Futuristic Splicers - I Am Legion - Lore

[Sherwood]

Stuff to come soon.

 

[Sherwood]

Spoiler: Area of Influence 24

In the earliest days of the Resistance, the humans somehow discovered the importance of the Machine’s Computer Cores. Where they came by this information has been lost to history. Many believe it was the Machine personality Eve that first gave the humans this vital intel. Other rumors suggested that a Great House somehow stole this information from the Machine’s databanks and was subsequently wiped off the face of the planet in the hopes that their knowledge of this weakness would die with them. Whatever the source of the info, it was confirmed to be true when the Great House of the Barren Marsh destroyed the Computer Core in their territory and freed their lands from the direct control of N.E.X.U.S. Their success convinced the rest of the Resistance to focus all of their efforts towards destroying the Machine’s other Computer Cores. The formation of Great Houses was previously haphazard at best, but with this new strategy, the Resistance adopted a more organized method. They divided the planet into sections they called Areas of Influence.
Each Area of Influence corresponds with one of the Machine’s Computer Cores. Multiple Great Houses are established in each Area of Influence to monitor and “contain” the Machine threat. The multiple cells preserves continuous opposition in the event one House falls, plus they could combine their forces to oppose N.E.X.U.S. on a larger scale whenever it is necessary. Each Area of Influence is based on the 1,000 mile (1,600 km) radius of control surrounding each Core. There are currently believed to be only 100 Computer Cores scattered across the planet, but N.E.X.U.S. continues to build more in order to add a layer of redundancy to this vital network.
Each Area of Influence is named with a simple number that denotes when it was founded. The smaller the number, the longer the Resistance has had a presence within that region. The older areas are typically home to some of the most established, most powerful, and most prestigious Great Houses within the Resistance. While this is not exactly a hard and fast rule, Great Houses within the older areas like to act as if the age of their region only adds to the stature of their House.
This adventure will focus on Area 24, an area that has recently attracted quite a bit of attention throughout the Resistance. For one thing, several Houses in this territory have been making some pretty big moves in an attempt to become a player on a more global scale, but more importantly, it is within this territory that a grave new menace has arisen from the psychotic mind of the Machine, which threatens every living thing on the planet...

Spoiler: Geography and Climate

Area 24 is one of the more self-contained territories on the planet. The Great Ocean borders the western and southern sides, the Applecore Mountain Range (home to the dreaded House Shiva) makes up the northern border, and the Nepali Mountain Range on the eastern border separates this region from the free lands of the Great House of the Barren Marsh. Some believe it is this Area of Influence’s close proximity to the legendary House of the Barren Marsh (and the infamous House Shiva) that has caused its meteoric rise to prominence, but there are definitely many other reasons for the Resistance and N.E.X.U.S. to pay close attention to these lands.
This Area of Influence is located in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere, but its proximity to the Great Ocean keeps it within a pretty consistent temperature range of 50 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit (10 to 32 Celsius) year round. This area also gets a decent amount of rainfall each year (about 50 to 80 inches/127-229 cm), which is why even during the Age of Man, when nearly every corner of the planet was covered in cities, this region was one of the last spaces preserved for agriculture. The land was farmed for all it was worth until it was nearly barren, but after the decimation of humanity, the favorable climate and the efforts of the N.E.X.U.S. Personality Gaia restored most of the soil and now
enormous forests and rich grasslands thrive throughout the entire region. In fact, Gaia placed one of her favorite Nature Preserves within Area 24.
Gaia reclaimed a substantial portion of this territory for herself after the war and called this preserve New Eden. Over the past century, it has grown at an impressive rate thanks to frequent treatments with a special hyper-metabolic fertilizer. The spores, seeds, acorns, and pine cones from these enriched plants have been spread on the winds or were carried by animals, which have built up the forests surrounding the official borders of New Eden as well. Gaia tries to keep her sisters from defiling these woodlands too, but they are not under her direct protection. The thick woods covering most of this region allows the Resistance to cross the surface much more easily than possible in most other areas,
but travel below ground is still the safest bet. The lush canopy of leaves shields Splicers from aerial patrols (to a certain extent), but there are many other dangers lurking in the woods. The bountiful vegetation in the area has encouraged an explosive growth of wildlife, which is good for the humans in this region, but Gaia also seeded her favorite Nature Preserve with some of the deadliest alien predators she could find in her Cryo Zoos and these beasts have subsequently spread out from the preserves in search of this plentiful game.

Spoiler: Great House Artemis

Great House Artemis has been one of the leading forces in the Resistance since the first days of the war, but it has only really risen to prominence within the last fifty years. They have always been a military powerhouse, but what they have become best known for over the past few decades is the steady stream of ingenious Bio-Tech devices that continue to spring from their Gene Pools. Their Librarians are constantly experimenting with new and bizarre Bio-Tech designs. While this is true of all Librarians, the creative geniuses from House Artemis seem to have an uncanny knack for designing truly revolutionary Bio-Weapons. While these weapons have drastically increased the power of House Artemis’ forces, it is really their corporate power as a Bio10 Tech arms merchant that has made them a force to be reckoned with throughout the Resistance. They make a great deal of money from selling their surplus weapons and gear to Great Houses all across the planet, but the majority of their wealth comes from selling the DNA strands for these new Bio-Tech designs so that the other Houses can manufacture their own gear. It is common practice to sell or trade the DNA strands from in-house designs to other Great Houses, but few Houses can match the quality of the designs or the sheer volume of new creations that pour out of Great House Artemis each month. Demand for their gear is high and most Houses will spare no expense to gain the edge in battle that only Artemis weapons can provide.
Of course, many Houses thought they could simply steal a few DNA samples and use their own Librarians and Engineers to manufacture these weapons for free. They knew House Artemis was a military power to be feared, but they figured such a champion of humanity would never outright destroy a fellow human kingdom over some minor thefts nor could they ever truly reclaim any stolen designs. Once the genetic codes were in their Gene Pools, the warriors from House Artemis could steal back or destroy any weapons they want, but they could always just make more. Sure, they might fall victim to some minor Blood Feuds, but Artemis is not a brutal kingdom and eventually, any slights would be forgotten or even forgiven. What they did not understand (and had to learn the hard way) was that a House with their business prowess and skill with Bio-Technology already knew how to protect their interests and intellectual properties.

Population Breakdown:
42,000 Total = 7% Archangels, 5% Biotics, 2% Bombardiers,
3% Butchers, 1% Deliverymen, 10% Dreadguard, 1% Falconers,
1% Harvesters, 1% Marshals, 2% Militiamen, 9% Outriders, 3%
Packmasters, 15% Roughnecks, 3% Saints, 2% Scarecrows, 4%
Skinjobs, 2% Swarm Lords, 1% Sweepers, 25% Non-Combatants,
3% Other O.C.C.s, 25 Engineers, and 3 Librarians.

Spoiler: Great House Tarkov

Great House Tarkov can trace its origins directly back to the powerful Russian conglomerate known as Tarkov Industries. As N.E.X.U.S. began to fail and the automated systems running the world began to falter, this group of Russian robotics engineers saw an opportunity and seized it. Tarkov Industries built a massively successful corporation that designed service robots that could operate independently of N.E.X.U.S. Demand for their problem-free creations grew as N.E.X.U.S. continued to fail and they became a powerhouse in the region.
When N.E.X.U.S. finally went insane, Tarkov Industries became the sole source for weapons, armor, and robotic war machines for the Resistance fighters in Old Lexington. N.E.X.U.S. eventually seized control of their factories, but Tarkov Industries gathered up their finest minds, their best technology, and took their know-how underground and continued to resist the maniacal Machine. When the Nano-Plague was unleashed, the engineers at House Tarkov were some of the first people to deduce the cause, figure out exactly what triggered a reaction, and came up with workarounds to circumvent this insidious weapon. They were able to retool their factories to produce plaguesafe weapons and armor, and they once again became the sole weapons manufacturer in the region. Their wealth grew and their underground haven flourished as they sold their gear to every corner of the planet as quickly as it could be made. Great House Tarkov quickly rose to the highest levels of prominence within the Resistance, and they stayed in this lofty position for decades until the creation of Bio-Technology displaced them from this place of power.
This fall from grace did shake them a little, but it did not embitter them. They are still a staunch supporter of the Resistance and one of the primary manufacturers of inorganic technology for Great Houses in dozens of Areas of Influence. While they do sometimes lament their diminished status as other Houses like Great House Artemis rose to replace them, they truly do appreciate having such a powerful ally nearby and the two Houses work well together. House Artemis may be the masters of Bio-Tech manufacturing in this area, but they are the undisputed experts with plastics, ceramics, and explosive chemicals. They are one of the few Houses capable of mass-producing Nanobot Plague-safe machinery such as electrical motors, light bulbs, weapons, armor, and other simple devices. Their machine designs use a combination of Mega-Damage plastics and ceramics and precious metal wiring to take advantage of the loophole in the nanobots’ programming, and their weapon designs are based around high-explosive projectiles.
While they are still one of the primary inorganic arms dealers within the Resistance, the decreased demand and high costs of components have significantly lowered their profit margins. Compared to other Great Houses they are still quite wealthy, but nothing like House Artemis. Their military does have a decentsized contingent of Bio-Tech equipped Splicers, but the majority of their forces consist of the inorganic equipped Toy Soldiers. They were originally called Plastic Men, but over the years, Splicers mockingly changed their name to Toy Soldiers. None of them were fazed by the name and most wear their title and their “human” gear with pride. While their weapons are not nearly as powerful as Bio-Tech, the Toy Soldiers that wield them have more than proven their prowess on the battlefield. In fact, most Toy Soldiers seem to have something to prove to their Splicer counterparts and fight with a ferocity that is nearly unmatched.

Population Breakdown:
31,800 Total = 4% Archangels, 1% Biotics, 1% Bombardiers,
1% Deliverymen, 4% Dreadguard, 1% Falconers, 1% Harvesters,
2% Marshals, 3% Militiamen, 4% Outriders, 1% Packmasters,
5% Roughnecks, 1% Saints, 0.4% Scarecrows, 0.6% Skinjobs,
1% Sweepers, 30% Toy Soldiers, 4% Technojackers, 28% Non-
Combatants and 7% Other O.C.C.s., including 3 Engineers and
1 Librarian.

Spoiler: Great House Charlemagne

Great House Charlemagne is just another tragic example of what can happen when a Librarian successfully usurps control of his House. Librarian Socrates plotted and schemed for years to set up his puppet Warlord, Caesar, at the head of his own private empire, and it worked far better than even he could have dreamed. Even among those that realize what has happened, few really know when it happened. There was no overt takeover, no mass slaughtering of thousands of dissenters (although dissenters to seem to vanish routinely), or even any proclamations about a new way of doing things. People’s attitudes simply changed over the decades into the twisted views held by the majority of the
population today.
Fear, distrust, and apprehension about the strange, alien nature of Bio-Technology was slowly replaced with an almost blind devotion to the power and possibility of what it can do
to better the lives of every person on the planet. A general disdain concerning the idea of directly altering people’s genes was eventually turned into a belief that only fools would not alter their bodies in some way, and the sense of respect and trust in their Warlord was twisted into blind, religious worship for a man they believe to be a living god. Socrates made sure his god had the power to back up that claim. Socrates modified Caesar with Bio-Tech until he had the power of a suit of Host Armor, but he made sure to keep his creation beautiful so that the people would want the same blessings to be bestowed upon them. He altered Warlord Caesar’s body so greatly that he can no longer breed with normal human beings, but that will not be a problem soon enough, since that is ultimately Socrates’ plan for all the people within his kingdom.
It is a dream come true for this deranged Librarian. Socrates gets to push the boundaries of Bio-Technology through endless experiments on a large and willing group of test subjects. He could care less as he watches their humanity slowly slip away. After all, Socrates gave up his humanity a long time ago and he could not be happier with the choice he made. As far as Socrates is concerned, everything is working flawlessly within his perfect kingdom, which has caused him to grow complacent. This has given the last few free thinkers a chance to organize an attempt to take back their home before it is too late. This group is working with Delphi, the Third Librarian of House Charlemagne, to undermine and hopefully, assassinate Librarian Socrates before he can achieve his end game. The men and women in this resistance-cell-within-a-Resistance-cell fear their Librarian ally will prove to be just as dangerous a threat if they all succeed, but they realize they have no choice. Socrates is simply too entrenched for them to take him out on their own. They need to deal with the devil they know and hopefully prevent the devil they do not know from rising up in his place.

Population Breakdown:
16,500 Total = 6% Archangels, 10% Biotics, 3% Broodpunks,
1% Butchers, 2% Deliverymen, 8% Dreadguard, 3% Marshals,
2% Mech-Slayers, 12% Outriders, 6% Packmasters, 10%
Roughnecks, 4% Saints, 4% Scarecrows, 4% Skinjobs, 1% Technojackers,
2% Troopmasters, 18% Non-Combatants, 4% Other
O.C.C.s, 11 Engineers and 3 Librarians.

Spoiler: Great House Janus

Warlord Alus has recently risen through the ranks of the Dreadguard to claim his kingdom, only to learn it is crumbling. His Great House is the poorest within this Area of Influence and civil unrest threatens to tear it apart. Most of the poor are kept pacified with a continuous supply of powerful Bio-Tech narcotics, but Alus can only keep his people in a fog for so long. He seethes with jealous rage at House Artemis and constantly schemes to bring them down. Warlord Alus is not foolish enough to want to see them destroyed, he just wants some of their impressive wealth for his own kingdom. The majority of his efforts involve flooding the other Great Houses in the area with his Bio-Tech drugs. He keeps the more mellowing substances for his own House, but the drugs he sells within other Great Houses have much different effects. His efforts are starting to bring in a decent amount
of income, but the greedy minority are hording it and keeping it from the majority.
The warriors from this House do engage the Machine, but the majority of their efforts are dedicated towards preying on their neighboring Great Houses. Some of these attacks are the result of Blood Feuds or personal vendettas, but most of the attacks are simply raids for necessities. They are just trying to survive and they see their fellow Splicers as resources to be exploited. Under the leadership of Warlord Alus, this House has devolved into little more than an enormous and well-organized Waste Crawler gang or Drug Cartel. Many warriors from this House still fight with honor against the Machine, but the majority are just highly trained thugs using their skill to take what they want from whomever they want.

Population Breakdown:
8,500 Total = 5% Archangels, 2% Biotics, 1% Bombardiers,
1% Deliverymen, 12% Dreadguard, 1% Falconers, 1% Harvesters,
8% Marshals, 3% Militiamen, 15% Outriders, 8% Packmasters,
20% Roughnecks, 1% Saints, 1% Scarecrows, 2% Skinjobs,
1% Sweepers, 11% Non-Combatants, 7% Other O.C.C.s, 5 Engineers
and 2 Librarians.

Spoiler: Great House Deluvane

The Great House of the Barren Marsh has seen the steady decline of the House of the Poisoned Earth and Great House Janus and they have decided something needed to be done. They did not like the idea that the Machine could completely reclaim the Area of Influence next to their kingdom and use it as a staging point to invade their lands. Barren Marsh decided to build another Great House within this Area of Influence to make sure the territory remained at least somewhat secure after the inevitable demise of the Houses in this region. They think their power and renown will cause people to flock from their doomed homes into this new House just as people flocked to the House of the Barren Marsh. They are drafting plans to smash the blockade around the House of the Poisoned Earth and evacuate the citizens to this new underground haven. Barren Marsh
figures this display of strength and military skill will encourage others in the area to follow. No one is sure how Warlord Cesspool will take this offer, but the other Warlords see this as an incredible insult from an overly arrogant super-power. They have all rejected their offer of “sanctuary” outright and Warlord Alus is actively campaigning to undermine this fledgling kingdom before it can become entrenched.
Unlike most Great Houses starting out, House Deluvane already has some impressive resources at its disposal thanks to the backing of the Barren Marsh. Warlord Anhorn sent thousands of his finest warriors to help with the defense of this fragile new kingdom. They already have two Engineers producing Bio-Tech with another five Saints ready to hatch their Gene Pools any day. The downside is that these Saints are all highly coveted prizes for any Great House daring enough to try and take them. Most of their efforts are dedicated towards laying out their fortifications and digging out the haven in preparation for the massive influx of refugees they expect to occur. They do not plan on making any aggressive moves at this point unless the Machine or someone like House Janus forces them to do so.

Population Breakdown:
4,000 Total = 10% Archangels, 5% Biotics, 5% Bombardiers,
12% Dreadguard, 4% Falconers, 2% Harvesters, 10% Outriders,
6% Packmasters, 25% Roughnecks, 2% Saints, 8% Skinjobs, 1%
Sweepers, 5% Non-Combatants, 5% Other O.C.C.s, 2 Engineers,
and 0 Librarians.

Spoiler: House of the Poisoned Earth

(Warlord Cesspool refuses to call his toxic kingdom a “Great” House) The surface above this Resistance cell is a heavily polluted wasteland. After decades of brutal fighting in the city above, N.E.X.U.S. finally nuked the area repeatedly until nothing remained but irradiated soil that was so toxic that not even bacteria could survive. Eventually, people noticed the Machine avoided this area as well, so about eighty years ago, the decision was made to build an underground haven beneath this poisoned soil. They thought if they dug deep enough, they could build a home that would be safe from the Machine and the toxins above. For nearly fifty years they were correct, but unfortunately, the radioactive sludge continued to sink deeper and deeper into the earth until it started poisoning the underground haven as well. As the numbers of cancer cases, genetic disorders, and other illnesses began to climb, they decided to flee this toxic pit, but unfortunately, Kali discovered the situation and interrupted their plans. Instead of completely destroying this Resistance cell, she placed hundreds of thousands of robots around the perimeter of this House (above and below ground) to keep the population from relocating. This army could easily march in and destroy the haven any time they want, but Kali finds this to be much more amusing.
Today the underground haven is nearly as poisonous as the surface. In order to survive, people must stay in their organic armor twenty-four hours a day, or undergo genetic conversion into a Skinjob, Biotic, or Scarecrow. Children and other people unable to protect themselves with armor or other augmentations receive daily treatments by Saints and recurring genetic repairing sessions with an Engineer. These treatments keep people relatively healthy, but their life spans are still dramatically shortened. Plus tying up the Engineers’ time severely limits their ability to create new Bio-Tech gear. Most of the members of this House have basically given up and are simply waiting around to die. From time
to time, some people do try to make a break for it or they decide to take one last suicidal run at the Machine rather than sit and slowly rot. These assaults on the perimeter are the only real contributions this House makes to the war effort anymore. One major breakthrough trapped within the walls of this prison is the creation of a new type of metabolism known as Toxosynthesis. This strange metabolism uses radioactivity and toxic sludge to nourish the Host Armor. It is sort of a cross between the Photosynthesis and Lithovore metabolisms. The armor consumes polluted soil and then uses ambient radioactivity from the environment (or from the soil itself) to break down the complex compounds into
useful elements. Given enough time, the suits of Host Armor and War Mounts that possess this metabolism could actually clean up the entire area, but it could take hundreds or even thousands of years with the numbers they currently have.

Population Breakdown:
4,800 Total = 1% Archangels, 18% Biotics, 1% Bombardiers,
11% Dreadguard, 2% Marshals, 1% Militiamen, 10% Outriders,
2% Packmasters, 18% Roughnecks, 1% Saints, 9% Scarecrows,
9% Skinjobs, 1% Sweepers, 12% Non-Combatants, 4% Other
O.C.C.s, including 8 Engineers and 1 Librarian.

 

[Sherwood]

Spoiler: The Kraken

When the Machine decided to purge humanity from the face of the planet, human had to go underground in order to survive. The massive caverns and abandoned sewer lines they currently call home provide excellent protection from the Machine, but they have never been one hundred percent safe. The Machine has millions of Cable Snakes, Ratbombs, Sewer Prowlers and other robot drones constantly scouring every conceivable hiding spot in an endless hunt for human prey. Like everyone in the Resistance, the Librarians of House Artemis realized that the safest place on the planet was under the waves of the Great Ocean, so they struggled for years to design an enormous bio-tech creature that could not only house all the humans of House Artemis safely within the ocean's depths but one that was also mobile. They tried for years to modify a Seedling so that it could survive without the structural support of thick rock walls, but all attempts ended in failure.
Michelangelo, the Second Librarian of House Artemis, realized these designs would never succeed and decided to fabricate his own creature from scratch. He did not just want an undersea creature that was mobile; he wanted one that could defend itself with ease, like the mighty War Mounts of the Resistance. Any Librarian could have created the basic design, but Michelangelo engineered a brilliant modification that allowed his Kraken War Mount to grow to its current size. While it is the largest War Mount in existence, it did not reach the proportions Michelangelo was hoping for. He originally hoped the Kraken (or several similar War Mounts) would be large enough to hold thousands of people in spacious conditions, but this War Mount stopped growing at one tenth its anticipated size. While the experiments to create a mobile home for the entire Artemis House continue, the Kraken is being dedicated to the war effort as an enormous underwater assault carrier.
An elite company of four hundred Splicers travel all across the planet within this gargantuan War Mount providing support to any Great House willing to accept their aid. The Machine owns the land, but the Kraken rules the sea. It can rise from the depths and decimate the Machine's shoreline defenses, release its payload of warriors, and then disappear below the waves before the Machine can mount any type of response. Only the Ishtar personality realized what a danger this War Mount truly represents. If the humans ever manufactured more of these, they could easily turn the tide of the war. She hopes a stunning defeat of their cherished creation would discourage them from expending the resources to build another. Unfortunately, Ishtar cannot mount any kind of worthwhile attack against the Kraken. The aerial units are the only robots that can even threaten the Kraken, but once the battle drops below the surface of the Great Ocean, they are as useless as any other minion. Ishtar has convinced Hecate to build some robot designs that would be more effective underwater combatants, but so far they are all providing to be just too fragile once their armor is breached.
Aside from its size, the Kraken War Mount is a unique and ingenious design. The basic shape is that of a gigantic turtle, but instead of using four flippers for propulsion, the Kraken forces water through organic thrusters like some kind of underwater jet engine. The method of propulsion is also the Kraken's main source of nutrition. All water sucked into the intakes goes through a filtration system that removes microscopic plankton and other sea creatures so they can be digested. When the Bridge Crew wants to gorge the War Mount before a battle, they can make the Kraken attack and devour other sea creatures (up to the size of a blue whale) through its giant maw, but the continuous intake through the organic thrusters provides more than enough food on a daily basis. The perimeter of the body is lined with thirty-six smaller tentacles and two large tentacles are mounted on either side of the head. The two main tentacles can extend to a length of over 1,200 feet and are 50 feet wide at the base. The Kraken can grab and crush even the largest war machines with these enormous tentacles or impale them with a twenty-foot-long bone spike mounted on the tip. The three dozen "smaller" tentacles that run around the length of the body are each over 300 feet long and are 20 feet wide at the base.
The dorsal side of the Kraken is a twenty-foot-thick turtle shell that provides tremendous defensive protection. The surface is rough and uneven like a jagged mountain ridge colored in a mixture of browns and greens to provide camouflage from overhead flybys. When the Kraken retracts its head and tentacles and sits perfectly still on the surface of the ocean, even the high-tech optics of the Machine will often mistake this enormous War Mount for a small, barren island. However, this illusion is quickly ruined when the Kraken extends its monstrous head and powerful tentacles from beneath its armored shell.
The Kraken is called a War Mount for a reason. Michelangelo did not design this mighty beast to sneak around unseen; he designed the Kraken so that it would have the power to obliterate an entire division of robots. The back is covered with nearly one thousand Organic Rockets plus dozens of Casting Cannons, Acid Cannons, Napalm Launchers, and Spore Dischargers. These bio-weapon emplacements are used to bombard the shoreline defenses of the Machine from afar before the Kraken disgorges its complement of troopers. Soldiers can either exit through a large hatch just behind the neck, or for rapid deployment, Splicers can actually be launched like a cannonball from one of ten extendable pseudo-pods. These launch tubes can only fire one passenger at a time, but it can accommodate a being of any size, from a human to a Dracos with rider.

A War Mount as large and complex as the Kraken cannot be piloted by a lone Outrider. Michelangelo created an ingenious solution to this problem. Unfortunately, it requires that a team of four humans sacrifice their humanity and permanently bond with the War Mount. This group is known as the Bridge Crew. The Kraken is able to combine their individual brains into effectively one mind. Their combined mental power allows them to monitor all activities within the War Mount as well as operate all weapon systems. The Kraken is the most heavily armed and armored War Mount in the Resistance, but it is the brilliant strategies composed by this hivemind that makes the Kraken so deadly.

Class: Submersible Assault Carrier
Crew: Four pilots permanently bound to the War Mount.
Troop Capacity: Standard complement of 400 human warriors, but the War Mount can comfortably accommodate another 100 passengers (250 passengers under cramped conditions). All Splicers from the Great House Artemis are elite solders.

