Neo-Raptor

Neo-Raptor (Biomorph)
A product of the "Lost World" Center in Burroughs Crater, this is a transgenic morph creation built from a combination of extant DNA samples, structural analysis of fossil record, neogenetic modeling of Dromaeosauridae and Neo-Avian uplift strains. The result is a small, avian-form morph which visibly and functionally resembles "raptor" dinosaur species. While the morph cannot fly and instead must glide short distances with feathers and membrane it has several advantages over the normal Neo-Avian, such as powerful legs and a counterbalancing tail for sprinting, greater sense of vision and smell over uplifted species, sharp claws on the hands and feet - the latter of which are designed to be highly flexible and prehensile. Because they were designed on Mars, the morph also comes "Rusterized" and able to survive many Martian conditions with lower oxygen values and temperatures. For purposes of logistics, most Neo-Raptors are based on smaller species and stand about 1 meter in height, but larger variants exist. This is a fully marketed product, and several Hypercorps have taken to employing them with Neo-Avian uplifts as patrol and security forces due to their inherent agility and intimidating appearance. It should be noted, this is not a proper uplift species. Not enough DNA exists to recreate a raptor species and uplift in situ - the Neo-Raptor is more akin to a specialized and adapted Neo-Avian morph and they do not exist as a species on their own.
Implants: Basic Biomods, Basic Mesh Inserts, Bioweave Armor (Light), Claws, Cortical Stack, Enhanced Smell, Enhanced Respiration, Enhanced Vision, Gliding Membrane, Prehensile Feet, Temperature Tolerance
Movement Rate: 4/20 (Walker)
Aptitude Maximum: 30 (20 SOM)
Durability: 30
Wound Threshold: 6
Advantages: +5 SOM, +5 INT, +10 REF, +10 Flight, +10 Freerunning, +10 Intimidation
Notes: Small Size, Nonmammalian Biochemistry
CP Cost: 30
Credit Cost: Expensive (30,000)

(This is an idea I've had since the first glimmers of Burroughs Crater - a way to add a bit of unique flavor for them into the game itself beyond the area of the crater. I know others have made dinosaurid morphs in the past, but this clicked really well for my own variation to work with Lost World. The result is a pretty pesky little bugger, with a lot of skill enhancements to counterbalance the limited SOM, relatively low DUR and limited implant selection, including the loss of the Wings. With this aptitude and implant spread, they make decent morphs for combat and scouting, with a lot of mobility. Range isn't their thing, but you could outfit them with Chameleon Skin and let loose if you liked - a raptor with a gun is probably a pretty fun image. I'm explicitly noting this is not a "Raptor Uplift" - that's a really complex process which would require reviving actual dromaeosaurs and carefully adjusting their genetics to make them transhuman level cognitives, and there's just not enough of the underlying DNA to work with. Even if someone was "born" into a Neo-Raptor morph, they'd just be a Neo-Avian pattern uplift with a specialized morph. Use enlarged size if you want to model a larger "sub-species" of Neo-Raptor.)

Vishakanya

Vishakanya is many things. It is a tactic. It is a group. It is an individual operator. It is a way of life. It is a physical shell. The term "Visha Kanya" originates from Sanskrit, and translates into English as "poison girl". The name describes a type of female assassin in Indian ancient history and mythology, who were rumored to have supernatural powers to kill or that their bodily fluids were poisonous, meaning sexual contact would be lethal. Other accounts tend toward more realistic, using seduction to distract from administering a poison or the practice of Mithridatism (slowly acquiring poison immunity) - though the actual effectiveness of this technique is not as reported in many histories and stories. From there, "poison girl" remained a concept and archetype in the world of Indian literature, well into the modern period.

Most importantly, the idea has persisted in the collective unconsciousness into the age of space colonization, where Indian government, corporate and civilian colonization efforts have spread beyond Earth, and remained even after the subcontinent had fallen. While a singular Indian culture remains strongest on Luna, their population and language group was large enough to be noted across the Solar System, with significant populations among several planetary bodies. Also important is that advances in Transhuman technology made many of the legends of the Vishakanya possible, or more believable. This allows for a manipulation of image, myth and popular culture similar to the Bruixeria phenomena. Morphs can be customized to produce or be immune to poison, they can internalize weapons and be able to lie better, they can sense beyond the norm, and even alter their physical appearance. The rise of Nanoware in the post-Fall era makes their capabilities even higher.

