gomiville

Unfortunately, I lost my original creation data when my computer crashed, but here's the fluff writeup.  If anyone wants to re-create this thing, it's designed using Max Met rules: a pickup with enough SDP to give it 18 spaces, 9 free spaces in the end and a speed somewhere around 80mph.

For rules concerning carrying one vehicle inside another (the M-27 inside a V-22), google for 'Maximum Metal addenda' on the R. Tal site.  A vehicle takes up its own spaces plus ten in cargo space.  Therefore, an Osprey has 28 spaces in its cargo bay, so the M-27 is 18 spaces total.

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General Dynamics M-27 MATAC (Modular All-Terrain Airmobile Cargo)

A military light utility truck, the M-27 had three primary design specifications: 1) off-road and all-terrain capable, 2) amphibious and able to float, and 3) airmobile and capable of fitting in the cargo bay of a V-22 Osprey.  The M-27 succeeds in all regards.  

Looking like the midget offspring of a Unimog and “Deuce-and-a-half,” the M-27 has a cab-over design front and a flatbed back with side-rails and canvas top.  While markedly wider, the M27 is slightly larger than a standard pickup in all other dimensions.  Called “ugly” by many, the M-27 has the sparse style common to many utilitarian pieces of military equipment.

As with the Unimog, 2.5 ton truck, jeep and hummer, the M-27 is built to be rugged and adaptable.  Using as many mechanical systems as possible, the M-27 is repairable using a small collection of common tools, which can be easily stored in a lockbox behind the driver and passenger seats.  Its engine is designed to operate on a variety of fuels, from CHOOH2 to diesel to AV gas, if required, allowing the M-27 to operate almost without regard for supply lines or shortages.

Not designed for front-line combat, the M-27 has minimal armor (SP20) and a ring mount for a medium or light machine gun on a hatch over the passenger seat.  There’s space for extra ammunition boxes in the main cab.  Also equipped with high powered halogen lights, a military navigation and auto-drive system, and an under-the-dash radio communication system, the M-27 is capable of basic operations in potentially hostile environments.  Combined with its high mobility design, the M-27 can perform anywhere the military needs it.

In its original configuration, the M-27 is designed for cargo and personnel transport, capable of carrying either one ton of cargo or ten troops in the flatbed.  However, as with many similar vehicles in the past, the M-27 has been modified into a variety of other configurations:

- Mortar carrier, with a pair of either 81mm or 120mm mortars in an articulated mount in the flatbed

- Air defense, with a rack of six or eight SAMs in an articulated mount with integral radar

- Quad-40, with four 40mm AGLs in a high traverse turret capable of direct, anti-air or indirect fire

- Command and control, with communications, sensors and computers for analysts in a hard shell back

- Maintenance, with a light crane, exo-frame storage and tools (air compressor, oxy-acetylene torch, etc)

- Rocket artillery, with an articulated open rack of 40 2.75" rockets or 30 3.5" rockets

- Recoilless rifle, with a 105mm recoilless rifle in an rotating open mount

- Drone control, with communications and control decks for eight drone pilots in a hard shell back

Many other configurations are possible, limited only by the relatively small space in the rear flatbed and the vehicle’s low probability of survival in a direct combat situation.  Used often by airmobile forces, the M-27 is tasked with close support operations, utilizing Osprey transportation to get close to the front, then its own power to stay out of danger but close to the troops.

And introducing the General Dynamics “Mattock” off-road vehicle!

Following the traditions of the Willys Jeep and HMMV, the M-27 MATAC has now been released in a civilian version.  The Mattock is based on the same chassis as its military cousin, but with a few extras to please the discerning civilian customer.

Since its introduction with the military fifteen years ago, the M-27 has seen increased usage in both the nomad and edgerunner communities, as surplus vehicles are sold at auction or appropriated from military bases.  These users value the M-27's mobility, toughness and modular design.