Spoiler: Kamikaze Organic Cruise Missile

The Librarians of the Resistance have achieved amazing results through bio-technology. They have created weapons, vehicles, living suits of power armor, and even missiles, but they have never been able to match the sheer destructive power of the Machine's nuclear armaments. An option has existed for centuries, but it took the Resistance years to develop a way to safely harness it.
When the Librarians were first trying to perfect the Omega Blaster, a serious design flaw would occasionally cause the power cells to destabilize and explode in a fiery blast that completely consumed the Host Armor and anyone within one hundred feet. This defect was eventually discovered and eliminated from the design, but all Librarians held on to this "flaw" in order to see if it could be exploited for some other purpose.
Eventually, a Librarian from one of the smaller Great Houses came up with a use for these defective omega cells. He was inspired by tales of the Kamikaze pilots from ancient Earth, and created a War Mount that was, in essence, a thinking cruise missile. Kamikaze War Mounts can live for years without ever detonating prematurely (the energy cells are stable), but when the beast finds a suitable target, it destabilizes its power cells and rockets towards its target at Mach speed.
All Kamikaze Cruise Missiles have a rudimentary animal intelligence, a genetic memory programmed with over a dozen different robot designs, and a pathological hatred for the Machine. This programming was necessary to make the Kamikaze willing to sacrifice itself to destroy the enemy, but it also limits its overall effectiveness. The War Mount is designed to primarily seek out large targets like Sentry Towers, Land Dominators, Assault Slayers and Battle Tracks, but its aggression and hatred for the Machine means that in the absence of these high profile targets, it will attack the first robot it sees, no matter how small. If the Kamikaze could show a little discretion, the Resistance could unleash thousands of these War Mounts upon the world to seek out and destroy the Machine's heaviest hitters. Unfortunately, their ingrained instincts would lead to a tremendous waste of resources as these psychotic War Mounts would just hunt down and obliterate Labor Drones, Skitter Pods, and any other robot that crossed their path. However, if they are let loose when a high-profile target is nearby, they will ignore thousands of robots in their way as they race towards their target. In fact, it is impossible to command a Kamikaze to attack a smaller target like a Steel Trooper, Sky Fighter, or even an Assault Slayer if a Land Dominator is nearby.

Spoiler: Griffin War Mount

The Griffin War Mount is a relatively recent addition to humanity’s arsenal, but it is already making a tremendous impact against the Machine’s air forces. It was designed to intercept and destroy the supersonic Sky Fighters, and it does so surprisingly well. Of course, its strategy for taking these fast flyers down is not quite what one would expect (which is one reason the Machine is having such a difficult time adapting). One weakness of Bio-Technology is that it has never been able to match the blistering speed of high-tech jet engines. Human ingenuity and the crazy daredevil flying of the Archangels and Outriders have allowed the Resistance to hold their own, but Sky Fighters still fly circles around them in nearly every engagement. Sky Fighters typically swoop in with their guns blazing and then fly away before the Splicer pilots can get into position to retaliate. Their speed makes dogfighting nearly impossible, so pilots generally only have moments to try and squeeze off a lucky shot.
This is where the Griffin comes in. The Librarians knew they would never be able to match the speed of the Machine’s forces, so they decided to go with a different approach. Instead of trying to chase down the enemy, they built the Griffin so that it could quickly decelerate and grab on to anyone chasing it. It is quite a surprise for any Sky Fighter closing in for the kill to suddenly see this beast flip around in midair and latch on to the craft’s fuselage. Once the mount grabs on, it anchors itself to the aircraft by firing a pair of barbed tentacles from its chest into the hull. This allows the Griffin to bite with its powerful beak, fire off blasts of plasma breath, or tear the craft to shreds with its deadly high frequency
talons without fear of being shaken off. This strategy also keeps the War Mount clear of any of the Sky Fighter’s weapon systems. The only way to strike the beast is for one of the robot’s allies to fire on it (which usually strikes the Sky Fighter as well). The introduction of the Griffin has inspired the Archangels to adopt a similar strategy with their grappling hooks, although they are not nearly as well equipped for this task as the Griffins are.
When the mount finishes ripping the target apart at close range, it then detaches the bone spears from the end of the tentacles and flies off, leaving the target with another nasty surprise. These discarded bone fragments contain a powerful explosive chemical that detonates within seconds of being exposed to air. Outriders and Archangels have become very proficient at inflicting just enough damage before breaking off their attack so that these spears finish the job. The Griffin actually has twenty of these tentacles arranged in two rows along the chest so that it can attach itself to multiple craft while the spent bone spears regenerate.
The Griffin War Mount looks exactly like the mythical creature it was named after. It possesses the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion. The front and back legs end in powerful clawed hands that allow the mount to grab, tear, and slash with any of its limbs. Even the wings can be used as weapons. The seemingly normal looking feathers are actually composed of a super- strong ceramic material. This not only provides additional armored protection, but the razor sharp edges enable the wings to hack through armored plating with ease. The wings can propel the mount at a decent speed, but the body is also lined with organic thrusters. These not only increase the Griffin’s speed, but also provide it with its stunning aerial maneuverability. The thrusters and tentacle bone spears are concealed beneath the Griffin’s fur, so this creature looks very much like the Griffins of legend. Aside from the War Saddle, the only thing that detracts from its mythical appearance is the lone eye mounted on the tip of its tail. This lets the beast and its Outrider pilot keep an eye on any pursuers, so they know the perfect moment to flip around and attack.
When the Griffin War Mounts were first introduced on the battlefield, the devastation they wreaked on the Sky Fighters was unbelievable. No one expected them to be so effective.
N.E.X.U.S. has adapted her strategies somewhat to contend with these War Mounts, but even these adjustments have benefited the Resistance. When a Griffin is spotted among the assault force, Sky Fighters will tend to fire from outside of their maximum effective range rather than risk getting grabbed during a close range strafing run. Even when they are not chasing these mounts down directly, the Griffins still seem impossibly skilled at figuring out their approach vector and intercepting them. Another new Sky Fighter tactic that has backfired somewhat is their tendency to come to a dead stop in mid-air to avoid the Griffin’s grappling attempt. Sky Fighters can go from full speed to a hover in seconds, which even the Griffin has difficulty matching. This may sometimes prevent the Griffin from grabbing its prey, but the War Mount can still use its plasma breath (plus any additional weapon enhancements mounted on it and the rider) to shoot down the now stationary target. In addition, Archangels generally fly support for the Griffin War Mounts, so they also get a free shot at any Sky Fighters that are foolish enough to come to a stop. The Machine still has numerical superiority on her side, but the Resistance sees the introduction of the Griffin War Mount as an important step in taking back the skies.

Class: Close Combat Aerial War Mount.
Crew: One pilot.
M.D.C. by Location:
Wings (2) – 200 each
Front Legs (2) – 150 each
Hind Legs (2) – 180 each
Clawed Feet (4) – 80 each
Tail – 80
Tail Mounted Third Eye – 10
Barbed Tentacles (20) – 85 each
* Head – 180
War Saddle – 100
* Main Body – 400
* Depleting the M.D.C. of the Head or Main Body kills the Griffin.
Speed:
Running: 120 mph (192 km) maximum, but normal cruising speed is only 80 mph (128 km). The act of running does tire out the War Mount but not the rider. The Griffin can run at top speed for up to two hours straight before needing to rest for 1D6x10+30 minutes. However, it can fight or trot along at cruising speed almost all day (20 hours) without needing rest.
Leaping: 50 feet (15.2 m) high or across, increase by 50% with a short running start. Organic thruster assisted leaps can propel the Griffin an additional 200 feet (61 m) high or 500 feet (152.5 m) across.
Digging: 15 mph (24 km) through sand or dirt. 10 mph (16 km) through clay, rock or stone. Digging does not tire out the War Mount and it can dig an adequate hole to cover itself in 2D4 melees.
Swimming: 30 mph (48 km). Maximum depth is only 200 feet (61 m).
Flying: Maximum speed is 450 mph (720 km), with a cruising speed of 150 mph (240 km). The Griffin can reach speeds of nearly 600 mph (960 km), but only for short bursts of 2D4 minutes, after which the Griffin must drop down to cruising speed for the next hour. It can also hit speeds of 800 mph (1,280 km) when performing a steep power dive. When the War Mount wants to fly silently (without the organic thrusters), it can only fly at a maximum speed of 200 mph (320 km) and a cruising speed of 80 mph (128 km). It can fly all day long at cruising speed, but only four hours at maximum speed before needing to rest for at least 1D4 hours.
Statistical Data:
Height: 8-9 feet (2.4 to 2.7 m) at the shoulder.
Width: 5-6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 m) with a wingspan of 25 feet (7.6 m).
Length: 11-12 feet (3.3 to 3.6 m) with an 8 foot (2.4 m) long tail.
Weight: 1 to 1.5 tons.
Cargo: Can carry 800 lbs (360 kg) on its back or 1200 lbs. (540 kg) within its talons. Additional weight decreases the Griffin’s speed. An extra 500 lbs (225 kg) decreases speed by 25 percent, an extra 1000 lbs (450 kg) decreases speed by half, and any additional amount greater than 1,500 pounds (675 kg) total makes flight impossible.
Physical Strength: 1D4+36, Supernatural.
Production Cycle: 2 year gestation period plus 2 year growth cycle.
Operational Lifetime: 60 year life span.
Bio-Regeneration Rate: 6D6 per hour to the main body and 3D6 per hour to all other locations.
Horror Factor: 13 against humans not familiar with the Griffin. None against machines.
Feeding: The Griffin is a Carnivore. It needs to eat 30-60 pounds (13.5 to 27 kg) of animal matter a day, and may gorge on up to 300 pounds (135 kg) at one time. After gorging, the War Mount can go 2D4 days without feeding and without suffering any ill effects.
Color: The fur on its body is a light brown with a white underbelly and the feathers on its head and wings are white. Its four clawed feet and beak are a bright orange-yellow color. Other color variants are solid fawns, Golden eagle, shadow gray & white, solid black or solid white for arctic regions.
Sleep Requirements: As an artificially created organism, the Griffin only requires 4 hours of sleep per day.
Other Data on the Griffin:
An unmanned Griffin is able to operate independent of a rider using its animal-like intelligence and instincts to respond to any given situation. The Griffin feels a close kinship with its rider and other caregivers it is familiar with and will come to their aid if threatened, but it will not come to the aid of unknown humans unless ordered to do so by a Packmaster, Outrider, or Archangel. The exceptions to this rule are the Archangels. Griffins feel a special bond with their “little flying brothers” and will take to the skies to help any Archangel in need.
Alignment: Anarchist. Griffins are usually calm and relaxed. They generally only fight when commanded to do so or when directly threatened.
War Mount Attributes: I.Q. 1D6+2, M.E. 1D6+8, M.A. 1D6+8, P.S. 37-40, P.P. 2D6+8, P.E. 2D6+14, P.B. 3D4+6, Spd. 120 mph (192 km) on the ground, 450 mph (720 km) in flight.
Number of Attacks per Melee: 4.
Combat Bonuses: +4 on initiative, +4 to strike in hand to hand combat, +6 to strike when attempting to grab onto an opponent, +4 to parry, +4 to dodge, +6 to dodge while flying, +6 to roll with punch, +3 to pull punch, +2 to disarm, pin/incapacitate on a natural 18-20, cannot be surprised from behind, and impervious to Horror Factor, disease, and poison.
Equivalent (Instinctive) Skills of Note: Land Navigation 90%, Track by Scent 65%, and understands the Native Language of the Great House that created it and one other common language at 70%.

Combat Capabilities:
Bite: 3D8 M.D.
Restrained Talon Strike: 1D8 M.D.
Talon Strike: 5D8 M.D.
Power Talon Strike: 2D4x10 M.D., but counts as two attacks.
Dual Talon Strike: 2D4x10 M.D., counts as one melee attack, but can only be done while in flight.
Grappling Attack: This is the Griffin’s primary method for attacking Sky Fighters. The War Mount quickly decelerates and allows any pursuing craft to slam into it so it can grab its prey and sink its claws in to hold on. This move inflicts 4D10 M.D. to the enemy craft, but it also inflicts 1D8 M.D. to the Griffin (this amount already includes the decrease in damage taken due to the Resistance to Physical Attack Enhancement). Roll to strike as normal. The Griffin has a special bonus of +6 to strike with this attack (plus any attribute bonuses). In addition, the enemy is -3 to dodge this attack due to the sudden and surprising change in direction of the Griffin.
Shred Attack: Can only be performed when the Griffin is anchored to the target with its barbed tentacles. The War Mount uses all four talons and both of its razor-sharp wings to claw, slash, and tear the target apart. Inflicts 3D4x10+30 M.D., but counts as three attacks.
Wing Slash: 3D8 M.D.
High-Speed Wing Slash: This strafe attack can only be performed at speeds of at least 100 mph (160 km). Inflicts 1D8x10 M.D., but counts as two attacks.
Head Butt: 3D6 M.D.
Body Block/Pounce/Ram: 5D8 M.D. (+2D8 M.D. if flying more than 200 mph (320 km). Has a 01-70% likelihood of knocking an opponent who is as large 20 feet (6.1 m) tall off of his feet and onto his back. If knocked off his feet, the victim loses initiative and two melee attacks. A ram counts as two attacks.
Senses and Features: Standard for War Mounts plus the following: Resistance to Physical Attack: Beneath the skin is a layer of thick tissue filled with an impact resistant fluid that cushions the War Mount from blunt attacks like punches, kicks, falls, and explosive concussions (all of which inflict half damage). It is mainly used to protect the Griffin from the impact of grabbing onto pursuing aircraft.
Tail Mounted Third Eye: Mounted on the tip of the Griffin’s tail is a single Advanced, Armored Eye. It possesses Enhanced Sight, just like the War Mount’s normal eyes. It is primarily used to track enemies chasing after the Griffin, but many Outriders also use it as a periscope during times when the mount is hiding underwater, hidden in deep crevices of cliff faces or concealed underground.

Griffin Bio-Weapon Systems:
1. Plasma Breath: The mouth, throat, and lungs of the Griffin have been modified to allow it to exhale a chemical spray that ignites on contact with air to create a powerful fire blast.
Primary Purpose: Assault.
Secondary Purpose: Defense.
Mega-Damage: 6D12 M.D.
Rate of Fire: Once per melee round, but counts as two melee attacks.
Effective Range: 40 feet (12.2 m).
Payload: 36 blasts per 24 hours. Automatically regenerates over a 24 hour period.
Bonuses: +4 to strike, but this is the only bonus that applies to the Plasma Breath.

2. Barbed Tentacles: Mounted in the chest of the Griffin are two rows of ten retractable tentacles that end in five inch (12 cm) long, barbed bone spears. They are completely concealed beneath the fur of the Griffin until fired at their target. Their primary purpose is to anchor the War Mount to its prey so it can freely attack without fear of being shaken off during high-speed maneuvers. The tentacles can be cut or allies can attempt to pull the Griffin off, but it requires a combined Robotic/Splicer P.S. of 65 or higher to rip the beast loose. When the War Mount finishes attacking its target, it mentally signals the tentacles to detach from the bone spears so it can fly away.
Once released, the explosive chemical within the bone spears is exposed to the air, which causes them to detonate. Since they are already imbedded within the target, they inflict massive damage when they explode.
Primary Purpose: Grappling.
Secondary Purpose: Assault.
Mega-Damage: 6D8 M.D. per dual strike (always fired in pairs). When the tentacles detach from the bone spears, they detonate, inflicting 1D6x10+20 M.D. to a 6 foot (1.8 m) radius.
Rate of Fire: Each dual strike counts as one melee attack.
Effective Range: 10 feet (3 m).
Payload: 20 tentacles. Spent bone spears regrow after 4D6 hours.
Bonuses: +3 to strike distant opponents, but +10 to strike when the Griffin is already clinging to the target.

3. High-Frequency Talons: The feet of the Griffin are prehensile with three toes in the front and the “thumb” on the back of the heel. Each toe ends in a six inch (15 cm) long, high frequency talon. They are generally used for slashing attacks, but they can also be used to grab hold of prey. It requires a combined Robotic/Splicer P.S. of 50 or higher to break free of the Griffin’s grip.
Primary Purpose: Assault.
Secondary Purpose: Grappling.
Mega-Damage: Each foot inflicts 5D8 M.D. and a dual strike inflicts 2D4x10 M.D. (counts as one melee attack, but can only be performed while in flight). All four limbs can engage the same target, but only when the Griffin is secured to its target with its barbed tentacles. This attack inflicts 3D4x10+30 M.D., but counts as three attacks.

4. Ceramic Wings: The Griffin’s feathers are actually composed of a durable ceramic material that not only provides excellent armor protection, but also make deadly slashing weapons. The wings can be used like an enormous sword when fighting on the ground, or they can be used to slash opponents during highspeed strafing runs in the air (minimum attack speed is 100 mph /160 km). In addition, the Griffin can use its wings to parry melee attacks (the wings take no damage on a successful parry) or as a shield against weapons fire (in this case, the wings take half damage from the attack). The Griffin cannot parry weapons fire. It needs to shield itself (or someone else) before the enemy attacks.
Primary Purpose: Assault.
Secondary Purpose: Defense.
Mega-Damage: Slash from a single wing inflicts 6D6+15 M.D.
A high-speed strafe attack inflicts 1D8x10+10 M.D., but counts
as two attacks.
Bonuses: +1 to strike and +2 to parry.

 

[Sherwood]

Places of Note

Spoiler: Computer Core

Situated dead center within this region is the N.E.X.U.S. Computer Core. This massive structure is the highest priority target of every Great House within Area of Influence 24. It is the reason they are here, and its destruction is the key to their liberation. Of course, N.E.X.U.S. knows this as well, so she does not even try to hide its importance. She turned the hundred mile area around the Core into a gauntlet of robot patrols, Sentry Towers, and defensive fortifications, and security only gets tighter the closer one gets to the Core.
The Machine built this particular Core upon the bones of Abraveno Province. This region was once a farm community tasked with the difficult job of growing enough food to feed a
severely overpopulated world. Similar to the rest of the region, the land was farmed for all it was worth, but this soil actually went completely barren. During the initial decades when N.E.X.U.S. first came online and was functioning properly, she restored the land to a point where it could support life again, but it was stretched far too thin to ever be used as farmland again. N.E.X.U.S. dedicated other lands towards food production and instead rededicated most of Abraveno Province towards tract housing in order to draw people away from the overcrowded cities. The homes were tightly packed together, but compared to the cities, it felt like communing with nature.
Unfortunately, when the Great Purge came, these homes offered virtually no protection and no place to hide. N.E.X.U.S. simply hit each home with incendiaries or high-explosives, and then cut down anyone that came scurrying out. For some reason, the Machine had no interest in taking prisoners from this community or moving them to a Boneyard. She executed every single person where they stood, whether they tried to surrender or not, and left the bodies where they fell. She then immediately went to work building the Computer Core and its impressive defenses directly upon their remains.
N.E.X.U.S. constructed a series of four massive, Mega-Damage walls that radiated out from the Core like ripples from a drop of water. Each one is fifty feet (15.2 m) tall and twenty
feet (6.1 m) thick. The walls have columns of weapon emplacements mounted every thirty feet (9.1 m) on each side. Getting through the kill zone of one wall and then successfully going over or through this enormous construct simply means the attackers are now caught in the crossfire of the last wall and the next one as well. They are spaced half a mile (0.8 km) apart, so there is no safe place that does not fall within weapons range of scores of laser cannons, particle beams, ion cannons, and missile batteries. In addition to these already excessive defenses, N.E.X.U.S. seeded the space between each wall with thousands of Popper Mines, Sentry Towers, air and ground patrols, and a total of ten Land Dominators. Each wall has four heavily fortified gates on the north, south, east, and west sides. Just inside each of the gates on the outermost wall is a decent-sized Industrial Center. These automated factories churn out new robots to replace fallen sentries, re-supply spent ammo, repair any damage, and perform routine maintenance on the legions of robots guarding the area.
While Gaia’s efforts have caused the forests and fields in Region 24 to flourish, the sheer quantity of feet, tires, and tracks trudging endlessly across this area crush most plant life before it can have a chance to grow. This makes the approach towards the Computer Core one of the most difficult in the region. The land is flat and clear of trees or shrubs for miles in every direction.
There is not even that much debris left over from the ruins of Abraveno Province. The occasional patch of tall weeds provides some cover, but it does not help much against air patrols. The sewer and maintenance tunnels below the Core were collapsed long ago, or appropriated by the Machine and filled with cables to carry power from all the nearby Power Farms to this vital structure. To this day, no one has been able to get within ten miles (16 km) of the Core before being discovered and swiftly eliminated.
Area: 100 square miles (256 sq. km).
Human Population: No human has gotten within 10 miles of this Computer Core since it was first built.
Robot Population: Roughly 600,000 robots patrol the area, including 10 Land Dominators.

Spoiler: The Playhouse (Industrial Center)

Of all the Machine Personalities, Kali is without question the most depraved, sadistic, and cruel, and nowhere is this more evident than within the blood-drenched halls of her personal torture chamber known as the Playhouse. Most Splicers in Area 24 consider this enormous facility to be the number two target in the region, but many feel it is a higher priority than the Computer Core. While taking out the Playhouse does not offer any real strategic value, this vile house of horrors is simply too evil and appalling to be allowed to exist. Unfortunately, like most of the Machine’s creations, destroying it is easier said than done. That does not stop the Resistance from trying though. The Playhouse has been attacked more times than any other Machine installation in the region. There are thousands of human victims being brutally tortured within the bowels of this complex at any given moment, so rescue attempts are an almost daily occurrence.
In reality, this is why Kali built the Playhouse in the first place. While it does serve as an outlet for her twisted desires, its true function is to serve as bait. The other Machine personalities actually find this facility to be a little too savage, but they allow it to exist because they do appreciate how often it draws Splicers out into the open. The site was originally a small Industrial Center that went dormant after the Resistance destroyed all the Power Farms that kept it running. Kali took it over roughly fifty years ago and retrofitted it so that it could “entertain” a wide assortment of guests. The facility contains hundreds of rooms filled with various cages and implements of torture. Kali decorated the rooms with various dark and terrifying themes, typically from whatever versions of hell she found in old databases. Most of the complex is quite dark, dank, and stained from the blood of thousands of victims to create the proper oppressive atmosphere, but there are also dozens of sparkling clean, sterile rooms that are used to treat the most grievously injured. Kali likes her victims to suffer for years at a time, and she would hate to accidentally grant any of them the sweet release of death too soon. Dozens of bodies in various stages of decay hang from nearly every room, but many of these victims are actually Necrobots that wait in secret and attack any intruders. Kali also interspersed dozens of Siren Infiltrators among the prison population to deal with the frequent escape attempts.
She also likes to use these beautiful “captives” to console and bond with the other prisoners just to make the betrayal all the more terrifying and crushing once the truth is revealed. As for the normal defenders of the facility, Kali typically uses Steel Troopers, Slicer Robots, and her own personal brand of torture drones she calls Surgeons. Most are outfitted with pitch-black synthetic skin and glowing red eyes so that they can play the roles of the demons in her hell-themed rooms.
Few have seen what goes on within the walls of this horrible place and lived to tell the tale. That is why Kali set up an outdoor torture chamber within the large courtyard that sits in the center of the four main buildings of the complex. The Playhouse never would have made such quality bait if Splicers could not see her victims being slowing filleted or hear their pitiful moans and tormented screams echo through the area. The courtyard is even ringed with powerful speakers that broadcast their cries for all to hear. Kali rotates new victims through the courtyard day and night to demonstrate just how many captives the facility holds.
She tries not to kill these playthings in the open in order to give anyone that might care for that piece of meat incentive to brave the horrors of the Playhouse to try to liberate him or her.
Area: The complex and surrounding perimeter wall covers 2 square miles (5.1 sq. km).
Human Population: Roughly 1,200 to 2,000 prisoners are housed in the Playhouse at any time. There is enough room for a maximum of 4,000 prisoners.
Robot Population: About 2,000 robots are tasked with “entertaining” the prisoners, making sure none escape, and defending the facility from the inevitable Splicer raids.

Spoiler: Harrisburg (Ghost Town)

Harrisburg looks exactly the same today as it did when N.E.X.U.S. first cleared out the population and marched them across miles of territory to their doom. This high-tech metropolis stands as a living testimonial to the grand civilization that humanity has lost. The Machine has since repopulated the city with an army of over 8 million Nex-Androids that dutifully reenact the mundane details of that past life. This enormous city is more than just a living history lesson, it is an incredible resource for supplies. Medicine, clothing, furniture, toiletries, and all types of valuable goods are created each day to help maintain the illusion of society, and they are just sitting there, waiting for anyone bold enough to come and claim them. Most Great Houses in the region have set up at least one safe house in the city to gather supplies so they can be transported back to their respective underground havens. There are also a number of unaffiliated humans that have learned to live peacefully in the city by posing as Nex-Androids. It is a dangerous game, but if one can pull it off, it is one of the most comfortable ways for a human to live on the surface.
Area: 210 square miles (538 sq. km).
Human Population: About 500 humans live secretly among the Nex-Androids with another 400-600 Splicers camping out in safe houses.
Robot Population: 8 million Nex-Androids.

