I know when you make a character everything is up to you and what you make it is what it is but i have some problems.

I'm playing an adept named Jaime Rosamand a female character.
my problem is i have this idea about her growing up in upper class society and training with some Great martial artists but i dont know what to detail and how to describe how she got her adept powers. And yes i have read the SR3 rule book.
Basically i need some help writing a backround i come up with good ideas sometimes but i can never write them out correctly so they sound appropriate.

Other ideas with this character include:
Jaime lives a double life.
she speaks 3 languages english, japanese and chinese.
has the following adept powers:
Improved physical attribute (str)
improved reflexes lvl 1
killing hands str (medium)
pain resistance (3)
imp Combat skills> unarmed combat

Guys any help that you could give me i'd really appreciate. I"m kinda in a fix here and dont know what to do so thanks.

Maybe there was a guru who catered to the rich.

"I can teach your kids magic for 200 a lesson"

He was a quack. Sure, he knew his meditation. He knew his martial arts. Kids were showing improvement daily. And he would keep saying "Oh yes, I've seen this before. Your kid certainly could master magic by the time she is 18!" But basically he was selling snake oil.

Or was he? Seems like Jaime here got her magical powers. But MUCH earlier that expected. Maybe she's been convinced to "keep it quiet, so the others don't get jealous"?

hmm, thanks for that suggestion it could be made to somthing but arent adepts born with the talent its just that they dont know it until later on in life?

anyone out there reading this keep the replys coming in please i appreciate it.

this post has been modified so i'm deleting it

Sure, the gamer knows that - according to the mythology of the game. But would the general public know? I don't think so.

Lots of cults would form around the concept of "getting" magical power. My ghoul character started one, and with proper RP, it was pretty easy.

Are you pretty set on those Adept powers? +1 to Str and +1 to Unarmed seems a waste really to me. As does a level 1 Reflexes... If you're wanting to make a Martial Arts expert who is so good because he/she is an adept, then you should definitely spend more points on the Unarmed since a +1 isn't really a noticeable improvement, and is more likely to be mistaken for talent, not magic enhancement.

Another thing to remember, reflexes does squat for you as a melee expert. If you spent those 2 points on Unarmed instead, then the +5 would at least imply an expert level. Anyhows, if you're not looking to min-max, and just a background story, I'd forget the whole 'master' idea, a +1 doesn't show mastery. As a generalist your background should resemble more of a spontaneous via necessity sort of expression. Maybe he/she was once haunted by a malicious spirit, who would often manifest to plague the Adept. That could explain a 'bursting out' for the killing hands, increased reflexes, and even +1 Unarmed as you attacked/disrupted the spirit one day. However, life was hard and the spirit wasn't the only problem, you've had to make your way via a local gang where proving your worth caused you to display greater strength and even pain resistance due to the initiation into the gang which could have been anything from a lighter under the palm to something more creative.

Anyhows, I don't think a +1 Unarmed is going to be the result of having Master tutelage from Master Martial Artists.

Sphynx

[Edit]New post shows +2 Unarmed, but even that is weak for the master tutelage. I still recommend losing the Reflexes and getting +6 instead.[/Edit]

if thats the case whats the point with awakened creatures then?

thanks sphynx that was quite good,

but with that spirit thing and lashing out is that before or after i take your advice in changing my stats?

oh another thing you should know,

this is the first time ive played shadowrun and this is my first character.

ive only had experience with dungeons and dragons before and i loved playing monks.
so thats why the adept apealed to me i wanted a martial artist enhanced by the power of the adept.

Well, allow me to start by recommending for a first character/adept to 'specialize'. They are made for specialization. If you want to generalize as you have, you're better off with a Cyber character.

What makes an Adept special is his improved ability. You can't mirror that with cyberware. So, I strongly recommend the loss of Increased Reflexes and +6 Unarmed. Your biggest problem is going to be your 5 Strength honestly. With the average Impact Armour being 3, that means people are resisting your attack by needing to roll a 2 or better on their 6 sided dice. So, consider raising the stat to 6 by lowering some other stat (charisma being my personal min-max choice here).

If you change your powers, then no, don't use the storyline I suggested. Then you should follow a more Dojo style of background as you've indicated you want to.

