QUOTE (Fiddler @ Aug 16 2013, 11:50 PM)
The zero special attribute points refers to racial special attribute points. It's in the step for choosing race even. The magic/resonance section and the skills section both say magic and resonance skills can only be taken by their mages, technomancers. priority a b c an d are the only ones that give you that status per the chart.
This.
You are misinterpreting the "chooses an option that provides 0 special attribute points, don't worry." quote.
The full quote is:
These Special Attribute Points may only be allocated on Special Attributes. They may never be used to raise Mental or Physical attributes.
Any unspent Special Attribute points disappear following the character creation process. If the player chooses
an option that provides 0 special attribute points, don’t worry. Players may elect to spend the Karma given to
them during the character creation process to raise these special attributes by following the standard Character Advancement rules (p. 103)."
They are saying if you choose a Metatype with 0 special attribute points - i.e. Metatype Priority B and you play a Troll - you can still use karma to raise that special attribute.
In fact, in the example for Kyra - it specifically mentions this:
"Kyra has decided her character will be an elf. Scanning the Priority
Table, Kyra decides on Priority Level D for metatype. Like Rob’s troll character,
Kyra’s elf character will receive no extra Special Attribute Points.
For her to raise her special attributes, she will need to use Karma later
on. Kyra settles on Priority B for her Attribute Points. This gives Kyra 20
Attribute Points to improve her character. Checking her character, none
of her Mental or Physical attributes are at their natural maximum limit.
After spending her points, these are her character’s attributes:
You build your character in order. The first thing you do is choose metatype. Next, you allocate any special attribute points to raise Edge, Magic, or Resonance. Edge starts at 1 or 2 (depending on your metatype), Magic and Resonance start at 0. There is a reason for this - wait until the next step.
Next, you choose your mental and physical attributes - this is self explanatory.
Next, you choose your magic or resonance.
"The next column of the Priority Table is Magic or Resonance.
This is a column for players who want to be
magic users (adepts, aspected magicians, mages, shamans,
and mystic adepts) or technomancers.
Players
who desire none of these character options choose
Priority E for this column."
Very clear here. If you don't want to be ANY of the above - choose E. Thus, if you want to be one of those,
you have to choose A-D.
In the example they say:
"James has already assigned Priority Levels D to his Metatype
and C to Attributes for his technomancer character, so
these Priority Levels are no longer available to him, leaving A,
B, and E. Row E has no Resonance options, so James rules that
one out and chooses Priority Level B. This gives him a Resonance
Attribute Rating of 4 (which is added to the 2 Special Attribute
Points he dedicated to Resonance in Step Two)"
So two things:
1) Here is a clear example of someone who wanted to be a technomancer, and did not choose Magic E - why - because they couldn't be a technomancer if they did.
2) This shows that you add the Magic or Resonance rating provided by your Priority chosen for Magic to the points allocated from your special ability from step one of the character creation process.
Next - look at the skills section:
Magic Skills:
"Magic skills are reserved for those who practice magic.
In order to acquire magic-specific skills, characters
must have a quality that provides a Magic rating. In order
to use these skills, that Magic rating must be 1 or
higher."
This is simply a cut and paste from SR4: from the main SR4 rules, page 113:
"Unless otherwise noted in the description, only characters
with the Magician or Mystic Adept quality and a Magic attribute
of 1 or greater may take or use Magic skills.
So - in SR5, you have to be a Magician, Mystic Adept, or Aspected Magician, with a Magic rating of 1 to use those skills. You don't purchase qualities with build points in SR5, you get those qualities by choosing the correct Priority.
Similar wording can be found in the Technomancer section:
From SR5
"If you’re a technomancer, you have a Resonance attribute. This attribute represents how connected you
are to the Resonance. Your Resonance rating affects all of your Resonance abilities and your living persona.
Your natural Resonance maximum is your Essence rounded down. Whenever you lose Essence (after character
generation), you lose an equal amount of Resonance, rounded up. If your Resonance ever reaches
zero, you lose the Technomancer quality and all Resonance abilities."
Again - notice the word "quality" - the only equivalent in SR5 is in the priority table.
OR, you could look on page 63 from SR5:
"Spellcaster: A manabolt to your chest, a fireball in
your face—that’s what the spellcaster brings
to the table in combat. And he does so much
more. He manipulates and channels mana,
an energy field that is the essence of magic.
Mana can be manipulated in several different
ways, allowing for different types of spellcasters.
Magicians follow a more logical and ordered system of magic,
while shamans rely more on their instincts and intuition.
To make a
spellcaster, a player needs to select a priority that grants a Magic
attribute rating (see Priority Table, p. 65). Depending on the tradition,
Charisma or Intuition can be important attributes for spellcasters, and
Willpower is an important attribute for resisting Drain."
"Technomancer: Some people hack the Matrix with physical tools, but a few have the ability
to log on with nothing more than their minds. These people are technomancers.
A technomancer can access the Matrix with his mind through an intrinsic connection
that’s not fully understood, even in 2075— though plenty of people would pay plenty to figure out how it works.
A player who wishes to play a technomancer must select an option on the Priority Table (p. 65) that gives the character a Resonance
attribute. Logic, Intuition, and Willpower can be important attributes for the technomancer."
I really don't see how much clearer they can make this thing.
The book does not contain a bolded sentence that says "If you choose Magic E you are a mundane and may not do anything at all related to Magic or Resonance".
But is that really necessary given all of the above?
@Umidori
I understand your question - and I think it is a valid one - you want to have the option to play a mage or technomancer with Magic as priority E - in this particular case, the priority system doesn't let you do this. For good or for bad, that's the way it works. The best equivalency I can make to the SR4 build is (and it isn't a perfect one) - imagine you are creating a character in SR4 and you say "Can I make a Mystic Adept and not spend 10 BP? Can I just buy it later with karma?" The answer would be no.
To be honest - I don't understand the smack-talk directed at you - I mean, I disagree with your interpretation of the rule - but I don't have a problem with you asking the question.
