Special thanks to old partner Raven for kicking me in the shins over five rewrites of this...
PSA-11 Series Power Armours Click
Click
Slack
WHIRRR
Snick-Snack
CLICK
SSSSTTT
“Pass me another dumbo, willya? I have a feeling I’m going to need them.”
“Jeez, Boner! Don’t you have enough grenades already?”
“Like I said, I got a feeling...”
“Man, you ALWAYS get a feeling! I think you’re just turned on by big explosions! Bet you’re a grunter too...”
“Knock it off, you apes! We got drop in ten and we better be READY! All suits working? Sound off if yours ain’t, and no heroics! You’re not good and you try to drop, I’ll kill you myself! Nothing? Good! So keep locking and loading, and listen up! I’ll go over this one more time! You hear!?”
“Ya!”
“Yah, Boss!”
“Green!”
“Green.”
“We drop in gamma pattern with decoys...Big Bird’s taking care of any triple-A and the Furies got CAPs over our area, so we can concentrate on taking out the ground troops until they say we stop mowing or we run out of ammo...If you apes remember, we’re looking at bio-augments... so no gawking, if it’s coming at you just take it out fast and hard...That means no chasing skirt down there, Dirty Mary!”
“$%#! you, sarge!”
“What was that, corporal?”
“$%#! YOU, SIR!”
“That’s better... better double check the connection on that heavy pulse rifle, I don’t want you running out of juice on account of a broken cord!”
“I’ll add another layer of duct tape, sir!”
“Martinez, still packing two Reapers?”
“Twice the fun, sarge!”
“Packing two grenade launchers, too?”
“Like I said, sarge, twice the fun!”
“Winslow? Multiplexor claws?”
“Glowing in the blue and ready to cast some hell!”
“Brutto...Missiles?”
“*ARF*Got them warm...got a missile rifle, coupla lasers, and a plasma rifle for backup.”
“Boner?”
“Set, sarge, but I just need another grena...”
“Good...(BEEP, BEEP) OKAY! Places, apes! Facing the door! Boner! Take your position NOW!”
“I just need one mo...”
“OPENING DOOR NOW!!!!”
FWOOOOSSSSHHHHHHH!!!
“GO!GO!GO!......”
PSA-11 Series Power Armours “You’re asking me to give up my trusty Samson for that headless, hunchbacked, ape-shouldered thing? It doesn’t have any guns built in, the legs are articulated wrong, and you expect me to learn to FLY the thing through close forest? Go back to building trucks and tanks, you creeps!”
----Typical response to the introduction of the new PSA-11, 96 PA
“With the Gendarme you got multi-option capability like never before...you could customize one single machine to fulfill a variety of tasks, for the fraction of the cost of a slew of more expensive specialized types...That meant you could buy more and outfit them to play different team roles.....pointman, scout, artillery support.......and have enough common logistics and replacement parts compatibility on all the important systems so the armor-babies could swap parts in the field.”
---Lieutenant Billy Gaston, Vermont Free State Militia(pre-Regular Army) in a demonstration to assembled militia leaders from the VFS and the CoM, 96 P.A.
“The mass production of the PSA-11, its modularity, reliability, and low maintenance cost, made the PSA-11 as ubiquitous in the VFS military as the ‘coal-scuttle’ helmet was to the pre-Rifts U.S. military....virtually every military unit had one, most every SWAT unit had them, and even some paramedic and firefighting squads had specially modified examples.
The introduction of the Fury SAMAS didn’t reduce the production or the importance of the PSA-11 at all...it just freed up more machines from the fast airborne role...a role the PSA-11 never really excelled at anyway....and put more of them in the ground units. So while the bad guys were trying to scan the sky for Furies, there were that many more Bulldogs coming at them from below the tree line!”
----Captain Barstone, 7th Division , VFS Regular Army, 111 P.A.
“This is the ‘suit that started it all....”
----Bruce Abrams, on the donation of ‘Tin Lizzie’, PSA-11 Number 5, oldest survivor of the first production batch of PSA-11s, to the Vermont University Museum of Technology, 185 P.A.
PSA-11 "Gendarme" (Aka ‘Guisarme’, ‘The Bruce”, “Bulldog, ‘Protector’)
The PSA-11, it can be argued, was Paladin Steel’s first major high-tech success, the design that allowed it to step out of relative obscurity and onto the high road...yet the design has its origins in a kludge of sources.
After producing low-end weapons and relatively high-end vehicles for several decades, Paladin Steel decided to make a bid for producing more sophisticated robots and power armors, in part to meet the needs of its own security and of the growing Vermont Free State(and nascent Greater New England). With Splugorth to the far east, Shemarrians encroaching from the south, and Free Quebec breathing down on them from the north, Paladin Steel and the VFS knew that they couldn’t become dependent on foreign suppliers to the west for their high-end military equipment, especially with Northern Gun growing increasingly close to the Coalition States. Paladin Steel prided itself on not being a ‘Chipwell’ by any stretch of the imagination, so producing rudimentary ramshackle exoarmors was NOT an option. Nor could PS afford to fix its hopes on a single, set-in-stone design that would be obsolete in a matter of years. Durability and modularity, therefore, had to be key to the design.
