Let's Get Gritty, Low Power Chicago, Survival is Harder than you Think Options

[mister__joshua]

IIRC we are using 600 karma see this post

Fair enough, but that was posted after my character was submitted and originally it was said 300 bps or karmagen. If its karmagen then everyone needs to be using the same errata etc

My point mainly was that it was supposed to be a low powered game, hence the 300 bps. It was then said that 600 karmagen was equivalent to 300bps but that doesn't seem to be the case. 600 karmagen seems like normal power level to me

[Tanegar]

Runner's Companion recommends 750 karma for "typical" Shadowrun campaigns. We're not quite street-level, but we're noticeably lower-powered than standard characters.

[mister__joshua]

Well if I get selected it looks like I'll have about 200 karma to spend (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I think if its a survival campaign then the lower powered the better. If we're proper running then the extra karma will come in handy and I'll have to scale it up a bit

[Belvidere]

do we need to have the character built by the end of the weekend, or is the short blurb about the character enough for this stage? Unfortunately, I'm away from my books until Monday...

Just a short blurb, trying to "sell" your character to the game. Make me fall in love with your character. That is your goal. I'll let people post blurbs until monday evening after work. I think that will give plenty of variety to the pool of candidates.

[Fyndhal]

All my life, I've been running.

Living in the CZ, that's what you do. You stick together, move as a group and, if you somehow find yourself alone...you run.

As near as I can figure, I'm 21 years old. I have vague memories of having a house, but that was before the bugs, before the tanks pulled down the buildings and locked everyone inside. I remember the last time I saw my father and sister. He had pushed my mother, brother and myself up out of the basement we'd been hiding in and was helping Allie to climb out when the whole thing caved in. One second, they were there...then, they weren't.

The rest of us stuck together, stayed in whatever shelter we could. I guess you could say we were lucky. We survived the bugs, the blast, the FAB. My mom got sick and died about 10 years ago, leaving Carl and I to fend for ourselves. We started running with a gang, the Cold Ones. It was rough being as young as I was, but Carl protected me. He runs the gang now and I...well, I'm looking for something more. I hear there's a world out there that has amazing things in it. I'd like to see that.

For once, I'd like to be running towards something. It'd be a nice change, you know?
====
Bullseye grew up in the CZ. He's an adept, with skills in unarmed combat, throwing and survival. He knows the CZ very well, what areas to avoid, where it's safe to stay, and whose territory you happen to be in at any given moment. He's Surged; he has extremely large eyes and a pretty nasty allergy -- in the absence of the CZ's background count, he starts feeling very sick. He's unaware of this, but I'm sure it'd come up in play. He's illiterate, uneducated and a child of the streets.

I built him using the 600 karma option. Not quite done yet -- he's at 605 karma and I haven't fleshed out contacts or background skills, so there'll be some tweaking before he's done.

[mister__joshua]

Ok, I've re-done my character for 600 Karmagen

[ Spoiler ]

The first thing Jim can remember is the Orphanage in Southside. He still makes donations when he can. He was told he was picked up downtown during the time of the CZ. When the walls came down he was taken to the orphanage. As a youth he was snatched from outside the orphanage by a ghould raiding pack dragged into the Zone. That he escaped was nothing more than chance as his captors met with a FAB-III cloud and perished, leaving him stranded in the zone alone. Over a few weeks he managed to make his way out of the zone, laying low and eating anything he could find, not really knowing where he was going and having to grow up real fast. He finally came upon the Survivalist communities on the Southside CZ border and set up a squat there. Since that time, now some 7 years ago, he has made his home in the community, venturing out to find food and water, sometimes to hunt and trading Chicago Hours for necessities. He has build quite a life in the wastes, seemingly evolving and acclimatising to his surroundings and slowly gathering belongings. He has never come into much contact with advanced technology and wouldn't know that to do with it if he did, preferring the mechanical to the electronic. Living on his wits alone and taking each day as it comes, just finding enough and trading enough to keep his weapon maintained and his squat livable, this is the only life he has ever known, and to him as long as he's alive it's going well.

