[X] My Assistant

[ggodo]

What're the need to haves for a Technomancer rigger? I'm terrible at figuring out how to prioritize Technomancers as is, rigging is even more confusing. Does he need complex forms? is it better than a sprite in a bot? Help me help him rebuild. Also, Longbow if you'd be kind enough to share what you're playing this summer that'd be nice to ensure we aren't double riggered. I dunno what I'd do with those drones.

[Yerameyahu]

Well, first, god forbid you be suboptimal. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

One method is threading your Command CF really high, and doing everything in Remote Control.
Good sprites can also be effective 'super-Pilots'.
Technomancers can slave drones to their bionode for hack-proof-ness (IIRC), and can (with GM approval) get a nice TacNet CF.

Standard hacker bonuses still work: PuSHeD, Sim Boosters, etc.

There are some previous threads on this, of course. Do a search for more extensive tips.

[CanRay]

And you can have many guns flying around your head controlled by your murderthoughts.

It's not just about builds, people, it's also about Roles and "Rule Of Cool"!

[ggodo]

So, The theme I'm getting is Sprites in bots is good, how high a rating should sprites have? The player is new to rigging, how do you play this?

[CanRay]

Never summon anything bigger than your head.

That includes the Digital Magicians as well. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[longbowrocks]

I was considering playing a hacker/technomancer so that you wouldn't need to artificially lower thresholds in the matrix anymore, but it sounds like you've got that covered. Instead, I'll go with my first idea:

I'm playing The Most Interesting Man in the World.
I'll seriously aim for the following using positive/negative qualities and my general build.
His blood smells like cologne.
He's a lover, not a fighter. But he's also a fighter, so don't get any ideas.
The police often question him, just because they find him interesting.
He can speak French, in Russian.
At museums, he is allowed to touch the art.
On Careers: "Find out what it is in life that you do not do well, and then don't do that thing."

These might make it into the roleplay:
He is the life of parties he never attended.
He once had an awkward moment, just to see how it felt.
On Wingmen: "It doesn't take more than one man to talk to a woman."
On Rollerblading: "No."

His main two catchphrases will make it in there as roleplay or negative qualities.

All in all, I'm going to shoot for a character with about 20 dice in both shooting and social skills, with moderate stealth aspects.

[Sengir]

You should decide three things first, because they are not covered by RAW
- How do sprites interact with drones
- How do sprites use autosofts, and how is their Autosoft power actually used?
- Can TMs get the bonus from a Control Rig?

Apart from that, high Willpower is obviously nice to have if the player wants to jump in frequently. For a starting drone loadout, I'd suggest an up-armoured Doberman with White Knight LMG, and a Fly-Spy with sensors raised to R6 (see the Arsenal errata on that) and various vision enhancements in the camera.

[capt.pantsless]

- Can TMs get the bonus from a Control Rig?

Or better yet, work-out some house-rules on a natural control-rig for technomancers, say a quality around 10 BP or so, to get the standard control-rig bonus without blowing any essence. If you're going to work-up houserules for Riggermancers, why not go all the way.

(Oh, and once you've done all that, write it up and publish it here!)

[Rasumichin]

All in all, I'm going to shoot for a character with about 20 dice in both shooting and social skills, with moderate stealth aspects.

So...elven adept?

[ggodo]

So, after reading through techno stuff again, how do you reccommend stats and skills for dronomancy?

[longbowrocks]

So...elven adept?

Except the adept part. It's become part of my play style until all essence hugging awakened grovel before my mundane glory. (ugh, does the word have to be "mundane"? That's the sort of thing I'm talking about. Even the word "mundane" basically implies that awakened are better)

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

Except the adept part. It's become part of my play style until all essence hugging awakened grovel before my mundane glory. (ugh, does the word have to be "mundane"? That's the sort of thing I'm talking about. Even the word "mundane" basically implies that awakened are better)

Its just a perception thing, and perception does not always equal reality... Really, the Mundanes in the core character group that we play tend to be better than the Awakened, because they are useful in more situations, and carry less drawbacks. Of course, it is a play style thing, ans likely a Character Concept thing. When your Awakened spend every available point into making their magical natures more powerful/versatile, they tend to fall by the wayside for non-magical tasks. They are very good magically, but not so good non-magically.

If you are only comparing on the capabilities of unlimited advancement, then yes, Awakened/Emergent characters have unlimited potential. But it never really works out that way in game. Something always comes up. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[squee_nabob]

Have resonance 6, thread to command 12. Use 1 drone remotely as the primary. Have a rating 6+ (hopefully 7 so your mage can heal the P fade) machine sprite to autonomously command another drone. I suggest Hussar's from WAR! but if you don't have a face, the 32F availability is rather hard to hit.

