Post Your War Mounts

[slappy]

Juggernaut Hook, Line, and Sinker Adventures

Introduction: Taking Back the Surface
Your Great House has just celebrated a tremendous milestone; the first of its Juggernaut War Mounts has finally reached maturity and is ready to join the war effort. This momentous occasion has inspired your Warlord to launch a bold mission that will hopefully reclaim a small piece of the surface world from the Machine. This is actually a plan that he has been sitting on for years, but until now, he did not feel that his forces had the power to actually succeed.
He noticed long ago (as have many others) that the Machine personality Gaia never allows any N.E.X.U.S. robots within her Nature Preserves under any circumstances. Even firing into them is forbidden. For years, many Splicers have tried to exploit this weakness and establish surface outposts within these wilderness parks, but no one has ever been able to take and hold these territories for long. The preserves may be free from robot patrols, but that does not mean they are completely unguarded. Thousands of sentries patrol the borders, and each Nature Preserve contains hundreds of deadly alien predators that are strong enough to tear a War Mount to shreds. These two factors have prevented the Resistance from benefiting from these robot-free zones, but your Warlord believes that an assault force spearheaded by his new Juggernaut War Mount should be able to pierce the defenses of the Nature Preserve and hold the territory until a permanent military outpost can be constructed.
This mission could be the first small step towards retaking the planet, and your House is sparing no expense. Your Warlord has assigned over one hundred Splicers, forty War Mounts (including twenty Tunnel Rats), thirty Mantis Support Cannons, and fifteen Kamikaze Cruise Missiles to the assault force, plus House Artemis has offered the support of their enormous submersible carrier known as the Kraken. Your Warlord and his advisors have determined that the safest way to get their Juggernaut War Mount to the Nature Preserve is to travel within the Great Ocean and then come ashore three hundred miles north near a thickly forested region. It is definitely the least direct route, but the assault force will be completely protected while under the waves and the forest should provide excellent cover. The coastlines are heavily guarded, but House Artemis has agreed to use the Kraken and its massive air force of over one hundred warriors to bombard the Machine’s defenses and create a diversion while the assault force goes ashore.
The plan is to make it seem like the Kraken is making another random assault on the Machine’s coastal defenses, and then sneak the assault force through in the chaos. The Kraken will actually continue its assault for an additional thirty minutes after the last Splicer makes it across the beach to hopefully discourage any robots from pursuing the assault force. The Kraken is the Machine’s number one target of opportunity, and keeping it out in the open for an extended period of time should hopefully draw all nearby reinforcements. To further mitigate the likelihood of drawing too much attention, the entire assault force will break into small independent squads. They will come ashore in force and then disperse and travel their own paths to the Nature Preserve. Once they rendezvous at the edge of the preserve, they will push through the perimeter en mass and overwhelm any defenders by weight of numbers. These smaller squads will be much more difficult to detect than a large army, but unfortunately, this leaves the most tempting target, the Juggernaut, relatively unguarded. The player characters will be part of a ten-man squad assigned to protect the Juggernaut on its journey. Instead of the usual complement of thirty warriors carried in the Battle Carriage, the majority of the space will be filled with ten Kamikaze Cruise Missiles, eight Mantis Support Cannons, thousands of pounds of rations to feed the assault force while the outpost is being constructed, and two dozen Bio-Tech sapling fruit trees that should provide a constant source of food once the outpost is completed. The survival of the Juggernaut is vital to the success of this mission, and it is up to the player characters to ensure this enormous target makes it to the Nature Preserve in tact.

Part 1: Coming Ashore
Hook: The player characters’ first objective is to safely escort the Juggernaut (and the rest of the assault force) to the ocean. Fortunately, this part of the journey should be relatively uneventful. A series of enormous sewer tunnels lead from your Great House all the way to the sea. Warriors from your House use these tunnels all the time so navigating them will not be a problem, and any opposition they do face will be easily overcome by the superior numbers of the assault force. Actually, only the smaller tunnels extend all the way to the ocean, but the ones large enough to hide the Juggernaut do not. This means the Splicers will need to cross the surface momentarily to reach their destination, but this should take less than fifteen minutes and should not draw too much attention. Unlike most of the coastlines across the planet, this section is relatively unprotected since there is no beachfront to protect. The assault force will actually enter the Great Ocean by diving off of a fifty-foot cliff. Once they are safely beneath the waves, they will meet up with the Kraken and proceed to the rally point. It will take a few days of travel to get there, and once they arrive, the assault force will wait until nightfall before going ashore.

Line: Unlike the barren cliffs where you entered the ocean, this section of the coast is heavily fortified. Two rows of Sentry Towers, spaced every hundred feet, run the entire length of the beach forming a seemingly impenetrable barrier. Thousands of Steel Troopers, Slicer Robots, Incinerators, and Inflictors constantly walk this perimeter supported by dozens of heavy hitters like Assault Slayers and Battle Tracks and flyers like Hunter-Searcher Probes, Sky Fighters and Flying Strike Ships. They stick to a rather consistent pattern, so observant Splicers can learn their timing and wait to sneak through. Unfortunately, the Machine is not stupid, and she reinforced the holes in her defenses by randomly scattering thousands of Popper Mines beneath the sand. Before the Juggernaut can be brought ashore, a safe path across the beach must be established.

Sinker: The Bridge Crew of the Kraken recommends using a strategy they call “running the corridor” to marshal the entire assault force ashore. They have found it to be the best way to quickly move large concentrations of troops across a beachhead with minimal casualties. The basic strategy involves using covert units to lay two parallel mine fields that stretch from the shore all the way to the tree line. The Kraken then liquidates everything between these two barriers with a massive bombardment in order to create a (relatively) safe passageway that Splicers can use to storm the beach. Dozens of Skinjobs and other Stealth Field Enhanced Splicers will set hundreds of Migs and Trench Foot Mines in multiple rows every few feet as they silently make their way up the beach. Each team will work a few feet over from the previous team to ensure no one accidentally trips one of these mines. Once the teams finish setting their mines, they will take up positions in the tree line so they can provide cover fire for advancing troops as they run the corridor.
The width of this mine field will depend on the skill of the covert teams. If they can avoid detection, then the perimeter mine fields could end up being thirty or forty feet wide. If they are detected prematurely, then the Kraken will immediately begin its assault (and simply pray that enough mines were set to do some good). Once the field is set (or if the covert teams are discovered), the Kraken will carpet bomb the land between these two barriers to obliterate any hidden Popper Mines or entrenched robots. The impact craters from this massive bombardment will also act as a network of foxholes that the Splicers can use for cover as they run the corridor. After the initial bombardment, the Kraken will then release Dracos War Mounts (along with the rest of its air force) to further strengthen the perimeter of the corridor by laying a thick barrier of plasma napalm at the edge of the mine field. Only the strongest robots will be able to survive crossing the perimeter, and the smoke from these fires should help limit the visibility of robots trying to fire into the corridor (-3 to strike).
In addition to bombing the land between the minefields, the Kraken will also need to level eight Sentry Towers with Kamikaze Cruise Missiles in order to keep the pathway clear. The Bridge Crew thinks that a hundred yard wide corridor will be necessary for this mission, and knocking out these Sentry Towers should create a large enough hole in the Machine’s perimeter for a safe corridor. Unfortunately, this is a much larger corridor than they have ever constructed, so in order to conserve ammunition for the sustained barrage required to distract the Machine’s forces, the Kraken will not be able to bombard this territory as thoroughly as they would like. This means a few Popper Mines may still be intact within the corridor when the first Splicers storm the beach. The Juggernaut will be the last to cross the beach, so the initial waves of troops should be able to clear out any of these threats before it arrives.
Game Masters should feel free to let the plan run as smoothly or as disastrously as you would like. The stealth teams could be discovered before the perimeters are established, or they could successfully lay a nearly impenetrable mine field. The Kraken and its swarming air force could help keep the Machine’s forces at bay, or they could quickly become overwhelmed by superior numbers. Maybe the corridor holds and all attackers must resort to sniping attacks at the edge of the field, or maybe the Machine pierces the perimeter and cuts off this pathway through the beach. Either way, an assault of this size (especially one led by the Kraken) is almost guaranteed to draw the attention of one of the Machine’s personalities. Ishtar has been dying to sink the Kraken ever since it first appeared, and she is the one most likely to seize control of all robots in the area to crush this threat once and for all.

Part 2: Through the Woods
Hook: No matter how effective the Kraken is at drawing the bulk of the Machine’s attention, a fifty foot tall War Mount running across the beach is not going to go unnoticed. The player characters are going to have to figure out how to dispatch or evade any pursuers as they make their way through the forest. The dense tree canopy provides cover from flying patrols, but any robots chasing the group on foot are not going to be that easy to shake. The player characters can either break away from the Juggernaut to try and lead pursuers away, or they can turn and use the power of this enormous War Mount to crush any opposition. Standing to fight may seem like the easy solution, but a prolonged fight would allow wave after wave of reinforcements to zero in on their position.

Line: Shaking your pursuers is the least of your problems. The Machine does not know how many Splicers made it into the forest or where they are going, so she has decided to smoke them out, literally. Within an hour of the beach assault, N.E.X.U.S. flyers began dropping incendiary charges over a fifty mile stretch of forest. It only takes minutes for these charges to ignite a raging inferno nearly a hundred miles wide directly in the path of the player characters. All of the Splicers in the assault force are wearing M.D.C. body armor, so they are completely protected from the flames and their Face Wraps protect them from the smoke and carbon monoxide. Perhaps N.E.X.U.S. believes some unarmored humans are among the assault force, or perhaps she is just trying to quickly remove all cover. Whatever her motivation, this strategy will ironically provide the Splicers with more cover. The thick smoke will completely shield the ground teams from overhead patrols and walking through this blazing inferno will make the robot’s thermal optics equally as useless. However, there is method to the Machine’s madness. Visibility for the ground teams is drastically reduced to only ten feet, and N.E.X.U.S. has hundreds of Incinerator Hunter/Killers combing through the blaze looking for prey. The player characters will be -5 to strike, parry, and dodge while operating in the fire, but the Incinerators suffer no penalties.

Sinker: Passing through the forest fire may not be physically dangerous, but it does present the player characters with a significant problem. They may be completely protected from the S.D.C. flames, but this raging inferno could consume the thousands of pounds of rations being carried by the Juggernaut in an instant. Furthermore, the leather straps that secure the Kamikaze Cruise Missiles would also be destroyed by the flames and these psychotic living missiles would all go racing off into the skies looking for prey. This problem can be easily solved with M.D.C. resin or webbing if any of the player characters are equipped with these enhancements, but protecting the food supply is a much more difficult endeavor. The resin is naturally porous, so even a thick coating will not protect the rations from the flames. The Juggernaut’s Bio-Force Field could protect this precious cargo, but if it was depleted or weakened while storming the beach, then it would be too risky to rely on it while in the inferno. Even a weakened field would be unharmed by the blaze, but if the Juggernaut crossed paths with any Incinerators and they managed to knockout the field even for a second, then the outpost’s food supply would be doomed. The player characters do have another option, but this presents serious risks as well. There is a nearby river that is wide enough to lead them safely through the flames, but it is only fifteen feet deep which will leave the Juggernaut completely exposed to air patrols. Once again, the player characters could consider parting ways with the War Mount to drag the rations through the river and then rendezvous on the other side of the flames, but this raging inferno is crawling with Incinerators and the Juggernaut may need the extra support to fight off any patrols.

Part 3: We’re Almost Home
Hook: After a difficult journey, the player characters finally come to the edge of the Nature Preserve. Over half of the teams have already arrived, but the plan is to wait a few more days to see if any other stragglers pour in. The teams have gathered on a nearby hilltop where they have dug in to wait for the rest of the assault force. They are almost completely buried underground to hide from patrols, and even the enormous Juggernaut is totally concealed beneath the earth. The assault force keeps scanning for additional teams by Bio-Comm plus multiple scouts have been dispatched to round up lost squads. After a few days of waiting, the assault force is at seventy percent strength and it is determined that no other Splicers are likely to arrive.

Line: Compared to the defenses on the beach, the Nature Preserve does not seem to be nearly as well protected. There is the usual mix of Sentry Towers, Assault Slayers, Battle Tracks, and hundreds of Steel Troopers, but they are spread quite thinly along the border. However, if the player characters are observant (and pass a perception roll of 10 or higher), they will notice a suspicious absence of aerial patrols.

Sinker: Before the assault force can make their move, scores of Sky Fighters and Flying Strike Ships come swooping in, firing everything they have on the hilltop encampment. Behind them are a dozen Transport Platforms loaded with reinforcements. They drop their payload of troopers all around the hill to cut off any possible escape routes. It is unclear how the Machine discovered their position, but the assault force has lost the element of surprise and is completely surrounded. The trap has been sprung, but fortunately, the Machine’s insanity has actually left the assault force with a rather nearby escape route. They are just a mere one thousand feet from the edge of the Nature Preserve, and if they can break through the Machine’s line, they will be completely safe once they enter this wilderness park. Even if the two armies are only separated by a few feet, the Machine’s legions are still forbidden from firing into the preserves under any circumstances. If the assault force still has its complement of Kamikaze Cruise Missiles, now would be a good time to let them loose.


More to come...

[slappy]

I was saving this one for my Splicers sourcebook, but it's been month's and no OK to go forth so I'll just post it here. You guys might as well enjoy it.

Mountain Lion War Mount
Also known as the Sabertooth and Arctic Cat

The high mountain peaks of the world are dangerous, inhospitable places not fit for man or machine. The bitter cold, steep terrain, and vicious alien predators prowling the cliffs makes scaling these mountains a very dangerous proposition, and the thin atmosphere makes reaching their summits by air impossible. Despite the risks, several Great Houses have braved the dangers in order to establish surface outposts within the high peaks. The creation of Host Armor and War Mounts has made it possible to reach the highlands, but standard designs still have trouble traversing this difficult terrain.

The Great Houses that have conquered the high peaks were only able to do so thanks to a new War Mount design known as the Mountain Lion. It somewhat resembles a normal cougar except that it is nearly as large as a Behemoth and it has a pair of enormous fangs like a prehistoric saber-toothed tiger. Its thick coat of long white fur provides excellent natural camouflage among the snowy mountain peaks, and more importantly, it protects the War Mount from the harsh winds and arctic temperatures of these mountain highlands. The Mountain Lion is also equipped with special enhancements that help the rider endure this unforgiving environment as well. The War Saddle is capable of generating a continuous temperature of 110 degrees Fahrenheit to help cut through the stinging cold, and the War Mount has a pair of Heat Projector Cannons that were modified to unleash a low-grade heat discharge of 120 degrees Fahrenheit (in addition to the normal mega-damage blasts) in order to quickly treat victims suffering from hypothermia.

This monstrous feline was designed to survive the harshest environments, but it was primarily built to climb the most impassable terrain. Its powerful claws and Serrated Whips enable it to run up a sheer cliff at nearly full speed, but it generally travels at more cautious speeds. Despite its impressive climbing skills, the thick ice packs and powerful winds make falls almost inevitable. This sturdy beast is enhanced with a Righting Reflex and a thick layer of impact resistant tissue to protect the mount (and its rider) from high falls. These enhancements also make the Mountain Lion an incredibly fearsome combatant. This War Mount is capable of soaking up a tremendous amount of punishment, and its dual Heat Projector Cannons and devastating bite allows it to dish it out in kind.

Class: High Altitude Mountaineering War Mount
Crew: One rider
M.D.C. by Location:
• Front Legs (2): 180 each
• Hind Legs (2): 200 each
• Paws (4): 100 each
• Tail: 75
• Serrated Whips (2): 15 each
• Heat Projector Cannons (2): 120 each
• Head: 200*
• Main Body: 510*
• Rider’s War Saddle: 120

*Depleting the M.D.C. of the Head or Main Body kills the Mountain Lion.

Speed:
Running: 150 mph maximum, but normal cruising speed is only 90 mph. The act of running does tire out the War Mount but not the rider. The Mountain Lion 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. This War Mount was built to climb and it can run up a sheer cliff at 90 mph. However, it usually travels up the unstable icepacks at a more cautious (yet still impressive) 40 mph.
Leaping: 50 feet high our across, increase by 50% with a short running start and double when running at full speed.
Digging: 15 mph through sand or dirt. 10 mph 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: 40 mph.
Underwater Depth: Maximum depth is 200 feet.
Flying: Not possible.

Statistical Data:
Height: 7-8 feet
Width: 5-6 feet
Length: 10-12 feet with a 6-foot long tail
Weight: 1.2 to 1.8 tons
Cargo: Can carry 1600 lbs. on its back are drag 2500 lbs. behind it.
Physical Strength: 1D4+36
Production Cycle: 2 year gestation period plus 2 year growth cycle.
Operational Lifetime: 50 year life span.
Bio-Regeneration Rate: 6D6 per hour to the main body and 3D6 per hour to all other locations.
Horror Factor: 14
Feeding: The Mountain Lion is a Carnivore. It needs to eat 30 to 60 pounds of animal matter a day, and may gorge on up to 300 pounds at one time. After gorging, the War Mount can go 2D4 days without feeding and without suffering any ill effects.
Color: The thick fur of the War Mount is stark white most of the year, but it does darken to a light tan with brown highlights during the summer months.
Sleep Requirements: As an artificially created organism, the Mountain Lion only requires 4 hours of sleep per day.

