My Splicers Material Consolidated

[Ectoplasmic Bidet]

My computer experienced total hard drive meltdown last year and I lost a lot of stuff, including all Splicer material I'd written. Thankfully, I'd posted just about everything to the board, so it wasn't totally irretrievable. Well, being lazy and all, I'm just now taking the time to copy it all back down. While I'm at it, I'm gonna gather it all up and post it to this thread for ease of reference.

[Ectoplasmic Bidet]

War Mounts:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Ectoplasmic Bidet]

An attempt to introduce psionics into the Splicer setting.

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Over a decade ago on a mission to retrieve DNA samples from a newly observed saurian species introduced into one of the Nature Preserves by Gaia, a pair of Dreadguards from House Aesir witnessed a strange phenomenon. With their prey in sight they prepared to subdue the beast, but it was spooked by a clap of thunder on a cloudless night. Harsh blue light surrounded them, turning the forest into an eerie combination of ethereally illuminated landscape dotted with pools of impenetrable shadow. Hundreds of feet above the startled Dreadguards, hovering in mid-air, appeared to a be "hole". Curiousity nearly drove the team to investigate further, but fearing the Machine had been alerted by the other wordly display, they prepared to retreat. The spaceship that then blasted through the "hole" in the air and crashed into a copse of gigantic ferns was too strange to be ignored. Careful, but very, very hurried investigation led the pair to make a startling discovery. The craft had a pilot. An injured and unconscious, but human pilot.

Her name is Maria Santorim, and she was once a pilot in the service of the Consortium of Civilized Worlds. Still alive and as happy as any human can be on the accursed planet her ship had the audacity to crash land on, Maria did much more than provide the Splicers with knowledge that the human race has spread throughout the cosmos, in empires so great the Machine could never hope to eliminate their species as it may wish. You see, Maria is a psychic, one powerfully gifted with psionic ability, and she had no qualms with sharing her DNA with the Librarians of House Aesir.

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Mind Knight O.C.C.
Mind Knights are the first humans native to their planet to possess psychic abilities. Selected as candidates for the Mind Knight program as children, the young Splicers had their DNA altered by the Engineers of House Aesir, adding gene sequences found in the human psychic Maria Santorim. None of the children were harmed by the treatments, the Librarians and Engineers are exceptionally skilled, but relatively few of the children developed more than rudimentary psychic abilities. Of the two thousand children who participated, roughly 10% gained Master level psychic potential, a further 15% developed into Major psychics, and the remaining 75% gained Minor psychic abilities. Despite the unrealized hope of turning their entire population into an army of unstoppable psychics, the program has shown such success that all children no more than nine years old, the maximum age the DNA treatments can be safely administered, whose parents consent, have been entered into the Santorim Program.

The first of these children are reaching full maturity, the time when they will be expected to join the Resistance to fight for the survival of their species. They are more than ready to meet the challenge, equipped, not only with their own specially developed Host Armor and bio-weapons designed to maximize their psychic potential, but also with years of hands on instruction from Maria Santorim in the use of their burgeoning powers. Though, it is certain the Mind Knights will be of great assistance combating the Machine, they are likely to be most valuable against House Aesir's human enemies, rival Houses who would see a stronger House fall rather than attempt to grow strong themselves. Experiments have shown that pilots in Host Armor are no less susceptible to psionic influence than an unarmored human and that War Mounts and other Bio-Tech creatures are even less able to resist, their minds no more able to resist psionic influence than any other animal.

Special Mind Knight O.C.C. Powers
1. Psionic Powers: At first level the Mind Knight selects a total of ten powers from the minor Healing, Physical, and Sensitive psionic categories as well as four Super Psionic powers(any except Psi-Sword or Mind Wipe which cannot be selected until third level). At each new level of experience, the Mind Knight can select two powers from any of the minor psionic categories or one Super Psionic power.
2. I.S.P. Base: 2D6x10 +M.E. attribute number. +12 I.S.P. for each additional level of experience. I.S.P. is recovered at a rate of 2 per hour of sleep or 12 per hour of meditation.
3. Saving Throw Versus Psionic Attack: As a Master Psychic, the Mind Knight needs only a 10 or higher to save vs psionic attacks.
4. O.C.C. Bonuses: +2D4+2 M.E., +1D4 I.Q., M.A., & P.E., +3 initiative, +1 strike, +2 pull punch, +2 disarm, +4 vs possession, +2 to save vs all forms of mind control, and +3 to save vs Horror Factor.

Alignment: Any, but the majority are Principled(35%), Scrupulous(30%), Unprincipled(15%), or Anarchist(5%). Evil Mind Knights are uncommon, but not unheard of; Aberrant(10%) Miscreant & Diabolic(5%).
Attribute Requirements: None, though the first children selected to for the program all possessed I.Q. & M.E. of 14 or higher. A Mind Knight must be at least a Master Psychic. High I.Q. & M.E. are especially helpful, but not mandatory.
Base S.D.C.: 30, plus any from physical skills.
Common Skills: Standard
O.C.C. Skill Programs: Basic Military(+15%), Host Pilot(20%), and any one Skill Program of choice(except Medical Doctor or War Mount Rider).
Elective Skills: Select four Elective Skills from the following list at first level. Plus select another one Elective Skill at levels 4, 8, and 12. All new skills start at level one proficiency.
-Communications: Any(+10%)
-Domestic: Any.
-Espionage: Any(+5).
-Medical: First Aid, or Paramedic only.
-Military: Any(+5%).
-Physical: Any.
-Rogue: Any(+10%).
-Science: Advanced Mathematics or Astronomy & Navigation only.
-Technical: Any(+5%).
-Transportation: Any.
-Wilderness: Any.
-W.P.s: Any.
Secondary Skills: The character gets to select two Secondary Skills at level one and one additional at levels 3, 6, 9, and 12. Secondary Skills are additional areas of knowledge starting without any special O.C.C. bonuses.
Mind Knight Host Armor: The Mind Knight is one of the lucky few gifted with a Host Armor, the Bio-Tech equivalent of living power armor. What's more, this suit of living armor has been specially designed to compliment the Mind Knight's psionic powers.
-Step One: Standard and unchanged; the basic Host Armor.
-Step Two: Mind Knight Host Armor always has a Psychosynthetic Metabolism.
-Step Three: Available Bio-Energy points for the Mind Knight is the M.E.(x2) + P.E. +2D4x10+20. Each level of advancement, starting with level two, the Mind Knight gains an additional 2D6+6 Bio-E to add to the capabilities of his current Host Armor. Bio-E can be spent as soon as it is acquired to saved and combined with the points from subsequent levels of experience. If the Mind Knight's Host Armor is destroyed, he will be bonded to a fresh Psychosynthetic Host Armor, but it will have none of the previous suits Bio-Enhancements and starts with first level Bio-E.
-Step Four: Biological Enhancements and Weapons. Selections can be made from any of the categories. Mind Knights understandably tend to favor using the relatively few Bio-Enhancement options developed specifically for their class of Host Armors.
Standard Equipment: Military fatigues, a couple sets of dress clothing, survival knife, utility belt, first-aid kit(with 1D4 Slap Patches), Face Wrap(gas mask), tinted goggles, hatchet, one light and one heavy Bio-Weapon of choice, and one weapon for each WP with appropriate ammunition, tent, knapsack, backpack, two water skins, emergency food rations(2 weeks), personal items, and a Mega-Horse for transportation.
Money: Has 2D6x100 credits worth of precious metals or trade items, as well as 1D6x100 credits
The Upside: You have psychic powers! You may be able to move matter with a thought, start a fire with a glance, or read the minds of your fellow Resistance members. The currently low numbers of Mind Knights make you a precious commodity not to be wasted and your innate power gives you a certain level of authority not normally possessed by the relative rookie that you are.
The Downside: You have psychic powers! Though your official class designation is quite benign, you are much more commonly known as a Mindfreak(or just freak) by your fellow Resistance members. People instinctively fear what they cannot understand, and you had better believe people don't understand what you can do with your mind. Many more people fear you than respect you and this attitude is likely to remain prevalent for many years to come.

