Dumb question, but had to ask...

[AlanGunhouse]

They would have to get nutrients for the brain from somewhere. HOW they eat may be a different question.

[Carl Gleba]

Well there is nothing anywhere that goes into that. I would think the brain would need some kind of nutrients, at the very least oxygen. There is probably a handy dandy little nutrient pack that plugs into the borg somewhere. It probably last for several months at a time.

Carl

[Vrykolas2k]

Well there is nothing anywhere that goes into that. I would think the brain would need some kind of nutrients, at the very least oxygen. There is probably a handy dandy little nutrient pack that plugs into the borg somewhere. It probably last for several months at a time.

Carl

I just use the IV thing from Japan.
Pretty much the same deal.

[Rahmota]

Well in the movie Robocop had to eat some kind of nutrient paste (or baby food) at the very least. So the way I run it there is a holding tank of sorts that extracts the vital minerals, vitamins, etc... and water that a full conversion's little bit of tissue needs. He doesnt have to consume it but once or twice a month though as there is a very efficient reaction catalyst involved. Any waster/unprocessable material consumed is shunted into a "nucleonic" mass conversion fusion reactor (handwavium tech to explain how the non-meat parts are powered) to be used to power the techno parts.

As for the oxygen it is either catalyzed from the paste/goo consumed or directly "respirated" from the atmosphere ports in the borg (why else do they have noses) and "exhaled" by the thermal vent ports. Sort of like the cooling fan on a computer. There is a holding tank for oxygen to let the borg operate in airless environments briefly by "holding his breath".

All that added together does mean that any full conversion borgs have more capabilities than regular humans, but they also do have some limitations/resource management concerns they have to think about and consider in their operational plans.

[Temporalmage]

Why only baby food? The biggest, most invasive borgs in the books state that the only thing left from the original body is the brain and the tounge. This means that they can taste, and their new organs would be better than the original ones, not worse. If I was an 8ft tall heavily armored guy that bristled with weapons and armor, I wouldn't wanna be sitting around the campsite with my buddys spooning Gerbers babyfood while the puny Ley line walker ate steak! Heck no, I'd be eating steak too! The only danger would be that borgs have to cut thier meat into small peices and take small bites; after all, who is strong enough to give a borg the hiemlick if they start to choke????

[ZINO]

So I've read my bionics sourcebook cover to cover, and I couldn't find something that I thought I might as well ask. Do full body borgs eat? I'd imagine if you have a brain in a borg, it needs oxygen, blood, and of course, food. But once a body is mostly machine, is there a stomach for the borg? Do they need food as energy? Or do they rely on some sort of fossil fuel/electricity to keep them going? If they do eat organic food, is there uh...waste?

I LIFE THERE ARE NO Dumb question YOU POSTED A GOOD POINT

[Malakai]

I agree, for full conversion borg. In addition, I looked up the amount of IV it takes for a person in coma uses and stay alive in a day. "I love Wikipedia, useless fact for all things. "Then the borg must have that much times seven for a week in the field.

Don't forget to take into account that the Borg likely needs a lot LESS than that - most of the Nutrient-needing body is gone (only the brain a little more remain), so I would think it could be stretched ut quite a bit - turning a daily requirement into a weekly one easily (maybe even a Monthly one).

[Vrykolas2k]

I agree, for full conversion borg. In addition, I looked up the amount of IV it takes for a person in coma uses and stay alive in a day. "I love Wikipedia, useless fact for all things. "Then the borg must have that much times seven for a week in the field.

Don't forget to take into account that the Borg likely needs a lot LESS than that - most of the Nutrient-needing body is gone (only the brain a little more remain), so I would think it could be stretched ut quite a bit - turning a daily requirement into a weekly one easily (maybe even a Monthly one).

THat's how I play/run it.
In a full conversion 'borg, there's not much other than a brain and spinal cord left.
So the little proviso about the 'borg always being hungry is also ignored.
Now, for a partial conversion 'borg, things are a bit different...

[Carl Gleba]

I was looking at the cover of Merctown and got this idea. Maybe the fluid that the brain sits in is essentially a nutrient rich bath. Food and oxygen both provided for say...several months at a time. That could be one of those things that borgs need to recycle or get a fresh batch once in a while.

Just a thought.

