Shadowrun
Shadowrun Play => Looking for Games => Topic started by: Poindexter on <11-12-15/2040:03>
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So far it seems like the group is leaning toward Chicago with RnB playing Baby Hardcore at some point in his life and emotional development, Zwei rocking a technomancer, possibly a sibling of BH, maybe one who took a different path in life, and Tec playing some kind of Awakened, which will be a bitch in Chicago, but hey, here we are. I'd like to find a way to link Tec's character with the other two. Ex-spouse, former romantic rival, illegitimate child, estranged step-uncle, something good. Ideas?
I plan on starting things kinda simple. One or two smaller runs to get the group up to speed on the locale, each other, and any NPCs that will be playing important roles. After things get settled, we'll start to get into the meat of the story, cool?
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I voted for Chicago, especially the Containment Zone, because I think feral cities are fascinating. I think it would fit well with Baby Hardcore's neo-anarchist leanings, but that's up to rednblack to decide.
I'm leaning toward a female dwarf at the moment, partly because I realized I haven't played a dwarf in 15 years. I imagine her being a cold-eyed realist/pragmatist who has had it up to HERE with BH's idealism. I'm open to suggestions for possible relations with BH and Zweiblumen's PC. Being an ork or a troll isn't off the table either.
I'm hoping to take the Home Ground quality and have that broadly apply to the base background count of the Containment Zone, if that's where we will be. I know the quality as written is more limited in geographic scope. I'm all for the more wicked parts of the CZ being higher on the background count scale. If Poindexter wants the whole thing to be a pit of misery and despair impervious to Home Ground then I'll adjust things accordingly.
For power level, I think I'm going to build someone who is optimized to survive in the CZ, but not necessarily optimized to play Shadowrun. The spells (and powers, if I go mystic adept) will be more about day-to-day survival rather than being a combat goddess. She'll have some summoning too but will do so sparingly because spirits get pissy (via the Spirit Index) when they get summoned into background counts. For example, she would summon to accomplish a specific task but not to leave the spirit on watch all night.
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I'm hoping to take the Home Ground quality and have that broadly apply to the base background count of the Containment Zone, if that's where we will be. I know the quality as written is more limited in geographic scope. I'm all for the more wicked parts of the CZ being higher on the background count scale. If Poindexter wants the whole thing to be a pit of misery and despair impervious to Home Ground then I'll adjust things accordingly.
I think somewhere between 'broadly applying home ground to the base background count of the entire CZ' and 'making the whole thing a pit of misery' is where my dart would land. I'd be open to expanding on the RAW as far as the geographic scope of it, just probably not THAT much.
Not to mention, the CZ aint the only place with background count in chi-town. It's just where the worst of it is.
Also, You'll probably be making some jaunts INTO the CZ from time to time, but I don't think that's where the 'home base' will be, y'know? I mean, unless that's what YALL are really feelin, in which case, why not, right?
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I'm leaning toward a female dwarf at the moment, partly because I realized I haven't played a dwarf in 15 years. I imagine her being a cold-eyed realist/pragmatist who has had it up to HERE with BH's idealism. I'm open to suggestions for possible relations with BH and Zweiblumen's PC. Being an ork or a troll isn't off the table either.
Yes, please.
For power level, I think I'm going to build someone who is optimized to survive in the CZ, but not necessarily optimized to play Shadowrun. The spells (and powers, if I go mystic adept) will be more about day-to-day survival rather than being a combat goddess. She'll have some summoning too but will do so sparingly because spirits get pissy (via the Spirit Index) when they get summoned into background counts. For example, she would summon to accomplish a specific task but not to leave the spirit on watch all night.
I'm still debating on power level. It really kinda depends on the loud vs. stealthy thing. I'm tempted to go with shotguns for flavor and fun, but I'm worried that could leave us only with sprawl/cz/ganger level jobs, unless I diversify pretty heavily. In general, I really like the stealthy chars though, so I'm pretty much just typing "out loud" here. One thing to keep in mind about BH is how young he is, like seventeen or so, which should make for some interesting tie-ins.
@Zwei, have you given any thought to what kind of techno you want to play?
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I'm still debating on power level. It really kinda depends on the loud vs. stealthy thing.
I kinda go for a mix of both.
I really enjoyed how this...
https://youtu.be/V41fLweroZc
eventually devolved into this...
https://youtu.be/Z3kBWP231hI
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I'm leaning toward a female dwarf at the moment, partly because I realized I haven't played a dwarf in 15 years. I imagine her being a cold-eyed realist/pragmatist who has had it up to HERE with BH's idealism. I'm open to suggestions for possible relations with BH and Zweiblumen's PC. Being an ork or a troll isn't off the table either.
Yes, please.
I'm playing on a theme that I created the TM for Tec's IRC game. With Chrome Flesh out now there's a lot of ideas that I had for the character that are more codified in crunch. That char grew up in a research facility then escaped and was wanted by the parent mega. I'm leaning more towards a trans-human prototype that escaped/was rescued from the facility at a VERY early age and grew up on the street and then got "adopted" by the family that raised BH. He ends up being just as much of an activist, but is geared towards meta-human (and technomancer) rights. Tec's concept of the "realist" would fit nicely with the two activists.
For power level, I think I'm going to build someone who is optimized to survive in the CZ, but not necessarily optimized to play Shadowrun. The spells (and powers, if I go mystic adept) will be more about day-to-day survival rather than being a combat goddess. She'll have some summoning too but will do so sparingly because spirits get pissy (via the Spirit Index) when they get summoned into background counts. For example, she would summon to accomplish a specific task but not to leave the spirit on watch all night.
I'm still debating on power level. It really kinda depends on the loud vs. stealthy thing. I'm tempted to go with shotguns for flavor and fun, but I'm worried that could leave us only with sprawl/cz/ganger level jobs, unless I diversify pretty heavily. In general, I really like the stealthy chars though, so I'm pretty much just typing "out loud" here. One thing to keep in mind about BH is how young he is, like seventeen or so, which should make for some interesting tie-ins.
@Zwei, have you given any thought to what kind of techno you want to play?
I tend towards the stealthy type chars as well. Doc is loud for my taste. That said, flavor wins imho. You can go in quiet, just not come out so quietly :P Or diversify just a little? Dunno :/
As for power level, using the Transhuman Prototype qual is expensive, as is Techno... So, I'm trying it with a Prime Runner build. If this is OP, no worries, I will happily re-build not using the TP qual. Wish I could fit playing a non-human in here, but I need ¥¥ and Attribs and Res and skills... Gotta cut something. Would be fun to play as an Ork I think... maybe I'll just take the Poser trait... though he's so physically small I don't think that'd work. I too an pretty much just typing "out loud" here.
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Zweilblumen, were you going to keep Bianco as a dwarf and/or albino? If yes to the dwarf, then that could be one of the common threads between your character and mine.
My working name is "Eisa". It means "glowing embers" in Old Norse. She's going to be Norse tradition, leaning toward fire and ice spells.
Bianco was only 17/18 years old. Is that staying the same too? Sounds like rednblack is leaning toward BH being the same age. Do we want to skew younger / more street? Not so much in terms of power level, but more from a characterization perspective.
It sounds like Poindexter is fine with whatever power level, especially since the opposition isn't going to be optimized for us anyway. If some things are naturally going to be way too strong for us and we just need to know when to run then I'm guessing our power level is less important than our characters and their personalities.
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The only thing from Bianco (WR) that I'm really keeping is the test-tube baby theme and the otaku-to-technomancer. With Chrome Flesh providing for the transhuman prototype quality, I'm running with that. But between that and the fact that OtT requires (in missions at least) a data jack there's essence loss right there, that means spending (relatively) lots and lots of ¥¥. And with res/attrib/skills all needing to be C or greater, that doesn't leave any room for meta-type :(
Just looked at switching out attrib for meta-type and that just crushed my build :(
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Made Free was born in a research facility. Born and facility are probably to polite for accuracy. He was created in a lab. A literal test-tube baby. But they were able to create a special kind of human. He had -ware, or the equivalent there of, built in. As an infant he understood how use an automatic firearm and had better memory with quicker thoughts. And sleep, he needed almost none of it. All of this was to his advantage when the site he was at was discovered a little decade ago.
[spoiler]More details about being an otaku here. Need to work on the timeline still. Dunno if I want to do that before or after leaving the lab.[/spoiler]
MF was living on the streets, scavenging from the dumpsters and occasionally finding an opportunity to steal what he could to get by. It was a typical shitty day when the couple found him. Two ladies, an elf and a troll, found him hiding from the weather. He was half starved and a quarter feral at this point. His connection to the Matrix the only thing keeping him even partly sane. They were kind, and got him some food. Then they found him some clean clothes and offered him a place to stay. Some place safe. Trust was hard, but slowly they earned it. There was another boy there, a little younger, but he had a similar story. That made it easier to stay. After some time, they became something of a family.
[spoiler]More details here. Need to read up on BH's background so I can pull from that. Dunno the whole background, but I think this is vague enough to fit into just about anything he's got. Can get more specific about how/why they found/took him in once I know more about them.[/spoiler]
They told him that he couldn't make it. He was too small, too slow. But he felt he needed to prove them wrong. He ran for the doorway at the last second and almost made it! Well, most of him did. Everything except for his arm from just above the elbow down. That got left on the other side of the wall. It happened so fast it didn't even hurt at first, then he looked down at where his arm used to be and fainted. He woke up to Baby carrying him back home, he'd lost too much blood to even walk. He passed out again before they got back. Where they got the money from, or the favors for it, Made Free will never know, but he got a shiny new arm. A cybernetic one. It didn't jive that well with the Resonance, but he was able to make it work. Just felt like a soft spot that wasn't quite him when he looked at it. After time though, he got used to that. That and the data jack from before he emerged, when he was still Otaku. After the crash most of them died, he was one of the lucky few. And now he was testing that luck with stupid stunts like taking a dare. He'd have to figure out what kind of favors Mom and Dad pulled to get him this and make it right. It was the least he could do after all they've done for him.
[spoiler]Reasonably happy with this part. This would be mid to late teens, and how he got into the shadows. Around here is where he'd start getting into Meta Rights also. Still need to write that part.[/spoiler]
Normally I put much more finished stuff up but I wanted to get early drafts here for feed back from the three of you. Thought's? Especially from RnB as I'm really stealing a lot from his storyline here.
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Yeah, rednblack, let us know if you have an updated take on BH. What I know is from last January. Are you writing fiction for him?
If BH were in Chicago, would be be living in the Containment Zone (anarchist's delight) or outside of it? One would think that Made Free might be outside, if only because the Noise inside would drive him nuts, but maybe he figures that the CZ is safer given the people searching for him (i.e. his Wanted quality).
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MF took the allergy NQ instead of the wanted NQ. While I think the wanted NQ could be better for story reasons, I don't know how active it would be in a PbP. I figured a common allergy would play a bit more. Though I've done the wanted bit on two other chars so can easily write that into the story. Or he could be wanted and just not have the NQ :P
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Guess I need to get me a copy of Chrome Flesh and do some reading...
