Does anyone do this? Obviously playing a straight Mary Sue is pretty lame in any RPG, but I'm even more appalled by some of the cartoonish backstories I see for most "original" or "different" characters. I might not want to play as myself, but it might be interesting to play as some other Dumpshocker's Sixth World alter ego, and the resulting backstory, Qualities, and skill mix might seem more "real" than something based purely on fiction.

Anyone interested in posting something along these lines? I'll show you mine if you'll show me yours.

The character I'm working on at the moment is loosely based on myself, at least in having similar interests, skills, etc. Not to mention DNA...he works out to something like my great grandson. Nothing to post yet though, haven't worked up stats, still doing the background.

I'd be interested in seeing it when you're done.

Of course, what I really want is further data to help my psychoanalysis of Emo Samurai.

Most (but not all) of the guys and gals in my gaming group do this. Obviously the histories are going to be different since it's 60+ years in the future. But similar to Tekumel, they make PCs with skillsets, interests, attributes, and personalities that roughly map out to their real persona. It certainly adds a degree of ease to their RP, especially if they are having trouble staying in character with something wildly opposite to how they would normally react. I can PM or post examples from our group if you wish.

Here's my attempt. Attributes and some backstory are based on me. The rest is a mix of originality, wishful thinking, and plausible and quasi-balanced tweaking/invention.

I used 400 bp under Frank Trollman's char gen system, where skills are half price and resources and contacts are a little cheaper. SR4 skill costs greatly frustrate me. Simply increasing normal BPs gives me too much temptation for high attributes and still not enough skills.


Hobbes, Chaos Mage specialized in astral combat and magical espionage
Race: Human male (0 BP)

Attributes (255 BP)

Body: 3
Agility: 2
Reacton: 2
Strength: 2
Charisma: 3
Intuition: 4
Logic: 6
Willpower: 4
Magic: 5
Edge: 4

Essence: 6
Initiative (Astral): 6 (8 )
Initiative Passes (Astral): 1 (3)
Physical Damage Track: 10
Stun Damage Track: 10


Active Skills (97 BP) (194 under normal char gen!)

Spellcasting: 6
Counterspelling (Combat): 4(+2)
Ritual Spellcasting: 1
Conjuring Skill Group: 4
Assensing (Aura Reading): 3(+2)
Astral Combat (Blade Foci) 4(+2)
Arcana: 2
Unarmed Combat: 1
Blades (Swords): 1(+2)
Pistols (Light Pistols): 1(+2)
Automatics (Assault Rifles): 2(+2)
Dodge: 2
Etiquette (Corporate): 1(+2)
Athletics Skill Group: 1
First Aid (Combat Wounds): 2(+2)
Perception: 2

Knowledge Skills (30 Free BP)

Astral Security Methods: 4
Aztech Rebel Groups: 2
Corporate Court History: 2
Magical Espionage Methods: 3
Magical Groups: 3
Magical History: 3
Megacorporate Economics: 3
Mercenary Organizations: 1
Pre-Awakening Cartoons: 2

Language Skills

English: N
Japanese: 2
Spanish: 3

Qualities (+5 BP)
Magician (Chaos Mage)
Mentor Spirit (Adversary)
Spirit Affinity (Man)
Incompetent (Artisan)
Low Pain Tolerance
Simsense Vertigo
Spirit Bane (Earth)

Spells (36 BP)

Alter Memory
Control Thoughts
Deflection
Detect Magic, Extended
Heal
Influence
Manabolt
Mana Static
Mindprobe
Physical Mask
Resist Pain
Telekinesis

Gear and Lifestyle (56,000 nuyen) (8 BP)

Katana Weapon Focus, Force 2
Fichetti Security 600 (w/60 regular rounds, 1 extra clip)
FN HAR (w/140 regular rounds, 3 extra clips)
Lined Coat
Hermes Ikon Commlink w/Iris Orb OS, trodes, simmodule, subvocal mic
Fake SIN, rating 3
Fake pistol license, rating 4
Fake magician license, rating 4
Fake focus license, rating 4
Glasses w/low light and flare compensation
Metal restraints (2)
Plastic restraints (50)
Medkit rating 6, w/3 resupplies
Stimulant patches, rating 4 (3)
Conjuring materials, rating 4
Magical lodge materials, rating 5
Low lifestyle (3 months)

Contacts (7 BP)

Fixer (Connection 3/Loyalty 0)
Mitsuhama Security Decker (Connection 2/Loyalty 2)


BACKSTORY

Born in Corpus Christi, TX, right on the CAS/Aztlan border, "Hobbes" grew up as a brilliant but rebellious, arrogant, lazy and aimless kid without any direction in life. That changed his sophmore year at Texas A&M&M, when he belatedly Awakened, hearing the whispers of Adversary. Being an atheist steeped in old cartoon collections passed on to him by his grandfather, his mentor appeared not in the form of some mythological or religious rebel, but as Calvin from the comic strip Calvin & Hobbes.

Switching from earning mediocre grades as an economics major to earning mediocre grades as a thamauturgy major, he studied chaos magic, attracted to its skeptical "whatever works" viewpoint, considering traditional hermetics to be just another school following arbitrary dogmas behind a figleaf of rationality. Neglecting theory and books in favor of practical uses of magic, he pushed his skills and power as far as possible, spending more time in student dueling competitions than class.

