[SR4] – Character development Options

[Machiavelli]

Hi Folks,

haven´t been here for a while (except for sneaking by in a hurry) so I hope everybody is fine and that I haven´t missed something important. I know it is impolite to start right away with “business”, but I am at work and the following question is already burning under my feet since our last session on the weekend. ^^

Our group just “lost” our second game master and we fused the two existing teams. This means we have some sort of “clone-problem”, because the chars we play in the different teams, are - lets say - quite “similar” to each other. Ok, the damage dealer in team A is a troll, while team B has an surged Elf, but the skill-set and the “class” are the same. So I wanted to give them at least different key aspects // foci // priorities.

While I go “full combat monster adept” with the troll (focus on longarms, close combat with blades and spirit killing, every point of magic / initiation is going into adept powers), I am not sure where I should invest my karma for the surged Elf. The troll is “Viking themed”, and the build feels “round”. So here I don´t need any changes.

The elf is a mystic adept with a magic-splitting of 3/3 and his “theme” is “Medusa” (I posted about this in the past). He uses spellcasting / summoning only passively (to enhance his abilities, means “increase attribute”, “increase reflexes”, “combat sense”, “detect enemies”, “levitation”, “concealment power”, “movement power” etc.). This specific split was basically to get the most bang for your buck, means to “save” power points for adept powers, that would have otherwise be too expensive (e.g. increase reflexes) and only get adept powers that cannot easily be replaced by spellcasting (critical strike).

his current adept powers are:

Critical strike (3)
Killing hands
Enhances senses (smell)
Counterstrike (1)
Increased concentration
Attribute Boost (Agility) (1)

At the moment I have 41 karma free for use. I am not initiated yet, my attributes are near natural max., my most important skills are around rating 4 or 5 (plus specializations) and yes, so far I am satisfied. But what should I do now? Where shall I invest the karma?

- Initiation?
- If so, in which field? Magic or Adept?
- What metamagic?
- Binding of foci?
- Increase of magic attribute or power focus?
- Going on saving karma and summoning of a high-power familiar (force 6, costs are about 70-80 karma)

I hope you have some good proposals for me.

PS: if I go familiar, I can choose between all abilities of spirits I can summon. Does this include the “skill” abilities of guardian and task spirits, too? If so, does it mean I can choose different skills whenever I call him? Makes no sense to me, rule-wise.