Gumshoe

Gumshoe

Former SK Awakened Scientist
Detective/Utility Sorcerer
Metatype	Ork (Ogre)
Street Cred	0
Notoriety	0
Public Awareness	0
Titles and Awards	0
D.O.B.	December 21, 2024
Drive Link	G-Drive
Approved?	No
Priority	Metatype - B Attributes - C Magic/Resonance - B Skills - C Resources - E
# Initiations	1
CDP	2

Character Information

Summary

Gumshoe is an aging man who Goblinized into an ogre in his teens, facing much prejudice the Sixth World can offer, but also experiencing a lot of it, if without ever being in the center. The rise of megacorps, Awakening - himself, in fact, as a sorcerer - great and terrifying dragons. He even used to work for one. Now, he fled his hometown of Denver and washed up in Seattle, applying his skills a little differently than what he's accustomed to - in the shadows.

Goals

• Survive for as long as he still has left.
• Learn to thrive.
• Make friends he could trust and play honorary grandpa to.
• Not end up a pawn in dragon politics.
• Master his magic with numerous initiations (Masking, Extended Masking, Flexible Signature, Centering, Shielding, Psychometry, Greater Ritual), proving orks aren't dumb brutes that way.
• Learn useful new spells:
  • Combat: Stunbolt, Blast, Clout, Powerball, Powerbolt, Napalm, Firewater.
  • Detection: Detect Individual, Spatial Sense, Recorded Room, Catalog, Detect Life, Analyze Truth, Eyes of the Pack, Animal Sense, Diagnose, Enhance Aim, Hawkeye, Translate.
  • Health: Resist Pain, Detox, Stabilize, Antidote, Cure Disease, Alleviate Addiction, Alleviate Allergy, Healthy Glow, Prophylaxis, Oxygenate.
  • Illusion: Foreboding, Dream, Sound Barrier, Hot Potato.
  • Manipulation: Shapechange, Fashion, Makeover, Fix, Armor, Astral Armor, Calm Pack, Calm Animal, Control Pack, Control Animal, Magic Fingers, Deflection, Napalm Wall, Ice Sheet, Clean Air, Clean Water, Electricity Aura, Snakeblood, Conceal Scent, Sterilize, Preserve, Gecko Crawl, Catfall, Increase Gear Limits.
  • Rituals: Circle of Healing, Remote Sensing, Curse, Renascence, Prodigal Spell, Ward, Watcher.
• Keep pimping out the aquarium of his pet goldfish, Miss Goldie and Mr. Bubbles, and successfully breed them.

Personality

Friendly, polite, if far from charismatic - he can't be called pretty. Ogres rarely can be. Tidy, usually in rather unflattering, if clean, clothes straight from a noir trid. Conscious of ork strength even at his age. Very curious about other cultures and wanting to be respectful. An introvert, stubborn and organized as you would expect from a former SK employee. Dislikes violence and prefers to avoid it. Likes animals, especially aquarium fish, and children.

• Favorite animals: goldfish, guppy, fighting betta fish.
• Favorite color: brown.
• Favorite food: spicy stew on potato pancakes, with sauerkraut as a salad, and a roast apple with jam for dessert.
• Favorite drink: black tea.
• Best friend: Biggie Beefcake.

Appearance

A visibly elderly ogre, chubby and on the slower, less coordinated side. Amazingly, he still tries to keep in touch by biking (which, incidentally, is the mode of transport he can afford). With a broad jaw and bulbous nose, the left tusk is slightly shorter than the right one. Always in his horn-rimmed glasses and, due to his lifestyle, a pistol (which he still doesn't know how to use well, unless helped by Analyze Device).

Clothing

Tidy, usually in rather unflattering, if clean, clothes straight from a noir trid. He's too used to wearing a suit, favoring browns, grays and blacks. Always a trenchcoat, a striped tie and a bowler hat. Earbuds to help him hear, glasses - see. Shoes with thick soft soles.

Matrix Persona

Different personas for different occasions. Usually, however, a goldfish in a bowler hat, with a medkit bag.

Background

Gumshoe was born as Tom Hagen to a family of German expats in Denver. They worked for the local branch of the then-BMW, still run by Michel Beloit back then. Nothing special, a normal middle class life with the ethos of hardworkingness and the value of planning, order helping any endeavor. Tom was studious, quick to excel at Biology and particularly interested in magic, which returned to the world just over a decade after his birth. The family expected him to pursue further education and possibly a corporate career as what steadily turned into today's Saeder-Krupp reaped the benefits of the massive campaign of diversification Beloit put forth. The different divisions studied magic, among their other pursuits, and Tom Awakening as a sorcerer in 2037 and quickly winning a scholarship for young Awakened sponsored by the corp seemed to fit those happy plans all the better.

Sadly, 2037 was a year of turmoil. The great dragon Lofwyr, after probably having Beloit murdered in 2032, stealthily moved the headquarters of the corporation, not baptized Saeder-Krupp, to Essen in May, then announced his major share in August, promptly showing his draconic form and crushing any resistance in the bud. Right on his 13th birthday, Tom Goblinized - and SK rather easily convinced the family they needed their support. After all, it was the only safe haven in a world filled by Humanis Policlub, Alamos 20K and other hate groups terrified of and terrifying metahumans.

Years went by. With the limited corporate SINs, moved from the comfortable apartment in the Denver downtown to a newly-built arcology, slick and cold, confined to it for studying, working, shopping, being treated in the local hospitals when time and again, they learned that metaracist abuse was still a problem among fellow wageslaves with children who were bullies, the Hagens lived in a golden cage. Perhaps just gilded, because the corporation under Lofwyr's clawed thumb ran like hamsters on heroin. There were no people, only cogs in a restless, merciless, but well-oiled with their toil and sweat, megacorporate machine. Tom, due to his talents and vulnerability stemming from being tusked, was a valuable commodity, something to train relentlessly, all the better to exploit. He had to work twice as hard with the dominant bias of the dumb trog stereotype. He had precious little time to himself the members of his family, let alone merely thinking of starting his own. Mr. and Mrs. Hagen soon succumbed to the stress of work and worries for their beloved only son.