Other Data:
An unmanned Mountain Lion is able to operate independent of a rider using its animal-like intelligence and instincts to respond to any given situation. The War Mount is naturally aggressive and enjoys fighting and stalking prey. It recognizes robots as natural enemies and will attack them on its own unless instructed otherwise by an Outrider or Packmaster. It fights for its own amusement and will rarely come to the aid of other humans or War Mounts unless commanded to do so. A Mountain Lion may be an aggressive predator, but it is not a foolish one. It uses surprisingly clever tactics in battle, and it is smart enough to know when to retreat in the face of superior opposition.
Alignment: Anarchist. The Mountain Lion is an aggressive beast that loves hunting, climbing, and fighting. It quickly develops a close affinity with riders that possess a similar personality type and will actually come to their aid when threatened.
War Mount Attributes: I.Q.: 1D6+2, M.E.: 1D6+4, M.A.: 1D6+8, P.S.: 37-40, P.P.: 1D8+8, P.E.: 2D6+14, P.B.: 2D6+2, Spd.: 150 mph on the ground
Number of Attacks per Melee: 4
Combat Bonuses: +3 on initiative, +5 to strike in hand to hand combat, +4 to parry, +4 to dodge, +2 to entangle, +6 to roll with punch, +3 to pull punch, +2 to disarm, and impervious to horror factor, disease, and poison.
Equivalent (Instinctive) Skills of Note: Climb 98%, Land Navigation 90%, Prowl 60%, Swim 70%, Track by Scent 80%, and Hunting 70%
Combat Capabilities:
• Restrained Claw Strike: 1D6x10+10 S.D.C.
• Claw Strike: 5D8 M.D.
• Power Claw Strike: 2D4x10 M.D., but counts as two attacks
• Rear Leg Kick: 8D6 M.D.
• Double Rear Leg Kick: 10D6+20 M.D., but counts as two attacks
• Leap Kick: Not possible.
• Bite: 7D8 M.D.
• Head Butt: 3D6 M.D.
• Body Block/Ram: 4D8 M.D., but counts as two attacks

Senses and Features: Standard for War Mounts plus:
• Resistance to Cold: The thick layers of long fur covering the Mountain Lion protect it from temperatures as low as 40 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. Magic cold and super-cold based attacks do half damage.
• Resistance to Heat: Despite the arctic conditions that these War Mounts usually operate in, they are enhanced with water storage organs that help them vent excess heat. These enhancements are necessary to protect them from the intense energies released by their Heat Projector Cannons. Mountain Lions are not adversely affected by temperatures as high as 140 degrees Fahrenheit and they can pick up and hold an item that is as hot as 200 degrees Fahrenheit without injury or pain. Plasma blasts and magic fire attacks do half damage.
• 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 Mountain Lion from high falls while navigating the difficult terrain on the high peaks.
• Righting Reflex: Another enhancement used to protect the War Mount (and the rider) from deadly falls. The Mountain Lion can automatically right itself in mid-fall and land on its feet. Takes no damage from any fall less than fifty feet, takes only half damage from falls between 50 feet and 1000 feet, and falls from a height greater than 1000 feet requires a successful roll with impact to reduce damage by half.

Bio-Weapon Systems:
1. Heat Projector Cannons (2): These large cannons run along the length of the back on either side of the War Saddle and protrude out over the shoulder. They are actually concealed beneath the War Mount’s thick fur until the barrels extend into firing position. These cannons are slightly different than the common variety. In addition to the standard blast of intense heat, these cannons can project a mild energy discharge of 120 degrees Fahrenheit that is used to quickly treat victims of hypothermia.
Primary Purpose: Assault
Secondary Purpose: Defense
Mega-Damage: Three settings; a light 5D8 M.D. blast, a heavy 1D8x10+10 M.D. blast, and a completely harmless setting that is used to warm victims suffering from hypothermia. Both cannons can fire at the same target for double damage.
Rate of Fire: Each blast counts as one melee attack. A dual attack from both cannons counts as one melee attack.
Effective Range: 1800 feet
Payload: Effectively unlimited.
2. Serrated Whips (2): Each front paw has a Serrated Whip mounted between the paw pads. These ten-foot long thorny cables can extend from the paws in an instant to ensnare prey or grab out of reach rocks and ledges. They are mainly used for climbing, but they do make excellent offensive weapons.
Primary Purpose: Assault
Secondary Purpose: Defense
Mega-Damage: 2D8 per lash of the whip. See page 96 of the Splicers RPG for complete details on entanglement rules for these weapons.
Rate of Fire: Equal to the number of attacks per melee.
Bonuses: +1 to strike and parry, +2 to disarm, and +4 to entangle. Bonuses only apply when the Serrated Whip is used.
3. Saber Teeth: The Mountain Lion has a pair of large, protruding saber teeth that drastically increase the devastating power of the War Mount’s bite attacks. They are not just simple rounded fangs, but rather one side of these curved fangs actually comes to a razor-sharp edge.
Primary Purpose: Assault
Secondary Purpose: Defense
Mega-Damage: 4D8 M.D. is added to the normal bite damage (7D8 M.D. total).

[TechnoGothic]

Hey Slappy, how yah doing ??

[slappy]

I've been good. Busy, but good.

I've been writing 20 hours a day for a start up company to get them up and running. Now that they've launched, things are a little more calm. Can't say I'm quite in the mood to stare at a computer in my free time yet, but the ideas are still swirling in my head. I think another few weeks and I'll start back into my Splicers sourcebook. I have it outlined and organized. Now it's just a matter of digging in. I think if I write up the whole outline, it'll come in at around 300 pages, so it may take a while.

[TechnoGothic]

I've been good. Busy, but good.

I've been writing 20 hours a day for a start up company to get them up and running. Now that they've launched, things are a little more calm. Can't say I'm quite in the mood to stare at a computer in my free time yet, but the ideas are still swirling in my head. I think another few weeks and I'll start back into my Splicers sourcebook. I have it outlined and organized. Now it's just a matter of digging in. I think if I write up the whole outline, it'll come in at around 300 pages, so it may take a while.

Sweet. Whats your working title for the sourcebook ??

Ohh did you ever see the color pics of your Warmounts ?

[slappy]

I did see those pics. I don't know where Chuck Walton came from, but his work is some of the best I've seen in a long time.

As for the book, the title is House Artemis. I plan on really laying out what life in the Underground is like. It should be pretty cool.

[Aramanthus]

I'm hoping more War Mounts will be posted. They are quite impressive!

[acreRake]

Ho-Lee Cow.

I don't even play Splicers, but WOW. These things are just too cool! slappy, you're inspired. And inspiring! Two pseudopods up.

[Thinyser]

Two pseudopods up.

[slappy]

I forgot I still had this. Here's the remainder of HLS adventures I started for the Juggernaut War Mount. The first half is on page 4 of htis post.

Part 4: Making Camp
Hook: The assault force likely suffered some significant losses breaking through the Machine’s lines, but hopefully the Juggernaut was one of the survivors since the team will definitely need the power of this War Mount to defend the camp while the outpost is being built. The assault force may be safe from the Machine, but there are many other dangers lurking within each Nature Preserve. The sheer size of this group should prevent solitary predators from attacking (at least for the moment), but most Splicers have already noticed multiple beasts monitoring this procession off in the distance and has warned everyone to be on guard.
After a full day of travel, the team comes upon a small clearing next to a natural spring that will make an ideal spot for the new outpost. The ground is flat and relatively clear of trees and brush which will make trespassers easier to spot and offers little defensive cover to intruders. It is by far the most defensible piece of terrain they have seen so far, but the primary benefit of this spot is the endlessly renewing fresh water spring. The thousands of animal tracks around this pond seem to indicate that it is one of the few water sources in the area. This means that the pond will not only provide a continuous supply of water, but it will also attract wild game. This is simultaneously a huge benefit and an enormous obstacle. These wilderness parks not only contain wild fowl, deer and elk, but they also house thousands of deadly alien predators with the strength of a War Mount. These enormous predators could make excellent meals for some suits of Host Armor and War Mounts, but they will also be a daily threat to every man, woman, and beast in the camp.
An inspection of the tracks around the pond also reveals another possible threat prowling these forests. Hundreds of human tracks (many of which were quite fresh) are also scattered all across the banks. Some of the tracks were made by barefoot humans, but the majority were laid by humans in living armor. These tracks could have been made by operatives from another Great House, but the presence of barefoot tracks makes it seem more likely that a Waste Crawler gang has taken up residence within this Nature Preserve. These vicious scavengers will need to be dealt with, but hopefully hunting them down can wait until after the outpost is finished.

Line: Like most of the fortifications built by the Resistance, the majority of this outpost will be constructed underground. The bulk of the assault force will be set to work building the defensive perimeter while seventy percent of the surviving Tunnel Rat War Mounts will begin digging out the outpost and reinforcing the walls with resin. All remaining Mantis Support Cannons and the Juggernaut War Mount will be posted around the construction site while the rest of the assault force will work on building the perimeter. The player characters will be one of the teams assigned to work on the perimeter. The architects of the outpost have designed an elaborate layout of pitfalls, trip wires, mine fields, and snare traps that will make approaching the outpost a difficult endeavor for even the most highly trained operative. A map of the perimeter defenses will be held in the outpost and all soldiers assigned to this camp will have to memorize safe routes through these killing fields. Once the outpost is finished, this will no longer be an issue since travel to and from the outpost will mainly be done via underground tunnels.

Sinker: As the sun starts to set, the player characters are still busily working on their portion of the perimeter when they receive a frantic Bio-Comm distress call. One of the other teams has come under assault by unknown forces and is requesting immediate assistance. Base camp has determined that the player characters are the closest unit to the scene and has ordered them to intercept the intruders. The group will need to circle around the exterior of the perimeter in order to avoid any traps. This detour only adds five minutes to the player characters travel time, but by the time they reach the scene, the attackers have already fled and every member of the Splicer squad is either dead or dying.
All six members of the team were ripped from their armor and all their weapons, equipment, and War Mounts were taken. A quick inspection of the fallen warriors reveals that most were killed with knives, swords, and clubs, but a few corpses have wicked looking bite patterns and claw marks. This is pretty obvious confirmation that a Waste Crawler gang is responsible. The team is about to radio in their findings when one of the fallen warriors begins weakly murmuring to the player characters. He is still alive, but he is in bad shape. He was able to apply a Slap Patch before he lost consciousness, but his wounds are severe and this healing organism can only do so much. He tells the player characters that they were attacked by a huge gang of Waste Crawlers. They appeared out of nowhere and attacked so swiftly that he could not tell how many warriors were in the group. He goes on to say that there were Gene Thieves among the group, and that they used their Butchers Organs to learn how to sneak through the perimeter. The last thing he says before losing consciousness again is, “They want the Juggernaut. They’re through the perimeter. You have to warn base camp before it’s too late.”

Part 5: It’s Already Too Late
Hook: The player characters transmit their findings to base camp and warn them to prepare for a raid. They listen in via Bio-Comm as all the Mantis Support Cannons and sentries report in. Unfortunately, it seems that base camp has lost contact with two sentries and three Mantis Cannons. It is unclear what happened to them since no bodies have been found, but it does show that they greatly underestimated the threat posed by this Waste Crawler gang. The fact they took out five guards without making a sound is amazing, and the leaders of the outpost have decided not to take any more chances. They have ordered all Splicers to immediately return to base camp to help defend the Juggernaut.

Line: The player characters will need to circle back to their original position to cross through the perimeter since they do not know the layout of this section and their wounded comrade is in no shape to lead them through. It is unlikely they will make it back to camp before the gang attacks, but hopefully they will be able to sneak up behind the Waste Crawlers and catch them off guard.
Once the player characters make it through the perimeter, they begin to hear the sounds of combat coming from the construction site. As they rush to join the others, the player group runs directly into a band of Waste Crawlers retreating from the outpost. The group consists of two Mount Rustlers, a Vulture, and a Gene Thief. One Mount Rustler is riding a Tunnel Rat, the other is piloting a Strider, and the Vulture and Gene Thief are both riding on the same Behemoth. Each mount is loaded down with dozens of pieces of Bio-Tech gear, a half dozen Bio-Weapons, and hundreds of pounds of rations. You can hear over your Bio-Comm that the rest of the gang is still attacking the Juggernaut, which means that either these bandits had their own agenda, or the assault on the outpost was just a distraction all along.
Neither group was expecting to cross paths with anyone this far from the outpost, so both are taken by surprise. If the Waste Crawlers feel confident that they can overpower the player characters, they will attack the group and attempt to salvage some additional Bio-Tech gear. If the player characters offer too much resistance, then they will break off their attack and try to flee. However, getting through the perimeter while fending off the player characters will not be an easy task. If the players do give chase, they will be forced to fight them off before they can attempt to navigate their way through the killing fields. Whether the player characters defeat this group or they manage to escape, the outcome is the same. Within minutes of their defeat or escape, the Waste Crawlers that were assaulting the camp break off their attack and retreat into the darkness.

Sinker: This gang is far more clever than anyone expected. They staged the assault to make it look like the Juggernaut was the primary target, but their real objective was to raid the camp’s storehouses and steal as much Bio-Tech gear and food as possible. They also pounced on several of the perimeter teams as they rushed back to defend the outpost and stripped them of their gear and War Mounts. In all, the Waste Crawlers escaped with two dozen Extractors, scores or Slap Patches, Eye Pods, and Booster Patches, nearly forty Bio-Weapons, two Wing Packs, five War Mounts, four Mantis Support Cannons, and over one thousand pounds of rations. In addition, five Splicers are unaccounted for and are presumed dead or prisoners of this gang. This daring raid has made these fearsome Waste Crawlers all the more dangerous, and they must be found and dealt with immediately before they can use their new stockpile of Bio-Weapons against the camp again.

Part 6: Rescue and Recovery
Hook: The leaders of the outpost immediately begin making plans to track down these Waste Crawlers, free any hostages, and recover or destroy all stolen gear. The loss of so much food and equipment is a serious blow to their plans. While recovery would be ideal, it is absolutely vital to disarm these deadly scavengers by any means necessary. These Waste Crawlers may be experts at covering their tracks, but the haste of their retreat and any blood trails from combat injuries should make them easier to follow. Patrols sent out to survey the damage have detected three possible trails left by these raiders. One platoon containing four squads will be dispatched along each trail. If any of these paths splinter into multiple trails, then the platoons will break off into squads to pursue each lead. Every squad will be led by a Packmaster, and each platoon will contain at least one Falconer. The Gorehounds will sniff out any possible trails and the Black Talon War Hawks will keep tabs of any squads that need to splinter off from their platoon. The platoons will wait until dawn before tracking the Waste Crawlers so that everyone’s weapons and armor will have a chance to heal and replenish some of its spent ammunition.

Line: The platoon containing the player characters has been ordered to track a blood trail from a pirated War Mount. So far, it has been a rather easy path to follow, but the rapid healing rates of these beasts means the trail will soon go cold. One squad has already been dispatched along another possible route, and the platoon has just reached a second fork in the trail. The player characters have been ordered to follow this path while the rest of the platoon moves on. Their squad will also be monitored by one of the Falconer’s Black Talon War Hawks. If they do discover the Waste Crawler camp, they are ordered to hold position, dispatch the Black Talon War Hawk to summon reinforcements, and wait for the rest of the platoon. They are not to engage the enemy until reinforcements arrive.
It does not take long for your Gorehounds to pick a strong scent. After a difficult eight-mile trek through the thick underbrush, the player characters come upon the Waste Crawlers’ camp. There are about a dozen camouflaged huts built high in the trees and several deep, resin-lined pits hidden amongst the brush. One of the pits is housing all of the gang’s pirated War Mounts, one is empty, and the final pit is holding four captured Splicers. The player characters can only see two guards, but this crafty gang may have built other hidden defenses around them.
The camp is very cleverly concealed. In fact, the player characters might have missed it completely if not for the events transpiring within the central clearing. All of the rations and Bio-Tech gear stolen from the Splicer camp are actually sitting in a large pile in the middle of the camp. Thirty Waste Crawlers (presumably the entire gang) are standing around this pile arguing about how it should be distributed. This discussion is getting more heated by the minute, and it is only a matter of time before it escalates into a full on brawl.

Sinker: The player characters take up position near the camp in order to wait for reinforcements. They have already dispatched their Black Talon War Hawk, but they have no way to know how far away the rest of the platoon is or how long it will take them to arrive. However, their plans to wait for back up quickly change when one of the Waste Crawlers pulls out a Bio-Energy Pistol and guns down two of his fellow gang members. Apparently their raid on the Splicer camp was just too successful for their own good. The sheer amount of loot recovered from the outpost has proven to be too tempting for these treacherous scavengers to resist. The tenuous truce that held this gang together has been shattered and nothing will ever be able to salvage it again. The gang is going to tear itself apart, but the hostages still need to be rescued and the thousands of pounds of food and Bio-Tech gear must be taken out of their hands (one way or another).
The camp erupts into chaos as this formerly cohesive group degenerates into a total free-for-all. The two warriors that were guarding the pits each grab a War Mount and charge into the battle to stake their own claim. The player characters suddenly find themselves with an incredible opening. They may be out numbered, but they will never have a better opportunity to strike. A few more Waste Crawlers grab some War Mounts out of the pit, but there are still ten War Mounts left and four Mantis Support Cannons. The cannons are programmed not to fire on humans (which is why none of the Waste Crawlers are using them against their fellow gang members), but the group’s Packmaster (as well as any Outriders) can command these living cannons to fire on anyone. If the player characters can get to the pits, they will instantly have the firepower to take on the entire gang. Not only that, but they can free the captured Splicers for some extra support.
The chaos in the camp will allow the player characters to reach the pits, but they must be careful not to get swept up in the pandemonium. Gunfire is coming from every corner of the camp and small skirmishes are breaking out all around the player characters, so in essence, they are surrounded. Even if the Waste Crawlers do discover the player characters, they will be too busy settling their own scores and grabbing as much gear as they can to mount any kind of coordinated assault. That does not mean this battle will be easy. The player characters are still outnumbered and surrounded, but fortunately, they do not need to destroy the entire gang. Their mission is to free their comrades and deny these Waste Crawlers the use of their pirated Bio-Tech gear by any means necessary. If they cannot recover the equipment, then they need to destroy it. They have already liberated the War Mounts from the pits. All that remains is the huge pile of stolen gear and food in the center of the camp. If they cannot drive off the gang, they will need to bombard this equipment with explosives. Inflicting about 500 M.D.C. worth of damage should destroy nearly all of the gear.
Game Masters should feel free to throw some significant opposition against the player characters, but nothing too overwhelming. Most of the Waste Crawlers will be more concerned with escaping with their lives (and with some new Bio-Tech gear) than destroying the intruders, but they will show no mercy to anyone that gets in their way. The majority of the battle will be in the background, but the gang members are going to do their best to stop anyone trying to take their loot. If the battle goes poorly for the player group, Game Masters can have the rest of the platoon show up in the nick of time to turn the tide, or they can force the player characters to temporarily retreat.
No matter how the battle goes, the outcome will basically be the same. The Waste Crawler gang is destroyed and the last few survivors disappear into the forest. If the majority of the weapons and food are recovered intact, then the Splicers should be able to return to their construction project with little problem. If the player characters were forced to obliterate the stolen equipment, then the Splicers will need to send teams back to their Great House for more supplies before they can continue. On a positive note, a significant threat has been removed from this Nature Preserve, but others still remain. Once the outpost is finished, the Splicers will be better protected, but until then, everyone at the camp will still be quite vulnerable to attack.

