Just off the top of my head, here's how I see myself.

ATTRIBUTES

Body 3
Quickness 4
Strength 2
Charisma 5
Intelligence 4
Willpower 6 (Mule-like Stubborness)
Reaction 1 (I have shitty reflexes despite being quick)

ACTIVE SKILLS

Athletics 4 (Running 6)
Computers 5
Computers B/R 3
Edged Weapons 2 (Knives 4)
Etiquette 5 (Online 2)
Fencing 2
Hapkido 2
Negotiation 5
Ninjutsu 2
Off-Hand Edged Weapons 2 (Knives 4)
Polearms 3 (Staff 4)
Stealth 3 (Theft 6) (used to be a bit of a kleptomaniac as a young man)
Thrown Weapons 2 (Knives 4)

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS

Antique Weapons & Armor 2
Blackmithing Background 1
Board Games 3 (Chess 4, Clue 4, Monopoly 6)
Card Games 3 (Baccarat 4, Blackjack 4, Poker 4, Texas Hold'em Poker 5)
Cooking 6
Dancing 3 (Ballroom 6)
Finance 3
Game Design Theory 5
Graphic Design 3
Magic Background 1
Meditation 3
Music Appreciation 2
Mythology 4
Psychology 2 (Logic 4)
Roleplaying Games 5
Sculpture 3 (Clay 4)
Trivia 6
Web Design 2 (Non-Commercial 4)
Womanizing 2

English 6 (Read/Write 4)

EDGES & FLAWS

Animal Empathy
Bad Reputation 1 (on message boards and with family)
Curious
Day Job 3
Friends Abroad
Friendly Face
Good Reputation 1 (in the flesh with everyone else)
Hunted 1 (psycho hose beast of an ex-wife)
Incompetence (online Etiquette)
Intolerant/Vindictive (on message boards)
Narcissism (Severe)
Pacifist
Phobia: Acrophobia (Severe)
Phobia: Agoraphobia (Mild)
Police Record

CONTACTS

Level 3: Occupational Therapist (Wife), Student/Artist (Daughter), Mutt (Dog).
Level 2: Socialite/Witch (Best Friend), Dancer/Jazz Singer (Good Friend).
Level 1: Assorted, mostly military contacts within the family.
Enemies: Accountant (Ex-Wife), House Wife & Retired Marine (Mother- and Father-in-Law).

NOTABLE RESOURCES

Antique Weapons & Armors Collection (no firearms)
Computers x4
Roleplaying Book Collection
2003 Lexus SC 430
High Lifestyle (Annoying Neighbors, Concerned Neighbors, Terrific View, This Isn't Sam's Pizza)
Wedding Ring

100 BP, guessing about 10 points for Resources.

~J

What?!! No option in the poll for "All of the above"?? I'm shocked! Disappointed!

SK, ex-Knowitall-Gun Bunny-Lawyer-Homeless Bankrupt-Now A Broker archetype.
(Now there's a multi-class character for you d20 fans! )

31-year-old male human un-Awakened (who are you calling MUNDANE?!! )

Body 3
Quickness 4
Strength 3
Charisma 5
Intelligence 4
Willpower 5

Essence 6
Magic (... well, my wife said our honeymoon was like ... um ....)
Reaction 4
Initiative +1d6


Assault rifles 4
Athletics 2
Car 3
Computer 1
Playing games 3
Edged weapons 1
Knife 3
Etiquette 3
Leadership 3
MA: Escrima 2
MA: Goju-ryu 3

Negotiations 4
Fast-talk 2 ..... (if it was better, I'd convince you all these numbers should be higher - heck, I'd convince myself! )

Parachuting 3
Pistols 4
Rifles 3
Shotguns 3
SMGs 2
Stealth 3


Bible, The 2
Military theory 3
Modern world history 3
Paranormal animals 1
Fat lazy house cats 3
RPGs and player
psychology 3
Strategy & tactics 3
Useful trivia 1
Useless trivia 3


Chinese/Cantonese 3
Chinese/Mandarin 2
English (R/W) 4(4)
German (R/W) 3(2)
Malay (R/W) 3(4)


Audio system (Sony ... outdated)
Baby (18 months old, very cute, not for sale ... most times)
Books ... mostly non-fiction
Car (silver Lexus SUV ... 2003 model)
Computer (assembled ... outdated)
House (... LARGE mortgage)
Nice clothes (mostly bought on sale)
RPG collection
TV (big ... good for console gaming!)
Xbox (yah!)

