Shadowrun advice

[Keinnicht]

So, I'm kind of a newb Shadowrun player. I'm familiar enough with the system, I played a campaign (Or whatever you call 'em in Shadowrun) a few years ago, and recently joined another.

Made a character, super-high charisma and social skills face type. Any advice from more experienced people? The only guideline I really recall is "Don't confuse it with Dungeons and Dragons. Ever. You'll die."

[Raum]

Find cover, shoot straight, move fast or stealthily, remember Johnsons always have their own agenda, and never make a deal with a dragon. :)

[GhoulPolitician]

If you are a mage avoid cyberware at all costs. If you are a mundane cyber is in general the way to go, though there may be rp reasons not to chop out your nervous system and replace it with a better one.

edit: what edition are you playing?

[NekoJoker]

Find cover, shoot straight, move fast or stealthily, remember Johnsons always have their own agenda, and never make a deal with a dragon. :)

Yes, as a matter of fact that is truly the best advice you can be given about this game...

That and that tossing a bucketfull of dice is always good fun

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Remember that the less harm you cause in corporate territory, the less reason they have to cause harm to you down the road. Also, make sure you can at least shoot a gun - frequently your skills will not be applicable (drones aren't susceptible to diplomacy) so you should have at least some ability in other areas. Remember to a. plan and b. have a backup plan and c. have a backup for your backup. Also, always have licenses (fake ones) and a good fake sin in backup to your licenses and fake sin.

And remember, shoot straight, conserve ammo, watch your back, and never, ever cut a deal with a Dragon.

[Oracle_Hunter]

Also: what Edition?

[SatyreIkon]

Also: what Edition?

True Good advice for 3rd edition is radically different from good advice for 4th.

For a Charisma-high character fake SINs and licences are bread and water, so GET THEM!
Also, use tasers or other non-lethal weapons. Depending on the GM, this can make a LOT of difference - maybe only a small squad will hunt you down instead of a full-fledged SWAT-team.
Third, always have an escape plan!

[a_humble_lich]

Also, make sure you can at least shoot a gun - frequently your skills will not be applicable (drones aren't susceptible to diplomacy) so you should have at least some ability in other areas.

Seconded. You should have a specialty, and be good at it. However you should be able to do things outside your specialty. Of the ten or so "roles" in the Runner's Companion (Melee Combat, Firearms, Transportation, Matrix Specialist, etc) I'd choose one or two that you want to be good at and then two or three more in which you are competent.

[TheCountAlucard]

My advice? Watch the show "Leverage."

Weird suggestion, I know, especially considering that it's set in the present, and that their little team does what they do to help people. Still, with the exception of Elliot (guns are too good in Shadowrun for you to COMPLETELY disregard them), each character's got quite a lot to teach you.* Since you're a charisma guy, pay special attention to Nate and Sophie both. Social engineering can get a heck of a lot done, especially if you've got someone who can crank out fake SINs for you on a whim.

In fact, do that. Get a contact who's really good at that.



*For instance, when I was playing my hacker character, Hardison taught me, "It doesn't matter if it's an Ares satellite server or a padlock, the team will want you to 'hack' it; either have a way to get into everything, or explain to them really early on that it doesn't work that way. And don't underestimate the power of the van."

[Cristo Meyers]

My advice? Watch the show "Leverage."

Weird suggestion, I know, especially considering that it's set in the present, and that their little team does what they do to help people. Still, with the exception of Elliot (guns are too good in Shadowrun for you to COMPLETELY disregard them), each character's got quite a lot to teach you.* Since you're a charisma guy, pay special attention to Nate and Sophie both. Social engineering can get a heck of a lot done, especially if you've got someone who can crank out fake SINs for you on a whim.

In fact, do that. Get a contact who's really good at that.



*For instance, when I was playing my hacker character, Hardison taught me, "It doesn't matter if it's an Ares satellite server or a padlock, the team will want you to 'hack' it; either have a way to get into everything, or explain to them really early on that it doesn't work that way. And don't underestimate the power of the van."

Good advice, but there's a caveat.

Realize that this is how things should go, but things will never, ever go as they should

[TheCountAlucard]

Good advice, but there's a caveat.

Realize that this is how things should go, but things will never, ever go as they should

I was gonna get to that! Okay, I wasn't, but this guy's right.

[VirOath]

Well, gun's aren't too good to ignore, it just takes a special kind of build to get the power potential out of more 'primitive' weapons, melee or the bows. But the benefit? Always silent, and just as deadly.

But my best advice, always be loyal. The Johnson will always have their own agenda and plan, and backing yourself up with knowledge and protection to prevent getting burned is one thing, a smart thing as rare as it happens. But never ditch the run, never rat out your employ or your target, and fess up when it's been FUBAR'd.

What that means, is expect to be double-crossed and prepare for it, but never double-cross yourself. Johnsons that burn their runners give bad raps to everyone else, and more often than not you'll find someone wanting to pay to take them down as well, so it is a rarity. Show a sign of trust, but don't blindly trust. Being overtly expectant of being burned makes it look like you'd burn someone yourself.

The Run is more important than your life, reputation is everything and whatever is broken in you can be fixed for a cost. You always follow through on your deals, pay your dues, and uphold your half of the bargain. A good rep is what gets you paid, as well as giving negotiating leverage to get partial payment up front or some expenses covered. A bad rep will have the wellspring dry up and remind everyone of just how expendable you are.

A Reputation can never be cleansed, but you can always start a new one. It's not cheap or easy to do. It needs new IDs, living space, new looks (heavy surgery) and you can pretty much wipe most of your contacts out and start from scratch. You'll lose everything you've earned in terms of leverage and have to start from the bottom of the pile, and it's likely the entire group will have to do it too. But you'll have the edge that you'll have the skills, gear and first hand experience to get the jobs done in a better manner. Just don't screw it up again.

Always be loyal. As I said before, this is the big one. Don't ever rat out anyone or anything pertaining to your run. If you fail the run and get caught, interrogated by either the corp or lonestar, don't give up a thing, lie through your teeth (Obvious lies of course. "Who sent you?" "My house cat."). Don't have to be insulting, but showing that you'll never break and give up, that you'll own up and bite the bullet for others, might get you away with more than you'd think. Proving that you are trustworthy in the hardest situations no matter what is offered or done can earn you respect and a job, you can prove yourself to be an asset. It will come with strings attached of course, and you'll have to work hard at protecting yourself from getting burned (get your body checked out for tracers, unknown cyberware, and Cranial Bombs for starters).

After all, if they wanted the information bad enough they just would have mind raped you from the start and turned you into an obedient ant.

Now, you've got all that, and your specialty, now time to give yourself some protection in combat.

Longarms like Shotguns and Rifles are specialized weapons. They can hit hard, but have an ideal range and situation in mind, but at a cost. Good luck hiding them, they attract a lot of attention out in the open.