Sphynx

thats well and fine but i want to keep the whole martial artist adept thing.
i suppose as well getting help with a backround i need to know what i need to change to dish out some serios punishment.

thanks for any help on this

There's nothing requiring even a new character to specialise. It's a matter of preference, is all. There'll always be those who will point out that you're not using your points to their best potential, but that's because there's as many "best" potentials as there are players and GMs.

So, you were looking at help with background. First thing I usually do when working from created PC to background (rather than the other way around) is to look at things that seem important to the concept of the PC, and to figure out where they came from, or how that ability was developed (and/or how it expressed for the first time), or why the character has that specific quirk.

Let's see:

You want your PC to be trilingual - English, Japanese, Chinese. (Which Chinese language? They're very different.) I skimmed your stats so I could have missed it, but you have IN x 1.5 points to place into languages: 9 points total to place into those language. (Some GMs won't require you to pay for native language - which one is it anyway?) Where did Jaime learn the other two languages? grew up bi- or trilingual? learned one or both second languages in school? on the street? as part of martial arts training?

Martial arts is very central to your PC concept. What kind of martial arts? What aspects were most important: speed, strength, endurance, flexibility, sheer effectiveness (getting the job done with whatever works), energy flow? Where did Jaime encounter them in the first place? Did Jaime like it immediately? or was it something she suffered through at first? Just how quickly did Jaime pick up those skills?

Who was Jaime's teacher? What was he or she like? Was he or she human? ork? dwarf? troll? elf? How did s/he teach? pain in the neck? rote repetition ad nauseum? heavy emphasis on sparring from the first? forms and katas? Was philosophy part of training, or was the focus purely physical? If philosophy, how did Jaime take to it? (Zen, Tao, chakras ...)

More later.

This is "later". Let's see, what else stands out?

(Although I do love martial arts training backgrounds in and of themselves - just that environment alone is so full of possibility. Consider just the differences between Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Karate Kid, Bloodsport, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for some examples.)

5"9 cm - I'm guessing you meant 5'9"? (2.54 cm = 1 inch) Mid-tall for a grown woman, but not exceptionally so. If she's oriental, it would make her exceptionally tall (for a human), and she will stand out. (She could still have the green eyes and be oriental - think Big Trouble in Little China.) Edit: or is her hair and eye colour natural? Has she had enhancements? Does she wear coloured contacts?

Edit: Incidentally, I think you have Chinese down twice on your character sheet? Could be two different variants of course - Mandarin? Cantonese?

Weight 138 lbs - that's very skinny for that height, almost skin and bones. If she's to be that strong, she'll have a higher muscle density - I'd suggest 150 lb absolute minimum, more likely 160-170.

Edit: She's also extremely intelligent - how does this express itself? Is she a whiz at IQ tests? Does she suck at those but have an exceptional memory? Is she really good at putting things into practice? Can she learn anything more or less the first time she's shown it, or is she the kind who struggles to learn things, but once she has them they're absolutely solid? What did this make her like as a kid, growing up? (Does she have siblings? How did she get along with them?)

You mentioned that Jaime is born into high circles - does she know her parents? Are they alive? Who did/do they work for? What did/do they do? Was she expected to follow either parent in their line of work growing up? Did she want to? Does she have a stipend from them? (This could become an edge - Day Job - if it comes with a requirement to visit them very regularly, telephone them for an hour or so every evening ... )

Edit: Alternately, is she still part of that high class society? Or has she had to leave for some reason? or perhaps it's just that she's moved away from home and brings across the impression that she wants to make it on her own? Maybe she's a student? In itself the birthdate isn't helpful without knowing when your campaign will be set - how old do you want her to be?

If Jaime is holding that second identity, she will probably need two lifestyles - one High lifestyle to move in her familiar lifestyle, and one for her shadow lifestyle. It might be difficult to move between the two circles if the other lifestyle is Street or Squatter. Does she keep a secret base?

Edit to add:

I'm not touching your adept powers for now - sounds as though they might be undergoing revision.

Most of her knowledge skills seem closely tied to the martial arts - you'll probably want to think about what kind of meditation, what kind of philosophy in that context, but it's not essential for your PC sheet, just for your understanding of the character. Two, however, stand out: Medicine and Bodyguarding (and to a lesser extent Sculpture). Where did she pick up those? How? Why?

[5]CUS:Billard Balls 7L 1 0 5X - curious. Can she handle a cue? (Potentially to add to Knowledges.) Where did she pick up that skill? Does she ever gamble? Do/did her parents know about it?

