So, with the change to essence in this edition a lot of my SR4 builds won't work as written. So, I have combined a few of them into one character.

"
I used to be a fighter. A kickboxer. One of the best, omae. Out in the world you may have been the baddest dude walking but in the cage, your hoop was mine. I beat orks, troll, and walking chrome monstrosities. No one could beat me. I was too fast and too good.
I'm also a go-ganger. The 405 Hellhounds have been my family since I was old enough to steal my first bike. Turns out that bike belonged to a Hellhound named Big Tommy. When he confronted me I took some goofy fighting stance I had seen in some action trid and challenged him at the top of my lungs. He could have killed me but he just laughed and said he liked my guts. So he made me an initiate instead. I learned a lot from Tommy. He taught me about life, when to stand and when to run. He taught me about speed, and how it could be everything you ever wanted.
That all changed two years ago...
We were chasing down some runners who had gone through our turf. Tommy let me drive his pride and joy, a cherry GMC Commodore. He was shooting out the passenger side. Suddenly, one of the runner group slammed into the side of our car. I hadn't even seen them come up the side. We veered off toward a highway barrier. There was time to swerve. I heard Tommy yelling for me to turn, But I just...froze.
We hit the barrier so hard the car flipped over frontward and rolled two more times. Tommy died instantly, I wasn't so lucky.
The other Hellhounds pulled me screaming and bloody from the wreckage, my legs smashed clean off. I passed out. It was three months before I fully regained consciousness and learned that my life as I knew it was over. See, what the boys in the gang had no way of knowing, because I had never told them, was that I am Awakened. That's how I was able to win all those fights. They took me to a street doc to save my life, but thought they'd do one better and augment me to be a better fighter. Thought they were doing me a favor, but they were really burning the magic out of me. If I hadn't run out of nuyen,(oh yeah, they were using all of my prize money to pay for this "favor') they might of kept installing 'ware till I had nothing left.
When I recovered, I tried to go back to fighting. But every time the fight got tense, when it really mattered, I'd think about that night with Tommy and freeze up. I lost ten fights in a row.
So, I retired.
Now I don't really know what to do. Hanging with the gang is fun but it isn't the same without Big T. And it doesn't pay the bills. Since I can't fight, I'll have to go into the shadows. Kick hoop and take names. It's what I do best."
Alex is a street kid who has grown up on action trids and is a self taught fighter. He is a natural athlete but has not trained with any real dedication and is thus not exceptionally tough or agile (at least by Sixth World standards) but prior to his accident he was exceptionally powerful magically. That magic carried him very far in life.
He has also attracted the attention of a spirit that mentors him. Like his Awakened abilities, this ghost is a secret he keeps to himself. This spirit sometimes takes the form of a dragon and sometimes as a generic old man kung fu teacher. It only answers to "Master." Alex is very obedient to The Master and he has had to change a number of his habits to keep the spirit happy. The level of politeness and excessive bowing The Master insists on has made Alex a bit of a joke among his Hellhound brothers, but he considers it worth the cost for the important lessons The Master may teach him.
Alex has had great trouble adjusting to his life as an augmented human. Before his power flowed freely and powerfully. He felt connected to his body in a way that non-Awakened can't imagine. Now he feels stunted, as if his magic is gated and always runs out when he needs more. Many powers he had access to before are gone and those that remain are stunted. He also doesn't feel at peace with his synthetic legs. Intellectually he knows they are a technical improvement over the legs he had but the synthetic skin and nerve inputs just cant trick his brain into feeling like they're "real."
He still has a habit of freezing with indecision in tense situations, a habit the Hellhounds are starting to notice. As a full member of the gang he still owes them his allegiance and help often. If this will conflict with his runner duties remains to be seen.
His bad rep in the shadows is due both to his membership in the 405 Hellhounds and to people believing he started taking dives on his last few fights since his record before the crash was flawless. His loyalties and integrity are questionable in shadow communities.
The alias he has chosen for his new shadow life, Hahen, means splintered or fragmented in Japanese. It embodies how his life feels now.
Some extra notes: Since I have a habit of over optimizing things, I have limited myself in two ways. 1)I am only using the core book at chargen to keep me away from the power creep that always comes in the later books. 2) I am using the old "One at 6 or two at 5" rule for skills.
Any input is appreciated.
