Blindness Options

[Enin]

One of my characters is an Adept with the Blindness negative quality. While the quality is not written to where she would not be able to see at all, she chooses to play her character this way. My question is, how do you guys think she would function in some normal life situations?

Would she be able to use a commlink? How would she handle financial transactions unless using certified cred all of the time?

As far as combat goes, she does have the Astral Perception power. Now this would reduce the modifier from a -6 to a -2 correct? As long as she is astrally perceiving.

Any tips on handling this type of character?

[CanRay]

Datajack/Nanopaste Trodes would allow the person to communicate with the commlink without sight. And, thus, allow transactions.

[toolbox]

Datajack/Nanopaste Trodes would allow the person to communicate with the commlink without sight. And, thus, allow transactions.

Or a regular trodenet - onetime cost, no Essence loss.

[Rasumichin]

Would she be able to use a commlink? How would she handle financial transactions unless using certified cred all of the time?

Use a trode net and an interface not based on visual information.
Simsense can model any kind of sense, so with an appropriate interface, she could experience the entire matrix based on tactile and auditory information.
Translate electronic texts into sound or Braille script instanteneously, for example or feel icons instead of seeing them.

Such an interface could most likely be downloaded from the matrix for free, in the same way as the software that enables sasquatches to translate speech into sign language and vice versa in realtime.

The commlink could also be connected to a device that scans for obstacles (ultrasound sensor etc.) to assist her in situations where astral perception is not an option.
Even though she might not be able to process the input from that sensor directly as visual information, she could be issued warnings before she runs into a wall or off a cliff, for example.

For mundane blind people, a specially equipped commlink may very well be the most important aid in daily life.

As far as combat goes, she does have the Astral Perception power. Now this would reduce the modifier from a -6 to a -2 correct? As long as she is astrally perceiving.

Correct.
If she was a Dual Being, such as a ghoul or shapeshifter, even the -2 modifier wouldn't apply, but human adepts will have to live with this.
It also means that certain information will not be available to her- text would only deliver the emotional content, not the exact meaning, for example.
She would also have to deal with astral instead of physical perception modifiers, so be sure to keep track of that.

[kzt]

In an advanced society, people would not be used to blind people. Cybereyes are (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) 500 per eye, and transplants are also common. So she'd be a freak outside of the deep barrens or some 3rd world hellhole.

Given this I doubt there would be much of the blind adapted systems available.

You'd be at -2 for trying to fight in HTH using astral sight. Ranged combat would be a lot harder, as you can't use advanced sights. You could probably learn to use iron sights (as long as you had a lot of patience and help), but smartlinks, lasers and red dots do nothing for you.

[toolbox]

I just remembered that AR gloves include haptic feedback. I can't think of a single reason this couldn't be used with an on-the-fly text-to-Braille translator program for AR usage if you wanted to stay away from trodes for some reason. Just present the AR interface as a large flat surface with Braille text in areas corresponding to the locations of nearby AROs, include a Braille virtual keyboard, and you should be good. It wouldn't be perfect - lots of AROs are probably heavily graphical - but it should at least allow you to function day to day.

[eidolon]

In an advanced society, people would not be used to blind people. Cybereyes are (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) 500 per eye, and transplants are also common. So she'd be a freak outside of the deep barrens or some 3rd world hellhole.

Given this I doubt there would be much of the blind adapted systems available.

If one is neurologically blind (as in, you took the extra 5BP and went all the way, baby!), then no amount of cyber or transplanted meat is going to change that. Given that this is the case for characters, who are by definition a subset of the overall population, the population must contain people for whom technology can do nothing. There would still be blind people, and thus services, devices, and so on to assist the blind. Why? Because there's ¥ in it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cyber.gif)

I would imagine, actually, that a frequently used option would be drones with Clearsight and a friendly agent that tells you all about the world around you, just for example.

[Dakka Dakka]

Actually most of the previous points depend on whether the character has normal or neurological blindness. If the former is the case, there should be no problem with using a smartlink or a matrix camera feed etc. If his brain however could not interpret visual information, all of this would be useless, for this reason the quality is worth 5 additional BP at chargen.

[Enin]

Actually most of the previous points depend on whether the character has normal or neurological blindness. If the former is the case, there should be no problem with using a smartlink or a matrix camera feed etc. If his brain however could not interpret visual information, all of this would be useless, for this reason the quality is worth 5 additional BP at chargen.

It is neurological blindness, since she did take all of the points for it. Would this mean that she would not be able to even use VR?

She was going for the whole Zatoichi type character, and the funniest thing about it is that she has the highest perception roll out of any of my characters. I dig the idea of the guide drone, maybe we should put it on a leash and put a bright yellow jacket thing on it too! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rotfl.gif)

[Dakka Dakka]

It is neurological blindness, since she did take all of the points for it. Would this mean that she would not be able to even use VR?

I think that is the point about the greater disadvantage. You could however argue that the character has gotten a customized SIM Module which entirely simulates other sensations. But I don't know who would design such a module for such visual creatures as humans.

[Edit]Neurologically reduduced senses can not be bypassed in any way:

Neither replacement nor sensory bypass are available for neurological-based Reduced (Sense) impairments (including those resulting from SURGE or HMHVV-induced transformations).

[/Edit]