Shadowrun
Shadowrun Play => Character creation and critique => Topic started by: Scarecrow71 on <07-24-12/1855:33>
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Ok, so I'm going to start doing different character builds and then posting them here to get feedback so I can get better at not only building characters, but to learn more of the rules AND be better prepared to provide feedback to others. So, I give you my first attempt at a Hacker/Face character:
== Info ==
Street Name:
Name: Unnamed Character
Movement: 10/25, Swim: 5
Karma: 0
Street Cred: 0
Notoriety: 0
Public Awareness: 0
Human
Composure: 8
Judge Intentions: 8
Lift/Carry: 5 (30 kg/20 kg)
Memory: 11
Nuyen: 0
== Attributes ==
BOD: 3
AGI: 3
REA: 3 (5)
STR: 2
CHA: 4
INT: 4
LOG: 5 (7)
WIL: 4
EDG: 2
== Derived Attributes ==
Essence: 2.3
Initiative: 7 (9)
IP: 1 (3)
Matrix Initiative: 13
Matrix IP: 4
Physical Damage Track: 10
Stun Damage Track: 10
== Active Skills ==
Animal Handling : 0 Pool: 3
Animal Training : 0 Pool: 3
Archery : 0 Pool: 2
Armorer : 0 Pool: 6
Artisan : 0 Pool: 3
Automatics : 2 Pool: 5
Blades : 0 Pool: 2
Climbing : 0 Pool: 1
Clubs : 0 Pool: 2
Computer : 4 Pool: 11
Con : 0 Pool: 3
Cybercombat : 4 Pool: 11
Cybertechnology : 4 Pool: 11
Data Search : 4 Pool: 13
Demolitions : 0 Pool: 6
Disguise : 0 Pool: 3
Diving : 0 Pool: 2
Dodge : 0 Pool: 4
Electronic Warfare : 4 Pool: 11
Escape Artist : 0 Pool: 2
Etiquette : 3 Pool: 7
First Aid : 0 Pool: 6
Flight : 0 Pool: 1
Forgery : 0 Pool: 2
Gunnery : 0 Pool: 2
Gymnastics : 0 Pool: 2
Hacking : 4 Pool: 11
Hardware : 4 Pool: 11
Heavy Weapons : 0 Pool: 2
Infiltration : 0 Pool: 2
Instruction : 0 Pool: 3
Intimidation : 0 Pool: 3
Leadership : 3 Pool: 7
Locksmith : 0 Pool: 2
Longarms : 0 Pool: 2
Navigation : 0 Pool: 3
Negotiation : 3 Pool: 7
Palming : 0 Pool: 2
Parachuting : 0 Pool: 2
Perception : 0 Pool: 3
Pilot Ground Craft : 2 Pool: 7
Pilot Watercraft : 0 Pool: 4
Pistols : 3 Pool: 6
Riding : 0 Pool: 4
Running : 0 Pool: 1
Shadowing : 0 Pool: 3
Software : 4 Pool: 13
Survival : 0 Pool: 3
Swimming : 0 Pool: 1
Throwing Weapons : 0 Pool: 2
Tracking : 0 Pool: 3
Unarmed Combat : 0 Pool: 2
== Knowledge Skills ==
== Qualities ==
Analytical Mind
Codeslinger (Data Search)
Distinctive Style (10 pts)
In Debt (20,000¥)
Natural Hardening
== Lifestyles ==
Middle 1 months
== Cyberware/Bioware ==
Cerebral Booster Rating 2
Simsense Booster
Wired Reflexes Rating 2
== Armor ==
Actioneer Business Clothes5/3
+Concealable Holster
Form-Fitting Shirt 3/0
== Weapons ==
Cavalier Arms Sheriff
+High-Power Chambering
+Melee Hardening
+Smartgun System
+Trigger Removal
DV: 8P AP: -4 RC: 0
Ceramic Knife
DV: 2P AP: - RC: 0
Onotari Arms Security Special
+Ammo Skip System
+Safe Target System
+Smartgun System
DV: 4P AP: - RC: 0
Unarmed Attack
DV: 1S AP: - RC: 0
== Commlink ==
Disposable Commlink (1, 2, 1, 3)
+Disposable Commlink OS
+Fake SIN (Public - Jesse Holton) Rating 4
+Subvocal Microphone
Disposable Commlink (1, 2, 1, 3)
+Disposable Commlink OS
+Fake SIN (Public - Conrad Veritas) Rating 4
+Subvocal Microphone
Erika Elite (5, 5, 5, 5)
+Novatech Navi
+Sim Module (Hot)
+Subvocal Microphone
+Armor Case Rating 10
+Customized Interface
+Hardening Rating 6
Renraku Sensei (4, 5, 5, 5)
+Iris Orb
+Sim Module (Hot)
+Subvocal Microphone
+Armor Case Rating 10
+Customized Interface
+Hardening Rating 6
== Gear ==
Ammo: Explosive Rounds (Heavy Pistols) x50
Ammo: Hollow Point Rounds (Light Pistols) x100
Ammo: Hollow Point Rounds (Heavy Pistols) x100
Analyze (Hacked) Rating 6
AR Gloves
Armor (Hacked) Rating 6
Attack (Hacked) Rating 6
Biofeedback Filter (Hacked) Rating 6
Black Hammer (Hacked) Rating 6
Blackout (Hacked) Rating 6
Browse (Hacked) Rating 6
Command (Hacked) Rating 6
Corrupt (Hacked) Rating 6
Data Translation (Hacked) Rating 6
Datachip x15
Decrypt (Hacked) Rating 6
Defuse (Hacked) Rating 6
DocWagon Contract: Basic
Earbuds Rating 3
+Audio Enhancement Rating 3
+Select Sound Filter Rating 3
ECCM (Hacked) Rating 6
Edit (Hacked) Rating 6
Encrypt (Hacked) Rating 6
Exploit (Hacked) Rating 6
Fake License (Onotari Arms Security Special) Rating 4 x2
Fake License (Cavalier Arms Sheriff) Rating 4 x2
Fake License (Wired Reflexes) Rating 4
Fingernail Data Storage x2
Firewall (Hacked) Rating 6
Glasses Rating 4
+Image Link
+Smartlink
+Vision Enhancement Rating 3
Medic (Hacked) Rating 6
Medkit Rating 6 x5
Nuke (Hacked) Rating 6
Purge (Hacked) Rating 6
Scan (Hacked) Rating 6
Sniffer (Hacked) Rating 6
Sniffer (Hacked) Rating 6
Spoof (Hacked) Rating 6
Stealth (Hacked) Rating 6
Track (Hacked) Rating 6
== Vehicles ==
Hyundai Shin-Hyung (Sedan)
+Amenities, Middle
+Anti-Theft
+Armor, Normal Rating 10
+Clean Car Coating
+Engine Customization, Acceleration
+Engine Customization, Speed
+Enhanced Image Screens
+Firewall 5
+Interior Cameras
+Oil Slick Sprayer
+Pilot Program Rating 4
+Response 5
+Signal 5
+Smoke Projector
+Spike Strip
+Spoof Chip
+System 5
+Vehicle Sensor
Note: The character still has ~1300 Y to play with during character creation for additional gear and stuff if needed.
