Build advice: Married, with kids? Options

[Snow_Fox]

It also makes an anchor for the runner-targets for enemies and people tracking htem it makes a creature of habit. You have to drop the kids off at or pick them up from school at a certain time.

[Telion]

now would you have to pay for additional contacts?
next door neighbor... teachers... friends of the spouse... book club

[CanRay]

It also makes an anchor for the runner-targets for enemies and people tracking htem it makes a creature of habit. You have to drop the kids off at or pick them up from school at a certain time.

Oh yeah, but kidnapping a kid? You better believe that's going to raise the ire of a lot of people, even criminal types. Watch the loyalty ratings jump through the roof of contacts for a limited time.

now would you have to pay for additional contacts?
next door neighbor... teachers... friends of the spouse... book club

I'd put those down as "Friend of a Friend" for your high-level Loyalty Spouse Contact, depending on their Connection Level.

You'd also have to buy the kids as Contacts, too, don't forget.

[Yerameyahu]

Hehe. Only if you're using them for something. You don't need Contacts for every person you know. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[bannockburn]

Hm.
I would model this with a custom low or medium lifestyle, adding +1 or +2 to necessities (for the additional space needed for the kids and that safe room) and then add 30% to the base cost, afterwards deduct a percentage depending on the income of the spouse (50% for ease of use, I guess.)
Of course, dependent quality for 15BP (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Make no mistake, as the others have said: This is a BIG chink in the armour of the anonymous runner. But from my position as a GM: I like it. Very much. (That should give you something to think (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) )

[Angelone]

Personally as a GM I tend to go after the PCs family only rarely and tend not to do horrible things to them. I want to encourage the PCs to flesh out their characters with friends and family not punish them for it. That said the world is a bad place and things sometimes happen.

[Shortstraw]

I played an elderly runner once that went into the business after his son died and his day job couldn't cover all the extra expenses of raising his granddaughter. Wasn't any attempts of enemies to use the child but getting a call in the middle of a run from the school nurse or having to organize a run around a netball game so he could watch. Not the sort of character you should play all the time because it makes it harder on everyone else but still a personal favorite.

[Manunancy]

Oh yeah, but kidnapping a kid? You better believe that's going to raise the ire of a lot of people, even criminal types. Watch the loyalty ratings jump through the roof of contacts for a limited time.

Not all of them - certains criminal circles have a nasty habit of going for the family of whoever crosses them seriously to make the lesson even more of a detterent. Or just don't give a fig about splattering the wife and kids along the intended target. If you're willing to splat a target drive-by-shooting a bus stop, doing the same in front of school isn't much of a stretch.

IRL, there's been several cases of guys basically inviting themselves at daw in a banker/jeweller or the like and holding the family at gupoint while he goes to open the door and cut off the alarm.

One point to consider is that for a criminal group, the shadowruner will be an outsider to the group and whatever internal code or gentleman's agreement they have with their peers looses a lot of it's force.

[CanRay]

I'm not talking about the groups, I'm talking about the fellow Independents. You don't think they'd have a "Gentleman's Agreement" as well?

Sure, some, maybe most, will be like Clockwork or Kane and not give a fig... But for every one of those, you'd also have a Bull or Slamm-0! (Or FastJack!) who isn't about to let that drek go by and become "Biz as usual" in any way.

[Angelone]

Did you avoid the title Married with Children on purpose? Because I can't stop giggling thinking about Al Bundy as a runner.

[snowRaven]

Did you avoid the title Married with Children on purpose? Because I can't stop giggling thinking about Al Bundy as a runner.

That was my first reaction as well! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

[CanRay]

Did you avoid the title Married with Children on purpose? Because I can't stop giggling thinking about Al Bundy as a runner.

Day Job: Selling Women's Shoes.

[Speed Wraith]

I actually had a couple of players, long, long ago, do a group where two members were divorced and shared custody of their daughter. Poor decker had to do side-runs to make child support payments. Having characters who have, or had, real lives before hitting the shadows always makes for good RP and lots of fun for the group. So long as it doesn't become the focus and take away from the other characters, of course.

OP - you should check out a thread I started a long time ago about "Shadow Schools", a concept my group developed. Lots of fun "kids in the shadows" stuff in there.

[CanRay]

Which reminds me, I have to beat my friend until he writes more about the ShadowSkool.

[Fyndhal]

Which reminds me, I have to beat my friend until he writes more about the ShadowSkool.

Sorry for being off-topic, but this reminded me:
http://littleleaguecomic.tumblr.com/ -- web-comic with the DC Heroes as kindergardeners.

