Link to character sheet


This is my first Shadowrun character and I started off basing him on the example gunslinger adept in the core book and then modifying him til it felt right. Odds are I've made some utterly stupid mistake or chosen Adept Powers that just aren't as good as I thought. Some parts of the sheet are still empty but they're minor things (like Composure or Judge Intent - stuff that's derived from other stats) so they can wait.

The concept is that he's the son of someone higher up in Knight Errant (not stupidly high up, but in a position where he's more of a desk-jockey than pounding the pavement) and his mother was a shadowrunner from Australia (this might be a cliché, but for now it's all I can come up with) before retiring from that and working an online auction house for gaming memorabilia*. Why he becomes a 'runner instead of working for Knight Errant is because it seems his mother's shadowrunning days have caught up with her, or it seems that way at least.

She's vanished and his father's hands are too tied to properly look for her, especially since it could reveal her less-than-legal past and get her locked up for god-knows how long. The adept suggests that a shadowrunner could track her down, but his father doesn't trust 'runners, so the adept suggests he become a shadowrunner to look for her. His father objects, but relents in the end as it's his only option.

From there, he sees the one person he knows who has connections to the shadowrunning world - a talislegger that his mother saw. This talislegger was his mother's main contact in the underworld after she moved to the States and the 'legger, in turn, tries to help the adept find his mother.

I probably haven't explained it all well, but that's pretty much the state of the background so far. As you can see; I haven't come up with any names yet. The idea of having him as a KE corp-kid is to explain the Trust Fund quality and his high knowledge of KE security procedures. His mother's online store was because I always wanted this guy to have an interest in the gaming classics (I don't mean stuff that's coming out this year either, I mean stuff that's classic even today - Deus Ex, the Monkey Island series, Sam & Max: Hit the Road, etc), as well as some of the classic BBC comedy shows (like Blackadder or Red Dwarf) rather than any trid or simsense remakes which wouldn't be as good as the originals (let's be honest here; if Red Dwarf, Blackadder or Dad's Army got remakes, do you really think they'd be as good as the originals?).

I was hoping to squeeze in Etiquette with a speciality in Knight Errant or just Law Enforcement, but didn't have the BP to get it anywhere near high enough. If you grow up in the KE corporate world you'd expect that the skill'd at least be at Rating 3.

I used Daegann's character builder for this. That and half of the character was built at least six months ago and has just been sitting on my hard drive since then so if any of the numbers in brackets are off, let me know since I may've removed whatever was providing the bonus and forgotten about it.



* (old copies of games from our time or before, books for RPGs, tabletop wargaming miniatures, etc - there's bound to be a bit of a collector's market for this stuff even in the 2070s).


EDIT: I think he might also need a fake license or two for his Predator IV and I may have bought too much ammo.

EDIT2: Almost forgot; his starting nuyen (if it matters) would be 8D6x100

...interesting. I'll have to dig up the 4th edition version of my namesake I built. Granted the costs for some of the powers were a bit different back then (built under the first printing of the BBB and Street Magic).

She was also pretty good with a blade and fists but her twin Super Warhawks (she had the Ambidexterity quality) with EXEX did a lot of the "talking". This version of her was also a bit of a burnout (effective MA of 4) as I gave her Synaptic Boosting instead of the adept Improved Reflexes power.

Your background has some depth and personality. Yeah the details could be flushed out but the core is their. Their is a negative quality in RC called lost loved one iirc. You might want to look at taking that. Your build makes the min/maxer in me cry, but then that's probably a good thing . The stats strike me as realistic if not optimum. I would check with the gm to see what the other players style is. If their mostly not power gamers you should be fine. But if your runner is going to be the only non optimized character you may find your self frustrated with his lack of power. I'm not sure why you like trust fund so much but meh.

