[Pixelated]

Hey all, just found this site after searching for still running online gaming groups so here I am!

Been a while since I played but would love to remake my Decker from my pen and paper days so if anyone has room I'm in!

[Herr Brackhaus]

I'm checking with our GM since we're currently missing a decker. We've just started a PbP set in Seattle, and most people are average to above average in terms of dice pools (i.e. 12 to 14 or so for primary skills). If I were you I'd go ahead and whip up the character ASAP just in case; if you have any questions I'd be more than happy to help.

[Pixelated]

Sounds good to me! I'll do that after work. I'm online in some way all the time so I can be as active as needed too I'm planning on a char who's just come to the Shadows and while talented is a little green any special house rules for the game I should read in case?

[Herr Brackhaus]

This is the game in question: http://forums.shadowruntabletop.com/index.php?topic=24288.0

No real houserules I can think of, except we're aiming for a stealth focused game. Again, no guarantees yet but I've passed your thread on to the GM.

[Pixelated]

Sounds good! Stealth style game is just what I like too I'll check that link!

[Pixelated]

Alright I have a char all ready to go! ^_^ I'll probably post it somewhere soon, so if you need another I'm ready to go!

[Herr Brackhaus]

Definitely post it on the forums, heck, you could even just post it right here.

[Pixelated]

Okay! so...I never played 5E before. All my Shadowrun comes from 2nd edition BUT! I found a copy of the core book and generated from that. So, this is what I made Tell me what you think since it's been a long time since I played Shadowrun but I tried to remake my old Decker Thief from 2nd ed ^^


General Info

Name: Amira Star "Pixel"
Race: Elf
Class: Decker
Gender: Female
Hair: Bright Green (Styled rocker fashion)
Eyes: Purple Hue (glow)

Priorities:

A- Resources
B- Attributes
C- Skills
D- Meta
E- Magic

STATS

BOD 3
AGI   5 (Elven and Muscle replacement)
REA  4 (5) (Reaction Enhancers)
STR  2  (Muscle Replacement)
WIL   5
LOG  5 (6) (Cerebral Booster)
INT    6
CHA  3 (Elven)

EDGE         1
ESSENCE 1.79
INI               9
MAGIC       0

KARMA      1
ARMOR     12 (Coat + Orthoskin)

QUALITIES

Codeslinger +
Catlike+
Distinct Style -
Prejudice Extreme (Humanis Group) -  (She basically needs to be retrained if she ever has a chance to strike at one)
Weak Immune System -

SKILLS

Automatics  2
EW               5
Pilot Gr.       1
Perception  1
Computer   5
Cybercombat 2
Hacking      6 (Hack on the fly) (+2) (Specialization Devices +2)
Hardware   5
Software     5
First Aid       2
Con              2
Skill Group Stealth (2)
Disguise     2
Palming      2
Sneak          2


KNOWLEDGE

Security Companies (Seattle) 3
Matrix Games            2
Fencing                      2
Music Culture (rock) 2
Matrix Security Prog. 4


LANGUAGE

English N
Sperethiel 3
Japanese  3

CONTACTS
Type               Qual    Loy
Mechanic        2         2
Street Doc       2        2
Smuggler        2        2

CYBER ENHANCEMENTS

Cyber Eyes (Rating 2) (Purple Hued glow)
-Flare Compensation
-Image Link
-Low Light
-Thermal Vision
-Vision Enhancement (rating 2)

Sleep Regulator
Cerebral Booster (Rating 1)
Datajack
Reaction Enhancers (1)
Orthoskin (3)
Muscle Replacement (1)
Tracheal Filter (2)
Toxin Extractor (3)

EQUIPMENT (NOTE THIS LISTS EQUIPMENT ON HAND IN HER VAN AND RESIDENCE!!)

