[Hobbes]

I'm 99% sure that RAI is no Initiative boost stacks with any other initiative boost unless specifically stated.  Example Reaction Enhancers and Wired Reflexes with the wireless bonus.  That new drug from Lockdown.  Sadly, it wasn't written that way until a couple source books in, and issuing an errata doesn't seem likely.

Moving on.

[JakeConhale]

Well then there's no reason not to take Synaptic Booster since your GM is willing to throw Balance out the window. Just weird that he would make such a Power Gaming call while at the same time saying that Big Game Hunter is Full Body Armor which it's not. It's the Wild Hunt Jacket that incorporates a Ballistic Mask essentially. Usually GMs make calls going in one general direction in my experience, hence why I kept trying to point out the Rules. But if it's a crapshoot on how he's going to use GM Fiat... congrats on figuring out ways that he'll allow you to game the system.

Again, I don't know what you're talking about. I never asked my GM about whether or not Big Game Hunter was full-body because I honestly never seriously considered Big Game Hunter until now. (Too rural, really - our runs are based in DeeCee and that's pretty built up). I asked my GM about the Urban Explorer Jumpsuit for clarification as, after all, a jumpsuit is full body clothing by definition. (I just wish the writers would make "full body armor" a characteristic, up there with "restrictive" or "padded", if for no other reason than to determine which armors can take chemical seals) Does Big Game Hunter come with a mask? The image is wearing one, but the description makes no mention of it. Moot point, really, I'd have to give up a few things to get to that price I really want to keep.

As for my GM - experiences vary! Regardless of what it says in the book, he's the final arbiter and that's that. (such as his aforementioned rejection of tactics bonuses from Run&Gun)

At this point, I think I'll just go with a lined coat for the concealability bonus, legs and vitals PPP kit, forearm guards, and a helmet (+5 armor which with a strength of 4 I can now support sans penalty). Total armor: 9+5+ 7 Ware armor = 21, which I think is higher than I've ever had in any of our previous runs. That'll be enough to do me for the first run, I can use the profits from that run to get something permanent.

I'll swap Etiquette and Unarmed and take that specialization, we'll see what he says about it. Either "Shock gloves" or "Subduing Combat" - the latter of which is specifically is listed in the book (that almost sounds better, less restricted, in case I run out of charge or can't get to the gloves for some reason).

After reading the section on how to make addiction tests, I'm considering just throwing Jazz, Cram, and Kamikaze out so I don't have to deal with figuring out what that mess of deceptively-English seeming collection of words is saying. If there was any part of the book crying out for an example blurb, ugh.

[I_AM_ZHOUL!!!]

Yeah, there's a weird combo where Wired Reflexes stack with drugs, but Reaction Enhancers don't, so using the two in combination with wireless bonuses wouldn't seem to also stack with drugs.

Reaction Enhancers don't stack with anything except Wireless Wired Reflexes  (& the Move by Wire System that'll most likely be in Chromed Flesh) but that only means you don't get the +1 Reation from Cram or Jazz. You still get the +1d6 to Initiative roll & the +2d6 from Kamikaze. It also let's the Increase Reflexes spell which is a purely Initiative bonus work with Wired Reflexes. That's the plus side of spending 3x the amount of Essence & .784x the Nuyen Cost of Synaptic Booster 2. If you are just going to give the same bonuses to Synaptic Booster regardless than it clearly becomes a Everyone Would Take It definition of OP. Synaptic Booster is already higher valued strictly for the Essence cost... if it can also stack Drugs & Spells, then Wired Reflexes is complete trash in comparison!!! Would you allow it to stack with say Adept Improved Attribute (Reation) as well...? Cause that would be a trifecta of awesomeness... my secret little munchkin heart gets all excited by the concept of allowing Synaptic Booster to stack, hence why I know it broken.

[I_AM_ZHOUL!!!]