Pistols are a handy weapon that can hit hard, but are easier to conceal. Being a face, it's easy to have a light pistol somewhere on hand at all times if the **** hits the fan, and having a heavy one with you can add to your firepower. They have solid options and only really begin to falter in longer range encounters. Being skilled with them is always a good idea, even for heavy combat characters, so you'll always have a fall back.

Automatics like SMGs and Assault Rifles are the professional's weapon of choice. They come in all sizes (from Machine Pistols, best of both worlds without a way to handle recoil. To the big burly Machine Guns that take the Heavy Weapons skill to use). An amateur will spray and pray but an expert can take a snipe shot, or burst down multiple threats, or lay covering fire to keep their heads down, or blast through their cover, or unload the clip into one person you want dead deader than dead.

Do remember though, you are just as fragile as the people you fight. Use cover, fight smarter not harder, and don't be a frak head.

[TheCountAlucard]

Also be sure and pick up on an RFID tag eraser. I can't begin to stress just how important one of those is. Doesn't matter what role you play, buy yourself one and keep it handy at all times.

Also, don't underestimate the usefulness of stick-n-shock ammo. Seriously.

[Cristo Meyers]

I was gonna get to that! Okay, I wasn't, but this guy's right.

This is why you never Run alone

But seriously, it's also more than The Run will never go like it should. Things above the game won't either. Shadowrun is all about teamwork, and if you've got a group of players that aren't used to working together to get things done, then things can get ugly real quick. Make sure all the players understand this.

[Telok]

This is old, and long, but very good.

Spoiler

Show

__________________________________________________ ___
The List of Character Survival Techniques Version 1.5
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This list contains advice on keeping your rpg-characters alive. The list is
aimed at both low- and hi-tech games so you might encounter AD&D stuff right
next to something directly from a cyberpunk game, but I think the point usually
comes across. I've tried to keep the advice practical and to avoid such advice
as 'don't get shot' or 'don't mess with dragons' (Heaven help you if you needed
to be told those things ;-)

The most recent version of this list can be found on my website at
http://home.planet.nl/~jvdriel. For those of you who wish to put the list on
your own website, that's fine by me as long as: a. it's not done for profit and
b. the contents aren't altered. If you let me know that you've put the list on
your site, I'll make sure you automatically get any new versions.

Finally, I'd like to give a warm thanks to everyone who sent in their advice,
comments and suggestions. This list wouldn't have been possible without you.

Willem van Driel
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Index
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Equipment
Combat
Character creation
Negotiations
Extreme environments
General advice and strategy
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Equipment
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1. The 10 ft pole (Thaddeus Moore)
As in the expression "I wouldn't touch that with a ten foot pole!" Well I guess
u could carry a larger one. In a party I once played with the thief carried a
collapsible 10 ft pole, made of sections with treaded ends so they could be
screwed together. I think he also had some kind of pulley operated claw at the
end. For picking things up, very useful for detecting trip wires and pulling
suspicious levers too.

2. Bandages (Lloyd Revious)
Bandages are a must!!! Unless your DM just kills you and doesn't do
unconsciousness or bleeding to death.
2a. (Arivne)
Also true for first aid kits/medkits in hi-tech games and healer/herbalism kits
in fantasy games.

3. Chalk
A good way to keep from getting lost in dungeons and mazes, sketching out
battleplans, marking off the remaining days of your prison-sentence, etc. When
you leave a waymark, add a small and hard to notice detail so you'll be able to
tell if someone has been messing around with your signs.

4. Crowbar
At least one person in your group should carry one. That way, you won't have to
use Excalibur to pry open a wooden chest or door. In an emergency, a crowbar can
also serve as a weapon.

5. Light
Always carry torches, a flashlight or some other form of illumination. A coin
with continual light cast on it is popular in many AD&D campaigns, though you
shouldn't neglect to bring some ordinary lightsources with you as well.
Otherwise a simple dispel magic could leave you groping in the dark. Burning
torches are also useful as weapons, especially against animals and
(regenerating) monsters.
5a. (Strife)
If you have IR/UV optics, carry an IR/UV flashlight. Not many things see into
that spectrum (usually) and you can be less concerned with giving away your
position.

6. Restraints (Lloyd Revious)
String or leather tie straps are almost as useful as rope. Then you don't have
to cut up your much needed climbing rope to tie up a prisoner (or whatever).
6a. (Brad Carletti)
Handcuffs. Lots and lots of handcuffs. I'm going to buy a crapload of them in my
Pulp campaign, I keep running out.

7. Piano Wire (Thaddeus Moore)
Thin very strong (metal?) wire, can be used to bind things together or for trip
wires. Use in conjunction with spikes and drive them in at various heights.
While traveling through a dimly lit corridor the group came to a wooden door.
They listen and heard orcish voices on the other side. So they doused all the
torches on the walls. And set up piano wire at head level by driving spikes into
the wall and fastening the wire to them. Then the group's fastest runner opened
the door, taunted the orcs and took off down the hall. The party had notched the
wall where the wire was. And the runner was able to duck and keep running. While
the orcs got some nasty headaches.

8. Firestarters
Fire is one of the most useful things there is. It provides light, warmth and
destruction. Always carry the means for making fire, whether it's oldfashioned
flint and steel or a zippo-lighter.

9. Small mirror
Ideal for looking around corners to see if there are any enemies waiting for
you. Also useful if you're being shot at and don't want to stick you're head out
of cover.

10. Rope (The Wizard)
Rope, you can never have enough, every PC should carry some, and at least one PC
should have a grapple hook. Try to get silk rope, lighter and stronger.

11. Wooden wedges
Shoving a wedge under a door is a much quicker way of blocking it than piling up
furniture (of course, you should always make sure the door opens in the right
direction). Alternatively, a wedge can keep doors from closing behind you
(secret doors tend to have this nasty tendency).

12. Fire extinguisher (Boltcutter)
[Shadowrun] Keep a fire extinguisher by the bedside; ritual magic's payback, and
payback's a bitch.

13. ID (Craig L Wigda)
Always have a spare "fake" ID handy (several if you can get them). Have "real"
or "false" permits for your gear (cyberware or weapons, or any other restricted
items).
13a. (Blank Dave)
Don't forget a badly faded piece of ID. Man I can't believe Superman believed me
when I said my union card was a Cross Dimensional Immigration Authority card.

14. Fake plates (Craig L Wigda)
Have at least two other sets of license plates made up for your vehicle that
match a "legally" registered vehicle of the same make and model (having the fake
ID to go with the plates is also needed, just for your common traffic offenses).

15. Smoke grenades
These are basically portable cover and extremely useful when you have to cross
open ground under enemy fire, or to cover a quick retreat.

16. Pistols and knives (Blank Dave)
Pack a pistol and a knife (both are easy to hide, cheap to lose, and are like
brains (everyone's got one, but few use them). They will go unnoticed, and if
not they probably won't draw much attention, unlike monoswords and assault
shotguns. Neither might pack much kick, but their general utility level makes up
for that.

