[Zweiblumen]

Ahh, thanks, I missed that line.  RIH :\

Okay, thanks for the explanation on the Contacts and life styles.  Back to tweaking

[Ravensoracle]

Had a sleepless night. so I started to develop this guy as his own character rather than a rehash of the one I played in 4th. Here's a short piece of what I came up with.

Short Background Detective in this case isn't really a rank to him. It's the call sign that his unit kept calling him after he kept being so anal retentive about evidence and the contamination of crime scenes that a bunch of gun jockeys in an HTR team are so famous for. That and those damn old dime store detective novels and spy thrillers that he always had in his hand. He seemed to have a passion for those. Maybe that's why some no name street punk made his way one day to the offices of a recruitment drive by Knight Errant. Some corp execs pet project to bring the deserving off the streets and into the corporate fold.

After some training and a good bit of corporate brainwashing, it was off to the Academy. From there to security gigs and being a beat cop. Once a proficiency had been shown then it was off to the docs for some improvements and a promotion to Firewatch. Not at all a bad life for a kid that grew up orphaned on the streets. Until you start to examine the meat-grinder that his mind has been put through when dealing with some of the nasty drek that a cop, then a High Threat Response Team member has to deal with on a daily basis.

Psych ProfileThe Real Nitty Gritty

The Detective as his was called by his former teammates, sometimes in a less than favorable manor, is somewhat of a puzzle. While he was one of the weapon specialists for team, and was very capable at that role, he always seemed to have his face in a tech manual or textbook. That is of course when he wasn't reading some novel. That was of course in his Rookie days. When he was under the delusion that he could make a real difference.

That' s before he witnessed all the needless bloodshed and depravity that made up life. Too many times he's been called in to deal with some runner, or terrorist, or toxic whatever to think he can make a difference anymore. Too many times he's helped put the corpses of innocents into body bags. Too many times he's had to listen to the PR spin of some major incident when he knew the truth. Too many times to even keep count anymore.

From the outside, his superiors would say he's been hardened in battle. He's a dedicated, stone cold, lean mean fighting machine. And he has the brains to back up the brawn. He's by-the-book and follows orders well. He doesn't let the drek affect him outwardly. He's a damn good soldier.

But to get that cold exterior comes with a price. He's become numb to it all. He can no longer see the joy and freedom of life. He stuck with the nightmares of a cold, clammy reality. And to the one that can truly get into his mind, They'll see that the rough hard exterior may just be on the verge of cracking.

[Novocrane]

I think I'm going to pull out of the running. Good luck to everyone looking to get in!

[Koshnek]

OK, so I gave in and went deeper with my character. I've decided to call him Thorn. Christopher Thorndyke is his given name, but his disregard for regulations and tendency to be an annoyance to anyone he dislikes earned him his nickname.

Link to a PDF and Chummer5 file for Thorn. https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B-ODJXibwGUuYVY1d3VCdUFVeXc&usp=sharing

The background is too long to fit in this post. I wrote it to help me get a feel for this character, so you've been warned :p. It's probably 1-1.5 pages. Everything I wrote before should apply. Hes corp-born into Ares, and His parents slaved for their wages. He doesn't like the man from an early age, but he doesn't want to cause trouble for his parents so he doesn't become a problem child. He spent his first couple years working as a janitor once he came of age.

He awakens late, and is discovered to have great magical potential. He struggles under the typical Hermetic training, but with tutelage from unlikely sources (Matrix magic apps/spell tutorsofts and a Sioux shaman from HR) he manages to get just enough of a grasp on his magic to shine when it counted. He later develops a relationship with Raven whom he has already met without realizing it was his mentor spirit.

