[Reyrhad]

Hey, folks! This is my first time jumping into the Shadowrun tabletop universe as well as my first character for SR5.

For starters, I've been reading through threads for the past few weeks to get an idea for how the game works. My GM likes a 60/40 mix of Pink Mohawk/Black Trenchcoat, and the build I have is meant to reflect that. Thematically, I'm really interested in playing a chromed up combat guy that's capable of doing some sneaking about. If you'll excuse my formatting I'd really appreciate any input you can give me.

(Additional Note: The shared gear section and some of my equipment may seem a bit much, but I had so much NuYen left over after the Cyberware I ended up creating a supply cache for the other players to dip into with the GM's approval. Some of us have shared backstories, etc.)

Priorities:
A: Resources - 450,000 NuYen
B: Attributes – 20
C: Skills - 28/2
D: Metatype – Human
E: Magic - None

Attributes:
Physical            Current          Racial Max                    Notes         
Body                   4                     6                        None
Agility                 3                     6                        6, Augmented Arms + Legs
Reaction             5                     6                        None
Strength             3                     6                        6, Augmented Arms + Legs

Mental           Current           Racial Max                    Notes            
Willpower           2                      6                        (Karma: -10)
Logic                 3                      6                        None
Intuition            5                      6                        None
Charisma           4                      6                        None

Special         Current                 Racial Max                 Notes            
Edge                5                          7                        None
Essence           2.6                       6.0                     See Cyberware
Initiative          10 + 1d6              N/A                    None

Inherent Limits                  Current                  Notes                  
Mental                                  4                       
Physical                                5         
Social                                   4

Condition Monitor Boxes       Total                  Notes                  
Physical                                 10(+4)                [Body / 2] + 8, + 4 from Cyberlimbs
Stun                                       9                         [Willpower / 2] + 8
Overflow                                4(+1)                  [Body], + Will to Live

Reputation:      Notoriety      Public Awareness      Street Cred      

Defense Values: Armor 10/+3 (Suit/+Jacket) + Armor 8 (Cyberware)
Soak = Body (on Fail) or Body + Modified Armor (on Success)

Skills                                Rank         Dicepool   
Skill Group (Close Combat)   
---- Blades                         1                 7         
---- Clubs                          1                  7
---- Unarmed                     1                 7
Skill Group (Athletics)   
---- Gymnastics                 2                 8
---- Running                      2                 8
---- Swimming                   2                 8                     
Escape Artist                      1                 7
Etiquette                            1                 5         
Exotic Melee (Spec)           4                10 (Monofil. Whip)      
Intimidation                       1                 5                  
Long-arms                         6 (+2)        12, (+2, Sniper Rifle)         
Palming                              1                 7         
Perception                         4 (+2)        10, (+2 Visual)         
Pistols                               6 (+2)        12, (+2, Semi-Auto)      
Sneaking                           4 (+2)         10, (+2 Urban)               
               

Knowledges                                  Rank                           Dicepool      (Here you'll see values in A/B, because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to use LOG/INT for checks)
Language, English [N]
Language, Japanese                       4                             9/7         
Area Knowledge, Seattle                3                             8/6
Mythology                                      3                             8/6         
Security Protocols (Corporate)      2 (+2)                     7/5 (+2, Corp. Security)
Shadowrun Haunts (Seattle)          2 (+2)                    7/5 (+2, Seattle Locales)   


Contacts                                        Loyalty         Connections      
Cybernetic Technician                        3                   4
Fixer                                                  1                   6                    
Street Doc                                         4                   3


Karma (+25/-25)             Spent Total: 41         Earned Total: 25    Left: 9
Positive:
Agile Defender                                        - 3
Ambidextrous                                        - 4                     
Biocompatibility, Cyberware                  - 5
Escape Artist, Rank 1                            - 2                     
Etiquette, Rank 1                                  - 2
Intimidation, Rank 1                             - 2                     
Palming, Rank 1                                    - 2
Quick Healer                                          - 3                     
Skill Group (Close Combat), Rank 1     - 5
Will to Live, Rank 1                                - 3                     
Willpower, Rank 1 to 2                          - 10

