NEWS

Phys. Adept critique

  • 11 Replies
  • 4723 Views

orcsoul

  • *
  • Newb
  • *
  • Posts: 3
« on: <06-12-11/1854:35> »
400BP physical adept... thinking of a melee combat specialist


RACE:   Human
CONCEPT:   
ATTRIBUTES   
Body:   4
Agility:   3
Reaction:   3
Strength:   3
Charisma:   3
Intuition:   3
Logic:   2
Willpower:   3
EDGE:   3
Phys Init[P]   6[8]
Passes   1[3]
Magic:   5
Walk/Run   10/25
Phys Boxes   10
Stun Boxes   10


ACTIVE SKILLS   
Close Combat (Group)  5
Stealth (Group)  4
Athletics (Group)  4
Tracking  3
Perception  4
Pilot Ground Craft  2
Assensing  1


POWERS   Uninitiated
Adept Powers:
Improved Reflexes II 1
Critical Strike 2
Eidetic Sense Memory 1
Killing Hands 1


Comments? Critiques? Suggestions? I haven't really come up with a solid concept for the character yet (a bit backwards i know) except for the fact that I'm definitely wanting an adept of sorts... just kind of throwing random ideas around in my head at present.

Critias

  • *
  • Freelancer
  • Prime Runner
  • ***
  • Posts: 2521
  • Company Elf
« Reply #1 on: <06-12-11/1913:14> »
A "specialist" of almost any sort won't have that many 3's in his statline -- it's an ugly truth, but generalist stats just don't tend to pay off too well in Shadowrun.  The 200 bp cap on core attributes really cripples characters in some games, because depending on your GM's chosen power/threat level, the "3" in a mental attribute will never be enough to help you, and the "3" you put in that physical attribute will get you killed when you pick a fight.  Your best bet in most games is to actually focus on something, and stack your points there to an extent, in order to make sure you're good at it.  Specialists beat generalists in Shadowrun, like it or not.

Another item of note is your Close Combat Skill Group.  It's, well, it's an awful lot of points, and only your Unarmed is going to benefit any from your Killing Hands and Critical Strike adept powers, right?  So the cold hard math of it is that you're likely better off ditching the group and buying up just Unarmed.  The saved points will let your round out your character's skill list a little bit.  Athletics and Stealth are two skill groups that are a little more worth it (because the various skills in the group do different things in different ways), but your heavy, heavy, investments in skill groups are hurting you elsewhere.

How does your guy get by in day-to-day life, for instance, without any social skills?  No etiquette to get along with folks at the dojo, no negotiation to make sure a Johnson gives you decent pay, no Intimidate for cool kung-fu guy staredowns, and very little ability to resist it when any of those skills get used on you.

Assensing is also a skill only used by those who can view the astral plane.  Right now, your adept can't (it's a seperate power that you'll need to invest in if you want to be able to read auras).  Perception is a very handy skill, but (as I alluded to above) you're going to need more than just your sneaking and fighting skills, to make it as a Shadowrunner.  Hand to hand combat, coupled with stealth and athletics, is nasty...but everyone should be able to do something with a gun in their hands.  Pick a firearm skill and put a couple points into it, you'll be rewarded in the long run by having a little bit of versatility.

As far as molding your character some to come up with a more refined concept, your Tracking skill jumped out at me.  Maybe steering him towards a bounty hunter type build would give you some direction and let you focus him somewhat? 

Yorick

  • *
  • Newb
  • *
  • Posts: 44
« Reply #2 on: <06-12-11/2032:42> »
you cant have a group skill at 5. also, you have the wrong cost on improved reflexes 2.

you want to have some sort of gun skill. you also need some BP for gear, so you can buy armor, a fake sin, your lifestyle, and a commlink, and so on.


Glyph

  • *
  • Ace Runner
  • ****
  • Posts: 1661
« Reply #3 on: <06-12-11/2215:59> »
The cap of 200 points is only for the core eight Attributes, so you can spend more on your Attributes.  And you should - humans are already handicapped enough by being the only metatype that doesn't get Attribute bonuses.  Someone who specializes in close combat should be very tough.  At the very least, raise your Body to 5, which will let you wear decent armor without being encumbered, and will give you an extra point on your physical condition monitor.

As others have said, you definitely need social skills, and at least one ranged combat skill.

Your points only add up to 4 (2.5 improved reflexes: 2, 0.5 critical strike: 2, 0.5 eidetic sense memory, and 0.5 killing hands).  I would recommend 3 more levels of critical strike, and attribute boost: 1 for Agility for that last point.

Re-think the skill groups.  They are only a good deal if you actually need, and intend to use, every skill in that skill group.  Do you see this guy swinging a claymore, climbing walls, disguising himself, picking pockets?  If not, then you could simply get unarmed combat, gymnastics, and infiltration and save lots of points.  And you kind of need lots of points, to improve your Attributes, and to pick up the aforementioned social skills and ranged combat skill.

orcsoul

  • *
  • Newb
  • *
  • Posts: 3
« Reply #4 on: <06-12-11/2320:11> »
Yea, I'm slowly making small revisions as i think, rethink, and consider the advice you've given thus far. Thanks much. Keep the knowledge coming.

