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[SR4] New Player Character Advice

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bryguy

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« on: <08-02-13/1703:10> »
Hello,

New to SR not new to Paper n Pencil rpgs. Played Vampire, Werewolf and am Currently running and playing in 2 seperate Pathfinder campaigns. What started as a desire to play shadowrun has turned into "When someone cant make it lets fire up shadowrun" and we have a few people on vacations. So the party is a Stealth/SMG Gun Adept, Troll Melee type guy, a Driver/Sniper, and a Dumb Pretty guy. Dunno what his schtick is yet. I decided Ide make a dedicated face with some combat utility.  And without further ado:

== Attributes ==
BOD: 4
AGI: 4 (6)
REA: 4 (6)
STR: 2
CHA: 5
INT: 3
LOG: 3
WIL: 3
EDG: 2
MAG: 3

== Derived Attributes ==
Essence:                   3.55
Initiative:                7 (9)
IP:                        1 (3)
Astral Initiative:         6
Astral IP:                 3
Matrix Initiative:         6
Matrix IP:                 1
Physical Damage Track:     10
Stun Damage Track:         10

== Active Skills ==

Con                        : 4                      Pool: 15
Dodge                      : 4                      Pool: 10
Etiquette                  : 4                      Pool: 15
Leadership                 : 4                      Pool: 15
Negotiation                : 4                      Pool: 15
Pistols                    : 5 [Semi-Automatics]    Pool: 11 (13)


== Knowledge Skills ==
Bars and Clubs             : 2                      Pool: 5
Combat Tactics             : 3                      Pool: 6
Economics                  : 1                      Pool: 4
English                    : 3                      Pool: 6
Firearms                   : 3                      Pool: 6
Gangs                      : 2                      Pool: 5
Russian                    : 1                      Pool: 4
Vory                       : 3                      Pool: 6

== Qualities ==
Adept
Allergy (Uncommon, Moderate) (SOy)
First Impression
In Debt (25,000¥)
Restricted Gear (Rating 1)
The Speaker's Way

== Powers ==
Combat Sense Rating: 2
Commanding Voice
Kinesics Rating: 3
Voice Control

== Lifestyles ==
Low  1 months

== Cyberware/Bioware ==
Cybereyes Basic System Rating 3
   +Eye Recording Unit
   +Image Link
Muscle Toner Rating 2
Platelet Factories
Smartlink
Synaptic Booster Rating 2
Tailored Pheromones Rating 3

== Armor ==
Bodyline casualwear(Spinrad Industries)0/0
Mortimer of London: Greatcoat Line8/5
   +Chemical Protection 2
   +Color Changing
   +Fire Resistance 2
   +Insulation 2
   +Kevlar-Threading

== Weapons ==
Ares Predator IV
   +Quick-Draw Holster
   +Spare Clips
   +Personalized Grip
   +Smartgun System
   Pool: 13 (15)   DV: 5P   AP: -1   RC: 1
Shock Glove
   Pool: 5   DV: 5S(e)   AP: -half   RC: 0
Unarmed Attack
   Pool: 5   DV: 1S   AP: -   RC: 0
Yamaha Sakura Fubuki
   +Hidden Gun Arm Slide
   +Spare Clips
   +Personalized Grip
   +Smartgun System
   Pool: 13 (15)   DV: 4P   AP: -   RC: 1

== Commlink ==
Renraku Sensei (3, 0, 0, 4)
   +AR Gloves

== Gear ==
Ammo: Regular Ammo (Heavy Pistols) x150
Ammo: Regular Ammo (Light Pistols) x80
Ammo: Subsonic Rounds (Light Pistols) x80
Catalyst Stick
Encrypt Rating 4
   +Copy Protection Rating 4
   +Registration
Fake License (Ares Predator IV) Rating 3
Fake License (Muscle Toner) Rating 3
Fake License (Synaptic Booster) Rating 3
Fake License (Yamaha Sakura Fubuki) Rating 3
Fake License (Smartlink) Rating 3
Fake License (Ammo: Regular Ammo) Rating 3
Fake License (Smartgun System) Rating 3
Fake SIN (Keyser Soze) Rating 2
Fake SIN (Sinder Gundick) Rating 2
Medkit Rating 6
Stealth Rope (100 m)
Suite: Basic+
   +Analyze Rating 3 [Copy Protection 3; Registration]
   +Browse Rating 3 [Copy Protection 3; Registration]
   +Command Rating 1 [Copy Protection 1; Registration]
   +Edit Rating 3 [Copy Protection 3; Registration]
Survival Kit
Tag Eraser



