Character History: A Pixie from the Brocelienda Forest self governing zone of France. She's been recruited as a graduate student at the University of Seattle's Anthropology program. Basically the concept here is a "tech geek" from a low tech culture. Oh yes and her sponsors would very much like it if she'd gather some information on the following while she's out in the wider world...

(This is one of a couple character's I'm making up to learn the 4th ed char creation system by seeing how far I can push it.


Morgana
Pixie (35 Points)
Body 1
Agility 4
Reaction 5
Strength 1

Charisma 5
Intuition 6
Logic 5
Willpower 6

Magic 5 (+4)
Edge: 1

Active Skills Knowledge Skills
Spellcasting 6 Academic: Anthropology 2
Ritual 2 Gaelic 4
Cnt Spelling 4 Street: Non Metahuman Sapiens 4
Conjuring 4 French N
Arcana 3 English 4
Perception 1 Sperenthial 4
Ascensing 1 Manderan 3
Infiltration 2 Russian 3
Spanish 3
Street: Wild Druid Lore 4


Magician (Druid) 15
Mentor Spirit (Dark Goddess) 5
Restricted Gear 5
Allergy (Cold Iron) Uncommon/Moderate -10
Day Job -10 (Teaching Assistant)
SINer -5 (French Citizen)
Records on File (NeoNet) -10
Uneducated

Spells
1. Lightning Bolt
2, Stun Bolt
3. Stun Ball
4. Mind Probe
5. Heal
6. Physical Mask
7. Improved Attribute (Body)
8. Improved Reflexes
9. Fashion (Because doll clothes neither fit nor are they comfortable).

Gear (110,000)
Power Focus Level 4
Armored Jacket
Helmet
Rating 6 Hermetic Lodge
Bottom of the barrel comlink
10,000 more in misc gear that I'll figure out later

Contacts: French Intelligence Officer, Seattle Consulate 2/2

Lifestyle
Comfort Low 2 LP
Necessities High 3 LP
Entertainment High 4LP
Neighborhood Low 2LP
Security Low 2LP

Aspected Domain +5
Resonance Well +5
Workspace +1
Roomate (Technomancer) +1
Haunted -4
Sprite Magnate -1
Crash Pad -1
Living by Committee -2
Poor Repair -1

Total LP's 25-9 = 17
(6600 / 2 =3300 month)

Lifestyle concept: An old Victorian that's seen better days close to the campus. If a corp ever found at about it, they'd probably put up a research lab there. Both an Astral and Matrix magnate Morgana shares the space with a technomancer. At first it was just sprites, then Morgana's bound spirits started popping in unannounced, then other spirits started to show up. At some point the spirits and sprites became aware of each others existence. First it was Sprite vs. Spirit. Then the bound spirits got their "friends" with the possession power to show up. Then the spirits and the sprites started forming cabals. Monthly meetings of everything living in the house where instituted after the dishwasher, a hair dryer and a great form earth elemental conspired to rearrange the living room to disrupt the feng shue to the stereo to get back at it for cheating at Holo Mario 2068, Classic Controller Edition. (Think two magician types trying to ride herd on a bunch of free spirits/sprites).

Lifestyle

I really don't see a college teaching assistant with the uneducated quality.

You can easily spare the 2 dice sustaining penalty for increased Body, but it's not practical to keep the spell up 24/7. A Body of 1 is a glaring weakness.

A power focus adds to your dice pool; it doesn't actually increase the Magic Attribute itself.

Your mentor spirit gives hefty bonuses from a shadowrunning standpoint, but the disadvantages would be more of a problem for someone who is a college teaching assistant, to say the least.

Pixies have an Edge that caps at 7, but I am not completely sure that it begins at Rating: 2. I would assume so, based on how racial Attributes work in every other instance, but Edge is not on the table, so I am not sure.

After rereading the section on magic you're right. Points spent on the focus could better be spent bringing magic to 6 (25 points), Adding a specialty in combat magic (two points), and probably picking up some spell formula's or conjuring supplies with the remaining two.

Making a bit of a point about uneducated in the character concept. She's actually VERY well educated. She speaks 6 different languages fluently. She has the equivelent of a Doctorate of Divinity in Druidism. The original character concept had her speaking 5 languages with the skill "Engineering: Low Tech" but I pulled it as pushing it. Basically the character is HIGHLY educated just, to borrow some gurps terms, at Tech Level 2 (or maybe 3) where the rest of the world is Tech Level 9.

I um wonder if the tendency to escalate minor incidents into major disputes would be considered out of the ordinary in many academic communities...

That said, yeah body 1 as an issue. Needs to acquire a sustaining focus during play.

It should be fine, unless you want to learn any technical skills, proffesional and academic knowledge skills or skill groups.

Then if that Doctorate is an Academic skill, it is illegal - Assumed(thus making an ass of u and me) to have not been paid double the cost. If your GM is following strict RAW, he should disallow it. Uneducated means no education, regardless of technical sophistication. Language skills get through because those are not under the forbidden skills.

That's the important part. If he buys the skills in chargen, then he's fine.

No you can have academic skills (though not groups) just at double normal cost. Just call it a hunch but I think WILD DRUID lore is probably a street, not an academic skill.

Yes, as long as you pay the double points you're fine. It's the "unaware" rating in any skill you don't have that is the real disadvantage. But you would think someone immersed in an academic environment, and exposed to things like commlinks and cars all of the time, would pick it up. I guess it makes sense if she is still a relatively recent arrival.

By the way, while a Power Focus does not add its rating directly to your Magic, it still gives you a hefty dice pool bonus to all magical tests. I say this because you changed it, and personally, I think it was better before. Especially since power foci cost so much to bind after char-gen, while getting Magic from 5 to 6, and getting a specialization, are both cheaper after char-gen (18 Karma and 2 Karma, respectively). So honestly, I think you are better off sticking with the power focus than hard-maxing your Magic.