Thursday, May 21, 2015

141. Neo-Canines

Man's best friend might seem like the obvious choice for uplifting. Smart and friendly, their ability to coexist with humanity has been stress tested for thousands of years. This is, perhaps, why they have not been uplifted. For many people, re-engineering this old relationship would feel wrong in ways that don't apply to avians or octopuses. These same people were greatly disturbed when it became apparent that an exhuman project had uplifted dogs, creating neo-canines.

Socially, neo-canines instinctively form into tight packs of up to a dozen individuals, which can include non-neo-canines. Trust and loyalty within these packs is absolute, but no bonds will be formed with anyone outside it. Non-pack members are treated in a business-like fashion at best, and will not be shown either empathy or mercy. Mentally, neo-canines are smart, smarter than many humans, but their intelligence is focused in some unusual ways. Their ability to understand the motives and predict the actions of their pack-mates is almost perfect, leading to great feats of cooperation. They have difficulty with long-term thinking, however, typically having to work methodically to build formal plans.

Neo-canine physiology has not been changed from that of normal dogs, at least on the surface: they are mammalian quadrupeds. The only visible differences are that their tails are longer, stronger, and prehensile, and their tongues are similarly longer, and have been turned into an effective tentacle, at the cost of their sense of taste. Neo-canines typically use their tails to for tasks requiring strength, and their tongues for tasks requiring finesse. They are incredibly perceptive, with enhancement suites for all senses.

Mechanics

Neo-canines are biomorphs [Expensive 25,000+]

Implants: Basic Biomods, Basic Mesh Inserts, Claws, Cortical Stack, Enhanced Smell, Enhanced Hearing, Enhanced Vision
Aptitude Maximum: 30
Durability: 30
Wound Threshold: 6
Advantages: +5 COG, +5 to an attribute of the player's choice, +20 Kinesics
Disadvantages: Quadrupeds have a difficult time in microgravity (–30 to Free Fall Tests)
Notes: Reduced size trait
CP Cost: 25

Plot Hook: Most neo-canines currently living are members of exhuman-led packs, although it is rumored their will be an auction on Extropia selling their genetic data for recreation. Firewall would like the players to attend the auction. They are to take note of the high bidders, counter a predicted exhuman attack, and either steal or buy the data.

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