All righty, folks, here's the hacker build that I promised. A little later than promised, but I like it as an initial build. Fairly augmentation-happy, but should be able to kick a fair amount of matrix ass. Without further ado:



Yes, I reverted to the BP system for the time being - I'll wait for errata/official support to shift permanently to the Karmagen system (this means that yes, I re-did the math to move the other four characters back from Karma to BP. Glad that I did, though - found a couple of errors, and made a couple of edits, which you'll all see... very soon!).

That said, on with the character: this guy is an ice-cold pro hacker. He's focused on pretty much nothing but breaking into other folks' computers and then letting them know he was there (thus the Signature and Wanted Qualities). He's been caught by the law a couple of times, but has thus far managed to stay out of a Star cell by bribing them (and is In Debt in the form of ongoing bribes/'protection money' being paid to Star officials to keep himself free for the time being). While he's capable of basic self-defense outside of the Matrix, he's only really at home in the Matrix and never wants to be separated from it - thus the implanted Matrix goodies, the Hardening on the Commlink, and the Cyberskull (getting shot in the head is no excuse for missing the latest posts on Jackpoint!). The Cyberskull has the added advantage of setting off MAD scanners on its own (Headware? No, must've been my head setting your scanner off, see?), as well as being a fun platform for some radical fashion statements. Yes, the Programs are -expensive-, but I think they're worth it. Plus, being able to run 11 programs without taxing the 'link will probably hold me in good stead for quite a while.

Think that this build is pretty straightforward, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, but please, please tear me apart and make some suggestions!

DarkKindness, I love you. You do some of the most interesting things. I can't do a full critique right now, but the first things that jump out at me are A. are you planning on using the optional logic+skill, capped at program rule? And B. 6 signal is not that much better than 5. I don't think it's worth a Restricted Gear for those times that you're between 2.5 and 6 miles away from the matrix. Besides, your ECCM and signal 5 mean you can't get completely jammed.

Also, consider a skinweb array and/or a satellite link. And... ack, no! Have to go to class! Later, dawg.

Suggested changes added, but you're going to have a hard time selling me on reducing any of the 'link's stats. This is a character who wants the best and also doesn't want to have to dig that 'link out of his head to upgrade it later.

And yeah, I'd be trying to convince any potential GMs to pick up the Logic+Skill capped at Program rule but, failing that, wouldn't cry over just being a rocket scientist (in the casual slang =P).

Anyway, more suggestions, I need them! Can't wait to see your full critique/suggestion post.

EDIT: Is there a way to implant a Skinweb Array or a SatLink? I wish...

Ok. More thoughts. What good do the reaction enhancers do you in the Matrix? I've forgotten what tests, if any, use your Reaction.

I'm not sure AR gloves or a subvocal microphone are necessary when you have DNI. You don't need to issue commands to your matrix using gestures, or talk to people quietly, when you can accomplish the same things with your thoughts.

You know you can only run as many Ergonomic programs as your System rating, right? So it might be nice to be able to swap out which ones count as Ergonomic at any given time, but it might make more sense to pick 6 programs you plan to use all the time (analyze, reality filter, armor, stealth, biofeedback filter and ECCM are all candidates, but not the only ones)

There are more things to get either implanted or in your commlink after chargen. Reality Amps and simsense accelerators/boosters are among them, and a high level Response Enhancer. Just so you know.

Do you mean Cracking skill group and Electronic skill group?

Having no positive qualities is fine (I know people like that...) but, once you find a matrix action you really rely on (cybercombat, Exploit, Spoof, whatever your style is) picking up Codeslinger is probably a good plan. It's like a mentor spirit, but for only one kind of test, and it costs twice as much. Why is it such a poor deal? I have no idea, but after specializations, that's another way to get more dice.

You're wanted, so people are going to be trying to kill the shit out of you. Maybe invest in a Steel Lynx, or something else to watch your back while you're in VR that has a big gun.

How familiar are you with matrix combat/security/topology?

Holy crap, I found the perfect solution. You can attach a Nonstandard Wireless Link to your commlink (as in, it gets implanted along with the link) for 3,000, which not only raises the threshold for finding it in Hidden mode, but also has a fixed Availability 6R, so you're good.

As far as the satlink goes, I guess you'll just have to carry around the portable satellite link and such if you want a satellite connection.

