House Belloq and their Experiments

Roscoe Del'Tane · Thu Mar 18, 2010 1:34 am

The Librarian and Engineers of House Belloq were in deep trouble, the area they were based in was right next to a production center for cable snakes and skitter pods, and they had swarms of Rat-Bombs wreaking havoc on their habitat, so they had a brilliant idea. Using their not inconsiderable knowledge of genetics and bio-weaving, they reworked the greatest of rat hunters, the cat. Working off of a large group of Maine Coons and several Russian Blues (what they had on hand) with a smattering of salvaged lion DNA, they soon had a small army of living prototypes, that went to work with a vengeance.

One of the biggest challenges the Engineers had was making their Fat-Cats a minor mega-damage beast without making it larger or heavier than it already was; their foe often times hid in areas that couldn’t be easily reached by even the smaller Gorehounds, and they were loath to send their killing machines off to be killed themselves within minutes. The original series performed decently enough against the rats, but didn’t have much success against the cable snakes and skitter pods. At the size their hunters were, they simply didn’t have the muscle to hurt their opponents enough to be worth the risk. So once again, they went to work redesigning their hunters.

The second generation went by, and the third, and by the fourth, everyone agreed that they had achieved what they had set out to do, a small, tough, well armed, and deadly ratter that would work well in a group to kill or destroy any unwanted intruders, mechanical or rodent. The nickname Fat-Cats came from the upgrades they received( including an injectino of Flying Squirrel DNA), giving them thick rolls of fat on their undersides, which they put to good use; the skin on their undersides is thick and tough, and has a sticky coating on the edges, allowing them to form an airtight seal on the ground. Then the 1d4 M.D.C. spikes on their bellies will tear open the rats, and if it’s one of its explosive kin, the cats’ flab will absorb the blast, leaving the surrounding area free from harm (if the cats gut doesn’t absorb the blast, blast radius and damage is reduced by one half). To tackle the problem of the skitter pods, the FC’s all have a single Super Light Cell on their forehead OR tail, and either a Spore Discharger (85%) or Viral Immobilizer (10%), or two Screamer Greneades(5%) on their back.

The FC’s tend to hunt in small packs of 3-5, but spread out over a two or three hundred square foot area to maximize their efficiency. If they see anything they can’t tackle on their lonesome, they use their built in Bio-coms to call in the rest of the pack and use hit and run tactics to tear the threat to pieces before using their Spore Dischargers to eliminate the bodies of their enemies. While not officially a war mount, or under the control of anybody really, they do still feel strong loyalties to humanity as a whole (and House Belloq in particular), and will go out of their way to warn humans about to be ambushed by machines, or distract/attack the machines to give the humans time to run/fight back.

Stats are essentially those of the average house cat weighing 25-30 pounds, but doubled Hit Points and S.D.C. which are combined into M.D.C., and has basic regeneration, Resistance to Physical Attacks, and the above mentioned weapons and Bio-com systems. Bite and claw attacks only deal S.D.C. damage, speed is 5 miles an hour at a dead run (but can be maintained for several hours if need be). Finally, they are able to breed independently of the Librarians and Engineers, an unforeseen side-effect of all the gene tweaking and manipulation, but the cats are all dependant on certain stabilizing chemicals supplied by them. If they don’t get booster shots every two weeks, their body begins to slowly fall apart, as the various strains of cat fights for dominance, literally tearing themselves to pierces from the inside out.

Just a little something I had bouncing around in my head, and it was good practice to get me used to posting ideas again.

Roscoe Del'Tane · Thu Mar 18, 2010 2:48 am

House Belloq has several somewhat… unusual Librarians and Engineers, in that they freely interact with and are indeed friends with several Technojackers who live in the local mountains. This has led to some bizarre ideas and new Bio-Weapons for Host and Living Armor based partially off of their technological counterparts. Case in point, the Spore Launcher, this weapon can only be taken if you have any type of Spore Discharger on one of your forearms/ shoulders, no weapons on that area, AND at least one Screamer Grenade. The Spore Launcher functions like a revolver, with the ‘wheel’ going around the forearm, and the tusk splitting in half, with the lower portion morphing into the ‘barrel’ of the revolver. This odd weapon combines the explosive power of the Grenade with the Spore’s long term damage capacity, all in one nice package. If you have two of Spore Launchers you can Volley fire them at any opponent, for one action, but with the usual limitations involved.

The Launcher occupies the top of the forearm, with the extra ammo circling the arm like the wheel of the revolver (actually located underneath the skin to prevent ‘accidental’ discharges). The Grenades become smaller, more compact, and much more streamlined, allowing it to be fired much farther than normal. The weapon only comes with one round, kept in the barrel, but can have up to seven additional shots along the arm or back. Range of all Grenades fired in this fashion is the range of the Spore Discharger plus 100 feet, but the Launcher can only fire Spore Grenades, not the unmodified versions, or anything else.

Length of the Launcher: 10% greater than the Spore Discharger, and twice as thick.
M.D.C.: 80
Prerequisite: Spore Discharger, Screamer Grenade (moved to forearm/back), and no other weapons on the area to be used.
Bio-E: 10, plus 5 per additional Spore Grenade. Extras can be plucked and thrown by hand or dropped if need be, has up to a five second delay.
Damage: 2d12+4d8 to a 20 foot radius, +1d8 splash damage per melee round to the range determined by the Spore Discharger for 3d4 melee rounds. Note that the Spore Discharger can be used without firing the Spore Grenade if stealth is needed.
Range: Equal to the type of Spore Discharger plus 100 feet, applies ONLY to the grenades, not anything of the Spores themselves.
Rate of Fire: One per melee action
Payload: Up to eight per Launcher, not counting the Ultra Upgrade, and takes only 8 hours to regrow each Grenade.

Roscoe Del'Tane · Thu Mar 18, 2010 3:37 am

House Belloq has made several advances in explosives use, mainly by having several completely nutso Engineers and Librarians without any moral compass’. A group of Librarians who had been triplets before their bonding, and sharing a mutual love of things that go boom! were trying to figure out ways to make their House’s explosives… well…explode better. By chance, they stumbled upon something else, something that they liked even better, a way to alter the detonation parameters for the mines, allowing for some interesting and very lethal applications.

The first alteration enabled the user to detonate the mine at will, when the machines touched, as usual, but also to rule out those of their House as acceptable targets, meaning that as long as you are of House Belloq (or at least wearing their Host/Living Armor) you have nothing to fear from their mine fields. All of the Engineers and Librarians make their armor and (war mounts) with similar genetic signatures, meaning the mines see them all as ‘brother’ and ‘sisters’ to the one who grew them, and won’t detonate. At the end of the normal three year lifespan, the originator can choose to have the mine automatically detonate, dissolve, or go inert.

The second alteration was to link any mines dropped within a few minutes (must be left within 100 feet of each other to be effective). Any mines linked in such a fashion will all detonate together, allowing for a wider range of explosions for hitting more targets, or to ‘stack’ the explosions to hit a smaller number harder. This, combined with the first alteration gives a much wider scope for the use of their mines, especially since they had near unto a legion of Biotics who do nothing but grow these altered mines for use by those in the field. Said Biotics grow the mines, stuff them into sacks, and they go about their daily tasks, and are free of the normal prejudice against their kind, as they are all volunteers who work alongside the normal members of the House, doing the hardest, dirtiest labor whenever needed.

The first two alterations can be chosen by any who have mines, but the third can be taken only by those with the Acid Blood feature, as it combines both the mines and the blood, for a devastating double-punch. This came about after the eldest of the triplets (going by when they joined their symbiote) actually managed to get DRUNK on a bet with one of their Scarecrows (won by a landslide) and had a ‘wunnerful adeah fer shumfin, jus yuu see’. No matter where it can, many of the House are glad he was so irresponsible, as it has become a great favorite of the Dreadguard and Roughnecks, as most got the Acid Blood anyways, and this was simply a wonderful bonus. It comes with a severe drwback though, a lifespan one third normal, only one year.

Daisy-chain mine:
Mega-Damage Capacity, and Rate of Fire: Same as the normal Trenchfoot Mines
Payload: Each mine takes 30 hours to grow back, due to their complexity.
Bio-E: 7 per mine, but for an additional 3, life span can be doubled
Prerequisite: None, but pre-existing mines can be upgraded for 2 Bio-E each.

Acid Bomb:
Rate of Fire, Payload: Identical to unaltered Mines
Mega-Damage: 4d12 Plus 3d8 to a 10 foot radius, plus 3d8 for each additional melee round for one minute.
Bio-E: 7 per mine
Prerequisite: Acid Blood, and cannot have Daisy-Chain on any mine that will become an Acid Bomb, totally incompatible enhancements. Preexisting mines can be upgraded for 2 Bio-E each.

Roscoe Del'Tane · Thu Mar 18, 2010 4:36 am

House Belloq has unfortunately managed to attracted to personal attention of Ishtar, after a small group of Roughnecks got drunk, raided one of her facilities, and left graffiti everywhere. She took this personal insult as it was intended, and followed them to the general area where the House was situated. She doesn’t know exactly where they are, but roughly where in a 100 mile radius, and was cracking down HARD on them, intercepting all of their patrols, and slaughtering them mercilessly, possessing the meanest bot she could find, and tearing le resistance apart.

