Ninja, Character creation challenge! Options

[Rasumichin]

Really like that build, as I've never thought of using sniper rifles as a ninja-ish weapon. Interested in trying to build this one with bioware too? Would make him even harder to detect.

My original plan was to go vat-job ninja (like the genecrafted little guy in Neuromancer), with geneware like Reakt, Synch, Neo-EPO, Qualia and perhaps the usual Genetic Optimization.

Unfortunately, this gets prohibitively expensive real fast. I already blew 50BP on resources for the version i proposed here, and almost all of it went into ware.
While you can squeeze out some more money by resorting to used bioware for the Muscle Toner, Synthacardium and Enhanced Articulation, the Trauma Dampener and especially the Synaptic Accelerator can't be bought used, so i stuck with Wired Reflexes (BTW, that's the only piece of R cyber the character has, except for the smartlink).
If money is not an issue, it would of course work perfectly (and Genecrafted/Genetic Heritage put together help a lot with that, but my character builder program didn't calculate the discounts properly, so i left them out).

For an NPC, i would totally take that approach, though.
Just get him the finest Chiba has to offer and come up with a genetweaked, mundane killing machine that can walk undetected past every cyberware scanner.
All metal parts would be unsuspicious, strictly legal stuff like eyes and ears.

To go completely over the top, you'll need a bio-adept, of course. Or a bio-mystad.

Other metatypes would also work a lot better, but i stuck to human so he fits in with the more traditional Japanese.
Human-looking dwarf or ork would probably work best (and you may add Big Regret to the list of Qualities- just imagine how a traditionalist clan reacts when they learn that you're not only a kawaruhito, but also have gaijin in your family tree because you're not even a koborukuru or oni, but the baseline metatype that almost never occurs in Japan).

[Karoline]

but the baseline metatype that almost never occurs in Japan).

I was under the impression that the Oni appeared in Japan along with regular orks. I didn't realize that orks from Japan were exclusively Oni. Kind of like I didn't think trolls from Greece were exclusively minotaurs.

[psychophipps]

It also depends on if you want the realio-dealio spy/scout ninja who occasionally shanked stuff through stealth and deception or the movie/anime ninja that cuts necks 24/7 and can kill 10,000 mooks but gets schooled by the big bad until the last second when gloating and hubris leaves them vulnerable. Totally different concepts and it will be pretty tough to fit them both in.

[crash2029]

I have a ninja build I whipped up awhile ago for one of these threads that I don't think I posted. This build is non-magical, but has some augmentation. He wouldn't last long in a fair fight, but when do ninjas get in fair fights? The skills may seem low but I very much see this character as using forethought, planning, and the environment to his advantage. As a side note the character is human, he was built to appear as uninteresting and non-threatning as possible. Now on with the build!

[ Spoiler ]

Human Ninja
400 BP

Attributes (180+30)
Body 3
Agility 3/5
Reaction 3/4
Strength 2/4
Charisma 4
Intuition 4
Logic 4
Willpower 3
Edge 5

Essence 3.7

Qualities (25)
Blandness
Martial Arts (2) Ninjutsu: +1 dit to infiltration tests/+1 die to surprise attacks
First Impresion

Active Skills (112)
Athletics SG 2
Influence SG 3
Stealth SG 3
Unarmed Combat 3
Pistols 2
Perception 3

Knowledge Skills (24 free)
to be chosen by player

Contacts (8 BP)
to be chosen by player

Resources (45)
225,000 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif)

Augmentations:
Synaptic Booster 1
Commlink (Transys Avalon)
Datajack
Sim module
Skillwires 3
Muscle Augmentation 2
Muscle Toner 2
Sleep Regulator
Synthacardium 1
Cybereyes 3 (image link, camera, flare comp, lowlight, thermo, smartlink, vis enhance 2, vis mag)

