BTB, I am extremely frustrated that the Wrestling, Professional martial art doesn't have finishing maneuver as one of its techniques.

Good news, my expendable minions:

Obidancer has expressed interest in portraiting our little group - it will just take a while since he is pretty busy with his day job.

In other news, I think I have found the real life equivalent of bnc - should she get older and decide to go into cabaret

Sorry it's taking so long to actually finish up my character. I'm not even paying attention to the guys kicking a ball in the grass.

I'll admit, I'm a bit stuck in a quagmire. I had forgotten how tedious character creation is for me with a system this technical and detailed. I'm also running into a situation where it feels like every interesting option is just kind of shit. By the time I get 75% of the way through the character build and fine tuning starts I want to start from scratch cause I'm not happy with what the final product is going to be. Part of that is because I'm comparing it to Slobber, who is a one trick min/max combat focused character. Nonetheless, I constantly look at the builds I'm coming up with for a melee character and walk away thinking "Wow, melee sure is really expensive and yet also less powerful and versatile to just buying a fucking Ares Alpha and 120 rounds of APDS ammo."

Plenty of options... I see your pain.
Why not both? You get 14 points, not 10 - allow for very rounded characters.

You should be able to do some scary unarmed character, and if you play an adept then you can also use the mastery qualities from forbidden arcana. One let you cast some utility spells with your unarmed attacks, the other (Death dealer?) gives you +1 DV for your killing hands. If you built for Melee then you have a very high strength I'd consider also looking into thrown weapons should be more stealthy than guns and do plenty of damage and have good range. There are some cool adept powers for that, but you should also be very good as a mundane.

Oh... and if you want to have just unarmed - there is the Horse mentor spirit - that lets you learn the movement power. So you may not even need a ranged option as you close the distance within a heart blink - sure it can be achieved with a spirit, but when it is your own ability it feels so much cooler.

... but why not have a gun as well?

I am just tossing some ideas, hoping it helps.

@Jack
So, how much karma did we get for the last part?


So funny! xD When I read your post, I immediately thought of her xD
luckace and I watched her live. I absolutely get what you mean ^^


-----------

@Slobbertooth



So you dropped your psycho killer?


As for the char build ... well, did you expect a wrestler to be a bad-ass shadowrunner? I think, if you go for melee, it should be something like a street samurai: quick, agile, versatile, sneaky and mobile. A predator. High defense pool, quick, and able to cover all kinds of terrain. There's plenty of gear and augmentations that allow you to do that. Throwing weapons are an awesome idea, and for long distance you could add a bow. Drawn by someone really strong, a bow can be a horrific weapon.

He's soooooo boring.


Yes

I long gave up on using the professional wrestler martial art. If I'm doing martial arts, I'm just going to pick up Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu and be happy. I'll just flavor him as a wrestler.

@Slobber:
I thought you wanted to be more of a Face with a dash of badass melee. But I get what you mean. I've build some really capable characters in my time to which I now always compare all my other Chars (For the curious: Kynos, Isaint, John Henry and Rex are in order: Street Sam, Adept, Robot and Mage.) The trick is not to be the one to do the most damage (that requires extreme min-maxing) but to be capable to do just enough damage and at a time when others can't.
And it doesn't matter if you are not the best - no-one needs to know that after all. You'll be surrounded by mages, one of them certainly can give you a boost.
If you are looking for a cheap way to get your char into the heavy weight game: Narco+Double Elastin reduce the damage you take from drugs by 3. That allows you to take Narco and Stim with relative impunity. At a strong nephritic screen so you don't have to worry about addiction either. Get the Adrenaline Boost Quality and you'll be always first - no matter what.

(speaking of which: Stay away from the bioware boosted reflexes. That shit is really bad since it can't be enhanced by drugs and also can't be upgraded)

@Volker:
According to my notes it should have been 9 Karma, bringing the total to 50 Karma for this story.

I want to make sure I'm clear on the rules here.

1. Shapeshifters have two sets of stat blocks. One for their animal form and then one for their metahuman form. I would have a separate set of stat blocks

2. Boosts to one form don't count as boosts towards the other? A str 8 Tiger could be a Str 2 human

3. Is the animal form more like this or like this?

1. Yes, but your stats are usually within a certain range of each other STR 8 Tiger would translate to a STR 6 Human - unless you started as a STR 4 Tiger and spend Karma to get to 8 during the story.
On the whole I don't hold with the separate stat blocks. If you train, you train both sides of your being equally, so a raise affects both sides automatically (and stops me from getting a headache trying to keep track of the stats)

2. See above

3. The former. You are born as a real animal of your species and learn to transform into a metahuman. But be aware that the Uneducated quality is a real pita, making canine shifters one of the better options.

Followups

1. Could I buy off the uneducated trait?

2. The initiative bonus only applies in the animal form and not in the metahuman form, correct?

3. How do shifters interact with 'ware? Can they use it all? Do they lose dual-natured if they lose their innate magic rating to essence loss?