Chris is transferred to corpsec, and he makes it through a harsh year. Corporate reevaluates him again, and he is trained for Firewatch. He spends the remaining 7 years loving his life and position in Firewatch despite working for the man. Then the accident happens, and he finds himself in secret facilities with his corp life gone. Everyone believes he's dead. He's appreciative of what the Corp has done for him, so he gives them the benefit of the doubt. If the partner convinces him leaving is a good idea and he believes that Ares is no longer in his best interest, he will leave. (So 50/50 from a character standpoint, I'm personally ok either way, but I do think it'd be more fun to play from the corp side of shadowrun)

My character would also be a good fit for the third person, I believe. It would be a good way for Corp to more or less get him out of their hair, and they would have no reason to distrust Chris. He just wouldn't be willing to leave the company if he wasn't involved in the accident. It'd also let Chris vent some of his anti-man feelings. He wouldn't let these guys get exploited too much. They're brothers in arms, and above that human beings. I'd have to adjust his contacts and alter his story a bit, but overall I think he would still be the same character up until the explosion links the two characters together. After that he gets transferred in to keep an eye on them and to provide emotional support. Things he's very good at.

Edit: I assumed his position in Firewatch provided him with any necessary licenses he would need. If I was wrong I can go ahead and buy them. I didn't buy any to go with the fake SIN because he just uses it to meet with his contacts that shouldn't really know who he is.

Also, I took the liberty of changing his Art knowledge from I think Academic to Interest. He didn't take any classes on Art. He's gone to the museum, he's done matrix searches just browsing interesting pieces. He even owns a copy of The Starry Night. He's familiar with the different artists and their styles from the matrix and the museum, but he doesn't have any academic training in Art.

== Info ==
Street Name: Thorn
Name: Christopher Thorndyke
Movement: 10/20
Karma: 3
Street Cred: 0
Notoriety: 0
Public Awareness: 0
Elf Male Age 29
Height 5'5" Weight 159 lbs
Composure: 9
Judge Intentions: 10
Lift/Carry: 5 (45 kg/30 kg)
Memory: 9
Nuyen: 3339

== Priorities ==
Metatype: C - Human, Dwarf, Elf, or Ork
Attributes: B - 20 Attributes
Special: A - Magician or Technomancer
Skills: D (A) - 22 Skills/0 Skill Groups
Resources: E (C) - 100,000¥

== Attributes ==
BOD: 2
AGI: 5
REA: 2 (4)
STR: 3
CHA: 4
INT: 6
LOG: 4
WIL: 5
EDG: 3
MAG: 7

== Derived Attributes ==
Essence:                   6
Initiative:                10 + 3d6
Rigger Initiative:         10 + 3d6
Astral Initiative:         12 + 2d6
Matrix AR Initiative:      10 + 3d6
Matrix Cold Initiative:    6 + DP + 3d6
Matrix Hot Initiative:     6 + DP + 4d6
Physical Damage Track:     9
Stun Damage Track:         11

== Limits ==
Physical:                  4
Mental:                    7
Social:                    7
   Ares Victory: Industrious [+1] (Only with appropriate corp, Must be visible)
   Padded Leather [-1] (Must be visible, general public only; increase by 1 with gang members)
   Vashon Island: Ace of Cups [+1] (Must be visible)
Astral:                    7