Spoiler: Harrisburg 2 (Ghost Town)

Deliverymen from several Great Houses in Area 24 recently discovered that the Machine built an exact duplicate of the city of Harrisburg less than 50 miles (80 km) to the northeast of the original city. No one knows when this massive construction project was actually completed or how long it took. Reports started coming in about Splicer teams getting confused and lost when either traveling to or from Harrisburg. Rendezvous within Harrisburg were missed because the two parties were actually in different copies of the city.
The Deliverymen are also tasked with mapping the surface, so they were eventually dispatched to see what was confusing the Splicer teams. Many suspected a few landmarks were altered by the Machine (which is an unfortunately common occurrence), but even they were shocked to find an exact duplicate of a major city where once there was nothing but forest. Every single detail was copied, no matter how insignificant. Even the Nex-Androids in Harrisburg 2 were exact copies of those found in Harrisburg. Deliverymen that made the trek back and forth during the day to note the similarities observed that duplicate Nex-Androids were wearing the same clothes on the same days and they were reenacting the exact same life events.
Those aware of Harrisburg 2 are greatly confused by its purpose. Many suspect that it is a massive trap and have decided to steer clear of the original Harrisburg and its clone. They point to the fact that even the Resistance safe houses in Harrisburg were copied perfectly. All the weapons, explosives, and supplies left in the safe houses were copied and placed in the same locations. Some think that the Machine personality Eve did this to provide the humans with more supplies, while others think this was done to complete the illusion so that Splicers would unknowingly walk into a Machine trap. They fear that Harrisburg 2 is riddled with hidden caches of explosives, poison gas, or other lethal surprises
that may one day finally be unleashed when enough people stumble into the trap. Even the people that believe this are confused about why the Machine would invest so much time and such an extravagant amount of resources to trap what would ultimately be only a handful of people. Others think the safe houses were simply beneath the Machine’s notice considering the massive scale of the construction project. They could see that she wanted to be accurate, and they figured that she never took the time to deduce what every individual item might mean. The fact that hundreds of Splicers have subsequently gone in and out of Harrisburg 2 without incident further confounds the debate.
Many Splicers continue to visit both cities, but they are still wary about what the Machine’s full plans may be. Even if it is not a trap, they still worry that she might one day destroy the original Harrisburg to complete the move, or she may demolish Harrisburg 2 when she realizes she accidentally built a duplicate city. Some experts on the Machine’s insanity have even hypothesized that Harrisburg 2 is part of a power struggle between Machine Personalities. They point to the fact that Harrisburg 2 sits dangerously close to Gaia’s private sanctuary, New Eden. Freya is the Machine Personality in charge of the Ghost Towns and this could be a move to seize part of Gaia’s territory. Whether it was an intentional affront or not, Gaia may not take too kindly to this intrusion and she could possibly send her own alien predators to tear it down. No human would want to be anywhere near such an enormous clash if it ever does come.
Harrisburg 2 is an excellent example of why it is such a maddening task for the humans of this planet to successfully try to map the surface. Not only can the Machine reshape the natural landscape through her control of the planet’s tectonic plates, but she will frequently move, copy, or remove every conceivable trace of famous manmade landmarks. Harrisburg and its identical twin Harrisburg 2 highlight the sheer level of resources the Machine is willing to dedicate to this trick. People within the Resistance assume the clever and meticulous Machine does this to confuse and confound her hated adversary, but just as often as not, these massive geographic shifts are simply symptoms of the insane war going on in the broken mind of this fractured intelligence.
Area: 210 square miles (538 sq. km).
Human Population: Not many people have discovered this brand new metropolis yet. Less than 40 people have taken up permanent residence in the new city and typically only around 50 Splicers are camped out in the safe houses at any one time (many of whom still mistakenly believe they are in the original Harrisburg).
Robot Population: 8 million Nex-Androids.

Spoiler: New Salem (Ruined City)

This is another once great human city that was bombed to ruins during the early days of the war. Most of the old inhabitants were led to the Lexington Boneyard in a brutal death march and slaughtered, and the rest were exterminated in a campaign that lasted only six months. The resistance here was substantial, but nothing like what the Machine experienced at Old Lexington. As a result, about half the city survived relatively unscathed before N.E.X.U.S. was able to claim victory. Once the city was completely cleared, the Machine built an enormous Industrial Center and a Robot Repository in the center of the now dead city. The Repository already houses over thirty million robots with more rolling off the assembly lines of the Industrial Center each day. The city and surrounding area is seeded with fifteen separate Power Farms that feed these massive structures, with more being created on a routine basis. The Resistance keeps taking down these Power Farms with the hope that their efforts will prevent the robots in the Repository from being activated, but the real goal is the Repository itself. Taking down this structure would cement the names of anyone involved (and their Great House) into history. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. N.E.X.U.S. knows what a tempting target this is, so she turned the entire city into one giant mousetrap. Ishtar laid out an intricate pattern of patrols to make it appear that there are a few safe approaches to the Repository, but each of these paths leads to a massive ambush from hundreds of concealed robots. Scores of Splicer teams have fallen victim to these traps over the years, and most Warlords have realized this target is beyond the capabilities of any single House. Warlord Artemis, however, still believes this is a target his people can overcome. Bold moves like this are what made his House what it is today and he is looking for one great accomplishment to seal his personal legacy. His first choice is the Computer Core, but if that proves too difficult, he figures the Repository would make a worthy target.
Area: 240 square miles (614 sq. km).
Human Population: Only a handful of Waste Crawlers (20-30) have dared to take up residence. Currently, no Resistance safe house has survived more than a few weeks within this heavily patrolled city.
Robot Population: Over 450,000 robots patrol the ruins at any given moment.

Spoiler: The Valley of Skulls

The great chasm known as the Valley of Skulls is a testimonial to just how dangerous N.E.X.U.S. truly is. While this enormous canyon looks like it has existed for thousands of years, it has not even been around a century. In fact, this landmark did not form naturally at all. It was once the location of Great House Altamont. About eighty years ago, in a display of power and brutality that was impressive even for N.E.X.U.S., she used her control over the planet’s tectonic plates to rip their underground haven in half. Within minutes, this mighty Resistance stronghold and everyone inside was buried within an avalanche of dirt, stone, and splintered sewer lines. The land surrounding the haven was fractured and pulled thousands of feet apart, and the pulverized haven slid to the bottom of the canyon in a twisted heap. What was flat earth moments before was turned into a massive canyon 30 miles (48 km) long, about half a mile (0.8 km) wide at its center, and roughly two thousand feet (610 m) deep.
People knew N.E.X.U.S. wielded this power, since she routinely uses it to reshape the geography of the entire planet, but this is one of the few instances (and for good reason) where she actually used it as a weapon. While House Altamont took the brunt of the attack, the entire West Coast of Area 24 was shattered by the massive earthquakes and tsunamis that were unleashed. After years of war, the battered buildings in the cities of New Jefferson, Sun Coast, Port Town, Fausburg, and Bonneville completely crumbled into dust.
Reports from the few witnesses to survive this carnage stated that N.E.X.U.S. lost tens of thousands of robot minions within each city. This could mean she did not anticipate that the quakes would travel so far or wreak so much havoc, or she simply did not care about the collateral damage. After all, she has billions of robots walking the planet, so losing a few hundred thousand ultimately does not impact her much. Why she chose to unleash this doomsday weapon upon Great House Altamont is still a mystery to this day. The only reason it worked was because their underground haven happened to be sitting on a fault line. Maybe she just wanted to see what would happen, or maybe this House held a secret N.E.X.U.S. found so terrifying that she willingly destroyed over a quarter million minions just to ensure it was buried. The promise of this possibility draws thousands of treasure seekers into the depths of the valley each year. What further fuels these legends is the fact that N.E.X.U.S. still heavily patrols these seemingly insignificant ruins. Of course, the Machine places her minions in any location that humans visit, but most still see it as proof that something of immeasurable value must lie within the ruins of House Altamont.
Unfortunately, none of them have the slightest idea what they are even looking for, but still they come. Those that have dug through the ruins have reported the area is rich in glass, plastic, ceramic, and other quality recyclable materials, plus miles of gold wiring that was once used for their electrical systems. The only other valuables buried within the dirt is a wealth of microdiscs and some old Bio-Tech remains that may have some salvageable genes that could be studied. Many think this could be the resting place of the fabled black shutdown discs, or perhaps the Librarians of Altamont created some Bio-Tech secret weapon that could have turned the tide of the war. Most of these legends are based on nothing but wild conjecture, tall tales embellished through repeated tellings, and outright fantasies, but the possibilities still draw the hopeful, the desperate, and the just plain crazy.
Area: 400 square miles (1,024 sq. km).
Human Population: There are typically 50-200 humans and Splicers combing through the rubble at any given time.
Robot Population: Roughly 10,000 robots patrol the valley with an additional 1,000 human skeletons that have been turned into Necrobots.

Spoiler: Old Lexington (Ruined City)

This once thriving coastal city used to be a beautiful vacation destination visited by millions each year and the home to some of the most affluent and influential people in the old human empire. It was also one of the major ports of commerce and industry on this coastline. Like the rest of the planet, the city was choking from overpopulation, but the booming local economy enabled them to deal with the usual problems better than most cities. They handled all the food exports from this incredibly fertile region, which meant there was always a substantial amount of money and goods rolling in as exchange for this vital and diminishing resource, and the flourishing service economy meant there was
rarely a shortage of jobs. Even once N.E.X.U.S. started handling the jobs no one wanted, there were still plenty of jobs left to keep this city running strong. As the rest of the world crumbled beneath the lazy, entitled attitudes of the human population, Old Lexington continued to prosper. This place was the home to captains of industry, political leaders, famous athletes, scientists, engineers, and all manner of strong, capable people, which is likely the reason why the citizens of Old Lexington offered some of the greatest resistance during the early years of the war. At first this did not seem like it would be the case. When N.E.X.U.S. first snapped, she rounded up over seventy-five percent of the population with ease and marched them to an enormous state park at the edge of the city where she slaughtered them like cattle and piled their bodies hundreds (even thousands) deep in the now infamous Lexington Boneyard. The ones that escaped this massacre realized the desperateness of their situation, and they quickly banded together, dug in, and fought back with everything they had, and even the Machine was surprised by how well they fought. After years of brutal combat, N.E.X.U.S. leveled every structure within the city and then had to continuously bomb the rubble for years after to flush out the last pockets of resistance. These battle-tested survivors were the ones that originally founded Great House Artemis (or House Lexington as they called it back then) and Great House Tarkov.
Today, this once majestic city is now little more than rubble with a handful of burnt-out steel super structures jetting out from the debris like skeletal remains. Gaia’s efforts to restore the plant life in this Area of Influence created some hardy breeds of vegetation that have found root within these shattered ruins. Thick grass and ivy has sprouted over half of the city and even the occasional tree can be seen breaking through the rubble. Wildlife has settled within the many nooks and crannies of the shattered city, which provides plenty of game for the Waste Crawlers that have taken up residence here. These gangs are just one of the many dangers lurking in the ruins. The wildlife and humans in the Old Lexington ruins has also attracted a fair number of dangerous alien predators that stalk them all from the shadows. Plus N.E.X.U.S. has thousands of robots patrolling the area for Splicers that are trying to make their way through to the Boneyard.
Area: 250 square miles (640 sq. km).
Human Population: Roughly 150 Waste Crawlers and a revolving population of around 50 to 100 Splicers camped out in safe houses.
Robot Population: Roughly 20,000 robots patrol the ruins.

Spoiler: Lexington Boneyard

Long ago, this grisly mountain of death was once a place of beauty known as Sunshine Park. N.E.X.U.S. rounded up over forty million people from Old Lexington, Harrisburg, and New Salem and herded them here so they could be executed by firing squad, poison gas, or whatever method N.E.X.U.S. found most expedient at the time. Their bodies were then stacked hundreds and even thousands deep in the park and left to rot. No one knows why N.E.X.U.S. chose to create Boneyards rather than bury or burn the bodies. Whatever the reason, these horrifying displays have become a symbol of the Machine’s evil and brutality as well as vital resources of raw genetic material for the Gene Pools. Great Houses Artemis, Janus, and Charlemagne have been gathering raw organic material from this Boneyard for decades, and the Machine has placed thousands of robots within the old Lexington Ruins and around this massive graveyard to hamper their efforts. The best way to enter this Boneyard is through the shattered remnants of the adjoining city of Old Lexington. There are other methods of approach, but the twisted mounds of steel and concrete as well as the sewer lines below provides the best cover from robot patrols.
The Resistance discovered long ago that the best place to collect viable tissue is actually dozens of feet below the surface of these massive graveyards. It is a difficult and disturbing process to tunnel through the remains of millions of rotting corpses, but doing so is ultimately very beneficial. For one, it keeps the collection teams hidden from Machine patrols, but most importantly, the bodies deeper within the pile are more protected from the environment and have not been as ravaged by disease, vermin, and the elements. It is not like tunneling through earth, and this process takes days to even dig a few feet. Decades of collection missions have left a network of tunnels through this mountain of death that Splicers can use, or they can try to blaze their own grisly trails. Not all Splicers use this strategy since it carries the additional danger of being buried alive in a cave-in of the dead (plus it is absolutely disgusting), but most find this is the best way to gather useful organic material.
Area: 42 square miles (108 sq. km).
Robot Population: About 10,000 robots patrol the air, surface, and network of tunnels running through the Boneyard.

Spoiler: Nepali Mountain Range

Running along the eastern border of Area 24 is the massive Nepali Mountain Range. It starts at the southern coast of the Great Ocean and runs directly north for over two thousand miles (3,200 km), forming an immense natural barrier between Areas 23 and 24. Well, semi-natural barrier. This mountain range has existed for millions of years, but once the Great House of the Barren Marsh destroyed the Computer Core in Area 23 and liberated the region from her direct control, N.E.X.U.S. used her control over the planet’s tectonic plates to push these mountains thousands of additional feet into the sky in the hopes of isolating Area 23 from the rest of the Resistance. Some of the taller peaks rose
even higher than the surrounding range, with the tallest peaks rising over thirty thousand feet (9,144 m) above sea level. While the Machine was not able to completely cut off the Barren Marsh, this drastic restructuring did make it much more difficult to traverse the Nepali Mountains, especially when coming from Area 24. Raising the mountain range created a three thousand foot tall, sheer cliff known as the Wall that runs almost the entire length of the mountain range. While there are plenty of Bio-Tech creations that can scale this vertical surface with ease, anyone attempting to do so is a sitting duck to the numerous flying patrols that routinely scan the mountains. Splicers can be easily spotted from miles away and once the patrol comes screaming in to attack, there is absolutely no cover and nowhere to hide.
Despite the difficulties, humans from the surrounding areas routinely conquer this mountain range. In fact, some have even established permanent settlements within its treacherous peaks. The two most famous settlements are surrounded by mystery, rumors, and speculation. One is so mysterious that few people truly believe it even exists. For decades, many have whispered of the fabled kingdom of Technojackers called Steel Mountain, but no one has ever found any evidence of it. Many have claimed to see strangely armed Technojackers on and surrounding the Nepali Mountains, but once again, no tangible evidence has ever been recovered. Any Technojacker asked about the mythical safe haven always jokes that “if it were real, do you think I would still be down here?” Some find it suspicious that barely any Technojackers seem to believe it exists, but that is hardly conclusive proof.
The other famous settlement is the Fort Salvation outpost built by Great House Artemis. While there is no question that it is real, there are many questions about its purpose. The official line from House Artemis is that they built this outpost to serve as a stopping point for Splicers crossing back and forth between Areas 23 and 24. However, many feel this is unlikely due to its remote location.
There are many well-known safe paths through the mountains, but Fort Salvation is located miles away from any of them. The few outside of House Artemis that have made the journey to Fort Salvation say that it is nearly impossible to do without a Mountain Lion War Mount. Even more mysteriously, this area also seems to be plagued by strange alien predators. House Artemis claims this was another reason they chose this spot, so they could capture and study these creatures. Many believe that House Artemis is creating these beasts rather than studying them. There are just too many reports of humanoid creatures lurking in the Nepali peaks to be discounted. The most persistent rumor is that this place is the prison of Librarian Octavious. He was once the first Librarian from House Artemis, but he went Megalo and wrought incredible damage within their underground haven before he was eventually “killed.” Some think they took this mad genius into the mountains so that he could continue to produce the incredible Bio-Tech designs he was famous for without being a risk to others. Many even believe that this is where Great House Artemis experiments on humans away from the judging eyes of the Resistance. Warlord Artemis has allowed anyone to explore the outpost for themselves to quiet these rumors, yet still they persist.
Area: 8,000 square miles (20,480 sq. km).
Human Population: Roughly 1,000 unaffiliated humans live in the high mountains in small villages plus 500 Splicers are stationed at various outposts. The largest outpost is Fort Salvation, which typically houses 100-150 Splicers at any time.
Robot Population: Roughly 50,000 ground robots and 20,000 robot flyers patrol the mountain range. Robot patrols typically do not go higher than 15,000 feet but will pursue higher if the target is deemed worthwhile. N.E.X.U.S. has determined going above this ceiling typically leads to unacceptable losses.

Spoiler: New Eden (Nature Preserve)

As much as humans in this region despise N.E.X.U.S., they cannot help but marvel at the sight of her majestic nature preserve known as New Eden, and appreciate what a tremendous accomplishment it was for Gaia to sprout this enormous forest from the ruins of a planet that was once almost completely industrialized. This massive preserve stands like an oasis in the middle of this twisted land of death, misery, shattered cities, and endless war. It took a little over a century for the forest to grow into what it is today,
which is pretty impressive considering that some of the trees stretch over one thousand feet into the sky. These massive trees are the homes to an innumerable number of animal species and to many humans that are hearty enough to survive in this harsh wilderness. Of course, Gaia does not like these people defiling her paradise, which is why she has seeded her favorite preserve with some of the deadliest alien predators she could find in the Cryo Zoos.
Many people have heard tales of the nature preserves, but only the small percentage of Splicers that have dared to brave these perilous places and actually return truly understand the dangers. Most people mistakenly believe that since the Machine has declared these places off limits to her robotic exterminators that they must be some sort of safe haven. Those that have seen the preserves firsthand know that this is far from the truth. People seem to forget that the deadly organic weapons wielded by the Resistance were created using genetic material from actual living creatures. Plasma breath, bio-napalm, electrical discharges, gore blasts, casting weapons; all of these amazing creations did not just materialize out of thin air. They come from some of the most ferocious predators on the planet. Add to that the fact that many of these creatures are big enough to swallow a Behemoth War Mount whole, and one begins to understand the real dangers of these supposed “safe havens.”
Ironically though, growing this refuge of nature within this accursed technological wasteland required a great deal of the same technology that Gaia so despised. The area she chose to build on was once one of the major farmlands on the planet, but it was over-farmed for centuries, which left the soil almost completely barren. It required an abundance of Gaia’s loving care (and the vast knowledge held within the Machine’s databanks) to nurse the land back to life.
She reengineered the network of aqueducts beneath the earth and used them to create a series of “natural” springs, rivers, and lakes throughout the area. These water sources are refreshed continuously, which helps account for New Eden’s steady and impressive growth rate. Once the hydration infrastructure was set up properly, she unleashed an army of robot drones to grind up millions of human corpses and till them into the soil. She figured if the humans were responsible for killing the land, their deaths should serve in bringing it back. However, this composting treatment was not quite enough, so she further prepared the soil by spraying the entire region with a hyper-metabolic fertilizer. Finally,
she built a network of gas projectors that bathed the area in a thick concentration of carbon dioxide and nitrogen to help sustain the plants accelerated growth rate. Once all the pieces were in place, her drones planted billions of seeds from thousands of different plant species, including one of her favorites known as the Colossalwood that she placed at the heart of her forest. The tallest (and first) tree stretches over 1,800 feet (549 m) into the sky with a trunk that is nearly 800 feet (244 m) around. It lies directly in the middle of a grove surrounded by hundreds of progressively smaller (but still enormous) trees, forming a pyramid-like layout. What many do not realize is that this entire grove is actually just
one gigantic tree. The roots from the central tree spread out horizontally beneath the ground for miles as it grew, which kept this towering plant stable as it continued to shoot upward. As the tree grew stronger, its roots started to sprout additional trees and the entire “grove” kept growing and expanding into what it is today.
The plants came first, but as they found a foothold and started to thrive, Gaia began introducing animal species. She first started with herbivores. As their numbers grew, she then began introducing predators to keep their populations in check and prevent them from consuming too much plant life. She would introduce just a handful of species at a time to see how they impacted the ecosystem. If they caused an imbalance, she would introduce new predators to thin their numbers or new prey to feed their dwindling populations. Once she felt she achieved a perfect balance, she would experiment with even more varieties. Her experiments continued for decades and she was quite pleased with the results.
Unfortunately, her perfect balance was shattered by humans venturing into her preserve seeking sanctuary from the war. In truth, they never caused enough damage to unbalance anything, she simply did not like them being in there. This was when she started introducing vicious Mega-Damage predators to hunt down any humans in her perfect paradise. They did their job well, but they started decimating other species of animals that once thrived. They also started attracting Splicer teams into New Eden and other preserves in search of these new genetic samples so that they could be added to their Gene Pools. This began a bit of an arms race between Gaia and the Resistance. They would violate the sanctity of her preserves in order to acquire new DNA, so she would introduce even deadlier creatures to keep them out (and to keep the other monsters she unleashed in check). It was never her goal to turn New Eden into such a dangerous place, it simply “evolved” into one.
There are now hundreds of lethal plant and animal species integrated into the ecology of the preserve, but they are not the only dangers lurking within New Eden. It would seem like the carbon dioxide projectors would create conditions inhospitable to life and poisonous to humans, but the exact opposite is true. It helped grow the enormous plants that fill New Eden, and as a byproduct, they released higher concentrations of oxygen into the preserve than normal. The closer one gets to the center of the preserve, the greater the concentration of oxygen. This increased oxygen allows larger creatures to flourish in the center of the preserve, but it also increases the dangers from fires substantially.
Sparks from lightning strikes or gunfire can erupt into violent explosions that quickly consume everything in their path. Gaia may officially claim that no robot may enter her preserves, but she really means that no combat robots or drones operated by other N.E.X.U.S. personalities may enter. Gaia needs her force of drones to service the aqueducts and gas projectors that keep New Eden growing, to deliver new species into the preserves, and to suppress any fires before they swirl out of control. If Gaia was truly the naturalist she claimed to be, she would simply let these fires run their course to clear out the underbrush and then allow new plants to spring forth from the ashes. This is ultimately better
for the forest and helps maintain the health of the ecosystem, but she just cannot bear the thought of her precious creation being harmed. Her robots are hover drones so that they do not impact the local flora in any way. They also do not possess armaments of any kind since she does not want to risk one of her drones causing an explosive wildfire. Even if they spot a human trespasser, they are programmed never to attack. Of course, Gaia does routinely use the drones to “nudge” some deadly alien predators in the direction of any humans that she does spot.
Of all the threats in New Eden, the most dangerous may be the humanoids that have taken up refuge here. Waste Crawler gangs (see The Rifter® #32) and other human residents of New Eden have adapted to this hostile place and have learned to exploit the terrain to their benefit. They know this place far better than the Splicer teams that venture through on exploration missions, and they have learned how to use the forest as a weapon against their better equipped adversaries. Waste Crawlers love to prey on Splicers, and the preserves give them not only ample opportunity but often a significant tactical advantage.
The final “human” threat is the large population of Gene Thieves (see The Rifter® #32) that make New Eden their home. These mutant humans can copy the traits, powers, and abilities from any creature they consume. This gives them tremendous power, but it comes at the cost of an insatiable appetite. New Eden is really the only place with enough prey available to keep them satisfied, plus many of these creatures provide them with supernatural strength, senses, and natural defensive and offensive weapons. They typically live in small tribes of ten to twenty members of their own kind. Most of these groups prefer to live off the animals and avoid conflict with Splicers, but some Gene Thieves have joined the Waste Crawler gangs in order to hunt these organic warriors for their powerful Bio-Weapons.
Gaia was able to reclaim this portion of the area from the edge of death and turned it into a place of natural beauty, but she is not finished yet. Her direct intervention still causes the forest to grow at an accelerated rate, which is causing the unofficial borders of New Eden to continuously expand. Her sister personalities have set up patrols, traps, and Sentry Towers to ensnare any Splicers that try to enter New Eden and these skirmishes do inflict damage upon the surrounding forests. These areas are not under Gaia’s direct
protection, but she hopes in time as her forest expands it will overtake all of Area 24 and she will be able to claim this entire Area of Influence as her own.

Area: 11,000 square miles (28,160 sq. km).
Human Population: Over 1,300 Waste Crawlers (including 400 Gene Thieves) have taken up residence within this preserve. They are divided into scores of smaller factions spread
out throughout the area. A typical gang has about 10-50 members. The native population of Tree People has grown to about 800, and at any given time there are roughly 400-1,000 Splicers exploring New Eden. This preserve is a gold mine for new and useful genetic samples. Most Houses simply camp out in the preserves rather than set up permanent structures, but House Artemis has begun building a massive military base within New Eden and it is already about 75% complete.
Robot Population: Despite Gaia’s official proclamations that no robot may ever step foot into the nature preserves, New Eden still requires a force of 3,000 drones to service the equipment that keeps the park thriving, deposit new animal species into the preserve, suppress fires, and perform any other duties Gaia may require to protect her precious creation.

