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How would a robot/android "Insert a Memory" or "Mentally Possess Others"?

In the same way that it communicates telepathically. Thoughts are encoded into the energy waves it produces which are then forced upon the recipient, the same way a normal psionic character does. I do not see this as being impossible for an android simply because it does not possess an organic brain. Mental possession could be like inserting a program of what the robot wished to do via the person if you think controlling a person like a puppet is a bit much for a machine to do. The issue of "soul" is another matter, but it is possible for an android with this to generate a psionic hologram to infest a subject, at least that is how I see it.

By the way, I wasn't doubting it could be made "plausible", I just wanted to see how you are rationalizing it.

Understood. I appreciate the feedback as well. Do you believe I have limited it enough to be a reasonable option, or would it be too overpowering as written? Part of the reason for limiting level advancement of the psionics is to not make a robot or bionics character too unbalanced to play.
I think I might allow the normal psionic powers to be bought by level the same as the Super Psionics are, so rather than buying twelve separate psionic powers, a robot or bionics character could buy 12 levels of one power, or three powers at level four each, with a maximum combination of power levels equaling twelve.

I don't think that robots and bionics characters having psionics should necessarily be limited to having low level psionics. A.I.s can gain levels the same as regular folks, so why should the Psionic Emulator not gain in ability as it goes up in levels. I agree that you should limit the number of lesser psionic powers to twelve and the Super Psionics to three, but let them have them at regular ability to level them up.
Nimmy seems reluctant to address that issue, perhaps having seen some similar tech item which was included in the Atorian Empire book he seems so eager to mention he has a copy of.

I don't know, not getting enough feedback to be able to weigh the pros and cons as far as whether they should be allowed to level up or not. Some things are locked for levels, like skills, in the lesser A.I. for the robot characters. The psionic energy itself has to be generated instead of just existing, which is one logical reason in favor of having the level locked, as the energy generated by the robot would be limited by what it is set to produce. They do not have the option of linking into ley lines, though I have been contemplating a device which might act as a Ley Line Locator and Energy Converter.

Truly AI robots should not be able to level up their "psionics" in this case.
I have no problem with Transferred Intelligence's and Bionics leveling up.
If it was a natural psionic that "transferred" into a bot, I would see that natural psi not being able to recoup their ISP until in a regular body.

What about the idea of buying levels to increase range and such? Or do you think the psionics should only be available at level 1 and locked there and leave it at that?

Would natural psionic transferring to a bot need to buy psionics, though?

No, but then their ISP would not be able to regenerate.

The Psionics for purchase would then be limited to bionics characters and robots with a proper A.I. and not transferred intelligence or piloted types. I think that for simplicity sake, the psionics would be able to be purchased at level one only, not per level, as it seems highly expensive to buy the powers repeatedly to go up in levels. I will have to do a finalized writeup on it to pull it all together, as right now it is kind of spread out between multiple posts.

Here is the final writeup of the Psionic Emulator:

Psionic Emulator: The base unit/interface with a telepathy translator costs 1.8 million credits and ONLY allows the robot or bionics character to receive and send telepathic messages. An I.S.P. battery unit must be inserted to allow the device to run off of it as a battery to power other abilities. An I.S.P. battery unit with 120 I.S.P. points costs 12,000 credits, with the I.S.P. for the battery regenerating at a rate of 12 points per hour without need for meditation, with a given battery having an average life of one year before needing replacement. Cost of the individual lesser psionic powers is equal to the I.S.P. cost X1,000 credits (so to purchase Clairvoyance, for instance, would cost 4,000 credits). Lesser psionic powers available for purchase include any from the three lesser psionic power categories of healing, sensitive, and physical, with the exception of Transfer I.S.P. (I.S.P. of this type is artificial and only simulates actual I.S.P. and so cannot be transferred to someone else), Mind Block (bionics characters and robots are already impervious to psionic attack), and Meditation (does not need to meditate to regain I.S.P. points). Most, but not all (see below) Super Psionic Powers may be purchased, but at higher cost (cost equal to the I.S.P. cost X10,000 credits except as noted). The system will only support a total of 12 lesser psionic powers and three Super Psionic powers. Psionic powers do not go up in level like they would for an ordinary psionic character; all abilities that would otherwise increase with level are locked at level 1 ability.

