Ok, my two shiny copper coins.
Technomancers are supposed to be the Shinobi of the Matrix, Ghosts that move hidden and unseen.
Deckers are Console Cowboys who kick in the data vault door and shoot the place up and try to get somewhere safe enough to jack out.
This is how they are presented in the main book (at least to my perception, your mileage may vary)
In practice however, they are the redheaded stepchild of the game. Adept-Mages pushed all the hype about themselves off on the nerd, and well, the poor kid can't even take a punch, and will break his arm if he tries to swing back.
The rules for both Matrix users end up being the same, yes TMs have some very, very costly powers that are not fully spelled out, and the sprites they are expected to use are House ruled to be useless because GMs feel that if they allow the TM to have any edge over a Sammy or (heaven Forbid) a Mage-Adept then it's now unfair. But in the end a class that is solely Karma driven, weighted against mages for powers, and expected to stand in the same arena as a Money driven one will always fail.
The reason is simple, they are all hype, no show.
They are given the Restrictions of Mages, but none of the benefits.
They have MADS, are Skill Intensive, and Require a Special attribute forcing the player to triage where they want to never be able to shore up, as Karma is a premium resource, newyen is like dirt.
The powers they are expected to use in the same manner as mages are not worth the risk most times, as the cost given for them (difficulty of action, resistance roll, drain etc) are far greater than a mage's power of equivalent type, also the powers are shorter in duration and lesser in effect.
The Powers that emulate Decker Programs must be bought individually and are due to limits on how many powers you can have not worth it.
My bullet Point List:
Paragons, lord all-mighty do I want me my paragons!
TM versons of Traditions (ways to mitigate the Hellish costs of CFs)
TMs should just have Skin Link (I know others have said this, but one more vote can't hurt.) They should also not need a Smartlink, as it now does nothing but take data that the weapon collects, and feeds to the implant for translation from code to AR, which the TM lives in. As with any other "This feeds to AR" type implant, they should not need it. They are it. They can already interpret computational run-time code, they should not need an Echo or an implant to do this, this is counter to the concept.
My List of Things they should not Need (Because if you don't spell it out):
Skin Link
Smart Link
Image Link
If they cannot innately understand computational run-time code then they cannot exist and this is a moot point.
If a power is going to have a nasty drain/cost it had better be worth it, aka be easier to invoke than a spell or impossible to resist. If not, address drain, make it in line with the Risk/Reward.
Do not be vague when it comes to what a complex form or Sprite Power can or cannot do, Gms will always choose the most restrictive way to look at it.
Give Machine Sprites the ability to buff weapons, it's a combat perk to help TMs even the score when things get Dicey in meatland , they will still be behind the combat monsters in effectiveness because they cannot offset the penalties of getting ware unlike mages/adepts.
I like the steps taken with Pain Editor, it is starting an almost "Physadept" type TM tree, shaped by your Initiations. More along those lines for those who want to overclock the meat. This is close to the "Path of Neo" but as long as we don't have "Matrix Initiative as RL" we are fine.
An RL booster at a cost to Matrix Init/reaction while active may be a good idea. It's a trade off, and should require the extra die of matrix initiative are a prereq. You trade Matrix Dice (say max two) for RL dice. It has clear costs, and clear gains. Make it last X so long, not be dismissible, so it makes you choose to use it rather than it just being a no brainier. Not sustained, as it has it's own duration.
Make the CF that Emulates Deck Programs be one CF, that or just make it so TMs can just Emulate Deck programs, as all they did before was give a small bonus to actions, now they are the only way to do some things, which I feel is against the intention of the game.
K.I.S.S: TMs need three Primary (or A Choices) to even start off on marginal footing with a Decker, Stats due to MADs, Resonance because anything less than a 6 is shooting yourself in the foot with the way the mechanics are set, and skills because you will never have enough and you'll never get enough Karma to fix any of the things you did not focus on. Mage-Adepts the most powerful things in the game, do not even need this much hoop jumping.
My solution to the OMGWTFBBQMADs:
Make the TM's biodeck rating be based soley on Resonance, not on their Stats, this removes one of the issues, while yes a TM will want High stats to be able to perform the tasks expected (second rate slicer), it should not be an imperative.
This puts them now on the same scale as the Decker, as Resonance is their "Money" stat at Start. Now they and the Decker share the same priority issues, and it's less of a worry.
Treat the Biodeck like a real deck, let them slot "programs" for it, they may choose (yes just choose) a number equal to resonance to be considered "active" and they can, like Deckers take the appropriate action to swap out. They Cannot, however use Agents, they may however drop a Sprite there instead, to serve in the same role.
Make the Biodeck scale with Resonance and when it would break the threshold of what Decks are able to do, give it other perks. TMs are supposed to be scary shit, but by the rules they are a joke, they are hardly likely to survive using a CF against you, and they are Third Rate Deck Punchers. Sprites and Dronomancy are their only options and GMs want to nerfbat sprites and Drones are better in the hand of Riggers.
I do not think the following is a good Idea:
The Path of Neo, lets just let Keauno Have his fun, and lets be original.
