[cybermancer2k1]

Long post; apologies...

I created this version of Cyberpsychosis for my Cyberworld game (that one of these days, I'll actually get around to running...) It hasn't been playtested or balanced yet, so standard warnings, grain-o-salt, yadda-yadda:

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Cyberpsychosis -35/-40/-50 points

You suffer from a specialized form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that only affects those with cybernetic implants. Specifically, you suffer from a variety of mental conditions specifically linked to the trauma of the implantation of your bionics. Cyberpsycho episodes are typically triggered by stress, and can result in unpredictable behavior. Those who know you're a cyberpsycho react to you at -2, except for fellow cyberpsychos, who accept you as a member of a weird fraternity and react to you at +1. Some big city police departments have units specially equipped for dealing with cyberpsychos and the problems they cause.

Cyberpsychosis: Bad Temper (9) [-15]; Reputation (as above) [-5]; and -15 points of Mental disads from the following list: Alcoholism [-15]; Amnesia (partial) [-10]; Berserk [-10*]; Callous [-5]; Chronic Depression [-15*]; Confused [-10*]; Flashbacks [varies]; Impulsiveness [-10*]; Light Sleeper [-5]; Loner [-5*]; Manic-Depressive [-20]; Nightmares [-5*]; On the Edge [-15*]; Paranoia [-10]; Phantom Voices [-5 to -15]; Short Attention Span [-10*]. (Accessibility; only those with cybernetics, -40%). -35 points.

Level 2 Cyberpsychosis: As above, except Bad Temper (6) [-20] and -20 points of Mental disads. -40 points.

Level 3 Cyberpsychosis: As base Cyberpsychosis, except replace Bad Temper with Berserk (6) [-20]; and -30 points of Mental Disads from the list. (Accessibility; only those with cybernetics, -40%). -50 points.

Some jurisdictions require the registration of cyberpsychos’ placement in court-mandated therapy programs. Basic cyberpsychosis may go undiagnosed, as the cocktail of neuroses can disguise themselves as conditions of living in a fast-paced urban environment. At level 2, the condition may become more apparent as a mental condition rather than a social one. In many places, Level 3 sufferers are whom most people think of when they hear the word cyberpsychosis; they are the ones featured on the news after causing several violent deaths or wholesale property destruction. As a rule, local law enforcement units take them down hard, and lock them away. This removes a PC from the game for the duration of the treatment, which involves a combination of intense therapy and the removal of most if not all bionics.

Special Limitation
Mitigator: At TL9+, treatments for cyberpsychosis are available in the form of psychotherapy and a multi-drug cocktail intended to deal with the psychological and physiological effects. The effects of cyberpsychosis are not cured, only arrested for as long as the treatment is continued or until the cybernetics are removed and for 2d months afterward. Treatment cost: $12,600/month.