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Message no. 1
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Hahns Shin)
Subject: BiowareORama
Date: Wed Mar 14 14:10:01 2001
> 1. Are the Synaptic Accelerator and the Boosted reflexes compatible? I saw
> nothing in the rules that says they were not. Is this just an oversight or
> what?
I believe they are not compatible. The only reflex enhancement that's
"stackable" is a level one Synaptic Accelerator and a level one
Move-By-Wire system (which we don't allow anyway because of the
preposterousness of it... you have a built-in Move-By-Wire system in
your cerebellum, which checks and refines all of your coordinated motor
movements. It is responsible for all "learned" movements, such as learning
to
play the violin or catch a ball, and is sufficiently complex and parallel
enough
that it cannot be enhanced. Even if technology has gotten to the point that
your cerebellum could be replaced, it would not give you the massive
bonuses that the Move-By-Wire provides. Continual state of seizure
indeed....). Reaction Enhancers are stackable, as is the reaction bonus
from Enhanced Articulation.

> 2. Which activates first the Trauma Damper or the Platelet Factories? If
you
They both work simultaneously when you take a moderate wound,
gameplay-wise. Platelet factories enhance your intrinsic clotting
mechanisms, while Trauma Dampers enhance your endorphin/pain
response. You get shot in the leg (Moderate Damage). Regardless of
what happens, you have just taken an M wound. Then your Platelet
Factories kick in to clot the wound. Simultaneously, the Trauma Damper
helps intercept the pain and stimulates the release of endorphins while
enhancing your pain response. So, from the net effects of both systems, you
take an L Physical, and an L Stun (probably from the draining effects of
overusing your natural painkillers, as well as shock and loss of blood
leading
to fatigue).

Hahns Shin, MS I
Budding cybersurgeon
Message no. 2
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Scott W)
Subject: BiowareORama
Date: Wed Mar 14 21:25:01 2001
> 1. Are the Synaptic Accelerator and the Boosted reflexes
compatible?

Nope. Well, hang on, that's a judgment call... it's never
specifically stated in Man & Machine that they're not (the entry for
Synaptic Acc. says they're not buddy-buddy with Wired Reflexes and
Move-By-Wire [any level!]). It's also not stated in SR3 that Boosted
Reflexes aren't compatible (it only mentions Wired and VCRs). But my
call, made entirely by adding the 2 and 2 seen above, would be
they're incompatible. For the record, I'd say Boosted are
incompatible with Reaction Enhancers, too.
I'm sure about the Accelerator and the Reaction Enhancer though...
they work together, since the RE descrip says it works with other
Reaction mods. So that's at least something.

-Boondocker

__________________________________________________
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Message no. 3
From: shadowrn@*********.com (shadowrn@*********.com)
Subject: BiowareORama
Date: Wed Mar 14 22:10:01 2001
At 06:26 PM 3/14/2001 -0800, Boondocker wrote:
>
>> 1. Are the Synaptic Accelerator and the Boosted reflexes
>compatible?
>
> Nope.

<snip thoughts on why not>

Or you could go with the semi-official errata, in the form of an email sent
to Mike Mulvihill about this very topic, and his answer was that yes, they
were completely compatible.

But thats just me.


Dave
Message no. 4
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Gurth)
Subject: BiowareORama
Date: Thu Mar 15 05:20:15 2001
According to Hahns Shin, on Tue, 13 Mar 2001 the word on the street was...

> > 1. Are the Synaptic Accelerator and the Boosted reflexes compatible?
>
> I believe they are not compatible. The only reflex enhancement that's
> "stackable" is a level one Synaptic Accelerator and a level one
> Move-By-Wire system

That is the rule from Cybertechnology; in Man & Machine, it says exactly
the opposite: these two are _not_ compatible. Since M&M explicitly forbids
the MBW/SA and wired reflexes/SA combo, but doesn't mention boosted
reflexes, I would assume you can stack these two... OTOH, I operate by the
old guideline that only the highest number of initiative dice is used, so
I'd let any player who wants to, take almost any combo of initiative
boosters, and then only let them roll the dice for the one that gives the
highest bonus.

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Kogels houden van mensen.
-> NAGEE Editor * ShadowRN GridSec * Triangle Virtuoso <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://plastic.dumpshock.com <-

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Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998
Message no. 5
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Strago)
Subject: BiowareORama
Date: Thu Mar 15 11:05:01 2001
Scott W wrote:

> > 1. Are the Synaptic Accelerator and the Boosted reflexes
> compatible?
>
> Nope. Well, hang on, that's a judgment call... it's never
> specifically stated in Man & Machine that they're not (the entry for
> Synaptic Acc. says they're not buddy-buddy with Wired Reflexes and
> Move-By-Wire [any level!]). It's also not stated in SR3 that Boosted
> Reflexes aren't compatible (it only mentions Wired and VCRs). But my
> call, made entirely by adding the 2 and 2 seen above, would be
> they're incompatible. <SNIP>

> I don't know, logically they SHOULD work together. Boosted Reflexes
> (IIRC) "expand" your nerves so more signals get through at the same
> time, while the Synaptic Accelerator (also IIRC) makes the signals move
> faster through the nerves. To install Wired Reflexes and Move-by-wire
> the doctor removes your nervous system and replaces it with the cyber,
> so Synaptic Accelerator doesn't work the same way it does on your
> natural nervous system, but Boosted Reflexes ARE your natural nervous
> system, so it should work with them.

