Newbie here with a first attempt at a SR4 character. What are people's comments and suggestions?

The raw numbers are below but first a discussion of the concept. This Physical Adept was a bit based on wuxia and the ghost hunter archetype. The setting is Hong Kong (and its nearby areas), and the character has his legal front as a feng shui consultant (hence why the Knowledge skills). I also decided to invest in Adept powers like Rapid Healing, Natural Immunity, and Sustenance to fit in with the idea of practicing Tai Chi and meditation as a means towards perfecting one's self (and in keeping with the wuxia stereotype), to avoid just creating a one dimensional spirit combat machine. The Force 1 Weapon Focus in the form of a traditonal Chinese double edged Tai Chi sword is again for the wuxia stereotype and also as a story hook for the character (either improving the blade or finding an even better one).

How effective do people think he is as a ghost hunter? If he's not, then what might I change?

I noticed in Arsenal that Tai Chi gives bonus only on Attacks of Will. It occurred to me this is a pretty useless advantage in general as it is unlikely to help enough for a mundane trying to thwack a spirit, and for a physical adept with Killing Hands, strictly written the Tai Chi gives no worthwhile bonus whatsoever. What are people's thoughts on the idea of Tai Chi giving its bonus DV to any appropriate armed or unarmed attack against a spirit? If not, then I suppose I could use the rules for general Kung-fu/Wushu for general purpose unarmed combat bonuses.



Human

Agility 5 (40 BP)
Body 4 (30 BP)
Strength 3 (20 BP)
Reaction 4 (30 BP)
Charisma 3 (20 BP)
Intuition 4 (30 BP)
Logic 3 (20 BP)
Essence 6
Magic 6 (65 BP)
Edge 2
Attributes: 275 BP

Qualities:
Physical Adept (5 BP)
SINner (+5 BP)
Martial Arts (Tai Chi) (5 BP)
Riposte Maneuver (2 BP)
Allergy (Mild, Seawater) (+10 BP)

Skills:
Athletics Skill Group 2 (20 BP)
Influence Skill Group 2 (20 BP)
Assensing 1 (Spirits +2) (4BP)
Blades 5 (Tai Chi +2) (20 BP)
Unarmed Combat 5 (Tai Chi +2) (20 BP)
Astral Combat 4 (Spirits + 2) (16 BP)
Dodge 3 (Melee Combat +2) 12 BP
Pistols 2 (Semi-Automatics +2) (8BP)
Survival 1 (Forest )

Knowledge (18 Free BP)
Hong Kong Triads (Red Dragons) 2
Spirits (Spirits of Man) 3
History (Asian) 2
Meditation (Tai Chi) 2
Feng Shui (Interior Decoration) 3

Adept Powers:
Astral Perception (1)
Improved Reflexes 1 (2)
Combat Sense 2 (1)
Killing Hands (0.5)
Low Light Vision (0.25)
Flare Compensation (0.25)
Sustenance (0.25)
Rapid Healing 1 (0.25)
Natural Immunity 1 (0.25)
Temperature Tolerance 1 (0.25)

Lifestyle:
Middle (2 months)

Gear:
Weapon focus (Force 1) in form of traditional Chinese sword, bonding cost accounted for
5 BP left for other gear

Contacts: (8 BP)
Fixer (Connection 2/Loyalty 2)
Talismonger (Connection 2/Loyalty 2)

First, remove Dodge. Get those points into something useful, like more Athletics or, well, something else. In melee you defend using your melee skills and ranged you can defend using Gymnastics.
You can have a force 2 Weapon Focus, so try to cram that into the character. It's another 3 BP worth the effort.
Decrease Unarmed to 4 and increase Blades to 6. The weapon focus should be really your prime means of engagement.
Decrease Pistols to 1 and buy Perception at 1. Use glasses with Smartgun and aiming if you need to shoot, but Perception is a live saver you don't want to miss. Also add Vision Enhancement to you glasses.
Did I mention you should buy that guy some glasses?