Name: Jim
Age: Mid Twenties
Metatype: Human (0Karma)
Nationality: Chicago born and bred
Appearance: Long unkempt hair and a survivalist beard

Stats: (300Karma)
Body: 4
Agility: 4
Reaction: 4
Strength: 3
Charisma: 2
Intuition: 4
Logic: 3
Willpower: 4
Edge: 3

Initiative: 10
IP: 1
Essence: 6


Qualities: (0Karma)
Positive
Outdoorsman
Juryrigger
Latent Technomancer
SURGE II (Vomeronasal Organ, Ogre Stomach, Keen-Eared; Symbiosis)

Negative
Illiterate
Computer Illiterate
Uncouth


Skills: (262Karma)
Active
Outdoors (group): 4
Athletics (group): 3
Stealth (group): 2
Long Arms (Spec. Sports Rifles): 5
Perception (Spec. Visual): 3
Dodge: 3
Blades (Spec. Knives): 3
Armourer (Spec. Firearms): 2
First Aid (Spec. Combat Wounds): 3
Unarmed: 2
Escape Artist: 2

Knowledge
Chicago Safe Havens: 4
Chicago Streets: 2
Chicago Black Market: 2
Chicago Barter Methods: 2
Chicago Ecology: 3


Gear: (12Karma)(30000¥)
Permanent Advanced Lifestyle: Squatter with Street Entertainment and Security (24,000¥)
Knife (20¥)
Remington 950 Sports Rifle (675¥)
Modified: Firing Selection Change (SS to SA) (300¥)
Extreme Environment Mod (Dusty) (100¥)
Weapon Sling (10¥)
Shock Pad (50¥)
Camouflage Ghillie Shroud (100¥)
Ammo 250 Rounds (500¥)
Survival Kit (100¥)
Rating 3 Medkit (300¥)
Rating 6 Respirator (150¥)
3 Rating 6 Stim Patches (450¥)
Trauma Patch (500¥)
19 Water Purification Tablets (95¥)
Desert Survival Kit (200¥)
Smart Goggles Rating 3 (150¥) (non-wireless)
Modified: Low Lite (100¥)
Thermograph (100¥)
Flare Compensation (50¥)
Ghillie Suit (500¥)
Victory Globetrotter Camouflage Jumpsuit (5/3) (750¥)
Modified: Rating 2 Chemical Protection (500¥)
Rating 2 Insulation (300¥)


Contacts: (26Karma)
Chicago Southside Survivalist Communities
Group Contact (Loyalty 3 Connection 1(2) (+1 for Membership)
Calumet Harbour Black Market Smuggler (Loyalty 1, Connection 4)
Leader at Southside Orphanage (Loyalty 2, Connection 1)

On a different note, I'm loving all the stories people are coming up with! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Fyndhal]

Ok, I've re-done my character for 600 Karmagen

On a different note, I'm loving all the stories people are coming up with! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Nice -- if we both end up in the game, we'll have 2 characters with Outdoorsman and survival. That's a good thing, especially since the characters are very different in other regards.

Here's a semi-finished version of Bullseye.

[ Spoiler ]

Name: Teddy Rose (Bullseye)
RACE: Human
CONCEPT: Throwing Adept
ATTRIBUTES
Body: 4
Agility: 4
Reaction: 4
Strength: 5
Charisma: 1
Intuition: 3
Logic: 2
Willpower: 3
EDGE: 3
Phys Init[P] 7[8]
Passes 1[2]
Magic: 5
Walk/Run 10/25
Phys Boxes 10
Stun Boxes 10
EDGE DMG OVERFLOW
OOO OOOO
DAMAGE RESISTANCE
4 + Armor
Body (4) + Cyber/Bio (0) + Dmg.Rst. (0)
ARMOR
Camouflage Suit
Bal/Impact 8/6 [8]
Mods Radiation Shielding (1-6) 3

