Cybernetics question....

By lecudas, in Star Wars: Edge of the Empire RPG

The Biotech Cybernetic Arms (Mod V and VI, Core p. 173) gives the PC +1 Brawn/Agility... Does a person with a Mod VI Cyberarm raise their Agilitity characteristics with one in all situations - or only in situations where the GM determines that he/she is using the arm?

In other words: is the +1 Agility/Brawn general or situational?

I wouldn't nit pick. There is no up down answer, but I wouldn't want to keep having that conversation personally.

Edited by 2P51

That's my thought. It seems it would possibly open up a lot of needless debate...

I look at it this way, if it requires 2 arms/hands, it applies. If it requires 1 arm/hand, why wouldn't I use my super arm/hand?

Edited by 2P51

But some Agility actions and maneuvers would use the legs more than the arms... what then? That's why I am asking. I would still interpret the rules as a general characteristics raise.

I would too, and I bet I could come up with a narrative reason why my arms are involved.

This isn't Rifts or any of many other "simulator"-type games which try to incorporate tables, calculations, and minutiae into PC actions like crossing the street. I exaggerate, but the idea is that situational ability modifiers don't seem to be in the spirit of this game; we have Boost and Setback dice for that. I can't imagine that depriving a player of their ability increase from their cybernetics would add anything to the game (unless, of course, you did it with ion weaponry... but that's a whole different kettle of fish).

As someone who just recently started playing a Gank Cyber Tech I may be a bit biased but a flat increase seems like the way to go, considering the price of the item as well as its rarity.

Let's say you have +1 Agility arms but your coordination check involves primarily your legs.

For the narrative I would argue that since my arms have +Agility that they include gyro-stabilizers or something that still help me to accomplish the task in a superior fashion.

For me, if you can explain the way you’re doing something so that your cybernetics would allow you to make use of their enhancement, then I would probably allow it.

But it would be based on the narrative of how you explain what you’re doing and how.

The spirit of this system is to just let the Agility go up for everything and not nitpick. Actions in this system aren't as cut and dry as others. Our actions are a narrative sum of several things.

"I shoot my blaster"... in this system is really something like, "OK, so I run up to here and slide, putting my back against the wall... I turn to see past the doorway and try to shoot him."

That's the same thing mechanically but I would argue the 2nd narrative way used both legs, both arms, etc... as opposed to 'I shoot the guy'.

I'd just let the Agility go up and call it a day.

If it increases your characteristic permanently, then yeah, you get that stat all the time.

Keep in mind some restrictions for raising stats though, such as only your starting Brawn gives you + wound threshold. Increases after character creation do not.

The armor augment that increases Brawn specifically says it does not increase your soak.

The Cybernetic arms and legs that increase Brawn do increase your soak, of course.

Cybernetics can increase a skill or characteristic one step beyond the normal limits. The cap for characteristics becomes 7, adding more cybernetics will not increase it further.

Ion grenades become a lot more threatening to your group, as they can temporarily disable cybernetics. Hitting a PC with one every now and then keeps the tension up in combat.

Edited by Vulf