Design Help Requested: Hologram Character

[Hanuman47]

For an upcoming science fiction campaign, one of the players wants to have a hologram character. The character would function much like the EMH after on "Star Trek: Voyager" after he got the holo-emitter. In other words, the character is an autonomous, sentient AI and can touch and handle objects. The holographic body is largely immune to physical damage (although it might be vulnerable to temporary disruption from intense energy bursts or fields), but the emitter device can be broken or destroyed. The transmitter is somewhat unreliable, cutting out from time to time (this last is to explain sudden disappearances/appearances, due to the player's somewhat erratic schedule). The AI was originally designed to run a small ship (currently not in the picture) and act as its brain and might be able to run other ships as well.

Any thoughts on good ways to stat out these various traits would be greatly appreciated!

[Phantasm]

Obviously, I probably shouldn't have to mention the AI meta-trait is one of the key parts for the character.

The thing I see that might be difficult - from my memories of Voyager - is that the Doctor was either solid enough to handle things or things passed right through him, and even when solid things didn't harm him as badly. I'd probably go with Insubstantiality with Switchable and Reflexive to handle the "go intangible at will" aspect, and the following Injury Tolerances: No Brain, No Blood, No Vitals, and either Homogenous or Diffuse. A Vulnerability to Burning-Surge Damage might also be viable.

Not sure about how to handle the emitter, though. That might be just tacking Gadget modifiers onto the above, or it could be something else.

[Humabout]

Practically, I'd ignore the holoemitter getting hit and destroyed outright. Id probably give some combo of Insubstantiality (Switchable, Reflexive, Affected by Gravity [i forgot the name from Powers]); Doesnt eat, sleep, drink, breathe; immune to metabolic hazards; IT no blood, no vitals, no neck, no groin, no hit locations in general EXCEPT the brain*; IT DR 4; and of course, Electrical.

* Id combine ITDR 4 and having a brain to stand in for the emitter. That way he takes quarter damage normally but full damage if the emitter gets nailed. I'd require anyone trying to directly target it to roll against Mechanic (Holograms) or maybe Engineering (Robotics??) to know where to even aim.

[thrash]

If the ship is the character's primary "body," there are also the costs and limitations associated with telepresence and/or a second "body."

If not, you may need to modify the rules from Ultratech to get a fully volitional AI of any intelligence running on a computer small enough to fit in a wearable.

[Brandy]

The first thing that came to mind for the holo-emitter is that it is somewhat akin to creatures that are mana-dependent in a fantasy game. Canonically, if you need a special environment to live or function, then you have a Dependency. If you accept this, then the character would have Dependency: Holographic Fields (Occasional, Constantly) [-100].

The holo-emitter becomes a gadget that creates a Holographic field. You could figure out what that would mean in terms of some ability based on Create, but I would probably just repurpose Mana Enhancer, and require two levels to bring "Zero Holographic Field" to "Normal Holographic Field". Mana-Enhancer 2 (Gadget: Breakable (DR 15), -10%; Machine, -5%; SM -6, -10%) [75]

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by thrash

If the ship is the character's primary "body," there are also the costs and limitations associated with telepresence and/or a second "body."

If not, you may need to modify the rules from Ultratech to get a fully volitional AI of any intelligence running on a computer small enough to fit in a wearable.

As I recall, Voyager's EHD's portable transmitter was a combination of Federation and Borg technology, which could easily be TL13+ computer technology, following an extrapolation of technology progression past TL12. And as a presumably unique device for a PC, those particular rules can probably be tossed out the airlock for this particular case . . . unless the GM wants these Holo sapiens to be everywhere. ;)

[Gedrin]

OPTION 1:
Campaign Appropriate AI Traits
Switchable insubstantial, can switch just part of body
Injury tolerance for not having physical form (no brain ect)
Cosmetic morph (though, full morph seems reasonable)

Concealed small size weak spot that doesn't get the same IT, but instead machine traits, this is where the character's actual HP are.

OPTION 2:
build the emitter as a small machine body with limited forcefield and hologram projectors

OPTION 3:
The Big Computer is where the AI lives.
The emitter is a Gadget that provides Clarisentience, TK and such, with a "in the form of a humanoid body" limitation (OR NOT!)
The AI is vulnerable to the destruction of the Big Computer, or to digital attacks through the emitter, but not much else.

[Langy]

Instead of Insubstiantial, I might go with a low Size Modifier plus an Illusion or Obscure effect that makes it seem like he's larger than he is. This is more in keeping with the actual physical reality of the device, plus makes it so the emitter can be targeted in combat using normal rules.

[whswhs]

Take a look at Shadow Form. Actual shadows aren't what you want, but it's straightforward enough to define variants that are reflections, projected images, holograms, or the like; I played with this is GURPS Fantasy. A two-dimensional projected image, for example, is +25% to Shadow Form.

[Culture20]

I actually played a Long-term Engineering Autonomous Hologram instance in a friend's future-based Star-Trek campaign.

Hologram Advantages: Absolute Timing, Digital Mind, Eidetic Memory (Photographic), Doesn't Breathe, Doesn't Eat or Drink, Doesn't Sleep, Damage Resistance 1 (Force Field +20%), Illumination, Insubstantiality (Partial Change +20%; Usually On [Materialization only allowed by safety protocols] -40%; Noisy -5%), Lightning Calculator, Modular Abilities 8 (Computer Brain; Skills only -10%), Resistant (Biological Hazards, Immunity), Regeneration (Very Fast; Self correcting holo matrix integrity), Unaging, Possession (Digital -40%; No Memory Access -10%), Duplication 1 (No Sympathetic Injury +20%; Temporary Disadvantage [trades Extra Life for Duplicate, vice versa] -20%), Extra Life 1 (Copy -20%), Shtick (Costume Advantage Blue Red or Gold), Temperature Tolerance 5, Warp (Naked -30%; Anchored within holo emitter -50%)

Hologram Disadvantages: Dependency:Holo Emitters (Rarity: Occasional -20; Frequency: Always [Lose 5 HP per second without it] x7 ), Maintenance (People Required:1 Frequency:Weekly), Reprogrammable, Social Stigma: Valuable Property, Sterile, "Supernatural" Features (No body heat; no shadow), Vulnerability: (Photonic Disruptor -5; Wounding x4)

Non racial advantages:
Appearance Attractive, Off-the-shelf looks (Leah Brahms), Modular Abilities 12 (Computer Brain; Repair/Mechanic Skills only -30%),

Non racial disadvantages:
Code of Honor (Starfleet), Duty (Starfleet Engineer FR:15; Involuntary), Sense of Duty: Federation, Enemy (The Estate of the real Leah Brahms; Weak group, Appears rarely), Pacifism: Cannot Harm Innocents, Terminally Ill (2 years to live due to random data corruption -50; corruption is also source of unique sentience, so can't be immediately corrected without "killing" a "life form"), On the Edge (CR:15)

Edit:
The ships of this period had ship-wide emitters and backpack sized emitters for away missions (most security red-shirts were holograms). The players controlled two characters each in this campaign, to allow for more control over the ship and variety of away mission personnel.