[abtex]

I forgot I still had this. Here's the remainder of HLS adventures I started for the Juggernaut War Mount. The first half is on page 4 of htis post.
...protected, but until then, everyone at the camp

Was something cut off at the end?
Thanks for posting the rest of the HLS.

[slappy]

Apparenlty so. Just half a sentence. I put it back in.

Thanks for letting me know.

[runebeo]

Why did warmounts get such high digging speeds to start that was one thing that keep coming up in play. Any ways I like a mount that splits into 3 creatures 2 lizard like raptors with 350 M.D.C. and a armless drake like snake with a scorpion tail with 450 M.D.C.. I'm working on the art but its not ready yet. So dive low drop the lizards off and you keep the air raid going while the take on the ground forces. they join up pool their fire power & the drake gains 8 legs for incredible ground speed and balance. well thats my idea & I think it be great for recon missions.

[Alpha 11]

Likeing the adventure. Have not read it all just skimed it. Need to read it all.

[NMI]

Physeter

The Great Houses with dominion over the oceans realized that they needed a War Mount capable of both extended independent patrols and bringing heavier firepower to bear than the Leviathan. Thus was born the Physeter, so named after a mythical sea monster that could destroy ships whole with its powerful whirlpool. It serves in the role of heavy attack submarine and is one of the largest War Mounts created to date.

The Physeter’s physiology is derived from combining the size and metabolism of the whale shark with the intelligence and hunting instinct of the orca. A single “Diver” (Outriders who focus on oceanic War Mounts) commands the Physeter from a fleshy pilot’s chamber just large enough for himself and accessible from an armored hatch just forward of the dorsal fin. From the exterior, this hatch looks much like a patch of natural armor. Eight similar hatches (four on each side) contain spaces for passengers. Muscles wrapped around these “crew pockets” provide a simple, natural ejection capability. This makes the Physeter the delivery vehicle of choice for covert units deploying over long distances.

Similar musculature is used for the firing mechanisms that launch the Physeter’s bio-torpedoes and organic land attack missiles. These weapons give the War Mount ranged attacks against sea and shore. Both types of ordnance are equipped with neural packs and eye sensors, giving them independent tracking ability and limited target self-selection if the primary target is already destroyed. The Physeter also has two hydro-cutter beams hidden in its wide mouth for close engagement and self-defense. Passengers can also open their hatches and use carried weapons at close range. However, this exposes them to attacks that require a called shot and are at -2 to strike because the pocket does still provide some protection.

Class: Oceanic War Mount
Crew: One Diver and eight passengers
MDC by Location:
* Armored Access Hatches (9): 180 each
** Dorsal Fin: 150
** Ventral Fins (2): 120
** Tail & Tail Fin: 250
* Bio-Torpedo Ventricles (4): 60 each
* Organic Land-Attack Missile Launchers (16): 60 each
*** Head: 280
**** Main Body: 1100

* Small or low profile; -3 to strike
** Difficult to strike except when head on; -2 to strike
Destroying the dorsal fin decreases lateral stability, imposing a -20% on riding checks.
Destroying both ventral fins decreases maneuverability, -3 to dodge and -20% to riding checks.
Destroying the tail makes maneuvers severely difficult, -5 to dodge and -40% to riding checks.
*** Destroying the head blinds the War Mount, reduces speed to 20% of max (hydrodynamics are shot), eliminates bonuses, and reduces attacks by half. The War Mount can function up to 12 hours after loss of head. Hydro-cutter beams are also destroyed.
**** Depleting the MDC of the main body effectively kills the War Mount.
Note: A War Saddle or compartment hatch must be destroyed first before the rider or passenger can be hit.

Speed:
Running: N/A
Leaping: It can leap three times its height and five times its length in an emergency surface.
Digging: N/A
Swimming: 300 mph, combat tires the War Mount at 1/10th the normal rate; max depth of 3 mi
Flying: N/A

Statistical Data:
Height: 12 feet
Width: 10 feet
Length: 60 feet
Weight: 12 tons
Cargo: Space for 8 passengers and their gear; can carry 3 tons under belly harness or pull 6 tons at one-third best speed.
Physical Strength: 1D6+41 (Supernatural)
Production Cycle: 6 years gestation + 6 years growth time
Operational Lifetime: 60 year span
Trade Value: 18-20 million credits healthy and undamaged
Bio-Regeneration: Sharks have incredible natural healing abilities. 5D6 MD per hour to any location so long as 2 MD or more remain. Extensive regeneration requires 1D4+1 days.
Horror Factor: 15 against humans outside the Resistance.
Senses & Features: Standard, plus Underwater Eyes and Electromagnetic Sensitivity (150 feet for human-sized objects or smaller, 1500 feet for average robots or large animals, 15 miles for massive objects or navigating the planet’s field)
Feeding: Filter Feeder – Draws in plankton and small fishes every few (1D6) hours when not in combat. Carries three days (3000 lbs) of processed nutrient reserves, can also use to feed crew or build ordnance.
Sleep Requirements: Sharks do not sleep, thus the Physeter only requires three hours of “down time” per day (taken at any time) where it rides the currents or swims at 1/10th max speed. Divers try to ride natural fast currents as much as possible to keep their Mount well-rested.
Other Data (used when War Mount is without a rider):
The Physeter is an exceptionally intelligent War Mount – owing to its cetacean brain – and is very protective of humans. Physeters instinctively hate the machines and are dedicated to helping the Resistance. The relationship between a Diver and a Physeter is much more like a symbiosis or a team than one of master and servant. Thus, the Physeter has greater leeway in choosing how to react to a situation on its own. However, they will always act to protect their “little brothers” (humans) against threats seen or unseen.
Alignment: Typically good with only 20% anarchist. Never evil.
Attributes: IQ 2D6, ME 1D6+10, MA 1D6+10, PS 42-47, PP 3D6+6, PE 3D6+6, SPD as above
Number of Attacks per Melee: Four.
Combat Bonuses (in addition to possible attribute bonuses): +2 initiative, +3 strike, +4 dodge, +6 save vs. poison/disease, impervious to Horror Factor and mind control
Instinctive Skills of Note: ID Plants & Fruit 80%, Underwater Navigation 90%, Swim 98%, Track by Scent 75%, understands 2 languages at 75% and “speaks” via Bio-Comm at 60%
Combat Capabilities: The Physeter’s only real physical combat ability is to ram a target at high speed, using two attacks. Body Block/Ram: 6D6 MD and has a 01-80% chance of stunning the target. A stunned target loses initiative and two attacks.

Bio-Weapon Systems:
1. Hydro-Cutter Beams (2): Identical in principle to those on the Leviathan, these are larger and more powerful. They are fed by the Physeter’s powerful spiracles – a kind of natural water pump that keeps water flowing past the gills even when hovering. As long as the spiracles are submerged, the Physeter has a constant supply for the beams.
Primary Purpose: Anti-Armor and Self-Defense
Mega-Damage: 2D6x10 MD per blast. 01-65% chance of stunning a target (loses initiative and one attack). Robot short-circuit rules are the same as on p.124 of Splicers.
Rate of Fire: Each water blast counts as one melee attack.
Maximum Effective Range: 700 feet in the air, 400 feet underwater.
Payload: 18 blasts each on surface, refill requires one melee action. Unlimited underwater.

2. Bio-Torpedo Ventricles (4): The Physter’s primary armament is its battery of advanced bio-torpedoes derived from squid DNA and launched from self-sealing portals that resemble heart ventricles. These are fast hunter-killer weapons designed to impact at high speed and shoot an intense eruption of bio-plasma at the target. Each torpedo has 20 MDC.
Primary Purpose: Anti-Ship and Anti-Robot
Mega-Damage: 5D6x10 MD.
Rate of Fire: One at a time, or in volleys of 2 or 4.
Maximum Effective Range: 50 miles.
Payload: 5 torpedoes each. Replenishment takes 3D6 hours with 400 lbs of food or stores.
Bonus: +4 to strike and dodge.

3. Organic Land-Attack Missile Launchers (16): Similar to the vertical launchers on submarines of old, the Physeter has sixteen OLAM launchers (eight on each side) running parallel to the spine. These give it long range punch against shore targets and can be launched from a depth of up to 50 feet. Each missile has 16 MDC.
Primary Purpose: Anti-Installation and Anti-Robot
Mega-Damage: 1D6x100 MD to target and 2D6x10 to a 50-ft radius.
Rate of Fire: One at a time, or in volleys of 2, 4, 6, or 8. A volley counts as one attack.
Maximum Effective Range: 50 miles.
Payload: 2 per launcher. Replenishment takes 6D6 hours with 600 lbs of food or stores.
Bonus: +6 to strike and dodge.

I like everything but... the damage on the missiles/torpedos. A bit high I think. Except for the Super Plasma Cannon of the Machine and Slappys Kamikazee, I dont believe there is anything else of this damage caliber on a mount/device of this size.

[slappy]

It's not so much that you need to scale it back, but I think a little more description would help.

When I first wrote the Kraken, I got a lot of feedback saying it had way too many mounted weapons. I scaled it back a lot. Cut the number of guns down by 75%, but I also added the Kamikaze missiles which were much more powerful than anything mounted on it previously. Why people accepted it is because I added a great deal of back story and explanation what they looked like, how they worked, how they were created, strengths, weaknesses, etc.

Personally, that's what I would like to see with the missiles and torpedoes. A lot more description about what they look like, how they seek out their targets, how do they determine what other targets to seek out if the primary target is gone, does the pilot somehow rely the target or do they chose it themselves? How long do they live? What are their personalities like, do they have any? Generally when you make something that powerful, you also want to balance it out with some weaknesses. I think a good limitation for your War Mount would be to reduce the number of launch tubes and have it so it can carry troops or missiles. Since it likely would not be equipped for bombardment if it's deliverying a covert strike team.

I also like the idea of the troop launchers. I would like to see more detail on them. All in all, I like it. My comment is that I want more. I want soem more detail on this one, and I'm looking forward to seeing your next Mount.

[Aramanthus]

Both are pretty cool new mounts.

[Aramanthus]

Your welcome!

[NMI]

Would you allow the Bio Torpedos and the OLAMs to be tied in with Slappys "Shriekers" - sorta like laser designators, but with sound.

[Aramanthus]

That sounds like a very interesting idea NMI.

[slappy]

I post it to be used. Feel free to do whatever you want with it (or anything else I've written). I think it's a great idea.

I was planning on using your Remora Grapplers for a new Special Forces soldier.

[abtex]

I was planning on using your Remora Grapplers for a new Special Forces soldier.

Is this going tobe a Roughneck type OCC?

[slappy]

Kind of. I used to do this in my games where the players would start as a certain O.C.C. and then specialize as they gain in experience. It was always a great role playing opportunity. So for each Special Forces below, I'll list special equipment, special enhancements, combat bonuses, Bio-E bonuses, Bio-E bonuses for handheld enhancements, and level of experience required to join the Special Forces. I think it will work really well for the Splicers setting. Now sure when I'll work on it. Below is a section from my House Artemis outline.

Special Forces within House Artemis: These are special divisions within the military composed of standard O.C.C.s.

a. Roughnecks Comm Man: They are equipped with a special Bio-Comm Creature that has an amplified range. They can issue commands up to 20 miles away and can hear a standard Bio-Comm up to 10 miles away.

b. Royal Guard: When Warlords head topside for whatever reason, they are always escorted by their Royal Guard. Only the best of the Dreadguard are ever offered this honor.

c. Sniper Corps: The finest marksmen from the Dreadguard, Skinjobs, and Roughnecks are chosen to join the Sniper Corps. They are all equipped with Demon Seed Cannons and trained how to make the most of these powerful yet tricky rifles.

d. Amphibious Assault Teams: The Splicers own the seas, but the Machine owns the shore. In order to mount any type of assault upon Machine installations, they first need to break through this seemingly impenetrable barrier. These teams are trained on how sneak through this maze of death, plus they are the ones with the skill to soften up the shoreline defenses when they need to sneak other teams through. Mainly composed of Roughnecks, Dreadguard, and Skinjobs.

e. White Knights: Heavy Calvary Outriders. They all pilot Marauder War Mounts and are armed with Acid Lances. They charge head long into the thick of the Machine’s forces in order to break through their lines and divide their forces.

f. Repo-Men: House Artemis has some Bio-Tech designs, like their Silkworms, that they want to remain proprietary. It is a bit selfish, but Warlord Artemis looks at everyone within his House as his children, and he wants to make sure the little scraps remaining for the human race go to his family first. To keep their trade secrets a secret, he created a special division composed of Skinjobs, Butchers, and Scarecrows called the Repo-Men. Their job is to penetrate any offending Great Houses and destroy all traces of their stolen designs. This involves the physical destruction of actual items plus the more difficult task of erasing the genetic code stored by the Engineers. This is accomplished by a special Retro-Virus programmed to destroy a specific genetic sequence. The genetic code for the item is destroyed in seconds making the creation of that item (and only that one item) impossible. Even if their Librarian remembers the gene sequence, the Gene Pool is forever contaminated and new genetic strands for that item will also be destroyed once they are introduced to the Engineer. However, in order to accomplish this, the Repo-Man must release the virus directly into the Gene Pool. These are some of the most tightly guarded areas in any Great House, so only the best of the best are ever asked to join the Repo-Men.

[Aramanthus]

Tiamat is very cool!

[Sir_Nytehawk357]

Are there Rules some where for creating War Mounts

[Ectoplasmic Bidet]

I'm going to repost my War Mounts in this thread since it seems to be a tradition.

For as long as almost any Splicer can remember, the Seedlings have served as homes to the Resistance. Now, as the enormous subterranean organisms begin to mature into their adult forms, it is hoped that the Seedlings will fulfill their true purpose as a means of escape from the Machine dominated Earth which has become so inhospitable to Mankind. Bio-engineering a living spaceship from scratch is perhaps the single greatest achievement of Splicer bio-technology and it was made possible only because loyal Technojackers stumbled across data files containing extensive information about ancient humans' pre-N.E.X.U.S. journeys into space. Instead of blindly speculating, Engineers and Librarians were gifted with all the pertinent knowledge necessary to make the Sequoias a reality, everything from scientifically precise information detailing the harsh conditions of outer space which would require special bio-tech to overcome, to the escape velocity needed to successfully break away from the Earth's embrace. Even the living ion drives of a Sequoia are based on engineering specs for never constructed but heavily speculated upon space vessels designed long before N.E.X.U.S. was created.

For the past decade, Sequoia Seedlings have begun to reach maturity. Instead of immediately escaping into space, however, the Leaders of the Resistance whose Houses possess one or more Sequoia Seedlings have waited for the perfect opportunity, a set of pre-requisites agreed on very early in the development of the living starships. The first condition has been met, with all surviving Sequoia Seedlings now launch capable. It is hoped that simultaneous launches from multiple points around the globe, with Sequoia spreading into space in all directions, will increase the likelihood that even if the Machine does prove capable of pursuit, some of the vessels will survive to carry enough humans to a new home that the species' continued existance will be assured.

The second condition requires only a little more patience. According to ancient data, now confirmed using specially created optic systems, the bio-tech equivalent of modern day observatories, the Sun will soon be entering a cycle of greatly increased activity. During this time, the Earth will be bombarded with intense solar winds and great flares of radiation. Using a combination of careful observation and espionage, the Resistance has learned the Machine's limited space presence becomes predictably dormant at certain intervals when the solar bombardment grows especially fierce, a measure that protects delicate electronics from damage by the intense radiation. Though detection is a virtual certainty, it is hoped that many Sequoia launches will go unnoticed and that the head start, no matter how small, will give humanity a greater chance to avoid the inevitable Machine response. Despite a lack of space vessels of its own, at least none the Resistance can find, the Machine has at least as much information on space travel as the Resistance has collected, and its vast resources and manufacturing capabilities mean robotic hunters may only be weeks behind.
****

The Silo: Sequoia Seedlings do not technically grow into Sequoias. As a Seedling begins to grow, it forms the Silo(aka the Sheath, Trunk, etc). The Silo grows at an incredible rate, spreading its various root systems out to incredible distances. The traditional roots, normally present in plants, absorb nutrients and tap underground acquifers to provide for the Seedling and its inhabitants. Unlike the normal, though super-sized roots found in plants, a root system of heavily bio-engineered worm-like tendrils burrow through the Earth's crust to tap the mantle for unlimited geo-thermal energy and spread out in an extensive network sometimes over a hundred miles in diameter to leech necessary minerals from the surrounding rock and soil.

It is within this sheath that a Sequoia is formed, first becoming an ever growing underground habitat, but eventually maturing into a living starship.

