The following players are confirmed:
Hoopy Frood
Jules Andre
ArrMatey!
Mahaloth
Autolycus
The following players are alternates:
Omi no Kami
SCSimmons
Love Rhombus
This thread is for generating characters in the SDMB Shadowrun campaign, which was first proposed here.
Only players should post in this thread. When the campaign starts, a separate thread will be created for OOC and spectator chatter.
The next few posts will outline the character creation guide.
“We live in exciting times, chummer. Don’t you agree? 200 storey arcologies. Cybernetics. The Matrix. Magic. Not even 150 years ago, our ancestors were giddy as pigs to be lighting a thousand tons of explosives on fire to send a couple of guys to a rock in the sky. Haven’t been back since. Want to know why not? Here’s why…”
The grimy ork holds a piece of plastic up to the sunlight. The plastic is protecting a tiny computer chip inside. Behind it, the ork is grinning. Even for an ork, he’s ugly. At least three of his teeth are missing, and the new ones haven’t grown in yet.
“We already got everything we need, right here. That’s why. There’s blood on it, mister. Lots of blood. Some of it mine. You want it? Fifty thousand, otherwise we’ll see how much the Evo corp guys will pay.”
Shadowrun is a future-setting role playing game, heavily influenced by fantasy elements. There are many familiar things in the world, such as locations (this campaign will start in Seattle) languages and some political structures. There are also a few things you should know are different.
Cybernetics and magic are real. The more you delve into cybernetics, the less of “you” there is left to be human. True cyborgs walk a fine line between man and machine. They sacrifice their soul for the power, but isn’t that true of all power? One thing’s for sure, though. You see a cyborg walking toward you, you go the other way. Best case, he’ll knock you down for getting in his way. Worst case, he’ll step on you like a roach. No, actually, worst case is that you’re the one he’s looking for. God help you, but He probably doesn’t want to be in the path of a ‘borg himself.
Shamans and Mages argue about what the true path to Awakening is, but they miss the point. They’re talking about the same Thing, but the Thing is too big to see all at once. You see it in tiny parts, like using an electron microscope to find your way on a map. Then you conceptualize it, make it familiar, and make it part of you. Truth is, it’s NOT part of you. You’re part of IT. Magic; just another way to lose yourself in the power.
Corporations, or Corps, are the real sources of political strength. Your association with a Corp will protect you, and make you lots of enemies. Those who aren’t bought and paid for by a corp are either street-scum urchin bottom feeders, or Shadowrunners, who’s loyalty goes to the highest bidder, but only ‘til the job’s over. Running in the shadows will make you even more enemies than flying a corp flag. It’s either that, or sell out for a steady wage. Slavery ‘aint dead these days, chum. It just wears a damned tie.
As the game progresses, I will add footnotes to concepts that are unfamiliar in an attempt to explain them as they come up. It won’t be difficult to get immersed in the New World, but if you have any questions, I’ll set up an OOC (out of character) thread for anyone to comment in, whether they’re players or not. This thread is for players only, for creating their character. Once everyone’s character is complete, I’ll start a different thread for the game.
[SIZE=“4”]Building your character[/SIZE]
This is the most involved part of the game, and will take you quite awhile. You will be creating a detailed character which is as unique as you are! Don’t get discouraged by the huge size of this post. The process is broken down into a guide that shouldn’t be too difficult to follow.
Each player starts with 400 BP (build points) to create their character. This is not necessarily a linear process. While you are making your character, you will undoubtedly make adjustments to previous choices you made. The most important thing to remember is to keep track of your BP. If you add or remove anything from your character, remember to adjust the BP according to the cost of the things you added or removed.
Pick your Race, or “Metatype” - Humans are the “base” type of character. These are people unaffected by a virus which “goblinized” the world population. Approximately 80% of the world is still “human.” All metatypes are biologically human, and can interbreed with all other metatypes. Humans can give birth to the other metatypes, and the other metatypes can give birth to humans.
Human - cost 0 BP
Advantages - humans get extra “Edge” (see: Special Attributes). Humans have no other benefits.
Disadvantages - none. They set the “baseline” for stats.
Dwarf - cost 25 BP
Advantages - Slightly higher Body (see: attributes), Higher Strength (see: attributes), Higher Willpower (see: attributes), thermo-graphic vision, resistance to disease/toxins
Disadvantages - Slightly lower Reaction (see: attributes), slightly lower Initiative (see: attributes)
Ork - cost 20 BP
Advantages - Higher Body, Higher Strength, low-light vision
Disadvantages - Social disadvantages, slightly lower Charisma (see: attributes), slightly lower Logic (see: attributes)
Elf - cost 30 BP
Advantages - Slightly higher Agility (see: attributes), higher Charisma (see: attributes), low-light vision, social advantages
Troll - cost 40 BP
Advantages - Extremely higher Body, Extremely higher Strength, thermo-graphic vision, long reach (height/size with combat implications), +1 armor due to body structure (cumulative with worn armor)
Disadvantages - extreme social disadvantages, slightly lower Agility, much lower Charisma, slightly lower Intuition (see: attributes), slightly lower Logic.
Attributes:
All characters start with their attributes at a minimum level (usually 1, unless otherwise noted.) Raising an attribute costs 10 BP per point raised. So, for example, if you want your character to have a Strength of 5, it costs 40 BP (raising 4 points from 1 to 5, times 10 for each point).