Background questions:
How did his parents meet.
How does his mothers criminal past sit with his father.
What political enemies does the family have and how would his mothers past coming to light change things.
How could they use her disappearance?
Who else in KE knows about her past and how much of a black eye would it be to KE and how likely are they to try and hush things up.
Could his father have done it if someone was threatening to use her against him or KE?
Could his mother have made her self disappear if someone was threatening to use her against him or KE?
Even if none of the above are true your runner could still consider them as possibilities, leading to some good rp.

Check the errata, Improved Reflexes 2 costs 2.5 now, so that means you have an extra 0.5 power points. I would get Boost Agility 1 and another power that costs 0.25.

nimble fingers is a must have for gunslinger adepts

Did you decide not to use 'ware or did the thought simply not occur to you? Muscle toner and/or synaptic Boosters will go a long way. As for more BP, I'd drop Edge to 1 and buy it later on. But that's just personal taste.

I don't know how up to date Daegann's Character Editor is, but DamienKnight's pretty much includes all the books and Errata.

I'd go all out (5-6) with combat sense or not bother at all.

I guess using pistols is part of the concept, otherwise I'd suggest switching to automatics.

What will the character do in a violent situation without his weapons?

i have to agree with Dakka, take that final point out of agility and kick the points it eats into strength and body, as well as an unarmed combat skill, maybe use that extra half magic point and the BP from the negative quality that Blue Dao mentioned to build it up.

those are just min/max thoughts from someone who spent 7 years tweaking characters so that he could have a Gunslinger adept archtype that could survive the blood lust games that i tend to find

NOTE: Quote tags weren't working in the preview; I don't know if that's just a bug with previewing posts of if I've messed up somewhere. Just warning you guys. Also had to split this into multiple posts because the forum has a limit on how many quotes you can have in a post.



Don't have a game lined up, I'm just making this guy in-case one turns up on Myth Weavers (since I'd get writer's block if I tried to create a character from scratch after the game's ad thread goes up). I will keep that in mind though. And I might look into that negative quality, see if it'd work for the character's mother without having Oedipus complex overtones. As for trust fund; I just don't like how SR handles Lifestyle and Trust Fund stops me worrying about it. Plus it adds to the image of 'corp-kid-turned-shadowrunner' which is what I was going for with this guy.


In a club a few weeks after she moved to the UCAS. Saw a fair bit of each other for a while after that, then a few month's later his team gets called in to stop some Shadowrunner's escaping. The 'runner leader made a break for it while her team kept the KE officers tied up. He went after her and caught her after putting a bullet through her leg. Needless to say, he was shocked to find out who was behind the helmet she was wearing. Despite his training telling him to cuff her, he let her go. He isn't entirely sure why and just put it down to youth-and-love-induced stupidity. In any case, that injury to her leg (while not causing permanent damage) did make it harder to go on runs, and since she was an adept she didn't want any 'ware for fear of losing her power (which was naturally so unstable she needed to take a talisman geas - which also seems to be a hereditary trait).

At first he didn't like it, but he soon learnt that she didn't have much choice after being laid off by <insert Australian Megacorp here> where she used to head up a security team. She didn't have any other skills (her online auction house wouldn't be set up for several more years) and none of the other corps would hire her because of why she'd been fired (they'd accused her of letting a 'runner team get away with valuable research). He still doesn't like shadowrunners - too many bad incidents while he was still an active officer - but her contacts in the underworld can come in handy at times. Besides, he knows she's out of the game and trusts her not to risk her life by going back.

Even without political enemies, her past coming out would cause a political sh*tstorm. I still haven't worked out his position in KE, but it's high enough to get access to case files, personnel records and so on. There'd be a massive inquiry and he'd be charged with corruption (if only so that they could throw him in a cell while they see if there's anything to suggest corruption). She would be arrested for all of her past crimes and then I don't know what would happen to him if they decided to charge him with letting her go.

