Pretend you have a street sam with the following stats and skills:

ATTRIBUTES

B: 6(10)
Q: 6
S: 6
C: 3
I: 6
W: 8
R: 6(10)
E: .30
I: 1d6(3d6)

Combat Pool: 10

ACTIVE SKILLS:

Assault Rifles: 6
Pistols: 6
Throwing(Grenades): 2(4)
Unarmed Combat(Brawling): 4(6)
Launch Weapons: 2
Athletics: 4
Stealth: 4
Etiquette(Street): 2(4)
Biotech (First Aid) 1(3)
Computer: 1
Electronics: 3
Electronics B/R: 5

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS

Arms Dealers: 5
Fences: 4
Chicago Area: 6
Police Procedures: 4
Security Procedures: 5
Shadowrunner Haunts: 6

English: 6
German: 3

...and you have 23 Karma to spend. How would you do it?

The only restriction are: No uses contingent on getting a specific piece of cyberware or equipment, or assumptions about the local fauna based on his area knowledge skill...

Well, one or more of us should pick up Russian at some point… any idea if you get the free R/W skill points after chargen, or if that's just a chargen bonus?

~J

Launch Weapons: 4 (10)
Stealth: 5 (7)
Biotech: 2(3)
First Aid: 4 (2)

That leaves you 1 Good Karma for something else, assuming my math is right. Stealth is always good. Improving First Aid a smidge is also helpful for anyone in combat. And, I assume you have an assault rifle with a grenade launcher, and, well, without speculating on fauna, let us just say, it can't hurt to fight at as long a range as possible

Unless you're not going to improve biotech or first aid, I'd say don't improve the specialization and just let it get rolled into the base skill when you raise it. Improving both at the same time is inefficient.

~J

Launch Weapons 2 is kinda low to be of any use - since you have Assault Rifle, you might consider specializing in Grenade Launchers.

It looks like the critter has a military background, so:

Car
B/R assault rifle
Knowledge: Military Tactics

-Siege

I don't think Car will be necessary in the short term

Though we might get one soon, if we can scrounge the cash.

~J

Nah - "Brawling" is a martial art style from CC.

-Siege

Brawling: +2 dice after a football match, -3 dice if not drunk.

~J

(+2 dice only if skill user's team wins)

Basher, he's saying thats how much it costs to raise the skill to that level....

I'm tired, go away

Er.. I knew that! yeah!

Well, martial arts aren't specializations of unarmed combat...

JaronK

Excuse me but what is the drawback of specializing in this "brawling" skill? Seems like a smart trick as someone said...

You can't use it in a sanctioned martial arts tournament.

We're using the basic rules for unarmed combat (which still let you specialize "by martial arts style", last time I checked) and I just grabbed a style name from the CC that sounded right.

Frankly, the whole "what is the disadvantage there" question is just bullshit anyway... I could have put down "Karate", and what disadvantages would that have that I'd care about? I'm a gun guy, as long as it gives me 6 dice for punching people with a shock glove, I don't give a damn. The basic rules for unarmed specialization are what they are, and it's up to the GM to figure out what penalties he's going to assign to it, so spare me the righteous anger, and piss off if you don't have anything useful to say.

Oh, and thanks to everyone who hasn't been trying to steer this off-topic.

Keep it in mind, though, because having an extra vehicle could (as mentioned) be extremely useful once we get the cash.

You have a datajack, right?

~J

I refuse to work out the costs but here are my suggestions.

Improve Biotech, Etiquette, Stealth, and the combat skill you use most frequently. Pick up either intimidation, interrogation, or negotiation. Pick up a hobby knowledge skill. Just generally round out your sammie.

All work and no play makes Sam an antisocial fragger.

Ettiquette, no question. And Negotiations while you're at it. Seriously, think about it. Do you want to rely on your group's Face all the time? Your contacts know you, not your group's Face. Increasing your ettiqutte does you a lot of material good, if nothing else.

a bunch of knowledge skills at 1s and 2s. This character could really use some fleshing out and knowledge skills are great for that. Your attributes are nuts, so no work needed there. Maybe raise base ettq so you can raise st ettq, and pickup computers of 2.