Shadowrun
Shadowrun Play => Character creation and critique => Topic started by: Hellion19 on <07-19-12/0815:17>
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So was thinking of building more or less a pistols expert and have a very basic idea of what I am looking to make so far. So input is always a plus. Build will be with 400 BP and ~100 karma.
Metatype = Elf
Base stats - 160 points
Body - 4
Agility - 3 + 1
Reaction - 4
Strength - 1
Charisma - 2 + 2
Intuition - 4
Logic - 2
Willpower - 3
Extra base stats - 50 points
Edge 5
Magic 2
PP = 2 points
- Aptitude (pistols) 1.5 PP
- .5 leftover which I can look over other options later
104 BP used and 26 Karma points
Athletic Group 1 (used 10 karma points)
Influence Group 4
Dodge 4
Infiltration 1 (4 karma points)
Pistols (Semi-Automatic)(Pistols Aptitude) 7 (9)
Survival 1 (4 karma points)
First Aid 1 (4 karma points)
Perception 4
Demolitions 1 (4 karma points)
Qualities
Aptitude (Pistols) -10
Adept -5
In debt +30
Restricted gear (lvl 1) - 5
Cyberware/bioware
Genetic Optimization (AGI) - 45000
Muscle Toner rating 4 - 32000
Reflex recorder (pistols) - 10000
Attention Processor - 9000
Reaction Enhancer - 20000
Smart Link - 2000
Armor
Form fitting armor - 1600
Lined coat (for other situations) - Remember it being 1-2k (will update price later)
I will look up prices on the smaller pieces later but I remember them being relatively cheap.
SecureTech Arm Casings
SecureTech Forearm Guards
SecureTech Leg Casings
SecureTech Shin Guards
SecureTech Vitals Protector
Weapons
1x - Colt Government 2066 - 1075
-Concealable holster
-Smartgun System, Internal
-Silencer
2x - Colt Government 2066 - 775*2= 1550
-Concealable holster
-Smartgun System, Internal
Other gear
Comm link usually I get 1-2 (will update this later)
Fake Sin (will update this later)
160 Flachette rounds (Heavy Pistols) - 1600
50 Stick and Shock rounds (Heavy pistols) - 400
(rounds are to fill a normal load of 6 clips and 2 clips in guns plus enough to restock all of that once)
High Lifestyle (1 month) - 10000
Fake License (Muscle Toner) Rating 4
Quick-Draw Holster
Quick-Draw Holster
These I will have to read over and add their numbers
Contact Lenses Rating 3
+Smartlink
+Skinlink
+Flare Compensation
Earbuds Rating 3
+Spatial Recognizer
+Skinlink
+Audio Enhancement Rating 3
Glasses Rating 4
+Skinlink
+Vision Enhancement Rating 3
+Ultrasound
+Image Link
Vehicle
Suzuki Mirage - 6500
(may mod this slightly later)
Contacts
Have 12 points worth of contacts currently
So far the costs roughly
BP
Meta = 30
Attributes = 210
Active skills = 104
Qualities = -10
Contacts 12
BP - at least 35 points
___________________
Total 391
Karma
26 points used towards active skills.
Money used
202215 - this is not 100% accurate as I need to add a few things to it and take away a few things.
All of my cyberware and bioware is part of this total, lifestyle, vehicle, and some of my armor and other misc gear. I currently have a max of 250k that I can spend if needed but as I finalize I will use the points elsewhere.
Knowledge skills are a non factor at this point but I have 18 that I will place in different things soon. When I made this I had pretty limited access to books so will do more work when I have more access to them. So thus far I haven't budgeted my equipment yet though thinking pretty much a bike and a few guns plus some basic armor. Still have to also add some comm links and a sin. So its still a bit far from done but I have some time before I need to complete it.
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Ok, so I'm obviously a little newer out here, so forgive any apparent noobness. With that said...
The first thing I see is that you have a Smartgun system on the weapon, but no Smartlink in the list of cyberware. The Smartgun system is pointless without the Smartlink, and having the Smartlink gives a bonus when using weapons with Smartgun systems. It's only natural that you'd have this.
Secondly, I'm not sure if you need Wired Reflexes or Reaction Enhancers unless you are trying to be like an old-school quick-draw cowboy type. Being an expert with pistols doesn't necessarily mean you have the reflexes to use them quicker than other people. Better, yes. Quicker, not necessarily. However, WR 1 at the very least will give the character an additional Initiative Pass, which is needed in this game. So at least give him that.
I'm also looking at potential qualities and such, and you could take Adept (5 BP), which would give you 1 power point (if I read the rules right) without dropping any more BP or Karma into that. You could then take the Adept power of Improved Ability, which would allow you to raise your Pistols skill by 2 (up to 8). Again, this is if I read the rules for Adepts correctly (and I just briefly scanned them for this post, so take that with a grain of salt).
Just my 2 creds on this topic, chum.
