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Degausser
Okay, so I had an idea, and people can decide to take it or leave it. The idea is to give a runner name and brief backstory (about a paragraph) to each of the sample runners in the book, so that a GM can make them into a viable, fleshed out NPC when they need one. Go down the list (starting with the first and ending with the last) in order. Give a runner name, brief story about why they are runners, and maybe some info on the personality.

I don't have 4a, so apologies if the sample characters in that are different. I will be using 4th ed.

I will begin:

Sample: Troll Bounty Hunter
Runner Name: TT9K (Short for Troll Tracker 9000)
Real Name: Bartholomew Forest

Story: Growing up in what was once Dakota, Bart was raised in a small village without much. Many on the city council wished to 'recover their roots' by encouraging shamantic magic and adept abilities, and eschew any technology-related ideals, such as street-sams or hackers. Thus Bart grew up without much in the ways of 'tech learning,' and spent most of his time learning how to hunt, survive off the land, and even how to make poision antidotes and such. He learned how to skin animals, and which paracritters to avoid.

However, Bart never really felt too happy in his hometown. Without any magic of his own, he got the impression that he was a second class citizen to anyone with magic. So, he left the NAN, and moved to Seattle, hoping that they would care less about whether he was magical or not. Upon arrival, he discoverd that he had an extreme distaste for "highbrowing" and hated trying to have to honey his words to get people to even talk to him. However, all of his tracking and survival skills were in high demand. He quickly joined a bounty hunting agency, as his skills in capturing and dealing with paracritters were very much needed. Eventually, he started moving into the shadows, as some of his jobs got more and more 'questionably legal.'

Personality: Bart does not mince words, he says exactly what needs to be said. This hurts him tracking down leads, so he has compensated by reading up on almost every piece of information about Lone Star, hoping to learn how to investigate better. This has led him to an almost encyclopedic knowledge of Lone Star tactics, which he uses himself to track down subjects, and to avoid the 'Star. He also dislikes technology, as he has had very little contact with it until recently (in fact, he only got a commlink when his company gave one to him.) Despite his reluctance toward tech, he has been forced to upgrade himself slightly with some cyber, in order to keep an edge looking for critters and listening for them.
Degausser
Sample: Battle Mage
Runner Name: Spith
Real Name: Laurence Jackson

Story: Laurence is a Seattleite, born and bred. He grew up to a poor income family on the border of the of the Redmond Barrens, in downtown Seattle. There was nothing special about him, though he was a very angry little kid, always flying off the handle and getting into fights. One day, a group of rusty stilettos mistook him for an ancient, and tried to kill him for 'invading their turf.' In that moment of intensity, Laurence triggered his latent magical power and hit his attackers with a manaball. However, unlike most people who trigger, he was able to pull off the feat almost instantly again . . and again. . . . until all his attackers were dead.

After that, everything changed. It was like Laurence was on a permanent adrenaline high. He was thrust into a corperate training program for hermetic mages, but was almost instantly kicked out for his recklessness and need for adrenaline. He is only ever really happy when he is fighting or preparing to fight. Thus, he was a natural to join the shadowrunning community.

Personality: Spith is an adrenaline junkie. He tends to be quiet when not on the juice, as if he's waiting to launch into a beserker rage. His brief background in corp training for mages has given him a little background on magic, but most of his skills he has learned through combat and trial and error. He is always ready for a fight and jonesing for his next fix of adrenaline. In his down time, he has taken to slapping stim patches and indulging in simsense of urban brawl fights in order to get his fix. However, he will always choose a fight over these.
Degausser
Sample: Covert Ops Specialist
Runner Name: Obake
Real Name: Haruna Aso

Story: Haruna was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Her father was a bigwig in the Japanese division of Mitsuhama, so Haruna grew up in the lap of luxury, learning classical studies like languages and literature. Because of her pampered upbringing, she also learned about fine cuisine and corperate politics (from what she gleaned from her father.) Haruna always did well in PE in school, and was well on her way to becoming an athlete, when tragedy struck her family.

At age seventeen, Haruna's father made a small mistake, and fell out of favor with the corp leadership. He was forced to resign, and Haruna's family was suddenly destitute. She quickly learned how to stay alive on the streets by keeping to the shadows, and using her agility to full advantage. Eventually, a local gang hired her to steal something from another gang, and (desperate for the money) she reluctantly agreed. She continued to go on to bigger and better hits, until she found herself a full-fledged shadowrunner. She has since moved to Seattle, and paid to have her SIN erased.

Personality: Despite her oblique introduction to Shadowrunning, Obake always strives to be professional. She will not talk much and is always curt and precise with her words. Unfortunately, her years of living in a sealed archeology has led her to have an underdeveloped immune system, and to be surprisingly squeamish about blood or first aid altogether.
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