Paladin Steel Storefront

[abtex]

Edit: While I still appreciate the above links I think I was misunderstood in what I was asking for. I remember Taalismn posting background information on Paladin Steel. I've lost track of that particular post and was wondering where it was.

Maybe the following might help you find what you are looking for.

Does anyone remember where the background for PS was in this enormous thread?

taalismn loves the word 'history'

Post 6 has

Paladin Steel Officers and Divisions: in it

This is taalismn's first history of PS
It starts here http://forums.palladium-megaverse.com/viewtopic.php?p=2199152#p2199152 and goes for 3 or 4 postings

[abtex]

Well, I'm trying to get as much done as I can before I go on vacation next week (Aug. 16-22nd). Figures I'll be working the next three days straight, but that will help pay for the bus fare. Plus finally buy a digital camera (be nice if I could shoot my own backgrounds for my pictures).

With luck he will be back today or tomorrow.

With lots of "my own backgrounds".

[taalismn]

I'm backkkk!!!
With a notebook full of ideas, digital camera full of material.
Of course, my boss has me working the next three days, and my car's due to go into the shop, and it will take me a week or so to crank up to old levels of productivity, but I'm feeling good.
Despite the bus trip starting out badly and ending badly(damn Peter Pan Bus; apparently they can only operate efficiently in large cities, and are business-suicidally inclined to %%%%% off the small town commuters....it was almost as expensive to take the taxi from my home town to the nearest known operational bus terminal ...a distance of 3 miles...as it was to go from that terminal out to the Cape and back....would have been cheaper still, if I thought my car could take the strain, to simply drive out to the Cape, laager my car in a pay-lot, and take the boat over). Still, I got to cheer up my brother, watch fireworks, and see a rabbit population explosion on Martha's Vineyard(the Nomansers are spreading!).

[abtex]

Hey Taalismn, I can't remember but is there a Paladin Steel History/Timeline posted somewhere in this thread or online?

Was that the right History?

[taalismn]

Hey Taalismn, I can't remember but is there a Paladin Steel History/Timeline posted somewhere in this thread or online?

Was that the right History?

In general, yes...but remember, we're a cross-dimensional company with a home universe where PS has been around in one form or another since the Golden Age, and another, where PS is a small firm that may be post-Rifts with only a tenuous link to a pre-Rifts company(but in reality is being backed by its other-dimensional 'Big Brother'). There's also Aegis Stellar Industries, which is a growing offshoot of PS, based in the Three Galxies and fronting for PS(PS products are routinely offered by ASI, to the effect that people think ASI is doing a favor for some small low-tech company on some backwater world somewhere by giving them a hand up and selling their products on the high-brow shelves of the Three Galaxies, when, in fact, ASI is the front for a backwater world company that it is rapidly expanding cross-dimensionally).
In general, I haven't changed PS's early history very much, so it's still very valid. RECENT history, however, has had it undergo massive growth; the effects and limits have yet to be discerned/described as of this writing.

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel Melee Whips
“That’s all very well for you to say, but I don’t fight.”
“Well surely you fence?”
“I never learned.”
“How do you defend yourself?”
“Well, actually, I’m not all that bad with a whip! Ha!”
---Zorro, the Gay Blade

Let it not be said that Paladin Steel doesn’t address the wants of its customers in practically all types of conventional weaponry, including whips. Popularized by pre-Rifts movies and travelers from the west, whips are enjoying a surge in popularity, and PS is proud to offer a variety of new types to meet market demand.

*Conventional Whip---These come in a variety of forms from a variety of subcontracting shops. Most are made of braided leather, but the more ‘modern’ versions are made of braided megadamage monster leather, tendon, or steel cable(sometimes a combination of the two).
Weight: 2-4 lbs
Length: 7-10 ft
Damage: 1d6- 2d6 SDC
Note: Typically takes 15-25 SD to cut through a leather whip, 30-50 SD to cut through a wire/cable whip, and 10-30 MD to cut through an MDC leather/wire/cable whip.
Cost: 50-120 credits depending on materials and craftsmanship. MDC whips will cost 10x more.

*Neural Whip---This is simply a long superconducting cable that acts as an elongated and flexible neural mace with regards to effects.
Weight: 3.4 lbs
Length: 8 ft
Damage: 2d4 SDC
(Neural Zap) Identical to the Neural Mace; 2d4 SDC, and victim must save at 16 or higher is -8 to strike, parry, and dodge, plus speed and actions/attacks per melee are reduced by half, for 2d4 melees, plus 2d4 melees per additional strike. After being struck four times, the victim may be stunned unconscious(42% chance) for 2d4 melees. Upon waking up, the victim continues to suffer the stun penalties for 1d4 minutes.
Note: MDC construction: 25 MDC.
Cost: 9,000 credits

*Adhesor Whip---This whip has small molecular adhesion pads, controlled by a thumb control in the handle, on the end for picking up small objects, trapping and entangling an opponent’s limb(or neck) and even for use as an impromptu climbing grapple. If the user is strong enough, or the entangled person desperate enough to tear free, the molecular adhesion pads can painfully rip off a swath of skin(typically 1d4 SDC).
Damage: 2d4 SDC
Bonuses: +1 Entangle. If used in climbing, adds a +5% to the Climbing skill.
Note: MDC construction: 25 MDC.
Cost: 4,000 credits

*Nematocyst Whip---The whip has an adhesion pad that allows it to stick to exposed flesh, which allows tiny injector ports in its tip to deliver skin-contact poisons or sedatives. A replaceable/refillable reservoir(can hold up to 10 doses) in the handle pumps the chemicals out to the ejector ports.
Damage: 2d4 SDC, plus chemical effects.
Bonuses: +1 Entangle. If used in climbing, adds a +5% to the Climbing skill.
Note: MDC construction: 25 MDC.
Cost: 5,000 credits + cost of drugs.

*Tendril Whip---Essentially a pared-down robot tentacle; not as strong, and it requires its user to supply the initial muscle, but once deployed, it can act like a prehensile limb, wrapping around objects and even constricting with bone-cracking pressure. Requires a head- or wrist-cyberjack to use fully, otherwise all it can do is extend and coil up. This design is popular as a bionic forelimb forearm weapon among melee-fighters.
Weight: 4 lbs
Length: 9 ft
Damage: 2d4 SDC if used as a stabbing weapon, 4d6 SDC per melee for a constricting crush. Has an effective Robotic P.S. rating of 15.
Bonuses: ‘Jacked in, the whip enjoys a +2 to Entangle(in addition to any other bonuses from WP. Whip).
Note: MDC construction: 30 MDC.
Cost: 9,000 credits

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel TW Heart Seeker TW Stake
(Aka ‘Stikketuum’)
http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp164/taalismn/stickitt2.jpg

“GRRRRAAAAHHHHGGGGG!!!”
“Don’t you just hate that feeling of something just not right inside you?Like something under your skin, eating away at you? Stabbing chest pains, maybe?”

This wooden anti-vampire weapon is claimed to come from the Amazing Magic Daveed collection of enchanted wooden wonders. It has since been passed on to the TW production lines of Paladin Steel for mass production and distribution.
The Heart Seeker is a large carved wooden stake roughly a foot long and 3 inches thick, carved from a single piece of wood and enchanted with the Ironwood spell and a number of other magical enhancements, including what appears to be a variant of Animate Plants. It is double-ended and wickedly barbed, with a rotating wooden buzzsaw blade in the center.
If the weapon does more than 5 points of damage, or if a successful called shot to embed the weapon is made, the stake is embedded in the vampire’s flesh. Upon such contact, the stake comes to ‘life’ , the weapon wriggling and the central rotary saw spinning to life to pull the stake deeper into the vampire in search of its heart. The spinning blade and wriggling barbs make the Heart Seeker that much harder for the vampire(or the monster’s companions) to grip and pull out without taking additional damage. This is not a perfect solution to the vampire problem, due to the nature of the beasts; some vampires have been known to tear open their own chests to remove the burrowing weapon, then use their regeneration to heal the self-inflicted damage. Still, though, the Heartseeker can serve to divert and divide the attention of the undead, especially if other attackers are working to put down the creature.
The Heart Seeker is enchanted to be Impervious to Fire, so once it stakes a vampire, the vulnerable undead can be safely burned and the Heart Seeker retrieved from the ashes to be reused.
The Heart Seeker gets four attacks per melee on its own, and NO bonuses to strike. If Bonded to an owner, the user can remotely control the Heart Seeker, using their own attacks per melee(and any bonuses if they are familiar with the vampire body’s physiology) to direct the animated stake as it burrows through the vampire.

MDC: 30
Range: Melee or thrown.
The Heart Seeker can be launched from specially modified crossbows or other stake-throwing weapons, but the Heart Seeker’s range is HALF that of a regular projectile, due to its rather un-aerodynamic shape.
Damage: 2d6 SDC(2d6 HP to vampires) for the main spear blade. The tines do 1d4 SDC/HP, and the circular cutter does 1d6 damage.
Enhancements:
*Animated---The Heartseeker has four attacks/actions per melee to attempt to impale the vampire’s heart.
*Impervious to Fire---Fire does NO damage to the specially-treated wood.
Cost: 39,000 credits

Variants:
*’Light Heart Seeker’---This is a recently introduced ‘budget’ model made of non-MDC wood, allowing it to do DOUBLE damage, but also making it susceptible to being more easily lost and damaged. It only has 15 SDC, but retains the Impervious to Fire, and the animated capabilities. It sells for 9,000 credits(deliberately pitched cheap to encourage sales and distribution).
[url]
http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp16 ... ickitt.jpg[/url]

[abtex]

Cute stuff, so far. Welcome back.

[taalismn]

Cute stuff, so far. Welcome back.

Heartseeker now has PICTURES!

[taalismn]

Special thanks to the people over in the Dead Reign forums for their help in spell selection:


Paladin Steel NecroBlaster TW Pistol
(aka ‘Skuller’, ‘Zeder’)

“Ordinary weapons don’t work against the Undead. This isn’t an ordinary weapon.”

“Be careful what spell you’ve got in the barrel, especially in the disorienting confusion of battle; what makes zombies flee in terror, vampires laugh at. You want to make sure you have the appropriate spell for the target. You also want to watch power usage; blasting everything you meet with Destroy Undead Flesh may be a sure kill almost every time, but you risk wasting mage-manna on punk-dead and find yourself out of juice when the rest of the graveyard shows up, or the master bloodsucker makes its appearance.”

The NecroBlaster is an effort by Paladin Steel’s Ghanam Arms Ltd. to produce a handgun maximized for use against Undead, particularly vampires and zombies.
The NecroBlaster is a large weapon, roughly the size and shape of an old flintlock pistol, but its action is based on a revolver’s, only in this case the cylinder is a TW Powerstone with six integrated spells.
Taking spell features from the LifeShot, the NecroBlaster has Lifebolt as one of its integral spells, as it proves both devastating to Undead and beneficial to the living. Desiccate the Supernatural is a good, crippling, spell for dealing with a variety of supernatural threats. Fireball, though not effective against many supernaturals(with energy resistance), offers a powerful attack against mundane, and not just supernatural threats; it is also useful for cremating staked-down vampires and cremating corpses in the field. Destroy Undead Flesh is a spell imported from out-dimension(see Nightbane: Through the Glass Darkly, pg, 70.); though very PPE-expensive and short-range, it is extremely potent against the undead, rapidly decaying their supernaturally-animated flesh within minutes. Though not damaging, and ineffective against undead that can transform into mist or energy forms, Carpet of Adhesion is a useful spell for stopping hordes of undead(and more mundane threats) from advancing, buying time for other solutions to be applied. Finally, though potentially very damaging to the local area, River of Lava provides an even more effective barrier for zombies and ground-based undead, incinerating them.
Overall construction is rugged; a combination of metal and Ironwood, for a durable weapon that can take a beating under extreme conditions. The NecroBlaster is chased and detailed in silver, embossed with various holy symbols and death icons(a silver skull on the pistol’s pommel pummeling surface is particularly popular). The silver is more than just decorative; the sturdy construction and various parts of the frame and butt make the pistol a useful silver-plated bludgeon in a pinch.
NecroBlasters are among the pricier of Ghanam Arms’ handguns, largely because of the more specialized spells, silverwork, and practically handcrafted decoration, but they may as well be powerful icons to the undead-slayers who are buying up these weapons.
Weight: 3 lbs.
MDC: 45
Range:
(Life Blast) 300 ft
(Desiccate the Supernatural) 250 ft
(Fire Bolt) 135 ft
(Destroy Undead Flesh) 60 ft
(Carpet of Adhesion)300 ft
(River of Lava) 120 ft

Damage:
(Life Blast) As per description on Rifts Book of Magic, pg. 108. Equiv., to 10th level spell. Does 1d6x10 HP to vampires.

(Desiccate the Supernatural) 3d6x10 MD(HP to vampires)to supernatural threats

(Fire Bolt) 4d6 MD(2d6 HP to vampires) per shot, +4 to strike

(Destroy Undead Flesh) 1d6x10 per melee round for 10 melees, to undead.

(Carpet of Adhesion) Though useless against vampires and other beings that can ‘morph into flying modes or insubstantiality, this useful spell stops shambling hordes and ground-touching undead like glue-pads, setting them up for destruction, or allowing the shooter to escape. Covers a 200 ft square area and effects last 25 minutes.

(River of Lava) Creates a lane of lava 60 ft wide and 10 ft wide/deep; a moat of incinerating molten rock good for blocking the shambling hordes of undead. SDC creatures caught in the molten rock are obliterated. MDC creatures suffer 2d6x10 MD per melee stuck in the magma.

Used as a blunt instrument, the NecroBlaster’s reinforced grip-stock does 2d6 SDC+P.S. bonus. Its silver pommel makes it useful for hammering on beings susceptible to silver.

Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload:(Varies)
(Life Blast) 8 PPE per shot
(Desiccate the Supernatural) 25 PPE per shot
(Fire Bolt)5 PPE per shot
(Destroy Undead Flesh) 40 PPE per shot
(Carpet of Adhesion) 5 PPE per shot
(River of Lava) 25 PPE per shot

PPE Capacity:(Light)----100 PPE battery capacity; recharges at 5 PPE per hour, 10 PPE/hour at a leyline, 20 PPE/hour on a nexus or in a dimensional pyramid
Note: The user can pump his or her own PPE or ISP into the weapon to recharge it an emergency, but at DOUBLE the above listed PPE cost(x4 if ISP; so 10 PPE battery shot takes 20 PPE/40 ISP to manually recharge)


Special Features:
*Starglow---The PPE cylinder normally emits a low-level glow, but it can be increased to glow with a Globe of Daylight spell, illuminating an 84 ft area around it, for 21 minutes per single PPE.

