Star Log.EM: InsaneCorps’ Bewildering Biotech (SFRPG)

This installment of the Star Log.EM-series clocks in at 9 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 4 pages of SRD, leaving us with 3 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

Okay, so your humble reviewer made a deal with InsaneCorps’ Doctor Malifaord Hudson Insano, who hijacked my brain during the last InsaneCorps-reviews, so let’s see if this holds up – the supplement begins with an ad for the biological wonders the good doctor peddles, and it is pretty awesome – and better yet, since we got these transmissions straight from the Xa-Osoro system, we won’t need to sign the 470 legal documents to install these upgrades – use in the Starfinder game just requires this little pdf.

The new biotech herein denotes system, prices and item levels correctly, so what exactly do we get? Well, Acryllidigits are awesome for the artists among us – the augmentation is installed in all hands, and makes the conversion of body fat to paints that you can sweat possible. Cool here: This paint can ALSO help you escape grapples…and, obviously, it leaves your foes an artwork… This can become even more hilarious when combined with detachable limbs, installed in the arms – this lets you use your reaction to detach an arm, lizard-tail style: This lets you automatically escape the grapple, but your arm dies…but fret not. It totally regrows within a few hours, with augmentation installed. Awesome, right? Yep, it is. And in spite of InsaneCorps’ reputation, the limbs actually don’t mutate or the like.

Looking for something more? What about a cardiac rebooter? When you’d die, you roll ALL your abilities versus a DC 20: On a failure, you end up on the penultimate step of the poison progression, and then get to repeat that check instead of a save; a successful step moves you one step towards healthy, and proper use of  Medicine helps with the check. This, as a kind of extra life, needs to be reinstalled after use, but for the dangers of the Nova Age? Perfect. Cattlegut is installed in the stomach, and helps versus ingested poisons. More importantly, it allows you to digest (and sustain yourself) from otherwise inedible stuff! Think about being stranded on that lifeless rock…yeah, this is helpful.

Chemoreception enhancers for the brain come in 6 mks ranging from item levels 2 to 17, and net you blindsight (scent) with increasing ranges. At item level 7, you could also install a deoxymorphic gland, which makes you such a being, or if you’re a deoxyian, you get more control over your holistic perfection racial trait. And yes, this does allow you to become a deoxyian. (The race was btw. introduced in the Starfarer’s Companion.) The melatonin gland for the brain is something I’d get IRL without even thinking twice – it lets you go to sleep reliably, and this flood of melatonin also can net you serious bonuses to saves 1/day, though after benefiting from this, you fall into a brief sleep you can’t awake from. Awesome. Did I mention the extendable eyestalks (in two mks).

Hands may be fitted with steel-plated sockers, making your unarmed strikes lose the archaic and nonlethal property, and may take fusion seals etc., using item level. The augmentation only really becomes awesome with Improved Unarmed Strike – not only is the ability interaction great, it lets you add weapon special properties AND change your unarmed strike properties. Really cool!

And the thing you can see the good Doctor demonstrate on the cover? That’s Chromatophoric Skin, available in 6 mks, from item level 1 to 16, which not only lets you be the psychedelic star of the party, it also lets you use Resolve to hypnotize specific targets, and no, this cannot be cheesed for stun-locks.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch on a formal and rules-language level. Layout adheres to the series’ two-column full-color standard, and the pdf has a cool artwork for you. The pdf has no bookmarks, but needs none at this length.

Alexander Augunas’ biotech, presented as Starfinder items courtesy of InsaneCorps’ benevolent overlord, is AWESOME. It’s not only useful in game, it has these evocative images and roleplaying potential components that make them feel like more than just a series of static enhancements. Precise rules, evocative ideas, funny writing – what more can you ask for? 5 stars + seal of approval.

You can get these amazing biotech augmentations here on OBS!

You can also get them as part of the massive Starfarer-bundle here!

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Endzeitgeist out.

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