Black Talon War Hawk and Falconer O.C.C.

[slappy]

I first feel like I need to apologize to Taalismn. It almost feels like plagasim, but I promise you I tried to stay away from all your ideas except the falcon gloves and the perches on the shoulders.

I plan to submit this to the Rifter, so Taalismn, if you could send me a personal message with your real name I want to make sure you get credit in case it is published (which history has shown me it likely will not).

Also, please post your idea as well. I took it in a totally different direction, and I would really like to see your version as well. I only went with the single bio-tech creature while it seemed like you had dozens in mind.

Anyway below is the bio-tech version of a hunting falcon and the men that wield them.

Black Talon War Hawk

The faithful Gorehounds have been instrumental in humanity’s struggle against the Machine. Their powerful senses, instincts, and low profile make them excellent scouts and trackers, and their strength and pack mentality makes them fierce combatants. Their long history of exceptional service has inspired many Librarians to try and develop other loyal attack animals.

One Librarian recalled ancient tales of falcons trained to hunt for their human masters. He decided it was the perfect choice, and he began crafting his ultimate attack bird, the Black Talon War Hawk. His creation combines the DNA from dozens of different falcons, hawks, eagles, and other birds of prey, plus DNA from several alien species. The end result looks like a normal hawk or falcon, only larger. However, the internal physiology of the Black Talon is far different than any natural creature. The tiny brain has been drastically expanded to increase the War Hawk’s intelligence. Since the skull only had so much room, the brain actually runs down the neck and into the body cavity. Extra bone plates were installed beneath the skin to protect this enormous brain, but the Librarian could only add so much armor without hampering its impressive flight speed.

Black Talons are commanded by a force of elite Splicers called Falconers. When one of these war birds first emerges from a Genepool, it is immediately presented to its Falconer so the two can bond. A Black Talon will imprint with the first living creature it sees, and once the bond is formed, the War Hawk will loyally follow its master without question. If the Falconer is killed, the bond he has with all his Black Talon War Hawks is severed and they are free to go wherever they want. However, imprinting with a human ingrains a strong feeling of kinship towards humanity, so they will likely chose to follow another Falconer as long as they deem him worthy. Black Talon War Hawks are nearly as intelligent as a human, so if their original bond is ever severed, they will only follow commands from Falconers that treat them with respect.

The War Hawk is mainly used for reconnaissance, but it does pack impressive offensive power (especially when multiple hawks combine their attacks). The mouth, throat, and lungs have been modified to fire a high-powered plasma blast, and its feet end in three-inch long razor sharp claws that are capable of injecting a powerful acid. The acid is incredibly destructive to metal and other inorganic materials, but is relatively harmless to organic tissue. It is impressive that the Librarian was able to pack so much destructive power into such a tiny body, but the small size of the Black Talon means that it is limited in what additional enhancements it can receive. It is also important to choose enhancements that do not detract from the War Hawks appearance.

The Black Talon was designed to look like a normal hawk so it would be ignored by the Machine, and this strategy has worked better than anyone could have hoped. No one within the Resistance knows that it took decades for the Gaia personality to successfully reintroduce hawks into the world, so she is actually somewhat protective of them. In areas under her control, her robots will never fire upon any bird of prey, and even when it is determined to be a human construct, they look so natural that Gaia still has difficulty firing upon them (against Black Talon War hawks, Gaia controlled robots lose one attack per melee and are -5 on initiative and -5 to strike).

Another unexpected gift from Gaia is the fact that Black Talons can hunt down and kill Ratbombs without detonating them. The nanites within the Ratbomb activate the explosive charge when the rat is within close proximity to humans, dogs, or cats, but they were never programmed to explode when attacked by a hawk or other bird of prey. Once the existence of Black Talon War Hawks was confirmed, the Hecate personality wanted to correct this oversight, but Gaia would not let her. This internal conflict within N.E.X.U.S. has given the Resistance a real defense against the Ratbomb menace. Unfortunately, there are millions of Ratbombs scurrying across the planet, so there will never be enough War Hawks to keep their numbers in check.

