Dumpshock Forums > Why I don't play sammies.

LilithTaveril

Aug 19 2006, 06:19 PM

Say hello to the next heinous thing to come out of my mind.

[ Spoiler ]

And that's before I write up a background

emo samurai

Aug 19 2006, 06:21 PM

No synaptics?

LilithTaveril

Aug 19 2006, 06:25 PM

Couldn't afford them with everything else in there.

James McMurray

Aug 19 2006, 06:27 PM

You definitely want some initiative enhancers, either synaptic boosters or wired 2. Also, I'm not sure you can take incompetent for Pilot. Is pilot something you can default on?

LilithTaveril

Aug 19 2006, 06:30 PM

Some pilots yes, some pilots no. I changed it to one that can.

Edit: Found a way. Nevermind.

Butterblume

Aug 19 2006, 06:41 PM

I like this char, it's almost well rounded.

The negative qualitites are a bit odd, and the char really needs more initiative phases.
Something like perception would be usefull, too.

Sam/Face, good combination to play, since it works both during legwork and the run.

mfb

Aug 19 2006, 06:54 PM

why is this a reason to not play sammies?

ShadowDragon

Aug 19 2006, 07:03 PM

With that title, I was expecting something super min/maxed. No offence, but this sammy is mediocre as far as combat goes. He's more of a face with good combat ability and not many contacts.

FanGirl

Aug 19 2006, 07:05 PM

QUOTE (Butterblume)

The negative qualitites are a bit odd....

Look at the character's name again, and you'll see how much the negative qualities make sense.

But yeah, I don't understand what the real "problem" with Red is. Perhaps you could write up a background?

LilithTaveril

Aug 19 2006, 07:28 PM

Ah, yes, the background:

[ Spoiler ]

Her problem? She's nuts.

Mfb- Because I suck at making sammies?

Teulisch

Aug 19 2006, 08:55 PM

well, theres one thing about making a sam in shadowrun- you can make them effective, or you can make them to an odd theme... but both is a bit difficult to do.

do you really need all the skill groups? i would think you could do better with your points by grabbing more stuff outside of groups at various levels. depends on the end result you want.

you could have higher attributes. i see you took dead average stats before modifiers. you could add 4 more points in there somewhere. easy enough to do if you take away a little from non-essential skills.

i would seriously advise some ear modification, even if its just a dampner. using guns that much, you will need ear protection. maybe drop enhanced articulation for other ware.

your 6/6 contact looks too high... at that rank, they will have almost no time to help you. you may want to drop it to 4, so that its more reliable.

fool

Aug 19 2006, 09:51 PM

actually, this is a pretty sick character as far as combat abilities go. Maybe he could get 2-3 more dice without totally minmaxing but she's gonna take down virtually any other character pretty quickly. A good example of why sammies are so dangerous.

LilithTaveril

Aug 20 2006, 04:27 AM

I took dead average stats for an elf to reflect the theme of her. She's not someone who is above average for her kind. She's just a normal girl who went insane and has spent six years believing she's Little Red Riding Hood. All of her traits that are above normal are because of augmentation, not because of any increased ability on her part.

Her history I left a bit vague for a reason. The only person who truly knows where she got some of her equipment some of her training is her. And, taking one look at what's said about her, you can immediately tell she's not going to reveal that information. Every choice for equipment was made to fit the theme of someone who is primarily hunting wolves. She's not going to have a lot of cyber simply because she doesn't need it to be effective.

That said, she lacks skills in the area she needs most for her expertise, which is another reflection of her insanity. The lack of ability to drive boats is from simple unfamiliarity with them (if you're hunting wolves, what need do you have to know anything about boats?), and her allergy is nothing important other than being a danger to her when hunting her chosen prey.

Now, I'll admit she doesn't stack up well compared to some sams that are specialized in hunting metahumans. But, that's because she's not specialized in that area. She hunts wolves. That means that some of the cyber choices that are obvious for normal sams (like cyberears) won't be for her.

At the end of the day, this is just a themed character. Yes, she can be very effective against metahumans. But, she's not the be-all end-all that some sammies are in combat. She doesn't need to be.

Akimbo

Aug 22 2006, 04:29 AM

This reminds me too much of B.B. Hood/Bulleta from Darkstalkers...

Oracle

Aug 22 2006, 08:34 AM

As a GM I would not like the combination of flaws. To much gain for the losses.

