[baronspam]

Hi all,

New to the Forums, just returned to the game after being gone a couple of editions.  Trying to relearn the rules.  I made this character as a learning project to start finding my way around again.  Feedback welcomed.

Streetname: Slider
Real Name:
Mata Type: Elf
Positive Qualities: Adept
Negative Qualities: SINer, Sensitive System.

Body 3 Agility 4(6) Reaction 3(4) Strength 3
Chrisma 3 Intution 4 Logic 3 Willpower 3
Edge 3 Essence 6 Magic 5 Inititive 8 with 2 Passes.

Adept Powers:  Improved Agility +2 Improved Reflexes level 1, Enhanced Perception +4, +2 With Longarms Skill

Skill Groups: Outdoors 3, Close Combat 2, Athletics 1
Active Skills: Longarms 5 (Shotguns +2) Pistols 1, Automatics 1, Firstaid 1, Infiltration 3, Perception 4, Dodge 3, Etiguette 1 (Street+2), Armorer 1 (Firearms +2)

Knowledge Skills: Languages: Elvish Native, English 3
Street Knowlegde :Seattle Corporations 3, Seattle Organized Crime 3
Knowledge: Acoustic Jazz 5
Professional Skills: Trombone Player 5, Bartender 2

Contacts: Fixer 3/2, Arms Dealer 3/1, Street Doc 3/2.

75,000 to spend on Gear.  I wont post the entire list but I prepaid 3 months of a low lifestyle, and then picked up a wide range of weapons, armor, and assorted gear (right tool for the right job) and bought a van.  He has two level 4 fake identies, one "civilian" that he uses for paying the rent, buying mundane items, food, etc, and professional one for transactions that are postentially a little more "dirty".

[baronspam]

Background:  Slider was born in Tir Tairngire, east of what used to be called the Cascade Mountains.  He grew up in a small community and showed early abilities as an adept.  He was trained by a mystical society who's name roughtly translates to "The Hunters" in english.  They are not exactly military, but were paramilitary in organization, and serve a sort of active national guard role in the Elven nation, being responsible for a combination of serach and rescue, wilderness law enforcement, and reserve military duty. 

Slider became profoundly unhappy with Elven society, however.  He found that it favored a small number of "nobles", who really had no claim on aristocratic titles other than having jumped on the idea early, and disliked their arrogance and cultural elitism.  He managed to save enough money to travel to Seattle and purchase a fake identity to leave his old life behind.  He initially atempted to find work as a gunsmith, but ended tending bar in Elf Poser club, nightly fightig down the urge to murder everyone present.

One of the club's investors was a fixer, however, and one night when a deal when bad Slider detected an ambush with his acute senses and hauled out the bar's "roomsweeper" to defend the place.  The fixer, now one of his contacts, was impressed with his skills and helped him find work more suited to this abilities.

[baronspam]

Mechanically, I was trying to create someone who was very good at medium to long range combat.  He has a broad skill set to represent general military training, and is designed to be really good with basically two things: longarm firearms and perception checks.  If I am doing the math right and not breaking any rules, a smartlink equiped shotgun should give him 16 dice, or 14 dice with a sniper rifle with a smartllink.  He rolls 12 dice for perception.  He can get by with other weapons and in hand to hand, but is run of the mill at best in those areas compared to other runners (although still pretty good compared to a normal person).  He has some utiity skills like first aid, infiltration, and the Outdoor skill group.  He isn't much with technology, he is not better with computers than the average joe and his main technique for opening a lock is to shoot it off.

Aside from his skill with weapons and his freakishly sharp senses Slider is a skilled acoustic musician.  His "cover" identity is that of a jazz horn player, and he does gig occaionally with various local groups, and writes a music blog as well.

[Operator]

The first impression I got from reading the SR forums here was that characters who take a primary role as 'sniper' are cutting themselves short. That, however, is a  matter of character aesthetics and gameplay.


First, you will want to consider whether or not you plan on advancing Slider's agility and how it will affect abilities outside his scope of sniping. RAW on Improved Physical Attribute requires you to spend Karma equal to the total attribute sum. For example, Slider here would be paying 35 Karma to advance his Agility up to 5(7).

Second, the close combat group is a bit overkill when you have a stated predilection towards ranged combat. Personal preference leans towards unarmed (shock gloves!) or clubs (stun batons!) if you need to put someone down quickly.

Third, dodge is a waste of points if you're investing in close combat skills and/or Athletics (gymnastics). Slider is an adept, so Combat Sense is an ability I would recommend if defending against melee and ranged attacks is a concern.

