[Twitchy D]

H'okay, it's been a while since I first posted here... I need some opinions regarding my currant character build. I've made a beta version of him a long, long time ago, and I figure that I've done an OK job of it, if it wasn't for the fact that somehow my luck screwed me over again, and I had never gotten to play him. I spent a couple of months editing and revising to this character to do something while I had the time, and I just need to know if this is a playable character. I'm not aiming for the best optimized build here, I just want to know if he'll be able to live for a couple of gunfights, and possibly a bit longer.

“Paul Meixner” (Commlink’s registration)

---Attributes---
Body         5
Agility         5 (7)
Reaction      3 (5)
Strength      4 (5)
Charisma      2
Intuition      4
Logic         2
Willpower      3
Edge         5
Essence         3.91

Initiative      9
Passes         3
Condition (Stun)   10
Condition (Physical)   10

---Qualities---
<Positive>
•   Bioware Compatability
•   Erased II
•   Genetic Heratige

>Negative<
•   In Debt for 15,000
•   Amnesia
•   Sensitive Neural Structure
•   Addiction (alcohol)

---Skills---
Groups
•   Athletics Group            1
•   Stealth               1


Combat
•   Automatics            2   =10
•   Blades               5   =12
•   Longarms            3   =10
•   Pistols               5   =12
Social
•   Intimidation (Interrogation)      2   =4 (6)
•   Negotiation            2   =4

Physical
•   Climbing            1   =6
•   Disguise            1   =5
•   Gymnastics            1   =6
•   Infiltration            1   =6
•   Palming               1   =6
•   Perception            1   =5 (6)
•   Running            1   =6
•   Shadowing            1   =5
•   Survival    (Urban)         1   =4 (6)
•   Swimming            1   =6
•   Tracking (Urban)         1   =4 (6)

Knowledge
•   Cooking (Grilling/BBQ)            1
•   Smugglers (Gunrunners)         3 (4)
•   Myths and Legends (Icelandic Sagas)      3 (4)
•   Paranimal Hunting (Laws/Bounties)      3 (4)

Language
•   German               5
•   English (Natural)            NA

Cyberware
•   2 Modular customized lower cyberlegs with skimmer disks, Armor +2, Matte Black.
•   Air Tank, Alphaware.

Bioware
•   Synaptic Booster II
•   Muscle Augmentation I
•   Muscle Toner II

Geneware
•   Synch

Weapons

Melee
•   Katar, personalized grip, custom look (I), Gecko Grip. 1,050 nuyen.
o   Matte black, with silver ivy engravings, bearing ‘XIII’ on both sides.
•   Ceramic Balisong Knife, undetectable by MAD’s. 75 nuyen.
•   Survival Knife. 50 nuyen.

Firearms
•   Ruger Super Warhawk, custom grip, custom look (I), Quick-Draw Holster, speed loaders, default smartgun, Firing Selection small (semi-auto). 1,250 nuyen.
o   Matte black, with silver ivy engravings, bearing the words ‘Paranoia is a Survival Trait’ on the barrel. Handle is of dark wood.
•   Mannlicher Wildhüter, top mounted imaging scope, Sling, Firing Selection small (semi-auto), Silencer (removable). 1,510 nuyen.
•   FN P93 Praetor, Electronic firing, sling. 860 nuyen.
•   Enfield AS-7, folding stock, custom grip, Foregrip, Firing Selection small (Full auto), sling. 1,590 nuyen.
•   Sernopal vz/88V. 1,650 nuyen

Gear
•   Industrious Line Winterized Coverall, Quick-Draw Holster on the left hip, for .
•   PPP Arm and Shin guards, Consealed Holster in right shinguard.
•   Lined Coat w/Chem protection 2, Concealed Holster in the small of back.
•   Light Stick (10)
•   Medkit (Rating 6)
•   Survival Kit
•   Trauma Patch
•   Grapple Gun
•   Microwire, 200 Meters
•   Climbing Gloves
•   Chisel
•   Flashlight
•   Earbuds
•   + Audio Enhancement III
•   + Select Sound Filter III
•   Gas Mask
•   Glasses
•   + Flare Compensation
•   + Vision Magnification
•   + Low Light
•   + Vision Enhancement III
•   Contact Lenses
•   + Smartlink
•   Weapons Kit
•   Smart Backpack
•   Sleeping Bag
•   Smart Ammo Pouch x 2
•   Smart Canteen
•   Mapsoft 6
•   Weapon Repair Kit
•   Tag Eraser
•   Pepper Punch, 5 cans
•   Indian Tobacco, 5 Cigars
•   Galak, 1 dose
•   Kamekaze Combat Drugs, 2 doses
•   Cleaner-Cleaner Rating 5