Working from sketchy plans and diagrams(actually early versions of the SAMAS and Gunbuster exoframes) from a pre-Rifts data cache discovered at Smuggler’s Notch, Vermont, and from reverse-engineered Samson frames, PS engineers were able to construct a robust, lightweight, exoskeletal frame with an armored shell. The Paladin Steel engineers discovered that the PSA-11 could be outfitted with a variety of modular weapons and equipment, increasing its firepower and utility in the field, making it a master of all trades, without the burdens of over-specialization. Its use of low-power flight/hoverjets also gave it a high degree of maneuverability and mobility that its closest equivalent, the NG Samson, didn't have. With its distinctive box-chest, rotary-joint upper arms, massive shoulders, and low-browed fixed-position slit-visored head, the PSA-11 looked MEAN and no-nonsense; in early trials pilots learned to appreciate its solid armor, reliable performance, and staggering array of options. A fairly simple adjustable torsion frame allows the armor to be quickly fitted to its pilot, courtesy of a combination automatic diagnostic and tutorial software program integral to the armor, that automatically adjusts the internal control frame and talks the pilot through fitting adjustment and testing. This system means that special reflex bodysuits are not needed, nor are more elaborate neural control links. Should a new operator try on the armor, their performance will not be as effective(reduce any bonuses by HALF)until they reset the armor by going through the auto-fit tutorial again(takes about 30 minutes). This greatly simplifies maintenance and training.
The low cost is in part due to the MASSIVE investment in plant that PS made to produce and service the new power armors...By equipping first-run machines with only a five-year nuclear power supply, PS felt that by the end of the first production’s operational lifespan, either the design would have proven itself and the VFS could justify footing the bill to refit the machines with newer, longer-lived powerplants at government expense, or the design would prove a failure, in which case, PS would have a complete set of high-tech factories ready to be retooled to other designs developed in the interim. As it turned out, the design HAS proven itself, the ready mass production of parts and components has brought down the operating costs, and subsequent power armors, such as the PSA-12, which use many of the same systems as the PSA-11, are less expensive to develop and produce.
The PSA-11 has been seen sporting just about every sort of military camouflage scheme from desert tans, police dark-blues, to winter whites and jet blacks with red trim(the livery of the feared ‘Black Templars’ Armored Company). The most frequently seen camouflage coloration seen on standard PSA-11s in the service of the Vermont Free State Regular Army is a rather drab khaki green.
The Paladin Steel PSA-11 was introduced in 95 PA and marketed directly by PS as a low-cost 'grunt suit' to compete with Northern Gun and Titan Works PAs. First production runs went to the Vermont Free State, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the then still-nascent associated Greater New England military forces, and approved mercenary companies, as well as friendly governments such as Lazlo and the Relic. It then became available to the Black Market (or rather a few had been LEAKED to the Black Market, to build recognition and prime the market); with first production runs going to Paladin Steel and its affiliates. The PSA-11 marked Paladin Steel’s first major foray into high-tech power armor design and its success both on the battlefield and in the marketplace came as a surprise even to PS. Indeed, the PSA-11 became the standard-bearer of PS’s power armored corps, and PS’s PSA-11-equipped security forces became the start of the Vermont Free State’s own mechanized infantry units, who began using the PSA-11 extensively in their operations, so much so that the PSA-11 soon became synonymous with the Vermont Free State. The introduction of the PSA-11 also effectively axed relations between Paladin Steel and Northern Gun, owing both to the amount of technology ‘knocked off’ by PS reverse-engineers(with the blatant assistance of expatriate Iron Heart Armaments staff) and because of the secrecy with which PS had developed the power armors(and refused to share their NEMA finds with NG). Of course, though PS sells the PSA-11 on the open market, the best and most powerful option packages are reserved exclusively for Paladin Steel’s household troops and the Greater New England military forces.
Today, in 110 PA, the PSA-11 in all its forms is easily the most common power armor in the armed services of the Vermont Free State, with variants (including the Dogfish and the Starguard) serving in virtually all theatres of operations. Though the PSA-11 is still produced for the commercial market, the bulk of production continues to go to the GNE armed services, the majority immediately being distributed to VFS and PS-affiliated forces. Demand for the PSA-11 and its derivatives continues to be high from these quarters, slackening only recently with the recent introduction of the Fury.
The PSA-11 may not be the fastest, strongest, or most powerful, power armor in North America, but it is the most common type in the forces of the GNE, and the one most new troopers will be assigned to. Paladin Steel is constantly upgrading the suits with new options, and field mechanics and technowizards are notorious for battlefield grafts and modifications. It’s taken as a rule of thumb in Paladin Steel that every new development the company makes gets, at one point of other, in one form or another, tried out on the PSA-11. Though there are dozens of minor stylistic differences in the various models, and numerous modifications, including more than a few cross-PS weaponry fits and even techno-wizardry refits, all are recognizably the PSA-11 stalwart. Recently, PS has announced armor upgrades using new Orbital-produced materials that could boost overall MDC of new production PSA-11s 20-40%, though they have not set a definite date for phase-in of the new materials.
In other words, the PSA-11 isn’t going to be phased out of the PS production lines any time soon....
Note: The PSA-11 was originally released as the ‘Gendarme’, a reference to its ancestors’ NEMA law enforcement origins and original, conservative, security role. Later military models came to be called the ‘Guisarme’, after a multi-purpose polearm(with a hook for pulling down mounted knights). The PSA-11 is also unofficially known as the ‘Protector’, ‘Bulldog’, and ‘The Bruce’(after a Dwarven boogeyman of legend).
