[Emperors Grace]

Swimming?

I had a near TPK in 2nd when things went south on the docks.

[8-bit]

Swimming?

I had a near TPK in 2nd when things went south on the docks.

You could just pick up Athletics 1 for 5 Karma. It's not that bad; especially if you're a mundane that can fit in Synthacardium.

[iamfanboy]

Yes, and I know as a killer GM, when I see a PC with a vehicle and no vehicle skills, I think, "Hmmm... ambushed by go-gangers on her way to the meet... how is she going to get out of THAT?"

So maybe have a list of "One-Point Wonders" - skills that you'll want at least 1 point in, preferably purchased with Karma? Pilot Ground Craft, Longarms (so you can at least use a bigger gun without defaulting),  Assensing?

Also, Specialities are best chosen in character creation and give a 2-dice benefit for 1 skill point; maybe some choice specialities should be listed for each skill?


And what are the alternate ways of nailing spirits, other than Banishing? Manabolt seems solid, as most Spirits only have a Willpower of F, but you'd need to roll a lot fewer successes to remove a spirit with Banishing versus killing them with direct damage, and it's also a lot less draining. Assuming a dice pool of 12 and a Force of 6 on the summoning (reasonable-to-high), on average a spirit would owe 2 services - Banishing such a spirit would only require 1 success (because if it's manifested that's used up one service!), meaning you'd need a dice pool of 9 to statistically Banish the sucker.


One of the things I'm going to add right at the start is the disclaimer of, "This is written mostly from a minmaxing, munchkin-ass, squeeze-every-bonus-point-til-it-bleeds style of play. While I do not myself advocate such play, I maintain that knowing what the bare minimums for broad archetypes as well as the absolute best options for each build gives even a dire-hard role-player vital tools in making characters."


And here's the section on Metatype, paraphrased from SoulGambit:

METATYPE
Don't neglect Metatype. Put a Priority into Metatype that gives you enough points to allot for extra Edge - 4-5 starting Edge is vital for survivability. Unless you need it (a combatant being an ork or troll, a Face being an Elf), go with Human - the extra starting Edge means you don't need to allot as high a priority to Metatype. However, when judging Metatype against Attributes, Troll has a +8(.5, the dermal armor), Ork & Dwarf give +5, and Elf gives +3.

Melee types should pick Troll - the benefits to Body & Strength, as well as Reach, are vital. Mixed-ranged combatants rank metatypes as Ork, Dwarf, Human - Troll is too expensive, and Elf gives little to no benefit in combat. Faces should pick Elf - the benefit to Charisma is vital. Magicians should choose between Human and Dwarf - Dwarf is more survivable and has a Willpower buff, but Human gives more Special Attribute points at less Priority. The exception is Mystic Adept, where Dwarf rules over Human. Riggers and Deckers should pick Human every time - Priorities need to go elsewhere, and D-Race E-Magic gives you the other stats you need. Technomancers should pick Human as well, though Elf is another possibility for the Charisma bonus.

[Whiskeyjack]

Swimming?

I had a near TPK in 2nd when things went south on the docks.

You could just pick up Athletics 1 for 5 Karma. It's not that bad; especially if you're a mundane that can fit in Synthacardium.

Maybe, but having high Gymnastics is really a pretty good idea.

[Whiskeyjack]

Also, Specialities are best chosen in character creation and give a 2-dice benefit for 1 skill point; maybe some choice specialities should be listed for each skill?

Automatics - SMGs (best option unless you're playing a Sam with ARs, and even then, SMGs are more legal and more easily concealable so you might end up with one under your jacket and seeing a lot of use
Perception - Visual
Negotiating - Bargaining. It's fairly narrow and probably only going to be used when you're trying to get more money from a Johnson, but every little bit helps. Especially paired with First Impression.
First Aid - Gunshot Wounds (if you go the FA route)
Spellcasting - your spell group of choice; Combat spells are not terrible but you might get more long-term bang during a battle with Manipulation or Illusion. This is definitely an edition where utility mages can be a lot scarier than straight-up blasters
Summoning/Binding - your preferred spirit. Air, Plant and Guardian Spirits are probably the best, for different reasons.
Counterspelling - Combat Spells, in all likelihood. Just because decreasing the enemy mage's direct damage is a good thing.

