Cyberbionics

From Star Frontiers Network

Revision as of 22:46, 6 April 2010

by Bill Logan

Implant Types

Infusing technology with biology is an intriguing field of study. Throughout the frontier there are research and development groups working on just that. How far they’ve come depends on how much cyberbionic technology the Referee wishes to include in his game. You must consult your Referee before selecting any of the augmentations found in this article.

Prosthetics

This is a replacement of a body part. In the frontier, prosthetic replacements have all the functionality – and weaknesses – of a normal part of the character’s body. Although technological, they are full replacements matched to the character’s physiology. For instance, a character that loses a hand might have a prosthetic hand implanted. Such replacements hardly constitute a “cybernetic” implant at all, but are included in the scope of this chapter. They are powered by the body’s own bioelectric field and are treated as the character’s own body parts once installed.

Bionics

These are technological implants or minimal bodily replacement technologies that are light enough to be powered off the body’s own bioelectric field. These are often passive technologies (that is, not all are wired into the brain and controlled internally). If they are connected to the brain, they are more complex bionic implants. A character can have as many bionic replacements or implants as desired, though common sense must prevail (only two ocular implants can be installed, for instance, because a character has only two eyes). Additionally, there are fatiguing effects of having large amounts of implants (see dangers of implants, below).

Cybernetics

These are potent implants or body part replacements. They have a power requirement and must be given power sources in order to function. A character who has one or more cybernetic augmentation is called a cyborg, and may have to be registered on some worlds. There is a limit to how many cybernetic implants a body can have (see dangers of implants, below).

Genetics ?

Although this article deals primarily with technological implants, there can also be surgical implants a character might be able to replace which are the result of splicing into the character’s own genetic structure. Gene-spliced implants are beyond the scope of this article and may warrant a separate article in the future.

Cyberbionic Surgery

The process of implanting a prosthetic is fairly routine and can be done by nearly any modern frontier hospital, even a medical bay on a starship. A bionic implant requires a specialized facility that not all worlds possess, and finding a place to perform the surgery can take time. Cybernetic implants take a lot of time and effort to plan, and only a few places in the frontier can do it.

Table Notes:

• The chance to locate a doctor willing to perform the surgery is rolled once on any given world. Modify this chance by +10% per trade route leading to/from the star system.
• The wait represents how long the character must wait before the doctor can perform the surgery (he’s busy or needs to order parts). This can be expedited by bribery or role-playing, of course.
• Each hour of surgery means a 1% chance of a surgical mishap resulting in a permanent loss of 1d5 STA points.
• Recovery shows how long the character will be hospitalized following the surgery unless the character is willing to lose 1 STA point per day he leaves early.

Implant Source

While it is possible players simply head to the nearest hospital and ask for an implant, the cost of many of the implants is quite high, and it is more likely that characters will receive their implants from a corporation or military research facility.

Free implants?

If the implants are provided as a type of payment, or the player’s characters are recipients of some research program built into the Referee’s story, then there should be no need for the cybernetic surgery table – the Referee just gives the players what they receive (and the costs may or may not be necessary, depending on circumstance).

Reputable hospitals

But most characters will have to pay for their implants. That means finding a hospital, waiting for and receiving the surgery, and recovering. Such activities are documented, and players should be aware that their character’s permanent legal records will list exactly what prosthetics, bionics, and cybernetics they received.

If your character chooses not to use the known cyberbionic hospitals, he must locate someone in the frontier willing to do the work. If the character is lucky, maybe some great role-playing, favor-owing, or bribes will encourage a doctor or facility not to report the new implant… but then again maybe even trying to request such illicit activity could land your character in jail. The listed costs of all implants assume the recipient is going to use a reputable hospital.

Cybernetics Chop Shops

Characters wishing to circumvent the reputable hospitals of the frontier can opt to get their implants on the black market. This can be dangerous, but it allows them to keep their implants a secret (in case possession of certain types is against the law).

Using a chop shop is just like using a reputable hospital - except it takes more time to locate (half the locate chance on the cybernetic surgery table), twice the surgery time (and therefore twice the chance of a mishap that costs the character 1d5 STA), and no hospitalized recovery allowed. Therefore, the “recovery (days)” column represents an automatic amount of STA lost by the patient after surgery.

Another Character

Although technically a robot-Arnold is everyone’s favorite cyborg. Free wallpaper downloads of the video game Terminator 3: The Redemption, by Atari. Image ©GameWalpapers.com.

Player’s characters generally lack the proper facilities to perform the complex types of operations required to implant technology in another character. Assuming the character does come across such a facility (a wellstocked hospital will do, but if the character is lucky he may find the materials necessary in a pharmacy or on the black market), he should be able to do the work with the following considerations.