Residence (LOW + Hard to find) Abandoned street garage with office (Paid 2 months)
GMC Bulldog (Wan with Shop in back for Decking and Electronics)

Knife x 2
Ares Crusader II (Laser Sight)
Spare clips 8
500 rounds Ares basic ammo (stored)
100 Hollowpoint (Stored)
50 Taser Rounds (Stored) (Sometimes you just need to shock someone)
Lined coat (9 armor)
Clothes (Stylized)
Renraku Sensei Comm w/ Sim Mod (worn like google glass is)
AR Gloves
Biometric Reader (Van access)
Sat Link (Van)
Trid Projector
Sub Vocal Mic
Datachip (200) (stored)
Sensor Tag (100) (Stored)
Data Tap
Tag Eraser
White Noise Generator (5 Rating)
Shop (All the tools of a decking/electronics shop....This is in her van)
Micro Camera
Directional Mic (3 Rating)
Laser Mic (4 rating)
Ear Buds (3 Rating)
Hardware kit (personal; IE Deck repair in the field)
Stim Patches 4
First Aid Kit (Rating 6)
Fake SIN (Rating 4)
Fake License (Rating 4)

Sensor Array (Rating 8. ) (capacity 6)
-Camera
-Cyberware Scanner
-Ultrasound
-Omni Directional Mic
-Motion Sensor
-Radio Signal Scanner

Sensor (Rating 8. ) (Capacity 1) X8 (These are used by Pixel to set up a warning perimeter of sorts when her main array is in use elsewhere)
-Motion Sensor

MCT Fly-Spy X2
Autosofts (Installed on one only)
-Clear sight Drone (6)
-Stealth (6)
 (She sometimes uses these as an aerial perimeter she can quickly jump into via Matrix for a top down look at escape routes or where people are)


DECK RENRAKU TSURUGI (3)  (ASDF) 6553 Avalable Prog 3 (9.5 Condition)
Grid: Emerald City (Seatlle)
Programs owned
Common
Browse
Configurator
Edit
Encryption
Signal Scrub

Hacker Programs
Armor
Baby Monitor
Decrypt
Exploit
Demolition
Guard
Hammer
Shell
Sneak
Stealth

Agent Program (Rating 4)

Starting Nuyen (Low plus leftover) 5370

SHORT BACKGROUND! (Note...the details of this are only IC knowledge if Pixel told you IC during a campaign, unless )

Pixel or Amira Star was born to a well to do family in Seattle. Not the usual wage slave her father was an up and coming corporate man with Renraku who doted on his daughter and spoiled her to no end. There was no harsh childhood for Amira only a sort of Idyllic life devoid of want which most people scratch and crawl to reach but never find. Even so however as she grew older Amira felt that she never fit in. The continuous doting of her parents, the corporate exec father and her mother a devoted subsidiary shop owner of her mates Corporate branch, left Amira something of a spoiled brat. Never having had to work for anything she quickly fell into that privileged sense of entitlement and so had little regard for the property of others. Influenced by her fathers career as a successful Corporate programming exec she took to the Matrix at an early age. Showing a more than passing aptitude for it her father dreamt of his darling daughter following in his footsteps to one day work alongside him. As such she was enrolled in a modestly prestigious private school, as far as those go in seattle, and began working toward her career. Unbeknownst to her parents Amira was not using the Matrix to expand her learning or to ensure herself a bright future. Instead she was following the instruction of an online decker simply called "The Hatter". He had apparently come across Amira in her stumbling about the Matrix when she was a child and became intrigued to discover that someone not even into double digits age wise had showed the proficiency she did. After teaching her a lesson for poking to close to his domain on the Matrix he then took her in as a sort of prodigy of his. For years she learned from him all the way through grade school and well into her private university schooling. Amiria's sense of entitlement flourished under the Hatter as well as her sense of 'whatever you have online is actually mine'. She began her fledgling Decking days under him, using her father trust fund to supply herself with a deck and all the trappings she would need as a digital and sometimes meatspace thief. Truth be told she came to crave the feeling she got when she hacked into something she was not supposed to and take things she was never supposed to see.The life of a Data Thief called to her though and Hatter had always given her a cut of what info they sold and she had even been contracted a few times alone which delighted her to no end. All in all things were good and she enjoyed her secret life. Hatter had often referred to her as his little Pixel, that oddly meant more to her than her privileged life and the name stuck.

