[Irian]

Hello,

for a new group I'm thinking about a technomancer, a technoschaman, to be more specific, as I think the whole "mystic" approach to the matrix could be pretty nice. We're using the karma build system and there is no "hacker" in the group. What I need isn't a maxed out character (for example, no skill is above 4 atm), but as this is my first technomancer, I would be really gratefull about some hints, thus avoiding the most obvious beginners' mistakes. The following isn't a complete char, more of a concept with some holes to fill in... Would be great if someone had something to say about it...

Name: Alex something
Alias: Prophet
Race: Elf (pure coincidence, really, my gf needed someone to play her older brother after I decided that technoshamans are pretty cool )
Sex: male
Nationality: UCAS
Lifestyle: low
Karma Spent: around 750
Physical Description: skinny, average height, quite attractive but worn clothes with a little "native american" touch (for example, a necklace in that style, just made from electronic parts)
Personality/background Highly intelligent guy, pretty well educated, no real connection to the matrix, but allways lacking "drive", more floating through life than really living - at least before his "awakening" (after some sort of matrix quest in '68/69 that ended in finding his paragon).
Attributes

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

Positive Qualities
Technomancer, Paragon (01), College Education, Technical School Eduction, Analytical Mind
Negative Qualities
Addiction (Matrix), Pacifist (5), SINner (5), Day Job (5), In Debt (5) (...35Bp total)

Active Skills

Cracking Skill Group	4
Electronics Skill Group	4
Influence Skill Group	1
Compiling	4
Registering	4
Dodge	1
Pistols	1
Perception	1
Pilot Aircraft	3
Pilot Groundcraft	3
Artisan	1

Knowledge Skills ( 0 free points)

some knowledge skills...

...

Language Skills

English	N
some language skills	...

Cyber/Bioware

Cyberware	Essence	Cost	Notes
none

Complex Forms

Cyberware	Rating	Notes
Exploit	5
Stealth	5
Spoof	5
Command	5
Analyze	5
Disarm	5
...what else?

Gear (?¥)

not much, as he's pretty broke, fake SIN, etc.

Vehicles
...probably an MCT Fly-Spy

Contacts

Contact		C/L
Fixer (the group's)		4/2
Barkeeper		2/2

[Ultra Violet]

IMO he is a red shirt!
Why? He has nothing, to defend himself. And one of the worst combinations I can think of... I mean Paragon Zero-One and Edge 2. You need Edge in the Matrix, more than you can get! Especially technomancers, they take real damage from any Matrix Damage Source, one Databomb undetected or one bad defense test and he is dead.

The second thing I don't understand is you take an elf and the buster combination as technoshaman (which have CHA as fading-attribute) and you gave him CHA 5, why?
Why an elf, when you don't use his strengths? Or in other words Charisma is one of the major Attributes for the technoshaman, use it!

College Education & Technical School Eduction? I assume background story, but without any Knowledge Skills it is a waste of Karma and Quality points. Something really useful would be a Sensei (or at least a Technomancer Connection), or another tweak that makes him special for a team... i.e. Photographic Memory, Codeslinger (Compiling) or Erased a.s.o.
And what is "Addiction (Matrix)"? The level or stage is missing, and I assume you meant Media Junkie (see Unwired, p. 37), because Matrix as Addiction is for free as technomancer... (see Dead Zones).

The question about Complex Forms depends on your style and his way to work his magic...
There are many many programs and occupations for them. But a TM can always thread some complex forms, if he 'really' need them.


Btw: Technomancers are harder to make with the Karmagen-Sys, you get better results with the BP-Sys.

