Qualities
Acrobatic or Perceptive Defender
(RF 127)
Applies its skill ranks only. Not specializations or dice.
Addiction
(SR5 77-78)
Imposes a penalty of -1 dice, per level of the quality, to all actions if the affected character has not indulged their addiction at least once per run. This penalty carries over from one to the next and stays persistent till the character indulges.
The Addiction quality can be bought off or brought down to a lower level anytime, by paying the requisite amount of karma.
Addiction for things that are not statted drugs in the book are handled with the Dependents quality instead. Eg: smoking or alcohol dependency.
Adept Healer
(FA 31)
Cannot heal drain or fade.
Adept Ways
(SG 176-178)
You may only benefit from a single adept way at a time. If you purchase multiple ways you may choose which adept way to follow at the beginning of each month. Changing a way undoes all adept power discounts and turns off any metamagic that is linked to the way. However, you do not lose those metamagics and they can reactivate if you switch back to their linked way.
The Magician’s Way allows adepts to qualify for any Magician metamagic such as centering, provided they meet all other requirements. Eg: Channeling has no use for an adept as they don’t have the Summoning skill. Mystic adepts need this way to access magician metamagics.
Allergy
(SR5 78)
You don’t gain karma from the Allergy negative quality, during character creation.
Animal Familiar
(FA 31)
The quality need not be repurchased. But it takes a full month to attune another animal into a familiar. The animal needs to be purchased separately.
Alchemical Bomb Maker
(FA 31)
Damage increase is capped to +2 DV per 3 ranks in the alchemy skill the alchemist has.
Arcane Improviser
(FA 32)
You may improvise once per run.
Archivist
(FA 32)
The following knowledge skills count as magical academic knowledge skills for purposes this quality, even if some of them are professional by default: Alchemy, Infected, Magical theory (Academic), Magical threats, Magical law, Magical security, Magic traditions, Paraanthropology, Parabotany, Parageology, Parazoology and Undead. If you make up a new magical academic skill for your character, chargen staff must approve it.
Astral Bouncer
(FA 32)
This will only identity the following positive qualities: Home Ground (Astral Acclimation), Spirit Champion, Spirit Whisperer, Spirit Affinity, Mentor Spirit, Witness My Hate, Astral Chameleon, Elemental Focus, Focused Concentration, All Adept Ways, Magic Resistance, Arcane Arrester, Astral Hazing and all Mastery Qualities.
This will only identify the following negative qualities: Astral beacon, Code of Honor: Harmony with Nature: The Shaman’s Code, Spirit Bane, Spirit Pariah, Reduced (Astral Sight).
In addition to Initiate Grade and Adept Powers, Astral Bouncer determines a certain metamagic from an Initiate Grade.
Edge or other attributes can not be determined.
AVRSE
(KC 76)
Applies the -4 penalty regardless of your location.
Barehanded Adept
(FA 33)
Only spells with a Range of T can be cast with this quality.
Cannot be used to cast Combat Sense (SR5 286) or Increase Reflexes (SR5 288).
Spells may be learned as limited (requires a fetish to cast) if the adept desires.
Black Market Pipeline
(RF 145)
Can be acquired after character creation.
If you lose the Pipeline contact, you can apply it to another gear contact of the same domain.
The discount does not stack with discounts from Dealer Connection or Made Man.
Brand Loyalty
(RG 127)
Can never be taken for generic unbranded gear by simply fluffing it as gear manufactured by X corp. At either level (manufacturer or product), this must apply to gear that has a specific manufacturer or brand name associated with it. If alternate manufacturers are listed, as in the case with drones in Rigger 5, those are valid.
Chain Breaker
(FA 33)
May use Negotiation in place of Binding to conjure an Ally Spirit. This counts as a spirit pact. If the character reaches an Astral Reputation of 3 or higher, their ally spirit will go away and will not return them until the character has adequately atoned via the Atonement ritual (SG 123). If the quality is bought off, the character must re-conjure an ally spirit using standard rules. All the karma spent on the previous ally spirit goes into an “Astral Bank”. You can use karma from the bank to pay for the new ally spirit.
