While there is an obvious synergy between a metatype and a party role (Elf+Charisma tradition mage+Face for example), people should always remember that an optimised Elf Face is
only four dice ahead of an optimised Troll Face (and that's before Metatype Reduction) and it doesn't really matter because they both are rolling 20+ negotiation dice.
You're making good threads that promote discussion among players and, hopefully, help the new players to make some "right" decisions in this game. Shadowrun is overflowing with options and choices, so any help is welcome.
HOWEVER.
Orks, trolls, and dwarves are not as popular as humans and elves not because they are bad at their jobs. It's because they have
a high opportunity cost. That's the real deal breaker with... everything, actually. Opportunity cost is a topic that should be discussed more in your Math thread, because Karma and BPs are not the only instruments 5e players have to create their characters.
To put it simple, if you are getting a Metatype A priority that means that
something else is not at A. That's why humans are such a solid pick for any role, you get 3 edge
minimum and Magic priority is quite easy to define for yourself anyway. Other metatypes make you wiggle around trying to find a balance between what you want, and what the system allows you to have.
So, a general advice to anyone who wants to play a high Meta prio character: start assigning priorities from Magic, then proceed from the least important to most important. Find a spot you can take a hit to first.
Let's give it a shot, shal we? Let's say make a party of a Troll samurai, an Ork mage, a Dwarf infiltrator/face, and a Troll decker.
So, with a
sammie it's quite straightforward, - we don't want any magic, so Magic E. Skills are not as important as attributes for a fighter: Skills D, Attributes C. We're tight on attributes so we need ware to compensate and enhance our abilities, edge is not that important at the moment. Meta B, Resources A.
So we end up with something like
B5, A4(7), R4(6), S10(13), W3, I4, C1, L1, Edge1; Throwing 6(+2 blades), Unarmed 6, Perception 4(+2 visual), Etiquette 3, Sneaking 1;
before we spend any karma. Seems okay in my book, we can drive our throwing knives through building walls and can wear a ton of armor if a need arises.
Ork mage, - Magic A is probably the best idea for this one. It is quite common for mages to start with Resources E, but since Magic A gives you 2 free skills at 5 I want to start with Skills E. I'm going with a Hermetic tradition so this Ork will have a lot of Knowledge skills to back the team up. Next, - Resources D. ¥50k is a solid start for a Magician, gets you quite a bit of magical and mundane gear. I want to make this character more of an academic and a skilled spellcaster, so we have Attributes C, Meta B for more edge, less brawn.
B4, A1, R3, S3, W5, I5, L5, C3, Edge 5, Magic 6; Spellcasting 6(+2 Manipulation), Summoning 6(+2 Spirits of Fire), Perception 4, Automatics 4 (+2 Machine pistols), Con 4 (+2 Fast talk);
With 50.000 starting nuyen we'll get a focus or two, some vital gear, a R4 sin and a lifestyle. Probably even a bike!
A
Dwarven face/infiltrator is probably the hardest to make of them all, at least for me, and that's why:
it is very hard to deal with priority D as a mundane Dwarf. This particular character needs high skills and attributes AND some money on top of it. Sum to ten would be easy and clean with BBCCE array, so I advise to use it. But the easy way is not our way so we'll start with Magic E, Resources D (
"I can take a hit there", remember?), Meta C, Skills B, Attributes A. For some reason Dwarves have a better metatype C option than Orks, starting with 1 SAP vs Ork's 0.
B5, A5, R4, S3, W5, I5, L4, C6, Edge 2; Stealth skill group 5, Pistols 6(+2 holdouts or SA), Negotiation 6(+2 Bargain), Perception 6 (+2 Search), Con 5,
Lockpicking 3, Hardware 3, Gymnastics 2, Computers 2.
We have a very solid statline which allows us for a little too liberal use of certain substances. Coupled with some very light augmentation, it gives us an edge both in and out of combat. Karma would probably go towards even more contacts.
A
Troll decker is probably my favourite. I want an adept decker because it should be fun and we haven't had an adept yet. Attributes get an E priority here because something just has to. Magic D for an adept, Resources C should be enough because there's not much room left with Skills B and Metatype A.
B5, A3, R2(5), S5, W3, I4, L5, C1, Edge 2, Magic 6; Electronics Skill group 5, Hacking 6(+2 Hosts), Electronic Warfare 6, Cybercombat 6, Longarms 6(+2 Sporting rifles), Sneaking 5, Etiquette 3(+2 Matrix), Perception 1
C-K Analyst and Little Hornet cyberdecks cost under ¥100k and with some modding they really become something great.
Don't be afraid to try something new, everyone!