New Player Handout, the "new" applies to both Options

[Jason Farlander]

I'm working on a new handout to give to new players. Here is my current draft. It's based somewhat on Bull's 50+ questions, and includes the hireability stuff I posted here recently. If there's anything I left out that is sufficiently important as to bear mentioning, or if you have any comments at all, I'd like to hear them. Thanks.

[ Spoiler ]

So youre about to make a shadowrun character. Cool. Hold on, though... put those books away for a bit. Dont write anything until I tell you to. Before you start crunchingnumbers, I want you to consider the idea that you are going to be creating a person - not just a set of statistics. Real people have backgrounds, desires, beliefs, and goals. So should your character.

Before you hit the books, I would like a summary of who your character is as a person. That summary should be at least a single page, typed and single-spaced. You may write the summary in any way you wish: as a story, monologue, biography, or even a simple list of questions and answers. There are a number of things that I want you to make sure you address in your character summary (these will be listed below), but feel free to include any extra information you like.

While you will not be "graded" on your work, I do reserve the right to reject any character if I do not like the background, as well as to reward backgrounds I find particularly interesting with bonus points to be spent during the number crunching portion of character generation. Yes, this involves a good deal of subjectivity on my part - you will have to trust that I am trying to be fair and reasonable. In all cases, provide as much detail and be as specific in that detail as you can, as this will help ensure a favorable reaction on my part.

(Note: if your character has Amnesia, you may not be able to address some of the
following questions. Note also, however, that granting your character Amnesia gives the GM full license to determine those details, which can be a very dangerous thing. Don't take the decision to play an amnesiac character lightly)

- Describe your character's childhood. Where and when was your character born? Were you issued a SIN (a number that identifies you as a citizen)? If not, why not? What was his or her family life like? What did his or her parent's do for a living? Did anything particularly unusual happen to your character while he or she was still a child?

- Describe your character's education. Was your character formally educated? Where? What did he or she study? Did your character go to college? If your character did not recieve formal education, how did your character learn the things he or she currently knows?

- What did your character do for a living before becomming a shadowrunner? What kind of job did your character have? Does he or she still have a *normal* job? Under what circumstances did your character learn the skills that would later prove useful to a life in the shadows?

- *This is important*: Describe how and why you became a shadowrunner, as well as why your character continues to run the shadows rather than getting a *real* job and living a *normal* life. What does your character hope to accomplish as a shadowrunner - what goal or goals does your character strive to achieve? Under what circumstances would you give up running the shadows?

- Now that your character is a shadowrunner, what is his or her life like? Where does your character live? What does your character do with his or her free time? Does your character maintain contact with his or her family? Has your character ever had any serious relationships? If your character has a SIN, how does he or she deal with the risk of getting caught? What does your character think about his or her shadowrunning career? What "useful" contacts does your character possess, and how did you come to know those people?

- Describe your character's beliefs, morals, and how those beliefs and morals affect his or her shadowrunning career. What are your character's religious beliefs? What are your character's political beliefs? What does your character think about magic? Does your character have any prejudices? Are there any jobs your character will not take? Are there any circumstances that would cause your character to abandon a job he or she had already accepted? Is there anything your character would be willing to die for?

- Describe your character's personality. What is his or her favorite thing to do? What annoys your character the most? What does your character fear the most? Does your character like to socialize? Are you a "loner" or a "team player"? What does your character think about other people, in general? How easy is it to get along with your character? Is your character uptight and meticulous or more relaxed and easygoing? Does your character have any notable personality quirks?

- Describe your character physically. Gender, metatype, height, weight, build, skin color, hair color, eye color and any unique traits (such as scars and tatoos) are important, as well as how your character dresses, how well groomed your character is, and how your chraracter conducts him- or herself in general.

- What is your character's "Street Name" and why did your character choose that
particular name. (if your character has gone by any other street names in the past, please mention and explain those as well)

- Finally, fill in with a good number of minor details to help flesh out the character.
Things like favorite foods, musical preferences, etc. If you have any questions, please ask. I am more than willing to help.

Once I have approved your character summary, you may proceed to peruse the books and build your character. If you would prefer to have me build a character for you, I am willing to do so. If you have any questions concerning the character generation process, please ask. You may use build point, priority, sum-to-ten, or BECKS when making your character - I ask that you let me know which system you use. Please, please, do NOT cheat when making your character. I can usually tell. I will not be happy.

When you finish the number crunching portion of character generation, I want you to submit a copy of the finished character as well a one-paragraph summary of the reasons a prospective employer should hire your character AND a one-paragraph summary of the reasons a shadowrunning team should accept your character. I ask that you attempt to write these paragraphs in character, but you are not *required* to write them in character if it proves too difficult.

You should only consider your character to be complete AFTER you have submitted all of these things to me and I have given the character my final approval. Once that happens... CONGRATULATIONS! You're ready to start playing!

Okay... remember how I told you not to write anything until I gave you permission? You now have my permission. Just dont forget the most important thing: have fun!

(Note: Spoiler tags were used based on the length of the deal)