So here's me:

Marko "Kuikka" Kurki

Attributes

B: 2
Q: 3
S: 2
C: 3
I: 4
W: 4

Active Skills

Karate 1
Athletics/Running 1/3
Stealth/Hiding 1/3
Computer 4
Computer B/R 3
Electronics 1
Etiquette 2
Negotiations/Con 1/3
Car 3

Language & Knowledge Skills

Finnish (R/W) 5(3)
English (R/W) 3(3)
Swedish (R/W) 1(1)
Conspiracy Theories 2
Roleplaying Games of the 20th Century/Shadowrun 2/4
Anime & Manga 3
Heavy Metal Music 2
Cooking 2
Computer Games 3

Edges & Flaws:

Addiction, Severe: Alcohol
Addiction, Minor: Sweets
Oblivious
Infirm 1
Weak Immune System
Total Pacifist
Bad Reputation 1
Distinctive Style
Gremlins
Will To Live 3
Toughness

Clothing:
Black Felt Fedora
Black Leather Trenchcoat
Black Jeans
Black Scarf
Black Army Boots
Black Random Heavy Metal Band Shirt
"Ozzy Ozbourne"-style Sunglasses
(Truly, I wear such clothes and proud of it. Also, this is the Distinctive Feature. )

Other Stuff:

Computer
Small Audio System
TV
Cellular Phone
Datsun Cherry '81
Pet Cat called Keksi
Medium Lifestyle
A large collection of anime & manga
A small collection of finnish underground humor "comics"


I have far too many "contacts", so I won't be listing those.

About 48 points, assuming Resources 5 points.

~J

Matt

Body 3
Quickness 4
Strength 2
Intelligence 5
Willpower 3
Charisma 3

Active Skills
Pistol 1 (I suck, can't hit the broad side of a barn)
Rifle 2 (A little better, at least stand a chance of hitting something)
Edged Weapons 2 (About as good as a rifle)
Athlectics 2
Stealth 4 (Can be damn sneaky when I put my mind to it)
Electronics 3
Computers 3
Biotech(First Aid) 2/4 (My Eagle had better count for something)

Knowledge Skills
Anthropology (Archaeology) 4/6 (One of these days I'll finish that PhD)
History 4 (B.A. is 4 right?)
Cooking 3 (Not great but not bad)
English (R/W) 5/5
Spanish (R/W) 2/3 (No, its not reversed, I read it far better than I speak it)

B: 4
Q: 3
S: 4
C: 5
I: 4
W: 6

Applicable Skills:
Computer: 1
Car: 2
Bodybuilding: 3
Power Lifting: 2
Athletics: 2
Stealth: 3
Etiquette: 5
Negotiation: 5
Unarmed Combat (ground): 1
American History: 2
Telecommunications: 3
Pro Wrestling Stats: 6
English: 4
Spanish: 1
Chinese: 1

Edges/Flaws:
Good Rep 2
Friendly Face
Good Looking and Knows It
Animal Empathy
Gremlins 1

Hmm, I really don't know a whole lot.

Nomad: 60

Samoth: 83

~J

I wanna send a shout out to the adepts and mages! Good for you for knowing yourself -- it's not an easy thing to say in this world.

--K

I'd probably qualify as a Full Mage as well, but as you point out it really doesn't fit well with Shadowrun.

'Sides, it'd leave me too high for a Ganger campaign and too low for a standard campaign.

~J

Probably a Sourcerer, sometimes Decker. Probably not much 'ware, just a datajack, maybe a math SPU (because I'm so horrible @ math), maybe some other stuff.

So, here's me, as myself... This is just stuff from NSRCG. I didn't feel like writing it all out.

Attributes
B: 4
Q: 3
S: 4
C: 2 - I ignore people, miss out on nonverbal things, etc
I: 6 - If the average person I meet is a 3, I have yet to see a reason to doubt this.
W: 2 - I tend to agree with whatever other people think unless I really don't like what's going on.

Reac: 2 - I basically don't react to anything unless it's obvious...
Magic: ? - a girl I knew who claimed to be able to read auras said mine made no sense at all. she said it was orange.

Edges & Flaws
Aptitude: Computer (Programming) - It takes me about two weeks to learn a language.
High Pain Tolerance 2 - I once cut a gash in my hand with a pocketknife and didn't notice until I started wondering why there was blood on my shirt, half an hour later.
Resistance to Pathogens - Last time I was sick... was a minor cold in March 2001, I think
Incompetence: Computer (Everything but programming and graphics)
Mild Allergy: Caffiene - I have ADHD, so it just makes me tired
Clumsy
Focused Obliviousness
Oblivious - see Allergy and Pain Tolerance
Day Job 10 hrs - College, but I have a light schedule this semester
Gremlins 4 - I break everything...

