[JustADude]

Not to mention, possible use of advanced ceramics.  Level 3 Ceramic/Plastic Materials makes a firearm completely undetectible by MAD scanners, after all ...

Well, I did say "etc."

[maddoctor]

Awesome thank you all for the answers.

I have some issues with the Sample Characters, I know it's not a big deal but for characters that are supposed to be used by newbies they have several "issues"
About the Street Samurai Essence now, this is what is driving me crazy:
She has 4 augmentations, all of them cyberware, no Bioware installed.
Wired Reflexes (rating 2 [3 essence], Alpha [*0.8 essence]) = 2.4 Essence cost
Cybereyes (rating 3 [4 essence], Alpha [*0.8 essence]) = 0.32 Essence cost, the other eye upgrades cost Capacity not Essence
Essence cost total 2.72
She also has 2 Obvious Customized Cyberarms.
The enhancements and the customized cyberlimb attributes don't cost any Essence, only the base 1 Essence cost for the arm.
Right arm has Spur (0.3) and Shock Hand (0.25) for a total 1.55 Essence Cost for the Right Arm (we add the Essence for Cyberarm enhancement unlike the Cybereyes
Left arm has Small Smuggling Compartment (0.2) for a total 1.2 Essence Cost for the Left Arm
Essence cost for both arms: 1.55 + 1.2 = 1.75
Total of all cyberware: 2.72+1.75=4.47
6-4.47=1.53 Essence left, not 1.08 as stated on the Street Samurai info on page 110 of SR4A. Is my math wrong?

Page 112, Sample Character Technomancer. He has a "Lined Coat" in his gear. A Lined Coat has 6/4 Armor rating, but a character can wear maximum Body*2 armor (either B or I) which is 2*2=4 for the Technomancer. So according to the rules he gets a -1 Penalty on both Reaction and Agility, something that isn't shown on the sample character at all.

My group and I started some mini-sessions with the sample characters but the more I read the books, the more "issues" I find with them..... Should I just make my own characters instead of getting the premade ones?

[Critias]

The archetype characters are often -- not universally, mind you, but often -- (a) not all that awesome compared to what a half-assedly optimized starting character can be, and (b) not quite made right, mathematically.

They're great for a last-minute "whoops, someone needs a character" moment, or for those times when you want someone to be better than a corporate security schmuck but not quite top-notch, or when you suddenly find you need a halfway competent NPC's stats, or whatever.  They're also fun to give characters for a session or two as everyone is learning the ropes, and then to throw out the window when folks have a handle on the rules and it's time for them to make their own character.

But, yes.  They have issues.  Maybe they were made early in the game design process and didn't get updated right, maybe they were victims of a copy-paste accident, maybe someone typoed, maybe a rule changed late in editing and the archetype didn't get updated, maybe maybe maybe.  Who knows? 

Just don't let it get you down.  Pay attention to the rules, not the archetypes. 

[raggedhalo]

You would need a Control Rig to jump in to the drone to make use of all five passes.

There's no reason (that I can remember) you couldn't go remote-control to do it - or spread it around different drones.

[Hellfire]

Awesome thank you all for the answers.

I have some issues with the Sample Characters, I know it's not a big deal but for characters that are supposed to be used by newbies they have several "issues"
About the Street Samurai Essence now, this is what is driving me crazy:
She has 4 augmentations, all of them cyberware, no Bioware installed.
Wired Reflexes (rating 2 [3 essence], Alpha [*0.8 essence]) = 2.4 Essence cost
Cybereyes (rating 3 [4 essence], Alpha [*0.8 essence]) = 0.32 Essence cost, the other eye upgrades cost Capacity not Essence
Essence cost total 2.72
She also has 2 Obvious Customized Cyberarms.
The enhancements and the customized cyberlimb attributes don't cost any Essence, only the base 1 Essence cost for the arm.
Right arm has Spur (0.3) and Shock Hand (0.25) for a total 1.55 Essence Cost for the Right Arm (we add the Essence for Cyberarm enhancement unlike the Cybereyes
Left arm has Small Smuggling Compartment (0.2) for a total 1.2 Essence Cost for the Left Arm
Essence cost for both arms: 1.55 + 1.2 = 1.75
Total of all cyberware: 2.72+1.75=4.47
6-4.47=1.53 Essence left, not 1.08 as stated on the Street Samurai info on page 110 of SR4A. Is my math wrong? see below

Page 112, Sample Character Technomancer. He has a "Lined Coat" in his gear. A Lined Coat has 6/4 Armor rating, but a character can wear maximum Body*2 armor (either B or I) which is 2*2=4 for the Technomancer. So according to the rules he gets a -1 Penalty on both Reaction and Agility, something that isn't shown on the sample character at all. CORRECT

My group and I started some mini-sessions with the sample characters but the more I read the books, the more "issues" I find with them..... Should I just make my own characters instead of getting the premade ones? YYYYYYYYYEEEEEEESSSSSSS

Actually, the Street Sam should have 1,28 Essence left.
wired refl 2, alpha: 2,4 E
cybereyes 3, alpha: 0,32 E
right arm: 1 E (all equipment and upgrades are internal and cost capacity, not essence, for example: spur 3 capacity, shock hand 3 capacity, armor 2: 4 capacity etc.)
left arm: 1 E (same)
total: 4,72, essnce left 1,28 E
therefore I guess it is a typo, they switched the "2" for a "0" in 1,28 Essence
It is not the only typo in the rulebook....welcome to shadowrun (one of the most played games without official errata for the main rulebook!

