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Posted by: serraph Mar 31 2010, 07:05 PM

So we are adjusting to 4th edition rules and I am looking at a first draft of my character. I was hoping that some of you more seasoned with the game wouldn't mind giving it a once over and see if I made any glaring errors or if you could make some suggestions. I am not particularly focused in optimizing BP>KP but more in creating a well rounded and capable character who can fullfill his primary role and still be an asset in combat.

Game Background: We will be playing as Lone Star investigators in New Orleans on a special tactics and operations department. The storyteller is wanting us to make competent but well rounded characters; deckers and drone riggers are highly discouraged. We are being supplied with Docwagon:Platinum, and should make 4000-6000Y a month. Additionally we will be able to requisition ammo, gear, and guns and the group will be given a department budget to divy up and purchase gear with.

Forward and Synopsis: I am writing this using the Tir Tairngire book as a reference and have taken some liberties in my background, most notably with my character's family and rank. On page 45 of the pdf a mysterious woman councilor to the High Prince is mentioned and named, but no details are given. I liked the name and am running with it, which could become a plot hook down the road. I was also looking at the Tir's social ranks and went with Ducal; high enough to be relevant but not particularly influential [even inside the Tir]. I am running with the concept that he is a second or third child and so has little political opportunity and has thus signed up as a Paladin, the Tir's designation for special operatives. This branch is also responsible for operations outside of the Tir.

Now Aztech and Tir Tairngire do not get along on any level and conveniently enough neither does Aztech get along with the CES or Lone Star. This is the foundation of my concept where the Tir has made an under the table alliance with CES against Aztech and are sending a few agents south. Braiden is one of those agents and is officially working as a Lone Star special investigator to cover his investigatory actions as he is working to check for Aztech influence, politics, and plans in New Orleans. I apologize for not having a full background prepped, but I wanted to screen the concept and character before typing the full thing out.


I am a bit concerned that the Wired Reflexes might be problematic at some point for trying to be a face and that I should possibly consider changing that to Synaptic Boosters. My one concern is that it might not be upgradable like in 3E and that it would be a significant cost to effectiveness switch for the benefit of subtlety. Also, are my weapon choices and mods good? I wanted to have a heavy hitting weapon and something a bit more subtle. Finally, and thoughts on my contacts list? Should I find some points to improve or expand on them some?

Braiden Naerain - Elven Face
Body: 3
Agility: 4
Reaction: 4[6]
Strength: 2
Charisma: 7
Intuition: 5
Logic: 3
Willpower: 3
Edge: 2
Essence: 2.45

Initiative Passes: 3/4

Fichetti Security 600 [Mod: Smartgun, Electronic Firing, Improved Range Finder, Fire Selector Change [BF], Gas Vent 2. Addons: Stock, Concealable Holster, Underbarrel Weight ]
Fichetti Security 600 : DV:4P, AP: 0, Conceal: -3, RC: 4[5], Range: 5/15/30/50, Mode: SA/BF, Ammo 30c

Unarmed: DV: 6S[e], AP: Half

Auctioneer Business Clothes: B5/I3 [B6/I4]
Urban Explorer Jumpsuit: B6/I6 [B7/I7]
Form-Fitting Body Armor: B6/I2 [B7/I3]

Physical: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Stun: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Overflow: [ ] [ ] [ ]

Skills
*Influence 4
*Stealth 3
Dodge 5
Perception 4
Unarmed Combat 3
Pistols 4

Literature 4
Wines 4
Club Music 4
Security Procedures 3
Tir Tairngire 3

Sperethiel N
English 4
Spanish 2

Qualities
First Impression
Allergy[Uncommon | Moderate: shellfish]
Pacifist[Mild]
Low Pain Tolerance
Records on File: Tir Tairngire

Cyberware/Bioware
Tailored Pheromones [3]
Wired Reflexes [2]
Orthoskin [1]
-Upgrade: Electroshock

Gear
Medium Lifestyle [1 month]

