From:	David Fallon dfallon@****.edu
Subject:	A perfectly acceptable reason to test the new list...
Date:	Mon, 8 Feb 1999 12:09:52 -0800

>> Erm.... That's pretty munchkin. Anytime the logic goes "It's only X
>> essence", the character is looking at the rules, and not at their
character
>> background.
>
>Yes, a haracter should not have an exact knowledge of hte essence cost.
>However, they do have some clue as to how much of a change a piece of
>cyber will make. In this case, part of the reaosn the run went bad was
>that anderson couldn't hit the broadside of a barn with a gun and his
>magic wasn't working. I don;t see any problem with the character lying in
>bed recovering from wounds which killed most of his group thinking things
>through and deciding that he will go ahead and get the smart link and the
>cyberyes in order to avoid the particular shortcomings that got him hosed
>on teh lst run. Acmittedly, he didn't think it through in terms of essance
>numbers, but probably did relize that "the smart gun link and the
>cybereyes will probably do no more harm to my body intergrity and the
>relationship I share with dog than the cybereyes alone".


<shrug> It becomes munchkin when the logic is "what else can I get to make
it exactly 1 point of essence?", which is what it sounds like. My personal
feelings is that 99% of the mages should be absolutely horrified of someone
carving out parts of their body and replacing them with machines, but
certainly if your campaign has a more relaxed attitude then that, then go
with it.

>> Even a small bit of cyberware is really pushing it. I recommend reading a
>> book called 2XS by Nigel D. Findley, if you haven't already. I think it's
>> out of print, but it's a _really_ good book to make some of the issues a
>> character _should_ have with cyberware clearer. The main character is a
>> private detective who does his best to survive on the street without
>> cyberware, because he likes his body just the way it is, thank you. I
don't
>> think every character should be like this, but some of this should be in
the
>> back of every character's minds, especially mages.
>>
>Agreed, but NOT EVRY CHARACTER SHOULD BE LIKE THIS, Lena, our non-magical
>muscle for a long period, now a retired decker, has been very careful to
>keep her essance at 5 and higher. She needed the edge of a little cyber
>(she couldn't have survived without the smart link 2 and the jack was
>necessary to become a decker) but she was unwilling to stop being
>"herself" if ti was unnecesary. On the other hand Zurko, a weapons expert
>has cybered herself to the max in order to stop being "herself" - a person
>she never liked and still hasn't learned to value. I agree that there is a
>bit of madness in being willing to sacrifice pieces of yourself to be a
>better machine. However, it would be hard to argue that there is no
>madness in any shadowrun character and sometimes this is the form the
>madness takes.


:) Yup. There are definitely valid reasons behind a mage getting cyberware.
I'm just saying that there should be *some* reason beyond "this character
has higher stats". Adding up numbers isn't roleplaying, it's math.