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Charisma is more important for a face than Logic is for a hacker. If you can't softcap both, you should be softcapping Charisma.
Even Willpower is bad, since stun boxes round up.
You're a "face" with 0 Con? While there are iffy skill groups, Influence isn't one of them and if you are calling yourself a face, you really should have Influence 4.
Why do you have Cybertechnology? It's a very niche skill and you're missing much more useful things.
Pistols 3, Automatics 2, Palming 0 is not a good setup. Either be good with pistols, or be OK with Automatics and have enough Palming to hide a machine pistol.
"Data Search" is not a good choice of Codeslinger. It's not that important a test to be super awesome at, and very overpriced (compare to Analytical Mind). "Hack on the Fly" is a better use of Codeslinger, if you really want it.
Natural Hardening is terrible.
Simsense Booster is crazy expensive and not very good. PuSHeD, Encephalon, and a partial cyberlimb+nanohive+NeoCortical Nanites are all much more useful. Actually, all of those are better than Cerebral Boosters for you too.
You don't have Tailored Pheremones, but are a face?
You are under-armored. First, you should probably wear at least a half-suit of FFBA, if not a full suit. Second, put on something over it. Third, add on PPP until you are at 6/6 for encumbrance.
The Cavalier Arms Sheriff is not a bad gun if your GM buys that the HP -2 to hit penalty is negatable with Recoil Compensation, but that means you need to get some appropriate mods for it: Firing Selection Change (SA), Personalized Grip, Underbarrel Weight, and a stock will cover it. It's not worth using otherwise and that goes double on a character with a fairly low dicepool.
The Onatori Arms Security Special is a bad gun. The Yamaha Sakura Fubuki with stick-n-shock is a good complement to the Sheriff (the YSF is good for SnS, SnS works against anything but vehicles and drones, and the sheriff is good against vehicles and drones).
You don't need 5 medkits. That's just silly :P
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Wow. Now see, this is what I need – help with character builds. So I thank you for providing the feedback. Although…wow.
Anyhow, let me tackle the suggestions. I’m grouping some things together because they are just naturally grouped that way. So here goes:
You're a "face" with 0 Con? While there are iffy skill groups, Influence isn't one of them and if you are calling yourself a face, you really should have Influence 4.
Why do you have Cybertechnology? It's a very niche skill and you're missing much more useful things.
Pistols 3, Automatics 2, Palming 0 is not a good setup. Either be good with pistols, or be OK with Automatics and have enough Palming to hide a machine pistol.
Good points, all. I took care of this by selecting the Influence skill group at 4, and dropping Cybertechnology and Automatics altogether. I then increased Pistols to 4, so I now have (before tackling anything else, or adding anything else) 16 BP remaining.
Charisma is more important for a face than Logic is for a hacker. If you can't softcap both, you should be softcapping Charisma.
Even Willpower is bad, since stun boxes round up.
Again, good points. What I did was, because Willpower / 2 rounds up to 2 with a WIL of 3 (and Willpower / 2 is 2 with a WIL of 4), I dropped WIL to 3 and then jacked up CHA to 5. So both CHA and LOG are soft-capped at this point (if I understand what you mean by soft-capped).
"Data Search" is not a good choice of Codeslinger. It's not that important a test to be super awesome at, and very overpriced (compare to Analytical Mind). "Hack on the Fly" is a better use of Codeslinger, if you really want it.
Natural Hardening is terrible.
Well, the concept for the hacker was to be a data thief, so I thought Data Search would be good to get the +2 dice bonus to. However, after thinking on it with your suggestion, Hack on the Fly would be better because, in order to get to the data, I’d have to hack into the data storage node to begin with.
As for Natural Hardening, I thought the bonus to Biofeedback Filter would be good to have. But I took your suggestion and dropped it. This now gives me 26 BP to work with.
This puts me in a weird situation now. I have 26 BP to work with at this point, which means I could get rid of In Debt. If I do, I lose 20 BP AND I have to put 4 more BP into the starting Y to get where I’m at now, and I still have things to do based on your suggestions. So for now, I’m not doing this. I may revisit this later.
Simsense Booster is crazy expensive and not very good. PuSHeD, Encephalon, and a partial cyberlimb+nanohive+NeoCortical Nanites are all much more useful. Actually, all of those are better than Cerebral Boosters for you too.
You don't have Tailored Pheremones, but are a face?
