4th Edition - Transhuman Space; Shell Tech.pdf - GURPS - dthompson45

Written by PHIL MASTERS

Edited by ANDREW HACKARD

Illustrated by ANDY CLARKSON, NEIL COOK, PAUL DALY, JESSE D E GRAFF,

MATTHEW KRESGE, LOKARIAN, JEREMY M C HUGH, and RAMÓN PÉREZ

An e23 Sourcebook for GURPS ®

STEVE JACKSON GAMES

Stock #37-6702

Version 1.0 – December 7, 2007

C ONTENTS

I NTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . 3

About GURPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

About Transhuman Space . . . . . . . 3

T HE C YBERSHELLS . . . . . . . . . 4

W EARABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Cybertool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Reporter’s Vest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

D OMESTIC AND U TILITY D EVICES . . 6

Boatbot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

“C-Brown” Gardener Shell . . . . . . . 7

Ro-Ped . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Shakoosh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Swarmdozer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

D ATA C OLLECTION AND

E XPLORATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Beobachter Data

Collection Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Idmon Explorer Aquabot . . . . . . . 11

Stormchaser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

B IOMORPHIC S HELLS . . . . . . . . . . 12

Cyberdog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Cyberdolphin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

High Arcadian Centaur . . . . . . . . . 13

Medusa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Mini-Snakebot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Safari Shell (Gazelle). . . . . . . . . . . 15

Safari Shell (Vulture) . . . . . . . . . . 15

Treeshell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

C OMBAT S YSTEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Afrit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Amphibious RATS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Ghola. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

J-56 Ying

Transatmospheric UCAV . . . . . 18

Jump RATS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Jungle RATS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

MCS-52 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

MCS-64 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Medevac Shell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Mini Scout-RATS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Mini-UCAV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Seeker Missile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Smart Torpedo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Wingbot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

S PACE AND E XOTIC

E NVIRONMENT M ODELS . . . . 23

Aerorover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Baikal Cryobot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Endymion Cybershell . . . . . . . . . . 23

Gas Giant Aerobot . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Herzberg Cybershell . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Microgravity RATS . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Mining Worm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Service Nanosat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Tumbleweed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Venus-Capable Cybershell . . . . . . 26

Zero-G Stevedore. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

S PECIALIST B IOSHELLS . . . . . . . . . 27

Calamarine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Cetapod. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Crocshell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Monitor Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Sentient Snacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Spionfisch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Taniwha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Warshark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

GURPS System Design

❚

STEVE JACKSON

Managing Editor

❚

PHIL REED

Director of Sales

❚

ROSS JEPSON

GURPS Line Editor

❚

SEAN PUNCH

WILL SCHOONOVER

Production Artist

❚

ANDY VETROMILE

GURPS FAQ MAINTAINER

❚

PHIL REED and

JUSTIN DE WITT

❚

ALEX FERNANDEZ

❚

STÉPHANE THÉRIAULT

MONICA STEPHENS

Marketing Director

❚

PAUL CHAPMAN

Playtesters: Kyle Bresin, Eric Funk, Kelly Pedersen, Bill Seney, William H. Stoddard, and Roger Burton West

GURPS , Warehouse 23, and the all-seeing pyramid are registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. Transhuman Space , Pyramid , Shell-Tech , e23, and the names

of all products published by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated are registered trademarks or trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, or used under license.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this material via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal,

and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage

the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

C ONTENTS

Art Director

Errata Coordinator

Page Design

Indexer

I NTRODUCTION

One of the unique features that makes Transhuman Space

an interesting RPG setting is the widespread use of cybershells .

Any infomorph character can occupy and operate a wide vari-

ety of mechanical bodies, even moving between several in the

course of a single scenario. The variety and pervasiveness of

cybershells is extremely convenient. An infomorph in the right

shell can perform an immense variety of tasks.

A GM who wants to portray life in this setting in detail will

need information on a wide variety of cybershells. Previous

Transhuman Space supplements have included templates for

a goodly number. However, all but the most recent of those

books were for GURPS Third Edition . Changing Times

( www.sjgames.com/transhuman/changingtimes/ ) converted

Transhuman Space to GURPS Fourth Edition , but only had

room for templates drawn from the Transhuman Space core

book. Players and GMs can always use more.