Skills
Clubs 2
Edges Weapons 2 - both are mainly from being in Amtgard
Pistols 3 - I have friends who are gun people, they have me try at this stuff
Rifles 3 - Had a range at summer camp one year I spent time at
Throwing Weapons 4 - I can hit someone in the head with a hot wheels car from across the room, hard enough to draw blood
Stealth 2 - I can sneak up on people if they're distracted...
Artisan (Drawing) 2(4) - specifically pixel art
Intimidation 3 - People tell me I can be a scary person...
Computer (Programming) 2(4) - I'm finishing my third computer class in a month
Demolitions (Improvised) 1(3) - These never end well, but they do work
Bike 2
Car 2 - Had courses for both, but no real experience on the road
Computer B/R 3 - one sumer course...
Electronics B/R 3 - one sumer course and a lot of playing around with my old junk
Car B/R 2 - My uncle is a mechanic and my Driver Ed teacher insisted we know how to do some work

Knowledge/Language skills (mostly based on my classes):
Economics: 2
Engineering: 3
History: 4
Literature: 4
Physics: 3
Psychology: 3
Folklore/Mythology: 4
20th Century Roleplaying Games: 6

English: 5
French: 2
Japanese: 1
Elven: 2
Assume about 20k for resources, if I took everything into account.

I'm a 77 point character. Yay.

I noticed some errors in my description of myself (I mistyped Charisma as 5 - it should be 4(if that), and forgot to put in my acrophobia), and rethought one of the adept powers. BP change should be 3 points less, I believe.

Archetype: still to be determined ...

krishcane's "Shaman: Creator totem, using a Chinese Buddhist master as the specific icon form" approximates it well enough for me - although I'm substituting shamanic or wuxing physical magician, it's probably closer to Taoist at this point. Those who know me in person would probably suggest Coyote or Salmon as the template.

Actually, I think it would be more accurate if I let others decide what should be my mental stats and skills. (Edit: odds are, you'd see them more honestly than I would.) For what it's worth, I'm a dedicated general specialist: I know nothing about absolutely everything.

For physical: BD 4; ST 4; QU 3

Figure either 1 or 2 for all physical and combat skills except Launch Weapons, Gunnery, and SMGs. Figure 2's for Biotech, Computer, Electronics, and Sorcery. Figure 1 for html (sigh).

Bike 1 (Bicycle 3); Car 2; Sailboat 2

Physad abilities:
Alertness 1 (non-canon)
Empathic sense
Enhanced perception (hearing) 1
Improved sense (direction sense)
Improved skill (stealth) 1
Iron will 1
Killing hands L
Magic sense
Rooting 1
Sixth sense 1
Temperature tolerance 2 (edit: I have no problem stepping outside for a quarter hour, in snow, wearing sandals and a t-shirt)
True sight 1

Edit: surely these shouldn't be that uncommon? Half of them are nothing more than some basic knowledge of the chakras and tui'na/ reiki (and their bastardised relative therapeutic touch), more than half of the remainder is simply environmental awareness, and anyone with reasonable martial arts training should have something which approximates Killing Hands (at varying levels).

Edges:
Animal empathy
Aptitudes: firearms, bows
College education (x a few)
Connected
Focussed concentration
Friends abroad
Friends in high places
High pain tolerance 1
Night vision
Resistance to toxins
Resistance to pathogens
Sense of direction
Unthinking reflexes

Flaws:
Allergies
Blind in one eye
Incompetence: etiquette
Pacifist (but in the Jedi sense)
Poor sense of sight (that's in the remaining eye)
Strong code of honour

Metamagics:
Centring
Channelling

I don't consider Dumpshock an addiction any more than I consider the need to be among people an addiction. I have, however, recently broken a strong addiction to
coffee (10+ cups a day).

Contacts - the entire local transit system, and counting.

Figure resources as furniture + computer + books + a collection of swords/bows/edged things + basic clothing + low lifestyle, say about $30 K all told. Most of it continues to be buried into research.

Arctype: Mathamagician
Race: Mathematician
Stats: B:3 Q:4 S:3 C:5 I:7 W:1 (really i have no willpower)

Active Skills:
Creative Bullsh*ting: 6
Athletics (Raquetteball): 2(4)
Steath (Avoiding Professors: 2(4)
Instruction (Diff Eq):3(5)
Test Grading: 2
Juggling: 4
Pool: 3
Small Unit Tactics (Starcraft): 3(5)
Etiquette (College): 1(3)
Carpentry: 4
Car B/R: 3
Computer: 5
Computer B/R: 4
Electonics: 3
Electonics B/r: 2
Pistols: 2
Rifles: 2
Archery: 2
Unarmed: 2

Knowlege Skills:
Mathematics (Topology): 6(
Sci-Fi/Fantacy novels: 4
Origami: 4
Ferret Training: 2
Card Games (Magic): 2(4)
Chemistry (Pchem) : 3(5)
Physics(Modern) :3(5)
Spelling (English): -1(-3)
Philosophy : 3
20th century literature: 4
Linux : 3
Role Playing games : 4
Lord of the Rings Trivia: 2

Language skills (read/write):
English 4/4
French 2/2
Russian 3/3
German 1/2
Latin 1/2
Spanish 1/2
Italian 1/2
(Mostly from reading math books in foreign languages)

Edges:
Human Looking
Good Reputation 1

Flaws:
Phobia (Severe) : Analysis
Incompetence: Analysis
Oblivious
Bragart
Dayjob


[edit] Bike 2, Car 2, Motorcycle 2, Sailboat 2, surfboard 3 should be added to active skills[/edit]

I don't think I've ever met anyone with IN 7 before

Nor I, Talia, nor I...