Tom found himself utterly alone.

Understandably, he threw himself into work. Finding himself in the tender cares of the Mountain mentor spirit furthered his magical talents and proclivity toward stubborn, meticulous planning. With his propensity toward scientific subjects, he considered Medicine or Veterinary Medicine as his curriculum, but the higher-ups in the corporation decided nobody would trust a scary-looking trog to have a good bedside manner. They chose for him - he was to study the latter and soon, with non-negligible accolades earned, including a PhD in Awakened Zoology, found himself put not to treating animals he hoped for, but rather purely theoretical study of the mundane and paranormal with a focus on using assorted excretions and body parts in SK's pharma products. He would essentially work R&D with the Legalese thrown in.

Tom languished. Locked in the laboratories nearly day and night for decades, hearing news of life passing him by, his only source of succor was Mountain and the assorted projects dealing with aquatic fauna, primarily fish. Multiple times, he asked permission to tutor students, train interns, go out in the field and actually study animals. Every time, he was denied and told to stick to the lab.

It wasn't a blacksite, however. The compound had windows - all the better to show you what others were getting up to. In 2061, Ghostwalker besieged Denver. Next year, he outright announced being in charge and banned summoning, merciless to those who broke the law. It didn't affect Tom, because he couldn't conjure, but the sudden ban caused ripples of shock everywhere. The great dragon focused his destructive rage on the Aztlan district of the city, on the border of which the compound was located. It survived, but with the civil war-like unrest Ghostwalker caused, the area quickly deteriorated into borderline slums on the Aztlan side.

Over the years from 2061 onward, Tom bore silent witness to many personal dramas. Refugees forced out of their homes. Temples reduced to rubble. Street violence. Locked away, he was safe, had food, relative comfort and next to no connection with that world, confined to waving through a window if you will.

But it was happening around him. That's how, on October the 13th, 2084, he saw a sight which constituted the straw that broke the camel's back. Through the windows to the other district, he witnessed a dramatic showdown. An elderly Native ork woman, accompanied by grandchildren perhaps, was trying to flee the gang of the week chasing them. In what must have been an act of desperation when they reached the wall and the guards wouldn't let them in, she conjured a spirit looking like a thunderbird, dark wings flapping around the terrified group, not letting the gangers approach.

No deterrent for Ghostwalker, however. Somehow he noticed, flew low over the ground and devoured the conjurer together with the little ones without slowing down.

This was too much. Tom had enough of it all. Of metaracists. Of SK. Of corps in general. Of dragons in particular. Why could not they just get along in a literally magical world? Slowly, carefully, but with Mountain-pleasing determination, the elderly man began preparing to abandon his life, however unimpressive it was, and leave it all behind.

Seattle is the mother of all shadowruns. Through smugglers and middlemen bleeding him dry of all the money mages in gilded cages receive, he made contact with a fixer there, or at least someone who introduced himself as such. Together, they set up a little rental on the edge of the lava flats of Carbonado, Puyallup, a way to reach it and an explosive accident in the lab which claimed the life of Dr. Hagen, but no fish were harmed in.

Now, Tom is far from the only life he ever knew. He started working as a detective of sorts, finding uses for healing methods as well. He's got his first two goldfish and a fancy aquarium - the only fancy aspect of the little flat in the ashen southern barrens. The only direction left him is forward, with his new and only friend here (see a pattern?), his hamster and the magic in him. Into the shadows.

Positive

• Aspected Magician (Sorcerer). Gumshoe Awakened as a teenager, but he's able to use only one magical group (besides groupless skills like Assensing). He's able to cast, counter and dispel spells. He also hopes to put theory behind Ritual Spellcasting into practice the moment he can get his hands on some ritual formulae.

• Mentor Spirit (Mountain). Enduring and determined, if also stubborn and inflexible, this mentor spirit favors survivors, but commonly refuses to step off a chosen path or proceed without a plan. The synergy with Gumshoe's personality and upbringing is obvious. CHA + WIL (3) to go without a plan or change one, +2 to Survival, Counterspelling and anchored rituals.

• Dedicated Spellslinger. He makes the most out of his limited talent. Every rank of Spellcasting grants a spell of his choice he learns from Mountain. It's also easier to learn new spells - they cost 4 karma each.

• Quick Healer. He's got a true gift for healing people. Any tests of healing - on/on/for/by him, including magical healing - are at +2.

• Ogre Stomach. As any ogre, Gumshoe can enjoy a much more robust digestive system. His lifestyle costs are reduced by 20% and tests to resist ingested toxins are made at +2.

• Lowlight Vision. It's an ork thing. Even at his age, he can see perfectly well in nighttime conditions like starlight.

Negative

• Corporate Pariah II and Records on File (Saeder-Krupp - Denver division). He never had friends in Denver, growing to despise the corporation and doing little to hide the fact. He's all but dead to Denver, out in the cold, with what he had gone for the sole purpose of getting out. -3 to interacting with SK employees, including Johnsons from the corporation if he finds out about their allegiances. The division still has rather recent files on him, however, which means an easier time tracking him in C-zones and better if someone in Denver cares to.

• Aged II. Gumshoe is now sixty. His body isn't as it used to be. He's average in terms of agility and strength, slightly slower than average when it comes to reaction times, if still sturdy enough. He tries to stay in shape best he can by biking every day! It doesn't get him very far, but seeing a problem is half of solving it. At GM discretion, he might face bonuses or penalties to certain social interactions, depending on the attitude of people to "an old geezer in the shadows". But hey, it's not all so bad! He's been around the block for long and knows much, as proven by his knowledge skills. And you will be hard-pressed to find a better honorary gramps.

