[Carnage1138]

My Group has decided to play Shadowrun 4th Ed. and this is the first time I've ever played.  After reading through the core rulebook and various supplements I've decided on playing a human from the Confederate American States who used to be part of the CAS's military who is now working as a shadowrunner in Seattle.  He's basically a Street Samurai.  I was wondering if anybody could give me some advice on how to build this character (Qualities, favored attributes, contacts, etc) and also help me out with some additional questions I have (or may come up with).

1.  My first question is where can I find more background information on the CAS?  As an RPer, I like to portray my character's background as accurately as I can but the most information I can find on the nation is in the Sixth World Almanac.  The UCAS has had exhaustive coverage done on it but I find it very curious that the only other "normal" American nation has almost no data on it.  What information is available on the society of the Confederate American States (most of it is focused on the political side) is that it's basically the modern day South.
Now for the most part that covers alot of the information I need but with some of the aspects of the Sixth World (such as how did the nation react to Goblinization, the appearance of pointy ears and dwarfs, magic, and the Matrix, etc) aren't really covered by that.

2.  What kind of gear is good for a starter Street Samurai?  Also the core rulebook didn't explain the availability rules for starter chars to my full satisfaction (at least for me) so could somebody give me a better answer?  I've been looking through the Arsenal book and two initial purchases that caught my eye were the M-22 assault rifle and the Colt Government 2066.  The Colt Government is the one with the more restrictive Availability at 6R.  Will my character be able to acquire goods with that Availability rating at start?  Whats the most restrictive rating you can get at character creation numberwise since I believe the core rulebook states that you can't get Forbidden weapons straight off.  Any alternative or additional suggestions for starter Street Samurai gear would also be appreciated.

3.  The last question that I have for now is that with the Matrix and the AR so pervasive in people's lives in 2072 what is the basic stuff (commlink, OS, programs, etc) I should get for a Street Samurai?  Unwired suggested that at the least a shadowrunner should get the Browse, Analyze, Edit, and Encrypt programs (it also suggested I buy the best commlink and OS I could afford but since I'm operating on a budget and serve as the team's heavy artillery my money will probably be best spent elsewhere).  I plan on leaving the electronic warfare to the team's dwarf hacker but I don't want the team to die because the opposition hacked my commlink and got some info it wasn't supposed to have and have a corporate security kill-team wipe us out on a run or crash through the windows into the living rooms of each member.

That's all the questions I have at this time and any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Tsuzua]

My Group has decided to play Shadowrun 4th Ed. and this is the first time I've ever played.  After reading through the core rulebook and various supplements I've decided on playing a human from the Confederate American States who used to be part of the CAS's military's Special Forces who is now working as a shadowrunner in Seattle.  He's basically a Street Samurai.  I was wondering if anybody could give me some advice on how to build this character (Qualities, favored attributes, contacts, etc) and also help me out with some additional questions I have (or may come up with).

1.  My first question is where can I find more background information on the CAS?  As an RPer, I like to portray my character's background as accurately as I can but the most information I can find on the nation is in the Sixth World Almanac.  The UCAS has had exhaustive coverage done on it but I find it very curious that the only other "normal" American nation has almost no data on it.  What information is available on the society of the Confederate American States (most of it is focused on the political side) is that it's basically the modern day South.
Now for the most part that covers alot of the information I need but with some of the aspects of the Sixth World (such as how did the nation react to Goblinization, the appearance of pointy ears and dwarfs, magic, and the Matrix, etc) aren't really covered by that.

2.  What kind of gear is good for a starter Street Samurai?  Also the core rulebook didn't explain the availability rules for starter chars to my full satisfaction (at least for me) so could somebody give me a better answer?  I've been looking through the Arsenal book and two initial purchases that caught my eye were the M-22 assault rifle and the Colt Government 2066.  The Colt Government is the one with the more restrictive Availability at 6R.  Will my character be able to acquire goods with that Availability rating at start?  Whats the most restrictive rating you can get at character creation numberwise since I believe the core rulebook states that you can't get Forbidden weapons straight off.  Any alternative or additional suggestions for starter Street Samurai gear would also be appreciated.

3.  The last question that I have for now is that with the Matrix and the AR so pervasive in people's lives in 2072 what is the basic stuff (commlink, OS, programs, etc) I should get for a Street Samurai?  Unwired suggested that at the least a shadowrunner should get the Browse, Analyze, Edit, and Encrypt programs (it also suggested I buy the best commlink and OS I could afford but since I'm operating on a budget and serve as the team's heavy artillery my money will probably be best spent elsewhere).  I plan on leaving the electronic warfare to the team's dwarf hacker but I don't want the team to die because the opposition hacked my commlink and got some info it wasn't supposed to have and have a corporate security kill-team wipe us out on a run or crash through the windows into the living rooms of each member.

That's all the questions I have at this time and any help would be greatly appreciated.

1.) There's bits and pieces on the CAS here and there.  It's likely not meaningfully different than UCAS as far as your character goes.

2.) You can get basically anything as long as the Availability is 12 or less and the rating (if any) is 6 or less.  R and F don't matter for the purpose of starting gear.  Legality can matter in play though how much depends on your GM.

