Character generation as defined in the Shadowrun 6e Core Rules with latest errata.

Gear limited to Availability 4 and below for initial characters

All characters to be located outside Seattle initially

Acceptable source material includes Firing Squad, Krime Katalog and Street Wyrd. Other material on request, though please limit to 6e, not looking to convert 4e/5e material.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:15, Mon 28 June 2021.

One interested player asked a good question about the runners feelings towards the "Free Seattle" movement. They asked about how I would handle runners being "pro-movement" which they felt was a move towards chaos and anarchy or "anti-movement" which they saw as a maintenance of "law and order". Here is my response:

The initial intent is that all characters are from outside Seattle and are being targeted by the Johnson because they have a mercenary approach and do not appear to be strong advocates to any side of the argument.

However I'm also willing to take a character from the Seattle area, or outside, whose motivation is more along the lines of assessing the situation to make sure the little man doesn't get screwed. In this case the people of Seattle.

Not sure what part of the world you are from but it's not necessarily a choice between "chaos" and "law and order" it's more along the lines of the Scottish Independence movement in Scotland today. People are questioning whether Seattle should be governed by a distant government that make decisions based on other factors that what's good for Seattle and want Seattle to become self governing. Obviously "law and order" is a big part of that self government.

However what isn't so clear is what's right for the population of Seattle. Is self government going to benefit the people of Seattle, is there still going to be balance between megacorporations or is one going to dominate such as Aztechnology in Central America, Sauder-Krupp in Germany or even Ares in Detroit. What about the surrounding countries? Are the Salish-Sidhe and the elves of Tir Tairngire going to see a split as a prime opportunity to annex large parts of the territory? It is these questions that are the key matters in regard to the future and it's runners who are interested in pursuing these ideas or who are totally disinterested that are targeted by the Johnson.

Hope this helps in determining character background.

Hi everyone,

I've added the initial players to the game. I created base characters for you so that you can
then use this thread to discuss character concepts and to smooth things out between the team. I am working on adapting the Shadowrun 4e character sheet to 6e and will post it later today or tomorrow for you to use. I'm looking to get concepts and characters resolved by the end of the week if possible.

Sorry for the confusion in my posts over the weekend. I was trying to get to a baseball game with my girls on Father's Day and didn't give my posts the attention they deserve. Thanks again for your interest.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:33, Mon 21 June 2021.

*sits down with a bag of Stuffer Shack Snack chips*

Hello Chummers! Name’s Glitch and I your resident matrix wiz. Popping locks and stealing stocks is my game. I play with a full deck despite what other people say. Gonna throw some code out there and see if I’ve ran with any of ya before:

I threw a Brick at a bee Hive and took cover in my ford Mustang.

Hi folks, I'll be the one getting geeked first :D

I doubt I'll be familiar with anyone in game, since I'm a foreigner. If it helps anyone with their build, I'm going for more of a utility magician, rather than combat. However, I'm hoping to fit some self defence spells in there.

Hi all.

I'm cooking up a close quarters combat (CQC) specialist with a side of infiltration. I'll try out some of the martial arts from Firing Line, which weren't available the last time I went through 6E chargen. In terms of ranged weapons, most likely going to focus on Athletics rather than Firearms.

I'm in full-on "analysis paralysis" mode, some of which is fueled by the fact that my knowledge of 6E is theoretical, not practical.

Also trying to decide on the ratio of adept-to-augmented. It could be all adept, all augmented, or somewhere in between. And behind that, of course, is the age-old question of do you start out stronger but with less room to grow, or do you start out more diluted but with a more defined path for development.

Anyway, excited to hear what else people are cooking up!

Finally have some time today to sit down and work out my character.

Ex-cop, more investigator than door-kicker (Ill leave that to our A_CC), but also I'm going to try to squeeze some Face into the stats.  We'll see how it shakes out in the points, no promises aside from making some one who knows their way around a pistol, a cop shop, and a crime scene.

It's been awhile since I sat down to the Sixth World so this should be fun (my last SR game was back in 2003, so it's been an age).

Playing a pretty straight forward Decker with ability to switch from subtle to loud depending on the situation.

If I may add my two cents about cyber to adapt ratios, it is my opinion that if you are part adept then sacrificing more than 1 Essence/power point to cyberware is not worth it. The main difference between the two as far as cost to availability goes is that it is easy to get more bonuses to reaction and initiative dice/more minor actions as an adapt. Adapt also has more thrown ranged weapon options. Cyberware is good to boost your other attributes such as strength, agility, reaction, logic, and body for less cost over all. Usually with a close combat expert the main question is what is your primary method of bringing the pain: unarmed, weapon, exotic weapon (monowhip).

One thought if your going with melee and Athletics ranged aka throwing or archery, is the adept power that lets you throw anything such as a sword/axe.

My observations were much the same. Adepts also have the higher ceiling (unlimited, really) in terms of DVs due to Critical Strike. They also have the clearer path for advancement, since it's easy to keep adding on foci and initiations. Mundanes... usually start with everything that they're going to have.

It also comes down to what's fun.  You can dump Strength and still be very effective as a striker. Or being strong is fun too, and Grappling is pretty potent. At this point I'm focusing on Unarmed.

At this point, here are the skills I'm trying to cover, in descending order of priority:

1) Stealth
2) Close Combat
3) Athletics
4) Perception
5) Engineering (Lockpicking)

I have added a character sheet template to each character. You should be able to edit the sheet and start building your character when ready

Is the Stolen Gear quality available from No Future?

It's poorly worded and entirely unclear whether it grants you karma (like the In Debt negative quality from 5E) or costs you karma (increasing the value of each point of karma you spend on nuyen).

I always thought it was the former but the only consensus seems to be, "Ask your GM."

In reply to Adept_CloseCombat (msg # 11):

I read it like In Debt in 6e, except instead of owing money to a loan shark you took the liberty of extracting those funds from someone who has the wealth and desire to hunt you down.

So for each point of karma you SPEND you get 10,000 nuyen to spend on gear instead of the normal 2000/point or 5000/point with In Debt, but the drawback is that you start with a heat of 2 and are currently being hunted by a person or organization who is likely to appear at the most inconvenient time.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:49, Wed 23 June 2021.

Hey cool cats,

I'm the other Adept(?) that plans on focusing on guns. I'm going for an equilibrium, John Wook (that's Wick and Woo) vibe. I'm not sure if going Adept is the best way to go about that, but it seems fun. Really, to focus is on using firearms as an extension of their body.

I'm guessing that it would be more suitable for my character to try and focus on more mid/long range than close, but I'm more about the concepts and story building than party balance. However, I wouldn't want my preferences to end int he demise of your own lovely individuals.

Like our other Adept, I'm a little bit on the "Analysis Paralysis" perspective, but I'm sure things will work their way down soon.

I've only got the core book and Firing Line, but hope to get more soon just for this game.

Pleasure meeting you all btw :)

Luckily in 6e both short and long range guns all fall under the Firearms skill. Just gotta have a gun to do it which luckily even tricked out guns aren’t too expensive. I would suggest adept because of Increased Reflexes and Wall Running (which can help you get into position).

In reply to GM (msg # 12):

Ok, so I'm re-reading Stolen Gear and also looking at how it is used in the Genesis character generator. In the Genesis character generator you can select up to 20 karma points of Stolen Goods, this immediately converts in Nuyen in the character but the you do not spend the karma from your character.

So in this way it acts like a Negative Quality, in that it adds karma to your pool, but this karma can only be used for generating Nuyen and not on other items. Reading Stolen Gear again this does line up. However if you chose Stolen Gear you can't choose to spend normal Karma on Nuyen (either normally or through In Debt).

