Augs
Augs are special IRIS-based formations within the body that store considerable metabolic energy over time, to be released later as a power source for various potent effects. In contrast to Gear and Devices, Augs are expensive and make considerable demands on the Character's Stamina when used, but offer super-human capabilities in exchange. As part of the Character's own body, Augs cannot easily be stripped away, offering a fighting chance, even in the most desperate of circumstances.
Augs Index
Basic Augs
Basic Augs are intrinsic to every human born with IRIS. Originally conceived as survival mechanisms, these are versatile and can often be repurposed as a means of sudden attack or reversal.
Index of Basic Augs:
Grit
- Gain bonus AP according to the Character's rank in the Grit Passive.
- Grit can be activated instantly at any time that does not conflict with another Player's or NPC's turn. This immediately allows the Character to act with whatever AP are offered by Grit, but remember that no dice may be rolled outside the Character's normal turn and a given Skill may only be used once per round. Augs may be activated as normal until all Grit AP are consumed, but are still restricted to their normal per-turn usage limit, if applicable.
- Costs Stamina for each activation. Limit once per round. See the Traits section for details.
Leap
- The Character performs a powerful leap or lunge.
- When Leaping, Calculate movement distance, spend movement AP and apply penalties as though the Character were running to the destination.
- Only the normal restriction of being on the ground is removed. See the Traits section for details.
- Costs 5 Stamina per Leap.
Reflex
- The Character delays all or part of their action, waiting for an opportune moment. At any time between the delay and their next turn, the Character may release a surge of energy to act at blinding speed with their delayed AP.
- No Skill tests may be rolled during this acting phase, limiting the Character strictly to the Turn AP that was delayed from their normal turn.
- Augs may still be activated as normal during the delayed action, including Grit.
- Only Turn AP may be delayed; any bonus AP from Skills used during the Character's normal turn are lost when the Player chooses to delay any part of their turn.
- Reflex may not be activated to interrupt other Players' or NPCs' actions. Instead the Player must state between turns when they intend to act.
- Any Turn AP still unused when the Character's next turn arrives are lost as soon as that turn begins.
- Reflex requires no Stamina if 0 delayed AP are used.
- Costs 5 Stamina to activate delayed AP.
Resist
- Roll a Survival test to counter AP damage, avoid passing out or delay the onset of a Death Coma.
- AP DAMAGE - When Resisting AP damage, the net AP after the Resist attempt is the Character's Turn AP for that round. If this amount is 0 or less, the Character may not act unless forcing an action with Grit. If Grit is used, the remaining negative AP will be subtracted from the Grit bonus until totally spent. If this value still results in 0 or less AP, it is impossible for the Character to act. The Director may, at their discretion, be kind enough to inform the Player in advance if their Grit use will be wasted.
- UNCONSCIOUSNESS - Resisting unconsciousness requires 5AP + 5 additional AP for each round unconsciousness has already been resisted. The first test must be made immediately after the Character's Stamina drops below 0. Resisting may continue as long as the Character is able to pass the tests or until the Tranquilizer wares off. Outside combat, the test must be made every 10 minutes of in-game time.
- DEATH COMA - Resisting Death Coma requires 10AP + 10 additional AP for each round the Death Coma has already been resisted. The first test must be made immediately after the Character drops below 0 Health. Resisting may continue as long as the Character is able to pass the tests or until Health is no longer negative. Outside combat, the test must be made every 10 minutes of in-game time.
- Costs 5 Stamina per use.
Sprint
- The Character gains access to their Sprint speed for 1 round.
- The actual speed depends on the Character's Speed Passive. See the Traits section for details.
- Costs 5 Stamina per round.
Advanced Augs
Index of Advanced Augs
CAP
- Creates one or more virtual selves within the user's own mind. While having less raw thinking power than the unified whole, these independent thought processes are freed from mutual distraction, enabling each to devote their total attention to a single task. In such a state, the user can perform multiple actions simultaneously as though it were a single operation of the mind. This technology is known as a CAP, or Consciousness Altering Partition, sometimes referred to as a “Thinking CAP” by it's enthusiasts.
