Cybernetics

I am, in general, using GURPS Robots to build all cybernetic body parts, as well as such good, clean fun as ripsnakes and telescoping pinky finger knives. This section should be considered a starting list, from which your imagination should work itself into a frenzy. You think it up, I'll build it :).

One little "sticky point" is how legs are handled in GURPS Robots; their final ST is based on the weight of the body they support, which is a bit weird, to say the least. So instead, I've implemented the house rule that 0.1 kW of leg drivetrain power in a single leg provides ST 10 in that leg. Base Move is modified by the proportional difference between the leg's ST and the character's original ST.

TL 8 Cybernetics

TYPICAL CHEAP ARM: For veterans who have lost an arm, this is the way to go. Constructed out of cheap materials and using older tech, it is just as responsive and useful as a more expensive, modern arm. Total weight, volume and surface area is 10% of the mass of the human it was built for, and ST matches the human's. As a general rule, 30% of the arm's mass is Realistic Flesh, and all but a third (10%) of that can be replaced by other things without any change in appearance - if replacing that with something else, subtract $800 per pound of Realistic Flesh removed, then add in the cost of the item. Total cost is equal to the weight of the arm multiplied by $1,600. On a typical person (30 sf, 3 sf for the arm), the arm has 36 hit points.

TL 8 XHvy Cheap structure (56% mass), hp = sf x 12
Realistic Flesh (30%), Surface Sensors (0%)
Arm Motors (14%) weigh 0.2 lbs per ST 1 and cost $1,400

PRIMITIVE CYBEREYE: Based on Basic Sensors, with no sensory capability other than basic vision. Base weight is 0.8 lbs (0.45 lbs if a single eye), and volume is 11 cubic inches (including space behind the eye sockets in the skull itself). These precursors to the modern cybereye have the equivalent of Near-Sighted. They cost $5,000 for both, or $3,000 for only one.

TL 9 Cybernetics

RIPSNAKE: This is a nasty piece of work. I built it as a ST 10 arm with the retractable, extra-flexible and striker modifications. The total for the arm motors weighed 2.25 lbs and cost $9,000. Then I gave the "arm" retractile Sharp Claws (0.5 lbs, $1,500, does 1d-2 CUT) and a Cutting Jaw with ST 10 (1 lbs, $30,000, does 1d-2 CUT). This made it 3.75 lbs and 0.075 cf, with a surface of 1 sf. I gave it a TL 9 biomechanical structure (light, expensive materials, flexible structure) which weighed a total of 1.7 lbs and cost $3,750. Then I added TL 9 supersilk armor (PD 1, DR 10, 1 sf, 0.16 lbs, $400) and Living Flesh (0.5 lbs, $5,000) to give it some shock value, biomorphic shielding to keep it hidden (0.1 lbs, $5,000) and Surface Sensors ($5,000). Total mass 6.21 lbs, hidden in the subject's torso, and cost is $59,650. The ripsnake has 1 hit points, but has a flexible DR of 10 and is awful hard to hit.

Here's some more fun: the volume of that critter is roughly 0.1 cf (172 cubic inches), so we decide that it is 3 inches in diameter, making the little beast 24 inches long (or 2 feet)... and it has razory spines along its entire length. Sure, it's expensive as all hell, but it is very unlikely to be detected by most normal scanners, and it's such a lovely little toy...

Sensory Cybernetics

This category covers the use of cybernetics to replace, improve or extend the existing human senses. The following tech notes apply (these take everything into account, from technology costs to cybernetic costs):

TL 8 cybernetic sensors are x1/2 weight, x2 base cost
TL 9 cybernetic sensors are x1/2 weight, x4 base cost
TL 10 cybernetic sensors are x1/2 weight, x80 base cost

Where there are different base costs for different Tech Levels, use TL 9 as the base for the above. Also, GURPS Robots only has "Basic Sensor" (p. 14) and modifications. The adventurous can also build sensors in GURPS Vehicles and use those.

Cybernetic Eyes

The skull's eye sockets can support up to 4.5 cubic inches (0.25 lb sphere at 100 lbs per cubic foot). The following is the basic cybernetic eye:

TL 8 Cyber Eye (0.25 lbs, $5,000, normal vision)
TL 9 Cyber Eye (0.125 lbs, $10,000, normal vision)
TL 10 Cyber Eye (0.0625 lbs, $200,000, normal vision)

Once you have the basic eye, you can modify it with any of the following options. These apply to any tech level:

Low Res (wt -20%, cost -50%, Near-Sighted)
Low Res Grayscale (wt -50%, cost -75%, Near-Sighted, Colorblind)
Normal Res Grayscale (wt -20%, cost -50%, Colorblind)
High Res (wt +20%, cost +100%, Acute Vision +2)
High Res Grayscale (no modifiers, Colorblind, Acute Vision +2)
Ultrasharp^TM (wt +50%, cost +200%, Acute Vision +5)
Ultrasharp^TM Grayscale (wt +20%, cost +100%, Colorblind, Acute Vision +5)
IR Sensitive (wt +20%, cost +100%, Near-Sighted thermographic vision)
High Res IR (wt +50%, cost +200%, thermographic vision)
UV Sensitive (wt +20%, cost +200%, Near-Sighted ultraviolet vision)
Hi Res UV (wt +50%, cost +500%, ultraviolet vision)
Optical Telescope (wt +10% plus +2% per multiple, cost +20% per multiple) example: x10 magnification would weigh +30% and cost +200%
Optical Microscope (wt +10% per +2% per multiple, cost +50% per multiple) example: x10 magnification would weigh +30% and cost +500%
Expanded Field of View (wt x1.1, cost x1.2, Wide Peripheral Vision)
Electronic Light Enhancement (wt +10%, cost +50%, Nightvision)

The following is a list of additional options which can be built for a cybernetic eye.

TL 8 Laser Range Finder (0.1 lbs, $1, rng 135) any laser range finder can be built for use with IR or UV sensitive to provide active scanning
TL 9 Laser Range Finder (0.05 lbs, $2, rng 135)
TL 9 Long Laser Range Finder (0.1 lbs, $4, rng 290)
TL 10 Laser Range Finder (0.025 lbs, $40, rng 135)
TL 10 Long Laser Range Finder (0.1 lbs, $150, rng 430)

Unusual Cyber Eyes

MOLLYCHROMES: This is a TL 8 cybernetic vision system rather than an actual pair of constructed eyes. Named after Molly of Neuromancer fame, it looks like a single-piece pair of sunglasses which have been welded to the skin around the eyes. It is actually a pair of cybernetic vision systems too large to fit in your skull.

Mollychromes (2 TL 8 Eyes, Ultrasharp^TM, IR Sensitive, Optical Telescope x8, Expanded Field of View, Electronic Light Enhancement) wt 1.133 lbs, cost $30,500.