Auctioneer Business Clothes
Urban Explorer Jumpsuit
Form-Fitting Full Body Suit

Metal Link [Vector Xim]
Tag Eraser

Contact Lenses [Flare Compensation, Empathy Sensor Software [6], Smartlink]
Glasses [Ultrasound, Thermographic]
Earbuds [Audio Enhancement 3, Select Sound Filter 3, Spatial Recognizer]

Real SIN : Braiden Naerain
-License: Wired Reflexes II
-License: Orthoskin
-License: Smartlink
-License: Fichetti Security 600
-License: Electronic Firing
-License: Firing Selection [Burst Fire]
-License: Gas Vent 2

Fake SIN [4]: Cayden Meara
-Fake License [4]: Wired Reflexes II
-Fake License [4]: Orthoskin
-Fake License [4]: Smartlink
-Fake License [4]: Fichetti Security 600
-Fake License [4]: Electronic Firing
-Fake License [4]: Firing Selection [Burst Fire]
-Fake License [4]: Gas Vent 2

2670Y

Cheshire [Hacker]
Loyalty: 4, Connections: 6
A lovely elven hacker that runs the Wonderland Datahaven and frequently exchanges favors and data across the net. Braiden and her met while working together in the Tir Tairngire armed forces as all citizens are expected to do upon completing the Rite of Naming. They served in the same unit together for two years and have stayed close since, engaging in on/off relationships. If she doesn't already have the info you need, chances are she can quickly line it up for you. Despite being a personality on the matrix, she keeps a social but low key lifestyle in the real world as well and while she is more than happy to help out Braiden, its not uncommon for her to ask for a favor or hand as well.


Black Jack [Fixer]
Loyalty: 1, Connections: 3
A back street dealer that buys, sells, and trades virtually anything illegal. Although Braiden isn't his typical clientele having a badge around isn't always a bad thing, especially when something a bit too hot gets dumped in his lap. Jack has a great ear for news on the street, trends in new drugs and weapons, and other merchandise. Ofcourse business is business and everything has a price, although this free wheeler doesnt just deal in cash. Black Jack is set up as a pawn broker just outside the downtown area.


Corenthine [High End Club Owner]
Loyalty: 2, Connections: 4
Owner of the renowned Cumhachtai club downtown, this elven beauty is well connected to most of the power players in the area. She has a great sense for trends, tastes, and pleasures. Braiden is a frequent client of her establishment, indulging in the high class offerings where he and Corenthine have routinely used each other for casual stress releif alongside their professional relationship. Braiden frequently wine and dines high class contacts at Cumhachtai. The club is the top three floors of a downtown high-rise. The first floor is a dancefloor and stage for live performances and music. Above it is an atrium that goes up through the remaining two floors where tables are set up for fine dining. Each table is equipped with an adjustable white noise generator so they can enjoy the club's music at their preferred level and ensure privacy [the building is also carefully hardened against astral and matrix reconnaissance]. Needless to say, Corenthine has dirt on virtually every notable personality in the region.

Larry [Taxi Driver]
Loyalty: 1, Connections: 3
This troll taxi driver knows the region like the back of his hand including all the best spots. Being a dumb looking troll driving around a yellow van leads many people to underestimate him and he hears a good deal of info from conversations from the back. Ofcourse driving a taxi isn't great money but selling the occasional info on the side can help subsidize rent a bit when he goes on a drinking binge again.

Stats 200, Race 30, Edge 10, Skills 134, Qualities P5/N-35, Resources 32, Contacts 24

Posted by: Dr. Funkenstein Mar 31 2010, 07:18 PM

Assuming your GM is allowing Empathy software (it really is kinda cheesy), I'd lose the Emotitoy and just go with the base software. Upgrade, say, your Contact Lenses with System 6, and just load it up with Empathy 6. Sure, it's a lot more expensive but it's significantly less silly (the idea of an uber-sophisticated negotiator running around with a toy on his keychain that he insists on putting on display in every encounter is kinda o.O inducing). Other than that, for a mundane Face, you picked most all of the normal social boosts available for one and your dice pools are ridiculously high. So that's covered. Not much to comment on beyond that.

