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PlatonicPimp
QUOTE (Runners Companion p.110)
Non-magical metagenetic qualities that do not have a bioware or cyberware equivalent may be introduced into the game via Transgenic Alteration geneware (p. 92, Augmentation) at the gamemaster's discretion. Since these would be rare and new transgenic treatments, they would cost at least 0.1 Essence and an absolute BP value x 25,000 nuyen cost. Bonuses from metagenetic qualities that mimic certain cyber or bio-implants or vice versa are never cumulative.


That's right, folks, for the low cost of exactly 5000 nuyen a BP and a tenth of an essence point, you too can be a gene-freak. Finally some use for genetic Modding.

The normal reason your sammy can't get extra cyberarms is they lack the wiring in the brain, but now we can give anyone Kali-arms. Which you can then cyber of course. Want a prehensile tail or lenthened limbs? Sure!

Since if you figure the nuyen cost back in to BP it's the same as getting it, what you are really going is trading .1 essence for the ability to have a metagenetic quality without the penalty associated. Or, I suppose if you bought a penalty, you are screwing yourself out of 10 BP and a tenth of an essence point. Oh well. Also, this counts against your money, but not your quality limit. Also allows your existing characters access to fun stuff without having to surge them. Yay all around!
hyzmarca
That doesn't actually work. With the Born Rich quality, you can start with 300,000. An extra pair of arms costs 375,000. You're 75,000 nuyen short.
DreadPirateKitten
Cant you take Genetic Heritage and get any one genemod for 0¥ during creation?
HappyDaze
QUOTE
Cant you take Genetic Heritage and get any one genemod for 0¥ during creation?

Yep.

I'd also recommend that the Essence Cost is BPx0.02. This way you get your 5 BP Quality for 0.1 Essence and something as big as a 25 BP Quality for 0.5 Essence. It should be fairly balanced with this guideline. Note that Metagentic Improvement is a blessing at 0.4 Essence if you don't have to pay the nuyen cost.
hyzmarca
Genetic Heritage reasonably requires that the modification actually be available at some time before your character was conceived because it represents inheriting it from a parent. If neither parent could possibly have the modification because it is too new and rare, as is the case with metagentic alteration, and you aren't playing the Sixth World version of Rugrats, it shouldn't be allowed. If you do have characters who are not yet potty trained running around shooting and kidnapping and blowing stuff up then, by all means, give them the such an alteration with that Quality.

MJBurrage
SURGE was first named after the large number of cases that occurred when Haley's comet passed by in July 2061. Given that it is now 2071–2072, there are a number of 10-year-olds who could have been born to affected parents. For some races, that may be old enough to be running the streets, heck I've seen humans that age I would have taken for mid-teens or older. (In real life, the youngest mother on record was only five when she gave birth.)

Furthermore, as I understand it SURGE did happen earlier, albeit extremely rarely, due to spikes in the ambient mana level. So an adult with such a background is possible, just rare enough to need GM permission (more so than usual).
hyzmarca
QUOTE (MJBurrage @ Aug 17 2008, 12:07 PM) *
SURGE was first named after the large number of cases that occurred when Haley's comet passed by in July 2061. Given that it is now 2071–2072, there are a number of 10-year-olds who could have been born to affected parents. For some races, that may be old enough to be running the streets, heck I've seen humans that age I would have taken for mid-teens or older. (In real life, the youngest mother on record was only five when she gave birth.)

Furthermore, as I understand it SURGE did happen earlier, albeit extremely rarely, due to spikes in the ambient mana level. So an adult with such a background is possible, just rare enough to need GM permission (more so than usual).


