I tend to catch a lot of flack from gamemasters and fellow players when the rare chance arises for me to create a and actual playing character. "Damnit, Branson (my real name)", they say "I could have written up ten PCs in the amount of time it takes you to decide what rating your Street Etiquette skill is going to be.". Well, gee, sorry, I guess. Perhaps I do take the process of character creation a bit too seriously, but it also appears that there are a lot of players out there who don't take character creation seriously enough. I run in to a lot of "My guy sucks" comments, not necessarily meaning that their skills aren't up to par, but usually referring to the fact that the character they spent a whopping ten minutes drawing up isn't fun to play. Then there are also a lot of the "forever a sammy" types who say they can't have fun playing anything else, probably because they never put any effort into trying to create something unique.

In any case, the following is a character I created followed by details describing the logic behind just about every one of his attributes, pieces of equipment, etc. My goal is to show how, through the investment of a little bit of time and thought, you can come up with a fleshed out and interesting character.

The character:
 

Attic - Elf Physical Adept

Ok, now for the comments:

Streetname

Most street names, in some way, reflect the attitude of the individual it titles. Attic's name, however, ties in with his history more than his disposition. Attic has already tried his hand at running, beginning three years ago at the age of 18, and, for the most part did fairly well. Unfortunately he also discovered the existence of drugs during this period of time and, quite rapidly, became an addict of a variety of substances. On the street he came to be known as The Addict or, more simply, Addict. Attic later checked himself into a rehabilitation clinic and, somewhere along the line, Addict became Attic. He loves to make up elaborate, melodramatic stories about the history of his name. ("I am known as Attic because my mind is where the bats of my consciousness dwell.")

Attributes

None of Attic's attributes really stand out. Many were probably higher before his addictions wore them away. Attic was very lucky to emerge from his drug laden world with his magic attribute in tact. In fact, it wasn't until he entered rehab and met up with his room mate, Devon, that he even realized he was magically active. Devon, an adept himself who had all but destroyed his magical ability with drugs, was Attic's first "instructor", training him how to use, recognize, and respect his power.

Skills

Addict is very good with bladed weapons, so good that, under normal circumstances, the gamemaster would probably be a little agitated with his skill level. But there are several catches to the use of his adept powers. Before entering rehab and discovering his magic Addict was still pretty good with swords and knives and the like. He liked using two weapons simultaneously, training with them to the point that he would actually mess up if he was only using one. What Attic didn't know is that, while training, he was not only harnessing his adept powers but also placing a Geas on himself. Attic would always go through a series of motions with his weapons before entering combat, a series of motions which ended up being integral to his ability to use the weapons properly. Now, before attacking, he spends an action or two putting his swords or knives through this series of motions, climaxing when he rakes the blades across each other causing them to spark with energy. He cannot attack or defend while doing this and the necessary actions prevent him from sneaking up on people (which he doesn't like doing anyway) because the actions are fairly obvious. He can also go through the motions with other kinds of weapons, so long as they are metallic which is the reason for the two stainless steel pipes. In addition he must have two weapons in order to properly execute the maneuvers. Although he can, technically, use his adept powers to fight with one weapon if he loses the other after executing the maneuver he's somewhat psychologically dependent on the two weapon system and would probably go after the lost weapon before entering combat again. So the bottom line is while, technically, the has 10 dice at his disposal for bladed weapon armed combat he will almost never use that many in a single attack. Typically he would use five dice on whoever he was attacking with his right weapon, and five for the guy on the left. Remember, I didn't have to put these limitations on my character. I did so because I thought it would make him more interesting to play.

