I can just see that.

Mr. Johnson: "I want a full analysis of what happened at that site."

Mr. 'Runner: "Sure, sure. Slot the stick, and then we'll hand over a SimChip of everything Mungo the Runt Troll here experienced. Kick in an extra K, and it'll be a BTL Chip!"

Thats why you put them under a hat!

To cross-post a little, not enough runners wear hats.

Tell me more about that. Does it save the essenz costs of a sim module?

---

Speaking of style: That's my character (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Well, considering that SimSense Editing software is cheap, you can choose to edit it very easily on the way back to the meet with Johnson. Remember the embedded comlink I mentioned? It's good for more than BTL, phone calls and paying bills. And the rules state you can edit and work with any of the individual sensory tracks of a SimSense recording at will. In fact, even standard players have the ability to turn off any of the six sensory tracks (Sight, Smell, Sound, Taste, Touch and track 6 is the emotive track).

Yep. It's PART of the comlink. Look at the electronics mod rules in Unwired. There are other goodies you can cram in, too. Have a look.

hi hi

At the risk of devolving into the Trodes vs Datajack thread...
...so yes, it can be effectively just a couple of wires.

Back on topic though, there is one very good reason to wear goggles: they keep dust and toxic chemicals out of your eyes. In the world of Shadowrun, these are common elements in any large city, however in Seattle, rain and ash are also very common things that could turn into an irritant. I would think that in Seattle (and probably a host of other smog filled cities) goggles would outnumber glasses for people who step outside.

Cool. Thanks. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

A headband... which isn't necessarily subtle, depending on the setting. And that's the high end. Now, if it's like a ladies headband that runs vertically, that's easier to deal with (for a female) but if it's more like a sweatband (which I suspect given what it's trying to do and where the OLD trodes used to touch the skin) then that's VERY unsubtle. That's all.

bah, just stuff it under a buff (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Did someone say buff?

*FLEX*

Ok now really. So how much/what can a mage put in his glasses, still cast spells, and loose no essence doing it?

In a pair or normal glasses? A Rating 4 pair of glasses can hold 4 different Visual Enhancements. Any of the Enchancements on page 333 SR4A can be added. A mage can still cast spells with any of these enhancements, the Vision Magnification is the only one that might but you can just get them as Optical instead of Electronic with no changes. As long as availability does not go over 12 they are easily bought at CC. That means that you could not, for example, buy Contact Lenses with Ultrasound at CC without taking Restricted Gear (Contacts are Av. 6, Ultrasound adds 8 to that.)

I don't think that's what they meant, CodeBreaker.

thelovedr: If I get your meaning, you were trying to ask which enhancements a mage could get away with? It's a sticky problem, but the answer has ALWAYS been, if it's pure optics, it's fair game, otherwise, you're getting into problems. With things like low-light and thermo, for example, you still have native line-of-sight, and you're aiming with your own eyes, but a really stick GM could say it's no-go. Image Mag in glasses won't work, because there's no room for actual focal length, and if you use digital enhancement *pffft*. There is a reason, if you go back to 1st and 2nd ed, that most corp mages (or mages of any stripe in the books) took cybereyes because once you paid essence, it was part of you. The only exception was optical vs. digital zoom, and that would still apply.

Between the two of us, did that actually cover your question?

Thanks! You totally answered my question. What you can get away with and be able to cast has always thrown me off. I've never played a mage before now, and wasnt quite sure. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

EDIT: Clarity

Aye, saw that, threw in a quick edit before you posted (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

May have been mentioned, but glasses and contacts seem like they'd be more fair game to getting dislodged on a glitch then googles.

As for Mages, always scoop out your baby blues and trade up for chrome.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/question.gif)

Why!?! Mages should be the example of purity when it comes to chrome IMHO.

Because once you paid for it with essence, there's nothing stopping you from using all of that eye-stuff.
THAT's why. And because most people are think exactly like that. That guy is no mage, look at his chrome eyes.

Because it's cyberpunk?

Style is important. Many mages would go "pure" (stereotypically: Shinto, Native American, maybe Voodoo), but corporate mages are children of the modern age. Think of what people do now-a-days to make their lives easier or to make themselves better at their jobs. Fast forward to a world where augmentation is not only accepted, but really the norm. They won't get much augmentation (since they know it will hurt their essential job skills), but a little? Sure. Especially if it, in the long run, makes them better at their job.

