Shadowrun
Shadowrun Play => Character creation and critique => Topic started by: saltorio on <11-11-12/2341:22>
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I'm completely new to Shadowrun. Our group has been playing various RPGs (mostly D&D) for over a decade, and some of them have played SR3 before, but I've never touched Shadowrun in any way.
I'm looking to build a Drone Rigger. I've read through the rules several times, to try to get my head around rigging and what's involved, as well as looked over the stock Rigger build in SR4A as well as the Mercenary Rigger on these forums, but I'm still a bit confused and looking for some assistance.
Pre-amble:
- my GM has stated he doesn't want anyone "sitting in the van", so my rigger will have to be in there in body with the team. As such, I'm thinking command or AR remote control are going to be my primary ways of using my drones (I'll likely do the odd jumping in to pilot recon drones around, but that's it).
- my GM is also leaning towards down-playing VR. He doesn't want the group being split up too much while one character delves into the Matrix to do stuff (though in gameplay this may be less of an issue with everyone having wireless commlinks). As such I'm not sure how much complex hacking and EWar will factor into the game
- as far as books go, anything official for 4e is allowed
I'm lucky in that I won't need a vehicle (we're being provided with a way to transporting our gear and drones), so that'll free up cash for drones and gear of my own. Our team has an infiltrator with decent hacking skills for bypassing security and such, so my skills will mostly focus around commanding my drones, repairing and modifying them, and maybe a bit of piloting.
My main issues with creating the character are:
- taking the above into account, what should my attributes look like? I've read that riggers don't need to use a full 200 BPs on attributes, and I'm still a bit confused as to when my attributes are used with drones, vs. their stats
- I know my commlink will be my main piece of gear (next to my Control Rig), but how should I modify it and what programs do I need?
- beyond the commlink, what other cyber/gear is considered important for a command/remote drone rigger?
- what are the main upgrades/programs I should be outfitting my drones with?
Pardon my noob-ness. I'm just a bit overwhelmed, and any suggestions/comments are more than welcome.
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is playing a cyborg out of the question?
if so, then what about a guy that is almost completely encased with cyberware - cyber head, chest, limbs?
'jump in' your own body and gain all the benefits of hot VR and boosted matrix dice pool rolls, as jumped in counts as cyberspace.
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My observations from what i have picked up here recently. Issue one - If you can't play the traditional "guy-in-a-van" routine a la carte, you are going to need to be able to handle yourself in a fire fight. So you can be a back-up role and have a Crimson Samurai as your combat buddy. So, I would focus on Reaction and Agility. Reaction will pair up with your piloting skills, and also help in combat. Body at least 3, 5 if you are not an elf or human. Intuition adds to Initiative, do not want this too low if you are going to be in the line of fire. Cyber up a bit, maybe grab a nice, shiny cyberarm and pimp it out for shooting SMG's and Machine Pistols.
As far as the Rigger side goes, you don't need all the hacking stuff. You want "regular" computer skill, elect. warfare, and hardware. Gunnery covers vehicle/drone weapons. You will want max fire walls on all your drones/vehicles/commlinks. Signal is also important, as it represents your max range, without using re-trans drones. Programs, you need analyze, command is essential, Eccm, and its helpful to use an agent on your rigging comm to handle hackers.
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Yup, you're going to want an average kind of combat build so you can make sure you can hold your own.
Agility is necessary for your own shooting, reaction is necessary for your own defense and piloting vehicles.
You primarily use drone stats when you're jumped in, things like response and sensor but it is quite complex as to what and when, so i'll defer to the pros on here!
Doing remote control seems to be best, make sure you take a couple of combat drones, armed to the teeth and using the appropriate autosofts: targetting and clearsight (targetting gives them the ability to use a weapon class, and clearsight improves their understanding on what you want them to do)
Recon drones can be automated eyes in the sky by loading their sensors with facial recongition software loaded into a decent spec camera and voice recognition software loaded into laser/directional microphones which can be good for legwork/eavesdropping misions
Having some skill in pilot aircraft and groundcraft is good for when you need to take control yourself.
You'll want the best signal and firewall you can on your drones, non standard links are good too if you can play it that way. Eccm is good against jamming attempts and you'll def want an agent on your link to fight off hackers.
