Author Topic: Shadowrun??  (Read 26484 times)

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Kari

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Re: Shadowrun??
« Reply #60 on: October 19, 2009, 03:45:37 AM »
Just be careful. The costs for that will add up quick.

And yeah, for the record, no cyberzombies (NSRCG can't even handle them, I think. For those curious, normally, you die if your essence ever hits 0 or below, although even .001 Essence is enough for you to stay alive. Cyberzombies break that rule. The drawback is the ridiculous maintenance costs and a whole mess of psychoses and other problems.)

Tallen - you don't have to take much money if you don't want to (especially since what you're doing is already expensive, Karma-wise).

VennDygrem

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Re: Shadowrun??
« Reply #61 on: October 19, 2009, 04:21:47 AM »
I'm having a bit of trouble understanding the creation process using the program, after some light reading. Looks like I'll need to dig a bit deeper first. >_>

Kari

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Re: Shadowrun??
« Reply #62 on: October 19, 2009, 05:08:57 AM »
Yeah. Here's the summary about using the Becks system.

After clicking 'new' in NSRCG, click the Karma (BecKS) tab. You have 425 Karma to spend - all the costs are there and listed for you. You start with Race (with the option of choosing Metavarients, aka subraces), what kind of Magic (if any), how much money you want (up to 1 million), and what contacts you want. If you chose to be an Aspected or Full Magician, you can also purchase your spell points here. (In fact, you must.)

Second screen is more detail on race - you select precisely which race you want, which metavarient (if you purchased it) and if you want to be an Albino (and if you do, which flaw you want.)

Third screen is basic details about your character. Feel free to skip this one, for the most part, although you can build your Lifestyle on this screen, as well. (If you don't want to go into detail on building your lifestyle, aka, your home or homes, and just want one of the normal life styles, that's fine and you can skip this screen entirely.)

Fourth screen is Edges and Flaws. The program will provide some small information on the one you select (and a page reference!) Remember, Surge is off-limits. Also, if you buy Amnesia level 4, stop right there. (I don't recommend it. But, if you WANT to do it, I'll be creating the character from there... and you'll get to find out what your character is capable of throughout the game.)

Fifth screen is Attributes. Just as a note, the higher you buy an Attribute, the more the next point costs. (4, 6, 8, 10, 12). Every stat starts off at 1, and you can raise it to a base of 6, then racial modifications are applied. If you have a negative racial mod, your cap is lowered by that much. (For example, Trolls have a -2 to Charisma, so you can only ever buy that stat up to 4 during creation.) Also listed on this screen are your various dice pools. Most of these will be 0. Everyone has a Combat Pool, and this is incredibly important in combat (as you might imagine.) It's modified by Quickness, Intelligence, and Willpower - just so you know. If you're an Awakened who can use spells, your Spell Pool is also here (Int and Wis, I believe.) Finally, your derived Attributes are here as well, such as Reaction (another big combat stat, really.) Just a note: Initiative dice cannot be changed by stats, only magic and cyberware.

Fifth screen is skills. They're split up into types of skills (first box). Second box is the skill itself, while the third box lists specialties for the skill listed. Some (like most gun skills) will let you enter a specific specialty after you click Add. Also, the Knoweldge Skills are free, to a certain point, based on your Int (in other words, you have so many points to buy free Knowledge skills with, then the rest cost Karma.) Specialties are a very, VERY good way to save Karma here, folks - if you buy Pistols up to 6, it gets very expensive. But you can buy Pistols to, say, 2, and Ares Predator (a common heavy pistol) up to 6 much cheaper. Also, please note, if a skill exceeds the relevant stat (Quickness in the case of most gun skills), it becomes much, MUCH more expensive to buy up.

