Shadowrun is a very narrative game as well.  This is not D&D where you can win everything forever with big enough numbers.  A lot of qualities and playstyle are good or bad because of narrative bonuses or drawbacks.  Take for example SINner, there is not really a mechanical downside but in a closely watched area this one of the most dangerous negative qualities because of narrative elements.<br/><br/>As long as you can get a dice look around 12 of the main thing you want to do your character will be strong enough to get the job done.  The 12 dice pool is not even a hard rule.  Lots of character build, like edgomancers, ignore that utterly.  It is just a general guideline and advise.  People saying you need an 18 in primary dice pools at chargen are generally min-maxing a bit to get there.  There is nothing wrong with that since characters in Shadowrun are usually specialists but it is not the only way to play.