So maybe have a list of "One-Point Wonders" - skills that you'll want at least 1 point in, preferably purchased with Karma? Pilot Ground Craft, Longarms (so you can at least use a bigger gun without defaulting),  Assensing?

Assensing is really like Perception: if you can even have it (Phys/Mys Adepts need the Astral Perception power first), you want it at 5-6 to spot things.

And what are the alternate ways of nailing spirits, other than Banishing? Manabolt seems solid, as most Spirits only have a Willpower of F, but you'd need to roll a lot fewer successes to remove a spirit with Banishing versus killing them with direct damage, and it's also a lot less draining. Assuming a dice pool of 12 and a Force of 6 on the summoning (reasonable-to-high), on average a spirit would owe 2 services - Banishing such a spirit would only require 1 success (because if it's manifested that's used up one service!), meaning you'd need a dice pool of 9 to statistically Banish the sucker.

The thing with Stunball versus Banishing is that Stunball can be used to wreck spirits but is also great to use against high-Body, low-Willpower street sams. Banishing is only good versus spirits; Stunball is also going to be great against a lot of mundane foes. And it's a matter of buying 1 spell versus buying up a Skill, which is much more of a karma investment.

[iamfanboy]

To finish the skill list as I'm doing it, I kinda need to know the best 3-4 Unarmed Combat Martial Arts from R&G; it seems like Firefight, K-E Tactical, Wildcat, Krav Maga, and even Parkour (for the high number of movement options) are good choices, but right now my judgement is all theoretical rather than practical.

Also need to know which is better for Throwing: Aerodynamic or Non-Aerodynamic. Hmm...

To Whiskeyjack:
Yeah, I do see what you're saying here. I'm definitely editing the skill list to reflect what you said, as well as some priority readjustment of my own. I'm so torn on Automatics versus Pistols, because both of them have merits but you only need one. I think I'll have a part of the Skill subsection which lists the pros and cons of each choice. I also moved Negotiation down to #3 on the list - Etiquette is also a big part of what the Face needs to do, at least in my games.

Your spell list makes sense except for the omission of Mind Probe, which is an amazing spell on a lot of levels. Ripping the access codes from a security guard's mind, countering a dose of laes, finding blackmail material on a captured foe to keep them in line after releasing them... If it were possible to cast it as a Ritual, then GG to the competition betwixt Ritual and Alchemy. It seems slightly weaker when opposed by W+L (instead of Willpower), but Daddy still like.

Okay, onto the section that's going into the guide.

SKILLS
Skills are vital for a Shadowrunner - and some skills are more vital than others, depending on your build. The first thing to know about this list, though, is it does NOT mean the other skills are useless, just highly specific to certain builds and campaigns. This list covers the essential skills that almost all characters should have in some capacity. Each of these lists goes from highest to lowest priority - so, for example, if you want to play a Mystic Adept, which mixes combatant with magician, you know which ones have priority over others.

PISTOLS OR AUTOMATICS
One of these two skills is something all characters should have, and both have pros and cons. A character who isn't focused on combat should only have one or the other, and the choice depends on what level your game is being played at.
 
Pistols are highly concealable (a light pistol in a lined coat and a concealable holster gives a -5 penalty to the spotter's dice pool, and -3 on a pat-down!), readily available in all situations (buying on the street, stealing from guards, etc), cheaper, and can deal with most combat situations with the right ammo (APDS on sec-guards). Pistols are best for lower-end, street level games, where the heaviest opposition you may face are some minor Awakened animals or a Lone Star patrol - and in more extreme cases you hopefully have better abilities to use. Semi-Automatics is probably the best Specialty.

