From:	Angelkiller 404 angelkiller404@**********.com
Subject:	a concept problem
Date:	Fri, 12 Mar 1999 16:40:14 -0500

>However, I decided to try and make someone completely different.
Now, not
>being the type who feels comfortable with the magic system, clearly
that meant
>Pysad. Their magical, and you don't have to frag with the spells
that give me
>so much headache. Then I happened to run across an episode of "Kung
Fu: The
>legend continues".


Well, Physad is the best place to start, actually. Fast, easy to
make, and moderately powerful.

>Net result: One Troll adept. And NO Idea of what to do for his
background.

>The powers part was easy enough (attribute boost 1 for Quick, bod,
Str. Body
>control 1, Missile parry, Combat sense 2 and impr reflexes 1)


here's something I was wondering: if you're making a one-way melee
specialist (i.e., nothing in teh way of guns), would Improved Reflexes
even be necessary so long as you have a jacked-up skill (like Unarmed
or Edged Weapons at 14) to cover up for your lack of speed? If this
is the case, maybe Improved Reflexes won't be that necessary. Look up
the Awakenings sourcebook; I believe there's a paralyzing blow in
there.

>What I need are some good ideas that I can incorporate into this guys
>background / Personality.
>
>That and one other concern. Shao-Lin are pacifistic by nature,
right? I
>figured this guy is young and doesn't always keep cool about the
pacifism
>stuff. However, his master totally thumped the prohibition against
killing
>into his thick skull. No way, no how. Maybe if its was an accident,
but then
>he's still gonna suffer a major guilt trip.


Easy. Shadowrun Companion, Pacifist Flaw. (Then get a blunt-edged
sword..ha-hah). Use a staff, a club, or talk to your GM about blunted
edged weapons, like swords and the like. Just because your troll
won't kill anybody doesn't automatically mean your character sucks.

>The other concern would then be: How would this affect his ability
to work in
>the shadows? Is wetwork really that common? How can I have him
misinterpret
>the Shao-lin code to even have him run the shadows in the first
place?


Wetwork is common in SR, but not desired, IMHO. Pacifism isn't a
weakness, but be prepared to take a lot of flak from the combat
monkeys; my general opinion is if you can knock them out quickly or at
least dissuade your attackers from maintaining combat, then you should
be all right. Also, consider what Shao Lin would have to say about
cyber, bio, and the like: being pacifists, they might not take a kind
view on it, and this might be interpreted as "destroy all weapons of
war". I myself have a character that has a pacifist streak, but he's
more than able to permanently damage cyber, bio, weapons, and gear
(Aimed shots). And this is in addition to him being able to knock out
PC's in melee combat.

Consider that running the shadows isn't really a life choice for a lot
of characters; a lot of them are swept into it by forces beyond their
control.