To raise an attribute to its highest level (usually 6, adjusted by your race) costs 25 BP for the final point. So to take the previous example, to have a strength of 6, your character would spend 65 BP (40 BP to raise strength from 1-5, then 25 more BP to go from 5 to 6). You may not increase more than 1 core attribute to its maximum level.
The maximum you can spend on Attributes is 200 BP. You may spend less, and characters like the mage are encouraged to do so. An attribute will be used for literally every dice roll made by your character. Every dice roll will test either a combination of an attribute + a skill, or two attributes. Attributes are the most important part of character creation.
For comparison reasons, an attribute of 1 represents an extreme deficiency in that attribute. 2 represents a minor deficiency, 3 represents a normal attribute, 4 represents a professional-level advantage in that attribute, 5 represents a world-class advantage, and 6 is a legendary (for a human) attribute quality. For example, Albert Einstein and Copernicus probably had a 6 Logic, but Steven Hawking probably has 5. Alexander the Great probably had 6 Charisma, but George Washington probably had 5. The strongest human of all time (6 STR) would be nearly helpless in a test of strength against the average troll (8 STR)
Body/BOD- Measures how much punishment your body can take. You resist damage with this attribute, but also the effects of poison, and shortens healing time. This is important for combat oriented characters. All characters start with 1 BOD, and their max is 6 BOD. Exceptions are as follows;
Dwarves start with 2 BOD, and their max is 7 BOD
Orks start with 4 BOD, and their max is 9 BOD
Trolls start with 5 BOD, and their max is 10 BOD
Agility/AGI - Measures how quick and nimble your character is, and their fine motor control. This is essential for gun-wielding characters, or stealthy characters. All characters start with 1 AGI, and their max is 6 AGI. Exceptions as follows;
Elves start with 2 AGI, and their maximum is 7 AGI
Trolls start with 1 AGI, but their maximum is 5 AGI
Reaction/REA - Represents your reflexes. Determines how quickly you recover from surprise situations, and together with AGI determines the order in which participants get to act in combat. A character with high REA will be difficult to defeat with a surprise attack, is harder to hit in combat, and can handle piloting vehicles better. All characters start with 1 REA, and their max is 6 REA. Exceptions as follows;
Dwarves start with 1 REA, but their max is 5 REA
Strength/STR - Determines the raw physical power of your character. This determines your damage in melee combat. There must be a correlation between the physical description of your character and their STR. Smaller characters will tend to have a lower STR, and larger characters will tend to have a higher one. STR tests will be used for things like knocking down doors, lifting heavy objects, holding a door closed against someone attempting to enter, restraining a person, etc. It’s essential for melee characters. All characters start with 1 STR, and their maximum is 6 STR, with the following exceptions;
Orks start with 3 STR, and their maximum is 8 STR
Dwarves start with 3 STR, and their maximum is 8 STR
Trolls start with 5 STR, and their maximum is 10 STR
Charisma/CHA - Determines your ability to interact socially, read conversational cues, and bind and control spirits. It’s important for Shamans/Mages who wish to control spirits that do their bidding. A character with high charisma is not necessarily beautiful, but has self-confidence and the ability to inspire or entertain, and is usually considered attractive. A person with low charisma might be a suck-up, or whiny complainer, or limp noodle. Leaders have high CHA. Low CHA carries social disadvantages, and you’ll have a harder time getting NPCs to do what you want, even if they “owe” you. All characters start with 1 CHA, and have a maximum of 6, with the following exceptions;
Orks start with 1 CHA, but their maximum is 5 CHA
Elves start with 3 CHA, and their maximum is 8 CHA
Trolls start with 1 CHA, but their maximum is 4 CHA
Intuition/INT - Measures your level of alertness, or your instinct. A character with high INT will notice when something “doesn’t feel right” earlier than others. They’ll find clues that other characters miss. They make the best detectives. They’re observant, and can do things like spot someone in a crowd more easily than others. It’s extremely difficult to shadow or track someone with high INT without being seen. If a player wants to assess how dangerous an individual is and “size him up“, he’ll make a more accurate judgment if his INT is higher. A low INT character is more likely to walk blindly into a trap. This is essential for characters who are detectives or bodyguards, and very useful typical Shadowrunners. All characters start with 1 INT, and have a max of 6 INT, except for the following;
Trolls start with 1 INT, but their maximum is 5 INT.
Logic/LOG - Measures your brain power. It’s useful for engineers, mechanics, and researchers. A character with high LOG can remember things more easily, especially facts and figures. Low LOG characters are helpless when it comes to building up or tearing down electronics or machines (such as disabling an anti-burglar device). LOG is important for anyone who works with computers or manipulates the Matrix. All characters start with 1 LOG and have a max of 6 LOG, except the following;
Orks start with 1 LOG, but their max is 5 LOG
Trolls start with 1 LOG, but their max is 5 LOG
Willpower/WIL - Determines your level of self-control. Characters with a low WIL are easier to manipulate through magic or persuasion, and they quit sooner than others. Characters with high WIL are in charge of their emotions, have taken control of their life and just won’t stop. You can’t frighten or intimidate a character with a high WIL. Characters with a low WIL will suffer penalties fighting against particularly intimidating opponents. WIL is useful for all characters, but essential for shamans/mages, as it’s the primary stat which you will use to resist “drain” from casting your spells. All characters start with 1 WIL and have a max of 6 WIL, with the following exceptions;
Dwarves start with 2 WIL, and their max is 6 WIL.
