Handicaped Mages, physical defect question Options

[Magus]

I have a question on a character I am developing. He is a human shamanic FM. I have not decided on a Totem as of yet. I am still developing his backstory. The main part of his history is that he was born mute. In the womb due to illegal substance abuse by his mother he developed without vocal cords. He is not mute due to some kind of brain imbalance or musculature defect. He totally has no vocal cords.
His entire life he has gotten by using sign language and the art of Pantomine. He is a very accomplished Mime. In his early teens he will have started to develop his awakened skills and find his Totem.

My questions are these: What type of Totem would seek out a Mute Mime? Plus could he communicate with Spirits? No where can I find is that communications are nailed down, could it be some sort of crude telepathic link with the Totem that allows communication to the Spirit World? Is this possible?

Thoughts please from the community...

[Aes]

I always thought there was some sort of telepathic communication available. At least, that's the way an astrally projecting mage owuld communicate.

If that becomes a problem, he could always take that magic loss and have a datajack and a transducer implanted. Jack in a small speaker in the jack and presto! He can speak.

[Magus]

Interesting. I totally forgot that speech on the Astral is not possible. I was not thinking along the lines of headware though. I will have to mull that one over. I am not going to use mute as flaw I only wanted it for roleplaying purposes. I think it will be fun to have to act out what I am trying to get across. As a fall back I may learn the mindlink spell to communicate to a specific person quicker. :talker:

[ES_Riddle]

Any Totem that focuses on stealth or obediance/loyalty could be appropriate. The stealth is obvious, but I figure that a mute can't question orders.

If you know ASL (CASL?) you should be able to communicate with spirits easily enough. I really doubt that they all are chilling in their cribs on the metaplanes talking in English, so someone summoning them and talking to them in CASL should be just as effective as someone speaking to them in Hindi.

[Crimson Jack]

Creator might make a good totem to follow. Since a mime is something of a street/party artist, it might fit in with Creator's artistic side of things.

On another note, you do realize that by being both a magic user and a mime, that you'll be double targetted.

"Geek the mage!"
"Geek the mime!"

;)

[Edward]

Consider his background carefully, if he had came from a corporate family or a family that could afford medical insurance or even just a lower middle class family with a willingness to scrimp and save for there poor mute child he probably had a data jack by the age of 5

Data jack. 1000 nuyen
External transducer 1000 nuyen
Speakers 50-500 nuyen
Hearing your mute child say I love you, priceless.

This will be done well before magical talent can be noticed and is affordable enough that most families could get it.

If he has not got this package then you should say why.

The only reason I can com up with is his parents where squatters or lower with no SINs in witch case where did he learn true sign language

Edward

[Crimson Jack]

I like the idea of the character coping with his disability in a way that doesn't involve cyberware to fix it, although a good point is made about having parents financially secure enough to remedy it with a datajack and transducer.

[Shanshu Freeman]

[Edward]

I admit that it makes a much better character concept if you don’t have the data jack and transducer but you need a reason why not.

Anybody with a steady job and a SIN can get a personal loan for 3000nuyen (just as any body with a steady job today can get a personal loan for $5000 to buy a car or go on a holiday)

I see several choices for childhood background that don’t get you the cyber wear (or bioware vocal cords).

Awakened parents, both your parents where awakened and considered a high chance that you where as well so did not install cyber wear in you, they communicated with you primarily threw a mind link spell and on your awakening you where quickly thought that spell as well. Non awakened purists may also choose not to install cyber wear. This doesn’t work so well as the parents are not likely to be taking drugs, a congenital defect could still occur however.

Bad parents, you’re from a dysfunctional family. In spite of the fact that they could solve your problem easily your parents decided not to, you probably never communicated well with your parens as they didn’t go to the trouble of learning sign language that you learned in an official “special school” you probably hate your parents a great deal, works well with your character being a metahuman to raciest parents, (you’re an orc so your father thinks your mother slept with a troll).

Very poor parents. your parents (or signal parent) lived in a crowded squat and never had more than $5 to there names (ucas dollars, never had a nuyen at all) they obtained a book on sign language from a old library in the barons and used it to teach you sign language unfortunately some of the pages where damaged or missing and with nobody other than your parents to talk to in sign you developed several incorrect or original signs.

I think the second works best myself.

Another point is that as a magician there is a mind link spell you can use, to avoid making it as much a cop out as the transducer ensure that your version is voluntary only, you can then carry around a card that says “I am mute, may I cast mind link on you, there can be no harm to you from this spell” and on the back “I will only receive the information you deliberately choose to send me”. Being scared of magic to some degree many will refuse this, also if you want to talk to 5 people at once you would need to cast the spell 5 times, sustaining 5 spells at once is a tall order.

Edward

[Edward]

[Critias]

I'd say the character's personality and background should have more of a say (heheh) in his Totem than just him being a mute. That's like a Totem picking a Shaman just 'cause he's got red hair, or blue eyes, or a pot belly, or something.

