Recruitement: Ork Underground Needs Runners, What do you want Breeder? Options

[Rasumichin]

Let's talk group dynamic and team history.

Who hires us? How many of us are doing it for the money and how many of us are doing it for the warm feeling you get when you smash a Humanis head in?

Is there an OU "City Center"? A vaguely centralized organization that tries to handle the metaplot problems?

I'm all for the warm feeling of smashing Humanis heads in (or rather, the warm feeling of powerballing them).
Not that i would reject a small recompensation for my efforts, of course.

Group dynamics wise, my character (damn, i have to come up with a name) tends to make extreme sacrifices to achieve goals he believes in.
Really does the best he can for the group/mission/community.
What he doesn't take well is being ordered around, partially because of his upbringing and believes, partially because i'll most likely go for antagonist as mentor spirit (have to come up with some fluff here, i can't get rid of the wack idea of fluffing his mentor out as Jean Paul Sartre- precisely, the version of Sartre from that Monthy Python sketch).

[Samantha]

I'm all for the warm feeling of smashing Humanis heads in (or rather, the warm feeling of powerballing them).
Not that i would reject a small recompensation for my efforts, of course.

Group dynamics wise, my character (damn, i have to come up with a name) tends to make extreme sacrifices to achieve goals he believes in.
Really does the best he can for the group/mission/community.
What he doesn't take well is being ordered around, partially because of his upbringing and believes, partially because i'll most likely go for antagonist as mentor spirit (have to come up with some fluff here, i can't get rid of the wack idea of fluffing his mentor out as Jean Paul Sartre- precisely, the version of Sartre from that Monthy Python sketch).

Could be quite fun smashing some Humanis. Spike will do a lot for money, though she doesn't really affiliate herself with any group in the OU, such as the SOS, etc. I see her as one of the founding members of the team, maybe the second or third to join, and as she's aging (She's getting up to 35 almost), she's starting to feel more motherly to any of the younger members of the group. Well, as motherly as you can when you're packing more cyberware than many people and you kick ass for a living. Hell, you get what I mean, right?

[Glyph]

Dancer will pitch in to defend the community, play white knight if she sees humanis thugs picking on someone, and has the back of any other member of the team. She doesn't really go looking for humanis thugs to beat on, though. She is fairly mercenary, but still loyal to her teammates, and conscious of getting/keeping a good rep as a runner.

I'm going to brainstorm a bit on how she could have met the others, but here is her sheet for now:

[ Spoiler ]

Name: Dancer (Katherine "Kate" Danner)
Gender: Female
Race: Ork

BREAKDOWN (500 Points)
Core Attributes: 200
Special Attributes: 85
Race: 10
Active Skills: 144
Qualities: 0
Contacts: 11
Resources: 50

=Attributes=
Body: 5
Agility: 5(7)
Reaction: 5(7)
Strength: 3 (5)
Charisma: 4
Intuition: 3
Logic: 3
Willpower: 5
Magic: 4 (6, reduced by Cyber/Bioware)
Edge: 3

Essence: 4.00
Initiative: 10
Initiative Passes: 3
Physical Damage Track: 11
Stun Track: 11

Current Karma: 0
Total Karma: 0
Street Cred: 0
Noteriety: 0
Public Awareness: 0

=Qualities=
Adept
Allergy: Silver, Moderate
First Impression
Guts
Martial Arts:
>Kenpo: 5 (+1 on melee block)
>Kung Fu: 5 (+1 on melee block)
>Muay Thai: 5 (+1 DV on unarmed attacks)
>Tai Kwon Do: 5 (+1 DV on unarmed attacks)
Nano-Intolerance
Scorched
Sensitive System

=Active Skills=
Gymnastics/Dance: 4/+2
Influence Skill Group: 4
Intimidation/Physical: 2/+2
Perception: 3
Pistols/Semi-Automatic: 4/+2
Stealth Skill Group: 1
Unarmed Combat/Martial Arts: 6/+2

Martial Arts Maneuvers:
>Disarm
>Finishing Move
>Herding
>Kick Attack
>Riposte

=Knowledge Skills=
Languages>
English: N
Orzet: 4

Other Knowledge Skills>
Exotic Dancing: 3
Goblin Rock: 2
Magical Background: 3
Martial Arts Unlimited Fighting Circuit: 3
Ork Underground: 3

=Bioware=
Biosculpting: Minor Modifications (2,000 Nuyen)
Cosmetic Bioware: Glo-tatts
Muscle Augmentation: 2
Muscle Toner: 2
Reflex Recorders:
>Gymnastics
>Unarmed Combat
Synaptic Booster: 2

=Adept Abilities=
Combat Sense: 2
Counterstrike: 1
Critical Strike: 4
Improved Ability -
>Unarmed Combat: 2
Killing Hands

=Contacts=
Fixer (Connection: 4/Loyalty: 2)
Dancer (Connection: 2/Loyalty: 3)

=Lifestyle=
High (1 Month)
Starting Money: 4d6 x 500 Nuyen

=Equipment=
ID/Credsticks:
Fake ID (Rating: 4), Fake Gun Registration (Rating: 4), Fake Concealed Carry Permit (Rating: 4), Fake Bioware License (Rating: 4) x 2; 4 certified credsticks.

DocWagon Contract:
Basic (1 Year).

Weapons:
>Colt Government 2066 with internal smartlink, skinlink modification, concealable holster, 140 normal rounds of ammo, and 9 spare clips.

Armor/Clothing:
Armor Jacket, FFBA half suit with Nonconductive: 4; PPP forearm guards, shin guards, vitals protector, and arm/leg casings (the discreet protection version); Urban Explorer Jumpsuit, 1,250 Nuyen worth of assorted clothing.

Commlink/Software/Simsense:
Novatech Airware Commlink with ISIS Orb OS, sim module, skinlink, trodes, and subvocal mic; browse program (Rating: 3), Linguasoft (Chinese, Rating: 3), Virtual Surround Music, Virtual Pet (white rabbit).

Other:
Glasses with skinlink modification and - image link, smartlink, Vision Magnification, and flare compensation; duffel bag (100 Nuyen), Medkit (Rating: 6) with 2 refills, Operations Cleanup toolkit.

=Background=
(Bull's 50+ Questions) -

1. What is your character's Sex?

Female.

2. What is your character's physical size?

Petite but curvy build.

3. What is the color of the character's hair, eyes, and skin?

Her hair is pale blonde in a tousled pixie cut. She has startling bright green eyes and golden tan skin. She usually wears understated makeup - pink lipstick, a bit of eyeliner, no base. She has glo-tatts of intricate, flowery Or'zet runes.

4. What is the character's general appearance (i.e., How does she dress, etc.)?

Kate dresses to blend in on the streets - either a mix of denim and synthleather in the rougher parts of town, or typical skirt/blouse combinations elsewhere. She has one or two more formal outfits for meets or upscale places. In nightclubs, she goes to the other extreme and wears daring outfits, although she still doesn't stand out that much, since a lot of other people do that, too. She moves with the unconsious grace of a dancer, though, so she draws a lot of glances despite her efforts to be part of the crowd. Although attractive by human standards, none of her cosmetic mods alter her looks to make her look less orkish (tusk reduction, etc.).

5. Where was the character born (City, State, Hospital Name)?

Kate was born in the Seattle Ork Underground, with the assistance of a midwife.

6. What is the character's date of birth?

September 15th, 2052.

7. What was the character's family life like?

Kate's dad had a typically big ork family, and the orks in the underground tended to consider themselves part of a bigger extended family. She got along with her siblings well enough, but she was a bit of a loner, and always wanted to go off and explore the sewer tunnels, resulting in many a scolding.

8. Has the charcter begun her own family?

No. Kate has nightmares about becoming like one of the typical tired-looking ork women of the Barrens, with a squalling brood of little brats running all over the place. She is too busy getting her head together to even think about a serious relationship at this point. And she hasn't really had a good long-term relationship, so she wonders if she's capable of that level of commitment.

