Juicertm Upgrades

Created by Nathan Troester
[ Return to Main Menu ]

When Juicer Uprisingtm first came out, I was excited because the possibility of a more defined Juicertm character and the creation of a Juicertm sub-culture was something think Rifts® needed. After reading the book, I was no longer excited. I guess most of the actual information was O.K., it was the new Juicertm O.C.C.'s that threw me off. They just didn't make sense to me, so I came up with my way of expanding upon the Juicer O.C.C. Instead of these other O.C.C.'s (all Juicertm characters in my campaign use the skill package from "Rifts® Main", except the Ninja Juicertm O.C.C. I have also created individual skill packages for characters with an unusual background) a system of Juicertm upgrades can be used to improve a Juicertm's already impressive abilities. These upgrades are simply more powerful chemicals/drugs which replace the regular Juicertm chemicals.

The new drugs are introduced into the bloodstream via the Juicer'stm existing harness. It is important to note that while these drugs do increase the abilities of the Juicertm, they also shorten his life span considerably, exactly how much depends on the upgrade(s) and will be discussed later. Not only do they shorten the life of the Juicertm, but they are also very, very expensive and not exactly easy to get. The only places where Juicertm upgrades can be obtained are Kingsdale, Fort Eldorado, Lazlo, old Washington D.C. (the Republicans), Northern Gun, the New German Republic (from Triaxtm), and several of the ninja clans of Japan are experimenting with the use of different drugs for their Juicerstm.

As the use of the upgrade systems becomes more widespread, the technology should become more available. After about three years the new systems should be available anywhere that you can get the basic Juicertm system. The Juicertm upgrade system was first put into practice by Juicerstm in Kingsdale. Researchers there had been experimenting with the concept for several years, and at the cost of a huge sum in research funds and the lives of several dozen Juicerstm, the system had become "safe" enough to market for general use.

This technology is very new, only in the past three years has it been available on the open market. The original Juicertm system was a holdover from the time before the "Coming", and many believe that tampering with the existing technology is a very bad idea; the way they figure is that if they ancients didn't do it to their Juicerstm, then it musn't be the best thing. But the majority of people are confident in the new systems, and believe them to be safe (only a small fraction of Juicerstm reject the new chemicals; save vs. harmful drugs or all bonuses to attributes, hit points, etc. become negatives and all negatives are doubled).

About half of the Juicerstm in North America have at least one upgrade (not necessarily from the list below), and those Juicers that don't have them want them (only a small fraction of the Juicer population is not interested in the upgrades whether it that the possible ill effects out way the gains or that the Juicer believes that he is already all powerful and does not need them; these individuals are in the minority).


The following common upgrades are available for all normal Juicerstm:

1. Enhanced Endurance: +1d6 to P.E., +6d6 hit points, +2d6x10 S.D.C.tm, halves fatigue rate, -1d6 from P.P., -6d6 from Spd., actually adds 6 months to life span, and costs about 650,000 credits.

2. Enhanced Strength: +1d6 to P.S., +1d4 to P.E., +6d6 S.D.C.tm, -1d6 from P.P., -2d6 from Spd., subtract 3 months from life span, and costs about 350,000 credits.

3. Enhanced Toughness: +1d4 to P.E., +1d4x10 hit points, increase S.D.C.tm by 30%, -1d6 from P.P, and -1d4x10 from Spd. The skin becomes abnormally tough and leathery (A.R. of 8), reducing the sense of touch all over the Juicertm's body. All skills requiring manual dexterity are -20% and reduce the life span by 9 months. This costs about 600,000 credits.

4. Enhanced Prowess: +2d6 to P.P., increase Spd. by 15% (rounding down), -1d4 from P.S., -1d4 from P.E., character is always hyperactive (constantly doing something, moving, talking, etc.), and tends to develop paranoia (sometimes even schizophrenia). Reduce the life span by 6 months. This costs about 400,000 credits.

5. Enhanced Speed: +1d6 to P.P., +1d4 to P.E., increase Spd. by 30% (rounding up), halves fatigue rate while running, character becomes obsessed with his own personal speed and will never use a vehicle (if possible). Instead he will run everywhere he goes. Reduce life span by 12 months. This upgrade costs about 700,000 credits.

6. Enhanced Reflexes: +1d4 to P.P., add 2 extra actions per melee, +6 to parry & dodge, +4 to roll w/punch fall, +4 on initiative, -1d4 from P.S., -1d4 from P.E., gets a +5% bonus on Climbing and all piloting skills, the character is always jumpy and will never sleep of own will, has neurosis of paranoia and one other random insanity (roll or choose, G.M.'s choice), and reduce the life span by 9 months. The upgrade costs about 700,000.

7. Enhanced Senses: One time bonus of +5% on all skills, while all skills requiring manual dexterity are instead +15%. Perfect 20/20 vision, natural polarized vision, nightvision for 200ft., double the normal sight range, can recognize ingredients (toxins) in food at 45% +5% per level, can recognize scents at 25% +5% per level, and can hear well beyond the normal range. However, double all penalties from a sonic source, double all penalties from toxins, drugs, and gasses, the character becomes so reliant on his senses that he will never use full environmental body armor or power armor (cuts off several of the character's senses), will feel helpless if anyone sense is cut off, and will feel suicidal at the permanent loss or major reduction of any sense. There is no reduction of life span, and this upgrade costs about 650,000 credits.

