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[5e] Bioware recommendations for shaman/face

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ezekiel

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« on: <09-03-19/2144:00> »
I've got a mage-face I'm playing (shaman, Dragonslayer Mentor), my very first character in a proper Shadowrun game. I've decided to invest in 1 essence worth of bioware/geneware (no cyber) once I get the money, mostly to get R3 tailored pheromones. Even standard, that would leave .4 leftover essence, but I'll be going for at least alphaware. Since thinking about future options helps keep my interest between sessions, I'm looking for advice on what to take. I have my full 6 essence, and a few pieces of highly-recommended bioware from Prototype Transhuman (sleep regulator, platelet factories, mnemonic enhancer).

I've been poring over the available bioware/geneware, but still not sure what to get. Neuro-retention amp, hyperthymesia, and PuSHed all look useful for mental things, and synthacardium looks nice for shoring up weak athletic ability, but I'm open to all suggestions. I like how the first three synergize with mnemonic enhancer at least. Cost isn't much of an object as this is long-term planning.

TL;DR: For a mage getting tailored pheromones and thus .4-.7 "open" essence, what further bioware/genemods would you recommend?
"So these three remain: Faith, Hope, and Love. And the greatest of these is Love."

markelphoenix

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« Reply #1 on: <09-03-19/2205:40> »
How would your Mentor respond to reducing your connection to the astral like that? How many dice does tailored pheromones get you that offset the loss of 1 Mag point  + potentially ticking off your mentor?

ezekiel

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« Reply #2 on: <09-03-19/2337:56> »
How would your Mentor respond to reducing your connection to the astral like that? How many dice does tailored pheromones get you that offset the loss of 1 Mag point  + potentially ticking off your mentor?
While you're making some fairly strong assumptions, you have a valid point that I should consider other costs for these choices. "Everything has a price." Given the mentor spirit is always in the GM's hands, I'll talk with them about it and see what they think. I definitely intend for this character to try for a positive relationship with the spirit world--he sees one of the greater sins of magic as treating spirits as tools, when they're basically people. (He's Church of Ireland, so it requires a careful, considered approach to reconcile his faith and the expectations of the church with his mentor spirit and the requirements thereof. He sees Dragonslayer as "St. George," a spirit-world replica or mirror, embodying the struggle of mankind against oppression and evil in God's name.) So if this is something Dragonslayer would take issue with, I'd like to explore that--see what ways the two sides can come to an accord. Turn it into a roleplay opportunity, in other words.

But let's assume that the mentor spirit is okay with this--perhaps by mutual agreement of doing something to deepen the connection more than the loss, e.g. Initiation with Ordeals that support Dragonslayer's goals. Or some other thing that my GM and I work out. That is, I'd rather not spend a lot of time debating whether I should or shouldn't do this at all, and instead focus on what people think are good/useful ideas assuming I *do* do it.

Edit: Have spoken with GM, they agree that if I went full-burnout it would be a problem, but just 1 essence is fine; in their own words, Dragonslayer is "pretty chill in general."
« Last Edit: <09-04-19/0137:40> by ezekiel »
"So these three remain: Faith, Hope, and Love. And the greatest of these is Love."