A Seemingly Impossible Task, For a Low Availability Chargen Options

[Ramaloke]

So I've been slamming my head against a wall here, my GM wants us to make 400 BP characters with an availability limit of 8.

Rules are:

• 400 BP, with all the same rules for jacking attributes and skills
• Availability for all gear is 8, unless you take the Restricted Gear quality. If you really, really, REALLY need something that's a 10 or a 12, just talk to me and we'll work something out.
• Everybody gets 1 free contact - an Orc fixer named Smiley (2/2). Any other contacts must be purchased using BP.
• Everybody gets 1 month of Medium lifestyle to start for free. If you want to use any of the lifestyle modifications, you have to pay for those.
• No Changelings or SURGE characters please.
• If you must have an addiction to something, please do it respectfully. I don't want someone to have an addiction to eX and spend the entire game concerned only with getting their next fix. Same goes for BTL's.
• If you want to be infected or a carrier, that's fine with me. But be prepared for the consequences.
• No emotitoys or emotion software, please. If you're a face character, your social dice pools should already be high enough without having to have the additional dice for an emotion scanner.

Here is where the trouble comes in - I want to do a burnouts way mystic adept (Cyber discount) with biocompatability (cyber). The availability of 8 puts a huge restriction on this, since I don't want to invest BP in gear which will be replaced very quickly once we start and have access to higher availability items.

My character idea is an ex-soldier of fortune burnout mystic adept who can use pistols. The math works out so that I need 1.6 Essence worth of Cyberware and 1.42 Essence worth of Bioware (before the 20% and 50% essence discounts on cyberware and bioware respecively). Each piece of ware needs to be under availability 8 and not be immediately overshadowed access to higher availability gear (otherwise why buy it in the first place?).

I've all but given up, my last idea being that perhaps I just have big freaking essence holes to stand in for when I get the cash for respectable ware.

[Lionhearted]

No restrictions on magicians?
I would urge you to talk with your GM to reconsider. Tell him that he's essentially setting up for a game with only mages where it's impossible to make a hacker that's not a technomancer. Hacking programs are 12R, While there is no spell school over 8R and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

[binarywraith]

Sounds like your GM doesn't want to see characters munchkined to the nines. You should probably build one of those.

[bannockburn]

Adeptrun also hasn't any availability problems *sigh*

But how about used ware, if you want to stay within the requirements?

[Ramaloke]

No restrictions on magicians?
I would urge you to talk with your GM to reconsider. Tell him that he's essentially setting up for a game with only mages where it's impossible to make a hacker that's not a technomancer. Hacking programs are 12R, While there is no spell school over 8R and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

I do believe this has been pointed out to him. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/frown.gif)

Sounds like your GM doesn't want to see characters munchkined to the nines. You should probably build one of those.

If you look above, he said Infected were ok as long as you are aware of the consequences. If I wanted to be stupid powerful I'd make a nosferatu voodoo mystic adept, burn essence to pump total magic to 10 and summon a F6 spirit to give me 10 in all physical attributes.

[Lionhearted]

If I were in your shoes I would just throw my arms up and submit then, you can't argue with someone that won't listen.
He wants magicrun? Give him magicrun.

[tsuyoshikentsu]

Scare is going to kill you if he finds this, man.

But with that said? Yeah, give him what he's asking for.

[Ramaloke]

Scare is going to kill you if he finds this, man.

But with that said? Yeah, give him what he's asking for.

Why would he be mad? O_o

I'm legit asking for help.

[Wolfgar]

OP, if I were in your shoes I'd go for a Synaptic Booster for your Bioware and a Cyber Eyes for your Cyber. A Rating 1 Synaptic Booster has an availability of 6R, and with Rating 2 costing $160,000 you're unlikely to upgrade if for a while. The Cyber Eyes and their upgrades are all under 8 availability (with the exception of Retinal Dupes and Vision Enhancement R3). Both pieces of 'ware are tried and true staples of the game.

That won't fill your Essence requirments, but it's a start.

[Halinn]

Whatever you do, talk him into allowing a higher availability for your fake SIN.

[Neraph]

My character idea is an ex-soldier of fortune burnout mystic adept who can use pistols. The math works out so that I need 1.6 Essence worth of Cyberware and 1.42 Essence worth of Bioware (before the 20% and 50% essence discounts on cyberware and bioware respecively). Each piece of ware needs to be under availability 8 and not be immediately overshadowed access to higher availability gear (otherwise why buy it in the first place?).

R1 Muscle Replacement.
R1 Wired Reflexes.
Cyberlimbs.
Implanted Comm, R 4Cybereyes/R3 ears would put you at 1.1 before any discounts.
Spurs.

Platelets and Trauma Damper.
Reflex Recorders.

What you're asking for isn't hard to fill at all. I've just made this list by briefly looking at the core book and grabbing some decent gear. I haven't done the math to get to the exact numbers you want, but these items should get you pretty close.

Hacking programs are 12R, While there is no spell school over 8R and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

You are not required to buy the formula for spells you start with.