Automatics are highly versatile (low-recoil semi-auto to full-auto mayhem), scales from low-end combat (Machine Pistols) to high-end combat (Assault Rifles), and also have the compensation to mitigate recoil from multiple Initiative Passes of semi-auto firing. If your game tends to have higher-end combat, from SWAT teams to drakes and dragons, then you may want to pick Automatics as your side-arm skill. The best Speciality depends on the level of play; Assault Rifles for high-end games, and SMGs if it's picked as the primary gun skill for a combatant in a low-end game.


Following is the list of Skills, a list of the overall better specializations to pick at the start (if the skill has any), and a one-sentence explanation of why it's on the list so you know why to ignore it if you choose to.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS, GENERAL
Perception (Searching, Visual) Perceptions lets you spot anomalies from the everyday world, making it vital - noticing a hidden gun, finding the right datadisk, and spotting the trail of blood are important.
Sneaking (Urban) By definition, a shadowrunner hides in the shadows, and sneaking lets you move undetected, or blend in where you shouldn't belong.
Gymnastics (Climbing, Parkour) Not only does it let you move past obstacles that you might have difficulty with, but with a -5 Initiative you can add your Gymnastics to dodge attempts. However, look at the One-Point Wonders later on for a caveat.
ESSENTIAL SKILLS, COMBATANT
Long Arms/Automatics/Pistols (Sniper Rifles, Shotguns/Assault Rifles, SMGs/Semi-Automatics) Which one you pick is influenced by the Pistols/Automatics choice at the start - long arms includes some of the most destructive non-Heavy Weapons in the game, Automatics is highly versatile, and Pistols is great for blending in.
Unarmed Combat (TO BE DECIDED) A combatant should have either Killing Hands or Bone Lacing to turn unarmed into physical damage, and the weapon can't be taken away, unlike a Blade or Club.
Throwing Weapons (TO BE DECIDED) Grenades are a huge equalizer, and the ability to chuck them is vital for a combat character. Also, trolls can turn a shuriken into a silent decapitation machine.
Heavy Weapons (Grenade Launchers, Rocket Launchers) At the very top-end, a good heavy weapon can end a large number of enemies, or some of the deadliest ones - but it's also not subtle, a shadowrunner's worst enemy.
ESSSENTIAL SKILLS, MAGICIAN
Spellcasting (Illusion, Manipulation)  It's the defining ability of mages to cast spells, and this lets you do it. Illusion and Manipulation will do a lot more damage in Shadowrun than direct spells.
Summoning (preferred spirit) By far the best thing in combat that a mage can do is summon a spirit to attack.
Counterspelling (none) The next best thing is protecting yourself and your friends from spells.
Binding (preferred spirit) Having a spirit on-call to help in battle without Summoning is good, but it IS expensive in reagents (therefore, in money).
Arcana (none) Not only needed to understand new formulae, it's also used to Initiate... which is a vital part of any magician looking towards the future.
ESSENTIAL SKILLS, RIGGER
Pilot Ground (Wheeled) You're the wheelman, so you'd better know how to drive.
Pilot Aircraft (Remote Operation, Rotary Wing) A lot of good drones are airborne, and the cheapest aerial vehicles are helicopters.
Gunnery (Ballistic) The skill you use for all the guns on your drones and vehicles, and Ballistic covers everything from Victory Autocannons to SMGs.
Electronic Warfare (Encryption) You need to defend yourself against outside crack attempts, and EW is the skill to do it with.
Automotive Mechanic (Wheeled) Your car will be shot up and broken down, as will your drones, and this will let you fix it. The other Mechanic skills are also vital
Pilot Watercraft (?) Depending on your area, but in Seattle there's a LOT of boat activity going down, and piloting one is important sometimes.
ESSENTIAL SKILLS, DECKER
Hacking (Hosts, Files) The bread-and-butter of decking.
Computer (none) Lets you do ordinary actions in a host, rather than extraordinary ones.
Electronic Warfare (none) A big part of decking is also being the EW guy, defending and executing Matrix-based attacks - and this lets you do it.
Cybercombat (none) for the unsubtle, it ranks low because it's better to be sneaky and undetected than smash your way in - but if you have to do it, better be good at it...
Hardware (Cyberdecks) If your stuff gets damaged, you'll need to fix it. It'll also let you jack out if you're under attack.
ESSENTIAL SKILLS, FACE
Con (Fast Talking) Convincing someone to do something detrimental to their future is a face's raison d'etre, and this is the skill for it.
Etiquette (by culture) This is the social equivalent of Sneaking, and when you need to blend in somewhere it's what you roll.
Negotiation (Bargaining) Convincing the Johnson to pay you more is one more reason the team will love you.
ONE OR TWO RUNNERS NEED:
Small Unit Tactics (none) The maneuvers in R&G are pretty sweet, and a high INT character with SMU can change a battle for the better.
First Aid (Gunshot Wounds) Even with a Healing mage and a First Aid Kit, someone knowing First Aid can do a lot for the group. Because it's based off Logic, someone with good LOG is the logical choice.
Locksmith (by most common type) Someone's gonna need to open locks sometimes, whether they be old-fashioned tumblers or newfangled maglocks. It's AGI-based, so shooters can get mileage from it.