Although, a few people I know offline are Int 5, and possibly 6. Not 7. I'd think that would be either very close to or exactly 1600 on SATs or world-known for their gray matter...

Just me, though.

SATs, on the other hand, aren't actually indicative of anything.
One might argue that an IQ around 150 would be a 6; I still see myself as probably closer to a 5. Regardless, 7 is 160 at least, probably closer to 170.

~J

I disagree, remember the maximum natural human INT is actually 11.

So what'd you propose for approximates?

~J

B 4
Q 2 (I don't see why eveyone says high quickness so far)
S 4
C 4
I 3 (At best)
W 6 (I know it's a six. Screw you.)

Ini: 1d6+2

Magic: 6 (Full Shaman)

Skills:
Drywall: 3
Singing: 5
Edged Weapons: 1
Brawling: 2 (acutally a combination of several martial arts, but whatever)
Clubs: 2
Pole Arms: 3
Acting: 3
Negotiation: 4
Fast-Talk: 4
Wilderness Survival: 4
Sorcery: 3
Conjuring: 5

Knowledge Skills:
Shadowrun: 6 (Yes, that's right.)
Combat: 4
Edged Weapons: 2
Megacorperate Polotics: 1 (Know thy enemy.)
Magical Theory: 5

Contacts:
Pedestrian lvl 2
Web Designer lvl 2
Psychologist lvl 1
Goth lvl 1
Drywaller lvl 1
Resturaunt Owners lvl 1
Survivalist lvl 1

Resources (not counting the contacts): 5 000

How many points is that?

Ok, the first problem with estimating Int to IQ is that Shadowrun rolls perception and reaction into Int. We don't have a real world metric for perception, so we have to ignore that part of it entirely, and in the real world (physical) reactions and Int don't really correlate all that well. So we're sort of in a bind.

Even ignoring those portions of the SR Int score, estimates are difficult. With 3 as average (IQ 100, say 95-105), we find that there are only two steps down, but 8 steps up. The granularity does not match on the two sides of average. So if we call 2 a little slow (80-95) and 1 as borderline mentally retarded (65-80), we're still stuck for lower than that. For Shadowrun purposes, we just have to ignore those with severe mental retardation.

The human max is 11, so let's set that to 220+. A score of 10 is nearly equally rare (it requires the exceptional attribute edge) so call that 180-220. Which leaves us to fill in between 105 and 180 with the scores between 4 and 9. A score of 4 is going to be pretty common, it's just barely above average. Call that 105-115. Scores of 5 and 6 aren't that uncommon either - they require no edges, and are well within the grasp on starting characters, so let's call a 5 between 115-125 and a 6 between 125-135. That seems pretty reasonable. 135 is pretty high, but not out of line with the people you're likely to meet on the street on any given day. We still have scores of 7-9 to correlate to IQs of 135-180, so stepping up by 10's isn't going to work any longer. If we spread them out evenly, we'll have 15 point steps, so 7 would be 135-150, 8 would be 150-165, and 9 would be 165-180.

Yikes, Wish...

You see, I always take Int 6 as genius, and 8 as being world-reknown for everything they do. Kind of like Str 6 is body builder and 8 is Olympic Class.

phelious: Congrats, don't mean to sound rude or anything, but, I've heard of a person who took the SATs enough times to eventually get a 1600. I also know people who are none-too-smart going for PhDs in Math, and doing quite well.

I'm not calling you stupid, nor saying you're flat out lying, but some of the numbers just seem too far fetched. The guy with Wil 7, for example...

Large Mike, 115 points.

Phelious, it sounds soundly unimpressive, just like all the results the College Board gives out. Not that you might not potentially have that, but your SATs sure as hell won't be what shows it.

~J

Wish, as much as I know I'm not on the borderline between a 7 and 8 Int, if we ever have a game in which we have to base our stats off of our real selves, I am so using your system.

~J

Edit: Tanka, it depends on what you're going into, mathwise. There are branches of mathematics that most people simply can't do, because they flat-out aren't smart enough, they don't have the brainpower to visualize things that are absurdly alien from anything in the real world.

