awesome face builds, pornomancer? Options

[Pollux710]

hey all starting a new game and will be playing a face. never played a face before but i want this guy to have retarded dice pools for talking, etc. ill add my own flare but a good build would be awesome! mundanes and adepts are all welcome

thanks in advance!

[Makki]

http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?show...hl=pornomancer#
thats 5 secs of search funktion -.-

[Pollux710]

http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?show...hl=pornomancer#
thats 5 secs of search funktion -.-

Thanks, was at work, this was a post from my enV3.

[Yerameyahu]

Is it really necessary to have 'retarded dice pools'? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Glyph]

The pornomancer was a dice pool exercise. They are (usually) not as well-suited as player characters, because a lot of the dice pool modifiers were conditional, or had drawbacks that made them not really worth it. Like addiction to eX, a drug that gives a temporary Charisma bonus, or pheromone receptors, which can be a detriment in crowds or areas with strong smells, or global fame, which can be a big hindrance for someone running the shadows.

I'll go over some of the main dice pool boosters for faces, although there are many ways to boost your social dice pool.

To begin with, you typically want to get the Influence skill group at 4 - for groups with four skills, where all of them are skills that you use, it is an incredible savings in build points. And since there are so many modifiers, you aren't limiting yourself much by this. Also get the intimidation skill, which is not in that skill group. Even if you don't plan on using it much, still get at least a low rating in it, so you aren't defaulting to resist it.

After that, you will want to soft-max your Charisma. Obviously, elves are the most optimal race for this, although you can make even a troll who is a decent face.

Generally, you want your face to be an adept. The 'ware that helps faces is low-Essence, so adept faces get their adept powers and all of the goodies that a mundane face has.

What I consider the major dice pool modifiers are:

Glamour: +3 dice, with the downside that your character is very memorable, and will have a much harder time disguising himself.

Tailored Pheromones: up to +3 dice, with the downside that it is illegal 'ware.

Kinesics: up to +3 dice, and the only downside (as with all adept powers) is that background count can weaken it.

Improved Ability: up to 1/2 the skill (rounded down), affected by background count like kinesics.

Empathy Software/Emotitoys: up to +6 dice, with the downside that it is so cheesy and overpowered that most GMs disallow or nerf it.

Other good things include minor cosmetic biomods to look more attractive, the vocal range enhancer (which, at the GM's discretion, gives +1 to social skills), and several qualities such as first impression.



Be careful getting super-high dice pools, though. From a purely meta-gaming perspective, they tend to get negative GM attention. Sometimes it is better to have 18 dice, and succeed most of the time, than to have 36 dice, and have the GM constantly looking for ways to "challenge" you or to negate your abilities. A character that doesn't look as invincible on paper can often be the better option in a real game.

[Udoshi]

Improved Ability: up to 1/2 the skill (rounded down), affected by background count like kinesics.

and several qualities such as first impression.

Improved Social ability is rather excellent, but don't forget that your language skills still limit social skill dice - and just the skill. If you're making extensive use of Improved Social Ability: Negotiation, you're probably going to want to invest in either the Linguistics quality, the Bilingual quality, or just pay careful attention to try to use your social skills in your Native language.

First Impression, however, is truly excellent for anyone making extensive use of Disguises.(and any good runner should). It applies whenever someone meets you for the first time. I think most GMs would find it reasonable that you get the bonus meeting someone under a new alias, because they haven't meet you. Your mileage may vary, but its a fairly reasonable thing to point out if you're in the habit of changing faces and identities regularly.

Heightened Concentration(digital grimoire) is also worth mentioning. Even under the most strict(and incorrect) dumpshocker interpretation of the power (a Free Action to Talk or Transmit Text/Phrase, and a complex action -every pass- to keep it up. ), you can negate social dice pool penalties at will. Check the social modifiers table on 4A 131. Most penalties are in the range of 1-2 dice, but there's just something great about a face who can show up anywhere, improperly dressed(-2 etiquette), and blend in just as well as anyone who's supposed to be there - or turn around and use the same ability on someone with a gun aimed at you(-2 intim), and tell them exactly why what they're doing is a bad idea - without penalty.