*Lattern Light(1 PPE and lasts 4 hours)---Fills a ten foot area with soft illumination, but CANNOT drive off vampires or other sunlight-sensitive beings.

*LED PPE Counter(keeps track of available power)

*Underbarrel Rail---Can mount a flashlight, laser-spot, vibroblade, or a four-shot chemical spray canister(ZOMB-EX is a popular addition). Range of about 40 ft for the spray.

*Silver Inlays---It may add to the expense of the weapon and be deriding as useless ostentation, but the silver is there for a purpose; the raised portions of the silver inlays add to the damage inflicted on silver-susceptible enemies when struck with the pistol as a club.

Note: Held by the barrel and used as a bludgeon, the NecroBlaster does 2d6 SDC damage(MDC to beings susceptible to silver)

Cost: 760,000 credits(would/should go for about 1.3 million credits, but PS has shaved the cost so the weapon can move faster to those who need it)

Options:
*Sense Evil---The PPE crystal can flash red if supernatural evil entities approach within a 90 ft radius. Cost: 10,000 credits

*Sense Magic---The PPE crystal can flash yellow if active magic occurs within 120 ft of the weapon. Cost: 10,000 credits

*Mystic Marksmanship(3 PPE for a single shot)---Gives a +3 to an aimed or called shot. Cost: 9,000 credits (A popular option with collectors who want to get the most out of their expensive acquisition, even if they are not themselves good shots)

*Carbine Conversion Kit---This attaches a rifle butt for steadier shooting(+1 on aimed shots) and a 1.2 ft barrel extension/TW booster holding a set of aligned crystals inside its length that DOUBLES the effective range of shots. Cost: 75,000 credits.

*Underbarrel Stake Launcher----A single shot spring-loaded bayonet-style stake that can, with an extra trigger pull, be fired at an opponent. Can be fitted with a regular knife, a vibroblade, silver-plated dagger, or a wooden stake.
Range: 80 ft
Damage:(Bayonet) 2d6 SD
(Vibroblade)1d6 MD
(Silver Dagger) 2d6 SD(Double damage to beings susceptible to silver)
(Wooden Stake)1d4 SD(2d4 HP to vampires)
Rate of Fire: Single shot
Payload: 1, hand-loaded
Cost: 200 credits for the launcher

*Underbarrel Shotgun Round---A single-shot 12 Gauge short shotgun barrel attachment, similar to that on the PS R-7 Dekar .
Range: Varies(see below)
Damage: *Standard Shotgun shell--100 ft range, 5d6 SD
*Standard Buckshot shell---100 ft range, 4d6 SD to 5 ft area
*Tear gas shell---100 ft range, 25 ft radius---victims are -10 to strike, parry, and dodge, -3 initiative, lose 1 melee attack/action, for the next 1d6+1 melees
*Baton shell---100 ft range, 2d6 SD, plus humans and human-sized D-Bees must roll a D20 to maintain their footing (must equal or surpass the attacker's roll to strike...Full rules in TNW p.174).
*S-9Dex Incapacitation Munition ---100 ft range, Essentially a paper-shelled shotgun shell-sized gas-propelled 'cold rocket', packed full of taser beads. Beads powder on impact, reducing the chance of bystanders or ingoing police stepping on undischarged beads. Great for crowd control and dealing with closed-space situations(alleyways, rooms, vehicle interiors, etc...)
Effective Range: 100 feet, w/ 20 ft radius
Damage: Nil. Humanoids struck with this weapon must save vs. coma or be shocked unconscious for 1D6 minutes.
Cyborgs have a 60% chance of having their cybernetics disrupted for 1D10 minutes, and a 30% chance of a non-vital system being permanently shorted out.
*High Explosive Armor Piercing Shell---400 ft range, 6d6 MD(no blast radius)
*Mini-Grenade(plasma)--- 400 ft range, 5d6 MD to 5 ft blast radius
*Mini-Grenade II(Fragmentation)---400 ft range, 2d4 MD to 10 ft blast radius
*Standard HESH Shell---400 ft range, 2D4 M.D. plus 4D4 S.D.C. to the person(s) inside of EBA power/body armor & roll versus knockdown (14)

Rate of Fire: Single shot
Payload: 1 rd, hand-loaded
Cost: 500 credits

[abtex]

Cute stuff, so far. Welcome back.

Heartseeker now has PICTURES!

The bottom url needs fixing. Maybe.

How many new ideas came from your bus trip and traveling adventures?

[taalismn]

Cute stuff, so far. Welcome back.

Heartseeker now has PICTURES!

The bottom url needs fixing. Maybe.

How many new ideas came from your bus trip and traveling adventures?

Seems to work from here.
The Heartseeker DEFINITELY came from my vacation, and gave me an opportunity to use my new digital camera(it's just a cheap little Vitidar; hence the crappy focus). The stick was something my father whittled up among other 'wands' from scrap wood(a lot of the 'wands' get given out to the local kids) passing the time on his porch. The 'Stick It To Them Stick' immediately screamed 'anti-vampire weapon' to me.

As for upcomings? At least one new Smallkin species. Maybe a few more ideas that are still percolating.

[taalismn]

Here's a fun website for variant-happy retrotech fans...
http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php
You have to do some digging, but many of the posts feature nice models and line art of 'what ifs'(like VTOL F-4 Phantom fighters or WW2 Corsairs with inline engines).

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel/Aegis Stellar Industries Asteroid-Cruisers
http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp164/taalismn/S9000042-Artwork_of_mining_of_asteroids-SPL.jpg
http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp164/taalismn/S9000043-Artwork_of_Asteroid_mining-SPL.jpg

“That asteroid? It just changed direction! It’s heading right for us! And it ain’t alone!”
“That ain’t no asteroid!”

“Our workship? Did I forget to mention it’s ARMED?”

Asteroid-ships are hardly new in the Three Galaxies and elsewhere; many societies build mobile space stations that nominally qualify as spacecraft, using asteroids as bases. Some even qualify as starships, being meant to travel between star systems, usually at slower-than-light/relativistic velocities, as sleeper ships or generational starships, and a few cultures fit these constructs with FTL drives of various sorts and quality. This latter approach is what PS/ASI has done, using their acquired Gorang gravitic technology(magic?).
Asteroid ships are attractive because they are fairly easy to build; if one has access to a good -sized asteroid and is already proficient in asteroid mining, it’s a simple matter to tunnel in and hollow it out, and fit it with internal compartments, typically constructed using refined metals made from the asteroid itself, and maneuvered about slowly using slag byproduct as reaction mass. The mass of the asteroid provides thick and cheap protection from the hazards of deep space such as the radiation of the solar wind. Meters of thick rock and nickel-iron make for good protection from radiation. This thickness also provides a fair amount of low/no-cost protection against other hazards as well, such as lighter-calibre projectile and energy weapons. Finally, there’s the SIZE; even a small-sized asteroid of five hundred meters or larger can provide a lot of potential space for facilities to be built inside or mounted outside. Modification is relatively easy with the addition of new external turrets and modules, and the fitting of extra generators and powerplants to power more systems. Under the right circumstances, and with some attention to disguising the obvious artificial features of the asteroid-ship, a converted asteroid can also appear as nothing more than another random space-rock, making for a good long-term surveillance platform.
For many, converting a sky-rock into a colony ship or battlewagon is a cheap, low-cost alternative to constructing large ship tonnage without having to invest in massive shipyards. For PS/ASI, Asteroid-Cruisers allow for the relatively quick construction of very impressive mobile industrial complexes, factory-ships, heavy transports, and mobile weapons platforms, the initial rock often providing much of the needed metals and minerals for its conversion and reconstruction.
The shortcomings of Asteroid Cruisers are that they aren’t reinforced for acceleration and deceleration like a proper ship; they maneuver very slowly and without extensive forcefield shielding and inertial damping, tend to have to be run up to speed slowly, and braked equally slowly to prevent stress fracturing of their ‘hulls’(i.e., the asteroid rock matrix). Their sheer mass, though impressive, translates into large energy expenditures if performing any sort of short term and drastic course corrections. Asteroid Cruisers are also slow and obvious; there’s nothing stealthy about a large mass of rock and metal making deliberate course changes and velocity adjustments across a solar system.
Furthermore, as protective as all that rock may be, it lacks the per-unit(square meter/ton) protection value of manufactured armor. Weapons blast far more easily through rock far more effectively than they would through layered armor, and against battlecruiser-strength weapons in concerted barrage, even several dozen meters of nickel-iron can be ablated away within a few minutes of combat(for this reason. ‘bare wall compartments’ are rare aboard Asteroid Cruisers; each section of the interior hull is a self-sealing double-walled habitat module).

That having been said, the Asteroid Ships of PS/ASI have an advantage enjoyed only by a very few; FTL propulsion. While the CG propulsion capabilities of star nations like the CCW and TGE seem to (currently) have an upper limit to the mass that a CG field can safely envelope and efficiently move, the Gorang-derived drive used by PS/ASI is able to push quite large modified rocks beyond the light barrier, a feat only reliably done by the UWW’s own World Eater ‘flying mountains’. As the UWW uses magitech propulsion to rift-fold their asteroid-ships from location to location, and the Gorang drive seems to be at least partially ISP-based, magic seems to be able to accomplish what pure technology cannot. However, PS/ASI has not been able to make the Gorang-derived drive work on anything other than modified asteroids and comets; purely artificial spacestations have not been able to be moved via the drive(at least 50% of the vehicle’s mass has to consist of a natural body; asteroid or comet).

PS/ASI constructs its Asteroid-Cruisers in one of two ways; the first is to take a good-sized(kilometer or bigger) rock and burrow into it, then outfit the tunnels with reinforced modules, connect them together, then outfit the rest of the ‘ship’ as needed.
The other process is more complicated; a suitable metal-rich asteroid is taken, cored out, and a central shaft stuffed with ice. The asteroid is then placed at the focus of several large solar reflectors set up to concentrate the heat(sometimes assisted by large solar-powered lasers or microwave beamers) and set to slowly spinning. As the heat permeates the asteroid, the rock and metal melt, and eventually the heat percolates down to the ice core, which sublimates, generating steam. The expanding gas pressure inflates the molten rock and metal ‘balloon’ to the desired size, at which point the heating is slowed down, the gas vapor released and re-condensed for reuse, and the asteroid finished by the fitters.
The sheer amount of space on an Asteroid Cruiser means that it can be fitted with all manner of facilities not found aboard smaller conventional starships. Large enclosed repair facilities, manufactories, recreation and agricultural space, and the like make Asteroid Ships destinations unto themselves. They often serve as depot vessels and the support motherships of task forces of smaller ships, who use the facilities aboard them to repair, maintain, and rehabilitate their equipment and crews.
PS/ASI typically outfits its Asteroid Cruisers as mobile factory complexes, allowing their Contract Engineering Corps to move to work sites(asteroid belts, moons, or planetary orbit) and set up shop onsite with relative ease. Others are set up as exploration and deep space surveillance platforms, frequently operating as motherships to squadrons of smaller scout and search-and-rescue craft. A handful have been quietly constructed as dedicated warships, mainly acting as system-defense carriers and orbital fortresses.
PS/ASI generally operates these massive vessels only in the Rim, Fringe, and outer worlds. Few core worlds of the CCW and other stellar kingdoms/organizations that PS/ASI does traffic with are willing to allow such massive vessels, with the easy capability of becoming relativistic planet-smashing missiles, near the more densely populated regions of the Three Galaxies(while ignoring the many more smaller threats presented by smaller, less visually imposing, craft).

Type: PS/ASI-CGBB Asteroid Cruiser
Class: Asteroid Cruiser(equiv. Heavy Cruiser/Battleship/Carrier/Heavy Transport/Mobile Industrial Complex-Tender)
Crew: Varies from 1,000-10,000, plus provision for up to x3 its complement in additional troops/passengers.
Most also have a contingent of 1,000-4,000 work robots.
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body*(Varies) 1d10x10,000 - 2d6x100,000
Internal Modules(Varies)(10-50) 4,000-10,000 each
External Domes(Varies)(4-50) 3,000-10,000 each
Forcefields(Used to protect specific locations) 500-2,000
**Variable Forcefields(Overall protection) 5,000- 18,000 each side( 30,000-120,000 total)

Typical Construction Features:
Solar Mirrors 3,000 each
Hangar Bays 3,000-5,000 each
Large Ship Slip/Anchorage 5,000-10,000 each
Small Sensor Dishes(many) 400 each
Deep Space Antennae Clusters(6-25) 2,500 each
“Arecibo Array” Large Sensors(1-6) 3,500 each
Rocket Stacks 500-1,000 each
Factory Sheds 1,000-9,000 each
AgroDomes 3,000-5,000 each
Skycranes(4-20) 500-1,000 each
Heavy Tractor Beams(4-40) 500 each
Medium Tractor Beams(8-50) 300 each
Targeting/Light Tractor Beams (12-60) 200 each

Capital Weapons Mount 500 each
Heavy Weapons Mount 500 each
Medium/Light Weapons Mount 500 each
Point Defense Weapons Mount 500 each



*This is the nickel-iron and rock bulk of the former asteroid, and takes DOUBLE damage from kinetic weapons, such as rail guns and explosive missiles

**Shield Refresh Rate is 20% per melee due to the larger dedicated generators.

Size: Varies; ‘Natural’ Asteroids range in diameter from 1,000 ft to 5 miles; the smaller ones tend to more irregularly shaped, while the larger tend to be more spherical.
Melted and reshaped ‘ballooned’ asteroids tend to have more uniform shapes and sizes, though even then there is variation, depending on the starting asteroid and the ultimate purpose of the resulting cruiser.
Weight: Several million tons
Cargo: Capacity varies, but typically around 500,000-1 million+ tons.
Powerplant: Combination Nuclear Fusion/TechnoWizardry Power Generators. Estimated energy life between reactor refueling/refurbishing is 60 years. Often the Asteroid Cruiser can gather and refine its own fuel through ramscoops and auxiliary ships gathering materials.
Supplemental power provided by solar arrays and electromagnetic tethers(in the latter case, when orbiting around planets with string magnetic fields).
In addition to the gravitic propulsion (typically centered somewhere at the core of the former asteroid), most PS/ASI Asteroid Cruisers can use several ‘rocket stacks’(actually large fusion plasma thrusters) for gross physical course corrections(typically no more than Mach 2 on these thrusters alone).

Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to 300 MPH; no altitude limitation and is transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Can accelerate at up to 0.8 gees/Mach 8
(Kitsune Values) 60% of light speed, and can accelerate/decelerate at 0.8% of light speed per melee
(FTL) Typically can travel along at 2-3 light-years an hour
(Underwater) Not possible
Market Cost: Asteroid Cruisers start at around 10 billion credits and scale up, depending on the size and features.
Systems of Note:
*Full Sensor Suite---Specialized sensor pallets include radiation detectors and counters, spectrographic analysis devices, gravitic sensors, electromagnetic activity readers, and optics packages.
*Long Range Radar---Phased Array Search and Early Warning Radars---Maximum Resolution Range of 300,000 miles(about 500 miles in atmosphere).
*Laser Targeting-------100,000 miles(about 50 miles in atmosphere)
*Communications Suite:---Long Range Radio and Video---Typical range of 200-500 miles in atmosphere(x1,000 in space)
*Optical Tracking Clusters----The equivalent of automated telescopes and binoculars, these systems are constantly scanning the surrounding area(and in space, the starscape), using advanced pattern-recognition software to look for anomalies(objects and phenomena), as well as helping to fix the asteroid-cruiser’s position.

*’Arecibo Arrays’(1-6)---These are giant fixed-dish multispectral antennae that look like they fill in craters on the asteroid, and have diameters from 800-1,000 ft. Depending on the size and purpose of the Cruiser, there may be as many as six of these massive arrays. Though large and crude compared to more modern sensor arrays available from the CCW, these arrays make up for it in raw radiation gathering power. Arecibo Arrays have extreme range of 10 million miles, and can detect FTL wakes out to 35 light years.

*Onboard Life Support Plant, Factories(typically heavily automated autofacs), Hangar Space, Living Quarters, Repair and Assembly Shops, Warehousing, and Engineering Laboratories. The onboard facilities, supplied with materials, can produce spare parts and ammunition for the onboard complement of troops and aerospacecraft, and can do limited prototyping and small-batching production of vehicles.
Depending on the primary purpose of the Asteroid Cruiser and its size, the onboard facilities can be specialized for one or more special purposes, such as chemical engineering, shipbuilding, antimatter production, agriculture, or the like.

*AgroDomes---Many Asteroid Cruisers feature surface-mounted ‘AgroDomes’, essentially high-tech enviro-habitats or greenhouses, their hulls permeable to visible light, but screened for more dangerous levels of radiation, that take advantage of ambient star/sunlight to nourish foliage and agriculture. These domes provide supplemental food, oxygen and water recycling, and recreational areas for crews. Some AgroDomes are specially fitted so as to be detachable, and can even make successful atmospheric reentry, allowing them to be detached from a Cruiser and used to provide support for space and planetary colonies and other facilities. A typical AgroDome is 100 ft tall, 200 ft wide at base, and has 3,000 MDC, but some are larger.

*Skycranes(4-20) ---These are massive multi-jointed lifting apparatus used for loading cargos in-atmosphere that are too big to be carried aboard by a lighter. Because of the peculiar nature of the gravitic field surrounding the asteroid-ship, the skycrane is a giant jointed arm that positions a lifting cradle or lift-head that uses its own gravitic drive(or, in the case of the less wealthy Gorang clans, JATO pods) to lift out of the ship’s own gravitic field until the planet’s gravity can take over. Then the crane reels out up to a mile of heavy cable to the surface, where the lift cradle picks up whatever needs to be lifted. Once the cargo is lifted back to the edge of the asteroid-ship’s gravitic field, the crane arm reverses orientation and works like a conventional crane to lower the payload to the surface of the asteroid.
A standard skycrane array will have over 5,000 ft of cable and a lifting capacity of 400 tons each. Larger ‘cranes may have much more cabling available and lift capacities in the thousand ton-plus capacity.

*Grappling Arms(many)---Typically found around factory sheds and hangar bays, these massive four-jointed multi-position robotic arms are used for grappling onto objects, shoving about cargo pods, and doing heavy duty work. Each has a reach of 200 ft, and has a four-fingered gripper, electromagnetic head, spotlight, and stereoscopic video camera at the end. They’re not agile or fast enough to be very useful in melee combat, but if they can catch an object, they can punch for 1d6x10 MD, or crush for 2d6x10 MD(2 attacks). Each arm typically has 200-400 MDC each.

*Heavy Tractor Beams(4-40)-------Long range heavy duty emitters with a range of 80 miles, and able to handle up to 1,000 tons each
Range: 80 miles in space(NOT usable in atmosphere)(Kitsune Values: 80,000 miles in space).

*Medium Tractor Beams(8-50)---Smaller emitters used for handling small craft and cargo containers. 500 ton capacity each
Range: 5 miles in space(NOT usable in atmosphere)(Kitsune Values: 5,000 miles in space).

*Targeting Tractor Beam Projectors(12-60) ----Intended less for grabbing hold of other ships and more for guiding Plasma Torpedoes(or deflecting incoming missiles...roll to strike; a successful ‘hit’ means that the missile is -4 to reacquire the target). Rated at 100 tons haul weight.
Range: 5 miles in space(NOT usable in atmosphere)(Kitsune Values: 5,000 miles in space).

*Stealth---Forget about it; unless you’ve lucked into some POWERFUL alien technology, you’re not going to be able to render a giant mile-wide asteroid-ship invisible. However, you can still damp down radio and thermal emissions, and even reduce the reflection from surface structures to reduce the chances anybody will detect the artificial portions of the asteroid ship. The Asteroid Cruiser MIGHT pass for a normal asteroid at extreme range, provided the locals haven’t thoroughly charted the paths of the local sky rocks already. Active alternatives include brute force jamming of a broad spectrum of radar and radio frequencies, letting everybody in the area know that there’s something there, but not exactly WHERE, short of direct visual contact. If the AC has sufficient material stocks, another active system is to pump out a cloud of fine grit and microparticles around the vessel, giving it the appearance of a comet, and obscuring both accurate radar and optical readings of the object.


Weapons Systems:
As no two Asteroid Cruisers are exactly alike, and because they are so large, as to provide plenty of space for multiple weapons, their armament configurations vary from ‘ship’ to ship.
Note: See Rifts Dimension Book Six: The Three Galaxies, pgs 127-130 for additional information on the various classes of weapons.

1) Capital-class Weapons:
An Asteroid Cruiser will generally have 2-4 Capital Weapons mounts, but, depending on the Cruiser’s size and function, may have as many as 50-60 capital weapons mounts.
Typical weapons of this class seen on Asteroid Cruisers include the following:

a) Heavy Nuclear Missile Launcher--These weapons were developed from early efforts to create an Alliance equivalent of the Galactic-level Cruise Missiles. The effort wasn’t entirely successful; the weapons have the range and warhead yield, but lack the advanced targeting and AI systemry of their galactic counterparts. They are also very large weapons, roughly the size of small SLBMs, making them fairly easy targets for Three Galaxies-standard point defense systems. To compensate for their lack of accuracy, PS mounted the heaviest nuclear warheads they could come up with in the Long Lance II missiles, counting on pure brute city-buster force to carry the day when more precise targeted strikes cannot. Paladin Steel has retained these weapons for special attack purposes, such as orbital platform strikes and attacks on massed enemy formations. These weapons are designed strictly for deep space use, and are NOT for use on surface targets; such use is BANNED by PS/VFS/GNE policy.
These weapons are typically mounted in large battery launchers set in the body of the asteroid.
Range: 1,000 miles(4,000 miles in space)
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4 x 1,000 MD to a 2.6 mile destruction radius in space
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-24
Payload: 24 missiles per launcher

(Option) PS Long Lance IV---The Long Lance IV is the next generation heavy anti-spacecraft missile from PS, and was developed after the abysmal failure of most of the launched Long Lance IIs to reach the target during the Dreadnought Crisis . This SLBM-sized weapon is smarter, heavier, and carries its own ECM and countermeasures decoy launchers to give it a better chance of penetrating a target’s defenses. The Long Lance IV is available to both the Falx and the Javelin-class cruisers.
Range: 1500 miles(6,000 miles in space)
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4 x 1,000 MD to a 2.6 mile destruction radius in space
Bonuses/Special:
*ECM----The missile has its own expert system and EW transmitters for jamming enemy radar, as well as evading their sensors. The missile is -6 for guided weapons to strike. 60% chance of evading radar detection to begin with.
*Flare/Chaff Launchers(1, 6 bundles)
Damage: None; similar to Triax-style chaff
01-50 Enemy Missile or volley detonates in chaff and threat is neutralized
51-75 Missile/Volley diverts and may pursue/lock on to other targets
76-00 No Effect! Missile(s) still on target!
Will also temporarily blind and impede flying monsters who fly into it.
Reduce APMs/combat bonuses/ speed by half for 1d4 melees

b)Mass Drivers---Military grade massdrivers are illegal, and PS/ASI abides by treaties, but industrial massdrivers are commonplace tools of space-based industry. And it’s no secret that with a little modification, these reaction drives and material transporters can be turned into deadly bombardment weapons. Besides a solid ‘slug’ of rock and asteroid metal, the devices can also throw proximity-fused fragmentors that break apart like a giant shotgun shell, spraying a wider area with hypervelocity shrapnel(this is more effective against ships and other maneuverable targets).
Typical militarized massdriver:
Range: 500 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 50,000 miles in space)
Damage:(Kinetic Penetrator) 1d4x1,000 MD against space targets, 1d6x10,000 MD if fired at a planetside target.
(Multi-Munition Fragmentor) 6d6x10 MD to 800 ft radius.
Rate of Fire: Once every five minutes.
Payload: Usually has about 20-30 ten-twenty round ‘shells’ ready to fire.
Penalty: -10 to strike ship-sized targets for slugs, -3 to strike for fragmentors.

c) SuperHeavy Laser Array----Sometimes disguised as a solar system laser communications array or laser launch/propulsion system.
Range: 60 miles in atmosphere, 200 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 200 miles in atmosphere, 200,000 miles in space)
Damage: 4d6x10,000 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: Once every ten minutes(40 melees)
Payload: Effectively unlimited

d)Heavy Laser Arrays---Smaller, more flexible turreted laser arrays, often mounted 2-4 in a turret.
Range: 50 miles in atmosphere, 100 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 100 miles in atmosphere, 100,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x1,000 MD
Rate of Fire: Once every other melee
Payload: Effectively unlimited

e) Heavy Particle Beam Cannon----Truly SERIOUS arrays of these weapons may feature 3-4 weapons in a single turret/array.
Range: 30 miles in atmosphere, 100 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 100 miles in atmosphere, 100,000 miles in space)
Damage: 3d6x1,000 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: Once per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

g) Multiplexors----- Many Asteroid Cruisers mount large TW Multiplexor arrays based on those PS developed for warships and spacestations, and to provide extra protection. The typical installation fits the Cruiser with four PPE generators(4 PPE Generators and regenerates at 50 PPE per hour(200 PPE per hour total). Each also has an adjacent PPE Battery Bank, that can hold up to 1,000 PPE each(1,200 PPE total per mounting) and a large TW Spell Projection Array.
The current model of Starship Multiplexor can carry up to six separate spells, typically of high-level space spells(See Rifts: Fleets of the Three Galaxies).
At most times, three of the Multiplexors are fitted for space and the remaining three armed with atmospheric spells:
(Atmosphere Configuration)
- Create Fog(10 PPE per activation, duration of 1 hour per activation, 1,500 ft radius)
- Atmosphere Manipulation(110 PPE per activation, duration of 8 hours per activation, 10 mile range)
-Anti-Magic Cloud(140 PPE per activation, duration of 15 minutes per activation, 5 mile range, 300 ft radius area of effect)
- Summon and Control Rain(200 PPE per activation, duration of 8 hours per activation, 80 mile range, 8 mile area of effect)
- Wind Blast (40 PPE per activation, instant duration, 1 mile range, 2d4x10+30 MD per blast, +6 to strike, and aircraft/fliers struck by the blast are -25% to their Piloting rolls.
-Calm Storms (20 PPE per activation, duration of 3 hours per activation, 10 mile range)

(Space Configuration)
-Space Dust(150 PPE per activation, duration of 10 hours per activation, 500 mile range---500,000 mile Kitsune range, and 100 mile radius)
-Solar Flare(250 PPE per activation, duration of 1d6 hours +5 hours per activation, 1,200 mile range---120,000 mile Kitsune range )
-Summon Meteor Shower(150 PPE per activation, duration of 10 minutes per activation, 3 mile range---300 mile Kitsune range)
-Summon Ion Storm--Can generate up to a Level/Magnitude 5 ion storm (150-250 PPE per activation, duration of 1d6x10 minutes per activation, 10 mile range---1,000 mile Kitsune range)
-Gravity Well(550 per activation, duration of 50 minutes per activation, 400 mile range---40,000 mile Kitsune range, 100 mile radius )
-Create Nebula(500 per activation, duration of 10 hours per activation, 20 mile range---2,000 mile Kitsune range, 5 mile diameter)



2) Heavy Weapons:
An Asteroid Cruiser will generally have 10-30 Heavy Weapons mounts, but, depending on the Cruiser’s size and function, may have as many as 70-80 heavy weapons mounts.
Typical weapons of this class seen on Asteroid Cruisers include the following:

a)Cruise Missile Launchers
Range: Varies by missile type(speed and range x4 in space)
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by missile type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-10
Payload: 40 missiles per launcher, ready to fire. Additional missiles may be loaded from storage(typically takes 15-30 minutes)(1 ton of cargo per 6 missiles).

b)Long Range Missile Launchers---Though not as powerful individually as the CMLs, LRMLs tend to make up the difference by launching in volume. The ‘standard’ LRML described here is derived from the main launchers of the PS/ASI Javelin Missile Cruiser/Frigate.
Range: Varies by missile type(speed and range x4 in space)
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by missile type
Rate of Fire: From 1-32 missiles can be fired in one volley
Payload: 160 LRMs per launcher-pod. Additional missiles may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 30 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 12 missiles)

