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Dumpshock Forums _ Shadowrun _ Novel Cyber & Bio uses

Posted by: Zeel De Mort Jan 20 2004, 11:14 PM

Has anyone thought of any slightly imaginative or unusual uses for cyberware and bioware, or combinations thereof? I don't mind if they're slightly dubious rules-wise!

Examples might include Expanded Volume helping with Adrenal Gland drain, a Chemical Gland that produces anticoagulants, Gas Spectrometer hooked up to Auto-injectors with antidotes in them, etc.

As I said, they don't have to be totally watertight rules-wise, just interesting or useful combos.

Posted by: Teulisch Jan 21 2004, 12:10 AM

Shock hand and cyberskull. Let them learn the hard way never to pat a dwarf's head!

Cyberears with spatial recognizer, high frequency, select sound filter, hearing amp, and dampner. thats -3 TN, as if 10 times closer. If anyone has ultrasound vison, you know- and can target the source of the noise. Putting a high-freqency emmitter on something nicely allows to locate it. with two freqencies to indicate front and back of an item, and a white noise generator in the same high frequency (except those you want to track), you have a nice setup for finding things not in line of sight. nice if you want to avoid friendly fire through thin walls.

Gas spectrometer could be use to help in tracking- if someone uses a specfic kind of colonge or even shampoo- or for weapons detection (smell of gunpowder/explosives). Smell peoples hands and find out what they were doing.

'Replacement' partial cyberlimbs. Sure, the synth version cant hold much else. But the obious version you just replaced it with can be pretty wiz. Why not have a detachable leg with a gun? remove leg, and activate smartlink to use. sure, you hop around a bit, but nobody looks for a leg gun. keep a spare peg leg jeust in case. (and one with shock hand would make some nasty kicks- or double as a stun baton).

Posted by: Zazen Jan 21 2004, 12:39 AM

I like the notion of a dwarf with a telescoping cyberleg so he can reach the pedals on non-dwarfified cars

Posted by: The Jopp Jan 21 2004, 03:03 PM

QUOTE (Teulisch)

Yup, I gave my latest sammie (whom I might play in the near future of 2+ years) a chemical gland with anticouagulants for the Platelet factory so that I could avoid possible cardiac arrest.

Posted by: Tziluthi Jan 21 2004, 04:14 PM

Of course, if the chemical gland was to spring a leak into the bloodstream, well, can anyone say "rat poison."

Posted by: spotlite Jan 21 2004, 05:46 PM

QUOTE (Teulisch)

Cyberears with spatial recognizer, high frequency, select sound filter, hearing amp, and dampner. thats -3 TN, as if 10 times closer. If anyone has ultrasound vison, you know- and can target the source of the noise.

You know, I can't think why, but that's never actually occurred to me, or any of my group, ever. High frequency hearing allows you to detect ultrasound fields. Of COURSE it does. God I feel so STUPID. The number of times my players have blundered into these things and set off alarms is really silly, and none of them have piped up and said 'actually I have high freq hearing, I should've heard that!'

I'm going to have to tell them. Damn.

Posted by: Teulisch Jan 21 2004, 11:30 PM

Technicaly, ultrasound vison should be able to use a Recorder (ear) in order to record 'video'.

Ultrasound vison is pretty sweet. you can get a +1 TN versus invisble or total darkness, and drop that to no penalty if you have a map for the orientation system. and you can create you own maps, with a lil headware mem.

And then theres that cyberwear that masks your voice, including changing to high or low frequency. so i wonder what high freqency speech 'looks' like. ultrasound vision, and speakers playing your favorite music in the visible range.

Posted by: crazyivans Jan 22 2004, 06:09 AM

Here is a couple: Magnetic Field Generators (cyber), and Subdermal Mucous Glands (bio). The electromagnets are inplanted in cyberlimbs, and can be activated with a free action. The uses are endless. Most notably, they can be used to augment Strength tests when gripping metal, for climbing metal structures, for disrupting electronics, and for drawing weapons off opponents from a distance. The Mucous Glands are used as a sort of protective coting on the skin. When activated, they secrete large amounts of mucous onto the skin, effectively insulating the body from Electricity, Heat, and just plain making you slippery when grappling. Also, stops that Drunk Barfly from hitting on you, guaranteed...

Posted by: Panzergeist Jan 23 2004, 03:14 AM

Dwarf with human-sized cyberlegs. Fingertip compartment with injection needle plus chemical gland to keep it full. Internal air tank with tracheal vent filled withpure oxygen plus a loooong lighter plus a whole lot of fire retardant. Oral mini-rocket launcher. A tiny hand razor implanted in the rectum, for when your character inevitably goes to prison.

