Cyberware and Bioware

[Renaissance Man]

Not to cyber-punk the Traveller universe, but does anyone know of any rules for synthetic augmentation, "implants" and the like?

We know there is "geneering" int the TU, but what exactly does that entail, in game terms? What about tailor-made symbiotic organisms that boost physical, mental or social performance? Are anagathics a form of augmentation?

 

[far-trader]

Yep, there's implants rules in T20 and TNE (FF&S 1st ed) as I recall. GT too I think.

Geneering is as I recall along the lines of extreme environmental adaptations. Usually not very extreme, stuff like adaptation to thin atmo or low hydro for example. Rarely stuff like aquatic adaptation (gills, special skin, and such) so that humans can interface in an underwater environment without tech.

Anagathics are I think simple life extension. In modern parlance I think they'd be telomere stretching/growth/preservation procedures. Age extension and health, not improvement or regeneration.

 

[robject]

Biologics in Traveller5 cover a lot of ground.

Clones. There are rules for generating offspring clones, clones intended to replace dead individuals, clones produced to provide cheap labor, and clones produced to provide medical parts. Yes, some of the moral implications should bother you.

Chimeras. There are rules discussing how to create a hybrid of two species, naturally from interspecies fertility, or geneered.

Semi-Organics. There are rules for organic-based or biologically-based artificial beings, created or manufactured according to a master template or blueprint. Technically "semi-organic" means 21% to 60% biological parts. You can have semi-organic clones and chimeras, of course.

There are rules for building three types of semi-organics: imitation animals, organic devices, and sophontoids (either batch or premium -- think Blade Runner, perhaps).

A person is still considered fully organic if he has less than 40% non-organic components.

Robots. There are rules for building intelligent robots, playable as a PC. Robots may have electronic, organic or semi-organic brains. Robots remain "robotic" with up to 20% organic components.

By the way, organic and semi-organic brains are rated by Intelligence, but also on a computational scale along with electronic computers, and any mix of the three may be installed on starships. So your starship can, theoretically, through a mixup at the factory, have a cloned human brain installed. Creepy...

 

[Renaissance Man]

Golly!

Now I'm REALLY getting hungry for my T5 cd!

 

[robject]

Golly!

Now I'm REALLY getting hungry for my T5 cd!

Ha! Well, what I haven't seen is how one might go about replacing a body part with a cybernetic implant. I haven't been shown that page / those pages. I don't know if they exist. But, it seems as though they should exist, wouldn't you agree? And yet - not seen it.

On the other hand, the above discusses creating organic devices. And, there are rules that handle, for example, the senses, in a concrete way. So, therefore, one should be able to geneer eyeballs that see in a different spectrum than ours, or see better than ours. And an add-on organ which senses life, or electromagnetic fields.

Specifically, though, I've not seen the text on replacing your arm with a mechanical one.

On the other hand, I've seen the robot creation rules, which are tailored to work as if you're building a character. So, I don't see why you can't take a human (for example) and plunk in an electronic brain (plus a power supply). It also has a subset of organic devices for the senses, with a price list, so I'd probably use that when replacing senses. And there's various limbs to choose from, and manipulators.

So I think the robot creation rules will suffice for cybernetics. One caveat, though: if you want a cybernetic arm capable of superhuman strength, you'll probably have to have your entire skeleton yanked out and replaced with something stronger. And that might be beyond Imperial science, although there is a price list in there about robot skeletons.

...by the way, robots can have neat add-ons, like high-pressure or vacuum sealing, and brain insulation for very hot or cold environments. I suspect normal bodies aren't equipped to support that. Although, maybe you could talk your referee into replacing your PC's legs with lifter plates...

 

[robject]

One final, cyberpunk-like twist for you.

People and robots can have wafer jacks installed (you'll see those mentioned on Mongoose Traveller as well). This allows temporary skills, as well as a neural interface into computers and networks.

Additionally, a computer may be treated as a network of computing elements, connected in whatever fashion the computer specialist wants. A byzantine starship network could therefore offer layers of security -- or, alternately, lots of nooks to hide in.

 

[Renaissance Man]

Definitely a lot to play around with - and all of it, to the best of my knowledge sounds brand spanking new.

And it definitely takes the atmosphere of Traveller in a different direction. The Robots IYTU thread will have a lot more to chew on. Heck - I'm sure the T5 section will be balooning with questions and comments (and complaints.) Should be an interesting few months.

 

[robject]

Definitely a lot to play around with - and all of it, to the best of my knowledge sounds brand spanking new.

And it definitely takes the atmosphere of Traveller in a different direction. The Robots IYTU thread will have a lot more to chew on. Heck - I'm sure the T5 section will be balooning with questions and comments (and complaints.) Should be an interesting few months.

You said it.

Man, you think robots takes Traveller in a different direction... you haven't seen the Sophont rules. You can create sophonts (aliens) whose attributes have playable differences. But they still plug right into standard chargen. And robot creation: if you have a sophont defined, you can create a robotic version of it. Or create a chimera of it and a human, or another sophont. The tools are independent, but their outputs all mesh together in the character.

