Saw a rumor that google's working on a "smartwatch", due this summer? Probably not that soon, but I can dream...

A Google patent application from 2011 described a smartwatch with a dual-screened “flip-up display”, “tactile user interface,” and onboard camera.

Smartwatches already exist. Haven't seen one for sale that has a large enough display to be of use, though.



So, in other words, apply the idea to something separate and distinct from technomancers/

Seen 'em, but not tried one. I know exactly what I want it to look like in my head, but trying to get that image out is the hard part. My art's not that good. Decent enough for a game table, not so good for taking it to a metalurgist and a leatherworker and saying "This! This right here!" and getting back an arm full of awesome.

Dangit.



Hard to say. Critias is our King of Adepts, and I know he wanted to bring them up in parity so that you could get around the "What kind of adept doesn't have cyber?" stuff. I haven't looked at the current setup there, but I trust him to make it keen. Magicians were pretty much solid in 4th, but adepts needed some work.

Once again, NDA, so, can't say anything detail wise. Sorry.

Pretty sure that there aren't any glaring issues with Magic anyways to be that huge of a revamp (outside of the usual rebalancing of spells and such).

Although I am with the train of thought of at least giving traditions a little bit more variety in adding some mechanical benefits (in the vein of Martial Arts or the various Mentor Spirits).

There are technology equivalents for Skinlink (the magical TM ability, not the device plugin) and E-Sensing? Great, I'll take two of each...

Yep, sure.

Skinlink
Step 1: get a Datajack, modified for Skinlink, implanted
Step 2: buy a standard Wireless Adapter, also modified for Skinlink
Step 3: plug said wireless adapter into any available port on target object (if you can't find one, INSTALL one - may require a Hardware toolkit)

E-sensing
Step 1: remember that wireless adapter? Plug it into your datajack. Use it's built in Scan program to pick up any EM fields you like.
Step 2: also carry a skinlink-modified handheld sensor unit, with a magnetometer/MAD sensor built in.
Bonus: add more sensors to that handheld unit, to get even more capabilities

Bonus Question
Step 1: get a Skin Pocket augmentation (bioware) to put the handheld sensor into - the best grade you can, so it's contents are even MORE stupidly-hard to find.

...

You were saying?

Skinlink is simply a datajack replacement, with a bit more "juice" due to the Karma cost.

E-Sensing is a nice unique sort of power for technomancers, though - but all it does is get you a little extra detail or convenience over other methods, or replicate what particular sensors can do.

Skinlink (the TM Echo) is wayyyy more powerful than you make it out to be. ANYTHING the TM can touch is now hackable by him. Not after installing anything, not after having to break out a toolkit. It's hackable the moment the TM touches it. Turning off wifi just doesn't cut it as a security measure anymore.

IMO, anyway. Never actually gotten to play a char with it in a game

And with a datajack, you just need to plug a cable into it. Legitimate users have to have a way to interact with the thing, after all.

I just don't see so many things being datajack accessible. And if they are, there's probably going to be a Hardware roll involved somewhere to open up a panel or something. Maybe it would help if it were nailed down what "things" were being skinlinked and datajacked.

Skinlink and e-sensing also seem to fall into the category of armed vs. unarmed. Maybe there's tech (a weapon) that is easier or more powerful or something. But you can take the tech away, you can't take the Resonance(fists) away.

Well, then, if it's not wireless accessible, and it's not wired accessible, how is a legitimate user supposed to access it?

The system doesn't have multiple kinds of wired connections - it's all through the same fibreoptic cable.

And given the Karma cost for these things, is it somehow bad that there's a benefit to having them?

What is "it" that is being accessed?

A hypothetical node. Legitimate users have to be able to access the node, any node, somehow. That's just a fact.

Then that's a flaw in the design of that echo, not Technomancers in general.

Does one overpowered spell, make Magicians "poorly designed" ...? Of course not.

So, simple fix: the Skinlink Echo only works on skinlink capable devices. IOW, the Technomancer gains skinlink capabilities for HIS side of the linkup ... nothing more.

Which means it can't really fulfill its design purpose. The point of it is to allow an EM-free connection to the bio-node, like a decker plugging something into his datajack. Other than being a touch more subtle, there's no difference to be had.

Dude...what?

You seemed to be saying that the Skinlink echo was worthless, since it could be sorta replicated with tech.

I'm saying it's a good thing to take, and can be very useful. Not under-powered as you and Rhat seemed to be saying. Did I misunderstand what you were talking about?

Can we start with a door node or camera node? No wireless, just wired and runs it's optical cable behind panelling or whatever back to the central control server.