So we will use it in this way:

You may take up to 20 karma in Stolen Goods, this karma will immediately provide you with 10,000 Nuyen in cash per point of karma. You do not spend karma from your pool to generate this it is part of the benefit of the Quality.

@GM
Thank you, that helps. Not sure if I'll use it but nice to know how it works.

I know about Genesis but I haven't used it before. If that's what you're using then I'll check it out.

@Adept_Marksman
There seems to be some consensus on how to build a good gun bunny:

- Max Agility
- Max Firearms + specialization
- +2 initiative dice, +3 is nice but don't break the bank for it, +4 is overkill so spend your resources elsewhere
- Edge 4
- Earn 2 points of Edge your first initiative pass. Use Anticipation. Earn 2 points of Edge your second initiative pass. Use Anticipation again.

Most people go with Elf for the extra point of Agility. Plus it's fairly easy to have a high Charisma and a few extra points of social skills to make yourself a secondary Face, get some extra contacts, and have something to do outside of a fight. It's a pretty solid build. Whether the Agility and initiative come from 'ware, magic, or drugs doesn't matter much.

There's less consensus around close combatants. You want Agility and Close Combat and martial arts to boost your DV, but after that it's less defined. I think fewer players pursue it because they're mostly smart enough to not bring a knife to a gunfight.

@GM thanks for that, boss.


This was all actually super helpful. Good looking out, bud. :)

I'll make more headway later tonight.

EDIT: Also I've always wanted to do an Adept-CQC myself, unarmed at that, with 5e. But for some reason, 6e, guns just SPEAK to me XD
This message was last edited by the player at 20:00, Wed 23 June 2021.

So for my Decker, I will obviously have high Cracking and Electronics. I want to have one ranged combat skill but I’m having a hard time choosing Athletics with throwing stars and a crossbow or firearms. I know as a Decker I shouldn’t be as concerned about combat, but I do still want to be able to contribute. Then do I go with stealth or pilot to drive the team around?

For Athletics, a crossbow + injection bolts is a potent combination. If you can hit someone with Narcoject and have the (base) bolt do at least a box of damage (after the damage resistance test) then it's "goodnight" because there's basically no hope in soaking 15S from Narcoject. The downside is that it's expensive: 50 nuyen per shot for the Narcoject alone. But if the decker is a brainiac then maybe a chemical attack is more appealing than brute force kinetics.

The collapsible crossbows from Firing Line are pretty nifty.

I downloaded Genesis last night and started using it. It is very helpful but I had several "does it really work that way?" moments. Evidently the developer is struggling about how to make it work when the English and the German rules don't align. I don't speak German but I know several players who do and the consensus seems to be that the German rules are clearer.

I made a decent PC who is mundane. I also made a burnout adept who is superior in almost every way; the catch is that the burnout version depends heavily on Stolen Goods. I have to decide whether the mechanical benefits outweigh the narrative risks.

As for the dice roller, the GM is right that the RPOL version can't handle exploding 6s nor a Wild Die. (Other online dice rollers, like Orokos, can handle exploding 6s.) These will probably have to be rolled separately/manually.

Another thing to be aware of is that the RPOL dice roller uses 4E rules, which are that glitches occur if half (50%) of the dice are 1s. The threshold in 6E is more than half (51%) of the dice need to be 1s for a glitch to occur. For that reason, it's important to check the "Record Each Die" box so that, in the event of a glitch, we can count the 1s to see if it's a real 6E glitch or a fake 4E glitch.

In reply to Adept_CloseCombat (msg # 20):

I agree with your comments. If you look at the bug list on Jira for Genesis-Shadowrun there are a number of items that are based on interpretation waiting on official errata. We'll wing it where we have too.

I will add the >50% item to my request to Rpol development for a Shadowrun 6e dice roller. Not sure if they will be able to get to it with the focus on the new UI.

I'm using Genesis also to try out builds. Adepts do get fairly sick. I have an Ork "Barbarian" Level 3 Adept (yes, he's called Neil) who'll run AR 11 Pool 16 DV 10 on 10+3d6 Init with an Axe and AR 10 Pool 18 DV 8 with a pair of knives. With the martial arts techniques and Edge if he get's the drop and can attack multiple opponents he's potentially adding more dice to the pool and attacking all opponents with max dice. That combat will be over in hurry.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:40, Thu 24 June 2021.

Neil! XD

And btw, Genesis has been an absolute godsend. I always forget how intense Chargen is for this drekking game I love.

Really, it's the translating to RPOL that's the biggest "ugh', but I see an end in sight.

I was going to go John Woo, then thought we needed some Long-Range support, then I thought you only live once and Long Range combat opportunites in every game I've ever played have never been a thing. SO went back to John Woo, and figured I could still get a rifle just in case.

Hope you're all doing good too :)

Well, as Glitch said, the difference between Long Range and John Woo is just which gun you use. Since Firearms covers both, just buy two guns. Pretty easy, really.

Chargen is intense, although for me the worst part of it is gear. I can usually knock out attributes/skills/qualities in a matter of minutes, and spells/powers/augmentations doesn't take much longer, but gear is so fiddly that I sometimes prefer low-resource characters just to avoid it.

I feel that.

And sure it's a matter of just getting one of each gun, but it's the flavor. Two heavy pistols? One heavy, one light? A holdout in case? A rifle? And a light? Is Burst worth it?

And in addition, like you, the fiddly bit of resources screws with me. But we'll be right.

Okay, made a lot of progress. I'm 95% done with the mechanics. I went with a mundane elf.

I basically did everything I said I wouldn't: lots of 'ware, lots of gear, lots of contacts. It's going to take me a long time to plug it all into the sheet.

Primary competencies are Close Combat, Stealth, Perception, Athletics, and Lockpicking.

Secondary roles are Influence and Con. He's not a primary face but he's got some backup in case he needs to go the social infiltration route.

Some questions:

1) If you're pretending to be someone else (like a maintenance person), what specialization of Con does that fall under? Acting, Disguise, or Impersonation?

2) Is there an expectation around fake SINs and licenses? How many, how good?

3) Can anyone drive and/or did anyone get a car?

4) How's everyone else coming along?

In reply to Adept_CloseCombat (msg # 25):

In regard to your first question:

If you want to look like a maintenance man then it's disguise. Once you look like a maintenance man and you want to act like a maintenance man, for example really look like you're servicing a piece of equipment and not just hanging about listening to a conversation, it's acting. If you want people to think you're Bob the maintenance man who regularly maintains their building it's impersonation.

Not sure with the other questions. Are you trying to get an idea of what the other players think in regards to these matters or are you asking from "how do they apply in game" perspective, especially in regard to the question about fake SINS?

Thanks for the clarification about Con. That's helpful.

For the SINs/licenses, it's partly about the tone of the game. GMs often offer guidance about their expectations for how shadowy they want things. So a black trenchcoat game might have you rotating through SINs and commlinks on a regular basis while a less stringent game might check to see if you have them for fluff purposes but not involve them very much. Do we all need a good R4 fake SIN? A handful of disposable R1 and R2s? Both, neither?

@ACC Congrats on the progress, and appreciate you updating. I think you've got a cool concept coming online, and the idea of a Geared out Elf sounds pretty sick :)

I had just spent all my karma and cash on what I think I want, and came on here to start popping the sheet up. But now that I see you're going into face skills...I'll probably sub mine out then for more cranial and martial enterprises.

Certainly didn't have the loot for a car, but I kinda thought it was fun to not have one. Though, I did go with Middle Lifestyle.

I've only got a SIN 4, and figure I'd use whatever new cash flow comes in to second a second garbage one.

