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Desril
2011-01-02, 03:31 AM
Me and my friends have decided to start a Shadowrun campaign, and I've decided to play as an AI. The problem is, none of us have played before, and I have no idea what sort of equipment an AI should have. I need a home node of some kind, but what sort of programs should I have for defense (I wouldn't put it past the GM to attempt to hack into it, he's already worried that I'll be overpowered and has decided to smite me if it proves to be so) do I need anything other than programs? I have a quality that allows me to "jump into" drones and the like, what sort of Drone is good? Is there an android around that I could use and pass as human?

What sort of advice can the playground offer?

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-02, 06:33 AM
Me and my friends have decided to start a Shadowrun campaign, and I've decided to play as an AI.For your first character? Fairly ambitious, aren't you? :smalltongue:

...I have no idea what sort of equipment an AI should have.Really depends on what you want to do.

I need a home node of some kind, but what sort of programs should I have for defense... do I need anything other than programs?Yes. You'll want some physical security for your home node as well.

(I wouldn't put it past the GM to attempt to hack into it, he's already worried that I'll be overpowered and has decided to smite me if it proves to be so)Frankly, AI often are overpowered.

I have a quality that allows me to "jump into" drones and the like, what sort of Drone is good?You'll want a variety of drones, actually. Something small/stealthy (a chameleon-coated Bust-A-Move or Cyberspace Designs Dragonfly works well for that), something that can fly (like a Renraku Stormcloud, or again, Dragonfly), and something for combat-combat (such as a Doberman or Steel Lynx Combat Drone).

Is there an android around that I could use and pass as human?Sort of. Certain drones exist that can be made to resemble a metahuman. Chances are that they'll be a little too expensive for your tastes, though.

As for other advice, since you're playing an AI, chances are you're going to be the group's Matrix specialist. Take this chance to read Unwired; chances are that it'll prove quite useful to you.

Raiki
2011-01-02, 06:58 PM
Well, my first bit of advice is to ask this question in the Dumpahock forums rather than here. Don't get me wrong, the playgrounders are a delightful and well informed group of individuals, but the posters over at dumpshock have been playing, running and even designing the shadowrun system for decades.

Here's a link: Dumpshock! (forums.dumpshock.com)

Other than that, TCA covered it pretty well. See if your GM will let you use the advanced lifestyle rules and beef up on security for your node while dumping all of those comforts that meat-people can't seem to live without (such as furniture, food, breathable air, all that drek).

As far as your drones go, they're going to vary a lot depending on if your group prefers Black Trenchcoat games (very stealth oriented) or Pink Mohawk games (Rule of Cool always wins. You routinely blow up buildings and engage in gun battles in the middle of downtown Seattle.).

Anyway, hope to see you on DS.

Edit: Also, depeding on how far your game goes, and how leniant your GM is, you might want to check out a Biodrone, A living being turned into a drone by having a Stirrup Interface installed. Riggers can jump into them and control them just like any other. So far they've only statted up animals, but they've hinted that most of the Megas are working on making Metahuman biodrones. Food for thought.


~R~

Trekkin
2011-01-03, 12:50 AM
Firstly, spoof your "lifestyle". You don't need sleep.

Secondly, do NOT bring your home node on a run. If you can subscribe to your friends' links from your remote home node, fine. If you must load yourself onto their devices due to Matrix signal interruption at some point, that's still workable. But under no circumstances should you risk your immortality by having the device that will contain and revive you should you "die" be physically present in the place you died.

You don't need a drone to pass as human in the Matrix. Influence skills are your friends; see my first point for why it's perfectly feasible for you to do legwork in Tokyo while your fellow runners are asleep in Seattle.

If at all possible, make your home node a Nexus; having that kind of processing power available to you and as many agents as you can run can be a tremendous boon.

Expect to have to explain the difference between running on a node and being subscribed to a node often.

Remember that you can load yourself into nearly anything, including vehicles, weapons, and the commlink of anyone on the street who isn't particularly careful with their firewall.

Befriend a technomancer and a free sprite. They can do wonderful things.

Desril
2011-01-03, 08:30 AM
Thanks for the advice everyone, but on the point of not bringing the node on a run...that's pretty much shot for the same reason I never get to have fun with Astral Projection in D&D. The moment I make myself effectively immortal by not actually being able to die because the real me isn't with the rest of the party the GM turns to the smiting. That's the problem when your friends are the only players, they can decide these things and vote unanimously that it's not fair to do that and the GM is perfectly fair for denying/slaying you for it.

To make up for this, the commlink that is my home has the highest armor upgrade I can get it to (hopefully) make it effectively bullet proof.

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-03, 08:38 AM
Thanks for the advice everyone, but on the point of not bringing the node on a run...that's pretty much shot for the same reason I never get to have fun with Astral Projection in D&D. The moment I make myself effectively immortal by not actually being able to die because the real me isn't with the rest of the party the GM turns to the smiting. That's the problem when your friends are the only players, they can decide these things and vote unanimously that it's not fair to do that and the GM is perfectly fair for denying/slaying you for it.Suppose that's a fair point. Still, keep in mind that even ordinary hackers and riggers can pull the "Astral Projection" trick this way.


To make up for this, the commlink that is my home has the highest armor upgrade I can get it to (hopefully) make it effectively bullet proof.You might still want to make your home node a nexus rather than a commlink; the processing power made available in this manner makes it almost too good to not take into consideration. And, as we've seen in Unwired, they're drone-portable, so it's not like making it a nexus means you can't take it anywhere.

Desril
2011-01-03, 10:31 AM
So I figured, but it's more for the concept that optimization. And if I'm being carried by a party member it's harder to kill me at a distance than it is to hit a drone with a shotgun one too many times.