Ok, I added PuSHeD and Encephalon, but I’m running into problems with creds now. I am now sitting at -23,625 Y, and if I remove the Cerebral Booster I’ll still be in the blackk at -3,625. Now, I can drop 5 BP into Y to get to the max of 50, which gives me 21,375 Y, and after taking the left hand and the nanohive I am sitting at 6,375 Y. I add the neo-cortical neural amplifiers to my gear at rating 2, and I’m back in black at -3,625. And that’s a quantity of 1 on those.
Now I add Tailored Pheromones at rating 1, and I’m seriously in debt at -18,625 Y. Wow, I’m gonna need to do some serious reconfiguring of gear, with the potential of losing my ride. But when I look at my skill ratings now…holy crap, dude. This is why I needed the help. 16 freaking dice for Data Search?
You are under-armored. First, you should probably wear at least a half-suit of FFBA, if not a full suit. Second, put on something over it. Third, add on PPP until you are at 6/6 for encumbrance.
Armor is something I struggle with. Not your description, but with all characters I try to create. I want to be wearing armor, but I hate losing the point(s) of AGI when donning the armor. So I try to find the best stuff that won’t get me to lose AGI. However…
I removed the form-fitting shirt, and then I added a form-fitting full body suit, which will be worn underneath the actioneer business clothing. I then added the PPP ensemble, which is really upping the B/I ratings, but severely affects AGI (dropping my AGI to 1 when it’s worn). This all also puts me at -20,725 Y. Yeesh.
The Cavalier Arms Sheriff is not a bad gun if your GM buys that the HP -2 to hit penalty is negatable with Recoil Compensation, but that means you need to get some appropriate mods for it: Firing Selection Change (SA), Personalized Grip, Underbarrel Weight, and a stock will cover it. It's not worth using otherwise and that goes double on a character with a fairly low dicepool.
The Onatori Arms Security Special is a bad gun. The Yamaha Sakura Fubuki with stick-n-shock is a good complement to the Sheriff (the YSF is good for SnS, SnS works against anything but vehicles and drones, and the sheriff is good against vehicles and drones).
You don't need 5 medkits. That's just silly
Changed the weapons to what you stated above. I wanted to have a light pistol – concealed, of course, in the concealable holster that’s part of the business clothes – for when the character meets Johnsons and others he comes across in his face role, but then be able to switch to the heavy pistol for when it’s needed. I should have been better at knowing what ammo is needed for the light pistol (SnS), and that’s on me for not reading through all ammo types properly.
As far as the medkits go…I was just trying to be prepared. This is another thing that I struggle with, because while I have a DocWagon contract, I don’t want to have to use it all that often. And medkits are cheap, so I thought I’d just pick up several of them to be on the safe side. But I dropped down to 1 medkit.
After all of this, I still have 21 BP remaining, but I’m sitting at -22,700 Y. I’ve put as many BP into Y as I can (50), so I have to find other ways to get my cashflow under control. The first thing I did was look at my vehicle, because I’m sure there are things in there that I really don’t need. The total cost of the vehicle as it sits is 58,500 Y, so I have to do something about that.
For starters, I dropped both Engine Accel and Engine Speed customizations, which was a total of 13,000 Y. He’s a hacker and a face, not a get-a-way driver or rigger, so these aren’t really needed. They are nice in the event he has to split quick, but not a necessity. So bye-bye to those.
The next thing to go was the upgraded pilot program. It’s a car, not a robot. And again, I’m not a rigger. And that was 10,000 Y that could be spent elsewhere (and that I really needed). And while we’re on the subject of things that the car really doesn’t need, I dropped the spoof chip and the add-ons for firewall, system, response, and signal. It’s a car, for pete’s sake. That’s a total of 10,500 more Y. And when you consider that, with the exception of the pilot program, I dropped from a modded 5 to a standard 3 in all categories, I think we can see that the money was NOT well spent initially.
So where do I stand now? 21 BP, and I’m in the red with creds at 10,800. So what to do with the money? Well, I decided to jack up the Nanohive to a rating of 2. I could have dropped In Debt at 20k and taken it again with only 10k, but that would leave me with 11 BP and the same amount of creds (800). I figure if I’m gonna start in debt, why not just stick where you’re at, right?
So, I’ve got 21 BP to play with at the moment, and the only skills I’ve taken so far that I can alter are Pistols and Pilot Ground Craft. I took Cracking at 4, Electronics at 4, and Influence at 4, so none of the skills in those categories can be increased at initial character creation. So what to take?
I decided that the guy needs to be able to get out of the way when the crap hits the fan because he’s not supposed to be a combat machine. So I took Dodge at 4, which leaves me with 5 BP to deal with. And after thinking on it, I took the Positive Quality of Genecrafted. 5 BP cost, but decreased the cost of the bioware my character has, leaving me with 3,800 Y to play with. So what to buy with the cash? Simple – a couple of hacked agents and a software programming suite (rating 3).
One thing you will notice is that I have not done anything with the 30 or so knowledge skill points. This is intentional - I want to get the meat of the character done first, and then work on what makes him who he is.
Anyhow, the updated character is in the spoiler below. I left the original character so people could see the changes even though I described them in this post.
Thank you for the critique on the original, and I welcome any more critique on the updated version.