Any Helpful hints? Using chummer he has50 Nuyen and 0 BP.
« Last Edit: <08-02-13/1710:49> by bryguy »

emsquared

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« Reply #1 on: <08-02-13/1911:24> »
The archetype you've chosen to play is custom made for being an Elf (CHA and AGI). If you're not attached to human for RP reasons, definitely switch.

I'd recommend some Attribute rearranging too; your BOD is at a non-optimal level, I would recommend dropping 1 from it and putting that into AGI, then drop your STR to 1 - because you're doing nothing with it - and bump your REA to 5, for initiative and passive dodge, and drop your LOG 1 - again, because you're doing nothing with it -  and bump your INT up 1 for Initiative and Perception.

Regarding skills, you have a really anemic skill-set. You don't even have the most commonly rolled skill in the game (Perception). I would recommend adding in Stealth aspects at the least, as well, because of the Synergy with your Attributes and role(s), and probably picking up Unarmed Combat wouldn't hurt either, which means you can drop Dodge and take Gymnastics for the greater utility. Finally, you should put 1 skill at 6 for Karma-efficiencies sake.

A couple things about your Qualities; In Debt is the best Neg Qual if your GM doesn't make you pay it off with Karma, and it's the worst if he does. So figure that out before committing to it. Also, you have a Low Lifestyle and an Allergy to Soy. 99% of your nutrient intake is going to be in some sort of Soy emulsion. You probably need to either raise your lifestyle (at least the Necessities part), or figure out a different Allergy. Frankly if I was your GM, I'd require the higher lifestyle because at Low you wouldn't be able to eat.

I love Augmenting my Adept as much as any guy who likes to Augment his Adepts, but you've went overboard, IMHO. What do you see your primary role being; Face or Shooter? Truth is you can do both at Specialist levels, but it will require you to prioritize - which means eliminate all 'ware that isn't essential to those 2 roles. So drop those Cybereyes like a bad habit - contacts and glasses can do the exact same things and not burn your very precious ESS/MAG. Drop the Platelet Factories and Smartlink too, the 'link can go in your Eyewear and you shouldn't be drawing fire like a Sammy, so the Factories are non-essential. Synaptic Boosters is an awfully expensive investment for a non-primary combatant, I'd probably drop that to Rating 1, or even better take Way of the Warrior and use your Powers for Initiative and 'ware for AGI boosting, the Pheromones and awesome things like Reakt, Genetic Optimization, Reflex Recorders, etc.

Regarding your Gear, look into Form Fitting Full Body Armor and Securech PPP to bulk up your defenses and the aforementioned Contacts and Glasses visual enhancers, as well as Earbud audio enhancers.

Last but definitely not least, you're a Face and you have ZERO Contacts. That's just silly. You're the guy who's going to get the most mileage out of Contacts, you really should get some.

My 0.02 cred.

bryguy

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« Reply #2 on: <08-02-13/1940:56> »
I do have 4 contacts. I dunno why they didnt copy over. When I get a minute ill re configure and post a new one. Thanks!

bryguy

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« Reply #3 on: <08-05-13/0913:16> »
Ok its revised significantly. Still stayed human just because we have 3 elves already. and and Elf Poser.

== Attributes ==
BOD: 3
AGI: 4 (6)
REA: 5 (7)
STR: 1
CHA: 5
INT: 3
LOG: 1
WIL: 3
EDG: 3
MAG: 5

== Derived Attributes ==
Essence:                   5.0
Initiative:                8 (10)
IP:                        1 (3)
Astral Initiative:         6
Astral IP:                 3
Matrix Initiative:         3
Matrix IP:                 1
Physical Damage Track:     10
Stun Damage Track:         10

