Editing Paradise City:Cyberware Catalog (section)

==Dreamcaster==

[[Image:Dreamscape.jpg]]

$20,000.  A dreamcaster projects games into the subject’s dreams.  Some dreamcaster games hone real-world skills.  A character with a dreamcaster may name a single skill to improve.  After 60 hours of sleep and a successful IQ roll, the skill is at +1 (maximum +1).  The skill bonus is lost as soon as the subject dreams about something else.  It is impossible to have more than one functioning dreamcaster implant.  Hackers sometimes target dreamcasters with viruses, knowing that they can potentially cause great psychological damage. Games that teach the Hacking skill are a particularly favorite target for viruses.

Dreamcaster programs are usually free (the publishers fund themselves by selling ad space in the game).  However, if the subject cannot access the internet to download new content, they will temporarily lose 1 IQ every two nights.  Once the character has managed to connect to the internet again, the IQ will return at half the rate it was lost.  A dreamcaster may not be switched off without surgery to disable it.

Dreamcasters come in a variety of makes.  Most games are available for all systems, although some systems suit them better than others.  Available makes include:

Generic:  The generic dreamcaster will have a namebrand, but will have the same capacities as another generic dreamcaster.

Arcadia:  Artistic skills may be dreamed up to a maximum of +3.  The subject gains ten or more points of mental disadvantages.  Appropriate disadvantages should reflect a disconnection from reality, so mental illness would be appropriate, for example, but not Codes of Honor.

Bushi:  Combat skills may be dreamed up to maximum of +2.  The subject gains the Nightmares disadvantage.

Oracle:  Mental skills may be dreamed up to a maximum of +2.  The subject gains the Migraines disadvantage.

Phantom:  Computer skills may be dreamed up to a maximum of +2.  The subject gains -1 to all social skills.

Zeon:  Physical skills may be dreamed up to a maximum of +2.  The subject is at -1 IQ.