[Byronus]

Hey hey,

I just have a character idea I'd like to post on here for some constructive criticism.  I have most of him complete, but just need a bit of advice/help with a few things, mostly Knowledge Skills an Qualities.

PREMISE: A Freelance Paramedic: you hire him on your team to make sure everyone gets out alive.  Plus, he's an Aspected Conjurer, so he can help on the Astral side of things as well.

ROLES:
1) Healing: Stabilizing guys who need it, and help them recover during downtime;
2) Astral: Spirits and their Powers can assist with many situations, and Perceiving magical threats is a given;
3) Face: It makes sense to use that high CHA for more than Summoning, and this is a role the character grow into as they earn Karma.

PRIORITIES:
A) Attributes: 24 attribute points;
B) Skills: 36 skill points/5 skill group points;
C) Magic: Aspected Conjuring (Shamanic), Magic 3, 1 Rating 2 magical skill group;
D) Human, with 3 special attribute points (for Magic);
E) Resources: $6,000.

STATS: B4, A3, R3, S1+1, W6, L5, I5, C5, G2, M6, E6

QUALITITES: Quick Healer, Spirit Affinity: Earth;

ACTIVE SKILLS:
Assensing 6, Astral Combat 1, Chemistry 2, Computer 4, First Aid 6, Medicine 5, Pilot Groud Craft 1, Pistols 5, Sneaking 2, Unarmed Combat 4,

Conjuring skill group 6, Influence skill group 1

WEAPONS:
Browning Ultra-Power Heavy Pistol (Laser Sight included) + Silencer + Concealable Holster
Ammo: 2 clips of Regular rounds, 1 clip of Gel rounds;

Yamaha Pulsar Taser
Ammo: 10 taser darts

Shock Frills

ARMOUR: Line Coat [9], with Shock Frills;

OTHER GEAR:
Renraku Sensei (R3) Commlink;
Medkit (R6) + Medkit supplies,
Trauma Patch
Trodes (connected to the Renraku Sensei)

PAN: The Browning Ultra-Power, it's Laser Sight, it's Silencer, it's Concealable Holster, the Yamaha Pulsar, the Medkit, Trauma Patch, and the Shock Frills are all SLAVED to the Commlink.

Remaining Nuyen: $80 + Lifestyle Cash.


That's all I have for now, and have a whole bunch of ideas to add at a later time.  In the meantime, I look forward to your advice.


Thanks,
:Byronus

[Bushw4cker]

I like the character idea.  Might want to consider taking a Mentor Spirit...

You need regular Perception Skill, That is a Must Have Skill! 

I would Specialize in some of your Active Skills.

Perception (Visual +2)

I have been wanting to update my Knowledge Skill list for a while now, so thanks for giving me reason to do that..

Here's what I have so far..
I included an example of a specialization for each knowledge skill.