ONE-POINT WONDERS
These are Skills and skill groups that characters will probably want to buy one point in with your starting Karma (or as soon as you can after chargen), but that you don't want to use Skill points on during Generation (when you can buy Specialities, or raise another skill up to 6 instead).
Athletics Skill Group - for Swimming and Running, as well as Gymnastics; all are skills you don't want to default on.
Palming - lets you hide guns and other items on your body, giving an opposed test to find them versus a straight 1 success - and their attempts to find it is still modified by the concealability.
Pilot Ground Craft - While ordinary operation doesn't require any skill, if you need to do some actual driving than you'll want a point in it - and as a wise runner has high REA, you don't need a high Skill to get successes.
Escape Artist - You're going to be captured and being able to escape could be vital - and mean GMs might well say you couldn't default on this anyway!

Anything I missed, do you think?

I'm going to leave the Spells off til later - or maybe before, depending on how this is organized. I think I'm going to organize the finished post in the same order as the chargen chapter in SR5, even if I'm doing it piecemeal here.

[Glyph]

A lot of skills are incredibly useful to have, but don't forget that shadowrunners are specialists, and a high number of skills, like any other Priority, have a corresponding opportunity cost.  Even skills E can be viable - that's three sixes in your specialty, with some lower-rated skills to be bought with Karma.

Two things about the character creation system.  Priority is exactly what it says on the tin - so prioritize.  Pare down your essential skills, Attributes, and abilities, and see which is the lowest Priority that lets you get each component of your character.  For example, playing a face, you might decide that Resources: C is where you want to be - enough to afford your major purchase of tailored pheromones: 3 and have enough left for gear, a fake ID, etc.  The technomancer example they give for character creation is an example of poor decision making in this capacity.  Resources: A is ludicrously unnecessary for him - he probably could have gotten by with Resources: E.  All of those useless purchases, when swapping resources out with Attributes: C would give him 8 Attribute points, while swapping it out with Skills: E would give him 28 skill points and 10 more points' worth of skill groups.

The other part of character creation is the 25 Karma you get to round out your character.  This is good both for raising dumpstats from 1 to 2, and for picking up lpw-rated skills or skill groups, ameliorating the worst effects of whichever Priorities were your lowest two.

[SoulGambit]

While all of those skills are useful, its pretty hard to fit them all on one character. What I'd like to see is "Standard arrays" at the E, D, C, B and A Skill Priorities. No need to spend all skill points, "You have X skill points left over" is perfectly fine. Note what skills your spending Karma on, and the total Karma amount. Something like...


