Rulebook Q/A, A non-hijacked rule q/a thread Options

[Daedelus]

I wanted to start this thread because the last one got hijacked.

There was a question on the wording of stacking armor in the preview #4. Can someone tell me if they fixed it.

What defenses can be added to cyberlimbs and other cyberware that can be used to help vs hackers?

[apple]

Currently there is no stacking. You can wear one piece of normal armor (like an armor jacket), additional pieces do not count and you can add multiple pieces of +armor items (like a helmet), which are restricted by ( I think, not quite sure) strength. Most people will run around with an armor jacket (12) and a helm (+3) for a total of 15 + body soak dices.

SYL

[Daedelus]

How do Riggers differ in this edition? Have they become their own specialty again or is the Rigger / Decker combo still a viable build?

[Daedelus]

Can someone give us the stats on the big three of the spell list? Mana Bolt, Mana Ball, and Stun Bolt.

Also Please tell me they brought back Turn to Goo.

[Daedelus]

Currently there is no stacking. You can wear one piece of normal armor (like an armor jacket), additional pieces do not count and you can add multiple pieces of +armor items (like a helmet), which are restricted by ( I think, not quite sure) strength. Most people will run around with an armor jacket (12) and a helm (+3) for a total of 15 + body soak dices.

SYL

I am a fan of tight rules. It seems that the armor stacking rules in the preview have left a big question mark. They state that "For every 2 full points by which the bonus exceeds the character’s Strength, the character suffers a –1 penalty to Agility and Reaction". However the passage prior to that states "The maximum bonus a character receive from these items is limited to their Strength attribute". This makes +armor items limited to the Strength attribute with no trade off for exceeding it. This may be a proofreading oversight that was fixed in the final printing. Was it?

[DWC]

A few questions spring to mind.

Did Grounding come back as a counterbalance to focus abuse?

Are there any mechanical drawbacks to the use of "sniper rifles" as conventional battle rifles?

Is the Ares Alpha still the "right answer" when it comes to an assault rifle?

[Aaron]

How do Riggers differ in this edition? Have they become their own specialty again or is the Rigger / Decker combo still a viable build?

Riggers are a thing again. I don't know of any combo that isn't viable except for magician/technomancer.

And now the thread gets hijacked with a discussion of concept combos. =i)

[Seerow]

I am a fan of tight rules. It seems that the armor stacking rules in the preview have left a big question mark. They state that "For every 2 full points by which the bonus exceeds the character’s Strength, the character suffers a –1 penalty to Agility and Reaction". However the passage prior to that states "The maximum bonus a character receive from these items is limited to their Strength attribute". This makes +armor items limited to the Strength attribute with no trade off for exceeding it. This may be a proofreading oversight that was fixed in the final printing. Was it?

So armor is restricted by strength now? Or there is no restriction as long as you wear only a single piece?


In either scenario, does Body do anything now other than provide base damage resistance dice? If I can have a BOD 1 character with 15+ armor, chances are I will unless there's something else Body provides that hasn't been mentioned.

[Mäx]

Riggers are a thing again. I don't know of any combo that isn't viable except for magician/technomancer.

If technomancer/something combos are a viable option right out of gate, then thats pretty cool change.
I quess i have the first character types i have to try and make ones the book is out right there (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

So armor is restricted by strength now? Or there is no restriction as long as you wear only a single piece?

No restriction other then you can't wear more then one piece of armor, then armor addition items(like helmets and shields) are limited to your strength

In either scenario, does Body do anything now other than provide base damage resistance dice? If I can have a BOD 1 character with 15+ armor, chances are I will unless there's something else Body provides that hasn't been mentioned.

More damage boxes, those are quite usefull.

[BishopMcQ]

Are there any mechanical drawbacks to the use of "sniper rifles" as conventional battle rifles?

Yep, similar to SR4A.

[Seerow]

More damage boxes, those are quite usefull.

Is it 1 box per body now, or still only 1/2?

Because at 1/2, it might be worth bumping up to 2, to get the 9th box. Spending 2 more points to get 4? Not so much. Reaction or Intuition will be much better because they provide the same level of protection, plus other secondary benefits (going earlier/more often, higher chance of outright avoiding an attack, and some useful linked skills). Even at 1 box per body, it might not be worth picking it up compared to that.

Body was useful in SR4 because 1 body = 3 damage resistance dice, which was a huge deal for survivability, since it provided three times as many resistance dice as the other relevant stats. Take that away? Body may as well not even exist.

[CrystalBlue]

What kind of Skill Groups are we seeing? Same as in 4th, different ones?

And for the skills, are there any major changes to the skills that are there? Ones that have been added or removed?

[Larsine]

Is it 1 box per body now, or still only 1/2?

Because at 1/2, it might be worth bumping up to 2, to get the 9th box. Spending 2 more points to get 4? Not so much. Reaction or Intuition will be much better because they provide the same level of protection, plus other secondary benefits (going earlier/more often, higher chance of outright avoiding an attack, and some useful linked skills). Even at 1 box per body, it might not be worth picking it up compared to that.

Body was useful in SR4 because 1 body = 3 damage resistance dice, which was a huge deal for survivability, since it provided three times as many resistance dice as the other relevant stats. Take that away? Body may as well not even exist.

Its 8 + ½ body (rounded up), so Body 1 or 2 gives you 9 damage boxes, you need to up it to 3 to get the extra damage box

[DireRadiant]

What kind of Skill Groups are we seeing? Same as in 4th, different ones?

