When writing Halloween articles, one game that should probably feature in any event is SLA Industries. This goes doubly when the chosen theme is resurrections (as a possible guise of the more general theme “From the Grave”, handed out by fellow German bloggers).
Resurrections via LAD procedures often amount to fully reconstructing a body that is not merely dead but which has been literally destroyed by virulent poison, excessive violence or destructive Ebb effects. Liquified organs are replaced with any number of brand products, shredded muscles and pulverised bones are switched for biogenetic tissue and Nuke Tendon Braces. Artificial blood runs through vat-grown veins, copied memories repopulate a cloned brain.
Sometimes, though, even that is not enough. The trauma is too massive, body and soul are too heavily damaged to be reknit.
The last process which might yet be successful in such cases is known as “deadnought conversion”.
Going far beyond even the most radical of standard LAD interventions, the results also bear little semblance with a routine resurrection.
Despite biogenetic tissue replacements, deadnoughts do not fully return to life. Their flesh remains cold and waxen, resembling the pre-Deathwake clone experiments, and their minds are equally distant, one step removed from the world of the living, as seen in an unlucky few “normal” LAD patients. Deadnoughts need massively increased quantities of Chain to yet shackle their bodies and souls together, and without the drug, their precarious balance act on the very edge between life and death would see them tumbling into oblivion.
On the other hand, this very half-life trapped on this threshold gives deadnoughts their own unique advantages. Their half dead bodies are far more resilient than any living counterpart, and they are able to push their biogenetic muscles to the very limit – and beyond – without nuisances such as pain or even physical damage to hold them back.
Supposedly, a few contract killers already tried to inflict massive harm upon themselves, in an effort to provoke their conversion into deadnoughts. And rumours abound, that Delia was not just the very first recipient of LAD, but that she is the first deadnought as well.
Game Effects:
STR and DEX maximums of deadnoughts are each raised by one. Their CHA maximum is reduced by three.
Deadnoughts can increase their STR and/or DEX for one phase. This causes one point of damage per point of increase. The stats can be raised over their normal maximum (up to maximum plus three points). Raising stats does not cost a deadnought an action and is automatically successful.
Deadnoughts never suffer from damage due to bleeding wounds. They are immune to shock. Damage they are dealt is reduced by half.
Deadnoughts have to consume twice the normal dose of Chain per day. If they ever go into Chain detox they immediately die and cannot receive another LAD treatment.
Kick Start and its variants as well as other healing drugs do not affect deadnoughts. Kold Start is the only exception from this rule.
Kold Start
This drug was specially developed to repair damage to the half dead bodies and biogenetic flesh of deadnoughts. The potent healing agents can also affect living natural tissue but are extremely aggressive, potentially leading to uncontrollable side effects.
Game Effects: Deadnoughts regain 8 hits and 3 wounds. Other Chain addicts regain 3 hits and 1 wound. Others regain 2 hits and suffer 1 wound.
Addiction: -1 PHYS per 20 doses.
Detox. Effects: Quantity of Chain doses required by day +1.
Addiction: Continuous.
Stress: 4AS (deadnoughts are immune to this Stress).
Cost: 10c per dose.