I'm 99% sure that RAI is no Initiative boost stacks with any other initiative boost unless specifically stated.  Example Reaction Enhancers and Wired Reflexes with the wireless bonus.  That new drug from Lockdown.  Sadly, it wasn't written that way until a couple source books in, and issuing an errata doesn't seem likely.

Moving on.

Accelerator is specifically mentioned to work "uniquely well with basic level cybernetics & bionetics"... meaning level 1. Which is a very true statement cause it can get you the full +5D6 but higher rating systems are still Capped at +5D6. No other drug in the game can get a Rating 1 system to +5D6. But considering the side effects are truly punishing, "severe & horrific hallucinations and paranoia" for the amount of hours that it lasted in Combat Turns... what PC is building a character around that? Kamikaze gives +2d6 and not nearly as side effects... and people generally are anti Kamikaze. But it's not written specifically to be the only drug that works with cyber... you are not understanding the sentence if you believe that. "Uniquely well with basic(Rating 1)" does not equate to "this drug is unique in that it works with cybernetics" which is how you seem to be reading it.

Also... everything by RAW & RAI stacks with everything else unless it explicitly states that they are incompatible. Hence why different things are stackable with other things. Superthyroid Gland, Adrenaline Pump, Jazz/Cram/Kamikaze/Accelerator, & Increase Reflexes spell all stack with each other.... the only limit is the +4 Augmented Bonus. That's 2 augmentations, 1 drug, & 1 spell that none of them say are incompatible with anything. Now Muscle Toner/Augmentation/Replacement all say they don't stack with each other. But they all stack with Drugs or Spells since it's only Augmentation incompatible. But it gets real interesting when you realize that Muscle Replacement says "no augmentation to muscles" which allows it to stack with Superthyroid Gland or Adrenaline Pump. Muscle Toner/Augmentation specifically states "No augmentation to Strength." That is the whole thing about Balance between cyber & bio, bio is much cheaper in Essence & a bit more in Nuyen... but Cyber allows a greater range of compatibility.

[I_AM_ZHOUL!!!]

I asked my GM about the Urban Explorer Jumpsuit for clarification as, after all, a jumpsuit is full body clothing by definition. (I just wish the writers would make "full body armor" a characteristic, up there with "restrictive" or "padded", if for no other reason than to determine which armors can take chemical seals)

I can see you point.... got mixed up on the armors in my head since a Jumpsuit is clearly not Full Body Armor, it's a jumpsuit. I agree that Full Body Armor would be a good Feature to use but all the Full Body Armors say they are such in the descriptions. Full Body armor & the Chameleon Suit in SR5, the Mil-Spec/Security/Bunker/Riot/SWAT in R&G. Jumpsuits, Jackets, Suits, Coats, full body unitards all don't qualify as Full Body since none of the can take Chemical Seal... none of them even have a helmet.

After reading the section on how to make addiction tests, I'm considering just throwing Jazz, Cram, and Kamikaze out so I don't have to deal with figuring out what that mess of deceptively-English seeming collection of words is saying. If there was any part of the book crying out for an example blurb, ugh.

It's vague but understandable... take Kamikaze/Cram then you'll have to make an Addiction Test 2/7 weeks later. For every week that you don't take it before that date, reduce the Threshold by 1. So if you take Kamikaze once and never do it again you have a Body+Willpower Threshold (1) 2 weeks later. If you take Cram then you have an Addiction Test 7 weeks later, if you use it every week for a month an then stop that would be Willpower+Logic against a Threshold (0) to not glitch or critical glitch. But if you take Cram and then don't do it again for 6 weeks... then you are reseting the Threshold count back to 3. So your Addiction test would be  (2) when you did the next week. It's very wonky & everyone wishes that the rules were more sensible or at least not so easy to game using downtime. But if you run a lot and don't take long downtime breaks very often... they work relatively fine.

[ZeldaBravo]

Drugs are meant to stack with everything. Drugs break all the limits. Drugs make you se fraggin' astral! Check the drug section of the CRB, maybe there's some info about that.