OOC: Origins, Check your guns at the door Options

[krayola red]

Okay team, this is gonna be the OOC thread for the game. Before we begin, you guys are gonna have to come to a consensus on some of the following issues so I have a better idea of how to set up this game:

1) What setting would you guys like to play in? I know Seattle is the default, but if there's some other city that you've always wanted to do unsightly criminal things to, let me know! If you choose a place that you're familiar with, then be prepared for me to fuck it up beyond all recognition, because I like making stuff up. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

2) What direction do you want the moral compass of this game to point? How altruistic/evil are your characters going to be? What values do they hold? What are their limits? If you want to play a good guy, then it would probably be a bad idea for me to send you on a mission to assassinate a baby.

3) What kind of challenges would you prefer? Combat? Infiltration? Investigation? Puzzle solving? All of the above, and more? Let me know what kinda stuff you like to do in games and I'll try my best to oblige.

4) Any house rules you like? I'm probably going to come up with some of my own after I've had a chance to re-read the system, because last I remember SR4 had a lot of its own limitations, but suggestions are always welcome.

More to come if I think of anything. In addition to the above, now is the time to work on your character sheets. Forget about build point guidelines. Stat out your characters as you envision them in your head. Keep in mind that this game may run the long stretch if things go well, so it would probably be wise not to create a couple of superheroes with no room for future advancement. You guys can also coordinate with each other to ensure that your respective PCs are on a roughly even playing field, and I'll sort out any discrepancies at the end of the process.

Also, character histories - the more you give me, the more I can integrate into the game, so if you want to expand on what you wrote for the original concepts, this is a good time. Alternatively, you can choose to figure it out as you go along.

Woo hoo, let's get this party started! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/love.gif)

[BlackHat]

Copied from my PM (for Glyphs reference):

The idea is a metasapient AI (From Runner's Companion, if you don't have that, you might not be interested). Although, rather than make it a hacker or a rigger (which I think is pretty common), I wanted to play one who is in a particular drone body, which is very lifelike, and who is both interested in learning about life, and fills the role of street-sam, weapon-specialist, or covert ops. The concept is very much like Cameron from the "Terminator" TV series (no idea if you watch that or not).

"Zee" aka "Zero", "Z-0"
Occupation: Bodyguard, occasionally Close-Combat Specialist, Covert Ops
Suppliments used: Metatype from Runner's Companion, a lot of stuff from Arsenal, a couple of things here and there from other books.

Zee started out, she supposes, as a complex drone pilot program. Everything before she awoke to sapience is pretty much a blur of disjointed thoughts and concepts. This was only a few months ago - which leaves her fairly clueless about many things that your average Sprawler takes for granted. At the same time, she somehow knows (perhaps remnants of her original program) some things she could not have learned in a few months, such as how to speak and move. She hasn't had a lot of time to become accustomed to the body she found herself in, either - but, like any drone pilot, she can load up autosofts to take care of a number of tasks that the body was designed for. Like a child, she is getting used to her body, and just beginning to learn how it, and the world it exists in, works. This body is also as special as she is. It is humanoid, and very realistic (mimic modification) - similar in form to cyborg units, but rather than a CCU (for a human brain), it houses her home node. Zee's body has tactile sensors throughout its skin, a fuzzy-logic processor, and a library of software that would enable it (and thus, her) to act and behave like a human. On its own, it is fairly convincing, but is still just a dumb lifelike doll. However, with Zee's metahuman-level cognative abilities, there is a spark of intelligence in its movements and new motivations to its actions.

I have not decided if she is property, or not - she was probably stolen from some Corp (maybe "liberated" by the other player, during a Run). In any case, Zee's life is now in the shadows. She is still learning, and growing, and is, in many ways, like a child - she even looks like a harmless young girl - but her body is tough, strong, and artificial, and she would make a great addition to any shadowrunning team (filling the role of street-sam, or covert ops).

Fun Fact: My current job is for a company working on AI, so I am fascinated by them.

I don't normally play female characters, but I figured since I am blatantly taking my inspiration from the Terminator show, I might as well go with it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) I'm planning to have her look *just* like Summer Glau. Hopefully the Terminator references stop there, though. I thought it was kind of amusing that the two PCs will both be girls. What's the opposite of a sausage-fest?

Crunch-wise, I was planning to use the vehicle modification rules in Arsenal, and a "similar model" of a drone in Runner's Companion, and the mimic modification (from the new Arsenal FAQ) to put together a "discount cyborg body" (Which will actually look more realistic than the Otomo, due to the higher rating mod). Personally, I think AI is cooler than cyborgs, anyway, and a hell of a lot cooler than a character with all cyber limbs. This character has a lot of room to grow, too, so I think that will be cool to play out. Point-wise, it might be a tight squeeze, but I'm pretty sure this character will work with standard chargen rules, if we decide to go a little higher, it will just work better. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) I'll work on getting more of the crunch together this evening.

1) What setting would you guys like to play in? I know Seattle is the default, but if there's some other city that you've always wanted to do unsightly criminal things to, let me know! If you choose a place that you're familiar with, then be prepared for me to fuck it up beyond all recognition, because I like making stuff up. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

No preference. Despite 3 of my siblings living in Seattle currently, I don't know the real-life city very well - so make up whatever you like. I won't notice. Seattle seems like a good default location. We can always pack our bags and move if we need to.

2) What direction do you want the moral compass of this game to point? How altruistic/evil are your characters going to be? What values do they hold? What are their limits? If you want to play a good guy, then it would probably be a bad idea for me to send you on a mission to assassinate a baby.

I can go either way on this one. Zee is very likely to be influenced by the company she keeps, though. I think the inhumanity of something that wouldn't blink at assassinating a baby would be kind of interesting - but I had planning to have Zee learning about her humanity, and doing so would be a lot harder if she's asked to strangle kittens for a living.

3) What kind of challenges would you prefer? Combat? Infiltration? Investigation? Puzzle solving? All of the above, and more? Let me know what kinda stuff you like to do in games and I'll try my best to oblige.

Well, since you suggested it. I'll take some "All of the above, and more."
I'm guessing we'll be better suited to (light) combat, but I like all of those things, and it is always fun to be presented with something you're not necessarily good at, but can do. Also, since you said you like to keep things deadly, it would be good to switch it up a bit, so we're not constantly at risk of party-wiping. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

4) Any house rules you like? I'm probably going to come up with some of my own after I've had a chance to re-read the system, because last I remember SR4 had a lot of its own limitations, but suggestions are always welcome.

I'm always a fan of the 2x Cha free contacts house rule. Spending build-points on contacts always feels like a rip-off. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

I understand why they added software degradation rules in Unwired - but it always seems like they would make it horrendously expensive to use software (if a game ever lasted more than a month). Even putting IC on a few things to keep the hackers out costs more than a lifestyle (unless you register it with a SIN - but this is a game where you commit crimes on a daily basis). I plan to take a lot of autosofts, regardless, but it sure would be nice not to have to pay 1/4th of that money every month to keep them up to date, or to register them with a Corp (although that would be an interesting twist).

Other than that, I like a lot of the "Optional Rule" blocks in the various supplements - but none of them jump out at me as being critical.


I'll probably come back and revisit some of those questions when Glyph chimes in.

[krayola red]

I'm planning to have her look *just* like Summer Glau. Hopefully the Terminator references stop there, though.

And the Firefly references begin! Mwahaha.

I warn you that I'm a total technology buffoon, and right now all I've got are my e-book versions of SR4 core and Street Magic, so you might have to explain a lot of stuff to me during the character creation process. I was fascinated with your character idea though and wanted to see how it'll play out, so I thought it's worth the hassle. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[BlackHat]

I don't mind at all. I'm sure Glyph (if he/she/it has the extra books) can correct me if I misrepresent anything, but I'm pretty familiar with the other books - so I hope I don't.

Glyph: I was not familiar with what a "Gunsel" was, until I googled it. Assuming you didn't mean it in the prison-slang way ( (IMG:style_emoticons/default/eek.gif) ), am I correct in assuming you were planning for Tasha to be sort of a street-level character? That was the impression I got from the definition - that a gunsel was more of a hoodlem, than a hitman(or woman). You had mentioned growing up in the Barrens, so that fit - but I wasn't sure of the sort of jobs you saw her taking now. Breaking into AAA corps, or dealing with a druggie who owes the wrong dealer money?

[Glyph]

1) What setting would you guys like to play in? I know Seattle is the default, but if there's some other city that you've always wanted to do unsightly criminal things to, let me know! If you choose a place that you're familiar with, then be prepared for me to fuck it up beyond all recognition, because I like making stuff up. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

Tasha's background is pretty grounded in Seattle, so that setting would work best, although the game could certainly start out in Seattle and wind up jet-setting to other places.

2) What direction do you want the moral compass of this game to point? How altruistic/evil are your characters going to be? What values do they hold? What are their limits? If you want to play a good guy, then it would probably be a bad idea for me to send you on a mission to assassinate a baby.

Tasha is amoral in a lot of ways, but has lines she won't cross - wetwork on innocents, "sick" stuff, etc. And she will occasionally show a softer side to down-and-outers such as squatters.

3) What kind of challenges would you prefer? Combat? Infiltration? Investigation? Puzzle solving? All of the above, and more? Let me know what kinda stuff you like to do in games and I'll try my best to oblige.

It's all good. I think my favorite parts of the game are fighting and chewing the scenery. Looking back, it seems like most of my characters are combat-oriented with a side of face thrown in.

4) Any house rules you like? I'm probably going to come up with some of my own after I've had a chance to re-read the system, because last I remember SR4 had a lot of its own limitations, but suggestions are always welcome.

I like the Charisma x 2 in free contacts rule, too.


@Blackhat: Tasha is street-level, more than most of my other builds (she is one of my rare adepts with no bioware), but kind of between those two levels - shaking down punks was what she used to do, but she's not quite ready to hit an AAA yet.


