I thought of a character I'd rather play, and our GM very graciously let me reroll so late in the game. (Thanks again, Sichr -- this character is a little lower on starting karma but I like her a lot more from a character perspective, and that's more important to me.) So here's my new 20q and character sheet for Mars the AI.
We are shaped by our heritage. Facial features, skin tone, height, build, metatype, even aptitudes are influenced by the genes passed from parent to child. Attitude, too, is taught by parents, informed by their own lives and their cultural heritage. Where does your character come from, what is her lineage, who were her parents, and what did she inherit from them?
Whether or not Mars has ‘parents’ depends on who you ask; in most of the world she’s legally a piece of malfunctioning code, not a sentient being, which makes her the property of whoever created her. In her opinion, she (never ‘it’, she hates that) is a Seattleite ork. It’s complicated. The closest thing she has to parents are a former mercenary named Aisa Hamidou and an Ares-BAE Centurion heavy tank.
Parents can be proud of their children or regret ever bringing them into the world. Some are loving, and some are indifferent. All of them are only metahuman and have their own opinions of their children. Assuming they could speak, what would each of your character's parents say about her?
Aisa Hamidou would be astonished to learn she had a data double running the shadows of Seattle. Although she suspected there was something a little odd about her old hovertank, she never found out the truth.
Many people remember certain historical events for the rest of their lives. For those alive in the first decade of the 21st century, it could be the assassination of John F. Kennedy, or the Tiananmen Square protests, or the fall of the Berlin Wall, or the attack of 11 September 2001. People remember where they were, and what they were doing when they first heard of these events. Shadowrun history has significant events as well, such as the assassination of President Dunkelzahn, the Crash 2.0, and the emergence of technomancers and artificial intelligences. Pick a few events from recent Shadowrun history and ask where the character was at the time, what does he remember about the event, and what was he doing at the time?
Mars was ‘born’ during the second Crash. About sixty klicks outside Alexandria, the mercenary Aisa was trapped inside her Centurion hovertank. Apart from a few hours’ missing memory and a splitting headache, she was unharmed. The tank, on the other hand, was changed forever. Over the course of the next few years, the AI eventually known as Mars coalesced within it, slowly gaining awareness and collecting information about the outside world.
Very few people choose to become shadowrunners. More likely, they are thrown into the life by a chaotic and uncaring world. Even if she made a conscious decision to enter the shadows, her decision is influenced by the world around her. How did your character get into shadowrunning, and why did she take that path?
In 2071, the tank that had been Mars’ home was destroyed by a Predator airdrone in the kingdom of Hausa. Aisa, who was driving it at the time, survived the explosion but was badly injured and returned to her native Seattle to heal and get used to her new cyberlimbs. Mars, badly shaken by the loss of what had been her entire world, followed her. Back in Seattle, Aisa fell in love, settled down, and started a more or less honest life. With no tank to drive and needing to support herself, Mars drew inspiration from her favorite trids and became a shadowrunner. Recent developments in AI rights mean that she could, technically, acquire a SIN; Horizon, the PCC, and Tir Tairngire are among the entities that will grant citizenship to synthetic intelligences. For now, however, she likes her life in the shadows.
People have control over their own living arrangements. From the child young enough to use crayons and tape all the way up to the elderly shut-in who plasters her walls with family photos and cat pictures, everyone makes their living spaces more personally pleasing. What is your character's living space like, and what has he added or changed to make it his own?
Mars recently set up shop in the straightforwardly named Auburn Garage. It’s in one of the sketchier parts of the district, where rents are low enough that she can afford enough space for a sizeable workplace. Its main flaw is her neighbor, who breeds devil rats that are constantly escaping into Mars’ space. To a metahuman, her actual home doesn’t look like much; it’s a custom nexus hooked up to an emergency backup generator. The virtual inside is modeled after a ‘real’ home as much as possible, with a comfortable living space, bedroom, and kitchen, although its inhabitant doesn’t need to eat or sleep. The bedroom is decorated with posters of Urban Brawl teams, combat bikes, and the icon of the AI Pulsar.
Everyone has beliefs, and many beliefs strong enough to be convictions. Some are religious, some are political, some are social, and some are just about why people are here. What does your character believe in, what are her convictions (if any), and why does she hold them?
Mars is politically fairly radical, a natural consequence of being considered a non-person by a significant part of the world. She believes that power should be toppled whenever possible.
