Character creation mechanics are here!
Step 0: Character Concept
It seems obvious, but it's much easier to make a Shadowrun character if you know how you want them from the get-go.
Step 1: Priorities
So you have five priority slots: A, B, C, D, and E. Essentially, you choose which aspects of your character are most important (skills, money, etc.). You fill each slot with one of: Race, Magic, Skills, Attributes and Resources
Priority: Race
A: Race cannot be priority A or B
B: " "
C: If you choose race as priority C, you can be a Troll or an Elf.
D: If you choose race as priority D, you can be a Dwarf or an Orc.
E: If you choose race as priority E, you are a human.
Priority: Magic
A: If you choose magic as priority A, you are a full magician (access to both spells and summoning spirits).
B: If you choose magic as priority B, you can be an adept (no spells, but passive magic abilities), or an aspected magician (as full magician, but to a limited degree).
C: If you choose magic as priority C, D or E, you are not magically active.
D: " "
E: " "
Priority: Attributes
You have a number of points to spend on your attributes based on your attributes priority.
A: 30
B: 27
C: 24
D: 21
E: 18
Priority: Skills
You have a number of points to spend on skills based on your skills priority.
A: 50
B: 40
C: 34
D: 30
E: 27
Priority: Resources
You have an amount of nuyen to spend on gear based on your resources priority.
A: 1,000,000
B: 400,000
C: 90,000
D: 20,000
E: 5,000
Step 2: Decide race
If your race priority was C or D, you need to decide which race you are.
Step 3: Decide Attributes
You must put at least one and up to six points into each attribute. This increases the attribute (from 0) by that much. Only body, quickness, strength, charisma, intelligence and willpower may be improved this way. The other attributes are based on other factors. Then add to or subtract from these numbers based on your race. All attributes must be at least one after modification.
Human: Attributes unchanged
Dwarf: +1 body, +2 strength, +1 willpower
Elf: +1 quickness, +2 charisma
Ork: +3 body, +2 strength, -1 charisma, -1 intelligence
Troll: +5 body, -1 quickness, +4 strength, -2 charisma, -2 intelligence,
Your other attributes are decided as follows:
Essence: Starts at 6, goes down as cybernetics/bioware is installed
Magic: Your magic is equal to your essence rounded down to the next whole number (essence can be a decimal). If your magic priority is C, D or E, your magic is 0 instead.
Initiative: Starts at 1, can be increased through cybernetics/adept powers/etc
Reaction: The mean average of your quickness and intelligence.
Step 4: Magic
If your character's magic priority was C, D or E, skip this.
Full and aspected magicians require spell points to purchase spells, at a rate of one spell point per force value of the spell. They start with 25 (full magicians) or 35 (aspected magicians) spell points, and can buy more when choosing gear at 25,000 nuyen per spell point, but may not have more than 50 spell points. Spell points can also replace karma in bonding foci (more on this when I get the chance). Adepts have power points equal to their magic attribute, and cannot gain more or lose any unless their magic attribute changes. These are used to purchase powers.
A full list of adept powers and spells will be up soon.
Step 5: Decide skills
Active Skills: You have a number of active skill points based on your skills priority. Each skill has a linked attribute. You may increase an active skill by one for one skill point, as long as the total is less than or equal to the linked attribute. If the total is more than the linked attribute, it costs two skill points instead. No skill may be above 6.
Specialisations: A character may be specialised in a number of skills - this is free, but they may only be specialised once per skill. What this does is that in a test involving that skill, the skill is considered to be one lower for all purposes, unless a specific requirement is met, based on your decision and what specialisations are available for that skill. If the requirement is met, the skill is considered to be one higher (this can put it effectively above 6). For example, a character with the pistols skill at 6 may be specialised in the Ares Predator (a type of pistol). They will be considered to have pistols at 7 when firing a Predator, but if they have to fire a Remmington Roomsweeper they will effectively have pistols 5.
Knowledge Skills: A character has a number of knowledge skill points equal to their intelligence times 5. All knowledge skills' linked attribute is intelligence. Otherwise, they function similarly to active skills (you can be specialised in a knowledge skill, too).
Language skills: A character has a number of language skill points equal to their intelligence times 1.5. Knowledge skill points can be used to learn language skills. A character also has the read/write skill for any language they know, at half the level of the speaking (original) skill. Language skills are linked to intelligence. Specialisations for language skills represent subgroups that speak a variation of the language (either areas with specific dialects or other subgroups, such as gangs, deckers or mages.).
A full list of active and knowledge skills will be up soon. Obviously, language skills are just real-world languages, although there is an Elven and an Orcish language as well.
Step 6: Assign Resources
Buy any gear or cybernetics/bioware your character wants. Extra spell points are bought here as well. Keep in mind your character must pay for their first month of lifestyle (general living costs) too.
Lifestyle (monthly) costs:
Street: 0 Nuyen
Squatter: 100 Nuyen
Low: 1,000 Nuyen
Middle: 5,000 Nuyen
High: 10,000 Nuyen
Luxury: 100,000 Nuyen
Contacts cost money as well. A full catalogue will be up soon (I know, there's a lot coming "soon", but I can make things happen I'm sure)
Step 7: Everything else
Name, appearence, personality, other non-stat, roleplay stuff. The important part.
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