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Build the character with the 400bp first. Then apply the 100 karma after. Doing both at the same time will get confusing.
Get Contact lenses with Smartlink.
If you are going get the restricted gear quality for Muscle Toner 3 you might as well spend the extra 8k (I think) and get it at rating 4 other wise its wasting the 5 bp you spent on the quality.
With the rules for your Character Gen it sounds like the game is somewhat geared towards more experienced characters. Get the Wired reflexes 2. Other wise you will end up with 2 IP's while other's may have 3 to 4 IP. (this may also include the bad guys) Less IP's to kill the bad guys means you can end up dead quicker. Not to mention the Wired Reflexes and Recation enhancers will raise your Initiative score.
I'm sure others will chime in.
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How much cash are you allowed to spend post creation and at what availability? You'll eventually want to get Muscle Toner 4. Normally you can't buy it at creation without spending 5 BP on Restricted Gear.
If you're going for dual weapons, you actually really want are bonuses. They aren't halved like your attribute + skill is.
An example of a mundane pistol heavy character is Umaro's Ghost (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J5-Z04bXEhuylLRumDT7tUA36rsNq0sWRdIHnQFDFxg/edit). The Gunslinger (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FtD-p3YhRoczHXMV0Dgqy19KeweeTvDrwVdzDtsngWQ/edit?authkey=CK2incEP&authkey=CK2incEP), is more focused with pistols, but is an adept. There's also the Spook. (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1846Tf_e6Fwbgy8U8R_YKHCJl0Z-NzahFsY0ty397UgI/edit) With a bit of changes, you can make him an Elf and make him slightly more pistol focused. For example, drop the First Aid and Hardware for Elf and replace the Cerebral Boosters with Muscle Toner.
Edit- Oops. Forgot the Ghost.
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perhaps I am mis-seeing something. The improved reflexes and wired reflexes are off the table since you already have synaptic boosters (it's an either or thing)...or I am misreading the sheet.
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Go Move by Wire. You still get teh IP you'd get from WR and you get skillsoft. You can spend less bp on skills and buy skillsofts.
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Hey I have a build here that I'm using in my campaign which is a pistols expert and might be what you are looking for. I have about 20-25 karma gained so far since the start of the campaign. I roll 20+ dice when shooting my pistols, 18+ when shooting Assault Cannons and it's just ridiculous. Everything I have on the character has a function and utility and it's amazing to watch in play. Out of combat the character still does quite well since she has some charisma and can still talk. I play her as an ex special forces from Quebec who is now on the run from her agency, which explains all the high tech stuff and what not. I'm having a great time playing this character.
== Info ==
Street Name: Noctem
Name: Maeve
Movement: 10/25, Swim: 6
Karma: 21
Street Cred: 4
Notoriety: 3
Public Awareness: 2
Elf Female Age 26
Height 5'7" Weight 150 pounds
Composure: 8
Judge Intentions: 8
Lift/Carry: 6 (30 kg/20 kg)
Memory: 7
Nuyen: 26516
== Attributes ==
BOD: 3 (4)
AGI: 7 (12)
REA: 5 (9)
STR: 1 (2)
CHA: 3
INT: 5
LOG: 2
WIL: 5
EDG: 5
== Derived Attributes ==
Essence: 1.1
Initiative: 10 (14)
IP: 1 (3)
Matrix Initiative: 7
Matrix IP: 2
Physical Damage Track: 10
Stun Damage Track: 11
== Active Skills ==
Animal Handling : 0 Pool: 4
Animal Training : 0 Pool: 4
Archery : 0 Pool: 11
Armorer : 0 Pool: 1
Artisan : 0 Pool: 4
Automatics : 0 Pool: 13
Blades : 0 Pool: 11
Climbing : 1 Pool: 6
Computer : 0 Pool: 1
Con : 0 Pool: 2
Cybercombat : 0 Pool: 1
Data Search : 0 Pool: 1
Demolitions : 0 Pool: 1
Disguise : 4 Pool: 9
Diving : 0 Pool: 3
Dodge : 0 Pool: 8
Escape Artist : 0 Pool: 11
Etiquette : 1 Pool: 4
First Aid : 0 Pool: 1
Flight : 1 Pool: 6
Forgery : 0 Pool: 11
Gunnery : 0 Pool: 11
Gymnastics : 1 Pool: 16
Hacking : 0 Pool: 1
Heavy Weapons : 4
[Assault Cannon] Pool: 18 (20)
Infiltration : 4 Pool: 16
