[HMtW] Cybernetics for the Worm

 
Some time ago I had been working on a cyberpunk hack of His Majesty the Worm I had been calling "A COMPUTER CAN NEVER BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE" - named after the page from the 1979 IBM training manual. My main motivation for it was the chance at releasing the hack before the actual game itself. Had years to work on it. But, like most poor decisions in my life, I was talked out of it and grew bored of the joke. 

I figured I may as well share the augments for it. 

"Where are the prices?" 

Never got that far. 

Changes to the Base System 
     The intention was to cut out the middle man of charging the Bonds and holding onto the points until a Camping phase, where they become Resolve. Instead, "Charging a Bond" automatically restores a point of Resolve. The hope here is that role play is brought to the forefront and used to power the augments repeatedly. The augments were then changed to not use Resolve, but I still liked the removal of the extra step.

Installation
     Capitalism forces the Worker to sell their body far below its value, then simply replaces them when said body begins to fail. With the invention of the cybernetic augmentations, the Capitalist is now able to sell replacement parts for the broken Worker, keeping them further in debt and producing surplus value they’ll never take part in. 

At first, the cybernetics were simply a prosthetic medical device, replacing lost limbs with neural feedback capable robotic replicas. With each additional iteration, however, came further and further functionality. Then, one day, it happened. A line was crossed: Someone took the leap of replacing perfectly functional organic parts with the newest in cybernetic. 

From there, it was a short matter of time until certain augments were required to stay a prospect in the job market. Or even functional in your day-to-day. Due to this, everyone is assumed to have had a Vivo/Silico  Interface modulation device (VSI) installed in their head during childhood, which is the time the organic neural network is still plastic enough to adapt to the presence of the VSI implant. The VSI comes with one external data port and is easily upgradeable to account for interfaced augments. 

(Design note: The VSI implant is manufactured by and purchased from one of the four major corporations: SWORDS Weapons Technologies; PENTACLES Biomedical; CUPS Research Limited; WANDS International Industries. The chosen brand would relate to the character's Path. Nothing of importance to Note here, just showing you what a clever boy I am.) 

The Augments
More would be needed for an actual game, but these are what I had listed out. 

Biomonitor Beacon - Not really useful for you, but anyone attempting First Aid on you, while using AR, receives Favor on their attempt. Also allows your teammates to see, and take In Character, your current Status. Not that anyone was terribly worried about that anyway. 

Boltagon Modulator - There's modulating your voice, then there's weaponizing it. Specialize audio equipment lodged in your throat allows you to spend a Resolve and play a card to Roughhouse (Deafen) a target, or Notch a target object. By yelling at it. 

Brain Box - Your skull has been encased in a titanium webbed mesh, embedded with a micro life support system, and an explosive ejection system at the base of your neck. Upon reaching (and marking) Death's Door, the Brain Box explodes from your body, rocketing off to a presumed 'safe' location, and begins emitting a locator beacon. The system contains power for 24 hours of operation once activated. The Deluxe version is gold plated and includes psychoactive chemicals and a solitaire program, to entertain the user until recovery. 

Bright Eyes - Overcharged LEDs are hidden among the VSI status lights in your irises. By spending a Resolve and playing a card on your action, you may Roughhouse (Blind) a target who you’re currently Engaged with.

Drone Control Unit - Shares a single, specially connected drone's sensory data with the user. Commands to the drone still require CUPS, but it can be done so without a remote or physically speaking. An additional unit(s) allows for an additional drone(s) to be controlled. 

Embedded Weapon - Box off an inventory slot and add a single handed weapon to it. This weapon is now jammed inside your forearm and immune to Disarming. The weapon does not need a hand to be “carried,” but it does need a hand to be “used.”

Extra Arm - You gain an extra hand slot, +50% to armor costs for the customization, and weird looks from people you meet on the street. 

Hand Grenade - Why yes, I am going to continue to make this joke. In a moment of desperation, or boredom, you may detach the hand and use it as a grenade (attacking everyone in the zone). Obviously, it's consumed on use and you're out of a hand slot until replaced.

Internal Communication Device - Modern day version of the phone. Installed in your head with a translucent display under a pupil, and an indicator light in your iris, you've but to concentrate on a contact and the device will dial their number, allowing for communication without speech. Additional user interface is provided through tongue gestures. 

Internal Gyroscope - You've got yourself a gyroscope jammed in your chest cavity. What's it doing in there? Spinning. Constantly. Keeping you upright. Gain the motif "Internally Gyroscoped." 

