Essence & cyberware trade-off
Every implant costs a piece of your lifeforce.
Essence is Shadowrun's measure of a living being's lifeforce. Humans and metahumans start at six; Essence powers magic, and magical ability fades as it falls.
Quick Facts
- Starting essence
- 6 for humans and metahumans
- Effect
- Lower magical ability; death at zero
- Exception
- Cybermancy
Reader's Guide
Cyberware, bioware, nanotech implants, severe addiction and other major changes to the body all damage Essence, so augmentation comes at the price of magic, and a being whose Essence reaches zero generally dies, though cybermancy can keep metahumans alive at zero or below. In the Sega Genesis game, too many cyberware implants reduce a shaman's magic.
More in development
Elsewhere in Shadowrun
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