I haven't thought of any political enemies, but anyone that high in KE is bound to have some. Hell, there might even be people in other corps who would use this getting out as a way to really hurt KE as a whole. Letting a bent cop get that high up in the corp? It'd be hell.

Well until they find out she used to be a 'runner, they can't. As far as they know, she just runs a legit online auction house.

No-one beyond my character and his father know about her past. If her past came to light, KE would try to handle it all in-house. Like I said above, they'd go after him, but they'd make damn sure not a word of it got out to the press or other megacorps (or at least the reason for his arrest).

If he was the one to make her disappear, he would've told his son and she would've had as much of a hand in planning it all as him. She's the one with underground contacts after all - street docs, fixers, old friends from her shadowrunning days, etc.

Possible if she didn't have time to let them know. Even if she contacted them using a fake SIN, her husband and son's commlinks would be monitored for any incoming calls (probably under the assumption she'd been kidnapped).

That was part of the idea behind having his mother disappear; plus the DM can work it into the plot if he wants to. Regardless of the game, I like to leave the occasional hook in my character's backstory for them to use if they want to.


Thank you for pointing that out. Should really get around to finding the errata.

Thank you for pointing that power out; I can see why it's a must-have.


Didn't want to use 'ware since I designed this character as though his adept powers were already unstable (hence the talisman geas) so he'd be rather paranoid about anything that could dull his magic, like an Essence hit from 'ware. Might drop a couple points of Edge, though.


I'll have a look for his once I finish this post.


I'd rather keep it at 2 for now; don't have the power points to spare and I'd rather hang onto that Improved Ability one.


Might look into it if a SR game turns up on Myth Weavers, depending on what everyone else's character has (ie; if there's a troll with a light machine gun, I don't think my character using a pistol or an SMG is going to make much difference in the long run). Although, are there any full-auto/burst-fire pistols? Like the Glock 18 and Beretta 93R in real-life?


At this point? Leg it or try to nick/borrow someone else's pistol. Might be able to free up some BP to get him some melee skills though. I'm just reluctant to make this guy good in melee since, between the ablinism and his talisman being a silver wolf's-head with ruby eyes, I'm trying not to make him seem like an elven, cyberpunk version of Geralt of Rivia.



Might follow your advice just so that he's got something he can do if ever disarmed. I'm not trying to go too far to the min/max end of the spectrum.

I'll make some changes now, see what I come up with.

It's over there.

There are no stock FA pistols. There are several BF Pistols, but most of them are used with the Automatics skill. That skill is much more versatile.

Thanks. Just finished rebuilding my character in DamienKnight's builder and I've noticed something (other than the builder not having the Trust Fund quality - used Biocompatibility (Bioware) as a placeholder since it has the same BP cost). According to it, I've still got twelve BP left.

Either I've done something wrong somewhere or I might just be able to get him some melee skills.

Also, I think I'll stick with the Predator, just how I picture the character.

EDIT: Found half the problem; Knight's builder has a house rule for free BP to buy contacts on by default so it was ignoring the six BP it costs for that talislegger. Still got six points left though. Might be enough for some hand-to-hand skill.

Oh, and warrior_allanon? That last point in Agility would only free up ten points. This guy's an elf so his unaugmented max Agility is 7, every point below that only costs ten BP.

Okay, made some changes.

-Added "Lost Loved One" Negative Quality
-Halved how much spare ammo he had (from 150 rounds down to 75 - if that isn't enough then they should've hired someone with a minigun)
-Added the Blades active skill at Rating 1 with a specialisation in knives (he sees hand-to-hand as a last resort so wouldn't bother with a full-blown sword)
-Bought him a knife, but I don't know whether to stick with that or get something better that still counts as a knife (got 505 left before needing another BP that I don't have, another 20 if I ditch the ordinary knife)

The changes have already been made to the sheet linked in the first post.

I thought about dropping a point or two of edge, but I'm not sure. I'll do some fiddling around, see how many BP it gets me and what I can use it for.