What method of character generation are we using? Her background is complete, and will only need slight tweaking if her stats change. But there is a big difference between 300 BP, 400 BP, or karmagen (in Runner's Companion - I know krayola red doesn't have that book, but it's fairly easy to explain).

[BlackHat]

Well, from the sounds of it, Krayola wants us to put together the characters the way we envision them, and then look and see how many points that turns into. That said, I could see these characters fitting into standard (400 points) chargen. 300 would probably be too tight, on my end at least. I do like karmagen (if only because it makes the rules identical for character generation and later advancement - and it discourages maxing out stats.

I think it also discourages knowledge skills, though, and the rules for metavariants works for standard species, but would need to be tweeked for AIs (since their BP cost is high, but their minimum and maximum stats are in the human range). It is pretty easy to consider it a 110 point quality (and thus 220 karma) - like infected, etc - but it does complicate the issue.

Also, like you said, there's the thing about the GM not having the book. I suppose I could get behind the idea if Krayola likes the idea of using karma for character generation rather than points. From what I gathered, the actual method we use to come up with the stats, right now, doesn't matter so much as long as they're in a similar ballpark. It might matter if this trial run goes well and new members join up, though.

Unless Krayola feels strongly in favor of karma-generation, I'm going to assume we're using build points. Unless you think we'll need more than the standard 400 for any reason, lets start there and see how it treats us - if we need more to make the characters work, its always easy to add some. Starting lower down gives us more room to grow, though. I'm hoping to have a first draft at stats together tomorrow.

[krayola red]

Update: I have succeeded in my mission to procure the rest of the SR4 rulebooks! Mwa.

I'm taking a look at karmagen now and tried it out by creating a test character, but he ended up being ridiculously powerful. I have no idea how they manage to correlate 750 karma to 400 BP, because my standard karmagen character that I made without any effort can easily beat the crap out of all but the most min-maxed build point characters I've rolled up in the past. I do like the philosophy behind it though, and if you guys want a more structured character creation system, I'm going to try to revise karmagen into something less ridiculous. Hell, I think I might just do it anyway for future reference.

For now, yeah, stat your characters with a 400 BP rough baseline, and it looks like this will be a lower power level game, so keep that in mind while you create your characters.

Edit: Charisma x2 in free contacts it is!

[Glyph]

Yeah, karmagen makes nice characters, but definitely more powerful. Even if you shy away from huge dice pools, you will still end up with lavish Attributes and Special Attributes, with a dizzying array of skills. Blackhat is right about it discouraging knowledge skills - they cost Karma, so it's tempting to just a bare minimum. When I do karmagen, I need to force myself not to skimp on them. Usually, I will figure out how many free points the character would have gotten under BPs, and get that many points in skills, whatever it costs in Karma.

I have finished tweaking Tasha. Do you want characters PMed to you, or posted to this thread, or posted to the sticky thread for characters?

[BlackHat]

The other thing karmagen does really nicely (even though it sounsd like Krayola has decided to go without it for now) is opening up the option of using karma for things that you nromally can't do until after character generation. At least, IIRC, there is a note about how the GM might let you save some of your 750 points for post-character-creation stuff. The few times I have seen it used, some characters have really appreciated being able to start with some initiation or submersion.

Enough on that though. I have a draft of Zee, too, which I can post here once I get some food and get back on my computer. I'll try to post references to where various things come from so you can look them up quickly (since you probably haven't gotten a chance to memorize the new books, yet).

[krayola red]

You guys can post the sheets here. And thanks BlackHat, that'll be really helpful. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[BlackHat]

Okay first draft. Very likely to change as I get feedback from the two of you.

Picture

Using (395/400) so far.

"Zee"

[ Spoiler ]

Metatype: Digital Intellegence (110)
{Reference: Runner's Comanion pg.88}

Attributes (195)

[ Spoiler ]

- Wil 5 (40)
- Cha 7 (75)
- Int 5 (40)
- Log 5 (40)

Secondary Attributes (30)

[ Spoiler ]

- Edge 4 (30)
- Essence 0
- Magic 0

Various tertiary attributes

[ Spoiler ]

- Rating 6 (With the potential to go to rank 7, due to the Exceptional Attribute quality)
- Physical/Matrix Initiative (Usually 18, 3IP)
- System 5
- Firewall 6
- Response: Usually 9
- Matrix Condition Track 11
- Physical Condition Track 10

Skills (0)
[I'd be happy to put more points into actually having some skills, but I kind of like the idea that she is brand new to the world, and needs to develop skills - not start with them. Inexperience is one of the things I am highlighting, here.]

Knowledge (30 free)
[... dispite what I just said, I will take some free points to fill in some knowledges so she can function.]

[ Spoiler ]

- Street
- - Notable Artificial Intelligences 4 (4)
- Academic
- - Metahuman Biology 1 (2)
- - Mathematics 1 (2)
- - Matrix Theory 1 (2)
- - Artificial Intelligence 1 (2)
- Professional
- - Security Procedures 2 (4)
- - Drone Recognition 1 (Anthroform 3) (4)
- - Vehicle Recognition 1 (2)
- Interest
- - Martial Arts Trivia 1 (1)
- - Gun Trivia 1 (1)
- - Music 1 (1)
- - Dance 1 (1)
- Languages
- - Matrixese (Natural) [Mentioned in Unwired. Dunno what else a native language would be for an AI, but I like the idea of her English being imperfect.] {Reference: Unwired pg.29}
- - English 2 (2)
- - Japanese 2 (2)

Inherent Programs

[ Spoiler ]

{Reference: Runner's Companion pg. 89}
- Reality Filter 5 (Need this to realign to a new home node)
- Analyze 5 (Need this to see in the matrix)
- Command 7 (Need this to drive bodies, when not "jumped in")
- Purge 5 (A girl has to keep clean) {Reference: Unwired pg.111}
- Encrypt 5 (Need this to keep intruders out)
- ECCM 5 (To stay connected)

Positive Qualities (30)

[ Spoiler ]

- Exceptional Attribute (Charisma) (20) [Max charisma raised by 1 (to 7)]
- Piloting Origin (10) [Can jump into drones. Can load Autosofts.]
{Reference: Runner's Companion pg. 91}

Negative Qualities (-20)

[ Spoiler ]

- Uneducated (-20) [Makes some of the stranger knowledges for her to have cost more - and technical skills will cost more karma to learn. I think this fits her being a few months old.]

Contacts (14 free)

[ Spoiler ]

No idea about these, yet

Gear (50 = 248,721 / 250,000)

[ Spoiler ]

- Heavily Modified Evo MetaAssistant (6000) [68,075 hardware / 110,150 software]
- (Similar model to GM Mr. FixIt 2070 - walker drone, less of a mechanic and more of an assistant)
- {Reference: Runner's Companion pg.152}
- - Handling +1 [Increased by 1, due to touch sensors]
- - Accel 5/15
- - Speed 15
- - Pilot 4 (Response 5, Firewall 6, Signal 3) (17,000)
- - - Connections (Home Node, Fuzzy Logic, Touch Sensors, Mimic, Eyes, Ears, Radar, Nose)
- - - Rating 6 Sensor Programs (18,000) {Reference: Arsenal pg.60}
- - - - Emosoft
- - - - Weapon Watcher
- - - - Facial Recognition
- - - - Lie Detector
- - - - Noise Analysis
- - - - Visual Spotter
- - - Rating 3 Autosoft (600)
- - - - Adaptability {Reference: Unwired pg.113}
- - - Rating 4 Autosofts (2,000 x 35 = 70,000)
- - - - [autosofts]
- - - - Clearsight [ for perception ]
- - - - Electronic Warfare [ for radio scanner ]
- - - - Defense [ for self-defense ]
- - - - Maneuverability [running]
- - - - {Following comes from Unwired pg.113-114}
- - - - Home Ground
- - - - Covert Ops [infiltration]
- - - - Trailblazer [Tracking]
- - - - Chaser [Shadowing]

- - - - {Assuming I can take these as autosofts from mention under Mechanical Arms in Arsenal pg102}
- - - - [combat skills]
- - - - Automatics
- - - - Blades
- - - - Clubs
- - - - Heavy Weapons
- - - - Longarms
- - - - Pistols
- - - - Unarmed Combat
- - - - Exotic Melee Weapon - Whip
- - - - Exotic Melee Weapon - Garrote
- - - - Throwing

- - - - [physical skills]
- - - - Climbing
- - - - Disguise [ for passing as human ]
- - - - Escape Artist
- - - - Gymnastics

- - - - {These are from Unwired pg114}
- - - - [professional autosofts]
- - - - Computer
- - - - Data Search
- - - - Hardware
- - - - Software
- - - - Cybercombat
- - - - Electronic Warfare
- - - - Hacking
- - - - Armorer
- - - - Artisan
- - - - Automotive Mechanic [ for self repair, upgrades ]
- - - - Cybertechnology
- - - - First-Aid [ for med-kit operation ]
- - - - Medicine
- - - Linguisofts (2x2,000 = 4,000)
- - - - English 4
- - - - Japanese 4
- - - Mapsoft 6 (50)
- - - Simsense (200)
- - - - VR Game "PetGirl" (50)
- - - - VirtualPerson (150)

