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Face/Black Mage (Life Module)

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Karrde

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« on: <07-20-17/2142:41> »
DRAFT WORK IN PROGRESS



Name: Kouran Valto
Alias: Karrde
Public Awareness: 0
Street Cred: 0
Notoriety: 0
Initiative: 4+1d6
Physical Limit: 2
Mental Limit: 3
Social Limit: 7
Physical Boxes: 9
Stun Boxes: 10
Overflow: 2



Race: Elf
Nationality: Tir Tairngire
Formative Years: Rich Kid
Teen Years: Magical Education
Real Life: Corporate
Real Life: Celebrity
Real Life: Shadow Work (Face)



BODY
2/6
AGILITY
2/7
REACTION
1/6
STRENGTH
1/6
WILLPOWER
4/6
LOGIC
2/6
INTUITION   
3/6
CHARISMA
8/8
EDGE
1/6
ESSENCE
6
MAGIC
4
 


TRAITS[/u]
Low-light Vision
Aspected Magician (Sorcerer)

POSITIVE[/u]
Trust Fund (10)
Friends in High Places
First Impression
Animal Familiar
Dark Ally

NEGATIVE
Prejudiced: Poor (7)
Corporate Limited SIN (Horizon)


Only skills with ranks are shown here, with attribute bonuses added in

ACTIVE[/u]


Arcana (7)
Artisan (1)
Assessing (7)
Astral Combat (4)
Blades (1)
Computer (4)
Con (2)
Counterspelling (4)
Escape Artist (1)
Etiquette (5)
First Aid (1)
Intimidation (1)
Leadership (5)
Negotiation (5)
Perception (1)
Pilot Ground Craft (1)
Pistols (1)
Ritual Spellcasting (4)
Spellcasting (7)
Survival (1)

Unusable:
Skill Group: Conjuring  (2)
Skill Group: Enchanting (1)

KNOWLEDGE[/u]


Academic: Magical Theory (5)
Academic: Chemistry (3)
Academic: Parabotany (4)
Academic: Parazoology (4)
Interest: 21st Century Science Fiction (3)
General: History (1)
Professional: Horizon (3)
Professional: Magical Law (1)
Professional: Magical Security (3)
Professional: Small Group Tactics (2)
Street: Magical Theory (1)
Street: Tir Tairngire  (1)


LANGUAGE[/u]

Sperethiel (N)
English (7)
 



Transys Avalon
Receiver
5x Meta Link
5x Gold Credstick
5x Silver Credstick
5x Standard Credstick
White Noise Generator (Rating 6)
[R] Area Jammer (Rating 6)
DocWagon Contract  (Standard)
Fake SIN [Fenig Nabon] (Rating 4)
Fake SIN [Pandis Hart] (Rating 4)
Licenses for Corp SIN
Licenses for Fenig
Licenses for Pandis
 
Hyundai Shin-Hyung
[R] Rating 3 Anti-Theft System
Gridlink
Gridlink Override
[F] Chameleon Coating
[R] Nanomaintenance Hive (Rating 2)
 
Combat Knife
[R] Horizon-Flynn Rapier
[R] Streetline Special
[R] Ares Predator V
[R] Hidden Arm Slide
 
Berwich Suit
Concealed Pockets
[R] Faraday Pocket
[F] Biofiber Pocket
Biomonitor
 
Argentum Coat [Combat]
Gear Access
Nonconductivity (Rating 5)
Fire Resistance (Rating 5)
 
Argentum Coat [Discretion]
[R] Thermal Damping (Rating 5)
Nonconductivity (Rating 5)
Fire Resistance (Rating 4)
 
Forearm Guards
Nonconductivity  (Rating 3)
 
Ballistic Mask
Customized
Respirator
Microtransceiver
Smartlink
Flare Compensation
Trodes
Vision Magnification (Rating 1)
 
Bonded Manipulation Spell Focus (Force 4) [Ring of Orchalicum Threads]
 
Permanent Low (Obscure/Corporate Owned) Lifestyle with 333 Nuyen income per month
Comforts and Necessities (3)
Security (3)
Neighborhood  (3)
 
CONTACTS[/b]
 
Fixer
Connection 8
Loyalty 3
 
Talismonger         
Connection 3
Loyalty 4
 
Street Doc
Connection 4
Loyalty 3
 
Lawyer
Connection 8
Loyalty 5
 
Arms Dealer
Connection 4
Loyalty 3
 
Con Fanatic
Connection 1
Loyalty 2

Nuyen: 1995

Remaining Karma: 17
 

 
Armor
Control Thoughts
Control Actions
Heal
Fashion
Magic Fingers
Manabolt
Mindprobe
Opium Den
Stunball