Special Attributes: Improving special attributes costs the same as improving core attributes, but improving Special Attributes does not count toward your 200 BP maximum for improving attributes. You may spend more than 200 BP improving attributes, as long as the excess over 200 is only spent on Special Attributes. Also, you may improve a core attribute to its maximum AND a Special Attribute to its maximum. This is the only way you may create a character with two attributes at their maximum.
Essence: All characters start with 6 essence. Essence measures the wholeness, or completeness of your body and spirit. Essence can only be lost, it can never be gained or improved. Typical ways to lose essence are through cybernetics (which replace part of “you” with a machine), burnout addictions, or severe psychiatric damage. All cybernetics have an “essence cost” to install. If your character has cybernetics implanted, you will reduce the total “essence cost” of those cybernetics from your character’s essence total. If a character falls to 0 essence or less, he does not necessarily die (although it is quite likely!) but he will lose the last of his humanity, and will become an NPC no longer be controlled by the player. Players with a particularly low essence should roleplay a disconnected character, who may feel that humanity is beneath him, or unworthy, or childlike. How that feeling manifests and presents in the character is up to the player to decide.
Edge: Some people get all the breaks. Edge represents that certain…something…that people have, which makes things just go their way. Some call it luck. Some call it guardian angels. A character with a high Edge plays Russian Roulette with life, and wins. He’s not necessarily the best, but he pulls through when it counts. He’s the guy you want on your side when something impossible absolutely MUST be done against crazy odds. Personally, I don’t think Edge really exists. It’s all just mathematics. You put twelve billion people on a rock spinning through the universe, and of course SOME of them are going to appear to cheat death occasionally, or win the lottery, or shoot a bullet through a keyhole even when they normally couldn‘t hit a cow, or step aside to pick up a pen from the ground just as that blade from behind happens to whiz by their ear. All characters start with 1 Edge, and their max is 6, with the following exception;
Humans start with 2 Edge, and their max is 7.
Magic: All characters start with 0 magic. That number cannot be improved, unless a character has the “Magician” or “Adept” quality. If a player takes the Magician or Adept quality, they start with 1 Magic, which can then be improved the same way as any other attribute. Magic represents your control over the mystic energies. Characters with higher Magic can access stronger spells, or their Adept qualities are more pronounced. Magicians and Adepts start with 1 Magic, and their max is 6 Magic, regardless of race. Magic is connected to Essence. For every point (or fraction thereof) of Essence your character has below 6, he also loses 1 Magic. In this way, it’s possible for a particularly incompetent Mage to start with 0 Magic.
Resonance: All characters start with 0 resonance. That number cannot be improved, unless a character has the “Technomancer” quality. Technomancers start with 1 Resonance, which can be improved the same way as any other attribute. Resonance represents the strength of your attunement to the transmissions of the Matrix. Technomancers start with 1 Resonance, and their max is 6 Resonance, regardless of race. Resonance is connected to Essence. For every point (or fraction thereof) of Essence your character has below 6, he also loses 1 Resonance. In this way, it’s possible for a particularly incompetent Technomancer to start with 0 Resonance.
Skills:
Skills in Shadowrun are the second most important part of building your character. They range in value from 0-7, with the following representations. 0 = untrained, 1 = beginner, 2 = novice, 3 = professional, 4 = veteran, 5 = expert, 6 = elite or “world class,” 7 = legendary. For most purposes, a skill can only be improved to a maximum level 6 during character creation.
Characters start with 0 in all skills. This does NOT mean that you can not perform the skill, just that you will only use a related attribute when performing the skill, not the attribute + skill level as normal. Raising a skill costs 4 BP per point raised. You may only raise a single skill to level 6. If you do, you may not raise any other skills higher than to level 4. If you do not raise any skills to level 6, you may raise 2 skills to level 5, but any other skills can not be raised higher than level 4. If you have any questions about this, clarify with me. Raising a skill to its maximum level does not require any additional BP, as it does for attributes.
An alternative way to purchase skills is to buy them as a group, instead of individually. For example, the “Firearms” skill group includes longarms, pistols, and automatics skills. Skill groups are clearly marked in this section. In order to purchase competency in a skill group, pay 10 BP per point to raise all skills in the group. You may not combine individual skill purchases with group skill purchases, and you may not raise a skill group higher than a rating of 4.
Specializations are a way to improve a particular aspect of a skill. Specializations are not listed here, because it’s up to the player to determine them. If your character has a specific favorite revolver he uses in combat, he may take a specialization in the “pistols” skill to become more proficient shooting that particular revolver. Another example is a player with a language skill might have a specialization in a dialect of that language. Specializations cost 2 BP each. A skill acquired as part of a skill group purchase can not include a specialization. You may not buy more than one specialization per skill. All specializations must be approved by the game master.
