Bioronics

"If she had learned about the future of bioronics, Mary Shelley would either have wept or giggled hysterically into a thunderstorm depending on which biographer you believe." ~Antaric Beregost, Doctor-Premier of Bioronics, Lecture #08

Bioronics

Bioronics is a technology that involves Cloning body parts and organs and creating proprietary creatures through basic cultures and chimeras. This technology is used to grow organic Cybernetics and provide services similar to robotics, particularly for those wary of AI. Bioronics excels in creating midpoint processors for Man-Machine Interface (MMI) setups, often used in Starships or strategic ground weaponry.

New Horizons, Old Fears

Bioroids are controversial, with many secret labs growing them to avoid public outcry. Known labs often face energetic protests, sometimes escalating to terrorism. Approximately half of humanity believes the creation and use of Bioroids is unethical, and a third believe they should be destroyed. This controversy surrounds the exploitation and existence of Bioroids, sparking heated debates.

Procedure Tiers

Procedure	Modifier	Growth Time	Procedure Time	Injury	Recovery Period	Fee
Simple	+6 (+4)	1 week	15 minutes (1 day)	1 HP	15 minutes	$250
Minor	+4 (+2)	2 weeks	30 minutes (3 days)	1d/2 HP (round down)	1 hour	$2,500
Major	+2 (+0)	4 weeks	1 hour (1 week)	1d HP	1 day	$25,000
Radical	0 (-2)	6 weeks	2 hours (6 weeks)	1dx1.5 HP (Round Down)	1 week	$250,000

Genejacking

Most Bioronics can also be acquired by 'genejacking,' which uses a combination of junk DNA rewriting, Terminating Nanite microsurgery and stem cell reprogramming to skip the laboratory and grow the organoid by 'budding' straight from the location of the graft. The "procedure Time" uses the time marked in parentheses, during which the location or organ from which the organoid or organoids is/are growing has whichever applicable of the Numb, Blindness, Deafness, Bad Grip, No Taste Or Smell Disadvantages. The marked Injury is spread evenly over the marked Growth Time, for instance a Radical Genejack rolls 3x1.5 HP Injury, for a result of 4.5, which rounds down to 4. Over the 6 week growth time, the Genejack will cause 1 HP loss every 36 hours. Organoids replacing vital organs are high-risk Genejacks, and may require temporary medical assistance to get through. For instance, the Racing Pump Organoid replaces the heart, so during the changes any exertion or excitement can trigger a heart attack as the developing high-performance organ is forming.

Not Just for Artificials

The bioronics listed below (and all those that aren't listed) aren't just for Bioroids. They can be grafted into human anatomy, operated by ,Shackled AIs, or even incorporated into vehicles or heavy machinery. Bioronics are less durable that robotics or Cybernetics, their power source (the Clonefeed metabolism) is more expensive over time, and they have a natural expiration date, but there are a few Advantages of bioronics that the other disciplines lack. For one, bioronics have genuine nerves. While Cybernetics can be upgraded to approximate touch and pressure sensation, bioronics come that way. A cyborg is never really unaware that theirs is not the hand that they were born with, a Bioroid limb can not just feel like the owner's, it can quite often be GROWN from the owner's own DNA. With the right genetic therapies, certain bioronics can actually become tendencies passed down, making bioronics the preferred form of prostheses for Perfected Path and Genefreaks alike.

Parts

Bioroids are assembled from parts, called organoids. Organoids are individually grown in nutritional baths, often mass produced. When they are grown, they are typically generic blobs of flesh, which can then be chemically assigned as various organoids and tissues. After they are finished, they are added to a 'scaffold' (bone or exoskeleton) and grow together in a sort of siphonophore colony. These colonies connect through nerve webs and once connected to a higher controller, IE: RI, SI, AI, Cybernetic Cores or living brians, their individuality fades away and they become extensions of the controller. If severed, they gain a semblance of their old autonomy, usually with the last thought or impulse given by the controller. This means that individual organoids, if separated, might pursue the same drives, imperatives, or impulses as the central mind, albeit in a blunt and nonsentient way.