9. Where or how was the charcter educated?

Kate was home-schooled by her mom, a former school teacher who wanted her kids to make something of themselves. Her mom was one of the few people who took her dreams of becoming a dancer seriously. But the open area where she practiced was also the place where the tougher orks would gather to spar, honing their unarmed combat skills. Kate was enthralled by what she saw, and pleaded with them to teach her. A few of them acceded to her wishes, indulgently at first. Then, when they saw she had some genuine aptitude, they started training her in earnest. One of them also insisted that she learn to shoot a gun. She continued to practice her dancing, but unknowingly, her focus had changed, to the point that when she awakened, she began to manifest abilities of the warrior's way, rather than the artist's way.

10. Has the character ever done anything else for a living?

Her experiences aboveground were disillusioning. SINless, an ork, and facing additional prejudice for being awakened, she found most doors closed to her. She could always find work dancing, but unfortunately it was not exactly the kind of "dancing" that she had in mind for a career. She could also find work as a gunsel or bodyguard in shady deals. The dancing was a dead end, she knew, even though cosmetic biomods and some striking glo-tatts made her popular. The muscle work, on the other hand, evolved into higher-end stuff, especially when she got some bioware enhancements to complement her mundane and magical abilities.

11. What are the character's political and religious beliefs?

Kate is pretty cynical (but apathetic) politically. She suspects humans of a sometimes subtle (sometimes not) bias against orks, and doesn't think activism is going to change anything. It is still needed - orks and humans rub shoulders too much for them to be able to ignore each other - but other people can bang their heads against that particular brick wall.

Religiously, she is agnostic. She thinks there is an afterlife, but if she had to guess, she would say it is a bunch of powerful spirits pushing their own agendas and playing games - just like things are here. She distrusts religions, because they seem to see the afterlife as a place where all of this life's problems and injustices will be magically set right, and she doubts it will be that simple.

12. Describe the character's moral code. Include how mercenary she is, whether or not she'll kill innocents, etc.

Kate is mercenary-minded and cheerfully amoral. She finds most laws to be biased, unfair, and stupid. She only pays enough attention to them to evade them. The unwritten rules are far more meaningful to her. She is pretty much out for number one, although she is loyal to friends, mindful of keeping a good rep as a runner, and an occasional soft touch for someone in trouble. Although she has little problem with criminal activities, she flinches from wetwork, and prefers non-lethal means whenever possible. When it is unavoidable, though, she acts with utter ruthlessness, her drive to survive trumping any considerations of fairness or honor.

She has a healthy libido, but feels awkward approaching people, usually letting them come to her. She also avoids any potential long-term romantic relationships. She fears BTLs because of a bad experience that she had with a Kong chip, and is too much of a control freak to indulge in any other kinds of brainbenders. She considers it a personal choice, though, and could care less if other people choose to indulge. She loathes smokers, though, because they are always polluting OTHER people's air (more specifically, her's) with those noxious fumes.

13. What are the character's goals?

Kate is still dealing with her original dreams (of being a dancer) being stomped down into the occasional forlorn hope. Her real goal now is to make a career out of shadowrunning while steering clear of the nastier jobs.

14. Why does the character run the shadows? (Why does she run the shadows still, rather than getting a "real" job?)

Kate doesn't have too many non-illegal options for making a living. The only alternatives that she can see are out-and-out wetwork, and stripping, which is lucrative but a dead end, and she would much rather not do either of those things.

15. What kind of personality does your character have? This should not necessarily be obviously stated in the background, as it is more important for actually playing the character, but it may colour or add mood to the history.

Kate is a bit bitter, and still trying to get a sense of control back in her life, but it doesn't show that much to others - superficially, she seems laid-back and unflappable, someone that it is very difficult to shock or embarass. When you have punched someone's face in, or worked a troll biker bachelor party, most other situations don't seem like such a big deal.

16. What special qualities does the character possess? This does not refer to skills, but rather to other things, such as how she gets along with people, whether she plans ahead, etc.

Her nonchalant attitude actually tends to induce people into opening up to her - she gives the impression of being someone who won't be shocked or judgemental by most admissions. She is not a good planner, but is good at reading people and reacting on instinct. Although she has a sharp tongue at times, she can be soothing and comforting at other times.

17. Are there certain things that the character can't or won't do? Why?

Kate finds it difficult to get emotionally close to people, or to admit it when she is. It is not just romantic relationships - she tends to keep a bit of emotional distance from friends, contacts, and fellow runners, too, at least until she gets to know them very well. Right now, her mom is the only one she lets past her emotional armor.

18. What things, people, or ideas does the character hate?

Kate hates bigots of all stripes, even orkish ones like the Sons of Sauron. She hates idealogues who think their precious causes are worth blowing things up for. She tones out most rhetoric, believing actions speak louder than words. She hates people who glorify violence, who use it at the first opportunity rather than as a last resort.

19. What things people, or ideas does the character love?

Kate likes hitting the hot night spots, especially the adrenaline rush that she gets from dancing. She likes hooking up with people, but doesn't usually get that attached to them. She likes her virtual pet, but finds it more therapeutic than anything else - she wouldn't hesitate to replace it with another cuter virtual critter. She has a soft spot for people down on their luck, especially for people who are poor but still have a sense of community (like the Ork Underground does - minus the bully boys).

20. What is the character's name? Give both full birth name, as well as nicknames, street names, etc.

Her "real" name is Katherine Danner, Kate to people she knows - her fake ID lists her as Katrina Doyle, and her street name is Dancer.

21. Determine what your character used to do, before becoming a shadowrunner (very important).

Kate worked at some of the seedier night clubs, the ones that didn't check for SINs and paid certified cred, as well as whatever odd jobs that needed a gun or a discreet bodyguard. When she began moving up to better jobs, she felt relief that things had begun to improve a bit.

22. Decide why your character left her old job, if she had one (also important).

Her previous jobs were forced upon her by desperate circumstances, and she is glad to be away from them.

23. Come up with a reason for why the character became a shadowrunner. (This very often will tie in with #22. This is not the same as #14, but rather why she started running the shadows originally. What led her to it?)

Shadowrunning may be dirty and dangerous work, but it's still the best option that she sees out there. It evolved from the legally shady activities she supplemented her income with, and she has moved more and more towards doing shadow work as her primary source of income.

24. How did your character come to know her contacts? Contacts are an important part of Shadowrun, decide how and why you know them.

Renald Biggs (Fixer) is a slightly overweight ork who has a mullet and muttonchop sideburns, usually dressed in white CAS-style suits. He tries to sound urbane and educated, although he has the occasional mispronounciation of a self-taught man when he uses some of the bigger words. He likes classical music and fine art, and tries to defy the typical stereotype of an ork. He has ties to the Black Rain, the Cascade Orks, and perhaps the mafia. He helped Dancer get get started as a runner, and has been a good source of gear and jobs for her. He is usually accompanied by Mum, a towering Jamaician troll who gets his name from his taciturn silence.

Frou-Frou (Dancer) is the street name of a female Troll of mostly Hispanic descent who works as a go-go dancer and bouncer at Maxine’s in the Ork Underground. She met Frou-Frou when she worked at Maxine's for awhile. The troll was protective of the petite new girl, until she realized that Dancer could actually take care of herself pretty well. The two friends kept in touch after Dancer went on to a shadowrunning career. They share both dancing and fist-fighting in common, and always have plenty of tales to swap. Frou-Frou occasionally passes on some useful information to Dancer, and Dancer occasionally helps out when Frou-Frou lets her know that the MOM needs a bit of extra security or muscle.

25. Does the character have a SIN? Does the character actually use it? Or is the character one of the SINless masses? This may be affected by the character's previous employment.

Kate has never had a SIN, but she does have fake ID and other paperwork now.

26. Is the character a full-time shadowrunner? Or does the character lead a Batman-like double existence?

Kate is a full-time runner.