Combatant[/u]
Priority E
Automatics [Assault Rifles] 6 -or- Long-Arm [Shotguns/Sniper Rifles] 6
Unarmed Combat [Martial Art] 6
Thrown Weapon 4
Athletics Skill Group 1
Perception 1
Sneaking 1
Heavy Weapons 1
Palming 1
Pilot Ground Craft 1
Escape Artist 1
Etiquette 1
    Total Karma Spent: 19

Priority D
Automatics [Assault Rifles] 6 -or- Long-Arm [Shotguns/Sniper Rifles] 6
Unarmed Combat [Martial Art] 6
Thrown Weapon [Aerodynamic] 6
Athletics Skill Group 1
Perception 1
Sneaking 1
Heavy Weapons 1
Palming 1
Pilot Ground Craft 1
Escape Artist 1
Etiquette 1
    Total Karma Spent: 17

Priority C
Automatics [Assault Rifles] 6 -or- Long-Arm [Shotguns/Sniper Rifles] 6
Unarmed Combat [Martial Art] 6
Thrown Weapon [Aerodynamic] 6
Sneaking [Urban] 6 -or- Perception [Visual] 6
Perception 1 -or- Sneaking 1
Athletics Skill Group 2
Heavy Weapons 1
Palming 1
Pilot Ground Craft 1
Escape Artist 1
Etiquette 1
    Total Karma Spent: 10

Priority B
Automatics [Assault Rifles] 6 -or- Long-Arm [Shotguns/Sniper Rifles] 6
Unarmed Combat [Martial Art] 6
Thrown Weapon [Aerodynamic] 6
Sneaking [Urban] 6
Perception [Visual] 6
Athletics Skill Group 5
Heavy Weapons 1
Palming 1
Pilot Ground Craft 1
Escape Artist 1
Etiquette 1
    Total Karma Spent: 8

Priority A
Automatics [Assault Rifles] 6 -or- Long-Arm [Shotguns/Sniper Rifles] 6
Pistols [Semi-Automatic] 6
Unarmed Combat [Martial Art] 6
Thrown Weapon [Aerodynamic] 6
Perception [Visual] 6
Con [Fast Talk] 6
Impersonation 6
Heavy Weapons 5
Stealth Skill Group 6
Athletics Skill Group 4
Pilot Ground Craft 1
Escape Artist 1
Etiquette 1
    Total Karma Spent: 6

[Michael Chandra]

Yes, and I know as a killer GM, when I see a PC with a vehicle and no vehicle skills, I think, "Hmmm... ambushed by go-gangers on her way to the meet... how is she going to get out of THAT?"

Shoot them in the head? Besides, 7 dice is plenty for simple movement, and you already need a decent bit of reaction+pilot to beat that 3k Autosoft investment.

[Whiskeyjack]

To Whiskeyjack:
Yeah, I do see what you're saying here. I'm definitely editing the skill list to reflect what you said, as well as some priority readjustment of my own. I'm so torn on Automatics versus Pistols, because both of them have merits but you only need one. I think I'll have a part of the Skill subsection which lists the pros and cons of each choice. I also moved Negotiation down to #3 on the list - Etiquette is also a big part of what the Face needs to do, at least in my games.

Your spell list makes sense except for the omission of Mind Probe, which is an amazing spell on a lot of levels. Ripping the access codes from a security guard's mind, countering a dose of laes, finding blackmail material on a captured foe to keep them in line after releasing them... If it were possible to cast it as a Ritual, then GG to the competition betwixt Ritual and Alchemy. It seems slightly weaker when opposed by W+L (instead of Willpower), but Daddy still like.