Model Type: PS-AIAS-PSA-11
Vehicle Type: Armored Infantry Assault Suit, Light
Date of Introduction: 95 PA
Crew: One. The cockpit system allows the pilot to be wearing light to medium(60 MDC) EBA.
M.D.C. by Location: Main Body - 280
Head - 80
Arms (2) - 90 each
Hands (2) - 50 each
Legs (2) - 100 each
Auxiliary Sensor Pod - 30
Thruster Pack - 60
Speed: Running: 65mph; Note that the pilot tires at only 10% of normal rate
Leaping: 10ft up/across, 100 ft up/across with a jet-assisted jump
Flying/Hoverjets: 75mph, max altitude: 50 ft
Jump Pack Upgrade---In 107 PA PS upgraded the PSA-11 to give it a Skimming ability, allowing it to speed up to 120 MPH, suspended 1-2 ft off the ground. This upgrade was fitted to all in-service and subsequent VFS and PS PSA-11s, but some early models may be missing the upgrade, having not been recalled.
Underwater: Can 'swim' using its thrusters at 10mph, or run along the bottom at 5 mph. Max. Depth: 1 mile
Statistical Data:Height: 7.9 ft
Width: 4 ft
Length: 3.2 ft
Weight: 1135kg (2,497lbs)
Cargo: None, aside from what can be carried externally
Physical Strength: Equivalent to PS 30(for damage purposes).
Lift: 1.37tons/Carry: 690lbs
Power Plant: Nuclear-Fusion with an average energy life of 5 years
Market Cost: 800,000 credits. Adding a more powerful powerplant costs + 1 million credits for a 10 year powerplant, 3.2 million credits for 15 years, and 6 million credits for 20 years
Construction Features: *Life Support: Standard 8 hour independent air supply
*Emergency Ejection System (blows pilot free in an emergency)
*Spotlight: 800 ft
*Radio w/ signal scrambler: 500 mile long range, 5 mile short range.
*External Loudspeaker: 80 decibels
*ECCM system: A semi-automatic system that uses electronic encryption and frequency jumping to (attempt to) negate jamming systems. The system has a 25% chance of negating radar or communications jamming (non-magical) on its own, or a +5% if the pilot has a Read Sensory Instruments or Radio: Scramblers skill and devotes a full melee to operating the system(no other attacks/actions are possible).
Having an Electronic warfare Skill gains a +15% bonus to operating this system.
Note that this only applies to received communications (the system filters them out from the jamming clutter) and sensory data received by that unit alone (other units cannot make use of it, unless they have an unaffected datalink/info-share with the ECCM equipped unit. Magic/psychic jamming is NOT affected by this system.
*Hardpoints on forearms (2; 1 each) and shoulders (4; 2 each)
Sensors:All standard Power Armor Systems:
Mini-radar: 10 mile range, and can identify and track up to 24 targets simultaneously
Thermo-Imaging: 2000 ft
IR/UV Optics: 2000 ft
Telescopic/Image Enhancement Optics: 4000 ft
Low-light/Nightvision System: 2000 ft
Laser Targeting: 6000 ft, adds a +1 to strike with ranged weapons
External Audio Pickup: 300 ft
Weapons Systems: None standard/internally mounted. Can use any hand-held weapons systems
1. Hand-Held Weapons:
* PS-5400 Caseless Machinegun(Hand-Held-2 Hands)
Paladin Steel does offer a hand-held rail gun as standard issue: it’s a repackaging of the Bandito Arms 5500 "Cactus Juicer" Fletchette Rail Gun. The length of the PS-5400’s barrel requires the PSA-11 to be fitted with two standard manipulator arms to hold and aim properly; manipulator claws cannot do the job properly.
(Post 109 PA Note: This was initially the standard issue weapon for PS and VFS armed forces, but would later be replaced by the more powerful M50 Reaper and similar later-generation rifle-modules when they came into service...the PS-5400 continues to be offered, however, as part of the market PSA-11 package)
Range: 2,000 ft
Damage: 1D6 MD single round, 6D6 MD per burst of six rounds
Rate of Fire: Single shot, or 6-round burst
Payload: 100 rounds (18 bursts), The supplementary E-clip which powers the gun is good for 180 bursts before needing replacement(attached to a Power Armor’s powerplant, however, this is not a consideration).
*M-50B Reaper Heavy Machine Rifle(Hand-Held-1 Hand)
This is the modified version of the original M-50A, itself a repackaging of the 20mm ‘Taskin’ manportable infantry cannon. The weapon can fire original Triax-derived explosive shells, PSX explosive shells, and even wood rounds for use against vampires. The original problem of thermal cooking of the Taskin’s ‘smart’ ammunition has been solved by simply laying a strip of thermo-conductor between the magazine and the gun barrel, pulling the heat away to a heatsink in the handle. ‘Smart’ bullets can be specially fuzed to ‘airburst’ like a grenade, or can be set to punch through light structures before exploding, rather than detonating on contact. A 20mm Reaper round can penetrate up to 250 SDC before detonating or being rendered ineffective....This has proven remarkably effective at taking out enemy troops hiding inside cargo containers and regular buildings, as the shells punch through their cover before exploding within.
The M-50B has become the standard issue sidearm to VFS Regular Army PSA-11s, and troopers will typically carry 4-6 extra clips for their weapons, carried on external belts. The M-50B can also be fitted with a bayonet or light six-shot grenade launcher under the barrel. It can be carried and easily used one-handed by the augmented power armor. Its big advantage, given the modularity of the PSA-11, is that it can be easily held and used single-handed, allowing the power armor to fit one of its arms with a special accesory, such as a Forearm Claw, without adversely affecting its ability to use handheld weapons like the M-50.