1. Yes

2. Yes

3. They can't shift without at least one point of magic. They need Deltaware, everything else is rejected during the transformation and do essence x 10 P damage. Shapeshifters aren't dual natured anymore by default (they also don't regenerate and don't have an automatic allergy against silver)

So was the errata errata'd?

Sadly, the errata didn't go through in the end

But if you want, we can add that rule anyway. Just be aware that as a dual natured critter you are pretty vulnerable against attacks from the astral.

I don't care one way or the other. I'd like to have the regen, but mostly for the flavor of the "Hulking up" and the heroic comeback, and not having it makes things happily simpler

At which rate can we convert money to Karma?

the usual 1 karma = 2000 Nuyen

That's cheap. Why am I considering buying stuff? o.O

---

Uhm, Jack. Would it mess up your storyline if bnc went searching for Slob and Krestov instead of boarding the plane? xD I think this is what she'd do. If she can't reach them, doesn't know whether they're okay, knows they're being hunted by both the law and Aztechnology blood mages, she wouldn't just lean back and think "oh, yeah, probably they just forgot to arrive at one of the most important flights in their life in time". If the links are off, she'd have to assume that something bad might have happened.

I'll edit - but Yael is going on the plane... She feels that we can only make it worse by staying in town.

That's what bnc does: making things worse.
Of I get news that they're okay, she'll go on board

Yael is too street-smart to do that kind of thing, but I rolled her thrill seeker just to see if her sense of adventure gets the best of her.

Thrill seeker: 10d6t5 5

Can you please roll on Con (Persuasion)?

Con: 9d6t5 3

She'll improve a bit next chapter - but for now we settle for 9 dice;)

Opposed: 6d6t5 4
Sorry

So Yael is boarding the suborbital alone and bnc is going to look for troubles... I hope that I am not writing her off the plot,
but she does not want to miss that flight, given how many dead bodies were left behind.

I know there is a way to give a character sharp claws. Is there a way to give them sharp teeth and a bite attack?

check out the Fangs quality from run faster...

Thanks for the shout. I'll look at it. Didn't expect to find it in qualities.


Edit after looking at it. Shame that it would require playing a changeling and taking surge. Which, per rules that I can only imagine were written by the fun police, requires that I take Surge 3 to actually get control over picking them. And here I had laid out a nice 10 points of stuff I wanted. (Fangs, Electroception, Low Light Vision (Cats Eyes) - Scales, Striking Skin Pigmentation)

Well, I think that there is also a bioware/cyber options. I know there is one if you are a human and want to have troll horns or orcs tusks. I'll see if I can find it.


Edit: Check out Chrome flesh -120 there are Fangs and Retractable fangs if you are into the vampire shtick...

Um, yeah, that's not ideal, it will throw quite a lot of things out of whack.

@SquirrelDude
There are actually a few options to get fangs:
Chrome Flesh p.91 Junkyard Jaw is the most powerful
p.121 Fangs(retractable) are more subtle but also a bit under powered thanks to a low limit
Getting Infected also grants you in many forms a bite attack
The shapechange spell allows you to turn into mundane animals with bite attacks (can be taken as adept spell)
As for Surge: You can take Surge II for 15 so you can determine the positive qualities. Instead of a roll, I'd be picking the negative qualities for you as GM

From way back a week or so ago. Yes, I was specifically asking about the last part of the campaign. Everything else had been added up and/or spent on Slob previously. I don't have full notation of what or where it was spent, so I'm just looking for the karma rewards to add onto the character and then put him into chummer or something to put him on ice.

Also need to buy off wanted

As mentioned, the last part was worth 9 Karma for a total of 50 for the whole story.

Perfect. Slob has 21 Karma remaining. With GM's permission, I would like to spend 20 of that, and have Slob spend the next few months hiding out in Europe to remove the wanted negative quality.

Also, submitting for peer review the revised wrestler character, draft #alot.

pg 1
pg 2

Ignore the "surge" part of the name, that's just so I could have two files in Chummer to mess around with Surge vs not Surge builds.

I'm still working on full description/backstory details. I'll admit I had a much clearer idea of what I as going to do if you picked unusual pigmentation than if you picked unusual hair.

@SD Nice composition, social/combat skills. One comment is that I think there is a social stigma against surged individuals that may net you a negative dice pool in social interactions. You got me thinking about the show Shark tank as your character seems like a shark in a suit.

One thing that I suggest is to take the double elastin (perhaps instead of the Platelet factories), same functionality but for stun damage.
A reason for that is that you are well armored and play with a willpower of 1. So, all the damage you are likely to take is stun damage. So I think you'll get more durability from that.

Also note that he has a weakness to magic - stunbolt, mental manipulation, and illusions to be exact. I don't critique this choice, but just be aware of it.
If you want to mitigate it a bit consider going for a QI focus - (note that you can align it with Shark to reduce the karma cost to bind it).
Also Perhaps this weakness can have some role in his backstory.

Are Sharkskin and Ohrtoskin compatible?

