Everyone has either played a combat monster, or knows someone who has. Naturally, when building a character like this you want to do it well. It's a natural part of the game. After all, who wants to half-ass their character?

However, the inherent problem with creating a combat monster like this is that you're naturally limited in other areas, as you only have so many points to spread around. Most of the time this doesn't matter, as your friends can cover for you. However, once in a great while you end up in a situation where your fellow runners and contacts can't lend a helping hand and you have to rely on yourself.

Now, your options here are either to use skills you're not really that good at and possibly use some edge to struggle through...

or find a way to use your shooting skill to solve problems it wasn't intended to. This is what this thread is about: the most impressively inventive use of skills you've ever seen.

Sorry, I don't have a serious reply to that question. Although, a friend of mine who now plays a gunbunny/face after a history of full-fledged hammers still prefers to shoot first, shoot second and then maybe look if the problem has vanished (of course, he does elaborate tactics if he feels like it, just not... always).

But still: Street Sammies can do Decking & Magic Too!

And thus, I await the goodness that is bound to appear within this thread.

Hmm..

That's a tough one as our Street Sammie lives by the motto 'If Violence isn't the answer, what the hell was the question again?!?'

I do remember one run on an orbital, where we may have dumped him and a security guard out an airlock (he had a suit) and figured he would be drifting for awhile until the others could haul him back in, but he used the other guys air tank as improvised propulsion to bring himself back to the orbital.

You'd probably have a guy like this.

EDIT: And how to deal with it.

I once had a player who when the rest of team sent him around the front of the building to distract the two guards at the front, while they sneaked into the back. Lacking even the social skills to keep a bit of conversation going with these two, he decided that stabbing one of them in the chest was pretty distracting. He ended up dying when the second one sounded the alarm and several more people showed up, but the response was entirely focused on the psychopath at the front door and completely missed the rest of the team at the back.

I killed three of his characters that campaign. One of the other players was responsible for his fourth death. His decision tree went like this:

1. Is there a problem?
If yes) apply violence until there is no longer a problem, go to step 2.
If no) apply violence until there is a problem, return to step 1.
2. Are you dead yet?
If yes) make a new character and return to step 1.
If no) return to step 1.

My intimidate, negotiation, etiquette, and seduction skills are all my Rugger supper warhawk.

But I find that having lots of skills at 1 or 2 with specilizations and over all high attributes lets you still be a combat monster with tons of versatility.

I personally prefer playing the blunt instrument, the cold killer, the something something. It's simple and gives me more time to round out the character later. I don't see the need to put them in situations where they are out of their element or to punish them for being combat characters. I especially dislike the line of thought that because a character doesn't have social skills they can't talk to anyone.

GM: Okay you're now at the counter.
Player: Okay, I order a #5 supersized.
GM: Roll Etiquette: Fastfood
Player: Umm... what?
GM: Roll Etiquette: Fastfood
Player: I don't have that skill. Is that even a thing?
GM: The employee behind the counter spits in your face and hits the panic button.

People can hold basic conversations without skills.

Are you certain he should not have rolled Etiquette: France?

Just teasing

I had a GM like that at one point it was not fun. You needed skills for everything no matter how mundane, ugh.

Not going to ask what a critical glitch was like then when using the restroom. >_<

But you also have players that have no social skills and have interactions that go like this:

GM: Okay you're now at the counter.
Player: I order a #5 supersized.
GM: Okay, it's 5 nuyen.
Player: I tell them they better give it to me free or they'll regret it.
GM: *sigh* Alright, roll intimidate.
Player: I don't have intimidate.
GM: Fine, default to charisma.
Player: My charisma's 1.
GM: Then just pay for the hamburger, we can just say it's part of your lifestyle. You can't intimidate.
Player: I pull out my gun.
GM: Alright, they give you a free hamburger. Roll perception. *someone in the back triggers the alarm*
Player: Why?

My old player falls in the latter category. Not able to see consequences for his actions, not having skills appropriate to a situation, but he at least was oddly completely okay with getting killed repeatedly.

Some people are just like that, I've known a few. One was really kind of sad.

To explain further, I prefer mechanically simple characters so I can concentrate on other things. KISS and all that stuff.

One character in my latest group kept threatening to wear people as a hat. He was the Wheelman (and a troll.).

He eventually did wear someone as a hat.

Once, some time ago, I created a fixer that threatened to wear people as shoes - Jimmy M.

To be fair, dwarfs are just about the right size for Troll Platform Shoes......

I had just watched the season 2 premier of BBC Sherlock, so... shoes.

"You see this? This is an Ares Alpha. And this, chummer, is magic.

*Shows a box of regular bullet* Manabolt
*Shows a box of gel bullet* Stunbolt
*Shows a grenade* Manaball
*Shows a flashbang * Stunball
*Shows an incendiary grenade* Fireball
*Shows a whole lot of ammo and grenades* and all the other combat spells

*Points the gun at you* Control Emotion: fear
Now put your hands on your head... Control Movements
*Puts the gun down* Control Emotion: relief

Magic, I tell you."

"What's your rank in Intimidation?" "Ares Predator."

Poor choice. Sawn-off shotgun gives far better results.

My name is Hans Brackhaus. My rank in intimidation is Lowfyr. You may want to reconsider your shotgun.

he's right, we'd better make it a full sized shotgun that can fire Full Auto with APDS ammo

Always wondered why someone has not Allahu Akbared a GD if they are so small minded as to meet with violent known criminals in person. It seems like by now someone would have showed up with thin cloth over a suit of c7 and made a suitable crater of at least 1 GD.

maybe the smell it & fireball him before he can try

I presume that Hans isn't stupid enough to use a nightclub without five nines and nine fives of hidden surveillance, and presumably running background checks so proctologically thorough that he actually has the results of their last proctological exam before he even meets with them.

And that, of course, is the human Hans Brackhaus. Lofywr-as-Hans likely assenses everyone and everything the moment they enter his field of view and likely has Detect enemies up and running constantly. So if someone shows up in a mind to Allahu Ackbar him, they get manablasted before they even get within sight of him.