Here's the rule of thumb that I use. If you're not getting photons that bounced off of the target, you can't target it.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)



And rightly so. The existence of elves and magic doesn't make realism less important. It makes it more important. One of the things that makes Shadowrun such a rich setting are the attempts to think through the realistic repercussions of events and to justify how things work. You can alter aspects and still make it feel believable so long as you have internal consistency.

To put it another way, I have a mate who is a computer programmer. I can watch a film and enjoy it whilst he is jarred out of his immersion in it repeatedly because the hero is doing something ridiculously stupid with IT. Basically, he is familiar with how things work and that can stop him from finding the events believable (which is a strong factor in whether you are able to generate real emotion in the reader / viewer) whereas I don't know much better (at least some of the time).

Shadowrun can have a magician throw fire. I don't know how magic works so as long as the fluff and rules are internally consistent, it doesn't challenge my immersion. I do know how, for example, a bit about martial arts so if they stick in the rules say that a mundane person can work out a bit and then punch through a concrete wall, that changes the feel of the game from something I can immerse myself in, to something cartoon-like. That's why people want accurate rules in a game with dragons and spirits. We may draw the line in different places - what do I know about decompression sickness? - but it's all an extension of the same principle.

K.

[b]EDIT:[b] Regarding what a magician can get away with - I do as follows: If it's purely optical, there's no problem. If it's purely digital, you can't. And if it's a digital overlay on top of an optical view, e.g. thermographic, running Smart Link system or whatever, then you get vision penalties.

There were several points in here that got me thinking.

So the big bad technomancer/hacker sees his target, said target is wearing Contacts that interface with his internal comlink, and of course the simrig...

Can I force him to go hot? Can I do icky bad things to his contact lenses (format the system of the lenses so that they are useless, black them out so he is blind until they are removed, real time edit of everything he sees, and etc...)? Hmmm I might add this in a different post!

That depends. On Hot-Sim, normal Simrigs are not designed for Hot-Sim and it is illegal for one to be modded so. Chances are that Corp-Sec Security will not have a Hot-Sim modded simrig, and neither will most civvies. A Corp-Sec Security Hacker might depending on who he works for but again it is doubtful. People who would be running Hot-Sim are other Hackers, BTL users and other lowlifes who want as much speed when in the Matrix as possible. However if you do come into contact with such an individual yes you can turn on their VR and then hit them with as much Biofeedback as you want. Unfortunately most people who are running Hot-Sim are either savvy enough to use the methods that make this difficult as hell to do (Slaving, Skinlinks, Stealthed Nodes, Encryption) or its just not worth doing (Who really needs to BF a BTL junkie?). Also the command to switch to VR is almost certainly admin only so you need to hack yourself an Admin Account, which can slow you down.

Onto the Contacts. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. First the Contacts would have to have an Image Link to do most of the stuff you want, and even then it is iffy. Turning them off so that he sees nothing? No way, you turn the Contacts off and all that does is turn off the enhancements. Real Time editing? Possible, you insert new footage through the Image Link. Blacking out his vision? Mmm, again possible using the Image Link. But the problem with hacking things like this is that it doesn't tend to be worth it without some footwork before hand. First you need to find the users node, which can be difficult if they are running in Hidden Mode. Then you need to hack into that persons Node. Then you have to begin running your Edit program. In that time the person you can see could quite easily just put a bullet in your head. And that is at its easiest. Throw in things like Slaving, Encryption and IC to deal with and things get even more difficult and take even longer.

Now, if you take the time pre-run to hack into all the guards 'links and add backdoors, do the same to all the vehicles and such then sure you might be able to be useful in combat. But most of the time it is a good bit easier to just shoot the frakker in the face and be done with it. Shadowrun Hacking is not really all that useful when the bullets are flying (At least not without a fair bit of investment in time. If you find yourself in a stalemate and you have an IP or two to spare, or if the Face can keep the guards busy for a few then yes you can be useful.)

If that were the case then you could use the RADAR sensor for magic... it doesn't work (devs said so)

Oooooooh!

OK, that's workable!

Shadowrun (ala Knasser): where Realism (slight Nerf^TM where needed) meets Fluff and Crunch.