Shadowrun Play > Rules and such

[6e] Edge 6-7

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ammulder:
I've seen it argued that there's little point to have an edge higher than 5, because then you stand to lose the first one or two edge you otherwise would have gained, if they would put you over the limit of 7.

It just occurred to me that one of the big advantages of such a high edge is when you use the 4-point "add edge to pool and 6s explode" option.  My reading is that you add your Edge attribute to the pool, not your current Edge.  That is, if you have a 10-die pool and an Edge attribute of 4 and currently 7 edge, you could take that action to give yourself a 14-die pool with exploding 6s, reducing your current edge to 3.  On the other hand, if you had an Edge attribute of 7 and currently 4 edge, you could use your remaining edge to make the same 10-die pool into 17 dice with exploding 6s.  That seems like a notable advantage for a high edge attribute -- that is, if you use that Edge option.

Do you all see it at your tables?  So far in our first 6e session, players tended to want to see the roll and reroll failures rather than "pre-edge" for the exploding 6s.  Personally I feel like I'd go the other way and take the bigger pool with exploding dice.  Hmm.

Stainless Steel Devil Rat:

--- Quote from: 4-Edge Boosts ---Add Edge to your dice pool: Add your Edge
as a dice pool bonus to your roll, and make
6s explode. “Exploding” means that 6s count
as a hit and can be rerolled in an attempt to
get an additional hit. If another hit is scored,
tack it on; if another 6 is rolled, tack on a hit
and roll it again. Keep the hits coming! If a 1
is rolled after a 6, it does not count toward
your total for calculating glitches.
--- End quote ---

You add your Edge = You add your Edge attribute.

ammulder:
OK, so my reading is correct.  Then the question is, do you see people use this edge option?

Stainless Steel Devil Rat:

--- Quote from: ammulder on ---OK, so my reading is correct.  Then the question is, do you see people use this edge option?

--- End quote ---

I think it's only really attractive to people who DO have high Edge attributes.  If you have a low Edge, what you're mainly buying is the Rule of 6 for your roll... which works best with big dice pools so you maximize the odds of getting numerous Sixes.  But the opportunity cost hurts more than the meta-currency cost... if you HAVE a big dice pool and you're willing to spend 4 meta-currency, the opportunity cost of edge boosts means you can only do the pre-roll modification OR the post-roll modification.  And when you have a big dice pool, rerolling failures is a much more reliable benefit than hoping for a lucky streak of 6s... you need the rule of six AND a big dice pool bonus on top of it to even make it a balanced comparison.  What's even worse, waiting to spend on rerolls means you don't have to commit to spending the edge boost until after you see the roll- maybe your dice pool will give you all the hits you needed even without an edge boost!

another factor:  I think 6e players who are used to 5e (or even prefer 5e, and are only playing 6e reluctantly) often view the 4 edge cost as a too-painful price to pay for what used to cost 1 edge in 5e.  Then again, this is ALSO true for the "reroll all failures" edge boost, which also used to only cost 1 edge in 5e.

Of course, if you have a low dice pool and high edge, THAT's the prime time to shine with the pre-roll edge boost.  Again, doing this in 5e used to only cost 1 edge, and so was pretty viable to rely on rather than actually investing in big dice pools.  So viable in fact, that the mechanic spawned a meta-archetype: The Edgelord!  Since that edge cost is now 4, you can't just "edgelord" every important roll as it comes up... which is IMO a pretty reasonable nerf, but those who prefer 5e might see the end of Edgelords as a bad thing.

Xenon:
If you have a strong edge attribute (but perhaps weaker dice pool) then typically "Add Edge to your dice pool (and make 6's explode)" is mechanically better. Note that this Edge Boost must be taken before you roll your dice!


If you have a large dice pool (but weaker edge attribute) then typically "Reroll all failed" dice is mechanically better. Note that this Edge Boost can be taken after you roll your dice and already know how many failed dice you have!


If you didn't have so many failed dice but you still failed your test then the Edge Boost "Reroll one die (for your opponent)" (which you can take more than once) is a really strong option. Each opposed hit you choose to reroll on average means another 2/3 hits for you. Note that mechanically speaking taking the Boost 4 times to reroll 4 hits from your opponent (4 Edge Points - same cost as rerolling all failed dice) is basically the same as getting 8/3 hits which is the same 'value' you would get by rerolling 8 failed dice of your own (so if you have less than 8 failed dice to reroll then rerolling hits for the opponent is typically the better option). Just like the reroll all dice Edge Boost, this Edge boost can be taken after you roll you and your opponent rolled your dice and you already know how many net hits you have!


Edit:

The 1 Edge Point Edge Boost "Add 3 to your Initiative Score" is an Edge Boost that you can take even before combat start (but after everyone rolled initiative so you know how many instances of the Edge Boost you should take) to change the acting order (in case you have an Edge Attribute and current Edge Point pool of 6 or 7 as the combat encounter starts and you risk gaining more).

The 2 Edge point Edge Boost "Give ally 1 Edge" is an Edge Boost that you can take at any time. Which mean that you can typically shift over some Edge Points to a teammate rather than running into Edge overflow (in case you happen to get 6-7 Edge Points and risk gaining more).

There are a few more options here.


Max Edge Attribute is typically 6 while maximum Edge Points you can store is 7.
Human Edge Attribute is 7 but they can still only store 7 Edge Points. I think this is flawed.
Proposed House Rule (from the sticky house rule thread)

--- Quote from: Xenon on ---Humans and Edge
...you can save Edge across multiple combat rounds to build up a maximum of 7 Edge points (or 8 for Humans) for that big play!
--- End quote ---

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