NEWS

[6e] Cyberlimb Attributes

  • 2 Replies
  • 4693 Views

darthor45

  • *
  • Newb
  • *
  • Posts: 16
« on: <09-17-19/0753:11> »
I don't know if this has been brought up before, but the change in the way Cyberlimb Attributes work doesn't seem to make them a very effective option when making a character this edition.  Starting at 2 is fine, but then you need to use up a Capacity slot every time you increase your Attributes beyond that (a change from previous editions where custom cyberlimbs allowed you to hit the racial maximum before having to use up Capacity for further increases).

I assume the reason for the change was that previous editions also had the Availability increase when you got the customized cyberlimbs and that system is no longer viable with the new changes to availability.  And okay, I can see that trade-off.  But if you're dealing with a high Strength/Agility character like a Street Samurai concept (the ones most likely to take cyberlimbs, honestly), that doesn't leave much room to do much else with them.

The sample Street Samurai (whose listed cyberlimb doesn't actually fit these rules, mind you), would need 11 slots of Capacity to fit his Strength 10, Agility 5 into a cyberlimb.  Leaving him 4 slots left over.  Enough for his the Retractable Spurs he has listed and nothing else he currently has... so maybe a Shock Limb or Hardening instead.  At 5,000 nuyen a pop for each Attribute increase, plus the initial cost, that's 80,000 nuyen and a whole 1 Essence for the cyberlimb.  When he could just have the Retractable Spurs and Shock Limb implanted directly into his fleshy arm for 10,000 and 0.5 Essence.

There's cyberlimb accessories of course, which you couldn't get unless you had a cyberlimb in the first place.  But aside from Armor, those currently consist of a Holster (called out in the description as being for convenience purposes only, it doesn't give any major benefits), an Arm Slide (which functions exactly the same as one you could strap to your forearm instead), a Smuggling Compartment (which actually costs more nuyen AND Capacity than one you could just forego the arm for and only spend 0.2 Essence to get it implanted directly as Bodyware) and the Gyromount (which... honestly I'm not sure how this is supposed to work.  It says it works like the Gyromount weapon accessory... do you have to attach it to your weapon?  Does it only work on rifles and such instead of just whatever you have in your hand?  Is it an actual arm that can only be installed in a cybertorso?  This one's unclear).  There's Hydraulic Jacks, but those are only good in cyberlegs and only if you have two of them.

This breaks down further when you get into partial limbs which per the rules HAVE to have stats equal to the limb they're being added to.  So our sample Street Samurai could NEVER have a partial limb, there's no way to fit 11 points worth of Attribute increases into a Forearm or Hand.  If he's ever maimed in combat and loses his arm from the elbow down, he's better off just having them take the whole thing because he could not just get the cyberforearm.  (As an aside, this also means the cyber hand on the sample Covert Ops character wouldn't work either.  There's not enough room in a cyberhand to fit the Agility and Strength he needs while also fitting in that Shock Limb).

One of the biggest perks for Cyberlimbs is that while they're expensive, they let you trade Capacity for Essence and fit a number of little gadgets into your limb.  But unless you have a low- to middle-Agility/Strength to begin with, the best use for them with the current Capacity limits is to serve as another Armor platform to add to your Bone Lacing and Dermal Plating.

If I'm missing something here, please tell me, I'd like some clarification if I'm wrong.

Michael Chandra

  • *
  • Catalyst Demo Team
  • Prime Runner
  • ***
  • Posts: 9920
  • Question-slicing ninja
« Reply #1 on: <09-17-19/0932:23> »
I agree with you that the system for them is broken. You can't even have both attributes high because of this. Honestly, I'd go with base attributes that must be equal or lower to your natural base (while having a default rising cost for >2 values), and THEN we start charging capacity for increases.
How am I not part of the forum?? O_O I am both active and angry!

darthor45

  • *
  • Newb
  • *
  • Posts: 16
« Reply #2 on: <09-17-19/2100:05> »
I agree with you that the system for them is broken. You can't even have both attributes high because of this. Honestly, I'd go with base attributes that must be equal or lower to your natural base (while having a default rising cost for >2 values), and THEN we start charging capacity for increases.

Thanks, that actually would help a lot in terms of making cyberlimbs more useful.  Still expensive, but I expect that from them.