[Shadowjack]

Looking for critique and ideas on my new runner

Red Cobra was born and raised deep in the Amazonia jungle. He learned to hunt and kill from a young age and he was part of a deadly, evil family. A typical Mafia youngster out to prove his worth, Red Cobra left the jungle at the age of 14 to pursue a life in the shadows of Downtown Seattle. Always unassuming, Red Cobra is notorious for his ability to slip in and out of the shadows and while he may not be your typical runner, he always manages to kill his targets and get the job done at all costs. He is opposed to taking any ware.


Gender - Male
Race - Human
Ethnicity - Japanese
Age - 15
Height - 7'
Weight – 145 lbs
Appearance – Always dressed in red military armor with a clean shaven face
Personality – Upbeat, daring

Attributes

Body - 1
Agility - 2
Reaction - 2
Strength - 2
Charisma - 6
Intuition - 4
Logic - 5
Will - 1
Edge - 2
Essence - 6
Initiative - 6

Qualities
Homeground(Seattle)
Codeslinger
Incompetent(Infiltration)
Incompetent(Negotiation)
Incompetent(Heavy Weapons)
Incompetent(Automotive Mechanic)
Incompetent(Aeronautics Mechanic)
Incompetent(Industrial Mechanic)
Incompetent(Nautical Mechanic)

Active Skills 
Parachuting(Static Line) 6+2
Throwing Weapons 2
Instruction 3
Artisan(Baking) 2+2
Palming 2
Swimming(Long Distance) 3+2
Climbing(Ice Climbing) 3+2

Knowledge Skills
Engineering 3
Trid Shows 3
Fashion 3
Wuxing Incorporated 6
Matrix Chat Rooms 4
Cybertechnology 4
Karate 4
Kungfu 4
Akido 4
Sumo Wrestling 4
Muay Thai 4
Indian Pottery 4

Language Skills
English

Cyberware/Bioware
None

Contacts
Damian Knight C4/L6

Gear
Vulcan Electronaut(Minisub)
Red Samurai Armor
PJSS Elephant Rifle
Regular Rounds x200
Knife x10
Survival Knife
Trauma Patch x5
Meta Link + Vector Xim

[All4BigGuns]

How in blazes does he survive with such underdeveloped physical traits?

How does he manage getting any work with the Notoriety gained from having so many instances of Incompetent? (That's a starting Notoriety of 7 without any Street Cred to offset it.)

[Bewilderbeast]

I have a tough time understanding what is going on with this character from a fluff perspective. He's Japanese, but in the Mafia? He was born in Amazonia, but specializes in ice climbing (and has a Homeground quality in Seattle)? Is he still 14, as well? Damien Knight (THE Damien Knight!?) is a contact with only 4 Connection but 6 Loyalty? lolwut?

Are you pulling our collective legs? I'm too new to the game to tell...

[All4BigGuns]

On top of my previous questions, and those of Bewilderbeast:

How does he "slip in and out of the shadows" with no Infiltration skill?

How does he "always kill his targets" with Throwing Weapons being his only weapon skill (and at a rating unlikely to actually hit--especially given the below average Agility)?

All in all, this does not look like a character that is even remotely playable or capable.

[Bewilderbeast]

Artisan (Baking) is a nice touch, though. I like the idea of a runner that brings Mr. Johnson a muffin basket every meeting.

[All4BigGuns]

Artisan (Baking) is a nice touch, though. I like the idea of a runner that brings Mr. Johnson a muffin basket every meeting.

Nice flavor skill, definitely. I just don't see how the character being presented can be of use to a team. Why would any team take this guy on?

[Bewilderbeast]

Artisan (Baking) is a nice touch, though. I like the idea of a runner that brings Mr. Johnson a muffin basket every meeting.

Nice flavor skill, definitely. I just don't see how the character being presented can be of use to a team. Why would any team take this guy on?

Dude, you're missing the point. Free muffins.

[All4BigGuns]

Dude, you're missing the point. Free muffins.

Oi. *laughs*

Seriously though, that's not really a reason to take someone into a team (especially one with the Notoriety this guy would have). A 7 Notoriety can seriously hamper one's ability to actually get any jobs without a good deal of Street Cred--and a lot of skill backing them up.

[Ernie55]

I think you should take an instruction specialisation in baking too so he can spread the baked confection goodness to the rest of his team.

I'm also impressed you thought the Damien Knight was connected enough to warrent a C4! He's clearly a C2 at best contact....

[Novocrane]

Is this a joke? I couldn't see anything here that doesn't seem designed for 100% dickery. Literally nothing.

[Khepera]

It's nice to see a runner that isn't totally min-maxed. It's also very refreshing to see someone who has a cool skill (baking), there really isn't much of this in the game at the moment.

I do think the background could use another look, not to change it but to expand it.

One thing to keep in mind about this character's power level is he will get really strong really fast because all his skills are so low, they will be so cheap to put up.

[Novocrane]

It is cheese, though. Just not with the intent of rolling a lot of dice straight up - home ground (the entire Seattle locality) and incompetent (skills you can't default in) should point that out.

[Khepera]

It is cheese, though. Just not with the intent of rolling a lot of dice straight up - home ground (the entire Seattle locality) and incompetent (skills you can't default in) should point that out.

Cheese? Like Cheesy? I don't think that every runner ever has to be really powerful otherwise no one seems powerful. This character will progress much quicker then other runners due to his low skills, after one session he can put up his combat skills up.

[Novocrane]

Ok. Just to spell it out; it breaks qualities as written and laughs at the setting.
Dice are not the important point, but attempting to fight is wasted effort and the background says things the sheet can't hold up to.

Now, would you kindly reply on all the relevant points that aren't about dice pools ...

[Khepera]

Ok. Just to spell it out; it breaks qualities as written and laughs at the setting.
Dice are not the important point, but attempting to fight is wasted effort and the background says things the sheet can't hold up to.

Now, would you kindly reply on all the relevant points that aren't about dice pools ...

The setting can be anything the Game Master wants to make it. As I said the background could use some expanding, but it's a start. Remember no character has to be built a certain way, SR4E allows for many types of characters, and not all will be amazing at combat, some will just be pretty good or decent.