Sixth screen is Cyber and Bioware. Cyberware is divided out by types, then some even have more subtypes (it's a tree system). Once you choose your cyberware, you can also select which grade you want to buy it as. For a new character, this is ONLY Standard or Alpha. Standard is exactly that, Alphaware is .8 the Essence cost, but 2 times the nuyen cost. Bioware is the second tab, and set up pretty similarly to the Cyberware tab. One of the nice things about NSRCG is that it'll keep track of exactly how low your Essence is going from all this - and will tell you when you start violating the rules. It does not, however, prevent you from buying conflicting pieces of Cyber and Bio ware. Some simply do not work together (such as Wired Reflexes and Synaptic Accelerators.)

Seventh screen is optional: It's about magic. This is where you choose your exact tradition, and your spells, Foci, etc. There are a LOT of options here. Too many to go over now, but if anyone needs any help with this, I'll provide it. One quick note: If you purchased Aspected or Full Magician, and you did not purchase any Spell Points, the spells tab will not be available. You'll have to backtrack and buy some.

Eighth screen is gear. Go nuts, buy what you want. It's got a LOT of stuff. Again, a tree-based system for purchase. A helpful box will provide you with the info on whatever item you've selected.

Ninth screen is transportation, or rather, vehicles. It's pretty much the same as the gear screen, but customized for helping out Riggers (with a rigger tab for more info.) No one has expressed any interest thus far in rigging, so unless anyone wants more info, I'll pass on that for now.

Tenth screen is decks and decker info. Precisely the same as the vehicle screen but for decks (computers and hacking.) I don't recommend anyone play deckers, again, although having a deck isn't bad - just make sure you have a little computer skill.

Eleventh screen is contacts info. You get two freebie level 1 contacts. Additional contacts that you purchased are here as well. Here you can fill out more info on the contact that you want. Specifically, what I'll need, is for you to fill out the Archetype field. Rigger, Decker, Street Doc, Johnson, Fixer, etc. And also put a note in the 'Race & Description' field with more info on the kind of contact you want. If you buy a contact at level 2, or 3, I'll need some info on your relationship with this contact, as well - since these are generally much closer (and more loyal) to you.

Twelth screen is Biography and Description, and even comes with a survey to help you. Feel free to skip that - I'll need these things, but they don't have to be in your NSRCG file, and I'll likely spend some time with each player helping to develop bios, at least.

Thirteenth screen is the last - final screen. At the moment, none of it is useful except to tell you precisely how much Karma you've spent, and to give you the 'Finalize' button. Don't use that button. If you're done with your character, save it, but don't hit finalize. I'll want you to send it to me, so I can review it, and possibly offer suggestions, and if you finalize, nothing can be changed.

Oh. There is a fourteenth screen - DM info. Ignore it.

Kari

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Re: Shadowrun??
« Reply #63 on: October 19, 2009, 05:13:03 AM »
Just a note: The program doesn't substitute for info on the books. It has a LOT of info, but by no means all of it. At the very least, everyone who's not familiar with SR3 is going to need to get the SR3 book and read through it.

Also, I'll be available on Yahoo and AIM to assist in character creation and questions. (wanderingconstable@yahoo, and wanderconstable for AIM.)

JaronK

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Re: Shadowrun??
« Reply #64 on: October 19, 2009, 07:28:36 AM »
Max will be Int score for that,  Jaron. I take it you've used NSRCG before? Are you familiar with creating with the Karma system? (I've played both of those, by the way. Hell, my cat shaman was a former assassin. :D)

Yeah, I'm familiar.  My cat shaman is a socialite who plays up how frivalous he is, especially with his magic... which means few suspect he actually knows what he was doing.  Come to think of it, I also played a fun little Albino Bat Shaman with a phobia of being stepped on (triggered any time where that was a possibility... he had a quickened levitate on at all times for this reason).  Which reminds me...  is initiating at chargen acceptable?  What about SURGE?

I don't usually use the Karma gen system, but it's easy enough to use. 

