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6e Corsair: Elf Street Samuri

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st. Nougat

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« on: <12-29-19/0027:07> »
This is the first 6e character I've made, and I skipped 4th and 5th edition so please critique but not to the min/maxing point.

Corsair is a muslim elf of the Sufi tradition and thinks of himself as a whirling dervish.  Because it's often frowned upon to walk around with a bunch of weapons and armor in polite company he bought a drone to provide weapons drops (I think it's a really cool idea).

a bit advice i'm looking for:
commlinks: they all have firewalls of 0 or 1, how do I get decent defense on the commlink to prevent all his gear and ware from being easily hacked.
Do I need any other programs or accessories to hook everything up to his PAN and provide easy communication with the rest of his team?

Let me know what you think:
Corsair generation notes

Priorities:
A: Attributes: 24
B: Money: 270,000
C: Skills (20)
D: Metatype (4 adjustment points)
E: Magic

Elf:
Body 4 (+2)
Agility: 7 (+1)
Reaction: 4 (+1)
Str: 2 (+1)
Will: 4
Logic: 4
Intuition: 5
Charisma: 2
Edge: 3

Initiative (+1d6)

Special Qualities: Low light Vision

Qualities: no more than 6 total, karma bonus cannot exceed 20 (net +8 karma)

Exceptional (Agility)
• Cost: 12 Karma
• Game Effect: Select a Physical or Mental attribute. The character’s attribute maximum (but not current rank) for the chosen attribute increases by 1

Aptitude (Close Combat)
• Cost: 12 Karma
• Game Effect: Your skill maximum for the selected skill is 10, instead of 9, and your maximum starting rank is 7, instead of 6.

Honorbound (something like a mix of Khalsa and Bushido)
• Bonus: 10 Karma
• Game Effect: You cannot spend or earn Edge for twenty-four hours after you break a tenet of your code.

Social Stress (He’s really just a shy introvert and closes up in awkward situations)
• Bonus: 8 Karma
• Game Effect: Select a specific social stressor. When encountering your social stressor, you must make a Charisma (2) test as a Minor Action. Failure means you cannot earn or spend Edge until you succeed. You can choose not to take the test but if so, any tests made against you gain a bonus Edge.

Insomnia (night terrors)
• Bonus: 4 Karma
• Game Effect: Without proper rest, you can’t regain Edge or spend it as you might like. Each day the runner must make a Body + Willpower (3) test to get a successful night of rest. If they fail, they cannot earn more than two Edge from any source that day. Also, they cannot spend more than 2 Edge on any given test. The purchase and use of
a sleep regulator reduces the threshold on the test to 1. The runner can also purchase medication (50 nuyen/dose) that reduces the threshold to 2.

Incompetent (TBD)
• Bonus: 10 Karma
• Game Effect: When this quality is chosen, select a skill. You are unable to gain ranks in the selected skill.

Active Skills: (20)
Athletics 2
Biotech 1
Close Combat (aptitude) 7 (Blades +2) (Scimitar +3) (5 Karma)
Firearms 3  4 (20 karma)
Outdoors 2
Perception 2 3 (15 Karma)
Stealth 2 3 (15 Karma)

Knowledge Skills 3
Arabic (native)
English
Islam
Police Procedures
Poetry (3 Karma)

Karma: 58 (50 +8 from qualities)

