OneTrikPony wrote:

Yep there's the rub. Choosing the right skills to run as software is difficult I just had to pay 5pts for infiltration on my fury morph even though he's got a 40 pt infiltration skillsoft, just because i didn't want him to have to default when he looses that morph. But for however long this morph lasts he's got a pretty good infiltration score if it wernt for the skillsoft I'd only have a 40 there. On the other thing. I was mostly making the argument that it shouldn't really cost anything extra to freight the software along with your ego because the file size of your ego is probably so massive that something like a skillsoft or muse or AI ect. would be negligable. So even if your destination morph isn't wired it's only costing you the original 5k for the Skillware implant. And potentially another 5k or Level 4 favor to get the implant again. It's still odd to me that there's only 5 price tags for all the gear in the world. I don't know wether to be happy that a 40 pont skill only costs 5k or pissed that I have to pay 5k for a 20 point skill.

I'd probably rule that skillsoft software can't be transferred via egocasting - treating them as just another piece of gear (think of it as DRM :)) which could be reacquired upon resleeving at a new location if the new morph has skillware. That would limit the munchkinization. On price, one thing to consider is that those values represent the mid-points of the bands - depending on supply and demand, prices can range considerably within the band.

Skillsofts have a lot of potential for fun trouble, which can be used to both limit them and for roleplaying. A skillsoft is basically an extra neural network (and maybe some AI software) that interfaces with the semantic and procedural memory systems of the morph. I envision it as plugging into special interfaces in the morph counterpart of the basal ganglia, hippocampus and association cortex. What could possibly go wrong? ;-) Skillsofts can be biased: the Hells Angels Personal Defense Package certainly gives you Unarmed Combat 40, but it also makes you prefer certain bikes, beers and criminal organisations. Anybody using the NovaBio Pharmacology or Medicine skillsofts will tend to prescribe NovaBio (and allied) medicines. Some political science skillsofts have been denounced as nothing more than neural propaganda. Skillsofts can have backdoors: don't try to use the before mentioned skillsoft against one of the HA battle programmers, since he might just make a strange move that completely stuns you. A debug feature in Gorman Cognotex skillsofts can allow knowledgeable attackers to get read access to your ego. They might also be stereotypical: experts can immediately tell when they get something written by someone using the EliSof French Poetry skillsoft, since it uses certain words and terms in characteristic ways. Some people take pride in knowing how to defeat certain brands of Unarmed Combat skillsofts. Skillsofts can have remnant memories: when you make a skillsoft, you likely compile it from a lot of neural maps from experts. Sometimes that means you get more than just the skill: memories, emotions, quirks or motivations could carry over. Normally this is not a problem since the skillsofts are made from large numbers of brains. But unusual skills, or skills based on particular masters might be different. Sure, the Chuan Xi Gunnery skillsoft is great, but you also get a tinge of his racism while using it. People have complained a lot about the ExIn Martian Survival skillsoft since it also comes with a few hidden traumatic memories that pop up in flashbacks in the strangest circumstances. Skillsofts are good places to hide extra neural add-ons that may be less legal: what looks like a Mandarin skillsoft also contains some narcoalgorithms or a hidden Khaos AI for neural self-defence.

In the same munchkin vein that this thread was founded on, could I carry aroung multiple skillsoft packages. For example, while talking to a contact I have a social pack, with skills like Persusasion, Kinesics and Protocol. Suddenly, we're attacked by a random exhuman. I then uninstall my social pack and load my combat pack, giving me fray, some sort of weapon skill and Perception. Once I've defeated the exhuman I load my forensics pack to examine the body, then my networking/research pack to track down the producer etc. So basicly my lone wolf character has a Jack-of-all trades ability, with only a few skills used often enough to justify learning them. The only problems are how long it might take to change packs (not really a problem unless I'm jumped like in the combat scenario).

Arenamontanus wrote:

Or makes use of the rigidities of prepackaged skills ("Oh, I downloaded a neat little skillsoft that contains all the vulnerabilities in your Kinesys Fray 2.7.1 soft... I *know* in what direction you will duck.")

Why not vulnerabilities in the skillsofts themselves? For the sake of argument, say the Kinesys Fray v2.7.1 has a bug that results in the skillsoft getting stuck in a loop if someone flashes a bright light in the eyes of the user while getting kicked in the kneecap or something. Call it a critical success on the attack roll that results in a negative penalty for the user of the skillsoft.

I don't think that would be possible Scion. Afterall, the different forks don't have their own skillwire implant, so only one set of skills can be implanted at a time, no matter how many "yous" are inside you.