Date of Introduction: 107 PA
Weight: 60 lbs
Range: 4,000 ft
Damage:(20mm) 1d4 MD single shot
4d6 MD per 5 rd burst
1d4x10+4 MD per 10 rd burst
Airburst does 1d4 MD to 5 ft blast radius(single shot)
(PSX 20mm) 4d4 MD single shot
2d4x10 MD per 5 rd burst
4d4x10 MD per 10 rd burst
Airburst does 4d4 MD to 5 ft blast radius(single shot)
(Wood Rounds) 6d6 SDC single shot (1d4x10 HP to vampires)
2d4x10 SDC MD per 5 rd burst (2d4x10 HP to vampires)
6d6 MD per 10 rd burst (3d6x10 HP to vampires)
Rate of Fire: Standard
Payload: Two fifty-round box magazines(100 rds total)
Bonuses: +1 strike(w/ laser targeting)
Special Features: *Laser Targeting--+1 to strike
*Optional Bipod
*Optional Silencer/Muzzle Brake/Flash Suppressor---This three-foot long muzzle attachment suppresses the flash and the thunder, adds a +1 to strike, but reduce range to 3,000 ft, and can only fire single shots. However, power armored sniper teams with thermo-camo and M-50Bs proved remarkably effective at picking off Coalition soldiers during the Siege of New Castleburg.
Cost: 28,000 credits
A box of 100 20mm ‘smart’ rds costs 800 credits. A box of 100 20mm ‘smart’ PS rds costs 3000 credits
*12.7mm PS-MRG03 Snub-nose Short Gatling Gun (Hand-Held-1 Hand): This high-powered four-barreled gatling rail cannon features enormous damage potential, and fair range in a small package. The main gun is handheld, but the magazine extends back over the forearm, and a connecting belt can supply additional ammunition from an internal magazine in the arm. The MRG-03 trades range for blistering short-range fire power, and is frequently used as a ‘streetsweeper’ in built-up areas. Like the M-50, the PS-MRG03 can be used single-handed.
MDC: 30
Weight: 50lbs
Range: 2000 ft
Damage: 1D6 MD single round, 1D6x10 MD per 10 round burst,
2D6x10 +60 per Full Melee Burst of 40 rounds
Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the pilot
Payload: 500 rounds; the forearm magazine can hold an additional 200 rds.
Market Cost: 12,000 credits
*45mm PS-HRG05 'Hellshot' Rail Cannons: (Hand-Held-1Hand) An attempt to equal the power of the infamous "Boom Gun" carried by the Glitterboy, these fearsome handheld weapons fire a much larger heavy metal kinetic energy penetrator with a massive punch. Unfortunately, the engineers were unable to equal the Boom Gun's long range or build the projectiles any smaller, limiting the payload. On the positive side, the PSPA-11 can carry TWO of these oversized weapons and extra ammo, giving the little PSPA-11 enormous punch for its size. The PS-HRG05 can be used single-handed, but has a brace which is extended and anchored on the shoulder or beneath the arm on the power armor’s torso.
MDC: 50
Weight: 500lbs
Range: 3,300 ft
Damage: 3D6x10 MD
Rate of Fire: Single shot only; equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the pilot
Payload: 12 shots
Market Cost: 120,000 credits, 800 credits per penetrator round
Penalties: Each Hellshot Rail Cannon carried imposes a -10% reduction in overall speed, as well as a -1 to dodge, due to the weight and encumbrance of the things.
*20mm/60mm PS-HACP-02 ‘GobbStomper’ Assault Cannon Pack (Handheld--2 hands)---Paladin Steel has produced this ‘ultimate’ heavy over-and-under 20mm autocannon- and - 60mm heavy cannon-pod for assault forces, power armors, and the heavier and stronger cyborgs. Nicknamed the ‘GobbStomper’ for obscure reasons, this goliath of a gun assembly can wipe out a fortified city block in the right(or wrong) hands. The 20mm cannon uses the familiar PS ‘Taskin’ action and ammunition, while the 60mm cannon uses a modified 60mm Anti-Tank Weapon shell, available as a high explosive area of effect munition, a High Explosive Squash Head(HESH---effective at ‘spalding’ interior armor), and as a High Explosive Armor Piercing (HEAP) projectile. Greater range with the 60mm component may have been achieved with a more powerful propellant cartridge, but PS feared the recoil would be too great to handle and accurately aim. Handling the GobbStomper requires the PSA-11 to have two normal manipulator hands. Currently, PS assigns this weapon only to GNE military assualt troops, Marines, and its elite troubleshooting teams.
Weight: 120 lbs.