As nomad and edgerunner style has become popular among the general population, the Mattock was released to provide consumers with the same vehicle, plus a few amenities to make it civilized.  Most obviously, the Mattock is available in a variety of color schemes beyond the traditional olive drab, khaki or black, including Fire Red, Ever Green, Gold Dust and Navy Blue.  Interior style and upholstery have also been upgraded, available with either the original canvas seats or plush leather in a variety of tones and styles.  The electronics have been upgraded as well, with a high grade civilian navigation and auto-drive system, a five speaker stereo system with 20 chip changer, and built-in cellular hookups for phones, computers or cyberdecks.  The halogen lights of the M-27 have been kept for the Mattock, giving it that no nonsense military look and feel.  The armor has been reduced to a respectable level (10SP) that’s cheaper for the consumer, but still combat tough.  The ring mount has been removed, though the hatch above the passenger seat is still there on the Mattock.

Released two years ago, the Mattock has shown modest, but profitable, sales among the suburban middle class and urban new money.  Ad campaigns have been updated with each major military conflict, leveraging the free publicity news broadcasts provide.  The Mattock is tough, rugged and here to stay!

I see the IPC as something like the mob of gangers at the end of Robocop 3, no training except for "This dangly thing is the trigger, and those guys over there are the enemy."  A cyberpunk vision of human wave attacks.

In the hellish penal system of 2020, the IPC might be a desirable alternative.  I don't have it here, but towards the back of Protect & Serve, they describe the prison system of 2020: mostly solitary, robots for guards, little or no human interaction, long sessions in braindance.  Not the nicest place (not that prison today is like summer camp), so volunteering for combat might not be so bad, if the full truth isn't widely known.  Show the inmates stirring recruiting films of comraderie, three-hots-and-a-cot, heroism and rewards.  Beam it into their cells four times a day.  Show well endowed women in skimpy versions of IPC uniforms firing fully automatic weapons that make things jiggle.  Play up the carrot as much as possible and let the prison they're already in be the stick.

As for the cost of training, there's little or none.  Most inmates probably know how to use a weapon, regardless of whether they're accurate.  Basic concepts of cover are learned on the street, as are skills in hand-to-hand.  These guys aren't GIs, but throw a hundred or so against an opponent and they can provide a most effective diversion on the cheap.

The best and brightest survive, possibly gaining more skill than a standard soldier, since they have to survive nearly impossible missions.  These best and brightest could be consolidated into elite units that can actually do something beyond charge, expend ammunition and die.  

Of course, once these guys get out of prison, they'll be dangerous, but who would really expect them to live that long?  So what if that guy on parole has a thing for the warden and is fully skilled in using a Militech Rocket-Launcher-O'-Doom?  They're cheap now and the bottom line is king.

I wouldn't use the IPC in my gameworld, but they're not that far fetched, I think.  They might be more believable as "draftees" in times of war, a way to quickly bulk up the forces and soak up bullets meant for the actually trained troops.

Actually, Cabrini Green has not been torn down.  I live three or four miles from it and drive by it at least once a week or more.

The interesting thing are the ritzy condos being built across the street from Cabrini Green.  Cyberpunk is alive and well: the haves and have-nots separated by nothing more than a street and expensive security systems.

I've had this discussion so many times with people, there's really no way to answer it completely that I've seen.

One of my favorites defines the literary genre as "post-modern science fiction."  I just like that definition because it ignores all the cyber, fight-against-the-Man, near future stuff.

I can't think of anything that's "pure cyberpunk," therefore I can't define it.  "Neuromancer" is a cyberpunk heist story, since not all cyberpunk has criminals breaking in and stealing something.  "The Matrix" is a cyberpunk superhero story, since not all cyberpunk has people gaining incredible powers over all those around them ("Matrix" is a larger discussion all on its own, really).  "Bladerunner" is cyberpunk noir, since not all cyberpunk is set in rainy urban locales.  "Snow Crash" is cyberpunk *something*, since not all cyberpunk has fully immersive VR and samurai pizza delivery hackers (one of the coolest characters in literature in a long time, I think).

However, I think all these books and movies are cyberpunk.  So look at the common threads.  All these stories have romance (Case and Molly, Trinity and Neo, Deckard and Rachel, Hiro and Juanita or YT and Raven), but cyberpunk isn't romance.  They all have some form of violence, but cyberpunk isn't action.  They all have the main character seeking the answer to some "Truth," but cyberpunk isn't mystery (though the way they seek the truth is in some ways unique, more on this later).