Skill Groups (cost 10BP per point to raise all associated skills, or 4BP for individual skills)
Athletics
-Climbing
-Gymnastics
-Running
-Swimming
Biotech
-Cybertechnology
-First Aid
-Medicine
Close Combat
-Blades
-Clubs
-Unarmed
Conjuring (only available to those with the “Magician” quality)
-Banishing
-Binding
-Summoning
Cracking
-Cybercombat
-Electronic Warfare
-Hacking
Electronic
-Computer
-Data Search
-Hardware
-Software
Firearms
-Automatics
-Longarms
-Pistols
Influence
-Con
-Etiquette
-Leadership
-Negotiation
Mechanic
-Aeronautics Mechanic (not likely to be a major part of this campaign)
-Automotive mechanic
-Industrial mechanic
-Nautical mechanic (not likely to be a major part of this campaign)
Outdoors
-Navigation
-Survival
-Tracking (different from Shadowing. For clarification ask me.)
Sorcery (only available to characters with the “Magician” quality)
-Counterspelling
-Ritual Spellcasting
-Spellcasting
Stealth
-Disguise
-Infiltration
-Palming
-Shadowing (different from Tracking. For clarification, ask me.)
Tasking (only available to characters with the “Technomancer” quality)
-Compiling
-Decompiling
-Registering
Skills with no associated Skill Groups
-Archery
-Dodge
-Exotic Weapon (must be taken for each exotic weapon, subject to game master approval. Ex: whips, chainsaws, cybernetic implanted weapons, etc.)
-Heavy Weapons (eg: grenade launchers, mounted vehicle weapons - not likely to be a major part of this campaign)
-Throwing Weapons
-Assensing (available to Magicians, or adepts with the Astral Perception quality) - reading auras and gathering information about someone in close proximity through magic.
-Astral Combat (available to Magicians, or adepts with the Astral Perception quality) - psychic combat against magical entities or other mages.
-Diving
-Escape Artist
-Parachuting (not likely to be a major part of this campaign)
-Perception
-Armorer
-Instruction/Teaching
-Intimidation
-Artisan (covers artistic endeavors. Must be taken individually for different artistic types, such as singing/painting/sculpture/music)
-Forgery
-Demolitions
-Locksmith
-Pilot (must be taken separately for each type of vehicle. Jets, ground vehicles, “walkers” such as anthropomorphic robots, watercraft, or exotic vehicles like jet packs)
Knowledge skills:
These are skills your character might not be actively doing, but it’s something your character knows which the average Joe doesn’t. You can be creative when picking knowledge skills. These types of skills include world/local history, company procedures, military procedures, languages, police protocol, or mathematics. You have a large degree of freedom when choosing knowledge skills, but avoid trying to take knowledge skills which are useful in combat or other stressful situations. Occasionally, possessing a knowledge skill may improve your ability to use an active skill, such as knowledge of corporate procedures while attempting to intimidate a receptionist. All knowledge skills are subject to game master approval.
Qualities:
These are the special advantages and disadvantages that make your character unique. Positive qualities cost BP, while negative qualities give you extra BP. Players may not spend more than 35 BP on positive qualities, and may not receive more than 35 BP from negative qualities.
Positive Qualities:
Adept - cost: 5 BP
Required to be a physical adept. Grants a Magic value of 1, which can then be improved like other attributes. A maximum of 2 players will have access to this quality. Cybernetics will reduce the effectiveness of this quality.
Ambidextrous - cost: 5 BP
Character may split his attack dice between two weapons (one in each hand) during combat, without suffering penalty.
Animal Empathy - cost: 10BP
Character receives a large bonus when attempting to handle, influence, or control a non-sentient animal. Character is reluctant to harm or show cruelty to animals.
Aptitude - cost: 15 BP
Choose a particular skill when this quality is taken. That skill may be increased to a maximum of 7, instead of 6. It does not grant a skill point, only raises the maximum.
Astral Chameleon - cost: 5 BP
An Adept or Magician is harder to track in astral space. Assensing is less effective against this character.
Blandness - cost: 10 BP
Character blends easily into a crowd. Anyone attempting to shadow him suffers penalty, and it’s difficult for anyone to describe him other than “he was kind of average.”
Codeslinger - cost: 10 BP
Character excels at a particular action within the Matrix. A particular Matrix action receives a bonus for this character. Useful only to technomancers or others who access the Matrix.
Double Jointed - cost: 5 BP
Character has unusually flexible joints, and can contort his body. Gives a bonus to escape artist tests.
Exceptional Attribute - cost: 20 BP
Allows the character to possess a single attribute 1 point higher than the usual maximum. This does not grant an attribute point, but simply raises the maximum.
First Impression - cost: 5 BP
Bonus when interacting with NPCs for the first time. Improves social tests while trying to make a first impression.
Focused Concentration - cost: 10 BP (rank 1) or 20 BP (rank 2)
A Magician is able to focus more easily, and resist the effects of “drain” while casting. Only useful to Magician characters.
Guts - cost: 5 BP
Character receives a bonus to resist fear and intimidation.
High Pain Tolerance - cost: 5BP (rank 1) 10 BP (rank 2) or 15 BP (rank 3)
Allows the character to ignore penalties for injury. Higher ranks are more effective.
Home Ground - cost: 10 BP
Character receives a bonus on dice rolls while on their home turf. The home turf is limited to a particular building, intersection, computer network, or other similarly-sized area. Locations subject to game master approval.
Human-Looking - cost: 5 BP
A non-human character who can pass for a human in most situations. Improves the result of social tests in some situations, but may cause animosity from non-humans who think you’re “selling out.”
Lucky - cost: 20 BP
Allows your character to improve their Edge attribute one level higher than the normal maximum. This does not grant an Edge point, just increases the maximum.
