IN> Bio-Relics

[William Keith]

And so, whether bio-relics are available from street-corner 
mystico-surgeons or only from celestial (read: demonic, most likely) or 
pagan enchanters, what are the goodies for sale, and what do they cost?

Cash-wise, of course, relics will cost whatever enchanters can charge 
for the skilled labor they employ for the duration of the enchantment 
time.  Point-wise, relics will simply cost 2/level for a talisman of a 
given level, or 4/level for a Song so that mundanes can use it.  
Remember, if using Surgeon's Hands the surgeon will need his own relics 
to copy.  In addition, most artifacts will have the Convenience 
Features "leaves hands free (+2)" for external devices or "Can be 
carried hidden (+3)" for internal organs; those on one hand have the 
standard +0 convenience.  Most relics are self-powered.  Songs will 
usually come with reliquaries of sufficient size, costing 3/level, plus 
3 once so that their Essence is available to humans.  Tied in to the 
human's flesh and destroyed when it dies, all will have the "artifact 
destroyed when corporeal form destroyed" vulnerability, costing -3 for 
talismans or -4 for relics.  "Automatically detectable as an artifact" 
can further defray the costs of a bio-relic by -3, though only if 
bio-relics are a regular part of the campaign is this by any means a 
safe option.  (And if they become *so* regular that bio-snatching 
becomes profitable, the feature may not be safe again.)

Talismans -- cheaper in points and requiring no Essence to use -- are 
by far the most common bio-relics.  The next most common are Numinous 
Corpus body parts.  Obviously, no Secret, Lost, or Restricted song is 
in common circulation as a bio-relic; should a human show up ina fight 
sporting a fist that employs Corporeal Blades, it's a good sign that 
Laurence or Michael has begun offering special bodymods to their 
troops.

Bio-relics are listed below by the body part they replace, generally 
arranged from the head down.  The brain can never be replaced; however, 
attempts may be under way to research the construction of a bio-relic 
of Ethereal Memory, built on the hippocampus, that would grant eidetic 
memory constantly (and probably cause a constant low-level Disturbance 
as it did so).  Ethereal and Celestial Unity are also interesting 
candidates for delicate transformations of parts of the brain.

Hair/Scalp: Corporeal Light; NC: Horns

Eyes: All manner of informational eye-relics can be constructed. Any 
Song of Empathy; Celestial Light; any Song of Nemesis; NC: Eyes; any 
Song of Sight; Corporeal Truth; Talismans -- Tracking

Ears: Celestial Memory; Ethereal Truth; Talismans -- Detect Lies

Teeth: Corporeal or Ethereal Draining (naturally, the user must bite 
the victim); NC: Fangs

Tongue: Any of the Songs of Tongues are appropriate here.  So are the 
Songs of Charm, if they additionally include the -1 Feature "requires 
Intelligence roll," to speak soothingly to one's victim; NC: Tongue; 
Talismans -- Fast-Talk, Language skills, Savoir-Faire

Throat: Corporeal and Ethereal Harmony (-1 Feature, user must succeed 
on a Singing skill roll); Ethereal and Celestial Machines; Ethereal 
Nimbus; Ethereal Opening; NC: Acid; any Song of Shatttering; Talismans 
-- Emote, Singing

Armpits: Corporeal Nightmares; Ethereal Revulsion  (Often explained as 
a 'pheromonal' implant)

Biceps: Corporeal Might, NC: Tentacles

Hands: Corporeal Healing; Ethereal Light; Corporeal Machines; NC: 
Claws; Corporeal Shields; Talismans -- Fighting, Large Weapon, Ranged 
Weapon, Small Weapon, Throwing

Fingers: Some bio-relics are enchanted into one finger at a time, 
usually the index finger.  After receiving a finger bio-relic, no hand 
bio-relic can be purchased; if a hand bio-relic is purchased, 
succeeding finger bio-relics must be of level equal to or lower than 
the hand.  Common Songs: Corporeal Fire; Corporeal and Celestial Ice; 
Celestial Light; Corporeal Opening;

Spine: NC: Barbs, Tail, Wings; Talismans -- Acrobatics, Dodge, Escape

Abdomen: NC: Arms, Fins; Corporeal Succor (the manna is created in the 
user's stomach and cannot be shared; the user will never have to go 
grocery shopping again)

Genitals: Ethereal Attraction.  (This design was probably sponsored by 
Andre; most sport the "leaves hands free" convenience level, not "can 
be used hidden.") ; Talismans -- Seduction

Legs: NC: Legs

Feet: Corporeal Motion; NC: Feet; Talismans -- Climbing, Move Silently, 
Running, Swimming



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Full Shell relics:

      A Full Shell bio-relic is a tricky one.  It is based on the 
*entire* body, except for the brain.  It can only be undertaken if a 
recipient has had no other bio-relics yet implanted -- with the 
exception, for campaigns using Surgeon's Hands, of bio-relics for the 
hands or fingers.  In such a case, the Full Shell conversion covers all 
of the body except the hands.  The enchanting surgeon must have not 
only (in regular IN) the Enchantment skill or (in GURPS IN) the 
Celestial Song of Artifacts, but also Medicine/6 (i.e., in GURPS IN, 
Surgery at 15 or better).  If the enchantment roll is successful, an 
additional roll against the surgeon's medical skill is required to 
ensure that the brain survives the process and maintains its bodily 
connections successfully.

      Someone who has received a Full Shell conversion does not 
externally age and requires almost no sustenance; only the brain 
continues to age and to require oxygen, food, and water.  A few bites 
of food per day is sufficient, likewise a few ounces of water.  The 
recipient can hold his breath for much longer than he could before.  
(In GURPS, the user should pay for the Reduced Consumption and Reduced 
Life Support advantages.)  Since each individual body part is now part 
of a reliquary of a given level, any further bio-relics the user 
purchases must be of equal or lower level.  A Full Shell given the 
features of Tough or Extremely Tough would make its user corporeally 
formidable.  The "Unbreakable except by special means" Feature is not 
recommended, since the body is still *alive* and as vulnerable to 
damage, disease, aging, etc. as any human.  (Allowing this Feature 
would lead to some exceedingly powerful human fighters.)

      There are, of course, downsides to having a relic for a body.  
Lacking fatigue hormones, it requires a Will roll for the human to get 
the sleep he finds mentally necessary each night.  Fortunately, this 
roll becomes easier as nights of sleep are missed -- in the meantime, 
though, penalties accrue as normal.  It's extremely difficult to hide 
the Full Shell from celestial perceptions without a total body 
covering, so a user is typically a prime target.  The Shell may or may 
not be Sterile, by GM interpretation.  When physically causing damage 
with a punch, kick, bite, or so forth, the user causes Disturbance as a 
celestial.

      Like all other bio-relics, it is actually possible to destroy the 
Full Shell without killing the user, by inflicting Soul Hits.  Each 
relic has a pool of Soul Hits that is separate from the Soul Hits of 
the human employing it.  Depleting this pool of Soul Hits -- usually 
with the Celestial Song of Light, though a few other means exist -- 
will destroy a bio-relic, if inflicted ritually over the usual number 
of days required to destroy a relic.  If done, the user's body remains 
corporeally unharmed, and is no longer a relic.

Typical Full Shell relics include simple reliquaries, any of the Songs 
of Form, NC: Plates or Spines, or Corporeal Shadows.