Quote
Generic, nothing stops a mage from having a gun. What does make a difference is that mages will usually have their best skills being their spellcasting, and a cybered character often has several bits of 'ware to help with that shot - in short, cybered characters tend to be much better at shooting than mages. (This is not necessarily so - just often the case. One of my old characters was a physical adept who specialized in being a sniper, while I had a mage who was a crack pistol shot.)

I wouldn't call an adept a mage.

For those unfamiliar, Adepts vs Cyber characters breaks down like this.  Adepts are generally better in their area of speciality, but are much less flexible.  Cyber characters are good in many more areas, generally.  Now, those of you used to D&D may think that rocking one speciality is far better than being just okay in a bunch, but the fact is most cybered characters are plenty good in their areas anyway, so it's not a big issue.  After all, it doesn't really matter if that's an Adept or a Street Samurai lining up a sniper shot on you, you're dead either way.  But while the adept is rolling even more dice at you, the Street Sam probably was much better at sneaking/climbing into position and might just be able to switch into melee and rock there too if he has to.

But again, in SR, things are actually quite balanced.  You can make a mage sniper (quickened Extended Enhanced Aim, Improved Invisibility + Levitate to get into position), an adept sniper (12 dice before combat pool!), or a cyber sniper (Enhanced Articulation + Smartlink II and a good stealth and rifles score).  Which is better?  Depends on situation and how smart you play.  Heck, I can make a completely average (3s in all stats) ganger with a Hunting Rifle dangerous as all heck.  Controlling the battlefield and knowing what's coming beats big numbers every time.

JaronK

Kari

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Re: Shadowrun??
« Reply #65 on: October 19, 2009, 07:48:26 AM »
No Surge. No initiation at creation. Sorry.

And no, an adept isn't precisely a mage. (Of course, one with Path of the Magician blurs the lines...) But that was a nice breakdown for everyone. :)

j0lt

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Re: Shadowrun??
« Reply #66 on: October 19, 2009, 09:59:35 AM »
Not sure if I'm really gonna get in, but I'll try my hand.  Thinking about playing an Elf.  With the quickness and charisma bonuses, what would be a good direction to take him in?  Jack of all trades?  Some kind of gun runner?  I really have no idea what I'm doing with this system.
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Nanshork

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Re: Shadowrun??
« Reply #67 on: October 19, 2009, 11:53:35 AM »
I still need to decide on my race.  Probably going to go Human, but I'm not exactly sure.  Also, are we going to be based in Seattle or somewhere else?  Lastly, are the Shadowrun sheets on Mythweavers compatible with the characters we're going to make or are we going to put our sheets somewhere else?
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Kuroimaken

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Re: Shadowrun??
« Reply #68 on: October 19, 2009, 01:14:13 PM »
The books are so freaking disorganized. I STILL can't seem to find the page with flaw descriptions.
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Nanshork

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Re: Shadowrun??
« Reply #69 on: October 19, 2009, 02:45:28 PM »
The books are so freaking disorganized. I STILL can't seem to find the page with flaw descriptions.

The flaws aren't in the Core book.  They're in the Shadowrunner Companion Guide IIRC.
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Kuroimaken

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Re: Shadowrun??
« Reply #70 on: October 19, 2009, 03:15:43 PM »
The books are so freaking disorganized. I STILL can't seem to find the page with flaw descriptions.

The flaws aren't in the Core book.  They're in the Shadowrunner Companion Guide IIRC.

That explains fucking EVERYTHING.  :banghead

Also, I have a semi-ready sheet. How would you rather I send it to you so you can take a look and give me your opinion, Kari?
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Get yours.[/SPOILER]

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Kari

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Re: Shadowrun??
« Reply #71 on: October 19, 2009, 05:19:26 PM »
Edges and Flaws notwithstanding, the books are disorganized. It's one of their biggest flaws.

