Toughest Ork Merc Possible, While still being able to kick an ass Options

[whatevs]

I'm trying my hand at creating an ORK mercenary, and want to make him as resilient (tough to kill) as possible. I've got a rough outline, and was hoping for some general suggestions as well as specific help on which bioware / enhancements to choose, weapon combinations, general thoughts on being a total badass, and wether I have high enough dice pools for each action (last part of summary).

Here's what I have so far, any help is much appreciated.

[ Spoiler ]

B 8
A 4 (6)
R 4 (6)
S 4 (6)
C 2
I 3
L 3
W 5

Negative Qualities: Flashbacks (Uncommon), Poor Self Control (Combat Monster), Enemies
Positive Qualities: Guts, High Pain Tolerance (Rating 3), Toughness

Cyberware/Bioware: Muscle Augmentation Rating 2, Muscle Toner Rating 2, Synaptic Booster Rating 2

Active Skills of Note:
Athletics Group 2
Close Combat Group 2
Firearms Group 4
Outdoors Group 1 (Team Gap, No Choice)
Dodge 4
Gunnery 2
Heavy Weapons 2
Infiltration 2
Perception 1
Pilot Ground 1 (Team Gap, No Choice)

The Above Results in the Following Dice Pools:
Animal Handling 2
Animal Training 2
Archery 5
Armorer 2
Artisan 2
Automatics 10
Blades 8
Climbing 8
Clubs 8
Computer 2
Con 1
Cybercombat 2
Data Search 2
Demolitions 2
Disguise 2
Diving 7
Dodge 10
Escape Artist 5
Etiquette 1
Exotic Melee Weapon 5
Exotic Ranged Weapon 5
First Aid 2
Forgery 5
Gunnery 8
Gymnastics 8
Hacking 2
Heavy Weapons 8
Infiltration 8
Instruction 1
Intimidation 1
Leadership 1
Locksmith 5
Longarms 10
Navigation 4
Negotiation 1
Palming 5
Parachuting 7
Perception 4
Pilot Ground Craft 7
Pilot Watercraft 5
Pistols 10
Riding 5
Running 8
Shadowing 2
Survival 6
Swimming 8
Throwing Weapons 5
Tracking 4
Unarmed Combat 8

[Makki]

you definitely need some 'Ware. either Bone Density Bioware or Aluminium Bones. Then add Orthoskin or Dermal plating. Or cut off zour Limbs and get Cyberlimbs.
The Toughness Quality sounds nice, but isn't that good bang for the buck. it's 10 BP, which is 50k nuyen, which you can get Rating 2 Dermal Plating AND Aluminium Bone Lacing for.
There is more nice stuff, like Trauma damper or Platelet Factory

omg I can see, where this thread will go...possession spirits are waiting

tough to kill means high dodge pool as well, omg. there's so much potential. Gymnastic dodge can go into 20 easy

[Fortinbras]

As tough to kill as possible, eh. Now you've done it.

1) Platelet Factory + Trauma Dampner
2)Genetic Optimization, Enhanced Attribute Quality and Metagenic Improvement Quality for a Body of 12.
3)Ware to boost that Body to 18
4)Bone Lacing
5)Vasocon
6) Auto-Injector
7) Edge, and lots of it.
8)Armour Jacket, Full Body Form Fitting Armour and the whole Secure-Tech PPP line.

That's just off the top of my head.

[Whipstitch]

You could afford to be waaaaaay tougher if you trade the boosters in for wires, ditch dodge, trade the combat skill groups in for one or two stand alone skills and skip the high pain tolerance. High Pain Tolerance in particular is a quality I'm not very fond of due to its cost. Between Stim Patches, NoPaint and Snuff there are pretty decent pain management options available if you can spare a moment to use them while Pain Editor bioware costs about as much as HPT 3 and is often much more effective, particularly since a high Body ork can pack a pretty impressive armor rating and shunt handgun damage down to the Stun track with fair consistency.

[whatevs]

Nice! I love the suggestions already. I was trying to stay away from chrome and go more 'natural' for concept sake, but I might just change that up. Any thoughts specifically related to defending against magic? (it's currently the reason why I have so many points in willpower)

[whatevs]

you definitely need some 'Ware. either Bone Density Bioware or Aluminium Bones. Then add Orthoskin or Dermal plating. Or cut off zour Limbs and get Cyberlimbs.
The Toughness Quality sounds nice, but isn't that good bang for the buck. it's 10 BP, which is 50k nuyen, which you can get Rating 2 Dermal Plating AND Aluminium Bone Lacing for.
There is more nice stuff, like Trauma damper or Platelet Factory

omg I can see, where this thread will go...possession spirits are waiting

tough to kill means high dodge pool as well, omg. there's so much potential. Gymnastic dodge can go into 20 easy

Nice. Looking up orthoskin now. As for high dodge pool, will probably invest a little more but I want this guy to be all tank. I can leave the quick feet to our sam. What are the 5 d's of dodgeball again? lol

[Makki]

Nice! I love the suggestions already. I was trying to stay away from chrome and go more 'natural' for concept sake, but I might just change that up. Any thoughts specifically related to defending against magic? (it's currently the reason why I have so many points in willpower)

Willpower gives you stun boxes as well, which is good. How about the Magical Resistance positive quality. It's actually pretty nice, although a friendly mage will have problems as well. But Willpower 5 and MR 4 is 9 dice against mages.

[longbowrocks]

3)Ware to boost that Body to 18

Is there 'ware to boost body?