The House immediately called off all surface missions, and set about finding a way to counter this new, personal threat to their existence. They had sufficient supplies to last them a good long time without going to the surface, but it galled them to just let Ishtar run around on their doorstep while they were powerless to stop her. She couldn’t get in, there were too many tunnels laying about, with traps, dead ends, and other nasty surprises laying about in them to make that a useful plan. They could not get out either, and She could only get stronger while they would slowly wither on the vine if they could not leave. Nobody was able to come up with an idea that would work, short of relocating, and nobody was quite willing to go that far just yet. In the end, it was one of the friendly Technojackers that came up with their saving grace, a fusion of Bio-Weapon with Technojacker nano-control.

Instead of fighting her, they would simply remove her from the equation. Over the next year, they spent millions of man hours feverishly working on the new project. The Engineers and Librarians knew that they would only have one shot at this, and if it failed, it would essentially be the doom of the House; either they would be wiped out, or they would have to move out, abandon their holdings, and join another House. The idea of removing the possessing presence of Ishtar was easy to come up with, but exceedingly difficult to execute, even with the Technojackers helping as much as they could and everyone involved working around the clock.

Finally, they had what they thought would work, a network of large shrubs and small trees spread out along their territory, planted and maintained by a host of devoted Skinjobs that snuck out, right under the ‘noses’ of the patrols, and crawled along the area House Belloq controlled, planting these vital items. When it was done, the Com Jammers were activated, and everyone held their breath and crossed their fingers, toes, wings, and tentacles. It worked both better than they had hoped, and less then they wanted. It didn’t banish Ishtar from their lands like they had desired, but it did disrupt the signal she used to possess the drones and robots. Most of the time, she wasn’t able to take control of what she wanted, and had to settle for the lesser robots, and it DID greatly reduce the influence she was able to exert on the rest of her minions.

While every member who uses them knows that the Bio-Comms used by the humans cannot be heard, tracked, or understood by the machines, the reverse is decidedly not the case, so long as a Technojacker is around. The Technojackers and Librarians set up a system that would use modified Bio-Comms to monitor the data being transmitted by NEXUS, and would disrupt any of the machine personalities that attempted to cross the boundaries provided by the plants (the relay towers). Every melee round, there is a 40% chance of preventing her from possessing the robot she wants, and only a 60% chance she will be able to possess ANY of her machines (chosen at random by the GM, but not any of the same class as she wants). In addition, any machine under the influence of said personality, would only gain half their bonuses. If she does manage to possess one of her machines, each melee round she has to make a savings throw against Psionic Attack at -5 or be booted out of her ‘bot for the remainder of the round. Even if none of the NEXUS personalities are using the ‘bots, they are plagued with radio and communications failures, treat the communication systems as being underground/water while under the Com Jammers umbrella of protection.

Once the other Houses heard about this, they all began clamoring for something similar for their Houses and holdings, but Belloq has had to turn them all down. For the sad truth of the matter is that House Belloq has nobody who knows HOW the system actually works! Oh, they all know the broad idea, and even a few of the details, but The Engineer and Technojackers who were working on the final (and secret!) stages, all died of stress after it was completed (heart attacks and an aneurism), and they had done most of the tweaking and in depth ‘debugging’ if you will. So for the moment, the Com Jammer must remain a unique mystery, one with a finite lifespan, for the trees and shrubs that are the relay and monitoring system will only live for 100-150 years max before they die. That’s a best case scenario, because they are all barren, and already there is some damage, due to robots knocking them over, battle damage, and just plain nature and accidents. Everyone is hoping for some idea of how to replicate this amazing feat, but nobody wants to go probing too far for fear of destroying the whole enchilada permanently. Ishtar, of course, is absolutely furious with the whole lot of them, and has vowed to take her bloody revenge on House Belloq if it’s the last thing she does, and has several large strike forces probing the edges of the Com Jammer, searching for a way in so she can slay the upstart monkeys.

Snake Eyes · Unread post by **Snake Eyes** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 10:55 am

Very nice

The Galactus Kid · Thu Mar 18, 2010 4:01 pm

This is really good. It reminds me that I need to do a write up of Great House Warsaw.

Roscoe Del'Tane · Fri Mar 19, 2010 12:59 am

The Galactus Kid wrote:This is really good. It reminds me that I need to do a write up of Great House Warsaw.

Thanks man, glad to hear somebody likes my ideas (that goes for you too Snake Eyes)! Been a while since I posted anything, and I found a folder with a bunch of Splicers ideas in it, so I thought I would flesh them out a bit and give the good folks on this board some extra goodies. Enjoy!

Sky-Mantas
House Belloq has made several tentative forays into the field of making new War Mounts (not counting their Fat Cats), and one of the new ideas that works somewhat is the Sky-Manta. Essentially, they are a kind organic blimp with weapon pods on their backs. Built to work with the Packmasters, they were difficult to direct, were incredibly stupid, had a stubborn streak a mile long, and insisted on going their own way whenever their Packmaster wasn’t using their Bio-Com to ‘look over their shoulder’ as it were. Eventually, the Packmasters refused to work with the Mantas, stating that they were too hard to deal with, and that their strategic value was negligible to the overall battle at best, and a hindrance at worst.

Unwilling to simply write them off, the Engineers and Librarians went back to work, splicing new genes and DNA in here, pulling some out there, and beefing up their smarts all round. They had a better version, one that they put into limited testing, and this time, it looks like they have a keeper. The 3.0 model is MUCH smarter this time around, though still rather simple in animal terms (original models were rather like flying potatoes in terms of brainpower), and somewhat more willing to follow orders. Stronger armor, better propulsion systems, and faster speed all help to, as well as the fact that they have more protective feelings towards humanity; the originals didn’t feel loyalty to anyone not a Sky-Manta, even their Packmaster, and on several occasions the bickering they engaged in led to the death of said Packmaster.

Each Manta has a body that looks like a sausage link, with a pair of pizza-dough ‘wings’ on the sides, and long catlike tail tipped with bone shards, and a broad, flat mouth full of razor-sharp shark teeth. While their body is technically lighter than air, they lack any naturally occurring way to propel themselves, it is a separate organism that is grafted onto them once they reach maturity; this is a safety feature to prevent them from breeding out of control, the downside of all these new upgrades is that they are all permanently fertile, remove that and all the upgrades go out the window within a few weeks. The propulsion organism is a type of organic jet engine, only micronized, and is strong enough to propel the Manta itself and its arsenal (no passengers or cargo allowed here folks) through the air fairly well. These engines, and their placement mean that the Manta is incredibly agile while flying, but is a sitting duck on the ground.

They have an oddity in their brain, during the testing phase for the second generation one of the Engineers noticed that the brain had essentially split into smaller nodes in one of the prototypes. Intrigued with this, he made a dozen clones of it, and spent the next several months tinkering with them ‘off the clock’, before coming up with a stable product. Not only is the brain spread out amongst the body in little packets (like some dinosaurs), but they also function in relays, allowing the Manta to work indefinitely without sleep (not rest, but sleep), making them the near perfect airborne sentries. One odd quirk of this latest re-engineering is that they tend to bond stronger with the Archangels than they do with the Packmasters, which is one reason that they tend to be delegated to helping clear the airspace around battles as much as sentry duty.

The standard armament for the Sky-Manta is a pair of Light Bore Cannons on their backs, and a trio of Super Light Cells, one on their head and one on each ‘wing’. They also have three modified Spinnerets, which only secrete a type of rope with a sticky glob on the end. This is used to anchor themselves to the ground, and their ‘arms’ and ‘legs’ are generally too small or atrophied to be of any used. These special spinnerets have a maximum length of 1000 feet, which fully regenerates over a period of 12 hours, is not a Mega Damage substance, and cannot be used like the standard silk. The silk is strong enough to be used to tie the Mantas down in strong wind (35-40 mph), but is not intended to be used in combat or for other uses. When upgraded by their Packmaster or their Archangel (AA can use their personal Bio-E from their armor or wingpack to do this), they can gain other weapons, but only Bio-Energy Vents, Organic Rockets, Spore Dischargers, Screamer Grenades, Trench Foot Mines, Claws, Combat Spurs, the assorted upgrades for each, and the generic upgrades (Mega, Omni, etc). Other upgrades can only be taken from Eye and Vision, Other Senses, and Biological Defenses.

Class: Airborne Assault and Defense Platform and Sentry
Crew: None, may bond with a Packmaster or Archangel
MDC: By location
Bore Cannons: 1d4X10+60 per cannon
Wings: 50 each
Tail: 35 (but regenerates fully even if severed over the course of one month)
Main Body: 150 (as long as the Manta has at least 50 MDC left, its bladder is intact, each point under that runs a cumulative 1% chance or rupturing it, letting all the lift out)
Organic Jets x4: 45 each, two on underside of main body, one on each wingtip (destroying the any jet will cut speed by one quarter, but the destruction of the wingtip ones will unbalance the Manta, inflicting -1 to all combat and piloting rolls).
Head: 60 (destroying the head does NOT kill the Sky-Manta, but does doom it to a death of slow starvation, as the other brains take over, death within one week unless they get it back to the Engineers to grow it another head)
Arms/Legs (2 of each): 20 each, but none are necessary for the Sky-Mantas to live

Flight Speed: 300 MPH on a day with no wind, strong winds may alter this either way
Ground Speed: a pitiful 2 miles per hour at the most, as its arms and legs are so severely undeveloped, cannot maintain this pace for more than three hours tops before it must rest.
Leaping, Digging, and Swimming: none are possible, but the Sky-Manta can float indefinitely so long as its air bladder is full.