Revisions:

Name:   
RACE:   Ork
CONCEPT:   
ATTRIBUTES   
Body:   5
Agility:   5
Reaction:   4
Strength:   4
Charisma:   3
Intuition:   3
Logic:   2
Willpower:   3
EDGE:   4
Phys Init[P]   7[9]
Passes   1[3]
Magic:   5
Walk/Run   10/25
Phys Boxes   11
Stun Boxes   10


ACTIVE SKILLS   
Unarmed  5
Automatics  3
Infiltration  4
Gymnastics  4
Tracking  4
Perception  4
Pilot Ground Craft  4
Etiquette  4
Intimidate  4


POWERS   Uninitiated
Adept Powers:
Improved Reflexes II
Critical Strike 5
Eidetic Sense Memory
Killing Hands
Attribute Boost [Agi]
« Last Edit: <06-13-11/1121:10> by orcsoul »

eshoup1

  • *
  • Newb
  • *
  • Posts: 55
« Reply #5 on: <06-13-11/1629:46> »
I'm not sure how to say this... but you have a lot of points in pilot ground craft. Without a background I am having trouble seeing how that much driving skill is going to help. It is entirely possible that you are a combat biker in training and as such would have a good but not great pilot skill.

I always make sure I have a pilot skill at 1 or 2 for my characters, but I only go higher if they are going to be wheelmen.

Unfortunately I don't have a good suggestion with what to do with those BP other than cash or contacts.

Piell

  • *
  • Newb
  • *
  • Posts: 5
« Reply #6 on: <06-14-11/0019:47> »
I'd suggest dropping Improved Reflexes II, and picking up a Synaptic Booster II instead. It costs a bunch, but you aren't going to need a ton of gear anyway, and you will come out way ahead in adept powers. You can probably drop Pilot to 1 and pick up a specialization in Wheeled Vehicles. You could also look into Bone Density Augmentation, which would let you skip Killing Hands (though you would lose out on being able to punch spirits), and you could also pick up Muscle Augmentation or Muscle Toner to round out your essence loss.

Attribute Boost [Agi] isn't worth it IMO, but Penetrating Strike can be nice.

Edit: Also look into Martial Arts in Arsenal - Boxing or Muay Thai could give +2 DV for unarmed attacks, and there are some good maneuvers like Finishing Move and Kick Attack.
« Last Edit: <06-14-11/0029:20> by Piell »

gourry187

  • *
  • Newb
  • *
  • Posts: 61
« Reply #7 on: <06-14-11/1020:44> »
won't taking synaptic booster imediatly drop his magic down one thus wasting 10BP ? So the gain would only be 1.5 power points (as 1 is lost due to magic loss)

James McMurray

  • *
  • Omae
  • ***
  • Posts: 374
« Reply #8 on: <06-14-11/1058:48> »
won't taking synaptic booster imediatly drop his magic down one thus wasting 10BP ? So the gain would only be 1.5 power points (as 1 is lost due to magic loss)

Yes, but 1.5 power points is a lot.
Need a random generator?  Click here.

Check out our campaign.

Glyph

  • *
  • Ace Runner
  • ****
  • Posts: 1661
« Reply #9 on: <06-14-11/2254:02> »
It depends on how tough the campaign is, and how much he wants to hyper-specialize.  Sure, the optimal unarmed adept will have 3 levels of martial arts for +3 DV, and get synaptic booster: 2, muscle toner: 4 (bought with the restricted gear quality), and either two reflex recorders (one for unarmed, one for his ranged skill) or one level of muscle augmentation.   But that is expensive.  The synaptic booster alone is 32 BP, the qualities are 20 BP - sure, his character would kick ass in unarmed combat, but how much would he have to cut?  For example - dropping pilot ground vehicle to 2, and his other skills at rating: 4 down to 3, drop Strength, Charisma and Edge by one each - that would give 62 points - 42 in additional resources, 20 for qualities.  It's doable.  And heck, if he's going that far, he should squeeze another 6 BP from skills to have six and a specialization for his unarmed combat. 

The question is, does he want a super killing machine (nothing wrong with that, either - I happen to like those myself), or does he prefer something closer to his original notion?  He seems (maybe I'm reading to much into the raw stats) to want a character who kicks ass, but is comfortably rounded in other areas - lots of peripheral skills at 4, one adept power that is "cool" but doesn't fit the theme, etc.

orcsoul

  • *
  • Newb
  • *
  • Posts: 3
« Reply #10 on: <06-15-11/0218:32> »
Yar.. i'm less a bit less interested in a min/max type character than one that does have a few flaws and weaknesses (skill wise).. makes for more gritty combat and more opportunities for ye olde GM to pull nasty tricks out of his butt.

That said however, I definitely appreciate the alternate ideas, some of them I had never considered (IE getting more bang for your buck with a bit of essence loss from implants vs adept powers)

SirDelta

  • *
  • Newb
  • *
  • Posts: 85
« Reply #11 on: <06-15-11/1342:05> »
The only thing I can see is a lack of the otehr stuff in Athletics.

Having at least 2 points in Running is handy for anyone.  Say you're in a fight with something that you can't beat, when you retreat, it's going to catch you simpy because you have to default on running to get away from it.

That's all I can see.  Overall, A good and well balanced character. (In my opinion)

 

SMF spam blocked by CleanTalk