When the last sota came out there was a list of the new metamagic and what they each basicly did. Would it be possible if someone who has the book already could give a little teaser about what the new adept powers could be and what new metamagics we could look forward to enjoying.

I personally am just curious to see if any of the adept powers from the old 2nd ed online list have actually found their way into cannon.

The book isn't available yet, and despite FanPro's best attempts to get it out it missed the GenCon release due to delays at the printers.

However, I don't think I'm giving anything away by saying that SOTA64 provides substantial background on the adept mindset in 2064 and what following a path is like. It also introduces a couple of new Paths, 7 or 8 new adept-specific Metamagics (some of which are advanced forms requiring mastering an existing Metamagic) and 30+ new powers (which to the best of my knowledge are entirely new and not revamps). As the intro on the SR website suggests, the focus is on expanding the adept beyond his combat slash infiltrator specialist niche and many of the new rules will prove useful to social, artistic and "cerebral" adept types that also inhabit the shadows...

So I wouldn't expect to be seeing stuff like the many combat-oriented powers that cropped up in a number of online sources. Not to say there aren't some of those too...

I hope there is some stuff for the other magicians, as well as the mundies as well

Cant exactly say, but its got some nifty rules that we got a peek for the GenCon tourny. Im pretty excited too. Part of it is SotA 64 isnt out yet. So no serious spoilers.

New things from the adept section of the book that we saw at GenCon:
A metamagic technique, the name of which I do not remember, but requires centering and basically acts a mnemonic enhancer.

2 new powers, Photographic Memory (which is exactly what it sounds like), and 3d Spatial Memory or something like that, which allows you go through an area and memorize it perfectly. They also expanded the Improved Ability table to include social and technical skills.

All in all, it looks like it will be a very cool expansion for adepts, and if the rest of the book is of similar quality, it will be a great expansion that most character types can benefit from.

So adepts are the new faces?Are they just screaming screw wareless mundanes? And people are happy with this?

I've never considered wareless mundanes to be a reasonable character outside of a fun roleplaying experience. They have always been outclassed in everything by either the awakened or those with cyber/bio, so I have no problem Adepts being expanded out of pure combat specialists.

...social and technical skills? so, you can take IA: Computer?

I don't know if they restrict those at all, I just remember the table. As a GM, I would probably allow them for B/R skills, but I would never allow Computer.

i hope the writers were thinking along the same lines.

IIRC IA: Computer is not specifically included. The rationale being DNI has very little in the way of natural somatic components for the adept's innate magic to enhance. However there's plenty of other stuff to play around with...

Lucyfersam - The advanced metamagic you're referring to is called Cognition, and its effects are slightly different than a Mnemonic Enhancer. It is one of a trio of adept-specific advanced metamagics linking to Centering.

Cynic project- Unenhanced mundanes will still have a considerable edge when it comes to playing faces for a number of reasons, foremost amongst them the fact that adept chargen pretty much caps starting resources and hence the number of contacts the potential face has. The new adept abilities are designed not to be any more balancing than say, tailored phermones and are far less powerful than certain magic spells.

Bigity - SOTA64 contains a section on Euromagic which will cover a bunch of new traditions and magical styles (or revise and delve into older ones). There's also stuff aplenty for mundanes in the Spy and Law Enforcement sections.

i am pleased.

Cool. Thanks Synner.

Then you never understood the fact it is a role playing game,and as the rule are now there are feilds that cyberware and bioware do not fully cover. Playing a mundane will let you blend in.But when your Adapt can talk his way out of anything,what is the point of going stelthy unless you want to go magic, or be better in combat?

Let's face it,within their feilds adepts are the best in hand to hand.They are nearly the best in B&E and range combat, but spell slingers beat them in the B&E and samies beat them in shooting. Adepts getting more powers is all fine and dandy, but when will they make more cyberware that is not combat?

So as it is adepts are about on par with highly specialized characters,and are gettign explained into more feilds,cause that would be cool.

The simple fact of the matter is, ware-less mundanes suffer in comparison to magical and/or augmented people.

