[Airwhale]

Hey folks,

I was planning on submitting this shapechange-based mystic adept to the runnerhub persistant universe.  It seems like you guys give great feedback,  and I'd greatly appreciate if you have any comments on how I could make him better.  Skills:A, Attributes:B, Magic:C, Metatype:D, and Resources:E

Full PDFs and backstory is here:
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BwyDr0JHdy_ocjJOZ2d5RGZFams&usp=sharing

[ZeldaBravo]

I have some questions about your character.
1. What are your shapechanged stats?
2. What do you plan to do? What's your 'thing'? What makes people hire you as a runner? I just want to get a clear picture.
3. What is a Soldier Spirit?

[Jack_Spade]

Ok, if I get this right you want to change into a Tiger to mitigate your poor physical stats. (Soldier spirits are ant insect spirits - a pretty cheesy way to full fill that neg. quality - until you stumble over your first hive...)

You should be aware that:
1) Your armor doesn't transform, so you should probably invest in the armor spell
2) Taking the conjuring group is suboptimal. You want a specialization in summoning - preferably for a spirit of men who can cast one or two spells on you and sustain them at full force
3) Get a mentor spirit instead of such high focused concentration - you are Kid Tiger, go and get a re-fluffed shark or bear as a totem. (Bear will help you a bit on that armor thing)
4) Generally, I'd advice you to take Attributes A, Magic A, Skills C, Money E, Metatype E for more spells and magic or if Sum to ten isn't allowed at least change attributes and skills.
5) Don't rely to much on your shapechanged stats. There are a lot of situations where you don't want to take animal form or where leaving your clothes behind would be inconvenient (Unless you burn a spirit task to have them carry your stuff after you)

[Airwhale]

1) Well, the Critter section of the SR5 rulebook is notoriously small.  But if I were to change into a tiger,  my stats would be:

B:6, A:5, R:4, S:5. Movement:x2/x6/+4, Natural weapons: Claws/Bite: DV(STR+3)P, AP-1)

And I get to add one to a physical stat for each success I get in my spellcasting test.  Assuming that it is force 4 (Which I can sustain through my focused concentration), that is a +3 or +4 to strength.

2) The team roll is melee combat with magical support: i.e. a tiger that shoots lightning bolts from his eyes.  Assuming I have an 8 or 9 strength,  that means I can charge 30m and claw someone for a 15 die attack, doing 12P-3 or 13P-3 damage. That seems on par with Ork melee. I can also use knockout with 14 dice for 8S stun with minimum drain. Ranged combat is handled with force 5 lightning bolts. Dodge is around 19 dice, Block is around 22 dice.  And I can add full defence for another five dice if needed. 6 dice counterspelling and magical healing only adds to the mix.

3) I believe a Solder spirit is a Non-Queen insect spirit.

[Jack_Spade]

As mentioned, your reign of terror will be quite short without adequate armor. Your defense pool is too low (Increase reaction, and get the combat sense spell). The first FA weapon you meet will otherwise be your end.

[ZeldaBravo]

Are you sure you want to charge armed people while being naked? Dodging is nice but body armor exists for a reason.
I also agree with Jack Spade. You're generally ok with non-maxed spellcasting, but spirits are NOT your friends until you succeed in summoning and preferably binding them.

[Airwhale]

Ok, if I get this right you want to change into a Tiger to mitigate your poor physical stats. (Soldier spirits are ant insect spirits - a pretty cheesy way to full fill that neg. quality - until you stumble over your first hive...)

You should be aware that:
1) Your armor doesn't transform, so you should probably invest in the armor spell
2) Taking the conjuring group is suboptimal. You want a specialization in summoning - preferably for a spirit of men who can cast one or two spells on you and sustain them at full force
3) Get a mentor spirit instead of such high focused concentration - you are Kid Tiger, go and get a re-fluffed shark or bear as a totem. (Bear will help you a bit on that armor thing)
4) Generally, I'd advice you to take Attributes A, Magic A, Skills C, Money E, Metatype E for more spells and magic or if Sum to ten isn't allowed at least change attributes and skills.
5) Don't rely to much on your shapechanged stats. There are a lot of situations where you don't want to take animal form or where leaving your clothes behind would be inconvenient (Unless you burn a spirit task to have them carry your stuff after you)

Thanks for the feedback!  Totally happy to make that Spirit bane all insect spirits,  Hero labs just only has Solder and Queen spirits as options.

1)I thought about that,  but I don't want to sustain it.  I mean,  unless I am casting at a high force (with high drain) and burning regients, I'm only looking at 3 or 4 armor at most. For a cost of -2 for all spells.

I'd rather just keep a high dodge pool, keep around armor fitted for my main combat form when we know combat will happen,  and try to make sure that I always have enough resources to run/edge my way from any grenades, which I think is the main defensive hole of this character. 

2)Yeah,  That makes sense.  I guess I should just drop binding and dispelling?  Summoning doesn't seem a strong thematic element of this character. Doesn't having a spirit sustain a spell on you require binding, though? Or do you mean powers?

3)Maybe.  I don't feel like I can rely on sustaining focuses to maintain my shapechange though, as shapechanging makes it hard to hold onto clothes/foci,   and I don't want to eat the -2 dice.  Focused concentration just seems so convenient. 

4)Runnerhub doesn't allow you to do Sum to ten for priorities, sadly.

5) Yeah.  My thought is in that case I am just a mage that has a decent unarmed, and can cast lightningbolt/punch in a combat. I also have to worry about this if something is dispelling my shapechange.

In general, when combat happens, I plan on ripping though a lot of clothes.  It kind of goes with any shapechanger movie!

