I promise I used the Search function before I posted this, in case anybody freaks out. Didn't really get any good results.

Anyhow, I've built a sam for an upcoming game I'm playing in, and he's pretty good up close with his cyberspurs. He's got a decent pool: 8 augmented Agility, 5 for Blades, +2 Cyberspurs specialization, +1 Blades from his Reflex Recorder. I took the Multi-Strike maneuver so I get +1 die on his pool before splitting whenever I engage in multiple attacks with the same melee complex action.

However, the question I have is this: if I split my pool, what, exactly, is my pool, and what is a modifier? The RAW says modifiers are to be considered AFTER the pool is split. So I have my Cyberspurs specialization and my +1 Blades (which I think raises the skill rating instead of giving a pool bonus, so I might be wrong.) Do I consider the specialization in each of the split pools, giving me +2 dice to each of them? Or do I add everything together (attribute, skill, reflex recorder, specialization) and THEN split that among two attacks? I'm really not interested in squeezing out another one or two dice to make multiple attacks with, I'd just like to figure out my pools the RIGHT way whenever I get to playing, so that I keep it to what the book intends.

Thanks in advance.

no real clue, altho im tempted to say that modifiers are outside sources, that is things that show up in the melee combat modifiers table on page 148, SR4.

That's kinda what I want to say, but I'm just trying to make sure. I don't know if by some tiny detail I missed, that "pool bonuses" are considered modifiers to the pool, and thus, considered after a pool split.

Everything not part of the base attribute+skill is a modifier, so specializations do indeed get added after you split the pool (ie: they get added twice basically). The reflex recorder is errata'ed to be an actual skill change, so it's part of the base pool.

Anything prefixed by a '+' or '-', or suffixed by 'modifier', 'positive dice pool modifier', 'negative dice pool modifier', or 'dice pool modifier' is, obviously, a modifier. Everything else (Attribute & Skill) are not.

Specialisation,Reach Mods or modified Grip Mod are added after you Split the Pool.
Reflexrecorder and Maneuver are added to your Pool of Skill and Attribute (because the Reflexrecorder adds to your Skill and the Maneuver says so )
Calculation:AGI 8 Skill 5(6 for Reflexrecorder) +1 Maneuver =15 Split and add Spec. to Each

He who dances with Dragnar and Muspellsheimr
Medicineman

Hmm. Now I'm remembering the super reach troll of another thread. *shudder* "I split my attack 5 ways and roll (grabs handful of dice) dis many each time!"

Weapon foci only make things better. Remember that most penalties are also applied to each attack, which means smoke and darkness and such are really really nasty.