CYBERNETICS
In
Dungeons and Dragons
Coverted by Giles P Kiser
Original Work by Bill Slavicsek and Richard Baker

	These rules that you are reading are a conversion of Alternity cybergear for use in the Dungeons and Dragons Third Edition game.  The rules have not been tested and revisions may need to be made before they are balanced with the existing rules.  However, seeing as how Alternity and D&D are similar games in many regards, I don’t see balance as an issue.  With no further ado, here are the rules:

Installation:
Buy the “Cybertech” skill.  In order for characters to have cybergear installed, they must buy a Cybertech skill for 5 skill points.  This skill is a measurement of the time and training necessary in order to run and control cybernetic implants.  This skill needs to be bought only once, since once a character has learned how to use a cybernetic arm, they can easily learn how to use a cybernetic leg or eye and cannot be increased in rank.

Spend skill points: Every cybernetic implant has a number that represents the time taken away from other studies in order to properly use the implant and is paid in Experience Points.  This is a one-time cost.  Starting characters can have cybernetics implanted at creation, but are considered to be in the hole as far as experience is concerned and must gain back those points before experience is tallied towards gaining levels.

Maximum number of implants: Just as in Alternity, a D&D character uses his Constitution score to determine the maximum amount of cybertech he can install into his body, this is called the character’s “Cyber Tolerance” score.  Each time a piece of cybergear is installed, the character’s cyber tolerance score goes down.  This does not affect the character’s actual Con score.  The “Size” value is the amount of cyber tolerance that is depleted.  Once the character has used up half or more of his cyber tolerance, he has to pass a Fort save (with a DC of the character’s cyber tolerance score plus the size of the implant and the number of implants installed after cyber tolerance has been halved, also a character’s Con modifier counts in the roll as well).  If the save fails, the character’s body has rejected the implant.  He can try having it installed again, but he will have an additional +1 to the DC of the save.  However, if a character fails at installing a piece of cybergear, but then attempts to have a different piece of gear installed there is no increase of the DC.

Arcane Spell Failure: All cybergear has a chance of disrupting the casting of spells since the caster has to focus on controlling his cybergear (even if the control is subconscience) as well as casting the spell.  This percentage chance is cumulative with armor and shields and other cybergear.

Cykosis: Cykosis is a condition that causes those with a Fast Chip or an Accelorator to go violently insane and become a character in control by the DM.  Each time a Fast Chip is used, the character must pass a Will save (with Wisdom modifier if any) with a DC 13.  For each failed save, the character suffers a +1 DC on all future save attempts.  When the character has failed enough saves to equal to half his Wisdom score, he goes insane and becomes an NPC (also known as a “Cykotek”).  Will save rolls of 1 or 2 add +2 to the save’s DC.

Damage to Cybergear: Damage to cyber characters is recorded normally and is also repaired normally as long as the character doesn’t have a significant amount of gear installed.  However, if the character has used up more than half of his cyber tolerance score.  A character that loses more than three-fourths of his total life has also sustained heavy damage to his cybergear as well and will have to have it fixed or replaced.  (At half the original cost of the gear.) If a character has died, then some or all (DM’s wish) has been destroyed and must be replaced.

Cybergear Table 
Item	Pounds	Size	Cost Per Quality (in standard GP)
Ordinary – Good – Amazing 	Arcane Spell Failure	XP Cost	
Accelerator*	2	0	2500	5000	10,000	15%	150	
Artificial Ear*	0	2	1000	2000	4000	5%	150	
Artificial Eye*	0	O3/G&A2	1250	2500	3750	5%	150	
BattleKlaw*	2	3	300	600	900	5%	100	
Bioart	0	0	50	100	200	0%	0	
Biowatch	0	0	50	100	300	0%	0	
Body Plating:
  Ordinary
  Good
  Amazing	
40
80
120	
3
5
7	
1500	

3000	

4500	
10%
20%
30%	
150
200
250	
CF Skinweave	0	2	1000	2000	3000	20%	0	
Cyberlimb*	20	3	1000	2000	3000	40%	100	
Cyberoptics*	0	2	500	1000	2000	15%	100	
Data Slot, Passive	2	2	500	700	900	10%	0	
Deflection Web*	16	3		3500		25%	200	
Endoskeleton*	40	5	4000	6000	8000	10/20/30%	300	
ER Slot*	2	2	500	1000	1500	10%	250	
ER Slot, Passive*	2	2	500	1000	1500	10%	200	
Exoskeleton*	60	5	2000	3000	4000	15/25/35%	250	
Fast Chip*	0	3	1000	1500	2000	20%	150	
Gunsight*	2	0		1500		5%	150	
MusclePlus*	4	3	1000	2000	3000	20%	150	
Nanocomputer	0	2	2000	3000	4000	5%	250	
Neural 3D, ext*	2	2	500	750	1000	5%	150	
NIJack*	0	2	500			0%	100	
Optic Screen*	0	0	250			0%	100	
Reflex*	0	3		2000		20%	200	
Scanner Implant	4	O3/G&A2	1250	2500	3750	15%	150	
Self-Repair Unit	4	3	1000	2000	3000	10%	150	
Subdermal Armor*	40	3	1500	3000	6000	10/15/20%	250	
Subdermal Comm	0	2		500		0%	100	
Subdermal NIJack*	0	2		700		0%	150	
Subdermal Weapon Mount:
  Ordinary*
  Good*
  Amazing*	

