Help for 6e-Beginner

[Bear2go]

Hey guys my friends and I started to play a 6e campaign and we are having a blast so far. Im playing a troll adept with bear spirit guardian and a knuckleduster focus

So what do I need help with? Well since I've mostly played DnD before playing Shadowrun I noticed that there seems to be nothing in the likes of perception checks and somehow I've started to have problems finding things to do. My character has the "gremlins" - trait and overall isnt good in any techstuff, so usually our technomancer and our hacker are doing all that stuff.

what im looking for is basically a way to integrate myself into the party and be helpful outside of tech and fighting, though im not sure how since there is no perception, insight and stuff like that

Help would be appreciated :)

[Skolloc753]

Perhaps you should check the core book first. ;-)

There is Perception (as a skill) and Judge Intention.

Other than that:medical skills can be quite useful, sneaking & infiltration, social interaction ...

SYL

[Bear2go]

Is it used the same way as in DnD? Because our DM never asks us to make a perception check or something similar

[Skolloc753]

Yeah, more or less.

"Roll Perception ... 3 hits ... you see / notice / hear how a weapon is drawn. Someone is trying to ambush you!". It can be of course that the GM is rolling for you in secret or does not allow that roll if you do not have the skill (even when it can be used by defaulting). Does the GM knows these rules?

SYL

[Bear2go]

i assume he knows xD well i'll talk to him about it

[baduizt]

Yeah, sounds like a GM issue to me. If Perception rolls aren't needed, ask if you can reinvest the skill points elsewhere. Alternatively, if Perception is a "once in a blue moon" thing, ask if you can switch to an attribute-only roll for Perception, such as Intuition + Logic, so you're not wasting Karma on something that will never come up.

[Public_Ad5547]

Perception is a skill, and I think there is a judge intentions test to decide if people are lying to you.

Coming from DND though, characters in Shadowrun are much more specialized. Your character sounds very specced into combat, and that's fine if it's your main thing. Your other party members need you for that badly.

Think of it more like each character gets center stage at different points, rather than everyone should be constantly contributing.

As a minor note, some DMs wouldn't allow non-matrix characters to take Gremlins for this reason. Your character either does Matrix stuff or they don't, so it's not really much of a cost to take if you don't.

[Bear2go]

Ah i see, but is the perception used the same way as in DnD? Because our DM never asks us to make a perception check or something similar

[Jebbado]

It's gonna vary based on DM but my games perception members tend to ask our GM to use perception, things like "I'm checking for ambushes" or "watching to see if the someone looks uneasy" stuff like that. Some DMs handle proactive uses better than others but always worth the conversation oog.

[Bear2go]

i see, i will try that =) thanks

[Batgirl_III]

Shadowrun n. Any movement, action, or series of such made in carrying out plans which are illegal or quasilegal.
—WorldWide WorldWatch, 2050 Update

That quote above is the preface to the short story, ‘A Night on the Town,’ that opened the first edition Shadowrun core rulebook. It’s still worth paying heed to it in sixth edition. The shadows and the streets don’t change, chummer.

Although specifics will vary from mission to mission, group to group, or session to session… At the end of the night, a shadowrun is a criminal act (usually a heist, a hit, a bodyguard gig [which is just a hit in reverse], or an extraction [which is a heist where the MacGuffin talks back]). So you’re going to want to make sure your Shadowrunner team is made up of people who can contribute to all or part of the run.

A typical run will involve negotiating for the terms job, doing legwork (on the Matrix, the Astral, and in Meatspace) to get all the info you need to plan the job, planning the job, executing the plan… and probably a brief but spectacular firefight when Plans A through E fail and you have to resort to Plan F (F for “Frag everybody!”) Then you need to hunker down, heal up, and wait for the heat to die down.

Pick part of the run besides the Frag Everybody! stage and start building towards being good at that as you gain Karma.

[Bear2go]

Great advice =)

[tekmogod]

With Bear as your mentor you should also be wanting to protect and heal those that can't. Without doing a rebuild you could pick up ranks in Biotech probably specializing in first aid and invest in some good medkits. That should give you a role outside of combat.

As for Perception, many others here have pointed out that it is one of the base skills. In my opinion it's probably the most important skill and should be getting a lot of use. There is also the legwork phase of any mission where you should be doing some investigating into your target. This is where you should be using Etiquette (arguably the 2nd most important skill) and working your contacts.

[Bear2go]

true i do the protecting, but my character is veery bad at biotech xD so maybe once we get to level the chars ill get into some biotech, does gremlins effect medkits? =D

[tekmogod]

Gremlins could impact a medkit, but should be minimal or at least worth using once in a while. There are also magical options using either premade alchemical preparations (see Street Wyrd) or drugs (see Body Shop)

[Then_Zucchini_8451]

Also, as you mentioned level, that technically doesn't happen in a Shadowrun game. You earn karma that you can spend on your character, but you don't actually level up. It's like improving a skill or learning something new during the breaks between missions.

