[s7michelle]

I’m making my first Drone Rigger for a Shadowrun 5th edition game and was hoping I could get a little feedback and advice. 

Due to scheduling and time zone issues, I will typically only be able to attend the first 25%-50% of each game session.  So, I thought it would make life easier for everyone if I made a character that stays in the van and uses a few easily NPCed drones during runs.   (The GM is fine with this)  Due to the same type of scheduling issues, it is likely that a decent amount of the time I will be playing will be times where we are just hanging out In Character while waiting for the GM to arrive.  So, we may be spending a fair amount of time on things that might be considered "down time" in other games.

Brief Background:  My character and her older brother (another PC, the decker) were born to wealthy parents in Las Vegas (father was a sports star, mother was a model).  Due to certain family issues, we rebelled in high school and joined a cyberprep type gang (with the other PCs).  A real gang took exception.  Things went bad, one of our friends died, another ended up in jail, and we split up for a time.  My character played the good little girl, finished high school, went to college.  Did a bit of limited recognizance type running for a journalist friend, and a couple of do-gooder type runs while she was there.  Our parents ended up in jail for gambling fraud.  The decker was able to hide the family money though and put it into a hidden trust fund for us.  My character will be acting as an artist (kinetic metal sculptures) in her real life and running with the members of her former cyberprep gang on the side.  Her motives for running are protecting/helping her brother and friends, getting a bit of extra money, and having the chance to test out the drones she’s built/modified.  She prefers building and creating to driving, though she’s good at both.

We are using the Prime Runner builds and haven’t played Shadowrun much (so most players probably won’t be min/maxed).  Since she prefers to take the subtle approach, I'd rather not go very heavy on the cyberware side of things.


Drone Rigger
Shadow Name:  Clockwork

A:  Skills  46/10
B:  Gear  325,000Y
C:  Attributes  16
D:  Meta  Human (3)
E:  Magic   None
+35 Karma

Attributes:  16               

Body:  2      
Agility: 3
Reaction:  4
Strength:  2
Willpower:  3
Logic:  4
Intuition:  3
Charisma:  3

Edge:  5
Essence:  4.8
Initiative:  7

Positive Qualities:

Trust Fund:  15 Karma
Subtle (Aircraft) Pilot:  4 Karma

Negative Qualities:

Sinner (National Sin (NAN))   :  5 Karma

Skills:  46/10

Electronics (SG):  4
Engineering (SG):  5
Athletics (SG):  1      

Pistols:  3
Perception:  4
Sneaking: 1
Pilot Ground:  5
Pilot Aircraft:  5
Pilot Walker:  4
Pilot Watercraft:  1
Gunnery:  5
Electronic Warfare:  5      
Armorer:  2
Artisan (metal working):  4/5      
Etiquette:  2
Negotiation:  2
First Aid:  1
Navigation:  1

Knowledge Skills and Languages:  14

Engineering (Professional):  4   
Art (Professional):  4
Antiques (Interest):  2      
Seattle High Society (Street):  1
English (N)
Zuni:  3


Contacts:  18

Earnest Young Journalist (Connections 2, Loyalty 4)
Art Dealer (High Society Contact) (Connection 3, Loyalty 3)
Lawyer (Connections 3/Loyalty 3)


Resources:  325,000Y  (281,545 currently spent)

Cyberware and Bioware:  Total 56,000Y

Control Rig (Level 1) (1 essence):  43,000Y
Datajack (0.1 essence):  1,000Y
Sleep Regulator (0.1 essence):  12,000Y

   
RCC:  (normally used in Cold-Sim mode):  84,990Y

Vulcan Liegelord (Rating 5, Data Processing 5, Firewall 6):  66,000Y
With the following programs:
Signal Scrubber:  80Y
Tool Box:  80Y      
Encryption:  80Y
Shell:  250Y
Sneak:  250Y
Wrapper:  250Y

Autosofts on RCC:

Clearsight (6):  3,000Y
Fly Spy Stealth (6):  3,000Y
Fly Spy Maneuvering (6):  3,000Y
Roto-Drone Maneuvering (6):  3,000Y
Ares Alpha Targeting (6):  3,000Y
Remington Targeting (6):  3,000Y   


Vehicles and Drones:  88,400Y + ?

Ford Americar:  16,000Y
With the following Equipment and Modifications:
Rigger Interface:  1,000Y
Morphing License Plate:  1,000Y
Spoof Chip:  500Y

GMC Universe (Rigger book, p. 59):  30,000Y
With the following Equipment and Modifications:
Multi-Paint System:  ?
Rigger Interface:  1,000Y
Morphing License Plate:  1,000Y
Spoof Chip:  500Y
Sensor Enhancement (R3):  6,000Y                                       
 
MCT Fly Spy:  2,000Y
Realistic Features (Rating 1)   (1 MP):  100Y
Autosofts:
Clearsight (3):  1,500Y
Fly Spy Stealth (3):  1,500Y

Three additional MCT Fly Spys:  6,000Y
Realistic Features (Rating 1)   (1 MP):  300Y

MCT Nissan Roto-Drone:  5,000Y
Large Weapon Mount (4 MP):  1,500Y      
Pop-up Mount (+1MP):  500Y
w. Ares Alpha (write up in guns section)
Autosofts:
Roto-Drone Maneuvering (3):  1,500Y
Ares Alpha Targeting (3):  1,500Y