Same here, R4 SIN and licences. Think I'll have to bite the bullet & go middle lifestyle too, since I have the snooty S-K Swagger. Man, this is gonna get pricey :D

Slammed into the wall of "how much nuyen do I really need" and "still pinning down Elf Face or Troll Face".  Elf face is "easier" in some ways, but Troll face is easier when the SHTF and we need to use judicious amounts of violence to solve a problem.

Also, I keep leaning Troll Face because no one ever does that but my munchkin streak demands a CHA of 7.

Bah, a Face can totes make do with a CHA of 5, right?  Right?  And no one expects the Troll to sweet talk them, so it's doubly sneaky.




And I've been working late all week so my time is not as free as I'd hoped so far.  It'll be fine once I've ironed out the last of the Char Sheet.

Usually I wouldn't recommend a troll face but for an Ex-Cop it makes a lot of sense.

Tailored pheromones aren't cultured so you can get them Used. They aren't too expensive that way, and since they are bioware the additional Essence hit is negligible. If I'm smart, I'll actually look into those myself.

If I were you, I might try Attributes A, Resources B, Metatype C, Skills D, and Magic E.

Getting an extra 5 metatype adjustment points from going from D to C is more valuable than the 4 skill points you would get from going D to C in Skills.

Skills D stinks, but the good news is that 'ware can fill in a lot of the gaps, especially with the boost you get from going up to Resources B. Hell, four Reflex Recorders only cost 56K, which covers the four skill points you give up by dropping Skills down a notch, plus leaves you a boatload of extra nuyen if you moved Resources from C to B. ¥275K for B minus ¥150K for C minus ¥54K for reflex recorders = ¥71K extra leftover. Drek, that's enough right there for your (Used) Muscle Toner and/or your (Used) Tailored Pheromones.

Plus karma can fill in your rating 1 skills and your specializations.

Long story short: extra resources can cover a lot of sins. First law of the corps.

Ok, in replay to the question on SINs:

To me SINs are important, more than just fluff. Especially as we have players considering qualities such as Stolen Goods. I mean, gaining up to 200,000 nuyen has to come with a price and part of that price is that these people chasing you are going to be keyed in on your identities and so rotating SINs and lifestyles is going to be necessary. However if you aren't using these qualities then you are going to find you can get more mileage out of a SIN.

I guess the best place to start is to define the role I see a SIN having, to me it's kind of like a driving license/passport/SSN or NI number combined. If you are going to live on the street or in a squat, buy food at the local Stuffer Shack or FastBurger and shop at the local store then everything can be obtained using a credstick and short of being stopped by local LEO's there is very little need for a SIN, or even a license for that pistol you bought on the street.

Once you get into establishing a lifestyle or wanting to move up in the world then a SIN becomes more important, and the further you want to go the more important it will be for the SIN to be solid. So you want to rent an apartment in a low income area, enter a club, get a loan from a loan shark (low lifestyle) then you can probably do that on a level 1 SIN but will certainly do it on level 2 SIN without too much problem. Opening a bank account, buying a home, getting a license for a car/weapon/cyberware (middle lifestyle) will be tricky on a level 2 SIN but probably routine with a level 3 SIN. Setting up investment accounts, travelling first class, booking top quality accommodation (high lifestyle) will be testing on a level 3 SIN but much more solid on a level 4 SIN. Renting a playboy mansion for a party, travelling by private jet, entering high profile corporate offices (luxury lifestyle) will likely need at least a level 4 SIN to avoid sticky questions and will be much better on a level 5 SIN.

An approximation in terms of game play will be that the SIN level becomes the target number for a close inspection and the SIN level x 2 is the target number for a cursory inspection.

One element to consider is how you interact with Johnsons and contacts during legwork. Do you have the same contact details for each persona? Do your contacts know you by your street name or one of your identities? If they are compromised how much of your life do you have to give up? Is it just your SIN and lifestyle or your gear and contacts as well? As long as your lifestyle isn't street then I'm assuming you have set up some form of call forwarding service from a fake identity to your commlink, however any sort of forwarding mechanism can be detected if the decker is good enough so there is a risk that someone investigating a fake SIN could discover alternate identities. If your risk is high it might be better to maintain different sets of gear that can only be traced to the SIN you are currently representing, or have a friendly decker update your records as you transition from one SIN to the next.

There is a risk while running the shadows that your SINs will become compromised and catch up with you. So it's always useful to maintain at least a semi-solid second SIN to slip into when necessary. Me, I like to have a level 1 for getting in to meet Johnsons, setting their expectations low seems to work best. Be wary when they meet you in the new hot club or restaurant, they will be almost certainly be working with the club/restaurant manager to collect biologics to trace your real identity. Give'em something to find. Then I like to have a level 2 to prepare for runs, if I need to order stuff and can't get it on the street or don't want to pay the extra fees for getting it clean, or if I need access to corporate offices or apartments then I have an identity to do it under. I normally try to keep a low lifestyle updated in conjunction. Gives me a delivery point and potentially an ambush point if I know people are looking for me. Finally I like to keep a level 4 for myself and a medium to high lifestyle. Allows me to kick back and get away from the life. It's solid enough for travel and doesn't have me worried about law enforcement.

Hope this helps give you a little insight it how I see SINs working out in the game.

Great, thank you for the additional clarification and details!

For the record, I did not go with Stolen Goods. The potential consequences were too scary and I didn't want to drag the rest of the party into it. I think it could make for an interesting premise to a game though: everyone is required to take X points in Stolen Goods, and the game just consists of evading your pursuers.

Follow-up questions:

1) Does each fake SIN need a lifestyle attached to it to make it look more 'real'?

2) What are the expectations around lifestyles given the premise of the game (i.e. that we're all from outside of Seattle, and we're being brought in specifically as outsiders)?

3) Same question but for Contacts. Is is okay to assume that our contacts are Seattle-based even though our runners aren't?

In reply to Adept_CloseCombat (msg # 33):

1. Yes, but only if you are not paying towards a lifestyle for the SIN then it defaults to a Street lifestyle. Also it can depend on what you're trying to achieve through the SIN. For example getting into a club on a level 1 SIN doesn't need a lifestyle attached, getting medical attention at a hospital on a level 3 SIN doesn't need a lifestyle attached, travel doesn't need a lifestyle. Renting an apartment or starting a bank account probably only needs 3 months of an established appropriate lifestyle. Buying a house, seeking government/corporation clearance then you better have a solid lifestyle with history. Remember lifestyles only need to be supported monthly, you don't need to keep it forever.

2. Good question. Given that you are outsiders coming in I'll say that you can forego having a lifestyle if you choose, that you travelled in on a new SIN to be incognito and will decide your future after the run. Obviously this means that you'll be unlicensed as well but is an option to save you money in character generation. Also I'll rule that part of the lead in will be that you'll supply Johnson with a list of preferred arms and equipment and they will be waiting for you in Seattle (expenses covered by character generation). If you choose to bring your own equipment/weapons then you better make sure you have a lifestyle and licenses in order to travel.

3. With contacts, most will be in your old town. You can have one in Seattle that you were connected too through your old contacts but your primary contact and any other contacts will be out of town. You can still use them to seek out information but their connection rating will suffer a -2 penalty, or the information will take longer to get.

These were some great questions with some great answers. Definitely helps me revise some things.

So, Genesis seems to have crapped out on me. Have any of you guys had issues with it refusing to allow any adjustments to stats etc? If so & you fixed it, could you help an old luddite out?

In reply to FreeMason (msg # 36):

Never had an issue with stats, but one example is that when adding martial arts I forgot I needed karma and nuyen so I thought it was failing on me. Was not the case, it was me. At what point are you trying to alter stats?

