Inspired by the posts on whether a character could default to a chipped skill, I got to thinking about whether an Adept could default to a skill in which he had the Improved Ability Power.

I gave the chip question a lot of thought, and can't really come up with a logical reason why a character who has slotted Pistols 6 could not default to that skill (even though chipped) when firing a SMG. The description of the skillsofts states that the skill 'replaces the character's own', which means that it should be treated as the character's skill level in all respects, which would include the ability to default.

The same question could be asked about the Adept, as I stated above. Suppose our intrepid Adept had Improved Ability - Pistols 6, and wanted to default to that while using his friend's SMG. I can't think of a valid reason why he couldn't do so.

Comments and/or opinions?

Isn't the Adept's Improved Ability limited to the level in which he has the skill already? So if he has Pistols 6 already, he can take Improved Ability (Pistols) 6 and have Pistols 12. However; if he has Pistols 5, he can only take Improved Ability (Pistols) 5, making a grand total of Pistols (10).

Simple: I misunderstood the question.

So you're asking if his ability moves over with the defaulting, neh?

I'd like to have an argument as to why it couldn't, but I can't think up a good one. I, however, wouldn't allow it on sheer principle. That's just me, though.

I can relate to that. I really wanted to find a logical reason why either should not be allowed, but can't come up with anything reasonable.

That's because there really isn't a reasonable argument to disallow it. There's a reason it's called defaulting to a skill, as opposed to from a skill. It's not like you're spontaneously gaining a new skill when defaulting, you're just using your own skill in an unconventional way... and hence the TN penalty.

I also have no idea where people are pulling this "unbalanced" card from. The target number modifiers, limited bonus dice, and limited dice pools are more than enough penalties. Nothing changes when you default to a natural skill as opposed to a chipped or augmented skill; you're still suffering the same penalty everyone else is, yet still using the full knowledge of your skill just like everyone else is. Whether you're using a chipped, augmented, or natural skill, it's all the same. If a character has paid a few thousand for a chip or multiple Power Points for Improved Ability, they've paid for the priviledge to have that skill rating and should be free to use it just like everyone else is.

But defaulting from SMG to Pistols would mean the TN goes up, while the Pistols skill drops from 12 (6+6) to 9 (6+3). Since in the BBB p169, Improve Ability states "If you are defaulting to the improved skill, only 1/2 of the Improved Ability dice may be used."

The rules specifically allow the use of Imp Ability dice for defaulting, not so for chipped skills(At least I've not seen anything that says chipped skills can default).

That's because Improved Ability isn't really an improvement of a skill, it just offers bonus dice along the lines of a dice pool. And just like dice pools, you only get to use a limited amount when defaulting.

chipped skills replace the user's skills in every way, except where noted in the rules. defaulting is not noted as being disallowed by the rules; ergo, it's not disallowed.

That's my opinion as well.

Oh, and toturi, thanks for the canon reference. I couldn't remember if there was anything specifically stated about the subject or not.

People like Tanka mentioning how much "twinkiness" it causes, or that it should be disallowed out of "sheer principle" for the same reason. Ergo, they must think for some strange reason that it's unbalanced and worthy of banishment from the rules.

"Oh drats, I just paid 324,000 nuyen and 1.2 Essence for my Skillwires 6/108 and 10,800 nuyen for a Assault Rifles 6 skill... I'm totally going to cheat and pick up this here SMG and shoot you with it, albeit it with a +2 TN penalty, but whatever! I'm now the undisputed king of munchkins! Yay me!"

Where exactly does it become twinky? With ranged weapons? That +2 TN is pretty hefty and on par with shooting two weapons simultaneously, and then only with weapons at least somewhat similar to the one you're already using. Melee weapons? Any penalty in melee combat is a very bad thing regardless of how many dice you're throwing, whether it's with a katana or an extendable baton. Vehicles? That +2 penalty is on par with having your Handling increase by 2, which is quite significant. Social Skills? The penalty is the same as if you had just increased all your relations from Neutral to Suspicious, or the request is Annoying. Technical Skills? Only relevant with Electronics and Computers, and then it's still a +2 penalty just like every other time. Magical Skills can't be defaulted to let alone chipped. And regardless of everything else, you had better hope the final TN isn't above an 8, else you can't even do it.

Do Chipjack Expert Drivers somehow make it unbalanced? At best, you get a single bonus die when doing it (max rating of 3, cut in half and rounded down). Whooptido. Adepts suffer the same problem with Improved Ability. And either way, you're still limited to defaulting to skills closely related to the one you're focused on anyway; it's not like you can use Pistols 6(12) to shoot a rocket launcher or drive a nuclear submarine.

I'm just not seeing it.