Actually, you don't need a smartball link to chuck minigrenades by hand, just a microtronics kit and a death wish.

It falls under the "Really Not a Good Idea" category.

-Siege

Yep -- think of the Arnie Mars movie -- the name escapes me at the moment. But a relatively simpler concept.

Applying 2060 tech to modern gadgets is just so, so much fun.

-Siege

I like the idea of full body conversions. I miss them.

Although I think a Dragoon would be pretty much the equivalent of Burnout the Cyberzombie....

- J.

Everything makes him depressed.

As for the removable face concept, I can imagine the cyber version attaching to an obvious cyberskull... Means there's actually a use for the things aside from looking scary...

I've only got one NPC with an obvious cyberskull, though. Too bad he has Charisma 2 and the +11 TN penalty for Charisma-based tests...

I can just picture the removable face backfiring on evil GMs. after the third guy they find with a false face, the troll just starts tearing the face off everyone he meets. just to be sure.

"umm... sorry, ma'am. let me put that back on for you..."

On the false face, you can try the 'lesser version' that replaces your skin with a color changing polymer and adds some smart materials where your skull bones used to be. That way there's no need to leave the old you behind. Notice that the full version would need to replace your whole skin, and changing apparent genders might be a bit tricky . Don't forget some thing to simulate body hair... Throw in a voice modulator and color-changing cyber eyes and you are set.

Even better, what about an adept power that does this? Maybe 3 power points worth?

The whole main advantage of this system, is that you have paid essence for it, and thus it is a disguise that will pass being assenced. All 'mundane' disguises are easily penetrated by astral perception, but things you paid essence for aren't.

"When Gravity Fails" had a cyberface -- moveable bone structure and musculature to give a bonus to disguise checks.

-Siege

Am I seriously missing something or is there no encryption/decryption available for the headware radio?

There used to be a section for encryption of the headware radio... It is probably in man & machine though...

I got one. how about improveing V.C.R.'s, wired reflexes, and what not so that the basic versions are more essance friendly.

I mean come on these things were introduced 14 years ago (2050-2064) time to improve.

So that way you can cram more 'ware into your body without worrying about how fast you're going to be? Ha!

Remember: It isn't how much the tech has advanced, it's how much of your body you're replacing. Methinks putting a new bit inside your spine is going to do quite a bit to you.

I am not after more cyber just less intrusive. I mean 5 essance for a lv.3 V.C.R. it to me would better if it would now cost 3 essance. You get a lv.3 and a datajack thats 5.5 ok your almost dead just so you can be a rigger ouch.

It's 5.2. 'Sides, to be a rigger all you need is a L1. Most go for the L2, but L3 is really high-end, I-devote-my-life-to-rigging stuff.

~J

There are already improvements. This is represented by the different grades of 'ware. If you want something less intrusive, you have to be willing to pay for it. You can have that VCR 3 for 3 points of Essence, but as such it would be Betaware, costing 4 times as much.

He's right, though, that VCRs cost a lot more Essence-wise than they're worth. A more reasonable E-cost might be something like 1.2, 2.5, 4 -- after all, that's Reaction and Initiative dice that you can ONLY use while rigging a vehicle. Much less useful, overall, than wired reflexes.

I'm not so sure they're going for usefullness, more like how much is going to be torn out and how long could you normally go without the real thing?

You can live without eyes. No big Essence loss.
You can live without limbs, it just takes some getting used to. Medium Essence loss.
You can't live without a nervous system. Getting it yanked out and something new put in is going to seriously frag with your system.

I like the idea of a personal shield, which uses bio-electrical energy from your body to eat up some of the kinetic energy from projectiles, shrapnel, blunt object (including fists, or claws), falling, etc. attacks. It would reduce one's body, temporarily, by the rating of the shield to a max rating of 6. It also reduces the power of an attack by that rating. If one's body fell to zero, or below, the character would go unconscious. Body recovery would be at the rate of one point per minute. Unconsciousness lasts until the Body recovers to a minimum of one.