In the field, the Falconer directs his War Hawks like his own personal force of spies, scouts, and saboteurs. His Black Talons soar high above the earth, scanning the battlefield below and transmitting the visual data back to the Falconer through a special Bio Comm. This unique Bio Comm can also transmit all audio within a 30-foot radius of the War Hawk. The ability to act like a living microphone makes these War Hawks the ultimate spies.

In combat, the Falconer can order his hawks to swoop in and engage robot forces directly or drop Migs on them from above, but most use their birds more covertly. Black Talons are actually so intelligent, they can be used to transport and plant explosive Migs in areas that are inaccessible to humans. They are not exactly master demolitionists, so the Falconer must prime the explosive charge himself and make sure to set the timer so his War Hawk has enough time to carry out its mission.

Black Talons are a rather recent addition to the war effort, but their power, loyalty, versatility, and intelligence have made quite an impression within the Resistance. Great Houses everywhere are scrambling to find humans capable enough to become Falconers, and the Engineers are feverishly working to grow more of these mighty War Hawks. This tiny force of Black Talons has made a tremendous impact in the war, and their impact will only grow as their numbers do.

Class: Aerial Scout and Combat Hawk
Crew: None
M.D.C. by Location:
• Wings (2): 18 each*
• Legs (2): 12 each
• Clawed Feet (2): 8 each
• Head: 15**
• Main Body: 1D4x10+10***

*Destroying one wing makes flight impossible. If a wing is destroyed while in flight, the Black Talon will plummet to the earth. Its hardened body and instinctive skills to help roll with the impact means a fall from any height will only inflict 1D6 points of damage. Given enough time, a severed wing will regenerate.
**Depleting the M.D.C. of the Head does not kill the Black Talon, but it does severely injure it. The hawk is blind, deaf, and in pain. It is -10 to strike, parry, and dodge, and only has one attack per melee. Given enough time, the regenerative powers of the hawk will heal it completely.
***Depleting the M.D.C. of the Main Body kills the War Hawk. All other targets are small and difficult to hit. An attacker must aim and make a “Called Shot” to hit, and even then is – 4 to strike.

Speed:
Running: 10 mph maximum. The act of running does not tire out the hawk.
Leaping: The legs are only capable of tiny two foot leaps.
Digging: The Black Talon is not built for digging, but it can instantly burn a hole through dirt, clay, or stone with its Plasma Breath in order to hide underground.
Swimming: Not possible.
Flying: 200 mph maximum, but the hawk can reach speeds of up to 400 mph on a power dive.

Statistical Data:
Height: 6-7 inches from breast to back
Width: 8-10 inches, with a 60 inch wingspan.
Length: 24-30 inches from beak to tail
Weight: 30 lbs.
Cargo: Can carry up to 40 lbs. within its claws.
Physical Strength: 10+1D4
Production Cycle: 1 month gestation period plus 3 month growth cycle.
Operational Lifetime: 20 year life span.
Bio-Regeneration Rate: 1D4 M.D.C. per melee to the main body and 1 point of M.D.C. per melee to all other locations.
Horror Factor: 8
Feeding: The Black Talon is a Carnivore. It needs to eat 4 pounds of organic matter each day.
Color: The back and wings are a mottled mixture of dark brown and tan in bar like patterns, the belly and face are white, and it has black lines under its violet colored eyes. It gets its name from the three-inch long pitch black talons mounted on its feet.
Sleep Requirements: As an artificially created organism, the Black Talon only requires 4 hours of sleep per day.

