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Bioware
Bioware is subtler, more holistic, and less invasive than
cyberware, at the cost of being substantially pricier. Instead
of replacing body parts with machines, bioware
augments the body’s own functions and integrates transplanted
organs that function as natural features. The
application of biotechnology is a tricky business, as the
fine balance of homeostasis between the body’s organic
systems must be maintained. In the last decade, bionics
and bio-engineering techniques have taken bioware from
cutting edge to commonplace. Bioware is more expensive
monetarily, costs less Essence, and is much harder to
spot. Also—and we’d like to think this goes without saying—
bioware has no wireless capability at all
Bioware
| Basic Bioware |
Essence |
Avail |
Cost |
| Adrenaline Pump (Rating 1-3) |
Rating x 0.75 |
(Rating x 6)F |
Rating x 55,000 |
| Bone Density Augmentation (Rating 1-4) |
Rating x 0.3 |
Rating x 4 |
Rating x 5,000 |
| Cat's Eye |
0.1 |
4 |
4,000 |
| Enhanced Articulation |
0.3 |
12 |
24,000 |
| Muscle Augmentation (Rating 1-4) |
Rating x 0.2 |
(Rating x 5)R |
Rating x 31,000 |
| Muscle Toner (Rating 1-4) |
Rating x 0.2 |
(Rating x 5)R |
Rating x 32,000 |
| Orthoskin (Rating 1-4) |
Rating x 0.25 |
(Rating x 4)R |
Rating x 6,000 |
| Pathogenic Defense (Rating 1-6) |
Rating x 0.1 |
Rating x 2 |
Rating x 4,500 |
| Platelet Factories |
0.2 |
12 |
17,000 |
| Skin Pocket |
0.1 |
4 |
12,000 |
| Suprathyroid Gland |
0.7 |
20R |
140,000 |
| Symbiotes (Rating 1-4) |
Rating x 0.2 |
Rating x 5 |
Rating x 3,500 |
| Synthacardium (Rating 1-3) |
Rating x 0.1 |
Rating x 4 |
Rating x 30,000 |
| Tailored Pheromones (Rating 1-3) |
Rating x 0.2 |
(Rating x 4)R |
Rating x 31,000 |
| Toxin Extractor (Rating 1-6) |
Rating x 0.2 |
Rating x 3 |
Rating x 4,800 |
| Tracheal Filter (Rating 1-6) |
Rating x 0.1 |
Rating x 3 |
Rating x 4,500 |
Adrenaline Pump
This enhanced gland is implanted
in the lower abdomen, connected to both supradrenal
glands. When dormant, the pump is merely a reservoir
for adrenaline. When activated, a small muscular sac contracts,
sending a surge of concentrated adrenaline into
the blood stream. Physical and emotional stress can force
your pump to activate if you fail a Composure Test (p.
152); otherwise you can trigger it as a Free Action.
While the pump is active, you ignore injury modifiers
and don’t fall unconscious, even if your Stun Condition
Monitor is filled. You can’t rest, but the adrenaline pump’s
Rating is added to your Strength, Agility, Reaction, and
Willpower attributes. The pump works for Rating x 1D6
Combat Turns (the pump can’t be switched off early).
When time’s up, you crash and take Stun damage equal
to the number of Combat Turns the pump was active (use
your natural Body + Willpower to resist the damage).
After the effects end, your attribute values return to
normal and you stop ignoring injury modifiers or unconsciousness
from Stun damage. After use, the pump requires
1 hour to regenerate its supply. During that time, it
cannot be activated.
Bone Density Augmentation
The molecular structure
of your bones is altered to increase density and
tensile strength. Ligaments are strengthened, and the
increased bone density increases your weight a bit. Your
Body attribute is increased by the bone density Rating
for the purpose of damage resistance tests. You also
deal Physical damage in unarmed combat, based on the
Rating of the augmentation (see the Bone Density Augmentation
table). Bone density augmentation is incompatible
with other augmentations to the bones, including
bone lacing cyberware.
