorted samurai , Encryption, Signal Scrub, Sim Module, Modified for Hot Sim
. . Goggles (1) w/ Image Link
. . Jonah Rim w/ Fake License: Decker (1), Fake License: Magic (1), Fake License: Weapon (1), Fake SIN (1), (1 month) Squatter Lifestyle
. . Kimono
. . Meta Link Commlink
. . Trodes
Weapons:
. . HK-227X [SMG, Acc 5, DV 8P, AP -1, SA/BF/FA, RC (1), 28 (c)] w/ (30x) Explosive Rounds, Folding Stock, Gecko Grip, Silencer/Suppressor, Smartgun System, Internal
. . Tanto [Blade, Acc 6, DV 5P, AP -3]
. . Wakizashi [Blade,Blade, Reach 1, Acc 6, DV 6P, AP -2]
Contacts:
Larry (Connection 2, Loyalty 1)
Trix (Connection 4, Loyalty 2)
Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at http://www.wolflair.com
Shadowrun © 2005-2015 The Topps Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Shadowrun is a registered trademark of The Topps Company, Inc.
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Not sure if I like the Street name of Jack now that he does not have a data jack...
He is still a Jack of all trades, master of none. So in the end, the name fits pretty well ;)
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Decking isn't really something you can dabble in. It's an unforgiving specialty. It seems like this character could be a pretty good mage, but spends too many resources being a bargain-basement physical combatant (Why? You have spells - guns should be, at best, a back-up weapon) and a third-rate decker. A mage is a generalist by having summoning (and maybe binding) and a useful assortment of spells.
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Think of it like this - a Johnson has a job and he is looking for a group of specialist in certain fields. He needs individuals to fit certain needs. He's looking for someone who can be the muscle, someone who can provide fire support, a talented individual who can manipulate the arcane and support the two mundanes, and someone who can provide matrix infiltration.
Would you hire your character to fill any of these roles and be successful?
From my point of view if I was a respectable Johnson... No. My reasoning would be his lack of ability to, not only to protect himself, but his lack of specialization. Even with a body of 3, anyone experienced can look at him and see that he's frail as a feather. If you want to be a Mystic Adept and be a hacker, you need to either focus on being a wireless hacker, or drop some magical skills and pick up Lockpicking, Stealth and some illusion spells to fool cameras/sensors. If you want to be a decker, either an AR decker or VR decker, you need to go full bore or specialize in something else.
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First let me say, I know it goes against conventional character design wisdom, however I think you are underestimating Jack some.
However let me ask would this character be better in your opinions? He is loosely based on Jack
Spyder
METATYPE: DWARF
B 3, A 1, R 1/3, S 3, W 5, L 5/6, I 6, C 3, ESS 4.7, EDG 3
Condition Monitor (P/S): 10 / 11
Armor: 9
Limits: Physical 4, Mental 8, Social 6
Physical Initiative: 7/9+3D6
Matrix Initiative: 10+3D6
Active Skills: Automatics (Machine Pistols +2) 6, Computer 6, Cracking Group 6, Etiquette 3, Hardware 4, Perception 6, Sneaking 6, Software 4
Knowledge Skills: Bars (Seatle +2) 2, Security (Matrix +2) 6
Languages: English N, German 6, Japanese 6
Metatype Abilities: Dwarf Networking, Enhanced Senses: Thermographic Vision, Resistance: Pathogens and Toxins +2
Qualities: Code of Honor: White Hats, the Code of the Hacker (8dicepool vs. 4), Jack of All Trades, Master of None, Quick Healer, Weak Immune System
Augmentations:
. . Cerebral Booster (1)
. . Datajack
. . Synaptic Booster (2)
Gear:
. . Armor Vest
. . Certified Credstick, Silver
. . Contacts (3) w/ Flare Compensation, Image Link, Smartlink
. . Ear buds (1)
. . Flashlight
. . Identity: Specify Name w/ Fake License: Matrix (3), Fake SIN (3), (1 month) Middle Lifestyle
. . Medkit (3)
. . Metal Restraints
. . Micro-Tranceiver
. . Novatech Navigator w/ Armor, Browse, Configurator, Edit, Encryption, Signal Scrub, Sim Module, Modified for Hot Sim, Toolbox
. . Plastic Restraints x10
. . Renraku Sensei Commlink w/ Mapsoft: Campaign City
. . Respirator (1)
. . Survival Kit
Weapons:
. . Ares Crusader II [Machine Pistol, Acc 7, DV 8P, AP -1, SA/BF, RC 2, 40 (c)] w/ (40x) Explosive Rounds, Gas-Vent System (2), Smartgun System, Internal
. . Knife [Blade, Acc 5, DV 4P, AP -1]
Contacts:
Fixer (Connection 4, Loyalty 2)
Script Kiddie (Connection 2, Loyalty 1)
Starting ¥: 65 + (4D6 × 100)¥
Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at http://www.wolflair.com
Shadowrun © 2005-2015 The Topps Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Shadowrun is a registered trademark of The Topps Company, Inc.
