Character clinic, We'll make your character awesome Options

[Seriously Mike]

OK, so I put together another character, this time more buffed up than the slightly underpowered Adept.

Street Name: Kestrel
Name: Olga Voronina
Karma: 0
Street Cred: 0
Notoriety: 0
Public Awareness: 0
Human Female Age 28
Height 5'8" Weight 137 lbs
Composure: 5
Judge Intentions: 6
Lift/Carry: 8 (60 kg/40 kg)
Memory: 6
Nuyen: 1380

Description
Former VDV (Russian airborne troops) Sergeant, combat character focused on assault weapons and close combat.

Attributes

[ Spoiler ]

BOD: 3 (4)
AGI: 4
REA: 4 (5)
STR: 3 (4)
CHA: 2
INT: 4
LOG: 3
WIL: 3
EDG: 3

Derived Attributes
Essence: 2,13
Initiative: 8 (9)
IP: 1 (2)
Matrix Initiative: 4
Matrix IP: 1
Physical Damage Track: 12
Stun Damage Track: 10

Active Skills

[ Spoiler ]

Athletics (Group): 2
Influence (Group): 1
Stealth (Group): 1
Armorer: 2
Automatics: 5
Blades: 4 [Spec: Cyber-Implant Blades]
Demolitions: 2
Dodge: 4
First Aid: 2
Navigation: 1
Parachuting: 3
Perception: 2
Pilot Ground Craft: 2
Pistols: 3
Survival: 2
Unarmed Combat: 3

Knowledge Skills

[ Spoiler ]

Russian: N
English: 4
German: 3

Combat Tactics: 3
Firearms: 3
Military: 3
Vory: 1
Literature: 2
Music: 2

Qualities

[ Spoiler ]

Biocompatability (Cyberware) (10)
Guts (5)
Mania/Phobia (Uncommon, Mild) (Phobia (Fire)) (-5)
Records on File (Evo) (-10)

Gear

[ Spoiler ]

Cyberware/Bioware
Cybereyes Basic System Rating 2
+Eye Recording Unit
+Image Link
+Low-Light Vision
+Vision Enhancement Rating 2
+Smartlink
Obvious Full Arm (BOD 6, AGI 6, STR 6) (Left)
+Enhanced Agility Rating 3
+Enhanced Strength Rating 3
+Enhanced Body Rating 3
+Spur
+Armor Rating 3
Obvious Full Arm (BOD 6, AGI 6, STR 6) (Right)
+Spur
+Enhanced Agility Rating 3
+Enhanced Body Rating 3
+Enhanced Strength Rating 3
+Armor Rating 3
Wired Reflexes Rating 1

Armor
Form-Fitting Full-Body Suit (6/2)
+Biomonitor
+Nonconductivity 6

Daily Outfit:
Mortimer of London: Berwick Blouse (1/0)
Mortimer of London: Berwick Trousers (1/1)
Mortimer of London: Berwick Suit Jacket (3/2)
+Concealable Holster
Armored Jackboots (0/1)
Mortimer of London: Greatcoat Line (6/5) (optional)

Mission Outfit:
Victory: Globetrotter Camouflage Vest (5/5)
+Gel Packs
+SecureTech Vitals Protector
Combat Pants (0/2)
+SecureTech Leg Casings
+SecureTech Shin Guards
+Quick-Draw Holster

Weapons
Ares Executive Protector w/ Smartlink
+Smartgun System, Internal
+Stock
+Sound Suppressor
DV: 5P AP: - RC: (1)

Hammerli 620S
+Silencer
+Smartgun System
DV: 4P AP: - RC: 1

Spur (x2)
DV: 6P AP: - RC: 0

Unarmed Attack
DV: 3S AP: - RC: 0

Commlink
Qilinx Tiger (3, 2, 2, 2)
+Renraku Ichi
FTL Matrixware Net Wizard
+Analyze Rating 3
+Browse Rating 3
+Command Rating 1
+Edit Rating 2
+Purge Rating 3

Gear
Ammo: Hollow Point Rounds (Light Pistols) x50
Ammo: Regular Ammo (Submachine Guns) x120
Concealable Holster
Smart Pouch System, Combat Load Vest
Medkit Rating 4
Trauma Patch x2

Fake License (CCW) Rating 4
Fake License (Driving) Rating 4
Fake License (Cyberware) Rating 4
Fake SIN (Ekaterina Savchenko) Rating 4

Background
Sergeant Olga Semyonovna Voronina of the 7th Guards Airborne Division, Russian Army, killed in a friendly fire incident near Cherik-Martan in Caucasus along with her squad after going AWOL. That's the official version. Unofficially, her squad was used as a shadowrunner team on Saeder-Krupp payroll by her CO, Cpt. Ivan Butov. However, Butov was deemed "too greedy" by S-K, who decided to get rid of him and his "black-ops shadowteam". The off-the-books mission Voronina's squad was sent to turned out to be a deathtrap engineered with the help of corrupt higher-ranking officers who ordered a missile strike on the Cherik-Martan village, claimed by "intelligence reports" to be a "terrorist hideout".
Out of ten soldiers and over seventy SINless villagers, Voronina was the sole survivor - heavily burned, blinded and with both arms damaged beyond repair. Evo, S-K's opponent in the proxy war over the area, managed to send their scouts first, retrieve the crippled sergeant and make it look like she perished as well. Now, Evo had a very pissed off soldier with a grudge owe them a huge favor and Olga had the capability for revenge...

