[Avatarbf]

I need some help creating a rigger for an upcoming game, I have made this character a few times and my GM has pointed out things I missed every time. I want to make a Dwarf rigger to complement the Dwarf Decker (They will be siblings, according to GM.) The problem is that there are no restricted books so I've mainly stuck to the corebook and Rigger 5, given my character's role. The last build I submitted I forgot to give my character an RCC (Which I totally meant to BTW.) I don't usually have this level of difficulty with character creation.

It's not our first game by the way, more like second or third.

[firebug]

What kind of help would you like?  A list of suggestions, or someone making a character most of the way and letting you customize it?  Or you can do the more common approach and build a character, then share it on here and people will offer suggestions and point out any mistakes.

[Avatarbf]

I think more like a list of suggestions would be useful, I'm going to use my previous build (as soon as I find where I wrote it down.) but would like some suggestions for things I might've missed/ overlooked.

[Avatarbf]

Plus I was going to post the finished character on here before I went for GM approval again to get him checked out. That's one of the reasons I started the thread.

[firebug]

The core aspects of what makes the rigger archetype would be:

• A Rigger Control Console
• One or more drones
• A Control Rig implant
• The skills Electronic Warfare and Gunnery, some Computer, and relevant Pilot & Mechanic skills depending on what vehicles and drones you have
• And usually, a vehicle for transportation

Important attributes for a rigger are:

• Logic.  Matrix actions, firing a mounted gun with your drone's sensors, and the mechanics skills all use Logic.
• Intuition.  A few other Matrix actions, the Full Vehicle Defense action, using your drone's sensors, and your initiative and defense.
• Reaction.  Mostly just for Pilot rolls, initiative, and defense.

Willpower and Agility shouldn't be totally neglected, but Strength and Charisma are often unimportant.

A few miscellaneous tips I have:

• The +2 bonus to Matrix Actions from Hot Sim applies to Vehicle actions made through the matrix, and firing a gun from a drone is also a vehicle/matrix action.  This often means you can have a very very high dice pool from your Control Rig, Hot Sim, and potentially even the Codeslinger (Control Device) quality, though make sure your GM is okay with that last one.
• Try to only go all-out on mods for one or two drones, these should be your primary combat drones or the drones you go to for most situations.  Small, cheap drones used primarily for recon are usually fine unmodded.
• Remember that if you would make a Perception test through a drone's sensors (like while you're jumped in, or just remotely controlling it) you can use your Electronic Warfare skill instead of Perception.
• You're gonna end up the team soccer mom.  Getting a decent SUV with some subtle mods can really help out the team and give you a place to chill while in VR besides staying at home.
• There's been unofficial errata regarding autosofts-- Wakshaani, the freelancer who wrote the section in Rigger 5.0, confirmed that a line was left out by accident.  Autosofts are limited to the drone's Pilot rating now, but there's a higher number of autosofts a drone can run at once.  Link.
• Automatic weapons are good for drones, because drones have innate Recoil Compensation equal to their BOD, and with the right weapons, even a simple drone with a R3 Targeting autosoft can make good use of Suppressing Fire.
• Remember that drones do not have auras, and cannot take stun damage.  This can make them a bit more effective against unprepared magicians, if the magician can't do electric damage.
• Similarly, gas and smoke grenades can work in your favor more easily through a drone.
• In order for a drone to benefit from a smartgun installed into it while on autopilot, it has to have the Smartlink autosoft.  In order for you to benefit from the smartgun mounted while you're jumped in or remotely controlling it, the drone's camera needs the Smartlink upgrade.
• If you put a shotgun or a hunting rifle on an MCT-Nissan Roto-Drone, you have a deadly flying sniper bot.

Finally, there's always been a bit of confusion about what attributes are used to fire a drone-mounted gun.

Should you want, you can fire a drone-mounted gun with Gunnery + Agility [Accuracy].  This is if you're not using the drone's sensors to find the target; this is you aiming the gun based on what you can see.  Instead (or if you're in VR) you can use the drone's sensors to fire.  This uses Gunnery + Logic [Sensor Rating], also called passive sensor targeting.  The drone's Sensor rating is used instead of the gun's Accuracy, which is often lower, and you will have to apply signature modifiers (see the chart on page 184).  In the end though, the massive bonuses you can get to using drones in VR will usually make this option better.

In combat, don't try to be in the front line.  You should jump into a well-armed drone and be ready to play the role of a glass cannon.  Your bonuses mean you'll have an enormous dice pool (easily 20+).  If your drone's Sensor Rating is low (4 or below) then you should go for called shots.  Your pool is lowered (meaning less wasted hits) for a powerful effect.  Location shots are your friend, but even just "Vitals" for +2 DV is quite powerful and will probably be your go-to.  Drones are relatively fragile; most have low armor and almost all of them have few condition boxes.  In some fights (like a Steel Lynx against a bunch of street gangers with nothing bigger than an SMG) your drones will feel like unstoppable tanks, but those fights will be incredibly one-sided in your team's favor already.  Any real challenge (like a spirit or someone competent with a shotgun) can one-shot any medium or smaller drones, so you are not a front line fighter.  That said, drones are worth a lot less than the life of a teammate, so don't hesitate to send one into the fray if it means your drone gets got instead of a fellow shadowrunner.

