[Wakshaani]

I don't think I have the spoiler code right. Let's see...

[spoiler]
Napoleon Jones
 
Race: Human (0 BP)
 
Attributes: (170 BP)
 Bod: 2
 Agi: 3
 Rea: 3
 Str: 2
 Cha: 5
 Int: 3
 Log: 3
 Wil: 3
 Edge: 3
 Essence: 5.9
 
Initiative: 6
 Passes: 1
 
Active Skills: 120 BP
 
Electronics Group: 1
 Influence Group: 3
 Stealth Group: 3
 
Intimidation: 1
 Leadership: 3
 Perception: 3
 Pilot Ground (Car): 1 (3)
 Pistols: 3
 Unarmed Combat: 1
 
Knowledge Skills:

Business: 3
 Finance: 3
 Philadelphia: 3
 Fine Cuisine: 2
 Philadelphia Shadowrunners: 2
 Baseball: 2
 
Languages:

English: N
 Japanese: 3
 

Qualities: (5 BP)
 First impression
 
Contacts: (19 BP)
 Fixer: 3/4
 Arms Dealer: 2/2
 Bartender: 2/2
 Mr Johnson: 2/2
 
Resources: (6 BP)
 
30,000 Y
 
Lifestyle:

Low (2 mopnths prepaid)
 
Gear and such:
 Novatech Airware Commlink with Iris Orb O/S (Response 3, Sgnal 3, Firewall 3, System 3)
 Sim Module
 Basic Programs: Analyze (3), Browse (3), Command (3), Edit (3), Encrypt (3), Scan (3) Virtual Wallpaper
 
Datajack
 
Fichetti Security 600 with 90 rounds fo standard ammo, 2 extra clips, and a conceaaled holster
 Armored Clothing
 
Micro-Tranceiver (4)
 White Noise Generator (4)
 Certified Credstick
 Autopicker (3)
 Keycard Copier (3)
 
Fake SIN (2)
 Fake Gun Liscense (2)
 
Glasses with Image Link
 Earbuds
 Goggles with Flare Compensation and Lowlight Vision
 
Mercury Comet (Car)
 Lingusoft: German (2)
 Lingusoft: Chinese (2)
 


Background
 (Short form)
Napoleon is a bit on the small side, but quite charming and, more importantly, driven. He's been poor his whole life but found early on that while he wasn't much of a fighter, he was a dang fine talker. He's managed to turn this into a serious advantage, making himself an entry-level mover and shaker. He now leads his own Shadowrunning team, putting his planning skills and charm into making sure things run smooth, and even helps his guys invest wisely for the future. He's been betrayed in the past by his own family (His dad bailed when Leon was a kid, his mom became a junkie, etc) and he clings a bit harder to his new family unit than he really should.

Napoleon's strengths are, obviously, his good looks and charm which, coupled with his overall human-ness, opens a whole lot of doors, as well as allowing him to unload loot and procure new gear, and his ability to blend in almost anywhere ... he grew up a gutterpunk, after all, can practice Japanese tea ceremony with teh Yakuza in the morning and talk about Union deals with the mob in the evening. With no magic and no cyberware of note, he can gain entry into places that otehr runners can't, prepping an area for later, getting past security to follow someone, or, overall, taking whatever role the team needs, thanks to his disguise skills and acting ability.
 
While Napoleon's obviously spent most of his twenty one years getting ready for the Shadows, building an array of business savy and knowledge of who's who, he does have a terrible addiction to, of all things, baseball. It's a fond childhood memory and he still loves the game, even today. Maybe it's the tactical deciscions, maybe the timeless nature, or maybe it's the one place that he and his mom could go to bond, but, he just absolutely loves him some baseball and relaxes there at least twice a month during the season.
[/spoiler]

[Wakshaani]

ah HAH! That *is* how it works! Excellent!

(Keep in mind that I first started this challenge five years ago. Almost six now! Also, my typing is *horribly* sloppy. It looks better after a second draft, honest.)