Another valid point (Oh how I love posting randomly ;p). Sure, people tell me I can go anywhere if I tried. Sure, people tell me I'm fragging smart. Sure, I got a 1220 on a half-night of sleep and barely getting there on time while anxiously awaiting the time at which we got out so I could play paintball... But that doesn't mean a lick in terms of reality. Some people just test very well.

Ermm Wish i can't agree with you on you ratings. Not in the slightest. you put Int 6 at a IQ of 135, that would put me in a 7-8 catagory, and im SO not that. Im a five at best (Seems a genious but just quite intelligent).

Sorry that needs reworking. Int 11 is Steven Hawkins (and that might be too high even for him)

[EDIT] The reason why Shadowrunners have a Int of 6 is for munkin perposes, even i do it on occusion. Int effects too many things. Reaction, Combat Pool and the amount of knowledge skills and Perception. Thats just for a Mundane characters.[/EDIT]

Offended? Goodness, no. If anything, it seems to have turned into another discussion on precisely what IN means.

Sidenote: I didn't include "rigger" in the initial poll because that would require a VCR [Edit: should have included "driver" though. Hindsight and 20/20 vision ...]

INT means INT. It's a little type of life-form that lives inside everything, and allows us to touch the powers of the force...

Wait, I think I'm getting confused.

~J

Int is just how quick you think. The ability to put together information on the fly and get something out of it. Also known as the ability to "wing it" Ever take a test on a subject you know nothing about, well you are using int right there, the higher your int, the more likely you are to know some random fact from teh exam, or logically see how the questions fit together to create an idea of what the information is that they are looking for. If you arent about tests, think of it as your ability to figure out just what the heck is going on in an instant. Take a snapshot of any scene and figure out just how much you know about it, but you have to do that in the blink of an eye. These are the things that let you judge intelligence best in my oppinion.

Now the problem is that in shadowrun, Shadowrunners can attain a max attribute of 9 (10 with the edge thingie). So that means your starting runner may max out at 6, but if he puts all his earned karma into it, he could get it to 9. Now we dont go on runs or anything so we dont earn karma, so you might argue we cant increase it. But by my logic I dont see why someone who has trained all thier life to solve puzzles quickly (puzzles are my favorite hobby, whether language puzzles, logic puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, etc.) that they wouldnt have inceased thier own intelligence.

In any case, an intelligence increases as we get older, so your average child has an intelligence of 1, your average teenager a 2, an adult a 3, and an older person (who has yet to experience detremental affects of aging) probably a 4. Those are for average people. Let me capitalize that for you AVERAGE. Yes those average people who cant even use a computer without messing it up half a dozen times (I used to do tech support, I know the people I am talking about) But these people arent stupid. Now they know just enough to work at a McDonalds as a manager, or get a decent job somewhere else, but they arent going to be making the big bucks. They will be scraping by as a wage slave working one or two jobs. People who are smarter than average go to college (we still might not think them smart, but at least they tend to be) and get a better job. Those tend to be you people in teh 4 and 5 range. Then you get your people who do research those people do work that tends to be more innovated and creative in nature, those are you people with 6-7. The people who do major contributions to the wealth of knowlege owned by the collective human race, those are your 8-9 range people. Granted there are people in each of these catagories that are not of the same intelligence level, but on average I image that the stats hold to those levels pretty closely.

But thats just how I see the stats. I hope to be one of the people who contributes something to the wealth of human knowledge, but its taking me forever to prove the Riemann Hypothesis in 30 words or less.

May I direct you, the puzzle-lover, to Cliff Johnson's website?

~J

Thanks Kagetenshi, looks neat

Sebastian Wiers, AKA "Mongoose"

White human (for now) male mundane (for now)

B:4
Q:3
S:4
I:6
C:4
W:4

Reaction: 4
Combat Pool: 6

Flaws:
Infirm, 3 levels (restricted physcal activity / heart condition)
Combat Paralysis
shy / anti-social
day job

Edges-
College Education
technical school education
common sense
toughness (lotsa bike crashes, no broken bones)

Active Skills-
Athletics 1 / Stamina 3
Bike 2 / human powered 4
Bike BR 1 / human powered 3
Car 2
Negotiation 3
Ettiquette 3
electronics 1 / power systems 3

Knowledge skills-
bussiness stuff- 2
Science things- 3
Arts and crafts / fabrication- 2/4
Cooking- 3
Trivia / non-entertaining- 1/3
Animal care / mice - 2/4
human powered vehicles / off road - 3 / 5

Equipment:
Middle lifestyle
3 high performace bicycles (road, off road, "messenger")
Good collection of hand tools
medkit (given a few minutes to swipe stuff at work)
Camera
Computer
Plain clothing w/ winter survival outfits
biker armor- 0/2

I guess I stradle the bike messenger / wage slave divide. Pretty much I'm just some gump you'd threaten to shoot when you needs keys to get into the lab I work at...

