Oriental Opportunities - Recruitment/Interest Gathering, Adventures in Hong Kong Options

[Edana]

RECRUITMENT SEMI-OPEN: Reserves Only

Rather than wait for another game that interests me personally to start up (and maybe even get started (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) ), I figured I'd put in my hat for running something here. This thread is basically to lay out what I'm looking for, and see if there's enough interest in it to get a game going. If you're interested, please post a basic character idea and I'll add you to the list. Nothing fancy, 1-2 sentences is fine, but do include your main role focus (sam, rigger, face, etc.) so I can keep track of how the group is balanced and other people can potentially avoid too much overlap.

Setting will be Hong Kong, and I'm expecting this to lean pretty far towards 'mirror-shades' as opposed to the 'pink mohawk' style.

Also, if anyone has any suggestions on things to read as far as using HK as a setting, please let me know. I've recently re-read the Runner Haven's and 6WA writeups, but I'm always looking for more places to get ideas.

If I've missed anything, please let me know and I'll fix it ASAP. I'm generally at a computer most of the day, so turnaround for me is usually pretty quick, but does depend on how much work I have to do at that moment. I don't tend to post much on weekends though, so anything posted then may not get answered right away. (US Central time zone for reference.)

Posting Requirements
I'm going to steal a page from the Post or Die thread here and put this at no more than 7 days elapsed from your second to last IC post. If you fail to meet this your character may be put to death in whatever fashion suits me. (I will be a little lenient in that if you go past this but manage to post before I get around to killing you off, you'll be back safely on the clock.) If you know you're going to be gone for an extended period, and give sufficient warning, I can write you out in a less fatal way so you could potentially rejoin later.

The same applies to me as GM, if I haven't posted anyone else can feel free to take over and continue on. I've run multi-year pbp games in that other system without a problem though, so I'm really not expecting this to be an issue, as I know (mostly) what I'm getting into (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) .

Character Generation
Karma-gen, 650 karma. SR4A karma costs. Races are 1*BP in Karma. (Full explanation in This post.)

Do NOT pay for knowledge skills out of this. DO buy language skills though. Knowledge skills will be worked out with me based on background submitted and 20 questions answers. I do have a cap in mind for these, so don't think a 10 page background is going to give you ridiculous numbers. I'd prefer everything stay at a reasonable length. If you need a copy of the standard 20 q's, let me know and I can post or PM them.

Bonus contacts equal to 50% of what you spent on contacts. (If you spent 25 points buying contacts this means you will have 13 bonus points.) Contacts bought with bonus points must be 3/2 or lower.

Standard races only. No Surge. (ie. Human, Elf, Troll, Ork, Dwarf only)

Negative Qualities should actually be negative, otherwise I reserve the right to veto them.

Nothing allowed from PDF-only releases (mostly because I don't buy them, and thus don't have access). Most other books are fine. If you're not sure, run it by me and I'll let you know for sure. (SR4A, Street Magic, Augmentation, Arsenal, Unwired are guaranteed safe to use. Most of Runner's Companion too, minus the things I've already listed.)

House Rules

• Watcher spirits don't suck at watching/searching: Treat watchers as Force = Summoner's Magic when using Perception, Assensing and the Search power. (If you can think of anything else that needs to be added to this, go ahead and suggest it. This essentially means watchers roll 2*Magic for those cases.)
• No emotitoys or emotion software.
• 20 Dice Pool cap.
• SIN checks aren't opposed tests. SINs are checked with a System + Verification Software (SIN rating) test. This may be an extended test with an interval determined by the scanner in use. (System + Verification Software simplifies to 2*Scanner Rating for basic scanners.) End result is R6 SINs are hard to crack, R1's are still basically throwaway.

If the players all want to add something else to the house rules, feel free to suggest. I generally try to avoid having very many.

Other Notes
The primary languages in Hong Kong are English and Cantonese. Expect most of your 'business' interactions to be in Cantonese.

Hong Kong is a very social network centric place, so having plenty of contacts would be strongly advised.

The characters should all have some ties amongst themselves. Liking each other isn't strictly necessary, but I won't tolerate excessive arguing or pvp. If everyone wants to work on a group background, that would be awesome.

6 active players as a hard limit, anyone past that will be on the reserve list. (Given PoD's history, there's likely to be a fair amount of turnover, so it's probably not too terrible to be on the wait list (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) .)

Assuming enough interest, ideally I'd like to start the IC thread by March 7th, but earlier than that is possible if everything comes together faster.

PC List

1. Thanee: Ting-Ting - Female Human - Adept (Martial Arts)
2. phlapjack77: Dante - Male Human - Street Sam with some drone support
3. Seth: Dr. Yang - Male Ork - Mystic Adept/Medic
4. Kim: Hope - Male Human - Adept (Martial Arts)
5. sabs: Fractal - Male Human - Hacker/Face
6. Mickle5125: Max - Male Dwarf - Wuxing Mage

Reserve List

1. marcgarc
2. Belvidere

[Thanee]

moved...

