I would like to see people's optimized Hacker and Technomancer builds. Straight out of the book, the best at what they do and why.
I am new to Shadowrun 4th edition and from what I gather by looking over the forums here, they archetypes in the book are not all that great.
Full Version: Build Challenge: Hacker vs Technomancer
With the examples in the original SR4 book, it is not a question of quality but a question of legality. The ones in the book just plain don't work.
QUOTE (Fezig @ Aug 30 2009, 04:04 PM) 
With the examples in the original SR4 book, it is not a question of quality but a question of legality. The ones in the book just plain don't work.
How so?
Sorry about that, I forgot my post is now misleading. I have one of the core books from the first run, before the errata fixed the fact that several of the examples did not add up to the correct BP. If you have any remotely recent book/pdf to look at you may disregard my comment. I'm just used to having to give my new players that warning when they borrow my dead tree copy.
Huh, well okay then. I guess I will take the Ork hacker, de-orkify them and spend the extra BP to resources.
However, if others want to post their builds on here, I wouldn't be opposed 
I mean, a two page thread about vampires and sex? There's hope for my thread yet!
I mean, a two page thread about vampires and sex? There's hope for my thread yet!
Building a hacker:
Step one: Choose a metatype.
Step two: Buy 250k¥
Step three: Buy the best commlink, OS, and all programs at the highest legal starting ratings. Buy a couple of agents.
Step four: Buy the Electronics and Cracking groups at 4 (very cost effective), unless you specifically want to kick major ass at one particular skill (not as cost effective and will required thinking).
Step five: Get the chargen legal ware that ups your Matrix speed.
Step six: Qualities, a weapon skill, knowledge skills, gear and contacts.
Bam!
Step one: Choose a metatype.
Step two: Buy 250k¥
Step three: Buy the best commlink, OS, and all programs at the highest legal starting ratings. Buy a couple of agents.
Step four: Buy the Electronics and Cracking groups at 4 (very cost effective), unless you specifically want to kick major ass at one particular skill (not as cost effective and will required thinking).
Step five: Get the chargen legal ware that ups your Matrix speed.
Step six: Qualities, a weapon skill, knowledge skills, gear and contacts.
Bam!
QUOTE (eidolon @ Aug 30 2009, 06:04 PM)
Bam!
Not a single slapchop was harmed in the making of the above post!
I don't take the time to "optimize," if optimizing means I spend hours and hours figuring out the perfect expenditure of this and that. But here's a build I just threw together:
I'm sure there are "better" builds. This took me, oh, however long it has been since my last post. Blame any mistakes on laziness and using a spreadsheet to build it. If I were going to play it, I'd check the math myself.
[ Spoiler ]
I'm sure there are "better" builds. This took me, oh, however long it has been since my last post. Blame any mistakes on laziness and using a spreadsheet to build it. If I were going to play it, I'd check the math myself.
QUOTE (eidolon @ Aug 30 2009, 12:47 PM)
Distinctive Style (2) -10
...
Style notes: Leaves a floating, animated calling card in any node hacked, unless under direct threat.
...
Style notes: Leaves a floating, animated calling card in any node hacked, unless under direct threat.
I believe that this would actually fall under the "Signature" negative quality, rather than Distinctive Style, but I like it overall. Not necessarily the way that I'll be building mine, but definitely got some ideas.
QUOTE (DarkKindness @ Aug 30 2009, 06:57 PM)
I believe that this would actually fall under the "Signature" negative quality, rather than Distinctive Style, but I like it overall. Not necessarily the way that I'll be building mine, but definitely got some ideas.
How would you build yours?
Coming later today - I've been doing a series of character build/critique threads with the aim of creating a full team of 'runners for people to plop into their games or use as slightly better archetypes than the ones presented in the core book and play. All I have left are the Mage, who's essentially complete, and the Hacker - I'll be posting both of them tonight, and then I'll post the full team for a look-see when those threads have finished tweaking the builds. So it's coming, I promise!
QUOTE (DarkKindness @ Aug 30 2009, 07:25 PM)
Coming later today - I've been doing a series of character build/critique threads with the aim of creating a full team of 'runners for people to plop into their games or use as slightly better archetypes than the ones presented in the core book and play. All I have left are the Mage, who's essentially complete, and the Hacker - I'll be posting both of them tonight, and then I'll post the full team for a look-see when those threads have finished tweaking the builds. So it's coming, I promise!
Be sure to send me a link. (Don't forget a technomancer, hehe)
QUOTE (DarkKindness @ Aug 30 2009, 01:57 PM)
I believe that this would actually fall under the "Signature" negative quality, rather than Distinctive Style, but I like it overall. Not necessarily the way that I'll be building mine, but definitely got some ideas.
That's what I meant. My brain no worky when thinky. I use DS a lot for chars, so when I was moving it from spreadsheet to yingtewang I goofed.
I'll edit it.