MCT Nissan Roto-Drone:  5,000Y
Large Weapon Mount (4 MP):  1,500Y      
Pop-up Mount (+1MP):  500Y
w. Remington 950 (write up in guns section)
Autosofts:
Roto-Drone Maneuvering (3):  1,500Y
Remington Targeting (3):  1,500Y


Weapons and Armor:  11,980Y

Survival Knife:  100Y

Yamaha Pulsar   :  180Y
With concealable holster:  150Y
w. 10 Taser Darts:  50Y

Ares Predator V:  725Y
With concealable holster:  150Y
w. 50 regular rounds:  100Y
w. 50 gel rounds:  125Y

Ares Alpha:  2,650Y
w. 50 regular rounds:  100Y
w. 50 stick and shock rounds:  400Y
w. 5 Flash Bang Grenades:  500Y

Remington 950:  2,100Y   
With Silencer:  500Y
w. 50 regular rounds:  100Y
w. 50 stick and shock rounds: 400Y
                  
Lined Coat:  900Y
Vashion Island (Steampunk):  2,250Y
With Electrochrome Modification:  500Y

 
Electronics, Communications, and Countermeasures:  6,500Y

Hermes Ikon Commlink:  3,000Y
w. Sim-module:  100Y
w. Subvocal Mic:  50Y

Simrig:     1,000Y
Trid Projector:  200Y
Micro-transceiver:  100Y
Tag Eraser:  450Y   
Jammer Area (4):  800Y
Jammer Directional (4):  800Y


Optical and Audio Devices: 2,550Y

Contacts (3):  600Y
With Image Link:  25Y
With Flare Compensation:  250Y
With Low Light Vision:  500Y

Earbuds (3):  150Y
With Sound Link:  25Y
With Audio Enhancement (2):  1000Y


Tools:  17,500Y

Aeronautic Mechanic Shop:  5,000Y
Artisan Shop:  5,000Y
Automotive Mechanic Shop:  5,000Y
Armorer Kit:  500Y
Automotive Kit:  500Y
Electronic Warfare Kit:  500Y
Hardware Kit:  500Y
Industrial Mechanic Kit:  500Y


ID and Credit: 12,500Y

Gold Credstick:  100Y
Fake SIN (4):  10,000Y
Fake Gun License (4):  800Y
Fake Concealed Carry License (4):  800Y
Fake Rigger License (4):  800Y

 
Other: 1,125Y

Mapsoft (Las Vegas):  100Y
Plastic Restraints (10):  5Y
Flashlight:  25Y
Flashlight (Lowlight):  25Y
Survival Kit:  200Y
Backpack:  20Y
Medkit (3): 750Y



Notes:  I’ve deliberately left 43,455Y and 21 Karma unspent for now so that I have the ability to make additions and changes based on your recommendations. 

In addition to any general suggestions.  My main questions are:

1.   Am I handling the autosofts correctly?  Do I need separate ones for each drone?  (such as for the extra fly spies I bought)
2.  Should I go with a less powerful RCC and a higher Control Rig instead?

[Glyph]

1. The RCC lets you run a number of autosofts simultaneously on all slaved drones, but a drone cannot benefit from this if it is running any of its own autosofts.

2.  That depends on which you plan on doing more - using group command (the RCC) or jumping into a vehicle or drone (the control rig).  If you get rid of a few of your redundant autosofts, you might have enough money to get a rating: 2 control rig without having to downgrade your RCC.  I would recommend that if at all possible, as both are so vital for a rigger.

[s7michelle]

My initial thought was that I’d use the RCC and multiple fly spies if all I needed to do was pre-run recognizance.  That was why only one of the fly spies currently has autosofts bought for it.

On runs, since you can’t use two different types of drones with the RCC (right?), I was thinking I’d use my fly spy with the autosofts for scouting while I either jumped into one of the roto-drones or used the RCC to manage them remotely  (though in that case, I’d probably need to load them both with the same weapon). 

[Coyote]

On runs, since you can’t use two different types of drones with the RCC (right?)

Well, wrong, but also a bit right. You CAN use any number of different drone types with a RCC. However, you are limited in how many different autosofts the RCC can run at once, and each drone type (and different weapon for the same drone) needs a separate autosoft. So you could run some Kanmushis for perimeter patrol, a couple of Mini-zeps for aerial coverage, some Fly-Spys for close scouting, and an Ares Duelist for close assault with Roto-Drones for fire support.... but if you do that, you're probably going to jump into the Duelist, use the RCC to run software for the multiple Roto-Drones, and leave all the others on their own software, because you won't have the software slots to run autosofts for all of them.

Also note that you can LOAD the autosofts for all of them. You may have to do some fast work switching the RCC from actively running the Clearsight programs for the scouting drones, to running Maneuvers/Targeting for the combat drones when shooting begins, but the number of different autosofts that you can have loaded on an RCC is basically every autosoft available in the game, all at once. They just can't all be RUNNING all at the same time. It would be interesting to make a "fast-switch" rigger running several different loadouts of the Configuration program, and using delayed actions to swap in all of the autosofts for the Roto-Drones, then commanding the Roto-Drones to act... then doing the same for a different type of drone on the next action, etc. Probably not worth it compared to just running more of the same type of drone, but it could be fun.