Tech Scum Character Creation

As the myriad arms of civilization expand across the stars, the inferno of war keeps churning. Forgotten dolls of forgotten wars continue to cling to life just under the surface, infesting the derelict bellies of megastructures and space colonies like unwanted parasites.

To survive in these situations, such debased creatures become vicious and twisted, unkillable monsters. Some were once members of other societies and have fallen into the gutter because of some unforgivable sin- Others are merely the rejected children of fate, built incorrectly from the start, yet refusing to lay down and accept an unjust execution.

Creating a Tech Scum character means making somebody that could have their own slasher film series, or perhaps series of disturbing cryptid stories. They get along with each other only because there is no one else left.

Tiers of Malformation

By definition, the Tech Scum do not have a set look, body type, or even mentality to them. Please choose one of the following Cadres to put them in a vague category. Everything is just an example, and you should feel free to get imaginative with just how crazy their design is!

(A) ▒▒ Gun Carrion / Killbot ▒▒
Once security or soldier robots, these murderous sorts are in danger of becoming mindless killers, obsessed with following kill-commands and committing violence. Their bodies are highly weaponized, lean and blindingly fast. Some are humanoid with savage weapons replacing several limbs- Others are spidery or squid-like bundles of murderous mechadendrites. There is no rhyme or reason to what parts are constructed from hydraulic tubing, synthetic flesh, or bio-plastic carapace. They are rarely mentally or physically equipped for taking care of themselves, possessing mere rags, if they wear clothes at all.
(Attacker Equipment; Chainsaws, Power Blades, Flame Throwers, Machineguns, Missile Launchers, Gamma Lasers, Coil Guns, Monofilament Wire Guns.)
(B) ▒▒ Contaminator / Zombie ▒▒
Perhaps simple nurses or hydroponics workers once, if not maids and cleaners. These semi-organic units have become hives of grotesque radiation and contamination, actively spreading bio-weapon grade toxins with varying levels of awareness. They are clumsy, barely mobile hulks, rotted from the inside and out. Many still wear their old threadbare work clothes, or perhaps matted bundling robes to contain their sutured flesh. They have a great need to absorb organic material, lest their decaying forms begin to fall apart entirely.
(Plague Equipment; Nanomachines, Radioactive Contamination, Micro-Junker parasites, Infecteous viruses or bio-weapons, Acid Sprayers, Virus Injectors.)
(C) ▒▒ Refabricator / Work Drone ▒▒
Former work drones still hardcoded to following obsolete orders, obsessed with crafting bunkers and hives everywhere they go. Wherever primarily mechanical or synthetic-organic, they are a hardy type with all sorts of integrated tools. Many have tank tracks or multiple sets of legs, and heavy lifting claws to carry heavy loads. A more esoteric sort is those obsessed with spreading a network of drones, or perhaps erecting radio towers to transmit garbled number stations and computer viruses to foreign sources. Like a termite infestation, they are the most productive in inflicting damage to large scale structures.
(Construction Equipment; Power Vices, Cutting Beams, Micro-Manipulator Tendrils, Pile Drivers, ECM Projectors, Power Fists, Arc Projectors, Bonding Thread Projectors.)
(D) ▒▒ Trash Horror ▒▒
Continuously broken or perhaps never put together correctly in the first place, these defective dolls are twisted and awkward guttersnipes with brains just as malformed. Their assortment of parts is totally ad-hoc, somehow balancing the risk of breaking down entirely, with a strange redundancy of parts that makes them rise from the dead far more often than not. Ironically they are probably the most independent and free of any former programming, yet too twisted in body and thoughts to be compatible with polite society. Theirs is a low existence, skulking through tunnels and pipes, squeezing inside walls and cargo crates. Truly horrid cryptids seizing every dishonorable and disgusting opportunity in order to stubbornly writhe their way through life.
(Plague Equipment; (These beings can use any of the equipment that the other cadres can, in any combination. It is much more likely to break or fail, however, since they likely scavenged the parts from the trash.)

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Names

Being as they are abberant techno-organic beings with no solid community to speak of, they do not have a set theme for names. Many simply use their military asset designations or corruptions thereof, whilst others intentionally spread nicknames regarding themselves, exuding imagery of legendary space monsters or aesthetic cult hermits. Some others might simply be given names based on their physical appearance, a gift from others of their kin.
Example characters- ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Personal History-

Most are former drones that were broken or forgotten about, perhaps part of a crew that no longer exists. Others were crafted by other Tech Scum using abandoned scrap parts, forgotten cyro-tube bodies or soul saviour pod data.

The sentient and sane ones coddle together in vague disparate underground communities, surviving by trading with or stealing from other commuities. Others are formed into roving bands of scavengers, perhaps sharing a base of operations within some barely functional coperate shell-base, or a former garbage pit where the defectives were left to rot and expected to perish.

Some barely tolerate their own kin, horrified by their own bodies and predicament- Whilst others are dementedly embracing and clingy to the point of psychosis.

It's up to you if they actually know that much about the world's general history or not. These are not exactly the most educated or sensible beings, highly vulnerable to data corruption and likely disbelieving in 'idealisitic propaganda' at the best of times.


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Attributes and Abnormalities-

For every element of a Tech Scum character that is vicious and scary, they also have some grevious malformation, a result of their abominable construction and decades of disrepair. Instead of basic skills, Tech Scum characters can select as many positive and negative aspects as they want for their character- The only rule is that both catagories must be equal in number! The idea is not only to reduce powergaming, but also give reasons for characters to interract and empathise with their own debased kindred.

As with everything else, feel free to make up your own idea and run it past the GM, if none of the options appeal to you!

Positives;

Negatives;