[TaintedAproximation]

Hi I was wondering if Y'all would do me a solid and make sure that everything I've done here is legal for a 400 point build. I actually think it rounds out at 399.  Any tips or thoughts/compliants/kudos what have you would be greatly appreciated

Name: Alexander Rafe
Alias: Wraith
Race: Human

Stats (190)
Body: 3 (4)
Agility: 5(8 )
Reaction: 4(6)
Strength: 3(5)
Charisma: 2
Intuition: 4
Logic: 3
Willpower:3
Edge: 2
Magic: 0

Essence: 2.79
Initiative/passes: 8 (10)/2

SKILLS (194)

Longarms: 6 (specialization:Sniper Rifle)
Pistols: 4
Automatics: 4
Blades: 3 (specialization: knives)
Unarmed Combat: 2
Climbing: 3
Infiltration: 3
Navigation: 3
Running: 2
Perception: 4 (specialization: sight)
Survival: 2
Demolitions: 3
First Aid: 2
Pilot Ground Craft: 4
Swimming: 2

KNOWLEDGE -Free: 21/Bought: 0-

Military: 4
Security Procedures: 4
Trap Setting: 3
Biology: 3
Security Design: 3
Architecture: 4

Languages:
English

QUALITIES(-25)

Restricted Gear 2(10)
Uncouth (-20)
Records on file (10)
Poor self control: combat monster (-5)

Contacts(6)

Blue (fixer) L2/C4


RESOURCES: 160,000-leftover: 5304 (32)

Bioware- 75,000

Muscle Toner: Rating 2/Grade s
Muscle Augmentation: Rating 2/ Grade s
Suprathyroid Gland: Grade s

Cyberware- 13,000

Commlink: Grade s
Wired Reflexes 1: Grade s

Cyberparts-5,500

Cybereyes Basic Rating 2: grade s
-Eye Laser Rangefinder
-Smartlink
-Flare Compensation
-Thermographic Vision
-Vision Magnification

Gear- 16,726

Lifestyle, Middle (one month)
Durable Clothing
Armor Jacket
Camouflage Suit(Black)
Camouflage Suit(Urban)
Gas Mask
MapSofts: Rating 6
Autopicker: Rating 6
KeyCard Copier: Rating 6
Wire Clippers
Climbing Gear
Rappeling Gloves
Grapple Gun
Medkit: Rating 6
Stealth Rope: 100 meters
Plastic Restraints x10
Frag Grenade x10
Plastic Explosives x5
Flash Grenade x5
Gas Grenade x5 (chems seperate)
Tear gas x4
Cyanide x1


WEAPONS-16,925

Melee-
Survival Knife

Ranged-
Ranger Arms SM-4
-Silencer(built in)
-Imaging scope (built in)
-Shock Pad(built it)
MODIFICATIONS
-Smartgun
-Voice activation/Response
-Tripod, Powered
-Camera Upgrade, Smartlink

Ares Slivergun
-sound suppressor

Ingram Smartgun X
-Gas-Vent 2 System
-Smartgun System External
-Stock
-Sound Suppressor

Crossbow, Heavy
-Tripod
-Imaging Scope

5 sets of ten ammo for each
5 sets of ten stick and shock for Ranger
5 sets of ten ex-explosive rounds for Ranger

VEHICLE- 25,050

Suzuki Mirage (Racing Bike)
-Engine Customization Acceleration
-Spoof Chip
-Racing Tires
-Motorcycle Gyro Stabilization
-Signature Masking
-Nanomaintenance System
-Turbo Charger[/spoiler]

