[HOE] Cyborgs and cyber prosthetics (long)

[Robert Holland <robert@macauley.com>]

I wrote this a long while back in response to another message, but then forgot
to actually post it. I just found it in my archives, so I'm posting it now.
Enjoy.

From Joel.Ashman@home.com Tue Dec 05 20:01:58 2000
>Hi All,
>
>Just joined the list, and I have a question about Cyborgs.  For Heavy Cans,
>are CyberLimbs and Torso required, or will Samson and Heavy armor produce
>the Heavy Can Look/effect?  Obviously, the 2nd choice is less expensive,
>produces less drain, and also less spirit loss.

Well, the first thing to realize is that the illustrations in the Cyborgs book
are grossly inaccurate. The pictures depict heavy cans as towering,
15-foot-tall, armored metal monoliths with asymmetrical, patchwork construction,
weirdly egg-shaped torsos, spindly limbs, with an incongrously small human head
as the only organic element in the entire construct. (They also never seem to
wear helmets, which is pretty absurd given that head shots are the only
practical way to put a cyborg down.)

There's nothing in the text to suggest that a heavy can in Dreadnought armor is
any bigger than a normal human in a Wolverine suit--bulky and broad, but still
scaled to human size. Remember than any type of cyborg can wear any type of
armor if they've got the appropriate hardpoints, so Dreadnought armor is small
enough for an infiltrator to wear if she had a full set of heavy hardpoints for
some bizarre reason. There's also nothing to suggest that cyborgs, even heavies,
get cyber prosthetics unless they're absolutely necessary (to replace missing
limbs or mount required equipment). They're far too expensive in cash, drain,
and spirit loss to be used casually, and bestow very little benefit in return
(light armor -2 is hardly impressive, the two extra slots are only necessary in
rare cases, and needing SRU components instead of red meat to heal them is a
pretty even trade-off).

So, going by the text, the basic heavy combat package is all that's really
needed for a heavy 'borg.

Still, there's something to be said for the cool factor of massive cybernetics.
Making this practical in the game requires considerable alterations to the
rules, but doesn't break things too much. Here's my suggestions:

--Halve the cost of cyber limbs and torsos. This puts arms at $1500, legs at
$2000, torsos at $3000, and a full conversion (everything but the head) at
$10,000--reasonably affordable on a $50,000 heavy can budget. Prosthetics for
Harrowed are much cheaper because you don't have to worry about the extremely
delicate and complex work of splicing nerves, rerouting blood vessels,
minimizing rejection, and so forth; just make the DX-20 link, bolt it on, and
you're ready to go. Cyber skulls do NOT get cheaper (they stay at $3000) because
the brain, mouth, and sensory organs in the head have to be worked around in
much the same way that they do on a human patient.

--Halve the spirit loss for cyber extremities (from 2 to 1) if the deader also
has a cyber torso. Once you've learned to deal with your guts being replaced
with steel and polycarbon, changing your arms and legs to match doesn't feel
quite as strange. Any player planning to mount more than two cyber limbs would
do well to consider swapping the torso too, as they won't lose any more spirit
and (with four limbs) might actually get a little back. Again, this doesn't
apply to cyber skulls; they're freaky no matter what else you've got.

--Integral cyber systems mounted in cyber prosthetics incur no spirit loss.
Sticking boosted servomotors in an arm that's already metal doesn't make you any
less human than you were before. The only exception is cyber eyes, ears, etc. in
a cyber skull, since a skull implant normally leaves the sensory organs
unchanged. For systems that span multiple body locations but have a constant
spirit loss of 2 (dexterity and reflex boosters, hard points, and Samson),
reduce the spirit loss by 1 if the torso is replaced and by 1 if at least three
limbs are replaced. (Thus, a torso and 3+ limbs totally negates the spirit
loss.) In extreme cases, a 'borg with lots of boosters, endo-armor, and the like
may actually get a bit more spirit with a full conversion job than without. As
above, chalk this up to the incongruity of the situation; huge bundles of
foreign material rubbing together inside your flesh and bursting out of your
skin are more disturbing than smooth, clean steel.

--All cyber prosthetics (limbs, hands, heads, torsos, and eyes) cause no drain.
A fettered manitou can already keep a deader's otherwise-inanimate carcass
chugging along and still produce its full drain; replacing the meat with metal
doesn't require any more power and does relieve the demon of the need to keep
the rot away. Special features, like grip hands, high-speed legs, and night
vision eyes, draw the normal amount of drain while in use. Prosthetics are
drain-free only when they are being used at normal human levels, or with systems
like Samson that have separate drain costs.

I think these rules make cyber prosthetics practical for someone who wants a
massively cybered character for role-playing reasons. Besides looking cool, they
fit many people's ideas of what a combat cyborg should be and add to the
alienation and dehumanization that makes Harrowed of all sorts so much fun. With
the original rules, cyber prosthetics were much more of a penalty than a bonus;
with my changes, I think they're about even.

Let me know what you think.

--Robert Holland