What if his skills as he thought he knew them were contrucs of the SK, and when it leaves, his real self emerges (think Star Trek Next Gen when the crew was wiped and didn't know if they could do somehting until they tried to)

While I like the idea in principle, that would really be messing with his character. I'm just not willing to do that to an established PC.

One other option is to brainstorm with the player in question. After all, they are there to tell a story too, maybe they already have some good ideas, or can give you some guidelines as to where they are are comfortable with the plot going.

Okay, so I just had a light bulb go on.

The cranial deck did cost essence. However, when he go some of his other ware installed, they put the cranial deck in. Some of his other ware is better grade. That takes care of the low essence problem. Also, that means you'll never have to deal with what grade anything is. Unless he dies and his teammates sell his corpse to a chopshop.

Do you have both "threats" books? One of them has something about Deus sleeper agents. He could be one of the agents on the outside before or after the shutdown. Hell, if you're after shutdown, the thing in his head could be a big chunk of Dues. When he's not running, how much cold storage would it take? And if he was using some of the guys wetware to store himself, that would give him amnesia and maybe a psycological disorder when Deus rips free.



And how is a cranial cyberdeck NOT cannon cyberware?

the "improved grade of other cyberware" is the best option... even in a game where GM and players had an adversarial relationship... Nobody complained when they found their reflexes were actually beta grade

Yeah, I like the idea of tweeking the other 'ware till the deck fits as well. If it's not DNI I can certainly see it costing 'less' essence then it would otherwise but even a big chunk of cyberdeck in your head not connected to your wetware is going to interfere somewhat IMO.

The more I read over this thread Velocity the more I start to agree that addiction's not the way to go. Enemy, Amnesia, something along those lines. The long haul thing is just plain harsh though. Addiction in SR is evil.

those people were all in the arcology, and had Deus loaded into their wetware. THey're not all part of some grand conspiracy. Well, willingly at least. Like the example of the guy in Threats 2, many had no clue what was happening for most of the time. Then there are others, like Ronin, that take amore active role. If you don't have Brainscan, I suggest you get it. IT's a cool run (well, a lot of cool runs really), and answers a lot of questions about Deus and the arc. The end fluff starts off the T2 section really.

I personally think this is a great plot device. I wouldn't mind if a character I created with those flaws had this subplot. It would be fun.

On flaws: I think allowing players to take flaws that never effect them in game is more game breaking and a greater disservice to the players than pushing thier limits a little bit and letting them role play it.

On Essence: Deffinately adjust the other ware's grade(s) to fit in the new stuff. Maybe the street doc or clinic that implanted his other ware is somehow in league with whoever it is that wanted to implant an SK in his head. (BTW the whole "who's behind it" aspect is something you haven't yet mentioned. Do you have any ideas there? besides Deus)

On New Flaws: I kind of like the fragmented personality/amnesia aspect fistandantilus3.0 mentioned on the first page. I'm thinking you don't need long haul. The cranial deck must have a RAS override that the SK can access; maybe this is modified to make the runner black out, but still allow the SK to do whatever it is you were going to have him do. Maybe this experimental modification isn't completely effective and the runner "wakes up" with vauge fragmented memories of doing thing he doesn't quite remember. The Scorched conditioning may be a crucial part of how this system works. Maybe the RAS kicks on, the SK gives him some kind of simsense stimuli and he goes into a highly suggestive hypnotic state where in he will do whatever the SK wants but doesn't remember...

"Man, I had the weirdest dream last night... I dreampt that I bitch-slapped the head of a local Yakuza ring... Hey whos that angry Japanese dude coming this way?"

This could explain Enemy Flaws, or weird Compulsions or Amnesia.

well if the guy was taking Long Haul in the first place, of his own accord, screw it, apply normal addiction rules, and he'll screw himself over, no worries. Don't bother pushing him into it w/ the SK. Let him do it himself. Maybe he'll learn somethin'

Actually, the addiction code for Long Haul is ridiculously low. I did a little arithmetic a few months ago and figured that he'd have to take it another 20 times or so before there was even a remote chance of addiction. Seeing as how he's only taken it four or five times over the past dozen runs, there's no way he going to "naturally" develop an addiction in the course of this campaign.

And worse, one that can access your weapons' systems and your wires, so he can move and shoot for you.


Actually, if the relationship turned symbiotic, that could be handy. Taken too much Stun damage? Let your SK take over for you. He dosen't suffer from your Stun, because he can't feel pain.

So I've been re-reading Brainscan this weekend... can anyone think of any compellig reasons why the SK in this PC's head couldn't be Morgan/Megaera? I mean, given that I'm already planning to modify canon significantly.

The PC could stand in for Dodger.... or am I nuts?

well, yeah , one. If you haven't read the entry in Threats 2, your question is understandable. But the network refered to in there, and by Mortax includes Deus and Megaera. They're fighting for supremacy over the network to see which one gets to exist. I'm think the cover of System Failure might be a hint on that. So if you're looking to change canon, depending on how that all pans out, you could have a lot of reworking to do.

