 Give some advices for a newbie, Building advices, required movies/books |
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 Oct 22 2006, 01:02 AM
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#1
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Target  Group: Members Posts: 2 Joined: 18-October 06 From: Korea Member No.: 9,644  |
Hello, I'm Loranthis from Korea.
We have very small amount of TRPG gamers. (WoD has 10 or less troupes in the entire country.) I want to do Shadowrun with my friends, and a veteran storyteller from WoD will be our GM. My friends don't know well about cyberpunk. And I think viewing movies will be the fastest thing to learn the environment of the cyberpunk, monolith corporations, espionage teams. RoboCop 1, Blade Runner, Total Recall, Terminator 2, Mission Impossible 1 It will be sufficent to learn about the theme of the game? And I made my character : It is rules-wise? He is a bookworm mage from Danaan Family of TirNaNog. Name : Paul McDonnell Metatype : Elf ---ATTRIBUTES--- Essence: 5 Edge: 3 Magic: 4 Body: 1 Agility: 4 Reaction: 2 Strength: 1 Charisma: 7 Intuition: 4 Logic: 3 Willpower: 5 ---Knowledge Skills--- Soerthiel : Native English : 3 Arab : 3 Dragons : 1 Magic Theory : 2 TirNaNog Society : 1 Matrix Magician Community :3 Ancient History : 2 Psychology : 2 English Literatures : 1 Northern European Legends : 1 Danaan Family Politics : 1 Illegal Clubs : 1 ---Active Skills--- Assensing : 2 Spellcasting : 5 Perception : 2 Counterspelling : 2 Influence Skills : 1 ---Qualities--- Mentor Spirit(Adversary) 5BP Magician 15BP First Impression 5BP Blandness 10BP Low Pain Tolerance -10BP SINner -5BP Incompetent(Swimming) -5BP ---Tech Gear--- Commlink : Meta Link (Using personal copy of the other commlink's program) Earbud + Audio Enhancement (Rating 3) + Select Sound Filter (Rating 3) AR Gloves Electronic Paper Micro Camera MagLock(Rating 6) + Anti-Tamper Circuits(Rating 4) + Biometric Reader Micro Directional Microphone Lightstick 20 Stealth Tags 5 Data Chips Glasses + Flare Compensation + Thermographic Vision + Vision Enhancement (Rating 3) White Noise Generator (Rating 6) Satellite Link ---Equipments--- Lined Coat + Chemical Protection (Rating 3) + Fire Resistance (Rating 3) + Thermal Damping (Rating 3) Armor Vest Certified Credstick (Silver) Survival Kit Medkit(Rating 6) + 2 Medkit Supply Fake Sin (Rating 6) + Fake SpellCasting License (Rating 6) + Fake Detective License (Rating 6) Fake Sin (Rating 6) ---Magical Gears --- Magical Lodge Materials (Rating 5) Combat Fetish Healing Fetish Power Focus (Rating 2) ---CyberWare--- Commlink(Alphaware) : Renraku Sensei + Response Upgrade (5) + System (Rating 5) + Firewall (Rating 5) + Analyze (Rating 5) + Biofeedback Filter (Rating 3) + Browse (Rating 5) + Command (Rating 5) + Edit (Rating 3) + Scan (Rating 5) + Sniffing (Rating 5) + Mapsoft (Rating 6) + Datasoft (Literatures) + Datasoft (Legends) + Tutorsoft (Dodge, Rating 3) HotSim Module + BTL PersonaFix + Miracle Shooter + Virtual Surround Music + Virtual Wallspace CyberEyes (Alphaware, Rating 2) + Ocular Drone + Vision Magnification + Protective Covers Olfactory Boosters (Alphaware, Rating 3) ---Spells--- Improved Invisibility Manabolt Physical Barrier Healthy Glow Levitate Fix Influence Orgasm Detect Individual Control Thoughts ---Contacts--- Dragon (Loyalty 5 Connection 6) Danaan Family Mage (Loyalty 2 Connection 3) Talismonger (Loyalty 1 Connection 2) ---Lifestyle--- High * 1 month ---Vehicles--- GMC Everglade Hovercraft BP Allocations Metatype 30 Physical/Mental Attributes 160 Special Attributes 60 Quality 15 Active Skills 54 Spells 30 Foci 2 Gear 30 Contacts 19 |
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Oct 22 2006, 01:15 AM
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#2
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Immoral Elf Group: Members Posts: 15,247 Joined: 29-March 02 From: Grimy Pete's Bar & Laundromat Member No.: 2,486 |
Welcome to Dumpshock. :)
At first glance, your Fake SINs are too highly rated. Maximum rating at character generation is (now errata'd to) 4, because of the Availability limitation of 12. The same applies to the Licenses, which are similarly limited to Rating 4. As to this ...