[spoiler]

Princess
 
Race: Human (0 BP)
 
Attributes: (170 BP)
 Bod: 3
 Agi: 5 (6)
 Rea: 3 (4)
 Str: 3 (4)
 Cha: 2
 Int: 3
 Log: 2
 Wil: 3
 Edge: 3
 
Essence: 3.0
 Initiative: 8 (9)
 Passes: 2
 
Active Skills (130 BP)
 
Athletic Group: 2
 Close Combat Group: 3
 Electronics Group: 1
 Stealth Group: 1
 
Automotive Mechanics: 1
 Etiquette (Street) : 2 (4)
 Intimidation: 3
 Negotiation: 1
 Perception: 3
 Pilot Ground (Bike): 1 (3)
 Pistols: 2
 Artisan: 1
 
Knowledge Skills
 
Motorcycles: 2
 Philadelphia's Zero Zone: 3
 Rock!: 2
 Street Gangs: 2
 Urban Brawl: 3
 Yakuza: 1
 
Languages
 
English: N
 Japanese: 1
 Spanish: 1
 
Qualities (0 BP)
 
Guts
 High Pain Tolerence (2)
 
Moderate Addiction to Zen
 Scorched
 
Contacts (12 BP)
 
Fixer: 2/2
 Street Doc: 2/2
 Yakuza Lieutenant: 2/2
 
Resources (8 BP)
 
40,000Y
 
Lifestyle

Low (Two months prepaid)
 
Gear and Such
 
Muscle replacement (1)
 Wired reflexes (1)
 
Sony Emperor Commlink with Renraku Ichi O/S (Response 2, Signal 2, Firewall 2, System 2)
 Basic Programs: Analyze (2), Browse (2), Command (2), Edit (2), Encrypt (2), Scan (2)
 Sim Module
 Mapsoft: Philadelphia (4)
 Trodes
 Virtual Surround Music
 Virtual Person
 250Y worth of assorted musical chips
 
Forearm Snap Blades
 Knife
 Fichetti Security 600 with 60 standard ammo, spare clip, and concealable holster
 Armored Vest (6/4)
 
Fake Sin (2)
 Fake Gun Liscense (2)
 Fake Driver's Liscense (2)
 
Automotive Mechanics Kit
 
Glasses with Image Link
 Earbuds
 Goggles with Flare Compensation and Lowlight
 Micro-Tranceiver (4)
 
Chisel
 Wireclippers
 Flashlight
 
Harley-Davidson Scorpion
 
Low Lifestyle (2 months)
 
Background
 (Short version)
 Princess (Oh how she hates that streetname) was born to a fairly normal middle class home in a middle class neighborhood to middle class parents. She took piano lessons, went to gymnastics lessons, played soccer for the corporate kids team, and so forth ... up until her father was laid off in a downsizing. Their debt was called in, their house taken away, and within a month they were out on the streets of Philadelphia, just in time for New Years Eve. When a potential job opened up, her father took it, despite it being somewhat crooked (Bookkeeping for a small Yakuza-affiliated gang), and teh family moved into the Zero.
 
Life in the Zero is borderline Hell, with no law to be found and the only governing body being the assorted warlords who run the place. Fortunately, her family had protection from the Yakuza, due to her father's new position, so there was a dirt-poor semblance of a normal life for her. She made a few friends, tried to get by on educational software since there was no school to be found, gritted her teeth, and kept trying to be a good kid.
 
Then her mother was killed.
 
Caught in the wrong part of the Zero while trying to buy a Christmas present, she was caught by a rival gang, which ended as these things so often do. Princess was devastated and her father shatered, with him pouring himself into his work and a bottle and Princess trying to find something to cling on to, eventually locking into her father's gang and revenge. By the time she was sixteen, Princess had grown up the hard way, developing a hard edge to keep the world out, a drug habit, and a rep as a real fighter. Her father had fallen into a spiral into destruction, a spiral that she actually was following in her own way, and she'd probably have wound up just another dead ganger had she not made a move and saved a visiting Yakuza soldier from an ambush. He rewarded her with a job as first a guide and lookout, then a bodyguard, then later still an enforcer, impressed by the nail-tough blond. He started having her join him on missions outside the Zero, giving her the first look she'd had of the outside world in five years, bonding the two well.
 
