That's on me. I've just double checked the original word document, and I apparently never finished the sentence, and never noticed it.

The missing words are "their stun batons."

strange that something like that was not picked up in any checks either. 1-0 for murphy i guess

Actually, they read like you are required to take those, not that it allows them to take that many. Or am I reading that completely wrong?

Hey Devs or Freelancers where is:

Disease Carrier detailed for point costs and descriptions?

It is listed as negative quality for metagenetics page 110



Also can you stack quality Biocompatibility with Metagenetic Quality of Biocompatibility?

WMS

Disease Carrier may be referencing Carrier (p.82), but I would suspect it is referring to a variant that functions the same way, but with mundane diseases.

Otherwise, I cannot find any reference to "Disease Carrier" in Runners Companion, and I do not believe it is in any other book so far released.




Emphasis on the words I believe important.

EDIT: I still have not received any comment on potential balance issues with my proposed Winged Metagenic quality. Does this mean it looks fine?

That may be true but neither of the infected negative qualities are listed in the Master Quality listing in the back or on page 120.

WMS

New question regarding Arcane Arrester. It says "though the spellcaster could still add hits to improve the effect." The meaning seems fairly obvious - the spell is resisted as normal, with the caster's Net Hits functioning as normal. What is unclear is if the reduced Force of the spell limits the Raw Hits the caster may get, or the original Force. From the wording of the quality, I can see it either way.

Just got Runner's Companion last night and still reading, but so far I have just one thing to say:

MADE OF WIN!

I knew SR was in good hands when I heard Synner was taking over, and I'm certainly not disappointed. Kudos guys!

It's 2070. GI Joes are probably fully animatronic and capable of blowing each other up with plastique. After all, it's good for Aztechnology's Toy Division if you keep having to buy more. And I dread to think what Barbies are capable of by this point.

My ruling on this is that it the adjusted Force should limit hits as normal, however, the ambiguity of the writeup allows gamemasters to rule the other way if they want Arcane Arrester to be less powerful.

Disease Carrier was accidentally cut during editing and was a new mundane Negative quality that gave the character a chronic contagious disease. I'll post it to DSF later and it will be included in future Errata.

Yay for Birthday money!

Bought the PDF!

Wait for the Hardcopy at the FLGS!

I've just been skimming through the PDF here. I Quite enjoyed the nod to Total Recall on p. 29. Weird little esoteric details like this were one of my favorite things about the old sourcebooks, particularly stuff like the Neo Anarchists Guide to Real Life. Just coming up with strange ways to insert it into your PC's lives is a lot of fun. It can be as mundane as "you see a vaction add" all the way up to some run on a MCT 'relaxation facility' where everyone has to pretend to be middle class vacationers just because their target happens to be taking a couple weeks off. It's great for a gonzo one off where everyone just wants to have a goofy time.

I remember a run I came up with for a street level game where the PC's needed to assassinate a fry cook at a McHuges. The PC's had just come through a nasty gangwar that lasted about a year in real time and needed to blow off some steam. It was a personal thing, this fry cook had ratted out one of the team members to the cops and although he wasn't charged, the PC was ticked off and out for blood. The whole thing was inspired by the McHuge's writeup from Neo A's.

I will say that RC is making it awfully tempting for me to create a troll with Shiva Arms and call him Goro.

Heck with the Troll.....go with a Naga with SURGEd Shiva Arms. Talk about the Type V Demons of Old DnD.

WMS

Keep in mind... even if a dragon's Magic is reduced to zero, he can still treat you like a snack.

He would still be incredibly strong and very well armored. With their movement rate, it wouldn't take long to cover several city blocks to escape whatever is reducing the Magic rating to zero (assuming it was done with a man-made contrivance).

Reducing a Dragon's Magic rating to zero is one of many concerns when fighting against one. Sure you wiped out the magical power, but what about the Physical power of said dragon? Eh grease smear?

Uh I guess, in most situations, it might be "easier" to simply kill the dragon (that is if you manage), than to null his magic.

After taking a quick look through the new PDF, I have a question.

Why does the cost of being a Changeling count against the 35 points of positive qualities allow at character generation when no other racial package counts against that same restriction?

Ok, after eventually finding the time to make a read of my Runnner's Companion PDF, I happily state I'm most happy with my buy. This really looks like really interesting, useful, and well-written. Team roles, shadowrunner survival tips, Karma character creation, additional character concepts, new Qualities, Lifestyle rules, pretty much any chapter gave me ideas or looked potentially quite useful.