-ML/MLRS-240 Heavy Missile Launcher---A retractable trainable box missile launcher. Military experts from Rifts Earth would immediately recognize this as the adapted launcher from the Iron Bolt Missile Vehicle, complete with top mounted mini-missile launcher. Though it has less immediate fire capacity than the larger battery described above, the ML/MLRS-240 has the advantage of combing two weapons systems in one, making it a popular choice for both anti-ship and point defense.
Range: Varies by missile type(speed and range x4 in space)
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by missile type
Rate of Fire:(LRMs) From 1-6 missiles can be fired in one volley
(MMs) From 1-10 missiles can be fired in one volley
Payload: 12 LRMs and 120 MMs per launcher-pod. Additional missiles may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 30 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 12 missiles)


c) Heavy Massdriver Cannons---Paladin Steel hasn’t yet perfected G-Cannon technology, so it makes do with large conventional electromagnetic massdrivers. The following is a typical 450mm massdriver type:
Range: 25 miles in atmosphere, 70 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 70 miles in atmosphere, 70,000 miles in space)
Damage:(Kinetic Penetrator) 3d6x100 MD to 15 ft radius
(Multi-Munition Fragmentor) 3d6x10 MD to 300 ft radius
(Heavy Plasma) 2d6x100 MD to 150 ft blast radius
Rate of Fire: Three times per melee
Payload: 200 shells per cannon. Additional shells may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 30 minutes(3 shells per ton of cargo)
Penalty: -5 to strike fighter-sized targets

d)Heavy Laser Cannon----Turrets of 2-4 cannons; another derivative of PS/ASI’s warship programs.
Note: These weapons typically fire in salvos of three(all three guns in a turret firing simultaneously)
Range: 16 miles in atmosphere, 1,600 miles in space
(Kitsune Values)16 miles in atmosphere, 16,000 miles in space
Damage: 2d6x100 MD per blast. 6d6x100 MD for a triple burst
Rate of Fire: Twice per melee
Payload: Effectively unlimited

e)Heavy Particle Beam Cannon
Range: 10 miles in atmosphere, 40 miles in space)
(Kitsune Values: 40 miles in atmosphere/ 40,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x1,000 MD per salvo
Rate of Fire: Twice per melee
Payload: Effectively unlimited

f) Solar Cannon---Though not designed as weapons, these massive solar focusing dishes can be refocused and pivoted to strike targets with concentrated sunlight, sending temperatures soaring and exceeding the limits of most safety and shipboard coolant systems. Lesser craft and power armors are literally boiled to death. In the past, this feature has been used to ‘cook’ rotating asteroids for materials...PS hopes to also use it to superheat asteroids, spin them, then ‘lathe’ them into shape as space habitats! However, the Solar Mirrors are slow, hard to track targets, and woefully limited in their weapons capabilities. Solar Cannon are also dependent on ambient light; they are most efficient in regions of 1.2 AU or less from a star, and far less effective to useless the further one gets from a sun. These arrays are also used for illuminating planetary surfaces with reflected light, and for focusing heat on such materials as ice, in order to melt it. Industrial Asteroid Cruisers may sport as many as ten of these arrays for working on various large projects.
Range: 10 miles
(Kitsune Values: 1,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x100 MD per full melee of tracking
Rate of Fire: Once per melee
Payload: Effectively unlimited
Penalties: -2 to strike targets 100 ft or larger, -6 to strike anything smaller

g) Heavy Plasma Torpedo Launchers---These are direct-fire weapons that fire bolts of plasma trapped in a temporary magnetic ‘shell’ centered on an evaporated ‘seed’ of ultra-dense deuterium ice, allowing the plasma to travel farther without losing cohesion and damage potential, and allowing the plasma to explode with area of effect on target. The result is an energy missile with superior range to normal energy weapons(though still well short of comparable missile weaponry) and potentially unlimited payload. However, the plasma packets CAN be grabbed/deflected by tractor beams(this is how the ship’s gunners can manipulate their energy projectiles at short range and correct their course....each of the launch arrays’ mounted tractor beams being able to grab and direct a volley of plasma bolts), or destabilized by ion or particle beam weapons fire(takes 20 MDC to disrupt the plasma containment).
Range: 25 miles in atmosphere, 100 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 100 miles in atmosphere, 100,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x1,000 MD to a 100 ft blast radius per missile
Rate of Fire: Two shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited


3) Medium/Short Range Weapons---Backing the main Heavy weapons will be batteries of Short to Medium rating weapons. In general, there will typically be 2-5 times as many of these lighter classification weapons as Heavy weapons, arrayed to give all-around coverage and mutually-supporting fire.
Typical weapons of this class seen on Asteroid Cruisers include the following:

a) Heavy Kinetic Cannon---These are heavy-duty triple-barrel rail cannon mounts from PS’s Orbital warship programs.
Range: 10 miles(40 miles in space)
(Kitsune Values: 40 miles in atmosphere/ 40,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per 80 rd burst, 2d4x100 MD double cannon burst, 3d4x100 MD per triple cannon burst
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 32,000 rds(400 bursts) per cannon before needing reloading from stores(takes about 15 minutes)

b) Heavy Ion Gattler---This is a quad array of heavy ion cannon.
Range: 8 miles in atmosphere, 16 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 16 miles in atmosphere, 16,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x100 MD per blast per single cannon, 8d4x100 MD for all three cannons firing simultaneously
The ion blasts can also be ‘shotgun spread’, doing HALF normal damage to everything in a 30-degree arc out to HALF normal range.
Rate of Fire: 4 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

c)Heavy Laser Cannon---Two-three gun turrets, another PS’s Orbital warship program off-the-shelf component.
Note: These weapons typically fire in salvos of three(all three guns in a turret firing simultaneously)
Range: 16 miles in atmosphere, 1,600 miles in space
(Kitsune Values)16 miles in atmosphere, 16,000 miles in space
Damage: 2d6x100 MD per blast. 6d6x100 MD for a triple burst
Rate of Fire: Twice per melee
Payload: Effectively unlimited

d)Medium Laser Turrets----These are simply laser turrets from the existing Javelin/Assegai production lines, mounted on the asteroid-ship.
Range: 7 miles in atmosphere, 14 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 14 miles in atmosphere, 14,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x100 MD per single blast, 4d4x100 double-barreled blast
Rate of Fire: 4 times per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

e) Light Plasma Torpedo Launchers
Range: 20 miles in atmosphere, 200 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 200 miles in atmosphere, 200,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x100 MD per blast to 100 ft blast radius
Rate of Fire: Each array can launch volleys of 1-8 torpedoes, twice per melee
Payload: Effectively unlimited

f) Medium Range Missile Launchers
Range: Varies by missile type(speed and range x4 in space)
(Kitsune Values: 160 miles in atmosphere, 80,000 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by missile type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1, 2, 4, 5, or 10
Payload: 100 missiles per launcher, 200 missiles total, reloading from the cargo hold takes 1d6 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 24 missiles)



4) Point Defense Weapons---For close-in defense, even civilian-application Asteroid Cruisers will mount multiple arrays of PDSWs. Like the larger S/M weapons, there will generally be 2-10 times the number of PDSWs as Heavy weapons.
A typical PDSW turret will have 200 MDC
Typical weapons of this class seen on Asteroid Cruisers include the following:

a) 40mm Rapid-Fire Guns(mounted in 2-4 gun mounts)
Range: 2.6 miles in atmosphere, 6 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2.6 miles in atmosphere, 2,600 miles in space)
Damage:(Proximity Fuzed Fragmentation) 3d6 MD to 15 ft blast radius(30 ft in space)
(Armor Piercing Tracer) 5d6 MD single shot
(High Explosive Tracer) 4d6 MD to 10 ft blast radius( 20 ft in space)
Rate of Fire: EPCHH, typically in bursts of 5-10 rounds. Six attacks per melee in automated mode
Payload: Effectively Unlimited; large ammunition supplies.
Radar Targeting Bonus: +3 to strike

b)Laser PDS
Range: 1 mile in atmosphere,4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 4 miles in atmosphere, 400 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: ECHH, six attacks per melee in automated mode
Payload: Effectively unlimited
Radar Targeting Bonus: +4 to strike

c)Laser/Mini-Missile PDS----These are standard CCW-pattern dual laser/mini-missile launchers that have been installed fro close-in defense.
Range: (Lasers) 4,000 ft in atmosphere/2 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere /200 miles in space)
(Mini-Missiles) 1 mile in atmosphere/2 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere/ 100 miles in space)
Damage:(Lasers) 1d6x10 MD per blast
(Mini-Missiles) Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire:(Lasers) EGCHH, or auto-fire; 6 attacks per melee
(Mini-Missiles) Volleys of 1-8
Payload: (Rail Gun) Effectively Unlimited
(Mini-Missiles) 32 mini-missiles per turret; additional mini-missiles can be carried as cargo(typically takes 2d6 minutes to reload from the holds).
(Option)---The Mini-Missile launcher component of these turrets can be modified to fire the “S-Sting” ‘Smart Mini-Missile -----The S-Sting(for ‘Space Stinger’) is an attempt to adapt the guidance systems and accuracy of the ‘Black Talon’ L-SAM to a space-based missile. The missile resembles a rather stubby cylinder with a blunt-nosed optical cluster and protruding verniers(extend after launching), owing to the fact that the vacuum of space negates the need for streamlining the weapon.
Note that the ‘S-Sting’ has only limited effectiveness in an atmosphere....HALF bonuses in a thin atmosphere and weak gravity well like Mars’, and NO bonuses, and HALF range in a thick atmosphere and standard gravity like Earth’s.
Range: 4 miles in atmosphere, 32 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 4 miles in atmosphere/ 400 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x10 MD to a 15 ft blast radius
Bonuses: +7 to strike

d)Slayer -D Quad- Laser Cannon(PS-RFL-40D)---A slightly more powerful quad-laser system with a higher rate of fire.
Range: 6,000 ft in atmosphere(4 miles in space)
(Kitsune Values: 4 miles in atmosphere/ 400 miles in space)
Damage: 2d10 MD single shot, 2d4x10 MD short burst (four shots, one from each barrel), or 4d4x10 MD medium burst (eight shots, two from each barrel in sequence).
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: Effectively unlimited


Auxiliary Craft:
Asteroid Cruisers typically have 1-6 separate hangar facilities for small craft; usually a large main bay and a number of smaller bays for maintenance craft. They will also have provision for docking 4-10 larger craft(starships).
Fighter/small craft complements can vary from 100-600 craft(the larger, as yet unrealized, asteroid cruisers are projected as having capacity for as many as 2,000 small craft).

[taalismn]

Greater New England, Paladin Steel, and Extreme Sports

The Agony of Defeat:

The stadium ER doctor took one look at the shuddering, sweating, semi-conscious young woman sprawled on the gurney, then turned his glare on the pale man who’d followed the EMTs into the treatment room. Behind them the distant roar of the stadium crowd was cut off as the emergency room doors closed. That made the doctor’s sudden interrogative bark all the more piercing.
”Which of the hyperadrenals is she mainlining? Warpspeed? Supersono? Hyperflex?”
The athletic manager tore his gaze away from his writhing charge being held down by several medtechs, while another tried to pry her mouth open to insert a padded jaw expander, to snarl at the doctor.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about! She took a shot to the head, that #### back there gave her a concus-”
“Shut up! I know drug abreactions when I see them! Now, it’s patient-doctor confidentiality unless you want me to march out and pass my suspicions about you doping your girl to the stadium authorities! Now, is it Hyperflex? Rush? Or Blood Devil?!”
The manager stepped back from the doctor’s unflinching glare, glanced nervously at the door to the ER where a couple of armored police officers were just visible standing outside. Rumors of how seriously the local GNE authorities and their Black Market allies took sports doping in their territory must have surfaced in the sweating man’s memory, because he seemed to deflate when he looked back at the doctor.
“Slippery...”
“Never heard of it! Specifics!”
“It’s Supersono cut with Kristal and synth speed...”
“Koro! Set up for a series four neural blockers and digitalis!”
“Right away!” The Chi-Chuk nurse whirled away to the drug cabinet.
“Horvan! Get a thumper on her chest, and prep for possible surgical intervention! Monray, get the blood filters over here!”
The ER nurses and orderlies, having managed to strap down the convulsing athlete, began cutting away clothing and applying sensor leads. The one by her head stepped back as the nurse managed to get an IROU slidding down the patient’s throat. A strident electronic beeping, almost a screech, howled from overhead monitors.
The still sweating manager seemed to take exception to the change in tempo.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
“Saving her life! Your ####ing little pick-me-up’s got her heart galloping out of control! Bad enough she’s shooting up Juicer harness drugs without a biocomp, but you’re cutting the stuff? She’ll be lucky to have a heart left, or kidneys!” The doctor swore as he focused his attention on the monitors, now building up a database and image of what was going on inside the seizing athlete’s body. He paid particular attention to the blood analyzer beginning to scroll its results. “You give her anything else?!”
“No!”
“Liar! I’m psychic!”
“####! Get out of my head!”
“Tell me, or I call in the cops!”
“A hit of Crash! But she nee---”
“I’ll bet she went with the Slippery, but not the Crash! That was your idea!”
“Get out of my head!!!”
“I never was in your head.”
“!!! You ####ING LIED?!”
“Don’t need ESP to read a terd like you. Now get out!”
“Why yo-”
*SMACK*
*Thud!*
“Somebody clean that stain off the floor?! Just shovel it into the dumpster outside!”
“Good punch, Doctor. Should I report you for an Oath violation?”
“Put it on my tab. Twenty years as an army surgeon and I’ve collected a lot of them! Okay, we’ve got her stabilized! Somebody call the implant bank and see about prepping a heart and kidneys just in case! I want type twos if they’re available! And Celso, I know you’re listening, call your buddies over at the Projects Committee; I figure they’ll want to talk to this one if she pulls through.”
The small dark-clad Company agent who’d been lurking virtually unseen at the back of the ER nodded; provided they weren’t TOTAL idiots, a lot of washouts from the arena were desperate for second chances. Handled and trained up right, they could be extremely useful to the Company and the GNE.
“Okay, people, let’s get this one ready to move to Op Four! It’s only the half-time out there and we got another two quarters to get through! Go!”

