OK, I will be shortly playing SR5 and I wanted to get a bit of advice on character creation as I have never played the game before. Can I ask people to take a look over what I have so far and make any suggestions. Issues I am particularly struggling with are:
1. What order to put stuff in priorities. How is the balance between the need for Attributes/Skills/Gear coming off. I could really do with more money, especially for a Power Focus so how might I best achieve that.
2. Am I missing any really key skills for the Summoner/Face role. Are there any other key skills I should pick up, bearing in mind that I dont expect to be able to cover every angle.
3. Spells: Any obvious, important or no brainer ones missing? We will be playing a game closer to Sons of Anarchy than Cyberpunk.
4. Gear. I havent bought much yet, what do I really need at the start and how the hell do I afford it.
Priorities:
A Magic
B Attributes
C Race (Elf)
D Skills
E Resources
I set Race at C to have enough points to bump up Edge to let me take better advantage of the Limit removal for low Force boosting spells and let me push my luck on summoning bigger spirits. However this has left me with very little money and I am wondering if it is worth dropping Race to D and having more money or skills and just getting by with Reagents for Limit removal. I suppose that could get pricey over time and I strongly suspect it is a bad idea. I was actually tempted to set Race to B to max out Edge to 6 but that leaves me with a special attribute point I cant spend unless I take Exceptional Attribute (Magic) which I cannot afford.
Attributes:
Magic 6
Body 2
Agility 2
Reaction 4
Strength 2
Willpower 5
Logic 3
Intuition 5
Charisma 8
Essence 6
Edge 5
I have avoided too much dumping of attributes (no 1's). I could do so but I suspect my GM would look less than kindly on doing so.
Derived Stats:
Initiative: 9+1d6
Astral Initiative: 10+2d6
Physical Limit: 4
Mental Limit: 6
Social Limit: 9
Physical Boxes: 9
Stun Boxes: 11
Active Skills:
Summoning 6 (+2 Spirits of Air)
Spellcasting 6 (+2 Manipulation)
Counterspell 4
Binding 4
Etiquette 4
Negotiation 1
Con 1
Intimidate 1 (+2)
Assensing 1
Perception 1
Pistol 1
I have two specialisations which is an inefficient spend of Skill Points. Should I be dropping them (and rebuying them with Karma at the end)?
Knowledge Skills:
English N
Street Gangs 4
Horizon Corporation 4
Magical Theory 4
Fences 4
Qualities:
Focused Concentration 5 (20)
Mentor Spirit (Thunderbird) (5)
Prejudiced (Biased towards Aspected Magicians, damned amateurs! (-3)
Spirit Bane (Water) (-7)
Corporate SIN (-15) (this will form a significant part of his Background and struck me as far more interesting than the Incompetent (thing I will never use) and Weak Immune System (thing we are rarely likely to encounter)).
This still leaves me with 25 Karma to spend.
Spells:
This is one area where I was really uncertain. I am really struggling to judge the effectiveness of the various different types of spells between Direct and Indirect, P and S damage, resistances etc. So instead I have largely gone for non damaging stuff combined with some buffs to stay alive in a fight. I thought about picking up an Increased Attribute but couldn't decide which I wanted. Focused Concentration will let me keep up Increased Reflexes, Armour and Combat Sense as always on Force 1 buffs (cheesed withy Reagents or Edge to bypass Limit) and leave me a little space to drop additional stuff during a fight if necessary. I also bought two extra spells with Karma.
Combat Sense
Mind Probe
Heal
Increased Reflexes
Improved Invisibility
Control Thoughts
Magic Fingers
Mob Mind
TriD Phantasm
Armour
Ball Lightning
Mana Bolt
Gear:
This is one area where I am pretty much clueless. I have bought two Foci, a +2 Summoning (air spirits) one and a +2 Spells (Manipulation). I would have preferred a Power Focus but they are expensive and I don't have the resources for it. I am guessing some sort of armoured jacket will be necessary together with a weapon of some sort, if only for show. I don't know yet how much stuff like licenses and sins will come into things (I suspect not much) and definitely want to buy some reagents.
I still have 7 Karma left and 10k cash. I was thinking of starting off with some bound spirits. I can do it during the game but they will default to Force 6 without any of that messy dice rolling.