Throughout the XXVc basic game and (if memory serves) within the first few novels, the subject of cybernetics is avoided (save for Black Barney, who I'm still unsure of). Gennies, the genetic creatures created by man, fill the gap left wide open by the lack of cybernetics in the setting, though gennies can only go so far.

Well, Black Barney and all the other Terrine mark 1b (Barneys) are cybernetic in that they have an alloy skeleton (think Terminator and Wolverine), and have "wrist-daggers" that can pop out from their wrists (think implanted cutlery, again like Wolverine or the cyberspurs from the Shadowrun rpg). They're considered more or less unique, and incorporate technology that's not found in other gennies. Their "father", Remus Wydlin (former head of Dracolysk corporation, target of a RAM hostile takeover), is something of a genious.

I say let the Martian suffer! Oooops, sorry.

The following is a short collection of possible cybernetic enhancements useful in the XXVc setting as well as a few brief notes regarding their use. This information is written for use with XXVc though with its AD&D2-style mechanics, as Nick Parenti has pointed out so well in the past, it is also useful with any RPG system derived from those basic concepts.

Attributes and Realism

Actually, the "No Humans Allowed" supplement to BR takes a slightly different approach. There' there's no general bonus, but a differentiated one - if you have a cybernetic limb, you'll get increased damage when using that limb to attack with, and only when you use that particular limb. Thus, if you have a cybernetic left foot, you won't get increased damage if you decide to clobber someone with your fist. Also, there's not necessarily just a bonus to an attribute - one could also get improved damage from merely using a cyberlimb to attack, such as 1d8 punching or kicking someone, or perhaps 1d10. Considering that a monosword does 1d10 points of damage, I'd suggest 1d8.

Instead of focusing overly much on attributes, think of all the neat gadgets that can be built into a cyberlimb. There's flashlights, comlinks, grappling hook projectors, knives, flame projectors, computers, tracking devices, all sorts of projectors and displays, not to mention gillpacks, toolkits, synthrope spools, tech scanners, bio scanners, translation packs, and what have you.

Motor Power

Another frequently asked question when cybernetics are used, is the old "what's powering them?". This system assumes that all cybernetic components have an internal battery which gives them a one-year life. This battery can be easily charged from any starship's drive or other engine/energy device.

For just a "basic" cyberlimb replacement, one might use the old "bioelectricity" cop-out. Also, one can consider an arm an item powered by standard powerpacks, giving a cyberlimb a certain number of hours of operation before the powerpack needs to be changed. Consider utility belts and so on for examples on battery life.

Also, reclusive scientists, top-notch medical services, and experimental RAM R&D labs are nice for providing exotica, such as cybernetic enhancements and scar-generating encounters with mad cyborgs.

Now, after all the flashing neon and bright lights of hype, I present a few cybernetic components/enhancements for use in your XXVc (or system-related) campaign.

Cyberlimb: A pretty common enhancement, these are most often used by those poor souls who have seen their original limb either disintegrated or ripped off. The basic cyberlimb costs 2500cr.

For an additional 1000cr, you can purchase a hydraulic-powered limb which grants a +2 to Strength. A Dex+2 cyberlimb is also available for an additional 1500cr beyond the base cost. A Str/Dex+2 limb is also available, but you'll end up paying 500cr beyond the combined totals.

Cyberscreen: Why wear smart clothes with an ECM package when you can just have the defensive abilities implanted within yourself? Sure, it costs 3500cr, but the protection is worth it.

This little gadget operates in the same manner as the ECM package detailed on p.27 of the XXVc Technology Book.

Enhanced Senses: This includes such things as cybereyes, implanted hearing magnification, and any kind of vocal modification. The types of enhancements are limited merely by the imagination of the gamemaster and players. Each sensory enhancement costs 1000cr, though the gamemaster may set a higher cost for special enhancements (such as laser eyes).

Internal Armor (light and heavy): Not nearly as protective as the real armor available to XXVc patrons, internal armor is undetectable to the naked eye and can be combined with regular armor types. The light version costs 3000cr and has an AC8, while the heavy version costs 5500cr and has an AC4. When combined with regular armor types, the internal armor's AC should be subtracted from the regular armor's AC (in effect, treating it as an AC modifier, similar to a Dex AC modifier).

Organ Replacement: This enhancement is most often taken by people suffering from a terminal disease though a few have chosen this cybernetic modification for the simple desire to swim in space. A character so modified is assumed to have not a single original vital organ, instead there is a mass of plastic tubing and copper wiring filling the body. They can survive in space, their internal organs identical to those of a Spacer (see Characters & Combat p.30). Of course, since their skin hasn't been enhanced, it's necessary that they wear a space suit in order to be protected from the freezing cold of space. This operation costs 15000cr.

Actually, here I have to disagree. The Spacer is a cybernetically enhanced gennie, true, but that's because of the metallic covering a Spacer receives. The internal organs of a Spacer is not a tangled mass of plastic tubing, copper wiring, datacrystals and molecutronic chips. It's an algae culture, and some other fancy things - which would be abundantly clear if one just read the entry on the Spacer gennie in, what, Characters & Combat. The organ replacement described here is more similar to that which the head of Mechina (a Firm dedicated to rebuilding humanity through cybernetics) has done to himself. His stats can be found in "No Humans Allowed", together with a description of the nature of his modifications.

Possible Use in an AD&D2 Campaign: It's easy to lay the blanket term of magic over the cybernetic enhancements described above, possibly even making a few of them magical items to be found during an adventure. Magical surgery could implant any of these items, creating characters as strange as anything they could ever encounter on an alien world.

The DM could even go so far as to take a few of the more standard magic items found in a typical campaign and rework them just slightly. The Gauntlet of Strength which slowly replaces flesh with steel, ensuring the gauntlet could never be removed, would be an odd magic item (especially for the finder). What about the Cloak of the Manta Ray which permanently attaches itself to the wearer, falling off only when the wearer has been killed? Magic rings, once slipped over the finger, could disappear forever, becoming a permanent spell-like ability of the wearer instead of a power inherent in a ring.

When adapting material, it's best to keep a wide open mind.