[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

I need to finalize a 2nd SRM campaign character so I can apply some GM credits and actually play.  So with this circumstance in mind, my character doesn't necessarily need to "work" right out of the gates as I'll have some karma and nuyen to apply between "finishing" chargen and actually being played for the first time.

This character is an evolution/refinement of my tank proof of concept.  I was troubled with that character's utter uselessness outside of combat, and I'm still not completely satisfied on this iteration, either. OTOH I've learned a ton since then. (particularly, how messed up Cyberlimbs rules are)

The mechanical concept: Combine Cyber-singularity seeker with 4 cyberlimbs and a pain editor to make a ridiculous combat monster.  Combats are solved if he's around. He's got enough armor you'll only ever do Stun Damage, and Pain Editor means you gotta flat out kill him to knock him out.  But yet, still be playable in a Neo-Tokyo SRM context. (aside from arguably breaking blanket rule #4)  Since I more or less ran out of essence going heavy cyberlimbs, there wasn't room for WR or such.  Going with drugs for that; plus with the Narco and Nephritic Screen augmentations he can really play with the options Drugs give. On Kamikaze his Physical Limit would hit a ridiculous 14, hehe.  Even with the penalties from Narco on addiction tests, he's still rolling 16 or 10 dice vs addiction.  The popgun in the cyberarm isn't for dealing damage but for delivering Looper Rounds or maybe DMSO+Blight.  No Pistols skill since I figure I should be able to get 1 hit on a touch attack while defaulting on 9 AGI.

The roleplaying concept: An ork who nearly died as a child in a fire-trap of a slum on Yomi Island during the metahuman quarantine. "Escaped" by enlisting for a Tour of Duty with Tsunami, and upon return to Neo-Tokyo becomes muscle-for-hire.

== Personal Data ==
Street Name: Happy Feelings
Name: Shiawasena Kimochi
Movement:6/12 (2m/hit)
Swim:4 (1m/hit)
Karma: 0
Street Cred: 0
Notoriety: 0
Public Awareness: 0
Ork Male Age 23
Height 203 cm Weight 150 kilos
Composure: 9
Judge Intentions: 6
Lift/Carry: 16 (120 kg/80 kg)
Memory: 9
Nuyen:3,543.5¥

== Priorities ==
Metatype: C,2
Attributes: B,3
Special: E,0
Skills: D,1
Resources: A,4

== Attributes ==
BOD: 8
AGI: 3
REA: 4(6)
STR: 5
CHA: 2
INT: 4
LOG: 2
WIL: 5(7)
EDG: 2

== Derived Attributes ==
Essence:                                0.13
Initiative:                             10 +1d6
Physical Damage Track:                  16
Stun Damage Track:                      12

== Limits ==
Physical:                               7 (chummer miscalculates as 10; If I could use the optional rule from German-language CF the Physical Limit including cyberlimbs would be 11)
   Hydraulic Jacks [+6] (Only for Gymnastics (Jumping) and Running (Sprinting))
   Hydraulic Jacks [+6] (Only for Gymnastics (Jumping) and Running (Sprinting))
Mental:                                 5
   Medkit [+6] (Only for First Aid and Medicine)
Social:                                 4
   Ballistic Mask [+1] (Only for Intimidation, Must be visible)
   Securetech PPP: Legs Kit [-1] (Must be visible)
Astral:                                 5

== Active Skills ==
Cybertechnology           Base:1(karma)          Pool:3
Etiquette (Street)          Base:2                     Pool:2(4)
Intimidation (Physical)   Base:2                     Pool:4(6)
Longarms (Shotguns)    Base:3                      Pool:12(14) (Based on Arms' AGI)
Palming                        Base:1 (karma)         Pool:7
Perception                    Base:1(karma)          Pool:5
Pilot Ground Craft          Base:1                     Pool:7
Sneaking (Urban)          Base: 3                     Pool:8(10) (Based on Legs' AGI)
Unarmed Combat (Boxing (Brawler Style)) Base:6          Pool:16(18) (Based on Arms' AGI, incl. Superhuman Psychosis)

