Street Wyze
Oct 23 2003, 12:56 AM
I have been working to create a stealth-based character, something I have not tried before. I am looking for a little help regarding active skills and physad powers. This is what I have so far.
Attributes: (I am not at my computer so I don't know if I have remembered these correctly.)
Body: 4
Quickness: 6
Strength: 5
Charisma: 5
Intelligence: 5
Willpower: 3
Skills:
Stealth (Sneaking)- 3(5)
Pistols- 4
SMG- 3
Clubs- 4
Martial Art- 4
Athletics- 4
Electronics- 4
Electronics B/R- 2
Etiquette- 2
Interrogation- 4
Bike- 2
Cyberware: All Alphaware- 1 point of essence lost
Boosted Reflexes level1
Smartlink II
Internal Air Tank
Physad Powers:
Great Leap: 4
Cat Fall: 4
Astral Perception
Traceless Walk
Improved Attribute (Quickness)
She also has the Low Light Vision Edge, and Quick Healer but I forget the balancing flaws as I am not at my computer right now.
So any suggestions would be really helpful. She needs to sneak into places well, but also be able to fight. The most help I need is in the areas of skills and physad powers. Thanks.
Kanada Ten
Oct 23 2003, 01:08 AM
Increase the Electronics B/R as those target numbers are often higher.
Shed one of the Guns and Clubs or Martial Arts.
Get a Negotiaitons (Fast Talk) skill.
Micorscopic Vision as a Physad Power.
Get rid of Astral Perception for now, IMO, unless your group really needs it. Magic Sense is cheeper, IIRC.
Spell Shroud and Enchanced Perception are nice for some games. Low Light Vision Edge can be a Physad power pretty cheep, but whatever.
The Improved Quickness is a waste, IMO. Put it into Improved Stealth.
Low Light Vision Edge can be a Physad power pretty cheep, but whatever.
Internal Air Tank?
Buzzed
Oct 23 2003, 01:18 AM
Trolls make the best stealthy characters.
Siege
Oct 23 2003, 01:20 AM
By stealth, you mean spook? Cat burglar ninja kinda thing?
Just skip the cyberware.
Ref 1 (2)
+4 dice stealth (1)
+2 dice athletics (.5)
+2 great leap (.5)
Traceless step (.5)
Microscopic, lowlight, FC, image mag (1)
(.5) left at your discretion. Maybe killing hands?
Your Charisma is way too high and your Willpower is too low. I'd split the difference: Chr 4, Willp 4
To crack a maglock, you have to use Electronic B/R, so crank that skill higher.
I'd skip the interrogation and SMG, raise your Etiquette skill.
(37) points
Athletics 6 ( 8 )
Stealth 5/Sneaking 7 ( 11 )
B/R electronics 5
Handgun 5
Unarmed combat 5
Etiquette 4
Bike 3
Negotiations 2 (Fast talk) 4
For your specialty skills, you want a 5 or 6. Secondary skills can rank between 2 and 4, depending on how important they are.
Some ideas.
-Siege
Street Wyze
Oct 23 2003, 01:21 AM
Thanks Kanada.
The internal air tank is for accidentally triggering traps that involve gas, perhaps gassing a room in order to take out guards, or for sneaking into places that would require going through water when Scuba gear would just be too bulky. Besides, it perfectly filled out 1 point of essence loss.
Street Wyze
Oct 23 2003, 01:22 AM
Thanks Seige. Yes, I was thinking of a cat burglar type, but I also wanted someone who could put up a good fight if she had too, which is why I added the SMG skill.
EDIT: And the Smartlink
Buzzed
Oct 23 2003, 01:35 AM
Elf Adept.
BOD 3
QUI 6(9)
STR 2
CHA 4
INT 6
WIL 3
Stealth 6 (duh)
Athletics 3
Electronics 6
Eddiquite: Corporate 3(5)
Eddiquite: Lab technition 3(5)
Eddiquite: Medical 3(5)
Lockpicking
Pistols
Adept abilities:
1.5 Improved stealth 6
.75 Improved athletics 3
.5 Traceless Walk
3 Quickness Increase 3
.25 Low Light Vision
RangerJoe
Oct 23 2003, 01:41 AM
The internal air tank is a great idea for stealth types-- that way they never hear you breathing.