There's no hacking/netrunning in "Bladerunner."  There're no cybernetics/bioware in "Snow Crash" (though the Raft antennas are close).  "The Matrix" isn't *near* future (and some other cyberpunk is in the past, see "The Difference Engine" for a fairly cyberpunk story set in the 19th century).  There's no rebellion against the Man in either "Neuromancer" or "Bladerunner."

Kinda saps all definitions, huh?

My personal definition is that all cyberpunk has an intellectual as hero, someone who uses their brain over their brawn.  Tricksters, hackers, etc.  Cyberpunk is about information as power, the brain as the ultimate weapon.  The omnipresent concept of computer hacking is only an extension of this idea, nothing more than a metaphor.

Then there are the "Common Elements" that most cyberpunk has, but *aren't* required: cybernetics, near future, rebellion against the Man, conflicted anti-heros, rampant technology, the 'net/matrix/metaverse, gritty realism, corporate rule and "globalism" (like characters smoking French cigarettes and carrying Chinese copies of German weapons while using a Japanese computer).  I'm sure I could think of more "Common Elements" but that's enough for you to get the idea, I think.

Take the intellectual hero, mix in three or four of the "Common Elements" and write/direct it with the right intent, and I think you'd end up with a book/movie that most people would consider cyberpunk.

Best attempt at a definition I think I can give.

Quasi-EMP weapons are far more likely to be targetted, I think.  Like the Volt Pistol, a series of coherent charged particles, but probably much larger than a pistol.  *Maybe* the size of a battle rifle, more likely autocannon sized.  However, since this is basically channeled lightening, your opponent could defeat it by cross-charging their armor (positive to positive, negative to negative), thereby repulsing your "shot."  Sufficiently grounded armor, or a sacrificial "lightening rod" would also be effective defenses.

If you could make the mechanism survive the pulse, you might be able to channel the EMP through a magnetic "barrel."  However it would lose coherency as soon as it leaves the barrel, more like an EMP shotgun than a rifle.  I'm pretty sure a Faraday cage would protect against all but the most massive pulses too.

The power consumption for these devices would be huge too, effectively making them single shot.  Massive capacitor loads could work, but powering the capacitors quickly and safely would take some doing.

With either of these systems, bigger is badder.  A small EMP pulse can be next to useless, being absorbed by the capacitors and resistors built into the target circuitry (these things don't blow in the vagaries of the Earth's magnetic fields, after all).  Similarly with a "lightening gun," requiring mega-amps to do real damage.  And, in power generation, bigger is usually more powerful.  Therefore, to be effective, these weapons would probably be fairly large.  Of course, 2020 technology could reduce this somewhat.

Physical projectiles are just sooo much easier.

I've got all of the R. Tal books, all the Atlas books and about half of the Ianus books (kinda itchin' for the rest of them).  Recommend Ianus especially: 'Dark Metropolis' gave me some great ideas for expanding my character creation rules.  And I still want 'Night's Edge,' even though I don't believe in vampires in my CP2020 universe.

Let's hear it for eBay.  If you wait long enough, something will be put up for auction.  And if you're really patient and wait for just the right auction, you can even get things fairly cheap.

While it's true that the best info comes out of the players' and GM's heads, there's nothing wrong with wanting all the books.  Some of them have nifty bits and pieces here and there.  Some provide inspiration for your own ideas.  Some can be used as examples to normalize your own ideas with the game world (comparing prices for example).  And some are just great examples of how something can be done badly.

And then, of course, there's the collecting bug.  I have a lot of sharp objects and complete collections of a couple authors' works for the same reason.

LOL

*POP*

"Oof!  D@mn!  My eye came out again.  Wow, look at all the dustbunnies.  I really should sweep under there more often."

I've always prefered the idea of smartgoggles over cyberoptics, so I've created a few variants.  Also added similar audio systems.

Enhanced Smartgoggles - 300eb

These extra-large factor goggles hold 6 options, similar to the Bug Eye cyberoptic system.  In all other respects they are identical to standard Smartgoggles, with a smartgun system for targeting scope use and options costing 10% less.