17. Nasties (Lloyd Revious)
One thing I also like to do <...> is add some nasties. Like say caltrops, snap
traps, dog pepper, or anything else your devious heart desires.

18. Stun weapons
Carry some sort of stun weapon (tasers, darts coated with sleeping poison, etc.)
in case you need to capture someone unharmed (for example: a partymember who has
been possessed or has gone berserk). You might even want to consider making a
stun weapon your primary weapon of choice. People who don't leave trails of
corpses behind usually get less hassle from the law. You also run less risk of
being hunted down by the familymembers or friends of your victims (a lot of
action movies are based on that concept and who knows where your gamemaster gets
his or her ideas).

19. Protective clothing
You never know what you're going to have to touch or walk on, so a pair of heavy
gloves and strong boots should definitely be part of your inventory. Players in
a more futuristic setting might want to carry some gloves and boots capable of
withstanding toxic waste. If you've got the money and vehicle-space, bring along
an entire environment-suit.

20. Paper and pen (Klaus AE. Mogensen)
Useful for drawing maps, writing messages, doing calculations, drawing portraits
("Have you seen this man?"). The paper can also be used as kindling, to wrap
things, and as a fan.
20a. ([email protected])
Also the paper can be waved in front of a guard while stating "Important message
for your boss" as you stroll past. As long as they don't get to read your
laundry list you may get by. In a similar vein you can walk around
ostentatiously taking notes and asking questions and people may assume you
belong.

21. Sticky stuff (Darkwalker)
I would also add Duct Tape and Super Glue to the list. I've found endless uses
for them.

22. Explosives
If you can get away with it, carry some explosives (preferably in a nice
shock/fire/waterproof box). You don't need to carry many, just have a few handy
to bail you out of the more difficult situations. An explosive can open/create
doors, take out that armored vehicle/creature that's impervious to your bullets,
provide a diversion, etc. Most grenades can also be made into booby traps.

23. Hooks and whistles (Matt "Dirty A Sid" Johnston)
Five words for you: fish hooks and signal whistles. Oh yeah, don't forget the
string. Can you imagine dropping Nystuls Magic Medallion of Unending World Peace
down the sewer grate, just as the bad guy with Tensers Magic Medallion of World
Destruction, is about to tear your world apart? Is your thief really going to be
strong enough to tear that grate from the ground? Hope your DM thinks so. What
about that time you tried to get your friends attention before they mistakenly
gutted the runaway prince in disguise, during the heat of battle, with swords
clanging on shields all around? Bet he bit it didn't he?

24. Clothes and disguises (Tiberius)
Make sure you have a decent set of clothes for meets, classy hotels/restaurants,
etc. Waltzing into the Ritz wearing a curry-stained Mega Death Tour '54 t-shirt
and bloody combats with big tears where that devil rat tried to chow down on
your leg is never a good idea. Firstly, it may stop you from getting in at all
(dress code and all), it attracts attention, makes security suspicious, and when
the Yakuza jander in two minutes after you there is _no way_ you keep your face
hidden and just blend in. Standard issue black suits are great for this. If
things get hairy, you can always pretend to be a waiter and head for the kitchen
door out back.
24a. (Strife)
You'd be surprised how much you can get away with if you look like a custodian,
handyman or some general schmuck. Most security guards are going to assume that
someone else checked your ID for you to be here and don't really want to be
bothered with the drudgery. Admittedly, this wouldn't work (probably) around a
"secure" area, but for anything short of a Presidential visit...;)
24b. (Marshall)
A mask or hood. You'd be amazed how many guys just walk into a corp building
without trying to conceal their identity. How many trolls out there have a
cyberarm? Not too many (relative to the population of Seattle), don't give the
pigs something to go on.

25. Tools (Arivne)
A complete toolkit/toolbox can save your party. Some examples:
Fantasy games: hammer, chisel, axe/hatchet, file, pick, shovel/spade, tinderbox.
Modern games: bolt cutters, eyedropper, hacksaw, magnet, padlock, pliers,
scissors, screwdriver, Swiss Army Knife, tweezers, wire cutters, wrench.

26. Silencer (Marshall)
How many times do you need to shoot early when things get FUBAR? Too often. No
need to bring the entire building down on you.

27. Bring water (Klaus AE. Mogensen)
You never know when you might get near clean drinking water again. Also useful
for cleaning wounds or getting encrusted muck off plaques that you need to read.
27a. (Aetherson)
My last group always stocked up on 50+ proof alcohol. Better for cleaning wounds
than water... Especially the quality of water you'll be able to find in most
realistic low-tech games. (Plus, our characters were lushes)

28. Communications (Matthew Rees)
Cell phone and/or pager (preferably with some kind of non-audible signal). Handy
if your team gets separated. Also useful for calling in backup or emergency
services.

29. Raincoat or waterproof cloak (Matthew Rees)
This is especially important for cross-country treks in fantasy campaigns.
There's not glamorous or adventuresome about an all-day slog in miserable
weather. You might also need to keep your equipment dry (a change of clothes is
no use if the new clothes are wet too).

30. Tape recorder (Matthew Rees)
Tape recorder (the small, concealable type). Useful for collecting incriminating
information on your enemies.

31. Binoculars (Matthew Rees)
Invaluable for reconnaissance.

32. Backup weapon (Darkspot)
Always have a backup weapon, or multiple!!! I have had weapons break, and it's
not a pretty sight when you go from a longsword plus one to trying to wrestle
with a bunch of orcs, especially with that field plate holding you back. And
don't forget to make sure it's also a strong weapon, a dagger may be better than
punching and wrestling, but still a longsword +2 or +1 or even just a longsword,
helps much more.

33. The alternate takedown (Darkspot)
Always have something (if your character is allowed) to blind or drug the
opponent (abrasive powders or dirt or sand work well, and misc herbs and drugs
and such are nice.) A blind or unconscious opponent doesn't provide much of a
fight compared to a full power one.
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Combat
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1. Standard operating procedure (Thomas R Nelson)
Have an S.O.P. for battles, i.e., these guys in front/left/middle/right, and
these guys in back, clerics casting this and this, and mages casting this and
this. There aren't that many different situations you'll encounter. When you're
under attack, if you ALWAYS set up the same way for the fight, then you'll get
quicker at it and not only will the players react better as a team, but also it
can make a difference whether you spend a round coordinating or can get set
quickly. i.e., we spent two rounds deciding who does what and in the meantime,
the monster was able to close on our mage; or the fighter went to close with the
monster, but the mage was casting a lightning bolt at him, so the fighter moved
into the path of the bolt and...

2. Keywords/phrases ([email protected])
In certain circumstances a character yelling one word or phrase could make
everyone do "the right thing". Little things like "double team right" might mean
the mage and right fighter are to combine on the right side enemy. Customize the
concept to your team and abilities.

