Hi all,

I've now been running a Dark Heresy game now for a few months, and we're doing pretty good. I want to help out one of my players, who's playing an Arbitrator. He's already got one artificial arm, and he just lost a leg. I'm willing to give him a new leg (money, right now, is not an issue), but I'm wondering if there is any limit to how many cybernetics a character can have. I can't seem to find it in the main book (which is all I have at the moment). Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place for any rules. Just want to be fair.

Thanks!

As long as you don't mess with your mind (cortex implants, MIUs), you are pretty fine. The most extreme examples are the Rite of Setesh and Cybernetic Ressurection (both are in IH if I remember correctly), which seriously drain you of your humanity.

From a RP standpoint, every augment drains some humanity, but most are needed (a limb), the problem comes from when you willingly remove a part to gain an augment, not replace one that is damaged/unusable/gone

The only thing I remember doing with actually limiting a characters cybernetics is if they are a tech priest. We ruled, or it might be in the actual rules i dont remember, that you can have a maximum number of mechadendrites or "extra" limbs and whatnot equal to your TB. But as I said earlier thats for techies. So do what you want with that information but as Cymbel said, so long as its needed you dont have to worry about the augs. Just look at inquisitor Varrek!!

Rite of Setesh (IH): Basically turns you into dreadnought-lite, a rotting mummy kept barely alive by stuff that skirts close to tech-heresy, all of your senses are mechanical. It does give you Machine (4) and Regeneration, but it also ruins your reflexes, drives you insane a bit and crit damage gets a +5 bonus. Plus 100,000 thrones (though to make it fit the description, it would make sense to add a zero or two, to make it actually "beggaring a king"

Cybernetic Resurrection (IH): Have to have been very close to death or burned a fate point, pretty much crippled. The first version involves your damaged organs/limbs being swapped out and losing some fellowship. The second version is heavy duty, little of you is left that is human, you CHANGE, too much here to list practically, but at that point you may as well roll up a new PC.

But again, the first option of CR retains most of your humanity, the second doesn't and neither does the Setesh Rite. So keep it to a point as needed and you shouldn't have any issues (besides minor RP ones and those are avoided mainly if you don't start swapping out good working biological parts for mechanical ones)

I cannot for the life of me remember which book i read it in and i don't have any to hand, but i definitely remember it saying somewhere that the maximum number of cybernetics a character can handle is equal to their toughness bonus. Of course this will be hard capped at rolled amount (20) + starting (Max 25) + advances (20) + any mutations that boost cybernetics, for a rough Toughness bonus of 6. 6 Cybernetics sounds about fair to me, and of course you can always get ones that increase your toughness or even better give you unnatural toughness.

I'm quite certain the only stated limitation is that of TB capping mechadendrites.

Yeah, I am pretty sure it is mechandrites, otherwise Techies would have some problems

Thanks for your post, fellas! It does take a weight off my mind. I'm coming into this game from playing Shadowrun, and in that game there is a limit that basically, as Cymbel said, drains some of your humanity. I don't know if that's necessarily an aspect of Dark Heresy or not, but I'm more than willing to go with it.

Out of pure curiosity, having just read the Ravenor series of books by Dan Abnett, what is this box that the Inquisitor Ravenor is put in? I'd love to have some sort of stats for that so I can make my own "Ravenor."

It isn't a direct limit in rules, but besides the ones where your mind gets scooped out and replaced with tech, you stay somewhat similar. But look at techpriests, they start off with a small amount (relatively) and some stay more human, while others try to push their bodies to be closer to machines in thought and body.

MaxWylde said:

It's a hovering wheel chair/life support unit that is heavily armored and heavily armed.

If memory serves it has a force field, a pair of psycannons, and if I'm not completely making things up a big chunk of wraithbone that amplifies his abilities.

MaxWylde said:

Shadowrun adheres by the "Cybernetics Eat Your Soul" trope. WH40k does not. Cybernetics are not inherently damaging to your soul (unless you're a Necron); the reason Techpriests act so artificial and out-of-touch with humanity is not because of their cybernetics, but because their religious beliefs teach them to shun emotion in favor of cold logic. As far as WH40k is concerned, you can replace your entire body with cybernetics except for your brain, and be just fine with it. It's how you react to the bionics that determines whether or not you've lost your humanity or your soul.