- - Body 3
- - Armor 2
- - Sensor 3(4) {Upgraded to 4 according to Arsenal FAQ}
- - Avail 4
- - Modifications
- - - AutoSoft BR/3 (Automotive Mechanic 3 - but has been upgraded)
- - - Built-In ToolKit - Automotive/Self Mechanic
- - - 2 Mechanical Arms (Strength 4 - but has been upgraded)
- - - - {Assuming Synthetic Cyberarm capacity of 8 - from Arsenal pg139. At GMs descresion, mechanical arms can be tricked out like cyberarms}
- - - - 2x Ultimate Champion Optimization (5,000) {2}
- - - - {Augmentation pg.45}
- - - - 2x Strength +3 (750) {3}
- - - - 2x Agility+3 (750) {3}
- - - - Hardening 6 (150)
- - - Walker Mode
- - - - {Assuming Synthetic Cyberleg capacity of 10 - from above rule, since the legs are just like synthetic cyberlegs.}
- - - - 2x Nightingale Feet of Fury Optimization (5,000) {2}
- - - - {Augmentation pg.45}
- - - - 2x Strength +3 (750) {3}
- - - - 2x Agility+3 (750) {3}
- - - - Hydrolic Jacks 2 (4,000) {2}
- - - - Hardening 6 (150)
- - - Sensor Package
- - - - (1) Front Camera (Eyes) (100)
- - - - - {4} Vision Enhancement 3 (300)
- - - - - {6} Thermographic (100)
- - - - - {2} Vision Mag (100)
- - - - - Hardening 6 (150)
- - - - (1) Microphone (Ears) (50)
- - - - - {2} Audio Enhancement 3 (300)
- - - - - {6} Spacial Recognizer (100)
- - - - - Hardening 6 (150)
- - - - (1) Radio Signal Scanner 6 (150) [R]
- - - - - Hardening 6 (150)
- - - - (2) Ultrawideband Radar 4 (2000) [R] {Arsenal pg.60}
- - - - - Hardening 6 (150)
- - - - (1) Olfactory Sensor 6 (nose) (3000)
- - - - - Hardening 6 (150)
- - - (1) Fuzzy Logic (2500) {Arsenal pg.136}
- - - - Hardening 6 (150)
- - - (1) Touch Sensors (1500) {Arsenal pg.145}
- - - - Hardening 6 (150)
- - - (2) Mimic 3 (15,000) {see Arsenal pg.139 & Errata}
- - - - Hardening 6 (150)
- - Skin-link (50)
- - {Various Electronic Options from Arsenal pg.58}
- - Personality Software (100)
- - Hardening 6 (150)
- - Laser-link (50)
- - Inertial trigger (25)
- - SpoofChip (500) {Arsenal pg.105}
- - Response Enhancer 3 (6,000) {Unwired pg.196}

- Worn/Equipped Gear
- - Fingernail Data Storage x10 (2,000) {Arsenal pg.63}
- - Skinweb Array (+1 ECCM) (200) {Unwired pg.200}
- - - Sinlink (50)
- - Armored Clothing [500] [Final Armor [7/3]
- - - Armor 4/0 (500)
- - Full Form-Fitting Body Armor [9,500] [Final Armor 8/4]
- - - Armor 6/2 (1,600)
- - - Ruthinium Polymer Coating (7,500)
- - - Sinlink (50)
- - - Shock Glove x2 (400)
- - - - Skinlink x2(100)
- - Nanopaste Disguise, Small x10 (5000)
- - Fake SIN 4 (4,000) "Allison Young"
- - - Fake License 4 (Radar, Cyberlimb Strength, Fubuki, Slivergun, Hacking Autosofts, Combat Autosofts) (7x400=2,800)

- Weapons
- - Concealable Holster (75)
- - Monofilimant Whip [4100]
- - - 2 8P -4 (3,000)
- - - - (1)Personalized Grip (100)
- - Garrote [110]
- - - 0 Str/2P - (10)
- - - - (1)Personalized Grip (100)
- - Ares Desert Strike [6996]
- - - 8P -3 SA 1(2) 14© (3,350) (-7/9 to locate shots by sound)
- - - - Shock Pad
- - - - Extended Barrel
- - - - Image Scope (Detachable, Top)
- - - - - Smartlink (500)
- - - - - Vision Mag (100)
- - - - External Smartgun System (Under) (400)
- - - - (2)Chameleon Coating (1,000)
- - - - (2)Electronic Firing (1000)
- - - - (2)Silencer (400)
- - - Clip of 14 Subsonic Rounds (5+4x14 = 61)
- - - Clip of EX-Explosive Rounds (5+10x14=145)
- - - - Bayonet
- - - - - Reach 2, STR/2+1P - (40)
- - Concealable Holster (75)
- - Yamaha Sakura Fubuki [4190]
- - - 4P - SA/BF 1(2) 10(ml)x4 (2000) (-7 to locate shots by sound)
- - - - (2)Electronic Firing (1000)
- - - - (1)Skinlink (50)
- - - - (1)Laser Sight (100)
- - - - (2)Internal Silencer (400)
- - - 80 Stick and Shock Roudns (640)
- - Concealable Holster (75)
- - Ares Viper Slivergun [2225]
- - - 8P(f) +5 SA/BF 4 30© 5R (500)
- - - - Smartlink, Internal
- - - - (2)Electronic Firing (1000)
- - - - (2)Gas Vent 3 (400)
- - - - (2)Underbarrel Weight (25)
- - - Clip of Flechette Ammo (300)

- Decoy Commlink
- - Disposable Commlink (300)
- - - Firewall 1
- - - System 2
- - - Response 1
- - - Signal 3

- Vehicle
- - Dodge Scoot [8,250]
- - - +1 10/15 60 1 4 2 1 (3,000)
- - - SpoofChip (500)
- - - Morphing Plate (1,000)
- - - Modifications (14)
- - - - Improved Economy [Uses electricity at half speed]
- - - - (1) GridLink (750) [Draws power / connection from the Grid]
- - - - (1) GridLink Override (2,000) [Spoofed and untracable through the grid]
- - - - (2) Additional Fuel Tank x2 (2,000) [Holds 18 hours of electricity]

- Low Physical Lifestyle (2000) - For storing the bike, weapons, and body while sleeping

- High Lifestyle For AI Home Node (Rating 6 Device - embedded in drone's chest) (10,000) - 18,200 total
- - Firewall 6 (9)
- - System 6 (9) (Connections to - Anthroform Drone, Fuzzy Logic, Touch Sensors, Mimic, Eyes, Ears, Radar, Nose, Radio Signal Scanner)
- - Response 6 (9)
- - Signal 6 (10)
- - - (1) Armor Case 6 (300)
- - - (1) Customized Interface (250)
- - - (1) Optimization (Command) (500)
- - - (1) Hardening 6 (150)
- - Response Enhancer 3 (6,000)
- - Cryptosense Module (1,000)

Assumptions that I made that could use some checking with the GM...

[ Spoiler ]

- The writeup for mechanical arms on vehicles/drones (Arsenal pg102) calls out combat skills as something that one could get an autosoft for, if the drone can perform them. I am hoping that the physical skills I called out above would make sense, too (Climbing, Gymnastics, etc). Let me know if not, and I'll scrap them.
- The description for the mechanical arm modification (Arsenal pg139) says at the GMs discretion that you can treat them like cyberlimbs. I wanted to check on that (I would be using Synthetic Cyberlimb capacity rather than Obvious, since they are lifelike limbs). I also wanted to check to make sure the same rule could be applied to cyberlegs for a realistic walker drone. (Mostly, I want the stats to match up). If you'd rather use neither, that's fine too. Zee would be a lot more human, and weak, though. ;-D
- This is sort of a two(or three)-part question, but would you A) allow the node of the drone (the processor) to be modified using the commlink modification rules (from unwired) in edition to the drone (body) being modified (using the rules for that, from arsenal) or B) Allow the rating 6 device (which can be anything) purchased as part of the AI lifestyle rules to be a second embedded processor on the drone or C) neither.

[Glyph]

Here's Tasha. I did what Blackhat did, and noted anything from something other than the main book.

[ Spoiler ]

Name: Tasha Deadeye
Gender: Female
Race: Elf

BREAKDOWN (400 Points)
Core Attributes: 180
Special Attributes: 70
Race: 30
Active Skills: 132
Qualities: +20
Contacts: 1 [+8 Free]
Resources: 7

=Attributes=
Body: 4
Agility: 6
Reaction: 5(7)
Strength: 2
Charisma: 4
Intuition: 3
Logic: 2
Willpower: 3
Magic: 5
Edge: 4

Essence: 6
Initiative: 9
Initiative Passes: 3
Physical Damage Track: 10
Stun Track: 10

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

=Qualities=
Adept
Ambidexterity
Allergy: Silver, Moderate
Nano-Intolerance [Augmentation, pg. 22]
Sensitive System

=Active Skills=
Dodge: 4
Con/Seduction: 2/+2
Etiquette/Street: 2/+2
Long Arms: 2
Negotiation: 1
Perception: 3
Pilot Ground Craft: 4
Pistols/Semi-Automatic: 6/+2
Stealth Skill Group: 3

=Knowledge Skills=
Languages>
English: N
Japanese: 3

Other Knowledge Skills>
Arms Dealers: 2
Gang ID: 3
Gun Trivia: 2
Local Area Knowledge: 2
Safe Houses: 3

=Adept Abilities=
Enhanced Perception: 2
Improved Reflexes: 2
Improved Senses:
>Flare Compensation
>Vision Magnification
Multi-Tasking [Street Magic, pg. 178]
Nimble Fingers [Street Magic, pg. 179]
Sustenance [Street Magic, pg. 179]

=Contacts=
Fixer (Connection: 3/Loyalty: 2)
Armorer (Connection: 2/Loyalty: 2)

=Lifestyle=
Low (2 Months prepaid)
Starting Money: 3d6 x 50 Nuyen

=Equipment=
ID/Credsticks:
Fake ID (Rating: 4), Fake Gun Registration (Rating: 4) x 2, Fake Concealed Carry Permit (Rating: 4), Fake Bounty Hunter's License (Rating: 4), Fake Driver's License (Rating: 4).

DocWagon Contract:
Basic (1 Year).

