[Molash]

I understand that augmentations take away from your essence.  What happens when all of the PCs essence is gone? Do they become a cyberzombie? And if so what happens to the PC at that time? Do they become NPCs or can the PCs still use them? 

Also what happens someone replaces a alpha cyberware with beta or delta?  Do the loose even more essence on top of what they paid for with the alpha?

[All4BigGuns]

When Essence drops to Zero or below, the character is Dead. Cyber-Zombies come in through a powerful and very unnatural piece of ritual magic designed to "trick" the spirit into remaining with the now-corpse and drugs are introduced to keep the body physically functioning.

If you replace an implant with the same implant of a higher grade (like your example of Alpha replaced with Delta), you have an "Essence Hole" equal to the difference in Essence costs that can be used for other implants.

[Spooky]

Which, to continue the thought from All4BG, means that the higher the grade of ware, the more can be packed in the metahuman body before terminal failure. Alpha grade gets you 7.45, beta gets you 8.5, and delta gets you 11.95 worth of essence loss before death. Truly scary what can be done with delta ware, like FBR with maximum reaction/initiative enhancement.

[Molash]

So as long as they have .01 essence left they are functionlly still alive?

[ProfGast]

Yup!   Though at that point they're more machine than man.   Likely to suffer from some kinda of dissassociation, or cyberpsychosis.

There's been a couple good fics on how someone responds to that much cyberware though I think Hatchetman's is one of the best.

[Reaver]

Don't forget the social limit hit for basically having 0 essence for your social calculation.....

which means,  you unnerve just about everyone around you, just by being you.. only more so.

[Lucean]

Well, since essence only factors in by 1/4 into the limit and is rounded up, i wouldn't think it's that severe.
Even with CHA 3, WIL 3, Ess 0,1 you'd have a Social Limit of 4 and there are many ways to increase it further by wearing the right attire.

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

That's the technial impact, yes.  The social impact, which the GM should play up, is that people get unnerved by you.

[Lucean]

And how would you do that?
Take an Elf with CHA 6, WIL 4, Ess 0.x, wearing a Vashon Island Ace of Coins in the right place. He'd have a Social Limit of 9.
Having full 6.0 Essence would increase this limit by 2, but since a limit only matters for really high dicepools or the lucky, he should be more or less unaffected by his low essence.
Of course, in case he fails an opposed test because he has 9 hits and the opponent 10, you might argument with his low essence having impacted the negotiation/bluff/whatever. But imho this should be the only case: when essence causes you to lose hits.

[Medicineman]

And how would you do that?
Take an Elf with CHA 6, WIL 4, Ess 0.x, wearing a Vashon Island Ace of Coins in the right place. He'd have a Social Limit of 9.

and part of his Cyberware is tailored Pheromones
Essenceloss and its impact on Social Pools & Limits ( )  is exaggerated ImO

with an unlimited Dance
Medicineman

[Lucean]

Well, technically it doesn't affect dicepools but limits

[Ursus Maior]

I think the Tailored Pheromones are a good way for an mid-level augmented character to get around some of the drawbacks. It actually makes sense - though the grade can be debated as always, of course - that some enhancements make you feel better as a human, not as a professional. And they might even make others feel better around you as you act less self-distance. Wich is the apparent problem characters develop when getting too augmented. Essentially you develop dissociative (behavioral) disorders, because you feel better than other humans and less attached. It's why certain small additions can dettach you more than larger ones. I think eyes are underrated, though. Sight is the primal (active) human sense, which we use to perceive the world and connect alot too culturally. In my opinion eye-ware should cost more essence than it does. Not the add-ons, simply the implants themselves. Imagein looking into the eyes of a close friend and being able to tell how he feels. Then look at him with his new eyes intalled and being able to tell what model they are, because of the blinking routine Shiawase's new Soul-mirror 3000XS come with. Eerie...

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

And how would you do that?
Take an Elf with CHA 6, WIL 4, Ess 0.x, wearing a Vashon Island Ace of Coins in the right place. He'd have a Social Limit of 9.
Having full 6.0 Essence would increase this limit by 2, but since a limit only matters for really high dicepools or the lucky, he should be more or less unaffected by his low essence.
Of course, in case he fails an opposed test because he has 9 hits and the opponent 10, you might argument with his low essence having impacted the negotiation/bluff/whatever. But imho this should be the only case: when essence causes you to lose hits.

Again, you're talking technicals; one wonders whether your games are just figuring out modifiers and rolling dice, or roleplay.

"Y'know, I like Sam.  He's charming, he's witty, he's reasonable, and I like the way he smells.  But there's something off about the guy - he's perfectly witty, his teeth are too straight, and he's reasonable just to the point where I want to say 'hell no!!' but can't, y'know?  Unnerving."

[Zweiblumen]

Again, you're talking technicals; one wonders whether your games are just figuring out modifiers and rolling dice, or roleplay.

"Y'know, I like Sam.  He's charming, he's witty, he's reasonable, and I like the way he smells.  But there's something off about the guy - he's perfectly witty, his teeth are too straight, and he's reasonable just to the point where I want to say 'hell no!!' but can't, y'know?  Unnerving."

This!

[Kincaid]

And how would you do that?
Take an Elf with CHA 6, WIL 4, Ess 0.x, wearing a Vashon Island Ace of Coins in the right place. He'd have a Social Limit of 9.
Having full 6.0 Essence would increase this limit by 2, but since a limit only matters for really high dicepools or the lucky, he should be more or less unaffected by his low essence.
Of course, in case he fails an opposed test because he has 9 hits and the opponent 10, you might argument with his low essence having impacted the negotiation/bluff/whatever. But imho this should be the only case: when essence causes you to lose hits.

Again, you're talking technicals; one wonders whether your games are just figuring out modifiers and rolling dice, or roleplay.

"Y'know, I like Sam.  He's charming, he's witty, he's reasonable, and I like the way he smells.  But there's something off about the guy - he's perfectly witty, his teeth are too straight, and he's reasonable just to the point where I want to say 'hell no!!' but can't, y'know?  Unnerving."

I still think of low Essence as having a negative dice pool modifier to social interactions--old habits die hard.  My Missions character is a low-ish Essence (3) face/jack of all trades, which I find a fun thing to roleplay.  He's a face, but he's decidedly not nice.