== Info ==
Street Name:
Name: Unnamed Character
Movement: 10/25, Swim: 5
Karma: 0
Street Cred: 0
Notoriety: 0
Public Awareness: 0
Human
Composure: 7
Judge Intentions: 9
Lift/Carry: 5 (30 kg/20 kg)
Memory: 8
Nuyen: 0
== Attributes ==
BOD: 3
AGI: 3 (1)
REA: 3 (5)
STR: 2
CHA: 4
INT: 5
LOG: 5
WIL: 3
EDG: 2
== Derived Attributes ==
Essence: 1.10
Initiative: 8 (10)
IP: 1 (3)
Matrix Initiative: 14
Matrix IP: 3
Physical Damage Track: 11
Stun Damage Track: 10
== Active Skills ==
Animal Handling : 0 Pool: 4
Animal Training : 0 Pool: 4
Armorer : 0 Pool: 4
Artisan : 0 Pool: 4
Climbing : 0 Pool: 1
Computer : 4 Pool: 14
Con : 4 Pool: 9
Cybercombat : 4 Pool: 14
Data Search : 4 Pool: 16
Demolitions : 0 Pool: 4
Disguise : 0 Pool: 4
Diving : 0 Pool: 2
Dodge : 4 Pool: 9
Electronic Warfare : 4 Pool: 14
Etiquette : 4 Pool: 9
First Aid : 0 Pool: 4
Flight : 0 Pool: 1
Hacking : 4 Pool: 14
Hardware : 4 Pool: 14
Instruction : 0 Pool: 3
Intimidation : 0 Pool: 3
Leadership : 4 Pool: 9
Navigation : 0 Pool: 4
Negotiation : 4 Pool: 9
Parachuting : 0 Pool: 2
Perception : 0 Pool: 4
Pilot Ground Craft : 2 Pool: 7
Pilot Watercraft : 0 Pool: 4
Pistols : 4 Pool: 5
Riding : 0 Pool: 4
Running : 0 Pool: 1
Shadowing : 0 Pool: 4
Software : 4 Pool: 16
Survival : 0 Pool: 2
Swimming : 0 Pool: 1
Tracking : 0 Pool: 4
== Knowledge Skills ==
== Qualities ==
Analytical Mind
Codeslinger (Hack on the Fly)
Distinctive Style (10 pts)
Genecrafted
In Debt (20,000¥)
== Lifestyles ==
Middle 1 months
== Cyberware/Bioware ==
Encephalon Rating 2
Enhanced Protein Exchange, PuSHeD
Obvious Hand (Left)
+Nanohive Rating 2
Tailored Pheromones Rating 1
Wired Reflexes Rating 2
== Armor ==
Actioneer Business Clothes5/3
+Concealable Holster
Form-Fitting Full-Body Suit6/2
SecureTech PPP Armor (Ensemble)2/6
== Weapons ==
Cavalier Arms Sheriff
+Stock
+Firing Selection Change, Small Mod (SA)
+High-Power Chambering
+Melee Hardening
+Personalized Grip
+Smartgun System
+Trigger Removal
+Underbarrel Weight, Auto-Adjusting
DV: 8P AP: -4 RC: 3
Ceramic Knife
DV: 2P AP: - RC: 0
Unarmed Attack
DV: 1S AP: - RC: 0
Yamaha Sakura Fubuki
+Stock
+Smartgun System
DV: 4P AP: - RC: 1
== Commlink ==
Disposable Commlink (1, 2, 1, 3)
+Disposable Commlink OS
+Fake SIN (Public - Jesse Holton) Rating 4
+Subvocal Microphone
Disposable Commlink (1, 2, 1, 3)
+Disposable Commlink OS
+Fake SIN (Public - Conrad Veritas) Rating 4
+Subvocal Microphone
Erika Elite (5, 5, 5, 5)
+Novatech Navi
+Sim Module (Hot)
+Subvocal Microphone
+Armor Case Rating 10
+Customized Interface
+Hardening Rating 6
Renraku Sensei (4, 5, 5, 5)
+Iris Orb
+Sim Module (Hot)
+Subvocal Microphone
+Armor Case Rating 10
+Customized Interface
+Hardening Rating 6
== Gear ==
Ammo: Explosive Rounds (Heavy Pistols) x50
Ammo: Hollow Point Rounds (Heavy Pistols) x100
Ammo: Hollow Point Rounds (Light Pistols) x100
Ammo: Stick-n-Shock (Light Pistols) x100
Analyze (Hacked) Rating 6
AR Gloves
Armor (Hacked) Rating 6
Attack (Hacked) Rating 6
Biofeedback Filter (Hacked) Rating 6
Black Hammer (Hacked) Rating 6
Blackout (Hacked) Rating 6
Browse (Hacked) Rating 6
Command (Hacked) Rating 6
Corrupt (Hacked) Rating 6
Data Translation (Hacked) Rating 6
Datachip x15
Decrypt (Hacked) Rating 6
Defuse (Hacked) Rating 6
DocWagon Contract: Basic
Earbuds Rating 3
+Audio Enhancement Rating 3
+Select Sound Filter Rating 3
ECCM (Hacked) Rating 6
Edit (Hacked) Rating 6
Encrypt (Hacked) Rating 6
Expert Defense (Hacked) Rating 3
Expert Offense (Hacked) Rating 3
Exploit (Hacked) Rating 6
Fake License (Cavalier Arms Sheriff) Rating 4 x2
Fake License (Wired Reflexes) Rating 4
Fake License (Yamaha Sakura Fubuki) Rating 4 x2
Fingernail Data Storage x2
Firewall (Hacked) Rating 6
Glasses Rating 4
+Image Link
+Smartlink
+Vision Enhancement Rating 3
Medic (Hacked) Rating 6
Medkit Rating 6
Neural Amplifiers, Neocortical Rating 2
Nuke (Hacked) Rating 6
Purge (Hacked) Rating 6
Scan (Hacked) Rating 6
Sniffer (Hacked) Rating 6
Sniffer (Hacked) Rating 6
Software Programm Suite Rating 3
Spoof (Hacked) Rating 6
Stealth (Hacked) Rating 6
Track (Hacked) Rating 6
== Vehicles ==
Hyundai Shin-Hyung (Sedan)
+Amenities, Middle
+Anti-Theft
+Armor, Normal Rating 10
+Clean Car Coating
+Enhanced Image Screens
+Interior Cameras
+Oil Slick Sprayer
+Smoke Projector
+Spike Strip
+Vehicle Sensor
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You never want to wear armor that encumbers you; the idea is you wear just enough to be right at the cap before it encumbers you.