In Character-Information

Matrix Search Table

Threshold	Result
1	Hans Gruber (his fake identity) is a wagemage for SK. Some kind of spellcaster. If looking Dr. Hagen up, a number of theoretical articles dealing with magic and its impact on fauna, especially on fish, published in SK-endorsed scholarly journals.
3	Gruber is a rather skilled apotropaist - a mage who counters hostile magic, dispels curses etc. He's a new face in the Seattle division of the corporation. If looking Dr. Hagen up, some of his personal history like being a promising kid and winner of Awakened Biology scholarships who Goblinized. The fact it didn't diminish his mental abilities, a "Yes, We Can!" role model for brainy young orks and trolls.
6	Gruber is a healer and illusionist, a follower of Mountain, very stubborn. Oddly, he appears to have a soft spot for fellow metahumans of Puyallup - the southern barrens of Seattle - and frequently found to be sleuthing for the mostly tusked Carbonado community. If looking Dr. Hagen up, the fact he died in 2084 in a huge explosion in the laboratory he worked at, the damage making it impossible to locate the body.

Shadow Community Table

Threshold	Result
1	This old trog geezer is actually one of the numerous new kids on the block. A finger-waggler of some sort. Let's see how long he lasts - will guns or dementia be first?
3	He's a sorcerer, can lift you to a store upstairs to burgle it, cover an escape and heal if you do get shot in the process. Fairly nifty. For his age, rather stealthy too. Very friendly with Biggie Beefcake, though he lives in Puya, not Everett.
5	Hermetic, pure, assumed dead by Saeder-Krupp after an explosion he definitely faked to get out of Denver. Former corpo, if very vocally against SK. Follows Mountain, hates violence. And dragons - but who doesn't?

Assensing Results

Hits	Information Gained
1	Awakened, healthy (short of fluctuations related to the scene), if aged. The general mood fluctuates depending on the run.
2	He's a sorcerer. If you've assensed him before, you'll probably recognize him.
3	Whether or not his remaining essence and magic on Dumas's Scale (the in-character name for MAG value after Prof. Étienne Dumas) are lower or greater than yours. The general diagnosis, if relevant, same for astral signatures (for example if he sustains a spell and - gasp - forgot to scrub the signature before it fades away naturally).
4	Alphaware bioware: on his skin (silky skin, cosmetic alterations), in his meat eyes (perfect eyes), in the stomach (cleaner leech, lactose tolerance, dietware). Exact ESS (6) and MAG (7).
5+	Everything plus an accurate diagnosis. Not a technomancer!

SINs

• Hans Gruber (Saeder-Krupp, R4). Licenses: Firearms and AAA Corporate Medical Mage.

Affiliations

Contacts

Contact	Connection	Loyalty	Archetype	Profession	Aspects	Chips
Biggie Beefcake	1	5	Fixer(A,N,K,G)	Ex-Runner-Turned-Uber & Wannabe Fixer	Iterative Collaboration, Berserk Button, Swoonworthy Sammie, Shockingly Fine Fixer, Ever a Hand on the Pulse of Everett, My Hamster and I	Even

In Play

Knowledge Skills & Matrix

Gumshoe should be treasuring his CDP earned by immediately investing in new ranks and knowledge skills. This is highly important for any PC and he's got high LOG and INT. He speaks German very well (for languages, ranks limit the number of ranks you can use, translating into most likely fewer dice, which shouldn't be a problem for long) and can help with deciphering SK documents written by people who rely on not that many people in Seattle speaking the language. His knowledge of magic can be highly useful, because he can help analyze plans from this angle with it, something he loves to do. He's a Saeder-Krupp insider. Law Enforcement Procedures and Biology should also aid the team, especially if getting lucky with the dice. Gumshoe's mental limit is eight, meaning eight hits at most kept unless using edge actions to blow the limit. The sheet lists the relevant pools (including the +2 when specs apply).

In addition, he currently lacks Computer ranks, but Matrix Search can be defaulted (INT -1). This may still be worthwhile for threshold 1 searches (his commlinks have Data Processing of 1 anyway). Don't be afraid to ask the hacker if you can still try to help them. You never know if you don't get lucky.

Magical Skills

Gumshoe's a rather effective sorcerer. Sure, he cannot summon "pocket sams", but he's been around the block and knows much about how magic can heal, hide and protect. By necessity, he excels in avoiding combat - or anyone noticing there's even been a run. His current combat ability is extremely low (although he does have the unique ability of chipping away at very dodgy or highly armored targets), but give him time to turn into a Swiss Army knife. He's a force multiplier and has to support the team, the team supporting him in turn.

Magic may sound intimidating to a newcomer to Shadowrun. This is why Gumshoe is a sorcerer. The way he's built is on purpose - you only have to worry about Assensing and the Sorcery group's skills: Spellcasting, Counterspelling and - after a few runs perhaps - Ritual Spellcasting. Forget about scaling statblocks of five different spirits dependent on tradition. Projection? Too much at once. Alchemy? Not today.

Instead, we focus on what we instinctively associate with mages: spells, casting and countering them. There are two limits which matter here: the astral limit and force. The former is actually your social or mental limit, whichever is higher. For Gumshoe, the mental limit of eight is and thus the astral limit is eight. It's used for two of our magical skills - Assensing and Counterspelling.

Force is the limit you choose rather than derive from stats. It limits the hits you can keep when casting a spell, for instance. The maximum force you can choose is MAG x2 (12 for Gumshoe), but watch out. His skills which use force are Spellcasting and Ritual Spellcasting.