As a side note, when creating this skill set up I used the assumption that the GM would be using the "split dice" system of dual weapon combat. Although, I believe, the rules state that a second weapon in combat just adds a +2 modifier, I have always ditched this, replacing it with the "split dice" system. In case you don't use this system, it simply means that, when using two weapons, no matter what kind they are, you divide up your skill dice and make individual attacks. This means if this character had both swords out and was fighting two guards, one of which was fairly good and one of which sucks, he would allocate more dice to attacking the good guard and use just enough on the suckie one to keep him off his back. In firearms you may want to use one gun to lay half hearted cover fire, using only one or two dice, while using the other to actually try and hit someone. If the gamemaster didn't use this system I probably would choose a different character to use in his or her campaign. Attic would be no fun at all.

Attic's pathetic unarmed combat skill reflects his dependance on having a weapon in his hand, but the fact that he at least has started the skill shows that he's at least considering a remedy for the problem. I'd probably simply default to his Quickness until the skill gets better. His firearms skill is a bit better and he's making a concerted effort to improve it with practice and magic. As you can see from the weapons list Attic has carried his symmetry concept into the realm of firearms. If he obtains an adept power in this area it would probably, in some way, have the same type of geas as his armed combat.

Attic's stealth and athletics skills could both use some work but he'll probably work on improving his athletics more than anything. In order to engage in armed combat you have to get close. Unfortunately there always seems to be something in your way preventing you from doing this. Athletics helps you get close and is therefore essential to Attic's tactics.

Finally, street etiquette and negotiations, two skills which seem rather high for a beginning character who only had a few points to blow in the first place. Again, this is a result of his history. A druggie spends a lot of time getting to know people, extracting info out of them, manipulating them for cheaper prices, etc. Fortunately these same skills can help you find someone on the street, bribe people, and engage in other interesting activities. Attic is a very likable and sociable person, he is not a burn out, although he would probably be one my now if he hadn't gone into rehab.

Adept Powers

I've pretty much covered his armed combat powers, which leaves the reaction, armor, and freefall powers. Attic was fairly quick, even when stoned or blasted. When he finally "came down" he realized that he was even faster. Attic finally traced this quickness to the fact that, when he acted spontaneously, the resulting action usually was the appropriate one to execute. He didn't have to think about why he should move in a particular direction, he just did it. Sometimes, when in combat, Attic will end up fighting his way across a room and then, when everything quiets down, wonder how he got there. The freefall power operates on the same principle. Attic can launch himself over a desk or rock or whatever and not have to think about hitting the ground right on the other side. While flying through the air he may be able to pull out his swords because he doesn't have to concentrate on landing in a way that doesn't break his wrist or smash his gun into his hip. The mystic armor power manifested simply as a result of Attic's strong desire to not get cut up. Perhaps somewhere along the line his magical subconscious realized that, since Attic is in physical combat a lot, it might be wise to find a way to defend the body against retaliation.

Allergies

One of the only remaining signs that Attic ever used drugs was his allergy to sunlight which manifested as a result. Sunlight practically blinds him.

Lifestyle

When, or if, Attic first enters a game it will be only a few days after he left rehab. He returned to his small, low class apartment, and has since been waiting around for something to happen.

Weapons

All of Attic's weapons are remnants from his early days of shadowrunning. One of his worst fears is being caught in a combat situation without two of some kind of weapon, two melee weapons most of all. He keeps two of the four knives taped to his ankles, and the other two in his pant pockets. The swords are kept in sheaths criss crossing his back in the traditional fashion. He carries the pair stainless steel pipes, the length of a sword and only a few centimeters in diameter, just in case he ever needs to knock somebody out, as opposed to chopping them into little pieces. The sheathes that hold his swords also have a side "pocket" the pipes can slide into.

Attic isn't especially fond of guns, not because he doesn't like the concept of the firearm, but simply because he isn't too good with them. All he's really good at is laying cover fire and causing general confusion, not really hitting much, but making a lot of little holes in things. He'll typically wear the MPs on his hip and keep the pistols in his inside jacket pockets.

The grenades he found in an old warehouse a few years back where he had gone to get high. He's never used one and it's likely the four he possesses won't even work.