And for the skills, are there any major changes to the skills that are there? Ones that have been added or removed?

For Magic there are Enchanting, Artificing and Ritual Spellcasting which actually do things you would use in game.

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

For Magic there are Enchanting, Artificing and Ritual Spellcasting which actually do things you would use in game.

They did things you would use in-game in SR4A, too. *shrug*

[Daedelus]

So armor is restricted by strength now? Or there is no restriction as long as you wear only a single piece?


In either scenario, does Body do anything now other than provide base damage resistance dice? If I can have a BOD 1 character with 15+ armor, chances are I will unless there's something else Body provides that hasn't been mentioned.

the short answer is No it is not limited by Strength. There is now Armor and +armor (helmets, riot shields, etc.) +Armor items are limited by Str.

[Sendaz]

Can someone give us the stats on the big three of the spell list? Mana Bolt, Mana Ball, and Stun Bolt.

Also Please tell me they brought back Turn to Goo.

All I have seen so far of the 3 is Manabolt from the quick start.
Type M, Range LOS, Damage P
Damage equal to net hits, resisted by Willpower, no other Damage resistance tests allowed.
Drain F-2


For the Indirect damage types we see Clout.
Type P , Range LOS, Damage S,
Inflicts Stun Damage equal to Magic Rating plus Net hits, Resisted by Reaction & Intuition, remaining damage resisted by Body & Armor,
Drain F-2

the other 3 spells were:

Armor
Provides armor points equal to hits on spellcasting test
Drain F

Heal
Heals Boxes of Physical damage equal to hits on spellcasting test
Drain F-4 ( A bit of a surprise as used to be DV(F) -2 so healing is actually a little easier)

Increase reflexes
Add +1 to Initiative and +1 Initiative Dice for every two hits, max 4 points and 4 dice
Drain F-1 (5 Drain for +3 Init , +3 Init dice is not too bad)

[Seerow]

the short answer is No it is not limited by Strength. There is now Armor and +armor (helmets, riot shields, etc.) +Armor items are limited by Str.

So strength indirectly provides armor.

Body is a useless stat that will never go above one for an optimizer.


Good to know these things.

[Mäx]

Body is a useless stat that will never go above one for an optimizer.

If im not mistaken Body is part of the physical limits calculation.
Also unless you have specific pieces of gear on, resisting toxins is body only test(unless thats for some reason changed in SR5)

[Seerow]

If im not mistaken Body is part of the physical limits calculation.

Strength factors in twice, and provides bonus armor and is linked to a few skills. If you care about physical limits, that's where you'll boost, not Body.

Also unless you have specific pieces of gear on, resisting toxins is body only test(unless thats for some reason changed in SR5)

Extremely niche concern, not worth spending attribute points on when every other attribute provides so much better benefits. Especially when the countermeasure is just making sure you have those specific pieces of gear.

[Epicedion]

All I have seen so far of the 3 is Manabolt from the quick start.
Type M, Range LOS, Damage P
Damage equal to net hits, resisted by Willpower, no other Damage resistance tests allowed.
Drain F-2

This is pretty good. Tossing an F5 Manabolt for 3 drain and probably 3-4 actual damage isn't bad. I imagine most people will be tossing more than 9 Drain resist dice.

I'd like to see what using Edge does to the Direct spells, though. Since Edge nominally removes regular limits, would you then want to cast at Force 1 with Edge and still get all your net hits?

For the Indirect damage types we see Clout.
Type P , Range LOS, Damage S,
Inflicts Stun Damage equal to Magic Rating plus Net hits, Resisted by Reaction & Intuition, remaining damage resisted by Body & Armor,
Drain F-2

Magic rating damage or Force? That is, do you cast at Force 3 for 3 hits but still do Magic +3 damage? Or would it be 3 +3 damage because of the Force? If it's Magic +hits that makes Mages pretty spiffy, since you'd be tossing out 9 damage on a Force 3, Drain 1 spell.

Force is supposed to act as AP as well, right?

the other 3 spells were:

Armor
Provides armor points equal to hits on spellcasting test
Drain F

Bitchin'. Still the question about Edge lifting the cap (cast at Force 1, still get all the net hits?).

Heal
Heals Boxes of Physical damage equal to hits on spellcasting test
Drain F-4 ( A bit of a surprise as used to be DV(F) -2 so healing is actually a little easier)

Much easier to heal, probably a good thing. Target Essence doesn't get in the way? Are sustained-permanent rules still in place?

Increase reflexes
Add +1 to Initiative and +1 Initiative Dice for every two hits, max 4 points and 4 dice
Drain F-1 (5 Drain for +3 Init , +3 Init dice is not too bad)

Not bad. F8 and 8 hits to get the max bonus.

[apple]

Compared to SR3 and 4? Pretty bad. More then ever it seems to be hackerrun 2075.

SYL

[Kiirnodel]

So strength indirectly provides armor.

Body is a useless stat that will never go above one for an optimizer.


Good to know these things.

If im not mistaken Body is part of the physical limits calculation.
Also unless you have specific pieces of gear on, resisting toxins is body only test(unless thats for some reason changed in SR5)

Body also determines how many overflow boxes you have and how long you bleed out before death...

[DWC]

Did the ghoul virus get changed into a form that no longer requires GM fiat to avoid ending all of humanity?

[Patrick Goodman]

Did the ghoul virus get changed into a form that no longer requires GM fiat to avoid ending all of humanity?

Not in the core, but it's being worked on.