Adepts are neat and all, but you need to focus them a little. Astral Perception and Increase Reflexes are good choices, but everything else is rather... meh.
Counterstrike will be your best friend, especially with Riposte.
Forget Killing Hands. It's quicker to send someone to the the ground with stun damage, so if you really want unarmed melee go with Crtitical Strike and Improved Ability (Unarmed). If you need to circumvent the spirits Immunity to Normal Weapons you either use the Weapon Foucs or attack the bugger with Astral Combat if your Weapon Focus is not at hand.
Improved Sense is redundant, since the character is a spirit hunter and those powers don't help him with that AND you can easily obtain those effects by wearing glasses.
Rapid Healing is nice, but you should avoid beeing hit and wounded before you plan to recover fast from injury
Sustenace, Temperature Tolerance and Natural Immunity are nice at best and never worth the points. You're awakend, meaning you will need a crapload of karma to improve. There is no room for lackluster powers, especially when hunting spirits (they bite you real good) or running the shadows.

So, my list of powers for a Ghost Hunter would be:
Astral Perception (1)
Combat Sense 2 (1)
Counterstrike 1 (.5)
Increase Ability (Blades) 3 (1.5)
Incresed Reflexes 1 (2)

When you start gaining more Power Points you can increse your unarmed melee, or you infiltration stuff. Maybe another level of Improved Reflexes.

That's about it. I don't think it's too maxed out, since the character has a magic of 6 making him one of the most advanced non-Initiates on the planet. He should be allowed to be really good at what he does.

BTW, you forgot to list his WIL stat. And you don't get specialisations for free, you need to pay 2BP for each. It's looks from your write up like you didn't

I agree. Switch Dodge, raise up Athletics Group or something else of your choice, bit IMO you could go either way with Blades or Unarmed. Blades give Reach and can be Weapon Focuses, but Unarmed can be well powered with Killing Hands, Critical Strike and Penetrating Strike. But i think Riposte will also work better with Counterstrike. (Can you Riposte with Unarmed?)

Maybe trade Dodge with an extra point of Edge. Might be nice fighting the baddies.

Otherwise, looks good. Looks powerful at what he does and you can initiate later as well.

And yeah, what's his Willpower?

A few questions and comments in return.

p.184 says "Astrally perceiving and dual natured characters use their Physical attributes and skills to fight opponents with a physical body..." (such as materialized spirits)

Doesn't that rule out the use of Astral Combat skill as a means of bypassing Immunity to Normal Weapons when one's Weapon Focus isn't handy? That was one of the reasons why I chose Killing Hands originally.

What are other people's thoughts on the Adept Powers? I realize Rapid Healing, Natural Immunity, Temperature Tolerance and Sustenance may not be the most sexy powers particularly in terms of combat potential. However I chose them for thematic reason (the transcending of normal human limitations), to avoid becoming too one dimensional, and for character Quality of Life. By that I mean such things as, when other characters are struck with the latest strain of avian flu my character would still be walking around, or while other people are snoring he could be still active (and save on grocery bills). Would these powers be hopelessly crippling?

Oh, Im cool with those powers. Im all about thematic stuff(im trying to scrape 8 BP out of my current creation to get him Artisan: Piano.) I think Temperature Tolerance is awesome. I wish i had it right now, in fact, since it's supposed to be spring and we have a bunch of snow on the ground. Sustenance? Nothing wrong there. I mean, it's only a point of powers. You have pretty solid powers as it is.

if im playing a 6 point adept, i almost always have a half point to a point of ''cool, but more situational powers that just are neat most of the time''. On a 5 or 4 point adept i admit i start to get a little stingier and a little more flat-out functional, but with 6? go for it.

That's the trouble with wording.

Let's spin this and assume a spirit in astral form attacks a ghoul. It cannot use Astral Combat, since it is not astrally projecting and the ghoul is not "wholly astral". It can't attack the ghoul with physical attributes and skills, since it is neither dual natured nor astrally percieving.

Astral Combat is iffy. Picking words even more so. I'm not sure on the official, but if two dual natured (or astrally percieving) opponents want to deal with each other using Astral Combat I'll allow it.

Bottom line: ignore that part from my unarmed spirit combat comment and never loose you're sword.

