[Warden Drake]

So, bit of an issue that I was needing help with; I was designing a Surge Class 3 Changeling character, and I was needing some help. 

For context: basically what I was doing was; I was attempting to remake a bunch of my old D&D characters in Shadowrun.  One of these was a Leonin, which in-turn was based off of the ancient Lowenmensch from Germany.  As there weren't any dedicated races for that in Shadowrun, I had to make a Changeling. 

Of course, that brings up the current issue: how on Earth do I make a Lion Changeling in Shadowrun?  Preferably one that is the least amount of snowflake as possible, if possible; this character is going be a PC of sorts, though he's more for story purposes than any form of real heavy gameplay - he's not gonna be some kind of "grandmaster legendary figure", he's just a guy looking to eek out an existence, more than likely only going to be used as a PC for a few sessions at max before becoming a background character. 

With all that being said, I have no idea where to start on some of the main points. 

For one thing, I'm already kinda lost on what Qualities I should take for the character; Low-light Vision, some kind of claw mutation maybe, but I haven't actually made a Changeling like this before (made a lizard Changeling with some help roughly a year ago; can't remember the specifics, sadly), so I needed to ask you guys for advice. 

There's also the issue with archetype; I already know just how snowflake-y they are, so... which general archetype do you think is the least Mary Sue-ish for one?  Part of me was considering Street Sammy, though I did see a recommendation for Rigger once, as well as an Adept at one point on Reddit, but still...

Other than that, yeah, I think I've got the rest; I've got the character's backstory lined out already, and I know what kind of gear to be going after depending on the archetype.  Make no mistake, I am very much aware of the extremely negative reputation Changelings have in the Shadowrun verse, both in-universe and IRL, so I genuinely appreciate any assistance that anyone gives me on this. 

[Aria]

The rules for changelings are a bit flaky... it may not be the response you want but I've made several changelings by taking qualities available to all and adding some fluff...

eg. make your 'lion' with orc stats perhaps and then add

Distinctive Style [Changeling]

Flavour negative qualities to reflect social problems and you're good to go...

[Hobbes]

+1 to what Aria says, most of what you're looking for is non-mechanical cosmetics. It's much more important to have the GM and table buy in on the idea.

(Presuming 6th Edition) If you're a high agility Leonin, start with an Elf, if you're a big, strong Leonin start with an Ork.  Dermal Deposits turns your unarmed damage to P and gets you a point of natural armor.  But instead of bone deposits, re-fluff as claws and fur.  Elf/Ork has low light already.  *poof* instant catboy. 

Ultimately, in universe, you can't tell the difference between a changeling and good bio-sculpt without Assensing or some non-trivial lab work.  You can, absolutely, by RAW, make a catboy or catgirl from whatever Metatype you want.  If you want to say it's SURGE, cool, if it's bio-sculpt, also cool.  No mechanical difference.  Again, table buy in from the GM and fellow players is the important part.