Negative:
Allergy: (Common: Pollen, Mild)        + 10
Distinctive Style                                   + 5         
Tough and Targeted                            + 10


Essence: 6.0 - 3.4 = Current: 2.6 (Squeal: 1.5 - 2.0)
Max Money After Character Generation, but Before Game: 5,000¥
(CharGen: 450,000¥ - Spent: 431,340¥)
Items: Max Availability 12 and Device Rating 6 allowed at Character Generation.
[R] – Restricted, Requires License.         [R*] – A sub-component is restricted.
[F] – Forbidden, Highly Illegal.             [F*] – A sub-component is forbidden.


Cyberware__                            (Total Cost: 319900¥)
•   Data Lock, Rating 6 (Essence 0.1, Cost 6000¥)

•   [R] Alpha Cyber Eyes: (Essence 0.2, 4/8 Capacity, Cost 14400 ¥)               
o   Basic System, Rating 2 (Essence 0.2, 4800¥)                  
o   Image Link (-0 Capacity, Free)                        
o   Low-Light (-2 Capacity, 1800¥)                        
o   Thermographic (-2 Capacity, 1800¥)                     
o   Flare compensation (-1 Capacity, 1200¥)                     
o   [R] Smartlink (-3 Capacity, 4800¥)
                     
•   Alpha Cyber Ears: (Essence 0.2, 0/8 Capacity, Cost: 8100¥)
o   Basic System, Rating 2 (Essence 0.2, 5400¥)
o   Sound Link (-0 Capactiy, Free)
o   Damper (-1 Capacity, 2700¥)

•   Alpha Implanted Commlink: (Essence: 0.1, Cost: 8400¥)                  
o   Base (Cost: 2400¥) (See page 222 for rules on commlink.)            
o   Transys Avalon, Data Process/Firewall Rating 6 (Cost: 6000¥)            
o   Simrig (Free)
                              
•   [F*] Alpha Obvious Cyber Arm, Left: (Essence 0.7, 3/15 Capacity, Cost 74200¥)
o   Base (0.7, Cost 18000¥)
o   Customized [AGIx3] (Cost 18000¥)
o   Customized [STRx3] (Cost 18000¥)
o   Armored [+2] (-2 Capacity, Cost 7200¥)
o   Fingertip Compartment, Index (-1 Capacity, Cost 3000¥)
   [F] Monofilament Whip: Acc 5(7), Reach 2, Dmg 12P, AP -8 (Cost 10,000¥)

•   Alpha Obvious Cyber Arm, Right: (Essence 0.7, 6/15 Capacity, Cost 67200¥)         
o   Base (0.7, Cost 18000¥)                           
o   Customized [AGIx3] (Cost 18000¥)                     
o   Customized [STRx3] (Cost 18000¥)                     
o   Armored [+2] (-2 Capacity, Cost 7200¥)                     
o   Shock Hand (-4 Capacity, Cost 6000¥)      
               
•   Alpha Obvious Cyber Leg, Left: (Essence 0.7, 7/20 Capacity, Cost 70800¥)
o   Base (0.7, Cost 18000¥)
o   Customized [AGIx3] (Cost 18000¥)
o   Customized [STRx3] (Cost 18000¥)
o   Armored [+2] (-2 Capacity, Cost 7200¥)
o   Large Smuggling Compartment (-5 Capacity, Cost 9600¥)

•   Alpha Obvious Cyber Leg, Right: (Essence 0.7, 7/20 Capacity, Cost 70800¥)         
o   Base (0.7, Cost 18000¥)                           
o   Customized [AGIx3] (Cost 18000¥)                     
o   Customized [STRx3] (Cost 18000¥)                     
o   Armored [+2] (-2 Capacity, Cost 7200¥)                     
o   Large Smuggling Compartment (-5 Capacity, Cost 9600¥)               