Third Eye Smartgoggles - 350eb

Similar to standard Smartgoggles but with a "third eye" optic mount above and between the eyes.  This optic, identical to the other goggle lenses, can hold 4 more options, bringing the goggle total to 8.  However, this third optic acts like a third cyberoptic and can only be accessed by command.  This means that some systems, like the interferometry system, cannot be used, since they require a pair of optics.  Also, the options mounted in this optic are not "always on," only active when the user switches from the standard pair to the third eye.  Since all vision is then sent through one optic, there’s no depth perception (-2 Awareness and Athletics with regard to balance, catching, etc).  Typically, users will mount systems like Tele-optics in the third eye, switching to it only for long range observation, then switching back for normal action.  All options are -10% cost as usual, and must be specified whether they are in the standard lenses or the third eye.

Cyberplugs - 250eb [Originally of Information Overload 2 by Dan Bailey, with adjustment so options cost -10%, quoted here for reference]

Now you can get compact cyberaudio systems without the empathy damage or the surgery! New Cyberplugs from Dakashi Sound Systems can hold any two cyberaudio options inside them! They're compact, easy, and comfortable! Game notes: Holds any two cyberaudio options (which must still be paid for on top of the cost of the plugs, at -10% cost).

Smartphones - 375eb

Smartgoggles for your ears! A set of headphones able to hold 4 cyberaudio options (-10% cost).  Resembles mid-sized hearing protection headphones.

Plus a few mass-produced, pre-configured versions.

"Clubber" Cyberplugs - 525eb

Includes: Level Damper and Sound Editing.  Cost is lower than sum of components due to mass production.  Popular with club or bar employees, makes hearing talking and drink orders easier over the loud music/band/barfight.

"Viper" Smartshades - 500eb

Includes: AntiDazzle and LowLite.  Cost is much lower than sum of components due to extreme mass production.  A ubiquitous, mass marketed version of smartshades that allow you to see in the brightest light of day and the darkest corner of the bar with equal clarity and without losing that uber-cool mirrorshade style.

"Trooper" Smartgoggles - 800eb

Includes: AntiDazzle, LowLite, Targeting Scope and Thermograph.  Cost is lower than sum of components due to mass production.  An example of a common smartgoggle configuration issued to soldiers and paramilitary types.

"Dramatic License Inside" - Ad campaign for vaporware.

"Minority Report's" concept was pretty cool, though I imagine it would take quite a few of those cute remotes to do the job quickly.  Somewhere in the order of a few hundred, I think.  But as a "flying wedge" in front of the sweep team, it would require fewer remotes.  Could be cool.  I like little remotes like that as static defense, three or four unit clusters mounted in ceilings in corporate towers, ready to drop down and swarm in case of intrusion.

Although the motion tracker from "Aliens" is a little farfetched, how close could we get with infrasound, centimeter or millimeter wave radar, thermographics, etc?  Doesn't have to have the greatest range.  

I'm just thinking of a team of four or five people, jogging down a hallway, carbines front and back and at the ready, one guy in the pack carrying a little device saying: "Movement detected.  10 meters, 2 o'clock.  Jones, breech that door."  Maybe a robohound trotting ahead of them to take point and soak up bullets.

Especially thick walls would probably defeat it.  Or solid metal, or excessive clutter (sensor penetration inversely related to material SDP?).  But under most conditions, through typical building materials, it'd have a range of about 50m.

I dunno.  Just pondering the concept and throwing it out to the more physics/engineering capable.

OK, so I was watching a bit of "Aliens" last night and thinking about a game thing I'm working on.

In Chrome 4, there's the Wutani Motion Tracker, a lunchbox sized device that detects movement out to 1km.  I don't have the book here, but I think it says it uses IR and lasers (therefore, it can't see through walls).

In "Aliens," they've got this truly nifty gadget that allows them to detect the aliens' motion, even through the walls.

Now, I've been thinking about sweeping teams for the game: paramilitary teams that can sweep through urban environments (slums, office buildings, arcologies), either looking for people or making sure they're clear.  The kind of team you'd send into a facility after you lose contact with it after a corporate hit.  Or, the kind of team you'd send into a slum to find an errant employee.  A paramilitary search and retrieval team.

One thing they'd really need is a motion detector effective through obstacles (walls, rubble, barricading piles of office furniture).  The Wutani box seems like it wouldn't work for this purpose.  So, what would you suggest?