4
4
4	

3
5
7	

250	

500	

750	

10%
20%
30%	

150
150
150	
Systemic Reinforcement*	18	0	5000	10,000	15,000	25%	200	
Wireless NIJack*	0	2		1000		0%	150	
* means that a Nanocomputer is required to use this piece of gear.

Cybergear Descriptions:
Accelerator: This gear allows a character with Reflex to greatly increase control of his cybernetic circuitry.  Ordinary Accelerators allow a +1 iniative bonus, Good allows a +2 init bonus and an extra action, Amazing allows a +3 init bonus and two extra actions per round.  Using this gear forces checks for Cykosis.
Artificial Ear: This is a piece of sophisticated sensory equipment that allows the character to hear a greater range of sounds outside the normal range of human hearing.  Characters with this piece of gear installed gain a bonus to Listen, Open Locks, and Disable Device skill rolls depending on the quality of the gear installed.  (+1 for Ordinary, +2 for Good, and +3 for Amazing.)  If the character has two ears installed, he can use the bonus to offset the effects of fighting in darkness.  The bonuses of two ears are not cumulative.
Artificial Eye: This is a video imaging device that can either take the place of an existing eye or be mounted on the character’s hand or such as an additional sight organ.  The character with an artificial eye gains a bonus to Search and Spot skill rolls. (+1 for Ordinary, +2 for Good, and +3 for Amazing.)  For double the cost, image-enhancing or thermal imaging can be added to the gear.  This allows an additional +1 bonus to Spot and Search skill rolls.  The character with thermal imaging only gets the additional bonus when the character is trying to find something that gives off detectable heat.  Aside from thremal imaging, the eye does not allow a character to see in the dark, but they do get the bonus of the eye gear in low-light conditions.
BattleKlaw: This is a blade concealed in the character’s forearm and is released from the knuckles of either the index and second finger or the third and fourth fingers.  The blades are long and thin, but are rather strong and hard to break.  Ordinary Klaws do 1d4 damage, Good Klaws do 1d6 damage, and Amazing Klaws do 1d8 damage.  Characters with BattleKlaws must have the Small Weapon Proficiency in order to use the Klaws.
Bioart: Can be either a glowing tattoo or fiber-optic filaments in the character’s hair.  This form of cybernetics has no chance of being rejected by a character, but it does allow a +1 bonus per tattoo/clump of filaments in hair to other’s Spot skill checks if the bioart is left uncovered.  The higher qualities allow for better, mor intricate/outlandish work.
Biowatch: This is a watch that appears as glowing numbers underneath the surface of the character’s skin.  The watch only appears when touched.  Biowatches can have different functions beyond the time (like compass or temperature) depending on the quality of the watch.  Biowatches cannot be rejected by the character’s body.
Body Plating: These are large metal sheets that cover parts of the body (ie. upper arrms, legs, chest, etc.).  Ordinary plating adds +2 AC, Good plating add +3 AC, and Azaming plating adds +4 AC.  The plating is bonded to the character’s skin and is readily seen.  Amazing plating subtracts 1 from the character’s Dexterity score.  Additional armor can be used in conjunction with plating, but it only adds the difference in AC to the character’s final AC.  For instance if a character has Good body plating installed into his body, then he would not receive an AC bonuses from armor of AC +1, +2 or +3, but if he donned AC +4 armor he would receive a bonus of +1 to his AC score.
CF Skinweave: This is a strong layer of carbonite fiber made to look and feel like regular flesh, but it adds some protection from damage.  Ordinary skinweaves add 2 points of subdual damage points, Good skinweaves add 2 subdual points and 1 hit point, and Amazing skinweaves add 3 subdual points and 2 hit points.
Cyberlimb: Cyberlimbs are replacements to lost or ineffective limbs.  Cyberlimbs can have additional features like secret compartments, weapon mounts, etc. added at an additional cost.  Cyberlimbs work as well as natural arms plus they add to the character’s Strength score.  Ordinary limbs add 1 point of Strength, Good limbs add 2 points of Strength, and Amazing limbs add 3 points of Strength.  However, the bounses only apply when the character is using the cyberlimb.
Cyberoptics: These can be replacements for eyes or can add optics to other parts of the body.  Ordinary versions allow normal vision and they act as a digital and video camera.  Good versions provide 300x zoom to normal vision (+1 to Spot and Search checks).  Amazing versions provide 500x zoom and shift to thermal vision (+3 to Spot and Search checks).