Identity_SIN_and_Licenses__                      (Total Cost: 31,600¥)
SECTION CURRENT INCOMPLETE
•   Lifestyle, Middle [Cost 5,000¥ per month], (3 Months, Cost 15000¥)
•   Fake SIN(4), "Jesse McCree" (Cost 10,000¥)
•   Fake SIN(2), "Robert Lynch" (Cost 5,000¥)
•   Fake license(2), Shock Hand (Cost 400¥)
•   Fake license(2), Smartlink (Cost 400¥)
•   Fake license(2), Weapon - Ares Predator V (Cost 400¥)
•   Fake license(2), Mod - Gas-vent System(3), (Cost 400¥)


Armor_and_Clothing__                         (Total Cost: 20400¥)
•   [Mortimer of London](Total Cost: 16050¥)
o   Berwick Suit, Armor 9, Capacity 5 (Cost: 5650¥)
   Base: (Cost: 2600¥)
   Custom Fit (Free)
   Increase Social Limit 1 (Free)
   Concealability (-2, Free)
•   Wireless: Social DP Bonus (+1, Free)
   Drag Handle[1], (Cost: 50¥)
   Shock Weave[3], (Cost: 3000¥)

o   Ulysses Coat, Armor 10/+3, Capacity 18 (Cost: 10400¥)
   Base: (Cost: 3100¥)
   Custom Fit (Stack, Free)
   Increase Social Limit 1 (Free)
   Concealability (-3, Free)
   Wireless: Social DP Bonus (+1, Free)
   Chemical Protection[3], (Cost: 750¥)
   Fire Resistance[3], (Cost: 750¥)
   Insulation[3], (Cost: 750¥)
   Nonconductivity[3], (Cost: 750¥)
   Radiation Shield[6], (Cost: 1200¥)
   YNT Softweave Armor (Cost: Item is now x2, thus 6200¥)
•   Helmet (Cost: 100¥)
o   Armor +2, Capacity 6


Weapons__                            (Total Cost: 18435¥)
•   [R] Cavalier Deputy ("Mirabel"), Acc 6, Dmg 7, -1 AP, SA, 7(cy); (Total Cost: 3550¥)
o   Base Model (Cost: 225¥)
o   (Top) Imaging Scope (300¥)
   Vision Enhancement [2] (Cost 1000¥)
   Vision Magnification (Cost 250¥)
o   (Barrel) Gas-vent System [3] (Cost: 600¥)
o   (Stock) Gecko Grip (100¥)
   Adds +6 on any test to see if I keep gun.
   Fibers can be turned on and off wirelessly.
o   (Internal) Smartgun system, internal (Cost: 450¥)
o   (No Slot) Tracker (125¥)
   (Tracking rules: RFID tags, Pg. 440 of SR5)
o   (No Slot) Weapon Personality (Cost 250¥)
o   (No Slot) Speed Loader x 10 (250¥)

•   [R/F*] Ares Predator V (H. Pistol): Acc 5(7), Dmg 8P, -1 AP, SA, 15(c); (Total Cost: 2555¥)
o   Base Model (Cost: 725¥)
o   (Internal) Smartgun System (Free)
o   (Top) Imaging Scope (Cost: 300¥)
   Image link (Cost: 25¥)
   Vision Enhancement(2), (Cost: 1000¥)
o   [F] (Barrel) Suppressor (Cost: 500¥)
o   (No Slot) Spare Clip (x1), (Cost 5¥)

•   [F] Cavalier Arms Crockett EBR (Sniper): Acc 6, Dmg 12, -3 AP, SA/BF, RC (1), 20(c); (Total Cost: 12330¥)
o   Base Model (Cost: 10300¥)
o   (Stock) Shock Pad, Recoil Compensation (RC+1), (Free)
o   (Top) Imaging Scope (Free)
   Image link (Cost: 25¥)
   Vision Enhancement (2), (Cost: 1000¥)
o   [F] (Barrel) Suppressor (Cost: 500¥)
o   (Under Barrel) Tripod, Recoil Compensation (RC+6), (Cost: 500¥)
o   (No Slot) Spare Clip (x1), (Cost 5¥)