Instruction : 0 Pool: 2
Intimidation : 0 Pool: 2
Leadership : 0 Pool: 2
Locksmith : 0 Pool: 11
Longarms : 0 Pool: 13
Navigation : 0 Pool: 4
Negotiation : 0 Pool: 2
Palming : 4 Pool: 16
Parachuting : 0 Pool: 3
Perception : 3 [Visual] Pool: 11 (13)
Pilot Ground Craft : 1 Pool: 10
Pilot Watercraft : 0 Pool: 8
Pistols : 6 [Semi-Automatics] Pool: 20 (22)
Riding : 0 Pool: 8
Running : 1 Pool: 6
Shadowing : 4 Pool: 9
Survival : 0 Pool: 4
Swimming : 1 Pool: 6
Throwing Weapons : 0 Pool: 11
Tracking : 0 Pool: 4
Unarmed Combat : 0 Pool: 11
== Knowledge Skills ==
Area Knowledge: Seattle : 6 Pool: 11
English : N Pool: 0
Firearms : 2 Pool: 4
Military : 4 Pool: 9
Safe Houses : 3 Pool: 5
Security Design : 4 Pool: 9
Sperethiel : 2 Pool: 7
== Contacts ==
Brent Fuller (Doc Wagon Johnson) (4, 1)
Deb (5, 1)
Duke (mechanic) (2, 1)
Matty Zom (bartender) (4, 1)
Moreau (fixer) (4 (7), 1)
SOTF Diem (2, 3)
== Qualities ==
Incompetent (Clubs)
Low-Light Vision
Records on File (SOTF database)
Restricted Gear (Rating 2)
SINner (Criminal) (SOTF database)
Weak Immune System
== Lifestyles ==
Low 1 months
== Cyberware/Bioware ==
Attention Coprocessor Rating 3
Genetic Optimization (AGI)
Muscle Toner Rating 4
Reaction Enhancers Rating 2
Suprathyroid Gland
Synthacardium Rating 3
Wired Reflexes Rating 2
== Armor ==
Form-Fitting Full-Body Suit6/2
+Chemical Protection 6
SecureTech Arm Casings 0/1
SecureTech Forearm Guards 0/1
SecureTech Leg Casings 0/1
SecureTech Shin Guards 0/1
SecureTech Vitals Protector1/1
Vashon Island: Synergist Skirt/Slacks1/1
Vashon Island: Synergist Suit Jacket3/2
+Nonconductivity 6
== Weapons ==
ArmTech MGL-6
+Airburst Link
+Shock Pad
+Smartgun System, External
+Chameleon Coating
DV: Grenade AP: - RC: 1
Browning Ultra-Power
+Laser Sight
DV: 5P AP: -1 RC: 0
Colt America L36
DV: 4P AP: - RC: 0
FN HAR
+Gas Vent 2
+Laser Sight
DV: 6P AP: -1 RC: 2
Ingram White Knight
+Gyro Stabilization
+Smartgun System, External
+Stock
DV: 7P AP: -2 RC: 12
Knife
DV: 2P AP: - RC: 0
Minigrenade: Flash-Bang
DV: 6S (10m Radius) AP: -3 RC: 0
Minigrenade: Splash
DV: Chemical (10m Radius) AP: - RC: 0
Morrissey Élan
+Smartgun System, Internal
+Chameleon Coating
+Personalized Grip
DV: 6S(e) AP: -half RC: 1
Ruger Thunderbolt w/ Smartgun
+Chameleon Coating
+Folding Stock, Powered
+Personalized Grip
+Smartgun System
+Underbarrel Weight
DV: 6P AP: -2 RC: 5
Shock Glove
+Personalized Grip
DV: 5S(e) AP: -half RC: 1
Unarmed Attack
DV: 1S AP: - RC: 0
Yamaha Pulsar
DV: 6S(e) AP: -half RC: 0
Yamaha Sakura Fubuki
+Silencer
+Smartgun System, External
+Chameleon Coating
+Folding Stock
DV: 6S(e) AP: -half RC: 1
== Commlink ==
CMT Clip (1, 1, 1, 3)
+Vector Xim
Custom Commlink (2, 2, 2, 2) x5
Meta Link (1, 1, 1, 2)
+Vector Xim
== Gear ==
Ammo: EX-Explosive Rounds (Light Pistols) x40
Ammo: EX-Explosive Rounds (Light Machine Guns) x30
Ammo: EX-Explosive Rounds (Holdouts) x40
Ammo: EX-Explosive Rounds (Assault Rifles) x120
Ammo: EX-Explosive Rounds (Heavy Pistols) x23
Ammo: Hi-C Plastic Rounds (Holdouts) x50
Ammo: Regular Ammo (Heavy Pistols) x20
Ammo: Regular Ammo (Light Pistols) x30
Ammo: Stick-n-Shock (Light Machine Guns) x40
Ammo: Stick-n-Shock (Heavy Pistols) x40
Ammo: Stick-n-Shock (Light Pistols) x40
Ammo: Stick-n-Shock (Holdouts) x30
Ammo: Taser Dart (Tasers) x16
Certified Credstick, Standard x2
Concealable Holster
Contact Lenses Rating 3
+Smartlink
+Skinlink
+Flare Compensation
Earbuds Rating 3
+Spatial Recognizer
+Skinlink
+Audio Enhancement Rating 3
Fake License (Muscle Toner) Rating 4
Fake License (Ruger Thunderbolt w/ Smartgun) Rating 4
Fake License (Yamaha Sakura Fubuki) Rating 4
Fake License (Morrissey Élan) Rating 4
Fake License (Shock Glove) Rating 4
Fake License (Reaction Enhancers) Rating 4
Fake License (Wired Reflexes) Rating 4
Fake SIN (Melissa Prevost) Rating 4
Gecko Tape Gloves
Glasses Rating 4
+Skinlink
+Vision Enhancement Rating 3
+Ultrasound
+Image Link
Lockpick Set
Maglock Passkey Rating 4
Medkit Rating 6
Medkit Rating 2 x2
Micro Sensor
+Laser Range Finder
+Skinlink
Micro Sensor
+Motion Sensor
+Skinlink
Micro Sensor
+Radio Signal Scanner Rating 6
+Skinlink
Minigrenade: Flash-Bang x9
Minigrenade: Splash x9
+DMSO
+Narcoject
Miniwelder
Quick-Draw Holster
Simrig
== Vehicles ==
Entertainment Systems Cyclops (Monocycle)