- Activating the CAP allows the user to perform multiple actions simultaneously without penalties. There are several actions that commonly take advantage from this.
- Innately, the user is considered to have one stream of consciousness, meaning with only one stream they must choose between controlling their own body OR one other function, in which case their IRIS gently lowers the unresponsive body into a rest position wherever it currently happens to be.
- For each stream, one entity may be actively controlled, meaning that with two additional streams, the Character may control their normal body functions, a second weapon and a drone simultaneously, or three drones while leaving their body inactive.
- The user remains distantly aware of their own body, but cannot make any tests using it, including Perception. The Character can only be forced to refocus on their own body if they are attacked, at which point IRIS will automatically intervene for its host's safety and sever ALL other connections.
- Functions benefitting from multiple streams of consciousness are:
- DUAL WIELDING - When wielding a weapon in each hand, a penalty of -20AP is normally applied. This is because the Character cannot concentrate on the use of the second weapon, greatly reducing its effectiveness. With at least one extra consciousness stream however, each weapon can be controlled independantly, fully negating the penalty. This also requires the Character to retain normal control over their body. It is not possible to use a single arm as a stationary, weapon firing turret.
- DRONE CONTROL - Taking active control of a drone allows the Character to substitute their own Traits and Skills for those of the drone. This includes the use of the Character's 15 Turn AP, divided as the Player chooses between all active drones and their own body. As normal, a given test may only be used once per round, and any Augs used only affect the Character themselves. This means Grit AP cannot be applied to drones. Each Stream of consciousness allows one entity to be controlled at the same time, either one drone or the user's own body.
- INTERFACING - When using the Interface skill to manipulate technology, such as computers, robots or the brain functions of other IRIS users, each stream of consciousness allows one connection to be maintained at the same time. This allows the Character to control multiple systems, drones, or other humans at the same time, should the opportunity arise. When controlling drones or humans, see the rules for Drone Control above.
- Limited CAP Acuity 4 - The CAP grants one additional stream of consciousness for 5 rounds. Out of combat the effect lasts for 30 minuts. Costs 20 Stamina.
- Standard CAP Acuity 7 - The CAP grants two additional streams of consciousness for 5 rounds. Out of combat the effect lasts for 1 hour. Costs 20 Stamina.
- Advanced CAP Acuity 10 - The CAP grants three additional streams of consciousness for 5 rounds. Out of combat the effect lasts for 2 hours. Costs 20 Stamina.
Dilator
- Dramatically alters the Character's internal perception of time, allowing them to consider and calculate while their surroundings slow to a crawl.
- When making any test using the Focus Trait, activating the Dilator allows the user to count their Standard Action as a Sustained Action, rolling dice multiple times for a single action. This means the time investment normally associated with each roll in a Sustained Action is removed at the cost of Stamina.
- An automatic success may be purchased at the Director's discretion, provided the Character can pay the full Stamina cost and the number of required rolls does not exceed the limit of the Dilator.
- Limited Dilator: Acuity 6 - The Dilator May only be used for one action per turn. Limited to a 2-roll Sustained Action. Costs 10 Stamina per roll.
- Standard Dilator: Acuity 8 - The Dilator may only be used for one action per turn. Limited to a 3-roll Sustained Action. Costs 7 Stamina per roll.
- Advanced Dilator: Acuity 10 - The Dilator may only be used for one action per turn. No roll limit. Costs 7 Stamina per roll.
Inducer
- A matrix of energized lattices induces dynamic current in nearby targets. This complex technology has many applications, including remote Interfacing, real-time drone control and comunication networking, to name a few.
- Inducers have many possible uses and the more advanced the Inducer is, the more of these fuctions can be supported in a single Aug, along with increasing its range and security.
- Inducer options include:
- REMOTE INTERFACE - Allows the user to make Interface Skill tests at a distance up to the maximum range of the Inducer. Sources of interference or insulation may shorten the range, apply penalties or make Interface actions impossible, at the Director's discretion.