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS
Military
 (Army +2)
Military Science
 (Logistics +2)
Small Unit Tactics
 (Fire Shield +2)
Munitions
 (Lasers +2)
Global Hotspots
 (Asia +2)
Mercenary Groups
 (Private Contractors +2)
Local Politics
 (Judicial +2)
National Politics
 (UCAS Presidental +2)
Global Politics
 (Europe +2)
Geography
 (Physical Geography +2)
Corporate Politics
 (Saeder-Krupp +2)
Syndicates
 (Yakuza +2)
Local Gangs
 (Street Gangs +2)
Shadow Community
 (Deckers +2)
Street Drugs
 (Dealers +2)
Social Networks
 (P 2.1 +2)
Social Engineering
 (Pretexting +2)
Matrix Games
 (Dunkelzahn’s Quest XII +2)
Simsense Entertainment
 (Porn +2)
Trid Shows
 ("Reality" Shows +2)
Music
 (Gob Rap +2)
Sports
 (Urban Brawl +2)
Business
 (Entertainment +2)
Economics
 (Macroeconomics +2)
Architecture
 (Commercial +2)
Engineering
 (Mechanical +2)
Physics
 (Particle Physics +2)
Material Science
 (Metallurgy +2)
Psychology
 (Behavioral +2)
Sociology
 (Urban +2)
Kinesics
 (Facial +2)
Security Companies
 (Lone Star +2)
Security Design
 (Access Control +2)
Matrix Security Design
 (Corporate +2)
Security Tactics
 (Astral Intruder +2)
Combat Tactics
 (Ambush +2)
Underworld
 (Wetwork +2)
Local Area Knowledge
 (Safe Houses +2)
Sprawl Life
 (Uninhabited Squats +2)
Jokes
 (Troll Dick Jokes +2)
Dark Magic
 (Blood Magic +2)
Astral Phenomena
 (Astral Rifts +2)
Magic Theory
 (Chaos Magic +2)
Magical Threats
 (Insect Spirits +2)
Astral Denizens
 (Free Spirits +2)
Magical Societies
 (Mana +2)
The Metaplanes
 (Metaplane of Air +2)
Talismongering
 (Foci +2)
Magic Background
 (Manatech +2)
HMHVV Infected
 (Vampires +2)
Parageology
 (Ley Lines +2)
Parazoology
 (Juggernauts +2)
Parabotany
 (Crimson Orchid +2)
Paranormal Animal
 Mating Habits
 (Behemoths +2)
Botany
 (Herbalism +2)
Earth Science
 (Geology +2)
Biology
 (Genetics +2)
Anatomy
 (Human +2)
Chemistry
 (Biochemistry +2)
Anatomy
 (Human +2)
Fashion
 (Mens +2)
Literature
 (Fantasy +2)
History
 (German +2)
Forensics
 (Magical +2)
Law
 (Corporate +2)
Criminal Justice
 (Policing +2)
Rumors
 (Street +2)
Gambling
 (Matrix Gambling Sites +2)
Alcohol
 (Elven Wines +2)
Gear Appraisal
 (Weapons +2)
Fences
 (Seattle +2)
Insults                        
 (n00bs +2)                              



Here are some Language Skills..
I included ones I like to take along with the top 10 spoken languages in the world

LANGUAGE SKILLS
Lip-Reading   
Japanese Sign   
Iconography   
Sperethiel   
Or'zet   
Sperethiel   
Mandarin   
Spanish   
English   
Hindi   
Arabic   
Portuguese   
Bengali   
Russian   
Japanese   
German   

[Kuirem]

No fake SIN! Unless you are running in the depths of the barrens you will need one.

I think the character could work better with A - Attributes; B - Magic; C - Skills; D - Nuyen; E - Metatype. It will allow you to start with 3 Edge and with some Karma you can still have decent skills.

Personally I prefer 6 CHA/5 WIL over 5 CHA/6 WIL since CHA rolls are more common than WIL (replace CHA by LOG or INT depending on your tradition) though 6 WIL is legit if you want to be good at Astral Combat. Also I would recommend to go with 3 BOD and raise STR to 2 to save some Karma for skills/contacts/nuyen.

Astral Combat at 1 is pretty much useless, you need more than that and you should pick up a Weapon Focus to be decent so I would suggest switching Unarmed for Clubs, pick up a Stun Baton for meat fight and a staff or extendable baton with Weapon Focus for astral combat (keep in mind that binding a focus cost Karma).

Here is a suggestion of skills with the priority I proposed above, keeping roughly the same as you and adding Perception: 6 Conjuring, 5 Pistols (Semi-Automatics), 2 Clubs (Baton), 4 Assensing, 5 Astral Combat, 6 First Aid, 4 Medicine (Extended Care or whatever you prefer).
Now add with 25 Karma : 1 Influence, 2 Perception, 2 Sneaking, 2 Chemistry, 1 Pilot Ground Craft.

For qualities Mentor Spirit is a classic. Alligator, Bat, Boar, Eagle, Giraffe, Horse, Sea, Thunderbird and Whale give bonuses to Summoners. Exceptional Attribute WIL or CHA are good to increase your drain and your efficiency at Astral Combat. Spirit Affinity is really good for summoner. Spirit whisperer is also interesting and Spirit Champion is a bit expensive in Karma but can be worth it if you bind a lot.

Negative qualities and Knowledge skills are really more linked to the fluff of your character so can't really help on that without a bit of backstory.

[Byronus]

Thanks for the replies, guys!

