Full Version: Help me with character creation!
Are there any web sites that have tutorials or anything teaching a first time player how to make character?
I think the problem is is that every GM has house rules and char creation quibbles. I'm sure there are sites out there, and they can help with basics (heck, I'm sure WE can help you for that matter), but your GM may throw the char out the airlock because you did something that doesn't agree with his house rules.
For instance - in one of the threads I've read recently the idea of allowing ruthenium and di-coated weapons. Some allow them (or one of them), some don't allow either. Some have a restriction on availability codes you can have as a starting char. (I personally only allow availability codes of 8 or less)
Some of the more experienced members here can direct you to a site, I'm sure. (I can't, sorry...still delving into dumpshock as it is)
If you have a char idea in mind, we can try to help.
For instance - in one of the threads I've read recently the idea of allowing ruthenium and di-coated weapons. Some allow them (or one of them), some don't allow either. Some have a restriction on availability codes you can have as a starting char. (I personally only allow availability codes of 8 or less)
Some of the more experienced members here can direct you to a site, I'm sure. (I can't, sorry...still delving into dumpshock as it is)
If you have a char idea in mind, we can try to help.
Thank you, Do you have a sample character NSRCG that i can see?
New players shouldn't start with character creation !!!
New players should just pick a pre-made, either from the GM or from the book. Pick someone whose picture looks great, or whose name sounds interesting, and THEN PLAY.
It's only after playing a while that you know enough of the game to make your own decisions about creating a character.
I have the archetypes in "character sheet" format on this page that you can print out. It's set up for 8.5" by 11" paper (with half inch margins). Let me know if you need something else.
New players should just pick a pre-made, either from the GM or from the book. Pick someone whose picture looks great, or whose name sounds interesting, and THEN PLAY.
It's only after playing a while that you know enough of the game to make your own decisions about creating a character.
I have the archetypes in "character sheet" format on this page that you can print out. It's set up for 8.5" by 11" paper (with half inch margins). Let me know if you need something else.
| QUOTE (OurTeam @ Oct 14 2004, 11:49 PM) |
| New players shouldn't start with character creation !!! New players should just pick a pre-made, either from the GM or from the book. Pick someone whose picture looks great, or whose name sounds interesting, and THEN PLAY. It's only after playing a while that you know enough of the game to make your own decisions about creating a character. I have the archetypes in "character sheet" format on this page that you can print out. It's set up for 8.5" by 11" paper. Let me know if you need something else. |
As much as I hate cheap min/maxing, I'm pretty sure book archtypes didn't follow the rules, and made the characters sucky on purpose.
Fine for first run, but even then...
BLECH.
The Vehicle Rigger has gear that's above Availability 8. Otherwise they follow the rules, with only minor errors (I think I have a list of all those errors).
As characters, they are not min-maxed, but generally have a BECKS rating around that recommended for starting BECKS characters. As you probably know, BECKS is a character creation technique that lets you focus on the type of character you want, without taking advantage of the different 'costs' the normal rules have for skills/attributes at character creation vs. by spending Karma. This difference in 'cost' often leads to unnatural attributes/skills.
Being archetypical, they typically emphasize one character focus. That's their job, as archetypes. The Combat Decker has two.
For new players, and for people who want to ROLEPLAY, they are ok. They have some skills, particularly knowledge, that help round them out. The best roleplayers can sit down with any character sheet and have a lot of fun.
As characters, they are not min-maxed, but generally have a BECKS rating around that recommended for starting BECKS characters. As you probably know, BECKS is a character creation technique that lets you focus on the type of character you want, without taking advantage of the different 'costs' the normal rules have for skills/attributes at character creation vs. by spending Karma. This difference in 'cost' often leads to unnatural attributes/skills.
Being archetypical, they typically emphasize one character focus. That's their job, as archetypes. The Combat Decker has two.
For new players, and for people who want to ROLEPLAY, they are ok. They have some skills, particularly knowledge, that help round them out. The best roleplayers can sit down with any character sheet and have a lot of fun.
For the record, I do not advocate the use of becks unless you really trust your GM and your team. It leads to extreme specialization, which I find somewhat undesireable. I work with a fairly small play group most of the time, so everyone ends up doing double duty.
Doomsayer, do you have, or have access to the Shadowrun Third Edition Core rulebook? If so, do you have any other Shadowrun books?
Actually because the karma being used the way it is in BeCKS, I see people with average stats all the time. And which is why I use it for my NPCs (by the book, their Stats are equal/worse/superior of the averages of the PCs)
In shadowrun, average tends to mean dead.
| QUOTE (Zenmaxer) |
| For the record, I do not advocate the use of becks unless you really trust your GM and your team. It leads to extreme specialization, which I find somewhat undesireable. I work with a fairly small play group most of the time, so everyone ends up doing double duty. |
Actrually from what I've seen it's exactly opposite. BeCKS tends to create the more generalized characters, with lots of skills at 3-4 instead of one at 6. You're actually alot better off in BeCKS making a generalist and spreading your skill points and attribute points out evenly. OTOH, the point system and priorities both lead to extreme specialization. Indeed they reward it; it costs the same amount of points to buy two skills at 3 or one at 6, but the one at 6 costs 30 Karma while the two at 3 cost 16 karma.