I think you don't have enough body to make Actioneer worth it - you always want FFBA, which (if counts as 3/1), so you want 3/5 for the rest of it. There's a lot of ways to do this; one simple way that's handy if you want to be a face is to use Holo-wear (from Attitude) and then add on a bit of PPP (not the whole suit!) to even it out. So, for example:
FFBA: 6/2, counts as 3/1
H-Jumpsuit, 3/2
PPP Vitals Protector, Shin Guards, and Forearm Guards, 0/3
So that adds to 6/6 for encumbrance, and thus doesn't encumber you.
Natural Hardening is bad because it costs as much as Willpower but does less.
I don't like having Tailored Pheremones 1, since you'll want to replace it with Tailored Pheremones 3 later. I would either try to scrounge up another 30000, or drop it and reinvest the money in things that will stay useful. I might consider upgrading that hand to a lower arm and fitting in Armor Enhancement.
Genecrafted is by no means bad, but do make sure you actually want enough geneware down the road for it to pay off. There are a bunch of good ones.
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Simsense Booster is crazy expensive and not very good. PuSHeD, Encephalon, and a partial cyberlimb+nanohive+NeoCortical Nanites are all much more useful. Actually, all of those are better than Cerebral Boosters for you too.
I don't see how neocortical nanites are very useful for any runner. Non-stressful situations are generally not the times when you need a bonus!
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Neocortical would be bad, if it weren't so inexpensive for such a large and broad bonus. Most runs have lots of legwork; that's +3 to data search nearly all the time. It helps you build/repair things, do first aid out of combat, program software, it helps a ton of Knowledge skills ... there's quite a lot of Logic-linked skills, and a good chunk of them are useful in non-stressful situations. It's a bargain for what it does; +3 is a really large bonus for the price.
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Really, I think you have way too many programs. I mean, the list looks like you just took practically every program in the book. You might want to pare down and figure out which ones are absolutely essential for your particular character and dump the rest (this will probably save you a lot of cash). Why are you soft-capping Logic while your Charisma is a 4 on a Human? I'd advise swapping those since your Charisma for your Face side is more important than your Logic for your Hacker side. I know a lot of people say to save specializations for karma, but I think Pilot Groundcraft (Wheeled) 1 is better than Pilot Groundcraft 2 for a non-Rigger. Dropping the Encephalon down to rating 1 and only having one commlink with upgrades (only your primary really needs to have any Oomph to it) could also save you some cash.
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Really, I think you have way too many programs. I mean, the list looks like you just took practically every program in the book. You might want to pare down and figure out which ones are absolutely essential for your particular character and dump the rest (this will probably save you a lot of cash).
My problem here is that I don’t know what I will or won’t need for my character. As I see it, everything is useful and potentially need it. And as all the programs are hacked, they aren’t costing me all that much cash to begin with.
I’ve stated already that the concept here would be to be a data thief, so if you’ve got a suggestion on which programs to drop and why, I’m all ears. Otherwise, I honestly don’t know which ones to keep and which ones to drop.
Why are you soft-capping Logic while your Charisma is a 4 on a Human? I'd advise swapping those since your Charisma for your Face side is more important than your Logic for your Hacker side.
I thought I had done this already, but when I dropped WIL to 3 I unintentionally added the point to INT and not CHA. This is now fixed.
I know a lot of people say to save specializations for karma, but I think Pilot Groundcraft (Wheeled) 1 is better than Pilot Groundcraft 2 for a non-Rigger.
My problem here is the amount of BP left over after doing this. I would have to strip a point away from starting nuyen, then drop Pilot Ground Vehicles to 1, then add the specialiaztion. This leaves me with 3 BP, and I have no idea what to spend that on.
Dropping the Encephalon down to rating 1
I originally took it at rating 2 to get the additional +1 dice when using the Cracking skill group, but 45,000 Y is far too pricey for +1 dice for four different skills. Dropped to rating 1, which now gives me 45,000 Y to work with. Hmmm….
and only having one commlink with upgrades (only your primary really needs to have any Oomph to it) could also save you some cash.
There is a very specific reason that I have 2 upgraded, private commlinks. The cost of them is beyond what a runner can expect to make in a few runs (15k and 11k respectively), and if one gets fried I have the other as a back up. I won’t get rid of either one unless it dies (ie, it gets geeked in the matrix), and it’s easier to have the spare now than to raise the creds afterwards when you consider that it will be at least twice as expensive on the street as it is at character generation.
You never want to wear armor that encumbers you; the idea is you wear just enough to be right at the cap before it encumbers you.
I think you don't have enough body to make Actioneer worth it - you always want FFBA, which (if counts as 3/1), so you want 3/5 for the rest of it. There's a lot of ways to do this; one simple way that's handy if you want to be a face is to use Holo-wear (from Attitude) and then add on a bit of PPP (not the whole suit!) to even it out. So, for example:
FFBA: 6/2, counts as 3/1
H-Jumpsuit, 3/2
PPP Vitals Protector, Shin Guards, and Forearm Guards, 0/3
So that adds to 6/6 for encumbrance, and thus doesn't encumber you.
I’m using Chummer for character generation, and it doesn’t tell you anything about encumbrance for armor other than hammering your attributes. And when I add the above configuration to my character, AGI drops to 2, and it’s from the Vitals Protector being 1/1 and not 0/1.
I don't like having Tailored Pheremones 1, since you'll want to replace it with Tailored Pheremones 3 later. I would either try to scrounge up another 30000, or drop it and reinvest the money in things that will stay useful. I might consider upgrading that hand to a lower arm and fitting in Armor Enhancement.
Well, with the 45,000 Y I gained from dropping to Encephalon 1, I think I found the cash. So I upped Tailored Pheromones to rating 3 with the cash, and I’ve got about 15,000 Y left.
