Minor Augmentation?

[ZulkirJhor]

I am new to the Splicers setting and have been reading the main book and some of the Rifters with extra material...

I may have missed this in one of the books, but is there a way for a character to receive minor augmentations or alterations despite your OCC?
For example, can a Dreadguard be altered to have hair or eyes that match his Host Armor via the Cosmetic Alterations enhancement? If so, can the same character get enhancements that affect gameplay and where would the benefits stop.

If it isn't possible using rules as written, but someone on the forums allows it for their own games, what mechanics do you use to decide this?

Thanks ahead of time for any help!

[Shark_Force]

they definitely have the scientific knowledge to make minor alterations to humans (a packmaster, for example, has internal bio-comms and is still widely considered to be completely human, no evidence of any prejudice related to having the augmentation).

there are no specific rules for it, but i would say that generally speaking, it wouldn't be commonly available to get enhancements for humans. i would expect that cosmetic alterations are mostly restricted to people with a lot of influence... not only are you taking time away from an engineer or even possibly librarian when they should be making things that will keep the resistance alive, but you're also not contributing for the duration of your modification.

furthermore, as far as enhancements go, the resistance seems to have a strong cultural pressure to preserve humanity as it is. modified humans are generally looked on with fear, dislike, or contempt, and being made into a modified human (ie biotic) is considered to be a punishment for the most part. if the transhuman movement is present, it certainly does not appear to be very strong by default.

i would expect both cosmetic alteration and enhancement are used to create undercover agents for the various great houses however. having such augmentations would likely create further mistrust because they're associated with enemy infiltrators, so that would be another strike against it.

having said all that, there are some OCCs that use human augmentation without it being a punishment and with no indication of making the person an outcast. there's the advanced biotic on these boards (not official), some of which are likely those infiltrators i mentioned, and there is the metamorph OCC in one of the rifters (i believe 51, but double check that). i'm not certain, but i believe the splicers material in that rifter is considered official. it isn't quite what you're looking for (it's basically a human with a bunch of alternate shapes), but it shows that what you're looking for is almost certainly possible.

finally, while cultural pressure and a focus on spending resources towards the war effort appears to be the normal situation, there are many great houses, and all will be a bit different. it seems almost certain that there is a great house *somewhere* in the world that cares less about "human purity" and would gladly use combat enhancements on humans whenever they deem necessary (but remember, even the most basic living body armour and handheld bio-weapons can make for a pretty effective combatant), and some may even consider you to be some sort of weirdo if you *haven't* had cosmetic alterations.

so, by default... i would say the answer to your question is that it's possible, but not something that is likely to be done in general. in specific circumstances or for certain gaming groups, that will be dramatically different.

[kaid]

There are a few other examples of human augmentations less than biotics but more than what most have as seen in some like the geneticist has some minor enhancement options such as some optic upgrades, ducts to feed biotic weapons things of that nature.

I think the most common augment most people like dreadlords would have would be bio com implants like the pack leaders have.

I think the leaders of the houses are well aware that they could radically upgrade/change their people to enhance them but in doing so could easily pass the point of no return and simply cease being human any more in any recognizable way and at that point the machine won.

[ZulkirJhor]

Thanks for the input guys.

[The Galactus Kid]

I am new to the Splicers setting and have been reading the main book and some of the Rifters with extra material...

I may have missed this in one of the books, but is there a way for a character to receive minor augmentations or alterations despite your OCC?
For example, can a Dreadguard be altered to have hair or eyes that match his Host Armor via the Cosmetic Alterations enhancement? If so, can the same character get enhancements that affect gameplay and where would the benefits stop.

If it isn't possible using rules as written, but someone on the forums allows it for their own games, what mechanics do you use to decide this?

Thanks ahead of time for any help!

There is at least one manuscript which will be working on this topic specifically.

[ZulkirJhor]

There is at least one manuscript which will be working on this topic specifically.

Can't wait for it!

[Premier]

There is at least one manuscript which will be working on this topic specifically.

Can't wait for it!

Make that two.

In the manuscript we have submitted contains information on Areas of Influence, How to Build a Great House, New OCCs, Warmounts, Biotech (some non-Bio) equipment/weapons, Enhancements, etc., Slappy and I have provided the information for the Area of Influence 24 and the composition of Great Houses, Retro villages, Machine facilities and a Nature Preserve along with other areas of note that are located within AOI 24. One of the Great Houses is a proponent and strong advocate for Biotech enhancements and aethetic modifications for its citizens and militia.

We are hoping that Palladiumbooks gets the Splice flowing for this hungry gameline.

[Premier]

I am new to the Splicers setting and have been reading the main book and some of the Rifters with extra material...

I may have missed this in one of the books, but is there a way for a character to receive minor augmentations or alterations despite your OCC?
For example, can a Dreadguard be altered to have hair or eyes that match his Host Armor via the Cosmetic Alterations enhancement? If so, can the same character get enhancements that affect gameplay and where would the benefits stop.

If it isn't possible using rules as written, but someone on the forums allows it for their own games, what mechanics do you use to decide this?

Thanks ahead of time for any help!

