Shadowrun: Hong Kong — Extended Edition: starting characters and skills

Shadowrun: Hong Kong — Extended Edition: starting characters and skills For the PlayStation Extended Edition and the standalone PC game, including the Shadows of Hong Kong bonus campaign. This is the video game's Karma system, not the tabletop priority system. Hong Kong gives you a crew with useful specialties. Duncan is a tough fighter, Is0bel handles decking, Gobbet handles spirits and support, and Gaichu and Racter can cover dangerous close combat or drones when recruited. Your protagonist still needs a job in every fight, but does not need to perform every job. Build a primary attack line, enough Body to live through bad cover, and a carefully chosen utility line. Game skills: https://t.co/VmwR4rW5c9; character creation: https://t.co/E7ISVTUHDW. Creation rules that matter The six archetypes — Street Samurai, Mage, Shaman, Decker, Rigger and Physical Adept — are templates, not locked classes. Custom lets you buy the same skills. You spend Karma on ratings; the next rank costs its new rating, and a child skill cannot exceed its parent. For a Rifle specialist, raise Quickness, then Ranged Combat, then Rifle. Putting Karma into Rifle without its accuracy chain is impossible; scattering small investments across three attack trees is possible and usually weak. Skill hierarchy: https://t.co/E7ISVTUHDW. Race sets caps, not a permanent class. Human has three extra Karma during creation and 9-point caps across the basic attributes. Elf can reach Quickness 11 and Charisma 12, a natural shooter or face. Dwarf reaches Willpower 11, good for magic. Ork reaches Body 14 but Intelligence 8 and Charisma 8. Troll reaches Body 17 and Strength 15, but Quickness 8, Intelligence 6 and Charisma 6. A troll can certainly shoot, deck or talk; just notice where the cap will stop your late plan. Racial maxima: https://t.co/E7ISVTUHDW. Three Custom starts you can enter on the creation screen A Hong Kong Extended Edition character-creation walkthrough: https://t.co/GxWFFMSyfo explicitly reports 64 opening points for a human Custom character (its Korean text says “인간 64”); the six archetype templates allocate most points in advance and leave only a small residue, as another creation guide: https://t.co/Ms2Tv6AGgj describes. The example ledgers below count attribute purchases from a starting 1 (ranks 2 through target) and skill purchases from 0 (ranks 1 through target), each rank costing its new rating. The build is valid only if each child rating stays under its parent. Check the live PlayStation creation total before spending a leftover point; race bonuses change that total. - Rifle Samurai, 60/64: Body 4 (9), Quickness 5 (14), Ranged Combat 5 (15), Rifle 4 (10), Charisma 4 (9), Dodge 2 (3). Four points remain. This gives a dependable rifle line plus two Etiquette choices. After the early jobs, raise Rifle 5 for its next attack, then buy Quickness/Ranged Combat 6 together. If you want the Ares Alpha, reach its Ranged Combat 7 equipment gate before paying for it. - Mage, 48/64: Body 3 (5), Willpower 5 (14), Spellcasting 5 (15), Charisma 4 (9), Intelligence 2 (2), Biotech 2 (3). Intelligence 2 satisfies Biotech's parent requirement. Sixteen points remain for Body, conversation checks or a wider spell plan. After the opening runs, raise Body 4 if your caster is falling in combat, then take Willpower/Spellcasting 6 for another spellbook slot. Preserve Essence unless you have calculated a specific hybrid. - Decker, 55/64: Body 4 (9), Intelligence 5 (14), Decking 5 (15), ESP Control 3 (6), Quickness 3 (5), Ranged Combat 3 (6). Nine points remain. Install a Datajack and buy the deck and programs your rating supports. In the next few runs, raise Decking and ESP Control when a Matrix gate calls for it; raise Quickness and Ranged Combat together if you want your physical gun to become a serious second job. For a Rigger, start from the Decker ledger but replace Decking 5 and ESP Control 3 (21 points) with Drone Control 5 and