Height: two and a half to three feet tall, fully inflated.
Length: Four and a half to five feet long, not counting the tail (long as the rest of the body put together).
Width: the main body is two and a half to three feet wide, with a wingspan of an additional 8-10 feet.
Weight: without gas is 150 pounds.
Cargo: Weapons only, no cargo possible at this time
Production Cycle: 9 Months gestation, 10 months growth time, tends to grow in groups of 2d4+2
Operational lifetime: 20 +1d4 years
Bio-Regeneration Rate: Equal to basic, but tail is specifically modified to regrow within one month of being destroyed.
Senses: Standard set up, but automatically gets Advanced and Armored Eyes.
Feeding: Carnivore based omnivore, can eat anything a human can, but prefers raw, and occasionally still living prey. Tends to go after birds, insects, and fish (might not be able to swim but can propel itself along the surface of the water just fine).
Sleep: N/A, but fatigues at one-third the normal rate of an unaltered human.
Other data: Sky-Manta are a strange mix of both anti-social and pack animals. When on the prowl, they split up to check/cover a large area; when they spot the enemy, they call up their littermates and converge for the kill. When working with their littermates, they gain +2 to all combat rolls and one melee action, due to the strong connection they have with each other (not psychic abilities, just the knowledge of what the others will do); however, if their pack is reduced by half, they lose this bonus forever. This feeling of pack protectiveness has lead to many instances of one Manta diving in front of a missile or energy blast, taking the hit to protect an already injured companion, or ganging up and nipping annoying humans/gorehounds/etc. They tend to be put on sentry duty when their group is in unfamiliar/dangerous territory, as with their spinnerets and brains, they can stay awake all night long and keep an eye on their friends. 55% of all Sky-Manta bond with Packmasters, but nearly as many bond with Archangels (for game purposes, the Archangel can command the Sky-Manta as if they were a Packmaster, but they can only bond ONE Manta at a time).
Alignment: 85% are of good or selfish alignment, the rest are aberrant
Attributes:
IQ: 1d4 +1
M.E.: 1d6 +4
M.A.:2d4 +3
P.S.: 3d6 +5, equal to splicer strength
P.P.: 3d8 +12 (in air) 1d2+1 (on ground)
P.E.: 2d6 +8
P.B.: 1d6+2
Number of Melee Actions: 4
Instinctive Skills: Land Navigation: 78%, Detect concealment 75%, Prowl (when on the ground or anchored in a tree/similar) 55%. Understands the language of House Belloq at 80%. Recognizes machines as enemies.
Combat capabilities: The Sky-Manta are a new type of War Mount (only came out with them in the last 10 years), and as such are still trying to find their niche in the war with Nexus.
Restrained Head but: 1d4 S.D.C. damage
Full Strength Head but: 1d4 M.D.C.
Restrained bite or nip: 2d4 S.D.C.
Full Strength Bite: 3d6 M.D.C.
Flying Ram: 2d10, but Manta takes half damage, and takes two attacks. Has a 1-75% chance of knocking a standing human sized target off its feet.
Tail Whip: Half the Sky-Mantas have tail that end in a sword-like bone blade, and the others have ones that looks like scythe blades, damage is 4d6 M.D.C. regardless of shape.
Power Tail Whip: 8d6, counts as two attacks
Suicide Charge: An alteration of the Bio-Meltdown/Self-Destruct option installed on the other War Mounts, instead of having a delayed detonation, it can be set to explode when it is killed or when it impacts a target, doing the full 4d8x10 to the 10 foot radius, half for another 10 feet beyond that. The machine hordes have become very wary of the Sky-Manta; they’ve learned if they don’t kill them in one or two shots, they come barreling into the biggest group of ‘bots it can find and blasting them to pieces.
Bio-Systems: Two Light Bore Cannons, three Super Light Cells, Basic Regeneration, Advanced and Armored eyes, 3 Modified Spinnerets, and an Internal Bio-Com; additional Bio-E is gained the normal way if bonded to a Packmaster. If bonded to an Archangel, the Manta starts with twice the base the Angel has for their Wing Packs sensors; additionally, the Angel gains twice as much Bio-E per level, but half can only be used for their Manta, if their Manta dies before they have a chance to upgrade, this Bio-E is lost.

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 8:42 pm

Excellent stuff here....May the Machine Beware!

Roscoe Del'Tane · Sat Mar 20, 2010 6:13 am

Hello again everybody, hope you enjoy this next bit too, it contains bit of foreshadowing of where my House may end up one day in the far future, who knows? Oh, and 20 geek points to whoever can tell me the name of the person who inspired the House's name.

‘Warlord Krieg IV of House Belloq, encrypted personal log. Date day 257, year 27 After Victory’
“When I think back on that final, desperate battle on the Main Computer Core, I ponder the upgrades and tricks the involved Houses had come up with that benefited us the most. They all played their part admirably well, but the one that sticks I my mind the most is the Targeting Upgrade, mainly because it had saved our lives on so many occasions, including that day. We had grown strong, true, and had many new weapons that we unleashed against out mechanical foe, but they too had weapons held in reserve, and they were terrible indeed. You, and I hate to say this, but I cannot deny the truth, were lucky you did not have to see their sonic cannons that exploded organs and brains inside armored suits, rail guns that fired packets of circuitry into flesh, reacting instantly with the hated Metal Plague, rockets that bathed our warriors in flame that melted even their bones in seconds, gas that dissolved our mightiest War Mounts in seconds, and too many more to list, even if I had the words and heart to describe them. Not even to you, and it is that blanket silence about that day that has the lesser spawns of our House muttering behind my back. They think me deaf and a senile fool, but I still have eyes and ears, and loyal friends among the servants… but I digress. The battle; after your words, I rallied out forces and engaged the rusty wrecks once more, wielding your favorite sword (and I do hope you have forgiven me for that presumption, but you know what a symbol the rank and file saw that as).

We won the day, but I can tell you for a fact, that without the efforts of my loyal Engineers and Librarians, I would not be recording this for you now. The machines rose against us like a steel tide, and they broke themselves on the shores of our mighty weapons. I was always the one who pointed out those robots inhabited by the hated NEXUS witches, always the one to fire the first shot at them, and to deal the most debilitating blows. Not that my crew was ineffective, far from it, if they had lived, they would have been living legends as well; but they were without the advantages that my new tool gave me, giving me the honor, and the unique privilege of killing Ishtar three times that day, including the final blow ever against that most potent and hated of foes.

Without the labors that allowed my Suits eyes to pierce the enemy’s veils, none of the Houses, or indeed humanity would have survived that battle, what with their doomsday weapon ready to take the field of battle. To this day, nearly three decades later, I still wake in a cold sweat at that thought; I am unashamed to say that the one thing that terrifies me to near incoherence (and incontinence, just between the two of us), even now, is the thought of that monstrosity waking to wreak havoc on the world once more. I can only pray to the Ancestors that the precautions we have taken will hold it in stasis until we can dismantle it, I believe that only They know how long that will take, and every second a battle harder and more perilous than anything we fought at that last Core. Ah, the Feast! My apologies, my darling valkyr, but I must leave now, it is Liberation Day after all, and the guest of honor cannot be late to his own party. Yanna my dearest, it won’t be long now until we are reunited, but I will wait for that day with the patience you taught me; I won’t rush to meet the Ferryman, but neither will I drag my heels when he calls me back to Service, make sure you keep those rascals of ours in line, I’ll be there to help you as soon as I can. Your one and only, Krieg Belloq IV, last of my line.”
The upgrade that Warlord Krieg is referring to here, is a boost to the natural combat computer of the host armors, War Mounts, and the other assorted Bio-Constructs. It increases the number of targets that can be tracked, and at high enough levels, sorts them in a color-coded list of priorities and danger to the user.

1) Standard level B.C.C.: Just what it says, the standard type of bio-combat computer (B.C.C. for short). Comes naturally in all host armors and War Mounts, but can be added to Biotics and Living Armor for 15 Bio-E

2) Hawkeye B.C.C. Upgrade: This upgrade allows the user to track and identify half again as many targets (if 18, then 24, 40 then 50, etc.) over the standard type. In addition, Labor Drones and Androids are highlighted color coded with your choice of Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, Black, White, and Gray as blips or dots on your internal Heads Up Display. Prerequisite: standard level B.C.C.. Bio-E Cost: 15.