-Welcome to Ares Unified Computer system-
-open File: Alex.R.-
-locating....-
-Full Name: Alexander Charles Rafe-
-Codename: Specter-
-Known Alias: Wraith-
-Family: None (orphaned)-
-Friends: None-
-Physical Profile:
height-6'00
weight-170
build-muscular
hair-black
eyes-blue
skin-white
distinctive features- four inch scar on right for arm, heavy body scarring due to physical augmentation
known cyber implants- Eyes
end-
-Psyche profile:
Known Sociopath, Suspected Egotist, Possible extreme mental breakdown.  Subject exhibits extreme anti-social tendencies. Proven to be an asset best used on singular missions.  Subject is known for sharp instincts, level head and cold, detached demeanor however exhibits nearly psychotic violent outbursts in combat scenarios.  Motivation is to fund his lifestyle, shoot people, and become renowned for his abilities.  He has been shown to have a utilitarian outlook on almost everything to include people. Alex believes everything aside from himself, his rifle and his motorcycle to be expendable.  Supervisor's Note: He'd just as quickly kill you as look at you.
end-
-Historical profile:
Raised, UCAS Former USA territory: MAINE.  Raised by military extremist in the wilderness.  Trained for combat at an early age.  Settlement raided by Ares forces and destroyed due to suspected equipment thievery.  18 year old Alex captured by Ares at this time.  Trained for Security and Mercenary work for the Ares Corporation.  Completed 45 assignments by the age of 20 mostly assassination. Left Ares employ forcibly at age of 21.  Current whereabouts Unknown.  Search still in progress.-
-Aptitude Analysis:
Shown to have great skill with long ranged firearms. Known to use elaborate traps and explosions to lead targets in to kill shot radius.  Also shown to be an efficient covert operative although not to be used for undercover work.  Best mission load: Assassination, Personnel Evacuation (willing and forceful), Item retrieval, Demolitions.  With support: Alexander would be a valuable asset to most missions requiring any type of force.-
-Threat Level: Extremely Dangerous. Avoid if possible-
-end of file-

Alright, I thought it would be fun to do a partial character biography in the form of a megacorp profile. I will however go in to a little more detail here about his character down here.

Alexander is the kind of runner you either love or hate to work with.  He's professional, if more than a bit gruff.  He's smart, capable and amoral.  He's the kind of guy who likes a plan and likes it to be stuck to.  However there is very little room for mucking around in Alexander's world.  He's honest and blunt.  He tells it like it is all the time regardless about how you feel about it.  If that hurts your feelings he'd rather you leave him alone or you'd be invited to suck start his pistol, forcibly.

One of the main reasons he prefers to not be associated with many people is his taste for work that is a bit more on the dirty side.  Alexander frowns heavily on dry work.  He's a purebred killer.  He's the type that wouldn't use a disguise to slip past a guard when he could just shoot him and hide the body.  It's not that he's in love with killing, it's just that he sees it as the most efficient means to an end.  Why waste all your time with messing around and find a convoluted path when you could quietly take out one or two people and walk right in.

Another reason thus far that he hasn't been running with a team is his vision of everyone being expendable.  It's not that he hasn't worked with people effectively before so much as it's that he hasn't ever found anyone useful enough to not be tossed away.  On the other hand even if he did find you useful he would never be friends with you.  It would be in awfully poor taste to make friends with someone you may have to shoot later.  His is the dark, twisted mind that fits right in to the intrigue and subversion of the shadow world.  It's a kill or be killed world out there and he fully intends to be the first one to do the killing and on top of that be so good at it that people just stop even trying him.

Despite all of that though he has been known to show extreme creativity and more then a little frivolity in dealing with targets.  Sometimes simply sitting on a roof and waiting for a target to enter your sights isn't enough for him.  He considers himself to be a study of the nature of man(or what have you) and enjoys leading people around in circles and playing mind games with his target.  Sometimes he'll warn his target about his forth coming attack or even temporarily switch sides to make things more interesting for himself, a true master of the double and triple cross.  This course of action however is secondary to his strictly professional nature.  If at any time Alexander suspected that he wasn't 100% capable of completing his mission he would devise a new plan and go with that, no matter how dull.

[LostProxy]

That super gland has a 20 availability which means without the restricted gear quality you can't have it.

