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General Morph Characterisitcs

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Fri, 2013-04-26 20:54

helios1014 helios1014's picture

General Morph Characterisitcs

I failed my research check so someone may have already brought this up but what the general features that externally distinguish let's say a Menton from an exalt or a furry?

Fri, 2013-04-26 23:06

DivineWrath DivineWrath's picture

From what I understand, a

From what I understand, a Menton is a smart Exalt. It seems that the Exalt is the industry standard for new biomorphs. An aptitude max of 30, aptitude bonuses totaling at least 20, durability of 35. Very few morphs like the Remade or Fury push things much things further. From what I've noticed, apparently aptitude bonuses are given considerable weight when the costs for morphs were decided on. Between the Menton and the Exalt, the aptitude bonuses are the real difference (the price of the augmentations should barely make a blimp on the CP cost). The total bonuses for the Exalt is 20 (+5 to COG, +5 to 3 other aptitudes) while the Menton is 25 (+10 to COG, +5 to INT, +5 to WIL, +5 to any). Also, the Menton gets a +10 bonus when the Exalt gets none. Between the aptitude bonuses and the small costs of augmentations, the Menton apparently costs 10 CP more than the Exalt (again I mention that aptitudes bonuses seem to have considerable weight when determining costs). Some of the cheap podmorphs like the worker pod or pleasure pod are nearly equivalent to Exalts in stats, but are a price category cheaper. I find it interesting that a highly functional morphs (comparable to Exalts) exists that are cheaper to make than traditional biomorphs, quicker to make too, but are not desired for various reasons. The Case synthmorph appears to be quite literally a morph built around a cyberbrain. A really cheap morph built around a really cheap cyberbrain. Both the Case and a cyberbrain are priced at [Moderate]. ---- I might have more to comment on later, but I should have given you some ideas for now.

Mon, 2013-05-06 21:13

blackknight blackknight's picture

visually/physically?

I assumed this question was about what distinguishes them visually/physically from each other, not game mechanics, correct OP?

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Mon, 2013-05-06 21:51

helios1014 helios1014's picture

@blackknight

Hit the nail on the head.

Mon, 2013-05-06 23:45

atamajakki atamajakki's picture

They're all basically humans

They're all basically humans with a few differences. An Olympian probably just looks like, well, and Olympic athlete. A Fury would look like a trained soldier with strong muscle mass and bulging veins. A Menton would have an enlarged cranium. So on and so forth. A lot of morphs are just humans with internal tweaks.

Tue, 2013-05-07 02:00

OneTrikPony OneTrikPony's picture

Probably no bulging veins on

Probably no bulging veins on the Fury; Bioweave armored skin. I've often thought that morph's with extreme stats might have some visual cues. Fury has double the normal amount of DUR aside from it's armor. That might be seen in it's bone structure or something but maybe there's just no indications and the Fury's toughness is a multitude of modifications on a small scale. It could be that all Olympians have more muscle mass than normal but that SOM bonus isn't as simple as strength. Being a Menton doesn't necessarily mean having a macrocephalic head. Probably the only biomorphs with obvious diferences from the norm are those that are specifically mentioned as such, like the Remade and the Bouncer. On the other hand, I've often thought that corporate branding might be the identifying key of a morph. Corporations Love to see thier brand on the streets and corporate brands become status symbols among the populous. It might be that it's easier to tell the difference between two exalts made by Skinaethesea and Skinthetic than it is to tell the difference between an exalt and a menton made by the same company.

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Mea Culpa: My mode of speech can make others feel uninvited to argue or participate. This is the EXACT opposite of what I intend when I post.

Tue, 2013-05-07 03:41

Smokeskin

OneTrikPony wrote:

OneTrikPony wrote:
I've often thought that morph's with extreme stats might have some visual cues. Fury has double the normal amount of DUR aside from it's armor. That might be seen in it's bone structure or something but maybe there's just no indications and the Fury's toughness is a multitude of modifications on a small scale.

A real DUR advantage would require upgrades and redundancy to the circulatory system. Aside from hits to the central nervous system and the even more rare pneumothorax, what typically takes people out is low blood pressure due to blood loss.

Tue, 2013-05-07 04:59

Decivre

OneTrikPony wrote:On the

OneTrikPony wrote:
On the other hand, I've often thought that corporate branding might be the identifying key of a morph. Corporations Love to see thier brand on the streets and corporate brands become status symbols among the populous. It might be that it's easier to tell the difference between two exalts made by Skinaethesea and Skinthetic than it is to tell the difference between an exalt and a menton made by the same company.

An interesting point to make. Maybe the only way most people can really tell that you're sleeved in a fury is from the distinctive winged woman emblem on its shoulder. Much like how modern cars are primarily known by their logos and whatnot. As another thing to consider, perhaps there are a select number of body designs that go with a specific morph model. To spot a fury in the crowd, you just have to look for the 20 facial or body templates that furies are made with, and rarely do they have any other look (those are custom).

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Transhumans will one day be the Luddites of the posthuman age. [url=http://bit.ly/2p3wk7c]Help me get my gaming fix, if you want.[/url]

Tue, 2013-05-07 07:04

OneTrikPony OneTrikPony's picture

Smokeskin wrote:A real DUR

Smokeskin wrote:
A real DUR advantage would require upgrades and redundancy to the circulatory system. Aside from hits to the central nervous system and the even more rare pneumothorax, what typically takes people out is low blood pressure due to blood loss.

Yep, that's what I'm thinking, Redundancy and fail safe is the only way a protein based morph is going to compete with a synth for durability. There are hundreds of ways to ruggedize a biomorph and most of them are internal. I know the books kind of highlight radical morphology but I really don't expect that to be the case and I, personally play down that aspect of the game. Prehensile feet and wings are about as radical as I think biomorphs should be because those things have great utility. If a Remade gets the uncanny valley trait I think that means other bio morphs will be pretty normal on the outside. For the most part I think corporate morph design will work something like the automotive industry with each company's models having a theme over successive model years. But, more like the fashion industry, only the low end models will actually be 'badged'. At the high end the burning question will still be "Who are you wearing this season?"

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Mea Culpa: My mode of speech can make others feel uninvited to argue or participate. This is the EXACT opposite of what I intend when I post.

Tue, 2013-05-07 10:22

#10

blackknight blackknight's picture

I do prefer the idea that

I do prefer the idea that most morphs are fairly normal looking (though, I do think with the proper Interest or other related skill, you can pick out standard looks/templates), but I do seem to remember the Menton specifically being mentioned as having an enlarged cranium...or am I just imagining that on my own?

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Tue, 2013-05-07 23:12

#11

Lysus

I just flipped through my

I just flipped through my core rulebook. The only mention I see of enlarged craniums is for Remades. I was thinking the same feature may have applied to Mentons just like you.