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Adept character, good, bad, or needs improvement?

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TJKalinova

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« on: <09-10-12/0903:32> »
This is my Adept character. Let me know what you guys think.

Street Name: Sup3rNov@
Name: Marcus Kalinov

Metatype: Ork  20BP

Attributes:        205BP
Body: 5       10BP
Agility: 4(5)    30BP
Reaction: 4   30BP
Strength: 4(5)   10BP
Charisma: 1   10BP
Intuition: 3  20BP
Logic: 2      10BP
Willpower: 2  10BP
Edge: 2       10BP
Magic: 6      65BP
Initiative: 7

Qualities:     25BP
Adept (5BP)
Guts (5BP)
SINner(Seattle, Evo) (+5BP)
Martial Arts(Muay Thai) (10BP)  +2 DV on Unarmed Combat Attacks
The Warrior's Way (10BP)  25% off Improved Physical Attribute, and Improved Reflexes

Maneuvers:  2BP
Finishing Move


Skills:     132BP
Athletics Group: 3(7)     20BP
First Aid 2(5)     8BP
Unarmed Combat 5(9)     16BP
Electronics Group: 2(6)   20BP
Pistols: 5(9)     20BP
Stealth Group: 3(6)     30BP
Perception: 4(7)
Knowledge(Martial Arts Theory) 5
Knowledge(Corporate Politics) 5
Knowledge(Firearms) 5
Language(English) N

Total Before Resources: 357

Adept Powers: 5.56/6 PP

Combat Sense 3 (1.5)
Critical Strike 2 (0.5)
Killing Hands (0.5)
Improved Physical Attribute(Agility) 1 (0.56)
Improved Physical Attribute(Strength) 1 (0.56)
Mystic Armor 2 (1)
Improved Reflexes 1 (0.94)

Gear:

Weapons:
Ares Predator IV x2 700Y w/ Silencer x2 400Y Concealed Holsters x2 125Y

Armor:
Victory Globetrotter Line Heavy Armor Clothes(tank top, jacket, cargo pants, boots All Black) 4/2 600Y
Form Fitting Body Armor(Full-Body Suit) 6/2 1600Y

Ammo:
Spare Clips x15 125Y
250 rounds of Explosive Ammo 2250Y
250 rounds of Stick-n-Shock Ammo 2000Y
500 rounds of Regular Ammo 1000Y

The Rest:
Backpack 250Y
Erika Elite w/ System 3 and Firewall 3 3700Y
AR Gloves 250Y
Skinlink 50Y
Subvocal Microphone 50Y
Contacts Rating 2 w/ Image Link and Smartlink 575Y
Earbuds Rating 2 10Y
Sim Module 100Y
Common Use Programs 4  400Y

Vehicle:
Suzuki Mirage  6500Y

4315Y on Certified Credstick
« Last Edit: <09-10-12/1051:46> by TJKalinova »

Ethan

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« Reply #1 on: <09-10-12/1010:19> »
Well, he certainly has a lot of skills.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought "Improved Attribute" really just raised the maximum for that Attribute, not really increasing it?

In any case, the Attributes are a little weak. A Body of 5 would be worth it, gives you an additional box of damage and you can wear heavier gear. Agility and Reaction need to be higher, 5 would work. Strength should be an odd number as well.

I suggest lowering your Mental stats a bit, but that depends on what you want the secondary capabilities of your Adept to be. He apparently lacks Infiltration and Perception, so he's going to be obvious and oblivious most of the time.

Settle on two ways to kill people for money; one Melee, one Ranged. Seems like you like Pistols, so stay with that and perhaps just Unarmed Combat.

Also, you don't have Improved Reflexes? You'll need more than one Initiative Pass for a combat-centric character. 2 is fine, 3 is good.

Do you have Arsenal and Way of the Adept? If you have Arsenal, you can look into learning a Martial Art. Way of the Adept will let you take a "Way" as a Quality, and you can apply discounts to your Powers.

