Another Character Build 400BP-Roy Hanson-Catholic Church Hitman/Sniper, Thoughts, revisions, and general quibble are welcome. Options

[Blackb1rd]

FREQUENTLY EDITED TO REFLECT SUGGESTED CHANGES *LAST EDITED AT 1802 (EST) ON FEBRUARY 16 2010*

Well, my character just essentially got killed off, more specifically sent to Horizon for Rehab... grim stuff. So I've spent the better part of the past couple days writing a new one. His name's Roy Hanson, at least that's one of his name's. He's a sniper/hitman employed by tthe Catholic Church in Seattle. He's a couple month's behind on his rent as well...

Just as an aside, GM house rules are applied in this build. The SINs at ratings 5/6 are legit, as are the weapons and ammunition.

Roy Hanson
Hitman- Catholic Church

Qualities:

Negative:
Addiction: Moderate Crimson Orchid +10BP
In Debt 10,000 Nuyen +10BP
Actively Prejudiced: Gays +15BP

Positive:
Blandness 10BP
Astral Chameleon 5BP
Adept 5BP

415BP

Metatype:
Elf 30BP

385BP

Attributes:

Body 3 30BP
Agility 5 30BP
Reaction 4(6) 300BP
Strength 3 20BP
Charisma 4 20BP
Intuition 4 30BP
Logic 3 20BP
Willpower 2 10BP

205BP

Edge 2 10BP
Magic 3 20BP

Adept Powers:
Improved Reflexes 2 (2.5M)
Improved Ability: Longarms (.5M)

175BP

Initiative: 8(10)
Initiative Passes: 3

Skills:

Stealth 4 40BP
Longarms 5(6) 20BP
Specialization: Sniper Rifles 2BP
Pistols 4 16BP
Con 4 16BP
Negotiation 3 12BP
Perception 4 16BP
Dodge 3 12BP
Pilot Groundcraft 3 12BP

Knowledge Skills: 21 Free Points

Professional:
Firearms 3
Catholic Church Operations 4
Residential Security 4
Black Market Operations 2

Interests:
Hard Liquor 3
Horizon News Broadcasts 2
Seattle Politics 2

Languages:
English (N)
Latin 1

29BP

Gear: 14BP Available: 70,000¥ +10,000¥ (In Debt)

Rover Model 2068 25,000¥
Fake Vehicle SIN 6 600¥
Standard Black Backpack 250¥
HK PSG Enforcer 4,800¥
Smartgun System 400¥
Tripod (Included)
Silencer 200¥
Imaging Scope (Included):
Image Link 25¥
Vision Enhancement 3 300¥
Vision Magnification 100¥
6 Spare Clips 30¥
APDS Rounds 100 700¥
Standard Ammunition 300 600¥
Flechette Rounds 100 1000¥
AV Rounds 100 1200¥
Hollow Point Rounds 100 500¥
Silver Bullets 40 1000¥
Rifle Case 300¥
Colt Government 2066 500¥
Concealable Holster 75¥
Silencer 200¥
2 Spare Clips 10¥
Standard Ammunition 150 300¥
Novatech Airware 1250¥
Iris Orb 1000¥
Agent 2 2000¥
Subvocal Microphone 50¥
Form Fitting Body Armor 1600¥
Thermal Damping 6 3000¥
Sunglasses 250¥
Flare Compensation 50¥
Smartlink 500¥
4 Pair Dark Jeans 160¥
8 Long-sleeved Woven Shirts 75¥
2 Pair Casual Dress Shoes 110¥
6 Pair Boxers 60¥
5 Pair Black Socks 30¥
3 Long-sleeved Collared Shirts (Black) 150¥
Medium Length Armored Jacket (Black) 900¥
5 Stimulant Patches 6 750¥
2 Trauma Patches 1000¥
Rating 6 Fake SIN: Roy Hanson 6000¥
Concealed Carry License 6 600¥
Driver’s License 6 600¥
Gun License (2) 6 1200¥
Rating 5 Fake SIN: Jeromy Rentner 5000¥
Concealed Carry License 5 500¥
Driver’s License 5 500¥
Gun License (2) 5 1000¥
Rating 5 Fake SIN: John Tanner 5000¥
Concealed Carry License 5 500¥
Driver’s License 5 500¥
Gun License (2) 5 1000¥
1 Month Medium Lifestyle 5000¥
33 Crimson Orchid 1000¥
2 Bottles Whiskey 100¥
1 Bottle Vodka 40¥
3 Bottles Bourbon 180¥
2 Bottles Cognac 140¥

