Shadowrun question - Essence and Cyberware

[Grinner]

I've recently been sinking all of my free time into Shadowrun Returns, and I've noticed something odd. When you buy cyberware, it eats up your Essence score. That's normal, though. The weird part happens when you try to replace your augmentations.

So I buy Dermal Plating fairly early on in the game. It costs 1.5 of my 6 Essence, and rounded down, that leaves me with 4. I then buy a pair of cyberarms, also at 1.5 Essence apiece. This leaves me with an Essence reserve of 1.5.

Later, I notice that new augmentations are available. After much consternation, I scrape together some money and buy an alphaware version of Dermal Plating, costing 0.5 less Essence and giving a +1 to Body in addition to the usual effects. "Cool", I think to myself,"Later, I'll get those lower-Essence cyberarms too."

Except that doesn't work. When I buy the alphaware Dermal Plating, my Essence score remains at 1.5.

Is there precedent for this in the tabletop rules? Should my Essence score be irrevocably depleted?

[TheCountAlucard]

Yes, there's precedent in the tabletop. Essence represents a sort of wholeness that merely removing the cyberware won't heal. Recovering even a tenth of a point of Essence was something that took months of devoted recovery treatments and tens of thousands of nuyen, and even that was something introduced in 4e, IIRC. Getting a better-grade, less-invasive piece of 'ware won't repair the loss of Essence you had from having the low-quality one installed in the first place.

[BRC]

The idea is that the more chunks of yourself you take out, the more essence you lose.

Low-quality cyberware is more invasive than higher quality stuff, which is better able to interface with your body.

When you take the old stuff out, the bits of yourself that were removed to make it fit don't grow back, even though the newer stuff would have taken less essence.

[Grinner]

Damn it. Knew I should have stayed away from cyberware.

Thanks for the help.

[TheCountAlucard]

Not so fast, Grinner - Cybernetics and bioware both convey amazing advantages. It's tricky, and can be a double-edged sword at times, but for some roles, these modifications are of critical importance.

[BRC]

Here's the thing about Shadowrun. Essence only does two things. 1: Limits your magic, 2: kills you if you run out of it.

If you don't have magic, there is little to no reason not to use as much essence as possible.

If you're not going for Gandalf, you might as well be Robocop.

[TheCountAlucard]

Well, there's also fluff and roleplay stuff that comes with such drastic alterations, such as cyberpsychosis and various social stigmas. A civilian who looks like Robocop isn't likely to get into a high-society event.

Heck, in fifth edition your Essence score is part of the cap you have on social actions.

But still, riggers and street samurai will generally get as much modification as they can afford.

[Grinner]

Not so fast, Grinner - Cybernetics and bioware both convey amazing advantages. It's tricky, and can be a double-edged sword at times, but for some roles, these modifications are of critical importance.

I don't think bioware's an option in this game...I think it's set in 2054? Is bioware available at that point?

More to the point, my character's a melee-focused troll (which is also a kinda bad idea, in retrospect), and Essence loss isn't really an issue as I haven't invested anything into adept abilities. The real issue is that I can't afford as many augmentations as I initially wanted. At first, I was going to go for full-on cyborg, until I remembered the whole "cybernetics eat your soul" thing. That made me a bit hesitant, but I went ahead and had my character's arms chopped off.

Now I've sort of hamstrung my character. Had I waited longer, I could have gotten more augmentations, but that's no longer an option. Sure, the +12 HP, +2 Armor saved my butt once or twice, but it's not like this is a roguelike.

Edit:

If you're not going for Gandalf, you might as well be Robocop.

To put it as neatly as possible, yes, that was the idea.

[Anonymouswizard]

Okay, if I understand this correctly, you had:
Dermal plating (1.5 Ess)
Right cyberarm (1.5 Ess)
Left cyberarm (1.5 Ess)
Leftover Ess 1.5

And went to:
Alphaware Dermal plating (1 Ess)
Right cyberarm (1.5 Ess)
Left cyberarm (1.5 Ess)
Leftover Ess 1.5

What has happened is that instead of having regained essence, you have instead gained an essence hole of 0.5, which when you get new modifications will be filled up before you loose more essence, so assuming you take 1 essence cybereyes you end up with:
Alphaware Dermal plating (1 Ess)
Right cyberarm (1.5 Ess)
Left cyberarm (1.5 Ess)
Cybereyes (1 Ess)
Leftover Ess 1
Essence hole 0

And if you then made the cyberarms alphaware it might be:
Alphaware Dermal plating (1 Ess)
Alphaware Right cyberarm (1 Ess)
Alphaware Left cyberarm (1 Ess)
Cybereyes (1 Ess)
Leftover Ess 1
Essence hole 1

For metahumans, Essence+Essence Cost+Essence Hole=6.

So no, you aren't gimping yourself by taking cyberware early on, assuming that the games been programmed correctly.

[Grinner]

So no, you aren't gimping yourself by taking cyberware early on, assuming that the games been programmed correctly.

Huh....Well, isn't that something? It worked.

Thanks.

[Lord Torath]

I don't think bioware's an option in this game...I think it's set in 2054? Is bioware available at that point?

Shadowtech, (the book that introduced bioware) is set in late 2052, so Bioware should be available. And unless you're a magician, bioware is only limited by your natural body attribute.

[LibraryOgre]

If you don't have magic, there is little to no reason not to use as much essence as possible.

Don't remember if this holds true across all editions, but a low essence also makes magical healing more difficult.

Shadowtech, (the book that introduced bioware) is set in late 2052, so Bioware should be available. And unless you're a magician, bioware is only limited by your natural body attribute.

Yeah, but that requires them to have programmed that mechanism into Shadowrun Returns... and I think they later changed it so Bioware cost essence, just rather less than cyberware.

[The Random NPC]

Assuming that the game is based on 4th edition rules, yeah bioware just costs less essence, and is also halved if you have less bioware than cyberware (cyberware is halved if you have more bioware than cyberware). Also healing takes a penalty equal to the the subject's lot essence rounded down. Of course, no other magic takes this penalty, even if it would make sense to do so.