Ammo                              (Total Cost: 10000¥)
•   Regular (H. Pistol, cy), (x40), (Cost 20¥ per, 800¥)
•   [F] ADPS (H. Pistol, cy), (x20), (Cost 120¥ per, 2400¥)
o   Revolver = 7 per Speed loader, with 5 loaders
•   Regular (H. Pistol, c), (x20), (Cost 20¥ per, 400¥)
•   [F] ADPS (H. Pistol, c), (x20), (Cost 120¥ per, 2400¥)
o   Pistol = 15 per, with 2 clips
•   [F] ADPS (Sniper), (x20), (Cost 120¥ per, 2400¥)
•   [R] Stick-n-Shock, (x20), (Cost 80¥ per, 1600¥)
o   Sniper = 20 per, with 2 clips


Vehicles_                           _ (Total Cost: 16000¥)
•   Ford Americar


Electronics__                            (Total Cost: 3645¥)
•   Commlink, Rating 1, x3 (Cost: 300¥)
•   Credstick, Standard, x5 (Cost: 25¥)
•   Datachip, x10 (Cost: 50¥)
•   Earbuds (Total Cost: 1350¥)
o   Audio Enhancement 3
•   Micro-transceiver, x4 (Cost: 400¥)
•   Reactive Myomer Pack (Cost: 450¥)
•   Security Tag, x10 (Cost: 50¥)
•   Standard RFID Tag, x20 (Cost: 20¥)
•   Stealth Tag, x10 (Cost: 50¥)
•   Tag Eraser (Cost: 450¥)
•   Trid Projector (Cost: 200¥)
•   White Noise Generator, 6 (Cost: 300¥)


Medical_                           _ (Total Cost: 1100¥)
•   Antidote Patch 6 (Cost: 300¥)
•   Stim Patch 6, x2 (Cost: 300¥)
•   Trauma Patch (Cost: 500¥)


Miscellaneous_                           _(Total Cost: 2285¥)
•   Climbing Gear (Cost: 200¥)
•   Duct Tape (Cost: 10¥)
•   Gecko Tape Gloves (Cost: 250¥)
•   Glue Solvent, x3 (Cost: 270¥)
•   Glue Sprayer, x3 (Cost: 450¥)
•   Microflare, x5 (Cost: 125¥)
•   Microflare Launcher (Cost: 175¥)
•   Myometric Rope, 10 Meters (Cost: 200¥)
•   Plastic Restraints (Cost: 5¥)
•   Rapelling Gloves (50¥)
•   Respirator, Rating 6 (Cost: 300¥)
•   Survival Kit (Cost: 200¥)
•   Swiss Army Knife (Cost: 50¥)


Shared Equipment _                     _(Total Cost: 6,725¥)
•   Earbuds (Total Cost: 1350¥)
o   Audio Enhancement 3
•   Glasses (Total Cost: 1675¥)
o   Base (Cost: 4000¥)
o   Vision Enchantment (Cost: 1000¥)
o   Image Link (Cost: 25¥)
o   Flare Compensation Cost: 250¥)
•   [R] Fichetti Security 600, Acc 6(7), Dmg 7p, SA, RC (1), 30(c); (Total Cost: 2500¥)
o   Base (350¥)
o   (Stock) Folding Stock (Detachable, Free)
o   (Top) Imaging Scope (300¥)
o   Vision Enhancement, 2 (1000¥)
o   Vision Magnification (250¥)
o   (BR) Gas-vent, 3 (600¥)
o   Laser Sight (Free)
•   Regular Ammo (Pistol, c), (x60), (Cost 20¥ per, 1200¥)

[Bushw4cker]

Well good job for First Character.. may I suggest something though.

You have a TON of stuff..   I don't think I've ever seen a character posted on these forums with more equipment, and a lot of it, you're probably never going to use.

 I personally would recommend switching Attributes and Resource Priority..,,

You can increase Cyberlimb Agility and/or Strength up to 9 btw, just fyi, in case you didn't know.

[Hobbes]

You need DNI from either a Datajack or 'Trodes. 

