Dumpshock Forums > My new hacker, Bile.

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Abbandon

Feb 17 2008, 05:06 PM

Well I think I'm finished.. I would have liked to have been able to take an technical skill to repair drones but where are they? Do you just take a repair skill for the type of drone it is(car/airplane/boat) ?? I was hoping for Drone Repair specializing in (air/tread/wheeled). Not really to sure or excited about my activesofts. Do I need a shop kit for programming software? Where the hell do you put shops/facilities ?? Thats like never get attached to a single home. Its going to get found and ambushed sooner or later??

Well anyways here you go what kind of changes would you like to see made??

[ Spoiler ]

suppenhuhn

Feb 18 2008, 12:48 AM

Looks nice

iirc simrigs directly interface with your neural structure, so trodes or a jack would be all thats needed. for ar you might need an imagelink though.

if you're looking for more qualities you may try to get your hands on a copy of gurps (there's also a free lite one somewhere on the internets). they use pretty much the same system quality wise and personnaly i always found sr a bit lacking in that department.

Kyoto Kid

Feb 18 2008, 12:59 AM

...While it isn't stated specifically in the description of the quality, we have been playing Combat paralysis to include all forms of combat, Meat, Astral and Matrix.

Abbandon

Feb 18 2008, 02:26 AM

wow 75k for hacking programs.
I was going to take like 5 agents but what the hell for? It doesnt seem like I would be able to arm them all with programs unless i crack them.
Drones... I wanted to have an iBall for upskirt shots but it would probably get stepped on lol.

Oh what hacking skill should a hacker get +4 to? Exploit, attack, spoof? I am thinking that spoof would be better than exploit, and exploit would be better than attack. Hmmm most gm's probably wont let me mess with shit without first breaking into a node will they?? Hmmm I think I will switch to exploit.

I will update the second spoiler with the stuff i got but its still not finished...

Hmmmm I have 10bp to spend somewhere other than BP. If I can shave 5bp out of my Gear section i could get rid of my phobia. Or I could keep the phobia, and get another point of edge. I know if I have that phobia every other system/node i goto will have a waterworld theme lol. Which is cool because thats one of my favorite movies but it wont do Bile any good.

I want some soft/hardware shops, a shop for repairing drones, an activesoft for mechanic(drones) thats another 9k, I'd like to know how I can trick out my car, And I'm having a hard time figuring out what to use a drone for. Hackers can go in so many directions..

Fortune

Feb 18 2008, 06:27 AM

QUOTE (Abbandon @ Feb 18 2008, 01:26 PM)

Oh what hacking skill should a hacker get +4 to? Exploit, attack, spoof?

Stealth!

masterofm

Feb 18 2008, 07:10 AM

You can probably drop your Str by 1, change your vehicle to a motorcycle (it's good to be fast,) try and free up some BP for gee... a pistol or at least some kind of weapon and an active-soft for it? A lot of people who walk around in a SR party w/o a gun is hurting in a firefight. Also if your a hacker look into some of the drugs you can score that can boost your stats for a bit. Get a few low level SIN's (more then one is always nice in a tight pinch,) and a few throw away trash comlinks never hurt. Also look into some of the low cost items you can get as having a welding torch or a bar of thermite. Also you will need a toolkit or a shop if you plan to do any kind of repairs or make parts with your group skill in electronics.

Cthulhudreams

Feb 18 2008, 08:13 AM

I'm not sure wired reflexes 2 is particularly useful, unless you are planning to be an AR hacker rather than a VR.

Also, there is some dispute about whether you need to buy the 'rigger adaptation' for the vehicles in the book - and the consensus is you don't, they already have it.

KCKitsune

Feb 18 2008, 09:33 AM

QUOTE (Cthulhudreams @ Feb 18 2008, 03:13 AM)

Actually... if this character wasn't fat, then Wired Reflexes 2 would fit in as a "Combat Hacker". The Combat Hacker can hack in AR and can also keep up with the Sammies. If I could afford the essence I would have put a Synaptic Booster 2 on my Combat Mage... as is I do have a Booster 1 (and level 3 cybereyes) on him.

Cthulhudreams

Feb 18 2008, 09:48 AM

Err.. yeah, I see that character as an AR hacker, who wred 2 is grate (sic) for. Even if he isn't, Wired 1, I can totally see, for 11k its cheap and sexy, the bonus IP is totally worth it. Wired 2 with the bigger essence hit and more moneys? Not so much. Especially if your strapped for cash for other things.