TJKalinova

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« Reply #2 on: <09-10-12/1054:38> »
Alright, I edited in some changes and I checked the SR4A on improved Physical Attribute:

Quote
With this power, you can raise a Physical attribute (Agility, Body,
Reaction, or Strength). Each level increases the attribute by one. If
you later want to increase the attribute using Karma (p. 269), the cost
is based on the total attribute, including the magical improvements.
Increasing Reaction with this power also affects Initiative.
This power allows you to exceed your natural attribute maximum
up to the augmented maximum, but each point over the maximum
costs double (1.5 Power points per level).

So it's an actual increase, not just an increase of the maximum, right?

Ethan

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« Reply #3 on: <09-10-12/1136:58> »
Ahh, you're right it does.

Suggestion: Apply one of the 25% discounts to Combat Sense instead of one of the Improve Physical Attribute ones. That should give you.. 0.185 points which adds to your free 0.43 points to 0.615 (I think).

I'd suggest grabbing Nimble Fingers and/or Sustenance. Sustenance is really handy for anyone, and Nimble Fingers helps with reloading. Or you could boost your other abilities. That's enough to increase your Agility by 1 again, which could be worth it, but that means you're paying Karma to improve it later on.

Consider a few more negative qualities you could live with. You'd be able to add more Martial Arts Maneuvers for one thing. Iaijutsu will let you Quickdraw stuff, but then you'd have your Pistol drawn or in a quickdraw holster too...

Are you planning to "Dual Wield" the Ares Predator IVs? Or is one a backup?

(EDIT: Sorry, brain fart. You went with Unarmed not Blades)

I think your character's pretty capable now. Just remember, Improved Reflexes also adds +1 to Reaction.
« Last Edit: <09-10-12/1146:55> by Ethan »

TJKalinova

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« Reply #4 on: <09-10-12/1252:11> »
I think I like the way this character turned out XD

Quote
Street Name: Sup3rNov@
Name: Marcus Kalinov

Metatype: Ork  20BP

Attributes:        200BP
Body: 5       00BP
Agility: 4(6)    30BP
Reaction: 4   20BP
Strength: 4   10BP
Charisma: 1   10BP
Intuition: 3  20BP
Logic: 2      20BP
Willpower: 2  30BP
Edge: 2       10BP
Magic: 5      40BP
Initiative: 7

Qualities:    0BP
+Adept (5BP)
+Guts (5BP)
-SINner(Seattle, Evo) (5BP)
+Martial Arts(Muay Thai) (10BP) +2 DV on Unarmed Combat Attacks
+The Warrior's Way (10BP) 25% off Improved Relfexes and Combat Sense
-Moderate Allergy(Dogs) (15BP)
-Incompetent(Negotiation) (5BP)
-Day Job(Part-Time Bouncer) (5BP)

Skills:   156BP
Athletics Group: 3(6)     30BP
First Aid 2(5)     8BP
Unarmed Combat 5(9)     16BP
Electronics Group: 2(6)   20BP
Pistols: 5(9)     20BP
Stealth Group: 3(6)     30BP
Perception: 4(7)
Knowledge(Martial Arts Theory) 5
Knowledge(Corporate Politics) 5
Knowledge(Firearms) 5
Language(English) N


Adept Powers:

Combat Sense 3 (1.125)
Critical Strike 2 (0.5)
Killing Hands (0.5)
Improved Physical Attribute(Agility) 2 (1.25)
Mystic Armor 2 (1)
Sustenance (0.25)
Nimble Fingers (0.25)

4.875/5

Contacts: 12BP
Ling(Martial Arts Instructor) Connection 2;Loyalty 2
Johnnie(Fixer) Connection 2;Loyalty 2
Haruno(Arms Dealer) Connection 2;Loyalty 2

Gear: 5BP or 25000Y

Weapons:
Ares Predator IV 700Y w/ Silencer x2 400Y Concealed Holsters x2 125Y

Armor:
Victory Globetrotter Line Heavy Armor Clothes(tank top, jacket, cargo pants, boots All Black) 600Y
Form Fitting Body Armor(Full-Body Suit) 1600Y