Available Super Psionics:
Bio-Manipulation
Bio-Regeneration (Super)
Catatonic Strike
Electrokinesis - Costs 400,000 credits to acquire
Hydrokinesis - Costs 600,000 credits to acquire
Insert Memory
Mental Illusion
Mentally Possess Others
Mind Bolt - Costs 10,000 credits per 1d6 damage capacity, to a maximum damage of 6d6. Mind Bolts of this type are artificially induced and unaffected by ley lines and nexus points.
Mind Wipe - Costs 100,000 credits to acquire and can only create memory loss for 1d4 days.
Psi-Shield
Psi-Sword
Pyrokinesis - Costs 800,000 credits to acquire
Telekinesis - Costs 200,000 credits to acquire
Telekinetic Force Field
Telemechanics

Only those Robots having an independent A.I. or bionics characters getting this as an implant are able to use the Psionic Emulator. It is not available for those using Transferred Intelligence or having a pilot.

Oh, sweet cyber-psionics...

I am trying to come up with more paranormal-based implants for robots and bionics characters as well. So far not finding exactly what I want in BTS and the Rifts Bionics Sourcebook that I can use to create optic implants to give a sort of paranormal vision. I am toying with the idea of PPE locators and Ley Line finders also. The books seem very much to want to keep magic and bionics at odds with one another, though.

Hey Stone Gargoyle, have you looked in rifts 'Mindwerks', for your ideas

And THAT is why we have TechnoWizards and Mad Scientists..to force the unholy bonding of things normally at odds with each other.

I doubt he has. SG generally tries to avoid Rifts with a purple passion. I think he owns the Rifts Bionics Sourcebook, the Rifts Book of Magic and the Megaverse Dimension Builder, but those are it outside of SDC-based books. Is the 'Mindwerks' stuff in a sourcebook by itself or is it included in another book?

Yes, I avoid anything requiring conversion of MDC to SDC.

Ah ok, the reason i asked was because it has a list of cybernetics/implants that boost and/or instill psychic abilities.....pretty neat stuff

Sounds pretty neat. If it is a sourcebook, I might have to check it out. What I am wanting to write up, however, are artificially simulated abilities which mimic psionics and magic stuff, for use by robotics characters primarily, for use in locating PPE and paranormal energy, possibly even storing it the way a Rune Weapon does, to give an android the ability to see the invisible, locate ley lines and possibly even cast spells.

Sounds cool, but yeah its a sourcebook (SB-3)

Yeah, I looked it up in the catalog. Cool. Stuff like that could be of interest.
I don't think it will be that hard to figure out how to create what I want as far as the robotics, just have to work off the abilities as listed in the psionics and magic sections of the game.

See the discussion related to creating the hardware for a robot/android spellcaster in the topic thread Robot Spellcaster Creation Help in the Guild Of Magic & Psionics forum here: viewtopic.php?f=39&t=137425

Robotics

Holographic Projectors

Pilot Projector: This is a feature available to vehicular type robots to give the appearance of a driver. The image can actually be anything that fits the space. Enclosed compartments can have projections that fill the entire compartment, but open compartments such as those for a jeep style robot can project an image 5 cubic feet in size. The system is driven by the robot's AI which can make the image move and respond to questions, etc. Cost: $300,000

Surface Projectors: These can be placed on the outer shell of a vehicular robot to change its appearance to that of a different vehicle, on an animal type robot to make it look like an actual animal, or on a humanoid robot or android to allow it to pass for a different person or creature. The holographic image can be anything desired but has the limitation of only being able to extend 5 feet beyond the robot on any given surface. Holograms are not solid, merely light, and will not hold up upon extensive examination unless the robot also possesses force fields of some kind. One projector is needed per every cubic foot of the robot's surface. Cost: $40,000 per individual projector, with a minimum of ten needed for a humanoid size robot.