NOTE: I forgot to mention I only have the Core Rulebook, so some of your suggestion won't be making sense. Oops!

i) I skipped the Mentor Spirit because it didn't seem worth whle for a Conjuring-only character, and Bear, the most appropriate Totem for Healing, had that "berserk" test.  It's like I was paying Karma for a penalty;

ii) Forgetting Perception is a cardinal sin!  I can't believe I did that; rookie mistake;

iii) Thanks for the Skill lists, Bushw4cker!;

iv) Fake SINs and licenses would be my first purchases after character creation and, yes, he'll be deep in the Barrens ;

v) I might ignore Astral Combat to start.  I just added the 1 rank so I wouldn't be defaulting to WIL-1.  It seems more important for Projecting Mages, which I am not;

vii) I went for 5 CHA/ 6 WIL as WIL is used for both Drain AND recovering Stun Damage.  I figured the one extra die could go towards making my character summon more often;

viii) I chose Unarmed Combat and Pistols as my only combat skills since Fists and Tasers are weapons characters can legally carry, and most likely (especially when broke) to use.  The Ultra-Power uses the same Skill as the Pulsar, and I can use the Shock Frills with Unarmed Combat to offset my low strength, if I get that close to someone.  Clubs is super handy, but I'm not focusing on Astral Combat, and I'll get that skill later;

ix) Thanks for the ideas, Kuirem!  I'll shuffle things around and get back to you;

x) I forgot a Lifestyle!


QUESTION 1): I had an idea that would involve having a Contact be my dependent and my landlord.  Are there any rules about these kinds of overlaps?  Having a Contact be so closely linked to a Negative Quality AND Lifestyle?

QUESTION 2): How necessary is the Trauma Patch?  That $500 could make a big difference spent somewhere else...


Thanks again,
:Byronus

[Kuirem]

1) Your contact can be whatever you want as long as it is approved by your GM. There is really few rules beside Connection/Loyalty in the CRB. Run Faster has some extra stuff for contact but I don't think there is anything against what you want to do.
2) As a Medic you can easily stabilize someone yourself. Trauma Patch is still a valuable piece of gear but you could buy it later.

[Glyph]

Quick question - I know you only have the core book, but does your GM only have/allow the core book?  The reason I am asking is because Run Faster has a fairly simple variant of Priority called Sum-to-Ten.  Priority A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, and E=0, and you can take any combo of five that adds up to 10.  You have C(2) Magic and D(1) Metatype, when B(3) Magic and E(0) Metatype will give you the exact same Edge and Magic, but gives you a rating: 4 magical skill group instead of a rating: 2 one.

I would recommend taking some negative qualities to get more starting Karma,  it makes me wince seeing someone getting their rating: 1 skills with their skill points instead of buying them with Karma.  Getting, say, a moderate allergy to silver and a shamanic (or healer's) code of honor would give you 25 points to spend on things like low-rating skills or extra contacts.

[Bushw4cker]

I could see these Negative Qualities fitting Character Concept.

SINNER (LAYERED)
BONUS: 5 TO 25 KARMA
There are four types of SINs that fall under the SINner
(Layered) quality: National SIN, Criminal SIN (either Corporate
or National), Corporate Limited SIN, or Corporate
Born. Individuals with SINs are required by law to always
broadcast their SINs. A legal SIN is required for all legal
purchases. This makes them very useful things to have,
so those who are SINless generally get by with the use of
fake SINs (p. 367) just so they can participate in society.

NATIONAL SIN
At the 5 Karma level, the character has what is called
a National SIN. The character’s parents were legal citizens
of a nation (such as the UCAS or CAS) and he has been a
citizen of that nation from birth. He has the right to vote,
qualify for passports issued by his nation, enlist in the national
military, or work in the national government. A National
SIN is required for any national security clearance
or any form of national military career. A character with
a National SIN pays fifteen percent of their gross income
in taxes. He is also in no way connected to any of the
megacorporations. The main drawback to having a legal
National SIN is the character is in the system. The nation
in the player character’s background has the character’s
biometric data (DNA, fingerprints, retinal scans) on file,
and that biometric data is shared with law enforcement
agencies through the Global SIN Registry. This makes it
much easier to track a character should a job go sideways.
Also, nations typically sell the personal information
tied to the character’s SIN to corporations. Those with a
legal SIN get nearly three times as much spam as those
who don’t have a SIN or rely on fake SINs, and the spam
messages they receive are disturbingly tailored to their
preferences (based on their buying and browsing habits).

