New Characters

Making a Character
A character is your avatar in the game. It's a person with a set of skills and abilities that qualify them to be a Shadowrunner (a criminal for-hire).

Players looking to jump right into play can pick one of the premade builds found on the Street Samurai, Decker, Mage, Rigger, or Face pages. Otherwise, more detailed instructions can be found below.

Step One: Skills
What are you good at? Pick two things you're good at (+2), and two things you're alright at (+1).

Step Two: Loadout
What gear do you carry? Pick three pieces of gear from the Gear Table. Be sure to count the amount of "Load" from all pieces of equipment. Borrowing from the excellent Blades in the Dark RPG: Also keep in mind the following:
 * 1-3 Light. You’re faster, less conspicuous; you blend in with civilians.
 * 4-5 Normal. You look ready for trouble.
 * 6+ Heavy. You look like an operative on a mission.
 * Deckers will need to choose a basic deck to use their skills.
 * Choosing from the Mage Table prevents a character from using the Cyberware Table, and vice versa.

Step Three: Health
Physical and Mental health are measured by stress boxes. The number of boxes a character has depends on their Physique and Presence Skills. Characters that use the Decking skill also need to keep track of their Security stress boxes. Physical Boxes = 2 + Physique

Mental Boxes = 2 + Presence

Security Boxes = 2 + Decking

Final Step: Identity
Who are you?
 * Name: Your character's name.
 * Alias: The name your character uses as a Shadowrunner.
 * Metatype: Human / Elf / Dwarf / Ork / Troll
 * Background: Academic / Corporate / Military / Shadowrunner / Socialite / Street
 * High Concept: A short phrase that sums up your character's identity.
 * Trouble: A reoccurring problem in your character's life.

Putting It All Together
The end result should be a character sheet where all of your character's information can be found in one place. Below is an example.