Improved Reflexes increase Reaction which also affects Initiative (the power even specifically point this out).
Improved Reflexes also increase Initiative Dice which, depending on your reading, also affects Initiative.
Initiative is not Reaction. That's not just an interpretation, that's exactly how the rules are written. Why would Initiative, an attribute
derived from Reaction, be the same as Reaction? That's just not logical to interpret things that way. Reaction is not a derived attribute. It's a baseline attribute. Other derived attributes (Physical Condition Monitor, Stun Condition Monitor, Limits, etc.) all get the benefit of the increased baseline attribute being used in the derived attribute, in addition to any bonuses that apply directly to the derived attribute.
If you're saying that Initiative encompasses the derived attribute
and the dice bonus
and all of the baseline attributes used in the calculation of Initiative, you're just not reading and interpreting the information correctly.
There are three ways to read this.
There aren't but for the sake of argument, let's say that there are multiple ways to interpret how Initiative works.
1) Improved Reflexes is compatible with other technical or magical increases to Reaction and Intuition (and compatible with their indirect increase of Initiative Attribute) and is only incompatible with direct increases to the Initiative Attribute (and possible also Initiative Dice and Initiative Score). This is how I interpret that you seem to read it Namikaze.... If you also consider that Improved Reflexes is compatible with increases to Initiative Dice and Initiative Score then it will be compatible with everything except the Increase Reflexes Spell.
This is not at all how I interpret this. It's very simple, really.
Reaction
+ Intuition
-----------------
Initiative
Bonuses to Reaction or Intuition cannot be greater than the augmented maximum. Bonuses to Initiative do not have any effect on Reaction or Intuition, and are therefore only used for Initiative (not for any linked skills or other tests, like Defense tests). It's that simple. Initiative Dice are a whole separate thing, which is pretty well covered. Your Initiative Dice cannot exceed 5d6, and generally won't get higher than 4d6 except in special circumstances.
2) Improved Reflexes is incompatible with other technical and magical increases to Reaction and Intuition (and possible Initiative Dice and Initiative Score) for the purpose of calculating Initiative (but compatible for the purpose of calculating the pilot skill dice pool, defense pool etc). This is how i read it.
This would mean that Increase Intuition isn't compatible with Wired Reflexes (as Wyrm stated), Synaptic Boosters, or anything that increases Initiative. Initiative is NOT the same as Reaction or Intuition. The fact that there is a whole section stating very clearly that Initiative is a
derived attribute clearly indicates that it is separate from Reaction and Intuition.
3) Improved Reflexes is incompatible with other technical and magical increases to Reaction, Intuition and Initiative Attribute (and possible Initiative Dice and Initiative Score) since they are all increases of Initiative. This would be an even more strict reading of RAW that might or might not be RAI.
This is just... weird. I don't think anyone would screw up reading so badly that they would even interpret Initiative in this way.
At the end of the day, Xenon, you have your opinion. Your opinion happens to be completely counter to the book, but that's how you do it. I'm not going to get my blood pressure up over something as stupid as this argument. If you feel like continuing, you'll be doing so in a vacuum. I'm done with this discussion.