INSOMNIA (The 10 KARMA VERSION)
BONUS: 10 OR 15 KARMA
A character with the Insomnia quality has trouble falling
asleep and seldom feels well rested. Usually, this is
only an annoyance. For runners, however, this can become
a major problem when they are dependent on
being able to rest at every opportunity to remain sharp.
Insomnia can lengthen the amount of time it takes for a
character to recover Stun damage.
At the 10 Karma level, before a character rolls his
Body + Willpower to recover Stun damage, the character
rolls an Intuition + Willpower (4) Test. If the character
succeeds on this test, the character is not impeded
by Insomnia and the character regains Stun damage as
normal. He also regains 1 point of Edge after 8 hours
of restful sleep. If the character fails, double the amount
of time it normally would take for a character to recover
their Stun damage. So instead of healing a number
of boxes of Stun damage in an hour, it now takes two
hours per roll. If the character is affected by Insomnia,
the character does not have his Edge refreshed and may
not have it refreshed for up to another 24 hours.
At the 15 Karma level, a failed Willpower + Intuition
(4) Test means that all efforts to regain Stun damage
through rest are negated during that time period, and
the character must try again later. No Stun damage is
regained from the attempt due to the insomnia the character
experiences, and the character must wait for 24
hours before their Edge refreshes

IN DEBT (1 or 2 KARMA would be enough)
BONUS: 1 TO 15 KARMA
Whether it came betting the ponies or buying that new
pony, the character owes money to an unsavory third
party. The player and gamemaster must work out the
details, but the happy thing is, for every point of Karma
(up to 15) spent to be In Debt, the character gets 5,000
nuyen to spend during character creation. These points
are spent in place of the normal Karma for extra cash
and extend the possible additional funds to 75,000¥.
Now it’s time for the bad news. The character now
owes some nasty people the amount they borrowed,
plus another fifty percent, and the amount increases
by ten percent every month until it’s paid off. If the
character misses a monthly payment, which has to be
at least the interest for the month, they take 1 box of
Physical damage for every 20,000 nuyen they owe. This
can’t be resisted and can’t be healed until they pay their
minimum as their friendly neighborhood lender sent the
appropriate message and then leans on them until they
get their money. They can also expect to be asked to do
some discount work and maybe even a few favors while
they have the debt hanging over their head.
The quality can be bought off if the character has both
enough Karma and cash to pay the debt. If they only have
the cash but not the Karma, they can trade for another
negative quality of equal Karma. If they don’t want to do
that, then the lenders suddenly become scarce, and the
character is unable to make the payment until interest
compounds again, leaving them deeper in debt.

[ZeldaBravo]

My ¥2:

Contacts: keep in mind that these are the people who can mechanically aid you, not a complete list of the people you know. I don't discourage you from adding your landlord and a dependant as contacts, but sometimes it puts your friends in a harm's way (do you really want to hide from 20 pissed off Halloweeners in your teenage daughter's campus?).

Your specialisation: you are a medic first, but this makes you most useful in situations that shadowrunners always, ALWAYS actively try to avoid - getting hurt or bleeding out. Of course if TSHTF you'll be a most valuable player for your team, but if things run smoothly you may feel a bit left out... Speaking from experience here. Demolition experts have the same problem - you don't get to blow up stuff very often but if you get trapped in a small room with a ticking timebomb, your team will be VERY grateful.