== Active Skills ==
Animal Handling            : 0                      Pool: 3
Arcana                     : 2 [Spell Design]       Pool: 6 (
Archery                    : 0                      Pool: 4
Armorer                    : 1                      Pool: 5
Artisan                    : 4 [Drawing]            Pool: 10 (12)
Assensing                  : 5 [Aura Reading]       Pool: 13 (15)
Automatics                 : 1                      Pool: 6
Blades                     : 0                      Pool: 4
Clubs                      : 0                      Pool: 4
Computer                   : 0                      Pool: 3
Con                        : 4                      Pool: 11
Counterspelling            : 9 [Combat]             Pool: 16 (18)
Cybercombat                : 0                      Pool: 3
Demolitions                : 0                      Pool: 3
Disguise                   : 4                      Pool: 11
Diving                     : 0                      Pool: 1
Escape Artist              : 0                      Pool: 4
Etiquette                  : 1                      Pool: 6
Exotic Ranged Weapon       : 6 [Lasers]             Pool: 11
First Aid                  : 0                      Pool: 3
Forgery                    : 0                      Pool: 3
Free-Fall                  : 0                      Pool: 1
Gunnery                    : 0                      Pool: 4
Gymnastics                 : 1                      Pool: 6
Hacking                    : 0                      Pool: 3
Heavy Weapons              : 0                      Pool: 4
Impersonation              : 4                      Pool: 9
Instruction                : 0                      Pool: 4
Intimidation               : 0                      Pool: 4
Leadership                 : 0                      Pool: 4
Longarms                   : 6 [Long-Range Shots]   Pool: 11 (13)
Navigation                 : 1                      Pool: 7
Negotiation                : 0                      Pool: 4
Palming                    : 4                      Pool: 10
Perception                 : 3                      Pool: 11
Performance                : 4                      Pool: 9
Pilot Ground Craft         : 0                      Pool: 3
Pilot Watercraft           : 0                      Pool: 3
Pistols                    : 1                      Pool: 6
Running                    : 1                      Pool: 4
Sneaking                   : 4                      Pool: 9
Spellcasting               : 6 [Manipulation]       Pool: 13 (15)
Survival                   : 1                      Pool: 6
Swimming                   : 1                      Pool: 4
Throwing Weapons           : 0                      Pool: 4
Tracking                   : 1                      Pool: 7
Unarmed Combat             : 1                      Pool: 6

== Knowledge Skills ==
Art                        : 1 [Van Gogh]           Pool: 7 (9)
Magic Traditions           : 3 [Magic Adepts]       Pool: 7 (9)
Magical Theory             : 3 [Sorcery]            Pool: 7 (9)
Religion                   : 3 [Christianity]       Pool: 7 (9)
Security Tactics           : 3 [Corporate]          Pool: 7 (9)
Small Unit Tactics         : 1 [Urban]              Pool: 7 (9)

== Contacts ==
Li Fong (3, 2)
Lulu (3, 3)
Reuben Patel (5, 1)
Samson (5, 2)

== Qualities ==
Allergy (Uncommon, Mild) (Cats)
Exceptional Attribute (MAG)
Illness (Rating 1)
Low-Light Vision
Mentor Spirit (Raven)
Mystic Adept
SINner (Corporate) (Ares)

== Spells ==
(Tradition: Chaos Magic, Resist Drain with WIL + INT (11))
[Element] Wall (Fire)      DV: F+2
Ball Lightning             DV: F-1
Catfall                    DV: F-3
Chaotic World              DV: F
Flamethrower               DV: F-3
Fling                      DV: F-2
Levitate                   DV: F-2
Mana Static                DV: F-1
Manabolt                   DV: F-3
Shape [Material] (Fire)    DV: F-2

== Powers ==
Astral Perception
Cool Resolve Rating: 1
Enhanced Perception Rating: 2
Facial Sculpt Rating: 1
Improved Reflexes 2
Magic Sense
Motion Sense
Nimble Fingers
Traceless Walk
Voice Control Rating: 1

== Lifestyles ==
Street  1 months

== Armor ==
Ares Victory: Big Game Hunter       14
   +Custom Fit
   +Electrochromic Clothing
   +Gear Access
   +Liner - Chemical Protection (6)
   +Nonconductivity 6
   +Pulse Weave
   +Radiation Shielding 3
   +Holster
Ares Victory: Industrious           9
   +Gear Access
   +Tool Kit (Disguise)
Clothing ("Street Clothes")                             0
Forearm Guards                      1
Helmet                              2
   +YNT Softweave Armor
   +Microphone, Laser Rating 4
      +Audio Enhancement Rating 3
      +Select Sound Filter Rating 1
   +Microphone, Omni-Directional Rating 5
      +Audio Enhancement Rating 3
      +Spatial Recognizer
   +Trodes
   +Vision Enhancement Rating 3
Murder Armor                        13
   +Custom Fit
   +YNT Softweave Armor
   +Biomonitor
   +Holster
   +Tool Kit (Armorer)
Padded Leather                      7
   +Custom Fit
   +Padded
Snake Mesh Socks                    0
Vashon Island: Ace of Cups          9
   +Electrochromic Clothing