== Knowledge Skills ==
English                          Base:1(karma)          Pool:5
Japanese                       Native
Fight Clubs (Neo-Tokyo)  Base:1                     Pool:5(7)
Military (Mercenaries)     Base:3                      Pool:5(7)
Philosophy (Transhumanism)    Base:2             Pool:4(6)
Street Drugs                   Base:3                     Pool:7

== Contacts ==
Cybertechnician;Street Doc(3, 1)
FD Lieutenant;Firefighter(5, 1)

== Qualities ==
Cyber-Singularity Seeker
Down the Rabbit Hole
Low Pain Tolerance
Low-Light Vision
Phobia (Common, Moderate) (Fire)
Reduced Sense (Smell)
Restricted Gear (Pain Editor)
Superhuman Psychosis

== Lifestyle ==
Flophouse(Low)1 Month

== Cyberware/Bioware ==
Datajack
Narco
Nephritic screen Rating 3
Used Obvious Full Arm (AGI 9, STR 11) (Right)
   + Customized StrengthRating 8
   + Customized AgilityRating 6
   + ArmorRating 3
   + Enhanced StrengthRating 3
   + Enhanced AgilityRating 3
   + Spurs
   + Holdout Pistol
Used Obvious Full Arm (AGI 9, STR 11) (Left)
   + Customized StrengthRating 8
   + Customized AgilityRating 6
   + ArmorRating 3
   + Enhanced StrengthRating 3
   + Enhanced AgilityRating 3
   + Spurs
Obvious Full Leg (AGI 5, STR 6, Physical 9) (Left)
   + Customized StrengthRating 6
   + ArmorRating 2
   + Hydraulic JacksRating 6
   + Biomonitor
   + Auto Injector
   + Auto Injector Expansion
   + Customized AgilityRating 5
Obvious Full Leg (AGI 5, STR 6, Physical 9) (Right)
   + Customized StrengthRating 6
   + ArmorRating 2
   + Hydraulic JacksRating 6
   + Large Smuggling Compartment
   + Customized AgilityRating 5
Pain Editor
Reaction Enhancers Rating 2
Smartlink

== Armor ==
Armor Jacket                            12
   + Fire Resistance 4
   + Nonconductivity 4
Ballistic Mask                          +2
   + Flare Compensation
Helmet                                  +2
   + Single SensorRating 2 ×2
      + UltrasoundRating 2
Securetech PPP: Legs Kit                +1

== Weapons ==
Cyber Hold-Out
   + Smartgun System, Internal
   Pool: 8   Accuracy: 4 (6)   DV: 6P   AP: -   RC: 5
Defiance T-250, Short-Barrel
   + Folding Stock
   + Smartgun System, Internal
   Pool: 12 (14)   Accuracy: 4 (6)   DV: 9P   AP: -1   RC: 4 (5)
Remington 990
   + Slide Mount
   + Slide Mount
   + Smartgun System, External
   + Underbarrel Chainsaw
   Pool: 12 (14)   Accuracy: 4 (6)   DV: 11P   AP: -1   RC: 4

Spurs
   Pool: 16(18w full offense) +1 Reach when using 2 spurs   Accuracy: 7   DV: 14P   AP: -2   
Unarmed Attack
   Pool: 16(18 w punches or full offense, 20 w punches & full offense)   Accuracy: 7   DV: 11P   AP: -

== Martial Arts ==
Boxing (Brawler Style)
   + Full OffenseFull OffenseRGRG

== Commlink ==
MCT Blue Defender(ATT: 0,SLZ: 0,DP: 1,FWL: 5)
   + Sim Module

== Gear: Equipped ==
Certified Credstick, Standard
Climbing Gear
Datachip
Datachip
Datachip
Fake SIN (JIS: Sato Nakatomi) Rating 3
   + Fake License (Restricted Cyberware License) Rating 3
   + Fake License (Driver's License) Rating 3
Flashlight, Low-light
Jazz ×20
Medkit Rating 6
Respirator Rating 6
Restraint, Metal
Restraint, Plastic ×10
Slap Patch, Stim Patch Rating 6 ×6
Tool Kit (Cybertechnology)

== Vehicles ==
Harley-Davidson Scorpion (Chopper)
   + GridLink Override
   + Metahuman Adjustment Rating 1
   + Spoof Chips
   + Sensor Array Rating 2

[PiXeL01]

With that amount of cyberware why not go Biocompatibility?