Starting Nuyen: 4D6+4(100¥) = 600¥

15BP

Contacts

Elizabeth Hamilton Information Broker/Enigma C6/L1
Elizabeth is what one may call the records keeper for just about every major player in the greater Seattle area. Mob Bosses, Corp Execs, Political Figures you name it, she is on all of their payrolls, supposedly keeping their information safe and secure. Of course she’s a lucrative businesswoman and couldn’t help but notice the profit she could make off of the information she held. Of course, such information doesn’t come cheap, especially form Elizabeth. If you want something from her you’d better have sufficient Nuyen. And if you don’t, don’t waste her time. All her business is done strictly professionally, unless she’s truly impressed by you, she’ll never talk about anything that doesn’t serve the sole purpose of moving a transaction along. She rarely ever holds a meeting outside of a higher class venue. She often expects her clients to pay for her drinks and meals as well, after all in her mind she is the one doing you a favor. No one knows where she came from, who she works for (if in fact she works for anyone), or how she manages to pull it all off without getting killed. She just popped up in Seattle one day and found a niche among the upper class, and it doesn’t seem like she plans on leaving anytime soon. Roy met her during a run; he was directed to take out the Commerce Secretary in the mayoral cabinet who was helping the organleggers get through some beauracratic red tape at the harbors. Elizabeth was an acquaintance of a friend and for a mere 3500¥ Roy had all the information he needed to complete the run without ANY mishaps.

Usual Meeting Places: 77 in Renton, Eye of the Needle in Downtown, Matchstick’s in Downtown, The Purple Haze in Downtown, Bellevue Crab House in Bellevue.

Archbishop Jack Wilson Handler/Johnson/Fixer C4/L4
Father Wilson, a long time fixture at the St. James Cathedral, the good Father is Seattle’s most beloved priest. He is also one of Seattle’s most successful crime bosses, but not in the sense that most people would think of. The Archbishop takes orders straight from the Vatican in Rome, and as an employee of the Catholic Church Roy takes orders directly from Wilson. There’s really not much to say about business in Seattle, other than business is good, more and more the Catholic Church has been taking the role of the vigilante in the modern world. Murder sanctioned by God- What could be a more reasonable excuse? And since the church is one of the most powerful private entities in the world there is certainly nothing stopping them from carrying out their duty. And the rules of extraterritoriality are also expertly employed by the church.

Usual Meeting Places: St James Cathedral in Downtown.

[Synner667]

With Firearms [5], he's not bad at his job...
...But I'd up the Con [so he can get past people better] and the Perception [so he can spot his target better, and any traps, etc].

Not sure a laser sight is actually worth anything, shooting a target from a decent distance away.

I take it, no 'ware is part of the character concept ??

[Blackb1rd]

You'd be correct, the lack of ware is a bi-product of the character concept "I am as God made me"- that kind of thing. He may not be incredibly religious but he definitely has respect for the religion and therefore tends to follow their guidelines.

Agreed on Con, it probably does need another point. Maybe sacrifice a point in Dodge for it?

The laser sight... can't hurt, may not be too helpful, but can't hurt. Didn't have (or more accurately couldn't think of) anything else to spend the money on.

Where do I find the 4BP to raise my perception though?

EDIT- Dropped body by a point. Added a point to both perception and con and a specialization to longarms. Figured body was the most sacrificable attribute because of the character's relatively high armor rating.

[Caadium]

You'd be correct, the lack of ware is a bi-product of the character concept "I am as God made me"- that kind of thing. He may not be incredibly religious but he definitely has respect for the religion and therefore tends to follow their guidelines.

Why not use a Smartlink with goggles/glasses/contacts? Still no cyber, but then you've got more accurate targetting. Even more important to a sniper, there is no laser to possibly give away your position/intentions.

[Synner667]

You'd be correct, the lack of ware is a bi-product of the character concept "I am as God made me"- that kind of thing. He may not be incredibly religious but he definitely has respect for the religion and therefore tends to follow their guidelines.