That might even have something to do with the absolutely critical question - how does Jaime become involved in the shadow world? (You're also very light on starting equipment - appropriate for a PC new to the shadow world.)

Leave it there for now.

No, Jaime is not oriental at all
she american taught in depth by aisian martial artists.
you really need to see my new character to understand a bit more.
i got my inspiration for the character jade from bullet proof monk just to give you a bit more of an idea.

except the backround is more indepth and is very different in ways this character also has different coloured eyes has a different reason for doing what she does etc.

---------------

ARGH! Please, please...fix the spacing on your character post.

-Siege

Oh!, damn i'm sorry about that

BIO-INFO

Current Name
Jaime Rosamand

Real Name
Jaime Rosamand

Creator
Daniel Pepper

Archetype
Adept

Vitals

Race
Human
Height
5'9" cm

Sex
Female
Weight
154lbs kg

Eyes
Green
Hair
Brown

Birthdate
1/7/2040

Birthplace
Seattle

Total Karma
0

Unspent Karma
0

Description
Assets

Credsticks

¥
¥

Credstick Total ==>>
8840¥
Lifestyle

(5) St: :01/50
Edges & Flaws
Notes
Attributes


Nat
Aug
Alt

Body
5
0
5

Quickness
5
0
5

Strength
6
0
6

Charisma
4
0
4

Intelligence
5
0
5

Willpower
5
0
5

Essence
6

6.00

Run Mult.
3



Magic
6
0
6

BioIndex
0
0
0

Reaction
5
(0)
5

Init. Dice
1
(0)
1


POOLS

Karma
1
Spell
5

Combat
7
Task
0

Control
0
Hacking
0
Astral
0
Armor

Type
Conc
Ball
Imp

X:Armor Jacket
6
5
3
Condition Monitor

Stun
Physical
Overdamage
+1 to TNs
L
L
+1 to TNs
+2 to TNs
M
M
+2 to TNs
+3 to TNs
S
S
+3 to TNs
Unconscious
D
D
Dying

Stun overflows into Physical


+ TN# = -REAC#




Skills

Active
Knowledge & Language
P:Athletics(BOD) [6]
English(LAN) [5]
Etiquette(CHA) [4]
English(LAN) (RW) [2]
P:Stealth(QCK) [6]
Chinese(LAN) [2]
Throwing Weapons(STR) [6]
Leadership(CHA)/Morale [3/5]
P:Unarmed Combat-SR3(STR) [6]
Weapons


Type
Dmg
Con
Rch
Sht (4)
Med (5)
Lng (6)
XtM (9)
Mode
Ammo
Wt.

X:Club(CLB)
(STR+1)M Stun
5
1
1

X:Shock Glove(UNA)
7S Stun
9
-
0.5
+X: Flash-Pak
(Special)
12
0.2
Physical Adept Powers
Name
Cost
Notes
Imp Abl Phys Skl/Athletics(BOD) [6]
1.50
sr3.169:This power gives you additional dice for use with a specific Active Skill.
Imp Abl Combat Skl/ Geas:ExclusiveUnarmed Combat-SR3(STR) [6]
2.25
sr3.169:This power gives you additional dice for use with a specific Active Skill.
Imp Abl Phys Skl/Stealth(QCK) [6]
1.50
sr3.169:This power gives you additional dice for use with a specific Active Skill.
Traceless Walk
0.50
mits.151:An adept with the traceless walk power can move over soft or brittle surfaces such as snow, sand, or thin paper without leaving any visible traces or noise.
Imp. Sense: Low-Light Vision
0.25
sr3.169:This power provides low-light vision SR3-300.
Contacts
Name
Occup.
Archetype
Race/Desc
Location/LTG#
Lev
Freebie1
/
1

Freebie2
/
1
Not Carried Gear
Wt
Carried Gear
Wt
X:Ascent/Descent Kit @sr3.295,fof.56
2
X:Micro-Transceiver [6] @sr3.290
-
X:Basic Pocket Secretary @sr3.287
0.5
X:[3]Tranq Patch [5] @sr3.304
-
X:[5]Stimulant Patch [4] @sr3.304
-
Total Weight
6.2

You can edit a post you've made earlier by clicking on the "Edit" button directly above your post.

That might be easier than re-posting the information.

