Shadowrun Pub
Shadowrun RPG => SR3 (Shadowrun 3rd Edition) General Discussion => Topic started by: Gilliam on July 16, 2007, 11:08:17 PM
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Hey all, just thought this would make an interesting discussion starter, for all the mage-y people out there. I really enjoy playing magic characters in shadowrun, particularly shamans, in either 3rd or 4th edition, mainly because they give me an interesting outlook for a character that I then have to keep consistent.
Idle fancy has me wondering what totems other people like.
My personal favorite right now, and for the forseeable future, is Dog. I like the mechanical bonuses, which are cool, but not overpowering, and the disadvantage actually works with how my characters tend to deal with leaving friends behind. I find it helps to have a character around who's a really group-oriented guy as well. I see a lot of runner groups full of shady loners in trenchcoats and sunglasses... it's hard to be cohesive that way. A dog shaman along can really help break the ice of a group dynamic.
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At the moment, my favorite (for SR4) is Adversary.
In SR3, I really took a shine to Leopard.
Oh, and Totems (Mentor Spirits) are not just for Shamans anymore. ;)
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Adversary is really nice in 3rd too, mind you.
Ofcourse, I usually play Hermetics, when I do play.
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I don't have a lot of my SR3 books anymore, and I'm gettin' old so I can't remember just what Adversary was like in SR3.
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I like the king of the dead
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I like the avians usually. I've used Raven and Owl a lot as npc characters. I tend not to play spell chuckers myself.
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At the moment, my favorite (for SR4) is Adversary.
In SR3, I really took a shine to Leopard.
Oh, and Totems (Mentor Spirits) are not just for Shamans anymore. ;)
Holy FRAG!!!!! Fortune's BACK!!!! Damn chummer, I missed seeing you in this neck of the sprawl! It just hasn't been the same without your shining personality and easy good humor. ;)
As for the question, I've always liked Dog and Cat. These totems seem particularly well done in SR3. The idiosincracies (sp) of the concepts strike VERY close to home for me and my characters. Of course, since I always RUN the fraggin' games, I've never had the chance to run one as a PC. Damn the luck!
Gabriel
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I don't have a lot of my SR3 books anymore, and I'm gettin' old so I can't remember just what Adversary was like in SR3.
can't remember the drawback (yeah, getting old), but +2 to combat and manipulation spells was nice.
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Damn chummer, I missed seeing you in this neck of the sprawl! It just hasn't been the same without your shining personality and easy good humor.
Why thank you, kind sirrah. :)
I found the drawbacks to Adversary in SR3 ... possibility to go Berserk (as Bear) when wounded plus must succeed at a Willpower [8] test to be friendly and/or civil to authority figures. ;D
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yeah, you're right.
Better make sure to deeply anarchistic if you want to go for that totem.
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Advesary and and King of the Dead (Graveyard King, whatever) are cool. My favorite though was gargoyle. Sneaky, plotting, gathers information before striking, and scary as hell when it watns to be. My favorite part though was that you can interpret it a number of differnet ways. malevolent, a guardian, a spy, a hunter, etc.
One of my favorite characters was a Chaos mage that followed Gargyole named Havoc. Very contradictory because he had the Impulsive flaw. Which, BTW, is a HELL of a lot of fun when combined with Daredevil.
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I've always been a fan of the "Coyote" totem. I don't play a lot of shamans, but I always liked the independant loner ideal.
-kv
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Personally I prefer shamans to mages. I love the connection to magic that shamans embody. Mages are to magic what a college student is to a career; whereas shamans are more akin to the shade-tree-mechanic, no formal education, but damn good with what he does. And I like the idea that spirits are embodiments of aspects of places/events/emotions and shamans use that to fuel thier magic. The totemic idea, in my opinion, was at it's best in 1st and even 2nd Edition SR. I don't like the fact that you have PAGES of totems now. I understnad why you have it that way, in that different culturs would per forcehave different animals emobying different natures and therefore different totems. But I still loved the Indian feel to the original storylines.
Anyway, I'm still going with Cat and Dog.
Gabriel, Mundane
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I used a Rat shaman in the story you see excerpts from in another area. Surprise, surprise, he betrayed his cohorts. Rats, never trust 'em.
A Snake shaman shows up as a healer, but I use damn little magic in the story, mostly because I don't use it when I'm in game and really never got behind the mechanics in a thorough kind of way. I like the physad because all his magic is internal, no real casting.
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SR3 Wolf
The reason why is it is easier to play in a group dynamic if they knwo you going to be uber loyal.
SR4 Raven
This one was fun for the mechanical bonuses and you had to make a Willpower roll not to take advantage of someone else's misfortune (i.e. automatic wisea$$).