And I would not like the 6/6 fixer contact. No normal fixer should have a connection rating similar to that of a certain Mr. Knight.

Grinder

Aug 22 2006, 08:47 AM

I wouldn't allow the allergy as it is. Not a big chance that it will affect the char during play.

Cabral

Aug 22 2006, 08:49 AM

I have to agree about flaws. In particular with Incompetence (Watercraft). Unless the campaign has a good deal of seafaring in it, it's pretty much a freebie 5 pts. Same thing with Scorched: When is a Samie going to be dealing with Black IC?

I do like the concept though.

- Pixel

Oracle

Aug 22 2006, 09:08 AM

Am I missing something or does that character only have 2 dice for most perception tests?

And some other possible problems:

Can gyromounts be added to cyberhands or do they need a full arm replacement? Don't have my book with me.

Doesn't the character suffer from unbalanced attribute ratings because the attributes of the cyberhands aren't enhanced to those of the rest of the body?

Cabral

Aug 22 2006, 09:23 AM

Yup Perception Dice Pool of 2
While called a cyberarm gyromount, the weights extend from the wrists and no restrictions are mentioned. The 4 capacity provided by the hand is sufficient to contain the gyromount.

I believe he strength and agility of the cyberhand are not a serious factor in most of Red's gun bunny activities, thus averging the strength and agility is not necessary. If she tries to cling to a ledge with just her fingertips, she'll use the cyberhand's strength. Pulling herself up should use an average of her strength and the cyberhand's strength of 3.

All IMO.

Oracle

Aug 22 2006, 09:40 AM

The agility of her hands should be at least of some importance when shooting. As a GM I would average the agility of her arm with that of her hand, just becauese shooting involves usage of that hand.

cx2

Aug 22 2006, 02:59 PM

I fail to see how scorched is a major issue. If I recall the bp bonus for hackers is increased compared to non-hackers. And incompetence watercraft isn't that unreasonable since the GM could intentionally bring it up fairly easily, no more of an issue than incompetence in something like heavy weapons or longarms for a character that doesn't use them

Chrome Shadow

Aug 22 2006, 03:04 PM

Flaws aside, I like this character a lot.

But i my opinion, and as others have said, a hunter needs very good perception, and very good hearing. And everybody should protect his ears.

lorechaser

Aug 22 2006, 06:21 PM

Random question:

Where is Skinlink? And what is it? I'm thinking it's a non-cyber version of a smartlink, but I want to be sure.

LilithTaveril

Aug 22 2006, 06:33 PM

Scorched also affects interactions with BTLs. Those are something a sammy could concievably deal with quite a bit.

Skinlinks are mentioned on page 318 of SR4.

Oh, and I am taking notes for this one. For improvements.

Mr. Unpronounceable

Aug 22 2006, 06:34 PM

Skinlink replaces wired/wireless connections for 50:nuyen: per device.

Basically it piggybacks the device signal on the electrical flux already present on your body.

Odd as it sounds - this is actually tech currently being developed.

lorechaser

Aug 22 2006, 06:37 PM

Yeah, I've read about that tech. The main focus so far is in MP3 players from what I've seen.

And yes, scorched is already 5 bp for non hackers and 10 for hackers. It relates to BTL primarily, which is why it's only 5 points. It's about on par with being allergic to oak trees, in SR rules....

LilithTaveril

Aug 22 2006, 06:46 PM

Oak trees were pretty damn common in my last game...

Da9iel

Aug 23 2006, 07:56 AM

You haven't been reading No Rest for the Wicked by any chance, have you?

Oracle

Aug 23 2006, 08:34 AM

At least in the Seattle Plex you won't find a lot of Oaks. ^^

I saw some working applications of skinlinks at the CeBIT 2005.

LilithTaveril

Aug 23 2006, 01:04 PM

Da9iel, the GM had a game where the players, just to be asses, chose Severe Allergy (Oak trees), severe allergy (fresh water), severe allergy (moss), addiction (air pollution), and spirit bane (squirrels).

Our first run with those characters took us to an oak forest surrounding a freshwater lake with a moderate moss infection, clean air, and squirrel spirits as protectors.

Grinder

Aug 23 2006, 02:40 PM

GM 1 - Players 0

Hopefully the group didn't split up after the session and talked with each other about their gaming style.

LilithTaveril

Aug 24 2006, 12:15 AM

Neither. We had too much fun with the game. It's not every day you get to see a fully-cybered troll chased up a tree by squirrels.