[wizard_of_ozzy]

Alright, so I want to make an Ork Dronomancer that's decent (not great) at everything matrix related except Cybercombat. He lets sprites do rigger/drone work. Here's what I got so far.

Ork Dronomancer
Race: Ork: Ogre
Special: Technomancer
Resources: 80000
Essence: 6/6
Initiative Passes: 1/3

Body Agility Reaction Strength Charisma Intuition Logic Willpower Resonance Edge
4/9    1/6      4/6            3/8       4/5         5/6        3/5      5/6           6/6             1/6   

Skills
*Electronics 4/4
Hacking 6/6
Electronic Warfare 4/6
Compiling 4/6
Registering 4/6
Infiltration  1/6

Knowledge skills
Security Procedures 5/6
Matrix Security Procedures 5/6
Electronics Manufactures 4/6
Vehicle Manufacturers 4/6
Open Source Software Organizations 4/6
Matrix Games 2/6

Language skills
English N

Contacts (12 BP Worth)
I haven't decided on what would be the best to put here. A hacker contact or group contact I think would be best. Someone that could get him pirated or open source software.

Qualities
These could also be changed as needed
Paragon: Zero One 5
Spirit Bane: Toxic -10
SINner -5
Allergy: Tobacco (Common Mild) -10
Addiction: Betel (Mild) -5
Incompetent: First Aid -5

Common Complex Forms Level
Analyze 6
Command 6

Hacking Complex Forms
Exploit 6
Stealth 6
Spoof 6
Shield 6

Gear (80000)
Name, Availability, Cost
Low Lifestyle (One Month), 2000
Actioneer Business Clothes, 8, 1500
Form Fitting Full-Body Suit, 8, 1600
Hermes Ikon, - ,3000
Novatech Navi, -, 1500
Satellite Link, 4, 500
Hacking Program (Pirated): Stealth (4), 8F, 400
Subvocal Microphone, 6, 50
Trodes, -, 50
Security Tags(x20), 4 100 1
Stealth Tags(x20), 6, 5
Tag Eraser, 6F, 150
White Noise Generator (6), 7, 300
SecureTech PPP Forearm Guards, 6, 200
SecureTech PPP Shin Guards, 5, 150
SecureTech PPP Helmet, 6, 200
Mapsofts (6), 30 Whatever city the campaign takes place
Fake SIN (4), 12F, 4000
Fake Driver's License (4), 12F, 400
Fake Drone License (4), 12F, 400
Fake Assault Rifle License (4), 12F, 400
Electronics Tool Kit , -, 500
Contact Lenses (2), 6 100
     Vision Enhancement (3), 4, 300
     Vision Magnification, 2, 100
Glasses (3), -, 75
     Thermographic Vision Enhancement, 6, 100
     Flare Compensation, 2, 50
Plasteel Restraints x5, 6R, 250
Plastic Restraints(x100), -, 10
DocWagon Contract Basic (1 year) - - 5000 1
Betel x30,  -, 30
Backpack x2,  -, 500
Medkit (6), -, 600
Earbuds (2), -,  30
     Audio Enhancement (3), 2, 300
     Select Sound Filter (3), 8, 600
Colt M22A3 w/ Gas Vent 3, External Smartgun System, Airbust link, 9R, 2900
Assault Rifle Regular Ammo x100, 2R, 200
Assault Rifle Gel Rounds x100, 4R, 300
Hacking Program (Pirated): ECCM (4), 8F, 400
Autosoft (Pirated): Electronic Warfare (4), 8F, 400
Autosoft (Pirated): Targeting: Assault Rifles (4), 8F, 400