Gear: illegal gear has a max rating of 6 (450,000 nuyen)
320   Sword (Scimitar)
52   Extendable Baton
790   Shock Gloves
350   Pulsar II
350        Hidden Arm Slide
50        50x darts
500        Internal Smartgun System
750   Predator 6
150        Concealable Holster
500        Silencer
500        Internal Smartgun System
50        50x regular rounds
100        50x stick-n-shock
150        50x APDS
60        2x clips
700   Mossberg CMDT
500        Gas Vent
500        Internal Smartgun System
100        50x Explosive Slugs (used heavy pistol pricing)
75        50x flichette (used Heavy Pistol Pricing)
375   3x flash-pak
6,832   Weapons Total
750   Armor Vest (+3 DR)
500        Cold Resistance
500        Fire Resistance
500        Electricity Resistance
2000   Chameleon Suit
1500   Actioneer Business Clothes
5000   Hermes Ikon Commlink (rating 5, Data 3, Firewall 0) Program Slots 2
50   Subvocal Mic
10,800   All this stuff total
10,000   Rating 4 Fake SIN (Murderman)
800        Rating 4 License Predator
800        Rating 4 Conceal Carry
800        Rating 4 License Mossberg
800        Rating 4 License Flash-Pak
800        Rating 4 License Smartlink
800        Rating 4 License Bone Lacing
800        Rating 4 License Muscle Aug
800        Rating 4 License Muscle Toner
7,500   Rating 3 Fake Sin (Joe Chummer)
23,900   ID’s Total
500   `Gun tool kit
400   Capacity 4 Glasses
250       Flare Compensation
500       Thermographic Vision
500       Vision enhancement
200   Climbing Gear
250   Gecko Tape Gloves
750   Rating 3 Medkit
750   5x Rating 6 Stimpatch
1000   2x Trauma Patch
16,000   Ford Americar
8,000   Federated Boeing Blackhawk
3,000      Rating 6 Stealth Autosoft
3,000      Rating 6 Maneuvering Autosoft
9,000       Onotari Interceptor
11,200       4x anti-vehicle rockets
55,300   This Stuff total

Cost   Ware            Essence
1000   Datajack         0.1
800   Image Link         0.1
4000   Smartlink         0.2
30,000   Titanium Bone Lacing      1.5
40,000   Wired Reflexes 1      1.0
31,000    Rating 1 Muscle Aug      0.2
32,000   Rating 1 Muscle Toner      0.2
12,000   Sleep Regulator         0.1
150,800   Ware total
15,000      3 months middle lifestyle
6,000      3 Month low lifestyle (safehouse)

368   Total remaining

Contacts: charisma * 6 point to spend on loyalty and connection

Hobbes

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« Reply #1 on: <12-29-19/0700:16> »
Commlinks form PANs without any additional programs.  The best Matrix defense is to turn Wireless off on anything that doesn't give a meaningful Wireless bonus.  Your Smartlink, Smartgun, and Drones would be the only things you would be running Wireless on.  And your Team decker can also provide protection by putting your PAN under his.


Optimization notes, take 'em or leave 'em:
You're not using your Exceptional Agility Quality, either shuffle a point over to Agility or Drop the Quality.
I'd also shuffle a point into Reaction.
Augmentations you want more +1d6s for Initiative to get more Minor Actions.  +3d6 to get enough Minor Actions to take two Major Actions a turn.
I'd also recommend more Agility, level 4 Used Muscle Toner would be my suggestion. 
Skills, in general it's best to buy a few skills to max level using points and buy other skills / specializations with Karma.

Michael Chandra

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« Reply #2 on: <12-29-19/0713:22> »
I am confused about your Attributes, your base values appear to be the base 8 + 24 points you received, but you only put 2 adjustment points of your 4 into your Edge. Your between-brackets bonuses appear to be from your augmentations, so you're not only missing out on 2 Adjustment points, you also didn't maximize any attribute after your Exceptional Agility.

(Note that Bone Lacing doesn't ACTUALLY raise your Body, it only adds to your damage resistance rolls. So it doesn't boost natural recovery, condition monitor, etc.)

Maybe you should remove 1 Attribute point from Agility to lower it to 6, then raise Agility with 2 Adjustment point to its max of 8, and put the extra attribute point into Reaction for better dodging. Alternatively, Agility 8, Edge 4, so that you can always start a fight with enough Edge for Anticipation, which you could use to cut several people in one go if you're in the middle of a brawl.

I see with skills you put karma into raising Firearms from 3 to 4, Perception from 2 to 3, Stealth from 2 to 3, and a specialization. So that makes your points 2+1+(7+1)+3+2+2+2 = 20 points. But you could be more efficient there. Since you basically raised 3 points with karma, I'd go with buying Athletics 2 and Biotech 1 with karma, for a total of 20. That already saves you 30 karma.

You have both an expertise and a specialization in Close Combat, but in chargen, only a specialization is allowed. Only after chargen are you allowed to start converting into an expertise and then adding a second specialization (if the skill is rank 5+). Also, expertise are actually supposed to just be an upgraded specialization. So during play eventually you spend 5 karma to upgrade your Blades +2 Specialization into a Blades +3 Expertise, then afterwards you can pick up a second Specialization, e.g. Unarmed Combat +2. Right now, all you're allowed is Blades +2, so that's 5 karma extra. Consider buying Outdoors with 15 Karma, add 3 Specializations for Firearms, Perception and Stealth, and you still spent only 53 karma (so 5 extra remaining) and still have 2 skill points you can put into Firearms, Perception or Stealth to raise them a bit more. If you want a +1, you could use the extra 5 karma to buy 10k nuyen for a Reflex Recorder (Close Combat).

