(Accidentally posted this in the Spanish rules thread...whoops.) For the longest time I've gone with the idea that CH: TO (and by extension CH: Camouflage) could not be downgraded to CH: Camuflage and CH: Mimitism (respectively) however after a recent discussion with some other players I could not find anything that definitively said that I can not. I looked at the rules for Optional, Automatic, Negative Feedback (NFB), and could not get a definitive answer. Can someone please help and site rulebook pages / wiki links?
Special Skill Levels (pg. 65 N3) Paraphrased: Unless stated otherwise numeric leveled skills include the lower levels as well. Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
"Unless otherwise stated, any numerical Level of a Special Skill automatically grants all lower Levels of the same Skill. For example, a Level 3 also grants Levels 1 and 2." CH does not state that it does not grant the lower levels, so it defaults to granting them. However, IIRC, when you can downgrade is a bit fuzzy. The Automatic Label tells you that you do not need to spend an order to use the skill, and the Optional Label tells you that you (obviously) do not need to use the skill. Since Camo and TO:Camo are both, it seems that you can drop it at any time... but that might cause problems. It should be said, however, that in order to cause problems, it looks like you actually need to use the skills with the express purpose of causing those problems: I'm down grading to Mimetism for my first short skill, out of LoF, but then (for no reason other than to introduce questionable rules interactions) upgrade to TO for the second short skill in which I become visible. Oh, and lets add an HD ARO on the first short skill for fun.
http://wiki.infinitythegame.com/en/Special_Skills Special Skill Levels Some Special Skills are divided into Levels of expertise with distinct effects and uses. Unless otherwise stated, any numerical Level of a Special Skill automatically grants all lower Levels of the same Skill. For example, a Level 3 also grants Levels 1 and 2. Conversely, alphabetical Levels such as Level X state whether they grant any other Levels of the Skill or not.
http://infinitythewiki.com/en/Special_Skills Special Skill Levels Some Special Skills are divided into Levels of expertise with distinct effects and uses. Unless otherwise stated, any numerical Level of a Special Skill automatically grants all lower Levels of the same Skill. For example, a Level 3 also grants Levels 1 and 2. Conversely, alphabetical Levels such as Level X state whether they grant any other Levels of the Skill or not.
I believe it is resolved by one of the FAQ answers (emphasis mine): When a Hacker equipped with ODD uses the Hacking Program: Cybermask, does his ODD turn off? When will the ODD turn on again? A trooper can only use or benefit from one Special Skill, piece of Equipment or Hacking Program with the NFB Trait or Label in the same Order. When you use Cybermask, the ODD will turn off because this Equipment has the NFB Trait and any Special Skill or Equipment with this Trait or Label is incompatibe with any other Special Skill or Equipment that has the same Trait or Label. The ODD will turn on when you cancel or turn off the effect of the Special Skill, Equipment, or in this case the Hacking Program, that produces the disconnection. As an example, this means a trooper cannot benefit from the ODD and also the Surprise Shot provided by Cybermask in the same Order.
Yeah I saw that part about any higher levels can use the lower ones. I just thought there was some small notation or rule that would prevent you from downgrading lvl 2 or 3 of CH. Thanks for your help guys.
No, it's always been allowed to drop TO camo to regular camo, ever since first edition. Not much reason to drop all the way to Mimetism unless you got burned, but it is sometimes advantageous to deploy a TO camo marker as regular camo. Even a Hac Tao. That Camo marker in my DZ could be a Raiden, or it could be a Hac Tao playing mindgames. Just notice that if you deploy as regular camo instead of TO, your opponent is at the -3BS penalty for that first Discover (or first ARO shot), NOT at the -6 for TO camo. You go to -6 once the model is revealed.
The Cybermask FAQ doesn't fully answer the problem of which NFB skill activates when, but does hint that there is a choice so you should be able to drop CH2: Camouflage state to CH3: TO Camouflage and gain benefit from TO Camouflage in the order in which you dropped from normal Camouflage. This would mean forgoing Surprise Shot, but you don't get thar during AROs anyway. http://infinitythewiki.com/en/Cybermask