Feel free to email characters to me. jrmullen at gmail. com

Jolt, with the Quickness and Charisma bonuses, elves are extremely good at both ranged combat and social stuff. (Most combat at all, really - Quickness is the single biggest combat stat.)

Nanshork: It'll be in Seattle, yes. As for the Myth-weavers sheet, I have no idea. I'll check it out today.

Nanshork

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Re: Shadowrun??
« Reply #72 on: October 19, 2009, 05:36:52 PM »
Narrowing race down more, going to go either Human or Elf.  Yay decisions.   :p

Oh, and I'm not focusing on melee in anyway at all just so everybody knows.  I'll have melee backup, but I'll be mainly ranged and cybernetic junk.  Man I'm going to be an odd character, heh.

Edit: Question, can cybernetics boost attributes higher than the attribute maximum's listed on p. 245 in the Core rules?
« Last Edit: October 19, 2009, 05:41:39 PM by Nanshork »
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Kari

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Re: Shadowrun??
« Reply #73 on: October 19, 2009, 06:02:19 PM »
The myth-weavers sheet is no-go - they only have the 4th edition character sheet.

Nanshork, in answer to your question: As far as I know, Cyber and Bio ware can exceed those limits. They're intended for your 'natural' ability, not enhanced. If I see anything that contradicts this, I'll let you know.

Kari

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Re: Shadowrun??
« Reply #74 on: October 19, 2009, 06:47:36 PM »
I've been reminded of another flaw. No Cranial Bombs, folks. Any character with one won't live long at all.

Also, everyone will also get an additional free contact, at level 2, an elf named Katie Talin. How you know her can vary, but she's an information specialist, with contacts with a number of Johnsons. Yes, this is where you're likely to get a lot of work from. :)

Nanshork

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Re: Shadowrun??
« Reply #75 on: October 19, 2009, 06:50:22 PM »
Can the exceptional Attribute and Bonus attribute edges go to the same attribute?  (If I'm going with flaws I want to take a balancing amount of edges.)

Minus the Karma cost at creation and the existence of racism, is there any disadvantage to going Elf or Ork?
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Kari

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Re: Shadowrun??
« Reply #76 on: October 19, 2009, 07:10:57 PM »
There's Exceptional Attribute, and Exceed Racial Maximum edges. I don't see a 'bonus' Attribute Edge. So one of us is confused. (The two I mentioned can be used together, if you want.)

No, there's no drawback to Elf or Ork beyond the Karma cost and racism. Their bonuses aren't exactly huge, either, as a note. (And bear in mind, any race that has Low-light vision or Thermographic vision loses it if they get Cybereyes, which is a very, very common piece of cyberware.)

Nanshork

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Re: Shadowrun??
« Reply #77 on: October 19, 2009, 07:16:02 PM »
Shadowrun Companion p. 17, the first two attribute edges are listed as "Bonus Attribute Point" and "Exceptional Attribute".  The character generator apparently has them listed differently.  

Oh I'm planning on getting cybereyes so I got that, heh.
« Last Edit: October 19, 2009, 07:17:48 PM by Nanshork »
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VennDygrem

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Re: Shadowrun??
« Reply #78 on: October 19, 2009, 07:31:49 PM »
From what I can tell, those are pretty major driving forces for the metahumans- Social doors opening and closing based on race could drastically alter the campaign and how we deal with situations.

Kari

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Re: Shadowrun??
« Reply #79 on: October 19, 2009, 08:06:17 PM »
Nanshork, to answer your question, yes, they stack. (In NSRCG, Bonus Attribute is Exceptional Attribute, and Exceptional Attribute is Exceed Racial Limit. Why they were renamed that way, I couldn't tell you.)

Venn, yes, racism is a very big thing. Inside Seattle proper, not so much - aside from periodic hate crimes and the like. But major elf organizations (such as the elf nations) will only deal with elves, and orks tend to beat up anyone not them, etc. Racism is alive and well in Shadowrun. And the racial makeup of your group can have an influence.