Your Initiative is 9(10) + 1(2)d6, right? Wired Reflexes are incompatible with other augmentations, but combat drugs aren't augmentations so you could use Cram or Jazz. I strongly recommend checking if your group has a Detox/Antidote mage to help get rid of the side-effects after the drug's initial duration ends.

License-wise, you generally only need a license per category, not per individual item. If you look at page 83 (Covert-Ops Specialist), you'll see a cyberware license listed, and a concealed carry license (and missing a possession license, whups...). Manual driving, cyberdeck, bioware, magic, that kind of thing. "Each type of item/activity requires a separate license." (p273, also lists a few examples.)

So in your case, consider the following: Firearm possession, Concealed Carry, Bounty Hunter (this explains why you're using Flash-Paks), Bioware, Cyberware. That saves you 2400 nuyen, which you could put into a few licenses for Joe Chummer if needed.
How am I not part of the forum?? O_O I am both active and angry!

Stainless Steel Devil Rat

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« Reply #3 on: <12-29-19/1026:10> »
Commlink/Anti-Hacker note: Remember you can flip the D/F values. your 2/0 commlink is also a 0/2 commlink anytime you want it to be (and as a non-hacker, DP is probably not something that really matters to you so.. may as well go 0/2 virtually all the time).  You can also run cyberprograms on commlinks in this edition, so Armor is an option for buffing your Matrix Defense Rating. 

But as already stated, the best defense is simply ensuring that you run with a team that includes a dedicated matrix defense character (decker, technomancer, or rigger) and letting that person worry about keeping hackers off your stuff.

Another thought: As already stated by MC, you can't start with an expertise.  I want repeat that, and make clear that the nature of an expertise isn't a "specialization within a specialization"- it's a "developed specialization".  If you start with a specialization in Blades and later gain an expertise, Blades goes to +3.  You don't pick only a subset of Blades to advance.

Optimization advice: Don't spend skill points on small skill values.  For example, look at Firearms and Biotech.  It would have been more efficient with your starting resources to give that skill point in Biotech to Firearms instead.  You could have bought Biotech 1 for 5 karma, and be in the same place you are now (Firearms 4, Biotech 1) but for 15 less karma spent getting there.  A popular rule of thumb: Don't spend skill points on specializations or any skill you'll only have at rank 1. Spend karma on those instead.
« Last Edit: <12-29-19/1059:12> by Stainless Steel Devil Rat »
RPG mechanics exist to give structure and consistency to the game world, true, but at the end of the day, you’re fighting dragons with algebra and random number generators.

st. Nougat

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« Reply #4 on: <12-29-19/1152:50> »
I just want to express my gratitude to everyone who has replied.  I really learned a lot thanks to this feedback.

Changes:
1. increased Agility to 8 and reaction to 5 (I remembered those two points shortly after posing but I was on my way to bed).
2. Removed the Insomiac Trait, after reworking the karma spending I had 4 extra that i didn't know what to deal with.  Also removed sleep regulator (I want that in real life) and added Reflex recorder for close combat
3. Took everyone's advice about skill points and spending karma, very grateful for that advice
4. Gear: added a couple of programs to the commlink, thank you for the clarification on those rules (yes, hooking up with the decker is best but I want some defense for when the decker get fragged)
Adjusted the Licenses

Here's the finished Corsair, once again thank you guys.
Priorities:
A: Attributes: 24
B: Money: 270,000
C: Skills (20)
D: Metatype (4 adjustment points)
E: Magic

Elf:
Body 4 (+2 to soak damage)
Agility: 8 (+1)
Reaction: 5 (+1)
Str: 2 (+1)
Will: 4
Logic: 4
Intuition: 5
Charisma: 2
Edge: 3

Initiative 10 (11) + 1d6 (+2d6)

Special Qualities: Low light Vision

Qualities: no more than 6 total, karma bonus cannot exceed 20 (net +8 karma)

Exceptional (Agility)
• Cost: 12 Karma
• Game Effect: Select a Physical or Mental attribute. The character’s attribute maximum (but not current rank) for the chosen attribute increases by 1

Aptitude (Close Combat)
• Cost: 12 Karma
• Game Effect: Your skill maximum for the selected skill is 10, instead of 9, and your maximum starting rank is 7, instead of 6.

