We started a new session last week and a player came up with a cyberware-bioware combination I didn't think was possible. He had Reaction enhancer, Synaptic Accelerator, and Booster Reflexes. I know the Boosted Feflexes are in the SR3 book which doesn't say anything about the Synaptic accelerator because it hadn't been published yet. The Reaction enhancer also, but it specifically says they are compatible with other reaction enhancers. The synaptic Accelerator says it is not compatable with Wired reflexes and Move-by-Wire. The player's argument was that the Synaptic Accelerator specifically mentions the two other systems, but does not mention Boosted reflexes. Has anyone heard of this being done before? We decided to allow it, but I want a second opinion. The character is a troll, and isn't using other often used gear to max out the inititive so we let him have it. He doesn't have the articulation, muscle toner, or cerebral booster, and doesn't have the essence to get them later either.

It's mentioned in the FAQ that it's explicitly permitted.

S'okay by me based on what you have stated. If it isn't excluded by class of ware or by specific example, then it is OK.

it's legit, and it's fast! Almost as good as MBW, just doesn't give you the extra bonuses to stealth and athletics, and costs a LOT less essence. I have a troll samurai set up just like that.

MBW is not worth it at all. only place i can see it belong is in a NPC cyberzombie...

MBW is not worth it even for a cyberzombie, especially if you are using cybersurgery and healing rules on a normal Quickness character, zombie or not.

By the time you get healed up, you got to go for a new surgery already.

That and balanced bythe fact that a character with that combo is likely to shoot folks who make loud, sudden noises in public. He has no off switch like Wired does.

A quite legit combo.

I think the time has come to generate new "side effect" consequences for high-"wired" (reflex enhanced) runners beyond, "You randomly shoot people in public." I mean, if I were a wired type and I was aware of the speed of my reactions, voluntary and involuntary, I would either a) not carry an easily accessible weapon, or b) indulge in depressants, lots of depressants, when not on the job.

So, some considerations for the wired lifestyle:

* You almost never spill/splash soup/tomato sauce/gravy on yourself during meals. Your high-speed reflexes can quickly react by manueving a napkin into position to intercept the comestable bogeys. The only problem is that you look like a French matador, doing semaphore with a white flag. This is a) painfully obvious to anyone watching, and b) a serious faux pas in polite company.

* Everyone runs on autopilot in the mornings, and you're no exception. When you're walking down the street and suddenly remember that you forgot something at your doss, you're reversed and on your way back before you can say, "Damn, I knew I left my EX-Ex ammo in the cookie jar." This causes serious problems for people walking behind you, and could lead to trouble if they're armed and don't like being bumped into at full speed. It's even worse if you're driving, I bet.

* Speaking of driving, no one takes evasive maneuvers like a wired (but not rigged) driver. This leads to the unfortunate fact that a wired driver runs over more peds than a non-wired driver, who has the common sense to look before jerking the wheel.

* You have a nasty habit of snatching things out of the air--keys, flipped coins, soyapuffs being thrown into the mouth. This annoys people.

* They zig, you zag. In a hostile or stressful situation, you are more likely to enter melee combat with an NPC who gesticulates. There's no time for weapons: he might just have been holding up the chip for your inspection, but it looked like he was trying to take a swing at you.

* On your feet! You're always the first in a room to react to changes in the environment. The movie theater lights come up? You're out of your seat. The traffic light changes? The pedal's already to the metal. The waiter puts fortune cookies on the table? Yoink! A lot of J's get antsy when a runner snaps a credstick off the table before his hand has even let go of the yen.

* You flinch more than most people. Some would say this is a sign of weakness.

* You blink more than most people. The troll in the corner is flattered. No one's ever "made eyes at him like that before."

* To say nothing of what happens when the street doc pulls out that little triangular hammer....

LOL

Hatchetman's memoir strikes again.