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Season 5 of Missions takes place in Chicago. There are some prep files available for free, including a list of Chicago contacts which are pretty great. I'm pretty sure I'm going to use a couple of the contacts myself. You can download it free from DriveThruRPG: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/119272/Shadowrun-Missions-Season-5-Prep-Files
I'm also going to include the Season 5 description. Who knows if Poindexter is planning on using any of this or not but I figure it helps as background information. For example, I'm thinking that my character was a Containment Zone survivor (maybe even born there) who moved out once the wall came down. Still not quite sure how she ties into Baby Hardcore and Made Free yet.
"This Season follows up the status quo as laid out in Feral Cities and the electoral results set up in Dirty Tricks. Illinois Governor Anthony Presbitiro won his re-election bid on the campaign of rebuilding Chicago, and he helped newcomer Allan Brown get elected as the new mayor of Chicago on the same platform. The two have initiated an aggressive campaign called Project: Takeback (“Healing Chicago and making it safer you and your family!”) to repair and rebuild the shattered city.
The first part of this is revoking the Adverse Possession ruling of the Chicago Supreme Court (see p. 32, Feral Cities) that granted ownership of property to anyone who lived on a piece of land continuously for an extended period of time without the rightful owner stepping forward to claim it. As of June 1, 2075, Adverse Possession was thrown out, and the residents of the former Containment Zone and areas of the Corridor no longer have any legal rights to property they may have been living on for as long as twenty years. Needless to say, this has angered many of those living in these areas of the city.
The second part is offering up a one year “reclamation period” where anyone who can prove that they had a legal claim to a piece of land prior to the Containment Zone going up or have since purchased rights to that property will be given ownership immediately. After one year, any remaining property will be auctioned off to any interested parties for immediate ownership.
There are two catches to this, however. The first is that any entities normally exempt from local land taxes due to extraterritoriality will have to pay taxes for the first five years to pay for rebuilding critical infrastructures in the area. The second is that all parties taking ownership of land have until June 1, 2077 to physically take possession, clear the land, rebuild, and start using it, or else the city will declare eminent domain and seize the property back for resale.
Many corporations both new and old are moving in to take advantage of Project: Takeback, and you can bet the residents of the Zone aren’t going to take this lying down. Everyone’s looking to hire runners, whether it’s to destroy evidence left behind before the CZ went up, reclaim lost data and tech, prove ownership of property, stop someone else from claiming the land, or simply throw a monkey wrench in the entire process. Either way, there’s a lot of money to be made, and it’s a good time to be a runner in Chicago!
Just keep in mind that Chicago was termed a Feral City for a reason. Ghouls, bugs, magical voids, toxic zones, gangs organized crime, and the government combine to make the Windy City a mess, and the sprawl made Aethernet’s Five Most Dangerous Cities list the last ten years running for a damned good reason.
Watch your back. Shoot straight. Conserve ammo. And never, ever deal with a dragon."
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Most helpful, sir. I'll be using the crap outta that. I'll probably be adding my own sorta thing to it, if no one minds, eh? I'm not gonna get too weird with it or nothin, but I probably won't keep it cannon.
Cool?
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I can't remember enough about Chicago to know what's canon and what isn't, so knock yourself out.
I took a wrong turn in Chummer somewhere and it ate a lot of my calculations for Eisa. Here's what I currently have, which is pretty close to par (I need about 6 karma in negative qualities) with the exception of needing knowledge skills and contacts. I did Sum to 11, mostly to move from Skills D to Skills C. Put a different way, it's the same as Sum to 10 with about 50 extra karma in skills. She's not super-optimized by design. She has low skill pools in Athletics and Close Combat that I hope never to use but it seems unrealistic that she would have gotten this far without learning something about them. Her armor and some of her spells are for fluff reasons too, but are subject to change.
I wouldn't mind some more qualities but I'm not sure how strict we're being about the 25 karma cap. There are some other spells that would be fun fluff-wise but I didn't want to break the Spellcasting * 2 limit without asking first. She shies away from Sustained spells because they don't work that well in background counts. Similarly, she's never bothered with foci.
How important are SINs or fake SINs going to be? I'm still thinking of her as the product of a feral city, but if we're going to be mixing with society then I'll work one in.
== Info ==
Name: Eisa
Dwarf
Movement: 6/12
Composure: 10
Judge Intentions: 8
== Priorities ==
Metatype: C(2) - Dwarf
Attributes: B(3) - 20 Attributes
Special: A(4) - Magician
Skills: C(2) - 28 Skills/2 Skill Groups
Resources: E(0) - 6,000¥
Bonus Skill: Spellcasting
Bonus Skill: Summoning
== Attributes ==
BOD: 3 CHA: 3
AGI: 3 INT: 5
REA: 3 LOG: 5
STR: 3 WIL: 7
EDG: 2 MAG: 6
== Derived Attributes ==
Essence: 6
Initiative: 8 + 1d6
Astral Init: 10 + 2d6
Physical Damage Track: 10
Stun Damage Track: 12
Physical: 4
Mental: 8
Social: 7
Astral: 8
== Active Skills ==
Assensing (Aura Reading) Base: 5 + Karma: 0 = 5 Pool: 10 (12)
Blades Base: 1 + Karma: 0 = 1 Pool: 4
Clubs Base: 1 + Karma: 0 = 1 Pool: 4
Etiquette (Street) Base: 1 + Karma: 0 = 1 Pool: 4 (6)
First Aid Base: 2 + Karma: 0 = 2 Pool: 7
Gymnastics Base: 2 + Karma: 0 = 2 Pool: 5
Negotiation (Bargaining) Base: 1 + Karma: 0 = 1 Pool: 6 (8)
Perception (Hearing) Base: 4 + Karma: 0 = 4 Pool: 9 (11)
Running Base: 2 + Karma: 0 = 2 Pool: 5
Sneaking (Urban) Base: 4 + Karma: 0 = 4 Pool: 7 (9)
Spellcasting (Combat) Base: 6 + Karma: 0 = 6 Pool: 12 (14)
Summoning (Guardian Spirit) Base: 6 + Karma: 0 = 6 Pool: 12 (14)
Survival (Urban) Base: 1 + Karma: 0 = 1 Pool: 8 (10)
Swimming Base: 2 + Karma: 0 = 2 Pool: 5
Unarmed Combat Base: 1 + Karma: 0 = 1 Pool: 4
== Knowledge Skills ==
== Qualities ==
Addiction (Mild) (stims)
Did You Just Call Me Dumb?
Emotional Attachment
Home Ground (CZ)
Magician
Mentor Spirit (Dragonslayer)
Rad-Tolerant
Resistance to Pathogens/Toxins
Thermographic Vision
Witness My Hate
== Spells ==
(Tradition: NorseWIL + LOG (12)
Bug Zapper DV: F+1
Clean [Element] (Air) DV: F-3
Fix DV: F
Heal DV: F-4
Ice Sheet DV: F
Ignite DV: F-1
Influence DV: F-1
Levitate DV: F-2
Lightning Bolt DV: F-3
Manabolt DV: F-3
Napalm DV: F
Stabilize DV: F-4
== Armor ==
Evo Hel Suit 8
+Chemical Protection 2
+Custom Fit
+Fire Resistance 2
+Insulation 4
+Nonconductivity 4
+Radiation Shielding 3
+Gas Mask
Helmet 2
+Trodes
== Weapons ==
Combat Knife
Pool: 4 Accuracy: 6 DV: 5P AP: -3 RC: 2
== Commlink ==
Renraku Sensei (ATT: 0, SLZ: 0, DP: 3, FWL: 3)
== Gear ==
Contacts Rating 2
+Image Link
+Flare Compensation
Cram x5
Earbuds Rating 3
+Audio Enhancement Rating 3
Jazz x5
Medkit Rating 3
Miniwelder
Monocle Rating 4
+Vision Enhancement Rating 3
+Vision Magnification
Novacoke x5
Psyche x2
Slap Patch, Stim Patch Rating 6 x2
Slap Patch, Trauma Patch
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Here's Made Free. I've saved 7 karma to speed up how soon he can submerge. Kinda needs SkinLink ASAP :P He's surprising good with his machine pistol with that cyber half-arm he has. Even better when a sprite juices it for him. Still gotta get the background for the contacts written up with more details from his background once I get some feedback from RnB. I'm running the angle that since he's had a sleep-regulator since he was born sleep doesn't come naturally to him and causes problems, so he's got insomnia to go along with his uncanny healing. When he heals, it'll be for a lot, though he's gotta get over his insomnia. That said, he's got 12 dice to get 4 hits. Statistically speaking he should be okay, but ya know, dice :P I'm sure that'll bite him (or has bitten him) in the ass plenty of times :) I'm running the angle that since he's had a sleep-regulator since he was born, sleep doesn't come naturally to him and causes problems.
Gotta say, I like the way chummer does the text output better than HeroLab, but I don't have a PC :/
Made Free
METATYPE: HUMAN
B 2, A 2, R 2, S 2, W 6, L 5/6, I 5/6, C 4, ESS 5.05, EDG 3, R 5
Condition Monitor (P/S): 9 / 11
Armor: 12
Limits: Physical 3, Mental 10, Social 8
Physical Initiative: 7/8+1D6
Matrix Initiative: 11+4D6
Active Skills: Acting Group 1, Automatics (Machine Pistols +2) 3 (4), Compiling (Machine Sprites +2) 6, Computer 6, Cybercombat 1, Electronic Warfare 1, Hacking (vs. Hosts +2) 6, Hardware 1, Influence Group 1, Perception 1, Registering (Machine Sprites +2) 6, Software 6
Knowledge Skills: Area Knowledge 4, Local Gangs 1, Local Politics 1, Matrix Design 4, Matrix Security 4, Meta-human Rights 4
Languages: English N, Or'Zet 1, Sperethiel 1
Qualities: Allergy, Common (Mild): Soy, Code of Honor: Like A Boss, Data Anomaly, Distinctive Style: LED Scalp Tattoo, Insomnia (No Recovery) (12dicepool vs. 4), Otaku to Techomancer, Prototype Transhuman: Allergy, Common (Mild): Soy, Technomancer, Uncanny Healer
Complex Forms: Diffusion of Firewall, Misread Marks, Puppeteer, Resonance Veil, Static Veil
Augmentations:
. . Cerebellum Booster (Prototype) (1) w/ Prototype Transhuman
. . Cerebral Booster (Prototype) (1) w/ Prototype Transhuman
. . Cyber Lower Arm (Synthetic) (Main Hand) w/ Cyberlimb Agility (7), Cyberlimb Strength (3), Enhanced Agility (2)
. . Datajack
. . LED Scalp Tattoo
. . Mnemonic Enhancer (Prototype) (2) w/ Prototype Transhuman
. . Reflex Recorder (Prototype): Automatics w/ Prototype Transhuman
. . Sleep Regulator (Prototype) w/ Prototype Transhuman
. . Smartlink
Gear:
. . Berwick Suit w/ -2 modifier for concealability, Custom Fit, Greatcoat Coat, Increase Social Limit by 1
. . Certified Credstick, Standard x4
. . Concealed Quick-Draw Holster
. . Micro-camera
. . Micro-Tranceiver
. . Novatech NetNinja w/ Add a Sleaze Attribute, Increase a Matrix Attribute: Firewall, Modify the Firewall Attribute: Data Processing
. . Psyche
. . Willmot Hicks w/ Fake License: Concealed Firearms (3), Fake License: Cyberware (3), Fake SIN (3), (1 month) Low Lifestyle
Weapons:
. . Fianchetti Military 100 [Machine Pistol, Acc 8, DV 6S, AP +1, SA/BF/FA, RC 3(4), 20 (c)] w/ Folding Stock, Gas-Vent System (3), (40x) Gel Rounds, Personalized Grip, (40x) Regular Ammo, Sling, Smartgun System, Internal, (3x) Spare Clips
Contacts:
Dox (Connection 3, Loyalty 2) (Street Doc)
Luis Taggart (Connection 6, Loyalty 1) (City Official - Metahuman Rights Dept)
Reese Whitefeather (Connection 6, Loyalty 1) (Government Official - HUD)
Stork (Connection 3, Loyalty 2) (Ork Underground)
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Yeah, rednblack, let us know if you have an updated take on BH. What I know is from last January. Are you writing fiction for him?