EDIT: Okay, quick bit of tweaking and if I drop two points of Edge, I can bring his Blades and Perception both up to 4 and his Pistols skill to 5. Can't put them into Body since I'd need 25 BP. Tempted to put them into Strength, but I don't see this guy as really using Strength all that much. Unless there's something I've forgotten/missed about Strength?

I would use Unarmed combat as a last resort. You don't need any equipment for it, and you can get nifty upgrades like shock gloves.
Get a survival knife. For 30¥ mire you get better AP, and a couple of other goodies. I just found out that the Cougar Fineblade, according to fluff one of the best combat blades, has the same stats as the suvival knife minus the tools, and costs 11 times as much
If you want something really concealable, take a look at the Victorinox Memory Blade.

10 or 20 BP can be well spent in a lot of places.

Don't forget some prgrams for your commlink. At least Analyze should be there.

[nitpick]Specializations don't increase the skill, but add bonus dice and should be noted as Skill(Specialization) Rating(+2). Mostly this is irrelevant, but there are situations where it is crucial that they are dice pool modifiers, for example a maxed out skill, dual wielding etc.[/nitpick]

Unless you absolutely need the +2 dice for the concept or the dice pool on the first run, I would buy specializations with Karma. It's much cheaper that way.

And get some stealth. Otherwise you will have lots of problems with the shadow part of shadowrunning. Maybe Athletics 2 Stealth 2.

I would use Unarmed combat as a last resort. You don't need any equipment for it, and you can get nifty upgrades like shock gloves.
Get a survival knife. For 30¥ more you get better AP, and a couple of other goodies. I just found out that the Cougar Fineblade, according to fluff one of the best combat blades, has the same stats as the survival knife minus the tools, and costs 11 times as much
If you want something really concealable, take a look at the Victorinox Memory Blade.

10 or 20 BP can be well spent in a lot of places.

Don't forget some prgrams for your commlink. At least Analyze should be there.

[nitpick]Specializations don't increase the skill, but add bonus dice and should be noted as Skill(Specialization) Rating(+2). Mostly this is irrelevant, but there are situations where it is crucial that they are dice pool modifiers, for example a maxed out skill, dual wielding etc.[/nitpick]

Unless you absolutely need the +2 dice for the concept or the dice pool on the first run, I would buy specializations with Karma. It's much cheaper that way.

And get some stealth. Otherwise you will have lots of problems with the shadow part of shadowrunning. Maybe Athletics 2 Stealth 2.

With BOD 5 I would buy better armor. An FFBA full suit and a helmet would easily fit with the ensemble you already have. Against real opposition I'd go with
FFBA Full Suit, all PPP items, Globetrotter Camouflage Jump Suit. 13/11 armor, no encumbrance at BOD 5

If you buy chemical protection anyway, why not take a gas mask, it helps with hiding your face as well.

Instead of AR gloves, buy a Sim module and a trode net. Much less conspicuous and skinlink your commlink, glasses and weapon.

What do you need a fingerprint/ retina reader for?

Unless not all equipment is listed and you already have it, a medkit would be a nice addition.

A wedge also is a cheap and useful tool.

If you have WAR! there is a nice option for firearm types
High-Power Chambering doubles the cost of the weapon but gives you the ability to fire high powered rounds which do +2p -1AP which would turn your Ares Predator IV into 7p -2AP, but you would have to mod the weapon to deal with the -2 points of excess recoil.

The -2 is not clearly noted as a recoil modifier at least this modifier works different than normal recoil. So it is not clear if RC would work.

No worse than recoil mods needed for shotguns and the big game rifles.
Make the predator have electronic firing or personalized grip reduces it to a -1
Also a Strenght of 10+ basically provides 2 points of recoil compensation.