Wired Reflexes and Reaction Enhancers?  Or some other kind of Initiative booster?  Unless you plan to Blitz a lot.

From Chrome Flesh you want the Quality Redliner and Biocompatible (Cyberware) if you have access to Chrome Flesh book.

As mentioned in addition to Customized Cyberlimbs to increase to 6 you can add another 3 Agility and/or Str from Cyberlimb Enhancements.  If you pick up Redliner you only need to pick up +2 Enhanced Agility to hit the Augmented cap of 10.  Personally I'm not sure why you need more than Str 3 on this character, I'd drop the Customized Str for more Agility.  Presuming the GM is letting you use the Cyberlegs Agility for things like Movement Rate and Sneaking tests and such and you're sticking with a Monowhip.  Talk with your GM about what Limb Stats work with what Skills if you haven't already. 

Stats, if you're going Cyberlimbs I'd go with Intuition 6, Reaction 5, Willpower 5, then Str, Body, Agility, at 3.  Logic and Cha at whatever. 

5 Edge means Agile Defender will rarely get used, IME anyway.  You can just Edge your Defense test and not lose an Action usually.  And take a look at the Bilateral Coprocesser (Hard Targets source book IIRC?) instead of Ambidexterity as a Positive Quality. 

Will to Live is seems excessive on a character with multiple cyberlimbs IMO.

Skills C shooter.  Sneaking (Urban), Perception, Favorite Gun Skill (Favorite Gun Specialization) , Monowhip at 6.  I like to split the two group skill points.  Karma to pick up a few other skills at 1. 

[Duellist_D]

I'm not a big fan of Redliner, you will lose a ton of Physical Condition Monitors. Depends a bit on how your GM handles the calculations though.

I second the need for a Datajack and one or two levels of some sort of Initiative/reaction Enhancer.
The Bilateral Coprocessor, on the other hand, I'd stay away from
It costs Essence and thats a reccource you already have very little left, whereas Ambidexterity is very cheap, Karma-wise.
Agile Defender + 5 Edge is also fine. You COULD do what Hobbes suggested, but IMHO its more interesting/versatile to just grab the constant Bonus from Agile Defender (ask your GM beforehand how he calculates to Bonus, if he averages your Cyberlimb Stats and your Bodystats, its not that good and should be cut, except if you also take Redliner) and use Edge for different Stuff.

[Reyrhad]

Well good job for First Character.. may I suggest something though.

You have a TON of stuff..   I don't think I've ever seen a character posted on these forums with more equipment, and a lot of it, you're probably never going to use.

 I personally would recommend switching Attributes and Resource Priority..,,

You can increase Cyberlimb Agility and/or Strength up to 9 btw, just fyi, in case you didn't know.

Thank you! I am considering switching my Attribute and Resource priority. I'd like to keep my weapons and mods at the very least. As to the enhanced cyberlimbs: I was aware, but thought I'd use post-Gen time to buy my way into that. I'll see how much money I have left over.

You need DNI from either a Datajack or 'Trodes. 

Wired Reflexes and Reaction Enhancers?  Or some other kind of Initiative booster?  Unless you plan to Blitz a lot.

From Chrome Flesh you want the Quality Redliner and Biocompatible (Cyberware) if you have access to Chrome Flesh book.

As mentioned in addition to Customized Cyberlimbs to increase to 6 you can add another 3 Agility and/or Str from Cyberlimb Enhancements.  If you pick up Redliner you only need to pick up +2 Enhanced Agility to hit the Augmented cap of 10.  Personally I'm not sure why you need more than Str 3 on this character, I'd drop the Customized Str for more Agility.  Presuming the GM is letting you use the Cyberlegs Agility for things like Movement Rate and Sneaking tests and such and you're sticking with a Monowhip.  Talk with your GM about what Limb Stats work with what Skills if you haven't already. 

Stats, if you're going Cyberlimbs I'd go with Intuition 6, Reaction 5, Willpower 5, then Str, Body, Agility, at 3.  Logic and Cha at whatever. 