Magician - cost: 15 BP
Your character can use magic, and is either a Shaman or a Mage. Only a single character will possess this quality.
Magic Resistance - cost: 5 BP per rank (up to rank 4)
The character receives a bonus to resist magic. May not be taken if Magician or Adept has been taken. This resistance will make it harder for beneficial spells to affect the character, as well. Higher ranks are more effective at resisting magic, and are an even bigger obstacle to beneficial magic.
Mentor Spirit - cost: 5 BP
Available only to characters with the Adept or Magician quality. The character has a mentor spirit that guides him through life, providing advantages and disadvantages. Adept or Magician characters should consult with the game master if they intend to take this quality.
Murky Link - cost: 10 BP
The character is much harder to affect with ritual magic (eg. Voodoo dolls, or locator spells). Any character may take this quality.
Natural Immunity - cost: 15 BP
Greatly increased resistance to toxins, poisons, diseases
Photographic Memory - cost: 10 BP
Quick Healer - cost: 10 BP
Character receives bonuses to healing tests
Spirit Affinity - cost: 10 BP
A particular type of spirit finds this character interesting, is more willing to help them, and is reluctant to harm them.
Technomancer - cost: 5 BP
The character can access the Matrix without the aid of a device. They are the ghosts in the machine. This perk is limited to a single character.
Toughness - cost: 10 BP
This character is harder to hurt.
Will to Live - cost: 5 BP per rank, up to rank 3
The character will not die when he loses his last box of damage. It takes additional damage equal to the rank of this quality to kill the character. This does not make the character more effective at combat, as he will lose consciousness when his last box of damage is full. Additionally, this character will suffer damage penalties as normal.
Negative Qualities:
Addiction - bonus 5-30 BP,
This character is addicted to a substance. It is up to the player to decide the substance. The level of addiction determines the BP bonus. Low level addictions can spiral out of control after the game has started, and the character will have to make willpower tests to avoid slipping further into addiction.
Mild addiction (5 BP) - character experiences cravings, which can be resisted with Willpower. No other ill effect.
Moderate (10 BP) - character suffers a greater penalty when attempting to resist the addiction, and the character will suffer more frequent cravings.
Severe (20 BP) - character suffers constant cravings, and will be forced to make willpower tests more often, at an even greater penalty.
Burnout (30 BP) - character has done so much damage to his body that he suffers -1 essence, which can never be regained. Character will continue to lose essence at a rate of 0.1 per week until he dies, or kicks the habit.
Allergy - bonus 5-20 BP
An allergy is composed of 2 parts, the condition and the severity. Add the two together to determine BP bonus.
Condition uncommon (2 BP) - Character is not likely to be unwittingly exposed to the allergen. The player must decide what the allergen is, subject to game master approval. Examples: gold, platypus venom, cactus needles (in Seattle), burning coal fumes.
Condition common (7 BP) - Character is likely to be exposed to the allergen. Examples: sunlight, plastic, cotton, leather, steel.
Severity mild (3 BP) - Symptoms are merely distracting. Suffer a small penalty rolling dice while exposed to the allergen.
Severity moderate (8 BP) - contact with the allergen produces intense pain. Damage is increased by weapons made with the allergen, and character suffers a large penalty rolling dice while exposed to the allergen.
Severity extreme (13 BP) - contact with the allergen is deadly. The character fills in a damage box every minute he is exposed to the allergen, weapons made of the substance are extremely lethal against the character, and the character is nearly incapacitated while exposed to the allergen.
Be aware that any allergies taken by characters in this campaign will eventually become a plot point. Take this negative quality with care!
Astral Beacon - bonus: 5 BP
Character is easier for wizards to track, and can be assensed with ease. Only Magicians and Adepts may take this quality.
Bad Luck - bonus: 20 BP
The character’s Edge occasionally works against him. This quality can cause critical failures, and will occasionally lead to catastrophe. Take this quality with care!
Codeblock - bonus 5 BP
Character receives a penalty when performing a particular Matrix action.
Combat Paralysis - Bonus 20 BP
When combat first starts, this character is paralyzed with fear or indecision. He will always be the slowest to react during the first round of combat, not necessarily because his reflexes are slow, but because of something wrong psychologically. He also suffers a penalty to dice rolls involving composure during combat.
Elf Poser - Bonus 5 BP
This human character desperately wishes he was an elf, and has gone so far as to adopt their mannerisms, accents, and may have even had cosmetic surgery to appear more elf-like. Humans hate him, and elves are embarrassed by him.
Gremlins - Bonus 5 BP per rank, max rank 4
Character does not get along with technology! Devices malfunction inexplicably for him. Software crashes when he tries to use it. Communications links drop for him, for no reason. The higher the rank, the more severe the penalty is when this character tries to interact with technology more recent that the computer age. If the character attempts to use this quality in an offensive way, for example, to disrupt the enemy’s communications, it has the opposite effect. Gremlins is a curse! If he really wants the tech to fail, it’s likely to succeed spectacularly, but if he tries to rely on the tech, it malfunctions catastrophically.
Incompetent - Bonus 5 BP
Character is absolutely hopeless with a particular active skill. Although other characters may attempt the skill even if they have a 0 rating in it, this character automatically fails any time they attempt this skill. It must be something the character could reasonably be expected to do at some point. Incompetent Blimp Pilot is not a reasonable incompetency, although incompetency with the shadowing skill is. If a character takes incompetency with a skill, no other characters may take the same incompetency. A character can be incompetent in multiple skills.
