QUOTE (Fortune @ Apr 20 2008, 07:02 PM)

Specializations do not add to the Skill directly, but are considered a Dice Modifier. As such, they add to the base Pool, which is almost always made up of Attribute + Skill. Specializations are treated in the same manner as things like a Smartlink or Vision Enhancement, in that they add their bonus to the Pool whenever it is appropriate, and are immaterial when the situation does not call for them.
Ok, so I was working on another character and I have some more questions on Dice Pool Modifiers. Let me know if I get anything wrong. (These are genuine questions. I am not trying to be a smartass here.)
Let's say I'm a troll Adept with Agility 7 and Unarmed 6, with a Specialization in Knockdown Attacks. (I know that Specialization isn't in the BBB, but I thought it was a bit more specific than "Martial Arts".) Being a troll, I have a Reach of 1 for unarmed combat. I also have a Reflex Recorder (Unarmed Combat) and I have +1 die on Attacks to Knockdown because I know some Tae Kwon Do. Finally, I have Improved Ability (Unarmed Combat) 3.
So let's say I am fighting 1-on-1 a Reach-0 opponent and attacking using a Knockdown Attack, then my Dice Pool is: Agi 7 + Unarmed 6 + Improved Ability 3 + Reflex Recorder 1 + Specialization 2 + Tae Kwon Do bonus 1 + Reach 1 = 21 dice. However, according to the BBB errata (1.5), Improved Ability and Reflex Recorder seem to both be skill modifiers rather than DP modifiers. As such, the bonus dice are limited to (6 x 0.5 =) 3, so 1 die is wasted and the total DP is 20 instead of 21, i.e. Agility 7 + modified Skill rating 9 + Specialization 2 + TKD bonus 1 + Reach 1 = 20.
Now let's say I'm attacking two different Reach-0 opponents. I know some Tae Kwon Do and get +1 die on using Unarmed Combat when attacking multiple targets. Page 156 goes out of its way to make explicit that DP modifiers from martial arts are limited to the rating of the relevant Combat skill, i.e. Unarmed Combat here, although it is not entirely clear to me whether we'd use the base skill or the modified skill rating if the applicable martial arts DP modifiers were north of 6. Anyways, martial arts modifiers are clearly modifying the DP and not the skill, or else the max number of bonus dice would be only half the relevant Combat skill.
When attacking multiple targets: "The attacker's dice pool is split between each attack, and each attack is handled separately." (BBB, page 148) Things that modify the skill rather than the DP will count only once, but the Specialization, the TKD bonus for Attacks to Knockdown, the TKD bonus when attacking multiple targets, and the Reach bonus will all modify the split pool rather than the base pool. The Specialization, the TDK bonus for Knockdown and the Reach bonus they are all test-specific, i.e. I could choose to attack one guy with a Knockdown attack - with all three bonuses - and the other guy with a standard melee attack - with the TDK Knockdown bonus and the Specialization not applying. The TDK bonus for multiple targets is less clear, but since it is a DP modifier and not a Skill rating modifier, I assume it would apply to each attack separately, i.e. count twice.
So assuming I attack simultaneously two Reach-0 opponents with Knockdown Attacks on both, I would get [ (Agi 7 + modified Unarmed Combat 9) / 2 = ] a base DP of 8 for each attack. Then we add the DP modifiers to each attack: Specialization 2 + TKD Knockdown bonus 1 + TKD bonus for multiple targets 1 + Reach bonus 1, for a grand total of 13 dice for each attack (assuming no other modifiers).
Now assuming I attack simultaneously three Reach-0 opponents with Knockdown Attack on all of them, I would get [ (Agi 7 + modified Unarmed Combat 9) / 3 = ] base Dice Pools of, say, 5, 5 and 6 respectively. Then we add the DP modifiers to each attack: Specialization 2 + TKD Knockdown bonus 1 + TKD bonus for multiple targets 1 + Reach bonus 1, for a grand total of 10, 10 and 11 dice for my attacks on the first, second and third targets (assuming no other modifiers).
Am I getting any of this wrong?
[EDIT: In the case of a split pool, does the specialization apply to the base pool or separately to each attack where it applies? To me, it wasn't entirely clear that it would apply to the base pool, although it would probably make things more sane.]