If BH were in Chicago, would be be living in the Containment Zone (anarchist's delight) or outside of it? One would think that Made Free might be outside, if only because the Noise inside would drive him nuts, but maybe he figures that the CZ is safer given the people searching for him (i.e. his Wanted quality).
and
@Zwei, story looks great. I'm mostly keeping with Baby's background, as found here: http://forums.shadowruntabletop.com/index.php?topic=19508.msg350098#msg350098 and there's nothing in your story that doesn't sit right, etc.
I'm thinking of substituting BACA -- a real life organization -- for the Black Crescent, which runs most Neo-A stuff in Chi-Town. As for the location in Seattle, the ABC runs a good part of Deerfield, Highland Park, and Northbrook, which would put us North of the CZ, but I'm down with being located pretty much anywhere. Not sure if Poindexter wants to use it, but there's this map that kindly ol' Uncle Opti put together: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zrFsZQwESwVs.ky84118mRV9c&msa=0
I've got 2 char sheets for BH that I'm toying with, depending on which direction I want to go. Will get something solid up in the next day or so.
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Guessing you aren't sticking with working with a syndicate?
Made Free wouldn't be much older than BH, I've got him in the 19-22 range. Still fist-pumpingly pro-meta/SINless rights, but gone the "work with the system" route. Very anti-corp, and trying to get corps out of government (hahahahaha, ahh the young, how very idealistic!) and getting rights to those that are displaced.
@Poindexter: thoughts on MF? Are those dicepools too big? Lemme know if you want me to re-do him with a standard build instead of a PR build.
Aw crap. Hero Lab doesn't print out dice pools.... ffs. Gimme a little while and I'll get the dice pools updated.
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Guessing you aren't sticking with working with a syndicate?
Not necessarily, no. It really depends on what Poindexter might want to do hook-wise. I'm all for rebuilding some details in order to start the game in an exciting spot.
Made Free wouldn't be much older than BH, I've got him in the 19-22 range. Still fist-pumpingly pro-meta/SINless rights, but gone the "work with the system" route. Very anti-corp, and trying to get corps out of government (hahahahaha, ahh the young, how very idealistic!) and getting rights to those that are displaced.
Nice. You gonna deck him out with some hammer&sickle wear? ;)
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Maybe for the streets, but he knows he has to look the part when dealing with "The Man." He's got a suit for meetings with City and HUD folks. Also, when doing a sit-in or a protest, having some people looking "normal." Makes for a good trid shot to have a human in a suit marching with the punks and the orks!
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Tec was kind enough to provide me with this thread: Chicago and Adepts (http://forums.shadowruntabletop.com/index.php?topic=22520.0), which you have chimed in on, Poindexter. So, whats your opinion on how Acclimated will work in Chi-Town?
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Tec was kind enough to provide me with this thread: Chicago and Adepts (http://forums.shadowruntabletop.com/index.php?topic=22520.0), which you have chimed in on, Poindexter. So, whats your opinion on how Acclimated will work in Chi-Town?
I haven't settled on the specifics, but it aint gonna be nice. Won't be as nasty as RAW probably, but still nasty.
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Posting my working draft of Baby Hardcore below. Still have some Karma and nuyen to spend. I'm kind of working off the assumption that barter and the like is pretty common in our home ground area, so if that's incorrect, it'd be good to know.
Also, RF has a pack of cigarettes at 5 nuyen, but I think that real tobacco cigs would run at least 20 a pack, so that's what I went with.
[spoiler]
== Info ==
Street Name: Baby Hardcore (Unfinished)
Name: Unnamed Character
Movement: 14/28
Karma: 0
Street Cred: 0
Notoriety: 0
Public Awareness: 0
Human
Composure: 7
Judge Intentions: 9
Lift/Carry: 8 (60 kg/40 kg)
Memory: 5
Nuyen: 71390
== Priorities ==
Metatype: E - Human
Attributes: A - 24 Attributes
Special: D - Adept or Aspected Magician
Skills: B - 36 Skills/5 Skill Groups
Resources: C - 140,000¥
== Attributes ==
BOD: 4
AGI: 6 (7)
REA: 4 (5)
STR: 4
CHA: 4
INT: 5
LOG: 2
WIL: 3
EDG: 3
MAG: 2
== Derived Attributes ==
Essence: 5.01
Initiative: 9 (10) + 2d6
Rigger Initiative: 10 + 2d6
Astral Initiative: 10 + 2d6
Matrix AR Initiative: 10 + 2d6
Matrix Cold Initiative: 5 + DP + 3d6
Matrix Hot Initiative: 5 + DP + 4d6
Physical Damage Track: 10
Stun Damage Track: 10
== Limits ==
Physical: 6
Mental: 4
Social: 6
Custom Ballistic Mask [+2] (Only for intimidation, Must be visible)
Astral: 6
== Active Skills ==
Animal Handling : 0 Pool: 3
Archery : 0 Pool: 6
Armorer : 0 Pool: 1
Automatics : 6 [Assault Rifles] Pool: 14 (16)
Blades : 0 Pool: 6
Clubs : 0 Pool: 6
Computer : 0 Pool: 1
Con : 4 [Fast Talk] Pool: 8 (10)
Cybercombat : 0 Pool: 1
Demolitions : 0 Pool: 1
Disguise : 0 Pool: 4
Diving : 0 Pool: 3
Escape Artist : 0 Pool: 6
Etiquette : 2 [Street] Pool: 6 (8)
Forgery : 0 Pool: 1
Free-Fall : 0 Pool: 3
Gunnery : 0 Pool: 6
Gymnastics : 2 Pool: 9
Hacking : 0 Pool: 1
Heavy Weapons : 0 Pool: 6
Impersonation : 0 Pool: 3
Instruction : 0 Pool: 3
Intimidation : 1 Pool: 5
Leadership : 0 Pool: 3
Longarms : 0 Pool: 6
Navigation : 3 Pool: 8
Negotiation : 1 Pool: 5
Palming : 3 Pool: 10
Perception : 5 [Visual] Pool: 10 (12)
Performance : 0 Pool: 3
Pilot Ground Craft : 0 Pool: 4
Pilot Watercraft : 0 Pool: 4
Pistols : 0 Pool: 6
Running : 2 Pool: 6
Sneaking : 6 [Urban] Pool: 13 (15)
Survival : 3 Pool: 6
Swimming : 2 Pool: 6
Throwing Weapons : 0 Pool: 6
Tracking : 3 Pool: 8
Unarmed Combat : 5 [Cyber Implants] Pool: 12 (14)
== Knowledge Skills ==
ABC : 4 [Organization] Pool: 9 (11)
Area Knowledge: Chicago : 4 Pool: 9
Gangs : 3 [Turf] Pool: 8 (10)
Music : 4 [Anarcho-Punk] Pool: 6 (8)
Sprawl Life : 2 [Squats] Pool: 7 (9)
== Contacts ==
(1, 1)
== Qualities ==
Adept
Allergy (Uncommon, Mild) (Antibiotics)
Code of Honor (Thug Life (Neo-Anarchist))
Home Ground (Acclimated)
Incompetent (Biotech)
School of Hard Knocks
Solid Rep (Neo-Anarchists)
== Powers ==
Combat Sense Rating: 1
Improved Reflexes 1
== Lifestyles ==
Squatter 1 months
== Cyberware/Bioware ==
Datajack
Muscle Toner Rating 1
Reflex Recorder (Skill) (Automatics)
Shock Hand
Smartlink
== Armor ==
Ares Victory: Globetrotter Jacket 12
+Liner - Chemical Protection (4)
+Nonconductivity 3
+Radiation Shielding 4
+Thermal Damping 3
+Holster
Custom Ballistic Mask 2
+Chemical Protection 1
+Electrochromic Clothing
+Radiation Shielding 1
+Gas Mask
+Low Light
+Select Sound Filter Rating 1
+Thermographic Vision
+Vision Magnification
== Weapons ==
AK-97
+Gas-Vent 3 System
+Personalized Grip
+Shock Pad
+Smartgun System, External
+Spare Clip
+Spare Clip
Pool: 14 (16) Accuracy: 8 DV: 10P AP: -2 RC: 7
Ares Crusader II
+Concealed Quick-Draw Holster
+Gas-Vent 2 System
+Smartgun System, Internal
+Spare Clip
+Spare Clip
Pool: 14 Accuracy: 7 DV: 7P AP: - RC: 5
Shock Hand
Pool: 12 (14) Accuracy: 6 DV: 9S(e) AP: -5 RC: 3
Survival Knife
Pool: 6 Accuracy: 5 DV: 6P AP: -1 RC: 3
Unarmed Attack
Pool: 12 Accuracy: 6 DV: 4S AP: - RC: 3
== Commlink ==
Meta Link (ATT: 0, SLZ: 0, DP: 1, FWL: 1) x4
Transys Avalon (ATT: 0, SLZ: 0, DP: 6, FWL: 6)
== Gear ==
Contacts Rating 3
+Vision Enhancement Rating 3
Cram x5
Earbuds Rating 2
+Audio Enhancement Rating 2
Endoscope
Flashlight, Low-light
Gecko Tape Gloves
Jazz x6
Long Haul x2
Novacoke x5
Pack of Cigarettes x5
Stealth Tags x10
Survival Kit x5
Tool Kit (Armorer Kit)
[/spoiler]
-
Does Baby Hardcore really have ¥71k left over? If so, that's enough to consider dropping Resources down to D in order to boost Magic or Skills even further. Either that, or he can do some Christmas shopping for his good pals Eisa and Made Free!
BH has some fancy armor. Eisa might have to consider that for herself. I had been considering the HEL suit because it's an all-in-one package and the fluff (from the previous edition) was that it was super comfortable, but I might be tempted to follow BH's lead. That said, rednblack, did you really mean Thermal Dampening or did you actually want Fire Resistance?
We have an interesting grab bag of social skills. BH has good Con and decent Etiquette. Eisa has okay Negotiation, mostly due to her mentor spirit. Made Free has Influence 1... does he have Acting 1 for a background reason?
I still don't know how we're all related/connected.