Etiquette is good but in my experience alone, it's very passive. A player is more likely to ask if they can test Con than a GM is likely to ask to test Etiquette, IMO, and Etiquette can be got by with just a flat higher Charisma and low Skill than anything else. Again, in my experience. Con is one of those things I like to max out on a face simply because it can be used to justify almost any social interaction on a run. And especially for a B&E person, having Locksmith paired with Disguise/Impersonation and Con can let you break into a secure facility, pass as someone who should be there, lie about what they're doing, grab paydata or intel or items and get out with nobody the wiser til much later.

I just feel like Automatics gives you everything that Pistols does (comparable conceivability for machine vs heavy pistols) and then some (heavier weapons with higher damage codes when you need them, FA/suppressing options). I really, really want to like Longarms, but choke can't compete with auto-fire and sniper rifles are high-risk high-reward - it's a lot of damage and -AP, but it's just one shot and thus easier to fully dodge.

That's true about Mind Probe, but the subject knows their mind is being sifted through so I kinda prefer Control Thoughts/Influence, where they may not even know. I sorta compare Control Thoughts and Influence to the Imperius Curse versus Mind Probe being Legilimency. You can get the same info, the question is how much of it the target is actually aware of...to me, the less aware, the better.

While all of those skills are useful, its pretty hard to fit them all on one character. What I'd like to see is "Standard arrays" at the E, D, C, B and A Skill Priorities. No need to spend all skill points, "You have X skill points left over" is perfectly fine. Note what skills your spending Karma on, and the total Karma amount. Something like...


Combatant[/u]
Priority E
Automatics [Assault Rifles] 6 -or- Long-Arm [Shotguns/Sniper Rifles] 6
Unarmed Combat [Martial Art] 6
Thrown Weapon 4
Athletics Skill Group 1
Perception 1
Sneaking 1
Heavy Weapons 1
Palming 1
Pilot Ground Craft 1
Escape Artist 1
Etiquette 1
    Total Karma Spent: 19

I would put Perception much higher on the list than either Thrown or Unarmed Combat. Throwing is only really useful for grenades and if you're lugging around an AR, may as well make it an Ares Alpha with integrated grenade launcher and depend solely on Heavy Weapons to aim it.

[MijRai]

I just feel like Automatics gives you everything that Pistols does (comparable conceivability for machine vs heavy pistols) and then some (heavier weapons with higher damage codes when you need them, FA/suppressing options). I really, really want to like Longarms, but choke can't compete with auto-fire and sniper rifles are high-risk high-reward - it's a lot of damage and -AP, but it's just one shot and thus easier to fully dodge.

Well, the concealability factor is somewhat questionable, since whether or not a machine pistol can be put into a concealable holster is up for debate, and they're still not as concealable as tasers, light pistols, or even holdouts (Streetline Special is so nice for the MAD scan penalty). 
For longarms, I think you're missing the existence of automatic shotguns (combine choke AND automatic fire), and semi-automatic sniper rifles/sporting rifles, which can still put down some burst-fire.  Don't forget that going full-auto/burst isn't always a good idea either.  It's a lot of ammo, a lot of noise, and will probably be responded to in-kind. 

[Whiskeyjack]

Tasers and holdouts suck stat-wise (having a gun that defeats scanners aside), so I don't think it's much of a comparison. That's really the bottom line for me. And I just like the option of FA, even if I don't use it often. It's nice to have when you need it but I certainly wouldn't suggest it's a thing to use in every firefight.

Yeah, true about the shotgun and SA sniper rifles. I'm thinking more of Availability there, the good sniper rifles are not things you can start with or really even easily acquire in play. Even the automatic shotguns...I just think about how nothing in Longarms is going to be something you can easily conceal or casually carry around without raising eyebrows.

[iamfanboy]

And that's why it's a tossup between Automatics (for combat versatility) and Pistols (for cheapness, availability, and subtlety) with Long Arms being a subset that only specific archetypes will want. Not to mention that a pistol may be unremarkable as self-defense in some parts of the world (even if a cop notices them), but an automatic is a little more, ah, open for remark. For the most part, a Savalette Guardian with APDS can put down some of the heaviest targets a typical shadowrunner will meet, and the Fichetti Security Action is a fine compromise between concealability and damage.