== Personal Data ==
Street Name: Hahen
Name: Alex Lucent
Movement: 8/16 (2m/hit)
Swim: 3.5 (1m/hit)
Karma: 0
Street Cred: 0
Notoriety: 4
Public Awareness: 0
Human Male Age 23
Height 5'10" Weight 176
Composure: 6
Judge Intentions: 8
Lift/Carry: 8 (75 kg/50 kg)
Memory: 5
Nuyen: 5¥
== Priorities ==
Metatype: E,0
Attributes: B,3
Special: D,1
Skills: C,2
Resources: A,4
== Attributes ==
BOD: 3
AGI: 4 (5 average)
REA: 6 (8 )
STR: 3 (5 average)
CHA: 3
INT: 5
LOG: 2
WIL: 3
EDG: 3
MAG: 2
== Derived Attributes ==
Essence: 2.15
Initiative: 13 +3d6
Rigger Initiative: 13 +3d6
Astral Initiative: 10 +3d6
Matrix AR: 13 +3d6
Matrix Cold: 10 +3d6
Matrix Hot: 10 +4d6
Physical Damage Track: 12
Stun Damage Track: 10
== Limits ==
Physical: 7
Mental: 4
Audio Enhancement (Earbuds): +3, Only for Perception (Hearing)
Medkit: +6, Only for First Aid and Medicine
Vision Enhancement (Contacts): +1, Only for Perception (Visual)
Social: 4
Astral: 4
== Active Skills ==
Automatics (Submachine Guns) Base: 4 Pool: 8 (+2 w/ SMGs +2 w/ Smartlink)
Con Base: 4 Pool: 7
Etiquette Base: 1 Pool: 4
Gymnastics Base: 1 Pool: 8
Intimidation Base: 4 Pool: 7
Leadership Base: 1 Pool: 6
Negotiation Base: 1 Pool: 4
Perception Base: 4 Pool: 9
Pilot Ground Craft Base: 4 Pool: 12
Running Base: 1 Pool: 10 (Both legs are strength 7)
Swimming Base: 1 Pool: 6
Unarmed Combat (Kickboxing) Base: 6 Pool: 13 when punching, 16 when kicking, 14 average (+2 when kickboxing)
== Knowledge Skills ==
City Speak Native
Japanese Native
Fight Clubs (Barrens) Base: 6 Pool: 11 (13)
Gangs (Go Gangs) Base: 4 Pool: 9 (11)
Ramen Stands (Seattle) Base: 1 Pool: 6 (8 )
== Contacts ==
Hot Boy; 405 HQ; Street Doc (2, 2)
Rhonda Dhee; Barrens; Fixer (2, 3)
== Qualities ==
Adept
Bad Rep
Bilingual
Combat Paralysis
Dependent (Inconvenience)
Mentor Spirit (Wise Warrior)
Natural Athlete
== Powers ==
Critical Strike (Unarmed Combat)
Improved Ability (skill) (Unarmed Combat)Rating: 2
Pain ResistanceRating: 2
== Lifestyle ==
Rhonda's Couch (Low) 1 Month
+ Cramped (Cramped [-10%]) [--10%]
+ Dangerous Area (Dangerous Area [-20%]) [--20%]
== Cyberware/Bioware ==
Damage CompensatorsRating 4
OrthoskinRating 3
Reflex Recorder (Skill)
Synaptic BoosterRating 2
Synthetic Full Leg (AGI 7, STR 7, Physical 9) (Right)
+ ArmorRating 2
+ Customized AgilityRating 4
+ Customized StrengthRating 4
+ Enhanced AgilityRating 3
+ Enhanced StrengthRating 3
Synthetic Full Leg (AGI 7, STR 7, Physical 9) (Left)
+ ArmorRating 2
+ Customized AgilityRating 4
+ Customized StrengthRating 4
+ Enhanced AgilityRating 3
+ Enhanced StrengthRating 3
== Armor ==
Armor Clothing 6
Lined Coat 9
+ Chemical Protection 3
+ Fire Resistance 3
+ Nonconductivity 3
== Weapons ==
FN HAR
+ Gas-Vent 2 System
+ Laser Sight
+ Smartgun System, External
+ Spare Clip
+ Spare Clip
Pool: 9 Accuracy: 7 DV: 10P AP: -2 RC: 5
Ingram Smartgun X
+ Gas-Vent 2 System
+ Smartgun System, Internal
+ Sound Suppressor
+ Spare Clip
+ Spare Clip
Pool: 9 (11) Accuracy: 6 DV: 8P AP: - RC: 5
Steyr TMP
+ Concealable Holster
+ Gas-Vent 3 System
+ Laser Sight
+ Smartgun System, Internal
+ Spare Clip
+ Spare Clip
Pool: 9 Accuracy: 6 DV: 7P AP: - RC: 6
Unarmed Attack
Pool: 14 Accuracy: 7 DV: 4S Punching, 8P Kicking AP: - RC: 3
== Commlink ==
Hermes Ikon (ATT: 0, SLZ: 0, DP: 5, FWL: 5)
+ Commlink Functionality [Camera, Micro 1, Chip Player, Credstick Reader, Earbuds 3, GPS Guidance System, Micro Trid-Projector, Music Player, RFID Tag Scanner, Shock- and Water-Resistant Case, Touchscreen Display]
Meta Link (ATT: 0, SLZ: 0, DP: 1, FWL: 1)
+ Commlink Functionality [Camera, Micro 1, Chip Player, Credstick Reader, Earbuds 3, GPS Guidance System, Micro Trid-Projector, Music Player, RFID Tag Scanner, Shock- and Water-Resistant Case, Touchscreen Display]
== Gear: Equipped ==
Ammo: Explosive Rounds (Machine Pistols) ×50
Ammo: Explosive Rounds (Submachine Guns) ×50
Ammo: Explosive Rounds (Assault Rifles) ×100
Ammo: Stick-n-Shock (Machine Pistols) ×100
Ammo: Stick-n-Shock (Submachine Guns) ×100
Contacts Rating 3
+ Image Link
+ Smartlink
+ Vision Enhancement Rating 1
Crowbar
Earbuds Rating 3
+ Audio Enhancement Rating 3
Fake SIN (Aaron Bruno) Rating 4
+ Fake License (Concealed Carry Permit) Rating 4
+ Fake License (Driver's License) Rating 4
+ Fake License (Restricted Cyberware License) Rating 4
+ Fake License (Automatic Weapons License) Rating 4
Medkit Rating 6
+ Medkit Supplies ×4
Micro-Transceiver
Slap Patch, Stim Patch Rating 6 ×5
Slap Patch, Trauma Patch ×2
Trodes
== Vehicles ==
Suzuki Mirage (Racing Bike)
+ Sensor Array Rating 2