[Ajax]

A SINless Ork who is a near total full-body `borg, with a Charisma 2, barely any Etiquette ranks, and living in Neo-Tokyo... Whoo, boy, I hope you have one hell of a "Face" in your regular crew of `runners.

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

With that amount of cyberware why not go Biocompatibility?

Because the concept is predicated on wringing maximum mileage out of Cyber Singularity Seeker.  And to capitalize on that big CM, I'll have a ginormous armor rating to ensure everything is stun.  Without a Pain Editor it doesn't work, because what's the point of effectively doubling your already ridiculous Physical CM if you're unconscious when your Stun CM is full.  Ergo I also need Pain Editor, which in turn means I need Restricted Gear.  So no room for Biocompatability

A SINless Ork who is a near total full-body `borg, with a Charisma 2, barely any Etiquette ranks, and living in Neo-Tokyo... Whoo, boy, I hope you have one hell of a "Face" in your regular crew of `runners.

Yeah, well that's why he's not Charisma 1   He doesn't have any of the "you have to 'try' to help Negotiate" qualities, so he can just sit there and shut up during the meet with Tanaka-san. Worst case he inflicts a die or two penalty on the face, but there's no getting around that if you're not human.  At least he's male and Japanese, so he'll only ever trigger the one prejudice. During other social encounters, yeah all he's even meant to contribute to is Intimidation.  That's why he's got the chainsaw with no actual melee skill with it...

[Marcus]

Eh. I think you're making it way more complicated then it needs to be SSRD, Drugs+cyber?
It's combat monster sure. But it lack any kind of finesse, it has no useful non-combat option and in NT setting it's packing a shotgun with under-mount chainsaw, if that doesn't speak for itself, I don't know what to tell you.

I'd scale it back and give it some flexibility, a single pair of limbs (legs+Kick is still my favorite limb build), drop Sup Psychosis (Having utter contempt for your fellow meta-humans is rarely a good thing), get some real initiative ware, find something non-combat to do, and perhaps swap to human and get a useful amount of edge.

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

Well, I am looking for critiques but I'm not sure everything's been fair.  I do value the feedback though, so thank you all for it.

To reiterate: yes, I am worried there's not enough non combat utility here. However, this character will be getting 30+ 'free karma' in GM credit for running season 9 before I ever play it. There'll be more flexibility in the skillset than what D priority allows straight out of chargen, becoming much more credible in all aspects of the direct action aspects of shadowrunning (Gymnastics, Free Fall, might even do some Locksmithing/Hardware).  Besides, this would be a backup character; sure there are times that a combat brute may not be ideal. I still have my primary character (a former kawaii metal dancer turned art thief turned cover ops shadowrunner) for those missions.

A couple of specific thoughts:
Shotguns- Like cookies, they're a "sometimes food".  Heck, with (much) smaller dice pools and even smaller DVs than the unarmed combat option,  they're only there for those times combatants are literally out of reach.  Or in the case of the non-sawed off version too big to fit into a leg smuggling compartment, they're for threatening bound-up people.  And maybe breaching, in those few times you have a scene in Neo-Tokyo where property damage isn't gonna be a problem.

Superhuman Psychosis: I'll admit I'm not completely sold on it.  I did ensure the mental stats are high enough to ensure composure tests have 9 dice, but only with 2 edge I'm worried about not being allowed to run away.  Fun fact: I initially had Big Baby, but thought it interacted oddly with Pain Editor and scrapped it due to wanting to avoid table variation, replacing it with SP and the pretty much inconsequential Down the Rabbit Hole.  SP giving +1 dice to unarmed combat is an embarrassment of riches, and I can afford losing that die.  I'm certainly open to spending -4 points in negative qualities in some other way.  Suggestions?

No initiative 'ware: It might look weird, but it's related to my local meta.  I routinely play with Mystic Adepts who hit 40+ initiative, so I'm I'll inclined to invest heavily in something I can't possibly do as well/better than others.  My general philosophy is to just Blitz, but with 2 EDG that's not in the cards.  And obviously 4 limbs eat so much essence that WR isn't an option either.