I'm not sure how hard it is to pull an implanted commlink out to upgrade it, but won't you have to add the simsense accelerator and response enhancers?

AND it doesn't take up a modification slot on the commlink... holy crap, but that's an elegant solution!



I GUESS. Jeez. Having to lug crap around in the meat just to access satellites. *sigh*



Augmentation has all of the rules on it, but that's secretly one of the reasons that I opted for the cyberskull - I can try to get the GM to handwave it by saying that the 'skull has hidden/reinforced/secured access panels to get at the commlink in order to tack stuff onto it. As for the simsense booster, Augmentation says that most headware is installed via nanite construction within the host, since it's less invasive, so I'm expecting that that'll be pretty minimal

Nifty! And my guess would be that the satlink is unnecessary unless A. you expect the military to be jamming your balls off, or B. you plan to go to a complete deadzone.

Quite right on the Reaction Enhancers - for some reason, I got it into my head that Reaction affected Matrix Initiative - should've known better...

Good call on the AR gloves and the subvocal mic, I'll pull those out.

Making all of the programs ergonomic just means that I don't have to worry about which ones are running - as long as it's 11 or fewer, I'm good. I like flexibility and cutting down on bookkeeping, so I'm probably going to leave that as-is.

I'm not really seeing the advantage to Reality Amps (they seem to affect mostly physical tests), but a Simsense Booster and Simsense Accelerator are definitely on the shopping list - they only reason that they're not in the build is because of their sheer cost. Expensive little buggers!

I did mean Cracking - good catch. That was just a 3 a.m. typo.

Codeslinger is probably a good idea as well, but I'm not 100% sure which Matrix action I'll be relying on the most, so I decided to put it off - do you think it really needs to be in at chargen, or can it wait?

As to Wanted... well, there's a reason that someone who prefers a totally immersed lifestyle is hooking up with a team of shadowrunners, yeah? That's what the secondary combat monkey/rigger are for!

And, how familiar am I, as a player, or how familiar is this guy, as a character?

Edited the original post to reflect some suggestions here - dropped Reaction Enhancers and a point of Signal, picked up a Simsense Accelerator in their place.

Lucky me! I was looking through Arsenal to design a Hyundai Shin-Hyung in walker mode with a bunch of people shooting guns out of it ("driveby" wouldn't be the right term, but the results would be impressive), and I noticed the satellite link vehicle mod. For a truly loyal companion, take a Crimson Samurai, slap on Smart Armor 10 if you want to go over the top (sure it's 20,000 nY, but the thing will shake off anti-tank weapons!) and a satellite link, and have it follow you everywhere. Other options for mods would be anti-theft (don't touch my drone buddy!), a smuggling compartment (wait, the drone has a big machine gun on it. Never mind) or something like improved economy (why be alone while it's out of gas?)

Wait, is his lifestyle Total Immersion? I hate that, I think it's an awful choice, I'd never use it. That said, if you like it, go for. Or did you just mean he prefers to be in VR?

The Focus Reality Amp is useless, unless you slap a nanohive in your cyberskull ("why is your head so big?" "I have a really large brain, shut up") with neocortical neural amps, for +3 to all logic-linked skills as long as you're not distracted. And you can't be distracted!

You can hold off on Codeslinger, methinks. No worries.

I mean, how familiar are you with fiddly bits like access logs, encryption, alerts (general and specified)?

Lifestyle is Low for now, but he prefers to buy the Total Immersion lifestyle a month at a time when he can afford it. This is a character who doesn't yet have, but will be picking up, a Hot Sim Addiction, I think. Otherwise, when he can't afford the lifestyle, he definitely prefers VR.

As a bonus, we can cut out the middleman on the drone (when I can afford one) and pick up an EVO Orderly equippped with a turret and a SatCom...

As for me, I'm still passing familiar with all of the Matrix jazz from previous editions, but I plan on reading the entirety of Unwired pretty soon here - in the next week or so, at the latest.

Anyone else? Build looking like it's in good shape already?

I know that I felt pretty confident that I got this one pretty close to right going in, but more feedback is ALWAYS appreciated!

There's a reference in Unwired to programs being able to disable their ergonomic funtionality, so it shouldn't be an issue.