Kagetenshi
Oct 23 2003, 01:42 AM
You still have to exhale.
~J
Street Wyze
Oct 23 2003, 01:46 AM
Buzzed:
What's with the Lab Tech and Medical Etiquette? Also I was hoping to keep the character human...no real reason, just character concept savvy?
Everyone:
My friend had a copy of SOTA 2063 which I believe contained the canon lockpicking rules, but he graduated. Could anyone explain these to me? Is it any more complicated than rolling anytime you encounter a lock? And does it cover maglocks, card keys, keypads, and any other form of electronic locking, or only old fashioned mechanical locks that no corp in their right mind would put on important rooms or cabinets?
Street Wyze
Oct 23 2003, 01:50 AM
Not to hijack my own thread, but I wanted to post a thought inspired by the internal air tank.
Would it be cool if there was a peice of cyberware that oxegenated your blood for you out of a supply stored in an internal airtank? That way you wouldn't even have to exhale.
Kanada Ten
Oct 23 2003, 01:51 AM
Lockpicking is separate from Electronics (Maglocks) and Electronics B&R (Maglocks). Lockpicking only covers those rare tumbler locks like on an old fashioned safe, combination lock, or the (you know) key & arm kind.
Dr Vital
Oct 23 2003, 01:53 AM
You'd still have do something with the converted gas (C02). What you need is an internal
scrubber/rebreather system.
Munchkinslayer
Oct 23 2003, 02:32 AM
QUOTE (Street Wyze) |
Would it be cool if there was a peice of cyberware that oxegenated your blood for you out of a supply stored in an internal airtank? That way you wouldn't even have to exhale. |
Don't they have nanites that do that?
Street Wyze
Oct 23 2003, 02:41 AM
QUOTE (Munchkinslayer) |
QUOTE (Street Wyze @ Oct 22 2003, 08:50 PM) | Would it be cool if there was a peice of cyberware that oxegenated your blood for you out of a supply stored in an internal airtank? That way you wouldn't even have to exhale. |
Don't they have nanites that do that?
|
Yeah, maybe...but who uses nanites anyway?
FlakJacket
Oct 23 2003, 03:05 AM
QUOTE (RangerJoe) |
The internal air tank is a great idea for stealth types-- that way they never hear you breathing. |
Except if they've had dealings in the past with runners that had gas masks and decided to switch to contact based gases like Neurostun. One touch and you're going down.
Siege
Oct 23 2003, 03:17 AM
Form-fitting armor with toxic seal. Not a guaranteed pass, but it'll knock the power down by 4.
-Siege
Tanka
Oct 23 2003, 03:23 AM
Do pieces of 'ware like Dermal Sheathing/Plating and Orthoskin knock down the power as well/knock it out entirely? They replace the skin (or go under, as for Ortho), thus hurting some of the nerve connections (at least, I remember reading that Ortho does for sure). Or is that only for feeling things?
Siege
Oct 23 2003, 03:29 AM
For it to render you completely immune to the touch vector, you'd have to lose all communication from your outer shell to your body.
Dermal plate is solid armor underneath skin. Dermal sheathing is embedded in the skin, not replacing it completely.
Edit: Orthoskin still has blood vessels and conduits running from the skin to the blood stream which is how the contact vector hammers you.
