Getting my first in-depth look into the morph creation rules and the first question got me thinking.
I have this thought in my head that there is a morph that specifically stated that it was made a pod because the tech necessary for it wasn't yet there to create it as a biomorph.
That lead me to the following host of questions:
So, do biological morphs or pods have boundaries with the current EP tech? Would it be impossible for a genehacker to create something exotic like the Synthtaur as a biomorph? Are pods the way to go for the enterprising genehacker if a biological body couldn't sustain a design, basically reinforcing the morph? What is the purpose of the googles? If meathab is a thing, why can't my biological Nautiloid not be a thing?
Would love to hear the thoughts of the community about these questions?
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Boundaries of Morph types
Tue, 2015-08-25 20:42
#1
GreyBrother
Boundaries of Morph types
Wed, 2015-08-26 00:59
#2
Trappedinwikipedia
There are some really crazy
There are some really crazy biomorphs, such as the Ariel and Cloud Skate. Pods seem to be required when interfacing with alien biology, such as the Scurrier and Whiplash. It also seems that most serious transgenic morphs need to be built with pod-style gaps between different species, or at least, that they typically are made that way.
Generically I think that most pod capabilities could be replicated as biomorphs (except maybe running a transhuman on a completely alien nervous system) but it's a lot harder to make everything work. I'd expect pods would be better for avant-garde genehacking, while the success stories from that are known to be worth the development time and effort.
I'm not sure that all of the shape adjusting tricks a Synthtaur can pull off can be replicated, as a lot of joints would need huge reconfiguration. But Fortean is supposed to have made a centaur pod at least, and that could probably be made into a full biomorph with more effort.
I don't know the purpose of the googles.
A biological nautiloid could be made, but would lack some of the features of a synthmorph version. Internal rockets are robotic only so it wouldn't be as spaceworthy (a plasma sail or similar to could partially replicate this power, but it wouldn't be an interface craft) and it couldn't dive as deep, as pressure adaptions aren't as powerful for biomorphs. It would also probably be more difficult to enter and exit. Then it's just really hard to design something that transgenic and different from most lifeforms.
Wed, 2015-08-26 03:23
#3
DivineWrath
The morph creation rules in
The morph creation rules in the Transhuman book has many flaws, some are more easier to notice than others. Be aware that there might be problems when making morphs. For instance, step 12 adds clanking masses if your morph is less than 20 cp, but you can ignore it if it is worth more than 20 cp, leaving morphs costing 20 cp exactly in limbo. Likewise, you are given the option to get the social stigma trait if your morph is worth more than 20 cp, but doing so requires you to recalculate the costs of your morph and may in fact drop your morph's cp cost to the point where it no longer qualifies for this option. Another example, the rules don't cover neutral traits like alien biochemistry.
Also note that there do exist morphs that are exceptions to the rules. Flats and Infomorphs cost 0 cp, yet the rules would say that have to cost 5 cp minimum. The Novacrap is a podmorph with the social stigma (pods). No Flexbot has social stigma (clanking masses), this means the cheap ones. The Hyperbright morph has 35 aptitude bonus points (the limit is 30). So if you see a problem, don't be afraid to house rule around it.
Anyways, to answer your specific questions:
-Can you make a centaur biomorph? Probably. I don't think anyone has done it yet (no such morph is listed). I don't think you could make one over night either. They are still trying to figure out how to make uplift cats and dogs.
-Are pods the way to go for enterprising genehackers? I don't claim to know a whole lot about pods, but it does seem to be much easier and faster to make pods than full biomorphs. At the very least, you get to start testing pods sooner than biomorphs.
-What is the purpose of the googles? I can't figure out what you are referring to. Could you rephrase the question and/or give a book and a page number?
-If meathab is a thing, why can't my biological Nautiloid not be a thing? It could be a thing but I would rather have it be synthetic than organic. A number of a robotic only augments would have to dropped in order to make such thing. Also biomorphs could not get armor as strong as what the nautiliod uses (the nautiliod is 20/20, while carapace armor is 11/11).
Wed, 2015-08-26 10:28
#4
GreyBrother
Thanks for the information so
Thanks for the information so far.
I think the reason we don't see a regular biological or synthetic centaur morph is that they wouldn't be viable for most humanoid-built habitats. From the Synttaurs description, they are mostly favored for gatecrashing or remote areas, so that makes sense.
I haven't yet looked into too much detail of the morph creation rules, i'm just starting to dabble in them, but of course, adjusting the CP costs should be a given with most creation rules.
But both of you have provided some great input and helped me around the border. I'm going with what i need in my setting.