== Active Skills ==
Animal Handling            : 0                      Pool: 2
Animal Training            : 0                      Pool: 2
Archery                    : 0                      Pool: 5
Artisan                    : 0                      Pool: 2
Automatics                 : 0                      Pool: 5
Blades                     : 0                      Pool: 5
Clubs                      : 0                      Pool: 5
Con                        : 4                      Pool: 14
Disguise                   : 4 [Cosmetic]           Pool: 11 (13)
Diving                     : 0                      Pool: 2
Dodge                      : 1 [Ranged Combat]      Pool: 8 (10)
Escape Artist              : 0                      Pool: 5
Etiquette                  : 4                      Pool: 14
Forgery                    : 0                      Pool: 5
Gunnery                    : 0                      Pool: 5
Gymnastics                 : 0                      Pool: 5
Heavy Weapons              : 0                      Pool: 5
Infiltration               : 2 [Urban]              Pool: 8 (10)
Instruction                : 0                      Pool: 4
Intimidation               : 0                      Pool: 4
Leadership                 : 4                      Pool: 14
Locksmith                  : 0                      Pool: 5
Longarms                   : 0                      Pool: 5
Navigation                 : 0                      Pool: 2
Negotiation                : 4                      Pool: 14
Palming                    : 2                      Pool: 9
Parachuting                : 0                      Pool: 2
Perception                 : 4                      Pool: 7
Pilot Watercraft           : 0                      Pool: 6
Pistols                    : 6 [Semi-Automatics]    Pool: 12 (14)
Riding                     : 0                      Pool: 6
Shadowing                  : 0                      Pool: 2
Survival                   : 0                      Pool: 2
Throwing Weapons           : 0                      Pool: 5
Tracking                   : 0                      Pool: 2
Unarmed Combat             : 0                      Pool: 5

== Knowledge Skills ==

== Contacts ==
ID Manufacturer (4, 4)
Paramed (3, 4)
Slumlord (3, 3)

== Qualities ==
Adept
Allergy (Uncommon, Mild) (Avocado)
First Impression
In Debt (25,000¥)
Incompetent (Pilot Ground Craft)
Restricted Gear (Rating 1)
The Speaker's Way

== Powers ==
Commanding Voice
Facial Sculpt Rating: 4
Improved Reflexes 2
Kinesics Rating: 2
Nimble Fingers
Voice Control

== Lifestyles ==
Middle  1 months

== Cyberware/Bioware ==
Muscle Toner Rating 2
Tailored Pheromones Rating 3

== Armor ==
Armanté designer fashion  0/0
Armor Clothing            4/0
   +Ruthenium Polymer Coating
Bodyline casualwear(Spinrad Industries)0/0
Form-Fitting Full-Body Suit6/2
Leather Jacket            2/2
Lyric of Portland (Telestrian)0/0
Victory (Ares)            0/0

== Weapons ==
Ares Predator IV
   +Quick-Draw Holster
   +Personalized Grip
   +Smartgun System
   Pool: 14   DV: 5P   AP: -1   RC: 1
Unarmed Attack
   Pool: 5   DV: 1S   AP: -   RC: 0
Yamaha Sakura Fubuki
   +Hidden Gun Arm Slide
   +Spare Clips
   +Personalized Grip
   +Smartgun System
   Pool: 14   DV: 4P   AP: -   RC: 1

== Commlink ==
Hermes Ikon (4, 0, 3, 3)

== Gear ==
Ammo: Regular Ammo (Heavy Pistols) x90
Ammo: Regular Ammo (Light Pistols) x80
Ammo: Subsonic Rounds (Light Pistols) x80
Contact Lenses Rating 3
   +Vision Enhancement Rating 3
Fake License (Smartlink) Rating 3
Fake License (Yamaha Sakura Fubuki) Rating 3
Fake License (Ares Predator IV) Rating 3
Fake License (Smartgun System) Rating 3
Fake License (Muscle Toner) Rating 3
Fake SIN (Cinder Gundicks) Rating 3
Fake SIN (Keyser Soze) Rating 3
Glasses Rating 4
   +Smartlink
   +Image Link
   +Tag Eraser
Medkit Rating 6
Nanopaste Disguise (Small Container)

a few mistakes i noticed after the first game is that I dont have the requisite skill to use said medkit. Oops. In debt is NOT to be paid off with karma. My contacts still feel a bit threadbare to me but i got rather rushed towards the end. First session i did facey stuff and used commanding voice. Im also the only one in the group with 3 initiative passes. I took the facial sculpt abilities as sort fo a second chance at social skills. Same with my Technicolor Armor clothing. Character gen is insane in this game. Incompetent Ground vehicles is probably real bad but its a joke and we have 4 people in the group including one guy ALWAYS there who is the designated pilot/driver/wheelman. Im not to worried but i do realize its a bad one.