27. Which person(s) or group(s) do you love the most?

She typically has a lot of people she hangs out with, but develops a few close friends. She is also still close to her mom.

28. Which person(s) or group(s) do you hate the most?

She hates terrorists and extremist policlubs the most of all. She loathes gangs almost as much, as she considers them pathetic bullies at best. Bigotry vexes her, but she considers it so common, that she is surprised when she meets someone who ISN'T at least a bit racist.

29. Which person(s) or group(s) do you respect the most?

She respects the real, cold, hard pros - she knows she isn't one of them yet, but hopes to reach that upper echelon someday. She isn't sure about that, though. She would rather stay lower down on the food chain, if reaching the top will involve turning herself into something remorseless and inhuman. That assumes she will have a choice, though.

30. Which person(s) or group(s) do you fear the most?

She fears all of the wack jobs out there - policlubs, cults, and the like. You can't tell WHAT they're going to do. She is wary of groups like Aztechnology and the Triads, who take biz personally and are big on vengeance, but at least they usually have a logical reason when they go after someone.

31. What is your favourite colour?

Pink, although outside of nightclubs, she will only wear it as an accent to more subdued clothing.

32. What is your favourite food and/or drink?

Kate likes meat, real meat, as opposed to that damn soy and krill that's everywhere. Of course, for her, most of the "real" meat she has eaten has either been Ork Underground cuisine (There's all kinds of critters in Uncle Ed's fritters...) or vat-grown stuff. She also has an inhuman tolerance for hot spices, and relishes doing things like putting Habenero sauce on ice cream. She likes beer better than wine, which tastes too fruity to her, although she likes lagers better than that dark beer the dwarven microbreweries turn out.

33. What place would you most like to visit?

There are still a few night clubs that she still hasn't been to, yet.

34. Which person(s) or group(s) are you most loyal to?

Herself, mostly. She is fiercely loyal to friends even if she downplays it most of the time. She also will help people down on their luck or in trouble sometimes. She feels more solidarity with squatters and shopkeepers than with criminals, still, only one of the reasons that she is unlikely to ever join one of the major syndicates. She feels a certain solidarity with other orks, but finds ork "culture" tiresome sometimes - it's like you have to dress and talk a certain way to be considered properly "orkish", and that has gotten old quickly for her.

35. What pastime (that you participate in regularly) gives you the most enjoyment? (Warning: Answering Sex for this question can and will result in penalties to your character!)

Kate loves dancing. Despite being a bit shy at times, she still prefers being with people to hanging out by herself.

36. What pastime (that you participate in regularly) gives you the least enjoyment?

She likes fighting, but doesn't like killing (at least, she tells herself that), and she doesn't like when she has to use her charms as part of a job, even if actual sex isn't involved.

37. What annoys you the most?

People who are so wrapped up in their ideals and preconceptions that they don't really listen to other people, who seem to only peripherally function in the real world.

38. What (if any) is your favourite form of art?

Dancing is one of her main joys in life. She may not be able to do it as a career, but she still enjoys watching it on the trid or hitting the night clubs herself. She doesn't quite consider tattoos an art form, but thinks that they should involve some aesthetic consideration beforehand. She disdains people who just get drunk and get a tattoo. And gang tattoos are almost as bad, turning an expression of individuality into an expression of conformity.

39. What is your greatest goal?

Her greatest goal, to become a dancing star, has been shot down. Her goals now are more practical - become an established runner, stay away from the more unsavory jobs as much as possible, and eventually get a big score and retire. She is all too aware that the odds are against her accomplishing the last one.

40. What do you think is your characters best quality?

Her mental resilience and survivor's instincts.

41. What do you think is your characters worst quality?

Her bitterness over her lost dreams, and inability to have a serious relationship with anyone.

42. What is the most important thing you have ever done?

She was involved as a bodyguard in the meet that led to a few months of relative peace between several underworld factions.

43. Which religion (if any) do you follow?

None, unless muddled agnosticism can be considered a "religion".

44. What is your most treasured possession (and why)?

She has a keychain with a holo of a long-faded modern dance star on it (Deja Theriss, one of the few orkish women to make it in the dance scene). She has had it since she was a kid and wanted to be a dancer herself.

45. What are your three most common dreams?

> Flying, or sometimes dancing, over a cityscape, among neon-colored clouds, feeling transcendent for a moment. She always feels a stab of disappointment when she has to wake up from it.

> In a nightclub or at a party, where everyone is naked, including her, but she isn't embarassed or disturbed, just unusually mellow. She walks through the other people as if they aren't there. Most times the dream will continue and segue into other confusing, disjointed dreams.

> A nightmare of brutally killing someone with her bare hands, sometimes turning into an even worse nightmare where they rise up as a blood-dripping, grinning zombie to exact vengeance on her.

46. What is the Character's current relationship with her family?

Long-distance, as most of them are still in Seattle. Jake, Sheila, and her mom are the only ones that she remains that close to, and her mom is probably the only one she would really open up to.

47. If the character's family is still alive, what do they do, and where do they live?

Most of her family is still in the Ork Underground. She keeps in touch with the occasional tridmail, but they are literally living in different worlds now. An older brother, Jake, is with the Black Rain now. They at least have more to talk about, although neither of them talks biz with the other. A younger sister, Sheila, is working as a secretary and backup gun to a semi-alcoholic dwarven investigator, and seems to be having fun despite the hair-raising misadventures she tells Kate about.

48. Where did the character learn her Skills?

Her dancing and fighting skills were picked up in the ork underground, and improved a bit on the mean streets of Seattle. Her studies were serious, if eclectic, but nothing she could ever put on a resume.

49. Does the character have a good luck charm? What is it, and why?

No. She sometimes refers to her gun as her "good luck charm", but only to herself, and ironically.

50. What type of music does the character like?

Goblin rock, although she doesn't mind any other kind of dance club music. Renald has exposed her to classical music, but she is only so-so about it - you can't dance to most of it.

51. List any past serious relationships that your character has had, and give a brief overview of the relationship.

None, really. She has had a few people get creepy and obsessive about her, which has only made her more leery of getting seriously involved with anyone.

52. Where does your character live? Why does she live there?

Kate's current place is a small but well-appointed condoplex tucked away just outside of the downtown Seattle area, a quiet area that she tries to keep her business away from, although it is near one of the entrances to the Ork Underground.

53. Remember, your Gamemaster like detail, so if you can think of any other little details, quirks, or whatever that you think might please the almight GM, then add them in as well. Oh, and your GM won't use any of these details against you at a later date. trust me...(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Dancer is a close combat type, but can still shoot, and has some face abilities.

[imperialus]

Let's talk group dynamic and team history.

Who hires us? How many of us are doing it for the money and how many of us are doing it for the warm feeling you get when you smash a Humanis head in?

Is there an OU "City Center"? A vaguely centralized organization that tries to handle the metaplot problems?

From Mongol's perspective.

Money is good... A bit on the weird side, after all, you can't eat it, snort it, or kill someone with it, what good is it? Besides it's so much easier to just trade things. Apparently though, it's necessary and all that. After all even in his brief time in the UCAS he's seen enough sims to know that people with money are apparently happy. Mongol isn't dumb (logic 4), just primitive.

As for why he's running... It seems like the path of least resistance. He's good at shooting people, likely couldn't make a living doing anything else, has no SIN, and his friend in the 10,000 Daggers gave him the name of a fixer who works with the OU. Things get real simple when there is only one com-number in the link that you hardly know how to use. Humanis is as good a target as any, and he'd likely be easily impressed with the social justice ideals held by ORC. In fact, he's impressionable enough right now that he could turn into quite the fanatic.

As far as a "city center" goes. I'm (and I expect Mongol) quite indifferent. Mongol's going to spend the first while at least doing a lot of smiling and nodding, to various ideas, plans and payscales. He's pretty naive and the language barrier won't help in that regard. He'll become more streetsmart as the campaign proceeds however.

