Skillwires Options

[JaronK]

The whole skillwires thing is a bit confusing for me. What kind do I need to get if I want to use Rating 6 Activesofts? For example, I want to be able to slot Biotech 6. What kind of skillwires do I need? Also, can I store the information in memory, freeing up the chipjack for another skill, or at least not needing the chip while it's in memory?

JaronK

[mfb]

when you purchase a skillwire system, you choose a maximum rating and a maximum Mp. the total value of all of your currently-running skillsofts cannot exceed the max rating; the total Mp of all your currently-running skillsofts cannot exceed the max Mp.

skillsofts can be accessed through a chipjack, datajack, or stored in headware memory.

[RedmondLarry]

A Rating 6 Active Skillsoft requires 108 MP of memory. See program size table on SR3 p. 223, use the Multiplier 3 column for General Skills, and Multiplier 2 column for Specializations. If you only want to use specializations in your skillwires, you can get by with a 72 MP system.

Skillwires 6 to handle 108 MP memory skills costs 324,000 resources at character generation. You need it with this rating and handling size regardless of where the skill program is stored.

You also need a Chipjack (SR3 page 298) or a Multi-Slot Chipjack (Man and Machine page 22), or enough headware memory to hold the data from the Skill Chip and a connection (typically through the Datajack you use to load the headware memory) from the headware memory to the skill wire system.

You can also get a Chipjack Expert Driver ("CED") from Man and Machine page 19 so that when using a skill chip in the Chipjack you get an extra pool of dice.

Most people feel that to use two rating 6 chips at once, you need a rating 6 skillwire system with 216 MP of memory (648,000 cost), but a few feel you need a rating 12 system with that much memory. I believe the correct answer is Rating 6 with 216MP. That is also what NSRCG uses.

[Jason Farlander]

[Ol' Scratch]

Except in that case you now need an ASIST rating of 12 on your Skillwires.

[Jason Farlander]

[Ol' Scratch]

I didn't say Optimized chips were a bad idea. You were the one saying you could run two Rating 6 Optimized 'softs (which demand ASIST 6/Pulse 54) on the same skillwires (the aforementioned ASIST 6/Pulse 108 'wires). You can't. Optimization only affects the Pulse demand.

[Jason Farlander]

Did you read the post I was referencing? You know, the one I quoted?

[Ol' Scratch]

Yep. But there's no question to it at all and it doesn't change anything I wrote. The rules are quite clear and, once again, NSRCG is flawed. Don't believe me, pick up the book and read.

SR3 p. 108, Skillwires: "When purchased, choose a maximum total MP and maximum skillsoft rating for the system; these determine the total rating and total size of all the activesofts a character can use at one time."

It's not a matter of interpretation. It's a matter of black-and-white English.

[Eyeless Blond]

The main reason to have skillwires with a greater pulse (Mp) rating than ASIST rating is for when you have lots of money to spend on programming options. In particular, the Pluscode, Customization, and DIMAP options allow you to run higher-rating skillsofts without taking up as high an ASIST rating.

[Deamon_Knight]

So, let me ask a related question:Are there any hard and fast rules for what skills requires Skillwires and an activesoft and what can be done with only a chipjack (or headware memory and knowsoft link) and a skillsoft/lingual soft? Languages, obviously, and pure reference data, but how does on draw the line of what can be an activesoft and a knowsoft? is it entirely up to the GM, or does it depend on the linked attribute, or something else?

I ask primarily because it seems that skills like B/R skills, linked to INT, should (intuitively) be a knowsoft, and say pistols, must be an activesoft; but if this is so, balance wise B/R skills would be so useful and easy to come by, (Esp. once expert jacks and/or multislot chipjacks are included) it would make far more sense to ONLY ever by skillsofts.

Am I completely misreading what knowsofts can do or am I missing some big downside?

[toturi]

Simple enough. Active Skills - Activesofts. Knowledge Skills - Knowsofts.

[Deamon_Knight]

Can you tell where it says that Toturi? I can't remember seeing it spelled out that clearly.