What now? Shotguns only have their uncompensated recoil doubled, and then only if they are fired in burst-fire mode. I am neither aware of any special rules for big game rifles, nor of that weapon type in general.
If you are talking about the double-barreled rifle (PJSS Elephant Rifle) which can fire both barrels at once, those are the standard rules for a short burst with not enough bullets.
The modifier for high power ammunition even applies to the first shot, which no recoil should ever do.
Without the optional rule of strength providing RC I'm not aware of a way to reduce the HP Predator's recoil to 0, short of adding stupid things like stocks and foregrips. If that's even how it works.

Pistols by RAW, regardless of firing mode, use the Pistol skill. Are you referring to machine pistols or a houserule here?

I'm saying that most pistols capable of doing BF are machine pistols and thus use the Automatics skill. The light and heavy pistols that do BF have the disadvantage that, at least according to RAW, they cannot be specialized in.

Corrected that for you. To many the Advanced Rules are not a optional thing.
But again the writer of that did not clarify/specify if that recoil mod is once only or per shot?
But we are basically back to the FUBAR recoil rules of SR4A, Firing a Machine Pistol for Full Auto versus a Heavy Machine Gun on Full Auto are vastly different to me atleast due I have fired both in RL. Same for firing a SA 9mm Glock versus a .600 Nitro Express on SS.
But since this is SR4A the recoil can be dealt with under the existing rules. ie Electronic Firing, and Under-barrel Weight giving another so then the Predator modded to fire High Power Rounds no longer has the -2 recoil mod to deal with.

The introduction to this chapter clearly states that all those rules are optional. We cannot know if the OP's GM will use those rules, yet. So I wouldn't count on the usage of said rules (especially the sillier ones).
I don't get what you are trying to say here.
I don't have RL experience with guns so I cannot comment much on that, but even in SR those two are handled differently, at least in regards to the effect of uncompensated recoil.
This is still a -1 to the dice pool of the second shot, if the HP dice pool modifier can be compensated as normal recoil.

Interesting
Hold Out-Walther Palm Pistol
Light- Beretta 101T, Fichetti Executive Action, Taurus Multi-6, and Yamaha Sakura Fubuki
I would go back what table the weapon is in...Ie Hold Out, Light Pistol, which means I can specialize in Hold Out Pistol which includes the Walther, or in Light Pistol which could be the Beretta, so yes you can specialize in pistols that burst fire and not have to use Machine Pistol skill.
Yes I agree the Semi-Automatics which should state Heavy Pistol.
So I take a Ares Predator IV mod it to FA I can no longer use my pistol skill to fire it?
The Firing Selection Modification do not discuss that moving a weapon of FA or BF changes it to Machine Pistols or the like.

And this is different How, from Pistols that only have a Single point of RC (or none at all)? High Power firearms just have an inherent 2 points of Recoil before they are fireed that you muct contend with. If you have RC, then it would apply, in my opinion... Just like any other weapon that has recoil...

Yes Hold-Out is a valid specialization by RAW. Light or Heavy Pistol however aren't as they are not mentioned in the Pistols skill description. I would not have a problem with them at my table, but we are discussing RAW here not houserules.

I cannot say if the developers meant to write Heavy Pistol when they wrote Semi-.Automatics. As written this specialization also includes all light pistols and hold outs as long as they are semi-automatics as well. Specializations are not mutually exclusive.

The modded Predator of course is still fired with the Pistols skill, but, as it no longer is a Semi-Automatic, this specialization no longer applies, at least if it is fired in BF. There is no RAW Specialization that applies to BF Heavy Pistols.

The specialization issue is mostly a no issue. By Raw there is no indication that you must pick a listed one, and according to the FAQ:

Can I have _______ specialization, even if it's not listed for the skill?

Yes. The listed specializations with each skill are not all-inclusive, and players are free to come up with other specializations that fit their characters. No specialization should be applicable for all tests undertaken with that skill. Gamemasters have final approval on all characters.

I know folks will tell me the FAQ isn't RAW, but in this case it supports the lack of nothing saying you have to use the list.