[FST_Gemstar]

My dwarf riggers tend to have the priority selection 

C/B Dwarf 
D Atts
E Mundane
B/C Skills
A Resources 

So you can build a more focused rigger with more edge, or a a rigger with a wider skillset but starts with less edge.

Resources can  be used to get a lot of 'ware, a suped up vehicle, and a starting set of kitted drones/RCC. 

A control rig is the key rigger equipment. Anyone can use an RCC/drones. The ability to "jump" into a vehicle/drone is what riggers have that is unique (and an RCC just makes it quicker to jump between drones if you have many, and jumping into drones isn't often recommended because they are very fragile). 

[Avatarbf]

Thanks everybody! Will work on him after I get home from work and post him up (hopefully) tonight

[Avatarbf]

Hey everybody! Thanks for all the responses, I will be posting my build after work tomorrow for scruntiny. Would have done it already but picked up an extra shift.

[Tecumseh]

@firebug That's a great primer. I'm going to share it with some new riggers. I also hadn't seen Wak's errata, which is huge.

[Avatarbf]

Hey all,

Long time no see, finally got some time to work on retooling my Rigger and I had an important but probably pretty obvious question.

Should I leave any of my attributes at 1? or should I boost the unneeded ones to at least 2?

[PiXeL01]

Many people frown at seeing attributes at 1, especially because that means you cannot default when undamaged among other reasons.

[FST_Gemstar]

Many GMs get upset with Attributes at  and many see it as akin to disabled to the point of unable to shadowrun.  Obviously Attributes of 2 tend to be better, and having lots of 1s across the board without other means to compensate will look lazy/thoughtless. Ex. Cha 1 characters that don't have dicepools in social skills to buy a hit. 

However, attributes by themselves don't tell us everything. Doing things takes dicepools, so if you have other ways to boost them (skills, gear, 'ware, magic, edge, etc.) then an Attribute of 1 isn't so out of place.   

It is probably good practice to not count on making characters with attributes at 1 as they are unacceptable at a lot of tables, but if you do, try to limit it to a single attribute and make it an interesting part of the character, not just a "i'm out of attribute/points and karma so this is a dump stat."

[Marcus]

Just keep in mind 1 is below meta-human average. When you run the shadows you bring your A-team or your AAA-Team if you happen to have one. But someone who's clearly lacking in some specific area is not likely to be someone you want on your A-Team.
Building a character who is bad at something or even good number of things is fine, but building a characters that will regularly get your team in trouble is not so good.

[Avatarbf]

Just got him finished will post him up later after work for everyone to check

[Avatarbf]

Here he is, I'm posting the completed notes for my character for everyone to look over and see if I missed anything.

SR Dwarf Rigger Build Notes
Priority Selection
Metatype: C ( Dwarf, 1 Point)
Attributes: D (Attribute Points: 14)
Magic: E (Mundane)
Skills: B (Skill Points: 36/5)
Resources: A  (450,000 Y)
Dwarf Attributes Racial Traits: Thermographic Vision, + 2 dice for Pathogen & Toxin Resistance, + 20% increased Lifestyle Cost
BOD: 3 (/ AGI: 1 (6)/ REA: 1 (5)/ STR: 3 (/ WIL: 2 (7)/ LOG: 1 (6)/ INT: 1 (6)/ CHA: 1 (6)/ EDG: 1 (6)/ ESS: 6
Character's Attributes
BOD: 3/8, AGI: 3 (5)/6, REA: 4/5, STR: 3/8, WIL: 4/7, LOG: 4 (5)/6, INT: 4/6, CHA: 2/6, EDG: 2/6, ESS: 3.5
Qualities   
Allergy (Shellfish, Moderate) (- 4 to dice pool modifiers for all physical tests made when character experiences symptoms.) N
Codeslinger (Control Device) (+ 2 to dice pool vs Control Device Matrix Actions.) P
Consummate Professional (+ 2 dice pool when dealing with employers.) N
Emotional Attachment (Van) (If chosen item is lost or irreparably damaged, suffer a -1 penalty on all tests that use that gear for a six month period.) N
Gearhead (Increase speed of vehicle or drone by 20% or handling by 1.) P
Solid Rep (Local Smugglers) (+ 1 to Reputation score with local smugglers) P