That's the only thing I noticed without going over the whole thing point for point.

[TaintedAproximation]

Yes I was wondering about that myself.  After doing a little more research it turns out the rifle is restricted gear as well so i had to plant the 2nd level of that quality.  Thank you for input.  The points I can assure you add up tho as I use a character building program to track my point expenditures. Character is now edited and up to date.

[LostProxy]

You know those points may be able to be put to better use. The gland is 14 bp and the rifle is 6 or 7, not sure about the price. You could probably do a lot more good with those if they were put somewhere else.

[TaintedAproximation]

yeah the gland I could probably do away with although the rifle is kind of staple.  I only have the core book but my character building program has everything build in and gives descriptions on things like qualities and what not but nothing on gear to speak of other then name and effect for mods.  Its kind of hard to have a sniper with out a rifle and any self respecting egocentric, sociopathic sniper is going to want the best rifle so I think that's kind of mainline. But your right I could skim off some of that.

[LostProxy]

Well there is the enforcer. A sniper with dual magazines and below availability. If you're going to get the restricted gear you may as well go all out and get the Barrett sniper.

[John Shull]

Going on what your bio put out I think you could take a mental illness neg quality and/or Uncouth for this character.  That's if you wanted to change around your qualities.  Bad Rep isn't outside the boundaries if even a few others truly hate working with him.

[Chrona]

Going on what your bio put out I think you could take a mental illness neg quality and/or Uncouth for this character.  That's if you wanted to change around your qualities.  Bad Rep isn't outside the boundaries if even a few others truly hate working with him.

Yes this is one of the few times I think a character should have Uncouth

[TaintedAproximation]

doesnt that affect the only -35 neg qualities rule tho? although I suppose you could take them and just not profit from them?

[eshoup1]

You seem to have climbing at 3, running at 2, and swimming at 2. That's 28 BP for athletics skills. If you can manage to find 2 more BP you can
have all 3 of those skills at 3 and then gain gymnastics at 3 by taking the athletics skill group at rating 3. Right now you do not have a way to maximize full defense.
I guess if you are always going to be 1000 meters away from the action then dodge might not be an issue.

The same BP calculations can be used for your firearm skills. You have longarms at 6 with a specialization (26BP), pistols 4 (16 BP) and automatics at 4 (16) BP, for a total of 58BP.
A firearms group of 4 costs only 40BP.
But I understand that you seem to want to be a sniper first so you may want that longarms at 6 with a specialization.
Personally, I would consider dropping the pistols skill. Automatics allows you to use machine pistols.

Also consider grabbing the armorer skill.

Just out of curiosity... why are you packing a crossbow with a tripod? And good call on grabbing a gas mask. The only thing that hurts worse than being gassed is being gassed by the greande you threw.

[Critias]

I would bundle up those gun skills into the Firearms Skill Group, personally.  6 ( is kind of overkill with the Sniper Rifles, given their tremendous range, the fact that you're ideally shooting them at someone who's going to be blindsided by it and not dodging, and their great damage and AP values.  I'd drop the Long Arms to 4 and just put all those together into the Skill Group, breaking the group (and buying the Sniper Rifle specialization) once gameplay starts;  it's cheaper to buy specializations with karma anyways, and the points this shaves off will help you out.

I wouldn't take Uncouth.  Ever.  For anyone.  If you want to suck at Etiquette or Negotiation or whatever, just take Incompetent for those particular skills, I guess...but Uncouth itself actually is really, really, a character crippler.  Not only does it make you bad at talking to other people -- atrociously bad -- but it leaves you defenseless as a newborn babe against folks that do have social skills at all.  Uncouth looks like a good quality for a grim-faced, scowling, commando badass...but it actually turns you into a mewling, bed-wetting, punching bag against anyone with a single point of Intimidation.  Never, ever, take Uncouth.  It's a trap.  It does not do what you think it does.