QUOTE (Mister Book @ Aug 30 2009, 01:32 PM)
Be sure to send me a link. (Don't forget a technomancer, hehe)
Link for you as promised! Sorry, no Technomancers from me for the time being... I need to get a little more comfortable with creating Awakened characters before I move on to tackling Emergent ones, too. Since they're similar, though, I should be killing two birds with one stone by learning
EDIT: Just re-read the section on PC AIs in Runner's Companion, got to reading some Crash 2.0 and Resonance stuff... really captured my interest. I give in - the next character that I do after finishing the two that I currently have posted for critique and the NPC team thread that I've promised to do when they're done will be a Technomancer. No promises on how good it'll be, but now I really want to make one, so...
The character is a good hacker yes, but they are seriously lacking in the skill department. A few things I noted:
* No pistols skill. Automatics is great, but pistols are cheap, concealable, legal(more or less), and still fairly effective. Carrying an automatic weapon the nicer parts of town is asking for trouble, but a pistol is usually okay. A pistol says I'm prepared to defend myself, and automatic says I'm planning on starting a fight.
* No infiltration skill. The character will basically never be taking in the meat on any shadowruns where stealth is involved(which is a significant portion of them).
* No melee skill. While not essential, a melee skill is very useful, both as a last ditch combat option, and a defensive measure. Dodge can also substitute is necessary.
* No social skills. Social skills are needed in the matrix too, and unless you don't plan on ever talking, a few points in etiquette will always be a good idea.
The character is a good hacker, but a poor shadowrunner.
* No pistols skill. Automatics is great, but pistols are cheap, concealable, legal(more or less), and still fairly effective. Carrying an automatic weapon the nicer parts of town is asking for trouble, but a pistol is usually okay. A pistol says I'm prepared to defend myself, and automatic says I'm planning on starting a fight.
* No infiltration skill. The character will basically never be taking in the meat on any shadowruns where stealth is involved(which is a significant portion of them).
* No melee skill. While not essential, a melee skill is very useful, both as a last ditch combat option, and a defensive measure. Dodge can also substitute is necessary.
* No social skills. Social skills are needed in the matrix too, and unless you don't plan on ever talking, a few points in etiquette will always be a good idea.
The character is a good hacker, but a poor shadowrunner.
Just a quick question - whose character is this in reference to? Not mine, I'm hoping, since I managed to cram in the Influence Skill Group, Pistols, and Infiltration (with specializations on the latter two), as well as Dodge, all while keeping with the Cyberskull + augments hacker theme that I was going for...
QUOTE (TheOOB @ Aug 31 2009, 02:42 AM)
The character is a good hacker yes, but they are seriously lacking in the skill department. A few things I noted:
* No pistols skill. Automatics is great, but pistols are cheap, concealable, legal(more or less), and still fairly effective. Carrying an automatic weapon the nicer parts of town is asking for trouble, but a pistol is usually okay. A pistol says I'm prepared to defend myself, and automatic says I'm planning on starting a fight.
* No infiltration skill. The character will basically never be taking in the meat on any shadowruns where stealth is involved(which is a significant portion of them).
* No melee skill. While not essential, a melee skill is very useful, both as a last ditch combat option, and a defensive measure. Dodge can also substitute is necessary.
* No social skills. Social skills are needed in the matrix too, and unless you don't plan on ever talking, a few points in etiquette will always be a good idea.
The character is a good hacker, but a poor shadowrunner.
* No pistols skill. Automatics is great, but pistols are cheap, concealable, legal(more or less), and still fairly effective. Carrying an automatic weapon the nicer parts of town is asking for trouble, but a pistol is usually okay. A pistol says I'm prepared to defend myself, and automatic says I'm planning on starting a fight.
* No infiltration skill. The character will basically never be taking in the meat on any shadowruns where stealth is involved(which is a significant portion of them).
* No melee skill. While not essential, a melee skill is very useful, both as a last ditch combat option, and a defensive measure. Dodge can also substitute is necessary.
* No social skills. Social skills are needed in the matrix too, and unless you don't plan on ever talking, a few points in etiquette will always be a good idea.
The character is a good hacker, but a poor shadowrunner.
Depends on the table/group.
Automatics allows him/her to carry a Ceska, which is almost as concealable as a Predator (a +2 vs. +0, pshaw, whatevs), and a permit's a permit. *shrug* My chars don't tend to pack artillery in nicey nice areas, anyway, and hey, is that a Lone Star drone with an SMG mounted on it I see over there?
Infiltration being necessary for every run isn't true in most games I've been in, and even so, it's a hacker. No cameras and sensors to notice us? No infiltration required.
Not intended to be a social character, my groups tend to have a dedicated face, and we tend to let people own a niche more or less.
So it's perfectly playable in games I've been in and would typically play in. YMMV, of course, which is why I didn't claim it to be the perfect character for everyone/everything.
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