Creating a "human" drone, Give me your clothes if you want to live Options

[Banaticus]

This started as a response in another forum, but I thought I'd see what you all had to say (and I know you'll be able to contribute cool stuff). This guy was looking to make a humanoid drone, so that he could rig into that then go run missions. The suggestion was made to just make a humanoid body out of cyberlimbs, dump some communicator inside, maybe some other tech/ware.

You need to ensure that you have a great System or even a simple jammer is going to cut your puppet strings, but let's put that on the backburner for a while.

Standard cyberlimbs come with Body/Strength/Agility of 3. Increasing an attribute up to the user's normal attribute maximum is an extra 1,500 nuyen per point (and it increases availability by 1). Increases above the natural attribute maximum and up to the augmented maximum are handled as cyberlimb enhancements, which I think is how you got the prices for your limbs. (SR4A p343 and Au p44 say the same thing.)

You're going to want synthetic limbs. Sure, you could go with a fully obvious cyberbody, but as has been pointed out Shadowrun people are scared stupid of Terminators (for good reason) and you're going to get more than funny looks, like everyone that meets you (except little children, stupid people, and the blind) will want to kill you or otherwise advertise your presence.

So, a cyberlimb (for an otherwise normal human) with a Body of 8 would be an extra 4,500 nuyen to raise Body to 6 (3 increases), the natural human attribute maximum. Then, 2 more increases to Body would be a rating 2 cyberlimb enhancement which would be an extra 400 nuyen, for a net cost of:
20k base synthetic cyberlimb (or 15k for an obvious cyberlimb)
4.5k to raise Body from 3 to 6
400 to raise Body from 6 to 8
24.9k Body 8 synthetic cyberlimb (or 19.9k for an obvious cyberlimb) with Body 8.

Now, you may or may not want modular cyberlimbs, which lets you plug-n-play different components like Captain Hook changes his hook attachments. It increases cost x1.1 -- just putting the option out there (additional components are extra). You might also want "optimized" cyberlimbs, which are purpose built for something (for instance if you get both legs as Ferrari Sprinter optimized cyberlegs, it adds +2 dice on Running Tests or Ultimate Champion which adds +1 dice to Unarmed Combat tests per optimized cyberlimbs or other optimizations. Any optimization adds 5k nuyen to the cost.

Now, you're building a body from cyberlimbs, so I'd go with normal 1-6 attribute limits, unless you had one (or two or all three) of the ways to raise an attribute's natural max (the SR4A exceptional attribute quality, the Au geneware quality, the RC SURGE quality). Since there's no meat to the body, I'd only allow the SR4A quality. So, you could have a limb with a Body of 14, for the low cost of base + 4.5k + 1.4k (and 20 BP to take the quality). Why BP? Because this allows incredible cheese -- you effectively increase your capacity for cyberware. Move by Wires wouldn't require an essence loss, just a capacity loss, so I'd treat this as your actual body, requiring you to spend BP (or karma) on appropriate qualities if you really wanted to cheese it up.

But I digress.

#1 Where's the synthetic cyberskull? Why does the book only list an obvious one?

What's the price for response/signal software above 6? SR4A says that higher response/signal costs exponentially more. (4.578*e^1.106x for Signal and 160.3*e^0.652x for Response, according to Excel.) However, for a nexus, Unwired p198 says it's a linear cost. So, obviously we want a nexus in there, but how to get a higher signal/response than 6? System says that it's software, but I don't see a System program.

If a person didn't go with modular cyberlimbs, how long does it take to remove one limb and attach another one (to replace Ferrari legs with Ultimate Warrior legs or Climbing legs or whatever)?

Ok, links to a spreadsheet I created that calculates the cost for creating a new base anthroform (a cyberbody created out of cyberlimbs, using SR4A information). You should be able to download it at:
http://sites.google.com/site/banaticussr4a/

[Draco18s]

#1 Where's the synthetic cyberskull? Why does the book only list an obvious one?

Augmentation, we had a thread on this just yesterday.

[Yerameyahu]

Why is it cyberlimbs instead of an anthroform? I'm sure this question's already been answered, but I wasn't there. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Neraph]

Why is it any of those instead of a Type-O clone with a R1 Stirrup Interface?

[Banaticus]

Because the Renraku Manservant-3 is far too limited and the two Mitsuhama androids have an availability of 24R. Cyberlimbs have a base availability of 4. True, the limbs would probably be up around availability 12 by the time we were done, but that's still far less than 24.