Actually there are examples in the skills, were the list is all-inclusive (Pistols) and where it isn't (Diving), and even then only a small portion of the Specializations is not complete. No where in the book does it say that you are allowed or encouraged to invent new Specializations.
Yes the FAQ is not RAW. No matter how you look at it the document does not do what it is supposed to do. Either it contradicts RAW or it changes it, which only Errata can do.

Well, we agree to disagree then

You post there is no specific place that says you can create a new specialization, I post that there is no specific place that says you have to use their listed stuff.

Your additional supporting info: Nothing beyond your opinion of the FAQ.

My additional information: A supporting paragraph posted on the official FAQ.

I know I how I play it

I just said that additional Specializations are not Rules As Written, I never said that I wouldn't allow them. Since we do not know which house rules ShadowFighter88's Gm uses, I just wanted to point out that there is a chance that his GM would veto those specializations.

Personally I'm all for the "what isn't (explicitly) forbidden, is allowed" approach. At my table any new specialization that is a proper subset (unlike the RAW Martial Arts Specialization ) is fine.

I guess I just never understand the folks that don't count the FAQ and Errata as RAW. They are official, and made by the company that produces the game. I don't like all the stuff they have there, or even all the stuff they produce as products (Runner's companion can make stuff a little too nuts) but I can choose not to use them. I wouldn't argue them as not official though....

RAW are the Rules as written. Frequently Asked Questions are answered to clarify the meaning of the rules, but they cannot change anyhing about them. Only Errata can correct mistakes or change rules.
The point is as long as the developers have not concluded that something is indeed an error/oversight/etc. and publish an Erratum it is not official even though the FAQ is written by officials.

Got to Love a RAWnista. Since Errata from the devs is rarer than a error free publication from the devs.
@Squinky
This discussion is at a stopping point, discussing such things with a RAWnista is like discussing "How Many Angels can dance on the head of a pin" was in the middle ages at the Vatican with Bishops, Cardinals and such.

Survival knife sounds good. Don't know about the Memory Blade, might be out of my price range (again, without finding extra BP from somewhere I only have 500-odd to spare.



Didn't think you'd need an Analyze program unless you were actually going to try and break into a node. Then again, since I haven't thought about making a hacker yet I kind of skimmed over the programs, thinking they were just what a hacker would buy instead of guns and tools.



Actually, if you look at the sheet, I've got the specialisation in brackets, and then two ratings next to them; the one outside of brackets is general use and the one inside is when using the specialisation. Unless I've forgotten something and Rating isn't the number of dice thrown for skill use.



Might be best; can probably get away without a specialisation now that I can get his Blades skill up to 4 on its own.


If I can find the BP, I will.


Actually that Chem Protection in the Ulysses Suit is part of the suit itself; got it for free. Only mod for it that I bought was the non-conductivity.


I was planning to avoid Simsense stuff since, this guy grew up with access to real vintage shows; the kind that you can watch either through an AR window or on a 2D screen and just doesn't like simsense. Actually can a sim module let a user operate their commlink hands-free? I've seen it mentioned in plenty of stories (like the ones in the sourcebooks) but I was never sure how they did it. Skinlinking the 'link, glasses and gun was what I was planning from the start, but wasn't sure where on the sheet it would be marked. And as yet further evidence of how long its been since I actually read the books; does skinlinking need a separate addon for the gear or is that stuff factory-standard?

The print and retina readers were commlink security in-case it ever gets stolen. Probably just overly paranoid though; it's more likely that someone'll just hack into it now that I think about it.

Do medkits not rely on the user's skill? Or am I thinking of something else?

I'll keep the wedge in mind.


Also, since it came up before, I don't have a GM yet. There aren't any SR games on Myth Weavers I'm planning on joining (only one was up and I think that's closed now, or very close to it) so I'm just making this guy so that I have something to submit when one rolls around. Because of that; I have no idea what house/advanced rules would be in use so it'd probably be best to assume that no house/advanced rules are in use. If the game I submit this guy to is using any, I'll just modify him to fit.