== Weapons ==
Ares Desert Strike
   +Guncam
   +Imaging Scope
   +Shock Pad
   +Silencer
   +Smartgun System, External
   +Spare Clip
   +Spare Clip
   +Stock
   +Tracker
   Pool: 11   Accuracy: 9   DV: 13P   AP: -4   RC: 2
Ares Lancer MP Laser
   +Imaging Scope
   +Peak-Discharge Battery Pack, Power Clip
   +Peak-Discharge Battery Pack, Power Clip
   +Peak-Discharge Battery Pack, Power Clip
   +Peak-Discharge Battery Pack, Power Clip
   +Peak-Discharge Battery Pack, Satchel Power Pack
   +Sling
   +Smartgun System, External
   +Tracker
   Pool: 0   Accuracy: 9   DV: 7P   AP: -10   RC: 1
Ares Redline
   +Improved Range Finder
   +Peak-Discharge Battery Pack, Power Clip
   +Peak-Discharge Battery Pack, Power Clip
   +Smartgun System, External
   Pool: 0   Accuracy: 11   DV: 5P   AP: -10   RC: 1
Grenade: Flash-Bang
   Pool: 4   Accuracy: 4   DV: 10S (10m Radius)   AP: -4   RC: 1
Grenade: Flash-Pak
   Pool: 4   Accuracy: 4   DV: Special   AP: -   RC: 1
Grenade: Fragmentation
   Pool: 4   Accuracy: 4   DV: 18P(f) (-1/m)   AP: +5   RC: 1
Grenade: Gas
   Pool: 4   Accuracy: 4   DV: Chemical (10m Radius)   AP: -   RC: 1
Grenade: High Explosive
   Pool: 4   Accuracy: 4   DV: 16P (-2/m)   AP: -2   RC: 1
Grenade: Smoke
   Pool: 4   Accuracy: 4   DV: (10m Radius)   AP: -   RC: 1
Grenade: Thermal Smoke
   Pool: 4   Accuracy: 4   DV: (10m Radius)   AP: -   RC: 1
Mossberg AM-CMDT
   +Flashlight, Low Light
   +Gas-Vent 3 System
   +Improved Range Finder
   +Shock Pad
   +Smartgun System, Internal
   +Spare Clip
   +Spare Clip
   +Spare Clip
   +Spare Clip
   +Spare Clip
   +Tracker
   +Underbarrel Weight
   Pool: 11   Accuracy: 7   DV: 12P   AP: -1   RC: 6
Shock Gloves
   Pool: 6   Accuracy: 4   DV: 8S(e)   AP: -5   RC: 1
Unarmed Attack
   Pool: 6   Accuracy: 4   DV: 3S   AP: -   RC: 1

== Commlink ==
Transys Avalon (ATT: 0, SLZ: 0, DP: 6, FWL: 6)