-
Also, there's a new mentor spirit in Hard Targets (p. 136) that might make sense for a Neo-Anarchist:
ADVERSARY
Wherever there is cosmological order, there is an entity that wishes to overthrow it. The Adversary is the original rebel against the powers that be. Followers of the Adversary have serious issues with authority and conformity. Followers range from those dedicated to helping the underprivileged and abused (by “the man”) to the one who indulges his love of anarchy for its own sake. Free will and cynicism are the Adversary follower’s tools and trade.
ADVANTAGES
All: +2 to demolition skill tests
Magician: +2 dice to Counterspelling and Disenchanting Tests
Adept: One free level of Iron Will
DISADVANTAGES
Because of their deep-seated hatred for authority, a teammate’s use of leadership skill is counterproductive to followers of Adversary, invoking either a negative dice penalty or loss of initiative. If the plan doesn’t go the way that the adversary follower wants it to go, it takes a Charisma + Willpower (3) Test for him to get him to cooperate.
SIMILAR ARCHETYPES
Chaos, Anarchy
-
We have an interesting grab bag of social skills. BH has good Con and decent Etiquette. Eisa has okay Negotiation, mostly due to her mentor spirit. Made Free has Influence 1... does he have Acting 1 for a background reason?
I still don't know how we're all related/connected.
I gave MF a touch of all of the social skills except for Intimidation because he's gone a bit of a different route for changing the world than BH. He's trying to work within/manipulate the system. He'll probably take Profiler one day as well given his skills. Between his Cha of 4 and the Berwick Suit + Great Coat with he's got a 7 dice pool for all socials traits that could arguably be boosted by a machine sprite, and for full cheese factor arguably two of them, but that's another story.
Not sure how Elise directly fits, BH and MF got it easy being "brothers." Eisa could be a romantic interest of BH or MF (or both going after the same girl?), or she could be the balance point to the two boys being young, dumb and full of cum? (Ie, average late teen/early twentys boys)
-
Thanks, Tec for the suggestions on BH. I've toyed with re-building him with MAG C, and Skills A, and while MAG C is probably the "stronger" choice, I really like skill monkey chars, so I think I'm going to go with that. Unfortunately, I'm a little too far in the hole to spend the rest of my Karma to get out of it, so I may take In Debt to scrounge up another grand or two in nuyen. This has the potential of being a pretty big setback for BH, as he's already giving half his earning to the ABC, so I may have to sacrifice some gear -- like the Thermal Damping, which I figured might be good for evading drones and such. We'll see.
Also, Zwei, I'm assuming that MF and BH live together in the squat, and that we'll be sharing rent. Cool?
[spoiler]
== Info ==
Street Name: Baby Hardcore, AKA Harkorps, AKA B, AKA Babyh(A)rKorp$
Name: Milton Freudenberg (Nobody knows this name)
Movement: 14/28
Karma: 0
Street Cred: 0
Notoriety: 0
Public Awareness: 0
Human
Composure: 7
Judge Intentions: 9
Lift/Carry: 8 (60 kg/40 kg)
Memory: 5
Nuyen: -16540
== Priorities ==
Metatype: E(0) - Human
Attributes: A(4) - 24 Attributes
Special: D(1) - Adept or Aspected Magician
Skills: A(4) - 46 Skills/10 Skill Groups
Resources: D(1) - 50,000¥
== Attributes ==
BOD: 4
AGI: 6 (7)
REA: 4 (5)
STR: 4
CHA: 4
INT: 5
LOG: 2
WIL: 3
EDG: 3
MAG: 2
== Derived Attributes ==
Essence: 5.20
Initiative: 9 (10) + 2d6
Rigger Initiative: 10 + 2d6
Astral Initiative: 10 + 2d6
Matrix AR Initiative: 10 + 2d6
Matrix Cold Initiative: 5 + DP + 3d6
Matrix Hot Initiative: 5 + DP + 4d6
Physical Damage Track: 10
Stun Damage Track: 10
== Limits ==
Physical: 6
Mental: 4
Social: 6
Custom Ballistic Mask [+2] (Only for intimidation, Must be visible)
Astral: 6
== Active Skills ==
Animal Handling : 0 Pool: 3
Arcana : 1 [Initiation] Pool: 3 (5)
Archery : 0 Pool: 6
Armorer : 2 [Firearms] Pool: 4 (6)
Artisan : 1 [Tagging] Pool: 6 (8)
Automatics : 6 [Assault Rifles] Pool: 14 (16)
Blades : 0 Pool: 6
Clubs : 0 Pool: 6
Computer : 1 [Matrix Search] Pool: 3 (5)
Con : 5 [Fast Talk] Pool: 9 (11)
Cybercombat : 0 Pool: 1
Demolitions : 0 Pool: 1
Disguise : 0 Pool: 4
Diving : 0 Pool: 3
Escape Artist : 2 Pool: 9
Etiquette : 5 Pool: 9
Forgery : 0 Pool: 1
Free-Fall : 0 Pool: 3
Gunnery : 0 Pool: 6
Gymnastics : 3 Pool: 10
Hacking : 0 Pool: 1
Heavy Weapons : 0 Pool: 6
Impersonation : 0 Pool: 3
Instruction : 0 Pool: 3
Intimidation : 0 Pool: 3
Leadership : 5 Pool: 9
Longarms : 0 Pool: 6
Navigation : 2 Pool: 7
Negotiation : 5 Pool: 9
Palming : 1 Pool: 8
Perception : 5 [Visual] Pool: 10 (12)
Performance : 0 Pool: 3
Pilot Ground Craft : 0 Pool: 4
Pilot Watercraft : 0 Pool: 4
Pistols : 0 Pool: 6
Running : 3 Pool: 7
Sneaking : 6 [Urban] Pool: 13 (15)
Survival : 2 Pool: 5
Swimming : 3 Pool: 7
Throwing Weapons : 2 [Aerodynamic] Pool: 9 (11)
Tracking : 2 Pool: 7
Unarmed Combat : 4 [Cyber Implants] Pool: 11 (13)
== Knowledge Skills ==
== Qualities ==
Adept
Allergy (Uncommon, Mild) (Antibiotics)
Code of Honor (Thug Life: (Neo-(A)narchist)
Home Ground (Acclimated)
Incompetent (Biotech)
School of Hard Knocks
Solid Rep (Neo-(A)narchists)
== Powers ==
Combat Sense Rating: 1
Improved Reflexes 1
== Lifestyles ==
Squatter 1 months
== Cyberware/Bioware ==
Muscle Toner Rating 1
Reflex Recorder (Skill) (Automatics)
Shock Hand
Smartlink
== Armor ==
Ares Victory: Globetrotter Jacket 12
+Liner - Chemical Protection (4)
+Nonconductivity 3
+Radiation Shielding 4
+Thermal Damping 3
+Holster
Custom Ballistic Mask 2
+Chemical Protection 1
+Electrochromic Clothing
+Radiation Shielding 1
+Gas Mask
+Low Light
+Select Sound Filter Rating 1
+Thermographic Vision
+Vision Magnification
== Weapons ==
AK-97
+Gas-Vent 3 System
+Personalized Grip
+Shock Pad
+Sling
+Smartgun System, External
+Spare Clip
+Spare Clip
Pool: 14 (16) Accuracy: 8 DV: 10P AP: -2 RC: 7
Ares Crusader II
+Concealed Quick-Draw Holster
+Gas-Vent 2 System
+Smartgun System, Internal
+Spare Clip
+Spare Clip
Pool: 14 Accuracy: 7 DV: 7P AP: - RC: 5
Shock Hand
Pool: 11 (13) Accuracy: 6 DV: 9S(e) AP: -5 RC: 3
Survival Knife
Pool: 6 Accuracy: 5 DV: 6P AP: -1 RC: 3
Unarmed Attack
Pool: 11 Accuracy: 6 DV: 4S AP: - RC: 3
== Commlink ==
Transys Avalon (ATT: 0, SLZ: 0, DP: 6, FWL: 6)
== Gear ==
Contacts Rating 3
+Vision Enhancement Rating 3
Earbuds Rating 2
+Audio Enhancement Rating 2
Gecko Tape Gloves
Jazz x3
Long Haul
Novacoke x5
[/spoiler]
ETA: I have a question about School of Hard Knocks. I have 21 skill points for Knowledge Skills prior to taking the Quality, and 21 after taking the quality. Does SoHK only apply to spending karma for Knowledge Skills, or should I rock Chummer down to -21? How do you guys read that Quality? Since BH is Incompetent: Biotech, I see him knowing a lot about gardening and stuff like that, since he's useless for doing health clinics, which is a lot of what the ABC does in the sprawl. For reference SoHK is on page 149 of Run Faster.
-
Also, Zwei, I'm assuming that MF and BH live together in the squat, and that we'll be sharing rent. Cool?
WFM! I've got MF at a low life style (was thinking shitty 2 room converted apartment), but a squat would work just fine. It'll also free up a little ¥¥ for him.
ETA: I have a question about School of Hard Knocks. I have 21 skill points for Knowledge Skills prior to taking the Quality, and 21 after taking the quality. Does SoHK only apply to spending karma for Knowledge Skills, or should I rock Chummer down to -21? How do you guys read that Quality? Since BH is Incompetent: Biotech, I see him knowing a lot about gardening and stuff like that, since he's useless for doing health clinics, which is a lot of what the ABC does in the sprawl. For reference SoHK is on page 149 of Run Faster.
It's only for street knowledge skills. I don't use Chummer, but I think I've read that it calculates it as you add things in there. If you were to take "Area Knowledge (Street)" at rank 1, it would cost 1 point, but if you take it at rank 2 it still only costs 1 point. 3 would cost two points, 4 two as well. Can't remember where on the forums I read it, but pretty sure I saw others chatting about it... Might have been for the College Educated PQ.
ETA: I would have thought you'd only have 14 points for KS and Lang. And then SoHK would get you 2:1 for street knowledge skills yeah?
-
@Zwei, thanks for the clarification. I can work with that.
ETA: I would have thought you'd only have 14 points for KS and Lang.
You're absolutely right. For whatever reason Chummer has (LOG + INT) X 3 as their starting value for Knowledge Skills. I can't find that it was changed in the errata, so it must be a mistake.
-
BH should just take the nuyen he needs. Poindexter's been pretty clear that if we need ¥50k to finish our characters, we should take it. I already took 6 skill points and 2 skill group points.
Outstanding questions for Poindexter:
1) Are we mainly going to be in the CZ or outside? Do we need fake SINs and licenses and the like?
2) Are we observing the RAW caps on qualities and spells at chargen, or are those part of the flexible chargen guidelines?
I still need to do Knowledge skills. Contacts are going to come from that PDF I shared earlier. I'm also making tweaks to skills, spells, and equipment. Nothing that changes Eisa dramatically; the core concept remains the same.
-
@Tec, cool. Thanks.
I'll be pulling my contacts pretty heavily from that PDF as well, but I'll also be adding Weedy -- a PC Poindexter played in one of martinchaen's games that got left hanging, and an ABC medic named Bao Stephano who used to work at the same noodle joint that BH did. Unless one of you chummers are planning on taking a street doc contact, in which case that'll free me up some.