Codeslinger on Matrix Attack is fairly effective. It benefits Attack, Blackout, Blackhamer, AND nuke. Way to go. For general use, I've found the right Hacking or Computer specialty is so much better - its by program, so Spoof +2 helps not only with faking commands, but redirecting traces, spoofing lifestyles and changing your access ID.

Brought up in another thread, electronic devices have four slots to take modications in. I believe it was used to build a sim module directly into a commlink, and thus save on essence for implantation. If so, you ought to be able to fit your comm in your cyberskull as a modular plug in with a little rearrangement.

Yep, thought of most of this, actually. I'll point-by-point it.

Codeslinger: as mentioned above, I think that it'll wait until I get some play under my belt and get more of a feel for what I'll be hitting most. At chargen, the Encephalon Rating 2 giving a +2 bonus to freaking everything should be adequate.

Mod Slots: the modification slots on the commlink for this character are taken up by Hardening (1 mod slot), Customized Interface (1 mod slot), and Simsense Accelerator (2 mod slots). I could build the Sim Module in, but I'd be giving something else up, and this character can easily take that small Essence hit.

Cyberskull: I'd rather have the permanent helmet to protect the investment that is this hacker's commlink. I had definitely thought about integrating the 'link into the 'skull, but in the end I decided against it in favor of the armor - only 4 capacity on that cyberskull, after all, and the armor takes up Rating x2 capacity.

Take it one step further, and build the simsense accelerator into the sim unit instead. That pays for itself in slots, and gets it protected by the skull's armor too. I've been lazy about statting it out, but I've been looking at taking an implanted simrig(free sim module!), adding a commlink and a datajack, and turning the whole thing into a tricked out Cluster, with hardening and all the works.

Not seeing any rules for/suggestions about Sim Modules having capacity to take upgrades - reference?

Yeah, that had me going 'wait, what' at it too, at first, and I'm not sure it actually works. The thread was in this forums, something to do with a cyber hand, if I'm remembering right. Before I read it, I thought Capacity and Mod Slots were quite different. Don't recall if there was a page reference, but I'll see if I can find it when I get back from work.

My only real concern with the character is the inability to do much "in the meat". No increased meat IPs means having a really hard time going physically with a team and hacking on the fly with AR for support. Reliance of going full sim (be it cold or hot) leaves you rather exposed as a runner. Part of why I miss deckers, they had to keep some combat skills and abilities on them so that they could infiltrate the building and jack in.

Yep, I agree with this. Open to suggestions, though, since the only real way to improve on it is to pick up Wired Reflexes 2, and I don't know where I'd shave off the 35000 to pick that up. About the only way that I could make that math work out would be ditching the Simsense Accelerator and the Sleep Regulator, then removing one of the Restricted Gear Qualities (the one that paid for the Simsense Accelerator), dropping either Signature or Wanted, and popping In Debt up to +25. Those wires are freaking expensive.

Really though, even rtg 1 wires will make a world of difference, and maybe upping his weapon skill a little more. Also... I'm a big fan of the math SPU as well, more for RP reasons though. As for finding the money, that's another story entirely. You could free up some points by taking a notch off of STR, STR 2 is average, this guy is a hacker, yes? I think STR 2 is more realistic. You seem pretty dead set on that cyberskull, which is totally fine, but would free up some money and some BP by losing 1x restricted gear, which would also make room for picking up Codeslinger when combined with the 10 points you free up dropping STR a small amount. Those were just the first thoughts that hit my mind. Just consider what doesn't hit your fancy the mad ramblings of a guy at work with too much free time.

All righty, just did some math. I think that the Wired Reflexes are going to have to wait until I can afford to upgrade some of the other gear to Alphaware - that 3 point Essense hit is just too much to cram in with some of the other Essence-intensive stuff in this build.

I could possibly just straight-swap the Simsense Accelerator for the Rating 1 Wired... I'll have to ponder it a bit.

EDIT: Just checked the math. Even Wired 1 would be cutting it painfully close to Cyberpsychosis territory - it would definitely bring us below 1 Essence, closer to 0.5. Don't know if I want to take that hit... this guy will just have to be the hacker who contributes a little bit to the physical run (the occasional potshot, light AR hacking) until the real hacking work needs to get done. Either that, or I could just find some good cover and plan on collapsing every once in a while during combat Prone gives bonuses, right? Anyway, I'll have to live with that until I can afford some Alphaware in order to make a big enough Essence hole for some Alphaware Wired Ref.

