So here's a character I'm working on for my first game of SR. Help and critique is appreciated:

Race: Troll (40 points)
Attributes: (200 points + 30 for Edge)
Body: 9
Agility: 4 (6)
Reaction: 4 (6)
Strength: 9 (11)
Charisma: 2
Intuition: 4
Logic: 2
Willpower: 2
Edge: 3
Essence: 1.1

Skills (132 points):
Athletics (Group) 3
Firearms (Group) 4
Etiquette (street) 1 (3)
Unarmed Combat 3
Blades (swords) 5 (7)
Shadowing 2
Pilot Ground Craft (Wheeled) 1 (3)
Perception 2

Knowledge/Language (18 free)
Urban Brawl 2
Safe Houses 3
Lone Star Procedures 4
English N
Sioux 3
Japanese 3
German 3

Contacts (8 points [house rule charisma*2 is free])
Mr. Johnson 1/3
Weapons Dealer 2/2

Qualities (-35)
Addiction (moderate) to BTL chips
Scorched
SINner (criminal)
Incompetent (First Aid)
Incompetent (Doctor)

Gear:
Armored Jacket (Fire Resistant 5, Nonconductivity 5, Insulation 4)
Monofilament Sword
Ares Predator IV (Metahuman customization, Silencer)
Ares Alpha (Metahuman customization)

Cyberware:
Wired Reflexes 2
Dermal Plating 2
Cybereyes 2 (Smartlink, Flare Compensation, Low-Light Vision, Thermographic Vision)
Cyberears 1 (Damper, Select Sound Filter 2, Audio Enhancer 1)

Bioware:
Muscle Enhancer 2
Muscle Toner 2

So what do you guys think?

I'd get a syntharcadium (if you go for melee, you have to reach your opposition as fast as you can, plus you get bonus dice for gymnastic dodge), probably also a platelet factory (i'd even drop the dermal armor for that)- and i'd certainly raise Willpower.
This character begs to be stunbolted- and you're more likely to take stun than physical damage, so you'll want a large stun track.

You might also want to think about having a SMG in addition to your other guns, so you can shoot people with a decent one-handed weapon while charging up to finish them off in melee combat.

I also prefer axes over swords, but that's just me.

I guess he's BBB only?

If not, you might want to check out Fomori, Satyr Legs, Celerity, Elongated Limbs and probably even Shiva Arms (from RC), FFBA, some other pieces of additional armor and a claymore with customized grip (from A70) and some geneware and/or customized/optimized cyberlimbs (from AUG).

Oh, and you'd most certainly want the martial arts stuff from A70.


Hm, these threads always end up with the same recommendations...but they just work.

This should be Edge: 4 or +20 for Edge.

Nitpick - Incompetent (Medicine)

I'm fairly sure a submachine gun needs two hands to fire properly. A machine pistol on the other hand...

First of all, thanks for the help.

However, I'm totally new to the system, so I'm going to ask some questions:

Why do I need a third gun? I've got a pistol for stealth kills, I've got an assault rifle for firefights, why do I need an smg? It doesn't appear to be capable of anything the assault rifle can't do better, and one vs. two handed appears to be moot, since I'll be wielding the melee weapon two-handed anyway.

What does BBB mean?

And also, I don't have any books yet outside of the base book, so most of the last paragraph is lost on me.

Again, thanks for the help, and for being patient with a newbie.

You can conceal the SMG bit more easy than an assault rifle, but that's about it. If you want to save points and be even bit better at fighting, you could replace the firearms group with automatics and take a machine pistol (just did that to my char that will be later today test-driven for the first time ) instead of a normal pistol. Instead of those 40 points, 20 points gives you even higher dice pool. That high strength will give you additional recoil compensation as well. Spend those extra points to willpower!

If I don't remember all wrong, when wielding a melee weapon in two hands, you do even more damage (said somewhere in arsenal, but it's too late for me to start searching )

On more nitpick, your armor can't hold that many addons...

I'll have a closer look tomorrow and comment more, but right now am too tired x)

I also second(third? fourth? at least a 3 Willpower. With any character, really, unless it's REALLY part of the character.

You have a good Reaction, Athletics pool for dodge, but as for any melee character, I also suggest scratching out the Synthacardium if possible. In fact, I would say if you really needed the cash, I could let Strength stay at a base 9. If I recall, you manage to still get your 2 points of recoil, and the Synthacardium with it's bonus dice to athletics and defense might even help you more than an extra 1 DV. (Your Strength based athletics wouldn't be hurt, either-if you took a Synthacardium 2. The Synthacardium would give you 2 Athletics dice to ALL skills, and it would make up for the 2 you lost from Strength.) He would still kick serious tail, AND be even more tough.

Make sure your GM is cool with Incompetence: Medicine. They might decide it doesn't come up enough. (First Aid I consider a disadvantage. If someone is dying, and you, the tank, are the only one standing and can't do anything...)

Just my couple of nuyen. Otherwise, good job at a first character.

You may want to consider switching out either Scorched or your addiction. Those two combined can lead to nasty results.

Also, Willpower is vitally important, it directly modifies your Stun Track, which is where you want your damage to go.

I'm too lazy to do the math, but just to nitpick, did you remember to half your lower essence loss? ie if you have cyber essence loss of 3 and bioware of 2, bioware becomes 1. It is something people often either aren't told about, or didn't see.

You may want to consider acquiring the other books. Augmentation would really help your character, I know I was happily surprised at what it had for me.

Also, on the Edge thing: remember that you do not have to buy the first point of ANY stat. This includes Edge, Magic, and Resonance. So you know.

Overall, a good first character. Just needs tweaking for maximum dice pools!

Now, after reading it couple more times through, can say it's a good char Some advices that are given can make it even better, but the willpower is the only "mandatory" change IMO. Good job.