Undetectable Shrapnel

(Author's Note: So, I actually wanted to start posting H-Rep again earlier in the month, but was delayed by a lengthy loss in utilities for most of it. This did, however, give me some time to collect my thoughts and figure out more entry ideas, so look forward to regular updates [in some form] over the coming weeks)

"War crimes" is a fuzzy area in the Transhuman Future. For something to be a crime, there must be laws against it. And for those laws to matter, somebody has to be enforcing them. As there is no form of "international" governing body in the greater Solar System, nor do a majority of the powerful governments in that solar system wish to enter into any kind of treaties or agreements with most of the other, this means that since many of the Old Earth nation-states have folded there are not a lot of key regulations in how remaining polities conduct warfare. The UN attempted to remain together and positive in the exodus of the Fall and the immediate Post-Fall era, but rather quickly disbanded and either joined the Planetary Consortium or folded into their cultural groups. Since pandora's box of WMDs and other such things was opened to fight the TITANs, when there are serious security threats quite a few governments no longer hold back. This can lead to some fairly insidious and dangerous weapons.

Undetectable Shrapnel is a concept actually originating from the region of the 20th and 21st Centuries. While verboten in a proper war, some governments utilized them in counter-terror and anti-insurgency operations. Originally made of hardened plastics, in AF 10 these can be made from carbon fibers or other nanomaterials, transparent alumina or hardened, frangible ceramics. The idea is that these fragments still embedded deep in the body, but are not detectable by metal detectors and have a minimal cross-section on X-rays, T-rays, Ultrasound or many other sensor systems, only easily detected by a pervasive internal sensor network (i.e. Medichines). Since the shrapnel is hard to detect, it can linger in the body, preventing injuries from fully healing and causing further damage. Some may be keyed with a certain chemical "tracer", so that if they are discovered removed or in-situ they act as an ID on the person hit with the weapon. The most insidious types are made of smart materials or other embedded nanotech, and may administer nanotoxins or make more serious injuries - though many types of these materials are too fragile to use. Officially, you see these in place in minefields around the TQZ or certain spots on the surface of Luna, and unofficially, you may see them used by criminals to guard hideouts and caches, or by Hypercorps on planetary bodies to fend of Barsoomians or other Anarchist Guerrillas. Most governments have restrictions about using such materials on civilians, but these can easily be circumvented by their placement on private territory, or high-security locations.

Mechanics:
Other than just an insidious and thought-provoking concept, there are a couple of ways to handle "Undetectable Shrapnel" in play. The easiest is to impose a penalty to First Aid or Surgery rolls to the subject of -10 to -30, counteracted by using certain tools like Nanoscopic Vision or a Utilitool. This reflect the difficulty in treating the subject. For a more lasting effect, possibly on player characters, try out an effect like when a Wound is inflicted (indicating lasting or serious injuries), the character heals at half the normal rate unless healing by some form of nanomedicine, or imposing appropriate SOM or even DUR penalties until the shrapnel is removed. This encourages victims to resleeve to be rid of them fast, making a very draining injury in a game where physical harm is usually very quickly reversed. For PCs who want to utilize such things, the Shrapnel can be applied in the manufacture of any fragmentation weapon. This may require a difficult programming test to re-write blueprints to use new materials, upgrade the cost category or just make otherwise legal gear become Restricted or Illegal.