I’m looking for players (let’s say 4-7 of them) for a new Shadowrun 3 campaign that I’d like to GM here. Ideal characters will be created on 113 points, with no more than 15 points spent on resources. I am willing to bend these guidelines a bit, if you’ve got a really good reason for me to do so (PM me).

Wait, I know what you’re thinking: “Why only 113? Why not 123? Why not 193?” Well, I have a very good reason. This campaign is going to be centered on the very early stages of a runner’s career – when he was likely young, inexperienced, and maybe even a little naïve. For that reason, your characters will not be battle-hardened super-cybered million-nuyen death machines. Instead, they’ll be street-smart slightly augmented bargain-basement death machines, probably 16-20 years old.

Keep this in mind when coming up with your character’s background (which should, of course, be detailed if not necessarily long ). “Ex-Tir Ghost” or “Ex-Special Ops T-Bird Rigger” would not be a good background detail, but “Ex-Spikes go-ganger” might be. Or “idealistic kid on the run from his family back at Ares corp.” Or “disillusioned young Salish tribesman.” Get the idea? Another fun way to do it might be to take one of your experienced characters, trim some points and years off of him, and play him as he was when he was a novice Shadowrunner.

Your character does not necessarily have to be young (a middle-aged wageslave suddenly having his eyes opened could be an exception, for example), though it will likely go hand-in-hand with most of the characters in the campaign. Your character does not have to be born and bred in Seattle, but you must have a good reason for him/her to be there at the time of the game’s start (which will be 2061, if you’re wondering).

So there you go. Seattle, 2061, characters on 113 points with no more than 15 spent on resources, detailed and interesting backgrounds, please. Tell me what kind of character you’d like to play, then PM with stats, etc. Also please PM with any questions you have, or just ask them here in the thread. Hope to start the game soon!

Are you allowing deckers? If so I'd like to be the thrill seaking son of a news reporter. And If you will allow deckers, can i please spend five extra point on resources, that way I can buy a decent deck?

I'm very interested in your game...I've got a few years table top experience with shadowrun, but most of my former GM's watched too many Vandame movies for their own good...and I've never done an online game...I've plenty plenty of combat buffs, and a few mages...and the game I'm currently involved in real life I'm playing a rigger for the first time...

If your still looking for new players, I'd like to play a run away corp brat...I'm not sure what archetype...I've never played a decker before, but I don't know if I want to try yet...I guess I'll worry about that once I find out if I'm in or not...

Phelious - yeah, 5 extra points on resources would be okay. Don't want the decker to be completely useless. Your character concept sounds pretty good; I've always wanted a media-type in one of my games, but I've never had one.


Fraust - Any archetype is good, though Phelious seems to have decker nailed down. Maybe a "face" type character? You could do the rigger if you like - being a corp runaway would explain a lot of how you got your cyber and whatnot.

Wow, Jacob, this game sounds like it might be a lot of fun!

I have a concept for a character tentatively nicknamed Harlot inspired by this picture and the movie Formula 51. In a nutshell, she's a former FBI chemical warfare specialist who lost her job due to a drug addiction that she picked up after her son was killed in a car accident. Unable to find a job in the pharmaceuticals industry due to her addiction and unwilling to work for the corps, she has since moved to Seattle from DeeCee and is trying to work her way into the underworld. She doesn't want to commit to any one group and hopes to earn enough money to go into the drug business on her own, but she has to make the right contacts and earn enough cred to get everything set up... hence running the shadows.

She's a mundane human who might be a bit more skilled than you were hoping for (especially in the Chemistry and Demolitions departments), but well-rounded and somewhat naive to "the biz." She has some basic combat training from her FBI days and can hold her own in a fight, not to mention some training in negotiations and terrorist tactics, but her real strength comes from her brains and ingenuity.

She won't have much in the way of chrome -- maybe just a cyberforearm or hand due to either the car accident that took her son or something that happened on the job early in her FBI career -- and a few chemistry-oriented implants such as a Chemical Analyzer, Auto-Injector, and things like that.

Think she'd fit in?

I might be interested in this.

As far as character ideas, I'm not sure about that. I'm thinking of possibly playing my Boondock Saints-style adept gunslinger. I always thought of him as an example of a kid who had to grow up too fast; maybe he could be compelling in a game like this?