Though Greater New Englad considers itself to be a civilized nation, it is still very much a product of the Coming of the Rifts. Its largely blue-collar population works hard and expects to be able to play hard, even if vicariously through professional sports. While the GNE authorities clamp down hard on any vice that hurts productivity and endangers others, they are more lenient on other forms of extreme recreation, rather than alienate the workers upon whom so much depends. However, both the GNE government and Paladin Steel insist on safety built in, limits set, and a degree of mandatory oversight. Prostitution is licensed and subject to health inspection, gambling is regulated, drug dependency monitored and punished(or rehabilitated), and the more dangerous activities curtailed. Fortunately, the GNE government has managed to strike a balance with the local Black Market so as to reduce tensions with this possible internal danger; the Black Market finds many of its endeavors subsidized by GNE funding and material assistance as long as it doesn’t endanger the health of the nation and individuals(though some BM enforcers may grumble about not being able to break legs, their superiors are happy to at least have gotten repaid). In particular, one area where the GNE and the Black Market go hand in hand is sports.
By pre-Rifts standards, the sporting events sponsored in the GNE are downright violent, even sadistic, bloodsports, but by post-Rifts standards, the events are almost boringly tame, due to the oversight and sponsorship of the authorities. Gladiatorial duels are rarely to the death, and animal events are strictly regulated(no sentient or semi-sentient beasts forced into the arena against their wills for example).
Still, events held in the GNE can be rather spectacular, in part due to the venues; specially-built colliseums and stadiums that can be reconfigured for a variety of different event settings. PS engineering expertise has made for some truly challenging arena and sports courses. Techno-contests, like car and robot races, mecha duels, and hovercycle motocross, are particularly exciting, as the techno-culture of the GNE is especially supportive. Though the hometown company(Paladin Steel) -sponsored teams are favored, outsiders are welcome to participate(and of course, PS observers are in the wings taking notes, and even ready to offer especially innovative inventor teams a contract or two). Traditional baseball, basketball, football, and soccer games are held, as are later variations on these sports. More extreme sports like Gauntlet, Hoverboard Jousting, ‘Borg Boxing, inter-species wrestling, and Murderball are also run.
Conspiciously well-armored referees are standing by to stop events if they get out of hand, and emergency medical teams are waiting in the wings, to perform reconstructive medical procedures, mystic healing, or even the occasional on-the-spot resurrection if need be. And that’s just for the athletes; the stands are closely watched for over-enthuasiastic celebrating and brewing conflicts between fan factions. The authorities don’t ALWAYS manage to prevent brawls from breaking out, but their track record is VERY good for putting them down before they get out of hand, and penalties for public disorderliness are swift and hard.
The Greater New England authorities know they can’t ban Juicers and Crazies from entering the GNE territories(nor do they want to) or even from entering sporting events, but they CAN regulate the aftermaths. In fact, by encouraging them to participate in sport by giving Juicer and other extreme sports a scrupulously fair venue, the authorities can more closely clamp down on any associated illegal activity. For the athletes themselves, participating in the state-sponsored games comes with the benefits of honest judging and quality medical care close at hand.
On the grey-ops side, the GNE picks up a lot of burnt-out combat athletes who volunteer for cybernetic or biological enhancement programs. In many ways this is an extension of the GNE’s ‘Waste Not, Want Not’ policies where hardly anything is wasted, and even losers are recycled/retasked/given a second chance. Closely watching the sports also gives GNE and PS intelligence organizations a good idea of what’s new in Black Market bionics, bioware, and performance-boosting pharmacology. In equipment-based sports, it also allows PS to take a look at up and coming talents(many a promising young innovator and his or her team has been headhunted by PS scouts prowling the sidelines) and at competitors, as sometimes even diehard rivals of PS like Northern Gun, Triax, Chipwell, and others have been known to send teams(even if on the sly and disguised) to GNE events in hopes of beating the PS-backed crews on their own home turf. Only Cyberworks/ Titan Works is curiously absent, but that’s mainly because the GNE offers support to the Free Shemarrians, who are scrupulously adept at spotting ‘the Dark One’s’ deceptions and robotic agents.
Major sports venues in the GNE include the Burlington Hyper Plaza, New Hartford’s Hartdome, New Boston Arcology’s Lexington Park, New Bath’s Iron Stadium, and Tashire Motorena. The Connecticut River and Lake Champlain are also popular venues for water sports. Ticket costs run anywhere from 800 credits for the pricier seats to 15 credits for the nosebleed accommodations. Skybox and season tickets can run a lot higher(generally 5-10 times higher depending on venue and reserved seating).

[abtex]

Paladin Steel/Aegis Stellar Industries Asteroid-Cruisers

b)Mass Drivers---Military grade massdrivers are illegal, and PS/ASI abides by treaties, but industrial massdrivers are commonplace tools of space-based industry. And it’s no secret that with a little modification, these reaction drives and material transporters can be turned into deadly bombardment weapons. Besides a solid ‘slug’ of rock and asteroid metal, the devices can also throw proximity-fused fragmentors that break apart like a giant shotgun shell, spraying a wider area with hypervelocity shrapnel(this is more effective against ships and other maneuverable targets).

Is against the treaties to load Mass Drivers with chickens or like fowl, in place of 'slug'? But that might make home delivery dangerous, but very quick.
Like fresh fish delivering to cars on road trips.

[taalismn]

[Is against the treaties to load Mass Drivers with chickens or like fowl, in place of 'slug'? But that might make home delivery dangerous, but very quick.
Like fresh fish delivering to cars on road trips.

THat's why we have an expert packaging and shipping department....NASA has NOTHING on us for 'soft impact' delivery systems.

[89er]

So, how goes the Patriot? and will it be supported with new options after it is released?

[taalismn]

So, how goes the Patriot? and will it be supported with new options after it is released?

So many projects, so little time...I've had little time to worry at the Patriot with others taking priority, such as the Hekky and items like the ClueBat(and, of course, Real Life).

[89er]

Right, I will just back away and let you work. No hard feelings.

[taalismn]

Right, I will just back away and let you work. No hard feelings.

None taken. I'M DOING SCIENCE HERE!!!!

[Veritas476]

None taken. I'M DOING SCIENCE HERE!!!!

Mad science maybe.

[taalismn]

None taken. I'M DOING SCIENCE HERE!!!!

Mad science maybe.

Is there any other kind(worth mentioning)?

[abtex]

Aqnch! Wish I had some, or a bionic spine...threw my back out...pure murder bending over/standing up...worst part of it, all I've been doing before it happened is sitting down, not juggling bowling balls.

While reviewing his beach 'background' pictures most likely.
"How do all of those parts move at the same time?"

I know that feeling all too well

Recovering, but it took a bite out of my writing time. Fortunately no drugs were needed, but it's becoming a yearly event now after the Annual Cold. Problem is, this time around, after recovering from the initial "AWRRGGGG!", I relapsed even worse (as in, three times to try getting out of bed, and I went from 6 ft 4' to a hunched over 5 ft 7". Going to work I felt like Igor, hunchbacked and moving at a sidle.
"Can I helph you? Brains, perhaps? No spines, sorry! Fresh out of themth!"

Gotta create an Igor-esque cyborg with a tool kit hunchback... [/quote]
Yes, thinking about his 'Background' pictures from the beach.

Get better. Currently self is right wrist, foot and knee.

[taalismn]

[
Yes, thinking about his 'Background' pictures from the beach.

Get better. Currently self is right wrist, foot and knee.

I wish...again this summer I didn't get down to the beach; haven't been in swimming for YEARS.
But I am easing back into the writing and art.
And how'd you manage to damage all that? All in the same accident?

[abtex]

Yes, thinking about his 'Background' pictures from the beach.

Get better. Currently self is right wrist, foot and knee.

I wish...again this summer I didn't get down to the beach; haven't been in swimming for YEARS.
But I am easing back into the writing and art.
And how'd you manage to damage all that? All in the same accident?

Gout mostly. but tripped going to work. Had splint on wrist, for a while, but no break. Knee locked up, from hard to bent to not at all. Toe wanted to hurt after being hit. Fun last two months.

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel AFV-EXT01 Extensor Rig
(Aka ‘Giraffe’)

“Peekaboo! We see you!”
*BLAM-BLAM-BLAM*

Much like the CLWT-04 modular Mini-Turret, the AFV-EXT01 is a vehicular accessory meant to add extra firepower to a truck or AFV. The AFV-EXT01 fits a lightweight remote control telescoping ‘cherrypicker’ armature to the roof of a vehicle. Control is from a small viewscreen-and-joystick rig mounted inside the vehicle cabin. The upper end of the armature can be fitted with a rotating sensor package or a weapons pod with sights, allowing the vehicle crew to scan their surroundings and even snipe at enemies while remaining behind cover. The rig can also be used to clear or suppress enemy snipers hiding in buildings, by bringing the suppressive fire up to their level.
The ‘Giraffe’ can be fitted to just about any medium- to large-sized vehicle with enough roof space to accommodate the rig. Urban combat and police SWAT teams are particularly fond of the AFV-EXT01.
Weight: +500 lbs
Size: Can extend up to 20 ft
MDC: 60
Features:
*Telescoping Carbon-Fiber/Composite Construction(note: the armature is strong enough to support 550 lbs of weight)
*360-degree turntable base rotation.
*Gyrostabilized End-Plate.
*Standard Optical/Thermal-imager/Infrared/Lowlight sensor package

Weapons Systems: None standard, but 1-2 weapons packs can be fitted to the end of the rig. The following are some of the standard weapons packages available:
a) Micro-Missiles----25-shot cassette

b) Mini-Missiles---8

c) Short Range Missiles---4

d) Anti-Armor Missiles
Range: 1 mile
Damage: Armor-piercing:2d4x10 MD, no blast radius
Rate of Fire:Volleys of 1,2,3, 4, or 6
Payload: 4
Bonuses: +5 to strike

e) Heavy Machine Gun---.50 caliber Machine Gun
Range: 19,000 ft (4,000 ft range w/ ramjets)
Damage:(SDC rd) 7d6 SDC per single rd, 2d6x10+20 SDC per 40 rd burst
(Ramjet rd) 1d4 MD single shot, 4d6 MD per 20 rd burst, 6d6 MD per 30 rd burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 2,000 rds(50 bursts)
Cost: 15,000 credits

f) Rail Gun
Range: 4,000 ft
Damage: 1 MD single rd, 3d6 MD per 15 rd burst, 6d6 MD per 30 rd burst.
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 9,000 rd drum per cannon
Cost: 75,000 credits

g) Grenade Launcher
Range:7,000 ft
Damage: (Fragmentation) 4d6 MD to blast area of 12 ft
2d6x10 MD to blast area of 40 ft w/ 10-rd burst
(Armor Piercing) 1d4x10 MD to blast area of 3 ft
3d6x10 MD to blast area of 8 ft w/ 10-rd burst
Rate of Fire: Standard
Payload: 250 rds
Cost: 50,000 credits

h) Energy Weapons----Any standard infantry energy rifle/weapon can be fitted to the armature, typically powered by an E-canister(x10 the normal number of shots) or by a power cord extension to the vehicle.

Cost: 40,000 credits; weapons cost extra

[abtex]

A new way to get to work and visit family. (last picture)

[taalismn]

SCHEDULE OSAMU Augmentation Package:
(PU2 budget of 8.1 million per operative)

“Looks standard enough,” the bronze-skinned being observed as he studied the apparatus before him.
“Except that we’ve never encountered a ship like this before,” the paler-skinned being standing beside him put in as he observed the same sight.
“Looks like a variant human, both in the overall design of the equipment and the biology,” the Squilb continued as he studied the pale motionless humanoid female laying inside the cylindrical chamber in the center of the ship cabin.
“Looks can be deceiving, as you well know. Let’s not jump to conclusions,” the human medtech murmured as he ran several instruments around the chamber and its apparently sleeping occupant.
“Well, all the parts are similar, that’s clear. Aside from the various body markings, but those could be tattoos. This whole set-up’s obviously a suspended animation chamber of fairly standard design for humanoids. Form following function and all that. Language translation of the available databases and printed designations bears that out. The life support we activated is within terrestrial standards too; breathable oxy-nitrogen mix. Bit on the cool side, but we ARE in deep space and this place has been without heat for a while,” the Squilb gestured at how both of their helmets were open, and breathing the same metallic-tanged air.
“You’re the engineer, here,” the medtech conceded as he adjusted another instrument to scan through the chamber’s clear walls.
“Well, I have to ascertain the condition of the hardware and you’re here to ascertain the condition of the bioware and what we do about either.”
“I’d prefer to wait for a full med team on this one, but if the damage to the rest of this ship is any indication, we may have to make a decision whether or not to move her,” the medtech thumbed towards the sleeping woman in the chamber, “ or leave her as is. Any word on whether whatever tore the rest of this vessel apart is still around?”
The Squilb paused a moment to speak quickly and briefly into his headset before returning his attention to his companion. “Nope, Space Force sez aside from those two boogies earlier, we’re all alone out here. But they’ve got troopers searching the rest of the wreck and weapons-hot patrol overwatch all the same.”
“Good to know. I’d rather not be learning alien physiology and trauma treatment in a free fire zone.”
With a sudden hum the apparatus lit up and motion erupted around the stasis chamber. Injectors suddenly pistoned into the occupant’s skin at wrists, neck, and inner thigh, pumping some sort of drug or chemical into the flesh. The chamber briefly fogged up as a sudden gas exchange took place inside the cylinder, then cleared away as the interior took on a warmer hue. Readouts around the cylinder started flowing and electronically gibbering, offering up an obviously rapid-changing set of data.
The Squilb glanced at his companion, who returned a slightly harried expression of ‘I didn’t do anything!’.
“Looks like she’s going to come out on her own! Looks like the decision was made for us!”
“I didn’t touch anything!” The protest was half-joking; the medtech’s attention was on the alien readouts and on his own instruments.
“Could be your instruments, could be an automatic system set up when we turned off the distress beacon on this ship, or when we reinstated life support. Or maybe some other system tripped a critical threshold. In any case, get ready for First Contact,” The Squilb engineer hurriedly opened his headset comlink again and made a terse update report to the GNE crew elsewhere, “Okay, Kelsa’s coming down immediately with backup. We’re to hold position.”
After a moment the lights around the seams of the chamber changed pattern, and with a hiss of escaping gas, the hibernaculum slid open, vapor rapidly sublimating from the ‘bathtub’ inside.
The medtech kept up a steady running commentary as he watched his instruments. “Body temperature rising...heartbeat...definitely one heart...rate increasing....pulse rate...thready but all that different than human norms...definite electromagnetic biolectric activity centered around the head and spine...EKG’s looking very much human when we wake up...”
Both rescuers leaned forward as they began to make out twitching motion in the sleeper’s limbs as consciousness began to manifest.
That’s when the young woman began convulsing, choking labored gasps coming from dry lips. The instruments, both attached to the chamber and in the hands of the alien observers began redlining.
“What’s wrong?!”
“I don’t know!” Frantically he ran his scanner over the woman. “Respiratory distress of some sort! It’s not the air! Something inside her!”
“Can you help her?” The Squilb leaned forward with the medical supply bag and its pharmaceutical contents.
“She reads as MOSTLY human, but without a more thorough medical history I don’t dare use any drugs on her! I might kill her through allergic reaction! I’m going to have to do this direct!” He snapped off his gloves, reached down into the hibernaculum, and pressed bare palms to bare chest, while he mentally went through the mantra to activate his endowed psychic abilities.
With a sense of relief he felt the wave of energy well up from within him, flow through him in an invisible glow. No matter how many times he did it, using the psychic powers that had been activated from genetic dormancy in him always came as a marvel. Not having been born with them active like a natural psychic, he still found them incredible. Now, like putting his hands in a flowing water stream, he shaped and directed the flow, into his patient.
Now the power flowed back, like an echo, or water breaking around rocks in a creek bed, the ‘spray’, as best he could describe it, taking on a different color, a different texture and feel, painting for him a picture of the patient’s body and its workings. Like an X-ray he could see the flow of structure and energy. He could see where life energy was flowing smoothly and where it kinked and curdled, obviously NOT flowing as it should. Here was a knot of tangled life-force, and there a void where it should be but was not.
Now his biomod’s other powers came to play. The psionic diagnosis narrowed down the problem. Now he mentally shifted gears again, blinked, and looked anew through his eyes. Flesh grew translucent, transparent, as he focused his eyes in spectrum he wasn’t born seeing, to look into the fine lacework of blood vessels coursing through heart and lungs. His training charted the similarities, identified the basic principles, and where they might go wrong-
There it was! Some time during the woman’s hibernation, plaque had settled in her bloodstream as her blood had grown sluggish, a blood clot of sorts that whatever hibernation drugs she took hadn’t prevented. When the revival cycle had begun, the plaque had been picked up and fetched up to block blood flow at a critical junction near the respiratory organs. With a touch of his healing power, he safely dissolved the clot, restoring free blood flow through the lungs. Almost immediately the woman’s convulsions subsided, her breathing became less labored, and a more healthy pallor came to her skin.
He reached up to wipe away the sweat from his forehead, grateful to see his patient’s chest rising and falling in steady, strong, respiration. She was recovering quite nic-
That’s when the slim arm shot up through his open faceplate and broke his nose.
Make that recovering VERY fast, he thought as he reeled backwards, his mind already marshaling his regeneration powers to fix his freely bleeding nose. Then seeing his vision filled with a very angry young woman rising from the hibernaculum, screaming bloody murder at him, apparently ignoring the astonished-looking Squilb in favor of the man who had actually had hands on her chest, he thought, Yep, should have sprung for the telekinetic forcefield option.