So Marc's vision, while not destroying the OTU, certainly shifts our perception of it. The Imperium is human-dominated, but it's cosmopolitan. Only the major races can be found more than a few parsecs from their homeworld, but the "alien density" of the Spinward Marches is what Marc is aiming for, for the rest of known space: about ten sophont homeworlds per sector, no natively-developed jump drive, some races extinct, some "refugee" or colony worlds, but some bona fide homeworlds... and those are worlds with large populations. For example, if a world with nine billion people has a native population, they'll probably represent 50% of that number. Mind boggling. (Note that Marc sidesteps the "Mos Eisley Effect" by keeping all but the major races very close to their homeworlds).

From what I've seen, Marc lays out the rules the way he wants them, then worries about peripheral matters (price) later. Imagine my panic when I see that all the prices are initially very very wrong... but I can't help but look very carefully at the price schemes when the 'final' playtest files are produced, thinking that a lot of technical errors will crop up there.

 

[Icosahedron]

One caveat, though: if you want a cybernetic arm capable of superhuman strength, you'll probably have to have your entire skeleton yanked out and replaced with something stronger. And that might be beyond Imperial science, although there is a price list in there about robot skeletons.

This is true, but as a caveat to your caveat: considering that both the 'before' and 'after' shots in the bodybuilding ads use the same skeleton, I reckon you ought to be able to to increase your physical stats considerably by bio or cyber additions - theoretically up to CCC; the human skeleton can obviously support this - for some people it does! Perhaps even increases to FFF may be possible with some skeletal strengthening. The skeleton has its limits, of course (FFF at best, I'd say) but it's a surprisingly resilient structure, and stats like that, although not 'superhuman', would give quite a game edge...

You'd need to discuss carefully with your GM about which parts were replaced and which activities would be limited by connection to unenhanced components. What could you do if you excercised only one arm, for example?

As a GM, I might be tempted to allow this sort of thing. Let me see, Personal Skeletal Limit set at 1D6 +9, but rolled in secret so the character doesn't find out he's added too much enhancement until he breaks his spine mid-scenario... :devil:

I've taken a sudden interest in T5 though...

 

[robject]

This is true, but as a caveat to your caveat: considering that both the 'before' and 'after' shots in the bodybuilding ads use the same skeleton, I reckon you ought to be able to to increase your physical stats considerably by bio or cyber additions - theoretically up to CCC; the human skeleton can obviously support this - for some people it does! Perhaps even increases to FFF may be possible with some skeletal strengthening.

Ah, my mistake, you're right. The 'medium' skeleton handles 2D characteristics. So yes, you could get at least up to CCC before needing a new skeleton.

That gives the potential cyber-shopper a decision to make. Play it safe and go for twelves? Or take the plunge and go for eighteens?

 

[casquilho]

One of the issues I had with the whole Cyber/Bio issue was I did not want my Traveller game to become another cyberpunk min/max exercise. More then once I had players want to have cyberware. In some cases they would bring me pictures from various other games etc.

One of the things I tried to do was limit the “obvious” Cyberware. The fact that people could see the chrome seemed to change how the game felt. Further, I tried to limit the overall impact most of the stuff had. Once the players accepted most cyber as just mechanical prosthetics and did not see it as a way to Min/Max I would leek out some of the fun stuff.

Just one point of view to think about.

Daniel

 

[Renaissance Man]

Agreed. Cyberware, etc. has to be really well thought out unless you want it to become a chrome-fest. And that really militates against the feel I want for my Traveller campaign.

Nevertheless, one has to wonder how one could achieve TL 12-15 without some forms of synthetic augmentation. I'm interested very carefully controlling the manner in which it appears in the game, but it would stretch the credulity of my players to say it simply doesn't exist.

My feeling is that at the highter TLs in the TU, it's less about obvious cyberware and more about nanotech augmentations, geneering, symbiotic organisms, "hard brains" and such. A big mechanical arm is like... so... retro.

 

[casquilho]

Nevertheless, one has to wonder how one could achieve TL 12-15 without some forms of synthetic augmentation. I'm interested very carefully controlling the manner in which it appears in the game, but it would stretch the credulity of my players to say it simply doesn't exist.

I agree, I do not want to say it does not exist, I just do not want a boat full of DDD's because they all have hyped themselves out on "ware" of any kind.

To be fair to many of th eplayers I have had, once I say how I want the feel of the game most will self regulate. But I still want to keep in under control.

As for the whole retro-chrome arm thing, Asometimes retro can be fun.

Daniel

 

[far-trader]

You could always make the cyber ware (the body stuff anyway) heavier and bulkier than the standard human form.

So what?

So the PC with the enhanced DDD physique has to buy custom fitted clothes and armor, at 5 or 10 times the regular cost.

Every time they get in an elevator the bell goes off and the over occupancy light comes on.

The air-raft they jump in for the get away screams loudly in protest, manages to barely clear the ground and after a few minutes burns a circuit and skids along the ground, slowly.