5 Edge means Agile Defender will rarely get used, IME anyway.  You can just Edge your Defense test and not lose an Action usually.  And take a look at the Bilateral Coprocesser (Hard Targets source book IIRC?) instead of Ambidexterity as a Positive Quality. 

Will to Live is seems excessive on a character with multiple cyberlimbs IMO.

Skills C shooter.  Sneaking (Urban), Perception, Favorite Gun Skill (Favorite Gun Specialization) , Monowhip at 6.  I like to split the two group skill points.  Karma to pick up a few other skills at 1. 

I do have Biocompatability (Cyberware) already, but you do have a point regarding my initiative. I may pick up reaction enhancers. The Wired Reflexes are a bit too much essence for me. (1.4 essence at Rating 2, if I managed to get Alphaware, right?)

I'm not sure the loss in physical condition boxes is worth it for Redlinder. Question regarding DNI/Trodes, Does the Datalock not qualify for DNI due to that variant not being wirelessly enabled? If so, I'll just switch the versions out.

And with dropping my AGI/STR/BOD stats to get better gains elsewhere, won't that affect my inherent limits?

I'm not a big fan of Redliner, you will lose a ton of Physical Condition Monitors. Depends a bit on how your GM handles the calculations though.

I second the need for a Datajack and one or two levels of some sort of Initiative/reaction Enhancer.
The Bilateral Coprocessor, on the other hand, I'd stay away from
It costs Essence and thats a reccource you already have very little left, whereas Ambidexterity is very cheap, Karma-wise.
Agile Defender + 5 Edge is also fine. You COULD do what Hobbes suggested, but IMHO its more interesting/versatile to just grab the constant Bonus from Agile Defender (ask your GM beforehand how he calculates to Bonus, if he averages your Cyberlimb Stats and your Bodystats, its not that good and should be cut, except if you also take Redliner) and use Edge for different Stuff.

I appreciate you looking out for me on the Essence front. A friend of mine said I should try to stick in the 1.5 to 2.0 as my lower-limit.

[Duellist_D]

There is nothing in the rules that supports sticking to 1.5-2.0 Essence as a lower Limit. Its heavily overplayed fluff.
The only definite negative Effects you get from low Essence are a reduced Social Limit (usually by not more than 2) and a dice penalty on magical Healing tests.

Everything else (like being detached, having AIPS etc) is a MAYBE.
There are negative Qualities that you can get for your Character if you want him to have more prominent side effects, but those aren't mandatory.

Still, you shouldn't waste your Essence on stuff you can buy with Karma.
Its a finite Ressource and a small one on top of that.

Regarding your concept of "having tons of useful items for the team":
I really like this.
Its not super common and great for Teamplay, stick with it!

Regarding INI-Boosts, there is a INI-Boosting Bioware in ChromeFlesh (and also a Geneware), but they both are trap options since they can't be upgraded and at least for the geneware, it doesn't even leave you with an essence hole if you put something better in there.

[Hobbes]

There is nothing RAW about a low Essence having any impact on your character other than in your Social Limit Calculation.  Tables may vary.

If you're going with 4 Cyberlimbs Redliner is Awesome.  +2 Str and +2 Agility to Limbs and Organic stats is incredible once you start tinkering with it.  And with +8 Armor you're always going to be taking stun damage, your physical monitor may possibly never be used.  The drawback from Redliner isn't likely to ever come up.  The upside to 10 Agility is going to come up a lot.  Just sayin. 

Best of luck and have fun!

[Duellist_D]

Only true if you never plan on getting a Pain Editor.
If you do (and you should, its one of the most awesome pieces of *ware), redliner costs you 6 Boxes on your combined track.
It might still be worth it though (taking redliner, that is), but that depends on how much damage you are going to face.
Also keep in mind that redliner increases both the stats of your body and your cyberware. It's not written super clearly in the book but the author of the chapter (Wakshani on this forum) has stated how it works.