Oh and SR4 you could take a totem as a mentor spirit even if you were hermetic. The line definantly got blurred with SR4.
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truth, but I don't think it's really such a bad thing... it leaves shamans and hermetics on a more even keel.
Sr3 had some issues in this regard. On the one hand, shamans could summon reflexively, in the blink of an eye, but might not be able to count on a particular type of spirit, and on the other, a hermetic's spirits were much more powerful, and stuck around longer, but would take hours to summon, not to mention materials (which, in a low-nuyen game, were usually non-existent).
If I'm wrong here, I'm sure Rootless or one of the other Sr3 guru's will step in and correct me.
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If I'm wrong here, I'm sure Rootless or one of the other Sr3 guru's will step in and correct me.
No need. You summed it up nicely. :)
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I'm not a big fan of Mentor Spirits / Totem Spirits at all. They're just too generic and one-dimensional in nature. If and when I'm "forced" to use one, I usually just create one from scratch that incorporates my character's tradition, cultural, and personal beliefs rather than try and shoehorn one that was written for Mr. T. Author's take on what that mentor/totem spirit should be for X tradition.
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Don't know if you all saw these, but some home brew totems are cropping up as we may or may not actually get a game going in the (possibly) near future:
BUTTERFLY
Environment:
ANYWHERE
Advantages:
+3d ILLUSION and MANIPULATION spells
Character:
Probably the most benign insect totem; Butterfly is into ideas and concepts. Butterfly shamans are incapable of putting any master plan into action, simply because they loathe putting effort into their ideas. They are about the only insect totem that could be used as a PC, but they are not great shadowrunners (usually) because they don't like running around, beating up on stuff, etc.
Disadvantages:
They lose 1 die from Combat spells. Their dislike of direct action is a problem at times as well. Finally, any Butterfly shaman will eventually metamorphize into a Flesh Form Butterfly spell-caster, which is still not all that dangerous-- except to the shaman.
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BUZZARD
Environment:
DESERT
Advantages:
+2d WIND and DESERT spirits
+2d MANIPULATION spells
Character:
Despite years of bad press, the fact is that Buzzard is NOT a scavenger. Buzzard is a hunter, like Hawk or Falcon. Buzzard shamans are proud of this fact and are quick to point out to those who imply that they are less than majestic. Buzzard shamans tend to scrutinize things careful-ly and ponder all their major decisions for some time before deciding.
Disadvantages:
Buzzard shamans tend to suffer some kind of persecution complex; they think everyone else is dumping shit on them, or just being nice to their face and then talking about them behind their back. Many Buzzard shamans go over the brink of sanity into hardcore paranoia. They also tend to take a long time to make even simple choices.
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CHICKEN
Environment:
FIELD
Advantages:
+4d FIELD spirits
+2d MANIPULATION spells
Character:
More common than you might think. Chicken is NOT a coward by any means; she just doesn't go looking for trouble. Chicken shamans hate to antagonize anyone, or cause inconvenience in any way. They always seek the path of least resistance, unless that would result in someone else being fucked over. They are usually scrupulously honest and sincere.
Disadvantages:
Chicken shamans do not make great shadowrunners because they are always concerned about those who might be affected by their ac-tions. They are usually fairly socially awkward and introverted (+1 tgt penalty in social situation test).
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DRAGONFLY
Environment:
SWAMP
Advantages:
+2d WIND and SWAMP spirits
+2d ILLUSION spells
Character:
Dragonfly is a deceiver. Like all insect totems, they are bad news to both the shaman and to those around him. Dragonfly lies, cheats, steals, and just generally seeks to get ahead by defrauding every-one else. Though they are not hive-minded, they are rabidly into repro-duction, so the shaman will soon find himself an egg sack if he refuses to get victims for the baby Dragonflies to follow. About the only positive thing that can be said about Dragonfly is that he is very, very adaptable.
Disadvantages:
Well, aside from having few (if any) friends, and a raven-ous taste for implanting egg sacs into living human flesh....
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GULL
Environment:
ANYWHERE NEAR THE SEA
Advantages:
+2d WIND and SEA spirits
+2d HEALTH spells
Character:
Gull is a noble creature; he is honest, honorable, and chivalrous. He is usually very concerned about higher principles and in the carrying out of duty and honor-- both for himself, and in those around him. He will never deal with dishonorable, ignoble people for any length of time-- and only to further a lofty goal or important achievement.
Disadvantages:
His principles often make him appear stuck-up in the eyes of the typical street-dweller. And, for all his posturing, Gull rarely does anything to help those of a "lower station" improve themselves-- he's content to be at the top and leave them at the bottom. Gull shamans are often rationalizing all kinds of things, especially when it comes to dealing with "scum and riff-raff".
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3 dice is a lot...