I'm new to Shadowrun, and this is my first character, but I'm looking for a little advice-- to make sure I have a decent concept for my character. Mainly, I want to see that my character is viable, to see if there is a new direction I should explore first, or if I'm missing some key component that might make my character better or fit this concept better. But first, let me tell you about my group (or at least my take on them so far).
One of our guys is an infiltration focused demolition guy. He LIKES explosives, and we might need to talk him into being a little more low-key here and there (read: less or smaller explosions. Most importantly, ones that don't involve our group in the blast radius). He's not exactly the charismatic type, but is friendly enough. He does have a bit of an alcohol addiction though-- so that, combined with large amounts of explosives can be frightening. He is mundane, likes cyberware, but doesn't really have any hacking skills. (So long as he doesn't blow me up, I'm happy, and he's doing his job in my book)
Then we have our mage. He is very quiet, and seems to have his own quirks, but doesn't share openly about what is going on. He seems to have a focus on assensing and magical perception things. I have no idea what kind of spells he likes (he hasn't really used any yet), but has displayed a complete disinterest in summoning and binding spirits. From what I can tell, he seems to avoid combat or confrontation in any way he can-- instead focusing on information gathering. Think "Monk" of the astral world-- he's a little odd, but he figures things out.
We have one other player who will be joining us possibly next session (though it is still a few weeks away). No word on what he will be playing, but last time I talked to him he seemed to be interested in a weapons master approach to things. Lots of guns, I imagine.
Now, for my character, first of all I wanted to make an decent face for the group. Roleplaying wise, he is very charming, friendly, outgoing (human looking) Elf... but downright manipulative in getting what he wants (preferably with everyone still being happy, and none the wiser of it). Though he is very respectful to his team (and contacts.. usually) he gets a certain kick of having someone or something do the job for him in order to make his life easier (ie: getting a job for


But I really didn't have anywhere else to expand in that role as face. So why not try to cover another role the group needs? I know we didn't have a hacker of any sort-- and with a decent commlink, good programs, and my already high mental stats, I could make a decent one. Maybe not the best, but enough to do well in the job. As far as I can tell, other than cash to upgrade programs and my commlink, I really only need the cracking skillgroup and computers skillgroup. Its pretty karma-cheap, isn't it? So pretty much all of my money has gone into my commlink and it's programs.
Now, I still don't have a way to defend myself directly. I have a pistol and a taser mostly for show... But I can't hit anything with it. Simply don't want to walk around unarmed, you see? Good way to get mugged, or have trouble find you. So I was thinking I could pick up a few drones, considering I have the technical aptitude for it, and a good commlink. I can pick up a skillwire for gunnary and the piloting skill for the drone if I want to jump in (since I have Reaction-5) I could make a decent rigger, right? Or just use command and pilot programs. This would be a serious investment in money though-- but not really take much karma to develop. And having a robot army is perfect for my concept. Everyone likes robot armies, I think.
However, before I finished designing my character, I realized I have a Charisma of 7, and a Willpower of 5. I've only used two power points from adept abilities (and I don't really want a bunch of other adept powers. Enhanced skills would be nice-- but I really don't want to cheese my dice pool for social rolls higher than it is for now. I'm already throwing 14-16 dice as it is. And thats just with my social skill group at 1. I still have room to grow in the skill itself). So why not focus on summoning and binding spirits instead? This would fit my character idea completely-- negotiating and calling upon spirits to do my bidding. I love it. So I read up on how summoning works, made myself a mystic adept instead of just an adept, and sought out to find why everyone says elf conjurers are beasts. I think this would make a great use of my high willpower and charisma-- so I bought 4 summoning skill, 6 binding, and 1 banishing.
I know this seems to be a lot to cover with one character, but it all seems to either have a synergy with Charisma and Willpower. And hacking and rigging don't seem to require a lot of karma investment to be good at it-- just have enough money for the gear, along with a couple main skills. Basically, I want to be everything a street samurai isn't. My Strength, Agility, and Body are low (though my reaction is my only great physical attribute) so I would am not the type to get into a firefight or brawl. But everything, concept-wise, is about getting what my character wants, whether is is socially manipulating the situation, hacking to get by things that get in my way (enemy drones, locked doors, security cameras).
I'll post my build in a moment.