[Irian]

Besides from background story aspects (and of course the fact, that maxed out stats are not a real priority here) a simple question is: Where should I get the points? Getting the attributes to 3/3/3/2/7/5/5/5 with Edge and Resonance 5, too would cost 535 points. With Technomancer and Paragon (and 70 points in negative qualities) only 265 points would remain for skills and complex forms. Ok, by only choosing only 2-3 complex forms and not many knowledge skills, this could work, but of course then still has nothing to defend himself (except edge). And of course there doesn't seem to be any chance for other positive qualities in this build :-)

[Ultra Violet]

I never said you have to max everything out. Edge is from my experience more useful (and life saving) for a technomancer, as it is for a hacker. So your character has to have much luck in rolling the dice, if not he is dead. Zero-One and low Edge is suicide.
And Building or Karma Points are always not enough for a technomancer character, you have to decide, which way you're cool with.

To repeat myself, you get better results with the BP-System, if you want to build a technomancer character.

[Irian]

BP isn't an option for me, because we'll all use the karma system, so there can be no discussion which starting character had an unfair starting advantage...

Honestly, I didn't take "Elf" to maximize the Fading pool, it was just a coincidence: As his sister (my better half's char) is an elf, it was a simple decision - especially as it doesn't cost anything in karma gen  So the start started as a Technoschaman with Cha 5 and stayed at Cha 5 as an elf, too. But I think you're right about the Edge, probably more Edge is important enough to save a little bit on complex forms. The Education qualities are part of the background and I would like to keep them - and in the long run, they will save karma by boosting knowledge skills (if I ever get to learn new ones).
Codeslinger (Compile or Threading) would be really nice, but I am not sure, if I find the 20 karma points for that somewhere...

[Ultra Violet]

Mmmh you're playing without the RC-Errata? Because after that you have to pay for your Elf 35 Karma Points (ok it pays out, if you look at the improved Attributes costs), but it isn't for free.

The problem with the Education-Qualities is how they work. They raise existing knowledge skills of a certain kind one rating higher but caped at rating 6. So any new skill wouldn't benefit from the qualities or they would but only first rating level would be pushed which is not much, if you think about Knowsoft and Learning Nanites...
And last but not least, Knowledge Skills are only Fluff-wise interesting, but aren't the influential Gamechangers anymore... (like back in the days of SR3)

The only real bonus the Karma Sys gives is the possibility of getting submissions and echos before the game starts.

[Irian]

I never found an errata for the RC, so it's hard to decide if we use it.

And if the errata didn't change that, too, the ... Education qualities raise the skill value of every knowledge skill the characters aquires (note the missing past tense) by +1, meaning that every skill learned at 1 automatically becomes 2, thus saving 2 points of karma. So five skills would be enough the be +/- 0 - but including the skills from character generation probably 2-3 skills are enough to pay for the quality. And I intend to invest some points in knowledge skills, it's something that fits the character.

I was thinking about getting one or to submersions, but probably the points will simply be not there, otherwise some of the echos would be really nice.

[anotherJack]

And last but not least, Knowledge Skills are only Fluff-wise interesting, but aren't the influential Gamechangers anymore... (like back in the days of SR3)

Well chosen knowledge skills change a lot of things :x and since he has really good intuition and logic… I think there is something to do here, like basically taking a lot of qualities to 1 or 2.

Plus :

The College Education quality modifies the skill rating of any Academic Knowledge skills the character acquires by +1 (to a maximum of rating of 6).

Doesn't say "existing", I guess it would work for new skills, increasing them immediately by one. You can see this as an amount of knowledges acquired in college taht the character will "link" to its new knowledge, allowing him to learn faster.

[Ultra Violet]

But it is more efficient to get it later in play because the first rating-level are cheap to buy, and low ratings are also available as Knowledge Skillsoft, without paying Karma, and with the right Connection (like a Warez-Haven) you get them as open source for free or cracked very cheap in costs.
The real deal is the Nanite Hive with Learning Stimulus Nanites (Rating 4), if you want it as learned skill. (if you have the money get a secondhand alpha cyberfoot and put the hive in it ).
The best fitting way, I see here, for a technomancer, is by getting a smart friend in form of a Tutor sprite (see Unwired, p.156). They are nearly always available and can have every known Technical, Vehicle, or Knowledge skill as a complex form. Even if your Stream doesn't compile that kind of sprite you can get it later as echo.
And that brings use back to Charisma...