Note: It is important for players who wish to play cybernetic characters to realize that they are slaves; they have no property rights, no voting rights, no right to life. A droid who "talks back" to humans is likely to be deemed faulty, and have its memory erased and re-initialized. If a life-or-death choice needs to be made between a human and a droid, the human will almost certainly be chosen. The only thing that droid characters have going for them is that they are expensive to replace, so they won't be cast aside lightly.
Note: All droids and cyborgs must buy REC back to 0 (zero), (only for cybernetic parts). For cyborgs, this will mean keeping track of the state of individual bits and pieces. Cybernetic bits and pieces are not self-repairing, but will require the attentions of a Cyberneticist if they are damaged.
When designing a droid (or remote drone), it would be a good idea to develop a fairly firm idea of what it looks like, where its vital parts are, etc. This is primarily for the purposes of damage determination, but it will also help with roleplaying in a general sense. If you can actually find (or create) a picture of your conception, that's all the better.
Characters playing droids or AI brains are not subject to the Normal Characteristic Maxima disadvantage. However, except with express GM approval (in which case the Disadvantages will probably have to be paid off), they must instead take the following compulsory Disadvantages for which they receive no points:
Cybernetic characters should buy their REC back to 0 (zero)
All cybernetic PCs also get the following abilities free of charge:
Cybernetic characters who are able to have parts removed without causing further damage (e.g. shock, bleeding etc.) may buy this Life Support - May Be Dismantled power.
A very useful ability, often utilized in ship AI, is to use a drone as a physical body for such work as repairs, freight loading, or even serving drinks. A drone can be used as a temporary AI shell, in which case any ship functions normally carried out by the AI will have to be left to automatic systems, but more usually the drones are controlled remotely.
The way in which remotes are built will depend on how they operate. Powers such as Clairsentience, Telekinesis, and Mind Link are appropriate when building remote drones. If the AI consciousness is transferred into the drone while it is in operation, Multiform (or Mind-Linked Duplication, if more than one drone is operational simultaneously) might reflect the situation most appropriately.
Drones can be built with Variable Power Pools to reflect a configurable architecture. The pool control should have the limitation "Only change powers in workshop, only to powers possible with available hardware/software modules".
If a remotely controlled drone (as opposed to a mobile AI shell) is inadvertently moved into a shielded area so that remote contact is lost, it cannot be retrieved by the AI and human assistance will be required. Similarly, a remote drone moved out of line-of-sight (over the horizon, underground, etc) will have to switch control to RF with a significant lag-time being introduced; drones in this situation take a -2 to �5 modifier on all physical actions.
Characters who wish to start with cybernetic enhancements (cyborgs) must pay for them with character points. They may also be added or improved later, in which case the character will have to come up with oodles of cash as well as character points.
Note that many useful cybernetic enhancements will result in a considerable social stigma (Distinctive Features, Secret, etc.), and may even be illegal. Obvious cyborgs will often encounter considerable scorn, suspicion, prejudice, resentment, fear and loathing, especially on the conservative core worlds. Cybernetic enhancements to characteristics are still subject to Normal Characteristic Maxima point costs, and will usually not affect figured characteristics. Also, they will have to be run from an END Reserve (p65, Hero 4th Ed.). The prices quoted for enhanced cybernetics on the cybernetic equipment pages assume that the parts are obviously cybernetic; disguised enhancements will be substantially more expensive.
Cybernetic prostheses (that is, body part replacements which do not enhance Characteristics) are just paid for in money; the character need not pay Character Points unless s/he is paying off a Phys. Limit. The prices quoted on the cybernetic equipment pages for prostheses assume that the parts are designed to pass for a normal body-part under normal circumstances. Parts which are designed to pass under close scrutiny will be substantially more expensive, while obvious prostheses will be cheaper.
A cybernetic body part will be subject to double damage from electrical, maser or ion attacks for the purposes of Impairing and Disabling. (Note: military hardware may be Hardened against these effects, but assume it is not unless the GM specifically tells you it is. Hardening cybernetics against these effects increases the price dramatically).
Damaged cybernetics do not heal of their own accord, but must be mended or replaced by a trained cyberneticist. All active cybernetic parts carry the limitation CYBERNETIC unless specially Hardened aginst the effects of electrical, ion and maser attacks.
The Limitation Cybernetic is defined as follows:
NOTE that this damage is not all applied against the character's BODY total, but is merely used to determine the possibility of impairment for the cyber-bits themselves. Only the actual weapon damage counts against the character's BODY total.
END Reserves can be set to recover through solar cells, but such recovery must be fairly slow, say, 1 END per 5 minutes (which would be a �1 limitation on the REC). The primary recharge method should be from a large permanent power supply, in which case the REC can be as large as the character cares to pay for. Note that a REC which can only be recharged from a power supply gets a �2 limitation, but if you run out of juice away from a power point, you�re in the poo.
A character can have more than one END Reserve at a time.
CYBERNETICISTS
This INT-based skill gives the character a working knowledge of cybernetic systems, and how they interface with living flesh in Cyborgs. It is a required skill for anyone who wishes to be able to design or repair any cybernetic device. Complementary skills include Mechanic and Electronics. Depending on the sort of systems which are being built or repaired, skills such as PS: Surgeon or Systems Operations may also be complementary.
Cyberneticist costs 3 pts for a base INT-roll, and 2 pts per +1 to the roll.
Repair work on droids and cyborg parts will have to be done by a Cyberneticist -- someone who has a Cybernetics Skill above, and the Multipower detailed below. There is no reason why a character cannot do his or her own repairs, assuming that s/he has the skills and can access the damaged part(s). Each slot will deal with a different characteristic or power. Extra slots can be added with experience, of course, to allow the cyberneticist to repair a wider range of systems.
CYBERNETICIST MULTIPOWER |
|
| POWER RESERVE: | Minimum of 20pts |
| EACH SLOT: | |
2d6 Cosmetic Transform:"Broken Cybernetic [characteristic/power] to fixed" |
Cumulative (+�), Zero END (+�) Only in workshop or must have proper tools/replacement parts available (-�), Extra Time - 5 minutes (-1), Concentrate throughout (-�), Requires a Cybernetics Skill-roll (-�) |
| Active Cost: 20, Real Cost: 6, Slot cost: 1 | |
| This is designed to reflect the possibility of rebuilding a robot or a cybernetic body part which has been damaged (Impaired), but is not totally destroyed. The Transform dice act against the Active Cost of the characteristic or power being mended.
To rebuild a robot which has been damaged so badly that it is "dead" in game terms (or a cyborg limb which has been Disabled) will require that one of the Multipower Slots be filled with: | |
1d6 Major Transform:"Dead Cybernetic Device to Living" |
Same Advantages and Limitations as above |
| Active Cost: 30, Real Cost: 9, Slot Cost: 2 | |
| This can be used to reinitialise the device after the damage which "killed" it has been repaired. (Note that if the damage has not been repaired, the device will immediately "die" again). The Transform dice must achieve twice the BODY of the target. | |
I have based the repairs on Transform rather than Aid because I wish to be able to use the "Cumulative" advantage which is available with Transform, rather than force characters to have to buy a lot of Aid to repair each possible power or characteristic.