This is sort of a continuation of my combat medic character in How to Rape your Soul. What I was wondering is, if I wanted to set up a medical/cyberware clinic as a starting character, what would be the best way to go about it? I've read through M&M pages 136-151, and through the relevant parts of the Core book about cyberware shops and the like, and I'm still confused about a number of things. What would the great gurus here recommend?

Overall, I'd say I'm willing to pay somewhere around 150k-200k for the whole thing. What are the essential components to something like this? Do you need to buy a warehouse (permenant Low lifestyle) to put everything in, or does the cost of the clinic itself factor that in? Is it better to get a Rating 5 basic clinic or a Rating 3 alphaware clinic, or a Rating 1 betaware clinic? Do you need to buy a cyberware shop if you have a medical clinic already? Etc etc.

What skills, attributes, etc, other than eht obvious Biotech and Medicine/Chemistry/Biology skills, should be necessary for someone wanting to open up a black market hospitol?

Also, say I want to upgrade the clinic later with the cash I earn. What are the upgrade proceedures?

Whoa whoa whoa...Okay, let's look at this piece by piece...

But *which* Electronics/Computers? The skills themselves, or the B/R skills? Which ones are the ones used in implanting/repairing 'ware?

implantation falls under the surgery specialization of Biotech. as for repairing, obviously you'd need the B/R skill.

I'm glad to know that I'm not the only person looking to play a classical mad scientist. I'm currently working on the third version of an insane tech wiz character who will have chemsirty, biotech, and microtronics shops, and will be proficient in chemistry, demolitions, biotech, electronics, electronics BR, and possibly computer and computer BR. He'll make all sorts of wierd gadgets, like fake credsticks with bombs hidden in them, dartgun pens, and splash grenades. He'll be like Q from James Bond, only insane.

I'm pretty sure you can't use a Savior for surgery. It does everything with chemicals and nanites. Basicaly, you just plug it into a person, and it automatically diagnoses them and injects chemicals and nanites into their bloodstream. It contains no tools for doing things on anything other than a microscopic scale, and since it's completely automated, it just rolls it's rating, rather than your biotech plus its rating as complementary dice. And therefore, as Basher noted, you can't use karma or task pool to augment tests with it since you aren't doing jack yourself. However, it makes the Savior great for self-healing, since you won't suffer the target number modifiers from having damage.

Well, reading the description (MM p. 95-96) it says the Savior uses all the standard rules for a medkit. If a Savior can't be used as Complimentary dice, then neither can a normal medkit.

You're right about the surgery part; naturally you can't do trauma surgery with a medkit! I more meant "keeping alive" in the sense of stabalizing the guy, or applying first aid. It's a trade-off, I guess: you can have a good trauma ward or a passable cyberware clinic, but not both without spending lots of cash.

I've alway wanted a Valkyre unit. Jack in a rigger with a skillwires 5+, a chipjack expert driver, and decent skillsofts and you'll handsdown better the surgery skills any sawbones street Doc your fixer can set you up with. A friend currently has my R3 so i can't quote actual price/avail, but unfortunately they are fairly seriously cash. That is why "[Successfully] hijack a Doc Wagon" continues to persist on my to-do list."

All the nuts-and-bolts of playing a street doc haven't been mapped out as it hasn't, until now, been a major consideration.

If you look at the Street Doc and Paramedic templates under "Contacts" in the SRC, you'll need:

Active
Biotech
Electronics
Computers
Computer B/R
Electronic B/R
Etiquette* and/or Negotiations
*Maybe the "Connected" perk for goodies

Knowledge
Biology
Chemistry
Medicine
Cybertechnology
Bioware (if you plan to offer that kind of service)

Since these are a lot of skills for any one person to have, a lot of legitimate hospitals will have teams of staff with specialists. Since you're working out of a back alley, patients can't be that picky.

Of course, with skillwires, it's all good.

Most importantly, you need to sit down with your GM and establish what rolls are needed for what actions beforehand.

Installing cyberware? Biotech only?
Repairing cyberware? Biotech + Computer B/R or Electornic B/R?
Plastic surgery? Biotech + Disguise?
What kinds of equipment do you need? Can I install wired reflexes in the back of a van?

And so on. As it has been noted before, the exact use of Electronics (Cyberware) versus Biotech (Cyberware) tends to be a little vague. Seek your GM's input before you design your concept.

-Siege

Hey, has anyone tried making an Inspector Gadget character?

Don't forget the Otaku niece dependent and awakened pet dog.

EDIT: Formated the table. Damn TABs.

Bah, Skillwires aren't that bad. Here is a copy-paste of a PC i have spreadsheeted. If i ever figured out how to get a Valkyre, this is the doc i'd want working on me.

Note that you can save 50K on the skillwires if you go with a set that can do 4 skill/5 specialty due to the memory size savings. Better yet, for only an extra 37,500:nuyen: and +.2 essense (you'd have to squeeze out that .2 elsewhere in this example) you can have those skillwires at 5/specialize 6. Specialized skill(6) activesofts are actually 3Mp smaller, and therefore 300:nuyen: cheaper than general skill(5) chips. Specialized is fine.

BTW, assuming your are using a FirstAid Kit (12) and a Biotech, First Aid(6) specialized chip slotted into one of the 3 Expert Drivers, you are rolling 24 dice to patch your buddy back together. Karma Pool? We don't need no stinking Karma Pool.

