Do I think Exotics should be in 2077. Yeah sure. You want 'borgs? Why not Exotics? As some of you have said, it really isn't part of Cyberpunk.
Really?
What about Goths? Are they Cyberpunk?
Motorcycle Gangs? Are they Cyberpunk?
What about Haykuhi Girls? Are they Cyberpunk?
In and of themselves, probably not.
But they all have something in common.
Style. Each and everyone of them has their own style. Is their own Style. With a capital 'S'.
One of the bylines of the Cyberpunk Movement is;
Style above substance.
So if I can play a character who's style in the 2077 game is a Goth, why can't I play someone who's an Exotic? As mentioned, it could be an extension of the Furries out there today. It's simply another style. Sure, it's more expensive and more permanent, but it's simply someones personal style.
Style, it's part of Cyberpunk. In a way, you could even say that Exotics live both halves of that word. Cyberpunk. Their Exotic kit is certainly the cyber half. and the style is certainly part of the Punk half. Obviously not the actual 'punk', leather and mohawk movement, but it could certainly be construed as 'sticking it to the man, to hell with blending in with all the sheep, I'm my own fucking revolutionary' type of punk.
I'm sure there is at least one or two characters in Gibson/Stephenson/Effinger/Sterling books out there with at least some cyber that has some animal traits. I just can't remember any off the top of my head atm. Cats eyes, ears, scale skin, maybe even a tail. I'm sure of it.
As for the poor, who's to say that the poor started off that way? Can't they be someone who was moderately successful in life, who's hit on hard times? Maybe they had some additional cyber, but hocked it? They may have hocked that left cyberarm (and any attachments), but they kept that right cyberleg. Helps them get away from others if need be. Hell they may even have a hidden compartment to hide some cash/drugs/kibble if the need to.
Indeed, some cyber is almost needed for every day life in the world of the PnP CP2020. You work in an office at a terminal? You'll be rocking with a neuralware processor and a Dataterm link most likely, maybe a chipware socket. And you'd then need some interface plugs.
Working a construction site? Neuralware processor and interface plugs, machine/tech link for the big dozers, maybe grafted muscle or muscle & bone lace. Or you could be rocking a cyberarm or two with some boosted options for additional strength.
Aside from the cyber arms, most of the other cyber isn't something you'd easily remove to hock if you've hit rock bottom and have to live in the gutter. As such, you'd see bums with an interface socket maybe on his wrist or behind his ear.
Back to Exotics.
An age ago, I ran a game of Cyberpunk 2020 for a group I had just joined. Most had heard of the game, but none of them had played it. One of the players made up a character, and gave him a Elf Exotic kit. As such, it was just a minor exotic kit, not all out. He also had given his character white Techhair. He had randomly rolled up his ethnicity, African-American.
He had, in essence, and totally by accident, made up a Dark Elf from D&D. I asked for each character sheet as they completed them, and this guy was the first. He had a fairly good grasp on his character and it was fairly straight forward. When I read the character sheet, I broke up laughing. Everyone stopped and asked what was so funny, including the player who made the character. I then gave it back to him and asked him to look it over, but stated there wasn't anything wrong. He gave it a bit of a look over, and started chuckling himself. He had seen the same thing I had.
I think I've told this story on here somewhere, and that he had made up a Fixer. I just realized that's wrong. He made up a Medtech. Did the Elf Exotic change his Medtech? No. Did it give him any bonuses or penalties? No. Did it change they way he played the character? Probably not, though he play it kinda on the sneaky/smarmy side. Kinda Dark Elfish. What it did do for the character was make it stand out, maybe not a leader in a flock of sheep, but certainly the black sheep in that flock. It totally established his characters style. Was he a particularly great Medtech? Not really. Did he save lives? Sometimes yes. Did he live large? Certainly not. But did he have style? He certainly did have Style (backed up by skills even from memory, unlike most of the other characters), and he had it in spades.
