I've sort of been wondering (as evidenced by my last topic) about what cyber people commonly use, as well as about the difference between what you might have the impression is common by reading Dumpshock, and what most characters will actually have.

For example, reading these boards you sometimes get the feel that 3 out of 4 sams out there have WR3 or MBW, for example, whereas the reality seems to be closer to Alpha WR2 - but I digress...

There seems to be a lot of cyber that is, for lack of a better word, mandatory - like smartlinks.

For me, vision enhancements fall into the same category - from both IC and OOC points of view, it seems completely foolish and impractical to spend hundreds of thousands of on combat cyberware before making sure your character isn't constantly tripped up by massive TN penalties for vision. As a result, I've come to look at a combination of thermal, low-light, eye-lights and flare-comp (and ultrasound if I have the money and Essence to spare) sort of the same way I do at a smartlink or reaction enhancement for anyone who plans on fighting - basically, non-negotiable - and was wondering what gear falls into the same category for others...

Eyes and ears. Full suite of both. Once you have them, it's really really tough to play a character that doesn't.

Transducer.

Dual datajacks.

~J

Cybereyes with flare compensation, lowlight or thermographic and electronic III are pretty much essential and well worth the neglible cost even tricked out as alphaware.

Pretty much the only characters who don't get it are metahumans and awakened characters who don't want to sacrifice thier real eyes and who likely stock up on bioware eye enhancements.

Cyberears aren't as common as they are defined as being obvious external prosthesis even though they are pretty damned useful.

If I'm playing a face style samurai I tend to go with a be prepared for anything type character so I often have 60 mp of headware memory, datajack, chipjack and knowsoft link so I can load useful data or a knowsoft/linguasoft for that alias fit in anywhere factor.

I'd say most samurai often load up on a bone lacing in my games as it makes them pretty handy sans weapon and generally improves thier durability.

I think enhanced articulation is pretty twinky but it's hard to pass up for the potential benefit of the damned stuff.

On the bioware front synthacardium is really the only one that shows up alot besides the cosmetic bioware (no BO even if your in the jungle for 3 weeks is a big plus) but if the various toxin reducers were cheaper they'd show up a good deal more.

Ohh and on the cyberware lots of biomonitors but I pretty much assume they are almost as common as datajacks these days.

Datajack and transducer all the way. Oh, and if you're not a mage, smartlink.

In terms of general bang for your buck, I'd say the best piece of cyberware is smartlink-2 (though there's a lot to be said for the utility of a datajack). For bioware I'd say it's enhanced articulation, which I absolutely love since I tend to emphasize skills over attributes in my mundanes.

That said, there's no essential piece of cyberware. However, certain archetypes are more likely to have certain augmentations than others.

Since you only asked for cyberware, I'll spare you my bioware shopping list.

Cyber-eyes. Definately. Throw in low-light or thermo, an image link and rangefinder combo for cheaper smartlink and flare compensators. Either vision magnification (electronic, 3) or microscopic vis, depending on what will help you the most.

Using the cyber-eyes rebates, a processor, simsense rig and induction pad is enough to give you a full smartlink-II package and all the eye boosts for 0,48 essence if you buy alphaware.

A math SPU - with the neglible cost of 4000 nuyen/0,08 essence will give you a built-in alarm clock, chronometer, stopwatch and pocket calculator. Those can all come in damn handy.

A datajack with a knowsoft link is in my opinion preferrable to a chipjack. You can still slot linguasofts and knowsofts in it, but it doubles as an input port for DNI-equipped gear. Add a subvocal microphone and subdermal speakers, and you can jack your DNI-equipped micro-transceiver in for the same benefits of a headware radio/commlink without huge essence burns.

Headware memory is nice, but only essential if you want to load in knowledge/language skills. If you can live with lower data transmission speeds (too slow for skill use, but fast enough for playing your favourite music or flat-screen vintage videos), look at getting a Direct Neural Interface (0,08 essence, 5000 nuyen for alphaware) and an optical memory chip (7500 nuyen for 1000mp). Since it's just a chip under your skin and wired into the router (0,01 essence, 500 nuyen for a non-headware router port), you get oodles of memory for virtually no essence. Only good for data storeage, mind you - not for a deckers active memory).

