Borg Construct Force wielders

[Theodrim]

I was thinking way ahead for my campaign today, and came across an interesting quandry. Before I even begin, I'll state I'm not using cyber points for my campaign -- just the increased DSP generation.

I'm planning a campaign ahead of time that may see one of my two Force-users totally or partially lobotomized in an heroic sacrifice. I'm only thinking of this circumstance ahead of time, because I know my players and figure with what's going to happen, it'll be one of the Force users since anyone else will almost certainly die.

Basically, I'm going to be running a "technological singularity" story that involves M4-78, and a desire to achieve full sentience having existed on its own programming for millennia. It'll need to technobabble from an organic being in real-time to do it, which means somebody gets to fry their own brain to allow the droid-world to evolve. Yeah, typical high-minded science fiction, but something rarely explored in Star Wars which I think makes for ripe pickings.

If it happens, they (or any other character that does it and somehow survives) will get the chance to save their characters by installing a borg construct...and enter my quandry. They would still by RAW be able to use the Force, and spend character points to continue increasing in Force die codes. As a GM, I'm fine with that especially due to the nature of what would lead to such an event.

The problem is...borg constructs "strip" emotions. They don't acutely feel fear, anger, pain, or aggression, and aren't likely to act upon it let alone enough to draw on the Dark Side. Thinking about it, that's kind of a "get out of the Dark Side free" card.

I've considered stripping the character of their ability to use, or gain additional, Force points but that seems a bit harsh. Any thoughts on how to play this scenario out if it comes up?

[CRMcNeill]

Sounds complicated.

If you're playing according to the RAW and Cyber-Points, I would suggest that the emotional damping simply cancels out the increased vulnerability to DSPs that accompany Cyber-Points.
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[Jedi Skyler]

Well, you could go on the premise that, since the construct strips emotions, it causes the subject to be more logical. While the construct does strip emotions, it does NOT strip memories or experience. It might, therefore, allow the character the ability to look at DSP-generating actions without actually being tempted by them, since the dark side can't attract them through the negative emotion set. That would account for the character not suffering the increased vulnerability to DSPs.

[Theodrim]

[Jedi Skyler]

[CRMcNeill]

Personally, I use a Force Attribute, which is treated just like all the other attributes. While some disagree, it is part of the canon that cybernetic replacements affect a person's connection to the Force, so cybernetic parts would reduce a person's Force attribute by pips equal to the Cyber Point value of the replacement part.

If you don't use a Force Attribute, just apply the cyber points as one-time-only permanent reductions to the character's Force skills. Basically, if the implant you are discussing has a cyber-point value of 2, subtract 2 pips from their Control, Sense and Alter skills. It's the same effect as above, just without the Attribute.
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[Jedi Skyler]

I like the idea of a one-time reduction in the Force skills. Sure, it does affect the Force user's connection with the Force...but it doesn't negate it. Take Vader, for instance. Sure, he became highly cyborged. However, he continued to get stronger and progress in the Force AFTER he got all the hardware. That to me simply means he had to learn exactly how it affected him, and learn how to cope and move on.

[Theodrim]

[CRMcNeill]

In that case, I would suggest either increasing the size of the one-time penalty (maybe double the Cyber Point value in pips) or apply a permanent increase in Difficulty Level for all Force Power rolls. It's essentially two sides of the same coin, but in this game, everything we do is based on dice rolls, so if you want a bigger effect, increase your dice penalties or increase your Difficulty numbers.

A question that was brought up during the Medical Sourcebook discussion was to what degree choice affected the Cyber Point total. In essence, if a person willingly chooses a cybernetic implant, he is deliberately surrendering a portion of his humanity. However, if the implant is due to a medical emergency or somesuch, the Cyber Point total would be lower, as the character did not choose it, but had it chosen for him. If I'm reading you right, the character that this happens to will have it done to him while he is comatose, and unable to give consent, so it would have a lesser effect than it would if they deliberately chose it.

There is also the question of whether the implant is internal or external. If the implant is entirely within the person's skull, then, much like a realistic limb replacement, the character could all but forget it is there. If, on the other hand, it is a big Lobot-type headband Borg implant, then he would be constantly aware of it.

In essence, my understanding of the Cyber Point concept was that it had a lot to do with personal psychology, as opposed to any actual disruptive effect of the tech itself. In other words, a character who deliberately chooses to replace a body part or install some form of enhancement (especially one that is quite obviously not a natural part) is willingly sacrificing a part of their natural selves to become something more/less/other than fully human, and that mindset is what Cyber Points represent.
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[Jedi Skyler]

Yeah, I get that the borg construct would be more intrusive, and have more effect on the brain than the other cybernetics one could get. However, I was responding to the fact that crmcneill was just referring to general cybernetics. I would go so far as to say that borg constructs' penalties might need to be higher, or at the least might require longer to overcome, but I would still treat the recovery from the impact in one's connection to the Force in the same general way, meaning the character would eventually be able to learn how to work around it and get back to their former skill level, and beyond.

[Theodrim]

[CRMcNeill]

There is the Emotion Suppressant (Galladinium's Fantastic Technology, pages 36-37), which adds a +2D bonus to Willpower to resist emotional impulses (can't be used to resist Force attacks). It's pretty much just for storytelling purposes unless you have some sort of mechanic for rolling Willpower to resist the Dark Side, but it does at least provide something of an official rule on how a device that suppresses emotions would function.
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[Jedi Skyler]

I think that, at least in Vader's case, he was already in the process of falling to the dark side when he got cyborged up in EPI III. I realize he didn't have a borg construct, but I would think that someone in similar circumstances, who had already been versed in how to draw on the dark side, would be able to find a way to continue to access those emotions. At least, they would actively search for a way to get to where they could utilize the negative emotions that power the dark side.

Quite honestly, I could see this as a very involved plot hook for a campaign. It would definitely be an interesting game in which to play.

[Theodrim]

[Jedi Skyler]

Depending on how one looks at it, it could be argued that DSPs could very easily be earned, even barring emotional interference. Being coldly logical doesn't mean you automatically do right all the time; in fact, you might even be more likely to do evil because your conscience makes you feel guilty when you do wrong, and that response is basically gone with the borg construct. You'd be more like, well, the Borg. (ducking to avoid objects thrown for crossing Star Wars with Trek...) lol