If you look above, he said Infected were ok as long as you are aware of the consequences. If I wanted to be stupid powerful I'd make a nosferatu voodoo mystic adept, burn essence to pump total magic to 10 and summon a F6 spirit to give me 10 in all physical attributes.

You can go to 14 Magic.

[Makki]

I would NOT fill up all the essence. For several reasons:
you need the starting BP for more important stuff
you need room to put in new 'ware (which might have better grade as well)
you can't get the good stuff at the beginning anyway.

get a Logic tradition and tell your fixer, that in a few months time your ready for a Cerebral booster R3. He can start searching on the side, you keep saving money.

regarding the replacing issue. Just get some second hand cyber. The price is so low, that replacing won't hurt.

[Ryu]

My character idea is an ex-soldier of fortune burnout mystic adept who can use pistols. The math works out so that I need 1.6 Essence worth of Cyberware and 1.42 Essence worth of Bioware (before the 20% and 50% essence discounts on cyberware and bioware respecively). Each piece of ware needs to be under availability 8 and not be immediately overshadowed access to higher availability gear (otherwise why buy it in the first place?).

I've all but given up, my last idea being that perhaps I just have big freaking essence holes to stand in for when I get the cash for respectable ware.

Nothing wrong with having room for expansion. If the essence has to go:

Cyberware:
0.3 Eyes II (Smartlink, Thermo, Low-Light, Flare Comp.)
0.2 Ears I (Damper, Spatial Recognizer, Sound Filter 1)
0.3 Attention Co-Processor 3
0.2 Orientation System
0.6 Dermal Sheath I
0.1 Datajack

Bioware:
0.5 Synaptic Booster I
0.15 Sleep Regulator
0.2 Trauma Damper

0.2 Muscle Toner I
0.2 Synthacardium II


Edit: 1.6*0.8=1.28, so 1.42+0.64=2.08. Better: 1.7 Cyber / 1.28 Bio (base), for 1.36+0.64 = 2.0. Here: 1.36+0.625=1.985

[Ryu]

MysAd with -2 to Magic. Has to handle Pistols. How to continue?

+smart-eqipped
+negates negative mods to perception
+Perception +3
+minimum map level is perfect recollection
+Armor +1/+2
+all senses available for matix use
+higher Initiative/IP
+needs little sleep
+takes less damage


The above set of augmentations provides for senses and damage resistance. IPs could be higher. I´d go for Magic 5(3) with one point of adept powers and two points of magic power, Intuition-based tradition, high spellcasting and summoning. 400 BP / no karma-gen => Pistols 6 (SA+2), your choice of AGI-score.

+Combat Sense 1
+Mystical Armor 1

Any spells need to work with few net hits, so Manipulation and Detection are the classes to go for. Magic Fingers combined with Levitation are a worthy non-combat contribution by a combatant.

[All4BigGuns]

The contact being given is near-worthless for what it is. Seriously? A connection 2 fixer? A fixer should have minimum connection 4 (preferably 6).

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

The contact being given is near-worthless for what it is. Seriously? A connection 2 fixer? A fixer should have minimum connection 4 (preferably 6).

Minimum 3 by the book, but 4+ is always good. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Lionhearted]

Isn't Smiley the fixer from that adventure book that was released with SR4? (On the run?)
and 12 dice for availability checks aint that pitiful.

[All4BigGuns]

Isn't Smiley the fixer from that adventure book that was released with SR4? (On the run?)
and 12 dice for availability checks aint that pitiful.

Look at it this way, at connection 2, a fixer doesn't have the connections necessary to get you any decent jobs, and you MIGHT be able to pull in 500 for a run--granted that'd be each runner's share, but it would take doing a LOT of those runs in a month to cover a decent lifestyle and still be able to get any additional gear let alone cover things like spent ammo and such.

[UmaroVI]

He needs to have lost the 2 essence so that he can be Burnout's Way.

Can you give a bit more information about your character? What skills are you trying to be good at besides pistols, if any?

What tradition?

[Makki]

He needs to have lost the 2 essence so that he can be Burnout's Way.

Can you give a bit more information about your character? What skills are you trying to be good at besides pistols, if any?

What tradition?

actually he needs to have lost 2 points of magic, not 2 points of Essence. The former is fulfilled with 1.01 points worth of 'ware

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

Look at it this way, at connection 2, a fixer doesn't have the connections necessary to get you any decent jobs, and you MIGHT be able to pull in 500 for a run--granted that'd be each runner's share, but it would take doing a LOT of those runs in a month to cover a decent lifestyle and still be able to get any additional gear let alone cover things like spent ammo and such.

Where are you pulling your information (500 nuyen/Person runs) from?

[UmaroVI]

actually he needs to have lost 2 points of magic, not 2 points of Essence. The former is fulfilled with 1.01 points worth of 'ware

That's right - I misspoke. I was responding to the suggestions to not lose 2 magic immediately. I can see leaving some spare essence if there's really nothing he wants to put into it, but it means he does need to have lost at least 1.01 essence at chargen.