Biotic Bio-Enhancements

[TechnoGothic]

No New enhancements here right now

BUtT a few general things first...

Biotics with "Increased Metabolism" and "Lazarus Glands" ?
Yes, No, Maybe ??

Think about it. A Biotic soldier coming back to Life after being slain. It might warant a "insanity" check/roll or effect its next insanity though.
"I'm unkillable"
"I dont want to Die, again...ever"
"Restart, loses all memories...Who Am I"

Yeah those two Enhancements cost alot of Bio-E though. Though it might be worth it to keep a character you liked. If you had the character where you wanted him/her where you wanted for Enhancements/Weapons, etc...and needed to spend Bio-E Points on something without changing its appearance, This would be a great way to spend those Points up...

Also changing How the Weapons Look and Locations from the book.
Now if you had a very cool concept look for a Biotic or host armor even, you wanted say a Heay Projector Cannon or Omega Blaster somewhere besides the chest, or not looking like a giant Worm on the shoulder. Would you allow a Player to change the weapons Look and placement ??

Say you want a Single HUGE Super-Light Cell. Would you allow the Player to Buy multiple Super Light Cells and merge them into a single cell ??

[taalismn]

No New enhancements here right now
Also changing How the Weapons Look and Locations from the book.
Now if you had a very cool concept look for a Biotic or host armor even, you wanted say a Heay Projector Cannon or Omega Blaster somewhere besides the chest, or not looking like a giant Worm on the shoulder. Would you allow a Player to change the weapons Look and placement ??

?

Interesting....Yeah, a GM could, but they might want to charge extra points for the customization and any body re-arranging necessary to make the newly redesigned weapon fit...

Also, depending on the type and location of the new weapon mount, a few bonuses/quirks/penalties might be applicable...For instance, you might want to add SLIGHT improvements(like a point or two of extra damage) to a system, but toss in the added penalty that in addition to any P.E. limitations, the activated weapon does 1d4 to 1d6 damage to the Biotic as the weapon's heat/energy backlash tears away at him(or, maybe a supercharged 'To the Bitter End' near-suicide blast that does massive damage to the enemy and to the Biotic)...for those 'death or glory' penal squads sent against the Machine...Also adds a new element of desperate decision making....Do regular damage that might take a while to carve that robot-tank down to size and hope it doesn't kill you before trhen, or up the power and risk doing more damage to yourself than the enemy might in the short term?

[taalismn]

No New enhancements here right now

BUtT a few general things first...

Biotics with "Increased Metabolism" and "Lazarus Glands" ?
Yes, No, Maybe ??

Think about it. A Biotic soldier coming back to Life after being slain. It might warant a "insanity" check/roll or effect its next insanity though.
"I'm unkillable"
"I dont want to Die, again...ever"
"Restart, loses all memories...Who Am I"

The Powers Unlimited 2 section on Eugenic Superbeings also yields up lots of ideas for lower-powered additions for things like stunners and non/low-lethality stingers....and/if/when psionics are introduced to Splicers, you can expect a few of those improvements to appear as well(though I expect psionics to most likely belong only to HIGHLY-specialized character classes with large gobs of limitations tacked on----Psychic DReadguard Host Armors are not going to loom in the future....)...However, few Houses are going to spring for the added bio-energy cost of equipping their living arsenals with anything less than armor-blasting bioware....when it's easier to deal with human insurgents with a Hostarmor-backed power punch or a tap to the back of the head with a no-tech truncheon...

Still, Lazarus Glands and the like make nifty investments, I agree, but for Biotics(who are essentially 'Dirty Dozen' retreads and the like) there would have to be a really compelling explanation for why they received them...Some incredible act of bravery that nets them this generous reward, or suchlike.....Giving near-immortality to anyone of less than deserving character and concrete firmness of will could have some serious backlash further on down the road...

[demos606]

Dont know that Id call Lazarus Glands near immortaility. At the cost of 10% of existing MDC every reincarnation and a PE% chance of getting the gland back after every death, Lazarus Gland is at best an unlikely feature for Biotics. Increased metabolisms aren't to bad an investment for Biotics but I wouldnt consider them high priority items in most cases. Biotics are generally viewed as "expendable assets" and their bioware should generally reflect that.

[TechnoGothic]

i was talking to my group about some of this stuff.

We thought maybe if the Biotic was a "Hero" before his Biotic Transformation...say a Highly respected Dreadguard or Roughneck.
He fails in a Mission, but the Mission was still a success as far as the Warlord and everyone else cares. example...a Honored Dreadguard Bodyguard of the Warlord himself. One of the Enemy gets to the Warlord, they both defeat the enemy, the rest of the Battle was went even better than they hoped for. The Highly Self-honor focused Dreadguard wishes to Punish himself for his "disgrace". Noone else see him as disgraced though. He asks the Warlord to turn him into a Biotic. The Warlord cannot talk him out of it. The Warlord and the dishonored Dreadguard work together with a engineer to customize the Biotic Form he will take. The Warlord lets him know, he will be keeping him as a Bodyguard though.
They alter a few of the standard bio-weapons appearances and placements to function better for his style of fighting and skills outside of a Host Armor.

Maybe they place Oversized Omega-Blasters on the shoulders instead of the chest. Worked in Orgainic Thusters to help cool the experiental weapons. Boost his Strength beyond the Biotic limit of 40. Maybe at a price though, limited dexterity, or shorter lifespan *burnout*...