Other Data:
Black Talon War Hawks are completely loyal to their imprinted master, but they can be rather temperamental towards other humans. Most people do not realize that these tiny little attack birds are nearly as smart as a human, and this tends to offend and irritate them. Humans within the Resistance treat their organic technology creations like unthinking machines or favored pets. This works well with most Splicer beasts, but the Black Talon expects better treatment. Speaking to the hawk like an equal (even though it cannot talk back) will earn its respect, and will lead to the hawk seeing the human (even one other than the Falconer) as a true friend and not just as an ally. Treating the Black Talon like an animal will annoy the temperamental little beast, and it will ignore orders from these types of people when its Falconer is absent. Temperamental or not, Black Talons feel a kinship with humanity and will defend all humans against robots (they hate them as much as humans do), they will just do so grudgingly when it is someone they do not particularly like.
Alignment: Any. Black Talons have strong personalities but the majority have a good or selfish alignment.
War Hawk Attributes: I.Q.: 1D6+6, M.E.: 1D6+10, M.A.: 3D4+4, P.S.: 11-14, P.P.: 1D4+17, P.E.: 1D6+15, P.B.: 3D4+4, Spd.: 10 mph on the ground, 200 mph in the air.
Number of Attacks per Melee: 4
Combat Bonuses: +3 on initiative, +3 to strike in hand to hand combat, +4 to strike when dropping objects on ground based targets, +1 to parry, +3 to automatic dodge in the air, +4 to roll with punch, +3 to pull punch, and impervious to horror factor, disease, and poison.
Equivalent (Instinctive) Skills of Note: Land Navigation 90%, Surveillance 75%, Prowl 75%, Demolitions 40%, Demolitions Disposal 40%, Pick Locks 45% (what this actually means is the Black Talon melts the lock by injecting acid into it with its claws), understands the language of its Great House and one other at 85% (but cannot speak), and can actually read the language of its native Great House at 45%. Recognizes robots, machines, and rodents as enemies to be destroyed or chased away.
Combat Capabilities:
• Peck: 1D4
• Restrained Claw Strike: 4D8 S.D.C.
• Claw Strike: 2D4
• Double Claw Strike: 4D4
• Diving Double Claw Strike: 5D6, but counts as two attacks

Senses and Features: Standard for War Mounts plus:
• Super Regeneration: The Black Talon regenerates damage at an incredible rate. Damage is restored at a rate of 1D4 M.D.C. per melee to the main body and 1 point of M.D.C. per melee to all other locations. A completely destroyed leg, wing, or even head will completely regenerate within 3D4 hours.
• Surveillance Bio Comm: Much like a normal Bio Comm, this implanted device allows telepathic communication between the Black Talon and its Falconer within a 6 mile radius. In addition, the implant transmits everything the hawk sees and hears back to the Falconer. The range of visual data is the same as the hawk’s normal vision, but the Bio Comm can only pick up audio within a 30-foot radius.

Bio-Weapon Systems:
1. Plasma Breath: The mouth, throat, and lungs of the War Hawk have been modified to allow it to exhale a chemical spray that ignites on contact with air to create a powerful fire blast.
Primary Purpose: Assault
Secondary Purpose: Defense
Mega-Damage: 4D12.
Rate of Fire: Can be fired once per melee and counts as an additional attack per melee.
Effective Range: 40 feet
Payload: 18 blasts. One blast is regenerated every hour.
Bonuses: +4 to strike, but this is the only bonus that applies to the Plasma Breath.
2. Stinger Talons: The feet of the War Hawk end in three inch long, razor sharp talons. Despite the limited strength of the Black Talon, its claws are strong enough to rend through the steel armor of the Machine’s forces. It allows the tiny creature to inflict relatively decent damage, but the real purpose of these talons is to inject highly corrosive acid. The acid quickly dissolves metal and other inorganic metals, but is relatively harmless to living tissue.
Primary Purpose: Assault
Secondary Purpose: Defense
Mega-Damage: One claw does 2D4 points of damage and 4D4 for a double claw strike. Once the acid is injected, it burns for 2D4 melees and inflicts 2D8 points of damage each melee (double damage from a double claw strike). Note: The acid only inflicts 1D4 points of S.D.C. damage each melee to organic material.
Duration: The acid burns for 2D4 melee rounds.
Payload: Enough acid for 30 attacks (15 double claw attacks). The acid continuously regenerates at a rate of one does every 1D8 minutes.