Range: 20mm Cannon: 4,000 ft
60mm Launcher: 2,200 ft
Damage:
20mm Cannon: 1d4 MD single shot
4d6 MD per 5 rd burst
1d4x10+4 MD per 10 rd burst
Airburst does 1d4 MD to 5 ft blast radius(single shot)
(PSX 20mm) 4d4 MD single shot
2d4x10 MD per 5 rd burst
4d4x10 MD per 10 rd burst
Airburst does 4d4 MD to 5 ft blast radius(single shot)
(Wood Rounds) 6d6 SDC single shot (1d4x10 HP to vampires)
2d4x10 SDC MD per 5 rd burst (2d4x10 HP to vampires)
6d6 MD per 10 rd burst (3d6x10 HP to vampires)
60mm Launcher:(HE) 1d6 MD to 50 ft blast radius
(HEAP)3d4x10 MD per round
(HESH )(High Explosive Squash Head) - 6D6 MD plus 6D6 SDC to the person(s) inside the object....Particularly effective against power armors and vehicles without a reinforced pilot’s compartment
Rate of Fire:
20mm Cannon: Equal to the pilot's combined hand to hand attacks
60mm Launcher: Single shot; equal to the pilot's combined hand to hand attacks
Reloading a Cannon or Launcher clip takes one melee action.
Payload: 20mm Cannon: 100 rounds
60mm Launcher: 6 rounds
Typically the PSA-11 carries 4 20mm magazines(200 rounds+100 in the gun) and 6 reload speed-loaders on waist belting; that's 36 rounds!
Note: A box of 100 20mm ‘smart’ rds costs 800 credits. A box of 100 20mm ‘smart’ PS rds costs 3000 credits
Additional 60mm shells cost 8,000 credits per speed-loader of 6 HEAP rounds, 7,000 credits for 6 HESH rounds, 6,000 credits for 6 HE rounds.
Other handheld infantry weapons may be carried as well; missile launchers(the PSTT-M20 Missile Rifle is especially popular) and rail guns are favorites of PSA-11 pilots, especially in squads. The 23mm Arden Machine-Cannon(fitted with forestock and buttstock), 30mmlight autocannon, and even a 40mm power-armor-portable ‘machine rifle’ have been seen in GNE and affiliated units using the PSA-11.
2. Hand to Hand Combat: Rather then using a weapon, the"Gendarme" can engage in mega-damage hand to hand combat. Equivalent to standard Power Armor Basic or Elite Combat training.
Restrained Punch - 1D4 MD
Full Strength Punch - 1D6 MD
Power Punch (2 attacks) - 2D6 MD
Kick - 1D6 MD
Body Block/tackle - 1D4 MD
Flip/Throw - 1D4 MD
Optional Systems: Paladin Steel is constantly upgrading the PSA-11 as new systems and circumstances emerge.
Hardpoint Options are generally divided into the following categories:
Manipulator Forearm Mounting(MF):This is the standard forearm, ending in a five-digited (four fingers and an opposable thumb)manipulator that can be used to pick up and hold rifles and other tools. It sports a hardpoint in the side; typically a semi-recessed light weapon with an internal ammunition supply. Typically, this is a melee weapon(large vibroblade----4d6 MD), light energy weapon, or projectile weapon, like a light machine gun, grenade launcher, or autoshotgun.
Forearm Weapons Mounts:
MF1.)Paladin Steel PSLGL-1A Forearm Double-Barreled Grenade Launcher: (Internal) The new standard GL of PS is a multi-munition smoothbore 40mm grenade launcher. Fires fragmentation, high explosive, or plasma grenades(typically, though, the entire payload is of exclusively one type of munition). This system is built into a Manipulator Forearm Assembly, firing from an opening in the back of the wrist.
Range: 1,200 ft
Damage: (Light Fragmentation) 2d6 MD to blast radius of 6 ft
(High Explosive) 4d6 MD to 12 ft blast radius
(Plasma) 6d6 MD to 6 ft blast radius
(Flare) Burns for 1d6 minutes, illuminating an 80 ft radius area
Rate of Fire: Standard
Payload: 30 grenades
Cost: 20,000 credits
MF2.)*E-Zapper-(Internal)--Another forearm assembly designed with security forces in mind. A combination EM-bolt gun and neuro-electric shock cannon. This system is built into a Manipulator Forearm Assembly, firing from an opening in the back of the wrist.
Range: (EM Bolt) 800 ft
(Scattershot Bolt) 400 ft, covers 15 ft area
(SDC Shot) 800 ft
(Stun Vortex) 300 ft
(Shock Ball) 300 ft
Damage: (EM Bolt) 4d6 MD per shot
(Scattershot Bolt) 2d4 MD to everything in 15 ft area
(SDC Shot) 6d6 SDC per bolt
(Stun Vortex) None; has 80% chance of knocking down human-sized targets(lose initiative and 1 action/attack getting up), plus 60% chance of knocking them out, stunning them with concussion effects(-10 to strike, parry, roll, and dodge, lose initiative, lose HALF speed and actions/attacks for 1d4 melees!)
(Shock ball) Basically an electrically-charged Stun Vortex that works like a more powerful Taser. No damage, but humanoids struck with this weapon must save vs. coma or be shocked unconscious for 1D6 minutes. Cyborgs have an 80% chance of having their cybernetics disrupted for 1D10 minutes, and a 40% chance of a non-vital system being permanently shorted out.
Rate of Fire:(EM Bolt)(Scattershot Bolt)(SDC Shot)(Stun Vortex) ECHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited
Bonus: Laser targeting add +1 to strike. EM bolts are -6 to dodge, on top of that!
Cost: 95,000 credits
MF3)*Shotgun----An adaptation of the Northern Gun NG-11S, only the double-barrelled weapon is automatically magazine-fed for high-speed ‘sweeping’. Can be used to fire a variety of specialized shells(the more commonly used are listed).