[Scarecrow71]

While I am new to 4E (or 4A, whatever you want to call it), I'm not new to SR.  And from the time I've spent playing 2 and 3E, I've always viewed the sample characters given in the books to be...unusable, I think is the best word.  Someone already mentioned that they are great for one-shots where someone has forgotten a character or everyone is just learning the ropes for the system.  But for the most part, they belong on the outside of the game, used as NPCs in a jam or, better yet, not used altogether.
 
It isn't just SR that has this issue.  Every game system I've played - SR, AD&D, Heroes Unlimited, Rifts - they've all got "canon" characters in their books that bend, tweak, or even outright break the creation rules.  Don't let it get you down - just look at them and remind yourself that they are samples to be taken with a grain of salt and used sparingly at best.
 
The Oracle had a sign that said it best - Know Thyself.  If you read the rules and know them as best you can, and then you can go make a few characters that are by the book, then everything is right as rain.

[_Pax_]

It isn't just SR that has this issue.  Every game system I've played - SR, AD&D, Heroes Unlimited, Rifts - they've all got "canon" characters in their books that bend, tweak, or even outright break the creation rules.  Don't let it get you down - just look at them and remind yourself that they are samples to be taken with a grain of salt and used sparingly at best.

Probably because most of the sample characters are made with a "beta version" of the rules, during the playtest process ... and changes that make it into the final version of the rules, aren't accounted for in the sample characters.

That, and nobody ever intends to actually try to PLAY those characters ... so they all suffer from a case of "eh, good enough".

[ArkangelWinter]

That, any many systems bend rules to make the character's stats match its fluff. Drizzt, for example, great at level 16, the level he was envisioned at. But that build would have got stomped in most games if you were playing from level 1 up to 16.

And yes, Rifts is the worst offender.

[JmOz01]

1. Single Shot mode weapons can actually fire once per Initiative Pass, rather than per Combat Turn. The idea with them is that they require the shooter to do something physical to chamber the next round (bolt action, pump action, single action revolver , etc.), so the shooter having superhuman speed would apply.

Semi-automatic weapons can pretty much fire as fast as you can pull the trigger. Even the fastest street sam isn't going to have so many actions that his finger will be faster than the cyclic rate of the gun. Even with five initiative passes (which is nigh-impossible to achieve) in a three-second Combat Turn, firing two shots per pass, it would only come out to 200 rounds per minute.

2. Something first time players often miss regarding Essence is that you total up the essence loss due to Cyberware and the essence loss due to Bioware seperately, then halve whichever one is less before adding them together. So if you have 4 points worth of Cyberware and 3 points of Bioware, then the total Esssence loss is 5.5 so the remaining Essence is 0.5.

Could you give me a page ref on the 1/2 essence thing?  I don't doubt you, would just like to find it

[Carz]

Could you give me a page ref on the 1/2 essence thing?  I don't doubt you, would just like to find it

SR4A, pg 86 Cyberware and Bioware
"Essence losses from cyberware and bioware are tracked separately.
Only the higher of the two totals deducts from Essence in full, with
the other deducting at half."

[JmOz01]

My thanks

[maddoctor]

Actually, the Street Sam should have 1,28 Essence left.
wired refl 2, alpha: 2,4 E
cybereyes 3, alpha: 0,32 E
right arm: 1 E (all equipment and upgrades are internal and cost capacity, not essence, for example: spur 3 capacity, shock hand 3 capacity, armor 2: 4 capacity etc.)
left arm: 1 E (same)
total: 4,72, essnce left 1,28 E
therefore I guess it is a typo, they switched the "2" for a "0" in 1,28 Essence
It is not the only typo in the rulebook....welcome to shadowrun (one of the most played games without official errata for the main rulebook!

SR4A page 344: Cyberlimb enhancements use up the Capacity of the cyberlimb they enhance. So enhancements cannot be installed on a natural limb so they should cost both essence and capacity (otherwise why list essence cost if you can't use them on natural limbs?)
Same for Accessories: These items may only be installed in cyberlimbs
and Cyber-Implant Weapons: Cyberguns are usually installed into cyberarms
There is no phrase like in Eyes/Ears that they cost capacity instead of essence.

I'm now trying to learn more about the Matrix and hacking, it seems a bit complicated so I'll probably be back soon

[_Pax_]

Some things can be installed in either a natural limb (taking up essence), or a cybernetic limb (taking up capacity).  Spurs are one such thing.

In all cases, it only costs you one of the two - either capacity or essence.

[maddoctor]

Some things can be installed in either a natural limb (taking up essence), or a cybernetic limb (taking up capacity).  Spurs are one such thing.

In all cases, it only costs you one of the two - either capacity or essence.

Oh yeah I just found it bellow
They are available as cyberlimb upgrades, but are also in heavy use as standalone systems implanted into the user’s natural hands
silly me

[_Pax_]

Not silly at all.  Just, "newbie".