So I changed out the hand for an entire lower arm, and added Armor to the limb. Unfortunately, you can only go to rating 2 for the armor as rating 3 has an availability of 15. No big deal – it just leaves me with some cash I can use. Which I did, to add a rating 4 scanner system to the cyberlimb. I figure that as he’s the face, it might come in handy to scan the people he meets with on behalf of the team for metallic and magnetic anomalies such as hidden weapons and cyberware.
As it now stands, I have 7,125 Y left to burn, and I can’t figure out what to do with it. I could take 1 BP away from Y, leaving me with 2,125, but you can’t really spend 1 BP, can you? Any suggestions?
== Info ==
Street Name:
Name: Unnamed Character
Movement: 10/25, Swim: 5
Karma: 0
Street Cred: 0
Notoriety: 0
Public Awareness: 0
Human
Composure: 8
Judge Intentions: 9
Lift/Carry: 5 (30 kg/20 kg)
Memory: 8
Nuyen: 0
== Attributes ==
BOD: 3
AGI: 3
REA: 3 (5)
STR: 2
CHA: 5
INT: 4
LOG: 5
WIL: 3
EDG: 2
== Derived Attributes ==
Essence: 1.45
Initiative: 7 (9)
IP: 1 (3)
Matrix Initiative: 13
Matrix IP: 3
Physical Damage Track: 11
Stun Damage Track: 10
== Active Skills ==
Animal Handling : 0 Pool: 3
Animal Training : 0 Pool: 3
Archery : 0 Pool: 2
Armorer : 0 Pool: 4
Artisan : 0 Pool: 3
Automatics : 0 Pool: 2
Blades : 0 Pool: 2
Climbing : 0 Pool: 1
Clubs : 0 Pool: 2
Computer : 4 Pool: 13
Con : 4 Pool: 12
Cybercombat : 4 Pool: 13
Data Search : 4 Pool: 15
Demolitions : 0 Pool: 4
Disguise : 0 Pool: 3
Diving : 0 Pool: 2
Dodge : 4 Pool: 9
Electronic Warfare : 4 Pool: 13
Escape Artist : 0 Pool: 2
Etiquette : 4 Pool: 12
First Aid : 0 Pool: 4
Flight : 0 Pool: 1
Forgery : 0 Pool: 2
Gunnery : 0 Pool: 2
Gymnastics : 0 Pool: 2
Hacking : 4 Pool: 13
Hardware : 4 Pool: 13
Heavy Weapons : 0 Pool: 2
Infiltration : 0 Pool: 2
Instruction : 0 Pool: 4
Intimidation : 0 Pool: 4
Leadership : 4 Pool: 12
Locksmith : 0 Pool: 2
Longarms : 0 Pool: 2
Navigation : 0 Pool: 3
Negotiation : 4 Pool: 12
Palming : 0 Pool: 2
Parachuting : 0 Pool: 2
Perception : 0 Pool: 3
Pilot Ground Craft : 2 Pool: 7
Pilot Watercraft : 0 Pool: 4
Pistols : 4 Pool: 7
Riding : 0 Pool: 4
Running : 0 Pool: 1
Shadowing : 0 Pool: 3
Software : 4 Pool: 15
Survival : 0 Pool: 2
Swimming : 0 Pool: 1
Throwing Weapons : 0 Pool: 2
Tracking : 0 Pool: 3
Unarmed Combat : 0 Pool: 2
== Knowledge Skills ==
== Qualities ==
Analytical Mind
Codeslinger (Hack on the Fly)
Distinctive Style (10 pts)
Genecrafted
In Debt (20,000¥)
== Lifestyles ==
Middle 1 months
== Cyberware/Bioware ==
Encephalon Rating 1
Enhanced Protein Exchange, PuSHeD
Obvious Lower Arm (Left)
+Nanohive Rating 2
+Armor Rating 2
+Scanner System Rating 4
Tailored Pheromones Rating 3
Wired Reflexes Rating 2
== Armor ==
Form-Fitting Full-Body Suit6/2
H-jumpsuit 3/2
SecureTech Forearm Guards 0/1
SecureTech Shin Guards 0/1
== Weapons ==
Cavalier Arms Sheriff
+Stock
+Firing Selection Change, Small Mod (SA)
+High-Power Chambering
+Melee Hardening
+Personalized Grip
+Smartgun System
+Trigger Removal
+Underbarrel Weight, Auto-Adjusting
DV: 8P AP: -4 RC: 3
Ceramic Knife
DV: 2P AP: - RC: 0
Unarmed Attack
DV: 1S AP: - RC: 0
Yamaha Sakura Fubuki
+Stock
+Smartgun System
DV: 4P AP: - RC: 1
== Commlink ==
Disposable Commlink (1, 2, 1, 3)
+Disposable Commlink OS
+Fake SIN (Public - Jesse Holton) Rating 4
+Subvocal Microphone
Disposable Commlink (1, 2, 1, 3)
+Disposable Commlink OS
+Fake SIN (Public - Conrad Veritas) Rating 4
+Subvocal Microphone
Erika Elite (5, 5, 5, 5)
+Novatech Navi
+Sim Module (Hot)
+Subvocal Microphone
+Armor Case Rating 10
+Customized Interface
+Hardening Rating 6
Renraku Sensei (4, 5, 5, 5)
+Iris Orb
+Sim Module (Hot)
+Subvocal Microphone
+Armor Case Rating 10
+Customized Interface
+Hardening Rating 6
== Gear ==
Ammo: Explosive Rounds (Heavy Pistols) x50
Ammo: Hollow Point Rounds (Heavy Pistols) x100
Ammo: Hollow Point Rounds (Light Pistols) x100
Ammo: Stick-n-Shock (Light Pistols) x100
Analyze (Hacked) Rating 6
AR Gloves
Armor (Hacked) Rating 6
Attack (Hacked) Rating 6
Biofeedback Filter (Hacked) Rating 6