Erm, shouldn't he have some knowledge of the Church, some faith, some good ol' religion ??

Why not use a Smartlink with goggles/glasses/contacts? Still no cyber, but then you've got more accurate targetting. Even more important to a sniper, there is no laser to possibly give away your position/intentions.

Totally...
...Targetting sight would be compulsory, I'd think.

You might want to drop Charisma, to bump up Willpower as snipers have a very odd mindset to enable them to shoot and injure/kill non-combatants - which requires much more than just hitting targets at a distance.

[FriendoftheDork]

Nice concept, but probably easier to pull off by making him an adept. Maybe one completely ingorent of his magical ability, or thinking his ability is a gift from god, that he is chosen to kill the sinners (pun intended).

A couple of dice in shooting, Improved Reflexes 1 or two, and maybe an agility boost, and he's probably good to go.

Oh btw why not contact lenses with smartlink?

[Blackb1rd]

The Character is not even that religious... he's what one may call a spectator catholic. He's all for watching the game but doesn't really participate. He has a knowledge of Catholic Church Operations at 4, he understands the system of church hierarchy in sufficient detail. This isn't a guy who goes to Church every Sunday morning, and sits through confessionals. He doesn't read the bible and he doesn't care to. He was hired by the church to do a specific job and he's good at it. The only reason he ever steps inside a holy building is to receive the skinny on the next job.

When it comes to the adept thing I decided I just wanted a guy, who through hard work and determination, became truly exceptional at his job. He has nothing to blame but himself for all his success (or lack thereof) in life. Magic is not an excuse for his abilities... however i'm still kind of flexible with it. It's a kind of on/off thing as to whether or not i want an adept. If i do decide i want an adept, and i follow thorugh with the suggestions for abilities as described above i'd need someone to find me 20BP for magic.

The smartlink is something i considered, it also requires the smartgun system to work... so we're looking at about 900 Nuyen, if you can find the cash for me, I'll consider it.

[Blackb1rd]

Alright, after a couple hours of deep thought and diligent work I made the character an adept, still semireluctantly though. Furthermore I added the Smartgun/Smartlink only for the Enforcer though.

[Penta]

You can probably drop Latin - somehow, I suspect that if the Church is hiring hitmen, they're not using the Latin Mass anymore.(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Udoshi]

I would get an external biomonitor with a skinlink, and a skinlink for that trauma patch as well. Might just save your life. Pretty cheap, too. Also some earbuds or headphone. Sound dampening and audio enhancement is useful.

[Stingray]

Addiction to cigarettes is not "legal" negative quality..
(SR4A pg 93 "note that nicotine,caffeine and sugar do not count".)

[AngelisStorm]

Is "Prejudice: Gays" actually going to be fun to play?

If he is "only" a Hitman for the Church, and a lapsed Catholic at best, why does he have a veteran level of knowledge of Church Operations (whatever that means), equivelant to a Bachelors degree or growing up in an area?

Contact #1: why are oposing crime syndicates trusting an outsider with their trade secrets? Do they know she's working for everyone, and if so, why haven't they worked her over yet? What skills does she exclusively provide that is so valuable? (And why has no one caught on to such a person selling info?)

Contact #2: how very Sin City. Seattle's most beloved priest, mass murder for the church, utilizing cat's paws. Not really my cup of tea (at least that straighforward), but to each their own.



Personal Note: if St. Mark's Cathedral (the big Seattle Episcopal church) is still hiring openly gay priests in 2070 (and why wouldn't they be?), there might be some interesting rivally/story potential there, what with your gay-hating character, backed by a vigilante crime boss Archbishop.

[Blackb1rd]

Stingray: Thanks for that, didn't read carefully enough apparently. I will replace the addiction with some other debilitating drug.

Angelis Storm: Thanks for the reply. Elizabeth Hamilton is an interesting character, and she is very good at what she does. She's got a hand in just about everything that goes down in Seattle. Elizabeth is a legitimate name, she operates using a variety of fake SINs and disguises. No one "knows" she works for everyone. She presents herself as a sort of private security specialist, normally after gleaning some dirty secret from her would-be clients, and threatening to expose them if something happens to her. It's a system of bribery that tends to do her very well. As for real specifics- I will leave that to the NPC description: Noone knows who she really is, who she may work for, or where shes from.