Sensoids

Sensoids are organoids that transmit information to the central processor. Eyes, ears, olfactory, tongue and sucker enhancements can all be grafted on. Eye Replacement: Just a regular humanoid eye, in whatever normal or radical color you'd like. Usually a replacement, sometimes implanted somewhere else to add an extra eye (A third eye in the forehead is popular, but essentially just cosmetic. Minor. LC4, $15,000. Eye stalk: An extandable, retractible eye bulb on a prehensile stalk that extends from your body. Each level of this organioid can extend the stalk another foot. When extended, the stalk can be targeted at -8, minus one for each foot the appendage is extended. If you have an Eye stalk in addition to other visual organs, it also gives you the Enhanced Tracking Advantage for every eyestalk. Simple. LC4, $25,000 Eye Spy: A small, rudimentary black or white eye, similar to the visual sense organs of a clam. This is nearly invisible, easily mistakeable as a mole, scar, or other sort of blemish even when the eye is open. The most popular location for this organoid is a fingertip, allowing someone to peek around corners or into hard-to-reach places. Another use of this is to put a ring of them around the neck of a user, giving them 360 degree vision. This eye is simple in nature, it is colorblind (sees in a grayscale and suffers from the Nearsighted Disadvantage). Simple. LC 3, $5,000. Snake Eyes: This organoid appears as a dimple and by default comes in pairs. It provides Infravision. If used in pairs, it adds +1 to all melee skills against an opponent that is significantly warmer than the environment. Simple, LC 4, $15,000. Three Lobed Eye: A massively complex eye organoid with somewhat triangular pupils. This eye is slightly larger than a normal human eye due to the complexity, but it filters through colors that humans don't have words for. It is capable of seeing in the Extended High and Extended Low Bands, radically altering the user's perception of the universe. It telescopes up to 6x, has a Nictitating Membrane to protect it from overload, and is more than a little unsettling for normal humans. This organoid gives the user Hyperspectral vision, Telescopic Vision 6, and a Nictitating Membrane 3. Major. LC 2, $58,000 Ear Assembly Organoid: A canal lined with delicate hairs and small bones precisely arranged to register vibrations in the air; IE: a replacement ear canal. Major. LC 4, $20,000. Elfin Ear Assembly: A pointed, conical and more prominent set of ears that provide up to three levels of hearing improvement. Each level gives +1 to all Sense rolls. Minor. LC 4, $2,000/level. Hearing Patch: A sensitive, fibroid membrane that looks a bit like a cluster of freckles that sense vibrations and translate them into sound for the connected nerve. By itself, this patch has the Hard of Hearing (-4 to hearing-based Sense rolls), but it's usually used by people with other, more normal ears. What it is good at is picking up low frequency sound and 'remembering' sound signatures. It always knows a voice or sound that it has heard before, and makes for a good, low-tech 'key' for some nonsentient Bioroid models to obey only a set number of voices. It provides the Discriminatory Hearing and Subsonic Hearing Advantages. Simple, LC 3. $15,000. Echolocation Package: This allows you to emit and hear Ultrasonic sound, and to 'visualize' the echo time and pitch to allow you to echolocate. This works out to 20 yards x air pressure, and within that zone you can spot small objects and determine their shape, but you must make a Sense roll to distinguish fine relief (e.g. to identify a face.) Echolocation doesn't function at all if you are muted, and makes you Vulnerable to loud noises which also completely foul your ability to visualize the results. You can also focus the sound in order to 'lock onto' an object in range and determine its precise range and speed just as if you had a high-tech rangefinder. This gives you +3 to hit that target with an aimed ranged attack. Major, LC 4, $35,000. Sniffer: A chemical analysis organoid that detects and identifies 'smells.' This one is simply a replacement for a normal human nasal assembly, though the nose can be shaped in generally whatever shape the user would want it to at no extra cost. Minor, LC 4, $8,000. Bloodhound: A beter olfactory assembly more akin to a dog's. In addition to more sensitive chemical analysis membranes, it also houses organoids dedicated solely to memorizing and comparing smells. This grants the Discriminatory Smell Advantages as well as three levels in Acute Taste and Smell. Major, LC 3. $21,000. Suckers: These prehensile pads can be grafted onto any expanse of flesh, but is usually applied to manipulators. They provide Acute Touch 3, Acute Taste and Smell 3, and adds +3 to any skill where grip strength and dexterity is helpful so long as the suckers can be usefully employed. Minor, LC 3. $20,000. Serpentis: This tongue extension organoid extends up to 1' from the lips. The tongue is prehensile and can function as a clumsy manipulator, but its main function is sampling the air for scent. This gives the Acute Taste and Smell 6, as well as Discriminatory Taste Advantages. Minor, LC 4, $40,000. Sensitivity Patches: Patches of skin that make your fingertips or equivalent organs extremely sensitive, allowing you to sense residual heat in a chair, faint vibrations in the floor as someone approaches, etc. You get +4 (in addition to any Acute Touch bonuses) on any task that utilizes the sense of touch; e.g., a Forensics roll to note the similarities or differences between two pieces of fabric, or a Search roll to feel out tiny concealed objects. Simple, LC 4, $10,000.