[phlapjack77]

Final answer

Dante

[ Spoiler ]

Total KARMA: 650

Metatype: Human
Gender: male
Age: 39
Height: 1.9m
Weight: 95kg
Hair: black with a tinge of gray, buzz cut
Eyes: dark brown
Skin: pale, slightly grimey
Essence: 0.73
Initiative: 10
Initiative Passes: 2
Physical Damage Track: 10
Stun Damage Track: 10

KARMA: 265
Body: 4
Agility: 5(7)
Reaction: 5(8)
Strength: 2(3)
Charisma: 3
Intuition: 2
Logic: 2(3)
Willpower: 3

KARMA: 60
Edge: 5


KARMA: 98
Resources: 245,000 ¥


KARMA: 144
Active Skills:
Automatics 4
Unarmed Combat (Martial Arts) 1(3)
Throwing Weapons 1
Exotic Ranged Weapon:GrappleGun 1

Perception (Visual) 3(5) (+3 with attention coprocessor)
Infiltration (Urban) 3(5)
Negotiation (Bargaining) 2(4)
Etiquette 2
Intimidation 2
Athletics 1 : split
= Climbing 1 (+2 with synthacardium)
= Running 1 (+2 with synthacardium)
= Swimming 1 (+2 with synthacardium)
+ Gymnastics 3 (+2 with synthacardium)

Armorer 1
Artisan (Cooking) 1(3)
Automotive Mechanic 1
Hardware 2
Computer 1 (+1 Analyze with commlink optimization)
Electronic Warfare 1 (+2 Encryption with Math SPU)

Knowledge Skills
Street Knowledge
4 Beijing Area Knowledge
2 Hong Kong Area Knowledge
1 Hong Kong Triads
3 Republic of China Triads
3 Wuxing Corporate
2 Hong Kong Police Force Procedures

Academic Knowledge
1 Chinese History
1 Chinese Literature

Professional Knowledge
2 Engineering
2 Auto Mechanics

Interests
1 Numerology (Mandarin)
1 Feng-Shui
3 VR Games
2 Karaoke
2 Mah-Jong
2 Cooking (Cantonese)


KARMA: 13
Languages:
Mandarin N
Cantonese 3
English 2
Japanese 1


KARMA: +70 / -70
Qualities:
Erased 1
Juryrigger
High Pain Tolerance 1
Magic Resistance 2
Resistance to Pathogens

Addiction-Moderate: Alcohol
Day Job: 2500 ¥ / 20 hrs
Flashbacks-Uncommon
Prejudiced-Common,Biased: Japanese people


KARMA: 70 (+35 free)
Contacts:
Lao Wai - corp wageslave 5/3
Lao Wai has become good friends with Dante after eating from his food stall every day outside of his company's offices (Wuxing). The fact that Dante speaks some English helps too, as Lao Wai is from CAS and speaks little Chinese. Lao Wai is not his real name, but that's what Dante calls him anyway. The two now meet at Dante's place, drink beer or liquor, and play VR games. Lao Wai has been useful to Dante, giving him corporate tips about Wuxing and also setting Dante up with other foreign contacts. Lao Wai gave Dante the ARO contact information for a hacker named Fractal, who provided Dante with some software Dante was having trouble finding.

Jones - hacker 1/3
Jones is an AI that has installed itself in the network of Dante's apt complex. Apparently an AI that reached sentience from some sort of immersive VR game project, all Jones wants to do is watch movies or play video games. He constantly fudges with Dante's games and scores, sometimes even interrupting a game for no apparent reason. Jones even thinks he is being mischievous by deleting all Matrix records of Dante whenever he gets around to it, about once a week. Dante is sometimes able to bribe Jones to retrieve a bit of intel from the Matrix in exchange for spending a few hours losing to him at WEPES:Ultimate.

Jiu Jiu - fixer 3/4
After having left Beijing because of difficulties with the local government / triad groups, Dante's fixer in Beijing hooked him up with Jiu Jiu in Hong Kong. Jiu Jiu has a very friendly demeanor- he tends to remind people of their favorite uncle. Jiu Jiu is a Hong Kong native, speaks several languages fluently, and seems to know everyone. He has gotten Dante good work in Hong Kong, including body guard and security gigs.

Xiao Hong - Red Dragon triad ganger 2/2
Wang Lei - Black Chrysanthemums triad ganger 2/2
Dante has had to make connections with various triad gangs around Hong Kong. These two are the ones that he has dealt with the most. Through his triad connections Dante has met another runner by the name of Ting-Ting.

Yamada Taro - Mechanic 4/2
Taro was introduced to Dante by Jiu Jiu. Dante was initially skeptical about using Taro to repair his vehicles, his deep-seated dislike of the Japanese warring with the fact that Taro came highly recommended. Finally trusting his fixer, Dante came to find that Taro is a top-notch mechanic, and a good guy to hang out with. When he can, Dante spends time helping Taro out at his shop, fixing anything he can. He has even started picking up some Japanese to be able to "talk shop" with Taro. Dante's positive interactions with Taro, and his successful run with a ninja called Hope, has caused his dislike of the Japanese people to fade. While still not sure he likes them as a whole, he is now not as vocal about it and is willing to give individual Japanese a chance to prove themselves.

Jing Cha - Police detective 2/4
Police in Hong Kong are notoriously corrupt, and Jing Cha is no different. His path crossed with Dante's while investigating an unrelated case. Even though Dante didn't have anything to do with his case, Jing Cha was able to extract a bribe from him. The little bit of intel he let slip mostly made up for the cost to Dante. Ever since then, the two have a very good business relationship.

Gong An - Police beat cop 2/3
Selling food on the street without a license is grounds for impounding the equipment and a severe fine. Unless the local police assigned to this task have been bribed. Which is exactly how Dante knows Gong An. He has been helpful to help cover up any remaining evidence left over after a run by Dante.

Ayi - Squatter 3/1
In making his rounds selling street food, Dante ends the day near where Ayi lives. He gives her the remaining food that he hasn't sold, and she gives him any information and gossip on the street. More than once he's gotten a decent bit of intel from this.

Sun Qi - KTV owner 2/3
Besides just liking KTV in general, Dante has found this is a great place to hold meets. The loud noise and completely separated rooms provides an ideal atmosphere for having a confidential meeting. Sun Qi runs a very clean, discreet KTV shop that Dante has used many times.