I’ve got the group’s transpiration handled. Figured a Decker would feel safer in a tough, discreet van when he’s hacking.

How often can we expect 9in the normal course of bizniz) to be having to cross checkpoints, get scanned fro entering a different zone, hassled by cops, etc?  I mean, yeah, we go into a bar and order up (if it's a legal bar) we're getting SINned, but are we getting scanned just for entering a Hot topic in Downtown or for walking too close to a kiosk?

Note, I'm fine with it if that's the case (payed in a few games back in the day that went that route, it can be fun being mildly paranoid at that level), I just want to set my expectations.




So it can be chipped and rootkitted to hell and back?  No thanks Johnson, hard pass...

What?  Me paranoid?  Naw, I just know how Johnson thinks.  ;)

In reply to Ex-Cop (msg # 39):

Seattle is pretty open. You can move between most districts without issue. Malls and shopping areas, even the ones that are part of the corporate arcologies, don't require identification to enter and most stores will accept payment through credstick. The only area that requires identification to enter is Council Island, the home of the Salish-Sidhe consulate.

Due to current events Knight Errant presence is elevated in the upper class areas of the city namely Downtown and Bellevue. They are there as the first line of protection between the people and the delegates in town for the conference. Individuals and groups who appear out of place or out to cause trouble are likely to be SINNed. Obviously the delegates have their own security details but those are more likely to shoot first and worry about your SIN later.

The other area of the city where Knight Errant are on high alert is the Seattle Underground. Recent violent clashes in the Underground, often between Ork residents and returning Dwarven immigrants looking to reclaim property their parents or grandparents left, has the whole area on edge. Groups containing Dwarven or Orkish individuals are likely to be checked while in the area, especially as night falls.

Beyond that people are generally left to themselves. The gangs that run areas of Redmond and Puyallup tend to be more interested in your nuyen than your SIN. In the other areas being out of place at the wrong time is likely to attract some attention but K.E's response time to other areas is a little slower right now. Best advice, as a wise woman once told me, "Don't start none, won't be none."

In reply to Ex-Cop (msg # 39):

Now in terms of protecting your identity with Johnsons, and even certain contacts, here you are wise to be cautious. In my book, as shadowrunners, Johnsons see you as necessary evils in the modern world. You are deniable assets, without the costs involved in maintaining and training such entities, but that also makes you uncontrollable assets.

No corporation wants to utilize an asset that next week could be used against it. So Johnson, and his backers, are almost certainly looking for a way to get a hold over you. Something to feel that they have a little control. Your fixer contact is generally safe because the whole shadowrunner ecosystem depends on that Johnson - Fixer - Runner relationship. It's symbiotic and the corps know that if they start messing with Fixers then the cost of hiring deniable assets increases many times. However the other contacts that a runner has are generally open ground. If putting pressure on those contacts provides leverage over a runner then you bet the corps are going to use it.

So the advice here is to be careful mixing business with any other part of your life. As I said before, make it easy for them. Corps tend to stop digging when they think they know who you are. If they think you're some street punk from Puyallup with some chrome and a couple of buddies who work at Stuffer Shack then they'll think they've got figured out, at least until you give them reason to realize they don't. In this game searches will uncover your lower ranked identities before your higher ranked, unless you are deliberately using a higher ranked SIN, so it's always good to maintain a lower ranked SIN to keep the corps out of your life.

In reply to GM (msg # 37):

It's one of the qualities with variable levels. The level won't vary, which is then affecting how much Karma Genesis thinks I have for finishing touches.

So while the SINs themselves have been discussed, there is the accounting and logistical nightmare of licenses. Do we have to have a license for each piece of gear or can they be combined into general categories such as all of your weapons under firearms license or conceal and carry, all drones under one license, etc.

Can multiple licenses be combined under an occupational license such as security, private investigator, and other occupations that would require being legally allowed to carry or use items that require a license?

In reply to Glitch (msg # 43):

For licenses I agree it's a nightmare if dealt with individually. I want to make it somewhat easier so here's the list of licenses I propose:

Firearms - Can purchase a single license to cover all firearms but costs 5 x normal amount
   Pistols - Includes Hold Outs, Light and Heavy Pistols categories
   Automatics - Includes Machine Pistols and Sub Machineguns categories
   Shotguns - Includes Shotguns and Crossbows
   Rifles
   Special - Includes Machine Guns, Special Weapons, Exotics, Martial Arts and other weapons
   Explosives - Includes Special Ammo, Grenades and Launchers

Armor - Includes any type of armor requiring a license

Equipment - Includes any equipment that requires a license.

Cyberware - Includes all types of cyberware, including cyberjacks and rigs

Bioware - Includes all types of bioware

Magical - Includes all magically aware people and magical equipment. More a registration for tracking of active magic users but can be useful in protecting the wielder from prosecution for unlawful magic use.

Vehicle - Can purchase one license for all vehicles but costs 3 x normal amount
  Landcraft - Includes Bikes, Cars, Trucks and Vans
  Watercraft - Includes Boats and Submarines
  Aircraft - Includes Fixed Wing, Rotorcraft and VTOL/VSTOL
  Drones - Includes all Drones

Resonance - More a registration for tracking active resonance users. Can provide some protection from prosecution to a resonance user if they are caught manipulating the matrix.

I'm going to rule that the appropriate firearms license will include the conceal carry license so you don't need a separate license for that.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:52, Sun 27 June 2021.

Okay, since I'm sitting down and doing equipment (and making that final "to Troll or not to Troll", also the 'Cyber or not' decision) something has struck me as... 'excessive'.

The Troll tax of +10% markup on everything.  Is this 'everything' everything?  Even programs used on a commlink?

Or is this closer to the way I've seen it in past editions:  Everything that must be Fitted (weapons, armor, limb/organ cyberware, most equipment) and Lifestyle, but things that aren't Fitted (frex internal commlinks, drones, SINs, Licenses, programs, ammo, etc) are not?




Licensing:  Is the "x5" special only for Firearms, or can we get a "Cyber All" License for x5 cost to cover all the cyber we've got that might need licensing?  Ditto with the others.  Or are Firearms the only category that get's a broad coverage License?

And if we do have a x5 License, is it only good for that guns we currently have?  Or will it cover future guns we, err, acquire?

And will a License also cover the Accessories added to it and Ammo needed for it?  (mostly noticed for Smartgun Links and BMFG ammo, though other books may have armor Accessories, etc)
This message was last edited by the player at 18:41, Sun 27 June 2021.

Sounds like the 10% applies to anything that needs to be used physically. (So maybe it doesn't apply to programs or spell formulae, etc.) I suppose it's realistic, but it's a fairly hefty tax on a race that doesn't have a lot of explicit advantages in SR6.

Going back to licenses, I saw there was a "special" license that covered Martial Arts. Is that right? How would that work? Unsure of how you'd license fighting prowess. Or did you mean "martial arts weapons" that are more exotic that regular melee weapons?

After painstaking going back and forth about what kind of Decker I want my character to be as well as secondary roles.

I first looked at the traditional cyberjack, cyber deck, cyberware to boost lower attributes.

Then I realized that adept powers (especially in Street Wyrd) make for a viable AR Decker. The problem was it left me lacking in skills for a secondary role. Then I looked at Task Spirits and found the solution, Mystic Adept minus using Sorcery which I took Incompetent (Sorcery) negative quality to reflect his inability to directly use mana to affect the world around him. His task spirits are actually rows of organized code made physical and programmed for specific tasks. His perfected versions of Agent programs.