I would equip the Hussars with Lonestar Flash Flood Cannons, and cover them in grenades (unless you use the greande rules from WAR, in which case I would use a fully automatic grenade launcher as an option).

[longbowrocks]

If you are only comparing on the capabilities of unlimited advancement, then yes, Awakened/Emergent characters have unlimited potential. But it never really works out that way in game. Something always comes up. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

One of the things that usually gets me is that it's difficult for a mundane to max out an augmented skill, whereas if you're willing to play awakened, it's as easy as taking the adept quality for Improved Ability. There's more, but basically it's the fact that their selling feature is versatility, and they can still min-max better than a mundane on the side.

[sabs]

reflex recorders? reflex recorder(group) are both great add ons for physical skills

Athletics: Synthcardium, and some others can get you +6 to your dp's easily.
There are tons of +logic enhancers that will give you + to your tech skill pools.
Attention-Coprocessors, so cheap, everyone should have one. +3 to all physical perception tests.

Saying that Cyber can't rack up the augments to skill dp's is.. a mistake.

[Dakka Dakka]

Have a rating 6+ (hopefully 7 so your mage can heal the P fade) machine sprite to autonomously command another drone.

I'm pretty sure Fading can't be healed magically, no matter if it is S or P.

[longbowrocks]

reflex recorders? reflex recorder(group) are both great add ons for physical skills

Athletics: Synthcardium, and some others can get you +6 to your dp's easily.
There are tons of +logic enhancers that will give you + to your tech skill pools.
Attention-Coprocessors, so cheap, everyone should have one. +3 to all physical perception tests.

Saying that Cyber can't rack up the augments to skill dp's is.. a mistake.

I should have been more specific: weapon skills.

You can get a reflex recorder... and synch gives you a situational bonus, but it's not reliable so I don't count it. Therefore adept gets a +2 bonus that I can't.

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

reflex recorders? reflex recorder(group) are both great add ons for physical skills

Athletics: Synthcardium, and some others can get you +6 to your dp's easily.
There are tons of +logic enhancers that will give you + to your tech skill pools.
Attention-Coprocessors, so cheap, everyone should have one. +3 to all physical perception tests.

Saying that Cyber can't rack up the augments to skill dp's is.. a mistake.

True, but I think that Longbowrocks is complaining that there are not a lot of SKILL Augmentations available to Mundane Characters. Outside of your Reflex Recorders and the MBW System (for Dodge) there are not any others I can think of off the top of my head. The issue he compares to is the Adepts ability to apply his Skill modifications to any Combat, Technical, Physical or vehicle skills. Hard to compete with that. Though I guess a Reflex Recorder will apply to the Combat and Physical Skills, but there is just not a lot of applicable tech to apply to skills.... It is a distinct lact of equality that he is seeing.

I agre that the vast amount of ware available will compensate the Dice Pools quite adequately, though, as most Adepts will not go in for much in the way of augmentation. In fact, I often see Strreet Sams outstripping Adepts abilities, except in a very few cases (Elemental Damage for one).

Anyways...

[DireRadiant]

So, after reading through techno stuff again, how do you reccommend stats and skills for dronomancy?

Look at p. 247 in SR4A. Chart has all the tests.

Pick the mode and style your dronomancer will specialize in, and maximize those related skills and attributes/programs/CF that you will be using.

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

I'm pretty sure Fading can't be healed magically, no matter if it is S or P.

Fading is treated just like Drain, as far as I know. First Aid can aid, magic cannot. But I have no Quotes for that. In fact, the thing keeping Drain from being healed magically is because it is self inflicted magical damage. Fading does not fall into that category, so I see no reason that it COULDN"T be healed by magic. *shrug* (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[sabs]

It's because they cut and pasted the Drain rules for Fading and then did a search and replaced ^drain^fading

[Yerameyahu]

As they should have. It's magic, except it's Resonance.

[X-Kalibur]

As they should have. It's magic, except it's Resonance.

Digital magic.

[KarmaInferno]

One of the things that usually gets me is that it's difficult for a mundane to max out an augmented skill, whereas if you're willing to play awakened, it's as easy as taking the adept quality for Improved Ability. There's more, but basically it's the fact that their selling feature is versatility, and they can still min-max better than a mundane on the side.

Well, it's not QUITE that simple. You still have to get your base skill up first to double whatever Improved Ability rating you want to get.



-k

[Yerameyahu]

Not like skill rating (augmented or otherwise) matters much more than attribute or DP mods. There are maybe 2 rare things it affects.