[Kuirem]

One suggestion : if you aren't using your STR maybe you should drop the Cyberarms and Legs, get 6 AGI and a Muscle Toner 3, this will free enough Essence to easily fit a Wired Reflexe 1 or 2 and maybe some Bone Lacing (to keep the armor). And you won't have to deal with the 'should the cyberlimbs count into the limit/test/whatever'.

You should strongly consider at least 3 willpower, it will give you an extra Stun Monitor Box (and it's usually the first condition monitor to go away) and it is used in a lot of resistance test (magic, drugs, mental, hacking…).

Personally with 4 Cyberlimbs I prefer Cybersingularity Seeker over Redliner, add 5 WIL, Drug Tolerant and Narco and become a Drugomancer with 10+ dice to soak addictions. Even without Drugomancer style you have 7 WIL for all those resistances test I mentioned above and 12 Stun Condition Track. Synaptic Acceleration is my favorite +initiative gear to add on top of a Drugomancer build, it doesn't cost as much essence as Wired Reflexes and is compatible with Reaction Enhancers and Drugs. Boosted Reflexes is the budget version.

[Hobbes]

Personally with 4 Cyberlimbs I prefer Cybersingularity Seeker over Redliner, add 5 WIL, Drug Tolerant and Narco and become a Drugomancer with 10+ dice to soak addictions.

Minor Threadjack, apologies to the OP.
Presuming your GM will let you just buy hits on Addiction tests you only ever need 8 Dice and Pharmaceutical grade Drugs from Chrome Flesh.  If your GM doesn't let you buy hits on Addiction tests Drugs and Addiction are a death sentence because you'll eventually roll bad enough times and die.  Lots of ways to get to 8 Dice, but it is just a high enough bar that you need to pay attention.

[Kuirem]

That's assuming you will never use the Drugs more than once between each Addiction test.

Addiction are not instant kill, you will get a mild addiction (and +4 dice to the test due to Narco) and you can Withdrawal (for a cost of course).

On top of that Addiction test are often done after the run (unless that's a mission that keep going for a month) so you should have what you need to Edge it (since you regain 1 Edge per night rest) on a bad roll.

Now 7 WIL would be overkill if it was only for Addictions but it provide good defenses against Magic and Matrix and leave your street sam with really little weaknesses. And well that +2 WIL don't have the downside of eating away your monitor box like Redliner. I prefer Redliner with only 2 Cyberlimbs because it allow you to reach the +4 losing only 1 box.

[Reyrhad]

There is nothing RAW about a low Essence having any impact on your character other than in your Social Limit Calculation.  Tables may vary.

If you're going with 4 Cyberlimbs Redliner is Awesome.  +2 Str and +2 Agility to Limbs and Organic stats is incredible once you start tinkering with it.  And with +8 Armor you're always going to be taking stun damage, your physical monitor may possibly never be used.  The drawback from Redliner isn't likely to ever come up.  The upside to 10 Agility is going to come up a lot.  Just sayin. 

Best of luck and have fun!

You bring up a really valid point with regards to the frequency of events. I'll have to compare my options a bit more thoroughly before I make a decision.

One suggestion : if you aren't using your STR maybe you should drop the Cyberarms and Legs, get 6 AGI and a Muscle Toner 3, this will free enough Essence to easily fit a Wired Reflexe 1 or 2 and maybe some Bone Lacing (to keep the armor). And you won't have to deal with the 'should the cyberlimbs count into the limit/test/whatever'.

You should strongly consider at least 3 willpower, it will give you an extra Stun Monitor Box (and it's usually the first condition monitor to go away) and it is used in a lot of resistance test (magic, drugs, mental, hacking…).

Personally with 4 Cyberlimbs I prefer Cybersingularity Seeker over Redliner, add 5 WIL, Drug Tolerant and Narco and become a Drugomancer with 10+ dice to soak addictions. Even without Drugomancer style you have 7 WIL for all those resistances test I mentioned above and 12 Stun Condition Track. Synaptic Acceleration is my favorite +initiative gear to add on top of a Drugomancer build, it doesn't cost as much essence as Wired Reflexes and is compatible with Reaction Enhancers and Drugs. Boosted Reflexes is the budget version.

