Character Creation Discussion

[Havelock]

12 hours ago, Clockwork Writer said:

Hmm not sure if I'll end up launching myself down the SR rabbit hole but pink mohawk does sound fun. Thinking back on an old idea that I never got to really make/play, what's your outlook on how blindness would effect a technopath?

Make a Hobgoblin Rigger.

😏

[Inquisitor D]

Okay, I've been trying to work this out between Chummer and the books and... I call uncle. So I'll outline what I think I've got worked out, and see if it makes any more or less sense put together like this. If anyone can help me wrap my head around this, thanks in advance.

So I'm looking at creating a reporter and my eyes turn to the nice shiny ProCam from No Future (p174-5). It's designed to be the best tool for capturing footage, with a capacity of 12 - way above your common glasses or cybereyes! So I decided I'd buy one!

This got complicated fast.

If I have this right, I buy a ProCam with rating equal to the capacity I want. But then comes the question. What can I put in there? Sensors? Enhancements? Devices? Chummer very confusingly doesn't list the ProCam as sensors or devices, filing it under 'Reporter Gear'. They seemingly go with the idea that it's something you can put sensors in, so that's what I went with for my first attempt...

But that leaves me more confused, because that's not how regular cameras work, and seems straight up a downgrade? Unlike those, a ProCam's rating acts as a limit on any rolls you make through it, and you have to spend money on sensors to then take device functions, like camera, that can then be given Enhancements... as opposed to taking a Camera, which is cheaper, doesn't impose a limit, and lets you skip straight to enhancements? Sensors and Sensor Arrays are presented more as a way to put an audio or visual device on something that doesn't already have that ability, like a vehicle. (Notably most drones start with a sensor array gratis, cos... well, Riggers need to see what they're doing)

Like, there are advantages to using a sensor array over a regular device, but this seems... unintended and clunky. And then you get the question of what sensors you can put on a ProCam. The corebook has seemingly a pretty strict set of limitations on how big a sensor you can put in anything. (p446) ProCams go to rating 12, and a handheld device has a theoretical maximum rating of 3. So you're supposed to buy a pro cam, and then buy multiple different lower quality sensors for it? I... err...

Okay, I think I'm in enough of a muddle now that I'm gonna throw the question out to y'all. Any thoughts on how purchasing a pro-cam is supposed to work? Because at this rate, bolting a sensor array to a C^3 seems like less of a headache.

[TiffanyKorta]

6 hours ago, Draidden said:

So if I used the Smurf song for my character, can I assume I would not make the cut? 😉

 

"Where are you all going to?
To burn the corps they don't belong!"

[TheBard101]

8 hours ago, Lonewalker said:

A Shadowrun game run by @saithor !!

Glee - I must make time to create (or recreate) a character!

Pardon me while I try to find my weapon specialist Whisper....

I believe we played together in my last game. I was Spirit the decker.

[Clockwork Writer]

As I start letting my brain run wild through SR books and remember all the crazy stuff is there anything in particular that you want us to stay away from? It's been a while and I've looked at SR books far more that I've actually played games so not sure which is the stuff that is normally banned or GM's are leery of so figure I'd best ask.

[Ayeba]

Can I ask you people for some advice? What are the most important skills for a full caster? I don't think I've played a spellcaster since 3rd edition, and that system had no restriction about how many skills could start out at 6. I was thinking Spellcasting and Astral Combat may be the most important; the latter specifically because of my character's dual nature. I'm open for suggestions, though.

[Essex]

6 minutes ago, Ayeba said:

Can I ask you people for some advice? What are the most important skills for a full caster? I don't think I've played a spellcaster since 3rd edition, and that system had no restriction about how many skills could start out at 6. I was thinking Spellcasting and Astral Combat may be the most important; the latter specifically because of my character's dual nature. I'm open for suggestions, though.

Sorcery skill group..... If you mean just the top 2 Then SpellCasting for sure as it is the key to being a caster and either Counter Spell or Assensing. Astral Combat might rarely come up as running away always works for the safest bet or SpellCasting in astral form as long as you have some mana spells like Manabolt. Assensing though helps do most of the heavy Astral work. It's how you read auras and such.

 

[Inquisitor D]

37 minutes ago, Ayeba said:

Can I ask you people for some advice? What are the most important skills for a full caster? I don't think I've played a spellcaster since 3rd edition, and that system had no restriction about how many skills could start out at 6. I was thinking Spellcasting and Astral Combat may be the most important; the latter specifically because of my character's dual nature. I'm open for suggestions, though.