Not only does a Silo provide the required materials for the Sequoia growing within, it serves one final purpose, for it is the barrel from which the starship is fired into space. When the Sequoia is ready to be launched, enormous vats of two normally inert bio-engineered secretions(the defense mechanism of an alien species of a tiny beetle found in some of Gaia's Nature Preserves) are combined deep underground. Together, these substances form a uniquely volatile binary compound that explodes without fail approximately three seconds after formation. So violent is this reaction that it inflicts a ridiculous 1D4x10,000 MD to everything within a radius of approximately five miles, with half damage up to ten miles away, and a quarter damage up to twenth miles. If not for the extreme difficulty and time consuming nature of creating these compounds in useable quantity, they would have provided the Resistance with a powerful weapon against the Machine. The explosion quite adequately propels a Sequoia into space and though the damage done to the ship is sometimes more than its Bio-Force Field can absorb, it is not crippling. Those not cocooned within the protective gel of a bio-stasis pod must be very securely cushioned and restrained to avoid injury in this process.

Besides launching a Sequoia into space in a rather spectacular fashion, the violence of the explosion also totally vaporizes the Silo, destroying any information the Machine could learn from its remains, and hopefully provides a certain amount of cover for the escaping ship. It is hoped that the terrific energies of the explosion will mask fleeing Sequoias from any Machine sensors that happen to be looking their way.

****

Sequoia: Enormous squid-like starships, Sequoias carry within them everything needed to establish a colony on some distant, but hopefully habitable world. Though armed with many powerful bio-weapons and defended by a fleet of powerful space fighters and space capable Host Armors, a Sequoia is not a combat vessel. They are escape pods on a planetary scale, designed to blast into space as fast as possible, and to never look back. If the Machine catches up with a fleeing Sequoia, the likelihood of survival is too small to reasonably calculate, as no one can imagine N.E.X.U.S. would have any compunctions against using nulcear weapons against space-born humanity, since there would be no environement to contaminate and no stray wildlife to harm. As durable as a Sequoia is, it would quickly succumb to the atomic weaponry once employed so liberally by the Machine in its efforts to exterminate Man.

War Mounts, aside from the Cone space fighters, are not typically carried aboard Sequoias. Not only is space at a premium, even in a vessel so large as a Sequoia, but the resources necessary to sustain War Mounts and the personnel needed to oversee the creatures would be wasted on a journey that could take centuries to complete.

Class- Self-Sustaining Habitat/Living Starship
Crew: 1 Outrider pilot, 2 Outrider co-pilots, and a bridge crew of 8 who monitor external and internal conditions, status of the nuclear bio-reactor, bio-stasis pods, etc. 150 Outriders share duty manning weapon emplacements at all times. A Sequoia is not a sentient being, operating automatically as it was designed with little need for human oversight.
Troop Capacity: Up to 18,000(12,000 Host Armor pilots), 600 Space Fighter pilots. Actual numbers are typically much lower, however, as Host Armors not easily or realistically sustainable(Vampiric, Lithovores, & Parasitic) and those not space capable, along with their pilots, are normally put in bio-stasis to conserve resources. This also applies to the majority of non-Host Armor pilots who simply have no discernable use while traveling through space. Typical active troop complement is no more than 2,000, all with space capable Host Armor, many of whom are space fighter pilots.
Non-Combatants: The standard complement of non-combatant personnel varies greatly between individual Sequoias, depending on the tatstes of the leaders of various Houses. The typical Sequoia will have 3D6+6 Engineers and 1D4+2 Libarians active at any given time.
Bio-Stasis Complement: Up to 100,000 people can be safely stored in stasis. War Mounts or bio-tech creatures larger than a full-sized Host Armor do not fit into the stasis pods.
MDC by Location:
-Fighter Nursery[Bow]- 20,000 + 2D6x1,000
-Omega Blaster Batteries[12]- 1,200 + 1D6x100 each
-Super Light Cell Point Defense Bundle[36]- 300 + 1D4x100 each
-*Pseudopod/Ion Emitter[4; Rear]- 20,000 + 2D6x1,000 each
-**Main Body/Habitat- 240,000 + 2D6x10,000
-***Rear/FTL Drive- 120,000 + 1D6x10,000
-****Bio-Force Field- 30,000
*Each pseudopod is a complex organ dedicated to transforming the raw power generated by the massive bio-reactor at the Sequoia's core into propulsive force via ion emission. Each pseudopod destroyed reduces maximum speed and acceleration & deceleration by 25%. Given their complexity and the resources necessary to regrow these organs, damaged pseudopods regenerate at a reduced rate of 1D4x100 MDC per hour and if destroyed require 1D4+2 weeks to regrow. During the growth of a new pseudopod, all other ship components regenerate at 50% their normal rate.
**The Main Body/Habitat regenerates 1D6x1000 MDC per hour. Depleting the MDC of the Main Body/Habitat renders the ship unconscious, reduces life support to a bare minimum, and powers down all weapons. 1D4x10+10% of the ship's habitable compartments will have been ruptured and exposed to vacuum and internal rotation systems will be offline, rendering artificial gravity inoperative. Unopened launch orifices can be blasted through and large holes blown in the ships hide can be used to field space capable defenders, but for the most part the vessel will be helpless. Further reducing the MDC beyond -40,000 kills the ship.
***The Rear/FTL Drive section of a Sequoia regenerates 1D4x1000 MDC per hour. Depleting the MDC of the Rear/FTL Drive will cause the nuclear reactor powering the ship to go critical and initiate a meltdown effect. If this occurs, the entire section will explosively jettison the Main Body/Habitat with enough force that the meltdown will not contaminate it. Unfortunately, this section of a Sequoia cannot be regrown. If it is destroyed, it is forever lost. Small backup reactors within the Main Body/Habitat continue to power minimal life support and bio-stasis pods, but weapon range and damage is reduced by 75%, damage to all components regenerates at 25% of the normal rate, and rotationally maintained artificial gravity ceases to function, while the Bio-Force Field cannot be maintained at all. While a Sequoia in this condition may continue to exist long after such damage, the only hope for those trapped within is rescue by allies or, as unlikely as it seems, alien interference.
****The Bio-Force Field regenerates at a relatively slow rate of 1D4x10+20 MDC per hour. If MDC is depleted, the Bio-Force Field cannot be re-initialized for 24 hours.
Speed:
-Atmospheric Flight- Not Possible. Once launched into space, a Sequoia is only capable of making a controlled descent to the surface of a new planet, and is forever grounded afterwards.
-Trans-Atmospheric Flight- Approximate maximum of Mach 6 before engaging FTL bio-systems.
-FTL Travel- Speed Factor 30, with a maximum acceleration and deceleration of 1 c per hour.
-Range- Effectively Unlimited. Barring catostrophic mishap, a Seedling is capable of sustaining its full crew complement and all bio-tech devices and creatures not currently held in bio-stasis for centuries.
Statistical Data:
-Diameter: 3,000 + 1D6x100 feet tapering down to a very blunt nose cone(Fighter Nursery) approximately 400 + 2D6x10 feet in diameter.
-Length: Main Body/Habitat: 12,000 + 2D6x100 feet, Fighter Nursery: 400 + 3D6x10 feet, Rear/FTL Drive & Metabolization Chamber: 3,000 + 2D4x100 feet, Pseudopods/Ion Emmiters: 2,000 + 1D4x100 feet
-Weight: Approximately 120 million tons fully loaded
-Cargo: Approximately 30 million tons
-Physical Strength: Vast, but inapplicable.
-Production Cycle: 18 month gestation period, plus 100 year growth time. Until fully grown, a Seedling is only capable of providing its various life support functions.
-Operational Lifetime: Theoretically unlimited, so long as it is not allowed to starve.
-Trade Value: Unplanted Seeding: 100 million credits. Once planted and a viable underground habitat or fully mature and space capable starship, they become priceless.
-Bio-Regeneration Rate: Unless otherwise noted, all components regenerate 1D6x100 MDC per hour.
-Horror Factor: 18, but only for those unexpectantly witnessing the matured Seedling, now a Sequoia starship, launch into space.
-Senses & Features: Detailed below.
-Power System/Metabolism: Varies throughout its lifetime. Functionally a Lithovore & Omnivore, but only so long as it continues to grow. Geo-Thermal/Nuclear fueled Thermosynthetic metabolism at full maturity, though it continues to function as a Lithovore & Omnivore for the purposes of recyling internal wastes and introducing new biological material for use by those living within.
-Sleep Requirements: As an artificial organism designed for continuous operation, the Seedling does not require sleep.
Bio-Weapon Systems: Sequoias do not mount projectile weaponry, aside from the Cone fighters themselves. There are several reasons for this measure. Power is generated in great abundance by the nuclear-fueled Thermosynthetic metabolism of a Sequoia, with more than enough left over for energy weapons. Energy weapons can be mounted entirely on the outer hide of the ship, saving space and eliminating the need for internal mechanisms to supply ammo to projectile weapon, which also reduces potential weak points on the hide. Finally, the projectiles would represent an unnecessary and wasteful squandering of precious biological matter that simply cannot be replaced while in the depths of space.
Super Light Cell Point Defense Bundle[24]- Each of these strategically located and fully articulate weapon nodules are composed of six fully upgraded Super Light Cells clustered around a trio of eyes especially enhanced and armored agaisnt the riggers of space. Each of these point defense bundles is manned by an Outrider who controls it from within the safety of the ship. Defense bundles are treated as personal War Mounts for any Outrider operating them, granting all relevant bonuses in the process. Individual Super Light Cells can be fired, but are almost always tandem fired in volleys.
-Primary Purpose: Defense
-Mega-Damage: 2D10 MD per Super Light Cell(12D10 MD per full 6 Cell volley)
-Maximum Effective Range: Atmosphere: 4,000 feet, Space: 40,000 feet.
-Rate of Fire: Each blast or volley counts as one melee attack. Roll only once per volley. Either all the light beams hit, or the all miss.
-Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
-Bonus: +1 to strike on an aimed shot.
-Special: These bundles make tiny targets compared to such a large vessel. To deliberately strike a bundle an enemy must make a Called Shot with a -3 penalty.
Omega Blaster Battery[12]- Like the defense bundles, these much heavier weapons are standard bio-weapon enhanced to their fullest capacity and arrayed for greater combined firepower. Arranged in a pentagon pattern around the triple eye optic sensor and protected by lightning quick armored shutters to shield the sensitive beam emitters, Omega Blaster Batteries are placed at points across the ship to ensure that at least two of them can converge their fire on any target within range. Each of battery is manned by an Outrider who controls it from within the safety of the ship. Batteries are treated as personal War Mounts for any Outrider operating them, granting all relevant bonuses in the process. Individual Omega Blasters can be fired if a steady rate of fire is desired or they can all be fired in tandem to create devastating waves of destructive energy.
-Primary Purpose: Anti-Robot
-Mega-Damage: 4D8x10 MD per Omega Blaster fired(20D8x10 MD per full volley)
-Beam Radius: 20 foot radius per Omega Blaster fired(100 foot radius per full volley)
-Maximum Effective Range: Atmosphere: 10,000 feet, Space: 100,000 feet.
-Rate of Fire: Each blast or volley counts as one melee attack. Roll only once per volley. Either all the light beams hit, or the all miss.
-Payload: Effectively Unlimited, however each individual Omega Blaster may only be fired twice per melee round.
-Bonus: +2 to strike on an aimed shot, with an additional +1 bonus to strike per Omega Blaster fired.
-Special: These batteries make tiny targets compared to such a large vessel. To deliberately strike a battery an enemy must make a Called Shot with a -3 penalty.
Sensory Organs & Abilities: Scattered across the hide of a Sequoia are hundreds of fully bio-enhanced eyes, more than enough to give the ship's pilots adequate visual data even after suffering damage across the majority it surface. Despite being able to see telescopically(approximately 300,000 miles) throughout the electromagnetic spectrum, the true gem of the Sequoia's sensory systems is its Gravity Node. Visual data simply cannot be relied upon while traveling at FTL speeds, making dangerous collisions impossible to avoid. So advanced is the Gravity Node, that it was not a viable bio-tech device when the Seedlings were first developed. Instead, the Seedlings were created and planted while decades were spent trying to solve the problem of FTL navigation. With the creation of the Gravity Node, a whale-sized gland-like organ that detects even the slightest spacial distortion generated by objects nearly a light year away, the final hurdle to space travel was cleared. Once a Seedling has matured into a space capable Sequoia and an Engineers has added the necessary genetic information to the starship, a Gravity Node will grow into place in 1D4+12 days. A Gravity Node transmits information to the Outrider piloting the Sequoia exactly as if he was using a War Mount with the Radar ability, complete with full bonuses, but impossible to foul and a range of 1 light year.
Biological Defenses: Beyond it's powerful Bio-Force Field and thickly armored hide, a Sequoia starship has a number of bio-enhancements meant to help it cope with the hazards of space and to resist damage is attacked.
-Immune to Cold & Heat: The specially engineered hide of a Sequoia is only capable of transfering heat in one direction; inward. This not only makes it impervious to the bitter cold of deep space, it also makes the vessel totally immune to heat, as it is absorbed to supplement onboard energy. Mega-Damage heat, flame, & plasma only serves to fuel a Sequoia.
-Resistant to Kinetic Energy & Physical Attack: The hide of a Sequoia is normally surprisingly supple, but physical impact aligns crystalline fibers beneath the surface to turn the skin ultra-hard. This reaction effectively halves the damage suffered from any physical attack on a Sequoia.
-Resistant to Energy- The hide's ability to absorb heat, the crystalline fibers responsible for its ability to rapidly harden, and a quirk of the same alien DNA responsible for Bio-Energy weapons combine to allow the Sequoia to refract and absorb a certain amount of harmful energy directed at it. Sequoias are immune to hard radiation of non-mega-damage intensity and suffer only half damage against MD level radiation attack and effects. Laser and ion beam weapons inflict only 50% damage to a Sequoia's hide and particle beam weapon damage is reduced by approximately 33%.
Anatomical & Physiological Features: Just like a Seedling, a Sequoia is engineered to provide for every requirement of those living within it. Water and wastes are recycled, air scrubbed and refreshed, and food provided in several forms by various internal organs that provide edible meat and vegetable matter. In addition to this, however, are features designed specifically for the Sequoia, systems necessary for long term space flight and added survivability.
-Rotating Internal Habitat: Between the outer hide of a Sequoia and its inner habitat is a layer of highly viscous mucus which acts not only as a shock and radiation absorber, but also as a medium for the bio-tech equivalent of artificial gravity. Powerful organic jets that line the outside of the habitat chamber work tirelessly to spin the enormous city-sized section within the mucus layer while the pseudopod ion propulsion system actively prevents counter-rotation of the outer shell. While not a perfect system, it does provide approximately .75 g for those living within, well within margins needed to prevent de-calcification of bone and other detrimental health effects experienced in low gravity environments.
-Bio-Statis Pods: A significant portion of the habitat chamber is dedicated to vast row upon row of special organelles capable of putting living beings into state of suspended animation. When activated a stasis pod secretes a gel-like substance that combines with a pre-administered drug to halt biological and neurological activity. A person placed within such a pod, along with their gear(living armor, bio-weapons, even Host Armor) can be maintained in this state for centuries without ill effect.
-Fighter Nursery: A bio-tech factory of sorts, the huge front compartment of a mature Sequoia can be configured to produce and gestate various War Mounts at their normal rate, but the only practical application of this while in space is to generate the Cone bio-tech space fighter, a War Mount designed specifically for trans-atmoshpheric combat. Each Cone resembles a miniature Sequoia and is piloted by a specially trained Outrider. Each of the nursery's 100 gestation tanks is capable of producing a fully grown Cone fighter every 12 months, though space constraints limit a Sequoia to a maximum of 300 Cone fighters. Up to ten Cone fighters can be launched from special launch orifices at full speed every three seconds. Damage to the Fighter Nursery regenerates 1D4x1000 MDC per hour. If destroyed, the nursery requires 1D4+1 weeks to regenerate. Docked fighters have a 1D4x10% chance of surviving to be salvaged, but those not fully grown are lost.
Hand to Hand Combat: Not applicable. Despite the apparently powerful pseudopods, they are not capable of combat.

[Ectoplasmic Bidet]

Credit goes entirely to Slappy for the Omega Overload feature of the Cone, which I, um, borrowed from his most excellent Kamikaze Organic Cruise Missle.

**************

The Cone
Despite their numerous bio-weapons, the cumbersome Sequoias make poor combat vessels. The answer to this problem is the Cone War Mount, a living fighter craft designed specifically for the environment of space. Extremely fast and maneuverable, a Sequoia can deploy hundreds of these small spacecraft if needed, each and every one capable of laying down a withering hail of laser fire or striking with huge Omega Blaster beams. Each Cone resembles a Sequoia in extreme miniature, from its blunt-nosed reverse tear drop shape to the four ion emitter pseuopods at the rear. Like the Leviathon War Mount designed with underwater combat in mind, the Cone, meant to operate in the vacuum of space, completely encloses its pilot for greatly appreciated extra protection.

Unlike the majority of other War Mounts, most of the Cone's bio-systems come fully enhanced, a fact that strangely enough seems to chagrin some pilots. Though many avenues of bio-customization are limited or cut off all together by this, there are still a great many modification that can be made to individual Cones, some of which are designed solely for this War Mount.


