- Augmented Maximum: p94: This is your natural (unboosted) Attribute value + 4, NOT your racial maximum + 4. Note that this limit only applies to Augmentations ('Ware), and anything else that actively states they obey Augmented Maximum, like the magical abilities/spells that raise Attributes. This means that Drugs, by confirmed developer intent, ignore it.
Hey there Michael.
Awesome work, a few of these I didn't know about. Just wanted to get some clarification on your comment above regarding drugs (not a question around homebrewing which is for the other forum).
I'm very curious how you're interpreting drugs and augmented maximums.
My understanding is that drugs operate separately on a level of compatibility, not augmented maximums.
Compatibility
Basically all the augments note that they are incomparable with any other. eg. Muscle toner increases agility, but is incompatible with any augmentation that increases agility. Spells, augs, you're out of luck.
Drugs don't adhere to this and will stack with everything.
Augmented Max
Now this is a more interesting one. Running off the description on CRB P.94
First, when purchasing augmentations
such as cyberware and bioware, each attribute
rating (Mental and Physical) can only receive an
augmentation bonus of up to +4. If the attribute being
raised has not reached its natural maximum limit, the
attribute can be raised naturally with Karma; but at no
point can augmentations exceed the +4 bonus cap.
nowhere does it actually say that augments can raise an attribute above above the racial maximum. Interestingly, the wording implies that augmented maximums are designed to operate within the racial max.
There's only one example in the books I can find that shows augmented maximums allowing one to exceed the racial maximum, and that's the Drone Rigger archetype build CRB P.124 where reaction enhancers raises her reaction above the racial max.
So my questions are as follows:
1: Does drugs allow one to exceed the augmented maximum?
So if someone has their augmented max reached (eg. muscle augmentation 4), does Nitro let a player have a +6 Strength?
2: Do drugs allow one to exceed the racial maximum?
To my point above where it's really hard to actually nail down augmented maximums allowing a character to exceed the racial maximum, can drugs? I wonder if that would be the balancing point. Drugs may be compatible with everything, and may even allow the augmented max to be exceeded, but not beyond the physical limit of metatype.
It would be like a drug build achieving things that are at the peak of metathumanity, but not matter how juiced up they are, their bones aren't stronger, and their inherit limits remain.