Data Slot, Passive: This is a data slot that allows information to be downloaded and stored, but not accessed by the character’s own nanocomputer without extra cables.  The slot is small and easily concealed.  These types of data slots are used mostly by information couriers.  The higher grades allow for more information to be stored.
Deflection Web: This gear allows the character to increase his resistance to attacks for a short time.  The character gains a +2 bonus to Fort and Reflex saves while the Web is in effect, but he suffers a –1 penalty to hit.  The charge only lasts for 5 rounds after which, it must be changed.  Changing the pack takes one round.
Endoskeleton: Provides all the benefits of an exoskeleton, but it is concealed inside the character’s body.  As with exoskeletons, the character can withstand more damage than normal.  Ordinary endoskeletons adds 3 subdual points and 6 hit points to the character’s totals, Good adds 6 subdual points and 12 hit points, and Amazing endoskeletons add 9 subdual points and 18 hit points.
ER Slot: This allows the character to be healed at any time, though the passive version is activated only when the character is dropped below 0 hit points.  When activated, the character is healed for 1 point of damage and stops the dropping of hit points after dropping below 0.  The slot allows for only once dose of healing and then must be refilled with the healing solution (Trauma Pack 2 in Alternity).  
Exoskeleton: This adds durability and strength to a character’s body allowing it to withstand the sometimes awesome force of cybernetic gear, forces that could tear a character apart without an exoskeleton.  In additon to adding durability to a character, the character also can withstand a little more damage than normal.  Ordinary exoskeletons add 2 subdual damage points, Good add 2 subdual points and 2 hit points, and Amazing exoskeletons add 3 subdual points and 3 hit points.
Fast Chip: This piece of gear allows a character to react faster to situations.  Ordinary chips add +1 to the character’s initiative rolls, Good chips add +2 to initiative rolls, and Amazing chips add +3 to initiative rolls.  This bonus is added only when the player states that the character is activating the Fast Chip.  The bonus lasts different lengths of time depending on the quality of the character’s nanocomputer (Ordinary lasts 2 rounds, Good lasts for 3 rounds, and Amazing lasts for 4 rounds).  When the Fast Chip shuts down, the character becomes instantly tired (takes 1 point of subdual damage) and loses the initiative bonus (forcing a possible later move in combat).  The character must then wait for a while (1 hour for Ordinary chips, 2 hours for Good, and 3 hours for Amazing) before activating the chip again.  If a character activates the chips before the safe time has passed, he suffers subdual damage (1d4-1 to a minimum of 1 for Ordinary, 1d4 for Good, and 1d4+1 for Amazing).  Fast Chips do run the risk of causing the condition known as Cykosis.
Gunsight: This gear allows the character to better aim his ranged attacks.  Ordinary Gunsights allow for a +1 bonus to hit, Good gives a +2 bonus, and Amazing gives a +3 bonus.  The bonus only applies to attacks made with bows, crossbows, slingshots, or firarms, not weapons like blowguns, slings, or thrown weapons.  In order to install this gear the character must already have a Vid Screen, Artificial Eye, or Cyberoptic system.  The system includes a camera that is attached to the weapon that relays, via cable, the targeting information to the character’s eye gear.
MusclePlus: This gear allows for even greater strength beyond that of a cyberlimb.  A character with cyberlimbs and an exoskeleton can have MusclePlus installed, the effects of which are cumulative with the bonuses gained from the cyberlimb being upgraded.  Ordinary versions add 1 point of Strength, Good versions add 2 points, and Amazing versions add 3 points of Strength.  
Nanocomputer: This piece of gear runs the character’s cybergear and is also a fully functional computer imbedded in the character’s brain.  It comes with an internal neural 3D data slot that acts as a harddrive to store and save information.  Nanocomputers have 3 active memory slots in Ordinary pieces, 5 in Good, and 6 for Amazing pieces.  Memory slots are only used in this conversion for Reflex programs (seen below).
Neural 3D Data Slot, External: This acts like a disk drive for a character’s nanocomputer.  They are easy to spot, but are also easy to conceal.  Ordinary versions allow the character to read normal 3D info crystals.  Good and Amazing versions allow the character to use 3D and X3D info crystals.
NIJack: NIJacks are is a plug usually located in the neck or head that allows a character to connect to computer systems using cables.  All NIJacks are of Ordinary quality.
Optic Screen: An optic screen is a lens attached to a living eyeball or cyberoptic gear.  It acts as a heads-up display relaying information from a nanocomputer or other computer source.  Optic screens do not interfere with normal vision since images are either transluscent or set out of the direct field of view.  All Optic Screens are of Ordinary quality.
