[Ragnor]

Hello Everybody

I bought the rulebook(german ed) last week and gathered some Ideas on my first character in SR4. Since this is my first character, there might be some missunderstandings of the rules.

I did not decide enough on the background yet to write it down. But some things I have decided:

The Character is an EX-PI who changed career to a lawyer to generate a higher income. He is very selforiented and succes driven. He is somewhere from the US and comes from a good family. He is not a criminal or anything.

At some point, after a trial, he looses his faith in the law system and joins a group of runners (chaotic good).

When Roleplaying, hes mainly a lawyer. He is supposed to be the face of the group. I gave him some high agility and pistols skills so he is not completely useless in combat.

Race: Elf (30)
Attributes: B 5 , A 6, R 1, S 3, C 7, I 1, L5, W 3, Edge 1, Essence 6 (200)
Advantages: Ambidextrous (5)
Disadvantages: SINner, standard (-5)

Skill Groups:
Influence 4 (40) important for a Lawyer
Atlethics 1 (10) important for a PI
Stealth 1 (10) important for a PI

Skill:
Dodge 1 (4)
Pistols 4, SM (18)
Intimidation 6, Interrogation (26) main Skill as a Lawyer
Perception 4, Visual (18)
Data Search 1 (4)

Knowledge: (-18)
English(free)
Lingo: law 4 (8 )
Chess 1 (2)

45'000 Cash(9)
Lifestyle: High for 4 Months

Gear:
3x Fichetti Security 600
325x Regular rounds
2x Actioneer Business Clothes

Critisism is welcome.

[Xzylvador]

Stats & skills don't match with his background; 6 Agi and 4(6) Pistols, but no Intuition and barely any stealth?
No wonder he became a lawyer, he couldn't stalk a deaf blind person with 1 Intuition and Shadowing... Intuition's probably a PI's most important stat. Perception, Stealth, Judge Intentions...

How many BP's left for contacts?

[Ragnor]

Thanks for the very quick reply.

I have 31 BP points left for connections and 10 BP free knowlegde skills left.

No wonder he became a lawyer, he couldn't stalk a deaf blind person

This is actually quite funny. 
I could use this as a reason he became a lawyer or give him -2 strength and + 2 intuition.
I think I can leave reaction to 1.

[John Shull]

Some PI don't do a lot of follow the leader and if you were just doing background checks and bugging people you may never have really gotten around to improving on it.  Going from PI to lawyer you obviously are avoiding getting good at it and going to get paid in the land of the big bucks.  Your character seems kinda 'grey' to me, meaning your doing quasi legal actions instead of straight out crime.  Your lawyer may start up some dummy corporations on paper and point people into laundering money or other non die in an alley situations.  You know some shady characters from your life to date and will use your skills to help these guys out first.  Knowing just what evidence is crucial to lose and if the DA has any real cards can come in really handy.  (Depending on if your going Corp or Criminal law that is).  Its also really hard to force you to testify to anything as you take a nuyen from anyone and its 'legal advise' from a lawyer and privledged.  You have access to your team in jail should it occur, if your their lawyer and no one can monitor you as long as your not so sloppy enough to be under investigation yourself.  So their are a number of advantages your character has built in, as long as your not in some corporations extraterratorial zone.  Even then you may get much more leeway depending on your GM and how the corp views the law.  All this would have to be bought as advantages, Licence to practice Law, etc. 

You seem to want to be a good interviewer and get info the face to face way.  So I would add to that with the lie detectors and emo readers available.  Depending on your vision of the character as money hungry, just smart enough to get out of the shadows shooting gallery, driven to achieve some goal (get brother out of prison, framed), or ambitious guy who wants to run his own corner of the shadows would paint the rest of the character.  He should have a old buddy PI who does some investigating for him, either as a contact or maybe a team member, and they could be a hacker, gumshoe, or mage PI.  Need more understanding of the background to fill it out. 