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Question about Signal: do I need a good signal rating on both my commlink and my drones, or would a high Signal rating on just my commlink allow me to keep in control of my drones over good distances?
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Preferrably both. There are some things that can inhibit signals. There's a non-standard radio-frequency mod I believe. Makes it harder to both jam and detect.
Consider UmaroVI's Mercenary Rigger as an inspiration of a Rigger that doesn't sit in the creepy van.
You'll want good Electronics Warfare skills, you just need Command on your own commlink but be prepared to need Pilot software, Clearsight, and so on. Up to you whether or not you want to be self-supportive with your own mechanics skills.
When I think of "Combat Riggers" I typically envision Engineers in most FPS games out there.
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Also, you can put Spoof Chips in pretty much anything, and is great for screwing with opposing techies. Also, you may consider an infiltration specialist, since you will want hardware skill anyways, you can become master of maglocks, and physical breaking and entering, paired with Automatics. Seems that is the way to go. Machine Pistols/Smg's are pretty concealable, and a Sig-Sauer 574 makes a nice "sniper" option. Make sure you understand how the sensors work for vehicles, and drones, and I usually pack 2 or 3 different cameras on my drones/vehicles to avoid the "Do you have a camera pointing straight up?" question from my GM.
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take the time to look into a technomancer rigger.
basic rules already give you a base +6 to all dice pools when you are jumped in
+1threshold to detect technomancer/sprites
+2DP on all matrix tests
+2DP on all matrix perception tests
+2DP on all matrix defense tests technomancer/sprite
+2DP handling rolls
+2DP for control rig
all rolls are considered Hot VR matrix rolls,
take an average drone body 3, with average handling 2
techno has a resonance of 5, due to cyber/bio gear that reduced essence by 1.
(with type o quality, all bioware has 50% reduced essence cost, and as long as cyber implants are less than bioware, they get the 50% reduction for being the minority)
::3 examples::
your drone will have base 3IP
spend the cash for the simsense cyberware boost for an additional +1IP
Initiative dice pool of 15
initiative 9
sensor 4
sensor 4
techno 1
matrix 2
handling 2
control rig 2
dodge dice pool of 20
techno 2
matrix 2
handling 2
control rig 2
advance def program 3
skill 4
ability 5
that is not even taking into account that you can have your registered sprites provide assistance with all rolls for an additional bonus to your dice pool equal to their rating.
or have your bonded sprite provide a constant assistance to your rolls
so with the two examples above, your base initiative of 9 with the 15 dice pool could be 9 +20
or your dodge of 20 could be 25
dont forget you can also add the potential to thread your autosoft skill for additional dice pool (typically up to your resonance level for safe measures - which was 5 in this case), but dont forget to have your sprite sustain the ability.
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take the time to look into a technomancer rigger.
basic rules already give you a base +6 to all dice pools when you are jumped in
+1threshold to detect technomancer/sprites
+2DP on all matrix tests
+2DP on all matrix perception tests
+2DP on all matrix defense tests technomancer/sprite
+2DP handling rolls
+2DP for control rig
I looked at doing a dronomancer, but I'm already a bit confused by the basic Matrix and drone rules. The Technomancer rules left me completely confounded. Besides, jumping in will be an occasional thing for me (as mentioned in my OP) due to the DM's preference. I'm really going for a drone commander style.
I'll take a closer look at the Mercenary Rigger. It makes sense that I have some ability to fend for myself.
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wear this over your body, but jump into it.
Iron Will: iron Will is an exoskeleton used to augment
the user’s strength for laborious tasks. it is 2.5 meters tall
and weighs 200 kg. it has no autonomy, nor was it built
for any remote piloting. When worn, treat the wearer’s
strength as 8, but reduce their agility by 1. iron Will can be
treated as a vehicle for upgrades.
put some gun mounts on it and other assorted colorful weapons and youll be a walking chic magnet for any female lone star operative.
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Interesting.
But I'm not trying to figure out a way to play a jump-in rigger while remaining with the team (I could do that in any of the assistance - read: mechanized wheelchair - drones). I'm looking to build a control/remote rigger.
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Interesting.