So, for pure combat? Automatics is superior, hands down. But with other, more role-playing reasons taken into play, Pistols is a fine choice, with Long Arms being kind of a "Why don't you take Heavy Weapons instead" choice.

And that's why I'm somewhat adverse to the notion of "Specific builds with E in Skills take these" lists, as it's open to debate as what is perfect.

One re-question: what's the minimum 'safe' Rating to put into a Fake SIN and Fake License? Is 3 enough, or should 4 be the minum?

Anyway, Attributes.

ATTRIBUTES
Attributes are the foundation of a good runner; they define Limits and in many situations you'll be rolling solely off them, so prioritizing them is key. There are a dozen sub-archetypes (B&E Artist, Bounty Hunter, Talismonger, Combat Medic, Assassin, and far more than I can cover here) so all that's covered here are the basic seven.

First off, all runners need high Reflexes and Intuition - they define Initiative (and you'll want high enough to go twice a Pass), they prevent ambushes, and they let you avoid bullets. Don't skimp. 5 in each is what you'll want, period, unless you can't (like Trolls).

Combatants divide up into gunmen, melee, and tanks. Gunmen will want a high Agility (maxed is best), but a Strength of 4 will give 2 points of recoil compensation - with the right mods, you can also use Unarmed Combat convincingly at STR 4. Melee wants high Strength, with Agility as the second priority, and Body as the third - taking hits is fine, but you need to be able to dish them out convincingly. Tanks are a highly specialized combatant that maxes out Body to take hits for the team. Orks and Dwarfs make good combatants because of that bonus to Body and Strength, but Trolls reign supreme as melee and tanks - higher starting scores, plus higher maximums, gives them the edge.

Willpower is THE key stat of standard Magicians, and the secondary one is often determined by what you roll for Drain via tradition. The Street Grimoire introduced several traditions that use INT as a secondary stat, letting the minmaxing mage fulfill the high INT need of a shadowrunner and their own build. What else you raise depends on the style of gameplay - high BOD will let you take hits, high CHA plus your lack of cyberware makes for a high Social limit and good Con rolls (and some traditions use CHA), high LOG will help with investigation campaigns... and a decent AGI will let you hold a gun and use it to pretend for the opposition you aren't, in fact, a mage.

Mystic Adepts have the same Attribute needs of both a combatant and a magician, making it difficult to truly max both needs. So, prioritize - pick a tradition that uses INT, and decide your mystic adept focus. The easiest are gun adept and social adept - for both of those you only need one more Attribute high (AGI or CHA).

Riggers need high REA - guess what? You already have that! Logic (for repairing your drones and defending your network) and Agility (for shooting their guns) are next priorities, with Willpower (to resist biofeedback damage) not far behind.

Deckers NEED maxed Logic. Willpower is helpful, too, but if anyone has a dump priority in Attributes it's Deckers - which is good, considering their Resource and Skill needs.

Technomancers are tricky, as their persona is defined by their Mental Attributes - meaning you need ALL of them as high as possible, though if you have to dump one, pick CHA. Considering what else you can do, the Attack stat is not as important as the other persona stats.

Faces want (what else?) maxed Strength. Naw, just kidding - Charisma is the key. Because of that single-attribute need, Faces make good choices to branch out into other character archetypes: mages, adepts, B&E artists (especially the impersonation ones!) and even gunmen, provided they keep in mind the Social needs of Essence.

Hrum. Did I screw anything up, or miss anything?

[jim1701]

Automatic shotguns with flechette rounds is hideously effective especially against your average goon and you generally only need a three round burst to do it which means your strength and/or need for extra RC add-on's is a lot lower vs. a six or ten round burst using Automatics.  Overall Automatics is more flexible but if I'm taking A or B in skills I'd much rather have Pistols + Longarms.

