[cowleyc]

Hoi chummers.  I am new to this forum, and my only experience with Shadowrun so far is through SRR and drowning myself in the rulebooks.  I have experience playing other systems, but usually just fantasy games.  Not going to go through a whole introduction here, just wanted any who read this to know I am pretty green.

The character I am presenting here, Alexei Ivanovich Karamazov, is a Dog Shaman with ties to PensoDyne Genetics, an EVO subsidiary.  Born into the corporation, it was quickly discovered that he had strong ties to the spiritual world, having a particular tie to the Dog Totem.  Alexei helped with various projects, learning the science between biotechnology; however, that was not all EVO had planned for him.  The SSD (Special Security Detail) hired Alexei, due to his ability to detect hostiles and protect high-profile targets within the company.  His job description included protecting the factory with his magical abilities, secretly protecting his assignment, and working on whichever project he was assigned to.  It wasn't long before he ended up working on a project he knew was illegal and immoral, something to do with artificial organs and hidden devices.  While he could not leave the project on his own due to his strong loyalty to the corp, he had no problem hitching a ride with the Shadowrunners that inevitably raided the factory to collect a sample and destroy the project.  He now roams the shadows, protecting whatever team he becomes attached to, while avoiding bounties that PensoDyne has put on his head.

From a players perspective, he is a fairly generalist character, not terribly specialized in any one area.  He can summon without too much problem, and shouldn't struggle in combat.  However, I have very little experience with this game, so I was hoping the crowds could help me out.  I'm not looking for a min/maxed character, just one that shouldn't get murdered five seconds in.

Name: Alexei Ivanovich Karamazov
Alias: Dogmeat
Race: Dwarf
Sex: Male
Nationality: Russian-American
Lifestyle: Low-Quality
Karma Spent: 25
Physical Description: Decent looking Dorf in a suit with shades.  Looks to be in shape, but not huge.
Personality/background Loyal, to a fault.  Worked for PensoDyne Genetics, and betrayed them.

Attributes

Body	Agility	Reaction	Strength
3	3	3	3
Charisma	Intuition	Logic	Willpower
5	3	2	5
Edge	Magic/Resonance	Essence	Initiative
2	6	6	6+1d6

Positive Qualities
Astral Chameleon, Focused Concentration (1), Mentor Spirit (Dog), Quick to Heal.
Negative Qualities
Corporate SINner

Active Skills

Conjuring Skill Group 5	Spellcasting 6 (SP: Combat)
Counterspelling 6	Assensing 5
Biotechnology 3	Con 3
Etiquette 3	First Aid 2
Negotiation 3	Perception 3
Pistols 4	Sneaking 3
Tracking 3

Knowledge Skills ( [Logic + Intuition] x 3 free points)

20th Century RPGs 2	Beer Brewing 2
Corporate Politics 2	Corporate Security 2

Language Skills

English	N
Russian 2

Spells/Complex Forms/Programs

Spell	Type	Range	Duration	Drain
Ball Lightning	P	LOS	I	F-1
Clairavoiance	M	T	S	F
Combat Sense	M	T	S	F
Detect Enemies, Extended	M	T	S	F
Heal	M	T	P	F-4
Improved Reflexes	P	T	S	F
Influence	M	LOS	P	F-1
Mana Ball	M	LOS	S	F
Mana Wall	M	LOS	S	F-2
Physical Wall	P	LOS	S	F-1

Gear (948¥)

Colt Government 2066	425¥
Colt Secret Agent	250¥
Survival Knife	100¥
Auctioneer Business Clothes	1500¥
Silencer	500¥
Laser Sight	125¥
Hidden Arm Slide	350¥
Spare Clip x4	20¥
Regular Ammo x50	100¥
Sony Emperor Commlink	700¥
Micro Transeiver	100¥
Shades	300¥
w/ Flare Compensation	500¥
w/ Low-Light Vision	250¥
w/ Thermal Vision	500¥
50 Drams of Regeants	1000¥
2 Months Low-Quality Lifestyle	4000¥
Fake SIN (Rating 4(	10000¥
Bound Spirit of Beast (Force 6)	5 Karma
Bound Spirit of Beast (Force 6)	5 Karma
Bound Spirit of Man (Force 6)	5 Karma
Bound Spirit of Man (Force 6)	5 Karma

Contacts

Contact		C/L
Strides Under Moon (Local Shaman) 3/3		Mr. Johnson 2/2
Tego (PensoDyne Decker) 3/2

Build Point totals:  No clue, just went off the standard Character Generation for SR5.

