And trolls did too, in SR3 - but they now have -1 agility, not -1 reaction.

And dwarves get stuck with both a penalty to reaction and a penalty to init (which reaction is factored into) - they're really making them slow as molasses.

Who's to say they still don't?

Also, alot of people tend to mistake people under a certain height for children. Just like they tend to mistake guys with long hair for women, and women with short hair for men. Or two men going around together as being gay(yet, strangely, two women are not often automatically assumed to be lesbian...)

And, here is the thing to remember: Since VR totally over-rides the senses..well, you probably COULD have dwarven joytoys living it up on Myspace 3.0...just don't ever epect to meet them in person, that "13 year old dwarf girl" the pervert is going after might actually be a 40 year old male troll

Don't forget mages. They get no penalty on Intuition based magic, and the tiny penalty to their Logic and Charisma(1 less isn't that big a deal)doesn't matter compared to the huge Body and Strength bonus. Well, +2 Strength isn't huge, per se, but being able to start with the 4 and 3 before touching them(if you even decide to), makes them a happy power factory for any class.

Dwarves, though, do make great mages, also not having to touch Strength, and the Body and Willpower bonus is great on top. the 1 less reaction can be worked around. But Dwarves AND Orks were Priority D in SR3, making them the natural choice for ANYTHING. You only had to touch priority E if you played a mage, and then, Skill points were still 27, and were enough to get what you needed.

Yet, I still didn't see huge crowds. People, in general, in my observations, still prefered to play elves and trolls. Elves i guess because they're elves and trolls because they are bigger, meaner orks(never mind the typical troll is NOT the berserking maniac most people seem to decide to play, but that's another story.)

as a dwarf there's not really all that much you're likely to hit your head on anyways *g*
the one thing that will come back to bite you later on is the money you have to pay more to get things made modified to your size . . especially the bigger/more expansive things get REALLY expansive because of the % increase . .

Just coincidence but that ranking is actually what you get when you total the individual country demographics given in Shadows of Europe:
67.29% - Human
10.35% - Elf
09.18% - Ork
07.24% - Dwarf
04.71% - Troll

LOL, if dwarves have man-sized torsos, I don't see that excuse working in 2070. On the other hand, there is bodysculpting...I guess desperate dwarves could make a killing in Thailand.





Ew.






Pass the mind bleach?

Toxic Great Mother Shamans.

Dwarves didn't have Attribute penalties in SR3, though, so the change in how Attributes are purchased makes orks and trolls a better deal. The dwarven disadvantages (lower running speed and requiring gear adjusted for their use) haven't changed.


That's part of why orks are the new min-maxer's choice. They get a net gain of 20 points compared to a human, and their bonuses are good even for non-combat builds, since a 4 Body and 3 Strength are good levels to have those two Attributes at, and it leaves more points for other Attributes. Orks are also cooler in SR4 - they have orxploitation, ork posers, and the Or'zet language now.

Dwarves, by comparison, have a net gain of 5 points compared to a human, and suffer from that lower running speed and require specially modified equipment. Dwarves can be fun to roleplay, but they are a bad choice from a purely min-maxing perspective, especially compared to SR3.

Trolls give you the most net gain compared to humans (30 points), but a Strength of 5 is more than a non-combat type really needs, and the hit to the maximums on Agility and most of the mental Attributes really hurts. They make good combat-oriented characters, but are sub-optimal for other roles. Although I admit, I still like playing them in such roles, sub-optimal or not, because I like playing characters who are different than the usual stereotype of a troll.

Elves are virtually the opposite of trolls - they are the only metatype that actually has a net loss of 10 points compared to a human, but they are still a viable choice because they don't have any lowered Attribute maximums or other penalties, and because their bonuses are in very useful areas. They start out a bit weaker (unless you are playing a face), but have higher potential later on.

Well it was described as a treatment mostly aimed at the super rich who wanted their children to stay children, and yeah, it did not increase life span at all.

Of course, in the fluff it was also stated as something that a subset of streetwalkers used as well, if I remember correctly the cop relating the story was suspended because she busted a companyman with a "Panner" who was actually legal age.

Ok, I have to say that I do agree with that, the Halfers got some great art, and, in fact, the art seems to have made them more proportional, no longer the short legs and normal sized upper bodies. Which, really, makes more sense. Basicly to me, the Dwarf's main physical differences between a human is denser muscle mass, a much more efficient immune system(which..could be a factor of their size), and their size.

Now, though, as for any character concept being able to be done by a human? I suppose that depends on your idea of "concept." For me, Meta-type is an integral part of the concept, as it shapes the build..And, national origin is part of the concept as well, and no way yu are going to tell me that a Way of the Wheel practiontioner from Tir na nOg could be done as a human..

Funny you should mention that... but actually there are a few non-elves who practice path magic. They are considered pariah by the Tir government and the High Order of the Sun and the Stars denies their existence. So if you happen to be from the nOg, and you do path magic, and you're a human, then the first part of your "why I live in Seattle and run the shadows" backstory is essentially done for you.

Remember that people often imprint on whatever kind of magic is around them, so someone growing up magical in a Tir elven family may well develop path magic.

-Frank

But wouldn't proportional dwarves be, well....halflings?

A normally proportioned dwarf is a midget, though the politically correct term is "little person".

D&D is not Shadowrun. Dwarf is a term that has been used to apply to Little People, but they are NOT proportioned the same way as non-little people. If a SR Dwarf were proportioned the same as a SR Human, then, the Dwarf would NOT be a little person.

Take the cyber feet with the wheels inside. When things get bad, pop the feet out and have an elf tow the dwarf at high speed.