-
I solved most of the tweaking by just bumping up to Prime Runner. It's 10 Karma and more ¥¥ with more PQs and NQs. Grand scheme, not that much of a tweak. MF only spent 3 of the extra karma anyway (gotta get that submersion!) but the money came in really handy. That said, Wouldn't mind adding a few more NQs such as Family Curse and CodeBlock to him. To balance I'd take focused concentration 2 and then something fun to balance, maybe convert some of that to ¥¥ to get glasses/goggles and ear buds? dunno.
Toying around with some stuff came up with a pretty nice changeling that had an 8 willpower version of him. With so much less karma total he ended up much more reliant on Sprites to do non-resonance matrix actions, but was an interesting build.
-
1) Are we mainly going to be in the CZ or outside? Do we need fake SINs and licenses and the like?
2) Are we observing the RAW caps on qualities and spells at chargen, or are those part of the flexible chargen guidelines?
1- Most of your daily life and even your shadowrunning lives will take place outside the CZ, assuming that jives with the way yall envision things. That being said, yall are shadowrunners in chicago, so make sure you're prepared to head into the CZ for a decent amount of time.
2- So long as we don't get outta hand with them, it's part of the FBGs.
-
@Poin, cool. When do you think you want to get this game off the ground?
-
Probably need to make a few tweaks to MF to get him CZ friendly. He doesn't have any rad gear. With the ¥¥ from sharing a street lifestyle with BH he should be able to afford some protection.
@Poin: Did you have a chance to review the crunch on our sheets? Anything you see missing or too many liberties taken? (mostly with me going PR on it)
-
You're sharing a street lifestyle? How do you divide the ¥0/month?
What I think I'm going to do:
1) Have Eisa be from the CZ, probably even born there, but living outside of it now that the wall is down. She still takes jobs to go back in, since she's a local expert.
2) Do Knowledge skills and Contacts.
3) Finish spell and equipment lists. I might break these into parts so that if I need to cut back somewhere (due to overreaching) then we can easily trim some fluff.
4) 20 Questions, hopefully.
5) Figure out how Eisa knows BH and MF. A romantic connection to MF is not out of the question, mostly because I'm trying not to date Rednblack in all of my PbP games. That said, I think it could be interesting if the romantic component is on-again-off-again, or on hold, or in the past, while the business relationship remains intact. That could offer some tension, and might accurately reflect Eisa's annoyance with MF's idealism (and BH's too, since MF+BH come together as a package deal).
-
You're sharing a street lifestyle? How do you divide the ¥0/month?
What I think I'm going to do:
1) Have Eisa be from the CZ, probably even born there, but living outside of it now that the wall is down. She still takes jobs to go back in, since she's a local expert.
2) Do Knowledge skills and Contacts.
3) Finish spell and equipment lists. I might break these into parts so that if I need to cut back somewhere (due to overreaching) then we can easily trim some fluff.
4) 20 Questions, hopefully.
5) Figure out how Eisa knows BH and MF. A romantic connection to MF is not out of the question, mostly because I'm trying not to date Rednblack in all of my PbP games. That said, I think it could be interesting if the romantic component is on-again-off-again, or on hold, or in the past, while the business relationship remains intact. That could offer some tension, and might accurately reflect Eisa's annoyance with MF's idealism (and BH's too, since MF+BH come together as a package deal).
Doh! Meant Squatter, not Street. Splitting the ¥500/mo and I'd spent for Low liftstyle, so netting ¥2250. (Or close, because there's an extra 10% for shared living right?).
I like the idea of being "on a break" to quote Friends. on-again-off-again works for me. One last thing. I was able to make a decent Troll (or ork actually) changling version using buypoints and 1000 karma instead of 800 (could probably do it just fine with 900 also). PD: any thoughts on that? I think he'd work better as a meta rather than human. That said, if this is getting too far into the special snowflake field I totally understand.
[spoiler]What can I say, I get bored and try to come of with off-the-wall character concepts[/spoiler]
-
What are the changeling features?
-
Changling Class III
(15)Metagenetic Logic Improvement
(15)Metagenetic Willpower Improvement
(-8) Impaired Body
(-8) Impaired Strength
(-5) Bioluminescence
(-4) Mood Hair
(-5) Cold Blooded
-
Next version. I largely stopped paying attention to the rules and just tried to build something balanced and somewhat realistic. 20 Questions are under the spoiler tag at the bottom. Things are largely complete, pending Poindexter's approval.
== Info ==
Name: Eisa
Dwarf
Movement: 6/12
Composure: 10
Judge Intentions: 8
== Priorities ==
Metatype: C(2) - Dwarf
Attributes: B(3) - 20 Attributes
Special: A(4) - Magician
Skills: C(2) - 28 Skills/2 Skill Groups
Resources: E(0) - 6,000¥
Bonus Skill: Spellcasting
Bonus Skill: Summoning
== Attributes ==
BOD: 3 CHA: 3
AGI: 3 INT: 5
REA: 3 LOG: 5
STR: 3 WIL: 7
EDG: 3 MAG: 6
== Derived Attributes ==
Essence: 6
Initiative: 8 + 1d6
Astral Init: 10 + 2d6
Physical Damage Track: 10
Stun Damage Track: 12
Physical: 4
Mental: 8
Social: 7
Astral: 8
== Active Skills ==
Assensing (Aura Reading) = 5 Pool: 10 (12)
Blades (Knives) = 1 Pool: 4 (6)
Clubs (Batons) = 1 Pool: 4 (6)
Counterspelling (Combat Spells) = 3 Pool: 3 (5)
Etiquette (Street) = 1 Pool: 4 (6)
First Aid = 2 Pool: 7
Gymnastics = 2 Pool: 5
Negotiation (Bargaining) = 3 Pool: 8 (10)
Palming (Pilfering) = 1 Pool: 4 (6)
Perception (Hearing) = 4 Pool: 9 (11)
Running = 2 Pool: 5
Sneaking (Urban) = 4 Pool: 7 (9)
Spellcasting (Combat) = 6 Pool: 12 (14)
Summoning (Guardian Spirit) = 6 Pool: 12 (14)
Survival (Urban) = 1 Pool: 8 (10)
Swimming = 2 Pool: 5
Unarmed Combat = 1 Pool: 4
== Knowledge Skills ==
English: N
Norweigan: 2
Chicago Area Knowledge (CZ): 4 (6)
Dark Age Literature (Beowulf): 2 (4)
Street Drugs (Stimulants): 1 (3)
History (Vikings): 1 (3)
Magic Traditions (Norse): 3 (5)
Magical Theory: 3
Magical Threats (Insect Spirits): 2 (4)
Chicago Underworld (Gangs): 2 (4)
== Contacts == (all from the Missions Season 5 prep files)
Becky 99 (Gang Leader -Desolation Angels), CZ (CON: 4, LOY: 2)
Matt Wrath (Boxer), Chicago (CON: 2, LOY: 3)
Sid Gambetti (Boxing Promoter / Fixer), Chicago (CON: 3, LOY: 1)
== Qualities ==
Positive
Home Ground (CZ)
Magician
Mentor Spirit (Beowulf/Dragonslayer)
Rad-Tolerant
Resistance to Pathogens/Toxins
Thermographic Vision
Witness My Hate
School of Hard Knocks
Negative
Addiction (Mild) (stims)
Did You Just Call Me Dumb?
Emotional Attachment (Evo Hel Suit)
Poor Self Control (Vindictive)
== Spells ==
(Tradition: NorseWIL + LOG (12)
Combat
Manabolt DV: F-3
Powerbolt DV: F-3
Lightning Bolt DV: F-3
Fireball DV: F-1
Ice Storm DV: F+1
Health
Heal DV: F-4
Stabilize DV: F-4
Manipulation
Bug Zapper DV: F+1
Clean [Water] DV: F-3
Fix DV: F
Ignite DV: F-1
Influence DV: F-1
Levitate DV: F-2
Magic Fingers DV: F-2
== Lifestyles ==
Not the CZ (Low) 1 months
== Armor ==
Evo Hel Suit 8 (10)
+Chemical Protection 3
+Custom Fit
+Fire Resistance 4
+Insulation 4
+Nonconductivity 4
+Radiation Shielding 3
+Gas Mask
+Gel Packs
+Auto-Injector
Helmet 2
+Trodes
== Weapons ==
Combat Knife
Pool: 6 Accuracy: 6 DV: 5P AP: -3 Reach: 0
Stun Baton
Pool: 6 Accuracy: 4 DV: 9S(e) AP: -5 Reach: 1
== Commlink ==
Renraku Sensei (DP: 3, FWL: 3)
== Gear ==
Fake SIN (Eisa Golightly, Ares Corporate Limited) Rating 4
+Fake License (Registered Magician) Rating 4
Contacts Rating 2
+Image Link
+Flare Compensation
Cram x5
Earbuds Rating 3
+Audio Enhancement Rating 3
Flashlight, Infrared
Jazz x5
Medkit Rating 3
Miniwelder
Monocle Rating 4
+Vision Enhancement Rating 3
+Vision Magnification
Novacoke x5
Psyche x2
Slap Patch, Stim Patch Rating 6 x2
Slap Patch, Trauma Patch
Tag Eraser
20 Questions:
[spoiler]
1. What is the Character’s sex?
Female
2. What is the character’s physical size?
Not huge. Definitely on the small side, even for a dwarf. (Body 3 and Strength 3 are racial minimums.) She's lean and hungry.
3. What is the color of the character’s hair, eyes, and skin?
Eisa has a Norwegian/Irish background that leaves her with white skin that's easily sunburned, red hair (that's often dirty to the point of appearing auburn), and blue-green eyes. Her hair is past her shoulders but she often keeps it up in a pony tail (or even pig tails occasionally) to keep it out of her face at inopportune moments.
4. What is the character’s general appearance?
Eisa stays low to the ground, both because she's a dwarf but also because it's instinctual after growing up in the CZ. She doesn't draw attention to herself (which is often a recipe for deadness in the CZ) in public, but in private she stands up straight and represents herself forcefully. She wears an Evo Hel Suit, which is a somewhat ridiculous full-body suit designed for life in space. As Chicago is about as inhospitable as outer space, it suits her well. She often wears a light jacket over the top of the suit so that she doesn't look like she's wearing a skin-tight body suit around all the time even though she is.
5. Where was the character born?
Eisa was born inside the CZ after the walls went up. Her parents didn't live for very long. They died when she was 4 or 5 years old, so only has hazy memories of them. She was largely raised by the streets, although she did have some interaction with the Ares teams that were providing a semblance of order to certain parts of the CZ.
6. What is the character’s age?
Eisa is 21. She was born in 2056. Her mother was in the early stages of pregnancy when the CZ went up in 2055.
7. What was the character’s family?
Eisa's parents died when she was only 4 or 5 years old, so she doesn't remember what they did. She thinks her father might have worked with computers, or maybe he was an engineer. Her mother used to be a school teacher. They died from being in the wrong place at the wrong time, namely from being in the Containment Zone. Eisa does not have any brothers or sisters, as she was her parents' first child and life in the CZ was not conducive to having a second child. Instead, she had to find family among the other children trapped the walls.
8. Has the character begun his own family?
No. She has an on-again-off-again relationship with Made Free, but this is is currently in the "off" phase and is unlikely to produce any children until Made Free grows up and gets more realistic about the world and his place in it. He's so immature and naive.