Honorbound (something like a mix of Khalsa and Bushido)
• Bonus: 10 Karma
• Game Effect: You cannot spend or earn Edge for twenty-four hours after you break a tenet of your code.

Social Stress (He’s really just a shy introvert and closes up in awkward situations)
• Bonus: 8 Karma
• Game Effect: Select a specific social stressor. When encountering your social stressor, you must make a Charisma (2) test as a Minor Action. Failure means you cannot earn or spend Edge until you succeed. You can choose not to take the test but if so, any tests made against you gain a bonus Edge.

Incompetent (TBD)
• Bonus: 10 Karma
• Game Effect: When this quality is chosen, select a skill. You are unable to gain ranks in the selected skill.

Active Skills: (20)
Athletics 2 (15 karma)
Biotech 1 (5 karma)
Close Combat (aptitude) 7 (Blades +2) (+1 reflex recorder)
Firearms 5 (+2 Pistols 5 karma)
Outdoors 2 (15 karma)
Perception 4 (+2 visual 5 karma)
Stealth 3 (+2 sneaking 5 karma)

Knowledge Skills 3
Arabic (native)
English
Islam
Police Procedures
Poetry (3 Karma)

Karma: 54 (50 +4 from qualities)

Gear: illegal gear has a max rating of 6 (450,000 nuyen)
320   Sword (Scimitar)
52   Extendable Baton
790   Shock Gloves
350   Pulsar II
350        Hidden Arm Slide
50        50x darts
500        Internal Smartgun System
750   Predator 6
150        Concealable Holster
500        Silencer
500        Internal Smartgun System
50        50x regular rounds
100        50x stick-n-shock
150        50x APDS
60        2x clips
700   Mossberg CMDT
500        Gas Vent
500        Internal Smartgun System
100        50x Explosive Slugs (used heavy pistol pricing)
75        50x flichette (used Heavy Pistol Pricing)
375   3x flash-pak
6,832   Weapons Total
750   Armor Vest (+3 DR)
500        Cold Resistance
500        Fire Resistance
500        Electricity Resistance
2000   Chameleon Suit
1500   Actioneer Business Clothes
5000   Hermes Ikon Commlink (rating 5, Data 3, Firewall 0) Program Slots 2
50        Subvocal Mic
60        Signal Scrubber
250        Armor
11,110   All this stuff total
10,000   Rating 4 Fake SIN (Murderman)
800        Rating 4 License Firearms
800        Rating 4 Conceal Carry
800       Rating 4 Bounty Hunter
800        Rating 4 License Flash-Pak
800        Rating 4 License Cyberware
800        Rating 4 License Bioware
800        Rating 4 Driver License
7,500   Rating 3 Fake Sin (Joe Chummer)
600        Rating 3 manual driver license
23,700   ID’s Total
500   `Gun tool kit
400   Capacity 4 Glasses
250       Flare Compensation
500       Thermographic Vision
500       Vision enhancement
200   Climbing Gear
250   Gecko Tape Gloves
750   Rating 3 Medkit
750   5x Rating 6 Stimpatch
1000   2x Trauma Patch
16,000   Ford Americar
8,000   Federated Boeing Blackhawk
3,000      Rating 6 Stealth Autosoft
3,000      Rating 6 Maneuvering Autosoft
9,000       Onotari Interceptor
11,200       4x anti-vehicle rockets
55,300   This Stuff total

Cost   Ware            Essence
1000   Datajack         0.1
800   Image Link         0.1
4000   Smartlink         0.2
30,000   Titanium Bone Lacing      1.5
40,000   Wired Reflexes 1      1.0
31,000    Rating 1 Muscle Aug      0.2
32,000   Rating 1 Muscle Toner      0.2
14,000   Reflex Recorder (close Combat)   0.1
152,800   Ware total

15,000      3 months middle lifestyle
6,000      3 Month low lifestyle (safehouse)

258   Total remaining

Contacts: charisma * 6 point to spend on loyalty and connection