Hi I am new to game, I am use to playing Hero system and D&D, friend talked me into playing Shadowrun. I got 4th ed core, and Augmentation and Arsenal. I am slowly digeting the material and so far it is awesome!!! My GM told me to make something out of 425pts. I been toying with making a Technomancer, or something with alot of cyberware in it. Any suggestions? Is it possible to combine a technomancer with some eye/skillwire with out totally messing up the ... resonance, or is it essence I mean? My style of play if it helps is always the skill monkey, who speaks softly but always seems to have that big stick, when party gets in over its head.



Thank you for your help :o)


Arrgg

Technomancers (often called TMs around here) are really strapped for BP. If you are interested in playing one you should really really comb the wireless world chapter. There are a lot of unintuitive rules implications. Just to give you a heads up the strongest TM builds center around get an absurd stealth check, and summoning spirits to do your dirty work. That said they are huge BP hogs.

If you like playing the jack of all trades the Street Sam arctype is likely your best bet. You can build a really solid Cyber/Bio Sam with enough BP left to still be really go at technical skills or social skills. The orc racial mods make it very easy to have generally high, well rounded stat. Throw skill wires and gear on top of that, and you can buy your way to a level of proficiency only specialist can top.

and welcome the DS/SR

Like weaver said, technomancers are notorious for being bad around here. Most people (I'm sure I'm going to get flamed for this) would go so far as to say they're mostly useless as PCs because others will always be better.

having said that, a jack of all trades TM isn't going to be possible if you want to be useful. A TM is going to need to really focus on one area to be good at it.

for a jack of all trades, a street sam is very usable. You might even be able, if you really need the skill points, to avoid cybering up at buildtime and put the extra build points into skills. *shrugs* it's all a matter of preference. In addition, the street sam is a pretty easy to play character that will let you learn the rules and style of play without having to dig through the book looking for rules that no one else needs to use. for examples, please look here for excellent sample characters.

hope that's remotely helpful!

Technomancers are awesome , yet misunderstood. They can simply do things no body else can. Since no one else can do them, everyone else thinks it's a useless thing.

A skills based Tm would be interesting and fun, and I'm certain Unwired will have wonderful cool things for Technomancers to do.

Oh, I'm not knocking TMs. They can do things that a completely unchecked AR haystacker can't even make rolls against, like Hash, and Crack spirit intrusion. They just need to be hyper focused to pull it off. Those 25 extra BP of linearly priced CF will really though.

All that said I'd still strongly encourage a first time player who likes jack-of-all-trades to play a Sam with skill wires and a high ability scores

with 425 Points do something magical with an Ork, should be still viable without too many weaknesses, as you have some more points to play with than most people do. and it has the most growth potential later on too . . if you're really a beginner, hands off of anything magic, do a street samurai, nothing too fancy, up the dice-pools on perception-tests, and on some shooty bits too . . also, jack up your armor and will-power and get something to get rid of stun damage somehow, you will need both of those . . SR is a Game of Egg-shells and Sledge-Hammers . . or Glass-Cannons for Mages *g*