Range: 300 ft for regular shotgun shells, 550 ft for MD rounds
Damage: (Slug) 5d6 SDC
(Buckshot) 4d6 SDC
(Baton) 1d6 SDC + 70% chance of knocking human sized targets over(lose initiative and 1 APM getting back up)
(Incendiary Scattershot)---Sprays a swath of magnesium pellets, doing 2d6 SDC burn damage, plus 1d6 SDC burning for 1d4 melees; 60% chance of setting combustibles(paper, wood, light metals, etc.) on fire. 180 ft range, covers a 12 ft wide area.
Rate of Fire: Standard
Payload: 60 round magazine
Cost: 5,000 credits
MF4)*Light Machine Gun----Slightly modified from the cyborg standard, this weapon is a 7.62mm rapid-fire tri-barrel weapon that is appropriate(in Rifts terms) for riot control and close-in counter-insurgency work. Its ability to be loaded with special munitions such as wood and silver rounds makes it popular with horror-hunter units.
Range: 2,000 ft
Damage:(SDC) 5d6 SDC per rd
(MD)
Rate of Fire:Standard
Payload: 200 rds
Cost: 4,500 credits
MF5)* Pepper Gun----A multipurpose chemical sprayer
Range: 150 ft
Damage:Varies by chemical used
Rate of Fire:Standard
Payload:Enough liquid for 32 blasts
Cost: 700 credits
MF6)* Mini-Flamer
Range: 250 ft for napalm gels
Damage:
(Wellington plasma napalm) 3d6 MD burst
(MD Gel)4D6 MD Upon contact, burning for 1D6 rounds doing 2D6 MD per round. Anything that the character touches also starts on fire. Any combustible materials within touching distance, clothes, brush, etc. also ignite.
Rate of Fire:Standard
Payload: Enough fuel for 25 blasts
Special Features: *Multi-Fuel Capacity
Cost: 9,000 credits
MF7)*Vibroblade---Either one long heavy vibroblade or a set of four ‘slashers’ emerging from a housing along the back of the forearm.
Range: Melee
Damage: 2d6+2 MD
Cost: 15,000 MD
Claw Forearm Mounting (C):Paladin Steel was quick to copy the Triax Predator’s Pulse-Laser forearm-mount with its claw-hand and axial weapon, with several different Claw Forearms. This has a three-digited claw in place of the manipulator hand, and the internal weapon has now been moved to a central axial position. The claw CANNOT pick up and hold hand weapons or do fine work, but it is strong enough to snip through armor and megadamage flesh. The Claw Assembly still retains a hardpoint on the outer casing, but this is little more than a hook-point for carrying rifles, flashlights, or cargo packs, with no electrical or fire control connections.
Unless otherwise noted, the claw does 2d4 MD on a snip/pry/tear.
C1) Pulsar Claw: This weapon system replaces the entire forearm and integrates a powered claw with a high-power pulse laser. Claw hands CANNOT hold hand-held weapons like rail guns or rifle modules.
Range: 3000 ft
Damage: 3D6 MD single shot, 1D6x10 MD per triple pulse burst, Crush/Tear/Pry with Claw: 2D4 MD
Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the pilot
Payload: Unlimited (linked to PSA-11's powerplant)
Market Cost: 20,000 credits
C2) 50mm Multipurpose Launcher Claw: This overkill weapons system replaces the entire forearm and integrates a powered claw with a massively powerful short-range grenade launcher firing a smaller caliber version of PS’s 140mm Rifleman’s Assault Projectile(RAP). The weapon has wretched range for a ranged heavy weapon, but does TREMENDOUS damage at close quarters, much like a giant shotgun slug. This system has been nicknamed "Geshundeit" by PS engineers, because of the way it just blows things away. Claw hands CANNOT hold hand-held weapons like rail guns or rifle modules.
Range: 800 ft
Damage: 1d6x10 +40 MD to 6 ft blast radius, plus 1d4x10 SDC to anyone inside the armor(or 6d6 SDC to anyone within 10 ft of the other side of the wall). HALF that if used against composite ‘meshed’ armors designed to flex, rather than spald(most power armors are contructed to have a certain amount of ‘warp’ to their structure, but cheaper armors, like Chipwell and early Northern Gun designs, lack this protection).
More advanced modern armors, such as those used by the Coalition, Triax, and other very high tech nations(the Kittani, for instance), for their EBA, power armors, robots, some vehicles, and special purpose fortifications(such as high echelon command bunkers) are designed NOT to spald, due to multiple composite layers of megadamage fabric and netting.....for these armors, spalding/bleed-through damage may be reduced to 1/4, or may not apply at all(GMs, use your discretion). Normal blast damage still applies, though, as the outer layers of armor are blown off/vaporized.
Penalties: The RAP is rather slow (250 ft per second) and is meant to be used against stationary and slow-moving targets(like vehicles)...Against faster, more agile, targets like power armors and hovercycles that actually get a dodge, the RAP is -2 to strike.
Crush/Tear/Pry with Claw 2d4 MD
Rate of Fire: Single shot only
Payload: 5 rounds (reloading takes one melee action per shot):
Market Cost: 80,000 credits, plus 900 per shell
C3) Multiplexor Claw---A late addition to the options line up, added when PS decided that the PSA-11 needed a good generic integrated magical weapon system that could be quickly produced and mounted. The Multiplexor Claw looks like any of the standard claw assemblies except for the jewel-like emission element buried beneath the claws, and the large PPE clip assembly sticking out near the elbow joint. The PSMPXPSA-11 Multiplexor Claw doesn’t make the PSA-11 the equivalent of a mage by a long shot, but it gives PSA-11 teams a slight, unexpected, and often vital, edge against opponents susceptible to magical attacks. Holds 3 Spellcards.