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Psychosynthetic Metabolism: The Host Armor feeds on the mental energy generated by its psychic pilot. The armor requires a relatively steady daily supply of ISP, quickly reaching starvation, then death if deprived for even a few short days.
-Feeding: The Host Armor requires 3D6 ISP per day, which it automatically siphons from its pilot. This ISP must be provided by the pilot of the Host Armor and cannot be donated by anyone else, even another psychic pilot. Failure to feed within 24 hours is not immediately fatal, but does bring about starvation and weakness. An ISP starved suit operates with it's running speed, attacks per melee, and combat bonuses all reduced by 50%. A Psychosynthetic Host Armor can survive up to three days without sustenance, but each day of deprivation requires an increasingly greater amount of ISP to restore the suit to full health. After one day of starvation, the Host Armor requires 1D4x10+10 ISP to sate its hunger, after two days it increases to 1D6x10+10 ISP, and on its last day, the suit must be gorged on 2D4x10+20 ISP. After 72 hours without feeding, the Host Armor will die.
-Sleep Requirements: As a psychosynthetic organism, the Host Armor does not require sleep or rest, but its pilot does.
-Color: Virtually any color is possible, though there is a tendency towards deep greens, blues, and purples. No matter what color it may be, a Psychosynthetic Host Armor has fine networks of bio-crystals growing in a vein-like lattice up and down its limbs and torso. The slightly luminescent bio-crystals converge at the suit's spine, disappearing into its neck near the base of the skull. If removed from the Host Armor, these crystals instantly become inert, losing their eerie glow, then soon experience bio-meltdown, turning into an unusable organic sludge.
-Special Senses: None, per se, but the Host Armor's bond with its pilot doubles the range of any Sensitive psychic powers he may employ.
-Psychic Efficiency: For reasons unknown, excessive amounts of mental energy are required to activate psychic powers on the Splicers' planet, levels far in excess of what should be necessary. To help relieve this potentially crippling handicap, the Psychosynthetic Host Armor's bio-crystal matrices have been developed to collect and amplify every scrap of ISP expended by their pilots. This reduces the cost of activating psionic powers by 50%, but really only returns the ISP costs to their standard levels due to the mysterious planetary dampening field.
-Psionic Bond: The Host Armor is considered one with its psychic pilot. Psionic powers that carry designators such as "Self" or specific weight allotments beyond the psychic will operate as if the Host Armor was truthfully just another part of the pilot.
-Bonus Bio-E Points: 0 additional Bio-E points.
-Bite Damage: Not applicable, the Host Armor has no mouth, just small vents to breathe through.
-Bonuses: +1 attack per melee, +3 initiative, +2 strike, +2 parry, +4 dodge, +2 pull punch, +4 roll with punch/fall/impact
-Penalties: Due to the bio-crystals that grow on the Host Armor's outer surface, it has a -20% penalty to Prowl, Camouflage, and Hide.
-Prerequisite: To use a Host Armor with this metabolism, the pilot must be a Master psychic.

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An alternative to giving the psychic Mind Knight access to potentially unbalancing Host Armor. Thanks to demos606 for the recommendation that led to this creation.

For reasons unknown to the Librarians and Engineers who attempted to craft a Host Armor variant for use by their growing crop of psychic children, Master level psychics of the calibre of Maria Santorim and the small percentage of children gifted with such potential by the Santorim Project, are unable to form a neurological bond with the complex bio-engineered nervous systems of Host Armors or War Mounts. To balance this handicap a new type of Living Armor was created, one that falls far short of a Host Armor, but simultaneously exceeds the capabilities of other Living Armor designs.

Bio-Crystal Living Armor(Medium): Nearly seventy-five percent of this living armor is composed of a self-replicating bio-crystal matrix engineered to focus the mental energies of(reduces I.S.P. cost of psionic powers by 50%) and to psychically bond with its wearer. This psychic bond makes the wearer one with his armor, extending the effects of psionic powers that would normally affect only the psychic using them to the armor itself(i.e. Impervious to Fire, Resist Damage, etc).
-M.D.C. By Location: Main Body: 2D6x10+40, Arms & Legs: 1D6x10+20, Head: 1D6x10+40, Psychic Force Field: 3D6x10, Light Psi-Bolt Projector(Chest or Forehead): 1D4x10+25
-Initial Bio-Enhancements: The Living Armor of a Mind Knight comes pre-enhanced a basic Psychic Force Field and a Light Psi-Bolt Projector. They may be enhanced using Bio-E as the Mind Knight wishes.
-Weight: 25 pounds.
-Armor Regeneration: 4D6 M.D.C. per minute, and destroyed section will regenerate in 12 hours.
-Excellent Mobility: -5% penalty applies to such skills as Prowl, Climb, Swimming, Acrobatics, and Gymnastics; no penalties to running and flying speed.
-Penalties: The bio-luminescent crystals comprising the armor make concealment difficult. This results in a -15% penalty to Prowl, Hide, and Camouflage.
-Feeding: The Bio-Crystal Living Armor, like other varieties of Living Armor, requires periodic nutrient baths(normally every 1D6+3 days) to remain healthy. However, because such a small portion of the armor is organic in the traditional sense, the time between feedings is dramatically extended(4D6+12 days). The bio-crystals of the armor require a different form of sustenance. For every day the Bio-Crystal Living Armor is not immersed in a nutrient bath it must be fed 3D6 I.S.P. by a human psychic.
-Trade Value: Varies greatly. Worth 30,000 credits to a House Aesir psychic, but only 5,000 credits to anyone else(psionic bio-enhancements will not function without psychic control and feeding is impossible for non-psychics).
-Bio-E: Mind Knights recieve their M.E. attribute number plus 5D10+50 points of Bio-E to enhance their armor.

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Psychic Force Field: A psionic variant of the standard Bio-Force Field, this bio-enhancement is available only to Psychosynthetic Host Armors and their psychic pilots.
-MDC of the Psychic Force Field: 3d6x10 MDC is standard, but the MDC can be increased by spending more Bio-E on it, up to a maximum of 300 MDC.
-Penalty: If the MDC of the Psychic Force Field is depleted, it cannot be reactivated again for 12 hours unless the pilot expends 1 ISP per 10 MDC of the force field. As long as the Psychic Force Field's MDC has not been depleted, it regenerates lost MDC at a rate of 1 MDC per minute(60 per hour). Instead of waiting for damage to the force field to recover naturally, the pilot may choose to spend ISP to forcefully recharge its MDC at a cost of 1 ISP per 10 MDC.
-Duration: Indefinite; as long as the pilot is conscious, the force field can remain in place.
-Bio-E Cost: 35 points(3d6x10 MDC). The Psychic Force Field's MDC can be increased by 20 MDC per every additional 5 Bio-E points spent.
-Prerequisite: The Host Armor must be Psychosynthetic.

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Light Psi-Bolt Projector: Similar in basic concept to the Bio-Energy Expulsion Vent, the Psi-Bolt Projector uses the mental energy of the pilot instead of that of his physical body. The organic bio-crystals that grow on the surface of the Host Armor serve as a base for a projector, with a single crystal expanding, its structure altering to gather and focus the mental energy of its pilot into deadly bolts of psionic force. Crystals that become projectors double in size(approx. equal to a robin's egg) and take on a multi-faceted appearance as if they were cut by a professional jeweler and polished to perfection.
-MDC of the Projector: 1d4x10+25
-Mega-Damage: 3d10 MD +bonus MD equal to the ME attribute value of the human pilot.
-Special: Living targets(including Host Armors with their pilots, War Mounts linked to an Outrider, etc.) struck by a psi-bolt must save vs psionics or suffer a -1 penalty to all combat actions and melee attacks for 1D4 melee rounds. Penalties from multiple strikes are not cumulative, but duration is.
-Rate of Fire: Each bolt counts as one melee attack/action. Cannot fire volleys or simultaneous bolts at the same target.
-Maximum Effective Range: 2000 feet.
-Payload: Effectively Unlimited. However, the pilot may only fire a number of psi-bolts per minute equal to their ME attribute without expending additional mental energy. Each psi-bolt fired within a minute that bypasses their ME costs 1 ISP.
-Bonus: +3 aimed strike.
-Bio-E Cost: 10
-Prerequisite: Psychosynthetic Host Armor.