3) Eagle-Eye B.C.C. Upgrade: This upgrade doubles the base number of track able targets, gives a natural +1 to strike and dodge OR parry against one specific type of Robot or Android (choose or roll randomly for it), as the BCC sees it as a particularly important opponent, and greater knowledge of the scents and markings it recognizes ("Hmmm, not only hydrolic fluid, but the type that Hecate has begun using on her new model of Land Anhiliaters"). Color coding is still available, and you can alter the icons shape and color they are represented with to one of your choice instead of the standard dots. Everything else stays the same. Prerequisite: Hawkeye B.C.C. Bio-E Cost: 15

4) Oracle B.C.C. Upgrade: The final and most powerful version of the B.C.C. available to date (though not the one Warlord Krieg used, that particular refinement was lost with him in the battle at the feast he attended shortly after narrating that opening narration). Triple the number of targets track able by the standard B.C.C., all androids and Drones are attacked with the natural +2 bonus to strike/dodge/parry, the user can color-code and icon change the enemy AND friendly units on the fly, and the system can tell when one of the NEXUS personalities are possessing one of their disposable minions. Prerequisite: Enhanced Neural Connections, Increased Metabolic Rate, Eagle Eye B.C.C. Bio-E Cost: 25

Roscoe Del'Tane · Sun Mar 21, 2010 4:32 am

House Belloq, they of the Spore Launcher and the Com Jammer, have known that they need to find a new home to live in, as the reason for the Com Jammer is that they managed to get the very personal (and angry) attention of Ishtar. Unfortunately, most of the tunnels and underground passages leading out of their territory are either collapsed during Ishtar’s previous advances, or lead directly into the nearby ocean. Not the best of options, one that they need to solve quickly, and that’s where the Iron Jellies come in.

Not willing to lead their people out through tunnels that the psychotic machine knew about, they turned to the sea, and the possibilities that it presents to them. Their first thought was a massive, sea bound island-island type creature, one that could carry their entire population off to safety. Before they tried that, though, the Engineers and Librarians thought that it would be a good idea to try their hands on some smaller types of creations first; seeing as how if they messed up, it wouldn’t result in the catastrophic loss of material and time inherent in a city sized creature sinking beneath the waves, never to return. The Engineers and Librarians had before only worked with earthbound creatures, (dogs, cats, horses, etc.), with a small foray into airborne creatures, and wanted to make sure that they got everything right before they went into full blown production of combat cetaceans and mass-people movers.

Their first attempt was with the noble jellyfish, something that if was done wrong would not be a huge loss, and easily cleaned up. The idea was to create a war mount that could lurk in the relative shallows of the shorelines and intercept the robots during an assault, so the (purely theoretical at this point) heavier assault beasties could pound the bots into scrap. While the name of Iron Jellies implies heavy defenses, the opposite is actually closer to the truth. Their flesh is soft and squishy, with lots of give and nearly no pain receptors. This allows them to take a brutal pounding from guns, and be sliced to ribbons without reacting negatively, all actions taken with cold, clear logic. The average Jelly is roughly 25-30 feet across, and has the same basic shape as one of their diminutive bell-shaped brethren, with a few twists. Their ‘skin’ on top has thousands of strands of a type of living silk infused within it, allowing the mounting of guns on top or the carrying of troops/civilians.

The tentacles of the Jelly droop down beneath it, 100 feet on average, and are not only covered in cruel bone barbs, but are prehensile, and carry a nasty electric shock as well. Said tentacles not only snag any bot under the water, but can reach up above to snatch any flying above them. To encourage NEXUS’s machines to attack them, they appear to be slow moving, stick to the surface, and originally lack any obvious external weapons other than their tentacles. However, once their prey is within reach, they engage their enemies with a combination of organic rockets concealed on the underside of their bell, Bio-Energy Vents hidden along the rim, and Chemical Sprayers. The ‘meat’ that makes up the majority of their bodies, while easily damaged, is just as easy to repair quickly, making the Iron Jellies a potent threat to the Machines forces along the sea shore.

In a bit of an ironic twist, the Iron Jellies have problems with the depth that the machines, just different reasons. The machines loose communication with NEXUS if they go much farther than 200 feet below the surface, and run the risk of having their circuits shorted out if there is a breech in their armor. The Jellies, are subject to excessive compression and lose of mobility if they go farther than about 150 feet, they take 3d6 M.D.C. per melee round and are -5 to all combat rolls. Borrowing from their aquatic cousins the squid, they use a form of jet-propulsion to move; one main jet for movement, four smaller jets for broad movement, and dozens of tiny jets for fine tuning. They can even make short ‘hops’ into the air (takes three actions, and can jump ten feet across and 5 up), but cannot survive out of the water. During the first battle with the machines the Outrider pilot came up with an interesting and highly effective idea, using the smaller jets to spin in place and blasting the machine hordes; while this added nothing to their defensive abilities, it did prevent the bots from clambering onto the Iron Jelly and allowing the home team to deal extra damage to their tentacle attacks.

The Outrider sits in a womblike command center, completely enveloped by his mount. The tops surface is dotted with armored eyes, to facilitate spotting and killing the enemy, but there are still occasional blind spots, and the unusual method of propulsion and maneuvering required by this strange beastie means that only those who specialize in their use are able to take full advantage of their abilities (all others are -1 actions per melee, and -2 to all combat rolls). This command center not only allows him to pilot and command his gelatinous assault best, but also to flee if it is damaged too badly; by severing the connection with the main body, it can act as an escape pod, continuing to care for its master even as it dies. Once the command pod has launched, it can last 72 +2d4 hours before it dies, if they can get it back to the Engineers or Librarians before then, they can stabilize it and grow a new body for it. Such a drastic step is a long process that takes 3d4 months, and for an additional 1d4+2 weeks after the new body is grown, the pilot and beast have no bonuses to combat rolls, and loose 2 actions per melee due to the Jelly having to re-learn all the connections to its body. This is something that is rarely done, as the amount of materials and time this consumes is hideously wasteful, so the Outrider pilots are encouraged to take whatever measures they must in order to protect their mount.

Class: Aquatic Assault and Support War Mount
Crew: One Pilot, up to three passengers on top of the bell.

MDC by Location:
Bell (top portion): 350
Tentacles (8): 100 each
Main Jet: 85
Maneuvering Jets (4): 50 each
Fine Movement Jets (2d4x10): 25 each
Escape/Control Pod: 100
Mouth: 50

Speed:
Swimming: 250 mph
Leaping: 10-15 miles per hour, but uses three attacks
Digging: Iron Jellies cannot dig, their structure will not allow it
Flight: Strongly suggested against it, as they are water creatures, but if you want to spend Bio-E and get them flight thrusters, hey go ahead, they’ll take 3d6 M.D.C. per melee they are out of the water.

Statistical Data:
Height: Discounting the tentacles the average Jelly is 20-25 tall
Width/Length: 25-30 feet
Weight: 1 ton (large but made of jelly and water for the most part, little weight)
Cargo: Ill suited to be beasts of burden, but can carry up to three passengers on top of the bell (typically Dreadguard or Roughnecks), or bags similar in size.
Production Cycle: 1 year gestation, another two for full growth, during which time the Outrider they are to be bound to will spend much of their time with the juvenile Jelly, teaching and playing with it.
Operational Lifespan: Unknown, only been in production for the last five years. It is assumed to 25-30 years, but at this point it’s all just a giant crapshoot.
Trade Value: 4-5 million credits if you are along the shore/sea (includes the Outrider who comes with it), nothing if you’re on land.
Bio-Regeneration: Special, 1d4x10 per melee round to the main body, normal for all other areas.
Horror Factor: 15 to those unused to it, none against the machines (come on man, it’s a freaking toothed, gigantic jellyfish that can shoot lightning!)
Senses: Standard War Mount senses, with 8 pairs of Armored Eyes on the top of the bell
Feeding: The Iron Jellies are complex feeders, being primarily carnivorous, but also scavenging kelp and sea weed. Needs between 65-80 pounds of food every 2-3 days.
Sleep Requirements: Only needs 6 hours of rest per day due to being a synthetic organism

Other Data: The Iron Jellies like humans, but without a rider, they are reluctant to come to the aid of humans, and will stick to firing off their rockets and fleeing. They are as spineless as their ancestral cousins, and fill only stick around to fight if there is no way to escape.
Alignment: Considered Selfish, will protect their partners and their family, but won’t risk their neck for other humans without orders.
War Mount Attributes:
I.Q.: 2d4+1
M.E.: 1d4+3
M.A.: 2d6+2
P.S.: 3d4+10 (Supernatural)
PP: 3d6+4 (tentacles) 2d4-1 (main body and jets)
P.E.: 3d4+2
Attacks per Melee: One for each tentacle, and two for their other weapons, plus whatever their pilot brings to the table

Equivalent Skills of Note: Advanced Swim:98%, Underwater Demolitions: 55%, Wilderness Survival 85%, and Water Navigation 90% (same as Land Navigation, but out at sea).

Combat Capabilities: The Iron Jellies are a fearsome foe when in their element, with murderous long tentacles capable of rending their foes with ease, or shocking them into submission.
Tentacle Slap: 4d6 S.D.C.
Restrained Tentacle Slap: 2d4 S.D.C.
Tentacle strike: 4d6 M.D.C.
Bite: 3d6 (this either requires the enemy to swim into its mouth, or one of the tentacles to shove it in there)
Tentacle Grab: Same as Tentacle Strike, but counts as a grapple attempt as well.
Rend Asunder: If three or more tentacles grab the same target, they can attempt to rip it apart. Takes three actions, and does 2d4x10 M.D.C. (plus electrical shock if the pilot or Jelly decides to use it).
Ram: 2d4, an infrequently used attack, as the squishy body tends to simply envelop the enemy without doing significant damage to them and costs 2 melee actions.

