Full Version: Some house rules for Cyberlimbs...
I'm gearing up for a SR campaign at the moment and I know that my group's House Rule Book is missing a section involving cyberlimbs in SR. I've seen several references about this, but I haven't seen anything fleshed out. I'm just curious as to what some of the other GMs out there do regarding this.
Straight from my House Rule Book:
Obvious Cyberlimbs: Standard obvious cyberlimbs (excluding Kid Stealth legs, tails, heads, torsos, etc.) cost 50% less in nuyen and 50% less in essence. The reduced feedback of an obvious limb needs less neural connection with the brain, reducing essence more than the more neurally invasive synthetic model. Due to this reduced sensitivity, increase touch perception tests by +2.
Synthetic Cyberlimbs: Standard synthetic cyberlimbs cost 50% less in nuyen and 25% less in essence. The increased (natural) sensory feedback of a synthetic limb makes it more neurally invasive compared to the obvious model. A model equipped only with SynthSkin sheathing reduces essence loss by an additional 15%, but suffers the same +2 TN modifier as an obvious limb. It is still considered more concealed than an obvious limb.
As this is a house rule, there is no canon basis for the sensing. You can modify as you wish, just don't bother me with how well a hunk of steel can feel.
Obvious Cyberlimbs: Standard obvious cyberlimbs (excluding Kid Stealth legs, tails, heads, torsos, etc.) cost 50% less in nuyen and 50% less in essence. The reduced feedback of an obvious limb needs less neural connection with the brain, reducing essence more than the more neurally invasive synthetic model. Due to this reduced sensitivity, increase touch perception tests by +2.
Synthetic Cyberlimbs: Standard synthetic cyberlimbs cost 50% less in nuyen and 25% less in essence. The increased (natural) sensory feedback of a synthetic limb makes it more neurally invasive compared to the obvious model. A model equipped only with SynthSkin sheathing reduces essence loss by an additional 15%, but suffers the same +2 TN modifier as an obvious limb. It is still considered more concealed than an obvious limb.
As this is a house rule, there is no canon basis for the sensing. You can modify as you wish, just don't bother me with how well a hunk of steel can feel.
I'm not a GM, but here's a set of cyberlimb rules I've been working on in case I ever decide to become one.
My biggest problem with the current cyberlimb rules is the fact that a character will still have to raise his natural attributes for increasing skills with Karma. By the rules, even if a character has his whole body replaced, he still needs to raise his, now useless, natural Strength to keep his Unarmed Combat skill high without paying out the ass Karma-wise. So they get stuck paying Essence and nuyen for increasing the strength they actually use and Karma for the one they don't use. It just totally screws the character over.
But you can't just let them use the Augmented Strength and such because other character with Muscle Toner and such would want to use their's...I dunno, it's a whole dilemma that needs fixing in my opinion, just not sure how to do it. Oh...and this does have a point, a player in my upcoming game wants a character with his whole upper body replaced...
Any suggestions?
But you can't just let them use the Augmented Strength and such because other character with Muscle Toner and such would want to use their's...I dunno, it's a whole dilemma that needs fixing in my opinion, just not sure how to do it. Oh...and this does have a point, a player in my upcoming game wants a character with his whole upper body replaced...
Any suggestions?
A) Toner is bioware, and does effect karma costs. You are thinking of muscle replacement.
B) hit him, preferably with a brail copy of the cyberlimb rules. Or point out that if he goes fully cyber, he will be on the verge of death without any bells, whistles, or cyberlimb mounted shotguns. Also, show him the exact definitions of each replacement, he may just want cyberarms after he sees the details.
B) hit him, preferably with a brail copy of the cyberlimb rules. Or point out that if he goes fully cyber, he will be on the verge of death without any bells, whistles, or cyberlimb mounted shotguns. Also, show him the exact definitions of each replacement, he may just want cyberarms after he sees the details.
That was kind of my point, cyberlimbs just suck. Arms are worth it only if you put stuff into them like cyberguns and such and you don't plan on doing much in the way of melee combat. But to make a character with cyberarms who's going to be mainly in melee is just pointless cause they're going to get screwed one way or the other...usually both.
Warning the following is a direct copy and paste from a word document that our group uses for cyberlimbs. They're not my idea as another member (whose name for the life of me I can't remember) had posted on one of the old boards and we used them with a few modifications. They're also very wordy. Still when tested they worked in our game (we sit somewhere on the mid-high end of the power scale).
Enjoy,
TBO
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House Rules for Shadowrun Cyber Limbs:
Attribute Ratings:
- All Obvious Cyber Limbs begin with Strength and Quickness ratings equal to the corresponding modified attribute rating of the user up to a maximum of:
(Racial Limit + 1) x 1.5 ~ Round Up. (For example 11 on an average human)
- All Synthetic Cyber Limbs begin with Strength and Quickness ratings equal to the corresponding modified attribute rating of the user up to a maximum of:
Racial Limit x 1.5 ~ Round Up. (For example 9 on an average human)
- Because this removes the need to upgrade a limb so that it will keep up with a character’s meat body it voids the three essence free points of upgrades that would normally be permitted.
