Which is better and why? Options

[PraetorGradivus]

I know I'm in the minority, but Life modules, if they added more starting locations and various misc modules <Astronaut anyone?> would be my go to.
You could argue about whether the 750 should really be 800 or 850 but it leads to characters that have more varied skills.
Real people don't have 3 skills they're exceptional at and everything else they're clueless.
Life modules can get you, for example 2 pistols- ummm, aren't there real people who know how to shoot a pistol but aren't accurate- you betcha.
Life modules also gives you a lot more knowledge skills than most players give their characters.
And whie we've all met people who have nothing in their heads, it isn't everyone.

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

I know I'm in the minority, but Life modules, if they added more starting locations and various misc modules <Astronaut anyone?> would be my go to.
You could argue about whether the 750 should really be 800 or 850 but it leads to characters that have more varied skills.
Real people don't have 3 skills they're exceptional at and everything else they're clueless.
Life modules can get you, for example 2 pistols- ummm, aren't there real people who know how to shoot a pistol but aren't accurate- you betcha.
Life modules also gives you a lot more knowledge skills than most players give their characters.
And whie we've all met people who have nothing in their heads, it isn't everyone.

Life Modules also let you break the Skill Cap Barrier (I have seen at least 2 characters that have done so using the system), which is why I do not like them. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[PraetorGradivus]

Life Modules also let you break the Skill Cap Barrier (I have seen at least 2 characters that have done so using the system), which is why I do not like them. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

It allows a 7 in active skills- one die.
As a GM you could tell your players the cap is still 6 if you wanted to.
As to knowledge skills, someone having a skill at over 6 isn't game breaking.

Seriously, if this is your only complaint, it's easily rectified.

[Beta]

I think that, no matter the character generation system, it is helpful for the GM to provide guidance. If the game is going to be about extreme professionals overcoming impossible odds in their disciplines, then the character builds better be focused like a laser. If challenges are expected to be diverse and occasionally surprising, then characters better have ways to deal with a variety of challenges. Of course there can be be back and forth between players and GM on style, but in the end....having the wrong sort of character for the game (or the group) will pretty much always suck, and in any game system which gives any real degree of flexibility this is a risk.

Personally I like the priority system, and I think 5th edition fixed some of the problems from 1st/2nd (I didn't play 3rd). Constraint breeds creativity, as the saying goes.

[Shaidar]

Anyone else notice that the OP hasn't posted since the 10th post?

[Cain]

My issue with Priority in SR3 stemmed from the types of Characters that I always saw coming out of Chargen. They were not real people, but caricatures (AT BEST).

Example: a player has 18 Skill points, but instead of crafting a character that makes sense with a number of skills portraying a concept, I tended to see 3 Skills at 6, all Shadowrunner, never ben anywhere but the Shadows Specific (regardless of the past) and so out of synch with the background that it was tear-inducing. Yes, that was what the player wanted, but the character was not a character. It was a collection of numbers that in no way looked like a person at all. And the character would die a glorious death several session sin, and then you got a new character sheet with the same crap on it. Horrible character design. Now, I know not everyone does that, so I try not to paint everyone with the same brush, but it was a trend that I saw more often than not.

Well, that was why I used the Hobby Skills bit. I encouraged people to use their Knowledge skill points to pick up interesting traits for their character. Not just cool knowledges that might be useful, but skills like Art Restoration, Skateboarding, and Competitive Underwater Ballet. They might technically describe an active skill, but in practice they were a lot more fun.

Beyond that, I never actually saw a real character with only three skills at 6. The worst were the one-trick ponies, and those typically had two 6's at most. What was more common was two very high skills with specialties, and then a few low-ranked skills covering other areas. Sure, it's possible, but it's also not an optimal choice; and the problem with these sort of builds is people who optimize at the expense of character personality. There were a few experimental builds that looked like that, but I don't think any of them actually saw the light of day.

[Rad]

Anyone else notice that the OP hasn't posted since the 10th post?

Nah, everybody's too busy rolling for initiative.

[Glyph]

Life modules is interesting. Characters tend to have a high skill/skill group or so, and lots of other skills at 1 or 2, and lots and lots and lots of knowledge skills, while Attributes are mostly low to average - because you get a lot more skill points than Attribute points from the life modules, so you have to buy Attributes up with your limited supply of Karma at the end. It definitely favors some concepts more than others - it seems that it is a lot easier to make a hermetic mage than a shaman, for example. I only got that book yesterday, though, so my opinion might change as I play with it more.

[Shinobi Killfist]

I'm sure they will fix that. Shamans will get the edge once they realize they tossed hermetics a bone.

[Critias]

Well, I'm glad folks are getting some mileage out of Sum-to-Ten, if nothing else. I've been a fluff guy for SR5, with only a few exceptions, and it's nice to see that one of those exceptions has gone over pretty well.

[Medicineman]

Well, I'm glad folks are getting some mileage out of Sum-to-Ten, if nothing else. I've been a fluff guy for SR5, with only a few exceptions, and it's nice to see that one of those exceptions has gone over pretty well.

So You're the "culprit" for Sum to Ten ?
Congrats (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Well done.
At least somthing usable

with a Dance to Ten
Medicineman

[nezumi]

How old is it now? 15 years?

[Wolfman]

Well, we decided to go with 4th edition.

Thanks everyone for your input (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Critias]

So You're the "culprit" for Sum to Ten ?
Congrats (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Well done.

For dragging it into SR5, yeah. I initially didn't pitch for the book at all, then it occurred to me I'd always dug it, so I shot Jason an email, threw something together, and voila. It got snuck in, pretty last minute.

[Cochise]

How old is it now? 15 years?

Sum to Ten should be in its 19th year by now. IIRC it was part of 1996 Shadowrun Companion: Beyond the Shadows for 2nd Edition

[SpellBinder]

In the way of a priority system I can deal with the Sum-To-Ten method, though I honestly still don't like it I do feel it's better than the basic (I always feel too shoehorned into a cookie cutter pattern when I think of using a Priority system). I do get that the bigger deal is all the players make their characters using the same method, whatever that might be.