9. Where or how was the character educated?
Eisa was educated in the Chicago streets. Her mother, in an effort to establish a modicum of order in the chaos, set up and ran a one-room schoolhouse for the local children. After her mother died, others stepped in as teachers, rotating in and out frequently. Eisa is bright and learns quickly, but she's only had a rudimentary education. She can read and write but most of her understanding of the world doesn't extend beyond an 8th-grade level. She does have an appreciation for old literature, like Beowulf, because it speaks to her warrior spirit and to her mentor spirit (Beowulf/Dragonslayer).
10. Has the character ever done anything else for a living?
Growing up, Eisa was a scavenger. As her magical powers developed, she made cred by providing magical services, such as magical healing, levitating things that needed to be moved, and cleaning drinking water. She also provided magical security, including assensing, spells, and spirits. This guaranteed her something to eat and a place to stay every night. Now that the wall is down, she acts as a "consultant" for people wanting to get in and around the Containment Zone.
11. What about the character’s political and religious beliefs?
Eisa does not have political beliefs. She is expressly apolitical and is annoyed by the political leanings of Made Free and Baby Hardcore. Having grown up with the practicalities of the CZ, she believes that "might makes right" and that people have a right to do anything they can without being stopped by someone else. She is not idealistic and is not bothered by the corps, or the criminal syndicates, or the gangs. They are just representatives of how the world works. If life had made her a corper, she would be a corper unapologetically. In fact, she somewhat aspires to it, as long as it would guarantee her a higher standard of living.
Eisa's religious beliefs are framed by her magic and her mentor spirit. She's a curious blend of pagan and Christian beliefs, like the Vikings. The Christianity is more lip service, as she doesn't really buy the "thou shall not kill" and "the meek shall inherit the earth" aspects.
12. What is the character’s moral code?
Might makes right. Survival of the fittest. Do whatever it takes to survive. Killing is acceptable if the other side can't stop you. Now of course one must recognize the potential for retaliation by friends and relatives, but those are practical considerations, not moral.
13. Does the character have any goals?
Eisa wants to move up in the world. She's not romantic about the Containment Zone: it was a hellhole, not an anarchist paradise. All she wants is a room somewhere, far away from the cold Chicago air, with one enormous chair. Lots of chocolate for her to eat, lots of electricity making lots of heat. Warm face, warm hands, warm feet. Someone's head resting on her knee, warm and tender as he can be, who takes good care of me, wouldn't it be lovely?
14. Why does the character run the shadows?
Eisa runs in the shadows to make money and because she grew up as a gutter-rat. She dreams about getting extracted by Ares to join their Firewatch teams. She wants to kill bug spirits for a living and get paid handsomely for it.
15. What is the character’s personality?
Eisa is realistic and practical to the extreme. She has no goals or notions of changing the world or trying to make it better. She'll kill any bug spirits she finds (excepting mantis spirits and possibly spider spirits) but she'll do that for personal reasons, not because doing so makes the world a better place. All she can do is take care of herself; if she can then she'll be better off and that's about as much good as she can contribute to the world.
The exception to her realism and practicality is a vindictive streak that emerges from her sense of pride and honor. These notions are based in her love of literature, namely old ballads where a good name and reputation were as important as a person's soul. She doesn't suffer slights and often has a chip on her shoulder. Given her small stature, she has heard just about ever short joke in the book. These jokes often get the prankster's pants lit on fire.
16. What special qualities does the character possess?
Eisa negotiates well, largely because she's stubborn as hell. She also keeps her cool under pressure (Composure 10) and doesn't panic when confronted with a flesh-form spirit that's dripping something horrible from its mandibles.
17. Are there certain things the character just cannot do?
As an extension of her sense of honor, and her mentor spirit Beowulf, Eisa will not break an oath. If she makes a promise, she will keep it.
18. What does the character hate?
Eisa hates bug spirits. While there are now dragons in the world, her mentor spirit, Beowulf, says she should kill bug spirits instead. She also hates when people make fun of her, especially her height. She has a bit of a temper and will take names for future retaliation if she can't respond immediately. Slights must be answered.
19. What does the character love?
Eisa, as a follower of Beowulf, loves a good party. Mead is great, but what she really loves is novacoke. Also, peace and quiet and safety. And, being warm and night with no danger of being killed or eaten.
20. What is the character’s name?
Eisa. It means "burning ember" in Old Norse, and refers both to her skill with fire spells (Fireball, Ignite) but also to her temper (Vindictive).[/spoiler]
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When do you think you want to get this game off the ground?
I'm thinking shortly after the new year.
Did you have a chance to review the crunch on our sheets? Anything you see missing or too many liberties taken? (mostly with me going PR on it)
Not yet. Shit's been hectic. I'll try my hardest to get to it this weekend.
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Enjoy your holidays!
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So Chummer ate my Baby Hardcore sheet, but luckily I can rebuild here from what I've already posted.
20 Questions:
[spoiler]
1. What is the Character’s sex?
Cis-gender male.
2. What is the character’s physical size?
Kinda scrawny looking, but wiry and surprisingly strong for his size.
3. What is the color of the character’s hair, eyes, and skin?
Light complected, green-brown eyes. His hair is naturally blond, but he's got wash-out purple hair dye in at the start of the game. Given how often his hair gets washed, it'll probably be there for a bit, and should be interesting if he gets caught out in a rain storm.
4. What is the character’s general appearance?
(http://www.gutterpunks.com/gpfilm/gpjpegs/gpbotch.jpg)
His Globetrotter jacket was decked out in urban camo, but he's got it covered in band patches, pins, and riot spikes. The entire back of the jacket is covered in an ABC Black Crescent, and he's defaced all of the Ares insignias. In the winter time he's usually wearing black tactical pants, likewise covered in patches, and black combat boots. In the summer he opts for jean cut-offs, and in addition to his very shapely calves, onlookers are greeted with the sight of his snake mesh socks pulled up tight under his canvas sneakers. His Custom Ballistic Mask has a black matte background with a white skull, stylized to look like a Nuyen symbol.
5. Where was the character born?
Born and bred in Chi-Town, Baby Hardcore did a lot of traveling around as a youngster, given that his mom couldn't hold down the rent payments at one spot for more than six months or so at a time. He's been in <<Game Location>> for the past few years now.
6. What is the character’s age?
17.
7. What was the character’s family?
Baby Hardcore's father, Brisco Freudenberg was a bruiser, a drunk, an addict, and an all-around piece of shit. His mom, Lucia called the ABC when she wanted to get out, and was worried about retribution on Brisco's part. They got out, but Lucia had a bit of a chip problem herself, so Baby Hardcore took to the streets at the tender age of 11 to forge his own path. He got hooked up with his new "mom" and "dad" when he was about 13.
8. Has the character begun his own family?
The nuclear family, as well as monogamous pair-bonding are artificial constructs foisted upon humanity by the capitalist superstructure. BH ain't got time for that.
9. Where or how was the character educated?
Educated on the streets and by "mom" and "dad." The first time he heard the growling vocals of some late twentieth-century political hardcore band he was hooked. He also takes part in a lot of teaching opportunities hosted by the ABC.
10. Has the character ever done anything else for a living?
He started his life hustling. Then he moved onto robbing drug dealers. Now he does a little running, some security work, and what else needs done to put food on the table and take the piss out of the corps.
11. What about the character’s political and religious beliefs?
Religion is an artificial construct foisted upon meta-humanity by the powerful to gain subservience and obedience. But, Baby, the Sixth World hasn't been all that kind of dialectical materialism? Shut up. . . And don't call me Baby.
Everything is political for Baby Hardcore. He's a hardcore Neo-Anarchist, and honestly can't comprehend why others aren't. It must be the result of shortsightedness, complete gov/corp programming, or fear.
12. What is the character’s moral code?
Don't take more than you need. Cooperation works better than competition. Never screw over working blokes, and stick it to the man every chance you get. Barring that, make chances.
13. Does the character have any goals?
Only the complete dismantling of the Big 10, and their puppet regimes -- read all governments -- in order to usher in an age of peace and brotherhood the world over.
14. Why does the character run the shadows?
Frag with the corps and get paid for it? Sign me up. But, Baby, aren't you also working for the corps when you do it? This shit's a chess game, and if given half a chance, I'll frag up those fraggers too. And seriously, quit calling me Baby.
15. What is the character’s personality?
Intuitive, sensitive, ideologically hard-lined, and a bit obnoxious. Baby Hardcore is sure that he has the world figured out. He's also incredibly loyal, family oriented in his own fashion, and driven to a fault.
16. What special qualities does the character possess?
He can make peace when he sees the need for it, and bring firepower for when he doesn't. He's fairly sneaky, likable, and a bit of a Jack of all trades. He's mildly magically active, but he hasn't really come to terms with that yet -- They say getting a little cyber is supposed to mess with your mojo, but I never experienced anything like that. Maybe it's cuz I ain't got no mojo to begin with, neh?
17. Are there certain things the character just cannot do?
Fucking with the little guy is at the top of that list. Underneath would be fragging over a teammate. Underneath that would be getting a job, like a J-O-B job. He's fine with working, less fine with paying taxes and getting a SIN, and all that drek, not that he stands much chance to begin with.
18. What does the character hate?
Do I really gotta spell it out? Baby Hardcore hates the corps, the governments, their lackeys, agent provocateurs, watered-down corp news, watered-down booze, watered-down club music, dragons, insect spirits, Humanis Policlubbers, all war but the cl(A)ss w(A)r, apoliticals, scumbag drug dealers (The corner boys and girls are aight, but the big guys need to get dropped), the pawns, the star, pimps, mafiosos, wakagashiras, and all other organized crime figures who make their jing off the blood and pain of the working class, slumming corpers, bunk deepweed, double-crossing Johnsons, high background counts, three-day old soykaf (which he's intimately familiar with), pop punk, anti-ghoul sentiment, and eight-hour ABC Coordinating Committee meetings that only result in tabling the discussion for the next meeting.
19. What does the character love?
Boys and girls who smash the state and look good while they're doing it.
20. What is the character’s name?
Baby Hardcore, AKA Harkorps, AKA B, AKA Babyh(A)rKorp$
Definitely not Milton Freudenberg
[/spoiler]
20 Questions finished.
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Alright, Poin, give us some feedback.
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Alright, Poin, give us some feedback.
This week. On the "to-do" list.
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OK, Feedback time!
@Tec
Not much to say, Love the 20 questions, love the character sheet. Only proposed change, and it's just due to the way I do knowledge skills, whaddya think of changing "Dark ages literature (Beowulf)" to "Literature (Dark ages)"? After all, one doesn't take the SMG (Ingram X) skill, one takes the Automatics (SMG) skill, right? Also, It'd be nice to know a bit more a bout the details of hers and Born Free's on again off again relationship?
@Red and Zwei
Love the stats and stories. I'd like you two to tighten up your relationship a bit though. That particular 20 questions didn't really leave much room to talk about one another, and It'd be nice to know a LITTE more detail.
I'm gonna start taking a deeper look at your contacts over the next few days, decide how the first batch of jobs offered to you is gonna go, make a couple NPCs and we'll be off.
I'm shooting for the 18th as the official start date.