== Gear ==
ADHD Meds 1mo
Ammo: APDS (Sniper Rifles) x70
Ammo: APDS (Shotguns) x60
Ammo: EX-Explosive Rounds (Sniper Rifles) x70
Ammo: Flechette Rounds (Shotguns) x60
Ammo: Stick-n-Shock (Sniper Rifles) x70
AR Gloves
Biometric Reader
Biomonitor
Certified Credstick, Gold
Certified Credstick, Silver
Certified Credstick, Standard Rating 1
Chisel
Climbing Gear
Contacts Rating 3
   +Flare Compensation
   +Image Link
   +Smartlink
Cram x10
Fake SIN (Johnathan Jones) Rating 4
Flashlight, Low-light
Gas Mask
Gecko Tape Gloves
Glue Solvent x2
Glue Sprayer x5
Gorepack x4
Grenade: Flash-Bang x5
Grenade: Flash-Pak x2
Grenade: Fragmentation x5
Grenade: Gas x5
   +Neuro-Stun X
Grenade: High Explosive
Grenade: Smoke x2
Grenade: Thermal Smoke x3
Jazz x2
Kamikaze
Long Haul x2
Magical Lodge Materials Rating 7
Micro-Transceiver
Miniwelder
Miniwelder Fuel Canister x2
Mystic Cuff Rating 1
Mystic Jacket Rating 1
Mystic Mask Rating 1
Power Focus Rating 1
Psyche x2
Qi Focus Rating 1
Qi Focus Rating 1
Rapelling Gloves
Reagents, per dram x250
Restraint, Plasteel x2
Restraint, Plastic x20
Satellite Link
Sim Module
Slap Patch, Stim Patch Rating 6 x2
Slap Patch, Trauma Patch
Spellcasting Focus, Combat Rating 5
Subvocal Mic
Survival Kit
Sustaining Focus, Manipulation Rating 5
Telescoping Mirror on a Stick
Tool Shop (Disguise)
Tool Shop (Artisan)
Trid Projector
White Noise Generator Rating 6

== Description ==
Thorn is shorter than most, but he commands the area around him. You can't help but smile at his big grin. Perhaps his antics annoy you. The chances are he might just walk by you without you ever noticing his passage.

He has a kind face which he controls with ease. His grey eyes usually shine bright with kindness, but when necessary they can darken into an angry glare with ease. Only the most intuitive individual could discern the true feelings behind those eyes. Anyone who knows anything about Firewatch and HTR Corpsec knows that Chris has to have seen some drek, but the bad never shines through. Not if he doesn't need it to.

Thorn wears his dark hair buzzed. He doesn't wear facial hair, but he usually goes several days between clean shaves.

He has several different outfits should he need them, but he normally lounges about in an old Ares tee and jeans with a pair of broken in combat boots.

His go-to combat outfit is a tricked out Big Game Hunter. It may look a little out of place, but it's got protection from practically everything but fire. If he's ever lit on fire he can manage that himself. Plus, it looks snazzy combined with his helmet. The electrochromic feature lets him change cammo paterns as needed as a bonus.

Finally, no one expects the mage to be the one wearing cammo armor with a full loadout of weaponry. Thorn often tells his buddies that one nice thing about being an awakened sniper is landing a manabolt from 1500m out with no one ever finding out. If that's not enough, he'll tell them that a bullet between the eyes works almost as well.


== Background ==
Too long to post in its entirity (I literally ran out of characters), so check the link at top. The background is quite similar to what has been posted, but I've expanded upon it.

== Concept ==
Ares-born Elven Combat MysAd Firewatch member of the Chaos tradition specializing in magical detection and protection.

== Notes ==
Thorn's brand of Chaos:

He has a sleek, modern Sioux lodge. The central area has a desk which features trid and custom AR displays. The modern feel is contrasted by the traditional Sioux trappings. Its like he took a room he was comfortable with and then put all the Sioux culture he knew into it.

Google Cooper's office from the show mad men. It has a very Japanese feel to it, but it's still quite American. That's what I'm going for. I confess though that I don't know much about what a Sioux lodge would look like. The tradition description doesn't help much.

For spellcasting, I imagine him having a Sioux approach to it. First he finds a tutorsoft that makes sense to him. Then when hes had enough he contemplates the nature of magic and then when it feels right, he attempts the spell. If it works he refines his method until its perfect. If it doesn't work he mulls it over some more.

When he needs to use reagents he uses Christian reagents. Chris believes in God, so he asks Him to assist his spellcasting when he doesn't rely on his skills alone.

[Ryo]

Ericen: Dwarven Combat Mage.
Scawire: Decker/Mage.
Poindexter: Straight up asshole.
Novocrane: Animal handler/mimicry adept.
Zweiblumen: Weapon Maker.
Ravensoracle: Jack of All Trades.
Koshnek: Mystic Adept Chaos Magician.

