I was about to make a character for Gencon, then I picked up Runner's Companion

Just curious, what can we use here? @$#%#$ I still don't have a physical copy of unwired yet...

I'm praying we can use priorities... it just feels SR to me... I really dislike BP.

As well as qualities. Making a Vampire doesn't interest me very much.

At this time, the only think I can definitely say is kosher are the metavariants. I need to go over things with a bit of a fine toothed comb before I can definitively allow anything else. And, I don't have the time to do that today or, probably, this weekend.

Runner's Companion? WHERE?! My store said they wouldn't have it until the 12th.

Unwired will be in stores on the 12th. Runner's Companion is now available as a PDF download from battlecorps.com. It'll be in stores ... later.

Hi folks. As almost all of Runners Companion is optional rules, I thought it would be in everyone's best interest to explicitly spell out what is and is not allowed.

All of the gear from Survival Tips may be used, subject to the usual availability restrictions.

Alternative Character Generation rules (Priority and Karma) may not be used.

Metavariants, Changelings, and Sapient Critters may be used.
Drakes, the Infected, Shapeshifters, AIs, and Free Spirits may not be used.

The folowing list of Qualities are excluded from Missions play. (They just don't work well within the campaign model.)
Positives:
Code of Conduct
Common Sense
Deep Cover
Escaped Clone

Negatives:
Amnesia
Bad Rep
Big Regret
Borrowed Time
Cranial Bomb
Enemy
Hung Out to Dry
Judas
Lost Loved One
Mysterious Implant
Vendetta
Wanted

Group and Virtual Contacts may be used.
Enemies may not be used.

The advanced lifestyle rules may be used to calculate the specific details of a character’s lifestyle (pp.150-151), but the lifestyle qualities section may not be used.

As a special note - if you're planning on using Runner's Companion rules at a GenCon or Dragon*Con Missions game, you will be required to have printouts of any relevant pages with you. Since the book is releasing so close to the convention, our GMs won't necessarily have had time to familiarize themselves with the new rules prior to the convention.

Priorities for character creation?

*hopes and prays because he hates Build Points and misses priorities*

Oops, missed that in a cut and paste somehow. Edited to correct it. Priorities and Karma based character generation are not permitted for SRM. We're sticking with BPs.

So "Restricted Gear" is allowed? And if yes, are we required to use it during character creation or can it be saved for an in-game purchase (per the description)?

Yes, it's allowed. You can use it during character creation or in-game, as described.

Would Restricted Gear quality apply to an implant too?

I don't see why it wouldn't. Keeping in mind, of course, that Restricted Gear just lets you have access to make the purchase. It doesn't offer any assurances about the price you'll be paying.

Even though we can't use the Priority system, I can think of something like a work-around.

I have it on good authority that the Priority system in Runner's Companion was designed to stay within about 5% (or less) of the normal system, BP-wise. With this in mind, here's my suggestion: make a character using the Priority system, and then add up the BPs of the character you get, making adjustments if you come in over or under 400 BP. I suggest taking the adjustment in the amount of nuyen for gear; it's the easiest to tweak.

That way, you still have a 400 BP character, but you've cut some corners on the way there. There's an extra step, but you still get to use Priorities for most of the character.

Thank you.

True... I had thought about that... I just like having a budget for each category of the character, makes it easier to not second guess myself all day long.

Yes but since you can take it at character creation and take in debt for another ¥30K ... that's ¥280,000 and suddenly Synaptic Accelerator III or Move By Wire 3 becomes a character gen type of item.

Can a player take Latent Surge... err Dormant Metagenics?

Yes.

Sapient critters eh? Hello naga here I come!

Time to write up some NPCs with severe ophidiphobia.

Edit: I'm not serious about that. But really, a giant snake in downtown NYC? I'm going to recommend Physical Mask, Trid Phantasm, etc.

Ok, weird question.

There's already established rules for buying positive traits using Karma.
What about *negative* traits? far as I'm aware there's no way other than GM's discretion and primarily for mental traits. Obviously don't expect to somehow gain Karma for them.
Mainly asking because there's a few negative traits(Day Job in particular) that would flesh out my character a bit more, plus I've always played like I had it anyways(but it didn't offically exist until now).

I'm not Da Boss, but I personally have no problem with allowing you to spend Karma to pick up a negative quality. =i)

Seriously, though, I think you're probably better off keeping your day job as a non-quality. As it stands, it's something that you have complete narrative control over. The only difference between that and the quality is that with the quality, the GM gets narrative control. As it stands, you can make your day job fit wherever it's dramatically or comedically appropriate.

That's correct.

The only way to do this would be to re-create your character using the Character Transfer rules. Of course, that's assuming that you haven't started the NYC Missions campaign yet.

Bah, already played 4 NYC at Gen Con!
I'll just keep bugging GMs to write on my mission log I'm a pacifist and I attended my day-job until one of them rules they're mental defects

Yes, you can do that, I imagine, but you're still restricted by the Availability limit of 12 on all starting purchases. That makes the purchase of most the advanced goodies still impossible at character generation.

Except the great 5BP restricted gear lets you go up to availibility 20 for one item.

Heres a question, could one use restricted gear to qualify for buying a piece of beta/delta ware at chargen? (Providing they still pay the increased cost?)

By RAW, no. Restricted gear only lifts the restriction on Avail 12 not the restriction on Standard, Second Hand, and Alpha ware only.

It says exceptionally buy an item with availability up to 20. Beta/delta ware often have availability less than 20. Since it says exceptionally, then they should by RAW be able to buy that ware.

Wasabi is correct. No, you cannot use this to buy higher grade augmentations. This quality only raises the allowed availability rating. Beta and Delta Ware are expressly forbidden.

In case you want to see where its expressly forbidden, Tarantula, its on BBB p84.... second column, third paragraph: "Two grades are available to starting characters: Basic and Alpha."

Second Hand 'ware is allowed per Augmentation, p32: "Only standard and alpha-grade cyberware is available as second-hand cyberware."

Haha, I scoured Aug looking for it, never thought to check the main book. S'all good though

This is a bit off topic to the thread but are there PC generation rules somewhere for SRM?

thanks!

Mike

Welcome to Dumpshock.

You can find information on character generation for the Official Shadowrun Mission campaign here. Additional information about the campaign is available at the official Shadowrun Missions FAQ.