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| Anime + Patrick Nagel = This. Art Mostly By: Me |
Art
Mostly By Me: So
I used a few very basic outlines of some old photographs and public
domain images, I am really bad at proportions and distance but
passable at shapes and shading. Using the rough shapes and tick
marks, I make my pictures. So... yeah, partly tick marks and a few
lines, mostly me.
Author's
Note: I
don't write for realism, I write to play with crazy ideas and images.
Now, if you found something wrong with this post please see the
following two 'points' to know how I will feel about you.
If
you find that my writing is difficult to follow, written strangely,
poorly worded, hazily described, or anything having to do with how I
wrote the post, please
say so. I want to become a better writer, and the only way to do that
is to know my short-comings and work to fix them. I know I have
faults that I am not aware of, by pointing them out you are helping
me, for which I am very grateful.
If you are saying to
yourself, “This is preposterous! This thing he is writing about
could never happen in REALITY!!!” please see the following youtube
link. (CLICK HERE) See that guy who asked the xylophone question then
ate a candy bar? Yeah, that's you. I am going to play my magic
xylophone with the poly-tonal bars over here while ignoring you.
Now, for our feature
presentation...
Anonymous
“How it hits them like a bolt” Undiluted Truth (Infinite City)
24th
of Gamelion 6M – 282 pg. B4
We have seen them,
they are impossible to miss even when you are pretending to be blind
to their pleas. Men and women, huddled in alleyways, leaning on
lampposts, shivering in winter's nightly gusts. Their standard issue
helmets are always close by, wired like a madman's impression of a
telegraph switchboard.
 |
| A well crafted example. |
Eyes sunken to pits,
staring out of heaven's waiting room, hoping to score just a few more
coppers for cheap batteries to send them back to paradise. It's not
just in their eyes, it's in the way they look at the world when they
aren't riding the current; like a child who just watched the circus
leave town. It's in the two spots on their bodies that they will
meticulously care for, closely shaved areas on the left sides of
their heads and the bases of their skulls.
We all know why
they're like this, and we should know how, though many don't like to
remember. Remember the war? Sure you do, vaguely, like the rest of
us. Our beloved City Works Agency making sure our memories stayed
vague with the Redaction. All of it for our own safety, they assure
us.
During the war, the
Marchen had such destructive weapons, that medicine and drugs
couldn't cope. The pain these weapons caused was so intense, that our
beloved poppy and its child Morpheus couldn't hope to fix. Options?
One. Kill the patient. You'll never find a doctor that will admit to
it, but there were more than enough 'accidental' overdoses that will
tell you how they felt about the possibility of alternatives.
In comes the Process
Company, a business started to 'assist' the city's war effort. Their
'assistance' entailed vast amounts of capital being funneled into
projects the City Managers didn't want to soil themselves with. They
gave the hospitals and doctors a new way of fighting pain. No more
worries over addiction, they said, we have something that doesn't use
drugs at all.
 |
| The doctors and their machines. |
This
innovation couldn't fix our soldiers, but it meant they could die in
peace. The Process Company gave the world, the 'Pain Relieving
Process Helmet', you see how humble they were. Shave two parts of the
skull, attach electrodes, apply electricity, and the pain was gone.
Our fighters were allowed to smile as their bodies melted, ossified
into teeth, disappeared, became other
or myriad of alternatives that all lead to death.
They were right, the
Process Company, no addiction, the voltages were low enough just to
cut off the pain, induce a mild tingling feeling, and slight sense
of euphoria. As with so many inventions meant to ease pain, it was
quickly perverted by the pushers and hustlers.
Within
a year, back alley electricians were selling 'Love Helmets' and
'Pleasure Caps', offering their own form of hard relief to those
who've been broken by the casual cruelties so often found in life.
These weren't the 'medical models'. No, the voltage had been spiked
has high as it would go before it could kill most
people.
Rest assured, this exact voltage had been reached through rigorous
experimentation on the those unfortunate enough to 'volunteer'.
Now, we have zaps,
volt-heads, sizzle-brains, and a host of so many other euphemisms to
add to our language, thanks to the Process Company and folks with too
much ingenuity without any compassion to fortify it with. It seems no
matter the problems we fix, the solutions always find a way to create
more.
But the question, no
matter how much of a prude you are speaking to, is always the same.
How does it feel? This is how:
 |
| Medical Miracles |
“L-like...
Like home. Like everything is great, and always will be. Your body
feels light again, like you're a kid and it's summer, like you're on
your way to the circus... No... It's like
before my wife and kids got burnt up in that apartment fire. Like I
still have something to give to the world.” - Alistair Bencroft.
