Herald of Verjigorm
Jan 31 2007, 08:58 PM
I was about to post something with a page number for the progressive penalties of cyberware in M&M, but I couldn't find any when I just looked. I was able to find progressive penalties for bioware (then at 9, you die), but not ones for non-cybermantic cyberware.
So, yes, go ahead and make an additional penalty system for those who actually use the progressive bioware penalties. They'll probably appreciate it.
Bioware drawbacks that may make some sense applied to cyber: more difficult healing, reduced overflow boxes, more vulnerable to some pathogens.
Ok, the overflow issue is taken from the excessive bioware list, but inorganic components may not have biomonitors attached to auto-adjust for the benefit of more neccessary organic parts like all-meat tends to do.
NightmareX
Feb 2 2007, 09:17 AM
QUOTE (cetiah) |
Ideally, he shouldn't. A mechanic that just instantly kills the character, with no defensive action allowed or required, is kind of dumb. A street sam could be just fine and dandy one minute and then BLAM! he plugs in a datajack and dies. |
Ah - since you are intentionally disregarding canon it seems I can understand that I guess.
QUOTE |
Or at least that's what I was trying to suggest. How about instead of instantly bashing it just because its not canon, try adding to the idea or suggesting improvements? |
You misunderstand - I was not trying to bash, simply to show what I perceived as flaws in the system.
hyzmarca
Feb 2 2007, 09:55 AM
QUOTE (cetiah @ Jan 31 2007, 03:30 PM) |
QUOTE (NightmareX @ Jan 31 2007, 11:06 AM) | First, when does one keel over from Essence loss? |
Ideally, he shouldn't. A mechanic that just instantly kills the character, with no defensive action allowed or required, is kind of dumb. A street sam could be just fine and dandy one minute and then BLAM! he plugs in a datajack and dies.
|
Idealy, he shouldn't. A mechanic that just instantly kills the character, with no defensive action allowed or required, is kind of dump. A street sam could be just fine band dandy one minute and then BLAM! he puts his panther assault canon in his mouth, pulls the trigger, and died.
The samurai can easily avoid death by not getting that datajack. There is no mechanic that forces a character to die of essence loss unless that character has either chosen to die of essence loss or the character has failed so many tests before hand that he is at the complete and total mercy of an enemy.
I'm not trying to trash your idea. I'm just pointing out that it is darn near impossible to use essence loss as an instant kill mechanic. Even vampires need several minutes alone with helpless prey. The defensive action, in this case, is not doing something that is obviously suicidal.
The gradual penalties are there. They are embodied in essence related healing and social penalities as well as powers that are based on essence. They just don't manifest themselves as obviously unless the cyborg is also a magician.
Also, Darth Vader was a product of Anakin's idiocy, not the cyberware. If anything, the implants only served to make him baddass.
And since I should be constructive, I'm going to recomend not having a "cyber" attribute but simply allow characters to drop into negative essence and survive by making cybermancy common and available most alpha clinics.
This has a huge impact on canon fluff, just as huge as the impact of a "cyber" attribute, but it saves one from having to create and balance new mechanics. There are already rules for cybermancy that one can start with. Remove the horrible cancer, tone down the lack of will to live, and maybe remove the dual nature. If you do that then cyberzombification becomes a viable option for someone who wants to trade his humanity for extra edge, rather than just a sideshow created by accident as part of the quest for mass producible metahuman immortality.
There are already canon rules for cyberzombification (albeit in SR3). These canon rules make it a very bad idea, but adjusting them is far easier than creating a brand new mechanic.
Cybermancy is a surefire way to trade humanity for better performance and it is exacerbated by the fact that the procedure involves the ritual murder of a metahuman and the destruction of things that have sentimental value to the cyberware recipient. Often, they go hand in hand, with people sending friends, parents, siblings, children, and lovers, the people they care about the most, to a horrific death so that they can fit a little bit more of chrome and plastic into their more-machine-than-metahuman bodies.
Moon-Hawk
Feb 2 2007, 03:31 PM
QUOTE (hyzmarca) |
And since I should be constructive, I'm going to recomend not having a "cyber" attribute but simply allow characters to drop into negative essence and survive by making cybermancy common and available most alpha clinics. This has a huge impact on canon fluff, just as huge as the impact of a "cyber" attribute, but it saves one from having to create and balance new mechanics. There are already rules for cybermancy that one can start with. Remove the horrible cancer, tone down the lack of will to live, and maybe remove the dual nature. If you do that then cyberzombification becomes a viable option for someone who wants to trade his humanity for extra edge, rather than just a sideshow created by accident as part of the quest for mass producible metahuman immortality. |
Hey, advancements are being made all the time.
I wouldn't be at all surprised to see some much more forgiving cybermancy rules when we finally see them.
I certainly don't expect it to be a casual thing, but it might become forgiving enough to actually have a PC do it and survive in a playable fasion, rather than just being a GM tool to make super NPCs who you fight once, but if you can just get behind cover and delay a few actions they'll die of horrible seizures and cancer.