Posthuman: The Definitive D20 Guide to Human Augmentation

[Crothian]

Posthuman: The Definitive D20 Guide to Human Augmentation is a 29-page resource that expands the options for technologically enhanced characters. The new rules here are designed to be compatible with the standard rules for futuristic D20 roleplaying, and you should have no trouble adding them to your game.

Here’s what you get:

The Posthuman Template Class: Instead of using a fixed template that adjusts a character’s effective level, we present the concept of a template class: a five level option that allows you to choose how powerful you want posthumans to be and whether or not you want to abide by the standard drawbacks for augmented humans. If you don’t like the idea of penalizing characters for their enhancements but you don’t want to trash game balance, this is the section for you.

Biotech: Next, we’ll look at biotechnology and how it can replace or augment characters’ natural abilities. You can use these rules with characters from standard classes. Like cybernetics, biotech comes with its own complications, keeping biologically engineered characters from running roughshod over play balance. To transcend these drawbacks, just plug in the Posthuman class.

Nanotech: Nanotechnology seems to have an unlimited potential to augment human ability. The rules in this section present a modest array of nanotech enhancements that, like biotech, come with drawbacks to balance out their benefits. Again, you can plug in the Posthuman class to mitigate or remove these restrictions.

Posthuman Characters: Finally, we present three enhanced characters as a proof of concept and to give you ready made enemies, allies and player characters.


Posthuman: The Definitive D20 Guide to Human Augmentation is written by Malcom Sheppard (author of several supplements for White Wolf's Mage: The Ascension, among other products) and is the premiere release in Adamant Entertainment's TERMINAL IDENTITY line of Cyberpunk-genre products.

Requires the use of the d20 Modern Roleplaying Game, published by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. d20 Modern, and Wizards of the Coast are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. in the United States and other countries and are used with permission. 'D20 System' and the 'D20 System' logo are Trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast and are used according to the terms of the D20 System License version 3.0. A copy of this License can be found at www.wizards.com/d20.

 

[The Black Kestrel]

Posthuman
Publisher: Adamant Entertainment
Author: Malcolm Sheppard
Graphics: Gareth-Michael Skarka
Page Count: 29 (1 cover, 1 credit, 1 OGL, 1 Advertisement)
OGL Content: 90%, the character examples are closed content
Bookmarked: Yes

Disclaimer: The art and layout of the books in the Terminal Identity line offends my sense of aesthetics. The art is photo-realistic and appears to be digitally retouched images. This style of artwork has never appealed to me and I feel it detracts from the book. The layout, while PDF friendly (including wider margins) has one oddity. The page number art interferes with the placement of text and images in some places and is rather jarring when you are reading.

Posthuman was one of the first supplements to be released dealing with the Cybernetic rules from d20 Future. It breaks down into five sections: Introduction, Posthuman Template Class, Biotech, Nanotech and Sample Characters.

The Introduction covers what Posthumans are (in this case cybernetic, genetic or nanotech enhanced humans), some of the questions the development of posthumans pose for society, a sidebar on Posthuman versus Transhuman and a section on using Posthumans in a modern-day setting.

Next the book presents the Posthuman Template Class (which is actually three classes covering cybernetics, biotech and nanotech). The author explains his reasoning behind using a template class, how the template class differs from other classes, what the Posthuman class is (an alternative to the rules presented in the Cybernetics section of the Modern SRD) and guidelines for using the Posthuman class with “regular” cyborgs.

The Posthuman class is geared towards a high-technology game and its abilities reflect this. The class has five levels, with a medium base attack progression, good Fortitude save, regular Reflex and Will saves, d8 hit points, a decent skill list and 5 skill points per level (4 for non-humans).

The Posthuman gains three special abilities at each level: Modification Points, Tolerance and Superior Upgrade. Modification Points allow the Posthuman to buy augmentations (cybernetic, biotech, nanotech or any combination) without making a Wealth check. Additionally the Posthuman can save any unspent Modification Points to use at his next level. Tolerance is essentially the Cybertaker feat, but covers all three types of augmentation. Superior Upgrade gives the Posthuman’s augmentations a special ability or eliminates a weakness from them. For example the Idiot Proof Superior Upgrade makes one type of the Posthuman’s augmentations easier to repair, (re)install or remove.

Following the Posthuman Class we get rules for Biotech. The Biotech rules cover Creation and Healing, Installation and Removal, and Benefits and Drawbacks. Two new feats are included in the Biotech section: Biotaker and Craft Biotechnology. The Biotech section includes a list of Biotech equivalents to existing Cybernetics along with 12 new biotech enhancements ranging from Antiagathic Therapy to Tectogenetic Engineering (an alternate way of gaining a gene-therapy template).

Following the Biotech section we come to Nanotech. The section starts out covering the standard areas of Creation, Installation and Removal, Benefits and Drawbacks. Two new feats are included in the Biotech section: Craft Nanotechnology and Nanotaker. Included is a sidebar covering what changes if any apply to the nanotechnology presented in the Modern SRD. There are also rules for modeling cybernetic and biotech augmentations as nanotech (increase the PL by 1 and purchase DC by 4). 13 new nano-augmentations are provided ranging from Assembler Cloud to the Shapeshifting Colony.

The final section presents three characters from three different Progress Levels that utilize the rules in the book. Yang Ping is a PL 6 cybernetic post-apocalyptic survivor of a nuclear war between Europe and China fighting to restore China to its former glory. Nanzi Janz is a PL 7 biotech revolutionary fighting against the repression of the Jovian Catholic Church and its cyborgs. Keshanth is a PL8 nanotech mad scientist who rules a portion of the galaxy with an iron fist conducting inscrutable experiments.

Likes: The book expands on the material found in d20 Future and provides new rules and augmentations that allow players and game masters more variety in their games. The rules are well thought out and follow the d20 Modern conventions. Adding them to an ongoing campaign shouldn’t present and difficulties.

Dislikes: I can’t really find much that I disliked when I read the book minus the disclaimer above.

Note: Also posted on RPGNow