Cyber / Bio:
Obvious Lower Left Arm
+ Internal Air Tank
+ Grapple Gun
+ Radar Sensor 1
+ Smuggling compartment, small (LoneStar iBall)
+ Enhanced Capacity 2
Obvious Lower Right Arm
+ Cyberholster (Steyr TMP)
+ Biomonitor
+ Datajack
+ Auto-Injector - Reusable, 6 doses (g3, guts, longhaul, trauma, antidote R6, stim R6)

Wired Reflexes 1
Reaction Enhancers 2
Muscle Toner 2
Muscle Augmentation 1
Synthacardium 2
Bone Lacing - Plastic

Skillwire 2
Attention Coprocessor 3
Cerebral Booster 1
Math SPU


Weapons:
Shock Gloves
Defiance EX Shocker
Ceramic Throwing Knife x 2
Steyr TMP
= concealed in cyberholster
+ loaded with flechette
+ personalized grip, underbarrel weight, gasvent3, sound suppressor, smartgun, skinlink
Ingram Smartgun X
= gas vent 2, smartgun, sound suppressor, detachable folding stock (standard)
+ loaded with regular ammo
Thermal smoke grenade x2
Frag grenade
Pepper Punch
AK-98
= mounted to Doberman
+ airburst link, shock pad, foregrip, gasvent3, safe target system, smartgun, extended clip(drum)
+ ex-ex rounds x 100
+ high-ex mini grenade x6


Armor:
Camouflage Suit 8/6
+ Chemical Protection 3
+ Nonconductivity 3
+ Fire Resist 3
SecureTech Vitals Protector: 1/1 (discreet)
SecureTech Leg, Arm Casings: 1/1 (discreet)

Armored Clothing 4/0
SecureTech Forearm guards 0/1 (obvious)
+ Fire Resist 3


Gear:
Commlink - Novatech Airware / Novatech Navi (R/S/F/S : 5/5/6/5)
+ Skinlink, sim module
+ Environmental Resistance (Underwater), Optimization (Analyze), Biometric Lock
+ Analyze 5, Browse 3, Command 3, Edit 3, Encrypt 5, Scan 4, Databomb 4, Stealth 4
+ drone autosofts: Adaptability 3, Clearsight 3, Covert Ops 3, Facial Recog 3, Visual Spotter 3, Weapon Watcher 3
+ Tacsoft 1 (linked to main commlink)
Disposable commlink x 3
Stealth RFID tags x 5
Data chips x 5
R6 Mapsofts x 5 (blanketing the Hong Kong area)
R6 Datasofts x 5 (Cantonese cooking for dummies, How to win at WEPES:Ultimate, Journey To the West, Wuxing Pengyou repair manual, Basic Gun Maintenance Guide)
VR Games x 3 (Devil May Cry 15, Zelda 2070, WEPES:Ultimate)
R3 Contacts
+ Image Link
+ Smartlink
+ Vision Enhancement 3
+ Skinlink
R4 Goggles
+ Flare Compensation
+ Thermographic
+ Low-light
+ Vision Magnification
+ Skinlink
R3 Earbuds
+ Select sound filter
+ Audio Enhancement 3
+ Skinlink
R4 Expendable Jammer, Directional x 4
Plastic Security Restraints (per 10)
Glue Sprayer
Tool kit
MiniWelder
Tag Eraser
Certified credstick (500 ¥) x 2
Smart butt pack

Vehicles:
Wuxing Peng You 4x4 (GAZP-179:Pickup Truck)
= Multi-fuel engine (standard)
+ Personal armor 10
+ Antitheft system
+ Smuggling Compartment, Large (Dobermen sleeps here)
+ Drone rack, mini x 2 (Dragonflies sleep here)
+ Run Flat tires
+ Spoof chip, morphing license plate
+ Used (degredation)
GM-Nissan Doberman
= Walker Mode, Weapon Mount (external, fixed, remote control), Clearsight 3 and Targeting 3(Assault Rifle) autosoft (standard)
= Weapon mounted is the AK-98
+ Targeting 3(Heavy Weapons) autosoft
+ Upgraded armor 6
+ Upgraded sensor 6
+ Smartlink
+ Ultrasound
+ Geiger counter
+ Nonconductivity 6
+ Thermographic vision
+ Has attached R4 Expendable Jammer, Directional
Cyberspace Designs Dragonfly x 2
= Improved Takeoff and Landing 2, Ultrasound Sensor, Special Machinery (minidrone weaponry), Targeting 4 (Exotic Melee Weapon) autosoft (standard)
= DV of 5 (AP 0) against mini- and microdrones and a DV of 1 (AP +1) against other targets.
+ Chameleon coating
+ Thermographic vision
+ Vision Enhancement 3
+ Audio Enhancement 3
+ Vision Magnification
+ Laser Microphone
Lone Star iBall Offensive
= Limited Maneuverability, flash pak, thermal smoke grenade (standard)
+ Chameleon coating
+ Low-light
+ Gecko tips

ID, Lifestyle:
Starting money: 1200
R4 Fake SIN : Liu Zi Ang
= Has 1000 ¥
R2 Fake SIN : Song Shu
= Has 200 ¥
R3 Fake License - Steyr TMP - tied to Liu Zi Ang SIN
R3 Fake License - Pengyou truck - tied to Liu Zi Ang SIN
Middle Lifestyle, 2600 ¥
= 2 months
= C/E/N/Nh/S : 1/2/3/2/4
+ Hasty exit, quiet neighborhood, workplace
- AI in residence, poor condition, pest magnet 1


Background:
He had begun to make a name for himself, running the Beijing shadows. But as often happens, he got deceived into taking a job that wasn't what it appeared to be. Making too many enemies too quickly, he left the heat behind and moved to Hong Kong on advice from his fixer, who knew a few people. Once in Hong Kong, Dante began a day job selling street food from the back of his vehicle. But the day job is also an effective cover for the times when he is on a run, commissioned by Jiu Jiu or some other member of the Hong Kong elite. About once or twice a week he has begun learning the Tiger Claw style martial art from Dr. Yang.

[Mickle5125]

by "standard races only," are you denying all of the options from Runner's Companion? IE: Are pixies, metavariants, free spirits, etc out along side the SURGE?