Alistair was a Meritorious and Valorous Service Medal recipient.
Before losing his wife and children, he was an accountant for the
Aderist Bank. Three days after my interview with him, he was found
dead, having succumbed to exposure due to the extreme cold of the
previous night. His 'helmet' was still strapped on.
Anonymous
“Our god lives in the wires and waves” Undiluted Truth (Infinite
City) 11th
of Skirophorion 6M – 283 pg. A1
The rumors are out
there. Zaps, volt-heads, and sizzle-brains creating their own
religion from the insanity they find in their 'helmets'. Have your
pub-buddies, co-workers, and temple-mates been telling you the truth?
Yes, and no. As with
all things in this world, the reality is far more complicated.
They call themselves
the 'Electric Life Church', and their popularity has been growing
steadily, despite crackdowns by the City Works Agency. Their purpose?
To expand the mental abilities of all sentient races, and to come to
understand their god/goddess/deity that is in essence electricity
itself.
 |
| The power of electricity and magnetism! |
While their claims
border on the ramblings of madmen, they have proof to add credence to
their teachings. This proof is hard to dispute, and I witnessed it
with my own eyes.
I met with a
high-ranking member of the church named Sister Kells, a dark skinned
woman in her early thirties, with a number of brain-filled tubes
running down the center of her head.
 |
| Sister Kells. Art Mostly By: Me |
“I know I look
like something out of those penny-dreadfuls by that William Son of
Gib character. By the way, he spent quite a bit of time with us
before writing those things, so not all of those books are fiction.”
she told me as we entered one of their 'Electro-Temples'. I had to be
blindfolded while I was transported there, their main source of
security from the City Works Agency is secrecy.
It was a open area,
with a number of use-worn pews leading up to a podium, two
statue-sized glass tubes, and a meshed speaker-box the size of a
horse-cart. The box was emitting a static laden hum that was actually
quite pleasant to listen to. I wasn't the only one who seemed to feel
the same, because many of the pews were filled with men, women, and
children who were enjoying the sound in each their own way.
Sister Kells:
“It's our god.”
she told me as she motioned to the speaker-box. “Our god lives in
the wires and waves.”
What came next was
three hours of explanations of their beliefs and exhibitions of the
proof behind those beliefs. While it would taken an entire
encyclopedia volume to completely cover all that I saw, felt, and
heard, I will try to relate the core of it here.
“Our belief is
pretty simple. Electricity is life. Your body generates it, and your
brain is completely run by it. Without it, you're just meat.”
“Thing is, it's
more than just a force or phenomena, electricity doesn't just promote
life it is alive itself. There is a being, or perhaps beings, each of
us has our own pet theories, that either is electricity or lives
within it. It, or they, are very difficult to talk to, but very easy
to listen to.”
“Our founder,
Doctor Ephram Coleridge Azif, was an electrical enthusiast. While
playing with a primitive radio, he stumbled across The Frequency, the
exact amplitude that you heard earlier in the gathering hall.
Whatever he heard, inspired him to look deeper into the manipulation
of brain functionality through the use of electricity.”
“Through
the assistance of The Frequency, he developed a whole new kind of
technology to improve the thinking and reflexes of people. These
tubes on my head are the most recent development of this new
technology.”
“My tubes contain
the brains of rats. Yes, I know that sounds like madness, and begging
for the plague, but hear me out. The brains have been re-purposed to
augment the processes my brain engages in all the time.”
Pointing to each
tube she listed off its function: language reception and expression,
spatial perception, visual perception, hearing perception, empathy,
and procedural logic.
 |
| Diagnostic equipment used by the church. |
“Each brain had
its original functionality removed from it, and was changed to
fulfill a new function. These augmentations aren't quite as swift as
if they were truly part of my brain.”
“Despite our
incredible developments, there is still quite a bit of latency
between input and output. Granted this latency only adds about half a
second to the whole process, but as far as the brain is concerned,
the augmentations move at a snail's pace. We have developed a system
to improve the overall reflexes of an individual, but it works using
a completely different setup than my rodent friends.”
“We know we've
been painted as volt-heads who have found religion, but I assure you
that you won't find anyone here with the telltale signs of
electro-cerebral-stimulation abuse here. While the science behind the
'Pleasure Caps' formed the foundation of our achievements, everyone
here knows that the helmets are a dead end path.”
“While
it is always dangerous, and can even be deadly, to apply voltage
directly to the brain, it can lead to some incredible results.