SCHEDULE OSAMU is, like ANGSTROM SCORPION, a biomod package program designed to create a specific occupational role, in this case augmenting or increasing the number of healers in the GNE. While other biomods are primarily meant for military or labor applications, SCHEDULE OSAMU was devised for the benefit of Paladin Steel’s Heart Division health care worker programs, especially the corpstate-sponsored Medical Corps. With health threats terrestrial, extraterrestrial, and extradimensional, it was felt that a ‘power-up’ for the valiant and idealistic healers in service to the people was sorely needed.

SCHEDULE OSAMU is granted only to dedicated, well-vetted, practitioners of medicine. Typically, enrollees in the program agree to give the GNE six to ten years of service in the medical corps. Most participants in the program readily serve their terms in return for the powers the bio-mod gives them. Training can take 1-3 years, depending on psychic powers acquired and the circumstances of service. The bio-mod is also being offered concurrently with medical school training(with the aforementioned stipulation of government or company service as part of the arrangement).

SCHEDULE OSAMU is designed around three things; physical resilience(the better to survive in dangerous situations), mental acuity(the better to learn and retain the necessary skills to save lives), and psionic healing abilities. Because so much tinkering and enhancement is done to the brain, especially to endow psychic abilities, SCHEDULE OSAMU recipients receive extensive counseling and training from natural psychics in the use of their new abilities.
Resilience wise, the recipient heals faster than normal, and open wounds close faster, preventing the chance for contaminants and pathogens to enter the bloodstream. A modified immune system renders the biomoddie virtually immune to normal illness, as well as practically impervious to poisons and harmful drugs. The biomod also offers some toughening up of the recipient. Improved lungs allow the medic to handle polluted air, while an improved heart and ability to regulate sleep cycles allows for long working hours nonstop.
The most potent purely physical enhancement is the recipient’s eyes, which now can see x-ray style through solid materials, and focus down microscopically better than many portable optical systems.
Finally, the nervous system has been enhanced, particularly the efficiency of the brain. Ambidexterity has been induced, and the brain’s ability to retain and recall information sharpened. Finally, psychic latencies have been fully activated, giving the recipient access to a variety of advanced psionic abilities. Though the primary ability selection number is fairly random(given the means used to activate and induce them), the process nevertheless gives the biomoddie access to a powerful selection of psionic healing powers, most recipients taking a spectrum package of Psychic Diagnosis, Psychic Surgery, and Healing Touch.

While the SCHEDULE OSAMU biomod does not address ALL of the field needs of Rifts Earth healers, it gives them a potent package of integral abilities and capabilities to enhance their performance, as well as fallbacks in circumstances where their first tools and instruments do not work or are inapplicable.

As noted above, SCHEDULE OSAMU is given only to dedicated health workers, and as such is seen among PSHD’s Medical Corps, the GNE’s Center for Disease Control, the GNEArmed Services’ medical services, and various emergency responders in GNE territories.

Minimal Requirements: I/Q. of 10, P.E. of 12, and MUST be a member of, or entering, a Medical-oriented OCC(Body Fixer, CyberDoc, Medical Corpsman, (FWC) Medic(equivalent), etc.)

Powers/Abilities:

-Brain Enhancement---+1 IQ, +1 initiative, +2% all skills. +1 save versus Horror Factor and Possession, +1d4 additional Secondary Skills(Must select from Medical or Technical)

-Increased Mental Endurance---Training in how to deal with long hours, high tension, life-and-death decisions, and the usual trials and tribulations of emergency medicine, combat surgery, and crisis response. +1 M.E.

-Heightened Sense of Awareness---+2 initiative, +1 roll, +2 save vs Horror Factor.

-Brain: Psionics(Healing) ----Advanced Trance State(10) and 1d6+2 Healing powers of choice. ISP: 1d6x10+10+M.E.

-Mental Acuity---Adds psionic powers Total Recall, Sense Time, Mind Block, and Sixth Sense, and the person saves as a Minor Psychic. ISP: 1d6+10+M.E.

-Circadian Rhythms---Can run on as little as three hours of sleep a day, or without sleep altogether for four days straight, needing only seven hours of follow-up sleep to recover.)

-Supervision: Acute Vision(Microscopic)---Can see down to the viral scale, but requires two melee actions of concentration.

-Supervision: X-Ray Vision---Can see through 4 inches of fabric or paper instantly, takes a melee round to see through up to a ft of denser materials, and 2 melee rounds to see through six inches of metal, brick, stone, or concrete(this includes megadamage flesh). Using this ability takes considerable practice, and SCHEDULE OSAMU practitioners frequently wear dark blocking glasses to help them adjust during training.

-Improved Heart---+2d6 SDC, +2d6 Hit Points, +1 save versus disease, +4 save versus heart and blood diseases, +14% save versus coma/death, and fatigues at 1/3 normal rate.

-Lungs: Enhanced---The lungs are modified to handle changes in air pressure, allowing the recipient to go between various habitats and environmental situations without suffering from the equivalent of altitude sickness. Can hold breath for about 10 minutes, and fatigues at half the normal rate.

-Lungs: Filtration---The recipient can now breath tainted air; +5 save versus gases

-Immune System--- Impervious to disease and +1 to save poisons and toxins.

-Ambidextrous---+1 APM, +1 parry, +5% to Climbing, Pick Locks, Palming, Concealment, and Mechanical/Electrical repair.

-Enhanced Endurance---+1 P.E., +2d6 SDC

-Quick Clotting Blood--- Seals minor cuts and abrasions in 5d6 seconds, and more serious wounds in 1d4 melees.

-Kidneys, Enhanced---Superior blood filtration, especially good for resisting toxins. Also includes some modification of the liver, to better resist the effects of that other toxin, alcohol. +5 to save vs poison, +1 to save versus drugs and other toxins.

-Modified Appendix---Another biomod meant to improve the recipient’s resistance to toxins. +5 to save vs poison, damage and penalties are halved, and duration is only 25% of normal.

-Armored Eyes---Nictating extra eyelids that prevent damage from gases, airborne dust, and squirting blood.

-Bio-Regeneration: Healing Factor---+1d6+6 Hit Points, +25 SDC, +3 save versus magic, poison, and toxins, +3 save versus psionic attacks, heals 3 SDC every 10 minutes, 1 Hit Point every 15 minutes, can instantly regenerate 4d6 HP twice per 24 hours.

Total bonuses:
+1 I.Q.
+1 M.E.
+1 P.E.
+2d6 SDC +2d6 SDC+25 SDC
+3d6+6 Hit Points
ISP: 1d6x11+20+M.E.
+1 APM
+1 initiative
+1 parry
+14% save versus coma/death
+3 save versus magic
+3 save versus psionic attacks
+14 to save vs poison. Damage and penalties are halved, and duration is only 25% of normal.
+1 to save versus drugs and other toxins
+5 save versus gases
Impervious to disease
+4 save versus heart and blood diseases
+3 save vs Horror Factor
+1d4 additional Secondary Skills(Must select from Medical or Technical)
+2% all skills
+5% to Climbing, Pick Locks, Palming, Concealment, and Mechanical/Electrical repair

[Godogma]

Excellent work, I quite like your armory of designs - however there are a few things mentioned earlier that if I recall correctly you said you were working on:

Paladin Steel Expedition Gear (Tents, Survival Gear, etc)

Another couple of topics I'd like to see are:

Some more motorcycles and hovercycles tuned toward adventurers.
I'd also like some more information on your spellcard system and how it works. I'd like to use them but I don't quite understand how the concept works.

[taalismn]

Excellent work, I quite like your armory of designs - however there are a few things mentioned earlier that if I recall correctly you said you were working on:

Paladin Steel Expedition Gear (Tents, Survival Gear, etc)

Another couple of topics I'd like to see are:

Some more motorcycles and hovercycles tuned toward adventurers.
I'd also like some more information on your spellcard system and how it works. I'd like to use them but I don't quite understand how the concept works.

Thanks for the feedback!
I WILL get to work on accessory gear, and I have a few motorcycles in the works...Hovercycles HAVE(and I mention this in the fluff of many posts) been one market PS has had trouble breaking into, largely because of the market being already flooded with popular brand-name designs...It's one market PS this far hasn't been able to make much headway against rivals like Northern Gun or Bandito Arms.

As for spellcards?
Okay, think of the standard TW device as having a power source( a PPE clip/capacitor or the user), a trigger mechanism, and a focal element where the spell(s) to be cast get the PPE channeled through.Maybe the device also has a focal element to help project the spell, possibly using a secondary spell to help 'push'.
Most TW devices have the mechanism of the spell hardwired into the apparatus...you may be able to swap the PPE source out, but not the main spell.
Multiplexors simply make the main spell swappable as well, so the same projector can be used to fire different spells.
The easiest way to think of it is as an old-fashioned slide projector, with the 'spellcard' holding the spell to be cast able to be slipped in and out between the light bulb and the lens array. A multi-spell Multiplexor is like a slide projector with a carousel slide tray that can be directed to insert specific slides on command.

[taalismn]

More Paladin Steel Sniper Rifles
“’Smart Guns’ are all very nice and shiny, but what happens when all of that fancy electronics and nanogear goes ‘poof’? It all comes down to a well-made rifle and a skilled hand to get the job done.”
---Corporal Roderick Fennec, Sniper, Greater New England Regular Army

“Excellence doesn’t become obsolete. Excellence survives.”

"Enemy snipers? They couldn't hit a spiny ravager at this ra-"
Last words attributed to Bandit Lord Karmov, just before he was fatally shot through the eye-socket visor of his repainted CA-1 "Dead Boy" body armor.

What's old is new again, and Paladin Steel has taken advantage of new materials and new ammunition types to roll out more upgraded firearms from the Golden Age(and before). What these resurrected oldies may lack in the firepower of more modern energy and gauss weapons, they make up for in simplicity, ease of use, versatility, low cost, and sometimes range, so many adventurers and wilderness folk pick a few up as back-ups and for hunting game. And with the increasingly common availability of megadamage ammunition, and more specialized and customized types for specific purposes, these rifles are popular delivery systems for long range 'delivery'.


Paladin Steel/Farnborough Aviation 7.62mm L960A2 Bolt-Action Sniper Rifle
(aka ‘Hathcock’)
http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp164/taalismn/ai-l96a1_zps35834619.jpg

“I don’t get it, ‘ruma, I always figured you for a pacifist. And now you’re taking up marksmanship? And you already got yourself a Hathcock ?”
“Well, your job as a merchant seems to be a dangerous one, and if I’m to be not simply your wife but your business partner, I’m going to have to get used to dealing with trouble. And if I have to do that, I prefer to keep trouble at a distance. Hence, the rifle.”
“...You’re still thinking of when I downed those three flying robots with nothing but my old Simarand, aren’t you?”
“Maybe?”

The L960A2 Bolt-Action Sniper Rifle is a collaborative effort between North American Paladin Steel and British trade partner Farnborough Aviation’s sideline small arms division. A remake of a pre-Rifts British weapon, the Accuracy International L96A1, the L960A2 has been ‘meganized’, with tougher, slightly lighter, megadamage materials replacing the original construction. The firing mechanism has been made as foolproof as possible, with permanent dry lubricant coatings applied to the surfacing of relevant moving parts, rendering the weapon as corrosion-proof and maintenance-free as possible. The built-in ruggedness and ability to chamber a variety of rounds makes the weapon quite popular, even in an age of energy weapons and rail guns.
Though initially sold in Britain, the L960A2 is now just as popular selling in North America(where it is known as the ‘Hathcock’), and the weapon is produced on both sides of the Atlantic.
Weight: 12 lbs
Length: 45 in.
MDC: 34
Range: 3,280 ft
Damage:(7.62mm) 5d6 SD per round
(7.62mm Ball) 6d6 SD per round
(Ramjet) 1 MD per rd, 3d6x10 SD against ‘soft’ targets
(Wellington/PS Exploders) 15d6 SD per rd
(Saboted Light Armor Piercing)1d6 MD per round
(PSX-1) 2d6 MD per round
Can chamber a variety of other ammunition types, including silver, wood, Glaser, and TW bullets.