Then everything changed.

Hatter suddenly vanished off the grid. Amira, now styling her life after her digital obsession and calling herself Pixel, went on a crusade to find him. Her schooling dropped off markedly and she was in danger of being ejected from her school. Her father was receiving multiple warning from his corp about her own embarrassing flair and apparent failures and so was ordering her to turn herself around or be disowned. None of that mattered to her though, she had to find Hatter and she didn't care the cost. She had come close to achieving her goal once, and wrapped in her ego believing herself untouchable racing to the rescue of her mentor she made a near fatal mistake. Whoever Hatter was he had apparently crossed the Humanis group, whether they killed him or he is simply hiding it's hard to say however a random file Pixel found on the Matrix led her to them. Blinded by her need to find Hatter she was tricked into following one of the Humanis deckers into a virtual trap. It was the first and last time she ever wanted to see a Black IC as well. Running from the assault and using every evasive technique she knew Pixel was cornered on the Matrix and nearly killed. Ironically it was the Humanis group that 'saved' her.

Tracing her location they burst into her room at the school where she was residing ad yanked her datajack out forcibly dumping her from the Matrix. Suffering from severe biofeedback thanks to the Black IC and the other Decker she was in no shape to fight back. Noth that Pixel was a physical fighter anyway. She was all about in and out, not being seen..this ganger style stuff was alien to her. The Humanis thugs beat her savagely, questined her extensively about Hatter and when she gave them nothing they cut out her eyes to teach her a lesson and dumped her in a garbage bin where they said she belonged. Whatever Pixel had come close to the effects had radiated down to her family as well. Faced with the ire of the Corporation he worked for Amiras father, now disillusioned by his daughter, had her declared legally dead and as a show of his commitment to his corp had her SIN destroyed. Amira's mother buried her head in her business...however the Corp had removed her as the owner and now she severed as a mere wage slave to the new proprietor....she also turned to sims to deal with the nightmare of it all. So it was not Pixels family who pulled her from the dumpster as far as the world and her family was concerned Amira Star was dead.

Moths after the incident Pixel awoke in a small clinic, for the most part she initially panicked almost uncontrollably when she first saw the world through her new cyber eyes. Her head she discovered was also shaved and she could feel the markings of additional surgeries and tell tale signs of enhancements. She may have slipped into psychosis then and there until she spied something set on the table beside her, a little black Top Hat with a note inside. Hand trembling Pixel still remembers reading what that note said.

"My little Pixel....I did what I could for you. Now make them pay. Make them all pay."

Clutching the note like it was her last link to sanity Pixel went through an intensive recovery process and learned the extent of her modifications and what had happened to her. The staff were professional and always polite and never asked from money or ID or anything. They simply told her Mister Hatter had taken care of it whenever she asked. Knowing that The Hatter had been responsible for her enhancements helped her deal with the idea of augmentation beyond her datajack, now she is quite proud of them as she see's it as carrying part of her mentor with her. She has even modified her cyber eyes to glow purple, the exact purple of The Hatter Icon. Now fully recovered and with her clothing and Deck restored, Pixel sporting once more her long bright green hair and Deck, has followed the instruction given to her by Hatter and taken up residence in the secluded street Shop which she found to be stocked with a number of goodies and personal vehicles for her use.

Now somewhat wiser and less egotistical Pixel has embraced the life of a Decker in the Shadows. She has learned of her families abandonment of her and is happy to let them think her gone. She has yet to hear from The Hatter again however most of her time not doing odd jobs is spent searching the Matrix for her missing Idol. Pixel has also taken a near blinding hatred to the group called Humanis, who not only brutalized her but worse caused her to lose touch with the Hatter. She fully intends to take the words of his note which she carries always to heart. She is going to make them pay.

