Okay, fun fact: One of our best-selling PDF-only products in recent years is The Way of the Adept. It was written by a dedicated freelancer who wanted to give adepts a boost because he felt they were underpowered. It was edited by a member of of the Shadowrun development team who believes adepts were, if anything, overpowered.

That’s the joy of adepts, and it’s one of the reasons they’re so difficult to get right. There are a lot of different opinions about how well they work compared to other archetypes and the best ways to balance them, or even if they are worth the effort to have in the game. When we were planning Shadowrun, Fifth Edition, there was no question about keeping them. We’re awfully fond of them and we want them in the game, if only so we can punch spirits in the face with our bare hands. So getting rid of them was never a matter of discussion.

But if adepts were staying, what do we do with them? What needs to change to help them compete and be useful throughout their lifespan? As we talked it over, our focus settled on the idea that adepts needed some way to advance besides dumping loads of Karma into skills and attributes. If run rewards are going to take two forms, nuyen and Karma–and they are–then adepts need to have a wealth of options for their nuyen as well as their Karma. They have some, of course, from new guns to weapon modifications to armor and what not, but these options don’t pack the same punch as, say, a street samurai boosting up from wired reflexes 2 to wired reflexes 3 and getting that burst of blinding speed. So we tossed ideas back and forth, had a few arguments (as you might expect with the range of opinions in the house), and what we eventually came up with was: qi foci, a kind of focus just for adepts.

Now, this isn’t that revolutionary of an idea. Foci exist already, and are already there to boost the abilities of the Awakened. It was not, to be honest, the most difficult task in the world to design a focus that provided a boost in adept powers, similar to the way other foci lift up spellcasting abilities.

But that’s why we liked it. Simple solutions that fit with existing game mechanics keep complications down. Plus, we decided that qi foci could take the form of traditional objects (rings, necklaces, and so forth), but they could also be tattoos. Getting a tattoo that boosted your adept powers made us smile, which made it something that had to happen.

At this point I need to say that I will be severely disappointed if many Shadowrun fans are not reading this and thinking “But you said you wanted adepts to have an option for their nuyen! Foci cost Karma to bond!” Good call! There is a balance to work on here, as there is with everything in Shadowrun. While we want adepts to be able to use their nuyen to advance, using only their nuyen to get qi foci seemed to give them too rapid of a path to power. Shifting the balance–where they have some Karma-light options to go along with the Karma-heavy options–seemed like a good idea. We hope players have fun with it!

Now, this isn’t that revolutionary of an idea.

tattoo boosting Adept powers. And katana foci. Welcome to the Clan Dragon. (At my taste, it's really really too much unoriginal there).

I'd expect the tattooing to be on the more expensive side of qi foci (both in ¥ and karma), as it's easier to take a ring or pair of spectacles from someone than a square foot of flesh.

Actually, unless you use optional rules, Binary .... Initiating doesn't do a whole hell of a lot for Adepts.

Interesting. I'd expect the tattooing to be on the more expensive side of qi foci (both in ¥ and karma), as it's easier to take a ring or pair of spectacles from someone than a square foot of flesh. Though I'd imagine the tattooed adept will have problems with wards that a non-inked wouldn't, for the inverse reasoning.

Wouldn't all that do would just disrupt the foci in question?

And even then, it should be just a simple manner of switching the foci back "on" once you get on the other side of the ward.

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Also, considering that their main tagline for SR5 is "Everything has a Price", I'm curious as to if this will also apply to Magic. And if so, how.

It opens them up for another magic point, which they can acquire and use to get more adepty powers...

@Cryptoknight
no idea how that works in SR4, but under SR3 Rules you could get either Skill times Specialisations or Skill divided by 2 rounded some way specialisations . .

And have you looked at the price of doing that?

Initiate once, sans group or ordeal, 13 Karma. Raise Magic from 6 to 7, 35 Karma. Total price, 48 Karma.

An that's the first, sole, single point. The next one costs 56 Karma. The next, 64 Karma. So three initiations is 168 Karma.

Oh O.o
Weak Sauce!
SR3 had multiple Specialisations, and then you could concentrate.
For Example:
Heavy Pistol/SS(Ruger Super Warhawk) 5/7(9)

Oh O.o
Weak Sauce!
SR3 had multiple Specialisations, and then you could concentrate.
For Example:
Heavy Pistol/SS(Ruger Super Warhawk) 5/7(9)

Sweet. Because adepts needed yet another way to outpace samurai.

" If run rewards are going to take two forms, nuyen and Karma–and they are–then adepts need to have a wealth of options for their nuyen as well as their Karma. They have some, of course, from new guns to weapon modifications to armor and what not, but these options don’t pack the same punch as, say, a street samurai boosting up from wired reflexes 2 to wired reflexes 3 and getting that burst of blinding speed."

Of course they don't pack the same punch, Samurai trade that out for permanent, unrecoverable essence loss and a maximum cap of cyberware that they can ever have, as opposed to just initiating when they want more shinies.

Yeah, this does seem to be fixing the wrong problems. What's that quote from Draco18s again?