Nodule Organoids

Nodule Organoids are additional or replacement organs, brain nodes, or glands that improve body function, give some extrahuman abilities, or otherwise improve the lives or prowess of the recipients. Migration Node Organoid: This brain organoid detects magnetic and gravitational fields. On planets where these fields are polar, which is nearly all planets, that means you can always tell which direction is North. It also means that on Starships with artificial gravity, you can always detect where the artificial gravity is coming from. Major, LC 4, $5,000. Racing Pump Organoid: A complex, twelve-chambered heart that 'beats' in a concentric ripple. It oxygenates blood with a high efficiency and can ramp up its top speed (around 250 BPM) in about three seconds. When activated for 1 FP, it takes three seconds to fully activate and when it does, it takes another 1 FP every five seconds to keep it going. While active, the user has Altererd Time Rate 1, Enhanced Dodge, and Enhanced Move 1. Major, LC 3, $125,000. Lycanthropoid Stem System: A radical series of marrow replacements and glands that pump pre-programmed stem cells through the bloodstream of the user. Most of the time, it gives them the Bad Temper, Regeneration (Fast), and Combat Reflexes Traits. Radical, LC 0+M, $110,000 Balancer Node: A brain organoid that nestles between hemispheres; provides the user with Ambidexterity. Minor, LC 4, $5,000. Papillae: A series of skin nodes that allow the user to change the texture and color of their skin, granting them Chameleon 5 and the ability to use the Camouflage skill by simply having enough skin showing to blend in. Major. LC 2, $25,000. Pheremone Pachage: Sweat gland organoids designed to alter the chemistry of sweat to change it to a pleasing smell, with underlying pheremones that are designed to impress most humanoids. Each level of this procedure gives +1 on all reaction rolls made by sufficiently humanlike sapient beings with whom you share an atmosphere with and are actively interacting; +1 to Influence rolls; and +1 to Fortune-Telling, Leadership, Panhandling, and Public Speaking skills. The GM may rule that your pheremones do not affect members of extremely alien races. Psionicist Node: This node gives you access to Psionics, but no specific Advantages or skills; you have to work on those on your own. Major. LC 2, $1,000. Filter Lungs: These lung organoids filter ordinary contaminants; e.g., dust, pollen, smoke, and even tear gas (but not nerve gas or other contact agents). You suffer no ill effects from such things. This is especially useful in polluted cities and on alien worlds. Radical. LC 4, $5,000. Solid-state Blood Organoid: Your blood vessels (and the blood in them) are replaced by a rigid vascular system that permeates oxygen, nutrients, etc. in a similar manner to a tree. To the point that you do "bleed," the bleeding is sluggish and stops almost immediately. You take no bleed damage, are unaffected by blood-borne toxins and diseases, and are immune to attacks that rely on cutting off blood to parts of your body. You have Pressure Support 3. You are also unable to benefit from Colonizing Nanites or organoids that replace the heart. Radical, LC 4, $20,000. Stem Cell Recovery Package: This is a marrow organoid that comes in two levels. Level 1: Whenever you roll to recover lost HP or to see if you can get over a crippling injury, you get +5 to your effective HT. Prerequisite: HT 10+. Minor. LC 4, $5,000. Level 2: As above, but when you roll to recover lost HT, a successful HT roll means you heal two HP, not one. Prerequisite: HT 12+. Major. LC 4, $15,000. Free-floating Blood Organoids: These organoids look like tiny tumors floating around your bloodstream. They provide Regeneration (Regular), allowing you to recover 1 HP per hour. They can also even regrow lost limbs and organs! A lost ear, finger, toe, claw, tentacle tip, etc. regrows in 1d weeks; a lost hand or foot in 1d+1 months; and a lost eye, arm, or leg in 2d+2 months. If you also have Regeneration (above), Regrowth works much faster: all lost body parts regrow in the time it takes you to heal to full HP. Simple. LC 4, $65,000. Training Organoids: These organoids can be injected into a skull. They rapidly attach to and assimilate with a brain, adding their 'training' to the host's memories. This is usually a skill package, with 'memories' programmed into them of thousands of hours of training. Each Training Organoid gives the user 1-8 character points to spend on skills (Chosen when the organoid is requested.). This is a Minor procedure that cannot be Genejacked, LC 4, $5,000/character point. Note: There are also versions of these organoids that can remove skill levels, for instance, removing a convict's ability to fire a weapon.