IMHO, to some degree yes, your character can be augmented to a slight degree if it is out of some valudated reason that coincides with that Great House's beliefs, resources and ethics. Several posters have outlined strong reasons why such characters might be shunned, discouraged ad frowned upon, but just as long as it has its check and balances, then I see no reason why certain characters couldn't be augmented. For example, I could see certain Great Houses allotting Host Armor pilots, and some OCCs that rely heavily on their armor to have night vision. This would enable such PCs to stow their Biotech in outposts or other hide outs while visiting Retro villages. If they need to locate these well hidden sites in the dark or should they be forced to abandon a severely damaged armor during nocturnal activities, such OCCs could at least navigate in the dark, especially if they have to go underground back to a haven or bunker. I don't see this being a option for Scarecrows as that taints the gaming aspects of the OCC imho. For Skinjobs, some very minor sensors to assist their stealth prowess in the field or epidermis textures (I have considered a few of these for upcoming material - Sharpei ninjas and wrinkled scaled draconian ninja just have this image in my head that I have to see done), but nothing major beyond that.

I would also add some minor drawbacks, such as being more sensitive to light than normal humans, or one melee round for the eyes to transition from standard sight to nightvision and vice versa.

Its all about having fun, being creative, reasonable for the setting and balanced.

[kaid]

I think biotics probably play a role in keeping a lot of people from wanting to do more than dabble with bio mods to themselves. If you have a whole bunch of living breathing nearly animal like former people to show what can happen with extensive biomods I doubt many people would have to many questions about what the actual cost of going overboard on this stuff is.

[ZulkirJhor]

IMHO, to some degree yes, your character can be augmented to a slight degree if it is out of some valudated reason that coincides with that Great House's beliefs, resources and ethics. Several posters have outlined strong reasons why such characters might be shunned, discouraged ad frowned upon, but just as long as it has its check and balances, then I see no reason why certain characters couldn't be augmented... [cropped for conciseness]
I would also add some minor drawbacks, such as being more sensitive to light than normal humans, or one melee round for the eyes to transition from standard sight to nightvision and vice versa.

Its all about having fun, being creative, reasonable for the setting and balanced.

The question then becomes, is there a limit.
For example, a Packmaster or Falconer needs to go through a lot of training but are only equipped with Living Armor instead of more powerful Host Armor. It would be reasonable to give them all Regeneration Super or other protective enhancements. Of course, just giving everyone Regeneration would be silly.

My original question brought up Cosmetic Enhancements because of the common trope of people in post-apocalyptic settings having dyed hair and, theoretically, it would take an Engineer no time at all to do so (and might be considered a break from the hard work of pumping out weapons and armor). But if you allow humans to decide to have green hair (I could see slight changes like that being tradition among certain OCCs or field units, similar to tattoos in the modern military), how do you decide how many Bio-E they have to avoid the case of everyone having Super Regeneration?

I agree completely with the idea of people disliking making themselves obviously human within the setting, but there are plenty of alterations that would likely not alter someone in an obvious way and would be a definite benefit to humanity and plenty more which could be almost a status symbol. (Falconers with bird eyes, elite Dreadguard unit all with green hair, or things similar to tattoos but more interesting in possibly many ways.)

In case you are wondering why I thought to ask about this, it was after reading about the Soothsayers by Lord Z and their Living Tattoo Bio Enhancements

[Shark_Force]

i think with the augmentations, there would need to be some reason for you to need it that could not be justified as an armour upgrade. packmasters probably get a bio-comm so that they can remain in constant contact with their hounds to maintain their social status as part of the pack, even when outside of their armour (and i would speculate their constant connection might have something to do with why most warmounts respond differently to a packmaster... when you consider that warmounts iirc have them by default, it's entirely possible that the packmaster has almost literally learned to speak another language with far greater proficiency than someone who only uses bio-comms occasionally).

however, everyone else has to use an external bio-comm. they all have some potential to benefit from bio-comms, but only the packmaster is given one as an augmentation.

so unless there is some expectation that you will be constantly using the augmentation while not in armour, i wouldn't expect a typical house to grant it. for example, if a great house maintains contact with one of the machines human settlements, that contact might be given light augmentation (bio-comm, the eye augmentation that lets you spot electromagnetic fields, etc)... but someone who just fights a lot probably doesn't need one. likewise, as i noted earlier, if you're sending spies to infiltrate another house, letting that person have a concealed bio-vent, climbing enhancements, etc would make a lot of sense (but not a stealth field, otherwise why does anyone ever go through the horrendous pain of becoming a skinjob? presumably there is something about that enhancement which requires more than minor alterations).

as to cosmetics, some of the uses you've proposed would make sense... making it an identifying mark for an elite unit seems like a possibility (again, it takes time away from the engineer *and* the person being modified who has to sit in a gene pool for a while, so it's not likely to be something just anyone can do whenever they feel like it... you probably need some influence to pull it off).

[kaid]

I would assume there is some level of cosmetic mod options along the lines of bio tattoos or perhaps permanent hair coloring type options but the great houses are in a war for their very lives vs a force that is seeking their extinction and has nearly succeeded. I don't know how much resources would really be allowed to wast on cosmetic goods in houses that are resource starved.