Range: Varies by Spell Used
Damage:Varies by Spell Used
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: Limited by its 200 PPE Battery Pack(replaceable if a fresh one is available)
Cost: 180,000 credits
PPE clips cost 6,000 credits for 50 PPE capacity
12,000 Credits for 100 PPE capacity
Spell Cards cost (as per Jason Richards’ guidelines in Rifter #2) 5,000 credits per PPE cost of main spell plus an additional cost (as per following modifiers)
*500 credits per level of the creating caster(Mages’ time and PPE are money, so expect to pay more for the longer duration/higher power spells)
*Warlock spells cost 20% more, in addition to above modifiers, owing to the difficulties of adapting Elemental Magic to ‘conventional” magic systems.
C4) PAM(Pursuit Apprehension Module)---This option is most often taken by police units(further modified with light bars and sirens), prison guards, security squads, and specialized ‘capture’ teams. The PAM-02 combines a light grenade launcher, electro-zap taser gun, light machine gun, and an extendable claw arm. A number of later models for security forces mixed various combinations of autoshotguns, tasers, stun-bead shooters, tear gas sprayers, and other ‘limited lethality’ devices.
Range:(Grenade Launcher)1500ft
(Taser) 100 ft
(LMG) 2000 ft
(Claw Arm) Extends out to 8 ft
Damage:(Grenade Launcher) Varies by grenade type
(Flash/Bang)---Makes a loud, disorienting roar and a blinding flash and causes anyone not wearing protective gear(eye protection, ear protectors, or EBA) in a 15 ft radius to be -10 to strike, parry, dodge, -1 to initiative, and lose 1 APM for 1d4 melees. Even characters in EBA will be distracted for 1d4 seconds(about 1 APM) and lose initiative.
(Smoke) Fills a 20 ft area with thick, obscuring smoke
(Chemical)---Varies by chemical used(typically mace or tear gas)
(‘Loogie’ Restraint Round)1d4 SDC bruising damage on impact, restrains with a PS of 30 (characters without a robotic or supernatural PS of 30 or greater are stuck until released. Even with r/s PS 30, takes 1d4 melees to bust out/be cut out). Affects a 6 ft area.
Note: Police carry solvents that dissolve the "Loogie" within 1d4 melees.
(Taser-Shock Beads)Humanoids struck with this weapon must save
vs. coma or be shocked unconscious for 1D6 minutes. Cyborgs have a 75% chance of having their cybernetics disrupted for 1D10 minutes, and a 30% chance of a non-vital system being permanently shorted out. Area of effect: 15 ft
Megadamage Rounds(Rarely carried by police/security forces)
Frag rounds do 4d6 MD to a 12-foot radius.
AP rounds do 1d4x10 to a 3-foot blast radius,
and Plasma rounds do 1d4x10+10 to a 5-foot radius.
A 3 round burst of frag shells does 1d4x10 to a 15 foot radius,
a burst of 3 AP shells does 2d4x10 to a 5 foot radius,
and a burst of 3 plasma shells does 3d4x10 to an 8 foot blast radius
A 5 round burst of frag shells does 1d6x10 to a 20 foot radius,
a burst of 5 AP shells does 2d6x10 to a 6 foot area,
and a burst of 5 plasma shells does 3d6x10 to a 10 foot radius.
A 10 round burst of frag shells does 2d6x10 to a 40-foot radius.
A 10 round AP burst does 3d6x10 to an 8-foot area,
and a 10 round plasma burst does 4d6x10+10 to a 15-foot radius!!
Popular load-outs include stun-flash grenades, gas shells, and other specialized munition types.
(Taser) Victims must save versus non-lethal poison(12 or better) or suffer
-10 to strike, parry, and dodge, reduce speed and APMs by HALF, for 2d4 melees per hit.
Cyborgs(full and partial conversion) save at 8 or better.
Also has the effect of shorting out vehicle ignition systems(60% chance)
(Claw Arm) 2d4 MD crush or tear
(LMG) 3d6 SDC per 15 rd burst, 6d6 SDC per 30 rd burst
Rubber bullets do 1d4 SDC and a 50% chance of knocking a human-sized target off its feet, losing initiative and 1 APM. 25% chance of stunning the target for 1d4 melees.
Rate of Fire:(Grenade Launcher) ECHH
(Taser) ECHH
(LMG) ECHH
(Claw Arm) ECHH
Payload:(Grenade Launcher)30 rd drum loads under the forearm
(Taser) Effectively unlimited
(LMG) 1,000 rds; helical magazine loads near the elbow
Cost: 22,000 credits
C5) Flamethrower Torch Claw---A standard ‘Firewaller’ Flamethrower mounted in the standard claw forearm module. Has a straight stream sprayer and an incendiary pellet launcher mounted underneath. Slightly more power to the fluid pumps means an improvement in range.