Weapons:
>Walther Secura Kompakt Heavy Pistol (smartlinked version) with skinlink modification, hidden arm slide, 90 EX explosive rounds of ammo, and 5 spare clips. [Arsenal, pgs. 23-24]

>Colt Government 2066 Heavy Pistol with internal smartlink, skinlink modification, concealable holster, 140 regular and 140 gel rounds of ammo, 10 spare clips. [Arsenal, pgs. 22-23]

Armor/Clothing:
Lined Coat, FFBA half suit, PPP Helmet (for riding her bike), 1,250 Nuyen worth of assorted clothing.

Commlink/Software/Simsense:
Novatech Airware Commlink with ISIS Orb OS, sim module, trodes, skinlink, and subvocal mic; Mapsoft (Seattle metroplex, Rating: 6), electronic paper, 3 VR Games, Virtual Surround Music, Wall Space, Virtual Weather, Virtual Pet (Arctic Fox).

Vehicle:
Suzuki Mirage Racing Bike.

Other:
Contact Lenses with Image Link, skinlink, and Smartlink (x 2); 2 military-surplus duffel bags (100 Nuyen each), Survival Kit, Medkit (Rating: 6) with 2 refills, Inline Skates [Arsenal, pg. 62], 1000 Nuyen worth of tattoos, Operations Cleanup Toolkit [Arsenal, pg. 63].

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

1. What is your character's Sex?

Female.

2. What is your character's physical size?

Medium height, slender build.

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

Her hair is dyed a dark blue, worn short and spikey. She has startling bright grey eyes and pale skin (with a few light freckles). She usually wears a black lipstick and lots of eyeliner. She has extensive tattooing. On her face, she has a stylized crosshairs around her right eye, and has a matching tattoo on the small of her back. A ribbon of flames encircles her navel, and her forearms have abstract tribal tattoos winding around them.

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

Tasha is usually a combination of street punk and industrial grunge. Black, studded synthleather, black workboots and jeans or a miniskirt, and usually some kind of metal or thrash band t-shirt. She has a nose stud and a pierced eyebrow. She tries to look agressive, but her efforts inspire pickup lines more than they inspire fear, to her chagrin.

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

Tasha was born in Tarislar, in the Puyallup Barrens, with the assistance of a midwife.

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

August 11th, 2048.

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

Tasha's mom and dad were poor, but relatively well-off compared to the wretched state of most of the elves of Tarislar. They ran a junk shop that sold scavenged items and the occasional bit of contraband. Her dad was buddies with one of the rank and file members of the Princes, which helped them - not because of the Princes' useless "protection", but because they didn't get hassled and extorted as much by them.

Tasha grew up bitter and cynical, resenting the Tir who left the elves of Tarislar to rot, and not romanticizing them like most of the others did (perhaps partly because she saw how pretentious and useless the Princes gang was). She quickly learned to fend for herself, and got a gun as soon as she could barter for one (her first one was a scavenged streetline special).

In her mid-teens, she left her family to try her luck in the mean streets of inappropriately-named Loveland. She got by as a gunsel and, after she scrounged an old Dodge Scoot, as a courier and numbers runner. She liked the feeling of pure freedom that she got behind a set of wheels, and soon her driving skill lagged behind only her pistol skill. Then she awakened, and quickly went from someone who was just a good shot, to someone as fast and hard to hit as a wired sammie.

Soon afterwards, she came to the attention of Renald Biggs, an ork fixer from Tacoma with ties to the Black Rains (and through them, the Cascade Orks). He offered her jobs which were more challenging but better paying. Eventually, she managed to get some fake ID and move out of the Barrens altogether, finding a small flat in a tenement in Tacoma. Crime ridden and decaying as it is, she still found it to be a big step up from Puyallup.

8. Has the charcter begun her own family?

Hardly. At this point, Tasha would see having a kid as being trapped. She isn't even ready for a long-term relationship at this point in her life.

9. Where or how was the charcter educated?

Tasha was home-schooled by her parents, who still dreamed of emigrating to the Tir someday, and wanted their child to be able to fit in there. She retained some basic reading and math skills, although she has forgotten the cultural lessons about the Tir, which she never saw as useful (unlike her parents, she realized that they were stuck there unless THEY did something about it).
Most of her lessons, though, were learned on the unforgiving streets. Her shooting and driving skills were especially important to her, so she devoted a lot of time to bettering herself in those areas.

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

Legitimate work is not something that is even on her radar. Even if she could find it, why play by the rules in a rigged game?

11. What are the characters political and religious beliefs?

Tasha is pretty cynical (but apathetic) politically. She has reacted to her parents' mindless adulation of the Tir by embracing the opposite views - despising the Tir, defying the typical stereotypes of elves, and indescriminately hanging out with other metatypes.

Religiously, she wavers between agnosticism and a vague deism. She doesn't really give it that much thought, most of the time.

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

Tasha is mercenary-minded and cheerfully amoral, although there are a few lines she won't cross. She kills when she needs to defend herself or do a job, but won't kill indiscriminately. Thrill-killers repulse her. She will do wetwork, but not against defenseless or innocent targets, and she has a slight soft spot for squatters and others who are down on their luck. She avoids drugs and BTLs, fearing anything that could potentially derail her focus - she realizes that she can't depend on anyone but herself, and if she messes herself up, it will be the downward spiral that she has seen in too many other people.

13. What are the character's goals?

At this point in time, Tasha is barely aware of the future, much less making any plans for it. Survival tops the list, followed by getting better gear and more money. She would love to make enough to retire someday, but unlike many 'runners, she realizes that the odds are against her surviving that long.

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

Tasha doesn't respect authority, or have too many non-illegal options for making a living. She took to running naturally, since it was a logical step up from the muscle and messenger-girl jobs she used to do. The only alternatives that she could see were joygirl (no way) and hustler (she had a bit of aptitude for that, but not as much as she had for violence), so she became a hired gun so she wouldn't wind up as a victim.

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.

Tasha tries to act like a badass, but can't quite pull it off... yet. Her attempts come off more as cute or fiesty than intimidating. Despite her tough-girl act, she tries to avoid confrontations. She knows that she is no good in a brawl, so a fight usually results in her pulling out a gun. And she doesn't like to do that if it's not a life and death confrontation. But she also grew up in an environment where saving face was all-important, so she will still shoot someone if the alternative is looking weak.
She is promiscuous, but is more comfortable coming on to someone. She is a bit more nervous when someone is hitting on her.

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.

Tasha is driven to succeed, partly because she sees the price of failure as being either death, or a slower death of being weak in a world of predators. This also makes her a bit of a control freak.

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

Tasha finds it extremely difficult to back down from confrontations, even when she knows she is outclassed. She also finds it difficult to get emotionally close to people, or to admit it when she is.

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

Tasha is a real tattoo snob. It's an art form to her. She has nothing but disdain for people who get drunk and get a tattoo. She thinks "gang" tattoos are almost as bad - they are taking an expression of individuality, and turning it into an expression of conformity. She hates bigots of all stripes, but especially elves, since that hits closest to home. She despises the Tir, and will cheerfully blame them for everything from the Tarislar refugees, to the elven gangs, and for fueling anti-elven prejudices by being pointy-eared nazis.

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

Tasha likes parties, riding her bike at high speeds, and the adrenaline rush that she gets from her work. She is also attracted to "bad" boys or girls. She hasn't admitted her attraction to danger to herself yet - it is what is behind some of her less than well-thought-out decisions, as well as the tendency of her relationships to self-destruct. In addition to being a tattoo snob, she is also a gun snob. She listens to industrial music, but is actually indifferent to it. She really prefers classical music, an odd taste that she picked up from Renald. She loves her bike, and will talk to it as if it were a person sometimes. She likes her virtual pet, but finds it more therapeutic than anything else - she usually winds up replacing her virtual pet after 6 months or so - which is still far longer than her romantic relationships last.

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

Her "real" name is Tashana Willowbough, but Tasha is what she answers to now - her fake ID lists her as Natasha Wilder, and her street name is Tasha Deadeye, or sometimes just Deadeye.

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

Tasha was a cheap hired gun, then branched out a bit into courier and messenger type jobs. When her awakening lifted her out of the crowd of gun-toting punks, she moved up the criminal food chain.

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

Shadowrunning isn't really a "new" job for her, just a step up the ladder of illicit activity.

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?)

After her awakening, she caught Renald's eye, and started getting better, and higher-paying, jobs from him, moving up to the big time (although she is still small-time for a 'runner).

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, just as Tasha defies the typical stereotype of an elf. He has ties to the Ork Underground, the Cascade Orks, and perhaps the mafia. He has helped Tasha get set up in her new life, and has been a good source of gear and jobs for her. She is unusually (for her) respectful of him, and the main impetus of her professionalism (when she finds a job distasteful) is that she wants to be thought of as a reliable runner by him.

Sabot (Armorer) is a thin, sour-faced dwarf whose face only brightens when he is talking about his favorite subject, guns. He is a meticulous craftsman, if slightly pricier than most. He doesn't have the most pleasant of personalities, but he softens up a bit for people like Tasha who share his reverence for firearms. She first found out about him from talking to some soldiers from Fort Lewis at a bar. She found his location - only a few blocks away from Tacoma's fortress-like police department - a bit intimidating at first, but has been impressed with the quality of his work.

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.

Tasha 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?

Tasha is a full-time (but still a bit green) runner.

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

Renald and Sabot are the people that she has been in the longest relationship with, and she respects both of them a great deal. Her other, non-business relationships tend to be more intense, but to not last that long.

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

All racists, including the Tir. She also has little respect for gangers, who seem like petty bullies and scavengers to her.

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

Metahuman rights groups such as Mothers of Metahumans. What's most boggling is that they actually get results without violence. Tasha doesn't even know how that could WORK.

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

The Spikes. She has been fortunate enough to not encounter any of them yet, but she heard horror stories about them from the Princes, and the local rumormill seems to confirm that they are bad news.

31. What is your favourite colour?

Black, but red and metallic make good accents to it.

