Ok, so everyone's always going on about how much TM's are like mages, only with the Matrix, and thus more limited. I had a thought today while reading through my sixth world almanac while going over bits about various space stations: magic doesn't work in space. We all know this, but I haven't seen anywhere that says a TM's abilities don't work in space, and I suspect they do, but what about everyone else? What do you think? And I don't mean what if a TM tries to enter the node of a space station, what if a TM is not physically on earth, but is on a shuttle or space station or something?

Resonance isn't magic. Magic isn't resonance. They are in fact, mutually exclusive. Emerged don't rely on a mana-based gaiasphere the way that Awakened do, but rather on the presence of a ubiquitous wireless network. The only fluff notes I've had are in areas without any wireless, or with wireless somehow blocked off (faraday cages etc) Technomancers feel out of place or disoriented if they try to reach out with their Persona, but unlike trying to astrally perceive in space, they don't actually take any SAN damage. I suppose locking a technomancer in a faraday cage might be pretty similar to gouging someone's eyes out, but that's about it.

I'd rule a techno functions fine in space, but may feel a bit isolated if there aren't a multitude of nodes, and wireless activity about.

Edit: Incidentally, the thread title sounds like it could be used as a really bad simsense/trid flick.

As long as Said TM is aboard one of the lovely space stations they should be snug as bug in a rug. Well baring sudden exposure to vacuum or every comsat went down.

That was the idea, I kept having it echo in my head, like the old Muppets "Pigs in Space" thing. And like I said, I'm pretty sure their abilities do work, but since everyone's so fast to paint TMs and mages as being almost exactly the same, I thought I'd get everyone else's takes on it.

In SPAAAAACE!

Mages and Techomancers aren't the same - they aren't really even similar. The rules are similar, of course, but in the game world, they are not. You could however say, that they are parallel, both rules-wise and world-wise. They get their powers from different sources, and in completely different ways. To use an ugly comparison, like mages and clerics in D&D (though those ARE similar).

Magic doesn't work in space because space is a rating 12 background count (void). Background count doesn't effect TMs at all, and so TMs would operate just as well as any other metahuman in space. They might be annoyed at there being so little matrix out there, but that would be about it.

The biggest gimping factor for a technomancer in space is the matrix lag time rules from arsenal. Those can sometimes be completely debilitating (if memory serves).

But if you're actually doing a run in space, its not a problem because the lag time wont be significant for intra-station communications.