-----All right chummers, I've done some thinking and I've decided to post this section due to a report from a street doc working out of Puyallup. I know the woman, and actually, I owe my life (and the installation of some my headware) to the woman, so I decided to give her a little bit of space here at the haven. This posting is a little frightening, but take a good listen to what the woman has to say.-----
--DE SysOp (07-10-60/12:45:13)
Everywhere you look today, you see someone with a bit of ware. Most of it is just minor alterations: datajacks, eye correction and cosmetic applications. But, in my line of work, you see the heavy stuff like dermal plating, muscle augmentaion, bone lacing and spurs. Cyberware has become another mean to an end, but before one goes to get wired, you should get the facts on your ware.
I've been doing some research lately on the reaction to cyberware in the folks I've been patching up lately. I've noticed a frightening thing while gathering the information as well. I had my suspicions before, but now I think I have enough information through scientific reasoning and fact finding to safely say that cyberware can have a damaging effect on the psychological well being of cybered individuals.
-----Now wait a second... I don't believe DE SysOp even let you on here! That's a load of drek! My mind is fine and I've had this ware since I originally signed up for the Star. Ask anyone who knows me and they'll tell you I'm sane.-----
--Dredd (07-10-60/12:50:56)
-----Not saying you've been affected by it. Read on and see what I've found.-----
--Johannsen (07-10-60/13:00:00)
Ever since I was an intern at Seattle General, I have been trained in implanting cyberware. It's one of the first things they teach you when you get into med school because of its prevailance in the modern world. However, beneath this common procedure, there is the danger of mental illness. There's just something about adding chunks of plastic and metal to a (meta)human that can profoundly alter a person's mind.
I mean, think about it. Ever noticed that the heaviest hitters with the most ware are the most violent people you've ever met? It's not just because they have the ware and that they feel the need to use it all the time. Often, I have discovered that the cyberware is causing it.
-----Wait a klick here... She's tellin' us that cyberware makes us violent? Hon, violence is a part of the game.
--Weasel (07-10-60/13:45:32)
-----Admittedly Weasel, yes, violence is a part of the game. But, is it always necessary? No.Violence is a byproduct. When you are a professional, you resort to violence when only absolutely neccesary.
--Nameless (07-10-60/13:48:21)
-----Yeah..... right.
--Clawman (07-10-60/13:58:49)
However, I'm not suggesting that there is something in your ware that would make you lose it mentally, but rather it is the sheer presence of something in your own physiology that makes you superhuman in some way. This by itself can cause many psychological problems such as egotism, insecurity, violent and even homicidal behavior. Not all ware has this effect. As a matter of fact, most legal ware won't cause it. Of all implants, the datajack is still the safest in the terms of potential psychosis, but to the heavily chromed, you're not going to like what I say next.
The truth of the matter is, the more essence you lose from a cyber enhancement, the higher the potential for cyber-induced psychosis, which I have dubbed "Cyberpsykosis." There are two factors that account for the origin of the ilness. The first as stated above is the essence loss involved in surgery. The second is how the operation was handled. The reason that all the corporate gaijin samurai all still have it together is because they all have alpha and beta level cyberware installed in the finest surgical labs corporate blood money can buy. The average street sam you run into though hasn't been that lucky. Joe Six pack from the Barrens usually has second hand parts installed in some un-sanitized hellhole using rusty, heated metal to cauterize wounds and grain alcohol to kill infections. In those kinds of places, cyber surgery can lead to cyberpsykosis easily.
-----Okay, I get it. It kind of makes sense now. That's why I'm still okay then. The Star paid for all of my enhancements and I did have a good place and working conditions for the surgery.
--Dredd (07-10-60/14:52:19)
-----All right then Jo, but tell me this. How do you know if your getting sick? Especially if it's mental? Most guys who are whacked in the head don't even know they're bonkers.-----
--Chromefist (07-10-60/15:12:13)
-----You kill anyone lately? If not, you're A-OK.
--Smiling Bandit (Strikes Again/Ha-Ha-Ha)
-----Depression also a symptom? Ever since I got this ware, I've got into a funk. Don't feel like doing much of anything, even work. It's cutting into my financial situation and I still haven't paid off the ware yet. Any way you can get treated for this stuff?
--Samson (07-10-60/16:12:39)
-----Yes, depression is one of the rarer forms of cyberpsykosis, but is not altogether unseen in my research, as for treatment, read on.
--Johannsen (07-10-60/16:39:59)
The best way to combat cyberpsychosis is to abstain form having chrome installed, or only putting in small enhancements opposed to large ones. This method is the most cost effective one, but by no means the only one. For you future heavy hitters, if you can save up your hard earned (well, I hope you earned it) nuyen, go for the best that money can buy in cyberware and get it at alpha or - if you really have nuyen to burn - beta level. This reduces the essence cost involved in getting more cyber. The third option is to opt for a more natural procedure such as bioware implants. Bioware is living, organic tissue that, after surgery, grows into the host's body and becomes one with the larger organism. This way, your body reacts with flesh and blood on an abstract level.