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Metatype Abilities: Dwarf Networking
Excuse me?
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It's from run faster. Part of being a dwarf now...has to do with social skills
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Dwarves are automatically on the short list.
Looking at the character, I don't think it is an improvement over the other one. He's a suboptimal but functional decker - and that's it. He can maybe contribute to a firefight, and can sneak a bit, but he doesn't have anything I would call secondary specialties. I think both characters would have been better if they had something other than skills in priority A.
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Spyder is:
A: Wealth B: Skills C: Race D: Attributes E: Magic
Yes, he is sub optimal, but would his hacking skills be hirable? In other words: Are his hacking abilities passable, but he would need some other abilities to make him truly decent in the shadows?
Jack is
A: Skills, B: Magic, C: Attributes, D: Race, E: Money
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A couple things:
First, thank you all for the help. I like feedback even when it is negative. I do not agree with everything people are saying, but I do appreciate it. I do think the idea that a Johnson would not hire someone who was not a specialist is not necessarily accurate, as I think their main objective is getting the job done and that a utility player can be very helpful as an insurance measure, However see the end of this post
Second let me say that I think his hacking skills are workable (However I will say that early drafts were not). Assuming I have my logic spell at three hits I might even out do our normal decker in ability (But not in gear, so that is still a significant issue I will have to deal with in game). The reason for Spyder was to illustrate what his hacker side can be when he has his Inc Logic spell up.
Third, I am a tinkerer by nature, so changes will probably be made up to game day (Next sunday). I do not want to overshoot our street mage in ability, but I think in one section of spell casting I will (She throws 14 dice in combat and illusion spells, 12 elsewhere). So am going to focus on being a buffer (Already is when you look at it, but going to move one spec to give an impressive (to me) 16 dice with health spells and 18 with the Heal spell.
Street Sam ability: our group does not have one, however we have a lot of "Combat ____________" meaning that most characters can fill in for it. This one is probably the bottom of the pack but should be able to (Assuming my Increase Agility).
Our face has broader interpersonal skills, so should not take the light from them
As a buffer I will be throwing 16 dice on Increase (Agility/Logic/Charisma). Should be a decent boost to whoever needs it. I figure force 5 versions have little risk of drain, while higher will probably give me a touch of drain (avoiding casting over 6 however)
WHY HIRE/HIS CARD
"Jack"
Primary Spec: Master of augmentative and healing magic
Secondary: Overwatcher (Astral, Matrix & Mundane)
Tricary: Jack of all trades
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I really like that you stick to your idea. Actually, i found out that players of SR are getting more and more... hm... let's say "cautious" building new characters, and starting to prioritize heavily on efficiency. This i guess is strictly correlated to the fact, that in the world of SR everybody tries to betray you, to decieve you and even to kill you - if it is profitable for him/her. So being a pro in one thing and add your skills to a group is more effective. It let's you (maybe) lose the focus on being an individuum that managed to survive on the streets in a dstopian future. Wich means not to die rolling your first climbin test, because you didn't spend points for the athletic group.