Chosen Follower
(FA 35)
Can be used once per 3 months.
Learning spells, rituals or improving skills cost karma as usual, but doesn’t require fs.
Cannot reduce training times.
Code of Honor
(SR5 79, RF 22, HT 191, KC 99, DT 46)
Existing codes of honor can be refluffed into a different name and flavor as long as the mechanics are kept as is.
Thug Life (RF 26) doesn’t cost you half your earnings. It instead increases your lifestyle cost by 30%. This increase in the lifestyle’s base cost is not covered by Trust Fund’s free lifestyle or reduced by karma/street cred. You must pay this out of your pocket.
Custom codes of honor are subject to approval. Approved codes can be found here.
Consummate Professional
(AP17)
Is now a 3 Karma positive quality instead of a negative.
Corporate Loyalist
(SL 126)
Requires a corporate limited or full corporate SIN.
Cyber-Snob
(CF 57)
A character with Cyber-Snob will not accept any augmentations of a grade lower than alphaware/greyware (not betaware). A character must have at least 1 point worth of Essence of ware higher than standard grade cyberware or bioware to be able to take this quality.
Dark Ally and Dedicated Conjurer
(FA 35, 36)
Non UMT spirits may not be summoned.
Day Job
(RF 154)
You must spend a number of downtime slots equal to the level of the quality, each month. There are no additional benefits from this apart from your day job salary.
Dependents
(SR5 80)
Has no effect on training times.
Increase in lifestyle cost applies to the base cost of the lifestyle. This increase in the lifestyle’s base cost is not covered by Trust Fund’s free lifestyle or reduced by karma/street cred. You must pay this out of your pocket.
Addiction for things that are not statted drugs in the book are handled with this quality. Eg: smoking or alcohol dependency.
Echo Chamber
(KC 78)
Does not grant any bonus to matrix searches.
Education Qualities
Like College education and Technical school of education are incompatible with Uneducated.
Elemental Master
(FA 36)
Does not apply to damage from drain (from the Elemental Focus quality).
For purposes of elemental damage: Earth (acid), Fire, Water (water and cold) and Air (electricity).
Frog Tongue, Functional Tail and Proboscis
(RF 115, 117) Has strength equal to your augmented strength.
Human Lifespan
(TCT 188)
Can be taken by orks, trolls and their metavariants for free.
Illusionist
(FA 37)
Only one rank may be purchased.
You need not specify Physical or Mana. You can sustain any one illusion spell.
Instinctive Hack
(BTB 160)
You may not change programs or alter deck atts before you make your action.
Items of Power
(FA 38)
Increases the maximum total force of foci that can be active (foci cap) by 6.
Lightweight
(CF 58)
Instead of +2 addiction rating, it increases the addiction threshold of any addictive substance you take by +1.
Made Man
(RF 148)
Can be taken for any criminal syndicate or gang, but not any corp or agency.
Discounts on purchases only apply when you are doing the negotiation yourself or using a contact affiliated with the faction you are a made man of (the contact must also have the Made Man power). This discount does not stack with discounts from Black Market Pipeline or Dealer Connection.
Made man has no negative effects such as costing downtime.
Magic Resistance
(SR5 76)
Magic resistance works against not only spells but also any critter, spirit or adept power that uses the Magic attribute as part of its dice pool or any effect (eg: DV).
Magic resistance does not impede beneficial spells cast on the subject with the subject’s consent.
Is compatible and stacks with the metagenic quality Arcane Arrester (RF 111).
Master Debater
(CA 151)
Works with all Negotiation tests.
Mentor Spirit
(SR5 76)
Spider Alt grants 1 rank of Spirit Claw and 1 rank of Hang Time. (FA 100)
Goddess grants +2 dice for Leadership tests (not Instruction). (BOTL 129)
Wise Warrior grants +2 dice for Etiquette tests (not Instruction). (SR5 324)
Mages with Hermetic Elementals (FA 181) cannot have a mentor spirit.
