Shadowrun

Shadowrun Play => Character creation and critique => Topic started by: Rockopolis on <05-01-11/0051:54>

Title: Blank Slate Face Dancer
Post by: Rockopolis on <05-01-11/0051:54>
Hmm...after a long and trying dry spell, a small amount of inspiration seems to have struck.
Outis(?) the Face Dancer.  I want to build a character around the False Front Bioware.  A master or mistress of disguise.  Someone who can actually say "I'm nobody."

I'll also be taking Erased II, Restricted Gear (for the maxed out False Front and a Genewipe) and perhaps Deep Cover II.
Amnesia, probably the lesser version, as a side effect of Deep Cover, a Memory Filter or a Mysterious Implant Headsafe; too much read-writing, I guess.
I'm not sure what other negative qualities to take, there's more of a variety; Flashbacks, Dependents, or Hung Out to Dry come to mind.  Buggy Data Filter?
I've got five points left, Adept springs to mind, though I've got rather a lot of lost essence.  Voice Control and Kinesthetics seem handy.

Amnesia combined with Erased; it's entirely possible he's forgotten who he's working for or who set him up with his gear, and they've lost him.  "We lose more operatives that way..."

So far, a Mimic False Front, and a Mimic Gland with internal release.  A genewipe.  A sleep regulator.  Dynamic chameleon skin.
Trying to figure out some other bits of augments or gear, but it's been really expensive already.  Bone density augmentation, perhaps orthoskin, for an edge in a fight?
Would a data filter actually be useful for this character?
Should I look into a headware comlink?  What do I need to program the disguises?  Can use the minor cosmetic alteration bioware to erase fingerprints?  I've got a cellular glove molder, but I need something to get past a retinal scanner and or a voice lock.  Can I get retinal duplication without cybereyes?

Max out the disguise skill, of course.  Stealth, social skills, and probably unarmed combat would seem to be important.  Maybe a little B&E.

What am I missing?
Title: Re: Blank Slate Face Dancer
Post by: Rockopolis on <05-01-11/1046:36>
Not quite as good as I thought with less sleep deprivation, but I think I'll soldier on.  Maybe save this for an antagonist, if nothing else.

Adept seems like it'd be too...gamey.
Amnesia tends to imply that it's something that will come back to bite you in the ass.  I'm not sure how much of a motivation it is for her; a nagging irritation, but there's other things to do.
I picked up an Attention Coproccessor on advice from "Rules of Thumb".
Interrogation seems like a very valuable skill, along with at least a modicum of electronics.  Probably would be best paired with a hacker (Contact or PC) to do in depth studies.
Is an Executive Protector good for this character?  I think it's a cool weapon, but I'm not sure it really would be useful for this character; nice firepower in a pinch, but kind of awkward otherwise.Eh, don't really have enough money or points left over to pick up firearms.  Maybe use some throwing weapons.
Does a monofilament whip need the Ceramic Components mod?

A Dependent might be an interesting source of points, and would be a tie to the past, or perhaps someone they know is important to them but can't really remember...crap, this is like Alzheimer's.  That's horrible.  I'm sorry. :-[  What is wrong with me?  I should think of something else.  I guess it's compelling/angsty(?), but...no.
Someone she met after the most recent blank periods, then?
Title: Re: Blank Slate Face Dancer
Post by: Sid on <05-01-11/1155:27>
Blandness is always a good quality for blending in - and not necessarily just a visual quality, either. Gait, vocal tone / accent, mannerisms, and so on apply.

If you prepare to use it, event reprogramming could be a good addition to your repertoire. You just need the Psychology skill and a PAB unit (unwired, 190) and you're all set to kidnap and brainwash people before a run. Even better, you can record their memory before impersonating them, then record you pretending to be them for memory replacement. Brain scrub, and no one will ever have a clue that they were gone for a week. Except you.

On the list of items I figured would be handy for not getting tripped up pretending to be someone you aren't;

Genewipe / Masque; getting a match on your dna makes the rest of your disguise useless, so having your cells decompose before testing, or never give a positive ID match generally helps. C2 is also good for this, but more obvious.

Retinal Duplication, Dynamic Handprints, Voice Modulator - all designed to fool different biometric scanners. You won't be able to get all of them straight off, which will shape what you can pull off before you complete the set.

Biometric Scanners - prints, dna, voice, retinal and a decent camera for facial and full body shots. When making a False Front body image, you hope to get lucky in finding the data pre-recorded, but plan on recording your target's data without being suspicious.

Saviour Medkit - you've got a digital image, and you're tricked out with a False Front plus mimic gland. How do they interact? A standard medkit would be enough if you just wanted to synthesise the mimic drug. Changing the drug composition by altering an entire gland? Nanomedical technology to the rescue. Personal opinion on how useful the gland is depends on whether the constant drip mode allows for 30 minutes per dose, or 24/7 mimic drug.

Cyberware Scanner - good to know if your target has any cyberware in places you don't, or vice versa.

Penile Implant (retractable, adjustable gel reservoirs) - there are some parts of the body that shifting muscle mass just won't change. That may or may not be an issue, or thoroughly uncomfortable if it ever comes up in conversation ... may also be useful in obtaining biometric data samples. All types. Just saying.

Knowsofts - always good to know what you're supposed to. Information points from someone's stored & digitised memories would be useful.



Write out a sheet some time, Rock.
Title: Re: Blank Slate Face Dancer
Post by: Glyph on <05-01-11/1523:52>
Blandness is a much better buy than Deep Cover.  The former gives you a tangible advantage, while the latter makes you pay for what is essentially background flavor (and of dubious usefulness - Escaped Clone falls under this category as well).