[Thanee]

Yeah, I would understand that as meaning Human, Elf, Dwarf, Ork, Troll only.

Bye
Thanee

[Seth]

Here is the official format:

[ Spoiler ]

Dr Yang [img Picture...probably needs a tusk or two as well]

Metatype: Ork
Gender: male
Age: 34
Height: 1.94m
Weight: 100kg
Hair: no hair
Eyes: dark brown
Skin: oriental

Body: 4
Agility: 2
Reaction: 2(3)
Strength: 3
Charisma: 2
Intuition: 2
Logic: 3/4
Willpower: 4

Edge: 2
Magic: 6/5 (Mage 2pts, Adept 3pts)
Essence: 5.0
Initiative: 5 w/o spells. Typically 11 (with spells reaction force 3 and increase reflexes force 3)
Initiative Passes: 1(3)
Physical Damage Track: 10
Stun Damage Track: 10

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

Active Skills:
Perception(visual) 1
Summoning 1
Spellcasting (manip) 5
Influence-group 1
- Etiquette 1
- Leadership 1
- Negotiation 1
- Con 1
Unarmed (martial arts) 5
Stealth-group 1
- Disguise 1
- Infiltration 1
- Palming 1
- Shadowing 1
first aid (trauma) 4
medicine 3
Counterspell 3 (combat)
Arcana 1
Gymnastics (tumbling) 2

Street Knowledge:
Suchaun area 3
Hong kong area 2
Hong Kong Triads (Red Pole) 1,

Academic knowledge:
Biology (Genetics) 2
Chemistry 2
Medicine (General Research) 3
Geography(chinese) 2

Professional knowledge:
Doc Wagon Procedures 5
Emergency Medicine 3

Interests:
Daoism 3
Martial Arts Traditions 2
Martial Arts Schools 2
Cooking 1

Languages:
Cantonese N

Qualities:
Martial arts(3): Damaing disarm, reduce friends modifier by 1, melee block +1
Mentor spirit(phoenix)
Restricted gear (power focus)
Mystic adept (Wuxing)
SINner
Pacifist
Enemy (4/1)
Day job (tending to my patients) 10hrs
Spirit Bane (Toxic spirits)
Dependent (son) easy

Martial Arts Maneuvers:
Sweep
Disarm
Finishing move
Focus Will
Watchfull guard
Herding

Adept power with ritual geas (must have done 1 hour tai chi practice):
Attribute boost(agility) 1
Improved first aid 2
Counterstrike
Empathic healing
Critical strike 3
Combat sense 3

Cyberware:
Used reaction enhancer (1)

Bioware:
Cerebral booster 1

Geneware:
Reakt

Armor:
Form fitting half body suit with auto injector, non conductivity 3
Urban explorer jump suit with shock cuffs, non conductivity 3

Form fitting body armour with
Vashon Island Steampunk Line
Overcoat 3/3 (с)
Corset 2/2 (с)
Blouse 1/1 (с)
Skirt 1/1 (с)
Leather Armor Suit 6/6 (as Urban Explorer Jumpsuit)
+ internal Music-Player
+ internal Biomonitor
+ Chemical Protection 6
+ Fire Resistance 6
+ Insulation 6
Form-Fitting Half-Body Suit 4/1
+ Nonconductivity 6
Vitals Protector +1/+1
Leg and Arm Casings +1/+1
Forearm Guards -/+1
Shin Guards -/+1

Commlink:
Novatech airware with Iris Orb, Browse 3, Command 3, analyse 3, linguasoft(english) 1, skinlink

Medical equipment:
Medikit 6 with 2 spare supplies
Biomonitor.
2 doses of kamikaze

Electronics:
Shades with image link and magnification
Contacts with flare compensation, thermographic and visual enhancement 3
Ear buds with audio enhancement 3 and spatial recogniser

Credits, Lifestyle & IDs:
My real SIN
Fake SIN rating 4 in the name of Michael Chang
Low lifestyle
Cash: 700 nuyen (roll)


Contacts:
Shen Li (L2C3) a 426 of the Red Pole Triad. Li finds Dr Yang a little too sentimental for his liking, but the value of a good street doctor who will patch up wounded people in Hong Kong is quite high.

Han Hung (L2C3) runs "The Dragon Crys" a very dodgy establishment that regularly (twice a month or so) holds "extreme no rules" extreme fighting contests, but his main business is Fixing thing. Dr Yang took part in one of these when first coming to Hong Kong, and got very good odds. The match was must tougher than expected, but Dr Yang managed to win, and got enough money to support him and his kid for a couple of months. Dr Yang has no intention of going back in the pit: for a start the danger will be the same or higher, and the rewards will be a lot less - not nearly such good odds.

Appearance:
Well dressed, spectacles rather than shades. Under his sleeves on both arms he has the acupuncturists elastic wrist band with many needles. Around his neck under his shirt he has a pendant with the image of a tiger on it. His foci are gem stones inside the wrist bands, and also the necklace.

Often seen with his son Yang Hwan, who is now 10. Doc Yang runs an illicit clinic in (some dodgy part of town). The triads often bring their wounded to him. In exchange for these medical services, the triads allow him to continue operating, and provide a small amount of protection.

Background:
Dr Yang is an ageing and respected Doctor looking after his only son. An expect in moxibustion, acupuncture and auriculotherapy, he is none the less very experienced with western medical technology, and spent 5 years practicing medicine as a first line paramedic with Doc Wagon. Last year his wife was killed by unknown martial artists and his house was burnt down. Dr Yang had to flee. Dr Yang is currently in hiding in Hong Kong, a thousand miles from his home town as the life of his son is more important than vengeance. Once a formidable martial artist, Dr Yang is finding that he is having to rely more and more on his magic and western technology to help him, some part of him regards this as cheating, but the daoist part of him knows that cheating is the divine way.