No, in fact: i like characters way more, that are polyvalent but not as effective. Because they can survive a lot of situations.Or have multiple solutions for problems. I had the same discussion with our GM. He finally said, if you roll 10 dice or more, you are fine. If you want to be a real expert go up to 15. This leaves us room to fluffwise build our characters and make them survive the acid rain of puyallup and the barrens of redmond. Because i get off track really often, this forum helps me a lot to re-focus and get on point again, but i really like that you stick to your idea and not stepping into the trap of being a - what we say in germany - an expert idiot who can only do ONE thing. But i think this is also related to your level of play. Prime Runner have to be experts, on street level you can play more diversified characters.
Anyway, long story short: a lot of fun and please tell us, how it was to play Jack :)
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Had a long post, but at it's root was just two words
Thank you.
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With Data trails was able to make some adjustments...here is the current
Unnamed Hero
METATYPE: HUMAN
B 3, A 4, R 1/4, S 1, W 5, L 4, I 6, C 4, ESS 6, EDG 2, M 6
Condition Monitor (P/S): 10 / 11
Armor: 14
Limits: Physical 3, Mental 7, Social 7
Physical Initiative: 7/10+4D6
Active Skills: Assensing 6, Automatics 6, Blades (Swords +2) 5, Computer (Matrix Perception +2) 6, Counterspelling 6, Cracking Group 6, Influence Group 4, Perception 6, Sneaking (Urban +2) 1, Spellcasting (Health Spells +2) 6
Knowledge Skills: Mystic Theory 4, Myths and Legends (Samurai +2) 2, Security 4, Small Unit Tactics (Urban +2) 4
Languages: English 4, Japanese N
Qualities: Big Regret, Buddhist Mystic Adept, Code of Honor: The Path of the Samurai (9dicepool vs. 4), Focused Concentration (3), In Debt (Borrowed 50,000¥, Owes 75,000¥) (10), Mentor Spirit: Magician Powers: Bear, Magician Powers, Poor Self Control - Compulsive (Personal) (1): Clearing his name, Quick Healer, Records on File (1): SHIAWASE
Spells: Heal, Increase Strength, Magic Fingers, Stunbolt, Trid Phantasm
Adept Powers: Astral Perception, Combat Sense (2), Improved Reflexes (3), Improved Sense: Damper, Improved Sense: Ultrasound Sensor
Gear:
. . Armor Jacket w/ Fire Resistance (6), Nonconductivity (6)
. . Backpack
. . Ballistic Mask (Customized) w/ Flare Compensation, Micro-Tranceiver, Respirator (6), Smartlink, Trodes
. . Certified Credstick, Standard
. . Contacts (3) w/ Image Link, Thermographic Vision
. . Datasoft: The Art of War, The Book of Five Rings, The Tale of the Heike, and other assorted samurai
. . Flashlight
. . Identity: Specify Name w/ Fake License: Cyber security (4), Fake License: Magic (4), Fake License: Weapon (4), Fake SIN (4), (1 month) Squatter Lifestyle
. . Kimono
. . Mapsoft: Campaign City
. . Plastic Restraints x20
. . Transys Avalon Commlink w/ Attack Dongle level 4 (4), Hammer, Sim Module
Weapons:
. . Ares Crusader II [Machine Pistol, Acc 7, DV 7P, AP –, SA/BF, RC 2, 40 (c)] w/ Gas-Vent System (2), (40x) Gel Rounds, (80x) Regular Ammo, Silencer/Suppressor, Smartgun System, Internal, (2x) Spare Clips
. . Ingram Smartgun X [SMG, Acc 6, DV 8P, AP –, BF/FA, RC 2(3), 32 (c)] w/ Folding Stock, Gas-Vent System (2), (30x) Regular Ammo, Silencer/Suppressor, Sling, Smartgun System, Internal
. . Katana [Blade,Blade, Reach 1, Acc 7, DV 4P, AP -3]
. . Survival Tanto [Blade, Acc 5, DV 3P, AP -1]
. . Wakizashi [Blade,Blade, Reach 1, Acc 6, DV 4P, AP -2]
Contacts:
Fixer (Connection 4, Loyalty 2)
Mobster (Connection 3, Loyalty 1)
Street Kid (Connection 1, Loyalty 1)
Starting ¥: 2D6 × 40¥
Ammunition & Resources:
. . Ares Crusader II - Regular Ammo x40
. . Ingram Smartgun X - Regular Ammo x30
. . Edge Pool - 0/2
. . Spirit Index - 0
Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at http://www.wolflair.com
Shadowrun © 2005-2015 The Topps Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Shadowrun is a registered trademark of The Topps Company, Inc.
