Okay, I have a PC in my game who's sporting a ton of Bioware and Cyberware off of character creation (because I'm a nice GM and I'll allow some cultured drek).

Now, as the PBP is going rather slow, I wanted to double-check everyone's numbers using the NSCRG, and I found out that this one character was 12 BP over what they were allowed to start with (which suprised me. The character's packed to the gills with guns, but other than that, they've got nothing to fall back on, although there were a lot of knowledge skills).

I do some calculations, and discover that they had calculated those Knowledge and Language Skills using their Augmented Score for INT.

Now, SR3 makes no differentiation as far as I can tell regarding the skill point availabilites coming from Augmented versus Unaugmented Attributes. I am personally going to play it as Unaugmented due to skill costs coming before gear in the selection phase, but then I got thinking... how do you determine what the cost for a new skill is going to be? Let's say they've got a BOD of 4(5), and want to raise their Athletics skill one level from 4 to 5. Would it cost the regular amount, or would it be raised a level since it's going above their Unaugmented?

Some augmentations count as unaugmented for all purposes in SR3. These include most Bioware (except Pheremones) and the Improved Attribute adept power. These are always factored in.

Sor cyberware and other augmentations that count as augmented there are good aruguements both ways. I think it may depend on the skill. Certainly, dermal armor won't help you run faster. It makes sense that unaugmented Body is used for body-based skills. However, other augmentations aren't clear-cut. Muscle enhancement should make STR and QUI related skills easier. However, as a general rule, I'd say that calculations should be made without considering cyberware.

How is it any more cheap than reflex recorders? They aren't just spending they're spending bioindex, too. If they're magicians they're spending magic points, as well.

Knowledge/language skill points depend on natural intelligence without ware.

Counting the cerebral booster was a common houserule though.

Since bioware is counted as natural, I count it as the Attribute level for increasing attributes and skills. Unless the bioware states it does not effect thes (I think Tailored Pheromones is one.)

On the mnemonic enhancer and knowledge and language skill ratings, it adds a die, it does not raise the skill.

Actually canon SR3 does not differentiate between augmented and unaugmented Intelligence for the purposes of Knowledge and Langauge skill points.

The actual rules quote would be:

Yes, thats correct. By canon, any ware comes after buying skills, and bioware was no issue when SR3 was written.

Calculating skill point costs based on bioware-augmented attributes does improve the power of mundance characters. We allowed that by houserule, but its not canon.