Or, if you're driving alone, you can use it to create the illusion of passengers, and thus use the multiple-occupant traffic lane without being pulled over by the police.

True. You could also use it to hide/disguise the driver and passengers to give a different image, thus hiding the presence of drugs and weapons from the cops' view. There are a lot of applications for this.

Are there force field systems available in any of the sourcebooks? If not, it would be interesting to see some of that appear here.

I don't know if there are any from canon sources or not, which is why I have not attempted any of my own. Does anyone know if there are stats for force field generators anywhere and what they would cost?

Aliens Unlimited Galaxy Guide - for armors.
Atorian Empire: Guide to Imperial Space manuscript

But nothing is available to robots or for vehicles, correct? If the armors have them built in and they are part of the armor cost, then is there any way of determining the cost independent of the total armor system?

The original, unrevised HU had force fields for robots.. 100 SDC for I believe $1 million.
As for the item in Galaxy Guide, it would not be that hard to say that the Force Field generator can be used for Robots/Vehicles/etc..



Aliens Unlimited [page #'s is for revised, but should be close to the original]

Page: 191, Special Features for Armor - The following special options can be applied to any rigid armor, be it metal, ceramic, plastic, crystal, diamond, or a survival suit {the latter could be rigid or not]. Robot and bionic characters are also welcome to add these options to their armors. Up to five featues can be added to a suite of armor.
Page: 192, 1st paragraphForce Field Generators: ..snip fluff... 100 SDC, regenerate 10 SDC per hour, Cost: 60,000 credits

Thanks for looking for it. I appreciate that.

By your logic then the hardware characters should not be able to make PA with flight. Or Pa that can run mach 1, or even fly mach 1 or faster, as that tech would not be possible. The super invention occ, in my opinion, is more to make it a possibility for a non hardware character to get access to a super invention. The rules for the hardware characters would only grant them a penalty for building a super invention. The natural genius can even be a hardware character and duplicate what the all the hardware characters do. As a gm you could house rule you do not want them to build them, but if they have the funding, and you do not house rule ban them from building a super invention is within the scope of their skill set provided they can get the funding, and actually have the time to research. Granted they may end up with several failed or lesser device, but that is the nature of r and.

Advanced Wireless Head Jack.
Range 5'
Has a "patch" a device you plug into devices that cannot be connected to wirelessly, and increases the range to 15'.
cost 1.5 times normal head jack.

V2
Range 15'/touch
"patch" increases range to 30'.
Cost 2 times normal head jack.

V3
Range 15'
Combined the bonuses from the head jack and the telemechanic helmet. "Patch only increases range to 25'
Cost combine the cost of telemechanic Helmet and head jack doubled.

V4
same as the above, but also grants tememechanics bonuses at double the cost of V3

V5
adds telemecanic operation, and electrical generation. cost three times what version 4 cost.

Single-Use Teleport Booth
“’Justice prevails’? Not this time, I think, super-chumps!! And now I must say...bye-bye!!!”(BWINK!)
A favorite escape mechanism of super-villians, the S-U TB is exactly that; a disposable telephone-booth-sized teleport device that will whisk the occupant away to a predetermined location. Both by the massive strain the teleportation puts on the device’s mechanisms and by deliberate design, the workings of the booth are destroyed, rendering them unusable and the destination settings untraceable.
Single-Use Releport Booths are believed to be manufactured by a subsidiary of Fabricators Inc., or by, it is rumored, a private concern using, or run by, aliens with advanced super-technology.
The S-U TB has a range of 25 miles and the end destination MUST be a fixed and stationary location. The booth is roughly the size of an old telephone booth and can teleport up to 600 lbs. The device can be biometrically secured to be accessed by a specific person(though, if weight and space allow, they can take several other people along with them once the device is opened).
Cost: 1 million credits/dollars; probably overpriced, but how much is a perfect getaway worth to you?

Ha, I love it, though it seems most villains would be more prone to trying to capture someone with teleportation abilities rather than pay out such a huge sum for a single-use device.

