not in SR4, it isn't.

in SR4 it is explicitly capable of producing more nanites of whatever variety(or varieties) you have floating around in your blood.

of course, why this doesn't allow it to produce varieties you don't have in your blood is beyond me...

In limited quantities - it also includes modifications to the rest of you to make sure you don;t lose the ones you have too.

Hmm do share. I might use a few ideas myself.
Well seeing that inhabited bodies can use cyberware and nano is cyber, it would generally follow that they could use nano.

Wow, I just suddenly saw where you where going with that. Or maybe just where I could go with that. Hmmm I could lessen the effect of allergy: insecticide (severe) with nano. Muhaha.

Actually that would be in SR3. Nanohives were toned down slightly in SR4 on purpose. Nanohives in SR4 are capable of limited replendishment of nanite depletion using loaded stocks and feedstocks - nanohives only maintain nanoware levels and do so through a variety of processes including filtration and recovery as well as limited production.

This would be because the nanohive has stocks and feedstocks to produce a very limited amount of replacement nanites and then only for nanoware systems that the nanohive is programmed to maintain in the first place (these are limited in number by the nanohive rating).

Actually, Nanohives are not 'toned down' at all in SR4. In both SR4 and SR3, they provide storage and slow reproduction though special material feed to be refilled about half a year. That's where similarities end.

In SR4, they include the Nanite filtration implant from SR3 - and they can reprogram hard Nanites. Additionally, they can support multiple Nanite systems - that are interchangable. In SR3, a Nanite Hive only every supported one system... and the type was fixed.

Actually, I'm the "broken ally" nut, so that's my primary area of interest. That said, I have noted a few times that UB would have been much smarter if they had acquired a few cloning facilities instead of going the "they'll never notice the cult going after the SINless and disaffected, muhahaha" route. Not that it would have been safe--people might have noticed an awful lot of identical siblings showing up.

However, do note that it is *still* an option for mages and bugs alike, and if you have the cash, and plenty of karma or a free spirit waiting for a host, a borged-up genetically-engineered clone body is a pretty dang powerful option for a relatively decent price (especially for allies, since you can abuse ally sustaining to handle all stat buffs and IP buffs, as well as Combat Sense/Deflection).

EDIT: Oh, and don't forget skillwires 5. That is the key to resolving one of the big spirit weaknesses: skill diversity (especially knowledge skills).

Eh I'm not concerned with personal allies, I've had a cybered bodyguard possessed with a force 6 spirit for ages as well as a force 3 ally spirit. Oh and having your ally spirit sustain isn't that big a deal when you go through wards constantly and into high background counts. I've never even bothered to try that route because of that dilemma.

I'm more concerned with overall organizational strength. Essentially I've gone from FPS to RTS.

Lack of skill diversity isn't really that much of a problem. Instead of a person with 5 skills you have 5 people with 1 skill.

Encephalon gives bonus dice, not stat buffs. I *think* those are o.k. Ditto with things like reflex recorder. Pain editors are pretty nice, too--with lots of body armor, hardened armor, and a pain editor, the spirit will stay up for a long time.

Dang. Got any stories you care to share? (and is that bodyguard possessed or inhabited?)

My thinking for skillwires is that it gets around the ally weakness of only having skills that you know (unless the host knew it), and that at significant karma cost. Sure, with wires it's only a max of 4-6 depending on the skill type, but that means no more defaulting--and you can slot any skill, any language, any background knowledge, and have it work out of the box. It's not *the* killer app, but it's one of the few serious advantages inhabitation has over materialization.

SR4 doesn't really seem to have much consistency in the way it describes game terms. Sometimes they use one wording, sometimes another. Even worse, sometimes they use the same wording for completely different things (see Capacity; ie, cybereye Capacity vs. cyberlimb Capacity vs. sensor Capacity). Just use your interpretation and common sense in your own games. If in doubt, get a consensus from your group and/or GM.