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

She really loves hydroponic produce and kobe beef - both of which are out of her price range other than as a rare treat. Since gaining her sustenance ability, though, she has been able to enjoy higher quality food (since she doesn't need to spend as much on quantity).

33. What place would you most like to visit?

She would love to hit one of the big downtown Seattle night spots someday, like Dante's or Club Penumbra.

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

She is very loyal to her contacts. She also has a soft spot for people down on their luck, and tends to root for the underdog.

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!)

Tasha likes parties and other events that have an edge of danger to them.

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

Despite her love of danger, sometimes it is daunting to keep living up to her tough-girl front.

37. What annoys you the most?

People who try to bully her.

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

Tattoos are her first love, but she also enjoys classical music.

39. What is your greatest goal?

To become a prime runner.

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

Her drive to succeed.

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

Her addiction to danger, and her tendency to be a control freak.

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

She saved someone once, a man in a suit who was bleeding and being chased by two grim-faced men with guns. Impulsively deciding to help, she shot the two pursuers, then helped the man in the suit to a cab. she never found out that she had helped to bring down a mid-sized corporation, and she has almost forgotten the incident.

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)?

Her racing bike, which she sometimes talks to. She loves riding at high speeds.

45. What are your three most common dreams?

> In an old west town. Sometimes the dream is like a firt-person shooter, but other times it is a nightmare, where huge trolls in Spikes colors are chasing her, and her pistol inexplicably will only shoot flowers or bubbles.

> 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.

> On her bike, flying at exhilarating speeds, sometimes through a bizarre cityscape, and sometimes through a volcanic wasteland. Sometimes there is a floating traffic sign, which talks to her.

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

She is a bit contemptuous of them, and hasn't even bothered to keep in touch with them.

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

Her parents are probably still running their little junk shop, and dreaming of going to the Tir someday.

48. Where did the character learn his Skills?

The streets, mostly, and the school of hard knocks.

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

An old shell casing that she wears on a charm bracelet, but she is not superstitious, and it is more of a security blanket than anything else.

50. What type of music does the character like?

Classical, although she doesn't mind industrial or any other kind of dance club music.

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

None, really. The closest she got was this guy she shacked up with for about a week, named Josh, who got too possessive and annoying for her, so she ditched him. He stalked her for a while afterwards, which she thought was kind of cool, but after he approached her again, and got told that she left him because he was really kind of a poor performer in the sack, he apparently snapped and started sniping at people from a rooftop with an old hunting rifle, until a LoneStar helicoptor shot him with an LMG.

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

Tasha lives in a dinky, low-class flat in a decaying industrial area. The utilities are rationed, and you always want to keep the deadbolts locked when you're not there, but it's her OWN place. The neighbors are noisy, but she doesn't care. Nothing wrong with people who know how to party. The apartment itself is obsessively neat, if a bit spartan.

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)

Tasha is an up-and-coming runner, not in the league of the big boys, but still to be reckoned with. She has a lot of room to grow. Her most serious limitation is her lack of any melee skills, but that's part of the intial character concept, and she will pick up some close combat abilities as she gets more experienced.

[BlackHat]

I'll try to steal the 50 background questions, and see how many I can answer right now and learn somethign about Tasha at the same time.

Another addition. Contacts.

[ Spoiler ]

Using Advanced Contact rules from RC pg124
14 points to buy a Loyalty 1, Connection 4 Virtual Group contact (~20 members +1, Global Influence +6, Broad Reaching Matrix Resources +2)

Zee has recently made contact with a handful of other AIs, all over the world, via the Matrix. She is like a child, to them, unproven and naive, and focused entirely on the material world - but she is one of them, so they occasionally look out for her, provide information, or even find her work that suits her talents)

I might spend some of the leftover 5 points here, too, but I haven't decided what I want to do with that.

I would also be interested (see question 53 below) in taking an "enemies" flaw (that isn't normally allowed to AIs) even if I don't get points for it. I would leave the details up to Krayola, and basically let him use it as he sees fit - but basically let there be some mysterious corporation out there who knows more about Zee than she knows about herself, and who occasionally send people to look for her, or try to take her in.

They might be bad guys, or good guys looking to get her back home, but either way, Zee's not going to risk it. Maybe she's been freaked out, because a few times she's been "attacked" while alone, after killing the guy, she noticed with her ultrawideband radar sensor, that they had a long number of some sort eched on their collar bones too - tipping her off that someone is after her. (See question 20 below)

[ Spoiler ]

(Bull's 50+ Questions) -

1. What is your character's Sex?

None, really. Looks female. Acts female. Good enough for me.

2. What is your character's physical size?

5' 8", Petite but athletic.

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

Hair is usually worn dark brown. The color is changeable as easily as synthetic hair. Artificial, but realistic. Its a pain to replace, so rarely cut shorter. Then again, it never grows. Eyes are also dark, but can change with the same effort as cybereyes. Skin is light, ultra-realistic. Can blush. Has limited control of tan.

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

Zee usually wairs a set of armored street-clothes (including black boots, jeans, and a grey shirt - see picture) when doing day-to-day stuff. When on an important mission, she has a skin-tight ruthinium-coated body-suit, to go along with her chameleon sniper-gun, and other high-tech ultra-deadly gear.

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

Unknown. Zee does not know where her body was constructed, or precisely where it was when she first sparked intelligence. For as long as she can remember (which is only a few months back) she has been in Seattle.

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

Unknown. Pretty State of the Art stuff, here, so it is unlikely that her body is an old model. Zee's digital intelligence was "born" roughly 3-4 months ago. The exact date is unknown. The transition from pilot program and personality software to metasapient AI was a smooth one.

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

Zee has never known a family. For this reason, she is likely to attach herself to the first group or individual to take her in. Presumably she has a 'family' of sorts - in that someone, a Corp, most likely, must have created her, and probably wants her back. However, she has not known them, and it is unlikely they would treat her like family if she did.

The global AI community might be considered another family, of sorts - and one whom she has recently attempted to make contact with - but other than making contacts across the world, she has not formed much of a connection with any one AI, yet. Most of them seem more interested in the digital world than the real one.

8. Has the charcter begun her own family?

No. The body is advanced - but not THAT advanced. Even if she had access to a premium facility and could put another drone together, the process of evolving a digital intelligence is not one that she (or anyone else) understands, or could control. It would be a stillborn birth.

9. Where or how was the character educated?

Zee has only begun her education. She understands some things - some things that one does not just spontaniously come to understand. This is likely a byproduct of her original programming. Other, more practical things, such as how to behave, speak, act, run, move, and fight are things she is still learning. In a pinch, she can depend on autosoftware that was on the body to "load" the relevant program and perform.

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

Zee hasn't been around long enough to make much of a name for herself. She's gotten some jobs doing security (at bars, or as a bodyguard) from time to time, and her deadly efficiency was immediately recognized as being on par with some street-sams (which is what she appears to be). She quickly moved on to bigger-time stuff.

11. What are the characters political and religious beliefs?

Zee has no opinion politically, at the moment. Politics have not had much of a direct effect on her life. It would be a very interesting subject, should it come up. Religion is a subject that has at least come up before. Zee wonders, if there is anything to religion to begin with, if her 'kind' have souls - or are souls. Again, while Zee is fascinated by the concept, she doesn't often have an opportunity to discuss it at length with the people in the circles she has been traveling in.

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

Zee is still developing her own moral code. She feels inclinations towards various things, but often contradicts herself. One moment, she will be holding back to avoid seeming out of the ordinary, the next moment she'll tear a man's arm off. She has a problem killing or harming people that she has gotten to know - unless they are a threat to her.

13. What are the character's goals?

Zee does not plan very far into the future yet. Her past is less than 4 months long, so thinking much more than that into the future is difficult. Like a child, years seem like an eternity, right now.

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

As a non-person, she has few other options. Officially, she doesn't exist. She could declare her existence, and sapience, and seek citizenship under recent legislation, but doing so would probably forgo her newfound freedom. Zee has only recently begun making decisions for herself - she is not ready to hand those decisions over to anyone else, just yet.

That said, she would probably prefer to live as "normal" a life as she can muster. However, he talents lie in combat, and everyone in the shadows seems out to exploit her, so she seems drawn to violent illegal activities.

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 color or add mood to the history.

Zee's personality probably comes off as "off" on occasion, but she was built to appear real, and her software includes programs to appear real, emotionally, as well. She can even run personality software, to mimic personality traits - usually to impersonate someone. When that is her intention, she can be convincing, but she is still learning what emotion and personality is all about. On more than one occasion, she has been known to react strangely, such as reacting calmly to violence, or not reacting to pain, at all.

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.

Potential. Zee is shiney and new, but has the potential to grow into an amazing being - if she can survive long enough on her own. Her body is a magnificent piece of technology, but the most amazing things about it usually relate to how normal and realistic it can appear. This has a lot of potential for social interaction, and developing interpersonal relationships. She represents the potential for a bridge between the living and digital intelligence communities.

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

Zee has difficulty planning far ahead. She is only a few months old, so it would be strange for her to consider what she will be doing a year from now. As she matures, this will likely change. She also tends to try to blend in with people and appear normal when experiencing day-to-day life. She knows most people would treat her differently, if they understood how different she really was. That won't stop her from opening up a can of whoop-ass on some guy who tries to rob her (or worse) in a dark alley at night - but when she is at a club, she won't be doing parlor tricks with her drone-parts to get attention, either.

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

I'm not sure Zee has experienced true "hate" yet. She has not become emotionally attached to anything enough to have that attachment betrayed or threatened by any group. She will unquestioningly destroy anyone who threatens her existence - but this is self-preservation, not hate.

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

Zee enjoys interacting with people. She always wants to learn more, about them, and about how they interact with each other. She enjoys all kinds of company. She has never been "in love" or even gotten very close to any one person, yet. She responds well to people who treat her kindly, and this has led to a series of situations where someone has manipulated her by taking advantage of her naivete.