8. Enhanced Growth: +1d8 to P.S., +1d6 to P.E., +4d6 hit points, increase S.D.C.tm by 15%, character's size increases by 10-30%, -1d6 from P.P., -2d6 from P.B. (character's body is misproportioned), and reduce Spd. by 15%. The character tends to be mean (a big bully) and will pick on "weaklings" (people smaller or not as strong as him). Reduce the life span by 3 months. This costs about 700,000 credits.

9. Enhanced Immune System: +1d4 to P.E., +4 vs nonlethal toxins, +3 vs lethal toxins, +5 vs harmful drugs, is immune to almost every natural disease, and viruses, drugs or toxins that do affect the character will be halvedin effectiveness. Gasses have 1/3 their normal effects. This actually adds 12 months to the life span, and costs about 850,000 credits.


Special and/or rare Juicertm upgrades [by Brett Hegr]:

1. Supernatural Senses: Using the blood of Dog Boys or Psi-Stalkerstm in the drug mixture causes the Juicertm to gain limited psychic sensing abilities! He gains abilities one and two of the Dog Boy R.C.C., but at half the range and a -20% sensing penalty. The character also gains a +1 vs psionic attack and a +1 on initiative. This upgrade reduces the life span by 1d4+5 months and costs 900,000 credits.

2. Supernatural Resistance: By bombarding the character with magic energy and injecting him with unheard of chemicals, the character becomes resistant to some forms of psychic and magic phenomena. Add +2d6 hit points, +1 to M.E., +1 to P.E., and the character gets a bonus of +4 to save vs magic and psionic attacks. If such an ability affects the character, he shrugs off the spell or ability's effects in half the time. This resistance does not apply to physical effects like psi-swords, Carpets of Adhesion, and energy attacks. This reduces the life span by 6 months and costs 1 million credits. The character's personal P.P.E.tm is reduced to 1d4.

3. Supernatural Transformation: This is one of the rarest of all treatments, performed by alchemists who grow rich from the profits. Using the blood and flesh of a demon, dragon, brodkil, or other supernatural creature a Juicertm can be transformed into a minor supernatural being. Double the hit points (they become an M.D.C.tm equivalent), drop the S.D.C.tm, and add another +2d4 hit points per level of experience. The character's strength becomes supernatural, and add a total of +5 points to any of the attributes. The character's P.P.E. base increases to 6d6+6, though he cannot cast magic or use Techno- Wizardtm devices. Also add a +1 vs Horror Factor, magic spells, and psionic attacks. Reduce the life span by 1d4+2 months. This upgrade costs 2.5 million credits, usually more, and is only avaliable in high magic- technology areas (like the shadier parts of Lazlo).

4. Genetic Flux: This complicated, expensive, and hazardous upgrade causes the character's body to consistently mutate it's own genetic structure. The chance for rejection is an astonishing 46%! However, some Juicerstm are so obsessed with revenge or power that they don't care what it takes to get an edge over their enemies. The result is either four minor super abilities or one major super ability (player's choice) that change every time the character gains a new level of experience. The character has no control over the change and no way to know what is happening in his body. Every new level of experience, each minor power has a 50% chance of remaining the same. A roll of 51% or more means that power fades and a new one takes it's place. The major power only has a 25% chance of remaining the same. All rolls for the power should be random. A character can never have the same ability twice - all abilities are different, though an ability can disappear and reappear at random throughout the character's life. This subtracts 8+1d4 months from the Juicer'stm life span. The process costs two million credits, and can only be found in a couple rare spots (like Free Quebec and Lone Star black market shops).


The above upgrades are not the only ones, just the easiest and most used ones (upgrades can even be custom made for individual Juicertm's but this is overly expensive and very few have the technology to do it). The special upgrades are limited by their cost, tech level, and avaliability of necessary resources. They can only be acquired in select locations. A character can never have more that two upgrades, and the upgrades cannot have conflicting bonuses (an example would be Enhanced Toughness +1d4 to P.E. and Enhanced Prowess -1d4 from P.E.) The upgrades are not temporary stimuli or a short-term thing. They are permanent additions to the Juicertm's system.

A Juicer attempting to undergo "detox" will find his chances for survival reduced by half for each upgrade he has (e.g. a two-year Juicer has a 76% chance to survive "detox", if he had one upgrade his chance would be 38%, if he had two upgrade his chances would be 19%)! Upgrades may seem like a good way to get more power for Juicers, bur remember that this is a new technology and there may still be side effects that are unknown to the Juicerstm and technicians who create them (GMs may wish to create some ill effect of these systems, I personally am still exploring the possibilities). Deciding to get upgrades is a big decision and one that should not be taken lightly, adding to an already complex and delicate process with new unsure technology could be a disaster for the Juicers of the world. So think, and make sure that you want to take the risk before committing to the upgrades.