My first SR4 character, Opinions? Options

[HMHVV Hunter]

[Ted Stewart]

There are a lot of good pieces of advice already listed here. Rather than focus on smaller details, I'm going to look at build efficiency. There are a few things we can do to get more out of your character for the same number of points.

The first thing is that your stats are three below your limit. In most cases, you're better off putting points into a stat than into skills. Not only do you usually get more for your BPs, but it makes buying up your skills cost a LOT less karma down the road. This isn't the best example since Magic doesn't apply to that limit, but another point of it by dropping your Conjuring by one gives you the same die pool for Conjuring skills, an extra die for Spellcasting, and a higher Force before you take physical drain. And I'm sure there are other things more Magic does for you that I've forgotten about. It's just worth it.

I'd also suggest a minimum Body of 3. It gets you an extra box of health and removes the -1 penalty to AGI and REA because your armour is too heavy. That's 10 points to get tougher, and it returns you 20 BPs of useable AGI and REA. You effectively get another 10 BPs for increasing your Body by one.

Lastly, I'd favour REA over AGI. AGI only helps you shoot things. REA comes into play every time you're attacked, so you'll be using it often regardless of what you're doing, and it ups the odds of you going first as well.

Overall, I really like this character, but there's a few things I'd tweak to either make him better for the points or get rid of some of those negative qualities.

[Abbandon]

What no real time edits?? HMHVV are you sure you meant to write agility 4, body 2 because thats in the wrong order for attributes and you put everything else in order.....

Maybe you meant body 4, agility 2 ??

We cant make any more suggestions if you dont change the character sheet to reflect the things you have changed ...

[Ryu]

One option to make the build stronger without loosing much flavour would be finding 20 pts to make him an ork. Constantine wasn´t, but he could easily have been if the world even had orks. His gutter lifestyle certainly fits the image of orks.

10 BP can come from body if need be, it will be higher afterwards. You did not reduce edge (so far), so there you could have your 20 BP.

Effect: Body of 4 allows you to wear common armor, strength 3 and low-light vision are an added benefit. You loose two points of edge, but that investment is dicey for you anyway.


On the pistol skill I have to say that it will not save your ass. Your first action is always seeking cover, with "Break LOS Completely" being the prime directive. I would give him an Automatics(Autom. Pistols) skill at rating 2. Slight deviation from the original, but salve mode to play with.

Now you could have higher int (or, as non-orc, logic) because the higher amount of free knowledge skills saves 6 BP on your build. Any attribute point for a net 4 BP is a steal.

[ElFenrir]

Come to think of it, i think Ryu is onto something. Orks do have a great gutterlike, rough and tough, feel to them that could bring alot to the character. A fella with his baseball cap, ciggarette hanging from his mouth, sitting in a battered recliner trying to get his next frag on Miracle Shooter with a cup of coffee next to him so strong the spoon stands up. :grinbig:

And Orks have a maximum 5 Charisma and Logic; so you wouldn't be going over the limit since you have 4's. I agree; nab 10 from Body(since Orks start at 4 anyway), 10 more from Edge(with Bad Luck you may not be relying on it as much), and there ya go. And i don't think it would change the character concept little, if at all. Ive actually flipped a race around when i found something fit a little bit better.

[knasser]

In fact, it would be best off to make him a troll. Points for BP-wise, trolls are an excellent bargain. You'd end up with a slightly higher Body than with the ork which wont do any harm. The logic cap can be worked around with a small investment in Cerebral Boosters and as you're spending the Essence point anyway, you might as well squeeze in the datajack so you can integrate the language chips plus cyber-eyes so you can avoid any vision penalties to spell casting due to darkness and smoke. And perhaps make the character follow the Islamic tradition - same drain stats, but you'll get Guardian spirits.

A Middle Eastern troll alchemist with Zeiss eyes fits the John Constantine concept really well. I can see it perfectly.

Oh, and Incompetent Pilot (Air Vehicles) would be a better negative quality. I don't remember Keanu flying anything in the film.

[EvilP]

Taking all of those languages and so little social skills seems strange to me...

[kzt]

[Karaden]

[knasser]

[Karaden]

Well, constintine does seem like he would have made a good orc, but that is totally up to the OP. The issue of a 2 body being both poor for being in combat, and seeming unlikely for Constintine is still up though. In fact I wouldn't be supprised if he had a very high body, considering what all he survives/walks away from.

[knasser]

[HMHVV Hunter]

[Ddays]

I thought you could only take incompetent in skills that can be used untrained, and exotic vehicles is definitely not one of those, nor is pilot aircraft.

Ground vehicle or unarmed combat can be used untrained, and therefore valid for incompetent.

[Karaden]

The ability doesn't say anything about that, at least I didn't notice it when I read over it a bit ago. Also didn't think there where skills you couldn't default on, but maybe I'm just forgetting, haven't read the skills section any more then needed for a listing of the skills since I first got the book.

[ElFenrir]

Well, according to the BBB, you can take Incompetence for any skill thats not a knowledge or language. So even trained ones are game. And a clever GM will find a use for Incompetence: Hot Air Balloon. ;)


As for the 2 Body, ive used it a couple of times...but both instances, the characters stayed as far away from combat as possible, only getting involved if necessary, and then with heavy protection of sorts-a non combative more alchemist mage, for example, would make heavy use of that Armor spell when the guano hit the fan.

Otherwise, if a character is halfway involved, i tend to give 3 or more. However, if i had a concept for say, a softie that fashioned himself some sort of hero and cybered up his low physical stats(say, 2's down the line, but stacked with bone lacing, muscle augmentation, toner, and the like), it could make a decent concept. And im not talking from a twink sense even, im talking simple survival. a 2 body under old SR's was pretty harsh, but it didn't affect your armor(Quickness did), and everyone had the same damage track, and everyone could throw in as much combat pool as possible for defense(low Body characters, many times, had high mental stats...which gave them a higher combat pool,most times, than the combative characters, unless you are talking about the slew of genius sammies that ran around. That's another story, though. :grinbig: )

SR4 can get pretty scary sometimes. I recall one character(still alive and well), that was battling a pistols expert. The pistol expert was almost dead; the way the GM described, he was down to his last box or two. He, however, pulled the Final Shot thing off(forget the name, it involves edge and willpower rolls or something) and made it. My fellow had a level of Mystic Armor, a 4 body, an armored jacket, a 4 reaction, and i believe a Dodge point, rolled well...and STILL had three boxes of physical damage done. Ouch and double ouch.

[Ryu]

[knasser]

[Ryu]

Personally, I´m not against extending the idea beyond archtypes for core. There was already a call for the sample chars that were cut from Augmentation.

The eastern tradition sans guardian spirit can be used with core rules, so it would not make much of a difference in this case.

[knasser]

[MaxHunter]

Coming in late, but I like your character. I second the bod 3 crowd, I would buy less edge and use points for influence group 1. I would also take pistols 3 (+2 semiauto) in order no to: roll more dice and b: appear somewhat less trained.

I am a GM in my group and I would allow the arm slide + manhunter thing, but it would be noticeable if not wearing a heavy coat or something. I did allow a character to take addiction to cigarretes, she ended having her lungs replaced after cancer. -So: serious addiction?

Good luck, the character is nice all in all. I would not make it an ork, I can't imagine an orc named Keanu...

Cheers!

Max