And hey, at least he's well-rounded in other areas, which is pretty rare for a lot of characters that get posted here.

Posted by: X-Kalibur Mar 31 2010, 07:25 PM

By RAW, Addiction to sex is not allowable for extra BP. You can RP it all day though.

Posted by: serraph Mar 31 2010, 07:46 PM

You can add software to contact lenses? Would that be in the Unwired book?

Edit: Nevermind, found it.





Hmm, it was the closest that I could find. Do you have any suggestions for another way to represent it?

Posted by: Dr.Rockso Mar 31 2010, 07:53 PM

I'd let it go. It can definitely cause problems and ruin careers. Look at our ol' pal Tiger
As long as he's confident(and comfortable) that he can roleplay that. I'd honestly stick with something less damaging, like novacoke. More advantages, less stds.

Posted by: serraph Mar 31 2010, 08:00 PM

Well I will pass it over to my storyteller although it may be a good idea to have a backup planned just incase!

I edited the emotitoy and exchanged it for the empathy software. thanks for the tip! I wasn't quite sure how I was going to describe it with any sort of dignity. Im not happy about giving up the Ultrasound so I may get some glasses that I can wear over the contacts for other vision enhancements.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions so far!

Posted by: Saint Sithney Mar 31 2010, 09:22 PM

Quick nitpick. The Hamerelli. Silencer and gas vent? Technically gas vents are only to be installed on Automatic weapons and they don't work alongside silencers well. While this is complete BS in real life, it's game rules. Besides, you're just using an SA pistol here. Give it a personalized grip for 100 yen and you've got all the RC you need.


Other than that, what year are you guys planning to play in? Because the Tir council of Princes gets dissolved in mid/late 2070 and that could flavor your backstory quite a bit. It might even help you find a better Negative quality than a tack-on arbitrary allergy. Maybe an Enemy? Face Enemies are fun.

Posted by: graywulfe Mar 31 2010, 09:24 PM

Just take a compulsion instead, it works and cover gambling and other addictions as well.

Posted by: Dr. Funkenstein Mar 31 2010, 09:30 PM

That was changed in Arsenal in the weapon customization chapter. You can have both a suppresser and a gas vent on the same weapon, you just have to close the vents in order to gain the suppreser's benefits in-game. There's a lot of strangely placed rules changes in those chapters, too. For instance, the benefit of a Sling from that chapter gives you some godly benefits (a 1/2-point Concealability bonus and recoil compensation), even though the Sling described earlier in the book doesn't do a damn thing for you -- and is 50% more expensive. /boggle

Posted by: Saint Sithney Mar 31 2010, 09:39 PM

Well, if you think of the sling replacing a solid stock in a major mod/overhaul, then the concealability makes sense. I think maybe the sling accessory from the main book is meant to just be a carry strap rather than a tactical sling. As for RC, if you've ever used a tac sling, it's a pretty nifty thing..

Posted by: serraph Mar 31 2010, 09:43 PM

The Hamerelli comes with the gas vent but in all honesty it feels a bit wasted. I am thinking about going to the Fichetti for my light, or even another choice. Im just not happy about the very limited 6[c] of the Hamerelli.



May I ask where this is detailed? I have found any sources on the Tir regarding 4E in my reading thus far. That could have a huge impact on my concept.

Posted by: Dr. Funkenstein Mar 31 2010, 09:45 PM

They're exactly the same thing as one another. The latter even references the former. Yet the latter, inexplicably, includes all the additional stats for a significantly cheaper price (which is about 15-20% the price of a Concealable Holster).

Posted by: Saint Sithney Mar 31 2010, 10:04 PM

It's in the Anniversary edition. It's a huge thing which was glossed over really, and from what some of the writers had let slip in the past, they were planning a book on the whole situation of the Tir after the wall fell. Fat chance of that now, I suppose...

