[EmJ]

Hi!

I'm hoping to start in a new campaign soon, and haven't played Shadowrun before, though I know the setting and background.

Was hoping some people could offer advice on my character - I've got Chummer, so I hope it's working right!

The character concept is a Face/Infiltrator, mostly reliant on Cyber-/ Bio-ware that she has. I don't want her to be a combat bunny, but I do want her to not be a complete liability when that happens!

I do have spare cash to spend on random extras that one needs as a Runner - just not got them yet. If there are significant things I need to buy, I am happy to drop a level of Muscle Replacement (to take me to Str3, Agl5).

I do want the character to be able to negotiate (etc) in Japanese as well as English - what level do I need for that? She currently only has Japanese 4 (with a speciality in Speech).

== Personal Data ==
Street Name: Scarlett
Movement:12/24 (2m/hit)
Swim:5 (1m/hit)
Karma: 0
Street Cred: 0
Notoriety: -1
Public Awareness: 0
Human Female
Composure: 8
Judge Intentions: 10
Lift/Carry: 6 (60 kg/40 kg)
Memory: 4
Nuyen:12,540¥

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

== Attributes ==
BOD: 2
AGI: 3(6)
REA: 4
STR: 1(4)
CHA: 6
INT: 4
LOG: 2
WIL: 2
EDG: 5

== Derived Attributes ==
Essence:                              0.15
Initiative:                             8 +1d6
Rigger Initiative:                   8 +1d6
Astral Initiative:                     
Matrix AR:                            8 +1d6
Matrix Cold:                          4 + DP +3d6
Matrix Hot:                           4 + DP +4d6
Physical Damage Track:          9
Stun Damage Track:               9

== Limits ==
Physical:                               5
   Chameleon Processor [+4] (Only for Sneaking, Must be completely naked)
Mental:                                 4
Social:                                  8
   Armanté Dress [+2] (Must be visible)
   Mortimer of London: Berwick Dress [+1] (Must be visible)
   Mortimer of London: Summit Dress [+1] (Must be visible)
   Vocal Range Expander [+1] (Only for test involving speaking)
   Vocal Range Expander [+2] (Only for Performance (Singing))
Astral:                                 8

== Active Skills ==
Computer                            Base:1          Pool:3
Con                                     Base:6          Pool:12
Disguise                              Base:4          Pool:12
Etiquette                             Base:6          Pool:12
Gymnastics (Dance)             Base:6          Pool:12(14)
Impersonation                     Base:6          Pool:12
Leadership                          Base:1          Pool:7
Negotiation (Bargaining)      Base:6          Pool:12(14)
Palming                               Base:4          Pool:10
Perception                           Base:6          Pool:10
Performance                        Base:6          Pool:12
Pilot Ground Craft (Bike)       Base:1          Pool:5(7)
Pistols (Holdouts)                 Base:6          Pool:12(14)
Running                              Base:1          Pool:5
Sneaking                             Base:4          Pool:10
Swimming                           Base:1          Pool:5
Unarmed Combat (Cyber Implants)         Base:6          Pool:12(14)

== Knowledge Skills ==
German (Speak)                          Base:2          Pool:6(8 )
Japanese (Speak)                        Base:4          Pool:8(10)
Area Knowledge: Neo-Tokyo         Base:2          Pool:6
Yakuza                                        Base:2          Pool:6

== Contacts ==
;Street Doc(2, 6)
;Company Man(2, 1)
;Stripper(1, 3)
;Gang Leader(2, 1)

== Qualities ==
First Impression
Too Pretty To Hit
Watch the Suit

== Lifestyle ==
(Low)1 Month
Warren(Bolt Hole)1 Month
   + Extra Secure
   + Obscure/Difficult to Find [+10%]