Sure, you can try to plug in a datajack or whatever. But for security purposes, the jack-in point isn't just out in the open. You're gonna need a Hardware roll to remove a panel, maybe another one to disable any alarms. 2 extra combat turns, plus it's kinda conspicuous to have a wrench in your hand, working on a door panel like that. Skinlink means you just touch the thing, and bam! You're connected. No tools needed, no extra time/rolls needed, no conspicuous activities taking place (well, not AS conspicuous, anyway)

Actually, those are most often wireless in SR4. Running all the cabling, disabling the wireless, that sort of thing - extra cost.

And like I said before, there's some subtlety benefit, but that's it.

Many things are wireless, sure. And for the things that are worth protecting and have disabled wireless, you know, the things worth the extra cost...well, the TM has an answer.

Subtlety, utility, and not-droppable are all solid benefits. Heck, the fact it's not just some boring "+x dice" is a benefit. Compared to other Echoes or other Metamagics even, Skinlink looks pretty good.

They are worthwhile, sure. But do remember - there's a substantial Karma cost for it. I do not grant the premise that such a thing is overpowered.

No, I was saying it's expensive ... and the idea floating around to let Technomancers have cyberware without resonance loss, because OH NOES they would lose a few echoes ... was not balanced.

Couldn't be balanced without radical changes that would make them something entirely different - a much, much larger change than the otaku to technomancer change. Hence why I was suggesting the idea might have a better chance of getting legs if it was being applied to something new that is separate and distinct from technomancers.

That is like saying Levitation and Magic Hands can be reproduced with tech, because you can always strap a few lifting jets onto stuff (may require a Hardware toolkit)

The whole point of Skinlink is that it allows access to everything without any modifications. Touch a keypad and hack it without being bothered by tamperproof systems. Hack a car while you are locked in the trunk


There is no sensor which can passively spot both machines and living beings in a bubble around you, unimpeded by walls or jamming (the range is determined by Resonance, not Signal).


And again, I did already state in my original posting that losing a few Echos, even if they are among the most useful ones available, is not enough to balance the concept. So you are kicking at open doors here...

"Ultra-wideband radar".

It's not passive, and radars are prone to jamming.

Passive: No
Can spot both living and mechanical targets: Yes
Unimpeded by walls: No
Untouched by jamming: No

FTFY

But damned unlikely to be detected, except by people specifically looking for it.

But, okay. We'll go more expensive: Glasses, with T-ray, CryptoChromatic, and Scatter X-ray capabilities. Yes, some of those are active - but not all, and he odds of picking up that active transmission are stupendously low. so much so, in fact, that for all reasonable intents and purposes it might as well be passive. Granted, they're 11K to buy, and have a stratospheric availability of 32 (so we'll likely have to build them ourselves). But with those babies on? Everything is laid bare to your sight, except the purely Astral.

Besides, it's not like you can't detect a technomancer's wireless emissions. So, while you may not be able to say that they're using this echo, but if their being noticed using this echo would be an issue than being noticed as a technomancer would be an issue.

That, too.

And I don't see the echo being immune to jamming, either. Eyesight isn't immune to jamming (on the right frequencies) - hence, flash grenades, etc.

Actually, You didn't, since any Wall (or combination of walls) with a Barrier rating of 21+ will stop the UWBR in its tracks.

Interesting New Tech... Where Please? I must have missed it (or do not yet own the book it is in).

That stuff is in Spy Games, mostly (or all, I'm not completely sure)

And the barrier rating of a wood frame sheetrock walls is...?

(Hint: it's 2. With a minimum of 2 meters between each wall. Brick is 12 and concrete 16. Assuming a hallway is not on the exterior of the building, with a minimum room width of 4 meters*...you can view up to 10 meters** while standing outside a building and pretty much unimpeded while inside.***)

*This would be a rather small room. Any smaller and it'd be a closet.

**4 (room) + 2 (hall) + 4 (room) +? (other side of an interior wall) -- 16 (exterior) [room] 2 (interior) [room] 2 (interior)

***Each interior wall is a barrier of 2. On average they are 3 meters apart. You can see through 10 of them. You can see about 30 meters, or to the exterior wall, from anywhere inside the building. I don't know about you, but that's a pretty significant range, on par with Magic (F3 Extended detection spell).

Indeed... If you had nothing but sheetrock walls as barriers. I don't know about you, but in my office building there are Load bearing walls that are not sheetrock, but reinforced concrete, and we have several strongrooms that are also not sheetrock, but some other substance. In Generic office space, yes, you have a great "range" on that sense; in a secure facility, probably not so much, as you will have complete dead zonbes, and reduced ranges. From Exterior to Interior, your "Range" is not all that great at all. *shrug*

Awesome... Thanks. Guess I should go back and look at that Crunch in Spy Games again.

Hint: Not everybody builds their houses out of plywood and drywall. In a reasonably sound building, you can look through one wall and get stopped by the second, which is not exactly "unimpeded"


Since you did not give any indications of how this would work, you might want to rephrase that..."I don't want too see it as immune to jamming since that would diminish my point" sounds like a good start.

