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DMK

Mar 13 2008, 06:30 PM

So, I'm a long-ago Shadowrunner who played a bit of 2nd Ed., and bought 3rd & 4th without ever actually playing either. An online acquaintance is starting up an IM based game, so I dusted off an Adept I made when I first got the 4th Ed. BBB.

A couple of notes: #1: I don't like mixing Adepts with Augmentation, I'm quirky that way. #2: The ST decided to only allow us 20 BPs of negative qualities, not 35. #3: For the time being, only the BBB is allowed, so no stuff from other sourcebooks.

I'll put the sheet behind a spoiler thing, for simplicities sake. I'm just looking for some constructive criticism. If I've missed something obvious, I'd like to know about it.

[ Spoiler ]

cryptoknight

Mar 13 2008, 06:36 PM

Since you won't augment your adept... I'd toss Thermographic and Lowlight vision onto those contact lenses or buy a second pair with that. There's too many times where vision can be obscured (via darkness.. or smoke)... granted thermal smoke will still suck... but at least you're working to minimize that.

Whipstitch

Mar 13 2008, 06:38 PM

It probably doesn't fit your vision of the character, but I must say, the sheet is crying out to be an ork.

I came up with a character like this for 1 less bp:

[ Spoiler ]

Drogos

Mar 13 2008, 06:38 PM

If you follow Crypt's advice, grab another level of Combat Sense. Also, see if you can't get your Edge up...I like Edge, it makes me warm and fuzzy

Edit: All Characters cry out to be an Ork

WearzManySkins

Mar 13 2008, 06:44 PM

You will need to get a copy of Arsenal due the interesting/new Martial Arts Positive Qualities in that publication.

1. I agree and am the same way.

2. That is up to each player and his/her concept for the character, not everyone goes for max qualities.

3. Arsenal has some information that can directly help the character concept.

The Armored Jacket will put your Body 3 over the limit and incur a penalty of -1 Agility and Reaction(page 149) recommend the Urban Explorer Jumpsuit to replace it, just add the Non conductivity rating to it.

For you commlink add firewall 6, and more programs as of now, you have a commlink but no usable software to use it/protect it.

Unless you are going to use Palming and Disguise, do away with the group skills and take the ones you will use.

WMS

Rasumichin

Mar 13 2008, 06:50 PM

QUOTE (Drogos @ Mar 13 2008, 07:38 PM)

All Characters cry out to be an Ork

Except for spellcasters and faces.
But besides that, yes.
Especially this one.
Close-combat orientation is always...difficult, to say the least.
An ork would fare a lot better at that.

I'd try to increase Edge, too.
It's incredibly useful in game.

Whipstitch

Mar 13 2008, 07:01 PM

And let's face it... if you're a Mystic Adept Combat Mage who exists only to dodge like crazy, go first and sling Power Balls? Well, you probably want to be an Intuition Tradition Ork then too.

Also, my orks actually tend to be smarter on average than my other metas, since you can boost up their logic to 4 while still having plenty of wiggle room under the 200 bp cap. Whereas with humans I end up choosing between dumb or frail, and frankly, the latter is a lot more likely to get you killed, so logic and strength are the first stats to suffer in a pinch.

nathanross

Mar 13 2008, 07:48 PM

To hell with Orks! Who would really want to be an Ork? Elves on the other hand....

BTW, Welcome DMK. Nice to see someone else who likes playing an adept pure. (Well, besides the skillwires, and the muscle toner, and ...)

WearzManySkins

Mar 13 2008, 07:55 PM

QUOTE (nathanross @ Mar 13 2008, 02:48 PM)

Skillwires? Skillwires? We don't need no stinking Skillwires.!!!

Not all wish to maximize their characters, some like to play a concept or idea.

Good On Ya DMK

WMS

nathanross

Mar 13 2008, 08:09 PM

QUOTE (WearzManySkins @ Mar 13 2008, 03:55 PM)

Skillwires? Skillwires? We don't need no stinking Skillwires.!!!

Not all wish to maximize their characters, some like to play a concept or idea.

Good On Ya DMK

I tried hard for so long to resist temptation, but I must say I have finally fallen. My main character Fuku, a elf adept face, succumbed to the dark side, and has already lost 1 essence (datajack, skillwires, clean metabolism) and will soon loose another (muscle toner, enhanced articulation, and nanoware that modifies retina and finger prints).

I still plan on wasting plenty of karma on skills, but I want to have something to cover my electronic ass. It is hard to survive on your own in the Sixth World. Maybe someday Ill be able to play an unaugmented character again, but right now I do not have the willpower to resist.

Magus

Mar 13 2008, 08:11 PM

QUOTE

Skills:
Unarmed Combat(Martial Arts): 7(9) Perception: 4
Stealth Group (Disguise, Infiltration, Palming, Shadowing): 4
Pistols(Semi-Autos): 3(5) Negotiation(Sense Motive): 2(4)
Gynastics: 3 Climbing: 1

DMK: the Specializations do not add 2 the rating, they are a dice pull modifier. You get two extra dice to throw in your dice pool.

