[riven5]

Hello all, first time posting and eager to get into character creation.  I used to love Shadowrun back in the day and am just now getting back into it.  Unfortunately I've suffered some pretty notable braindrain and can't recall much about the rules, least of all combat or magic.  While I've been reading through Street Magic, Way of the Adept and the core rules quite a bit I still find myself scratching my head for hours on end as I try to create an Ork (or Elf?) Gunmage. 

The concept started out simply enough: A Mystic Adept gunslinger who focuses his adept powers on making himself faster and better in a shootout and who uses his limited spells to either buff himself or allies.  I also love the idea of being able to summon spirits to aid me in a fight, or perhaps just have some witty banter with.  I have been sifting through this very forum for a week now and it looks like a few questions have become clear:

1) Reaction is so insanely critical, and increased reflexes is a big boon.  But...why, exactly?

2) Full Body Armor, PPP SecureTech and some sort of Armor Jacket seems to be the armor combo out the gate.  Are there any competitors?

3) Guns are so moddable it seems like everyone has extremely varying opinions on what guns are best in a straight up firefight!  I assume automatics are the way to go for sheer firepower, but which ones are particularly noteworthy?  Though the Ares Predator is mentioned quite regularly...

4) Sustaining foci can be a good investment, but I'm not sure those circumstances apply for my concept, and even if they do, are sustaining foci a good way to spend nuyen?

5) What spells are generally regarded as useful in a fight?  Increased Reflexes sure (see above), but what about Heal, Armor, Combat Sense?  Would my complex action just be better spent shooting someone, or perhaps just shooting them with a fireball?

6) What spirits are valuable for such a concept?  I've heard Guardian spirits are quite capable fighters, but are the others really that weak in comparison?  What about twisted or shadow spirits?  Are they even remotely competitive?

7) It might be taboo, but how in the world can a PC get the cannibalize and blood drain powers?  I think with some reflavoring it could be a neat adept power, but I swear I've reread that section of SM a dozen times and still can't decipher how players are supposed to acquire it.  Or are they just not really supposed to?

The traditions are all really neat, but what does it mean when it says Illusion: Air, or Combat: Guardian?  Are those your favored spirits?  What does that entail?

9) What is the deal with Possession traditions?  Do you literally summon a spirit who takes over you and proceeds to Hulk out all up in the joint?  Because that would be pretty neat, if not quite my characters style.

I realize I just unloaded a ton of questions, but this is a fairly complex game and I'm trying to get back into it with limited free time available, so any insight would be greatly appreciated!

[Whiskeyjack]

Briefly:


1. Reaction is part of the initiative calculation and is tied to the Dodge skill if you take it (Gymnastics dodge uses Agility). Increased Reflexes is such an important spell or power because it both increases your Reaction and gives you more Initiative Passes -essentially turns within a turn to act in combat. 

2. MilSpec. But make sure you're not encumbered. A jacket + FFBA + PPP pieces that get you to your max armor is the best. 

3. Automatics gives you the most options yes. Things with inherent recoil comp are good because then you can mod them such that you will never suffer a recoil penalty. Essential for big bursts. 

4. The best investments for a caster are a R3 Health Sustaining Focus for Increased Reflexes and a R4 Power Focus using Restricted Gear since it boosts every roll with the Magic Attribute. 

5. Increased Reflexes, Heal, Stunbolt, Stunball, Soundwave, and a good elemental AoE like Blizzard or Nova. Maybe a one-target elemental. Powerbolt/ball only if you specialize deep in Combat Spells and can beat OR reliably. Physical Mask, Trid Phantasm, and Mob Mind are also nice. 

6. PCs generally cannot take Toxic, Shadow, Insect, or Blood spirits. What spirits you can summon is based on your Tradition, which also affects what stay you use to resist Drain. There are a ton in Street Magic. Notably bad spirits are Earth and Beast. Task are nice as they are essentially magical Skillwires. Man can cast spells. Guardian is the best fighter and can take weapon skills. Air, Fire, Water and Earth have the very nasty Engulf power. Plant has Regenerate which is great if you have a Possession tradition. Guidance I don't know much about honestly. 

7. Quests and Faustian deals mostly. Warning: may turn character into an NPC.

8. Those are the spirits you can summon. If you have Combat: Air for example only Air spirits can use a service to boost your dice pool with a Combat spell. 

9. Yes you or a prepared vessel like a corpse or homunculus. They are quite good for making you hit the augmented Body cap as a troll. you need to have a specific metamagic to be in control while possessed though.