*twitch* I was resisting the game until you brought up the Boondock Saints adept Hunter... that's a character concept I've always wanted to see translated to game...

I would like to play. I could play any kind of character, but would like to be an otaku. If I can't be an otaku, I'll be an adept.

The Face will definitely work...I would love to play a rigger, but I think I would be too tempted to get too tech advanced and have too many high skills for an 18 year old kid...

you want character backgrounds posted here? PM? email?

While I'm here I'll post a quick sketch...

Victor Alan Johnson was born to a pair of small level corp paper pushes who got married too young due to an unexpected pregnancy (his older sister)...After getting acustom to the new addition to their family they ended up making the same mistake twice, and so Victor was born...They tried to manage, but couldn't cope with the added stress of another unexpected mouth to feed, and split...their daughter went to live with her mother in Denver, where they started a new life in a much lower tax bracket...Victor and his father stayed in seattle, and continued to work for the corporation...His father did very well for himself, and remarried when Victor was six...Things went smoothly for the next ten years, and victor ended up with two younger step sisters...

Unknown to his father, Victor was spending more and more time with the wrong crowd, hanging out in under age dance clubs frequented by street gangs and teen chip heads...Luckily he never tried chips himself, but saw the money and popularity the dealers enjoyed...having plenty of pocket cash on hand at all times, Victor could easily afford to start dealing, and hand enough charm, wit, and business sense to hook up with a few small time suppliers...for several months things went spectacularly, and Victor loved the attention his was getting, especially from the women...but things started to go bad when his father found a few chips in his room...believing Victor was a user, he was ready to send his son to a very discreet corporate funded rehab center, but Victor caught wind of it...Grabbing what he could, he left that night to go stay with his street friends...

as the weeks went by, and his cash reserves started to run out, Victors friends began to grow tired of their new roommate...now he stays by himself in coffin motels when he can't find a new friend to stay with, and has started to earn cash by helping some of his more criminally minded friends out...though he's still very new to the life, and doesn't always enjoy the things he has to do to survive, Victor is a natural survivor and a quick study...

I'd like to try this one. I've never done a on-line game before, but want to try. It may be the only chance I get to play the game (GM for 10+ yrs).

Ratchaser: 19 year old Male,Cat Shaman ( later becomes major Fixer in my world), Low Stats descent amount of spells. Interested? I'll PM his stats, Lack of gear and spells.

Originally from Puerto Rico, Ratchaser, being born of a rich family on the island, left the isle to escape the over bearing control of his parents and residents that looked to his family as the local celeberties. Every one new him, and that inheriently did not sit well with him. Their was no where he could go and be left alone, and that irritated him. So one night at the age of 15 Reuben Rosario (real name) packed up and stowed away on a ferry. During his trip Rosario began to notice a Black Cat that must have stowed away on the ship or was lost from its owners. Feeling simpathy Rosario shared his meager food supply and cared for the cat. His ferry had dropped him off in Aztlan, a place of wonders and hope for Rosario. Fitting in quiet well with the natives he joined a small gang in the area. The Cat as it turned out stayed in the company of Rosario enjoying his attention and the food that the human brought her. 1 year had gone by and Rosario learned how to shoot a pistol and ride a motorcycle then he started to feel the confines of the Gangs strictures, one night he packed his meager belongings and began a long walk into California. As he crossed the desert terrain he was meticulous in his care of his now much loved feline companion, having stolen a 'fanny pack', and having had some modifications done by another of the female gangers so that it would carry and protect the animal on his walking journey, Rosario used all his monies (not much at this point) to feed and care for the cat only using enough to ensure that he was cleaned properly every day as he deplored being dirty. Once into California and having successfully avoided border patrols Rosario tried to fit into the local scene, which ended miserably, leaving him to earn money and survive by setting traps to catch food and selling furs to local vendors of the asian market. It was at this time that Rosario learned that he had a keen interest in catching prey, and for a time enjoyed the solitude of his existance. Until a local Go-gang took over the bridge area where Rosario made his home. Forced out he moved up the coast to Seattle. His first night in seattle changed his life forever. Sitting on the shore of Puget Sound Rosario thought hard about what he should do and how he was going to provide an existance for himself and his feline friend (and saying so out loud to the feline), when the Cat looked at him, it's eyes changing color in the night light "You need not worry about me so much human. I have greatly appreciated all your love and attention, I felt as I was a young kitten again. Something I longed for and you provided. Now I have a gift for you in turn. You have a power, a power that has been slowly building in you. A power that I can show you how to use, how to benefit from. If I teach you these things will you promise to do no harm to my kind? Will you abide by the rules that I give you? Will you suffer the confines of my law?, or will you run from me as you have soo many others?"... Three years have gone by and Ratchaser has become skilled in his abilities under Cat, but Cat still calls him Kitten and always intrigues Ratchaser with whispers of what he has yet to learn.