3. Concentrating attacks (Sean Emmott)
Concentrate as many attacks as possible on one opponent: the quicker one is
killed, the sooner there's one less attack on your group.
3a. (Klaus AE. Mogensen)
While this may be true in AD&D, it's not necessarily true in games where damage
impairs the ability to fight. In HERO or Rolemaster (for instance), if all PCs
attack different opponents in the first round, they may be able to stun them, so
they can't hit back. In Rolemaster, HarnMaster, Storyteller and other games to
numerous to mention, damaged characters get combat penalties, so even if they
aren't stunned, they are unlikely to hit you. In many games with reasonable
combat rules, the best mass combat tactic is to let the poor fighters perform
holding actions (parry for all they're worth) while the good fighters finish off
_their_ opponents.

4. To fight or not to fight... (D.G. Larush)
Know when NOT to fight- A thief or mage who is out of spells is NOT useless in a
fight as long as you realize that you can be valuable while not fighting.
Reining up the horses, pulling wounded party members out of combat, throwing
burning oil. These can all aid the party without placing a wounded or otherwise
non-battle ready party member in jeopardy.

5. Evil altars (Boltcutter)
Don't leap on the, actively used, altar to the Evil God to get a better swing at
someone.

6. Surrendering (D.G. Larush)
Surrender IS an option- I almost lost a character once because I got too
"heroic" and never even considered paying off highwaymen as an option. Learn to
recognize when the DM is hinting that you're outnumbered (forty of the king's
archers with arrows nocked is a good sign), and learn to be able to eat crow and
surrender when appropriate. A good DM will never let your characters rot in jail
forever, but will use it to further the plot. What do you think thieves are for?

7. Cover
Use cover if any is available. Anyone who needlessly stands out in the open
during a firefight deserves every bullet he gets. Remember that cover can
sometimes be shot _through_ (not even stone walls can always provide safety) or
something might be thrown over it (like a grenade), so never give away your
exact location if you can help it.

8. Melee against/with groups
When fighting against a large group in melee combat, always place your back
against a wall or another large object so you can't be attacked from behind.
Even better, try fighting from an enclosed space such as a doorway or a narrow
pass. That way, even less enemies can get at you and you still have the option
of retreat. If you yourself have the advantage of numbers, then be sure to use
it. Surround your enemy so there's always someone who can attack from the rear,
try to catch the opponent in a cross-fire, etc.

9. Shield-wall (Phil Hendry)
Assuming a dungeon setting... When meeting an opposing group in a corridor, any
fight which ensues is almost bound to be 'fair'- i.e. one on one, two on two
etc. The odds can easily be weighted in the party's favour if the party is
prepared to retreat to the last chamber they were in, then by clustering around
the doorway inside the room, they can get maybe as many as three on one. This
works best if the room is off the side of the corridor, rather than at an end-
otherwise the opposition can 'charge' down the corridor and break through the
'shield-wall' in the room, negating any advantage.

10. Encumbrance (Tiberius)
If your backpack makes you encumbered because you insist on carrying a tent and
a month's rations in it, at least remember to drop it before starting a fight.

11. Combat magic (Alfred Hailey)
While most older players know this, a lot of newer players overlook an important
point: Diversify your attack spells. Loading up on Fireballs may sound good, but
you're in trouble as soon as you meet fire-resistant creatures. Try to have as
many different attack forms available as you can, so you won't be stuck with
spells that aren't very effective against a given type of creature. Likewise,
while less damaging indirect attacks like summoned creatures or spells that
adversely affect the terrain may seem less useful, they can prove their worth
many times over when you run into beasties that are highly magic resistant. On
the same token, be aware of your spells effects on the environment - fireballs
in a forest are not a smart move, and neither is any spell that creates any kind
of shockwave or loud sound in an avalanche-prone area. On the other hand, if
your opponents are magic resistant, then throwing a lightning bolt at the
ceiling over their heads, thus causing a cave in, may be a better tactic than
trying to zap them directly. (Just be sure the place isn't unstable enough to
cave in on you at the same time.)
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CHARACTER CREATION
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1. Spell selection
When choosing your spells (or mutations or psionic powers or whatever) make sure
the spell isn't superfluous. A lot of spell effects can be achieved just as well
by having the right equipment or by the skills of your fellow partymembers. For
instance, if you're a low-level mage and have several warriors in your party, go
light on the combat spells. Most of the time, the damage you can do with them is
negligible compared to what the fighters will dish out. Pick something more
useful instead, like something that will aid the fighters.

2. Skills
With all the skills to pick from, it's often easy to overlook the more basic
ones. Don't forget skills like swimming, riding (or driving) and
reading/writing.
2a. (Blank Dave)
Always have a medical skill, First aid will do (if only one person has such
skills, you can be almost guaranteed he'll be the first one in need of those
skills when the fighting breaks out).
Always have some form of combat skill (a fight will always break out, being able
to defend yourself is a must. Even non combat oriented games will usually have a
physical fight somewhere).

3. Group input (Blank Dave)
As a group make your characters as a group. Too often the characters are
independently made. This results in holes in the group. By making characters as
a group, it is possible to provide a better width and depth to the group. Think
what happened when no one made a cleric or magic user.
3a. (Lucius Chiaraviglio)
If you can't make a fully rounded-out group (group too small, for instance, or
has wrong background), make early efforts to become friends with NPC's that can
round out the group -- but make sure that they are TRUSTWORTHY, and that you
become GOOD friends with them.

4. Powerlevel
Sometimes your odds of survival are better if you don't try to create an all-
powerful character. There are several reasons for this:
a. GM compensation. It's a gamemaster's job to provide the players with a
challenge. If you create characters capable of taking on a tank, then tanks are
what you'll get.
b. Overconfidence. Powerful characters usually wade into combat without even
considering if there's another way of dealing with the situation. But combat can
be deadly no matter how strong you are.
If you're used to playing terminator-type characters, it can be quite
difficult to make a change. Powergamers usually shudder at the thought of not
maxing out a combat skill, and start sweating at the idea of actually spending
some points on charisma or social skills. The best advice I can give is this:
when creating a character, choose the one thing that most defines the character.
This could be anything. Perhaps your character is a thief with a love for
climbing. Or perhaps she grew up near the ocean and loves ships. Or tends to be
very curious. Or wants desperately to be a part some social group. Or has a drug
problem that he's trying to beat. Or wants to be the first mage to perfect the
growing (and domestication) of really big carnivorous plants. Once you establish
the core concept, the rest of the character usually comes naturally and you'll
feel much less inclined to spend all your character resources on combat.

5. Be interesting (Xiphias Gladius)
I have had at least one GM change a die roll so that I didn't die, just because
he liked my character. In my experience, GMs are much more willing to let boring
characters poorly played die, while they will go out of their way to find some
way of keeping favorite fun characters alive.