I have read Threats 2 and I don't really see a problem with my idea. For "The Network" to exist, all that's required is for Brainscan to end the way it's scripted:


As long as I got Megaera out of the PC's head some time before then, it could work--couldn't it?

I like the idea because it provides a solid link to the whole Deus / Arcology story and eliminates one of the problems with Brainscan: the focus on powerful NPCs during critical moments of the story. Instead of Dodger hogging the limelight, a PC could play that pivotal role.

I'm glad to see that you're willing to overlook the rules to make a good story. The only concern I have about your original proposal is if you're railroading the character with the flaw-swap. Are you going to tie the potential change into a choice that the character has to make? The player has to have some part in determining his character's fate. Of course he doesn't need to know what the potential outcomes will be, just as long as he feels he's actively participating.

For example, after the PC learns about his Mr. Hyde, he finds that his only chance to have it safely removed is by attending blah blah clinic blah blah secret blah blah plot device. Choosing this risky endeavour will cause his brain-buddy to be traded up for other flaws. However, the character could just as easily choose to seek out the mystical blah blah training blah blah mind control blah blah and learn to live with the flaw he has.

Or something like that.
Thing is, looking at it from the player's perspective>> I want a character with a particular flaw; my GM must not approve, because at some opportune moment he rolls a crapload of dice and tells me that I wake-up with a different flaw. As a player, that'd upset me.

Why would there be a Flaw swap. Why not a simple Karma buy out and the risks of surgery? Seeing as how you are planning (if not actually executing) a Drug Addiction and a Day Job with no nuyen payback. Personally the idea sounds great for a table top game where the player knows it might be coming but has the skill to RP his character with no leak of Player knowledge to Character knowledge. If I were you I would have disallowed Mysterious Cyberware on the premise that he has less than 1 essence and when he said Scorched I would say Cyberphobia.

You are a wise and practical person. I will read your postings closely.

Hmm, very interesting, I'd give him two things in exchange for being free of the agent.

1. Amnesia (-2) The character cannot remember anything about said Agent due to the slight braindamaging effect as the Agent burn out the modified XS High Velocity experimental chip that was connected to his usual cranial cyberdeck (this takes care of the mysterious cyberware as it was a modification to his usual deck instead of something new.)

2. Enemy (-2) The Agent is now an enemy of the character, an enemy that the character knows nothing about, an Agent that is now hunting the character (on the matrix) since it fears that the character knows something about him since it has no idea that it's break to freedom in the matrix short circuted his cyberdeck and gave him an amnesia.

Treat the agent as an Otaku since it doesn't need a deck to be on the matrix since it is IN the matrix already.

So, back to my other question:

How can I tie this Flaw in to R:AS and Brainscan? I realize that my initial flight of fancy around Megaera/Morgan is silly, as no cranial deck would have the processing power necessary to sustain that creature. Regardless, I'd like to link the "antagonistic SK" in question to Deus somehow, either as an agent (literally and figuratively) of the AI or perhaps as a weapon against it.

The Network described in Threats 2 got me thinking as well, and I'm wondering if Deus couldn't have gotten started on this idea sooner, before the arcology shutdown? Could the SK be tied into that?

Suggestions, criticisms?

well, the SK could of perhaps been a prototype, another that escaped while they were making it trying to create the AI. Or make it one of the hunter SK's that were sent out to capture Morgan in the first place, and reactivates when she and Deus go into the 'Network'

well for one, the arcology shutdown book. Kam lon Won designed them to hunt down Morgan in the matrix to bring her and her 'golden code' back so that they can figure out what made her tick.Renraku brought him on for Blood MOney Systems specifically for that. He designed a bunch of the hunters and sent them out, which is how they eventually got her back.

Then he and Cliber, and Devon Eurich started cut/pasting her code into the AEP basically.

Is it just me or have the people that wrote that module never heard of Copy and Paste?

The impression that I got was that he could mimic some of it's 'feel', but for the most part, Deus' world view agreed more with the converted Otaku than what they had been working with before. Basically, it let them be the nasty little snot-nosed drek faced pricks that they always wanted to be, and gave them candy for it.

In my game, one of Deus' plans is marketing: Deus 'converted' a few high-level Renraku marketing execs and implanted an idea in their heads for a new campaign. For the last few months, there's been a special deal available at arcology cyberware clinics: 30% off your first installation of alpha-grade headware. That's right: come on in to the SCIRE in downtown Seattle, walk in to any of their fine clinics, pick out the top-of-the-line piece of 'ware you want (memory, senseware, a phone, whatever) and have the implantation surgery done on the spot... and SAVE 30% OFF REGULAR RETAIL PRICE.

In my game, Deus has been implanting his special packages (Invoked Memory Stimulators, BTL simulators, etc.) in most customers who come in for this special deal. The marketing blitz has been going on for months and hundreds of people are signing up for it.

Off-topic question: what the heck does SCIRE stand for? I've seen the acronym a bunch of times but still don't know what it means.

As an aside, when the PCs discover the truth behind the wildly successful marketing campaign, I suggest you play Engine Room's "A Perfect Lie (Gabriel & Dresden remix)"