Bone Density Unarmed Attacks
| Rating |
Reach |
Damage |
AP |
| 1 |
- |
(STR)P |
- |
| 2 |
- |
(STR + 1)P |
- |
| 3 |
- |
(STR + 2)P |
- |
| 4 |
- |
(STR + 3)P |
- |
Cat’s Eyes
These transgenic vat-grown implants are
very literally cats’ eyes with a modified DNA profile and
occipital connecting structures. The structure of cat’s eyes
amplifies light and enhances night vision, providing lowlight
vision. Cat’s eyes are slit and reflective, just like, well,
a cat’s. This bioware is obviously not compatible with cyberware
eye enhancements or replacements.
Enhanced Articulation
A number of procedures like
joint-surface coating, re-lubrication, and tendon and
ligament augmentation lead to more fluid muscle and
joint action. Enhanced articulation provides you with a
+1 dice pool modifier to your Escape Artist skill and a
+1 increase to your Physical limit (cumulative with other
limit modifiers).
Muscle Augmentation
This biological weaving treatment
enhances existing muscle tissue, rather than replacing
it with vat-grown muscles. Specially grown muscle
cables are woven into existing muscle fibers, enhancing
muscle mass and brute strength while providing a bulkier
look. Muscle augmentation adds its rating to your
Strength. This bioware is incompatible with augmentations
that increase Strength, including the muscle replacements
cyberware.
Muscle Toner
This treatment increases muscle fiber
elasticity in existing muscle tension, resulting in increased
muscle tension and flexibility while providing a
smooth and ropy physique. Muscle toner adds its rating
to your Agility. This bioware is incompatible with augmentations
that increase Agility, including the muscle
replacements cyberware.
Orthoskin
A web of biofibers in the skin provides the
equivalent of personal armor while being virtually indistinguishable
from natural skin. Orthoskin adds its Rating
to your Armor Rating, and is cumulative with other Armor.
Orthoskin cannot be combined with skin augmentations
that give you Armor, including dermal plating.
Pathogenic Defense
This enhanced spleen can produce
more effective and aggressive white blood cells for
combating pathogens. Pathogenic defense adds its Rating
to Disease Resistance Tests.
Platelet Factories
Platelet factories increase your
body’s ability to handle Physical damage by accelerating
the production of platelets within bone marrow and
their concentration in the blood, which helps stop bleeding
faster. Any time you would take 2 or more boxes of
damage to your Physical Condition Monitor, reduce the
damage by one box.
Skin Pocket
This skin flap can be located anywhere
on your body. A nerveless “sheath” of flesh concealed
by the flap is perfect for hiding a small object—it’s the
bioware version of a smuggling compartment (p. 455).
The skin pocket has a Concealability of –10. It takes a
Complex Action to add or remove an item from a skin
pocket.
Suprathyroid Gland
Placed on top of your existing
thyroid gland, the suprathyroid gland supersedes the metabolic
functions of your thyroid. The enhanced metabolism
produces more energy, supercharging you. While you’re
supercharged, you might want to supersize—to fuel your
optimized metabolism, you’ll need to eat twice as much as
normal. You get a +1 to your Agility, Body, Reaction, and
Strength, along with a 25 percent boost in lifestyle costs.
And you might get a bit hyperactive.
Symbiotes
Tailored micro-organisms in your bloodstream
greatly enhance your healing. Add the Rating of
the symbiotes as a dice pool modifier on healing tests
(Physical and Stun). However, the symbiotes
have unusual dietary requirements
that must be met to keep them alive.
You need to pay (Rating x 200) nuyen
per month for special symbiote food,
although if you have a High Lifestyle or
better it’s covered.
Synthacardium
Artificially enhanced
myocardium allows cardiovascular
functions to be performed more
efficiently, enabling the heart to keep
the blood better oxygenated. The synthacardium
adds its Rating as a dice
pool bonus to your tests using skills in
the Athletics skill group.
Tailored Pheromones
These pheromones
are specially tailored to subtly
influence others and can be released
at will. Tailored pheromones add their
Rating as a dice pool modifier to your
skill tests for skills in the Acting and Influence
skill groups, but only when the
person you’re using them on is within a
comfortable conversation range—if they
can’t smell you, the pheromones don’t
work. Tailored pheromones also work
on you to make you feel better about
yourself; increase your Social limit by the
Rating. Tailored pheromones have no effect on magical
abilities and tests.