- DRONE CONTROL - Allows the user to take active control of drones at a distance up to the maximum range of the Inducer. When taking active control, the Character rolls an Interface test, then divides the resulting AP among their drones each turn as Turn AP. This replaces the Drones' standard AP pool.
- Movement still cannot exceed the standard AP of the drone.
- Taking active control of a drone leaves the user vulnerable as their own body becomes inactive. The CAP Aug remedies this by allowing control of multiple functions at the same time. See the CAP Aug entry for more information.
- Sources of interference or insulation may shorten the range, apply penalties or make Interface actions impossible, at the Director's discretion.
- HUD - The HUD or Heads Up Display is a graphical overlay for the user's own senses, indicating sources of noise, highlighting enemies or other objects of interest and allowing any location or entity to be tagged, indicating it to other HUD users on the same network and tracking its location as long as it remains detectable. Location tags on the environment may remain tagged indefinately, since they cannot move. Creating a tag requires 5AP. Allies making attacks on tagged targets receive +5AP. Allies using Strategy, Canny, Savvy or Alertness to locate previously tagged enemies also receive a +5AP bonus.
- NETWORK RELAY - The user may serve as a communication hub for multiple allies, providing various functions, such as visual / audio feeds, real time comms and HUD functionality. These can be used at a distance up to the maximum range of the Inducer. Sources of interference or insulation may shorten the range, apply penalties or make Interface actions impossible, at the Director's discretion.
- Limited Inducer Acuity 4 - The inducer offers a single function with no bonuses to resist hacking and a range of 75m. See possible functions above.
- Standard Inducer Acuity 7 - The inducer offers 2 functions with +5AP to resist hacking and a range of 150m. See possible functions above.
- Advanced Inducer Acuity 10 - The inducer offers 3 functions with +10AP to resist hacking and a range of 300m. See possible functions above.
Intuitor
- A multi-faceted pattern recognition system analyzes every aspect of a target's behaviour, then feeds back the optimal social interactions to produce a desired outcome. A proficient user can bend others to their will with words alone, producing adoration or fear in those around them with the slightest of efforts.
- When making any Social test, activating the Intuitor allows the user to count their Standard Action as a Sustained Action, rolling dice multiple times for a single action. This means the time investment normally associated with each roll in a Sustained Action is removed at the cost of Stamina.
- An automatic success may be purchased at the Director's discretion, provided the Character can pay the full Stamina cost and the number of required rolls does not exceed the limit of the Intuitor.
- Limited Intuitor: Instinct 6 + Acuity 4 - The Intuitor May only be used for one action per turn. Limited to a 2-roll Sustained Action. Costs 10 Stamina per roll.
- Standard Intuitor: Instinct 8 + Acuity 5 - The Intuitor may only be used for one action per turn. Limited to a 3-roll Sustained Action. Costs 7 Stamina per roll.
- Advanced Intuitor: Instinct 10 + Acuity 6 - The Intuitor may only be used for one action per turn. No roll limit. Costs 7 Stamina per roll.
Iron Skin
- The user's skin is enhanced with high concentrations of electro-tensile fibers. Under normal conditions, their presence is subtle enough to go unnoticed. When energized, they form a dense alloy mesh which is almost impenetrable, yet moves with the user as fluidly as their own skin.
- When activated, Iron Skin provides bonuses to the User's Health, as provided by the Health Passive.
- A superior variant of each model is also available, provided an additional Toughness Passive requirement is met at the time of acquisition. the superior variant of the Aug also provides fixed, temporary bonuses to the Character's Natural Armor.
- It is not possible to gain the Natural Armor bonus in isolation, as this is a by-product of the main effect, rather than a bonus in its own right.
- The amount of Health and Natural Armor gained when the Aug is activated will also be subtracted when the effect ends, making it possible to survive lethal damage, only to die when the Aug deactivates. It is possible to delay this by paying the activation cost again before Iron Skin expires.
