buying level 3 contacts at first level, is it a good idea? Options

[Oro]

hell i could buy 5 and use my rolled starting funds to buy a knife.

my question is this...is it worth it to buy a level 3 contact at first level if i dont plan on being a face type character?

if youre gonna be stupid, you gotta be tough.

i better be tough

[Kagetenshi]

Well, first off there's no "First level", or any level at all.

As for the L3 contact, the answer is a resounding maybe. Usually not, but if it really fits with the character concept and you're going to use them to their fullest extent, they can be an excellent fallback.

~J

[Glyph]

It kind of depends. The starting resources don't always fit exactly with what you want for a character. For example, you might play a sammie type with A: Resources and only spend 800,000 or so on cyberware, gear, lifestyles, etc. So if you have 200,000 left, why not get a Level: 3 Contact? They may be overpriced, but they are still useful to have - especially the ones you are very dependent on, like fixers.

Heck, Level 3 contacts are even more important for non-faces... they don't make new friends as easily. :D

In all seriousness, they are not usually worth it if you have other useful things to spend your starting resources on - Level 2 Contacts are nearly as good, and much less expensive. But if you have everything else bought and can afford it, I would go for it.

[Oro]

thats what im kinda worried about, i think im missing something. i had a million starting funds and didnt even spend half on stuff for a rigger/decker. there has to be something im missing, or maybe im just too stingy.

do you factor in the street index for stuff you buy at character creation?

[Adam]

No, you do not.

[Kagetenshi]

If you're a Rigger/Decker and you have any money whatsoever, IMO you are missing something. What that is, though, I can't really suggest without more information.

~J

[Oro]

then what am i missing!??

ARGGG!

9 droids, deck, programs, lifestyles all over the place, weapons for all droids, eccm, ecm, odd stuff thats not in the book:

such as:
bis snooper droids with spools of fiber-op cable so i could jack into PLTG's without actually being in the building/area

[Kagetenshi]

Do you have encryption?

~J

[Arethusa]

Well, for one, you might want to try some cyberware. I hear it can do pretty useful things.

[Oro]

en-what?

thats a no, i do now though, cheap stuff.

[Necro Tech]

you clearly don't have enough programs. And how heavily did you trick out your RC deck? and for that matter your cyber deck?

[Kagetenshi]

Remote-control network encryption is quite definitely not "cheap stuff". You'll want at least Rating 3, which is ¥15k for each of your drones plus each of your Remote Control decks. Rating 5 is also worth it, at ¥25k per, but higher is pretty much pointless until you're running milspec facilities regularly and even then isn't a must-have.

~J

[Oro]

ahh, words from the sages, thats why i am a "target" and you are an "immortal elf"

ok, encryption is done, 50k on programs, CMT Avater, hitcher jack, off-line storage, vidscreen display.

[Oro]

i really did go cheap on everything, ford americar with rigger add-ons was my most expensive buy.

i guess ill just go back and up-grade everything.

[Necro Tech]

list your programs and ratings. An average rating 6 program will cost 21,600. Some you get away with for 14,000 and the heavies cost 28,000. There is no real reason to buy a program at less than six except for limited money and there are no useless programs, just less useful ones.

[Oro]

my gm told me i cant play a decker, "theyre too powerful" was his reply to my "why not" so thats out. but as for programs i just put 50k in it and hoped someone at the game would help me out.

it seems thats where i goofed, stumbled, what-have-you.

[Arethusa]

[Oro]

this was his reason:

"I don't allow deckers because they take all the game play from the others. When you are decking the others just sit there. AND...you can do too much stuff, you "break" the game."

and well, i dont think hes hit his head, ill ask him, it just might be so.

ive never seen him play a thinking character in any of my games so he might just be scared of what i can do with them...ill scare him with something else.

grins

[Arethusa]

That's a pretty far cry from "they're too powerful." They do stop the game while they do their thing, and the rules are nothing if not sadistically, torturously complex, which is what makes barring deckers (and, do a lesser degree, riggers) a popular choice for the less seasoned GMs. But they're not too powerful. That's something else entirely.

[Oro]

i never push a GM in ANY game, its just not a good idea, if i ask about a character concept and he even SEEMS a little put off by it ill drop it right there.

i run games much more than i play them and i know that i run a better game if im comfortable with every aspect of it. if i dont understand a portion ill either delete it or read up on it.

[DrJest]

Returning to the original topic, I sometimes buy level 3 contacts as best mates from a character's history, if i have the cash (which I usually don't, sadly). Since I solo a lot these days, some well-rounded NPC's in areas I have no skill for are a big boon to my GM, who is new to the Shadowrun thing anyway. My favourite to date is Molly B. Damned, a Mexican (not Aztlaner, never Aztlaner) rigger who has been friend, partner and occasional lover, and who is a neverending source of adventure hooks concerning Aztlan and the rebellion :) Or maybe it's Silke, one of the older Otaku who -in the hands of my GM - turned out to have a Noel Coward fixation... heh...

[Kagetenshi]

[Canid13]

Erm correct me if I'm wrong, but don't Level 3 contacts cost like 500k?

[Oro]

like is right, but not too right....

200k

[Canid13]

Only 200k?? Hmm.....

Cool, thanks.