Weaponoids

Spitter: Pressurizing glands under your tongue allows you to spit a mollecular acid. This is a ranged attack with 1/2D 2, Max 5, Acc 3, RoF 1, Shots N/A, and Recoil 1. It costs 1 FP to use, and it deals 3d6 corr damage. For every 5 points of basic damage you inflict, reduce the target’s DR by 1, in addition to regular damage. (Living beings heal natural DR at the same rate as HP.) Minor, LC 1, $30,000. Toxic Shocker: Pressurizing glands under your tongue allows you to spit a deadly toxin. This is a ranged attack with 1/2D 2, Max 5, Acc 3, RoF 1, Shots N/A, and Recoil 1. It costs 1 FP to use, and it deals 3d6-HT tox damage every round until the target deals no damage. Minor, LC 1, $12,000. Aphrodite's Kiss: Pressurizing glands under your tongue allows you to spit a euphoric drug. Much like Neurostim Guns, this was meant as an LTL defense but branched immediately out into recreational use. This is a ranged attack with 1/2D 5, Max 10, Acc 3, RoF 1, Shots N/A, and Recoil 1. It costs 1 FP to use, and it deals 3d6-HT Fatigue damage until it deals no damage, and it causes the Ecstasy irritating condition for 1 hour after the last instance of Fatigue damage over 1. Overdose risk occurs in three concurrent doses. Minor, LC1, $24,000.

Pressurized Gland Table

Liquid Projector (Spitter)

Weapon	Damage	Acc	Range	Weight	RoF	Shots	ST	Bulk	Rcl	Cost	LC	Notes
Spitter	3d6 corr	3	2/5	-	1	1	-	-1	1	$8,000	3	Reduce the target's DR by 1 for every 5 corr damage.
Toxic Shocker	4d6-HT Tox	3	2/5	-	1	1	-	-1	1	$30,000	1	Damage cycles every round until a damage roll is 0 or less.
Aphrodite's Kiss	4d6-HT Fat Aff	3	5/10	-	1	1	-	-1	1	$12,000	1	Damage cycles every round until a damage roll is 0 or less. Causes the Ecstasy Irritating Condition

Ramhorns: This is a pair of ram's horns or antlers that have a reach of C, and inflicts thr damage at +1 per die. The damage is crushing for curling horns, and piercing for antlers. They use DX or Brawling. Note that this interferes with normal helmet use, and though they provide 10 (2) DR to the head, without custom equipment a spacewalk is out of the question. Major, LC 3, $6,000. Mantis: This is a biomechanical limb topped with a scythelike tip. It's only for dealing damage, it has no other use. This attacks at a reach of 1, inflicts thrust imp or swing cut damage. Major, LC 1, $8,000. Scorpio: This organoid is typically grafted onto your forearm, and resembles a long, multi-knuckled finger topped with a stinger. It can lash out either as part of a punch or independently. If striking independently, it has a reach of C. If as part of a punch, it has a reach of 1. Either way, it deals 1d tox damage, and cycles 1 tox damage per minute afterwards. This mod cannot parry. $3,000. Claws: Retractible claws, like a cat. These replace your fingertips with flexible pads that can roll forward and extend several inches. Your unarmed attacks can deal slashing instead of crushing damage. You also have a +3 bonus to climbing and grappling, and climbing requires no handholds so long as the substance that you're climbing can be penetrated by your claws. Simple, LC 3, $8,000. Teeth: This organoid replaces the teeth with razor-sharp fangs. Your bite now inflicts thrust-1 cutting damage. Simple. LC 4. $1,000.

