Augmentations Rules

Contents of this page

Augmentation Basics 
   -What are they exactly? Their effects on harrowed, etc.
Augmentation Malfunctions 
   -When something bad happens to that new part you'll need to go here.
Implantation Basics 
    -When you need a "natural" enhancement read this first.
Typical Implant Malfunctions 
    -Even flesh can be a little naughty, which is the way we like it. 
Construction basics  
     -Sometimes it's just more satisfying to make it from scratch.
Failures on the Operating Table 
    -The doctor maybe in, but you may check out.
Limitations
    -Just how many augments can a guy get?

Augmentation Basics

Gears, sprockets and steel melded into flesh, only the use of Mad science makes such things possible. Augmentations are the most common of body modifications, though are found only in the darkest corners of large boomtowns. Scientists like to use augmentations since they can see what their building and it has less morale repercussions then chopping some poor sap up for his parts. The west has seen a growing number of augmented
strangers on the range, and though moralist are strictly against the practice most folks are no longer totally green to the idea of human augmentation.

Harrowed can get augmentations but complex alchemy and engineering is involved as well as little good old necromancy. Thus if you’re a harrowed and need a new arm (and don't have the ability to replace it with a fleshy one) it’ll cost you 50% more (all associated parts) than it would cost for a mortal folk and the parts reliability is increased by 1 (worsens, 1 becomes 2). If you had augments when you died and came back they functional normally, but cannot be a conduit for harrowed powers, nor will they heal. 

Augmentation Malfunctions

Typically you don’t have to roll for a malfunction, unless the Marshal deems it necessary.  However, malfunctions do occur, especially when you really botch up an action with you implant.  For example Jim, picks up a guy with his steam claw arm (reliability 2), he does not have to roll a reliability check, but if he rolls a critical failure (a natural one or two) on his grapple check the arm will malfunction. However, some situations may warrant a reliability check by the marshal, such as being caught in an explosion, or having the particular augment targeted by an attack or magic.

Typical Augmentation Malfunctions:

For ease of play (and sanity) augments on this page can use this general chart for the malfuctions. If you want to come up with malfunctions for each augment, all the power to ya.

Minor:   Kink or loose screws, Loose any ability or skill bonuses provided by the augment. It is not hard to repair, the repair DC equal to construction DC-5, and takes 1d20 melee rounds, and requires little or no cash to repair. 

Major:  Your augment gets a Gremlin (see the Deadlands Player guide).  Not only does it worsen the augments reliability, the little fiend also well generally just cause you misery by keeping you up at night or “jumping” into other gizmo from time to time.  If you don’t like being pestered, you’d better find someone who can get rid of the little bastch. 

Catastrophe:   You are in big doo-doo.  The augment totally fails. Wrecked, fused, or otherwise bodged up it cannot be repaired and must be removed and rebuilt from scratch. Not you still suffer any negatives the augment has as long as it remains attached to you.

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Implantation Basics

There really isn’t anything better than sins of the flesh. Implants are defined as any augmentation that contains at least 50% organic material. For the most part, if your getting an implant you are getting it from some guy screaming beside you, since implants need to be fresh to be attached to another living creature.
It takes a special sort of person to do implants-cold and business like is the key. For the most part such Body Butchers live in isolation in some old mansions or castles in the mountains surrounded by spooky forests. If you come across one these mad doctors by chance, you may become his experiment rather than his patient. Also those who are skilled and the art of butchering often do not have time to get their own parts or fear of being lynched, so you should be prepared to bring your own donor if you need work done.

For Harrowed implants are much easier to do than mechanical augments, though just as dangerous. The limbs and organs do not have to be fresh for the transplant; in fact they can be pickled months before hand. Some alchemy, raw brain matter and lots of voltage will bring the limbs "alive" on a dead creature. In fact combining numerous parts together has created whole new abominations that now creep and crawl on the earth. The only problem with being a harrowed with new fleshy parts is that you permanently loose 1 domination point each time you under go the process. Pray your doctor does not get a little over creative with your makeover.
Implantations for Harrowed also cost 25% more than normal.
Also note that since you're dead you do not gain any bonuses or benefits from Constitution modifiers, but also do not suffer from any loss of constitution from malfunctions. You may also use any of your harrowed powers through your new parts.

Typical Implant Malfunctions

Minor: Disassociated: your implant still refuses to forget it’s former master. Duration is 1d10 rounds, +1 round for each individual implant you possess.
--Limbs: take actions against you, actions are at half normal bonuses or values and attacks have 50% chance of aiming at yourself! You may make strength or dexterity checks against yourself (the marshal takes control of your evil limb) to stop an attack.
--Organs: temporary switch off, loosing any bonuses, plus doing ONE Hit point of damage per melee round of the duration.

