Character Critique, Three variations on a shifter Options

[Sandoval Smith]

I decided to try my hand at making a shapeshifter, building around the theme of being affable and feline-esque in his human form. I'm not particularly adept at making characters on my own, tending to go off down odd little tangents and overlooking important things. I tried makinging a mundane, a shaman, and an adept, just to see how it came out.

John Calvin:
Tiger Shapeshifter
120 Build points

Adept:

[ Spoiler ]

Body: 3(4)
Quickness: 4(5)
Strength: 3(4)
Charisma: 4
Intelligence: 4
Willpower: 2
Essence: 8
Magic: 6
Reaction 4
Ini: 1
Combat Pool: 6

Animal Form:
Body: 1(4)
Quickness: 2(4)
Strength: 4(7)

Edges / Flaws
Friendly Face: -1
Perceptive: -3
Computer Illiterate: 3
Astral Impressions: 2
Vindictive: 2
Gremlins: 2
Compulsive moderate: Cleanliness: 2
Combat Monster: 1

Adept Powers
Cool Resolve[1] 0.5
Gliding 1.0
Imp Abl Social Skl/Etiquette [2] 0.75 (geas)
Imp Abl Social Skl/Etiquette [2] 0.75 (geas)
Motion Sense 0.5
Traceless Walk 0.5
Freefall [2] 0.75
Great Leap [2] 0.75
Imp. Sense: Low-Light Vision 0.25
Imp. Sense: Spatial Recognizer 0.25
Imp. Sense: Improved Scent 0.25
Imp. Sense: Improved Taste 0.25

Skills:
Etiquette: 3
Negotiation 3
Athletics: 4
Stealth: 5
Pistols: 2
Unarmed/Fists: 3/5

Cooking: 3
Scrounging: 3
Safehouse locations: 3
Psychology: 3
English: 4

Gear:
Shock Gloves
Knife
Coltmanhunter
Quickdraw Holster
Silencer
4 x Regular
1 x Gel
Secure Long coat
Ordinary Clothing
Ascent / Descent kit
Binoculars
Flashlight, pocket
Glasscutter 6
Suction cup
Grapple Gun
Stealth Line
Stealth Line Catalyst

Low Lifestyle

Cat Shaman:

[ Spoiler ]

Body: 3(4)
Quickness: 4(5)
Strength: 2(3)
Charisma: 5
Intelligence: 3
Willpower: 5
Essence: 8
Magic: 6
Reaction 4
Ini: 1
Combat pool: 6
Spell Pool: 4

Animal Form:
Body: 1(4)
Quickness: 1(3)
Strength: 1(4)

Edges / Flaws
Perceptive: -3
Bonus Point Bod: -2
Friendly Face: -1
Computer Illiterate: 3
Uneducated: 2
Compulsive moderate: Cleanliness: 2
Combat Monster: 1
Gremlins: 1
Vindictave: 2

Ettiquette: 5
Athletics: 4
Stealth: 5
Unarmed/Fists: 1/3
Sorcery/Spellcasting: 2/4
Conjuring/Summoning: 2/4

Cooking: 3
Scrounging 3
Safehouse locations: 3
English: 2
Japanese: 1

Spells:
Makeover: 4 (exclusive)
Stunball: 4
Spiritblast: 4 (exclusive)
Catfall: 3
Hot Potato: 3
Increased Attribute Str: 3 (exclusive)
Magic Fingers: 3 (exclusive)
Physical Barrier: 3
Gecko Crawl: 2
Healthy Glow: 1
Invisibility: 1
Nightvision: 1
Stealth: 1

Gear:
Shock Gloves
Ordinary Clothes
Secure Long Coat
Browning Ultra Power
Concealable Holster
Silencer
4 x Regular
3 x Gel
1 x ExEx
Knife
2 x Metal Restraints
Flashlight, pocket
Lowlight Binoculars
Glasscutter 6
Suction Cup
Small Equipment Pouch
Pistol Ammo Pouch
Rope
2 x Compressed Air blowers
2 x Expendable Illusion Fetish
1 x Expendable Combat Fetish
1 x Expendable Manipulation Fetish
1 x Expendable Healing Fetish

Lower Lifestyle

Mundane:

[ Spoiler ]

Body: 3(4)
Quickness: 5(6)
Strength: 2(3)
Charisma: 6
Intelligence: 3
Willpower: 3
Essence: 8
Reaction 4
Ini: 1
Combat pool: 6

Animal Form:
Body: 2(5)
Quickness: 3(5)
Strength: 1(4)

Edges / Flaws:
PHotographic Memory: -3
Night Vision: -2
Perceptive: -2
Friendly Face: -1

Computer Illiterate: 3
Uneducated: 2
Vindictave: 2
Hunted 2: 4 (guy who discovered John and tried to sell him to a corp. Buncha people ended up dying, now wants John very dead).
Combat Monster: -1

Etiquette: 6
Intimidation: 6
Negotiation: 5
Athletics: 4
Stealth: 6
Pistols: 3
Unarmed/Fists: 3/5
Lockpicking: 3

Cooking: 3
Safehouse Locations: 3
Scrounging: 2
Paranormal Animals: 1
English/Cityspeak: 2/4

Gear:
Shock Gloves
Ordinary Clothes
Secure Long Coat
Colt Manhunter
Concealable Holster
Silencer
3 x Regular
2 x Gel
1 x ExEx
Grapple Gun
Stealth Line
4 x Catalyst
Knife
2 x Plasteel Restraints
Flashlight, pocket
Lowlight Binoculars
Glasscutter 6
Suction Cup
Lockpick set
Ascent/Descent Kit
2 x Compressed Air blowers

Squatter Lifestyle

[ Spoiler ]

This post has been edited by Sandoval Smith: Feb 21 2005, 10:45 AM

[Paul]

Your presentation cuaght my eye, but I haven't finsihed going through them all yet with a fine tooth comb. Immediately noticeable were your flaws for this character. In the first to version they seem cobbled together for extra points-first question I'd ask is how does Combat Monster and friendly face happen in the same guy? And how'd he "get" gremlins?