Commlink:
Transys Avalon (cranial)
-Upgraded Response to 5
Novatech Navi OS
-Upgraded Firewall & System to 5
Analyze 4
Browse 4
Edit 3
Encrypt 4
Scan 3
Stealth 5

Weaponry:
Morrisey Elan (smartlink, skinlink)
-concealable holster, 2 spare clips, 100 rounds Hi-c
Fichetti Executive Action (smartlink, skinlink, personalized grip, fire selection FA, electronic firing)
-quick draw holster, 3 spare clips, sound supressor, 100 rounds JHP, 100 rounds gel

Armor:
Armor Clothing
Actioneer Business Clothes
Armor Vest
Chameleon Suit
FFBA Shirt

Gear:
Mercury Comet
Autopicker R6
Maglock Passkey R4
Sequencer R4
Miniwelder
Wire Clippers
Medkit R6
Disposable Syringe w/Narcojet x6
Tag Eraser
Latex Face Mask x4
Small Nanopaste x2
Grapple gun w/200m stealth rope
Catalyst stick
Flash-pak
Certified Credstick x6
Fake License R4 x4
Fake SIN R4 x2
E-paper
Handcuffs
Flexcufffs x50
Medium Lifestyle 2 months

Starting Money (4D6+3)100 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif)

Point Breakdown:
Attributes 180+30
Qualities 25
Active Skills 112
Contacts 8
Resources 45
Total 400

[Grinder]

It also depends on if you want the realio-dealio spy/scout ninja who occasionally shanked stuff through stealth and deception or the movie/anime ninja that cuts necks 24/7 and can kill 10,000 mooks but gets schooled by the big bad until the last second when gloating and hubris leaves them vulnerable. Totally different concepts and it will be pretty tough to fit them both in.

I'd like to see builds for both. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Rasumichin]

I was under the impression that the Oni appeared in Japan along with regular orks. I didn't realize that orks from Japan were exclusively Oni. Kind of like I didn't think trolls from Greece were exclusively minotaurs.

RC states that in Japan, more than 75% of the orks are oni and more than 85% of the dwarves are koborukuru.
The text also includes the assumption that other expressions are "likely the result of immigration on the insular genepool".
So if you're a Japanese baseline ork, this is probably due to some Koreans or the like in your family tree.

This is probably the most extreme example of metavariant prevalance in the entire 6th world.
Even the really common metavariants like fomori don't go above 50% of the metatype population in the areas they are native to.
And most are even rarer, though there's few exact numbers given for them.


Some addition to the build i posted :
That guy actually has enough Essence left to switch out Muscle Toner for Muscle Replcement.
Would give him a nice boost in close combat and free up some (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) .

[Udoshi]

That's not what it does. It allows you to spend a Complex Action to negate a single situational modifier up to your Magic rating, and only for one task at a time. Each additional task requires another Complex Action.

Thats not quite accurate. It does work with sustaining, but it does so in a slightly odd manner. I shall explain. Heightened Concentration does this:

The adept is capable of tuning out a single distraction to her task at hand. When using this power the adept can ignore a single situational negative dice pool modifier of a value up to her Magic attribute. This power requires a complex action to activate and may be combined with the adept centering metamagic.

The problem is, 'task' is very vaguely worded. A task can be anything from firing a gun, to performing an hour long extended test to modify said gun. But it does let you tune out a single situational modifier. The power doesn't stop working, though. It doesn't turn off, because it doesn't say it ends, there's no duration. On the flipside, it lets you reduce/ignore a single modifier - you can't use multiple complex actions to reduce more than one modifier, because then it wouldn't be single anymore. You can't get around -that- by taking the power more than once, because it doesn't have multiple levels to take.(not to mention the cost.) So how does it work?

You spend a complex action.
You pick a negative situational negative dice pool modifier.
That modifier is reduced.
...and that's it. As long as the modifier is present, its reduced. It doesn't stop being reduced, either. But if the modifier goes away, heightened concentration isn't doing anything either.
If you'd like to reduce another penalty - spend another complex action.