- Limited Iron Skin Health 6 (+ Toughness 4) - The user increases their current Health by 100%. (The user also increases their Natural Armor by +50). Costs 30 Stamina and lasts for 5 rounds of combat. Out of combat, the effect lasts 30 minutes.
- Standard Iron Skin Health 8 (+ Toughness 6) - The user increases their current Health by 200%. (The user also increases their Natural Armor by +100). Costs 30 Stamina and lasts for 5 rounds of combat. Out of combat, the effect lasts 1 hour.
- Advanced Iron Skin Health 10 (+ Toughness 8) - The user increases their current Health by 300%. (The user also increases their Natural Armor by +200). Costs 30 Stamina and lasts for 5 rounds of combat. Out of combat, the effect lasts 2 hours.
Overdrive
- Intensifies normal synaptic/nerve activity to extreme levels for a brief period. Users report a state in which the body becomes a near-instant manifestation of will.
- When making any test on the Physique Trait, activating the Overdrive allows the user to count their Standard Action as a Sustained Action, rolling dice multiple times for a single action. This means the time investment normally associated with each roll in a Sustained Action is removed at the cost of Stamina.
- An automatic success may be purchased at the Director's discretion, provided the Character can pay the full Stamina cost and the number of required rolls does not exceed the limit of the Overdrive.
- Limited Overdrive: Strength 4 -or- Speed 4 + Acuity 4 - The Overdrive May only be used for one action per turn. Limited to a 2-roll Sustained Action. Costs 10 Stamina per roll.
- Standard Overdrive: Strength 6 -or- Speed 6 + Acuity 5 - The Overdrive may only be used for one action per turn. Limited to a 3-roll Sustained Action. Costs 7 Stamina per roll.
- Advanced Overdrive: Strength 8 -or- Speed 8 + Acuity 6 - The Overdrive may only be used for one action per turn. No roll limit. Costs 7 Stamina per roll.
Particle Shroud
- Releases billions of controlled nano-particles from the user's skin, creating a closely fitted volume which difuses heat, dampens sound and bends light to make the user almost undetectable.
- Items small enough to be concealed by the Character's own body may be carried without breaking the effect, subject to a successful Conceal test.
- All methods of concealing items fall to the Director's discretion. If an item cannot be concealed, it renders the camoflage useless until dropped. This includes clothing.
- Particle Shroud offers only half the normal bonuses (rounding down) for hiding other evidence of the Character's presence, such as human-sized hollow spaces the user creates in water, dust or smoke, along with trampled grass, mud, etc. Does not make the user more difficult to track by footprints or a scent trail, although these can still be hidden using a standard Obscure test.
- Particle Shroud bonuses can be doubled by making a successful Stealth test while remaining stationary. Moving or performing any action removes the double bonuses immediately.
- When initiating combat, the Character gains a Surprise round if undetected, as normal. The Character also gains +10 Initiative if combat is initiated during an Active Camoflage effect instead of the normal +5 for initiating combat during Stealth. If the Character is detected, but has not yet broken camoflage and is able to initiate combat before the alerted enemy reacts, the +10 Initiative bonus is still gained.
- Limited Shroud Acuity 5 + Carry 2 - When making Stealth tests, Limited Acti-Camo grants +1AP for every meter between the Character and a source of detection. Activating a Skill other than Stealth breaks the camoflage, which then requires 25AP to be spent recovering the effect. Recovering disrupted camoflage requires no additional Stamina. Limited Acti-Camo is NOT compatible with Camo-Reactive Gear. Costs 15 Stamina per scene.
- Standard Shroud: Acuity 7 + Carry 3 – When making Stealth tests, Standard Acti-Camo grants +1AP for every meter between the Character and a source of detection. Worn or carried items which are Camo-Reactive may be included in the effect for an additional cost of 1 Stamina per 3Kg camoflaged. Activating a Skill other than Stealth breaks the camoflage, which then requires 10AP to be spent recovering the effect. Recovering disrupted camoflage requires no additional Stamina. Costs 10 Stamina per scene.