First aid kits can only get up to rating 6. And they are rolled as complementary dice if yo use your own biotech skill. But yes, with a rating 6 biotech soft, chipjack expert driver, and a savior nanomedkit, you can do very well. Does anyone else think it's astronomically unfair that chipjack expert drivers provide a bonus that can't be duplicated by skills that a character actually knows?

I'll make the comment that, if you follow the current errata, I believe expert drivers are limited to rating 3. (If I'm wrong, it's b/c I can't access the errata pages to double check right now). So, yes, they can provide a bonus that can't normally be duplicated. And give enough dice for one shot, one hack, one vehicle test a turn, if you want to put more than one die into a test from pool. And even for technical skills and such, a "normal user" can get an equal pool, with additional benefits, from cyber and bioware (encephalon and cerebral boosters). It's expensive, but as I said, you get more than just a pool out of it.

Er, that character was initially intended to be a backup decker as well. He's not exactly what the thread is about, i was just pulling out a worksheet example i had handy. This is just off the top of my head, but i believe you also can use the SPU to do math calculations for skills that require stuff like that, such aiming parabolic tragetory weapons.

0Mp? Now you are just being silly.

When was the last time you used Biotech and Assault Rifles at the -same- time? Never. Now if you were using an activesoft for a complementary skill along with an activesoft for the primary skill, then yes you'd have allocate room in the skillwires for both. But complementary skills are almost always knowledge skills, so that is handled by a knowsoft link (which a chipjack can function as).

P.S. Oh, that jogs my memory. I use to have an extra 100Mp of memory in this guy's head for storage of that 5th skillsoft, and for the Chemical Analyzer proggie. But i got rid of it because it was horribly essense hungry. At a cost an essense of Mp/300 for head memory it is much more essense efficent to use chipjacks and/or knowsoft links.

For whoever wanted a Valkyrie (shameless plug):
Ares M1455 AMTV

Body: 7
Armor: 12 Vehicle
Cargo: 3
Handling: 4/4
AutoNav: 2
Sensor: 2
Seating: 2
Entry: 3d+1h+1x
Load: 5,117
Speed: 70
Accel.: 9
Sig.: 5
Fuel: M1455: 300l diesel
Econ.: M1455: 4km/l
Chassis: APC, Tracked

S.I.: 4.5

Avail.: 39/39d

Cost: 786,350

Ares M1452 Universal Carrier
This is the direct descendant of the United Defense M1108 Universal Carrier, which was not much more than a modified M113A3. The main advances are in the operational range of the vehicle and in the much smaller sensor signature in addition to the general development of electronic devices.

M1455 AMTV
A cross between SOTA ambulance and an APC, the M1455 allows treatment of casualties in the combat zone under the protection of armor. Within the large medical clinic that has basically been slapped on top of the M1452, up to 4 medics or doctors can work freely on a patient while another patient can be worked on in the Valkyrie module by a rigging doctor.

To make room for the medical gear and working space, the M1455 has been stripped of some sensors, one of the two fuel tanks and the power amplifiers of the M1452. It has extra armor to protect it in the combat zone, because it has to move carefully not to cause extra harm to the patients. Still, the operational weight of the M1455 is so much smaller than that of the M1452 that it's fuel economy has significantly improved, countering the effect of the smaller fuel load to a degree.

Other features: CMC (3), Electronic ports, Enviroseal (Gas), External cargo mounts (96CF), Life support (10 man-hours), Medical clinic (3, 1 patient + 4 crew), RAM (1, factored in), Rigger adaptation, Ring mount (Weapon not included), Smart materials (Factored in), Spotlight, Thermal baffles (1, factored in), Valkyrie module, Winch (10,000kg).

Lets see, 786,350 * 4.5 is...carry the zero.....er ya. The good news is that by the time i managed to roll a 39 to find one for sale my character will either have amassed the money, or be dead from old age.

Like i said, jacking one is right up there one my to get list. Thankyou for posting the background facts as to exactly why.

I think you are putting the bar too high on your character. You can get it all from the start. Your choices come down to two, the pro with no money, or the lovable hack. "Hi everybody it's Dr Nick!"...

The reason most people don't play a cyberdoc is simple. What are you gonna tell the player when you botch a roll and he dies, or worse loses a point of essence. Some times it's best to take out random chance and let the GM handle it.

Well, it's the same chance he takes with an anonymous street doc.

Sometimes, that's the way the dice fall -- especially if your GM modifies the numbers for the type of street doc.

Of course, if the player finds out he died because you were installing a remote-controlled dedicated chipjack...

-Siege

Ideas have been bounced around like that quite a bit.

P-fix and BTL chips have been advanced as interesting means of developing subconscious commands and impulses, of programming assassins and so on.

One idea involved using a combination of personalized BTL and p-fix chips to create your very own (bodyguard, secretary, date, etc.).

Use a dedicated chipjack to provide alternate memories that override previous information and poof -- new person.

While it all looks good on paper, there is some question as to how well it would function in execution -- certainly nothing in the rules cover the idea.

-Siege

Ah, but I'm not talking about rewriting someone's memories. I'm talking about turning off a person's conscious mind and driving them like a drone; sort of like technological possession. And I'd perfer to not have it take up too much Essence, so it's less easy to detect. Got any ideas?

You want a personafix chip in a dedicated chipjack and a datafilter.

EB: I'd go with trying to hoc something using a skillwire system so you can interject movements when needed. RAS or not depending on whether you want them to still be able to move on their own while you're piggy-backing on them.