Saint Azrael O'Connor was born in the Redmond Barrens, the fifth kid of factory worker parents. A latchkey kid for most of his younger years, Azrael saw firsthand the horror of the Barrens when his siblings were killed one by one over the years by gang violence. Instead of growing numb to the pain and anger, however, these events made those emotions build up inside Azrael until finally, one day, something just...gave.

Three days after the funeral of his sister, killed by a drive-by from the Rusted Stilettos when she was 18 (Azrael was 15 at the time), Azrael channeled all his grief and anger into a single, shocking (even to him) act of revenge. He grabbed a Browning Ultra-Power laying around on the streets (dropped by a ganger involved in a separate shooting days earlier), ran to a warehouse where the Stilettos were known to hang out, and checked it out. He saw three gangers, all orks, standing around. In a single burst of rage, Azrael shot all three of them through the head without even taking a scratch (they were too surprised to act until it was too late).

In that one moment, Azrael's adept powers emerged from hiding, as did his purpose in life - to eliminate those that had caused others so much pain in life.

In the time that the game takes place in, Azrael is 16 years old, but being on his "sacred mission" for a year has made him look older than he is (think Stephen Dorff from "Blade" dressed in all black, looking a little bit younger and you'll get the idea). Azrael is not even sure himself that what he's doing is completely right, but at the moment he finds inaction to be an even worse alternative.

Azrael carries himself very quietly, not speaking a whole lot in social situations. He's mature for his age, the result of having had to grow up too fast.

Every once in a while, Azrael stops by a run-down church in Redmond, Saint Michael's, and attends confession, where he confesses to Father Murphy O'Malley what he's done along the way in his "sacred mission." It's during those times when the toll exacted by the mission truly shows on Azrael; he's broken down into sobbing before as the weight of the lives he's taken hits him. He takes only a small amount of happiness in his mission, and even then that happiness comes from the people he believes he's saved, not the people he's killed. If one lays eyes upon him in battle, he usually has a look on his face that seems to say, "I'm sorry it's come down to this."

When attacking criminals with a group, Azrael always tries to go for the leader. Once he has the leader trapped, he restrains him, points the barrels of his twin Manhunters directly into the man's eyes, and recites the following prayer (OOC: Yes, it's based off the Boondock Saints):

A warrior I shall be
for thee, my God, for thee
Strength you have bestowed unto I
that the evil ones in my sights may die
The innocent I shall protect wherever they dwell
the evil I shall send to the depths of hell
In nomine patri
et fili
et spiritus sancti
*BLAM*

Spaz, born William McCormic, is the son of Ryan McCormic, a KSAT (Channel 59) News Reporter. Life in Seatle has been good to him. His father sent him to boarding school at age 14 in order to learn all that he would need to be accepted into the best schools. However, during his tenure Will picked up a few bad habbits, one of which was Matrix Hacking. He has since finished school and moved into his own appartment. While he studies at college, Will works as a Frelance Matix Security Consultant, or at least thats what he tells his father. In reality Will runs the shadows, for both fun and profit.

Spaz's father hates runners and thier ilk, blaming nearly every wrongdoing in Seattle on them. Ryan's not stupid, he knows there are other criminal elements that are present, but he cannot stand all the possitive press that Runner's get, particularly in the movies where nearly two thirds of the time the Runner's play the good guys. Ryan doesn't have any love of the Corps either, the unscupilous willing to drown the little guy for an extra five dollars profit. Spaz routinely drops annonymous tips and paydata in his fathers dropbox, helping support his father's career and help out the average joe at the same time, trying to shed a little light on Seattle.

