If you have 27 ability points to distribute amoung your abilites for a decker where would you put them?

NPC: 27.

No, really -- it's a stat.

I suppose it depends on what kind of decker it happens to be --

Body 4
Quick 5
Str 3
Char 3
Int 6
Will 6

Pretty butch for a decker, but then again he won't break while playing with the samurai either.

-Siege

Int, Wil, Cha. the first because all your important skills are linked to it; the second because you use it to resist damage on the Matrix; the third because it makes raising Etiquette (Matrix) easier.

I suppose i want to be a good decker and half decent in combat too.

Mfb has a point -- if he's a classic decker geek, physical stats are less important.

If he's a combat decker who runs with SEALs during covert ops, odds are his physical stats will be higher.

So narrow your concept and you'll have a better idea of how to spend your points.

-Siege

Edit: Define 'combat'. Melee? Unarmed? Ranged?

Firearms? (asault rifles? Sniper rifles? Handguns?)

Heavy weapons?

Launch weapons? (grenade launchers -- a personal fav)

All of these questions will help you to develop a character concept and having a concept makes building the actual numbers much easier.

What i really want to do is have a character who was formally in a matrix gang or somthing similar.
I still want him to be a little tough

As a decker you should get Cyber and Bioware like Cereberal Boosters and Encephalons, but with 27 points, how about:

Bod 4
Qck 4
Str 3
Cha 4
Int 6
Wil 6

You can then buy a Cereberal Booster 2 to give you an 8 intelligence, which is just lovely for a decker

thanks i may try that.

Any other thoughts?

Ok, your combat skills are going to be along the lines of:

unarmed (brawling), melee (edged or clubs)
handgun, (maybe SMG)

Nothing to impress the merc or sam, but it'll keep you alive.

How are you building your character? 27 points is a lot of attributes for a decker (the idea being you're sacrificing money or skills which are also extremely important for a decker).

-Siege

Edit: And check with your GM -- some prohibit cultured bioware which includes the cerebral booster. If he doesn't, it's a great toy.

Are you allowed edges and flaws? Exceptional attribute (INT) is nice.

I wouldn't give a decker some kind of melee skill. If the party's decker is involved in melee combat, then the run is totally fragged. Pistols are good for defending yourself, maybe an SMG. Are you using the priority system?

Good point about the Cereb Booster, I forgot to ask if it's allowed, sorry.

My Priorities are as follows:

A: Rescources 1,000,000
B: Attributes 27
C: Skills 34
D: Mundane
E: Human


Thats how i chose my priorities did i do it wrong?

There is no right or wrong, everyone plays differently.

IMHO, skills are more important than attributes for a decker (etiquette/matrix, comp/programming, comp/decking, electronics b/r), with money being the most important (you'd want a fast deck with all the goodies, right?). Try building a decker with Attributes B and Skills C, then try one with Skills B and Attributes C. Just pick the one you like better.

I recently built a decker using the point based system on NSRCG (123bp), and I like that system better for building deckers because you can custom fit your attribute and skill points.

Hmm, ok then what sort of cyber deck and cyberware should i look at getting.

and a reply to an earlier person on skill selections.........................................

you cannot specialise in a skills more than once eg.

Computers /programming
computers /decking

i'm sure you cant do that for a starting character.

Going by the rules of 8/6, the CMT Avatar is probably the best stock deck you can buy at CharGen.

Cyberware is all dependent on the kind of decker you want to play, but the only decker specific cyberware I can think of are a datajack, Encephalon and the Math SPU, because of the hacking pool and task pool bonuses they offer. Everything else (smartlinks, eye and ear replacements, chipjacks, headwear memory, hell, even muscle replacement) are up to you.

As far as specializing more than once, I was just throwing out ideas. Not all deckers need a programming skill. It just depends if you're going to try to build your own programs or not.

What Elfie said.

I'd suggest shifting your priorities thusly:

Resources A
Skills B
Attributes C
Race: D
Magic: E

This is more along the lines of a "stereotypical" decker, but with the stuff you'll be buying you'll like having lots of money.

As for the cyberware and deck -- you're on your own. There are a lot of opinions, depending on what you want to do and I've never hammered my way through the decking rules.

-Siege

In the end, get enough Intelligence so you can have a decent Reaction and Hacking Pool, as well as not spending huge amounts on Computers skill. Then get some Willpower for when the IC starts getting hot and heavy, or should I say glacial.
Then forget that your character is a decker, act as if you have the remaining points and are working towards a secondary specialization.
In decking, what you own so much beats out who you are and what you know it ain't funny. Give me a Computers skill of 2 and a kitted-out Excalibur with the latest programs and I'll like as not take down someone world-class but with entry-level programs and gear.
Of course, they only give that kind of gear to the people who know how to use it, but the principle still stands. You need to do very little with attributes or skills to be a good decker. If you want to become an amazing decker while owing people as little as possible, then go with high Charisma and Etiquette, not to mention Negotiation. It's an expensive game.