Spoiler: Retro-Villages

For generations, it has been the Machine’s all-consuming desire to completely exterminate all humans like the rats they are, and yet for some strange reason, she chooses to keep hundreds of thousands of these “vermin” alive in small Retro-Villages scattered all across the planet. No one knows which N.E.X.U.S. personality first put this directive in place or why she continues to allow the Retro-Villagers to exist. Perhaps Kali or Lilith formed these prison camps to ensure an endless source of human playthings to torment, or maybe one of the other personalities built them in order to observe and study human behavior in a controlled setting. Perhaps N.E.X.U.S. simply cannot shake the last vestiges of her programming that compels her to care for and protect humanity like she did before the war.
What makes their existence even more baffling is the fact that the Retro-Villages have become an indispensable resource for the Resistance. Field teams frequently visit these villages while crossing the surface to get needed supplies, hide from robot patrols, find shelter from the elements, or gather a little intel about the surface before continuing on their way. Of course, the most important (and desperately needed) resource the Retro-Villages provide is fresh recruits for the war effort. Nearly every Great House on the planet sends emissaries into the Retro-Villages on recruitment drives. Unfortunately, not every Retro-Villager believes the war with the Machine is a good idea. While many villages are places of oppression with a constant fear of obliteration hanging over their heads, other villages are rather tranquil places that have peacefully co-existed with N.E.X.U.S. for generations.
Some Retro-Villagers actually live quite comfortably. On this harsh, unforgiving world, it is often these human prisoners, these slaves of the Machine that have the highest standard of living, who are willing to do whatever it takes to preserve that lifestyle. Even Retro-Villagers that want to aid the Resistance must weigh their desires to help against the incredible risks that doing so could bring upon their home. Harboring a Splicer or possessing even the smallest Bio-Tech item puts the entire Retro-Village at risk for extermination, and all villagers understand that this is not an idle threat. They have heard dozens of stories of villages and everything within a 5 mile (8 km) radius being completely annihilated
over the slightest infractions, and many have seen the aftermath of these purges firsthand. It is not uncommon to make the long trek to another village for trading purposes only to discover a smoldering crater where hundreds of people once lived. Great care must be taken on both sides to ensure that cooperative villages are not endangered.
Whether familiar or not, Splicers must always be wary when entering a Retro-Village. Even well known villages that have faithfully aided the Resistance for decades can still harbor turncoats, spies, and Siren Infiltrators. In addition, even trustworthy villages must still turn in the occasional Splicer to alleviate the Machine’s suspicions and ensure they do not invite too much scrutiny. Most of these types of villages will turn over captured bandits or Waste Crawlers (along with some House-donated Bio-Tech to make it all the more convincing) in order to keep N.E.X.U.S. pacified. As much as it pains these villagers to turn anyone over to the Machine’s horrors, they understand that operating under the Machine’s nose is a dangerous game and sometimes minor sacrifices must be made for the greater good. Each Area of Influence typically has dozens of Retro-Villages, but as with most things governed by the insane Machine, there seems to be no rhyme or reason concerning the number of villages she allows to exist in each area. Sometimes the number of
villages remains consistent in a region for years. Other times, the Machine will purge villages at an alarming rate or go on a building spree and start dozens of new Retro-Villages in just a few months. It does not seem like she is trying to maintain any kind of equilibrium. N.E.X.U.S. has let the number of Retro-Villages drop near zero in some areas while overbuilding other regions so drastically that it strains the available resources, causing all the villagers to suffer. Of course, that may be the point as well. The motivations of the Machine are always a mystery.
New villages can be created in many ways. Retro-Villagers daring enough or comfortable enough with their relationship with N.E.X.U.S. can petition the Machine for the right to expand. If their petition is granted, the Machine will either allow them to build on a new piece of land or else she will actually do all the construction herself. This is pretty much the most peaceful and dignified way that a Retro-Village can be formed. Seeing as how N.E.X.U.S. views humans as slaves, vermin, and playthings, this is also the least common way for a new village to be created. Typically, the Machine will pick an area, choose a type of human culture to act as the theme, and then build the village herself. She then goes out to gather “actors” to fulfill the roles of the peasants from this time period. Depending on the Machine personality doing the recruiting, these people can be politely asked to join the
village or forcibly abducted. These recruits are typically people relocated from other villages, but N.E.X.U.S. also likes to experiment with Waste Crawlers rounded up from the surface, prisoners captured from the Resistance, and Retro-Villagers that broke too many rules or incited dissent within her structured prisons. Of course, these problematic humans need to be properly broken before they can be placed. Potential villagers can either be tortured for years in internment camps (generally operated by Kali) or used as human power sources in Power Farms until their spirits are sufficiently broken.
Once N.E.X.U.S. feels she has taken all the fight out of them, she transports them and the rest of the passive recruits to their new homes along with a few loyal human traitors to act as mentors and leaders of this new society. They teach the new sheep the rules and show them how to act and how to behave, and in turn they are allowed to rule their new kingdoms however they please (within reason). N.E.X.U.S. already understands that the Retro-Villages are prime breeding grounds for new Resistance fighters and she does not want her puppet leaders to act too tyrannically and drive the entire village into the arms of the enemy. She generally gives them free rein, but she warns them that if they do push
their people too far, she will not be there to help them when they push back.
This has led to a pretty well balanced society within the Retro-Villages. Most villagers are willing to allow a few abuses of power as long as they are protected from Waste Crawler bandits and the Machine is appeased. Besides, most villages are too concerned with scraping out a subsistence living to really care about concepts like human rights, fairness, and freedom. It is really only the most tyrannical rulers that have to worry about an uprising. They typically use the people’s fear of the Machine to establish their power early, but human beings can only take so much. Eventually, even the lowliest peasant will risk everything to win back some measure of human dignity. Plus removing a tyrannical leader is an easy way for a Great House to curry the village’s favor, so oppressing the people too “enthusiastically” just places a huge target on the leader’s back.
Area 24 currently has twenty known Retro-Villages, but it is always possible that new ones have been constructed and have yet to be discovered by the Resistance. Below is a list of some of the most well-known Retro-Villages within the region:

Spoiler: Carvers Bay

The message throughout the Resistance is pretty clear, “Stay the hell out of Carvers Bay.” This prosperous little village has been a staunch ally of the Machine since the day it was created nearly a century ago. Their society is modeled after 12th century feudal England with a slight twist. Instead of a few wealthy individuals reaping the benefits from the toiling majority, all the people in Carvers Bay live like royalty. The Machine provides for their every need. Food, shelter, the finest clothing, and all kinds of other extravagances are heaped upon them daily. N.E.X.U.S. likes to keep these villagers happy since this place is literally the Machine’s breeding ground for human spies, infiltrators, and future rulers of new Machine-created Retro-Villages.
They are completely loyal to N.E.X.U.S. and will gladly betray, hurt, or even kill any outsider to ensure their families retain their protected status. Any Splicer that mistakenly enters this town will be treated quite cordially until they can eventually be subdued by drugged food, drink, or anesthetic gas. The unlucky victim then typically awakens miles away in a N.E.X.U.S. interrogation cell. Aside from administering the drugs, the villagers leave most of the dirty work to the Machine (as they do with everything else). To protect her investment, N.E.X.U.S. has stationed a large contingent of robots in a bunker directly beneath the village. There are hidden exit ports scattered throughout the village, so reinforcements can emerge in nearly any part of Carvers Bay within minutes. While many Splicers would love to sweep in and wipe out this nest of traitors, everyone recognizes the importance of this village as a trading post for the other Retro-Villages in the region.
Carvers Bay rests on the estuary where the mighty Sanaca River meets the Great Ocean. They are a vital trading post not only because of their easy access to the waterways but
also because of the sheer amount of N.E.X.U.S. provided goods they willingly sell to other Retro-Villages (and at a rather decent price). The citizens of Carvers Bay know how reviled they are by the Resistance and by most other Retro-Villages, and they spend a great deal of money in an attempt to curry favor throughout the region. They have decided that since they will never be loved, then the next best thing is to ensure they are needed. Population: 410 people with 100-200 visitors at any time. They also have a permanent contingent of 1200 robots stationed beneath the village.

Spoiler: Orenburg

This village is a simple farming community with minimal livestock. Fortunately, there is ample game in the area, and these villagers have become excellent hunters, which makes
this Retro-Village a prime target for Resistance recruiters. Unfortunately, these people prefer to simply be left alone. They have suffered one too many bandit raids from their fellow man and the Machine has never really given them any trouble. They are extremely suspicious of outsiders and have often found it easier to simply “disappear” visitors or leave them bound in the wilderness for the animals or N.E.X.U.S. to find rather than try to determine their intentions. A few famous heroes of the Resistance have come from Orenburg, so still the Great Houses try, but it is often a hard sell. Even Splicers that have come from Orenburg say it is better to simply steer clear of their old hometown. The
typical joke is that “they’re more likely to eat you than join you.” At least, people hope it is a joke. Population: 210 people.

Spoiler: Riverdale

Riverdale is the second most affluent Retro-Village in the area, primarily due to its location. It is upstream from Carvers Bay on the Sanaca River, making it another important
trading post in the region. The actual permanent population of Riverdale is only about half what is typically seen moving through the bustling streets. They have a healthy entertainment industry that hosts the many traders that risk the journey for Riverdale’s fine collection of goods. There are a fair number of gambling halls in town and they brew a wide array of alcoholic beverages. Drugs and prostitution are technically illegal, but still pretty easy to find. The real industry of this town is commerce. Since they are willing to trade with the treacherous Carvers Bay, it means that people uncomfortable with that Retro-Village can come here instead. The people from Riverdale may publicly bash the “scum” from Carvers Bay but they have profited substantially from their relationship. The prevailing attitude within this village is probably the most common throughout most Retro-Villages. The majority of the people want to be free from the constant threat of destruction at the hands of an insane N.E.X.U.S., but they are mainly too scared to do anything about it. While a few young hotheads dream of joining the Resistance and freeing their world, most simply try to provide for their families the best they can on this unforgiving world. Population: 350 people with 200- 300 visitors at any time.

Spoiler: Wellington

Wellington is an example of a scavenger village. Like most Retro-Villages, they farm and raise livestock (because this is what the Machine demands), but they discovered a long
time ago that there is still a great deal of treasures to be found within the depths of the nearby Old Lexington ruins. Plastics, clothing, medicine, and all manner of luxuries and necessities are routinely pulled from these ruins by teams of adventurers. These brave men and women are experts at circumventing Machine patrols, Waste Crawler gangs, and many other dangers in the execution of their duties, which makes Wellington another recruiting hot spot for Great Houses in the region. Unlike Orenburg that would rather be left alone, the leaders of Wellington recognize a valuable asset when they see it and milk it for everything it’s worth. They typically play the recruiters against each other to get their sponsoring Houses to donate gifts, aid, and outright bribes to the people of Wellington. This relationship has worked well for everyone involved and has led to Wellington providing recruits to nearly every Great House in the region. Population: 230 people with 20-50 visitors at any time.

Spoiler: Sandusky

This Retro-Village has only been discovered recently. It is an excellent example of one of the more primitive types of Retro-Villages. They are an isolated hunting community that lies far from other villages to trade with, so they must build nearly everything they use. Since metallurgy is not possible due to the Nanoplague, their designs tend to be pretty simplistic. They live in primitive log cabins sealed with mud, their clothing is typically made from the hides of game or slaughtered livestock, and their tools are made from wood, stone, and bone. Their society is modeled after a typical Middle Age European community but without metal, their technology level is closer to the Native American Inuit of old. Not only are they far from other villages, they are also pretty far from any technological ruins to plunder. Without any sources to scavenge or villages to trade with, Sandusky has no choice but to rely on themselves. What makes this village so noteworthy is that the people themselves are just monstrously large people. The average person is a towering
giant and they are all skilled and aggressive fighters. Their little village is quite close to the New Eden nature preserve, so they have to constantly contend with monstrous predators. Most assumed no human community could survive this close to New Eden, and the team from House Tarkov that discovered Sandusky did not understand how it was possible until they actually met these titans. So far, House Tarkov is the only Great House recruiting out of Sandusky. The villagers have not been too impressed with their little plastic toys, but they have really responded to the power of Bio-Tech. The leaders of Sandusky have sent some people to check out Tarkov’s underground haven and assess if
it would be worthwhile to transfer their entire population there. Note on the natives: The average man from Sandusky is 6 feet + 2D4 inches (1.88-2.03 m), 200+2D4x10 lbs (99-126 kg), and has bonuses of +2X4x10 to S.D.C., +2D4 to P.S., +1 to P.P., +1D8 to P.E., +2 attacks per melee, and +1 to strike, parry, and dodge. The average Sandusky woman is 6 feet + 1D4 inches (1.85-1.93 m), 140+1D4x10 lbs (68-81 kg), and has bonuses of +1D4x10 to S.D.C., +1D4 to P.S., +1D4 to P.P., +2D4 to P.E., +1 attack per melee, and +2 to strike, parry, and dodge. Population: 150 people.

Spoiler: Osaka

This village is modeled after feudal Japan even though only half of the villagers are actually of Asian descent. The class structure is somewhat similar to the ancient society it is based on with a ruling daimyo and a large contingent of samurai, but the peasant class is not seen as lowly. The people here understand that they are all part of a dwindling species and they believe every human life is precious. Of course, they are far from pacifists. Osaka samurai are some of the most skilled human warriors outside of the Resistance. Each is armed with a special M.D. plastic katana that was manufactured centuries ago. These ancient weapons were actually novelties known as Ever Sharp Replicas. They can only inflict S.D.C. damage, but as the name implies, they never lose their edge. This is why the Machine has allowed them to keep these weapons. Since they cannot harm the Machine’s
creations in any way, N.E.X.U.S. allows Osaka Village to train and equip its force of samurai to defend against bandits. What she does not understand is that this ultimately benefits one of her worst enemies, House Artemis. Great House Artemis is not only the greatest beneficiary of Osaka Village but also its single biggest benefactor. Their aid is provided covertly of course, but many other villages suspect that someone in the Resistance must be responsible for their good fortune. While they are not as affluent as Retro-Villages like Carvers Bay or Riverdale, their crops always seem to resist pests and bear more at harvest, their livestock seems larger and able to produce more offspring, and their people tend to avoid illnesses that sweep through other villages. The invisible genetic hand of Great House Artemis has bestowed many blessings upon Osaka Village, and in return, they provide a steady stream of well trained and disciplined recruits. Their influence on Great House Artemis’ culture is apparent in their love of ornate silks and Bio-Tech katana. Population: 290 people with 20-100 visitors at any time.

 

[Sherwood]

Rifter 30, 32, 37, 38, 43, 44, 50, 51, 59, 66, 67, 70

 

[Sherwood]

Spoiler: Acid Seed Cannon

This cannon fires a hollow seed round filled with a powerful acid. The acid is devastating to metals and other inorganic material, but is relatively harmless to humans. The hollow round is more likely to shatter on impact than other seed rounds, but on a positive note, the explosive impact sprays a 10 foot (3 m) area with a fine corrosive mist.
M.D.C. of the Seed: 4D4 each.
Range: 3,800 feet (1,158 m).
Mega-Damage: 4D8 from the seed round. If the seed does not pierce the robot’s armored shell, the round shatters on impact and creates a fine mist of powerful acid. Everything within a 10 foot (3 m) area suffers 1D8 damage per melee round for 1D4 melees. The acidic mist only inflicts 1D4 S.D.C. to organic tissue.
If the attacker rolls a Natural 20 (or 24 or higher with strike bonuses, or only 17 or higher if the M.D.C. of the Main Body has been reduced by 50 percent), the seed round punches straight through the external armor and releases its acidic payload directly into the internal circuitry of the robot. This inflicts an additional 5D8 damage every melee round for 1D4+1 melees. The melted circuits and components will impair the robot’s motor functions until the damaged systems can be repaired or rerouted. The robot loses one attack per melee and is -2 to strike, parry, and dodge for 1D4 melee rounds.
Note: The seed round will not open if fired into an organic target. Duration: The acid burns for 1D4+1 melee rounds.
Rate of Fire: Each shot counts as one attack per melee.
Payload: 15 seed rounds. The Host Armor can produce one replacement seed round every 2D6 minutes.
Bonus: +2 to strike.
Bio-E Cost: 50 points.
Prerequisite: None.
Sniper Note: Characters that possess the Sniper skill are more likely to successfully puncture a robot’s armor with a seed round. If the character rolls a Natural 18, 19, or 20 (or 21 or higher with strike bonuses, or only 16 or higher if the M.D.C. of the Main Body has been reduced by 50 percent), the seed round punctures the target’s outer shell and begins damaging the robot’s internal cavity.

Spoiler: Annihilator Cannon

The Annihilator Cannon is a heavy support weapon designed to be used by un-augmented infantry soldiers. When not in use, the cannon looks like a thirty gallon (113.5 liters) bucket made of muscle and bone mounted on four spindly insect legs. It can walk behind its user at a pretty decent pace like a loyal pet, but it is not really meant to operate on its own. To use the cannon, the gunner mounts the weapon on his chest with two of the legs wrapping over his shoulders to secure it in place and the other two legs bracing on the ground in front of the gunner to help with the weight. One would think that this massive weapon would severely limit mobility, but the support legs allow the user to move and fire with surprising agility. The cannon fires an experimental type of energy blast similar to the one used by the Omega Blaster. Its destructive power is incredible, but so far, the Librarians have had difficulty stabilizing the power supply.
Weight: 45 lbs (20.3 kg).
M.D.C. of the Rifle: 3D4x10+30 M.D.C.
Range: 3,000 feet (914 m).
Mega-Damage: 3D4x10 M.D. per blast.
Rate of Fire: Each blast counts as one melee attack.
Payload: Variable, determine payload every hour. After the first blast is fired, roll 2D12 to determine the cannon’s payload for the next hour. At the end of the hour, the cannon’s payload regenerates completely and the power core tries to reset itself.
Abilities When Operating Independently:
Running: 15 mph (24 km), Leaping: 5 feet (1.5 m) high or across.
Swimming: Not possible.
Equivalent (Instinctive) Skills of Note: Climb 50% and Prowl 30%.
Trade Value: 30,000 credits, but limited availability.

Spoiler: Glimmer Guns

Mounted on each shoulder of the Host Armor or War Mount are a pair of experimental organic energy cannons called Glimmer Guns. They get their name from the brilliant stream of blue energy pulses they unleash. Observers have described it as a shower of blue sparks shot from a fire hose. This effect is achieved when the dozens of smaller barrels within each cannon fire their tiny energy “packets” of Bio-Energy in rapid succession. These energy packets explode on contact, causing tremendous damage.
Each individual barrel is somewhat inaccurate, but the weapon unleashes such a tremendous amount of fire that it does not matter. In fact, most users prefer this little flaw since it causes the energy blast to affect a larger area.
Range: 2,600 feet (793 m).
Mega-Damage: 6D8 M.D. to a 5 foot (1.5 m) area for a single burst, or 2D4x10+20 M.D. to a 10 foot (3 m) area per dual burst from both cannons.
Rate of Fire: Each burst counts as one melee action. Dual burst attacks from both cannons also counts as one melee attack.
Payload: Effectively unlimited.
Bonuses: None.
Bio-E Cost: 45 each.

Spoiler: Heavy Bore Rifle

This heavy support weapon is a larger, more powerful version of the Bore Rifle. The oversized ammo drum mounted on the underside of the weapon carries more Bore rounds than standard rifles even though each grub is larger.
M.D.C. of the Bore Rifle: 1D4x10+65 M.D.C.
M.D.C. of the Grub: 1D10 M.D.C. +4.
Weight: 25 lbs (11.2 kg). Most humans must use two hands to aim and shoot the weapon, otherwise they are – 4 to strike. Individuals with Splicer P.S. of 24 or higher can fire the weapon with one hand.
Range: 1,800 feet (548.6 m).
Mega-Damage: 2D10 M.D. for each grub fired from the rifle. The Bore round does an additional 1D10+3 M.D. for the next 1D6 melee rounds after it hits a metal target.
Rate of Fire: Each shot counts as one melee attack.
Payload: The Heavy Bore Rifle has a payload of 24 Bore Rounds.
The Bio-Weapon can produce one replacement grub in only 3D6 minutes to replace the last round fired.
Bonus: +1 to strike on a carefully aimed shot only.
Trade Value: 12,000 credits.

Spoiler: Leecher Rifle

The Leecher Rifle is an experimental weapon that builds upon the energy-swapping technologies developed for Bio-Energy weapons. However, instead of tapping into the strength of the wielder, the Leecher Rifle was designed to steal the strength from an opponent to empower the rifle, forcing the target to weaken. Once the four front-mounted spikes are stabbed into the target like a bayonet, the wielder can attempt to make a draining attack (counts as a melee attack). Living targets can attempt to make a save of 14 or higher against this attack (P.E. bonuses apply). On a failed roll, a massive amount of Bio-Energy is siphoned out of the victim and into the rifle. The target (whether S.D.C. or M.D.C. based) is weakened for 2D4 melee rounds. His P.S. and P.E. are reduced by half, he loses two attacks per melee, and suffers penalties of -4 to strike, parry, and dodge. Additional draining attacks do not increase the penalties, but they do increase the duration of the affect. On the flip side, the siphoned energy drastically increases the power of the rifle. 10 high-power blasts are added to the payload of the rifle (even if this increases the payload over the usual maximum), range is increased by 50 percent, and each blast receives a damage bonus of +20 M.D. The increased power lasts for 20 blasts or 1D4 melee rounds, whichever comes first.
Robotic opponents cannot resist, but the effects are not quite as powerful. The sudden energy drain does affect the robot’s internal systems, but for a duration of only one melee round. The range and damage of all of the robot’s energy-based weapons are reduced by half, it loses one attack per melee, and suffers penalties of -3 on initiative and – 3 to strike, parry, and dodge. The Leecher Rifle cannot funnel this stolen power as easily as Bio-Energy so it only receives bonuses of +10 M.D. to damage and an additional 5 high-power blasts. The increased power lasts for 15 blasts or 1D4 melee rounds, whichever comes first.
Weight: 7 lbs (3.2 kg).
M.D.C. of the Rifle: 2D4x10+20 M.D.C.
Range: 1,800 feet (549 m).
Mega-Damage: 3D6 M.D. per bayonet attack. 1D8 M.D. per lower power blast, 4D8 M.D. per high-power blast. Both types of energy blasts can also be further empowered by a successful leech attack.
Rate of Fire: Each shot counts as one melee attack.
Payload: Effectively unlimited for the lower power blasts. The rifle can naturally generate and store 15 high-power blasts, but it can store additional high-power blasts after a successful leech attack. Spent blasts are recharged a rate of 1D4 every minute.
Bonus: +1 to strike.
Trade Value: 36,000 credits, but extremely rare.

Spoiler: Shield Cracker - (Shield Penetrator Rifle)

This strange rifle is somewhat limited since it is only useful against force fields, but it so effective at what it does that the Librarians believe it will eventually become a staple of humanity’s arsenal. The rifle’s ammunition was created from a strange starfish that lives on the shores of the Great Ocean. These creatures were an annoyance to the Machine (and to the human’s technological ancestors) because they would latch on to machines or power cables within the ocean and devour a surprisingly large amount of energy. They have existed in the Great Ocean for centuries, despite the Machine’s efforts to exterminate them. They are basically harmless other than the amount of power they waste, but the Librarians were able to craft them into something much more destructive. The rifle fires these genetically modified starfish with decent range and accuracy despite their poor aerodynamics.
When the starfish lands on an energy shield, it latches on as if it was clinging to the side of a fish tank and then starts absorbing the force field’s energy at an incredible rate. The Librarians, however, were not content with simply draining the target’s shields. They also added a small firing port to the underside of these parasitic little creatures that they can extrude directly through the shield itself. Once the starfish starts siphoning the field’s power, it quickly converts this energy and fires it back at the target from beneath its own shields. The only way to avoid this energy blast is for the victim to turn off his shields and let the starfish fall harmlessly to the ground. Most robots and Splicers that have been on the business end of this weapon thought they could just flip off their force fields temporarily and then turn them back on once they shook off the parasite. They all found out the hard way that the disruptive nature of these starfish prevents any prematurely deactivated force fields from being reactivated for 4D4 minutes. Either way, the shooter succeeds in removing the target’s shields. As devastating as this weapon is against force fields, it is completely harmless when fired directly at robots or living creatures. The projectiles cannot latch on with any amount of strength so they are easily removed, but even if they are allowed to cling to a target for an extended period of time, they never seem to siphon enough energy to cause any ill effects.
There is just something about the raw energy of force fields that they can soak up like a sponge.
Weight: 11 lbs (5 kg).
M.D.C. of the Rifle: 2D4x10+20 M.D.C.
Range: 1,400 feet (426.7 m).
Mega-Damage: No damage from the initial impact. After two melee actions, the projectile starts drawing energy off the shield. At this point, the starfish inflicts 5D8 M.D. to the force field twice per melee round. The projectile also inflicts 3D6 M.D. to the main body of the target twice per melee round. Alternate back and forth between damaging the force field and damaging the main body every melee action.
Rate of Fire: Each shot counts as one melee attack.
Payload: 10 starfish projectiles. The Shield Cracker can regrow one spent projectile every 4D6 minutes.
Bonus: +1 to strike.
Trade Value: 19,000 credits, but limited availability.

Spoiler: Side Kick Rifles

Side Kick Rifles are House Artemis’s latest attempt to take the concept of living weaponry to the next level. At first, these heavy Bio-Tech rifles just appear to be an organic rifle or cannon with a stylized insect-like appearance. However, when they crawl from atop of the shoulders or back of a Host Armor or War Mount and begin skittering across the ground, walls or ceilings and begin firing at targets acquired by the pilot, the whole concept of living weapon is reiterated. The Side Kick types that are available are a Bore Cannon (medium), Chemical Sprayer Cannon, Spore Discharger Cannon (medium) or Super Light Cell Cluster Cannon (four cells per rifle). Host Armors can have up to two Side Kicks; either both shoulders or shoulder and back-mounted configuration.
War Mounts can have up to four Side Kicks. Any more Side Kicks have proven to overload Bio-Comms.
Side Kicks receive all the physical structured upgrades that their corresponding Host Armor or War Mount receive (e.g. Acid Blood, Increased M.D.C., Horned Defense, Regeneration, etc.), but they are limited with their senses as they are only equipped with a Bio-Comm, Advanced Eyes and Antennae (all other types of Sensors must be purchased and added to the Side Kick). For armors and War Mounts that have Stealth field abilities; once the Side Kick disengages from the Armor/War Mount, it is no longer hidden by the Stealth Field nor can it receive this Bio-Enhancement. Side Kick Rifles can only be upgraded with Omni, Mega and Super upgrades (described in the Splicers® RPG on page 107).
Weight: 18 lbs (8.1 kg). Most humans must use two hands to aim and shoot the weapon, otherwise they are -3 to strike. Individuals with a Splicer P.S. of 22 or higher can fire the weapon with one hand.
M.D.C. of the Rifle: 6D10+50 M.D.C.
Range:
Bore Type: 2,000 feet (610 m).
Chemical Sprayer Type: 12 feet (3.7 m) mist diameter or 40 feet (12.2 m) as a squirted spray.
Spore Discharger Cannon Type: 600 feet (183 m).
Super Light Cell Cluster Type: 1,000 feet (305 m), but the range can be increased to 2,000 feet (610 m) for 5 Bio-E per each Light Cell.
Mega-Damage:
Bore Type: 3D10 M.D. per grub fired. The Bore round does an additional 1D10+3 M.D. for the next 1D6 melee rounds, after the initial shot, as the grub eats its way into the target.
Chemical Sprayer Type varies with the type of chemical used (see Splicers® RPG, page 100).
Spore Discharger Type: 4D8 M.D., with a blast (splash) radius of 20 feet (6.1 m).
Super Light Cell Cluster Type: 1D10 M.D. per Super Light Cell fired in the volley from 1, 2, 3 or 4 Super Light Cells.
Rate of Fire: Each blast of the Bore Type, Chemical Sprayer and Spore Discharger counts as one melee attack. However, the Super Light Cell Cluster can fire volleys of 1, 2, 3 or all 4 Super Light Cells simultaneously and count as one melee attack.
Payload: Bore Types can have 24 Bore rounds, with the Host Armor producing one replacement grub every 3D6 minutes per spent grub fired. To reload its entire payload, it needs 2D4 hours.
Chemical Sprayer Types can produce enough of one chemical for up to ten attacks every 24 hours. If the capacity for more than one chemical is added to the weapon, each chemical can be used four times per 24 hours. Automatically regenerates within 24 hours of its initial use.
Spore Discharger and Super Light Cell Cluster types are effectively unlimited.
Bonus: +3 to strike on an aimed shot. +2 to strike when shooting wild.

