In my On a Red World Alone campaign, there are two types of cybernetics. There are those which augment a function of the body, and those which replace a function of the body.
I’ve talked about replacements before. They’re used when some part of a character’s body has been damaged to the point that it stops functioning. (In other words, the character is dead). These cybernetics serve as the only means of resurrection in ORWA. However, the technology isn’t advanced far enough for these replacements to be as good as the home-grown originals. So while they do allow a dead character to return to life, they come with severe penalties.
Augmentations are different. They don’t actually replace anything, they add something extra. These extras help the body to do what it’s already doing, or do something new entirely.
But, the body can take only so many additions. Each character can have 1 cybernetic augmentation for every 3 points of Constitution they have. So, a character with 11 Con may have 3 cybernetic augmentations, while a character with 18 Con can have up to 6.
The number of mods is only checked against a character’s constitution when they want to install a new augmentation. So if a character’s constitution were reduced for whatever reason, that has no effect on augmentations they already have installed, just ones they may wish to install in the future.
So if a character with 18 Con has 5 augments installed, and their constitution is reduced by half, down to 9 (which would normally allow only 3 augmentations), they do not take any penalties for having more augments than they should. However, if they want to install another augmentation, they are now over their limit.
Characters who wish to continue augmenting themselves after they’ve maxed out may do so. However, it comes at a price. If a player installs an augmentation when they are already at or above their current maximum, both their Constitution, and their Charisma will be reduced by 2. Neither of these may ever go lower than 1, or the character will die.
While it may not be useful in your games, I should note that there’s some possible interaction here with the Training rules that I use. Specifically, I allow players to attend Charm School, or undertake some Endurance Training, to increase their Charisma and Constitution respectively. Each of these can be done as many times as desired, and each time will cost 4000cc, require 3 months of game time, and increase the associated stat by 1. In this way, it is theoretically possible that a character could modify themselves infinitely if they’re willing to spend massive amounts of time and money to keep their body in shape despite their over-modification. At the rate allowed, each new augment would require 1 year of in-game time for the character to earn the 2 Con and 2 Cha, which they would then lose upon installing their new augment.
Personally, I’m completely okay with this. It actually seems like an interesting possibility, that player would ever be so devoted to enhancing themselves that they’d invest such massive resources into doing it. But then, my game maintains some very strict time records. In 15 months of play, game time has progressed only 18 months. So your mileage may vary.
Possible Augmentations:
CyberLobe, (10,000cc) – A bit of computer hardware installed directly into the cyborg’s brain. Allows rapid mathematical calculation, and includes a port which the cyborg can use to directly transfer computer files to, or from their brain.
Reinforced Bones (25,000cc) – Roll hit points twice each level, and take the higher result. The character should retroactively reroll all their hit points from previous levels, and if the new total is higher, that’s they’re current HP.
MuscleTensos (Rank 1: 8,000cc)(Rank 2: 20,000cc)(Rank 3: 50,000cc) – Little electrodes embeded into your muscles. They detect whenever you’re trying to make a sudden, striking motion, and they shock your muscles at just the right time to intensify your intended movement. Adds +1 to melee attack rolls for each rank.
Head Tubes (6,000cc) – A sealed access which leads directly to the cyborg’s brain. They can pop the hatch open with a mental command, and pour up to 4 potions in with a single action. All of the potions have their full effect, starting simultaneously.
Roller Feet (20,000cc) – Little wheels pop out of the cyborg’s feet, and their movement increases by 60′ (20′). Comes with a complimentary pair of adaptive shoes, which have a little hatch for the wheels to pop out of.
Reinforced Back (50,000cc) – The cyborg’s carrying capacity is doubled.
Storage Compartment (4,000cc) – Some of your innards are squished, some of your organic redundancies are removed, and a nice little hidden compartment is installed right into your body. Anything you put in there can never be taken from you, because nobody will ever find it.
CyberEyes, (Rank 1: 2,500cc)(Rank 2: 5,000cc)(Rank 3: 10,000cc) – Gives the character perfect vision, and a HUD where they can see their own inventory, health, etc. Allows for the installation of eye modules. Characters with CyberEyes can have 1 eye module per rank of their eyes. Only the CyberEyes count against a character’s augmentation limit, don’t count.
Eye Modules
Night Vision (5,000cc) – Allows the cyborg to see in the dark. Their vision is black and white.
Recorders (5,000cc) – Allows the cyborg to record or photograph anything they can see, which can then be output via a small data port in their tear duct.
Lasers (20,000cc) – Requires the target to make a saving throw versus Devices, or take 2d6 damage.
Telescope (10,000cc) – Allows the cyborg to zoom their vision in crazy far. Anything within their line of sight can be zoomed in on. Even some celestial bodies can be observed with reasonable detail.
Microscope (10,000cc) – Enables the cyborg to see down to the microscopic scale.
X-Ray (20,000cc) – Not actually X-Rays. But it does allow the cyborg to see through 1 or 2 layers of pretty much anything that isn’t more than 2′ thick, or isn’t lined with lead.
Auto-Aimer (Rank 1: 8,000cc)(Rank 2: 20,000cc)(Rank 3: 50,000cc) – Allows you to automatically mark a target, which will cause geometric guidelines to appear in your vision, aiding you in hitting with ranged weapons. Provides a +1 bonus to attack rolls for each rank.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider dropping a dollar in my Patreon box. I know it’s silly to ask for money for a blog, but it would certainly help me out a lot. And whether you do or don’t, P&P will always be here for your gaming enjoyment.