Medium Psi-Bolt Projector: Undergoing further augmentation, the crystal that has become a Psi-Bolt Projector changes yet again. Root-like extensions grow from the edge of the crystal, appearing to have burrowed beneath the Host Armor's skin. This does no damage to the Host Armor, but provides the crystal with a greater focusing capacity by increasing its linkage with the pilot.
-MDC of the Projector: +2D6+4 MDC
-Mega-Damage: 5d10 MD +bonus MD equal to the ME attribute value of the human pilot.
-Special: Living targets(including Host Armors with their pilots, War Mounts linked to an Outrider, etc.) struck by a psi-bolt must save vs psionics or suffer a -2 penalty to all combat actions and melee attacks for 1D6 melee rounds. Penalties from multiple strikes are not cumulative, but duration is.
-Rate of Fire: Each bolt counts as one melee attack/action. Cannot fire volleys or simultaneous bolts at the same target.
-Maximum Effective Range: 3000 feet.
-Payload: Effectively Unlimited. However, the pilot may only fire a number of psi-bolts per minute equal to their ME attribute without expending additional mental energy. Each psi-bolt fired within a minute that bypasses their ME costs 2 ISP.
-Bonus: +3 aimed strike.
-Bio-E Cost: 15
-Prerequisite: Psychosynthetic Host Armor and a Light Psi-Bolt Projector which is replaced by the Medium Psi-Bolt Projector.

Heavy Psi-Bolt Projector: Like a blooming flower, the crystalline projector literally blossoms. The jeweled facets of the crystal expand and gain the ability to open a series of small petal-like protrusions that serve to further intensify the power of the psionic energy bolts it generates. Each time the projector fires a psi-bolt, the crystal petals rapidly open into proper alignment for firing then close an instant later.
-MDC of the Projector: +2D8+6 MDC
-Mega-Damage: 8d10 MD +bonus MD equal to the ME attribute value of the human pilot.
-Special: Living targets(including Host Armors with their pilots, War Mounts linked to an Outrider, etc.) struck by a psi-bolt must save vs psionics or suffer a -3 penalty to all combat actions and melee attacks for 2D4 melee rounds. Penalties from multiple strikes are not cumulative, but duration is.
-Rate of Fire: Each bolt counts as one melee attack/action. Cannot fire volleys or simultaneous bolts at the same target.
-Maximum Effective Range: 4000 feet.
-Payload: Effectively Unlimited. However, the pilot may only fire a number of psi-bolts per minute equal to their ME attribute without expending additional mental energy. Each psi-bolt fired within a minute that bypasses their ME costs 4 ISP.
-Bonus: +3 aimed strike.
-Bio-E Cost: 25
-Prerequisite: Psychosynthetic Host Armor and a Medium Psi-Bolt Projector which is replaced by the Heavy Psi-Bolt Projector.

[Ectoplasmic Bidet]

Bio-Tech Space Ships & Enhancements

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

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

The second condition requires only a little more patience. According to ancient data, now confirmed using specially created optic systems, the bio-tech equivalent of modern day observatories, the Sun will soon be entering a cycle of greatly increased activity. During this time, the Earth will be bombarded with intense solar winds and great flares of radiation. Using a combination of careful observation and espionage, the Resistance has learned the Machine's limited space presence becomes predictably dormant at certain intervals when the solar bombardment grows especially fierce, a measure that protects delicate electronics from damage by the intense radiation. Though detection is a virtual certainty, it is hoped that many Sequoia launches will go unnoticed and that the head start, no matter how small, will give humanity a greater chance to avoid the inevitable Machine response. Despite a lack of space vessels of its own, at least none the Resistance can find, the Machine has at least as much information on space travel as the Resistance has collected, and its vast resources and manufacturing capabilities mean robotic hunters may only be weeks behind.
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The Silo: Sequoia Seedlings do not technically grow into Sequoias. As a Seedling begins to grow, it forms the Silo(aka the Sheath, Trunk, etc). The Silo grows at an incredible rate, spreading its various root systems out to incredible distances. The traditional roots, normally present in plants, absorb nutrients and tap underground acquifers to provide for the Seedling and its inhabitants. Unlike the normal, though super-sized roots found in plants, a root system of heavily bio-engineered worm-like tendrils burrow through the Earth's crust to tap the mantle for unlimited geo-thermal energy and spread out in an extensive network sometimes over a hundred miles in diameter to leech necessary minerals from the surrounding rock and soil.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

Available Bio-Enhancements for the Cone War Mount:
-Biological Defenses:
-Bio-Force Field: Though the default Cone Bio-Force Field is already 300 MDC, the force field of this War Mount can be further enhanced to a maximum of 600 MDC. Bio-E Cost: 5 per additional 20 MDC.
-Chameleon Skin: As per normal. Bio-E Cost: 20 points.
-Increased MDC: As per normal, but the increased weight does not penalize the War Mount. Bio-E Cost: 10 points per +40/+10 MDC up to a maximum of +440 MDC.
-Reinforced Exoskeleton: As per normal, though only MDC is increased, not damage or bonuses. Bio-E Cost: 5 points.
-Resistance to Electricity: As per normal. Bio-E Cost: 10 points.
-Stealth Field: As per normal. Bio-E Cost: 50 points.
Anatomical & Physiological Features:
-Enhanced Operational Lifetime: As per normal. Bio-E Cost: 3 points per five years added to its overall lifespan.
-Enhanced Speed Factor: Greatly magnify the base speed of the War Mount. Bio-E Cost: 10 points per additional +1 Mach factor added to maximum War Mount speed, up to a maximum of +8 Mach.
-Floating Air Bladder: The War Mount grows gills capable of extracting oxygen from water and can tolerate ocean depths down to 6,000ft. Bio-E Cost: 10 points.
Flight Appendages:
-Organic Thrusters: The thrusters bring a badly needed level of control to the War Mount's atmospheric flight ability. Atmospheric speed is increased to 800 mph and the War Mount's combat bonuses are only reduced by 50%. Bio-E Cost: 35 points for the initial thrusters. Speed can be further enhanced by spending Bio-E, +20 mph per 10 points.

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

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

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

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"Space Capable" Bio-Enhancements: The following bio-enhancements are required for a Host Armor to be considered "space capable". Without these enhancements a Host Armor will not be cleared to operate outside of its Sequoia mothership and will most likely be put into bio-stasis along with its pilot.
-Biological Defenses: Regeneration: Super, Resistance to Cold, Resistance to Heat, Resistance to Radiation
-Anatomical & Physiological Features: Independent Oxygen Supply(At least 8 hours)
-Enhanced Arms & Hands: Grapnel Claw, Suction Cups & Gripping Hairs
-Flight Appendages: Bio-Rocket Thrusters

Independent Oxygen Supply: A Host Armor with this enhancement has a number of small fluid filled vacuoles distributed within its body. The fluid can be easily saturated with great quantities of oxygen and carbon dioxide. When the Host Armor is in an environment without any sort of available air, such as outer space, the Host Armor is able to automatically extract the oxygen stored within these vacuoles to supplement its own standard re-breather & filtration system. As carbon dioxide is produced, it is carefully filtered out and stored in de-oxygenated vacuoles so as not to impair the efficiency of the Host Armor's life support system. In an oxygenated environment, the Host Armor can purge carbon dioxide saturated vacuoles and replenish their oxygen supply at a rate of 1 hour capacity per five minutes.
-Bio-E Cost: 5 points per 2 hours of oxygen storage capacity, up to a maximum of 16 hours.

Resistance to Radiation: Standard Host Armor is unaffected by even high levels of background radiation and shields its pilot from such dangers as well. In space, however, there are a number of naturally occuring phenomena that produce intense levels of hard radiation that could prove hazardous to even the bio-engineered Host Armor. This enhancement employs a number of methods to render a Host Armor and its pilot all but impervious to radiation. The only exceptions to this protection are directed energy weapons which use specifically harmful forms of radiation. These weapons, such as x-ray lasers, microwave & ion beams, etc, inflict only half damage to the Host Armor. Particle beam weapons are also partially blocked, though not so thoroughly, reducing damage by 33%(round up).
-Bio-E Cost: 15 points.