I tried making a robohound with radar, seismic detectors, sniffers/olfactory sensors and uber-hearing, all linked through a Militech Cyber-Detection Computer (also Chrome 4).  A nice scouting dog with impressive environmental awareness.  But it's expensive and I love the idea of a handheld gadget.

Thoughts?

So, basically, a .44 Shooter is a recursive revolver?  I imagine it's larger than a pistol.

Do you have any links about this?  Sounds interesting, in an obscure weapon design kind of way.

Because they make such pretty banging noises?  

I have no real world experience with this, but I imagine an autoshotgun loaded with specialist loads might be more useful than one loaded with shot or slugs.

For example, loaded with smoke, flash-bang or other type shells, an autoshotgun acts like a mini-autoGL.  You could saturate an area with non-lethal (or lethal) gases, flares, etc.  With HE shells, you could walk a line of explosives along a wall or row of vehicles, dealing mass destruction in a (relatively) man-portable frame.

The weight and loss of accuracy makes the Arasaka Rapid 12 (and others, like the Militech Bulldog, etc) less useful than an SMG, carbine or regular shotgun for CQB purposes, true.  But as a Diverse-Munitions-Delivery-System, it could be very useful.  Especially in the more destructive or non-lethal types of situations.

Of course, the mini-autoGL sector has already been filled more effectively with the 25mm AGLs from Militech, etc.  But the autoshotgun can also use all the typical shotgun shells (slug, shot, flechette, etc), making it more flexible and adaptable.

In short, a jack of all trades and master of none.

In game terms, I'd probably reduce the availability (and thereby raise the price, etc), due to relatively fewer autoshotguns being made than regular shotguns.  A regular shotgun is more useful for CQB and a 25mm AGL is more useful for specialist munitions, so most people would probably buy one of each.  But the ganger's like the big booming intimidation factor and some people need a multi-purpose weapon, so a few autoshotguns are made.

Your english sounded fine to me, but then my friends have joked I speak a high-speed dialect of gibberish when I'm excited.

If you are from Lithuania, that's very cool.  My father's father was Lithuanian and we know next to nothing of that branch (my grandparents divorced then my grandfather died when my father was very young), so I'm always curious to meet someone from that neck of the woods.

Welcome to the board!

I'm always impressed by how far afield this game has gone.  England, Finland, Lithuania.  And yet so few people in its country of origin (America) have heard of it.  A diverse sub-culture.

Actually, I think globalization (or something) has already spread "marginalized" music to the rest of the world.  I know of quite a few clubs that play bhangra mixed in with "regular" techno.  World music, while less a product now than five years or so ago, is still a big thing.

I think it flows both ways.  As much as "western" music (and movies, culture, etc) spreads throughout the world, "their" music (etc etc) spreads back.  The result is a mixing of style and aesthetics, sometimes for the better, sometimes for worse.

We won't see a homogeneous global culture, it's just not going to happen.  There are too many ethnic groups with their own culture that go back too many years.  We will see blending, I think, and new cultures emerge as old ones die, but there will always be many different cultures throughout the world, leading to different music, movies, etc.

Also, in my vision of 2020, it's not *just* for money.  I see CP2020 as a more high-tech, cut throat, faster version of today.  As much as there are "starving artists" today (they still exist, they just have $hit day jobs), there will be ones tomorrow.

Maybe I've got a bit too much of the Gibsonian globalist in me, but  I think Malek is right and "fusion" will be the rule.  The global stretch of the 'net, the cultural expansion of ultra fast sub-orbital transit and the prevelance of technology will let anyone anywhere hear any kind of music and create it in kind.

North African and W. Middle Eastern traditional fused with trance (just the thing for the fixer doing a deal over a hookah).  Indian fused with techno (we already have this, it's called bhangra).  Central Asian fused with country western (Tuvan throat singing on the range?).  Australian Aboriginal rock & roll (see some of Yothu Yindi's stuff).

When instruments and equipment become miniature, ultra portable and even implantable, anyone can play music.  I think this'll lead to a lot of junk (even 10,000 cyber-chimps don't produce Shakespeare), and the record companies will keep releasing over-produced schlock (dear God, when will boy bands die?!).

However, the independent types will keep producing interesting music, but it'll be better made and better recorded on better equipment and distributed worldwide (even more reason for the Netrunner to work with the Rockerboy, no?).  