Posted by: Centurion Jan 23 2004, 03:46 AM

External DNI'ed cyberweapons. Specifically, I'm thinking of a datajack/smartlink induction pad near your ankle and a modified boot with a retractable blade or a hold out pistol in the heel (makes more sense than putting it in your eye or mouth)

A guncam on boot linked to an image link/smartlink in your eye that lets you point the tip straight up and put a flechette round into a very uh...not nice place could be one heck of "Plan Z" backup plan.

Posted by: TheScamp Jan 23 2004, 03:08 PM

QUOTE

And then theres that cyberwear that masks your voice, including changing to high or low frequency.

Which has multiple communications uses, as well as screwing with ultrasonic vision. You might even be able to hook it up to some sort of analyzer which will send an ultrasonic 'null' back to motion detectors.

Posted by: toturi Jan 23 2004, 03:27 PM

Inhalation vector poison(SURGE) and tailored pheromones = poisonous scent.

Posted by: Siege Jan 23 2004, 03:29 PM

QUOTE (toturi)

Inhalation vector poison(SURGE) and tailored pheromones = poisonous scent.

That's just...wrong.

Actually, you can get custom bioware sacks of venom which could be engineered for aerosol vectors...

-Siege

Posted by: sable twilight Jan 23 2004, 03:50 PM

QUOTE (Panzergeist)

A tiny hand razor implanted in the rectum, for when your character inevitably goes to prison.

Why not kerosene? It is what fire eaters use and is much safer then pure oxygene.

Posted by: Rattler Jan 24 2004, 02:49 AM

QUOTE

Ultrasound vison is pretty sweet. you can get a +1 TN versus invisble or total darkness

How does that work? AFAIK, all spatial recognizer and high freq. hearing does is help you pinpoint ultrasonic pulses emitted by others. How would they amplify the sensitivity of your own ultrasound receiver component?

Posted by: toturi Jan 24 2004, 04:02 AM

QUOTE (Siege @ Jan 23 2004, 11:29 PM)

QUOTE (toturi @ Jan 23 2004, 03:27 PM)

Inhalation vector poison(SURGE) and tailored pheromones = poisonous scent.

That's just...wrong.

Actually, you can get custom bioware sacks of venom which could be engineered for aerosol vectors...

-Siege

Ahhh, but this way you can ask...

"If you smmeeeell... what the GM is cooking!"

Gives a new meaning to the meaning to the phrase "bitter sweet aroma of death"

Wolverine, eat your nose off!

Posted by: Panzergeist Jan 24 2004, 08:33 AM

Chloroplast skin and a chemical gland to convert your body's CO2 back into oxygen. Don't know how feasible that would be though.

A fake cybereye that can be popped out and is actually a small grenade.

A character who is actually nothing more than a brain in a life-support jar. Can do nothing but rig and deck, and can be carried around by other players, or have the jar fitted with little tracks. It's the R2-D2 of Shadowrun!

Expanded digestion and chemical gland that produces C-4. You would literally eat bricks and shit explosives!

Posted by: nezumi Jan 24 2004, 02:09 PM

Once again, I so love CP for some of those ideas... They actually have a 'brain in a jar' cyber implant. It's built so you can be installed in different cyborg bodies.

Posted by: Siege Jan 24 2004, 03:32 PM

QUOTE (Rattler)

QUOTE

Ultrasound vison is pretty sweet. you can get a +1 TN versus invisble or total darkness

The Amplified Hearing upgrade!

-Siege

Posted by: Teulisch Jan 24 2004, 04:17 PM

Well, Ultrasound is +4 (same as total darkness) to 'see' with ultrasound alone. Spatial Recognizer (which gets bonuses from high frequency and orientation system with map) gives a modifier to "tests based primarily on sound location". Ultrasound IS sound location. So you basicly get +1 in total dark, and no penalty otherwise. the only thing that can really give a penalty to ultrasound is white noise and sound-effecting magic. and select sound filter helps defeat white noise.

I just wonder if the dampner eliminates the ultrasound glare modifier (sonic glare)?

I am curious as to how much modification would be required to spoof motion sensors(ultrasound), sinch high frequency hearing is a detector, and ultrasound vision (or even just the voice mask) is an emitter.

Posted by: Rattler Jan 24 2004, 05:35 PM

QUOTE (Teulisch)

Spatial Recognizer (which gets bonuses from high frequency and orientation system with map) gives a modifier to "tests based primarily on sound location".

The other half of that quote continues to say "...whenever a character attempts to track something by listening for movement." A character isn't "listening" for anything when they use ultrasound; the entire system is completely independent from your natural hearing. You can be deaf and still use ultrasound. The receiver component isn't even in the ear...it's in the eye.

Posted by: Panzergeist Jan 24 2004, 08:19 PM

There is a brain in a jar? What's CP, I've never heard of that one.