Iron Jelly Bio-Weapon Systems:

1. Organic Rockets: Scattered along the underside of the bell are 15 organic rockets, designed to shoot down enemy aircraft, or pound large targets of opportunity along the shore lines.
Primary Purpose: Anti-Air Defense
Secondary Purpose: Counter-Machine Offensive Tool
Mega-Damage: 5d10 to a 10 foot radius
Range: 1 mile
Rate of Fire: Due to the scattered nature of their placement, they can only be fired up to 4 at a time before the bell needs to be rotated so as to bring fresh rockets to bear.

2. Lightning Discharger: The Jellies entire body can send out a massive jot of electricity to seriously mess up your day.
Primary Purpose: Close Quarters Defense
Secondary Purpose: Mid-Range Support of Friendly troops
Mega-Damage: 4d12
Range: 100 feet

3. Chemical Sprayer (4): Every other tentacle has a gland on the tip of their bony claws that will allow them to spray a burning chemical weapon to discourage their enemies from engaging in close in fighting.
Primary Purpose: Preventive Defense
Secondary Purpose: Aggressive Defense
Damage: 3d6 fist melee used, then 2d6 for an additional 1d4+1 melee rounds
Range: 12 foot radius from the tentacle
Payload: 16 total attacks per day

Roscoe Del'Tane · Sun Mar 21, 2010 5:45 pm

The House Belloq Librarians and Engineers, in their efforts to find a new site for their House, have come up with ways for their searchers to be more comfortable at sea. True, they all had the Floating Air Bladder upgrade, but that got a bit disorientating after awhile, and was rather uncomfortable, as there are a few species of Mega-Damage sharks, squid, and whale out there that might want to taste these new intruders upon their domain. So they put their vaunted brains to work, and came up with organic boats and surfboards, made out of bone and coral, but function as War Mount.

The juvenile Wave Boards don’t actually add much to the users swim speed, but they do give them a chance to get all the way out of the water, and to bring extra food/tools/people along with them. Some of the oldest and largest can even be hooked up to Leviathans or other War Mounts and towed out to sea, acting as floating evacuee barges. While not adding greatly to the overall war effort, they are useful enough that they have been put into constant low level production, and serve as great ways to reward the younger members of the House. If they excel at their duties, they earn an hour or two in the indoor wave-pool, do poorly and they clean the wave-pool.

While they are technically a War Mount, the Wave Boards are incredibly stupid and are utterly without any weapon or defensive systems, making them only sent in under fire or while stealthed. Large and fast growing them may be, they feed off of photosynthetic energy and aquatic impurities (for bone and muscle growth), making them incredibly easy to maintain once born. Just put them on the rack, shine the lights on them, sluice them down with salt water, and call it a day. The tops are flat bone, with a fine layer of gritty coral for grip and traction; the bottoms are considerably rougher, with bumps and jags of coral and bone protruding 3-4 inches past the optimal ‘edge’ of the board.

Once a Wave Board is more than 3-4 years old, they enter a period of semi-hibernation, where they ignore all commands given to them, and put all of their efforts into growth, becoming the size of a medium riverboat within the span of 2-3 months; 2-3 years later, they enter another period and end up the size of a medium barge, and then slowly but continuously grow until they die. The ‘boat’ and ‘barge’ type of Wave Boards also have organic cockpits and boarding planks/ramps (controlled by the cockpit) to facilitate boarding and disembarking. When they die, whether of old age or in combat, they quickly ‘rot’, falling apart and turning into fine bone-dust within 10-15 minutes (9+1d6).

Stats:
Wave Board Child Size: Length 8-10 feet, width: 4-5 feet, height*: ½-1 foot, weight: 10-15 pounds. Swim Speed: 5 miles an hour max for an hour, can cruise at 2.5-3 mph for hours at a time (1d8+5) without need for a break. Wight limit: half ton

Wave Board Teenager Size: Length: 15-20 feet, width: 8-10 feet, height: 2.5-3 feet, weight: 150-160 pounds. Swim Speed: 10 miles an hour max for one hour, can cruise at 5-6 mph for most of a day without a break (2d8+2). Weight limit: 3 tons

Wave Board Adult Size: Length: 35-40 feet, width: 25-30 feet, height: 3.5-4 feet, weight: 1-2 tons. Swim Speed: 20 miles an hour max for two hours, can cruise at 10-12 mph for two days without a break. Weight limit: 10 tons
*height is the total height of the entire Wave Board, not just what is above the water

M.D.C.: Child Size Boards have: 15+2d6 total
Teenage Size Boards have: 50+2d8 total
Adult Size Boards have: 150+3d12
Lifespan is assumed to be 15-20 years, but none have died of old age yet.

If the mission demands it, they Librarians and Engineers can grow an organic covering that will make a water-tight seal along the rim of the Teenager and Adult Boards, and will even provide a continuous supply of fresh oxygen and water for the temporary inhabitants (no food though, hope you brought enough), allowing the Boards to be moved underwater. Unfortunately, due to a genetic quirk the Boards have a greatly reduced regeneration rate, 1/3 the normal for a War Mount, and if the board is broken into pieces (halves/thirds/quarters) the pieces will all die within 1d4 minutes.

Ziggurat the Eternal · Mon Mar 22, 2010 3:39 pm

This is some real high quality stuff. Keep up the good work.

Roscoe Del'Tane · Mon Mar 22, 2010 6:46 pm

Ziggurat the Eternal wrote:This is some real high quality stuff. Keep up the good work.

Will do, oh eternal one!

I'm planning on posting one addition per day for the rest of the week, hopefully I'll be able to keep that pace up and still have quality additions.

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Mon Mar 22, 2010 7:38 pm

Looking forward to it. No pressure, no pressure...

Roscoe Del'Tane · Mon Mar 22, 2010 9:34 pm

Just a short one tody folks, got a lot of other stuff on my plate, so hope you enjoy filler-fluff. Bon appetit!

Shortly after the Founding, the Warlord of House Belloq realized that there weren’t enough bags and other carrying utensils available for their warriors on their foraging trips. Most of their bags were old and worn, and many of them had holes in them or weren’t waterproofed, making them spill their contents or allowing water in to spoil the food. It didn’t help that most of them were mismatched, with no uniform size, shape, or fastener configuration to be seen. He was frustrated, because due to their House’s (originally) small size, they could not afford to waste any matter; any bio-material was precious, and they needed every scrap they could get their hands on for housing and other domestic production, not to mention the Host Armors, War Mounts, and other items.

He approached the Librarians and Engineers and, respectfully, asked if there was any way they could help with this problem. He was kind, and while insistent, didn’t press them into doing it, but did point out that since their reserves of bio-matter was low, they would benefit as well. Impressed by his humbleness and courteous manner, they agreed that they would try to come up with something, but could promise nothing. Since they were so crushingly underequipped in regards to bio-material to work with, they had to alter some of their already existing stock to suit their needs. They had plenty of large herd animals, and several samples of exotic flora and fauna, and only enough time and material for a few tries. They ‘sat down’ together (as much as it’s possible for beings like them to do so) and brainstormed for almost a week before they had an idea that they thought would work.

Taking the DNA from one of the trees that they had acquired, they made a few alterations, loaded it up and injected it into one of their cows. It worked well enough that they were able to justify making some modifications and trying again, and this time it was near enough to perfect. The type of tree used? The Rubber trees from what had once been ‘Brazil’ in the Olden Times, before NEXUS and the Plague. The altered form of latex built up within the cows and formed large cysts or blisters on their sides, and combined with some anthropoid DNA, allows the modified bovines to ‘shed’ their latex loads 2-3 times a month. These proto-bags are allowed to sit and mature for about a month (3.5-4 weeks), and then boiled and scraped out. This process makes a type of large backpack or duffle bag (depending on the breed of cow) which is good for 4-5 years of hard use before it begins to break down.

Not only are bags made in this fashion tough and water-tight, they are stretchy! This allows the user to cram in objects that are larger, bulkier, or oddly proportioned without risk of damaging their property. The fasteners are either organic zippers, or a type of moss/fungus that acts as Velcro, both form a watertight seal. Another handy side effect of the gene-tweaking is that the cows, and their hides and growths, are now Mega-Damage materials, albeit ones that rot. This means that they can be used for other things once their die/are killed, their guts can be used in plumbing or to store dangerous chemicals, their bones can be used as melee weapons/projectiles or tools, and their hides can be made into minor Mega-Damage armor or other leather goods. Unfortunately, some of their test subjects escaped, and were quite adept at evading capture by the humans; eventually they sought shelter in one of Gaia’s Nature Preserves, leading her to the conclusion that humanity was not content to defile the land, waters and air, but are now twisting her children into horrible monsters (she of course, ‘put them out of their misery’ and destroyed their corpses).