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

Zee is not certain if her creators have given her a name - or even if her particular line of humanoid drones have a Marketing name, yet. Her ultrawideband scans of her body revealed "Z-0" eched into her collar bone. She has no idea what this means, but offered it to someone, once, when asked who she was - which led to a number of nicknames like "Zero" or "Zee-Oh" before "Zee" finally stuck.

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

Zee is unsure what she did before becoming self-aware. Her body suggests some sort of pleasure-bot or drone meant for social interaction. Her programming suggest something more violent and illegal - perhaps assassination.

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

Once Zee awoke, and began creating her own commands, she had nowhere to go. She found some help finding places to crash, and people to help her out, but she needed to do a few favors to help them out first. From the get-go, she was pulled into the Shadows.

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?)

After a few bodyguarding or security gigs, it became apparent that she was cybered six ways from Tuesday and her talent as a street-sam or weapons-specialist made her perfect for some better-paying jobs.

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

Still working on these.

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.

Zee does not have a SIN, but she does have fake ID and other paperwork now. The fake paperwork suggests that she is a cybered human, rather than a sapient program.

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

Zee has mostly bounced around

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

Zee doesn't really "love" anyone, yet. She probably feels the strongest connection towar

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

Zee doesn't really "hate" anyone, yet, but probably feels the most negatively towards corporations. She has recently discovered, after making contacts with other AIs, that many corporations have attempted to claim ownership of rogue AIs - and basically treat them as slaves. A few corporations look good by offering AIs citizenship, but she has heard horror stories about just what they expect in return.

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

Zee respects those who embrace life, rather than just going through the motions. She respects those who stand up for others, and who are generally good and caring people. She also respects people who are interested in others, and curious about things.

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

Zee fears anyone or anything that threatens to end her existence. That is the one real thing she has. She is not aware of it, yet, but she also fears her own past, to some extent. She understands that she must have existed, in some form, before the point that her memories begin - and has no idea what she used to do, or who she used to do it for. She doesn't consciously understand this, yet, but this is one reason she has laid low, and attempted to blend in - she is afraid that her past will catch up to her, and that she won't like it.

31. What is your favourite colour?

Neon. Is that a color? Zee likes lights, of all colors.

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

Zee requires only electricity. I am not certain that her... 'plumbing' will allow for consumption of food. Drinks, maybe. She recently got her hands on a crappy little dodge-scoot, with some modifications to allow it to draw power from the Grid, unnoticed by the powers that be - and attached a few backup batteries on it. Between that, and plugging in, inconspicuously, from time to time, she has gotten by without running out of power, often. However, when her batteries run low, the drone body occasionally needs to go into standby mode, until more power is available. At that point, the node is able to run almost indefinitely (like any other piece of electronics in 2070), but the body cannot move, sense, or act.

33. What place would you most like to visit?

She would love to see more of the city, and, eventually, the world. Social places like clubs, have a lot of interest for her - because that is where people gather to interact.

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

Zee is, thus far, loyal to almost everyone that treats her well (and a few that did not, but were good at hiding that).

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!)

Interacting with other people, and learning more about what she can, and can not, do.

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

Being used. Zee does not appreciate being treated as a tool for other people to use to reach their own goals. She doesn't mind doing work, in exchange for money or favors - but a few times, when she found out she had been tricked, or lied to, it ended poorly for the person who used her.

37. What annoys you the most?

The amount of control the "powers that be" attempt to exert on every other living being. She is annoyed by the bureaucracy and hoops that must be jumped through on a daily basis - from tracking her datatrail, to checking her SIN every time she gets on a bus. She does not understand why everyone else in the world accepts this sort of treatment, or how it came about in the first place.

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

Music. Secondly dance. She likes to experience how her body moves, and reacting to music is sort of like being a part of it.

39. What is your greatest goal?

Zee's greatest goal is to understand her world. Everything.

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

Her potential, or her adaptability.

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

Her inexperience and naivete.

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

Besides becoming self-aware, and surviving four months on the streets of Seattle on her own? Nothing much, actually.

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

None. She does not practice religion, but is fascinated by the concept.

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

Her body. It is almost a part of her being, and it is the thing that makes her the most human.

45. What are your three most common dreams?

Do AIs dream? They sleep (called Realligning) but if the process of her code recompiling and reorganizing itself causes anything analogous to dreams, it would be memories from before she was "aware" coming to her consciousness. Brief flashes of events or scenarios that she cannot remember ever taking place. Something about a facility - with hundreds of mindless humanoid bodies just like hers. A man, with a pleasing face, and a sense that he is kind and good. A logo, of a stylized bird.

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

If, by family, you mean the corporation that created her - she has none.

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

A mystery! I assume the corporation exists, and that they have noticed their missing drone. Whether they know about the metasapient AI that developed there, or not, is another story.

48. Where did the character learn his Skills?

Everything Zee knows is either ingrained in her programming, or was picked up by experience in the last couple of months.

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

No. Not at the moment.

50. What type of music does the character like?

She likes all kinds of music - or other forms of creative expression - but has spent a lot of time at clubs, and likes to dance.

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

Zee has made a small handful of friends in Seattle's lower-end districts. She bounced around a little bit, looking for safe places to stay, and going out of her way to meet people, but always seemed to meet new people, and eventually moved on - sooner, if they got close to her secret, or too interested in her past. Although a number of men have shown interest in her body (and more than a few have had their hands broken for getting grabby), she hasn't actually dated anyone. She is interested in people, but has not yet focused that interest on any one person, in particular.

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

Zee rents a crappy bare apartment in a lower-end part of town. She mostly just needs a place to keep her bike, and a place to stash her body when she realligns every night. She doesn't have to pay for food, decorations, or other human comforts, but her electricity bills are unusually high, and the power is not all that reliable. She keeps batteries that store enough juice to get her through the night most of the time, but this was what led to her picking up the Scoot - which can draw a days worth of power from the city grid. She also spends as little time at home as possible, since there is nothing interesting or new to do there.

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 almighty 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)

Zee has a secret to keep, and a past that is a mystery even to her. I wouldn't be opposed, at all, if at some point some people came looking for her, or someone else decided they wanted to take her apart to see how she ticked. This is part of the reason she is attempting to blend in, and learn about people. At the same time, perhaps the people looking for her would be nice - interested in the new AI, but willing to show respect, and would make good allies - or even a family.

Zee is currently not going to find out, if she can help it. Her new AI contacts have her a little spooked about corporations, and she is enjoying her independence. There will be, however, some part of her that is curious where she came from, and who made her, and why.

Again, first-draft, I might alter a few things - I was basically making that up while I wrote it.

Now, Krayola, are you looking for our characters to already be acquainted (which might cause us to change some background things, if we know one another), or to meet in play? Either one works fine, for me.

[krayola red]

Holy crap BlackHat, that is one beefy character sheet. Makes my head hurt just looking at it. I'm not even gonna try to figure it all out now, I trust you to know what you're doing, and I'll try to work it out as we go along. Quick question though: What's the point of increasing the Agility of your mechanical limbs? As far as I can tell, drone tests replace physical attributes with their Pilot rating. Is it used when you jump into the drone? Also, how did you get an Initiative of 18?

Greenlight on the commlink modification rules, though getting armor casing will make it significantly more obvious that you're a robot. What are the ramifications of making your home node a second processor?

[Glyph]

I think I will need to completely re-work Tasha. For two combat characters, there is way too much of a disparity in the power levels. I need to either beef her up, or change her focus to something else like face.

[krayola red]

Wait, there is? Drones roll Pilot + Targeting Autosoft for combat tests, yeah? As far as I can tell, Zee's host has a Pilot of 4 and rating 4 autosofts, for a grand total of 8 dice. What am I missing?

Edit: Aside from Fuzzy Logic, which apparently adds another +2.

[BlackHat]

{From Arsenal pg.102} A drone acting on its own with limbs, rolling skill tests (like guns, or fighting) would roll Pilot+Autosoft+Handling, a jumped-in rigger would roll response+skill (or autosoft, in this case)+handling. It isn't listed there, but a "remote-controlling" hacker uses command in place of response there.

Come to think of it... no, agility doesn't seem to matter. I figured it would help on agility-based tests, but it appears not. Still, we might as well leave it in, and say she's quick. The strength matters for punching or kicking or whatever, but the agility doesn't seem to make a difference.

Initiative of 18 comes from matrix initiative: Response 9 (node has response 6, from lifestyle, increased by 3 from being the AIs home node), + Intuition 5 + 3 from Response Enhancer + 1 assuming that agents, sprites, and AIs get the same VR bonuses everyone else gets. I just noticed that having a customized user interface also gives a +1 bonus to matrix initiative so its actually a 19.

Drones and Jumped in Riggers both use their matrix initiative to act in the drone, even though it is acting in the real world (and 3 initiative passes).

As far as the armor casing, if I went with that, I would just want it to be an extra layer around the processor to protect it from being destroyed after the body is disabled. If it would make things more obvious, that's okay, just assume I don't take that one.

Lets see, ramifications of second processor... mostly, two nodes - potentially that would allow more programs doing things - physcially located next to one another. I prefer the first option, actually, where the drone IS the home node, and there is only one node on there - but I wanted the home node to have some modifications (optimized for command, and customized interface). If you don't mind allowing the drone's node to be customized separately from the drone's physical modifications - that is probably the safer way to rule.



@Glyph: I'm sorry that Zee made you not want to play Tasha the way you envisioned her. I could probably pull Zee back a little bit too, and we could meet somewhere in the middle. I like the idea of two combat oriented chicks, especially if one is magical and the other technological - but I agree that we would want them to be in the same class.

Seems like we'd have the same IPs, similar dice pools, etc already (Zee will have 13 or so dice, you look like you've got 16 with pistols, but much less with other types of combat). Zee would be able to mix it up with close-combat, as well as ranged, and she has a higher initiative score, but that just means going first - doesn't really affect what she can do in a round.

