Why Cybernetics?
Before I start, let's talk a little
theory. A Psi-Wars character is built up out of three templates: her
occupational template, her background lens and her power-set. The
occupational template determines what she does.
It's her role and niche. A spy, for example, is going to fit into
the information gathering and infiltration niche. The background
lens tells you something about who she is.
Leylana is an aristocrat, while another spy might be a slave. Both
will be masters of information gathering, deception and infiltration,
but Leylana wears beautiful outfits and worries about what's
fashionable in court and who is marrying who, while the slave is more
worried about whether her master will beat her for the terrible
secrets she just uncovered while skulking in shadows.
Power
sets explain why you are cool.
They set you apart in a specific and precise way. Psionic Powers
and Communion say that you are cool in a spooky or mystical
way. If Leylana chose a psionic powerset, then she becomes the sort
of spy that snatches secrets right from your mind, who sees visions
of the future and worries about destiny and the future of all mankind
while spouting nonsense like “I must slay the Great Beast with the
Secrets of the Dark Emperor!” Martial Arts sets say that you are
cool in a culturally specific and martial way.
If Leylana studied Space Ninjutsu, then she becomes a ninja, able to
kill with her bare hands and vanish, but also tied into a Space Ninja
clan, who share their secrets with few. It suggests that she has
some deep, cultural tie to them (perhaps she knows their language and
their cultural familiarity).
Cybernetics
say that you are cool in a physical
and robotic way. A
cyborg has given up some of her humanity to be stronger, faster and
more technological way. She has become a bit more like a bot to gain
an additional edge over everyone else. If Leylana chose to be a
cyborg, then we would expect hidden weapons, gleaming red eyes when
angered, a bullet-proof under-chassis, a super-strong arm, and the
ability to interface directly with computers to steal their secrets.