Contacts
Capt’n Clem McGraw, Crazed Hobo/Bug City Surviver. Basically a crazed hobo who seen some things. Wears a Ares Firewatch Captain’s hat and armor coat, but no-one really knows if he really was a disgruntled employee of the All-American Megacorp or even a survivor of Bug City. Regardless, on his more coherant days, he acts like a low-tier representitive of a small band of squatters living in an abandoned subway station numbering from 14 heads during a bad week to about 28 heads on a roll. Has a thing about “Those mages”, and has a severe insect phobia, but he knows a good bit about Insect Spirits and Chicago.

Contact: Connection 2, Loyalty 2.
Contact Stats:   BOD 4,   AGI 4,   REF 3,   STR 3,   CHA 2,   INT 3,   LOG 2,   WIL 3,   EDG 2,   ESS 6,   INIT 7.
Active Skills: Unarmed 3, Etiquette 3 (Street +2), Armorer 2, Leadership 2, Perception 2,
Automatics 4, Pistols 3.
Knowledge Skills: Insect Spirit Info 4, Illegal Goods 3, Local Gangs 3, Chicago Info 4, Street Rumors 3.


Annie White-Feather, a Pacific University medical resident working on a thesis for her diploma, of which she could (and might) talk about for hours on end. Think of a person who latches onto a political movement, social movement or other group of do-gooder charities; that’s her in a nutshell. Her big thing is free medical care/rehab for the SINless, ghouls, and other societal dropouts, at any cost, stating the Hippocratic Oath as her justification for this. While just as annoying about it as a Mormon missionary, in an unbelievably nice kind of way, she does do good work with makeshift/stolen supplies, while managing to find time for her thesis throughout her hectic day. She works out of the Body Mall, helping run a charity clinic affiliated with The Bear Doctor Society, working with Cybered poor squatters and homeless people in the Redmond Barrens. As the Bear Doctor Society isn’t focused on cybered individuals due to the issues cyberware has with magical healing, Annie works with the cybered masses for them.

Contact: Connection 3, Loyalty 4.
Contact Stats:    BOD 3,   AGI 4,   REF 3,   STR 2,   CHA 3,   INT 4,   LOG 5,   WIL 3,   EDG 3,   ESS 6,   INIT 7.
Active Skills: Cybertechnology 5, First Aid 4, Medicine 5, Negotiation 2, Perception 3.
Knowledge Skills: Biology 4, Medical Advances 3, Charity Clinics 2, Psychology 2, Smugglers 2.


Fake SIN’s
Paul Meixner   UCAS Citizen, Paranimal Hunter            Level 4 fake

Fake Licenses
Paul Meixner   Katar                     Level 4 fake
Paul Meixner   Pistols                     Level 4 fake
Paul Meixner   Sports Rifle                  Level 4 fake
Paul Meixner   Concealed Carry               Level 4 fake
Paul Meixner   Shotguns                  Level 4 fake
Paul Meixner   SMG                     Level 4 fake

Commlink
Novatech Airware with MagnaDyne Deva OS



Ammo
90 heavy pistol rounds
60 ex-EX heavy pistol rounds
60 sports rifle rounds
350 assault rifle rounds
500 SMG rounds
100 ex-EX SMG rounds
100 shotgun shells, in 10 regular clips
120 flechette shotgun shells, in 5 drum clips
2 Flash-Paks