COMMLINK
Type None
Resp
Signal
OS Type
Firewall
System
ACTIVE SKILLS
Athletics (Group) 3
Unarmed Combat 5
Pistols 2
Outdoors (Group) 5
Infiltration 4
Perception 5
Dodge 4
Throwing Weapons 4

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS
Hangouts (Safehouses) 4
Navigation (Containment Zone) 4
Gangs (Containment Zone) 5
Gambling 3
Trade Goods (Containment Zone) 4

Languages
English N

Race Qualities
N/A

Standard Qualities
Class III Surge 30
Arcane Arrester 50
Low Light Vision 10
Outdoorsman 20
Allergy (Common, Moderate) -30
Illiterate -20
Uneducated -40

POWERS Uninitiated
Adept Powers:
Critical Strike 5
Improved Reflexes I
Killing Hands
Missile Mastery 1
Power Throw 3

CONTACTS
Brother, Gang Leader (Loy. 5 Con. 3)
Smuggler (Loy. 2 Con. 2)

GEAR 390¥
Low for 2 months.
16 x Explosive Rounds
2 x Gas Grenade
2 x Smoke Grenade
2 x Fragmentation Grenade
Sleeping Bag
Survival Kit
Butt Pack
Smart Canteen 1 liter
Quick-Draw Holser


MELEE WEAPONS
Name Unarmed
Reach 0
Ap 0
DV 8(S/P)

Ranged Weapons
Name Throwing Knife
Type Throwing
Mode
Armor Piercing 0
Damage Value 7P
Recoil Comp 0
Short Range 0 - 11
Medium Range 12 - 22
Long Range 23 - 33
Extended 34 - 55
Concealability -2
Ammo ()
Name Colt Manhunter
Type Heavy Pistol
Mode SA
Armor Piercing -1
Damage Value 5P
Recoil Comp 0
Short Range 0 - 5
Medium Range 6 - 20
Long Range 21 - 40
Extended 41 - 60
Concealability 0
Ammo 16©

[Belvidere]

On a different note, I'm loving all the stories people are coming up with! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

I agree! So far so good everyone! It's going to be tough, but luckily I didn't get flooded with like twenty people. I guess a lower powered Chicago game scares some people off. Wonder why? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

Edit: For spelling errors.

[Notsoevildm]

I've been following this thread and it sounds interesting. Here's my proposed character:

Blanks
The fan on the desk reminds him of how he ended up here. He stands frozen remembering his fall from the DocWagon HTR helicopter as the bug spirit tore into it. He hit the roof hard and watched the chopper tumble past him dragging him towards the edge of the roof. Only his fast reactions and the quick release on the rapelling harness prevented him from following it 20 stories to the ground.

He snaps back to reality, pushing the memory from five years ago into the back of his mind. The ganger is talking to him. One of his buddies is hurt and he has some gel rounds and medical supplies to trade if he can fix him up. His cyebereyes blink behind the protective covers that go with his name. He reaches for his medkit. There is a patient to treat.

[ Spoiler ]

600 karma build

Attributes
Body: 4
Agility: 4[5]
Reaction: 4[5]
Strength: 3[4]
Charisma: 3
Intuition: 3
Logic: 4
Willpower: 4
EDGE: 2
Phys Init 7[8]
Passes 1
Essence: 3.615

Skills
Biotech (Group) 4
Influence (Group) 3
Outdoors (Group) 3

Climbing 3
Clubs (Batons) 3 (+2)
Dodge (Ranged) 3 (+2)
Infiltration 3
Perception 3
Pilot Aircraft (Helicopters) 2 (+2)
Pilot Ground Craft (Cars) 2 (+2)
Pistols (Semi-automatics) 4 (+2)
Running 2
Unarmed Combat (Subduing) 4 (+2)

Knowledge skills
Corp (Renraku) 3
Regional (Chicago) 4
Biology 4
Parazoology 3
Hangouts (Safehouses) 4
Wines 2

English N
Japanese 4

Qualities
Biocompatibility (Cyberware) 20
Tough as Nails (1) 20
Pacifist -10
SINner (Standard) -10
Addiction (Mild, Cram) -10
Flashbacks - (Uncommon, trigger: sounds similar to helicopter blades) -10

