Gargoyle Jetpacks: New Accessory

[taalismn]

Gargoyle Empire GJ-01/GJ-01b/GJ-02 Personal Jetpacks
(aka ‘Garg-jets’, ‘GeeKays’, 'Guzz-bombs')
“-monsters flanked us faster than we thought possible! I thought we had that sector PACIFIED! They should have bogged down at the river, but I got reports of gurgs LEAPING the gorge! Somebody in milintel missed something important and if my unit survives this shet-up I’m going to take my complaint straight up their arse! ”

“The recent developments along our fronts should emphasize that despite our substantial gains against our hated Gargoyle enemies, they are still a very dangerous adversary and should never be underestimated. Doing so only allows them to come back in strength to resume slaughtering us. All the more reason why we cannot relent i n pressing our campaign and exterminating the gargoyles from the face of the Earth!”

Even as the New German Republic’s Second Bloody Campaign surged over the Gargoyle Empire and reaped a horrible retribition, Emperor Zerstrun’s engineers(with no small amount of assistance from Mindwerks and Atlantis) were frantically at work developing new weapons and equipment to help stem the tide of battle that was threatening the Gargoyle Empire.
One of several new devices and rude surprises to debut during this period of desperation are personal strap-on jetpacks that make individual gargoyles into faster-flying aerial combatants and gurgoyles into terrain-hopping jump-troops.
Zerstrum’s secret backers had to keep the systems durable and simple enough for the technology-challenged monsters to maintain, so the thruster systems are fairly simple and easu to produce; the ‘stovepipes’ look like pre-Rifts World War-2-vintage German Argus Pulse Jets attached to a harness that sites the jetpack between the gargoyle pilot’s wings. The packs are powered by limited-life RTGs(Radio-Thermal Generators) that deliver intense power, but only last a limited time before fading and needing to be replaced.
Even with their supernatural physiologies, flying with the new jetpacks isn’t easy. Gargoyles didn’t evolve to fly at high speeds, so flying with jetpacks requires extra training beyond just knowing what switches to throw and levels to push. As the gargoyle’s wings provide most of the aerodynamic lift, the gargoyle has to learn to stiffen up and brace against the increased slipstream of jet-assisted flight...or risk having their wings fold and force them into uncontrolled dives. At the very least, goggles are recommended wear, and light body armor with lockable bracing would be optimal.
Gargoyle jetpacks are also extremely noisy; no stealth is possible with them and their distinctive pulse thrust can be heard for miles.
The new jetpacks have come as a shock to the forces opposing the Gargoyle Empire, and the NGR, after the initial unpleasant encounters with jetpacking monsters, has abashedly advised its troops to remain cautious and wary of any more nasty surprises. Fortunately, the piecemeal deployment of the jetpacks seems to have come before a large number can have been distributed to Emperor Zerstrun’s forces, and they could have used them more effectively in a counteroffensive. Still, the NGR is reminded that a cornered animal is a dangerous animal, and the gargoyles are no exception.
A refined version of the GJ-01 has also appeared that mounts hardpoints that can be fitted with machine guns or rocket/missile launchers. A two(weaker) jumpjet pack version has also appeared for gurgoyle troops.

(Optional Rules:
*Flying the GJ-01 at speeds over 100 MPH is fatiguing even for gargoyles; the combination of buffetting slipstream in their faces and air resistance, plus the noise and vibrations from the pulse jets, wrack even the megadamage physiologies of the monsters. However, they fatigue at only 25% of their regular rate.
At speeds above 200 MPH, the gargoyles can only maitain/yolrate the speed for their P.E. in minutes before needing to drop down below 100 MPH to effectively rest sore musculature. Trying to push this time limit incurs a Piloting roll at -20% every 5 minutes of additional flight. A failed roll means the gargpyle’s wings have folded under stress and the jetpacker has staggered off course, is losing altitude, and likely headed for a crashlanding.
*Gargoyles are natural fliers who use their skin-tactile senses to sense the airflow around them; wearing full body armor while flying imposes a -5% Piloting penalty while operating the jetpack. No penalty if uncovered.)

Type: GJ-01a/b/GJ-02
Class: Personal Jet Pack/Flight System(Requires Pilot: Jetpack to operate)
Crew: One, Gargoyle
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 60
Height: 3ft diameter jet pipe
Width: 3ft diameter jet pipe
Length: 7 ft
Weight: 230 lbs
Cargo: Gargoyle, possible body armor and personal weapons
Powerplant: Nuclear RTG, good for three months’ continious operation.
Speed:(Flying) Hover to 370 MPH, maximum altitude of 2,000 ft.
Market Cost: New, and not available on the Black Market. Would probably sell for about 800,000 credits with a fully charged RTG.
Systems of Note:
*Basic Autopilot/Hands-Free Kinetathetic Operation---Allows the Gargoyle to use their hands to carry things/use weapons/fight. Can use body movements to fly.
Weapons Systems: None(see Variants)
Variants:
*GJ-01b---Refined GJ-01 with the addition of two weapons pylons on either side of the jetpack. These can hold expendable ordnance:
a) Machine Gun Pod---Uses the same ammunition as the Gargoyle Super-Eight Pistol Mace but with longer barreling, and an autofeed magazine for more shots.
Range: 1,000 ft
Damage: 1d4 MD single rd, 4d4 MD four-shot birst, 5d6 MD eight-shot burst.
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 80 rds

b) Mini-Missiles---Two per hardpoint

c) Short Range Missiles---One per hardpoint(dumb-fire weapon, no bonuses for guidance; use W.P. Heavy Weapons for strike bonuses).

d) Laser Blaster---This is simply the Gargoyle Laser Mace weapon remounted
Range: 800 ft
Damage: 3d6 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: Effectively unlimited linked to the jetpack’s nuclear RTG.

*GJ-02---This is a twin-jet pack intended for Gurgoyle troops. It uses the same powercells as the GJ-01, but without the gargoyles’ wings to provide lift, the gurgoyles are limited to hovering and jet-assisted leaps.
Speed:(Flying) Hover to a maximum altitude of 300 ft. Jet-assisted leaps of 60 ft up/ 360 ft across and can hit speeds of 175 MPH moving like a Triax T-21 Hopper(and in fact the packs were specified as beig able to keep up with, and ideally overtake, the smaller and more nimble Triax suits). However, the larger size of the gurgoyles means they are more prone to crash into obstacles in close quarters/dense surroundings like forests and ruins.
The GJ-02 also gives a bonus +1d4 damage to leap kicks, and a +1 to leap dodge.
A GJ-02b version mounting a long-barrel grenade launcher(using the same ammunition as the Gargoyle Grenade Mace) mounted between the jets and firing as a ballistic mortar, has been hinted at in intercepted intelligence. Weapons range is speculated to be 2,000 ft, with a twelve-shot payload. Damage remains unchanged at 5d6 MD to a 20 ft blast radius, but as a nortar, accuracy is expected to suffer(-2 to strike).