The other value you must keep in mind is drain - potential damage you incur if you exert yourself. It's dependent on the spell (each has an individual drain code based on the force you choose) and the relation between your MAG (6 for Gumshoe) and the force chosen. Easily enough, if it's over your MAG, any drain you fail to resist is physical. Below or equal is stun. You always have to roll your resistance against a hypothetical 2S (or 2P if F > MAG), even if the drain code would be less - a spell whose code is F-1, cast at F1, risks 2S, not no drain. The resistance test changes depending on the tradition:

• • • "The hermetic mage relies on logic, practice, and execution of a planned formula rather than intuition and improvisation to effectively cast spells. They have learned to control magic and believe that the universe (both the magical parts and the mundane) follows patterns of energy that can be manipulated through complex symbols, formulae, and arcane knowledge of its components. This tradition was widely practiced (if not effective) even before the Awakening, and this form appealed early on to corporations and governments due to its intellectual, formalized nature. Mages are scholars and often have libraries of magical information from which they design spells. Any mage worth his reagents has at least a digital copy of one of the founding texts on hermeticism (rich mages have a fancy hard copy written and bound by hand in a very fancy ceremony). Hermetic trappings also include deluxe, well-crafted equipment in archaic laboratories where mages can create preparations and carry out their research. Hermetic reagents include minerals, ores, and other elements - a knowledge of geology, parageology, and chemistry help them find where to gather such reagents. In urban areas, items found in the esoteric, antique, and forgotten corners of the cities can be used by mages. Older buildings, graveyards, and antique shops may have pieces of brick, pottery, glass, wrought iron, and jewelry that have been imbued with magical properties of the elements. Knowledge of architecture and antiques help in the search for these reagents." CRB 279

Gumshoe is a hermetic mage, so he resists drain with WIL (7) + LOG (5) = 12 dice total. All stun drain you failed to resist can be healed in hourly intervals. He rolls 15 dice there, meaning he's easy to rebound if he incurs drain. Physical is healed in daily intervals - you've got 13 dice there. Hermeticism is a materialization tradition (spirits don't need vessels to possess to interact with the physical world), but as a sorcerer, you needn't worry about this.

Importantly, force effects leave [astral signatures] around. It's possible to track you by your signature. That's why you want to scrub the sig right after casting a spell. It takes a complex action per point of force used. Sigs do fade away on their own too (at an F/h rate), but Gumshoe cannot afford to leave things up to luck. Mountain would have seriously disapproved. Numinous perception - noticing magic - is a simple INT + Perception [mental] test with a threshold equal to the ranks in a skill like Spellcasting - force of the effect or 6 - force if there's no skill involved (minimum 1 in either case). This is why increasing ranks benefits mages. You get a + 2 on this test if you have any magic-related skill (active or knowledge). Because wards and other mana barriers can block you if you have sustained spells on, for example, it's worth assessing if there are any such obstacles before you bounce off one with a Physical Mask spell on.

Assensing

Assensing is the skill of reading people's auras for their health state, mood and more - highly useful for anyone. The details of what you receive are present in the table in CRB 313. All mages, including sorcerers like Gumshoe, possess the ability to perceive the astral as a simple action. With INT + Assensing ranks (astral - 8), he rolls 11 dice there and becomes dual-natured when assensing. Only initiates with Masking can oppose you with MAG + IG (as they're defending, they win ties).

Assensing (CRB)
Hits	Information Gained
1	General health (healthy, ill, injured). Emotional state. Mundane or Awakened.
2	Cyberware (standard and worse grades) presence and location. Possible aura recognition. Magical class.
3	Alphaware cyberware presence and location. How ESS and MAG compare to yours (higher, lower, equal). Astral signatures. Generał diagnosis (disease or toxin).
4	Bioware or betaware cyberware presence and location. Exact ESS/MAG/F. Cause of magical effect.
5+	Deltaware cyberware, nanotech, genetech. Accurate diagnosis. Technomancer.

Counterspelling

Actually two skills in one, Counterspelling cares about your MAG (6) and skill ranks. It uses the astral limit (8). Mountain helps you with it. The two uses are:

• Spell defense dice. Nearly passive, it's a little fixer-upper to help your team defend against hostile spells (and only spells). Get them (up to your MAG) in your line of sight, use a free action to you're protecting them (or a -5 interrupt in combat if you're out of free actions - that's why it's your first free action no matter what for now), and you have a pool of dice for spell defense equal to your ranks (starting out, 6 for Gumshoe). When you have a hostile spell coming your way, you (or your protégé) can choose how many of those you want to add. You can protect yourself, the entire group or just those teammates you like. (Don't do this though please, it's your job to protect them!) This pool refreshes every combat turn.
• Dispelling. Ongoing effects like mind control can be dispelled if the sam gets influenced and you're the person who can stop the rampage. Ranks + MAG + 2 (Mountain helps) vs force + MAG (+ karma equal to quickening, if any). Your limit is also astral. Gumshoe rolls 14 dice here. You can also use reagents to change the limit of the test, spending a number equal to the limit you want. Every net hit you get in this opposed test reduces the number of hits the caster had in casting the spell - when their net hits reach zero, their spell fizzles out of existence. Drain is as if you cast it yourself. For dispelling rituals, the keyword you're looking for is "spell" - drain is equal to hits on their resistance x2.

Ritual Spellcasting

Starting out, Gumshoe knows the theory, but cannot put it in practice due to a lack of ritual formulae. He's got plans for when he's able to do more longterm magic requiring preparation and his magical lodge. The first ritual he hopes for is Circle of Healing to be able to offer longterm magical care, but for now, you needn't worry about it.