Black Hammer (Hacked) Rating 6
Blackout (Hacked) Rating 6
Browse (Hacked) Rating 6
Command (Hacked) Rating 6
Corrupt (Hacked) Rating 6
Data Translation (Hacked) Rating 6
Datachip x15
Decrypt (Hacked) Rating 6
Defuse (Hacked) Rating 6
DocWagon Contract: Basic
Earbuds Rating 3
+Audio Enhancement Rating 3
+Select Sound Filter Rating 3
ECCM (Hacked) Rating 6
Edit (Hacked) Rating 6
Encrypt (Hacked) Rating 6
Expert Defense (Hacked) Rating 3
Expert Offense (Hacked) Rating 3
Exploit (Hacked) Rating 6
Fake License (Cavalier Arms Sheriff) Rating 4 x2
Fake License (Wired Reflexes) Rating 4
Fake License (Yamaha Sakura Fubuki) Rating 4 x2
Fingernail Data Storage x2
Firewall (Hacked) Rating 6
Glasses Rating 4
+Image Link
+Smartlink
+Vision Enhancement Rating 3
Medic (Hacked) Rating 6
Medkit Rating 6
Neural Amplifiers, Neocortical Rating 2
Nuke (Hacked) Rating 6
Purge (Hacked) Rating 6
Scan (Hacked) Rating 6
Sniffer (Hacked) Rating 6
Sniffer (Hacked) Rating 6
Software Programm Suite Rating 3
Spoof (Hacked) Rating 6
Stealth (Hacked) Rating 6
Track (Hacked) Rating 6
== Vehicles ==
Hyundai Shin-Hyung (Sedan)
+Amenities, Middle
+Anti-Theft
+Armor, Normal Rating 10
+Clean Car Coating
+Enhanced Image Screens
+Interior Cameras
+Oil Slick Sprayer
+Smoke Projector
+Spike Strip
+Vehicle Sensor
-
One BP or 3 BP may not have that much use, but they can improve contacts (better IMO to improve one than to use 3 points to get a new one that can't do crap and will sell you out for a Slurpie).
-
Agreed. I'd say spend 1BP on a contact, take your left over ¥ and buy extras of somethings, like car tires, clothing for various social circles, etc.
-
Should've brought this up before, but you should always check with whoever is GMing and find out if it's all right with him to start with Hacked programs. There are a lot (myself included) that will not allow them in character creation as it requires rolling to do it.
-
Sorry about that, I got pieces mixed up. Instead of Vitals Protector you would want to wear either Arm Casings or Leg Casings (not both). Together they are 1/1, but if you wear either arm or leg casings, it's 0/1 so that makes it balance (no word on what happens if you wear one arm casing and one leg casing).
-
Sorry about that, I got pieces mixed up. Instead of Vitals Protector you would want to wear either Arm Casings or Leg Casings (not both). Together they are 1/1, but if you wear either arm or leg casings, it's 0/1 so that makes it balance (no word on what happens if you wear one arm casing and one leg casing).
+0.5/+0.5 maybe?
;D
-
Should've brought this up before, but you should always check with whoever is GMing and find out if it's all right with him to start with Hacked programs. There are a lot (myself included) that will not allow them in character creation as it requires rolling to do it.
The reason I chose all the programs as Hacked is that:
1. All hackers that I've seen out here (not necessarily all hackers, but the ones I've seen) all have hacked programs; AND
2. Chummer lists it as an option, and there isn't anything I've seen in the books that states you cannot start the game with hacked programs.
So I originally chose them as hacked, but I get where you are coming from in that programs should be "legal" at game start, with the character making rolls during game play to remove the copy protection. So I removed all the hacked programs and went through and bought only the ones I think I'd need for the data thief concept. Sucks that they are all copy protected and registered, but nothing I can do about that.
As far as who the GM is...this isn't a character for any game just yet. This is going to be a template for all future hackers I create, and this is mainly for the experience of creating characters so I can get better at it and hopefully clean up all the errors I made when doing this. If I shouldn't be doing that and posting them here, please tell me.
Anyhow, the new character is posted. Any other critique on this guy (other than he's missing contacts and knowledge skills)?
