Right I have had a long day and I am just about to hit the sack, and thought I would leave this one for you all to mull over!

looking through M & M and saw a picky of a cyber dog, can you do it, what would the essence cost for the dog be? availability on parts?

don't you think it would be so cool to turn up on a run with a kick ass cyber dog that has a faster reaction than an elf on speed?

Let me know what you think as I think it would be great to create!

I will see what you have all come up with when I am bored at work tomorrow!

night!

torz x

Essence 6 according to p.48 of the Denver Gamemaster Book.

And yes, you can cyber an animal. They just have a nasty habit of going... nuts.

Ah, c'mon guys. Again?

Again?

I answered a simple question. Christ.

I think essence cost for animals was 2x the listed cost for humans, and animals get a "freak out" roll repeatedly when cybered, depending on their essence (something along the 10 - essence lines).

Go download the free PDF of the Critters books. All the animal cybering rules are in it.

I need to pull out a CHOMPS-2000 sometime soon.

Cybered cats are scary. Keep in mind that Reaction is used for combat skill.

~J

Yes but they are also Clean, Affectionate, and unlike Dogs are Territorial Hunters. If you ask me, perfect for keeping the Apartment safe... or the back of the van, or the bar...

AH is the master of Thread-Fu

Incidentally, I wasn't around for the last trip out of the bag on this one either - anyone got a good link?

EDIT: I think you'll find some security companies have licences for cyber animals in the same way they get them for paranimals. Soon as my Corporate Security Handbook shows, I'll try for a page ref.

A small group of cybered guard dogs gave the runners fits in a one-shot I ran. It was brutal. I think the 'ware was:

- plastic lacing
- dermal plate 1
- boosted 2
- dikoted cyberfangs
- injector full of kamikaze
- injector full of neurostun (to retrieve the dogs after deployment)

The minute you really borg up a dog is the minute it becomes more valueable than all those normal security guards. This might lead to some interesting moments, where the crop is concerened about its valueable cyber animals, but could care less what happens to the guards.

The best bet is probably in phenotype altered guard animals... Since you can breed and train them pretty quickly (and cheaply) once you get a modification done.

Some somthing like a chitin covered (armor-3) guard dog with the equivalten of synaptic accel 1 is probably a much more viable option that dogs that you have to borg up individually. Besides, this lets you come up with some really wierd stuff.

Hmm, guard dinosaurs...

Not really. Everything but the boosted and lacing is reusable. Though if I went with wired, that could theoretically be re-used... Hmmm...

The way I used them was for the handler to have one on a leash (deterrent), and the rest in the kennel. During intrusion situations, the handler immediately turned his loose and he and the rest of the guards sprinted for the security blockhouse while the kennel was opened. The guards then would open fire on the intruders (concentrating on the "out-of-reach" ones like levitating mages or guys in vehicles) while the dogs did their thing. It's pretty effective when you spring it on a gang of runners that came armed for a shootout, rather than a melee tangle with dogs.

Nanotech, Genetherpy, both are good ways I would think to make a better gaurddog maybe a small amount of bioware to round them out after breeding.

Now there is a thought genetically engineer a big cat (tiger, lion, ect. ect.) toss in some nano and bio nice pet.

Now to get Bitrunner to let me make one for Shadowrun Missions lol.

Cyber is a much better choice than nanotech or genetherapy. Remember, you're gonna want to do something with the 'ware after the pooch bites the dust.

~J

After you've enhanced critters with gene therapy, do the enhancements automatically pass on to their progeny? If so, then gene therapy would be the most cost efficient type of enhancement for critters in any large corp.

From a purely rules-lawyer perspective, I'd think you can get the best bang for your buck via
Bio:

• venom sacs (gamma-scop.)
• suprathyroid
• adrenal pump
• enh. articulation.

Cyber:

• Wired Reflexes
• Reaction Enhancers

What about armor? In RL, we now supply police dogs with kevlar vests; what kind of armor would corp security dogs in 2064 have?

It would be kind of fun to give them Cerebral Boosters, make them a bit smarter than your average dogs.

An old link to SR2 cyber-doggies: Electrocurs

Anyone else flashing to the 3 doberman's in Remo Williams?

Okay, I think the probably way to go for creating the hick tree has been figured out - now exactly how are you going to engineer the desire for said trees to bugger people from the rear?

[edit] I can't believe I'm actually considering helping create this using canon laws...

Compulsion: Cornhole Victim (Self only)

Experimental Psychotropic conditioning?

Specters of hillbillies that died during the Western expansion, possessing the tree?

If you've caught a runner team, just give them some massive internal injuries, alter their memories, implant compulsion to spread the word, and then let them go. No one in the shadow community will want to break into your place again...

The main advantage of animals will largely be their advanced senses. In a world where you can relatively cheaply give the same senses to people (low light, olfatory boost, enhanced hearing, etc) then the only real justification for animals if that they provide those senses in a cheaper fashion than the cyber-guards do. Why have a cyber dog that might have a 5 year useful lifespan, when you can have a cyber guard at basically the same price with a 10-15 year lifespan?

This is why I think that the breedable gene modified animals show the most promise. If you can develop a breeding population, there are very low additional costs (past the R&D) and the gestation times, etc are comparatively low...

Sad but true: Once had a run in with a cybered cow.

The legs were replaced and would jack it's self up and auto milk. Somethings are better left alone.


Then there's the killer attack chicken....

hmm?

Basically I'd assume it would work something like this:

Genetech company makes animal, and produces first 'prototypes'
2nd company/division takes over breeding/training animals
Other companies/divisions then just order trained animals for $

As for what the actual stats of such animals would be...

Notice that the 'extreme' bioware will not produce viable bodies, just the bioware. However, you might be able to fit in some of the lesser bioware...

So take a normal big dog.

Add say: synaptic 1 and a super thyroid. If you can shoehorn it in, a memonic enchancer, making them much easier to train...

This would give a 'large dog' the following stats:

B 4
Q 5 (x5)
S 4
I 2/4
W 2
Init 5 + 2d6

and a 7M? (normal dogs have 6M) attack

Order you trained doggie for maybe 15K slap an armored vest on him and you are good to go...

Assuming they are much easier and cheaper to keep than the Barghest and Hellhound (your other 'enhanced guard dog' options) and you can see plenty of medium security places ordering enhanced guard dogs...

[edit]
hmm, using a wolf as the base animal gives you the following:
B 6
Q 6 (x4) (is the x5 for the dog a typo?)
S 5
I 3/4
W 2
Init 6 + 3d6
Attack 8M

That's much meaner, and still the same critter... who knew there was so much in a name?
[/edit]

LOL

Torz x

You want badass, look to Threats 2, with the

Don't remember how the stats were calculated, but I assume there was a fair bit of booty-kicking capability. Plus somewhat smart, and under full control at all times...and dual-natured...