Grapnel Claw: Housed within a forearm of the Host Armor is a tough cord of sinew attached to a small triple-bladed pincer claw that is fully recessed within the arm. When powerful muscles within the arm are contracted, the claw is launched at a target at high speed, spooling out the sinew in an instant. Not intended for combat use, this enhancement does not damage its target. Instead, on a successful strike, the claw grips its target tightly, requiring a Splicer PS of 30 or higher to dislodge it. Once the claw is attached to a target, the Host Armor pilot can reel it in automatically at a rate of 10 feet per second or jerk on the sinew to pull a target forward more quickly.
-MDC of the Claw & Sinew: The gripping claw is not intended for combat and only has 10 MDC. The sinew line is very thin but quite durable, possessing 5 MDC per 10 feet. The sinew can support approximately 3,000 lbs under full gravity before breaking. If destroyed, the claw regrows in 2D4+2 hours. Severed sinew regrows at a rate of 2D6+20 feet per hour.
-Rate of Fire: Launching the claw uses one melee attack. The sinew line is reeled in at a rate of about 30 feet per melee action.
-Bonus: +1 strike.
-Bio-E Cost: None inititally. A Serrated Whip can be transformed into a Grapnel Line with 100 feet of sinew without cost. Each additional 20 feet of sinew, up to a maximum of 300 feet, costs an additional 1 point.
-Prerequisite: Serrated Whip

Bio-Rocket Thrusters: A Host Armor with the Bio-Rocket Thruster enhancement grows a pair of small fluid sacs, one on each side of its back. Each sac produces a separate chemical that is normally inert, but when the two are combined within the Host Armor they react violently. The resultant gases are directed by internal ducts and released through four small articulated exhaust ports, one per shoulder and thigh, to provide impressive speed and maneuvering ability in outer space with more limited propulsion in terrestrial environments.
-Flight Ability: 200 mph. In an atmosphere, gravity greatly reduces this enhancement's efficacy, lowering speed by 50% and limiting altitude to approximately 15,000 feet.
-Underwater: May be used underwater with a speed penalty of 75%.
-Bonuses: Space(+3 initiative, +2 strike, +3 dodge, and +2 roll with impact in flight), Atmosphere(+1 initiative, +1 strike, +2 dodge, and +1 roll with impact in flight)
-MDC: Each lightly armored Reactant Sac has 2D6x10+20 MDC and each of the four Exhaust Ports has 1D6x10+10 MDC.
-Payload: The Reactant Sacs hold enough fuel for six hours of uninterrupted flight and replenish themselves at a rate of 1 hour's worth of fuel per 4 hours.
-Bio-E Cost: 35 points. Speed can be increased by +20 mph per 10 Bio-E points, up to a maximum of 400 mph. Reactant Sac capacity may be increased by 50% by spending an additional 20 Bio-E. Reactant replenishment rate may be doubled by spending an additional 20 Bio-E.
-Prerequisite: None. If Organic Thrusters or Functional Wings were previously possessed by the Host Armor, they must be abandoned in order to use this enhancement. Engineers are typically able to "recycle" up to 50% of the Bio-E spent on the abandoned enhancements, which can be applied only to Bio-Rocket Thrusters.

[Ectoplasmic Bidet]

Miscellaneous Bio-Tech

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As Resistance operations spread ever further from their home bases, logistics increasingly becomes an issue, limiting both range and duration of missions. Host Armors, War Mounts, and their human pilots can be fed in the field easily enough, but nearly all other Splicer Bio-Tech is severely limited by their "stomach", the periodic(1D6+3 day) nutrient baths they all require to avoid starvation. In attempting to develop a solution to this minor but worsening dilemma, the Librarians created Bunker Seeds.

Bunker Seed
Bunker Seeds are to a Seedling as a tent is to a house. Each Bunker Seed leaves the Gene Pool as a fist-sized pod, but once planted(40 feet or deeper) and allowed to germinate, rapidly grows into a sizable underground redoubt with all the amenities of home. After its initial growth stage is completed, a Bunker Seed is little more than a small subterranean pumpkin-like structure with a pool of nutrient solution built into the floor. As it grows, however, a Bunker Seed becomes suitable for extended human habitation and its feeding capabilities expand as a result. Maturation is signaled by the growth of an entrance orifice(200 M.D.C.) that takes on the appearance of the surrounding terrain and will only open on contact with living human or Splicer bio-engineered flesh. Evenly spaced rings of bone line this tube allowing for an easy climb into or out of the Bunker Seed.
-M.D.C. of the Bunker Seed: 4D6+20 per 5 foot by 5 foot wall section(regenerates 1D6 M.D.C per minute). Though a Mega-Damage creature, the Bunker Seed is not meant to withstand an attack. Its main defense is its hidden nature.
-Production Cycle: 3 month gestation period, plus 6 month initial growth phase before becoming operational.
-Six to Twelve Months Growth: Approximately 20 feet in diameter with a 6 feet wide by 2 feet deep nutrient pool capable of feeding as bio-tech gear as will fit in it. At this point the Bunker Seed is not fit for human occupation. It does not recycle atmosphere, illumination is limited to faintly bio-luminescent walls, and air temperature & humidity are constantly maintained in the upper ninety percentile range.
-Twelve to Twenty-Four Month Growth: Diameter grows only to 30 feet in diameter, but the bunker's depth is closer to 50 feet. The nutrient pool grows to a width of 8 feet and a depth of 3 feet. At this point the Bunker Seed is able to maintain a breathable atmosphere for ten individuals, the walls provide adequate illumination, and its internal climate becomes less uncomfortable by human standards.
-Twenty-Four Months till Death(4D6+40 years): A fully matured Bunker Seed returns to its initial rounded dimensions with a radius of about 50 feet. It will support 20 people in relative but cramped comfort, providing clean water and edible food in a similar manner as Seedlings. The nutrient pool grows to a width of 10 feet and a depth of five feet, easily large enough to accomdate Proto-Host Armors and anything else a Splicer would have in the field.
-Feeding: Similar to a Seedling, the Bunker Seed absorbs water and leeches nutrients & minerals from the surrounding rock and soil using a network specially engineered root-like tendrils.
-Trade Value: 50,000 credits for an unplanted Bunker Seed.

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Pod Launcher:
Its barrel a telescoping tube of sinew and muscle covered bone, this weapon uses compressed gas to fire a small explosive that resembles seed pods or the egg of an insect. Upon impact, the "pod" ruptures explosively, spraying an impressive area with razor sharp shrapnel. A pod launcher can be grown on the back of a forearm, shoulder, or in the place of a hand[reduce Bio-E cost by 5 points if this option is used].
-MDC of the Pod Launcher: 1d6x10+40
-Length of the Pod Launcher: Fully retracted, the barrel of the launcher is roughly 1 foot long, making for easy concealment depending on its location. In this position the launcher cannot be fired. However, when extended to firing position, the launcher is about 3 feet long.
-Prerequisite: In addition to the specific prerequisite for each type of Pod Launcher, the Host Armor must be a carnivore, herbivore, lithovore, or ominivore[no other metabolisms can make us of this weapon], in order to provide the nevessary materials needed to grow and fire the pods. Additionally, the meat diet of carnivores produce greater amounts of the volatile gases used to propel the pods, increasing their range by 25%.

Light Pod Launcher:
-Mega-Damage: 3d10 MD with a blast radius of 10 feet.
-Rate of Fire: Each pod fired counts as one melee attack/action. Cannot fire bursts.
-Maximum Effective Range: 600 feet.
-Payload: 32 pods per hour.
-Bonus: +1 aimed strike.
-Bio-E Cost: 10
-Prerequisite: None.

Medium Pod Launcher:
-Mega-Damage: 4d10 MD with a blast radius of 20 feet.
-Rate of Fire: Each pod fired counts as one melee attack/action. Cannot fire bursts.
-Maximum Effective Range: 1200 feet.
-Payload: 24 pods per hour.
-Bonus: +2 aimed strike.
-Bio-E Cost: 15
-Prerequisite: A Light Pod Launcher, which is replaced by(grows into) the Medium Pod Launcher.

Heavy Pod Launcher:
-Mega-Damage: 5d10 MD with a blast radius of 40 feet.
-Rate of Fire: Each pod fired counts as one melee attack/action. Cannot fire bursts.
-Maximum Effective Range: 1800 feet.
-Payload: 16 pods per hour.
-Bonus: +3 aimed strike.
-Bio-E Cost: 25
-Prerequisite: A Medium Pod Launcher, which is replaced by(grows into) the Heavy Pod Launcher.

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Force Projector Cannon: A recent adaptation of the powerful defensive Bio-Force Field used in many Host Armors, this weapon represents a formidable weaponization of the formerly passive system. The crystalline lens aperture for the weapon is deceptively small due entirely to the fact that the Force Projector relies heavily on the pre-existing Bio-Force Field built into the Host Armor to generate its destructive energies. Due to its surprisingly small size, the lens for a Force Projector Cannon can be located virtually anywhere on a Host Armor.
-MDC of the Force Projector Cannon: 1d4x10+20
-Mega-Damage: 2d4x10+20 MD.
-Rate of Fire: Each force blast counts as one melee attack/action. Only one cannon may be fired at a time.
-Maximum Effective Range: 2,400 feet
-Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
-Bonus: +1 strike in addition to the pilot's bonus to strike with ranged weapons
-Bio-E Cost: 35 per cannon, and a maximum of two force cannons are possible.
-Prerequisite: Bio-Force Field.

