SR3 Otaku help, Need some help with creating a Otaku character Options

[TheKT]

Okay, a couple of questions; I know that I need good Int and Will attributes, and body isn't bad to have either, but should I dump the other attributes too hard?

And what about skills, I know I need Computers between 6 and 8, and then I need to fill in the Channels (Access, Control, Index, Files, and Slave) but what other skills would be useful? Also, can I use my base skill points to add to the channels or is it only the special pool you get?

With knowledge skills, do I need any design skills, or is that more for deckers?

That's all the questions I have right now, but if you have any general advice not covered by these questions, feel free to throw them out there, I'm having a hell of a time trying to figure this all out. Thanks for your time.

[Stahlseele]

If you are not a Combat-Character, BODY ain't as good as you might think.
Then you want to push quickness so you can wear more armor and get a higher combat pool for dodging, because not needing to soak is always preferable to being good at soaking.
Can't help you with the Skills-Question, seeing how i never wanted to play a character of 14 years or younger, i never bothered to look at Otaku in SR3. Also, i think you start with a fixed ammount of ressources, these being a whole of 5K Nuyen.

Edit:
looking at one in NSRCG3 right now and what the hell were they drinking when they thought up those rules . .
Charisma, Int and Will all go to 8 on normal humans, but Bod, Quicknes and STR only go up to 5 . .
Hmm, strange. Seems to be a BUG in NSRCG3 where under Priority the Physical Attributes only go to 5 and the Mental Attributes go to 8 and under Points System the Physical ones go to 4 and the mental ones go to 9 . .

[Cochise]

looking at one in NSRCG3 right now and what the hell were they drinking when they thought up those rules . .

I'm not so sure whether it's was too much drinking or not thinking at all but nevertheless Otaku creation rules certainly are overall far better than for example the Shapeshifter rules or - the worst thing in SR3 - Drake characters.

I'm not too sure how the rest of their mechanics fit with the rest of the Matrix rules.

Charisma, Int and Will all go to 8 on normal humans, but Bod, Quicknes and STR only go up to 5 . .
Hmm, strange. Seems to be a BUG in NSRCG3 where under Priority the Physical Attributes only go to 5 and the Mental Attributes go to 8 and under Points System the Physical ones go to 4 and the mental ones go to 9 . .

Actually it seems your version is somewhat bugged in either generation system or you're doing something wrong with your presets.

SR3 Otaku normally receive a -1 on normal racial maximum for physical attributes (so 5[8] in case of a human) and simultaneously a +1 on all mental attribute maximums (so 7[11] in case of a human) with no direct "racial" modifier but normal racial modifiers from chosen race still apply. They additionally have the option of taking a non-flaw version of the "infirm" flaw where they only allocate 1 point (2 points in case of a troll) per physical attribute. If they do so, their normal physical maximums drop by another point (4[6] in case of a human) and their mental attributes receive additional +1 to the racial maximum (8[12] for a human).

There was always a degree of debate about when and how an Otaku could really utilize those increased attribute maximums because technically nothing in the Otaku creation rules would have allowed them to bypass the general rule restriction that a player can never allocate more than 6 attribute points per attribute prior to application of racial modifiers => Strictly by RAW a starting Otaku was still limited to values of 6 for his mental attributes (with the normal racial deviance) and even when using the "additional attribute point" edge in order to bypass the 6 point allocation limitation no RAW conforming Otaku could ever reach the standard human maximum of 8 points in mental attributes.

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@TheKT:

Well, I was never too firm with the Matrix stuff in general nor the Otaku specialties in particular ... thus I cannot provide too detailed suggestions with regards to being a "very effective" Otaku in his main domain of Matrix interaction (Channels vs. Living Persona vs. Complex Forms vs. Sprites). So I'll stick with some general observations:

1. It looks like the generation system of choice would be the point build system from SR3 Companion
2. No matter what you'll do, at first you'll have a rather narrow skill set and your attributes will not lend towards noteworthy combat contribution.
3. Your GM might want to create some house rule on the previously mentioned point of RAW limiting the allocation of attribute points to 6 prior to racial modifiers and thus no Otaku actually being able of reaching his normal attribute maximum during character generation.
4. In terms of survival there are two different worlds:
   
   1. The Matrix where you'll have to invest in both high Intelligence and high Willpower to bolster your Living Persona
   2. In the meat world you'll be limited by your (most likely) rather low physical attributes. It'll depend on your group's general play style whether or not the option of having all physical attributes at just 1 + racial modifier (and thus also having further increased attribute maximums) is feasible: If your fellow players regularly engage in armed conflict without you being able to stay as far away as possible you'll have a even harder time to survive rather trivial combat encounters with "all 1s"
   
   Personally I'd forego the option of increasing racial maximums by +2 and stick with the normal +1. That at least gives you the option of having BOD and QCK values of 3+
5. Based on general effectiveness you should prioritize Quickness among your low physical attributes because it affects so many things simultaneously:
   
   • Amount of armor you can safely wear without penalties
   • Size of your Combat Pool, which will - in conjunction with the high Intelligence - be a deciding factor for successful dodge attempts when forced into physical combat
   • Base reaction and thus indirectly Initiative ... a value that's important for both the meat and digital combat encounters
   • Linked attribute for the vast majority of ranged combat skills, including pistols - which most likely you'll end up with as your single combat skill during generation.
6. The Computer skill of 6 to 8 is another thing where the Otaku rules fail: While they mention such values there's no explicit reference that would allow an Otaku to actually exceed the general limitations in either generations system which do not allow skill ratings of more than 6 => Computer 6 is by RAW the only valid skill rating. Your GM might want to apply some house ruling there as well
7. A general observation of mine was (and to a degree still is) that the Matrix - with or without the specialties for Otaku - is more than often disruptive for the overall game flow because the situations where its rules and mechanics apply usually only involve two players - the GM and the Decker / Otaku - while the rest has to wait => Expect to get sidelined with your Otaku with regards to his area of expertise and / or having the rest of the group getting bored while you and the GM are "deep in the Matrix".
8. Do yourself and your gaming group a favor by talking through the whole concept of having a socially awkward teenager with ties to an Otaku tribe (that will have its own agenda) as part of a group of career criminals.

[Glyph]

I did a rough otaku build once here, with the reasoning behind my choices. It might help. I am a lot less familiar with the SR3 rules after two subsequent editions. Overall, otaku tend to be more hyper-specialized than deckers, but their being just kids kind of makes it seem a bit more plausible/less munchkinny than an adult with those dump stats and missing skills would be.