Cash left over:  1,000 nuyen

Lifestyle: 1400 for 1 month.
•   Main Home stats
o   Comfort: Squatter. A UCAS army cot for a bed, one stained folding bed couch with innumerable crumbs, a cable roll table with three mismatched folding chairs, milk crate storage, a bare light bulb in each of the three rooms,  and a beat up folding desk for a side table. Oh, and the previous tenant’s newspaper-clipping wall and manifesto from before he chlorine gassed the ventilation system.
o   Entertainment: Low. An obsolete trid, with only a flat view option. There’s plenty of viewchips, but most of them are of some weird pre-awakening show involving a janitor and a pair of robots stuck in a satellite, doomed to watch terrible movies by an uncaring scientist and his moronic assistant. Kind of funny, though. There are also plenty of college textchips (yawn) and pornchips (KACHING), along with a weekly paper newspaper, self-published by the students, called The Neo-A News! (Comes with instructions on how to make a Millwall Brick out of the paper!), and there is a pirate radio station working on the rooftop of a burnt out nightclub about three or four miles away, with a news program broadcasting anti-megacorp news and anarchist propaganda between their usual playlist of metal and punk rock indie bands.
o   Necessities: Low. There’s a faucet that trickles out water, and Pacific University never had any of its culinary students interested in political clubs, so it’s cans of baked beans and Vienna sausages for you! A few of the Neo-A’s agricultural students are talking about making a community garden in an abandoned lot a few blocks down, but that’ll take time to fix up. Fortunately, one of the mages knows a water spirit, so that tends to help with clean water, and there are a few camping stoves and grills that helps the canned food reach the level of marginally edible. If that fails, there’s plenty of bleach to clean out the water, and the chemestry students can help with it. Hey, they’re making moonshine on the roof, they can figure out how to make clean water!
o   Neighborhood: Squatter. Here’s what you need to know about the neighborhood: IT’S REDMOND. This concludes what you need to know about the neighborhood.
o   Security: Low. The security’s very basic; a bunch of punk college kids and social misfits armed and armored with various sports equipment. There are one or two magicians, though, and a couple of gangers do like to come slumming here for the frequent parties, or to sell drugs and BTL’s. For your room on the sixth floor, rely on a rubber doorstopper and a makeshift door bar made from lead pipes and bent rebar.

Qualities: No Masters, Easy-going Landlord, Alternate Energy, Affiliated (Neo-Anarchists), Rough Neighborhood, The Building that Time Forgot, Network Bottleneck, Loud Neighborhood.

Location: Redmond, The Verge, three blocks away from Downfall.

Description: A condemned low-income apartment complex that has been taken over by rowdy Neo-Anarchists. The neighborhood is lousy, the security consists of untrained malcontents and college students with stolen guns and sporting equipment with the odd freeloading ganger and a hippie college professor for a leader/landlord, and you have to help out in some capacity with gathering food, fixing/creating things, or helping with the bike generator. On the other hand, the Anarchists would rather molest a devil rat nest then deal with the corps or the government/s, and there is always a party of some sort going on. Just keep some earplugs on hand and muffle the walls with mattresses, and you’ll be fine.

[codeN1nj4]

Looks like a solid build, I could definitely see him sticking around for a little while. And who doesn't like crazed out hobos that seen some things =P

[Novocrane]

Considering how much essence you have, I'd consider asking whether you may use the optional transgenic genetech rules, under Animal Features (p93), and Genetic Heritage. It means, essentially, that you may convert bioware to transgenic, reduce the nuyen price by 20%, and take one for free. No alpha / beta / delta grades, though.

[Twitchy D]

Considering how much essence you have, I'd consider asking whether you may use the optional transgenic genetech rules, under Animal Features (p93), and Genetic Heritage. It means, essentially, that you may convert bioware to transgenic, reduce the nuyen price by 20%, and take one for free. No alpha / beta / delta grades, though.

Huh, haven't thought of that... I don't think that'll happen, though, as the GM's just got out of a long dry stretch of gamelessness, and he wants to keep it simple.

[emsquared]

I will trust you know what you're doing with your EDG (i.e. that your GM refreshes EDG generously)...

How do you have a lvl 1 skill group in Athletics, but Running and Swimming show two ranks below that...? Your stealth skills seem a little low to me, for what seems to be your 2ndry function. I'd get rid of Longarms (as it brings absolutely nothing to your functionality) and put those points to another rank in Stealth Group.

I don't think your armor is as good as it could be, but perhaps your table doesn't allow FFFBA?