Stiker Weapons Table

Brawling (DX)

Weapon	Damage	Reach	Parry	Cost	Weight	ST	Notes
Ramhorns	thr+1 cr	C	0	$6,000	1.5	11
Manits or	sw cut thr imp	1	1	$8,000	3	9	Risks getting stuck
Claws	sw-1 cut	C	no	$8,000	-	7
Teeth	thr-1 cut	C	no	$1,000	-	7
Scorpio	1d tox	C/1	no	$3,000	-	5	cycles 1 damage per minute

Utilitoids

Spiderclaws: Microhairs and suckers, usually on the palms, toes, and knees. When activated for 1 FP, you can walk or crawl on walls and ceilings. You can stop at any point and stick to the surface without fear of falling. Neither feat requires a roll against Climbing skill, provided the surface is one you can cling to. Move while clinging is half your Basic Move. If you are falling and try to grab a vertical surface to break your fall, the GM must first decide whether there is anything in reach. If there is, make a DX roll to touch the surface, and then make a ST roll at -1 per 5 yards already fallen. If you succeed, you stop your fall. Otherwise, you continue to fall – but you may subtract 5 yards from the height of the fall thanks to the slowing effect of the failed Clinging attempt. Variations in gravity affect these distances; e.g., in 0.5G, the ST roll would be at -1 per 10 yards. This ability uses 1 FP per minute, and can be stopped at any time. Minor. LC 3, $20,000. Gillman Package: Gills, webbed feet and hands designed to allow humans to live comfortably in shallow water (30 ft). This is most often taken by Martians living in clans who are adapted to the water but didn't get those genes. Minor, LC 4. $10,000. Chlorophyll: You don't NEED to eat, so long as you get sufficient UV light and water. This obviously lowers the logistics mass to support you, but you need to spend at least 4 hours a day in direct UV and you need some way to get minerals into your system, which can be done with pills. Fortunately, this can be done while sleeping. This organoid takes the form of either large spots or a full body skin pigment, either black, brown, dark red, navy blue, or forest green. Minor, LC 4, $5,000. Added Arms:A limb with which you can manipulate objects. This functions as a regular human arm by default and can be a prosthetic. Regardless of how many arms you have, you can only make one unarmed attack per round unless you have the Extra Attack Advantage. Additionally, an arm organoid can be grown in special nutrient baths with genetic manipulation so that they increase in Arm ST, Arm DX, or both. Major, LC 4, $20,000. $12,000 per point of Arm DX, and $3,000 per poitn of Arm ST. The Worm: A brain organoid that serves as a 'backup' in the event of brain death. As long as the head remains intact, the organoid can consume the brain of the host after death to maintain its life. If the organoid is recovered within 4 weeks and preserved, it can be placed in the brain of a blank Clone, bringing the dead back to life. This is a traumatic experience, and Nightmares and Flashbacks are common after the procedure. Major, LC 3, $25,000. Metabolic Management Package: With this organoid, you can control normally involuntary biological functions such as pulse, blood flow, digestion, and respiration. Each level of Metabolism Management Package gives +1 on any HT roll that would benefit from such control (GM’s decision), including bleeding rolls and rolls to recover from (not resist) disease and poison. You can also enter a deathlike trance. Anyone unfamiliar with your metabolism must win a Quick Contest of Diagnosis vs. your HT + Metabolism Control to discover that you aren’t dead. In this state, each level of Metabolism Control reduces by 10% the amount of oxygen you need to stay alive, and doubles the amount of time you can safely go without food or water. You are unaware of your surroundings while in your trance, but awaken automatically if injured. You may also set a mental “alarm clock” to awaken you after a certain amount of time has passed. Major, LC 4, $5,000 points per level, maximum of 5 levels. Mockingbird Larynx Organoid: With this organoid, you can duplicate any simple sound (alarm, gunshot, etc.) by listening to it for one second and making a successful IQ roll. You can also imitate voices by spending at least 10 seconds listening to them – live, recorded, or remotely – and making an IQ roll. This trait gives you no special ability to stun or deafen others with loud sounds, or to speak unpronounceable magic words. Buy any such capabilities separately. Minor, LC 4, $10,000. Abdominal Pouch Organoid: This organoid takes the form of a fleshy pouch, which nestles cargo in the fat layer of your belly. This lets you carry up to your Basic Lift/2 lbs in the pouch, with up to 10% of that being effectively invisible without a thorough enough search to discover your pouch. Every 10% of your max capacity after this adds -1 to your Holdout skill for the purposes of hiding the cargo. Simple, LC3, $5,000. Gizzard Organoid: This is a lower chest organoid that interdicts between the stomach and esophagous. It can be used to store food to be eaten gradually, or it can be used to store small items to be 'coughed up' later. The default option has a lining that embeds quantum dust particles with your stomach, making any scan of the organ appear to simply be your stomach. It's nearly impossible to find a Gizzard organoid, which makes it perfect for smuggling small items. However, nothing about the organoid makes things easier to swallow. It has a cargo capacity equal to BL/10, and no individual item can be larger or more hazardous than you could swallow (No unsheathed knives, for instance). Minor, LC 2, $1,000. Slime: These dermal organoids can alter your sweat glands to emit an odourless lubrication. Each level of this trait (maximum five levels) gives +1 on all ST, DX, and Escape rolls to slip restraints, break free in close combat, or squeeze through narrow openings. Simple, LC 4, $2,000. Tentacle Nest: A bundle of tentacles, often replacing hair on the scalp, that can act as manipulators. Major. LC 4, $3,000.