Over the next couple of months, she served as his bodyguard, concubine, and all around girl friday, delivering packages, beatings, and warnings equally, earning herself a solid position ... or so she thought. Turns out that her "Angel" had repaid her early on, but, on a lark, kept her aroundalmost like a pet, figuring that someone utterly loyal and disposable could come in handy, which she did. He eventually sacrficed her to an ambush meant for him, one that she barely escaped. When she staggered into his home, eyes full of rage, he tried to talk her down, then pulled a gun on her, at which point she killed him. She took what she could, then ran, vanishing back into the Zero... the Yakuza didn't see the need to deal with her, since they'd already planned on killing her boss and she'd saved them a second attempt.
 
For the past couple of years, she managed to use her stolen goods to buy herself an upgrade, albeit a shoddy one, and has started hiring herself out as an independent contractor again. She currently works for Napoleon as his bodyguard and razorgirl, quietly praying that he won't be like so many others and kick her to the curb when he's done with her. She's built up a tough wall around her to keep teh world out, but, she's actually desperate for someone to love while at the same time thinking of herself as completely unworthy, a self-destructive spiral where, whenever she risks being happy, she finds some way to scuttle it. Princess, who still *hates* her street name (Given to her as a child by the native Zeroes who snickered at her pretty clothes, hair, and mannerisms), but hangs on to it as a reminder of her childhood (Tho she'd never admit it.)

Princess lives a simple life of booze, cigarettes, and playing pool in the bar or plinking away on a guitar in her slummy apartment. She's a diehard Urban Brawl fan, giving Napoleon hell over hisliking a 'Pansy game' like baseball, and is something of a motorhead, with a particular love for motorcycles and the freedom culture that it represents. Some nights, she just goes on a long drive, hoping that she can just outrun her life, but always comes back in the end.
 
Princess' muscle replacements are fine and barely noticeable, but her wires were a low grade to begin with and have never worked quite right. In particular, she can't turn them completely off, leaving her on edge and cranky from a constant mild headache from the increased blood pressure. She pops painkillers on a regular basis, and has developed a nightly shot of Zen to help her slow down enough to sleep. She'd love to make enough to upgrade to a real set, with an actual off switch that works, a rare razorgirl addicted to going slower, not faster.

Last edited by Wakshaani; 12-03-2006 at 06:44 AM.
[/spoiler]

[Wakshaani]

Third and final one for now, to showcase an actual magician. (These three make up half of a Shadowrunning team, by the by. There's also an Elven decker, a half-Chinese mechanic/rigger, and an Orc mercenary/military vet.)

[spoiler]
And moving right along, the team mage, to show that, yeah, you actually can make a magician at 320.

Lord Prometheus
 
Race: Human (0 BP)
 
Attributes: (190 BP)
 
Bod: 2
 Agi: 3
 Rea: 3
 Str: 2
 Cha: 3
 Int: 3
 Log: 4
 Wil: 4
 Edge: 3
 Magic: 3
 
Essence: 6.0
 Initiative: 6
 Passes: 1
 
Active Skills (100 BP)
 
Conjuring group: 3
 Electronics Group: 1
 Sorcery Group: 3
 Stealth Group: 1
 
Assensing: 2
 Astral Combat: 2
 Etiquette: 1
 
Knowledge Skills:

Chemistry: 3
 Free Spirits of Philadelphia: 3
 Fire Elementals: 3
 Magical Theory: 3
 Advanced Mathematics: 2
 Matrix Chat Rooms: 2
 Totally Hot Chicks: 2
 
Languages:
 English: N
 Latin: 3
 
Qualities: (0 BP)
 
Magician
 Mentor Spirits (Fire-Bringer)
 
Senseitive System
 SINner
 
Spells: (18 BP)
 
Manabolt
 Heal
 Physical Mask
 Ignite
 Mana Barrier
 Magic Fingers
 
Contacts: (8 BP)
 