Abilities When Operating Independently:
Running: Side Kicks can reach 50 mph (80 km) up to a maximum range of 2 miles (3.2 km) away from their commanding Bio-Comm Host Armor before overheating. The act of running does overheat the living cannon and they must rest for two hours before running again. If overheated, Side Kicks suffer a reduced speed of 50%, -3 to strike and dodge, and their maximum effective range is reduced by half. However, if the Side Kick periodically pauses for 10-20 minutes every hour or so, it can continue to run and fire at normal speeds and range.
Leaping: 10 feet (3 m) high or across.
Swimming: Not possible.
Number of Attacks per Melee: 2
Combat Bonuses: +2 on initiative, +3 to strike in hand to hand combat, +4 to strike with its laser blast, +2 to parry, +3 to dodge, and impervious to Horror Factor, disease, and poison.
Close Combat Capabilities: Claw Strike 3D4 M.D. Equivalent (Instinctive) Skills of Note: Climb 80% and Prowl 50%.
Penalties: Side Kicks must reconnect with their bonded Host Armor or War Mount every 1D4 days or they will die off. Side Kicks can only operate within 6 miles (9.6 km) away from their bonded Host Armor or War Mount. If the distance exceeds that, the Side Kick instantly goes dormant and will not move or come back online until it detects its bonded Bio-Comm.
Trade Value: 30,000 credits, but limited availability.

Spoiler: Thud Gun

This small, yet powerful short-range Bio-Tech firearm looks like an organic sawed-off shotgun. It fires high explosive shells that hammer targets with crushing concussive blasts that not only inflict tremendous damage, but are capable of knocking down all but the largest targets.
Weight: 5 lbs (2.25 kg).
M.D.C. of the Rifle: 5D10+30 M.D.C.
Range: 500 feet (152.4 m).
Mega-Damage: 6D8 M.D. per blast, plus there is a 01-45% likelihood of the impact knocking an opponent as large as 15 feet (4.6 m) tall off of his feet and onto his back. If knocked off his feet, the victim loses initiative and two melee attacks.
Rate of Fire: Each blast counts as one melee attack.
Payload: 15 shells. The Thud Gun can regrow one spent shell every 2D4 minutes.
Bonus: +1 to strike.
Trade Value: 14,000 credits, but limited availability.

Spoiler: Bio-Force Field Emitter Spheres

Similar to the Bio-Energy Expulsion Vents, these larger, ribbed energy vents surround a blue-green sphere and are installed onto the forearms or shoulders of Host Armors or War Mounts. The Spheres are designed to channel stored Bio-Energy and natural neurolytic energy to generate a powerful, concentrated and focused, bio-electric energy field (3.5 foot/1 m diameter) as opposed to a full body field. While the field is extremely durable, it does take a considerable amount of time to recharge.
M.D.C. of the actual Bio-Force Vent: 6D6+40 M.D.C. points per Sphere.
M.D.C. of the Bio-Force Field: 1D8x10+60 M.D. is standard.
If desired, the Bio-Force Field’s M.D.C. can be increased by 25 M.D.C. per every additional 5 Bio-E points spent, up to a maximum of 250 M.D.C.
Penalty: If the M.D.C. of the Bio-Force Field is depleted, it can not be reactivated again for 5 hours. As long as the Bio-Force Field’s M.D.C. has not been depleted, it regenerates lost M.D.C. at the rate of one point per two minutes (that’s 30 M.D.C. points per hour).
Bio-E Cost: 15 points.
Prerequisite: None.

Spoiler: “Dancing Blades” Spear

This Bio-Tech long spear has a large, barbed spearhead on the tip and four insect-like legs mounted about 18 inches (46 cm) below that. Each leg ends with a long, thin spike that can punch through even the strongest armor. When the spear stabs into a target, the four spiked legs extend from the sides of the spear and stab the target over and over again in rapid succession. As long as the spear is in contact with the victim, the legs will continue to inflict damage. That is what makes this weapon somewhat unique to use. Instead of stabbing the target and then pulling it loose to strike again, the wielder keeps pushing forward in order to keep the target impaled so that the spike legs can do their work. Each
melee action, both the wielder and the victim must roll a twenty-sided die to determine if the target stays impaled. The only bonuses that apply are any P.P. bonuses. High roll wins, ties go to the victim. If the attacker wins, the target stays impaled and the insect legs continue to stab again and again. If the victim wins, he breaks free of the spear. The number of melee actions both parties has available also plays a part. If one side runs out of melee actions first, then the other party automatically succeeds with each attempt until the round ends.
Weight: 9 pounds (4 kg).
Mega-Damage: 3D6 M.D. from the initial impact, plus 4D4 M.D. each additional melee attack from the rapidly stabbing insect legs until the victim can wrench himself free from the end of the spear.
M.D.C. of the Weapon: 120 M.D.C.
Trade Value: 4,000 credits, but limited availability.

Spoiler: Hive Sword

Locusts that devour metal or living tissue, armor, fur, etc. when they come into contact with them. The Locusts are contained on a backpack sheath and the sword secretes an acidic nectar that burns into the item it has made contact with and draws the locusts into the target. The available Types of locusts are Metal Eaters and Hide Eaters. Hive Swords can only carry one type of Hive Locust as the two types are deadly rivals. If rival locust types come within an 8 foot (2.4 m) proximity range of each other, the locusts will immediately attack each other and attempt to invade the rival’s hive in order to kill the rival’s queen. The Hive Sword’s hive can be mounted onto the hive of a Swarmlord and coexist with the Swarmlord’s hive insects without conflicts. Insects can be washed out of wounds with water or heavy smoke.
M.D.C. of the Locusts: 1D6 each.
Mega-Damage: 4D6 M.D. for the large sword slash, plus the acidic nectar itself burns an additional 1D4 M.D. per melee round for 1D6 melee rounds. Once the nectar begins to burn into the target, the aroma of the nectar and burning fumes immediately draw out the locusts which begin to swarm around the sword and into the burning wounds, and begin consuming the target’s burning and exposed wounded area(s), causing an additional 2D6 M.D. per melee round for 1D6 melee rounds (15-90 seconds) or until washed off.
Bonus: +4 to Horror Factor.
Bio-E Cost: 40 points.
Prerequisite: Only available to Carnivore, Omnivore and Lithovore Host Armors and War Mounts.
Penalties: The Hive Sword is a large, two-handed weapon and can only be held with both hands for Host Armors (otherwise, they are – 3 to strike). Only large War Mounts with a hand and opposable thumb like the Grendel or Silverback can wield it effectively with one hand.

Spoiler: Mantis Blades

Mounted on the forearms of the armor are a large pair of Mantis Blades. Each weapon consists of a three foot (0.9 m) long, serrated blade attached to an articulated insect leg that can move in nearly any direction. The pilot controls the movement of the blades for the most part, but each leg also possesses a small neurological bundle that automatically moves the blades in conjunction with the pilot’s actions to maximize the effectiveness of strikes and parries.
It is difficult for opponents to adapt to the subtle movements of the Mantis Blades. Just a change of a few inches can mean the difference between an opponent’s strike getting intercepted by the blades’ defenses or the attacker’s defenses being pierced by the blade. The legs are as articulate as fingers and surprisingly strong. They can tie up and incapacitate the toughest foes.
M.D.C.: 2D6x10 each.
Mega-Damage: 12D6 M.D. for a single blade strike or 4D4x10 M.D. per dual strike (counts as one melee attack).
Bonuses: +3 to strike and parry and +2 to entangle and disarm.
Bio-E Cost: 10 per blade.
Prerequisite: Forearm Mounted Bone Blades.
Bio-Enhancements: Mega Upgrade.

Spoiler: Ripper Maw

This unique enhancement can only be applied to Host Armors and War Mounts equipped with a functional mouth that can be augmented without interfering with the consumption and digestive capabilities. The normal teeth are replaced with three rows of razor-sharp, interlocking, shark-like teeth. These fearsome teeth can deliver devastating bites on their own, but the true power of this enhancement is revealed once the teeth start to move. The gums are modified with bands of powerful muscles that rapidly move the teeth back and forth to create the Bio-Tech equivalent of a chainsaw. Unlike a high-tech chainsaw, the Ripper Maw is almost completely silent (at least until it starts tearing its prey apart). Once the armor bites down, the chainsaw mouth completely shreds anything within it like a blender. When used against living targets, the Ripper Maw leaves a gruesome, gaping wound that is very slow to heal (heals at one quarter the normal rate).
Mega-Damage: 6D10 M.D.
Bonus: +4 to Horror Factor.
Bio-E Cost: 30 points.
Prerequisite: Only available to Carnivorous, Herbivore and Omnivore
Host Armors and War Mounts,

Spoiler: Bio-Energy Blade

At the request of many Splicer soldiers, the Engineers have developed Bio-Energy melee weapons based off of Bio-Energy Expulsion Vents. The weapons are powered by the user's own internal energy, and if used improperly, can quickly tire out the Host Armor pilot or War Mount. The blade requires the addition of a small Bio-Force Field generator which is powered by the existing Bio-Energy Vent. The upgraded vent can still be used as a ranged weapon, but not while the blade is active. The blade-shaped Bio-Force Field channels the energy from the modified Bio-Energy Vent into a dangerous weapon, allowing it to parry other melee attacks and perfonn MegaDamage melee attacks.
M.D.C. of the Blade: 15 M.D.C. + bonus M.D.C. equal to the P.E. attribute value of the user, + ID4 per each subsequent level of experience.
Mega-Damage: The blade does 3D12 + bonus M.D. equal to the P.E. attribute value of the user. Each blast from the upgraded vent does 4D8 + bonus M.D. equal to the P.E. attribute value of the user.
Maximum Effective Range: The blades extend up to 5 feet (1.5 m) from the Bio-Energy Vent, usually found in the hands, but sometimes mounted on the tail or head. Maximum Effective Range for ranged blasts is 1,000 feet (305 m), but only 500 feet (152 m) underwater.
Equal to the number of Hand to Hand attacks of the user. Activating the blades counts as one attack/action. As for the ranged Bio-E blast, each blast counts as one melee attack/action, and cannot fire volleys or simultaneous blasts from different vents at the same target.
Payload: Effectively unlimited. Each blade contains a charge equal to the P.E. of the user x 6, in minutes, every 12 hours. So, a Splicer with a P.E. of 15 will be able to keep the blades active for 90 minutes every 12 hours. Using more time will weaken the pilot, causing him to lose two melee attacks/actions per round, and reduces all of his combat bonuses by half for the next 1D6 hours. Each activation uses at least one minute of charge, even if the blade is only used for one attack. As for the modified ranged vent, since the new vents are primarily designed for melee combat, firing more than 8 blasts a minute (that's 2 per melee round) weakens the pilot, causing him to lose two melee attacks/actions
per round and reduces all of his combat bonuses by half for the next 3D6 minutes.
Bonus: +3 to strike, and +2 to parry with the blades. The ranged blast gets no bonuses to strike (eliminating the +3 to strike on aimed shots from the original Bio-E vent).
Bio-E Cost: 20 points per Bio-Energy Expulsion Vent to be up-
Prerequisite: Bio-Energy Expulsion Vent.

Bio-Tech Explosives

Spoiler: Bug Bombs

The success of the Swarm Lord Program (see The Rifter® #51, pages 30-40) has inspired many Librarians to further experiment with these powerful Bio-Tech insects. One Librarian from House Artemis took some of the most voracious bugs known as Locusts and created powerful, new anti-personal grenades he called Bug Bombs. They consist of a simple shell that contains dozens of Locusts held in stasis with a low-grade explosive in the center of the bomb. The explosive itself is completely harmless (light S.D.C. damage). It is meant to awaken the bugs and send them flying in all directions within a radius of ten feet (3 m). The Locusts then land on any nearby metallic object within range and eat until they burst. The best part about these grenades is that they are completely harmless to living creatures. The Locusts are genetically programmed to be repulsed by the taste of flesh, so even if someone detonates a Bug Bomb in his hand, the Locusts would only seek out and destroy robots and other metallic debris. To activate the internal charge and detonate the bomb, the wielder just squeezes a small nerve cluster on top of the device. The user then has four seconds (one melee attack) before the bomb detonates. He can either throw it, or hold on to it to clear out the immediate area. Each Locust insect is like a voracious flying piranha, light brown with dark green accents, has 2 M.D.C., can inflict 1D4 M.D. per melee round for 1D4 melees, fly a maximum flight speed of 80 mph (128 km) with combat bonuses of +5 to strike and +3 to dodge.
Weight: Half a pound (0.23 kg).
Range: 100 feet (30.5 m) when thrown as a grenade (200 feet/61 m for Splicers). If attached to an arrow or spear the range is that of the projectile reduced by 30% due to the extra weight and imbalance of the Bug Bomb on the tip.
Mega-Damage: 3D4 M.D. per melee round for 1D4 melees to any robot or metallic object within a 10 foot (3 m) radius.
Note: There are only enough Locusts within each Bug Bomb to affect five robots. In the alternative, if the Bug Bomb is thrown onto a large robot like an Assault Slayer or Battle Track, then the damage is 3D8 M.D. per melee round for 1D4 melees.
Trade Value: 2,500 credits each (experimental with limited availability).

Spoiler: Mega Bug Bombs

These larger bombs are about the size of a basketball. They contain about four times as many Locusts as the standard Bug Bomb, plus it has a larger charge in the center of the bomb to spread the bugs farther. They are too large and unwieldy to throw very far, so they are most often used in close combat.
Weight: Four pounds (1.8 kg).
Range: 40 feet (12.2 m) when thrown as a grenade (80 feet/24.4 m for Splicers).
Mega-Damage: 3D6 M.D. per melee round for 1D4+1 melees to any robot or metallic object within a 20 foot (6.1 m) radius.
Note: There are enough Locusts within each Bug Bomb to affect 2D4+6 robots. In the alternative, if the Bug Bomb is thrown onto a large robot like an Assault Slayer or Battle Track, then the damage is 6D8 per melee round for 1D4+2 melees.
Trade Value: 6,000 credits each (experimental, with limited availability).

Spoiler: Protective Bug Bomb

This experimental grenade uses the same basic design as the offensive Bug Bomb, but instead of Locusts, this grenade is filled with dozens of Impact Beetles. When detonated, the bugs fly to the closest object (whether living or not) and activate their force fields. Most users detonate the grenade in hand (light S.D.C. damage) so the bugs swarm all over them to create a form-fitting protective field, but this grenade can be used to apply a force field to virtually anything. The only problem is that most people are uncomfortable with Hive Insects crawling across their skin, and will often panic. Unless the recipient of the bugs rolls a 10 or higher to save verses Horror Factor, he will panic and brush off the protective insects. The bugs can project their field for 3D4+10 minutes before their energies are depleted and they fly off to die.
Weight: One and a half pounds (0.68 kg).
M.D.C. of the Force Field: 3D4x10 M.D.C. The bugs die off as the M.D.C. is depleted or when their energy levels are depleted 3D4+10 minutes later.
Range: 100 feet (30.5 m) when thrown as a grenade (200 feet/61 m for Splicers). If attached to an arrow or spear, the range is that of the projectile reduced by 30% due to the extra weight and imbalance of the Protective Bug Bomb on the tip.
Trade Value: 3,000 credits each (experimental, with limited availability).

Spoiler: Scutigera Mobile Migs

The Scutigera, dubbed “Scurry,” is a modified Mig with up to 15 pairs of long, multi-articulate, hairy legs, which enable the Mobile Mig to reach surprising speeds running across floors, up walls and along ceilings. It is a dark yellowish-gray and has four dorsal stripes running down its length, and black striped legs, giving it the appearance of a giant centipede. When the Scutigera Mobile Mig is at rest, it is not easy to tell its front from its back.
Weight: One pound (0.45 kg).
Range: The Mobile Mig can travel at 50 mph (80.4 km) up to 1500 feet (457.2 m) before it gets too tired and stops to rest for 1D4 hours, before running after its target again. Its maximum range is one mile (5,280 feet/1.6 km) and then it will automatically detonate. However, it will likely detonate long before this occurs (45% chance every 1,500 feet/457.2 m). They can also be thrown like standard Migs for about 40 feet (12.2 m; double for Splicers).
Mega-Damage: 1D8x10 M.D. to a 12 foot (3.65 m) radius.
Trade Value: 2,000 credits, but limited availability.

Spoiler: “Eye-See-You” Self-Propelled Grenade

These smart grenades are basically miniature Organic Rockets, and just like the larger rockets, each grenade possesses a single eye and a neurological bundle that allows it to independently track its target. To launch the grenade, the user must first attach the two foot (0.6 m) long tentacle to his temple to link with the device. This allows the user to see through the eye mounted on the grenade (at least while linked). He then points the eye at the desired target and sends a mental signal to confirm the target. Once the grenade is “programmed” with its objective, the user then yanks the connection tentacle from the grenade and it rockets off towards its goal. The grenade will continue to track down its prey until it strikes its target, is shot down, or until it dies within 2D4 melee rounds after being launched. It has one attack per melee and bonuses of +5 to strike and dodge.
Weight: Half a pound (0.22 kg).
Range: 100 feet (30.5 m) when thrown as a grenade (200 feet/61 m for Splicers) or about 2,800 feet (853.44 m) when tracking a target.
Mega-Damage: 5D8 M.D. to an 8 foot (2.4 m) radius.
Trade Value: 1,400 credits, but limited availability.

Spoiler: Clinger Missile

An Organic Rocket can be further enhanced into a Clinger Missile. The small protruding point of the Organic Rocket evolves to look like an upside down starfish. These starfish-like pseudopods allow the missile to lock tight against any surface. The Clinger Missile tracks down and rams into its target at full speed, adheres to it with its pseudopods, and then a millisecond after attaching to its target, it detonates. Unlike standard Organic Rockets, the unique design of the Clinger Missile directs the majority of the explosive force inward like a shaped charge. This drastically increases its destructive power, but it does decrease the blast radius. In the center of the pseudopods is the same neurological bundle and eye that is found in the Organic Rocket, so the Clinger Missile can also continue to track down its target if it misses. However, the pseudopods decrease the aerodynamics of the missile, so it is not quite as maneuverable as a standard Organic Rocket.
The Clinger Missile has one attack per melee and bonuses of +4 to strike and dodge, until it strikes its target, is shot down, or until it dies within 2D4 melee rounds after being launched.
M.D.C. of the Rockets: 13 M.D.C. points, but the missile is a small target and is -3 to hit on a “Called Shot” when still located on the Host Armor. After launching, each missile is treated the same as a high-tech mini-missile and can be shot down as normal.
Range: One mile (1.6 km).
Mega-Damage: 8D10 per individual missile fired, with a blast radius of 5 feet (1.5 m). The directed blast has a 20% chance of temporarily scrambling a robot’s internal circuitry. If this occurs, the robot is stunned for 1D4 melee rounds, loses one attack per melee round, and suffers penalties of -2 to strike, parry, and dodge. Note: The chance of stunning the robot is increased by 5% for every additional Clinger Missile in a volley.
Rate of Fire: One at a time or in volleys of 2, 4, 6 or up to the number located on that particular Host Armor. Whether a single missile or an entire volley is fired, it counts as one melee attack. Roll once to strike, either all the missiles in the volley hit or they all miss.
Payload: Based on the number of Organic Rockets enhanced into Clinger Missiles. It takes 6D6 hours to regrow spent missiles.
Bonuses: +4 to strike and dodge, as noted above.
Bio-E Cost: 8 points per Clinger Missile.
Prerequisite: An Organic Rocket, which transforms (grows) into a Clinger Missile.

Spoiler: Supernatural Strength

This enhancement allows Host Armor and other Splicer creations to increase their strength to supernatural levels, requiring a large investment of Bio-E. This enhancement is only offered to Dreadguards, Roughneck Officers, and very rarely to a well decorated and loyal Biotic. (Note: Under the Enhanced Physical Strength Enhancement on page 86 of the Splicers® Role Playing Game, it states that Gorehounds and Biotics can have their basic P.S. increased to Splicer P.S. for just 50 points. Please disregard this, as Gorehounds already
have Supernatural Strength, and Biotics already have Splicer Strength. You can use the information presented under that enhancement, and this enhancement to calculate just how much Bio-E goes into creating the military constructs of the Great Houses.)
Mega-Damage: As per Supernatural Strength.
Bio-E Cost: 2 Bio-E points per point of Strength to be converted. A Splicer must pay this amount in full, and cannot simply convert a part of his P.S. A Host Armor with a Splicer P.S. of 36 will need to spend 72 Bio-E to upgrade to Supernatural Strength.
Prerequisite: Must have Splicer Strength, which is replaced by Supernatural Strength.

Spoiler: Symbiotic Nourishment

For scouts and long-range recon Splicer units in hostile areas, one of the biggest limitations is usually how much food and water one can carry with them, or that is available to them in the field. This enhancement allows the Splicer pilot to get nourishment from his Host Armor's metabolism after the armor has broken the food down into basic nutrients for its own use. A Splicer with this enhancement can stay out in the field indefinitely, so long as his armor meets its own feeding and sleep requirements. The amount of nutrients needed to sustain the pilot is negligible in comparison to the amount of nutrition needed for the armor, so no significant increase in consumption is required.
+2 to save vs poisons or toxins since the Host Armor must further break down the source of nutrients.
Bio-E Cost: 15 points for Photosynthetic and Thermosynthetic Metabolisms, 20 points for Carnivore, Herbivore, and Omnivore Metabolisms, and 30 points for Lithovore and Vampiric Metabolisms. This is not available for Parasitic Host Armors.
Prerequisite: Enhanced Neurological Connections. Only Host Armors can select this enhancement.

Spoiler: Grip Hands

These small hands look like miniature hands, tendrils, or tentacles, and hold weapons and other equipment tight to the Host Armor and out of the way until the character needs them. The hands are little more than organic tie-downs but since they are part of the Host Armor, the character is + 1 on initiative with the weapons they hold. One hand can hold a pistol or small melee weapon, two are required for rifles or large melee weapons, and 4 are required for heavy Bio-Weapons. Up to four hands can be added to a Host Armor with no prerequisite.
Any number of Grip Hands can be added if the Host Armor also has Enhanced Neurological Connections. Each hand has only 5 M.D.C. but requires a Called Shot to hit, and even then the attacker is -6 to strike.
Bio-E Cost: 2 Bio-E per individual Grip Hand.

Spoiler: Opti-Upgrade

While most of the Weapon Upgrades are only available for ranged weapons, the Opti-Upgrade can be used for both melee and ranged Bio-Weapons. This recently developed
enhancement increases the range for critical attacks for a particular weapon by one. For example,. If a Dreadguard normally scores a critical hit with his Gore Cannon on a Natural 20, but invests in the Opti-Upgrade, he will then score a critical hit on a Natural 19 or 20. This can be a very useful enhancement for weapons which have a special effect on a critical hit, such as the tentacle harpoon. This enhancement can only be purchased twice per weapon.
Blo-E Cost: 20 points.
Prerequisite: Applicable to melee or ranged weapons. [Storyteller note: This upgrade is purchased individually for each weapon system you have, not one purchase for ALL your weapons/attacks.]

Spoiler: Bio-Reclamation

Occasionally a Splicer decides that a certain Bio-Enhancement just isn't right after all. This is particularly true of enhancements that are prerequisites for other enhancements. If the character decides not to get the upgrade, he is left with an unnecessary feature or piece of equipment. Removing these unwanted Bio-Enhancements is almost as easy as
adding them. There is no cost for the Bio-Reclamation. In fact, the Splicer even gets back half of the original Bio-E cost of the enhancements removed (round down). Note: Weapons and features that cost less than 10 Bio-E can be removed, but no Bio-E is returned to the Splicer for these enhancements.

Spoiler: Shell Vault

Inspired by the humble clam, the Vault provides a small, but very secure storage space. Strong muscular action closes the two halves of the shell together and keeps whatever is
placed inside safe and secure. A small Shell Vault is 6x6x2 inches (l5x15x5 cm) requiring a Called Shot at -4 to strike. The vault can later be upgraded to a large 15xl5x5 inch
(38.lx38.1xI2.7 cm) vault, requiring a Called Shot at only -2 to strike.
M.D.C.: The small Shell Vault has 30 M.D.C., and the large Shell Vault has 50 M.D.C.
Bio-E Cost: 5 Bio-E for a small vault, 10 for a large vault. Alternately, a large Shell Vault can be added from the start, but this option costs 20 Bio-E.

Spoiler: Storage Pouch

A biological pocket like those of kangaroos and other marsupials. The pouch can stretch to hold a maximum of a cubic foot (0.028 cubic meters). Whatever is placed in the pouch gains the full benefits of other enhancements such as Bio-Force Field, Chameleon Skin, and Stealth Field. Up to four pockets can be added to a Host Armor or a Biotic, double to a
War Mount.
Bio-E Cost: 4 Bio-E per pouch.