Notes:
I shifted some points here and there: she's still the designated shootist (14 dice on her SMG and 11 on any else, 12 on her pistol and 9 on any else), but with no Longarms or Gunnery expertise now. However, I upped her Blades skill by one, so if someone's stupid enough to go mano a mano with her it's 12 dice on attack and 9 on defense - however, I'm considering moving that point from Blades to Dodge, as it's more versatile (well, she only needs the blades in situations where she's conveniently unarmed, to cut up the first armed schmuck that comes close and loot his toys). I also gave her two pretty useful soldier skills, Navigation and Survival.
Having two fake SINs at once, not to mention two different commlinks, seems to be all the rage - so is it sensible to use another BP to get those, as well as other gear?

Also, feel free to post your character builds for advice. You never know what "hidden depths" others can find in them. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Whipstitch]

The thing with fire is that with SR4 tech there's not much reason for fire to really be all that common in most neighborhoods except as AR iconography. Squatters eat nutrisoy and whatever they can trade for in the Barrens while people with low lifestyles are thankful if they have an autocook with a full suite of flavor faucets. Personally, my new li'l apartment has an electric range and none of my friends are smokers, so it's probably been weeks since I've seen a flame. Obviously the frequency can vary, but I can understand how GM might go either way in an urban setting depending on how dependent they think squatters and street people are on fire for warmth out in the worst parts of the sprawl.

[Bigity]

What, your Barrens doesn't have squatters standing around a barrel fire with fingerless gloves drinking bad hooch out of a container in a paper bag?

The gangers don't routinely toss firebombs around for fun and retribution or just as a reminder they are tough?



Still..I'm not sure an open flame would be a common occurrence.

[Whipstitch]

In my games people who can't manage a squatter lifestyle usually don't live very long.

[AppliedCheese]

Nitpickery to consider background wise:

1x squad of VDV would have to be exceptionally hand picked for a Russian Bn/Regt commander to be its CO. Usually there would be a platoon leader, then a company commander, THEN the old man. Unless your very special and on detached duty of sorts.

Also, low CHA is fine...Russian NCOs are usually less leader, more intermediary follower, than western equivalents. Of course, in a hand picked, cream of the VDV, use doff the books squad...who knows...

[Adarael]

What, your Barrens doesn't have squatters standing around a barrel fire with fingerless gloves drinking bad hooch out of a container in a paper bag?

The gangers don't routinely toss firebombs around for fun and retribution or just as a reminder they are tough?



Still..I'm not sure an open flame would be a common occurrence.

Maybe other people's characters don't associate with the Halloweeners or Red Hot Nukes as often as mine do, but... yeah. That seems odd.

[Whipstitch]

I second that average charisma and low skill for a NCO isn't really a big deal. While the military does emphasize leadership skills they also put an awful lot of effort into creating an environment and hierarchy that allows people to lead effectively; being on friendly terms with a lower ranking soldier in the same unit can net you 3 or 4 extra Leadership dice under the SR4 system rather easily. So a sergeant who knows their job well enough to avoid giving stupid orders and has a good team behind them doesn't really need to be Miss Congeniality in their normal course of duty.

[Seriously Mike]

1x squad of VDV would have to be exceptionally hand picked for a Russian Bn/Regt commander to be its CO. Usually there would be a platoon leader, then a company commander, THEN the old man. Unless your very special and on detached duty of sorts.

Great, thanks for doing the research for me (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) . The COs rank was pretty much a placeholder, really. Actually some lower-ranking officer would be more likely to be enough of a slimeball to pull something like this on his men. That and the threat of higher-ups finding out about his "jobs on the side" would be more likely too.

[Manunancy]

1x squad of VDV would have to be exceptionally hand picked for a Russian Bn/Regt commander to be its CO. Usually there would be a platoon leader, then a company commander, THEN the old man. Unless your very special and on detached duty of sorts.

He's probably the guy who send them on errands, not their direct commander. Add one or two level of flunkies (who can have some nice accidents) and it should do the trick. Or maybe she thinks the commander was the one calling the shots while in reality it was some intermediary faking his authorizations - and maybe even one not in the chain of command. Who then can safely howl with the wolves and point his fingers at the commander to divert the investigations away from him.