[Xzylvador]

I wouldn't lower the Str, I'd lower the agility...
I get that for metagame reasons you don't want to do that; but nothing in your bio explains why you're rolling 12-14(smartgun) dice with a pistol. You're a ex-PI lawyer, not an olympic gold medal sharpshooter or something, right?

Any attribute at 1 I'd thing requires some mention in the background, it's really freakishly low. 1 Reaction and 5 body elf... is he very obese (for an elf) or something?

But yeah, the agi again: I'd lower it and the pistols skill and spend the BP elsewhere. You do NOT want to be in combat! With 1 Rea, 1 Dodge and no melee skill, you're dead the second someone takes a shot or a punch at you anyways. You don't even have edge to spend to "get lucky" to survive an attack.
(Even on Full Defense -with edge- you're only rolling 4 dice defense... Example vs one single person with "some skill": 12(Agi 5, skill 3(5), smartgun) dice, two shots: your defense: 2 hits (edge spent) and 1 hit (and that's being generous, you could very well glitch with the 2 dice you have left by now). Attack: 2 x 4 hits. Heavy Pistol with regular ammo: 7P and 8P incoming. You don't have edge left to increase soak either...)

So either buff up those defensive combat skills further at the expense of other things (lower interrogation and even the influence group somewhat and boost those skills with equipment/ware) or forget about combat in the first place and focus on the face work and info gathering (in which case, I'd still probably put some more dice to defense than offense, no matter how skilled you are, it's useless when you're dead).

[Blond Goth Girl]

To fit a law background, think of law school and what you needed to pass.

Logic (think of a law degree), charisma (trial lawyer)

Take a look at F. Lee Bailey, law superstar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._Lee_Bailey

[Ragnor]

Thanks for the inputs you 3. I repost my stats using the template of Xzylvador.

Name: Peter Wulken
Alias: Wulken
Race: Elf
Sex: Male
Nationality: somewhere from the U.S.
Lifestyle: High
Physical Description: Medium sized, slim. Often Very Pale.
Personality/background: Tim Wulken is an EX-PI who changed career to a lawyer to generate a higher income. Also he wasn't a too good PI anyways. He is very selforiented and succes driven. He is somewhere from the US and comes from a good family. He was never under trial so far, but has defended some shady people in during his career.

At some point, after a trial, he looses his faith in the law system and joins a group of runners (chaotic good).

When Roleplaying, hes mainly a lawyer. He is supposed to be the face of the group. I gave him some high agility and pistols skills so he is not completely useless in combat. His Law skills can save his fellow runners from jail.

Attributes
Body        Agility     Reaction Strength
   3                 5          2            2
Charisma Intuition Logic      Willpower
   7                 3          5            3
Edge        Essence Initiative 
    1                6          5         

Positive Qualities
Ambidextrous
License for Attorney
License to carry a gun

Negative Qualities
SINner (somewhere from the U.S., ex-PI, now Lawyer)

Skill Groups:
Influence 4
Atlethics 1
Stealth 1

Skill:
Dodge 4
Pistols 1, SM
Intimidation 6, Interrogation
Perception 4, Visual
Data Search 1
Diving 1
Tracking 4, Urban

Knowledge: (24 free points)
English N
Lingo: law 4
Chess 1
Famous trials 1
North American History 1
High class restaurants in seattle 1
Elvish wines 4
11 points left

Connections:
PI Buddy C2, L2
Some people he defended in the past C?, L?
Some shared connection with the fellow runners C?, L?

Gear:
3x Fichetti Security 600
325x Regular rounds
2x Actioneer Business Clothes

High Lifestyle {4 Months paid}

[baronspam]

This may be a case of too many cooks spoiling the soup, but I think I will chime in here.

Although it makes sense that a lawyer would have a high logic, you pushed yours up to 5 and you don't do much with it. (You have one logic linked skill, and thats is level 1)  I would back off on logic a bit (don't make it a dump stat, but a bit, maybe 3).   Alternatly, look at skills like hardware and electronic warefare.  Maybe you are really good with bugs and survielance gear, and hardware would make you good at defeating some physical security measures, like maglocks.

