BIOTECHNOLOGY

by Mad Tango

Bioware and Biological Implants

for the World of Shadowrun

“Okay, okay, so I didn’t pick up much, but even I have to admit that bioware is probably the hottest thing to hit the street since the portable cyberdeck. Well, let’s just say that if you can, you’ll need to get some of this. Courtesy, GeneTech Technologies. (and a few others…) And me, of course.”

—Mad Tango <02:36:24 / 01-04-53>

“By the way, here’s a table of contents (so to speak) for the lazy.”

—Commander Zippo, SysOp <0:2:37:14 / 01-04-53>

Table of Contents

BIOTECHNOLOGY
- Bioware and Biological Implants
- for the World of Shadowrun

Bone Augmentation

Structural

Calcium treatments are applied directly to the bones to strengthen them. This increases the bones’ toughness as well as making them somewhat more pliable under extreme stress. {GM’s NOTE: Body dice are for damage resistance tests only.}

Level	Bonuses	Damage	Street Index
1	+1 Body	(Strength+1)L	0.5
2	+1 Body, +1 Impact	(Strength+2)L	1.0
3	+2 Body, +1 Impact	(Strength+1)M	1.5
4	+2 Body, +2 Impact	(Strength+2)M	2.0

Body Cost: 1/level
Availability: 6/10 days
Price: 60,000¥/level

“Rumor has it that if you don’t get them done right, that the treatments actually make your bones brittle and you’re worse off than you were before.”

—Sprocketface <20:01:15 / 01-06-53>

“Really? I had mine done at a local shadow clinic and I haven’t had any problems.”

—Jax <04:47:03 / 01-07-53>

Claws

Structural

Using a similar calcium treatment as in Bone Augmentation, the fingernails are hardened into rigid claws and the growth of the fingernails is ceased. The claws are not retractable and protrude about 1.5 cm beyond the fingertips. They are illegal in most sectors.

Concealability: N/A
Damage: (Str)L
Body Cost: 0.6
Price: 35,000¥
Availability: 6/12 days
Street Index: 2

“They’ve got a bioware equivalent for every piece of cyberware these days.”

—Dr. Kewl <21:14:27 / 01-04-53>

“Truly the biggest rip-off ever. Do you see how much they cost? I can get old fashioned retractable hand razors for a quarter of the price. And these don’t even retract!”

—Fiddler <22:27:36 / 01-04-53>

“I know a nice street doc who knows a quick procedure to make them retract. Reasonable rates, too.”

—Jax <13:02:54 / 01-07-53>

Oil Suppressors

Dermal

This is a gland that kills the hormones which induce the body to release its oils. With the body not releasing its oils, no fingerprints are left. However, as long as the oil suppressors are active, the oils build up, which can cause a break-out of acne or some other kind of rash. {Roll of 1 or 2 on a 1D6. The break-out causes -1 die to Charisma and all Social skills, as well as a +2 to every Social Success Test for a course of seven days after the oil suppressors are deactivated. Adds a +2 modifier to chem-sniffer and magical detection tests.}

Body Cost: 0.4
Price: 35,000¥
Availability: 10/20 days
Street Index: 2.25

“Actually kind of useful if you’re not self-conscious.”

—Maria <16:17:14 / 01-05-53>

Callosumal Facilitator

Neural

The corpus callosum is a thick bundle of nerve fibers which connects the two halves of the brain. This process works on much of the same premises as the synaptic accelerator. Through a variety of techniques, the fibers, right down to the individual cells of the corpus callosum are encouraged to broaden their axons (“data paths”) and decrease the synapses (“gaps”), allowing more information to pass between the two sides of the brain. This allows for faster communication between right and left (logical and creative), easier acquisition of knowledge, faster recall, and quicker response times. {-1 per level to all target numbers with a knowledge foundation. -1 per level to all target number when attempting to recall information. Intelligence raised in this manner does not raise Reaction.}

Level	Bonus	Task Pool
1	+1 Intelligence, +2 Reaction	1
2	+2 Intelligence, +4 Reaction	2

Body Cost: 0.6 / 1.6
Price: 150,000¥ / 480,000¥
Availability: 6/2 weeks / 8/6 weeks
Street Index: 2 / 4

“Wow! These things have the potential to really cook. Imagine the damage you could do with one of these in your skulls. It turns you into a mental monster!”