Defensoids

Nictitating Membrane: A set of thin eyelids that reside beneath your eyelids and that can blink independently of them. This lets you see normally underwater, and protects your eyes from sand, irritants, etc. Each level of Nictitating Membrane provides your eyes (only) with DR 1 (Flexible) and adds +1 to all HT rolls concerned with eye damage. Simple, LC 4, $1,000 per level, max 3. Spine Organoids: These organoids are patches of sharp spines, like those of a porcupine or an echidna, located on strategic parts of your body. This is defensive weaponry, intended to discourage attackers; you cannot use your Spines actively. However, you get a DX-4 roll to hit each foe in close combat with you once per turn, as a free action. Roll at +2 against foes who attacked you from behind. Those who grapple or slam you are hit immediately and automatically – and those who slam you take maximum damage! Short Spines: One or two inches long. Do 1d-2 impaling damage. Reach C. Simple. LC 3, $1,000. Long Spines: One or two feet long. Do 1d impaling damage. Reach C. Minor. LC 2, $3,000.

Mods

Looks Human: The part doesn't look biomechanical at all, and only the scars left behind from the procedure provide evidence of it. $5,000. Boneshell: A chitinous, hardened shell that surrounds the organoid, providing DR 4 (2) to that organ. +$8,450. Life Support: Allows the organoid to survive being detached from the host for up to 6 hours, and can be attached with nanite microsurgeons. The detached organoid is "programmed" with your last thoughts and impulses, and will pursue your desired goal if you succeed at a Will roll at the moment of detachment. This provides no special sensory organs to the organoid, for that buy an Eye Spy and Hearing Patch or other such sensory organs. Unless you have some severe mental disorders, the detached organoid is loyal to you. +$13,000. NOTE: Without Life Support, organoids can survive up to 6 minutes when severed. Symbiotic: This is generally paired with Life Support, but that isn't a prerequisite. This organoid isn't grafted onto you. Rather, it is connected to your nervous system through a sucker mouth, which interfaces with a prepared 'socket' organ. This allows much less traumatic detachements. +$4,000. Parasitic: Like Symbiotic (above), except the mouth resembles a lamprey's and doesn't require a socket organ. Without a socket organ, it deals 1 cut damage during attachment and 1d cut during detachment. If detached forcibly, it causes Bleeding. While attached to the host, it can function as a Mind Probe ability, the knowledge gleaned this way can be given back to the original host when it returns. +$20,000. Genelocked: This bioronic alters your DNA so that any clones you make of yourself will carry them, as well as having a 25% chance of passing on these new genes to any offspring. $80,000.