Class- Space Fighter War Mount
Crew: One pilot.
MDC by Location:
-Pilot Compartment/Survival Pod- 150
-*Bio-Weapon Cluster- 270
-**Pseudopod/Ion Emitter[4; Rear]- 180 each
-***Main Body/Cockpit- 520
-****Bio-Force Field- 300
*The Bio-Weapon Cluster is difficult to strike, requiring a Called Shot with a -3 penalty.
**Each pseudopod destroyed reduces maximum speed and combat bonuses by 25%. Pseudopods are small targets, requiring a Called Shot with a -3 penalty to strike.
***Depleting the MDC of the Main Body kills the War Mount.
****The Bio-Force Field regenerates 1D4+2 MDC per minute. If MDC is depleted, the Bio-Force Field cannot be re-initialized for 12 hours.
Speed:
-Atmospheric Flight- Not designed with atmospheric flight in mind. Without the proper control surfaces the War Mount can barely manage an awkward 200 mph in a planetary atmosphere, but handles like a brick.
-Trans-Atmospheric Flight- Approximate maximum of Mach 16, but typical cruising speed is closer to Mach 8.
-FTL Travel- Not possible.
-Range- Effectively Unlimited, but limited by the pilot's life support requirements.
Statistical Data:
-Diameter: 10 feet tapering down to a blunt nose cone(Weapon Battery) approximately 3 feet in diameter.
-Length: Main Body/Cockpit: 24 feet, Pseudopods/Ion Emmiters: 10 feet
-Weight: 12 tons.
-Cargo: None. The pilot compartment just barely has room for the pilot.
-Physical Strength: Supernatural PS of 35 + 1D4.
-Production Cycle: 3 month gestation period, plus 9 month growth time. The War Mount is engineered to be grown with extraordinary speed.
-Operational Lifetime: 1D6+20 years. Shorter than average lifespan is a direct result of the forced maturation.
-Trade Value: 36 million credits for a healthy, undamaged unit.
-Bio-Regeneration Rate: 2D6+3 MDC per melee round for the main body and 1D4+2 MDC per melee round for all other locations. A destroyed Bio-Weapon Cluster regenerates in 6D6+40 hours, while Pseudopod/Ion Emitters regenerate in 4D6+12 days. The bodily fluids of the War Mount are designed to instantly harden into a cement-like clot on contact with the vacuum of space, sealing hull breaches in 1D4 seconds.
-Horror Factor: 16 against humans outside the Resistance, but none against the Machine.
-Senses & Features: Detailed below.
-Feeding: The War Mount uses a scaled down version of a Sequoia's nuclear-fueled Thermosynthetic bio-reactor. Upon maturation, the War Mount's bio-reactor is stocked with enough fuel to power it for approximately 10 years. Fuel is not expended while the War Mount is kept dormant in its storage cradle aboard a Sequoia.
-Sleep Requirements: As an artificial organism designed for continuous operation if necessary, the War Mount does not require sleep, but its pilot does.
Other Data: An unmanned Cone is nearly the equivalent to a brain dead human, as the War Mount has been engineered with no more intelligence than the average cucumber. It was not known what instincts a space faring creature would need or should have, so it was given none, except for a reflexive homing sense.
-Alignment: Do vegetable have alignments?
-War Mount Attributes: IQ: N/A, ME: N/A, MA: N/A, PS: 36-39(Supernatural), PP: 18+1D6, PE: 20+1D6, Spd: See above.
-Number of Attacks: None on its own, but the War Mount adds an additional four to those of its pilot.
-Combat Bonuses(In addtion to possible attribute bonuses): +2 initiative, +5 strike with ranged weapons, +2 strike with pseudopods, +8 dodge(+2 if stationary before being attacked), Immune to poison, disease, and Horror Factor. Totally immune to any sort of mind control or mental influence, regardless of source. Radar provides the following additional bonuses when applicable: +1 melee attack, +1 initiative, +1 strike, parry, & dodge.
Bio-Weapon Cluster- Each War Mount is equipped with a single forward facing bio-weapon cluster composed of an Omega Blaster ringed by six Super Light Cells and six advanced eyes, all of which have been enhanced to the maximum possible extent. Due to the power distribution method employed by the War Mount, the Super Light Cells cannot be individually fired, requiring them to be fired in full volleys of six Cells. Super Light Cells and the Omega Blaster cannot be fired in tandem without further bio-enhancement.
-Primary Purpose: Attack/Defense
-Mega-Damage: 12D10 MD per full 6 Cell volley or 4D8x10 MD per Omega Blast.
-Beam Radius: 20 foot radius per Omega Blast.
-Maximum Effective Range: Super Light Cell(Atmosphere: 4,000 feet, Space: 40,000 feet), Omega Blaster(Atmosphere: 10,000 feet, Space: 100,000 feet).
-Rate of Fire: Each blast or volley counts as one melee attack. Roll only once per volley. Either all the beams hit or they all miss.
-Payload: Effectively Unlimited, however the Omega Blaster may only be fired twice per melee round.
-Bonuses: Super Light Cells(+1 to strike on an aimed shot), Omega Blaster(+3 to strike on an aimed shot).
Sensory System & Organs: The War Mount features the standard Bio-Comm as well as an array of additional and enhanced senses, though it lacks many of those present in War Mounts designed for terrestrial use.
-Homing Sense: Without a pilot in control, the only action this War Mount is able to undertake is to proceed at full possible speed to its Sequoia mothership. If without a pilot and out of visual range of the mothership, the War Mount must either be put into a dormant state or it will self-destruct by entering bio-meltdown phase in 24 hours.
-Radar: As per the standard bio-enhancement, but it should be noted that the lack of atmosphere in the vacuum of space dramatically increases the range of the radar ability, up to approximately 6,000 miles.
-Vision: Besides the six integral eyes built into the forward facing bio-weapon cluster, an additional 12 eyes are located at various points on the War Mount's hide, all capable of viewing infrared, ultraviolet, and thermal emissions as well as telescopic magnification with a zoom range of approximately 100,000 miles.
-High Intensity Light Cell Relay: Bio-Comms have always been extremely limited by their range, a handicap felt more than ever in the vastness of space. Using a specially engineered Light Cell connected to a Bio-Comm, transmissions can be sent up to 1,000 miles to a similar relay device before the beam becomes too attenuated for the receiving Bio-Comm to decipher. This allows the War Mount to more easily communicate with its fellows in space and with its Sequoia mothership.
Biological Defenses:
-Immune to Cold & Heat: The War Mount is impervious to cold and heat of even mege-damage intensity(super napalm, MD plasma, etc).
-Resistant to Kinetic Energy & Physical Attack: The War Mount suffers only half damage from physical attacks of all kinds.
-Resistant to Energy- Another carry over from the Sequoias they are modeled after, Cone space fighter are immune to hard radiation of non-mega-damage intensity & suffer only half damage from MD level radiation, suffer half damage from laser & ion beam weapons, and particle beam weapon damage is reduced by 33%.
Anatomical & Physiological Features: The War Mount has three noteable features of considerable importance.
-Pilot Compartment/Survival Pod: From within this egg-like chamber the pilot controls the War Mount, but it also serves as an escape vehicle in emergency situations. On command or when fatal damage has been sustained, the pod is explosively ejected through the entry orifice located at the rear of the War Mount between the four pseudopods. This pod has no means of self-propulsion, but it contains the entirety of the War Mount's life support systems, a Bio-Comm, and its matte black surface has been designed to fluoresce brightly when viewed through the eyes of any bio-tech vision system.
-Articulated Pseudopods: While these tentacle-like ion drives are locked into position most of the time, they possess great physical strength and are surprisingly dexterous in certain situations. If an opponent has approached within grappling range and cannot be targeted by ranged weapons, it can be attacked by swatting with the pseudopods or using the razor sharp bone protrusion that tips each one to stab. All four pseudopods can attack simultaneously without using extra melee attack, combining their damage to great effect. Alternatively, the pseudopods may be used to latch onto the hide of the War Mount's Sequoia mothership or even the hulls of enemy vessels.
-Omega Overload: Nearly identical to the systems engineered for use in the Kamikaze organic cruise missles, this attack of last resort creates a fatal chain reaction within the Omega Blaster's energy cells. The process requires six seconds and cannot be reversed or shut down once it has been initiated. After initiation, the War Mount will detonate in exactly 60 seconds or upon impact while traveling at or beyond 100 mph. The detonation inflicts 1D4x1,000 MD to everything within a 1,000 foot blast radius. If the pilot chooses to eject in the survival pod before detonation, the War Mount can be pointed at a target fired on a straight trajectory at maximum possible speed, like an unguided rocket.
Hand(Tentacle?) to Hand Combat: Pseudopod Lash: 6D6 MD, Pseudopod Stab: 7D6 MD

****************

New Cone War Mount Bio-Enhancements:

Bio-Rocket Thrusters(Survival Pod Variant): Near exact replicas of the Bio-Rocket Thrusters available to Host Armor for space operations, this enhancement is not actually intended for use with the Cone War Mount, but instead for its survival pod. If the pilot is forced to abandon the War Mount, with this enhancement he is not left totally to the mercy of fate and retains some measure of control.
-Flight Ability: 200 mph. In an atmosphere, gravity greatly reduces this enhancement's efficacy, lowering speed by 50% and limiting altitude to approximately 15,000 feet.
-Underwater: May be used underwater with a speed penalty of 75%.
-Bonuses: Space(+3 initiative, +3 dodge), Atmosphere(+1 initiative, +2 dodge)
-MDC: Reactant Sacs are enclosed fully within the survival pod and each of the six Exhaust Ports has 1D4x10+20 MDC.
-Payload: The Reactant Sacs hold enough fuel for six hours of uninterrupted flight and replenish themselves at a rate of 1 hour's worth of fuel per 4 hours.
-Bio-E Cost: 25 points. Speed can be increased by +20 mph per 10 Bio-E points, up to a maximum of 400 mph. Reactant Sac capacity may be increased by 50% by spending an additional 20 Bio-E. Reactant replenishment rate may be doubled by spending an additional 20 Bio-E.
-Prerequisite: None.

Orbital Launch Rockets: A Cone War Mount in the atmosphere of a planet, where its biological ion drive barely functions, does not have the power to return to orbit on its own. Though the ability to do so would be largely useless while running from the Machine in deep space, it is not inconceivable that the War Mount will one day be used to regularly travel between a new home planet and space. This enhancement grows eight of the Reactant Sacs used in the Bio-Rocket Thruster Host Armor enhancement within the body of the War Mount. When a pilot desires to enter planetary orbit, the War Mount is brought to its maximum atmospheric altitude of 35,000 feet and all Reactant Sacs are fully engaged, providing a very short-lived but incredible burst of speed of approximately 18,000 mph, more than enough to horizontally enter orbit. Exhaust gases are expelled from organic thruster ports at the inside base of each pseudopod.
-Flight Ability: 18,000 mph in an atmosphere. Double speed if used in space.
-Bonuses: None. While the bio-rockets are firing the War Mount must maintain a fairly straight trajectory so as not to become unstable.
-MDC: Reactant Sacs are stored entirely within the body of the War Mount.
-Payload: The potency of reactants used in this enhancement is much greater than that used in the Bio-Rocket Thrusters. A full payload burns for approximately six minutes and requires four hours per minute of fuel replensished. Reactant payload cannot be used in increments, but must instead all be expended in one session.
-Bio-E Cost: 35 points. This enhancement cannot be further modified.
-Prerequisite: Organic Thrusters(an add-on, does not replace the thrusters).

Bio-Weapon Amplification Lens: A single enormous dome of transparent flesh grows over the entire bio-weapon cluster of the Cone War Mount, resembling a contact lens worn by ancient humans. This lens is the only weapon upgrade available to the War Mount, but it is a powerful one. The Amplification Lens focuses the energy beams generated by bio-weapon cluster's Super Light Cells & Omega Blast, doubling their damage and increasing range by half.
-MDC of the Amplification Lens: 2D6x10+100
-Penalty: The manner used to magnify the Omega Blaster's power reduces the beam radius by 10 feet and lowers its bonus to strike by -1. The Amplification Lens appears simple, but it is actually a highly complex marvel of bio-engineering. Due to its advanced nature, damage to the lens regenerates at half the speed of other components and if destroyed requires twice as long to regrow.
-Bio-E Cost: 100 points!

[Ectoplasmic Bidet]

Sky Manta
Though often hideously outnumbered, the Resistance's ground forces are quite capable of holding their own against superior Machine numbers, and, for the most part, the Resistance owns the Great Ocean. Where humanity continues to lag behind, despite significant advancements in bio-engineering over the past century, is in its airborne forces. The gap between the Machine and the Resistance continues to shrink, however, with the development of the Sky Manta, a next generation War Mount using an array of bio-technologies to achieve fairly astounding results. Faster than anything fielded by the Resistance since the nano-plague cut humans off from their advanced technology, the Sky Manta can engage any aircraft in the Machine's arsenal on equal or better footing.

Resembling an enormous manta ray, for its base DNA is in fact that of a common species of manta found in the Great Ocean, the Sky Manta blasts through the air mostly through the use of its multiple organic thrusters, the wings themselves providing only about 20% of its power. Lightly armored and no more heavily armed than any other assault-type War Mount, what allows this creature to truly shine is the complex system of storage sacs and reaction chambers located in its long, bone-plated tail. When necessary, the Sky Manta can initiate an internal chemical reaction that turns its tail into a rocket booster with enough power to raise its speed beyond that of the Machine's Sky Fighter. Flocks of Sky Mantas are more than capable of maintaining air superiority against equal or even higher numbers of Sky Fighter robots, allowing ground forces to go about their business unharrassed from above.

Class: Aerial Attack War Mount
Crew: One pilot.
M.D.C. by Location:
-*Force Projector Cannon- 100
-*Organic Rockets[16; 8 per wing]- 11 each
-*Organic Thrusters[4; 2 per wing]- 100 each
-*Thruster Ports[8; 4 per wing]- 40 each
-Tail- 180
-*Tail Bio-Rocket Thruster- 80
-Wings[2]- 180 each
-**Main Body- 240
-***Bio-Force Field- 100
*Objects marked with a single asterik are exceptionally small targets and require a Called Shot with a -3 penalty to strike. Reduce speed by 20% per destroyed Organic Thruster and 10% per destroyed Thruster Port. Destruction of an entire wing reduces speed by 60%.
**Depleting the M.D.C. of the Main Body kills the War Mount.
***The Bio-Force Field regenerates 1 M.D.C. per minute. If M.D.C. is depleted, the Bio-Force Field cannot be re-initialized for 12 hours.
Speed:
-Running- 20 mph. The Sky Manta is ill-suited for land travel and must writh across the ground in a manner similar to a snake.
-Leaping- 40 feet without wing or thruster assitance. The powerful tail, in conjunction with full thruster power, is able to propel the War Mount into the air, a rough equivalent to a vertical take-off ability.
-Digging- Not applicable.
-Swimming- Maximum speed is 400 mph. The Sky Manta is an exceptional swimmer, as a significant portion of its genetic heritage is harvested from the sea. The War Mount can maintain maximum speed underwater without need of rest.
-Flying- Maximum unassisted speed is 800 mph, with a cruising speed of 200 mph. Can fly all day at cruising speed, but only four hours at maximum speed before needing to rest for at least one hour. Beyond its already impressive speed, what truly sets the Sky Manta apart from other aerial War Mounts is the Bio-Rocket Thruster system housed in its tail. At the command of its pilot, the War Mount's tail stiffens into a rigid structure and two internal storage sacs within the tail combine their contents to produce a highly volatile chemical reaction. The gaseous exhaust from this reaction is expelled from the single boney thruster port at the tip of the tail, raising the War Mount's maximum speed to a phenomenal 2,100 mph for five minutes. The War Mount's fuel sacs store enough reactants to perform this rocket boost six times before running empty. Four hours are required for the War Mount to replenish six minutes worth of fuel. Outriders can enhance their Sky Manta's fuel supply by six minutes per 10 Bio-E(to a maximum of an additional 30 minutes) and fuel replenishment rate can be doubled for 30 Bio-E.
-Maximum Altitude- As low as just a few inches above the ground or tree tops to as high as 25,000 feet unassisted. With bio-rocket assistance the War Mount is capable of achieving altitudes as high as 60,000 feet for short periods of time.
Statistical Data:
-Height: 4 feet at the thickest point between the back and underbelly.
-Width: 8 feet at the main body's widest point, 32 feet from wingtip to wingtip.
-Length: 16 feet from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail, 16 feet from the base of the tail to bio-rocket thruster tip.
-Weight: 5 tons.
-Cargo: None. The internal pilot compartment is totally form fitting, molding tightly around the Outrider and his Host Armor. Though the War Mount has the physical strength and surplus lifting power to carry cargo externally, it's lack of limbs or tie down points renders it incapable of doing so.
-Physical Strength: Supernatural PS of 20 + 1D4.
-Production Cycle: 18 month gestation period, plus 2 year growth time.
-Operational Lifetime: 50 years.
-Trade Value: 18 million credits for a healthy, undamaged unit.
-Bio-Regeneration Rate: 3D6 M.D.C. per hour for the main body and 1D6 M.D.C. per hour for all other locations. The War Mount cannot regrow severed limbs or destroyed weapon systems(reduced to zero or less), there must be at least two M.D.C. points remaining to regenerate lost limbs, and such extensive regeneration takes 1D6+8 days.
-Horror Factor: 13 against humans outside the Resistance, but none against the Machine.
-Senses & Features: Standard for War Mounts.
-Feeding: The War Mount is an omnivore and eats from 80-120 lbs of organic matter a day. Feeding is done most easily underwater, where the War Mount can quickly filter large quantities of microscopic organisms from the surrounding water, but this is hardly a necessity.
-Sleep Requirements: As an artificial organism, the War Mount requires only four hours of sleep/rest per day.
Other Data: An unmanned Sky Manta is able to function independent of a rider using its animal-like intelligence and instincts to respond to any given situation. Unlike most other War Mounts, however, the Sky Manta has an unusually timid nature and will almost always choose to flee from a fight unless it is severely injured or backed into a corner with no obvious escape routes available. It will obey the commands of an Outrider or Packmaster and is easily handled by any non-threatening human. Innately hostile towards the Machine, an unmanned Sky Manta will choose to defend humans from robot attack when it could otherwise flee.
-Alignment: The War Mount is generally of a good or selfish alignment unless it has been harshly abused by dishonorable humans. Sky Manta War Mounts, despite their size and appearance, are gentle and affectionate towards humans and have a strange fascination with Gore Hounds.
-War Mount Attributes: IQ: 1D6+4(medium to high animal intelligence), ME: 1D6+6, MA: 2D6+8, PS: 21-24(Supernatural), PP: 20+1D4, PE: 10+2D6, Spd: See above.
-Number of Attacks: Four.
-Combat Bonuses(In addtion to possible attribute bonuses): +4 on initiative, +3 to strike with ranged weapons, +1 to strike in HtH combat, +1 to dodge, +6 to dodge while flying, +2 to pull punch, +1 to roll with punch, impact, or fall, +8 to roll with impact while flying, +3 to save vs poison & disease, and is impervious to Horror Factor & mind control(and possession).
-Equivalent (instinctive) Skills of Note: Swimming 98%, Identify Plants & Fruit 80%, Land Navigation 70%, and understands the Native Language of the Great House that created it and one other common language(cannot read or write) at 70%.
-Combat Capabilities: The War Mount may use its long-range weapons(each use counts as one melee action/attack) or engage in limited hand to hand combat.
-Tail Lash/Strike: 1D6x10 M.D.
-Flying Body Block/Ram: 3D8 M.D. and has a 01-80% likelihood of knocking an opponent who is as large as 20 feet tall, off its feet and onto its back.
Sky Manta Bio-Weapon Systems:
1. Force Projector Cannon- The crystalline lens of this weapon resembles a small, opaque third eye set within the boney ridge separating the War Mount's eyes. This lens works in conjunction with the internal organs responsible for producing the War Mount's Bio-Force Field to fire blasts of powerful concussive force.
-Primary Purpose: Anti-Aircraft.
-Mega-Damage: 2D4x10+20 M.D.
-Rate of Fire: Each force blast counts as one melee attack.
-Maximum Effective Range: 2,400 feet.
-Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
-Bonuses: +2 to strike.
2. Super Light Cells (2)- Located at the tip of each wing is a single Super Light Cell. These secondary weapons are intended mostly for defense, but can serve as adequate backup weapons if the cannon is damaged or the rockets have been exhausted.
-Primary Purpose: Self-Defense.
-Mega-Damage: 1D10+5 M.D. for a single laser blast or 2D10+10 M.D. for a simultaneous dual blast.
-Rate of Fire: Each single or double blast counts as one melee attack.
-Maximum Effective Range: 1,000 feet.
-Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
3. Organic Rockets (16)- Along the leading edge of each of the War Mount's wings are eight Organic Rockets intended for use against airborne targets or large concentrations of ground-based enemies.
-Primary Purpose: Anti-Aircraft and Anti-Robot
-Mega-Damage: 5D10 M.D. per individual organic rocket fired, with a blast radius of 10 feet each.
-Rate of Fire: One at a time or in volleys of up to a full payload of 16 rockets. A volley counts as one melee attack. Roll once to strike, either all the rockets in the volley hit or they all miss.
-Maximum Effective Range: 1 mile.
-Payload: 16; 8 per wing. The War Mount can replenish its entire payload of rockets in 6D6 hours.
-Bonuses: +6 to strike and dodge(each rocket has 1 attack per melee round and will continue seeking its target for 2D4 melees before expiring).
Hand to Hand Combat: Rather than use long-range weapons, the War Mount can engage in hand to hand combat using its powerful blade-tipped tail or its massive body.

