Racial template for Graham, Road Warrior

[mhd]

Australians are awesome. In yet another way to prove this, they gave us Graham, homo trafficus, evolved to survive accidents and resident of Trigger Lane in Uncanny Valley, which is probably somewhere near Perth.

http://www.meetgraham.com.au

How would you stat his survivor features in GURPS? (Might come in handy for ATE, although I could also picture him as a very handy henchman in DF). I'm quoting some relevant parts describing his evolved anatomy, although they pictures really have to be seen. Probably NFSW, though, as you might not want to talk to your boss about airbag breasts.

1. Skull
"[...]his skull is a lot bigger, with more cerebrospinal fluid and ligaments to brace the brain when a collision occurs. His head offers greater overall safety, effectively protecting the brain and reducing the damage caused on internal impact with the skull wall."

2. Brain
"Graham’s skull has been engineered to absorb more of the impact earlier, much like a helmet. The structure of his skull is larger, more helmet-like in design, with inbuilt crumple zones to absorb any impact forces. The crumple zones aid in slowing down the momentum of his head as it moves forward on impact and increases his skull’s ability to stop the force from continuing through to damage his brain."

3. Face
"[...]Graham has a rather flat face. His nose is reduced and his ears are protected by the larger structure of his skull and neck. Fatty tissue has been added around protruding areas like his cheekbones to help further absorb the energy on impact.

4. Neck
"Graham’s design addresses this problem by simply having no neck at all. Removing the neck has sacrificed his mobility to make his head more resilient to injury in a crash. The ribs, a form of protection, have been extended upwards to reach his skull, fortifying his neck with a brace like structure that protects his head from injury when there is a sudden movement."

5. Ribs
"Graham has been designed with stronger ribs to give him better protection in a crash. His chest is large and barrel-like to withstand greater impacts. However, his torso is more airbag-like than armour-like. Sacks, that do a similar job to that of an airbag, have been placed between each of Graham’s ribs. On impact these airbags absorb the force and reduce his forward momentum. The airbags provide an inbuilt added layer of protection for the heart and other vital organs."

6. Skin
"Graham has thicker and tougher skin to shield and reduce abrasions and road rash. This is even more apparent around the arms, elbows and hands – areas that are often instinctively outstretched when attempting to break a fall."

7. Knees
Graham’s knees have movement in all directions. His knee joints are fortified with extra tendons that give added flexibility and allow his knees to bend in other ways. This means that when a crash happens, his knees have a greater chance of retaining their structure and are less likely to be injured.

8. Legs
"Strong, hoof-like legs with added joints allow him to jump out of the way quickly in a “spring-loaded” fashion.
Second to this, as a driver or passenger, injuries to the feet and legs from the floor pans can occur. The extra joints in Graham’s legs give his lower limbs added flexibility to reduce the impact force placed on the tibia in an accident."

[patchwork]

Neat...it makes sense enough, may have to make genetically engineered pilots like that in some settings.

And nothing is near Perth. That's kind of the point of Perth.

[Celti]

Well, after looking at that link I'm definitely not going to sleep anytime soon, so let's answer your questions!

First: What's the average damage of a car accident. Assuming a typical highway speed of 30 yards/second... 3d of collision damage, or an average of 10 points. Seatbelts give DR 5. We can work with this.

I think points 1 through 5 can be (partially) summarised as DR 4 (Limited, Crushing, -40%) [12]. Add, say, Hard to Subdue 2 [4] for the cranial enhancement, Hard to Kill 2 [4] for a bit of everything. For the lack of neck, he needs either No Peripheral Vision [-15] (if the fatty buildup of his face doesn't block literal peripheral vision) or Tunnel Vision [-30] (if it does).

6 is easily covered by DR 1 (Tough Skin, -40%) [3] — combined with his crushing-only DR, he is immune to the average highway crash with a seatbelt, and immune to nearly any highway crash if you add airbags (barring blunt trauma).

Point 7 is Flexibility [5], Point 8 is either Racial Skill Bonus (Jumping +3) [6] or Super Jump 1 [10]. The latter has cleaner math and such, we'll use that. The two of them combined also suggest Catfall [10].

