Shock Tolerance

Shock Attacks (p. 204 EP) are an incredibly potent weapon against biomorphs and pods, able to completely incapacitate them or seriously hamper them long enough to subdue or engage with conventional weapons. The effectiveness of shock weapons is one of the primary reasons, combined with disabling pain sensors, that Synth morphs are considered the top tier of combat morphs. But, one cannot count out transhuman ingenuity, and so attempts have been made to improve biomorph's resistance to Shock effects, and they have some limited success.

Shock Tolerance: This bioware comprehensively strengthens the body to resist or dampen the effect of a Shock attack on the body. This involves improving interbody insulation, toughening certain nerve clusters and muscle groups, and actually improving muscular control so that one can maintain conscious control of the body even though some debilitating effects still occur. While impossible to completely alleviate the effects of a Shock attack (which many users note is still discomforting or even painful), Shock Tolerance makes it so morphs are statistically less likely to be completely incapacitated - though this involves many variables (physical location of the shock, overall health, etc) to nail down as a complete immunity. A morph with Shock Tolerance rolls (DURx2)+Energy Armor when struck with a Shock weapon to resist its effects. [High]

Shock Tolerance is sometimes used by habtechs who work with electrical gear to help prevent dangerous injuries when working with live cables or wiring, but the most common is in morphs with combat or security duties to resist a debilitating incapacitation, such as police in the LLA where synthmorph rights agitators often deploy Shock weapons en masse due to Synths' inherent immunities. On the other hand, Shock Tolerance occupies a place of dubious legality in many polities due to law enforcement's frequent use of Shock weapons. The legislature in the Titanian Commonwealth, for instance, has gone back and forth on if Shock Tolerance should be available to the average citizen. The resistance to non-lethal takedown by police not only makes things more dangerous for officers and other civilians, but also means police may have to endanger the life and limb of a suspect as well.