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Posted by: noonesshowmonkey Jul 15 2010, 12:57 AM

I have nosed through Arsenal, Augmentation, Unwired and Street Magic... But I still have no idea what the nuggets are, really. This is what I know:

Arsenal - Tons of new guns, armor etc. Saw the customization rules, but didn't really read them.

Augmentation - custom cyber limbs starting at max racial attribute before augmentations! WOOHOO! Bunches of new cyber. Serious wounds. Cyberpsychosis explained.

Unwired - new programs?

Street Magic - next to nothing. New spells?

Help me out here. What are the biggest game changers available in each book? I keep seeing references to stuff like Optimization in Unwired or custom stuff from Arsenal... What are the best, most important new pieces of gear / rules / spells etc. available in the new supplements?

Posted by: tagz Jul 15 2010, 03:53 AM

A quick skim won't really let you see the full potential of some of those books. You should read in detail to really find the nuggets.

This is by no means a complete list but a few off the top of my head:

Street Magic:
new traditions
several new spirits
Possession spirits
Inhabitation spirits
Free spirits
Ally spirits
spell design tables to create custom spells

Arsenal:
better and more detailed armors, many of which allow for greater values for the same encumbrance (see Form Fitted)
weapon and vehicle customization is pretty versatile and can get some surprisingly cool results
martial arts
new drugs
chemtech
advanced combat rules
extreme environmental hazards such as polar regions, desert regions

Augmentation:
new toys with cyber and bio
genetech
nanotech
diseases
advanced med rules
cyberzombies and cyborgs

Unwired:
mostly great stuff for technomancers, but mundanes got a few cool things
program options are great
worms, trojins, viruses
advanced techonmancer rules (bio node hacking, etc)
botnets
tacnets
premade ICs

Posted by: Saint Sithney Jul 15 2010, 06:53 AM

Don't forget that almost all the good Adept stuff is in Street Magic. Without SM, Adepts are dun. With it, and the optional rules to help them out, they are good again.

Posted by: Lansdren Jul 15 2010, 07:41 AM

I would also add

SM = shadow sprits and blood mages, I found a blood mage hunt was just the thing to liven up our game not so long ago. We just about managed to stay on the living side of the living / dead line.
Ars = The moding rules are pretty good and should never be overlooked to make you stand out abit from the background (or blend in if you Ruth coat everything)
Aug = New cyber and bio is always good plus the mods for cyberlimbs are worth looking at
Unw = gives with one hand takes with the other. some of the new bits are very handy but it does seem to make the matrix more complicated then it already is. Plus for technos it has better echo's and the special CF's like smartlink.

I also wouldnt overlook running wild. some nice stuff in there that can be added into most runs from security critters to some gangers pet.

Posted by: Wasabi Jul 15 2010, 11:47 AM

FOR HACKERS/TM'S:
Arsenal: Commlink Modules and Commlink Modifications
Augmentation: Simsense Booster (allowing a 5th VR Pass)
Unwired: Program Options, Additional Programs, Additonal Matrix Actions, New Sprites, TM Streams, TM Paragons, TM Echoes, Black MSP's

Posted by: KCKitsune Jul 16 2010, 03:50 AM

I think the greatest thing that Unwired brought into the mix is Clustering.

Think about it: You get 2 or 3 commlinks with the same Response and now you don't have to think about what programs you want to load... you load them all! Not only can you load them all, you can run them at full strength.

Posted by: Yerameyahu Jul 16 2010, 03:56 AM

Couldn't you just do that with 3 commlinks anyway? Clustering is really just for making use of *peripheral* nodes, and it's a neat (if limited) option.

Posted by: KCKitsune Jul 16 2010, 04:15 AM

Before Unwired came out, yes you could run three commlinks, but then you had to split your attention between the three 'links. With Clustering you can take 3 Response 5 commlinks and have 1 "Mega" commlink running 8 Rating 5 programs all at the same time AND no drop in Response.

Posted by: Yerameyahu Jul 16 2010, 04:28 AM

Oh, I get you; you mean all running with your icon somewhere. Gotcha.

Posted by: KCKitsune Jul 16 2010, 05:18 AM

Sorta off topic, but maybe someone here can answer this question: If I take my Datajack and add in a Response 5 chip to it, would I be able to run Commlink programs on it? Sorta like a commlink, but without a transmitter.

Posted by: Yerameyahu Jul 16 2010, 05:44 AM

The rules for devices are kind of a mess. You could probably get away with running programs on almost anything. Why would you even have a Datajack in the first place?

Posted by: Mäx Jul 16 2010, 06:25 AM

Becouse you didn't have them removed after the crass 2.0.
Thats the reason why my Sasha has two of them.

Posted by: KCKitsune Jul 16 2010, 08:15 AM

Because Datajacks allow you to use Knowsofts, and it can be a choke-point for system defense.

Posted by: sabs Jul 16 2010, 02:10 PM

Because you can't jam a datajack connection.
Because you can be jacked into your vehicle with a datajack/cable connection and have all your wireless turned off so that enemy hacker is just staring at your tank/suv feeling really frustrated.

Arsenal:
Vehicle Modification Rules.
Those things are amazing. And in a well thought out group where people make a team, instead of a bunch of individuals that the GM has to squish together. They're even better.

You can take a 25k Conestoga Van, and turn it into a mobile medium lifestyle Surgical facility/base.
With 20 Body, 20 armor, Chameleon Coating, acceleration/speed enhancements, a 30 slot sensor package, satellite link, a nexus, weapon ports (or turrets if you don't care about legality), grid link, grid override, a 5 pilot,
and a slew of other enhancements. You could turn that thing into Rigger/Hacker heaven. A safeplace for your mage to settle down while he goes astral.

Arsenal is fun, and can make for amazingly cool toys that can be campaign changers.

Posted by: Yerameyahu Jul 16 2010, 07:20 PM

You can't jam trodes, either. It's all the same.

Posted by: sabs Jul 16 2010, 07:23 PM

Trodes actually piss me off.
They make VR too accessible to the mages/adepts.

I understand why they did it, but it does tick me off

Posted by: Yerameyahu Jul 16 2010, 07:40 PM

Yup, and full-strength Smartlinks.

Posted by: Cabral Jul 16 2010, 09:18 PM

What do you mean by "full strength smartlinks"?

Posted by: Yerameyahu Jul 16 2010, 09:20 PM

As opposed to Smartlink 'Lites'.

Posted by: Saint Sithney Jul 16 2010, 11:07 PM

Or you could get one Response 6 comlink and run 11 rating 5 programs all at the same time with only 1 drop in response.

Really though, optimization and ergonomic options are the key factor from Unwired. They mean that basically anyone and everyone runs bucketloads of R6 programs.

Posted by: Whiskey Jul 16 2010, 11:42 PM

thought the rating drop was based on system, not response....

Posted by: Saint Sithney Jul 17 2010, 12:48 AM

Aye, and System is limited by Response, natch.

Posted by: Wasabi Jul 17 2010, 03:16 AM

Thats one of the hidden changes from SR4 to SR4a:

Posted by: Yerameyahu Jul 17 2010, 03:22 AM

Huh? I thought he meant base System is limited by base Response. Obviously reduced Response doesn't affect system.

Posted by: Wasabi Jul 17 2010, 03:23 AM

It used to but not anymore.

/shrug