> I'm sure about the Accelerator and the Reaction Enhancer though...
> they work together, since the RE descrip says it works with other
> Reaction mods. So that's at least something.
>
> -Boondocker
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices.
> http://auctions.yahoo.com/

--
--Strago

All Hail Apathy! Or don't. Whatever. -abortion_engine

Down with the Moral Majority
-Green Day
Message no. 6
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Philip Allchin)
Subject: BiowareORama
Date: Thu Mar 15 11:35:01 2001
The general rule of thumb I've come up with in SR3 for the compatibility
of reaction and initiative enhancing bio/cyberware is that the
combination of devices should not overlap in parts they replace and they
shouldn't raise your total initiative dice over 5d6. The 5d6 comes from
the max available under Move-by-wire 4, and since no other system, magic
or otherwise, breaks that limit that I know of,

Therefore, as I've always interpretted it, Move-by-wire and wired
reflexes (at any level) are incompatible with nearly every other speed
boosting device since they rig the entire system with the controls and
implants necessary to get their respective effects, and its very likely
that they may achieve part of their effects by installing some of the
other speed enhancing devices listed in SR3/MM as part of the primary
system.
Synaptic Accelerators and Reaction enhancement would be incompatible
because they both rely on modifying the nerves in the spinal column, with
the former simply enlarging the nerves to lower electrical resistance and
the latter fully replacing chunks of it with room-temperature
superconductor material.
Enhanced articulation would be compatible with Synaptic Accelerators,
Reaction Enhancement as well as Boosted, because it does not modify the
spine or muscles, only does a lube job in the major joints of the body.
Boosted reflexes would be compatible with Synaptic accelerators or
Reaction Enhancement, since it too does not seem to modify the spine,
only gives an overhaul of the body's natural reflexes through
electrochemical treatments.


> > 1. Are the Synaptic Accelerator and the Boosted reflexes
> compatible?
>
> Nope. Well, hang on, that's a judgment call... it's never
> specifically stated in Man & Machine that they're not (the entry for
> Synaptic Acc. says they're not buddy-buddy with Wired Reflexes and
> Move-By-Wire [any level!]). It's also not stated in SR3 that Boosted
> Reflexes aren't compatible (it only mentions Wired and VCRs). But my
> call, made entirely by adding the 2 and 2 seen above, would be
> they're incompatible. For the record, I'd say Boosted are
> incompatible with Reaction Enhancers, too.
> I'm sure about the Accelerator and the Reaction Enhancer though...
> they work together, since the RE descrip says it works with other
> Reaction mods. So that's at least something.
>
> -Boondocker
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices.
> http://auctions.yahoo.com/
Message no. 7
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Nexx)
Subject: BiowareORama
Date: Thu Mar 15 12:05:03 2001
Personally, I look at how they're described to work, and make a judgement
there. Most bioware based stuff won't work with Wired Reflexes, because
there's nothing to augment biologically.
Message no. 8
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Hahns Shin)
Subject: BiowareORama
Date: Thu Mar 15 13:50:00 2001
> > Nope. Well, hang on, that's a judgment call... it's never
> > specifically stated in Man & Machine that they're not (the entry for
> > Synaptic Acc. says they're not buddy-buddy with Wired Reflexes and
> > Move-By-Wire [any level!]). It's also not stated in SR3 that Boosted

Hmm. I didn't read the Man and Machine entry (assuming it was the
same, silly me). I'm working off of Cybertechnology (my source for the
level 1 synaptic accelerator and move-by-wire). Or maybe it was the
adrenal booster? I guess it was too much cheese to handle. Bravo
to the writers for removing that.

> > I don't know, logically they SHOULD work together. Boosted Reflexes
<snip>

Not many things in medical science are logical (at least, in my experience).
Phantom limbs and hemineglect, for example.

> The general rule of thumb I've come up with in SR3 for the compatibility
<snip>

Good rule of thumb. I'm sure many people have those kind of rules in
their campaign, and they should. Reflex/reaction enhancement is an area
that is rife with controversy and misinterpretation, as seen by the previous
posts. The way that I do it is that your player buys a system. That is the
ONLY system he/she can purchase, and gamewise it increases stats,
with varying levels of consequences. For example, when you have wired
reflexes, you are truly "wired", acting out of impulses and combat sense.
Synaptic Accelerators are dead last in performance, but have little or no
side effects. So I limit my players to getting one of the following: Magical
enhancement, Synaptic Accel., Wired Reflexes, or Boosted Reflexes.
Additional Reaction enhancement can come from a suprathyroid gland,
adrenal booster, enhanced articulation, cyber/bio that increases INT or
QUI or reaction enhancers (we had a big debate about reaction
enhancers, and in the end, I conceded. After all, it's only a game).