Of course, BP efficiency says to go 6/4 with your high ends skills and to save specializations for post-chargen (if you have skills you can bump up to 4), and I'd try and free up even more points for your skills in general, esp. Stealth Group, if I were you, but ultimately it depends on the power-level of your table.

Is he survivable? Sure. Is he highly functional? Well, taking your stealth as the primary example, an "average" trained look-out is just as likely to spot you as you are to sneak by him, and I'd think most Critters are gonna spot you easy.

[Twitchy D]

How do you have a lvl 1 skill group in Athletics, but Running and Swimming show two ranks below that...?

Poster error. I'll fix it in a moment.

Your stealth skills seem a little low to me, for what seems to be your 2ndry function. I'd get rid of Longarms (as it brings absolutely nothing to your functionality) and put those points to another rank in Stealth Group.

Sorry, but I'm a-keepin' the longarms. I was trying for a character who is able to function at any range, and the chance to have a go with both the AA16 and the Barret 121 during later missions is something I don't want to pass up. The Stealth group is kind of terciary for me right now, and I accept the fact that Paul isn't going to be the best at being stealthy. Besides which, there's been an awful lot of stress in my life, and a character who focuses on combat would help with stress relief.

(in my head)
Paul: THIS IS FOR CUTTING ME OFF IN TRAFFIC!
AS-7: BANGBANGBANG
Paul: GODDAMNIT, WOULD YOU PLEASE KEEP IT QUIET?! I'VE GOT WORK IN THE MORNING!
AS-7: BANGBANGBANG
Paul: MOM, I KNOW I FORGOT YOUR BIRTHDAY, BUT IT DOESN'T MAKE ME ANY LESS OF A SON!
AS-7: BANGBANGBANG
(out of my head. I'm sitting quietly, giggling softly to myself)
GM: Could someone poke him and have him say what he wants to do? That smile is freaking me out.

I don't think your armor is as good as it could be, but perhaps your table doesn't allow FFFBA?

I don't know what the GM's opinion on FFBA is, so I'm just playing it safe for now.

Is he survivable? Sure. Is he highly functional? Well, taking your stealth as the primary example, an "average" trained look-out is just as likely to spot you as you are to sneak by him, and I'd think most Critters are gonna spot you easy.

HEY, I'm down with plain old functional. I'm mostly functional myself.

Seriously though, I guess that would be a bit of a problem. Truth be told, I only put the Stealth group in after I realized that I had two other Stealth skills and a specialization in one of them. I could do the same with the outdoors stuff. Do you think that's a good idea?

[Prodigy]

Yes a little Stealth boost would go a long way for someone who is a hunter. Does your GM make you take a fake license for each gun? That is a bit much. Most countries today just have "blanket" laws covering firearms. Even the ones that don't allow guns have hunters licenses that cover shotguns AND rifles.

[emsquared]

Battle Rifles have sport rifle ranges and various Weapon Mods and Ammo can push that range out further, Longarms doesn't doesn't do enough for you (of course, IMHO), when you take into account it's niche application.

As for the Outdoors Group, depends on the Campaign, I wouldn't do it unless I knew we were going to be in the Wild 50%+ of the time.

[Twitchy D]

Battle Rifles have sport rifle ranges and various Weapon Mods and Ammo can push that range out further, Longarms doesn't doesn't do enough for you (of course, IMHO), when you take into account it's niche application.

As I had mentioned, the GM's kind of sticking with the basics as he comes back to the game table, so I doubt there'd be battle rifles allowed for the first few missions. Maybe later, though.

Yes a little Stealth boost would go a long way for someone who is a hunter. Does your GM make you take a fake license for each gun? That is a bit much. Most countries today just have "blanket" laws covering firearms. Even the ones that don't allow guns have hunters licenses that cover shotguns AND rifles.

I'm covering my bases, just in case he does. The licences might be a bit much, but I wouldn't know how he does things just yet. I'm hoping I'll find out in the next few days.

[Prodigy]

Also, if you are going to be a hunter and use longarms, just take away automatics and put those points into longarms. I like the shotgun/sniper combo.

[All4BigGuns]

Also, if you are going to be a hunter and use longarms, just take away automatics and put those points into longarms. I like the shotgun/sniper combo.