[baronspam]

Ok, lets say I decide I can live with just unarmed combat instead of the close combat group (which I am not sure that I can, I am pretty sure he should be able to use a knife and a baton as well). 

If I drop close combat to unarmed combat that saves me 12 points.  I drop dodge all together, thats another 12 points.  I can spend 20 of those to raise the althetics groupd to 3, which gives the same same dodge as having dodge 3, plus a general increased ability to run, jump, climb, and otherwise be outdoor active guy (which certainly is in character) and I hav 4 points to spend either on a one point skill or a couple of specialization, or maybe another contact.

Is there a specialization that would make Slider better at using a set of shock gloves?  I do have a set of those in his toybox, and I will admit that if he is stuck in a knife fight with somone things have already gone very, very wrong with the operation.

[Teyl_Iliar]

Is there a specialization that would make Slider better at using a set of shock gloves?  I do have a set of those in his toybox, and I will admit that if he is stuck in a knife fight with somone things have already gone very, very wrong with the operation.

While there isn't anything else you can do to make him more effective specialization wise with shock gloves, you can always specialize in unarmed, martial arts would allow him to not only have a larger DP but depending on the art he's learned an advantage of some kind to certain fighting moves. (disarm, quick draw, called shot to list a few.) however you'll have to spend a few BP (5 per special move learned) to preform those moves. I have a face that uses Krav maga, personally i find the extra BP spent are worthwhile when she's close enough to use them. Your call though. I would suggest however adding some mods to the gloves themselves, a gecko grip will help in allowing climbing without switching gloves, and will give you a plus 6 to hold on to someone you're stunning :p

[savaze]

Active Skills: Longarms 5 (Shotguns +2)

Why are you a sniper with a specialty in shotguns? Maybe a Longarm specialist or just a starting heavy hitter.

Professional Skills: Trombone Player 5

Playing the Trombone would be the Artisan skill, but knowing who the trombone players are would cover the skill you have.

As a sniper you should worry more about being/staying hidden than avoiding incoming fire, unless you're a sharpshooting front-liner (snipers are support from a distance). Though climbing skills are always useful to snipers...

[baronspam]

Active Skills: Longarms 5 (Shotguns +2)

Why are you a sniper with a specialty in shotguns? Maybe a Longarm specialist or just a starting heavy hitter.

Professional Skills: Trombone Player 5

Playing the Trombone would be the Artisan skill, but knowing who the trombone players are would cover the skill you have.

As a sniper you should worry more about being/staying hidden than avoiding incoming fire, unless you're a sharpshooting front-liner (snipers are support from a distance). Though climbing skills are always useful to snipers...

Longarm specialist would probably be a better term than sniper.  From a purely metagame perspective, I had a couple of build points and i wanted a specialization, and I thought that I would probably have more times when I needed to pull a shotgun out from under the lined coat than to actually dig in somewhere and snipe.  He still has a very nice dice pool with a sniper rifle when a situation comes along when he can use it, but in a street fight or on many runs the shotgun will probably see more use.

[Teyl_Iliar]

then again if you just got a walter 2100 you could just keep using the sniper rifle, suffer no loss of range, and have no negative for it's use in close range gun fights. which would save you money on the 2nd gun and give you an area of all around use no matter the range. if you look at it that way, you'd have a better pool for sniping (the overall job) and still have a good DP for the shotgun that even if you didn't need you could use well.

[CanRay]

Shotgun Sniping, it's the new Smoothbore Sniper! 

Actually, with a Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot Slug...

[Teyl_Iliar]

Shotgun Sniping, it's the new Smoothbore Sniper! 

Actually, with a Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot Slug...

They had those once..... I think it was the 1700's... 

But without the fin stabilized D sabot slugs.

[bigity]

Back in my day snipers were real men!  We had to stand 3 yards away from the target and hope like hell!

[Teyl_Iliar]

Back in my day snipers were real men!  We had to stand 3 yards away from the target and hope like hell!

ROFL *wipes tears away* ohh man. good times! nothing builds character like that!

[CanRay]

A long time ago, my RPG group was discussing how a lot of sports was based on military training in some way.  Although we never could figure out the purpose of Curling, I did come up with the ultimate game-stopper comment:  "Golf was developed for Scottish Snipers."

And suddenly we all pictured Scotsmen in kilts from the waist down, and Ghillie Suits from the waist up.  And caddies, of course.