[Pure Mongrel]

Having only recently returned to paper and dice RPG after a 15 year absence (damn that makes me sound old  ) Shadowrun has become my game of choice.

The players I have are mostly returned players as well, but like me, this is their first time playing Shadowrun. While I have been madly reading and typing out ideas and scenarios, I have watched my players struggle with character creation ... or more to the point character concept.

Some have had a hard time letting go of the Elf, dwarf, orc and troll fantasy types, while all have found the world setting a struggle (so much to know: back story, technology, abilities, etc.) This is due to the fact that we all work, have responsibilities, etc. and time to "just read" is limited.

We have had two game sessions now, and we have all learned a lot during those games relating to the character abilities, the game mechanics and the world (our runs are set in Australia), but because the players are all so focused on learning the rules their characters are still very "bland".

To fix this, I have challenged my players to think of their characters in "Super Hero" terms. While I have no plans to make our games "Super" based runs, the abilities and technology available makes most Shadowrunners super human compared to today's mere mortals  This is just a way to get the players to focus on a theme for their characters and to get them to understand the importance of contacts and knowledge skills.

After all, a person who can control vehicles and drones with his mind, a wired cyborg, or a magic wielder could easily present themselves as a super hero (or villain) in our day and age. The players have taken to the challenge I am happy to say and some of their initial ideas hold much promise and many surprises. This has allowed me to create runs better tailored to the their play styles.

I thought it would be fun to present this idea here and see what Super themed character ideas you guys could come up with. Would you adapt an existing comic book character, or come up with a unique hero / villain? 

[Glyph]

Having seen a bazillion "make a superhero" threads, I would say that the best method, to make an actual playable character, is to either use an existing hero/villain as a starting point, or make your own (semi)-original concept. 

In other words, instead of simply trying to make Wolverine, take what you like about the character - and make a street samurai with partial amnesia who was used as a guinea pig by a corporate lab, is incredibly tough, and fights a battle between his bloodlust and the idealized samurai-style honor that he aspires to.  And give him twin cyberspurs if you want the classic Wolverine weapons.  But most people who try to do Wolverine get way, way too hung up on trying to duplicate his healing factor.

The other problem with trying to exactly duplicate an existing superhero is that the character will rarely, if ever, match up to the comic book version when planted into Shadowrun, where characters can lose intimidation tests, glitch and fall flat on their asses, or get hospitalized by one street punk with a lucky shot.  And it doesn't help that superhero comics are chock-full of supposedly ordinary human types who can rip out steel bars, shatter walls, block bullets, and do other things that a street samurai full of deltaware or a multi-initiate adept could only dream of doing.

[bedlam]

@Pure Mongrel- I once had a GM in 2nd Ed that created Johnny Blaze (Spirit tied to a shotgun that produced force 6 flamthrower spell and still worked on SA).  The main problem with this was the Characters were alway second best to his NPCs.  I'm not suggesting that will happen in yours, just mentioning a trap that another fell into. 

I prefer things like Bladerunner, Matrix, Sleepdealers, 13th Floor, Ghost in the Shell (series and movies), Boondock Saints, Constantine, Fallen, Ghost Dog, Doll House, and Inception.  These all come together for me as inspiration. 

[Pure Mongrel]

I see what you guys are saying. (and sorry for bring up what seem to be a recurring theme  )

So scratch what I said at the start of this thread. Instead I need some advice on how to motivate / inspire my players to make playable and interesting characters.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

@ Bedlam - Bladerunner is my all time favorite film. I see what you are saying regarding those films. Thanks for the input 

[Glyph]

You're... kind of on the right track, actually.  One of Shadowrun's main themes is transhumanism, with people either wielding magic or augmenting themselves, to become far more than human.  But Shadowrun isn't all shiny, though.  It is cyberpunk - think less that 80's fiction, and think more of near-future/somewhat dystopic sci-fi, atmospheric noir films/novels, and urban fantasy, all thrown into a blender.

So you have characters with superhuman abilities, but the magical ones are alternately idolized, feared, or bitterly envied by the people who don't have their gift.  And the augmented ones get their superhuman boost by selling bits and pieces of themselves, becoming stronger and faster but losing some of their essential humanity in the process.  And these misfits are set in a gritty world of graft, corruption, and balkanized corporate states waging covert wars against each other.  They make their living doing dirty, dangerous jobs, working under the table, trying to hold on to a few tattered shreds of integrity, and trying to make a difference even when it seems that they are fooling themselves, and they are just cogs in the machine that they hate.  Also, for these covert operatives, there might be a bit of a Mission Impossible feel, but often it can be more of a gritty, cinematic action hero feel.

If you want them to make characters that are less bland, remind them that the game enforces its transhumanism theme by making magic and augmentations that give cheap, easy boosts to characters.  Any mundane, unaugmented character should feel in over their head, like Deckard in Blade Runner - this is not a system flaw; this is by design.  The system also encourages teams by making specialization very effective compared to generalization.  High dice pools are one of the driving things in making an effective character.  So they shouldn't be making Bob the generic criminal, they should be making characters as if they are trying to create one of the members of the A-Team.  Maybe one of them is a techie kind of guy, another is good at social interactions, and another one is an absolute monster in combat.  I'm not saying they should be able to do one thing and nothing else, but they should have some kind of specialty or niche.

[Pure Mongrel]

Funny you should say the A-Team ... our smugglers van is in those colours. 

Our current group consists of a Smuggler, Mage, Bounty Hunter and Weapons specialist. Trouble has been getting the players to get a feel for their character and the role that character plays.

As we are all still learning, these characters are really nothing more than stats on a page.

For the fun of all involved I want them to get a "feel" for their characters and I thought that if they could relate / base their character on a fictional character they liked (that fit in the Shadowrun world) they could build from there until they get a true understanding of the Shadowrun universe.

