Having Fun With Shadowrun: Creating a Character

This is going to be good...

Last Saturday, another customer at Haflings' Hideaway (my local FLGS) approached my friend David and I, asking if we'd like to join a bi-weekly Shadowrun 5th Edition game that he was starting up. Since both of us have been rather eager to play the game (especially David after he played it on Free RPG Day), we both gave an outstanding "Yes."

Because I'm usually the one sitting behind the screen, taking on the role of the GM, I very rarely get to be just a player. Because of that, I try to make the characters that I tend to play a little unique and different from the usual fair. I want to play something interesting and memorable those few times I get to step out from behind the GM screen. So, I've been brainstorming a new Runner for the past day or so.

Originally, I was going to create either an ork or troll street samurai who lived by a warrior's code and became a Runner to track down the individual who killed his mentor. However, after flipping through the Core Rulebook and reading some of the negative qualities that a character can purchase, an idea popped into my head. 

Instead of playing an ork or troll, I decided the character's metatype would be human and his name is Jax Walker. Wanting to have a reason for Jax being a Runner, I decided he was a career criminal who just spent the last five years in jail after a job when a failed job. Having been released, Jax was drawn back into the life because he couldn't find a normal job and he desperately needed the money. Why is he so desperate for cash, you ask? Well, it's pretty simple: he's a single father. 

While reading the Qualities section of the Character Creation chapter, I noticed that one of the negative qualities that a character can purchase is called "Dependents". As the name implies, the quality represents a NPC that is dependent on the Runner, the exact relationship between the NPC and the Runner being based on how many points you spend on the quality. If you spend 9 points, the NPC is a close family member. When I read that, the little idea light bulb appeared over my head and I ran with it. 

Before he went to prison, Jax Walker had a fling with a girl from his old neighborhood, which resulted with him becoming the father of a little girl named Skylar. The mother died during childbirth and Skylar was raised by Jax's parents until he was released five years later. Now free, Jax tried to stay on the straight and narrow path, wanting to be a good father and role model for his daughter. However, due to being a convict, that was much harder than he suspected. So, he's fallen back on the one thing he knows he can do. However, he's trying desperately keep his life as a Runner secret from his family, not wanting Skylar to know about this. 

I'm really excited to play this character. I've never played a character who's a parent and I think it's going to be interesting to play one within a game like Shadowrun. Also, I've tried seeding a few hooks that the GM can use as he likes. This is going to be really fun.