- Advanced Shroud: Acuity 9 + Carry 4 – When making Stealth tests, Standard Acti-Camo grants +1AP for every meter between the Character and a source of detection. Worn or carried items which are Camo-Reactive may be included in the effect for an additional cost of 1 Stamina per 5Kg camoflaged. Skills other than Stealth may be activated without breaking camoflage for a cost of 3 Stamina per Skill. Activating Stealth requires no additional Stamina. Breaking camoflage for any reason requires 10AP to be spent recovering the effect. Recovering disrupted camoflage requires no additional Stamina. Costs 10 Stamina per scene.
PWR
- Physical Whole-form Reconstruction, or PWR enhances the user's natural attributes through extensive, interdependent alterations to their mind and body. The change total and absolute, leaving no trace of former shortcomings.
- PWR is an Aug which PERMANENTLY increases a single Passive by a single rank.
- There is no Stamina or AP cost and the Aug is always in effect, as though the Character had one additonal IRIS point to spend at Character Creation.
- The maximum rank in any Passive is 10. There are no exceptions.
- PWR may only be applied to Passives. No other element of a Character may be influenced with the PWR Aug.
- This improves all benefits offered by the selected Passive to be consistent with its new rank and increases the number of dice rolled in the parent Trait by 1.
- For example, applying a PWR Aug to the Carry Passive increases the Character's maximum carry-weight to that of the next rank, allows them to meet Carry requirements at one rank higher than before and also grants +1 Physique, allowing the Character to roll one more die than before when making ANY test on the Physique Trait.
- PWR NO REQUIREMENT - The Player permanently gains one level in one Passive of their choice. This also increases the level of the parent Trait by 1.
Regenerator
- The user's peripheral organs and cardio-vascular system are interlaced with a complex network of nodes and filaments. When energized, the nodes release enormous volumes of stored IRIS nanites which are then directed to any damaged location by the ionized filaments. In ideal conditions, reconstruction is fast enough to be observed with the naked eye.
- Activating the Regenerator causes the Character to dramatically increase their normal healing rate.
- A Character at full Health cannot benefit from the effect.
- If an instance of Regenerator healing is available when a Character takes damage, it will not be used until immediately after the turn in which the damage occurred. This means that multiple enemies damaging the Character in sequence must overcome the addition of the healing effect in between their turns if it was ready to heal at the time when damage was dealt.
- If the Character enters Death Coma or dies during a single enemy turn however, the Regenerator's effect ceases without an oppotunity to heal the Character, even if it could have healed immediately after that enemy's turn.
- This brief time requirement is most significant during sudden ambushes, when a Character may sustain large amounts of damage in a period of time too short for the regenerator to respond.
- Limited Regenerator: Health 3 + Acuity 2 - The Regenerator restores Health equal to the Character's daily healing rate once every 3 turns for the duration of a single combat. Costs 10 Stamina.
- Standard Regenerator: Health 6 + Acuity 3 - The Regenerator restores Health equal to the Character's daily healing rate once every 2 turns for the duration of a single combat. Costs 10 Stamina. Out of combat, the Regenerator may be activated as a healing aid, doubling the Character's daily healing for that day. Costs 30 Stamina. Activations in and out of combat are separate and do not interact in any way.
- Advanced Regenerator: Health 9 + Acuity 4 - The Regenerator restores Health equal to the Character's daily healing rate once every turn for the duration of a single combat. Costs 15 Stamina. Out of combat, the Regenerator may be activated as a healing aid, tripling the Character's daily healing for that day. Costs 20 Stamina. Activations in and out of combat are separate and do not interact in any way.
Shock Matrix
- A heavy modification of the standard energy-storing lattice used for Stamina, this variant channels large volumes of energy over a short time, dumping it in a massive burst through elecrodes woven into the surface of the user's skin. Usually employed as a weapon, best results are achieved by contacting the user's bare skin to the enemy. It's popularity is well justified among those needing a subtle tool of assassination.
