FENG MOBIUS!

CYBERNETICS
written by
Benjamin Baugh
benjamin-lee@worldnet.att.net

Unfortunately, translating Silent Möbius cybernetics into Feng Shui is not a simple as it was for Sorcery. The Arcanowave schticks aren't exactly right for SM cyborgs and don't quite suit the genera anyway. The following is quick and dirty translation for SMFS using the Big Bruiser to describe the typical full body or near full body cyborg.

CYBER SCHTICKS

Acquiring Cyber Schticks

Cybernetic enhancement is available to characters in the form of Cyber Schticks. These may be acquired during play but doing so demands both experience points and sizable funds to pay for the sophisticated technology and its upkeep. The experience cost is (X + 8) where "X" is the current number of cyber schticks you currently possess. In addition to this, you must spend at least a week of down time undergoing the advanced nano surgery required for enhancement and recovering from the experience. Characters who try and purchase cyber upgrades without paying the experience will be plagued with malfunction and serious negative neural side effects like constant migraines and other phantom pain. Trying to integrate cybersystems without being mentally and physically prepared is courting disaster, and reputable cyberclinics insist on a battery of psychological and physical tests before performing surgery. No one said your doctor had to reputable, though.

The Schticks

Cybergraft Upgrade (CU)
Most of your body has been replaced with cybernetic and bionic components, the technology for which was derived from megadyne research. Your sense of touch, while adequate, is dulled (-3 to Perception when touch in involved) and you weigh several times your apparent weight and will sink in water without special flotation devices. Also, by carving away your human flesh you disrupt the flow of life-force through your body, and you may never have a Chi (or any of its sub-attributes) greater than 5 minus the number of CU schticks you possess. Perhaps worst of all you can't heal wound points without the help of a trained cyber-surgeon who must use both Medicine and Fix-it to put you back together. Why on earth would you opt for such negatives when perfectly good biosystems are available which neatly mimic flesh? The answers is simple: superhuman power and life after crippling injury.

Your cybernetic body is tough, strong, fast virtually tireless and can be equipped with numerous ibuilt-in devices. You could be nothing but a brain in a jar, but your cyborg life-support systems insure that you will live for hundreds of years. You gain enhanced abilities every time you select this schtick, but with more than 2 schticks of CU you look inhuman, and no amount of syntha-flesh can cover your bulging servo motors and electro-pistons. You have the following profile with a cybergraft, and you may not improve your Body attribute or any of its subattributes with experience. You can only boost them by purchasing a new level of CU. Also note that with 2 or more schticks of CU, your Charisma suffers for all attempts to make a positive impression. For Intimidation, however, you can use your full normal value and add the number of schticks you have of CU.

CU
--
--
1
2
Death
Max
Schticks
Body
Toughness
Impairment
Impairment
Check
CHA
1
11
12
40
45
50
---
2
12
13
45
50
55
---
3
14
15
50
55
60
4
4
16
17
55
60
65
2

Life Support System
Your body is equipped with an built-in system designed to keep you up and fighting in hostile environments. For one schtick, you have a number of minutes of internal air equal to your contribution and a set of bio-filters which prevent you from catching any diseases. In addition, you only need to eat once a week and can survive on less than two hours of sleep a night. With 2 schticks, you can survive for a number of hours on internal air and your respiratory system is set with toxin-filters which prevent you from suffering any ill effects from poison gas or inhaled drugs.

Internal Weapon
You have a standard weapon type built into body. This can be any of the following. You have one weapon system for each time you select this schtick. Any projectile weapons which are built-in have a nerve link which grants a +2 AV to use them. Reloading an internal projectile weapon is a bit tricky, though and it takes 3 shots to do so. Whether melee or ranged, an internal weapon is concealed when not in use.
Pistol: (11/0/12)
Machine Pistol: (8/0/15)
Shotgun: (13/0/2) Takedown on 4 or more, -3 AV beyond 10 meters
Cryo Laser: (14/0/1) Recharges in 5 minutes.
Taser: (special /0/15) Causes attack Outcome in Impairment for 1 sequence.
Shock-Hand: Acts as taser with every touch.
Finger Blades: Str + 2 damage. -4 difficulties in climbing tasks.
Arm Blades: Str + 4 damage.
Mono Wire: Str +2 damage. range of 8 meters. Ignores armor but not toughness. Hits user on a failed and fumbled attack for full damage.