Consider getting some augmentation.  Chrome isn't all about hand blades and wired reflexes.  Tailored Pherimones and a Vocal range enhancer and you have +4 dice for soical checks.  If you can't afford it, consider lowering charisma some.   That may sound counter intuitive, but taking one or two less dice via your stat to get four more dice overall still equals a bigger dicepool.

This last one I have mixed feelings about myself, but here goes: I am not sure about putting that  may points into interrogation.  Its certainly in character, I just don't know how often you will actually get to use it.  If things ever to get to the point that a character is on trial, you are already basically screwed.  They are in the system, biometerics, dna and tissue samples to hell and back have been taken, have a criminal sin, your repuation has taken a huge hit, and the job is blown.  If its a criminal court you might have a chance of a verdict in your favor.  If its a corporate court don't even bother showing up.  There may be times when you can intimidate somone for info, but to actually interrogate them in the shadows they would basically have to be tied to a chair.  At that point all you really need is a troll or a car battery and you can get to the same info of you are not squeemish.

Intimidation certainly does have its uses, but I would drop the specialization, and make even a dice or two and puch up another skill with it.   I would just back off a bit and spread the points around some.  But thats me, I tend to build generalists and always want alot of different skills.

[baronspam]

Two quick things: The vocal range enhancer miight not be in the basic rulebook if that is all you have access to.

Also, get your edge up some.  Its far to important to neglect totally, even if it means lowering your expectations for the character a bit.  Edge will save your bacon, you want some.

[Xzylvador]

I'll second the "interrogation skill is too high". Raise it later; for now, lower it a point or two and put the pistols back up a notch.
Don't think you need a lingo skill for law if it's in your native language... points better spent on actual knowledge of the law itself. Something like: Law & Regulations (Criminal)

Oh, and I forgot to mention before: What is this "U.S." place you mention?

[Glyph]

I agree with baronspam that Logic is way too high, for a character with only one Logic-linked skill (and that one generally uses the Browse program instead of Logic).  A Logic of 3, combined with his higher stats in other mental Attributes, is still an intelligent character.

One of the key things to remember about Shadowrun is that it is a game where magic, bodily augmentations, or sometimes even both can make you more than human.  A purely mundane character will always be at a disadvantage.  Faces have access to things like kinesics and improved ability (for adepts), and augmentations such as tailored pheromones (although you would have a good in-game reason not to have the latter, since this guy has not switched over to the shadows yet, and tailored pheromones are very illegal).

It depends a lot on how often you will run into upper-echelon NPCs.  Social skills are an area where it is easy to boost them sky-high, even though a dice pool of 12 will be fine most of the time.  Just know that, while you might be slightly better than most Johnsons, there are potentially people out there with much higher social dice pools.  It may not make sense for your character to start out with tailored pheromones, but you should definitely put them on your wish list.

[snowcrash]

Gear wise you'll need a commlink & basic use programs, at least two fake SINs (getting below R4 for these is a waste of time), likewise for licenses (drivers license, firearms license, concealed carry etc.). Also you have a LOT of ammo, ammo is one of the easier things to get ahold of, I'd also drop one of the pistols and put a silencer on the other one. I think 4 months lifestyle is a bit excessive as well, and you'll need a ride (and the pilot skill to go with it), unless you plan on jumping cabs and metros.

[Glyph]

He definitely needs a commlink - they are as ubiquitous as cell phones in the 2070's.  Even for a SINner, at least one fake ID for shady activities is a good idea, but this character is apparently set right before becoming a runner, time-wise (which has its fair share of disadvantages, since he will need to do a lot of things to transition to the shadows - most runners start out already having cut their ties to their previous lives).  A fake SIN is another thing to add to his list for when he transitions to shadowrunner.  I would make sure that one of his contacts is a shady, connected type such as a fixer, someone who can get him all set up when he transitions to a dual existence as a part-time shadowrunner.