Anyway, OurTeam has a very good point. Building characters without having actually played a game is very ill-advised. Things turn out to be important that you never even dreamed could be. For instance, did you make sure your character has a decent skill rating in Athletics, Stealth, and Ettiquite? If not, you'll be in for quite an unpleasent surprise when it comes to game. How about broadcast encryption? A pocket secretary? Something to use if you get caught alone against an elemental/a drone/a Johnson/sec forces? Who's on your team? Do you have all the bases covered? Do you know what all the bases are?
There's a whole lot of things you never think about until the game starts. One thing the archtypes have down pretty well is they're all well-rounded enough so you at least you know what you'll want to keep for certain next time, when you do take out the pen and paper, the calculator, and the NSRCG and start the process of writing up a new runner..
Also, from what I've heard, the NSRCG is a poor way to learn to design characters. It's a great tool for an experienced player to whip together an idea and see how it looks on paper.
| QUOTE (OurTeam) |
| for people who want to ROLEPLAY, they are ok. |
Ok, I'd just like to point out that roleplaying, even though it DOES mean not to twink youre charas to UNGODLY proportions, dosn't mean to have a character who I would swear to god only used 78 points, or had all C's on his priority list.
Heh. Ironically, I learned how to create characters by first spending an hour or two playing with the NSRCG, and looking up the rules when I came to them. I thought it was a very helpful learning tool, in a way. With the chargen you get to see the rules all "compiled" at once, so to speak. Of course it still requires the books to make any real sense of it all, but I found it a very good way to help keep track of things for me while I was learning the system.
I tend to view the NSRCG as a spellchecker. You still need to learn the system the checker is based on, and if you're really good you don't need the checker at all and find it limiting and error-prone, but to the new or inexperienced person it is very helpful.
I tend to view the NSRCG as a spellchecker. You still need to learn the system the checker is based on, and if you're really good you don't need the checker at all and find it limiting and error-prone, but to the new or inexperienced person it is very helpful.
| QUOTE (Wutasumi) | ||
Ok, I'd just like to point out that roleplaying, even though it DOES mean not to twink youre charas to UNGODLY proportions, dosn't mean to have a character who I would swear to god only used 78 points, or had all C's on his priority list. |
But it's more plausible for a "role-player" to manage to enjoy a character like than than a "roll-player". I still agree that the distinction is often silly, but in this case there's a point.
~J
A sado-masochistic role player could conceivably enjoy anything a 
could throw at him.
could throw at him.
My first character took me over 2 and a half hours to make. Why? For starters I had a million to blow on cool stuff. I bought memory ware and body stuff and gear....etc. It wasn't until I started learning the system better that I toyed with NSRCG. Now, I use it tons but it's because I learned the BBB that I've got a grasp on how it all goes together.
Umm, I've been playing and GMing Shadowrun for longer than i care to think about, and character creation takes me days, not hours. I'm not talking about NPCs, but if I'm going to create a character to actually play in a game, I want to know everything about them.
Depends. If I'm playing an Adept, I can have that sucker hashed out in thirty minutes flat. Otherwise, I do the bulk of creation in the space of about two to four hours, and then tweak it over a period ranging from days to a full month.
~J
~J
I hate spending time in character creation. What I dislike most of all is having to deal with "accounting"....spending all that nuyen on specific pieces of gear so that you have the precise correct amount of bullets and trauma patches and just the right cyberware configuration to eat exactly all your starting resources, and I also am annoyed by having to pick spells and decide what level to take what at.
I usually just make a physad and take a low level of resources. That way I can just bang my character out and start playing already and not mentally exhaust myself before the game has already started.
I would recommend using the pregenerated characters if you're starting out. No point in making your own character while you are inexperienced and you'd just end up making a sucky character anyway with hours and hours of effort. Just go with the pregens.
Finally, while most of the pregens do suck, I actually think the Weapons Specalist is a pretty good one. Not min maxed, obviously, but not a bad character at all. I've seen the Weapons Specialist perform just fine when used by a tactically alert player.
I usually just make a physad and take a low level of resources. That way I can just bang my character out and start playing already and not mentally exhaust myself before the game has already started.
I would recommend using the pregenerated characters if you're starting out. No point in making your own character while you are inexperienced and you'd just end up making a sucky character anyway with hours and hours of effort. Just go with the pregens.
Finally, while most of the pregens do suck, I actually think the Weapons Specalist is a pretty good one. Not min maxed, obviously, but not a bad character at all. I've seen the Weapons Specialist perform just fine when used by a tactically alert player.
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