- Further upgrades to the limb are possible but the character must pay the associated essence cost for each additional point. This will allow the user to increase the strength on the limb to a maximum of (Racial Limit + 1) x 2.0 for Obvious Cyber Limbs or Racial Limit x 2.0 for Synthetic Cyber Limbs. At this point no further augmentation is possible.
Cyber Torsos:
- Because the use of a Cyber Torso removes many of the limitations of the meat body all limbs of a character with a Cyber Torso automatically begin with Strength and Quickness ratings of (Racial Limit +1) x 1.5 for Obvious Cyber Limbs/Torsos or Racial Limit x 1.5 for Synthetic Cyber Limbs/Torsos. Again in the case of fractional numbers, players should Round Up.
- Further augmentation is handled in the same method as above with the same restrictions with one exception. Cyber Torsos reduce, by half, the essence cost for additional attribute ratings on Cyber Limbs beyond the above listed maximum.
Disparities:
- With Strength and Quickness augmentations it is feasible that a character might end up with a Cyber Limb, or Cyber Limbs, of much greater power than a meat limb or limbs. In this case, standard rules for disparate Strength and Quickness ratings should be applied normally.
ECU and Higher Grade Replacements:
- In the case of a character with Alphaware grade or better cyber replacements the ECU of the cyber replacement is increased according to the following table.
Cyber Replacement Grade ECU Modifier
Standard 100%
Alphaware 120%
Betaware 140%
Deltaware 150%
example. An Obvious Alphaware Cyberleg has a base ECU of 20 modified by the grade to 24 (120% of 20). This is done as the internal workings of the limb are more streamlined and thus occupy less space leaving more room for implants or upgrades.
Implants to Higher Grade Replacements:
- All implants or modifications made to Cyber replacements must be of a comparable grade with the replacement itself. As such a player wishing to upgrade an attribute, install an implant, etc. must pay to have the work done at the same Cyberware grade as the replacement itself. By doing so the character avoids creating a technological bottleneck of sub-par technology which would hinder the performance of the replacement. The higher grade implant will have a reduced Essence cost but the ECU cost of the implant does not change.
Enjoy,
TBO
************************************
House Rules for Shadowrun Cyber Limbs:
Attribute Ratings:
- All Obvious Cyber Limbs begin with Strength and Quickness ratings equal to the corresponding modified attribute rating of the user up to a maximum of:
(Racial Limit + 1) x 1.5 ~ Round Up. (For example 11 on an average human)
- All Synthetic Cyber Limbs begin with Strength and Quickness ratings equal to the corresponding modified attribute rating of the user up to a maximum of:
Racial Limit x 1.5 ~ Round Up. (For example 9 on an average human)
- Because this removes the need to upgrade a limb so that it will keep up with a character’s meat body it voids the three essence free points of upgrades that would normally be permitted.
- Further upgrades to the limb are possible but the character must pay the associated essence cost for each additional point. This will allow the user to increase the strength on the limb to a maximum of (Racial Limit + 1) x 2.0 for Obvious Cyber Limbs or Racial Limit x 2.0 for Synthetic Cyber Limbs. At this point no further augmentation is possible.
Cyber Torsos:
- Because the use of a Cyber Torso removes many of the limitations of the meat body all limbs of a character with a Cyber Torso automatically begin with Strength and Quickness ratings of (Racial Limit +1) x 1.5 for Obvious Cyber Limbs/Torsos or Racial Limit x 1.5 for Synthetic Cyber Limbs/Torsos. Again in the case of fractional numbers, players should Round Up.
- Further augmentation is handled in the same method as above with the same restrictions with one exception. Cyber Torsos reduce, by half, the essence cost for additional attribute ratings on Cyber Limbs beyond the above listed maximum.
Disparities:
- With Strength and Quickness augmentations it is feasible that a character might end up with a Cyber Limb, or Cyber Limbs, of much greater power than a meat limb or limbs. In this case, standard rules for disparate Strength and Quickness ratings should be applied normally.
ECU and Higher Grade Replacements:
- In the case of a character with Alphaware grade or better cyber replacements the ECU of the cyber replacement is increased according to the following table.
Cyber Replacement Grade ECU Modifier
Standard 100%
Alphaware 120%
Betaware 140%
Deltaware 150%
example. An Obvious Alphaware Cyberleg has a base ECU of 20 modified by the grade to 24 (120% of 20). This is done as the internal workings of the limb are more streamlined and thus occupy less space leaving more room for implants or upgrades.
Implants to Higher Grade Replacements:
- All implants or modifications made to Cyber replacements must be of a comparable grade with the replacement itself. As such a player wishing to upgrade an attribute, install an implant, etc. must pay to have the work done at the same Cyberware grade as the replacement itself. By doing so the character avoids creating a technological bottleneck of sub-par technology which would hinder the performance of the replacement. The higher grade implant will have a reduced Essence cost but the ECU cost of the implant does not change.
I think I have that set lying around as a printed copy, actually. For some reason the name I associate with is it Tczeenth (or however it's now spelled), but I could well be mistaken.
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