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Patchers are the best Archetype to play because they are very individualistic, and
fill an important role as team enablers.
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The best Shooters, Scrappers, and Boomers in the world get shot up from time to
time and a medic able to patch them up can keep them in the fight.
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Similarly gear is a crucial ingredient for many Runners, and someone that is able
to soup up, augment, and other wise trick out that gear can be very helpful indeed.
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ROLE
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Patchers are primarily support types that excel at keeping either Runners or their
gear or both in good working condition in the field and in the rear with the gear.
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Some Patchers are medics while others are mechanics or gunsmiths, and some others
are both such as cyberdocs.
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Most such people are purely in the rear support types, and are neither involved
with Runs or directly affiliated with Runners; they usually work in or operate Hospitals,
Garages, machine shops, or the like.
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A few are independent and do their work in the field however. Any Runner team going
into a lead storm is more confident if they have a combat medic among them, and
some mechanical types like to field test their gear, filling the role of a Driver,
Shooter, Boomer, or Scrapper depending on what they're currently packing.
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FOCUS
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To be viable Runners, Patchers need to bring Skills that are directly and clearly
beneficial to the other Runners on a job. They're taking a cut of the payout, and
they've got to pull their own weight. The best Patchers are fantastic force multipliers
and worth every tenth-credit of their share. Experienced Runners generally know
and recognize this fact, but more green Runners often fail to comprehend it; thus
starting Patchers often have a difficult time finding acceptance and might have
to go above and beyond to prove themselves.
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What is useful to a Patcher varies widely since this is sort of a ex miscellanea
collection of specialists, however those looking to serve the role of medics should
have a very good Paramedics roll and a respectable first aid kit or docbag. Those
looking to fill in as armorers, mechanics, or general gadgeteers must be good at
their specialty and be able to lend a real benefit to other Runners.
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WRENCH MONKEY
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Of principal importance to a Runner group or Driver that relies on a lot of Vehicles,
Wrench Monkeys are good at fixing and tuning machinery. However, to make themselves
more generally useful and hirable as Runners most usually have some secondary skill
set; the two most typical sub sets being some kind of Driver or a Scrapper.
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Some Wrench Monkeys own their own Vehicles, whether they double as Drivers or not,
and part of their hiring price is founded on the idea of their motorpool being available
for a team's use.
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GUNSMITH
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Some Runners are skilled Armorers and Gunsmiths. Most are content to master the
care and maintenance of professionally made weaponry, and some excel at modifying
such to make them more effective, but a few go so far as to make weapons of their
own design.
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Gunsmiths can be a useful addition to a heavily-armed Runner group, but most need
to bring something else to the table to be in demand for contracts. Many Gunsmiths
keep a huge arsenal of weaponry that they bring with them and provide for the team's
use to make themselves a more marketable commodity. Some double as Suppliers, maintaining
contacts with all the right arms dealers and black marketeers. Still others have
a secondary skill set covering one of the more traditional roles, most frequently
doubling as a Shooter or Boomer or something somewhere between them.
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CYBERDOC
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It's very rare, but some Runners are skilled CyberDocs, combination doctors and
engineers that know everything there is to know about Cyberware, including its installation,
care, and maintenance.
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Most CyberDocs practice their profession in established venues like any other doctor
/ mechanic would and make a lot of money doing it.
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However, some are street docs that don't have the necessary sheep skins for a legitimate
practice, others have been discredited and forced onto the street, and still others
are unhinged inventors that like practicing their craft freestyle and / or use Runs
as a combination R&D budget and opportunity to field test
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Whatever their malfunction, their ability to customize, install, repair, maintain,
and upgrade cyber makes them a very valuable asset to some Runner teams.
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While most CyberDocs prefer to stay back in the rear with the gear, or at least
stay off the front lines, a few are more adventurous and have some other skill set
that they employ to participate during Runs in progress. Since most CyberDocs are
highly educated, some of them can serve as decent Facilitators, but most lack the
people skills necessary.
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COMBAT MEDIC
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One of the most sought after and useful types of Patchers are Combat Medics, people
that know a lot about triage and emergency care that are willing to go into the
line of fire. For a fee or a cut of the profits, of course. Some Combat Medics mix
another skill set, typically some capacity as a Shooter, but others are purely non-combatants
and can often get away with it due to the high demand for their skills on Runner
teams. Not that the SecForce goons necessarily care if they are packing heat or
not, of course.
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