I've discovered that my character concepts seem to run more with the mohawk crowd than the sunglasses, though I'm perfectly willing to play an odd character in a pro style.

What sort of odd? Other players and the GM have given me a rough time about the fact that my current char has raptor legs, scale styled dermal plating, and a balance tail. Other concepts I have been considering, stand out about as much.

Any suggestions on how to better integrate a visually striking character such as obviously cybered, or a changeling, into a 'professional' looking group?

Well, considering the pros are doing it wrong? I mean, seriously..what the heck is punk about them?
If they have an issue with it, just point out that Shadowrun is a cyber*PUNK* setting, and they
should quit giving in to The Man, call 'em sell outs, stuff like that...I mean, that is what I do.

Well by fluff the striking look is actually not all that uncommon anymore, the people who have the money and the will will look like what they want, so not as hard as you might think, I mean fiberoptic hair is so common by 2070 no one even looks twice at it, for instance- and SURGElings are all about.

Sure you're going to get looks, and you won't have an easy time pretending to be say a normal sec guard to infiltrate a building, but thats the kinda stuff body modders deal with even today.

Shadow skulking and 'look an obvious distraction!' duties for you, and you know.. much more likely if you get spotted on a job, and they're alive and unbribed, you can be fingered for it.

I can see it now:


Orc with a glowing, fiber-optic mohawk, lots of tattoos, and leather with spikes in all the wrong paces runs into the lobby of the building, dances around and yells, "HEY LOOK, I'M A DISTRACTION! WOO-HOO!"

And as the CorpSec stands there having their WTF moment and staring at the orc, the rest of the group hurriedly walks through...

I wasn't thinking quite this blatant.

So what is wrong with your look? Mechanically your GM has nothing to say that your character stands out more in anyway than the others, the only thing left is GM discretion and personal bias. Nobody can really do anything about another person's bias.
Even someone like your PC who is fluff wise visually striking should not stand out anymore than black sunglasses suited sararimen. You did not get a Distinctive Style Negative Quality, did you?

Cardul not all of us care about the punk part of the game, so while yours is one option-it's not the only. In my own game Teknodragon would stick out like a sore thumb, and pretty much no one would take his character seriously. However that's not the issue here. Assuming the other players in your game and the GM are willing to work with you I'd say you have some options Tek. Just because your character likes to recreationally hang with the extreme body modification crowd, doesn't mean while on the job you have to act like a little kid.

A long duster, poor lighting, and good comm can mean you hang back alittle while the face character does their work. A calm professional demeanor in front of potential employers can help. "Mr. Johnson I understand your concern, please understand that I can't comment on why I've decided I need this particular set of personal upgrades, but please accept that they help me do my job."

In the end however it comes down to fun. Can your version of fun be compatible with everyone elses?

Are you playing SR4?

If so, the raptor legs are modular and you got the replacement ones when you bought the limb. So your legs can keep a low profile if they need to.

As for the balance tail, I have always thought of it having a retracted position when not in use, if only to make your sitting in a plane or car comfortable. A guy with a SURGEd tail would not be so lucky.

This only leaves the dermal plating, but it is a false problem: don't tell me your so-called professional buddies go on a run without a hood anyway? Once you're dressed, it doesn't show up.

@toturi:

I think Augmentation states that non human-looking modifications can bring social modifiers in the same way as obvious SURGE.

It depends on where you play, but if you play in Seattle, it's clearly stated that there are a lot of freaks out there. Having raptor legs, balance tail and scaled dermal plating won't get you any weird looks. The only drawback is that it might make it easier to identify you but people won't be looking for you too often (once the run is over, people will rarely spend all the resources it takes to find a runner) and when it happens you can always change or hide your style.

Being a professional isn't about looking like one, but acting like one.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^this!!

i'd trust the freaks more than i would trust the suits, man. they run around acting all cool and professional, but that's shady, like they got something to hide. hell its kinda hard to tell them apart from the cops sometimes, ain't it? but the guy with the tail, man, you know he's legit. what kinda cop has a tail dude?

i remember back when your "raptor" cyberlegs used to be called Kid Stealth legs, and for a good reason. Kid Stealth was a slick machine, man, and maybe some people cared that he looked like a FREAK and all, but whether or not they CARED didn't mean he killed people any less good.

check out warren ellis's short comic series "Mek," it's a good exploration of cyber-fetish culture that makes it all seem not-so freaky. because it shouldn't be.

