From:	Mongoose m0ng005e@*********.com
Subject:	A perfectly acceptable reason to test the new list...
Date:	Mon, 8 Feb 1999 15:42:17 -0600

:>Anderson, a dog shaman in our campaign, opted for cybereyes when his
:>natural eyes were destroyed during a hosed run. <snip> All in all, the
minimal amount of cyber that Adnerson put
:>in was the few things he thought would give him a serious boost to his
:>survival potential while spending very little essence (less than a
point).


That's not unusual, and seems like it would be typical thinking for a
runner. Thier job is very dangerous; if they can make it less so for a
reasonable cost (one that is much lower than the cost of quitting the
job), they'd do so.

: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.

Thst being so, why would alphaware and such be developed? Essence is
quantifiable, and I'd expect cyber-implant clinics interested in "informed
consent" (and the trouble it prevents) would council patients
(particularly mages) on the expected side effects, especially essence
loss. In real life, people consider the costs and benefits of everything,
surgery included.


:Having a character's personality be "I am a munchkin"
:doesn't make it good roleplaying.

No, its not really much fun either. Unfortunately, its often a
runners JOB to be a munchkin. People don't hire runners for thier refined
sensabilties and refusal to utilize "unfair advantages".

:>To summerize, I have no problem with a mage or shaman thinking long ad
:>hard before deicding that a SMALL amount of cyber is worth the loss. I
:>agree, that mages and shamans who constantly up their level of intiation
:>in order to fit in more cyber can be dangerously close to munchy.
However
:>I have seen it done well.

It might be reasonable, as a GM's house rule, if that type of thing
caused trouble, to say that a mage who depended on cyber and not on magic
would loose temporary use of magic points just for doing that. A shaman
who goes against his totem runs a similar risk, and magic should be the
CENTRAL element in every mages life.

Mongoose