6. The Five Types Of Challenge (Peter Knutsen)
As a GM, I always advise my players to make collectively sure that there are
people capable of these things in the party: Combat, diplomacy,
stealth/intrusion, medicine/healing, magic. For a science fiction genre game,
replace "magic" with "science". The list represents the Five Types Of Challenge
that the party members will face, and it can lead to trouble and/or frustration
if there's a gaping hole in the party. It's simply much more fun to be part of a
party that's prepared to engage itself in any type of conflict. For starters try
to have one expert in each area, and then also add some backups. A party of six
can have one major diplomat and two minor diplomats, for instance. If you know
the campaign is going to be heavy on one type of conflict, create the party
accordingly. For instance a campaign heavy on intrusion and espionage should
have three or four major stealthers. One more thing: The "magic" entry doesn't
mean that one partymember in general should know a random selection of spells.
It means that one party member should specifically be able to deal with magic,
in the forms of spells or abilities such as Detect Magic, Analyze Magic, Disrupt
Magic and so on.

7. Lingua franca (Peter Knutsen)
In campaign worlds with a plethora of languages, there is often a lingua franca
- a common language. This is usually not widely used among the commoners but can
be used when talking to scholars, officials and clergy. Your character might
want to have at least some capability to understand and speak that language. An
example from medieval Europe is Latin. <...> Also some settings may have a
simplified trade language, a "pidgin", instead. It's often easier (cheaper) to
learn than other languages.

8. Background (Peter Knutsen)
Write a detailed backstory for your character. A couple of pages is good. The GM
might reward you with casual knowledge that your character wouldn't have had (or
would have had to pay for) otherwise. For instance one player in my campaign
played the adopted heir of a merchant prince, so I occasionally pass notes to
him about business lore that his character should know. Another character has a
powerful mage as a patron, so I make sure he knows a little bit about magic even
though his character sheet warrants nothing. So in short: background pays off.
____________
Negotiations
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1. Basics
Never let on how badly you need the other party's help and always be sure to let
your most charismatic/silvertongued partymember do the talking.

2. Talking is an option (ChAoS)
One overlooked survival technique is to talk. Many people die because they
attack the too tough for them creature because "it's there" or "it's evil". But
kings have armies, some monsters gate in help (some fiends gated help can also
gate), and sometimes you just aren't tough enough. But talking may give you a
chance to deal with the enemy, get an idea of its plans, find a weakness, or
deal with the villain while others sneak by to complete the mission. Perhaps
he'd GIVE you the goal of the quest if you do something for him. <...> As usual
talking requires judgement but may save you a painful death.

3. Truth (D.G. Larush)
Never assume the other guy is telling the truth. All too often I've seen PC's
take the word of any NPC as gospel truth, even if the NPC has obvious reasons to
lie (i.e. is having the crap beat out of him by the PC's).

4. Motivations (D.G. Larush)
Always keep the other guy's motivations in mind. The key to negotiation is
figuring out what the other guy wants. Is the other guy a mercenary? Offer
double what the other guy's paying. Is the other guy a Techie? How about some
flashy tech? Is he a religious devotee? Hope you know enough about theology to
convince him that you're in the right.

5. Lying (Ryan Mark Vurlicer)
Don't lie unless you need to. I've seen many PCs who ended up as pathological
liars when talking with NPCs, when there was no known reason to lie. Often, the
NPCs eventually found out they were being lied to. This does not make for
successful negotiations.
5a. (Jim Davies)
And when you do lie, make absolutely sure that you know what you said. Lies are
harder to remember. It's often a good idea to make sure that the GM remembers it
as well, so that you can at least agree on something.

6. Losing face
When you've got your opponent over a barrel, make sure he knows it but be
careful not to rub his nose in it too much. If you do, he might decide to refuse
your demands, regardless of the consequences. There are people who would rather
die than be extorted/humiliated so loss of face should be kept to a minimum.
Staying polite helps. And occasionally you might want to consider giving up
something relatively invaluable, so your opponent has something to show his own
people that can be interpreted as a victory.

7. Ask for the moon ([email protected])
Don't be afraid to ask for the moon. The other party may have no use for it.
____________________
Extreme environments
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1. Jungle (Vos MC)
You want to take machetes with you when you're traveling through the jungle, as
our group recently found out. Short swords get real thin when you use them like
that. Also, horses aren't a very good form of transport in the jungle, and
horsemeat gets a bit boring after a couple of weeks. (That must have been the
third batch of horses we went through. And the first of the 4th batch died
recently too. (Never charge unknown creatures that are slow enough to run away
from.))
1a. (Vos MC)
Bring something waterproof to keep your maps and other papery stuff in.

2. Space
NEVER, EVER go on a space-journey without a vacuum-suit. Somewhere along the
line, your ship *will* get a hull breach (they always do <sigh>). Keep the suit
handy and know how to use it. If you haven't got the appropriate skill, then at
least train until you're able to:
a. get into and out of it without too much delay.
b. seal the suit and activate life-support.
c. seal ruptures.
2a. (Lucius Chiaraviglio)
Spare life-support supplies. Otherwise, the space suit will only be useful for a
limited time at best. Also bring spare comm gear and power cells. If you bring
just one set of these things, you will experience a failure.

3. Stuff to bring along (Pieter)
Jungle: insect net, poison antidote, machete, portable boat.
Desert: water, white clothing, water, compass, water, camels and water, warm
clothes (it gets COLD at night), water.
Arctic: black goggles (to prevent snowblindedness), rope to tie each other
together to avoid snow-filled chasms, knowledge of how to build an iglo, really
warm clothes, ice pick, crampons.
Space: well, gee, a space suit, comm gear, navigational stuff, spare fuel, space
suit repair kit.

4. Guides
In unfamiliar territory, consider hiring a native as a guide.

5. Deserts (Lucius Chiaraviglio)
Texas-style ten-gallon hats and Arab-style clothing are not bad ideas either.
People in these areas didn't start wearing these things just to look cool. If
you can, also bring sunscreen.

6. Arctic (Lucius Chiaraviglio)
Also bring some kind of fuel for a fire. You never know when you might need to
heat water, even if only up to body temperature (for instance, for dealing with
frostbite).
___________________________
General advice and strategy
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1. Keeping your Polish minedetector alive
When exploring a dungeon with a lot of traps, the person who walks point
basically acts as a Polish minedetector. Needless to say that this person should
have a lot of hitpoints/dexterity/good saving throws/luck. Since a lot of traps
are of the pitfall variety, the pointman should always hold on to a rope that is
also being held by the other partymembers. That way, if the floor collapses
beneath him, he won't immediately be turned into hero-kebab on the spikes that
traditionally line the floor of any self-respecting pitfall.

2. Marching orders
Several people have remarked to me about the importance of this. Though the
actual marching orders will vary depending on the party in question, the general
order usually resembles something like this:
Point: any character with stealth.
Front: warriors, preferably with distance weapons available.
Middle: vulnerable characters.
Rear: characters with at least a little bit of combat power.