Each to their own. Luckily this is just a play-style thing, which all boils down to personal preference. And luckily Shadowrun has room for a variety of styles.

SR4 specifically says that infected freaks get a big social penalty whenever dealing with someone who knows they are infected and is afraid of it. Even this just comes down to like 4 penalty dice.

You dont look as freaky as an infected, and your problem is not contagious. On the contrary, on the streets I would think obvious mods may help you gain a little credibility if you are selling your services as Muscle.

As a GM, if your character was trying to fit in at an upperclass party he may get a 4 penalty, or maybe a 2 penalty when trying to fit in with average folks, but in the Barrens and when dealing with Street and Criminal NPCs, it would not be a bad thing to be raptor-leg-tailed-scaley.

I'd trust the guys running about in body form armor, preferably with ruthenium coating, more than I'd trust the freak.

I get odd characters to fit just like I get odd objects to fit.

If force doesn't work, I get a hammer. If that doesn't work, I get a bigger hammer.

If that doesn't work, I get a heavier hammer, and a Troll Weightlifter.

Sure you might get distinctive style and the freak flaw, but otherwise go for it.

No one says everyone has to see your entire group and truthfully that is why you have a face in the group to handle social interactions. Your face is the professional side of the group. It may mean you pass up some jobs or left out of others, but overall if stealth and discretion are required then if you sneak around carefully enough there shouldn't be a problem.

To reply in general...

The character's attitude is the team's most professional, next to the samurai. He doesn't do blatantly stupid drek, aside from the sometimes newbie mistake. I plan on continuing to play that way, regardless of character looks. As a number of you have pointed out, cyberpunk and professionalism is about attitude, first and foremost. As a mix between hacker and melee brawler, he'll not be doing face-work. His job is to stay in his van and provide Matrix overwatch, an armored getaway, or a backup brawler.

The next character I'm working on, while odd, will be playing down their differences. Strange in a 'this is what I am,' but not the sort to just wave it at everyone. My idea is to have the actual character with history, step away some from the flat archetypes and typical looks, so it feels less like an MMO or the like.

Regarding raptor legs in specific, I've even been given grief for the fact that I /can/ swap them out for more normal looking limbs!

Perhaps the better question I should be asking, then, is how best to project a character's professional attitude with regard to shadowrunning, supporting the semi-noir atmosphere that seems to be preferred and respected.

Just make an AI character that uses a Tachikoma as its home node.

Honestly from this it sounds like you're doing fine, and its the rest of your group that has the problem.
~TDG

Show them some of the artwork from older editions and tell them that they are having bad-wrong-fun by not bowing before the altar of the Pink Mohwak.

Odd characters?

What a weird idea... that characters in Shadowrun can be "Odd".

Its a Transhumanist/ Cyberteck/ Magical setting. Elves Dwarves Orcs Trolls and "Furries" are among the avalaible races. Yes your character is recognisable but so everyones DNA and without hair you'll be leaving less of that behind then the rest of the team.

Yes you can be distinctive, but if you think you are the only runner with the infamous "Kid Stealth" legs you are high on the Nova Coke. Scales might be a bit odd unless they are currently in fasion - this peaks during the summer. Fur is favour in the moding crowds in winter with the fall seeing feathers in use with many of the moders going for good old skin come the spring as a kind of "rebirth".

Ok this is alot more transhumanist then I tend to run with it but the point is its a matter of taste. I think I'm changing the way I'm running it... this sounds AWESOME!

The prime rule of Shadowrun is "Thou Shalt Not Get Caught".

Frankly, even if they're recognised, it would just be another reason for the Corporation that got hit to hire them anyhow. They ARE part of the 'Runner's Resume.