+Assembly Time Improvement
+Drone Rack, Mini
+Motorcycle Gyro Stabilization
+Spike Strip
+Vehicle Sensor
MCT Fly-Spy (Minidrone)
+Improved Takeoff and Landing Level 2
+Maneuver (Self) Rating 2
+Copy Protection Rating 2
+Registration
+Minidrone Sensor
Enjoy :)
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@scare_Crow
Everything below active skills is pretty much up in the air and mostly I just posted a ton of random things that may or may not make it to the actual character sheet. At this point I may have to reduce a few skills for more bp so that I have enough to cover other things as well.
@Yogi
Ya the goal was to do BP first but I already maxed it out before buying anything. Likely means I have to pull back some of my bp costs which is when I started dipping into my karma. Mostly I used it to buy the 1's in active skills as the price is about the same karma wise while it seems to be cheaper with bp for higher levels.
Also heard alot about WR2 and I will try to go for that also. Just depends on costs but it will be a higher priority then some other things so will likely be able to make room for it.
@Rythymhack
Just listing different possible ideas or things I have read over but some of the more in depth research I need to do still hasn't been done but it does give me a listing that I can access anywhere that has internet.
@Cass100199
Will have to look over both to see how hard it is to get each of them.
@Noctem
It seems to be the closest character sheet to what I am aiming for though mine will have a few differences here and there but ultimately its close enough.
Differences so far
strength is lower 2 points = 20 bps
Body is lower 1 point = 10 bp
Agility higher 1 point = -25 bp
Charisma lower 1 point = 10 bp (though I doubt I will change as my character may rely on it a tad)
intuition is higher 2 points = -20bp
Logic is 1 point lower = 10 bp
Will is higher 2 points = 20 bp
point wise were about the same in stats just some minor differences. Though the last agility point makes your build 15 more points here.
Weapon wise I may take 1 in automatics and 1 in heavy weapons though will likely burn karma for both to avoid it costing more bp in active skills. Ideally its to keep him familiar with those types of weapons but its likely to be rare that he would actually use those.
Your equipment load I will have to go through later also to see what would be good for my character and fit his way of play. Looks like a pretty good starting point though gear wise.
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if you have any questions for the gear or anything else feel free to ask me, though I'm sure others can probably answer those questions as well. Namely UmaroVI who was primarily the inspiration (he made the stickied thread at the top of the list) and guide to make and use this build. I merged various builds he posted to come up with this one.
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So was thinking of building more or less a pistols expert and have a very basic idea of what I am looking to make so far. So input is always a plus. Build will be with 400 BP and ~100 karma.
Build the BP version first. THEN spend Karma to advance it.
Metatype = Elf
Base stats - 200 points
Body - 5
Agility - 5 + 1
Reaction - 4
Strength - 3
Charisma - 2 + 2
Intuition - 3
Logic - 3
Willpower - 3
You can go Body 5, Agility 7 (Optimisation counts during character creation, after all), Willpower 4, and the rest 3's.
Influence Group 4
Dodge 4
Pistols 6
Perception 4
Are you trying to be a Face, too ...? That'd change the math on that Charisma score, above; you'd want to dip Strength down to 2, to bring Charisma back to 4. This is also a very ... short skill list.
If you're not trying to go hybrid with Face, I'd suggest lowering that Influence group to 2. Or maybe dropping it, and getting just Etiquette. I also would not leave Infiltration at only 1, nor leave it for Karma.
And I would definitely get a Specialisation on your Pistols.
You should also have a melee-range skill in there. Even just 1 or 2 ranks of something.
Haven't really went through the qualities yet but I was thinking of going ambidexterity to dual wield pistols.
You won't have the die pool to dual-wield successfully.