Reflex: Reflex allows the character to take in and process information faster that a normal member of their species.  Reflex allows characters to use “enhance programs” to allow their bodies to perform the feats.  Enhance progams are computer software that allows the character to fully utilize Reflex.  The programs allow a +1, +2, or +3 bonus to physical skills (for Ordinary, Good, and Amazing qualities respectively).  A rogue could use Reflex to allow him to more easily scale a wall, or a warrior can use it to make his attacks come in faster allowing him to score more hits.  The skills that Reflex can affect are: Melee Attacks (either with a weapon or bare-handed), Climb, Balance, Open Lock, Ranged attacks (either shot or thrown), Disable Device, Escape Artist, Jump, Move Silently, Pick Pocket, and Swim.  Each program takes up 3 slots of active memory and affects only one skill per program.  (Therefore a character would have to buy a program for Climbing and another program for opening locks.)  Programs cost 1000 gp for Ordinary, 2000 gp for Good, and 3000 gp for Amazing programs.  There are dangers involved in using Reflex.  For every round that it is activated, the character suffers subdual damage based on the quality of the enhance program (1 point for Ordinary, 2 points for Good, and 3 points for Amazing programs).  Also, using Reflex also calls for a check to see if the character succumbs to Cykosis when any skill roll or attack roll made while Reflex is in use scores a roll of 1 or 2.  Another danger of using Reflex is that some enhance programs may be buggy, giving a penalty to the skill roll rather than a bonus, or deliberately set up to take hit points instead of doing subdual damage.
Scanner Implant: This piece of gear is installed into a character’s eye or hand.  It allows the character to see through wals or objects, as long as he is within 1 meter of the object to be scanned.
Self-Repair Unit: This piece of cybergear is installed into the character’s body that holds healing materials.  The unit works only when activated and heals only 4 hit points per hour until the pack is spent.  The unit will continue working until it has reach it’s healing limit (and is therefore empty) or until the character is completely healed, at which time the pack still has the left over points of healing that can be used at a later time.  If the unit has used all of it’s points of healing, it is empty and will have to be refilled.  The unit will heal 12 hit points with an Ordinary quality pack, 16 for Good packs, and 20 hit points for Amazing quality packs.  Replacement packs cost 1000 gp for Ordinary, 2000 gp for Good, and 3000 gp for Amazing packs.  
Subdermal Armor: This gear is the same as Body Plating except it is installed underneath the character’s skin and doesn’t have quite the same stopping power of Body Plating.  Body Plating does not subtract from the character’s Dexterity score, but only allows +1 AC for Ordinary armor, +2 for Good, and +3 for Amazing. Additional armor can be used in conjunction with Subdermal Armor, but it only adds the difference in AC to the character’s final AC.  For instance if a character has Good Subdermal Armor installed into his body, then he would not receive an AC bonuses from armor of AC +1 or +2, but if he donned AC +3 armor he would receive a bonus of +1 to his AC score.
Subdermal Comm Gear: This is standard communication equipment that is attached to the character below the surface of the flesh, making it undectable to the naked eye.  The gear can reach a distance 1000 km, provided there is nothing between the sender and reciever that will block the signal.  All Subdermal Comm Gear is of Good quality.
Subdermal Weapon Mount: These are offensive devices hidden within a character’s body.  Most weapons of the character’s time period can be mounted in this manner.  Weapons that wiegh under two pounds require an Odrinary mount and can be installed into natural limbs or cyberlimbs.  Weapons weighing up to 6 pounds require good mounts.  These must be installed in cyberlimbs.  Weapons that weigh more than 6 pounds and up to 12 pounds require Amazing mounts.  These must be installed within cyberlimbs that are attached to exoskeletons.  Weapons weighing more than 12 pounds cannot be mounted on subdermal equipment.
Systemic Reinforcement: This piece of gear allows the character to install more gear into his body beyond the normal limits by supplementing the character’s vital functions.  Ordinary gear adds 1 tolerance point, Good adds 2 points, and Amazing adds 3 points.
Wireless NIJack: Works the same as a regular NIJack, but the character can interface with the computer without cables, as long as he is within 10 meters of the computer and the distance is unobstructed.