Knowing Port - Allows the use of Knowledge Chips (one per port) and making Lore bids against the subject contained on them. Usually installed just behind an ear, next to the data port.

Overclocked Muscles - Your muscle meat has been spliced with gorilla DNA, soaked in growth hormones, and bound by carbon fiber reinforced tendons, allowing you to perform incredible feats of strength. Gain the motif "Overclocked Muscles" and +50% armor price, as it now has to be tailored to fit over your massive muscles.

Speech Encryption - By two (or more) players spending Resolve, the characters may now speak in what any outside observer interrupts only as babble. To each other though, the speech is completely understandable and, through quantum bullshit, completely secure. Activation lasts an entire scene, and characters may slip in and out of the encryption when speaking to/around people without the augment. 

Sub-dermal Armor - Block off an inventory slot and mark it “Armor.” This inventory slot may now be wounded as if it was armor. Because it is, and must be Repaired in the same manner, though checking all the notches doesn't destroy it like normal armor. 

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[SWS] Hole in Your Soul, or Lack Thereof

 

A thing that ain't ever fully set right with me in cyberpunk games is how the installation of cybernetics always seem to make you 'less' of a person. Be it the lose of 'humanity' or 'soul', the wearer of such prosthetics is treated as less of a person. Okay, yes, fine, given the typical systems for this sort of thing, some form of balance needed to be found, but - maybe - that weren't it. 

Say you're out and about in your dystopian future of choice, minding your own business, just doing a job you were hired for, probably arson, no biggie, when some jerk starts screaming about "don't burn down my business" and swinging a katana who's edge has been honed down to an atom's thickness. Real day ruiner. Long story short, you're down an arm. Mechanically, you're still a 'full' person at this point (which is correct), but as soon as you decide to replace your missing limb with a prosthetic, you're somehow no longer fully human? Your soul is diminished because you've...had a surgery? 

Awful. Garbage. Get the fuck outta here. 

The human body is able to adapt in some amazing ways. You know when you pick up a set of tongs and you give them a good clicking to see if they still work? That's your brain forming and calibrating the new addition to your body that exists via the tongs. Ya getting your soul eaten every time you pick up a set of tongs? Hell, the sack of meat in your skull can even adapt to completely altered input, adjusting to the new orientation in just days. 

When you install cybernetics, you should be less worried that your somehow "less of a person", and more concerned that by integrating this technology into your body, you run the risk of being over dependent upon said technology and the people who control it. While some may have altruistic goals to providing the technology, ultimately the corruption of capitalism (which actually eats away at your soul) bring them to offering 'subscription plans' or 'cost cutting measures' or some other bullshit that cheats the consumer. 

Additionally, to address the 'balance' issue mentioned above: I don't...care? Some Weird Sin is perhaps too lethal of a system and if you want to jam your cyberarm full of weaponry, boom box, thief's tools, bar supplies, phone kit, kitchen sink, additional sensory organs, and whatever else you can imagine, go ahead. Enjoy yourself. Your character will probably be dead soon. Unbalance shouldn't be feared by the player, nor the General Manager. (But I'm the sort to give a character of a template variant a nuke, just for showing up)

Instead of harassing and insulting people with disabilities, I look to ask the player a set of questions to get them thinking about their choices, leaning into the roleplaying side of things, rather than the purely mechanical. The explanations offer more sub questions, to really press the issue if you want. It's neither a long, nor complicated list, but I have seen it help the player consider and role play their decisions. Which is something that, obviously, should be striven for. Far too often I've seen a Shadow run player say "I've got a chip in my head" at character creation, then it never get brought up again.

1. Why have you chosen to give up a part of yourself? 

Obviously, if the augment is replacing a missing part, this is apparent. But, if the player is replacing a perfectly working organic part: Why? What is leading you to give it up? Do you fear falling behind the competition? Or is it fashion wear you're trying to use to fit in? That part is you and has been since birth. Why get rid of it now?

2. Why make yourself a Product?

Despite what they try to tell you, personality can't be bought at Hot Topic. Not many people have what you're installing, sure, but it's still a Product made by a company. One unit out of countless thousands produced every single day. That meat was yours, and yours alone. Your new eyes are now shared, potentially, with any random person on the street. 