Cyberware
Dermal Plating Rating 1
Biomonitor
Muscle Replacement 1
Internal Air Tank
Reaction Enhancer 1
Cybereyes Rating 2
- Low-Light Vision
- Thermographic Vision
- Flare Compensation
- Protective Covers
- Vision Enhancement 1
- Image Link/Recorder

Gear
Hardliner gloves
AZ-150 stun baton
Browning Ultra Power
60 x Gel Rounds
60 x Regular Ammo
30 x Hollow Point Rounds
Standard Rope 100m
10 x Pepper Punch
20 x Cram
Earbuds R3
Medkit R6
2 x Medkit Supplies
3 x Antidote Patch
4 x Stimulant Patch R3
4 x Tranq Patch R3
Trauma Patch
2 x Plasteel restraints
Survival Kit
Climbing Gear
Respirator R3
Butt Pack
Quick-Draw Holser

Contacts
Pawn Broker (L1 C2)
Street Vendor (L1 C1)

[Edana]

Still messing around with what I want for numbers, but here's my concept for consideration:

Melanie (Mel)
How long had she been here? The days stretched out into time she could barely comprehend. But she didn't need to comprehend, she only needed to survive. That's what the old woman had taught her. Be the hunter or the hunted, the predator or the prey, these were the choices that mattered in this place. And so she honed the instincts that brought her to this place, an experiment gone horribly wrong, or horribly right depending on who you asked.

Her mind wandered back to the stark white, glimpses of her past. They had poked and prodded, laughed at the little girl she was, taken pleasure in her reactions to the pain. But they had learned fear. Stabbed her one too many times. Her world went from white to red in an instant. The air was filled with screams, their terror only fueled her lust for vengeance.

Movement out of the corner of her eye snaps her mind back from its reverie. It was bigger than normal. They would eat well tonight. Her muscles tense in anticipation. As it passes by she drops from her hiding place and the battle is over before it's even begun. No need to needlessly waste energy. She backs off, knowing she need only follow her prey until the venom works its grim magic.

--

Melanie is or rather, was, a genetic experiment. Eventually the testing and teasing caused something to snap and she wounded or killed most of the staff, allowing her to escape out into the Chicago CZ. There she's been living with an older woman, who took her in despite the girl's anti-social, nearly feral, nature. As she's grown, Mel has made a few friends, people she's grown to trust, and who she looks after in her own way.

Basic skills: Infiltration/Close Combat/Survival

Assuming I get picked, I'd like to know what kind of dicepools you're aiming for, and have a couple questions about some qualities I'm mulling over (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) . (Definitely looking at surge and some of the genetic options to cover background, but I don't want to go overboard.)

[mister__joshua]

How many character subs have there been now? Can't you take em all and run a big game, or run 2 separate smaller ones with some cross-over? I'd just hate to see some of these characters not get played (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Belvidere]

How many character subs have there been now? Can't you take em all and run a big game, or run 2 separate smaller ones with some cross-over? I'd just hate to see some of these characters not get played (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I would have no issue with a second game, except that I don't have the time to run it. If someone wanted to GM a second game that ran alongside it and collaborate between the two of us, thing could get really interesting. As for right now the four that I think will fit into the ideas I've got tossing around are:

Glass-Walker
Blanks
Umbra
Mel

Now if someone wants to GM a game alongside mine, and wants different PCs, then things may change. As for now, everyone else is still in reserves though, and rescruitment is always open.

[Tanegar]

Woohoo, I made the cut! Any idea when you'll start the game?

[Belvidere]

Woohoo, I made the cut! Any idea when you'll start the game?

I'm hoping by this weekend, if everyones characters are ready and posted with a 600 karma build. And grats Chummer! Welcome to hell! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/devil.gif) err... Chicago. Yeah... Chicago.

But if I get a GM for a double game, it might be later, depending on how fast we work together.

[Belvidere]

And the official OoC thread is up!

http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=34593