Edit: A stirrup in a biodrone comes with "free" move-by-wire, but the availability and cost is all higher than it would be to install a standard move by wire system in your cyberbody. I can't find a price for a type O clone, but I presume it would be insanely expensive.

[Yerameyahu]

So just design a new anthroform. Gotta be easier than inventing rules for self-supporting cyberware. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) But thanks, I was just wondering.

[K2that'sit]

You could go with my idea. That I'll be using the next time my group plays Shadowrun. Grab a runaway from your local bus stop. Then implant the control rig in him or her. After you got control of your new puppet go have it lose a fight with a ghoul.

[Banaticus]

So just design a new anthroform.

Ok, done. In my original post are now links to a spreadsheet which uses cyberlimb information to create a new base anthroform. It calculates the highest possible availability based on what you choose, uses the capacity of obvious cyberlimbs (even for synthetic, since there's no meat in there) and calculates the "actual" body based on the average body.

Just edit the yellow sections.

[Yerameyahu]

Cool. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) I miss Rigger 3. :/

[Manunancy]

Ok, done. In my original post are now links to a spreadsheet which uses cyberlimb information to create a new base anthroform. It calculates the highest possible availability based on what you choose, uses the capacity of obvious cyberlimbs (even for synthetic, since there's no meat in there) and calculates the "actual" body based on the average body.

Just edit the yellow sections.

There's no more meat into a cybrlimb attached to a living guy than to a drone, which means sythetic limbs shold use the normal value. The exceptions here might be the torso and head (no need for meat), though the need for a power source and probably some computer support to make the rigging easier will eat some spaces.

So I'd stil use the normal synthetic option spaces, with a possible majoration for the head.

[Falconer]

Sorry, but I don't buy this method.... GM's everywhere will look at the cost of the cyberlimbs... all the capacity... and reject the full cyberbody drone. (just look at the cost of the actual humanoid drones). Then there's another big problem... drones and characters have different stats! (drones don't have agility for example... so how you mesh those gets wierd).

Really... the biodrones in augmentation have critter stat blocks... but if you have them running on a pilot program... does it get 3 passes like a normal drone (one of which is used for the obligatory pilot anthroform check). What if you only have the MbW1 grade stirrup (only 2 passes)... you're in hotsim, etc. for the maxed out 5 VR passes... So the rules there are a little immature, and give the GM a LOT of leeway for house ruling as he sees fit.


Really, if you're that hot to get a human drone.

Kidnap some SINLESS bum and then install a Stirrup Interface in him. (basically MoveByWire). Put a cyberarm on him if you want. Then clean him up, dress him up, and get a fake SIN. Problem solved.

Slightly cooler, do the same thing, but have a complete clone grown up in a vat and include some geneware while you're having it grown. (say Adapsin... on top of biocompatibility to knock 20% off the essence costs).


EDIT: We shall call him Kenny! oh my god you killed Kenny... why's he back again this week?! Who's he think he is, Manshoon. In the true spirit of a poor Kenny... we'll make the gear 2nd hand as we keep recovering it and installing it in new bums/clones :P.

[hobgoblin]

grab a small vehicle, put walker and mechanical arm mods on, apply mimic mod (arsenal errata) and have fun...

[Udoshi]

grab a small vehicle, put walker and mechanical arm mods on, apply mimic mod (arsenal errata) and have fun...

This is a good solution, for a decent cost. Motorcycles in particular make decent 'fuggit, we're pretending its a robot' vehicles. Also, I've been looking at adding an extra full mecharm to a drone with two arms - to represent cybercapacity in the leg units. Makes sense if you're using the 'Full Mechanical Arms get Capacity like Cyberlimbs' rule.

[augmentin]

You could go with my idea. That I'll be using the next time my group plays Shadowrun. Grab a runaway from your local bus stop. Then implant the control rig in him or her. After you got control of your new puppet go have it lose a fight with a ghoul.

OOH, OOH: then have your possession-based ally spirit inhabit said human/ghoul drone. And for that matter grab a runaway troll, instead...

[last_of_the_grea...]

Can we make a riggable transformer? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif) More than meets the eyes..!

[Neraph]

I can't find a price for a type O clone, but I presume it would be insanely expensive.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) 25,000, page 127, Augmentation. The entire proceedure is fairly cheap, especially if you get Second-Hand Standard Grade Stirrup Interface R1. Grand total of 14R, (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) 47,500.