I've have been playing shadowrun for about 3 years now. I will admit that this genre is not my favorite, but the gaming group that I have been playing with for about 14 years is now into it. So I've tried to find my niche. Were getting ready to reboot and have a new GM take over. recently I played a very general Hacker/ rigger/ BnE runner. Needless to say i wasnt very good at anything. I really dont get the hacking rules as they arent laid out very well. And drones seem under powered.... My first character was a shooter, but I felt I wasnt really needed till the action happened which was usally the last part of the mission. So I am asking for help on a new character. I really dont want to try the mage as it seems as convoluted as a hacker. I have considered a "face" but not sure how to create one. A combat monster seems like it would suffer from the same problems as the 1st shooter, hanging around till it got time to kill stuff. I realize that this is all very general info, but I am will to consider all options. Otherwise I amy drop out........

I've had a concept in mind for the next time I get to play that's out of the ordinary a bit.

Wulf Broyles: Southern Ork (Possibly Ogre) Big Game Hunter/Tracker/Bush Pilot

Obviously, physical stats are going to pay off most for this kind of character. Not a combat monster, but proficient with either unarmed combat or blades and throwing knives. Very skilled at tracking (animals and people), sharp-shot with a sporting/sniper rifle or assault cannon. Armorer skill and vehicle repair come in handy for the whole group. Can fly anything with wings, and some things without. Has some chrome (bone lacing/dermal plating) to toughen him up against paracritters or bounties who fight back, but tries not to rely on it more than he has to. Knows people who can keep him in guns, bullets, and airplanes. Keeps a stock of non-lethal sollutions in the event the critter or person he's after is worth more alive. Expert survivalist, even has an OCD complex for eating strange thing (bugs, fungus, anything Bear Grylls would eat to survive in extreme situations, he does on a daily basis) which attracts negative attention sometimes. Kind of has a Jayne Cobb complex when dealing with the team's "leader", although he should be role-played in a manner that the others wouldn't let him be leader in any event.

Easy first character....

1) Orc is cheaper than anything else. Yes, it's not balanced. Orc = Free points.
2) Body 4. PPP arms & legs, and half body suit. On that you can throw Ulysses OR Armored Vest OR Actioneer or a half dozen other things and have good armor and no encumbrance.
3) Agility, Intuition, Edge. You'll use them. A lot.
4) Pick a gun. Get the skills to be good at it. Really, it doesn't matter which gun. Everyone has their favorites.
5) Perception. If you're gonna be in the think of it, it pays not to be surprised.
6) You got the Agility and Intuition, grab the Stealth group at 4. Your group will find a lot of uses.

Ok. At this point you still have a lot of points and a lot of essence so fill the rest with flavor. You can go for adept or cybered to the gills. Go read the archtypes or the stories and grab a background that suits you and start adding gear or skills or talents to reflect that. You don't have to be amazing. The perception, gun, and stealth group will give you an easy role to fill. The rest is gravy.

Character Concept: Hobo with a Shotgun.

Done.

I'd suggest a face that can hold her own in combat. Elf or Ork are good choices for this, elf gives needed charisma and agility, Ork gives needed body and enough strength for free to get by easily.

Bring charisma and agility up to soft max, influence group to 4, weapon of choice to 6 with a spec, Body 4ish with good armor, decent reaction, maybe some edge. Grab wired reflexes for the extra IP and pheromones for the social bonus. You have a character that hold her own in combat and in social situations, so shouldn't have to sit out much of anything, not to mention tons of points left other to pick up other things like infiltration and contacts.

How about the preacher.

Meet the preacher

He's a priest turned ghoul turned cannibal hunting a blood mage to avenge his family.

Oh, and he eats other ghouls to supplement his diet - after all, ghouls are metahumans too (see dietary requirement for ghouls).

Favourite dish: Ghoulash.

Or my favorite. My cult leader/face. Street Prophet is an Elf that is the leader of a cult that has a few dozen members, mostly displaced people, but some are well placed members.

I usually get one assassination attempt a game session against me, as it's become a running gag with my GM. Random bullets or explosions follow me around.

