[rasmusnicolaj]

Hi

I'm playing around with a character idea and I want him to be a combination of a combat hacker and a rigger.
But is that possible without spreading it out to thin? We are using 500 point builds but the issue is as much is it viable to get enough cybergear and skills to be decent at all 3 areas of expertice?
I figure a single cyberarm with a high agility and a 4 i pistols should give him the dicepool for shooting things in the face.

But what about the other two aspects? I have never in my 15 years of SR played a Decker/Hacker or a Rigger so I'm not really sharp in what you need to have to be good at those occupations.

What are the most important attributes?
Skills you must have and that are nice to have as a backup (I figure he should at least have som minor B&E skills to be really nifty).
What cyberware/bioware/nanotech/genetech are a must and what would be really cool to have in sight for a future upgrade.
What gear should he get? (A van, some drones, a cool commlink and a suit of programs etc.)

Etc. etc.

Thanks in advance.

Rasmus

[Preacher]

Start instead by designing a hacker.  The archetypes give you a good starting base, and there's several examples in this subforum for more advanced concepts.

Once you have that done, the rest is easy.  In SR4, a rigger is simply a specialized hacker.  All you really need to do is make sure you have the Command program and some drones and/or vehicles to rig, and voila.  Sure, there's a few other options you can pick up to make yourself an even better rigger, but with 500 build points, you shouldn't have any trouble with that whatsoever... and they're completely optional to boot.

As for the "combat" side of things, all you really need is a decent weapon skill or two, Dodge or Gymnastics, and an initiative booster.  So even that's easy to tack on to a hacker character with 500 BPs.

That said, I'd go with an Obvious Cyberarm with a strong Agility rating, Bulk Modification 4, and then I would fill the rest of the capacity up with your main commlink and maybe things like a jammer, ultrawideband radar, and other things of that nature.  That's always been the most useful aspect of cyberlimbs in the game, in my opinion anyway.  Blowing two points of its capacity on some armor wouldn't be a bad idea either, especially since you anticipate being in the thick of things.

Other than that, though, it's really a matter of taste.  You have tons of points to blow, afterall.

[UmaroVI]

With 500 bp, you should be able to cover it. I would look at the archetypes (see my sig), start with the Mercenary Rigger, and then just upgrade him. He is already a so-so hacker, and another 100 bps can probably make him a good one.

[Joush]

As an equipment suggestion, I'd say to go with muscle toner and reflex wire as the kind of things good for combat for most games. After that you are going to burn a bunch of points on a hacker comlink. If you do get a cyberlimb, you might want to drop it right into your arm.. as having it lost or damaged would suck quite a bit.



A Transys Avalon upgraded for 5 system, 5 firewall, 5 response and 4 signal with Novatech Navi and Exploit, Stealth, Spoof , Analyze, Command, Browse, ECCM , Biofeedback Filter, Edit, Reality Filter, Scan, Armor, Attack and Medic at Rating 5 cost you  59k, or 12BP with 1k left over to use on fake licenses for those restricted bits of software or a whole bunch of map and data softs.

[rasmusnicolaj]

Ork Combat Hacker/Rigger with B&E skills

Attributes: Body 4(5), Agility 2(3), Reaction 5(7), Strength 3, Charisma 2, Intuition 5, Logic 4, Willpower 3, Edge 5, Essence 1.125, Initiative 12, IP 3.
Cyberarm: Body 9, Agility 9, Strength 3.

Physical Condition Track: 11      Stun Conditional Track: 10

Positive Qualities: Codeslinger, Born Rich, Restricted Gear.

Negative Qualities: Poor Self Control (Braggart), In Dept (37.500), Mild Addiction (Betel).

Skills: Electronics Group 4, Stealth Group 4, Mechanic Group 1, Gunnery 4, First Aid 1, Pistols 4, Hacking 6, Armorer 1, Electronic Warfare 1, Perception 4, Pilot Ground Craft 4, Pilot Air Craft 4, Pilot Anthroform 1, Pilot Water Craft 1, Climbing 1, Dodge 1, Locksmith 4.

Knowledge Skills: English N, Or’zet 2, Japanese 3, Area Knowledge Seattle 6, Smugling Routes 4, Seattle Safehouses 3, Chop Shops 3, Celebrity Gossip 3, Street Drugs 3.

Contacts: Mechanic L2/C5.

Cyberware: Control Rig, Encephalon, Wired Reflex R2, Obvious Right Cyberarm (Body 9, Agility 9, Strength 3. Bulk modification 2. Armor 3. Build-in Commlink, Ultrasound Sensor, Orientation System, Radar Sensor R4).

Bioware: PuSHeD, Adapsin.

Lifestyle: 1 month of squatter.

Weapons: Ares Predator (Personalized Grip) x2.
5 clips loaded with Ex-ex ammo, 2 clips loaded with Gel rounds, 4 clips loaded with normal ammo.

Armor: Form Fitting Body Armor (Chemical Protection R6), Secure Tech PPP System Shin Guards, Secure Tech PPP System Vital Protector, Secure Tech PPP System Forearm Guards, Secure Tech PPP System Arm and Leg Casing (Only Leg Casing worn), Lined Coat (Nonconductivity R6), Helmet. Total Armor 17/15 (incl. cyberarm armor).