And if you want those fluff powers (I'd say stick with sustanance and rapid healing, the other two are real waste), drop one or two level Improved Ability from my suggested list. If you're thinking of using it at all, that is

Second attempt after being more careful with my BP accounting. Character is weaker as I've had to scrape for BP's.
While it may be handy to always have one's sword on hand, it might not always be possible (such as when acting as a feng shui consultant whether for real or as an excuse to enter a location).

Wouldn't the Temperature Tolerance (aside from its fluff value and help against environmental exposure) at least be somewhat marginally useful against fireballs and Heat/Cold Elemental Attacks?

Lastly, what are people's thoughts to the Tai Chi question in the original opening post? Attacks of Will seem more like a last resort than anything else, so the as written bonus of +1DV for Tai Chi using Attacks of Will seems useless. Thematically though these styles are supposed to be effective against spirits because they focus the wielder's chi. Just seems strange to me that an Adept focusing in such a style (especially if one adds on Killing Hands) gains no benefit compared to a mundane, since Attacks of Will just boil down to Banishing + Willpower with (Charisma)P for damage.


Human

Agility 5 (40 BP)
Body 3 (20 BP)
Strength 3 (20 BP)
Reaction 4 (30 BP)
Charisma 3 (20 BP)
Intuition 4 (30 BP)
Willpower 4 (30 BP)
Logic 3 (20 BP)
Essence 6
Magic 6 (65 BP)
Edge 2
Attributes: 275 BP

Qualities:
Physical Adept (5 BP)
SINner (+5 BP)
Martial Arts (Tai Chi) (5 BP)
Riposte Maneuver (5 BP)
Allergy (Mild, Seawater) (+10 BP)
Qualities total: 0 BP

Skills: (104 BP)
Athletics Skill Group 2 (20 BP)
Etiquette 2 (8BP)
Negotiation 2 (8 BP)
Assensing 1 (4BP)
Blades 6 (Tai Chi +2) (26 BP)
Unarmed Combat 4 (Tai Chi +2) (18 BP)
Astral Combat 3 (12 BP)
Perception 1 (4 BP)
Pistols 1 (4 BP)

Knowledge (21 Free BP + 7 BP)
Hong Kong Triads 2
Spirits 3
Tai Chi Meditation 2
Feng Shui 3

Languages:
Chinese N
English 4


Adept Powers:
Astral Perception (1)
Combat Sense 2 (1)
Improved Reflexes 1 (2)
Killing Hands (0.5) or Improved Ability (Blades) (0.5) depending on clarification of Astral Combat applicability vs. manifest spirits
Counterstrike (0.5)
Sustenance (0.25)
Rapid Healing 1 (0.25)
*Natural Immunity 1 (0.25)
*Temperature Tolerance 1 (0.25)

* Powers might be exchanged for Improved Ability (Blades) (0.5)

Gear: (4 BP cash value)
Weapon focus (Force 1) in form of traditional Chinese sword, bonding cost accounted for (1 BP bonding)
Fake SIN (Rating: 3)
7000 leftover nuyen for gear

Lifestyle: (1 BP)
Middle (1 month)

Contacts: (8 BP)
Fixer (Connection 2/Loyalty 2)
Talismonger (Connection 2/Loyalty 2)

More nitpicking ahead!

First, you spent 210 BP on Attributes. Drop Logic to 2 (you're still avarage, don't worry) and increase Edge to 3.

You might want to add the Sensitive System Negative quality. That's another 15 BP you would have. Some GM's don't see that as a limitation though, so check with your GM about that.

Technically there is no Blades (Tai Chi) specialisation. You might want to switch to Blades (Swords) or check with your GM about that.

You're magic is still 6, but you have spent only 5 Power Points. We can't have that, now can we? fixed
Keep Killing Hands, Improved Ability (Blades) 1, but definitly add Combat Sense 1. That should fix it.

If you start initiating go for Adept Centering and Infusion first. Raise Improved Ability and Combat Sense with Powerpoints and juice up Combat Sense with Infusion when you expect to get hit a lot. Not getting shot to bits will be very important for your survival.