If you're going to be a cybered full mage, consider a RAS override. Switch it on whenever you go astral and whatever might try to posess you will find your body virtually useless.

Unless you're going to have a VCR installed, consider getting boosted reflexes 1 and synaptic accelerator as a package deal rather than wired reflexes. Sure, 230000 nuyen is a lot to pay, but it's still less than alphaware wired reflexes and +3 initiative dice for 0.4 essence and 1 bioindex is worth it in the long run.

If you're on an essence budget but anticipate you'll end up in a firefight a rating 1 Dermal Sheath is always nice. An additional 2 body dice, and it's more essence friendly than a rating 2 dermal plating. Plus you get the additional point of impact armor too. Don't splash money on the ruthetium version on dermal sheath, unless your character likes running around naked a lot. IMO, it's one of the silliest bits of cyberware ever.

Bone lacing might be good, but unless you have decent close combat skills, you might find it a very espensive package essence-wise for what it gives.

While the Boosted reflexes 1 synaptic accelerator 2 combo is good there are a variety of problems with it.

Upgradeability is an issue as the boosted reflexes can't be removed and some GMs take a hardline on not even being able to upgrade it to boosted 3 down the road. With the synaptic accelerator you are running against the rule that you can't start out with cultured bioware at start which pretty much forces some changes to the base ruleset.

After creation you are running up against the insane cost of the stuff making it hard to justify. Granted not quite as insane as reaction enhancers but still a mega chunk of nuyen.

Granted, YMMV. But The insane essence costs of wired sort of makes the option attractive if you ask me. Besides, most of the GMs I've played with didn't mind synaptic accelerators at chargen when you consider just about every mage takes a force 1 sustaining focus and increased reflexes +3.

And Synaptic Accel is bioware, with the attendant disadvantages of bioware.

I find Smartlink-2, image link, datajack and transducer are all just darned handy, no matter what you are going for. Forget combat spells with the mage, force 5 levitate and a SPAS-22 on full auto can be much scarier at times.

I must be an abberration as transducers rarely show up if people want cyber communications they likely use the subvocal microphone. Of course I probably concieve of the transducer's capabilities as far lower than most GMs.

What do you conceive as their capabilities?

~J

For mages, Trauma Dampener is a must if I can get it.

For combat types, smartlink-2 and enhanced articulation.

For humans, cybereyes with thermographic vision, flare compensation, and microscopic vision.

For medics, riggers, deckers, and other technical types, microscopic vision and enhanced articulation.

For almost everyone, datajack with knowsoft link.

JaronK

Well for instance I'd be extremely hesitant to allow them to translate extensive mental pictures into detailed language. I pretty much concieve of them as either extremely slow translation programs likely requiring extensive external processing to translate complex thoughts into language or a very rudimentary neural impulse to text device that has an extremely limited word capacity (think a vocabulary of maybe several hundred words or simple phrases requiring an extensive burn in period).

So say someone like Stephen Hawking whose attached to a high end neurolinguistic processing computer could likely speak eloquently about a variety of detailed subjects perhaps in a huge number of lanuguages if the computer has advanced translation capabilities. However when not connected to an external computer it pretty much becomes things like "Danger" "Duck" "Cover Me" sort of like a non spoken simple sign language. Advanced technical concepts would require far greater access to external processing power.

Of course upon being translated into text or speech it could be transmitted over cyberlinked communications devices.

Otherwise it simple indicates such a huge level of processing to handle the required brainwave translation as to be pretty dubious within a man portable system much less a low essence item.

What about the cybereye w/lowlight + eyelight combo?

That strikes me as a rather strange way to handle Transducers. I let them send whatever it is the players wants to say. If the pc pictures a duck in their mind, nothing happens. But if they think the message, "Hey look! A duck!" then that gets sent out via the transducer to whatever comm gear it's hooked up to. If Steven Hawking is talking about a brief history of time, then every word comes out just the way he wants it.