[Seriously Mike]

He's probably the guy who send them on errands, not their direct commander. Add one or two level of flunkies (who can have some nice accidents) and it should do the trick. Or maybe she thinks the commander was the one calling the shots while in reality it was some intermediary faking his authorizations - and maybe even one not in the chain of command. Who then can safely howl with the wolves and point his fingers at the commander to divert the investigations away from him.

It's easier to cover it up when you don't have any flunkies between you and the team. Also, less people to split the payola between. So scaling the bastard down to platoon commander makes sense: having 30 to 50 guys at his disposal, low enough that the corporation can afford his "services", but ready to bail out as soon as he feels heat under his ass. That even works with the alternate version of the background, where it's S-K who order the airstrike higher up, to break the corrupt bastard's career. The grunts were just a collateral. How did that one go, "never deal with a dragon"?

[Stingray]

..Availibilty of Fake Sin lvl 5 is over 12, Fake Sin lvl 4 is highest what u can get in char.gen.. (w/o Restricted gear-Quality)
non-modified armor??

[Adarael]

OK, so I put together another character, this time more buffed up than the slightly underpowered Adept.

Name: Olga Voronina
AKA: Ekaterina Savchenko, Kestrel
...

I can't believe it took me this long to realize this, but... I think somebody's been playing some Splinter Cell: Conviction.

And maybe some Metal Gear Solid 2, though that's a longer shot.

[Seriously Mike]

I can't believe it took me this long to realize this, but... I think somebody's been playing some Splinter Cell: Conviction.

And maybe some Metal Gear Solid 2, though that's a longer shot.

I can't believe it took you this long NOT to realize this, but... this list is longer. And you missed a couple of very obvious references. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

..Availibilty of Fake Sin lvl 5 is over 12, Fake Sin lvl 4 is highest what u can get in char.gen.. (w/o Restricted gear-Quality)
non-modified armor??

Big deal, dial the SIN level down a bit and save some money. As for "non-modified armor", what do you have in mind? I didn't really look at the new armor options in Arsenal, really. However, she cranks out 12/11 Armor in her street clothing, 11/9 when she drops the coat and 15/13 when she dons the "mission jacket". Either that or Armor calculation in Chummer is messed up (I can't believe she has pools this high). Also, looking at the cost of all those clothes... I think I shouldn't have spent that much on them. Oh well, the downsides of playing a woman... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[AppliedCheese]

Company commander would be about right. Its the position in the Russian (and most western) armies where real book keeping starts, but low enough to simply tell 3rd platoon to break off a squad without it looking horribly suspicious. So CPT so and so...

[Seriously Mike]

So CPT so and so...

Captain Kizhe... (falls under the desk laughing, must be a funny day today)
But yeah, that's what I had in mind. Also, the suggestion of changing the fake SIN to level 4 is a good idea, especially if the saved money can be used to fit the "mission jacket" with a Nonconductivity mod.

[Stingray]

Captain Kizhe... (falls under the desk laughing, must be a funny day today)
But yeah, that's what I had in mind. Also, the suggestion of changing the fake SIN to level 4 is a good idea, especially if the saved money can be used to fit the "mission jacket" with a Nonconductivity mod.

..one way to save precious Y, inststead Berwic suit, buy Actioneer Business Clothes...
..if playing RAW Max armor= 2x Body, choices of decent Armor are pretty slim..(especially for body 3)

[Seriously Mike]

..one way to save precious Y, inststead Berwic suit, buy Actioneer Business Clothes...
..if playing RAW Max armor= 2x Body, choices of decent Armor are pretty slim..(especially for body 3)

Yeah, Actioneer suit is a good idea, not as ostentatious but still protective enough. Also, I just found out Chummer indeed derped out and stupidly treated Cyberarms armor as stackable all-body armor (that also happens to stack with itself). Hence the completely insane dice pools. That'd mean I have only 9/7 protection in the Mission Jacket.

[Stingray]

Yeah, Actioneer suit is a good idea, not as ostentatious but still protective enough. Also, I just found out Chummer indeed derped out and stupidly treated Cyberarms armor as stackable all-body armor (that also happens to stack with itself). Hence the completely insane dice pools. That'd mean I have only 9/7 protection in the Mission Jacket.

....hmm...buying Industrious Line Coverall (5/4), adding Helmet (1/2) = 6/6 + armor from Cyberhands = 9/9...
or Industrious Line Winterized Coverall (6/5) (it already have lvl 2 Fire resistance,Insulation, and Chemical protection) adding Forearm/shin-guards (0/1) makes
also 6/6..