BlackHat

Feb 18 2008, 01:17 PM

I thought I found one or two things worth pointing out, but at second glance, they're fine.

It looks like a pretty solid hacker, given the concept you already had in mind.
I would probably suggest getting a cheap satellite link (the extra signal comes in handy sometimes) or getting a signal relay (arsenal) for your drone or car (much more expensive, but more than doubles your signal range) - or both. I think your question about a sim-module is spot-on, but I don't see one (as cyberware or commlink accessory) anywhere on your sheet.

Kyoto Kid

Feb 18 2008, 04:09 PM

QUOTE (Abbandon @ Feb 17 2008, 06:26 PM)

wow 75k for hacking programs.

...yep pretty spendy. I dropped the same on on Violet's programmes.

The one bad part of Infirm (unless your GM houserules differently) is that Perception is grouped in Physical skills, so the BP cost (by the book) would actually be 16 for rating 2 and x 2 Karma to raise it after chargen. A good route to go is (if he can shuffle some

around would be to lower the skill to 1 and get an attention Coprocessor 3. this adds 3 dice to Perception tests so he would have 9 dice in his meat perception pool. Matrix perception is based off (I believe) your Analyze programme and Electronics skill.

I would agree dropping the Wired Reflexes to 1 would not hurt the character.

For little more

(I think 3,000) you can also get a Skillwire Expert System. This allows you to use Edge with skillsofts to re-roll failures.

I would also look at getting a "decoy" commlink for general use and crack his general use programmes to it.

Oh and for gear, and be sure to get:

Medkit rating 6. (with a First Aid of 1 you can only heal one box of damage).
Electronics tool kit (at the very least).

...more later.

BlackHat

Feb 18 2008, 04:37 PM

QUOTE (Kyoto Kid @ Feb 18 2008, 11:09 AM)

I would also look at getting a "decoy" commlink for general use and crack his general use programmes to it.

If you are going to get a decoy commlink, I would have the ACTUAL versions of your general use programs on that, and put the cracked copies on your already highly questionable hacker-commlink. Shouldn't ever really matter, but on the off chance Lone Star is sifting through the commlink you hand over to them looking for anything they can use against you, there's no need to have programs with the DRM and copyright code hacked up laying around on it.

Abbandon

Feb 18 2008, 04:56 PM

-Good catch on perception. I knew being fat would affect that so i think i just screwed up the math in my head. I dropped it to rating 1 cuz i really have plans for the other 10-15 bp if i can get it lol.

-The guy does have firearms skill in the form of activesofts. He doesnt have a gun but he can use one crappily. He would probably be to busy hacking drones or enemy pan's.

-I dont really need to reroll edge ith my skillwires stuff. Never knew you couldnt lol.

-Hmmm signal boosting items.. what would be the point?? Arent you limited to the lowest signal rating? So ..?

-3 IP's are pretty mandatory i think. Between giving commands to agents, giving commands to drones, doing his own thing, and using all his spare actions to try and prevent tracing and analyzing? Havent decided if he is going to have any hotsim abilities.

-why should I have throw away commlinks? I can just spoof my ID

-oh and I know I can't put my codeslinger +2 towards Stealth so I would only be able to make it a spec of hacking... How about +2 Stealth and +2 exploit ? That should make it easy to hack nodes?

Kyoto Kid

Feb 18 2008, 05:14 PM

QUOTE (BlackHat @ Feb 18 2008, 08:37 AM)

...whoops, my bad for getting it backwards. (Violet's going to be sooo pissed)

BlackHat's comments also validate the reason for having a decoy commlink. You have it linked to one of your fake SINs, do all your routine transactions with the it, and keep your hacking commlink offline until you need it to break into a system. This way if you are questioned or need to go into an area which requires you be in active mode you look legit.

BlackHat

Feb 18 2008, 05:14 PM

You're right about being limited to the lowest signal - but if whatever you want to hack has a high signal rating, you should too. Also, if you have a sat-link and so does the team, you can be quite a bit away from them and still helpful. Signal repeaters (from arsenal) are just that. You can be on one side of town, while your drone with the signal repeater is on the other... and whatever you're hacking doesn't need enough signal to reach you, just enough to reach the drone (which will repeat the signal back to you with its high signal rating).

Both tactics basically keep you out of harms way, which most runner teams won't appreciate... but if you're fat and useless/paralyzed in combat, you're probably more useful to them running overwatch than falling down the stairs because you're "unaware" in your athletics skills and someone spilled some water nearby.