Adepts have some powers that are too expensive for what they give, and one of their speciality niches (CC) could use a makeover. But this whole thing about their options not having the same punch as a sam upgrading to wired 3...it's either disingenuous or they totally missed the point.

Could we discuss fluff for a moment?
What do you think will happen to the megacorp roster in the new edition?

So far the (obvious) trends I see:
Ares is losing its AAA status after producing a bad rifle (nevermind that an AAA status has nothing to do with profitability and Renraku did not lose it after Arcology Lockdown even) and falling apart (?) due to a bug infestation.

The japanacorps are somehow presenting an even more unified front to the world (despite long since going as far as helping each other against hostile takeover attempts by buying stock and then reselling it back to the corp).
Renraku is an information-gathering corp now (and what that means for Renraku of all people we're yet to see).
MCT is deep into making computers out of human brains.

Lofwyr is more powerful than he has ever been, and that means things go well for SK, the NEEC, and GeMiTo in particular.

Anything I'm forgetting?

Though I'd imagine the tattooed adept will have problems with wards that a non-inked wouldn't, for the inverse reasoning.

the biowire echo allows them to make complex forms of active skills (which can be threaded beyond a skill value of 8 if done properly).

Well, the design implications of WR3 versus IR3 are a little more complicated than a blog entry can get into. Still, you're missing the point - they're talking about how the things adepts get through NUYEN have a much lesser impact.

And with the increase to skill caps and the way they've been talking about advancing to a skill cap (that it would require serious dedication), you can assume that sam's are gonna have plenty to spend Karma on for some time. So, if Sams need both Karma and Nuyen in decent measure now, shouldn't the same apply to adepts?

I find it funny that you'll have people vehemently arguing both that adepts are underpowered and that they're overpowered. I've yet to see a truly overpowered adept build, because typically by the time you might consider them so, they're so deeply specialized that there's glaring weaknesses to them.

Let's see:
Mages: Karma Dump for Spells / Extra Skills / Initiation / Foci / Magic Attribute, Nuyen Dump on Foci (maybe)
Street Samurai: Karma Dump for Skills / Attributes, Nuyen Dump on Cyberware / Weapons
Adepts: Karma Dump for Magic Attribute / Initiation / Skills / Attributes, Nuyen Dump on Weapon Foci, maybe Weapons.

I don't think I'm missing the point at all - I perfectly understand that they're talking about the nuyen thing. I think you're missing the point that there's plenty available already for adepts to spend their nuyen on, and just because a particular player might choose not to spend it on cyber / bio (although they definitely can, and it makes for a very effective build), it doesn't mean the adept needs other avenues to spend money on. They're there already. Vehicles / gear / foci / contacts / safehouses.

If you'll look at my point in my previous post, that you seem to have missed - they're fixing the wrong problems. Adept problems are to do with power costs and CC effectiveness (among other problems).

So, the design should ignore pure adepts?

If the things that make augmented adepts strictly better were fixed, then the problem WOULD be apparent to you. And, again, if the Sam gets more to spend Karma on, why SHOULDN'T the Adept get more to spend nuyen on?

What does the sam get more of to spend Karma on? Higher skill caps are available to everybody, not just sams.

So, the design should ignore pure adepts?

He has more then he currently does to spend his Karma on. Also, the sam is more likely to have Karma AVAILABLE to spend on skills, as its his secondary asset.

I don't see where I said that at all. Again, there's plenty to spend nuyen on for the pure adept. And I think being a pure adept would mean understanding that you're choosing to limit your character in certain ways. It's not the devs responsibility to take away all of the downsides inherit in choosing to forego cyber.

Again, there's plenty to spend nuyen on for the pure adept.

And I think being a pure adept would mean understanding that you're choosing to limit your character in certain ways.

Does the karma-for-nuyen thing not hold anymore?

One thing that bugged me in SR4 was that there were no skills to spend your Karma on that would make your character better at rockin' out. Or, theoretically, any other sort of performance, such as violin or dubstep or sex, but let's be honest; the only ones that players are going to (or should) spend money on are sex and rock.


This is goddamn Shadowrun, damnit. The mechanics need to support the players being pink mohawk rockers.

One thing that bugged me in SR4 was that there were no skills to spend your Karma on that would make your character better at rockin' out. Or, theoretically, any other sort of performance, such as violin or dubstep or sex, but let's be honest; the only ones that players are going to (or should) spend money on are sex and rock.


This is goddamn Shadowrun, damnit. The mechanics need to support the players being pink mohawk rockers.

Special Active Skills
The skill system in Shadowrun is not completely comprehensive, meaning that it is impossible for us to cover every skill imaginable. The skills listed here, however, should cover the vast majority of Active skills that any shadowrunning team may find necessary. Should a gamemaster deem that a new skill is called for and presently unaccounted for by the system, he can allow it in his game. This should be done rarely, however. You must link any new skill allowed in your game with an appropriate attribute, and the gamemaster must decide if it should be grouped with existing skills in a skill group. Gamemasters should also take care not to include new Active skills for a single character or a single effect. A good skill should have at least two specializations and be open to all characters, should they want to use it.