[Tecumseh]

@Lorebane, if you're playing and not GMing, do you think you'll be checking the site more often or will it still be closer to once a week?

A huckster/grifter has a lot of flavor, but I find that anything social requires a lot of back-and-forth and is one of the archetypes that requires an extra amount of posting.

If your schedule has you visiting the site less frequently, even as a player, then you might want an archetype that can pop in and accomplish a lot in big chunks.

I don't know if gilga is planning on running AM as an NPC during his segment, but if he doesn't then we'll be light on magic. (It's possible that Beta/Jawsey ramps up his magical skills with the karma from Chapter 1.) I don't know if casting/summoning has any appeal, but that could be a gap to fill.

[Beta]

I do plan to improve Jawsey's magical abilities ... but they will still be weak.  Just nudging them up enough that critical glitches are less likely (magic --> 3, casting and summoning -->2, to have 7 dice in his pools and to be able to more safely cast/call at  force 3).  I'm just waiting to see what the time is like to the next mission, to figure out what gets done before then.

[Lorebane24]

Face characters are usually some of the most fun for me to play in nearly any RPG, and I've found that I often pop in a lot more when I've got someone to talk to, and for a conman, I'm a huge fan of the Bavarian fire drill and the Kansas City Shuffle, so I'd probably be actively looking for chances to pull those off.  An adept/face seems like it has possibilities, but the group currently feels like it is very awakened.  I had been toying with the idea of a huckster who's a dab hand with a pistol and knife, kind of like a cyberpunk Doc Holiday.

I think hackers are a buttload of fun in this game because they give you a lot of room to get creative (I especially love the "Like a Boss" code of honor" but I'm not sure how well it would play out in a PbP format.

One thing I've never tried but that could be fun if I can get my head around it is a conjurer from a possession-based tradition.  Voodoo and Qabalism come to mind.

In any case, I've got tonight to breath so I'm going to look through my books and see what seems fun. 

[Tecumseh]

If you'll play/post more frequently as a Face then definitely be social.

I wouldn't worry about the number of Awakened that we have. Play what you think will be fun to play, especially if that keeps you more involved.

I agree that hackers have a lot of room for creative problem-solving. I've always liked manipulation/illusion mages for the same reason.

I have a player in a game that I'm GMing who is playing a Voodoo magician. The possession-based aspect of it is interesting mechanically. In many ways the character plays more like a mystic adept, or even an adept, given that a lot of their power comes while being possessed. She gets a kick out of summoning Task spirits and turning herself into a skill monkey, or summoning a Guardian spirit and turning into a badass warrior.

That said, I am enjoying the Sioux theme of our PCs. That's not to say that a Sioux couldn't be Voudon or Qabalist - one of my other PCs is a Salish Christian Theurge - but I would vote to to keep the Sioux and In Debt themes going.

[Lorebane24]

Eh, I'll have to think about it then.  Truthfully, the NAN thing has always been one the least gripping parts of Shadowrun to me.  Truth be told I almost bowed out before we even got started because it was a full Sioux party.

[Lorebane24]

I think I should probably just bow out.  I can't seem to get myself to care about anything these days, so I don't have confidence that I'd stay motivated.

[gilga]

Okay, in that case, I'll have AM as an NPC. Mainly to give you matrix support. I'll have some post ready soon. If you change your mind Lorebane I'll write you into the story.

[Lorebane24]

Alright, I think the crunch is hammered out!  The specifics of his backstory are eluding me atm, so I'm going to sleep on that and come back to it first thing in the morning (and name him).  Swapped out decrease intuition for lightning bolt just to have one good ol blasty spell in my back pocket, and just dropped the rest of his cash on a few more burner SINs and another month of lifestyle.  He does have like 1k more leftover from creation than he's supposed to - I'm hoping that's okay since he's coming in mid-campaign.  If not, I'll find something to spend it on.

