ARCHETYPES

Adept
The adept brings the fight up close and personal but with a sense of honor and style many brutes of the
streets just don’t understand. They may have started inside the cage for cash, but now they have stepped
into the shadows to bring their magically enhanced combat skills to the team and show those who have
traded their purity for performance that there is a better way—as long as you have access to magic. It isn’t
just about showing the superiority of magic over augmentations, it’s about building power without going
down the dark path toward becoming a cyberzombie.
 Combat Mage
The power of mana can be shaped in many ways. It can aid stealth or subterfuge, heal or hinder the mind
and body, or be woven into the purest forces of destruction available. The combat mage prefers this last
route—fire and ice in particular. To appease the needs of the street, the combat mage also knows the
value of a combat medic for field patch-ups as well as the need for a little cover for an expeditious retreat.
All of those options are far from her last line, as she believes that the cleansing power of fire and ice can
deal with any situation.
 Covert-Ops Specialist
Some think of covert ops as crawling through vents, others as slinking slowly through the underbrush, but
often, the covert ops specialist performs covertly in plain sight by looking like nothing more than an
electronic-clipboard-carrying wage slave, a focused executive intent on a destination, or who wants to
give off the air of authority to keep people from wanting to make eye contact with him. The thing about
this is, all of it is to avoid starting a fight, because the covert-ops specialist prefers to not leave a trail of
bodies (or even a single one) so that no one is the wiser for their arrival, and they can depart with
whatever they were looking to acquire.
 Decker
“Hack the planet” is a quaint phrase, but the decker knows the purpose buried behind it. They don’t hack
to make the world a better place—they hack to make their pockets a little heavier and to make a point to
the oppressive force that governs and controls the Matrix that they are not really in control of. The decker
weaves their way through the Matrix in search of paydata and problems to cause for the powers that be,
seeing no host, node, or encrypted file as too large a challenge.
 Face
Most faces hate being called a face, because they are so much more than that. They deploy personality,
charm, wit, humor, well-timed compliments, stern reproaches, and a million other tactics selected for the
situation to get their desired outcome. Not everyone falls for a pretty face, especially one with tusks. But a
bit of humor or a subtle reminder about stereotypes can go a long way to allow the face to get exactly
what they want without ever firing a shot or even making a threat of violence. They still might break out a
threat from time to time, and when they do, they love to make it with authority they don’t always have.
They know that a little attitude, applied properly, goes a long way.
 Rigger
Nothing beats the feel of jumping into a 1,000-horsepower machine or racing along at speeds that would
make skin peel from bone, and that’s the everyday life for the rigger. Controlling drones and vehicles with
their minds sets riggers apart from every other driver on the road who has to rely on reflexes. They just
think it, it happens, and they can instantly adjust without the pesky delay of an electronic remote control.
Problem is, drones cost cash, and that’s hard to come by, unless you’re willing to do some work for certain
people who may offer some upfront cash—as long as you pay it back with interest
 Street Samurai
Righteousness, heroic courage, compassion, respect, honesty, honor, loyalty, and self-control are the
tenets by which the street samurai lives. Many of these tenets do not fit well with life in the shadows, so
they have to be adjusted by those who seek to display honor amongst thieves. The street samurai lives for
peace but understands that the world is violent, and there are those in the world that are not capable of
protecting themselves from this violence. They need someone to fight on their behalf, and that’s why the
street samurai exist.
 Street Shaman
After hearing the call of Cat from a dark alley in her youth, the street shaman has been digging her claws
into other people’s dirty laundry and protecting her life with a web of illusions. The shadows are a natural
fit for her, but many find the ways of Cat all too direct. To that, the street shaman says, “pish posh.” The
street shaman can certainly clear a room with a nasty furball … err … fireball, but she prefers to reshape
the world to fit her needs through illusion and misdirection.
 Technomancer
The Matrix is almost everywhere. The Resonance is almost everywhere. And where it is not, is no place
the technomancer wants to be. By feeling the flow, the technomancer can practically pull data from thin
air. Accessing nodes and slipping into hosts is child’s play. The joy of pulling up a sprite and sending the
little mischief-maker off to pester some fool who cut in front of you at the Stuffer Shack is a minor perk.
All of this without the need to empty out your bank account or get half your head replaced with a deck and
cyberjack.
 Weapons Specialist
If it can kill, injure, or incapacitate, the weapon specialist has probably handled it before. A handy
collection of arms along with a little key cyberware and the skills to use it all make the weapon specialist
a must-have for any runner team. They aren’t as concerned about honor as other street warriors, so you
can count on them to make those hard choices when those hard choices need to be made. With bullets.