-Siege

Revisions have been made talia

I have to contradict Sphinx on this one, keep the Improved Reflexes. It may not matter as much for melee combat, but it still sucks when going against opponents with guns and some kind of speed enhancement. I mean you can only disarm on your turn, you can't counterattack (and thus disarm) when someone is using a pistol skill (even if you're in mid-melee of your target).
Also makes it damned difficult to help out friends if you can only go once per round and everyone else goes twice or more.
I've had two near character deaths in my group that could have been prevented had my physad character been able to move faster. Same character would have been dead several times over if he didn't have a body of 10.
It sucks having to wait to get enough karma for two full initiations before you can ever go more than once per round.

i'm very thankful about all the suggestions about changing character stats this was not the original point of this thread.

keep the replys coming in i appreciate it

I'm rather partial to the extra +1d6 myself - personally I think it's well worth the points - but as you say, Cryptkeeper, that's not the point of this thread. So I'll focus upon background.

It would be useful, before I go too much further, to have some sense as to where you are going - maybe some thoughts, guesses as to how you might answer the questions I have already asked?

Your skills seem to have moved almost fully toward the fighting aspects and almost completely away from all others. My current GM feels that not to have any computer or electronics skills in an electronic world is a severe handicap. ("Today's equivalent: Electronics 1 to use your home theatre system, Electronics 2 to be able to programme it." - note that not everyone on Dumpshock would agree.) Why wouldn't Jaime have any skills in this area? It seems contrary to the knowledge of medicine you indicated before, as well as to her reasonably high class background.

Weapon: club - but no weapon skill to balance. Any particular reason?

You had wanted a background which involved martial arts training. The others seem mostly enhancements on what already exists, but how did Jaime go about learning Traceless Walk? or was it just something that spontaneously came to her?

You haven't listed contacts yet. Did she have several martial arts instructors, or only one? How did she get along with them? Does she still keep in touch? (This might be one way in which Jaime first encountered the shadow world - especially if you wish to retain an instructor as one of your contacts - but it is far from the only way possible.)

A general note: physad improved abilities add dice to the ability. They don't actually increase the level of the skill. Thus, if you have one level of Improved Skill: Athletics, your athletics skill still remains at its current level, but you can add an extra die for Athletics tests.

I'll wait for answers (or imagined guesses) to the questions I've already asked before going any further.

Basically what i wanted to do in the first place was to make a character that was almost unequaled (as far as starting characters go) in fighting unarmed.
Jaime had numerous masters and yes she did keep in touch with them.
that character you saw on the thread was one that Sphynx refabricated.
basically what i wanted to do is have a character who still has a decent degree of charm as learned from the rich life etc. Using one of Sphynxs ideas i am interested in the whole idea of being tormented by a spirit until one day jaime lashed out (finding out about killing hands) this is my first character that is why i'm asking for help. I dont want to make a character that turns out to be a miserable failure.

Thanks,

Cryptkeeper

well since you last saw it i've changed my character a fair bit.

basically i am getting little closer to getting the backround in order.



and to anyone there who has had the misconception that jaime is aisian she isnt not one bit.

also that club thing talia was a mistake.

People please keep the help coming its helping me heaps.

Ok, the newer character is definitely a much closer to 'unequaled in fighting unarmed' and looks alot less like the starting Adept archetype in the book. (Did you notice your powers were exactly the same as his in your first post?)

Now I realize you're not wanting to change your character again, but to respond to the other posts, I have to say that if you want to go faster (which won't help in unarmed, but will help in other areas) your best bet is to buy 1 level of Boosted Reflexes at character generation. Geasa it to avoid magic loss by making 1 PP Geasa'd to a domain maybe. So you're only super-ass stealthy in an 'urban' environment (another Geasa recommendation is Talisman). If you have the resources left over, that leaves 0.5 Ess that you can fill with Cyberware which won't require more Geasa.

