[X] My Assistant

[TKDNinjaInBlack]

Someone had mentioned having a soft spot for riggers and vehicle rules in another topic and it got me thinking about how some of my buddies always play the same kind of character archetypes whenever we launch a new campaign. One of my current players is playing a combat tank bounty hunter pretty close to his standard character of a street sammy. Another player just recently broke his common mold and actually ended up not playing a neurotic chemist/alchemist mage/demolitions character. Another guy at the table told me how he always plays a shaman.


So the question goes out, and especially to those who have been playing Shadowrun over multiple editions and many years, what's your favorite team roll/character archetype to play?

Me? I like to favor a Martial Arts based adept or Mystic Adept, and usually an ork.

[krayola red]

I like to play lesbian el...oh wait, we're talking about archetypes. Mages then. Definitely mages. I likes the mojo.

[Malachi]

I was the one who mentioned Riggers... I like playing Riggers. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[dog_xinu]

I like changing what I play everytime we have a new campaign/game.. so mage this time.. then a gun bunny.. then a decker.. err hacker.. then ...

[crash2029]

Generally speaking, I usually play specialized generalist type characters. I often lean towards a type of combat but I like to play characters that have a broad array of abilities. I like flexibility. I don't mean being best in every area, but if one of the specialists is out of commision I like to be able to at least fake it on my harmonica. Usually I end up playing a talker (face/investigator/whatever) who is at least able to saunter, if not walk. Although I admit many of my characters have an obsession with cool. I mean almost every game I play in, no matter what game system it is, my characters try to pull off James Bond stunts. I have been known to deliberately increase difficulty on tests just to make it look cool.

Long story short, I play generalized faces.

[Fortune]

I typically tend to play non-tech-oriented characters. Various gun-bunnies and mages of all sorts, typically with a splash of face, are much more my cup of coffee (I hate tea! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) ).

[Ruin-Gar]

I tend to prefer either mages or faces. I love social characters, but I also loving blasting, and the Occult Investigator is one of my favorite mage types, period (thanks to a love of noir and urban fantasy).

[TheOOB]

I usually end up playing the mage, partially because I have the best understanding of the magic system and astral space in our group(what can I say, I've always been able to wrap my head around the metaphysics of imaginary worlds), and that I just typically play magic users in general. Otherwise what I play varies, though it will often resemble a character from a show I have been watching recently.

[Cain]

I can play anything, but I like the gun bunny's and mage's roles a lot. The magician is power with a touch of subtlety. With your ability to command various aspects of magic, you are easily the most versatile person on the team. And the samurai is good for more than just shooting things. You're the one everyone looks to for battlefield tactics, and to protect them in a fight. As a result, you're also the one everyone tends to look to for overall strategies.

[TheOOB]

With your ability to command various aspects of magic, you are easily the most versatile person on the team.

While true, I find that team members often over estimate a mages versatility. You can only cast spells you know, and they get expensive, and spirits can't do everything. That said I often build my mages twords a specific goal so I don't step on too many toes as to not bruise any tender egos.

[Cain]

While true, I find that team members often over estimate a mages versatility. You can only cast spells you know, and they get expensive, and spirits can't do everything. That said I often build my mages twords a specific goal so I don't step on too many toes as to not bruise any tender egos.

Well, it depends on what you're going for. It's way easy to hyperspecialize a character, sometimes even by accident. The best approach is to spread out your secondary skills a bit. That way, for example, you're not treading on the toes of anybody else, but keep your versatility.

The trick with mages is to focus on the things only magic can do. Build the rest of the character as you wish, but don't use magic where mundane skills will do. Save the magic for when you need it, and be very good at it.

[Uli]

I play technophil characters, who adore and embrace SotA technology. That's why my mage is a chaosmage, has cyberware, and is a computer/hardware freak. These characters tend to be highly intelligent and be the brain in the group and have or develop moral qualms about their collegues, addictions, or other bad habits. I like the tragic, unstable geniuses. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

[Blade]

I play a lot of different archetypes, but my mages tend to use guns as much if not more than magic and they often have useless spells or at least spells that I've never seen anyone use.
Nearly all of my characters are good at facing, because I love playing faces and I have a hard time restraining myself in a negotiation.

[Cantankerous]

Well, trolls allot, usually troll tanks, but almost always also cerebral (for a troll) and philosophical guys. Sometimes I like me a Elf Razor/Gun Bunny/Faceman and once in a while I'll play a Shaman, usually human then and often Ute.


Isshia

[Cain]

Well, trolls allot, usually troll tanks, but almost always also cerebral (for a troll) and philosophical guys. Sometimes I like me a Elf Razor/Gun Bunny/Faceman and once in a while I'll play a Shaman, usually human then and often Ute.

Heh. Back in SR3, I played a Troll sammie/tank who had an Art History knowledge skill at 9. He was very cerebral, but with his Charisma of 1, he liked going to museums and seeing if he could make the curators cry. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Tachi]

I'm still looking for my first game. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/notworthy.gif)

But, I find myself most interested in gunslinger adepts and gunbunnies.

[Cantankerous]

Heh. Back in SR3, I played a Troll sammie/tank who had an Art History knowledge skill at 9. He was very cerebral, but with his Charisma of 1, he liked going to museums and seeing if he could make the curators cry. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Big Blue, an old favorite of mine, is an accomplished Blues Musician (plays the whaa whaa trumpet like nobody else, with his lung mods he can hold a note until YOU get tired (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) ) and writes reams of sonnets ...in old English.


Isshia

[Drogos]

I play anything, but I tend to prefer to play mages or adepts. I tend to have a decent grasp of all the rules (60% rules lawyer) and I tend to cover my specialized rule set in depth.

[TKDNinjaInBlack]

I see we are clearly missing a majority of deckers/hackers and save Malachi, riggers.

[Cthulhudreams]

I have a minimum set of dicepools in a number of skills I will achieve with any character.

Then I always pick two things and try and do both. So a mage/face or a hackerai or whatever. Often mage/X because mages are so complementary, especially hacker mages - its totally irrelevant what tradition you choose, and you can make a decent hacker with two skill groups and some cash.

I particularly like that blend because mages convert karma -> power and hackers convert money -> power, so you can always advance your shtick.

[Drogos]

My GM is a rigger lover. Hackers/deckers have always been in the minority with out group, though I've played a couple ehre and there. Oftentimes Adept Hackers though, due to shear awesomeness. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Wesley Street]

I find faces and infiltration experts fascinating as I enjoy social/charismatic characters or ones that rely on wit and guile rather than the biggest guns.

[Cang]

I like to play a general character, my first and favorite is a dwarf with a small splash of cyber, a variety of skills, and all the gadgets he could carry. I mean i had felix's the cats magic bag, anytime we came up with something i had an item to handle it. I didn't even use it sometimes, i would just hand it off to the person who could use it the most. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Ryu]

It´s either riggers or mages for me. I´m torn on what to play next...

[Malachi]

I see we are clearly missing a majority of deckers/hackers and save Malachi, riggers.

There's nothing quite like living in a Ford-Canada Bison with 20 points of concealed armor and a pop-up minigun turret.