No problem. I'll probably add a few more posts, especially as more people join with more questions.

Hmmm ... that link in the OOC post to your discussion of corp security is interesting, and has me thinking that I haven't thought of Connor enough as a security officer, rather than as a shadowrunner. I will take a look at his spell list and consider it in the light of the six Ds. I don't know, maybe a Barrier spell for exaample.

His security work may very well have been a marginal side gig, compared to his work for the research lab. He might have just spent a couple of days making prepared formulae for the security guys, rather than dedicating serious thought to it.

Unless of course it greatly appealed to him.

Fortunately, I said "preliminary", because I suspect that if Connor thinks of himself as a leader, he should have some people skills. Though, it will be fun to see him try to lead and fail. So, working on the stats still.

Also fortunately, there is time to refine the PC, as Connor is the only one so far. Unless, evil GM, you plan to start him off by himself.

I'm not evil. I'm just drawn this way.

And Connor as the sole survivor of the biopocalypse? Might make for an interesting game start until someone else decides that they need in on the action.

That actually sounds fun! I also rattled some chains over in my "I thought ..." thread in the Shadowrun subforum. All those people complaining about anything past 3E started migrating there, explaining why no one is on DS anymore.

Maybe someone would like a 3rd Ed decker again. Quite a few said that 4th Ed is when the 'trix went off the rails.

Welp, I'm not closing any doors, but so far it feels like it's just you and your totem, Connor.

With that in mind, I'm going to suggest that you reshape things to make him a bit more jack-of-all-tradesish. At least, find some way to get him more effective with a computer in front of him, and select spells with a view to expanding his capabilities.

Just a thought; if and how you follow it up is up to you.

OK. I'll see what I can do. I have, in the past, played characters who were not originally suited for the shadows.

In particular there was Professor, an archaeologist adept who entered the shadows to find the criminal who both masterminded the destruction of his academic career and had him framed for murder. (As an aside, that criminal mastermind became The Blindman, lent to the RPGA as the archenemy of Claudia and the PCs of Virtual Seattle in the last season of that RPGA Shadowrun series of modules. I was part of the module writing team then.) The professor played in a couple of short-lived PbP campaigns here on DS. A lot of his adept powers were designed to be functional for a researcher and scientist.

Hmmm. A researcher adept? Hmmm. I think a number of his powers in later incarnations were from SR4E's Street Magic, enhancing mental abilities. Oh well. Just for fun I'll take a look at Magic in the Shadows. It'll keep me occupied.

I also played Stogie (and his border collie Jake), a shepherd (adept again) dispossessed of his flock and property by one of those nasty old corporations. He was in the shadows basically to give payback. They survived a rough outdoor mission to find the perpetrators of death and destruction in the mountains around ... Mount Rainier(?), which in the campaign was a ley-line-like source of great mana and protected by three magical 'sisters'.

Then there was Bongo Slade, a young drummer ( you guessed it ... adept) who was a footloose kid looking to find the Heartbeat of Gaea so he could drum it.

There are a few ways of tackling it that I could see. They would make him less min-maxy, of course, but that's not a showstopper. You'd just have to play smarter, rather than harder. Spirits might become his backup for combat, but there's a lot to be said for giving him a predator and a knife as well.

His major blind point would then be intel and infiltration, but I can see a few ways to address that as well.

Speaking of the RPGA and SR3, do you remember one of their modules I wrote for them... damn I can't remember the name. It had the PCs travel north from Seattle to Tsimshian to investigate some disappearances from a mining company there. The RPGA was facing a problem because there were many players whose PCs had over the years built a karma pool in the 40s or more. They were having trouble developing runs that were challenging for these monster PCs but not beyond less experienced ones. With that kind of Karma pool and spent Karma, players were able to just blast through most things, basically guaranteeing success whenever they wanted by re-rolling till they got it.

I gave the RPGA what they needed. Teams of brand new players were able to successfully complete the run (I GMed two of those), but at least two teams of 6 of those monster PCs who thought they could solve all things with firepower suffered TPKs. (I GMed one of those. Those puppies were NOT happy.) In my defense, it was made clear in the story that frontal assault would not work. The tough guys just didn't believe the warnings.

