[Tecumseh]

I've heard Hobbes' interpretation of Attribute Boost over the years but I've never played that way. Here's the rule from p.309 of SR5:

When you activate this power, make a Magic + Attribute
Boost Rating Test. Each hit on this test boosts
your attribute rating by 1, up to your augmented Attribute
maximum. This only affects your dice pools; your
Physical limit and Initiative ratings don’t change with
Attribute Boost.

The rule says that the attribute rating is boosted by 1 per hit, but then walks it back by saying that only dice pools are affected, not Physical limit or Initiative.

There are several things which fall in the cracks and aren't explicitly addressed, like carrying capacity, movement rate, condition monitors, recoil compensation, and melee damage.

It seems to me that the GM has a reasonable choice of whether the "boosts your attribute rating by 1" statement takes precedent over "only affects your dice pools", or vice versa. Is there an official ruling that adopts the latter interpretation? If not, is there a reason people use it? Do they find the power unbalanced otherwise, or is it too much work to track all the downstream implications of fluctuating physical attributes?

[Michael Chandra]

The "This only affects your dice pools" sentence clearly serves an addendum of the previous sentence. So there's no such thing as a reasonable choice which takes precedence: As written, Attribute Boost bonuses only apply to dicepools. If people don't like it, we got houserules for that. The downside of that is that you don't just impact Damage but also Movement Rate.

[Tecumseh]

I would disagree when you say that there's not a reasonable choice.

But my question is do people find the prospect of Attribute Boost unbalancing if it also affects damage codes and movement rate and recoil compensation and lift/carry? Most adepts are only rolling Magic 6 + Attribute Boost 1 = 7 dice, and thus generating 2 hits. A short boost that potentially incurs drain and (more importantly) interferes with action economy because of the required Simple Action doesn't seem overpowered to me, but I'm asking if there is potential for abuse that I am overlooking.

[Michael Chandra]

It's an unreasonable choice. If you insist on reading rules that way, then any rule debate will be utterly pointless because you can always say 'but this one line!'.

Agi Boost is already incredibly valuable, so it's fine. Strength for damage, sure. But modifying the rest, no, that's deliberately not the case.

[Myriad]

Thanks for referencing that thread I made awhile ago.   

I actually made something with that, but it was for a face to face game, so YMMV for viability.

* Vulpine shifter C priority + Any body 5+ race.
* Optional:  Improved physical Body (get 3 base in vulpine, and 8 total in your shifted.)
* Adept spell:  Shapechange.  Now you can be as big as a cockroach, and as small as an elephant =P
* Exceptional Magic 7.
* Buddhist traditionalist.

Otherwise, I'd probably go for human and 7 edge for this build and forget the shapechange.  That way when the times comes to 'get limits', it'll work out pretty well.