: 3
Software : 4 Pool: 15
Survival : 0 Pool: 2
Swimming : 0 Pool: 1
Throwing Weapons : 0 Pool: 2
Tracking : 0 Pool: 3
Unarmed Combat : 0 Pool: 2
== Knowledge Skills ==
== Qualities ==
Analytical Mind
Codeslinger (Hack on the Fly)
Distinctive Style (10 pts)
Genecrafted
In Debt (20,000¥)
== Lifestyles ==
Middle 1 months
== Cyberware/Bioware ==
Encephalon Rating 1
Enhanced Protein Exchange, PuSHeD
Obvious Lower Arm (Left)
+Nanohive Rating 2
+Armor Rating 2
+Scanner System Rating 4
Tailored Pheromones Rating 3
Wired Reflexes Rating 2
== Armor ==
Form-Fitting Full-Body Suit6/2
H-jumpsuit 3/2
SecureTech Arm Casings 0/1
SecureTech Forearm Guards 0/1
SecureTech Shin Guards 0/1
== Weapons ==
Cavalier Arms Sheriff
+Stock
+Firing Selection Change, Small Mod (SA)
+High-Power Chambering
+Melee Hardening
+Personalized Grip
+Smartgun System
+Trigger Removal
+Underbarrel Weight, Auto-Adjusting
DV: 8P AP: -4 RC: 3
Ceramic Knife
DV: 2P AP: - RC: 0
Unarmed Attack
DV: 1S AP: - RC: 0
Yamaha Sakura Fubuki
+Stock
+Smartgun System
DV: 4P AP: - RC: 1
== Commlink ==
Disposable Commlink (1, 2, 1, 3)
+Disposable Commlink OS
+Fake SIN (Public - Jesse Holton) Rating 4
+Subvocal Microphone
Disposable Commlink (1, 2, 1, 3)
+Disposable Commlink OS
+Fake SIN (Public - Conrad Veritas) Rating 4
+Subvocal Microphone
Erika Elite (5, 5, 5, 5)
+Novatech Navi
+Sim Module (Hot)
+Subvocal Microphone
+Armor Case Rating 10
+Customized Interface
+Hardening Rating 6
Renraku Sensei (4, 5, 5, 5)
+Iris Orb
+Sim Module (Hot)
+Subvocal Microphone
+Armor Case Rating 10
+Customized Interface
+Hardening Rating 6
== Gear ==
Ammo: Explosive Rounds (Heavy Pistols) x50
Ammo: Hollow Point Rounds (Heavy Pistols) x100
Ammo: Hollow Point Rounds (Light Pistols) x100
Ammo: Stick-n-Shock (Light Pistols) x100
AR Gloves
Armor Rating 3
+Copy Protection Rating 3
+Registration
Attack Rating 3
+Copy Protection Rating 3
+Registration
Datachip x15
DocWagon Contract: Basic
Earbuds Rating 3
+Audio Enhancement Rating 3
+Select Sound Filter Rating 3
Eurosoft Clavicula
+Decrypt Rating 5 [Copy Protection 5; Registration]
+Encrypt Rating 5 [Copy Protection 5; Registration]
Exploit Rating 3
+Copy Protection Rating 3
+Registration
Fake License (Cavalier Arms Sheriff) Rating 4 x2
Fake License (Wired Reflexes) Rating 4
Fake License (Yamaha Sakura Fubuki) Rating 4 x2
Fingernail Data Storage x2
Glasses Rating 4
+Image Link
+Smartlink
+Vision Enhancement Rating 3
Medic Rating 3
+Copy Protection Rating 3
+Registration
Medkit Rating 6
Neural Amplifiers, Neocortical Rating 2
Purge Rating 5
+Copy Protection Rating 5
+Registration
Scan Rating 6
+Copy Protection Rating 6
+Registration
Sniffer Rating 3
+Copy Protection Rating 3
+Registration
Software Programm Suite Rating 4
Spoof Rating 3
+Copy Protection Rating 3
+Registration
Stealth Rating 3
+Copy Protection Rating 3
+Registration
Suite: Pro User
+Analyze Rating 4 [Copy Protection 4; Registration]
+Browse Rating 4 [Copy Protection 4; Registration]
+Command Rating 2 [Copy Protection 2; Registration]
+Edit Rating 4 [Copy Protection 4; Registration]
== Vehicles ==
Hyundai Shin-Hyung (Sedan)
+Amenities, Middle
+Anti-Theft
+Armor, Normal Rating 10
+Clean Car Coating
+Enhanced Image Screens
+Interior Cameras
+Oil Slick Sprayer
+Smoke Projector
+Spike Strip
+Vehicle Sensor
-
Exploit is an important program, and I'm not all that certain about Purge, so you might wanna take Exploit instead (including finding the money for rating 6, optimization 1). Analyze and Encrypt at 6 with optimization and ergonomic are always good choices.
-
Well...I already have Exploit at rating 3, so I'm not sure why you think I don't already have it.
Secondly, dropping Purge would only free up 500 Y, which would give me 800 Y to play with. I could add Optimization 1 to 8 programs, but that isn't nearly enough cash to get up to rating 6 on Exploit. I'm already flat-busted with maxing out everything else that's been stated I need to max out on this character, so I'm not sure where to find the creds for this.
However, with that said, I did remove Purge, so I now have 800 Y to play with. I added Optimization 1 to Exploit, but now I'm toying around with adding Mute 1 to Attack. Is this a good idea to do?
-
Exploit and Mute is a really good option.
Rasmus
-
Well...I already have Exploit at rating 3, so I'm not sure why you think I don't already have it.
Secondly, dropping Purge would only free up 500 Y, which would give me 800 Y to play with. I could add Optimization 1 to 8 programs, but that isn't nearly enough cash to get up to rating 6 on Exploit. I'm already flat-busted with maxing out everything else that's been stated I need to max out on this character, so I'm not sure where to find the creds for this.
However, with that said, I did remove Purge, so I now have 800 Y to play with. I added Optimization 1 to Exploit, but now I'm toying around with adding Mute 1 to Attack. Is this a good idea to do?
Eventually found where you have it. Didn't notice it before as it was buried in some other stuff and separate from the rest of the programs. If you don't get Exploit to rating 6, then you won't need the optimization on it (this was part of why I gave the advice before on sticking with only one 'primary' comm, getting rid of one of them would have saved you enough to get Exploit 6).
-
Yeah, for some reason Chummer lists everything alphabetically when you print it out via text file. I may post a request on the bug thread for an update to that...
Anyhow, as I stated, I have the back up comm for a very specific reason. I'm drawing upon my inner boy scout - always be prepared. Unless someone can convince me not to have it, I'm gonna stick with it. If someone can convince me, then I'll drop it and pick up Exploit 6 with Optimization 1.
-
Anyhow, as I stated, I have the back up comm for a very specific reason. I'm drawing upon my inner boy scout - always be prepared. Unless someone can convince me not to have it, I'm gonna stick with it. If someone can convince me, then I'll drop it and pick up Exploit 6 with Optimization 1.
Being prepared is good, but when you're running low on resources, pieces of gear that are there as backup redundancies are generally a good place to start when 'trimming the fat'. Though I do more go for the 'being prepared' as having the more 'widget' gear than having extras of other gear (fetishes on mages aside, but those are so cheap that it's no problem having three of each type).
-
Exploit 6 with Optimization 1 is availability 13.
-
Exploit 6 with Optimization 1 is availability 13.
Crap. Forgot that those modified availability :/