Ok, I need a couple of rules clarifications:

Regarding Ghoul PCs:

During the course of my campaign, a character became a ghoul. He had cyber
eyes at the time, and has since seen a street doc to get them properly tuned
and adjusted for his new body.

Can the character still use a smart-link, despite the fact that he is now
dual natured?
Does the character (a street samurai) have a +2 penalty to combat, and other
actions that take place solely outside of astral space?

Also, I've been a little lax, and giving him the benefit of the doubt, and
letting him continue without too much in the way of penalties. Any
suggestions on how to add these penalties?

Regarding cyberware:
Can a laser sight be used with image mag? (Giving the player a huge bonus on
extreme range shots.)
The rangefinder attachment to the smartlink-2 system gives the player a -1
at long and a -2 at extreme range. This is in addition to the regular
smartlink bonus, correct? All that is required is the cyberware, and the
piece that goes on the gun, correct?

Regarding Astral space:

Can characters that are dual natured see critters that are using the
concealment power, or does this hide their astral signature as well.
Also, if a character manages to spot a critter using this power, does it
become 'visible' to that character, or is more like a telltale shifting of
local debris, sounds, etc. And is the character able to continue to track
that critter without another perception test?


Thanks!

Cyberware is destroyed when you become a Ghoul. You can't just retune the eyes, you need to replace them. However once replaced they'll work fine.

Never heard anything suggesting dual-natureds can't use a smartlink, so go ahead and let the Ghoul have one.

Dual-Natured beings have no penalty for astral perception, only things that are not normally dual, but can astrally perceive do.

Depends on the Penalty. Give us more information.

Regarding Cyberware:
A laser sight is only good out to 50 meters. Past that the beam attenuates too much (Beats me why Lasers in SR are inferior to things on people's keychains today but there you have it). Unless you're using a tazer, or pistol extreme range is farther than the Beam will go so it's a moot point. Personally I would be inclined to disallow it anyway.

I have no idea on the concealment.

If the ghoul has cyber eyes and can see:

1. A smartlink should function normally.
2. The ghoul suffers no penalty for combat that takes in real space versus astral.

Enforce some hefty social penalties because, let's face it, he's a ghoul.

A laser sight can indeed be used with a mag scope. Although a -1 isn't a hefty bonus, per se.

Yes, the range finder bonus stacks with the smartlink bonus. Yes, the range finder is an integral part of the smart2 system.

Astral space
Don't have a clue, sorry.

-Siege

Edit: Moon brings up a good point -- although per CC, you can get the deluxe, heavy duty laser with a much greater range.

There are two laser sights:

Regular - Good to 50m during day and 150m at night.

Extended Laser Sight: good to 150m during day and 500m at night.

MM pg 35.

However, Laser sights (either) cannot function in mist, smoke,fog or rain.

Couple notes. Cyberware isn't destroyed when your character becomes a ghoul. Bioware is, completely absorbed. Purely structural cyberware (you know, the kind that shouldn't really take up Essence) is left alone, with no effects. All other cyberware is broken not destroyed, and can be fixed. So a Ghoul with a cybereye installed before transformation wouldn't be able to use the cybereye right afterwards, but it'd still be there. A doctor could fix it. To back it up, quoth the Shadowrun Companion:

The rangefinder is in no way an integral part of the Smartlink-2 - it's an optional accessory which provides an additional bonus over and above that provided by the SL.

Also, Ghouls have the blind flaw (SRComp, p34) - "cyber replacement eyes cannot correct the Blind Flaw" (SRComp, p19).

There, that should open another can'o'worms...

Permit me to rephrase -- unless your character breaks the SM2 components down, the rangefinder comes with the package.

Buying the .5 SM2, factory spec, includes the rangefinder. It is, however, not required for smooth operation of the SM2 system.

-Siege

Edit: As for the whole blind thing -- yeah, that is a can of worms. As far as I know, there is no canon errata that clarifies the position.

Is that FAQ'd or erratta'd?

Specifically M&M pp32-33

"Range Finder - this smartlink accessory..." (emphasis mine)

The essense cost of the 4 components for a SL-1 add up to .5 and 2500 nuyen. For an SL-2 it costs .5 essence and 3500 nuyen. Oddly, these add to the same values as the SL1 and SL2 respectively. The Range Finder is extra, as is the personalized safety - or do you argue that's included as well?

I repeat - the rangefinder is an optional extra that provides additional benefit when used with an SL-2. p32 - "When used with a smartlink-2..."

If the Range Finder was included in the base 3500 nuyen, .5 essence SL2 kit I respectively submit that only riggers with an image link would even bother with the seperate components.

I'll have to go back and look -- insofar as my group is concerned, the range finder has always been included unless you stripped the system down to components.

-Siege

First of all... The blind flaw doesn't mean you can't see at all, it means you have a +6 to all visual-based tests.

Second: The ghoul rules specifically allude to cybereyes compensating for their blind penalties. Specific special-case rules always win out over general rulings, so ghouls specifically may be able to overcome thier Blind flaw with cybereyes (although others cannot).

It also makes me wonder about Grid Reaper in Target: Matrix and how he has glowing red cybereyes to get past his ghoul blindness. If ghouls can't use cybereyes to fix their blindness, how come he can?

The Abstruse One

Ghouls CAN use cybereyes to fix blindnesss - it says so in SRComp. This is just another example of contradictory rules and like always the specific case wins over the general (Thanks to Cain for pointing that out).

The blindness flaw cannot be fixed by cybereyes, however, Ghouls have a specific flaw which, although effectively identical to Blindness CAN be fixed by cyber.

I only brought it up because it's funny watching certain DS members argue about such things and I'm pretty sure that this exact subject spawned such an argument recently.

Sorry. It seemed like a fun idea at the time.