As a GM, I find I can make better missions if I can base them around developed characters ... at the moment I don't have that feed back, hence this thread.

I did find your comments about cheap and easy boosts + "the gritty and corrupt setting" of great interest. Gritty and corrupt I can do, having run many Dark Conspiracy games in the past.

[FastJack]

To add to Glyph's comments about the Cybered runners losing bits of themselves: Back before SR4 came out, and after d20 Modern was released, I put together a d20 Shadowrun book for me & my friends to try and get some people to play. In regards to the Cyberware, I based Essence off of Charisma. It didn't actually lower the stat, but it did act as a negative modifier to the stat for all social skill tests (except Intimidation). I always chalked it up to that creepy feeling that people would get when staring into cameras instead of eyes.

Another way to get them involved may be to set the game in their RL backyard instead of Seattle/(Other Big City). Being able to show how times have changed the familiar can go a long way in anchoring it in their minds while still keeping it in the context of the game.

[bedlam]

@Pure Mongrel-  I think I can understand part of your issue.  Getting players excited/responsive/invested is tricky since that MUST come from tha player.  I recommend treating the players' characters less like a role, or race, but as a person.  What Street Sammy wouldn't be horrified at a Cyber Psycho going through an Orphanage slaughtering everything and harvesting the organic bits to be sold.  (My group decided to do this in one Cyberpunk Game.  I didn't play it again.)  Then ensure the group notices that it didn't even make the news. 

Some might disagree with this idea; but if you want a player response, plan to the player, not the character. 

[Usda Beph]

I was trying to create an "Iron Man/War Machine" Character. I did however find the limitations of the armor (MilSpec Heavy armor) quite... Limiting. However a few of the changling qualities could yield a Spiderman or The Thing!

[Pure Mongrel]

@ FastJack ... I will keep that "creepy feeling" in mind for future encounters. Thank you. We do play in our "backyard" - Brisbane Australia (or as we like to call it "Brisvegas" due to the casino in the heart of the city).

@ Bedlam ... Exactly. I want them to consider their character as a person. I want them to have their characters react to any situation based on the personality and beliefs of the PC instead of defaulting to ... "oh I am the best at that skill, let me roll" mentality.

@Beph ... Spiderman might be cool ... but I digress. When I presented my original post, what I should have said was the personalities of the characters and their skills, friends, contacts, enemies, etc. The first characters that came to mind were:

* Hawkeye - Skilled Archer, Skilled melee / hand to hand, Detective skills, friends in industry / government and spy organizations, strong sense of friendship and justice, smart mouth, still coming to terms with the loss of friends ... and his own life has made him question where the line is between right and wrong.

* Punisher - Weapons specialist, battle tactician, melee and hand to hand, military training, contacts in the black market, sense of justice skewed by loss of family, hatred for any person or organization that takes advantage of the innocent, brooding loner.

* Doctor Strange - Ex Surgeon, Wielder of the Mystic arts, actions based on justice, kindness and the philosophy of his mystic training, fights enemies that mere mortals can't even imagine, contacts in the mundane and spiritual worlds, friendly and wise.

* Hellboy - Troll like in terms of strength / endurance and reaction he gets when people meet him, driven by a personal code of friendship and loss of his father figure, unique weapon that he uses mostly above all others, strong understanding of mystic powers and mystic lore, contacts in the secret service and mystic realms, fight first ask questions later mentality, signature witty remarks during battle, feels like an outsider that desperately wants to fit in and be "normal"

The powers of super heroes are secondary or irrelevant in the Shadowrun context. I am getting my players to look at the character in terms of what drives them, who they know, what they do when faced with "X", how they are effected by the world around them, etc.

Powers only were of interest in regards to how they affect the character or as a build starting point. (Hawkeye finds confidence in his archery skills and uses them for justice, Punsher see's his combat abilities as a tool for vengeance and revenge, Doctor Strange is heavily influenced by the essence of his craft and the balance of good and evil, etc.)

As pointed out, exactly duplicating these characters would not work as the Superhero world, it's powers and many themes won't fit in the Shadowrun world, but the "character" of the heroes and villains can fit in any setting.
 

[bedlam]

I like the basic breakdown of these three.

Motivation:  What gets the character to do, well anything?        Power, Greed, Loss, Love, ect.   Eros and Thanotos, driving forces.

Tool:  How, or by what means will this occur.  Violence (by type), Sex, Manipulation, Thought, ect.  This should be the character's niche'.

Justifications:  Lines (social, political, moral, economic) that characters may, or are willing, to cross to fulfill a Motivation.  This is where character development can take interesting turns, and shouldn't happen often, as it can take time for players and GM to readjust.

Hope it helps. 

[Usda Beph]

@ Pure Mongrel... Ohhhhhh. I had the wrong premise! Sorry. Hero personality-types! Yeah. I still can go with Iron Man then. Wealthy Industrialist who developes a concious after a life threatening accident and puts his industrial might to use protecting the Wage-Slaves!

[FastJack]

@ Pure Mongrel... Ohhhhhh. I had the wrong premise! Sorry. Hero personality-types! Yeah. I still can go with Iron Man then. Wealthy Industrialist who developes a concious after a life threatening accident and puts his industrial might to use protecting the Wage-Slaves!

Why does that sound suspiciously similar to Damien Knight... (except the conscience part )

[Usda Beph]

And Damien Knight is??

[FastJack]

And Damien Knight is??

BLASPHEMER!!

*cough* ahem

Sorry 'bout that. Damien's the guy in charge of Ares Macrotechnology? The former commander of Echo Mirage? Played chess with Dunkelzahn? Nuked Chicago?

Here, maybe this will help.