Use of BioTech in game

[manley_t]

I'm starting a new thread due to the mechanical nature of this post.

But, having Traveller in the D20 format got me thinking of all the ability modifing spells and magic items and....hey, whaddya know, biotech can do the same thing.

So, say you want Darkvision (alal D&D3E) then, just go under the knife to have your eyes replaced and, BAM, darkvision.

Need that +1 strength? Go under the knife for some bio-cybernetic enhancements and there ya go.

Interestingly enough this was prompted by a joke at my last T20 session around wanting to find gauntlets of Ogre Power on the deserted starship....and, it got me thinking....

The 'control' over magic items in D&D3E is that xp are paid to create them or 'monsters' must be defeated to get them.

But, in Traveller, all you'd need is enough Credits in order to buy them.

Here are some quick rules of thumb I've jotted down if such an occassion should arise in my games:

create enhancement as per normal D&D3E craft rules. Cost in gold (per PHB) is x10 in Credits.

Maximum bonus is 1.5 times without full surgical replacement. (i.e. a +2 bonus can only be raised to +3 before total limb/s replacement is needed)

Surgical replacement is possible, but then limb/s are fully replaced and obviously *not* biologic.

 

[Merchant Reaper]

Yeah, but biotech isn't just replacing limbs like the bionic man. It is genetic alteration/enhancement as well as implants and complete replacement of body parts. Replacement of body parts is more of a cybernetic science than Biotech. Strongly similiar, but still different.

I have played several game systems that had biotech as well as cybernetics (shadowrun and Synnibar) and there were distinct differences. To become seriously "super" you needed to go the cybernetic route. To be a couple of notches above the rest Biotech is more than enough. One reason I see that cybernetics hasn't become all that popular is because of vac and BD suits. They give you a lot of the enhancements Cyberware would without the invasive and very painful surgeries. Of course with advances in medicine the pain may be a non-issue.

Cyberware would primarily be used for someone who's body was largely destroyed by lava and Biotech was unable to clone him new body parts.

This is my general thinking on the issues, anyway.

 

[Jame]

Merchant Reaper has a point there. Come to think of it, biotech might be somewhat cheaper than cyberware, although equipment might be cheaper still, though it depends on what you want done.

 

[Merchant Reaper]

I was reading through my traveler digests, and there was a good bit of bio stuff in there. Mostly about cloning and regenerating nerves and body parts, and prosthetics that could be suped up to be bioware/cyber enhancements, but weren't in the articles.

Groundwork was definitely laid for such a direction, though.

 

[Orionruse]

One of my favorite games was Cyberpunk... the cybernetics system was a great departure from D&D 2nd. Traveller does not rely upon cybernetics-- or psionics, for that matter-- to be a good game. It is a great game because of diverse character choices and plot devices.

Why would it matter if you were a superhuman juggernaut, when there are personal weapons that can vaporize you? The only time it would matter would be if you are unarmed in a really dark alley, and you run into such a juggernaut.

In the end though, it is your game... do with it what you will. If you want to modify stats from now until doomsday, go ahead. Just remember that in Traveller, there are no gods or demons to challenge such characters-- only other highly modified NPC's. If I wanted to number crunh, I'd play a wargame instead.

 

[justacaveman]

If you want to control abuse, make the users of Cyberware/Bioware use feats and pay experience points to get the stuff.

Also limit how much of an abilty increase you can get from the stuff (say 2-3 points), be realistic. After all if that arm is super strong, all you'll probably do is rip it out of it's socket. And, there really wouldn't be much room in an arm for built-in weapons (keep 'em small).

 

[TKalbfus]

Some RPGs aren't very realistic in the first place, but lets see what could be done in Traveller. Traveller has grav belts for instance. It shouldn't be too much a a stretch to have a grav module from a grav belt implanted in someone's body, so he can put on a cape and an 'S' on his shirt and fly around like Superman. The power of flight is not much of an advantage in Traveller though. The Cyborg would have to somehow refuel his grav module at regular intervals so he can keep on flying, and this doesn't give him other superpowers such as invulnerability to weapon's fire. X-ray vision would be hard to do, he would need artificial eyes and some power source to generate the high energy x-rays where ever he looked, he would also set off radiation detectors at every starport. To be superstrong and have some protection from weapons fire, he would need a robot body, so he'd have to transplant his brain into the body of a robot that also had X-ray vision and built in grav modules so he can fly around with a cape and an 'S' on his chest. A fusion gun can probably do him in though.

 

[Merchant Reaper]

Cybernetics would be useful on high law worlds, assuming they couldn't detect what your cyberware allows you to do, or better yet, that you have it to begin with.

That is where Biotech would come in handiest, that stuff can be much harder to detect. Having the correct technology would be a must in order to tell someone has it. You can get away with a lot of things on a high law world if they don't know how you did it, or that you were even involved.

 

[TKalbfus]

I can just picture it, you step out through the gates of the Starport and alarms go off. A security official steps up to you and says, "Lets have it," "What!" you say. "Your artificial heart! Strictly illegal!" replies the official as he pulls out a nasty looking dagger.

 

[millican]

The general gist of what I am reading is that we all agree that whatever traits we want to enhance can be done technically, but how do you game it? This is where I want to fire off some thoughts.

I think that effective regulation via Tech-Level (TL) / Law Level (LL) would let a GM control this. Similar to what Tom Kalfbus alluded to above. High-TL / High-LL worlds would have definite limits on what you could and could not modify. I would opine that genetic / bio-tech modifications made / attempted below a certain TL might invoke quarantine by higher TL worlds that know certain genetic / bio-tech process create virulent and communicable side effects. High-TL prohibited modifications open one up to a lawless or at least outside the law arena. Would you be willing to go under the knife for a prohibited modification in a medical system outside the law? Maybe your organs would fetch more on the open market than the modifications you are buying?

 

[justacaveman]

Don't forget that no matter what the laws say, governments will break the rules and do what they deem necessary.

The above being true, special government agents will be equipped with whatever technology is reasonably possible.

 

[rancke]

Originally posted by Tom Kalbfus:
I can just picture it, you step out through the gates of the Starport and alarms go off. A security official steps up to you and says, "Lets have it," "What!" you say. "Your artificial heart! Strictly illegal!" replies the official as he pulls out a nasty looking dagger.

I think the treaty each world signs when joining the Imperium would have some sort of provision to prevent that sort of thing. And if it didn't, the starport would be plastered with signs warning the travelers about the more lethal local laws.


Hans