Very novice at actually playing Shadowrun but it kinda depends on what you want to do as a caster, right? Spellcasting the skill is a safe bet, but after that... Do you want to be summoning spirits to give the team backup? Provide astral overwatch, ensuring we don't get jumped by enemy spirits? Add some social assistance via Assessing? Make magical items yourself?

The biggest danger of a mage is probably 'tries to do everything'. You get a lot of options, but focusing on what you want to be doing should pay off. Astral Combat is actually a great example - unless you're projecting, are you going to need that? If you know you're gonna want to project, great! Otherwise, you have spells for dealing with fully astral stuff. Or it manifests and the team shoot it.

[Whitehart09]

As I am building my first character, I was curious if I could rebrand the Wolf Mentor Spirit into an Alligator? Also, what are the most common languages? I assume English and Spanish for South Florida.

Edited March 29 by Whitehart09 (see edit history)

[Essex]

33 minutes ago, Whitehart09 said:

As I am building my first character, I was curious if I could rebrand the Wolf Mentor Spirit into an Alligator?

There is a "Gator" spirit, or at least there was in 3rd edition

[Whitehart09]

Yeah, Alligator is in Howling Shadows but I do not have access to it and therefor not sure if I should use it.

 

[TiffanyKorta]

GM's call and all, but here's the template from Howling (p 39).

ALLIGATOR MENTOR SPIRIT

A follower of the Gator mentor spirit feels at home in cities as well as swamps and rivers. Gator shamans are ill-tempered and lazy, expecting a larger share for the work he does—assuming you can get him to agree to do it. He is also a miser when it comes to having to pay for anything including meals and he’s a real big eater. The virtuous aspects of the gator magician is that he’s a strong fighter and will finish what he agrees to do. They may seem to be motionless, but once roused to action they are ferocious and nearly unstoppable.

ADVANTAGES

All: +2 to Intimidation skill tests

Magician: +2 to Conjuring skill tests for spirits of water or man (choose one)

Adept: Receives Inertia Strike power for free

Disadvantages: A follower of the alligator is stubborn in changing plan or action after he has committed to it. When the rest of the team goes to plan B, the magician must succeed in a Charisma + Willpower (3) Test to make the mental adjustment. Otherwise, they continue trying to execute plan A.

 

Edited March 29 by TiffanyKorta (see edit history)

[Ayeba]

Thanks for the advice, @Essex, @Inquisitor D.

Two more questions from yours truly.

1. Can you use skill points to improve the skills granted by Magician/Technomancer pri A or B?

2. Isn't there are a limit to the number of skills you can start with at 5 and 6 at the start of the game? I have a faint memory of it, but I immediately find it in the rulebook.

 

I'd also like to ask the GM for a house rule, @saithor:

Shapeshifters must pay karma to separately improve their animal and metahuman attributes after character creation. Can I kindly ask that you adopt a house rule along these lines: If I want to go from Agility 2->3 on my metahuman form and 3->4 on my animal form, I pay only the higher of the costs, i.e. 3->4, rather than paying for both.

[Inquisitor D]

31 minutes ago, Ayeba said:

Thanks for the advice, @Essex, @Inquisitor D.

Two more questions from yours truly.

1. Can you use skill points to improve the skills granted by Magician/Technomancer pri A or B?

2. Isn't there are a limit to the number of skills you can start with at 5 and 6 at the start of the game? I have a faint memory of it, but I immediately find it in the rulebook.

 

I'd also like to ask the GM for a house rule, @saithor:

Shapeshifters must pay karma to separately improve their animal and metahuman attributes after character creation. Can I kindly ask that you adopt a house rule along these lines: If I want to go from Agility 2->3 on my metahuman form and 3->4 on my animal form, I pay only the higher of the costs, i.e. 3->4, rather than paying for both.

As far as I'm aware, you can indeed use skill points to improve the 'granted' skills. Never found a rule prohibiting that. And I don't know of anything limiting skills that start at 6 - Attributes are limited to only one maxed out, but skills should be free, provided you don't take them above 6.

(You also probably can't use Skill Group points to improve them, but this is shaky 'maybe ask for a houserule' kinda ground. As for limiting 5s and 6s, maybe that was a 4e thing? You've got me curious now...)

EDIT: AHA! Yep, from 4e core

p75

The maximum skill rating for starting characters is either one skill at Rating 6 (with the rest at Rating 4 or less) or two skills at Rating 5 (with the rest at Rating 4 or less). Your character cannot start with both one Rating 6 skill and two Rating 5 skills.

 

Edited March 29 by Inquisitor D (see edit history)

[Sapphic Reiver]

I swear Saithor, the systems we're interested in should be a venn diagram. :')

 

I might drop an application in, my # of active games on MW has dropped to a very manageable amount as of late; How do we feel about the freaks with SURGE?