Spellcasting

The bread and butter of our sorcerer. Bearing the relation between force, MAG and drain in mind, he's able to alter reality with his will. Casting a spell is a complex action, but you can use reckless spellcasting to turn it into simple actions with the trade of drain becoming potentially +3 (so Stunball cast as a simple action is actually F+3 for drain, not F, for instance). There are five schools of magic in total - all of which he can access and knows spells from (but as any mage, he needs to learn more, which Dedicated Spellslinger makes easier too). The individual spells differ by duration (instant, sustained, permanent, special), range (touch, LoS, area LoS), drain code, if they're direct or indirect (indirect spells have -F AP, but let you dodge them with REA + INT and then soak damage with BOD + armor -F AP, unlike direct ones with no AP, but also with flat WIL/BOD and net hits translating into unresisted damage), the resistance test and if they're physical (they affect living creatures and inanimate objects, can be cast only in meatspace) or mana (they affect living creatures only, but can be cast either in meatspace or on the astral). In all cases, he rolls MAG (6) + Spellcasting ranks (6) for 12 dice total. (For now.) In alphabetical order…

Combat

Combat spells can have the range of touch, LoS, area LoS or special. Except for Evil Eye and Flame Burst, they're all instant spells as far as duration is concerned. They can be physical or mana, direct or indirect, single target or area.

• • Physical spells can affect inanimate objects, but can't be cast on the astral.
  • Mana spells only affect living creatures, but can be cast either in the physical world or on the astral.
  • Indirect spells have two tests. To see if the spell hits: MAG + Spellcasting [force] vs REA + INT. If you get net hits, the target soaks with: BOD + armor -F AP vs F + net hits.
  • Direct spells have one test. To see if the spell hits: MAG + Spellcasting [force] vs WIL (mana spells) or BOD (physical spells). Net hits become unresisted damage (stun or physical, depending on the spell).

Right out of chargen, Gumshoe has the following:

• Stunball (direct mana, area LoS, instant, F). This is a last resort spell to knock groups of enemies out. Only net hits as damage and no AP is rough, but consider they only get to resist once, with flat WIL (+ spell defense dice, if any). This means you can drop highly armored or very dodgy targets, so those the team might struggle with, potentially in groups, even from the astral (mages who project and have not manifested yet, for example), perceiving it for a moment. Reagents can replace the limit, so if your team - or Mr. Johnson if you cleverly asked for it - can buy you some and you cast at a minimal force (the one which risks 2S drain, keeping more hits. Potentially worth post-edging.

Detection

Detection spells can be active (granting who you perceive a resistance test) or passive (just feeding you information). Their range is, by default, the radius of MAG x F in m from the target. Extended Detection spells have this range changed to MAG x F x 10 m in exchange for higher drain codes. They can be directional (like staring at someone), area (in a bubble around you) or psychic (granting you a different sense). They can be physical or mana too (see above). They're always sustained (-2 to anything not a damage resistance test, -1 with Psyche, or they can be slotted into Focused Concentration or a sustaining focus of up to the spell's force).

• • Active spells have a test of MAG + Spellcasting [force] vs LOG + WIL (+ spell defense, if any) for living creatures, F x2 for magical objects or OR for mundane ones. Net hits determine the amount of information you receive. Spell defense can be used (even if unaware, like walking into Detect Life). Multiple targets resist the same Spellcasting test individually.
  • Passive spells grant you a new sense. Net hits determine the limit for Perception tests using it as well as the detail of information available. Spell defense doesn't work against them, but if another spellcaster becomes aware of an active passive spell being sustained, they can try to dispel it.

Detection spell information (CRB)
Net hits required	Information detail
1	General knowledge, no details
2	Major details only
3	Major details, plus some minor ones (GM discretion)
4+	Detailed information

Right out of chargen, Gumshoe has the following:

• Analyze Device (active, direction, touch, sustained, F - 3). You can analyze the purpose and operation of a device or piece of equipment within range (touching it). OR opposes it, so high force or many reagents and post-edging may be necessary for high-tech items. Each net hit can be used to provide a piece of information about the device that would not be readily apparent. Moreover, the subject earns a bonus die per to operate the object and can ignore any skill-defaulting modifiers. That's your "I actually know how to operate the McGuffin" moment. (When you're able to avoid sustaining penalties, it can potentially make you better at shooting too.) You can also make the decker, rigger or even sam or adept love you if you use it on them so that they're able to roll more dice with the item they typically use. Due to OR, items which aren't very advanced are best for analysis.
• Combat Sense (passive, psychic, touch, sustained, F). Every hit adds a die to surprise tests as well as dodging attacks (ranged and melee). Excellent for anyone, but prioritize combat characters.

Health

Health spells can knit flesh, detoxify the body or help it resist illnesses. At the same time, some spells like this can hurt (Decrease Stat, for example). They are always touch range. They can be physical or mana. If they're resisted, the spell description says so, but you usually just make a MAG + Spellcasting [force] test. People with ESS lower than 6 are harder to fix. You suffer a penalty of ESS - patient's ESS (rounded up). Thankfully, you're a Quick Healer. In the future, when Gumshoe learns more Health spells and the Circle of Healing ritual to establish a street clinic, the Healer quality (FA) can be useful. They can be sustained or permanent. Permanent spells don't require sustaining after F x complex actions. Because of this, such spells, if you're saving lives, benefit from being cast at F1 (unless the specific spell needs to be cast at a force at least equal to something, like overflow damage in the case of Stabilize), with reagents replacing the limit to keep many hits, but not take long. Important! The order of treatment is: First Aid => Heal => Medicine.

