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Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

Message no. 1
From: ntomlin <ntomlin@*****.VALDOSTA.PEACHNET.EDU>
Subject: my initial character
Date: Fri, 16 Jul 1993 09:39:00 -0400
Well I finally more or less finished designing my first ever SR
character. A decker short on physical developement short on
non-computer type skills but lllooonnngggggg on nuyen. I have a
decent deck and lots of contacts,a buddy,a gang, and followers and
getting ready to buy more as I finalize the design. Question
is....Is this too much for a beginning character or is this just
the result of sacrificing stats and skills for money. Should I
regroup my priorities or is this workable. all comments welcome
especially those of GMs who know the headaches maybe that go along
with such a character.
Message no. 2
From: "Jason Carter, Nightstalker" <CARTER@***.EDU>
Subject: Re: my initial character
Date: Fri, 16 Jul 1993 10:49:07 -0700
ntomlin said:

>>Well I finally more or less finished designing my first ever SR
>>character. A decker short on physical developement short on
>>non-computer type skills but lllooonnngggggg on nuyen. I have a
>>decent deck and lots of contacts,a buddy,a gang, and followers and
>>getting ready to buy more as I finalize the design. Question
>>is....Is this too much for a beginning character or is this just
>>the result of sacrificing stats and skills for money. Should I
>>regroup my priorities or is this workable. all comments welcome
>>especially those of GMs who know the headaches maybe that go along
>>with such a character.

IMHO you are suffering from tech overload. You have way too much money and
nothing to spend it one. Deckers are fun, but contrary to popular opinion, they
don't take awhole lot of nuyen to run. If you take a good look at the decker
archetype in SR, you might see that it is actually a rather effective archetype.
Now I'm not saying use that one, but it's a great start for figuring out what
type of possessions a decker should have.

Since you say your character is short on physical development and non-computer
skills, I think you have too much tech. And having lots of contacts, a buddy,
a gang, and followers borders on munchkinism. Now I can't say for sure since
I haven't seen the character and I have no idea what he's about, I would advise
dropping your tech level and increasing your skills. You should be able to keep
a good deck, programs, and alot of contacts. With the extra skill points invest
in at least one combat skill (firearms being the best) and as many social skills
as you can get effective levels in. That will leave your character as a decker-
contact monger who's not completely useless in a fight.

See Ya in Shadows,
Jason J Carter
The Nightstalker
Message no. 3
From: Robert Watkins <bob@******.NTU.EDU.AU>
Subject: Re: my initial character
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1993 11:35:57 +0930
[ Stuff about a guy making a decker with heaps of nuyen. ]
>
>IMHO you are suffering from tech overload. You have way too much money and
nothing to spend it one. Deckers are fun, but contrary to popular opinion, they
>don't take awhole lot of nuyen to run. If you take a good look at the decker
archetype in SR, you might see that it is actually a rather effective archetype.
>Now I'm not saying use that one, but it's a great start for figuring out what
>type of possessions a decker should have.

>Since you say your character is short on physical development and non-computer
>skills, I think you have too much tech. And having lots of contacts, a buddy,
>a gang, and followers borders on munchkinism. Now I can't say for sure since
>I haven't seen the character and I have no idea what he's about, I would advise
dropping your tech level and increasing your skills. You should be able to keep
a good deck, programs, and alot of contacts. With the extra skill points invest
in at least one combat skill (firearms being the best) and as many social skills
>as you can get effective levels in. That will leave your character as a decker
>contact monger who's not completely useless in a fight.
>
>See Ya in Shadows,
>Jason J Carter
>The Nightstalker
>
Also remember that with a decent range of skills, and even a deck as humble as
the Fuchi Cyber 4 (not a Radio Shack... we have an image to consider here),
under the original SR rules at least, a decker could make a small fortune just
busting datastores while acting as matrix cover. Save the build/repair stuff
for later, as no decker can afford to spend several years building and
designing decks. (I admit, though, if they do it can be profitable.) Even if
you don't want your character to get into a fight, there are other skills to
invest in, like Ettiquette: Matrix. (How many people REALLY have this skill??).
I mean, be original. Take History or something. Develop a character with
eccentricities.

Also, IMHO, the Elven Decker Archetype is SO much cooler. Long Live Dodger. :)

--
Robert Watkins
bob@******.cs.ntu.edu.au
************ It wouldn't be luck if you could get out of life alive. ***********

Further Reading

If you enjoyed reading about my initial character, you may also be interested in:

Disclaimer

These messages were posted a long time ago on a mailing list far, far away. The copyright to their contents probably lies with the original authors of the individual messages, but since they were published in an electronic forum that anyone could subscribe to, and the logs were available to subscribers and most likely non-subscribers as well, it's felt that re-publishing them here is a kind of public service.

Thwap!