Consider the cybernetic surgery table’s “locate” chance to be a medic character’s chance to locate the materials necessary to perform the operation on any given world. The cost of the implant will be half of what it would normally be, since the medic character will be the one doing the labor. Otherwise the “surgery” and “recovery” columns of that table are still quite valid. One notable exception is that recovery can be done while traveling in a vehicle or starship without requiring an actual hospital stay, since the character has his doctor with him at all times.

A medic character must possess a minimum amount of skill to perform the operation as per the minimum skill table below.

Danger of Implants

Although prosthetics have no particular issues, bionics and cybernetics do come with a price.

Bionics

Bionics are powered off the character’s own body. Although they drain the character only minimally, they require the character consume a bit more food and rest a little bit longer than he otherwise would have had to under identical circumstances.

If you have a number of bionic implants equal to or less than 10% of your character’s STA score, your character need only rest and eat regularly. Vrusks add +1 to this threshold (as their bodies seem more able to receive implants) while Dralasites subtract 1 from this threshold (their amorphous bodies have more trouble interfacing with implants). Although there is no real game effect, players should role play their character being hungry and tired a bit more than others.

If you exceed 10% of your character’s STA score in bionic implants, you must take vitasalt pills daily or else suffer fatigue that results in a -10 penalty to all actions. For every 5 bionic implants more than this, your character must take 1 vitasalt pill. Vitasalt pills are quite inexpensive, and are the bionic character’s best friend. Lacking these pills, your character might be able to get by with caffeine and sugar - but this can cause annoying headaches.

Bionic Damage Rule:

(Optional) Additionally, it is possible your character’s implants can become dislodged, damaged, or somehow malfunction when you take a great deal of bodily damage. Any time your character is reduced to 10 current STA or less, the player must make a d100 roll for each implant. On a result of 01-05, that piece of technology is no longer functional, and must be repaired (costing 1d10x100 Credits). The Referee will inform you if he is going to use this rule.

Cybernetics

Since cybernetic implants rely on power – the biggest danger you can endure is running out of the precious commodity. Depending on the nature of the implants, you may find that you are suddenly immobile or worse. An unpowered cybernetic component simply doesn’t function.

Additionally, a character has a maximum number of cybernetic implants his body can safely sustain equal to his LOG score divided by 10. For example, a character with 45 LOG can have 5 cybernetic implants without worries. This limit relates to how well the brain can manage interfacing with the implants, and how well the character can maintain his humanity (or whatever race he is) while having his bodily tissue slowly replaced by technology. Just like for bionic implants, Dralasites have a penalty of 1 applied to this threshold due to their amorphous nature and lack of a centralized, immobile brain and nervous system. Vrusk have physiologies that lend themselves to implantation and therefore have a bonus of 1 applied to this threshold.

However, each additional implant carries with it a chance of cyber rejection. Directly following a surgical procedure that results in more than this maximum number, the patient must make a LOG check. If he succeeds, his body accepts the new cybernetic implant and all is well. If he fails in this roll, the character’s mind rejects the implant and it must be removed. Once a character’s mind rejects one cybernetic implant, it will reject all further implant attempts for the rest of that character’s life.

Cybernetic Damage Rule:

(Optional) Whenever the character is hit with a critical hit by someone, the player must go through each of his cybernetic implants and roll d100. On a roll of 01-10, that piece of equipment was damaged and needs repaired (costing 1d10x1,000 Credits – if this is greater than the cost of the implant, then it is trashed and needs replaced). It still counts against the number of cybernetic implants your character has, but is not able to function. Depending on the nature of the implant, this may prevent the character from operating normally.

New Implants

Many of the implants in the implant table are derived from the normal equipment list. Undoubtedly, you and your Referee will create new cybernetic implants (or will find new equipment in future articles).

In such a case, creating an implantable version of any standard or optional piece of equipment might be possible. When doing this, the following simple rules apply:

• Implant type: if the equipment provides no new functionality and is merely a replacement for a damaged or defective body part, it will be a prosthetic implant. If the equipment is unpowered or powered by microbatteries, it will be a bionic implant. If the equipment requires power from either a parabattery or an EU device, it will be a cybernetic implant. Exception: if an implant would normally be only bionic, it may be elevated to cybernetic if it is extremely invasive or replaces a large amount of bodily tissue.
• Implant complexity: if the equipment has no external parts and requires no control by the brain, it is simple. If the equipment has external parts and requires no control by the brain, or if the equipment requires control by the brain but has no external parts, it is moderate. If the equipment requires control by the brain and has external parts, it is complex. Exception: if an implant would normally be simple or moderate but is extremely invasive, replacing a large amount of bodily tissue, then the Referee can decide that it is complex to justify the difficult surgical process and long recovery required after surgery.
• Implant base cost: a prosthetic item will have its own base cost. A bionic version of a conventional piece of equipment costs 10 times the cost of the normal item. A cybernetic version of a conventional piece of equipment costs 25 times the cost of the normal item.
• Implant complexity cost adjustment: a simple complexity item costs the base amount from above. A moderate complexity item costs one and a half times the cost of the bionic or cybernetic item. A complex item costs four times the cost of the bionic or cybernetic item.