[Ectoplasmic Bidet]

The Resistance's most damaging War Mount, the Behemoth, is humanity's undisputed "heavy hitter", with the ability to lay down truly awe-inspiring levels of destruction in a very short time. This firepower is its greatest strength, but also its greatest weakness. The Machine regularly targets these gentle giants for elimination early in any conflict, so great is their potential to sway a battle. Heavy armor is only effective for so long, and many Behemoths have been destroyed due to this tactic. The death of every War Mount is a blow to the Resistance, but the loss of a Behemoth is especially great, as each one represents a huge investment in resources. In seeking an answer to the heavy firepower vs high value target problem, Librarians eventually designed the Bore Worm.

Bore Worm
The Bore Worm War Mount looks very much like one of the grubs fired from a Bore Rifle(coincidence in action) that has been grown to ridiculous size and plated in chitinous armor. The War Mount moves through the Earth at a relatively high rate of speed using a combination of natural burrowing and a highly acidic mucus secretion that not only dissolves surrounding minerals, but also lubricates the War Mount's passage. When the Outrider piloting the War Mount wishes to enter combat, he must first bring the Bore Worm close enough to the surface for it to force its rear section up from the ground into open air so that it may transform into a living weapon platform(the whole process requires roughly 15 seconds). Once its rear is positioned properly, hidden seams in the War Mount's flesh split open like an overripe melon to allow the rear to blossom into a grotesque parody of a fleshy flower. Each of the War Mount's three "petals" folds down and anchors itself to the ground using a number of short tendrils while a column of muscle rises into a central position overlooking the area.

The War Mount in its combat configuration has an extremely low profile, less than four feet high except for the central stalk that can rise as high as seven feet, which presents a small target for Machine forces. In this form the Outrider pilot and his co-pilot/gunner are safely buried beneath the Earth within the main body of the War Mount. The pilot typically controls the central stalk and one of the petals while the co-pilot oversees the remaining petals. This allows for attention to be more easily split between multiple targets and means that none of the War Mount's weapon need be inactive at any given time. Though not so heavily armed as a Behemoth, the Bore Worm's Heavy Casting Cannons, dual Heat Projector Cannons, and impressive Organic Rocket payload would be a fearful combination if the Machine had enough sense to be scared. Balancing this decreased firepower is the fact that the War Mount is nearly impossible to kill. Its regenerative abilities have been maximized to the limit of current Splicer bio-technology, but this is nothing compared to the Bore Worm's own inherent worm-like physiology. Similar to some other worm species that can be cut in half without being killed and will eventually regrow their lost flesh, the Bore Worm is capable of regenerating its entire rear section. This means even if the entire rear section is obliterated during combat, the remainder of the Bore Worm which has remained safe under gound with its pilot, can escape without impairment. If deemed necessary, the War Mount's pilot can even prematurely detach the main body from the rear section(the rear section will die within 1D6+12 hours) and leave the area all the while still manning the rear section's weapon systems via Bio-Comm.

Class- Heavy Assault War Mount
Crew: One pilot and one co-pilot/gunner.
M.D.C. by Location:
-Central Weapon Stalk- 300
-*Heat Projector Cannon[2]- 150 each
-*Organic Rockets[60; 15 per petal, 15 on the central stalk]- 11 each
-*Heavy Casting Cannons[3; 1 per petal]- 120 each
-Weapon Petals[3]- 300 each
-**Rear Body- 400
-***Main Body- 600
*Objects marked with a single asterisk are exceptionally small targets and require a Called Shot with a -3 penalty to strike.
**The War Mount's rear half is only vulnerable to direct attack before deploying into its three weapon petals, a process that requires only 15 seconds. If the M.D.C. of all three weapon petals is depleted the Rear Body of the War Mount dies, but can eventually be regenerated given enough time.
***Depleting the M.D.C. of the Main Body kills the War Mount.
Speed:
-Running- 10 mph. The Bore Worm can travel on the surface if necessary, but it is awkward and slow.
-Leaping- Not possible, though the War Mount can explode out of the ground at high speed and approximately 30 feet into the air.
-Digging- 60 mph through dirt, sand, and clay, but only 45 mph through rock, concrete, and large deposits of Man or Machine-made metal. The War Mount needs only 12-15 seconds to completely burrow beneath the surface and can achieve sub-surface depths of approximately 5,000 feet, with slight variations depending on the geography of the area.
-Swimming- Not possible, the War Mount sinks like a stone. A Bore Worm can survive extreme depths, down to approximately 7,500 feet and crawl along the floor of the ocean at 45 mph or choose to burrow beneath the sea floor to use a more convenient travel medium.
-Flying- Not even close to possible.
-Range- Limited only by the pilot and co-pilot's need for food. The War Mount recycles and collects water as needed and is able to generate breathable air for its occupants by separating the oxygen from hydrogen in water.
Statistical Data:
-Height: 6-7 feet of the War Mount is exposed above the ground while in its combat form.
-Width: 8 feet at the main body's widest point in its non-combat form, 24 feet wide when the petal are deployed for combat.
-Length: 32 feet from end to end. The main body is 18 feet long and the rear section is 14 feet long.
-Weight: 10 tons.
-Cargo: None. The War Mount travels beneath the surface of the Earth and cannot possibly carry with it any cargo. The internal pilot cavity closes in around the Outriders within, disallowing anything beyond them and their Host Armor.
-Physical Strength: Supernatural PS of 30 + 1D6.
-Production Cycle: 18 month gestation period, plus 2 year growth time.
-Operational Lifetime: 60 years.
-Trade Value: 15 million credits for a healthy, undamaged unit.
-Bio-Regeneration Rate: 2D6+3 M.D.C. per melee for the main body and 1D4+2 M.D.C. per melee for all other locations. The War Mount possesses exceptional regenerative abilities as a counter-balance to its largely immobile nature when in combat. The War Mount can regrow destroyed components in 6D6+40 hours and even totally regenerate its entire back half, the section containing its combat form, in 6D6+24 days.
-Horror Factor: 14 against humans outside the Resistance, but none against the Machine.
-Senses & Features: Standard for War Mounts, as well as the Seismic Sense bio-enhancement.
-Feeding: The War Mount is a lithovore and "eats" from 240-360 lbs of minerals(stones, rocks, dirt, clay, etc) per day, dissolving them with it acidic mucus then slurping them up like an organic vacuum pump.
-Sleep Requirements: As an artificial organism, the War Mount requires only four hours of sleep/rest per day.
Other Data: An unmanned Bore Worm is able to function on instinct alone, but unless properly restrained its only instinct is to eat. It will only follow the commands of an Outrider capable of communicating with it using a Bio-Comm. The War Mount does not differentiate between human and Machine and is too stupid to use its powerful array of weapons without guidance.
-Alignment: Anarchist; operates more like a robot than a living creature, devoid of personality
-War Mount Attributes: IQ: 1(below average animal intelligence), ME: 1D4+6, MA: 1D4, PS: 31-36(Supernatural), PP: 6+1D4, PE: 18+2D6, Spd: See above.
-Number of Attacks/Actions: Two in its natural state, but six in its combat form. The Outrider pilot and his co-pilot/gunner each receive six additional melee attacks.
-Combat Bonuses(In addition to possible attribute bonuses): +4 to strike with ranged weapons, +5 to save vs poison & disease, and is impervious to Horror Factor & mind control(and possession).
-Equivalent (instinctive) Skills of Note: The War Mount can be conditioned to respond to a handful of Bio-Comm transmitted commands that are used when unmanned.
-Combat Capabilities: The War Mount has no combat abilities unless it is under the direct control of an Outrider who wishes to convert it into its combat form, making long-range weapons available. The only method the War Mount could possibly use to attack in melee would be to rub its body against a target while secreting its powerful acidic mucus. This acid will inflict 4D8 M.D. per melee to inorganic targets for 3D4 melee rounds.
Bore Worm Bio-Weapon Systems:
1. Heat Projector Cannons (2)- Mounted on the central stalk of the War Mount's combat form, these tandem firing weapons are fully articulated and can direct their beams of super intense heat on any target within range.
-Primary Purpose: Anti-Robot and Self-Defense.
-Mega-Damage: 1D8x10+10 or 2D8x10+20 M.D.
-Rate of Fire: Each force blast counts as one melee attack.
-Maximum Effective Range: 3,600 feet.
-Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
2. Heavy Casting Cannons (3)- The central armament of each of the War Mount's weapon petals, these high powered Casting Cannons can each cover a 180 degree firing arc and possess a unique advantage over all other weapons of their type; they never run out of ammunition. With most of its body buried beneath the Earth, the War Mount is able to eat constantly to provide a practically endless stream of casting pellets.
-Primary Purpose: Anti-Robot and Self-Defense.
-Mega-Damage: 1D8x10+5 M.D. per individual round fired, or a burst of three rounds that inflict 2D8x10+30 M.D.
-Rate of Fire: Each shot or burst counts as one melee attack.
-Maximum Effective Range: 3,000 feet.
-Payload: Effectively Unlimited. Only if the main body detaches from the rear section of the War Mount will ammunition become an issue. If this happens, each cannon has a reserve of 120 rounds, though they cannot be replenished.
-Bonuses: +2 to strike on an aimed shot; no bonus for a burst attack.
3. Organic Rockets (60)- Each of the War Mount's Casting Cannons, and its dual Heat Projector Cannons, are surrounded by a cluster of fifteen organic rockets.
-Primary Purpose: Anti-Aircraft.
-Mega-Damage: 5D10 M.D. per individual organic rocket fired, with a blast radius of 10 feet each.
-Rate of Fire: One at a time or in volleys of up to a full payload of 15 rockets. A volley counts as one melee attack. Roll once to strike, either all the rockets in the volley hit or they all miss.
-Maximum Effective Range: 1 mile.
-Payload: 60; 15 per weapon petal, 15 on central weapon stalk. The War Mount can replenish its entire payload of rockets in 6D6 hours.
-Bonuses: +6 to strike and dodge(each rocket has 1 attack per melee round and will continue seeking its target for 2D4 melees before expiring).
Hand to Hand Combat: Not possible. The War Mount is totally stationary when in its combat form and only capable of using ranged attacks. In its worm form, the War Mount is too slow and cumbersome to attack and makes an easy target.

[Ectoplasmic Bidet]

Changed the name from Gyro to Onslaught. Thanks to Slappy for the name suggestion.

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Onslaught
The Onslaught is perhaps the most alien War Mount created by the Resistance thus far in its war against the Machine. Heavily bio-engineered from its original form, a fist-sized organism found throughout many of Gaia's Nature Preserves, the Onslaught is a massive ball of armor. The War Mount uses a complex system of bladders that pump a thick mucus-like gel in a neverending cycle to propel itself at an unbelievable speed. It uses this speed in conjunction with the spiked armor plating covering its spherical body to roll over robots with impunity, barely even noticing smaller machines. Only the largest of robots can stop the Onslaught's forward momentum, and they never come away from the experience without suffering for their resilience.

To enter the War Mount's internal pilot compartment, an Outrider must climb in through the armored orifice on its right side. Squeezing through this orifice, which apears identical to the combination mouth/anus located on the War Mount's left side, is never as easy as one would imagine and often provokes lewd commentary at the expense of the struggling Outrider. Once he manages to make his way into the War Mount, the Outrider sits within a cramped free floating sphere suspended in a layer of mucus which allows it to remain immobile, for the most part, while the Onslaught rolls along.

Class- Heavy Assault War Mount
Crew: One rider.
M.D.C.: 900(depleting M.D.C. kills the War Mount)
Speed:
-Running- 180 mph maximum rolling speed. The War Mount can maintain this speed without tiring indefinitely, only needing to stop to sleep or eat, and can accelerate to full speed in six to eight seconds. The War Mount's speed may be greatly enhanced by an Outrider. Increase maximum speed by 20 mph per 10 Bio-E spent, up to a maximum possible speed of 300 mph.
-Leaping- Not possible.
-Digging- Not possible.
-Swimming- The War Mount sinks like a very heavy stone, but it can laboriously roll along the sea floor at 40 mph and survive to a depth of 2,000 feet.
-Flying- Not possible.
Statistical Data:
-Height: 12 feet.
-Width: 10 feet at the widest point.
-Weight: 4 tons.
-Cargo: None. The Outrider pilot has enough room within the War Mount to store a small volume of cargo, but nothing significant.
-Physical Strength: Supernatural PS of 35 + 1D6.
-Production Cycle: 8 month gestation period, plus 2 year growth time.
-Operational Lifetime: 40 years.
-Trade Value: 6 million credits for a healthy, undamaged unit.
-Bio-Regeneration Rate: 1D6 M.D.C. per melee.
-Horror Factor: 15 against humans outside the Resistance, but none against the Machine.
-Senses & Features: Standard for War Mounts, plus:

-Resistant to Kinetic Energy & Physical Attacks: Between its ultra-dense armor plating and numerous shock absorbing liquid-filled bladders, the War Mount takes only half damage from any physical attack; blunt impacts, rending robotic claws, super sonic rail gun slugs, etc...
-360 Degree Vision: The War Mount has no discernable eyes, instead its hide is peppered with thousands of optic receptors whose data, once combined and processed in the Onslaught's bio-engineered brain, provide its pilot with a full view of its surroundings in all directions, even the ground beneath it. Outriders typically need one or two weeks to grow accustommed to this strange version of sight.

