Until Wed, feel free to just send me a new copy of your character sheet if you want any changes made. In the end, it'll work out a lot better than having me try to find all the changes everyone mentions

TinkerGnome, I am sorry, but I got a lot of work recently. Would it be ok if i send you a provisionary version of the character sheet today? Attributes, Skills and Cyber-/Bioware are complete. But there is still some equipment missing. (Mainly additions to the character's commlink.) I will send you the completed sheet until 4:00PM (your time zone) tomorrow.

Oracle, tomorrow is fine. Here's the list of sheets I am done reviewing.

Razorblade - Sheet reviewed, issues (minor) commented, karma awarded
Freebird - Sheet approved, karma awarded even though he lacks any Skynyrd references in it. For shame.
Fade - Sheet approved, karma awarded
Electric Eddie - Sheet approved, no background found (may just be missing it)
The Priest - Sheet reviewed, issue commented, karma awakrded for background
BBO - prelim sheet reviewed (no comments)

I'll edit this post as I get done with more.

Does someone have a good Excel Character Sheet without generator functions for me? I only got German sheets... ^^

This thread.

...for the character gen.

That's the sheet I'm using to track things, personally. It has some problems, but it's not bad.

The main problem is, that it hasn't got enough place for cyberware.^^

I run into a lack of spots for regular gear, most often. And it's hella annoying having to scroll all the way down the list to pick out each item.

I'm considering building an inventory building sheet that's more of a checklist type arrangement.

Is there a reason you want an excel sheet? To track expenditures and stuff?

I got it. Finally. My sheet has just been sent to your eMail TinkerGnome. *falling into sleepmode* I'll never do that again. GM for life.

You really find it easier to be a GM? I don't ..

I hear ya Silo.

SR4 is giving me some hope.

Same for me. There are so many things to keep track of in SR, it's kind of crazy.

For a game to be good, it takes a lot of knowledge too. I believe it's sligthly easier online though, cause there isn't a time pressure as much.

Totally agreed, gobogen. I wouldn't consider running a face to face SR game with your average player. Maybe with some really understanding friends.

I think another reason I feel better about GMing SR4 is because it's pretty much a complete reset. I took a break and skipped straight from SR1 to SR3 (playing SR3 starting a few years back). There was so much extra source material and so many books and optional rules... people were making characters with abilities I'd never even heard of. WTH is an otaku... a what-ling... it was some pretty big culture shock if that can be said.

BUT ANYWAY, that's all done with now that SR4 has brought us back down to the mean streets of Seattle where we belong.

So... OT for the topic at hand, but this is a recruitment thread, so what isn't OT if not about TFII characters? When min-maxing a PC, should I start with whatever ability I'd like to twink out and then build around that? Or should I look to the rules for some system that is ripe for exploitation? I tend to always want to make 'real' characters, who have interests that don't further their survival, and broad rather than deep skills because it never seems like you have enough points to make even a normal person, let alone a street savvy shadowrunner, even a novice one.

That downside there is, while full of integrity and the righteousness that integrity brings, the characters are pretty lousy in play.

I really like forum games because of the emphasis on RP over mechanics, but if we didn't want the mechanics we'd all be doing free-form RP.

I love the SR setting. And, for whatever reason, I don't think you can truly recreate it. You have to first go to a shadow meet to go on a shadow run...if ya' get my drift.

All the bits and rules to me give the setting its life.

I think a lot of it goes back to the way that they integrated characters in to the rule and source books...commenting on stuff we read in the and stuff. To me, the SR world is more alive than others...because of the rules.

I also agree that online GMing is much easier than face to face. It just adds time that you don't normally have. So, you don't have to be a guru to react to the completely off the wall things that players will come up with....

...Like the time a long term player in a my first gaming group tried her hand at running a game.

We prepared our new characters, integrated in to the setting she wanted us to play in and sat down for the first session. She slowly started us off...at the first opportunity for actions, one of the guys pointed at an obscure place on the map hanging on the wall that was thousands and thousands of miles away and said, "we're going there."

I don't think anyone knew what was actually "there". I know the new DM didn't. Hehe...it was funny.

If you want to get started GMing SR, you might try using Food Fight or a similar module to get you going. Food Fight rocks