Rate of Fire: Single shot, ECHH
Payload: 10 rd box clip magazine
Special Features:
*Corrosion-proof Construction
*Top Sight Rail---Can be fitted with a scope or other sight
*Bipod-mounting available
*Muzzle Threading---For attachment of muzzle break, flash-hider, rifle grenade launcher attachments.
*Sniper-Balanced/Accurate---+1 to strike w/ called shots

Cost: 1,700 credits bought direct from PS, could cost more than that elsewhere.
Options:
The most often customized feature of sniper rifles is the scoping; a variety of sighting packages are available.

*TW Mystic Marksmanship Enhancement(3 PPE for a single shot)---Gives a +3 to an aimed or called shot. Cost: 9,000 credits

Paladin Steel/Farnborough Aviation L1150A4 Bolt-Action Sniper Rifle
(aka ‘Ragsdale’ )
http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp164/taalismn/L115A3A2X0_zps6a8f02f6.jpg

“Sometimes you don’t need a cannon to do a job where a needle strike will do the job just as well.”

The second of two British-design ‘classic’ bolt-action sniper rifles redone by Paladin Steel and Farnborough Aviation, the L1150A4 is another remake of a pre-Rifts British weapon, the L115A3. Though not as well-known as weapons such as the Barrett series, the L115A3 had the distinction of holding the 2009 world’s record for accurate long range shooting. Though the original design could be chambered for either 7.62mm or a specialist 8.58mm round, PS/FA have remade the L115A3 in the 8.58mm format, despite problems this may incur in supplying a fairly uncommon(compared to the 7.62) round.
Often confused with the L960A2(which sometimes uses the same stock furniture), the L1150A4 is enjoying similar popularity among shooters looking for a good, reliable, long range weapon that can be used for ‘soft’ targets, hunting, or projectile sniping.
Weight: 13.2 lbs
Length: 51 in.
MDC: 35
Range: 4,930 ft
Damage:(8.58mm/.338) 1d4x10 SD per round
(Ramjet) 1 MD per rd, 3d6x10 SD against ‘soft’ targets
(Wellington/PS Exploders) 3d4x10 SD per rd
(Saboted Light Armor Piercing)1d6 MD per round
(PSX-1) 2d6 MD per round
Can chamber a variety of other ammunition types, including silver, wood, Glaser, and TW bullets.
Rate of Fire: Single shot, ECHH
Payload: 5 rd box clip magazine
Special Features:
*Corrosion-proof Construction
*Top Sight Rail---Can be fitted with a scope or other sight
*Bipod-mounting available
*Muzzle Threading---For attachment of muzzle break, flash-hider, rifle grenade launcher attachments.
*Sniper-Balanced/Accurate---+1 to strike w/ called shots
Cost: 1,900 credits bought direct from PS, could cost more than that elsewhere.
Options:
The most often customized feature of sniper rifles is the scoping; a variety of sighting packages are available.

*TW Mystic Marksmanship Enhancement(3 PPE for a single shot)---Gives a +3 to an aimed or called shot. Cost: 9,000 credits

Variant:
*L1150V -With the PS persuaded its British partner to allow it to try to combine both calibers, using a variable breech and ‘constricting barrel’ based on their own S-11 ‘Flexus’ Omni-Rifle and studies of Bandito Arms’ BigBore ‘Universal’ multi-munitions assault rifle. Using a ‘passive’ memory-metal system that requires far less energy to maintain barrel variability than the S-11, PS has produced a weapon that can chamber BOTH 7.62mm and 8.58mm ammunition without any diminishment in range performance. The weapon is slightly more expensive, but much more versatile, and is expected to do very well in sales.
Range:(7.62mm) 3,600 ft
(8.58mm/.338)4,930 ft
Cost: 2,500 credits bought direct from PS, could cost five to six times that elsewhere.

Paladin Steel TAC-500 12.7mm(.50) Heavy Sniper Rifle
(aka ‘Millan’, ‘Furlong’, ‘Snow White (and the Five Dwarves)’)
http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp164/taalismn/20111127152252Mcmillan-tac50_zps76569364.jpg

“At maximum range, it will take a round three seconds to cross the intervening space between gun and target. Enough time to get off another shot in the interim. Enough time for the target to move out of the way. Three seconds Schrödinger and his damn cat would have appreciated. The fact that we have Tunda Rangers regularly capping targets from nearly a mile away suggests those Canadians are regularly bending space/time, or are just REALLY insanely good shots. Either way, as a matter of course I’m not ####ing off anybody up north if they’re packing a rifle, or I know they got kinfolk who are packing. I don’t appreciate three second intervals in which I don’t know if I’m supposed to be alive or dead.”
----Groffon Margos, Headhunter

Another updated ‘repligun’ with a design history going back pre-Rifts, this PS-re--issue is based on a Canadian rifle, the McMillan TAC-50, which made records in its day for long-distance kills. The design came to PS’s attention when Paladin Steel CHeVER(Canadian Heavy Vehicle Evaluation Range) made a small arms supply contract with the Tundra Rangers, and the customers produced several examples of this weapon from pre-Rifts stockpiles, wanting to know if an updated version could be produced. PS was more than happy to comply, ‘meganizing’ it to use more durable MDC materials and effectively weather-proofing it against the cold and wet of the Canadian wilderness. They were also more than happy to run off production lots for their Canadian clients, who have been more than happy in turn to use them to bang away at targets throughout the North. As a straightfoward, simple, reliable, weapon that’s easy to maintain, the TAC-500’s proving popular with marksmen in both the warrior and sport-hunting communities.
Weight: 24 lbs
Length: 57 in.
MDC: 37
Range: 5,250 ft
Damage:(12.7mm/.5in)1d6x10 SDC per rd
(WI Exploders) 3d6x10 SDC per rd
(Ramjets) 1d4 MD single rd
(PSX-2E) 3d4+1 MD per rd
Can chamber a variety of other ammunition types, including silver, wood, Glaser, and TW bullets.
Rate of Fire: Single shot, ECHH
Payload: 5 rd box clip magazine
Special Features:
*Corrosion-proof Construction
*Top Sight Rail---Can be fitted with a scope or other sight
*Bipod-mounting available
*Muzzle Threading---For attachment of muzzle break, flash-hider, rifle grenade launcher attachments.
*Sniper-Balanced/Accurate---+1 to strike w/ called shots
Cost: 2,200 credits bought direct from PS, could cost five to six times that elsewhere.
Options:
The most often customized feature of sniper rifles is the scoping; a variety of sighting packages are available.

*TW Mystic Marksmanship Enhancement(3 PPE for a single shot)---Gives a +3 to an aimed or called shot. Cost: 9,000 credits

[Godogma]

The weights seem a bit off on the TAC-500; they're using lightweight MDC materials and the thing still weighs 24lbs?

On the PSX ammunition - what calibers is it offered in and how much does it cost/whats the damage per caliber? (If its earlier in the thread I apologize, could someone post a link? In the 80 pages I must admit to rereading it twice and I'm still not sure what is where and I can't recall where the index is at the moment).

[taalismn]

The weights seem a bit off on the TAC-500; they're using lightweight MDC materials and the thing still weighs 24lbs?

On the PSX ammunition - what calibers is it offered in and how much does it cost/whats the damage per caliber? (If its earlier in the thread I apologize, could someone post a link? In the 80 pages I must admit to rereading it twice and I'm still not sure what is where and I can't recall where the index is at the moment).

MDC weapons aren't THAT lightweight and besides, you want a LITTLE weight on a heavy caliber weapon to help damp the recoil and maintain control; a featherweight weapon would blow your accuracy all over the place when it flipped up in your face. And bear in mind that the present day 'Light' Barrett .50 weighs in at 32 lbs! The original TAC-50 weighs 26 lbs.

I haven't yet come out with pricing for PS's high-ex rounds, largely because it's offered mainly to its own armed services and affiliated allies, who don't get billed. And trying comparisons between calibers is a bastard I'm still ironing out. I don't want to give a sudden jump in destructive power for differences in caliber of a millimeter or so, but I'm going to HAVE to come up with my own chart for them just to keep it straight in my mind.
Sorry for now. BUt thanks for pointing that out to me.
In the meantime, use your discretion.. OR....I figure 60-70 credits per round for the PS-X .50 ammo( for comparison a TRiax pump shell that does 4d6 MD costs 200 credits on the open market). 20-30 credits per round for smaller calibers. Slash prices as much as 20% for large(500 rounds or more) ammunition orders.

[taalismn]

[
Have you considered doing reproductions of old WWII anti-tank rifles and anti-meterial rifles?

They're what inspired my earlier 20mm-30mm format 'sniper cannon', but EXACT replicas? No, such weapons as the Boys, the Type 97, and the Russian PTRS/PTRD rifles have been improved on in concept and technology by later weapons such as the Gepard M3/M6 and others.

[taalismn]

[
Have you considered doing reproductions of old WWII anti-tank rifles and anti-meterial rifles?

They're what inspired my earlier 20mm-30mm format 'sniper cannon', but EXACT replicas? No, such weapons as the Boys, the Type 97, and the Russian PTRS/PTRD rifles have been improved on in concept and technology by later weapons such as the Gepard M3/M6 and others.

Well I once statted out a tw enhanced Lahti L-39. Normal 20mm rounds did something like 1D4x100 SDC (I had to use damage for a 20mm single shot canon out of the compendium of modern weapons). It had individual pieces with featherlight cast on them to reduce weight and I had created some TW sniper rounds for it.

The suckers the Finns used on the Soviets during the Winter War? Couldn't make up their minds if they were rifles or cannon(mounted on wheeled carriages with shields)? Sounds like fun!

[Godogma]

[
Have you considered doing reproductions of old WWII anti-tank rifles and anti-meterial rifles?

They're what inspired my earlier 20mm-30mm format 'sniper cannon', but EXACT replicas? No, such weapons as the Boys, the Type 97, and the Russian PTRS/PTRD rifles have been improved on in concept and technology by later weapons such as the Gepard M3/M6 and others.

Well I once statted out a tw enhanced Lahti L-39. Normal 20mm rounds did something like 1D4x100 SDC (I had to use damage for a 20mm single shot canon out of the compendium of modern weapons). It had individual pieces with featherlight cast on them to reduce weight and I had created some TW sniper rounds for it.

The suckers the Finns used on the Soviets during the Winter War? Couldn't make up their minds if they were rifles or cannon(mounted on wheeled carriages with shields)? Sounds like fun!

Also utterly impractical to transport and nearly impossible to use unless you're a full combat cyborg or have supernatural strength unless you're laying prone on the ground where you make for a most excellent target yourself. XD

[Godogma]

That was kinda my point, lugging the damn thing around had to be a pain in the butt. XD

[taalismn]

[
Like I said, I had some TW mods on it, in the end it only weighed about 40 lbs. The only real issue was that it couldn't be stowed away because of its length.

Use the same quick-changeable barrels with handles idea used on machine guns. Partial disassembly for more convenient stowage.

[taalismn]

[
Like I said, I had some TW mods on it, in the end it only weighed about 40 lbs. The only real issue was that it couldn't be stowed away because of its length.

Use the same quick-changeable barrels with handles idea used on machine guns. Partial disassembly for more convenient stowage.

Well I don't play the character that had it anymore, but it was nice while it lasted

If you ever decide to start your own arms company online or post it as a market item, bear it in mind.
Also consider the possibilities of developed and applied Molecular Adhesion technology(like that used in clinging gloves, boots, and pads) ...maybe a shotgun slide-like device you can run over the barrel once you unfold it to firing length, sealing the barrel with a molecular weld. Run the slider back, and the sections separate, ready to be folded up for stowage.

[dargo83]

do it johnny i would like to see ur what u have come up with. and u can do the samething as tailsman does and add stuff a u come up with them.

[taalismn]

do it johnny i would like to see ur what u have come up with. and u can do the samething as tailsman does and add stuff a u come up with them.

Agreed. Start small, start niche, add as you see fit. There's an entire pocket dimension (in Megaversal Builder) mentioned that's just one big arms market of companies(most of whom got on the wrong side of Naruni Enterprises). Rent a booth.

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel HC-07 ‘Reliable’ HoverCycle
(aka ‘Skeeto’, 'Damselfly')
http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp164/taalismn/img285.jpg

“Built Ugly-Tough for Your Extra-Tough Work.”

“If you like going deep through a forest with your hovercycles and you buy a Reliable, you might want to chop back the landing spokes, or have the mechanics install less protruding ones. Sure, you’re more likely to topple over with new gears, but you won’t snag your landing legs on tree branches and old power lines while you’re slaloming through the green.”
---Everett Pike, Wilderness Scout.

While other hovercycles are optimized for speed, agility, or grace, the HC-07 ‘Reliable’ is meant as a working ‘cycle, more of a light hover utility vehicle more than anything else. The design has been ascribed to a Wynaro colonial utility vehicle, adapted for Rifts Earth, though it’s also rumored to be based on a hoverjet test stand used by PS to develop systems for other designs.
Part of that concession to utility is because, no matter how PS tries to ignore it, the HC-07, with its segmented body, prominent twin headlights, six splayed landing rod-struts, and long abdomen cargo bed, reminds most people unpleasantly of a large mechanical mosquito. Unable to make it in selling to appearance-conscious urban-dwellers or upper-crust men-at-arms, PS instead markets this vehicle to the working segment, where functionality and reliability tends to be more important than aesthetics. Those who are able to look beyond the unfortunate resemblance will find a very stable, fuel-efficient, tough, and hardworking vehicle that gets the job done. An extremely efficient powerplant channels power to six undercarriage jets(1 in front, two each side, and one in back) making for stable flight and some serious lift. The real selling point, however, is the large cargo compartment on the rear of the hovercycle, that makes it into a mini-hover pickup truck.
The HC-07 is largely marketed to wilderness scouts and communities, where the ‘cycle’s long range between refueling and cargo haulage capacity make it a good fit for small operators and traders. The ‘Reliable’ has the capacity to be outfitted with weapons, and some guerilla combat units(and spec ops forces) have outfitted the ‘cycles with rear-facing guns, or replaced the cargo bed with mine- and sensor-layers.
Type: PS-HC-07 ‘Reliable’
Class: Utility Hovercycle
Crew: One. Up to two passengers can cram into the cargo bed/compartment
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 90
Windshield 35
Front Headlights(2) 5 each
Hoverjets(6) 40 each
Landing Legs(6) 15 each
Height: 6 ft
Width: 8 ft(leg splay)
Length: 12 ft
Weight: 1,600 lbs
Cargo: Can carry up to 500 lbs of gear in its rear compartment-bed.
Powerplant: Liquid Fuel(w/ 700 mile range), Electric (w/ 750 mile range)or 5-year Nuclear(rare).
Speed: 110 MPH, maximum altitude of 300 ft.
Bonus: Very stable; +10% to Pilot Hovercycle rolls. Extreme maneuvers, however, will be -10% due to the gyrostabilizers fighting destabilizing antics, unless the gyros are deliberately switched off(lose the piloting bonus in the process).
Market Cost: 58,000 credits for liquid fuel, , 64,000 credits for electric, 2 million credits for nuclear.
Systems of Note:
-Standard Hovercycle Dashboard Instruments
Weapons Systems: None standard
Options:
*Windshield Upgrade---MDC: 60, Cost: 18,000 Credits

*Cargo Deck Hardtop---Adds a hard armored cover to the cargo deck. This may limit the shape and bulk of items carried, but the cover provides extra protection form the elements and enemy action. Comes in two grades; Light(MDC: 25, Cost: 6,000 Credits) and Heavy (MDC: 60, Cost: 13,000 Credits).

