[adzling]

the final/ official/ errata'd version of the power uses only leadership

personally id be cool with either

also you should check the mechanical bonuses you can confer to your teammates via leadership

it can be quite useful when you cant get to / dont to want to enter the fight

Commanding Voice adds dice to the both Opposed Intimidation or Leadership tests that the adept initiates. Although Leadership tests can result in some useful things every now and then, they’re pretty dang rare... it’s not often I find myself having “Follow me, lads!” moments in Shadowrun.

Intimidation, on the other hand, comes up with some regularity. But usually only with street toughs and gutter punks. Professional shadowrunners, elite security, and corporate big-wigs are too cool to be intimidated (and it’s not usually worth it to try, even if you could throw enough dice at them. “Flies with honey,” and all that).

[Fedifensor]

Have you considered a "half-elf"...? 



The build below dumps the Adept priority to D, because it's much more effective to use special attribute points to raise Magic to 6.  She's built as an elf with the human-looking positive quality, which seems to fit the picture.  Body suffered slightly, but that should be an early priority to buy to 3.  Alternately, you could move the low stat to either Willpower, Logic, or Intuition (though the latter two will reduce knowledge skills).


With social bonus from armor and Authoritative Tone, any Opposed Social Skill Test you initiate is 13 dice + skill level.  Negotiation is 19 dice, or 21 dice for bargaining.  Commanding Voice is (as calculated by Hero Lab) 15 dice, and most GMs will also allow the +2 Command specialization for 17 dice.  Some will say it is a social skill test and also give armor and Authorative Tone bonuses, but also impose test penalties for enemy attitude.  Either way, you have a good shot at succeeding with the power.


FYI, there have been multiple versions of Commanding Voice.  The current version is a 5-word command that can be nearly anything, and the target will either take a Complex Action to follow the command or stand confused (GM's choice).  You can take a -2 penalty for each added target, up to a max of 6.  It's a great way to stop multiple foes in their tracks - my personal favorite command is "drop your weapons and flee".


If you're absolutely set against elves, even human-looking ones, you can build the character as a human - lower Cha and Agl, but higher Edge.

Finally, gear is stripped down a bit.  Much of this stuff can be bought after your first run, when you've fully immersed yourself in the shadows.  With 20+ dice of Negotiation (Bargaining), Availability isn't a problem for you.




Storyteller (Shojiki Sasori)
METATYPE: ELF
B 2, A 6, R 5/7, S 5, W 3, L 3, I 3, C 9, ESS 6, EDG 3, M 6
Condition Monitor (P/S): 9 / 10
Armor: 8
Limits: Physical 7, Mental 4, Social 10
Physical Initiative: 8/10+3D6
Active Skills: Acting Group 2, Blades (Swords +2) 6, Etiquette 4, Intimidation 1, Leadership (Command +2) 6, Negotiation (Bargaining +2) 6, Perception 1, Pistols (Tasers +2) 1
Knowledge Skills: Business (AAA Corps +2) 3, Fashion (Tokyo +2) 3, Mitsuhama 1, Politics (Japan +2) 1
Languages: English 1, Japanese N
Metatype Abilities: Enhanced Senses: Low-Light Vision
Qualities: Adept, Allergy, Uncommon (Moderate): Dogs, Creature of Comfort (Middle Lifestyle), Exceptional Attribute: Charisma, Human-Looking, Phobia, Uncommon (Mild): Awakened Canines, Solid Rep: Mitsuhama, Too Pretty to Hit
Adept Powers: Authoritative Tone (3), Commanding Voice (15dicepool vs.  Willpower + Intuition), Critical Strike: Blades, Improved Reflexes (2), Voice Control (1) (13dicepool[4] vs. Voice rec. x 2 or PER + INT)
Gear:
. . Ace of Diamonds w/ +2 modifier for concealability, Concealable Holster
. . Certified Credstick, Standard
. . Contacts (2) w/ Flare Compensation, Image Link
. . Ear buds (1)
. . Sony Emperor w/ Receiver
. . Subvocal Microphone
. . Tendo Nabiki w/ Fake License: Adept (3), Fake License: Taser (3), Fake SIN (3), (1 month) Low Lifestyle
. . Trodes
Weapons:
. . Defiance EX Shocker [Taser, Acc 6, DV 9S(e), AP -5, SS, 4 (m)] w/ Laser Sight, Personalized Grip, (8x) Taser Dart
. . Katana [Blade,Blade, Reach 1, Acc 8, DV 9P, AP -3] w/ Personalized Grip
Contacts:
Fixer (Connection 5, Loyalty 2)
Mitsuhama IT Guy (Connection 2, Loyalty 4)
Nightclub Owner (Connection 4, Loyalty 3)
NTMP Dispatch Supervisor (Connection 4, Loyalty 3)
Starting ¥: 2,185 + (3D6 × 60)¥