So unless anybody else tosses their hat in the ring, we're down to four people to choose from for the two bonded characters. I've received sheets from all four of you, so I'll go ahead and give you guys some idea of my thought process here.

First and foremost, I'm noticing that dice pools are a bit smaller than I was expecting. Firewatch is supposed to be the elite among elite, so your dice pools should be around the area of Professional Rating 5 or 6. But then I double checked and saw that those guys have 30 skill group ranks, so that's well beyond what even Skills A can give you.

So to expand on your skill ratings and give you guys an initial boost, I'll give each of you 180 karma to use only on Active skills, and 30 karma for use on Knowledge skills. That's enough to get a single skill group from 0 to 8, or spread around to all your 1s and 2s to bring up your average dice pools by a lot. I  also liked the idea Koshnek put forward about the knowledge skills, so I'm throwing you a bone there too to flesh out your backgrounds.

Now, for the actual characters themselves. I'm looking for three main things in a bonded pair, so these are the three criteria I'll be judging these characters on. If I don't pick your character, it's not because it wasn't good enough or anything like that, it's simply because it didn't fit these criteria.

1: The two characters need to be mechanically different. Obviously everyone will have the basic skills covered; something to do in combat, some stealth skill, some social skill, etc, but their primary roles are different.
2: The characters need to be different in personality. I'm looking for two characters that will complement one another and serve as a decent foil to each other, requiring them to be sufficiently different without being so different that they'd hate each other.
3: The characters need to be believable members of a Firewatch squad. Basically, it has to make sense that you were chosen to go into a facility to clear out an invading force of shadowrunners and proceed to get blown up. If it makes more sense for your character to be given a desk job, it's problematic for the background needed by the plot of the game.

Note that these three criteria only apply to the bonded pair. If I decide to have one or more support players not part of the bonded pair, then these issues matter significantly less.

Stix - Decker/Mage
Pros:

• Primary Decker role, which no one else has built for. Makes him mechanically different no matter who he's paired with.
• Nice guy personality, which no one else has stated. Makes him different in personality no matter who he's paired with.
• Is a believable member of a Firewatch Squad.

Cons:

• Complete lack of social skills.
• Complete lack of athletic skills.
• Weak key skills (Perception, Etiquette, Gymnastics)
• Has Insomnia, which would negatively impact the bonded partner.

Waffe - Gun builder with Aspergers
Pros:

• High dice pools in primary roles.
• Interesting character concept.
• Expert with lasers.

Cons:

• Uncouth, combined with a complete lack of social skills, makes him Unaware and automatically fail on every social test he would ever attempt.
• No Stealth skills.
• Body 2 and Willpower 2 make him incredibly fragile.
• He makes more sense confined to a lab than as a member of a Firewatch squad.

Detective - Jack of all Trades
Pros:

• Strong character concept.
• Versatile, and mixes well mechanically with anyone.
• Is a believable member of a Firewatch Squad.

Cons:

• A lot of weak dice pools, spread thin with an average roll in the single digits.
• Has Insomnia, which would negatively impact the bonded partner (Might not matter with Stix).

Thorn - Chaos Mage
Pros:

• Strong and interesting character concept.
• Primary Mage, which makes him mechanically different no matter who he's paired with (Except Stix).
• Versatile spell/power selection.
• Believable member of a Firewatch squad.
• Pew pew lasers.

Cons:

• Somewhat fragile.
• Weak key skills (Gymastics, Etiquette)

Possible Bonds:

Stix + Detective
Mechanically different.
Personalities are different.
Both believable as Firewatch members.
Both have insomnia.

Stix + Waffe
Mechanically different.
Personalities are different.
More believable as lab partners than field operatives.

Stix + Thorn
Personalities are different.
Would make a believable Firewatch team.
Some Magic overlap, but different traditions, spell choices and skill focuses.

Detective + Waffe
Conflicting personalities.
Redundant skills.

Detective + Thorn
Mechanically different.
Personalities are different.
Believable Firewatch team.