Template
Human Male
Karma: 0
Phys: 10, Stun: 10
Armor: 0, Evasion: 9
Initiative: 9+1d6, Astral Init: 12+2d6, Essence: 6
B: 3, S: 2, A: 4, R: 3
L: 3, W: 4, I: 6, C: 4
Phys: 4, Ment: 6, Soc: 6
Edge: 3, Essence: 6
Magic: 6, Initiation Grade: 1
Positive Qualities (21): Mage(Chaos Tradition), Focused Concentration 3, First Impression
Negative Qualities (15): In Debt (11), Mild Addiction (Novacoke), Did You Just Call Me Dumb?
Skills: Assensing 5,* Summoning 5,* Con (Fast Talk) 5(+2 ), Small Arms (Pistols) 3(+2), Negotiation (Bargaining) 5(+2), Perception 4, Sneaking 4, Palming 4, Locksmith 4, Etiquette 4, Computers 2, Survival 2
Skill Groups: Sorcery 5
Languages: Sioux N, English 4, Japanese 3
Knowledge Skills: Arcana 5, Psychology 4, Sociology 4, Chaos Theory 4, Seattle Area Knowledge (Puyallup) 2(+2)
Spells: Chaotic World, Silence, Trid Phantasm, Physical Mask, Clairvoyance, Area Thought Recognition, Influence, Lightning Bolt
Spirits: Water (Manipulation), Man (Illussion)
Rituals: Watcher, Curse
Metamagics: Psychometry
Weapons: Remington Roomsweeper (Smartlinked), Ares Lightfire 75, Defiance EX Shocker (Smartlinked)
Ammo & Accessories: Quick-Draw Holster, Concealable Holster, Hidden Arm Slide, Shotgun Shells x80, Explosive Slugs x40, Standard Light Pistol Rounds x80, Taser Darts x20
Armor: Lined Coat (Thermal Dampening 3, Fire Resistant 3, Insulated 3), Armor Vest, Actioneer Business Cloths
Other Gear: Erika Elite Commlink (R4), AR Gloves, Glasses (Image Link, Smartlink, Low-Light Vision, Image Link), Earbuds (Spatial Recognizer, Select Sound Filter 2, Fake SIN (R4) x2, Fake SIN (R2) x4, Stealth Tags x10, Micro-Transceiver, Tag Eraser, White-Noise Generator, Sequencer (R4), Autopicker (R6), DocWagon Basic (1 Year), Stim Patch (R6) x10
Contacts (C/L)
Five-Fingers Gao (3/2)
Lysander (3/2)
Officer Keeler – Beat Cop (2/2)
Uyghur T – Drug Dealer (2/2)
Dana Hsung – Freelance Journalist (2/2)
Lifestyle: Low (3 months)
Nuyen: 6,710

[Tecumseh]

@Lorebane
A couple things, take them or leave them as you will.

You have 23 karma in positive qualities, not 21 (Focused Concentration 12 + First Impression 11). The 21 might have just been a typo.

You have enough cash on hand - and extra months of Lifestyle payments - that you could actually dial back your In Debt by 1 or 2 ranks if you wanted.

Alternatively, if you don't mind the debt, you could probably swing a focus of some sort. Cash in one of your F4 fake SINs, two months of Low lifestyle, and some of your cash and you can get an F1 power focus. You have enough room in negative qualities to dig up the karma to bind it. Again, just a thought, by no mean necessary.

[Lorebane24]

Good catch!  I THINK that I had picked up "Did You Just Call me Dumb" to fit in First Impression - I forgot to calculate that into my negative qualities karma, but I'll have to do a little audit of my karma to double check.

[Beta]

It looks like you have "In Debt" at 11?  I think it caps out at 10?  (and even at 10, that is a repayment of 7500nY each month, add in even the shared lifestyle or a low lifestyle and a few expendables (reagents, ammo), and you are looking at something like 10k nY a month just to break even.)

[Tecumseh]

I think it caps at 15 but, yes, anything over 10 is borderline madness.

[Jack_Spade]

Actually, anything above 5 is tough to manage - more than that and you are looking at getting maimed on a regular basis.

[Beta]

Sorry for spouting off with bad info.  I should know better than to try and talk rule details from memory.  I seemed to recall that the amount of karma you could convert to nuyen was reduced by the number of levels of in debt that you took, so I was thinking that 'in debt' must also cap at ten.

[gilga]

Well with debt 8 and the shared lifestyle, AM gave up the entire run just to float. She'll make some money in this run, so debt 11 is manageable, but you will be paying most of the money you make to feed it. As a mage, it is not that bad, because you have few material possessions (and you can just make your own power focus for example).