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Fuchs
Here's a new character concept (or rather, the stats). The character background is the semi-usual former corporate soldier turned freelance mercenary/shadowrunner/bodyguard.

[ Spoiler ]


Any mistakes/flaws/ways to improve?
Backgammon
I think it's pretty good, overall. He has personality, not a min-maxed nightmare.

You could consider dropping the Tailored Pheremones and reducing Influence, as well as getting rid of your Agent 4. With the points, get more Contacts and maybe raise your melee performance (More Strenght and maybe pick up a Martial Art or switch to Close Combat group).
Ryu
I assume the agent is there for actually using the common use programs? If that is the case, consider lowering it´s rating to 3 and having two SIN-4´s instead.
Draxtier
It doesn't look like you have any skillsofts for your move by wire system. Then again, you've spent all but 50 nuyen.gif of the cash you can get at creation on other things, so without dropping some gear, or taking In Debt, you can't afford any.
Fuchs
Backgammon: Unarmed combat is meant to handle paparazzi, or other non-threats while bodyguarding. The Tailored Pheromones I want to keep both for in character reasons - the character is a flirt and wanna-be casanova - as well as to open some options outside combat.
Contacts I kept to an internationally-active fixer, to make it easier to insert the character in more games. It would be not that hard to spread the points invested there on two contacts or more though.

Ryu: Yes, SIN 4s might be better, though maybe one 4 and one 2 might do as well - again, something probably specific to a game/campaign. I'd like to keep the agent at 4 to have a decent defense in the matrix, and to gather information.

Draxtier: Indeed. Given the way skillsofts and programs work and degrade, and with the character concept a sort of "travelling freelancer", I plan to buy skillsofts as needed (pirate programs) once in game. I am not even sure I should keep the matrix programs I already bought, instead of buying them too with as pirate programs at 10% the legal rate.




Ryu
I completely failed to mention that I like the general build in my previous post. I do.

The agent does you no good for defense, at least before you purchase the programs to go with it (Attack, Armor). Rating three is a whole 7k¥ cheaper, and you can get a higher-rated cracked agent once ingame. Together with those programs.
Fuchs
Ah, first mistake - I calculated the agent cost wrong... rating 3 it is.
toturi
QUOTE (Fuchs @ Dec 25 2008, 09:21 PM) *
Here's a new character concept (or rather, the stats). The character background is the semi-usual former corporate soldier turned freelance mercenary/shadowrunner/bodyguard.

Just a comment. From the title I thought you created Bob Lee Swagger.
Digital Heroin
I just have to say, cool points to you for giving yourself a reason to buy Minor Biosculpting, and doing so at character creation to enhance back story. Only one thing caught my eye - you only gave one extra die to Pistols for specializing in Semi-Automatics, rather than two.
Fuchs
QUOTE (Digital Heroin @ Dec 26 2008, 06:30 AM) *
I just have to say, cool points to you for giving yourself a reason to buy Minor Biosculpting, and doing so at character creation to enhance back story. Only one thing caught my eye - you only gave one extra die to Pistols for specializing in Semi-Automatics, rather than two.


The 5(6) is pistols and the gain from reflex recorder, I did not add the +2 from Specialization since it's a modifier to the DP, not the skill.
Digital Heroin
QUOTE (Fuchs @ Dec 26 2008, 07:19 AM) *
The 5(6) is pistols and the gain from reflex recorder, I did not add the +2 from Specialization since it's a modifier to the DP, not the skill.


Ok... now that makes sense. I don't recall ever using the Reflex Recorder, and track things differently, so my brain had a bit of disconnect there.
Glyph
A well-crafted character, good mix of 'ware, gear, and skills. Two relatively minor nitpicks.

First, with a Body of 4, you will suffer penalties if you use the FFBA and the camo suit together; a Body of 5 would have no penalties. I understand if you can't squeeze the points for a Body of 5, and don't plan on combining the two (although that would be a good tactic after improving Body later in the game, since that would give you Ballistic armor of 12).