As I recall, the events went sort of like this, Big D gets deaded and there's a mad scramble to see who the next Keeper of Memories [?] is going to be. The deck is stacked in Hestaby's favor, and she wins the contest. She however passes the title over to Lofyr, and part of the payment for this gesture is that the Orange Marm takes Lofy's seat on the Council of Princes. A little time passes, tensions rise in Po-town and the Council catches a boot so hard all the IEs go flying out of the country. Hestaby still lives in Protland in the SW hills and the Orc former prince, whose name I can't recall stays on as head of state. http://wiki.dumpshock.com/index.php/Tir_Tairngire. No wonder I couldn't remember it...

Anyway, the Tir is all messed up. I'm currently running a 2070 game where I've built a huge war through the underground to see who can wrest control of the Laes trade from the Unofficial Official Drug Pushers of the former Council. I'm loosely basing it off the "Kitchen Irish" story arc from Garth Ennis' run on the Punisher comic. On a side note, anyone know if Vice has official word on this situation?

Posted by: serraph Mar 31 2010, 10:13 PM

I will certainly have to look into reading about all of this, thanks for the heads up!

As a note I went ahead and exchanged the Hammerli for the Fichetti. I think that overall its a better side arm with the 30rd clip.

Edit: I updated the gear list a bit, most notably making sure that I can get the glut of fake licenses that I should have for my SINs.

Posted by: Whipstitch Apr 1 2010, 02:33 AM

Yeah, the Fichetti is pretty snazzy. A 12 or 15 round weapon* is honestly all I usually end up needing before having a comfortable pause to reload safely, but the hammerli's 6 rounds can definitely get a bit close for comfort. If you have Arsenal and a good armorer on the team you can go REAL overkill: My old Face had a Fichetti with the Additional Clip modification. It made it harder to hide the weapon (+2 concealment), but in the case of my smartlinked Fichetti it meant I had two 22 round clips which I could swap between with a Free Action, one loaded with Stick and Shock and the other with APDS.

*Well, amongst semi-autos, I mean. Burst fire can obviously chew through ammo rather quickly.

Posted by: serraph Apr 1 2010, 02:48 AM

Thanks for the feedback! I am still a bit torn on how I want to handle my ammo load out but I think that the guardian will be mostly non-lethal as it is my heavier weapon. The Fichetti may get loaded with more lethal loadouts as it will be my back up, and by the time I need it then the situation has already gotten serious. I am almost tempted to buy the automatics skill and have a machine pistol as well for when I need to lay down a bit more fire.

Switching gears for a moment, I have a few specific questions.

How concerned should I be about the Wired Reflexes giving me trouble and making me unable to get into a high end place?

Do you see anything I am critically lacking for the role or would highly recommend for me?

Do you think that my list of contacts is adequate? Should I change a contact or buy more?

Posted by: Saint Sithney Apr 1 2010, 09:07 AM

Well, with a smaller weapon, like a holdout, the stick-n-shock still doesn't lose any power, so 6(e)S -half AP generally beats out 5P -1 AP for the Ex-Ex.
As to wired reflexes, they're restricted, but not illegal. Kind of easy to find and hard to explain away though... depends on how your GM runs things. Though, if you're playing the law anyway, there's not too many occasions you'll need to pretend to be harmless. Might be worth it to drop your Reaction stat and Dodge Skill then use the BP to get Restricted Gear and Move-by-Wire 2. MBW in SR4 doesn't have all the TEL-X biz, but it provides +1 IP, +2 Reaction, +1 Dodge per level and it gives skill wires functionality as well. You might even be able to con your way through some security pretending that they're just skillwires... MBW is just so choice...
If you drop Dodge by 2 and Reaction by 1 to afford the Restricted Gear and MBW 2, then you'll end up with a net gain of 1 reaction, a lvl 4 skillwire system and enough left over BP to afford Muscle Toner 2 for an extra 2 Agility.


Final thoughts, your earbuds and glasses have over 12 availability with their combined enhancements. Might want to clear that with your GM.