- When making an Unarmed or Melee attack, the Character may activate the Shock Matrix to gain a significant damage bonus.
- The damage is affected by armor as normal, including Natural Armor.
- The Matrix recharges naturally over time as it draws energy from the Character's body. This requires no action on the Character's part but cannot be accelerated.
- After use, a slight burn mark will be visible on the skin of both the Character and their target. This will disappear for the Character after 3 days, or 6 hours after receiving medical treatment for the wound. if the target or Character dies before the burn disappears, it will remain visible until they decompose.
- Limited Shock Matrix - Requires Acuity 3 + Vigor 2 —– Costs: 2k
- Adds 50 damage to an unarmed attack.
- Recharges and can be used every 3rd round of combat or every 1 minute 30 seconds.
- Can discharge through the Character's skin on any 1 body part. (Choose 1: Head, Torso, Right Arm, Left Arm, Right Leg, Left Leg)
- Discharge locations cannot be changed after purchase.
- Standard Shock Matrix - Requires Acuity 6 + Vigor 4 —– Costs 5k
- Adds 100 damage to an unarmed attack.
- Recharges and can be used every 2nd round of combat or every 1 minute.
- Can discharge through the Character's skin on any 3 body parts. (Choose 3: Head, Torso, Right Arm, Left Arm, Right Leg, Left Leg)
- Discharge locations cannot be changed after purchase.
- Advanced Shock Matrix - Requires Acuity 9 + Vigor 6 —– Costs 15k
- Adds 200 damage to an unarmed attack.
- Recharges and can be used every round of combat or every 30 seconds.
- Can discharge through any part of the Character's skin.
Stimulus Filter
- Local micro-stimuli are amplified, then processed through a sophistocated prediction engine and superimposed on the user's vision. This grants the user incredibly heigtened senses, allowing them to “see” elements of their surroundings which would normally be invisible to the eye. The effect on the user's awareness is so great that, to the casual observer, it can appear almost supernatural.
- When making any Perception test, activating the Stimulus Filter allows the user to count their Standard Action as a Sustained Action, rolling dice multiple times for a single action. This means the time investment normally associated with each roll in a Sustained Action is removed at the cost of Stamina.
- An automatic success may be purchased at the Director's discretion, provided the Character can pay the full Stamina cost and the number of required rolls does not exceed the limit of the Stimulus Filter.
- Stimulus Filters also allow remodulation of non-visible stimuli, such as sound, heat, scent, electromagnetism, or ultraviolet light. depending on the functions available.
- Stimulus Filter Specializations:
- Aural Stimulus Filter - Translates sound into a visual effect. Grants +5AP when detecting or locating sound sources.
- Electromagnectic Filter - Translates electromagnetism into a visual effect. Grants +5AP when detecting or locating sources of electromagnetism.
- Olfactory Stimulus Filter - Translates odors into a visual effect. Grants +5AP when detecting or locating odor sources.
- Thermal Filter - Translates thermal energy into a visual effect. Grants +5AP when detecting or locating heat sources.
- Ultraviolet Filter - Translates ultraviolet light into a visual effect. Grants +5AP when detecting or locating sources of ultraviolet light.
- Limited Stimulis Filter Instinct 4 (+ Acuity 2) - (The Filter may have one of the Specializations above if the Acuity requirement is also met.) May only be used for one action per turn. Limited to a 2-roll Sustained Action. Costs 10 Stamina per roll.
- Standardd Stimulus Filter Instinct 7 (+ Acuity 4) - (The Filter may have two of the Specializations above if the Acuity requirement is also met.) May only be used for one action per turn. Limited to a 3-roll Sustained Action. Costs 7 Stamina per roll.
- Advanced Stimulus Filter Instinct 10 (+ Acuity 6) - (The Filter may have three of the Specializations above if the Acuity requirement is also met.) May only be used for one action per turn. No roll limit. Costs 7 Stamina per roll.