Damn, I need to build myself a Combat Adept very soon. Something to torture my players with. They deserve it

And just to mess stuff up, how about switching from Human to Ork? First, they need the love. Second, they are cheap and helluva though. You could buy ork by dropping 20 BP from strenght, which stays at 3. Now you could drop 10 BP from Body and end up with a Body of 5 and relocate those 10 BP to Edge to make up for the Human Edge loss. Also, now you see in the dark.

Got to watch my copy/pasting. Combat Sense 2 (1) is included. I included the points spent upping the Magic into the total 275 for Attribute BP. The side effect of Logic 3 is I get a few more free Knowledge skill BP to round out the character.

Arsenal states Martial Arts specialization may be taken for other melee combat skills as well (presuming that the martial arts style used by the character trains for such weapon use). It goes on to give an example of a character with Blades 3 (Kung Fu +2). As for Tai Chi, there is most definitely use of swords in the style: http://youtube.com/watch?v=2c9-_NElJLw or http://youtube.com/watch?v=XQGvm-7WYFY

Really not sure about whether I can get away with Sensitive System. Almost smells too much of min-maxing as such a Physical Adept would have no incentive to take any cyberware in the first place. Like the Street Magic book says about geasa: "avoiding a special circumstance that occurs infrequently with no hardship to the character isn\'t much of a limitation."

As for why not an Ork? Well, just personal preference I suppose. I like my characters to not die of old age when other people are going through their mid-life crisis or going into permanent Luxury lifestyle retirement (one can hope).

That's why I said to check with you GM. I can exploit Sensitive System without beeing awakened, so I personally don't enforce that quality to be only legit if you want heavy duty cyberware.

And there is a lot of cyber that can be nice for an adept and worth losing 1 point magic. Cybereyes are a good start, way cheaper than Improved Sense. Reaction enhancers are another. So, yes, I see a limitation, even if the player never intents to build that into his character. Does not mean the GM doesn't intend to build some cyberware into the character

Ok, too much evil

Sensitive System is a real flaw. I see it as a written agreement that the player won´t cyber up. The punishment is even harder for magicians, who have to care about essence long before they reach the dreaded leading zero.

And while you don´t have to be an ork, what sources do you have on life expectancy? There are serious poverty issues at hand, to be sure, but those will not affect those runners who manage to reach high age.

p. 65 of SR4 shows the average lifespan of the metatypes in out of character format. It's been less than 100 years since the Sixth World began, so those lifespans for the Dwarf and Elf metatypes have no in character data to back them up (discounting immortal elves, or spike babies). Also, the Earthdawn races had similar natural lifespans, despite the vastly different technological/magical base.


Well if I can get away with Sensitive System, I'd put another 10 BP in Athletics skill group, another 3 BP into making the Weapon Focus Force 2 + bonding it, 1 BP for another month of Middle lifestyle, 2 BP to make the talismonger a buddy, 1 BP to make the fixer Connection 3, and the remaining 3 BP into another 15K worth of gear.

Attributes: Assuming you are using the standard 400BP, you can have a maximum of 200 points in Physical and Mental attributes. I would personally drop Strength by one, although Logic is another option.

Martial Arts maneuvers cost 2BP, not 5. I would recommend putting the 3 saved points into gear, or possibly a second maneuver or skill specialization. And in case you decide to add more qualities, maneuvers do not count to the 35BP cap.

Tai Chi Meditation should probably changed to Meditation; +2 Tai Chi Chuan (or Standing Meditation)


On a side note, Tai Chi Chuan is probably the only martial art not accurately represented in the book, as it is included with the Kiai (think Dragon Ball Z). As such, I would personally design something new for the internal arts (Tai Chi Chaun, Yi Chuan, Ba Gua Chuan, etc). Possible abilities would include temperature tolerance, +1 die to resist disease or toxins, +1DV with Blades. This might be a little to complex for you, but if I get around to writing it out and making sure it is balanced any time soon, I will post it here. If you decide to try designing it yourself, use the other arts for examples on balance, and do a little research into the internal arts, or try to find another practitioner who also plays Shadowrun to help.

