As most of you know, my character is a Magician's Way Adept, and my GM (Sahandrian) doesn't enforce the rules governing the various Ways and Paths available to Adepts--at least, I don't *think* that he does.

I was wondering if any of you had any ideas regarding combinations of ways for an assassin PC--say, between the Invisible Way, the Silent Way, the Way of the Warrior, and the Way of the Gun.

That is, combinations of any two, three or all four of the above.

As always, thanks in advance for any suggestions.

--Foreigner

There are precious few "rules" to enforce. It's a matter of mindset, not power selection. It's all about how your character chooses his powers, and why -- not what powers he's chosen. As backwards as it may sound, the rules for Ways aren't there for your GM to limit you on what you DO, but rather on WHY you do it (kind of the opposite of real-life laws and government bodies).

Example: I've got a guy, right now, who's leaps and bounds ahead of anyone else in the world when it comes to Burnout. Still and all, he's got two points of Magic to spend on his Adept stuff -- Improved Athletics, Improved Stealth, Traceless Walk, Improved Quickness (1) and Improved Strength (1). Guess his Path? Athlete, maybe, with the extra attributes and the Athletic ability? Or Invisible Way, then, with the silent walking, the not-tripping floor sensors, the bonus to Stealth?

Nope. He's a Warrior, through and through.

Why? Because to him the magical overall increase in athleticism and stalking ability is just the means to an end. He doesn't revel in the sneaking the way my Invisible Way (Imp Stealth 6, for starters) character does. Sneaking is just how he gets into position for a combat to start; stealth is a means to an end, not an end unto itself. Likewise, his Athletic ability and increased attributes are there for him to run faster and climb better, opening up new paths to him and new combat positions, making him quicker to chase people down or grab cover. It's all just there to present a tactical advantage.

Likewise, for instance, look at...Jason Bourne. Pretend he's an Adept. The climactic point in those movies tends to be a car chase and/or fistfight and/or gunfight, right? It's safe to say he's got some "Centering: Vehicle Skills" even, and stacks of dice for Unarmed Combat and Edged Weapons (specialized in Improved Weapons) or Clubs, probably even some Adept-skills boosting Pistols or maybe even Rifles. But, think about it -- is he really a Warrior, because of all that? Or an Athlete just because of the scenes wherein he free-climbs a building? Pretty obviously not. He worked for the CIA, not the WWE. He's an Invisible Way follower, in his heart and in his mind and in what makes him tick like he does (not just roll dice).

So look at your character -- and here I'm assuming we're talking about "The Foreigner," your assassin -- and decide which is most important to him. Is it that he fights people (Warrior)? Or that he fights them with guns (Way of the Gun)? Or is the driving force behind what he does and how he does it that he does so as an assassin?

I'm pretty sure you already know the answer. At least, you already know the answer if you're staying pretty true to The Foreigner from the comics. He doesn't have a calling card that says "Bestest Fighter on the Planet, OMG!" does he?

you might consider coming up with new Ways. they're largely just names, after all--a way to sum up what your character is and what he does. specifically, the "Way of the Hunter" might be a good choice for someone like your guy. i suppose you could go "Way of the Assassin", too, but "Hunter" sounds more mystical and, in this context, means pretty much the same thing.

Critias, mfb:

Thanks, both of you.

That's pretty much what I'd figured on doing, but it's nice to get a second opinion--or third, fourth, et cetera.

EDIT: mfb--I suppose I could call it "Way of the MANhunter", although "Way of the Metahuman hunter" would probably be more accurate in a Sixth World sense.



--Foreigner

My adept is part sneak adept (imp. stealth, a little pistols, a little imp. perception) and part social adept (facial sculpt, voice control, cultured tailored pheremones). I've decided he follows the Awesome Path.

IMO (and echoing the above posts) its more how your character thinks. The Way of the Warrior can be anywhere from an almost 'Wise Warrior' totem adept to a full on Titus Pullo-never turn down a fight-esque character.

In other words, Critias hit the nail on the head.

So its way of the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ then

I had a long running NPC in a game who's power selection was a fairly standard bit better with sword, stealth and athletics. Faster reactions, etc. Her oddity was body boost (the team needed some one who could take damage). Her path was called the path of Passion, basically it was doing things impulsivly and with gusto. She was a terrible flirt(in the sense she couldn't stop not that she scared people off) and she lived life to the full and enjoyed every damn minuite of it. If she didn't enjoy it she didn't do it. It was about enjoyment and fun not the specific acts.

gettin paid is my forte

So--if I understand this correctly, that is--would a combination of The Way of the Athlete, The Silent Way, The Invisible Way, The Way of the Warrior be feasible?

IIRC, in the comics, that's essentially my character's comic-book counterpart is.

--Foreigner

Silent Way and Invisible Way are the same thing, really. I can't find any specific mention of the two being seperate entities -- and why would they be? Doesn't it sound like they cover the whole "I like to sneak" thing?