Right out of chargen, Gumshoe has the following:

• Heal (ESS, mana, touch, permanent, F - 4). This spell heals physical (!!!) damage. Drain can't be healed with it. Remember that if you use Heal, you can no longer use First Aid on that injury.
• Increase Reflexes (ESS, physical, touch, sustained, F - 4). To go zoom-zoom. Every hit from the spell adds +1 to initiative. Every two add an extra die. (This means no rounding up. Three hits is +3 +1D6 to initiative.) You can't be affected by multiple castings (the best result applies) and can't exceed a total of 5D6 initiative dice. Mind stacking (or rather not stacking with most of other initiative boosts). That said, if you get many hits, you can be crazy fast, getting a lot done. From D&D, you probably remember mages want to go fast. In Shadowrun, everyone loves getting more done. And it doesn't have a minimum force requirement, so if Mr. Johnson wants to splash out on reagents, you can soak that 2S, but keep many more hits.

Illusion

Illusions can't directly deal damage, but tell the gangers fleeing from imaginary cops that. They're always sustained. They can be physical or mana, obvious or realistic, have single targets or hit groups, affect a single sense or more, have the range of touch, LoS or area LoS. Hits are crucial in order to affect someone. The target is fully affected by the illusion only if the spell is not completely resisted. Note that reagents can replace force as the limit, so burning them and post-edging can be extremely effective, because most illusions are highly potent debuffs.

• • Mana spells are resisted with LOG + WIL. They can be cast on the astral, but Assensing their auras immediately gives them away.
  • Physical spells are resisted with LOG + INT (living creatures) or OR (inanimate objects). They're confined to meatspace, but where else would you fool every camera in the building?

Object Resistance Table

Object resistance table (CRB)
Materials	Examples	OR
Unprocessed natural materials	Trees, soil, unprocessed water, hand-carved wood, cold-worked metal	3
Brick, leather, plastics, treated wood, forged metal	Vintage nontech clubs (plastic/treated wood)	6
Advanced plastics, alloys, storage devices, sensors, other electronic equipment	Modern clubs, modern/vintage guns/blades, knucks (alloys and/or modern plastics)	9
Advanced computers, toxic waste, drones, vehicles, monofilament weapons, smartguns	Monofilament weapons, RCCs, smartguns, commlinks, decks, vehicles, drones (advanced alloys/plastics, computers, vehicles)	15+

Right out of chargen, Gumshoe has the following:

• Chaotic World (physical, realistic, multi-sense, area, sustained, F). Every net hit is -1 to anything that isn't resisting damage. Yes, to dodge as well! You can debuff gangers, cameras, drones and what have you. An excellent choice for combat (to soften targets for your shooty teammates who pelt them with gel or SnS from out of the spell area) or just fooling devices you sneak through. After all, if you're quick about it, random bugs happen all the time.
• Improved Invisibility (physical, realistic, single-sense, LoS, sustained, F - 1). If whoever would see you fails to generate more hits than you, you're invisible to living creatures and tech. Treat your hits as the threshold any opposition must tie (because they're defenders) to notice you. However, CRB says that a good enough Sneaking test might keep you undetected anyway. It doesn't affect smell, hearing, touch or taste, so plan accordingly. This is a spell the entire team sneaking somewhere may request for you. Don't let them down.
• Physical Mask (physical, realistic, multi-sense, touch, sustained, F - 1). The subject assumes a different physical appearance (of the same basic size and shape as the natural form) of your choice. Their voice, scent and other physical characteristics can be altered. Treat your hits as the threshold any opposition must tie (because they're defenders) to realize it's an illusion. Fantastic for sneaking places socially, but remember to check with your Assensing that you're running into a mana barrier which would stop you unless you succeed in pressing through!
• Trid Phantasm (physical, realistic, multi-sense, area, sustained, F). The Major Image of Shadowrun, it lets you recreate anything you've seen before (in person, reading a book, on the trid…). If they fail to resist it fully, they believe they see, hear, smell, feel and taste what you design. Creativity is king here. As it's not static, you can potentially have cops in full armor, assault rifles out, march out of the adjacent street if you position well enough to have LoS. You can also create imaginary obstacles to redirect cars where you want, manipulate people to talk to who isn't there (how about a new guard who requests a password from an exec?), cause impromptu distractions (even if the hulking troll ghoul isn't real, just the moment corpsec officers are distracted can be used to flee) and do many more fun things. Potentially the most important spell in your arsenal, certainly the most versatile.

Manipulation

This is the broadest category of spells. They can damage, alter the environment and - the scariest prospect - control your mind. They can be physical or mana, touch, single-target, area, have the mental, environmental or damaging descriptors. Together with Illusion, Manipulation offers the strongest options for crowd control, but it can also buff or debuff. They're almost always sustained.

• • Mental spells are the scariest form of magic - you can be made to think you're the spellcaster's friend while your real teammates are enemies to be shot. Isn't it a terrifying vision? That's why mental Manipulation spells are subject to special scrutiny from law enforcement, with users on a quick path to unsavory reputation. They're resisted with LOG + WIL (+ spell defense, if any). Net hits determine how long you can puppeteer the target. The spell ends when your net hits are reduced to zero. You can find the houserules pertaining to it [here]. While such a spell is sustained, the target may take a complex action (on their turn) to resist. In this case, it's LOG + WIL - F; every hit the target gets reduces the caster's net hits by 1. The one being controlled can take this action even if they wouldn't get an action because of the spell. A victim of mental manipulation may roll to notice the magical effect according to the usual rules for perceiving magic (CRB 280).
  • Environmental spells simply affect an area without targeting specific people.
  • Damaging spells have 0 AP and cause damage equal to force by default. This damage can be resisted with BOD + armor.

