No, not skills overusage ... attributes overusage. Sorry I wasn't as clear as I could be there.

And you are correct in that the skill success test would be the same HOWEVER, the impact of the strength would come into play more. For instance, the Strength would impact the distance of a hammer-toss as a base distance between the Athletics successes might even come into play. Quickness impacts the base running speed before successes might even come into play. Body will have an impact on the fatigue before Athletics come into play (and yeah, I know, this last example gets me a lot of the time too).

On the flipside however, it allows for a "Quick Character" to be made up and played for last minute players to join and/or for a GM to draw upon as an NPC resource for an unforeseen encounter.

Everything has a potential usage, the real challenge most of the time is just being a GM-enough to draw upon it.

This does give me an interesting idea twist.

What you are talking about here is Threshold, which does exist and is something that we have initiated for certain rolls. Also note that Threshold's ultimate example is already in the rules as they stand. For every success the opponent gets it's removing one success (or rather, increasing the number of successes) necessary to hit the person.

On the flipside, another version of what you are suggesting might be a variation of how we use certain aspects of the Stealth Skill now, ie; Camouflage. For every net success generated on the Camouflage test, the target number for spotting the individual in the appropriate environment is increased by one (+1). If someone were to actually create an "Evading" skill on the premise of the same mechanic I'm suggesting for Stealth (Camouflage) above, then the person makes the Evading test as part of his Combat (Ranged) test.

HOWEVER - Remember that one very special thing happens when you start addendumizing combat rules. You slow combat play way down. You have layer upon layer of mechanic just to determine if you hit someone. A really good example of this (IMO) is the Rigger Vehicle-Electronic rules. Missile Lock-Break Lock-Dodge/Maneuver-Re Establish Lock.... yadda yadda yadda... ad nauseum. Sure, if the game's dramatic moments depend upon something go for it, play for all the fun you can get out of something. Just remember that by adding more and more layers of realism or game mechanism you are likely removing the fun of the role-play itself.

Okay, now this is always my favorite subject.

High Magic.

I am going to be one of the first people to admit that magic intensive games can significantly tilt the scheme of the game play. If you have lots of magical characters and the game becomes magically oriented, that doesn't however mean that it's not Shadowrun ... it just means that is going to be the focus of the game. It might not be someone else's viewpoint of Shadowrun, but it's still the game.

Also note that even when you think that High Magic can make you impenetrable, this is where those Attributes come back into play. Limitations on attributes are immensely helpful here, or at least most of the time should be. Force of spirits can be limited. Force of spells can be iffy (Willpower for higher force spells becomes tantamount). Also remember that if a bunch of mages suddenly go actively magic-slinging, background count kicks up a point or two (and every point can count).

High Magic campaigns can be loads of fun, but it's kinda like everything else. Anything fun in moderation is fun. Anything in excess gets boring.

On a different note - of the campaigns we have, we have one world-story-arc, but the two groups are highly different if still related. One group magic was allowed to run rampant (my characters fault) while the other group was decided to enforce a limit on how many directly magical characters became involved. And to be honest, while I enjoy both games greatly ... I do admit that the one with the more mixed group of characters can come up with a lot more things to do.

When I read this, a song ran through my head...

I do? Are you sure you aren't meaning someone else? I could be wrong, but I don't recall complaining about anything you are talking about.

As was said though, a regular soldier and college grad isn't too hard to make under the current system. It's the elite spec-ops trooper turned shadowrunner that is impossible to make in any realistic fashion at chargen with the current system.

That's entirely possible - I'm weaning myself off of caffiene (again), so take everything I type with a grain of salt.

And a shot of tequila.

-Siege

Blasphemy! Caffeine is life!

Say that after passing a kidney stone.

-Siege

Not necessarily. My fiancee has problems with kidney stones, and one of the first things they told her to do was to cut back on the caffeine. I don't pretend to understand it, but I do know that I don't want her to have to go back in for another lithotripsy procedure, so I'm all for her cutting back on the Dr Pepper. (The doctor didn't say eliminate it, by the way, at least in Tiffany's case, just cut back.)

YMMV.

I must be blessed! I drink next to no pure water, and more than 30 cups of coffee a day (and have for over 30 years), and I have no problems in that department.

It's an aggravating factor, not an instigating factor.

My stone came from excess protein and a noted lack of water over the last month.

-Siege

Holy hell. Does no one here pay any attention to nutrition and personal health?

I have to admit, I know nothing about guns, unarmed combat or computers but I'm actually well versed in nephrology and neurology

You are correct that it is low sodium that cause these types of seizures. However, excess free water intake plays a very important role. It drives down serum sodium levels. This effect is part dilutional but is also because when the kidneys dump free water, they inevitably lose some electrolytes as well. Sweating can exacerbate this. And once your sodium falls to 120 or below, seizures are common. And while I am not certain, I believe that osmotic fluid shifts in the central nervous system are more the cause than conduction abnormalities per se.

These seizures also will not stop until your sodium is corrected. This can be tricky because most clinicians won't immediately suspect it unless the situation is obvious (e.g. marathon runner). That being said, most providers would certainly check stat electrolytes in a patient with medication refractory seizures.

Still, under normal circumstances, it is nearly impossible to drink enough water to seize. So I think you're safe

Um...you do know where you're posting, right?

-Siege

Oh, I am so not going there....

Hey, I've lived this long, and have no real problems caused by caffeine (smoking is another matter!). That I'm still alive at all is a nice surprise every day.