Abbandon

Feb 18 2008, 06:36 PM

Haha no i plan on making whoever rolls with me drag my fat ass around on the missions. Dont plan on hacking from afar to often. Yeah this is psychological. If my team buys ME the signal repeaters and sat links so they dont have to drag me around then how can they possably get mad at me for never being there lol.

Kyoto Kid

Feb 18 2008, 07:20 PM

...ah, instead of the car get the powered wheelchair or better yet that, walker mobility chair & call him Mojo

masterofm

Feb 18 2008, 11:58 PM

Throwaway comlinks say you are Joe Nobody when or if someone else ever hardwire scans your SR character. If a devise does not transmit a wireless signal you can't really spoof, but if you are basically a dwarf who can't move me thinks your character is already very, very noticeable. Not having a gun does not make sense why you character would start out with skill softs you can't even use. It just fits better for the character if you shell out like 500

for a junk pistol. If you are making a hacker there just needs to be that extra "that makes sense" to what you have already created.

For a hacker if you don't plan on doing a lot of physical combat having 3 IP's is not needed. Hotsim gives all dice rolls a +2 and you get 3 IP's anyways (which will allow you to deal with drones, EW, hacking, ect.) It just seems that if you are going to have your character be dragged around by the party and have them buy all these things for your character... I don't know I just feel that it would take a lot of fun out of the game for the other people playing. Already hacking is this completely different combat and takes away from the game that having a hacker who slows a party down.... I don't know I just feel like if someone brought that character to the table I would politely ask them to create another character.

Kyoto Kid

Feb 19 2008, 02:39 AM

...that is part of the reason I gave my Matrix Specialist Violet other skillsets (and the appropriate gear to go with them). In particular she also makes a very good B & E, technical, and security system specialist. She also has a fair amount of Corporate Savvy as well.

With her genetically and bioware modified Logic, she can perform a number of tech skills admirably even when defaulting.

Unfortunately she kind of deals with the opposite situation form what masterofm mentions in the second paragraph above, in that the team she is with seems to want her just for her Matrix skills and nothing else.

Abbandon

Feb 19 2008, 03:34 AM

Doesnt sound like I would like to be in one of your games anyways Master.

Abbandon

Feb 19 2008, 08:34 AM

Ok check him out. I think im finished.

Ryu

Feb 19 2008, 01:49 PM

You should buy Cracking group 4, then skill rank 5 for Hacking and Cybercombat (legit according to the FAQ but amongst those things not properly re-stated in the rules). That would save 8 BP. If that does not fly with your GM, you are still better of buying Cracking 4 and spending 16 BP elsewhere.

And you would HATE your phobia in my game, larger bodies of water are somewhat common.

Kyoto Kid

Feb 19 2008, 04:07 PM

QUOTE (Abbandon @ Feb 18 2008, 07:34 PM)

Doesnt sound like I would like to be in one of your games anyways Master.

...yeah feel like she's being treated more like a character "class" than an SR4 archetype. At least my current GM doesn't always throw awakened (or worse!) threats at us like the last one did as we are primarily a bunch of mundanes with only one mage who occasionally shows up.

The final draft looks good now that his gear is fleshed out. Yeah Gunnery is good if you're going to use drones however, specialising the skill in Automatics or Heavy Weapons would give him a wider range or weapons he could use on his drones (burst fire or grenade firing drones are always nice to have). The Combat wounds Specialisation to First Aid goes without saying. This gives him a base First aid pool of 16 (Matrix Specialists can make good medics). As long as he's somewhere like Seattle or Chicago, the phobia works and does fit with his Infirm quality.

Eventually he will want to work up to a better vehicle like a van (for drones) but that gives him something to shoot for.

I do like his Matrix "theme". Vi's was a Looney Toons/Warner Bros. universe. She even took interest knowledge in old WB cartoons to back it up.

Speaking of Knowledge skills what happened to his? I do not see them listed.

Overall, good character. Based on the questions/responses you have been fielding about matrix/commlink ops I think you should do pretty well with him.

Abbandon

Feb 19 2008, 06:55 PM

Ooops good catch.. will work on his knowledge skills now. Yeah I dont know which way to go with his gunnery spec. I am trying to guess what kind of opposition he will be running into first. I guess lmg's would be most common?