[Herr Brackhaus]

Not bad!

One massive change from previous editions is the streamlining of the Matrix rules, as I'm sure you've noticed. Still, there are a few got'chas where the Matrix is concerned, specifically that not all Matrix actions are tied to Logic; in fact, for a sneaky hacker who focuses on Hack on the Fly instead of Brute Force Intuition is almost equally important.

As such, I would recommend moving one attribute point from Logic to Intuition, hardcapping Int at 6 and softcapping Log at 5 (6). This will not only make your life much easier as your base attribute will be the same for 98% of Matrix actions, but it will also move your focus towards the Hack on the Fly side of things. Otherwise your attributes look great from my point of view.

Skills; you've chosen to diversify greatly, which is not a bad thing in my opinion, but it does leave you with somewhat lackluster dice pools. More importantly, however, decking is one of those areas where skills are important because you use so many of them, and unlike most of the Shadowrun rules you more often than not have to succeed at several consecutive tests. For example, hacking your way into a host to steal a file has you in the best case scenario do three test (hack a mark on the host to get in, data search to find the file, and edit file to copy it), or as many as 7 in the worst case (hack access to a different grid, hack your way in, avoid detection, find the file, disarm data bombs, crack encryption, copy the file). So for deckers, diversifying is not usually a good idea, especially since host ratings go all the way to 12 and the opposing dice pools you could be facing are higher than what pretty much every other archetype goes up against for some weird reason.

So, on skills I would recommend getting to at least 10 dice in the relevant skills; Hacking is by far the most important one as it is used for Hack on the Fly, Crack File, and Spoof Command, and you've got that covered well with Rating 6 in it plus a specialization (and presumably the Code Slinger quality?).

But, Computer is also immeasurably important as it deals with Matrix Perception and Matrix Search, as well as Edit File and Trace Icon. The first three are definitive mainstays and are almost as important as Hacking in my opinion. If I were you I would likely drop Locksmith since you can hack your way past maglocks, which are extremely prevalent in the 6th world, and you can always use a miniwelder to bypass physical locks. Additionally, we already have a few other team members with much stronger Locksmith skills, so focusing on the Matrix enabled locks makes a lot of sense for a decker.

Finally, I would consider allocating some more skill points to Hardware and Electronic Warfare; Cybercombat is a bad choice unless you focus entirely on it in my opinion, so if you're focusing on being stealthy I would similarly focus on attacking with surprise; you should only consider using Data Spike if it's the last resort unless you're built from the ground up to focus on dealing and absorbing damage because the risks are just too great. Between having three MARKs on a target gained with a high Hacking skill, as well as the Decryption, Hammer, Mugger, and Biofeedback/Blackout programs, you can effectively take out most non-dedicated Matrix experts in a single attack action and run away. If you're going up against IC in a host you should be running, not fighting, because they will keep coming forever and you'll be fighting a war of attrition that you cannot possibly win.

TLDR; I would recommend dropping locksmith entirely, reducing Cybercombat to 2; this would allow you to increase Computer to 6 and Electronic Warfare and Software to 4. I would also consider lowering Automatics and Pilot Ground Craft to 1 so you can buy one hit if necessary, which would then let you either specialize in both EWar and Software, or raise both to 5 for even more of a Matrix focus.

Knowledge skills look fine, but I would drop Hardware Stripping as you already have the Hardware skill which can be used as a Knowledge skill.

Equipment wise, I would definitely drop the 15 months of life style to 1 or 2 at most; few games last very long in terms of in-game time, Play by Posts least of all, so this is just a huge money pit as I see it. The cybereyes are not really a good investment, but I get that you probably want those for thematic reasons which is fine. I would drop the Suzuki Mirage since you already have a GMC Bulldog, though; one mode of transportation is usually enough. The leftover cash could be spent on a Fake SIN with Licenses (which you don't currently have) and other misc gear. I'd really recommend the Data Trails and Chrome Flesh book for more decker gear and augmentations, but these are not really critical. Muscle Replacements could boost your Strength and Agility, letting you shift another 2 points around or keep the higher attributes for a more combat decker type role.

