| From: | "Jason Carter, Nightstalker" <CARTER@***.EDU> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | About C.A.I.N. |
| Date: | Thu, 3 Jun 1993 14:50:41 -0700 |
of you take a dim view of this subject, but I hope you will at least take
the time to take a look. As I said before, these rules are untested.
NON-FLAMING critiques are encouraged. Tell me what you think!
Without further ado...
*C.A.I.N. (Cybernetic Augmentation/Implant Nuerosis)*
(or, how to kill street samurais with kindness)
-CAIN is a blanket term used to describe the numerous phobias, nuerosies
and psychosies that can occur due to excessive integration of cybernetics
into the human/metahuman body.
-*The Rationale*
As has been stated by my esteemed collegues on the Net,
cyberpsychosis is an artificial game balance option imposed to keep PCs
from going wild with cyberware. However, I think that the idea of it is not
without a certain degree of basis in the fiction that spwaned "cyberpunk".
In the works of people like William Gibson, Walter Jon Williams, George
Alec Effinger, Bruce Sterling, and others the integration and use of
cyberware does have a psycological price. One is selling a bit of ones
self down the river when having cyberware installed. With the concept of
essence in SR having some sort of spiritual component, linked as it is to
magic, it makes sense to me to have to pay a price for the benefits that
it brings, something more than just slight instability. I mean a real
personal price.
>> Another reason for doing this is that I have a small problem with
>>the amount of cyberware that a person can buy: its too low. Now before the
>>slings, arrows and carp start flying, let me explain. I have read
>>extensively in the Cyberpunk gaming genre, as have most of us (I hope),
>>and have found that ya just can't load the cyberware on like in other
>>games. For instance in the adventure Elven Fire, the big bad samurai
>>opponent in that game would have been toast beside his equivalent in any
>>other game.
The problem with cyberware in Shadowrun is not that the players can only get
a little bit, its that everything worth having is too damn effective. In other
Cyberpunk games I've played (O.K Cyberpunk 2020) having increased reflexes means
that generally you'll go first, but that's it. In Shadowrun, one samurai with
wired reflexes can go 2 to 3 times before the non-cybered characters. In CP2020
cyberware is a fashion statement with many things having little or minor game
effects, in SR there is only one reason to have cyberware, COMBAT EFFECTIVENESS!
That's were the problem is. I would bet that at least 80% of all SR cyberware
and bioware have some direct combat benefit.
-*The Rules*
O.K. Not bad, but I think the roll is too hard and not very progressive. Your
average samurai (Willpower 5) will never have a target number below 7 and above
12. I would advocate a target number more like 8 - Willpower + 1/(per 0.4 or
fraction of below 0).
This would mean your average samurai (still Willpower 5) will have target
numbers of:
Essense Target Number
0 3
-0.01 to -0.4 4
-0.41 to -0.8 5
-0.81 to -1.2 6
-1.21 to -1.6 7
-1.61 to -2.0 8
-2.01 to -2.4 9
-2.41 to -2.8 10
-2.81 to -3.2 11
-3.21 to -3.6 12
-3.61 to -4.0 13
-4.01 to -4.4 14
-4.41 to -4.8 15
-4.81 to -5.0 16
This makes it progressively harder to resist without a sudden jump at 0.
See Ya in Shadows,
Jason J Carter
The Nightstalker
