The Slenderborg
So, I got bored and flipped through a couple issues of Interface and found the Call of Cthulhu crossover stuff. The tentacle arms immediately inspired me.
First I considered something like an Aquarius with tentacle arms being a neat idea, but then, I thought of something else.
Turns out, you can make a pretty convincing rendition of The Slender Man as a full conversion cyborg, using the Eclipse as a base chasis.
For anyone unfamiliar with The Slender Man (Or Slenderman, or Slendy to his friends), just look for him on the Internet, that's where he was born. but don;t say I didn;t warn you...he is made out of solid nightmares
I only fudged two things: 1) though the tentacle arm rules say nothing but rippers may be implanted, I decided that Thickened Mayomer would be possible since the tentacles would be basically independent mayomer strands, and because there are eight tentacles and only 5 blades in a ripper, I multiplied cost, HC and damage by 1.6 to come up with an 8-bladed ripper (2d6+2)
Sadly, the tentacle arm rules don't include any bonuses to grapples and holds and whatnot like the double jointed or extra twist arm options do, so I just installed those on his regular arms for the same effect. (Even though I installed 2 sets of extra joint, double-jointed, and rotating joints, I only applied the bonuses once. It would get crazy otherwise)
Essentially I took the Eclipse, removed the Stealth and Grip feet, the leg compartments, the monoblade, the venomhand, the popup gun, the tool hand, the rabbit ear, the smartlink and targeting scope. I downgraded his time square+ to regular TS, swapped his optics for a monovision visor (the borg has a visor anyway. I paid a little extra to have it blend into the blank face plate so he keeps the eyeless look. Mainly just wanted the peripheral vision bonus) and added enhanced vision.
I added a pair of extra shoulders, along with a pair of extending tentacle arms with the above mentioned expanded rippers and Thick Mayo
I added Rippers to both regular arms, along with Extension hands, Thick Mayo, and just for fun, I gave him tentacle fingers out of the same Interface issue. Extra joint, double jointed and rotating joints as well. (Came up with 4 free option spaces after removing the orginal weapons. Rippers, extendion hands, mayo and the DJ/360 joints (1/2 space each). It;s my understanding that the extra joint doesn;t take a space since you're adding to the arm and increasing its base price)
To his legs, I added Thick Mayo and Extenders
For extra horror factor, I gave him a set of powerful cyberjaws from an old Punk 21, added a little cost for stylization, figuring that when not in use they would sort of retract and blend into his blank face plate. It's only when he;s got you do you see that blank face split open, shift and extend to reveal a maw full of metal fangs.
Added both Neural bridge *and* the Ambidexterity chip to represent being able to control four arms at once.
Lvl2 Krenzikov with Boostmaster, because why not?
Echolocation processor, Olfactory Boost and extended air supply...mainly just because. I like the idea that he can hunt you in total blackness and can't be gassed
After that, it was mostly down to full borg options.
Eelskin, because it's crazy and adds damage and knockout to his attacks. Represents people passing out when they come in contact with Slendy
Reactive Plating, because being able to dodge laser guided gunfire is awesome.
Boosted his Ref and Bod to 15
EMP/Microwave Shielding, of course.
Added 5 to overall SP, and paid extra to have his body armor styled to vaguely resemble his trademark black suit, white shirt and red tie...it;s very obviously metal, but it has metal lapels, a metal tie and the right coloring. Also factored in his blank face.
Boosted MA to 20
The end result was a whopping 36d6+3 HL, and 130,500eb Plus at least 80,000eb worth of Therapy needed just to bring him to the very edge of sanity (rolled 120 for HL, got 40 points back, that puts him at -8 Emp, out of 9)
He's not the most inhuman borg package...I think he falls in behind Dragoon and Spyder, but he is crazy expensive. More than a Dragoon.
But what do you get?
The Eclipse's optical cammo, IR dam and sound canceling systems make it almost impossible to detect as it is, couple with crazy high Ref and hiding skills and you only see him when he wants you to. (Made him a 10th level covert specialist, with 10 in combat sneak, Stealth and Hide/Evade)
He's crazy fast and can leap huge distances, allowing for 'blink and he's gone, turn around and he;s closer' type stalking ability.
The ECM suite simulates how electronics, cameras and autio tend to distort and fuzz out around him.
Since he doesn't use guns, I was able to invest in martial arts, giving him Wrestling and Tae Kwon Do for a good combination of punch/kick bonuses and awesome grappling capability. (Panzerfaust lacks Hold and Choke Key Attacks, so you don't get to apply its massive damage bonus to chokes, crushes or joint breaks, and you can't learn any other MArt with it)
The extended limbs give him an incredible reach advantage.
If he gets close enough to grab you you're done.
Punch +3, Kick +3, Sweep +2, Block +2, Dodge +1 (remember, he can dodge smart/laser guided attacks), Grapple +6, Throw +3, Hold +5, Choke +3, Escape +8 (See what I mean about not doubling up those joint bonuses?)