What about an Adept.
A combination Face & getaway Driver.He needs high REA and CHA for Attributes,some Resources for a decent Car (or maybe 2, 1 personal Racer and one as the Group Transport). Maybe an Elf ?
Maybe a slightly cybered Adept (with 1 or 2 Essence in 'ware) ?

with a combination Dance
Medicineman

I really don´t want to disappoint you, but i really don´t see a solution for your problem:

1) you don´t prefer SR anyway
2) you dislike allrounders for their ineffectivity
3) you dislike specialists for their lack in options
4) you dislike mages because they are too complicated

The character you want is what we in germany would call the "eierlegende wollmilchsau". This means a jack of all trades that can fill every role, and this is simply not possible. You will not be able to find any concept fitting to you, if you refuse the system at all. Every time i create a char i think about a concept or sometimes it is even just about a look. Then i try to make this char. playable and from this point on i live with my decisions. The only thing that comes close to what you want is a mage. But he will suck at the beginning and needs long-time-planning. Really funny is, that you already tried a rigger/hacker and fear the mage of being too complicated? That is a joke, isn´t it? With a hacker AND a rigger you already reached the end of the line regarding "most complicated character class in SR", so a mage shouldn´t be a problem for you. It also ain´t right that drones are inefficient. IMHO and according to RAW, nothing is more deadly and effective as drones. Maybe you made a mistake with the ruling? Overthink that.

Face-builds are on this forum more than enough. My search-fu is very weak, but i am sure you will find one. Check out for "pornomancer" if you want to hit the top of this class. If you are interested in "freak-characters", just give me a message, i have a LOT of them and i can easily translace complete character sheets for you.

If the only thing you need is a proper background that makes you "feel" the character, also just tell me or seriously check out for the "Preacher"-thread. I really like the background and ghouls are extraordinarily strong. For min-maxing this concept, i also have a ready-made sheet for you.

This was my 5 cents, i hope it helped.

The character you want is what we in germany would call the "eierlegende wollmilchsau". This means a jack of all trades that can fill every role, and this is simply not possible.
I don't think so. I guess he might Do well with a char that is inbetween a Jack-o-T and a Specialist. Thats why I suggested a Char with two
complete different specialties,a Face and a Driver.Both concepts can easily be expanded and both are neither fighting nor Magic
and he still has lots of opportunities to "shine in the Spotlight"

with a Dance in the Spotlight
Medicineman

The closest thing I've come to a Generic "Do-All" character is my "Accountant From Hell" build.

With some work, he might become a bit more "Swiss Army Knife" if you want.

Ok, give me a detailed view on this char. I really can´t image how this should be able.

@The Jopp: Hey, we joined dumpshock at the same day, but i am am member no. 1,749 and you are no. 948. How can this work????

I AM NOT A NUMBER, I AM A... Oh, I'm #14,465.

Never mind.

Ok, give me a detailed view on this char. I really can´t image how this should be able.

I neither have a detailed Char nor would I start one without any Sign of interest by Major Crash
I neither know if its OK to be an Elf or Human or any other Metarace, nor if it should be an Adept, a cybered Adept (with 1 or 2 Points
'ware) or a mundane Char. Whether he likes the Idea at all, the Part of the Driver more or the Part of the Face.
I don't know whether the Char shall be made with BP or Karma,what other interest,Skills are wanted .....

You don't need a Pornomancer & "Driver from Hell" -Char with both 20 Dice in Leadership and Driving
But ,believe Me, such a Char can be done
and maybe speciality was the wrong Word. I meant.....(Aufgabengebiet) Area of Activity

Hough !
Medicineman

What about a civil/physical engineer. The perfect person for getting plans from City hall, for planning sewer runs, calculating the best place for positioning demolitions.

My computer engineer mentor, basically knows everything. He builds everything from houses, lazer tag vests, to drink making robots. Which gets me thinking that you could also have a special effects guy. Able to get costumes, arrange special diversions and stunts.

One of the PCs in my group is developing a Catholic Priest as his new character. So far it looks interesting ... of course that will probably change as the character is finalized. But AFAIK he is a combination of a Magician and Face, a fairly solid looking build so far.

I crafted a Vajrayana Buddhist Monk once... Was very interesting indeed... He, too, was a Face/Mage if I remember correctly.