Note: Since all cybernetic implants use EU as energy sources, some parabattery-powered equipment you convert to cybernetic implants might require some common-sense conversions.

Implant Descriptions

On the following three pages are tables of implants. They are summarized in the tables, but additional details can be found in the more verbose descriptions on the pages which follow them.

Bionic Implant Descriptions

As was noted previously, all bionic implants are powered from the character’s own body and require no power supplies. The descriptions are summarized in the tables on the previous pages, but those descriptions are expanded on in the sections below.

Anit-shock Implant

Type: bionic, simple cost: 2,000 CR

This is described in the normal equipment section of the Alpha Dawn game book and is only included in these lists because the item is, in fact, an implant. In settings where no cybernetics/bionics are used, this piece of equipment still exists. In settings where implants from these rules are permitted, an anti-shock implant counts as a bionic implant.

BioCom

Type: bionic, moderate cost: 2,000 CR

This is an implanted communications device similar to a chronocom in nearly all respects. Like a visocom (Star Frontiersman #1), it lacks certain features that a chronocom possesses. A biocom is implanted on the back of the hand and in the jaw. The recipient doubletaps the back of his hand to activate, and a keypad glows through his skin. He can enter the number desired and then he is hands-free, talking with his mouth and hearing discretely through his ear. He hangs up the conversation with a double-tap on the back of his hand. This piece of equipment should be available in most settings even if other cybernetic equipment is not.

Cyber-Claw

Type: bionic, complex cost: 8,000 CR This is an elaborate version of the cyber-talon (see below). Three similar blades retract from three slots on the back of the hand, between the four fingers. The commands to extract or retract are mental. The cyberclaw is very strong. The three blades are reinforced steel alloys whose rigidity is backed-up by reinforcements in the forearm. While extended, flexing the wrist is severely limited.

Use of the cyber-claw is governed by use of the melee weapons military skill. If the character possesses no skill in melee weapons, he uses half his STR or DEX score with no level adjustments.

Statistics for the cyber-claw are identical to those of a monoknife.

The blades are mono-filament. If a 10 is rolled on any of the damage dice during any attack, the damage the weapon causes thereafter is reduced by one. These penalties accumulate. So if a 10 is rolled five times, the damage will be 4d10-5 until the blades are replaced. The blades can be replaced with fresh blades for 800 CR. The implanted character can replace the blades himself.

Cyber-Talon

Augmentation can lead a species down a path of enlightenment... or can make a race into an abomination of what it once was. Image by Levi Dansam (see her other works at deviantart.net).

Type: bionic, complex cost: 2,000 CR

A single large bladed hook-like weapon retracts in and out of a hardened skin slot in the back of the hand. The implant has connections into the character’s brain, allowing a mental command to extract or retract the talon. This takes some practice, but after a short while the talon can be extracted as easily as moving a finger. The talon is made from a very durable substance. It can cut through many materials, including body armor.

Use of the cyber-talon is governed by the melee weapons military skill. If the character has no levels in that skill, he uses the weapon unskilled.

Statistics for the cyber-talon:
skill: melee +5, damage: 2d10 (inertia).

The talon is mono-filament. If a 10 is rolled on either of the damage dice during any attack, the damage the weapon causes thereafter is reduced by one. These penalties accumulate. So if a 10 is rolled five times, the damage will be 2d10-5 until the talon is replaced. The talon can be replaced with a fresh one for 200 CR. The implanted character can replace the blades himself.

Dermal Chrome

Type: bionic, complex cost: 12,000 CR

The character’s skin is implanted with hundreds of synthglands which emit a chemical. This chemical solidifies into a shiny flexible substance on contact with oxygen. The result is a completely reflective body. Although oxygen is required to cause the chemical hardening reaction, it is not necessary to maintain the hardened state of the chemical.

The character receives a -10 penalty to all stealth checks, but takes only half damage from energy attacks like those from a laser pistol or rifle. Activating the dermal chrome takes one turn and is done via a mental command. Removing the dermal plating is done with a second command, and takes another full turn.

This is a full-body implant, including the face. It changes the nature of the character’s skin and therefore cannot be given to a character that already has harmonic subdermal gel implants or dermal infrared treatment.