I would have LOVED to have had a socrched quality with a resulting phobia but I dont really want the penalty to black ic, and i really dont want to take even more bad qualities to bring it back up to 35..

But I imagine his phobia will be pretty pervasive and GM's will use watery themes for all their matrix environments lol. I can see my guy having to goto a shrink to work out his issues lol eventually. Poor guy....

@Ryu i'd rather take a hit to my BP and be legit than to do something rules questionable like buying and then breaking skillgroups. Once he is accepted then I can ask a GM what their preference is. If they dont allow it then atleast im good to go. If i built him around that extra 16BP or whatever then it would take awhile to figure out what to cut and what to reduce in rating to get him back in the game lol.

So I build legit and let the GM give me any freebies they want on a GM to GM basis. Hmmm I'd probably dumb like 6 into contacts and raise something else up to 2 and spec something for 10 lol. I really dont like that he has no contacts but i dont see anywhere i can shave.

masterofm

Feb 19 2008, 07:20 PM

I believe that drones count under industrial mechanics if I'm not mistaken. Drones are costly and time consuming and a drain on the

if you are only going to have one or two as the autosofts are pretty pricey if you want to have your drone fully functional.

@ Kyoto Kid - you know it all just depends from GM to GM on how hard they want to hit you. I mean in the second mission our team took on a delta ware cyberzombie and powerful spirit. If you want a flavor character then thats perfectly fine, but that makes it all the more vital that the sheet should match the story which is why I was nit picking on a lot of the fairly trivial details.

@ Abbandon - I think it would really help to know if you are creating a pink mohawk character or not, and how invested are you in the story and/or the character sheet.

Feshy

Feb 19 2008, 07:53 PM

QUOTE (Ryu @ Feb 19 2008, 08:49 AM)

Are we reading from the same faq? This one seems to disagree (except, as always, to state that GMs have final call):

QUOTE

When can you break up a skill group into its component skills? Can you break it up during character creation? Can I break apart a skill group in order to buy a specialization for one of the skills?

You can break apart a skill group whenever you want--as long as the GM allows it. We advise against breaking apart skill groups during character creation in order to keep it simple and counter min-maxing. Any time you improve a single skill within a skill group or add a specialization to one of those skills, that skill group no longer exists.

Kyoto Kid

Feb 19 2008, 08:18 PM

QUOTE (Abbandon)

But I imagine his phobia will be pretty pervasive and GM's will use watery themes for all their matrix environments lol. I can see my guy having to goto a shrink to work out his issues lol eventually. Poor guy....

...had a decker back in 3rd ed with a phobia of crawling bugs. Boy did the GM have fun with that one...

QUOTE (masterofm)

@ Kyoto Kid - you know it all just depends from GM to GM on how hard they want to hit you. I mean in the second mission our team took on a delta ware cyberzombie and powerful spirit. If you want a flavor character then thats perfectly fine, but that makes it all the more vital that the sheet should match the story which is why I was nit picking on a lot of the fairly trivial details.

...excuse the slight [Derail] here.

The threat should somewhat be tailored to the type of team. A group of all mundanes has less chance of succeeding against a powerful spirit and other magic thrown at them than a couple mages would against a bunch of sec guards, gangers, & grunts. For example, the last mission we were on was a datachip steal where Vi was supposed to sneak in to the facility with the other's covering her. Basically a good challenge for the mundane characters. Well this session the player with the mage showed up and his character went in on his own, unplugged & made off the entire computer box (triggering all sorts of mundane alarms in the process that locked the rest of us out). By the time mundane security made it to the floor he was long gone having levitated away though an open window (invisibly) after taking down the one security mage who came after him.

Regarding "colour"characters, Vi's concept actually makes her more than just someone who deals with matrix ops. A lot of her technical skill is rooted in the "inventrix" concept from her backstory and the Lemony Snickett character of the same name whom she is loosely based on. With her exceptionally high logic she can pick up some basic skill in almost any technical area and be pretty damn good with it. The thing is we also have a character on the team with skillwires who is duplicating a lot of the things I intended for Violet to do.

...again apologies for the sidetrack.

[/Derail]

Ryu

Feb 19 2008, 08:42 PM

QUOTE (Feshy @ Feb 19 2008, 08:53 PM)

Are we reading from the same faq? This one seems to disagree (except, as always, to state that GMs have final call):

Yes, it agrees with what I have said. They only advise against it because it is legal to do so. (And the opinion they express is certainly something one should discuss with the GM - as I implied with "if that does not fly with your GM".

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