[imperialus]

An edited version of Mongol, This time with 200 BP's spent on attributes. Hopefully I remembered to change everything.

[ Spoiler ]

Streetname Mongol:
'real' name: Min-Bi (Strong Arm)
Race: Ork
Awakened: Nope

Attributes: Points, Natural, (Augmented)
Body: 40, 8 (8 )
Agility: 40, 5 (7)
Reaction: 30, 4 (6)
Strength: 20, 5 (7)
Cha: 10, 2 (2)
Intuition: 10, 2 (2)
Logic: 30, 4 (4)
Willpower: 20, 3 (3)
Edge: 30, 4
Total: 200 +30 (edge) = 230

Derived Attributes:
Initiative: 6 (8 )
Passes: 1 (3)
Essence: 0.24

Condition Monitor:
Physical: 8/2+8=12
Stun: 3/2+8=10

Common Dice Pools:
Armour: Jacket 8/4, Helmet 2/0, Dermal Plating 1/1 = 11/5
Firearms: Att 7, Skill 4, Smartlink 2 = 13
Gym Dodge: Att 6, Skill 3 = 9
Soak: Body 8, Ballistic 11 = 19.

Active Skills: rating (point cost)
Cybertechnology: 2
Close Combat Group: 3 (30)
Firearms Group: 4 (16)
Throwing Weapons: 1 (4)
Heavy Weapons: 2 (8 )
Demolitions: 2 (8 )
Pilot Ground Craft: 3 (12)
Survival: 3 (12)
B/R Firearms: 1 (4)
Intimidation: 2 (8 )
First Aid: 3 (12)
Athletics Group: 3 (30)
Stealth Group: 3 (30)
Automotive Mechanic: 2 (8 )
Total: 222 points

Knowledge Skills: (18 points free)
SW: Miltech Manufacturers: 2
SW: Merc Organizations: 2
IN: Desert Wars (Mongolia): 5
BK: Wilderness Survival (temperate desert): 4
Total: 13 points

Language Skills: (5 points free)
Cantonese: N
Other Chinese Dialects: 3
Or'zet: 4
English: 2
Mongolian: 2
Total: 11, (5 free, 12 BP)

Contacts: (19 BP's)
10,000 Daggers Mercenary Organization 2/2
Region, Global: 6
Membership, 1000-10,000 5
Magic Rating: 0
Matrix Rating: 2
Total Rating: Loyalty 2 Connection 2(13)
Ork Underground Fixer (Mil Spec perhaps?): L1:C2

Positive Qualities
Guts: 5
High Pain Tolerance 3: 15

Negative Qualities
Wanted/Criminal SIN: -10
High Maintenance Cyber (Wired II): -5
Computer Illiterate: -5
Flashbacks: -10

Resources: 70,000 (14 BP)

Cyberware:
Name: Cost, Avail, Essence, Cost
Wired Reflexes II (2nd Hand Alphaware) 11, 2.88, 32,000
Simrig* (Alphaware) 8, 0.4, 10,000
Datajack (Alphaware) 0 0.08, 1000
Muscle Replacement (2nd Hand Alphaware) 9 1.92, 10,000
Dermal Plating (2nd Hand Alphaware) 4, 0.48, 5000
Total: 58,000
*the Simrig is disabled, but it also has a GPS unit in it, that if ever activated would allow the network to track him down.

Gear:

AR Glasses 25
Smartlink +100
Image Link +25
Vision Mag +100
Total: 650

Rating 4 SIN: 4000

Cougar Fineblade Short, 5P, AP-1, 550
Ares Predator IV, 5P, AP-1, 350
4 clips regular ammo, (60 round) 80
Armoured Jacket 8/4 850
Helmet 25

2 Weeks Paid at the Poor Seaman Hostel in Tacoma (squatter) 250

CMT Clip Comlink R1/S3 300
Redcap Nix OS FW1/Sys2 400
Total: 7455
Remaining: 4545

Starting cash Squatter Lifestyle:
4500/100=45
45*20 = 900
Squatter lifestyle (2d6=9) 9*20= 180
900+180 = 1080

[DocTaotsu]

Alright so we've established that no one wants to play (openly) the sociopath psycho who wants to stab everyone (on their team) and take their stuff. That works for my character concept because I see this guy being older, maybe even in his mid thirties/early 40's . I highly doubt he'd run with you all if it was all about the money or he didn't have a fair amount of trust in you.

I see him being one of the founding members too, perhaps Doc and Spike got this idea over sutures and beer one night. Doc sees this team as a way to legitimize his operations in the OU (ie. Not get clubbed to death by SOS every other day). I see him living and operating fairly deep in the OU, much deeper than most smooth skins would be comfortable with. He counts on his rep and free health care for locals to keep him safe.

Hm... maybe Spike and Doc ran into or with each other topside a couple of years ago but Doc is just now moving into the OU. I see this as his transition from mostly legit freelance shadow doc to full blown underground shadow clinic operator.

[imperialus]

I filled out that Bull's 50 questions. If I happen to have time tomorrow (though it's unlikely I will) I'll try and writeup a 'proper' backstory. My favorite answer, that I think perfectly sums up Mongol's life up to this point is:

42. What is the most important thing you have ever done?

He caused a 3 point jump in the networks ratings after a particularly heroic assault on an MET2000 camp.

Even better it's question #42, the solution to life the universe and everything! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cyber.gif)

[ Spoiler ]

1. What is your character's Sex?

Male.

2. What is your character's physical size?

Large for an Ork, has massively oversized arms due to cheap muscle replacement.

3. What is the color of the character's hair, eyes, and skin?

Min-Bi (Mongol) has a 10 or 11 inch topknot, that he keeps braided and running down the back of his otherwise shaved scalp. He has an oriental skintone but is darkly tanned due to the amount of time he spent out in the open. His eyes are large and dark.

4. What is the character's general appearance (i.e., How does she dress, etc.)?

Mongol currently only has two outfits. One consists of a pair of ill fitting Lee-Vys jeans, (a common knockoff ‘brand’). He thinks they’re pretty stylish. The other is his ‘working cloths’ consisting of a ‘lightly used’ armoured jacket, and a pair of combat pants. Both have a vaguely desert camo pattern. He also has a couple second hand shirts in varying degrees of repair, mostly from assorted militaries and Merc corps.
Mongol’s body is crisscrossed with dozens of scars. Some of them are due to injuries, while other’s are the result of horrible ware installations in remarkably primitive conditions. The most striking are the scars outlining his dermal plating. Railway tracks don’t begin to describe them.

5. Where was the character born (City, State, Hospital Name)?

Somewhere on the North Asian steppes. Hospital? What’s that?

6. What is the character's date of birth?

Sometime in summer of 2050. (he thinks)

7. What was the character's family life like?

Mongol grew up in the Black Smoke tribe. His life, up until about a month ago was one of constant violence, racing back and forth across the steppes on bikes and other light vehicles raiding other tribes, and fighting for his own survival. Following in the traditions of his people Mongol had a Sim-Rig implanted at 12 years old in exchange for a shipment of assault rifles and ammunition.

8. Has the charcter begun her own family?

Sort, of. His wife and young children are dead however, killed during the raid that exterminated the Black Smoke tribe.

9. Where or how was the charcter educated?

Mongol learned to fight almost as soon as he could walk. It’s the only real education he’s recived.

10. Has the character ever done anything else for a living?

He fought in the desert wars in Mongolia.

11. What are the character's political and religious beliefs?

Mongol is almost completely apolitical. Not due to any lack of conviction, rather ignorance. He’s quite impressionable however and would be willing to jump onto the personal bandwagon of almost anyone who offers him guidance, or kindness. One strident belief that he has is a burning hatred directed towards the media corps. He doesn’t have a clue who’s ware he actually has crammed into his body, but he blames them for the terrible life he led.

As far as Religion goes Mongol believes in a rather confused mish-mash of Chinese animism, protective charms, and ancestor worship.

