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Message no. 1
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Travis Heldibridle)
Subject: Player Character Professionals?
Date: Tue Feb 6 07:20:01 2001
Greetings -n- Salutations,

After a few close calls in recent games my players all seem to be on a
"backup character" kick. One of my players has submitted a character
background that is rather good, but would require him to have a professional
level of knowledge in medicine. He isn't asking to be a brain surgeon or
operate a cyber clinic.. but I get the impression from the background that
the character would be a little more skilled than the basic "Biotech"
skill...

I'm not one to just tell a player that he can't do something "just because".
So, I thought I would ask here on the mailing list.. how would you handle
this? If I allow a medically trained PC, what measures have to be taken..
(required skills, edges/flaws, etc..)


What do you think?
Travis "Aristotle" Heldibridle
Message no. 2
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Jeff)
Subject: Player Character Professionals?
Date: Tue Feb 6 08:05:01 2001
> I'm not one to just tell a player that he can't do
> something "just because".
> So, I thought I would ask here on the mailing list..
> how would you handle
> this? If I allow a medically trained PC, what
> measures have to be taken..
> (required skills, edges/flaws, etc..)

If you have access to Man & Machine, you should check
the Surgery Chapter on p. 135. There's good info about
professional doctors and description about the biotech
skill and its specialization.

Your PC would need a good Biotech skill, and the
Knowledge Skill Medecine. No specialization in
Medecine means the character is a general practionner
or family doctor.
If he wants to manipulate Cyberware, he might want to
take Electronics (Cybertechnology), Computer
(Cybernetics) and the appropriate specialization in
Biotech.



====Jeff

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Message no. 3
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Tenkilian)
Subject: Player Character Professionals?
Date: Tue Feb 6 08:50:01 2001
> If you have access to Man & Machine, you should check
> the Surgery Chapter on p. 135. There's good info about
> professional doctors and description about the biotech
> skill and its specialization.
>
> Your PC would need a good Biotech skill, and the
> Knowledge Skill Medecine. No specialization in
> Medecine means the character is a general practionner
> or family doctor.
> If he wants to manipulate Cyberware, he might want to
> take Electronics (Cybertechnology), Computer
> (Cybernetics) and the appropriate specialization in
> Biotech.

The last character I played happened to be a professional doctor. He
specialized in cyberware installation. Basically, all you need is the
appropriate skills and say you are a doctor in your history. But keep in
mind that you'd need a college education to be a doctor. You also need a SIN
if you want to run a clinic or hospital in the UCAS. Speaking of clinics, if
your player wants one, they're going to spend a lot of nuyen. Look in M&M
for costs. I know I couldn't afford a clinic of a high enough level to get a
permit to operate it. Plus, clinics and hospitals need a minimum level of
staffing. I ended up having to take 4 doctor and 4 nurse contacts that
represented my staff at my clinic. I think my biggest problem playing this
character, though, was justifying his SR career. Doctors generally make a
lot of money. Shadow docs make even more, but they don't run the shadows,
they just patch up or cyberize those who do. I believe my background was
that I was a bit 'over the top' with what I was willing to do to people,
which outcast me from the medical community and gave me a bad name on the
street. My clinic was failing and I needed money, so I turned to running in
order to put my skill to use and get some money.

But, in general, PC professionals don't have special rules. I think it's a
good idea if your PC's have (had) jobs before running. An appropriate
specialization of skills as well as a good history and appropriate edges and
flaws can make for a very interesting PC. Especially if their former job
doesn't lend it self well to running. Like a doctor has to take an oath not
to hurt people. :)

Tenkilian
-------------
GCS(GAT) d>d-- s-:- a-->a? C++++ S E W+>W++ w PS? PE Y+ R+ tv-@ b+ DI+++ G
e>e+++ h>h+ r--- !y+**

Fear is the mind killer, fear is the little death that brings total
obliteration, I will face my fear, I will let it wash over me and through
me, I will look back upon the path of my fear and all that will remain is
me.
Message no. 4
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Andrew Murdoch)
Subject: Player Character Professionals?
Date: Tue Feb 6 19:50:01 2001
- Travis Heldibridle <07:20/6-Feb-2001>

> After a few close calls in recent games my players all seem to be on a
> "backup character" kick. One of my players has submitted a character
> background that is rather good, but would require him to have a professional
> level of knowledge in medicine. He isn't asking to be a brain surgeon or
> operate a cyber clinic.. but I get the impression from the background that
> the character would be a little more skilled than the basic "Biotech"
> skill...

In a game of 2nd edition, I played a Street Doc. I have since upgraded the
character to 3rd edition, but, the basics still come into play. Depending
on interpretation of what's in Man and Machine, Biotech skill may be all
that's needed. My GM allowed us to start with a skill at level 8, instead
of the normal six, so for my character, Biotech was it. He also had
Electronics/cybertechnology as an active skill and, under 3rd ed. rules,
Medicine and Biology as knowledge skills at high levels.

--
Hail, Centurion!
Andrew C. Murdoch
toreador@***.bc.ca
http://members.nbci.com/corvisraven
Message no. 5
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Bira)
Subject: Player Character Professionals?
Date: Tue Feb 6 20:35:00 2001
On Tue, 6 Feb 2001 07:20:45 -0500
"Travis Heldibridle" <antithesis@**********.com> wrote:

> I'm not one to just tell a player that he can't do something "just
because".
> So, I thought I would ask here on the mailing list.. how would you handle
> this? If I allow a medically trained PC, what measures have to be taken..
> (required skills, edges/flaws, etc..)
>

As a doctor, he would have the Biotech Skill, perhaps with a
specialization on the area of medicine that he practices. He would also
have a lot of knowledge skills, like Medicine, Diagnosis, etc. It´s
these skills that make the difference between a doctor and someone who
knows Biotech :) .


