Uber-Technomancer, Post your builds Options

[crizh]

How about 'No more than 20% of Technomancers have access to Code Sprites' then?

Cyberadepts make up a minimum of 50% of all TM's. Of the other 7 streams only 3 can have Code sprites. All things being equal that's 20% of all TM's.

You may have a point about Sprite Link however.

[toolbox]

How about 'No more than 20% of Technomancers have access to Code Sprites' then?

Cyberadepts make up a minimum of 50% of all TM's. Of the other 7 streams only 3 can have Code sprites. All things being equal that's 20% of all TM's.

Whoa, I drastically misremembered the number of streams there. My bad.

You may have a point about Sprite Link however.

Yeah, I would never spend an Echo on an ability that a sprite can provide instead when Sprite Link is available.

[twilite]

Question- Can you still default on the same Hacker-related skills that you could in the SR4 base book (Computer, Cybercombat, Data Search, Hacking)? If so, then you can get the increased attribute (Logic) min/max from Surge II, cap out Logic at 7, and use Restricted Gear quality to start with Cerebral Booster 3, and begin the game with Logic 10. This means defaulting to 9 on all those skills, which is higher than you can ever get the skills purchased outright, even with specializations.

Then, if dice added to "Logic connected skills" (Aug p.110) or "Logic-linked skill tests" (Aug p.91) still count when you are defaulting like this, you can start the game with 18-21 dice (depending on distraction level for the Nanites) in 4 of the primary Hacker skills, without having had to actually pay for those skills. This is pretty good and doesn't even count things like bonuses from Hot Sim, or the ease with which they can get 5 IP's due to cyber and modifying their commlink.

You will actually have to buy Software, Hardware, and Electronic Warfare, unless you get Skillwires and chip them instead. Plenty of points left for it, though, even with buying a race, maxing edge, and maxing resources. Any other Logic -based skills either learned or chipped will be pretty high too, or can be defaulted to with decent results.

That seems pretty strong- better than a Hacker-adept (unless they are a magical adept who can spell lock Increase Logic, and is willing to sacrifice magic to the various cyberware needed, or can cast and lock one heck of an Analyze Device on his commlink).

Technos will still have Sprites, and the Assist Operation/Sustain Complex Form which make their threshold for the system spotting them when hacking very high, as well as tricks the hacker will never have due to the Sprite powers, submersion abilities, and trips to the Resonance realms.

The Hacker is throwing a heck of a lot of dice, all the time, and can develop enough to also be a physical threat, and one that can actually enter a facility to hack from the inside, which a Techno will simply not have the build/karma to do except from inside a Horseman or other personal mobility vehicle.

If I'm missing something, or something has changed, that makes this scenario impossible, let me know.

[The Jake]

Info Savants, Networkers and Sourcerors only.

Any other stream and you'll just be forced to learn the Echo. I'd get Sift first if I were going down that route though.

Actually I'd learn Info Sortilage first. Sift only starts really granting decent bonuses once you're a couple of grades into Submersion.

- J.

[Wiseman]

I was looking through the TM rules the other day and I noticed that Decompiling is also a Software test, so that's another reason to pick up Analytical Mind for 5bp.

Going back a few, but i'm pretty sure thats an error. Decompiling is a Decompiling test.

In the errata

p. 236 Decompiling Sprites
Technomancers roll Resonance + Decompiling to decompile
sprites, not Resonance + So ware.

Its fixed in the SR4A as well.

One other majore benefit of TM's is they're programs are always runnings. Sure ergonomic helps hackers, but that's just one more thing they have to pay for and doesn't remove all the juggling.

A decently built TM will have 10 CF's which are all functioning all the time (though some of them it hardly matters). Considering "run program" is a complex action, this actually pans out a little more in the TM's favor. They're acting on the 1st IP.

Threading being part of the action of the actual program use, even when they don't have the CF in question, they're still not losing a pass to fire up the program.

[The Jake]

Question- Can you still default on the same Hacker-related skills that you could in the SR4 base book (Computer, Cybercombat, Data Search, Hacking)? If so, then you can get the increased attribute (Logic) min/max from Surge II, cap out Logic at 7, and use Restricted Gear quality to start with Cerebral Booster 3, and begin the game with Logic 10. This means defaulting to 9 on all those skills, which is higher than you can ever get the skills purchased outright, even with specializations.

Then, if dice added to "Logic connected skills" (Aug p.110) or "Logic-linked skill tests" (Aug p.91) still count when you are defaulting like this, you can start the game with 18-21 dice (depending on distraction level for the Nanites) in 4 of the primary Hacker skills, without having had to actually pay for those skills. This is pretty good and doesn't even count things like bonuses from Hot Sim, or the ease with which they can get 5 IP's due to cyber and modifying their commlink.

You will actually have to buy Software, Hardware, and Electronic Warfare, unless you get Skillwires and chip them instead. Plenty of points left for it, though, even with buying a race, maxing edge, and maxing resources. Any other Logic -based skills either learned or chipped will be pretty high too, or can be defaulted to with decent results.

That seems pretty strong- better than a Hacker-adept (unless they are a magical adept who can spell lock Increase Logic, and is willing to sacrifice magic to the various cyberware needed, or can cast and lock one heck of an Analyze Device on his commlink).

Technos will still have Sprites, and the Assist Operation/Sustain Complex Form which make their threshold for the system spotting them when hacking very high, as well as tricks the hacker will never have due to the Sprite powers, submersion abilities, and trips to the Resonance realms.

The Hacker is throwing a heck of a lot of dice, all the time, and can develop enough to also be a physical threat, and one that can actually enter a facility to hack from the inside, which a Techno will simply not have the build/karma to do except from inside a Horseman or other personal mobility vehicle.

If I'm missing something, or something has changed, that makes this scenario impossible, let me know.

Cracking tests cannot be defaulted. Also Logic is sadly (and illogically) irrelevant by RAW to Hacking.

Otherwise, yes a high Logic character does rock.

- J.

[toolbox]

A decently built TM will have 10 CF's which are all functioning all the time (though some of them it hardly matters). Considering "run program" is a complex action, this actually pans out a little more in the TM's favor. They're acting on the 1st IP.

Threading being part of the action of the actual program use, even when they don't have the CF in question, they're still not losing a pass to fire up the program.

Yeah, having Stealth, Attack, Exploit, Scan, Black Hammer, Armor, Shield, Decrypt, Edit and Spoof all running at rating 5 or 6 all the time (not to mention your free Biofeedback Filter), with the option to instantly crank any of them up even higher as needed means you never really have to worry about having the right tool handy for any situation. Even if those don't do the job, you can thread something up out of nothing and use it on your very first action.

[twilite]

Cracking tests cannot be defaulted. Also Logic is sadly (and illogically) irrelevant by RAW to Hacking.

Otherwise, yes a high Logic character does rock.

- J.

Ah, I'm working off a VERY old copy of SR4 (2005 Corrected Second Printing) so if they changed it to all the Cracking group not being defaultable instead of just Electronic Warfare, then my evil schemes don't work, and vanilla hackers are much weaker sauce.