[Whiskeyjack]

One re-question: what's the minimum 'safe' Rating to put into a Fake SIN and Fake License? Is 3 enough, or should 4 be the minum?

I sorta feel like there's no excuse not to get a Rating 4 Fake SIN at chargen.

Combatants divide up into gunmen, melee, and tanks. Gunmen will want a high Agility (maxed is best), but a Strength of 4 will give 2 points of recoil compensation - with the right mods, you can also use Unarmed Combat convincingly at STR 4. Melee wants high Strength, with Agility as the second priority, and Body as the third - taking hits is fine, but you need to be able to dish them out convincingly. Tanks are a highly specialized combatant that maxes out Body to take hits for the team. Orks and Dwarfs make good combatants because of that bonus to Body and Strength, but Trolls reign supreme as melee and tanks - higher starting scores, plus higher maximums, gives them the edge.

I don't agree with prioritizing STR over AGI. AGI does all that strength does and more: adding to damage via generating more hits on the attack roll and also being the basis for the attack roll to begin with. STR is nice for higher base damage but that's all it does. AGI lets you hit more and also hit harder due to the more net hits = +damage rule. And Agility does a LOT more outside of combat than Strength does. Everyone wants high Agility.

Mystic Adepts have the same Attribute needs of both a combatant and a magician, making it difficult to truly max both needs. So, prioritize - pick a tradition that uses INT, and decide your mystic adept focus. The easiest are gun adept and social adept - for both of those you only need one more Attribute high (AGI or CHA).

I wouldn't say MysAds NEED the same things as combatants and magicians. As magicians sure, but not necessarily as combatants. You address this, but to me the absolute best part of a MysAd is taking powers that replicate spells you would otherwise have to sustain - Combat Sense and Improved Reflexes, for example. But MysAds can also be super variable, just like PhysAds.

Riggers need high REA - guess what? You already have that! Logic (for repairing your drones and defending your network) and Agility (for shooting their guns) are next priorities, with Willpower (to resist biofeedback damage) not far behind.

You also want high LOG for remote controlling situations. Because nobody really wants to jump into a drone - they're too fragile (exception: a sniper-rifle-equipped rotodrone flying super far high up such that most enemies will be taking huge penalties to return fire). You want to jump into vehicles - sturdier, with probably bigger-scale weapons and better recoil comp.

Faces want (what else?) maxed Strength. Naw, just kidding - Charisma is the key. Because of that single-attribute need, Faces make good choices to branch out into other character archetypes: mages, adepts, B&E artists (especially the impersonation ones!) and even gunmen, provided they keep in mind the Social needs of Essence.

Note: faces can totally tank their Essence without THAT many problems. An augmented Human with CHA 6, WIL 3 and ESS <1 will still have a Social Limit of 6 before Tailored Pheromones come into play (5.3333 rounded up). That's literally 1 less than if they have Essence 6! An augmented Elf with CHA 8, WIL 3 and ESS <1 will have 7 before Tailored Pheromones (6.667 rounded up) - 2 less than if you were Essence 6. So you can see it's not a big deal at all. The human will end up with a Social Limit of 9 with Tailored Pheromones 3; the elf will have a Limit of 10. That is going to be more than sufficient pretty much all of the time. And it's why elves can very easily be totally 'wared-out sams and amazing faces at the same time.

Granted, a human face-mage (CHA 6, WIL 5, ESS 6) will have a social limit of 8 but also probably won't have Tailored Pheromones in all likelihood and an elf face-mage (CHA 8, WIL 5, ESS 6) will have a limit of 9 (leaving out, say, Adepts or MysAds with Kinesics, because I think there are MUCH better things to spend PP on than Limit-increasers...like Cool Resolve, which is like a more-ex-ensive-per-magic-point version of Tailored Pheromones).