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[Tarislar]

With 32 skill points & 2 group points I'd probably look for something like this.


Group Stealth = 2
Con = 6 + Specialization
Etiquette = 6
Negotiation = 6
Perception = 6
Blades or Unarmed = 6 + Specialization


I'd also consider shifting some Reaction to Intuition

[Ajax]

"Do not be distracted by the pincers when it is the tail that can kill you."

Character: Shōjiki Sasori / Storyteller
Concept:    Con Artist

Priorities:
Metatype:    B Elf
Attributes:    A 24
Magic:       D Adept
Skills:    C 28/2
Resources:    E ¥6,000

Attributes
Body:       3*
Agility:    6
Reaction:    5 (7)
Strength:    5
Willpower:   3
Logic:       3
Intuition:    3
Charisma:    8
Edge:       3
Magic:       6
Essence:    6
* Increased via Karma   

Limits
Mental:       4
Physical:    7
Social:       9 (10; 12 with Executive Suite)

Derived Attributes
Initiative: 10 + 3d6
Physical Condition: 10
Stun Condition: 10

Qualities
Allergy [Uncommon, Moderate; Dogs]    (-10)
Creature of Comfort [Middle]       (-10)
Phobia [Uncommon, Mild; Awakened Canines] (-5)
Mentor Spirit [Raven]          (+5)
Solid Rep [Mitsuhama]          (+2)
Too Pretty to Hit          (+3)

Martial Arts[/b]
Style: Kenjutsu
Techniques: Iaijutsu, Finishing Move

Adept Powers (Rank / PP Cost)
Authoritative Tone     (3 / 1.50 PP)
Commanding Voice    (1 / 1.00 PP)
Critical Strike [Blades]    (1 / 0.50 PP)
Improved Ability [Blades]    (1 / 0.50 PP)
Improved Reflexes II    (2 / 2.50 PP)
Traceless Walk       (1 / 0.00 PP)*
Voice Control       (1 / 0.00 PP)*
* Mentor Spirit Bonus

Active Skills
Blades [Kenjutsu]    (7)
Con          4
Disguise*       2
Impersonation        1
Intimidation       2
Leadership [Command]    4
Negotiation [Bargaining] 4
Palming*       2
Perception       1
Pistols [Tasers]    2
Sneaking*       2

*Skill Group
**Free Adept Skill

Knowledge Skills
Business (Megacorps)       3   
Fashion (Tokyo Scene)       3
Japanese Politics       2
Mitsuhama Computer Technologies 2

Contacts
- Fixer (Con 6, Loy 2)
- Mitsuhama Office IT Guy (Con 2, Loy 4)
- Nightclub Owner (Con 4, Loy 2)
- NTMP Dispatch Supervisor (Connection 4, Loyalty 3)

Karma Expenditure (40 Karma)
- 3 Karma added to Contacts
-12 Karma for Martial Arts
-10 Karma to gain ¥20,000 more Resources
-15 Karma to raise Body 2 to 3