Are there other areas where you think Tasha isn't up to snuff? It might be easier for me to pull back on Zee than for you to push forward with Tasha.

[Glyph]

Actually, I have nearly finished re-working her as a face. Turned out pretty well, actually, and I was able to keep her distinctive qualities (tattoos, good with a pistol, good on a bike, etc.). I think it's better for me to re-do Tasha. A face actually works better as the companion to a newly-assimilating AI, and they won't be as redundant in their specialties. I am done re-working her stats, but I need to go down her 50 questions - the change from insecure gunsel to smooth-talking face will alter some parts of her background and personality.

[BlackHat]

As long as you're happy with her. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
I promise to let you shoot some bad-guys too.

[krayola red]

BlackHat: Would you by any chance be able to point me to the page that says riggers can use autosofts when they're jumped in? The rules seem to be all over the place and I'm having a hard time tracking it down. I was under the impression that they use their own skills when they jump into a drone. Also, go ahead with making your device a second processor if you want to.

Anyway, keep it up, guys! It's worth noting that one of the things I'm gonna try to do for this first run is to re-acquaint myself with the rules, so feel free to go nuts and try crazy stuff out when developing your characters. You'll probably have to re-make your PCs later on anyway if we decide to continue and bring more players on board. Let me know when you've finalized your sheets, and I'll fire up the IC thread.

To answer BlackHat's earlier question, unless you guys reeeaallly want to create a shared history, we're gonna do this the old fashion way and have you meet in game. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Glyph]

Okay, here's the re-worked version of Tasha:

[ Spoiler ]

Name: Tasha Deadeye
Gender: Female
Race: Elf

BREAKDOWN (400 Points)
Core Attributes: 180
Special Attributes: 50
Race: 30
Active Skills: 126
Qualities: +15
Contacts: [14 Free]
Resources: 29

=Attributes=
Body: 4
Agility: 4 (6)
Reaction: 5 (6)
Strength: 1
Charisma: 7
Intuition: 3
Logic: 2
Willpower: 3
Magic: 4 (5, reduced by bioware)
Edge: 2

Essence: 5.00
Initiative: 9
Initiative Passes: 2
Physical Damage Track: 10
Stun Track: 10

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

=Qualities=
Adept
Ambidexterity
Allergy: Silver, Moderate
Distinctive Style (5 point) [Runner's Companion, pg. 103]
First Impression
Gearhead/Suzuki Mirage [Runner's Companion, pg. 98]
Nano-Intolerance [Augmentation, pg. 22]
Sensitive System

=Active Skills=
Gymnastics/Dance: 4/+2
Influence Group: 4
Intimidation: 2
Perception: 4
Pilot Ground Craft/Bikes: 4/+2
Pistols/Semi-Automatic: 6/+2

=Knowledge Skills=
Languages>
English: N
Japanese: 3

Other Knowledge Skills>
Arms Dealers: 2
Gang ID: 3
Gun Trivia: 2
Local Area Knowledge: 2
Safe Houses: 3

=Bioware=
Biosculpting: Minor Modifications (2,000 Nuyen) [Augmentation, pg. 60]
Muscle Toner: 2
Synaptic Booster: 1
Vocal Range Enhancer [Augmentation, pgs. 66-67]

=Adept Abilities=
Commanding Voice [Street Magic, pg. 176]
Improved Ability:
>Gymnastics: 2
Improved Senses:
>Flare Compensation
>Vision Magnification
Kinesics: 4
Multi-Tasking [Street Magic, pg. 178]
Sustenance [Street Magic, pg. 179]

=Contacts=
Fixer (Connection: 5/Loyalty: 4)
Armorer (Connection: 2/Loyalty: 3)

=Lifestyle=
Low (1 Month prepaid)
Starting Money: 3d6 x 50 Nuyen

=Equipment=
ID/Credsticks:
Fake ID (Rating: 4), Fake Gun Registration (Rating: 4) x 2, Fake Bioware Permit (Rating: 4) x 2, Fake Concealed Carry Permit (Rating: 4), Fake Bounty Hunter's License (Rating: 4), Fake Driver's License (Rating: 4), 4 Certified Credsticks.

DocWagon Contract:
Basic (1 Year).

Weapons:
>Walther Secura Kompakt Heavy Pistol (smartlinked version) with skinlink modification, hidden arm slide, 90 EX explosive rounds of ammo, and 5 spare clips. [Arsenal, pgs. 23-24]

>Colt Government 2066 Heavy Pistol with internal smartlink, skinlink modification, concealable holster, 140 regular and 140 gel rounds of ammo, 10 spare clips. [Arsenal, pgs. 22-23]

>5 Flash-Bang and 5 Smoke Grenades.

Armor/Clothing:
Lined Coat, FFBA half suit, PPP Helmet (for riding her bike), 2,000 Nuyen worth of assorted clothing.

Commlink/Software/Simsense:
Novatech Airware Commlink with ISIS Orb OS, sim module, trodes, skinlink, and subvocal mic; Mapsoft (Seattle metroplex, Rating: 6), electronic paper, 3 VR Games, Virtual Surround Music, Wall Space, Virtual Weather, Virtual Pet (Arctic Fox).

Vehicle:
Suzuki Mirage Racing Bike.

Other:
Contact Lenses with Image Link, skinlink, and Smartlink (x 2); 2 military-surplus duffel bags (100 Nuyen each), Survival Kit, Medkit (Rating: 6) with 3 refills, Inline Skates [Arsenal, pg. 62], 1000 Nuyen worth of tattoos, Operations Cleanup Toolkit [Arsenal, pg. 63].

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

1. What is your character's Sex?

Female.

2. What is your character's physical size?

Medium height (petite for an elf), well-proportioned.

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

Her hair is dyed a dark blue, worn short and spikey. She has startling bright grey eyes and sanguine skin. She usually wears a black lipstick and lots of eyeliner. She has extensive tattooing. On her face, she has a stylized crosshairs around her right eye, and has a matching tattoo on the small of her back. A ribbon of flames encircles her navel, and her forearms have abstract tribal tattoos winding around them.

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

Tasha is usually a combination of street punk and industrial grunge. Black, studded synthleather, black workboots and jeans or a miniskirt, and usually some kind of metal or thrash band t-shirt. She has a nose stud and a pierced eyebrow. On the stunning elf, the look is more alluring than intimidating.

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

Tasha was born in Tarislar, in the Puyallup Barrens, with the assistance of a midwife.

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

August 11th, 2048.

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

Tasha's mom and dad were poor, but relatively well-off compared to the wretched state of most of the elves of Tarislar. They ran a junk shop that sold scavenged items and the occasional bit of contraband. Her dad was buddies with one of the rank and file members of the Princes, which helped them - not because of the Princes' useless "protection", but because they didn't get hassled and extorted as much by them.

Tasha grew up bitter and cynical, resenting the Tir who left the elves of Tarislar to rot, and not romanticizing them like most of the others did (perhaps partly because she saw how pretentious and useless the Princes gang was). She quickly learned to fend for herself, and got a gun as soon as she could barter for one (her first one was a scavenged streetline special).

In her mid-teens, she left her family to try her luck in the mean streets of inappropriately-named Loveland. She got by as a gunsel, street hustler, stripper/sometime-joygirl, and, after she scrounged an old Dodge Scoot, as a courier and numbers runner. She liked the feeling of pure freedom that she got behind a set of wheels, and soon her driving skill lagged behind only her pistol skill. Then she awakened, and her social skills seemed to improve exponentially.

Soon afterwards, she came to the attention of Renald Biggs, an ork fixer from Tacoma with ties to the Black Rains (and through them, the Cascade Orks). He offered her jobs which were more challenging but better paying. Eventually, she managed to get some fake ID and move out of the Barrens altogether, finding a small flat in a tenement in Tacoma. Crime ridden and decaying as it is, she still found it to be a big step up from Puyallup.

8. Has the charcter begun her own family?

Hardly. At this point, Tasha would see having a kid as being trapped. She isn't even ready for a long-term relationship at this point in her life.

9. Where or how was the charcter educated?

Tasha was home-schooled by her parents, who still dreamed of emigrating to the Tir someday, and wanted their child to be able to fit in there. She retained some basic reading and math skills, although she has forgotten the cultural lessons about the Tir, which she never saw as useful (unlike her parents, she realized that they were stuck there unless THEY did something about it).
Most of her lessons, though, were learned on the unforgiving streets. Her shooting and driving skills were especially important to her, so she devoted a lot of time to bettering herself in those areas.

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

Legitimate work is not something that is even on her radar. Even if she could find it, why play by the rules in a rigged game?

11. What are the characters political and religious beliefs?

Tasha is pretty cynical (but apathetic) politically. She has reacted to her parents' mindless adulation of the Tir by embracing the opposite views - despising the Tir, defying the typical stereotypes of elves, and indescriminately hanging out with other metatypes.

Religiously, she wavers between agnosticism and a vague deism. She doesn't really give it that much thought, most of the time.

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

Tasha is mercenary-minded and cheerfully amoral, although there are a few lines she won't cross.

She is aware that being a gunsel and con artist, in addition to being promiscuous and fickle, and rather bluntly honest at times, makes her enough enemies already. So usually she goes out of her way to be nice to people, not take advantage of them, and be mindful of their comfort zones. She wants them to still like her AFTER her presense has worn off.

Generally, she would rather talk than fight. She kills when she needs to defend herself or do a job, but won't kill indiscriminately. Thrill-killers repulse her. She will do wetwork, but not against defenseless or innocent targets, and she has a slight soft spot for squatters and others who are down on their luck.

She avoids drugs and BTLs, fearing anything that could potentially derail her focus - she realizes that she can't depend on anyone but herself, and if she messes herself up, it will be the downward spiral that she has seen in too many other people.