Vehicles
1) Rover 2068 Handling: 1 Accel: 20/35 Speed: 140 Pilot: 2 Body:13 Armor: 10 Sensor: 2 Mounts: 0/5  Avail:6 Cost 29000
2) MCT Fly-Spy(Minidrone) Handling: 1 Accel: 5/15 Speed: 15 Pilot: 3 Body: 1 Armor: 0 Sensor: 2 Mounts: 0/0  Avail: 6 Cost: 3000
3) Lockheed Optic-X(Small) Handling: 0 Accel: 5/20 Speed: 75 Pilot: 3 Body: 2 Armor: 0 Sensor: 2 Mounts: 0/1  Avail: 6 Cost: 3700
4) Cyberspace Designs Dragonfly Handling: 1 Accel: 3/15 Speed: 30 Pilot: 3 Body: 1 Armor: 1 Sensor: 2 Mounts: 0/0  Avail: 12R Cost: 3500
5) Ford LEBD-I Handling: 0 Accel: 5/20 Speed: 80 Pilot: 3 Body: 3 Armor: 6 Sensor: 3 Mounts: 1/1  Avail: 6R Cost: 4500
6) S-B Microskimmer(Microdrone) Handling 1 Accel 2/10 Speed 10 Pilot 3 Body 0 Armor 0 Sensor 1 Mounts 0/0 Avail. 8 Cost 2000
7) Ferret RPD-1X Handling 0 Accel 10/20 Speed 60 Pilot 3 Body 1 Armor 2 Sensor 3 Mounts 0/1 Avail. 8 Cost 4000

1) Rover 2068 Mods
Spoof Chip
Morphing License Plate
GridLink Override
Satellite Communication
2) MCT Fly-Spy Mods
Chameleon Coating
3) Optic-X Mods
Chameleon Coating
Improved Sensor Array
4) Cyberspace Dragonfly Mods
Chameleon Coating
5) Microskimmer Mods
Chameleon Coating

[Mirikon]

For contacts, a Fixer or Mr. Johnson is an obvious choice. An Arms Dealer can help you get new drones and things to put on them. A mechanic helps you fix your stuff up. You can always pick up a blogger for the latest news on an issue, or a bartender for 'word on the street'. A gang contact with the Cutters can come in handy. Other contacts may depend on location. A contact in the Ork Underground isn't going to do much good in LA, and a contact with the Lagosian Area Boys won't do any good in Chicago.

[Joush]

I kind of admire your dedication to a plan, as this guy has no safety net if he ever has to encounter someone up close.

You have a Industrial Mechanics' Tool Kit but not the skills to use it. Also, as a technomancer, I don't think any situation exist when you would need tridoes, personalty, unless you are carrying them for a friend. Likewise the imagelink on your glasses, given your native ability to perceive data around you.

As a random suggestion, I'd suggest putting holographic projector and better sensors on your fly spy and use that to be telepresent with the rest of the group in potently dangerous situations. You have no Perception, no Gymnastics and no Doge, as it stands now you will be a liability if you get caught in a firefight with the rest of the group. If you are only there as a hologram you might at least draw some fire while safely somewhere else.


If you don't know what contacts you need, get a Fixer with high contacts, a Doctor with high loyalty, and someone that sells the weapons you use, in your case drones.

[UmaroVI]

You don't have any skills at 6. You probably should have one of your more important skills - maybe Registering - at 6.

You don't really need or benefit much from that much Willpower.

01 and Daedalus are both solid choices IF you actually want +2 Hardware. When will your character be using Hardware? I'm not sure what you plan to do with it.

Scan and Browse are not worth your points. Get a sprite to do them.

You don't have complex forms at 6! That's the whole reason to get Resonance 6 at chargen, to avoid getting the shaft when you buy them up. Get them at 6 or get rid of them.

Electronic Warfare, you can probably live with a 3 because of the way ECCM works. The best jamming is 10, 3+8 (from a Satellite Link) = 11, and 3 is "good enough" for the flat-difficulty EW tests you make.

You have a lot of uncustomized and unarmed drones, and IMO would be better off with a smaller number of drones that are actually good. Like, instead of having 3 small stealthy drones, get one flying eye drone with Chameleon Coating. Combat drones are a bit of an exception because you can mount sprites in them and sic a pack of them on people, but at least buy them guns!