Run onto a football field without padding or cleats and see how long you last against a properly equipped opposing team.

This does not prevent someone from doing so, but obviously you're going to be at a disadvantage.

The same principle applies to (N)PCs who opt to forgo cyberware. Nothing prevents someone from trying a highly dangerous, very competitive field without stocking up on equalizers, but you can't really complain when the enemy rolls out a tank and you're still trying to figure out which end of your spear is up.

A creative player could make a cyber-naked character work, but it's not something easily done.

I've listened to the "unfair advantage" argument from people ad nauseum. The simple fact of the matter is, no "class" is ever going to be perfectly balanced against any other class and be capable of meeting all possible challenges.

-Siege

Edit: For grammar

Or just the Pink Panther diamond.

~J

That would open up such a can of worms..... "But Mr. GM, programming is my centering skill!"

Yeah, yeah - tell me I'm wrong Cochise.

There aren't formal classes per se, but there are definite occupations and occupational specialties.

And there are certain groups you can't cross into - you can't go from adept to full mage or mage to adept or mundane to Awakened. Cybernetics is the one group that welcomes anyone.

-Siege

Edit: for typo

Surely the reason most people in the shadows *have* cyberware is to give them an advantage over mundanes? I mean, if I'd paid 100,000 for a cyberlimb, I'd damn well expect it to give me an advantage over someone with meat. Likewise, I'd like to think that a superhuman magic-man who has spent years honing his ability to punch through stone blocks (or someone who can fake any personality. or someone who can throw fireballs) is better than those that don't.

It's stupid to complain that mundanes are less versatile, or disadvantaged in a field. Mundanes should be at a disadvantage in every field, when compared to the cybered/awakened. That's why those people are cybered, remember?

And my mystical magic that focus on my body has taught me how to talk to corporate suits.....

Adept magic focuses on the body? You mean Empathic Sense? Astral Perception? Improved Ability on Social Skills is not a big change because so much of communication is A) how you talk B) how you listen C) instinct.

I understand perfectly well that it's a roleplaying game, and have played unaugmented mundanes because it was an interesting character, but I never complained that I couldn't do things as well as the augmented or awakened, because that is what the way the game is designed. Overall, I prefer to play characters who are not dramatically underpowered relative to the rest of the characters, so I don't play unaugmented mundanes very often. Even without the SOTA: 2064 rules, there is nothing an unaugmented mundane can do that either an augmented or awakened character can't do better, but now the adept can compete with the augmented and mages in fields other than combat. Adept powers were the most purely combat focused rules in the game, so it's nice to see them broaden out. They still can't start with as much in the way of enhancements as a fully augmented character, but they can at least match them in range now. A big part of the reason I think adepts were the best at combat is because they had no other choice, now many adepts combat superiority will likely be sacrificed for some non-combat abilities, balancing the starting character a bit more with the augmented.

An unaugmented mundane can pass a full detailed cyber/bioware scan and a scan from a team of four high-level initiates.

That's their most valuable and only clear advantage, though as power level increases that drops off significantly.

~J

Let's look at it this way. Stealth and combat are both things that you can practice the crap out of and spend your every waking moment trying to improve your abilities with. Sports are the same way.

I don't know if you know this, but social skills can be the same way. Constantly practicing and trying to improve your skills is something that gets done in this field. It's very physical, as well. Posture, bearing, stance, physical contact, the fine movements of your face and control of your voice all come into play. I can easily see this becoming a mystical experience for some.

What doesn't start with the body at some point? Technical skills? Most geeks will talk about "thinking in SQL" or a programming language.

Reading body language - that's a combination of perception and knowledge.

The brain is just another part of the body and it seems reasonable that magic which improves my body could and very possibly should improve all parts of my body, including things like sweat (improved pheremones?) or my vocal chords (ever listen to a really good actor and the voice range they can pull off?) or my gray matter which allows me to process thoughts faster and better.