Major: Unbearable pain or paralysis: In either case you go limp and fall the ground unable to move and have maximum speed of 5, and at –5 at any actions you try to take, and only partial actions can be taken. Duration: 1d10 rounds, +1 round for each individual implant you possess.

Catastrophe: Rejection: your implants have a life of their own, be it because they are undead or mutated from the mad science that conceived them. Your implant needs to be taken out within the next 24 hours, or it well rip itself from its host and crawl away (or just flap around on the ground)! The ripping well cause variable damage, plus you loose whatever bonuses you got from the implants:
--Limbs do 1d4 permanent constitution damage.
--Small nonessential organs (ears, eyes) do 1d3 permanent constitution damage.
--Loosing hearts, livers, and essentials will kill the host, except harrowed. A mad science roll of DC 35 and 2d6 hours of surgery can save the implant and prevent the loss, but it's really better to replace such a deviant body part.

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Construction 

1) Design a theory and blue print using your Mad Science roll against the DC.  You get  +5 to your roll is designing from someone else’s physical design if you can do reverse engineering, but must make decipher script roll if is someone else’s blueprints. IF you are using one of your own designs yo already rolled for you may skip to the next step.  A day is considered at least 8 hours of research within a 24-hour period.

2) Gather your Materials, the cost can be decreased by various feats or skills; typically can only be decreased by 10 to 25%.  Note that finished market prices are typically much higher depending on the item and where it is sold (+1d4x10%). In the case of implants you may have to commit some horrific act to get the supplies, in the case of augments you may have to travel hundreds of miles to acquire a particular part.

3) Begin building use the skills required, taking the necessary time.  Reduce the time by half for every 5 above the DC you roll. Laboratories have normal effect on the building process. Build time does not include the operation to put the objects in, the operation time can be reduced by Profession: Doctor skill in the same manner of the designing of the object. A day is considered at least 8 hours of build time in a 24-hour period.

4) Install by again making a Mad Science roll against the DC, if you have the Heal or Profession: Doctor skills at 5 or more Ranks you get a +2 synergy bonus for each.  You cannot go crazy if you fail this Mad Science Roll at this point, though your patient may suffer.

Construction Table

Base Hardness and Hit point Tables

Only applies if the augmentation/implant can be hit from the outside. If the implant is internal it does not have a real hardness or hit points, but has AC +5 (in addition to the other bonuses) if it comes into question. You may also add your Dexterity bonus to the AC (normal rules apply). Hitting an augment or implant is just like hitting a weapon, AC 10 + adjustment, + dexterity modifier. There is also the percentile chance of spell casting failure. This spell failure is cumulative with other failures from armour or other sources and applies to all magical using classes in Deadlands.
 

Hardness/HP/AC may increase depending on your ability to build.  +1 hardness per 10 points above the build DC, +1 HP per 5 points above the build DC.

NOTE: that spell failure is do to magical Interference, and affects all spell cast and is cumaltive with other negatives. Thus two small augments and one small implant give a total spell failure of 9%.

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Installation failures

When you’re first getting the Augmentation or Implant put into your body there is a chance that the procedure well be botched up by your local Saw Bones.
If you have the stats of the mad Scientist doing the operation roll against the DC normally.  If the operation fails compare the number of points they failed by on the failure chart below (a critical failure or failing by 15 or more points is always a catastrophe).

If you don’t want to roll up the stats and skills for the attending Mad Scientist simply roll on the reliability for the part in question when you first get it.
If this initial roll fails, roll on the table below using the normal 2d6 roll. 

2-6: Minor Instillation Malfunction:  Quark, the item cost you 1 permanent Constitution (or Wisdom for a Harrowed) point, but you may add one point to any other ability in exchange (typically to what ever the augment enhances other than your Con). 

7-10:  Major Instillation Malfunction:  Pain, your new augment does not take very well and causes you immense pain and tissue damage, your take 1d4 permanent hit point damage, and are at -1 to all attacks for one gaming week or game session, which ever is longer. 

11-12:  Catastrophic Instillation Malfunction: Rejection, your new part takes a disliking for you. You suffer a cumulative –1 per day to all d20 rolls until the part is removed. By the time you reach –30 you’re a total invalid and well probably die soon, or just wishing for death.

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Limitations of Augments/Implants

There is a limit to how many implants and augments a normal person can get before becoming considered an amalgamation, automaton or some unholy creature. It must be remembered that both implants and augments rely on mad science and thus utterly unnatural.

Numerical Limits- Here are the maximum number of each size catogory of augments or implants as compared to size category of the recipient that can be implanted at once.

Going over the limit: If you go over the limit it's not really a big deal, except that each new augment/implant has it's reliability cumulatively increased by +1 (worsens) and a cumulative 10% chance of having to roll under the Mad Science Dementia table for the recipient of the implant each time they get another. Use your common sense too, a small creature could conceivably get full armour plating, but it would have to be modified to the creatures size, thus provide less protection and cost more.

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