Infirm - bonus 20 BP
Character may not learn physical skill groups (athletics, stealth, outdoors), and the cost for learning any physical skills doubles. An infirm character must spend 32 BP at character creation to get dodge rank 4, where a normal character only spent 16, for example. An infirm character can never attempt a physical action which he does not have the corresponding skill for.
Low Pain Tolerance - 10 BP
This character suffers greater penalties for dice rolls while they are wounded.
Ork Poser - Bonus 5 BP
See Elf Poser.
Scorched - Bonus 10 BP
A scorched character had a bad experience with a “Black” security program in the past, and is unwilling to face them anymore. If faced with a “black” security program in the Matrix, the character suffers a penalty to their dice rolls. This quality is for technomancers or hackers only.
Sensitive Neural Structure - Bonus 10 BP
This character suffers more damage from security programs in the Matrix. For technomancers or hackers only.
Sensitive System - Bonus 15 BP
Essence loss is doubled for this character when installing cybernetics.
SINner - Bonus 5 BP (for the Company Man) or 10 BP (for a Shadowrunner or Magician)
This character was born with, or somehow acquired a System Identification Number. For the Company Man this means he has a legally registered SIN, which means it will be much harder for him to assume a different identity, and records exist for his personal history, medical history, travel, and expense accounts. The Company Man must take this quality.
If another character takes this quality, it means he has a criminal SIN. He will have a criminal record on file, accessible by any law enforcement he encounters. He’s likely to be wanted by the authorities.
Spirit Bane - Bonus 10 BP
This character really pisses off a particular type of spirit. These spirits will harass the character when he is in their presence. They will be reluctant to perform services for the character, if he is a magician attempting to bind them.
Uncouth - Bonus 20 BP
This character may not purchase social skill groups, and the cost for learning social skills is twice normal. He may never attempt an action which he does not possess the corresponding social skill for (like con, negotiation, or intimidation).
Weak Immune System - Bonus 5 BP
Character is especially susceptible to disease or infection.
Assigning Resources
The BP you have left will go toward purchasing gear, installing cybernetics, establishing your lifestyle, and purchasing spells and enchanted items for magicians and adepts.
To simplify buying gear and lifestyle, use the following guidelines. The player and game master will hammer out particulars with each player.
5 BP = street (homeless) lifestyle, limited weapons, no vehicles, no cybernetics, no starting cash, up to 1 starting focus (eg. street mage/shaman, techno-thug, gang member)
10 BP = low lifestyle, reliable weapons, low quality vehicle, limited/no cybernetics, up to 2 starting foci (eg. Enforcer, “wage mage,” bodyguard, private detective, corporate technomancer, gang leader)
15 BP = medium/high lifestyle, high quality weapons, dependable vehicle, dependable electronics, medium cybernetics, up to 3 starting foci (eg. Company “face,” low-level hacker, corporate detective,)
25 BP = medium/high lifestyle, high quality weapons, dependable vehicle/electronics, overt cybernetics, up to 4 starting foci (eg. Corporate enforcer, hacker, low-level smuggler)
50 BP = high/luxury lifestyle, impressive combat gear including weapons and armor, chauffer, intimidating (and extremely combat effective) cybernetics, top of the line electronic gear, up to 5 starting foci (eg. Street samurai, corporate hacker, successful smuggler, corporate leader, drone rigger)
Magical resources:
Mages/Shamans must spend 3BP for each spell they want to learn. A full list of magic spells will be emailed to the magician character.
Mages/Shamans can also spend BP to start the campaign with spirits already bound in service to them. The BP cost is the number of services owed by the spirit. The Force (strength) of the spirit is equal to the magician’s Magic attribute. A mage can only bind a number of spirits equal to his Charisma attribute. A more detailed explanation will be available to the magician character.
Foci:
A magician or Adept may begin the game with a focus, or multiple foci, which helps to direct their magical power. Foci are limited by your gear category choice above. You must also spend BP for each focus you purchase, equal to the Force of the focus. The total combined force of all a character’s foci may not exceed their Magic attribute times 5. The total number of foci may not exceed a character’s Logic attribute. Adepts may only bond to weapon foci, while magicians may bond to any type of focus.
A weapon focus adds its Force to the Adept’s dice pool when the Adept is using that weapon in combat. If the Adept has taken the Astral Perception power, then he brings his weapon focus into astral combat. A modern weapon such as a pistol can be a weapon focus!
The magician character will receive a private message with a more detailed explanation of the foci he/she is able to acquire.
Adept Powers:
A Physical Adept will be able to acquire adept powers which together add up to no more than their Magic attribute. Adepts do not have to spend any additional BP to obtain their adept powers. Adept powers are magic abilities that increase the effectiveness of the character’s body in various ways. Adepts don’t have to cast spells; their powers are always “on.” Any player wishing to play as an adept will receive a detailed explanation of the adept powers available to them.
Technomancer Resources:
Technomancers manipulate the electronic world using a combination of their skills, Complex Forms, and Sprites.
Complex Forms are programs comparable to a mundane hacker’s programs. Complex forms cost 1BP per rating point. Complex Forms ratings may not exceed the Resonance rating of the technomancer. A full list of Technomancer Complex Forms will be provided to any player that wishes to play as a technomancer. A technomancer should STRONGLY consider making an investment in the following skills: Computer, Cybercombat, Data Search, Electronic Warfare, Hacking, Software, and to a lesser extent, Hardware.