12. Describe the character's moral code. Include how mercenary she is, whether or not she'll kill innocents, etc.

Mongol is a rather unusual case. He has seen things that would make the most hardened street samurai go pale. There is no such thing as an innocent in Mongol’s world view and is willing to work for anyone who pays. That said however he is intensely loyal to those he considers friends.

13. What are the character's goals?

Mongol desperately wants revenge on the media corp that funded his tribe. He doesn’t have a clue what corp that is, but has also quickly come to realize that even taking down a small corp would be an almost impossible task.

14. Why does the character run the shadows? (Why does she run the shadows still, rather than getting a "real" job?)

Mongol has fallen into the shadows because it’s the only profession that would hire him on. The military is out, that would put on the networks radar as soon as they scanned for cyberware, likewise with almost any security agency. Mongol doesn’t even know Seattle well enough to be a cab driver or a courier.

15. What kind of personality does your character have? This should not necessarily be obviously stated in the background, as it is more important for actually playing the character, but it may colour or add mood to the history.

Mongol comes across as unusually cheerful considering his circumstances. This is a deliberate attempt to make as many friends as possible among the people he works with and find people he can count on to watch his back. He tends to talk with his hands a lot to try and supplement his English.

16. What special qualities does the character possess? This does not refer to skills, but rather to other things, such as how she gets along with people, whether she plans ahead, etc.

Mongol is very, very good at small unit tactics. He works well with others in a firefight, and can communicate without relying on technology, shouted code words, hand gestures, ect. He’s someone you can count on in a firefight.

17. Are there certain things that the character can't or won't do? Why?

Mongol would need an exceptional reason to turn on a comrade. Once his loyalty is earned, it takes something truly extraordinary to cause him to betray a friend.

18. What things, people, or ideas does the character hate?

Mongol hates the desert wars. He finds the very concept abhorrent. It’s a blood sport, where in his experience the players hardly even know they are participating, and certainly have no choice in the matter.

19. What things people, or ideas does the character love?

Mongol loves the fact that he is finally free to choose his own destiny.

20. What is the character's name? Give both full birth name, as well as nicknames, street names, etc.

His real name, is Min-Bi. It was given to him after the ceremony where he became a man. His streetname is Mongol. He earned that largely due to his appearance and the fact that when his 10,000 daggers contact put him in touch with the Ork Underground his OU contact was told to look for the “Guy who looks like a Mongol.�

21. Determine what your character used to do, before becoming a shadowrunner (very important).

Mongol was a warrior. He also helped smuggle opiate based drugs out of Central Asia to the coast.

22. Decide why your character left her old job, if she had one (also important).

His tribe was destroyed, his family slaughtered, and he had no future in the steppes. Lone wolves don’t last long there.

23. Come up with a reason for why the character became a shadowrunner. (This very often will tie in with #22. This is not the same as #14, but rather why she started running the shadows originally. What led her to it?)

Money, and a desire to do something.

24. How did your character come to know her contacts? Contacts are an important part of Shadowrun, decide how and why you know them.

the 10,000 Daggers had a working relationship with the Black Smoke tribe. The Daggers would often provide material to the tribe in exchange for drugs, and other loot that they acquired. They even fought together on occasion. As a warrior in the tribe Mongol worked with them quite closely. They were also his ticket out of China.

Mil-Spec (fixer): Mil-Spec was the first native that Mongol actually met. His contact from the 10,000 daggers put them in touch and Mil-Spec has been looking at Mongol under the microscope, trying to determine what group of runners he might mesh with.

25. Does the character have a SIN? Does the character actually use it? Or is the character one of the SINless masses? This may be affected by the character's previous employment.

No SIN. Doesn’t even really understand the concept. He does have a fake that was given to him by the Daggers but other than the fact that he is supposed to be a “merchant Seaman� doesn’t know much else about it.

26. Is the character a full-time shadowrunner? Or does the character lead a Batman-like double existence?

Full time runner (he hopes)

27. Which person(s) or group(s) do you love the most?

Doesn’t love anyone (alive) at the moment

28. Which person(s) or group(s) do you hate the most?

Horizon. Like mentioned before however, he’s impressionable and can probably be sold on almost any cause.

29. Which person(s) or group(s) do you respect the most?

He respects the Street-Samurai (named Chrome Tiger) from Combat Mage. He thinks that his how a Shadowrunner should behave. He also has a lot of respect for Mil-Spec.

30. Which person(s) or group(s) do you fear the most?

Horizon.

31. What is your favourite colour?

Blue. He loves the open sky.

32. What is your favourite food and/or drink?

Horsemeat.

33. What place would you most like to visit?

Visit? Hell he wants to figure out where he is now.

34. Which person(s) or group(s) are you most loyal to?

The tribe. Right now, the tribe only consists of him. Hopefully that will expand.

35. What pastime (that you participate in regularly) gives you the most enjoyment? (Warning: Answering Sex for this question can and will result in penalties to your character!)

Wandering the streets of Seattle, taking in the sights and sounds. Sometimes he looks positively like a tourist. He recently figured out how the camera function on his comlink works and is using it to great effect.

36. What pastime (that you participate in regularly) gives you the least enjoyment?

lighting up enemy camps.

37. What annoys you the most?

Desert War fans.

38. What (if any) is your favourite form of art?

Singing/music. Mongol is actually a fairly good singer. He only knows folk tunes from his native land but he’s quickly becoming quite the audiophile for catchy tunes that he hears in Seattle. He’s completely unbiased with regards to genre. He’s as likely to be caught humming the stuffer shack jingle as he is to be listening to Mozart.

39. What is your greatest goal?

Destroy Horizon.

40. What do you think is your characters best quality?

His loyalty and ability to fill almost any combat role.

41. What do you think is your characters worst quality?

Probably his naiveté.

42. What is the most important thing you have ever done?

He caused a 3 point jump in the networks ratings after a particularly heroic assault on an MET camp.

43. Which religion (if any) do you follow?

The aforementioned Chinese animism/ancestor worship

44. What is your most treasured possession (and why)?

A necklace made from scrap metal and grenade pins, that was given to him by his wife. He believes that through it is wife’s spirit watches over him.

45. What are your three most common dreams?

Mongol only has one recurring nightmare, he is running towards a camp on the horizon that never gets any closer. A helicopter flies overhead and fires rockets into it at which point it bursts into flames and his wife and children start running beside him. They’re on fire though but they won’t stop so that he can put it out.

46. What is the Character's current relationship with her family?

Dead.

47. If the character's family is still alive, what do they do, and where do they live?

N/A

48. Where did the character learn her Skills?

[-]Fighting[/-] Surviving on the Mongolian Steppes.

49. Does the character have a good luck charm? What is it, and why?

Yes, the necklace given to him by his wife.

50. What type of music does the character like?

Mongol doesn’t know enough about the music scene to have any genre bias’. He just likes music. He misses the songs that the tribe used to sing at night though.

51. List any past serious relationships that your character has had, and give a brief overview of the relationship.

His dead wife, and other tribe members. A mercenary company exterminated them because his tribes popularity had slipped among the Desert War’s core demographic. They were beginning to focus more on drug smuggling than fighting.

52. Where does your character live? Why does she live there?

Mongol rents half a room at the Poor Seamans Hostel on the Tacoma docks. It’s operated by a Catholic charity and as long as he doesn’t start a fight, they’re willing to leave him alone. He lives there because one of the crewmembers on the boat told him it was a decent place to stay and gave him directions. He paid for two months in advance, but only has a couple weeks left before he needs to find someplace more permanent. He thinks it would be nice to have his own room. He roommate irritates him.

53. Remember, your Gamemaster like detail, so if you can think of any other little details, quirks, or whatever that you think might please the almight GM, then add them in as well. Oh, and your GM won't use any of these details against you at a later date. trust me...