-----Okay, I see what you mean with abstinence and alpha and beta grade cyberware, but after what you said earlier, bioware shouldn't be counted as a solution, should it? I mean, doesn't bioware make you just as "superhuman?"
--Warian (07-10-60/16:50:47)
-----It better for what I pay for it...
--Nameless (07-10-60/17:16:15)
-----Yes, bioware does have the ability to make one superhuman, but there's something safer in bioware in the fact that it is organic material. The body shows more adversity to chrome than to living tissue in my studies.
Think of it this way. You go out to work one night and you lose your hand. You have two options. The first is to get a hook. It's functional, it'll pick most things up, it looks intimidating, but when you get down to it, it isn't what you had before. It is a clumsy thing that needs to be maintained and has none of your blood in it.
Option two, would be to opt for a real hand. The flesh and bone that replaces what you lost may not be the same as your old hand, but hey, it's all natural isn't it? Makes you feel better that way. It sounds hokey, but on some level, this is true.
--Johannsen(07-10-60/7:28:27)
-----Bulldrek. I'll go with chrome any day of the week.
--Sammy (07-10-60/19:10:01)
Once a (meta)human contracts cyberpsykosis, all is not lost. Many of my patients have shown a positive reaction to some forms of therapy or extended rest after cyber-implantation. By rest, I mean not using the new gear or anything associated with it for one week for each level of essence lost plust the time it takes to naturally heal. As for therapy, it is not as effective as rest but is not impossible. If someone who is implanted needs therapy after contracting cyberpsykosis, he or she can see a therapist who can try to treat them by means of simsense rigs and traditional psychoanalysis, but this option is time consuming and made especially difficult when the victim weighs in at five hundred pounds from the cyber and tends to kill the people trying to restrain him. The patient must spend one month in therapy (going at least three days a week) for each level of essence lost to cyber-implants. And then there's the cost to think about. Therapy isn't cheap, and most street docs can't help you when it comes to psychology.
-----No way! Who can afford to spend that much time out of the biz? By the time you're ready after therapy or prolonged rest, you're already outdated! This is a load of drek...
--Sammy (07-10-60/19:59:12)
-----You help me out doc?
--Samson (07-10-60/20:01:54)
-----Pull up a couch. Just make sure you have the cred. I'll have DE SysOp give you the adress. Ask for Walks-With-Yen
--Johannsen (07-10-60/20:05:21)
However, the nasty thing about cyberpsykotics (that is victims of cyberpsykosis) is that once it is contracted, the victim becomes prone to worsening the cyberpsykosis if they attempt to get more ware. It is not uncommon once in the grips of cyberpsykosis, to go out and attempt to "get closer to the machine," by having more implants installed. One such patient of mine had this happen, and the ripper doc he went to killed him, not knowing that the man could stand no more essence loss.
That's the long and the short of it. Just remember, a mind is a terrible thing to waste...
Warning!!!This rule system is optional and should be used under the discretion of the gamesmaster.
To use the effects of Cyberpsykosis on those really cybered monsters in your campaign here are the basics. When a player goes somewhere to have cyberware installed tally up the total essence cost of the trip. If the player has lost more than a full point of essence, he or she has a chance of contracting cyberpsykosis.
After determining if the player could contract cyberpsykosis, have the player make an essence check with a base target number of three. If applicable, add the following modifiers:
Each player has a hidden attribute rating for cyberpsykosis ranging from zero to four. At zero, the runner is well adjusted with himself and acts as a normal runner would. At level one, the runner loses one point from his willpower and charisma permanently. At level two, the runner loses another point from both willpower and charisma and develops a mild psychological disorder (GM discretion) and develops an incredible tendency towards violent behavior (make a willpower check to avoid homicidal frenzy when the runner is frustrated or angry, TN 5 At level three, the runner sinks to a rating of one in charisma and willpower (if they haven't already); also, the psychological disorder that occurs at level two becomes an all consuming, severe mental disorder. At level four, the runner has gone totally insane and must be retired into GM control. Charisma and Willpower ratings cannot be lowered beyond level one.
Bioware installation runs along the same lines, with the exception of how many body points it takes to develop cyberpsykosis. Checks for cyberpsykosis must be made at every two points of essence loss as opposed to every one level for cyberware. All above modifiers apply to bioware as well as cyberware.
Getting ware is an important decision for any runner. The ware is what keeps many on edge and alert, making it easier to run faster, hit harder and dissapear smoothly. With this in mind, you should always be careful with what you buy, and where you buy it from. Buying from the right place can be the difference between getting cutting-edge nutech and some parts that were ripped out of some sammy who's corpse is still cooling in a back alley somewhere.