Equipment    
Lifestyles
Middle (One Month)          ¥ 5,000

Armor
Zoé Executive Suite [Cap 4]      ¥ 2,000
 > Nonconductivity (Rating 4; -4 Cap)    ¥ 1,000
Forearm Guards [Cap 3]         ¥   300
Ballistic Mask [Cap 8]         ¥   150

Weapons
Katana                        ¥ 1,000
 > Personalized Grip                ¥   100
Tiffani-Defiance Protector       ¥   300
 > Concealable Holster          ¥   150

Other Stuff
Commlink, Meta Link          ¥   100
Commlink, Sony Emperor        ¥   700
 > Biometric Reader          ¥   200
 > Sim Module             ¥   100
Contacts [Cap 2]          ¥   400
 > Low-light Vision [-1 Cap]      ¥   500
 > Image Link [-1 Cap]         ¥    25
Credstick, Standard (x2)       ¥    10
Credstick, Silver           ¥    20
Duct Tape, Roll of           ¥     5
Earbuds (Capacity 1)         ¥   100
 > Sound Link [-1 Cap]         ¥    25      
Fake SIN (Tendo Nabiki; Rating 4)    ¥10,000
 > Fake License (Armor; Rating 4)    ¥   800
 > Fake License (Awakened; Rating 4)    ¥   800
 > Fake License (Taser; Rating 4)    ¥   800
Flashlight              ¥    25
Restraints, Metal           ¥    20
Subvocal Mic             ¥    50
Tag Eraser              ¥   450
Trodes                ¥    70
White Noise Generator (Rating 6)     ¥   300
"Cash" on Hand          ¥   200 (plus 4D6 x ¥100)

Build Notes
Okay... Here is Shōjiki v2.0 which incorporates a lot of the feedback from Stainless Steel Devil Rat, Adzling, and Fedifensor. The biggest change is going with an elf instead of a human metatype, I've also opted not to use the Human Looking Quality. Putting up with some of the racism in Japan with a smile on my face actually sounds like a lot of fun.

The other big difference is that I've opted to drop the Speaker's Way in favor of a Raven Mentor Spirit, which I will be role-playing as a Scorpion Mentor Spirit unless the GM objects.

Shōjiki v2.0 is actually a better fighter than v1.0 was. She's still not going to put any Street Samurai out of work, but a lot of people will be caught by surprise when they learn that katana on her hip isn't just for fashion.

[Shinobi Killfist]

On a purely karma cost level I'd drop pistols entirely and raise one of your social skills to 6 and add a specialization to con.  Its what 11 karma to get back there but if you ever want to improve a social skill to 6 its 21.  On a character concept level and functional level I think it works as is.

[kyoto kid]

...the other part is as an adept you will likely want to initiate which also takes karma so having your primary skills at their highest out of the box would be more effective. 

I would consider powers like Cool Resolve which adds + 1 to all social skills per rating.  That way the character could still be human but have the advantage if she had a higher Charisma.

For powers, I would consider Improved Reflexes at 1 to start Authoritative Tone at 2, and take 2 levels of Cool Resolve.  Use Priority D for Metatype, and B for Adept (which also gives you rating 4 in one skill to start) as well as the Speakers' Way Which will reduce the cost of Cool Resolve, and Voice Control (which the character has).  Oh, and Commanding Voice as well as Authoritative Tone sort of do the same thing only that Commanding voice can be used against more than a single target but at a dice pool penalty, and also incurs an additional  penalty iof used within 24 hours. Not really worth 1 PP.  Using Authoritative Tone with Cool Resolve can go a lot further.

Also keep in mind how Meta's are regarded in Japan and a female character is already at a slight disadvantage.   I have a mundane Elf Face but she has Metatype Modification Biosculpting (the 20,000¥ treatment) so for all intents, she is human, only with a 9 Charisma (Genetic Optimisation genemod).

[Tarislar]

Agreed with what SK & KK said.

Stick w/ Human in Neo Tokyo.

The CHA bonus is nice but 4 extra Skill Points & not being hated by your meta hating overlords goes a long way too.