Right out of chargen, Gumshoe has the following:

• Levitate (physical, LoS, sustained, F - 2). Telekinesis on demand. You can lift living creatures or inanimate objects into the air, moving them within LoS. You have to beat a threshold of subject's body mass/200 kg (rounded up). The speed of Levitate is F m/combat turn. Unwilling people can resist with STR + BOD (objects can't decide, so you only contend with their weight). It's great not only to ascend while skipping stairs, but also to steal items, catch someone falling (if you're swift enough) or grab a melee combatant to hold them at arm's length.
• Mana Barrier (mana, area, environmental, sustained, F - 2). Your private prison for spirits. The spell creates an invisible force field - a wall with a length and height equal to F x2 m or dome with a radius of F m by default, unless the GM lets you do something else with it - with a structure rating equal to the hits scored. If cast on the astral plane, it also impedes astral forms and reduces visibility - it can prevent a spirit from ever materializing if you have one strong enough not to let them break free. Living beings and objects can pass through it freely, but ones astrally active are impeded. This means, among others, active foci and spells, spirits, dual-natured creatures (infected, for example). Moreover, you can try creating a Matryoshka doll effect by stacking several, because as long as you sustain it and a single attack doesn't shatter it, it regenerates all of its structure rating. Recommended for stronger spirits and infected.
• Physical Barrier (physical, area, environmental, sustained, F - 1). Technically, it's intended to be a defensive spell, but don't let the CRB description fool you. It's way better used offensively or for utility if your GM lets you create force ladders with it. The spell creates a glowing, translucent force field with +1 armor and structure rating per hit. Like with the Mana Barrier, it regenerates if physical attacks don't oneshot it. Anything the size of a molecule tops can pass through the barrier, including air or other gases, so you needn't fear suffocation, but anything bigger treats it as a normal physical wall. The wall is translucent but shimmers, the equivalent of light fog (CRB 175). Other than the visibility modifiers, you can even still cast spells through it, except for the ones with physical components (like indirect Combat spells). That said, as an actual defensive spell it's not great. Instead, think about the offensive uses. Lock the squishy enemy face in a Pokeball. Cast it as a ramp to reach somewhere. Make a tiny tripwire and taunt the go-gangers (with Trid Phantasm, probably) to pursue you and crash…
• Rosebush (physical, area, sustained, F + 2). Crowd control which looks beautiful, but stings. You conjure thorny plant life - say, literal rosebushes - in an area. Everyone there must make a STR + BOD test (OR for objects which could get damaged) or have AGI reduced by 1 per net hit. If it reaches virtual zero, they can't move, but wait, it's even better! Not only can they only break free via an opposed STR + BOD vs F x2 test, but they are discouraged from moving too much anyway, because the thorns are damaging. Every combat turn, they inflict damage equal to net hits -F AP. FA doesn't specify if it's stun or physical, so compare to the modified armor they're wearing.

Stealth (Physical and Social)

There's no beating around the bush about this. Mages are feared, because you never know if the finger-waggler will heal you or just set you on fire. That's why it pays not to be seen at all, look different from yourself or at least not appear wizardly. It's always great to ask the face to disguise you, but you have Etiquette, Sneaking and, of course, spells. As he develops, Gumshoe has the potential to become really good at playing a chameleon.

• Etiquette. Fitting in socially, avoiding committing a faux pas talking to important people, social stealth. Gumshoe isn't a charismatic man. Still, it's not that he doesn't care about manners. He does - very much (four ranks). It's that the world is against him because of his looks (CHA 2, even with attempts at making himself look more approachable with cosmetic ware). He rolls 6 dice there, with +1 from the Ace of Hearts suit, for a potential 7 dice total. Keep in mind that you have rather high EDG (4) and you need to spend it to earn it back, so you might find post-edging worth it. The limit is social (6 dice). Due to his knowledge skills, later on when he's got larger social pools, Informed Opinion can be quite useful:

• • • "All that reading paid off! Nothing wins over a crowd like knowing what you're talking about. If you have a knowledge skill applicable to the subject at hand in any social situation, you can roll that skill and add a dice pool modifier equal to your hits to your social limit for the encounter. There's a lot more room to get it right when you know the topic inside and out." CA 154
    • "All social maneuvers incur a -4 dice pool modifier on the listed test unless otherwise indicated and cost a free action in addition to any listed action. Most social maneuvers require making one test with the negative modifier to gain a bonus on a second test, while others require making a test with the negative modifier to gain a special effect." CA 153

• Sneaking. Evading notice as opposed to social stealth. The limit used is physical (5), the stat - AGI. He rolls 9 dice. Note he's got Improved Invisibility he can use on himself and/or help the team with. Spells he wants to learn will also aid him highly when he earns them.

Perception & Outdoors

Gumshoe really wanted to be the next Steve Irwin. Life said otherwise, but he finds the skills useful for detective work.

• Perception. Noticing all kinds of things. The limit used is mental (8 base), the stat - INT. In addition, his R3 vision and audio enhancements, when run wireless, grant not just the limit increase, but the pool boost when seeing or hearing. He rolls 11 dice base, 14 for vision and audio tests when the contacts and earbuds are wireless (mental limit 8 there even if not, doesn't apply to tests other than vision or audio).
• Survival. Making do not just in the wilderness, but also the urban jungle. The limit used is physical (5 base), the stat - WIL. He rolls 10 dice there, because Mountain helps him with +2. Ask the GM if his survival gear grants any situational bonuses.
• Navigation. Not getting lost. Living in Puyallup, very useful. The limit used is physical (5 base), the stat - INT. Gumshoe rolls 6 dice here. He might also be able to help riggers, who tend to have many Navigation ranks. Offer to assist a teamwork test - you can't keep more than a single assist die at the moment anyway. Ask the GM if his survival gear grants any situational bonuses.
• Tracking. Finding others, following tracks, also tracking by astral signatures. The limit used is physical (5 base), the stat - INT. Gumshoe rolls 6 dice here. Ask the GM if his survival gear grants any situational bonuses.

