First time runner, long time tabletopper

Hey ladies and gents, New around these parts. Shadowrun seems like a great game, I can't wait to get into some runs.
I do have some questions though...

1) after i grab the newest 4th ed. book and finish my char, do i just sort of jump in one of the runs in progress or how does that work?
2) I plan on being a human sniper, any tips?

and lastly, any vets feel like takin a newb under your wing for a little bit?

Thanks in advance for the welcome, and I look forward to some epic runs

Well, it's best usually to look for a game that's recruiting and then offer your character for that. We've recently had some gamemasters go inactive, and some new people step up to bat, and there'll probably be even more new people willing to run a game soon.

I would say do your research. Learn about snipers, use wikipedia and google. Figure out what kind of training your character received and where, and how it will affect him and how he behaves. Learn sniper tactics, terms, and technologies. It'll help you roleplay more convincingly.

And what do you mean by 'take you under their wing'? What does that entail?

A very generaly tip for any combat character: a street samurai build (lots of cyber/bioware) is generally easier to pull off an effective build at character creation. However, they generally improve very little in the course of play - the strength you have at the start of the game is relatively close to the max strength you'll ever manage. And adept, on the other hand, is often a little tougher to start with (adept powers pretty almost always cost more 'magic' then their 'ware counterparts cost essance) though they can still have very solid builds. But unlike sammies, their advancement is virtually unlimited.

Another very general tip that alot of new folks don't catch: anyone who plans on being successful in combat should have multiple initative passes. 3 prefered (4 generally isn't worth the cost, but 3 is generally not much more then 2 and very worthwhile).

Durandana's got the right of it as far as looking for games. It wasn't mentioned specificly, but the area you want to be looking in is the want ads section of the forums, which is where new games and existing games which are looking for new players generally announce it.

Azonalanthious wrote:

Another very general tip that alot of new folks don't catch: anyone who plans on being successful in combat should have multiple initative passes. 3 prefered (4 generally isn't worth the cost, but 3 is generally not much more then 2 and very worthwhile).

For Wired Reflexes anyway. Synaptic Booster is a whole 'nother story.

Also I think Street Sammies have just as much room for advancement as Adepts. Cybered up characters start off spending a whole bunch on gear, so as they gain karma they can spend on skills and attributes and really expand themself, plus still upgrade cyberware or weapons or whatever with the money they earn. Adepts, on the other hand, are going to be spending karma on magic and so can't really spare as much for skills and other attributes, and money for them isn't as useful (same with technomancers).

Here are some little tips that every Shadowrunner should consider:
No criminal operates in a vacuum- read the Running the Shadows section on contacts in the core book and possibly the Advanced Contacts chapter in Runner's Companion. Who you know can really make all the difference in the world on a mission, so long as you remember to actually use them.
The skills make the 'runner- skills may seem like an easy part of the character to save BP on, but many skills are very important, even if you just get level 1 to avoid the defaulting penalty. Of all the skills, consider always getting at least level one in Perception, Dodge, Etiquette and the Athletics group if possible.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket- don't make a technomancer who's useless without Matrix connection (that's okay for AIs though), don't make a mage who can't tie his own shoes in a dead zone (or whatever the Awakened equivalent of that wireless term is), don't make a sniper without a backup plan if he gets caught in an ambush, don't make a face who has no alternative if words fail and things turn ugly, etc.

Durandana wrote:

For Wired Reflexes anyway. Synaptic Booster is a whole 'nother story.

Also for Move By Wire, and Adept Improved Reflexes. Those two and Wired, lvl 1 and 2 aren't far appart, 3 is a big jump. The Improved Reflexes spell is constant advancement as is Synaptic Boosters.

Durandana wrote:

Also I think Street Sammies have just as much room for advancement as Adepts. Cybered up characters start off spending a whole bunch on gear, so as they gain karma they can spend on skills and attributes and really expand themself, plus still upgrade cyberware or weapons or whatever with the money they earn. Adepts, on the other hand, are going to be spending karma on magic and so can't really spare as much for skills and other attributes, and money for them isn't as useful (same with technomancers).

I perhaps expressed myself poorly, but I maintain my original stance. A well built street samurai should be about as good at combat as it is possible for him to be at character creation. They certainly have room for advancement, but it generally takes the form of growing more versitile as they develop secondary skills and attritubes and add cyber which gives them additional tricks rather then directly improving their core abilities. Adepts however can continue to improve their combat abilities directly (though its very true that they have less use for cash). Basicly, combat samuria's tend to grow into generalists, which combat adepts can grow into super-specialists (though they can go the generalist route as well if they like).

Durandana wrote:

Also I think Street Sammies have just as much room for advancement as Adepts. Cybered up characters start off spending a whole bunch on gear, so as they gain karma they can spend on skills and attributes and really expand themself, plus still upgrade cyberware or weapons or whatever with the money they earn. Adepts, on the other hand, are going to be spending karma on magic and so can't really spare as much for skills and other attributes, and money for them isn't as useful (same with technomancers).

stupid misclick ate my post, so I will be short this time
Theoretically given infinite karma, cybered mundanes will hit a wall, Resonance/Magic chars will not.

As for Devildog. One thing to think of when building a sniper is, a lot of runs you will be useless if you are only good for sitting on a roof looking through your scope. You need to be able to dive inside and hold your own when the group has to do something that won't require sniper cover.

wow! thanks for all the tips, guys. I sincerely appreciate them all. I have settled on an elf instead of a human, but that seems pretty inconsequential considering all the other build tips I received. I am finishing up my chars story and am posting in the "characters" section of the forum, and I hope to see some critiquing of my build. I decided to go from scratch... Guess we will see how I did, eh?


EDIT: To answer a question, to take someone under their wing is to be their guidance while they are still becoming familiar with the new surroundings, if that helps