-Feeding: The War Mount is a lithovore and eats from 60-120 lbs of minerals(stones, rocks, dirt, clay, etc) per day. Modifications made to its form render the War Mount incapable of feeding itself directly, requiring its Outrider pilot or assigned attendants to shovel food directly into its side-mounted digestion orifice.
-Sleep Requirements: As an artificial organism, the War Mount requires only four hours of sleep/rest per day.
-Other Data: An unmanned Onslaught is able to function on instinct alone, though its only remaining instinct is its natural ability to remain upright while rolling at high rates of speed. Otherwise, the War Mount is perfectly happy to tumble around its pen until someone comes along and shovels a load of gravel down its throat. If attacked, the Onslaught never uses its rocket payload, instead choosing to roll over its assailant.
-Alignment: Anarchist; operates more like a robot than a living creature, devoid of personality.
-War Mount Attributes: IQ: 1D4+2(low animal intelligence), ME: 1D4+6, MA: 1D4, PS: 36-41(Supernatural), PP: 10+1D4, PE: 16+1D8, Spd: See above.
-Number of Attacks/Actions: Four.
-Combat Bonuses(In addition to possible attribute bonuses): +3 on initiative, +3 to strike in HtH combat, +4 to dodge, +8 to roll with punch, impact, or fall, +3 to save vs poison & disease, and is impervious to Horror Factor & mind control(and possession).
-Equivalent (instinctive) Skills of Note: The War Mount has no instinctive skills beyond rolling at the command of its Outrider.
-Combat Capabilities: The Onslaught is built to use its body as a weapon, smashing its spiked hide into targets as fast as possible, as often as possible. When moving at more than 60 mph, targets weighing less than 2 tons are not even noticed by the War Mount, and are rolled over without a loss of speed or a change in course. Targets weighing between 2 and 6 tons have a 01-75% likelihood of being knocked over by the War Mount when moving at 60+ mph, but such impacts reduce the Onslaught's speed by 20%. Targets weighing more than 6 tons decrease their likelihood of being knocked over by 10% per ton and decrease War Mount speed by another 10% per ton, to a minimum of 20%. Any time the War Mount's attack does not succeed in knocking over a target it uses 2 melee attacks instead of 1 and it rebounds 1D6x10 feet.
-"Restrained" Roll: The multitude of tiny high frequency spikes covering the War Mount's hide inflict 1D6x10 M.D. merely by bumping into a target.
-Speeding Roll: 1D6x10 M.D. +1D6+2 M.D. per 10 mph the War Mount is traveling.
Onslaught Bio-Weapon Systems:
1. High Frequency Spiked Hide- Thousands of miniscule spikes cover the War Mount's thickly armored hide. Individually their damage would be minute, but there are so many of them and the mass of the War Mount behind them is so great, that even brushing against a target causes significant damage. The faster the War Mount rolls, the more of its spikes it can pierce a target and the more kinetic energy is transferred through them.
-Primary Purpose: Anti-Robot.
-Mega-Damage: 1D6x10 M.D. +1D6+2 M.D. per 10 mph of the War Mount's speed.
2. Organic Rockets (120)- Hidden beneath the heavy armor plates of the War Mount are 10 clusters of organic rockets used to pound large groups of robots or soften up especially tough targets.
-Primary Purpose: Anti-Robot.
-Mega-Damage: 5D10 M.D. per individual organic rocket fired, with a blast radius of 10 feet each.
-Rate of Fire: One at a time or in volleys of up to 12 rockets. A volley counts as one melee attack. Roll once to strike, either all the rockets in the volley hit or they all miss.
-Maximum Effective Range: 1 mile.
-Payload: 120. The War Mount can regenerate up to 40 rockets every 6D6 hours.
-Bonuses: +6 to strike and dodge(each rocket has 1 attack per melee round and will continue seeking its target for 2D4 melees before expiring).
Hand to Hand Combat: Rather than use its organic rockets, the rider can use the mount to engage in devastating HtH combat.

[89er]

After looking at some of the unfinished War Mount ideas, I combined them with their suggestions.

I give credit to this Barons of the Biological, and please don't sue: TechnoGothic, Kyo, GMmulder, Mike Taylor, taalismn, Beast-Guyver,

The Worm Train by TechnoGothic
My Title: Tremor Express

These Organic Trains of the desert swim on the surface or below it. They cannot however travel over hard land or through rocks. They are Huge...300 ft+ in length. Only a small portion of the beast is used to transport people/cargo though. 100ft in total, made up of large airtight 'pouches' for carrying cargo. It navigates through feeling vibrations in the ground. Any Machine caught inside would dissolvie. A bone-plated, quad-hinged jaw/head that spews acid for attack and weaking rock. Rows of Spikes line its body, more as for protection than anything else. These spikes can launch out into opponents getting too near, where they explode on impact.
A mean trick would be to have several of these things excavate a sinkhole under the sand using thin resin walls to open up the space, lure a patrol of 'bots over it, then collapse the whole thing when the tinheads crash in through the dome...sprinkle the bottom liberally with bio-explosives for insurance...

Centipede Crawlers by TechnoGothic
My Title: Crawlbridges

Used to make semi-permant bridges, has built in Steam Valves that release super heated steam when no one is allowed to pass. They wrap into a wheel for storage.

The Blob by Kyo

A giant Amoeba-like War Mount. The pilot rides in a hade shell within the protoplasma. It's main form of attack is to envelope a machine and melt it with its acidic pustules. The blob can fit through any space the shell can be squeezed in. As long as the shell survives, the polymorphic mass can be regrown.

Squid Ray-- A combination of GMmulder's Jellyfish/Squid and Mike Taylor's Demon Ray ideas.
My Title: Trident

A fusion of Manta Ray and Squid, these are used as amphibious fighter subs/aircraft. The rider stays inside an air-locked compartment in the head section. Gills allow the Trident to operate underwater, as well as be filtered to the rider. Organic thrusters allow for flight for about two hours, the return to the water to recharge. The 4 back tentacles can become one for disquise. Armed with eight acidic frontal tentacles, three bore launchers one on each wing and one underneath the jaw, and a new Mine/Bomb. The Barnacle Charges are based on taalismn's Jellyfish Mines. They appear as jellyfish the size of a football, but when a Machine touches one, the soft, pulpy tissue breaks and releases a "Super Barnacle" seed that quickly grows to engulf Machines in a thick stony jacket, clogging propulsion, dragging them down into the depths, where they will be crushed by the pressure.

Sand Scorpion by Mike Taylor
My Title: Dust Devil

A cousin of the Zephyr War Mount, created for desert/wasteland combat. The Dust Devil can camouflage itself against desert/wasteland terrain and has acid blood. Armerment includes a tail with a large blade, tail mounted cannons, one on each side of the blade and a Bio-Napalm Thrower in the jaws.

For Beast-Guyver's Artillery Walker, the names I would suggest would be the Rampart or Salwart.

I dare any of you to come up with stats and improve these ideas. Hail slappy.

[89er]

I apologize for the challenge, that was out of line. To make up for making this Topic unpostable, I have made a War Mount, based on Kyo’s idea.

Blob War Mount

When creating War Mounts, Librarians go through hundreds, if not thousands of ideas to create one. Most War Mounts have a specific purpose, but every once in a while, a War Mount is created that seems foolish, but becomes quite effective. The Blob is such one example.
The Blob is in essence, a supersized amoeba. The Outrider controls it inside the “nucleus”, a hardened round shell that offers maximum protection with the protoplasm constantly oozing out the shell. The protoplasm is acidic, with about 20 acid pustules on the inside of the cell wall. The form of attack is to envelope a robot and let that acid melt it down into sustenance for the Blob. Another advantage is that while the protoplasm is easily destroyed, it constantly regenerates as long as the shell survives, and given enough time, a Blob could consume an entire Land Dominator.
Alternately, the Blob’s mass allows it to squeeze through any space as long as the shell fits and act as a barrier/cushion for falling War Mounts and Archangels. Recently, the Blob’s have been discovered to be able to form into a “Superball” that allows for mass confusion and bombing runs.

Class: Experimental War Mount
Crew: 1 Rider
M.D.C. by Location:
Protoplasm-45
Shell Nucleus-580


Speed:
Running: Not Possible
Digging: Not Possible
Swimming: Not Possible
Leaping: Not Possible
Flying: Not Possible

Statistical Data:
Height: 9 feet (Shell)
Width: 6 feet (Shell)
Length: 5 feet (Shell)
Weight: 1000 Pounds (Shell)
Cargo: One Rider
Physical strength: None
Production Cycle: 2 year gestation period, 2 year growth cycle
Operational Lifetime: 45 years
Bio-Regeneration Rate: 1d6 for shell, 3d6 for Protoplasm
Horror Factor: 9
Feeding: Consumes Machines, needs to consume 120 pounds of Machines per day
Sleep Requirements: As an artificially created organism it requires only 4 hours of sleep a day.

Other Data:

An unmanned Blob will just sit there unless threatened or hungry.
Alignment: Selfish, only eats and sleeps.
War Mount Attributes: I.Q.:1d6 M.E.:1d6 M.A.:1d6 P.S.:1d6 P.P.:1d6 P.E.:3d6 P.B.:1d6 Spd: 8mph
Number of Attacks per Melee: 2
Combat Bonuses (In addition to attribute bonuses) Thinks Machines are delicious impervious to horror factor, disease, and poison.
Combat Capabilities:
Envelope: As the protoplasm consumes the Machine, the robot will be less able to move until it is fully eveloped.
Senses and Features: Standard for War Mount


Bio-Weapons Systems:
Acid Pustules (20): White pustules the size grapefruit dot the inside of the cell wall and spit acid paste into the protoplasm, enhancing the acid.

I hope we can repost on this topic in peace.

[Ziggurat the Eternal]

I apologize for the challenge, that was out of line. To make up for making this Topic unpostable, I have made a War Mount, based on Kyo’s idea.

Blob War Mount

When creating War Mounts, Librarians go through hundreds, if not thousands of ideas to create one. Most War Mounts have a specific purpose, but every once in a while, a War Mount is created that seems foolish, but becomes quite effective. The Blob is such one example.
The Blob is in essence, a supersized amoeba. The Outrider controls it inside the “nucleus”, a hardened round shell that offers maximum protection with the protoplasm constantly oozing out the shell. The protoplasm is acidic, with about 20 acid pustules on the inside of the cell wall. The form of attack is to envelope a robot and let that acid melt it down into sustenance for the Blob. Another advantage is that while the protoplasm is easily destroyed, it constantly regenerates as long as the shell survives, and given enough time, a Blob could consume an entire Land Dominator.
Alternately, the Blob’s mass allows it to squeeze through any space as long as the shell fits and act as a barrier/cushion for falling War Mounts and Archangels. Recently, the Blob’s have been discovered to be able to form into a “Superball” that allows for mass confusion and bombing runs.

Class: Experimental War Mount
Crew: 1 Rider
M.D.C. by Location:
Protoplasm-45
Shell Nucleus-580


Speed:
Running: Not Possible
Digging: Not Possible
Swimming: Not Possible
Leaping: Not Possible
Flying: Not Possible

Statistical Data:
Height: 9 feet (Shell)
Width: 6 feet (Shell)
Length: 5 feet (Shell)
Weight: 1000 Pounds (Shell)
Cargo: One Rider
Physical strength: None
Production Cycle: 2 year gestation period, 2 year growth cycle
Operational Lifetime: 45 years
Bio-Regeneration Rate: 1d6 for shell, 3d6 for Protoplasm
Horror Factor: 9
Feeding: Consumes Machines, needs to consume 120 pounds of Machines per day
Sleep Requirements: As an artificially created organism it requires only 4 hours of sleep a day.

Other Data:

An unmanned Blob will just sit there unless threatened or hungry.
Alignment: Selfish, only eats and sleeps.
War Mount Attributes: I.Q.:1d6 M.E.:1d6 M.A.:1d6 P.S.:1d6 P.P.:1d6 P.E.:3d6 P.B.:1d6 Spd: 8mph
Number of Attacks per Melee: 2
Combat Bonuses (In addition to attribute bonuses) Thinks Machines are delicious impervious to horror factor, disease, and poison.
Combat Capabilities:
Envelope: As the protoplasm consumes the Machine, the robot will be less able to move until it is fully eveloped.
Senses and Features: Standard for War Mount


Bio-Weapons Systems:
Acid Pustules (20): White pustules the size grapefruit dot the inside of the cell wall and spit acid paste into the protoplasm, enhancing the acid.

I hope we can repost on this topic in peace.

Sorry to nit-pick, but is the healing rate per minute, or per melee? I would have the protoplasm heal faster than the shell by a whole degree, imo.

[Aramanthus]

Those are some sweet war mounts. It was way too long since I remembered to come and check this thread. Those war mounts are very cool!

[89er]

This just occured to me Slappy/Premier, we have seen the stats for:
The Tunnel Rat, The Abomination, The Mantis Support Cannon, The Marauder, The Juggernaut, The Skull Cracker, and The Mountain Lion.

That's seven War Mounts from as far back as 2004. Now my question is two fold:

One: Will they be in a future sourcebook?

Two: Have any of them been updated?

[Premier]

This just occured to me Slappy/Premier, we have seen the stats for:
The Tunnel Rat, The Abomination, The Mantis Support Cannon, The Marauder, The Juggernaut, The Skull Cracker, and The Mountain Lion.

That's seven War Mounts from as far back as 2004. Now my question is two fold:

One: Will they be in a future sourcebook?

Two: Have any of them been updated?

Great Eye 89er! yeah we are keeping track of those Warmounts and I can say this much; I have illustrations going for 6/7 of the Warmounts listed above. Some are completed and approved by Slappy, others I am still working on to complete and yes I know of one of them that is being updated. Now whether they are all utilized in this upcoming sourcebook or make the final editor cuts is another story, though I am confident at least 4 of them will.

[NMI]

By popular demand, I replaced my Wing Board idea with a War Mount equivalent.

Skull Cracker War Mount

The Skull Cracker is a fast attack aerial War Mount. It looks like a large Pterodactyl with long muscular legs and dark green skin. Its carnivorous lizard head more resembles that of a stubby-nosed Raptor than a Pterodactyl, but what makes the design truly unique is its thick muscular neck and large ram horns. Its powerful wings allow it to reach impressive speeds, and its body is lined with multiple organic thrusters which makes it one of the fastest War Mounts in the Resistance. The beast is only slightly larger than an armored human, but it packs decent destructive power. Its only long-range armaments are a pair of Pod Launchers that it uses to soften up the Machine’s air forces or tear apart large concentrations of ground troops, but its real strength comes from its very unconventional attack.

The War Mount gets its name from its primary method of attack. The skull of the beast is nearly six inches thick, and it has an enormous pair of ram horns that allow it to crash into opponents at incredibly high speeds without ill effect. The unique design of the War Saddle helps protect the pilot during these collisions as well. The pilot lies in a prone position on the Skull Cracker’s back at a slightly elevated thirty degree angle to give the rider a better field of vision. While on the ground, the pilot can move his head freely, but when the War Mount takes flight, the War Saddle grows around the pilot’s head in order to completely immobilize it. This protects the rider from whiplash during high speed impacts, but it does limit the pilot’s peripheral vision. Most riders enhance their armor with radar or additional eyes on the sides of the head to deal with this little side-effect.

The Skull Cracker is the favorite War Mount among Archangels and Outriders that prefer speed and maneuverability over power. They are primarily used to support ground forces and cover the backs of the slower, more powerful War Mounts like Dracos and Zephyrs, but some field commanders have found that Skull Crackers or more effective when their crazy pilots are just allowed to cut loose. When this happens, it is truly a sight to see. These speedy beasts become an absolute blur as they blaze all across the battlefield. They constantly ram into Sky Fighters and other flyers, bombard ground forces with their Pod Launchers, and swoop down to seize Steel Troopers and Slicer Robots in their powerful talons. Only the best among the Archangels are ever issued a Skull Cracker, and it is the goal of nearly every one of these lunatic pilots to take to the skies on the backs of one of these beasts.

Class: Fast Attack Aerial War Mount
Crew: One pilot
M.D.C. by Location:
• Wings (2): 140 each
• Legs (4): 120 each
• Clawed Feet: 80 each
• Tail: 120
• Pod Launchers: 85 each
• Head: 225*
• Main Body: 190*
• War Saddle: 100

*Depleting the M.D.C. of the Head or Main Body kills the Skull Cracker.

Speed:
Running: 60 mph maximum without a rider, but only 30 mph when carrying a pilot. The act of running does tire out the War Mount but not the rider. The Skull Cracker can run at top speed for 1D4 hours straight before needing to rest for 1D6x10+30 minutes.
Leaping: The legs are surprisingly powerful which allows it to leap 30 feet high our across. Organic thruster assisted leaps can propel the Skull Cracker an additional 200 feet high or 500 feet across.
Digging: Not possible.
Swimming: 120 mph. Maximum depth is only 500 feet.
Flying: Maximum speed is 650 mph, with a cruising speed of 350 mph. The Skull Cracker can reach speeds of nearly 1000 mph 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 400 mph and a cruising speed of 150 mph. It can fly all day long at cruising speed, but only eight hours at maximum speed before needing to rest for at least one hour.

Statistical Data:
Height: 7-8 feet standing straight up, but 2.5 feet when lying on its stomach.
Width: 3.5 feet with a wing span of 15 feet.
Length: 8-9 feet from the tip of its nose to the ends of its feet. Also has a 7-foot long tail.
Weight: 800 lbs.
Cargo: Can carry 500 lbs. Additional weight decreases the Skull Cracker’s speed. An extra 200 lbs. decreases speed by 25 percent, an extra 400 lbs. decreases speed by half, and any amount greater than 900 lbs. total makes flight impossible.
Physical Strength: 1D6+20
Production Cycle: 1 year gestation period plus 1 year growth cycle.
Operational Lifetime: 60 year life span.
Bio-Regeneration Rate: 4D6 per hour to the main body and 2D6 per hour to all other locations.
Horror Factor: 12
Feeding: The Skull Cracker is a Carnivore. It needs to eat 10 to 20 pounds of animal matter a day, and may gorge on up to 80 pounds at one time. After gorging, the War Mount can go 2D4 days without feeding and without suffering any ill effects.
Color: The Skull Cracker is dark green in color with light tan ram horns.
Sleep Requirements: As an artificially created organism, the Skull Cracker only requires 4 hours of sleep per day.