An adept version of this character would have facial sculpt and melanin control rather than false front and chameleon skin - but while the adept can make a good "master of disguise", augmentation is better for emulating a specific person when you need to fool scanners.
Title: Re: Blank Slate Face Dancer
Post by: Sid on <05-01-11/1617:13>
Quote
Escaped Clone falls under this category as well
I'd need to actually look at Deep Cover again, but think of this - Escaped Clone, if you were cloned from a legitimate member of society, makes you that person for most physical checks and purposes. It also identifies you as property and without legal rights, should there be anything to confirm you are not an original.

I'd say there's some use to be gained from that.
Title: Re: Blank Slate Face Dancer
Post by: Rockopolis on <05-01-11/2014:01>
Wow, memory rewriting is more of a villainous skill...awesomehorrible, but somehow tempting.
Mind you, I could totally see an Amnesiac, perhaps Judas'd, Ed Gein/Buffalo Bill serial killer/kidnapper, kidnapping people and stealing their memories to put together a 'memory suit'.  Worse if it's a viral meme.
"It rubs the nanopaste on it's scalp, or it gets the hose again..."
It's incredibly paranoia inducing, makes the infiltration that much more thorough.  I suppose I could use that in place of Deep Cover, applying it for every mission.  On the other hand, it takes weeks to pull off.  More of a good backstory explanation for Amnesia.

If it were bad enough, I could see the Dependent as a figment of the character's imagination.  One that looks like Brad Pitt, of course.

So far, with a Chemical Gland, with Internal Release, and one Cybergland, I think they can run it for 5 hours, and they produce one half hour dose every 24 hours.
Altskin might be sleeker, but it's single use for 24 hours only.

I missed the Dynamic Handprint system; I tend to skip over the Nanotech system, as I've always thought of it as something that's too expensive to afford.  I can get a lower availability cyberware version of both the Retinal Alteration and the Voice Modulator.

I have to say, all of the Phenotype Adjustments sound like hideously bad ideas, though useful.  Actually, that goes for a lot of the choices on this list.

All of these augments are hideously expensive, though.  The Chemical Gland (80000), Genewipe (5BP, 45000) and False Front Mimic IV (5BP, 48000) are the most expensive items.
This is seeming like a challenge, and also something best as a Prime Runner.  I'm going to work on the character sheet in a bit.  Probably switch between this and a CyberLogician.
Title: Re: Blank Slate Face Dancer
Post by: Sid on <05-02-11/0318:57>
Quote
memory rewriting is more of a villainous skill...awesomehorrible
Runners aren't exactly saints, so I tend to prefer solutions that succeed and maintain harmony over ones that salve my moral compass. With any result other than your actions being discovered, this is a step up from getting someone fired or shot, no? ;D

Thinking about it, it might be too difficult as a one man team - you need someone in place as soon as the target disappears, and someone editing / wiping as fast as possible. Reading would happen before the switchover.
Title: Re: Blank Slate Face Dancer
Post by: Rockopolis on <05-06-11/2111:33>
Think this might be better as a PACK?

The Sac Endosont would be perfect for this, but it's Availability 24.

Here's the rough draft, I guess.  After all this work (and all the expenses stacking up), I'm starting to think that it'd just be a hell of a lot easier and cheaper to rely on some nanopaste disguises.
399/400BP
Name: Outis LeBlanc
Race: Human
Lifestyle: Low
Physical Description: XXXXX
Personality/background XXXXX

Attributes

BodyAgilityReactionStrength
3333
CharismaIntuitionLogicWillpower
4444
EdgeEssenceInitiative
23.057/1P

Positive Qualities
Restricted Gear III
Erased II
Born Rich
Negative Qualities
Amnesia I
Mysterious Implant (Headsafe)
Flashbacks
In Debt I

Active Skills
Stealth Skill Group4
Influence Skill Group4
Electronics Skill Group1
Athletics Skill Group1
Unarmed1
Biotech/First Aid2/4
Throwing1
Exotic Melee; Whip1
Interrogation3
Knowledge Skills ( [Logic + Intuition] x 3 free points)
Fashion6
Area Knowledge (Campaign Location)4
Corporate Architechture4
Corporate Security4
Language Skills
EnglishN
French6

Cyber/Bioware
CyberwareEssenceCostNotes
False Front IV0,848000„XXXXX
Chemical Gland (Mimic) (Internal Release)0.381000„XXXXX
Cybergland VI (Mimic)11000.1„XXXXX
Dynamic Chameleon Skin70000.2„XXXXX
Genewipe0.1545000„XXXXX
Masque250000.1„XXXXX
Fiber Optic Hair0.1450„XXXXX
Dynamic Handprints IV0.24000„XXXXX
Voice Modulator (Secondary Pattern IV)0.227500„XXXXX
Retinal Duplication IV0.160000„XXXXX
Orientation System0.21250„XXXXX
Sleep Regulator0.1510000„XXXXX
Headsafe (Mysterious)0.1-„XXXXX
Data Filter0.22500„XXXXX

Gear (XXXXX„)
Autopicker VI
Cellular Glove Molder III
Keycard Copier VI
Maglock Passkey IV
Maglock Sequencer IV
Operations Cleanup Kit

Psyche
Slab

Biomonitor
Saviour Medkit
Medkit Suppiles

Low Lifestyle
Fake SIN IV

Hermes Ikon
Novatech Navi
Sim Module
Mapsoft VI
Skinlink
Nanopaste Trodes

Contact Lenses III
Image Link
Flare Compensation
Low Light
Glasses IV
Image Link
Thermographic
Vision Enhancement III
Vision Magnification
Earbuds II
Audio Enhancement III
Select Sound Filter III
Microphone I
Spatial Recognizer

Form Fitting Half Body Suit
Industrious Jumpsuit
Synergist Short Jacket Set

Monofilament Whip
Personalized Grip
Gecko Grip