And now, of course, come the questions:

Lifestyle: let's suppose my character has the money to maintain a cozy home with Middle/High Necessities, Comfort, and Entertaintment, but since he doesn't want to bother with police patrols, broadcasted SINs and IDs, and nosy law-abiding neighbors, he wants to set it up in a Squatter or Low Neighborhood. What kind of Security would be appropriate/necessary ?

Infected Characters: Am I correct in assuming that since (IC) HMHVV-I can create magical aptitude in characters where none existed before and the Infected are Awakened, the player (OOC) can buy the Magician/Adept/Mystical Adept Qualities when the character gets Infected, even if Latent Awakening wasn't bought at character creation ?

Similar question for latent Drakes: if a character is such, since drakes are Awakened, can the player buy Magician/Adept/Mystical Adept when the dracoform manifests, even if he didn't buy Latent Awakening at character creation ?

From reading the Infected chapter, I am left with the strong impression that the Infection Power, effectively, is nothing more than the HMHVV-I character sharing her blood fluids with the subject when it hits 0 Essence. Therefore, I wonder, is the actual presence of the Infected really necessary to "turn" someone, or a sample of Infected blood, or a purified sample of the virus suffices, if it's administed to a character before or just after it hits 0 Essence by whatever means ?

Following the same line of reasoning, is it possible for a 0.1+ Essence character to come in contact with HMHVV-I virus and become a carrier, and transform to a vampire or nosferatu if and when the character is drained to 0 Essence by whatever means, even much more later (from days to years) ?

Assuming the two points above are true, what cost and availability would have a viable sample of vampire or nosferatu blood, or a sample of purified virus ? I assume it would be rather valuable for would-be (amoral) hunters of power and immortality. Everything has a price in the shadows, so what would the one for "immortality in a vial" ??

Assuming, for flavor reasons, I want to create a vampire/nosferatu/banshee character with retractable claws (how many vampire characters do you see without claws in art ?), could I create the virus variant by using the changeling rules, or just add a Negative Quality of equivalent value to the template ? Which Negative Qualities would be an appropriate balance ? I was thinking of Berserker, an extra Allergy (something the Infected metatype does not have, but is typical of another one, or a psychosomatic one: Wood, Silver, Ferrous Metals, Garlic, Holy Objects, Salt) or Critter Spook.

PS I've found a typo: on p. 164, the separation space is lacking between the Network Bottleneck and No Forward Address Lifestyle Options.

No. Unless specifically stated, the character does not gain or can buy those Qualities just from being Infected.


Also no, see above except with "touched by a Dragon (pun intended)" instead of "Infected".


You need the Infection power to create HMHVV-I strain characters, as it requires a specific test to pass along the infection. Further details on the infection process may be forthcoming in the critters book some time down the line.


No. Read the Carrier Negative Quality again; only one of the Infected with the Infection power can become a carrier for an HMHVV-I strain.


About nine pints of blood, one soul (slightly used), and 12,000 nuyen (plus 10% finder's fee, 3% commission on the sale, 7% sales tax, and 15% manager's fee).

Points to Synners statement above in reply about Disease Carrier


WMS

Please note I said "Carrier" quality, not "Disease Carrier." It's in the Infected chapter, and I wrote it, so I know wherefore I speak.

Thanks for your answers.



Since the critters book won't come for a significant amount of time, excuse me if I pester, but I find the issue quite relevant for plot hooks concerning HMHVV-I characters.

I understand the test, what I do not understand is what it represents, biologically and magically. Is Infection mundane or magical ? Is it something the Infected must do, voluntarily, in person, or does it represent just the check whether the virus from the Infected character's blood "catches" (i.e. is there a necessary active use of a magical power, in Infection, or is it just the character sharing some of its blood) ? If the nosferatu drains someone to 0 Essence, then drains an appropriate amount of his blood in a cup, then leaves the room, someone else picks the cup and empties it in the victim's throat or open wound, what happens ? Can the test for Infection still be made, even if the Infected character himself isn't present ?