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Bio-Weapon Harness: Virtually all human warriors who battle the Machine in the advanced organic combat suits known as Host Armor also have available to them a suit of lesser Living Armor. Like the Host Armor, this Living Armor has a certain allotment of Bio-E available for upgrades and enhancement. Many warriors, however, the Dreadguards especially, wouldn't be caught dead in a suit of Living Armor, not when they have the coveted Host Armor at their disposal. Recently, particularly innovative Houses have begun to make available a new option for their pilots, allowing them to choose to forego Living Armor. As an alternative, the Bio-Weapon Harness has been made available. Compatible with Host Armor, but able to be worn by anyone once keyed to their DNA, the Bio-Weapon Harness consists of a tough living membrane which wraps around the chest of its wearer, serving as partial armor and a stable platform for any weapon normally available to a Host Armor, and an articulated firing arm on which the selected bio-weapon is mounted. When not in use, this arm fold folds back out of the way and waits unobtrusively until the activation command is given. The weapon arm snaps forward and into the pilot's grasp almost instantly, using only a single melee action.
-MDC: Main Body/Chest Harness: +1d8x10+50[rolls to strike below 12 will hit the harness], Weapon Arm: 1d4x10+20, Bio-Weapon: Varies[As per Host Armor weapon selected]
-Weight: 10 pounds(4.5 kg.)
-Harness Regeneration: 3D6 MDC per minute. If destroyed the weapon arm or the weapon itself regenerates within 14 hours. If the MDC of the chest harness itself is depleted it is killed.
-Feeding: Unlike standard bio-tech devices, the harness does not necessarily require exposure to a nutrient solution to feed. So long as it is attached to a Host Armor the harness is maintained as a part of the armor.
-Excellent Mobility: -5% penalty applies to such skills as Prowl, Climb, Swimming, Acrobatics, and Gymnastics; no penalties to running and flying speed.
-Available Bio-E: Dependent upon the occupation for which the weapon harness is being grown, Bio-E is typically equal to what is made available for their Living Armor.
-Prerequisite: None per se, though weapons must be upgraded or enhanced in the normal manner.

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Bio-Energy Sword: An add-on to the standard Bio-Energy Expulsion Vent, this bio-enhancement allows the Host Armor to create blade-like extensions approximately 4 feet long of pure bio-energy to use in melee combat. Ranged weapon upgrades performed on a Bio-Energy Expulsion Vent or enhancement to Medium or Heavy status do not effect the Bio-Energy Sword's range or damage.
-MDC of the upgraded Bio-Energy Expulsion Vent: +10 MDC.
-Mega-Damage: 3d8 + bonus MD equal to the PE attribute of the human pilot. No other damage bonuses apply, such as though from certain WPs, Host Armor enhancements, or physical strength.
-Rate of Fire: Activating or deactivating the sword requires 1 melee action.
-Duration: Effectively Unlimited. The Bio-Energy Sword can be used for an indefinite period of time, but must be deactivated in order to fire bio-energy blasts.
-Bonus: +3 strike.
-Bio-E Cost: 10 points.
-Prerequisite: Bio-Energy Expulsion Vent.

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Medium Bio-Energy Expulsion Vent:
-MDC of the Bio-Energy Vent: +10 MDC
-Mega-Damage: 5d8 +bonus MD equal to the PE attribute of the human pilot.
-Rate of Fire: Each blast counts as one melee attack/action. Cannot fire volleys or simultaneous blasts at the same target.
-Maximum Effective Range: 2400 feet, but only 1200ft underwater.
-Payload: Effectively Unlimited. However, firing more than 20 blasts per minute weakens the pilot, causing him to lose two melee attack/action per round and reduces all of his combat bonuses by half for the next 1d6 minutes.
-Bonus: +3 aimed strike.
-Bio-E Cost: 15
-Prerequisite: Bio-Energy Expulsion Vent.

Heavy Bio-Energy Expulsion Vent:
-MDC of the Bio-Energy Vent: +15 MDC
-Mega-Damage: 8d10 +bonus MD equal to the PE attribute of the human pilot.
-Rate of Fire: Each blast counts as one melee attack/action. Cannot fire volleys or simultaneous blasts at the same target.
-Maximum Effective Range: 3000 feet, but only 1500ft underwater.
-Payload: Effectively Unlimited. However, firing more than 20 blasts per minute weakens the pilot, causing him to lose two melee attack/action per round and reduces all of his combat bonuses by half for the next 1d6 minutes.
-Bonus: +3 aimed strike.
-Bio-E Cost: 25
-Prerequisite: Medium Bio-Energy Expulsion Vent.

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Stinger Tentacle: Housed along one of the Host Armor's arms is a coiled tentacle-like appendage tipped with a hollow bone needle[the tip is barely visible, even when the harpoon is retracted]. The Host Armor can extend this stinger tentacle with incredible speed and force, shooting it out through a portal along the wrist, below the hand. After striking, the hollow needle injects a highly corrosive acid into its target then reflexively retracts back into its housing. The Stinger Tentacle is strong, requiring 40 points of MD to sever.
-Mega-Damage: 2d6 MD for the initial piercing strike with no additional bonuses. Acid does 4d8 MD upon initial injection and another +2d8 MD per melee round for 3d4 melee rounds. Acid inflicts 50% damage to non-metallic inorganic materials and only does 1d4 SDC damage to organic substances.
-Rate of Fire: Each stinger injection counts as 1 melee attack.
-Maximum Effective Range: 80ft
-Bonus: +1 strike.
-Bio-E Cost: 20 points for one Stinger Tentacle. Reduce Bio-E cost by 10 points if the Host Armor is already enhanced with the Acid Blood Biological Defense.
-Prerequisite: A Serrated Whip, which is replaced by the Stinger Tentacle.

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Battle Glaive: A hybrid bio-weapon, the battle glaive is a combination between the Concussion Staff and an Acid Edged Blade, with the butt of the haft delivering a standard concussion blast as per the staff while the blade itself is a wickedly curved Acid Edged Blade.
-Weight: 8lbs
-Mega-Damage: Acid Edged Blade: 3d6 MD[additional 1d6 MD per melee round for 1d4 melee rounds or until washed off], Concussion Haft: 3d6 MD[01-45% chance of knockdown, knocked down victims lose initiative and one melee attack/action].
-MDC of the Weapon: Blade: 80 MDC, Haft: 100 MDC, but since the weapon is alive, it regenerates 4d6 MDC per hour. The weapon only takes damage when an attacker is specifically trying to damage/destroy it.
-Trade Value: 3000 credits.

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Initially an endeavor to test the feasibility of creating Host Armor capable of reproducing in the traditional manner, with all the bio-enhancements of both parent armors intact and melded to the newborn Host Armor without the need for incremental Bio-E enhancement, the project was terminated(literally, in some cases) after several experiments went wrong in dramatically bloody fashion. However, using data acquired and techniques developed from the Host Armor breeding experiments, a new bio-enhancement was created, the Homunculus.

Homunculus: The Host Armor is able to create a miniature version of itself for the purpose of reconnaissance and sabotage. Housed within a bulging pouch on the Host Armor's abdomen or back, the Homunculus is kept in bio-stasis until the human pilot wakes it, a process requiring approximately 1 minute(4 melee rounds). Once awakened the Homunculus climbs from its pouch and becomes an extension of the Host Armor's consciousness, its senses supplementing his own and his thoughts controlling its actions. The Homunculus has none of the "mother" Host Armor's ranged bio-weapons(its tiny versions are non-functional), but it possesses the same senses with 50% range, has all relevant bio-enhancements(Enhanced Regeneration, Wings, Stealth Field, etc), and can travel at 25% of its creator's maximum speed. So long as the Host Armor and its Homunculus stay within Bio-Comm range, the pilot can remotely control the mindless creature while receiving sensory data from it, dividing available melee actions between himself and the bio-construct. Its small size makes the Homunculus ideal for reconaissane work, allowing it to go unnoticed in situations where even a stealthy Host Armor could not possibly avoid detection. If destruction is imminent or the pilot has found a target worthy of sabotage, he may command the Homunculus to detonate the powerful organic explosive device housed within its chest.
-Homunculus Size: The bio-construct is only 10% the size and weight of its "mother" Host Armor.
-M.D.C. of the Homunculus: 20% of the Host Armor which created it. The birthing pouch in which the creature is held has 1D6x10+40 M.D.C. and requires a Called Shot with a -3 penalty to strike.
-Mega-Damage: 3D8x10 M.D., to a 36 foot radius if the Homunculus is detonated.
-Homunculus Lifespan: 2D6+6 Hours. The Homunculus construct experiences bio-meltdown at the end of its short life unless prematurely destroyed or given the command to detonate.
-Payload: One. A Host Armor cannot be enhanced with more than a single Homunculus. Once an awakened Homunculus leaves its pouch, the Host Armor begins growing a new one, a process that requires 8d6+48 hours.
-Penalties: Beyond the fact that many find these creatures creepy, a Host Armor carrying one is less agile than it would normally be. This is represented in a -5% penalty to the skills Prowl, Acrobatics, Gymnastics, & Swimming.
-Bio-E Cost: 50
-Prerequisite: Enhanced Neurological Connection & Regeneration: Enhanced(or Super). The Host Armor cannot have a Parasitic, Photosynthetic, or Thermosynthetic metabolism.