When they are out of action in a firefight, wounded and dying no one can lift them to get to the wound for treatment or carry them out on a stretcher.

You know, just be (evil) creative with the downsides to explain why there aren't armies of like DDD dudes everywhere. Or...

...there are armies of like DDD dudes everywhere and they want to see what you've got, and they have FFF big brothers :devil:

 

[Icosahedron]

I allow cyber and bioware. I agree it would be hard to avoid it in a high tech environment.

But I limit it with cost, illegality, public abhorrence, and the difficulty of finding a reliable black-market surgeon. Anyone wanting the stuff doesn't get it at CharGen, they have to earn it and find it, spend weeks or months in hospital without income, suffer more months of recuperation with injured stats and suffer the potential risks of tissue rejection, necrotic infections, dodgy surgery and built-in obsolescence, not to mention maintenance costs and associated down-time. Then, if anyone finds out, they'll be ostracised (at least). Public opinion IMTU places physical 'supermen' equivalent to psionic supermen.
I find it's enough to make munchkins think twice. :devil:

 

[Perseus]

I am more and more interested to see the T5 material now. I think to a certain extent you can allow players to be somewhat self regulating. I think my take would be making it an adventure to get the stuff in the first place. Perhaps you can only get cyberware if you have been injured in the line of duty. ie. civilian "augumentation" has to be turned down to normal values (and requires power and maintenance) only those in the military or on mil/imp business can have their cyber/bio materials "tuned up" for the duration.

What happens when you came across crims who have illegally tuned up their stuff as well? Just when you thought you had an edge? do you pick up d6 wounding from using it longer than 3 combat rounds? (fatigue etc)

Lots of potential there.

 

[robject]

I am more and more interested to see the T5 material now. I think to a certain extent you can allow players to be somewhat self regulating. I think my take would be making it an adventure to get the stuff in the first place. Perhaps you can only get cyberware if you have been injured in the line of duty. ie. civilian "augumentation" has to be turned down to normal values (and requires power and maintenance) only those in the military or on mil/imp business can have their cyber/bio materials "tuned up" for the duration.

What happens when you came across crims who have illegally tuned up their stuff as well? Just when you thought you had an edge? do you pick up d6 wounding from using it longer than 3 combat rounds? (fatigue etc)

Lots of potential there.

Opening up cyberware, robotics, and geneering creates hard decisions for the players. There are legal ramifications for people who are more machine than organic. There are medical mixups and mishaps. And there are moral dilemmas. So seasoned players of conscience can be riddled with decisions.

For the younger folks and less inhibited, I guess it can be an opportunity to be the MCr6 Bionic Man.

And for me, it doesn't change the game much at all, because my players will use it only sparingly, and I'll not pit them against Sauron Supermen. ...Well, not often, anyway (Death Station, anyone?)

 

[Renaissance Man]

If you have a player with CCC stats, or even a C for Int or Edu, you could rule that they get a little synthetic augmentation if they roll a stat bonus during their career that drives them over the top.

I could see many characters having an optic nerve implant so they can display information, maps, etc. Low level synthetic augs might be available as mustering out benefits...

The limiting factor should be as noted: Cost, cost, cost. (It should be hideously expensive), and culturally, morally and socially challenging. And I think their should be an obvious penalty on PSI. I just can't handle psionic cyborgs. That's too much.

Bad RPG'ers and min/maxers need not apply.

 

[atpollard]

The biggest problem with a TL 15 Starship in HG is the need for a TL 15 Port to maintain and Repair it.

Maintainence could limit cybernetics too. One of the group does have a TL 15 workshop and Mech-3, Elec-3 and Med-3 (qualifying him to install, repair and service Human Cybernetics) don't they? Then it sure is tough that they need minor servicing every 3-4 months by the Tech described above. It really sucks when that "super arm" stops moving because you ignored the routine maintainence.

 

[Renaissance Man]

Maintenance is less of an issue with certain forms of augmentation. I don't see much call for crude-looking cyborg style augmentations; maybe some worlds have purpose-built robots and and man-machine mixes. But there's a whole grey area of synthetic organic-related augmentations that would be useful, and in some societies, common. They would work off of ATP, just like anything else.

The "cyborg" notion is really a sci-fi principle that reflects a certain time and place. In Mary Shelley's time, the "cyborg" was made of dead human tissue animated by lightning, because the technological advances of the time were in the life sciences, chemistry and electricity. Later, machine technology, materials science and automation captured sci-fi writer's imaginations. Computers too. Lord knows, I marvel at how much I have already become a "cybernetic" organism every time I google something in lieu of recalling it myself.

But we are moving into an era of science where the shape of the imagined cyborg will be far more biological in nature, now that genetics and life sciences are taking centre stage again. There's no reason for a super-strong arm to look like a big hulking robotic thing. The muscle fibers in you arm are surprisingly energy efficient, resilient and most of all able to grow back. That is the technology that will dominate the world of augmentation in MTU. It will be a little more subtle, but no less strange. It will raise some familiar questions, and also some new ones.