[kirk]

1. You have too many (several of them unnecessary) complex forms -- and you've only taken them to 5. Drop browse, scan, and shield. Raise the remaining CFs to 6. Why? Because you can thread up to your resonance worth of points  into even the ones you don't know. Unpacking that: If you're going to need it for an opposed test, you want a base of 6. If there isn't an opposed test, or in the cases where the opposed test just slows you down, you can thread it from scratch on need. Restated: You have all the CFs available thanks to threading. You either "only" need 6, or you "sometimes" need 12.

This frees ten BP, by the way.

2. With 8 of the 10 points, either raise one active skill to 6 or two of them to 5. Given your concept I'd raise hacking to 6.

3. It's my opinion a dronomancer TM doesn't need EW higher than 1, if at all. Most of the tests are extended tests. The two exceptions are finding a hidden node that you know is there (has threshhold 4, and you can use an extended test to do it as well), and jamming on the fly.  You'd think my two exceptions are the justification, but instead: go look at your crack sprite. Compile it at R6, use optional CF Scan, and let it do the job with 12 dice on the extremely rare occasions you need it.

That would be 12 or 16 points you can free up for other use.

4. Talk to your GM re the sprites doing the rigging/droning work. The rules are unclear, and there are a range of interpretations on both whether they can do it and if so the details of "how it works".

If your GM doesn't allow your sprites to do the work, you'll want to pick up gunnery 4; gunnery 5 if you want to reduce your hacking from 6 to 5. This has become the 'standard' for TMs for a simple reason: remote control killbots.
Gunnery 5, Command 12 (6 thread) = 17 dice. Add the smartgun/smartlink/imagelink to the chain and it's 19 dice. You'll have to learn the limits. For example: RC is a complex action regardless of what it would otherwise have been. Therefore most of us just use FA on full burst or SS (heavy) weapons.

5. Ask yourself why your reaction and charisma are so high. Consider dropping at least one and maybe both to 3. Personally I'd drop one of them to 2 but I'm just daring that way (grin). That's 10 or 20 (or 30) points you have available you can put in other skills or edge.

6. I could be mistaken but I thought tobacco wasn't allowed for the addiction quality. Yep, SR4A 93: "A character with the Addiction quality is addicted to alcohol, drugs, BTL chips, or a similar substance with a detrimental effect on the character’s health (note that nicotine, caffeine, and sugar do not count). Minor point, of course.

[UmaroVI]

Charisma is your registered sprite limit, and for a dronomancer a decent Charisma is worth it so you can have a machine sprite armada.

[wizard_of_ozzy]

1. You have too many (several of them unnecessary) complex forms -- and you've only taken them to 5. Drop browse, scan, and shield. Raise the remaining CFs to 6. Why? Because you can thread up to your resonance worth of points  into even the ones you don't know. Unpacking that: If you're going to need it for an opposed test, you want a base of 6. If there isn't an opposed test, or in the cases where the opposed test just slows you down, you can thread it from scratch on need. Restated: You have all the CFs available thanks to threading. You either "only" need 6, or you "sometimes" need 12.

This frees ten BP, by the way.

You are right. My char originally had a lower Charisma and higher Logic. I forgot to make changes to the total CFs.

2. With 8 of the 10 points, either raise one active skill to 6 or two of them to 5. Given your concept I'd raise hacking to 6.

I'll probably get Compiling and Registering at 5 or just Registering at 6. The GM for the game I want to use this character on doesn't allow the +2 Hotsim bonus for Resonance actions. I didn't think the 2 dice would make much of a difference...until I actually tried to register a sprite. Even a rating 4 sprite was too much for me.

3. It's my opinion a dronomancer TM doesn't need EW higher than 1, if at all. Most of the tests are extended tests. The two exceptions are finding a hidden node that you know is there (has threshhold 4, and you can use an extended test to do it as well), and jamming on the fly.  You'd think my two exceptions are the justification, but instead: go look at your crack sprite. Compile it at R6, use optional CF Scan, and let it do the job with 12 dice on the extremely rare occasions you need it.

Some GMs use Jamming on the Fly on a regular basses. And I like the idea of a matrix jack-of-all-trades. But, yeah I definitely see your point on that.