A Note on Biological Enhancements: Due to the small size of the Black Talon War Hawk, some enhancements have reduced effects due to their smaller size, others work as normal, and still others are completely incompatible. The following is a list of enhancements that work on the Black Talon and any modifications that apply:
• Eyes and Vision Enhancement: Any enhancements can be applied. Most Falconers avoid enhancing their War Hawks with Compound Eyes, Eye Stalks, or Extra Eyes because these features destroy the illusion that they are natural creatures.
• Other Sensory Enhancements: Any enhancements can be applied. Most Falconers avoid enhancing their War Hawks with Antennae or Echo-Location because these features destroy the illusion that they are natural creatures.
• Biological Defenses: The only applicable enhancements are Acid Blood (although damage is only 2D8 per melee due to a lesser amount of blood being sprayed from wounds), Bio-Force Field, Chameleon Skin, Increased M.D.C. (although divide M.D.C. provided and additional weight by 5), Resistance to Electricity, Resistance to Kinetic Energy, and Stealth Field.
• Anatomical and Physiological Features: Any enhancements can be applied except Enhanced Leaping Ability. The Butcher’s Organ enhancement causes a bizarre physical transformation when applied to the Black Talon War Hawk. Size, weight, and M.D.C. of all locations is increased by 10%, and the hawk transforms to look like a large vulture. Resin Ducts mounted on the hawk’s feet secrete significantly smaller globs than those on a suit of Host Armor. Can create eight 6-inch globs each hour. The M.D.C. of the hardened resin is 5D4.
• Additional Limbs and Enhanced Arms and Hands: None of these enhancements can be applied to the War Hawk without hampering flight or seriously destroying the illusion that they are natural creatures.
• Legs and Feet: None of these enhancements can be applied to the War Hawk without hampering flight or seriously destroying the illusion that they are natural creatures.
• Flight Appendages: Organic Thrusters can be added to increase the hawks speed, but the increased noise draws undue attention and ruins the illusion that they are natural creatures.
• Prehensile Appendages: A Prehensile Tongue or Prehensile Feet can be added to increase the War Hawks manual dexterity. Prehensile Feet allow the Black Talon to handle explosive devices more easily (provides an additional 20% to its natural demolition skills). However, they do increase the chance of discovery by the Machine, but only upon close inspection.
• Offensive Bio-Weapons: The only applicable enhancements are Retractable Fangs and Serrated Whips.
• Ranged Bio-Weapons: The only applicable enhancements are Chemical Sprayer, Electrical Discharger, Lightning Discharger, Flying Blades (can only be enhanced with a maximum of 10 blades), Needle Death Blossom (damage is half due to a reduced payload of needles), Simple Light Cells, and Super Light Cells. Light Cells are concealed under the feathers until activated, so they do not detract from the War Hawk’s appearance.

[slappy]

Falconer

The recent creation of Black Talon War Hawks has required the creation of a new force of elite warriors to command them. Much like the Packmaster, the Falconer acts like the general of his own private army of genetically enhanced animals. However, not everyone has what it takes to be a Falconer. In order to command these spirited war birds, a Falconer must have a strong will and excellent leadership skills. Black Hawks are nearly as smart as humans, and they expect to be treated with respect. This does not matter so much with the Falconer’s own hawks since they bond with him at birth, but it does come into play when a Falconer falls in battle. The imprinted bond with all his War Hawks is severed and they are free to go wherever they wish. The Resistance does not want to lose any of these valuable creations, so they make sure their Falconers know how to win the respect and loyalty of master-less War Hawks. A skilled Falconer can form just as strong a bond with one of these lost birds as its old imprinted bond, which helps retain a valuable resource for the Resistance while increasing the strength of his own flock.

