[Sark]

So, using the advice I got in my previous thread, I got my Face character working pretty well.  However, after talking to the GM about setting and such, it looks like another character concept I had would work better.  This character is similar in gameplay terms, but has a different background that necessitates different traits and knowledges,  In addition, because of the type of campaign we're running, my character needs to be able to inflitrate high society.  This means, as UmaroVI put it, "playing Pretty Princess Shadowrun Dressup" to at least some degree, which ain't cheap.  I need advice on putting all this together without running out of BP.  Without further ado, my second face character:

NOTE: The GM has granted me two free languages at level two in lieu of the one rare item everyone else is picking out.

Question: Do I have to put my character's roommates down as contacts?

Backstory:  Fan Kit-ling (surname first) is the daughter of a low-level triad boss, the kind of guy with no real pull but more responsibilities and resources than the guys on the street.  When she was born an elf, (both parents were human, as are her twin sister and two younger brothers), her mother declared it a good omen.  Her parents poured a lot of resources into her education and training as an adept, intending for her to lift the family out of poverty.  Her brothers got a decent share of attention, but her sister was pushed aside.  Despite a good deal of affection between the two sisters, there was always an undercurrent of resentment.  Kit-ling's privileges culminated in a college education.  Soon before her graduation, she returned home for a visit and found her parents and one of her brothers dead in their home. She immediately went off the grid and started looking for answers.  Three years later, she's somewhat given up on finding out what happened, but not enough to spare her the Lost Loved One and Enemy traits for her sister and brother - the thing is, she doesn't know which is which.  She's pretty sure a sibling betrayed her family, and that another escaped being killed, and her inclination is to believe her brother was the traitor, but she can't be sure.  I'm leaving it up the DM what really happened.

Lifestyle: Kit-ling maintains a fancy ground floor condo with two roommates:  a club hopper with a small trust fund and a dayjob (Shang, Lian-hua) and an academic with whom she shares an alma mater and whose parents pay for her lifestyle(Ning, Chun).  Lian-hua is seemingly oblivious to or uninterested in Kit-ling's activities, or much else outside the club scene, and Chun is an old friend who doesn't ask too many questions.  Kit-ling suspects Chun, or her family, has a checkered past of her/their own.

Categories: 4 LP Each
Categories Total: 20 LP
Sample Qualities: Perfect Roommate
(+2 LP), Crash Pad (–1 LP), This Isn't Big Bob's Autos (-1 LP)
Qualities Total: 0 LP
Total lifestyle cost: 10,000
2 roommates increases the cost to 12000, making each person responsible for 4000 in rent.

Stats

Metatype: Elf
Special: Adept

Body 3
Agility 3
Reaction 3
Strength 1
Charisma 5
Intuition 5
Logic 4
Willpower 5
Edge 4
Magic 5 (before 'ware)

Active Skills

Influence Group 4
Pistols 5
Disguise 4
Infiltration 4
Dodge 3

Knowledge Skills

Hong Kong Triads 2
History 3
Literature 3
Wines 3
Biology 3 (Anatomy +2)
Chemistry 4
Club Music 2
Sports 2
Business 2
Economics 2

Languages
Cantonese N
English 2
Mandarin 2
Japanese 2

Positive Qualities

College Education
Linguist

Negative Qualities

Lost Loved One
Addiction (Alcohol, mild)
Enemy (5 for incidence + ? connection, which the DM is deciding on now)
Vendetta

Adept Powers

Improved Ability (Etiquette)
Kinesics 3
Commanding Voice
Improved Reflexes 1

'Ware

Muscle Toner 2
Tailored Pheromones 3

This leaves me with only 18 BP left before gear and contacts.  As you can see, I need some help.

[baronspam]

Dont have time to go over the whole character right now, but on the question of room mates as contacts- it depends, are they useful room mates?  Do they have skills, contacts, abilities, powers, gear, etc, that you are going to call upon in play?  If so then yes they are contacts.  If they are just people you are sharing an apartment with then no, they are not contacts.  In fact, depending on how much you care about them and how much they get in trouble, they may even be worth points as dependents.

[The Big Peat]

What Baronspam said.

18 BP would cut it for contacts and gear, save you probably want a lot of contacts as a Face. I think you've spent up to the hilt on negatives, so possible targets for dropping...

Linguist ability - It seems a fairly side-facet of the character that doesn't get much use
Edge - Yes, I know, its awesome fun, but its points you could live without.
One of Logic or Intutition - You'd still be fairly high. I get the feeling you want to make her very brainy, so possibly not.

That said, 6 BP probably would get you a gun, some nice armour, your identities, your commlinks and a few odds and ends comfortably. The only thing you'd really be missing is the high society clothes, but thats what contacts are for (gossipy tailor - high-class gossip, plus access to great clothes if she's feeling nice). 12 BP is... a bit low for a Face, but not appalling. And you can drop a few items here and there to improve that.

[UmaroVI]

I would focus on getting stuff that you need to do your role - contacts and gear. Then figure out how much you need to cut, and cut stuff that you don't really need at the level it's at right away and isn't super expensive to buy later - keeping in mind how karma vs. bp works

Buying your Charisma from 5 to 7 with karma is 75 karma, which is really, really expensive - you should if at all possible get Charisma 7 at chargen. By contrast, you could buy your Agility and Reaction back from 2 to 3 for only 30 karma.

Same thing goes for Pistols 6 - that last point is 4 bp now, or 12 karma later.

Things you could live without:

Logic (doesn't do anything but Knowledge skills for you)
Reaction and Agility could drop a little bit; you do need them, but they are much cheaper to fix with karma than many other things.
Edge - it's cool and all but not vital.
Dodge - not as great as you might think. Giving up your action for very small bonuses to defense is very meh - right now, with 6 dice on full defense, people will still shoot you, and you are better off (a) looking harmless and (b) shooting people before they shoot you and (c) having good armor so you don't die when you get shot. You are for sure fragile right now, but I think that's a liveable flaw as a character who is mainly face.
College Education is a bit of a mehhh quality.
I would think about folding Infiltration and Disguise into the Stealth group, and buying more of it later.

The Linguist/Linguistics combo is a quite good one in the sort of game where that thing will come up and I can see it paying off, and it's not super expensive, so I'd keep it.

Now, onto the real fun - dressup games! Let's accessorize! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSbXGsysAAk

Okay, so you want to (a) not die and (b) look fashionable in a wide variety of circumstances, including high society. Also, you don't want to spend 50 bp at Victoria's NeoSecret.

For your needs, I'm going to suggest HoloWear since it is flexible, fashionable, and actually pretty cool. It is from Attitude, get yourself some Holo Gloves, Holo Hood, and Softweave H-Jumpsuit for 3725Y. Then get yourself a FFBA suit (worn under the H-Suit), and 1/3 worth of PPP (such as Vitals Protector, Shin Guards, and Forearm Guards. That's pretty solid armor, and it's very flexible since you can set the hologram to appropriate clothing for whatever you're doing. Holowear is socially acceptable most places so even if people see it is holowear, it won't raise flags, and it doubles as a solid disguise.

[Sark]

Also, you don't want to spend 50 bp at Victoria's NeoSecret.

+1 internets.