Active Skills
Blades [Kenjutsu]    (7)
Con          4
Disguise*       2
Impersonation        1
Intimidation       2
Leadership [Command]    4
Negotiation [Bargaining] 4
Palming*       2
Perception       1
Pistols [Tasers]    2
Sneaking*       2

Don't bother with those 1-2 point skills except for Stealth-Group-2

Your going to be surprised all the time w/ that Perception roll.

Stack them into critical & lots of NPCs will dodge those Taser bolts.


I mentioned them above but I'd set up skills as follows for good pools early & room to pick up lower level skills later w/ Karma.

Group Stealth = 2
Con = 6 + Specialization
Etiquette = 6
Negotiation = 6
Perception = 6
Blades or Unarmed = 6 + Specialization   (Either boost STR for Blades or lower STR for UAC & pick up Elemental Aura ability)


Attributes BARSWLIC = 35353346 (Knives)  or  35523356  (UAC w/ ElemAura)

[Fedifensor]

Stick w/ Human in Neo Tokyo.

The CHA bonus is nice but 4 extra Skill Points & not being hated by your meta hating overlords goes a long way too.

You can take Human-Looking, and get the CHA and AGL bonuses without having to deal with meta-hating overlords...

[Ajax]

Character: Shōjiki Sasori / Storyteller
Concept:    Con Artist

Priorities:
Metatype:    D Human
Attributes:    A 24
Magic:       B Adept
Skills:    C 28/2
Resources:    E ¥6,000

Attributes
Body:       3*
Agility:    6
Reaction:    4 (6)
Strength:    5
Willpower:   3
Logic:       3
Intuition:    3
Charisma:    6
Edge:       5
Magic:       6
Essence:    6
* Increased via Karma   

Qualities
Allergy [Uncommon, Moderate; Dogs]    (-10)
Creature of Comfort [Middle]       (-10)
Phobia [Uncommon, Mild; Awakened Canines] (-5)
Mentor Spirit [Raven]          (+5)
Solid Rep [Mitsuhama]          (+2)
Too Pretty to Hit          (+3)

Martial Arts[/b]
Style: Kenjutsu
Techniques: Iaijutsu

Adept Powers (Rank / PP Cost)
Authoritative Tone     (3 / 1.50 PP)
Commanding Voice    (1 / 1.00 PP)
Cool Resolve       (1 / 1.00 PP)
Improved Reflexes II    (2 / 2.50 PP)
Traceless Walk       (1 / 0.00 PP)*
Voice Control       (1 / 0.00 PP)*
* Mentor Spirit Bonus

Active Skills
Blades [Kenjutsu]    6
Con [Fast Talk]      6
Leadership [Command]    6
Negotiation [Bargaining] 6
Disguise*       2
Palming*       2
Sneaking*       2
Etiquette**        4

*Skill Group
**Free Adept Skill

Knowledge Skills
Business (Megacorps)       3   
Fashion (Tokyo Scene)       3
Japanese Politics       2
Mitsuhama Computer Technologies 2

Contacts
- Fixer (Con 6, Loy 2)
- Mitsuhama Office IT Guy (Con 2, Loy 4)
- Nightclub Owner (Con 4, Loy 2)
- NTMP Dispatch Supervisor (Connection 4, Loyalty 3)

Karma Expenditure (39 / 40 Karma)
- 9 Karma added to Contacts
- 7 Karma for Martial Arts
- 9 Karma to gain ¥18,000 more Resources
-15 Karma to raise Body 2 to 3

Equipment    
Lifestyles
Middle (One Month)          ¥ 5,000

Armor
Zoé Executive Suite [Cap 4]      ¥ 2,000
 > Nonconductivity (Rating 4; -4 Cap)    ¥ 1,000
Forearm Guards [Cap 3]         ¥   300
Ballistic Mask [Cap 8]         ¥   150

Weapons
Katana                        ¥ 1,000
 > Personalized Grip                ¥   100

