I was looking about for some research material for runners to steal that whilst of great value, was also pretty useless for the same runners to use. These were 2 ideas I was toying with. Are they compatible with SR tech and magic, but not at current levels of tech/magic, maybe in 10-odd years?

1) Bio-encapsulation - A technique for reducing essence loss from cyberware by enclosing the implant with a bioware interface that is tailored to effectively produce bio-electricity and screen the host from contaminates introduced by the cyberware.

2) Booste - A drug-style compound (similar to awakened halucigenics or FAB) that temporarily enables mundanes to have a magic rating, but causes real magic point loss on the comedown. Safe for mundanes, if you ignore the addiction, lethal to "real" awakened power.

3) Mutaware - A once only treatment to the subject's DNA that boosts an attribute point by 1 only. This works by mutating the subject towards an normal ideal (Att = 1-6, ex. racial mod.) whilst being minor enough that magic is not effected.

Repeat, not looking for confirmation of valid current SR tech, but whether this could be possible with SR tech that is 2074 or later. What are your views?

For 2074, looks fine- maybe even a little underpowered- but from a standpoint of being useless to runners, it fails miserably.

The idea of "valuable, but useless" stuff should be things the runners are not equiped or trained to exploit. For example, a team I GMed for was once paid for a run by getting a recording of meistersinger (awakened humpback whale) songs. They were told they'd be paid something of great value, so they did some research and found that meistersinger songs have intrinsic magical properties in their rhythm and structure that make them useful for designing spells, foci, etc. It was the sort of thing that would take magical researchers years to really get a grips on how to use it, so it wasn't any use to the runners, but they sold it for a good price to a university.

Note that while the end benefits of the research mihgt have benefitted them, it was far too abstract for them to use on their own. They pretty much just had to sell it; they weren't going to figure out how to use it. Now the ideas you present... if we're talking about plans for such technology, then sure, but an actual prototype? No way.

well, he's saying that the data itself will be useless to the runners; it won't be far enough along in the research and development process to derive anything usable from.

1) Sounds like a neat idea for the near-SR-future. It could shift a portion of the essence cost toward bio-index.

2) Again, it sounds very cool, but considerably more problematic. Even if you could get a magic point or two, you still would need skills to do most stuff. I suppose you could bond a focus, but what happens when the drug wears off? Lots of tricky issues, but a nifty idea.

3) SOTA 2063. Although only physical attributes as of 2063. Mental attributes by 2074? Eh, maybe.

2) Cool but must be limited. I think Threat 2 had something similar in it. Bizarre ritual for drug info and you got your game info. In the book I think they used the ritual for temping burnouts(magic types who have lost their powers) to join the cult. If you do this, SR scientist have probally figured out where the magic part of DNA is. Which could amount to a cool James Bond like game. Hmmmm. :starts to work on the story:

Genetech is 2063 still has drawbacks besides price. Maybe make the mutaware thing effectively a superior way to induce bioware or other genetech that results in lower bio-index. Of course, at the current levels of research, have a 50% (or higher) chance of developing a nasty cancer instead of the intended alteration.

I was thinking of mutaware to be incompatible with most bio/cyberware, remove too much of yourself and the bonuses go. Take more than 1 point per attribute or more than 3 "mutas" and you just started the (short) timer to for the trip to the cancer city morgue, as well as magic loss.

The benefit? No magic loss.

But, HoV, yours is good too.

Big additional rule sets can be fun, but adding a subtle mod to a pre-existing one is easier.

It all supposed to be tech that hasn't hit the working proto-type stage yet. I mainly don't won't to be tripped up by something esoteric as "astral shadows" or co-virgent evolution with a bit of SR I haven't read.

Does anybody else have some funky research projects?

Energy production, teleportation (with an entire facility worth of equipment)
Advanced composites, next year's trid show episodes... just take anything really.

No surprise coming from me....

Genetically enhanced embryos (spelling?) Maybe not quite Khan material, but the precursor to it. Sealed in specialized cannisters that don't immediately indicate their contents, but look like humanoid embryos. (Blade 2 reaper embryos for example). Course, without the proper facilities or means to even open the cannisters correctly, you've basically got a bizarre paperweight.

I'm also thinking along the lines of Terminator 2. Where Dyson had the remainder bits of the 1st terminator, heavily damaged so not immediately useful, but pointing research in a improved direction. It took them roughly from the time of movie 1 to movie 2 for Dyson to make any real headway.

This could be applied to cybernetics, cyberdeck stuff, whatever. Just have the pieces damaged or very flawed prototypes that aren't immediately functional, but would point research and development towards better things. It becomes a scope issue, make it beyond a runners resources to do much with.

the official line is that essence loss is a result of changing the neural system. this is a completely insane explanation, but there it is.

however, setting up a bioware interface between the cyber and the body isn't a bad idea.

My perception of essence loss comes from the 'your cyberware is you for magical purposes' rule. Cyberware doesn't have a true pattern. Implanting it is essentialy the same as ripping off a piece of your true pattern and fillin gup the hole with inert material (black spots in the arua, ect.). This is probably as traimatic to as being shot in the head, if not more so. The trauma just isn't as obvious.

Bioware doesn't cause essence loss because it is alive and has a true pattern. It causes bioindex because the true pattern is different from your own, thus by installing bioware you put a foreign pattern into your own.

The problem with bioencapsulation is that the foreign pattern you are attaching to your own has a big hole in it, thus there will be some essence loss. The question is how much. It is quite possible that some of it will be reduced. However, it probably wouldn't work with all ware, especially not reflex boosters.

Take a heavily cybered rabid bager, strap it to your head, and attach its central nervous sys tem to yours. Can you use its cybereyes? Almost certainly. Can you use its gyromounted minigun. Indeed you can. Can you use its wired reflexes? Only to launch badger-based melee attacks. Will you eventually die from rabies that has already traveled across the link between your brains? Indeed.

Will the badger cause bio-index? Yes. Will the badger's ware eat up your essence? That is a very good question. Bioencapsulation isn't very different from this.

Badgers? We don't need no stinking badgers!

Woot! Cybernetic rabid badger attachments! Now that's advanced R&D.

JaronK

out of curiousity what is this "naming" ritual and where is it talked about?

it sounds interesting and this is the first time ive heard about it.

One thread of research that I at least find interesting, along the cyberzombie path, is the interaction of the essence drain power granted by HMHVV and essence loss from cyberware. This seems like research the vampire group in England would be into, given they appear to have some influence over at least on delta grade clinic.