Maybe the Warlord wishes to test Lazerous Glands in a Biotic. This is a good chance for a very Loyal friend and bodyguard.

[demos606]

Couple things.

Dude, that is some seriously far fetched ****. Based on the Dreadguard info in the book, he would suicide before becoming a Biotic. The Warlord doesn't need to talk him out of the transformation, he can just say no and the discussion is over. I can maybe see a Roughneck being punished with transformation into a Biotic after being court-marshalled but never over what is viewed as an unquestionable success.


Biotic strength limit of 40? Where pray tell did you find that bit of info because I'm not seeing it in Splicers. Presuming you only allow for 2 bonus dice on an exceptional stat, you have a possible 38 PS before any skills are chosen. Then there are potential bonuses from acrobatics, athletics, body building (2), boxing (2), gymnastics (2), kick boxing, physical labor (2), and wrestling (2) for a potential final PS of 51 just after skills. Then there are a number of possible increases from bio-e upgrades for even more upgrades to PS.

Ok, I just found the note in the Enhanced Physical Strength enhancement that caps Biotics at 40 but its complete ********. There has to be some editing hookum there because in addition to capping Biotics at 40, it claims they have a normal human PS - one of the OCC bonuses on p147 is Splicer PS. Think Ill drop that one into Carmens thread for clarification. Anyway, the way I read it, that upgrade wont go above 40 but it doesn't limit Biotics to a final PS of 40.

[TechnoGothic]

Well i would allow something like that happen. Its Dramatic. It shows he deems being a Biotic being worse than death. But he will endure being a Biotic to be a further help to the House.
The Warlord relizes this. So allows it cause he doesnt want to lose a great warrior, even if it means turning him into a Biotic.

Remember Some people volenteer to become Biotics. Why ?

YEah, the Enhanced Strength for Biotics i would just Ignore completly.
Cause under BIOTIC OCC it says they have Splicer Strength for one. Then the Enhanced Strength says they dont and must buy it.

Also, Biotics heal 1d6 per TURN/round.
Then Basic Regeneration says they can buy Basic...WHY??
I'd let them buy the FULL Super Regeneration only cause they have a Weaker version of Super-Regeneration for FREE....

I'm tempted to Limit Host Armor's Strength to 40 though instead. Biotics to 60 instead cause to them it natural state of being not a living exo-skeleton enhancement.

[demos606]

Being a Biotic probably is worse than being dead for a Dreadguard but they do have that "death before dishonor" ideal built into their code. For a Roughneck, I could see Biotic conversion possibly but not for a Dreadguard.

As for the enhanced strength upgrade, at the price it carries it's not worth the upgrade for anything. As rare as Biotic upgrades are supposed to be, theres no way in hell I'd waste bio-e on strength, there are just too many more useful upgrades available and PS is stupidly easy to increase with physical skills. Wouldn't burn bio-e on regen for Biotics either, and truth be told, I'd absolutely love to see the pre-edited values on the regeneration upgrades and robot weapons (among other things). There are just too many glaring editorial goofs in Splicers not to be suspicious of things like the Enhanced Strength entry, all regen upgrades, etc etc.

[TechnoGothic]

true.

As for the Dreadguard code, i patern Dradguards after KNIGHTs of the Old Code rather than Samurai.

I just saw a History Special about Samurai and how they behaved. The code of Death *killing themselves* was more about Honorable Surrender to the enemy than to any lord. Samurai themselves there the Lords of the Land. The Emperior was more of a "Pope" like figure head for the religous aspect of the country. The Head Samurai of a area became the Dymo or something like that meaning "Important Person". They fought amongst each other for political improvement than they did real enemies.

That and i never were into Samurai that much.

I do like the Ideas behind "Knights of the Old Code" approach.
The Knights of their lord were loyal.
Samurai of a Lord was not very loyal. They would turn sides if it meant more Land and food.

I do kinda Mix Dreadguards with Knights/Samurai alittle though. More Knight like though.

I do away with "noble" blood from both Knights/Samurai though.
To me its something that is earned, not given...
Your Dad may be a Dreadguard, but you are not. Your not treated as you were either.

As for Biotics i go more for the Volenteer aspect for my games.
I do away with alot of the stigmata of the fluff text. Its seen as a noble sacrifice instead. Though criminal and the like are transformed against their wills, but they are the feral, near mindless/simpleminded Biotics. True Volenteers in my games are not Mind wiped. Their Biotic forms appear more magestic and awenspiring, sometime surrpassing Dreadguards in beauty and regalness. WHile those forced are grostesque in the extreme.

I thought about using the Book Biotic OCC as the criminal version.
I'd have to make up the "Noble Biotic OCC" or Biotic Nobles OCC...
Having maybe alittle more Bio-E Points than a normal Biotic. Maybe add ME attribute number plus PE attribute number to them. Its not much, but seems fair.
I have a Few other features i thought might be useful. but i'll work them up later...

My group want to port over Splicers to RIFTS though. So this "Noble Biotic OCC" might be better suited for the houses i port over more than the splicer setting.

[demos606]

Yeah, I can see your noble biotic idea working well in a Rifts crossover a lot better than it would in the Splicers world. Your view of Dreadguard as knights also seems to suit Rifts better and yes, there is a lot of crossover in the code between chivalry and bushido.

[TechnoGothic]

i worked up the noble biotics i posted over in my rifts thread over on the rifts forum.

yeah it does fit better in rifts.