Beta-ware Essence cost would not be horribly high, say 0.25 per shield rating. The most invasive part being the subdermal grid necessary to form the field. The implanted transformer would be smaller than one's fist and could be placed in any convenient location in the body cavity.

I want detachable hips. Kinda like that have detachable forearms, but for your legs. You could have your jungle truck chasis, your LAV chasis, and you normal legs. Just walk up, hop on top, pop your legs off and stick you torso in the hole.

I woke up this morning with a bad hangover, and my hips were missing again. This happens all the time. They're detachable. This comes in handy a lot of the time. I can leave it home when I think they're going to get me in trouble, or I can rent them out when I don't need them. But now and then I go to a party, get drunk, and the next morning I can't for the life of me remember what I did with them. First I looked around my apartment and I couldn't find them, so I called up the place where the party was, they hadn't seen them either. I asked them to check the medicine cabinet 'cause for some reason, I leave them there sometimes, but not this time. So I told them if they pop up to let me know. I called a few people who were at the party, but they were no help either. I was starting to get desperate. I really don't like being without my hips for too long. It makes me feel like less of a man and I really hate to have to sit down every time I take a leak. After a few hours of searching the house and calling everyone I could think of, I was starting to get very depressed, so I went to the Kiev and at breakfast. Then as I walked down Second Avenue toward St. Mark's Place,where all those people sell used books and other junk on the street, I saw my hips lying on a blanket next to a broken toaster oven. Some guy was selling them. I had to buy them off him. He wanted 22 bucks, but I talked him down to 17. I took them home, washed them off, and put them back on. I was happy again. Complete. People sometimes tell me I should get them permanently attached, but I don't know. Even though sometimes it's a pain in the ass, I like having detachable hips.

you'd have to have been there.

Dude, where's my hips?!?!?!

And then when you want to roll around in style you've got your pimp mobile chasis. Complete with earth shaking stereo system, 4 wheel independant hydrolics (for that multi-axis bounce), ruthenium paint job to display just the right paint job for the scene, and more chrome than a full conversion borg.

Dude, if you're a runner and you have a detachable _anything_, why for frag's sake wouldn't you put a tracer/GPS module on the bloody thing?

-Siege

Would you want a tracer on your thing?

If it comes off and I'm prone to misplacing it at parties, ya damn skippy!

-Siege

Edit: Hell, I know guys who'd want a gun camera mounted, but that's just fragging weird.

I can totally see the appeal of a shlongcam. Multiple angles are definitely where it's at, man. I'd also go for those extra cybereyes in other strategic locations as well.

Better than doin' it in a room full of mirrors!

That Smartlink 2 optional extra must see a LOT of use.


*Still waiting for that Smartlink 3 linked rangefinder/Battletac system.

Would make certain munchies fill their drawers when they find that the table shave turned, and it's now smarter to do things, like, say, posion the guard's water supply than it is to sneak up and then burst in with gun's blazing.

Oh crap - what if they finally got the 'ware to work with critters? The thought of a Psima with wired reflexes, dermal armour, enhanced articulation and a smartgun mount is really, really bad.


Can't WAIT!

L:

"I invoke the sacred privilages of...THE BASTARD DM!" (Dramatic reverb)

Magically active bioware...yeah, it's far in the future but it's coming.

Got out and get some magic rating 3 implanted in you. Great for burn out mages.

Screw having a full-conversion borg body that's made to resemble a normal human. I'm gonna have my brain hardwired to a B(ig) U(gly) T(roll) T(ank)! *will explain later*

The BUTT is what happens when you give an unstable decker the chance to play with the cyberware/rigging rules in any way he wants.

He read that account of someone taking a power armor of sorts through the Arcology (I think that was one of Cain's players) and decided he wanted to do that, too. Of course, his idea of a mini mech has six arms, four legs, a bladed tail, about 100 eyes, and more guns that I can keep track of...