[TaintedAproximation]

@eshoup
I was wondering if anybody was going to ask about the crossbow.  Well as per the character bio, I've stated that he likes to have a little fun with his kills.  Crossbow killing seems fun to me haha.  On top of that I was of the thought process since he's a sniper and used to doing solo missions it would be a good advantage for him to use a cross bow as a quick escape method or to get in to a building after he's done shooting everybody.  You know the old crossbow bolt with a wire attached zipline in thing. (edit) Upon further speculation however I know realize that's and archery skill and there for would be of no use to me at all.

As for the athletics thing thats a really good observation.  However as far as I'm concerned with the pistols it's more character fitting to have a small weapon for hiding.  On top of that from a more logical standpoint your not going to learn to fire big rifles and sub's and not at some point have learned to carry a pistol.  Maybe not the best use of points but I think sometimes you have to waste points in skills to make a little more sense of things.  Personally I don't think anyone using standard firearms (aka not rockets, cannons and gigantic machine guns) should have the pistol skill.  It's POSSIBLE that a person has never touched a pistol, but highly unlikely and it wouldn't be fitting for my character to not want to be good at it and practice.

@Critias
When you put it that way as far as the uncouth thing goes you do seem to make a valuable point.  However in this case the book needs to more clearly define what the junk it's talking about.  Running away scared because someone goes boo is not antisocial or sociopathic behavior.  You also make it sound like just because he doesn't handle social interaction well he's basically turned in to a mentally challenged person which seems....not right.  So to lose the quality would just mean that i have to just be a huge dick all the time and put people in harms way and NOT get any bonus points out of it(oversimplified of course).  If I had been able to find rulings for negative quality: sub psychotic sociopath I would have taken that.

@John Shull
I have not been able to find the rulings for mental illness.  Do you have them? All I could find was Mental Handicap which doesnt really apply to this situation

[Digital_Viking]

Also consider grabbing the armorer skill.

Second this - being able to tart up my own weapons to my satisfaction has been a boon, both from a crunch perspective and RPwise.

Also - a sideline for when jobs are thin: New Boom Booms from the House Of Hellyeah Industries 

[UmaroVI]

@Critias
When you put it that way as far as the uncouth thing goes you do seem to make a valuable point.  However in this case the book needs to more clearly define what the junk it's talking about.  Running away scared because someone goes boo is not antisocial or sociopathic behavior.  You also make it sound like just because he doesn't handle social interaction well he's basically turned in to a mentally challenged person which seems....not right.  So to lose the quality would just mean that i have to just be a huge dick all the time and put people in harms way and NOT get any bonus points out of it(oversimplified of course).  If I had been able to find rulings for negative quality: sub psychotic sociopath I would have taken that.

The book clearly defines what it does, the problem is that "what it does" is stupid. It makes you Unaware in all Social skills - Etiquette, Negotiation, Con, Leadership, Instruction, and Intimidation. Unaware means you cannot default.

So far, so good, right? Well, wrong, because you also use Social skills to "defend" against other social skills. If someone tries to Intimidate you, normally you roll their Charisma+Intimidation against your Willpower+Intimidation. But wait - you can't default on Intimidate, because you are Uncouth. So you can't roll to defend against Intimidate checks, which is... wierd.

Basically, Uncouth is broke - take Incompetencies in some of them (like Etiquette and Negotiation) instead. Note that Incompetence (Intimidate) makes you a fraidy-cat, and Incompetence (Con) makes you unable to detect when people are lying to you. Incompetence (Leadership) makes you easy to lead.

[TaintedAproximation]

You are right I will admit to that as far as the actual mechanics go it does do exactly as it says it does.  My argument isn't on that base.  It's that calling it uncouth and giving it flavor by saying basically "they don't play well with others" is extremely inaccurate.  Basically what we should be calling this quality is sheep because that's what it makes you.  It's like saying this is the story of a very Ill tempered man only to find out that he's a robot and was forged incorrectly