With Attributes at priority A, it freed up my karma to gain an extra 120,000 Nuyen by resisting the urge to purchase Foci. With this extra Nuyen combined with Resources at priority B allowed to purchase a RCC, GMC Bulldog, and drones for a rigger secondary role.

In reply to Ex-Cop (msg # 45):

The Firearms and Vehicle are the only licenses that have defined licenses for different categories. So the Firearms (x5) license represents having licenses for Pistols, Automatics, Shotguns, Rifles, Explosives and Special (6 for the price of 5) and covers any weapon, now or future as well as weapon accessories. Conventional ammo is covered by the license for the category of firearm and special ammo is covered by the explosives license. So if you are only interested in a heavy pistol with explosive ammo then you just need a Pistol license and an Explosives license, but a Firearms license covers it all.

The Cyberware license is a single license to cover any and all cyberware you have installed. I decided not to split this into categories. You don't need separate licenses for each piece. It's one license. Same for all other licenses. Firearms and Vehicles are different because of the categories.

My justification is that it will basically mean that each character have a license representing their enhancement (Cyberware/Bioware for Samurais/Deckers/Riggers/Faces, Magical for Mages/Shamens/Adepts, Resonance for Technomancers). If you aren't enhanced then you benefit because you don't have this potential cost or impediment. Then every character will have the option to obtain licenses for their weapons, armor and vehicles.

I agree that the Metahuman adaption involves anything that you wear or hold (such as a weapon of cyberdeck). Other items are not subjected to the tax.

The special license for Martial Arts is again a registration for authorities to be able to track dangerous individuals. Most legal martial arts schools require their students to register when they reach a certain belt level, but there are plenty of schools that do not operate legally and registration is not required. This is more of a safety net, prosecutors tend to look more kindly on a registered martial artist claiming they used their art in self defense than an unregistered artist.

In the character sheet, do I need to list the stats based on who is using the weapons such as drone or spirit or list as if he was using it?

In reply to Glitch (msg # 49):

Not really sure which part of the character sheet you're looking at? The stats for the vehicles for Piloting etc. represent the skill of the autopilot of the vehicle. I would list those in the vehicle section. I realize that I missed a section for spirits where you can list the spirits you regularly summon.

I'm interested in the concept of the character but not sure how you are intending on using the task spirits? My initial thoughts are that they could be used for piloting vehicles or performing matrix tasks in a none AR/VR manner but did you have something else in mind?

The description of spirits you gave in your previous message seemed more to me like Sprites used by Technomancers and wondered if that's what you were seeing these spirits as being?

3 task spirits:
1) Pilot for driving the van manually
2) Engineering for manually firing the vehicle mounted HMG and making repairs on my vehicles, drones, and gear
3) Biotech for first aid

Of course there is the usual of using them for scouting, combat, movement, and concealment.

Just a thought, is it worth having a Discord for things like Matrix runs & Astral wanderings? I've seen it done in previous SR games to avoid game death through thumb twiddling whist the team waits for results.

That does sound like a good solution.

Thats a good suggestion, mate. Discord for drek like that seems sound.

So it's known, my charscter is now a female human since I saw we have no women and now at least two elves. I figured my third would've been a crowd XD.

My own questions:

@DM, Is there any particular rules about Armor stacking by brand ypu would abide by? In particular, would the Mortimer Coats from Firing Squad be considered to stack with the suits? I imagined not but figured I'd ask.

If Adept powers are passive, would they still be considered as being able to leave an aura?

Would you be open to custom power creation?

Is there a possible list or idea of languages we can know OOC that could be featured in this campaign? I'm mostly asking because my character will be coming from Cairo, Egypt.

@The Crew, Did anyone of you adepts feel possibly interested in Kinetics Mastery from Street Wyrd? I don't feel it's necessary but it could be fun.

As a human, my Charisma sucks (It's2. It makes sense to me, with the elves we've got), but I figure my secondary skills will be some stealth. But is there anything else we will need covered as a crew? It seems that we've got Face, CC, Midrange, Decking, Rigging all covered. I didn't know how good our combined Magic game is, though (I've got 6, but then again, I'm an adept).

@Everyone when a Decker starts hacking your equipment, is there anyway to know? I.e. You're blasting away while someone's jacking your smartlink, would you get any sort of warning if they were belligerent about it?

If there's misspellings apologies. Phone typing is the worst on RPOL.

Shadowrun 6e appears to have made matrix/astral work a little more streamlined. I'll hold off the discord for now until we get a better idea of how it's working. We can change if necessary.

In terms of armor I certainly don't see why you shouldn't be able to wear a greatcoat, airman's jacket or trenchcoat over another styled clothing. Both pieces are made to be worn over other clothes and the styled clothes and armor are constructed to be only marginally thicker than standard clothes. Note however I have asked in character generation to limit item availability to 4. If you take a high lifestyle then you can go to 5 and if you pursue a luxury lifestyle you can go to 6. You just don't have the rep to get the introductions you need to obtain those sort of goods.

Passive powers do not leave an astral signature that leaves a lasting trace, obviously though you have a significant astral presence when in person.

Sure on the custom power creation. Let me know what you're thinking and we'll see what we can do.

Check out https://shadowrun.fandom.com/wiki/Language for a list of languages. Basically modern day languages with a few additions for Elves, Orks etc. As a native of Cairo, Arabic would be your native tongue although English is still a primary language dating back to the days of colonization.

Detecting an attack on your PAN depends on the type of attack. A decker that Sleazes into your PAN might do so undetected until they perform an action to disable something. An brute force attack on your PAN will be immediately detected whether the attackers gains access or not.

As far as gear goes, the beginning post says gear was limited to “Rating” 4. That to me meant Device rating. I did not realize you were talking about availability. Need to go through gear and check availabilities real quick.

My bad. I should have checked my post. Yes, please keep gear to Availability 4 or less unless purchasing a High (5) or Luxury (6) lifestyle.

I'm in the same situation about Availability 4. I need to figure out whether I should downgrade my 'ware or upgrade my Lifestyle.

@All
I'm not strong on the Matrix rules. What's a good commlink for a non-decker?

@Glitch
mounted HMG, you say

@Tu Bahd
If you're a combat character then your Reaction is probably pretty good. A point in Piloting (maybe with a specialization in Ground Craft) could make you a back-up driver in case Glitch or Glitch's spirits are otherwise occupied.

Oof.  There goes a chunk of my bioware...  (all cultured bioware is Availability 5)

Sony Emperor and Erika Elite are both decent...  the Erika Elite has a Defense of 3 versus your common schlub hackernewb and the Sony a 2 (it's Data Processing + Firewall=Defense).

In a commlink's stat lines the "D/F" is "Data Processing/Firewall", so if you're just lookinf to 'keep the clubkiddies' out of your commlink, either are fine, but the Erika has just that little bit of extra processing power.

You aren't going to keep a dedicated hacker out with a standard commlink.  So buy two, one you use everywhere with nothing important attached to it, and one to use only when you turn it on that may have more important files, info, programs.

In reply to Ex-Cop (msg # 59):

It may be better to upgrade the lifestyle to start. You would have to spend an extra 5000 nuyen to upgrade the lifestyle, but may be easier than redoing all your bioware.

My reason for implementing this, and again I apologize for the confusion, is simply that as starting runners there have to be extenuating circumstances for you to have access to such high tech gear. Looking at the core rules on availability ratings:

4. Now we’re getting into specialty markets. These are things not intended for mass markets, and their specialized function isn’t for everyone. Few people in any given sprawl carry them, and their supplies are limited.
5. True specialty items. These may be collector’s items or things deliberately made for a niche audience, but they are not at all easy to find.
6. These are quite rare, often hand-crafted items. Small workshops and specialty manufacturers make them, and you’ll never find them at a major retailer. Work hard, and you might track a by-appointment seller who will sell you one.