*Silent Operation---This reduces the acoustic signature of the hovercycle as much as 60%. Cost: 30,000 credits

*Extra Fuel Tankage(available to internal combustion-powered versions)---Adds an extra fuel tank in the cargo bed. This reduces cargo capacity by 3/4 for an extra 100 miles of range, 1/2 for 200 miles of range, or limits it to about 100 lbs for a 450 mile range extension, and then, only what can be strapped to the top and sides of the tank. Cost: 2,000 credits per 100 miles capacity of the installed extra fuel tank.

*Solar Wings(available to electrically-powered versions)---This outfits the ‘cycle with two folding-frame(40 MDC each), high-effiency solar arrays that help slowly recharge the ‘cycle, using available sunlight. Deployed ideally when the cycle is landed, these can give a charge ration of 1 hour engine activity to 2 hours of absorbed sunlight(must be at worst only partially cloudy), or can extend the cycle’s range on the go by 10%. The wings have the unfortunate side effect of making the ‘cycle look even more like a giant mechanical mosquito, and are expensive(relative to to the base cost of the ‘cycle), but increase the range substantially. Cost: 200,000 credits

*Speed Booster---Does away with any passenger or rear cargo capacity in favor of adding a booster assembly. Allows the Reliable to hit speeds of 240 MPH for 16 minutes before needing 20 minutes to cool down and recharge. Cost: 22,000 credits

*Amphibious Operation---Outfits the ‘pipe cleaner’ landing legs with flotation units, allowing the HC-07 to land and take off from swamp and open water. Cost: 12,000 credits

*Weaponry---The Reliable can be fitted with up to two weapons on the front of the ‘cycle.
a) Lasers
Range: 1,000 ft
Damage: 2d6 MD per shot, 6d6 MD pulse burst
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 150 shot battery. Effectively Unlimited if nuclear powered
Cost: 18,000 credits

b) Ion Blasters
Range: 600 ft
Damage: 3d6 MD single shot, 6d6 MD pulse burst
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 100 shot battery. Effectively Unlimited if nuclear powered
Cost: 18,000 credits

c) Cyborg Machine Gun
Range: 2,000 ft
Damage:(SDC) 1d6x10 SDC per 10 rd burst
(MD) 1 MD single rd, 2d4 MD per 10 rd burst
(PSX-2) 1d4 MD per rd, 1d4x10 MD per 10 rd burst.
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 300 rd drum
Cost: 18,000 credits

d) MicroMissile Launcher(s)----12 shot pod. Cost: 15,000 credits for the launcher

e)PS-RL-210 Fragmentation Rocket Launcher( a copy of an imported Russian design). Note that PS has also been experimenting with an incendiary variant using a magnesium mixture.
Range: 4,000 ft
Damage: 1d6 single projectile, 1d6x10 MD per 10 rd burst/volley
at 3,500 ft, the rds go ‘grapeshot’, doing 3d6 MD(1 MD for a single shot) in a 12 ft wide area.
(Incendiary “Hot-Grape” Version)---Do an additional +2 MD per rd, and 1 MD of damage for 1d4 melees as the flare portion burns down.
Rate of Fire: EGCHH, Volleys of 1-8
Payload: 8 shots per launcher
Cost: 8,000 credits

f)PS-DL-110L Razor-Frizzer( a cut-down copy of an imported Russian design). The PS version uses ceramic and light alloy discs that, either by accident or deliberate design, give off a very audible high-pitched shrieking or buzzing noise when fired.
Range: 1,000 ft
Damage: 1d6 single projectile, 1d6x10 MD per 10 rd burst/volley
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 20 shots per launcher
Cost: 9,000 credits

g)PSAGL-23C 23mm Micro-Grenade Launcher
Weight: 6 lbs
Range: 280 ft
Damage: (High Explosive)2d4 MD to a 10 ft area
A 5 rd burst does 1d4x10 MD to an 15 ft area
(Incendiary)---A slug of thermal gel that does 1d6 MD to a 12 ft splash, and an additional 1d4 MD per melee for 1d6 melees
(Flare) Burns with blinding incandescence for 1d6 melees, each round brightly illuminating an area roughly 100 ft in radius. These are NOT parachute flares, but fall normally.
Rate of Fire: ECHH; single shot or 5 round burst
Payload: 25 shot drum
Cost: 9,000 credits. HE Shells cost 400 each, incendiary 450 each, and flare rounds 30 each.


-Smoke Screen Dispenser---Generates a thick, obscuring cloud of dense smoke. Each blast covers a 40 ft area and anyone caught in the cloud of thick, obscuring smoke is. Has enough smoke-matrix for 6 clouds.
Cost: 7,000 credits

-Sprayer Conversion---Replaces the cargo bed with a large chemical tank that feeds into sprayer arrays around the three rear hoverjets for maximum dispersal. Most often used in crop spraying, but also occasionally for insect control or riot control.
Range: Depending on wind and altitude, the ‘cycle can spray a 100 foot wide swath at maximum dispersal.
Damage: Varies by chemical type. If using water, typically does 4d6 HP to vampires(‘Bless the tank, Holy Father!”).
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 100 gallons
Cost: 10,000 credits


-Mine/Sensor Rack----Used by some (para) militaries, this option replaces the rear cargo bed with a launcher for sub-munitions or sensors, allowing for the quick emplacement of minefields or sensor ‘fences’.
Bomblet Dispenser---Light Weapons Dispenser(L-SAW)--This is essentially an oversized bomblet dispenser that can be used to bomb targets directly, ‘seed’ areas with minelets, or can launched to act as a standoff ‘glide bomb’.
Range: Submunitions can be launched up to 300 ft out to either side of the ‘cycle’s flight path.
Damage: (AP Grenade) 4d6 MD to 8 ft area
(Chemical Grenade) Varies by chemical type and atmospheric conditions. A chemical grenade will generally generate a cloud of aerosol 15 ft in radius.
(HE Shell) 5d6 MD to 20 ft area
(Fragmentation Mine) 4d6 MD to 12 ft area
(Incendiary Bomb) Does 4d6 MD to 40 ft area, does an additional 2d6 MD for 1d6 melees, and 1d6 MD per melee for an additional 2d4 melees
(Angel Hair)---Does NO damage, but against conventional power generators and uncovered power lines and distribution systems, it can short out power grids, clog generator air intakes(80% effectiveness against industrial generators and internal combustion engines), and be a general nuisance to clean up.
(Sensor)---A remote sensor pod that can be outfitted to detect motion(100 ft radius), electromagnetic activity, or chemical traces, and radio it in(50 mile radio range). Battery life is typically 2d4 weeks.
Rate of Fire: A SAW can volley its submunitions in any combination
Payload:(Typical loadouts)
200 AP/Chemical grenades
OR
50 HE/anti-vehicle grenades
OR
50 Fragmentation Mines
OR
25 Incendiary Bombs
OR
250 spools of wire, each spool holding up to 4,000 ft of aluminum-coated
OR
50 Sensor Pods

-Flamer---In place of the cargo bed, a rear-mounted flamer can be carried instead. Such refits are sometimes called ‘burn-buggies’ or ‘flame-tails’, and they are occasionally used for brush clearance and vermin control.
Range:(Direct-Stream Mode) 280 ft
Damage:
(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 flame-thrower 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.
Rate of Fire: Standard
Payload:
(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).
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


- Bomb---Can carry a 100 lb bomb(equiv. to a Medium Range Missile warhead) or up to a 250 lb bomb(but reduce maximum speed by 1/3, and bonuses by HALF). This is typically dropped as a mine or demolition charge.
*250-lb Bomb----2d4x10 MD to 50 ft blast radius

-Remote Operation Dorsal Gun Mount---A field ‘gunboat’ conversion, this modification replaces the cargo bed with a high-mount gun-pintle, mounting a PS-M136 Mini-Gun, fed from an ammo drum in the cargo bed. The gun is mounted to fire in an arc above the cyclist’s head, and is slaved to a helmet-mounted sight (turn the head and the gun follows) and handlebar triggers. The weapon’s high placement and heavy recoil on full autofire changes the Reliable’s center of gravity somewhat, reducing the piloting bonus to only a +5% for short bursts, and eliminating it altogether for heavy(40 round) bursts.
Range: 10,000 ft(though typically only really accurate out to 4,000 ft on the hovercycle)
Damage:(SDC) 6d6 SDC single shot, 4d6 x10 SDC(1d4 MD) per 10 rd burst, 8d6x10 SDC per 20 rd burst, 1d4 MD per 40 rd burst.
(Ramjets) 1 MD single shot, 1d10 MD per 10 rd burst, 2d10 MD per 20 rd burst, 1d4x10 MD per 40 rd burst.
(High Explosive)2d6x10 SDC single shot, 1d6 MD per 10 rd burst, 2d6 MD per 20 rd burst, 4d6 MD per 40 rd burst.
(PSX-2) 1d4 MD per rd, 1d4x10 MD per 10 rd burst, 2d4x10 MD per 20 rd burst, 4d4x10 MD per 40 rd burst.
(Tracer) Every 11th round is a tracer, which gives a +1 to strike with bursts. However, the tracer stream also makes it that much easier for enemies to backtrace and locate the machine gunner.
Rate of Fire: Standard; rated at 6,000 rpm(or 1,500 rounds per melee)
Payload: 4,000-rd belt
Cost: 41,000 credits for the complete conversion rig


Variants:
*PS-HC-07TW---Technowizardry variant. Can hit speeds of 220 MPH, maximum altitude of 500 ft, when on a ley line. Can also fly indefinitely when on a ley line.
Cost: 950,000 credits

*PS-HC-07PLE---Police ‘Skeeter’, with a set of light/siren bars on top, a laser scanner and registration reader in the front, distress beacon, secured weapons/equipment locker on the back, and loudspeaker. Also features a sonic stunner in the front and a stun-gun. The cargo bed is often fitted with restraints for transporting at least one strapped down prisoner. Sometimes called the ‘Bloodsucker’ in regions of gang activity where it’s joked that the things hunt down criminals and haul them off to be drained at the local lockup .
-Sonic Stunner:
Range: (Targeted Stun) 500 ft
(Area of Effect Blast) 300 ft, 10 ft wide area
Damage: (Targeted Stun) 1 SDC, plus save at 16 or better, or suffer -7 on initiative, -6 to strike, parry, and dodge for 1d6 melees. Reduce iPod by 20%.
(Area of Effect Blast) Save versus psychic attack(12 or better) or be -1d4 to initiative, HALF all bonuses to strike/parry/dodge, and -1d4 to Maintain Balance for 1d6 melees. Roll under P.A. or fall unconscious for 1d6 melees.
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 200 shots per E-clip

-Taser---Energy stun blaster
Range: 100 ft
Damage: 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)

Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 200 shots per E-clip

[abtex]

Nice start on your cycle run.

If you need some pictures for ideas -- try here. Some are cycles, others can be misused as them.

[taalismn]

Nice start on your cycle run.

If you need some pictures for ideas -- try here. Some are cycles, others can be misused as them.

Thanks, but here's the Reliable:
http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp164/taalismn/img285.jpg
And fopr extra fun, some pictures I snapped at the 2012 Simsbury Airport Air and Auto Show)apologies for the poor picture quality; I'm a beginner digital photographer using a VERY cheap DC):

Glitterboy(OLD style):
http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp164/taalismn/093.jpg(actually a 1934 Buick Model 40, but give it a TW makeover, and who knows?)

Small planes have dreams too:
http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp164/taalismn/098.jpgA Lancair Legacy that wants to be a Flying Tiger.

annndddd.....

Edit: Cleaned up some spelling on the Sniper Rifles post.

[DhAkael]

Slogan that didn't make the final cut
Paladin Steel! Where awsome and absurd collide like matter and antimatter!

[taalismn]

Slogan that didn't make the final cut
Paladin Steel! Where awsome and absurd collide like matter and antimatter!

Well, thank you!
That now brings to mind mutual annihilation, bursts of radiation, shockwaves, heat, and people running around screaming "you can't mix them cold!"

[Veritas476]

"You can't mix them cold" makes me wonder what a Paladin Steel bartender is like.... *shudders*

[taalismn]

"You can't mix them cold" makes me wonder what a Paladin Steel bartender is like.... *shudders*

Imagine the drink mixer and beer tap as designed by Tim 'The Tool Guy' Taylor, and you'll be close.

"MORE POWER!"

Actually, I believe I did cover in a cultural note what the PS/GNE policy on alcohol is...Don't interfere with the workbeing's beer, unless alcoholism is interfering with work productivity and public safety.
And because the GNE is species-tolerant, be careful what you order at the bar; not everybody drinks universally safe booze....

[DhAkael]

"You can't mix them cold" makes me wonder what a Paladin Steel bartender is like.... *shudders*

Imagine the drink mixer and beer tap as designed by Tim 'The Tool Guy' Taylor, and you'll be close.

"MORE POWER!"

Actually, I believe I did cover in a cultural note what the PS/GNE policy on alcohol is...Don't interfere with the workbeing's beer, unless alcoholism is interfering with work productivity and public safety.
And because the GNE is species-tolerant, be careful what you order at the bar; not everybody drinks universally safe booze....

In some cases the Pan-Galactic Gargleblaster is the WEAKEST drink at the bar, and it only gets worse (or better, depending on ones biochemical / mineral makeup).