So, the practice of Vishakanya began to rise again, and so did organizations to support them. Corporate and criminal groups of indian cultures began to exercise the tactic and cultivate both specific morph-lines and agents and support staff to train and utilize them. The idea then spread to have a moderate amount of knowledge and utility in Hindi cultures across the Solar System, and the term has been adopted for other cultures to refer to the idea. As of yet, no political operators have been tied to a Vishakanya-type operation, though that does not rule out it being used to quell political rivals.

In the early days of the reemergence, one had to cultivate or customize their own "poison girl" morph, but now when one wants to send a Visha Kanya, they tend to want to contact the right group. These groups are typically a front for a local organization who may pay their dues to a bigger org or stand in their own right. On Luna, they are typically "cultural" centers or organizations, who stay clear of the local triads and "civil leaders". One pays an appropriate rental fee and obtains the body for the agreed upon period. Most houses which supply the morphs can also supply Egos to use them, but by all accounts these are often of much lower quality and the bodies; they use forknapped minds who are tasped or behaviorally modified, egos they have illegally or cheaply indentured because they have no marketable skills, poorly-made forks of their own operators and desperate low-level employees who can only be promoted through kills. If one lacks the mind of an assassin to go with the body, one will have much more success finding a freelance hitter who uses the Vishakanya body and tactics.

Modern Vishakanya operations are fairly simple, and follow the themes. Using implants and training they socially manipulate the target, draw them to a secluded or other favorable location - then kill or incapacitate them with poison. Sometimes, a physical death is all that matters - resleeving is expensive and stressful, so it can be a simple warning or reminder. Other times the poison girl is sent to capture the stack, which allows the target to be forknapped and tortured or interrogated. Other times, killing is not the goal (though to those with the right resources it can be a very temporary setback) but to incapacitate, so that other operatives may move or other information can be gained - or the classic opportunity to construct situations to blackmail the target or harm their social standing. On Luna, use of a variant of the Vishakanya tactic is rising among Synthmorph activists, where instead of a biomorph they use a masked synthmorph, and after incapacitating the principle construct a way to reveal this to the public to hurt the standing of prominent biochauvanists. While the term still used is "poison girl", the physical shell can be any gender, and many are armed with sex switches or even hermaphroditic to allow broader utility.

Vishakanya (Biomorph)
The Vishakanya morph epitomizes the "poison girl" aesthetic. Their bodies are lithe, lean, usually with Subcontinent or Central Asian phenotypes - but each is deliberately crafted to look generic and appealing. These are not covert, fast infiltrators like a Ghost, but rather subtle social assassins and operatives. The primary function is that their bodies are poisonous and immune to poison, with the spit and other bodily fluids able to secret the BTX2 toxin. They have sharp senses which are belied by their appearances - and the social mods mean they can easily slip in wherever needed. Claws and Eelware let them defend themselves, or quietly disable targets. Advances in nanotechnology allow them to be even more covert, and sometimes they are improved with additional nanoware. All the while, they look like humble Splicers or Exalts. While they have a variety of improvements, it should be noted that a Vishakanya is not equipped for open combat, they have no augmentations to increase their durability, reaction or other combat potential - an open fight is an anathema to the subculture this morph was designed to represent. They are seducers and poisoners, not SpecOps ninjas.
Implants: Basic Biomods, Basic Mesh Insert, Claws, Cortical Stack, Eelware, Emotional Dampers, Enhanced Pheromones, Enhanced Smell, Enhanced Touch, Enhanced Vision, Nanophages, Poison Gland (BTX2), Sex Switch, Skinflex, Skinlink, Skin Pocket, Toxin Filters, Truth Filters
Movement Rate: 4/16 Walker
Aptitude Maximum: 30
Durability: 40
Wound Threshold: 8
Advantages: +5 COO, +5 SAV, +5 SOM, +5 WIL, Limber (1) trait, Innocuous trait
CP Cost: 60
Credit Cost: Expensive (60,000)