For that, the character would have to buy the Changeling Quality and the aproperiate Metagenetic Quality. We're talking about using Metagenetic Qualities as Transgenic Alterations and those alterations being passed via the Genetic Heritage quality, which only allows you to be born with a man-made genetic alteration and is not at all concerned with being born SURGed.
Jaid
QUOTE (hyzmarca @ Aug 17 2008, 12:16 PM) *
For that, the character would have to buy the Changeling Quality and the aproperiate Metagenetic Quality. We're talking about using Metagenetic Qualities as Transgenic Alterations and those alterations being passed via the Genetic Heritage quality, which only allows you to be born with a man-made genetic alteration and is not at all concerned with being born SURGed.


it's relevant because you have to have been born with the genetic heritage, otherwise it wouldn't be a genetic heritage, and the only way you can get certain metagenic qualities is if the resource cap is increased or if you're getting the geneware for free.

and in order for someone to have a genetic heritage of a new genetic alteration (as the option to buy metagenic qualities as a gene therapy treatment) they would have to be extremely young, since anyone over a certain age will have been born before the process to genetically modify people with that quality was developed.
PlatonicPimp
Here I am trying to talk about how we can buy surge as an after-market upgrade and you all go and start figuring out how to get it built in again. You seem to have missed the point.

Now given that the rule says "not already covered by another genetic quality", I think we can rule some things out immediately. Metagenetic improvement (attribute) is kinda already covered by genetic optimization (and jesus, 20BP? I'm totally lowering the cost to 15 in my games.) Most of the things that merely effect appearance like feathers, weird hair, etc, are covered by getting alien appearance or animal traits. Metahuman traits is also covered.

Anything explicitly magical is out, like arcane arrester. But some things aren't explicitly magical or not, like nasty vibe. I could describe it as a change in pheremones and/or subtle changes to the metahumans appearance to make them seem predatory. I could see this being a really popular modification for those who like to intimidate others.

Oddly enough, you can probably get Neoteny. Leonization gone too far!

Speaking of negative qualities I might buy anyway, mood hair would be very popular among the club set.

Going way to far, I'm thinking Probiscis, plus shiva arms, plus prehensile tail. Maximum prehension.

I really think this ups the potential for the all-genetic mod runner. Several other traits can be purchased as metagenetics (like toughness, for example) and so can now be bought as geneware. I'll be back with an all-geneware sammy later. I'm just amazed that a couple of sentences have probably doubled or tripled the availabel genetic modifications.
Oenone
QUOTE (PlatonicPimp @ Aug 17 2008, 10:43 PM) *
I really think this ups the potential for the all-genetic mod runner. I'll be back in a bit with a serious submission for an all-geneware sammy.



Wasn't there a line in Augmentation which said you could get most of the bioware as genetic upgrades instead for similar price/essence but a vastly increased installation time?

Might be mistaken about that I admit, but if so combining it with the reduce genetic upgrades at character creation quality and you get obscene discounts on all your bioware. (A fifth off the price of everything infact....)

Edit - The line I'm meaning is page 93 of Augmentation under the Animal features bit. The section of which I've partially copied for ease of reference.

"Most of the functional changes available through biotech (p. 61) are also possible through transgenic alteration for comparable Essence and nuyen costs but longer treatment times (typically several months)."
PlatonicPimp
Yes, with two downsides.

First, it had to be a trait you could justify as an animal trait. It's not just "All bioware is available as geneware."
Furthermore, unlike bioware, geneware has no grade. So your genetic bioware option actually screws your essence.

Basically that line has caused many an argument about "no, you can't have synaptic accellerateor 3 with your genetic heritage quality" issues that I tend to aviod invoking it.
Oenone
That still covers a lot of reasonable upgrades. But yeah I can see how some players would try abuse it.

And Genetic Heritage doesn't mention if it follows availability rules either. Which I guess is another issue linked to it. (Although personally I'd rule you still have to stay within the normal limits)

From a GM point of view I'd probably allow most of the bioware to be done as geneware (because there are vast numbers of animal traits out there to pick from), but if the player was pushing it too far I'd give them genefreak along with it. Because putting too much animal DNA into your is bound to cause problems eventually.
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