[Whipstitch]

Other good things include minor cosmetic biomods to look more attractive, the vocal range enhancer (which, at the GM's discretion, gives +1 to social skills), and several qualities such as first impression.

The Vocal Range Enhancer is also nice because it allows you to attempt to beat voice recognition systems with less preparation via Charisma+Con rolls. And while the game leaves the door open for having the GM take away your +1 dice pool bonus, I myself would be inclined to at least let you keep it for the purposes of say, imitating another person's voice.

Which brings me to another point: the title "Face" can be quite literal. Unless you have a walking pile of obvious 'ware on the team, the Face is often the easiest guy for NPCs to remember simply because he did the most talking and because your social skills make you a natural fit for any jobs that require someone to walk around in front of security cameras without wearing a ski mask. It depends on how much of a hard ass your GM is, to an extent, but at some tables things like Disguise combined with fiber optic hair and some cans of Shifter AltSkin or the False Front and Facial Sculpt mods/powers can be rather handy if you want to try ambitious cons without having your real face being put up on the trid later. I'll stress that this is really an area where your mileage could vary, however, since ultimately the results of even a good Social Skill roll still relies quite heavily on GM interpretation. In some groups it may just be easier to play a "hybrid" character who is good at another role while packing just enough Social dice to defuse tense situations nor have a good chance at noticing that the Johnson is full of it.

[Mäx]

Improved Social ability is rather excellent, but don't forget that your language skills still limit social skill dice - and just the skill. If you're making extensive use of Improved Social Ability: Negotiation, you're probably going to want to invest in either the Linguistics quality, the Bilingual quality, or just pay careful attention to try to use your social skills in your Native language.

Bilingual might be the best bet, as native langue is the only way you can use a full 9 or 10 in a social skill.

Heightened Concentration(digital grimoire) is also worth mentioning. Even under the most strict(and incorrect) dumpshocker interpretation of the power (a Free Action to Talk or Transmit Text/Phrase, and a complex action -every pass- to keep it up. ), you can negate social dice pool penalties at will. Check the social modifiers table on 4A 131. Most penalties are in the range of 1-2 dice, but there's just something great about a face who can show up anywhere, improperly dressed(-2 etiquette)

I really doupt that any sane GM is gonna let that fly.
No matter how hard you consentrate, it aint gonna change your improper clothing to proper clothing.

[Gmoz]

I really doupt that any sane GM is gonna let that fly.
No matter how hard you consentrate, it aint gonna change your improper clothing to proper clothing.

It doesnt change your improper clothing. It just helps you stay on your toes so when the question comes up you have already played out all the angles and decided on which is the best to deflect attention from your faux pas.

[Doc Chase]

I really doupt that any sane GM is gonna let that fly.
No matter how hard you consentrate, it aint gonna change your improper clothing to proper clothing.

An etiquette roll is going to handle the improper clothing before it ever becomes a problem - the Face will know what to wear before going out to the meet.

[Mäx]

An etiquette roll is going to handle the improper clothing before it ever becomes a problem - the Face will know what to wear before going out to the meet.

Only if he knows well in advance that he's going to a meet and knows the exact nature of the meet (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Doc Chase]

Only if he knows well in advance that he's going to a meet and knows the exact nature of the meet (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Then they're generally going to play it safe and wear neutral colors with a clean cut, something that can look sharp when tucked in, and slacker when not. Muss the hair or comb it down, and you can get by nearly anywhere - with an excuse and a smile that you're slumming it if you're somehow in the AAA section of town without intending to be.

[Godwyn]

My face's main gear included 3 sets of clothes, just in case he needed to be somewhere he currently was not dressed for. That is what the face is supposed to do! Blend in, fit in. Clothes ranged from 5 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) to several thousand.

Also.

Q-What would you say if a guy walks in for an interview without a shirt on, and I hired him. What would you say?
R-He must of had on some really nice pants.

From-The Pursuit of Happyness