Free Spirit: 2/2
 Talismonger: 2/2
 
Resources: (4 BP)
 
15,000Y and 1 Bonding Karma
 
Lifestyle:

Squatter (1 month)
 
Gear and such:

Novatech Airware Commlink with Iris Orb O/S (Response: 3, Signal: 3, Firewall: 3, System: 3)
 Basic Programs: Analyze (3), Broswe (3), Command (3), Edit (3), Encrypt (3), Scan (3)
 Sim Module
 AR Gloves
 Trodes
 Virtual Surround Music
 Wall Space
 Virtual Girlfriend
 
Armored Clothing
 
Fake SIN (2)
 Fake Driver's Liscense (1)
 
Micro-Tranceiver (4)
 Contacts with Image Link
 Earbuds
 Goggles with Flare Compensation and Lowlight Vision
3 Glowsticks
 
Magical Lodge Materials (4)
 
Counterspelling Focus (1) ... Bound
 
Squatter Lifestyle (1 month)
 
Background
 
(Short form)
 
Lord Prometheus, MASTER of flames, is, in reality, sixteen year old Corey Stewart, a pimply-faced, voice-cracking nerd of a magician who fancies himself the king of all matrix chatrooms and future Archemage of Philadelphia. Corey has a fairly normal middle class lifestyle, living at home in his Cave of Transcendence (his room) and holding a part-time job as a clerk at Kwikee Burger, where he just moved up from janitor to fry-flipper. He's a sophmore in high school, where standardized testing missed his magical talent when he was younger due to Crash 2.0 wonkiness. Indeed, he's only recently come into his magical skills, having blundered into them a year ago during a chance encounter with a free spirit. Napoleon stumbled into him during a training excercise and hired him on the spot ... sure, Lord Prometheus is a geek and a magical newbie, but, he's still a magician, painfully rare in the shadows, and one young enough to be easily molded. He was terribly easy to rop into something as cool as Shadowrunning, with a few neat toys and promises of adventure a golden lure.
 
Corey himself is a fairly typical, if geeky, teen, dreaming of getting a car, a girl, and beating up the school bully with one lucky punch, not neccesarily in that order. He's a chatterbox online, hopping into dozens of conversations, but isn't elite by any stretch, often biting off more than he can chew. His last COmmlink got fried after he torked off an actual hacker who trace-and-burned his machine, but Napoleon got him a better one, which he's now starting to use. Napoleon even tossed in the latest Virtual Girlfriend from MCT, which has gone over quite well.

Corey tends to rely almost exclusively on fire elementals for spiritual backup, wears fire-themed clothes when possible, colors his hair red ... you could say that it's a theme. His contacts are cosmeticly enhanced to glow red, which is so much more wiz than his usual brown eyes that he rarely takes them out. His fake driver's liscense is tied to his real SIN, not his fake, and lists him as 18 years old.
 
Corey tends to be a bit loud and obnoxious, driven by his hormones more than he should. He lives at home with his mom and rebels against all those rules, but, well, his parents are his parents, so he doesn't go much beyond bemoaning the unfairness of life or slamming his door. His personality is basicly a brash teenager, a bright kid that's deeply geekenated, with a sort of recklessness that only the immortality of youth can bring. He's got a crush on Princess, and has recently found out that getting a buzz and passing out is quite cool.
[/spoiler]

[Sipowitz]

Those are alright, but we have some restrictions on characters.
As part of a military unit every character created has to have the athletics skill group at rank 1 minimum
Gear will be standard issue kit, anything beyond(like cyber/bio) is up to the player, but armor, weapon, etc will be standard issue, we are not starting as some elite super awesomesauce military kill team.

Your characters are why I don't buy into the (min+2 in each stat) concept, 2 of the 3 you list have a 2 in 2 separate stats, which is below that (min+2 in each stat) idea.

[All4BigGuns]

Yeah, it is possible to make characters on such low points, but geez characters that low just don't seem like they'd be that fun to play. Either the GM has to dumb down everything to avoid slaughtering the team, or you have a new team every session.