Ulmo

Ulmo
Type: Terrestrial (Oceanic)
Primary Star: M2V (Red Dwarf)
Gravity: .84 g
Diameter: 10,076.62 km
Atmospheric Pressure: .53 atm
Atmospheric Composition: 55% Argon, 17% Oxygen, 17% Carbon dioxide, 7% Sulfur dioxide,
3% Nitrogen, 1% Other Gasses
Surface Temperature (Mean): 28 C
Day Length: 48 Hours
Orbital Period: 283 Days
Satellites: None
Gate Access: Vulcanoid Gate, Set Gate
Notes: Planetary Rings, Deep Oceans, Transhuman Settlement (Aqua Dimension Research
Station Bathyscaphe)
Ulmo is an interesting prospect, settled in relatively close to its star, with an ideal temperature range for transhumans, but an atmosphere too thin for those without Enhanced Respiration to breathe. Unfortunately or fortunately, as the case may be, much of Ulmo’s surface is covered in extremely deep oceans, which alleviates this problem for water breathing biomorphs. Due to it’s otherwise hospitable conditions, Ulmo has been settled by a aquaculture and biodesign extropian microcorp known as Aqua Dimension, based out of Ceres in the Main Belt. Aqua Dimension has built a sizable bathyscaphe near the Gate area, and begun exploration efforts. The discovery of an entire planetary body of oceans has interested both Neo-Octopi
and Neo-Cetaceans, and it is believed the Hidden Concern has invested into the exploration of the planet. Aqua Dimension has even created an amphibious variant of the Ruster (usually called a “Salter”) which allows normal Transhumans to survive on surface conditions on Ulmo. Ulmo has no moons, but does have a planetary ring formation, which is highly interesting. The Gate on Ulmo is located in a large, black rock grotto inside a seamount relatively close to the surface, with the gate itself located outside of the water.

Mera
Station Type: Bathyscaphe
Allegiance: Independent (Aqua Dimension/TerraGenesis)
Primary Languages: English, Spanish, Russian, Neo-Cetacean
Population: 3,000
Mera is a Bathyscaphe habitat on Ulmo anchored to the top of the seamount (usually titled Mera Seamount) which contains the Pandora Gate. Mera is owned and operated by Aqua Dimension, an extropian-style hypercorp primarily based out of Ceres and Atlantica in the Main Belt, with a contractual agreement with TerraGenesis. Aqua Dimension specializes in aquaculture and aquatic biodesign, and is considered a competitor to several major Genehacking outfits on Enceladus, and is also well known for a large volume of Neo-Cetacean and Neo-Octopi uplifts among its staff. The station is arranged into a series of submerged spheres at various depths (but never too extremely far from the surface), with the outermost layer of spheres partially flooded to accommodate amphibious morphs. Beyond the spheres are anchored frameworks which function as cultivates for aquaculture designed by Aqua Dimension to grow and thrive on Ulmo. Primary power for the station is generated by tidal plants along the bottom and attached to the anchoring tethers, with some limited surface solar facilities. The central bubble of the station, known as “The Sphere” is the largest, and holds the primary infrastructure and administration facilities for the colony, as well as connects to the anchors and to “Gate Grotto”, via pressurized elevator. The Gate Grotto itself has been sealed and increased to normal earth pressure, and connects via a short swim or submarine ride to a specialized “customs” facility which leads into the Sphere. The rest of the station’s spheres are arranged into roughly three layers out from the sphere, known as the Inner Circle, Middle Circle and Outer Circle. The Inner Circle contains most of the habitation, recreation and life support infrastructure for the station, the Middle Circle is made up of research and development labs, specialized towards specific projects, and the Outer Circle contains the amphibious bubbles which are for Aquatic morphs and uplifts, and some other specialized research tasks. On the topmost layer of Mera, where The Sphere actually breaks the surface of Ulmo’s vast oceans, is the TerraGenesis run resort known as the Pacifica Hotel, which is a large, mostly open air space, where people can rent one of Aqua Dimension’s custom “Salter” morphs, and enjoy the experience of Ulmo to the fullest.

About 50% of the population are employees directly with Aqua Dimension, with another 30% unaffiliated contract employees. The remaining population is a combination of dependents, unaffiliated researchers (mostly Argonauts and Europans), TerraGenesis and other Venusian and Extropian corp affiliates, and an indeterminate number of tourists, gawkers, aquatic mercurials and freelance gatecrashers. Mera is wholly owned and operated by Aqua Dimension (except for large sections leased to TerraGenesis to run their resort) operates off a Profundan anarchocapitalist model, where employees of the corp are provided with shares, the dividends of which go first and foremost to paying for habitation expenses on Mera. Contractors are provided with habitation and necessities as part of their employment contracts for the period of their employment (thus, coming out of their end pay), and all other parties must either obtain basic resources on a prorated basis, or are provided them by a group (such as TerraGenesis) who have an extant contract with Aqua Dimension. There is also the influence of the Hidden Concern, who have invested in the project though legitimate and illegitimate means, and as such, are one of the few forces to hold shares in the microcorp who are not employed by it. In addition to their living expenses, shareholders are entitled to vote on matters related to the corporation as a whole, including regular elections for the CEO and other officer positions in the corp.