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Oh yeah!
Also, DID we wanna grab one or two more players to round out the main core of three? I think it could be interesting, and not terribly risky as the main story will revolve around the three of you folks.
Thoughts?
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Every GM handles knowledge skills differently. Personally, I let them be as broad or as specific as the player wants. Then, how narrow or broad the skill is determines what the threshold is for the associated skill check. So someone with "The History of the Whole Wide World" skill might need 4+ hits to know something specific, but someone with "21st Century UCAS History" would only need 1 hit on the same check.
That said, I'm more than happy to make the skill "Literature (Dark Ages)". I'll make the chance on the sheet I posted.
More players: I'm totally open on this. More players probably means pushing back our starting date since I doubt many people can crank out a full character with background in a week. (I used to be able to, back in the childless bachelor days, but those are in the past.)
@Zweiblumen Alright, let's figure out what makes Made Free and Eisa tick, or not. Here's what I think Eisa would like and/or not like:
Pros
+ Made Free isn't very big. Neither is Eisa. A small human is more compatible with a dwarf.
+ Compatible Logic and Intuition values. Both of them are smart/clever.
Neutral
~ Both have very high Willpowers. Eisa can appreciate a guy who makes up his mind and stands his ground, but the combination of two people like that can lead to fiery results when they're both being stubborn.
Cons
- Eisa is annoyed by some of the idealism Made Free has picked up from Mom, Dad, and Baby Hardcore. She feels that Made Free isn't realistic about the world. He'll understand once he matures some more, at which point she's willing to give him another shot. But as long as he's being an idealistic crusader (or as long as he's hanging out with Baby Hardcore while BH is being an idealistic crusader), she doesn't have the patience to deal with him.
Let me know if that fits with your conception of Made Free. You can do the reverse if you see things that would draw them together or push them apart based on Eisa's 20 Questions.
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Crap, I never did a 20 Qs for MF. Lemme work on that today and tomorrow.
@Zweiblumen Alright, let's figure out what makes Made Free and Eisa tick, or not. Here's what I think Eisa would like and/or not like:
Pros
+ Made Free isn't very big. Neither is Eisa. A small human is more compatible with a dwarf.
+ Compatible Logic and Intuition values. Both of them are smart/clever.
Neutral
~ Both have very high Willpowers. Eisa can appreciate a guy who makes up his mind and stands his ground, but the combination of two people like that can lead to fiery results when they're both being stubborn.
Cons
- Eisa is annoyed by some of the idealism Made Free has picked up from Mom, Dad, and Baby Hardcore. She feels that Made Free isn't realistic about the world. He'll understand once he matures some more, at which point she's willing to give him another shot. But as long as he's being an idealistic crusader (or as long as he's hanging out with Baby Hardcore while BH is being an idealistic crusader), she doesn't have the patience to deal with him.
Let me know if that fits with your conception of Made Free. You can do the reverse if you see things that would draw them together or push them apart based on Eisa's 20 Questions.
That looks pretty good to me. I'll come up with a good list from MF's side once I finish the 20 Qs. The high log/int feels like a good attractor and the high will makes for a good repulser. I can see some arguments where Eisa ends up telling him to go find an Ork or Troll since he seems to love them so much, or something like that. Gimme a day or two to get everything sorted.
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More players: I'm totally open on this. More players probably means pushing back our starting date since I doubt many people can crank out a full character with background in a week. (I used to be able to, back in the childless bachelor days, but those are in the past.)
Good point. Hmmmm... Well, what if we keep the start date and throw the other/s in as we go?
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Oh yeah!
Also, DID we wanna grab one or two more players to round out the main core of three? I think it could be interesting, and not terribly risky as the main story will revolve around the three of you folks.
Thoughts?
Sorry for lurking but I'd like to throw my hat in the ring if this is a possibility. Been browsing through this thread and I like the cut of your collective jib.
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Sorry for the wall of text and the 80 char line-wrap. Did this in a terminal at work :P
20 Questions:
[spoiler]
1. What is the character’s gender? Standard male or female? Transgender?
Indeterminate? How do they present to the world? A lot of the issues
around gender have been dealt with by the 2070s, but individuals still
have opinions and prejudices—and their own ways of expressing themselves.
Standard Male (So boooooring)
2. What is the character’s physical size? Is he pretty standard for his
gender and metatype, or is he a tall, skinny dwarf or short for a troll?
Skinny kid, on the smaller side. Being malnourished as a child stunted his
growth significantly. Living with "Mom" and "Dad" in his early teens helped
but the damage was done when he was young.
3. What is the color of the character’s hair, eyes, and skin? Is her coloring
particularly striking, or so average that she blends easily into crowds?
Remember, with cyberware, surgery, and cosmetics, your character can have
just about any coloring you want her to have. Remember too that most racism
in the Shadowrun world is centered around metatype rather than ethnicity.
Dark brown, almost black, hair in a shaggy mop on top of his head with an
undercut that keeps his tattoos and datajack visible. Dark eyes that are
usually covered with goggles. His natural skin tone is darker, but it's not
seen the sun much in his life so it's on the paler side. It's probably he's got
a decent amount of NAN herritage, but there's no way to know. And then there's
the obvious cyber-arm from his elbow down on his right hand.
4. What is the character’s general appearance? First impressions matter. Is
your character a slob or neatly dressed? Does she slouch? Does she like to
make a splash when she enters a room? Is she drop-dead gorgeous, butt-ugly,
or somewhere in between?
He's tidy. Between the attention that Eisa started to pay to him and knowing
that to get people's attention he had to look better. He's attractive enough
especially when he's wearing his fancy suit he bought a couple of months back.
Baby makes fun of him for it, saying he's "sold out to the man." But MF knows
that in order to make the "man" be the "meta-man" he's gotta play a part.
5. Where was the character born? Was he raised a rich corp brat, or did he grow
up as an orphan on the streets fighting for every meal? Was his childhood
spent in a megasprawl or in a more natural setting like the NAN lands or
Tir Tairngire?
Born in a secret lab burried somewhere in the Barrens now. He doesn't have any
idea what happened to it. Spent his early childhood on the streets and then
was adopted my "mom" and "dad" as a pre-teen. Spent his teen years with them
in the Windy City.
6. What is the character’s age? A very young character will have a different
perspective on the world than an older one; likewise, an ork with a short
lifespan will see things differently than an elf with a very long one. What
important Sixth World events does your character remember? Was she involved
in any of them?
Somewhere between 20 and 22. He's not really sure. He was born after the
blast. He's got some vague memories of them openening the Zone, not that you'd
really call it "open" even now. The largest impact on him would have been
Crash 2.0. Nearly killed him as a child, and he lost his connection to the
Matrix. Wasn't until he emerged a few years ago that all of that came back.
7. What was the character’s family like? A character’s childhood shapes who he
is today. Did he have siblings? If so, does he keep in touch with them? Did
he know his parents? Did he grow up in a large, close-knit group, or was he
an orphan with no one he could trust to look out for him? Does he have any
dark family secrets?
His "parents" were some test-tubes in a lab. Then the streets where his family
and finally he was found by the two ladies he calls "mom" and "dad" that
adopted him and Baby. They were very active anarchists in their youth though
have ratcheted that back more recently. BH has followed more in their prior
footsteps, while MF is more moderate in his approach. MF has channeled more
of those energies into Metahuman rights activism.
8. Has the character begun her own family? Is she married or partnered?
Separated? Widowed? Does she have children? If your character is male, does
he have children he doesn’t know about? (Even if you don’t think so, your
gamemaster might think otherwise!)
No family at this point, and not even on the horrizon. Eisa and he have been
dating on and off for a couple of years now, but neither of them seem to have
the inclination or the time for settling into a family structure at this point.
9. Where or how was the character educated? Did she get her education from the
School of Hard Knocks? Does she have an advanced degree from a respected
university? Was she raised in the corporate educational system, or did she
learn her skills from a mentor?
A combination of pre-programmed training, the school of hard knocks and the
good ol' 'Trix. Between the programing he went through in the lab and then
living on the streets, his connection to the matrix and innate intelligence, he
was remarkably well off considering his resources. Most of what the ladies
taught him was social engineering stuff for the collective.
10. Has the character done anything else for a living? What did he do before he
ran the shadows? Was he a professional, a student, a ganger, a corporate
cog, or something more exotic? Why did he give it up to become a
shadowrunner?
Somewhere between a ganger and a political activist is all he's ever been.
"Running" the shadows has always just been a way to make ends meet and return
favors.
11. What are the character’s political and religious beliefs? The two big things
you never want to discuss at a friendly gathering are politics and religion.
Does your character have strong political beliefs, or any at all? Is she
religious? Atheist? Anti-religion? How important are these beliefs to
defning the character?
With no guidence as a youth, and then the first people he could trust being
devout anarchists he leans pretty far in that direction. Though he's smart
enough to realize that you need some kind of social infrastructure to support a
population of any significant size. That infrastructure is completely corrupt
though at this point, and it's time for a revolution. Either from the inside
with reforms and removal of the corruption, or through burning the whole thing
to the ground and starting again. He's still not sure which way is best.
12. What is the character’s moral code? Does the character refuse to kill? Does
he have any kind of sexual ethics? Does his morality have a large bearing
on his actions, or is he an amoral hedonist whose actions change depending
on the situation? What (if anything) might compel him to break one of his
moral strictures?
People die. All the time, especially where most people live. And when they die
it ain't pretty. He won't go out of his way to kill folks, but one more meta
breathing or not isn't that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.
Especially with the inequities currently in "society." MF would prefer to work
within the "system" but he's no longer naive enough to believe that'll happen.
If some blood needs to spill, it's not going to be his. He was literally
created to kill, might as well put some of those skills to use. Wiz?
13. Does the character have any goals? Everybody wants something. Does your
character want money? Fame? That big score that will allow her to retire to
anonymity? Security for her friends and family? Revenge? What kind of effort
is she willing to make to achieve these goals?
He's a meta rights activist. He wants to see all of metahumanity treated
equally. The Corps have tipped the balance of resources too far in one
direction and those resources need to be redistributed to those who need it most
14. Why does the character run the shadows? Is he doing it because he wants to,
or was he forced into it? Does he do it for the thrill, the money, or
because he hates the powers that be and wants to do his small part to bring
them down? What would make him stop running the shadows?
It's two fold. 1. To fund meta-human rights and/or anarchist activities. 2. To
damage the powers that be. He knows that it's just one corp paying to hurt
another corp right now, but that means resources coming out of their closed
system and better able to be spread to those that need it.
15. What is the character’s personality? Is she an introvert or an extrovert? Is
she funny, grumpy, irtatious, or just plain weird? Does she have social
skills, or is she uncomfortable relating to others? Is she opinionated,
easygoing, or downright apathetic? How do others tend to see her?
For an activist, he's easy going. For a "normal" person he'd be considered on
the driven side. MF knows how to kick back and relax, but for the most part he
is centered on trying to make life better for the dispossessed. A friendly guy
that can get along with most folks, but he has a tendency to be on the stubborn
side. He often argues with his brother Baby Hardcore.
16. What special qualities does the character possess? Not every quality is
directly related to shadowrunning. Can he draw well? Does he have perfect
pitch? Is he a really good organizer? Does he have a knack with animals?