3. Splitting up the party
Never, ever, split up the party if you can avoid it. Remember that 'divide and
conquer' works just as well for the enemy. If circumstances force you to split
up anyway, then at least agree on a rendezvous-point/time and also on a
recognition sign or password (shapeshifters can be a real pain in the butt).

4. The Law (Dave Brohman)
Use the proper authorities whenever possible. The cops are a lot less likely to
think you are a crook when they see you show up every three month bright and
chipper to renew your e25 monoknife carry permit. This came up in our game just
last week. Someone broke into my apt. And tried to access my computer for
incriminating information. We caught her and she thought she had me over a
barrel. She knew from her source that I wasn't going to kill her so she was all
smug. So I picked up the phone and dialed 911. Everyone's jaw dropped. No one,
ref included, had thought of that. Remember, 'punks straddle the line. Just cos
they spend a lot of time on the wrong side doesn't meant they have to stay
there.

5. Public transport (Dave Brohman)
Use the subway. Everyone keeps suggesting that making a getaway on public
transport is a bad thing. Not so. A subway is a really good place to get lost in
the crowd. Plus, they can't run your plates or I.D. your vehicle.
Guard: "They got away sir."
Boss: "What did their vehicle look like?"
Guard: "About 40 feet long, seats 60, 'Night City Transit Authority' written on
the side..."
5a. (Dragonscroll)
A corollary to this advice. Do not attempt to flee from the police or the
Transit Authority via public transportation. They both have the ability to stop
the subway car/bus/rickshaw you are on and come to get you.

6. Low profile
When your on a mission or if you've got something to hide (like having a body in
the trunk of your car), don't do something stupid like speeding or driving under
the influence. Even if you get off with only a ticket, that ticket might be
enough to connect you to the crime. Also, don't get into fights and when a
cop/guardsman tells you to do something, say "yes sir" and play the concerned
citizen. Don't overdo it though. An overly helpful person gets remembered as
much as a troublemaker.
6a. (Craig L Wigda)
If you have expensive/military/or hard to get gear, do not flash it around.
People would just love to take things away from you if they can.

7. Bugs (Craig L Wigda)
Always check provided gear/safe houses for bugs.

8. Shooting cops (Blank Dave)
Don't shoot at the police (it makes them mad, and this point can never be
overstated enough).

9. Keywords/phrases
These were already mentioned in the combat section but they can also be useful
in other situations. The party should have a short list of subtle signs, with
meanings like:
"Something is wrong, try to leave unobtrusively."
"Get ready for a fight."
"Get ready to run like hell."

10. Planning
When you're making a plan, _always_ make a backup plan for when things go wrong
(which, let's face it, they always do). So don't just say: "We're going to sneak
into the temple, steal the Ruby Eye of the Mad God, and then sneak back out
again", but also decide in advance what you're going to do if you get discovered
halfway and you've got hordes of mad priests and guards coming towards you from
all directions, while bells madly toll the alarm. My group usually starts
arguing, with half the players wanting to make a run for it and the other half
wanting to go on and try for the Eye anyway. Of course, while we're arguing our
DM happily lets the guards and priests close in.
10a. In general, try to keep plans simple. You can't plan for every contingency
anyway and having too many/too long/too detailed plans only ensures that things
will get messed up, not to mention the fact that they suck up a lot of game-
time.
10b. (Sander Biesma)
Whenever you decide to make a plan, stick to it. Just because you discover a
hidden door which might hide a load of treasure (and your usual Fiend or two)
that doesn't give reason enough to sidestep from your original plan and screw it
up completely, making your original goal harder to achieve.
10c. (Mathieu Roy)
Make COMPLETE plans. Nothing's more annoying than developing a complete and
successful plan to enter the place squeaky-clean, with nary a soul the wiser,
then do what you came for and suddenly realize you have no plan to get OUT.
(Running fights are fun for players, but not characters...)

11. Unknown territory
When heading into unknown territory, try to get information beforehand. Try to
find out about weather and terrain conditions, monsters you might encounter,
local leaders, the local customs and laws, etc.

12. The real deal (Dave Brohman)
Ask questions FIRST, shoot later. So many punks accept the line they are fed
without bothering to check the facts. Get your employers line, then visit your
local information sources and find out the REAL deal.

13. Mr. Johnson (Craig L Wigda)
Always check out your job and the person hiring you before you take the job (but
most GMs do not allow you the chance to do this). Never trust the equipment
provided by Mr. Johnson.

14. Coffins (Gary Astleford)
Don't open coffins. Only stupid people open coffins.
14b. (Lucius Chiaraviglio)
If you have to open a coffin, do it from a distance (for instance, with a rope
or pole) and have all of your fight or flight options ready.

15. Buildings (D Howard)
One of the best survival techniques is if you run into a building to evade
capture NEVER head upwards, through yes, but never up because it's a lot harder
to get back down again!
15a. (Avery Davies)
When storming buildings, come in from above and from below.

16. Meetings
Never let the other party chose the place for the meeting. Make sure it's held
somewhere public and unenclosed, such as a mall. If you need more privacy, try
to meet somewhere in the open, a public park for instance. That way, it's harder
for your enemy to box you in. Always arrive at the meeting place early and spend
some time observing it. Note the available exits. During the meeting, have some
backup waiting (preferably with a getaway vehicle and a long range rifle).

17. Mugshots
Before going on an assignment, try to get pictures or descriptions of the people
important to your mission. My own group once went to talk to a scientist without
taking this precaution. The person we met later turned out to be a very well-
armed imposter [ouch].

18. Payment
When accepting a mission, try to get as much money in advance as possible. Not
only does this reduce the chances of being cheated, it also makes it less likely
that your employer will try to stab you in the back in order to avoid having to
pay you. Don't forget to ask if your expenses (hospital costs, ammo, broken
equipment etc.) are covered. Also, those surviving should receive the shares of
deceased teammembers.

19. Traces
Be careful not to leave traces at the scene of the crime. You might want to
invest in some gloves or perhaps even some spells specifically designed to clear
all traces. These can be extremely handy, especially in Shadowrun, where even a
single drop of blood or strand of hair is enough for a ritual magic team to
track you down. Also remember that a lot of firearms eject empty cartridges,
which might be used for evidence.

20. Dealing with the Mob (Blank Dave)
Don't wave sexual apperatus at the local mafia Don (we learnt that through
experience).

21. Boltholes (Craig L Wigda)
Have more then one bolt hole or safe house with some extra gear, cash, and fake
IDs.

22. Intrusion
While (or before) trespassing through a fortress/dungeon/corporate building, see
if you can pick up an appropriate outfit/suit that will allow you to blend in.
Also, pay attention to the names of high-ranking personnel (try to find this out
beforehand if possible). That way, when someone stops you and asks you what the
hell you're doing in the Inner Citadel carrying the Scepter of Urgh, you'll be
able to say: "I've got direct orders from lord X. Out of my way, you flunky."
This will not always be enough to get you out of trouble, but it should at least
keep the guards from attacking you on the spot and thus buy you some time.