Settling this issue is absolutely necessry to establish whether a story involving a HMHVV-I strain character "turning" other people must be run with the necessary presence of the guy himself, or you can also do it with vials of blood and such. You can do it well either way, but this is a point that needs to be settled. After all, the ways to bring a character to 0 Essence are several and manifold. E.g. if you want to make a story about a wealthy socialite willing to buy immortality from a vampire or nosferatu, if the Infected character's presence is always necessary, you can set uo a story where the runners are hired to escort the Infected from her usual lair to the buyer's residence, and ensure safety and privacy while the act is done (say a persky vampire hunter has been on the tracks of the donor...). If only blood is necessary, the story may insteade involve the characters being couriers for the sample of blood (say another immortality-seeker hires a rival runner team to steal the sample). See the difference ?

Now, if this is an issue whose discussion and clarification the developer has already and absolutely reserved for the Critters book, in order to beef it up, and there some kind of NDA around, I'll understand (and houserule for the time being). But I'd rather prefer it clarified now, since it's a key issue of the Infection power.



1/20 of ONE Age Rejuvenation treatment ???

De nada.


The Infected straddle the border between pure science and pure magic. Some operations of the strains are clearly the same behavior you'd expect from a retrovirus, others most definitely are not, and frankly the manipulation of metagenes is muddled somewhere in the middle. The elves certainly believe there's a spiritual element of corruption to the process, which jives with some folklore, but it is probably safe to say that no one knows all the details of Infection...or at least, aren't talking.

Re: Infection, the rules clearly state that Infection is a physical power with a range of touch. Ergo, you need the Infected character, not just their blood or other bodily fluids. No catching vampirism from a toilet seat, shadowkids.


There is an NDA, but really I feel the Infection power is very clear on the matter for the nonce.


What can I say, it's a buyer's market.

Pardon me my deepest disbelief about this, especially since you have established that the seller herself must be present for the process. HMHVV-I strain carriers savy enough to set up an occasional commerce of vampirism don't grow on trees, and this is the only other reliable way to *permanent* immortality in 2070, besides a Spirit Pact. There are expenses to place reasonably safe Contacts network (Physical or Matrix) that won't bring hunters on your doorstep, travel expenses (how likely is it to find a willing and available nosferatu seller in your sprawl...) I'd expect it charge at the very least as much as a Leonization treatment. Yup, there are all the drawbacks of the Infected Lifestyle, but it's also once ever, there are the powers, and it can be done in a couple days. You're the author, tip of the hat, and you made a truly excellent work about this issue, but I sense some seriously skewed economics here. Vampirism cheaper than Digestive Expansion...

1) It doesn't work. This brings the value of it down to near-squat.
2) Your market are now those stupid enough not to know it doesn't work or have some ulterior use for it; the former might pay more but the latter definitely won't.
3) The person dealing it is either a very hard-up Infected, a particularly desperate wendigo, or somebody who got it from somewhere else (blood technician, maybe). None of which are likely to be going for much.
4) It was a joke, damnit.

Err, Sorry, misunderstanding here. I got it the blood itself won't work the first time, but there is another issue...

OK, the blood itself won't work, but the Infected herself showing up and doing the deed, will. How much is THAT worth, in the shadows ?

Sorry for the misunderstanding, again. I should have reworked my original question, when you clarified the blood sample won't work.

Nonetheless, I can't believe that some occasional brisk trade of the Darke Gyft doesn't take place somewhere in the biggest sprawls or the Matrix. It is a basic axiom of the SR world that everything has a price. I want to know about that price, in nuyen, services, barter, or whatnot.

Under the Infected Section in the subsection of Magic and Essence it states:

"Starting Infected characters start with Essence 5 and Magic 1 during character generation. The Infected may increase their Magic attribute with BP or Karma as any other attribute to a maximum of 5"

Then later on that same page

"Infected characters with Essence Drain can only maintain siphoned Essence equal to twice its natural maximum (from 6 to 12). Any Essence Drained above that point is simply lost."

Since their starting essence is a 5. Shouldnt that read "(from 6 to 10)" ?

Characters starting with a Magic of 10 was deemed excessive, and not all of the Infected have the Essence Drain power, hence the limit.

I've found an inconsistency. On p. 61 it says



but on p. 78 it says



For an Infected of 80 kg, 0.8 kg of metahuman blood or flesh per week most definitely are not 4 kg. True, in most cases, it is going to be abstracted as part of the character's lifestyle, as per the Infected Lifestyle rule, but still, given the origin of the food, it's not trivial. Are the studies quoted on p. 61 uncorrect ?

In-character information always has the possibility of being incorrect or misleading. The rules on Dietary Requirement are correct.