The character can use these glands once per 24 hour period and the chrome effect will last all day. However, as the chrome absorbs damage you must keep track of it. When it has absorbed 25 points of damage, it is no longer able to protect the wearer and he must wait until the next day to re-manifest his chroming.

This is a defensive implant. Characters with dermal chrome receive no additional protection by wearing an albedo suit. If the character wears another type of protection over his dermal chrome, the topmost layer is the only layer which provides protection. For instance, if a character with dermal chrome wears a skeinsuit, he will receive the benefit of the skeinsuit and not his dermal chrome until the suit is depleted. Then his dermal chrome will protect him through the shredded skeinsuit.

DERMAL CLIMBING PADS Type: bionic, moderate cost: 3,000 CR This implant is specialized padding on hands, elbows, knees, and feet. The padding is in the form of synthetic follicles of special hairs which hook into surfaces. The hairs are very strong and short, and split (and re-split) giving an almost velcro-like effect. This implant allows a character (as long as he has enough STR to lift himself) to climb vertical or inverted surfaces without risk of falling. Nearly any surface can be climbed, with the exception of glass or chromed surfaces. Dermal climbing pads cannot be removed by any conventional means. The stiff padding grows through burn or scar tissue, and re-grows itself quickly if somehow cut. The pads are not visible to the naked eye, but can be felt if touched. Use of the dermal climbing pads requires any three of the following body parts to have contact with the surface being climbed: hands, elbows, knees, or feet. If fewer than three of those are body parts are making contact with the surface, a STR check is required to remain clinging. Despite the fact these implants are on the skin’s surface, they do not interfere with the ability to implant other dermal (or subdermal) implants. DERMAL INFRARED TREATMENT Type: bionic, moderate cost: 5,250 CR The character’s skin is infused with a special coating that masks his heat signature. This makes him invisible to infrared detection devices of all types. The more wounded the character, those wounds will show up on infrared detection systems. Therefore, the character must constantly be covering up his injuries if he wishes to maintain his invisibility to such technology. If a character is reduced to half his body point maximum, he only has a 50% chance to avoid detection from IR sensors (from robots, computers, vehicle or building security sensors, or characters with infrared goggles). If reduced to 10 current STA or less, he only has a 25% chance to avoid such detection. When the skin regenerates itself, the infrared treatment regrows. The dermal infrared treatment is so infused with the character’s skin that no other implant which covers the skin can be given to a character with this implant. This means no character with a dermal infrared treatment can also have dermal chrome or harmonic subdermal gel implants. EIDETIC IMPLANT Type: bionic, moderate cost: 575 CR This implant goes in the head, with small parts mounted behind the ear and along the skull. It is able to record what is seen by the eyes, giving all the benefits of a typical hand-held 2d video recorder, powered by the body’s own bio-electric field. It is an inexpensive implant but one favored by spies and journalists. The imagery recorded is not holographic. It is simple imaging, from one eye. The eye that does the recording is somewhat obvious because of the coloration (the iris is replaced by a light gray disk with automated aperture). The character is able to see through the eye as if it were his own. Basic audio is also recorded, drawn from the vibrations picked up from the character’s ear drums. The camera can take stills or motion video, and records it onto a limited but spacious memory disk loaded into a small slot behind the character’s ear. The disk can be removed and placed in nearly all standard computers in the frontier and the images and videos transferred. FLAMEFINGER Type: bionic, moderate cost: 750 CR This is a classic fire starting implant, spewing a flame from the pointer finger of one hand. The chemical fuel for the flamefinger fits into an internal synthetic glandsack reservoir in the inner forearm and lasts for 20 or more years. This implant works identically to the everflame found in the Alpha Dawn game book. The flamefinger can be activated by a mental command, but also requires a flicking motion from the finger. This helps ensure the character doesn’t accidentally start fires during dreams or similar. The finger can be used to burn through ropes or zipties used to bind his hand – and few sensors can detect the presence of the implant. Although not designed to use as a weapon, creative characters will find a way to make this implant dangerous. The reservoir is located deeply in the forearm and will not rupture from most normal injuries. FOOT ANCHORS Type: bionic, complex cost: 800 CR The character’s shins have retracted spikes. Upon mental command, the spikes shoot downward, digging into most surfaces (for instance, solid earth, concrete, stone), anchoring the character in place. Regardless of combat results, the character is anchored in place and cannot be knocked down or backwards. The foot anchors can be retracted or extended at will and do not count as an action. GILL IMPLANTS Type: bionic, moderate cost: 10,000 CR Characters with gill implants can breathe underwater. The location of the gills varies. Some characters implant them on the sides of their torsos, while others prefer them on their necks or cheeks. Regardless of the location, characters will be able to breathe under