Qualities
Aptitude (Pistols)
One of the first characters I built, used this. I've since decided it's not worth the BP. The difference between 6 and 7 skill is only 1 die (and the difference between 9 and 10, for augmented maximums, is STILL only one die). Not enough oomf, for the 20BP, IMO.
Cyberware/bioware
Genetic Optimization (AGI)
Muscle Toner rating 2/3
Orthoskin Rating 3 -> though some mentioned that this was a bit expensive and not worth getting.
Synaptic Booster 2
Tailored Pheremones 2
Reflex recorder (pistols)
Is there a reason you've gone ALL Bioware? You do realise, if you have a mix of the two, then whatever costs less essence gets halved ... right? 4E of bio and 3E of cyber costs only 5.5E .... but 7E of only one type costs your life.
Right now, you have 3.25E of Bioware. Swap the Synaptic Booster for Wired Reflexes level 2, you keep the same IPs and Initiative, you spend only an extra .38 Essence, and you save over 140,000 nuyen.
Which is important, because your list here is all way too expensive for a starting character. Just the bioware you picked out is over 383K nuyen all by itself.
Armor
Form fitting armor
Chameleon Suit
Don't bother with the Chameleon suit. Too expensive for what it does, if you're not a specific stealth specialist.
With Body 5 you have a 10 encumbrance limit. I would suggest Form Fitting Armor, the full body suit for +6/+2. Add to that the Forearm and Shin pieces from Securetch, for +0/+1 each. And Securetech's Vitals Protector, for +1/+1. This is your "foundation", onto which you can add various pieces of standard armor, suitable for a variety of scenarios. That, and your orthoskin, gives you a +10/+8 base to build on. You can add up to 6 points of Ballistic armor to this, and not be encumbered.
A selection of Globetrotter Camoflage Jumpsuits, with Gel Packs (6/4, for 16/12 net) would serve well for "on the job" shadowrunning gear. They give the same Perception penalty as the Chameleon suit, in the right invironment. You can get three of those jumpsuits, for less than one Chameleon suit.
For social situations - meeting Mr. Johnson, shopping runs into non-barrens neighborhoods, etc - you can go with a Lined Coat (6/4, for 16/12 net) for the concealability bonus, and not look like an obvious criminal while walking down the street. Or a Mortimer of London Great Coat, if you want a bit of British style (6/5, for 16/13 net).
Weapons
Colt Government 2066
-Concealable holster
-Silencer
-Smartgun System, Internal
Weapon modification is your friend; try this:
Colt Government 2066 (Electronic Firing (std); Smartgun, Skinlink, Silencer) ... costs 1950 nuyen, and provides better silencing (by 2 dice).
For giggles, you could also add "Additional Clip" - sure, each one drops to 11 rounds, but now you can have variable ammunition - subsonics for OBSCENE silence when discretion is the order of the day, or Ex-Ex when you just need to kill something BIG, really FAST.
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Thnx for the reply Pax :)
You can go Body 5, Agility 7 (Optimisation counts during character creation, after all), Willpower 4, and the rest 3's.
Ya was considering raising AGI to 7 as it makes a lot of my rolls better where it will count. Plus with some of the cyber gear and bioware I was toying with it may be somewhat ideal as it makes the overall score pretty high.
Are you trying to be a Face, too ...? That'd change the math on that Charisma score, above; you'd want to dip Strength down to 2, to bring Charisma back to 4. This is also a very ... short skill list.
If you're not trying to go hybrid with Face, I'd suggest lowering that Influence group to 2. Or maybe dropping it, and getting just Etiquette. I also would not leave Infiltration at only 1, nor leave it for Karma.
And I would definitely get a Specialisation on your Pistols.
You should also have a melee-range skill in there. Even just 1 or 2 ranks of something.
He will have some face elements to him as not everything can be solved the most effectively through guns. Also was going to specialize in semi-automatic pistols after toying with a character generator earlier and trying to determine the cost range of some of the equipment that was listed earlier.
You won't have the die pool to dual-wield successfully.
With the initial build your right. There will need to be some adjustments. I think with specialization +2 agi like 10 (if I remember correctly with some cyber/bio ware) it came out to a bare minimum of 18 dice without any other improvements. Ambi splits that in half for each hand so ideally I want to get to 20-24 dice to make it effective. Still some work here though as I have to go through different material to figure it out :P
One of the first characters I built, used this. I've since decided it's not worth the BP. The difference between 6 and 7 skill is only 1 die (and the difference between 9 and 10, for augmented maximums, is STILL only one die). Not enough oomf, for the 20BP, IMO.
Ya it was mainly on my list of possible things but it wasn't something I tried to fit into the char gen (likely its mostly because I forgot its there).
Is there a reason you've gone ALL Bioware? You do realise, if you have a mix of the two, then whatever costs less essence gets halved ... right? 4E of bio and 3E of cyber costs only 5.5E .... but 7E of only one type costs your life.