PS- I went for the INT 6 because I'm one of those people who almost always knows whats gonna happen next in a movie, learns tasks if shown them once, and remebers relevant facts for a long time after one exposure. Most indications are my IQ is pretty high.
INT 6 doesn't seem that rare, really. Most uof us would probably face some stiff TN penalties for dealing with SR rleated stuff, due to nervousness or unfamilarity, but are as bright or brighter than many SR characters, if much less trained. That's the point of the game, isn' it?

Wow. By each of these scales so far, I've made a pretty conservative guess for my INT rating...

I'll try and clear up the Int discussion a bit, and then later on in the msg fuddle it up a bit again.

First of all, I'm going to assume that the scale Wish was referring to was the normal distribution with a mean of 100 and a variance of 24, which is the IQ format that at least the Finnish Mensa uses, and it appears this is also the most commonly used system internationally. However, many others exist as well, and Mensa International makes it quite clear that the requirement to get in is being in the top 2%. Percentiles in general are a better way of stating the results of an IQ test, because at least they are unambiguous.

On the N(100,24) distribution of IQ scores, the top 2% corresponds to 148 (says Mensa Internation and Mensa Finland, my high school math book states that it should be a bit over 149, or ~2.05375 x 24 + 100, but I guess Mensa isn't that picky). A total of ~16% have IQ scores over 124, about 6.7% over 136. So, if you were to use only the kind of intelligence measured by Mensa-type tests (mostly figuring out what the next picture in a series should look like), a minimum of 135-140 (again, on the N(100,24) scale) for Int 6 would probably make most sense. At least to me, since I've always figured that maybe 5% of the population have a 6 in an attribute.

However, I certainly don't think that kind of intelligence would be a good measure for Shadowrun-type intelligence, because it leaves out loads of other kinds of intelligence, like mentioned before in this thread. I don't know that much about types of intelligence, so I'll let other people bore you with the details, but certainly reaction in a combat situation has very little or nothing to do with your brain's computing power. I think most army folks can confirm this: In the combat training sessions I was in, lots of people totally froze up. Some of them were guys who really were that stupid, well under the average. Some of them were mathematicians, engineers, chemists, programmers, you name it.

Try this on for size: Let's make-believe a split in three of the Shadowrun Intelligence-attribute. Something like, say, "Computing Power" (mostly the kind Mensa tests, figure series, math, etc), "Information Soaking" (how easily you soak in new information, mostly how well you remember things but also how well you can analyze and use it) and "Situation Awareness" (spatial recognition, understanding what's going on around you, including maybe things like empathy and certain other social aspects, etc).

Now think which of those three Int ratings would you use for the many aspects of the Int attribute in SR. I think "Computing Power" would only be a factor in very specialized things, like the linked attr of Math and Physics, perhaps half of the average for the rest of the natural sciences and Computer, maybe Demolitions and Electronics. Biotech I'd already put under SitAwareness and InfSoaking. Reaction would definitely be about SitAwareness.

I think it's easy to conclude from this, and Wish as well as just about everyone else already mentioned, that any IQ scores of the general type which Mensa tests are not a good reference for Shadowrun Int scores.

Now, take me for example: I've never done the official Mensa tests. I've done a few short, unofficial ones that gave me scores between 140 and 150, or between top 5% and top 2%. Internet tests (which in general give you far too high scores, but are also biased against non-native English speakers) mostly give me scores between 135 and 155, and never bother with the most important bit, ie. the percentiles. I think the Army put me at top 3%, but that's out of the people the Army tests, ie. males (and a few females) between 18 and 28 who're just beginning their service.

That would justify me as 6 by my own words, maybe 7 according to Wish, if it were not for the fact that I can't remember shit, am totally unempathic, suck at languages, music and advanced math, and I'm thrown totally out of balance by quick, dramatic changes in my surroundings. In the kind of Intelligence that Shadowrun is interested in, then, I'd rather rank myself as 3 or 4. So yeah, I'm good at pre-high school math and understading figure series, but I totally suck at life in general.

I actually am a member of Mensa -- and they admitted me based on SAT scores, which shows they really aren't that smart after all. I was involved briefly, but the Mensa scene as far as I could tell turned out just to be an intellectual masturbation session. Shadowrun is much more interesting than Mensa.

My IQ is around 160 -- I benched myself for SR purposes at Int 6. Wish's scale is certainly generous though!

--K

Well AE,I think I like your break down much better than mine. Where would be a good place to take an IQ test?

Contact Mensa, I should think they have testing sessions in major cities every now and then.

Or if you're in a hurry and don't mind it not being "official" or having to pay something, I'm sure there are some reliable test available elsewhere.

