Hi everyone

Got a tricky question and can't find any rules for it right now.

The rules are if you lose essence through cyberware/bioware then you also lose points from your current magic attribute and the max attribute.

So if my mage with 5 Magic would get cyberware for 1 essence he would lose 1 point of magic and lower his max magic to 5 (that part is clear to me)

But what happens during char generation? Often I mix the part between installing cyberware, chosing Attribures and skills etc.
So what happens if I install Cyberware first (-1 essence) but I didn't raise my magic attribute before (Magic 1) and then would raise it AFTER installing cyberware?
Would that mean I only lose 1 Max Magic but no magic point or what?
The Chummer Chargen makes it very easy to to Attributes not at the beginning but at the end and juggling around with attributes inbetween.

I hereby request aid from RAW-specialists from the dumpshock forum

PS: If my english is bad, it's because it's not my native language

You're always mathematically considered to buy up your Magic first, and then buy augmentations that lower Essence. That's part of what makes augmentations at character creation so very, very, pricey for characters who want to use Magic. You're basically stuck spending points on nothing -- buying Magic up, then losing that Magic rating as you take some cyberware/bioware.

There is a precedent with the Latent Awakening talent and others, where the cap on Magic is reduced with implants, but can then be bought up normally. You could discuss with your table the possibility of applying that as the standard instead of the exception. This would likely end up with more augmented magic-users at chargen, but if your table doens't mind, roll with it.

There are people who believe what Critias said isn't true, but they're wrong.

You can indeed make a house rule as BishopMcQ suggests, but I doubt the mages need even more help.

The order in which things are bought during chargen is detailed on page 97 of SR4A. Usually one just does everything a bit mixed together, but things are ordered to avoid confusions like this.

Also they get no cookies.

I maintain that it works fine without ordering. The only way to 'cheat' the system is to use the *wrong* ordering, while everything works fine if you consider the whole chargen to be harmonic (non-ordered, 'live updating').