This would be a good idea. What you have in Automatics (if you're using BP rather than Karma), would allow you to have the same skill level with Pistols and Longarms both--just enough to manage that.

[Twitchy D]

Also, if you are going to be a hunter and use longarms, just take away automatics and put those points into longarms. I like the shotgun/sniper combo.

This would be a good idea. What you have in Automatics (if you're using BP rather than Karma), would allow you to have the same skill level with Pistols and Longarms both--just enough to manage that.

Aww! But I want to use both of them!

[Whiskeyjack]

I've been reading through the thread but most of my mechanical advice is going to be based on the sheet in your OP:

-Your combat pools are OK. They will be a little better with a smartgun. You are not getting enough functionality over just getting the Firearms Group to justify the staggered lows and highs in each weapon class though.
-Your noncombat pools are all rather bad. You have pools of 4 and 6. A Negotiation pool of 4 is going to add a hit, maybe, to your Face's roll and at worst you'll glitch and possibly mess things up. I don't really see the point. Your Athletics pools are not going to help you run fast, climb fast, or make use of Gymnastics dodge. Your Stealth pools are not going to be very effective in hiding or tailing someone. 6 dice is statistically not really enough to count on.  Much of this can be improved at least a little with a Reflex Recorder for the Stealth Group and
-You will likely not see a dedicated ambush with 6 Perception dice. This is easily improved with an Attention Coprocessor.
-Palming with a pool of 6 isn't going to hide anything better than a hold-out to anyone who's made a slight investment in checking you for weapons, for example.
-Gymnastics 6 isn't going to help you dodge much at all. That's going to average to roughly 2 hits at best.
-Sniper rifles are indeed pretty cool, but consider the following: (1) how do you expect to get into position without being noticed with a pool of 6? (2) How likely is it for that niche to be useful more occasionally than "infrequently?" I realize that it can be really useful if you arrange the right set of conditions on a wetwork job, but most Shadowrun fights don't end up with you having either preparation or LOS to be sniping, and with your Climbing skill, you're not going to be scaling anything fast enough to quickly get into position in combat time to make use of that.
-Edge 5 is good if and only if your GM refreshes Edge every game session or has a way of refreshing during a session somehow. If it only refreshes every run (which could be multiple game sessions) you are well overinvested and probably won't get as good of a return.
-There's a reason most people startwith Wired Reflexes 1 and try to get Synaptic Booster 2+ in play, and that's because the Booster really expensive. I see you want to be a more bioware-focused Sam, and that's fine, just realize that putting 160k into one piece of gear is eating up a lot of options.
-Frankly I understand you want to be good at shooting, this is evident since you are rather skilled at one melee method and one ranged method, and have some training in two other ranged methods. The question to ask yourself is whether you think you will actually need that much functionality, and to realize that you are are giving up greater competence in areas like Athletics and Stealth in order to be able to shoot more things somewhat more competently.

Some of the bioware I would suggest looking into for your Bioware sam:
-Synthcardium 3
-Reflex Recorder for Stealth and maybe Firearms
-Suprathyroid (requires Restricted Gear at chargen but isn't a bad option for it)
-Platelet Factory + Trauma Damper, since as a sam you are going to be expected to tank

[All4BigGuns]

Also, if you are going to be a hunter and use longarms, just take away automatics and put those points into longarms. I like the shotgun/sniper combo.

This would be a good idea. What you have in Automatics (if you're using BP rather than Karma), would allow you to have the same skill level with Pistols and Longarms both--just enough to manage that.

Aww! But I want to use both of them!

I'm saying use what you have in Automatics to be equally good at both of them.

[Twitchy D]

Also, if you are going to be a hunter and use longarms, just take away automatics and put those points into longarms. I like the shotgun/sniper combo.

This would be a good idea. What you have in Automatics (if you're using BP rather than Karma), would allow you to have the same skill level with Pistols and Longarms both--just enough to manage that.

Aww! But I want to use both of them!

I'm saying use what you have in Automatics to be equally good at both of them.

Sorry, that came out differently then what I ment. I'll rephrase that. Lemme try again... Ahem...

Aww! But I wanted to use both longarms and automatics!