[Gray]

Could be quite fun smashing some Humanis. Spike will do a lot for money, though she doesn't really affiliate herself with any group in the OU, such as the SOS, etc. I see her as one of the founding members of the team, maybe the second or third to join, and as she's aging (She's getting up to 35 almost), she's starting to feel more motherly to any of the younger members of the group. Well, as motherly as you can when you're packing more cyberware than many people and you kick ass for a living. Hell, you get what I mean, right?

Glitch is 17 years old having graduated high school early, and completed 1 year at the University of Washington before getting marked for hacking a major corp. He is rather shy, but mature for his age, although he is a Media Junkie, and surfs the Matrix all the time. He is human-looking and very out of place in the Ork Underground, so any friends he has he sticks to like glue. Most of his life he'd been fairly well to do and with his soft features, Glitch had been shielded from most of the hate and discrimiantion that the Humanis represent. His recent exposure to them has left him angry and willing to do whatever he can to help end their influence on the city. He was probably in the second wave to join the team, or maybe a tag-along to one of the founders.

[Rasumichin]

Coming into the team during the second wave seems about right for my character, too.

Probably a desastrous event wiped out half of the original lineup?

Plus, i've finally come up with a name, Jacques "Saint Juste" Palminger- and the 50+ questions.

Here we go :

[ Spoiler ]

1. What is your character's Sex?

Male.

2. What is your character's physical size?

Average height for an ogre (slightly smaller than the average human), almost skinny by ogre standards (which still means well-muscled and very broad-shouldered by human standards).

3. What is the color of the character's hair, eyes, and skin?

Saint Juste is, like most ogres, completely bald.
However, he has a bioengineered, spiked mohawk (black).
Eyes are cornflower blue, skin is slightly tanned.

4. What is the character's general appearance (i.e., How does she dress, etc.)?

Mostly traditional punkrock style.
Often seen with a flatcap, spiked, painted leather jacket, jeans and either boots or canvas sneakers.
Is occasionally fond of ironically wearing a barret and black turtleneck sweater.

5. Where was the character born (City, State, Hospital Name)?

La Rochelle, France.
Born in a commune of various dropouts, hippies, anarchists, artists and similar folks that later turned into a meth lab and burned down partially (fortunately, no one was hurt seriously).


6. What is the character's date of birth?

19th August, 2048.

7. What was the character's family life like?

Treated all of the commune as his "extended family".
Generally happy childhood, though he never learned to accept boundaries for his behaviour.

8. Has the charcter begun her own family?

As far as he knows not.

9. Where or how was the charcter educated?

Homeschooled, which, given his teachers, leads to a weird mix of wide gaps in his formal education and profound knowledge of obscure academic concepts.
Learned magic from a druid/surfer and through learning by doing.

10. Has the character ever done anything else for a living?

After moving to Paris at age 15, he made a living with selling drugs, petty theft and squatting in abandoned houses- Later moved on to helping out as metahuman rights campaigner and magical paramedic.

11. What are the character's political and religious beliefs?

Anarcho-primitivist.
Has picked up some tidbits of existentialism, neo-marxism and animism, mixed with celtic religion and pseudo-catholicism.

12. Describe the character's moral code. Include how mercenary she is, whether or not she'll kill innocents, etc.

Don't accept the rule of people over others, don't hurt anybody if it's not necessary, share what you've got with others.
Don't let the unjust treatment of your fellow men go unpunished.
If you don't take action, nothing will happen.

Saint Juste has few regards for monetary issues, squandering most of what he earns.
He would never work only for money.
He'll also oppose killing innocents.

13. What are the character's goals?

Creating a world where people aren't judged for what they are born as, but for their actions, ending capitalism and other forms of exploitation and oppression.
He is fully aware that these goals will most likely never be achieved and certainly not in his lifetime, but he is convinced (from personal experience) that it is possible to create and maintain small enclaves of freedom within the system.

14. Why does the character run the shadows? (Why does she run the shadows still, rather than getting a "real" job?)

Pure coincidence.
During his stay in Paris, he got involved with a transhumanist street sam who recruited him for several runs for policlubs.
As he was already a small-time criminal, transition to shadowrunning was fluent.
All of his jobs, until now, have fallen under "hooding", with the possible exception of working for Evo and Fungitek to raise money for other operations.

15. What kind of personality does your character have? This should not necessarily be obviously stated in the background, as it is more important for actually playing the character, but it may colour or add mood to the history.

Can be a bit abrasive at first glance, but is generally kind and friendly upon closer examination.
Reckless and chaotic, prone to impulsiveness.
Enjoys life to the fullest.

16. What special qualities does the character possess? This does not refer to skills, but rather to other things, such as how she gets along with people, whether she plans ahead, etc.

Isn't that good at coordinated planing, but very flexible, able to improvise.
Generous and helpful.
Doesn't let himself get dragged down, never gives up hope if there's still a chance.
If he realizes failure as unavoidable, he has no troubles to move on.

17. Are there certain things that the character can't or won't do? Why?

Letting himself be instrumentalised by groups he opposes (right-wingers, most corps and so on).
Being ordered around.
He's fiercely independent.

18. What things, people, or ideas does the character hate?

Bigots, people who push others around or treat them badly.
Also hates soycheese, metal and tomato juice.

19. What things people, or ideas does the character love?

Generally philantropic, gets along with most people if they are unbiased enough.
Loves good food, excessive parties and loud music.
Is very fond of nature, especially beaches.
He grew up by the sea, spending many days sitting atop the old bunkers from WWII facing the canal, so being at the beach always reminds him of his childhood.

20. What is the character's name? Give both full birth name, as well as nicknames, street names, etc.

Jacques Rivers Palminger (hippie commune, remember?)
Street name Saint Juste was given to him by his first runner teammates due to his morals and a bad knowledge of catholicism on their side.
Aliases are Gaspard de Rosnay and Charles Derrida.

21. Determine what your character used to do, before becoming a shadowrunner (very important).

Wandering around, helping out for various policlubs, getting in street fights with cops, nazis and corpsec, getting loaded, squatting in abandoned houses, providing medical aid for a ghoul community, taking care of the first Changelings after the whole comet stuff.

22. Decide why your character left her old job, if she had one (also important).

Doesn't like to stay in one place for a long time and was in trouble with the law and Humanis, so moving over to Seattle and continuing his work there seemed like a good decision.

23. Come up with a reason for why the character became a shadowrunner. (This very often will tie in with #22. This is not the same as #14, but rather why she started running the shadows originally. What led her to it?)

Doesn't view himself as a runner, but an activist.

24. How did your character come to know her contacts? Contacts are an important part of Shadowrun, decide how and why you know them.

His past occupation of magical healer quickly led to him spending time at the clinic, where he volunteered to help out.

25. Does the character have a SIN? Does the character actually use it? Or is the character one of the SINless masses? This may be affected by the character's previous employment.

Owns two fake SINs, but never had a real one.
Uses them if necessary, but is generally cautious about it.

26. Is the character a full-time shadowrunner? Or does the character lead a Batman-like double existence?

Hard to say, as he does whatever he feels like.
He would also vehemently oppose to be called a runner.
Runners are, in his opinion, people whose work is system-sustaining.
Plus, he regards most of them as a bunch of cynics and psychopaths.

27. Which person(s) or group(s) do you love the most?

His childhood friends (who happen to still be in France), his family and commune and various people he met through his travels.

28. Which person(s) or group(s) do you hate the most?

Humanis and similar goons with hoods on their head. He also mistrusts the SOS, both for their anti-human bias and their negelct of innocent bystanders.

29. Which person(s) or group(s) do you respect the most?

His former magic teacher and the anarcho-primitivist communities living in Antarctica and on Echo Station.

30. Which person(s) or group(s) do you fear the most?

Toxics.

31. What is your favourite colour?

Deep red and black.

32. What is your favourite food and/or drink?

Goat cheese, dry Bordeaux and Gitannes without filter.

Connaiseur of various alcoholic beverages, especially different kinds of hurlg.
Also developed a taste for German beer during his time in the Rhine-Ruhr-sprawl and Berlin.
Loves a good falaffel (or anything with tons of garlic in it, for that matter) and well-made creme brulé, but curiously tries out the local orc cuisine.