Right now, you have 3.25E of Bioware. Swap the Synaptic Booster for Wired Reflexes level 2, you keep the same IPs and Initiative, you spend only an extra .38 Essence, and you save over 140,000 nuyen.
Which is important, because your list here is all way too expensive for a starting character. Just the bioware you picked out is over 383K nuyen all by itself.
Mostly went the route of wired reflexes in the char gen so far. A few of them I couldn't find listed in it and others were kind of on the expensive side. Mostly I went off of Noctem's for cyber/bio ware while I found a few to be pricey like the gland and it was 20F (if I remember correctly). A few of the others also didn't make it to the initial cutting block but still trying to get a decent balance here that will fit the character.
Don't bother with the Chameleon suit. Too expensive for what it does, if you're not a specific stealth specialist.
With Body 5 you have a 10 encumbrance limit. I would suggest Form Fitting Armor, the full body suit for +6/+2. Add to that the Forearm and Shin pieces from Securetch, for +0/+1 each. And Securetech's Vitals Protector, for +1/+1. This is your "foundation", onto which you can add various pieces of standard armor, suitable for a variety of scenarios. That, and your orthoskin, gives you a +10/+8 base to build on. You can add up to 6 points of Ballistic armor to this, and not be encumbered.
A selection of Globetrotter Camoflage Jumpsuits, with Gel Packs (6/4, for 16/12 net) would serve well for "on the job" shadowrunning gear. They give the same Perception penalty as the Chameleon suit, in the right invironment. You can get three of those jumpsuits, for less than one Chameleon suit.
For social situations - meeting Mr. Johnson, shopping runs into non-barrens neighborhoods, etc - you can go with a Lined Coat (6/4, for 16/12 net) for the concealability bonus, and not look like an obvious criminal while walking down the street. Or a Mortimer of London Great Coat, if you want a bit of British style (6/5, for 16/13 net).
Chameleon suit is more of a possible item to use rather than a common item but will also look into the camo jumpsuit as well. Its mostly going to be a thing I will use when the mission calls for it but stealth will not be his main focus majority of the time. Partially why I added 1 to infiltration was to not take a negative in situations that may call for it. Also it will be a good idea if I did take a look for casual ware also and those are some nice starting points.
Weapon modification is your friend; try this:
Colt Government 2066 (Electronic Firing (std); Smartgun, Skinlink, Silencer) ... costs 1950 nuyen, and provides better silencing (by 2 dice).
For giggles, you could also add "Additional Clip" - sure, each one drops to 11 rounds, but now you can have variable ammunition - subsonics for OBSCENE silence when discretion is the order of the day, or Ex-Ex when you just need to kill something BIG, really FAST.
So far as far as guns I will likely only run one with a silencer on it. He will carry 3 guns total all of which will be Colt Government 2066 and during missions just carry a few clips with him for additional rounds. Colt w/ silencer will only be in situations that call for it but majority of the time will either have a few clips of nonlethal rounds and mostly clips full of lethal rounds.
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@scare_Crow
Everything below active skills is pretty much up in the air and mostly I just posted a ton of random things that may or may not make it to the actual character sheet. At this point I may have to reduce a few skills for more bp so that I have enough to cover other things as well.
I was toying around with a pistols character, and I have to make a partial adjustment to my original statement. I still think you should go with Adept (5 BP), but then increase MAG to 5, giving you 5 power points to spend on Adept Powers. You could then take the powers Improved Reflexes 2 and Increased Ability Pistols. Improved Reflexes 2 will add 2 Initiative Passes and 2 to your REA score, and then Increased Ability Pistols adds 2 to the Pistols skill. You'd have to drop some of the Cyber and Bio so as not to lose the MAG score, but going this route saves you on your cash in the long run.
You'll still need to get the contact lenses with Smartlink, but this again is just my 2 creds. :D
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@scare_Crow
Everything below active skills is pretty much up in the air and mostly I just posted a ton of random things that may or may not make it to the actual character sheet. At this point I may have to reduce a few skills for more bp so that I have enough to cover other things as well.
I was toying around with a pistols character, and I have to make a partial adjustment to my original statement. I still think you should go with Adept (5 BP), but then increase MAG to 5, giving you 5 power points to spend on Adept Powers. You could then take the powers Improved Reflexes 2 and Increased Ability Pistols. Improved Reflexes 2 will add 2 Initiative Passes and 2 to your REA score, and then Increased Ability Pistols adds 2 to the Pistols skill. You'd have to drop some of the Cyber and Bio so as not to lose the MAG score, but going this route saves you on your cash in the long run.
You'll still need to get the contact lenses with Smartlink, but this again is just my 2 creds. :D
I hear this a lot but not really familiar with why its that way as far as the cyberware makes you lose magic. I will be updating what I have built up to this point and when I got some criticism on my current build it was that being adept and highly loaded up with cyber ware will hurt my adept powers over time. Still have yet to find it in the books though our gm is fairly experienced so I trust he is telling the truth but wouldn't mind getting a reference point on it if anything. Worse case it could play into the RP aspect of the character depending on how bad it hurts it and how quickly.
