Now, I’m aware that if you want a giant mechanical horror in order to threaten runners (or possibly freedom fighters / heroes / Running Man contestants, should that be the focus of your campaign), your best option is a horrifying drone with, like, shotgun nipples and a chainsaw for a crotch. However, I want to check out the option that doesn’t run the risk of ECW rendering it entirely useless.

The word of the day is ‘Fullborg’. In short, I’m thinking about a full-body replacement that doesn’t cross the threshold into cyberzombie. Deltaware is entirely acceptable for this project, but I’m not sure how to make a sufficiently horrifying doom-creature.

Now, I could see the use of dual shotties with gyrostabilization built into the arms, but I’m also trying to think about how horrifying a tankmonster you could make out of a fullborg. I know that the full conversion would give you a bonus +6 health boxes.

Sure, I know it’s not really realistic, or even practical, but how can anyone deny the thematic awesomeness of the fullborg? They’re cuddly.

Thoughts? Comments? Builds? Entirely different mechanical horrors?

Mixing bioware and cyber would work better.

The drone is really the way to go. Consider that losing a limb actually doesn't cause you to lose essence. Now consider that you could have every limb removed at no essence cost. Essentually, you could reduce someone down to a brain and a few essential organs without having to resort to cybermancy. Now, take that brain, hook it up to life support and a DNI connection to an anthromorphic drone from hell. Your perfect cyber soldier.

I would argue that this would be an essense loss. After all, losing an arm is one thing, turning yourself into a "brain-in-a-bucket" is quite another.

what does it matter if there is an essence loss its a GM tool you govern the rules on it.

most of my big nasties are stats and skills and anythign i decide to throw on during the game if i feel the runners ahve it to easy or i think the baddy can do it

think "extra articulated arms" and "monofilament chainsaw". Maybe throw in a little "Dermal sheath" with "rhuthenium polymer coating" and some "trade mark nifty red glowing thermographic eyes", along with "extandable arms" and "kid stealth legs" as well as an "articulated cyber tail" and you've got... well... something with a lot of "quotation" marks

Or have the lawn guy decide to go postal one day cause he was out of gatorade in the heat and he puts a mono wire on his weed eater.

Shades of "Seattle Weed Whacker Massacre". That's so delightfully retarded, it ought to be a SR movie.

Looking at the title of this thread I was expecting Gnashers with Kid Stealth legs, metal teeth, and behavior control implants.

Or, at the very least, a full-borg bodied Nebis.

Might as well make the brain in a jar rigger a powerful mage as well. Then it can defend against majic, summon spritis o'cheese, throw mana bolts, and wield an mmg in each arm (of which it should have at least 4). In addition, it can command a small army of combat drones.

remember the first rule- a GM can make up things not constrained by the same rules that limit the PCs. if you want a full borg? MAKE a full borg. decide on what you want first, and get your technobabble explanation second.

one idea, would be to bind a metal elemental to the borg. so you get a spirit powering a brain in a jar.

Bug spirits bound to tripple hardened orichalcum tank bodies with railguns, and their fronts are covered in spinning blades so they can harvest human blood like a combine even though it's not really necessary. Oh, and psychics who snipe through flea sized camera drones.

We beat this topic around for a bit recently.

A 4 (9)
R 3 (7)
S 7 (12)
B 3 (6)
I 4
L 1
W 7
C 2

Running Multiplier 3 (4) [13 when leaping]

Armor 4/4 Ballistic/Impact
Add 4 dice for resisting spells.
Dikoted Cyberjaws STR/2 +10 physical

Skills:
Unarmed Combat: 4 [bitting +2]

Powers: Great Leap (52)


Gnashers are walking mouths. Some have short stubby legs. Some don't have any legs at all. Kid Stealth cyberlegs have been fitted onto these Gnashers to provide them with exceptional running speed to augment their natural mode of locomotion, leaping. Gnashers can quickly cover great distances by leaping. Their magically powered jumps would put superman to shame.

Gnashers are mindless and exist only to eat. They can eat several thousand times their body weight in an hour if given the opportunity and they will eat anything animal vegetable or mineral. They usually travel in hunting packs of several dozen.

Converted from
here

Here is my version :

All cyberware can be designed to mimic human body.
Therefore a robot body can LOOK human physically.

Just put a brain in it, any ware you want (regardless of essence-don't count it, it has to be beta grade at least : those are not common technologies).
Make a count of the price of the whole ... thing ...

Remember this is a full burg (can have skill wire, but in a lot of way will not feel human, act as a human, feed like a human ...)
Consider the price to know how much the corp behind this is involved, and how close they keep there eye on IT.

It should be a lot more powerful than a human.
It should need a lot more (a lot more !) care than a human, at best a big van is prepared to do all the daily stuff (this is still a prototype, after all)

Why not just rig a Mitsuhama anthroform?