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From:	Joe Jungers <Joe.Jungers@*******.OIT.UNC.EDU>
Subject:	SRII: Cyberpsychosis?
Date:	Fri, 6 Jan 1995 23:35:43 EST

Message no. 1 New to the listserver. Wondered if anybody had delved into the concept of
a method of instituting cyberpsychosis in the SRun setting. We've
pondered something like a Charisma/Wisdom link to essence loss, but aren't
really sure how to quantify the effects once ol' Sammy-Boy slips over the
edge. Like I said, just fishing for opinions/thoughts/ideas.
Thanks.

From:	Stainless Steel Rat <ratinox@***.NEU.EDU>
Subject:	SRII: Cyberpsychosis?
Date:	Mon, 9 Jan 1995 15:12:23 -0500

Message no. 2 >>>>> "Joe" == Joe Jungers
<Joe.Jungers@*******.OIT.UNC.EDU> writes:

Joe> New to the listserver. Wondered if anybody had delved into the
Joe> concept of a method of instituting cyberpsychosis in the SRun setting.

I certainly hope not.

As has been beaten to death many times on rec.games.cyber, cyberpsychosis
is a hack of a game balance mechanic. There's no justification in the
``source material'' (ie, written fiction) for it. And there's very little
medical/psychological justification for it, unless there's something
fundamentally broken about the cyber being grafted, causing neurochemical
imbalances in the brain. I know plenty of people who have prosthetics, and
in every case they're happy to be able to do things they wouldn't without
them. Given prosthetics that are /better/ than the original (faster,
stronger, tougher, etc) I, and others, find it hard to belive that it'd
make people somehow feel less ``human.'' What's dehumanizing is being
crippled, bedridden, plugged into 10 bazillion machines all going ``ping''
with different tempoes.

Yes, arguments have been made about some of Gibson's characters being
psychotic, but they'd be that way regardless of any cybernetics. Maybe the
cyber exacerbates a bad situation, but it's stupid to think that it creates
that situation.

It's a hack that R.Tal came up with at the last minute (shortly before the
initial Cyberpunk release they got a playtest back from a group that had
gone so far overboard with cyber that R.Tal never even thought possible, so
they created the dehumanizing effects ``cyberpsychosis'' as a means to
prevent that from happening again), and for some reason everyone and their
duck seems to want to copy it, except Shadowrun which took a very different
(and very appropriate) tack. Essence is a game balance mechanism, and FASA
never tried to hide it. But it fits seamlessly into the world of Shadowrun.
I can't say the same for any other cyber-RPG out there.

Now, if you really buy into that argument that c-psychosis is ``genre''
(which it isn't, IMO), then be my guest. But at least create a reasonable
justification for it. ``Cyber makes you nuts'' just doesn't wash. ``You'd
have to be nuts to have that stuff grafted on'' doesn't either.

--
Rat <ratinox@***.neu.edu> | If Happy Fun Ball begins to smoke, get
http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/ratinox | away immediately. Seek shelter and cover
PGP Public Key: Ask for one today! | head.

From:	Susan Sherman <SSHERMAN@****.STEVENS-TECH.EDU>
Subject:	Re: SRII: Cyberpsychosis?
Date:	Mon, 9 Jan 1995 20:45:47 -0500

Message no. 3 With the characters I play, I say that the bioware caused a minor
chemical inbalance which caused my character to become somewhat psychotic.
Or if that's not the case the character is naturally psychotic. No matter
what the cause is no one in my group is surprised if I play a somewhat
sane character }8-).

S'long all.

SilverFire
ssherman@****.stevens-tech.edu

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