I'm trying to build a combat decker character. Mind giving some feedback, especially on the decking aspect as I've had little experience with that.

http://www.freewebs.com/thomasoft/Spikehead.rtf

Well, off the top of my head:

Spoof 9 108 54000
Sleaze 9 243 121500

You can't have programs over rating 6 at chargen, and you can't run these on an MPCP7 deck anyway. Take the cash you save on these and up your Attack program to rating 6; it's literally twice as effective that way.

As a personal preference, I tend to keep my Bod rate low (less than half MPCP; 3 in this case), and Sensors higher. Deckers generally go first in cybercombat, and two 6S attacks will kill any single IC (anything more and you want to kill the Black and jack out as soon as possible, IMO; hotdogging in a host is gonna get you fried.)

Good job with the high Masking. Run in Masking mode (Matrix p. 123) most all the time, which with you would net you (Mask10+Sleaze7)/2 = Detection Factor 9, which is more than respectable starting out. Tack on the ability to add Hacking Pool to DF at 2-to-1 (Matrix p. 26), and you can get all the way up to DF 12!

Ooh ooh, one more thing, about cyberware: find Essence room for a rating 3 Math SPU, and maybe an encephalon if you can manage it. Getting just the SPU will bump you up another 3 Hacking Pool, and it's dirt cheap compared to your other 'ware. Get rid of that horrifically Essence-expensive headware memory (and just get a cyberforarm with a DNI pocket secretary or an OMC wired in; it's cheaper and more useful, a real bargain).

Thanks! I forgot about the program ratings. I only checked proggie availability in SR3. Lessee, okay, the book says something about upgrading and source code needed to upgrade, but doesn't list any cost or way to start or obtain source code. What gives?

Would you recommend getting Sleaze 5 instead of Sleaze 6?

PS - I don't have the Matrix supplement. Still can't find it.

One small thing- if you're using canon weapon customization, the shotgun can't have a stock added, page 83 CC.

So that means all shotguns already have stocks...okay, I'll drop the rigid stock and add an Underbarrel weight.

Also dropped the camera and headware memory, got myself an encephalon 2 and math SPU 3.

Also, using cyber-eyes makes you lose your natural low light vision. Not a good trade off. You can just pay for emag-3 and flare comp for .2 essence and keep your natural low light. If you need an eyecamera that badly just get one build into some shades...

If you have man and machine, break down your smartlink, to replace the display with a display link, I think deckers might need those occasionally.

Where's your validate util?
Think you will also want comlink and cellular link to talk to people outside the matrix. Along with an external transducer.

Also, you should probably add access to some databases as contacts.

Your GM may not approve aptitude:computer


Here's the decker from the infiltration challenge, 123 bp with 100 karma:

Solitaire - Female Human Decker

Body 4, Quick 4, Str 2
Cha 6, Int 6, Will 4
Ess 2.2 React 5

Initiative 5 +1d6; Matrix 12 +4d6

Combat Pool 7
Hacking Pool 9
Task Pool 2

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SKILLS

ACTIVE SKILLS

Athletics 2; Biotech 4; Car 2; Computer(Decking) 6( 8 );
Electronics 4; Electronics B/R 6; Etiquette(Matrix) 6(8 );
Negotiation 6; Pistols(Browning Ultra Power) 3(5);
Stealth(Sneaking) 4(6)

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS

Art 5; Asian Cuisine 3; Cellular Network Familiarity 4
Comm Satellite Familiarity 4; Computer Background 6;
conspiracy Theories 2; Corporate Politics (MCT) 2(4)
Data Havens 4; Databases 6;

LANGUAGE SKILLS

English (Netspeak) 5(7); R/W 2
Japanese 3; R/W 1

EDGES & FLAWS

Friends in High Places (Researcher), Good Looking & Knows it, College Education
Moderate Matrix addiction, Sensitive System

CYBERWARE

Datajack, Encepheron(2), Maths SPU (3)

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CURRENT CYBERDECK (Custom Build)

MPCP 8 B6/E4/M8/S6
Response Increase (2); Hardening (4);
ICCM Filter + biomonitor; Hot Assist;
Active Memory 2000MP; Storage Memory 4000MP;
I/O Speed 600
- FUP Ports (6)
- Matrix Interface
- Std Portable Satellite Dish
- Satellite Transmitter(3)
- Laser Transmitter
- Power Lead
- 2x Fibre-optic I/F Cables (2m & 50m)
- RAS Overide
- Offline Storage 7000 MP
- Hitcher Jack
- 2x Battery Packs
- Casing (4)
Normally Runs in masking mode with B3/E4/M12/S6 (Detection Factor 10)

--Also has older MPCP 6 Deck at home.