But I don't know any details. All I know about Mensa and intelligence in general is from a lecture that a Mensa member and a test organizer kept in high school, which was 3 years ago and wasn't all that informative in the first place.

Damn... now I really wish I actually rolled ten dice for Perception.

Hell, maybe I do, but I just rule-of-1 a very unusually large amount of the time.

~J

This is the 'official' SR definition of 'Intelligence':

"Intelligence represents a character's perceptual and analytical abilities, memorizing ability and raw brain power. It denotes how fast a character learns, adapts or remembers. Low Intelligence does not mean stupidity; instead, it might denote a character who discounts things too quickly rather than seeing how he might use them. Such a character may not think beyond the moment, may be easily distracted, or may simply rely on instict rather than intellect. High Intelligence, on the other hand, means a character can keep track of several things at once, integrate old memories with whatever he's working on now, and apply general principles to specific problems. Such characters notice small details and learn fast - they may not have gone to school for years and years, but if someone competent explains something to them, they'll get it."

Add to this the scale of 'Human attribute ratings':
1 - Weak, 2 - Underdeveloped, 3 - Typical, 4 - Improved, 5 - Superior, 6 - Maximum unmodified human.

This suggest that an Int 6 character should be better than superior at Memory, Quick Thinking, Learning, Adapting to new situations, Multitasking, Perception and 'strict' IQ (or possibly One of the Best at a few of these and just above average in most of the others). Humans with Int 7 or higher are Extreme Cases - some of the smartest people on the planet, who have spent a long time improving these qualities.

Somehow I managed to avoid the SATs altogether - I had no clue of their existence until well after I completed my first degree! I also haven't taken an Intelligence Quotient test since they were required in early, early grade school (around the same time as the last time I was personally acquainted with Mensa). Maybe that's one reason why I am automatically suspicious of anything which claims to be able to distill the totality of mental function into a number, let alone one based on a floating average and which tries to measure analytical thinking only.

It's interesting that the SR game system - almost uniquely among game systems - inverts this: the number for the PC's IN is broadly representative of a wide spectrum of methods and types of information analysis rather than descriptive or really quantitative in any absolute sense. (Basing the starting Knowledge and Language points off IN thus becomes the exception to this within the SR system.)

I suspect I do "roll about ten dice" for Perception - but only wrt anything not involving specific description, especially visual. (I do pick up on voices and styles of speech - and that seems to carry over into Internet settings.) Ask me what something or someone looked like later and I won't have a clue - sat beside the same person in physics who partnered me in chess for a year before I realised! - but I'll have reacted to it (stepping out of the way, catching a falling book, jaywalking with hardly ever having to run) virtually instantly ... but as a presence only (threat level? ). That's what I was trying to describe through the physad ability "[environmental] Alertness" - what Austere Emancipator now terms "Situation Awareness" (but hike it up into almost preternatural levels).

There have been other types of intelligence described in the literature besides the three mentioned, but few in SR really care about things such as musical aptitute, and things such as emotive intelligence and kinesthetic awareness are covered under different SR stats.

B:4 ("[I have] the constitution of a vending machine"--guess the movie)
Q:4
S:3
C:5
I:4
W:3

Active skills
Athletics 2
Brawling(action movie moves) 1(3)
Car 2
Computer 2
Edged Weapons (knives) 1(3)
Etiquette 4
Interogation 3
Intimidation 2
Negotiation (fast talk) 3(5)
Pistols 1
Small Unit Tactics 2
Stealth (sneaking) 1(3)

Knowledge Skills
English 6 (I got good diction)
Psychology (social) 3(5)
Snappy One Liners 4
Uncommon Quotations 5
Carousing (tossing anti-game) 1(3)
Wingman [as in "bar wingman"] Procedures 6
Hockey (Buffalo Sabres) 2(5)
RPGs (hardcopy) 2(5)
Trivia 5
SciFi Background 6

Edges/Flaws
Dirty Fighter (3pt Edge)
Perceptive
College Educated
Drama Magnet (2pt Flaw)
Crazy (in a bad way) Women Magnet (4pt flaw)
Wierdness Magnet (2pt Flaw) [I've seen the Oscar Meyer Hotdog truck...]
Mild Addiction: Alcohol [but its not a problem, honest]
Mild Addiction: Cigarettes
Day Job (40hrs+)
Baby Face (1pt Edge)

Gear
2001 Ford Focus (well, me and the bank own it....)
Ordinary Clothing (lots)
Fine Clothing (not as much as lots)
Assorted Knives
PlayStation 2
22 Games
186 DVDs

ok im going to take a stab at this...
30 y/o human male 5'7" tall 280 lbs


Body 5
Quickness 3
Strength 4
Charisma 4
Intelligence 5
Willpower 4


Assault Rifles:4
Clubs:3
Edged Weapons:4
Heavy Weapons:2
Pistols:4
Pole Arms/spear 1/3
Projectile Weapons:3
Rifles:4
Shotguns:2
Unarmed Combat(mi-ki-do):4(extra points if you know what that is)
Athletics:3
Stealth:3
Etiquette:4
Negotiation:3
Computer:4
Small Unit Tactics:2
Car:3
Motorboat:4