Ammo:
Spare Clips x15 125Y
250 rounds of Explosive Ammo 2250Y
250 rounds of Stick-n-Shock Ammo 2000Y
500 rounds of Regular Ammo 1000Y

The Rest:
Backpack 250Y
Erika Elite w/ System 3 and Firewall 3 3700Y
AR Gloves 250Y
Skinlink 50Y
Subvocal Microphone 50Y
Contacts Rating 2 w/ Image Link and Smartlink 575Y
Earbuds Rating 2 10Y
Sim Module 100Y
Common Use Programs 4  400Y

Vehicle:
Suzuki Mirage  6500Y

4315Y on Certified Credstick

Total BP: 393/400
« Last Edit: <09-10-12/1510:20> by TJKalinova »

Tsuzua

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« Reply #5 on: <09-10-12/1514:26> »
I would double check your numbers.  I have you spending 359 BP* total so far.  I would check to make sure you have the BP calcs for the attributes correct.

That said, attributes are a better deal than skills so I'll focus on them more.  For example, instead of spending 30 BP on Athletics, spend 10 on Athletics and 20 on more Strength.  Now you have the same net roll for most Athletics tests, but you have +2 Strength.  Reaction and Int are also good places to jam in more points.

For further discussion, I'm assuming you want to do a punchy adept.  If you want to be a shooty adept, that changes things.

Your punches are fairly weak considering what you're paying for them.  Right now you have 6P punches with 11 dice.  You roll 13 dice with your Ares Predator for 5P -1AP.  That's the same damage, but your Predator gets to shoot twice versus a lower defense roll.  But you're paying 30 BP and 1 PP for that punch.  I'll make those punches work for you more.  With a higher Str value and more levels of critical strike, you could get up to 10P punches easily.  That's not great, but you can actually punch out a dude with luck and/or called shots.

I would set up your PP like this:
Improved Reflexes 2 (Way) (1.875 PP)
Improved Attribute (Agility) 2 (1.125 PP)
Critical Strike 5 (1.25 PP)
Killing Hands (.5 PP)
Whatever (.25 PP)

You get +2 IPs, +2 reaction, +3 Unarmed DV versus +3 defense tests and +2 armor.  The reaction effectively gives you +2 to defense tests, so it's +1 defense tests and +2 armor.  You can grab Improved Reflexes 1 instead and have .75 BP to spend on other stuff if you want instead.  I do recommend that you have 2 IPs at least.  If you're planning on taking lots of Cram, you might want to drop Improved Reflexes, but I'll check for GM aggro before committing to that.

As you okay with being a cybered adept?  Cybered adepts are more powerful than pure adepts, but many find them distasteful. 

Lastly, what is your goal with First Aid and the Electronics skill group?   Are you trying to be a logic skill monkey on the side or do you view them "essential" to be a shadowrunner?  If it's the former, I'll suggest getting more logic.  If it's the latter, I'll drop them.  First Aid is well compensated by the Rating 6 medkit.  As for Electronics group, your team's tech nut is going to be way better than you since he'll likely have way more bonuses.  However, Hardware is a very handy skill for Breaking and Entering types since it lets you bypass maglocks**. 

*- My Math: Ork: 20 Attributes: 120 Special Attributes: 50 BP Qualities (Net):0 BP Skills: 156 Contacts + Gear: 13 BP

**- You can definitely hardware your way pass keycard and keypad maglocks.  You may or may not be able to hardware past a biometric maglock.  I think you should, but I don't have a bulletproof RAW or RAI argument that they should.  I'll check your GM. 

TJKalinova

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« Reply #6 on: <09-10-12/1643:06> »
I wouldn't mind an adept with some cyber or bioware, and the electronics and first aid...well...I don't really know why I had them other than I thought they would help out. I would like to keep the Hardware  for B&E locks like you mentioned, I also like the Power setup you mentioned.

