[epicmusic42]

So hopefully this is the correct place for this since it's also kinda a rules question? I can move it if need be.

I'm starting a campaign with players who are all new to Shadowrun and in the process of running over stuff with one of my players she asked if she could play a technomancer that's also a mage. Going back over the rules there isn't anything that says she couldn't (lack of instructions and mechanics notwithstanding) though magic and resonance are an either/or situation in character creation.

Now given the rareness of both Awakened and technomancers it follows that there would be very few awakened technomancers if any; however, with my current understanding of the rulebook the chances of one occurring is still a non-zero number.

Is this something that could technically occur within the Sixth World or is it impossible? And if it isn't possible why not? Has anybody done anything along these lines and if so how? I figure that it's not something that's in the game mechanics for the sake of balance but is that the only reason or is there more?

[FST_Gemstar]

Short answer it is not possible by lore or rules.   

Becoming magic makes you lose Resonance connection (like for undead characters), and naturally magic metasapients cannot be technomancers. 

For character generation, you can only choose one of the options available to you per priority level of special characteristics. You cannot choose to be a magician and a technomancer, or split your ratings between them. It's one or the other. 

As for lore. All sorts of reasons. But the important part is that for purposes of the setting and gameplay, no one can be both. 

[Sphinx]

Fourth Edition made it plain: "A character can possess either Magic or Resonance—never both." (SR4A p.82)

I'm a little surprised that Fifth Edition doesn't repeat this restriction, but if it does, I can't find it. Even so, I wouldn't allow it. Magic and Resonance should be incompatible.

[Marcus]

Fourth Edition made it plain: "A character can possess either Magic or Resonance—never both." (SR4A p.82)

I'm a little surprised that Fifth Edition doesn't repeat this restriction, but if it does, I can't find it. Even so, I wouldn't allow it. Magic and Resonance should be incompatible.

It only ever comes up once in Fluff, in the Technomancer magic society, they talk about some adept they thought might have both, but that they disappeared and no one had heard form sense. So it may or may not be a mistake but, there certainly nothing mechanical on how to do it, and at the moment there doesn't seem to be a method of creation that allows you or create one at this time.

[Hobbes]

All that said, there isn't anything game breaking if you let a player be both.  If you're using anything like the normal character generation methods they'll be terri-bad at both though. 

The other suggestion is be a Herimetic Mage with some trodes and a Deck.  It's a tight build, one of the few that benefit from Skills A IMO.  But Magic 6, few spells, spirits, *meh* hacking pools, crappy but good 'nuff Deck.  Go Ravenclaw!  Suffers from not enough Edge.  And you have to be a Human.  And you're a virtual cripple compared to normal runners.  But Brains!!!  you got em. 

All depends on the player's motivation.  If the motivation is Spellcasting Hacker, easy-peasy.  If the goal is a snowflake Mage&Technomancer combo, then you'll have to house rule something.

[Michael Chandra]

If this existed in any way, the corps would invent PR7 troops to send an army of them to fetch you.

[easl]

IIRC the range of most spells is non-enhanced sight.  Which means technically you can't affect anything on the matrix in VR, and maybe not even in AR depending on how your GM interprets it; I guess you are seeing photons with your real eyes, but in the same way you would see a hologram or a character in tv show.

Still, if your GM is willing to bend that rule, then a mage could sort of double as a pseudo-technomancer by going on line and using Control Thoughts to force other matrix-users to do their bidding.

[Hobbes]

Or Increased Logic +4, and Analyze Device to increase your assorted Matrix skills to silly, silly levels?  Trace Icon and order a Spirit to go rip the Spider's head off?  Hack the host, find the security mage on duty that night, hack his Commlink so he can't set off any alarms and turn the whole team invisible and who cares if the patrolling watchers and wards alert the Mage on duty?  You don't really need to bend any rules to turn a Herimetic Decker into a Matrix Wizard.  They pretty well do that all by themselves. 

Anyway, like I said, depends on what the player wanted.  Was it the story idea or was it the mechanical functionality. 

[Lorebane24]

I had a GM once who threw a contact our way that was a pair of conjoined twins - one a mage and one a technomancer.