[ZeldaBravo]

What are your priorities? Something seems wrong with the math. You still have some skillpoints left and you have a little too much spent on attributes (15 points).
The fake SIN is a must. You need one if you're planning on criminal career. Double that for a SINner.

[cowleyc]

Priorities were Magic-> Skills-> Race-> Attributes-> Nuyen.  I'll have to double check the math when I get off work.  And I always thought math would be useless..

EDIT: Dropped the attributes to 14pts and threw in a placeholder for two more skills.

[ZeldaBravo]

I'd drop body to 3 and put that point to willpower.
You have spellcasting listed twice for some reason. If you are not sure which magical skills to get then you cannot miss with spellcasting+counterspelling.
You can get rid of your placeholders by pumping up your other skills. You can make your free magical skills to 6 (+2) and get assensing up to 5 for example.

[cowleyc]

I dropped the two placeholders and took your advice for the skills.  Not sure how I messed that up, but one of the Spellcastings was supposed to be Counterspelling.  Also traded one of the spirits for cold hard cash, which got me two fake SINs.

As for trading a point of Body for Willpower, will it make much of a difference in my casting?  Because if the difference is miniscule,  I'd rather have a bit more durability.  Don't need my caster killing himself from drain.

[ZeldaBravo]

Willpower 5 gives you one more stun condition box AND it is your drain stat (you resist drain with CHA+WIL) so no worries.
You should also pick specialisations for spellcasting and counterspelling. You've already paid for them.

[shardphoenix]

And what`s his surname? Because Ivanovich isn`t a surname - it`s patronymic. Proper surname would be Ivanov.

[8-bit]

Increase Reflexes is probably a decent spell to pick up. Getting 2 action passes is incredibly important. Also, if you are going to stick with Direct spells (Manaball and Powerball) definitely take a specialization in casting Combat spells. You need as many hits as you can for those spells.

[Shrazkil]

Increase Reflexes is probably a decent spell to pick up. Getting 2 action passes is incredibly important. Also, if you are going to stick with Direct spells (Manaball and Powerball) definitely take a specialization in casting Combat spells. You need as many hits as you can for those spells.

8-bit is right on here.

If you can fit in an indirect spell, I recommend it, the -ap per force cast is a huge boon.

Body should definitely swap 1 point to will, downside is 1 less roll of resist damage dice, upside is 1 box of stun , 1 drain dice, and 1 more dodge dice if you full defense, plus 1 defense dice more against some spells.

[cowleyc]

And what`s his surname? Because Ivanovich isn`t a surname - it`s patronymic. Proper surname would be Ivanov.

As a half-Russian metahuman, I doubt he knows the difference.  But to make it complete, I'll slap Karamazov in there. I'm a sucker for the classics.  You know, the classic 40k Witch Hunter.

Increase Reflexes is probably a decent spell to pick up. Getting 2 action passes is incredibly important. Also, if you are going to stick with Direct spells (Manaball and Powerball) definitely take a specialization in casting Combat spells. You need as many hits as you can for those spells.

8-bit is right on here.

If you can fit in an indirect spell, I recommend it, the -ap per force cast is a huge boon.

Body should definitely swap 1 point to will, downside is 1 less roll of resist damage dice, upside is 1 box of stun , 1 drain dice, and 1 more dodge dice if you full defense, plus 1 defense dice more against some spells.

You guys make a convincing case for all points.  I'll drop Combat Sense for Increased Reflexes, trade out the point for the stats, and take a look at indirect spells after I get off work.

I really appreciate y'alls help here.  Honestly expected a whole range of problems, from fluff to crunch.

[8-bit]

I really appreciate y'alls help here.  Honestly expected a whole range of problems, from fluff to crunch.

I'm glad we could help. I honestly don't see any glaring issues (I'll take a closer look when I am at a computer and not on my phone), but you did preface it is not meant to be the most min/maxed character. It seems like this character will probably have no trouble surviving, which is what you were looking for.

One recommendation that I have at the moment is to take your 2 fake SINs and replace them with one single rating 4 SIN. You can always pick up cheaper "throwaway" SINs after a run or two.

[Shrazkil]

No prob cowleyc , the community always appreciates a good read, and you put together a nice background.

Mages certainly have survivability issues, due to the "geek the Mage first" mentality, but any problems certainly won't be because of your build.

If you do run into trouble , but like Mage casters, look at some of the evasion mysadept concepts out there. Some can get up to 24+ dodge dice.