Hi DarkKindness,

one problem I see with your Ergonomic programs is that this option adds +2R to the availability, thus every hacking program (rating 6) has 14R and is out of reach for a starting character. Of course I think seven Common Use programs (Rating 6, Crashguard, Ergonomic, Optimization 3) for 7700  should be fine for everyone So with a rating 6 program Optimization 3 should always double useable maximum rating (up to 6).

As adding program options later on makes programs illegal (and thus degrading) a good first selection might be important. Later on you will need some money for a rating 6 FakeID as corporate spider and buy some attack programs (Rating 6, Targeting, Armor piercing 3, Rust or Area or...) with rating 6 licence for 10350 each. Also other non-attack hacking programs (Rating 6,Crashguard, Ergonomic, Optimization 3) with rating 6 licence for 7100 each will make you better...Everbody else that thinks legal programs for hackers should not be the optimal solution?

Thinking about it I believe hackers should not start with every program in the book. Start with the best common use programs and the most useful rating 6 hacking programs and a very good connection for getting upgraded programs for you.

max_rpg

Yeah, bonuses to getting your hoop fragged.

Thanks for the pointer on Ergonomic making the Hacking programs illegal for chargen. Guess I'll just have to stick with that on the general use programs.

Ergonomic isn't quite as bad as you're thinking, but still bad enough to put it out of reach. Since the program options only care about the type of option it is, rather than what type of program you're installing it on, it only adds +1 to the availability. Still, 13R is a bit out of range.

Giving this one one last bump for any final feedback before I let it fall off, call the build good, and get to posting the team thread =)

EDIT: Edited the first post one last time - ramped up the In Debt quality, got rid of a rank of Cerebral Boosters, and crammed in Wired Reflexes 1 in order to be better in AR and some meat tasks. Good times.

Now you're cookin with gas, I'd personally still drop the STR a point and raise your pistols more, but that's personal preference. Looks solid. Hope you have a someone with a car, cause' it's a long walk omae.

There're cabs with drone pilots controlling them, neh? Not only is it an opportunity to flex the skills, but it's a free ride anywhere and everywhere!

I don't see why it's crucial to have Wired Reflexes and a high Pistol skill? I'm not decrying their usefulness - only it's applicability. There will be other characters with those skills in the group. Besides which if said character is in a position where he has to rely on those skills then he's already screwed.

I would scrap the cyberskull as it really adds nothing to the build - 5BP would be better spent on a fake Rating 6 SIN. If you wanted to go the drone route, get Gunnery, Dodge and go from there. If you wanted to be a combat hacker I would pick up Move-by-wire in a heart beat and get the skillwires plus system and Muscle Toner ( I would consider using Restricted Gear here). With a decent Logic and Agility you can hold your own in combat and double up as a skill monkey.

- J.

Wired Reflexes is really there for the extra IP in AR hacking more than anything else. I'd hardly call Pistols 2 with a specialty being a high pistol skill, and I'd feel absolutely naked without some sort of basic combat skill to fall back on should the need present itself.

As for the cyberskull, that's purely a character choice. It's just something that I wanted to include as a signature aspect of this character (and considered taking Distinctive Style focused on it, but couldn't fit it in).

With an AGI 3 + Pistols 2 (spec +2) + Smartlink 2 = 9DP. That's won't help against anyone that decides to Dodge.

If you're only after one IP and are tight on cash it makes sense. I'm not a fan of AR hacking unless you focus on getting multiple passes (ideally 3+) and building a lot more stealth or ideally combat ability into the character. Personal preference I guess. That and I love MBW.



Fair enough. Distinctive Style is a Negative quality however, I'm sure you could find the space somewhere...

- J.

Basically, the combat skills and additional meat IP are just so that he has something productive to do during meat encounters. I didn't really sacrifice any VR ability to make it tick, so...

As for Distinctive, only 35 points of Negatives at creation, and those are taken! No room

You can still take it, you simply don't get points.

Or revisit them and see which is contextually more appropriate.

- J.

I like this and am doing it. I'm sure that no GM would object to me taking an extra negative quality for no point benefit!