Posted by: Herald of Verjigorm Jan 24 2004, 10:18 PM

cyberpunk

Posted by: Siege Jan 25 2004, 04:46 AM

CP = Cyberpunk 2020 by RTalisorian

-Siege

Posted by: Digital Heroin Jan 25 2004, 06:08 AM

QUOTE (Panzergeist)

A tiny hand razor implanted in the rectum, for when your character inevitably goes to prison.

That reminds me of the time one of my runners asked for a rectal shotgun...

Posted by: Crusher Bob Jan 25 2004, 06:10 AM

That they could pull outa their recturm, or that they could fire outa their recturm?

Posted by: Phaeton Jan 25 2004, 06:16 AM

"FIRE AT WILL! *FOOM*"

Posted by: Siege Jan 25 2004, 06:34 AM

QUOTE (Crusher Bob)

That they could pull outa their recturm, or that they could fire outa their recturm?

I guess that gives new life to the phrase, "cocking the hammer".

Although I have to admit, pumping shells would be a hell of a way to pass the time...although in prison, the whole "pucker factor" takes on new levels of scary.

-Siege

Posted by: Trickster Jan 25 2004, 12:44 PM

Some Bio/cyber combos that we have house-ruled as valid:

Tac. computer level 3, or 3 or more cyberlimbs allows MBW quickness to count for reaction.

The prescence of a Guardian angel nano-biomonitor allows the trauma damper to function whilst pain editor and/or damage compensators are in effect.

Admittedly these rules were brought in to give the blue-banded even more of an edge [not the crappy blues in the book - you should have seen just how monstrous our GM made Tadashi-san], but PCs are now being given the opportunity to benefit from cyber-bio combos that make sense. Personally, I'm trying to wheedle some kind of bonus for having a tac comp, mbw, and skillwire system simultaneously in effect. They all connect to and dominate the body's movements, and should be able to interface for far greater effeciency and effectiveness, if you think about it. Maybe this is something that the next SOTA book could explore - reduced essence costs or game bonuses from cyber-systems overlapping? They kind of did it with image-link and smartlink already, but I'm sure there could be more valid combos.

Posted by: k1tsune Jan 25 2004, 10:00 PM

As for the rectal gun, one word:

Recoil.

Posted by: Siege Jan 25 2004, 10:02 PM

QUOTE (k1tsune)

As for the rectal gun, one word:

Recoil.

Yeah, a real pain in the ass.

-Siege

Posted by: Diesel Jan 26 2004, 01:23 AM

I'd be afraid of the eye gun's recoil.

Ew-ouch.

Posted by: mfb Jan 26 2004, 07:30 AM

"you want me to shove a shotgun where?" or "i don't think that's in the kama sutra" or "whoah! shouldn't have had that extra helping of chili last night" or "painful rectal itchy trigger finger" or "it went off while while you were cleaning it...?" or "wilma! come lookit what i done left in the toilet, 'fore i flush!" or aaaiiiieeeeeeeee

christ onna cracker, DH, try giving out straight lines that aren't quite so straight.

Posted by: tedhatfield Jan 26 2004, 07:51 AM

I've always wanted a fiberoptic camera in a finger tip. I'm sure we've all seen them on TV when the swat guys run the camera through a vent to see the badguys in the next room. Why can't I put a small drill in one finger (to make holes in doors, walls, etc. etc.) and a small movable fiber optic camera in the next finger. Run the output up to an image-link, router or datajack and make the camera dni movable. I got close in the rules once by putting an extra cyber-eye in my finger. I would be able to see the bad guys around the corner before sticking my A$$ out for them to take a shot at.

Posted by: Siege Jan 26 2004, 02:49 PM

You could, although the formal setup isn't listed in Canon.

I took a gun camera, stuck it on a probe and extended the probe around the corner, with the signal feeding to an image link or monocole HUD.

A slightly higher-tech version of the dental mirror trick.

-Siege

Posted by: John Campbell Jan 27 2004, 06:15 AM

The dental mirror trick has the advantage of being usable for spell targeting, though.

Posted by: Tiralee Jan 27 2004, 01:39 PM

QUOTE

That reminds me of the time one of my runners asked for a rectal shotgun...

"Squeeze off a round?"

-Sorry, had to.

L;

Posted by: Teulisch Jan 27 2004, 01:50 PM

Well....
Body compartment with a datajack for dni control of whats inside (a little lower than the navel, the way this thread is going).
If you do want any cyber down there, clean metabolism is a very necesary idea (Infection after surgury would be a problem, with those black clinics) .
Personaly, i think this would be a very amusing place to put the 'tracheal vent' for an air tank loaded with gas. much safer in terms of not breathing it yourself.

Posted by: Siege Jan 27 2004, 02:18 PM

QUOTE (John Campbell)

The dental mirror trick has the advantage of being usable for spell targeting, though.

Sure -- if you're a mage.

Otherwise, go for the better, high-tech option.

-Siege