So given that how would your runners on low or middle lifestyles, just starting out in the business, have come by these items? That's why I'm suggesting the limits based on lifestyle. Remember however you can allow the lifestyle to lapse. It is throwing away money but if it'll get you that cultured bioware maybe it's worth it.

As far as getting hacked, as long as my deck is the master device over everyone’s commlinks then most people won’t be able to find them and be hard to hack if they do since they would be going up against Glitch in his element.

In reply to Glitch (msg # 62):

Remember there is no penalty to run silent in Shadowrun 6e. I'll be assuming everyone is running silent unless they tell me otherwise.

On the subject of Matrix shenanigans, am I being a bit dumb or have Agents disappeared for the time being?

Agent programs are still here.

While on matrix items one point I want to make about networking the team PANs behind the decker's improved PAN is that obviously this only works if the decker is physically within range of the team. The range I will be using is Data Processing x 100 meters. Outside of this range team members will have to connect directly to the matrix.

In order to increase the range you can purchase an accessory:

PAN Range Extender    DR 2, Avail 1, Cost  250Y - extends range to DP x 200 meters

and slave it to your PAN.

Damn, there goes my Mortimer suit & greatcoat. Also, it looks as though Mason never learned to drive (cue Inbetweeners bus wankers references).
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 22:49, Mon 28 June 2021.

In reply to FreeMason (msg # 67):

What prevented him from driving? Lack of skill? After all for the money of the suit and greatcoat you can get a Vespa (Dodge Scoot) and a good pair of Chelsea boots. Go for the Mod look (though I think I just aged myself)

I think it's going to be more a lack of skills, with the corp not having his driving as a priority. Unless I drop enchanting a bit to give extra points.

Oh, yeah, that would work.  And it would fit with the character being a "rising media" personality to spend big and not save for the rainiest of days...

Get used to me occasionally misreading something, I'm pulling 12 hour shifts and the insomnia is kicking back in hard.




I remember the Mods... man... *cough* I mean, waaaaay before my time.

(The scene rolled into my area in the mid 80s when I was in grade/high school school, so yeah, the actual Mod scene was a bit before my glory days, just a wee bit.)

Def buying that PAN extender, but got some questions about slaving devices.

I've read the book up and down, and there isn't much to go off as to how exactly slaving works (or maybe I'm just blind).

• I've got two commlinks (Renraku built into clothes), one or two meta links, and a micro-transceiver.
• Both of my commlinks have DP 2, so they can slave up to two devices Metalink has one.
• I slave my micro to a metalink
• Slave said meta to Renraku
• Slave extra meta to Erika
• Slave both Commlinks to PAN

At this point, I presume I am able to switch between both meta links; one for personal, one for ops. I also guess that with an action I can switch which meta link I'm using for the micro. The meta links each use the Firewall rating of the commlinks. If a decker tries to hack my ish, they would have to go through the micro first, then the meta, then the commlink, then my PAN. Is this all correct? Can a decker just jump straight to the PAN?

Next:

• Micro > Meta Link > Renraku
• Slave Renraku to Erika

So now, does Erika's FW serve as another layer of defense for the Renraku for my personal use? Also, would Erika be tracked/trackable if I used Renraku?

Lastly:

• Micro > Meta Link > Erika
• Meta Link > Renraku > Erika
• Erika to Captain Glitch's Deck

So in this long chain, my micro-transceiver simply benefits from Glitch's good stuff, correct?

Def feel like I'm over thinking this. Sheet's almost done!

But counting all the cost is a bummer.

In reply to Tu Bahd (msg # 71):

Here's what I think your PAN should look like:

                                            +-Meta-Link
                                            |
(Access Point)Erika Elite--+-Renraku Sensai-+-Meta Link-+-Micro-Transceiver
                           |
                           +-PAN Extender

This would allow you to leave the Erika Elite up to 600m away from your location and still allow your Renraku Sensai to connect to it, assuming the Sensai and Meta Links are on your person. (See alternate stats below)

Assuming Hacker is Remote:

If the Erika is connected directly to the Matrix a hacker would use the Erika's stats to hack your system (3/4), but if connected to Glitch's PAN would use his defensive rating (assuming it is better)

If someone accesses you Erika host then the PAN Extender and the Sensai can use the Erika's FW stat as their defense against further intrusion.

If they then access the Sensai the Meta Link can use the Sensai's stats (2/3) and then the Micro-Transceiver will use the Meta-Link's stats (1/2).

Assuming Hacker is Local:

If the opposing decker is within the range of your PAN extender (600m) and are working on a wireless enabled deck (note that most corporate deckers do not have wireless enabled decks, they have a hard-wired connection to their network and use the capabilities of the host to provide defensive and offensive capabilities) then they can attempt to hack your Erika host directly (without first hacking into a protecting host of course the Erika can still use the host's defensive ratings) and if they are within 300m they can attempt to hack your Sensai directly and if they are within 100m they can attempt to hack your Meta Links directly. The reason for this is that they are within the connection range for your device's "hotspot".

There is a lot of noise about how the stats on commlinks are too low. I will post an alternate table in the house rules that we will use. This also increases the number of devices that can be slaved to a commlink.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:23, Tue 29 June 2021.

Thanks for that clean explanation. I don't plan on getting bogged down with the deets anymore than that, but just wanted to make sure I had my head right for it.

On the topic of PANs, have I understood how they work if the below is what I have in mind for Mason's when out in public?

                      Sony Emperor (Slaved, Not Silent. SINS/Licences & none suspicious drek)
                           |
(Master Device, Silent)Erika Elite--+--Guns 'n' Gear

In reply to FreeMason (msg # 74):

Pretty much. A couple of things to note:

1. You can slave 3 devices to the Erika. One is the Sony Emperor so you can slave 2 additional devices. Other devices can be connected to your PAN but will be unprotected (0 FW) and can be hacked directly. You can also slave 2 devices to the Sony.
2. SINs/Licenses can exist on any device but you might want to consider the way Tu Bahd is doing it and rather than one Sony Emperor get a Meta Link for each SIN. That way if/when the SIN gets burnt you only have to junk a cheap commlink. Just like cellphones today commlinks leave a digital trace, communications can not only be traced to personal information but to hardware too. So using the same commlink for multiple SINs leaves you open to someone piecing together that these two identities are the same person.
3. If you run your Master device silent then all other devices on your PAN are running silent. There is no penalty to run silent.
4. From outside your PAN a hacker can see and spoof the devices connected to your master host. Ideally you want that to be only other hosts. If your smartgun is connected to your Erika then a hostile hacker can spoof it to eject the clip or data spike it to fail without hacking into your master. Obviously as a slaved device the smartgun will use the Erika's stats for defense but it's safer for those functions to be buried behind a secondary host.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:26, Wed 30 June 2021.

Well, I've had to bite the bullet & get a Dodge Scoot to get around until I can upgrade. As a biker, I think there should be a social penalty for turning up to a meet on one of those things :D

How does one pronounce Xaays?

And how're you cats coming along?

The X is a "ks" sound like you get at the end of box or fox.

There's also an accent on the first a, Xáays, so there's an extra syllable there, with emphasis on the first syllable.

The trick is that it's actually plural, referring to four brothers / spirit-beings, almost like a collective family name. It's just a runner name, not a given name, so perhaps it makes sense for someone with a bit of Con who can be lots of things to lots of people.

Another option is Xelas, which has the advantages of being singular and an easier abbreviation (Xe/Ze).