So your Unarmed Combat is rank 7 Specialized in Martial Arts ( +2) so your dice pool is increased by 2.
Just a small change in SR4 from SR3 and 2 and 1.

Kyoto Kid

Mar 13 2008, 08:29 PM

QUOTE (nathanross)

To hell with Orks! Who would really want to be an Ork? Elves on the other hand....

...hey, some o' my best compadres have tusks and a better 'tude than those connivin' pointy eared galoots.

An Ork would not be a bad idea, but if you already have a vision of who this character is, I'd stick with that.

Personally I too favour the pure adept (and have commented long & vehemently on this).

One thing. Body for an MA oriented adept body is important not only for soak rolls but for how much armour he can wear. With Critical Strike at 4 he could drop his Strength to 3 which would give him a base DV of 6 (basically that of a Ruger Warhawk).

I also agree, drop the improved sense powers buy them as contact lenses/earbuds & get another level of Combat sense or a level of Mystic Armour (stackable with worn armour and no encumbrance penalty - also handy if a meet or legwork takes place at a chic location & you have to pull out your Actioneer suit or other fancy armoured duds).

I would also look at switching Astral Chameleon out for something like Increased Pain Tolerance or Guts particularly if composure rolls come into play (as discussed in another thread).

If he is going to be sort of a B&E specialist, I'd dig up the BPs for Hardware skill. Passkeys are nice & all but not always reliable and if they glitch can set off alarms & such. The sequencer only gets its rating as a DP, with the skill you get Attribute + Skill for your DP (you may want to boost that logic by at least 1 point though). For ops like this more dice are better than less as a glitch or crit glitch can cause things to go south in a hurry.

DMK

Mar 13 2008, 09:16 PM

First of all folks, thanks for the warm welcome. Greatly appreciated.

I realize that this is a sub-par build in a lot of ways. The "weak link" is that I've spent 25 BP for 1 PP, and I've spent that Power Point on Sensory Enhancements.

The thing is, I like having the sensory enhancements. I like the notion that strip this guy of everything, shove him in a dark room, and he's probably going to do ok. Is that worth 25 BP? Nah. I know that. If I wanted to do it more efficiently, I'd use the 25 BP for other stuff and buy Magic 6 with the Sense Enhancements in game for 18 Karma. Or maybe buy another level of Combat Sense while maxing out Critical Strike. It's still fun though.

The thing that I love about this guy is that he's subtle. He doesn't look like trouble. Unless you asense him astrally, there's nothing about him to suggest that he hits like a Str 5-6 human using a katana.

If I could've taken more Negative Qualities I would've bought "Bland" for him. And you can bet that Masking will probably be the first Metamagic he gets.

Whipstitch, I liked your sample ork. I'm well aware of the uberness of the ork: How else can you spend 20 BP to get 50 BP of Attributes plus a vision enhancement?

WMS, I definitely plan to pick up Arsenal. The thing is, the ST is a beginner and for the time being he just wants to use stuff from the BBB. Which is ok with me, since I'm basically a beginner myself, at least in SR. Your point about the Firewall of the commlink is well taken; it's definitely something I intend to improve in game. I just couldn't justify the cost (3,000 NY) at character generation. So for now, keeping it private with its puny little Firewall 3 will have to do.

I'd really like to thank you for the heads up on the armor. I missed the Encumbrance rules completely. The Urban Explorer does look like the best way to go, given its superior Impact rating.

Magus: I'm aware of the difference. I still use the old style, just to remind myself of the total number of dice I'm rolling. But it's a good point, and something I need to remember.

Kid: Thanks for the thoughts. He already has Strength 3 though. And you probably have a point about the B&E stuff. So many priorities, so few BP...

Kyoto Kid

Mar 13 2008, 09:54 PM

..ah I see now. Hard to decipher with the way the attributes were laid out. that is why I kept looking for where the augmented (6) came from because I saw no Improved Attribute power listed.

For clarity's sake it is better to list everything like Attributes, skills, powers etc on separate lines. Easier to read at a quick glance.

...also apologies for the profuse suggestions as Adepts have tended to be my specialty ever since the 1st ed Grimoire (that is when my namesake character got her start).

DMK

Mar 19 2008, 03:56 PM

So, I've been giving everything a lot of thought, and as a result I decided to tweak the build a bit. The main thing was that the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Magic 6 was a mistake. I just wasn't getting enough bang for that amount of buck. So, I dropped Magic to 5, took .5 less on Improved Ability, dropped Flare Compensation and Sound Suppression, and used the 25 BP I got back for 2 points of Edge, 1 point of Unarmed, and 5,000 more nuyen. The finished sheet is under the spoiler.

[ Spoiler ]

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