Knowledge skills
Chemistry:2
Forensic Medicine:2
History:3
Psychology:3
Pornography:4
Roleplaying Games of 20th Cen.4
Old american cars:4
Firearms, modern:4
Greek/norse mythology:4/5
English:6
Spanish:3

gear:
.40 caliber baretta auto pistol
12 gauge pump action combat shotgun
.357 snub nose revolver
6 swords ( short to huge)
many knives
bullet proof vest
armor helmet
assorted other medieval weaponry
1994 lincoln towncar
p4 2.4 ghz computer tricked out
p3 500 dual processoer computer tricked out
p4 1.8ghz laptop
night vision goggles
shotgun microphone
cell phone(2)
police scanner
medical insurance
hand held radios(4)
flare gun with flares
digital camera
other assorted gobs of crap
and about 5k cash on hand

so what do I do for a living? anyone want to guess?

Er, Normal guy.

Skills
Pistols 2
Edged Weapons(Rapier) 2/4
Athletics 3

Equipment
Walther P99
Studded Leather Jacket
T-Shirts of Old Punk Rock Bands (ripped, help together with safety pins)
Jeans
2-Liter bottle of coke
Huge Grey Gameboy
Rapier
Switchblade
Flail
Axe
Spear
Machete

Electronics Specialist/Medieval Recreationist

Attributes:

B: 4
Q: 3
S: 3
C: 4
I: 6
W: 2
E: 6

Active Skills:

Athletics: 2
Bike: 1
Biotech (First Aid): 1(3)
Car: 3
Computer: 4
Computer B/R: 4
Edged Weapons (Sword): 2(3)
Off Hand Edged (Axe): 2(3)
Electronics: 6
Electronics B/R: 5
Etiquette (Geek): 3(5)
Instruction: 2
Intimidation: 2
Leadership: 2
Leather Work: 3
Metal Work: 2
Negotioation: 2
Pole Arms: 1
Small Unit Tactics: 2
Wilderness Survival: 2


Knowledge Skills:

Astronomy(Our Solar System): 2(4)
Computer Background: 4
Electronics Background: 6
Physics: 4
Mathematics (Control Theory): 4(6)
Role Playing Games of the 20th Century: 3
Webcomics: 3
Musical Styles: 3
Medival History (High Viking): 2(3)
Sci-Fi Authors: 2
Religion: 3
Magical Theory: 2
Philosophy(Eastern): 2(4)
World History: 3
Technology Trivia: 4
Stating the Obvious: 5
Pizza: 3
Beer: 4



Language:

English (Tech Jargon): 3(5)
Latin: 1
Spanish: 1



Edges/Flaws:

Can't Say No to Women(2) (there is ony 1 woman I can can say no to if she bats her eyes)
Day Job (4) 40+hours, bad shifts (horray for working at an optical observatory)
Severe Allergy(Greasy Food) (I have an ulcer that is food triggered, seems like the best way to put it)
Night Blind (which makes things really hard at work. grrr...)

Good Looking and Knows It
College Education
Friendly Face


Equipment:

Lame computer (x3)
1990 Toyota Pickup
Suit of SCA Armor
Combat Axe
Electronics Workshop
Cell Phone
Camping Gear

Total < $5000

I remember when we played an avatar game. Lemme update it a bit.

Attributes:

Body: 3
Quickness: 4
Strength: 3
Charisma: 3
Intelligence: 5
Willpower: 7
Essence: 5.x(various reconstructive/reinforcement stuff in my legs)
Reaction: 4
Initiative: 4+1d6

Active Skills:

Athletics: 2
Biotech: 1
Car: 1
Clubs: 3
Computer: 3
Computer(B/R): 4
Electronics: 3
Edged Weapons: 3
Etiquette: 2
Instruction: 2
Jiu-Jitsu: 3
Negotiation: 2
Pistols: 2
Rifles: 1
Stealth: 3
Thrown Weapons: 2

Knowledge Skills:

Chemistry: 3
Computer Background: 4
Conspiracy Theories: 5
Literature: 4
Philosophy: 4
Politics: 4
Psychology: 3

Languages:

English: 8
R/W: 6
Latin: 1
R/W: 2
Spanish: 3
R/W: 3

Edges:

Ambidexterity(Rating 3)
College Education
High Pain Tolerance(Rating 3)
Exceptional Attribute(Willpower)

Flaws:

Addiction(Nicotine)
Infirm(Rating 2)