Cyber Senses
Your senses have been enhanced with electronic devices implanted in your skull and brain. With one schtick of Cyber Senses your sight and hearing are much more acute allowing you to operate in the dark without any penalty. In addition, your eyes can zoom to get a finer view at greater distances, reducing any range difficulty penalties by 2. With 2 or more schticks in Cyber Senses you can invent an entirely new sense and describe how it functions. You might be able to hear and transmit radio signals, or perhaps you have a magnetic sensor or ibuilt-in sonar system. This new sense can grant you as much a -3 difficulty in circumstances appropriate to its use.

Interface
You can link your nervous system with appropriately equipped pieces of equipment (usually double the cost of a normal item of its type). When using an interfaced item, you must plug it into an I/O port implanted in your body, either in your skull or in a major nerve center (like your wrist). Hooking and unhooking an interface requires 2 shots. when interfaced, you receive a +1 AV bonus for every schtick of Interface you possess when using the special item. You can only run one interface item at a time regardless of how many times you take this schtick. Interfaces have been constructed for computers, guns, vehicles, automated medical devices, and virtual entertainment systems. An interface adds 1 to the conceal rating of any weapon.

Armor
Your body is hardened with layers of ballistic cloth and ceramic composite plates. You gain 2 points of armor each time you take this, but gain 20kg of mass. Each level of armor you possess inhibits your movement, reducing your Speed subattribute by 1.

System Hardening
Your electronic components are hardened against disruption and EM pulses. Each time you take this schtick you may add 4 to any checks to avoid impairment from system shocks and electronic disruption attacks.

Combat Overdrive
When in desperate circumstances, you can disengage the safety mechanisms on your cybernetic systems and operate at beyond-peak efficiency. When you engage your Combat Overdrive you may reduce all your shot costs by 1 for each time you select this schtick down to a minimum of 1. Schticks beyond 2 boost your Speed by 2 each. After operating under the effects of your Combat Overdrive for a number of sequences equal to half your Willpower (round down) you immediately loose all the overdrive bonuses and gain Impairment equal to twice the number of schticks of Combat Overdrive you possess. This impairment lasts until you undergo a refit and recalibration performed by a cybersurgeon with the proper equipment. You can engage this schtick a second or even a third time before getting refitted, but each time causes you to suffer wounds, two per schtick of Combat Overdrive in addition to the accumulating impairment this will cause.

Power Leap
Feet, legs and spine have been reinforced with superior electro pistons and servo motors and your artificial tendons replaced with especially strong and flexible polymer materials. Enhanced shock absorbers and gyroscopic stabilizers ensure you always land on your feet, even when falling out of control, and you can survive falls from great distance without any damage. You can leap a distance in meters equal to the number of Power Leap schticks you possess times your Body rating, thus if you had 2 schticks of Power Leap and a body of 12 you could leap 24 meters. You can endure any fall up to your jump distance if you make a difficulty 8 Reflexes of Martial Arts check.

Self Destruct
If desired (or some preset circumstances met, such as you own death) you can blow yourself up with an ibuilt-in explosive charge. This causes 30 points of damage in a radius equal to you Body and half this at twice that range. The blast automatically takes down anything unnamed (buildings, crowds and mooks) which require an outcome equal to half your Body attribute, rounded up. Obviously, this kills you dead. Some cyborgs—corporate security cyborgs for example—are equipped with Self Destruct devices designed to be triggered by outside signal. This awful technology can be triggered from anywhere on Earth or by any kind of tampering.

Cybernetic Characters

Any normal character type can be made into a cyborg by exchanging listed Gun or unique schticks for cyborg schticks. Thus a respectable version of Kiddy Phenil can be created by exchanging three of the Maverick Cop's four gun schticks for cyber schticks (say, Cybergraft Upgrade, Life Support and Power Leap with one level of Both Guns Blazing). Likewise, a deadly synthetic megadyne like Wire can be created from the Killer archetype simply by exchanging all 5 gun schticks for cyber schticks (Cybergraft Upgrade 2, Internal Weapon :Mono wire, Power Leap and Self Destruct).

Remember, each level of Cybergraft Upgrade a character has seriously inhibits their chi flow, so those characters with Fu powers, creature powers and sorcery will find their abilities seriously inhibited if they upgrade their bodies.


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