I'm not sure what to say. :eek: |
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Oct 22 2006, 01:22 AM
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#3
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 314 Joined: 25-February 06 Member No.: 8,307 |
I haven't looked over the character...
For the story, Blade Runner is great, so is Ghost in the Shell (but not so many robot/androids) Remember that most sources won't incorporate magic, so it will be hard to get a really good feel for Shadowrun. I would add a touch of Star Wars and Vampire Hunter D as well. |
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Oct 22 2006, 01:27 AM
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#4
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,333 Joined: 19-August 06 From: Austin Member No.: 9,168 |
I'd also recommend Strange Days.
I think you will regret only having Body 1. And Charisma 7 seems far more than you will need. It looks like you're aiming for a talky character (aka a Face), but you only have Influence 1. I'd put cha down to 6, put another point in Influence 2, and then you have 5 points left over. Strength 1 is iffy, but can work as a bookish mage. But any Runner with body 1 is in for a serious world of hurt.
You're fairly short on skills. It's not bad, as such, but some what limited. And with a Charisma of 6 or 7, you can summon and bind a *lot* of spirits. I'd recommend picking up at least Summoning 2 and Binding 2, with a specialization. Perception is also important for a mage - you must have line of sight to cast a spell....
I'm a big fan of always having 35 bp of negative qualities, but that's a personal issue. However, unless there's a lot of water around, and you're likely to be near it, Incompetent (Swimming) is a legal, but questionable, choice.
You don't have any other stealth skills - I'd rather have nonconductive (helps against tasers and Stick and Shock) than Fire or thermal here.... And if you have more armor than your body x2, you take penalties. Lined coat is 6/4, so you're suffering a -2 to reaction and agility, if I remember right.
Why have both?
Fake SINs have an availability of rating *4, so the highest you can have is rating 3, unless you're using house rules. Licenses are Rating *3, so 4 is your max.
You don't really seem to have any cyberwear that can't be gotten via gear except the ocular drone, and taking it reduces your magic. I'd turn all that in to stuff, rather than cyberwear. The drone is okay, but you can't cast magic through it if it's deployed.
I'd check with your GM to be sure about that - taking a dragon at loyalty 5 basically means you are great friends with someone immensly powerful. That's going to shape the game, and require a lot of backstory.
Not sure why you'd pick the Everglade - you can get a lot cheaper vehicles, unless you have a specific need for this one.... |
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Oct 22 2006, 01:28 AM
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#5
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Immoral Elf Group: Members Posts: 15,247 Joined: 29-March 02 From: Grimy Pete's Bar & Laundromat Member No.: 2,486 |
Movies like Heat, Usual Suspects and Ronin give some ideas on team dynamics, while Johnny Mnemonic and Blade Runner (as you said) give a glimpse into some possibilities on atmosphere.