Though it would be asking a lot but if anyone knew a book and rough idea of page number it would be appreciated. If not its no big deal really. Otherwise as it stands my character build does run a massive amount of cyber/bio ware and has adept w/ magic level 3 mostly for the Improved ability (pistols) level 6 (as you can go upto your current level. As long as I didn't botch any numbers it did show that I would get 26 dice but being ambidextrous I would actually get 13 per hand. I am sure some of it may be a bit off though so I will post it here when I have access to my character again as its currently at home and I am not there :P. Thus far appreciate all the feedback as its helped greatly :)
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I hear this a lot but not really familiar with why its that way as far as the cyberware makes you lose magic.
Any time you lose Essence, you lose magic. Getting cyberware costs Essence. Ergo ... :)
Though it would be asking a lot but if anyone knew a book and rough idea of page number it would be appreciated.
Shadowrun 4 Anniversary Edition, page 67, lower right hand corner:
Essence is a measure of life force, of a body’s wholeness. It represents
the body’s cohesiveness and holistic strength. Things that are invasive to
the body, such as cyberware and bioware, reduce Essence. If a character
abuses her body repeatedly with chemicals, toxins, or even just negligence
over a long period of time, she may lose Essence as well. Long-time
drug addicts and chipheads who have done permanent damage to their
systems have lost Essence. Lost Essence can never be regained (short of
the Essence Drain critter power). When Essence declines, Magic and
Resonance decline by the same amount. All characters start the game
with an Essence of 6.
Emphasis mine.
Improved ability (pistols) level 6 (as you can go upto your current level.
I have bad news for you.
You can only gain as many Improved Ability dice to a skill, as HALF of the skill itself. And since, with few exceptions, your Pistols skill cannot exceed 6? You can't get more than 3 levels of Improved Ability (Pistols). Less, if you have lower than 3 skill.
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Any time you lose Essence, you lose magic. Getting cyberware costs Essence. Ergo ... :)
Shadowrun 4 Anniversary Edition, page 67, lower right hand corner:
Appreciated :)
I have bad news for you.
You can only gain as many Improved Ability dice to a skill, as HALF of the skill itself. And since, with few exceptions, your Pistols skill cannot exceed 6? You can't get more than 3 levels of Improved Ability (Pistols). Less, if you have lower than 3 skill.
Not a big problem just means I have to redo a few things.
I will edit my first post over the course of the next hour or so and probably edit this post also with it. Though its more of a really rough draft.
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i dont get one thing str 1 (2)? any time you in a cqc you go down fast str need imo to be 3 min, at str 2 you can't hold the gun up for long (it is two havy)
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i dont get one thing str 1 (2)? any time you in a cqb you go down fast str need imo to be 3 min, at str 2 you can't hold the gun up for long (it is two havy)
Any time anyone but a dedicated melee character gets into melee combat, they're going to suck at it. Strength 2 is just the low side of average, and Strength 3 certainly isn't required to hold up a gun.
And what on Earth makes you think this particular character is ever going to try and punch, kick, club, or stab someone, anyways? He's so much better at shooting, why wouldn't he just suck up the (miniscule) shooting-in-melee modifier, and go to town? If worse comes to worse and he's got to knock someone out (instead of kill them) in melee, he defaults to using his shock glove, which doesn't have Strength-based damage anyways.
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if he is a pistol expert he is working in close range of 0-5 so ther is chance to get in cqc so get some automatic or blade to keep them at bey or Handel at close range when he start to grapple with you and for blade you need str. well that how i see it (no offence)
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I have 0 intention of ever getting into a melee fight. Not to say it wont happen but it will be the very last resort if I can help it. So thus far it would do nothing but be a waste of points as of right now.
Some minor changes though it was mostly because of some earlier advice I went more the adept route and got rid of Wired Reflexes and got Improved Reflexes and a few other adept perks. Brings my essence back up to a little over 4. Modified Improved Skill down to 3 per someone mentioning that I can only go to 1.5 which I found in the book after he mentioned it :) Though still have a bit of cyberware/bioware but not nearly as intensive as it was before. Lost one point of essence from it...
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if he is a pistol expert he is working in close range of 0-5 [...]
Says who? 6-20is also perfectly viable for Pistols, especially someone who can spare the 1-die penalty.
[...] so ther is chance to get in cqc [...]
Martial Art: Firefight. 10BP for 2 levels of that. Then pick the "reduce 'use firearms in melee' penalty by 1" maneuver, twice. All of a sudden, it doesn't matter if they're meleeing you ... you just keep pulling those triggers.
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isn't there also a martial art that reduces the modifier for being melee combat, Krav Maga I believe? I also allows for a few other useful things.