I'm going to be blunt. A bunch of your Adept Powers rather suck since you basically concentrated on taking things that emulate what cyberware/contact lenses do, only with less efficiency. Your only real advantages over a Samurai as far as I can tell is your ability to get past Immunity to Normal Weapons and cyberware scanners, and you're paying an enormous premium for that ability. The problem there is that Spirits tend to be highly mobile and have good Reaction and Unarmed Combat skills, so connecting with one in melee is rather difficult, especially since it looks like you can't really afford any Willpower, making you highly vulnerable to Magic/Powers. You took a smattering of li'l bonuses rather than take advantage of the fact that your character is a pure Adept and can take Powers with a rating as high as 5 or 6, which is basically the only mechanical advantage to completely skipping cyberware. Consider ditching some of the more flavorful powers in favor of taking something ridiculously good like maxed out Combat Sense, which would take you from "I'm kinda like a half-assed samurai" to "I'm kinda like a half-assed samurai... but let's see the samurai do THIS!" Which, frankly, is kinda what being a pure Adept is all about-- you either take powers that let you do things mundanes can't even attempt to emulate like Astral powers and Spell Resistance or else you take a skill mundanes can attempt and then jack it up to inhuman levels via your Magical powers. If maxed out Combat Sense seems too cheesey for you, consider some combination of Iron Will, Piercing Senses, Cloak and Spell Resistance instead, since they'd help you carve out a more solid "anti-magic" role than you currently have now.

Anyway, considering how little you min-maxed this character, I sincerely hope your GM doesn't take issue with the Sensitive System flaw, because it really is a rather big obstacle. Quite frankly, you could make an argument that taking Alpha Wired Reflexes 1, Muscle Toner 2 and Synthacardium 3 for 2 essence loss is in many ways a better deal per spent Magic/Essence than Improved Reflexes 1. This character could work out fine in some games depending on the GM and the rest of the group's power level, but it's certainly not strong enough where I'd start worrying that it is in any way cheesey. More than anything, I'd strongly suggest talking to your GM about what kinds of dicepools and power levels he views as effective or inneffective for the games he plays. The games I've been running lately are on the high end of what would be considered street level in most games, and what's good for my games may be 2 or 3 dice over the line in your games, and it's always more fun to fit in than to be overpowered.

Oh, and figure out a way to pick up Infiltration. Being a melee specialist who can't sneak around in a world of smartlinks and assault rifles is basically begging for an asskicking.

Martial Arts maneuvers may cost 2BP, but to be eligible to purchase them requires taking the Martial Arts Quality at a minimum of another 5BP. Only problem is I can't find an appropriate advantage to pick for that as the ones in Arsenal are either inappropriate (like the Intimidation) or next to useless by the letter of the rules (the +1DV on Attacks of Will).

The Natural Immunity, Sustenance, and Rapid Healing powers (and ultimately Temperature Tolerance to spend that final 0.25) I took to simulate/represent the character's Tai Chi practice. With the expanded section on drugs and toxins in Arsenal maybe Natural Immunity won't be so useless after all?

In the original opening post, I was asking what people thought about allowing the Tai Chi bonus to be a +1DV to any armed or unarmed attacks against materialized spirits, not just purely to Attacks of Will (which don't even use Unarmed Combat so it seems strange how the RAW give a bonus to it). Attacks of Will to me sound like such a last desperate throw of the dice that spending 5BP for such a specific slim bonus seems not worth it.

At the risk of looking like min/maxing, I could drop the Charisma by 1 to bring the Attributes under the cap, perhaps rationalizing it as introversion or perhaps aloofness, unworldliness. Either via Unarmed or Weapon Focus, damage potential would be in some part related to Strength so not sure about dropping that.

I had the Meditation down as Tai Chi Meditation originally for the reasoning that if the pre-made characters in the SR4 book could get Zen Meditation as a skill with no specialization, why not Tai Chi? Zen meditation after all is already a subset of Buddhist meditaiton, itself a subset of generalized meditation.