[JoeNapalm]

Hey all.

Just getting back into SR after...uh...well...let's just say the last time I played, the book cover had Sally, Dodger, and Ghost-Who-Walks-Inside on it.

I am building a couple of characters for my friend's shiny new campaign. The first one I cooked up was sort of a Weapons Specialist/Street Merc type. It's a 500BP campaign, and my character concept is a former Operator who burned out, was pitched out of the military, hit rock bottom, and has finally decided to crawl back into the light and get his Edge back.

Among his Qualities, I took Mercenary Creedo, Bad Rep, and Addiction (Mild - Alcohol). While shaking out the numbers, I found that I had Notoriety 6, PA 2.

Now, I realize that how this impacts me will largely be up to the GM (who may or may not be rubbing his hands with glee) but I'm wondering what the veteran's opinions are on how this will effect my character? They fit my character concept, so I'll keep them, I'm just wondering what I'm really getting myself into.

-Jn-
Ifriti Sophist

[Xzylvador]

500BP sounds like he's quite experienced already; of course a lot depends on the GM, but a char with that amount of experience probably already has some Reputation and Notoriety already, no matter what qualities.

How bad is it? Again, a lot will depend on the GM, but it might actually be pretty ok. Sure, he's more likely to be picked for violence than subterfuge, but that's the idea, right? He's a merc after all.
At least he doesn't have combat monster, vindictive, thrill seeker or some of those disorders; so even if an NPC makes a remark about his reputation, he might be cool enough to shrug it off instead of going ballistic and making things worse.

[JoeNapalm]

Ah...er....uhm...

Funny that you should say that. *Sheepish Grin*

A full listing of his Qualities:

Ambidextrous
Toughness
Guts
Erased
Common Sense
Mercenary Creedo

Addiction (Mild – Alcohol)
Bad Rep
Poor Self-Control (Vindictive)
Poor Self-Control (Combat Monster)
Dependant (Old War Buddy)


I could post his whole backstory, which explains why I chose these, if it were relevant. He's got a high WIL and Mercenary Creedo gives him a +1 to Composure, which I hope will help mitigate his...issues.

Also, anyone giving him drek about his Rep will have, of course, heard of him, and thus he gets a +6 to Intimidate...hopefully that will make them think twice about it.

As a last resort, I hope that Common Sense will kick in and tell me when I want to burn some Edge on that Composure check -

"Something tells you that you REALLY do NOT want to tangle with this particular Dragon."

-Jn-
City of Brass Expatriate

[Ten-Hex]

It all depends on how prevalent your GM is having social rolls and the mechanics being used. With the qualities you are considering, when dealing with NPCs who are aware of your reputation you suffer a -6 dice pool modifier to all social skill tests except for Intimidate tests (which gain a +6 dice pool mod bonus). The PA of 2 means there is a better chance someone not in the shadows will recognize you from local media reputation, getting the same Notoriety mod.

Personally as a GM, my hands are bleeding and half-crippled from the amount of gleeful rubbing I'm doing. I'd discuss the character with your GM, see how much he thinks this will impact you, and decide if you want to play a character with such high Notoriety based on his commentary.

[Operator]

From the wording on SR4A p.265:

Depending on the situation, Notoriety serves as a modifier to the character's Street Cred. If a character is trying to earn someone's trust or otherwise win them over, subtract Notoriety from Street Cred before applying the Street Cred dice pool modifier to Social Skill Tests. (Note that Street Cred cannot be reduced below 0.)

It foils Street Cred when you're trying to interact in such a way that isn't an application of intimidation or fear. It won't render it entirely impossible for you to make basic social skill tests, giving you some kind of chance to duck whatever heat comes your way. The inherent danger of Notoriety is that it makes your Public Awareness climb up quickly and is far easier to gain than Street Cred.

Don't forget that while Notoriety won't run your Street Cred modifier into the negatives, if it's high enough and people come looking for you, then those aware of your rep have more to lose by offering you aid. That will impact the social test itself.

[JoeNapalm]

Personally as a GM, my hands are bleeding and half-crippled from the amount of gleeful rubbing I'm doing. I'd discuss the character with your GM, see how much he thinks this will impact you, and decide if you want to play a character with such high Notoriety based on his commentary.

Yeah, the GM and I go way back - except that I am usually the EvilGM(tm) for our group, so he's probably got a couple of decades of Poor Self-Control(Vindictive) saved up for me...heh.

Actually, his exact words were:
"I’ll let you start with a 6, if you really want to have the heat breathing down your neck consistently.  The heat has raunchy breath, and it’s quite moist."

The odd thing is, I think it's a reaction to his giving us 500BP to work with. As a GM, I feel like I must keep everything in balance - rather than take those points to go BIG'N'UBER I've forged myself a deeply flawed anti-hero.

It's a small group, so we're each running two characters...my other guy is a Fomori Occult Investigator with the Dark King as his Spirit Mentor. I think, as a player, I have the "Self-Destructive Behavior" Negative Quality.

*Grin*

-Jn-
Ifriti Sophist
 

[Ten-Hex]

Don't forget that while Notoriety won't run your Street Cred modifier into the negatives,

Operator brings up a very good point missing from my first post.  (I tend to forget this because we let Street Cred+Notoriety apply negative modifiers in our game as a house rule.)

Without adding anything custom in, the main effect of Notoriety 6 will be to make you virtually unable to gain any decent name for yourself... by the time you start getting a positive street cred mod (and likely before then), you'll be wanting to burn S.C. to buy down Notoriety just to keep your public awareness rating at a sane level.

[JoeNapalm]

Sadly, the Notoriety gained from Mercenary Creedo and Bad Rep can't be burned down with Street Cred, I don't believe.

I had not, however, considered Operator's other point - that ALL social tests will be affected by this. If that is the case, I better hope he can just keep his teeth together and let the Face do his job.

If we HAVE a Face. Like I said...small party. Normally, I would probably be playing the Face, but I've got this guy and Troll mage, so Face work is out. *Grin*

But if he has -6 to all social tests, and an additional -2 when dealing with anyone following Bushido (due to Merc Creed), delicate negotiations with that high-powered Japanese Mr.Johnson and his Street Samurai bodyguards will probably NOT end well for me.

Of course, with this character, I may not survive being introduced to the rest of my party, so I may not have to worry about it. (That reminds me...better get a hold of my Contact...I need some grenades...)


-Jn-
Ifriti Sophist

[Operator]

A merc like that should be kept on a short leash at least in terms of diplomatic relations. For him to be on retainer is itself a big statement.

I'm positive most runners are going to pick up at least 2-3 points of Notoriety over the course of their running careers, and will likely burn them off with the goal of burying their Public Awareness.