I think that Sharkskin is an upgrade of orthskin.

oh. I guess that implies compatibility

I finally caught up descriping how I'd picture bnc in our picture:

http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?show...25#entry1340388

@Volker
You should add your physical description of bnc, so Obi knows what she actually looks like

@SquirrelDude
About your Attributes: I'd suggest putting one point of BOD into WIL - that low WP will likely be a problem - especially when you start to berserk - and raise your LOG at the earliest opportunity, because with the Berserker quality you'll have a LOG of 0 making you technically incapacitated.

@Volker @Gilga - Can confirm that Sharkskin is an Orthoskin upgrade that grants +1 Reach to unarmed combat.

@Jack I'm not keen on the Will being two. I've considered making Int 4 and dropping that point into Will as well.

I already have something a plan for the first 30 or so Karma. 10 into Logic. 17 in to Muay Thai for Kick Attack, Ti Khao, and Finishing Maneuver or Crushing Jaws. Maybe 5 for Sacrfice Throw from Jiu Jitsu. 3 for Agile Defender at some point.

I want to buy a new MP, but I'm not yet sure.
Ares Crusader II seems to be a good deal: good accuracy, a lot of ammo, nice DV, and even 2 points of RC.
I'm also considering the Fianchetti Military 100. The base DV is one lower, it's got only 20 rounds of ammo and no RC, but it can do FA. I believe there are a lot of possibilites to cover up for the RC, but I'm not sure how much FA is worth with only 20 rounds.

What do you think?

If you are looking for a SMG, look no further than the ARES SIGMA-3 (Gun Heaven 3, p.11)


ACC DAM AP MODE RC AMMO AVAIL COST
4(6) 8P — SA/BF/FA (2) 50 (D) 7R 1,000¥
Collapsible Stock, Foregrip, Powered Slide Mount (Rating 2), Smartlink

Ares Crusader is a great buy for a gun you don't plan to modify a lot with the built in gas vent II and smartgun system, and the wonderful 40 round magazine. You need to spend an extra 500¥ on a suppressor, but it's rock solid the moment you pick it up. The fianchetti has the full auto gimmick, and that gives you the suppressive fire action. If you really care about getting that action from a machine pistol, then the Steyr TMP has more damage if you want to spend more money tricking out the gun. One other option to consider is the Remington Suppressor (Gun Heaven 3, pg 9). 7P -1AP RC2 Acc 6, built in suppressor. Downside is the Ammo: 15, but it's hard to turn down a damage code that good on a machine pistol. It's the only MP/SMG with native AP.

If you're also upgrading your submachine gun (the Ingram is really good, but why not), then consider getting HK Urban Combat (Run&Gun pg 36). Extremely illegal, but MAD scanners are never going to pick it up. Just make sure to pack some Hi-De Rounds (Hard Targets pg 189) so that you don't get popped because of your ammo.

I'll add that I probably slightly overvalue guns that start with either a suppressor or a gas vent if I want them to fire full auto, to the point where I generally only consider guns that start with one or the other. I think they're the two best weapon mods in the game after a smartlink, and it's the only way to get both because they take up the same slot otherwise. Guns that start with an R availability rating and a suppressor are also valuable because you otherwise can't open carry a suppressed weapon.

Thanks, boys!

The Steyr TMP and the Ares Sigma-3 both have a too low Accuracy, I find.
I guess, I'll go with the Suppressor.
So, I'll basically need an internal smartlink system (+700y) and gas vent system lvl 3 (600) and I'm good, right?

Something else:
We have received some nice stuff we could keep (e.g. the armor). Has anyone noted what this is? When we received the equipment, I thought we had to give it back after the run and didn't write it down. Was there anything else beside the armor? Also, does anyone have the stats?

That's really all you need, yeah.

Additional fiddly bits I'd recommend
- Imaging Scope (Core 432) - Vision magnification is standard, helps overcome machine pistols' trash range.
- Personalized Grip (Hard Targets pg 182) - Because more accuracy is always good.
- Gecko Grip (Run & Gun pg 52) - Because dropping your weapon when you need it sucks
- Concealed Quick-Draw Holster (Run and Gun pg 51) - Obvious reasons here
- Extended Clip(s) (Hard Targets Pg 180)- Makes harder to hide, but helps overcome the weapon's main weakness.

If you plan on this being bnc's gun and no one else's, you can also invest in an advanced safety system (Run & Gun pg 50). Slob's Raiden electrocutes people if they try to use it..

Well, I just learned about hand filled bullets which can add +1DV or -1AP... Though, Anna would lack the contacts in Germany for such a treat.

It's not for her personally, but a drone-mounted gun. I guess, Imaging Scopre and Extended Clips can still make sense, but the rest is obsolote, then, isn't it?

The question is if you really want to invest much in a gun for a drone. I'd just put something cheap and effective unless it is an expensive drone.

I just received 800.000 to spend. It is an expensive drone.

Yeah, the rest is obsolete. Just make sure to grab a full rating 2 extended clip.

Cool, thanks, mates!

Anything in this regard?