I hope that is significant explanation for you.

When it comes to the characters knowledge of church operations, would you feel better if I got more specific and put it down as Church Black Ops- because that is essentially what it is. He's spent a long enough time working for the church that he knows how the system works, who the major players are, which clergy have more influence than others, and how all the information is passed along the chain.

And Sin City is the perception I get of my GM's Seattle the more and more we play.... so it fits (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[AngelisStorm]

Cool beans. Those were just my impressions.

#1. If the knowledge skills works for ya, more power.

#2. Huh, interesting. Will be interesting when/if Elizbeth gets "found out," and she calls on you to extract her from Seattle while EVERY major criminal group (and probably Lone Star's Organized Crime Unit) is gunning for her. If you suceed, she'll owe you big; maybe with enough info to effectively reorganize (if your good and lucky) the criminal scene of the Pac Northwest (with good negotiation or a liberal dose of lead poisoning).

#3. I've always wanted to play a Sin City game. Should be interesting. (I still hope the GM works in some rivalry with the Episcopals because of your character's specific background; doesn't neccessarily have to be violent. You're all "Christian" after all.)

[Karoline]

Since you asked (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

First I notice you have your body at 3 but cost of 30BP. I'm guessing from reading the other posts that you just forgot to change the cost when you changed the stat, I'm guessing your numbers still add up.

You might want to consider taking the persuasion skill group. Right now you have Con 4 and Negotiation 3 for a total of 28 BPs. For an extra 2 BP and dropping Con down to 3 you get to pick up both Leadership and Etiquette. The Etiquette I would imagine is very appropriate, especially picking up a spec in your religion when you have some free karma (Calling priest, bishop, pope, cardinal, whatever by their right title and bowing or crossing or whatever would all likely be fairly important)

Is the Gay prejudice only against men or both men and women? May want to specify as people can take it to mean either (Even though gay refers to both men and women, most people only or much more strongly associate it with men)

Slight typo with your reaction cost. I'm guessing you didn't spend 300BP on it (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Consider scraping up the 4 BP to max out longarms. 4BP now saves you 12 karma later. May even consider dropping the spec to get it if you have to because that can be bought back for a lowly 2 karma (Though I admit it sucks starting play without the specs that your character really should have)

A knowledge point from hard liquor (Or anywhere really) to some sort of general 'Catholicism' sort of knowledge skill would likely be a good idea. Basically represent that your character knows a bit about his religion, but doesn't exactly read through the bible.

I'm considering suggesting to drop the stealth group. Palming and Shadowing aren't likely to see much use, and even disguise is going to have limited affect (as you're usually just trying to make yourself not look like you, which is easy, as opposed to look like someone else in particular). Somewhat sadly the infiltration skill is single handedly what you use for most of your 'stealth' activities.

Oh, and since the only weapon you have smartlinked is you're rifle, you can put the smartlink visuals in the scope instead of having to use your glasses. It would make more sense in general because glasses get in the way while using a scope (IRL, game has no modifiers of course.)

On the subject of your rifle, consider getting the built in model silencer from arsenal (As a weapon mod). It provides a much larger bonus (actually penalty to others) in remaining undetected after firing your weapon (-6 DP for anyone trying to hear the shot or locate via muzzle flash). Subsonic rounds can help with this as well if you want to remain hidden, and a gel clip might be a good idea if you ever need to go for a non-lethal takedown.

So, just some various thoughts, take or leave them as you will. I had to look hard for these things, seems you've done a great job already.

[Blackb1rd]

Thanks Karoline, I really appreciate the look through, as always.

I will take a better look at the things you suggested when I'm not quite so busy.

[Sengir]

The Character is not even that religious... he's what one may call a spectator catholic. He's all for watching the game but doesn't really participate.

Hmmmm, why would the curch send out such a person on their top-secret missions?

[Blackb1rd]

Sengir- Talent. That's the reason, also it's written in the backstory that St James' was a refuge for the character after some particularly nasty events in life...

I'm not going to explain everything in the character's backstory, I may post it later, but right now i'm just looking for suggestions on how to improve the build itself.