If an adept can manifest and suddenly be strong enough to bench-press a troll, is it so inconceivable that the same adept might undergo other physical changes like appearance?

-Siege

Large Mike: as an actor, I can verify that. I haven't practiced for negotiation and social skills, but the principle is almost identical.

And then of course there's the duplicating-tailored-pheremones trick.

~J

A SURGEd character does not a full shaman, adept or mage make.

Unless I have to go back and re-read the SURGE numbers again.

-Siege

Because I'd think less of you if you didn't.

hmm, interesting. between this book and soe i think i have my hands full in the near future damn i need some cash...

I'm iffy on the idea of social adepts, but not because of any fears about them replacing mundane faces. Just depends on how it is handled. An adept ability that worked vaguely like magical pheremones would make sense, but an ability that is explained as "You are magical, and therefore this ability increases your social skills" is weak.

There are ways to balance out the concern of social adepts stealing the limelight from mundane faces. Mundanes are still a "non-threatening" factor to very nearly every social group you could deal with. There are a lot of people that would be suspicious to the idea of meeting and dealing with an adept they suspect of using magical abilities to manipulate them. Reputation is damn near everything in the shadowrunning world, and if your group gets the reputation of using magical manipulation when negotiating with people, it could hurt.

An excellent point, DE. How much difference is there between using magically enhanced social skills to make someone see things your way vs. using control thoughts or emotions to make someone see things your way. The adept will probably claim that there is a world of difference, but their contacts might not see things that way.

Actually, there is a world of difference. An adept who uses IA: Athletics or Stealth isn't any more distinguishable from someone who doesn't have adept powers unless observed from Astral - and even then, the only difference is the adept shows up as magical, the mundane does not.

It seems reasonable that an adept with IA: Etiquette or Negotiations isn't going to be any more noticeable than a mundane who doesn't have magical ability.

Likewise, improved pheremones, whether bio-augmentation or magically enhanced won't be any more noticeable.

-Siege

Hey, relax. I'm just saying I doubt it'll work that way, not that I know it won't. So, given that I doubt it's going to work that way, I'm not gonna get my panties all in a knot over it.

If it turns out to work that way, it'll be lame. And then I'll worry.

Keep in mind that the people saying "ono it'll kill mundane faces!" haven't seen the book yet either.

That concern could be extended to adepts even without the new powers - all it takes is a magical person in the same area as a non-magical person.

Whether or not the viewing mage can spot a spell being cast is irrelevant. And this certainly extends to the adept, whether or not he has the IA abilities in question. Were the NPCs acting fearful of any and all magical PCs prior to SotA: 64?

To suddenly start tacking on new waves of NPC paranoia is hardly justified, unless your Johnsons started wearing nasal filters as soon as improved pheremones hit the street.

-Siege

In my games, Johnsons who don't actually know the runners have always dealt with the runners in a paranoid way. They are dealing with criminals they do not know, after all. I'd be pretty damn careful.

This isn't to say they assume the worst, but they consider it. For instance, if the face they are dealing with is magical, and the Johnson suddenly finds himself dishing out more money for runs to this group than he normally would, he might begin to wonder why.

The comfort level when dealing with a mundane is going to be naturally higher, because there's less to suspect. Which is part of the importance of a face to begin with, establishing a relationship and a level of trust between employeer and employee.

Which raises an interesting point - in using Negotiations, do you apply a pre-generated cap or is the sky the limit?

Could a really adept Face (sorry, couldn't resist) double or triple the fee, if (s)he blew the Johnson's dice rolls out of the water?

-Siege

i use a built-in cap, yes--Johnsons are only given certain amounts of nuyen to work with, usually, and i determine that amount beforehand.

I'd never let the PCs get to the "ok, I'll throw in my commision for this work if you get it done right" level. I'd stop it at "fine, I have (x) total at my disposal to get this done, if your as good as you say, you can have it all. If that's not enough, I can find others who may not do the job as well, but will get it done."

Of course, that's not a level you can realistically expect to reach with anything less than a mega-munchkin magic-fortified face and some really lucky rolls.