That would indicate to me that knowsofts (and the realted hardware short of skillwires) were really quite useless. Its seems rare that you would make a direct test with only a knowledge skill. (Still waving nOOb pennant though!)

And, while that is pretty straightforward, it seems counter-intuitive that repairing a cabinet, or fixing a blunt blade, would require THAT much more than "known" (as opposed to raw *datasoft*) data.

[Jason Farlander]

Try page 295, SR3, under skillsofts.

[toturi]

[Herald of Verjig...]

[Eyeless Blond]

Not only that, but they're also great for Complimentary skills, too.

[mmu1]

This is going off on a tangent, but isn't actually buying rating 6 skillwires a pretty bad idea?

The price doesn't scale up linearly, so the jump in price from rating 5 to 6 is a lot more than that extra die is worth, especially considering how absurdly cheap a rating 3 expert driver is...

Hell, rating 3 skillwires with a rating 3 ECD cost next to nothing in terms of money and Essence, and can give you 6 dice in dozens of skills (as long as you're not relying on them for combat) for the money you'd spend on a rating 6 system and handful of skillsofts. Or am I missing something?

[RedmondLarry]

Your not missing anything, mmu1.

[JaronK]

Well, you could always get Rating 6 skillwires and a Rating 3 Chipjack Driver. Then you've got 9 dice to roll in any skill, which is amazing for many purposes. The character I'm playing around with is called Wildcard, a street sam who just slots whatever he needs. He has Assault Rifles 6 and Pistols 6, as well as computers 6, but not much else. I gave him an Encephalon, R6 wires, R3 Driver, and Enhanced Articulation, so in theory he can throw 9 dice at any skill he can get a chip for, plus 1 extra if it's an intelligence skill (like biotech), and 1 extra die if it's one of the many areas EA helps. Not bad.

JaronK

[mmu1]

[Ol' Scratch]

I've found Skillwires with ASIST 3/Pulse 13 to be the most efficient ones to get. Couple it with a Chipjack Expert Driver 3, a Chipjack, your choice of Headware Memory or a cyberlimb with a few thousand MPs of DNI-controlled Memory (0 Essence, 3 nuyen per Mp, and 0.5 ECU per 1,000 Mp), and a Datajack to act as a router and you're set. Throw on some Enhanced Articulation if you plan on using them with acceptable skills, and it gets even better.

You'll only be able to run Optimized or Customized ActiveSofts that way, but with a Customized ActiveSoft with an ASIST rating of 3 (skill level of 4), the CED, and Articulation and you're rolling 5 dice on every test and up to 8 when using the CED's Task Pool. That's not bad at all, even with secondary combat 'softs. If you upgrade the 'wires to ASIST 6/Pulse 26, get another CED and Chipjack (or go Multi), you can even run two of them simultaneously.

To avoid a long rant, note that some people get their knickers in a twist about Chipjack Expert Drivers, Routers, and Memory. If such is the case with you, just use a Skillsoft Jukebox. It's exactly the same difference -- the only change is you have to carry the computer around rather than using one you had installed.

[Eyeless Blond]

Actually instead of upgrading the ASIST *and* the Pulse rating, you could save Essence by just upgrading the Pulse rating (a simpler operation as well, as you don't have to remove/install cyberware) and rewriting your activesofts with one or two levels of Pluscode. That way you can even have up to three of them running at once, though the pulse rating and the cost of the activesofts would be quite high by this point.

[Ol' Scratch]

It's significantly cheaper in the long run to upgrade the 'wires. Well, unless Essence is a major, major issue for the character or only plan on having two or three 'softs ever.

Besides, how often do you really need to use three different skills all at the same time? And even if you do, why are you relying entirely on the Skillwire system for all of them? :)

[Spookymonster]

If you're looking for rock-bottom prices, don't forget Used cyberware. Some Betaware Skillwires(3), a multi-slot chipjack(4), and a CED(3) can all be had for ~1 Essence point. While it doesn't eliminate the potential danger of a stress check, it does make it a fairly rare occurrence.