Yeah, I see that path.

Alright, how about a major re-write. I'm thinking of a Shamanist, whose Totem is Sun (from MitS). This gives him three categories of spells, and more spell points. 180 degrees away from Owl, I know, but Owl is a no go for the Shamanist. I would pull back a bit on Mental Attributes to have more points in Physical Attributes and Skills, including Charisma based skills (Sun! Of course!)

So, Connor would have combat, detection and health spells, be able to negotiate and shoot. Working on Matrix functionality. Come on! Mr. Renaissance Man? A one man shadowrun?

And there would be a bit of difficulty for him after dark, and he would have trouble with a corp that might turn out to be not what it seems. Both of which give the GM some fun!

Before I spend a lot of time on this, does this seem worth exploring to you?

Maybe. If I may offer a hint, I'd suggest that one full magician would be worth having. A shamanist as an additional character, taking up the Adept slot in what I'd permit, would be an acceptable addition if someone else comes in, but you are likely to run into walls otherwise.

Not magicrun doesn't mean that magic isn't key to some aspects.

I would even have suggested something like a shaman of, say, Spider, with some points in computer-related skills just so that you can actually deal with other fields. Given the ability to create one-time items, you might even get away with some spells where you own the formulae, but don't have them at your metaphorical fingertips.

Kind of like smoke grenades you have to build yourself before the mission, ninja.

I cogitate further.

I hasten to add that if you can find one other participant, this greatly relieves the burden of flexibility, and gives rein to your wild imagination.

Find just one person who hasn't burned their 3rd Ed books in an ecstasy of grief - or twist my arm and we can do 4A instead.

Thanks for the offer of 4th Edition, but I think being a lone PC in any edition requires a lot of flexibility.

I revisited your notes about one-off items today, and I will avail myself of those to help. I have some spells in mind that you might think ... interesting. I'm trying to (in metagame) foresee problems a lone PC, probably on the run, will have to face.

The real difficulty for me right now is Matrix work. I really don't see Connor being any good at that (ie. hard to find points for the skills), but I am soldiering on. It's a challenge I accept readily!

Now, there is the option of a Contact who is a decker. That might work, especially if I can pay him/her with one or two one-off items.

Find another player? It's like pulling teeth!

I meant if it will help you find a desperate confederate to face the biopocalypse with a knife between your teeth. Otherwise, the demons of the Third Dimension .... I mean, third edition will ride you mercilessly!



I don't know what angles you're considering, but one that might help you is on page 207; Cyberterminals. They can save you a bundle, and while they aren't fast and sexy, they're capable of getting grunt work done without risking your tender cortex to a black hammer attack, nor your essence to a jack. That will save you the initial build costs of getting a monstrously expensive deck, while still enabling you to at least crack the occasional security camera.

Ain't perfect. Ain't nuthin' perfect.

Just a thought.

Thanks. I'll look into it. I'm also exploring the idea of getting the "Tech-Wiz" sample character, pg. 259, as a level 2 contact. I figure I could build a back story of them being drinking buddies back in university, and a non-Awakened tech guy would surely be interested in getting paid in one of your spiffy 'one-shots'.

So, maybe Connor will do simple Matrix work himself, but farm out the trickier stuff to ... "Johnny Wirez".

Could certainly work.

Just remember to have yourself a lodge set up so that you can make these things, and afford to do them, because otherwise no can do.

Yup. Factoring that in.

Now that I think about it, a magician plus a rigger/decker blend would work pretty well as a duo.

Bribe someone with a lot of beer and tickets to a Leafs game?

I'll see what I can do. I haven't had much luck in recruitment lately, but ... I have a lead I will follow.

Radical remake to Connor coming shortly. Will update his character description above when done.

I like this version better. Stepping out of my comfort zone as I am giving up on my long-standing rule of thumb to be the fastest gun in the room. A magician, not particularly fast and all on his own? Just watch him!

"It does not matter who shoots first, omae. It's who shot last that counts. This is why Cavalier Deputy, and custom ammunition."