Sprites are semi-autonomous programs, the electronic equivalent of “spirits.” A technomancer has an intimate relationship with the sprites he has compiled, and will know everything that is happening to his sprites, for instance whether they are discovered and attacked, or whether they were successful in performing the tasks assigned to them. A technomancer can start the game with a number of sprites registered to him no greater than his Charisma attribute. The sprites cost BP equal to the number of tasks owed to the technomancer, which can be no higher than the technomancer’s Compiling skill. The sprites have a Pilot (meaning power, or intelligence) equal to the technomancer’s Resonance. Technomancers will be provided a complete list of the types of sprites available to them. Sprites are especially useful in boosting the technomancer’s abilities while performing cyber-combat actions.
Contacts:
The final section of character creation in which you will spend BP is to develop your character’s system of contacts. The types of contacts your character has must make sense when considering your character’s background. Contacts can range from someone who owes your character a favor, to a doctor willing to take payment under the table with no questions asked, to an arms dealer or smuggler who can get you black market items for the right price, a gang member who’d gleefully bust kneecaps for you, a corporate spy, a crooked cop, a criminal informant, or anything else you can imagine. Your contacts will each cost a number of BP equal to their Loyalty + Connection. Both Loyalty and Connection can be any number from 1 to 6.
Loyalty represents the contact’s willingness to go out of their way to help you. A loyalty of 1 is someone who doesn’t trust you, and won’t do anything for you unless the price is right. A loyalty of 6 represents a person willing to risk immediate physical danger to help you.
Connection represents a contact’s influence, or how useful he can be. If you have an extremely loyal blood brother contact willing to die for you and you intend to ask his help in combat, his Connection represents just how useful he’ll be in a fight. A criminal’s Connection represents what level of black market goods he has available for sale, or how long it might take him to acquire such on your behalf. A crooked law enforcement officer’s Connection represents his rank in the agency, and the information available to him.
Contacts are not “catch all” NPCs which you can go to for any type of problem. If you need a place to stay while hiding from the cops, asking a crooked cop to stay at his place is out of the question, for example, no matter what his loyalty is. You must only use Contacts for purposes that make sense for their particular expertise.
Develop your character’s back story. This is final step in the character creation process. The player will have almost exclusive control over his character’s back story, subject to game master approval. The three Shadowrunner characters should cooperate in creating a story for their group, including the name (if it has one), the size of the organization (is it just them, or are they a small part of a large underground group?), and their own position/rank within the group. If any players want input from the me to assist with developing their character’s back story, let me know!
Agenda
After this final step, the game master will work with each individual player to create a list of items on their character’s Agenda. A character’s Agenda will be a “to-do” list, secret from all the other characters, and will be the primary means by which the character gains Karma (experience).
Once you’ve finished making your character, post a description of him (which does not include any specifics like their STR value or their Compiling skill value) that is as detailed as you want. Anything in the character’s background that the other characters wouldn’t know should not be posted. Once this is done, I’ll start a campaign thread and an OOC thread, and we can get started!
Is there a listing somewhere of the available bio/cyberware?
The list is extremely long in the book, and the descriptions are very in-depth. I’m hoping to achieve a more laid-back style than presented in the sourcebook, but if you need any extra clarification after this, don’t hesitate to ask.
In general, players who seek cybernetic enhancement will need to decide between having lots of expensive cyberware, or a small amount of VERY VERY expensive bioware. Cyberware and bioware perform different functions, and bioware is made from living tissue and therefore does much less damage to the Essence attribute when it is installed.
Cyberware is divided into 2 categories during character cration, standard or alphaware. Alphaware is an “upgraded” version of standard, which has the same function as standard, but costs twice as much, and damages Essence a bit less than standard.
Bioware is also divided into 2 categories, standard bioware, and cultured bioware. Both are extremely expensive, but cultured bioware is made from cultures of the recipient’s own tissue, and is therefore even more expensive, but even less damaging to the body than regular bioware.
A (very brief) idea of the types of things your character can do with cyberware:
-Replace a limb with a robotic version, which would open the possibility for a retractable implanted melee weapon, tool, or gun, and include significant improvements to things like recoil stabilization and weapon accuracy, STR tests made with that arm, a secret compartment to store smuggled items, “shock” hands that deal electricity damage in melee, or lots of other cool stuff. Players are encouraged to be creative with cyberlimbs. Replacing both legs with cyber-legs and attaching hydraulic jacks to them could allow the character to achieve extreme jumping heights, for example. Essence cost is 1 per full limb, 1.5 for a torso, 0.75 for a cyber-skull, or 0.25 for an extremity (hand/foot). Cyberlimbs also increase the armor rating of the character. Cyberlimbs count as “overt” cybernetics and are moderately expensive.
-Install commlinks, datajacks that allow you to access computer networks through a port in your head, hacker “control rigs,” voice modulators. Essence costs for these types of things are typically very low, and are not exceptionally invasive. Plan for between 0.1 and 0.2 Essence loss per upgrade.
-Install cyber-eyes that improve your vision or allow you to see ultraviolet or infrared spectrum, eye-recorders that record everything you see and store it for later review. The Essence loss for these is a total that ranges between 0.2 for minor upgrades, up to 0.5 for complete overhauls.