Here is a compact format:

[ Spoiler ]

Race Ork
Attributes: Body 4, Agility 2, Reaction 2/3, Strength 3, Charisma 2, Intuition 2, Logic 3/4, Willpower 4, Edge 2, Magic 6/5 (Mage 2pts, Adept 3pts)
Skills: Perception(visual) 1, Summoning 1, Spellcasting (manip) 5, Influence-group 1, Unarmed (martial arts) 5, Stealth-group 1, first aid (trauma) 4, medicine 3, Counterspell 3 (combat), Arcana 1, Gymnastics (tumbling) 2
Knowledge skills: Suchaun area 3, Hong kong area 2, Hong Kong Triads (Red Pole) 1, Biology (Genetics) 2, Chemistry 2, Medicine (General Research) 3, Geography(chinese) 2, Doc Wagon Procedures 5, Emergency Medicine 3, Daoism 3, Martial Arts Traditions 2, Martial Arts Schools 2, Cooking 1
Martial arts: Tiger claw style: Damaging disarm, Reduce friends modifier by 1, Melee block +1
Martial art manuevers: Sweep, Disarm, Finishing move, Focus Will, Watchfull guard, Herding
Positive Qualities: Martial arts(3), Mentor spirit(phoenix), Restricted gear (power focus), Mystic adept
Negative Qualities : SINner, Pacifist,Enemy (4/1), Day job (tending to my patients) 10hrs, Spirit Bane (Toxic spirits), Dependent (son) easy
Foci - binding: Power 4, Sustaining(healing) 3, Sustaining(healing) 3, Sustaining (manip) 3
Spells: Increase reflexes (me), Increase charisma, Increase reactions, Heal, Resist Pain, Deflection, Shapechange (me), Levitate, Lightning aura (me), Fashion, Magic Fingers
Adept power with ritual geas (must have done 1 hour tai chi practice): Attribute boost(agility), Improved first aid 2, Counterstrike, Empathic healing, critical strike 3,Combat sense 3
Cyber/Bioware: Cerebral booster (1), Used Reaction enhancer (1), Reakt
Commlink: Novatech airware with Iris Orb, Browse 3, Command 3, analyse 3, linguasoft(english) 1
Armour: Form fitting half body suit with auto injector, non conductivity 3, Urban explorer jump suit with shock cuffs, non conductivity 3
Medical equipment: Medikit 6 with 2 spare supplies and a portable biomonitor. 2 doses of kamikaze
Electronics: Shades with image link and magnification, contacts with flare compensation, thermographic and visual enhancement 3, ear buds with audio enhancement 3 and spatial recogniser
Sins and Ids: My real SIN, and a fake SIN rating 4 in the name of Michael Chang
Weapons: None
Spare karma: 1
Lifestyle: low

Here is a spreadsheet version with double entry karma and cash management

Enemy

[ Spoiler ]

Firstly toxic spirits don't like me. I make people better, they make people worse. I don't like toxic spirits either!
Secondly, when I was a child I attended the Tigers Claw monastery from age 2 until I left with the destruction of the monastery when I was 15. The monastery was destroyed by the evil Han Fist style who will not rest until all practitioners of the Tiger Claw style have been defeated (by martial arts obviously). Any resemblance to about 50 Hong Kong movies is totally intended.

20 Questions

[ Spoiler ]

1. We are shaped by our heritage. Facial features, skin tone, height, build, metatype, even aptitudes are influenced by the genes passed from parent to child. Attitude, too, is taught by parents, informed by their own lives and their cultural heritage. Where does your character come from, what is her heritage, who were her parents, and what did she inherit from them?
Dr Yang'd first memory was the Tiger Claw monastery in the Sichuan province: deep rural china. The monks told him that he was left at the door. The monks were his real family, and while they were stern, they also taught him to be at peace with himself and the world. Dr Yang's first memory was the rows upon rows of monks practicing Tiger Claw style to the shout of the instructor.


2. Parents can be proud of their children or regret ever bringing them into the world. Some are loving, and some are indifferent. All of them are only metahuman and have their own opinions of their children. Assuming they could speak, what would each of your character's parents say about her?
"He should learn to be more tricky. Honor and honesty have their place, but the true Daoist knows how to lie, and Dr Yang needs to be better at lying". "We are proud of the way that he still honors the ancient gods, and follows the heavenly way"

3. Many people remember certain historical events for the rest of their lives. For those alive in the first decade of the 21st century it could be the assassination of John F. Kennedy, or the Tiananmen Square protests, or the fall of the Berlin Wall, or the attacks of 11 September 2001. People remember where they were, and what they were doing when they first heard of these events. Shadowrun history has significant events as well, such as the assassination of President Dunkelzahn, the Crash 2.0 and the emergence of technomancers and artificial intelligences. Pick a few events from recent Shadowrun history and ask where the character was at the time, what does he remember about the event, and what was he doing at the time?
When Dunkelzahn died, Dr Yang was on a Doc Wagon team attending to a bystander: an Orc woman who needed CPR.
When the crash happened, Dr Yang was meditating in the ruins of Yuzhengong Palace in the Wudang Mountains.


4. Very few people choose to become shadowrunners. More likely, they are thrown into the life by a chaotic and uncaring world. Even if she made a conscious decision to enter the shadows, her decision is influenced by the world around her. How did your character get into shadowrunning, and why did she take that path?
I need money to feed my son.

5. People have control over their own living arrangements. From the child young enough to use crayons and tape all the way up to the elderly shut-in who plasters her walls with family photos and cat pictures, everyone makes their living spaces more personally pleasing. What is your character's living space like, and what has he added or changed to make it his own?
I have two rooms. One is for patients and one is for me. A statue of Sun Wukong (monkey: great sage equal of heaven) faces the doorway.

