VRSkin (Tech 27)
Once upon a time there was a Nice witch. Which is to say there was a woman from Nice, France, whowas a follower of the nature-worshipping religion Wicca. She was also the preeminant expert in robotic perception of the age. That is, until the Neo Dark Ages came, and both her heretical beliefs and unclean knowledge branded her an enemy of the Church. Saddly, in her desperation to escape the new regime, she joined a coven of witches that were not Wiccan, but in fact Satanists. Gos-Hags, created by their fallen master to sow fear and death among the unfaithful. The world she had known now forever lost (or so she thought), she gave herself over entirely to the powers of Darkness.
Would that her story ended there, her tragic tale would be only one of millions, made even more tragic by it's banality. But the Neo Dark Ages gave way to the Neo Enlightenment, and as the Tech Surge swept the land, the Nice Witch found not only her old knowledges of robotics and optics returning to her with a new clarity, but also wild ideas that blurred the lines between man and machine, reality and simulation. She threw herself into her research with devilish glee, and soon her coven and their followers were feared even by the faithful, with technological wizardry that outshone even that of the Church. One of the Nice Witch's greatest successes was a cybernetic suit that integrated many of the new cyberware enhancements into a single system, greately enhancing the wearer's combat potential. She made it even more fearsome by casting it in the form of a wolf, a post-modern take on the old stories of women taking the shape of wolves by wearing their skins. The suit grants it's wearer increased senses, strength, and resistance, as well as physical weaponry and a "berserker fury", fulfilling everyone's expectations for a Loup Garou...
The VRSkin (pronounced "WereSkin"), combines the effects of CSI HotShot II (+2 Find in poorly lit conditions), Datas Hi-Freq (+2 bonus for hearing, high frequency), TSE Taster (+1 Perception for taste identification), TSE Bloodhound (+3 Tracking through scent), TSE LeMotion (+3 Find detecting movement), Compte's Trilon Tendons Level 1 (+ Strength), MB Adrenal Booster (+3 Dexterity, Strength for 3 minutes, -4 Bonus for 20 minutes after), Slashers (Strength+4 damage value), and finally Fangs (Strength+2 damage value). But the VRSkins most impressive feature is that all of these implants are available at a Cyber Value of 0! They are implanted in a specially treated NeuraSkin matrix, which interacts with the wearer's nervous system through an extensive array of TempTrodes. (In a further example of Science imitating Myth, the wearer must be naked to use the suit - it covers them fully in fur, though - and the TempTrodes must be "primed" with a NeuroPhasic Gel that is quite similar to the combination of rendered fat and halucinogenic herbs supposedly used by historical Witches for their own "wereskins".) The array is highly susceptable to feedback, however, and the Cyber Value of any of the wearer's implants - as opposed to those of the suit - are doubled while it is being worn. So clothed, the wearer resembles a large humanoid wolf, with supernaturally red eyes. The suit is somewhat adjustable, but extremely large or small, or non-humanoid beings will not be able to use it. In addition, the organic basis of the suit makes it more easily damaged. It will take one wound each time the wearer takes a wound or better in combat. Each wound must be repaired seperately (CyberTech total of 13) as well as given a week to "heal". (Unless specifically targeted and reduced to 7+ wounds, enough of the suit will remain to be "healed" regardless of the condition of the wearer.)
VRSkins remain a secret of the Nice Witch's coven, and are very expensive (Value 30 for the suit, Value 13 for the Gel) to produce. (Not to mention that they are a contradiction in most areas of the CyberPapacy, and in fact most of the Near Now. So far only six are known to be in existance, all but two in the hands of the coven - and they are quite determined to see those returned! But there have been rumors of Church-approved "Lion of God" VRSkins, as well as inquiries by extra-cosmal agents interested in the technology, it's applications to Alteration magic, and it's ability to further cause fear...