[Mirikon]

Agreed. I mean, Gantz is a fun manga to read, but if you were actually playing a Gantz game, then you'd either have a series of cardboard cutout characters, or be getting very frustrated.

For those who don't know, Gantz is an anime where normal humans are forced to take on aliens, and it is pretty much always a suicide mission.

[Catadmin]

Yeah, it is possible to make characters on such low points, but geez characters that low just don't seem like they'd be that fun to play.

You haven't seen the way our group plays when we have the full 400 BP. It's a race for the GM to keep the players from bringing the town down around their ears.

Overcasted Stunball, Force 9, took down an entire group of what was supposed to be high-powered NPCs in the first initiative pass of the first combat turn and the mage soaked every bit of the drain.

"Enemies? What enemies?"

[Sipowitz]

Yeah, it is possible to make characters on such low points, but geez characters that low just don't seem like they'd be that fun to play. Either the GM has to dumb down everything to avoid slaughtering the team, or you have a new team every session.

We go against PR0 and PR1 types, We actually get hurt, combat lasts more then 1 initiative roll, etc.
Shadowrun doesn't give you more karma for killing 'higher level' stuff.  A 10DP Sam, face, mage, techno still gains the same amount of karma as a 24DP Sam, face, mage, techno.  The difference (for us at least) is that we can see actual growth for our characters.  It's cool and all starting with that much awesomeness, but for some of us it gets old real quick.

[Mirikon]

Heh. I've never had 24 dice in any character I've played. Though, granted, I spend points on developing a secondary role as well as a primary role.

[All4BigGuns]

Heh. I've never had 24 dice in any character I've played. Though, granted, I spend points on developing a secondary role as well as a primary role.

I haven't either (except for an obscene soak roll on one character). Aside from that one exception, the highest dice pool I've had on a character so far has been the current one I'm playing at 19 dice. But then, while I see posted on here about this 'go for either 1 or 4 for skills' because of the 'karma efficiency' thing, it doesn't seem it works so well for my group. Of course games tend not to last long enough even for extremely low powered characters (like the examples given in this thread) to advance much. 

[JustADude]

I haven't either (except for an obscene soak roll on one character). Aside from that one exception, the highest dice pool I've had on a character so far has been the current one I'm playing at 19 dice. But then, while I see posted on here about this 'go for either 1 or 4 for skills' because of the 'karma efficiency' thing, it doesn't seem it works so well for my group. Of course games tend not to last long enough even for extremely low powered characters (like the examples given in this thread) to advance much. 

Wow... I must just be an instinctive tank, because that's about what I end up with for my "Squishy" characters.

[Mirikon]

Most dice I've had on a roll would be 17, in social skills. And even that felt cheesy as hell.

[Wakshaani]

The target I use for 320 point characters is 8-12 dice, with the double-digit ones being for the combat monkies. These aren't the guys that you call on to break into Lofwyr's private data haven. A 4 in an attribute and a 4 in a particular skill is right in line for what they're expected to do.

[Henker]

I tryed once.
It works if the GM really designs the campaign for a "low power" gaming.

it was fun, but to be honest I didn't enjoyed the run.
At this level you don't really play a runner, more a ganger.
I prefer to start at 400 or 450 BP, this level is more in line with the vision I have from a shadowrunner.

[Catadmin]

So we had our first game and I didn't find 300 BP that much of a deterrent to a good gaming experience. My stats ended up mostly 2s and 3s (before cyberware / bioware enhancements), though I spent a lot of money on an 2 attribute enhancing pieces of cyberware (avoided Wired Reflexes. Essence cost is too high for me). I ended up with 2 init passes, and an 8 initiative when I can use the adrenal pump. Most of my dice pools are 5 to 6 dice, which gave me a decent amount to toss around. I usually ended up with at least 1 success.

So it's not power gaming, but it was fun and I got a lot more out of my character than I expected to get. And if you milk the negative qualities correctly, you can get a 335 point character out of it.

Anyone who hasn't tried it, should try it. Just for the experience of it.