Someone using a 'helmet' can only really expect two things: an
incredible euphoric experience that always
ends,
and the subsequent addiction to the experience. Using our technology,
you can exceed the very limitations that your body places on you.”
“We're
even developing technology to completely replace the body itself,
though we have yet to begin human trials. There was a Thought-Whale
from the Inner City Sea, that desperately needed a way of becoming
terrestrial. I am proud to announce that we successfully helped 'I am
the one whose mind swims deep in the Mathematical Places',
Thought-Whale names tend to be very long. 'Math' only gave us the
briefest portion of her name, any shorter and it would have been
'unspecific'.”
 |
| People of strange electric powers. |
“While we have,
and continue to, improve the abilities and lives of normal folks like
you or I, we are now focusing on improving the lives of the mentally
and physically indigent. We give parents the ability to finally be
able to converse with their children, and those who were too
physically and mentally broken a chance at a normal life.”
“We don't know why
the City Works Agency wants to shut our practice and worship down. We
can only assume it has something to do with the Smilers and their
Radio Idols. While some of our clergy possess the ability to use
faith arcana, it is no more or less intrusive than all the other
religions who are not hounded by the city as we are.”
“All we want is to
be heard, by the people who need our help the most.”
While I was with
Sister Kells, I saw incredible feats of cognition and physical
prowess that I would not have believed were possible:
- A 5 year old girl doing, what I was told, was advanced mathematics.
- An 18 year old man who was able to accurately guess the exact playing card that was being presented face down after watching the deck being shuffled face up. He did this with all 52 cards.
- A 29 year old woman, who was previous mute, exhibit the 26 languages she now spoke fluently, and the 3 that she had created herself. Her goal is to learn a new language for each year of her life.
- A 47 year old man, who accurately described: my breakfast, dinner, and supper as well as the newspapers I read while eating them. He did this after giving my clothes a cursory inspection before having me walk around the room once.
- An 8 year old boy, who was previously unable to speak, dress, or feed himself bring his mother and handful of flowers before saying how much he loved her.
After the boy, I was
convinced of how much our city needs the 'Electric Life Church'...
In Plain Language
These folks believe
that by applying electricity to the brain and body, you can improve
and even heal it. This idea is rather old in the real world, but has
some data to back it up. I have used real terms so you can sound official when telling your players about this stuff. If you want to learn more about real
Electrotherapy, I have provided a link to Wikipedia. (CLICK HERE)
Back to the fiction.
So, the Electric Life Church believes that there is some kind of
god/goddess/deity/being that either is electricity or at least lives
in it. Their hidden temples each have a huge radio that they use to
tune into their electro-deity's messages, the point on the dial they
find these messages they call 'The Frequency'.
They mostly gork-out
to the weird euphoric static that comes through, improve people with
Teslapunk devices, and invent more stuff after prolonged periods of
'Tuning In'. As Sister Kells stated before, their radio proclivities
bear a striking resemblance to the Smilers and Radio Idols. Don't
remember/know who they are? (CLICK HERE).
Below, you will find
some basic NPC stats for a cleric of 'The Frequency' as well as some
nifty gadgets the church can hook you up with for a sizable donation
towards their more charitable augmentations. Be forewarned, if you
are caught with these things around the Infinity City, be prepared to
either run, fight, or try to explain your way out of getting arrested
by a City Works Agent.
I am presenting the
cool do-dads first so you know the rules for the NPC stats later.
DnD
3.PF
So, I realize that
Pathfinder already has rules for cybertech. If you're looking for a
toned down level of power, and a smaller list of enhancements, check
this out. If you're looking for a more distinct 'Cyberpunk' feel, I
recommend checking out Paizo's Cybertech rules. (CLICK HERE)
Installation:
So, if players want
to install this stuff themselves, make it a Heal skill check with a
DC of 25. A result of 20 to 24 means the augmentations were installed
correctly, but the patient permanently loses 1 Constitution due to
complications with the surgery. A result of 19 to 16 means the loss
of 1 permanent Constitution and the equipment was unable to be
installed. A result of 15 or less results in 1 permanent Constitution
loss and the complete ruin of the equipment being installed.
The DC of the check
increases by 2 for each augmentation the character already has
installed.
Wear and Tear:
Each time a
character takes a critical hit, there is a 25% chance that one of
their augmentations will become broken in the process, roll randomly
to see which one. While broken, the augmentation is useless. Cerebrum
Expansion Ports and Expansion Tubes are considered two different
items.
