[FenrisWolf]

Here's my first attempt at creating a caster.  I wanted to go with a street shaman this time.  The group already has a stealthy and deadly phys adept, a hacker/rigger, a pistol gun bunny, and a sniper (hasn't been spec'ed out yet).  There were plenty of gun toting guys/gals around already so I went down the route of a gun free shaman.  He's a beast with combat spells and the counter spelling will help the team.  He has the capability to summon spirits if need be too.  I wasn't sure on the spell selection though.  I also made sure he had a sustaining foci to take care of the Increase Reflexes spell.

Any critiques or thoughts on this one?


Crazy Ivan
Dwarf (Russian)
Body:     4
Agility:   2
Reaction:   4
Strength:   3
Charisma:   5
Intuition:   3
Logic:   2
Willpower:   6
EDGE:   2
Phys Init:   7
Passes   1
Magic:   5

Assensing  3
Conjuring (Group)  4
Counterspelling (Combat Spells)  4 (+2)
Dodge (Ranged)  2 (+2)
Influence (Group)  2
Perception  2
Spellcasting (Combat Spells)  6 (+2)

Magic Knowledge  4
Hangouts (Safehouses)  4
Criminal (Seattle Gangs)  4

Russian  N
English  3

Mentor Spirit (Wolf)  5
Combat Spells +2 dice
Beast Spirits +2 dice
Disadvantage: Willpower + Charisma (3) test to retreat from a fight.

Gremlins (2)  -10
Sensitive System  -15
Allergy - Salt Water (Common, Mild)  -10

Spells:
Clout (Indirect)               
Lightning Bolt (Indirect, Elem.)               
Stunball (Direct)               
Heal               
Improved Invisibility (Realistic, Single)               
Increase Reflexes               
Influence (Mental)               
Levitate (Physical)               

Gear:
Fake SIN Rtg 3
Sustaining Focus Rtg 3
2 x Antidote Patch
Respirator Rtg 4

Bound Beast Spirt (Force 5, Services 3)

[Walks Through Walls]

Overall a pretty good character, but there are a couple of things I see.

Not having any way to defend yourself except with magic is taking a risk. A high background count or even an opposing mage with decent counterspelling and you are going to have a very hard time of it.

Spells at character creation are dirt cheap and you can get 4 more with a 6 spellcasting. Where to get the points may be the problem.

A couple of things to think about:
Do you need the whole conjuring group? The answer may be yes, but it is something to think about
Do you need the influence group at 2? You said the group already has a face

With the spells you picked I would get rid of clout. With your agility it will be hard to hit anyone with it powerbolt, manabolt or stunbolt might be better choices.
Lightning bolt you will have the same problem, but you get the bonus of electrical damage. You need to look at if this is worth the chance of missing with a spell
With the mentor bonus on combat spells I would have taken a couple more death touch could be a good one, but then you are going up against your low agility.

[Bradd]

Stunbolt is a great spell to know. Most of the time, stun is as good as physical damage, and stunbolt's drain is so low that you can afford to seriously overcast it. Against foes with poor magical defenses, it's also a good spell to multicast – you might not even need stunball.

[FenrisWolf]

Thanks for all of the suggestions.  I will be away from my computer today but will try to tweak my character a bit tonight.  I can trim off 10 points by lowering the Conjuring skill group to free up a little points.  Also, I used the character generation spreadsheet to create him and forgot to copy and paste that he paid for the magician quality already.  We are also just using the SR4A book so no Street Magic goodies.  Lastly, we don't have a dedicated Face so my character will have to fill in with his limited abilities.

[FenrisWolf]

With the spells you picked I would get rid of clout. With your agility it will be hard to hit anyone with it powerbolt, manabolt or stunbolt might be better choices.
Lightning bolt you will have the same problem, but you get the bonus of electrical damage. You need to look at if this is worth the chance of missing with a spell
With the mentor bonus on combat spells I would have taken a couple more death touch could be a good one, but then you are going up against your low agility.

I reread the section on indirect spells in the SR4A book and it stated that you used Spellcasting + Magic vs. Reaction.  I don't see anywhere where the caster has to use Agility as the required attribute.  Clout has such a low drain value that it allows my shaman to cast during extra IPs from Increased Reaction without passing out.

[FastJack]

I believe if it's a Touch spell, you have to make a Touch attack on the target, thus where the Agility would come in.

[Bradd]

You're half right: To establish the mystic link for the spell, you first need to win or tie an Unarmed Combat + Agility + 2 versus Reaction test; that's the "touch." However, Clout isn't a Touch spell. I didn't notice that myself until I went to look up the drain value.

Anyway, Stunbolt has even lower drain, and it's generally more effective. Indirect spells are really only useful in special circumstances, like when attacking foes with Spell Resistance.

[FenrisWolf]

If your GM uses the optional rule for direct spells that increases the drain value for every net hit on your magic + spellcasting test, then indirect spells look a little better.  Net hits on a indirect spell such as Clout increases the damage value accordingly but does not make the drain value any harder to resist.  For a mage with increased reaction going, the repeated casting of direct spells are going to suck in the drain category.  On the other hand, my shaman could cast clout repeatedly with little worry of the drain of 2.  He could unload with a direct spell if need be but the drain would be much higher.

[Bradd]

That optional rule doesn't work as intended. You aren't required to use the net hits, and you get more damage for cheaper by cranking up the Force instead. It just encourages magicians to cast single Stunbolts at Force 11 or multiple at Force 5–6. Either way, you're quite likely to take out a single target while resisting all of the drain.

[FenrisWolf]

But that drain for overcasting is Physical rather than Stun.  But with the optional rule, you could increase the drain value with net hits after the target rolls resistance (Body or Will) and still only deal with Stun.  I understand that it is cheaper in drain value to overcast but you're still dealing with Stun rather than Physical.  There's a price for risking bodily injury I guess. 

[Bradd]

Zero physical is no worse than zero stun.

[FenrisWolf]

I totally agree.  As my character is spec'ed out, he would roll Will of 6 and Charisma of 5 for drain.  11 dice to resist physical drain would be tough to handle the typical 4 to 5 drain values for overcasting.  Perhaps I'm just worrying too much on the drain.

[Bradd]

My advice: Don't be too conservative as a mage. Our mage player started having a lot more fun once he stopped worrying about drain so much and just started overcasting. It's not something you want to do all the time, but taking a box of Physical every now and then isn't actually too bad, and you can use Edge to re-roll if you seriously need to avoid drain.

[JohnQ]

Trying to use the right tool in the right situation is the trick, that with staying low and out of sight. Being invisible can help with this, another Sustain Focus locking on a Force 3 Invisiblity spell can help with that. Its not perfect, but it might help you get that element of surprise for that first attack.

Lightning Bolt is the one to have for that drone shooting at your group from down the hall.