My mechanics and background are done. My main challenge is now transcribing a tremendous amount of gear/ware/contacts/etc. into the sheet. I'm working on that now and hope to finish today.

Unfortunately the site won't allow accented characters in a name. I'll change it to Xelas to be more phonetically correct.

Thanks for the updates. If everyone else can update I would appreciate it. I realize it's 4th July weekend here in the US and Euro quarter finals this weekend in Europe so understand that everyone may not be focused on the game.

I've got most of my numbers crunched, might have a touch more nuyen to spend. Then  typing up fluff. Should I be disappointed that most of my gear purchases are legal?

I'm actually watching Euro quarter finals while filling my sheet in.

I just noticed that there's no spot on the sheet for capital-C Contacts. I didn't delete that on accident, did I?

The Contacys bit is underneath the matrix persona section, if that helps

I think I accidentally deleted it then.

Try to quote this, then copy/paste it into your sheet.

Works, thank you!

Just a thought. If our contacts (except one, IIRC) aren't local, what happens going forward past Free Seattle? I'm hoping the game survives past Free Seattle & everyone wants to stay involved.

In reply to FreeMason (msg # 86):

That would be good. Hopefully the game goes well.

Should be able to finish up my character sheet by the end of today.

Sorry fellas, I saw my schedule was free all of today and thought that would mean I could work on the character (I've been doing 12 hour shifts at work and my brain is too fried for math after), and then this morning discovered why I'd left the day free.  I have both Tue and Wed off this week, I'll make sure I set aside time to finish the character up those days.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:26, Mon 05 July 2021.

No worries. My Mrs has kept me so busy that I'm maxing out at five hours sleep a night. I think she's prepping me for when mini-me arrives. I think I've just got a couple of pieces of gear to buy, then get the fluff to make sense before I'm ready.

No worries, I said that this would be a casual game and the expectation was a couple of posts a week. Let's aim to get characters done by next Sunday. Post if you need assistance or guidance.

I'm getting very close. I think I'm about 99% done.

A follow-up question about lifestyles: I purchased two lifestyles. Do I need to declare locations for those or can they be TBD (as in, the money is set aside) to set up in Seattle after the game has begun?

Hey folks,

Just wanted to let you all know I had to ship off my computer for repairs, so should get it back by at least Tuesday. I can post from my phone, but it's a pain in the arse, so don't mind any delays from me.

I should be done crunching tomorrow. Had to tweak my magical gear because I missed a rule change from 5e to 6e. Being a magician is bloody expensive.

In reply to Xaays (msg # 92):

I'm fine with you leaving them open until you get established in Seattle. You're basically going to be leaving your old lifestyle for a while anyway

Two quick questions, the Onotari Arms Rhino Hunter Alpha (Firing Squad pg 24), in the fluff text it says the Alpha was designed for Troll usage.  Does this mean the Alpha model has Metahuman Adaptation already applied (it has no "stat line" notes designating this).

Two, Metahuman Adaptation only costs 200¥, however this is almost always either less or more than an item's cost x 110% (Core 6e Troll Upgrade cost).  Is this a required purchase for all my weapons which then get taxed, or does the Troll Tax presume this is already covered, or does this mod supersede the Troll Tax?

(I just threw this question on the Catalyst Games 6e rules question board, so I'll see what their forum "gurus" think...)


If I have to take this on my weapons... I'll have to rejigger my gear again...  (it just means I'll drop a weapon or two)

[EDIT]
I've gotten two reponses, one fromt eh Errata Coordinator (Stainless Steel Devil Rat), and one from a Demo Team member (Michael Chandra):

1 - Use whichever is more favorable for the PC. (I don't like this response, it's very... eh.  And after reading a lot of the Errata Coordinator's responses in other threads, I'm beginning to mentally name him Skip Williams.  Just nod if you get the reference.)

2 - Troll Tax is on fresh bought Gear, Metahuman Modification is for equipment acquired via non-purchase methods that are not already Adapted for that Metatype.  (This would also apply to someone acquiring a Dwarf or Troll's weapon and then adapting it down to fit their normie hands, so I like this ruling better.)
[/EDIT]
This message was last edited by the player at 14:09, Thu 08 July 2021.

It's a fair question.

Firing Squad's metahuman adjustment only pertains to weapons. One interpretation would be to apply it only to weapons and not to anything else. This is a somewhat harsh interpretation, because that will make weapons cost much more without reducing the tax on big-ticket items where the tax really hurts.

But, yes, it probably needs some GM input. Does ammo need to cost more? If so, why? Are the rounds bigger to fit in a bigger gun? If so, do they do more damage? The tax is very punitive as it's currently written. I understand the in-world logic for it, but it seems to go against the overall flattening that occurred in chargen between 5E and 6E.

@Ex-Cop Did you pick a specialization for Influence? I tentatively chose Intimidation but, upon reflection, I thought that's what you might have chosen for being an (ex)cop. But you're already playing against type as a troll face so I figured I would ask, just in case you're all sweetness and light. If necessary I can make my elf be the mean one.

Yup.  The other interpretation is that weapons have to be double-dipped (which makes no sense to me, but I'm not a 6e Shadowrun rules writer).


As per the earlier discussion the Troll Tax should be applied to "everything that would reasonably need upsizing", so weapons, armor, vehicles, 'gross' cyberware (limbs, Wired reflexes, dermal plating, muscle replacement, etc), tools, food, etc.  But not things that the Troll doesn't have to "manhandle" (or would be 'stupid' if were larger), implanted commlink, RFID tags, tracking bugs, drones, bullets, software, Fake IDs and Licenses, credsticks, etc.  And Lifestyle is not Gear, so that's an expense only my Superthyroid will impact...



Negotiation.  And my Con specialization (if I take one) will be Performance.

It's less "they're more touchy-feely" and more since hitting the street they've had to learn to navigate the world of "face time with Johnson".  And growling at the Johnson and threatening to eat their spleen doesn't work as well as talking cold hard nuyen.

And that's fine, you be the growly Elf.  We can be 'good cop/bad cop' or even "Beauty and the Beast"... which is a team up I've done more than once as the "gentle beast paired with the snarly beauty".


Sidenote, is "Xaays" pronounced ZAYS, or ZA-ys (za-YS), CHA-ys?  Is the emphasis first or second syllable, or is it one syllable?

Great crosstalk cool cats.

As a slight btw, did any of you want to come in already knowing each other? I'm just throwing that out there because, since we have two "faces", Tu Bahd has exactly none of those skills, which also kind of makes sense as English is her second language.

No pressure, but just a thought. I still don't even know what we're getting in to, which is exciting for me.

I like this ruling too. It makes sense, either make it fit in the first place or wrap 200Y of "metahuman adaption" duct tape around the grips and take off the trigger guard to make it fit better. :)



This too, the Troll Tax only applies to items that would make sense as Ex-Cop mentioned. Weapon grips and triggers would be altered but not calibre or ammo size, so those items will not be subjected to the tax.

As I read the description in Firing Squad p24 what I read is that the Onotari Arms Rhino Hunter is available in two flavours. Alpha was the original design and is designed specifically for larger meta-humans (Dwarves, Orks and Trolls) but became so popular that they produced a second version, the Beta, for Elves and Humans. So either version is available for the same cost (no Troll Tax) of 12,500Y.

In terms of knowing each other ahead of the job I'm willing to consider it but generally the Johnson is pulling you together because they are looking to create a team from outside of Seattle that have no allegiances to any other party including each other.

I dig that. Then let's go with that.

I presume that I'd still apply the Troll Tax to this as well, so 220¥.  It's cheaper to "unTroll" a weapon that to "upTroll" it.