So drugs it is: In thinking about how to make someone as obnoxiously durable as possible, I realized toxins would be the weak link I hadn't covered.  Of course it took about three seconds to realize that the Nephritic Screen can be proactively useful and not just be passive protection...  Plus I've never played a juicer so I'm excited to give it a shot. EDIT: Oh yeah, and drugs are a meta-way to augment the Physical Limit since cyberlimbs don't.

Problems with Orkiness: That's not restricted to Neo-Tokyo. But neither is it so pronounced that you can't play a meta in Neo-Tokyo.  I mean, we don't want to see parties that are universally gun-free humans, do we?

[Fedifensor]

Do you have to have everything coming out of character creation?  My past few characters in Missions have been designed based on having the minimums that I want out of character generation, then buying up what’s missing over the first few adventures.  So, could you cut a few other things (like the bike) to afford normal cyberarms instead of used ones (which gives you back Essence)?  Maybe pick up the Pain Editor after chargen?  Buy the Cyber Singularity Seeker quality after chargen and take Biocompatability instead?


Playing 4 missions (doable in a single convention weekend) should, on average, give you 24 Karma and 40,000 Nuyen.  That’s enough Nuyen to afford the bike and miscellaneous gear, plus enough Karma for a new positive quality.

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

Cyberlimbs are odd in a lot of ways.

One of those ways really limits the scalability post-chargen: Customized STR/AGI cannot be added later. I'd have to replace the entire limb to upgrade a customized stat, which means in effect I need to come out of chargen with those stats where I ultimately want them. And for 4 limbs, that's most of your resources even at Priority A. Having used arms was a way to stretch my resources... Besides, starting with almost no essence pretty well means I've resigned myself to having all the cyber I'll ever have anyway, barring very minor changes like grade upgrades.  Aside from Customized attribute values, the capacity mechanic of cyberlimbs gives me all the modding/upgrading future I'll have with that character and biocompatability won't affect that.

I haven't fully crunched the numbers, but I believe that in the event I have a giant windfall of cash and I can afford to replace the used arms with something nice like alpha or grayware, that'll free up more essence anyway than biocompatability would.  And if I'm hypothetically able to afford replacing the arms, what's a little more? Popping Adapsin treatment in at the same time is even better than biocompatability.  I'd already have had Adapsin if it didn't require a 2nd Restricted Gear to have it.

Edit: Another reason the arms were Used grade was because chummer was telling me that's the only way I could get limbs that Spurs wouldn't push past availability 12. In double checking that for this post, I now suspect it's not accurate.  Hrm.  Maybe I can save some essence and go with standard grade... but honestly I don't mind the gritty feels involved in having some used 'ware...

[Fedifensor]

Would this item from the FAQ help with upgrading?

Can I upgrade my bioware or cyberware?
[skipping to relevant paragraph]
You may upgrade bioware or cyberware by paying the difference between the two pieces of equipment (accounting for grades, if any) plus 20% for the doctor’s time and materials.  You may only upgrade a piece of BioWare or cyberware of the same type.

So, buy a normal cyberarm, then upgrade it later by paying the difference in price +20%...

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

Would this item from the FAQ help with upgrading?

Can I upgrade my bioware or cyberware?
[skipping to relevant paragraph]
You may upgrade bioware or cyberware by paying the difference between the two pieces of equipment (accounting for grades, if any) plus 20% for the doctor’s time and materials.  You may only upgrade a piece of BioWare or cyberware of the same type.

So, buy a normal cyberarm, then upgrade it later by paying the difference in price +20%...

Hrm, good catch. I suppose it should apply.

[Hobbes]

Incoming wave of suggestions to pick and choose from.  Likely you can't fit all of these, just pick the ones that make you chuckle. 

IMO Redliner>Cybersingularity seeker.  YMMV.

You're a Mundane, Jack of All Trades Master of None is basically required.

Drop the Spurs, they're Forbidden.  Cyberscanners will find them.  There are multiple legal cyberimplanted weapons, use those.  (Anchors, climbing claws, Raptor Feet, all of the above, whatever).  You've got Cyberlegs, you can get to Agility 10 and have options for increasing movement even more (Skates, Skimmers, Kid-stealth legs, probably a few more).  You can literally build a character that can cover 100 meters in a single charge if you wanted to.  Basically you are your own ranged weapon. 