Secondly, the Dodge skill is subject to the 1.5 of the skill cap to improvements, since Move-by-Wire is one of the few pieces of 'ware that actually raises the skill (as opposed to giving a dice pool bonus). So you need to raise Dodge to 4 to be able to get the full +2 from Move-by-Wire.
Fuchs
Thanks. Shifting 1 from unarmed combat to dodge.

Here's the first draft of the character background:

Mick Callahan

Street Alias: "Shooter"
Fake SIN Name:
Real Name: Mick Callahan
Age: 30
Origin: New York, UCAS
Nationality: UCAS
Metatype: Human (Caucasian)
Sex: Male
Location: Varies
Height: 1.85 meters
Weight: 85 kg
Hair: Blond
Eyes: Blue
Lifestyle: Varies


Character:
Mick appears to be an optimistic, always friendly person enjoying his life to the fullest while being a professional in his area. Below this facade however he is a driven man, trying to avoid facing his fears of failure, and committment by latching onto temporary distractions and challenges, be they jobs, runs or women.
Mick is a flirt and womanizer, mostly to reassure himself with every conquest that he’s still “the man�, still “got it�. He fears lasting relationships because he fears comittment, fears the breaking up which he sees as a failure, or the loss of a love.
Beneath this, Mick still clings to a number of principles – he won’t kill a woman or a child. He’ll stay loyal to an employer or friend, until he has been betrayed.
His attitude versus magic is almost schizophrenical – he hates and fears magic ever since a fire elemental almost killed him, but he also knows he needs magic support to survive faced with such dangers, which makes his treatment of mages very temperamental, ranging from almost sycophantic support to scathing criticism.

Motivation for running the Shadows:
Mick is running the shadows so he can keep living “on the edge� – fast cars, fast women, alcohol, or adrenaline, anything to avoid facing his fears, or changing his life.

Description:
Mick is handsome, and his body looks well-toned thanks to minor biosculpting and bioware. He usually wears a suit, or a duster in rougher areas. When in the presence of friends or women, he’ll do anything to avoid showing a weakness.

History:
Mick grew up in New York, in an upper middle class family, with both his parents employes of Ares. As a sort of mini-rebellion against his parents he did not join one of Ares’ business schools as a young man, but Knight Errant, becoming a corporate soldier. After a tour in Desert Wars he took a bodyguard course, disappointing his parents again, who hoped he’d switch to an office career.
His career as a bodyguard was a mixed success, with several affairs causing his superiours to doubt that he had the neccessary “professional detachment� for this line of work, countered by a number of delicate situations he managed with success.
His career was terminated when he was attacked by a fire elemental during a mission and almost killed. The work insurance and compensation covered his reconstructive surgery, but Mick quit Knight Errant afterwards, becoming a freelance bodyguard. During the next years, he slowly drifted from working as a strictly legal freelance bodyguard to a more loose career in the shadows, starting by “actively dealing with threats to his employers�, and then starting to do “discrete work� for past employers.
BishopMcQ
I'd recommend picking up some First Aid, otherwise you can only stabilize people. (A lot of players skip the rule that says the number of boxes that can be healed is limited by the Rating of you First Aid skill.)

Alternatively, you can get a skill chip for your move by wire system, or Agent.
Muspellsheimr
You may use your Medkit rating in place of your First Aid rating. It's a rule I don't like, but someone untrained in First Aid can heal up to 6 points of damage with a Medkit.
masterofm
SINner means his real name and his SIN are the same. His fake SIN would be different if he cared to do so on a regular basis.