23. 'To do' list (Lauri C. Gardner)
Make a list of all things you are supposed to do, especially the dumb things. If
you don't mention them, you will forget them. Have the list go around having
rest of the team members make additions.
23a. (Arivne)
Very useful when setting up security (e.g. when making camp or settling into a
hotel suite). You can just tell the GM "we do everything on the security
checklist" instead of having to remember each item.

24. Some advice for thieves (Barry Wood)
[AD&D] If you detect traps, do NOT assume just because you have a "Remove Traps"
roll after the "Detect" that you are somehow responsible for removing each and
every trap. Even at medium levels, the odds of you failing your roll and being
killed by a trap are high. So, let the mage spend some spells removing it. Let
the fighter use his polearm to poke around a bit. The best thief I ever ran with
would go to the front of the party and say "Yep, there's a trap here" and then
promptly return to his place in back of the party.

25. Animals
Keep a sharp eye and ear on the local fauna. When something is wrong, the
animals often know about it before you do. An unusually quiet forest or a flock
of birds that suddenly takes off for no apparent reason could both indicate
trouble. You might also want to consider getting a trained dog or another animal
with senses sharper than your own.

26. Use it!
If you've got it, use it! Saving your resources 'for the real emergencies' is
all very well, but when you feel you might have need of a certain item or spell,
don't hesitate to use it. A lot of characters die with unused healing potions in
their backpacks and unused spells on their minds. Don't let that be you.

27. Know Who Your Friends Are (Colin Turner)
Many groups fail to note who's good to deal with. Or worse, they even fail to
remember who they've dealt with at all. Sometimes an old friend has just what
you need, or knows who can help you - why takes risks all over again by asking
favors of new contacts when you don't have to? Associates from years past don't
drop off the face of the earth because you've been out of town for a while. In
fact, they may have just the information you need, but you've forgotten all
about them.

28. Hair ([email protected])
Long flowing hair (on either sex) looks good, keeps your neck (and possibly
shoulders, depending on length and your taste in clothing) from being sunburned,
and cushions those nasty crit hits - skull. Problem is, if a clever opponent
gets close and grabs you by that hair, you're in deep trouble. Same goes for
long beards. If you still insist on looking like a Viking, a punk rocker, or
Weird Al Yankovic, I would suggest the following measures:
a) pre battle haircut. possibly with dagger.
b) some sort of magic spell, possibly "Retract Hair" or somesuch.
c) grease applied to hair to make it too slippery to hold.
d) become a character who wears a helmet, and tuck all that hair inside.
In short, GET A HAIRCUT. A short one. Even if you're female, and required by
fantasy gaming law to have "midnight black"/"golden yellow" hair down to your
ankles, it's better to break the law than to be one day dangled out a window by
that hair.

29. Downtime ([email protected])
Don't waste down-time. My players are about to learn the hard way that a boring
week in jumpspace, headed for a frozen planet, would have been a great time to
screen a few vids on arctic survival techniques. Heh.

30. Recon (Varsil Savai)
Make sure you've done enough recon. Nothing is funnier than a bunch of PC's
who've done NO recon (through clairvoyance, sneaking around, spy drones, etc)
stumbling into an area and finding it COMPLETELY opposite from their
expectations (say, the dark cathedral really is a gate to some nether plane...
:).

31. Confirm your kills (Strife)
In gun games, ammo is rarely so scarce that you can't spare two bullets to
splatter a body's head. If ammo is scarce, refer to fantasy rule below.
Fantasy rule: behead anything you think you've killed. If you're really nasty,
take a hand with the head. That way if it does come back, at least its pissed.
Always confirm your kills if possible. If you didn't confirm the kill, don't be
surprised when you see him/her/it walking down the street or crawling through
your bedroom window. (GMs, if you really want to screw with a party: posers,
clones, twins, triplets, quintuplets, etc.)
_______
Credits
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Well, that's it for now. My thanks go out to the following people whose
suggestions made it into the list in one form or another:

[Dimers]

Also be sure and pick up on an RFID tag eraser. I can't begin to stress just how important one of those is. Doesn't matter what role you play, buy yourself one and keep it handy at all times.

Also, don't underestimate the usefulness of stick-n-shock ammo. Seriously.

Let's see, hmm, a light pistol is 4P with no armor penetration, a heavy pistol is 5P with -1 AP, and a light pistol with stick-n-shock is 6P with -half AP. So is a holdout. So are machine pistols. You might want to stick to explosive rounds for that sniper rifle, but stick-n-shock improves the sheer damage of most guns that runners will ever use. Better damage (especially against heavily-armored enemies) and it has a knockdown effect, and you can use it to mess with electronic devices, and unless you're invading a retirement home with a pacemaker on every other inhabitant then you're also dealing with enemies nonlethally, avoiding a lot of ill-will and a few murder charges.

Carry a clip of the regular stuff for damaging drones, but invest heavily in stick-n-shock.

[VirOath]

Stick-n-shocks rock, no question. But they aren't without their drawbacks. First and foremost is the cost per bullet. Secondly they face the armor mod as an addition, up to rating 6 I believe.

So if the average Runner has a 6/6 armor, impact being the second number, that halved leaves you with 3 armor. Then add 6.

Do bring Stick-N-Shocks, but only use one gun for them. My personal favorite is the F-Security 600, a light pistol that has a 30 round clip with a folding stock. Save for maybe a silencer and a Smartgun Link, it's got everything you need for it in one small package.

Going Less Than Lethal as an opener is always a good idea, keeps the damage to a minimum and keeps you lower on the radar, the important part is the run after all. But the problem runs into the effect they have on people, or rather the lack.

There are situations beyond drones and such that will put you into a corner that LtL isn't a good option, as there are ways for stun damage to be mitigated or ignored. It also lacks a fear factor, getting hit with LtL hurts, but it also means they aren't willing to take lives at this point, as using LtL is going out of their way to do less harm. This leaves people more aggressive against you. Also, in the slums, ending encounters with LtL only leaves them embarrassed and to track you down.

LtL leaves less of an aftermath most of the time, but you really need to remember that it's not the end all solution, it's not the bread and butter of the world. Be flexible, and think about when going Lethal, or LtL would be better.

After all, the most important thing is not getting caught. Take precautions to be as unidentifiable on a run as possible, always have a safe house (a Life Style you don't use and save for when with it starts to rain)

[Trekkin]

SnS rounds are good, but personally I like to give non-combat-focused characters tasers; they, unlike guns loaded with Stick-n-Shock, are perfectly legal in many places. If you can bring a Super Squirt loaded with Pepper Punch (or, more expensively, Narcoject), it's another good option for nonlethal personnel removal. On your own end, an armored vest is discreet under clothing and offers surprisingly good protection. Also, if it hasn't been said to death already, prep work is your friend. Get maps, learn where the guards live, get whatever employee communications you can: the more you know, the more options you have, especially for framing existing employees for whatever you just did; the hacker will probably be the one to plant it, but the face is the one most able to determine what to plant.