Someone who is
skilled in the crafting of these Electric Augmentations, will charge
10% of the item's total value in order to fix them. A character
wishes to repair one themselves, it costs ½ as much and they must
succeed at a DC 25 Craft: Electric Augmentation. A failed roll
means they were unable to fix the augmentation and they waste the
money spent to do so.
 |
| Poor bubbles... Art Mostly By: Me |
Cerebrum
Expansion Tubes:
Using a rat's brain,
cat's brain, or owl monkey's brain that has been re purposed for
a specific brain process. How they re purpose the structures of these
brains is a proprietary secret that the church closely guards, but
undoubtedly it involves the use of electricity. Once someone has been
fitted with expansion sockets, it is an easy task to add or remove
tubes. (DC 10 Heal check and 15 minutes of work. A result of 9 to 5
means that the person just can't figure out how to attach the tube. 4
or less results in the tube becoming Broken, see rules above
for repair).
Each tube takes up a
single port on a character's head. The number of tubes a character
may have active is equal to the number of ports they have available.
These expansion
tubes can increase certain skills, or even increase mental
statistics. Rat and cat brains are used to augment specific brain
processes (skills), while the squirrel-monkey brains are used to
improve more general processes (Stats).
Rat
and Cat Brains
As stated before rat
and cat brain tubes provide bonuses to certain skills. Rat brains
provide a +5 bonus, while cat brains provide a +10. Listed below are
the available skill augmentations and the relevant area(s) of the
brain being augmented. A character may only ever receive +10 to a
single skill from this system.
Wernicke
Augmentation: Bonus to
Linguistics skill to understand
a spoken or written language.
Broca
Augmentation: Bonus to
Linguistics skill to speak or read a language.
Visual Cortex
Augmentation: Bonus to
Perception skill on checks involving sight.
Auditory Cortex
Augmentation: Bonus to
Perception skill on checks involving hearing.
Amygdala Emotion
Cognition Augmentation: Bonus to
Sense Motive skill when determining the intentions of others (i.e.
they're trying to scam me, she thinks I am attractive, etc...).
Owl
Monkey Brains
Larger than the Cat
and Rat brains, they can handle the processes of more general
portions of the brain. This grants bonuses to one of the 3 mental
statistics. Each Cerebrum Expansion tube used grants a +2 bonus to
its designated stat. A character may increase a single stat by up to
+6.
Dorsolateral
Prefrontal Cortex (DLPC) Augmentation: Improves
working memory, organizational skills, reasoning, problem solving,
and abstract thinking. (Intelligence)
Orbitofrontal
Cortex (OFC) Augmentation: Improves
impulse control, maintenance of set, monitoring ongoing behaviors,
and socially appropriate behaviors. (Wisdom)
Anterior
Cingulate Cortex (ACC) Augmentation: Improves
overall 'drive states', this improvement results in higher levels of
confidence and determination to complete goals. (Charisma)
 |
| Super quick sketch of the SMPS Augmentation. Art Mostly By: Me |
Spinal Motor
Pathway and Signal (SMPS) Augmentation:
Using a number of
biological and electronic components, this augmentation improves the
reaction time and reflexive capabilities by expanding motor
transmission pathways within the spinal cord, allowing more
information to be passed at a time. The augmentation also boosts
certain signals it receives from the brain, decreasing the time
between brain command and muscle reaction. This augmentation takes
the form of small metal boxes anchored to the vertebrae, that are
connected to each other with thick wires. While this augmentation
speeds reaction times, it causes the user to have minor, but
numerous, muscle twitches as the signal boosters produce “false
alarm” or “echo” signals. The side-effects of this augmentation
are generally an impediment to normal/daily activities, resulting in
the augmentation system being given an off/on switch.
Activation/Deactivation requires a Standard Action that provokes an
Attack of Opportunity, the effects of activation/deactivation are
instantaneous.
Bonuses: +3
Dodge bonus to AC, +3 Equipment Bonus to Reflex Saves, +3 Equipment
Bonus to Initiative.
Drawbacks:
During
Use: -3 to all skill
checks requiring fine motor control. -1 to all ranged attack rolls
due to slight uncontrollable twitches, all range penalties are also
increased by 1.
After
Deactivation: A character
is considered Fatigued
after using the augmentation for any amount of time. A character may
have the unit activated for a number of rounds equal to their current
Constitution score without adverse effect. After exceeding this
number of rounds, the character must make a Fortitude save DC = 15 +
1 for each round over their Constitution limit. Character's who fail
the save take 1D6 points of temporary Dexterity
damage, due pulled and sprained muscles. The accumulated rounds of
use reset after 8 hours of rest.