I'll come back after I have looked these over more.

[Fresno Bob]

Well, for one, you can't take Unarmed(Fists).

[Sandoval Smith]

This might have been a houserule that I've been using so long I've simply forgotten it isn't canon, but what's wrong with unarmed/fists? It applies to weapons that use unarmed combat as their base, such as Hardliner or Shock gloves.

Why would Friendly Face and Combat Monster be incompatible? He's a friendly guy, but when he gets in a fight, and gets his blood up, he goes for the kill and has a hard time disengaging from that mind frame.

Gremlins is easy. He doesn't like technology, and technology doesn't like him right back.

I did lean a little heavily on the flaws and edges, but I found myself really needing some of those extra points.

This post has been edited by Sandoval Smith: Feb 18 2005, 07:29 AM

[Paul]

[Sharaloth]

'Shifters are dual natured, they automatically have Astral Perception on ALL THE TIME, and can't turn it off. It's a simple action to focus on the astral and notice things, but it's always there, you don't need to buy it with an adept power or SURGE edge/flaw. (SRcomp, pg 36), also Shifters have Essence 8 regardless of magical ability (which starts at 6 in CC)

Also, I didn't add it up, but watch the money expenditure, Shifters only get 5,000 :nuyen: at CC, you don't want to have all these wiz gadgets only to have no place to store them.

[Sandoval Smith]

[tisoz]

How in Hades did they get Etiquette of 5 or 6? They know how to fit into every group? Seems like trying to get around that whole bestial nature and roleplaying the animals unfamiliarity with mankind.

[Sandoval Smith]

I didn't really want to bog the post down with a whole background story, but essentially he's a shifter that has found human culture exquisitely fascinating and learned as much as it can about it(slightly modeled off a cat I knew who was very adept at charming people). Just because he's mastered the art of social niceties and interaction doesn't mean that his animal nature has been completly surpressed, but when he's in his element, he's charming and engaging enough that most of his behavorial idiosuncracies will be overlooked. When he's out of his element or under stress, that's going to start falling apart pretty quick.

[tisoz]

That sounds more like a high charisma than etiquette. I see much less problem with the attribute than the skill.

[Fortune]

An Etiquette of 5 means he would fit into all aspects of society better than most people.

[Lindt]

Cat shamen wouldent do a squatter lifestyle. At all. Period.

[toturi]

Personally, I'd go with a Leopard Shaman Shapeshifter.

The Lifestyle's ok. The den may be sparsely furnished but it'll be clean at least.

The Edges and Flaws look ok as well.

The thing I'm having trouble figuring out is your theme. Is this guy some kind of "cat" burglar? Then perhaps you might really want to consider Leopard instead, the Cha(Etiquette) + Leopard totem bonus for spirits (concealment) or Kinesics is better IMO.

[Sandoval Smith]

Honestly, I think I had some sort of 'Hobbes' style idea going through my subconcious as far as personality went. With his focus on social skills, none of his incarnations are that good with combat, so I thought sneaking B&E would be a good skillset to focus on (I felt trying to make a full on 'face' shapeshifter would just be too strange), but I didn't want to be so crass as to call him a cat burglar.

That might be part of the problem I've had with the character. Aside from being able to get along very well with people, I really haven't nailed down what else he's supposed to do.

[tisoz]

Now Hobbes I could see having a high etiquette, but Hobbes is a stuffed toy tiger. He is a long way from a shapeshifter in my mind. I am trying to imagine a situation that would produce a Hobbes from a tiger and having difficulty getting around that bestial nature thing. I think I would make you take an exceptional background edge to explain it (akin to GURPS.)

[BitBasher]

Do you plan on staying in human formal all the time? cause you sure as heck cheezed out point distribution with your animal attributes in 2 of three (some would say 3 of 3) cases.

[Fresno Bob]

[toturi]

[Fresno Bob]

Yeah, the conversion to Martial Arts, and then they show the example of actually removing the Bite specialization.

Anyway, specializing in an unarmed skill is always cheap. Because you could just specialize in like, kicks, and just say like "Oh, I'm kicking him". Its not like using a weapon, because you're probably always going to have your legs, so its unfair.

[toturi]

But the conversion favours people with a martial art specialisation.

It is not unfair to specialise in kicking or biting, it is just the way the game is played. If you do not use it, you re just not doing the smart thing.

[Sandoval Smith]

In general yeah, a character specializing in unarmed/fists would always try to be punching (especially if he's wearing hardliner or shock gloves). The problem with that kind of specialization is that you're in trouble if you're in a situation where you can't use that part of your body effectively (you'r hands are tied together, or your leg has been chained to a radiator, what have you). It's not an overwhelming drawback, but it is something I have had happen to characters.

[Fresno Bob]

Well if your hands are tied or you're chained to a radiator, you're pretty much screwed anyway, aren't you?

[Sandoval Smith]

I was trying to come up with a slightly better example than "well, if his hands are full of something he really doesn't feel like putting down..."

[Fresno Bob]

See? Its just a cheap way of getting an extra die. Like specializing in swimming (breaststroke), and just saying your always doing the breaststroke, or whatever. I don't know much about swimming, so that might be wrong.

[toturi]