~J

edit: as for 'Ware, the L3 Math SPU is perhaps the single most useful thing you can get. If you manage to avoid Matrix combat much, it may even be more useful than the Datajack. It's the equivalent of increasing your Intelligence and MPCP by a total of 9, as far as Hacking Pool goes. For gear, if your character is first and foremost a decker, go with whatever the best deck you can get is (I forget which one that is) and a lot of programs. Lots and lots. If your character is more of a combat decker, you may want to not actually get a deck yet and then try to get a windfall and buy one on the street to get MPCP above 6/Avail above 8, but that may cripple your moneymaking potential beforehand.

But who says i want to be an orc?
cuase thats what would happen if i put my race as priority d.

There is absolutely nothing requiring you to be an ork (or dwarf) if you put your race as D. Although it does leave you options if you so choose.

-Siege

sorry i'm confused how can you have your human as race on priority d?

You can be a human on any racial priority, since they have the lowest priority (although why you would do so on anything other than D or E is beyond me). The racial priority just allows you to take those extra races...So with a racial priority of E, you can only be human. With D, you can be a Dwarf or an Ork, as well as a human. On C, you can now be a Troll or an Elf, as well as anything given to you by D and E. On B and A, you can be anything you want, but it's not a good idea to make Race B or A.

Although if you're using the priority system, going with Race D and Magic E would give you more flexibility, since Dwarves give you a bunch of Attribute bonuses, which are never a bad thing. Since Orks have a -1 INT modifier, I don't like using them as Deckers, but it has been done.

Edited to add a blurb about races...

Hmm,

Ok i understand now *seriosly*

is there any sense in the concept of a person leaving upper class and join ing a matrix gang and learning decking from them?

Sure.

Surly, rebellious teens go do stupid things all the time.

Sounds like a good concept to me.

-Siege

any tips on developing a simple backround like that to a full fledged one?

Add details like:

Where did the teen go to school?

Family relationships? Good? Bad? Estranged?

Where did the teen meet the matrix gang?

Why'd the teen jump ship from the rich, well-fed life to live on the fringe with dangerous criminals?

Personal quirks? Habits? Does the character have a fondness for a certain type of food? Music?

Is the teen still affiliated with the gang?

Why step up to shadow running?

Run with it -- let your imagination go nuts.

-Siege

If you're going to be a mundane human, the point system generally gives you a better character build by a few points. If it's available to you, I'd go with that.

Why did they leave the upper class? Did their parents kick them out? Are they rebellling against their parents? What gang did they entere? Why? Did the gang find them or did they find the gang? What is the make up of the gang and how do they operate? What kind of activities to they perform? Vandalism? Serious Decking? Runs on Matrix Banks ( )? How well does he perform in the gang? Is he an "officer" or "leader" within it or just a "normal" gang member?

Answer these questions and it should help you get some ideas about where to go with the background. Plus, it'll give the GM an idea of who your character is and it will all her/him to use your gang in the story if their creative. Beyond that, there's the normal questions like where did your character get your skills, 'ware, equipment, etc.

-- Dash --

Not quite in the original vein but...

I've been tinkering with a matrix combat decker and I was thinking if anyone had any cons to using Body to soak that dumpshock and IC damage on the meatbod as opposed to Willpower.

Everyone seems to go for speed and stealth and I was wondering if anyone ever tried a more brute force approach to matrix runs?

Disadvantages to brute force:

Matrix runs take a loooooot longer as a result of having to tangle with IC rather than slipping by without triggering the stuff

Target is alerted to malign attention

Increased risk of nasty DEATH.

~J

@ Arz:

I've been toying around with an MPCP-8 Deck running with 8 Masking and 8 Bod (running in both modes for 12 masking and 12 bod), which give me really bad sensor and evasion scores... I'm trying to slip by unnoticed, but covering myself incase I do get hit (I do have an Attack-D 5/Stealth 5 program ready at all times).

I'm sure combat takes longer. You have to make more tests and get more successes outside of combat because the computer will be cancelling your successes with successes against your DF more often, and combat itself will take a few rounds, thus extending it even further. I think it's this style of decking that has led to the misperception of decking as something that means the rest of the team needs to go out for pizza for the next three hours.

~J