He doesn't really need a vehicle (one comes with the lifestyle) or the pilot skill (cars have gridguide and autopilot, and the pilot skill is for things like making bootlegger turns, not mundane operation of a vehicle).  One big thing I missed is the 45,000 Nuyen he has left.  Starting resources don't work that way.  A high lifestyle gives you 4d6 x 500 Nuyen, and you can withhold 1,200 Nuyen for an additional 6,000 Nuyen, but that's it.  Nuyen from resources do not carry over to the game, so you have to spend it all on stuff - things like a good commlink, linguisofts, and so on.

[baronspam]

About the lack of pilot skill- remember that zero in a skill doesn't mean you have no ability, it means you have the same ability as a typical person in your society.  You can't default to something like Aircraft, but for ground vehicles you can certainly get a car or bike  down the road in normal cirucmstances, and if you did have to try a difficult or emergency maneuver you could default to reflex -1.

Also a thought- someone else said this, but four months of high lifestyle is a heck of alot of cash.  Depending on the campaign you might not be making that much right away to cover expenses.  And if you were it would be eating much of your income. High lifestyle is just that, high.  Maybe the senior partners in the firm had that.  I would think that someone who went to law as as second career even if he has been out of school and practicing for several years would more likely be living a middle lifestyle.  New associates don't make as much, you have those student loans to pay.  Even at middle you live better than most people out there, certainly in line with a white collar educated job.

If you can get your hands on the Runner's Companion book it has a much more detailed breakdown of the lifestyle rules.

[Ragnor]

Thank you all for helping me out here. I still don't have the runners compendium in my possession. There is not much explanation on cyber/bioware so I leave that for now.
 I bought lots of ammo because I had spare cash. More details to the character will be added when the team create their characters.

This is my 3rd attempt:

Name: Peter Wulken
Alias: Wulken
Race: Elf
Sex: Male
Nationality: UCAS
Lifestyle: Middle
Physical Description: Medium sized, slim. Often Very Pale.
Personality/background: Tim Wulken origins from a noble elvish family in the UCAS and became a PI because his father pushed him too. Tim Wulken didn't like it too much, so he later enrolled into law school. Also he wasn't a too good PI anyways, but he passed law school with ease. He is very selforiented and succes driven. He was never under trial so far, but has defended some shady people in during his career so he can be considered "grey".

At some point, after a trial, he looses his faith in the law system and joins a group of runners (chaotic good).

When Roleplaying, hes mainly a lawyer. He is supposed to be the face of the group. I gave him some high agility and pistols skills so he is not completely useless in combat. His Law skills can save his fellow runners from jail.

Attributes
Body        Agility     Reaction Strength
   3                 4          2            2
Charisma Intuition Logic      Willpower
   7                 4          4            5
Edge        Essence Initiative 
    3                6          6         

Positive Qualities
Ambidextrous

Negative Qualities
SINner (somewhere from the U.S., ex-PI, now Lawyer)

Skill Groups:
Influence 4
Atlethics 1
Stealth 1

Skill:
Dodge 1, Melee
Pistols 3, SM
Intimidation 4, Interrogation
Perception 3, Visual
Data Search 1
Diving 1
Tracking 1, Urban

Knowledge: (24 free points)
English N
Japanese 1
Latin 1
Law (Criminal) 4
Go (Boardgame) 1
Famous trials 4
North American History 1
High class restaurants in seattle 1
Elvish wines 2
Gearless Diving 2
7 points left

Conntacts:
PI Buddy C1, L2
Fixer for illegal Cyberware and Bioware C3 L3
Shared contact with the fellow runners C2, L2 (main mission giver)
Ex-Client 1 C1 L1
Ex-Client 2 C1 L1

Licences:
Drivers Licence R1
Pistol Licence R4
Attorney Licence, real SIN R4

SINs:
Legal SIN
Fake SIN R4

Gear:
1x Renraku Seinsei Commlink
2x Yamaha Sakura Fubuki
250 Regular rounds
200 Gel Rounds
1x Actioneer Business Clothes
1x Diving Gear
1x Latex Face Mask

Middle Lifestyle {4 Months paid}