Otaku To Technomancer
(DT 45)
Can only be taken during character creation.
The technomancer must have a datajack at character creation, but it costs no essence.
Prototype Transhuman
(CF 54)
Can only be taken by Metahumans.
Geneware does not count as bioware for purposes of this quality.
Bioware must be of at least standard grade.
Bioware that takes up the free essence of this quality cannot be assensed.
Bioware from prototype transhuman is not rejected by regeneration.
Prototype Transhuman may never benefit from Purity Bonuses.
Revenant Adept
(FA 40)
Can be used once per month (up to 12 times a year).
Redliner
(CF 55)
Doesn’t apply its negative aspects beyond four limbs.
Rootkit
(KC 76)
Extra DV added for resonance spike is equal to your (Resonance/3) rounded down, instead of equal to your device rating.
Sensei
(RF 149)
The sensei does not need to be a contact. You may only have one sensei, ever.
Sensei grants you an extra downtime slot. This can be used to improve a single skill or skill group by 1 per month (if you have the karma). If a skill or skill group is improved this way it cannot be improved via a standard training slot.
If your sensei is a teacher of the Close Combat skill group or any other melee combat skill, they can also teach you martial arts. In this case, the extra downtime slot sensei grants may be used to learn up to two martial arts or up to four martial art techniques, per month. (if you have the karma). If martial arts is learned this way, you may not learn additional martial arts via a standard training slot. You do not need to pay training fees for martial arts and techniques learned via your sensei.
If you and your sensei are both spellcasters, your sensei can also teach you spells. Your sensei must be a teacher of either the Sorcery or Enchanting skill groups. In this case, the extra downtime slot sensei grants may be used to learn up to four spells (can be rituals or alchemical preps), per month. (if you have the karma). If spells are learned this way, you may still learn more spells via standard training slots. You do not need to buy spell formulae for learning via your sensei.
If you and your sensei are both technomancers, your sensei can also teach you complex forms. Your sensei must be a teacher of either Software or the Tasking skill group. In this case, the extra downtime slot sensei grants may be used to learn up to four complex forms per month. (if you have the karma). If complex forms are learned this way, you may still learn more via standard training slots.
SINner
(SR5 84-85)
No longer taxes your income. Instead, it increases your lifestyle’s base cost by 10% (National or Criminal), 15% (Corporate limited) or 20% (Corporate). This increase is not covered by Trust Fund’s free lifestyle or reduced by karma/street cred. You must pay this out of your pocket.
Shiva Arms
(RF 118)
Characters with Shiva Arms don’t need to spend a Free Action to make Multiple Attacks (SR5 164) but they still need to split their dice pool.
Each Shiva Arm gives the character a +1 die bonus (up to +4) to their dice pool before they split their dice pool to make Multiple Attacks. This bonus only applies when making Multiple Attacks with different arms (ie: each attack must use a different arm or pair of arms).
The above bonuses only apply if the character has at least 2 base arms not granted by this quality.
Shock Mage
(FA 40)
Instead of RAW, any damage inflicted by the mage using lightning spells doubles the initiative reduction (-10 instead of -5) as well as the dice pool penalty (-2 instead of -1). This initiative and dice pool penalty does not add up or stack with subsequent attacks using electricity from any source, but the length of the penalty is extended as per RAW.
Shoot First, Don’t Ask Questions
(BTB 161)
Instead of RAW, the quality applies a flat +2 bonus to initiative if you succeed on your surprise test, for that combat turn.
Skinwalker
(FA 40)
Applies to Shapechange spell as well.
The cost of the mundane critter’s pelt is half the cost of the critter.
Special Modifications and Prototype Materials
(BTB 161-160)
Prototype materials cannot be bought at gen.