Vehicles:
Flying Eye (Chameleon Coating 2, Camera 6, Vision Enhancement 3),
GMC Hermes Van (2 small drone landing racks, Rigger Adaption, Chameleon Coating, Morphing License Plates, Spoof Chip, Amenities: Squatter, Camera 6 (Vision Enhancement 3, Low-light Vision), Camera 6 (Thermographic & Vision Magnification), Microphone 6 (Spatial Recognizer & Audio Enhancement 3), Laer Rangefinder, Motion Sensor. Change appearance of the car and hide in plain sight. The truck can be an UPS van, FedEx van or just Two Orks & a Troll Pizza Delivery etc.).

Commlink: NovaTech Airway with Iris Orb )Firewall 5, System 5, Response 5, Response Enhancer 3, Customized Interface, Optimization (Command)).

Program Suit: Analyze 6 (with optimization 1 & Ergonomic), Browse 6 (with Optimization 1), Edit 5, Scan 5, Eurosoft Clavicula (Encrypt 5 & Decrypt 5), Disarm 5, Exploit 5 (with Mute), Biofeedback Filter 5 (Ergonomic), ECCM 5 (Ergonomic), Sniffer 5, Spoof 5, Stealth 5 (Ergonomic), Track 3, Defuse 3.

Gear: Fake SIN R3, Fake Licenses R3 (Drivers License, Programs, Cyberware, Firearm), Certified Credstick (Balance 855 nuyen), Metalink with Vector Xim (Runs Public), Subvocal Microphone, Satelite Link, AR Gloves, Simrig (Modified for BTL/Hot Sim), Glasses R3 (Skinlinked with Image Link, Vision Magnification & Vision Enhancement R3), Contact Lenses R3 (Skinlinked with Thermographic, Flare Compensation, Smartlink), Ear Buds R2 (Skinlinked with Audio Enhancement R3, Spatial Recognizer), Concealed Holster, Tag Eraser, Medkit R6, Miniwelder, Climbing Gear, Rapelling Gloves, Autopicker R6, Maglock Passkey R3, Wire Clippers, Sequencer R4, Gecko Tape Gloves, Optical Tap, Latex Face Mask, Cellular Glove Molder R3, Keycard Copier R6, Stealth RFID Tag x2, Mechanical Repair Kit.

Drugs: 15 doses of Betel.

Nuyen Plan: Reflex Recorder for Infiltration & Pistol, Reaction Enhancer R2 or Move-by-Wire, Upgrade Cyberarm, Skillwire Expert System, Nanohive installed in new arm, Ford LEBD-1 (Mechanical arm, Weapon Mount (External, fixed, remote controlled), Improved Takeopff and Landing 2, Special Machinery (2 handcuffs; electricity). Armor 9, Camera 6 (Vision Enhancement 3, Low-light, Smartlink), Camera 6 (Thermographic, Vision Magnification), Microphone 6 (Spatial Recognizer, Audio Enhancement 3), Laser Rangefinder, Motion Sensor. Gaus Rifle or other weapon), Repeater Drone (Flying mini-drone with build-in laser transceiver 3, directional antenna 4, radio frequency repeater Signal 4. Chameleon Coating, Nonlinear Junction Detector 6, Camera 1 (Vision Enhancement 3)). Other Drones & Vehicles.

Karma Plan: Specializations (Pilot skills, Pistol, Infiltration, Hacking, Perception),

[rasmusnicolaj]

Please critique the character 

Rasmus

[UmaroVI]

Mostly looks good. One thing I would consider is being able to Remote Control rig better. Jumping in is a niche trick; you're usually better off using RC, and it's not expensive to get Command 6.

[All4BigGuns]

Command 6 may not be expensive, but to have the System rating to support it, you need Response 6 which requires Restricted Gear to upgrade to. My personal suggestion would be to stick with Rating 5 unless you really want that one extra die.

[rasmusnicolaj]

I think I will get it at 6 (I don't know why I forgot to buy it in the first place) and then prioritice to upgrade the response factor of the commlink first thing in play. Then I allready has the program ready and before that it will just be restricted at rating 5.

How do you upgrade programs by the way. Do you have to buy a new program at the new rating or can you just pay the different and upgrade an excisting program?

Rasmus

[All4BigGuns]

Believe you have to either program it yourself or buy it all over again at the new rating. Depending on how your GM runs things, it might be a serious pain in the hoop to get your hands on that rating 6 Response module once play starts (not to mention that you'd need to buy an upgrade for System as well.

[rasmusnicolaj]

Believe you have to either program it yourself or buy it all over again at the new rating. Depending on how your GM runs things, it might be a serious pain in the hoop to get your hands on that rating 6 Response module once play starts (not to mention that you'd need to buy an upgrade for System as well.

Yes, I thought so too.

Yes but don't really think I can find money for it in the build 

Rasmus

[UmaroVI]

Command is a common use program. You can Optimize it to run rating 6 command at chargen.