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Old 09-12-2017, 06:40 PM   #5
hal
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Buffalo, New York
Default Re: Cybernetic costs and modifiers both 3e & 34e

Breakdown Prone (3e): Largely the same as unreliable, the difference is, that instead of becoming inoperable for 1d6 minutes, the device stops working until it undergoes maintenance/repairs. The rolls are made only during "Stress" which means that normal day to day driving wouldn't cause the stress roll to be made for example, but engaging in one handed hanging from a beam (for a cyberlimb) or rapid eye movement in moments of stress (cybernetic eye perhaps?) - which happens roughly 2% of the time, or 10% of the time. This disadvantage would apply a 10% or 20% discount on the price of the equipment (and presumably on the value for the advantage gained by the cyberlimb if any).

There does not seem to be a Breakdown Version for 4e unless you consider the maintenance rules. There, the breakdowns occur as a function of missed maintenance. The problem I have with the Breakdown rules as given in the Maintenance rules are thus:

A character can have a brand new device installed - fresh from the factory. In theory, such a device would have had to undergo "quality assurance" tests before it would be sellable and shipped out the factory doors. But, bad things happen from time to time right? But look at the Maintenance rules more closely...

If you miss your monthly (or less!) maintenance period, your item's HT drops by 1, and a roll versus the Item's health is required. By default, the HT of a device is usually a 10, sometimes a 12, but generally a 10. This means that a brand new factory item, drops one HT level after 30 days of normal use. Rolling against a new value of 9, that's roughly a 1 in 3 chance the item remains functional, a roughly 2 in 3 chance it will malfunction, and a roughly 1 in 20 chance that it will critically malfunction (17 & 18's on 3d6). So, we can't have cybernetic eyes that last a year between maintenance cycles? How about 5 years? Nope, Maintenance only permits up to 1 month before the maintenance modifier for disadvantages becomes effectively zero value.

So, this particular "disadvantage modifier" doesn't seem to be functional in 4e as it is in 3e.
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