Reinforcement

[Agemegos]

G'day

 

My SF RPG setting Flat Black features a certain amount of bionic enhancement of characters, though it does not go anything like as far as CyberPunk does. One of the most common enhancements is reinforcement, as follows.

 

Stage 1 Sports reinforcement Popular among athletes, practioners of the martial arts, and other people engaged in moderately dangerous physical activities not involving intentional infliction of harm, sports reinforcement involves reinforcing bones with composite and alloy members, and lacing tendons and ligaments with high-strength synthetics. This includes reinforcing the vertebrae and the spinal ligaments. The skull is strengthened with reinforcing strips. Vulnerable organs such as the spleen and kidneys may also be protected with synthetic shields and supportive mesh. This reinforcement offers excellent protection against blows, falls, and the like, and useful protection against gunshots, cuts, punctures, and laser burns.

 

Stage 2 Military & Police reinforcement Building further upon Stage I, M&P reinforcement is common among police patrol officers, soldiers, marines, and other military personnel, and in participats in extreme sports. It protects the trachea and large blood-vessels with sleeves of high-strength mesh. It supports all the major organs in sacks of ballistic mesh, and encloses the abdomen and thorax by lacing the peritoneum and between the ribs with a mesh of high-strength fibres. The vault of the skull is completely protected by a bullet-resistant composite shell. This reinforcement provides excellent all-round protection from injury, roughly doubling the amount of damage a person can take before dying.

 

Stage 3 Extreme reinforcement Those people who are not deterred by modifications that might change their appearance or cause continual discomfort can go beyond Stage 2 reinforcement. This is generally the mark of a prosperous thug, mercenary, or even a soldier on some unsavoury colonies. They can have their skin laced with a close mesh of high-strength fibres, allowing it to resist cutting and tearing, but at the cost of it losing some flexibility. They can have vulnerable joints (finger-joints, wrists, elbows, shoulders, ankles, and knees) replaced, and tendons and muscles reinforced, as the cost of continual discomfort. Some have their external ears and genitalia removed, a shelf built up on their orbit to protect their eyes, etc, etc. The benefits are marginal: sensible people facing a threat level that would justify this reinforcement usually wear armour, which gives the benefits more cheaply and without the social and personal costs.

 

Reinforcement generally shows up on the scanners disposed in various places to detect weapons and armour. Special reinforcement that is undetectable short of a medical scan is available (eg. to intelligence agencies, deep-cover cops, and the very rich) are much higher price.

 

Please advise me as to how such reinforcement ought to be represented in the Hero System.

 

Regards,

 

 

Brett

[Curufea]

Re: Reinforcement

 

The same as antigravity in Star Hero I'd recommend-

rPD versus stress damage (gravity/falling etc) plus normal everyday rPD with the limitation of "only after you take 1 BODY damage" to represent that it is mainly internal reinforcement.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: Reinforcement

 

A lot of this could be justified simply by buying more BODY. Or Damage Resistance.

[sinanju]

Re: Reinforcement

 

I'd probably buy it as a few--a very few--points of armor. The ballistic mesh, the reinforced bones, etc., will protect you from punches, kicks, bullets, and so forth. But your organs and brain will still slosh around and bruise themselves against those same bones (or protective mesh) in the sudden stop after a long fall or a high-speed crash.

 

A little armor will help against punches, kicks, bullets--but the big damage (and lots of STUN) from major impacts/falls will still get through. As it should.

[Agemegos]

Re: Reinforcement

 

What about limitations?

[sinanju]

Re: Reinforcement

 

What about limitations?

 

SInce I'd only be buying a few points of armor and it's integral to the character (not even an IIF), I wouldn't bother with limitations. I might give him the Physical Limitation "Requires Specialized Medical Care" since any injuries he _does_ suffer will probably mean needing repairs to the armor or surgical intervention THRU the armor.

[Agemegos]

Re: Reinforcement

 

SInce I'd only be buying a few points of armor and it's integral to the character (not even an IIF)' date=' I wouldn't bother with limitations. I might give him the Physical Limitation "Requires Specialized Medical Care" since any injuries he _does_ suffer will probably mean needing repairs to the armor or surgical intervention THRU the armor.[/quote']

 

Hmm. I hadn't thought to that. I was thinking about showing up on weapons scanners, weird appearance, continaul aches and soreness….

[sinanju]

Re: Reinforcement

 

Hmm. I hadn't thought to that. I was thinking about showing up on weapons scanners' date=' weird appearance, continaul aches and soreness….[/quote']

 

Yeah. "Mr. Smith, you appear to have some bleeding into the pericardium (a "lining" around the heart). It's not severe, but it needs to be stopped. Which means, I'm afraid, we're going to have to cut through the ballistic cloth mesh protecting your heart in order to correct the problem."

 

If they have to spread his (reinforced, armored) ribs for surgery, it gets to be even more fun.

 

You could add Physical Limit: Continual Pain, I suppose. Distinctive Appearance, too, though how concealable and detectable by what senses depends on the campaign.

[Victor]

Re: Reinforcement

 

What about limitations?

Side Effects aplenty;

• negative combat/skill levels (reduced agility/range of motion/reaction time)
  
• penalties vs. Paramedic/PS:Medicine on the user
  
• Power Defense vs. external Healing
  
• temporary/use-associated Disadvantages like "Dependant: ongoing medical treatments", "Physical Limitation: Cannot use powers/equipment with Concentration limitation", or "May not take extra time on INT/EGO-based rolls"
  
• Increased END Cost on STR (loss of flexibility)
  

 

Extra Body pips may be bought with "Does Not Heal Normally, Requires Mechanical Repair"

 

Defenses might be bought "Does not work against successful Find Weakness roll" (i.e., it's not half, it's 0). Make it an INT roll (with appropriate range and situational penalties) if it's really obvious where the gaps are.

 

Extra Strength might be bought as Beam or with Cannot Be Pushed, if the systems/enhancements aren't particularly refined. Stage 3 mods may also have "attacker takes 1/X damage from attacks", if the forces generated exceed the tolerances of the frame improvements (as per move by, or move through, as appropriate).

[shadowcat1313]

Re: Reinforcement

 

what about reduced sense of touch or other reduced senses due to thicker skin?