I have a sudden doubt about this, it's kind of a stupid question but...

In SR4, can a Awakened character still use a geas to overcome a Magic loss by a loss of Essence (for example because of implants) ?

It doesn't seems like it, but still...

No, he can't.

Which is a good thing, in my opinion.

The changes on cyberware and magic from SR3 to SR4 have really decreased the utility of a spellcaster with a touch of cyber. I don't know if that's objectively bad or not, but if I were in the development meetings I would have said "We need to be careful, that's a big change in the game world" a lot of times.

In SR3, there was a large advantage for a mage who took 1 essence worth of cyberware. They could get a datajack, a chipjack, and a smartlink - and if they wanted to they could take a geas to offset the essence loss. Additionally, the way character generation worked you didn't have to pay for that point of Magic you were losing.

In SR4, there is almost no mechanical advantage to the datajack, chipjack, or cybernetic smartlink - you can get all those effects through non-invasive means. In addition, you can't offset magic loss with geasa either.

The sum effect is the same - my mage will be able to have a DNI (through trodes), have a smartlinked gun, and use linguasofts and knowsofts all without losing any magical ability. The big difference is flavor, and I liked the SR3 flavor of "having a little bit of cyberware is a good idea for everyone". Cyberware is one of the key elements in the game world, and in SR4 it's basically become obsolete.

Hopefully Augmentation and Unwired will make it meaningful again - even to the extent that there's some benifit for a mage to get some implants rather than just being able to say "Well, I've got magic. Tech is something that other character classes are stuck with."

(Postscript - that was an interesting rant... I'm not sure if it has anything to do with anything.)

Wait. What the heck replaces the chipjack, either cyberwise or otherwise?

And what's the datajack do in SR4, anyway?

The datajack replaces the chipjack, it can read chips.

A datajack lets you directly interface with any device, while trodes only interface with a sim module. So while you can use your commlink to control any device using either datajack or trodes, only a datajack can interface directly with something without a sim module.

Bring back the Trauma Damper!

Im think with some supplements the idea of a mage with a bit of cyber will come back. I mean think back in the day, when only the core rules of SR1 or whatever was out, before geasa, the only way to offset magic loss was the power focus.

Which you could still do, since the power focus adds dice to all magic related tests, which youd lose a bit with cyber. Adepts with a bit of cyber are pretty damned intense...physical stat upping bioware costs a bit of nuyen(but nothing like before), and hardly any essence. The point sacrificed isnt that substantial even, with adept powers cheap and no one really using the Adepts increased Attribute ability. (Im sure this is a reason why the wishes for Adept nerfing in this new system. A bit off topic: is it just me, or do Adepts seem to fluctuate between 'worthless' and 'broken' between editions? Well, to the general consensus..i dont have a problem with them, tho i think the 2e adept had some harsh issues to make it a bit of a pain to play.)

Mages too, if magic is maxed, can benefit still from bioware. The toughest part though is coming up with the nuyen for the bioware, with the points already spread pretty well out. a 5 magic is still pretty good, hermetics can benefit from Logic upping, and combat mages can benefit from a couple levels of muscle augmentation and or/toner.

But yeah, in the future, we may see something like the geasa come back. I thought they were pretty cool but they seemed to be on shaky ground with some folks(either liked them or didnt like them...even as I GM i didnt mind them so i guess im in that school)

by the current rules, there is no way to offset magic loss from essence loss. And I think that's a good thing. Essence loss should be painful for a caster, not just inconvienent.

However, I am working on a house rule that allows a character who has lost a point of magic under the Street magic burnout rules (P. 30), to get cyberware instead of a geasa. It would work like this: If the character loses enough essence to reduce their magic by a point, then it ends the crisis of confidence. The point of magic lost from the crisis of confidence goes away, but the mage still loses a point of magic from the essence loss.

The spirit of the rule would be that the magic loss due to the crisis of confidence is a kind of "magic Hole" so that when they take the cyberware, the don't lose any more magic but make the earlier magic loss permanent. This way a mage who has already lost some magic to some other effect like stim patches might take cyberware to compensate for thier lost magic. The old Burnout mage archetype from 1st edition was based on something like that.

Still working on the wording though. It's just another flavor rule to be added.



Incidentally, nothing prevents a cybernetic part from being a focus. I've always been a fan of making your cyberhand a power focus in order to make up for the essence loss from it. I don't think you could enchant bioware, but machine parts in your body is well within limits. My Mad scientist character is based around it.

Personally I capped Initiate Grades at 15 (tip of the hat to Earthdawn). This helps prevent Mages and Adepts from being the end all be all of shadowrun. I also implement rather harsh ordeals/quests in order to initiate to the next grade, becoming more and more severe as you go up. Also I jacked up the skill hardcap to 10. Combined it adds plenty of room for PC advancement, of course the cost of raising skills above 6 went up.
Well it works for me. As far as geasa to cancel essence, never liked it. Once you go down the dark side...

It's definitely a debate, and one I imagine would happen among mages in the Sixth World.

Hell, there are probably week long symposiums: "To Cyber, or Not To Cyber. Purity and Sacrifice in the Modern World."

Personally, I prefer Synaptic Boosters over foci (I typically play Adepts/Mystic Adepts, not full mages).

My reasons:

1. Synaptics are always on, and don't trigger magical wards, alarms, etc. They do register on a cyberwear scan, but they're only restricted, so you can get a license.

2. Foci are limited. I don't want to use up my foci spot binding increased reflexes. I'd rather have a power focus, or something like combat sense, that can't be replicated.

3. Focus addiction.

4. Can't be dispelled, and continue to work in a null magic zone. I like to have a mix of power sources. That's why when my party hit the null magic zone, my gunslinger mystic adept was still fairly useful. Her adept powers shut down, but her cyberware kept going. Compare to the mage and the phys adept, who both felt horrifically useless.

Honestly, to me, the choice is between synaptic boosters and drugs, not a sustained increase reflexes.

go for the drugs. Drugs are your friend, and will only kill your essence after a LOT of use.

a magician who gets his magic up to about 6 can already overcast spells up to force 12. i can't think of too many magicians who will be crippled by being allowed 'only' 12 hits. hell, i can't think of too many magicians who will be crippled by being allowed 'only' 6 hits.

so long as you don't mind taking a little bit of physical drain, magic 6 or thereabouts is plenty for your basic needs. more is always nice, of course, but beyond that point a power focus will do just fine, generally speaking (which can only go as high as force 6... i think that's sufficient for most people).

like i said, higher magic is nice, but it's one or two dice in the end, really, since once you get to a certain points the cap on successes is not a very big deal, and your combat spells are already capable of dishing out enough damage to knock stuff out in a single hit as well. high magic is important, but 6 is probably sufficient, imo.

So Geasa cannot be applied to essence loss, is the majority vote, but the loss of magic and ability to geasa a lost point still lays in the deciding hands of the GM?