Everyone has aspects of their personality that grate on someone. Even the best of friends annoy one another from time to time. The flaws in a person’s character are as important as the qualities. What do you dislike most about your character’s personality?
The most irritating thing about Mars is probably her complete lack of boundaries. She doesn’t get the point of privacy or private property; she’s willing to start poking around anywhere that looks like it might be interesting, even if she has to break in, and she doesn’t really understand why most people wouldn’t be okay with that.
The Sixth World is considered by many to be spinning out of control. If anyone could exert control over it, it would be the “Big Ten” triple-A mega corps. These transnationals exert a lot of influence on everyday life in the 2070s. Which of the Big Ten does your character hold in the highest (or least low) regard, which does he like the least, and why?
Mars’ favorite corp is Horizon, because they went to the Corporate Court for AIs’ right to citizenship (and because they’re publically allied with Pulsar). She goes out of her way to take runs against Renraku for the defending role in the same court case.
People make acquaintances and friends; we’re hardwired for it. Humans are social animals. This is especially true in the shadows, where often it is not the power you have, but the power you can borrow, and not who you, are but who you know. There’s a story behind each and every one of these relationships. What is the story with your character and her contacts?
Shady Paco is Mars’ fixer. He’s small fry, a long way from breaking into the world of big runs and bigger payoffs, but Mars is new in town and without friends to make the right introductions Shady Paco was the best she could do. She estimates an 85% chance he’ll be dead of an overdose within 5 years.
The London Eye are the only people Mars knows who are aware she’s an AI. They’re a group of hackers and riggers, based physically in Lagos, who banded together to share useful information. Mars isn’t a full member, but the Eye are a good place to find work and sell off things she happens to ‘pick up’ on runs.
Vadim Vadimovich is a low-level Vory shestiorka who sometimes arranges for things to fall off the back of trucks in exchange for ‘favors’.
It’s Sunday morning, and your character has no commitments until tomorrow afternoon. What does she do for the day?
Probably send her Vulcan drone off to a junkyard. Scrap yards are like Christmas for Mars; there’s always something useful hiding in a corner, and being able to find it where no one else can is half the fun. She’d spent the rest of the day -- and night, if necessary -- cleaning and repairing whatever semi-functional bit of crap she dragged home.
Your character has a specific skill set, a list of Active and Knowledge skills that define what she knows and her areas of expertise. How did she come to learn those skills, and how did she develop them to those levels?
Mars spent most of her career, such as it is, as a tank in a mercenary company, so her skill set is a little more straightforward and less focused on stealth and intrigue than the average shadowrunner, although she learns fast. She picked up Urban Brawl because Aisa liked it, but has become a genuine and devoted fan.
Everyone has their limits. People can be dark, but most people’s instinct is to draw the line at certain actions and thoughts, and they keep to their own moral convictions. Is there a moral limit that your character enforces on the jobs she takes, and in what shadow work would she refuse to engage?
Mars has a soft spot for metahuman children and won’t harm them. She also won’t take jobs for anyone that she knows imprisons AIs against their will.
If you have an Awakened or technomancer character, consider your character’s tradition and streams. Even within the major established magical traditions and the recently emerged technomantic streams, there is room for personalization. Ask yourself what drew her to that particular paradigm, how does it effect the way she views the world and her magic, how does it translate into choice of mentor spirit or paragon, and how does it affect the appearance of the spirits or sprites you conjure or compile?
Nope. Mars considers technomancers to be sort of distant cousins. Magic is completely baffling to her; she can’t even meaningfully perceive it.
While acceptance and bias vary from place to place, augmentations— be they bio-, cyber-, gene-, or nanoware—are increasingly common and available in the Sixth World. However, personal technological enhancement is rarely cheap, and many implants that runners possess are restricted. How did your character come to have the enhancements she has, how were they paid for, and what motivated the choices she made (if she did make the choices)?
None, although her icon has tattoos.
Life as a shadowrunner is by definition outside the bounds of “normal” life. Shadowrunners do not truly fit into the lives of ordinary people, whether they live in slums or mansions. What does your character think of ordinary life, mainstream culture, and those who abide by it?
Mars looks down on ‘normal’ metahumans. As far as she can tell, mainstream life is much less exciting than shadowrunning, and she can’t figure out why anyone would spend so much time there.
Everyone has nightmares. Sometimes, we forget the dream completely on waking. Sometimes, the nightmare haunts us or even recurs. If your character had a lingering nightmare or a deep-rooted fear, what would it be, and why does he find it so terrifying?