 

[Sherwood]

Spoiler: Dreadnaught Armor

Dreadnaught
Dreadnaughts are the heavy weapons specialists of the Dreadguard. Actually, heavy weapon specialist would probably be a bit more accurate. This entire class was built around their primary weapon, the Harbinger Cannon. This experimental, heavy Bio-Weapon has been around for some time, but it had a few problems that made it somewhat difficult and impractical to use. First off, this massive, seven foot (2.1 m) long, 200 pound (90 kg) rifle was just too big, heavy, and unwieldy for all but the strongest suits of Host Armor. While there are several other enormous Bio-Weapons in the human’s arsenal, none comes close to the size and weight of the Harbinger. The other major problem with this rifle was that it chewed through its ammunition at a ridiculously fast rate and it required a Bio-E source, very much like the Bio-E Expulsion Energy Vents. In order to keep the rifle light enough to even be lifted, it could only hold a (comparatively) minuscule amount of ammo, which meant it would run dry pretty quickly. Users raved about its incredible destructive power, but ultimately they said it was just too much weight to haul around for the five to ten seconds of firepower it provided. Eventually, the Librarians created an enhancement
package for Host Armors that could handle the weight of the rifle and most importantly, the weight of the massive ammunitions backpack that was required to finally make the Harbinger a usable weapon. The size and strength of the Host Armor was drastically increased and the musculature was altered to allow it to carry incredible weight without getting exhausted. This slowed the armor down a bit, but the trade off was well worth it in order to efficiently use the Harbinger Cannon.
After a brief debate throughout the Resistance concerning who should be entrusted with this awesome weapon, the honor was eventually bestowed upon the Dreadguard. Most Warlords thought the Roughnecks were a bit too wild and reckless to be given this kind of firepower, and they felt more comfortable putting it in the hands of the loyal warriors that lived by the Code of Duty. Great Houses all across the Resistance modified small groups of Dreadguards and sent them out to field test the Harbinger, and the tests exceeded everyone’s expectations. The only problem that came back from these tests was a tendency for users to get too focused on what was in front of them and lose track of their close surroundings. Harbinger users were eventually equipped with a pair of tentacles that possessed an Independence Bio-Enhancement. This gave them some “partners” to watch their backs, and kept them from getting flanked so easily. The Sentinel Eels helped the Dreadnaughts in close quarters combat where they were most vulnerable. In time, the sentient tentacle eels and the Host Armor’s massive size increase became a badge of office that distinguished these heavy gunners as their own special class within the Dreadguard, causing people to refer to them as Dreadnaughts. While they are seen as a distinct Special Forces unit, they are not afforded any kind of elevated status over their fellow Dreadguards. Within the social hierarchy of the military, they are viewed no differently than other Dreadguards, although so far, no Dreadnaughts have ever risen to the rank of Warlord.
It is quite possible that the amount of firepower and purpose invested into their Dreadnaught design may have also cursed them to remain in the field and providing that heavy firepower that the Resistance so desperately needs.
Alignment: Any, but typically good or selfish.
Attribute Requirements: Must be a Dreadguard of 5th rank or higher to be eligible. I.Q. and M.E. 14 or higher.
Attribute Bonuses: +1D4 to I.Q., +2 to M.A., +1D6 to P.S., +1 to P.P., and +1D6 to P.E.
O.C.C. Bonuses: +4 to roll with impact, +2 to save vs insanity, and +5 to save vs Horror Factor.
Base S.D.C.: 50, plus any from Physical skills.
Common Skills: Standard.
O.C.C. Skill Programs: Basic Military (+15%), Host Pilot (+20%), Bio-Technology (+10%) and Weapon Training.
Special Skills:
Heavy Fire Support: Dreadnaughts are trained how to provide strategic weapons fire with their Harbinger Cannons to best support their troops and to cause the maximum amount of destruction to their enemies. Dreadnaughts know that they are the tank equivalents of Host Armors and utilize their massive size and fire power as such. They utilize their scale and heavy firepower to bring down the most significant targets or threats first and allowing the infantry and the rest of the troops to finish off the targets. Dreadnaughts learn to use the Harbinger cannon for suppressive fire against armored targets, and to provide suppressive fire in landing zones and against ground and aerial threats. Base Skill: 60% +3% per level of experience.
W.P. Bio-Weapons: Heavy (Base Skill: 40% +3% per level of experience).
Elective Skills: Same As Dreadguard (Splicers® Role-Playing Game, page 151).
Secondary Skills: The character gets to select one Secondary Skill at level six and one additional skill at levels 9, 12, and 15. These are additional areas of knowledge that do not
receive any special O.C.C. bonuses.

Dreadnaught Host Armor: Dreadnaughts receive an experimental upgrade to their main Host Armor design that makes it a larger, more formidable armor to utilize, plus it is bonded with two large, tenacious, alien symbiotic creatures called Sentinel Eels, that are contained in the Host Armor’s backpack shell located above the Harbinger Cannon’s munitions reservoir.

Step One: See the specific details on Dreadnaught Armor below.

Step Two: Determining Metabolism. Dreadnaught Armor is always Carnivore, Omnivore or Vampiric.

Step Three: Available Bio-Energy points for the Dreadnaught is M.E. attribute number, +P.E. attribute number, +1D4x10+20 points, plus an additional 40 or 30 Bio-E points
according to the Host Armor’s metabolism type. Each level of advancement, starting with level three, the Dreadnaught gets an additional 5D4 Bio-E to add to the capabilities of his current Dreadnaught Armor. These Bio-E points can be spent as soon as they are acquired or saved and combined with points from subsequent levels of experience.
If the Dreadnaught’s Armor is destroyed, another will be bonded to him, but it will only have the most basic Bio-Enhancements. Further augmentation will only occur with each
additional level of experience or as a reward for impeccable service.

Step Four: Biological Enhancements and Weapon Systems. Selections can be made from any of the categories, but most Dreadnaughts focus on long-range Offenses and Biological Defenses in order to give themselves better protection in the field while providing heavy suppressive firepower to support their team.

Standard Equipment: Military fatigues, a suit of non-organic body armor for back up or disguise, dress clothing, survival knife, utility belt, first-aid kit, 2 Slap Patches, Face Wrap, tinted goggles, hatchet for cutting wood, one light Bio-Weapon and one heavy Bio-Weapon of choice and one weapon for each W.P. with appropriate ammunition for heavy combat, a good Mega-Horse for transportation, tent, knapsack, backpack, two water skins, emergency food rations (three weeks supply), and some personal items.

Handheld Weapon Bio-Enhancements: Dreadnaughts receive 5D4 Bio-E at level one plus 5 Bio-E at each additional level of experience starting at level 2. Bio-E can be distributed between all the weapons in the character’s personal armory or applied to one favorite item.

Money: Has 3D6x100 credits worth in precious metals, relics or trade items, as well as 6D6x10 in available credits. Money can be spent now on additional equipment or saved for later.

The Upside: You are the true walking tank and heavy firepower specialist of the Host Armor types with the power, size and knowledge to make the most what you have. You tear down nearly any enemy, structure, or decimate a wide path of charging robots with a few short, controlled bursts. Your skills at providing suppressive firepower make you an invaluable resource for clearing out landing zones necessary for strategic deployment or emergency evacuations. You are one of the few units that can take on the largest adversaries in the field, without requiring a War Mount, thus enabling the rest of your platoon and other soldiers to focus on their objectives and earning their favor by watching your back in the field.

The Downside: You are a walking tank and are slower than normal Host Armors in both speed and agility, due to the cumbersome Cannon that you have to lug everywhere. The Harbinger Cannon takes both hands to carry, thus you have to rely heavily on your other enhancements to pick up the slack and your heavy firepower draws major attention to you in a battle, and makes you a primary target equal to that of a War Mount. Your massive bulk not only reduced your agility to dodge most attacks but it makes it very difficult for you to retreat during intense chaotic combat scenarios, especially if your team is being overrun. If that weren’t bad enough, the Harbinger Cannon is able to dispense a heap of deadly firepower in heavy surges, but it also chews through its ammo reserves at such a high rate that you may find yourself having to improvise and occupy your opponents with your other weapons and enhancements until your munitions replenish themselves.

Experience Table: Continuing using the same Experience Table as the Dreadguard found on page 183 of the Splicers® Role-Playing Game.

Dreadnaught Armor
Dreadnaught Armor is a massive Host Armor specifically designed for providing Heavy Weapons Fire and suppressing heavily armored or numerous enemy targets at once. Just hold the Harbinger Cannon steady and pull the trigger; let the cannon and the Armor do the rest. At least that’s the way it appears to many who have witnessed firsthand the immense devastation of a Dreadnaught. These forms of armor are larger and more robust than standard Dreadguard Host Armors. They have massive shoulder and chest plating with broad, tree trunk-sized legs that help root the armor to the ground as they man their main weapon the Harbinger Cannon. So much has been designed around the cannon that the armor itself is almost too specialized. It is so bogged down by the massive weight of the cannon and its munitions reservoir housed on the back, that it is slower than other Host Armors and the assault cannon requires both hands to be used, which means the pilot cannot use both hands in combat and leaves Dreadnaughts rather vulnerable in close combat and tight spaces.
To try and compensate for vulnerability in melee combat, two large tentacle appendages were added to the armor. Each a massive, powerful constrictor-like eels called, Sentinel Eels. Sentinels are symbiotic creatures capable of thinking and fighting independent of the Dreadnaught Armor and the pilot inside. They alert the pilot of potential threats, but attack enemies that come within striking distance on their own, and even defend the armor when the pilot is rendered unconscious. The Dreadnaught’s host armor is genetically bonded to the eels and if the armor is completely destroyed, the Sentinels will also die. They can not be transplanted into a new Host Armor nor War Mount for that matter. The Sentinel Eels know this and will fight to defend the armor even over their own preservation. Since the brain of the symbiotic creature is actually located inside the Dreadnaught armor, a severed Sentinel Eel can regenerate completely given enough time. This makes these powerful eels more likely to sacrifice themselves in order to protect the Host Armor.

Adding these heavy, alien eel creatures seemed only to add to the specialty requirements, because of the eels’ erratic movements, lunging and snapping in and out at targets in all directions, or their awkward coiling movements that easily throw off the pilot’s aim, balance and coordination. In order to counter this, two bio-organic gyrostabilizers were built into the massive shoulder plating and hardwired into the chest and hips as a core to help compensate for the eels’ unpredictable movements. This finally provided the Dreadnaught pilot with enough stabilization, control and focus to improve the firing accuracy and overall mobility necessary to operate such a massive Host Armor. The overall outcome however, is a massively heavy and less agile Host Armor that packs a major wallop of firepower.

Class: Host Armor.
Crew: One Dreadnaught Pilot.
M.D.C. by Location:
Arms (2) – 3D6x10+30 M.D.C., +10 additional M.D.C. per level of experience (starting at level 6); both arms have the same M.D.C.
Hands (2) – 2D6x10+20 M.D.C., +15 additional M.D.C. at levels six, eleven, and fourteen; both hands have the same M.D.C.
Sentinel Eels (2) – 70 M.D.C. each, +5 additional M.D.C. at levels six, eleven, and fourteen.
Sentinel Shell – 3D6x10+150 M.D.C., +10 additional M.D.C. per level of experience (starting at level 6). If the M.D.C. of the shell is depleted to zero, then there is a 80% chance that the Symbiotes brains will be exposed and vulnerable (1D6x10 M.D. each brain) Note: The Sentinel shell can only be targeted form behind with a called shot. However, it is a large target, so there are no penalties to strike.
Legs (2) – 3D8x10+25 M.D.C. each, +10 additional M.D.C. per level of experience (starting at level 6); both legs have the same M.D.C.
Feet (2) – 2D6x10+30 M.D.C. each, +20 additional M.D.C. at levels six, eleven, and fourteen; both feet have the same M.D.C.
Elbow Bone Blades (2) – 2D4x10+18 M.D.C. each.
Harbinger Cannon – 4D4x10+20 M.D.C., +10 additional M.D.C. per level of experience (starting at level 6).
Head – 2D6x10+20 M.D.C., +10 additional M.D.C. per level of experience (starting at level 6).
Main Body – 6D6x10+180 M.D.C., +15 additional M.D.C. per level of experience (starting at level 6).
Harbinger Munitions Reservoir – 6D6x10+250 M.D.C., +10 additional M.D.C. per level of experience (starting at level 2). If the M.D.C. of the shell is depleted to zero, then there is a 35% chance that the explosive payload will detonate if hit by projectiles or lasers or ignited, inflicting 3D6x10 M.D. to the main body of the armor and half damage to everything within a 20 foot (6.1 m) radius. Note: The Munitions Reservoir can only be targeted from behind with a called shot. However, it is a large target, so there are no penalties to strike.

Speed:
Running: 4D6+20 mph (38.4 to 70.4 km). The act of running does tire out the pilot, but at only 10% of the normal fatigue rate.
Leaping: Only 10 feet (3 m) high or 15 feet (4.6 m) across.
Digging: 15 mph (24 km) through sand or dirt, but one quarter as fast through rock or concrete. Digging tires out its pilot, but at half the usual fatigue rate. To dig down enough to adequately hide from enemies on the surface takes 4D6 minutes.
Swimming: 10 mph (16 km); swimming tires the pilot but at 10% the usual rate.
Underwater Depth: Dreadnaught Armor can withstand pressure up to 1500 feet (457 m) down.

Statistical Data:
Height: Approximately 3 feet (0.9 m) is added to the height of the pilot.
Width: 5-6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 m), based on the size of the pilot.
Length: 4-5 feet (1.2 to 1.5 m), based on the size of the pilot.
Weight: Adds 700 pounds (315 kg) to the weight of the pilot.
Cargo: Contained within the carapace shell on the suit’s back is about 200 pounds (90 kg) of Harbinger Cannon munitions, plus two symbiotic Sentinel Eels, each weighing 130 pounds (58.5 kg) that are stabilized by two gyrostabilizers located in the massive shoulder plates, each weighing 100 pounds (45 kg). The rest of the Sentinel Eels’ weight and movements are left up to the Host Armor and pilot to endure and counter.
Physical Strength: 4D6+15 – Splicer P.S. is equal to Robotic Strength.
Production Cycle: Nine month gestation, plus 6 months growth time.
Operational Lifetime: 2D10+35 year life span.
Trade Value: None, because each Dreadnaught Armor is bonded to a specific pilot and will not function for any other person.
Bio-Regeneration: 2D6 M.D.C. per hour for the main body and 1D4 M.D.C. per hour for all other locations except the retractable tentacles which regenerate at a rate of 1D6 M.D.C. per melee round. Only the tentacles can be regrown once severed, all other locations require at least one point of M.D.C. in order to regenerate. However, an Engineer can generate and attach a replacement limb with minimal difficulty.
Horror Factor: 9 for humans and other intelligent life forms; none against the machines.

Senses and Features: Standard plus the following: Reinforced Exoskeleton, Resistance to Kinetic Energy/Attacks, and Radar (+1 attack and helps detect, locate and target incoming opponents and early target acquisitions).

Sentinel Eels: These are actually tentacles that have been enhanced and modified to have gaping mouths filled with razor sharp teeth. These fearsome tentacles can be used to rip and tear their prey to shreds, or the Host Armor can actually use them to feed. Furthermore, these tentacles have evolved into symbiotic creatures capable of thinking and fighting independently of the Host Armor. They will alert the pilot of potential threats, attack enemies on their own, and even defend the armor when the pilot is rendered unconscious. Of course, the tentacle is still a part of the armor and cannot survive on its own, and the Sentinel Eels know this. The creatures instincts push them to fight and to defend the Host Armor even over their own preservation. Since the brain of the symbiotic Eel is actually located inside the suit of Host Armor, a severed Sentinel Eel will regenerate completely given enough time. Each Sentinel Eel grows its own independent brain at the base of the tentacle and a row of four tiny black beadlike eyes adorn each side of the maw. The visual range of these eyes is only 100 feet (30.5 m), but that is more than adequate for the symbiotes as they are also equipped with Motion Detector Pits adorning their lower jaws (Same as Motion Detection Enhancement in Splicers® Role-Playing Game, page 81).

Special Note: All previously purchased Dreadguard Host Armor Bio-Enhancements carry over to the new Dreadnaught Host Armor, but they do not override the Dreadnaught’s penalties and bonus restrictions. If the Dreadguard’s Host Armor already had one of the listed Dreadnaught Enhancement then the Dreadnaught Armor inherits the pre-invested Bio-E points back and is allowed to spend the points on something else.
Feeding: Standard for either Carnivore, Omnivore or Vampiric, plus the suit eats an additional 60-90 pounds (27 to 40.5 kg) of minerals (stones, rocks, dirt, clay, etc.) a day to sustain the Sentinel Eels and the Harbinger Munitions. The Sentinel Eels can consume food while the Host Armor is inactive or occupied.
Sleep Requirements: Dreadnaught Armor requires 2D4 hours for Carnivores and 1D6 hours for Omnivores of sleep/rest/inactivity per day, during the day or night hours. Vampiric Dreadnaughts do not require sleep, but must rest 2D4x10 minutes after feeding, during which time the armor is sluggish (reduce attacks per round by -2, speed and combat bonuses by 25%).
Combat Bonuses: +1 to strike, +5 to parry (mainly due to the retractable tentacles), +3 to entangle, +1 to disarm, and +4 to roll with punch. Note: Due to the size and weight of the cannon and armor, a Dreadnaught can never have a dodge bonus higher than +3, regardless of any enhancements chosen.

Dreadnaught Weapon Systems:
1. Harbinger Cannon: A dual, handheld, heavy assault cannon, the Harbinger Cannon has come a long way in the form of field tested and proven firepower. It is a sophisticated monster of a weapon composed of three major components and is frowned upon by many who dispute its efficiency when wielding it, minutes after they have exhausted its destructive ammo.
The Central Maw is a formidable set of crushing jaws filled with powerful teeth and large spurs adorning the top of its broad head and neck. Jet black with a white stripe going down the middle, the Maw uses its jaws to deliver a vicious bite (3D8 M.D.) into adversaries or into structures. This huge maw can stretch and quickly lunge at attackers, like a snapping turtle, striking targets up to 6 feet (1.8 m) away. The jaws can retract the seized prey or item, bringing them into the horrific discharges of the cannons. The victim can pull away (counts as one melee action/attack) or be pulled out of the Harbinger’s Maw by comrades provided they match the Dreadnaught Armor’s Splicer P.S. Lastly, the maw is also able to spew a gaseous fluid that instantly ignites the liquid streams fired from the three Spore Discharger Cannons that are also mounted on the Harbinger.

Side-Mounted Velocity Cannons (2): These twin cannons resemble the mouths of a viper with a barrel shoved down their throats. They are the lethal cannons of the Harbinger that fire high-velocity Burster Shards up to 3,000 feet (914.4 m). The cannons inflict 1D8x10+20 M.D. for a short individual burst of 10 rounds from one cannon or 2D6X10+20 M.D. per simultaneous bursts from both (counts as one melee attack). The cannons can only fire in bursts; single shots are not possible. Each burst creates an explosion with a blast radius of 15 feet (4.6 m) +5 feet (1.5 m) per additional burst fired.
The explosions can be heard up to three miles (4.8 km) away.
Payload: 120 rounds per Velocity Cannon with an additional 600 rounds in a Munitions Reservoir housed in the back of the armor for reloads. It takes 2D10+30 minutes after every meal or 6D6 hours to regrow a full load. It takes only 1D10 minutes to grow one full burst without a meal.

Spore Discharger Tusks (2): Two medium-range dischargers mounted on the sides and a long-range discharger directly underneath the cannon, each fires a stream of metal eating spores in a liquid form. Once the liquid comes into contact with a robot, machine or any metallic object (including Technojackers armor), the spores burst like a stream of micro-explosive rounds and begin to eat into the metal target. These spores are ineffective against living/organic targets. However, unlike most Spore Dischargers, when the liquid is ignited by the Central Maw of the harbinger cannon, these spores turn into a blue napalm plasma that is able to incinerate living targets as well. The spore dischargers inflict the
standard damage listed in the Splicers Main Book, page 104 [Mega-Damage: 4D8 M.D., with a blast (splash) radius of 10 feet. Duration: The spores continue to do 1D8 M.D. to any metal, including any metal that may come in contact with it, for the next 3D4 melees as the spores complete their life cycle and die.] When used as a napalm discharger, the damage and effects are identical to the napalm discharger on the Dracos War Mount, (Splicers Main Book, page 115). Range is reduced to 500 feet (152.4m). [This concentrated Mega-Damage fire does not dissipate quickly, but lasts for a period of 2D6 melee rounds, enough time to cook most targets or to create a flaming barrier to hold foot soldiers and vehicles at bay (though not necessarily robots). During this time, a target covered in the napalm continues to take damage (3D8 M.D. per melee round), and so does anyone (or thing) that tries running through the flame (2D8 M.D.).] [Mega-Damage: 3D8 M.D. per fiery single blast, but the target hit with napalm continues to bum and take an additional 3D8 M.D. per melee round. If human, the character is on fire, loses half his attacks per melee, is -6 on all combat bonuses and likely to be panicked and trying to put the fire out any way he can (half these penalties if the character is clad in M.D. armor, and robots and drones only lose one melee attack and a penalty of - 1 on all combat bonuses as they ignore the fire and continue to fight). Three rapid-fire blasts will easily span a 20 foot (6. 1 m) width/section of road. Note: The only way to douse the napalm is to roll in dirt or sand for one entire melee round (15 seconds), rub the napalm off for one entire melee round (but takes double damage; 4D8 M.D. that melee) or to be doused with napalm retardant chemicals (at the disposal of the Resistance) which puts it out in 3 seconds/one melee action.]

2. Sentinel Eels (2): Within the armor’s Back Carapace shell are two large chambers that house the alien symbiotes that mature into Sentinel Eels. Their voracious tentacles were enhanced and augmented into powerful constrictor-like creatures, each with a deadly maw filled with fangs. Sentinel Eels are symbiotic creatures capable of fighting independently of the Dreadnaught Armor; biting, pummeling, coiling and constricting opponents that dare get into close range of the Dreadnaught.
The Dreadnaught pilot can seize complete control over the Sentinel Eels at any time and utilize them like an extension of his own body, but with heavy firepower suppression often being the focus, most Dreadnaughts simply let the Eels operate freely as vicious, defensive counters against close proximity opponents.
Primary Purpose: Defense.
M.D.C. of each Sentinel Eel: Each Eel has a starting M.D.C. value of 4D6x10 points. A severed eel will completely regenerate within 3D8 hours.
Damage: Each successful Bite does: 3D8 M.D.C. Special Crush/Squeeze attack first requires that a victim is successfully entangled/grabbed and held. But instead of holding tight or biting, the Sentinel Eel squeezes with the intent to crush and hurt its captive.
Damage is 3D4 M.D. per squeeze + Splicer P.S. punch damage. Due to the Independence Enhancement, each constriction of the body counts as one of the Sentinel Eel’s Attacks (not the Host Armor’s melee attacks/actions). Victims can use their Escape Artist skill at +10% to escape (slip the hold), or the victim can pull away (counts as one melee action/attack) or be pulled out of the Eel’s hold by comrades provided they match the Dreadnaught Armor’s Splicer P.S.
Effective Range: Typically 10 feet (3 m) away from the Dreadnaught Armor is the maximum.
Bonuses: Each eel possesses two attacks per melee with bonuses of +3 on initiative, +4 to strike, +3 to parry, and +2 to dodge. Both Sentinel Eels can engage the same target, but each eel must roll to strike independently. The previous bonuses for the tentacles only apply when they are controlled by the Host Armor pilot. The pilot also gains a bonus of +4 on initiative and +3 to Horror Factor when the eels are active and cannot be surprised from behind.

3. Twin Bone Blades: Located on the elbows of the Dreadnaught Armor are a wicked pair of large bone blades that are capable of slashing through the thickest armored hides or shredding metal.
Primary Purpose: Melee combat.
Secondary Purpose: Defense.
Mega-Damage: 1D6x10 M.D.

Bio-Enhancements Only Available to Dreadnaught Armor:
1. Harbinger Munitions Generator: The heavy backpack of the Dreadnaught Armor has a large Generator mounted on the underside of the shell, just behind the hips. The Dreadnaught plugs the Harbinger into one of the generator’s three ports and the Cannon hums to life, with its massive maw hissing and drooling, anticipating the heavy firepower it is getting ready to unleash. The Munitions Coil meticulously feeds the ammo to the Harbinger Cannon through a lubed inner tube with rows of small insect-like legs passing the munitions along and avoiding any undesirable jamming or lock-ups. The Coil is well-protected with reinforced chitin plating and is extremely flexible. The Munitions Generator reduces the time needed to replenish Burster Shells by half: 1D10+15 minutes after every meal or 3D6 hours to regrow a full load. It takes only 1D4+1 minutes to grow one full burst without a meal.
Primary Purpose: Ammunition Provisions.
Bio-E Cost: 35 Bio-E points.