Your skills: Assensing 6 is a real overkill. I don't know what task can require such a heavy investment. Split it 2/4 or even 1/5 with Perception, you're going to use it a lot. Astral combat has zero use for you for a on simple reason: spirits can fly and cast spells, you can't fly to hit them back.
Computer is good, a bit high but good, get a specialisation in Matrix Search and you're golden.
Sneaking is on a low side. With only 5 dice you're in danger. Things to consider: wearing a chameleon suit, switching points with Medicine or Computer.
Unarmed combat is not really for you. Shocking gloves are fine but a stun baton is not bad either. You can find uses for a metal/plastic bar outside of hitting things, it is perfectly legal (and if they are taking your tazer and baton away I can assure you they would've take your gloves away too), it is also slightly more intimidating. EDIT: You can get away with having no melee skills at all because your tazer is quite enough. If you go with clubs get a Defender tazer, it also works as a club!
Medicine, Chemistry: I love having many skills, but shadowrun as a system discourages branching out. Chemistry has a very limited use in game, and Medicine is, well, not very good. I don't know anything about your table, so I may be wrong with this advise: get Chemistry as a Knowledge skill, drop Medicine to 2(4) with a spec in Extended Care (or Field Surgery, or Anesthesia). You can use these points somewhere else, but consult your GM about how these skills will work in your game first!
The last in the list is First Aid because it hurts me the most and rubs me the wrong way. I don't like that a top of the line medic (you) can be replaced with a simple piece of gear (R6 Wireless Medkit). You roll 11 dice, medkit rolls 12. This is wrong. I don't remember if it's in actual rules or it's just our houserule but we just add the medkit rating to a First Aid dicepool. IMO it is appropriate and it doesn't invalidate an entire character concept, unlike the default medkit. Again, talk to your GM about that.

Now a bit to the brighter side. You have a lot to bring to the table. You have a ton of utility with your knowledge skills, spirits, and contacts. Try to get more out of your strength! If you will take my advise on skills you'll have points for a few social skills. Get a mentor spirit! It is super good for a super low price! Thunderbird would work great for you as it synergies with both your conjuring (+2 to summon and bind(?) air spirits) and your high Charisma (+2 to Intimidation rolls). Get negative qualities and then invest karma in your Contacts! You'll be the one who always knows the right guy. With some investment in Intimidation and Con you can play a good ol' "Good shadowrunner - bad shadowrunner" two man con with your dedicated Face, and you're going to be a fine interrogator too! And on top of that you are capable of doing legwork in physical world, matrix and astral. I'm not even starting on Spirits' combat power. What not to like?

Cheers!

EDIT: Switching priorities as Kuriem and Glyph proposed may or may not be a good idea. Try them out, and if you'll find that you need more skills then switch back to your original setup.

[Overbyte]

The last in the list is First Aid because it hurts me the most and rubs me the wrong way. I don't like that a top of the line medic (you) can be replaced with a simple piece of gear (R6 Wireless Medkit). You roll 11 dice, medkit rolls 12. This is wrong. I don't remember if it's in actual rules or it's just our houserule but we just add the medkit rating to a First Aid dicepool. IMO it is appropriate and it doesn't invalidate an entire character concept, unlike the default medkit. Again, talk to your GM about that.

"Bullets and Bandages" revamps this so that yes.. Medkit just adds to your skill and it takes First Aid skill to hook it up.
I much prefer these rules.

[FancyDerek]

Even if you go with CRB and not Bullet and Bandages...
If you have 11 DP in first aid... use the R6 Medkit wirelessly to add 6 dice to your DP.
That's better than the inherent 12DP of the medkit.

[Kuirem]

Medkit can't edge the first aid roll, you don't want to see the effect of a Critical Glitch on a First Aid roll…

[ZeldaBravo]

You're basically saying that the only benefit of a proficient medic over a medkit is Edge.
That's the exact thing I didn't like in first place.

[Kuirem]

I never said that, medic also have more dice than a medkit and can throw a good amount of dice even with a low rating medkit (one that fit in the pocket). Let's not forget that First Aid dice pool can go away really fast, your Medkit 6 might throw 12 dice but if you are in the street? Only 10. If the patient is awakened or lose 4+ Essence? Now it's 8. 8 is 2-3 dice in average which means that most of the time you will heal 1 box.

Oh and Medkit can't roll Medicine test. Though RAW is a bit weak on Medicine roll suggestions, only bonus dice on healing test and most other test can use First Aid so you need to be a bit creative.

Now I agree that medic shouldn't be the first thing your character do because it's simply non-viable as a first role in SR5. But it's definitly a worthy pick for secondary role.

[Byronus]

Thanks to everyone for all the input!  I was going to post a revised character, but I have to go back and do some more edits based on what's been recently added.