-Install cybernetic ear implants which improve your hearing, allow you to “filter” certain sounds, or record the sounds you hear. These will have a total essence loss of between 0.2 and 0.5 for a complete overhaul.
-Install system-wide upgrades, like bone lacing (0.5 essence for plastic, 1 essence for aluminum, 1.5 essence for titanium) which increases your BOD attribute by 1/2/3 respectively and provides a small armor bonus along with a stronger melee attack, dermal plating (essence cost 0.5, 1, or 1.5 depending on rating) which increases your armor, an air tank which allows you to hold your breath for up to 2 hours (0.25 essence), muscle replacements (essence cost 1-4, depending on rating) which increase your STR and AGI attributes, Reaction enhancers (0.3 to 0.9 essence, based on rating) which increase your REA attribute, or wired reflexes (2, 3, or 5 essence) which greatly increase your combat ability by giving you more actions in combat.
Some examples of bioware are:
-Adrenaline pump, which gives you increased combat ability temporarily, but causes a “crash” soon afterward (essence cost 0.75, 1.5, or 2.25, depending on rating)
-Bone density augmentation, which increases BOD attribute (essence cost 0.3, 0.6, or 0.9 depending on rating)
-Cat’s eyes giving you low-light vision (0.1 essence)
-Digestion expansion, giving you resistance to ingested toxins (0.5 essence)
-Enhanced joints, giving an extra dice for physical tests (0.3 essence)
-Muscle augmentation, giving extra STR (0.2 essence per rating, up to rating 4)
-Muscle toner, giving extra AGI (0.2 essence per rating, up to rating 4)
-Orthoskin, giving extra armor (0.25 essence per rating, up to rating 3)
-Pathogen defense (0.1 essence per rating, up to rating 6)
-Platelet Factories, which greatly reduce damage from large wounds (0.2 essence)
-Skin pocket, for smuggling items (0.1 essence)
-Suprathyroid gland, which increases BOD, AGI, REA, and STR (0.7 essence)
-Symbiotes, which speed up healing (0.2 per rating, up to rating 3)
-Tailored pheremones, which increase CHA and dice rolls for social skills (0.2 essence per rating)
Some examples of cultured bioware are:
-Cerebral booster, increases LOG (0.2 essence per rating, up to rating 3)
-Damage compensators, ability to ignore penalties for injury (0.1 essence per rating, up to rating 12)
-Mnemonic enhancer, increases dice rolled for knowledge, language, and memory tests (0.1 essence per rating, up to 3)
-Sleep regulator, character is able to function normally with 1.5 hours of sleep per night (0.15 essence)
-Synaptic Booster, greatly increased combat ability due to the ability to take more actions in combat (essence cost 0.5 per rating, up to rating 3) this particular piece of cultured bioware will only be available at rank 1 for character creation, but can be upgraded during the game.
You are encouraged to be creative with your suggestions for cybernetic improvements. I will approve most ideas you have for cybernetic enhancement, as long as your character spends an appropriate number of BP to justify having them. Just suggest what you want the cybernetics to do, and I’ll create stats for them.
Ohhh…man…how did I miss this?
I has a sad. I love Shadowrun and would have loved to participate in this. If you end up with a spot, let me know, please!
We have a list of alternates I’d be happy to include you on. We’re starting the game with 5 players but will undoubtedly need extras as players take breaks or drop out. I’ll keep you updated!
Cool. Let me know if a mage spot opens up. I do mages. 
Thanks!
Might I suggest a possession tradition? With Channeling at your first initiation? Possession isn’t really broken until you get Channeling. 
Is there a place online I could look up the magic guidelines/descriptions?
I am currently in the process of translating magic from the sourcebook into this campaign. By the end of the day, I’ll have a complete guide ready to send to our wizard. I’ll also forward a copy of it to you. The guide will include information for how to treat magic during character creation. The mage should plan on saving 25-50 BP for magic spells, bound spirits, and items.
Thanks! I didn’t want to ask you to do that because I know you’re very busy with everything.
Well, I’m thinking of making a gun-based combat-monkey Ork (i.e. pistols and automatics, not really concerned with the slow rate of fire typically found in longarms, so if he’s got to use one in a pinch he’ll probably just go off of a default), so I’d be looking at the more combat-oriented enhancments (i.e. wired reflexes, smartlink, cybereyes, augmented hearing, dermal plating, etc.). He’ll probably have a decent melee as well.
I was also thinking he’d have some background in Demolitions and Track just to round things out.
He’s fairly anti-social, and will have a low charisma, though, enough ranks in etiquette to actually be able to obtain equipment. However, he usually leaves the talking to other people, since he doesn’t like most people based on the fact that he dealt with a lot of prejudice growing up.
I’m pretty much trying to figure out if I should take the medium/high or the high/luxury lifestyle. I’m guessing medium high probably puts things like wired reflexes out of my reach, if I recall how previous editions worked. (I really only have experience with 2nd ed, I never played in a campaign for it, but I did make a heavy-cybered stealthy sniper type for a campaign that never got off the ground).
Your character may have the medium/high lifestyle if he sticks to regular cyberware (not alphaware or bioware) and rank 1 in wired reflexes. The high/luxury lifestyle will allow your character to have some alphaware or bioware, and give you access to rating 2 wired reflexes. The Essence cost of cyberware will be about 20% less for you if you do so.