So, Joe Schmoe in Wichita, Kansas will be a fan of a Tuvan country band that sings about the evils of corporate greed, all without leaving the comfort of his stacked coffin highrise.

Another thought: what will the 'net produce in CP2020?  Consider blogging, a cultural/"artistic" phenomenon that has grown out of the web.  The web is a text medium, largely, so blogging makes sense.  But with the immersive, multi-media 'net of 2020, you're no longer limited to just text.  Will there be collaborative, organic, emergent music?

Alright, it's the classic, drummed-into-the-ground, flagellating-the-deceased-equine question: What's your favorite weapon, in the game?  However, here's the stipulation, limit your responses to the exotic section of the boom-boom catalogue.

Maybe a stupid question, but my curiosity was piqued by a conversation the other night.  Of all the weird stuff (net launchers, squirt guns, flashlight sized flame throwers), what is most effective?  Most versatile?  In your opinion.

Oh, and probably leave out the EMP stuff, since I imagine it'd be too popular.

You're walking into a dark warehouse to meet Jimmy Half-ear the fixer, what're you packin'?

I'd have to look it up, but I'm pretty sure I've read of captive piston designs for pistol calibers.  I think most of them were done by the KGB and some might have been done by the OSS in the closing days of WWII.

For example, I'm remembering reading somewhere (or maybe I saw it on the History Channel) about an OSS captive piston device meant for .45 handguns.  It was a bolt that was shoved down the barrel with an arrow-type head that protruded from the muzzle.  A .45 round was back by the pin, which, when fired, slammed forward within the bolt and carried it forward out of the gun.  Only effective out to a few meters, but a silent way to kill a Nazi sentry.

The KGB designs were more typical pistol rounds, I believe.  Like 9mm rounds, but in a Soviet caliber.

Alright, slow day at work...

Here're some pistol calibers, adjusted for subsonic, using data from the Firearms Index and a maximum bullet velocity of 1100 fps (speed of sound at sea level is 1116 fps, so maybe I'm cutting it a touch close).

Some pistol rounds are already subsonic, like the .45 ACP, so damage doesn't change (just accuracy, etc from the suppressor).

9mm: 2D6+1 (Typically a subsonic round anyway)

10mm, .357, .44: 2D6+2

11mm, 12mm: 2D6+3 (Guessing bullet mass and using 1100fps)

.454 Casull: 2D6+3

14mm: 3D6 (Guessing bullet mass and using 1100fps)

Not to keep responding to every response in this topic, but...

I actually ran a series of suppressed rounds through 3G3 this morning, psychophipps, using suppressed rifle cartridge data from the Firearms Index.

(I'm assuming it's relatively accurate info)

(I also modify 3G3 rules slightly by comparing the info to known 3G3/CP2020 values and adjusting, thereby hopefully making for more accurate conversion from 3G3 to CP2020.)

.22 Subsonic Sniper: 1D6+2 (Oddly higher than supersonic .22 in CP2020, consider it closer to a 5.56mm rifle round I guess)

9x39mm Russian Silent: 2D6+2 (Fairly close to 9mm Long in CP2020 terms)

6.5mm Whisper and 7mm Whisper: 2D6+3

.375 Whisper: 3D6

.300 Whisper and .338 Whisper: 3D6+1

.500 Whisper and .510 Whisper: 4D6+2 or 2D10+5

Granted, these are all rifle rounds, so no good for pistols and SMGs (maybe I'll calculate those later), but it'll cover all the major CP2020 rifle rounds (5.56mm, 6.5mm, 7mm, 7.62mm, 12.7mm).

Ok, Public, why isn't it silent, exactly?  

I've fired CO2 guns of various types (pellet/BB, paint, etc) to know the "fft" sound, and handled enough pneumatic hardware (nailguns, impact wrenches, etc) to know the sound of internal mechanism (I imagine the clacking is somehow similar).

If it's the sound of the round traveling through the air, how loud can that be, once it's subsonic?  Is it similar to, but louder than, the noise a stick/staff would make, whipped through the air?  I know the sound a whip makes as the tip goes supersonic, so it's got to be quieter than that.

Just trying to imagine the sound, for curiousity's sake.

