Re: [HOE] Question about Browser Shells

["Scott Pedersen" <spederse@hotmail.com>]

> The section about Browser Shells doesn't give a lot of details about how
to
> do it.  It just says, "A junker can choose to build one of his browser
> spirits into a device..."

As you say, there isn't a whole bunch of details, so this is mostly my
opinion.

> Q1:  Does the Browser get built into a pre-existing device, or do you have
> to decide on using the Browser prior to building the device?  I'm assuming
> that you have to decide prior to building.

You have to decide prior to rolling to install the power in the device.

> Q2:  Does failing the construction roll (or going bust) have any effect on
> your Browser?

I would say no.  Browsers are very hard to come by, and enough bad stuff
happens when rolling a bust.  Of course that all depends on how uppity your
junker has been lately.  Having the browser vanish for a while to recuperate
after a bust wouldn't be unreasonable.

> Q3:  Does the Browser have to be installed with the first power, or can it
> be added at the same time as an additional power?

I would say it can be installed with any power, as long as the power is
appropriate.  You could, for example, build a gun spirit into your car when
you add some weapons to it.  The spirit's abilities only work with the parts
of the device that use appropriate powers, in this case the gun, but not the
rest of the car.

> Q4:  Does the Browser Shell suffer from instability?

Yes.  Also, at least one of the instability table rolls says the tech spirit
in the device dies, which would apply to the browser.  If a device is
destroyed due to instability, or just damage, I would say the browser would,
at best, vanish for a few weeks to recuperate.

> Q5:  Can you move the Browser from one Shell to another?

Not freely, no.  However, I would let a junker dismantle the device, free
the spirit, and then build a new device to house the spirit.  I would frown
on any junker that did this very often.

> Q6:  Can the energy provided by the Browser be stored (in a powerpack or
> battery), or does it have to be used immediately?

No, it can not be stored.  Browser spirits don't so much provide energy, as
they allow associated junker powers to operate more efficiently with less
drain.

> Q7:  The rules about Stability seem to imply that each Junker device has
> only 1 Tech Spirit inside, but the description of Tech Spirits (under
> "Browser Spirits") says that each type of tech spirit has associated
powers.
> That implies that there might be more than one Tech Spirit in a device, or
> that the one Tech Spirit in there might be pretty versatile.
Additionally,
> under "Energy Supplies", it mentions that an over-sized Tech Spirit can
> supply energy, but does not give any restrictions as to what powers this
can
> be used for, implying versatility.  If that's the case, then shouldn't a
> Browsers be able to supply energy to any power in its Shell?

The exact arcane theory as to how tech spirits and devices work is not
explained.  It is implied that building a device is partly finding the right
tech spirit(s), and partly doing the appropriate ritual to get what you
want.  The situation is further muddled by playability issues.  Junkers are
complex as it is, and tracking all the individual tech spirits and powers
could easily get to be too complicated.  There may be one tech spirit, there
may be many, it doesn't really matter since the rules operate on the level
of the whole device.  In my opinion, if you want to follow the techno-shaman
route to it's logical conclusion, each device could have hundreds of
spirits.  There's the spirit of the car, but there's also the spirit of the
tire, and of the radio, and of the roof-mounted mini-gun, etc., etc.  But I
digress.

The spirits are definitely versatile to some degree since they are being put
into devices that are different from their original bodies, unless you're
building exact replicas of Honda Civics or something.  This is part of the
reason why every device has some instability.  The oversized spirit rule
allows you to trade stability for drain.  You're getting drain because you
are using a bigger, and more versatile spirit or set of spirits than you
normally would.  However your stability suffers because the spirits don't
fit as well as they might since they are doing things outside their area of
expertise.

Browser spirits are very powerful tech spirits that are so good at what they
do they can provide some power for devices in their specialty for free,
without any sort of stability cost.  This drain comes from the tech spirit's
mastery of its specialty areas, and thus can't be used for other powers with
which it is less familiar.  I would allow you have a browser spirit provide
drain for the rest of the device, but it would work in the same stability
for drain trade-off as other devices, and any drain provided would be
separate from the drain a browser spirit provides in normal circumstances.
Also, since the process is not all that fun for the spirit involved, the
browser may not be willing to go along with such a plan.

-Scott Pedersen