Drone Combat 3 (also 21). Equip a control-capable drone instead of a deck. For a Shaman or Adept, use the role plans below and check each parent/child rating before leaving creation. These ledgers are spendable examples, not a claim that a template's preset ratings match them. Six starts and what to buy next Street Samurai Choose a weapon family on the creation screen. For a rifle Samurai, push Quickness → Ranged Combat → Rifle; put the next survivability points into Body. For a shotgun Samurai, use the same broad chain but specialize in Shotgun and plan movement through cover. For a pistol Samurai, the Pistol skill's extra attacks and free-reload threshold give it a distinct rhythm; do not judge it only by listed gun damage. Buy a gun you can actually equip and a Datajack only when you intend to use smartlink. Cyberware Affinity is worthwhile if you are buying locked implants or cyberweapons, but is a separate Karma bill. Quickness tree: https://t.co/AFNnvrt4Ms; Cyberware Affinity: https://t.co/o7v0KZrle1. Mage Take Willpower and Spellcasting together. Spellcasting 2, 4 and 6 open additional spellbook slots; 1 and 3 improve dragon-line visibility. A Mage with one accurate damage spell, one heal or defense option, and a good position is useful every round. Keep Essence high: the Hong Kong chrome catalog is tempting, but magic uses Essence rounded down. If you deliberately want a mixed Mage/cyber build, Cyberware Affinity 3 and 6 can add one Essence each, but calculate the full Karma cost before committing. Willpower and spell slots: https://t.co/hyIKx7QGnn; Essence and Affinity: https://t.co/qUwcfZZ5xr. Shaman Raise Charisma and Spirit Summoning. Summoning 1 reveals spirit points, 3 opens a Totem, and 2/4/6 add spellbook slots. Spirit Control improves the chance to keep your summoned spirit. Conjuring is the separate Shaman spell line: rank 2 Air Barrier, 4 Lightning Barrier, 6 Fire Barrier, 8 Hellstorm Barrier. A Shaman who spends everything on spirit strength but nothing on control can lose a powerful turn to a spirit breaking away. Your Charisma also unlocks an Etiquette at every even rank from 2 onward. Charisma tree: https://t.co/gyjJ0eAthY. Decker Raise Intelligence → Decking and equip a Datajack and cyberdeck. Decking governs access and hit chance in the Matrix; ESP Control makes your helper programs stronger. Is0bel can handle many plot-critical hacks, so a protagonist Decker is a choice for Matrix play and additional flexibility, not a mandatory tax. Hong Kong's revised Matrix asks you to navigate and fight there; enough Decking to meet a terminal check matters more than a small gun upgrade if you chose this role. Add Body and a cheap combat contribution after the core access line. Intelligence tree: https://t.co/lD6UaGU2XY; Extended Edition features: https://t.co/LvtctrqEvj. Rigger Raise Intelligence → Drone Control → Drone Combat. Drone Control opens better drones and extra control capacity; Drone Combat improves their attacks and actions. A second drone can be powerful, but it also consumes resources and your runner's action economy. Buy one useful drone and enough skill to control it before paying for a second expensive chassis. Racter offers another way to see the system without making your own protagonist a Rigger. Your own Body still matters when drones draw enemy attention away from the wrong square. Intelligence tree: https://t.co/lD6UaGU2XY. Physical Adept Build Strength → Close Combat → Unarmed or Melee for contact attacks and Willpower → Qi Casting for the Adept abilities you actually want. Qi Casting 1 grants Killing Hands; 4 unlocks Quick Strike and Stride; 5 opens Counterstrike and the Qi Focus two-hit sword attack; 7 opens Lightning Strike and a three-hit sword attack. Those sword attacks make a blade-focused Adept a real alternative to fists. A pure Adept should avoid heavy Essence loss; if you want cyberweapons, plan Cyberware Affinity and the required Close Combat investment as a deliberate hybrid. Melee fighters need Body and movement