I would take another negative quality to fit with the back story. Maybe some kind of trigger about his fears and the past he is running away with, just to add flavor to the character. I would also get infiltration. It will probably save his life if he can't shoot his way out of a situation. He also has very few knick knacks, or recreational drugs on his equipment sheet. I would highly recommend that. The character has flavor, but he could do with more. The equipment list is somewhat cut and dry.
Fuchs
Masterofm:
I was looking for a "Phobia" flaw, but the ones I found were restricted to cyborg and cyberzombies (or require GM approval), so I did not write them down. I might do so, should I use the character in a game, if the GM approves.
The character has the stealth skill group, including infiltration.
The charater would use his real SIN for legal jobs, and use fake sins when needed for illegal jobs.
Regarding drugs, the character is a mild alcoholic, I didn't see the need to write some "johnny walker" on the sheet, I'd think that would be covered by lifestyle.
With regards to Knick-knacks I ran into the "out of money" problem - what would you recommend as essential?

BishopMcQ: No money left for skill chips, so the medkit will have to do until the character manages to make some purchases. Stabilizing would be enough for a bodyguard, anyway, since anyone able to afford a bodyguard will probably been able to afford docwagon too.

masterofm
I just add some odds and ends from the BBB. I mean glow light sticks cost next to nothing. Rappeling gloves, a survival kit, glue sprayer, maybe a grenade or two for your Ares. A biomonitor hooked up to a stimulant patch also can do wonders, maybe a latex face mask, wire clippers, a chisel, some metal restraints, maybe a tool kit for his guns, a data chip, tag eraser, mapsofts, white noise generator, RFID tags, Electronic paper. Anything can tell a story and it doesn't cost much for a characters load out. There are things that can be covered in a life style, but I would bring it up to a GM what you can and can't have, and something tells me a middle lifestyle won't have a latex face mask, or metal restraints unless you can convince the GM that your character has a kinky life style (and that will probably only explain the metal restraints.) I would also talk about having a tailored phobia that the GM can use for story purposes or something else. The phobia flaw does not have to be extremely specific to cyborgs or what not. Personally it seems like the character may have a phobia towards fire spirits? Maybe you could also take spirit bane for fire spirits as well since he needed surgery after being wailed on by one? If they go hand and hand it could make for some interesting story and let you take some kink knacks for the character.

What does the 3/6 contact do anyways?

Also I don't know if this is houserules or not, but I thought languages had to be bought up with BP/karma and that knowledge skills were free.
Fuchs
The international fixer is there to deal out jobs - I envision the character to be active all over the globe - but that can be adjusted for a specific game.

Good call on the tools and stuff, I'll go over that list.

Languages are "bought with the same pool as knowledge skills" (SR4, p. 76), which I take to mean that the free poitns from int and log can be used for them.

And yes, a phobia towards fire spirits would fit, but the phobia qualities were speically labeled "Cyborg and cyberzombie", so I'd have to check that with a GM.
ElFenrir
Well, I took a look over everything, and yeah, I do like the character overall. I'm not sure if I'd change anything. I MIGHT try to finagle up a Strength of 3; he's described as rather well-toned, seems to have other solid attributes and be in good shape overall to be a little above the ''unexceptional average'' into the ''good Average'' range(though a 3 is easily enough bought in game with Karma.) If anything, doing a base 2 Stun to said paparazzi or whatnot(with a 9 Agility he rolls a fair bit of dice in a fistfight even with a 2 Unarmed), seems a bit better; a bodyguard should be able to drop someone if necessary. (I usually reserve a 2 strength if someone fights either strictly ranged, or with mono/shock weapons.) 3 Strength would also help with some of his Athletics a bit more, never a bad thing.

Otherwise, he seems to have all the bases covered. His very high Agility helps with about any linked stat(which is like, all of them.) Nice little quick backstory, and seems to be able to do a lot for a team. I too would definitely check with the GM about the Phobia; Phobias were allowed in SR3 for everyone, and we had long converted them over to SR4; I don't see why any somewhat open-minded GM wouldn't allow a character-building flaw. Compulsive Flirting could always add to something. (For some reason, when I read this guy's description...don't laugh, but I thought of Wesley from The Princess Bride for some odd reason. grinbig.gif )
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