Costs
Cerebrum
Expansion Port: 1,000 gp
Rat
Brain (+5 Skill): 1,125 gp
Cat
Brain (+10 Skill): 6,750 gp
Owl
Monkey Brain (+2 to Mental Stat): 3,000 gp
SMPS
Augmentation (AC, Reflex, & Initiative Bonus): 22,000 gp
Clerics
The
Frequency
Alignment:
N
(Though the Electric Life Church treats him/her/it as being Neutral
Good)
Domains:
Lightning,
Industry, Knowledge, Metal
Favored
Weapon: Handgun
(Must choose specific type)
Holy
Symbol: A
brain emitting two lightning bolts
Lightning
Domain:
As Air Domain,
but with the following changes: Replace
the electricity resistance power of the Air domain with Lightning
Rod.
Lightning Rod
(Su)
As a swift action
when you cast a spell with the electricity descriptor, you can
designate one creature within line of sight. The spell’s damage
against that creature increases by 50%, as if affected by the Empower
Spell feat. This additional damage results from divine power that is
not subject to being reduced by electricity resistance, and you take
an equal amount of electricity damage immediately after you cast the
spell.
The spell can deal
this additional damage only once, even if it could affect the target
multiple times.
You can use this
ability once per day at 8th level and one additional time per day for
every 4 cleric levels you have beyond 8th.
Replacement
Domain Spells: 1st—shocking grasp, 2nd—flame blade (deals
electricity damage and gains the electricity descriptor instead of
fire), 3rd—lightning bolt.
Industry
Domain
As Artifice
Domain, but with the following changes:
Replace the dancing weapon power of the Artifice domain with Aura
of Efficiency.
Aura
of Efficiency (Su)
At
8th level, you can emit a 30-foot-radius aura that grants your allies
a +4 bonus on all saving throws against effects that inflict the
fatigued or exhausted condition. Any equipment wielded by your allies
within this area gets a bonus to hardness equal to 1/2 your cleric
level, and your allies' attacks against targets within this area
ignore an equal amount of hardness. You can use this aura for a
number of rounds per day equal to your cleric level. These rounds do
not need to be consecutive.
Replacement
Domain Spells:
1st—crafter's fortune, 7th—mage's magnificent mansion, 9th—wooden
phalanx.
Metal
Domain
As Earth Domain,
but with the following Changes: Replace
the acid dart power of the Earth domain with Metal Fist.
Metal
Fist (Su)
As
a swift action, you can turn your fists into metal for 1 round,
allowing you to make unarmed strikes that deal 1d6 points of
bludgeoning damage plus your Strength modifier. These unarmed strikes
do not provoke attacks of opportunity, but attacking with both uses
the two-weapon fighting rules as normal. In addition, these unarmed
strikes ignore the hardness of items with a hardness of 10 or less.
You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your
Wisdom modifier.
Replacement
Domain Spells: 2nd—heat
metal, 6th—wall of iron, 8th—iron body.
Electric
Life Church Cleric (I totally didn't steal this from the NPC codex...
Just believe me on this.)
Human
cleric 1
NG
Medium humanoid (human)
Initiative:
+1
Senses:
Perception +2
Defense
AC:
17, touch 11, flat-footed 14 (+4 armor, +1 Dex)
HP:
9 (1d8+1)
Fort
+3, Ref +1, Will
+4
Offense
Speed:
30 ft.
Melee:
Club –1 (1d6–1)
Ranged:
Pepperbox Pistol +2 (1d8/x4)
Special Attacks:
Channel positive energy 6/day (DC 13, 1d6)
Domain
Spell-Like Abilities
(CL
1st; concentration +3)
7/day—
Lightning Arc
7/day
– Metal Fist
Cleric
Spells Prepared
(CL
1st; concentration +3)
1st—
Sanctuary, Shield of Faith, Etropic Shield, Bless
0
(at will)—detect magic, mending, read magic
Domain
Spell
Shocking
Grasp
Domains
Lightning
and Metal
Statistics
Str
8, Dex 12, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 18 (14), Cha 17
Base Atk
+0
CMB
–1
CMD
10
Feats
Selective
Channeling, Weapon Focus (Pepperbox Pistol)
Skills
Appraise
+4, Diplomacy +7, Knowledge (religion) +4, Spellcraft +4
Languages
Common
SQ
2
Cerebrum Expansion Ports: Owl Monkey Brain (+2 Wis), Owl Monkey Brain
(+2 Wis)
Gear
2
x Potions of cure light wounds,Chain Shirt, Pepperbox Pistol with 18
reloads, club, silver holy symbol, 22 gp
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