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Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

Message no. 1
From: Bryan Prince <WALAB@******.HH.VANDERBILT.EDU>
Subject: C^2 Decks & Essence cost
Date: Tue, 21 Jun 1994 11:30:44 -0600
Here is a new thread--(I hope)--

I read recently where someone had a C^2 deck that was worth about 5 Essence
including a bit of memory (sorry, don't remember who). My question is, and
assuming a human chr, how the heck did he get a 5 Essence inside his head?
The human body only has 6 (non-enhanced) total. And how much cyber can
a PC stick in his/her head anyway?? Replies, comments, questions, anyone??

Bryan Prince
Message no. 2
From: Stainless Steel Rat <ratinox@***.NEU.EDU>
Subject: Re: C^2 Decks & Essence cost
Date: Tue, 21 Jun 1994 13:13:12 -0400
>>>>> "Bryan" == Bryan Prince
<WALAB@******.HH.VANDERBILT.EDU> writes:

Bryan> I read recently where someone had a C^2 deck that was worth about 5
Bryan> Essence including a bit of memory (sorry, don't remember who). My
Bryan> question is, and assuming a human chr, how the heck did he get a 5
Bryan> Essence inside his head? The human body only has 6 (non-enhanced)
Bryan> total. And how much cyber can a PC stick in his/her head anyway??
Bryan> Replies, comments, questions, anyone??

Essence isn't a measure of physical quantity of cyberwear, it represents
how much cyberwear is linked into the nervous system. Anything with lots of
connections to the brain, like Wired Reflexes, Vehicle Control Rigs,
Tactical Computers, etc., are going to have a very high Essence cost. On
the other hand, things with very few connections will have lower essence
costs.

--
Rat <ratinox@***.neu.edu> | On the seventh day the Lord said: I'm
http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/ratinox | pooped. You build the theme park.
Message no. 3
From: The Smiling Bandit <ygershon@*******.EDU>
Subject: Re: C^2 Decks & Essence cost
Date: Tue, 21 Jun 1994 10:32:02 -0700
I can definately see how 5 essence could be removed from just the head.
Essence is a measure of how invasive a certain piece of equipment is to
the human organism. Skill wires are awfully invasive because they involve
severe alteration the the system which conveys information from the brain
to the body.

So I would think a head-deck would be equally invasive.

It looks like there's two general ways to invade the body: totally alter
one organ, or make some modifications to a whole bunch of them. If you
alter one organ that much, you're threatening the delicate balance of the
human metabolism. It's like changing a wheel in a mechanical clock
(remember those?) If it's not _just right_, you may screw up the entire
clock.

Also, by changing multiple organs (or systems) a bit, you're threatening
the system with failure because now there are many things that have a
small chance of doing something slightly wrong and upsetting the balance.
Changing one organ drastically makes it likely that organ will be out of
whack with the rest of the body.

And, of course, you just CAN'T make drastic changes to multiple systems,
because that'll crash your system.

So after all this talk, do you agree that making drastic changes to the
brain is invasive as far as the normal function of the organism? I would
think so.

+--------------------------------------------------+
:::::| Yoav Gershon | "Wide angle watcher |:::::
:::::| ygershon@*******.edu | on life's ancient tales" |:::::
+--------------------------------------------------+

On Tue, 21 Jun 1994, Bryan Prince wrote:

> Here is a new thread--(I hope)--
>
> I read recently where someone had a C^2 deck that was worth about 5 Essence
> including a bit of memory (sorry, don't remember who). My question is, and
> assuming a human chr, how the heck did he get a 5 Essence inside his head?
> The human body only has 6 (non-enhanced) total. And how much cyber can
> a PC stick in his/her head anyway?? Replies, comments, questions, anyone??
>
> Bryan Prince
>
Message no. 4
From: Jai Tao <jdfalk@****.CAIS.COM>
Subject: Re: C^2 Decks & Essence cost
Date: Tue, 21 Jun 1994 15:22:47 -0400
Regarding The Smiling Bandit's good, well-thought-out ideas about how 5
essence could be removed from the head....

Two other things should also be kept in mind (no pun intended):
body balance and game playability.
More than anything else in the human body, modifications to
and/or near the brain or brain stem are likely to have a major impact on
the functionality of the body.
Also, adding even a halfway complicated chart to the game would
mean much more work for the GM, and IMHO would not make the system all
that much better. It would be like some of the optional AD&D rules that
my friends and I came up with when we realized just how bad that system
actually was -- we'd spend hours arguing about how a localized hits table
should work, and then ignore it when we got into actual combat because it
just took too friggin' long and we wanted to _kill_ those Kobolds!

--------------------------------------------------<jdfalk@****.com>--------
"Swing low, sweet Cadillac (Coming for to carry me home)
Swing low, sweet Cadillac (Coming for to carry me home)
I looked over Jordan, and what did I see? (Coming for to carry me home)
An Eldorado, a-comin' for me. (Coming for to carry me home)"
-Dizzy Gillespie and Jim Henson's Muppets
Message no. 5
From: Rob Moulton <szicepik@****.UCDAVIS.EDU>
Subject: Re: C^2 Decks & Essence cost
Date: Wed, 22 Jun 1994 00:08:29 -0700
My idea is that it's balance (as stated recently) It would be insane to
have a C^2 Deck and a VCR 3 and Wired all in the same body. But what
decker in their right mind would have one? Man, I boost my computer
skill about every third game. To boost the MPCP on as C^2 Deck would
mean surgury. But, if I have my deck at my side, well, anything is
possible. I can upgrade as needed in my garage. Plus, I can use the
room in my bod for other things, like senses and a cool holographic
projector I created......
Makes for a fun deterent when I'm being chased. You see I got
this holograph of a handgrenade. I just project that I've thrown it and
people run like crazy. If only I could get my Voice Modulator to crank
loud enough to create the explosion......

Rob

==========================================
= Control: It's as easy as decking in... =
= rjmoulton <szicepik@****.ucdavis.edu> =

Further Reading

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Thwap!