3.) It mainly depends on your team.  Odds are though you'll want to slave your moderately cheap commlink to your team's tech nut.  While this doesn't make you completely safe, it does make it his problem to protect you and he's better equipped to do that.  Investing in a decent system + firewall is worthwhile for additional spoofing protection though you likely can wait till you can find a spare commlink you can reformat.  As for programs, you're really not going to be the go to guy for them nor are you going to be good enough to matter in a pitch.  They're a nice luxury so you don't have to ask the team's hacker to search youtube for cat videos.

[All4BigGuns]

Honestly, former military can be done off the base starting points, but Special Forces isn't really possible. For examples of what you'd need for that look at the Tir Ghost in the core SR4A book and the Special Forces stat blocks in the War! book. Neither can be built off of 400 BP.  The closest you can come would be adapting the Expeditionary Soldier out of the War! book.

[Carnage1138]

Honestly, former military can be done off the base starting points, but Special Forces isn't really possible. For examples of what you'd need for that look at the Tir Ghost in the core SR4A book and the Special Forces stat blocks in the War! book. Neither can be built off of 400 BP.  The closest you can come would be adapting the Expeditionary Soldier out of the War! book.

Oops.  Well basic military works as well.  I had Special Forces in mind because they are more likely to be familiar with unconventional ops and be better able to transition to being a shadowrunner than an infantry grunt whos used to conventional shoot-em-ups.  All Special Forces mentions are removed.

[All4BigGuns]

Honestly, former military can be done off the base starting points, but Special Forces isn't really possible. For examples of what you'd need for that look at the Tir Ghost in the core SR4A book and the Special Forces stat blocks in the War! book. Neither can be built off of 400 BP.  The closest you can come would be adapting the Expeditionary Soldier out of the War! book.

Oops.  Well basic military works as well.  I had Special Forces in mind because they are more likely to be familiar with unconventional ops and be better able to transition to being a shadowrunner than an infantry grunt whos used to conventional shoot-em-ups.  All Special Forces mentions are removed.

I had the same thought on a character, so I just used the Expeditionary Soldier and came up with a reason for him to have not gotten all the way through SF training.

[Carnage1138]

I think I can put my first question to rest as I reread through a 3rd edition book called Shadows of North America and was able to find in-depth information on the Confederate American States.

I do have some new questions though and my first one is what kind of combat am I most likely to encounter in Shadowrun?  From what I was reading in State of the Art-2063 in the merc section and in various portions of the current edition megacorps won't raise as much of a fuss if you steal data from them but if you take out a security guard they'll put a hit on you (apparently they hate having to pay death benefits and pensions).  I took this info as a bit of an overexaggeration but I'd still like to know whether this "street samurai" character of mine is going to see much action without having to blow through SINs after every mission.

Also can somebody suggest any good cyberware and body armor for my character.  It's kinda obvious that milspec armor is out but whats some good gear for a Street Samurai type character to have?

[All4BigGuns]

I think I can put my first question to rest as I reread through a 3rd edition book called Shadows of North America and was able to find in-depth information on the Confederate American States.

I do have some new questions though and my first one is what kind of combat am I most likely to encounter in Shadowrun?  From what I was reading in State of the Art-2063 in the merc section and in various portions of the current edition megacorps won't raise as much of a fuss if you steal data from them but if you take out a security guard they'll put a hit on you (apparently they hate having to pay death benefits and pensions).  I took this info as a bit of an overexaggeration but I'd still like to know whether this "street samurai" character of mine is going to see much action without having to blow through SINs after every mission.

Also can somebody suggest any good cyberware and body armor for my character.  It's kinda obvious that milspec armor is out but whats some good gear for a Street Samurai type character to have?

Wired Reflexes Rating 1 (I don't like going past 1 with this because of expense and Essence) is a good one to get, as are Muscle Toner and Muscle Augmentation at Rating 2. Beyond those there's Synthacardium at 3, but anything else would really be up to whatever you feel you want IMO.

As to the Milspec armor, when I did the one using the Expeditionary Soldier, I took the same comm (Battle Buddy Basic) that was in the stat block, and I went ahead and popped a Restricted Gear for the Light Military Armor (just bought a second armor set for general 'walking around' use).

[Malex]

I am also play a Confederate American States runner. Reason why he's in Seattle, light treason.

[Carnage1138]

I am also play a Confederate American States runner. Reason why he's in Seattle, light treason.

Exactly what do you mean by "light treason"?  My group's campaign is also going to be played in Seattle and I am planning on having a contact being a Johnson who is a Department of Strategic Intelligence agent.  Depending on the job and if the price is right (and GM and player consent) my team might be moonlighting for the CAS.

[JmOz01]

I would suggest a cyberarm, some real nice stuff you can place in it to help you out

Weaponwise,  Preadator IV and Ares Alpha are nice

[killer_instinct03]

It all depends on your level of commitment to combat. I would go with wired reflexes 2 and later on trade up to move by wires rating 2 for a nice bump in reaction and bonus to your dodge skill. The skill wires that come with it are pretty great too. If you go with a cyber arm make sure you realize you need to average its stats with your normal ones for actions that take both hands. It is rather pricy but if you have a cyber arm I say go with a gyro stabilizer for three points of recoil compensation.

[Malex]

I am also play a Confederate American States runner. Reason why he's in Seattle, light treason.

Exactly what do you mean by "light treason"

He and another PC were caught selling arms....to an Azzie smuggler. Gave a good reason to make him older and why he has a Criminal SIN.