Bira - SysOp da Shadowland.BR
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http://www.terravista.pt/Nazare/2729
Redator de Shadowrun da RPG em Revista
http://www.rpgemrevista.cjb.net
Peça a lista dos PbEMs! :)
Message no. 6
From: shadowrn@*********.com (smUgE)
Subject: Player Character Professionals?
Date: Sun Feb 11 04:00:00 2001
> As a doctor, he would have the Biotech Skill, perhaps with a
> specialization on the area of medicine that he practices. He would also
> have a lot of knowledge skills, like Medicine, Diagnosis, etc. It´s
> these skills that make the difference between a doctor and someone who
> knows Biotech :) .

Required Skills: It is not just being REALLY good (skill level of 8) but it
is being proficient at a whole list of skills and knowledge areas. Here are
a few I came up with quickly. It would not take to much research for a GM
to come up with their own.

Anatomy
(Specializations: Physiology)
Bio-chemistry
Biology (biotech)
Surgery
(Specializations: Brain, Cybertech, Heart, Vascular, Transplant,
Abdomen, Cosmetic)
Emergency Medicine
(Specializations: Assesment/Diagnosis, Triage, street,
survival/wilderness, ER)
Imaging
Research (Lab work)
Pharmacy (understanding drugs actions, side-affects, indications, and
counter-indications)

I left out some basics like, Ear/nose/thoat guys. You would think, for them
to practice, they would need to know a number of these skills (Anatomy,
Biotech, pharmacy) at a rating of 4 of more PLUS have a specialization
(Ear/nose/thoat).

Also, if your background had him as a respectable surgeon until he was
framed for killing his wife (ala. the fugitive), or some other life turning
event that lead to his Shadowrunning, he would have other skills from that
previous life such as golf, racquetball, doctor society etiquette, rare
sports cars, sailing, ordering the help around... Heck, you were probably a
member of a church. That would eat up another good chunk of skills and
knowledge areas. You know that doctors speak another language (profession
specific lingo). There goes your chance of finding a bathroom in Germany.

Character Balance: Dedicating that much to various medical specialties to
become a Doctor would probably require taking Skills as Priority A AND not
being a well rounded character. Forget the multiple weapon skills,
etiquettes, and stealth. ("I grab an axe and default off my polo skill...")

Lifestyle: You can talk about having a Day Job flaw. You could also try to
figure out how you paid for medical school. Are the student loan bills tied
to your lifestyle? Does it require you to maintain a medium/high lifestyle
to take those bills into account? Starting out, you would probably have to
buy a buddy and a few more contacts. If your background had you working in
a professional setting as a doctor, you would have made friends. Who ever
hear of a lone doctor. It is just not the loner type...perhaps a
researcher... Even a small town doctor, with out other doctors, will have
more contact with the town residents and have contacts that way. As a GM, I
would require that you spend some of your cash on this.

Motivation: Before proceeding, take a look at that background. It may look
great, but does it explain why this Doctor is deciding to pursue a career in
the shadows. Shadowrunning is more than just practicing medicine on the
street or selling drugs to gangers. It is major breaking and entering.
Murder is par for the course. Military tactics are assumed knowledge. PC
always take a look at a sketched out overhead layout of the situation and
decide to move in a strategic way. This may not be what your character
would think to do if it does not have that experience or knowledge. I
suspect the roleplaying could be fun--playing the guy with NO street smarts.

Sure, playing a doctor can be done. I think that the GM would need to take
skill/knowledge requirements and lifestyle into consideration during
character creation. The player would have to consider character's
motivation and the character's balance to make sure they make sense and
match up to the character's background. Background can give you arguments
for getting special equipment, money, skills or contacts, but it also gives
the GM the ability to attach strings.

smUgE
Message no. 7
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Sebastian Wiers)
Subject: Player Character Professionals?
Date: Sun Feb 11 08:40:01 2001
.
>Required Skills: It is not just being REALLY good (skill level of 8) but it
>is being proficient at a whole list of skills and knowledge areas. Here
are
>a few I came up with quickly. It would not take to much research for a GM
>to come up with their own.
<snip>

As far as I can tell, the only skills NEEDED are Biotech (active) and
Medicine (knowledge) skills. That may seem like a short list, for a
study-intensive career like being a doctor, but being a MAGE or COMPUTER
WIZZ is probably also study-intensive, right? Not all of Shadowruns skills
cover equally broad areas. Some (combat skills) are very narrow, and some
(biotech) are very broad. Its partly a matter of game focus and balance, I
think

Other skills would cover areas you had INTENSIVE training or direct
experience in, IMO, not just stuff you learned in school. For stuff you
learned in school, biotech should provide knowledge at what, 2 les than its
rating? Plus you could take the "College Educated" edge or whatever it is.
. A few of the other medicine related knowledge skills might be good, but a
narrowly focused knowledge skill more reflects what a research specialist
would have, IMO, not a general practioner, and that could be covered with
specialization(s) in the Medicine skill anyhow. OTOH, Psychology /
Interogation would be good for making dignoses. Negotiation and some sort
of "bussiness" knowledge skill would probably be good if the doctor had ever
owned his own clinic- the bussiness end of medicine is can be pretty
complex. Some sort of (low) weapon skill might be required if the Doctor
was employed by a prison or Doc Wagon. Athletics as high as 4 or 5 would be
appropriate for a Doctor of sports medicine, or one who went through school
on a sports scholarship. Anyhow, there's plenty of call for a doctor to have
"real" skills.

-Sebastian

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