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Actually, by design, someone on the team should be doing EVERYTHING I do better. The character is designed to be the "Fallback" guy, that guy who is able to assist the primary, and fill in when needed (but not the first choice). I personally enjoy being the guy who can always help, but is not the best in the party.
As for the deck...first priority is kill a guy and get one :)
If you play in a classic Shadowrun setting my question as a GM would be: why would a Johnson hire Jack? If he is missing somebody in his runner team, he will hire a specialist to fill up the gap. If not - why hire somebody else? It would only mean that a) he picked bad runner (and this would mean that he has no money or is a douchebag) or b) that he has not enough information about the run's target (and this would also mean that he is a douchebag).
If your group is fine with it - go ahead :) But if not, the reason is exactly what WhiskeyJack pointed out: you're a generalist, not a specialist. I personally like it to play a Jack of all trades (which could be an interesting quality for this character btw, not only namewise), but Shadowrun is not the system for it.
OMFG I litterally bursted out laughing reading this you need people to pick up the slack, accidents can and will happen plans will go to drek seen runs turned a complete 180 when the decker got fried. then the rigger who had some hacking skill got in and saved the runs bacon or the rigger got shot and at least someone knew how to drive. Im sorry but even SWAT teams cross train
-
With Data trails was able to make some adjustments...here is the current
[...]
1. It may (or may not) be a good idea to go AGI 3 + STR 2 + Aged II neg quality. More knowledge skills and a better limit plus you can get rid of some other negatives.
2. Isn't Slease dongle better for you?
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With Data trails was able to make some adjustments...here is the current
[...]
1. It may (or may not) be a good idea to go AGI 3 + STR 2 + Aged II neg quality. More knowledge skills and a better limit plus you can get rid of some other negatives.
2. Isn't Slease dongle better for you?
You do realise that the Aged II Quality means his character would be in his 60s, don't you? Where in his description does that get mentioned?
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OMFG I litterally bursted out laughing reading this you need people to pick up the slack, accidents can and will happen plans will go to drek seen runs turned a complete 180 when the decker got fried. then the rigger who had some hacking skill got in and saved the runs bacon or the rigger got shot and at least someone knew how to drive. Im sorry but even SWAT teams cross train
Precisely our point. The rigger (primary) knows how to do a little decking (secondary). The street samurai (primary) knows how to drive a truck (secondary). The mage (primary) can bargain pretty well (secondary). The point that was made about the original character, Rooks, was that he's nothing primary - he's ALL secondary, and nobody's going to hire a nothing-but-secondary guy unless they literally can't get a specialist (i.e. a standard primary/secondary character) on short notice. I WILL say that someone like this should have a lot of contacts, a lot of fixers on his speed-dial, so that he is (or becomes) the go-to guy when you absolutely need someone in 30 minutes or less. He isn't unplayable, he's just in a relatively weak negotiating position, especially when it comes to a team.
I DO know whereof I speak. Hawatari (of Pananagutan (http://bit.ly/SBqoj0)) started out - and continued - pretty much as a generalist. She was very good with a blade, and pretty good with a pistol, and could facetime somewhat, and had a classical 'security' education (meaning a little bit of Arcana / Magical Background knowledge), and she was not bad on a motorcycle, and and and and and. She became the center of the group not because she was 2nd Best at almost everything (which she was), but because she had the knowledge base to see how magic could interact with drones, or the matrix support a HAHO insertion, or whatever; she was the Mastermind. And the only reason she wasn't the best at close combat was because Isamu (seen in the early 'modern' chapters) was almost nothing BUT a swordsman, and an adept to boot.