[Ectoplasmic Bidet]

Advanced Biotic & Transcended R.C.C.s

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Advanced Biotic O.C.C.
This practice of transforming criminals and other undesirables into Biotics has become so common place that people generally do not question the method or outcome of such tampering. However, not all Great Houses share similar customs and some don't view the transformation into a Biotic as a punishment or a burden, but as a wonderful opportunity. All Splicer bio-tech creations, with the small exception of a handful of Host Armor types with exotic metabolisms, must be fed in one manner or another, housed(a task that can grow quite onerous considering the size of some War Mounts), and in some cases constantly supervised. Human warriors capable of fighting the Machine with nothing but their own bio-engineered bodies are a godsend to some Great Houses, especially those with limited space or resources.

A growing practice, though still met with distrust among many and total disapproval by some, is the creation of Advanced Biotic soldiers as a new, highly regarded warrior class, not as a dumping ground for the dregs of society. As the transformation into a Biotic need not be a traumatic experience, since it is only through direct Librarian intervention that the common Biotic loses his or her mental faculties, it is possible, even easier, to transform a normal human without damaging their intelligence or stability. These Resistance soldiers, referred to as Advanced Biotics to help differentiate them from their lesser brethren, are carefully engineered so that their outward appearances are those of unmodified humans. While there are drawbacks to this, it has been found that not only do Advanced Biotics reintegrate into society more easily, their ability to pass as mundane humans is a huge advantage in certain situations, especially in conflict between Great Houses and when the opportunity presents itself to blend into Machine-tamed human populations.

Alignment: Any, but typically of a good or selfish alignment. Evil individuals are more likely to have committed an offense worthy of standard Biotic transformation.
Attribute Requirements: I.Q. 12 & M.E. 14. Above average attributes of any sort are helpful, but not required.
Attribute Bonuses: 1D6 P.S., Spd, & P.E.
Advanced Biotic O.C.C. Bonuses: Splicer PS, +1 attack per melee, +1 initiative, +1 strike & dodge, +2 pull punch, +2 to save vs poison, toxins, & drugs, +10% to save vs coma & death, +2 to save vs Horror Factor.
Base M.D.C.(after being enhanced): The Advanced Biotic transformation turns the character into a Mega-Damage being, with the P.E. attribute number x8 as the starting M.D.C., plus 1D6 M.D.C. per level of experience, starting at level two. An Advanced Biotic regenerates 1D6 M.D.C. per melee round and can last ten times longer than normal during strenuous exercise/activity before feeling the effects of exhaustion. This means most can remains alert and operate at full efficiency for three entire days without sleep.
Advanced Biotic Enhancement: An Advanced Biotic is transformed into a living representation of Splicer Bio-Technology and is able to select Bio-Enhancements in much the same way as a Host Armor. Unlike Host Armor, standard Biotics, and other Splicer creations that can receive this type of augmentation, care must be taken to preserve a human appearance. This eliminates overtly inhuman modifications, such as huge spikes, wings, and others of a similar nature, but many bio-enhancements can be created in such a way as to make them either fully retractable within the body or concealable by patches of skin that peel back to reveal the truth hidden beneath them. The Advanced Biotic begins with 3D4x10+50 Bio-E. Each level of advancement, starting with level two, the character gets an additional 3D10 Bio-E to further augment their capabilities. Non-obtrusive bio-enhancements, alterations such as enhanced regeneration, acidic blood, or the ability to breath underwater do not carry a Bio-E penalty. Any reasonaly allowable enhancement that would alter the outward appearance requires 5 additional points of Bio-E per 20 Bio-E of the enhancement(minimum of 5 Bio-E for those costing less than 20 points) to render it either retractable or otherwise fully concealable when not in use.
Common Skills: Standard
O.C.C. Skill Programs: Basic Military(+15%), Bio-Technology(20%), and Espionage(15%), Or Assassin(10%), Or Undercover(10%) and any one Skill Program of choice(except Host Pilot or War Mount Rider).
Elective Skills: Select four Elective Skills from the following list at first level. Plus select another one Elective Skill at levels 4, 8, and 12. All new skills start at level one proficiency.
-Communications: Any(+10%)
-Domestic: Any.
-Espionage: Any(+10%).
-Medical: First Aid, or Paramedic only.
-Military: Any(+5%).
-Physical: Any.
-Rogue: Any(+10%).
-Science: Advanced Mathematics or Astronomy & Navigation only.
-Technical: Any.
-Transportation: Any, except Host Armor Combat and War Mount Combat.
-Wilderness: Any(+5%).
-W.P.s: Any.
Secondary Skills: The character gets to select three Secondary Skills at level one and one additional at levels 3, 6, 9, and 12. Secondary Skills are additional areas of knowledge starting without any special O.C.C. bonuses.
M.D.C Living Body Armor: The Advanced Biotic is issued a suit of standard Living Armor of a type of their choice. This armor is not allocated Bio-E for enhancements and is instead intended for use as added protection and to disguise the Advanced Biotic's superhuman nature when the necessity arises.
Standard Equipment: Military fatigues, a suit of non-organic for disguise, a couple sets of dress clothing, survival knife, utility belt, first-aid kit(with 1D4 Slap Patches), Face Wrap(gas mask), tinted goggles, hatchet, one light and one heavy Bio-Weapon of choice, and one weapon for each WP with appropriate ammunition, tent, knapsack, backpack, two water skins, emergency food rations(4 weeks), personal items, and a Mega-Horse for transportation.
Money: Has 1D6x100 credits worth of precious metals or trade items, as well as 6D6x10 credits. As always, money can be spent now on additional equipment or saved for later.
The Upside: You are a living weapon capable of going toe to toe with the Machine and coming out victorious. With proper augmentation, there are few situations you will not be prepared for.
The Downside: Despite the differences between you and your lesser cousins, there is a great stigma attached to Biotics in general. Acceptance will vary wildly depending on the attitudes of the local human populace, anywhere from outright hatred to mere distrust, and your human appearance won't help much if you're discovered to have been hiding your true nature.

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Just something that'd been bouncing around in my head, though altered some not to conflict with other peoples' ideas too much. This thing is powerful, but I wrote it while envisioning a world without Host Armor or many War Mounts, where the entire human race use themselves as weapons against the Machine. The flavor text below is written from a far future perspective and can easily be modified or ignored.

When everyone is special, no one is...

No one is certain who created the Bio-X virus. The ancient Great Houses, those few still remaining, often engage in heated debate(and the occasional firefight), eager to claim credit for Bio-X and its role in the survival of Humanity against the Machine. Centuries have passed and the truth is likely to remain forever lost. What is known, however, is the manner in which Bio-X first augmented the human race. Taking advantage of the vast amount of available storage space built into the human genome, in the form of so-called "junk" DNA, Bio-X was engineered to replace this useless evolutionary detritus with the genetic template to all known Splicer bio-enhancements and to create a biological mechanism for the person to make use of this new DNA in a constructive way. A benign retro virus with no discernible side effects, Bio-X had infected the entirety of the human race before anyone suspected its existence well over a decade later.