I don't have WAR! but I've been looking at getting it. Don't know if I'd bother with the High-Power Chambering, though. If I'm giving this guy any special ammo it'd probably be Stick n Shock since corps won't hate you as much if you leave their employees alive.

From the BBB: A medkit adds its rating, or replaces skill.

Ah, thank you ProfGast. I should really crack that thing open again and take a proper read of it sometime.

More accurately, if you have a Skill Rating, it adds its rating in Dice, If you have no Skill, its Rating acts as your Skill Rating...

Yup it's 1250¥

Analyze also helps with detecting hacking attempts on your commlink.

What I meant was it should be Pistols 4(6) because of the Improved Combat Ability Power, which increases the Skill rating, but Blades (Knives) 1(+2), since the specialization adds bonus dice. If you added a specialization to the pistols skill it would be Pistols (Semi-Automatics) 4(6)(+2), meaning you have a natural skill rating of 4 an augmented skill rating of 6 and add +2 dice, if you use a semi-automatic pistol.

IMHO Stealth is more important than a secondary combat ability that requires equipment.


I just thought about the gas mask as a cheap and useful accessory when I saw the mod.


Yes. As for the avoidance of Simsense, that's your loss.
You have to buy it extra. It's 50¥/device.

I don't get it. But you are welcome to your beliefs, I know others share them. This line of thought just feels so last decade, we aren't just buying books anymore, we are buying a game that is supported with online information.

You state that the FAQ clarifies rules, so, wouldn't it clarify the lack of information on specializations? It's not changing anything, so it would fit into you legalistic view?

Tried a bit of re-tweaking with the skills to fit Stealth in and his skills now look as follows (haven't updated the MW sheet yet) and I'm using the notation Dakka mentioned in his last post, though don't be surprised if I've missed something:
Athletics: 2
Pistols: 5 (7)
Pilot Ground Craft: 4
Perception: 4
Stealth: 2
Blades: 4 (since I'm gonna get him a survival knife, he may as well know how to use it)

This also freed up 4 BP; not enough to boost any of his skills (beyond a couple of specialisations) but if I'm gonna get him a decent Analyze program and skinlink equipment (might also get him some simsense stuff and just say he doesn't watch any simsense shows) I may need to sink another BP or two into his budget. Got him a rating 4 Analyze program and swapped the knife for a survival knife so he's only got 75 left without spending more BP on gear. Think I put too much into the program? Not enough? This guy doesn't have any computer skill so he's gonna be relying entirely on the program to detect any hackers.

Actually; if I sink a few more BP into gear (or at least free up 75 somewhere, I could get him a DocWagon contract. Think the Basic package'd be worth it?

The FAQ does change the rules even with this specific answer not only with answers to other questions. There are several skills which explicitly do not have any Specializations. Allowing to invent new Specializations changes this rule. If this is the intention of the developers, such a change should be in an Errata document and should be included in all future printings and PDF downloads.

Analyze dice are capped by the System Rating. So unless you plan to upgrade your commlink soon I wouldn't buy a higher Rating. Firewall however is not capped by the System Rating. If you can afford it, buy it at 6. 10 dice for autonomous intrusion detection is not bad.

Depending on the runs you will take, the DocWagon contract probably won't be worth it. The Company won't get you from corporate property, if the owner has extraterritoriality. This problem persists even with the more expensive ones.

Was about to ask about investing in a better Firewall.


Figured that'd be the case, one of the sourcebooks (can't remember which one) had one of those single-page short stories at the start of chapters told from the point of view of a DocWagon team and they had to leave one of the injured clients behind because they were a few feet or so within a mega's borders. Five feet away and they couldn't do a damn thing without causing a political sh*tstorm.