M.D.C. of leather items:
Grown backpack or Duffel bag: 10-15 (9+1d6). Weighs 5 pounds.
Harvested Leather: 20-25 a side (19+1d6). Weighs 15 pounds.
Bone items: 5-10 (does 1d6+2 as a club/axe). Varies on size, between 2-10 for weapons and tools.

And a hint for tommorow, I'll just say one word: TROGDOR!

Roscoe Del'Tane · Tue Mar 23, 2010 8:57 pm

Here's the evolution of Belloq's attempts to Burninate the machines. Enjoy.

Some of the Dreadguard and Roughnecks have been asking for upgrades to a certain piece of field equipment, one that they feel has been under-performing. One Dreadguard is quoted as saying “I like it. Really, I do, it’s just that, well, I think it could be better. It’s already got great range and damage, but couldn’t they come up with a way to increase them? They (Librarians and Engineers) did so for the Bore and Gore Cannons, so why can’t they do so for the same for the Heat Projector?”

Upon hearing of this widespread (but still quiet) grumbling, the Engineers and Librarians spent their free time over the course of several years working to improve this, taking it as a challenge to their craft. Never let it be said that the Gene-masters of House Belloq can’t take a challenge! The problem was, there was very little to work with without dangerously unbalancing the whole thing. To make the range greater ran the risk of destabilizing the power core, which would lead to it exploding within the suit (very bad considering that they can only be mounted next to the HEAD). Increasing the firepower meant a substantial drop in beam coherence, meaning the beam wandered all over the place, and widened or flared outwards unexpectedly. Firing rate was fixed, so there wasn’t anything they could do about that, and they had to admit that they were stumped on how to increase it when they got a visit from one of their Technojacker allies.

The House had a formal alliance with a small enclave of Technojackers that lived in the nearby mountains. House Belloq would provide them with surplus food and MDC weapons and Armor (those the ‘Jackers could use, anyway), and the ‘Jackers would function as independent scouts, warriors, and on occasion, think-tank members. That last function was one that was very well received by all involved (well, for the most part), the Engineers and Librarians had the knowledge of genes and what could be done with them, and the ‘Jackers had much of the knowledge of the Old World. The ‘Jackers, to be fair, didn’t exactly have all that knowledge at their fingertips; it was on old computers and terminals scattered around the wastelands and ruins. Part of the agreement was that the ‘Jackers would access as many of these files as they could and bring back anything that could be of military or agricultural use.

However he managed to get his hands on it, that particular ‘Jacker brought back hard-copies of files from a former military weapons testing site in a dessert plain. The computers had many things, some truly terrible and horrifying, but the ones that concern us now are what he found concerning a little substance called thermite-napalm. The Engineers and Librarians were intrigued, they hadn’t thought to make another fire weapon, not out of inability, but because they didn’t think that any normal fires would hurt the machines sufficiently to be worth the effort. They had made the fire breath, granted, but it was essentially a point-blank weapon, to be used as a last resort. That was the reason that they had made the Heat Projector, something that fired beams of such intense heat that their armor wouldn’t help them. With the chemical formulas and samples the ‘Jacker brought back, the group was able to concoct a way for the suits to increase its (relatively) close in ‘fire-power’. With a little tinkering (well, that’s a lie, a LOT of tinkering) with the chemicals secreted by the armor, and what it can pull from its food, and some field testing, and their new weapon was ready to be unveiled.

The suit grows several thick, boney protuberances around the “eye” of the Heat Projector, looking nothing more than like a bony beak or mouth. These ‘teeth’ of the mouth are actually armored vents used to spray the chemical component of the weapon, designed that way to add extra protection to the nozzles. The first few rounds of testing showed that having the nozzles exposed was a serious design flaw; they had several Host Armors set on fire with their own weapons after their sprayers were damaged! That was quickly remedied, as they didn’t want to cook any more of their own soldiers. The jell this upgrade sprays is initially thin and runny, but on contact with air, it quickly turns in a thick sticky jell, and excess heat (like, oh the Heat Projector being fired) will cause it to ignite, burning hot enough to damage even the machines forces, crack concrete, vaporize water, and lots of other uses. After one melee round, the thick sticky jell turns into a hard-baked crust; regardless of the form, the fuel contains its own oxygen, so it cannot be put out by any means save letting it burn itself out. Immersing yourself in water after being hit by this is actually about the worst thing you could do, as the heat from the fuel will vaporize the water, doing an extra die of damage, and extending the burn time by two melee rounds.

The fuel for this blazing inferno of death is located on the back of the Armor; it looks like a large blister or boil the size of a pumpkin, but one that pulses and twitches erratically. When the upgrade is ready to fire, it swells out (like a bullfrogs throat) and then contract violently, propelling the chemical accelerant out in a powerful stream. The stream is accompanied by a loud sound of wet flatulence, leading to many silly nicknames for this weapon and its user (Flame-Farter is about the gentlest one), but everyone respects the power this weapon and its wielder represents. This sound is due to the need to draw in air from the ambient surroundings to use it, meaning that this weapon cannot, at this time, be fired safely underwater (automatically shuts off as a safety feature, and cannot be overridden except by a special signal from the Warlord). The jell, while not being extinguished by water, will float on it if sprayed on the surface.

Unfortunately, this powerful addition takes a LOT of energy from the suit, not only to produce the chemicals, but to contain them as well. The chemicals are actually poisonous to the Armor, and so must be kept in specially treated glands or they will cause it to rot around the wearer (4d6 M.D.C. per melee for 3d6 minutes PER BLAST). The chemical used to make the fuel…don’t react well with each other and must be kept not only separate, but at the correct internal temperature or risk an internal explosion which does 3d10 M.D.C. damage to the suit but is otherwise okay, though the sacks are blown out and must regenerate (safety feature, it’s easier to regrow the fuel sacks then an new Armor). Because of this the Armor must eat an additional 25% more food (the equivalent of an extra meal EACH day) if they wish to use this weapon upgrade. Failure to supply fuel will cause a loss of 2 charges a day until the pilot is able to start the extra meals again.

Hellfire Shooter Upgrade:
M.D.C.: Increase M.D.C. of the HPC by 15%, add 45 MDC on the back. If this extra armor is breached (requires called shots), the chemicals inside the sacks spill out, and any M.D.C. flame attacks or heat sources hitting within 20 of the Armor feet have a 85% chance of setting it ablaze. Their Armor takes double damage, and burns for as long as they had blasts left, max time.
Length: Increased by 8-10 inches on the back side, as the fuel sacks.
Rate of Fire: Twice per melee, but each counts as two attacks.
Bio-E cost: 20 each, for a maximum of two, one on each HPC.
Range: Heat Projector Cannon range is normal, Hellfire can only fire 600 feet accurately (splash radius of 10-15 feet [9+1d6]).
Damage: 4d12 first attack, and deals an additional 1d12 per melee round for 2 minutes per blast, can fire in tandem with the HPC it’s mounted on. Objects or targets covered in the jell are immersed in viciously hot flames, and are -4 to strike, dodge, and parry due to the intense smoke and heat haze surrounding them.
Payload: 14 blasts each maximum, regenerates at the rate of one blast every two hours.
Prerequisite: Heat Projector Cannon.
Side effects: These weapons take an additional toll on the Host Armor, while active, it ages 30% faster, and has occasional violent twitches in its extremities (roll two 12 siders for the hour), during which time the Armor is at -2 to all combat rolls. The reason for these twitches is the suit, recognizing a danger to itself, is attempting to expel the dangerous chemicals, but is unable to due to the hardwired safety features installed in the weapon itself (don’t want an Armor to accidentally roast a civilian).
Unfortunately, due to the extremely temperamental nature of this upgrade, it cannot be combined with any of the others at this time, thought the HPC can. All attempts so far have lead to horrific failure (an in two cases, death to the test subjects), so for now upgrading the Hellfire Shooter is put on hold until more pressing matters are dealt with.

Roscoe Del'Tane · Wed Mar 24, 2010 9:46 pm

Just a small upgrade again today, I've got something better for you for tommorow, it just needs a bit more tweaking.

Many of the War Mounts and the Dreadguard have Organic Rockets installed and are happy with them; they don’t see the need to mess with a good thing that they know works. The OR are an effective weapon with an exceptional combat record. Recently however, some of the more open-minded Librarians and Engineers have begun pooling ideas, thinking that the Rockets aren’t quite lethal enough. The hope is to enhance the OR to be even more effective against the machines; more firepower is, after all, always a good thing, especially when aimed at soulless automatons.

They had some limited success coming up with anything that would work effectively in the field (or at least more so than the OR already in service), despite their efforts. They tried using organic lasers to ‘paint’ the target, and have the OR home in that way, but that was rejected after finding out that it was far too difficult to keep the beam on most of the machines units. They were either too small to be of any real threat, or moved too fast to have a reasonable chance at keeping the beam on them, so that idea was nixed for the moment. The next idea was heat seeking OR, and had a decent amount of success, but the NEXUS’s machines have engines that are too efficient (minimal thermal and exhaust signature) to be targeted. They even tried altering the rockets to seek out concentrations of metal, but they couldn’t get the sensitivity correct; too sensitive had them picking up on the trace elements on everything caused them to detonate INSIDE their launchers, and lessening the sensitivity caused to veer all over the battlefield acquiring target after target, but never ‘locking on’ properly.