You may spend a rank of special modification to alter the element type of a weapon already possessing elemental damage (like shock gloves). You may switch between the unlocked elements (1 per rank) with a complex action. Available elements are acid, fire, electricity and cold. All elements deal P damage except electricity which can be chosen to deal P or S (once chosen you cannot change this even when you switch back and forth between unlocked elemental options).
Elemental damage from special modifications counts as mundane damage. Acid being non-magical will reapply every turn, instead of evaporating as described in SR5 p.170.
You may change the selected properties or the amount of the properties (DV, -AP or elemental damage) from the qualities between each run.
-AP from special mods are not considered as base AP of the weapon and thus do not get tripled for bullseye burst, instead getting added after tripling base AP.
You may purchase up to two ranks of Special Modifications for additional weapons beyond your first. There is no limit to the additional number of weapons that can have this.
If a weapon is a combination of different weapons or modes (eg: Krime Trollbow, Krime Whammy or Microwave Gun), the player must choose which of the weapons the qualities’ bonuses would apply to.
Special Modifications cannot be used to reduce the reach of a weapon beyond its base value.
The qualities cannot be applied to Bone lacing or Bone density as they are not weapons.
Spectral Warden
(FA 40)
Binding skill replaces Summoning. The initial summoning test and drain resistance must still be made, just with the binding skill instead of summoning.
Sprawl Tamer
(FA 41)
Increases the number of tricks that a critter can learn by a multiplier of 1 and stacks with everything else that increases the number of tricks. Hence, the number of tricks a critter is capable of learning becomes 3x their Logic. Domesticated critters can now learn a number of tricks equal to 4x their Logic.
Stalwart Ally
(FA 42)
The ally spirit can give its Magic as a dice pool bonus to only a single drain resistance test per run.
The point of Edge you may get loaned from your ally spirit cannot be burned and it does not give you +1 die when pre-edging, as it's not your own Edge attribute.
Strive for Perfection
(AP 17)
Applies before Sharpshooter.
Doesn’t impede you from making an attack if making a called shot is impossible. Eg: medium or wide choke settings, interrupt action attacks, etc. However, not being able to call a shot due to having used up your free action elsewhere is not a valid reason.
SURGE
(RF 103)
There is no karma cap on how many metagenic negative qualities you can take. You still have to take at least the total karma equivalent of your total metagenic positive qualities. You do not gain anything from taking extra metagenic negative qualities apart from the qualities themselves.
SURGE I (10 karma) and SURGE II (15 karma) will follow the same rules as SURGE III (30 karma). The maximum total karma value of positive metagenic qualities that you can get from these qualities is equal to the karma values listed in brackets. You can only have one of the three SURGE qualities.
Certain metagenic qualities are not allowed for SURGE I and SURGE II. They are.
Positive Metagenic Qualities:
Arcane Arrester (RF 111)
Celerity (RF 113)
Dermal Alteration (RF 113)
Dermal Deposits (RF 114)
Elongated Limbs (RF 114)
Glamour (RF 115)
Metagenic Improvement (RF 116)
Natural Venom (RF 117)
Satyr Legs (RF 118)
Negative Metagenic Qualities:
Astral Hazing (RF 119)
Berserker (RF 119)
Impaired Attribute (RF 120)
Symbiosis (RF 122)
Technomancer Qualities
The following qualities may also be taken by non-emerged characters.
Brilliant heuristics (KC 96)
Code of Honor: Black hat (KC 99)
Data hog (KC 99)
Hold the door (KC 96)
Lone wolf (KC 96)
On the wagon (KC 99)
Trust data not lore (KC 97)
Trust lore not data (KC 97)
Unique avatar (KC 98)
Wired user (KC 100)
Thorns
(RF 118)
Increases the cost of armor by 20% only.
Trust Fund
(RF 151)
May be acquired using any of the SINner level qualities, except criminal.
Vexcraft
(FA 42)
Suppress focus is a simple action. Grounding focus is a complex action.
Last updated