to survive the walk into range. Willpower/Qi unlocks: https://t.co/hyIKx7QGnn; Affinity unlocks: https://t.co/o7v0KZrle1. Every attribute and its skill family - Body: hit points and physical survival. Hong Kong adds Cyberware Affinity under Body. Affinity 1 opens several basic restricted implants; 2 opens improved pieces; 3 adds one Essence and access to stronger plating; 4 opens Monofilament Whip; 5 opens Wired Reflexes; 6 adds a second Essence and changes how racial maxima interact with cyberware. Affinity also improves cyberweapon performance. It does not exist in Returns or Dragonfall. Affinity ranks: https://t.co/o7v0KZrle1. - Quickness: ranged accuracy and avoidance. Ranged Combat is the base gun skill and opens another weapon slot and Overwatch; Pistol, SMG, Shotgun and Rifle are the gun specialties. Dodge helps defend. A weapon may impose its own Ranged Combat minimum, so read the shop card before paying. Quickness skills: https://t.co/AFNnvrt4Ms. - Strength: close attacks, thrown attacks and heavy-weapon requirements. Close Combat is the parent for Melee Weapons and Unarmed; Throwing Weapons serves grenades and blades, with grenade use falling to one AP at rank 5. Some big guns demand Strength even though they use Rifle accuracy. Strength skills: https://t.co/6Vf94TyemZ. - Intelligence: Matrix and drone work. Decking and ESP Control are separate from Drone Control and Drone Combat. Biotech improves healing and supports some checks. Do not buy both Decker and Rigger chains at high rank unless you knowingly want a long-run hybrid; each has equipment costs too. Intelligence skills: https://t.co/lD6UaGU2XY. - Willpower: magical offense and defense. Spellcasting is Mage magic; Qi Casting is Adept power. They share a parent attribute but ask for different gear and battlefield positions. Willpower skills: https://t.co/hyIKx7QGnn. - Charisma: dialogue and spirit magic. Every even Charisma rank grants an Etiquette choice. Spirit Summoning, Spirit Control and Conjuring are distinct: summon a spirit, keep it loyal, or cast Shaman spells. An Etiquette can open a conversation, but it is not an automatic success button for every speech check. Charisma skills: https://t.co/gyjJ0eAthY. Best starting plans for different players First run: a human or elf rifle Samurai is forgiving. Build accuracy first, Body second; let the crew show you Matrix and spirit systems. If you prefer magic, a Mage with a clean Willpower/Spellcasting line and enough Body is also manageable. Dialogue-heavy run: an elf Shaman uses Charisma for both spirits and Etiquettes. Choose the Etiquettes you actually want from the campaign's social settings rather than buying Charisma solely for a label. Keep Spirit Control near the strength of spirits you summon. System-heavy run: a human Decker or Rigger has the opening Karma to establish the Intelligence chain and still buy Body. The equipment price is part of the build. A Decker without a usable deck, or a Rigger without a drone, is just a fragile runner with expensive stats. Cyberware experiment: Samurai or a deliberate cyber-Adept hybrid. Decide your target Affinity rank before buying implants. Rank 3 and rank 6 expand Essence, but they are not free; if you only need a Datajack, the whole Affinity tree is overkill. When the bonus campaign begins Shadows of Hong Kong continues from your base-campaign character. Its quests and trophies reward different access routes, companions and combat tools. Do not remake the character as though the bonus campaign were a separate level-one start. Enter it with a main attack line that works, a surviving party, and enough saved Karma or nuyen to adjust to the new encounters. Extended Edition description: https://t.co/LvtctrqEvj; bonus-campaign achievement routes: https://t.co/Zp9TFchECk. Sources: GameBanshee Hong Kong attribute index: https://t.co/VmwR4rW5c9, character creation and racial caps: https://t.co/E7ISVTUHDW, Cyberware Affinity: https://t.co/o7v0KZrle1, publisher edition overview: https://t.co/LvtctrqEvj.