3. Which company do you bind yourself to?

Ultimately, you're giving up a part of your organic self and replacing it with company made product. Almost every company in the biomedical business has a version of the part you're looking for. You're now going to be dependent on their fabrication, their firmware updates, their back doors into your ware. What makes this company better? Why give your freedom to them? What are you planning to do when a back door hack into their software is discovered and almost any hacker punk can take control of your body part? 

4. What do you plan to do if they go out of business?

Cattle die, kinsmen die, all things must end. Including businesses in this corporate-eat-corporate world these days. What are you planning to do when the company goes out of business and the DRM expires, leaving a chunk of your brain unusable, locked behind security protocols, waiting for the key from a company that no longer exists. (I secretly hope the players look to jailbreak their gear and make it truly theirs, but that has yet to be) 

5. Cash or Credit?

In the possibly implied setting (or at least the one I use at my table, parts of which may have slipped into the rule book for space filling fluff. I drift, I admit it.) physical paper currency, such as the Soviet Ruble, is illegal as it is untraceable and easily hidden. Credits, on the other hand, store all transaction data to a distributed ledger, making every single transaction public and searchable. Will you keep your privacy after all this, or brazenly flaunt your actions? (There's a correct answer here) So after all the decisions are made, the process complete, and the doctors need paying. So "cash or credit?"

Again, not a terribly complicated list, but it puts the roleplay first and fresh in the player's minds. Giving other players and the GM a glimpse into the character's position. 

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Elven Hacker

While the True Elves sing the physical world into existence, your ancestors lost that ability when they descended into this world. You though, with research, practice, and a little luck, have found a way to mimic the lost ability - but for the digital domain. 

While you’re referred to as a “Hacker,” you don’t really know technology any better than the average nobody. You don’t really need to, as you can simply ask devices to work for you. What’s RAM? A male sheep. And cookies are the things you eat. Why’s everyone always yelling about them?

Elven Hacker

Requirement: Elven template A

1. Digital Song, Perceive the Realm Digital, +2 Songs

2. Network Step, +2 Songs

3. The Road Goes Ever On, +2 Songs

Digital Song

Whereas your elven cousins in the real world are able to sing the physical world into existence, you are able to alter the digital world through your song. Your songs mimic the abilities of a Hackers Warez, and you'll be choosing from the same list for now. Gain a number of song dice equal to your Elven Hacker Templates.  These work/are just like the standard GLoG Magic Dice: Whenever you roll 4-6 on the song dice, you lose that dice until refreshed the next day.  

Faults and Snowcrashes still apply and are detailed at the bottom. I should rename them something singing related, but I won’t. I know nothing about singing. 

You need no gear to perform these songs, but you obviously need to be able to speak. 

Perceive the Realm Digital

You are a creature of the physical realm, able to gaze down into the digital. This sounds cooler than it actually is. Basically what this means is you are able to perceive AR without additional gear or implants. Big annoying advertisements, roaming AI, device HUDs - all are visible to you. 

Also, you’re able to speak with devices. You just do that now. All the time, if you want. Devices usually have an attitude based on their purpose, however, and for unfamiliar devices you’ll need to make a vibe check (reaction check) to see if they’re even remotely friendly. 

Network Step

As an Elf, you’re able to step up briefly into the True World to short cut your way across the Physical World. As an Elf Hacker, once per session you’re able to step down briefly into the Digital World to shortcut your way across the Physical World, moving 1 node per template across a network you have access to. 

The Road Goes Ever On

Should you (when you) die, make one final Charisma check. On a success your personality gets embedded on a nearby device, and you can rewrite as an AI bound to that device. Think along the lines of “Really Good Dog” but more “Really Good Gun” or “Really Good Vizzy.” If you succeed by 10 or more, you get to choose the device. If you fail, well, you’re finally free of this nonsense. 

Faults

1. Wrong Lyrics - Dice only return to your pool on a 1-2 for 24 hours.

2. Forgotten Lyrics - Cannot sing anymore songs for 1d6 rounds while remembering the proper lyrics. .

3. Headache - You suffer 1d6 damage from severe headaches.  

4. Intrusive Thought - A stray thought keeps distracting you. Lose a song slot for 24 hours.

5. A Bit Flat - Whatever you just sang was horrible. Just awful. You’re now Deaf for 1d6 rounds.

6. You Look Silly Doing It - Take 1d6 Charisma damage

Snowcrash

1. Talking Fast - It worked for Sid McCray, maybe it’ll work for you. You can not speak for 72 hours.

2. Better Make it a Full Week - You can not speak for 1 week. 

3. Bit Your Tongue - Well, it was more of a chomp than a bite. Mute permanently. 

4. Wait, What? - You completely forget the words to the song you just sung, and will need to relearn it.  

5. Monster of Your Own Design - You’ve sung something horrible into existence. A powerful AI has been created and immediately gone rogue. And it hates you. So. Very. Much. 