-Siege
Glyph
Oct 23 2003, 05:03 AM
For a stealth character, stealth, electronics and electronics B/R, and athletics are the biggies (for lockpicking, it's a rare enough circumstance that you can just get a lockpick gun. If you are starting with high resources, you can get a MagLock Passkey and not have to worry about having high electronics and electronics B/R skills, either). For combat, probably pistols and either unarmed combat (shock glove is nice) or ONE armed combat skill. Etiquette and negotiation depend on whether he is purely a sneaky break-in type (in which case, keep them low) or will be geared towards infiltration, too (in which case, the Covert Ops Specialist in the main book is actually a pretty good example, although I would change a few things). Here is an example of a stealth character that I did once:
Shadow, Male Dwarven Adept
Breakdown
Attributes: 50
Skills: 43
Race: 5 (Dwarf)
Magic: 25 (Adept)
Resources: 0
TOTAL: 123
Attributes -
Body: 6, Quickness: 6, Strength: 4, Charisma: 3, Intelligence: 6, Willpower: 4, Essence: 6, Magic: 6, Reaction: 6.
Initiative: 6 + 1d6
Combat Pool: 8
Active Skills -
Athletics: 6, Biotech/First Aid: 1/3, Brawling: 4, Electronics: 6, Electronics BR: 6, Etiquette: 3, Lockpicking: 6, Stealth: 6, Throwing Weapons: 4.
Knowledge Skills -
Languages - English/Cityspeak: 4/6 (Read/Write: 2/NA), Japanese: 4 (Read/Write: 2).
Other - Engineering: 6, MegaCorp Politics: 3, MegaCorp Security: 6, Seattle Black Market: 6, Security Systems: 6, Underworld Politics: 3.
Adept Abilities -
Improved Abilities:
>Athletics - 6 Dice
>Stealth - 6 Dice
Improved Senses:
>Balance Augmentation
>Direction Sense
>Microscopic Vision
>Select Sound Filter
Spell Shroud: 6
Traceless Walk
Edges -
Blandness
Double Jointed
Perfect Time
Poor Link
Flaws -
Combat Paralysis
Pacifist (-2)
Lifestyles: 1 Low (1 Month Prepaid).
Credstick Balance: 700 Nuyen.
Contacts
Fixer (Level 1).
Tech Wiz (Level 1).
Gear
Weapons: 2 Splash Grenades of Slip Spray, 2 Slap Patches of Narcoject, 2 Flash, 2 Smoke, and 2 Gas(Neurostun VII) Grenades.
Armor/Clothing(Dwarf-sized): Ordinary Clothing (x 5).
Other Gear: Satchel Backpack (of 100 Nuyen cost), Electronics Toolkit, Lockpicks (Dwarf-adjusted), Medkit with 1 "Refill", Survival Kit, Wire Clippers, Ultrasound Detector, Pocket Flashlight, Metal Restraints (x 2), Telecom (100 Mp).
Description
Shadow is a lean, wiry dwarf with a short black beard. He dresses slightly conservatively, but not enough to stand out. He blends into nearly any crowd.
Background
Shadow is a savvy pro at breaking into secure facilities. He is thorough and methodical, although he thinks quickly on his feet. He tends to "freeze up" in combat situations, as he tries to avoid firefights. He prefers to be in and out without anyone even knowing that he was there. He even chose his street name to blend in - "We're looking for someone named Shadow." "Well, there are about 200 runners named Shadow." "Um, it's a male dwarf, kind of average looking." "Good, now you've narrowed it down to 40 or so."
Quotes
"Yup, one of those old Maxington-500 tumbler locks. They might as well have just tied a pretty red ribbon around it."
"No, I wouldn't call it _inaccessible_. Granted, the ultrasound detectors do complicate things, but it's still possible if I'm careful. Which I always am, of course."
"Don't mind him, now. He's just going to be sleeping for awhile."
"Your MagLock thingy didn't work? Damn. Guess that means I'll have to pop the casing off the little bugger and do this the hard way."
Sphynx
Oct 23 2003, 06:35 AM
Way way way too generalized. Combine gun skills, lose interrogation, etc, etc. Look in the book, skills of 6 are common, nearly everyone of the archetypes has 2 or 3, those that don't have all their skills at 5.