Well since a DocWagon contract is out of the picture, that gives me a fair bit of cash to work with. Is Form-Fitting Body Armour in the core book or one of the splats?

EDIT: Either something's wrong with the values in DamienKnight's builder or that Ulysses suit I already gave my character is more protective than a full-body suit of FFBA (only by two points of Impact, but still). Then again, I may've forgotten if or how armour stacks.

FFBA stacks with everything but military grade armor, also you half its armor value for encumbrance. Keep in mind though that the entire FFBA suit covers even your face so it isn't subtle. However you could buy the full thing and only wear the half body suit. PPP also stacks with everything but military iirc, it has full encumbrance penalties. Both are in Arsenal. You might want to also consider thermodampening, but it isn't cheap.

Might be able to get away with the full-body suit; I get the feeling gloves wouldn't stand out on someone wearing a suit from Mortimer of London and if it's as skin-tight as the fluff description implies, then he should be fine wearing normal shoes/boots over the armour. The only head protection mentioned for the full suit is a hood and the coat in the Ulysses Line also has a hood, easy enough just to push the FFBA's hood back and tuck it inside the Ulysses coat's hood. Or if that doesn't work, just stick it down between the coat and his shirt.

Character sheet's updated but I still have 3 BP and 800 left and no clue on what to do with them.

Post your equipment, and I'm sure someone can tell you what you missed and can afford for 800¥
Do you have Licenses attached to each of your fake SINs?

Two fake drivers licenses, one for each fake SIN, for the Suzuki Mirage (hence the morphing license plate on it). A couple of fake licenses for the Predator might be needed as well, now that I think about it. He'd have a real license for the Mirage too, but didn't think to put that on the sheet. Would he have a real license for the Pred, since he was originally planning on signing on with KE?

Anyway, here's the full gear list, including weapons, armour, programs and so-on (Fake SINs and licenses don't have names attached yet):

Ares Predator IV (w/ Skinlink)
Survival Knife
Mortimer Ulysses Suit (w/ Nonconductivity 6, comes with Rating 4 Chemical Protection)
Street Clothes
Bike Racing Helmet
Form-Fitting Body Armour (Full Suit)

Transys Avalon Commlink w/ Novatech Navi OS (w/ Sim Module, Trodes & Skinlink)
Analyse 4
Firewall 6

75 Rounds of Regular Ammo
5 Spare Clips (Predator)
Quick-Draw Holster
2x Fake SINs (Rating 4)
2x Fake Licenses (Rating 4)
Glasses (Rating 4 w/ Skinlink)
+Smart Link
+Image Link
+Flare Compensation
+Vision Magnification
Talisman
Biomonitor (Wristband)
Medkit (Rating 6)
Suzuki Mirage Racing Bike
+Morphing License Plate

I think that's everything.

Some items you may want to consider picking up
250 - Gecko Tape Gloves (SR4)
200 - Gas Mask (SR4)
25 - Laés Cigarette (Arsenal)
10 - Scent Masking Cigarette (Arsenal)
150 - Tag Eraser (SR4)
Rating x 25 - Respirator (SR4)

You also technically need a license for your Smartlink (and indeed any Restricted Gear like the Ares Predator)

I'll look into that stuff. And wouldn't a license for an Ares Predator include a license for the Smartlink since the Predator comes with one as factory-standard and is probably the whole reason you'd buy one over most other guns on the market?

License for the Smartlink. the one in your glasses. Not the smartgun that came with the predator. You could probably argue that it's included in your gun license but smartlink has its own +4R rating separate from the gun. Of course if you have say, a private detective license or something you could say carrying arms and having a smartlink would be covered under both

Actually, making him a PI might work better than just saying he planned to join KE one day. Would explain his licenses and gear a lot better and he could be on retainer with KE if they need the extra legwork.

Shame he doesn't have any social skills you'd expect from a PI (well... the ones who aren't violent alcoholics who monologue in noir metaphors).