The most success that they’ve had so far is to change the OR to seek out the power cores of the robots; after the OR is ‘imprinted’ upon by the user (akin to taking a snapshot with a camera) and fired, it will seek out that particular target until one of them is dead. Most of the time, this means that the OR will hit the head or torso area (75-80%), with the rest hitting the weapons/arms or propulsion systems/legs. The Electro-Magnetic Seeking Organic Rockets are sensitive enough to pick up the robot power flows through several feet of armor or concrete.

Range, Rate of Fire, and Payload are all identical to the original model.
Damage to Robots is increased by two dice (7d12), has a natural +3 to strike robotic targets that are active, and has three attacks per melee.
Prerequisite: At least one Organic Rocket, Electromagnetic Eyes, and Enhanced Neurological Connections.
Bio-E: 5 to upgrade pre-existing rockets in this fashion, or 10 for each new rocket created AND upgraded. For an additional 5 Bio-E per rocket, you can double base M.D.C. for the upgraded version.

Roscoe Del'Tane · Fri Mar 26, 2010 1:02 am

After the (admittedly) mixed success of the Iron Jellies, the LAE* of House Belloq decided that they should take another crack at aquatic War Mounts. They called in those who would be the for-runners of the Wave-Riders, Outriders and Roughnecks who had a knack or flair for the sea, and sent them on a special mission. The LAE wanted not just the DNA of some specific beasts, they wanted the Wave-Riders to bring the beasts back with them, alive. Their intended targets? Dolphins and whales, as many as could be found and brought back safely. The LAE stressed the ‘alive’ portion of their instructions, the volunteers wouldn’t get any of the offered bounty in BIO-Enhancements or cash if they killed their targets.
*Librarians And Engineers

Upon hearing that requirement, many of the Wave-Riders left, the mission was simply too difficult or complicated for the promised reward. Want it killed and brought back? Easy, wouldn’t even need any of the heavy weapons, just a Super Light Cell pistol and net. Just need the DNA? Blast the ‘fish’ into pieces or slice a hunk off. But live capture? That was a whole new ball game, and one that they weren’t sure could be pulled off. Those that accepted were given plenty of supplies and equipment, and left through the underground and underwater dock in the bay. For nearly two months they searched for their quarry, and found nothing. Finally, just when they were ready to admit defeat and give up, they got lucky, and tranquilized and captured a small pod of dolphins (14 total, 8 adult females, 1 adult male, and 5 young males), and 5 orcas (3 adult females, one adult male, and one teen male). In order to ensure that their prizes didn’t flee, they had to keep them sedated and restrained on the backs of adult Wave-Boards for the entire trip back. The dolphins and orcas were…somewhat the worse for wear after their journey. They suffered from severely atrophied muscles, as well as other side effects from the drugs (they had required a constant, low-level flow to keep them knocked out), coupled with the inadequate diet it was a minor miracle that all of them survived the trip.

The Wave-Riders were in for one heck of a shock. They had gotten the impression that they LAE intended to use them as they had the Stretcher Cows, platforms upon which to alter for the new War Mounts. While close, that was still somewhat off the mark the LAE were going for. The LAE actually intended to use their prizes as breeding stock, and they wanted to get as deep a genetic pool first, before they made any alterations. They had been having problems with the SC’s, because their pool was too narrow, and wanted to avoid any such problems with their new Mounts. Before they did anything else, they decided to try and wipe the minds of their finny friends, to prevent them from harming themselves or others, and were going to use the same procedure as they would on Biotics. That is when they got a huge surprise, the dolphins and orcas were just as intelligent as they themselves were! And an even bigger surprise was that they hated the machines as well!

The aquatic denizens had an odd way of framing their thoughts which confused the LAE as much as it intrigued them; the machines translated something like “false/danger-sharks”. There were connotations that meant the ‘false/danger’ wasn’t fake, but that they were not REAL (flesh and blood), and were invading the homes of the dolphins and orcas. They didn’t know what the machines were, they didn’t know anything about them, and they hated them. Flesh and blood however, at least the naturally occurring kind, was ill-suited for the destruction of advanced combat machines. In order to defeat the ‘false/danger-sharks’, the cetaceans agreed to ally with the House (the thoughts here was something like several small pods banding together to drive off or kill larger predators) and act as emissaries to other groups. Before they left, both pods were given gifts of Bio-Tech, organic plugs that went into their blow-holes and acted as gills, allowing them to sleep underwater, and a piece rather like a bit that would translate their chittering and squealing into English.

Over the next three months, there was a slow onrush of cetaceans of all shapes and sizes to the underwater dock who ALL wanted a shot at the enemy encroaching on their domain. Most of those who came were in ones and twos, small bachelors pods on their own, or those with grievances against the machine. Some of them agreed to be the equivalent of underwater Biotics, and one grizzled old orca (his name translates roughly as ‘Mighty Killer of Many-Arms’) even offered to become a Scarecrow! The LAE thanked him profusely, but said that they would have to make sure that it wouldn’t kill or irreparably damage him to do so. So far, all their tests are coming up clean, and Mick may get his revenge. His pod was the victim of NEXUS’s terra-forming, she closed off the river that was their access to the ocean, dooming them to death in a large inland lake. Without that river, they could not get out, and slowly starved to death; only Mick was able to escape as a calf by leaping out of the water and down the side of an embankment, an act that fills him with both deep shame and a burning fury at the machine. If he IS able to be turned, NEXUS had better watch their step, for Mighty Killer of Many-Arms will scour the entire ocean, until all of her robots are driven off and destroyed.

The LAE are not only changing those selected into Aquatic Biotics, they are gathering a massive library of cetacean DNA and genetic material. Their goal is to gather enough matter to field a small army of Aquatic Biotics within the next five years. What they haven’t told anybody yet is that they surpassed that number within the first five months, but they are agog at all the new possibilities open to them now. They have a golden goose in their hands, and they intend to keep it alive as long as possible! At the moment, there are enough fertilized eggs ready for growth to field 1,000 Aquatic Biotics (rough split is 60% dolphin, 40% orca), all they are waiting for is enough bio-matter to feed them all during their growth. All extra matter is going towards this goal; the real reason for the five year deadline is to give the LAE time to build up their food stores and give the Wave-Riders and first-generation of Aquatic Biotics a chance to work out their training and attack methods.

Dolphin Biotics.
A nimble and swift creature by nature, and combined with the M.D.C. armor and weapon enhancements given to them by their allies, the Dolphin Biotic is a capable War Mount. Though not really able to carry a passenger, they are able to pull one along easily enough once they’ve been altered, and are willing to tow Wave Boards for short periods. They are tough enough on their own or in small packs, but they lack the heavier firepower of their orca cousins, though they are faster and more agile. Due to their smaller stature and limited area for mounting weaponry, they are also much faster to grow and cheaper to make, meaning more of them tend to be made.

This model of Aquatic Biotic looks very similar to their unaltered cousins, save for the fact that they’re about 15% bigger and heavier. Their skin is thicker and more leathery, with plates of hard chitin around the head and along the fins. All weapons (save for the ones specifically mentioned below) have to be ones that are either retractable or otherwise unobtrusive. For the moment, the NEXUS entities are somewhat reluctant to shoot at the dolphins, so as long as they can keep their camouflage with their brethren, all to the better. There have been several cases of ‘normal dolphins hiding pursued Aquatic Biotics within their pods to prevent their destruction; so no Heat Projector Cannons or the like for the moment.

Taking their natural swimming and diving abilities and boosting them, the LAE have made a near perfect harasser and sneaker of the machine forces by adding miniscule but powerful turbines to their flippers and dorsal fin. Their impressive diving abilities, added to their new and mandatory gills, means they can come up from or sink to depths in excess of 3,500 feet within two melee rounds. This tactical advantage has come in very handy on more than one occasion, allowing them to strike hard, and then fade away into the night, leaving only smoldering wreckage and broken metal as the only signs of their presence. They tend to be pack hunters, sent out in their pods of 10-20 individuals, though as their numbers increase that may go up; often times they are used to distract or ambush machine forces, some of them are even trained in the placement of specially adapted migs (leap/swim up, plant them on the underside of a machine plane/boat, swim off and detonate via Bio-Comm).

Class: Aquatic Biotic and non-human supporter of the Human Resistance.
Crew: None, but can carry or tow up to two people without penalty.

MDC: Main Body: 120+ 2x P.E. +2d10 per level
Head: 45
Fins: 30
Flippers (2): 25
Tail: 65

Swim Speed: 310-315 mph (309+1d6)
Running: None unless they take Articulated Spines
Leaping: Can make leaps up to 50 feet across and 30 feet high, []iDouble[/i] with a running start of at least 30 feet.
Digging: 5 mph through sand, mud and dirt, half through rock, stone, and clay. Digging doesn’t tire them, can bury itself within 1d4 melee rounds.