4)Bone Lacing

If you get the ware to boost your body to 18, this won't help with DR tests since it increases body for DR tests. It's not a dice pool modifier.

8)Armour Jacket, Full Body Form Fitting Armour and the whole Secure-Tech PPP line.

Why armor jacket?
Why not SWAT Armor + Helmet + Full Body Form Fitting + full SecureTech PPP + ballistic shield?

wouldn't that be 12+2+6+2+6 / 10+2+2+6+4 = 28/24?

so 46 dice against bullets (assuming 18 body)?

[whatevs]

Willpower gives you stun boxes as well, which is good. How about the Magical Resistance positive quality. It's actually pretty nice, although a friendly mage will have problems as well. But Willpower 5 and MR 4 is 9 dice against mages.

This character is going to be basically a body-guard to a mage with counterspelling 10, so in the right circumstances it could be 19 dice versus magic. But that also means the same negatives apply to any spell he volunteers for (like heal) <SR4a92>, or improved reflexes, or combat sense. Will have to think on that one, but it seems the obvious choice doesn't it.

[Faraday]

This character is going to be basically a body-guard to a mage with counterspelling 10, so in the right circumstances it could be 19 dice versus magic. But that also means the same negatives apply to any spell he volunteers for (like heal) <SR4a92>, or improved reflexes, or combat sense. Will have to think on that one, but it seems the obvious choice doesn't it.

Harder to cast health spells on guys with a lot of 'ware anyway. Magic resistance all the way!

[Loch]

Don't forget to get a solid commlink with as high System as possible. What's the sense in being a hulked-out damage soak if your matrix damage track is only as long as any BTL junkie's.

[CanRay]

Toughest Ork Possible?

Samuel L. Jackson, Goblinize him. Done. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[Badmoodguy88]

He would still have a vulnerability to giant sharks. And you know what happens when you have a single vulnerability. Goblinjackson would be walking down the street and be attacked by a chromed up pack of giant sharks. Even on planes full of snakes (his specialty) there would be at least on specimen of the majestic and deadly shark snake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMwmqp3GLMc

[whatevs]

He would still have a vulnerability to giant sharks. And you know what happens when you have a single vulnerability. Goblinjackson would be walking down the street and be attacked by a chromed up pack of giant sharks. Even on planes full of snakes (his specialty) there would be at least on specimen of the majestic and deadly shark snake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMwmqp3GLMc

Greatest vulnerability ever! Lol

[whatevs]

Harder to cast health spells on guys with a lot of 'ware anyway. Magic resistance all the way!

Great call! Totally forgot about that.

[CanRay]

He would still have a vulnerability to giant sharks. And you know what happens when you have a single vulnerability. Goblinjackson would be walking down the street and be attacked by a chromed up pack of giant sharks. Even on planes full of snakes (his specialty) there would be at least on specimen of the majestic and deadly shark snake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMwmqp3GLMc

Knocks on OrkJackson's door: "Candygram." (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[Squinky]

Cyberlimbs. Nothing beats em.

You get an extra damage box for each, and one level of pain resistance as well. Slap that lovely cumulative armor on it as well, and a 4 limbed sammy has 8 armor nekkid, 4 more damge boxes and 4 more pain resistance. Couple that with a pain editor, and you are rocking.

[CanRay]

You can also put hidden compartments in them to hold explosives.

Ask Kid Stealth how effective explosives are. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Makki]

Day almost over and still nobody mentioned RC? unbelievable.
Go get SURGE and Arcane Arrester solves all your antimagic needs.

In general, the idea of an ork with bullets bouncing of is pretty cool, but it's even cooler, when nobody knows why. That's why I don't like obivous cyber and metal in general (MAD scanners etc). Bioware is cool, but one can also build a (mystic) adept with Mystic armor, Supernatural Toughness and Attribute Boost (Body), maybe one point of bio...

or be a Fxx Free Spirit with realistic form.

[Loch]

Day almost over and still nobody mentioned RC? unbelievable.
Go get SURGE and Arcane Arrester solves all your antimagic needs.

In general, the idea of an ork with bullets bouncing of is pretty cool, but it's even cooler, when nobody knows why. That's why I don't like obivous cyber and metal in general (MAD scanners etc). Bioware is cool, but one can also build a (mystic) adept with Mystic armor, Supernatural Toughness and Attribute Boost (Body), maybe one point of bio...

or be a Fxx Free Spirit with realistic form.

Cooler? Debatable, some people don't like the whole chrome angle, sure.

But in my experience, being impervious to small arms fire and just looking like a thug in an armor jacket is going to raise some questions for corpsec, which in turn is going to raise the alarm for the in-house mage to come assensing...

Hiding in plain sight is definitely the way to go, I think. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

[Yerameyahu]

This isn't even fun anymore. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Armor + cyberlimbs + Pain Editor + Astral Hazing + Arcane Arrester. Sigh. It won't be fun to play, either.

[longbowrocks]

Cyberlimbs. Nothing beats em.

You get an extra damage box for each, and one level of pain resistance as well.

I knew about the damage boxes, but I never saw anything about pain resistance...

[Yerameyahu]

That's because you haven't read the rules yet! Hurry up. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Yes, it's a big tradeoff: you lose tactile perception, oh no!

[CanRay]

That's because you haven't read the rules yet! Hurry up. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Yes, it's a big tradeoff: you lose tactile perception, oh no!

Hey, blind people need that to read! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[Yerameyahu]

Nuh uh, that's why god invented trodes! Who even reads anymore? It's a direct-thought, icon-navigated world. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)