6. Everyone has beliefs, and many have beliefs strong enough to be convictions. Some are religious, some are political, some are social and some are just about why people are here. What does your character believe in, what are her convictions (if any), and why does she hold them?
Dr Yang is a daoist pacifist. The Jade emperor laid down the heavenly order which all things must follow. By working hard, or trickery it is possible to assend within the heavenly order. Life is important. Man is microcosm for the universe and with each death the universe is diminished.


7. Everyone has aspects of their personality that grate on someone. Even the best of friends annoy one another from time to time. The flaws in a person's character are as important as the qualities. What do you dislike most about your character's personality?
Dr Yang is perhaps too stern, and hasn't realised that its important to have fun. He tends to take things too seriously.


8. The Sixth World is considered by many to be spinning out of control. If anyone could exert control over it, it would be the "Big Ten" triple-A megacorps. These transnational exert a lot of influence on everyday life in the 2070s. Which of the Big Ten does your character hold in the highest (or least low) regard, which does he like the least, and why?
Like all thinking people he holds Aztechnology in low regard. None of the megacorps are worthy of being held in high reguard.

9. People make acquaintances and friends; we're hardwired for it. Humans are social animals. This is especially true in the shadows, where often it is not the power your have, but the power you can borrow, and not who you are, but who you know. There's a story behind each and everyone one of these relationships. What is the story with your character and her contacts?

Shen Li (L2C3) a 426 of the Red Pole Triad. Li finds Dr Yang a little too sentimental for his liking, but the value of a good street doctor who will patch up wounded people in Hong Kong is quite high.
Han Hung (L2C3) runs "The Dragon Crys" a very dodgy establishment that regularly (twice a month or so) holds "extreme no rules" extreme fighting contests, but his main business is Fixing thing. Dr Yang took part in one of these when first coming to Hong Kong, and got very good odds. The match was must tougher than expected, but Dr Yang managed to win, and got enough money to support him and his kid for a couple of months. Dr Yang has no intention of going back in the pit: for a start the danger will be the same or higher, and the rewards will be a lot less - not nearly such good odds.


10. It's Sunday morning, and your character has no commitments until tomorrow afternoon. What does she do for the day?
For an hour in the morning and evening: kata and training with my son. We then will get a train and leave the city to head for a place of great natural beauty, or perhaps a monastery with quiet meditative beauty. (Think the new karate kid movie).

11. Your character has a specific skill set, a list of Active and Knowledge skills that define what she knows and her areas of expertise. How did she come to learn those skills, and how did she develop them to those levels?
My unarmed combat and first aid was learnt mainly at the Tiger Claw monastery. The medical arts were enhanced a little by the Doc Wagon training courses, but mostly by the years of working as a front line Doc Wagon paramedic.

12. Everyone has their limits. People can be dark, but most people's instinct is to draw the line at certain actions and thoughts, and they keep to their moral convictions. Is there a moral limit that your character enforces on the jobs she takes, and in what shadow work would she refuse to engage?
I won't take wet-work, or anything requiring torture. I won't kidnap people. I will steal and destory equipment if necessary. (If this is too restrict let me know, and I will tune it down)

13. If you have an Awakened or technomancer character, consider your character's tradition and streams. Even within the major established magical traditions and the recently emerged technomantic streams, there is room for personalization. Ask yourself what drew her to that particular paradigm, how does it effect the way she views the world and her magic, how does it translate into choice of mentor spirit or paragon, and how does it affect the appearance of the spirits or sprites your conjure or compile?
My mentor spirit is the Phoenix empress: representing honesty and loyalty (thats why my parents are disappointed they would have prefered I had been selected by Sun Wukong). I interact with my mentor by dreams often at shrines.
Most of my spirits are celestial beasts: White lead leopards, Quicksilver monkeys, Barking dogs.


14. While acceptance and bias vary from place to place, augmentations -- be they bio-, cyber-, gene-, or nanoware -- are increasingly common and available in the Sixth World. However, personal technological enhancement is rarely cheap, and many implants that runners possess are restricted. How did your character come to have the enhancements she has, how were they paid for, and what motivated the choices she made (if she did make the choices)?
I acquired my cyberware working for Doc Wagon. As I aged I felt the need for something to replace the power of youth.

15. Life as a shadowrunner is by definition outside the bounds of "normal" life. Shadowrunners do not truly fit into the lives of ordinary people, whether they live in the slums of mansions. What does your character think of ordinary life, mainstream culture, and those who abide by it?
Envy. If it was not for the enemy I would be there now.

16. Everyone has nightmares. Sometimes, we forget the dream completely on waking. Sometimes the nightmare haunts us or ever recurs. If your character has a lingering nightmare or a deep-rooted fear, what would it be, and why does he find it so terrifying?
Being seduced by a ghost. Being attacked by a hopping vampire. Being eaten by the thing with ten thousand tongues.

17. People tend to attach sentimental value to items in their possession or people they are close to. They make an effort to keep these close by and safe. What is your character's "sacred object" or "close one," and how did they come to be so important to him?
My jade phoenix foci. I recovered them from the bodies of my masters when the Tiger Claw monastery was destroyed.

18. One of metahumanity's greatest assets is its ability to look toward the future and imagine a better life. Even small children have dreams about what they want to be when they grow up. What did your character what to become when he was a child, and what are his goals now?
When I was a child I wanted to become enlightened and live forever. Now that I am older I want to be a good father, and be enlightened and live forever.

19. A person's appearance can say volumes about him. From fashion sense, to the colors he prefers, to the way he walks and speaks. Sometimes, his personality determines his appearance, and, sometimes, the appearance he chooses to present the world effect his personality. What does your character look like, and what inspired his choices?
No hair. Clothes are what ever is the most appropriate for the situation at hand. However when I have a choice it's the traditional sifu chinese kung fu masters gear.