Carl

[Dead Boy]

So I've read my bionics sourcebook cover to cover, and I couldn't find something that I thought I might as well ask. Do full body borgs eat?

Bionic Sourcebook, pg. 85, "Anti-Toxin and Super Digestive System". Cuts the borg's Caloric requirements in half and allows them to eat anything that is or was organic, be it garbage, tree bark, month old meat, or all the Twinkies they can stuff in their bionic gullets.

Consequently, if there is an implant that increases their digestive abilities above normal, unaugmented borgs should have the same dietary requirements and menu as you and I. And yes, that would mean that would have to "excrete" as well, though since their internal organs are replaced with rugged bionic facsimiles of what they once had, they literally have colons of steel that should be able to preform on demand. ... Think of the possibilities.

Why only baby food? The biggest, most invasive borgs in the books state that the only thing left from the original body is the brain and the tounge. This means that they can taste, and their new organs would be better than the original ones, not worse. If I was an 8ft tall heavily armored guy that bristled with weapons and armor, I wouldn't wanna be sitting around the campsite with my buddys spooning Gerbers babyfood while the puny Ley line walker ate steak! Heck no, I'd be eating steak too! The only danger would be that borgs have to cut thier meat into small peices and take small bites; after all, who is strong enough to give a borg the hiemlick if they start to choke????

I pretty much agree with all of that. But since they have only a small amount of organic bio-mass left, like Malakai and Vrykolas2k, I've house ruled it that they only need 10% of the Calories a regular Human needs on a daily basis, (about 200-300 Calories), and that they can get drunk on a tenth as much booze, (with there being a special watered-down version of whiskey shots for them).

[sHaka]

colons of steel

Sounds like a Terence and Philip movie

[Starmage21]

Full Conversion borgs are going to need nothing more than the nutrient packs ala rifts japan. If they really want to eat, there are probobly VR programs that they can run that can simulate that experience.

I'd say the Digestive System that was suggested before is for partial conversions only.


Full conversions arent going to produce much in the way of waste either. Whatever they do produce is probobly pumped back into the nutrient pack and simply thrown away or recycled when it's changed out.

[taalismn]

AGH! My Combat Cyborg with the Professional level Cooking skill is ruined!

Ah! You have a pro chef combat cyborg too?

IMHO, screw what other people say(even the official rules if it comes to that)...cyborgs should be as varied as you want...some have fully effective digestive systems, and others may not, depending on the amount of damage they took before becoming 'borged, the capabilities and sentiments of those doing the cybersurgery, and/or elective surgery desires...Depending on what you cut out, though, the cyborg may have trouble with whatever he's eating, since there's more to effective digestion than just mastication and gastric juices...If your cyborg's internal organs are running off what you're eating, you're still likely to have trouble with fat and other food-related problems...your bionics are powered by other means (unless you have some sort of heat-powered system, in which case, better eat a LOT), so you're not going to be burning off fat with exercise...so either watch your diet or invest in some sort of arterial patrol nanotech, because it sucks to have a million dollar cyborg body...and drop dead of a stroke because you couldn't lay off the pizza and chittlins...

Personally, Bambi Carruthers, my cyborg warrior with a perchance for gourmet cooking, justified his skill by having jacked up taste buds and a love of good eating...even though he didn't eat that much, he figured it made sense to make the few times he DID eat memorable experiences..which worked out just fine for the rest of his party, since he could cook for the whole team...

[taalismn]

[

Bionic Sourcebook, pg. 85, "Anti-Toxin and Super Digestive System". Cuts the borg's Caloric requirements in half and allows them to eat anything that is or was organic, be it garbage, tree bark, month old meat, or all the Twinkies they can stuff in their bionic gullets.

Doh! Oh well. Thanks guy for pointing that out to me.

Gotta love that....monster hunter AND garbage disposal...
Grinders in throat?
Plus you get the ear-wrenching sound effect whenever the 'borg's tossing down an apple core or chicken bones...

[sHaka]

Isn't there a reference, possibly in RMB, that with most full conversions, the brain and tongue are left intact meaning they can taste? I know the more advances NGR and Japanese "brain in a tin" borgs might not have them, but I got the impression that FC still ate. What happens to waste boggles the mind...

I like the suggestion that waste is recycled back into some dort of waste container which can be emptied.