== Cyberware/Bioware ==
Breast Implant 2.0 (One Breast)
Breast Implant 2.0 (One Breast)
Chameleon Processor
Claws, Retractable (Hands) (Left)
Claws, Retractable (Hands) (Right)
Commlink
Dietware
False Face
Fangs (Retractable)
Fiberoptic Hair Rating 6
Muscle Replacement Rating 3
Perfect Eyes
Sensitive Skin Rating 1 (5)
Silky Skin
Smartlink
Tailored Pheromones Rating 3
Vocal Range Expander

== Armor ==
Actioneer Business Clothes               8
   + Holster
Armanté Dress                            8
Armor Jacket                            12
Mortimer of London: Berwick Dress        8
   + Concealability
   + Custom Fit
Mortimer of London: Summit Dress         7
   + Concealability
   + Custom Fit

== Weapons ==
Fichetti Executive Action
   + Smartgun System, Internal
   + Spare Clip
   Pool: 12   Accuracy: 6 (8 )   DV: 7P   AP: -   RC: 3
Fichetti Tiffani Needler
   + Concealable Holster
   + Smartgun System, Internal
   + Spare Clip
   Pool: 12 (14)   Accuracy: 5 (7)   DV: 8P(f)   AP: +5   RC: 3
Retractable Claws (Bio-Weapon)
   Pool: 12   Accuracy: 5   DV: 5P   AP: -3   RC: 3
Retractable Claws (Bio-Weapon)
   Pool: 12   Accuracy: 5   DV: 5P   AP: -3   RC: 3
Retractable Fangs (Bio-Weapon)
   Pool: 12   Accuracy: 3   DV: 6P   AP: -4   RC: 3
Unarmed Attack
   Pool: 12   Accuracy: 5   DV: 4S   AP: -   RC: 3

== Vehicles ==
Suzuki Mirage (Racing Bike)       
   + Sensor Array Rating 2

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

Looks like you're off to a great start!

I don't want her to be a combat bunny, but I do want her to not be a complete liability when that happens!

You've got 14 dice with your claws, and since you have a pair that gives you a point of reach (which cancels out a dodge die).  I'd say for a non-combat specialist, you're good.  You won't be one shotting any bad guys, but you didn't plan for that going in. Do be aware that the 5P damage value is pretty light.. while you can handle the odd guard by your lonesome you can't handle them quickly.  Bear that in mind.

I do want the character to be able to negotiate (etc) in Japanese as well as English - what level do I need for that? She currently only has Japanese 4 (with a speciality in Speech).

Languages are the bane of faces.  Presumably your native language will be English (that's not reflected in the chummer stats you posted).  For any non-native languages, your Social limit is ignored and you use the number of ranks in that language instead as the limit.  So Japanese 4 means you have a limit of 4 when using social skills in Japanese...  You might consider either making Japanese her native language, or if you like the idea of playing a gaijin you might want to look into the Bilingual quality, allowing you to have both English and Japanese both as native languages.

I do have spare cash to spend on random extras that one needs as a Runner - just not got them yet. If there are significant things I need to buy, I am happy to drop a level of Muscle Replacement (to take me to Str3, Agl5).

You probably can't afford to strip out the point of muscle replacement because your damage would drop even lower, and your Physical limit is already borderline unacceptably low.. going to 4 would be awful for a sneak specialist.

But some things you'll likely need:
A fake SIN.
You still need to buy a commlink (the implanted cyberware doesn't include a commlink; it's just a "port" to put it in inside your body)
Vision and Hearing enhancements.  (contacts/glasses, earbuds, with various enhancements.)
DNI- either a datajack or trodes (if you're using image/sound link)
AR gloves (if you're not using DNI)

Since you want to be an infiltrator, you'll want to address being able to get into places you can't just sneak into. That's either contortionism or picking locks.  You can throw some mix of essence, nuyen, and/or skill points to achieve these.  With skills being your A priority, I'd recommend finding skill points for Escape Artist, Locksmithing, and at least a couple points in Hardware.  Depending on the money you have available, you can also/instead consider the various tools like maglock passkeys and sequencers.  You're pretty low on essence, but there's some fun cyberware out there that is immense help for squeezing through tight openings.