Oh sure, there'd be the occasional impediment. Guess what? Get closer to it to see inside. And to which I counter:

Why should the TM have unrestricted access to view The Entire World?

99.99999% of people DO. They aren't standard building materials for no reason.


Properly-built lumber-framed buildings are perfectly sound. Plywood sheath, vapor barrier, and insulating materials with a drywall interior surface for exterior walls. Frame and drywall for interior walls. And floors/ceilings, for that matter.


Dude, it's really not that hard.

E-sensing lets the tehcnomancer sense electric fields, great. Well, ANY sense can be overwhelmed or "tricked".

Like a flashpack is to your vision, the right kind of EM emitter should be to E-Sensing. A strong enough device should ovewhelm the technomancer's ability to sense other nearby devices (or people). So, sure, the TM knows there's a honking big generator there - but he might not be able to tell there's a few devil-rats down in the sump under it; the emissions of the generator might be like an intensely-bright light, obscuring any other sources near it.

20cm brickwalls (structure 22) are not that uncommon in european houses.

Not in Seattle, though.

Not anywhere in the U.S., really. Oh sure, there are some neighborhoods where brick might be locally common. But those are pretty few and far between ... and most of THOSE, won't be 22cm (close to 10") thick. Pretty much, for that sort of thing, you're looking at 19th-century factory districts.

Hi guys, I just got back from PAX East today. I unexpectedly got a chance to use a friend's extra ticket and went mainly to check out the Catalyst booth and get in on some sweet SR5 action! To a lesser extent I was also interested in Crossfire, however there was a bit of a line and I never actually got a chance to play it. I did see that it seemed to be popular and always had at least 5 people playing it- good sign.

Anyway I did get a chance to play some SR5, although it was only a half hour playtest and only really covered combat rules. We chose from archetypes which were copied straight from the SR4 rulebook with no changes (notably only combat characters and magic characters, with no matrix or riggers, so I'm assuming they aren't ready to show those systems off yet.)

Each character had "limits" handwritten on the character which I think were based on attributes somehow. There were Physical limits, Mental limits, and Social limits, and they each dictated the maximum number of successes that counted towards various tests. My Street Samurai's Physical limit was 10, Mental was 4, and Social was 3. Physical limit counted towards melee attacks and also was the max damage that could be taken before automatic knockdown. For some things, notably shooting, a "gear limit" is in place, the accuracy mechanic that has been mentioned before. The Catalyst rep said that "for the purposes of this playtest all firearm accuracy is 4", so I'm assuming that might not be set in stone. Edge can be spent to break limits so I did have one situation where I got 8 successes with my Ingram Smartgun and spent edge to use all of them.

Initiative has been completely redone - instead of initiative passes you get one dice for each level of initiative boost your character has (so mundane is 1 dice, wired 1 is 2 dice, wired 3 is 3 dice, etc.) then you add the sum of those dice to your reaction + intuition. After each character has gone you subtract 10 from the initiative score and if any character still has a positive initiative you go again. Wound modifiers now also immediately affect initiative score and if your initiative gets reduced to a negative number before your turn you can lose your action.

Reaction + Intuition is now a universal defense against all attacks, even ranged. A character can declare full defense at any time and subtracts 10 from their initiative when they do so, so it's possible to declare a full defense and still have actions left if your initiative score is high.

Recoil now carries over between passes and even combat rounds, "as long as you're holding down the trigger" the Catalyst rep explained, so you need to take a break from shooting to reset your recoil score.

Magical characters can now cast spells as simple actions with a mechanic called "reckless spellcasting", but add +3 to their drain when they do so.

Anyway, it was a very brief playtest but I liked new mechanics. I would have hoped to get more information about the Matrix side of things because that's what I'm most interested in seeing change, but it seems like they're not quite ready to make the reveal on that yet. I'm probably leaving stuff out so ask me anything, that might jog my memory.

Some experiences from the 5E demo you might have missed:
http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?show...t&p=1219055

My house is 2 feet of stone, so I'm aware
But my house was also built in 1870



Curious.

Interesting tidbits. Very interesting.

Any idea how the limits were calculated?
One thing I am concerned about is that Reaction + Intuition become a bit too powerful when they are a universal defense and a large part of determining initative passes.

Well that, or they didn't want to have matrix+physical combat in a short playtest demo. With groups of people sittin' around waiting on others.

Sounds pretty interesting though. I'm looking forward to 5th.

Did they hint at a release date?

Shadowrun 3, again.

That is the pre-4th Edition system again...I don't have a preference for either system, but it certainly comes unexpected


Even when firing semi-auto or bursts? Dafuq?


More speed for more risk, sounds fair. Though I am not sure whether +3 Drain will be enough to offset the benefits...