[haiiro_okami]

Well technically not combat mage, more shaman so I can cross the drain attribute with the other primary function of acting as a face. I'm not so sure on how to build a shapeshifter character, or a combat mage per se, (at least in terms of attributes), have a fairly solid idea of what I want her to be using as weaponry, blades and pistols as well as spells (most likely fire and manabolt spells or some such thing) and even thinking of making this character a mystic adept with both social adept skills, and combat spells.

[Charasanya]

Thing is: Mages are pretty darn expensive to build all by themselves. Magic rating, spells and foci, contrary to popular opinion, do not pay for themselves. Being able to also handle not one, but two weapons so well that you are actually gonna hit something from time to time is also quite expensive, and will severely deduct from your effectiveness as a mage, as does being a viable face-type character, and especially being a shifter.

Yes, you could be able to cram it all into one character, but you will definately not be able to do any of these things very well. Also you will have a more difficult time advancing, as you probably want to spread your karma/money around in order to become better at everything, while other party members can focus.

If you are still ok with that, or have a higher amount of build points, or tend not to play in high powered campaigns, you might be able to squeeze through, but you will not be able to create a more or less "effective" character that does all of those things.

You should perhaps ask yourself:

- Can I limit myself, for instance to only fight with pistols?
- Could I ditch even that if I have some nice combat spells?
- Do I HAVE to be a shapeshifter, or will the spell "critter form" do?
- What do I call "effective" as a face?
- Would I be ok with the pool be around 8 dice, or will I need like 15?
- Will I need Counterspelling, or is there another mage that will do that?

Things like that matter a lot, if you are building a multi-purpose character.

[Reiper]

You could pull off the face/combat mage shifter, (with shamatic tradiion since high cha helps) but you probably won't be able to get more than 9 dice with a specific type of weapon, and definitely not able to do multiple weapon types that aren't even related.

Your already starting in the hole 50 points just for being a Shifter

Bod 3
Agi 3
Rea 3
Str 3
Cha 6
Int 3
Log 3
Wil 65is 195 BPs right there, so you're really limiting yourself with either firearms or physical combat. This is before you even spend any on Magic.

And then at 6 Magic, you leave yourself with 75 BP from a 400BP build. Of course if you want to go pistols, you could drop your str to 1 and bring up agi to 5 to get a few more dice with pistols.

75 BP (not including your neg quals) may not go too far between skills, money, and spells. Although you can still probably pull off a few decent spells, some face skills, and a decent pistol or automatic skill.

But Face/Mage/Shifter/Guns/Melee build probably isn't going to be too feasible. But if you do come up with one I would love to see it.

[emsquared]

A shaman/face is pretty easy, you'll have to make some compromises on your Magic skills, but your Spells can compliment this role and it will work out great. Mix in Pistols and Blades, depending on how competent with them you expect to be, and you'll have to compromise a little more; spells and/or skills or your Foci, etc. (don't get me wrong though, you should have 1 firearm skill for when you can't risk anymore drain or need to look mundane). Throw in Shapeshifter with all this and you're going to dilute yourself to the point of not really being a complete Magician (and possibly not very effective) - at least, not out of the gate (which may be alright depending on what you want out of the character).

I would advise you to not do as Reiper speculates, which is hard-maxing multiple stats (ignoring that the rules prevent you from doing more than 1 anyway). Don't do it. Even 1 attribute is not worth it, especially if you're trying to mix in all these other things. Soft max your Drain stats and MAG, but don't hard max any of them, even if you drop everything but the Shaman part. You'll be happier in the short/long run, I think.

If you're contemplating Mystic Adept, do yourself a favor and just be an augmented Mage, you'll get more out of the 'ware than you will Powers - including fantastic Face abilities.

[I_V_Saur]

He's definitely reaching too far with all the weapons - blades, I can see. Lots of faces have close-quarters weaponry, simply because that's the range they're most capable of reaching into with their skillset. They can usually talk their way right into a boardroom, then stab the mark and leave.

Shapeshifters are really quite fun to play, and the natural Attribute bumps do pay for themselves, usually - Bear Shapeshifters, without augmentation, can go to 13 Strength and Body. Had a player who would pop heads in his bear hands.

When it comes to Shifters, especially as Mages, your choice is important. Foxes get a slight bump to Agi, Rea, and Int, which make them great for shooting things, and their enhanced senses make them excellent trackers - they also mean that Line of Sight is that much easier to get with Low Light.

Eagles have a slight Cha boost, and Wil goes up to 3 as a baseline. Also, can fly. Since you don't even need hands to cast spells...

I've never really been a fan of augmenting anyone that already has Mojo. It just doesn't seem right. Regardless, Mystic Adepts are really Jack-of-Trades sorts, which does put them at considerable risk of being squished. Adepts are scarily good at one, perhaps two things. This character concept seems best suited with a Magician - Spells can increase Charisma.

Really, to be more specific, we need to know more about the character you're trying to craft. Why a Shifter, why a Mage, why the Blades and Pistols? Are they a ganger, formerly Corporate, or escaped from captivity?