Shell-Tech includes GURPS Fourth Edition templates for

every cybershell and bioshell found in every major

Transhuman Space supplement, as well as several brand-new

designs and variants. These shells cover every need, from

household maintenance to extraterrestrial exploration, and

can be useful in any Transhuman Space campaign. Each of

them has to be combined with an infomorph to make a com-

plete character. Changing Times includes a full set of info-

morph templates. Readers will also need to refer to Chapter 3

of Changing Times for a number of character features used in

these templates, including the meta-traits Bioroid Body and

Cybershell Body, Taboo Traits, Early Maturation, and No Legs

(Portable).

About GURPS

Steve Jackson Games is committed to full support

of GURPS players. Our address is SJ Games, P.O. Box

18957, Austin, TX 78760. Please include a self-

addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) any time you

write us! We can also be reached by e-mail:

info@sjgames.com . Resources include:

Pyramid ( www.sjgames.com/pyramid ). Our online

magazine includes new GURPS rules and articles. It

also covers the d20 system , Ars Magica, BESM, Call

of Cthulhu, and many more top games – and other

Steve Jackson Games releases like Illuminati, Car

Wars, Transhuman Space, and more. Pyramid sub-

scribers also get opportunities to playtest new GURPS

books!

New supplements and adventures. GURPS contin-

ues to grow, and we’ll be happy to let you know what’s

new. For a current catalog, send us a legal-sized SASE,

or just visit www.warehouse23.com .

e23. Our e-publishing division offers GURPS

adventures, play aids, and support not available any-

where else! Just head over to e23.sjgames.com .

Errata. Everyone makes mistakes, including us –

but we do our best to fix our errors. Up-to-date errata

sheets for all GURPS releases, including this book, are

available on our website – see below.

Internet. Visit us on the World Wide Web at

www.sjgames.com for errata, updates, Q&A, and

much more. To discuss GURPS with SJ Games staff

and fellow gamers, come to our forums at

forums.sjgames.com . The GURPS Transhuman

Space: Shell-Tech web page can be found at

www.sjgames.com/transhuman/shell-tech .

Bibliographies. Many of our books have extensive

bibliographies, and we’re putting them online – with

links to let you buy the books that interest you! Go to the

book’s web page and look for the “Bibliography” link.

About the Author

Phil Masters has been writing RPG material since 1980,

GURPS supplements since 1993, and Transhuman Space sup-

plements since 2002; among other things, he wrote Changing

Times . He’s in a campaign in which he plays an SAI with the

personality of a sarcastic English librarian, but that really isn’t

typecasting.

A BOUT T RANSHUMAN S PACE

The Transhuman Space series presents a unique hard-sci-

ence and high-biotech universe for roleplaying. Set in the Solar

System in the year 2100, it is a setting rich in adventure, mys-

tery, and ideological conflict. The core book is Transhuman

Space , which presents an overview of the setting with game

mechanics for GURPS Third Edition ; other books in the line

expand on specific aspects of the setting. Changing Times is a

GM’s guide and Fourth Edition update for the line.

Page References

Rules and statistics in this book are specifically for

the GURPS Basic Set , Fourth Edition . Page references

that begin with B refer to that book, not this one.

I NTRODUCTION

T HE C YBERSHELLS

“And . . . done!” Morag announced with a flourish as the

cybertool on her left arm withdrew its miniature hands from the

machine in front of her. She snapped a cover down, heard it

latch, smiled, and ran a cable from her implant to the battered

old cybershell’s socket as it powered up.

“Fine. Will it work?” Felipe didn’t take his eyes away from the

enclosed dock’s open window as he spoke.

“Of course it will. I’m already getting nominal readings here.”

She tapped her right temple. “Well, fairly nominal. It says it’s

happy. All aboard!”

Instead of answering, Felipe snapped off a burst from his

assault pod. Something outside exploded, and a feathered wing

fragment came through the window as Felipe ducked back.

