Hi guys, I'm a old time forum user and shadowrun GM, but I've turned down Shadowrun since 4th, and now I'm trying to get back. Reading SR 5th I've got some questions, most of them very newbie questions, but I would be glad to get anwsers and help nevertheless.

1st - About limits, how they interact in contested rolls? Lets say that Fast Jack is shooting at Brain Dead with an accuracy 5 gun, has 7 successes, and Brain Dead got 3 successes on his dodge test. So, does Fast Jack 7 success drop to 5 and then Brain Dead dodge drop it again by 3, to 2, or the limit only applies AFTER Brain Dead dodge? And what about thresholds? If I have a test where my limit is equal or lower than the threshold, am I automatically screwed?

2nd - At character creation is said that you cannot raise a skill that belongs to a skill group that you've just raised. Am I reading this right? I can't, at character generation, buy "Firearms" skill group at 3 and then increase my "Automatics" skill by 3, to a total of 6?

3rd - About grenade/launcher scatter, in the core book is said that you make a threshold 3 "attack" roll, and if you succeed in it, the projectile is dead-on your target, and that if you got less than 3 successes, you roll for scatter, rolling a number of dice minus the success that you got, right? For hand grenades is seems just right, but what about rocket launchers? 5 dice? If you got over the threshold of 3 you hit your target for a crapload of damage, if you succed by 2, only 1 less, you roll 5d6-2, and, most probably, missed your target by 15 meters!!! It is too much all or nothing! What I'm doing wrong?

4th - "Take cover" is a simple action, right, but does it need to be taken every combat turn, or combat phase, for the character to be considered behind cover? If not, he stays behind cover until he moves? Dodges? I'm a little lost here.

Thanks for your time and sorry for the dumb questions and for my broken english, as it really isn't my primary language.

1) Roll, Tally Successes, Apply Limits, Roll opposition, deduct successes.
2) Yes, that's right. They can e raised individually through Karma later though.
3) Grenades are weird
4) it's an RPG so I'd say that once you've taken the trouble to actively take cover you're in it until you do something that logically means you're not, I also allow for incidental cover (thins that obviously obstruct without Taking Cover) and use the Taking Cover action for actually ducking in behind a low wall etc

1 - as soon as Fastjack rolls, he's limited by his, well, Limit. So he doesn't get 7 hits, he gets 5, immediately (think about it like that right away), prior to the contested roll part. Limits apply right away.

2 - That is, to the best of my knowledge, correct. RAW, you can't "break" a skill group at chargen. Personally I'm a fan of letting people do so, because I can't think of any good reason NOT to.

3 - You're not doing anything wrong. Scatter works like you describe it. I won't say anything else, NDAs and blah blah blah.

4 - You've got it about right, as I understand it. You take cover, and then you're in cover until, well, you're not in cover any more.

And don't worry about your English. You do better than most native speakers.