(I’ve recently got hooked on the Mothership RPG from Tuesday Night Games. For ease of reference, I’m posting my Android House Rules.)
In my game, androids are pseudo-flesh products of “synthetic biology” as opposed to robots. Androids still need to eat, drink, breathe, and sleep – but usually less than a human. They can also be placed in cryostasis, but are still often used to pilot a ship for long-duration travel.
There are three types of androids:
- Basic androids – commonly called “synths” – are the most common and look something like the Working Joes from Alien: Isolation. Although their exteriors may appear plastic, they are still pseudo-flesh organisms that require one-quarter the food, water, air, and sleep of a normal human.
- Advanced androids appear mostly human but “off” – slightly plasticized or like Data from Star Trek, with white polymer circulatory fluid like Ash in Alien. Their synthetic biology requires half the food, water, air, and sleep of a normal human.
- Replicants can “pass” as human – even their synthetic blood is dyed red. A successful check with a Cybernetic Diagnostic Scanner will detect them. Something about them still induces unease in others and they trigger disadvantage on Fear saves like other Androids. Need the same amount of food, water, air, and sleep as a normal human.
A basic synth will operate normally for about 8 years, an advanced android lasts 4 years, while a replicant only lives 2 years before succumbing to “old age”. Past that point, mental instability and physical decay set in. In any case, an android won’t live any longer than twice its standard lifespan.
Their brains are “living” but inhuman. Most get annoyed by comparisons to computers and AI. They can read CAPTCHAs and check those “I am not a robot” boxes. Advanced androids are given artificial memories to better pass as human. Many replicants believe that they *are* human. The same pseudo-flesh is used for “cyber” components – it’s biologically compatible with human bodies. Basic androids often have obviously mechanical components for specific purposes.
Android brains can be reprogrammed by altering their “bioware”. This is like an Operating System update, while the android’s actual identity and memories are like “system files”. A bioware update feels like intrusive brain surgery to an android.
Early in the campaign, the players water-bonded with Elder Irudad and earned favour with the village of Joppa. They started hiring locals as porters, so I statted them up. In my game, the typical inhabitant of Joppa is a green-skinned mutant watervine farmer with the amphibious mutant perk and thirsty mutant flaw, and I made a Joppa Watervine Farmer starting template to reflect this.
The PCs also rescued a group of Snapjaws who had become unwilling plant-symbionts. In return, the Snapjaw Blademistress Ohouluofo joined the group as a hench. I created a Newbeast genotype and a Snapjaw Alpha template. And once the group made contact with the Barathrumites of Grit Gate, I also made a Urshiib Barathrumite template.