I guess what I was trying to get at was the notion of action without thought. A wired driver might succeed in evading a hard obstacle (e.g., a giant hole, an oncoming Citymaster, etc.) at the expense of a soft obstacle (a pedestrian). The goal of reflexes is to mitigate an immediate threat. A non-wired driver might see the hard obstacle, think to check for soft obstacles, and in that lost time, not be able to evade the real threat. (Game mechanics-wise, this plays out in the fact that a wired driver would act in initiative before a non-wired driver, and possibly, not before the ramming Citymaster).

It all depends on what you mean by detrimental in combat. An effect that I thought better of posting was:

* Take cover! You do. That's the difference between the quick and the dead. A wired character who cannot outshoot a threat (no gun in hand, etc.) instinctively seeks cover. After his opponent's rounds ricochet harmlessly about him, the wired character can dispatch the threat at minimal risk.

I was worried that folks would say that high initiative should not be "wasted" on defensive actions, when the "optimal" thing to do is to open up full auto. I think the situations are comparable. Action withouth thought should be something that a wired player should roleplay.

This is really messed up. In ShadowTech, where synaptic accelerators are defined, it says they they are incompatible with booster or wired reflexes, and cannot be combined with either to produce a greater effect. Clearly a GIANT oversight on someone's part.

The FAQ is just wrong, or munchkin, take your pick.

I would also rule that since synaptic accelerators and reaction enhancers both are modifications to the spinal cord, they are incompatible.

so the + (4d6+6) from boosted 3 @ 2.8 ess, synaptic 2 @ 1 body, +6 @ 1.8 ess from enhancers is silly, wrong and munchkin.

Noo...munchkin was when they let you have a synaptic accelerator and move-by-wire. Muthafragga go zoom.

of course, in a person that then becomes a vampire, has a custom increased cybered initiative spell bonded, and a self administering iv of jazz and other drugs.

And here I was thinking that a Power Focus for a high-level (i.e., Level 4 or higher) Enhanced Reflexes spell was over the top....

To each his or her own, I guess.



--Foreigner

ugh.... I am still working my way through sr3 rules. Guess I need to add it to house rules and stick with sr2.5R

then there is the problematic definition of reaction enhancers, on one hand they should enhance speed, on the other they dont (atleast not movement speed).

allso, i think at least the driving point of rangerjoe is not valid in sr3 as you cant use any other reflex enhancers then a vehicle control rig when driving. still, the gm may employ a negative mod for crash tests and similar equal to the reaction boost + the number of extra dice given or something

still, the runner thats continualy wired should be jumpy and freakishly responsive to what happens around him. those two in combo can be a problem. hell, im kinda like that without wired reflexes and its no fun when i overract to say a insect buzzing by out of nowhere...

Boosted Reflexes 3 - 90,000
Synaptic Accelerator 2 - 200,000
Reaction Enhancer 6 - 360,000

Look on your GM's face when you roll a 35 initiative: Priceless.

All joking aside, the monetary cost is much higher than Wired III. Also, there's an optional rule somewhere that states that beginning characters may not have Cultured Bioware. That includes the Synaptic Accelerator. The FAQ giveth and the FAQ taketh away I suppose

it is, i thik the FAQ's "official" ruling was something to the effect that, if it's bioware that can ONLY be aware as cultured, then as long as it's under the availability rules, they suggest it's ok, but if you're getting it as an upgrade, than it should be considered that you need atleast a beta grade clinic, which you don't have access too at chargen.

There is no explicit rule that cultured cannot be bought at chargen. There is a FAQ statement on it, but that won't sway many people on these forums.

The actual rules are:
No betaware or deltaware at chargen.
Cultured bioware requires the equivalent of a beta clinic to grow.

Yeah. It says it's generally up to the GM.

Then beneath that. "If you want an official call, then the answer is that all basic bioware with an Availability of 8 or less is available at character creation. Cultured bioware and nanoware are not, since they require the equivalent of a beta-clinic to implant."

That goes for all cultured bioware, not just the basic stuff you're trying to get for less bio index if I'm reading it right.

But yeah, up to the GM either way, as it always is.