And, again, don't overcomplicate where you don't have to. I've read the comics. I don't think he's a "Way of the Athlete" at all -- are you suggesting it just because he's got good physical stats and athletic ability? Don't. It's okay. He can have good phyiscal stats and athletic ability without it really seriously affecting his entire mindset and philosophical outlook. Athletes (capitalized) are competitors, they love the roar of the crowd, the exileration that comes with physical performance against someone of similar skill, the rush they get from perfectly handling a new manuever and having their ability recognized...blah blah blah.

Does that sound like an assassin to you?

I'd say The Foreigner is very soundly an Invisible Way follower or, if you were to militarize his attitude just a little more, a Way of the Warrior. It all depends on if you think an assassin is in it more for the "sneaking up on someone," the "killing someone," or the "sneaking away after killing someone." And if you look at those three things -- all three -- you'll see that two of the three things are all about the sneakage. The mindset. The preparation, the planning, and the invisibility (not fighting technique, but stealth) an assassin uses to get the job done.

There aren't any hard and fast rules or definitions when it comes to picking your Path. Honest. There aren't. There's no list of powers available to only one Path, no guidelines listed for "If power = X then Path = Y," no cost modifiers or totem benefits. You don't need to custom-make the Way Of The Foreigner, or something. Why house rule when you don't need to?

Critias:

Good point.

I guess I got carried away.

--Foreigner

Well, the "Silent Way" was Ryan Mercury's super-secret "better than all the canon Ways" adept Way that was taught to him by Dunkelzahn and included things like superhuman strength and beating the hell out of people and objects with telekinetic strikes. It was way too flashy and action-hero-like to really be the Invisible Way. A better explanation for it was that Mercury was so powerful he could fully delve into the Warrior Way and Invisible Way at the same time with the same amount of development a normal adept would ordinarily only be able to devote to a single Way.

Or someone was full of crap.

Given this is Ryan Mercury we're talking about, I think SL's theory is very apt.

I'm always right, even when I'm wrong.

Actually, i'd say that Ryan Mercury is a Magician's Way adept, as far as game terms go, even if he refers to it as the "Silent Way", and he's a massively high grade initiate.

Let's see... Magical Power 6+, Improved Ability (Stealth) 6+, Improved Ability (athletics) 6, Improved Ability (unarmed combat) 6, Improved Attribute (Strength) 3 (on top of a natural Strength of 6), Improved Reflexes 3, Astral Perception, Distance Strike. That would put him as at least a Grade 18 initiate.

What makes you think all his stuff is as weak as 6's and 3's?

Well, in the case of the 3s, that's because that's as powerful as it gets.

Not with Strength. Plus, you forgot Improved Body, given that he fought a CZ in hand-to-hand combat and lived.

SL James:

I kind of figured that myself, especially considering the fact that Ryan Mercury was, IIRC, bigger than the average Ork.

That is, if you accept Patrick Goodman's article from issue #13 of The Shadowrun Supplemental (released February 6, 2001) as canon.

Goodman's article claimed that the average adult male Ork would be 6 feet, 3 inches tall, and would weigh about 209 pounds.

By comparison, the average adult male Human would be 5 feet, 7 inches tall, and would weigh about 154 pounds.

Mercury was described as being "...just over two meters tall, and weighing in at a dense 130 kilos,...", IIRC, in STRANGER SOULS.

In English, that's more than six feet, six-and-three-quarters inches in height, and almost 287 pounds, or roughly the current average for an NFL linebacker. (I *think*--I don't know much about football statistics.)

--Foreigner

Ryan Mercury is an Adept following the Way of the Author Favoured Character.

SL James:

Straight from the source:

"...Ryan was large for a human, just over two meters tall and weighing in at a dense 130 kilos, all of it well-conditioned muscle, magically enhanced and accelerated flesh. No cyber, no bio...."

--Chapter 1, page 17 of STRANGER SOULS, by Jak Koke.

P.S. : I agree with your other sentiment. Nadja Daviar and Ryan Mercury were about the same height, but I fail to see how he could even *hug* her without breaking at least one of her ribs, to say nothing of more--ah--intimate contact.



P.P.S. : The online SR fiction author Shapcano has a pet character named "Owen Glendower" who appears to have a lot in common with Ryan Mercury--both men are quite tall and heavily muscled for norms (Glendower was described as 6 feet, 5 inches tall, and weighing 215 pounds, which means that Mercury has about 2 inches and just over seventy pounds on Glendower), have considerable background in the martial arts, and are high-level Adepts of the Magician's Way, in SR3 parlance, and Glendower's patron, who has yet to be identified except by name, *may* be a dragon.

Here's the link:Shapcano's Shadowrun Stories

The stories are in order:

Inheritance (18-chapter novel);

Rescue (short story);

Student (short story);

and

Demands (23-chapter novel).

--Foreigner

There must be some upside, perhaps which can be gleaned from a viewing of Any Given Sunday (seriously, holy freaking god...). It's just that the dynamics of him on top seem more trouble than its worth.

How romantic.

I iz da smooooothie talk-R!