“Fake,” he snarled. “I recognized the model. Don’t think that’s

even a local species here.”

He began backing towards Morag, still watching the trees as

he came. Morag began talking to the idiot AI in the machine, and

a ceramic motor hummed into life. Felipe turned around for just

long enough to help her push the thing down the slipway and

into the water, where it turned of its own volition toward the sea.

Morag quickly attached a towed platform to its hitch.

“They’re coming!” yelled Felipe, firing off another burst.

“So move!” yelled Morag, as the boatbot began to churn the

water with its thrusters. The two agents jumped onto the towed

platform and hunkered down as the boatbot moved out of the

dock, quickly picking up speed. Morag risked a glance back and

saw that a pair of the Colombians’ flashy new Hacha war-shells

had emerged from the distant trees and were coming on at a run.

Felipe snapped off a homing missile, but Morag didn’t even

watch to see if it hit. She was too busy arguing with the boatbot’s

AI, which was throwing up far too many amber flags in her

vision – but at least it wasn’t slowing down.

With a howl of exhilaration, Morag told it to head for the open

sea.

W EARABLES

There are always uses for wearable or hand-portable equip-

ment. In 2100, much of this gear has some degree of process-

ing capacity – often enough to enable it to think for itself. Most

wearable cybershells can be treated as a Wearable Virtual

Interface (see Changing Times , p. 58), perhaps with a built-in

tool purchased as a perk, or one or two sensory enhancements,

but others merit complete templates of their own.

extend a pair of multi-jointed hands that can work on anything

in the vicinity of the wearer’s own hand. Along with built-in

cutting blades, a miniature “penlight,” and the ability to act as

a power drill/screwdriver with a variety of heads, cybertools

have micromanipulation capability and carry miniature cam-

eras so that the controlling AI can see what they’re doing.

Images are frequently passed on to another wearable or VII, so

that the wearer can monitor operations. Normally, the wearer

tells the AI what to do verbally, but someone with a linked VII,

or a wearable interface and VR gloves or suit, can receive tac-

tile feedback and learn to operate the micromanipulators

directly, in effect acquiring miniature hands. (Teleoperation

software isn’t needed for this; it’s an innate feature of the

device, which can be used even while the shell’s AI is running,

with no teleoperation penalty.) Alternatively, a skilled wearer

C YBERTOOL

129 points

This is a type of device used by professional and hobbyist

craftsmen and mechanics who aren’t too proud to employ not

only the best tools, but also a little AI support in using them.

The cybershell is a pod-like device, worn on the forearm. It can

Nevertheless he can use Tools, can devise Tools: with these the granite mountain

melts into light dust before him; he kneads glowing iron, as if it were soft paste;

seas are his smooth highway, winds and fire his unwearying steeds. Nowhere do

you find him without tools; without Tools he is nothing, with Tools he is all.

– Sartor Resartus , Thomas Carlyle (1831)

T HE C YBERSHELLS

and a well-trained NAI can become a very effective

team, each performing part of a task in close coor-

dination with minimal verbal interplay. Installed

AIs are often optimized for tool use, and may pro-

vide features such as Ambidexterity.

This template represents a professional-grade

cybertool, robust enough to function in a wide

range of environments. Use of such an item counts

as at least improvised equipment for most tasks

using skills such as Mechanic or Repair, and often

qualifies as basic equipment at least equal to a

mini-toolkit. For some tasks, especially when very

small-scale work is involved, it’s better than that,

granting a bonus or even permitting attempts at

things that would otherwise be impossible. The

GM determines how useful it is for any given pur-

pose. 1.5 lbs., 5” long.

Attribute Modifiers: ST-5 [-50]; HT+2 [20].

Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: HP-1 [-2];

SM-5.

