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khai_adept [2023/09/07 11:47] – khai | khai_adept [2024/03/26 06:57] (current) – [The Natural Adept] Update to magic cap khai | ||
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===== Khai's Adept Musings ===== | ===== Khai's Adept Musings ===== | ||
- | On the subject of unarmed combat: Yes, adepts | + | Of all the archetypes, adepts |
- | \\ | + | |
- | On the subject of cyberware/ | + | |
- | NOTE: To determine total magic lost, add together the essence costs of cyberware | + | |
- | NOTE: Adept improved sense powers are considered natural, whereas cyber vision mods are considered artificial and thus aren't as effective against lighting conditions.\\ | + | |
- | \\ | + | |
- | Here is a comparison of magic cost for a few adept powers vs magic loss for equivalent bonuses from 'ware (assuming cultured or beta grade). In addition, it may be possible to stack adept powers and ' | + | |
- | ^Bonus | + | |
- | |Quickness | + | |
- | |Strength | + | |
- | |Body | + | |
- | |Initiative | + | |
- | \\ | + | |
- | The caveat | + | |
- | \\ | + | The tradeoff is that we take the most karma and nuyen to reach any overall combat effectiveness benchmark. Many of our powers are just not as efficient as spells or 'ware, so in the early to middle stages of our career, unless it's something we're specifically specializing in, we may find ourselves weaker than non-adepts. In addition, we don't have the ability to raise our ballistic armor rating through spells or cybernetic replacements, |
- | Some notable 'ware where adept powers do not provide | + | |
+ | ==== The Natural Adept ==== | ||
+ | In general, loading up on high-grade cyberware and bioware tends to provide more benefits than we would have gained from the lost magic. Nothing that we do or use depend on our essence rating, and we can recover lost magic through initiation. Our maximum magic rating does get reduced; with zero magic lost to implants, our maximum magic rating is 26. With 3 or more magic lost to implants, our maximum magic rating is 20. | ||
+ | |||
+ | However, that's not necessarily the case in group play, because a spellcaster' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Unarmed Combat ==== | ||
+ | Yes, adepts have a variety of interesting and unique unarmed combat powers. However, because we can only have so many powers active at a time (capped by magic rating), these powers have a high opportunity cost. Killing hands 4 + penetrating strike 3 + titanium bone lacing is effectively the same as a (STR+7)D weapon, which is a much higher damage code than any melee weapon available in the game. But the cost to do this is 6.25 power points, some additional point(s) lost due to the essence cost of the bone lacing, no reach, and no weapon focus. | ||
+ | |||
+ | A bit less powerful but significantly safer is to take the distance strike instead of penetrating strike (which don't stack with each other). Having distance strike active when attacking means we can't be counterstruck if we end up losing the clash. This doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Armed Melee Combat ==== | ||
+ | With a weapon focus, adepts can roll more dice on the attack than any non-adept in the game. A rating 3 weapon focus plus 10 skill allows 13 more dice to be allocated from our combat pool, totaling 26 dice (or 27 with enhanced articulation). Admittedly, only zero reach weapon foci are available at rating 3.... For weapons with reach, adepts roll equal dice on the attack as mundanes (10 skill +2 focus + 12 cpool, compared to 12 skill + 12 cpool). Of course, when defending, we roll more dice regardless because of the counterstrike power. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Ranged Combat ==== | ||
+ | While an adept rolls less dice when firing a firearm, melee skill is still used for melee defense and so the counterstrike power still plays a role. In addition, the bonus dice to dodge from the side step power helps significantly when on the receiving end of gun fire (though less so when full auto makes the dodge TN difficult). Using a firearm is actually the easier way to play the early career adept since both counterstrike and side step are quite efficient at +1 die per 0.5 magic rating, and there' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Cyberware/ | ||
+ | Yes, cyberware and bioware do reduce an adept' | ||
+ | NOTE: To determine total magic rating points lost, add together the essence costs of cyberware and half the bio index costs of bioware.\\ | ||
+ | NOTE: Adept improved sense powers are considered natural (with the better modifiers against lighting conditions), | ||
+ | |||
+ | Here is a comparison of magic cost for a few adept powers vs magic loss for equivalent bonuses from 'ware (assuming cultured or beta grade). In addition, it may be possible to stack adept powers and 'ware together for even higher totals. The caveat is that if you only need a bonus/power active some of the time, then an adept' | ||
+ | ^Bonus | ||
+ | |Quickness | ||
+ | |Strength | ||
+ | |Body | ||
+ | |Initiative | ||
+ | |||
+ | Some notable 'ware where adept powers do not provide | ||
* anything decking or rigging related | * anything decking or rigging related | ||
- | * smartlink | + | * smartlink |
* enhanced articulation | * enhanced articulation | ||
* trauma damper | * trauma damper | ||
* anything that increases ballistic armor | * anything that increases ballistic armor | ||
- | NOTE: while bioware damage compensators will limit the effectiveness of trauma dampers, the equivalent adept power, resist pain, is fully compatible with dampers.\\ | ||
- | \\ | ||
Some notable adept powers where 'ware do not provide a similar effect: | Some notable adept powers where 'ware do not provide a similar effect: | ||
- | * side step (+dodge dice for cheap) | + | * side step (+dodge dice) |
- | * counterstrike (+melee | + | * counterstrike (+melee dice when defending) |
- | * magic resistance (+dice | + | * magic resistance (+dice |
- | * pain relief (heals stun damage, cannot use on self; the only way possible of doing this without waiting) | + | * pain relief (heals stun damage |
- | \\ | ||
Notable adept powers that are far superior to any bonuses available elsewhere: | Notable adept powers that are far superior to any bonuses available elsewhere: | ||
- | * kinesics | + | * kinesics |
- | * rapid healing | + | * rapid healing |
+ | * resist pain (fully compatible with trauma dampers) | ||
- | Kinesics provides a massive boost to the adept' | + | NOTE: It is //**very**// much worth grabbing the maximum rank of kinesics in chargen because the extra money we gain over time will pile up. We also don' |
- | It is **very** much worth grabbing the maximum rank of kinesics in chargen because the extra money you gain over time will pile up. Similarly, you don' | + |