To the extent that she understands death, Domino finds the whole idea completely horrifying. That the planet is covered in billions of sentient, unique life forms who will someday just stop existing… Ageing is just as bad. Before you die, as it turns out, the organic shell you inhabit (permanently! You can’t ever get out) will slowly fall apart around you, leaving you to watch as your only way of interacting with the world disintegrates. Scary.
People tend to attach sentimental value to items in their possession or people they are close to. They make an effort to keep these close by and safe. What is your character’s “sacred object” or “close one,” and how did they come to be so important to him?
Mars is very fond of her drones, which she treats like extremely slow-witted pets. She’s also so attached to Aisa Hamidou, the mercenary rigger who drove her tank, that she’s taken on her appearance. Lastly, she has an enormous crush on the AI Pulsar. Powerful, famous charismatic Pulsar is the AI equivalent of Superman; they’ve only met once, but Mars hero-worships him. She has alerts set up to make sure she never misses an article or press release even remotely related to the Undernet Alliance, and the news reports of heroic Pulsar talking Sojourner down from the edge are her favorite bedtime story.
One of metahumanity’s greatest assets is its ability to look toward the future and imagine a better life. Even small children have dreams about what they want to be when they grow up. What did your character want to become when he was a child, and what are his goals now?
When she was a ‘child’, or new AI, Mars wanted to hit what she aimed at and not run out of fuel. What she wants now is a Reaper killdrone and an exciting life.
A person’s appearance can say volumes about him. From fashion sense, to the colors he prefers, to the way he walks and speaks. Sometimes, his personality determines his appearance, and, sometimes, the appearance he chooses to present the world affects his personality. What does your character look like, and what inspired his choices?
Mars uses an extremely realistic AR icon patterned after Aisa Hamidou: 5’10”, above average for a female ork, but distinctly on the lanky side, with little musculature and fewer curves. She has medium brown skin and hazel eyes, and wears her thin, neat dreadlocks tied back in a bun. Her forearms and back are covered with tattoos, each one prone to change based on Mars’ mood or what’s happened to her recently.
Everyone has a name, but a runner’s street name is a representation of his connection to the shadows. Sometimes runners choose their own moniker, but more often it is given to them as a nickname or earned through some (mis)adventure. How did your character come to be known by his street name?
‘Mars’, the Roman god of war, was the nickname of the Centurion tank the AI Mars used to drive. She kept it for herself when she took up shadowrunning.
Gear, since I still can't get it to compress enough to fit forum restrictions for some reason. The High lifestyle represents the costs of her nexus.
== Lifestyles ==
Auburn Garage 1 months
Comforts: Middle
Entertainment: Low
Necessities: Middle
Neighborhood: Low
Security: High
Qualities: Inconspicuous Housing, Physical [2LP]
Ultramodern [1LP]
Workplace [1LP]
Pest Magnet (Rating 2) [-3LP]
Trigger-Happy Landlord [-1LP]
Worse Neighbors [-1LP]
Bolt Hole / Contraband Storage 1 months
Comforts: Street
Entertainment: Street
Necessities: Middle
Neighborhood: Squatter
Security: High
Qualities: Affiliated [-3LP]
Rough Neighborhood [-1LP]
High 1 months
== Weapons ==
Unarmed Attack
Pool: 0 DV: 2S AP: - RC: 0
== Gear ==
Ammo: EX-Explosive Rounds (Battle Rifles) x100
Ammo: EX-Explosive Rounds (Light Machine Guns) x50
Ammo: Stick-n-Shock (Assault Rifles) x40
Ammo: Stick-n-Shock (Light Machine Guns) x50
