Cyberpunkish Cybernetics

[apoc527]

I want to upgrade the Cybernetics for MTU. I'm thinking the easiest way to do it is as follows:

All costs * 1/10. Costs for "major" parts (limbs, etc) that currently cost a LOT of money will come down even more, perhaps more like 1/20th of their current cost. I can fiddle with the cost as necessary.

Enhancement Table change: Begin enhancement DM for physical characteristics at TL8 with a +1. Increase by +1 every 2 TLs up to TL16. Thus, for physical characteristics only:

TL8-9: +1
TL10-11: +2
TL12-13: +3
TL14-15: +4
TL16+: +5

I'd keep the table the same for mental characteristics and for skill enhancement.

Another possibility is to simply keep the current tables, but double the enhancement, so +2 for TL11, +4 for TL12-14 and +6 for TL15+. I kind of prefer my more nuanced table above.

 

[Jame Rowe]

I would suggest looking at my posts on the issue from quite some time ago. They can be found here: http://www.sfrpg.org.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=803 at SFRPG, but they're also here somewhere.

While I of course would prefer that my stuff be taken as canon by everyone including the good folks at Mongoose :twisted: , I expect you to take a look, see what catches your fancy and discard the rest.

 

[apoc527]

Ah yes, I've had that .doc file saved to my Traveller folder for a long time now. It's good stuff. I noticed ONE tiny thing that bugged me and that was the poly carapace armor at TL 11. It offers more protection than combat armor for less weight. However, it doesn't have the life support so maybe that's ok.

FWIW, I made adjustments to the armor as well, though I think your Protection for Cloth is too high. For example, my polycarapace armor weighs more, but I tried to keep it in line with the Mercenary errata.

Out of curiousity, was this done pre- or post-CSC? (Obviously, it was post-Mercenary)

Regardless, excellent stuff.

 

[apoc527]

Oops, double post.

 

[Jame Rowe]

Ah yes, I've had that .doc file saved to my Traveller folder for a long time now. It's good stuff. I noticed ONE tiny thing that bugged me and that was the poly carapace armor at TL 11. It offers more protection than combat armor for less weight. However, it doesn't have the life support so maybe that's ok.

FWIW, I made adjustments to the armor as well, though I think your Protection for Cloth is too high. For example, my polycarapace armor weighs more, but I tried to keep it in line with the Mercenary errata.

Out of curiousity, was this done pre- or post-CSC? (Obviously, it was post-Mercenary)

Regardless, excellent stuff.

It was always pre-CSC; it still is, as I do not have a copy of that (I hear it's too many guns and not enough gear though).

And adjust it as you need to, but keep in mind that the armor was written with a house rule in mind where body pistols do 2d6 damage, auto pistols do 3d6 damage, rifles do 4d6 and so forth. But since that's my house rule I expect you to modify to suit.

The poly carapace has since been modified, by the way; I simply haven't edited the computer/online version to match (really ought to get on that).

 

[Jame Rowe]

If you're interested, here's the update (looks like I did it after all):

Poly Carapace:
TL 9, Protection 9, Cost 10000, weight 12. -1 DM to all Dex-based tasks. Availability 8+
TL 10, Prot. 11, Cost 12000, weight 10. No penalty. Availability 9+
TL 11, Protection 13, Cost 16000, weight 8. Availability 9+
A poly carapace is a sealable version of cloth armor, made out of fibers with ceramic or metal plating at vital spots and sealed joints at neck, shoulders, hips, ankles and wrists. It can be sealed against NBC weapons and vacuum, although at TL 9 the vacuum mod increases price by 5000 Cr and at all TLs increases weight by 2 (i.e. a TL 10 vacuum carapaces are Cr 12000 and weigh 10). Note that the vacuum mod applies only to joints, as the main portion of the armor is vacuum-rated strength. Also, it is not rated for environments that would otherwise require a Hostile Environment Suit. Of all full-body armors, this is the one most likely to be encountered in use by early-stellar troops, and is commonly available to mercenary units which need solid protection for combat conditions, but are not expected to face plasma weapons. It comes with eye protection and a comm unit suitable for its TL, and often includes a rebreather mask and helmet HUD. Poly carapace protection does not significantly increase at higher TLs, although it does get somewhat lighter as the materials it is made out of change.

Combat Armor:
TL 11, protection 13, Cr 30000, weight 12. Life support 6 hours. Availability 10+
TL 12, protection 14, Cr 25000, weight 10. Life Support 8 hours. Availability 10+
TL13, protection 16, Cr 20000, weight 8. Life Support 10 hours. Availability 10+
TL 14, protection 17, Cr 15000, weight 6. Life Support 12 hours. Availability 10+
TL 15, protection 18, Cr 12000, weight 5. Life support 15 hours. Availability 10+
Combat armor is a full body suit of armor which is sealed against environmental hazards and most battlefield weapons. It is the progressive development of the poly carapace, and the base model of armor that battledress is generally developed from; note, however, that it does not give protection of the same quality as battledress. It is not available to private citizens, although most military units, mercenary units and police and corporations with high-threat security teams and TL-11+ resources equip such armor. It always comes with eye protection, comm unit, rebreather mask and helmet HUD, and may be fitted with a tactics computer for the price of such. As with poly carapaces and battledress units, combat armor gets lighter as TL increases, due to the improvements made in the material used to construct it.