Upon graduation, he discovered that the corporate job market for arrogant punk magicians weak on theory and with contempt for traditional hermetics wasn't as promising as he'd hoped, no matter how hot his skills. Thinking he'd be better off joining an organization desperate for magical talent and whose orders he wouldn't mind following and be forced to disagree with, he joined the magical corps of the CAS Army.

His experience as a military mage was mixed. While his antagonism towards Aztlan, taste for violence, and the prestige of being an officer in a special unit helped him get along, he still nevertheless had borderline insubordination problems that wouldn't have been tolerated in a mundane. Added to the fact he was one of the slowest, clumsiest, and weakest soldiers even in the magical corps, had barely scraped through bootcamp by giving his all on PT tests (spending Edge) and focusing on the minimal military skills to get through as easily as possible, and even got dizzy using a smartlink interface, he wasn't the most respected soldier among the mundane soldiers he served with.

On the other hand, when it came to his actual job, he had no equals and earned the grudging respect of his peers. While cross trained in healing and magical intelligence gathering, his principle speciality was as an astral superiority fighter, with his affinity for Spirits of Man able to call on and easily manage a pair of helpful bound spirits of man in addition to the one he summoned daily on patrols and combat missions, ready to collectively snipe an enemy's spirits from a distance with four focused Manabolts, closing to finish them and their summoner off with astral combat if faced with heavy counterspelling. The rest of his squad could then perform unhindered astral surveilance or spirit bombardment of mundane forces.

But the constant training missions of the regular forces bored him, and with no hope of meeting the physical demands necessary to join special forces and see some real action, and little hope of promotion in a long term career, he resigned when his term was up, taking a new job with ERLA, the CAS megacorporate watchdogs. While he still performed some (subtle) astral overwatch on the odd black op that entered corp territory, he now focused a second core skill group, becoming expert at using Control Thoughts, Mindprobe, Alter Memory, and Influence to kidnap, interrogate, and reprogam corporate employees when vital information or certain helpful actions were necessary.

Once again, however, he became restless. As his power grew, so did the voice of his mentor, questioning why he should take orders from the less intelligent, the less skilled, and the less dedicated. Furthermore, his old premagic interest in corporations and economics began to return, and he began to question the mission of ERLA and his dedication to a CAS government that had, in his view, treated him poorly. After a loud, angry argument with a supervisor, he bitterly knew his ERLA career was over. Resolving never to work in a hierarchy again, he made plans to leave on his own terms before he was forced out.

Striking a deal with Mitsuhama, the one big magical corp he didn't hold a grudge against, and one with relatively few CAS connections, he agreed to trade ERLA paydata on Mitsuhama's competitors for nuyen and a new life. Using his magical skills against ERLA to get matrix security details and manipualte open some backdoors, Mitsuhama hackers helped him steal the paydata, substitute his SIN's biodata for someone elses, and then fake his death by leaving behind a mangled body with the new DNA attached to his SIN.

Set up as far from the CAS as he can get and stay in North America, Hobbes is now in Seattle with a new identity, an introduction to a local fixer, and a katana weapon focus bought with the proceeds of his treachery. Avoiding the crowded field of flashy combat mages, he offers subtle intelligence gathering, superb overwatch to defeat patrolling/pursuing astral security, and a little healing on the side.

When I was a kid there was a fashion to build characters based on the players for horror games like Palladium's Beyond The Supernatural, then set the game in our hometown.

I dunno, I'd be taking atleast a -5 dice modifier when it comes to talking to members of the opposite sex. That'd be a fun game....

Me: "So, I go talk to her."

GM: "She looks at you, appauled, and slaps you."

Me: "Wha...WHY??"

GM: "Because you're you."

Oh, dammit, there's that "fantasy/reality" crossover thing again....

Heres how my stats would play out, if I were to exactly replictae myself in Shadowrun.

Body: 3
Agility: 3
Reacton: 3
Strength: 99 (I'm so awesome!)
Charisma: 22 (and Smexy!)
Intuition: 2 (only women have lots of intuition....)
Logic: 3
Willpower: 1
Magic: 0
Edge: 0

And I would simply have one skill:

Badassery: 7(badassery involving my fists) 9

When I play Marry Sues I do it right (or so very wrong). THey're generally characters whom Great Dragons are afraid of. Stats are rather irrevelant.

There's nothing wrong with playing a character based on yourself. You are playing the game to immerse yourself in the experience, so you want someone that you can identify with. You're not writing fiction - you're trying to have fun.

That said, it's better not to make a character that you get too attached to. If you write a Mary Sue in fiction, that character can succeed at anything. In shadowrun, you are affected by things outside of your control. Your character can ignominously die, fail to impress others, or botch things up spectacularly. So make a character that you are okay playing in a game, where these things can happen. I like all of my characters, but if one of them dies, it doesn't send me into a spiral of depression.

My approach is to make a character that has a mix of traits - some are ones I have, some are ones I would like to have (more assertiveness, or better people skills), and some are vices that I don't want to have, but would daydream about having (being a stone cold killer). To that mix, I add thoughts on how I would act or be if I were a completely different person (an elf girl runaway whose parents in the Tir tried to completely control her life, or an ork ganger from the barrens who hustled, killed, and stole to survive). Also, I think just as writers are told "Write what you know", I shy away from personality traits that I either find repellent, or simply don't understand. Even though my characters all have bits of me in them, they are still distinct individual creations.