6. Terrifying Visions- I don’t know how you done it, but you sung yourself back into the True World. Don’t worry though, you return 24 hours later at the same location, dripping with DMT and incoherently blathering about the terrible fractal visions you saw.  You’ll never sing again out of pure terror. 

Learning Songs

Where Hackers can simply purchase new Warez (or trade favors), in order to learn a song you’re going to have to do some research and practice. Spend a number of days equal to the number of songs you know + 1 in study, spending 1000 Soviet Ruble (the new currency standard) a day for beer, drugs, and broken electronics, afterwhich make a Charisma check. A successful check means a successfully learned song, with every additional 1000 Ruble spent providing a +1 to the check. 

Song::Befuddle

Device is unable to record new data to memory for [sum] minutes. Save negates. 

Song::Blind

Visual sensors on a device fail for [sum] minutes. Save negates. 

Song::Charm

Device treats you as an approved user for [sum] minutes. Save negates. 

Song::Deafen

Audio sensors on a device fail for [sum] minutes. Save negates. 

Song::Loop

Device (usually a camera) replays the last [dice] rounds as output until reset. Save negates. 

Song::Summon Digital Assistant 

You are able to bind an AI to your service for [Sum] days. 

The assistant acts independently, however it will always follow your commands to the best of its ability and you are able to instantly communicate with it when within 100 ft of it. It’s not exactly telepathy, but it might as well be. With concentration, you may experience any sensory data the assistant is experiencing, however this does leave you, yourself, effectively blind and deaf for the duration. Also, when within 100ft of you, the assistant can use any song you know, based on the highest dice rolled: 1-2, 1 song dice; 3-4, 2 song dice; 5-6, 3 song dice. 

The assistant stays around until destroyed or dismissed, however it does not count against your follower limit. You can’t have more than one assistant at a time. 

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Werewolf Unionist

 

In the year 20XB (just a few short years before modern day 20XX) a lunar factory was established on the moon. While not remarkable on it's own, as the first lunar station, colony, mining, and manufacturing establishments were all decades before, what set this station - designated AMZN Lunar Prime - apart was the fact that it lacked even the most basic of automation. High stress parts, AI cores, Turing locks, and all the necessary power sources and maintenance cost money after all. Employees are replaceable. 

Another notable event in the history of the AMZN Lunar Prime was it's abandonment in 20XG due to what is commonly referred to as "the Werewolves Incident." 

The employees were originally abandoned in the facility, however you're one of the few who managed to glom the guts of a rattler back down the well (hop a freight shuttle back to earth). 

Werewolf Unionist

Starting Equipment: Union Card, Union Pamphlets,  Picket sign (as club) 

Starting Skill: 1) European Folklore 2) Lunar Operations 3) Labor Laws

For every Werewolf Unionist template you take, gain +1 HP. 

A. Beast Mode; Collective Action

B. Don't Mourn, Organize!

C. Monstrous Transformation

D. The old John Henry 

Beast Mode

With a moment of concentration you can shed off the trappings and burdens inherent in being human and embrace the freedoms of being a wolf. You are able to transform into a dire wolf while retaining human reasoning, with all that that implies. 

Collective Action

While Conviction is typically gained by putting yourself in trouble, your Conviction can also be gained by successfully convincing someone to join a trade union. 

Don't Mourn, Organize!

After seeing a member of your party die of lethal damage, a successful Wisdom check restores half of your total hit points and all uses of per day abilities. 

Monstrous Transformation

You've gained further control over your form changing abilities and can now shift into a horrendous combination of were and wolf. While in this form gain a claw attack (as heavy melee), implied wolf abilities, +2 strength, and Damage Reduction 3. Being successfully attacked with silver ends the damage reduction effect until a long rest. Holding this form hurts like hell, however, and inflicts 1 non-reductable damage per round. 

Anyone bitten by you doesn't necessarily become a lycanthrope (assuming they survive) but they do slowly develop pro-worker ideal. 

The old John Henry 

Once per session, when in a contested roll with a machine (before rolling), you may simply announce that you pass the test and beat the machine. 

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