His normal arms, the Rippers do 3d6+21 AP between bod and MArt damage bonuses, the Extended rippers for the tentacles do 4d6+20 AP, his Bite is 3d6+20 AP, Kick is 4d6+18, Crush is 4d6+10 (Bod doesn't apply but Mart does, armor doesn't protect).
Also, remember he has Eelskin, so make a Bod+Endurance roll to determine how much extra damage/how long your're stunned. Though I think he'd probably leave that system turned off unless he wants you to live, or if you're exceptionally tough. He'd rather watch you struggle.
He can strike with all four arms without penalty. If he wants to kick he can, but it's not really his style. Instead, he's going to soften you up with the rippers, if he thinks you can take it. Otherwise he'll grapple immediately, turn that into a Hold and from there just start crushing. The bite rarely actually comes into play during active combat, instead he uses that to simply inspire terror and/or mangle your corpse.
I suppose an argument could be made that if he has you in a hold, he should be able to just bite your head automatically, but that's too quick.
If the Slenderborg is after you, your only hope is some heavy-duty dumb-fire AP weapons. Maybe a heavily armed full borg with some borg level assault weapons.
Long range sniping is not an option. With the cammo system, it's -1 to Awareness for every 10m distance, in addition to the base -4 (or -2 if moving), and as I said, if you're using a smart weapon (as most snipers will) he can feel you targeting him and dodge. Since he's harder to see at range and you can;t use advanced targeting to shoot at him without him dodging it, the only kind of gunfire that will work is going to be short enough range that he can close in on you.
He's not the most practical full borg weapon system around. Dragoons are tougher, cheaper and able to carry obscene amounts of firepower....but they're also huge and unsubtle.
Slendy can telescope his limbs back to normal proportions, hide the tentacles under a suit jacket, and with the addition of a realskinned dummy facemask, at least pass for human in bad light. If you're not too concerned with people knowing he's a borg you can leave the mask off and leave him in his compact form and he'd make for an intimidating bodyguard (that then becomes nightmarish once everything unfurls). If you're sending him on a mission his stealth system will let him get very close. Between his sensory boosts and massive shadow/track skill he can hunt anyone down.
While a Dragoon can be sent to mow down squads of infantry, the Slenderborg you send when you need to send a message. A bloody, graphic, terrifying message.
When he's not being used as a hunter/killer terror device, he makes a hell of a bodyguard.
Completely unsuitable for a player character, unless it's a custom suited and extremely dark solo campaign, he'd make a hell of a boss fight if you think anyone's brave or clever enough to take him on and win. This was more of an academic project than anything. If so desired, I could post more detailed stats (A chrome style borg entry, and/or a character sheet). I might follow this up with a little short story.
So, I got bored and flipped through a couple issues of Interface and found the Call of Cthulhu crossover stuff. The tentacle arms immediately inspired me.
First I considered something like an Aquarius with tentacle arms being a neat idea, but then, I thought of something else.
Turns out, you can make a pretty convincing rendition of The Slender Man as a full conversion cyborg, using the Eclipse as a base chasis.
For anyone unfamiliar with The Slender Man (Or Slenderman, or Slendy to his friends), just look for him on the Internet, that's where he was born. but don;t say I didn;t warn you...he is made out of solid nightmares
I only fudged two things: 1) though the tentacle arm rules say nothing but rippers may be implanted, I decided that Thickened Mayomer would be possible since the tentacles would be basically independent mayomer strands, and because there are eight tentacles and only 5 blades in a ripper, I multiplied cost, HC and damage by 1.6 to come up with an 8-bladed ripper (2d6+2)
Sadly, the tentacle arm rules don't include any bonuses to grapples and holds and whatnot like the double jointed or extra twist arm options do, so I just installed those on his regular arms for the same effect. (Even though I installed 2 sets of extra joint, double-jointed, and rotating joints, I only applied the bonuses once. It would get crazy otherwise)
Essentially I took the Eclipse, removed the Stealth and Grip feet, the leg compartments, the monoblade, the venomhand, the popup gun, the tool hand, the rabbit ear, the smartlink and targeting scope. I downgraded his time square+ to regular TS, swapped his optics for a monovision visor (the borg has a visor anyway. I paid a little extra to have it blend into the blank face plate so he keeps the eyeless look. Mainly just wanted the peripheral vision bonus) and added enhanced vision.
I added a pair of extra shoulders, along with a pair of extending tentacle arms with the above mentioned expanded rippers and Thick Mayo
I added Rippers to both regular arms, along with Extension hands, Thick Mayo, and just for fun, I gave him tentacle fingers out of the same Interface issue. Extra joint, double jointed and rotating joints as well. (Came up with 4 free option spaces after removing the orginal weapons. Rippers, extendion hands, mayo and the DJ/360 joints (1/2 space each). It;s my understanding that the extra joint doesn;t take a space since you're adding to the arm and increasing its base price)
To his legs, I added Thick Mayo and Extenders
For extra horror factor, I gave him a set of powerful cyberjaws from an old Punk 21, added a little cost for stylization, figuring that when not in use they would sort of retract and blend into his blank face plate. It's only when he;s got you do you see that blank face split open, shift and extend to reveal a maw full of metal fangs.