[Airwhale]

As mentioned, your reign of terror will be quite short without adequate armor. Your defense pool is too low (Increase reaction, and get the combat sense spell). The first FA weapon you meet will otherwise be your end.

Gotcha. What dodge should I be aiming for,  then?  And how do I sustain that combat sense?  Do I just eat the -2? 

[Airwhale]

I mean,  hopefully in a situation where people are using assault rifles/SMGs,  I'll have enough warning to put on my barding.  Else, I stay in cover and shoot lightning bolts?

Are you sure you want to charge armed people while being naked? Dodging is nice but body armor exists for a reason.
I also agree with Jack Spade. You're generally ok with non-maxed spellcasting, but spirits are NOT your friends until you succeed in summoning and preferably binding them.

[Airwhale]

New stat block based on raising Summoning and Binding:
'KID TIGER!!!
METATYPE: HUMAN
B 4, A 2, R 3/6, S 2, W 5, L 2, I 6, C 4, ESS 6, EDG 2, M 6
Condition Monitor (P/S): 10 / 11
Armor: 9
Limits: Physical 5, Mental 5, Social 7
Physical Initiative: 9/12+4D6
Active Skills: Arcana 2, Assensing 5, Athletics Group 6, Binding 6, Counterspelling 6, Perception 5, Spellcasting (Combat Spells +2, Manipulation Spells +2) 6, Stealth Group 4, Summoning 6, Tracking 2, Unarmed Combat (Natural Weapons +2) 6
Knowledge Skills: Animals of the world 4, Comic Books 6, Psudo-Science 6
Languages: English N
Qualities: Astral Beacon, Chaos Mystic Adept, Focused Concentration (4), Gremlins (2), Spirit Bane: Insect Spirits
Spells: Heal, Lightning Bolt, Magic Fingers, Punch, Shapechange
Adept Powers: Astral Perception, Combat Sense (1), Critical Strike: Unarmed Combat, Improved Reflexes (3), Improved Sense: Flare Compensation, Improved Sense: Ultrasound Sensor
Gear:
. . Armor jacket turned into tiger barding via fashion spell
. . Big and tall modification to armor jacket (1)
. . Black super hero costume with purple cape.
. . Certified Credstick, Silver
. . Certified Credstick, Standard
. . Contacts (1) w/ Image Link
. . Peter Parker w/ Fake License: Combat spell: Lighting bolt (3), Fake License: Combat spell:Punch (3), Fake License: Magic (But we all know it is SCIENCE!!!) (3), Fake SIN (3), (1 month) Low Lifestyle
. . Plain clothes
. . Plain clothes
. . Plain clothes
. . Small backpack
. . Stim Patch (6)
Contacts:
Alpha (Connection 4, Loyalty 1)
Doc Brown (Connection 1, Loyalty 6)
Starting ¥: 40 + (3D6 × 60)¥

Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at http://www.wolflair.com
Shadowrun © 2005-2015 The Topps Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Shadowrun is a registered trademark of The Topps Company, Inc.

[Jack_Spade]

Yeah, that's why I recommend a spirit of men. At force 6 you can give it the ability to cast and sustain two spells on you that you know.
That will tremendously benefit your survival. If you feel lucky you can even go with a force 12 spirit for 4 spells and a much higher casting pool than yourself.

Focused concentration doesn't need to be that high if you use reagents (which you should). And since you can't use it to sustain more than one spell (like a sustaining focus) it's really a bit of a waste.

Don't rely to much on evasion. A full auto salvo gives you -9 to defense, pulse weave will ruing your day and make socks cling to your back and gas grenades will fuck you up royally.
At the very least get the adept attribute boost body and agility.

Exchanging 2 levels of focused concentration would give you enough karma to buy mentor spirit shark (+2 to Unarmed + Killing Hands) and Agile Defender, so you can use your improved agility on your full defense.

[Airwhale]

Huh. Missed that -9 to dodge rolls on FA weapons.  Maybe this character just isn't playable as a concept? It seems like you really need a minimum of 12 points of armor to be survivable,  which I don't think is really possible here reliably.

Really good point on Focused concentration.  Guess I'm carrying around some magically charged used batteries and tin foil in my backpack.

I hate shark thematically for this character,  but your right,  numbers wise,  it just fits. 
 
Lots to think about here.  Thanks.

[Reaver]

Yea, you're playing with a loaded gun with this concept.

As an awakened, you are piority #1 for all security and goons ('Geek the mage first' isn't just a saying, its SOP!)

Your concept then places you in a form that has zero protection, and relies on skills not normally strong in an awakened build (melee combat).

Mystic adepts can be very strong characters, but they take a lot to get off the ground. Your first 100 karma gained will either break you or make you.... and there is almost no leeway for a poor decision along the way thanks to an even greater need for karma over physical adepts and mages.

[Airwhale]

My assumption with Karma was that it should mostly go to power points and edge, right?  More combat sense to further shore up that die pool,  maybe a few ranks of armor.  Then after three initiations, get shielding and masking/extended masking to take advantage of the large initiate grade.  Get Edge up to 3 or 4.  Maybe somehow improve gymnastics?

Fortunately,  runner hub allows the transfer of nuyen->karma at 2000->1, so that should help with advancement.

[Reaver]

Depends. The rub on mystic adepts is that they don't get a free PP when they initiate. If you want a PP, you have to take the pp metamagic.

Which slows down your PP progession compared to physical adepts. And because you have to choose between PP and metamagics, you may not be able to pull off the same feats as a mage. (Centering for more spell resistance, quickening for less sustained spells, masking for stealth, shielding for defense, refecting for offensive defense, etc).

And we have yet to talk about foci, spells, skills, equipment.....

You have to plan out mystic adepts carefully. Or you end up broken/underpowered quickly.