Waffe + Thorn
Mechanically different.
Personalities are different.
Lasers!!!!


The extra karma I gave you should make it pretty easy to shore up the weak skills I noted, and you are free to make changes to your build to make up for the weaknesses stated here.

As it stands, I'm leaning towards Stix + Detective, Stix + Thorn, or Detective + Thorn. Waffe is a strong contender for an unbonded support player, since he's currently built to be the Q to the team's James Bond, or a backup shooter that offers fire support as necessary. He's got skills that would be super useful, he's just not believable on the front line when he's completely socially inept and has the damage soaking capabilities of a small child. Waffe + Thorn has potential if Waffe gets significantly changed to be believable in the field.

I might actually move up to four players total, since I like the concept behind all of these characters and don't actually want to say 'no' to any of them, but the plot depends on a bonded pair and the question remains about who shares a brain.

So, what would be your preferences?

[Ravensoracle]

I can easily take other negative qualities to represent what I basically see as PTSD for the Detective. Insomnia just seemed like a logical choice but there are others I can take.

Aged- represent time on the team representing the time he's been there.
Illness level 1- It says Body + Body for a physical Illness but why not use Willpower + Willpower for a mental illness.
Dependent - Gives an NPC link that can bring in plenty of sideline stories.
Prejudice might represent his jaded personality.
Social Stress may be another way to represent his issues.

I am open to other ideas. Insomnia isn't set in stone

And the bonus to Active skills will really allow him to get away form the lower skills.

As to if Detective is part of the link or if he is just one of the handlers is up to you. I am open to either and think both will work well.

[Ryo]

I can easily take other negative qualities to represent what I basically see as PTSD for the Detective. Insomnia just seemed like a logical choice but there are others I can take.

Aged- represent time on the team representing the time he's been there.
Illness level 1- It says Body + Body for a physical Illness but why not use Willpower + Willpower for a mental illness.
Dependent - Gives an NPC link that can bring in plenty of sideline stories.
Prejudice might represent his jaded personality.
Social Stress may be another way to represent his issues.

I am open to other ideas. Insomnia isn't set in stone

Insomnia is only a problem if the other player in the bond dislikes sharing negative qualities without getting any karma for it. Any mental health problems (insomnia, Addiction, Social Stress, a mental Illness, etc) has the potential to bleed over the link and affect the other player. If everybody's cool with that, it's not a problem. If you both have the same negative quality, it doesn't really matter much either.

Dependent doesn't work, since your death was faked and you've been locked in a lab for months. Whoever was dependent on you either moved on or died without your support. Totally possible as part of your background, but you wouldn't have the quality anymore.

Aged and Prejudice are both fine and wouldn't affect the partner, although Aged implies you were close to retirement when the accident happened. (Who doesn't like Retirony?)

[Zweiblumen]

With the extra karma given, I can easilly make him less fragile (in his original form he was much tougher, but I wanted to broaden his skill set).  I'll get a new sheet submitted this afternoon.

...

And LASERS!!!!

[Koshnek]

Cool! I'll take a look tomorrow. With these extra points I can probably drop a point of stats somewhere for a point of Bod for some extra soak. I'm not home right now, but tomorrow after work I'll look into it! I took illness ADHD though. I dunnow how ya feel bout that, u didn't seem to like insomnia. It felt right, though. I'll get back to the drawing board tomorrow.

Oh, and he's initiated once into the shielding metamagic. That doesn't seem to be reflected by the text readout I pasted over here.

Edit: as far as in the bond or not, I'm good either way. It's not that I don't care, but more that the game over all sounds interesting. The guy from Ares keeping them under watch would be fun. Watching over assets which could likely get out of your control if you're not on your toes. Also caring about them because they're your brothers in arms despite their situation.

Being in the link would be fun because it's not a situation you often get to be in while playing games. It'd be fun to share that bond with another player and character. Whichever side I'm on, it'll be fun to see how the game plays out! Getting to influence it is a plus : ).