Points not mentioned: this sort of engineering would probably generally improve ST and HT as well, and likely add Longevity, similar to the good ol' Brownie parahuman template. It might also reduce Basic Move, or it might increase it. Could toss Rapid Healing on there too.

Also: Appearance (Ugly) [-8].

[Anaraxes]

The transhumanists now have something concrete to look forward to.

(As it turns out, you don't get to be a catgirl after all.)

[Celti]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

The transhumanists now have something concrete to look forward to.

(As it turns out, you don't get to be a catgirl after all.)

At least, not yet. The Graham is obviously an early-model durability-focused parahuman design, like the Brownie and other durability-focused designs of the 2050s and early 2060s. Catgirls like the Felicia (and other, less savoury designs) won't be available until the late 2070s, or even the late 2080s. 2090s for highly unethical designs like the Elf Kitten.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

The transhumanists now have something concrete to look forward to.

(As it turns out, you don't get to be a catgirl after all.)

Honestly no sillier than the weird hobbit thing from THS and Ultratech. Though the close up made it seem like it had more changes from human base than it really does.

I never understood why these projects pretend to be realistic scientific suggestions but always turn out to be some artist's display after talking a few minutes with actual experts.
Can you tell how much The Future Is Wild nonsense and its ilk burned me?

(Dear lord that artist's pretentiousness caused me physical pain.)

Edit: Oh yeah, that hobbit thing was called a Brownie.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Honestly no sillier than the weird hobbit thing from THS and Ultratech. Though the close up made it seem like it had more changes from human base than it really does.

Edit: Oh yeah, that hobbit thing was called a Brownie.

Which wasn't invented by SJG either. It's from earlier exercises in a similar vein.

This is not a pretentious artists project, this is the road saftey authority running an interesting public awareness campaign.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Bruno

Which wasn't invented by SJG either. It's from earlier exercises in a similar vein.

This is not a pretentious artists project, this is the road saftey authority running an interesting public awareness campaign.

I figured it was a cutesy public service announcement not a real scientific exercise. But her voice grated on my nerves like an air raid siren. I know there's a word/phrase in German for a face in need of a punch, but she has a voice in need of one, to me at least.

I also think I'd heard of that ridiculous Brownie thing before Gurps, and understand why TPTB felt it needed to be included. But it did not fit the insanely optimistic transhumanistic technology of THS.

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Originally Posted by mhd

Australians are awesome.

With you so far.

Originally Posted by mhd

4. Neck
"Graham’s design addresses this problem by simply having no neck at all. Removing the neck has sacrificed his mobility to make his head more resilient to injury in a crash.

Injury Tolerance (No Neck) [5].

Originally Posted by mhd

5. Ribs
"Graham has been designed with stronger ribs to give him better protection in a crash. His chest is large and barrel-like to withstand greater impacts. However, his torso is more airbag-like than armour-like. Sacks, that do a similar job to that of an airbag, have been placed between each of Graham’s ribs. On impact these airbags absorb the force and reduce his forward momentum. The airbags provide an inbuilt added layer of protection for the heart and other vital organs."

Extra HP, or Ablative DR.

Originally Posted by mhd

7. Knees
Graham’s knees have movement in all directions. His knee joints are fortified with extra tendons that give added flexibility and allow his knees to bend in other ways. This means that when a crash happens, his knees have a greater chance of retaining their structure and are less likely to be injured.

8. Legs
[snip] The extra joints in Graham’s legs give his lower limbs added flexibility to reduce the impact force placed on the tibia in an accident."

Perk: Iron Legs [1].

[Miles]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

I also think I'd heard of that ridiculous Brownie thing before Gurps, and understand why TPTB felt it needed to be included. But it did not fit the insanely optimistic transhumanistic technology of THS.

Because the main problems Brownies face are high cabinets and the ocassional japing. If you have parents optimizing for beauty or intelligence or physical ability, it makes sense that some parents would be trying to guarantee their child a long life. The fact that it's a fringe choice seems like sufficient acknowledgement of how image conscious people are.

And since I'm in the thread: Graham is a clever public awareness program, but if car crashes were a real selecting factor, we never would have gotten in the metal death traps.