Special discounts apply as the market dictates. Who's going to say no to Doctor Doom? After all, the people who make these things want to SELL these things, but not so cheap that they don't have a comfortable profit margin.
And the problem with captive live teleports is proper care and feeding, as well as motivation and control. Sure, there's hostage-holding, neural implants, and brainwashing, but if you don't have that capability or find it too icky(and there ARE villains who for various reasons won't cross certain lines), the mechanical teleport booth is a more attractive option.

Attractive, yes, but worth a million bucks a pop? I think not.

Attractive, yes, but worth a million bucks a pop? I think not.[/quote]

A million dollars or life in prison? That is the question, Lord Diabolus.
Well, adjust price accordingly.

This is all pretty cool stuff.
Is this intended to be used to create a PDF?
Hard to tell by the title alone, though it implies that it will in some indirect way.

No, these are just fan-made items based on the items in the books in some cases, wholly original in others. Some have been collected to the Black Vault Wiki site, however.

If it were a teleportation option for a robot or bionics character and was built-in and not a one-time thing, I could see it being a million dollars or more. Disposable and single-use usually also makes things cheaper. You cannot charge the same price for a disposable camera as you would for something that is more useful and multi-use. As it is, the robotics teleporter device would be in the tens of millions to create if you set the cost bar so high for disposable units.

500,000 dollars? And raise the weight threshold to 1,000 lbs? Do I hear 500,000 dollars for a clean getaway?

That seems more reasonable for a disposable unit, yes. I would pay half a million in that case.

Early Christmas/post-Halloween sale then, on supervillain accessories.

Is it safe to assume that any equipment posted on this thread is to be considered public domain? I found several items I would use for my next character, and I would like to be able to post the equipment stats. Please let me know. Thanks!

I would say go for it!

Awesome! I'll have to look through my old files, see if I can't find a contribution for this thread.

Night-Shadow Tactical Defense Suite

This tactical defense suite was designed by a team of technicians in our Military Division here at C.I.T.A.D.E.L. Multinational. It's focus is on maintaining stealth and maneuverability, so it cannot absorb a huge amount of damage, but it's stealth technologies and sensor systems make it an excellent choice for a lone scout in the field.

Model Type: Penumbra 2.6b
Class: Tactical Defense Suite
Crew: One
Attribute Bonuses: +6 to PP; +4 to PS; Reduces pilot fatigue by 50%

S.D.C.: 250
A.R.: 10

Statistical Data:
• Weight: adds 25 pounds.
• Physical Strength: Equivalent of Robotic
• Cargo: Integrated cargo harnesses. Small items only.
• Power System:: Micronized Singularity Reactor - 50 year life
• Market Price: 25 million.

Systems:
Enhanced Physical Capabilities - The suite has musculo-skeletal enhancers and gyroscopic balancing systems that allow the pilot to run at three times their un-augmented speed. (Triples user's speed (max 100 mph)). These same enhancements also allow the pilot to make incredible leaps while landing on their feet. (Leap 25' up or 35' across [double these distances with a running start]).
Integrated Stealth System - This system uses vibrational dampeners, light-transmitting nano-fibers, and a signal absorption system which allows the armor to virtually disappear to almost all current sensory systems (there is only a 5% chance of detection when not moving, 25% otherwise). Once the pilot enters combat, there is a 50% chance the suite will decloak moments before the attack (offering a chance to defend at a base of -3 [not including any applicable bonuses]). The Night-Shadow can be programmed to generate a chameleonic field when motionless in order to blend in with its environment. Should the Avenger take 75 S.D.C. or more, the stealth system will shut down until repairs can be made.
Alternate Motive Capabilities - Through the use of state-of-the-art nano-fibers and electrostatic pads, the unit can traverse vertical and inverted surfaces as down. This capability has an unlimited duration, and is subject to the same limitations and penalties as the Adhesion minor super ability.
Sensor Systems - The helmet contains the equivalent of the Multi Optic Helmet, and Advanced Ear with Sound Filtration, as well as a full communications suite.

Ewwww...muscleware!