[Poindexter]

What city are ya thinkin bout starting this game in?

[Zweiblumen]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/yqgh9333o8dbes7/Hero%20Lab%20-%20Waffe%20Elite.pdf?dl=0

I've increased his body to 5, so he's got 11 boxes of Physical now.  With his full armor on (which is hardened) he's at 23 dice for soak, if he takes an AP for full defense, he's got 22 dice for dodging.  He can rig, not the best, but he's good.  On top of that he's got the athletics group and can get into places reasonably well (16 dice for busting a maglock).  While socially awkward/unaware, he's not an out an out asshole.  He has friends, and those he'd be very close to.  Others, not so much.  The only thing he likes to do more than running around in his armor and shooting his lasers is building them, but it's a close call between the two.

He's got cop contacts and knowledge as well as corporate political contacts and knowledge.  He may not be able to work well with social structures, he's aware of how they work.

[Ryo]

What city are ya thinkin bout starting this game in?

The first run will be in Seattle, however Ares is a global company, with global interests, and may deploy the group anywhere they are needed. The secret facility that they are using as their base of operations is actually located in the California Free State. Where they were stationed prior to the accident depends on the backgrounds of the characters.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/yqgh9333o8dbes7/Hero%20Lab%20-%20Waffe%20Elite.pdf?dl=0

I've increased his body to 5, so he's got 11 boxes of Physical now.  With his full armor on (which is hardened) he's at 23 dice for soak, if he takes an AP for full defense, he's got 22 dice for dodging.  He can rig, not the best, but he's good.  On top of that he's got the athletics group and can get into places reasonably well (16 dice for busting a maglock).  While socially awkward/unaware, he's not an out an out asshole.  He has friends, and those he'd be very close to.  Others, not so much.  The only thing he likes to do more than running around in his armor and shooting his lasers is building them, but it's a close call between the two.

He's got cop contacts and knowledge as well as corporate political contacts and knowledge.  He may not be able to work well with social structures, he's aware of how they work.

Body 5 is definitely better, and makes him less of a lab rat. However if he is supposed to understand social structures and be even remotely capable of interacting with people, you need to pay the double cost to get some social skills, or drop Uncouth. Uncouth makes you count as Unaware for any social skill you do not have at least 1 rank in. As it currently stands, you understand Con, Etiquette, Impersonation, Instruction, Intimidation, Leadership, Negotiation and Performance as much as a dog understands the matrix. It is completely foreign to you, you can't even default on those tests, and it wouldn't even occur to you to try to use any of those skills in any situation.

Most character can get by without most of those, but Etiquette is basically a requirement for all characters, especially highly elite members of a special forces team like Firewatch. A guy who can't open his mouth without offending whoever he's talking to, but is super smart and one of the best scientists we have? Okay, sure, put him in a lab and walk on eggshells around him, and everyone's fine. But nobody would put you in the field.

[Zweiblumen]

Makes perfect sense.

Would you say that Aspergers is the equivelent of Uncouth?  That was the closest game mechanic I could find for it.  I like the concept enough that I want to stick with it.  I can swap out some of the filler skills and pay double to get enough social grace to make it in a team.

EDIT:  I've updated the sheet with new skills.  I dropped computer and a point from each of my Pilot skills and took 2 points of intimadation 2 points of etiquette and a point of leadership.

[Ryo]

Uncouth probably is the closest negative quality to Aspergers, yes. Paying double for social skills adequately covers the difficulty for you to understand social interaction, and having 2 points will let you function enough to be put on a team. So that's all good.

[Scawire]

Thanks for the extra Karma I will work on spending it tonight and tomorrow after college.

I would suggest putting in the subject line something telling everyone this recruitment is over.

Also I would say having a 2 mind linked and 2 non mind link would be cool, that will give the non mind linked people someone to talk to about the strangeness of the 2 linked guys. Just an idea.

So it sounds like we are most likely not going to want to leave ARES so I will start thinking over my background for an ARES based runner.

Thanks again for the neat run Ryo.