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Oct 22 2006, 01:30 AM
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#6
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Immoral Elf Group: Members Posts: 15,247 Joined: 29-March 02 From: Grimy Pete's Bar & Laundromat Member No.: 2,486 |
Rating x 3, according to version 1.3. ;) |
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Oct 22 2006, 02:38 AM
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#7
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,011 Joined: 15-February 05 From: Montréal, QC, Canada Member No.: 7,087 |
Your character is a cripple (STR and BOD 1)
Because of it, you can't actually wear the armor you have selected. Wearing an armor Jacket would drop your reaction and agility by 3 (and your reaction is only 2). Also, with a STR 1 your GM will probably have to involve the encumbrance rules (you get penalty for carrying stuff over 10KG X STR ; 10 Kg (22 pound) isn't a whole lot of shadowrunning gear. Look, either this isn't a combat campaign and you will never get shot at, or you will die. It's that simple really. You got no reaction, no dodge, no Body, can't carry much armor and don't even have the armor spell. Even if you plan on being the careful type you have too little perception to avoid all pitfalls and too little edge to save you when you run in trouble. And you'll usually act dead last in any given round to top it off. Seriously, you get in one fight where your team doesn't control 100% of the field and your character is dead. I realize this isn't a combat mage but still, this is Shadowrun. He should be minimally combat worthy. Oh, and a personal pet-peeve : Incompetence Swimming? With a STR of 1? These flaws are GM discretion but personnally I wouldn't accept it. Come on man, even without this flaw you character can't swim! (STR 1) That's 5 BP for a penalty that would rarely be invoked on a character that would fail such test anyway even without the flaw. This is cheesy, IMO. But it's your GM's call. --- Your character spent waaaaay too much money on his commlink for someone who can't Hack and doesn't even have the computer skill. |
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Oct 22 2006, 02:54 AM
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#8
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Target Group: Members Posts: 79 Joined: 18-September 05 Member No.: 7,758 |
Add: Sneakers, Hardware, Miller's Crossing, Sunset Boulevard and Casablanca to your movie list. And Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex has a very SR4 feel to it in my opinion.
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Oct 22 2006, 03:09 AM
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#9
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Target Group: Members Posts: 2 Joined: 18-October 06 From: Korea Member No.: 9,644 |
Thanks for the advice!
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Oct 22 2006, 06:16 AM
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#10
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Harlequin Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 331 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 861 |
I know it's already been mentioned, but Sneakers is to me a great example of how a runner team could operate.
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Oct 22 2006, 07:13 AM
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#11
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Midnight Toker Group: Members Posts: 7,686 Joined: 4-July 04 From: Zombie Drop Bear Santa's Workshop Member No.: 6,456 |
I'd also recomend Tekwar, a series of cyberpunk made-for-TV movies (and a 1 season TV series) based on books by William Shatner for a look at the other side of the elicit BTL trade. Wizards is also a very good movie for the magic-and-tech feel. Demolition Man shows how a cyberpunk world can be utopian for some but dystopian for others.
But really, as good as movies can be, Shadowrun has more in common with the classic cyberpunk novels such as the Sprawl Trillogy and urban magic novels such as American Gods. |
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Oct 22 2006, 08:10 AM
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#12
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 393 Joined: 20-June 06 Member No.: 8,754 |
Wow, I'd go back to the drawing board with this one. I know you're a newbie, but this character is beyond fixing...
Try making a mage with 3s and 4s in all of your stats except magic, which I'd put at 5 or 6. Charisma can also be higher because you're an elf, but I don't see how a bookworm mage would have a charismatic tradition. You're more likely to be a hermetic mage, which uses logic, and is more in line with being a bookworm. Don't get any cyberware as a mage until you're more experienced. It lowers your magic attribute and is generally undesireable for most awakened characters. Don't spend so much on your commlink. You're already spread thin with your magic niche and a fancy commlink is useless without the skills to back it up. Get more of a variety of skills and invest more in them. |
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Oct 22 2006, 09:34 AM
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#13
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 7,116 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 1,449 |
Yeah, a normal commlink without a bunch of hacking programs is plenty for a non-hacker. I certainly wouldn't lose a point of Essense (and Magic) for a commlink. The low Attributes have been touched on - seriously, you can get by with a starting Strength of 1, but your Body should be at least 3, and your Reaction should be decent, as well. You should probably either get another negative quality, drop Blandness, or both.
I would lose the dragon contact, both to avoid annoying the GM and to save build points. Your skills are pretty bare-bones. You need summoning at least, and counterspelling could be higher, not to mention dodge would help you survive. Your resources are far too high - you can simulate a bookworm by having a normal commlink and a bunch of relatively inexpensive datasofts. A mage should only have high resources if you are looking to buy and bond lots of foci. |
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Oct 22 2006, 09:57 AM
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#14
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 281 Joined: 9-September 06 Member No.: 9,346 |
Movies: Blade Runner, Resevoir Dogs, Way of the Gun, Escape from New York, Six String Samurai, Strange Days, Ronin, HEAT, Ghost in the Shell (1, 2, and Stand Alone Complex), Judge Dredd, Virtuosity.