Such characters can be the most fun to play - but you really have to know what you're doing, and you often have to be able to enable the other PCs into doing an even better job with you than they would without you.
-
With Data trails was able to make some adjustments...here is the current
[...]
1. It may (or may not) be a good idea to go AGI 3 + STR 2 + Aged II neg quality. More knowledge skills and a better limit plus you can get rid of some other negatives.
2. Isn't Slease dongle better for you?
You do realise that the Aged II Quality means his character would be in his 60s, don't you? Where in his description does that get mentioned?
Of course I do. Is it prohibited to come up with new ideas here? I don't recall JmOz01 mentioned that the character backstory is set in stone. OP even tried different metatypes, so why not? It is up to him to decide if he likes my suggestions or not anyway.
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I'm sorry if you took it as a personal affront, it's just there is a fairly detailed character timeline and it indicates a character in his 20s. The other thing is that there are an awful lot of people who suggest qualities purely for the mechanical benefits and ignore the fluff.
Also, and this is on me, as someone stuck in a wheelchair your sig tends to grate. Take it from me, it's not a bad thing to be in a wheelchair when the circumstances leading up to it could easily have resulted in death. I mistook your intentions and apologise.
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Actually his negatives (Except debt) are pretty much locked in. They are exactly what I want for him. The debt me and the GM have a deal where I am not getting karma for it, but don't need to spend karma to get out of it either...
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I do have a problem on the rewrite. I screwed up the cost of the dongle. So need to downgrade it a level, which brings his hacking limit to 3. Thinking of using the program slot for decryption instead of hammer to bring it up to 4, admittedly reduces the damage possibility, but I think I need a CC rating of at least 4 for any chance of success...
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Also, and this is on me, as someone stuck in a wheelchair your sig tends to grate. Take it from me, it's not a bad thing to be in a wheelchair when the circumstances leading up to it could easily have resulted in death.
Now I feel like a burnt-out firepit. Sorry about that. :-\
Actually his negatives (Except debt) are pretty much locked in. They are exactly what I want for him. The debt me and the GM have a deal where I am not getting karma for it, but don't need to spend karma to get out of it either...
Oh, didn't realise that! And you got yourself a sweet deal with In Debt costing no karma.
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Not that sweet actually. There is a provision in in debt that allows you to pay it off with other neg qualities w/Gm approval. He is just letting me have those negs early (as I said the other negs are exactly what I want for this guy...Until he trades them for his Limited corp SIN back, after he clears his name)
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I do have a problem on the rewrite. I screwed up the cost of the dongle. So need to downgrade it a level, which brings his hacking limit to 3. Thinking of using the program slot for decryption instead of hammer to bring it up to 4, admittedly reduces the damage possibility, but I think I need a CC rating of at least 4 for any chance of success...
How much money do you need exactly? You can get rid of some Fire resistance in your armor...
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24k. With dropping it to 3 I still needed 3k which I got by gutting the Armored Jacket (now just a jacket, no mods).
I misread the price and thought it was X*2*3,000 not X^2*3000.
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Tough luck then.
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A hacking limit of 3 is not good enough to really do anything quite frankly. And you don't have the Edge to consistently break the Limit.
I might look into making the katana a weapon focus.....wait, Blades 5 with STR 1 and a need of a round of set up to use it well, AGI 4....never mind.
You're still way too all over the place to be hirable IMO but at this point it's neither here nor there. Have fun with your group though frankly this character isn't likely to live very long if an enemy decides to put him down.
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Wow, so negative...
I will SO ENJOY this character...
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Wow, so negative...
I will SO ENJOY this character...
I hope you'll have fun with it.
But effectiveness is not that subjective. The only place subjectivity comes in is knowing what kind of opponents your GM has historically thrown at you. By reading the game rules it's pretty easy to see that this character is pulled in a lot of different competence directions and suffers for it with relatively low pools or Limits. I'm not being negative, I'm looking at your mechanics and being realistic.