I really have to wonder... would claiming to be a distraction be a good way to create a distraction for yourself? They guards would instantly run off looking for who you are trying to cover for... and leave you all on your own

As for looking out of place... it really depends on where you are. If your trying to sneak into a business place you might really stand out, but most other places... mods are common enough that it'll just be "Some guy with some mods, I don't remember, I saw like a hundred of them on my way to work this morning."

I had it work to my advantage in a graded fencing match I was in. I pointed and yelled, "Hey look: a distraction!"... and he looked... Try it sometime, the point is to be convincing with the "hey look." It's a fun social experiment.

Just get a mage friend with trid phantasm. Then you can appease both sides of the argument

Or show them the art at the beginning of SR4A (I don't remember the exact page) and tell them that you can have both a pink mohawk AND a black trenchcoat.

Page. 19 of SR4A features your pink-Mohawk-black-trench-coat-man
At least the pink mohawk is what stayed with us and not the mullets like in the 1st ed cover.
Mullets only work for McGuyver and even then only barely!

Actually I can think of alot of reasons both can work together, the Mohawk is in it to D*** the man! A street fighter with nothing to loose. All wires and steel and bawlz. A trench coated pro criminal would have alot of uses for someone like that - kicking in doors, drawing fire, being obvious on the security footage.
Don't get me wrong, the Mohawk gets something out of this too, they get to kick the corps where it really hurts, something they can't do without "Mr Respectable" criminal find them the pro work - hes such a sell out...

I can see the sitcom sexual tension already..

Easy solution - don't go to the meet. Tell them what you want, telepresence in, rig someone's earbuds, whatever. I play a redneck in one of my games, and he almost always hangs outside.

If your character looks odd because he has an aesthetic preference for oddity and/or is making a statement, that's weird. Any person who has a professional preference for discretion will have a legitimate problem with that.

If your character looks odd because it helps him do his job (say, climbing stuff+melee+running fast), that's dedicated professionalism. A person with a professional preference for discretion will go "I want this guy, but maybe not for the society mixer next week."

If your character likes both, well, then he has to make sure he communicates appropriately to the audience.

Think of a troll character with shaved horns (so he can put a helmet on), a weapon arm hanging out of his upper back, an obvious gyromount sitting on his cyberarm, lots of armor, and a weapons belt that looks like it ways more than an elf. He is equally obvious and distinct and weird-looking; but no-one would say that he's unprofessional. He's just professional about hurting things. Same difference.

McGuyver could use Stick-n-Shock bullets to hack an AI.

Probably would say he's unprofessional because it's a troll that can rip you limb to limb personally or turn you into red mist over hundreds of meters personally.
An Elf? You can bet people will point and laugh ^^

Mutually exclusive. The Pink Mohawk Krewe are the ones who believe that they are supposed to be COOL, and
subscribe to that philosophy..Why sneak in a catering truck when you shot an arro from the sky raker across the way?
Why do that when you steal an aicraft, and bail out over the target? Why kill a guard when you can gas him with hallucinogens? Why have a sleek, featureless net avatar when you can have something amazing?

The Trenchcoat and Mirrorshades Krewe...these are the guys where everyone has their skin replaced with
fake skin, and their hair replaced with fake so that they cannot leave any dermal flakes or hairs for ritual links. These
are the people who carry stuff for when they get shot to destroy the blood(or, else, have that gene ware that
keeps any genetic material from surviving for more then a few minutes outside their body). These guys spend
all their time trying to think how to do a job, and no-one know one was done.

I would rather be Cool then Cold...

Personally I like drugging guards. Unnecessary body counts are unprofessional

I find that shaving and wearing clothing on most of your skin works pretty well. And wigs can be so much fun.

Admittedly I don't think my character has ever -worn- a trenchcoat or mirror shades, so maybe thats why

I still don't understand why people keep refering to subtle setting as trenchcoat. In game, trenchcoats are mainly there to help you sneak a bigger gun

Because it bring to mind the modern media "Ice cold pros"

Me? 20,000 miles to Graceland..now THAT is a great example of a Run...

But others think a run should be Oceans 11...

I think the difference is between those who want to hide a bigger gun and those who want to trick it out in nickel and chrome.

<3 Ocean's eleven. And the show Leverage, too, if we're talking about visual media..