Maybe you could throw Minority report in there too, for some of the technology, but certainly not all of it. And Gattaca has a few, minor shadowrun undertones with DNA catalogues. That should give a solid grasp of some of the concepts behind Shadowrun. |
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Oct 22 2006, 02:57 PM
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#15
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Awakened Asset Group: Members Posts: 4,464 Joined: 9-April 05 From: AGS, North German League Member No.: 7,309 |
Neither first impression nor blandness is needed. Save points for skills. Also those should be mutually exclusive. You either impress or are forgotten quickly.
Forget about the cyberware part at character generation. The cost in BP is too high. If you want to go that route, start with an effective magic rating of 4 max., else buying back the lost magic will be too expensive. YouŽll need much karma for skills, so that will be an issue (I tend to put much more than 100 pts. in skills, IŽd rather skip on attributes and increase those later). Else take magic 5 and loose the power focus. You should indeed get rid of the dragon unless your GM suggested the contact. Your stealth tags do nothing so far. How about a few sensors? The occular drone does not provide LOS for magic in drone mode, only in eye mode. BTW, SIN avail is reduced to rating*3 per errata, so your golden there. |
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Oct 23 2006, 12:22 AM
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#16
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Immoral Elf Group: Members Posts: 15,247 Joined: 29-March 02 From: Grimy Pete's Bar & Laundromat Member No.: 2,486 |
Interesting. My math says that even at rating*3 (which I did state earlier), his Rating 6 SINs would come out about 6 points over the max Availability of 12. But maybe that's just me. ;) |
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Oct 23 2006, 01:58 AM
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#17
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Target Group: Members Posts: 49 Joined: 27-February 03 Member No.: 4,171 |
Cowboy Bebop. Many of the tropes you want. Too cool not to see.
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Oct 23 2006, 08:29 PM
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#18
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 124 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 2,072 |
Cast a Deadly Spell
Watch this movie! Probably the greatest example of "Magic in the Modern world" I have seen. And a good old Detective Movie in the same package. A must see for the shadowrun fan. In fact I need to go find and buy that movie. |
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Oct 23 2006, 09:17 PM
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#19
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Awakened Asset Group: Members Posts: 4,464 Joined: 9-April 05 From: AGS, North German League Member No.: 7,309 |
DoŽh! I was writing the bit about SIN-ratings based on Lorechasers comment - I had just assumed the usual *4 instead of *3 error had been made. My mistake entirely.
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Oct 23 2006, 11:22 PM
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#20
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Immoral Elf Group: Members Posts: 15,247 Joined: 29-March 02 From: Grimy Pete's Bar & Laundromat Member No.: 2,486 |
No problem. I'm just a dick, and couldn't let it pass. :D ;)
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Oct 23 2006, 11:31 PM
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#21
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Target Group: Members Posts: 79 Joined: 18-September 05 Member No.: 7,758 |
The sequel Witch Hunt (?) was pretty good too. |
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Oct 24 2006, 01:16 AM
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#22
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 178 Joined: 4-September 05 Member No.: 7,682 |
I agree with most of those films, but I feel that Mission Impossible 1 does not fit in as well. I would substitute Running Man to get the dark, 'life is cheap' mood. An under-rated but classic film is Johnny Mnemonic. It is as cyberpunk as Bladerunner and a must-see if you want to explore cyberpunk. If nothing else, it has THE best live-action shot of a monomolecular whip in action :) |
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Oct 24 2006, 08:52 AM
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#23
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,150 Joined: 19-December 05 From: Rhein-Ruhr Megaplex Member No.: 8,081 |
Since Johnny Mnemonic is written by William Gibson, it's one of the most cyberpunk movies out there. Well, part of it... it's best just to turn it off when you see a dolphin.
For the purpose of getting a feeling for cyberpunk Johnny Mnemonic is a must-see, or at least about the first 2/3 of it. (This movie brought me back to Shadowrun after pausing for a few years). |
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