Face/Rigger, the perfect spy? Options

[kerbarian]

In SR5 with just the core book, there's not that much you can put towards being a face. High charisma, good social skills, and maybe some pheromones. So there should be plenty of room to build a face who's also strong in other role(s). The obvious choice is shaman due to the high charisma, but I wanted to try something different.

Again with only the core book, riggers are somewhat limited. Drones are pretty fragile, and there's nothing you can do against hackers other than slow them down unless you get a deck yourself. However, a fleet of drones and transportation for the team are still very useful. A rigger combined with another role seemed like a good way to get those capabilities while not feeling too bad about the limitations.

After playing around with various build options, the character I ended up with feels a bit like an action-movie spy. He's a smooth talker, a deadly personal combatant, is right at home in a car chase, and has backup from the best gadgets (drones):

[ Spoiler ]

Simon

Metatype: Elf

Body 3, Agi 2(10*), Rea 4(6), Str 2(3*), Wil 3, Log 2(4), Int 5, Cha 8
Edge 2, Ess 2.03

Condition monitor: 11 physical, 10 stun
Armor: 20 (14-15 when being subtle)

Limits: Physical 5, Mental 6, Social 8
Initiative: 11 + 1d6

Active skills: Con (fast talking) 6 (+2), Electronic Warfare 3, Engineering skill group 1, Hardware 3, Influence skill group 5, Locksmith 3, Palming 1, Perception 5, Pilot Aircraft 1, Pilot Ground Craft 5, Pistols 6, Sneaking 4
Knowledge skills: Corporate Politics 4, Evo 3, Facilities Security 3, High Fashion 2
Languages: English N, Sperethiel 3, French 3

Qualities: First Impression, Codeblock (Matrix Perception), SINner (Evo corporate limited)

Augmentations: Cyberarm [synthetic, Str 3, Agi 10, armor 2, cyberarm slide], cyber lower arm [synthetic, armor 2, smuggling compartment], control rig 1, cybereyes [smartlink, low-light, thermographic, flare] (alpha), reaction enhancers 2 (alpha), orthoskin 2 (alpha), cerebral booster 2

Vehicles:

• Rover Model 2072 [rigger interface]
• 3x Shiawase Kanmushi [walker microdrone]
• 3x MCT Fly-Spy [aerial minidrone]
• 3x MCT-Nissan Roto-Drone [aerial medium drone, weapon mount w/Ares Alpha, gas-vent 3]
  
  • Roto-Drone 1: 250 rounds regular ammo, 6 high explosive minigrenades
  • Roto-Drone 2: 250 rounds regular ammo, 6 thermal smoke minigrenades
  • Roto-Drone 3: 250 rounds gel, 6 high explosive minigrenades

Gear: Maersk Spider RCC, Transys Avalon commlink, lockpick set, low-light flashlight, tool kits [hardware, automotive mechanic, aeronautics mechanic], flash-pak, medkit (rating 6), 2 stim patches (rating 6), trauma patch, area jammer 4, 15 stealth tags, Actioneer business clothes, armor vest [nonconductivity 6, chemical protection 3], armor jacket, helmet, respirator 6, fake SIN 4 [licenses for firearms, concealed carry, augmentations, RCC], glasses [magnification, vision enhancement 3], earbuds [audio enhancement 3], middle lifestyle (1 month)

Programs and autosofts: Agent (rating 4), Biofeedback Filter, Encryption, Shell, Signal Scrub, Toolbox, Virtual Machine, Wrapper, Clearsight 6, Evasion 6 (roto-drone), Stealth 6 (kanmushi), Stealth 6 (fly-spy), Targeting 6 (ares alpha)

Weapons:

• Defiance EX Shocker [taser, Acc 4(6), DV 9S(e), AP -5, SS, RC -, 4(m), w/internal smartlink, 50 taser darts]
• Ares Predator V [heavy pistol, Acc 5(7), DV 8P, AP -5, SA, RC -, 15©, w/silencer, concealable holster, 100 rounds APDS, 3 spare clips]

Contacts: Fixer (Connection 3, Loyalty 2), Mechanic (Connection 1, Loyalty 3), Sim Starlet (Connection 3, Loyalty 4), Ancients Lieutenant (Connection 2, Loyalty 2), Club Owner (Connection 2, Loyalty 2)

* cyberarm attributes, for any one-armed tasks like Pistols or Palming

It's possible to get a couple more dice for social tests, but Simon can talk his way into or out of almost any situation (18 dice for fast talking) and can also handle negotiations for the team. Continuing the spy theme, the magic of high-Agi cyberarms makes him very good at bypassing locks and secretly planting microdrones or stealth tags (Palming).

Simon is a crack shot (18 dice with pistols) and resilient in combat (11 dice on defense, 20 armor). He's not as fast as a sam, but he's at least guaranteed to get two initiative passes. One way he clearly falls short of an action-movie spy is in general physical attributes and in unarmed combat in particular. As long as he has a pistol, though, he should be golden.

To help guarantee that, Simon keeps several tricks up his sleeves -- more accurately, inside his arms. Even at a dinner party, he has a taser at the ready via his cyberarm slide, and his smuggling compartment can hold a collection of small, useful, and possibly illegal items: lock picks, stealth tags, the silencer for his pistol, and several micro- and minidrones.

Simon can't out-drive a dedicated combat rigger in a chase, but he should compare favorably to anyone without a control rig. Most of his drones are for providing covert surveillance, but he also has a few roto-drones for fire support. They're fragile, but if they stay a couple hundred meters overhead they don't have to worry about return fire from anything less than an assault rifle. The drones won't be the most accurate from up there, but they don't have to be when firing full-auto (which they can do without penalty, using their mandatory Control Vehicle actions to reset recoil).

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

If your Face can fight, you have abrogated the Design Principle of SR5. He SHOULD be Facing in Combat, not Fighting. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wobble.gif)