emsquared

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« Reply #4 on: <08-05-13/1205:11> »
Some NPCs will be racist against elves so it's not a horrible thing to not go elf for a Face. Not a big deal.

And I don't know if you still want advice since you've already started playing, but some things to be aware of: hard-maxing any stat (putting it at 6 or other natural racial max) at chargen is a horrible idea for anyone but a Technomancer and their RES. You've spent 25 BP (worth 50 karma) on your MAG of 6, which only costs 30 Karma in play - and then you go and burn it with 'ware no less. I would have recommended instead spending those 25 BP on AGI, INT and LOG which would have helped out your combat, stealth, initiative, perception and not having 2 full-dump stats/RP crutches (and 1 LOG is a painful RP crutch).

Regarding your Medkit, you're not a LOG guy, so don't waste your time (i.e. Karma) trying to be one by picking up LOG associated skills, even 1 rank in First Aid is worth just 1 dice to you (where as usually going from defaulting to skilled is worth 2 dice) as the rating of the Medkit can default on the test for you. You're a last-line healer, probably only ever gonna use that kit to prevent someone from dying, not THE healer, I'd be more interested in the Hardware Skill if I were you, though as a Social Infiltrator again that would be more of a last-line of hope if can't manipulate people into letting you into where you want to go.

Finally, you have 8 ranks, 32 BP, invested in skills which are part of the Stealth Group (one of the best Skill Groups), if you had spent 30 BP on just taking the Stealth Group you could have had 12 ranks in Stealth Group Skills (9 in the Skills you have already chosen from it, 3 "free" in Shadowing), plus 2 BP to spare (for those Attributes maybe?), that's really inefficient use of Karma.

These are pretty painful mistakes IMHO, costing you something like 24 - 32 post-gen karma (which is equal to what? 3+ sessions of play?), maybe your GM will let you make these adjustments?

bryguy

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« Reply #5 on: <08-05-13/1222:24> »
Yeah he probably will. thanks again.

SMDMadCow

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« Reply #6 on: <08-05-13/1502:07> »
Why the restricted gear quality?
Why the nano paste if you have the adept facial power?
Is the Fubuki a heavy pistol, if so can you fit a heavy pistol on an arm slide?

bryguy

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« Reply #7 on: <08-05-13/1656:53> »
Fubuki is light. Restricted gear because Tailored Pheromones 3 are 12F which is forbidden in my game at Chargen.

Facial paste to further assist in face changing.

Rythymhack

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« Reply #8 on: <08-05-13/2140:17> »
Fake SIN (Keyser Soze) Rating 3

You should not need disguises then. Convince people that you never existed =)

ZeConster

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« Reply #9 on: <08-05-13/2147:31> »
Restricted gear because Tailored Pheromones 3 are 12F which is forbidden in my game at Chargen.
So your GM is making you take Restricted Gear for gear that by the regular rules doesn't need it?

All4BigGuns

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« Reply #10 on: <08-05-13/2253:48> »
For the love of all that is holy, please tell me he isn't pulling the shenanigans of including the "R" or "F" into whether or not that quality is needed...
(SR5) Homebrew Archetypes

Tangled Currents (Persistent): 33 Karma, 60,000 nuyen

emsquared

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« Reply #11 on: <08-06-13/1200:45> »
Fake SIN (Keyser Soze) Rating 3

You should not need disguises then. Convince people that you never existed =)
SINs don't mean Jack to facial recognition software.

I've found Disguise, and Facial Sculpt in particular, to be possibly the greatest tool in my Social Infiltrator's repertoire. Everyone else in my group has to go to safe-houses for weeks after jobs, avoid mass-transit, government buildings and basically any high-security area. My Face goes where he pleases, whenever it pleases him.

 

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