All in all, a solid starting concept which I would just tweak in the few above ways to make a more specialized character. Decking is unfortunately a game for specialists in SR5, even with the more streamlined rules.

[Pixelated]

I noticed!! Though I literally only have the core rulebook available for 5E so..oh well >.> But I did make some changes according to your feedback

First I juggled around some stat points to give Log Will and Int a higher value, then I also took a little bioware for muscles and reaction to move another point or two to boost the more Decker kind of stats even higher (though I typically don't worry about min maxing I like the RP side more) So I think those should be good now?

I kind of got pick happy with skills, I know that I wasn't thinking about the lock thing so I dropped that, it was more of a whim anyway and put those into computer etc as well as dropped a few points on driving and cybercombat in order to put up EW and software and hardware too somewhere along the way. There are a few karma wrapped up in my starting skills too. I never realized Hardware covered the knowledge skill too oops! so I added in some flavor knowledge skills for that I never took the SIN cards since they had a higher than 6 rating....wasn't sure if your game allowed taking that to start? but if you say I will so I did Made that adjustment too!

I only wish I had more sourcebooks >.> anyway how dot he adjustments look? any word from your GM?

[Herr Brackhaus]

Only having Core is not bad; there are some useful gear, qualities, and actions in Data Trails, some nice 'ware in Chrome Flesh, and some awesome qualities in Run Faster, but nothing of that is essential by any means so I wouldn't worry.

In terms of attributes; unfortunately you can only have on Attribute at the racial maximum, so you can't do 6s in Willpower, Logic, and Intuition. I would keep the 6 in Intuition, drop Willpower and Logic to 5s, then add 1 each to Agility and Reaction or Body.

: Characters at character creation may only have 1 Mental or Physical attribute at their natural maximum limit; the special attributes of Magic, Edge, and Resonance are not included in this limitation.

Skills look great, you've got solid coverage on the Decking side; one thing to point out is that when you use Sensors (page 445 and 446) you can use Electronic Warfare and Logic to look for things instead of Perception + Intuition; in your case, that could be 11 dice instead of 6, so worth buying a few sensors to carry around.

No word from the GM yet but he's on vacation with on-and-off access this week and may not have seen my message yet. I'll make sure to remind him once he's online next

[Pixelated]

*facedesk* omg I totally overlooked that. Okay fixed! I dropped Log to 4 (boosted to 5 because of the cerebral enhancement) and will to 5...so now that basically gave me 3 points to play with. Pixel is nothing if not vain so after her recovery I figure she went to work to be as in shape as possible as well as wanting to toughen up after such a beating so I increased her Bod rating, she's always been quick as well, sleight of hand and all that so I upped Reaction a little too and Agi i think...in anycase there's 24 points added to base plus all the enhancers so thats good now! As for sensors...yes...I had meant to buy some...

forgot >.> I'll look into hat!

[CraterShip]

I am here, and everything is looking like it's coming along well. Once you're satisfied with the final build I should be able to introduce you as a newcomer to the team with Asher's assistance. If you can within the next day or two, I can introduce along with the full details of the mission.

[Herr Brackhaus]

Cool as cool, CraterShip, cheers!

Pixelated, I would highly recommend keeping Logic at 5 (6) and use the two points for Agility and Reaction; Body 4 should be plenty, and you definitely want the point of Logic. Other than that, looks like you're good to go once you've finalized the equipment; I would drop the Bug Scanner (you can do it better with your deck) and the Autopicker and see if you can't scrounge up enough cash for a Rating 3 Fake SIN.

[Pixelated]

Hey Crater! sounds good to me!

Also your right Herr...still trying to get back into thinking how things are in Shadowrun....like anything connected to the matrix a Decker can use their deck on....scanners and bugs would fall under that wouldn't they I'll make those changes then I'm ready!