For books its the Vlad Taltos books, and Night Angels, among others.

Me? The Matrix. When Neo opens his coat at the FBI building checkpoint and the guards go "Oh shit..."

Freedom for the trenchocats!

Yeah, that was the best scene in the complete frigging series.

And there I was thinking Neo forgot to put on his pants...

Ok, how in the nines hells is ANYTHING in The Matrix held up as an example of "Ice-Cold-Pro", that movie is reskinned Pink Mohawk pretty much all the way. ( And just like Highlander, there was only one movie made in that series. )

I usually defer to Ghost in the Shell for my "Ice-Cold Pro" ideas.

Ronin, for me.

Well, I defer to GitS because it definitely embodies the cyber in cyberpunk. There's a lot of stuff in GitS that is thematically identical to how I envision the cyber/technical aspects of Shadowrun. There's definitely a lot of stuff in GitS:SAC that mirrors how things are in the Sixth world.

Oh, certainly. I like Ronin for the professional attitude the team in that movie displays.

I don't think you'll find many who'll deny that Stand Alone Complex was an inspiration for the wireless matrix of SR4.

Basically, when it comes to odd characters, I would say that fitting them depends on how the players and the GM are willing to work with it. Some GMs want to create a run for a Resevior Dogs style crew, all suit and ties and looking like salarimen and playing a 'calm, cool, collected' sort of professional team. If you were to add one guy with a pink mohawk to that group, it would throw off the look and the dynamics.

Which style is right; the GM dictating what sort of characters they want, or the players creating the characters for the GM to make stories around? I think both are valid, but the former would be more of a 'convention' style of play to me, where you are given prepared character sheets. The latter is what RPGs are to me, where you play the character you want to play and the GM works with what they have.

An example of when that fails was a D20 Star Wars campaign I was playing in. My character was a Slicer, the SW version of a decker. The GM decided he wanted to play a high Force campaign featuring a re-born Emperor, re-animated Jedi zombies, a re-constituted Vader. So, pretty much every fight we had was against people using the force and swinging lightsabers deflecting blaster shots back at us and everything. My character was basically either 'I shoot, then duck behind cover and run' if we were doing ground based combat or 'I fiddle with this or that device' if we were working in space. One combat, my character got to shine a little bit as he repaired the commsystem on a planet to signal for reinforcements before the battle got too bad, but basically all it was was me rolling three dice while the other PCs were engaged in heated lightsaber duels and the like, since two were force users and the other was a soldier.

A little off-topic but it comes down to the fact the GM had a story they wanted to tell and my character wasn't really much for that story, so I was off in my own little world a lot of the time. If the GM wants to tell a high-class story and one of the PCs is a ganger, it may not have the same edge and some GMs can't seem to cope with that.

At the same time though, the player needs to make some consessions to adapt to the story as well. If the player wants to be a ganger in an upper crust story the GM is telling, then maybe the ganger is trying to make it to the big leagues and get out of his gang, or the ganger is doing this as a favor to a friend, or whatever. I've seen some players looking for a complete story shift to suit their character. I wanted my Slicer to have more screentime, sure, but I didn't want to hijack an episode where it was all about decking and techie work and the rest of the group sitting there doing nothing.

Just my two cents on fitting in. Sorry if it became a bit ranty.

compromise:
YOU need to do something VERY important, the whole thing hinges on your success/failure.
Of course, the other side does not want you to succeed, so the others have to guard you.
So you do not go into combat with the others, the others do combat to hold them off.

Of course, in that situation it still might not feel even. The "slicer's" very important thing results in a simple d20 check, whereas the people battling STILL have longer turns, roll damage, and have a generally more exciting time of it. Oh well, being the hacker in anything except shadowrun has always been the path of an unsung hero.

That ended up being it. A lot of the time, I was pulled along with the others as they charged into battle, me firing my blaster and having it deflected and then waiting for my turn again, ad naseum. When it was my turn to 'shine', I roll a die, then wait like twenty minutes to roll another die, while the others are discussing tactics and rolling extra dice and the like. I did get involved in that discussion, sure, but it was more like watching things.

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