Since he's a close quarters specialist I second two levels Combat Sense like Aaron suggested. You can really use +2 DP for defense against melee or ranged attacks and +2 to Reaction on surprise rolls.

Yep, that. You already paid one third of it with your first level (1.5 per level, rounded up ), time to pay up the rest for the second.

Bye
Thanee

...a good way to have a chance at detecting invisible characters.

Reaction keeps you from ever bing hit. In addition to reducing damage equally as well as armor point for point it can prevent you from ever being hit on the first place. This makes it REALLY good.

Mystic armor is better than reaction only versus area of effect attacks and if you are facing an opponent that will always hit with a lot of hits. If their damage doesnt exceed the total armor it converts Phys damage to Stun.

All in all Reaction is king and along with it Combat Sense.

Yes, but critical strike doesn't add a secondary effect. The chance to outright knock an enemy out in one hit(electricity), set an enemy on fire(fire), or something like that with your unarmed strike is too good to pass up.

However, I'd have to say get the next level of improved reflexes. Initiative passes are the absolute most valuable resources in combat, and, barring suprise, the person with more init passes usually has the advantage in battle. Whats better, doign a few extra damage every attack, or getting an extra attack? Usually getting the extra attack.

Plus it improves your reaction (better defense), and makes the full defense option a better choice (even better defense).

...I don't know, Hannah with her 8DV (base) punch is fairly capable of sending someone "to the canvas", permenantly, and has done so on several occasions now. Turned the last guy she hit into the proverbial Pez Dispenser with one punch, except no candy came out.

I can also see the point about the combat sense.

My only problem now is which elemental strike to use. I like the Sonic, but I also like the other elementals (eletricity, cold, fire, acid, etc.) becuase I could also use it as intimidation factor, but I was thinking about using it for other creative ways.


How would you guys use the Sonic Elemental strike or any other besides hitting someone and the secondary effects?

easy destruction of objects. you could seriously do some unpleasant things to doors, walls, floors, ceilings, etc with your fists if they ignored armor.

Sonic = Stun, stun never affects objects...

I agree and that is why I am pretty sure I am better off with Electric strike becuase it has more uses.

However, if you look on the section on where it talks about how electricity damange can effect vehicles, drones, etc (SR4 pg 154). Even the book states that even though it does stun damage. It still can affect the drones and vehicles, etc. The GM has to roll a armor test.

I hate to sound like a rules lawyer and I am sounding like one even thought I don't like to. Basically, I can make a a stab in the dark, but I think the sonic strike can be effective against objects since both that and electrical are stun. Why couldn't both elements deal secondary effects. I like to throw in physics and reality when I play or run. But the Sonic strike could work against the objects....

That paragraph on electricity damage says that they can be affected by secondary affects, not that they take damage.

That section does not allow for damage it allows for secondary effects.

As to having killing hands and so it forces the stun damage to be physical I'm uncertain about this. The rules are ambiguous. Personally I would say, yes you can use killing hands and be physical damage, or you can turn on your elemental strike (which is described as an activated power) and do your element damage, and if it's stun it's stun if it's physical it's physical...

The part about sonic lacking stealthyness, it will certainly ruin your stealth, the power is described as surrounding your hands with the appropriate element, be that fire, cold, etc. I imagine someone with sonic fists would have an interesting buzz emminating from the air arround the hands. I'd probably also describe it as causing an odd refraction effect emminating outward, like the less than lethal weapon used in the Minority Report movie, or those rifle things you see the Feds in Firefly shooting on occasion.

That is because the spells are listed as an instant duration. Once the spell is cast it takes effect and then disappears. The acid that kept dealing damage is gone.

I would probably only let the acid burn as long as the power was active.
So if I had magic 5 and activated my power, hit someone on the 3 turn it was active the acid would only burn for 2 more turns, my effect would end and all the acid would disappear and no more damage.



I was just thinking that we need a sustained elemental manipulation acid spell. Something that lets you throw a ball of acid then sustain it so it keeps dealing the acid damage.

I've seen this argument for bioware over Adept Powers a few times, and it seems to me people are missing something, at least in terms of the relative costs at character generation.

The Adept Power Increase reflexes costs 2 Magic points for +1 REA and +1 IP, and 3 Magic points for +2 REA and +2IP. These are usually compared to the ESS loss of bioware, converted to relative BP cost, and found to be wanting.

But what about the financial cost of bioware, which at character generation must also be bought with BP? A synaptic booster costs 80,000 nuyen per level, which converted to BP is another 16 BP per level. If you add that cost as well, then the bioware to Adept Power comparison comes out as:

Level 1:
Adept Power costs 20 BP (2 Magic points at 10 each), synaptic booster costs 21 BP (5 BP for half a Magic point -- allowing that the other half point will be used otherwise and so doesn't count here -- and 16 BP for the nuyen)

Level 2:
Adept Power costs 30 BP ( 3 Magic points at 10 each), synaptic booster costs 42 BP (10 BP for the Magic point loss and 32 BP for the nuyen)

Level 3: (bioware not achievable at character generation)

Using alphaware reduces the ESS cost, but doubles the financial cost, making the bioware even more BP-expensive. Looked at this way, the bioware is not cheaper than the Adept Power route.

I can see that in later play, money may show up to eliminate the financial part of the equation, and so it may be 'magically cheaper' to go bioware then, but you still have to contend with availability and time spent getting to that level of wealth.

Am I missing something?

What would you add to the DV of the attack for knockback since there's no Force?

Good question. I guess if I were going to house rule it then add strength?

Any suggestions from others?

That works, and makes more sense I suppose.

Cool.

Man that makes blast a pretty good element. Same with water.