 

[Sherwood]

Spoiler: Swarm Lord

Swarm Lord O.C.C.
The Bio-Technology of the Resistance may sometimes seem alien and strange, but it was designed to mimic the inorganic technology of old. Organic rifles and melee weapons looked and worked like their mechanical equivalents, and Host Armor and War Mounts were modeled after the robot vehicles and power armor that the humans were comfortable with. It helped them quickly adapt to this bizarre new technology when the Nanobot Plague rendered their previous armaments useless. Subsequent generations that grew up with Bio-Technology saw it as perfectly normal, and the mechanical-like designs became standard templates used by all Great Houses throughout the Resistance. Some
Librarians, however, have experimented with designs that take the idea of "living weaponry" to the next level.
One such design is known as Hive Armor. This bulky suit of armor is similar to standard Host Armor, except it has a large insect hive mounted on its back. From this honeycombed mound, the suit can produce a seemingly endless supply of powerful BioTech bugs called Hive Insects that the pilot directs as weapons. These living rounds possess a rudimentary intelligence that allows them to track down their prey like tiny cruise missiles. Each individual bug is capable of inflicting considerable damage for its small size, but the true power of this suit becomes apparent when the pilot unleashes his insects in large swarms. The devastating swarms released by even one suit of Hive Armor can ravage a small platoon of robots.
These experimental suits of Host Armor are piloted by a special breed of warriors known as Swarm Lords. The hive can produce hundreds of insects, but it is not large enough to house them all. This means that the majority of the bugs are constantly crawling all across the surface of the armor. This is the major reason why Hive Armor has only achieved limited popularity among the Resistance. Most humans cannot stand being near these suits, much less wearing one. The writhing mass of insects covering the armor is a truly disturbing sight, and Hive Armor (like all Host Armor) passes all physical sensation experienced by the armor through to the pilot. This means that anyone wearing Hive Armor
constantly feels as though hundreds of insects are crawling over every inch of his or her bare skin. Experiencing this sensation for even a few minutes can drive the most strong-willed person insane, so pilots need to adapt to the feeling before they can even hope to command Hive Insects.
Swarm Lords endure a tortuous, six month training regimen in order to prepare them to don their Hive Armor. They spend every waking moment covered in insects. They begin their training handling just a few at a time, and then slowly add more and more bugs until they can sit naked in a pile of thousands of insects without thinking twice. In time, they not only learn to tolerate the feeling, they learn to love it. This is another reason why Swarm Lords are not very common among the Resistance. Most people simply find them creepy, which does not inspire many to follow in their footsteps. Of course, these same people will gladly fight at the side of these powerful warriors.
Swarm Lords can strengthen their armor with the standard Bio-Enhancements available for Host Armor, but the real power comes from the various types of insects they grow within the hive on their back. Hive Armor can house multiple types of insects simultaneously. All the bugs recognize the other species as part of the same hive, and they all work together to protect their "queen," the Hive Armor pilot. They patrol the area in search of danger (robots), attack any man or machine that threatens the armor, and destroy any target the pilot commands. The hive looks like a low profile turtle shell on younger suits, but as the armor matures, the hive grows into an enormous mound. It eventually grows so large that the Hive Armor must lean forward in order to support the weight. This hunchbacked stature slows the armor down somewhat, but most Swarm Lords gladly trade the decreased mobility for the increased payload of powerful Bio-Tech Hive Insects.

Alignment: Any, but typically good or selfish.
Attribute Requirements: I.Q. 13, M.E. 14, and P.S. 14 or higher.
Attribute Bonuses: + 1 to I.Q., + 1D6 to M.E., and +2D4 to P.S.
O.C.C. Bonuses: +2 to save vs insanity, and +6 to save vs Horror Factor.
Base S.D.C.: 50, plus any from Physical Skills.
Common Skills: Standard.
O.C.C. Skill Program: Basic Military (+20%), Athletics (+10%), Bio-Technology (+10%), and Infantryman (+10%) or Man-Hunter (+10%).
Elective Skills: Select any one Wilderness Skill and three Electives from the following list at first level. Select another two Elective Skills at levels 2, 4, 8 and 12. All new skills start at
level one proficiency.
Communications: Any (+5%).
Domestic: Any (+10%).
Espionage: Any (+5%).
Medical: First Aid only.
Military: Any (+5%).
Physical: Any.
Rogue: Gambling and Find Contraband only.
Science: Any (+5%).
Technical: Any.
Transportation: Any, except Pilot Wing Packs.
Wilderness Survival: Any ( + 10% ).
Weapon Proficiencies: Any.
Secondary Skills: The character gets to select four Secondary Skills at level one and one additional skill at levels 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15. These are additional areas of knowledge that do not receive any special O.C.C. bonuses.

Swarm Lord Hive Armor: The Swarm Lord receives an experimental Host Armor design known as Hive Armor, the Bio-Tech equivalent of living power armor, brimming with weapons, Bio-Enhancements, and a special organic hive that continuously spawns powerful Bio-Tech insects. The Swarm Lord is genetically bonded to one specific Hive Armor.
Step One: Standard for Host Armor, except for the following changes: M.D.C. of the Hive is 2D6x10+30, speed and leaping ability are reduced by 15 percent, and weight is increased by 4D4x10 lbs (18-72 kg).
Step Two: Determining Metabolism. Hive Armor is always a Lithovore. All aspects are identical for normal Host Armor, except that Hive Armor must consume twice the usual amount of minerals each day. This is necessary to sustain the various types of metal-eating insects that grow within the hive.
Step Three: Available Bio-Energy points for the Swarm Lord is M.E. attribute number, plus P.E. attribute number, + 1D4x10 points, plus an additional 20 points for the Lithovore metabolism. These Bio-E points can be used to purchase Bio-Enhancements from any category except Ranged Bio-Weapons. In addition, the Swarm Lord starts with 5D4x10 Bio-E points that are used to purchase Hive Insects for the character's personal swarm. Each level of advancement, starting with level two, the Swarm Lord gets an additional 1D6 Bio-E to add to the capabilities of the actual Host Armor, and 4D10 Bio-E points to be used to strengthen the hive. These Bio-E points can be spent as soon as they are acquired, or saved and combined with points from subsequent levels of experience.
If the Swarm Lord's Hive Armor is destroyed, another will be bonded to him. It will only have the most basic Bio-Enhancements, but it will have 5D4x10 Bio-E points available to purchase Hive Insects. Swarm Lords are just too rare, and the Resistance does not want to squander their training.
Step Four: Biological Enhancements, Weapons, and Hive Insects. Bio-E points allocated for Bio-Enhancements and Hive Insects must be spent separately. Selections can be made
from any of the categories, except Ranged Bio-Weapons. The energies of the suit are dedicated to manufacturing Hive Insects, and trying to create ammunition for other Bio-Weapons proves to be just too much for the suit (and the pilot) to handle. Besides, Swarm Lords consider their Hive Insects to be far superior weapons to any Bio-Weapon available for "lesser" suits of Host Armor, so they do not see this as a limitation at all.

Special Hive Armor Bonuses: +6 on initiative and the pilot cannot be surprised from behind, +1 to strike and parry, and +5 to Horror Factor. The hundreds of insects crawling all
across the Hive Armor also offer a limited amount of defensive protection. Area effect weapons like grenades and missiles, as well as impact weapons like fists, clubs, and blades,
will have to first get through the thick layer of insects in order to damage the armor beneath. When these types of weapons strike the armor, the damage inflicted is only half. The other half of the damage is soaked up by the Hive Insects crawling on the surface. The bugs may blunt the effect, but they suffer the consequences. Every time this layer of bugs absorbs damage for the armor, a number of insects are killed, equal to one quarter of the total damage inflicted (rounded down; e.g. 18 M.D. would kill four insects). Precision weapons like lasers, particle beam blasts, and even rail gun rounds may hit one or two bugs, but the majority of the damage will travel through to the armor. Flamethrower weapons inflict major damage to the Hive Insects. In this case, take the total amount of damage inflicted and divide it in half. One half of the amount damages the armor, and the other half represents how many insects were destroyed.
In addition to physically shielding the armor, Hive Insects will also attack anything that threatens the Hive Armor. Any robot, drone, animal, or even human that attacks the Hive Armor in hand to hand combat will be assaulted by 2D4 Hive Insects every time the opponent successfully strikes the armor (just select the most abundant insect in the character's personal swarm in order to determine damage).
Hive Insect Generation: The organic hive constantly spawns new Hive Insects to replace bugs that die in combat or from old age. The amount of insects the hive can create is proportional to the total size of the character's personal swarm. For every 200 insects in the swarm, the hive can generate 2D6 new insects every 10 minutes.
Penalties: As the character adds more insects to his swarm, the organic hive mounted on the armor grows larger as well. For every 200 insects, add another 4D6 M.D.C. to the hive and 50 pounds (22.5 kg) to the weight of the armor. This increased weight decreases speed and leaping ability by 10 percent. For every 400 insects, the Swarm Lord suffers additional penalties of -2 to parry and dodge. Once the swarm reaches 800 insects, the hive becomes so heavy it forces the Hive Armor to hunch forward in order to support the weight. When the armor is forced to assume this posture, all penalties from increasing the size of the swarm are doubled. At this point, most Swarm Lords enhance their Hive Armor with Elongated Arms in order to keep the suit more stable (in which case future penalties are not doubled, but increase at the standard rate).
Standard Equipment: Military fatigues, dress clothing, survival knife, utility belt, first aid kit, Face Wrap, tinted goggles, hatchet for cutting wood, one light or heavy Bio-Weapon of
choice and one weapon for each W.P. with appropriate ammunition for heavy combat, tent, knapsack, backpack, two water skins, a two week supply of emergency food rations, and some personal items.
Money: Has 1D6x100 credits in precious metals, relics or trade items, as well as 6D6x10 in available credits. Money can be spent now on additional equipment or saved for later.

The Upside: You control a massive army of hundreds of intelligent Bio-Tech weapons. Despite their size, these tiny little insects pack tremendous destructive power. They allow you to take on dozens of opponents singlehandedly and prevail.
The Downside: Your hive may be strong, but it dramatically slows down your Hive Armor. The buzzing insects constantly whirling around your armor also make stealth impossible. For all the Hive Armor's strength, it is nearly worthless once all the Hive Insects are exhausted, so you need to be careful not to exhaust your Bio-Tech insects too quickly or you will be a sitting duck for the Machine. Furthermore, most people find the massive swarm of insects crawling across your armor creepy; the rest find it absolutely terrifying. Few people can tolerate being near you, but they generally make an exception in battle. Of course, after the day is won, they go right back to politely avoiding you.

Spoiler: Hive Insects

The true power of the Swarm Lord lies in his loyal army of Bio-Tech insects. There are nine types of Hive Insects that the character can choose from in order to build his personal swarm. The different species work together in perfect harmony and view each other as members of the same hive. This lets the Swarm Lord add insects of every type to his swarm if he chooses to do so.
Each Bio-Tech insect is surprisingly powerful on its own, but their true power is revealed when they combine their attacks as large swarms. A single Swarm Lord can devastate a platoon of robots in minutes, but he must be careful not to exhaust his supply of insects too quickly. Most Hive Insects quickly die after attacking a target (or on impact), plus they are designed to have limited life spans. Hive Insects only live for 48 hours before they die and dissolve into sludge. This is a safety measure built into their genetic code to ensure Hive Insects never grow out of control and threaten the environment. When they are nearing the end of their lives, the bugs will crawl back into the hive so their remains can feed the rest of the swarm. This prevents the Swarm Lord from leaving a trail of dead bugs everywhere he goes, and it helps nourish the hive. The organic hive constantly spawns new
insects to replace lost bugs, but this takes time.
Swarm Lords communicate with their insects through a neurological connection formed when the bugs' feet are in contact with the Hive Armor. Their simplistic and alien minds can only communicate basic ideas like whether danger is near or the direction of a target, but this is often more than enough. The hundreds of Hive Insects crawling all across the armor make it impossible for anyone to sneak up on a Swarm Lord, and they can send out scores of insects in all directions to scout out trouble. The bugs cannot communicate the type of threat or number of opponents, but they can lead their Swarm Lord master right to the target or warn him which direction to avoid. Another major limitation is that Hive Insects can only identify robotic adversaries. They cannot distinguish between Waste Crawlers and other humans from the Resistance, and they cannot tell the difference between loyal War Mounts and the deadly alien predators released by the Gaia personality. This significant limitation is why they will never replace Gorehounds or Black Talon War Hawks as scouts.
Unless stated otherwise, all Hive Insects are roughly two to three inches (5-7.5 em) long and possess thick, chitinous armor like a beetle or cockroach. Beneath their armored shells are four insect wings that allow them to fly at impressive speeds. Their compound eyes give them a good field of vision, but the range is average at best (although they can see into the ultraviolet spectrum). All Hive Insects are Lithovores, which means they eat pure minerals and metallic alloys (of course, the Nanobot Plague quickly kills these bugs after they consume metal). They were designed to find the taste of metal delicious and the taste of organic material repulsive. Even if commanded to eat a living target, Hive Insects will only take small bites before the repellent taste forces them to break off their attack. This is another safety measure built into the insects to ensure they never become a danger to humans.
Hive Insects mainly eat a mineral-rich paste secreted within the hive, or the remains of other Hive Insects that have died of old age. This is more than enough to sustain the entire hive indefinitely, so it is unnecessary for the bugs to seek additional food from external sources. The only time they consume anything else is when they are attacking robotic targets.

Spoiler: Rules for Swarm Attacks

Swarm Lords telepathically direct their insects through a neurological connection formed between the skin of their Hive Armor and the feet of their insects. This means that once the Hive Insects break contact with the armor, the pilot can no longer communicate with them in any way. The bugs will follow the last command issued by the Swarm Lord to the best of their ability, but if they cannot complete their mission, they will return to the hive for further instructions. Communicating with so many minds at once (even such simple and primitive minds) requires a great deal of concentration. The character must spend one melee action for every 20 Hive Insects that he issues a command. So if a Swarm Lord wanted to launch a swarm of 100 insects, it would cost 5 melee attacks. The character can also choose to launch smaller swarms at multiple targets. In this case, each swarm costs
at least one melee attack (even if all the swarms combined total fewer than 20 insects).
Swarm attacks are nearly impossible to evade unless the target is able to move faster than the flight speed of the Hive Insects. If the target cannot travel faster than the swarm, then it can only dodge the attack if it rolls a Natural 18 or higher. If the target is faster than the swarm, then the Swarm Lord must make a strike roll. Each swarm attack (no matter how large) only requires one roll to strike. Either the entire swarm reaches its target, or the entire swarm misses. However, if the swarm does initially miss its target, it will continue to track down its target until the insects finally succeed or the target retreats out of visual range (1 ,200 feet/366 m). The target can continue to dodge the swarm, but the persistent little insects will never give up until their prey falls.
Actually, they do not even stop when this happens. The Hive Insects will continue to attack the fallen robot until they expend all of their energy and die or they finally succumb to the Nanobot Plague. The swarm has two attacks per melee as it continuously tries to track down its prey. The only bonuses that apply are the strike bonuses listed under each individual Hive Insect. If the target does escape, then the swarm will return to the hive for new instructions.
The only way to completely dodge a swarm attack is to either flee out of visual range (1,200 feet/366m) or destroy the swarm. Unfortunately, unless the target has a flamethrower or some other area effect weapon, this is a very difficult proposition. Firing into the swarm with a precision weapon like a laser only has a small chance of hitting more than a few insects. Anyone attempting to do this must roll an 18 or higher (with strike bonuses). However, on a successful strike, the attacker only succeeds in destroying 1D4 insects (even if the swarm contains hundreds of bugs). To make a significant dent in a swarm requires a flamethrower or some other kind of area effect weapon. Grenades and missiles work if the swarm has landed on an object, but it is impossible (or at least extremely difficult) to strike the swarm with these types of weapons when they are airborne. When attacking the swarm with a flamethrower (or similar weapon), roll to strike as normal. The swarm will perform evasive maneuvers when it is assaulted, by rolling to dodge the attack (include bonuses listed under each insect, high roll wins). The swarm cannot completely dodge an attack, but it can reduce the number of insects that are lost. On a successful strike, roll damage for that weapon as normal, but now this number represents how many insects were destroyed. If the swarm successfully dodges the attack, this just means that the number lost is only half. For example, an Incinerator Robot fires its Plasma Napalm Launcher at an approaching swarm of 20 Locusts. It rolls a 14, which means the strike is successful. However, the swarm also rolls a 14 (with bonuses), which means the dodge was also successful (ties always go to the defender). The robot then rolls 3D6 to determine damage. It rolls a 12, which would normally mean 12 of the bugs are fried in midair, but since the swarm was able to evade the attack, only 6 of the insects are destroyed and the remaining 14 reach their target and begin to feast on the combat robot.
Obviously, swarms that have suffered losses will also lose some of their destructive potential. To calculate damage inflicted by a weakened swarm, roll damage as normal, and then reduce the damage by the equivalent ratio. The reduction ratios should be calculated by quarters (one quarter, half, and three quarters; always round down). Of course, if the swarm is reduced to a few insects, just use logic and calculate damage based on each individual bug.

Spoiler: Types of Hive Insects

Swarm Lords generally have a mixture of all types of Hive Insects within their personal swarms. They are primarily designed for combat, but creative Swarm Lords have discovered many inventive uses for their bugs. Below is a list of all the different types of Hive Insects available to the Swarm Lord.

Spoiler: Locusts

Locusts were the first Hive Insects designed by the Librarians. These small, armored beetles were modeled after the ravenous grubs used in Bore Cannons. The Librarians hoped to create flying versions of these powerful living rounds that were intelligent enough to seek out and destroy robotic adversaries on their own. They may require the direction of a Swarm Lord, but they are still incredibly effective weapons. These vicious bugs are like flying piranhas. They can consume several times their own weight in metal before they burst from overeating or are killed by the Nanobot Plague. Their destructive power makes them the preferred Hive Insects of most Swarm Lords.
M.D.C. of Each Insect: 2 M.D.C. each.
Flight Speed: 80 mph (128 km).
Bonuses: +5 to strike and +3 to dodge.
Color: Light brown with dark green accents.
Mega-Damage from a Single Insect: 1D4 M.D. per melee round for 1D4 melees.
Additional Abilities: None.
Mega-Damage from a Swarm Attack:
• A swarm of 20 Locusts inflict 5D8 M.D. per melee round for 1D6 melees.
• A swarm of 40 Locusts inflict 8D8 M.D. per melee round for 1D6 melees.
• A swarm of 60 Locusts inflict 5D8+20 M.D. per melee round for 2D4 melees.
• A swarm of 80 Locusts inflict 6D8+30 M.D. per melee round for 2D4 melees.
• A swarm of 100 Locusts inflict 7D8+40 M.D. per melee round for 2D4 melees.
• Every additional 20 Locusts added to a swarm adds one additional melee round to the duration of damage.
Additional Swarm Effects: None.
Bio-E Cost: 35 points for every 50 Locusts.

Bio-Enhancements:
• Regurgitation: Locusts can be enhanced with a reflex that forces them to regurgitate periodically when they consume metallic alloys. This allows the voracious bugs to actually eat longer before they finally gorge to death. Increase the duration that damage is inflicted by 50 percent. In other words, calculate duration normally then multiply by 1.5 (round fractions up), so 2 melees becomes 3 melee rounds, or 3 melees becomes 5 melee rounds.
Bio-E Cost: 20 points for every 50 insects.
Prerequisite: None.
• Acidic Regurgitation: Once Locusts receive the Regurgitation Bio-Enhancement, they can be further modified so that when they do regurgitate, they disgorge a powerful acid. The acid is incredibly damaging to inorganic material, but nearly harmless to humans (no damage at all, just mild skin irritation). This increases the damage done by a Locust (or Locust swarm) by 50 percent.
Bio-E Cost: 20 points for every 50 insects.
Prerequisite: Regurgitation.
• Enhanced Flight Speed: Locusts can receive larger, more powerful wings that allow them to achieve much greater flight speeds. Increase flight speed to 120 mph (192 km).
Bonuses: + 1 to strike and +1 to dodge.
Bio-E Cost: 10 points for every 50 insects.
Prerequisite: None.

Spoiler: Flybys

Flybys have a rather unique body design and method of attack. Their arrowhead-shaped carapaces flare out on the sides to form two razor-sharp blades. Flybys use these deadly protrusions to slash enemy targets during high speed strafing runs. These speedy little insects move from target to target, attacking again and again until the stress of these high speed impacts rips the insects apart. Swarms of Flybys are ideal against large groups of enemies. They never slow down and can cover a very large area with a blinding cloud of slashing death. Alone they inflict minimal damage, but the thousands of cuts delivered by Flyby swarms can bring down even the toughest foes.
M.D.C. of Each Insect: 2 M.D.C. each.
Flight Speed: 100 mph (160 km).
Bonuses: +6 to strike and +4 to dodge.
Color: Dark red with black highlights.
Mega-Damage from a Single Insect: 1 M.D. per melee round for 1D4 melees to everything within a 10 foot (3m) area.
Additional Abilities: None.
Mega-Damage from a Swarm Attack:
• A swarm of 20 Flybys inflict 3D4 M.D. per melee round for 1D4 melees to everything within a 25 foot (7.6 m) area.
• A swarm of 40 Flybys inflict 4D4 M.D. per melee round for 1D4 melees to everything within a 40 foot (12.2 m) area.
• A swarm of 60 Flybys inflict 5D4 M.D. per melee round for 1D4+1 melees to everything within a 50 foot (15.2 m) area.
• A swarm of 80 Flybys inflict 4D6 M.D. per melee round for 1D4+1 melees to everything within a 60 foot (18.3 m) area.
• A swarm of 100 Flybys inflict 4D6+4 M.D. per melee round for 1D4+2 melees to everything within a 75 foot (22.9 m) area.
• Every additional 20 Flybys added to a swarm adds an additional 15 feet (4.6 m) to the area of effect.
Additional Swarm Effects: None.
Bio-E Cost: 25 points for every 50 Flybys.

Bio-Enhancements:
• High Frequency Blades: The sharp blades mounted on the Flyby's sides can be Bio-Enhanced with high-frequency fields. This allows them to make longer, more penetrating cuts with every strike. Double the damage inflicted per melee round by a Flyby (or a swarm of Flybys).
Bio-E Cost: 20 points for every 50 insects.
Prerequisite: None.
• Hardened Carapace: Flybys can also be enhanced with thicker armored carapaces (increase M.D.C. by 50 percent). This extra reinforcement for side-mounted blades enables the insects to make more strafing attacks before ripping their own bodies apart. Increase the duration that damage is inflicted by 50 percent.
Bio-E Cost: 10 points for every 50 insects.
Prerequisite: None.
• Increased Size: The size of each Flyby can be drastically increased, from two to three inches (5-7 .5 em) up to eight to ten inches (20-25 em). These massive bugs are much stronger and more durable than their smaller brethren, but they are also far slower. M.D.C. and damage are doubled, but speed is reduced by half.
Penalties: -1 to strike and dodge.
Bonuses: When swarms of these enhanced insects are attacked directly, only half the normal amount are destroyed with each successful strike.
Bio-E Cost: 20 points for every 50 insects.
Prerequisite: None.
• Enhanced Flight Speed: Flybys can receive larger, more powerful wings that allow them to achieve much greater flight speeds. Increase flight speed to 140 mph (224 km).
Bonuses: + 1 to strike.
Bio-E Cost: 5 points for every 50 insects.
Prerequisite: None.

Spoiler: Fire Flies

These fat little bugs are about one inch (2.5 cm) longer than the average Hive Insect and nearly twice as fat. They can perform multiple functions, but their main role is to act as miniature, self-guided plasma grenades. Fire Flies are able to generate a small amount of super-heated plasma within their abdomens. They can douse or ignite their internal fires at will and can even control the intensity. When lit, this bright orange flame can illuminate a three foot (0.9 m) area around the bug. The internal plasma furnace also gives off a good deal of heat, but the heat resistant carapace that each fly possesses limits the amount of heat released. They feel warm to the touch, but they can still be safely handled by an unarmored human. Many Swarm Lords like to use Fire Flies to confound the Thermographic Optics used by the Machine. One Fire Fly appears as a three foot (0.9 m) wide blotch on a thermal imager that is roughly the same temperature as a human being, and multiple insects can create a heat screen that makes these advanced optics almost useless. However, while Fire Flies make excellent lanterns and radiators, their true purpose is combat. Once these Hive Insects chase down and land on their prey, they overload their internal plasma furnaces and detonate. The tiny, six inch (15 cm) explosion from a lone bug inflicts decent damage, but when Fire Flies combine their power in swarms, they are utterly devastating.
M.D.C. of Each Insect: 3 M.D.C. each.
Flight Speed: 60 mph (96 km).
Bonuses: +3 to strike and +3 to dodge.
Color: Black with bright orange highlights.
Mega-Damage from a Single Insect: 2D4 M.D.
Additional Abilities: Each Fire Fly can light a three foot (0.9 m) area and can also radiate temperatures up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit ( 49 C) within the same three foot area. Resistant to heat and fire (takes half damage).
Mega-Damage from a Swarm Attack:
• A swarm of 20 Fire Flies inflict 6D10 M.D. to a 10 foot (3m) area.
• A swarm of 40 Fire Flies inflict 8D10+10 M.D. to a 15 foot (4.6 m) area.
• A swarm of 60 Fire Flies inflict 10D10+20 M.D. to a 20 foot (6.1 m) area.
• A swarm of 80 Fire Flies inflict 10D10+50 M.D. to a 25 foot (7.6 m) area.
• A swarm of 100 Fire Flies inflict 10D10+100 M.D. to a 30 foot (9.1 m) area.
• Every additional 20 Fire Flies added to a swarm adds an additional 5 feet (1.5 m) to the blast area.
Additional Swarm Effects: Every 20 Fire Flies creates a thermal "blind spot" that covers a 100 foot (30.5 m) area. Robots relying on these sensors will be unable to accurately target the swarm (- 4 to strike the swarm) or see anything beyond it. The light from their internal plasma furnaces illuminates the same 100 foot area for every 20 Fire Flies. Swarms of Fire Flies are resistant to flame weapons (only half the normal amount of insects are destroyed on a successful strike, and one quarter if the swarm dodges).
Bio-E Cost: 40 points for every 50 Fire Flies.
Bio-Enhancements:
• Increased Intensity: Fire Flies can have their internal plasma furnace Bio-Enhanced so that it burns much hotter. Damage is increased by 50 percent, as is the area that the bugs can illuminate and heat. Each Fire Fly can now radiate temperatures up to 150 degrees F (66 C).
Bio-E Cost: 30 points for every 50 insects.
Prerequisite: None.
• Increased Size: The size of each Fire Fly can be drastically increased, from three to four inches (7 .5-10 cm) up to eight to ten inches (20-25 cm). These massive bugs are much stronger and more durable than their smaller brethren, but they are also far slower. M.D.C., damage, and area of effect are all doubled, but speed is reduced by half.
Penalties: -2 to strike and dodge.
Bonuses: When swarms of these enhanced insects are attacked directly, only half the normal amount are destroyed with each successful strike.
Bio-E Cost: 25 points for every 50 insects.
Prerequisite: None.
• Enhanced Flight Speed: Fire Flies can receive larger, more powerful wings that allow them to achieve much greater flight speeds. Increase flight speed to 80 mph (128 km).
Bonuses: + 1 to strike.
Bio-E Cost: 10 points for every 50 insects.
Prerequisite: None.