Your nat. Str is 3, W/ str enc. from hands makes it 6, right??
people makes same damage with str 5 or str 6 in unarmed combat , so dropping it to 2 (bringing total to 5), and raising Body stat. with it gives more choices of armor..

[Seriously Mike]

Your nat. Str is 3, W/ str enc. from hands makes it 6, right??
people makes same damage with str 5 or str 6 in unarmed combat , so dropping it to 2 (bringing total to 5), and raising Body stat. with it gives more choices of armor..

Does Body enhancement from cybernetic limbs increase the average value for character? Because if it does (Chummer gives an increased value in parentheses, like it does with Wired Reflexes for Reaction, but I'm not sure if it's correct), I have effective Body stat of 4, which means that Armor Jacket (which I can keep) + PPP Vitals Protector + Cyberarm Armor give me a whopping 12/10 (8/6 +1 +3).

[Stingray]

Does Body enhancement from cybernetic limbs increase the average value for character? Because if it does (Chummer gives an increased value in parentheses, like it does with Wired Reflexes for Reaction, but I'm not sure if it's correct), I have effective Body stat of 4, which means that Armor Jacket (which I can keep) + PPP Vitals Protector + Cyberarm Armor give me a whopping 12/10 (8/6 +1 +3).

+3 str bonus do increase stat,yes..
but armor question..
addind vitals protection to armor jacket raise it 9/7 and so giving agility and reaction penalties..
those c-hands armor gives extrra dices to resist damage (from Bod. enc) ..
better option (IMOO)
Industrious Line coverall (5/4) +
Form Fitting Body Armor (6/2) (considering as 3/1,when conting penalties) +
PPP Helmet (0/2) +
Shin Guards (0/1)
11/9 (considering as 8/8 when counting penalties)
+ 3 from c-hands.. 14/12..

[Seriously Mike]

+3 str bonus do increase stat,yes..
but armor question..
addind vitals protection to armor jacket raise it 9/7 and so giving agility and reaction penalties..
those c-hands armor gives extrra dices to resist damage (from Bod. enc) ..
better option (IMOO)
Industrious Line coverall (5/4) +
Form Fitting Body Armor (6/2) (considering as 3/1,when conting penalties) +
PPP Helmet (0/2) +
Shin Guards (0/1)
11/9 (considering as 8/8 when counting penalties)
+ 3 from c-hands.. 14/12..

Nice, but too much crunch and not enough fluff. When people say "Industrious Line coverall", I have a subconscious desire to add a latex clown mask to it, for that "Hollywood bank heist" look.
I have a different idea, a gear pack that fits in a go-bag easily and can be afforded by a starting character short on points: Armor Jacket (8/6), PPP shin guards (0/1) and c-arms. 11/10, but easier to put on and take off (anyway, 15 dice is a pool fit for soaking assault cannon shots... >_>). Or an "I-Don't-Fuck-Around" kit I'd feel comfortable in:
FFBA fitted with Biomonitor and Nonconductivity 6 (6/2 - I hope that cutting the sleeves off doesn't decrease the armor values (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) )
Ares Globetrotter Camo Vest (3/3) with Gel Packs (1/1) and Smart Pouches
PPP Vitals Protector (1/1)
PPP Leg Casings (0/1) (maybe with a QD holster)
PPP Shin Guards (0/1)
That'll be... 11/9, 14/12 with c-arms added in. Leg Casings and Shin Guards can be replaced with a PPP bucket, er, helmet, Vitals Protector and Leg Casings can be replaced with a milspec bucket.

Also, I think I need another license, this time for cyberware. Folks with reflex enhancers are directly dangerous to The Man. The spurs, well, they can be hidden in a couple different ways. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Whipstitch]

Honestly, fluff wise I think it's a wash. In urban environments wearing a camo vest can stick out as easily as coveralls. In either case it's probably an advantage to cover up a bit with a light unarmored jacket.

[Seriously Mike]

Honestly, fluff wise I think it's a wash. In urban environments wearing a camo vest can stick out as easily as coveralls. In either case it's probably an advantage to cover up a bit with a light unarmored jacket.

Ah, my other hobby shows up here. I kinda took for granted that those camo vests, apart from your typical woodland/desert/urban camo will also be available in solid colors like olive, tan or black. The same thing, just without camouflage bonus.

[Whipstitch]

I'd allow it as a GM, but well, when you said camo I thought about camo. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Anyway, shadowrun fashion is supposedly pretty out there anyway. Really, the big distinction is often upscale dress clothes/namebrand casual vs. everything else.

[HunterHerne]

I'd allow it as a GM, but well, when you said camo I thought about camo. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Anyway, shadowrun fashion is supposedly pretty out there anyway. Really, the big distinction is often upscale dress clothes/namebrand casual vs. everything else.

Depends which in-universe characters you ask. Seems Dev//grrl might have something to say on that. Whether she should or not might be a different story.