I just recently purchased the fourth edition base book and I am wondering what the balance reason for magic and resonance special stats being mutually exclusive is. i can see a flavor reason, the traditional magic is separate from technology rational. with the tremendous build points and karma required to improve all of the abilities necissary to be half way decent as a magical charactor and the other large amount of points needed for thing such as complex forms to be a decent technomancer, the costs are right there to cover balance issues. if neccissary, a 10 point advantage to allow both should cover any potential abuses. if it is a concern about "jack of a ll trades" charactors stealing everyone else's thunder on runs, i have seen people try to create such charactors during third edition sessions, and falling far short. with the creation guidelines of fourth edition, it would be even harder to keep up with dedicated charactors in capability. those build points do not go as far as it might first appear. please give me all of your opinions, most of you have probably played more than one session in the new edition

Dude, it's just a rule in a book for a game. If you want Technomages, then go for it. Hell, you even quoted the house rule you would use to do so. Why don't YOU let US know how it turns out?

Oh, and mages can make awesome hackers.

Edit: that came off as condescending, which wasn't my intention. What I meant was, "I have no effing clue. Sorry."

I think the main reason between the separation of resonance and magic is the same reason for the separation of adepts and full mages. Resonance is a side effect of technology and magic. If you look closely at the TM abilities they all mirror some magic ability in some way.

I think this was discussed before... If you want/need a "fluff" reason, then say the synapsis/genetic coding for creating a Technomancer are mutually exclusive with the ones necessary for Magic. Or better yet, they are the same genes, but for some reason, in this person they allow them to access the Matrix, but in that person they can manipulate Mana.

However, if you use the same rules as Mystic Adepts for the Magician/Technomancer blend it should work fine. Go nuts. The PC will be an underpower Mage and TM, but an interesting blend nonetheless.

I look at it as a complete divergence in man's duality. Man is a product of nature. In the Shadowrun world, nature is magical. There is magic all around us, but for a long time, we either forgot how to use it, or we were somehow cut off.

But we also rise above nature through technology. We separate ourselves from the natural world through artificial structures and the like. The Matrix is the ultimate representation of man's separation from nature.

So, you have two extremes: Man's origins in a natural and magical world and Man's creation of a new world through technology.

Mages and Technomancers basically are the same thing, but each embracing (or perhaps being more in tune with or borne of) a different part of man's being. Mages embrace magic, and technology hinders that connection (hence the reduction in essence from cyberwear). Technomancers *are* technology, and so a reduction in their core being (essence) also reduces their ability to control technology.

That's my view on it. They are too divergent for one to embrace the other.

A adept/TM would not be underpowered though. It would be just like a mystic adept. Especially if you throw your points into technical skills.