[Jeeves]

at character creation, if i make a character with a magic of 3 and take 3 essence worth of implants, does my character effectively lose the magic? or does the essence take up the "empty essence that isn't tied to the character's magic attribute?

[Medicineman]

if i make a character with a magic of 3 and take 3 essence worth of implants, does my character effectively lose the magic?
With each point of Essence you Loose,You also loose one effective Point of MAG (and 1 Point of Your Max MAG )
So, Yes you Loose all 3 Points and are Burned out.
With MAG 4 you would retain 1 Point MAG and your max MAG would be 3

with a burned out Dance
Medicineman

[Critias]

Correctomundo.  Mixing Magic and Cyberware/Bioware at character creation gets expensive, fast.  If you're going to do it, you've got to pick enhancements that are good enough to make up for the lost mojo, which can get tricky (and nuyen-expensive).

[FastJack]

Don't forget that even that fractional essence costs the full mana. So, while it may be cool to get those Alphagrade cybereyes for 0.16 essence, you're still out a full point of magic.

[Critias]

Don't forget that even that fractional essence costs the full mana. So, while it may be cool to get those Alphagrade cybereyes for 0.16 essence, you're still out a full point of magic.

Which is why you then cram in as much other cyber/bio as you can for the other .86. 

[FastJack]

Don't forget that even that fractional essence costs the full mana. So, while it may be cool to get those Alphagrade cybereyes for 0.16 essence, you're still out a full point of magic.

Which is why you then cram in as much other cyber/bio as you can for the other .86.  

0.84

Damn Math SPU.

Although, if you want what cybereyes can give you so badly, I'd recommend going the Mystic Adept route.

[Medicineman]

Although, if you want what cybereyes can give you so badly, I'd recommend going the Mystic Adept route.
Or get yourself contactlenses & glasses . No Essenceloss, same cool Gadgets

JahtaHey
medicineman

[Critias]

Don't forget that even that fractional essence costs the full mana. So, while it may be cool to get those Alphagrade cybereyes for 0.16 essence, you're still out a full point of magic.

Which is why you then cram in as much other cyber/bio as you can for the other .86.  

0.84

Damn Math SPU.

I knew what I meant!   

Although, if you want what cybereyes can give you so badly, I'd recommend going the Mystic Adept route.

I'm with Medicineman on this one.  For optics and audios, it's hard to go wrong with the dirt cheap, "still has almost all the goodies," non-invasive versions.  I go the cyber route when I still think it's appropriate for a character -- for whatever reason -- but for the most part, you can get away with just going for the non-implanted stuff. 

The only thing you're missing out on is the eye covers or the sound damper.  Everything else, you can get with glasses, goggles, a helmet, contacts, or an earbud.

[voydangel]

wow, you're right, i never realized you cant get damper in a non-cyber item.... darn - that's one of my default fav's

[Mäx]

Although, if you want what cybereyes can give you so badly, I'd recommend going the Mystic Adept route.
Or get yourself contactlenses & glasses . No Essenceloss, same cool Gadgets

JahtaHey
medicineman

That don't help you at all when your using spells.
As bizarre as it is, mages are actually the one archetype that most needs cybereyes

[Dakka]

Mage Sight Goggles are designed for mages.  Take 1 capacity in the imaging device and have an optic cable that can be up to 30 meters for casting spells around corners.  Also useful for scouting through vents or under doors or whatever. 

[KarmaInferno]

A Mage sight system can also allow the mage to target and cast stuff anywhere in an equipped building, or stay inside a armored tank while raining down magic on the surrounding area.

 

However, this doesn't let you use Thermographic or Low-Light or Ultrasound mods also installed in the goggles for spell targeting.




-k

[The_Gun_Nut]

Playing a mage way back when, I once used one of Seattle's nifty tourist goggles to provide overwatch on my team.  You know, those big brushed steel looking guitar pick shaped spyglasses set into the ground?  Ya, I paid a few nuyen from a certified credstick to keep tabs on what was happening.  It was a cheap optical device, but it worked just fine for blasting some bad guys to bits.

[FastJack]

Playing a mage way back when, I once used one of Seattle's nifty tourist goggles to provide overwatch on my team.  You know, those big brushed steel looking guitar pick shaped spyglasses set into the ground?  Ya, I paid a few nuyen from a certified credstick to keep tabs on what was happening.  It was a cheap optical device, but it worked just fine for blasting some bad guys to bits.

Until you run out of quarters.

[Dakka]

For want of a nail, the shadow team got torn apart by Red Samurai.