Only when the first generation of Transcended children began to mature, and their instinctive ability to "Bio-Evolve" became apparent, did anyone realize what had been done. Bio-Evolution, now an everyday facet of life, signaled a sudden and drastic shift in the Resistance power structures of the time. The position of Warlord with its absolute authority became untenable and Librarians & Engineers lost a great deal of their importance, as everyone, no matter their allegiance or creed, became capable of bio-enhancing themselves nearly at will. Bio-X could not be cured because its work had already been done. The DNA of every human had been rewritten. Eliminating the virus would be useless since the alterations would be naturally passed on to future generations through procreation. Bio-X did not just herald the birth of a new species of humanity, it ushered in a concept long lost with the advent of the Machine; democracy(yeah, it's cheesy).

Transcended R.C.C.
Alignment: Any.
Attributes: I.Q. 3D6+3, M.E. 3D6+6, M.A. 3D6, P.S. 3D6+15(Supernatural), P.P. 3D6+3, P.E. 3D6+6, P.B. 3D6+3, Spd. 3D6+30
Size & Weight: Varies greatly. As per standard human size and weight, but Bio-Evolution frequently changes this dramatically.
S.D.C. & H.P.: As per human standard(before initial Metamorphosis)
M.D.C.: 1D6x10 +P.E. attribute number, plus 1D6 M.D.C. per additional level of experience.
P.P.E.: 1D4x10
Average Lifespan: 120 +1D6x10 years. Life expectancy may be enhanced through Bio-Evolution(+1D4+4 years per 1 Bio-E expended).
Natural Abilities: Bio-Evolution(see below), Supernatural Physical Strength, Regenerate 1D6 M.D.C. per melee round, Fatigue at 10% the standard rate of a normal human, Require only four hours of sleep per 24 hour period(Sleep may be postponed up to 72 hours without ill effect)
Bio-Evolution:
1. Metamorphosis: Sometime after entering puberty(13 +1D4 years old), the Transcended sloughs off mere humanity to become something more. They transform into M.D.C. beings, their physical and mental abilities greatly expand(represented in the attribute bonuses listed above), and a number of other changes take place(Transcended become supernaturally strong and resilient, rapidly regenerate damage, etc).
2. Bio-Evolution: The Transcended begins with 3D6x10 +P.E. attribute number Bio-E to effect their personal evolution. At each new level of experience, starting at level two, the Transcended gains an additional 1D4x10 Bio-E for further modification. Bio-Evolution in some ways resembles a caterpillar's transformation into a butterfly, with the Transcended excreting a silk-like substance from their pores that forms an ultra tough cocoon(2D4x10 M.D.C.) after entering into a self-induced trance state. While in the trance, which lasts several days(1D4+2), the Transcended's consciousness is focused entirely on the difficult task of recoding their DNA. The trance cannot be willfully ended prematurely, but if the cocoon is destroyed the evolution attempt is ruined. Bio-E is not permanently expended by the interruption, but the Transcended suffers potentially fatal damage(1D4x10 +1 M.D. per Bio-E to be spent). Another attempt cannot be made for 1D4 weeks. A successful Bio-Evolution attempt is physically taxing, leaving the Transcended weakened(reduce melee attacks & bonuses for all combat actions by 50% and skill performance by -30% for 1D4 hours per 1 Bio-E expended) and ravenously hungry(must consume three times more food than normal for at least three days).
3. Genetic Template Assimilation: Transcended can modify themselves with any bio-enhancement they gained access to through Bio-X's influence, but cannot create new enhancements on their own. To avoid becoming biologically obsolete as new bio-enhancements are developed, a Transcended is able to assimilate the DNA of Splicer bio-tech devices, permanently adding relevant genetic information to their own genome. This can be done by ingestion of a small sample(as little as an ounce will do) of fresh flesh or blood from any creature with new bio-enhancements(assimilating all new enhancements) or intravenous injection of a prepared DNA solution similar to that used to pass newly created bio-enhancements from a Librarian to an Engineer. Once assimilated, the templates for bio-enhancements are passed on to Transcended offspring.
Combat: Varies with HtH skill selection.
R.C.C. Bonuses: +2 attack per melees, +1 initiative, +2 strike, parry, & dodge, +1 pull punch, +3 roll with punch, fall, or impact, +10% to save vs coma & death.
Magic Powers: None. Magic is an unknown discipline on the Splicers' home planet. In the event that a Transcended is exposed to magic and chooses to learn the mystic arts, their ability to Bio-Evolve is severely limited by the excessive levels of P.P.E. that come to reside within a magic user's body. Magic wielding Transcended receive only 1D6 Bio-E per additional level of experience.
Psionic Powers: None. Psychic ability does not naturally occur within the human populace of the Splicers' world and the potential to develop such powers has forever been lost to the Transcended and their progeny.
Vulnerabilities/Penalties: None.
Skill Programs: As per education level, plus "Common" skills.
Secondary Skills: As per education level, plus two additional Secondary Skills at levels 3, 6, 9, 12, & 15. Secondary Skills are additional areas of knowledge starting without any special O.C.C. bonuses.

[Dark_Lightning]

wow...there's some pretty heavy stuff in here! i really like the Bore Worm concept, and the tactical possibilities it has. keep up the good work!

[Aramanthus]

I agree! I'm glad to see it gathered together. Are you going to add to your material?

[LostOne]

Some cool stuff here. The only thing I had seen before was the ideas of the Splicers in Space with the sequoias and all that.

I like the Advanced Biotic and Transcended ideas. However, I would not allow a Transcended to become a magic user should they ever find themselves on a magic rich environment. That would be insane. Even with the reduced Bio-E gain, they could pick some pretty powerful magic OCCs and who cares, their level 1 Bio evolution already made them incredibly powerful, the magic spells gained would be more than worth losing out on future enhancements.

[NMI]

Out of the kindness of my ice-cold heart, I have stickied this thread!

[taalismn]

Out of the kindness of my ice-cold heart, I have stickied this thread!

'You're a Mean One, Mister Grinch..."

[Ectoplasmic Bidet]

Out of the kindness of my ice-cold heart, I have stickied this thread!

Thanks, NMI!

[Ectoplasmic Bidet]

Here's another one from last year that I just remembered. Made a couple alterations to Bio-E cost and regrowth time as suggested in the original post.

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Initially an endeavor to test the feasibility of creating Host Armor capable of reproducing in the traditional manner, with all the bio-enhancements of both parent armors intact and melded to the newborn Host Armor without the need for incremental Bio-E enhancement, the project was terminated(literally, in some cases) after several experiments went wrong in dramatically bloody fashion. However, using data acquired and techniques developed from the Host Armor breeding experiments, a new bio-enhancement was created, the Homunculus.

Homunculus: The Host Armor is able to create a miniature version of itself for the purpose of reconnaissance and sabotage. Housed within a bulging pouch on the Host Armor's abdomen or back, the Homunculus is kept in bio-stasis until the human pilot wakes it, a process requiring approximately 1 minute(4 melee rounds). Once awakened the Homunculus climbs from its pouch and becomes an extension of the Host Armor's consciousness, its senses supplementing his own and his thoughts controlling its actions. The Homunculus has none of the "mother" Host Armor's ranged bio-weapons(its tiny versions are non-functional), but it possesses the same senses with 50% range, has all relevant bio-enhancements(Enhanced Regeneration, Wings, Stealth Field, etc), and can travel at 25% of its creator's maximum speed. So long as the Host Armor and its Homunculus stay within Bio-Comm range, the pilot can remotely control the mindless creature while receiving sensory data from it, dividing available melee actions between himself and the bio-construct. Its small size makes the Homunculus ideal for reconaissane work, allowing it to go unnoticed in situations where even a stealthy Host Armor could not possibly avoid detection. If destruction is imminent or the pilot has found a target worthy of sabotage, he may command the Homunculus to detonate the powerful organic explosive device housed within its chest.
-Homunculus Size: The bio-construct is only 10% the size and weight of its "mother" Host Armor.
-M.D.C. of the Homunculus: 20% of the Host Armor which created it. The birthing pouch in which the creature is held has 1D6x10+40 M.D.C. and requires a Called Shot with a -3 penalty to strike.
-Mega-Damage: 3D8x10 M.D., to a 36 foot radius if the Homunculus is detonated.
-Homunculus Lifespan: 2D6+6 Hours. The Homunculus construct experiences bio-meltdown at the end of its short life unless prematurely destroyed or given the command to detonate.
-Payload: One. A Host Armor cannot be enhanced with more than a single Homunculus. Once an awakened Homunculus leaves its pouch, the Host Armor begins growing a new one, a process that requires 8d6+48 hours.
-Penalties: Beyond the fact that many find these creatures creepy, a Host Armor carrying one is less agile than it would normally be. This is represented in a -5% penalty to the skills Prowl, Acrobatics, Gymnastics, & Swimming.
-Bio-E Cost: 50
-Prerequisite: Enhanced Neurological Connection & Regeneration: Enhanced(or Super). The Host Armor cannot have a Parasitic, Photosynthetic, or Thermosynthetic metabolism.