Salter Biomorph (Ruster Variant)
Implants: Add Direction Sense, Echolocation, Gills, Lateral Line and Swim Bladder
CP Cost: 30
Cost: Expensive (Almost impossible to find off Ulmo)

Dryad morph

Dryad (Biomorph)
Designed by and for Nano-ecologists, the Dryad is an interesting attempt at building a highly sophisticated morph which is designed to be one among its environment, and also is extensively loaded with nanotechnology. The morph is equipped with Digging Claws, Wrist-Mounted Tools and a Gardener nanoswarm hive built right into the body - ideal tools for living among plant-life and helping to nurture or grow them. Photosynthetic Skin, Respirocytes, and enhanced metabolisms in the form of the fat storage and digestive nanotech means they can "live off the land" very easily, for long extended periods. Enhanced Respiration and Temperature Tolerance make them at home in many environments Nano-Ecologists are trying to adapt, Mars included. And the Chameleon Skin helps them literally blend in. Dryads are unusual in that they have Heavy bioweave, which is often cosmetically modded to look bark-like, and is designed to protect from scrapes and bruises inflicted by plants - they utilize an enhanced sense of touch to help off-set the difficulties of this modification. Dryads are sturdy morphs, though with fat storage females of this type tend to have "fecund" figures - but generally tend to encourage cautious, nurturing or protective mentalities, who are often very methodical but observant. Do not piss a dryad off, their natural defensive responses are lightning quick to protect a grove or hive, and their claws are sharp.
Implants: Basic Biomods, Basic Mesh Inserts, Bioweave Armor (Heavy), Chameleon Skin, Cortical Stack, Digging Claws, Digestive Symbiotes, Enhanced Respiration, Enhanced Smell, Enhanced Touch, Fat Storage, Grip Pads, Integrated Gear (Gardener Hive), Nanophages, Photosynthetic Skin, Radiation Sense, Respirocytes, Temperature Tolerance, Toxin Filters, Wrist-Mounted Tools, Ultraviolet Vision
Movement Rate: 4/20 (Walker)
Aptitude Maximum: 30
Durability: 35 (w/ Respirocytes)
Wound Threshold: 7
Advantages: +5 COG, +5 INT, +5 SAV, +5 SOM
CP Cost: 35
Credit Cost: Expensive (35,000+)

(The Dryad was built after I developed Photosynthetic Skin at request from my home group. I had been working on some mythological morph themes (which will eventually be posted) so I decided to take the name Dryad and figure out a morph which could carry Photosynthetic Skin. Since that was nanotech, I turned it into a nano-ecologist project. Added in all applicable nanoware and many other environmental adaptations to build a morph with a unique niche to "live off the land", but not in a survivalist/prepper way like the Nomad morph, but more in-tune with a carefully crafted environment. The Dryad would be an interesting choice for a Player Character, they have a lot of survival utility and even sensory enhancements, but also lean to a narrow set of technical skills.)

Felinoid

Felinoid (Biomorph) Originally a very obvious hack by early Genehackers and biosculptors, the Felinoid became its own robust morph-line, an alternative to the Bouncer for those who prefer not to deal with microgravity or prehensile feet. The full felinoid has enhanced genetics for hyperflexibility, enhanced senses, the tail and grip pads in the hands and feet to grip almost any surface, but retains the oxygen supply of the Bouncer. Felinoids also come with the appropriate features, with slim, lithe builds, cosmetically furred and enlarged ears (which are still on the side of the head), claws, pointed teeth and eyes with slit pupils. They also contain the genetics to purr from the Pleasure Pod. Users of Felinoids usually report an increase in inquisitiveness, impulse to react to fast moving objects and to work their claws into soft materials. A common upgrade to the Felinoid called the "Tigress" works as a cheap security/infiltration upgrade, adding armor, chameleon skin and upgrades to cyberclaws - as well as any number of other appropriate enhancements. Numerous cosmetic variants which display different ears and tails also exist. Implants: Basic Biomods, Basic Mesh Inserts, Claws, Cortical Stack, Enhanced Hearing, Enhanced Smell, Enhanced Vision, Grip Pads, Oxygen Reserve, Prehensile Tail Movement Rate: Walker (4/20) Aptitude Maximum: 30 Durability: 35 Wound Threshold: 7 Advantages: +5 COO, +5 REF, Limber (1) trait CP Cost: 30 Credit Cost: Expensive

(This was one of the first morphs I designed using Transhuman's morph creation rules. Feature creep is an obvious issue with this sort of thing, so I wanted to make a simple design goal. To that end, the idea that some genehackers would obviously design the optimal catgirl/kemonomimi morph made for a very simple idea. After some work, and commentary, Oxygen Reserve was added because it doesn't change the end-cost of the morph, and then more clearly makes it an alternative to the micro-grav oriented Bouncer for people who prefer to climb on things rather than be free-floating)