Generally, if my character has an extra datajack, then they always have an external transducer hooked up to a radio, so that they never have to vocalize (or even sub vocalize).

A good example of transducers in operation is the implant comm system from Niven and Pournelle's Oath of Fealty. Apart from having to run through the arcology's mainframe, it's pretty much how I see it.

For combat mages I like smatlink 2, coupled with the Increased Reflexes +3 spell in a sustaining focus, and a nice high force armor spell.

For mundanes I really like datajack, link, skill wires. They are magic for the uninitiated. They provide a high skill rating free of karma and time spent learning.

If you're gonna get a datajack, you might as well get a knowsoft link.

Well, the great thing about transducers, totally silent comms. No amount of hearing amp, filters or magic is going to listen in. You have to hack their signal, which is very difficult given the mechanic if you have encryption 3 or better.

Cyber every character simply must not start the game without:

Eye Datajack
Oral Gun
Kid Stealth Legs
Cyber Skates with pop-out rockets

--edit--

sorry, previous post wasn't appropriate.

Datajack and external transducer. No cyber char should be without this combo. You'll probably want two datajacks if one is a knowsoft link.

Lowlight from somewhere+eyelights+flare comp is my preferred vision package. Thermal is specialized, just carry around a set of goggles for those three times you need it. I usually also throw in elec mag 3 in order to completely free up one of my weapon mounts. Image link is nice...but ask yourself this: Just how often do you actually use it in game? I asked myself that and realized that, much like sound dampening and biomonitors, I never actually used it. So I stopped adding it to my chars.

Headware memory is an absolute and total waste of nuyen and essence. Pretend it doesn't exist.

Always remember - If you can have it in cyberware, you can have it externally. Always ask your GM if you can have some things as cheaper, external items instead of essence-gobbling implants.

No, my original reply wasn't.

Modesitt brings up a good point too: what *do* you use an Image Link for, other than the smartlink dot or the stopwatch/crhonometer function of the Math SPU (which can just as easily be a display link as they're just text). Do you need one for the vitual dashboard you get while datajack driving? Are there any other reasons to have one?

Me, well i use it so a can see what photo's my Pocket Sec is going to take without it having to be waving in their face.

I know it's bio-ware, but I'm a big fan of the mneumonic enhancer.

Also, the encephalon.

I also think that the memory trigger cyber (whatever it's called, basically turns off your short term memory) is a neat idea. You'd think Johnson's would be a big fan of that. Talk about deniability. The team doesn't even remember. No lose ends, no having to pay an assasin.
I wonder how many shadowrunners would actually be willing to use it. hmmm...

Kinda like getting dosed with Lase' after each run.

Anyone seen the movie Paycheck?

It's still better than most guns against armored targets. Take a look at typical Impact armor values, then compare to typical Ballistic armor values.

~J

One reason you typically wear a good helmet on most runs (that and to keep your face/facial features from showing up on camera, and why you stack on a Rapid Transit jumpsuit over everything.

And the cerebral booster is better than the ehcephalon, by a lot.

One thing I've always used the image link is for people to store a variety of target information and basic maps in headware memory. Makes looking for people a bit easier than looking down at some polaroids of the person. Sure a number of people are going to be able to reliably memorize people's faces based on a 2d image but personally I'm not one of them

As for maps it becomes nice to reference maps of buildings that mr johnson provides you without having to look down.

Ohh and of course if you have a datajack and a low end vid feed you can watch trideo on your eyes while you are guarding something

Yeah, but for most sams with all the steroids they do, the base concealability is a 10 or 12, so theres really no reason to worry.

i can see it now, SOTA 2070, cyber dingies! from the makers of viagra, why take a pill, when you can just flip a switch?!

Would it really have taken that long for the truly enourmous porn industry to have latched onto something like that? I imagine some sick individual working on prehensile, tentacle-like "augmentations"--hell, even *multiple* versions of the same, as soon as it would become possible, let alone feasable.

We once had a game that allowed CP2020 cyber. We had a dwarf with a troll-mod Mr Studd...