Cyberware Classes

Physical, generally noticeable

Arms

generalist tools fulfilling a broad objective

• weapons (mantis blades, pop-up guns, projectile launchers, hidden blades), tools (grappling hook, throwing knives, retractable shield, utility pouches, nanodrone^[1] canisters)

Hands

specialized utility fulfilling a unique role

• tech hands (ripperdoc, mechanic, industrial, forensics, dispensers), operative kits (learn & replicate thermal patterns, sonar mapping, toolkits), combat (smartgun link, netrunning ports, shock absorbers, recoil control), exploration (nanosuction cups, spider-like grippers, wall glide/hang tech)

Legs

enable feats of athleticism

• alter the strength, speed and stealth of jumps, running and lifting, reduce one's physical exertion, even walk on strange surfaces (up walls, on water)

Face

enhanced relation to the environment

• control your environment; microfacial expressions to trigger different reactions or emotions like the uncanny valley, strange comfort, loyalty or just to reinforce certain predictable behavior in the target
• better perceive said environment; heightened senses (better eyes^[2], sense of taste, of smell, wider range of sounds and better separation of specific noises), but also faceplates (alter look, protect from a surprise headshot)

Physical, generally unnoticeable

Skeleton

raw physical superiority - Rules/CPRED/Cyberware/Cyberware in this section usually removes Max Humanity upon installation instead of upon every use

• damage deniers like scar tissue healers, kinetic conduit spine/joints that reduce the likelihood of critical injuries, hemorrhage stitcher for automatic stabilization, pain editors; bioelastic shock absorbers that disperse and reduce physical damage
• body improvement such as increased total strength (lifting, brawling), increased health (by boosting the BODY stat) through the fusion of titanium or ceramic plates with major bones, as well as boosting skeletal muscle through the use of synthetic muscle fibers, enhanced mind-muscle connection through spine implants (better REF)

Circulatory System

enhanced internal capabilities

• defensive tech that improves blood flow and oxygen intake, which leads to better stamina and physique (better DEX); other implants offer more energy retention due to food, faster post-trauma healing or even a second heart to prevent immediate death;
• augmented organs in the digestive system can potentially dissolve high-risk compounds in food like poisons and a poison sac could store that poison for a later attack;
• a network of blood-cell nanobots can stabilize any hemorrhage; replacing your entire blood with an artificial compound^[3] can provide better physical output, reduce the need for frequent feeding and increasing resilience under hypoxic or toxic environments
• offensive tech can turn the slightest external bleeding into a death sentence to your enemy through the use of a gland that turns your entire blood toxic, akin to poison; a blood pump could provide on-demand overdrive, effectively increasing pump rate and enhancing overall performance

Integumentary System

layering of armor and concealment

• for concealment, users can opt to carve out "inventory slots" into their own flesh, becoming their very own mule full of hidden compartments; alternatively, users may opt to use a concealment sleeve to hide certain portions of their Cyberware from scans, as well as using a thermal sheath to mask their IR signature and reduce the effect of extreme weather; alternatives include the classic invisibility cloak made using microcameras that mimick the nearby environment similarly to glass, but also dynamic skin, allowing for the use of different pigmentations and shifting tattoos;
• for armor, users can go for regular armor, providing distributed absorption of kinetic impact and thus reduced damage, specialized ballistic armor causing ricochets at high speeds, but also conductive skin, allowing the user to lessen the impact of EMPs and even become a taser upon touch

Psychological and Neural

Frontal Cortex

enhanced psychological perception of the environment

• memory boosters like archivers to learn new languages, skills^[4], but also for expanding storage capacity and accesibility, RAM accelerators that allow better multitasking and data juggling, like drone control, driving & shooting, dual-wielding etc.
• pattern recognition that gives the user an almost uncanny sense of prediction, including predictive modeling and anomaly recognition (which can be used both for assessing crime scenes and shooting preemptively); anticipation in any situation means that the user can sense trouble as it stirs through cyber-shivers down their metal spine

Nervous System

raw psychological superiority

• allows the user to think faster, perceive more, but also can assure the mind-machine link with pieces like interface plugs or remote connections for specific types of machine, allowing multitasking or even optimized performance^[5]; brain implants that allow mental "whiteboarding" or communication, but also endocrine injectors that are tuned to the user's emotion and state of alertness, which aim to bring the user in a preset state^[6]

Operating System

encourage a specific playstyle across all gameplay

• Speedware - passive^[7] reflex boosters, active reflex boosters like Sandevistans, allowing the user to perceive reality at a slower pace than it actually is and react accordingly, dodging bullets, moving and reacting with incredible speed
• Cyberdeck - often combined into #Exotic Cyberware as part of a Netrunner suite, this OS offers the user the ability to perceive networked data^[8] visually and to deploy programs and executables at the speed of thought, something not possible with wired hardware;
• Berserker - upon activation, Berserker Rules/CPRED/Cyberware/Cyberware puts the user into an enhanced state of fight-or-flight, a primal response opposite to the dissociative episode of Cy-Rage; in short, pumping up the user's metabolic usage, reducing consciousness to prioritize automatic reflexive actions and with the help of micro-endocrine injectors^[9], the user becomes a tool of destruction for a limited time (granting increased BODY, hand-to-hand damage, REF and DEX);
• Social Engines - these vary relating to their intended effect, but usually are incredibly subtle and require physical social behavior to parse pheromones, identify microfacial expressions, stress indicators, voice inflexions and so on;
  • standard models function as lie detectors, tools for blending into your environment^[10] or psycho-social predictors of flaws and qualities;
  • more advanced models are able to interfere with brainwaves, influencing other people and triggering specific behavior (primal reactions, for example)
  • the most advanced models can obfuscate the user from perception altogether through becoming a boring stimulus for pattern-recognition, inhibiting out-of-the-ordinary impressions and becoming "another face in the crowd";
• Swarm Controls - allow the user to remotely control a large group of individual entities, usually nanobots of some kind, to achieve a specific, singular goal; swarms are infinitely useful, from performing specialized surgery using microcameras to constructing a forcefield out of nanobots, acting as an aggressive defense system against thrown objects or even acting as LED projectors able to construct 3D objects using holograms; however, they require an incredible amount of focus, ability to multitask and volition in order to be used efficiently (INT, WILL and stable environment)

Exotic Cyberware

A class onto itself, Exotic Cyberware is that system or suite that requires multiple moving parts in order to operate at maximum capacity.

Examples include Full Body Conversions, frequently used by high-ranking corporate soldiers to excel in the field, Netrunner Suites (Interface Plugs, Cyberdeck, pop-up screens and AR overlays), Exotics (Skin implants for fur, cyberweapons like wolvers or claws, Berserker), Ripperdoc Suites (Medical Hand, Swarm Control for nanobots, endocrine injectors, pattern recognition and memory archive software for preventing surgery errors).

Ingenious Edgerunners can take use of specific Exotic Cyberware to construct near-supernatural powers: string some Cyberware together and you can hypnotize a person, effectively putting them into mind control, or command a swarm of fly-like nanobots to do your bidding.