[LostOne]

I'm pretty sure I complimented these from another thread where a link to this was posted, but I do like them. I just have a few comments now that I'm rolling up an Advanced Biotic and Transcended just to see how the dice fall and what these guys are actually capable of.

Both have regen 1d6 MDC/melee. Why not change that to say it's equivalent to Regeneration: Super or Regeneration: Enhanced, that way it's clear what they have if someone wants to upgrade the regeneration.

The Transcended seem to have a low amount of MDC. What's the purpose of giving them all this Bio-E if they're gonna die in a few attacks (unless you expect them all to get the forcefield or blow tons of Bio-E on Increased MDC)? Chances are if they were some kind of body armor, many of their enhancements will be worthless, especially if they took offensive weapons enhancements that are stuck inside the armor.

One idea that could be neat for either/both is to add in the ability to function as another metabolism. IE: They can eat as a human, but could also eat as a Lithovore if they were in the field and human food is not available. Or they can eat as a human, but are also Photosynthetic, etc. In any case, they wouldn't necessarily enjoy the other metabolism, it's a survival thing, dirt still tastes like dirt, sunlight doesn't fill the belly, they prefer to eat human food.

[Ectoplasmic Bidet]

I'm pretty sure I complimented these from another thread where a link to this was posted, but I do like them. I just have a few comments now that I'm rolling up an Advanced Biotic and Transcended just to see how the dice fall and what these guys are actually capable of.

Both have regen 1d6 MDC/melee. Why not change that to say it's equivalent to Regeneration: Super or Regeneration: Enhanced, that way it's clear what they have if someone wants to upgrade the regeneration.

The Transcended seem to have a low amount of MDC. What's the purpose of giving them all this Bio-E if they're gonna die in a few attacks (unless you expect them all to get the forcefield or blow tons of Bio-E on Increased MDC)? Chances are if they were some kind of body armor, many of their enhancements will be worthless, especially if they took offensive weapons enhancements that are stuck inside the armor.

One idea that could be neat for either/both is to add in the ability to function as another metabolism. IE: They can eat as a human, but could also eat as a Lithovore if they were in the field and human food is not available. Or they can eat as a human, but are also Photosynthetic, etc. In any case, they wouldn't necessarily enjoy the other metabolism, it's a survival thing, dirt still tastes like dirt, sunlight doesn't fill the belly, they prefer to eat human food.

Never really thought about the regeneration thing. I guess I just assumed people would think it could be upgraded. I may go back and change that.

I was looking over the stuff when I reposted it and noticed that the Transcended did seem kind of low on MDC. I can't recall my thinking at the time when I wrote them up, but I'm sure I had a reason for it. Off the top of my head, I'd say that they can still wear armor if desired and it's easy to purchase quite a considerable amount of extra MDC if one is willing to spend some Bio-E.

I'd thought something similar about the metabolisms and even have a bit written up. I called it a Secondary Metabolism and the only bit I've written so far is for the Thermosynthetic metabolism. I may go back and finish it and fill in some for the other metabolisms as well.

[LostOne]

Never really thought about the regeneration thing. I guess I just assumed people would think it could be upgraded. I may go back and change that.

I assumed it could, but it isn't clear to what. 1d6 MDC/melee is between enhanced and super regeneration.

I'd thought something similar about the metabolisms and even have a bit written up. I called it a Secondary Metabolism and the only bit I've written so far is for the Thermosynthetic metabolism. I may go back and finish it and fill in some for the other metabolisms as well.

Excellent.

So do you imagine the Transcended being like a race of biotics, or just alien and not as monstrous?

[LostOne]

One more thing I noticed is you have the Transcended listing skills based on education level. Splicers doesn't have education level listings. The skill programs from other games won't be quite the same, IIRC, Splicers has some unique skill programs.

[LostOne]

One other change I think I'll make for my game is make the Transcended have Splicer/Robotic PS rather than supernatural. It just seems to fit better since they're taking on the same enhancements that a Host Armor gets and those get Splicer/Robotic.

[bigbobsr6000]

Great Stuff!

[Princedarkstorm]

Wow ,Awesome materials for the rpg!Keep up the great work!

[TechnoGothic]

Gotta say I love the Advanced Biotics and the Transcened RCCs alot.
I've had similiar ideas since the book came out about making things like this.

I have (in my splicer setting) Biotic Houses.

[Princedarkstorm]

I agree !

[Princedarkstorm]

I hope to see it all in a sourcebook soon !

[Aramanthus]

Something we all agree on. I think we all are waiting for the sourcebook.

[Princedarkstorm]

Please !?

[Princedarkstorm]

That was a great idea ,Tristen.

[Aramanthus]

I have to agree. It is a very cool creation! Thank you for sharing it with us!

[LostOne]

While I love having that kind of weapons platform, if you get into a prolonged battle, you will run out of missiles and then you'll be about as useful as an unloaded rifle. Hope you got some carryon weapons.

I tend to spend my Bio-e on weapons with unlimited payloads just for that reason.

[Princedarkstorm]

Awesome job,Tristen!

[Aramanthus]

I'm always looking forward to seeing more new material.

[Princedarkstorm]

Same here!

[Princedarkstorm]

That is a age ritual of gamers and game masters alike .

[Princedarkstorm]

Yeah i know i've been designing weapons and artifacts for games that i try to run sense the first d&d game i ran when i started, man i had some evil things made for those games... now i'm trying to get alot of things done because one of my friends approach me last night about running a demo game at one of the local game stores im kinds wondering if he watching the splicers broad now to prep for some of the demos we'll probally run.

I been doing that since the old CHAIMAIL rules for it .
I feel old .

[Aramanthus]

You are definately not the only one feeling old. I feel old too sometimes.

[Princedarkstorm]

At the local game shop one of the younger gamers looked at me the other day and said he did not think that had rpgs during the 1970s .I told him that was how I met his mother and grandmother .I know that was bad .

[Aramanthus]

LOL! That is the way to straighten it him out!

[Princedarkstorm]

LOL! That is the way to straighten it him out!

Thank you ,Friend Aramanthus .

[Princedarkstorm]

Dont worry about it with age comes wisdom and a few other perks.I on the other hand go be the old saying your as old as you feel and im still pretty much a kid (23), But i have to say though this year has been rough and its made me feel as if I'm 90

I thank you .
You are very wise and well learned .
I am honored by your words .

[The Galactus Kid]

At the local game shop one of the younger gamers looked at me the other day and said he did not think that had rpgs during the 1970s .I told him that was how I met his mother and grandmother .I know that was bad .

I lolled

[Princedarkstorm]

Thank you to The Galactus Kid.
Glad to make your day !

[Aramanthus]

It was funny! I agree with your observations.

[Princedarkstorm]

True .

[Aramanthus]

I know it is. There was proof of that over on one of the yahoo groups I belong too. And it was about Palladium's Rifts. This novice proved he was a total novice. He was trying to accuse one of the webs greats of cheating. Everyone who posted took the side of the great one.

[Princedarkstorm]

Good !

[Aramanthus]

It was resovled awhile back thank goodness. Any new material that can be shared with us the masses?

[Princedarkstorm]

Cool !

[Aramanthus]

Any updates?

[Princedarkstorm]

Not from me of yet .

[cornholioprime]

Someone ought to SLAP Ectoplasmic Bidet.........


......


...........for NOT getting this stuff into a Rifter™ as soon as possible!!

Hopefully, as OFFICIAL material!!!

(IMO, some of those creations need to be Game-Balanced by Kevin and I don't think that there should be a "Splicers....in......SPAAAAAAACE!!!" concept, but apart from that the work you've done is pretty damned awesome.

Now, don't forget to augment the Machine's forces as well with future contributions -unless we all want to acknowledge that the very existence of Kali's House Shiva is balancing enough!!)

[The Galactus Kid]

I don't think that there should be a "Splicers....in......SPAAAAAAACE!!!" concept, but apart from that the work you've done is pretty damned awesome.

Isn't one of the theories for some of the splicers tech that it is actually a growing spacecraft?