While that may sound rather good, its rather easy to get negative modifiers in SR4, and this power cares about where the penalty comes from. For example, in combat, there's glare/visibility, attacker running, wound penalties, and you only get to reduce one. Worse, you have to give up a more useful action to use it.
On the flipside, you can spend an action to ignore a penalty that isn't present yet. With a little understanding of the rules, its quite good. In that example I would - depending on the context of the game - consider ignoring Blind Fire penalties(such as if I wanted to play a Zato-ichi gunman. Normally -6. ouch.) Perhaps the Called Shot penalty ahead of time - and when combat opens, take a free action to called shot at +4 damage, -4 dice(reduced to 0, hopefully) from there on out. Even kung-fu adepts can benefit, by running around outside of cover to charge their enemies, ignoring the Attacker Running penalty while claiming the Defender Running bonus against incoming fire. Its not a lot, but it shifts dice pools by 2 each in your favor - and it also has theme.

So...yeah. Heightened Concentration works for spell sustaining. The question isn't whether it works or not - its how well it does at it. IE, whether Sustaining Modifier gets lumped into batches of discrete -2 penalties, or if its lumped into one big sum. Its been discussed before, and I think, after some talk, the 'big number' theory was prevailing. Which means that a mystic adept with a magic of six can, basically, sustain their buffs(improved reflexes, combat sense, energy aura - or use control thoughts/emotions in a social situation to get the bonus social dice without the penalty.). Its quite cool, and one of the most compelling reasons to play a mystic adept.

[Ol' Scratch]

I didn't say it didn't work with sustaining. Sustaining gives you a situational modifier. That modifier can simply be ignored for one single task at the cost of a Complex Action in a matter similar to Adept Centering. That's all the power does, no matter how much some people want to turn it into an uber power. It's literally just a poor man's Adept Centering. It's sole advantage is that it can potentially reduce a severe penalty with ease (up to your Magic rating).

[Udoshi]

Sure. but what happens if your 'task at hand' is 'shooting people'. or 'not dying'. or even 'performing surgery to save a man's life'. How long does that last? you can't quantify it, because you're trying to put rules mechanics - to description text. A task is not a Pass, or even one Roll, or even a Combat Turn. its...what you're currently doing.

Besides, Heightened concentration is a full power point. It -should- be good, but its hardly uber.

[Ol' Scratch]

Quit trying to be a munchkin. It's clear that it's meant to be used in one brief situation for one single task. If you want to use it some other way in your own game, knock yourself out. Just don't go around trying to tell people it's this all-powerful power that works in all situations forever and ever. Because it's not.

[Udoshi]

Funk, I can understand that you don't agree with me, but if we're discussing the rules, I'd appreciate it if you could back up your claims with them - and without munchkin insults.

Even in your version of HC, where you have to spend a complex action constantly to gain the benefit, its amazing for a social adept - because you only need a free action to talk each turn, and, like it or not, the social modifiers table does include penalties for things like not being dressed for the occasion. If you actually bothered to read what I'm saying, and look at the modifiers you can use HC on, you'd know it can save you about 1-2 dice on any given roll. That's -hardly- broken or overpowered. But. In a game system where everyone is trying to stack the odds , it does something very, very useful - it lets you unstack the deck. Just like adept centering, except more directed and focused.

You seem to think I'm saying that heightened concentration lets you ignore all penalties forever.(and yes, that would be stupid), when all I'm trying to clarify is that it lets you reduce one(and only one) thing at a time, until you spend some effort to change it to something else - and that it lasts for A Little Bit: slightly longer than a pass, slightly less than forever, or even a whole day. A Scene, if you will. Because you're right - it is meant to be used in brief situations. However, being able to reuse it as the situation changes is hardly overpowered: it still takes an action, and sometimes there are better things to do with your passes. Where I think you're hung up on, in this current discussion, is How Much Time that one complex action buys you, each time you use it. That, i think, is the crux of the arguement.