Help with a Character, My first SR character, in the works Options

[Divine Virus]

I have put much thought into a SR character, considering magic, augmentation, mundane, etc. All in all I have decided that I want to bulid something without all the bells and whistles. In another thread of mine Glyph (I am pretty sure it was Glyph) identifies two main themes in shadowrun as 1) selling a part of your humanitity for power via technology, and 2) the fear, evny and mystery around the return of magic and those who weild it.

Basically I want to create a character who is looking for what it truely is to be (meta)human. I'm thinking older human, at least 50, living in a rundown area. Was in the millitiary untill he lost his SIN in the crash.

Oftentimes when I first build a character for a new system I draw on themes and aspects from some of my favorite characters from movies/books before I create my own orignal ones. Just while a get a feel of the game. In this case the character would be a blend of Master Yupa from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and Shepard Book from Firefly and Serenity.

I find in games like shadowrun lives tend to be priced lightly, and this is somthing that my character stands agienst. I want to show a deeply compassionate character, one of intregrity. Maybe a tiny bit of a tragic hero, but if so only the faintest traces of it. A character who values life regardless of its form, yet is not above shooting a few kneecaps should the time come. Yet dispite what he knows and what he has seen there is still great mystery to him, a unspken sense that everything he knows and has expeirenced is just a tool, nothing known for the sake of knowedge, but rather a key for somthing deeper, more profound, somthing of true value, somthnig that has only been glipsed.

BAsically I am wondering A) would such a character be of any use in a shadowrun team and B) how would be manifest on a character sheet? I was thinking that he would have a decent edge, lower physical stats to show he was past his prime and a large fan of skills and knowedges. Any thoughts?

[Lagomorph]

I think he'd make a fine character, it sounds like you want a pretty well rounded character, so as long as you're playing with other well rounded characters it should be fine. It might be though that you'll get outshined if you play with lot of specialists (or munchkins).

I think a high edge, low cyber, moderate stats character with moderate combat and social skills, would be pretty acceptable over all.

[stevebugge]

An interesting twist for this character could be to give him a low magic attribute, no magical skills, and a nagging mentor spirit of some type. Basically he has undiscovered latent potential, and it's kind of eating away at him in a metaphysical sense.

I would agree with the mostly average stats and broad array of skills, and maybe mild cyber. Knowledge and Interest type skills will give you an opportunity to make an interesting character here, maybe something esoteric like Enlightenment Era Philosophy could creep in to the mix.

[Divine Virus]

I want to completely avoid cyberwere. THis is a character who predates the matrix and has watched the rise of the VR, cyberwear and wetwear, AR, Rigging, all that stuff. He has seen the world shift and change and people live and die. Now, past his prime, he is seeking to understand the essence of humanity. If he has any cyberwear, ever, it would be a replacment limb for somthing legitimatly lost.

[Cain]

He'd make a good Face as well, although I'd suggest going the Adept or Mystic Adept route instead of cyber. Magic gives him the mystical, spiritual connection you're looking for. Initaition would be the "deeper truths" he's wanting to explore. Since he can't really show his experience in better skills, I'd invest heavily in contacts, representing the friends he's made over the years.

Lots of Knowledges is always good, but I've discovered that it's all in how you place them. I haven't seen Naussica, but I have seen Serenity; Shepherd would have some religious knowledge skills, as well as psychology and mysticism.

[Divine Virus]

Pardon, I suppose I did not make myself suffciently clear. I want to avoid cybertech and magic. Just a mundane. I'm thinking born aroun 2015, making him about 55 now, he watched all the changes in teh world. say everything turn upsidedown and change a dozen times, and people keep living. Armed with only his humanitiy he is hunting for what it really means to be (meta)human, what is the lifeforce that seems to be in everyliving thing, and just what ARE we selling when we buy cyberwear, just what are we doing when we weild magic? Are we still fully (meta)human, or are we trading a part of ourselves in, are we forever altering our being?

[Azralon]

Right, so invest heavily in skill groups and a high Edge score. You'll be fine.

[Butterblume]

The face angle entered my mind as well. A decent charisma, paired with a few people skills, would make the char usefull in a shadowrunteam. Older men can be quite charismatic (or be old fools ;) ).
Since you stated he was a soldier, he could have been a drill seargent or something like that, or a firearms instructor. Or a mechanic of some kind, if that suits your taste.

[Rooks]

I'll stick with my mage/conjuror/hacker/rigger/street samurai

[Divine Virus]

Ah yes, the millitairy aspect. I was actually, indeed, imagining an ex-drill sargent drawing from Zim from Starship Troopers. The book, not the movie. In the movie Zim's compassionate side is never really shown and I think that thats an important attribute.

I was considering making him a fixer, but I couldn't really justify having the character selling and making things to kill with. I was going to give a good charasma, not so much as a charming old man but one who inspires confidence. A calm that speaks of expeirence. A honesty that that comes from simply not needing to show off any more, being beyond childish games.

[Azralon]

It sounds like you're much more interested in the roleplaying aspect than anything else, and you're the only one who can help you in that arena. I'd consult with the GM a lot to make sure you're both on the same page about how the world works and your character's place within it.

But, to answer your questions directly:

[mdynna]

With little need for nuyen (no ware) or points spent on Magic, you will have a *lot* of BP available for skills: use them. As mentioned, grab a bunch of contacts as well. Good ones. Also, make sure that Edge attribute is good and high, I would suggest making it 6 off character creation (human max - 1).

As a (personal opinion) sidenote, this will be a more challenging character to play for your first SR character. PCs that are uncybered mundanes must play "smarter" in order to keep up with all the augmented people of the world. The fact that you have a fairly strong mental picture of the character will help. As long as you are not the type of player that always wants to play one of the "front-line" character types ("Fighter", "Mage"). Finally, check with your GM to make sure that this kind of character will be useful in the game and that you will have an opportunity to show off your abilites. Some GMs run games where this kind of character might be seen as "useless" as their games consist mostly of dice rolls to beat security and combat.

[MaxHunter]

I was about to say my own, but mdynna had me beaten at the draw.

All I can say is that I agree completely with that post.

Cheers,

Max

Ps: I personally like my characters to be important for the group somehow, get a (needed) skill nobody has, pick the right contacts, buy a car and drive it (unless there's a rigger), whatever, just earn your place in the team and your character will do just fine.

[MaxHunter]

edit: double post, sorry.

[Cain]

[stevebugge]

One more thing to consider is the size of your group. Smaller groups need more generalists, if everyone specializes you'll have big holes in your capabilities.