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isn't there also a martial art that reduces the modifier for being melee combat, Krav Maga I believe? I also allows for a few other useful things.
Right;
Firefight reduces it by -2 and Krav Maga reduces it by another -1, eliminating it entirely. Take 'Ready Weapon as Free Action' and 'Take Aim as Free Action' as well, and you'll be able to really cut loose Equilibrium style.
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Depending on your GM, he might let you use the Defiance EX in melee with the pistols skill.
It's a taser, which use the pistols skill; and there's no mention of it requiring the use of a melee or exotic skill when used as a melee weapon. It's a pretty badass weapon and is just as damaging with 2 str than it is with 13.
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Depending on your GM, he might let you use the Defiance EX in melee with the pistols skill.
It's a taser, which use the pistols skill; and there's no mention of it requiring the use of a melee or exotic skill when used as a melee weapon. It's a pretty badass weapon and is just as damaging with 2 str than it is with 13.
Actually, it's just a general rule that smacking someone with a gun uses the Clubs skill, as do all specifically-melee taser weapons. A lack of special call-out would default to it being used with Clubs.
However, the GM might be nice and make an exception.
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just wondering for the use take as a free action and stuff mentioned above by JustADude. How do free actions work exactly ? Unlimited ? One per round ? One per Initiative Pass ? Just trying to understand how it would work with a pistols expert with 3 initiative passes per round.
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One per pass.
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ok awesome :)
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just wondering for the use take as a free action and stuff mentioned above by JustADude. How do free actions work exactly ? Unlimited ? One per round ? One per Initiative Pass ? Just trying to understand how it would work with a pistols expert with 3 initiative passes per round.
One per pass.
To elucidate... on the first pass you can use your Free Action to draw your guns and then shoot people in the face with both Simple Actions, instead of wasting an attack on drawing or bothering with Quick Draw rolls. Once your guns are already drawn, you can Take Aim to nail someone at Extreme Range with no penalties, assuming you have Vision Magnification, or take a +1 on your next attack.
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yeah the amount of things i can do with my build are pretty impressive. I'm still in the process of learning everything that I can do. So far i've made good use many of my options, but I'm sure there's more to it. A note on the quick draw though, the challenge is like 3 and I roll 10 + dice, i can't fail to quick draw. So even on turn one I can free action quick draw and shoot as part of the same action, then shoot again, then do something else with a simple action. But your chain of actions is just as good really, more a question of situation.
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You can get it down to 2 with a quickdraw holster.
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Yep ! See? I forgot I had one lol.. Just need to play more, our GM had to shut down the table because we ended up only being 2 players. But we're currently looking for more players if anyone in the Ottawa Canada area is looking for a table. /free advertising ;)
On another note, could someone give me an example of a situation where ultrasound vision could be put to good use ? that's one of the things I just haven't found a reason to use yet. What can it be used to do exactly ?
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Ultrasound (or Radar) is pretty nice if you, your team or the opponents like to use/abuse Thermal Smoke Grenades.
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yeah the amount of things i can do with my build are pretty impressive. I'm still in the process of learning everything that I can do. So far i've made good use many of my options, but I'm sure there's more to it. A note on the quick draw though, the challenge is like 3 and I roll 10 + dice, i can't fail to quick draw. So even on turn one I can free action quick draw and shoot as part of the same action, then shoot again, then do something else with a simple action. But your chain of actions is just as good really, more a question of situation.
You can't quickdraw+shoot as a Free action. It's a simple action. (So you do: Simple Action: Quickdraw+Shoot, Free Action (call shot, take aim, speak), Simple Action shoot.)
The benefit of quickdraw is that you'd otherwise waste a Simple action just to draw the gun, so you'd only get off one shot in that IP instead of two.
Shooting 3 times is impossible I'm afraid.
The "Ready a weapon as a free action" isn't really valuable if you're a character specialized in pistols, because like you said, getting the 2 or 3 dice to quickdraw is trivial anyway.
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yeah the amount of things i can do with my build are pretty impressive. I'm still in the process of learning everything that I can do. So far i've made good use many of my options, but I'm sure there's more to it. A note on the quick draw though, the challenge is like 3 and I roll 10 + dice, i can't fail to quick draw. So even on turn one I can free action quick draw and shoot as part of the same action, then shoot again, then do something else with a simple action. But your chain of actions is just as good really, more a question of situation.
You can't quickdraw+shoot as a Free action. It's a simple action. (So you do: Simple Action: Quickdraw+Shoot, Free Action (call shot, take aim, speak), Simple Action shoot.)
The benefit of quickdraw is that you'd otherwise waste a Simple action just to draw the gun, so you'd only get off one shot in that IP instead of two.
Shooting 3 times is impossible I'm afraid.
The "Ready a weapon as a free action" isn't really valuable if you're a character specialized in pistols, because like you said, getting the 2 or 3 dice to quickdraw is trivial anyway.
Oh ok thanks for the info :) haha