I'd also recommend buying some sensor tags.  You're the infiltrator; who else is going to plant cameras around inside the place you're casing?

[adzling]

Skills a is mostly a trap.

Attribute a ftw.

[Michael Chandra]

Languages are the bane of faces.  Presumably your native language will be English (that's not reflected in the chummer stats you posted).  For any non-native languages, your Social limit is ignored and you use the number of ranks in that language instead as the limit.

Your limit still applies. However, your Skill Rank is counted as the lowest of Language and Skill. So with Language 4, Negotiation 6, Limit 8 you would roll CHA+4[8] instead of the normal CHA+6[8].

The question is if the specialisation counts as extra ranks or solely as bonus on direct Language Tests. I suspect the latter, since it's solely a dicepool modifier, not a rank bonus. So I'd go for 6 ranks instead.

[Tarislar]

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

== Attributes ==
BOD: 2
AGI: 3(6)
REA: 4
STR: 1(4)
CHA: 6
INT: 4
LOG: 2
WIL: 2
EDG: 5

== Active Skills ==
Computer                            Base:1          Pool:3
Con                                     Base:6          Pool:12
Disguise                              Base:4          Pool:12
Etiquette                             Base:6          Pool:12
Gymnastics (Dance)             Base:6          Pool:12(14)
Impersonation                     Base:6          Pool:12
Leadership                          Base:1          Pool:7
Negotiation (Bargaining)      Base:6          Pool:12(14)
Palming                               Base:4          Pool:10
Perception                           Base:6          Pool:10
Performance                        Base:6          Pool:12
Pilot Ground Craft (Bike)       Base:1          Pool:5(7)
Pistols (Holdouts)                 Base:6          Pool:12(14)
Running                              Base:1          Pool:5
Sneaking                             Base:4          Pool:10
Swimming                           Base:1          Pool:5
Unarmed Combat (Cyber Implants)         Base:6          Pool:12(14)

As someone already stated,  Skills-A is sort of a Trap.
I mean, it LOOKS really good with all that raw Karma potential & ability to do anything.
But then you see how low your attributes get & all those dice pools aren't so big when the Attribute is 2-3 instead of 5.


Personally if I was looking for a Face/Infiltrator,  I would probably go Attr-A, Skills-B, Cash-C


Set attributes up something like this....
Body-3
Agility-5
Reaction-3
Strength-5
Willpower-3
Logic-3
Intuition-4
Charisma-6


Skills-B gives you 36/5g points.
Stealth-Group-5
Blades-6  (I swapped from Unarmed/Pistols because of the punishment in Neo Tokyo at Firearms & to give you a boost in raw damage over Unarmed.   Combat Knife 4-T-Win)
Con-6
Etiquette-6
Negotiation-6
Perception-6
(Room for 1 other L6 skill (Gymnastics), or add in 5 specializations if you want & a single L1 skill  (Locksmithing good at R1 w/ Autopicker device)


Also, in regards to the Language,  take a Negative Quality or scrounge up 5 Karma some other way to take Bilingual like SSDR said.


Finally, I don't recognize some of that Cyber/Bio on the list, but I feel like you can drop a lot of your Cyber/Bio & focus on Tailored Pheromones-2+ & only 1+ in Muscles along w/ a couple smaller things if you really want them.


Hope this helps.

[EmJ]

Thank you all for the input!
Very helpful!

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

I'd disagree somewhat with the advice that Skills A is a trap.  You still might be better served with Attribute A, that's true... but the skill sets involved in being an infiltrator are wider than apparent at first glance.

If you want to be a face, you need: Con, Etiquette, Negotiation. Leadership is nice to have, especially if your combat options are weak, but it's not really necessary.