Other Stuff
Commlink, Meta Link          ¥   100
Commlink, Sony Emperor        ¥   700
 > Biometric Reader          ¥   200
 > Sim Module             ¥   100
Contacts [Cap 2]          ¥   400
 > Low-Light Vision [-1 Cap]      ¥   500
 > Image Link [-1 Cap]         ¥    25
Credstick, Standard (x2)       ¥    10
Credstick, Silver           ¥    20
Duct Tape, Roll of           ¥     5
Earbuds (Capacity 1)         ¥   100
 > Sound Link [-1 Cap]         ¥    25      
Fake SIN (Tendo Nabiki; Rating 4)    ¥10,000
 > Fake License (Armor; Rating 4)    ¥   800
 > Fake License (Awakened; Rating 4)    ¥   800
Flashlight              ¥    25
Restraints, Metal           ¥    20
Subvocal Mic             ¥    50
Trodes                ¥    70
"Cash" on Hand          ¥   200 (plus 4D6 x ¥100)

Build Notes
Shōjiki v2.1 - H. sapiens sapiens edition.

[Tarislar]

You can take Human-Looking, and get the CHA and AGL bonuses without having to deal with meta-hating overlords...

Until someone looks closely & then they beat you twice as hard for trying to fool them.

[Tarislar]

Attributes
Body:       3*
Agility:    6
Reaction:    4 (6)
Strength:    5
Willpower:   3
Logic:       3
Intuition:    3
Charisma:    6
Edge:       5
* Increased via Karma   

Qualities
Allergy [Uncommon, Moderate; Dogs]    (-10)
Creature of Comfort [Middle]       (-10)
Phobia [Uncommon, Mild; Awakened Canines] (-5)
Mentor Spirit [Raven]          (+5)
Solid Rep [Mitsuhama]          (+2)
Too Pretty to Hit          (+3)

Martial Arts[/b]
Style: Kenjutsu
Techniques: Iaijutsu

Adept Powers (Rank / PP Cost)
Authoritative Tone     (3 / 1.50 PP)
Commanding Voice    (1 / 1.00 PP)
Cool Resolve       (1 / 1.00 PP)
Improved Reflexes II    (2 / 2.50 PP)
* Mentor Spirit Bonus

Active Skills
Leadership [Command]    6
Negotiation [Bargaining] 6
Etiquette**        4

I honestly don't recall what Leadership is good for other than some minor initiative boosts........ so take this with a grain of salt.

But it seems your really invested into it but missing some critical areas that every adept should have.
1.  Combat Reflexes-1
2.  Some Perception  (You need 9+ dice to pass surprise tests reliably)

I like Leadership when I'm getting it free as part of the Group Skill, but I would stick those points into Etiquette & Perception which seem to get used a lot more often.

I would move 2 points from Reaction over to Intuition for the same Dodge/Initiative score but more Perception dice.

[Ajax]

1) Commanding Voice is an Opposed Test with Leadership + Charisma against the target(s) Willpower + Intuition, so if I want to reliably get my Bene Gesserit on (and I do) then I need to have a good Leadership rank.

2) I’m not familiar with Combat Reflexes... Did you mean Combat Sense? It would definitely be useful, but I just can’t figure out how to squeeze it in. I’m thinking maybe save up for that as a Qi Focus after the first couple modules.

[kyoto kid]

You can take Human-Looking, and get the CHA and AGL bonuses without having to deal with meta-hating overlords...

Until someone looks closely & then they beat you twice as hard for trying to fool them.

...this is why paying the 20K for Metatype Modification Biosculpting is good.  Then again this character has Resources at E.

[Ajax]

Well, I’m still hoping my Private Detective is allowed in. This character is just meant to be a backup.

[kyoto kid]

...yeah still finishing a few details on my Mundane Face.  She is built to also be more useful in the CMPs than My Blade Adept Snow Lily is.

My Mystic influence Adept would almost work in NT were it not for all the mental manipulations spells she uses, and the fact she was made for the Chicago seasons.