So now my character looks like this:

Street Name: Sup3rNov@
Name: Marcus Kalinov

Metatype: Ork  20BP

Attributes:
Body: 5       10       
Agility: 4(6) 30
Reaction: 4(6)30
Strength: 6   40
Charisma: 1   00
Intuition: 3  20
Logic: 2      10
Willpower: 2  10
Edge: 2       10
Magic: 5      40
Initiative: 7

Physical: 11
Stun: 9

Movement: 10/25 (Walk/Run)

Composure: 3
Judge Intent: 4
Lifting/Carrying: 9
Memory: 4

Qualities:    0BP
+Adept (5BP)
+Guts (5BP)
-SINner(Seattle, Evo) (5BP)
+Martial Arts(Muay Thai) (10BP) +2 DV on Unarmed Combat Attacks
+The Warrior's Way (10BP) 25% off Improved Relfexes and Combat Sense
-Moderate Allergy(Dogs) (15BP)
-Incompetent(Negotiation) (5BP)
-Day Job(Part-Time Bouncer) (5BP)

Skills:   92BP
Athletics Group: 1(7)   10BP
Unarmed Combat 6(12)    16BP
Pistols: 4(10)          20BP
Stealth Group: 3(6)     30BP
Perception: 4(7)        16BP
Knowledge(Martial Arts Theory) 5
Knowledge(Corporate Politics) 5
Knowledge(Firearms) 5
Language(English) N

Total Before Resources: 376/400

Adept Powers:

Improved Reflexes 2 (Way)     (1.875)
Improved Attribute(Agility) 2 (1.125)
Critical Strike 5             (1.25)
Killing Hands                 (0.5)
Nimble Fingers                (0.25)

5/5

Contacts: 12BP
Ling(Martial Arts Instructor) Connection 2;Loyalty 2
Johnnie(Fixer) Connection 2;Loyalty 2
Haruno(Arms Dealer) Connection 2;Loyalty 2

Gear: 5BP or 25000Y

Weapons:
Ares Predator IV 700Y w/ Silencer x2 400Y Concealed Holsters x2 125Y

Armor:
Victory Globetrotter Line Heavy Armor Clothes(tank top, jacket, cargo pants, boots All Black) 600Y
Form Fitting Body Armor(Full-Body Suit) 1600Y

Ammo:
Spare Clips x15 125Y
250 rounds of Explosive Ammo 2250Y
250 rounds of Stick-n-Shock Ammo 2000Y
500 rounds of Regular Ammo 1000Y

The Rest:
Backpack 250Y
Erika Elite w/ System 3 and Firewall 3 3700Y
AR Gloves 250Y
Skinlink 50Y
Subvocal Microphone 50Y
Contacts Rating 2 w/ Image Link and Smartlink 575Y
Earbuds Rating 2 10Y
Sim Module 100Y
Common Use Programs 4  400Y

Vehicle:
Suzuki Mirage  6500Y

4315Y on Certified Credstick

Total BP: 393/400

ArkangelWinter

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« Reply #7 on: <09-10-12/1659:05> »
If it were me, I'd find that last 10BP of negative qualities to get Willpower to an odd number for more stun boxes. And beware GM aggro with a Charisma of 1. Might be worth dropping Perception a rank to get it.Charisma 2, with 1BP left.

Ethan

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« Reply #8 on: <09-11-12/0905:08> »
I figured Electronics and First Aid were there to round your character out a bit. The game, however, makes those skills mostly unnecessary. A First Aid kit supplants your skill, if you had any to begin with, with its rating and an Agent can do your Matrix searching and various tools allow for B&E.

If you want 'ware, get Muscle Toner 4 with Restricted Gear. That gives you a nice +4 to your Agility, and you can take the Improved Physical Attribute power out.

Downgrade Strength to 5, it doesn't do much at 6, and boost Willpower to 3 or Agility to 5. With +4 you'll be at your augmented maximum of 9, not too shabby. Much later on, when you can afford Alpha- or Beta- grade 'ware, you can implant Muscle Augmentation to boost your Strength by 2.

Depends on how you really want to shape your Adept.

TJKalinova

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« Reply #9 on: <09-11-12/2040:36> »
thanks for all the help guys, and I was wondering, are there any rules out there for creating a custom Way for Adept characters?

UmaroVI

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« Reply #10 on: <09-11-12/2105:50> »
There's unofficial errata for it in Critias's signature.