Black Talons are mainly used for aerial reconnaissance. Everything the War Hawk sees and hears is transmitted back to the Falconer via a specially designed Bio Comm. The images are fed directly into the Falconer’s brain through a special helmet and organic implant. When the first suit of Falconer Armor was created, the wearer was actually able to view the signals from multiple War Hawks and use his own eyes all at once. Falconers quickly became an incredible resource in combat because they could see every inch of the battlefield simultaneously. It made them formidable warriors, but the stress from the incredible sensory overload caused irreparable neurological damage after only a few months. The suit has since been redesigned to protect the wearer, but it is no longer as powerful as it once was. The Falconer can only interpret the visual signal from one hawk at a time, but he can switch between images from multiple War Hawks instantly (provided they are in range). The other drawback to the new (but safe) design is that the wearer’s own eyes must remain covered to protect his brain from sensory overload. This weakness has actually led to one of the Falconer’s greatest strengths.

Prospective Falconers train for years in a special martial art form that focuses on fighting blind in order to get them comfortable with Falconer Armor. The suit does have radar to make up for forcing the wearer to fight blind, but in reality, a Falconer is never blind as long as one of his War Hawks is nearby. Some Falconers will keep one bird perched on their back to continuously act like their eyes, but most prefer to have their birds circle overhead so they can see what is happening all around them. It takes some adjustment to learn to control your own movements from a third-person perspective, but after a while, they simply cannot imagine doing it any other way.

Aside from the sightless helmet, Falconer Armor is also unique because it straddles the gap between simple Living Armor and Host Armor. Falconer Armor has its own skeletal structure and muscle system to enhance the strength and speed of the wearer. This is necessary since the Falconer’s War Hawks will often perch on the suit. Since Black Talon War Hawks each weigh around thirty pounds, a normal human would be crushed under their weight without a little help. The suit has two perches mounted on the back just behind each shoulder and thick gloves on each hand. This allows the Falconer to carry up to six War Hawks at once (although it is usually only four). The gloves and perches are not just places for his War Hawks to rest. The Black Talon’s feet form a neurological connection with the wearer through these points. When the War Hawks land on the perches or gloves, man and beast become one. The Falconer can sense the emotions and thoughts of each War Hawk. Their thoughts are strange and alien compared to human thoughts, but Falconers learn to understand and communicate with them (at least to a point). This allows the Falconer to issue commands exactly as he intended (instead of losing something in the translation), and these orders are delivered telepathically, which is vital when operating deep within enemy territory.

In the short time since the Falconers were formed, they have proven themselves to be a tremendous resource to the Resistance. Their War Hawks provide valuable battlefield intelligence without attracting the attention of the Machine, and they make formidable spies, saboteurs, and combatants. Falconers have quickly gained the respect of every Splicer in the Resistance. A fact that Packmasters find irritating and insulting. Their roles are very similar, yet Falconers get all the glory while Packmasters get treated like glorified animal trainers. Packmasters do not think they deserve any respect. They think Falconers are cowards who hide in the shadows while their War Hawks do all the work and take all the risks. They think Falconers are not brave enough to fight side by side with the beasts they control, but they are more than willing to accept the glory. Packmasters do not understand how they have garnered so much more respect as warriors for performing such a similar job. The truth is that the Falconers did endure the same types of taunts in the beginning, but their martial arts training allowed them to quickly “respond” to these jokes. Most Splicers find it safer to give Falconers a wide berth and just make fun of their favorite punching bag, the Packmasters. In reality, both groups are equally respected throughout the Resistance. It just does not feel that way to the Packmasters.