Analyze Rating 6
+Copy Protection Rating 6
+Registration
+Ergonomic
+Optimization Rating 1
Attack Rating 5
+Copy Protection Rating 5
+Registration
Browse Rating 6
+Copy Protection Rating 6
+Registration
+Optimization Rating 1
Chaser Rating 4
+Copy Protection Rating 4
+Registration
Covert Ops Rating 4
+Copy Protection Rating 4
+Registration
Defense Rating 4
+Copy Protection Rating 4
+Registration
Defuse Rating 1
+Copy Protection Rating 1
+Registration
ECCM Rating 5
+Copy Protection Rating 5
+Registration
Edit Rating 5
+Copy Protection Rating 5
+Registration
Eurosoft Clavicula
+Decrypt Rating 5 [Copy Protection 5; Registration]
+Encrypt Rating 5 [Copy Protection 5; Registration]
Fake SIN (Morgan Vrinn) Rating 4
+Fake License (Restricted drones) Rating 4
+Fake License (Weapons) Rating 4
Fake SIN (Nadya Rasavskaya) Rating 4
+Fake License (Drones) Rating 4
+Fake License (Weapons) Rating 4
Profession (Armorer) Rating 4
+Copy Protection Rating 4
+Registration
Profession (Automotive Mechanic) Rating 4
+Copy Protection Rating 4
+Registration
Profession (Demolitions) Rating 4
+Copy Protection Rating 4
+Registration
Profession (Industrial Mechanic) Rating 4
+Copy Protection Rating 4
+Registration
Scan Rating 5
+Copy Protection Rating 5
+Registration
Sniffer Rating 5
+Copy Protection Rating 5
+Registration
Tool Shop (Mechanics)
== Vehicles ==
Ford LEBD-1 (Medium)
+Armor, Normal Rating 9
+Improved Takeoff and Landing Level 2
+Mechanical Arm
+Weapon Mount (Normal, External, Fixed, Remote)
+Medium Drone Sensor
Lockheed Vulcan (Large)
+Fuzzy Logic
+Mechanical Arm
+Activesoft (Aeronautics Mechanic) Rating 3
+Copy Protection Rating 3
+Registration
+Large Drone Sensor
Lone Star Strato-9 (Medium)
+Ammo Bins
+Armor, Normal Rating 9
+Chameleon Coating
+ECM Rating 2
+Improved Takeoff and Landing Level 2
+Obsolescent
+Satellite Communication
+Weapon Mount (Normal, External, Flexible, Remote)
+Medium Drone Sensor
MCT Fly-Spy (Minidrone) ("Yellow Bird")
+Chameleon Coating
+Improved Takeoff and Landing Level 2
+Maneuver (Self) Rating 2
+Copy Protection Rating 2
+Registration
+Minidrone Sensor
+Camera, Trideo Rating 6 [Vision Enhancement 3, Vision Magnification]
+MSOS Mk I
MCT Fly-Spy (Minidrone) ("Red Bird")
+Chameleon Coating
+Improved Takeoff and Landing Level 2
+Maneuver (Self) Rating 2
+Copy Protection Rating 2
+Registration
+Minidrone Sensor
+Camera, Trideo Rating 6 [Vision Enhancement 3, Vision Magnification]
+Operations Cleanup Tool Kit
MCT Fly-Spy (Minidrone) ("Blue Bird")
+Chameleon Coating
+Improved Takeoff and Landing Level 2
+Retrans Unit
+Maneuver (Self) Rating 2
+Copy Protection Rating 2
+Registration
+Minidrone Sensor
+Camera, Trideo Rating 6 [Vision Enhancement 3, Vision Magnification]
Rover 2068 (SUV)
+Amenities, High
+Anti-Theft
+Armor, Normal Rating 20
+Drone Rack, Small
+Gun Port
+Morphing License Plate
+Off-Road Suspension
+Passenger Protection Rating 2
+Personal Armor Rating 10
+Retrans Unit
+Rigger Cocoon, Basic
+Run Flat Tires Rating 1
+Spike Strip
+Spoof Chip
+Weapon Mount (Normal, Concealed, Flexible, Remote)
+Camera, Trideo Rating 6
+Vision Enhancement Rating 3
+Low Light
+Smartlink
+Camera, Trideo Rating 6
+Thermographic
+Vision Magnification
+Microphone Rating 6
+Spatial Recognizer
+Audio Enhancement Rating 3
+Vehicle Sensor
+Laser Range Finder
+Motion Sensor
Steel Lynx (Large)
+Armor, Normal Rating 8
+Chameleon Coating
+Weapon Mount (Normal, External, Turret, Remote)
+Camera, Trideo Rating 6
+Vision Magnification
+Thermographic
+Low Light
+Camera, Trideo Rating 6
+Vision Enhancement Rating 3
+Smartlink
+Defense Rating 3
+Copy Protection Rating 3
+Registration
+Large Drone Sensor
+Laser Range Finder
+Motion Sensor
+Microphone Rating 6
+Spatial Recognizer
+Audio Enhancement Rating 3
+Targeting (Self) Rating 3
+Copy Protection Rating 3
+Registration