/thumbsup.jpg

Belongs on a shirt.

No, I don't think so. I think it's 200¥ either way. If you have a weapon that is made for a troll you will need to remove material from the grips, probably reduce the tension on the trigger (as those weak-assed elves can pull anything with more tension than a soda can) and adjust other items.

I think what it leads to is that for weapons up to 2000¥ it's cheaper to pay the Troll Tax. For weapons over 2000¥ it's cheaper to buy the standard version and then adapt it. Just like Skip said ;)

Note that the adaption is only for weapons. You still have to pay the tax on vehicles, clothes and armor.

I agree with this. I find it much easier/tidier to start from scratch. I also like that we're coming from separate directions to end up at the same place.


Ha, I like this. Okay, we'll do the Beauty and the Beast. In this case, the snarling beauty and the gentle beast. I think it makes sense for my character.


The X is a "ks" sound like you get at the end of box or fox.

There's also an accent on the first a, Xáays, so there's an extra syllable there, with emphasis on the first syllable.

So we get meet in a tavern sleazy bar?

We'll see ;)

/thumbsup.jpg


Okay, so it's pronounced (using doggerel instead of proper IPA codes) "KSA-ays" or is it "KSAH-ays"?



The only native amerind languages I've studied are Algonquin* and Nahuatl*, so... I have no idea how Squamish should sound, and it's in the wrong part of the country for me to be stumbling over Sqaumish words in out in the real world (I've never lived further west than Colorado).

* Algonquin because for me it's heritage (though I've let it slip) and Nahuatl so I could pronounce it 'semi-correctly'.

I have only the loosest understanding of IPA codes so I wouldn't put any faith in trying to write them out.

I think your "KSAH-ays" is closer to the mark. An open vowel, a "short A" that sounds more like AH than "A" (or "eh" if you're giving a shrug of indifference).

But don't put too much faith in my powers of linguistics. I'm legitimately unsure if my surname is two syllables or three and I've had it all my life.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say my numbers are all crunched. I'm having fun & games getting the background etc. to fit though. Am I right in thinking that since we're all from different places there's no scope for shared contacts?

You've all have a single contact in Seattle, there is room there for that contact to be shared by different team members. But the rest of your contacts are yours in whatever place you came from.

OK, in that case if anyone fancies a shared contact I have the following, all C2, L1:

Harioshi (Harry), Japana-ork Talismonger who conducts business remotely wherever possible.

Delilah: Elf Fixer, former CAS marine sniper

As yet un-named beat cop and a street doc.

Hi Everyone.

I really want to get this game started this week. I have reviewed Tu Bahd's character and am working on the review of Xáays.

FreeMason, you look like you are getting close. Let me know when you are done.

Glitch, you have some info in your character sheet. Any idea when you think you might get the rest? Anything I can do to help?

Same for Ex-Cop (Do you have a character name?). Is there anything I can do to help get your character into the game so we can get started?

I have everything listed in a file. It’s just the tedious process of putting it in the character sheet. I can copy/paste what I have in a PM to show I have everything if that will help get things started.

Name: Glamnarok

I will fire off some questions at you this afternoon (which won't really affect the build, but future stuff), I ran into the 'bad editing' parts of the Gear list yesterday and instead of ignoring it I fell down the rabbit hole of trying to find answers on the Shadowrun forums and Reddit.

I just need to finalize some money expenditures and then like Glitch, fill in the character sheet.  I at least put my Priority picks, Attributes, Skills, and 'Ware in a PM so you can start vetting that.  The rest of the nuyen spend will come this afternoon.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:27, Mon 12 July 2021.

Lovely to see everything coming together!

Also, does anybody have skill in Biotechnology? If not, I'll probably switch that out for my piloting. I forgot stim patches are temporary...

Do Skillwires count for your purposes?  If so, then yes.

Well, my purposes being finding ways for us to stay alive.

But with that, think I'll move some stuff around to get that going XD.

I also have the skill at 1 point from the "Karma spends" at the end, but a 1 in a skill is bantha poodoo, so skillwires to compensate until it can be trained up to at least a 3.

In reply to Ex-Cop (msg # 120):

I respect that.

I think I have the green light. I'm ready to run.

Skills at 1 are not worthless. That gives you 2 more dice than you would have had defaulting. Plus it enables Specializations, so for 10 karma (5 for the skill point and 5 for the specialization) you can have 4 dice that you didn't before. You might not want to bet your life on it, but it also might go a lot further than 10 karma spent elsewhere (unless you're Awakened, in which case all you want are initiations and/or spells).

Given my augmentations I should have Biotech but I don't (yet).

Funny thing, the Skillwires are rating 4, but the Activesofts are Rating 2...  so it's "better" to just buy Rating 4 Activesofts and never bother increasing Biotech or Cracking (they can't be done without at least 1 in the skill, so I took them both at "Hail Mary" levels for that '1-in-a-million emergency', so I can glitch out the test and absolutely ruin everyone's day.  I like planning for these things).





Oh, I agree, that's the only reason I took them.  I always take those sorts of skills unless I'm playing a complete meathead.

And if I'm doing that, I play an Adept... /innocentwhistling.gif


I have a mix of Bio and Cyber... I kept going back and forth on the Superthryroid.  But at the end of the day, even if the Reaction bonus doesn't stack it's the only thing that flat adds to Body so I decided to keep it and suck up all that nuyen pain.

Oy, it's expensive.  And don't forget it's +255 to Lifestyle, so the more/higher of those you have the more it costs.

Why do you need the point of Body so badly?

If it's for damage soaking then what about Bone Lacing or Bone Density Augmentation?

More BOD is always useful.

Things Bone Lace and Bone Density will not help with:  Condition Monitors, Overflow, DR, resistance to Takedown (Tumble & Grapple) and Knockdown, resistance to Status ailments, Lift/Carry, Healing tests, Drug resistance and duration reduction, spell resistance, resisting Stun damage...

Granted, higher Body can count against me for some Stealth tests (where my bulkiness would matter).  In which case I'm fragged, cause that's... woo, that's gonna be a Threshold.


Got them extra Dense Bones too.  And Dermal Plates

My "mankini" DR is 12, but when are getting into a firefight where we're only wearing our birthday suits*?  There are precious few fights we're getting into where I'm not getting an immediate Edge when someone shoots at me (melee AR can get stoopid high, but gun ARs have some inherent limits, and even melee ARs aren't likely to have the enemy getting Edge).


Oh, yeah, I'm definitely one part Street Sammy, one part Face.  But I'm not steppin on our GunBunny or CCMaster's toes, I'm the Soak Monster.  And pretty mean with a Remington Roomsweeper too... but I'm sure our Combat Adepts will be the ones doing the damage while I anchor the field.



* I know, I know, don't taunt the Happy Fun GM, they'll make it happen.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:00, Tue 13 July 2021.

Just an update. Been struggling the last couple of days with pain from a kidney stone so I have not finished checking out the other characters. Will try to do so before the end of the week.

That's some drek, man. Sending prayer and positivity your way.

Whoa!  Take your time man.  Seriously.

I should have all nuyen finalized and in a PM by tonight (as well as Knowledges, Languages, and Contacts).  Then I'll make a longer background and start filling out the character sheet.

In reply to GM (msg # 126):

Take your time boss, don't go rushing & getting more ill because of it.

In the meantime I've been reading up on the spell design rules. I'm no combat mage, but I did like the powerblade spell from 5e. I mean, come on, it's basically a lightsaber.

Alright everyone, pain is over. I've checked out all the characters and I'm happy we're ready to go. Anything else I'll deal with individually over the next few days. Starting the game in a new thread. Hope everyone has fun and sticks around.