Born in Tir Tairngire into an affluent family, Kouran had a life and education literally handed to him on a silver platter.  As in, as soon as he could read proficiently, a small tray was delivered to his room with three phrases written on elegant placards. One stated where he would pursue higher education, the second confirmed his career, and the third had only a name, clearly female.  He saw his parents little, as they were far too interested in playing the Game of Houses to take care of a child. Most of his time was occupied with tutors, who instructed him in matters from history to political etiquette. Kouran’s worldview was largely shaped by his time within the Elven Nation. Anyone who wasn't a noble was below his notice, and controlling these puppet people was his natural born right. Perhaps this ideology shaped his Awakening, as the first Magical instructor he was assigned found he had a natural knack for Manipulation magic.
…..
Kouran now lives well below his upbringing, far more interested in manipulating information and people.



The tabs are my own design and are free to use.  The link to the album on imgur is http://imgur.com/a/5IXFu

PLEASE keep in mind a lot of what I do is not designed for pure optimization.  I think a well-played “special snowflake” character is far more engaging and contributes more to a game than a character made only for top stats/skills.  My characters are built around a concept, and I try to keep them to that concept, even if it means taking a sub-par Life Module.
I think a well-played “special snowflake” character is far more engaging and contributes more to a game than a character made only for top stats/skills.

Marcus

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« Reply #1 on: <07-21-17/0032:05> »
Nothing wrong with snow flakes, but this guy is dead man walking imo. Magic 4? two ones in physicals, an edge of 1, and a base init of 4. Why you spent points on weapons is really beyond me, your about as likely to glitch as get a single success. Maybe an alternative build method?
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Tym Jalynsfein

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« Reply #2 on: <07-21-17/1043:47> »
Absolutley nothing wrong with a starting Magic of 4...
Most of my most successful Magicians had a starting Magic of 3 or 4...  8)
Afterall, The vast majority of Awakened do not start with a Magic of 6. :)

Multiple 1's in Physicals/Edge, on the other hand is really not good, in my opinion.
« Last Edit: <07-24-17/1152:02> by Tym Jalynsfein »
The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary. - James. D. Nicoll

FST_Gemstar

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« Reply #3 on: <07-21-17/1207:01> »
Looks like a cool character idea, but the mechanics do seem tough. 

For not going for optimization, you seem to be trying to optimize for a few things at the expense of others (have lots of starting skills at 7 and a maxed Charisma, lots of spells, lots of contacts).

You also have a physical limit of 2 lowest possible for a character, rendering the character incapable of doing physical tasks beyond easyish difficulty, no matter how many dice they throw at it). I am very ok with attributes at 1, even several of them, and technically you don't have skills needed to support a higher limit, it just may become a liability real fast. You can't use a physical weapon or sneak or notice threats well (or go invisible--you can mindprobe a guard all you want, but a camera or drone is going to give you a lot of problems). Your initiative won't get you more than 1 pass per combat turn, and your natural defense is 4 dice. Basically anything that wants to hit you can hit you, and probably hit you with plenty of net hits. You are very likely to get downed in one or two hits before you have a chance to even do anything if it comes to a fight. You can't even reliably go full defense (16.7% chance of getting a 10 initiative score, and if you use it, you only gain 4 defense dice and then lose all actions for the rest of the combat turn).  You can't  really rely on Edge (you only have 1). This character is an easily geekable mage that isn't that great at facing/magicking their way out of a fight.   

Magicwise, you are rolling 15+ (more with mentor? I don't know FA mentor spirits yet) manipulation, but you are only "safely" only casting F4 spells. Characters have a good chance of getting 4 dice to resist and even if they are manipulated by a spell, can prob shake it off pretty quickly. . You can cast them with higher force, but a bad drain resistance roll is going to hurt a lot and you don't have edge to reliably deal with it coming your way. Your stunballs/manabalts  may end up hurting you more than they hurt folks you are casting them at. 

  I'd prob start with fewer spells, up some attributes (including edge), and get more spells later.

I don't make a lot of life module characters, but I'm not sure your Positive Quality karma limit is legal...