He's a pretty special snowflake, being a prototype and all. So there's that.
Aside from that though, he focuses most of his energies on the plight of the
metas. Eisa would probably like to see him broaden his horizon a bit and work
on some of his more artistic leanings, but he's not ready to do that yet.
17. Are there certain things the character just cannot do? What are her
limitations? Is she terrible with money? Is she incapable of harming
children? Does she have a crippling fear of heights, or and it nearly
impossible to form close relationships?
He'll never knowingly take from the poor to better himself or others. They are
the exploited and abused. Nor would he ever commit random murder or even acts
of violence. Killing a person for a reason is justifiable, but just randomly
killing or hurting people isn't his bag.
18. What does the character hate? Elves? Religious people? Corporations?
Personality surveys? Himself?
Anchovies. Which is a problem because he's allergic to soy. So if it ain't
krill, he's gonna be unhappy one way or the other. :(
19. What does the character love? This could be a person (like a lover or family
member); an ideal (justice, freedom, metahuman rights); an item (her
favorite gun); a location; or even herself.
The little guys! He wants to level the playing field and redistribute the worlds
resources more fairly. Metahuman rights for ALL!!!! He's also pretty fond of
Eisa. Love might be to strong, but he may think he's in love with her sometimes.
Then there's BH and Mom and Dad. The four of them together make up his family in
one way or another.
20. What is the character’s name? Names have power in the Sixth World. What was
his birth name? Does he like/use it, or does he prefer to go by a street
name? If he has a nickname or street name, did he pick it or was it bestowed
on him by associates?
Not that he know's it, but his birth name is TPI-1773. Doesn't exactly roll of
the tongue, but that's okay because the only place one would find that is by
checking his DNA and finding the name hidden in there by the scientists that
created him. Made Free is the only name he's really known and he took it for
himself. Most call him EmmEff or ocasinoally Mikey (as in the diminutive for
Michael). But he's not good at responding to that one from any one but Mom.
[/spoiler]
Dunno if I did a good job of describing all of the parts, but the tattoos on his head are LED tattoos that he can change the way they look. Great party trick :)
@Tecumseh
Pros
+ Eisa's practicality and grounding help balance out MF's idealism
+ Their common intelligence and wit are like to work well together
Cons
- Eisa's "practicality" probably often grates on MFs sensibilities. He's smart enough to probably understand the value of her position but young enough to still be driven crazy by her lack of "vision."
- Given their collective stubbornness I can see their arguments getting really bad.
Any thoughts on how/where they met?
-
I don't know Chicago well enough to identify probable locations where they might have met. I imagine that there "supply" issues when it comes to meeting significant others in and around the Containment Zone. Eisa and Made Free aren't perfect for each other but there probably weren't a lot of other options available.
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Lack of options, and MF isn't as far down the political road as BH and the other anarchists making him the more appealing?
Yeah, I see lots of him saying something stupid about Ork rights and her telling him to go find one to date reasonably often. Good thing he's not a poser to boot! :P
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Hey guys, Poindexter reached out to me to let me know you all had agreed to let me jump in on this game with a supporting character, so I wanted to say thanks for that. I'm working on getting a character together who has some sort of relationship with what you all have.
My basic concept is a troll who spent his teenage years being groomed to be a professional athlete (baseball). One day he gets cut from the roster out of nowhere and now has to try and put together a life on his own. He can't find honest work as a big cybered-up troll so gets into running shadows instead. The idea is that he worked within the system for a while but that system left him hanging out to dry without a second thought, which left a sour taste in his mouth and brought him into more of a progressive (/rebellious) metahuman rights crowd, the same circles BH and MF move in.
I went ahead and did the 20 questions thing, for additional information:
[spoiler]1. What is the Character’s sex?
Male
2. What is the character’s physical size?
Not the biggest troll you’ve ever seen, but big enough to remind you of the biggest troll you’ve ever seen.
3. What is the color of the character’s hair, eyes, and skin?
Dark skin (African descent). His hair is naturally black but often dyed different colors. He has cybereyes, so those can change colors too.
4. What is the character’s general appearance?
He stands at about nine and a half feet tall and weighs who-knows-how much, due to the large amount of modifications to his body. His muscular, dark brown skin is marked in places with natural and modified dermal plates. He wears his hair in long braids. Most of them are natural-colored but there’s a few in there that’ll be dyed sometimes. He dresses casually, generally a jeans-and-tshirt kinda guy. When it’s time to work he’ll throw on his armor over his normal clothes.
5. Where was the character born?
Somewhere in rural Georgia. If asked, he never says the actual name of the place, nor does he want to talk about it.
6. What is the character’s age?
22-ish
7. What was the character’s family?
He had two troll parents, though he was raised mostly by his mother and her extended family. His father was arrested and imprisoned when Lucas was young. He hasn’t spoken with any family members in at least a year.
8. Has the character begun his own family?
Hard no.
9. Where or how was the character educated?
Public school system until around 10th grade when he dropped out to pursue an athletic career.
10. Has the character ever done anything else for a living?
The only thing he knew before being a runner was life as a professional athlete. He played multiple sports as a kid but when he left school it was because he’d been drafted as a corner infielder. From then on he focused solely on baseball. The program was good to him for a good long while, training him and even sponsoring several cyber-and-bioware upgrades. He never made it to the Big Leagues, though. He eventually got cut from the roster and no other teams wanted to pick him up. He never got a straight answer as to why, but the popular theory is that a racist new General Manager was deliberately cutting and/or trading all orks and trolls off the team to “clean house”.
11. What about the character’s political and religious beliefs?
He never gave it much thought until recently, where he’s been out on his own and unable to find honest work. He understands that being a troll limits the kind of work he can get and that’s bent him toward a fairly progressive political stance. He’s a little offput by radicals and neo-anarchists but he finds he has more in common with them now that he does with the world of “the man” that he was part of for so long. One of his contacts in Chicago is a leading Metahuman Rights Activist.
12. What is the character’s moral code?
Professionalism. He doesn’t like unnecessary violence and only kills if it’s for a job (even then, he shies away from straight wetwork). He has no interest in working with sociopaths (as long as he can avoid it) and he tends to take issue with anyone who puts their own priorities above the job.
13. Does the character have any goals?
He wants what he feels he deserves. He tried to work within the system to find success but got screwed. He’s not going to just walk away empty-handed.
14. Why does the character run the shadows?
When you’re a big, fit, cybered-up troll, your career options are somewhat limited. It was either this, join a gang, or be some kind of corporate knee-breaker. He figures this way, he can be his own boss.
15. What is the character’s personality?
He’s generally got a mellow personality, though he’s become more distant with each new ‘ware upgrade. He prides himself on his work ethic and professionalism, so when it’s time to work he loses his chill and has no tolerance for fuckery.
16. What special qualities does the character possess?
He isn’t sure, really. Being big, strong and tough isn’t really a unique”trait among trolls. He’s coming to terms with the fact that he might not be anything “special” at all. That isn’t as self-pitying as it sounds, rather he’s learning that his life as an athlete-in-training was filled with special attention. Now that no one has a paycheck riding on him, he’s realized that the world is way more cold and indifferent than he ever knew.
17. Are there certain things the character just cannot do?
Magic, for one thing. He’s lousy with most technology as well, and he has a hard time putting up with really chatty people. Oh, and he can’t have soy. Allergies.
18. What does the character hate?
Anyone who screws others over for their own personal gain. He’s naive enough to trust people and when that trust is betrayed he gets really, really mad about it. Liars of any kind, really.
19. What does the character love?
Baseball, despite how his career ended. He loves seedy bars. He loves being among a small group of people but no one feels the need to talk.
20. What is the character’s name?
Birth name: Lucas Pelley
Fake ID: Marlon Adams
Runner name: Bad News
[/spoiler]
I've still got a ways to go on his actual build and of course I'm open to critique/suggestions about any of the above.
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Overall I like it. I've not developed MF's contacts all that much, but he's got a metahuman activist contact. We could make that the same person and how we got in touch. On my sheet I've just got him called 'Stork.' Feel free to flesh him out if you'd like. Seems like a good "in."
Also, need to figure out if MF is smart/educated enough to get the "Bad News" reference. If he is, he'll call your char "Bears" most of the time :P
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I think he looks good. SR5 needs more trolls, which got expensive in chargen. Poindexter's loosened chargen rules should help you to make a troll who isn't a one-dimensional skill-wise.
I agree that the most natural connection to the group would be through Made Free's metahuman activist.
I imagine Eisa likes having someone big around, both to draw fire and to help her remain unnoticed.
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Overall I like it. I've not developed MF's contacts all that much, but he's got a metahuman activist contact. We could make that the same person and how we got in touch. On my sheet I've just got him called 'Stork.' Feel free to flesh him out if you'd like. Seems like a good "in."
I dig when PCs share contacts. If ya go that route, go ahead and give "Stork" a free point of connections.
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Ok, so we've got Han, Luke, and Leia. We just added Chewbacca. The question is, do we go for one more? A 3P0, Wedge, Lando, or Obi-Wan as it were?
And if so, anyone got any reccomendations or shall I open this up to the public?
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I would say let's start with what we have and if we feel like we have a notable gap, or space for another, then we can incorporate a fifth.
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Overall I like it. I've not developed MF's contacts all that much, but he's got a metahuman activist contact. We could make that the same person and how we got in touch. On my sheet I've just got him called 'Stork.' Feel free to flesh him out if you'd like. Seems like a good "in."
Here's what I'd do with the shared contact if it were up to me:
Bryce Hathaway, AKA "Stork"
Public junior high school performing arts teacher by day, radical progressive metahuman rights activist by night. Tall white Ork with short blonde hair and a scratchy beard that is for some reason much darker. Wears plaid with stripes. Makes a show of reading banned books. He's not a "leader" in the Chicago-area civil rights movement but is one of its more intelligent members and could make a big difference someday (if no one geeks him first). He's useless in a fight but very persuasive.
Bad News was recently hired to keep Stork safe in case a protest got out of hand, which of course it did. Since then, they've called on one another for small favors occasionally.
If you guys dig it, then feel free to write in however your characters might have met him or whatever.
Also, need to figure out if MF is smart/educated enough to get the "Bad News" reference. If he is, he'll call your char "Bears" most of the time :P
Haha yeah "Bear" or "Bears" is probably a nickname he hears frequently, or at least a good way to describe him.
I think he looks good. SR5 needs more trolls, which got expensive in chargen. Poindexter's loosened chargen rules should help you to make a troll who isn't a one-dimensional skill-wise.
I agree that the most natural connection to the group would be through Made Free's metahuman activist.
I imagine Eisa likes having someone big around, both to draw fire and to help her remain unnoticed.
I didn't realize trolls were that infrequent? I kinda had the impression that every group had a troll on it, haha. Personally I feel like I see orks and dwarves the least.
And yeah I think Bad News and Eisa would have something in common in terms of their no-nonsense approach, even though he skews a bit more idealistic than her.
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Hey, could everyone do a me a solid and throw your character sheet as your first post on the OOC thread I'm about to post, eh? Just sos they're easier for me to get at.
http://forums.shadowruntabletop.com/index.php?topic=23138.0