[SteveC]

Hi Guys - I'm totally new to Shadowrun (as are my players)... I'm working my way through the 20th Anniv rulebook now but have paused to read the intro adventure in the Runners Toolkit (as I find that this helps me 'relate' the rules).

So, my question is a simple one... what sort of party makeup (max of 6 and min of 4) would you experienced GMs recommend? At least one of them has to be a technomage/hacker if they are to get anywhere at all, but what other types?

Thanks

Steve

[wraithdrit]

General SR Group Composition:
1 - Mage
1 - Hacker (or Technomancer, etc)
1 - Rigger (Hacker could fill in here)
1 - Gun toter (Gun Adept, Street Sam, etc)

Plus any of the following to fill it out:
Hand to Hand Expert
Stealth Expert
More Mages
More Gun types

My current group is:

Hacker
Street Shaman
Physical Adept Driver
Physical Adept Stealth/Hand to Hand
Sniper

Hope that helps,
Wraith

[kirk]

I may be a bit of an oddball, but I don't think any position is "required". I try to make certain no scenario I build has a single-role lock. Lacking a role can make the scenario more challenging, it may remove some of the flourishes, but it is never a requirement.

That said, you usually need a matrix spec, a magic spec, a combat spec, an investigator spec, a socializer, and a transporter. A sneak is also a commonly requested role. A player can fill more than one role, and more than one player can contribute to most of the roles (Matrix being the usual but not total exception.)

[wraithdrit]

That said, you usually need a matrix spec, a magic spec, a combat spec, an investigator spec, a socializer, and a transporter. A sneak is also a commonly requested role. A player can fill more than one role, and more than one player can contribute to most of the roles (Matrix being the usual but not total exception.)

Oh, good point, I forgot the face. Something my group lacks, and is continually kicking itself for.

- Wraith

[SteveC]

Thanks guys - this has helped a lot... Well, I think I shall place the matter in the hands of my players and let them choose their team (with a little help)..

[wraithdrit]

Thanks guys - this has helped a lot... Well, I think I shall place the matter in the hands of my players and let them choose their team (with a little help)..

This is really the best way to do it. If they choose not to take a mage or a hacker then you can do a little bit of modding to make sure they are not hamstrung. Without a Hacker they will likely need to have hacker contacts. Without a mage, they are going to need to be extra cautious around awakened foes.

- Wraith

[FastJack]

I've always liked:

Hacker
Hitter
Thief
Grifter
Mastermind

Much to certain freelancers' chagrin.

[UmaroVI]

It's more that you need someone who can do all of the following things:

Facing
Hacking
B&E (this means Infiltration + a way to get past Maglocks - typically Hardware).
Astral Perception/way to deal with Astral problems. The "litmus test" for "can you do this" is that if you can't do jack about a mage hanging out on the astral plane next to you and spamming you with spirits, you can't cover this role.

and you need a critical mass of people who can fight. It's quite possible to have a team that doesn't look like Face, Hacker, Covert Ops, Mage, Street Samurai that can cover this, and there's a lot of different ways to cover "fight." You can reasonably have a team consisting of 2 characters that covers all of this, because it's quite doable to cover more than one role. Astral and Fighting are "stackable" roles, in that four meh combatants are as good if not better than one specialist; Face is a little stackable in that one OK face and one meh face is as good as one good face. B&E is sorta stackable in that once you hit the "whole team can Infiltrate well" point it opens up options. Hacking is nonstackable; ten shitty hackers can't do the job of one good hacker.

[JustADude]

Oh, good point, I forgot the face. Something my group lacks, and is continually kicking itself for.

- Wraith

Have the mage take a Charisma-based tradition and a few points of the Influence group. Boom, done.

[CanRay]

My Norse Tradition Magician was the group's face.

...

Well, he was SUPPOSED to be...