Duncanite Nootropics (in 4e), Digital Brainbugs, and other brainbug questions

[vicky_molokh]

Greetings, all!

These questions came up here and there, and I decided it's time to ask them explicitly.

1. Duncanite Nootropics in 4e
Back in 3e, Duncanite Nootropics provide the benefit of not having to pay double price for IQ after character creation. But 4e ditched the rule about double attribute cost after character creation. What's the big benefit of these nootropics in 4e that makes them so desired throughout the solar system?

2. Digital Brainbugs
So, being a Ghost, I'm wondering how the prices of brainbugs should be modified for the digital versions? Are there any benefits that are unavailable for meatspace brainbugs, but made possible in digital form?
How much would a lifetime license for a single brainbug by a single person cost? (I.e. buy it once, get to use it at will with no extra payments, but may not give it over to somebody else.)

3. Cost of custom and mass-market Brainbugs
For regular TL9+ drugs, 4e introduced a refined design system (heavily resembling the old one for brainbugs, it seems). It also made a note that the listed cost is for custom designs; it's 100 times less for mass-market ones. Given this, what's the proper way to handle brainbug prices in 4e? Switch to the 4e standard as-is? Use the rules in 3e/TS? Something in-between?

4. Brain Hacking and Brainbugs
Does the Brain Hacking skill include the proficiency of making digital-only brainbugs (obviously, without the ability to do the same for meatspace)?

5. Brainbugs in your games
What prominent roles did brainbugs play in your campaigns? Any interesting stories?

Thanks in advance!

[Anthony]

Something can have in-world benefits without them being reflected in game statistics. Something like 'nootropics allow gaining IQ through study' would make them worthwhile, as normally only skills can be gained through study.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

Greetings, all!

These questions came up here and there, and I decided it's time to ask them explicitly.

1. Duncanite Nootropics in 4e
Back in 3e, Duncanite Nootropics provide the benefit of not having to pay double price for IQ after character creation. But 4e ditched the rule about double attribute cost after character creation. What's the big benefit of these nootropics in 4e that makes them so desired throughout the solar system?

Nootropics for 4e are in the new version of Bio-tech.

There they can act as Mitigators for a variety of Mental Disads. Optionally they can increase study time for Mental Skills by 50%.

Of course it talks about the effects of TL8 "nootropics" and to my knowedge all of those are useless crap (sometimes quite literally). Either they are not being absorbed by the digestive system or not penetrating the blood/brain barrier. Who knows what nootropics that worked would do.

There's an angle for you. What Diuncanite Nootropics "do" is help con-men make money. Made even easier in the THS period by the public's higher expectations for miracle drugs.

[Flyndaran]

I heard there were some that worked for improving memory and eliminating the need for sleep. But they are only approved for use in medically necessary situations like Alzheimer's and narcolepsy.
Every real drug has increased risks and dangers. My own S.S.R.I. gave me diabetes, so...

[vicky_molokh]

6. Nanosymbionts and infomorphs:
Okay, so a bioshell can use nanosymbionts that affect the body, not the brain. But I don't see a particular reason why the effects of Brain Boosters cannot be emulated for a Ghost.
So, am I missing anything, and if not, what the pricing would be like? (Basically, this is an extension of #2.)

[Phil Masters]

No reason why not. As someone pointed out a while back, new brainbugs are surely tested as software models on partial brain emulations anyway.

Given the IP environment in TS, I have an urge to say that the licenses for one-use software models of brainbugs are priced the same as a dose of the actual brainbug. But if that seems too silly, ooh, try saying 50% of physical product cost. (They're never going to be cheap. The manufacturers will be paying a fortune in liability insurance.)

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Phil Masters

Given the IP environment in TS, I have an urge to say that the licenses for one-use software models of brainbugs are priced the same as a dose of the actual brainbug. But if that seems too silly, ooh, try saying 50% of physical product cost. (They're never going to be cheap. The manufacturers will be paying a fortune in liability insurance.)

Oh, I'm totally okay with them being no cheaper in software than in meatspace. I'm just interested in the pricing of lifetime licenses (single-user, of course, without even the right of giving a single demo dose to someone). I was thinking ×5 cost (same as cost difference between a Favour and an unlimited-use social trait, or between normal and self-replenishing expendable items in Signature Gear). But I'm talking it over with the GM, and he's inclined to treat them as software (consuming RAM slots), with most stuff C5-C6 and costing $1k-3k.

[Flyndaran]

Lifetime licenses should have at least the same cost increase as things like permanent vs. temporary nanosymbiotes. Is that in THS proper or just UT? I forget.
The license could work as insurance against hacking going to out of date back ups, so you could re-download it; something I doubt a meat bag could do with physical enhancements.