Advantages: Absolute Direction (Requires Signal,

-20%) [4]; Claws (Sharp Claws) [5];

Compartmentalized Mind (Controls) 1 [25];

DR 7 (Can’t Wear Armor, -40%) [21]; Doesn’t

Breathe [20]; Extra-Flexible Short Arms [0];

High Manual Dexterity 4 [20]; Machine [25];

Microscopic Vision 3 [15]; Night Vision 7

[7]; Pressure Support 2 [10]; Protected Sense

(Vision) [5]; Reduced Consumption 2

(Recharge/refuel once a day) [4]; Sealed [15];

Sensitive Touch [10]; Telecommunication

(Cable Jack; Sensie, +80%) [9]; Telecom-

munication (Radio; Sensie, +80%; Reduced

Range, 1/10, -30%) [15]; Temperature Tolerance

4 [4]; Vacuum Support [5].

Perks: Accessories (Built-in tool system with

penlight, Micromanipulation Tools, Tiny

Computer). [3]

Disadvantages: Cybershell Body [-15]; No Legs

(Portable) [-30]; No Sense of Smell/Taste [-5];

Restricted Diet (Very Common, power cells)

[-10].

Quirks: Cannot Float. [-1]

Features: Individuals of the same model closely

resemble each other.

Date: 2058. Cost: $1,500 + computer.

Notes: The Compartmentalized Mind

(Controls) advantage represents the user’s easy

access to the cybertool’s senses, radio, built-in

toolkit, and manipulators; this requires a VII or

equivalent to be used to full effect.

Variants

Specialist cybertools have been developed for a

number of purposes; most of these just add anoth-

er Accessory perk or two. A few advanced models

have Extra Arms; these may require specially

designed AI software.

Special Advantages,

Disadvantages,

and Modifiers

A number of special features appear on several of these templates:

Arm Modifications

Cybershells often have special features incorporated in the design

of their arms, which are evaluated by applying the special enhance-

ments and limitations normally applied to Extra Arms to a base of

10 points per arm; see Modifying Beings With One or Two Arms ,

p. B53. This produces advantages and disadvantages such as “Extra-

Flexible Short Arms [0]” or “Weak Arms (Half Body ST) [-5].”

Extra Wheels

A number of these cybershells have the No Legs (Wheeled) disad-

vantage and also an Extra Wheels advantage. The latter is exactly the

same as Extra Legs (p. B54), but applies to wheeled characters.

Sealed (Acid-Resistant)

Acid-Resistant is a new special enhancement for the Sealed

advantage. It means that your impermeable layer is chemically high-

ly resistant to acids. As a result, you are immune to the specific cor-

rosive effects of acids, including the hostile atmosphere of planets

such as Venus. This negates the DR-destroying effects of Innate

Attacks with the Corrosion type which are defined as using acids,

although they may still do regular damage if they penetrate the tar-

get’s DR. +40%.

Short Legs

Some legged beings – all quadrupeds in this book – can’t kick very

far, either because they have short legs in proportion to their bodies,

or because they are simply too small. (Note that even SM-1 or small-

er creatures can nominally kick at Reach 1.) To reflect this, apply the

Short limitation for Extra Arms (p. B53) to their Extra Legs advan-

tage, meaning that they can only kick (or otherwise reach out with

their feet) to Reach C. This gives them -2 points, which is treated as

a disadvantage (Short Legs) in these templates for convenience.

Super Jump (Bouncing Only)

The Bouncing enhancement to Super Jump first appeared in

GURPS Powers ; this limited version appears in GURPS Supers .

Figure your jumping distance as usual for the level of Super Jump –

but you can’t actually jump using this! Instead, whenever you expe-

rience any fall or collision (deliberate or not), you get a roll against

the best of your DX, Acrobatics, or Jumping, at -5 per multiple of

your enhanced jumping Move, or fraction thereof, by which the

impact velocity exceeds your jumping Move. On a success, you take

no damage, but rebound with 90% of the impact velocity. -50%.

Telecommunication (Sonar Comm)

Telecommunication (Sonar Comm) is a new variant of this

advantage (introduced in GURPS Powers ) which uses modulated

sonar. The transmission is omnidirectional; base range is 3 miles

underwater, 50 yards multiplied by air pressure in atm when in air;

base cost is 10 points.

T HE C YBERSHELLS

4th Edition - Transhuman Space; Shell Tech.pdf

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