[Makoto]

Reply to a previous post in the first page http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?s=&a...t&p=1156957

I'm a father of two sons (the oldest by marriage) and a baby girl born 5 days after New Years', a homebirth under a full moon sky will be memorable for me and my wife who had (IMG:style_emoticons/default/eek.gif) the strength nature gave her to deliver her children (actually she enjoyed it). (IMG:style_emoticons/default/embarrassed.gif) I'm glad to be a father and we who are parents in this forum should feel fortunate and blessed, because I sure am. They are fun to have, but are a big responsbility, nowhere near having a house plant or a baby doll...I take my turn in baby care and taking my sons to school, but they are worth the trouble. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blush.gif)

[_Pax._]

Um ... (a) nice necro-threading ... and (b) this thread wasn't about being a parent IRL. I was (months ago) seeking input from others about how to best represent a character being a parent, in terms of the Advanced Lifestyle rules.

[StealthSigma]

Yeah, the Dependent quality *says* they use up money, but doesn't actually crunch it. It's up to the GM to deduct various costs whenever appropriate, which is just begging for trouble. Instead, roll it into increased Lifestyle costs.

Humorous side note: I just discovered the Distinctive Style is before Dependent in Runner's Companion.

A wife + two kids would increase lifestyle costs to 130% of base value according to the lifestyle rules. A "perfect roommate" could qualify for one of the dependents (I'll leave it to the reader to guess which) and as such could mean that the perfect roommate has a job sufficient enough to cover half the lifestyle cost.

I also don't think you would get 3 dependent qualities to create the family. Based of the example, a wife + 2 kids would be a 15 BP NQ even though each one could qualify as a 10BP NQ on its own.

For 15 BP, the dependent is close family or a life partner and
lives with the character. The dependent is a regular and demanding
strain on the character’s time, resources, and availability, and/or
requires special care and vigilance detracting from the character’s
professional responsibilities.
Examples: large family, elderly parent, ailing grandparent.

[Makoto]

To Pax, sorry my bad. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif) Being a newbie in the forums...but some of us talked about our RL parenting lives, maybe to include them in the game. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohplease.gif)

[Halinn]

To Pax, sorry my bad. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif) Being a newbie in the forums...but some of us talked about our RL parenting lives, maybe to include them in the game. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohplease.gif)

Yeah. Back in may (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[Hocus Pocus]

a wife and two kids? poor bastard. He'd have his hair falling out on account of the stress on runs and the stress of the nagging right when he steps one foot in his home. Each one of his kids would age him 10 years compounding his arleady dibilitating health from all the stress. Don't even get me started on the no sex part cause his wife already has her hooks into him!

I think he'd go on runs more and more just ta get outta da house. Eventually shacking up with them two hot psyad twin sisters on his team...yes I definately think he would do that.

[CanRay]

Could be worse...

A kid and two wives. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[KCKitsune]

a wife and two kids? poor bastard. He'd have his hair falling out on account of the stress on runs

Cyberhair

Each one of his kids would age him 10 years compounding his arleady dibilitating health from all the stress.

Leonization

Don't even get me started on the no sex part cause his wife already has her hooks into him!

VR Porn... like having sex, but no mess (other than your shorts), no disease, and no having the wife ask annoying questions.

I think he'd go on runs more and more just ta get outta da house. Eventually shacking up with them two hot psyad twin sisters on his team...yes I definately think he would do that.

Then you find out the misses is not happy and she hires Shadowrunners to kill you.

[Blackbird71]

a wife and two kids? poor bastard. He'd have his hair falling out on account of the stress on runs and the stress of the nagging right when he steps one foot in his home. Each one of his kids would age him 10 years compounding his arleady dibilitating health from all the stress. Don't even get me started on the no sex part cause his wife already has her hooks into him!

I think he'd go on runs more and more just ta get outta da house. Eventually shacking up with them two hot psyad twin sisters on his team...yes I definately think he would do that.

Man, you've got a pretty dim view of marriage. For your sake, I hope it's not from firsthand experience. Every study I've seen shows that on average, married men are considerably less stressed than single men, so while the "henpecked hubby" makes for a classic sitcom trope, it's definitely not the norm.

[MADness]

So, I just realized that I'll have a full runner team in tye next fourteen years or so. My oldest would be 18 (b&e), my other son would be 16 (rigger), and my little girk would be 14 (hacker, hey, /dev/grrl did it). My wife would be the face and I'd be the meat shield.

Time to start teaching my oldest to pick locks!