33. What place would you most like to visit?

Australia, Antarctica.

34. Which person(s) or group(s) are you most loyal to?

AB+

35. What pastime (that you participate in regularly) gives you the most enjoyment? (Warning: Answering Sex for this question can and will result in penalties to your character!)

Rocking out!

36. What pastime (that you participate in regularly) gives you the least enjoyment?

Cleaning the lodge.

37. What annoys you the most?

Running out of booze.

38. What (if any) is your favourite form of art?

Saint Juste appreciates all forms of art, mostly music, but also painting, acting and literature.

39. What is your greatest goal?

Making the world a better place one step at a time.

40. What do you think is your characters best quality?

His sympathy for others.

41. What do you think is your characters worst quality?

Prone to addiction.
Experimented a lot with drugs in the past, including a very bad experience with BTLs.

42. What is the most important thing you have ever done?

Helping to found an ork nation in the Marienbad council.
It lasted for one and a half years, which is a very long time by Marienbad standards. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

43. Which religion (if any) do you follow?

Animism.

44. What is your most treasured possession (and why)?

Power focus in form of a bracelet made from meteor iron.

45. What are your three most common dreams?

Usually doesn't remember his dreams.


46. What is the Character's current relationship with her family?

Calls them regularly, plans to see them as soon as possible when he can savely return to Europe.
His parents where originally very upset when he moved to Paris and even more so when he told them about his later occupations, but they've reluctantly come to terms with this, accepting the fact that he is quite able to defend himself.

47. If the character's family is still alive, what do they do, and where do they live?

Various occupations all over Europe and partially also Australasia.

48. Where did the character learn her Skills?

Picked them up along the way, as outlined above.

49. Does the character have a good luck charm? What is it, and why?

Considers his flatcap to bring him good look, but doesn't take that too serious.

50. What type of music does the character like?

Punk, ska, reaggae and related styles, but generally very open minded for a scene type.
Very fond of electronic approaches towards punk rock.
Doesn't like orxploitation-related stuff (too hyped for his taste).

51. List any past serious relationships that your character has had, and give a brief overview of the relationship.

Not including making out at parties and two one night stands, these where :

Fleur, his first real girlfriend (a dwarven girl from his commune) : broke up after 3 months over their first real argument (both where 14 at that time, at that age, such things happen).

Natalie, an ork punk he met shortly after arriving in Paris. Been together for about a year and a half, then dumped her because she cheated on him.
His most traumatic experience yet as far as women are concerned.
Really. Doesn't. Like to talk about it.

Sophie, a human hermetic from Antwerp. His most serious relationship up to this point. After 4 years of travelling through Europe together, they mutually decided to split up because they didn't get along anymore, had developed a different outlook on live and so on (she moved on to sign up with SK afterwards).
That was shortly before he moved over to Seattle.
He's about over it by now.
They still call each other occassionally on birthdays and the like and, even though no one seems to manage the whole "let's stay friends" stuff, are on relatively good terms with each other.

52. Where does your character live? Why does she live there?

In a natural cave of the OU that also doubles as his lodge.
Glowmosses, mistletoes, some rugged curtains functioning as room partitions, nothing fancy.

[Samantha]

Alright so we've established that no one wants to play (openly) the sociopath psycho who wants to stab everyone (on their team) and take their stuff. That works for my character concept because I see this guy being older, maybe even in his mid thirties/early 40's . I highly doubt he'd run with you all if it was all about the money or he didn't have a fair amount of trust in you.

I see him being one of the founding members too, perhaps Doc and Spike got this idea over sutures and beer one night. Doc sees this team as a way to legitimize his operations in the OU (ie. Not get clubbed to death by SOS every other day). I see him living and operating fairly deep in the OU, much deeper than most smooth skins would be comfortable with. He counts on his rep and free health care for locals to keep him safe.

Hm... maybe Spike and Doc ran into or with each other topside a couple of years ago but Doc is just now moving into the OU. I see this as his transition from mostly legit freelance shadow doc to full blown underground shadow clinic operator.

That could work out rather well. Spike and Doc were put together on a run, and they worked very well, and so they had a few more people join up. Maybe some strange event (Like the other guy said) took out half the group. Or maybe the whole group disagreed, and Doc and Spike were the only ones on their side.

[Mister Juan]

One last little thing: I do not own Runners Companion... So all those optionals rules, I have no idea what they are supposed to represent (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sarcastic.gif)
As I'm building my rigger, is there anything I should be aware of?

[imperialus]

Rasumichin. When I was reading your background I all I could picture when you described Saint Juste's home was the scene from Monty Python's Holy Grail when Arthur is interrogating the peasants. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

As for the Code of Conduct in Runners companion it's basically just a moral code that you develop based on your character. It gives a small bonus, and a small penalty based on how they will either react to most situations or how others react to them.

From what I've read about St. Juste I'll toss an idea out (mainly because I'm stuck trying to think of one for Mongol). At least give you something to base your own code on:

Radical Anarchist
A Radical Anarchist wants to smash the system, pure and simple. He's convinced that the status quo is failing society and only through the extremes of revolution can societies ills be repaired.

Advantages: Since Anarchists are taking on 'the system' which is arguably the single most powerful force on the planet they have learned how to disappear when necessary. Safehouses only cost an Anarchist half as much as normal.

Disadvantages: Anarchists have a very difficult time not stepping in when they see what they perceive to be abuse by an authority. An anarchist must make a Composure 3 test to avoid intervening when they see someone being 'oppressed'.

[crizh]

Composure 3 test to avoid intervening when they see someone being 'oppressed'.

I had to make a composure test to avoid lapsing into Python there....

[Rasumichin]

Lapsing into Python is always appropriate.
Damn, now i have to make a composure test to resist shouting stuff about the Spanish inquisition.

@ imperialus : the code of conduct idea sounds great.
I might pick that up.
Combined with his mentor disadvantages, this might cause some trouble, but it's still below paladin level.
Could be fun.

The Monthy Python's reference was unintentional, but could work out, even though i was more thinking along the lines of a squat/atelier over here in Cologne, some 60s civil nostalgia and a good smattering of french movies from the 70s.

Here's the second draft, almost done except for fine tuning.

[ Spoiler ]

Jacques Palminger aka St. Juste

Metatype : ogre (10 BP)

Attributes (270 BP) :

BOD : 6 (20 BP)
AGI : 2 (10 BP)
STR : 4 (10 BP)
REA : 2 (10 BP)
CHA : 4 (30 BP)
INT : 5 (40BP)
LOG : 3 (20 BP)
WIL : 5 (40 BP)

INI : 7
EDG : 4 (30 BP)
MAG : 7 (60 BP)

ESS : 6


Qualities (+15 BP) :

Low-light vision
Ogre stomach

Magician (15BP)
Mentor Spirit (antogonist) (5BP)
============
Addiction (betel, mild) (5BP)
Addiction (hurlg, mild) (5BP)
Scorched (5BP)
Nano intolerance (5BP)
Immune rejection (15 BP)

Initiation (22 BP with 2 ordeals) :

Grade 2
Metamagic techniques : invoking, psychometry
Knowledge skills (22 free points) (o BP) :

French N
English (magetalk) : 2 (+2)
German : 1
Or'zet : 1
French philosophers : 1
Classic literature : 1
Policlubs : 5
Street drugs : 3
Accupuncture : 4
Punk rock bands : 3


Active skills (140 BP) :

Spellcasting (combat) : 6 (+2) (26BP)
Conjuring skill group : 4 (40BP)
Assensing (aura reading) : 4 (+2) (18BP)
Astral Combat : 2 (8BP)
Dodge : 2 (8BP)
Athletics skill group : 1 (10BP)
Infiltration (urban) : 1 (+2) (6BP)
Perception (hearing) : 1 (4BP)
Survival (urban) : 1 (+2) (6BP)
Intimidation : 1 (6BP)
Influence skill group : 1 (10 BP)

Contacts (10BP) :
Dem Bones
+some more i'll still have to make up

Spells (36BP) :

Heal
Increase Reflexes
Stunbolt
Stunball
Powerball
Influence
Control actions
Mob mood
Physical barrier
Mana static
Repair
Mind probe


Bound foci (23 BP, including (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) ) :

Spell lock (heal) : 3
Power focus : 2

Other gear (4BP) :

20000 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) , still writing this up

I'm not 100% satisfied yet, but don't think i can come up with the ~20 points to complete his knowledge skill selection, the 100 BP i'd need for a really rounded out set of mostly useless active skills or the 20BP for a sufficient list of equally useless contacts who are all sitting on another continent.
Next time, i'll go for karmagen. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/spin.gif)

But he seems terribly efficient with his insane Magic attribute, the foci and the tons of spells.
Differs from my original healer concept, though, but with his heal spell and accupuncture skills, he should be able to work as a decent sanologist.
And with Doc Taotsu already present, it's probably not that bad either.