20. Everyone has a name, but a runner's street name is a representation of his connection to the shadows. Sometimes runners choose their own moniker, but more often it is given to them as a nickname or earned through some (misadventure. How did your character come to be known by his street name?
Dr Yang is named after the south slope of the mountain on which the Tiger Claw monastery was placed.

[phlapjack77]

I would very much like to join in. I would like to play a mage or a mystic adept. I wouldn't mind holding off on the final choice until I see what the others are doing: I would like to complement them, not compete with them.

I'm finding myself veering constantly back towards the idea of a mage character, even as I try to come up with a good street sam character.

Maybe we could all be from the same magical group / tradition (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Seth]

All the same tradition: what a crazy idea. That would mean that we could do ritual magic together, and share notes, and be generally helpful to each other. Crazy idea.

I would quite like the Wuxing tradition. Just call me a Daoist!

[phlapjack77]

All the same tradition: what a crazy idea. That would mean that we could do ritual magic together, and share notes, and be generally helpful to each other. Crazy idea.

I would quite like the Wuxing tradition. Just call me a Daoist!

This sounds like it could be a cool idea - a Wuxing-tradition group. Thanee? Mickle5125? And most importantly, Edana? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Seth]

What rules do we use for paying karma for races? 0*bp, 1*bp or 2*bp?

I believe the consensus view is that 1*bp is the most RAW, but I have no opinion on this (mostly I use bps to generate characters)

[Thanee]

Here's a repost of AH's corrections to the RC KarmaGen for SR4A:

p.41 Karma Character Generation Table
The Karma Cost for Metatype (shapeshifter type, etc.) should be “As BP*.”
The Karma Cost for improving an attribute by 1 should be “New rating x 5.”

p.42 Step 1: Choose Your Metatype or Other Character Race Option
The first paragraph should read:
“First you must choose metatype or other alternative character concept (i.e. shapeshifter, AI, sasquatch, etc.); there Karma cost for metatype or race is equal to the BP cost for that metatype or option (i.e. if a race costs 10 BP, in Karmagen it costs 10 Karma); the BP cost should be noted as it is important for Step 3. The Metatype Attribute Table (see p. 70 and p.73, SR4) or the relevant table in the section describing the new character races in this book provide your character’s starting and maximum attribute ratings.”

p.42 Step 5: Convert Your Karma to Nuyen
The second line should read:
“A maximum of 100 Karma may be converted to nuyen in this fashion, or 120 if the character has the Born Rich quality (p.96).”

p.43 Focus Bonding Table
The Karma Cost for weapon foci should be “3 x Force.”

p.43-44 Character Creation Example

Marissa wants to make a new character for the latest Shadowrun campaign, something a little different—a sasquatch street druid called Sacnoth. Her gamemaster tells Marissa that they’re using the Karma-based character generation system, and she has 750 Karma with which to create Sacnoth.

First off, the cost of playing a sasquatch is 40 Karma, reducing Marissa’s total down to 690. Marissa purchases the Magician (Druidic tradition) and Mentor Spirit (Oak) positive qualities for 40 Karma, reducing her total to 650. To buy some more points, Marissa takes the SIN (5 BP version, citizen of the UK) and Incantation Geas negative qualities, bringing her Karma total back up to 680. As a sasquatch, Sacnoth begins with the Uneducated negative quality for no Karma.

Now it’s time for buying attributes. The basic cost for a sasquatch character is 40 BP; this allows Marissa to spend up to 455 Karma (one-half of her starting Karma plus twice the BP cost) on Sacnoth’s attributes. Intuition is of prime importance to druids, so Marissa decides that’s the attribute she wants to max out. Finally, she spends another chunk of points to increase her Body to 8—after all, what’s a sasquatch that can’t take a few hits? The total cost of her attribute increases is 280 Karma, bringing her total down to 400.

CODE

Attribute    Value    Karma Cost
Body           8          75
Agility        3          25
Reaction       2          10
Strength       5           0
Charisma       3          25
Intuition      6          75
Logic          3          25
Willpower      4          45
TOTAL                    280

As a sasquatch, Marissa’s character starts out with Magic and Edge attributes of 1 and an Essence of 6 ( for now). Sacnoth’s Initiative is derived from adding Reaction and Intuition together, resulting in 8. Marissa increases both Magic and Edge to 3 by spending 25 Karma each, bringing her total Karma down to 350 .

Now Marissa buys Sacnoth’s skills. Starting off with her maximums, Marissa decides Sacnoth will have two rating 5 skills—Assensing and Astral Combat, critical for a dual-natured sasquatch—one rating 3 skill group, Sorcery, and Enchanting 3. The Conjuring group skills Banishing, Binding, and Summoning she buys individually at rating 4 and takes specialties in each of them. That takes care of Sacnoth’s magical skills, so now Marissa rounds her character out with some basics: First Aid 2, Perception 3, Survival 2, Tracking 2, and Unarmed Combat 2 (Subdual +2).

For knowledge and language skills, Marissa starts out with the Perth-Athabaskans Sign Language as Sacnoth’s Native language, and makes the sasquatch fluent in French Sign Language (Jive+2) at rating 4. To reflect the sasquatch’s background (and mindful of his lack of formal education), Marissa takes Botany 3, Druidic Lore 4, Magic Background 3, Medical Theory 3, Astronomy 3, and Sapient Critters 3.

CODE

Skill                          Karma Cost
Assensing 5                        32
Astral Combat 5                    32
Astronomy 3                         7
Banishing 4 (Plant Spirits +2)     24
Binding 4 (Plant Spirits +2)       24
Botany 3                            7
Druidic Lore 4                     11
Enchanting 3                       14
First Aid 2                         8
French Sign Language 4 (Jive +2)   13
Magic Background 3                  7
Medical Theory 3                    7
Perception 3                       14
Perkins-Athabaskan N                0
Sapient Critters 3                  7
Sorcery Group 3                    35
Summoning 4 (Plant Spirits +2)     24
Survival 2                          8
Tracking 2                          8
Unarmed Combat 2 (Subdual +2)       8
TOTAL                             290

After spending the 290 Karma points on skills, Sacnoth has 60 Karma remaining.