Skills D.  Unarmed (cyber) 6, Sneaking (urban) 6, Perception 4.  Buy everything else at 1 for 1 Karma with your GM Karma and JoAT.  Tetrachromatic Vision, earbuds, glasses, Sync.  16 Dice for visual, 13 Dice for hearing, 10 Dice for everything else.

Used Tailored Phermones, Mortimer's of London, Positive Qualities Alibi, Nasty Trog, and/or Emphatic Listener.  Custom look weapon mod.  Get a few of these, you'll need them.

I get that Pain Editor is part of the Character Concept, but this character will never, ever take enough damage for it to matter.  Couple levels of the Damage Compensators if you really want them, but even those will likely never come up either.

Cyberlimb Optimization for another +1 Unarmed and Sneaking.  Called Shot... Striking the plates... I think it is for a "Stun" damage option as well.  Not a good one, but still.  Also Grappling.  Martial Arts Kick, Orthoskin Sharkskin, and Paired Cyberweapons gets you to a +3 Reach for Unarmed. 

Reaction 5, Intuition 5, Narco Cram, Psyche, 14 + 2d6 Initiative all day every day.  Just sayin.  With Narco it's best to just pick your cocktail and take the Addictions at Char gen. 

Kanmushi and Flyspy drones are cheap and useful if nobody else grabs any.  If you have a Decker or Rigger, just let them slave the drones and call it a day.

Have fun!

[Fedifensor]

Spurs are a bladed weapon of Reach 1 or less.  Are they forbidden?

[Hobbes]

Spurs are a bladed weapon of Reach 1 or less.  Are they forbidden?

Cyberimplant weapons are almost all Forbidden.  AFAIK they don't get a pass for NT just because they're melee.  The assorted climbing bits are similar in damage code and Legal.  Just the Cyberlimb damage puts the character well into "One Punch" range for most opponents.  IMO Legality becomes more important than doing another box or two of overkill damage at that point.  YMMV.

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

Spurs are a bladed weapon of Reach 1 or less.  Are they forbidden?

Cyberimplant weapons are almost all Forbidden.  AFAIK they don't get a pass for NT just because they're melee.  The assorted climbing bits are similar in damage code and Legal.  Just the Cyberlimb damage puts the character well into "One Punch" range for most opponents.  IMO Legality becomes more important than doing another box or two of overkill damage at that point.  YMMV.

Well since the Neo-Tokyo campaign rules extend to cyber implant guns, I see no reason why they don't extend to cyber implant melee weapons too.

That said, you've got some great suggestions Hobbes.  I wouldn't have considered the capacity-using mods as being detectable by cyberware scanners... just that the limb itself is detectable.  But if that's the way you/your group plays, I need to weigh that for potential table variation.  I'm sure the spurs are fine, but if the cybergun can be picked out by a cyberware scanner, I may have to re-think that.

I still may downgrade one of the arms' enhancements to fit in a grapple hand.  Because A) LOL! "Get over here..."  B) that's a "ranged" option without going into guns.  It's fine to charge 100 meters, but what if they're 20 meters up?. C) Will help with (if not obviate) climbing tests. And direct action stuff is his non-combat arena of contribution.

I'm now giving serious thought to losing the Pain Editor thanks to Hobbes' thoughts.  A) I can get Adapsin instead with that Restricted Gear quality and B) I can go ahead and use Big Baby like I wanted to.  Will assuredly want to replace Low Pain Tolerance tho if I'm gonna actually suffer the effects of pain...

[Fedifensor]

Cyberguns are specifically stated as “built from mostly non-metallic compounds, and any metallic parts are incorporated into the (cyber) arm’s structure” (pg 458 SR5).  In short, they are designed to fool scanners.


If the Forbidden aspect of spurs is too risky, a shock hand is only Restricted and takes up 1 more capacity than spurs.


Finally, remember you can have a bulk modification cyberarm for extra capacity.  One of my Neo-Tokyo pregens is a medic who took the bulk modification to include a full medkit and STATscan.