Another note: If your player "needs" more than one of the above systems
working concurrently, then you either have a high power level campaign
(Why is it that all the Lone Star guys have 4d6 + 12 initiative?) or the
player has serious power issues (I'm not good enough unless I have a
Panther Cannon). I'm not saying that this is bad, but if you want
4d6 + 12 initiative, you gotta go for the Wired Reflexes 3 anyway.
Either that, or become an Adept. There are no shortcuts to power.

> Synaptic Accelerators and Reaction enhancement would be incompatible
> because they both rely on modifying the nerves in the spinal column, with
> the former simply enlarging the nerves to lower electrical resistance and
> the latter fully replacing chunks of it with room-temperature
> superconductor material.

Well, technically you are replacing parts of the spinal cord (which is NOT
the same as the spinal column. Spinal cord is the nerves. The column is the
vertebrae, and nerves in the spinal column would include root ganglia.
Semantic difference, but important. Sorry, but this is something they beat
into our heads in anatomy). In the case of Reaction Enhancers, as
said above, superconducting "discs" are added at each vertebral foramen,
thus helping impulses reach your motor units faster (supposedly).
This is, of course, total bunk, but it makes for great sci-fi.

Synaptic Accelerators increase the diameter and myelination of the nerves,
also increasing conduction velocity (not necessarily reducing resistence).
Think of it this way... a typical motor nerve in our body has less than half
the cross sectional area of a squid's nerve. But we have myelinated
nerves, which makes our system almost 3 times faster in conduction velocity.
Myelination actually increases resistence.

> Enhanced articulation would be compatible with Synaptic Accelerators,
> Reaction Enhancement as well as Boosted, because it does not modify the
> spine or muscles, only does a lube job in the major joints of the body.

Realizing, of course, that this bonus only applies when in meat body. This
is the most plausible out of all the reflex enhancements.

> Boosted reflexes would be compatible with Synaptic accelerators or
> Reaction Enhancement, since it too does not seem to modify the spine,
> only gives an overhaul of the body's natural reflexes through
> electrochemical treatments.

Well, it would HAVE to modify the spine in order to increase the body's
natural reflexes. All motor reflexes are cortically inhibited (your brain
partially inhibits your limb reflexes). This is why we bang your knees and
elbows with hammers... to see if you have any reflexes (absence of
reflexes indicates a lower motor neuron deficit) or if you have
hyperreflexia (an upper motor neuron, or spinal cord, deficit). You'd have
SERIOUS problems if your reflexes weren't inhibited, so the cortical
inhibition would have to be increased to compensate. Basically,
you can move faster if you want to, and at rest, you aren't
going into spasms.

The way I read it, boosted reflexes are the precursors to synaptic
accelerators (from a medical technology standpoint). Instead of
artificially wiring things together (like in wired reflexes), boosted
reflexes
were enzymatic/nanomachine enhancements to the existing nerves,
increasing myelination, conduction velocity, etc. Synaptic accelerators
actually increase the conduction pathway (as well as adding myelinated
diameter, etc.), and therefore supercede boosted reflexes. In fact, you
could probably say that boosted reflexes led to the development of
synaptic acclerators. However, this would also mean that the dice
enhancements (the +1d6/2d6 part) would overlap. So if you had both at
level 2, you would have 2d6+1. You just wasted a ton of essence for
one measly reaction point.

Note that reflexes aren't ALL monosynaptic connections through the
spinal cord, but it is a general medical convention that "reflex" is
defined as a nerve arc that affects a motor system, typically (but not
always) not terminating in the brain.

Hahns Shin, MS I
Budding cybersurgeon
Message no. 9
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Roadford)
Subject: Bioware ORama
Date: Thu Mar 15 18:10:01 2001
When last we left our hero's it was asked.

> > 1. Are the Synaptic Accelerator and the Boosted reflexes compatible? I
saw
> > nothing in the rules that says they were not. Is this just an oversight
or
> > what?
> I believe they are not compatible. The only reflex enhancement that's
> "stackable" is a level one Synaptic Accelerator and a level one
> Move-By-Wire system (which we don't allow anyway because of the
> preposterousness of it... you have a built-in Move-By-Wire system in
> your cerebellum, which checks and refines all of your coordinated motor
> movements. It is responsible for all "learned" movements, such as learning
> to
> play the violin or catch a ball, and is sufficiently complex and parallel
> enough
> that it cannot be enhanced. Even if technology has gotten to the point
that
> your cerebellum could be replaced, it would not give you the massive
> bonuses that the Move-By-Wire provides. Continual state of seizure
> indeed....). Reaction Enhancers are stackable, as is the reaction bonus
> from Enhanced Articulation.
>
If you mant to go by discription, in the Street Samuria Catalog it says
Boosted reflexes is a Chamical treatment to the body. It can only be done
one time and not upgraded. Every thing else has to do with hardwiring
actual wires and motors and stuff in the body. May be that could be the
logic behing it.

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