[FrowningMirror]

I have a hypothetical question about the biocompatibility quality :

In game terms, the Essence
cost of implants of the particular chosen type are re-
duced by ten percent, rounded down to the tenth. This
rebate is cumulative with the reduction offered by the
chosen ’ware’s grade, if any (e.g., the reduction for al-
phaware of 0.8 is reduced by ten percent, or 0.08, to
become 0.72, and is rounded down to 0.7).

If, for example, I take 3 points of used toner which is normally 0.75 essence, and then pick up biocompatibility which would put me at 0.69 essence before rounding, how would I round down afterward? Would you guys rule 0.6 or 0.7 or 0.69 in this instance?

I guess what I'm saying, is do you guys use the common rounding or does rounding down mean rounding to the floor. The example chosen wasn't the best.

[Triskavanski]

Personally, I'd round it to the nearest hundredth.

[ScytheKnight]

Instead of altering the ware cost, you alter the ware cost multiplayer. So with biocompatibility the costs read.

Used: 1.15
Normal: 0.9
Alpha: 0.7
Beta: 0.6
Delta: 0.4

if you have Adapsin gene treatment as well, then you remove an additional 0.1 from the multiplier, thus turning it into:

Used. 1.05
Normal: 0.8
Alpha: 0.6
Beta: 0.5
Delta: 0.3

[prionic6]

From Adapsin + Biocompatibilty you could also say that the reduction is 20 percent and you round after that instead of 10%, round, 10%, round. This would only make a difference for the delta ware multiplier, which would stay at 0.4 instead of 0.3: 0.5 * 0.8 = 0.4 and for used ware, which would land at a multiplier of 1.

[UnLimiTeD]

Personally, I subscribe to the latter; not that it makes a difference with all that delta around. Roundings should always come in after all the factors have been considered.

[Top Dog]

The quality says exactly what it does. You reduce the essence cost multiplicatively (as the example shows; the 10% is applied after the alphaware reduction). Rounding down to the tenth is also pretty clear (it says rounding down - that means you floor it). It clearly says tenth as well, so no hundreds at all.

So:
Used: 1.125
Normal: 0.9
Alpha: 0.72
Beta: 0.63
Delta: 0.45
And then you round down to the tenth. In your example, the used toner is 0.675 (not 0.69), then rounded down to 0.6.

"Common rounding" rarely applies in Shadowrun anyway. Things are either not rounded (like essence, by default), rounded to whatever it specifies (like here, rounding down), or rounded up (the default for most things that have to be rounded that don't specify).

(I don't get why they round down to the tenth, by the way - seems silly to me, especially if you already have things rounded to hundreds in the base. But it specifies tenth explicitly, so you use tenths).

[prionic6]

The example shows that you round down the multiplier to the tenth, not the final essence cost.

[Top Dog]

The example shows that you round down the multiplier to the tenth, not the final essence cost.

And the text says you round down the cost of the item. Text trumps example; the only piece of info from the example that you need (because it's not in the rules text) is that the rebate is multiplicative.

(If you do follow your interpretation, Used would become 1.1, by the way - not 1.125 or 1.15)

[Novocrane]

And the text says you round down the cost of the item

This rebate is cumulative with the reduction offered by the chosen ’ware’s grade

That (in conjunction with the example) is clear enough to me that it's applied to grade, rather than each individual item of 'ware that qualifies.

[Top Dog]

If you get a normal, no special grade item, the cost is reduced by 90% and then rounded. That's precisely what the text says.

Are you saying that, when you get an alphaware item, then suddenly that rounding stage happens somewhere in the meantime, and the final result is not rounded? That makes no sense.

[Novocrane]

No.

What I'm pointing out, under the only interpretation I consider to fit the full written quality of Biocompatibility in 5e, is;

The percentage reduction applies to the grade.

The rounding applies to the grade.

[FrowningMirror]

Isn't biocompatibility extremely powerful when you finding things that are 9 in the hundredth value? Worth way more than 5 karma imo.

[Top Dog]

If you're not using a particular grade, the last sentence is irrelevant (there is no grade reduction to be cumulative with) and so does the example. The text then becomes:

In game terms, the Essence cost of implants of the particular chosen type are re-duced by ten percent, rounded down to the tenth.

That is how the quality works for non-graded implants.

[FrowningMirror]

No.

What I'm pointing out, under the only interpretation I consider to fit the full written quality of Biocompatibility in 5e, is;

The percentage reduction applies to the grade.

The rounding applies to the grade.

I don't see how rounding applies to the grade, but why not just give us the values then?

Used: 1.1
Normal: 0.9
Alpha: 0.7
Beta: 0.6
Delta: 0.4

And be done with it in that case?

[SichoPhiend]

No.

What I'm pointing out, under the only interpretation I consider to fit the full written quality of Biocompatibility in 5e, is;

The percentage reduction applies to the grade.

The rounding applies to the grade.

I don't see how rounding applies to the grade, but why not just give us the values then?

Used: 1.1
Normal: 0.9
Alpha: 0.7
Beta: 0.6
Delta: 0.4

And be done with it in that case?

They may when they address this in the errata.  And they have stated that this quality WILL be addressed in the errata.