Alignment: Any, but typically good or selfish.
Attribute Requirements: I.Q.: 10, M.E.: 12, M.A.: 12, and P.P.: 12 or higher.
Attribute Bonuses: +3 to I.Q., +1D4 to M.E., +1D6 to M.A., +1D4 to P.S., +1D6 to P.P., and +1D6 to Spd.
O.C.C. Bonuses: +2 on initiative, +1 to parry and dodge, +4 to save vs. horror factor, and the Falconer has a slight Bio-Enhancement himself, the insertion of a special Bio-Comm unit inside the skull, it enables him to verbally communicate with both human and animal operatives, but to translate the visual signals from his War Hawks, he must be wearing his Falconer Helmet.
Base S.D.C.: 40, plus any from Physical skills.
Common Skills: Standard.
O.C.C. Skill Program: Basic Military (+20%), Martial Arts (with the addition of Blind Fighting +40%), Weapons Training, Reconnaissance/Scout (+20%), Saboteur (+10%) or Wingman (only 25% of Falconers choose to don a Wingpack and join their War Hawks in the sky).
Special Skill: Command War Hawks: This skill goes well beyond simple falconry. The Falconer learns everything there is to know about Black Talon War Hawks. He learns what motivates them, how they think, how to gain their respect, and even how to translate their alien thoughts into something they can understand. When a Falconer links with his War Hawks through his Falconer Armor, he can almost converse with his birds through a telepathic exchange of emotions and images. The most important aspect of this training is that the Falconer learns how to approach and recruit Black Talon War Hawks that have lost their original Falconer master. When the Falconer discovers a lost War Hawk, it must first try to coax the bird to land on one of his Falconer Armor’s neural connection points (gloves or perches). Both the Falconer and Black Talon must perform a Battle of Wills roll. This involves rolling a twenty-sided die and adding in their I.Q. and M.A. attribute numbers. The Falconer also adds in any bonus from his Command War Hawks skill. If the Falconer wins, the War Hawk will land on his armor to start a “conversation.” If the Black Talon wins, it will fly off and must be tracked down so the process can be started again. The War Hawks consider it a sign of respect if the new Falconer is willing to chase after them, so it will be -2 on all subsequent Battle of Wills rolls against the Falconer. Once the Black Talon lands on the armor, the Falconer must win two out of three Battle of Wills rolls to gain the loyalty of the Black Talon and add it to his personal flock. Failure at this point means the War Hawk finds the Falconer unworthy, and it will never consider joining his flock. This skill provides a bonus of +1 to Battle of Wills rolls at levels 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15. Game Master Note: I highly recommend limiting the number of lost War Hawks the character stumbles across. It should occur very rarely, or else the player will build a ridiculously large army of attack animals.
Elective Skills: Select any one Wilderness Skill and Bio Comms (+20%), and three Electives from the following list at first level. Select another two Elective Skills at levels 2, 4, 8, and 12. All new skills start at level one proficiency.
Communications: Any (+5%)
Domestic: Any (+10%)
Espionage: Any (+10%)
Medical: First Aid only.
Military: Any (+5%)
Physical: Any
Rogue: Gambling and Find Contraband only.
Science: Any (+5%)
Technical: Any
Transportation: Any, except Host Armor Combat.
Wilderness Survival: Any (+10%)
W.P.s: Any
Secondary Skills: The character gets to select four Secondary Skills at level one and one additional skill at levels 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15. These are additional areas of knowledge that do not receive any special O.C.C. bonuses.
Black Talon War Hawks: The Falconer begins with one Black Talon War Hawk and receives an additional one at levels 2, 4, 7, 10, and 13. Each Black Talon can be Bio-Enhanced any way the character desires – he has 4D4+20 Bio-E points available for each, plus another 1D10+20 Bio-E points total per level of the character’s experience to spend on one or more of his War Hawks for additional enhancements. Slain War Hawks are replaced with the basic animal with 5D4 Bio-E points for enhancements.
