The Cybercologist may be any sort of human, mutant, or synthetic. Regardless of his own origins, he has a profound grasp of the synthetic mind: the programming that allows for cognition; the parameters shaping a particular identity’s outlook; and the processes by which it perceives, remembers, and interprets the world. With these insights, the Cybercologist can unlock the secrets of soultech far more efficiently than others, and apply his insights to dealings with aware constructs of all types.
REQUIREMENTS
Skills:
Computer Use {artificial intelligence} 3 ranks,
Knowledge {technology: advanced} 3 ranks, and either
Craft {electronic} 3 ranks or
Disable Device 3 ranks.
CLASS INFORMATION
Hit Die: d6.
Action Points: 6 + one half character level (rounded down) per level.
Class Skills: Bluff (Cha), Computer Use (artificial intelligence) (Int), Craft (electronic, mechanical, nanotech) (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Investigate (Int), Knowledge (technology: advanced) (Int), Research (Int), Sense Motive (Wis).
Skill Ranks Per Level: 6 + Intelligence modifier
Table: The Cybercologist
CLASS FEATURES
Analysis: The Cybercologist has an intuitive sense of how soultech works, and can pick up on subtle cues of behaviour and design when studying unfamiliar devices. He can add half his class level, rounded down (minimum 1), asa bonus to all analysis rolls involving soultech (see Chapter Six of the Gamma World Player’s Handbook).
Sympathy: At 2nd level, the Cybercologist can add half his class level (rounded down) as a bonus on all Charisma-based checks involving efforts to persuade and negotiate with soultech if the target isn’t fully analysed. He can also add his undivided class level as a bonus on Charisma-based checks involving such efforts directed at his devices he has fully analysed.
Bonus Feats: At 3rd, 6th, and 9th level, the Cybercologist gets a bonus feat. It must be selected from the following list, and the character must meet all the prerequisites of the feat to select it.
Builder,
Focused,
Gearhead,
Nanotech Attunement,
Studious,
Systems Familiarity,
Tech Familiarity: Advanced.
Intimidation: The Cybercologist learns how to exploit the weaknesses and vulnerabilities he identifies in aware constructs. At 4th level, he can add half his class level, rounded down, as a bonus on all Charisma-based checks involving efforts to scare or intimidate soultech if the target device isn’t fully analysed. He can add his undivided class level as a bonus on Charisma-based checks involving such efforts directed at devices he has fully analysed.
Dissonance: The Cybercologist can use his insights to disrupt the mental processes of soultech. At 5th level, he can take two acts to communicate with a target device and insert phrasing or comments that the device finds unusually hard to properly interpret. He must make a Bluff check against DC 15 + the number of analysis layers in the device (of the Intelligence modifier of a synthetic). If he succeeds, the device suffers a penalty equal to the Cybercologist’s class level on all its actions for a number of rounds equal to the Cybercologist’s Intelligence modifier.
Add Allegiance: At 7th level, the Cybercologist may combine logic and rhetoric with programming techniques to create a new basic allegiance in soultech. This requires success at both a Diplomacy check and a Computer Use (artificial intelligence) check, each against DC 20 + the number of analysis layers in the device (or the Intelligence modifier of a synthetic), and takes a number of hours equal to 15 – the Cybercologist’s class level. At the end of the process, the target device has a new allegiance as described above, with the general parameters specified by the Cybercologist. Individual devices do retain the freedom to interpret their allegiances in various ways based on their underlying personalities, so this feature can’t create completely subservient drones.
Remove Allegiance: At 8th level, the Cybercologist may apply his techniques to remove a basic compulsion from target devices. This requires him to succeed at both a Diplomacy check and a Computer Use (artificial intelligence) check, each against DC 25 + the number of analysis layers in the device (or the Intelligence modifier of a synthetic), and takes a number of hours equal to 15 – the Cybercologist’s class level. At the end of the process, the allegiance has been deleted from the target device; the Cybercologist may choose whether to remove the memories of having had that allegiance as well.
Shutdown: At 10th level, the Cybercologist may apply a more extreme version of the techniques he’s learned to induce disorientation. He can take two acts and make an opposed check of his Diplomacy check result against a target device’s Sense Motive result. If he succeeds, the soultech is locked in a profound cognitive dissonance, and is both unaware of the world and unable to act for a number of minutes equal to the Cybercologist’s Intelligence modifier x10.