First Aid

Gumshoe was arbitrarily decided to scare patients, so he was never allowed to learn the Medicine skill. With First Aid, however, he's ace. He uses the mental limit (8) boosted by the rating of his medkit (6), with it added to his base pool of LOG (5) and ranks (6) if running wireless and yet helped by Quick Healer (2), including on magical healing (like with the Heal spell). Wireless off: limit 14, pool 13. Wireless on: limit 14, pool 19. Remember that drain damage must be healed on your own (First Aid doesn't help here) and that the order of healing tests is: First Aid => Heal => Medicine. The medkit itself can operate on its own, rolling 12 dice (limit 6) - and it does have Medicine! As Medicine gives the hits rolled as assist dice to recovery tests, this can, in fact, give you extra dice if you're able to afford to just lie down for an hour or day to rest.

Gear

• Trodes create the DNI (direct neural interface) to communicate with your team with a thought. The microtransceiver also helps here. Gumshoe likes the fact this "Mindnet" cannot be dispelled.
• Two prepaid commlinks allow you to have one dedicated to Biggie Beefcake and another for work with people you don't trust much yet - Mr. Johnson, new teammates etc.
• Your lodge (R6) in the studio apartment creates a mana barrier (F6) you don't have to sustain or even cast. It imposes a -6 penalty on any attempts to track you magically. It's necessary for rituals in the future and raises the limit of magical skills by its rating.
• The data is to be stored on your datachips.
• R3 vision and audio enhancements provide their ratings in mental limit boosts for the relevant Perception checks and, while wireless, also to the pool for seeing and hearing.
• The cheap bicycle allows you to travel around, though you should probably embark on the journeys faster than people who have cars.
• The R6 medkit rolls double its rating to operate autonomously, helping you patch teammates up. It also increases the mental limit for First Aid (LOG) and Medicine (LOG, can't be defaulted on) by 6.
• The Ace of Hearts suit adds +1 to social tests.
• With the houserules, even when out of air, your gasmask - excellent innocuous facial recognition - works as an R6 fashion respirator. Be sure to upgrade to a fashion version so you never incur penalties for improper attire.
• It's possible to cast through the telescoping mirror on a stick or the optical binoculars.
• The backpack is full of little innocuous odds and ends, for example duct tape, magenta paint (against invisible mages you hear!) etc.
• The survival kit, flashlight, gecko tape gloves, climbing gear etc., while best in the hands of, say, a sammie, offer additional utility. They're small bits and pieces many players overlook in favor of big guns and flashy ware, but can help the entire team out in a pinch.

Combat Options

That's the kicker. As a budding sorcerer, your best bet in combat is to take cover and, after obtaining consent from other players, buff their PCs up with Combat Sense if they're within range (touch). You're not a combat character. (You will be with much karma and nuyen for armor like the FBA, sustaining foci, reagents and finally a shooting skill. This is going to take time, but it's worth it when you're hurt by drain.) Without any ranks, Gumshoe defaults on AGI (3 - 1 = 2), with a measly +1 from the red dot sight when in short range. (You don't want to be in short range.) His light pistol and gel rounds aren't going to help much - they're there just to avoid looking like a magician, so the guy they geek first - and his starter armor rating is lowish. Taking aim actions are basically a necessity if you absolutely have to fire it and you still can't compare to a street samurai… while they're blackout drunk. That said, you have a few advantages.

• You're uniquely equipped to deal with groups of highly armored or very dodgy targets, especially with low WIL, through Stunball. It's a direct mana spell which needs LoS and can be cast either in meatspace or on the astral. There's only one test: if the targets fail to resist your MAG + Spellcasting vs their flat WIL (unless they have spell defense dice), the net hits go into their stun track. Armor doesn't help either. Moreover, the Heal spell can't heal stun, so they have to use First Aid (which takes time, taking them out of the fight if they want to use it) or stimpatches (which will eventually give them more stun) to immediately shed this damage. Alternatively, they can cast Resist Pain and get rid of wound modifiers only. This stun damage stays and the moment they accrue more (sufficient to give them another -1 from wound mods), the effects are gone. If you deal very much and they don't have high WIL, you can knock them out in a few spells.
• Gumshoe has very high WIL (7). Take aim actions are simple (so you can use two per pass, of which you will probably have many through Increase Reflexes or blitzing with EDG) and stack either accuracy or the shooting pool by WIL/2, rounded up, as long as taking aim is all you do (don't use your free action, in other words). This means that you can hide with Improved Invisibility and acceptable Sneaking, activate spell defense (though you should do it before combat breaks out if you can) or tell the team where you are through DNI, then use eight simple actions to aim and emerge with four extra dice. Not advisable at the start, but if you're desperate and magic can't help you, it's some option.
• Your spells are very versatile, however. See a melee opponent? Try to lift them out of range with Levitate. Have a friendly shooter? Put Chaotic World on the targets, with some room from the teammate, and let them enjoy penalties on the side of the opposition. Block escape routes with Physical Barrier. Trap enemy spirits in Mana Barrier prisons. (Layering them helps because of the refreshing mechanic.) Rosebush is fantastic crowd control. You're also a buffer - buff the sam with Combat Sense, hide them with Improved Invisibility etc. You're at your most formidable as a force multiplier, not even chucking Combat spells.

However, your skillset is the best for avoiding combat. You can avoid being seen with Improved Invisibility. You can lift people from the back of the building to the very top with Levitate, bypassing all those hallways with cameras that way. (They will probably struggle with your physical illusions too.) You can assume different looks with Physical Mask. Trid Phantasm to have some cops come around the corner can scare some gangers away. You're very versatile and can help effectively every other archetype (Physical Mask for the face, Analyze Device for the decker and rigger, Combat Sense for the sam or combat adept, Improved Invisibility for whoever sneaks etc.). Be a good team player and share the spotlight!

Run History

Name	GM	Metaplot	Threat	Date of Run
CooksAssistant	LHOG		Medium	19 September 2085