Armor

Attic prays to a random god every night that he won't get shot. He's found that most armor which protects well against bullets is rather bulky and cramps his style and speed. As you can see most of his armor is geared toward impact protection, which he needs more than anything else.

Stuff

Attic's dress still gives off the impression of druggieness, which he's found has been beneficial in street situations. Although he looks rather runnerish when he has his swords and pipes hanging off his back he still doesn't portray the image one might attach to the profession. In situations where his shabby appearance might be adverse he can usually reassure everyone of his professionalism by utilizing his street knowledge and good old fashion charisma.

I'm sure at least one person is wondering what he's doing with a Global Positioner and a pocket computer. First, I have to confess something. Technically, this character only started with the 500ny granted to him by the priority chart. In violation of the rules I rolled for his starting money, which came out to 12,000ny, and then spent it during character creation. But I did this for a few good reasons. First of all, 500ny doesn't buy you anything, so the 12 grand would have been spent immediately upon starting the game anyway. Second, this character would never have that much money just laying around. He may have gone through rehab but having that much cash to blow on anything you want (like, perhaps, drugs) is a bad thing. I did it for a noble roleplaying reason and I don't believe it drastically messed anything up. When Attic returned home his first priority was to get rid of the little bit of money he had. The positioner and the computer simply represent two frivolous purchases he made for this reason.

The repelling kit and the transceiver were more thought out. The repelling kit ties in with his Athletics and his need to get close and the transceiver was still around from his old shadowrunning days. You can't run if you don't know what's going on.

Attic purchased the gems and minerals as another way of getting rid of some of his cash. But it also assured him that, if he absolutely needed money, he could sell the goods for real money. This extra step is intended as a deterrent to going right out and buying drugs. Not many dealers take lumps of gold as payment.

While in rehab Attic passed time by attempting to play a small flute given to him by Devon. He never was that good at it but still enjoys whistling out his own little tunes from time to time. If he ever develops a centering skill, this flute will probably play a part in it. Finally, there's the cat, a small, grey, skinny little thing Attic found rooting through garbage in an alley near his apartment as he walked home after leaving rehab. The cat took a liking to him and now Attic lets it stay in his apartment, leaving the window open a bit so it can go about it's catly business. He has named it Allie.

Starting Money

I'm surprised he has that much on him.

So, as you can hopefully see, virtually every aspect of this character has something to do with who this character is. I could have used the same line up of priorities to create a more badass PC with panther cannons, and bazookas, killer reflexes, and everything else but I really wouldn't have been able to come up with a decent reason for why.

There's probably at least one player or, perhaps, gamemaster who's saying "My god. This wimpy little piece of crap character wouldn't last two seconds in a campaign!". Well, sheesh, he is just starting out. Too many players hold the notion that they have to possess a powerhouse of a PC when the game begins. I don't know how this got started but we really have to do something about it. Why is everybody so eager to hit the big leagues right off the bat? Or are gamemasters making beginning campaigns too tough? I admit, my character wouldn't last two seconds against Fuchi, or even Lone Star, or maybe even the gang down the street. He just started, for christ sakes. He hasn't run in a long time and would appreciate a few kitty cat runs to get him back into the game. When I start up, as a gamemaster, a game with new PCs I devote almost the entire first gaming session to general wandering around, getting to meet people type activities. Sure I send them on runs, but these involve little more than snagging a ganger's bike or the infiltration of a teenie tiny minicorp facility.

So take some risks with that priority chart. Start out with the wired 1. Put some of those points into natural attributes and save the cyberware for later. Give your PC a bunch of flaws, and slowly correct them as he climbs the ladder of power. When you start out with a killer character you quickly find that there's hardly anywhere to go with him. You end up trying to make a perfect character even better. It's much more fun to take a mediocre, or even bad PC and turn him into a contender. Somebody who deserves the Fuchi run because he WORKED for it and didn't just play with the numbers.