On the other hand, if you want to be an infiltrator you need: Sneaking, Gymnastics, Disguise, Impersonation, Escape Artist, Locksmithing (autopickers don't work on maglocks, and maglocks are the norm), Hardware (in order to use Locksmithing in the first place). You'll probably also want Free Fall, because if a plan ever calls for that everyone will assume it's your responsibility to be capable of it.

Perception and Palming would be on the infiltrator's list, but honestly everyone should have them already. Those are joined by some kind of combat skill.

That's 13 "core" skills if you're both a face and an infiltrator. You can't be great at everything, not even at Skills A, but honestly if you don't go Skills A odds are you can't even cover all those skills at all.

 

[Lormyr]

My 2 cents:

1). Definitely take Priority A for Attributes. I highly recommend B for Skills, and C for money.

2). Keep Pistols, takes a specialty for Semi-Automatics, and use a Nacrojet One. Legal in Neo-Tokyo since it only fires non-lethal ammunition, and that poison drops pretty much anything not specially built to resist toxins.

3). The only skills you really need maxed are the ones that will face heavy dice pool resistance. Con, Negotiation, Sneak, Perception, and Pistols. Etiquette, Hardware, Locksmith, really just need enough to be successful (1-4 ranks depending on base Attribute typically).

4). Don't waste money or essence on Initiative, just be a Jazz addict. It is cheap and effective with minimal detriment.

[Hobbes]

You can also build as a fairly standard B&E Street Samurai.  A resources, B Attributes, C skills, D Meta, E Magic.

Positive Quality Emphatic Listener and Alibi, couple levels of Used Tailored Pheromones, Narco with Psyche and Novacoke.  You can get Con (fast talk) and Etiquette to double digit dice pools even with a 2 Charisma, Hardware tends to be the weak point that you sink a fair amount of Karma into as you go along.  You're short on Combat ability somewhere (Soak and/or Initiative probably) compared to a more combat focused Street Sam but you're still in the club.

Melee you'll go with Shock Gloves or something that doesn't require Strength so you can spread out the stat points a bit more.  Just a minor skill investment for quick / quiet take downs of Wageslaves and such, if it's real security the jig is up anyway, roll for initiative. 

You can do Combat and Physical Infiltration very well and moderate/easy levels of Social infiltration.  For a lot of groups this works out better because for the "Body Snatcher" or Ocean's Eleven complex caper type of runs you need the entire team to buy in and support you.  Not always a given.

[kyoto kid]

...keep in mind firearms are illegal in NT.  The Executive Action is a good weapon, but firing any more than a 3 round SA burst could attract unwanted attention. A better pistol to go for would be the Browning Ghost (Street Lethal) which is an LP that can conform its shape so it has a higher conceal rating. 

The suggestion above for the Narcojet One is definitely good advice (my NT face packs one).

As an "Infiltrator" type character I would also look into a clip of Looper Rounds (rating 5) for the Browning. Yeah a  bit expensive but if you are taking point, a good way to neutralise cameras when there isn't a decker around (several of my characters including my NT face keep a clip of them handy).

If you are going to also double as the Face, Linguist might also be a good quality to consider as it halves the cost of buying languages at Chargen (basically one knowledge point buys two rating points in a language) and it also reduces the cost by 1 Karma for improving any languages skill above rating 3 after the character begins play (this is how my face has a number of languages at a decent rating level).

Also, as mentioned drugs can give you a bit more edge in certain situations.  Psyche boosts your intuition and Logic by +1 and lasts for hours (also doesn't have any detrimental side effects).  Cram would give you a bit more physical edge (+1 to Reaction, and add +1d6 to initiative) and also lasts hours (12 - Body).  Get the "Pharma" grade version (20¥ instead of 10¥) and that lowers the addiction threshold by 1.  While not as potent as Jazz you only need to make one (Mental) instead of two addiction tests (Mental and Physical).