I'll try to address everything mentioned above (particularly ZeldaBravo's lengthy post) as I go:

I understand that being a Medic isn't ideal for a primary role, particularly for active playing; it'll be much more useful in the downtime between sessions.  That's why I opted to make the character an Aspected Conjurer with Magic 6.  When bullets/mana start flying, it's the Spirits he summons that'll be doing the work.  During the exciting stuff, he's still in there, and can tend wounds while the Spirits keep fighting.

Assensing: I maxed it out because it's useful from a Medical stand point, helping with diagnoses.  Also, since the character is unable to Astrally Project, it makes sense to at least know EXACTLY what Astral threats are present so he can alert his fellow runners and summon accordingly.  The more you know...;

Sneaking: It is kinda low, but I was hoping to offset it with a Spirit's Concealment Power, when needed;

Unarmed Combat:  I was actually considering the Defiance EX Shocker, but opted for the Pulsar for it's greater range.  Plus, I only got Unarmed Combat to use the Block Interrupt Action and help offset my low-ish REA and INT when attacked; ideally, I'll nail them with a ranged attack before they get to me.  If I DO get caught up in a melee, the Shock Frills only require a Touch attack, so I get a +2 to Unarmed Combat for those occasions.  And since he can't Project, there's no rush to get Weapon Foci, and Armed Combat skills can wait as well;

Chemistry: I wanted it because I imagined a Medic would be familiar with Pharmaceuticals.  The Chemistry Active skill is actually for MAKING drugs and synthesising formulas.  Moving it over to a Knowledge skill is SPOT ON, and will free up for skill points to address other areas....especially my glaring Perception omission.

Medicine: I found it to be a very important skill to help my comrades recover during downtime, so I gave it a higher rating.  A group that heals faster can run more often.  A high Medicine rating, combined with a summoned Spirit using it's Guard Power to override Glitches while healing, means guys will be tip-top in no time.

First Aid: The way I understand it, FancyDerek is right.  The R6 Medkit itself is 12 dice, but the character using the MedKit wirelessly would have 17 dice and a limit of 13, possible healing (with a miraculous roll) 11 boxes of damage.  PLUS, you can use Guard to prevent a Glitch and avoid injuring the patient further.


I have more to say, but I'll leave this for now and come back soon.

QUESTION: Is my suggested use of a Spirit's Guard Power allowed as I've interpreted?  It doesn't specifically say WHICH tests it affects, so I figured they could apply to Healing tests.  Am I pushing it?

Here's the text from the Guard Critter Power:

Type: P Action: Complex
Range: LOS Duration: Sustained
This power allows the critter to protect against normal
environmental accidents and hazards (both natural
and those induced by the Accident power), such as
preventing someone from succumbing to heatstroke or
saving someone from drowning. The Guard power can
also be used to prevent a glitch from occurring. Guard
may be used on a number of characters at once equal
to the critter’s Magic attribute. Each accident averted or
glitch prevented counts as a service if this power is used
by a spirit.

Thanks again,
:Byronus

[The Bald Man]

I'm playing a Hermetic mage medic that does a lot of summoning (high logic hermetic makes for big first aid dp).  You are on the right track.  My 2¥ on how the character functions at our table:
-First aid over medicine.  My first aid is 6 with a specialty and my medicine is 1 (maybe a little too low, but skill points were tight).  I call myself a paramedic and tell them that surgery and long-term care aren't my specialty.  I rarely miss the points in medicine (and wish for more in first aid)
-Spirits.  your initial concept had a specialty in earth.  I find that I rarely use the earth spirits - only when I need (literally) heavy-duty lifting.  If you want it for combat I suggest an air spirit.  They are fast and agile where the earth spirit is clumsy.  Throw the optional Energy aura and they are great in melee; or Energy attack to be great at range. 
-That high willpower is nice for full defense.  Not uncommon for me to dispatch a spirit then go full defense (then spend an edge).

I think you will have a great time with the character and be a valuable member of the team. 

I know it is early, but you might get a lot out of the channeling metamagic when you save up enough karma to initiate.  If you are willing to plan that far ahead you can 'channel' a spirit to get unarmed combat - allowing you to save a few points on that at creation. 

Have fun