[Rasumichin]

Seems i miscalculated the Magic cost...

Points acquired after initiation have to be bought at BP costs equalling their cost in karma, right?

I'll fix this and will most likely lower the rating.

[Rasumichin]

Dropped the Magic to 5, put the 20 points into skills and changed mind probe to false memory.
Control manipulations are going to become this character's "ends justifying the means" moral weak spot, i'm afraid.
Or i'm going to swap them for some other spells.
Would be an interesting idea, as i already have a raven shaman messing with people's heads and wanted to try something different anyway.
Might change the mentor as well then.
We'll see.

I could take the original idea and go for buffs (which appears not very effective, with the modifiers for upholding them and the possibilities a posession based tradition would have to offer in that regard) or might focus more on illusions.
Cat as a mentor would be a possibility. Or bear, if i'm going for the buffs.
Cat would mean reworking/refocussing some of the background, but that could be done.
Damn, character creation always ends up like this for me.

Stay tuned for the 4th draft, here's the third...

[ Spoiler ]

Jacques Palminger aka St. Juste

Metatype : ogre (10 BP)

Attributes (250 BP) :

BOD : 6 (20 BP)
AGI : 2 (10 BP)
STR : 4 (10 BP)
REA : 2 (10 BP)
CHA : 4 (30 BP)
INT : 5 (40BP)
LOG : 3 (20 BP)
WIL : 5 (40 BP)

INI : 7
EDG : 4 (30 BP)
MAG : 5 (40 BP)

ESS : 6


Qualities (+15 BP) :

Low-light vision
Ogre stomach

Magician (15BP)
Mentor Spirit (antogonist) (5BP)
============
Addiction (betel, mild) (5BP)
Addiction (hurlg, mild) (5BP)
Scorched (5BP)
Nano intolerance (5BP)
Immune rejection (15 BP)

Initiation (22 BP with 2 ordeals) :

Grade 2
Metamagic techniques : invoking, psychometry
Knowledge skills (22 free points) (o BP) :

French N
English (magetalk) : 2 (+2)
German : 1
Or'zet : 1
French philosophers : 1
Classic literature : 1
Policlubs : 5
Street drugs : 3
Accupuncture : 4
Punk rock bands : 3


Active skills (160 BP) :

Spellcasting (combat) : 6 (+2) (26BP)
Counterspelling : 1 (4BP)
Conjuring skill group : 4 (40BP)
Assensing (aura reading) : 4 (+2) (18BP)
Astral Combat : 2 (8BP)
Dodge : 3 (12BP)
Athletics skill group : 1 (10BP)
Infiltration (urban) : 1 (+2) (6BP)
Perception : 1 (6BP)
Survival (urban) : 1 (+2) (6BP)
Intimidation : 1 (6BP)
Influence skill group : 2 (20 BP)

Contacts (10BP) :
Dem Bones
+some more i'll still have to make up

Spells (36BP) :

Heal
Increase Reflexes
Stunbolt
Stunball
Powerball
Influence
Control actions
Mob mood
Physical barrier
Mana static
Repair
False memory

Bound foci (23 BP, including ) :

Spell lock (heal) : 3
Power focus : 2

Other gear (4BP) : still not done...

[crizh]

Seems i miscalculated the Magic cost...

Points acquired after initiation have to be bought at BP costs equalling their cost in karma, right?

I'll fix this and will most likely lower the rating.

Does that not end up saving you points?

If you soft max Magic at 5 and then Initiate, the 6th point of Magic only costs 18BP's instead of 25.

Or am I missing something?

I don't see the point of raising your Magic above 6 anyway. After that it becomes much more cost effective to improve other things.

[Rasumichin]

Does that not end up saving you points?

If you soft max Magic at 5 and then Initiate, the 6th point of Magic only costs 18BP's instead of 25.

Yes, but i mistakenly used the linear costs for raising it from 5 to 7, so i miscalculated there...

Anyway, Magic 5 should be sufficient, too.

[WearzManySkins]

Does that not end up saving you points?

If you soft max Magic at 5 and then Initiate, the 6th point of Magic only costs 18BP's instead of 25.

Or am I missing something?

I don't see the point of raising your Magic above 6 anyway. After that it becomes much more cost effective to improve other things.

Depends on the concept.
A magic rating 5 vs a rating 6 means more dice to cast spells, ritual spell casting, counterspelling, summoning, banishing, binding, ...sounds like a great deal to me. A rating 7 in magic is also a great deal, but again your concept/into comes in play.

WMS

[DocTaotsu]

Here's an idea for some group backstory, Doc and Spike were part of the original team but all those people were actually older than both of us. Brought together by a shared interest in smashing Humanis skulls those older people eventually got injured, died, or retired in some fashion. We can use these previous runners as contacts which will make for a cool dynamic between "The New Guys" the "Old Hands" and the "Crotchety Old Guys".

Just a thought. I don't have RC either so I'll probably be genning without it. Code of Conduct sounds like something Doc would have anyways, how much bp is it?

[Glyph]

We seem to have a well-rounded team, role-wise. We have muscle, magic, matrix, drones, getaway driver, healing, and face roles all covered.

Group formation-wise, it's looking like Spike and the doctor as founding members; Dancer, Glitch, Scab, and Mr. Juan's drone rigger as the second wave; and St. Just and Mongol as recent arrivals.

A few ideas for how Dancer might know/interact with some of the others:

As a child, Dancer liked to go off exploring the tunnels, resulting in many a scolding. Maybe she met a teenaged Scab then, when she was too young to have the ingrained prejudices of the other denizens of the Underground. Maybe she's still a bit protective of Scab, even though he can protect himself just fine with his magic now.

Maybe she spars a bit with Glitch, and gives him some pointers, since he's a black belt. Maybe they both follow the unlimited martial arts circuit. Maybe the drone rigger and Glitch get together, since they're both techies, and Dancer initially met the drone rigger as kind of a "friend of a friend".

Still not sure how she would have met the new guys, and still not sure how she would have gotten picked by Spike and the doctor.

[WearzManySkins]

Some Groups/contacts/organizations now have group contacts costs. Still working on more.

WMS

[DocTaotsu]

Well doc's interest in the OU is out of some insane urge to build a finer world, even if that means crawling under the streets a bit (He considers smashing Humanis scum as a bonus to his job). But I imagine most of you were funneled towards Spike and Doc through the normal channels, ie. your fixers and other contacts.
"Hey Doc, I got a couple of runners looking for work. I can vouch for them being reliable and not total psychopaths."
"Eh, sounds good enough to me, lets see how they run."

WMS,
If St. Just and Mongol are our newbies maybe this first run can be their break-in period.

How's that sound to rest of you?

[imperialus]

That works for me. It would work with Mongol's attempt to fit in.

[DocTaotsu]

Do we have a dedicated face? Or just a handful of pseudo faces? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)