Also, vaguely in line with the topic: does anyone have rules for subsonic ammo?  Something like -2D6 or SP*2 and Pen*1?  Also, it is possible to have armor piercing subsonic ammunition?

That box sounds sort of like the briefcase conversion in Stormfront (or any "briefcase SMG" from movies and books, or the actual HK MP-5K version).  I can just see a pair of suited, sunglassed solos with "briefcases-o'-death," looking like Joe from accounting, calmly walking out of a crowd and silently mowing down the target.

Also, given advances in materials, wouldn't it be possible to lubricate and "pad" the action of the weapon to quiet it, without bulky insulation?  Consider coating all the moving parts in "Super Teflon" and padding striking surfaces with "Super Nylon Plastic."  Instead of hard clicks or scratches of metal hitting metal, there'd be soft thuds of plastic on plastic and whispers of teflon against teflon.  Add a layer of baffles inside the casing, a 2020-era suppressor on the front and subsonic ammo in the clip, and you have a weapon that barely makes *any* noise beyond a "whoosh" as the round leaves the barrel.  All you'd hear are the bullet impacts (which are roughly equivalent to a fist impact, yes?  I've never heard myself), with a weapon not much bulkier than normal.

Kind of makes covert combat a surreal experience in 2020, I'd imagine, no sound beyond the thud of bullets and the groans of the hit.

I'm pretty sure I've seen complaints somewhere about this part of Interlock.

John Chemist (INT 6, Chemistry 3) is trying to do the same thing as Sally Genius (INT 10, Chemistry 0).  According to Interlock, Sally is 10% more likely to succeed than John, without having any knowledge of chemistry.

While I think that it is possible for an extremely high attribute person to match someone with more training (making up the difference with amazing intuitive leaps or greater brute force or whatever), it seems that at least some training should be needed.

By these rules, a hyped up borg doesn't need to have *any* weapon skills, REF 15 would beat most people, even well trained ones.  It would require an Olympic grade individual (REF 10) with better than military weapons training (weapon skill > 5) to exceed a completely untrained, reflex-boosted 'borg.

So, I'm wondering, should there be a penalty (say -3 or -5) to attempting a task without having the requisite skill?  Is this penalty already in the system and I just missed it?

I was thinking this morning: would a caseless weapon be more effective than cased when silenced?

I seem to remember that the noise from a silenced weapon (pistol or smg) is mostly the slide and mechanics of the weapon, once a suppressor is attached to the barrel and subsonic ammo is used.  I also remember reading that Vietnam-era "hush puppies" (silenced .22s) had a locking slide, to further reduce the sound of the weapon.

So, since a caseless weapon wouldn't have an external slide and ejection port, would it be quieter when silenced?

I guess you could even custom design a caseless weapon to be silenced by adding baffling or other sonic insulation around the chamber, quieting the action and further reducing the report of the bullet.

Given the prevelance of caseless in CP2020 and the need for black-ops weapons, I'm wondering if this isn't a perfect match.

Well, I have no experience with Marvel's game system, but a few thoughts.

You could set the super-hero attribute limits to that of a full borg.  So the maximum REF is 15 and the max BOD is 20, for example.  Presumably, Spiderman would have REF 15 and the Hulk would be BOD 20.  The bonus for the superheroes, however, is they don't lose any empathy for these bonuses.  A Dragoon borg would have these stats and be a mindless automaton, but a super-hero is as sane as the next guy (or not, depending).

Another interesting idea is to have the super-hero stat bonuses be within the range of "normal" cybernetics (your basic enhanced myomer cyberarm, for example).  All of a sudden, super-heros aren't that super anymore, just another disillusioned  schmuck with fast reflexes.  Could make for an interesting plot line: "Look, I'm faster than a speeding train!"  "So what?  My cousin's new Speeding Bullet cyberlegs are just as fast.  Go put some clothes on, you tight-wearing freak!"

This second option could also work for genetically engineered types who were top of the line 15 years ago, but, now that they're adult, are just another strong/fast/bulletproof person in the unemployment line.

Superheros aren't my thing, but it could be an interesting idea.

Personally, I think Shakespeare should sue, because they're obviously ripping off Romeo and Juliet.  

Though some of the details do seem awfully similar to White Wolf stuff, a lot of it is just basic mythology of vampires and werewolves.  Pretty sure no one owns that.