[Crimson Jack]

Edward, you forgot "raised by yetis" as a background option. :P

[Edward]

[Magus]

Ilike the thought on the datajack and external transducer, and as for the why he would not have one is kinda like this....
Mom is heavy into drugs Novacoke or something while Father is the sole provider in a low middle class family. Very low on the middle class. Dad owns a soycaf cafe in a poor section of town (excuse please I do not own New Seattle, but in the SSG I see referal to the different zones ie..a,b,c etc. etc) I figured it on the cusp of C and D. Between supporting Mom's habit and my two sisters and trying to run the business....ie costs, overhead and protection racket money to the local gangs/mafia The funds for a piece of cyber were slim to none. I am going to be playing this guy at around age 16. Still in public school (2pt day job flaw) and helping Dad. Dad has gotten into a bind. Seems someone had taken over his mortgage at the bank and is pushing him out onto the street. Do not know who, only we have 6months to come up with the cash to pay off the mortgage or loose the business and our home. (second loan on the house to setup the business)

Does this sound plausible or is it the typical runner's bio? He wants to help his father, dad has always been there for him. Always makes time for his family and loves his wife for who she used to be and what she could be if she got off the habit. He is trying to get her into counseling but that also costs money.

[Magus]

As for Totems I was thinking either the Creator as suggested by Crimson Jack or possibly Monkey.

[Edward]

There are some issues. With that background but probably not insurmountable.

Where did you learn your magic. Without being an initiate it takes a lot of money or a hell of a lot of effort (time but your only 16) to learn lots of spells. Or you could just say your totem taught you the first set, there is no way a totem can teach a spell to an uninitiated shaman in game play but it is something you tend to have to relax on for young shaman characters.

The drug addiction rules mean that if she was using nova coke or any other drug listed in SR when you where born and didn’t stop she would almost certainly be dead by now. Ether she was clean for some of that time or she is dead, you decide.

Next you have a magic attribute of 6, you shouldn’t have to much trouble getting a part time job with a compony that sets wards, being so young you would probably only earn 40-60 nuyen an hour. Why your not doing this is a question every magical character needs to answer as part of “why do you run the shadows”. Probably becos it wouldn’t get the money in time.

Lastly another possibility you should consider for totem given your background. Dog, protector of pack.

Edward

[shadow_scholar]

About not having cyber to counter the muteness: Maybe the character can't accept cyberware because of some medical condition? Like maybe an uber flaw of that anti-cyberware flaw? Or maybe the character's religous or spiritual beliefs don't allow for them to have cyber? Honestly, I really don't think it matters much, just as long as you and your GM agree that you'll never try to get cyber to try and correct the condition.

As for what totem: This would have to be something you'd have to create or modify for an existing totem, but howabout Sasquatch? They can't speak, and although they can mimic almost any sound they hear in nature they don't have vocal chords and typically communicate via sign language (according to the Sasquatch Entertainer contact).

As for the mute concept: I had a player do that once, and it was quite humorous in the first game session when he tried to communicate to anyone as he didn't have a system set up. At first he was stuck because he couldn't use a normal phone, couldn't communicate easily in a loud bar, or had trouble just doing everyday things we take for granted because he couldn't speak. Eventually he just got a modified pocket secretary to convert thoughts to text, but it was still interesting how he'd deal with other stuff.

As for the astral stuff: I thought that from Astral Projection you could manifest in Physical space and speak? It has been a while since I brushed up on that stuff, do I have that wrong?

[DexRiley]

For a totem my I suggest Phoenix? The totem requires you to have a performance skill (among other disadvantages) and would be metaphoric for the character. The character rises from his semi-squalled background as the Phoenix rises from death.
For the communication part I would have the character strongly dislike the idea of installing cyberware (maybe a prejudice) and go chewie/Han route and have someone who is mindlinked translate instead of having it on multiple people. Granted if no one else is around it would be difficult, but it's surprising how well you can function in society without speaking.
As a side note ASL is different than sign languages from other countries. Though by 2064 there might be a universal SL.

[kryton]

I had an idea for an NPC that was interesting. He's based in part on a kid I met in Highschool. I called him Brownout. He had severe cerabal palsey. Normal cybernetics wouldn't work properly when his neurological problems. He's basically an initiate with no gesea. He has a spirit in the shape of a dirty cherrub who likes to smoke cigars. He's got a telepathic with the spirit. The spirit is well....ummm.. "nasty". He likes to say all the wrong things, look up women's dresses and the like. It's unknow wether the spirit is a conjurned alley or a free spirit that took to Brownout out of affection.

That's one thing I've not seen alot of. If your disabled or incompacitated then the Matrix would be the one place your mind could be totally free. Right now the gerentological age group is pretty computer illiterate. Wait till 2020 and later when the baby boomers grow old. I could see strong online communities of elderly. Hell that online game your playing could be an eldery guy half way around the world. With SR tech anything is possible.

[Jrayjoker]

[Magus]

Yes but as I am pantomiming being stuck in a box I am actually surrounded by a Force 6 physical barrier!

8) :D

[Fortune]

[Crimson Jack]