PROGRAMS

Analyse(6) (sneak 2) 300Mp
Armour(6) 108Mp
Attack(6D) (Targeting, One Shot, Limit(IC)) 80Mp
Attack(6S) (Area 2) 256Mp
Browse(6) (sneak 2) 100Mp
Browse(3) (sneak 2) 49Mp
Camo(6) 108Mp
Cellular Link(6) 36Mp
Cloak(6) 108Mp
Commlink(4) 16Mp
Deception(6) (sneak 2) 200Mp
Decrypt(6) 36Mp
Defuse(4) 32Mp
Laser Link(6) 36Mp
Mirrors(4) 48Mp
Purge(4) 32Mp
Read/Write(6) 72Mp
Read/Write(1) (sneak 2) 50Mp
Relocate(6) 72Mp
Satellite Link(3) 18Mp
Scanner(4) 48Mp
Shield(6) 144Mp
Sleaze( 8 ) 192Mp
Sleaze(6) 108Mp
Sniffer(4) 48Mp
Snooper(4) 32Mp
Spoof(6) (sneak 2) 300Mp
Triangulation(4) 32Mp
Validate(6) (sneak 2) 400Mp


Agent-Core(4) (Pilot 4, Masking 4, Evasion 4,
Init 4+1d6, 16 Utility points) 160Mp

Current Agent Builds
- Sleaze(6), Browse(3), Deception(6), Read/Write(1) 598Mp
- Sleaze(6), Attack(6D), Mirrors(4) 396Mp

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Typical Program Load out for recce run using laser relay

- Attack(6D) (Targeting, One Shot, Limit(IC)) 80Mp
- Attack(6S) (Area 2) 256Mp
- Sleaze( 8 ) 192Mp
- Cloak(6) 108Mp
- Deception(6) (Sneak 2) 200Mp
- Analyse(6) (Sneak 2) 300Mp
- Browse(6) (Sneak 2) 100Mp
- Validate(6) (Sneak 2) 400Mp
- Relocate(6) 72Mp
- Armour(6) 108Mp
- Laser-Link(6) 36Mp
- Shield(6) 144Mp
----------------------
- Total 1996Mp

Memory swap validate for Spoof(6)(Sneak 2) as necessary

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OTHER GEAR

Browning Ultra Power Pistol
50 rnds std ammo
concealable holster
pocket secretary
8x tres chic clothes
Leather Jacket
Form Fitting BA(2)
1x dataline tap(6)
2x dataline taps( 8 )
Standard satellite dish

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CONTACTS/DATAHAVENS

Deckmeister(2), Researcher(2), Shadowland(2), Info Broker(2),
Software Pirate(2), Reporter(2), Fence(1), Otaku(1), Gang Leader(1),
Technician(1), Nightclub Owner(1), Street Samurai(1), Combat Mage(1),
Private Detective(1), Fixer(1), Decker(1)

DATABASE ACCESS

State Records - Dept of Motor Vehicles
City Records - Building Permits
Consumer Records - Intel-XS
Matrix Records - Memory Wall
Business Records - Dun & Bradstreet's Index

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Solitaire worked for MCT for two years after leaving college, before deciding that a wage slave's life wasn't for her. She jumped ship and started to run the shadows, shortly afterwards she met up with Advent, they've been a partnership since then.

Sigh. Validate's not in the BBB.

Hate how you need to have the supplements to truly be good at something. When we only had MiTS, the awakened were in heaven. The rigger and decker really felt left out, and we tried to get more books. Without Rigger 3 and Matrix, our rigger and decker still feel left out.

From the main book: You're missing Commlink, Read/Write, and Decrypt, all of which can be important

I'd seriously consider getting a set of thermo goggles and ditching the cyber eyes. Get the flare comp as a retinal mod or bioware (nicitating membranes) and add in eyelights. Eyelights + natural low light vision = good.

You should make really, really sure that your GM will allow Aptitude (Computer).

I'd also go with Computer 6 instead of computer/decking 5/7. Once the game starts, blow three karma on getting it to 6/7 and you'll have an extra die for all of those non-decking computer tests (search ops being the big one).

If you've got Matrix, I'd also look to getting a wireless link of some sort. Decking through freesat is a lot safer than doing it from a line which ultimately leads to your flat.

Those three are in storage memory. Isn't it easy and relatively fast to swap memory? Am I missing anything?

I'll talk to my GM. If not, I'll switch to Natural Hardening.

Synthetic eye mods are that bad, huh. Alright, I'll ditch the cyber replacement.

You've allocated a lot of resources toward contacts. Unless you're in a game where the GM requires everyone a character knows to be a contact, then only keep the contacts you can use or maybe diversify them a bit more.