Like I said I hope you have fun playing the character. I don't personally enjoy playing a character in Shadowrun who is not some kind of expert in one field or another but I'm not saying my way is the right way to approach the game. I AM saying that from a reading of the rules and an objective perspective, having low dice pools and Limits might translate into being less effective than you hoped, and it can be frustrating if you consistently underperform compared to the rest of the team or compared to your own hopes and expectations for the character.
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OMFG I litterally bursted out laughing reading this you need people to pick up the slack, accidents can and will happen plans will go to drek seen runs turned a complete 180 when the decker got fried. then the rigger who had some hacking skill got in and saved the runs bacon or the rigger got shot and at least someone knew how to drive. Im sorry but even SWAT teams cross train
Precisely our point. The rigger (primary) knows how to do a little decking (secondary). The street samurai (primary) knows how to drive a truck (secondary). The mage (primary) can bargain pretty well (secondary). The point that was made about the original character, Rooks, was that he's nothing primary - he's ALL secondary, and nobody's going to hire a nothing-but-secondary guy unless they literally can't get a specialist (i.e. a standard primary/secondary character) on short notice. I WILL say that someone like this should have a lot of contacts, a lot of fixers on his speed-dial, so that he is (or becomes) the go-to guy when you absolutely need someone in 30 minutes or less. He isn't unplayable, he's just in a relatively weak negotiating position, especially when it comes to a team.
I DO know whereof I speak. Hawatari (of Pananagutan (http://bit.ly/SBqoj0)) started out - and continued - pretty much as a generalist. She was very good with a blade, and pretty good with a pistol, and could facetime somewhat, and had a classical 'security' education (meaning a little bit of Arcana / Magical Background knowledge), and she was not bad on a motorcycle, and and and and and. She became the center of the group not because she was 2nd Best at almost everything (which she was), but because she had the knowledge base to see how magic could interact with drones, or the matrix support a HAHO insertion, or whatever; she was the Mastermind. And the only reason she wasn't the best at close combat was because Isamu (seen in the early 'modern' chapters) was almost nothing BUT a swordsman, and an adept to boot.
Such characters can be the most fun to play - but you really have to know what you're doing, and you often have to be able to enable the other PCs into doing an even better job with you than they would without you.
Thats simple Leadership skill maxed
Direct: Your hits act as a Teamwork Test for one subordinate’s
skill or Composure Test that they perform on
or before their next Action Phase.
For each assistant that scores at least one hit, the
relevant limit for the leader’s test increases by one. Additionally,
each hit the assistants make adds one die to
the leader’s dice pool.
Surprised people arent munchkining this to death at rollplay tables
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Not upset.
My GM tends to use stats strait from the book, usually between 2 and 15 opponents at a time. He will often have one real Bad ass in the group (He loves Cybered up trolls). Depending on where we are will depend on what stats from the book, but usually the threat 3-4 is what we can expect (not a lot of red sams, and if so we RUN)
I only own one 5th Adventure, so did run Jack against SAEDER-KLOPP in a mock battle.
He took 1 stun from her (ball lightning spell, counter spelled and soaked with armor), while chewing her up with the Ingram-x in two combat phases. II did not include her elemental in the fight, but I'm sure that he would have taken another hit and still gotten away alive. There was a lot of luck involved but...
I realize that 1 on 1 combat is not an accurate portrayal of ability but I do think it proves that I can at least be somewhat effective.
This leaves my decking abilities that I need to figure out. I do think I need at least a Attack of 4 to be remotely successful, so I think I will change the hammer out for decryption, kind of sucks but should get me to the minimum of where I need to be to help are (basically strait from the book) decker out.
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With Data trails was able to make some adjustments...here is the current
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1. It may (or may not) be a good idea to go AGI 3 + STR 2 + Aged II neg quality. More knowledge skills and a better limit plus you can get rid of some other negatives.
2. Isn't Slease dongle better for you?
I mentally debated Attack vs Sleeze for a bit, but in truth I think his Bushido code would excuse but not like him sneaking around