Spaz is a dwarf, with red hair and green eyes. He is extremely lively and will talk anyones ear off, and then some. He doesnt take to fights very often and prefers to use stealth to get the job done. His irish background is fairly prevelant and he always wears green in one form or another. His Matix icon is a Lepperachaun with a nasty bag of tricks. His cyberdeck has a Neon Green four leaf clover painted on the case. He also carries two gold coins tied around his neck, given to him by his Mother before his parents got devorced.

Whew! Surprising amount of response...here goes.

Phelious: Got your stats, looks fine - mind mentioning Spaz's age somewhere, though?

HMHVV Hunter: Fun concept. PM me his stats and anything you don't want the other players to know, and you should be set.

holychampion: The Cat shaman sounds good, maybe just flesh out the background a little more, and PM me the stats.

Fraust: Glad you chose the Face-type character. PM me stats and any additional background, and you'll be all set.

A Clockwork Lime: Whew, I like the concept - very detailed, lotsa room for interesting developments. She's what, 30-35 years old? That'd be permissible (I guess she'd be sort of the "old vet" of the team, or maybe "the voice of reason" ), as long as you stick to the 113 BPs limit that everyone else has.

Beast of Revolutions: It's up to whether you want to play an otaku or adept, but I must warn you: I know next to nothing about the rules for otaku. So maybe adept would be better? PM me stats and background, and I'll let you know.

So, as of now it looks like we've got a dwarf decker, a gunslinging adept, a Cat shaman, a face/corp runaway-type, a chem specialist/jack-of-all-trades, and an otaku or adept. Anyone out there want to play a rigger? I think we'd even be okay without one - ya'll can just wing transportation once the game starts.

I'm figuring we'll get cracking next week, after I get everyone's stats and backgrounds. I'd say sooner, but I'm heading to NYC Friday through Sunday this weekend (so I won't be around during that time, but I'll check PMs and posts on Sunday night, prolly). So get your stats and backgrounds together, and get 'em in by Sunday night. Also, a description of what your character looks like would be great to post here in this thread, in addition.

Do ya'll have a preference for your characters' pre-game relationships? Do you want me to just orchestrate it so you all meet near the beginning of the first run, or would you prefer something else? We can discuss that a bit in the thread here.

Spaz is say, 18 now.

Either one you prefer, Clockwork Lime. They both sound like good concepts, though the rigger might be a bit more useful to the team...even if all six of 'em have to fit into a Mini.

One more detail (I promise I'll stop asking for stuff soon ): unless you want me to decide the details about your contacts, maybe toss in a couple sentences of description for each one. Also, don't forget to specify whether they're level 1, 2 or 3. In fact, don't forget to give your character their two free level 1 contacts (plus whoever else you buy).

Sounds like an interesting idea, and I'm in if there's still a space.

I'll probably play an elf from the UK, but I've only got a few ideas at the moment...nothing concrete.

One other question though: What's this 113 points system? I'll probably know, but could you explain, 'cause I'm not entirely sure.

It's the Build Point System from the Shadowrun Companion, but we're limited to 113 points instead of the usual 123.

Basically, it costs 2 points per Attribute point, 1 point per Skill point, Elves cost 10 points, full magicians cost 30 points, adepts/aspected magicians cost 25 points, and resources come in increments of 5 points to a max of 15 points (200,000 nuyen) in this game. So you can can choose -5 points for 500 nuyen, 0 points for 5,000 nuyen, 5 points for 20,000 nuyen, 10 points for 90,000, or 15 points for 200,000.

You'll need the book for more detailed rules and other options, including edges and flaws.

If you have any spaces left, I would also like to join.
I'm interested in an Ork street sprawler with cyberlegs and cyber skates
He will be mostly heavy handed combat and also quite nimble. He might also have a minor sideline in petty theft, so pickpocketing, etc.

Silly question - Normally you don't pay for your language and knowledge skills, only active.
But under the point system, do you have to pay for them, or are they too free?

I have the core book, CC and M&M but not the SRComp unfortunately, so I can't check.

