Maybe I am just too tired and not thinking clearly, but can some one explain the following to me:

As SR3 is, we have a variable target number, and generally throw (notwithstanding combat pool and whatnot) the same number of dice for a given test every time.

Now it sounds as if modifiers will take the form of throwing a variable number of dice against a fixed TN?

How does this streamline the proccess? You are essentially doing the same thing as you were before aren't you?

I think you're taking too narrow a view. Were that the only change being made to the rules, I would agree. I think most of the "streamlining" is going to occur in other ways, and they feel that using this other type of fundamental mechanic will facilitate that.
(ew, that almost sounded like I was advocating SR4)

Your modifying the number of dice you throw rather than the TN. Seems like the exact same thing, swapping TN modifiers for dice modifiers. I've yet to see any "streamlining".

I am with Solstice here. It seems that if anything, (at least this portion of the rules) could actually be more of a pain to deal with. I want to know that when I try to hop a fence I use a certain number of dice every time. I ask the GM, "What number do I need?", not "How many dice do I get to throw this time?"

The one problem I have with the variable pool over variable number is if the modifiers can take your dice pool down to 0 or even 1. As the system stands even if you have a +40 tn penalty and only one dice in a skill theoretically you can still get a success, and if you have more dice and are prepared to burn KP permanently you can buy successes up to your skill if you make that lucky one. A supreme effort for a supreme result.

Here you can get the problem of simply NEVER being able to succeed (0 dice) or if one dice is the minimum then if the penalty is enough to reduce someone of attribute of 3 and a skill 6 to 1 dice then a very well trained climber, for example, having the same chance of success as someone who has never climbed in their life, and has a severe limitation in that attribute.

It's only "streamlining" in that I guess people don't have to really look at their dice anymore -- if they see a five or six, they pick it up. Pavlovian training can handle that much.

Ahh, sorry bl;akkie I never saw that post. Yup that would cover it.

Hmm, actually one thing that the variable pool rather than variable tn would sort out is the problem I have always had with area effect spells.

You manaball a small gang, 4 people with Willpoer 3 and a leader with Willpower 5. You get 5,5,4,4,4,3,3,2,2,1,1. You want to karma reroll. Which ones do you reroll?

It everything is TN 5....problem gone, presuming Edge allows rerolls in a similar way to KP of course!

Possible solutions to the dice pool getting reduced to 1 or 0 are including mechanics for wildcard dice (like edge appears to be) plus adding in a stunting style system which gives bonus dice based on how cool you manage to describe your action.

Yes you still potentially have situations where situational modifiers to the number of dice rolled or the number of successes need make functional "impossible" tests. However there are always going to be situations in real life or even in SR3 that a result was simply impossible to acchieve it's just that they are going to be more clearly defined in SR4.

Wait you say even with an extreme TN there was always the chance of succeeding on any given roll! Yes it was possible to acchieve a TN 100 or even TN1000 test no matter how statistically improbable but there are a wide variety of situations that even with truly astounding dice rolling you can't acchieve an effect. For example shoot a tank with your light pistol and it doesn't matter what TN you roll the vehicle armor rules kick in and it becomes impossible to actually do squat to the tank. Plus there is always the defaulting rules that limit the defaulting to TNs below 8.

The key is whether situational penalties to number of dice rolled etc are common enough to make impossible test a probable event. If it's rare for there to be enough penalties to the dice pool to subtract 4 dice from a test (assuming average attribute of 3 and skill level of 1). If that sort of penalty is rare then the situation in which people are complaining about impossible rolls is pretty rare.