[Xenon]

Q: Is there any difference on how to resolve a biofeedback attack from a decker (running biofeedback) and Black IC?


Decker running biofeedback is well explained in the example on p.245:

A spider hits Slamm-0! (who is of course using hot-sim) for a total of 8 Matrix damage. Slamm-0! (or rather his deck) resists this damage with Device Rating + Firewall, getting 4 hits. That means his deck takes 4 boxes of damage. The spider is running Biofeedback, so Slamm-0! (not his deck) must now use his Willpower + Firewall to resist 4P damage. Any unresisted damage sinks right into Slamm-0!’s brain, and he marks it off his condition monitor.

[D Prime]

To add more information to Xenon's question, the description for the Biofeedback program says

When your attack causes Matrix damage, the target is hit with an equal amount of Stun (if the target is using cold-sim) or Physical (if the target is using hot-sim) biofeedback damage. This program also applies to damage caused by failed Attack actions against you. Biofeedback damage is resisted with Willpower + Firewall.

The description for Black IC, on the other hand, says

Black IC is the most feared intrusion countermeasures program on the market. The hosts that run it don’t want you repelled—they want you dead. When it hits, Black IC link-locks you. It also causes (Attack) DV Matrix damage (+1 DV per net hit and +2 DV per mark on the target) along with an equal amount of biofeedback damage.

The two cases use different language, hence the confusion.

[ZeConster]

I was just putting together a Magician character for my pre-gened Shadowrun team (my players wont have there own rule books in time here in the UK) and I realized I do not know if the 10 spells a priority A for magic Magician gets have to all be spells or can some of them be rituals, alchemy formulas or the like?

As an aside can anyone recommenced how I should stat a fully rigged bass guitar for the party's Rigger's day job? As this Shadowrun team will have a "day job" as an elf rock band I am trying to sort out instrument stats for them all. I am certain the party shaman will be initiating so that there centering activity is power riffs on his electric guitar.

The Occult Investigator archetype has Alchemical Preparations instead of regular spells, and page 69 says you can have up to Magic x2 of each category, so I'm guessing you can mix things up as desired.
As for your second question, it doesn't really seem like something suited for this topic: try asking in the Gear forum, instead.

[T-Hatchet]

Thanks I completely missed that there was a gear forum.

[Aaron]

I was just putting together a Magician character for my pre-gened Shadowrun team (my players wont have there own rule books in time here in the UK) and I realized I do not know if the 10 spells a priority A for magic Magician gets have to all be spells or can some of them be rituals, alchemy formulas or the like?

The latter.

As an aside can anyone recommenced how I should stat a fully rigged bass guitar for the party's Rigger's day job? As this Shadowrun team will have a "day job" as an elf rock band I am trying to sort out instrument stats for them all. I am certain the party shaman will be initiating so that there centering activity is power riffs on his electric guitar.

Give it a Quality rating that acts as a Performance limit, maybe?

Q: Is there any difference on how to resolve a biofeedback attack from a decker (running biofeedback) and Black IC?

Yes.

[Chrona]

Q: Is there any difference on how to resolve a biofeedback attack from a decker (running biofeedback) and Black IC?

Yes.

Q What is the difference and why is there one?

[Xenon]

Q: Is there any difference on how to resolve a biofeedback attack from a decker (running biofeedback) and Black IC?

Yes.

Q What is the difference and why is there one?

(or is the decker example wrong, we seen several examples being wrong before, and both deckers and black IC deal X amount of matrix AND biofeedback damage rather than X amount of matrix damage resisted down to Y and then take Y biofeedback damage that will be resisted again)

[Aaron]

Q: Is there any difference on how to resolve a biofeedback attack from a decker (running biofeedback) and Black IC?

Yes.

Q What is the difference and why is there one?

The difference is precisely what D Prime laid out in Reply #458 of this thread. The reason is because Black IC is better at dealing out pain than hackers. If you're about to ask what the "game balance" reason might be, I'd point out that rules do more that merely balance against one another, they shape a game world. In this game world, IC is scary. One rule that reinforces that fictional truth is that Black IC does biofeedback damage better than a cyberprogram can.

I hope that helps.

[D Prime]

One rule that reinforces that fictional truth is that Black IC does biofeedback damage better than a cyberprogram can.

How about Blaster IC and Sparky IC? Are they also better at dealing biofeedback damage?

[Aaron]

Nope, just scary, scary Black IC.

[Mara]

Nope, just scary, scary Black IC.

Which, frankly, I am glad is scary again...

[T-Hatchet]

Let me see If I have this right
Biofeedback cyberprogram causes biofeedback damage of a type determined by sim type equal to the matrix damage done after resistances.
Black IC causes biofeedback damage of a type determined by sim type equal to the matrix damage done before resistances and link-locks you.
Blaster IC causes biofeedback stun damage equal to the matrix damage done after resistances and link-locks you.
Sparky IC causes biofeedback damage  of a type determined by sim type equal to the matrix damage done after resitances.
If that is all correct I have to say that from the text of the rules it was not clear that in the descriptions of the IC that "with biofeedback damage" means "with biofeedback damage like from the biofeedback cyberprogram"

(edit: I am thinking more and more that I need the differences carefully explained to me)

[Chrona]

Thanks Aaron, so basically your firewall doesn't get to scrub any of the attack from the black IC before it reaches your body whereas with normal biofeedback it would get to.

[Elektrycerze3]

Hoi!

The recent discussion of cybereyes in the Gear section gave me an idea which raises a question:

Q: Do the wireless bonuses of multiple datajacks (Noise reduction 1) stack?

Thanks in advance!

[spoiler]I've already asked in the Gear section, feel free to express your thoughts on the matter there so that we don't fill this thread with discussions.[/spoiler]

[JackVII]

Question About Casting Multiple Spells:

Step 1 under Spellcasting describes Casting Multiple Spells. It basically works the same way as dual wielding weapons (splitting the Spellcasting + Magic dice pool in this case), save for modifiers:

Since the modifers per spell may be different, they are applied after you split the dice pool.

Does this apply to ALL modifiers? Specifically, I am trying to figure out how bonus dice from Specialization, Mentor Spirits, and Foci would fit in here.