But I'm not trying to figure out a way to play a jump-in rigger while remaining with the team (I could do that in any of the assistance - read: mechanized wheelchair - drones). I'm looking to build a control/remote rigger.
Then build that guy.
Speak to the guys who'll be on your team, figure out what they do and what they need to flesh out the team a bit.
If they need heavy fire support, take some serious combat drones.
Do they need a wheelman? Rig the sh*t out of a hyped up sports car
Do they need recon? A fleet of eyes in the sky will be your thing.
Its liekly they'll look to you for a mix of these things. I tend to have a couple of combat drones, a couple of recon drones and a method of getting my guys/drones into/out of a mission.
Primary skills for me are: piloting, drone command, perception, electronic warfare
Secondary skills are: combat, mechanic, hardware, maybe matrix stuff.
You're prob gonna want a couple of flyspy's tricked out with extra cameras, visual recognition software and such. Perhaps a microcrawler with microphones and audio recognition kit on there for eavesdropping?
Maybe a blimp drone with suncell for extended observation on a target as part of your recon fleet?
You'll probably need a combat drone or two, maybe an LMG on them? With a secondary multi grenade launcher for when things get messy? It'll need decent pilot software, targettign software and clearsight too. Just make sure it doesnt get hacked by the enemy, the last thing you need is a remote control tank you built firing on you from the wrong side of the solid cover you're hiding behind!!!
You can even run drones and take an investigator type role. Stealthy recon drones with laser microphones to tail targets, eavesdrop and take images for extortion for example. You can load up emotitoys with cameras and lie detection software. Have fun with it mate, let us know if you need more help/ideas
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I read "not build for any remote piloting" to mean you can't jump into it, either. Esentially, the armour needs your body input to move. It has no "autonomity" -> it has no parts you can move with jumping in.
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I read "not build for any remote piloting" to mean you can't jump into it, either. Esentially, the armour needs your body input to move. It has no "autonomity" -> it has no parts you can move with jumping in.
There was a long argument I read just yesterday over if you can or can't jump into it, many pulling out good points for either side. I'm guessing it falls to a dm to decide that. Either way, in this case the argument would be moot considering that he doesn't want that anyway.
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Caterpillar horseman...
Everywhere where the Troll fits you fit...
You are technically sitting in the van but you are also with the team...
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Interesting.
But I'm not trying to figure out a way to play a jump-in rigger while remaining with the team (I could do that in any of the assistance - read: mechanized wheelchair - drones). I'm looking to build a control/remote rigger.
Then build that guy.
Speak to the guys who'll be on your team, figure out what they do and what they need to flesh out the team a bit.
If they need heavy fire support, take some serious combat drones.
Do they need a wheelman? Rig the sh*t out of a hyped up sports car
Do they need recon? A fleet of eyes in the sky will be your thing.
Its liekly they'll look to you for a mix of these things. I tend to have a couple of combat drones, a couple of recon drones and a method of getting my guys/drones into/out of a mission.
Primary skills for me are: piloting, drone command, perception, electronic warfare
Secondary skills are: combat, mechanic, hardware, maybe matrix stuff.
You're prob gonna want a couple of flyspy's tricked out with extra cameras, visual recognition software and such. Perhaps a microcrawler with microphones and audio recognition kit on there for eavesdropping?
Maybe a blimp drone with suncell for extended observation on a target as part of your recon fleet?
You'll probably need a combat drone or two, maybe an LMG on them? With a secondary multi grenade launcher for when things get messy? It'll need decent pilot software, targettign software and clearsight too. Just make sure it doesnt get hacked by the enemy, the last thing you need is a remote control tank you built firing on you from the wrong side of the solid cover you're hiding behind!!!
You can even run drones and take an investigator type role. Stealthy recon drones with laser microphones to tail targets, eavesdrop and take images for extortion for example. You can load up emotitoys with cameras and lie detection software. Have fun with it mate, let us know if you need more help/ideas
Had an NPC using one of those very useful blimps controlling it by using a monofilament/very thin data cable as they were sick of being hacked. Not that useable at vast altitude but it worked in the situation. Bit like flying a kite.
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Thanks all.
It looks like the campaign won't start until the new year due to everyone being busy, but I'm playing around with the builder more and getting a better feel for how my rigger will work. Your comments have been quite helpful.