Added both Neural bridge *and* the Ambidexterity chip to represent being able to control four arms at once.
Lvl2 Krenzikov with Boostmaster, because why not?
Echolocation processor, Olfactory Boost and extended air supply...mainly just because. I like the idea that he can hunt you in total blackness and can't be gassed
After that, it was mostly down to full borg options.
Eelskin, because it's crazy and adds damage and knockout to his attacks. Represents people passing out when they come in contact with Slendy
Reactive Plating, because being able to dodge laser guided gunfire is awesome.
Boosted his Ref and Bod to 15
EMP/Microwave Shielding, of course.
Added 5 to overall SP, and paid extra to have his body armor styled to vaguely resemble his trademark black suit, white shirt and red tie...it;s very obviously metal, but it has metal lapels, a metal tie and the right coloring. Also factored in his blank face.
Boosted MA to 20
The end result was a whopping 36d6+3 HL, and 130,500eb Plus at least 80,000eb worth of Therapy needed just to bring him to the very edge of sanity (rolled 120 for HL, got 40 points back, that puts him at -8 Emp, out of 9)
He's not the most inhuman borg package...I think he falls in behind Dragoon and Spyder, but he is crazy expensive. More than a Dragoon.
But what do you get?
The Eclipse's optical cammo, IR dam and sound canceling systems make it almost impossible to detect as it is, couple with crazy high Ref and hiding skills and you only see him when he wants you to. (Made him a 10th level covert specialist, with 10 in combat sneak, Stealth and Hide/Evade)
He's crazy fast and can leap huge distances, allowing for 'blink and he's gone, turn around and he;s closer' type stalking ability.
The ECM suite simulates how electronics, cameras and autio tend to distort and fuzz out around him.
Since he doesn't use guns, I was able to invest in martial arts, giving him Wrestling and Tae Kwon Do for a good combination of punch/kick bonuses and awesome grappling capability. (Panzerfaust lacks Hold and Choke Key Attacks, so you don't get to apply its massive damage bonus to chokes, crushes or joint breaks, and you can't learn any other MArt with it)
The extended limbs give him an incredible reach advantage.
If he gets close enough to grab you you're done.
Punch +3, Kick +3, Sweep +2, Block +2, Dodge +1 (remember, he can dodge smart/laser guided attacks), Grapple +6, Throw +3, Hold +5, Choke +3, Escape +8 (See what I mean about not doubling up those joint bonuses?)
His normal arms, the Rippers do 3d6+21 AP between bod and MArt damage bonuses, the Extended rippers for the tentacles do 4d6+20 AP, his Bite is 3d6+20 AP, Kick is 4d6+18, Crush is 4d6+10 (Bod doesn't apply but Mart does, armor doesn't protect).
Also, remember he has Eelskin, so make a Bod+Endurance roll to determine how much extra damage/how long your're stunned. Though I think he'd probably leave that system turned off unless he wants you to live, or if you're exceptionally tough. He'd rather watch you struggle.
He can strike with all four arms without penalty. If he wants to kick he can, but it's not really his style. Instead, he's going to soften you up with the rippers, if he thinks you can take it. Otherwise he'll grapple immediately, turn that into a Hold and from there just start crushing. The bite rarely actually comes into play during active combat, instead he uses that to simply inspire terror and/or mangle your corpse.
I suppose an argument could be made that if he has you in a hold, he should be able to just bite your head automatically, but that's too quick.
If the Slenderborg is after you, your only hope is some heavy-duty dumb-fire AP weapons. Maybe a heavily armed full borg with some borg level assault weapons.
Long range sniping is not an option. With the cammo system, it's -1 to Awareness for every 10m distance, in addition to the base -4 (or -2 if moving), and as I said, if you're using a smart weapon (as most snipers will) he can feel you targeting him and dodge. Since he's harder to see at range and you can;t use advanced targeting to shoot at him without him dodging it, the only kind of gunfire that will work is going to be short enough range that he can close in on you.
He's not the most practical full borg weapon system around. Dragoons are tougher, cheaper and able to carry obscene amounts of firepower....but they're also huge and unsubtle.
Slendy can telescope his limbs back to normal proportions, hide the tentacles under a suit jacket, and with the addition of a realskinned dummy facemask, at least pass for human in bad light. If you're not too concerned with people knowing he's a borg you can leave the mask off and leave him in his compact form and he'd make for an intimidating bodyguard (that then becomes nightmarish once everything unfurls). If you're sending him on a mission his stealth system will let him get very close. Between his sensory boosts and massive shadow/track skill he can hunt anyone down.
While a Dragoon can be sent to mow down squads of infantry, the Slenderborg you send when you need to send a message. A bloody, graphic, terrifying message.
When he's not being used as a hunter/killer terror device, he makes a hell of a bodyguard.
Completely unsuitable for a player character, unless it's a custom suited and extremely dark solo campaign, he'd make a hell of a boss fight if you think anyone's brave or clever enough to take him on and win. This was more of an academic project than anything. If so desired, I could post more detailed stats (A chrome style borg entry, and/or a character sheet). I might follow this up with a little short story.