If your GM doesn't allow your sprites to do the work, you'll want to pick up gunnery 4; gunnery 5 if you want to reduce your hacking from 6 to 5. This has become the 'standard' for TMs for a simple reason: remote control killbots.

My original plan was to have a jumped-in rating 6 Tutor sprite with Command, Gunnery, and/or Pilot Vehicle to control the mounted drones/vehicles. Is there a particular reason as to why this wouldn't work?

5. Ask yourself why your reaction and charisma are so high. Consider dropping at least one and maybe both to 3. Personally I'd drop one of them to 2 but I'm just daring that way (grin). That's 10 or 20 (or 30) points you have available you can put in other skills or edge.

Charisma is for the total number of sprites. Reaction is more of a personal thing. As much as I'd like to be a safe distance away from the gun fire, more often then not, my Technomancer characters (I'm playing two different games as a VK and starting a third next week) have been more or less forced into running towards the gun fire instead of away. The 4 Body and 11/7 armor rating really helps out here.

6. I could be mistaken but I thought tobacco wasn't allowed for the addiction quality. Yep, SR4A 93: "A character with the Addiction quality is addicted to alcohol, drugs, BTL chips, or a similar substance with a detrimental effect on the character’s health (note that nicotine, caffeine, and sugar do not count). Minor point, of course.

Yup. Tobacco is an allergy not an addiction. Betel is my addiction.

01 and Daedalus are both solid choices IF you actually want +2 Hardware. When will your character be using Hardware? I'm not sure what you plan to do with it.

In 2 of the games I play, the VK is the only one with the Hardware skill so he's in charge of bypassing those pesky maglocks. I'm guessing most other games have a dedicated B&E guy that does that instead?

You have a Industrial Mechanics' Tool Kit but not the skills to use it. Also, as a technomancer, I don't think any situation exist when you would need tridoes, personalty, unless you are carrying them for a friend. Likewise the imagelink on your glasses, given your native ability to perceive data around you.

I'd imagined that he'd use a tutor sprite's Proficiency power to help out with repairs. But yeah, I can see how that doesn't make sense.

A gang contact with the Cutters can come in handy.

Is there a particular reason that the Cutters would be better then others?

Thanks for the great feedback! I've made some of the changes you've all suggested.

[Tecumseh]

As a GM, I personally do not allow for Betel addictions at character generation. (Or, more precisely, I don't grant bonus karma or build points for a betel addiction.) While betel use has long-term health implications, I would group it with the tobacco/nicotine restriction included in the book. Betel use doesn't have any detrimental in-game impacts that would make it a negative quality, other than the mild warning that it "often serves as a gateway for more powerful stimulants".

That said, it's great stuff. All of my PCs chew it. If your GM is cool with it as a quality, by all means take it.

[kirk]

(snip)
If your GM doesn't allow your sprites to do the work, you'll want to pick up gunnery 4; gunnery 5 if you want to reduce your hacking from 6 to 5. This has become the 'standard' for TMs for a simple reason: remote control killbots.

My original plan was to have a jumped-in rating 6 Tutor sprite with Command, Gunnery, and/or Pilot Vehicle to control the mounted drones/vehicles. Is there a particular reason as to why this wouldn't work?

It's a GM call. From my point of view it would work - in fact, I'm going "doh" for not thinking of this option myself. Again however, it depends on whether your GM is going to allow the tutor sprite's skillsofts to act as autosofts for its own use.

[UmaroVI]

Take 01, then. With a 3 logic and 4 skill, even with Daedalus you are meh at maglocks... but Tutor Sprites can solve your problem. Have one walk your highest logic runner on-site through maglock opening.

[Tsuzua]

While he's a different intuition based stream, the Info Savant / Rigger Technomancer by Umaro may be a good place to get ideas.  At the very least, it'll save time on vehicles and drones.

[wizard_of_ozzy]

Yeah, Umaro's stuff is great though my character isn't a rigger, he's a hacker so the Technoshaman would be closer to what I was trying to do. I'll have to talk to individual GMs about what my sprites can do and what kind of drones I can bring to the party.