-----Organlegging.... disgusting. Who in their right mind would want to do something like that?-----
Dodgers (10-16-60/12:31:59)
-----Ghouls, that's who. Like I said in the Para-Critter page, some ghouls are just as smart as they were before contracting the nasty virus that made 'em ghouls. When they get to something they can't eat (i.e. your cyber) they can always sell it or trade it for tasty bioware. Kinda makes 'ya think, don't it?-----
Dredd (10-16-60/12:34:40)
It is important to get the "good stuff", those of us not fortunate (or incredibly fortunate) enough to work for a corp or have a hidden fortune somewhere complete with fake SINs, the "good stuff" is beyond our grasps. But that's no reason not to try. The natural solution to your problem is to find reliable fixers and street docs. Not an easy task, but worth the effort.
-----Good point. Always have yourself a decent street doc. Make sure that their facility is clean and that you know the guy's rep. Make sure you keep them well fed with nuyen for jobs well done and if at all possible, see if the need any legwork or shadowruns to be done. The pay is good and sometimes you can even get paid in cyber. Good deal if you can get it.-----
Rachet (10-16-60/12:39:33)
With all cyberware, it important to be selective. If you really want a certain mod, and you just aren't comfortable with the amount of meat and essence they have to tear out of you, don't sweat it. If you have to, save the cred for the good stuff. Patience is an important factor when you need to upgrade your ware or to keep SOTA. If that won't do, there's always bioware, a viable and almost preferable alternative to cyberware.
-----Preferable? Let's not go to far with that now. Half of the stuff you get when it comes to bioware is from that proverbial "cooling corpse" if you get it from a street doc. Some street docs if they're smart enough can be given the parts to build the right ware, but few can build their organs from scratch. You want bioware, get it done right. Get a corporate instal job. They're the only way to do it.-----
Black Tie (10-16-60/12:45:18)
-----Yeah, you keep telling yourself that when the nice cranial bomb in your skull goes off. You can keep your bioware and cyber from your cushy little corp sponsors. See how loyal they are when they explode your noggin and take all that nice ware back.-----
Black Flagg (10-16-60/12:47:08)
-----Not to sound green, but what's SOTA mean?-----
Jackie (10-16-60/12:49:57)
-----State of the Art, kid. Which you obviously ain't-----
Red Wraith (10-16-60/12:51:05)
So, remeber, never buy ware from strangers. Always save for the best that nuyen can buy, and whatever you do, get it done right. You'll thank yourself later.
-----Now I know I'm going to regret this, but here's a list of some new biotech and cybernetic stuff that hasn't been seen before. All you chromers go ahead and take a gander, but keep your cybered hoops in line or there'll be hell to pay.-----
--Dredd (07-24-60/12:37:09)
Adhesive Glands
-----Awright! Look at this man! Sneaking over those high fences and sheer walls will be a breeze with these! I imagine with enough work, you could probably get 'em to spurt and use 'em as a ranged entangler!-----
--Spider Guy (07-24-60/14:54:30)
-----I'd be careful with that idea Spider...-----
--Humbler (07-24-60/14:57:01)
-----What d'ya mean?-----
--Spider Guy (07-24-60/14:59:40)
-----It means that he tried it and he fragged up royaly.-----
Smiling Bandit (Strikes Again/HA-HA-HA)
-----So?! I was only stuck in that alley for two hours, and the muggers didn't get all my nuyen.....-----
--Humbler (07-24-60/15:12:25)
Spine Daggers
-----You know, these ads are way too pretentious the way they portray their death-dealing, pain inflicting cyberware.-----
--Random (07-24-60/15:00:03)
-----You wanna' talk pain? I knew a guy who thought he'd be tough drek when he got these installed. They did their job, but a little too well. The blades popped, the guy who jumped him damn near deflated but the blade got stuck in the sorry fragger. He tried to get free from the guy he'd perforated and ended up tearing the daggers out and putting a couple vertabrae out of order. He walks fine now as long as nobody unplugs him-----
--Iron Fist (07-24-60/15:45:19)
-----Damn, that's disgusting.....-----
--Warian (07-24-60/15:48:12)
Steelflex(TM) Knuckles
-----You want to hurt someone like that, just get a pair of brass knuckles and save yourself the nuyen.-----
Bruiser (07-27-60/17:15:07)
-----Yeah, and others need that kind of thing all the time, just in case.-----
Heavy Hitter (07-27-60/18:02:43)
Cross Applied Technology's Pharmabooster (TM)
-----Wow. This is ex-UCAS military hardware from back when Cross was still a part of Fuchi. Must be efficient.-----
Augusta (07-27-60/17:01:12)
-----Um, hate to burst your bubble Augusta, but the reason they're starting to sell it on the semi-legal market is because it isn't reliable enough for the military. The UCAS military canned the technology after they found out that some troops were using heavy narcotics as opposed to the standard cartridges that come with the system. Playing around with the Pharmaboost can get you killed if you decide to substitute the intended chemicals.-----
Allen (07-27-60/17:48:16)
-----Then again, if we all played by the rules, we wouldn't be doing our jobs now would we? Of course we're going to mess with the cartridges. Not like we're all in the clear, safe and warm with SIN numbers. I'll trust something I've mixed myself before I take some corp's advice and use their chems.-----
Patches (07-27-60/17:58:03)