Unless the catgirl can be used for gathering info during legwork, she shouldn't be a contact, especially a level two. Just going by the description, it seemed like she was more of a background character.

You also have two Lonestar contacts. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but one could probably do the job of the other (granted, at a raised TN). The technician probably doesn't have to be Lonestar. The beat cop could be a Knight Errant guard if the techie stays a Lonestar employee.

The "average guy working in the hazardous materials section of some chemical R&D plant," should have a somewhat more defined job, and you should also decide which corp he works for since it might be important.

You have two street shamans, the stripper is probably a more useful contact since she can provide more information (magical and entertainment/society). HWSW/Ethos could be anything else and still maintain the core idea of the character (well, unless being a shaman was the core idea).

I'm not sure how useful the vampire hunter is going to be. From the description he seemed like a delusional guy that happened to frequent the shop, but if he's really an ass kicker of paracritters, then he could be a viable contact.

The decker, street samurai, hitman , street kid, and smugger are fine since it's clear what they are.

The thing with the eye mods you might have missed is that 'natural' eye mods have much better target numbers. The cyber replacement versions are around twice as bad. If you replace your eyes with cybereyes, then you lose your natural low light, which is much better than the cyber replacement low light.

I missed them (the non-active programs) in the section breaks

Cybernetic eye mods are nice and all, but not as good as the natural thing (take a look at the perception table). Eyelights provide a -6 to vision modifiers if you have low light vision out to 100 meters. Add in flare comp and your vision modifiers would be +2 in full darkness, +2 in light smoke, and +4 in heavy or thermal smoke. Thermo only really helps you in smoke, so keeping it as goggles is a good idea.

The contacts are all spoofs of known characters. For example, we encounter Freeman in a previous run when our DM was in one of his weird moods and threw facehuggers at us. It did cheer up our burnt out group

Isn't KE lone star's rival though? I mean, I *think* I heard LS' the policing outfit around Seattle, which means KE isn't around. Or are they hired by corps?

Perhaps Ethos can be a junkyard (parts and gear) contact, perhaps a little drug dealing on the side. Sound feasible?

The catgirl...yeah, background character. I *could* attempt to tack on some form of 'use'. Probably media...I'll expand more on her background. Either that or I take a media contact.

So... the eye mods are only good if you're a human? Hmm, okay. I'll grab some goggles.

Sidenote: Some people have been recommending me SMGs instead of shotguns. Are they 'better'? Spikehead only brings the shottie when big guns are required. Also, do I need to pay extra since I have people on payroll and own a bar?

Take a look at the statistics yourself, but for a decker, natural low light + eye lights is as good as most cybereye combos for a lot less cash and comparable essence. By the time you cram Low-light, Light systems, and thermo into a set of eyes, you're out of free essence (in alphaware) anyway and it comes out equal in cost to just getting the eyelights. For a decker, I'd get alphaware eyelights, alphaware image link, and a nicitating membranes bioware. That'll run you 5,600 and .32 essence for the cyber and 8,000 and .1 bio index for the bioware.

Thermo is better in smoke, but only by a +2 or +3 modifier. If you were a sam, I might worry about it, but for a decker, probably not. Rain and mist are both the kinds of situations where there is little advantage to cyber thermo over gear based thermo.

Actually, to look at the statistics in depth, here they are. It's pointless to talk about flare comp, since you can't fit it into the free essence however you do it.

Let's talk about a cybereye with low light, eyelights, and thermo for this example. Without the eyelights, the cybereye is clearly worse in half-light situations. Without the thermo, it's clearly worse in Mist and smoke.

It doesn't "just leave cost"

Goggles can not be used with normal eye mods.
Goggles are can be left behind or broken.
Goggles must also be readied, which takes time that could be spent dealing with the problem. Surprise happens, and it's deadly enough without worring about scrambling to put on goggles.

Well, both packages being discussed include eye lights. If you take the eyelights out of the picture, it is much harder to discuss the two systems since neither is clearly better than the other.

Eyelights actually do nothing in smoke or rain, so there's not too much point to using them, in any case. Only when it's raining at night or the like would that come into play.

On the sudden rain issue, I meant that you should always have the goggles handy on a run, and in other situations if possible. It's not like they're illegal or difficult to transport. If it's a sudden rainstorm, it's still unlikely that the turn or so it takes you to find and put them on will be life-and-death.

Again, it really is based on personal preference and the kinds of situations you run into in your games. If you're mainly dealing with low light situations, by all means go with the natural if you've already got it. If you're dealing with a lot of smoke and rain, then you might well be better off with thermo as cyber.