Emotitoys are your cheap and ridiculously effective friend.

Worry about not getting caught.
Then assume you'll get caught and work out how not to get hurt.
Then assume you'll get hurt and work out how not to get killed.
Then assume you'll get killed and set up a deadman's switch to erase your life and the party's tracks, so your new character has less to worry about.

Get an easily portable and legal way of going fast; a Cyclops, from Arsenal, is good for this purpose. Being able to run away on your own is an attractive backup should the main plan for getting away fall flat.

[comicshorse]

Insulate your armour, its relatively cheap and will save your hide when the bad guys are using tasers or other electricity.
IDs are your friend have good ones and know the details of them, no cop is going to be fooled if you can't even remember where your ID say's you live. ( Private Eye licences are good too, gives you a reason for hanging around watching people and asking strange questions)
If you have a high lifestyle be able to explain where the money came from. A fake job or inheritnace where the paper trail is solid are vital.
Always have a back-up hideout for when things are really rough
Never turn down an opportunity to make a contact, no matter how obscure their job a 'Runners life is weird and there may just be a time when knowing a PHD in Egyphtology is the difference between life and death ( and yes that one is from personal experience and it was)
Never kill people if you can avoid it, unconscious is almost always better

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Another piece of advice (well, meta-advice) is don't build a Pink Mohawk when the rest of your group is going Mirrorshades, and vice versa (the latter isn't so bad, it just gets annoying, the former will get you and possibly everyone else killed).

Also, play it smart. If something is too good to be true, it is, and is trying to kill you horribly. That shady Doc with a line on a Betaware grade clinic and parts? Harvesting your organs and 'wares. That contact who just got 'a huge shipment of x" (where x is something you really want or need) is being pressured to sell you to whichever megacorp you crossed last week.

A sleep regulator is an excellent piece of 'ware, by the way.

Finally, have fun.

[Dimers]

Stick-n-shocks rock, no question. But they aren't without their drawbacks. First and foremost is the cost per bullet. Secondly they face the armor mod as an addition, up to rating 6 I believe.

So if the average Runner has a 6/6 armor, impact being the second number, that halved leaves you with 3 armor. Then add 6.

I don't believe that's correct -- please give me a page number if you find otherwise, because it'd be important to know. So far as I can tell, since SnS deals only electrical damage, it's only resisted by Impact armor, with a modifier of -half. Not Impact/2 plus all of Ballistic.

[Yora]

I got invited to a Shadowrun group after christmas, and I never played the game before.
Since I'm out of town beginning tomorow, I have no opportunity to get in contact with the gm or take a closer look at the rules, but I'd like to prepare a background for my character. Is there a site or something where I can get some info on the races and maybe the most archetypal occupations for characters?
(My idea is a chinese orc security guard at Wuxing, who stole some magical stuff from the company and fled to (Germany, I assume) to get a new identity and figure out how the magic stuff works. I plan to equip her with at least some light armor, an SMG and a short sword, give her some skill with security and surveilance computers, and use magic to improve her ability to run, jumo, climb, and dodge.)

[comicshorse]

give her some skill with security and surveilance computers, and use magic to improve her ability to run, jumo, climb, and dodge.)

In Shadowrun you are born with the ability to do magic or you just don't have it. Its not a skill you can learn.
Being able to use magic is a large investment of points. From the sound of the character you probably wnat to make him a Physical Adept as there magic is entirely rooted in the Physical ( but they can't cast spells, travel astrally or summon spirits)

[Yora]

Then she was born with magic, but really bad at making use of it. So she stole magic stuff in the hope it helps her to train her abilities to a useful level. It may even be stuff that's completely useless to her, so she later sells it for cash or trades it for teaching lessons.
I want to go for really basic stuff. Nothing like throwing fire or shoting lightning, maybe a simple charged up punch to get a short opportunity to escape or draw a weapon. But dealing with spirits or divination and such is right out of the question. I don't want to go all warrior/rogue/mage with my first character.

[comicshorse]

Its mentioned in Shadowrun many times that often the magical talent can lie dormant until awakened by a traumatic or mystical event. Obviously as a newly Awakened Magician you'll have little in the way of magical skills or spells ( Which opens up an interesting Plot Arc as you search fro a Teacer who won't turn you in for the reward Wuxing will have on your head)
For the other stuff Physical Adepts can buy Killing Hands which embues your punches with lethal magical energy. If you do want to go the full magician route there is the Aspected Magician Flaw in 'Street Magic' which gives you points but means you'll be terrible at some aspect of magic ( perhaps Summoning Spirits)

[Oracle_Hunter]

Then she was born with magic, but really bad at making use of it. So she stole magic stuff in the hope it helps her to train her abilities to a useful level. It may even be stuff that's completely useless to her, so she later sells it for cash or trades it for teaching lessons.
I want to go for really basic stuff. Nothing like throwing fire or shoting lightning, maybe a simple charged up punch to get a short opportunity to escape or draw a weapon. But dealing with spirits or divination and such is right out of the question. I don't want to go all warrior/rogue/mage with my first character.

(1) What Edition? (tm)

(2) Physical Adepts (SR3) should work just fine. You'll probably want to forego cyber/bioware since it reduces the power you have access to. However, there is very little "magic stuff" which will be worth stealing for you so you'll need to fix that backstory a bit.

The fluff for Physical Adepts ("PAs") is that they undergo intense training regimes but you can probably handwave that if need be.

[Yora]

(1) What Edition? (tm)

I don't know!
that's why I'm asking mostly for fluff. Creating the character will be done with the gm, but I'd like to have a background prepared in advance.

[comicshorse]

(2) However, there is very little "magic stuff" which will be worth stealing for you so you'll need to fix that backstory a bit.

Well there are the varous focuses ( Weapon, Power, Conjuring,Sorcery, etc) Fetishes, Items with Quickened Spells on them and of course, the ever popular, ' Items of Unknowable Power' TM from ancient times

P.S.

that's why I'm asking mostly for fluff. Creating the character will be done with the gm, but I'd like to have a background prepared in advance.

You do get how much trouble stealing something from a Megacorp is ?

[Oracle_Hunter]

Well there are the varous focuses ( Weapon, Power, Conjuring,Sorcery, etc) Fetishes, Items with Quickened Spells on them and of course, the ever popular, ' Items of Unknowable Power' TM from ancient times

Not for PAs there ain't! At least not in pre-SR4 fluff.

That's the problem, really. SR4 altered the magic fluff while altering the magic rules (out of necessity) so it's hard to give fluff advice without knowing the edition.

[Yora]

What about some really basic stuff: Like "What are orcs?" and "What's the situation in China?". Is there something good to read for that?