Cashing 5 Karma in for nuyen, Marissa uses the 12,500 nuyen to purchase a basic commlink (Meta Link running Vector Xim with a sim module, Virtual Surround Music, a sasquatch-sized monocle with image link, sasquatch-sized headphones, and sasquatch-sized AR Gloves), a handful of linguasofts (English 2, French 2), a shoulder pouch of food and tools (equivalent to two survival kits), and four months of a Low Lifestyle (a sasquatch’s lifestyle costs 30% more than normal). This brings her down to 55 Karma remaining.

Marissa can select up to 6 spells for Sacnoth at 5 Karma each. She chooses Camouflage, Clean Water, Armor, Heal, Stun Bolt, and Nutrition. After this, Marissa just has 25 Karma left.

For contacts, Marissa chooses as Sasquatch Bartender (Connections 2, Loyalty 4) and a Neo-Celt WizKid Gang Member (Connections 1, Loyalty 2). This comes to a total of 22 Karma.

With 3 Karma left, Marissa goes back and converts 1 of them to nuyen to buy a rating 5 magical lodge (a collection of heavy stones carved with ogham letters), and spends the last two points to specialize her Botany skill for Gathering, giving her Botany 3 (Gathering +2).

With all her Karma points spent, Marissa finishes the character by calculating his starting Condition Monitors, answering the Character Quiz, and rolling for his starting nuyen.

I would assume it works like that.

Bye
Thanee

[Kim]

The game I’m in seems to have stopped and this one looks promising.

I was thinking about a ninja if it’s compatible with the other characters, but I really like the Wuxing tradition idea too.

[marcgarc]

Very interested in this one, as other games I've got into seem to have disappeared from Earth!!

[phlapjack77]

The game I’m in seems to have stopped and this one looks promising.

I was thinking about a ninja if it’s compatible with the other characters, but I really like the Wuxing tradition idea too.

A physad ninja following the Wuxing tradition could work (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Seth]

I posted a first draft of Dr Yang above

[Thanee]

Seth, if your Magic is split 1/4 (Mage/Adept), as it looks like, you cannot cast spells higher than F2 (see FAQ). (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

Also, the Increase Reactions spell does not stack with the Attribute Boost (Reaction) power, unfortunately.

Bye
Thanee

[Edana]

I'll try to answer questions in order, good to see there's plenty of interest (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) . (Not going to comment on character concepts at the moment, other than to say everything looks good thus far.)

• Standard races means nothing from RC, correct. Considering their overall rarity, it would be pretty hard to keep a low profile as one of the variants.
  
• If all, or some, of you want to play same tradition magic users, that's fine with me. As long as you take the Arcana skill (since it's pretty much required to form a group) and pay the 5 karma, I'm willing to handwave the rolls necessary for group formation as long as it's written into backstory. Or you can leave this for in-play if you prefer.
  
• Sorry I forgot to include the race cost in the opening, but Thanee's post covers that well. It'll be same cost as BP. I'll edit this into the original post.

One thing you may want to keep in mind with a magic-heavy group is that astral space and mana in a lot of the business areas is pretty messed up with all of the corps' feng-shui shenanigans. It won't cripple you or anything, but it could be pretty inconvenient in some places (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) .

[sabs]

Seth, if your Magic is split 1/4 (Mage/Adept), as it looks like, you cannot cast spells higher than F2 (see FAQ). (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

Also, the Increase Reactions spell does not stack with the Attribute Boost (Reaction) power, unfortunately.

Bye
Thanee

The FAQ answer is before SR4A, which specifically says:

For every point of Magic invested in physical abilities, the character
gets one Power Point that she can use to purchase adept powers.
Every point of Magic invested in mana-based abilities grants the character
one point to use with Magic-based skills. For all other purposes,
including the determination of the maximum level for adept powers,
the character’s full Magic attribute is used.

So, while his casting skills would be 1+sorcery rank, he could cast F5 spells without overcasting.

Is there room for 1 more, I have this idea for a Skillwires/Hacker/Face.

[Seth]

Also, the Increase Reactions spell does not stack with the Attribute Boost (Reaction) power, unfortunately.

Absolutely. I like reactions though, and if I cannot cast the spell (I am under observation, or just come though a ward or background count is crippling my sustaining foci...) I like the idea of being able to boost it.

By the way: do we have a hacker yet? If not I'm quite happy to drop Dr Yang, and do some of that low level bit bashing.

[Edana]

marcgarc has expressed interest and Mickle5125 asked a question, but neither has posted basic concept, so there's still 2 slots open at the moment. (Well, now 1, since you listed basic concept (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) .)

[Seth]

I've tweaked Dr Yang to have the arcana skill and paid 5 karma for the magical group

[phlapjack77]

Hey Edana!

To clarify my concept slightly, I'm still going to try a sammy with slight rigging tendencies. Just not sure whether to go the magic route or the cyber route.

[Edana]

I've tweaked Dr Yang to have the arcana skill and paid 5 karma for the magical group

Sounds good, if the other magic-types want to do the same, you guys should work out the group membership requirements and strictures. On a quick glance, I see you don't have any languages listed, so you may want to consider those if you want anything more than the free native language. Also, don't forget that sustaining foci are limited to one category of spells.

Hey Edana!

To clarify my concept slightly, I'm still going to try a sammy with slight rigging tendencies. Just not sure whether to go the magic route or the cyber route.

That's fine, I'll update the list (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) .

[Mickle5125]

I'll see if I can put together a full-on wuxing mage. What's the due-date for the character?

[Edana]

No hard due date at this point, but since that's a full 6 people, I'd like to see reasonably complete sheets by the 1st. That's about a week, and will give me a couple days to look everything over and still start by the 7th.