Skills (Priority B: 36/5)
Active Skills:  Armorer 1, Automatics 3, Electronic Warfare 5 (Jamming + 2), Electronics skill group 2, Engineering skill group 3, Etiquitte 3, Gunnery 5 (Ballistic + 2), Perception 3 (Visual + 2), Pilot Aircraft 6, Pilot Groundcraft 6, Pilot Watercraft 5
Knowledge Skills: Automotive Mechanics 5, Music 4 (Dwarven Metal + 2), Smuggling Routes 4, Smugglers 2
Languages: English (N), Russian 3

Gear (Priority A: 450,000 Y)
Augmentations  (160,500)
Cerebral Booster 1  (Ess: 0.2/ 31,500Y), Control Rig 2  (Ess: 2/ 97,000Y)/ Muscle Toner 2  (Ess: 0.4/ 32,000Y)
Rigger Control Console (RCC, 16,000)
Essy Motors DroneMaster     DR: 3    Data Processing: 4/ Firewall: 4  (16,000Y)
Autosofts/ Programs
FlySpy Clearsight (4)
FlySpy Stealth (4)
Navigation (6)
Nissan Rotodrone Clearsight (6)
Steel Lynx Krime Cannon Targeting (6)
Vehicles
GMC Bulldog  H: 3/3, SPD: 3, ACCEL: 1, BOD: `16, ARM: 12, P: 1, SEN: 2, SEAT: 6
Mods: Rigger Interface/ Metahuman Adjustment (both Cosmetic)
Speed Enhancement 1/ Imp Economy/ Manual Control Override (All PT)
Anti Theft System 2 (Protection)
Drone Racks (2 Medium/ 1 Large/ 2 Mini) (All Weapon Mods)
2 Internal Fixed Pop Out Weapon Mounts (Directly Under Headlights) (Both Weapon Mods)
1 Smuggling Compartment (Body Mod)
Gridlink Override (ECM Mod)
Installed Equipment
Morphing License Plate/ Roll Flat Tires/ Spoof Chip
Drones
2x MCT FlySpy  H: 4/SPD: 3/ AC: 2/ BOD: 1/ ARM: 0/ P: 3/ SEN: 3
Base Mods: Realistic Features 2
2x MCT Nissan Rotodrone  H: 4/ SPD: 4/ AC: 2/ BOD: 4/ ARM: 4/ P: 3/ SEN: 3
Base Mods: + 3 extra Weapon Mod slots
1x Steel Lynx H: 5/SP: 4/ AC: 2/ BOD: 6/ ARM: 12/ P: 3/ SEN: 3
Base Mods: Heavy Weapon Mounts (External, Turret, Remote)
Lifestyle (50,400)
Middle Lifestyle (11 Months, 66,000Y)/ Low Lifestyle (6 Months, 14,400Y)
Fake SINs/ Licenses
1 Rating 4 Fake SIN w/Licenses  (10,000Y)/ 1 Rating 3 Fake SIN w/Licenses (7,500Y)
Weapons & Armor
Weapons
Ultimax 70  ACC: 5 (6)/ DV: 6P/ AP: --/MODE: BF/FA/ RC: 2/ Ammo: 15 (c)/ ST Mods: GV2, LS.
Ares Crusader II ACC: 5 (7)/ DV: 7P/ AP: --/ MODE: SA/BF/ RC: 2/ Ammo: 40 (c)/ ST Mods: GV2, SGS
Ammunition
x20 Assault Cannon Rounds
x50 APDS
x50 Gel Rounds
x 200 Regular Ammo
x50 Stick N' Shock
Grenades
x10 Flash Bang
x10 Fragmentation
x10 Smoke
x5/x5 Gas Grenades (5 CS/5 Seven-7)
x 1 Thermal Smoke
Armor
Armor Jacket  Arm: 12/  Mods: Chemical Protection 2/ Fire Protection 2/ Nonconductivity 2
Armored Clothing   Arm: 6/  Mods: Electrochromic
Ballistic Mask  Arm: + 2
Commlinks and General Equipment
Renraku Sensei   DR: 3    Mods: Sim Module w/ Hot Sim
General Equipment
Tool Kits
Automotive Toolkit/ Aircraft Toolkit
Communications Equipment
Bug Scanner 6
Data Tap
Microtransceiver
Jammer, Area 6
Jammer, Directional 6
Stealth Tags x10
Tag Eraser
White Noise Generator 6
General Equipment
Gold Credstick  (Max Funds up to: 100,000)
DocWagon Basic Contract, 1 Year

Final Calculations
Physical Initiative: 8 + 1d6
Matrix AR Initiative: 8 + 1d6
Matrix VR Initiative (Cold Sim): 8 + 3d6 (Hot Sim: 8 + 4d6)
Limits
Mental: 6/    Physical: 4/  Social: 4
Condition Monitor Boxes:
Physical: 10
Mental: 10
Overflow: 8