The Errata has the rather cryptic entry:

p. 31 Tweaking the Rules
Add the following Tweak:
“Adep. Initiation. Group. may consider allowing adepts to gain
1 Power Point instead of a Metamagic at Initiation.”

Does this mean only for group initiations is that an option, or that the gaming group can consider the rule, or what? What does it say in print?

And isn't it terribly unbalancing?

I would say it's only unbalancing if you allow it more than once...?!? Otherwise it's buying up magic like everyone else...expensive!

It is always an option.


Well, I am normaly the first one to cry imba, but I can't see anything here.
I mean Initiations are not cheap and it will no raise your magic attribute.

Most of the time, an Adept doesn't need his Magic atribute for anything (usually just for Boost Ability), gaining a whole new power point for half the price is a lot in my opinion.
Give half the power point and I think it would still be balanced.

Remember that ranks in a given power are limited to Magic (or half Magic in my games, rounded down). That limits it somewhat.

Also, if you play that an Adept can only have as many power points active as his Magic, that can be a limiting factor.

Example: Rhys is playing an Adept with a Magic of 4. On his first initiation, he purchases an extra Power Point instead of a metamagic technique. Now, he has 5 Power Points to choose from, but can only activate 4 PP at any time. During most days, he chooses to keep up his basic powers chosen at Character Creation, but during downtime, he switches out one power point to focus on healing and activates his Rapid Healing.

This makes adepts a little less of a one-trick pony and gives them options to start changing based on circumstance.

The fact that you can only have as many ranks in a power as you have Magic points, and the fact that you can only Initiate up to a number of times equal to your current Magic score keeps getting Power Points via Initiation from becoming overpowered.

Their only getting them from their Magic score in the past was actually a huge karma hurdle, considering how many Adept builds have little to no use for a high Magic score (in terms of dice rolls and whatnot).

Page ref. Please

I have the Blue Cover, Street Magic; the FanPro version
so if you quote from the Red Cover version let me know.

Also, errata? the german stuff?

I wish the punks responsible for the North American line would get with the program.

That was only a rule in SR3, and only before they fixed the bioware/Magic rules to make them a lot simpler and more logical, doing away with "virtual Magic loss".

I see no need for it as a house rule, as it only adds pointless bookkeeping, and penalizes certain power point allocations and not others.

The existing limitations (you can only initiate so many times without improving your Magic, and your powers are limited in rating by your Magic) already keep it balanced, although it is still an optional rule.

D'oh

I have to quit using SR4 and SR4A interchangeably.

Despite my players not all owning SR4A I think I'll have to enforce SR4A only...

Especially for myself

I found the line he was talking about in the, out of date?, Street Magic errata.

I think your right Glyph. Less needless complication the better.

I don't think its that unbalancing, in fact I've been using the "power point instead of a metamagic tecnique"
rule from Magic in the Shadows. Nice to know It's official 4th.

This is a holdover from third edition. Its come up before.


As to the 'initiation for PP' thing. We've used it in my game, and it works out pretty well.The number one complain i've had from our adepts is that some powers are just so expensive, you feel like you're not getting anywhere, because raising magic is SO expensive.


The sidebar with the 'initiation for metamagic thing' IS in the errata, and in the second printing with the orange cover, i believe. It is anoptional rule, but one i highly recommend.
There is an additional sidebar/optional rule for obtaining metamagics outside of initiation - you're limited by you Magic+grade in total metamagics, but can buy them from other people for 15 karma, at a flat value.

Due to poor wording, these two rules have no interplay(by strict reading) - the adept one is only at initiation. However, houseruling them into compatability as an option is something I recommend for the adepts, if you're playing Anniversary edition.

This has to do with the edition-wars thing.
in 4th, magic 6 cost 18 karma. (7 is 21)
in anniversary, magic 6 is 30. (7 is 35)
Most people tend to softcap magic at 5, just as an observation.
The karma award table was upped by about 1/3. (currently, following the guideline, doing awesome, being awesome, funny, and successful nets you 8-11 karma per run).
As a gm, if your player LIKES their character, and wants to become a better adept, you're literally asking them to do nothing with their karma for about 3-5 games, for minimal benefit, where -everyone- else is picking up specialties and skills and stuff. Thats a good chunk of time.
5 sessions you say?
You forgot the cost of inititation. Add another 13 onto there. Session and a half, depending on how stingy/successful you are.
in 4th, this was a managable goal to be worked towards. You could do it, but it meant some commitment.
In anniversary, it led to our adepts feeling useless about some of the powers they started with - to the point where one adept and the gm sat down, had a chat, and ended up changing some powers that were never used to the ones they wanted - they were just too expensive to buy. And this was with regular weekly sessions. I don't think our face ever really bought more power points except the once.

Yeah. If you're playing under Anniversary rules, use it. Let people buy power points as metamagics and stuff. Its not an unreasonable rule for the cost.
Just treat it like any other player option: If they're abusing it, put your foot down.

Edit: Fair warning: Using the two metamagic-related houserules together does have a small loophole to be aware of - when initiating, you trade your metamagic for a power point; you don't actually gain a metamagic. Since the maximum # of metamagics you may know at one time is equal to your Magic+initiation grade,you can kind of double-stuff your magic by buying the actual metamagics you want seperately. However, its kind of a non-issue - its super expensive to do so, and will roughly double the total cost, to the point where you might as well just initiate and raise your magic for the PP instead. Almost the same end effect. Still, something to watch out for.
Edit: Learning metamagics outside of initiation also provides some measure of protection against getting your magic gimped by losing essence. Its possible to lose initiations with magic loss, and you lose the metamagic for that grade as well - if you bought it outside of initiation, you only lose it if the Mag+Grade cailing is low enough. (basically, it lets you have extra metamagics equal to your base magic, with enough karma, assuming you get a metamagic each initiation). The one extreme edge case this is useful trick in is with various Vampires, who have flexible essence: a goblin adept who lets themselves(or is forced to) run dry to essence 1-2 is pretty much screwed.
For your sanity, just make it all the same, and don't bother with pedantic distinctions. Trade for PP is a metamagic, lost like a meta, costs the same, done.