[gurps] Cyberpunk & 4e

[hal at buffnet.net]

At 09:41 AM 7/26/2006 -0300, you wrote:
>On 7/26/06, hal at buffnet.net <hal at buffnet.net> wrote:
>> Hello Folks,
>> Example:  A man who has a cyberhand to replace his missing crippled hand,
>> he takes the disdavantage "crippled" with the modifier of "correctable".
>> If he takes bionic eyes, he must also take blind as a disadvantage with
>> "correctable" as a modifier.
>
>I don't think this approach is accurate. Can anyone yank this man's
>hand or his eyes off? Can he loose them? In most settings, the answer
>would be "no".

Technically, the answer is yes.  A cybered razorboy for example, could be
knocked unconscious, and have the eyes ahem, surgically removed with a
vibro-blade.  A cybernetic arm could be torn off from the shoulder and sold
as slightly used.  As for losing an item?  That is not the point of
"equipment" versus "gadgets".  Per page 116, a gadget is something that
can't be produced by the most advanced technology.  If you take a gun from
a TL 8 world to a TL 2 world, the gun would qualify perhaps as a "Gadget"
because it can't be produced by the most advanced technology there.
Question is, would a GM say "Ok, the gun can break, can be stolen easily,
has a size modifier of -2 - and grants you an innate attack of 1d6+2, now
you must pay X character points to use it"?  A player could ask "Hey, it
wasn't something I had to pay character points for when the character was
in a TL 8 world, why does he suddenly have to pay character points to be
able to use the gun in a TL 2 world that he found himself in?"

If a person takes any kind of disability that can be countered with a
device - glasses for bad vision, prothestic legs for crippled, etc, the
cost of the disadvantage itself is modified so the disadvantage is less of
a disadvantage pointswise.  That's *STANDARD* GURPS rules.  The question
regarding GURPS 4e's treatment of traits, advantages, disadvantages, etc -
that is the rub.  GURPS CYBERPUNK set the trend for pricing cybernetics
with a point cost despite the fact that by technical definition, the item
is a device.  Oddly enough?  How do you value cybernetics in the game?  If
a person who was a ST 10 individual gets into a horrible accident, loses
his legs and arms, and is given a set of cybernetic limbs to replace his
"meat" limbs, what is its value?  If it breaks, it has to be repaired.  If
it takes limited damage and is not waterproof, getting wet can immobilize
the quadraplegic.  If the strength of those limbs is effectively identical
to the actual strength of the individual to begin with - how has he gained?
 No sense of pain?  No problems with fatigue build up as he uses those
limbs (ie, no lactic acid build up when he runs or climbs with his hands
only)?  Injuries only repairable, not healable?  Requires a power supply?
Requires maintenance to function properly?  Where is this "individual"
coming out ahead of the game having standard cybernetic items to replace
those items that nature gave to him at birth?  It would appear that
cybernetics in and of themselves are not advantages as compared with their
"meat" counterparts.

Lets look at another example.  Suppose you have cybernetic eyes that grant
you night vision bonuses.  Suppose too, that the night vision goggles are
dropped and the character in question can no longer see in the dark as he
had before it broke.  With the breaking of the goggles, the character can
still at least "see" as he has always been able to see.  When it is night
time, his vision is no better - and no worse, than that of an ordinary
person.  However?  Lets look at what happens when the cybernetic eye is
broken.  The night vision aspect is gone as it was when the "goggles" were.
 The difference here however, is that when the eye no longer functions, the
person becomes blind.  Net effect?  Cybernetic limb is a disadvantage under
the same circumstances that a regular goggle was not.  Difference is?  The
night vision embedded in the eyes is always available to the guy with the
cybernetic eye.  It is "hidden equipment" if his eyes are not readily
identifiable as being cybernetic.

A person who walks through a detection screen is going to have all of
his/her cybernetic enhancements made visible if they are inorganic of
nature.  The claim that it is "hidden" isn't quite true in this case.

All things considered?  I'm at a loss on how to price a cybernetic eye as a
"character bonus" if regular night vision goggles are available as regular
equipment that doesn't have to be paid for in character points.  Both do
the same thing - allow a character to see in environments that ordinary
humans unaided by such equipment, can't.  If I were to imbed a GPS in my
body and could read it on a LCD display set into my forearm - how is this
any different than having a GPS unit that is a wrist bracelet that can't be
taken off my wrist unless it is cut out?