Special Bonus: If the character’s combined I.Q. and M.A. is 28 or higher, it means Black Talon War Hawks view him as an impressive individual worthy of their loyalty. As a result, the Falconer has already convinced a few War Hawks that have lost their master to join his personal flock. This is a one time bonus when the character is first created. Roll on the following chart to see how many additional Black Talon War Hawks he has:
01-40% One additional War Hawk with 6D6 Bio-E points available for enhancements (player chooses the enhancements).
41-60% One additional War Hawk with 10D6 Bio-E points available for enhancements (GM chooses the enhancements).
61-80% Two additional War Hawks, each with 6D6 Bio-E points available for enhancements (player chooses the enhancements).
81-95% Two additional War Hawks, each with 10D6 Bio-E points available for enhancements (GM chooses the enhancements).
96-00% 1D4 additional War Hawks, each with 2D12 Bio-E points available for enhancements (player chooses the enhancements).
M.D.C. “Living” Body Armor: A special suit of Falconer Armor that is a cross between Heavy Hide Armor and Host Armor. The helmet is shaped like an eagle’s head, but it has no eyes in order to block the wearer’s sight. The special helmet receives audio signals and visual images from his Black Talon War Hawks and feeds those images directly into the wearer’s brain. The images from only one hawk can be viewed at a time, but the wearer can switch to images from any of his hawks instantly. Maximum range of the transmission is only 6 miles. Bonuses when a War Hawk is providing images around the Falconer from overhead: +4 on initiative, +2 to strike at targets that are behind him or hiding behind cover, +2 to parry and dodge attacks from behind.
Built-in Radar helps the wearer see when his War Hawks are out of range. It provides bonuses of one additional attack per melee, +1 on initiative, +1 to strike, parry, and dodge. Maximum range of 6 miles.
The thick gloves and perches mounted behind each shoulder act as neural connections that the Falconer uses to communicate telepathically with his hawks. The armor has its own skeletal structure and muscle system in order to enhance the strength and speed of the Falconer. The suit adds 6 points to P.S. and converts it to Splicer/Robotic Strength plus an additional 3D4x10 to Speed. M.D.C. is 1D10x10+60 for the Main Body, 1D6x10+10 for the Arms and Legs, 1D6x10+30 for the Head, 4D10 for the Back-Mounted Perches, and 3D10 for the Gloves.
The character gets 3D10+20 Bio-E points for selections from Other Sensory Systems, Biological Defenses, Flight Appendages, and Offensive Bio-Weapons.
Standard Equipment: Military fatigues, dress clothing, survival knife, utility belt, first-aid kit, 1D4 Slap Patches, Face Wrap, tinted goggles, hatchet for cutting wood, one light or heavy Bio-Weapon of choice and one weapon for each W.P. with appropriate ammunition for heavy combat, a satchel filled with 1D4+3 Migs and an equal number of Squigs, a good Mega-Horse or standard Wingpack for transportation, tent, knapsack, backpack, two water skins, emergency food rations (two weeks supply for the man, one week for all the hawks; they can catch whatever else they need) and some personal items.
Money: Has 1D6x100 credits in precious metals, relics or trade items, as well as 6D6x10 in available credits. Money can be spent now on additional equipment or saved for later.
The Upside: The Black Talon War Hawks are indispensable to the war effort, and you are one of the only people they will listen to. They provide valuable aerial intelligence, they can infiltrate and spy on places no other member of the Resistance can, and they are fearsome combatants (especially when they attack en mass). Your unique connection lets you look down on the world from above through their eyes, which can provide invaluable information in the field.
The Downside: In order for your connection with your War Hawks to properly function without frying your brain, your eyes must be completely covered. Looking through the eyes of your hawks or using your built-in radar overcomes this problem, but the speedy Black Talons are continuously swooping in and out of range and your radar is easily fouled by rain, snow, and sandstorms. This means you are constantly running the risk of being totally blind in the field. Your training helps lesson the penalties from fighting blind, but you will still be easy pickings for the Machine.