A skill of 4 is not really stealthy at all.... if it's not at least a 6, you're just a generalist. Anyhows, a Stealth Adept should have at least 12 in stealth (+6 Improved Ability for 1.5 Power Points) and TracelessWalk. Remember that Stealth has ALOT of important skills under it, Alertness, PickPockets, etc. a skill of 12 is going to make a character the perfect thief (grab his badge) without ever being seen (hiding/stealth) and he'll notice everything (alertness) being next to impossible to ambush. And since the theft part (pickpockets) is resisted, not open ended, the TN to be caught is your skill (12) while the TN to succed is his/her Intelligence (never a 12
). Stealth, is by far, the most point-worthy Adept Power around. Any adept I make, automatically has +6 to Stealth just because of its extreme versatility.
As for other skills, Electronics and Electronics B/R are the prerequisites for a thief character (as mentioned above).
Kagetenshi
Oct 23 2003, 06:44 AM
Never a 12, no, but an Otaku can hit 11.
~J
Drain Brain
Oct 23 2003, 02:11 PM
QUOTE (Siege) |
<snip> Microscopic, lowlight, FC, image mag (1) </snip> |
IIRC, there is no difference between Image Mag 1 and 3 for adepts - you buy one sensory enhancement and you get the maximum cyber level by default - OptiMag 3 in this case, since it obviously wouldn't be electronic enhancement. This makes up for the fact that there are no "package deals" in adept powers (like the .5 points of essence free in cyber eyes).
Sphynx
Oct 23 2003, 02:17 PM
I think the (1) was for 1 Power Point cost.
Sphynx
Siege
Oct 23 2003, 02:35 PM
Sphynx was right -- I should have been more specific.
Sorry for any confusion.
-Siege
Shockwave_IIc
Oct 23 2003, 03:00 PM
QUOTE (Sphynx) |
And since the theft part (pickpockets) is resisted, not open ended, the TN to be caught is your skill (12) |
I might be mistaken but isn't your skill only 6? you just roll 12 dice for any tests?
And as for alertness, i never really got this part of the skill. Granted knowing how to hide is more likly that your gonna spot people doing the same. I just have this feeling that the specailisation is just to powerful.
For me it needs work. Maybe it should only work when taking an action for perception or only if actually have the specialisation as aposed to the general skill.
But even then........
To be a stealth adept, your looking at.
Quickness 6
Stealth 6
Improved Ability (stealth)6
Traceless walk
These i feel are musts
Things that would help.
Body 4+
Athletics 4+
Improved Ability (athletics) 2+
Intelligence 5+
Enhanced perception 2+
Jumpsuit with thermo damp 4 and anti-sensor night pattern
Narco jet dart gun, stun gloves, slip grenades and the skills to use them around the 3-4 mark. (remember you'll be getting about 3 simple actions to aim, if not more)
You would so need the requiste B&e skills at about the 5+ mark
spell shroud and magic sense could be usefull.
Sphynx
Oct 23 2003, 03:17 PM
QUOTE (Shockwave_IIc) |
QUOTE (Sphynx) | And since the theft part (pickpockets) is resisted, not open ended, the TN to be caught is your skill (12) |
I might be mistaken but isn't your skill only 6? you just roll 12 dice for any tests?
|
Good point.
Obviously I don't play one of these Adepts, I just know how damn annoying it is when the guy in our team (who really has a Stealth of 12, and isn't an Adept) takes something from me and I never get to notice cause of the damn 12 TN.
Sphynx
Siege
Oct 23 2003, 03:39 PM
I've never agreed with the "Alertness" specialization of the Stealth skill.
The rationale being: If you know how to sneak, you know where to look for people sneaking since it's what you would do.
In fairness, almost every active skill could have an "alertness" specialization using that logic.
Player: I look at subject A and see if he has any hidden weapons.
GM: Use your handgun skill to compliment your perception roll (see logic above).
My GM has tinkered with the idea of a Knowledge skill: Alertness.
Specializations: Spot, Listen, Taste, Touch, Smell
Optional: Search, Scan, Alertness
The knowledge skill acts as a complimentary dice bonus to the base Perception roll.
-Siege
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