With the Build Point system, you gain the same number of free Knowledge/Language Skill Points as you do under the Priority System. You only have to buy your Active Skill Points and any points above the free ones for the others.

Did we get a rigger yet? if not I might try to work something out to make a face/rigger type...don't know if I can swing it with the funds, but I'm sure gonna try...assuming we don't already have a rigger...

I'll try to get some stats and a more detailed history written up tonight, but with things being what they are in real time, it might not be tell tomarow when they get PMed...

If you need to shave off some points, I'm sure my character can handle most of the "Face" requirements of the team. Just let me know within a day or two so I can adjust her stats a bit to account for it; right now, she only has above-average Etiquette and Negotiation skills.

Mine is based around the sprawl, so I can get on fine with others like me, and thats about it.

I'm on spring break, so I won't be able to get my otaku character in until this weekend.

Sure, if you want to handle to Face aspect, that would be cool...I think I'll still go for a high charisma character, but not the total social chameleon type...

Duly noted.

Beast, Im already a decker, so I dont think we need an Otaku on top of me.. else I end up being pretty useless..

Okay, what kind of character don't we have? Shaman, adept, rigger, what?

I don't think we have any kind of hermetic mage, just a rat shaman and an adept or two.

Theres always room for a rigger.

I'll be a rigger then. My character will be submitted on Sunday.

Err, didn't Fraust just mention that he was working on a rigger?

This is getting confusing.
What is everyone, just so we can definately see what we are missing.

I'm Ork Sprawl Ganger, with decent street abilities.

Spaz, son of a reporter, Decker. Also part time joyrider.

I'm playing an elf gunbunny from the UK personally, and I should have the character submitted by Saturday.

Former FBI Chemical Warfare Specialist turned Face.

DID SOMEONE CALL ME A RAT SHAMAN!!!!!!
Ok let me settle down for a sec....
It's Cat Shaman, Hispanic Human.
oh man I cant' handle that kinda insult this early in the Morning, 'bout had a coronary. Even my wife is trying to figure out whats got me all worked up.
Whew.

ok so we have a Decker, Street Sam, a Specialist, ork ganger, and possibly a rigger and me Cat Shaman.

Right, a Rat Shaman. Gotcha. Sorry about the mistake.

(<finds a place to hide from the fallout>)

AHHHHHHHH!!!!
LOL

I call rigger.

Adept gunslinger.

me - Ork Sprawl Ganger
phelious fogg - Decker/sideline joyrider [potential rigger?]
Nightcrawler472 - Elf sam/gun bunny
A Clockwork Lime - Specialist/face
holychampion - CAT shamen
HMHVV Hunter - Adept Gunlinger
Beast of Revolutions - Rigger

Sounds like a good team to me

Now, its time to polish that chrome and hit the shadows.

Potential, but more like car thief, Car and Car B/R at three, that way I can steal them and pull tricks as need be, with seven people already we might need a second driver every now and again. Besides, how can you beat such convinient public transit as other peoples cars. Spaz is more of a Techwiz, so he makes a good decker, but he is designed to be usefull out of the box as well. Thats one reason I currently hate Otaku, every time I have seen somoen make one they always have just one point in each physical, just so thier matrix persona's are maxed.. but thats just my little rant.

Hmm. I've had a bit of an epiphany today.

I think I'm going to scratch my Harlot concept -- she was just a bit too serious for my tastes -- and instead embrace a character tenatively named Brown Tom. Essentially, he's the same character, just with a bit more emphasis on the Face aspects. The only major changes are that he's 1) an Irish dwarf and 2) a Knight of the Red Branch instead of a former FBI agent. His role on the team would/will remain the same, however... demolitionist/face who's somewhat naive to the shadows per se.

Alright...if we already have a rigger I can go for a hermetic...tis what I'm used to...

Quick question...15 build points gives you 200,000 right? I don't have the companion, and we use a different build point set up...only thing I can't remember though is how the money section went...

That's correct. I listed the values earlier in this thread for those who didn't have the SRComp.

Is their a sceduled time and day for play? Is it going to be every day at a specific time? If so I'm in Central time Zone. And I get off work at 6 pm.

Hrmm... two irish dwarves, some people from the UK.. we shoudl set this in England...