Anyhows, back on topic, an idea for a background:

Young and poor, your only interest outside of school was your bi-weekly attendance to the local TaeKwonDo class 2 blocks down from where you live. Your parents paid the monthly fee of 50 to see you not be on the streets with the local gangs, and to make sure their son had a fighting chance in life. The boy reached his early puberty stage and it was immediately recognized that he had more potential than the teacher could hope to nurture, so he talked to an old friend about this 'golden glove' kid. Within a week a letter arrived at his parent's house offering a full training from an unknown benefactor in Japan, it was a full package deal, and even included free travel tickets for the parents to see their kid bi-yearly, a deal that a poor family in the Sprawl just couldn't refuse. What wasn't known is that the benefactor was a leading member of the Yakuza and the training facility was a front for a ninjitsu clan. Jaimie studied for years and is even brainwashed into putting the 'clan' first. This is why she has a 'Day time job' flaw, because she spends time, now that she's back in America, doing little jobs for the Clan which commonly include strong arming certain businesses. (* Here is where you decide the morality of your character. IF you decide to play a moral character, your introductory to the shadows is based on your realization of how wrong it is to injure the weak for the personal gain of someoneelse, if you want to enter the shadows with low morals, then your brainwashing extended to the oriental philosophies that you are a caste above the peasant and your strong arming isn't wrong, it's part of life. *)

Anyhows, hope that helps you get started.

Sphynx

I'd like to remind you sphynx that jaime is FEMALE and i like your idea but.......
i wanted my character to get raised in the upperclass.

oh damn what i mean is that she started off upper class then stooped down for reasons (and no its got nothing to do with hating money)
more of living a double life
being rich normally stooping down to the street for respect.

thanks all and keep the replys coming.

Ah, so like the Daredevil chick.

Anyhows, I can give ideas all day, but if you have parameters, then you already have a background in mind, just use it. You just looking for reasons to have been sent to "The East" for training? One parent that was ashamed of you? Mother that insisted the father send you away because 1) He was a pedophile and always looked at you the wrong way. 2) You were the child of his Ex-Wife and they couldn't have a family with you around Maybe Father sent you away because 1) He found out he wasn't really the father but didn't know how to handle it. 2) Nothing's stronger than blood and a child bodyguard is invaluable. Maybe they both sent you away because 1) They were debutantes' always travelling and it was the 'fad' for babysitting? 2) They worked for Fuchi or some other Eastern Corp and got a good package deal to move there for awhile and let you continue what studies you started when they had to move back.

Ideas are endless, but your parameters are your own.

Sphynx

um but i didnt get my inspiration from that movie i got my inspiration from a movie called bulletproof monk and my character idea came from the character jade (only the part of living a double life etc)

thanks,

I hope that helps you understand where i'm coming from now.

Uhm, did you want help in designing your own background, or did you want us just to give you possible backgrounds? For what it is worth, I had been trying for the first, but your more recent responses seem to suggest you really want the second.

Yes that is the case

But this is what I came up with so far.


I started getting good ideas based on what my character is all about but i need some help detailing it becuase it sounds vague and very un empty in ways.
This is what i have so far:

Jaime grew up in the seattle upper class, Her father saw the importance of young people developing hobbies and skills as vital. Maybe that or he did not wish to see Jaime sitting around doing

nothing and becomeing a weak person both physically and mentally so he hired martial arts teachers to train her in thier ancient arts.

Jaimes father was also a firm believer of personal and mental contemplation through vigorous training and quest for self perfection, although this also came from being a martial art student him self

he concidered his daughter following him in his footsteps a family honor and the teachers he hired for his Jaime were world class and day after day showed improvment on Jaimes part in her path

and as lessons continued her master saw un-explainable talent through unnatural fighting talent, and phyical manouvability that could only be explained to the unlearned as supernatural.

This continued to facinate him so much infact that he started asking questions of some of his awakened friends it then became evident that Jaime had obtained inner power of the physical somatic way.
-------------------------------------------------
Basically i need help detailing things such as more about my parents what they did for a living thier attitudes towards certain things. lol the name of my characters master is another thing i cannot think of and explaining some of the skills i have.


They are as follows:

Active:
Atheletics 6
Etiquette 4
Stealth 6
Throwing Weapons 6
Leadership /Morale 3/5
Unarmed Combat 6

Knowledge & Language

English 5
English RW 2
Japanese 2

Physical Adept Powers

Imp Abl Phys Skl/Athletics
Imp Abl Combat Skl/ Geas: Exclusive Unarmed Combat
Imp Abl Phys Skl/Stealth
Traceless Walk
Imp Sense: Low Light Vision

Oh just so everyone knows jaime is not asian in anyway shape or form she american.
also the ideas i'm toying with for reasons for shadowrunning is she lives a double life one upper class and one on the streets i dont know why yet though.

Any help greatly appreciated.