Thanks for the input Kuirem!

I'm aware that Bioware has better gains long-term, but we're just running some basic modules while we learn the game. For this short run of modules I want to stick with my original character theme of a Chromed-up gunner.

Regarding drug use and the Shadowrun universe: How common would you say drug use is for professional runners? I hadn't considered this option and was frankly avoiding it initially. I can imagine my character using a dose or two on occasion, but nothing regular.

Minor Threadjack, apologies to the OP.
Presuming your GM will let you just buy hits on Addiction tests you only ever need 8 Dice and Pharmaceutical grade Drugs from Chrome Flesh.  If your GM doesn't let you buy hits on Addiction tests Drugs and Addiction are a death sentence because you'll eventually roll bad enough times and die.  Lots of ways to get to 8 Dice, but it is just a high enough bar that you need to pay attention.

Don't worry about the Threadjack. It's an opportunity for me to learn something. Speaking of learning, what do you mean by "purchasing hits?"

[Kuirem]

Professional Runner use a lot of Drugs, even without going as far as stong drugs like Kamikaze some like Longhaul, Zen or Cram are pretty much harmless, cheap and can provide great benefits. There is really little reason not to have some of them in a pocket just in case. Cram for example will often last for a full run (unless you play a 9+ BOD runner) and gives you a nice +1 REA and +1D6 initiative and you will need to take ~3 in a period of 3-5 weeks before you even need to make an addiction test.

Purchasing or Buying Hits is described page 45 of the Core Rulebook. It's a rule that is up to your GM to allow it where you can convert 4 dice into 1 hit on a test. It's quite useful to reduce the number of roll notably.

[Hobbes]

That's assuming you will never use the Drugs more than once between each Addiction test.

Addiction are not instant kill, you will get a mild addiction (and +4 dice to the test due to Narco) and you can Withdrawal (for a cost of course).

On top of that Addiction test are often done after the run (unless that's a mission that keep going for a month) so you should have what you need to Edge it (since you regain 1 Edge per night rest) on a bad roll.

Now 7 WIL would be overkill if it was only for Addictions but it provide good defenses against Magic and Matrix and leave your street sam with really little weaknesses. And well that +2 WIL don't have the downside of eating away your monitor box like Redliner. I prefer Redliner with only 2 Cyberlimbs because it allow you to reach the +4 losing only 1 box.

Minor correction: Narco is only a +2 After you're addicted, it's a -2 if you're not an Addict yet.

Addiction isn't an instant kill, no, its a slow statistically probable death at some tables.  Depends on multiple factors:

Counting on Edge for Addiction tests means you're basically at -1 Edge so you can save one point for the addiction test.  Unless your GM lets you Recover Edge after the run, make the addiction tests, then recover Edge again.  *shrug*  Even then you can still roll bad twice.  And note, most of the common Combat drugs require multiple Addiction tests, and if you're running a Cocktail of some kind as most Juicer builds tend to do you're easily looking at 3 or more Addiction tests. 

Going through Withdrawal/Drying out is a long downtime activity.  No big deal at some tables, other tables could be an issue if the GM isn't letting you take extended vacations when you need to. 

And if your GM is letting you have whatever downtime you need and is letting you Edge Addiction tests and still use your full Edge for runs.... why not save everyone the bookkeeping hassle and let you buy the hits and carry on with your day?  tl;dr Juicer builds are great at some tables, okay at other tables, statistically dooooooooooomed at others.

[Whiskeyjack]

IMO Eyes and Ears are a waste of Essence (aside from the retinal smartlink) and are just as well served with goggles, contacts, and earbuds 99% of the time. Ditto with implanted commlinks - generally just not worth it.

Willpower isn't worth the karma.

7 dice in melee skills is bad, this is why skill groups are pretty crappy options. It may sound funny for a sam, but you have too many combat skills. You can only use one per round and it's generally unlikely that you won't be able to use your preferred one.

Hell, a dice pool of 12 in your specialty isn't even that good. Your issue is your AGI is super low even with your cyberarm.