I can't remember where but I could swear I remember some rules for swapping cyberware.

Am I imagining that?

If it's there can you just upgrade or can you totally swap. i.e. can you pop out muscle replacement 2 and put in totally different stuff.

I presume you can just get essence back.

No, essence never goes back, but you can instal new cyberware in the essence hole without losing more essence...

Where is it (book page)?

Any restrictions on what can go in the "hole"

Will the "hole" stay open i.e. if you take out 2 essence of cyber and put in 1.5 essence do you have an open .5 hole for the next bit. Or always a loss?

You get an essence "slot" equal to how much essence the removed ware cost your character. 1 essence point of removed ware gives you a 1 point "slot" that will not be deducted from yoru remaining essence.

the slot remains until it is filled.


Tee hee.

Well that answers my question functionally.

Anybody know what book it's in?

Augmentation, Page 128: Replacing/Upgrading Cyberware and Bioware.

but beware: slots "generarated" that way have labels ... you cannot replace cyberware with bioware, according to Augmentation. they generate diffenrent kinds of essence slots.

if this makes sense or just cripples the possibilities of sammies in the long run has to be decided by each round on their own ...

You could always get that Essence Therapy that will regenerate Essence (pg 88 of Augmentation). It doesn't restore any Magic/Resonance lost, but thems the breaks.

My group house ruled that part away, since the game seems to intend a progression from cheap cyber to sleek bio.

this therapy cost a whole lot of money. a real whole! the therapy itself is cool for me, but the rule about cyber- und bio-slots will be ignored as long as possible.

Now:

There is ONE example I can cite where essence was regained after cyberware was removed... but it was NOT a normal circumstance by any means... and it's in the novel Nosferatu.

This whole "slot" thing, it doesn't mean that if you remove your cyberarm and thus gaining that essence "slot" that you can now get a cyberleg. Different body part, different essence "slot". Atleast that is my interpretation.

Actually, while that would make sense, the example in Augmentation is a guy removing bone lacing to get a cyber-arm without taking an Essence hit. So, by the RAW, it seems to just be a generic Essence Hole.

I guess the details have to be ruled by case.

If that guy removes his arm to get a cyberleg, he will be one armed... that sounds somewhat fair enough. It would seem a bit odd to me though to put a leg into a slot created by an arm. Then again it doesn't seem to be all that much about flesh and bone anyways when it comes to essence, but more about energyflows and aura.

Mostly I rule in favor of a reasonable proposal, when a player wants to switch or upgrade wares. After all, the player is supposed to have fun, identifying himself with his character.

Essence doesn't make sense in terms of any biological truth; it just is. It's a balancing element, so disallowing the man with a removed cyberarm from getting a cyberleg replacement isn't "fair" and requires redetermining the Essence costs to approximate some semblance of fairness. Since there's little possible Sam progression with this, Sams would have to become more awesome immediately to compensate for their lack of advancement. Now, what happens when you allow the extremes in trading off advancement for temporal power? (Hint: It's not a desirable result)

You always completely fuck up Sams being able to advance. You might decide to allow them to be more rape in the meantime. Either way you significantly alter the balance of power detrimentally.

"Essence: Just do it." Anything else just sucks.

or be OK with awakened being just better than everyone.