Basic Overview of Wetware-

Wetware is the fantasy answer to cybernetics. They are magicaly or scientificaly powered implants in the body. They do most of the basic things that cybernetics do. They are capable of achieving amazing things. But they are not always what they are cracked up to be:

To get an implant, you must first find a Chop Doc who will install it. Assuming the Chop Doc has the implant you want, it takes a mound of gold, hours worth of surgery, and weeks worth of recovery. If he doesn't have the implant you want, you will have to find a dealer or find some way to make the item. Once the implant is installed, the body may reject it.

If all of this goes ok, then you have a piece of wetware. The problems don't end there. There are some places and religions that shun wetware as immoral and offensive. There are people out there that will trap you and rip out the wetware to sell it on the market. The wetware also effects magic. Cleric spells heal flesh, not wetware. Wetware can also break down and cost a chunk of gold to fix again.

To many, wetware is a burden. To others, it is a way of life.

Rules for Wetware-

Installing: It costs anywhere from 800gp to 3,000gp to retain a Chop Doc for implanting. This cost is usualy rated to the Doc's equipment and skill. 800gp reprisents some back-alley Chop Doc with a garage for a lab and crude tools. Infection and foul-play run rampant here. 1,500gp reprisents Chop Docs for the nobility. They have labs built for the exact purpose of wetware and have studdied much of their lives. In game terms this breaks down into a modifier for the body to accept the wetware. A 800gp Chop Doc is a -5 to the rejection check. A 1,000gp Doc is -2. A 1,200gp Doc is with no mod. A 1,500gp Doc is a +3 mod. 1,800gp Docs give a +5. 2,500gp Docs are +10. The 3,000gp Doc serves a +13 bonus. The highest bonus a Chop Doc can give is +15.

The rejection roll: is a Fort save. The DC for the save depends on how large the implant is (this is messured in its Body Size Percent). For .05 or less BSP the DC is 15. For .06 to .15 BSP the DC is 20. For .16 to .25 BSP the DC is 27. For .26 to .50 BSP the DC is 35. Anything above .50 BSP is a massive 40 DC. It is possible to have Masterwork Wetware like any other items. The Masterwork level usualy reduces the DC level of rejection, but can also reduce the BSP or even amplify the effects of the implant itself. If the body rejects the implant, any Chop Doc will remove the implant--on the stipulation that they get to keep the Wetware. The character will get the lost BSP back, but if the implant was a specific part of the body, they have probaly lost that part forever. The DM may make rulings on if the character loses any Dexterity, Constitution, or Charisma for the sake of the lost limbs.

Body Size Percent: The body has only so much space that can be given over to wetware. There still needs to be room for organs and such. Although artificial organs can be made, the body can only take so much metal before it goes into shock. The size of wetware is measured in Body Size Percent. This basicaly is a percentage of space it takes up in a normal sized body (the BSP is expressed in a decimal percent from .01 and up). Everyone is assumed to have a body size of 1, despite their actual size. Every time the character recieves a succesful implant, subtract that implant's BSP from the character's remaining body size. The maximum amount of space wetware can take up is 75% (.25 remaining body size). If at any time a character has more than 75% of his body filled with wetware, he begins to wither and die, losing 1pt of Constitution per day. If the character reaches 0 Con, they die. Their body simply runs down and can't function any more. To stop this loss of Constitution, the character must have enough wetware removed to bring the body size back to .25. Constitution lost in this way cannot be regained (except for by the atribute increase given by levels).

Healing Magic and Wetware: Healing magic sooths and mends flesh. Wetware is not part of that flesh, and can not benefit from this kind of magic. Whenever a character with wetware is the target of a healing spell, multiply the amount of healing they are recieving by their body size. This is the actual amount of healing the character recieves. (ex: An 8pt Cure Light wounds cast on a character with a body size of .75 will get 8 * .75 = 6pts of healing.) Another type of restorative magic effected by wetware is Ressurection magics. When a player with wetware is ressurected from death they must re-roll their rejection checks for all of their wetware. At the DM's option, these checks can be at 1/2 their origional DC. This is because when the body is ressurected, it is restored to its origional working state (at least in theory; some spells are different).

Damage and Wetware: It is possible to damage wetware to the point it doesn't function. This is done by two different occasions. The first is aiming for the wetware. The DM should apply modifiers to called shots like this. The second way is through critical hits. The DM can make a roll (normaly a 25 % or 50% chance) that some or all of the crit goes to the wetware, or they can make a chart (kinda like good old Battle Tech) with a percentage chance to hit the body and each piece of wetware. In either case the damage is done both to the target's HP and the wetware's HP. Wetware has a HP value equal to its BSP multiplied by the characters HP (so a .10 BSP implant in a 20HP character would have 2 HP). When a piece of wetware loses its HP, it no longer functions. If it loses more that twice its HP, it has been blown to pieces and can not be repaired. Repairing wetware involves hunting down another Chop Doc and paying the retainment fee. Some Chop Docs will also require a time fee (usualy equal to 100 or 200gp per HP fixed).