You could prob get a similar themed "'low muscle-mass' richboy sorcerer face" character going priority AEDBC or BEDAC (if you want tons of skill areas)... You will prob start with few spells, but I think overall survivability will be higher and marketability will be higher. Aspected magicians are mechanically practical magicians, not magical experts. You use your magic to be better at your specialty (facing), but you are not a specialist in magical threats/abilities.   

« Last Edit: <07-21-17/1243:34> by FST_Gemstar »

fseperent

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« Reply #4 on: <07-21-17/1311:53> »
The Positive Quality is over the 25 karma limit.
In case you are confused, first add all the positive qualities you got from life modules, then you can add more up to the 25 limit.
You can break the limit by choosing life modules that have more than 25 karma worth of positive qualities, but you cannot add more after.
You also forgot to add Fame (8) from Celebrity.

Aesthetically, I cannot see why this character would work for anybody.
Are you set on this prince turned runner doing work for a corporation?

Marcus

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« Reply #5 on: <07-21-17/2002:29> »
Absolutley nothing wrong with a starting Magic of 4...
I fear we will have to agree to disagree on this one.

I'm not saying every character needs magic 6, i have had plenty of magic based character without it, but if your primary roll is caster ie from having two magic skills at 7, then imo you should have magic of 6.
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Glyph

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« Reply #6 on: <07-21-17/2229:07> »
Life Modules is fun to use, but it is the most clunky character creation method.  It is the last way that I would pick if I was building a character to concept.  Point Buy is the best method if you really want to fine-tune a character.

Karrde

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« Reply #7 on: <07-22-17/1442:07> »
I haven't been able to get into a game of Shadowrun since I learned about the system,  so everything is based on my theoretical knowledge of the game.  That being said,  what do most GMs prefer as a building system? Im trying a shapeshifter in the priority system.
I think a well-played “special snowflake” character is far more engaging and contributes more to a game than a character made only for top stats/skills.

JmOz01

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« Reply #8 on: <07-22-17/1754:26> »
Personally I like Karma build, but I think the norm is either build 10 or standard.

Marcus

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« Reply #9 on: <07-22-17/2149:58> »
I haven't been able to get into a game of Shadowrun since I learned about the system,  so everything is based on my theoretical knowledge of the game.  That being said,  what do most GMs prefer as a building system? Im trying a shapeshifter in the priority system.

My suggestion is start with priority. It's how the core is released it's intended as an easier way to begin to build.
Keep it real simple. Go through the character in your head look at the priority table and let the concept guide to make choices. The first time you build something in a new system shouldn't be about optimizing or not. It should simply be about learning how characters are created and how the system is represented in the process.

Once you are comfortable, build a couple different things.

There have been many discussions about what best generation method is. But there isn't a right answer. Once you have play time under your belt and have seen a fair number of characters, and builds, deiced for yourself what you think the best build method is.
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Glyph

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« Reply #10 on: <07-23-17/0549:52> »
Priority breaks some choices down into big chunks, which can be a boon to newer players who feel overwhelmed by all of the decisions they need to make during character creation.  But like the name "priority" implies, you need to pick out priorities from the most essential, to the least essential, for your character.

One trick that can help is to jot down all of the bare-bone minimums for your concept - what Attributes your character needs, what core and peripheral skills are absolutely necessary, and what amount of money you need for augmentations, foci, and basic gear (fake ID, armor, etc.).  Then see what priorities fit your minimal needs, hopefully with some extra resources to give your character a bit more than the bare essentials in some areas.  Don't forget that you get 25 Karma, too, which can be good for shoring up a weak area.

If you seem to have too many A's and B's, you might want to scale back your concept.  One thing I see a lot of new players do is try to do too many things at once.  Character creation is intended to force tough choices.  If you try to be a drone rigger/mage/hacker, you will likely be mediocre to the point of near-uselessness at all of those roles.

fseperent

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« Reply #11 on: <07-23-17/1332:57> »
I have to parrot Priority to get used to how Shadowrun operates.
Glyph and Marcus have it right on the money.

With Life Modules, you get a lot of Active and Knowledge skills, but everything else takes the hit.

For your character idea, try this:
Metatype: D
Attributes: C
Magic: A
Skills: B
Resources: E
That should give you most of what you want.

Karrde

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« Reply #12 on: <07-23-17/1526:11> »
Okay, I've made a new character using Priority (different theme though).

 Link http://forums.shadowruntabletop.com/index.php?topic=26476.msg490468#new
I think a well-played “special snowflake” character is far more engaging and contributes more to a game than a character made only for top stats/skills.