[voydangel]

Vashon Island Ace of Diamonds; +2 modifier (probably supposed to be a -2)

I actually just assumed it was a skin tight dress or super tailored suit so it left no room to hide anything. But the fluff description is totally neutral so now I'm thinking you may be right about the errata on this one...

[Southpaw]

Do you need hands free to cast spells?

This is important; I need my dwarf to burn people's faces without needing to let go of his machine gun, Betsy.

[Reaver]

Do you need hands free to cast spells?

This is important; I need my dwarf to burn people's faces without needing to let go of his machine gun, Betsy.

No. No movement at all is required while casting a spell.

[Southpaw]

Do you need hands free to cast spells?

This is important; I need my dwarf to burn people's faces without needing to let go of his machine gun, Betsy.

No. No movement at all is required while casting a spell.

Happy days!

[RHat]

Do you need hands free to cast spells?

This is important; I need my dwarf to burn people's faces without needing to let go of his machine gun, Betsy.

No. No movement at all is required while casting a spell.

Though hand motions, chanting, and similar are embraced by many traditions, which make them common choices for centering.

[Sternenwind]

What is the combat pool for a rigger in a drone?
What is the defense pool against malice health spells?

[Lucean]

For attacks he'd use LOG+Gunnery, for defense I couldn't find anything that would deviate from the standard REA+INT test.

The only negative Health spell where they didn't spell out the defense is Decrease Inherent Limits. Each of the other spells states the appropriate defense.
For Decrease Inherent Limit it gets difficult. It would have been sensible (and in line with other spells), if the required Force was at least as high as the limit in question. Then a defense test of only one attribute with Counterspelling would have been enough.
So I think a defense test of including the leading attribute (STR, LOG or CHA) paired with BOD (for physical) or WIL (for mental and social) would be appropriate.

[DMK]

I'm a big Adept fan, and I'm trying to wrap my head around Elemental Weapon & Elemental Strike. I'm just not sure how it works with armor protections.

If you use Elemental Strike: Electricity and your opponent has Nonconductivity 6, does he now have 6 more dice to defend against you then if you didn't use ES:S? As ES:S doesn't grant any Armor Piercing, wouldn't that just basically suck?

But if it doesn't do that, does it mean that the prepared Shadowrunner with Nonconductivity is now oddly vulnerable to the secondary effects of Electricity damage?

Elemental Body doesn't raise these concerns, as it has its own DV and a clearly defined AP value.

Any thoughts?

[Lucean]

Armor mods add in, if you are hit with elemental effects. So Nonconductivity would apply against Elemental Weapon/Strike [Electricity].
It's hard to tell what they really planned for these powers. In SR4 elemental effects automatically halved your armor. Maybe just an oversight, who knows.

[ZeConster]

If you use Elemental Strike: Electricity and your opponent has Nonconductivity 6, does he now have 6 more dice to defend against you then if you didn't use ES:S? As ES:S doesn't grant any Armor Piercing, wouldn't that just basically suck?

You could pick an element people are less likely to have armor mods against - of course, running the risk of dealing 2 less damage on average might be worth the -5 hit to their Initiative Score and -1 to all their actions for a Combat Turn.

Semi-related: googling for what Elemental Strike did in 4th, I found a Dumpshock topic about how people thought it was incredibly overpowered for a 0.5PP power.

[vanishingpointe]

I've found rules for used (second-hand) cyberware and could have sworn I saw rules recently (Run and Gun?) for applying modifiers to cost and such for other used equipment. Am I misremembering? Does a ruling like this exist?

[ve4grm]

I've found rules for used (second-hand) cyberware and could have sworn I saw rules recently (Run and Gun?) for applying modifiers to cost and such for other used equipment. Am I misremembering? Does a ruling like this exist?

Run and Gun has rules for getting Custom Fit armour used. Nothing else, I don't believe.

[martinchaen]

Run & Gun has rules for stolen, counterfeit, and defective equipment. Page 197.

[Sternenwind]

Some questions about possession spirits in a living vessel.

Can possession spirits fly or defy gravity?
Have possession spirits immunity against natural weapons?
Are possession spirits affected by drugs and poison?
If a spirit possesses a living spirit, what happened with the spell on this vessel?
Will the possession of a living vessel cancel all spells on this vessel?
Can a spirit possess a shape changed vessel?
What is the Ini-modifier for possession spirits?

[Lucean]

Some questions about possession spirits in a living vessel.

1. Can possession spirits fly or defy gravity?
2. Have possession spirits immunity against natural weapons?
3. Are possession spirits affected by drugs and poison?
4. If a spirit possesses a living spirit, what happened with the spell on this vessel?
5. Will the possession of a living vessel cancel all spells on this vessel?
6. Can a spirit possess a shape changed vessel?
7. What is the Ini-modifier for possession spirits?

1. Depends on the aircraft or other tools they use.
2. No, Immunity is tied to Materialization.
3. Yes, since they are not immune.
4. What do you mean?
5. Increase Attribute spells may become redundant, but the possession itself does not dispel any spells.
6. It should be able to. You just have to be careful to adjust the attributes again when the spell is ended.
7. You calculate Initiative as given with Fx2 +modifier +2d6. An Increased Reaction from the possession thereby has no Influence on Initiative.