—Superhype <03:41:09 / 01-05-53>

“Just be careful who you get it from. One slip and instead of super-recall, super-response time, super-genius you become super-drek-faced-drooler. If you have any doubts about your doc, don’t ask him to perform this one on you. Think about it…”

—Hatchetman <20:17:06 / 01-05-53>

Organic Datajack

Neural

Specially gengineered, electro-sensitive nerve cells are cultured and implanted in the user’s temple. These cells, called electro-impulse sensitive data trans-reception neurons, or DTN for short, are capable of interfacing with a standard STJ-400 telecommunications jack. The DTN function like a standard datajack in that they interpret the computer impulses into a “brain readable” format. That is, the simsense pulse coming down the fiber optic cable is translated by the DTN and distributed to the appropriate brain centers for the user to perceive. The hole itself is held shut by a sphincter muscle when not in use to avoid infection. Four levels of organic datajacks exist.

Body Cost: 0.1/level
Price: 12,000¥/level
Availability: 4/6 days
Street Index: 0.9
Data Flow Rate: 10 x level

“Don’t count on this being a hot seller among anyone who needs a datajack. For starters, the only thing these have on their metal cousins is that they are Essence friendly (except for those poor magicians…). Uploading anything into headware memory from these suckers is tough. For whatever reason, the O.D. only wants to talk to the brain, not the chips. Not only that, but cyber like the I/O processor and the encephalon don’t seem to like the O.D. a whole lot either. No one really knows why.

On top of all that, a top-flight O.D.’s DFR is only about 40, which is less than a mid-grade datajack. Hell, I know deckers that can jack faster through their butthole than with one of these.”

—Brightflash <23:38:28 / 01-04-53>

Vision Augmentation

Neural/Optical

By altering the retina, cornea, lens, or other part of the eye, modern science has found a way to modify the eye in order to augment its capabilities without the use of cybernetics. This is done in different ways for the different augmentations, but the idea is the same: avoid the electronics in favor of a more organic improvement.

LOW-LIGHT VISION

By implantation and genetic alteration, the eye can be trained to produce more rod structures in the retina, making it more sensitive to light. This produces crisper images during daylight and enhanced eyesight in an environment with reduced lighting.

Body Cost: 0.1
Price: 15,000¥
Availability: 5/8 days
Street Index: 1.5

THERMOGRAPHIC VISION

By implantation and genetic alteration, any eye can be trained to produce the “hourglass” structures found in the retinas of dwarves and trolls. This makes a person’s eyes sensitive to the infrared spectrum and capable of seeing heat emissions.

Body Cost: 0.1
Price: 20,000¥
Availability: 5/8 days
Street Index: 2

MAGNIFICATION

By altering the lens and cornea of the eye, a person can be given the ability to see for farther distances with increased clarity. It is as though they have been given “internal binoculars.” Although this method is not quite as effective as its cybernetic counterpart, it manages the same desired effect with a more organic approach.

Body Cost: 0.1/level (max 3)
Price: 18,000¥/level
Availability: 5/8 days
Street Index: 1.5

“Now these, I admit, are nice.”

—Dr. Kewl <21:16:37 / 01-04-53>

“Apparently, if nature can grow it, so can mankind.”

—Harvester <07:12:28 / 01-05-53>

“Only if magic’s not involved.”

—FastJack <09:31:42 / 01-05-53>

“Not to divulge any secrets that I’m sure your paranoid minds have already thought of, but that is what R&D is for.”

—KAM <13:04:29 / 01-05-53>