Range:(Direct-Stream Mode) 280 ft
(Pellet Launcher): 1000 ft
Damage:(Direct-Stream Mode)
(Gasoline/Alcohol) 1d4x10 SDC
(Napalm) 1d6x10 SDC, plus does 5d6 SDC per melee for 1d4 minutes
(MD Fluid) 1d4 MD per blast, 1d4 MD per melee for 2d4 minutes
(Incendi-Gel)2d6 MD, 2d6 MD per melee for 1d6 minutes
(WI Napalm-P) 3d6 MD per blast, 1d4x10+10 MD per concentrated burst(counts as two attacks). 2d6 MD per melee for 1d4 minutes.
Note: The flamethrower can also be used to cover an area with fluid: up to 10 ft per attack used. Used with Super-Napalm, this does 1d4 MD, Incendi-Gel does 1d6 MD, and with Napalm-P, this does 2d6 MD.
(Pellet Launcher)(SDC) 1d4x10 SDC to 10 ft area
(MD) 3d6 MD to 5 ft radius(Regardless of fuel-type)
Rate of Fire:(Direct-Stream Mode) Standard
(Pellet Launcher) Standard
Payload:(Direct-Stream Mode
(Gasoline/Alcohol) 20 blasts
(Napalm) 60 blasts
(MD Fluid) 100 blasts
(Incendi-Gel) 120 blasts
(WI Napalm-P) 200 blasts per tank(much more concentrated than the regular gasoline/alcohol).
(Pellet Launcher) 25 pellets in the chamber
Cost: 80,000 credits
(Gasoline/Alcohol) Typically 5-30 credits(depending on availability)
(Napalm) 50 credits per tank
(MD Fluid) 800 credits per tank
(Incendi-Gel) 1000 credits per tank
(WI Napalm-P) 2000 credits per tank
Pellets cost 5 credits apiece
C6) Ion Lightning Claw---This is a specialized ion weapons claw, with extra-heavy power cables running along the outside from the back, and extra insulation wrapped around the forearm. In standard mode, it works similarly to the C1 Pulsar Claw, only it incorporates an ion weapon instead of a pulse laser. The claws can be energized to deliver massive shocks capable of doing damage similar to a taser at lower power levels, or vaporizing pulses at higher settings. However, the real threat is ‘Stormer’ Mode. In ‘Stormer’ Mode, the arm end opens up to three times its original width and claws become much larger lightning rod prongs, crackling with energy. The openned claws serve to generate and gather power for a massive electro-plasma strike that hits like a real lightning bolt. Seeing and hearing this fearsome weapon charging up is often enough to make opponents lose sphincter control and nerve. The downsides of the Lightning Claw are its slow rate of fire and high power demands; having two C6s and attempting a double Stormer Shot means the armor is effectively immobilized and incapable of other actions, while the capacitors charge up.
Range: (Ion Cannon) 1,700 ft
(Stormer Shot) 4,000 ft
Damage: (Ion Cannon)3D6 MD single shot, 1D6x10 MD per triple pulse burst, Crush/Tear/Pry with Claw: 2D4 MD
Taser Touch: Humanoids struck with this weapon must save
vs. coma or be shocked unconscious for 1D6 minutes. Cyborgs have a 75% chance of having their cybernetics disrupted for 1D10 minutes, and a 30% chance of a non-vital system being permanently shorted out
Zap Touch: 2d6, 3d6, or 4d6 MD
(Stormer Shot) 2d4x10 MD, plus the following against machine targets:
01-15 No additional effects
16-30 Momentary instrument blink; lose 1 APM and
initiative
31-45 Weapons Systems offline. Only one returns to
operation after 1d4 melees
46-60 All systems offline, but come back after 1d4
melees. In the meantime, target is -30% to pilot
61-75 Communications, radar, and targeting are offline.
-3 to strike, and no initiative
76-90 No radar, targeting, communications, or any
instruments. One weapons system is offline.
Pilot must fly manually; -25% at 1/3 maximum
speed, -50% at half maximum speed, -75%
at full speed. No initiative to strike, -3 dodge and strike, and lose 1 APM.
91-00 All systems fried!Crash imminent in 2d4 minutes!
Megadamage creatures lose 1 APM and initiative that
melee round. Creatures susceptible to electricity take
DOUBLE damage.
Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the pilot
(Stormer Shot) One shot per melee and takes 4 APMs
Also, powering up the Stormer Shot causes the PA’s power systems to dim; radio is temporarily taken offline for the melee round of charge-up, radar range drops by 2/3, and speed drops by 30%(if TWO Lightning Claws are powering up, speed drops by 80%). Furthermore, no other energy weapons or suit-powered rail guns can be used during this time.
Payload: Unlimited (linked to PSA-11's powerplant)
(Stormer Shot) Conditionally Unlimited
Market Cost: 180,000 credits
C7) Blast Fist---Rather than a claw, this hand/forearm attachment resembles an oversized hockey goalie’s glove with large mitt, bulky knuckleguards, and forearm shield. The hand is a bit more articulated than the claw, but still cannot perform delicate tasks, and any handheld weapons must be oversized and lack triggerguards for the large fingers to use. The glove is optimized for hand to hand combat; powerful actuators in the fist give the grip equivalent strength of 35, and does 2d6 MD on a crush/grip. The knuckle guards are wrap-around plates that have nine ‘zap-tap’ studs embedded in them. The forearm also has a large shield pad optimized for parrying attacks
MDC of ForeArm Shield: 100 MD
Range: Melee
Damage: Crush/Pry does 2d6 MD. A powered punch with the zap-taps energized and in full contact with the target does normal punch damage +1d6x10+10 MD
Bonus: +1 to Parry
Market Cost: 200,000 credits