Toxin Extractor
A specially cultivated cluster of cells
in your liver improves its filtering capabilities. The toxin
extractor adds its Rating as a dice pool modifier to all your
Toxin Resistance Tests (Toxins, Drugs, and BTLs, p. 408).
Tracheal Filter: Implanted at the top of your trachea,
this organ can absorb airborne impurities and keep them
from reaching your lungs. The filter adds its Rating as a
dice pool modifier to Toxin Resistance Tests versus inhalation
vector toxins (Toxins, Drugs, and BTLs, p. 408).
Cultured Bioware
Cultured bioware must be tailor-made for the body in
which it will eventually find a home. This means it is
more expensive and takes longer to acquire than the
off-the-shelf kind.
Bioware
| Cultured Bioware |
Essence |
Avail |
Cost |
| Cerebral Booster (Rating 1-3) |
Rating x 0.2 |
Rating x 6 |
Rating x 31,500 |
| Damage Compensators (Rating 1-12) |
Rating x 0.1 |
(Rating x 3)F |
Rating x 2,000 |
| Mnemonic Enhancer (Rating 1-3) |
Rating x 0.1 |
Rating x 5 |
Rating x 9,000 |
| Pain Editor |
0.3 |
18F |
48,000 |
| Reflex Recorder (Skill) |
0.1 |
10 |
14,000 |
| Sleep Regulator |
0.1 |
6 |
12,000 |
| Synaptic Booster (Rating 1-3) |
Rating x 0.5 |
(Rating x 6)R |
Rating x 95,000 |
Cerebral Booster
The convolutions and gyri of your
cerebrum are augmented and amplified with additional
nervous tissue, improving overall brain function. Your cerebral
booster increases your Logic attribute by its Rating.
Damage Compensator
Damage compensators are
essentially cut-offs stored in the nervous pathways that
report pain from the body back to your brain. You ignore
a number of damage boxes (your choice of Physical,
Stun, or a combination of the two) equal to the
compensator’s Rating before determining your injury
modifiers.
Mnemonic Enhancer
This highly concentrated
growth of grey matter gets attached to the brain’s memory
centers, improving both short- and long-term memory.
Add the enhancer’s Rating as a dice pool bonus to
your Knowledge, Language, and memory-related tests
as well as to your Mental limit.
Pain Editor
This cluster of specialized nervous tissue
is designed to filter sensory stimuli. If the pain editor
is active, this allows you to ignore all injury modifiers,
and you even stay conscious when your Stun Condition
Monitor is completely full. You feel no pain—you’re
blissfully, dangerously, recklessly unaware of the extent
of damage you’ve taken without either performing a
self-examination (Observe In Detail action) or being informed
by a biomonitor (p. 450). While active, the pain
editor increases your Willpower by 1 and decreases your
Intuition by 1. Additionally, all tactile Perception Tests
you make receive a dice pool modifier of –4.
Reflex Recorder
The first step in this particular recipe
is growing some extra neural material in a small cluster.
When that’s fully cooked, you drop it in the skull and
attach it to the nerves for motor reflexes. Then boom,
you’ve got a metahuman with better muscle memory.
The reflex recorder adds 1 to the Rating of a specific skill
linked to a Physical attribute. Multiple recorders may be
taken for multiple skills, but you can’t implant two reflex
recorders for the same skill. Reflex recorder bioware is incompatible
with skillwires cyberware.
Sleep Regulator
The sleep regulator is a modification
to the hypothalamus, allowing for longer periods of
wakefulness, an incredibly useful advantage for anyone
with any profession, not just shadowrunners. You need
less sleep per day and the sleep you get is deep and
restful (and harder to wake you up from). The sleep regulator
lets you get by with three hours of sleep each night
and stay awake for twice as long as normal before having
to resist sleep deprivation fatigue (p. 172). Resting
hours for healing purposes are not affected.
Synaptic Booster
The nerve cells making up the spinal
cord are both broadened and replicated with this bioware,
allowing for more neural bandwidth. The result is a
much faster reaction time. The booster confers a bonus
of +1 Reaction (and accompanying adjustment to Initiative
and Physical limit) and +1D6 Initiative Die per point
of Rating. The synaptic booster cannot be combined with
any other form of Reaction or Initiative enhancement.