Spoiler: Lightning Bugs

Much like Fire Flies, Lightning Bugs are capable of generating intense energies within their abdomens. Unlike Fire Flies, which create high-intensity plasma, Lightning Bugs generate a powerful electrical charge. Once they make contact with their target, they release this charge as a powerful blast that fries the delicate circuitry of the Machine's legions (along with the Lightning Bug). Most robots created by N.E.X.U.S. have multiple redundant systems and self-repair subroutines that quickly reroute or repair damaged systems, so these effects are only temporary.
This electrical discharge does little damage compared to some other Hive Insects, but it is more than enough to temporarily stun most opponents. Lightning Bugs are faster than the average Hive Insect, which allows them to catch and stun difficult prey so that the slower Hive Insects can take them down. Single insects can only stun smaller robots, but swarms of Lightning Bugs can combine their electrical attacks to overwhelm large targets (penalties and damage are identical for robotic and organic targets). Also, much like Fire Flies, Lightning Bugs can generate a bright light that can illuminate a four foot (1.2 m) area.
M.D.C. of Each Insect: 2 M.D.C. each.
Flight Speed: 140 mph (224 km).
Bonuses: +6 to strike and +5 to dodge.
Color: Bright blue with white highlights.
Mega-Damage from a Single Insect: 1 point of M.D., plus any target with 30 M.D.C. or less is stunned for 1D4 melees. Stunned targets are -1 attack per melee, -1 to strike, parry, and dodge, and reduce speed by 25 percent.
Additional Abilities: Each Lightning Bug can light a four foot (1.2 m) area. Resistant to electricity (takes half damage).
Mega-Damage from a Swarm Attack:
• A swarm of 20 Lightning Bugs inflict 3D4 M.D., plus any target with 180 M.D.C. or less is stunned for 1D4+ 1 melees. Stunned targets are -1 attack per melee, -1 to strike, parry, and dodge, and reduce speed by 30 percent.
• A swarm of 40 Lightning Bugs inflict 5D4 M.D., plus any target with 250 M.D.C. or less is stunned for 1D4+2 melees. Stunned targets are -1 attack per melee, -2 to strike, parry, and dodge, and reduce speed by 35 percent.
• A swarm of 60 Lightning Bugs inflict 4D8 M.D., plus any target with 400 M.D.C. or less is stunned for 1D6+1 melees. Stunned targets are -2 attacks per melee, -2 to strike, parry,
and dodge, and reduce speed by 40 percent.
• A swarm of 80 Lightning Bugs inflict 5D8 M.D., plus any target with 600 M.D.C. or less is stunned for 1D6+2 melees. Stunned targets are -2 attacks per melee, -3 to strike, parry,
and dodge, and reduce speed by 50 percent.
• A swarm of 100 Lightning Bugs inflict 6D8 M.D., plus any target with 900 M.D.C. or less is stunned for 2D4+2 melees. Stunned targets are -3 attacks per melee, -3 to strike, parry,
and dodge, and reduce speed by 60 percent.
• Every additional 20 Lightning Bugs added to a swarm means it is capable of affecting a target with an additional 300 M.D.C.
Additional Swarm Effects: The light from their abdomens can illuminate a 150 foot (45.7 m) area for every 20 Lightning Bugs. Swarms of Lightning Bugs are resistant to electrical weapons (only half the normal amount of insects are destroyed on a successful strike).
Bio-E Cost: 30 points for every 50 Lightning Bugs.

Bio-Enhancements:
• Ranged Discharge: Lightning Bugs can be Bio-Enhanced so that their powerful electrical discharge can be delivered at a distance. The range is limited to a few feet, but it makes it much more difficult for targets to evade their attacks. Opponents are -4 to dodge the swarm.
Bio-E Cost: 10 points for every 50 insects.
Prerequisite: None.
• High-Intensity Discharge: Lightning Bugs can be further Bio-Enhanced in order to dramatically increase the power of their electrical discharge. Damage, stun penalties, and duration are all doubled.
Bio-E Cost: 25 points for every 50 insects.
Prerequisite: Ranged Discharge.
• Increased Size: The size of each Lightning Bug can be drastically increased, from two to three inches (5-7 .5 em) up to eight to ten inches (20-25 em). These massive bugs are much stronger and more durable than their smaller brethren, but they are also far slower. M.D.C. and damage (including stun penalties) are doubled, but speed is reduced by half.
Penalties: -1 to strike and dodge.
Bonuses: When swarms of these enhanced insects are attacked directly, only half the normal amount are destroyed with each successful strike.
Bio-E Cost: 15 points for every 50 insects.
Prerequisite: None.
• Enhanced Flight Speed: Lightning Bugs can receive larger, more powerful wings that allow them to achieve much greater flight speeds. Increase flight speed to 200 mph (320 km).
Bonuses: + 1 to strike and + 1 to dodge.
Bio-E Cost: 10 points for every 50 insects.
Prerequisite: None.

Spoiler: Stingers

Stingers are shaped a little bit different from normal Hive Insects. The hard carapace covering the insect's back comes to a single hard point above its head. This razor sharp spike is actually a hollow tube that allows the Stinger to inject its target with a powerful organic acid. The acid is incredibly damaging to metallic alloys and inorganic materials, but is relatively harmless to living tissue (no damage, just mild skin irritation). The acid acts like the insect's blood, so this complete disgorging of all the bug's vital fluids is always fatal. The acidic blood is also the reason why Stingers are more likely to inflict damage. Even if the target swats and kills scores of bugs before they can inject their stinger, their blood will still eat away at their prey.
M.D.C. of Each Insect: 2 M.D.C. each.
Flight Speed: 70 mph (112 km).
Bonuses: +5 to strike and +3 to dodge.
Color: Bright yellow with black stripes like a hornet.
Mega-Damage from a Single Insect: 1D6 M.D. per melee round for 2 melees.
Additional Abilities: None.
Mega-Damage from a Swarm Attack:
• A swarm of 20 Stingers inflict 4D8+2 M.D. per melee round for 1D4+2 melees.
• A swarm of 40 Stingers inflict 6D8+6 M.D. per melee round for 1D4+2 melees.
• A swarm of 60 Stingers inflict 4D8+15 M.D. per melee round for 1D6+2 melees.
• A swarm of 80 Stingers inflict 5D8+25 M.D. per melee round for 1D6+2 melees.
• A swarm of 100 Stingers inflict 6D8+35 M.D. per melee round for 1D6+2 melees.
• Every additional 20 Stingers added to a swarm adds one additional melee round to the duration of damage.
Additional Swarm Effects: None.
Bio-E Cost: 30 points for every 50 Stingers.

Bio-Enhancements:
• High Frequency Stinger Blade: The sharp spike the Stingers use to inject their acid payload can be Bio-Enhanced with a high-frequency field. This allows the little bugs to stab the injection tube deeper into their target before they release their corrosive liquid. Increase damage inflicted by a Stinger (or a swarm of Stingers) by 50 percent.
Bio-E Cost: 20 points for every 50 insects.
Prerequisite: None.
• Increased Size: The size of each Stinger can be drastically increased, from two to three inches (5-7 .5 em) up to eight to ten inches (20-25 em). These massive bugs are much stronger and more durable than their smaller brethren, but they are also far slower. M.D. C. and damage are doubled, but speed is reduced by half.
Penalties: -2 to strike and dodge.
Bonuses: When swarms of these enhanced insects are attacked directly, only half the normal amount are destroyed with each successful strike.
Bio-E Cost: 15 points for every 50 insects.
Prerequisite: None.
• Enhanced Flight Speed: Stingers can receive larger, more powerful wings that allow them to achieve much greater flight speeds. Increase flight speed to 100 mph (160 km).
Bonuses: + 1 to strike and + 1 to dodge.
Bio-E Cost: 10 points for every 50 insects.
Prerequisite: None.

Spoiler: Weavers

Weavers look like two inch (5 cm) long spiders with wings. Despite their small size, they can create a Mega-Damage webbing that is strong enough to hold the most powerful opponents. Their sole purpose is to quickly immobilize difficult prey so that it can be dealt with by allies. Just a handful of Weavers can incapacitate a human-sized target in seconds, and large swarms can even disable giant hunter/killer robots like Assault Slayers and Battle Tracks. Lone Weavers are nearly worthless, but swarms of them are incredibly effective. On a successful strike, the swarm begins to wrap the target in super-strong webbing. Larger targets take longer to incapacitate, but once the Weavers begin, it is nearly impossible to stop them. The only way to interrupt the process is to quickly kill the insects with a flamethrower or similar weapon. Of course, this may be more likely to destroy the target than free it. These Hive Insects can also quickly weave barriers and seal shut doors, windows, or other access points. Weavers do not perform suicidal attacks like most Hive Insects, but they have no idea when the job is done. They will dutifully continue to apply webbing, even to a fallen opponent, until they eventually die of old age or are individually recollected by the Swarm Lord.
M.D.C. of Each Insect: 2 M.D.C. each.
Flight Speed: 70 mph (112 km).
Bonuses: +5 to strike and +3 to dodge.
Color: Light brown hair with black accents.
Mega-Damage from a Single Insect: None. Can immobilize a target the size of a cat within 2D4 melee rounds. The webbing dissolves after 2D6 minutes, but Weavers continue to apply new webbing until they eventually die of old age (unless recollected by the Swarm Lord).
Additional Abilities: Can weave a trip wire that is strong enough to trip a target with a Robotic/Splicer P.S. of 20. The webbing can support 400 pounds (180 kg) and has 1 M.D.C. per 10 foot (3 m) length.
Mega-Damage from a Swarm Attack: Weavers cannot hurt their prey, but they can immobilize them. Targets with a P.S. less than those listed below will eventually be incapacitated at the end of the duration (no matter how much they struggle). Targets with a P.S. higher than the listed amount will simply keep breaking new web strands as they are applied. They will never be immobilized, but the act of breaking free does distract the target, which means it loses 2 attacks every melee round.
• A swarm of 20 Weavers can immobilize a target with a Robotic/Splicer P.S. of 25. It only takes one melee round for every 200 lbs (90 kg) of the target. The webbing cocoon has 30 M.D.C.
• A swarm of 40 Weavers can immobilize a target with a Robotic/Splicer P.S. of 35. It only takes one melee round for every 400 lbs (180 kg) of the target. The webbing cocoon has
50 M.D.C.
• A swarm of 60 Weavers can immobilize a target with a Robotic/Splicer P.S. of 45. It only takes one melee round for every 700 lbs (315 kg) of the target. The webbing cocoon has
70 M.D.C.
• A swarm of 80 Weavers can immobilize a target with a Robotic/Splicer P.S. of 50. It only takes one melee round for every 1,000 lbs (450 kg) of the target. The webbing cocoon has 90 M.D.C.
• A swarm of 100 Weavers can immobilize a target with a Robotic/Splicer P.S. of 60. It only takes one melee round for every 2,000 lbs (900 kg) of the target. The webbing cocoon has 120 M.D.C.
• Every additional 20 Weavers added to a swarm means it is capable of affecting a target with an additional 5 points of Robotic/Splicer P.S., it increases the amount of weight that can be affected each melee round by 1,000 pounds (450 kg), and it also adds another 20 M.D.C. to the webbing cocoon.
Additional Swarm Effects: Twenty Weavers can seal an entryway shut in only one minute. Every additional 20 insects added to the swarm decreases the time it takes by one melee round. It requires a Robotic/Splicer P.S. of 35 to break the seal or 20 M.D. to cut through. Every additional 20 insects increases the P.S. requirement by 5 and the M.D.C. of the seal by 10. For every 20 Weavers in a swarm, they can create a thin web wall that covers a 50 foot (15.2 m) area and has 25 M.D.C.
Bio-E Cost: 25 points for every 50 Weavers.
Rio-Enhancements:
• Speed Weaving: Weavers can receive a Bio-Enhancement that allows them to expel their webbing faster. This means the time it takes to immobilize an opponent is reduced by half. For example, a swarm of 20 Weavers would be able to cocoon 400 lbs (180 kg) every melee round.
Bio-E Cost: 10 points for every 50 insects.
Prerequisite: None.
• Increased Size: The size of each Weaver can be drastically increased, from two to three inches (5-7.5 em) up to eight to ten inches (20-25 em). These massive bugs are much stronger and more durable than their smaller brethren, but they are also far slower. The M.D.C. of both the insect and its web line are both doubled, but its speed is reduced by half. The larger Weavers are also capable of subduing stronger targets. Increase the P.S. number the swarm can immobilize by 20. For example, a swarm of 20 enhanced Weavers can immobilize a target that possesses a Robotic/Splicer P.S. of 45.
Penalties: -1 to strike and dodge.
Bonuses: When swarms of these enhanced insects are attacked directly, only half the normal amount are destroyed with each successful strike.
Bio-E Cost: 10 points for every 50 insects.
Prerequisite: None.
• Enhanced Flight Speed: Weavers can receive larger, more powerful wings that allow them to achieve much greater flight speeds. Increase flight speed to 100 mph (160 km).
Bonuses: + 1 to strike and + 1 to dodge.
Bio-E Cost: 10 points for every 50 insects.
Prerequisite: None.

Spoiler: Impact Beetles

Impact Beetles are the pinnacle of Hive Insect bio-engineering. These hard-shelled beetles are able to manipulate their internal Bio-Energies in order to create powerful, if somewhat limited, effects. They can either use this energy to project a tiny, one square foot (0.092 sq. m) force field, or they can actually propel themselves at supersonic speeds like a living rail gun round. Their destructive power is impressive, but most Swarm Lords prefer to use Impact Beetles for their defensive abilities. Individually, their tiny force fields can only deflect a few points of Mega-Damage, but swarms of Impact Beetles can create powerful defensive barriers. Impact Beetles are also much more versatile than standard Bio-Force Fields. They can crawl all across the Hive Armor to create a form fitting shield, or they can fly off the suit and create mobile walls or domes. Swarm Lords can even lend their bugs to other humans or Bio-Tech creations in order to provide them with a personal force field. However, most people are uncomfortable with Hive Insects crawling across their skin, and will often panic. Unless the recipients of the bugs roll a 14 or higher to save vs Horror Factor, they will panic and brush off the protective insects.Impact Beetles can also attack targets as swarms, but they project themselves so fast that it makes it difficult for more than a handful to coordinate their assault.
M.D.C. of Each Insect: 2 M.D.C. each.
Flight Speed: 60 mph (96 km), but can reach speeds of Mach 2
(1,522 mph/2,435 km) when they are attacking a target.
Bonuses: +6 to strike and +2 to dodge.
Color: Solid black.
Mega-Damage from a Single Insect: 3D6 M.D. Maximum effective range is 1,500 feet (457 m).
Additional Abilities: Each beetle can project a flat, one square foot (0.092 sq. m) force field up to two feet (0.6 m) away. The force field has 4 points of M.D.C. and lasts for 3D4+ 10 minutes. Once the duration elapses, the beetle cannot reactivate a new field for 24 hours. If the field is destroyed in combat, the energy feedback kills the beetle.
Mega-Damage from a Swarm Attack: Only small swarms of Impact Beetles can attempt to strike a single target. A swarm of 10 Impact Beetles inflict 2D6x10 M.D., and a swarm of 20 Impact Beetles inflict 5D4x10 M.D. Maximum effective range is 1,500 feet (457 m).
Additional Swarm Effects: Impact Beetles can combine their tiny Bio-Energy barriers into powerful force fields. Every beetle adds 4 points to the total M.D.C. of the energy field. The beetles can form a force field of any shape. The size of the field is determined by the number of insects. Each bug can project a one square foot (0.092 sq. m) barrier, so 20 Impact Beetles can create a 20 square foot (1.86 sq. m) force field. Unfortunately, combat causes a massive energy feedback that kills the insects. One beetle is killed for every 4 points ofM.D.C. depleted from the field.
Bio-E Cost: 20 points for every 10 Impact Beetles.
Bio-Enhancements:
• Increased Accuracy: Impact Beetles can be Bio-Enhanced so that they can better track their prey at high speeds. Double maximum effective range.
Bonuses: +2 to strike.
Bio-E Cost: 10 points for every 10 insects.
Prerequisite: None.
• Increased Size: The size of each Impact Beetle can be drastically increased, from two to three inches (5-7.5 em) up to eight to ten inches (20-25 em). These massive bugs are much stronger and more durable than their smaller brethren, but they are also far slower. They inflict double damage from attacks, and the M.D.C. of the insect and the force field it generates is also doubled. The size of the force field it generates is tripled.
Bonuses: When swarms of these enhanced insects are attacked directly, only half the normal amount are destroyed with each successful strike.
Bio-E Cost: 20 points for every 10 insects.
Prerequisite: None.
• Enhanced Projectile Speed: Impact Beetles can also be BioEnhanced so that their kinetic attack is much faster and thus, more powerful. Attack speed is increased to Mach 3 (2,283 mph/3,653 km) and damage is increased by 50 percent.
Bio-E Cost: 10 points for every 10 insects.
Prerequisite: None.

Spoiler: Stink Bugs

Stink Bugs, in their basic form, are not designed for combat, but rather to help the Swarm Lord better direct the hive. Each insect is capable of spraying two distinct chemicals up to three feet (0.9 m) away. One chemical is a scent marker that helps other Hive Insects (and other Splicers) track down opponents even when they retreat out of visual range. All Hive Insects can track this scent up to half a mile (0.8 km) away, and Gorehounds, War Mounts, and suits of Host Armor with Enhanced Senses can track the scent for two miles (3.2 km). This is mainly used when the Swarm Lord wants to ensure a particular opponent is dealt with, or when he wants to secretly follow a target to its home base.
The other chemical the Stink Bug can release is called the "recall spray." When this chemical is sprayed on any Hive Insect, it will immediately stop what it is doing and return to the hive. Each Hive Armor has its own unique recall scent, so there is never any confusion. This chemical is useful for recalling Weavers that have successfully immobilized an opponent and do not realize their job is done, but it is mainly used to order swarms to break off their attack. This can be done for many reasons, but most Swarm Lords do this when it becomes apparent their bugs are unable to catch their prey and are just wasting their time and energy chasing it. Once the Stink Bugs deliver their "message," they immediately return to the hive. They can spray each chemical three times per 24 hour period, so Swarm Lords generally keep them in reserve until absolutely necessary.
M.D. C. of Each Insect: 2 M.D. each.
Flight Speed: 100 mph (160 km).
Bonuses: +2 to strike and +4 to dodge.
Color: Light green with yellow highlights.
Mega-Damage from a Single Insect: None.
Additional Abilities: Can spray a three foot (0.9 m) radius with either type of chemical. The recall spray will generally affect 1D4 insects. The recall chemical dissipates after one melee round and the scent marker spray dissipates after 4D4 minutes.
Mega-Damage from a Swarm Attack: None.
Additional Swarm Effects: A swarm of 20 Stink Bugs can cover a 100 foot (30.5 m) area with either type of chemical. In the case of the recall chemical, this area is large enough to affect 4D10 insects.
Bio-E Cost: 10 points for every 20 Stink Bugs.
Bio-Enhancements: Stink Bugs do not have to limit themselves to just two types of chemicals. By reducing the payload of their other chemical attacks, they can add one additional chemical spray. Stink Bugs with three different chemical sprays can use each type twice per 24 hour period.
• Paralysis Chemical (Minor): Stink Bugs can be enhanced with a chemical that can cause paralysis on contact. The chemical is absorbed through the skin, so gas masks and Face
Wraps are ineffective. It only affects unarmored humans and other S.D.C. creatures. Anyone within the area of effect must make a roll to save vs non-lethal poison of 14 or higher or else be completely paralyzed for 2D6 melee rounds. The chemical dissipates immediately after it is sprayed.
Bio-E Cost: 30 points for every 20 insects.
Prerequisite: None.
• Paralysis Chemical (Major): The Paralysis Chemical BioEnhancement can be further enhanced so that it will affect M.D.C. creatures and even Bio-Tech creations. Anyone within
the area of effect must make a roll to save vs non-lethal poison of 14 or higher or else be completely paralyzed for 2D6 melee rounds. Bio-Tech weapons and devices are also paralyzed by the spray and will not function unless they save vs non-lethal poison as well. Suits of Host Armor can be paralyzed, but the spray does not pass through to the pilot (although he will likely be trapped inside). The only creatures that are immune to the spray are the Stink Bugs, so they must be careful not to harm any of the other Hive Insects or the Hive Armor. The chemical dissipates immediately after it is sprayed.
Bio-E Cost: 40 points for every 20 insects.
Prerequisite: Paralysis Chemical (Minor).
• Burning Vapors: This is the only enhancement that allows Stink Bugs to actually damage machines. The corrosive spray is destructive to inorganic material, but nearly harmless to living tissue (no damage, just mild skin irritation). The spray inflicts 2D6+3 M.D. every melee round for 1D4 melees. Multiple insects increase the area affected, but not the damage.
The chemical dissipates immediately after it is sprayed. Bio-E Cost: 10 points for every 20 insects.
Prerequisite: None.
• Stench Chemical: This noxious chemical spray irritates the eyes and causes the victim to cough and gag. The spray only affects people who are not wearing a gas mask or some other type of environmental helmet. The spray dissipates after 2D6 melees. Any unshielded people or animals within the area of effect will be -4 to strike, parry, and dodge until they leave the toxic cloud.
Bio-E Cost: 10 points for every 20 insects.
Prerequisite: None.
• Increased Size: The size of each Stink Bug can be drastically increased, from two to three inches (5-7 .5 em) up to eight to ten inches (20-25 em). These massive bugs are much stronger and more durable than their smaller brethren, but they are also far slower. M.D.C. is doubled, as is the area of effect of the chemical cloud, but speed is reduced by half.
Penalties: -1 to strike and dodge.
Bonuses: When swarms of these enhanced insects are attacked directly, only half the normal amount are destroyed with each successful strike.
Bio-E Cost: 7 points for every 20 insects.
Prerequisite: None.
• Enhanced Flight Speed: Stink Bugs can receive larger, more powerful wings that allow them to achieve much greater flight speeds. Increase flight speed to 140 mph (224 km).
Bonuses: + 1 to dodge.
Bio-E Cost: 2 points for every 20 insects.
Prerequisite: None.

Spoiler: Spy Flies

All Hive Insects can be used as miniature spies and scouts, but none are better suited to the job than Spy Flies. These tiny bugs are half the size of a normal Hive Insect, which makes them even harder to spot than usual, and they possess a mild version of Chameleon Skin that allows them to change colors to match the primary color in the background. Spy Flies are also incredibly fast. They can scout out trouble and deliver the news back to the hive faster than any other Hive Insect. In addition, all Spy Flies possess Enhanced Sight. They can see infrared spotlights used by the Machine and can spot the heat signatures of hidden robots, humans, and animals. Spy Flies are the only Hive Insects that are
not released in coherent swarms. Once they leave the hive, they scatter in all directions to search for trouble. Once they spot a robot, they rush back to the hive to warn the Swarm Lord. They cannot communicate the exact nature of a threat, but they are still an excellent resource for sniffing out ambushes and concealment. Their sense of smell is also twice as acute as other Hive Insects. This means Spy Flies can still track the scent marker left by Stink Bugs even when the target moves out of range of the rest of the hive (one mile/1.6 km range).
M.D.C. of Each Insect: 1 M.D.C. each.
Flight Speed: 180 mph (288 km).
Bonuses: +6 to dodge.
Color: Solid black, but they can change color at will.
Mega-Damage from a Single Insect: None.
Additional Abilities: Enhanced Sight, Enhanced Sense of Smell,
and Chameleon Skin.
Mega-Damage from a Swarm Attack: None.
Additional Swarm Effects: Spy Flies provide their Swarm Lord master with the equivalent skills of Detect Ambush and Detect Concealment. 20 Spy Flies provide a base skill of 30% for each or a bonus of+ 15% to each skill if the Swarm Lord already possessed them. Every additional 20 Spy Flies released into the environment provides a bonus of+ 15% to both skills. In addition, every 20 Spy Flies scouring the area for trouble gives the Swarm Lord a bonus of+ 1 on initiative and every 40 Spy Flies provides a bonus of + 1 to dodge.
Bio-E Cost: 10 points for every 20 Spy Flies.
Bio-Enhancements:
• Electromagnetic Vision: Spy Flies can be enhanced with Electromagnetic Vision. This allows the tiny insects to see robots through walls or around comers. In addition, it allows Spy Flies to detect Nex-Androids that are attempting to pass themselves off as human. Range is only five feet (1.5 m), so the Spy Fly usually has to land on the target in order to be sure.
Bio-E Cost: 10 points for every 20 insects.
Prerequisite: None.
• Enhanced Flight Speed: Spy Flies can receive larger, more powerful wings that allow them to achieve much greater flight speeds. Increase flight speed to 250 mph (400 km).
Bonuses: + 1 to dodge.
Bio-E Cost: 2 points for every 20 insects.
Prerequisite: None.