New questions regarding Arcane Arrester. Under the ruling that the adjusted Force is the limit on the caster's hits regarding that character:

1) Does Arcane Arrester adjust spells that do not affect the character, but they must still resist, such as Invisibility?
2) In the case of Indirect Combat spells, is the Force adjusted as the spell is cast, lowering the Raw Hits limit before the Defense roll, or after the subject is hit, reducing possible increases to damage from Net Hits, but not the chance of being hit?

It was noted, though right now, I am not sure if it was in the book or on this board, that the infected need the substance of metahuman essence taken from their auras (or something alike). Now I wonder if their essence drain works on non metahuman auras (essence) and if it grants any nutrition to the infected. The cases of animals and sentient critters that are immune to the virus are of special interest for me.

I've got a small question about what's the deal with "core" rulebooks. I thought I heard somewhere that Runner's Companion would be the last of the core rulebooks, since we've got the magic book, the hacker book, the combat book, the 'ware book, and now the awesome happy super bonus book, and of course the BBB. So are all the books to come out in the future non-core? And what does that even mean, anyway? Or am I just misinformed and talking nonsense (quite possible)?

they're hardcovered, thus more robust, and can be used to hit players and hurt them.

The Essence Drain power is very clear in working for any physical sentient being. Of course, this doesn't satisfy the Infected's dietary requirement so even after draining the shapeshifter they'll need their pound of flesh later.

am i reading it right that a AI cant pick up more inherent programs as it grows?

ugh, trying to stuff a AI into a otomo is not exactly straight forward. especially if one tries to make that his home node...

how many passes will it have? does a AI with piloting origin count as using a control rig?

the questions keep piling up...

ah, found some of what i was looking for. damn thing was at the top of the page...

need to stop skimming text when im doing this...

What is the true cost of fame?

It is 5-15 in the headline and 5-20 in the dscription.

There are a good assortment of Qualities where the listed cost in the title didn't match the cost in the description.

EDIT: I'll get a better list when I'm at home with my books.

I have another question of mine, about lifespans for the new character concepts. Now, we all know that AI, HMHVV-I Infected, and Free Spirits are immortal. The book says that shapeshifters have a lifespan comparable to orks, and changelings or metavariants no doubt get the basic lifespan of their metatype.

What about drakes, centaurs, naga, pixies, sasquatches, ghouls, and HMHVV-II Infected ???

Do the "lesser" strains of HMHVV still follow the normal lifespan of original metatype ?

What about drakes ?

I am mindful that dragonic metagenes bestow significant longevity (cfr. Immortal Elves), and that Drakes were told to be very longeve (at least several centuries) in the 4th World. Admittedly, they were of a different breed, the original sentient magical constructs that Great Dragons churned out with their special mojo following the technique Ghostwalker had invented to replace rebellious immortal elves. Whereas the 6th World breed is the result of drake metagenes getting embedded in normal metahuman bloodlines. IIRC, Great Dragons learned to replicate a weird magical accident with an elven girl: she messed with a magical artifact Ghostwalker (he had a different name in the 4th World) used to create Drakes, and was fused with drake essence. Anyway, for these two reasons, I'd expect Drakes to have significantly lenghtened lifespans, comparable to elves for human drakes, with adjustments for other drake metatypes proportional to the lifespan ratio between metatype and human. Am I any correct ?

Centaurs I'd expect to live as much as orks, and maybe sasquatches and naga too (OTOH, some reptiles can be very longeve). And I have little clue for Pixies. I very fuzzily seem to remember that Windlings had long lifespans in the 4th World, something between dwarves and elves, and it would fit with the "faerie" concept.

Speaking frankly, there just isn't a lot of information available in-character to get a proper reading on lifespans for some of these critters and options. It really shouldn't matter to a player if their centaur is going to start feeling their age at thirty years or their pixie outlives the normal lifespan of 130, or if their drake still manages to hobble along at 800.

Additional information on biology and culture of the various sapients will very likely be featured in Running Wild.ce
Regarding the divergence between costs of qualities in headers and descriptions this might be due to last minute playtest tweakage and us simply missing the corrections. Generally speaking the values in the descriptions will be correct. Please post any you find and I will provide the correct value, meanwhile these and a couple of items that were cut by accident will be in the first round of errata.

This has just pushed the book in the "top buy" category. Is it still expected for 2009 ? As far as I can remember, this book has been vaporware for so long...