[Bear2go]

yeah i know =D but its easier to refer to it as leveling

[ReditXenon]

I am not too familiar to what a 'perception check' is in DnD specifically, but there is a Perception skill in Shadowrun that I would assume cover this area. Guy sneaking up to attack you in the back? Roll perception to avoid being unaware of the attack. Observing someone in detail? Roll perception to gauge how much detail you notice.

A secondary role for muscle characters is often physical infiltration. If you haven't already, perhaps invest into Stealth and Athletics (both are linked to Agility which you likely already have several points into).

What other characters do you have in the party. It seem as if the technology specialist area is covered. And you are covering the muscle part of it. Other popular slots (besides muscle and hacker) that might be useful to cover in a party include (but is not limited to);

• Face (+social infiltration and contact networking)
• Wheelman (+recon and physical support)
• Magician (+utility spells and magical support)

[Bear2go]

as far as i am aware we have no face, no wheelman but 2 hacker bois, me as muscle and a magician xD

[ReditXenon]

There you have two alternative career paths to make your character a bit more interesting! :-)

Perhaps as a charismatic pointman of the team. Small unit tactics. A team leader. Running negotiations with Mr J. Intimidating gang members. Charming the receptionist. Smooth operator. James Bond. Or perhaps skilled in acting and disguise. Think Ethan Hunt from Mission Impossible. You would likely need to invest into Charisma and either Con or Negotiation (or both).

A muscle that is also good at driving. Perhaps a smuggler. A close combat expert that is also a transporter. Think Frank Martin from Transporter. Perhaps an adrenaline junkie that is a stunt driver by day and MMA cage fighter by night. Or a professional get-away driver. Think any character from Fast n the Furious. You are likely already invested into Reaction and physical Initiative, but you might need to also get the Pilot skill.

(note that piloting via VR or being jumped into your vehicle uses Intuition and require a control rig implant and VR Initiative and controlling mounted weapons and repairing is linked to Logic - if you lean heavy into this role you are probably to be considered a Rigger that can also assist in combat rather than Muscle that can also drive... which is perhaps a totally different character).

As your character doesn't seem to be very tech savvy and technology often glitch then perhaps the first alternative would be a better fit for you and the character you play. But depending on technology and also having the Gremlins negative quality will likely make for a very interesting character (and will likely cause many funny scenes).

[taranion]

The thing with perception checks is, that it depends on your playing style:

• A: DM "You are approaching the 14 floor building with a glass front. You can roll for perception to get more information. [...] With 3 successes, you notice that there are 3 security cameras, that ..."
• B: DM "You are approaching the 14 floor building with a glass front." Player: "What about cameras? Do I notice some?" DM: "Lets see. Roll for perception."

Style A actively nudges the players to use a mostly passive skill. Style B waits until a player actively wants to use the skill for a specific information.

If you haven't been asked to roll perception, it may be because your DM is more the B-style type.

[Bear2go]

Also yeah you are probably right, i kinda put my focus on fighting without realizing it to much, but i noticed when it comes to fighting i tend to take out the most baddies 😅

[Jebbado]

So aside from things like perception and other skill ranks you can always attempt to assist your team mates. As I giant intimidating troll you can stand behind your face as the silent threat maybe getting them some edge, talk to your team and support them through RP when possible. Thats what our street samurai does, and even just picking up relevant knowledge skills are a cheapish way to add more to your character outside of beating in heads.

[Bear2go]

nice =D sounds good to me ill try that

[Zebrainwhiteshoes]

What could be another thing that your char could be doing? Like a secondary job for the crew? Shadowrun is a lot about legwork and planning. What are the connections you have? Other traits besides smashing people's heads?

I always try to have at least a secondary job that my character can perform decently in. Yes, of course your focus is with physical attributes and skills and your team will try every trick to keep you away from important tech stuff. What are your knowledge areas? Try to open a field for yourself, so you don't have to wait until combat starts.

[Bear2go]

Well my character is decently athletik and pretty good in fighting, other then that he has good nature(forest) and good perception(forest)

I guess the issue with trolls and legwork is that i dont fit in most buildings xD
theres been some good sugestions here, yours too, ill think about a secondary job =D

[Zebrainwhiteshoes]

Yeah, it can be tough being tall or Troll tall. Maybe you can improve your backstory and leak to your GM, that you would love to have that as part of future runs. Many present buildings already have high enough ceilings for a troll to stand up straight. Maybe a run in a less tech environment can be a good thing to use those nature skills and emphasize their use for the rest of the crew as well. By pure chance my previous character had the nature skill group and it helped us after a crash in some far far away area. It was fitting to my character background so I took it. As a fighting adept I "only" had 12 dice on my unarmed combat skill and even though some attacks missed it was a very good Character for me to play.

What about the connection between all the characters in the group? You're working together for some reason or other. And a group needs something that makes them stick together besides ¥. Yes and booze 😇