Other Data:
An unmanned Skull Cracker is able to operate independent of a rider using its animal-like intelligence and instincts to respond to any given situation. They quickly learn that robots are the enemy and will attack them whenever they get too close. These War Mounts live for the thrill of combat just like their riders, and they enjoy mixing it up in the skies with the Machine. They only follow the commands of Packmasters, Outriders, or Archangels (Skull Crackers have an affinity for these fearless daredevils).
Alignment: Anarchist. The Skull Cracker is an adrenaline junkie and quickly becomes bored and agitated when confined. They grow very close to riders with a similar personality type and will actually come to their aid when threatened.
War Mount Attributes: I.Q.: 1D4+2, M.E.: 1D6+8, M.A.: 1D6, P.S.: 21-26, P.P.: 1D4+20, P.E.: 1D8+14, P.B.: 1D4+1, Spd.: 60 mph on the ground, 650 mph in flight.
Number of Attacks per Melee: 4
Combat Bonuses: +4 on initiative, +4 to strike in hand to hand combat, +2 to strike with ranged weapons, +2 to parry, +3 to dodge, +6 to dodge while flying, +6 to roll with punch, +3 to pull punch, +4 to disarm, 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%. Recognizes robots and machines as enemies to be destroyed or chased away.
Combat Capabilities:
• Bite: 3D8
• Restrained Talon Strike: 1D8
• Talon Strike: 3D8
• Power Claw Strike: 6D8, but counts as two attacks
• Kick: 4D6
• Leap Kick: 5D8, but counts as two attacks
• Tail Whip: 1D8
• Body Block/Ram: 3D8 per every 100 mph. See the Ram Attack below for complete damage.

Senses and Features: Standard for War Mounts plus:
• Radar: Maximum range is 6 miles in open spaces.
• Reinforced Skull.

Bio-Weapon Systems:
1. Pod Launchers (2): Mounted over each shoulder of the Skull Cracker is a powerful Pod Launcher. They fire a burst of seed pods that explode on impact and shower the blast area with razor-sharp shrapnel. These weapons can devastate large concentrations of ground forces during high-speed strafing runs.
Primary Purpose: Assault
Secondary Purpose: Defense
Mega-Damage: 5D8 M.D. per burst with a blast radius of 30 feet. When both launchers fire at the same target, damage is 10D8 to a 50-foot radius.
Rate of Fire: Each burst counts as one melee attack. A dual attack from both launchers counts as one melee attack.
Effective Range: 2400 feet
Payload: Each Pod Launcher grows enough seed pods for 32 bursts per hour (64 total); automatically regenerates.
Bonuses: +1 to strike with a burst of pods.
2. Barbed Talons: The feet of the Skull Cracker are prehensile with three toes in the front and the “thumb” on the back of the heel. Each toe ends in a four-inch long razor-sharp barbed talon. This allows the Skull Cracker to easily grab targets at high speed and keep them from breaking its grip. It may be difficult for the victim to break free, but the Skull Cracker can easily tear the talons out of its prey whenever it chooses.
Primary Purpose: Assault
Secondary Purpose: Grappling
Mega-Damage: Each foot inflicts 3D8 M.D. and a dual strike inflicts 6D8 M.D. (counts as one melee attack). It requires a combined Robotic/Splicer P.S. of 50 or higher to break free of the Skull Cracker’s grip. Whether the War Mount pulls the claws free or the victim does, this action inflicts an additional 1D10 M.D.
Effective Range: 6 foot reach.
3. Prehensile Tail: The tail of the War Mount is prehensile and is used to ensnare robotic prey. It is not designed for whipping, so it cannot deliver a very powerful strike.
Primary Purpose: Assault
Secondary Purpose: Defense
Mega-Damage: 1D8
Rate of Fire: Equal to the number of attacks per melee.
Effective Range: 7 feet.
Bonuses: +3 to strike and parry and +5 to dodge. These bonuses only apply to the tail and no other bonuses apply.
4. Ram Attack: The Skull Crackers strongest and strangest attack. Even people familiar with this War Mount are often surprised it can survive such high speed collisions. Every 100 mph of speed inflicts 3D8 M.D. The War Mount and rider are protected from the impact, but at higher speeds the Skull Cracker does take some damage. Any ram attack at speeds greater than 500 mph means the War Mount also takes 20 percent of the damage. A ram attack has a 01-90% likelihood of knocking an opponent as large as 15 feet tall off his feet and onto his back. If knocked off his feet, the victim loses initiative and two attacks per melee. A ram attack counts as two melee attacks. Skull Crackers are also able to perform a head-on collision against other flyers. They have learned to blunt the impact so that it is not fatal. In these cases, the Skull Cracker inflicts 2D4x10 M.D. against its target and only suffers 5D6 points of damage (counts as two melee attacks).

My House Arkadian will definitely have some of these.

[NMI]

I was saving this one for my Splicers sourcebook, but it's been month's and no OK to go forth so I'll just post it here. You guys might as well enjoy it.

Mountain Lion War Mount
Also known as the Sabertooth and Arctic Cat

The high mountain peaks of the world are dangerous, inhospitable places not fit for man or machine. The bitter cold, steep terrain, and vicious alien predators prowling the cliffs makes scaling these mountains a very dangerous proposition, and the thin atmosphere makes reaching their summits by air impossible. Despite the risks, several Great Houses have braved the dangers in order to establish surface outposts within the high peaks. The creation of Host Armor and War Mounts has made it possible to reach the highlands, but standard designs still have trouble traversing this difficult terrain.

The Great Houses that have conquered the high peaks were only able to do so thanks to a new War Mount design known as the Mountain Lion. It somewhat resembles a normal cougar except that it is nearly as large as a Behemoth and it has a pair of enormous fangs like a prehistoric saber-toothed tiger. Its thick coat of long white fur provides excellent natural camouflage among the snowy mountain peaks, and more importantly, it protects the War Mount from the harsh winds and arctic temperatures of these mountain highlands. The Mountain Lion is also equipped with special enhancements that help the rider endure this unforgiving environment as well. The War Saddle is capable of generating a continuous temperature of 110 degrees Fahrenheit to help cut through the stinging cold, and the War Mount has a pair of Heat Projector Cannons that were modified to unleash a low-grade heat discharge of 120 degrees Fahrenheit (in addition to the normal mega-damage blasts) in order to quickly treat victims suffering from hypothermia.

This monstrous feline was designed to survive the harshest environments, but it was primarily built to climb the most impassable terrain. Its powerful claws and Serrated Whips enable it to run up a sheer cliff at nearly full speed, but it generally travels at more cautious speeds. Despite its impressive climbing skills, the thick ice packs and powerful winds make falls almost inevitable. This sturdy beast is enhanced with a Righting Reflex and a thick layer of impact resistant tissue to protect the mount (and its rider) from high falls. These enhancements also make the Mountain Lion an incredibly fearsome combatant. This War Mount is capable of soaking up a tremendous amount of punishment, and its dual Heat Projector Cannons and devastating bite allows it to dish it out in kind.

Class: High Altitude Mountaineering War Mount
Crew: One rider
M.D.C. by Location:
• Front Legs (2): 180 each
• Hind Legs (2): 200 each
• Paws (4): 100 each
• Tail: 75
• Serrated Whips (2): 15 each
• Heat Projector Cannons (2): 120 each
• Head: 200*
• Main Body: 510*
• Rider’s War Saddle: 120

*Depleting the M.D.C. of the Head or Main Body kills the Mountain Lion.

Speed:
Running: 150 mph maximum, but normal cruising speed is only 90 mph. The act of running does tire out the War Mount but not the rider. The Mountain Lion 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. This War Mount was built to climb and it can run up a sheer cliff at 90 mph. However, it usually travels up the unstable icepacks at a more cautious (yet still impressive) 40 mph.
Leaping: 50 feet high our across, increase by 50% with a short running start and double when running at full speed.
Digging: 15 mph through sand or dirt. 10 mph 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: 40 mph.
Underwater Depth: Maximum depth is 200 feet.
Flying: Not possible.

Statistical Data:
Height: 7-8 feet
Width: 5-6 feet
Length: 10-12 feet with a 6-foot long tail
Weight: 1.2 to 1.8 tons
Cargo: Can carry 1600 lbs. on its back are drag 2500 lbs. behind it.
Physical Strength: 1D4+36
Production Cycle: 2 year gestation period plus 2 year growth cycle.
Operational Lifetime: 50 year life span.
Bio-Regeneration Rate: 6D6 per hour to the main body and 3D6 per hour to all other locations.
Horror Factor: 14
Feeding: The Mountain Lion is a Carnivore. It needs to eat 30 to 60 pounds of animal matter a day, and may gorge on up to 300 pounds at one time. After gorging, the War Mount can go 2D4 days without feeding and without suffering any ill effects.
Color: The thick fur of the War Mount is stark white most of the year, but it does darken to a light tan with brown highlights during the summer months.
Sleep Requirements: As an artificially created organism, the Mountain Lion only requires 4 hours of sleep per day.

Other Data:
An unmanned Mountain Lion is able to operate independent of a rider using its animal-like intelligence and instincts to respond to any given situation. The War Mount is naturally aggressive and enjoys fighting and stalking prey. It recognizes robots as natural enemies and will attack them on its own unless instructed otherwise by an Outrider or Packmaster. It fights for its own amusement and will rarely come to the aid of other humans or War Mounts unless commanded to do so. A Mountain Lion may be an aggressive predator, but it is not a foolish one. It uses surprisingly clever tactics in battle, and it is smart enough to know when to retreat in the face of superior opposition.
Alignment: Anarchist. The Mountain Lion is an aggressive beast that loves hunting, climbing, and fighting. It quickly develops a close affinity with riders that possess a similar personality type and will actually come to their aid when threatened.
War Mount Attributes: I.Q.: 1D6+2, M.E.: 1D6+4, M.A.: 1D6+8, P.S.: 37-40, P.P.: 1D8+8, P.E.: 2D6+14, P.B.: 2D6+2, Spd.: 150 mph on the ground
Number of Attacks per Melee: 4
Combat Bonuses: +3 on initiative, +5 to strike in hand to hand combat, +4 to parry, +4 to dodge, +2 to entangle, +6 to roll with punch, +3 to pull punch, +2 to disarm, and impervious to horror factor, disease, and poison.
Equivalent (Instinctive) Skills of Note: Climb 98%, Land Navigation 90%, Prowl 60%, Swim 70%, Track by Scent 80%, and Hunting 70%
Combat Capabilities:
• Restrained Claw Strike: 1D6x10+10 S.D.C.
• Claw Strike: 5D8 M.D.
• Power Claw Strike: 2D4x10 M.D., but counts as two attacks
• Rear Leg Kick: 8D6 M.D.
• Double Rear Leg Kick: 10D6+20 M.D., but counts as two attacks
• Leap Kick: Not possible.
• Bite: 7D8 M.D.
• Head Butt: 3D6 M.D.
• Body Block/Ram: 4D8 M.D., but counts as two attacks

Senses and Features: Standard for War Mounts plus:
• Resistance to Cold: The thick layers of long fur covering the Mountain Lion protect it from temperatures as low as 40 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. Magic cold and super-cold based attacks do half damage.
• Resistance to Heat: Despite the arctic conditions that these War Mounts usually operate in, they are enhanced with water storage organs that help them vent excess heat. These enhancements are necessary to protect them from the intense energies released by their Heat Projector Cannons. Mountain Lions are not adversely affected by temperatures as high as 140 degrees Fahrenheit and they can pick up and hold an item that is as hot as 200 degrees Fahrenheit without injury or pain. Plasma blasts and magic fire attacks do half damage.
• 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 Mountain Lion from high falls while navigating the difficult terrain on the high peaks.
• Righting Reflex: Another enhancement used to protect the War Mount (and the rider) from deadly falls. The Mountain Lion can automatically right itself in mid-fall and land on its feet. Takes no damage from any fall less than fifty feet, takes only half damage from falls between 50 feet and 1000 feet, and falls from a height greater than 1000 feet requires a successful roll with impact to reduce damage by half.

Bio-Weapon Systems:
1. Heat Projector Cannons (2): These large cannons run along the length of the back on either side of the War Saddle and protrude out over the shoulder. They are actually concealed beneath the War Mount’s thick fur until the barrels extend into firing position. These cannons are slightly different than the common variety. In addition to the standard blast of intense heat, these cannons can project a mild energy discharge of 120 degrees Fahrenheit that is used to quickly treat victims of hypothermia.
Primary Purpose: Assault
Secondary Purpose: Defense
Mega-Damage: Three settings; a light 5D8 M.D. blast, a heavy 1D8x10+10 M.D. blast, and a completely harmless setting that is used to warm victims suffering from hypothermia. Both cannons can fire at the same target for double damage.
Rate of Fire: Each blast counts as one melee attack. A dual attack from both cannons counts as one melee attack.
Effective Range: 1800 feet
Payload: Effectively unlimited.
2. Serrated Whips (2): Each front paw has a Serrated Whip mounted between the paw pads. These ten-foot long thorny cables can extend from the paws in an instant to ensnare prey or grab out of reach rocks and ledges. They are mainly used for climbing, but they do make excellent offensive weapons.
Primary Purpose: Assault
Secondary Purpose: Defense
Mega-Damage: 2D8 per lash of the whip. See page 96 of the Splicers RPG for complete details on entanglement rules for these weapons.
Rate of Fire: Equal to the number of attacks per melee.
Bonuses: +1 to strike and parry, +2 to disarm, and +4 to entangle. Bonuses only apply when the Serrated Whip is used.
3. Saber Teeth: The Mountain Lion has a pair of large, protruding saber teeth that drastically increase the devastating power of the War Mount’s bite attacks. They are not just simple rounded fangs, but rather one side of these curved fangs actually comes to a razor-sharp edge.
Primary Purpose: Assault
Secondary Purpose: Defense
Mega-Damage: 4D8 M.D. is added to the normal bite damage (7D8 M.D. total).

I also plan on these. If / when there is art for this and the Skull Cracker, would be awesome!

[The Galactus Kid]

If / when there is art for this and the Skull Cracker, would be awesome!

Check out Chucks Deviant Art page...

I'm also working on an aerial warmount called the Wyvern. It has some super bio-thrusters that it can use in short bursts to slam into Sky fighters and flying strike ships and then it latches on and rips them apart.

[Blackbunny2]

Wondering why there hasnt been written up a huge wolfgorehound mount? Think Princess mononoke or Elfquest?
When u guys make warmounts do you work with a preset amount of Bio e points to spend on it?

[The Galactus Kid]

When u guys make warmounts do you work with a preset amount of Bio e points to spend on it?

No. I go with what I think would be cool and go from there.

[Blackbunny2]

Ok, making a wolfrider Npc then! I need a real powerhouse, some good choices to please the munchkin gods? Any suggestion?
At work and can check my newly purchased books and rifters!

[The Galactus Kid]

You can modify the Behemoth warmount into a giant wolf, or take a look at the tunnel rat from rifter 30 (i think) and go from there.

[Premier]

Wondering why there hasnt been written up a huge wolfgorehound mount? Think Princess mononoke or Elfquest?

Ok, making a wolfrider Npc then! I need a real powerhouse, some good choices to please the munchkin gods? Any suggestion?

This aught to be very interesting. I have been a huge fan of Wendy Pini’s Elfquest eversince the graphic novels many years ago. Cutter, Skywise, Leetah oh… man the Wolfriders was just epic for me. I too plan to help develop a very large Wolf-styled Warmount for the Great House of Charlemagne. Actually they will be the major chosen cavalry for this House (sort of like the riders of Rohan/the Darkriders, and patrol the lands in squadron packs. After seeing the illustration I did for Galactus Kid’s Packmaster Borris, who had a female Gorehound, “Fantasia,” a design based off of a wolf, I knew it could be done. I say go for it ALL the way as I think several ideas on the same vibe/concept with their own twists/innovations helps illustrate exactly what the Resistance would do in such a setting. Maybe we can see if GK will roll up one as an NPC or group of NPCs,“if” the Outrider gets voted.

When u guys make Warmounts do you work with a preset amount of Bio e points to spend on it?

MY personal approach on designing Warmounts:
I think it varies and depends on what the Warmount’s intentional purpose is. That’s the key for when I approach a design for a Warmount. What is its purpose or function is begets form. For example, “If” it’s a ground based Warmount is it meant for intense melee combat, long range, high flight sprinting, coursing, scouting, intercepting, etc. Then I analyze the attributes I need to perform this function and comb through ideas by seeing if it is going to be based off of one type of creature or animal or if its going to be a chimera of multiple animals/creatures to fulfill its function. Some functions can be overcome just by physical design while others can be fulfilled by bio-enhancements. IMHO, if you can define the mainframe design of the basic physical morphology first, then you get to save or strategically spend the allotted bio-e design goodies for bonus enhancements to help fulfill or round out the Warmount and you build on a sturdy frame versus using bio-E to compensate for what could have been given naturally. It all depends on the function and purpose though. In some cases there is no getting around a good Bio-E combo or needing certain enhancements to pull off the desired function(s). As to a basic Bio-E spending formula, I always “try” to keep in mind that it has to be basic/fair enough that when an Outrider gets the Warmount, they have room to add, personalize and build the Warmount without it getting to ridiculous or that their are balancing penalties to preserve the challenge & handling. If all else fails, possibly take an avg./mean Bio-E cost on the standard Warmounts in the original sourcbeook and gauge where you want your "standard" Warmount to be placed in the ranking and usage. Hope that helps.

I also do a lot of natural comparisons for fair checks & balances:
Ex:
Felines:
Positives: fast reflexes, explosive, powerful, great leaping, excellent weaponry and great ambushers
Negatives: stubborn, fight or flight instinctive, mostly unsocial able, tire easily

Canids:
Positives: socialable & easy to train, adaptable, excellent pack hunters & runners, great stamina and endurance
Negatives: Only one primary weapon, Not as defensive as animals with usable hands or claws. More efficient as part of a pack then by itself.

Reptiles: formidable jaw power, powerful musculature, however coldblooded, low stamina, not easy to release body heat(not sweating or panting) so it has to cool down, or heat up for best activity results, etc.

Keep it fun and make sure it fulfills its purpose & makes you happy with the end results.