13. What are the character's goals?

At this point in time, Tasha is barely aware of the future, much less making any plans for it. Survival tops the list, followed by getting better gear and more money. She would love to make enough to retire someday, but unlike many 'runners, she realizes that the odds are against her surviving that long.

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

Tasha doesn't respect authority, or have too many non-illegal options for making a living. She took to running naturally, since it was a logical step up from the hustling and messenger-girl jobs she used to do. The only alternatives that she could see were even more unpleasant, so she became a hired gun and con artist so she wouldn't wind up as a victim.

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.

Tasha is an adrenaline addict, although it is tempered by the grim realities of growing up on the streets, and her survivor's instincts. She has a lively, outgoing personality, and loves being with people, although she can be a bit too intense for some people.

Underneath her surface cynicism, she is actually a fairly nice person, but she is still ruthless when she needs to be, to survive.

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.

Tasha is driven to succeed, partly because she sees the price of failure as being either death, or a slower death of being weak in a world of predators. This also makes her a bit of a control freak.

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

Tasha finds it difficult to get emotionally close to people, or to admit it when she is.

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

Tasha is a real tattoo snob. It's an art form to her. She has nothing but disdain for people who get drunk and get a tattoo. She thinks "gang" tattoos are almost as bad - they are taking an expression of individuality, and turning it into an expression of conformity. She hates bigots of all stripes, but especially elves, since that hits closest to home. She despises the Tir, and will cheerfully blame them for everything from the Tarislar refugees, to the elven gangs, and for fueling anti-elven prejudices by being pointy-eared nazis.

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

Tasha likes parties, riding her bike at high speeds, and the adrenaline rush that she gets from danger. She is also attracted to "bad" boys or girls. She hasn't admitted her attraction to danger to herself yet - it is what is behind some of her less than well-thought-out decisions, as well as the tendency of her relationships to self-destruct. In addition to being a tattoo snob, she is also a gun snob. She listens to industrial music, but is actually indifferent to it. She really prefers classical music, an odd taste that she picked up from Renald. She loves her bike, and will talk to it as if it were a person sometimes. She likes her virtual pet, but finds it more therapeutic than anything else - she usually winds up replacing her virtual pet after 6 months or so - which is still far longer than her romantic relationships last.

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

Her "real" name is Tashana Willowbough, but Tasha is what she answers to now - her fake ID lists her as Natasha Wilder, and her street name is Tasha Deadeye, or sometimes just Deadeye.

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

Tasha was a street hustler and cheap hired gun, then branched out a bit into courier and messenger type jobs. When her awakening lifted her out of the crowd of street punks, she moved up the criminal food chain.

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

Shadowrunning isn't really a "new" job for her, just a step up the ladder of illicit activity.

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?)

After her awakening, she caught Renald's eye, and started getting better, and higher-paying, jobs from him, moving up to the big time (although she is still small-time for a 'runner).

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, just as Tasha defies the typical stereotype of an elf. He has ties to the Ork Underground, the Cascade Orks, and perhaps the mafia. He has helped Tasha get set up in her new life, and has been a good source of gear and jobs for her. She is unusually (for her) respectful of him, and the main impetus of her professionalism (when she finds a job distasteful) is that she wants to be thought of as a reliable runner by him.

Sabot (Armorer) is a thin, sour-faced dwarf whose face only brightens when he is talking about his favorite subject, guns. He is a meticulous craftsman, if slightly pricier than most. He doesn't have the most pleasant of personalities, but he softens up a bit for people like Tasha who share his reverence for firearms. She first found out about him from talking to some soldiers from Fort Lewis at a bar. She found his location - only a few blocks away from Tacoma's fortress-like police department - a bit intimidating at first, but has been impressed with the quality of his work.

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.

Tasha 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?

Tasha is a full-time (but still a bit green) runner.

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

Renald and Sabot are the people that she has been in the longest relationship with, and she respects both of them a great deal. Her other, non-business relationships tend to be more intense, but to not last that long.

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

All racists, including the Tir. She also has little respect for gangers, who seem like petty bullies and scavengers to her.

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

Metahuman rights groups such as Mothers of Metahumans. She also read the diary of Tamir Grey (listened to the audio version, actually), but is still undecided on ghoul rights - they essentially are plague victims, who can pass it on, and most of them DO fit the stereotype of feral monsters.

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

The Spikes. She has been fortunate enough to not encounter any of them yet, but she heard horror stories about them from the Princes, and the local rumormill seems to confirm that they are bad news.

31. What is your favourite colour?

Black, but red and metallic make good accents to it.

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

She really loves hydroponic produce and kobe beef - both of which are out of her price range other than as a rare treat. Since gaining her sustenance ability, though, she has been able to enjoy higher quality food (since she doesn't need to spend as much on quantity).

33. What place would you most like to visit?

She would love to hit one of the big downtown Seattle night spots someday, like Dante's or Club Penumbra.

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

She is very loyal to her contacts. She also has a soft spot for people down on their luck, and tends to root for the underdog.

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!)

Tasha likes parties and other events that have an edge of danger to them.

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

Despite her love of danger, sometimes it is daunting to keep living up to her wild party girl reputation.

37. What annoys you the most?

People who try to bully her.

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

Tattoos are her first love, but she also enjoys classical music.

39. What is your greatest goal?

To become a prime runner.

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

Her drive to succeed.

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

Her addiction to danger, and her tendency to be a control freak.

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

She saved someone once, a man in a suit who was bleeding and being chased by two grim-faced men with guns. Impulsively deciding to help, she shot the two pursuers, then helped the man in the suit to a cab. she never found out that she had helped to bring down a mid-sized corporation, and she has almost forgotten the incident.

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)?

Her racing bike, which she sometimes talks to. She loves riding at high speeds.

45. What are your three most common dreams?

> In an old west town. Sometimes the dream is like a firt-person shooter, but other times it is a nightmare, where huge trolls in Spikes colors are chasing her, and her pistol inexplicably will only shoot flowers or bubbles.

> 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.

> On her bike, flying at exhilarating speeds, sometimes through a bizarre cityscape, and sometimes through a volcanic wasteland. Sometimes there is a floating traffic sign, which talks to her.

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

She is a bit contemptuous of them, and hasn't even bothered to keep in touch with them.

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

Her parents are probably still running their little junk shop, and dreaming of going to the Tir someday.

48. Where did the character learn his Skills?

The streets, mostly, and the school of hard knocks.

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

An old shell casing that she wears on a charm bracelet, but she is not superstitious, and it is more of a security blanket than anything else.

50. What type of music does the character like?

Classical, although she doesn't mind industrial or any other kind of dance club music.

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

None, really. The closest she got was this guy she shacked up with for about a week, named Josh, who got too possessive and annoying for her, so she ditched him. He stalked her for a while afterwards, which she thought was kind of cool, but after he approached her again, and got told that she left him because he was really kind of a poor performer in the sack, he apparently snapped and started sniping at people from a rooftop with an old hunting rifle, until a LoneStar helicoptor shot him with an LMG.

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

Tasha lives in a dinky, low-class flat in a decaying industrial area. The utilities are rationed, and you always want to keep the deadbolts locked when you're not there, but it's her OWN place. The neighbors are noisy, but she doesn't care. Nothing wrong with people who know how to party. The apartment itself is obsessively neat, if a bit spartan.

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)

Tasha is an up-and-coming runner, not in the league of the big boys, but still to be reckoned with. She has a lot of room to grow. Her most serious limitation is her lack of any melee skills, but that's part of the intial character concept, and she will pick up some close combat abilities as she gets more experienced.

[BlackHat]

BlackHat: Would you by any chance be able to point me to the page that says riggers can use autosofts when they're jumped in? The rules seem to be all over the place and I'm having a hard time tracking it down. I was under the impression that they use their own skills when they jump into a drone. Also, go ahead with making your device a second processor if you want to.

Normally, riggers CANNOT use autosofts. You're right about that. However, the "Drone Origin" quality (RUnner's COmapnion, in the AI section - reference in character sheet) comes in two levels. THe 5-point level just lets you jump into a drone the way a rigger does. The 10-point version, which is what I took for Zee, allows you to load autosofts like a drone pilot.

To answer BlackHat's earlier question, unless you guys reeeaallly want to create a shared history, we're gonna do this the old fashion way and have you meet in game. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

That sounds fine to me. I don't feel strongly about it, either way.

[krayola red]

Affirmative. The IC thread will be up shortly. Warm up your dice, 'cause I'm gonna drop ya'll right in the middle of the action.

[BlackHat]

Speaking of warming up our dice, is there a particular method for rolling you prefer? Invisible Castle? Honor System? etc?

Can I spend the remainin points and money (since I don't have the additional node, that actually frees up a few thousand nuyen) or should I not bother. Things look mostly good as they are, and if you said we'd probably have to revisit them after the run, there isn't anything too critical I need to do with either of those.

Any special wishes for formatting or color?

Should rolls go in the IC thread, or in the OOC thread?

Anything else we should know? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Looking forward to getting started.

[BlackHat]

First thing I want to check, is that the ultrawideband radar sensor can see through up to 20 barrier-rating-worth of material (so hopefully through a shitty apartment wall) - so from behind the couch (or maybe popping a head up) to see if I can make out where the intruders are (perhaps to shoot through the barrier at them, or at least know when they get to the door).

Perception check: Sensor (4) + Clearsight (4) = 8 dice
[2,2,3,6,2,2,3,1] = 1 hit.
It is unclear, since this has visibiity modifiers like ultrasound, if you should use rules for normal vision, or rules for picking up signatures (BBB pg162) which are much better at noticing cars, than people. Even if I should take a -3 penalty for detecting metahumans, I should net one hit, which should be enough if they're rushing a door, and not sneaking around. If they're sneaking, its an opposed check, and they can probably beat me.

Current program loadout:
Edit: Found problem with my reasoning here. Check next post.