[Rabidredneck]

THAT is some sweet work there.

[taalismn]

dang! Didn't move fast enough I see....Working on the fluff instead of going straight for the stats(then, again, several pounds of holiday roast beef and the need for some lie-down time may have had something to do with it)....
Oh well....As to what material I have already...well. I too am using the idea of remote Man-Beast linkage, with the supposition that the process is both addictive and distracting....like a full-body VR video game, with similar obliviousness to local surroundings, so you aren't too far off track..

What I see looks pretty darned good on a fast zip-through...

[slappy]

I appreciate that. I like the idea of the addictive nature (and I promise I won't copy it). What you see for mine is what you get. Only cosmetic and grammar changes to follow. I still can't wait to see all your war bird designs. They sound pretty cool.

[slappy]

I just discovered that Bio Comms basically work like telepathic communicators, so I altered the one in the Black Talon to function like a normal one with the additional ability to transmit anything the hawk sees (which I had before) and any audio within 30-feet of the bird (this is what I added). This makes them even better spies. It would probably be useless to try to spy on the Machine since they wouldn't need to speak to each other, but it would be a great way to listen in on conversations of rival Great Houses.

[BookWyrm]

I don't play Splicers, but I can picture a Falconer standing defiantly before several individual units of the enemy (dressed in leather-looking clothing, like a Falconer of the mid-18th century of Earth), a sneer on his lips, a War Hawk perched on his left forearm, held level at mid-chest; behind him, several more of his 'flight' burst out from behind, ravenous for action...

[taalismn]

I don't play Splicers, but I can picture a Falconer standing defiantly before several individual units of the enemy (dressed in leather-looking clothing, like a Falconer of the mid-18th century of Earth), a sneer on his lips, a War Hawk perched on his left forearm, held level at mid-chest; behind him, several more of his 'flight' burst out from behind, ravenous for action...

Agreed.....Falconers/Pack Masters/WingMasters(my more generic and generalist form of the Falconer, once I get done with it...sadly, I am good at spinning off ideas, but it takes me months to set them down in complete form) are 'force multipliers', using the intrinsic instinctive natures of their flock/pack to far greater effect than an individual Splicer...of course, an individual bio-form, canine or avian, is less capable on a one-to-one basis than a Splicer commando, but the overall effect of a hunting/stooping pack of them, even if it's for distraction value, is tremendous....

And this is just with 'conventional'(i.e. familiar terrestrial) creatures...once you start messing around with things like bio-thrusters and the like, you can start arming your beastmasters with jet-powered bio-frisbees and other flying weapons platforms....

Put these guys on as passengers of flying war mounts, and you got yourself a squadron....CRoss a bat with a Gore HOund, and you get some impressive dogfights("Kill the punster, now!") going....

Let the Machine beware....

[BookWyrm]

A bat-winged Gore Hound.........chilling........

[Carmen]

Those are cool slappy and taalismn, but man all the cool OCC are getting a online version even before I get to do them, on man! I had one of those for the first sourcebook, I too called it a Falconeer but my birds were the Phoenix Falcons and they had plasma breath and the Lazurus glands so that they would be reborn after they were destroyed in combat. That is three OCCs that some one has hit on in one form or another. Depressing really. Just glad your enjoying the game. Carmen.

[slappy]

Ha, in your face Just Kidding. What are the three O.C.C.'s, Faloneer, Ghost Wlaker, and ?

[Carmen]

A militiaman/vagabond type character.

[NMI]

A militiaman/vagabond type character.

Similar to this maybe? >>>Splicer Militia<<<

[abtex]

Ha, in your face Just Kidding. What are the three O.C.C.'s, Faloneer, Ghost Wlaker, and ?

A militiaman/vagabond type character.

Carmen, Where is the BookWorm O.C.C.?

[Tinker Dragoon]

Perhaps he didn't mention it because it's not technically new, it just got cut from the first book. Or maybe it is the vagabond he mentioned...

[Carmen]

No, I didnt mention it cause I was joking about how many of the character types have been hit upon that will be in the first sourcebook there will be 10 new ones - maybe more if I get creative. The Bookworm is going to be in that batch of 10 too. Carmen.

[abtex]

No, I didnt mention it cause I was joking about how many of the character types have been hit upon that will be in the first sourcebook there will be 10 new ones - maybe more if I get creative. The Bookworm is going to be in that batch of 10 too. Carmen.

Thank you.

[NMI]

color version of the image seen in the Rifter.

[MethosDarkblade]

I wish I saw this post before hand. The Black Tanon made it into the Rifter (which I loved BTW) but I never saw the Falconer OCC, and now I see it in all it's glory.

Keep up the good work man

[Aramanthus]

It is some pretty cool stuff! I hope they do keep it up. There are some excellent ideas floating around here.