The Bazaar #102: Core Rules System Chapter #8

(CYBERNETICS & BIONICS)

GENERAL

Now that we’ve done arguably the most impactful chapter, we really down-shift into a very specific element of the game that only applies to certain RPGs. The advent of Cybernetics and Bionics is a very thematic topic that is typically a piece of a larger technological whole. As the technological advancements that really drive cybernetic and bionic augmentation are also leveraged for power armor, robots, and many other advanced machines of war and a variety of commercial and medical technology.

While most Palladium RPGs that included an aspect of cybernetics and/or bionics, the overarching rules for the use, and impacts of implantation for the various levels of augmentation were never really considered unless a specific game decided to. Most times they were, the rules were very narrowly applied to a specific Class, or within the context of a specific RPG only. So I went across the few RPGs that included cybernetics and grabbed some of the more applicable rules, finding the thematic baselines and smoothed out the rough spots, rounded the edges, and applied a few keywords to keep things lined up with the remainder of the Core Rules System.

DISCUSSION

General. Much like Chapter 5 – Magic and Chapter 6 – Psionics, a lot of this particular chapter came down to selection of the appropriate chunks of text and paring things down to provide GMs and Players the appropriate details. Just like in the previously mentioned chapters where I made zero effort to touch or manipulate spells or psionic powers, the same applies to cybernetics and bionics. All the entries found within the various RPG books will remain “as is,” in terms of cost, effect, damage, and any other applicable attribute. What we’re looking for is a scaffold to the rules, to provide the GM and Players something to refer to when they apply Cybernetics and Bionics within the game settings.

Cybernetics. Essentially defining the various categories of cybernetics that a GM/Player could be on the hunt for to augment their Player Characters. Largely drawn from the Rifts Sourcebook: Bionics and HU2, the categories are largely broken down as follows:

• Medical/Bio-Ware. Your replacements for eyes, ears, internal organs, or appendages.

• Commercial/Minor Augmentation. Generally available to the public. Some of these include the more impactful visual/audio/sensory cybernetics.

• Cosmetic Cybernetics. You wanna change the way you look? Basically cosmetic surgery dialled up to 11 and then jacked up with a few extra amps..

• Illegal/Black Market. Mostly non-intrusive and nefarious.

• Bionics. Advanced and robust cybernetics that are designed for combat.

Bionics. By defining the various levels of bionic conversions, we can start to identify the specific impacts each has on the type of characters, including what occurs with supernatural creatures with bio-regeneration. Broken down, we have:

• Isolated Bionics. Minor reconstruction to replace internal organs with a few limited implants, perhaps an arm.

• Partial Bionic Conversion. A major reconstruction; arms, legs, spine and neck are replaced and reinforced with mechanical replicas. A list of specific impacts.

• Full Bionic Conversion. A very major reconstruction with various impacts.

Bionic Augmentation Psychosis. Like it or not, having your physical parts hacked off and replaced, regardless of fully functional bionic parts, is a traumatic event. I don’t really bother imposing this for PCs that start their character’s career in a class that incurs a partial or full conversion, but certainly if done so later on; especially for practitioners of magic and psionics! Basically, it’s a Roll vs Insanity with a table of Bonuses/Penalties. Pass and nothing happens; fail and we leverage the Bionic Insanity Table from the Rifts Sourcebook: Bionics, AND a roll on the Random Insanity Table. Some may see this as a severe encumbrance on the character; I see it as a consequence of significance to losing much of what makes a character “human.”

Cyborg Physical Beauty Modifiers (Optional Rules). Something I thought worthwhile to include. These are rather an optional set of rules with mostly Attribute Penalty (PB), and a few of them also incurring an Attribute Penalty (MA). Most of these are rather straightforward, and a GM could even go so far as to impose a low-level Horror Factor for some of these if they thought it applicable.

Changing Class. Lastly, a few words on whether or not a bionic conversion warrants changing you class or not. Simple answer, in my humble opinion, is no. This comes down to the principal reason for replacing the physical body might have no direct bearing on your character’s training or outlook. Heck, it might even be the only way to keep the PC from perishing, or was ghoulishly inflicted as a punishment (not recommended). There are countless examples of where a conversion might occur that would not constitute a Class Transfer. A couple of examples:

• Example (Rifts): A Ley Line Walker is captured by the CS. As punishment, both arms are replaced with bionic replicas. This would be considered a Major Bionics/Cybernetics implant, a devastatingly life-changing event! This does not suddenly make the LLW a Cyborg character; he still continues as a LLW, regardless of their obvious and devastatingly life-altering limitations.

• Example (Rifts): A highly decorated CS Grunt is horrifically injured in a battle. The injuries necessitate use of bionics to maintain the PC’s life. A full bionic conversion is granted as a reward for their service. The PC returns to service, still a CS Grunt, just with bionic upgrades (and likely mandatory service terms).

  Note: In this example, the PC would very likely be selected for additional training and posted elsewhere (with mandatory service terms), which would then support a Class Transfer.

CONCLUSION

So there we have it, Chapter 7 – Cybernetics and Bionics. A relatively short chapter detailing some of the more salient information required for characters choosing to augment characters with cybernetics and bionics. Much of the text goes about laying the groundwork and setting definitions for the keywords needed to support other aspects of the CRS, most particularly the Effects of Technology as it applies to Chapter 5 – Magic and Chapter 6 – Psionics. By extension, I also diverge from the advice given in the Rifts Sourcebook: Bionics about forcibly changing a Class due to bionic implants; then again, there are those that argue that a Ley Line Walker chasing down a bounty somehow justifies a Class Transfer to Bounty Hunter. I just can’t get there.

We’re closing in on the finale, with just two more Chapters to go! The response to the CRS has been nothing short of electric. There is definitively a desire among the player base for a standardized baseline rules set. Once this has been wrapped up and finalized, it will be fired into Palladium Books and we’ll see how things go from there. With the exception of providing copies of the CRS just yet, I’ve been more than happy to engage with folks on the CRS and the design philosophy behind it. Keep your questions and comments coming!

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