Stats:
Height: 2-3 feet.
Length: 8-15 feet.
Width: 2-3 feet.
Weight: 500-700 pounds

Cargo: up to one ton in a net or Wave Board
Production Cycle: 11-12 months gestation, takes another 2-3 years to fully mature.
Operation Lifetime: 35-40 years (34-1d6) until no longer able to fight effectively.
Bio-Regeneration: equal to Regeneration Basic

Horror Factor: N/A, looks essentially like a normal dolphin, if somewhat monstrous in size.
Senses and Features: Standard plus Sonar and Eco-Location.
Metabolism: Primarily a carnivore, but has been altered to be able to eat small amounts sea-weed, kelp, and algae as emergency rations. Only needs 15-20 pounds of food per day.
Sleep Requirements: only needs to sleep for 6 hours every day, but can catch ‘cat-naps’ during the day in minute or hour spurts to fulfill this. Can go for up to 3 days without sleep on missions, but then MUST sleep for about 10-12 hours.
Alignment: All Aquatic Biotics have a strong sense of family with humans, with 85% falling into good or selfish alignments. The others are aberrant, but still have a strong protective streak, none will deliberately harm a human unless absolutely necessary.

I.Q.: 3d6
M.A.: 3d6
M.E.: 3d6
P.S.: 3d6 +10 (SNPS)
P.P.: 3d6
P.E.: 3d6 +10
P.B.: 3d6

Number of Attacks per Melee: 5
Combat Bonuses: Identical to Gore Hound
Equivalent Instincts: Advanced/ Swim: 98%, Underwater Land Navigation: 85%, prowl: 55%, tricks/gymnastics: 65% (walk on tail, leap through hoops, etc.)

Combat Capabilities: While enhanced with M.D.C. weaponry and skin, this version of the Aquatic Biotic prefers to pound their enemy from a distance whenever possible, and only use their close in weapons when they have no other choice.
Head But: 3d4 S.D.C.
Power Head But/Ram: 4d6 S.D.C. (counts as two attacks)
Fin Slap: 2d4 S.D.C.
Tail Slap: 3d6 S.D.C.
Ram Attack: 5d6 S.D.C. or 1d4 M.D.C. (counts as three attacks, but has a 70% chance of knocking anything less than 10 feet or 1,000 pounds off its feet).

Bio-E Points: Standard amount for a Biotic with an additional 2d4X10 available at creation due to their lack of Living Armor or other equipment. Strongly suggested you use them to buy Biological defenses and Upgrades for standard weapsons.
Standard Bio-E Enhancements: Comes with Gills, Floating Air Bladder (enhanced depth can be taken for half price), Bio-Com/Translator, and weapons described below.
Bio-Weapons:
1) Organic rockets: 3 on the underside of each flipper, two on each side of the dorsal fin (always the first fired off, to preserve their camouflage). Stats are standard issue.
2) Super Light Cell Cluster: The larger surface of their head area allows them to mount more effectively. They have a total of 8 Cells scattered across the front of their head, and three more on each side on the back for a total of 14 super light cells. Stats are standard issue.
3) Large Bone Claws: Their flippers house these fearsome weapons, allowing them to slice and dice anything that comes too close, comes with 6d6 M.D.C. as standard issue. One in each flipper (but not their tail).

Ziggurat the Eternal · Fri Mar 26, 2010 8:10 am

thats freaking awesome, can't wait to see the orca.

it''s too bad you beat me to the punch. I had an orca warmount too. I just don't have ,my book, so i cant stat it all up just yet.

Roscoe Del'Tane · Fri Mar 26, 2010 7:52 pm

Whoops!

I forgot to include Sonar and Ecolation in the Dolphins, but thats fixed now. And heres the rest of the Aquatic Biotic forms. I hope you enjoy; Death to NEXUS! (punches fist in the air).

Building on what they had learned about cetacean biology on the dolphin, the LAE were able to perfect their design on the Orca Aquatic Biotic. From a pack hunter, they have been turned into a machine-smashing, heavy duty combat monster, meant to support and protect their dolphin cousins and eliminate shore bound weapon emplacements. While they are lacking the finesse and speed of their smaller brethren, the Orcas makes up for it with thicker, stronger armor, and much heavier weaponry. Not only are their organic weapons powerful, but their jaws and flippers have become weapons of devastation; several instances have been observed of an Orca Biotic leaping from the water and ramming a flying vessel, or seizing a swimming/wading robot in their jaws and tearing it asunder, or simply slapping a robot with its tail hard enough to send it flying out of the water and into its comrades.

What many people forget is that killer whales and dolphins are predators; they eat meat and fish that they catch themselves. They aren’t exactly like the animals from Flipper and Free Willy, they have to hunt and kill another animal to live, which means that they are used to fighting, and the struggle for survival. Fighting the machines of NEXUS is just another challenge, and it’s one that they will NOT lose. Between the Orcas heavy weapons, the Dolphins swift, slashing attacks, the Iron Jellies, and any Dreadguard or Roughnecks who accompany them, they are well able to tackle any robot patrol the machines send into their ocean.

They are accustomed to and friendly towards almost all humans, and will not attack or deliberately harm a human unless seriously provoked. They are very protective towards children (an Biotics too, sees them as children), so the mothers who are on duty or working often send them down to the wave pools for the Orcas to play ‘nursemaid’. Some of the Orcas have formed such strong bonds with specific humans (always Wave-Riders) that they have an organic saddle grown to accommodate a rider. If their partner dies, the Orca will adopt their family as their own, most of those who do bond even grow legs to accompany their partners on land. The bond between family members is very strong, and is the closest thing to sacred in their culture and they will not stand for any insult to that, so watch what you say.

Orca Biotic:
Class: Aquatic Biotic Assault Platform
Crew: Max of three, one on each side in a large War Saddle, and one in the mouth (can be altered to have a ‘pocket’ that a large human/small HA can fit in), plus whatever they can tow.

MDC by location:
Main Body: 650.
Flippers (2): 100 each.
Dorsal Fin: 150.
Tail: 300.
Head/Mouth*: 200.
War Saddle x2 (one on each flank)**: 100 each.
Tentacles (x4): 150 each.
*Destroying the head or mouth will not immediately kill the Orca, but will blind and deafen it (unless it has other sensors). Following its Bio-Com signals, it can be lead/directed along for up to three days before it dies, if it manages to return to the LAE before then, they can grow another head and graft that on.
** War Saddles cover the rider/passenger from frontal and side attacks, on those from behind will hit.

Speed on Land: 1d4+2 (rolls/caterpillar motion)
Swimming*: 325 mph max, cruising speed is about 225-230 mph, but swimming does not tire them out.
Leaping: Able to make jumps of 30 feet long and 20 high from a dead start, increase by half with a short run, and triple with a full melee ram/leap style attacks.
Digging: able to dig through dirt, sand at 10 mph, and through rock, mud, and clay at half that, able to bury self within 2 melee rounds.
*The Orcas have similar Organic Turbines that the Dolphins have, the reason that they can reach these speeds. They are integral parts of the fins and flippers. Destroy a Finn/flipper, and cut speed by 15%, two gone and lose 45%, all three and down to just 20 mph.

Statistical Data:
Height: 10-13 feet.
Width: 8-10 feet.
Length: 25-30 feet.
Weight: 2.5 Tons.
Cargo: Can pull up to four tons in a Wave-Board or net, or as many passengers as can hold on.
Physical Strength: 20+3d8 Supernatural P.S.
Production Cycle: To grow one from scratch takes two years gestation and three years for full maturity.
Operational Lifetime: Unknown as of yet, but assumed to be about 45-50 years or longer.
Bio-Regeneration: Starts with Advanced Regeneration
Horror Factor: 14 to humans unaccustomed to them, 0 to machines
Senses and Features: Standard plus Sonar and Eco-Location.
Feeding: Fish and MEAT, definitely a serious carnivore. A full grown Orca Biotic needs to consume roughly 65-80 pounds of flesh a day to be healthy, more if they get Casting Guns.
Sleep Requirements: 4-5 hours of sleep a day, but can take ‘cat-naps’ ranging from only minutes to hours; if they have a Wave-Rider with them, can turn full control over and allow their partner to direct them.

Alignment: a whopping 95% are good, the rest are selfish; none of those who are anything else make it past the screening process. The LAE don’t want those who are unbalanced or turncoats to have the amount of power their giving them.
Attributes: .P.S.: 3d8 +20 (equal to Supernatural)
P.E.: 3d6 +20
P.P.: 3d6+4
P.B.: 3d4
M.A.: 3d6
M.E.: 3d6 +4
I.Q.: 3d6 +4
Actions Per Melee: 5
Combat Bonuses: Equal to Behemoth
Equivalent Instinctive Skills: Advanced/ Swim: 98%, Underwater Land Navigation: 85%, prowl: 55%, tricks/gymnastics: 65% (walk on tail, leap through hoops, etc.). Understands English speech (House Belloq tongue) at 75%, and can read it at 65%.

Combat Capabilities: At tough fighter, used to hardships and pain; they enjoy fighting the machines, and willing to do almost anything to do that.
Head-But: 3d6 S.D.C.
Restrained Bite: 4d6 S.D.C.
Full-strength Bite: 5d6 M.D.C.
Fin-Slap: 3d4 S.D.C.
Full-Strength Fin-Slap: 3d4 M.D.C.
Ram Attack: 5d6 M.D.C., counts as two attacks (also has an 85% chance of knocking anything less than three tons or 20 feet tall down).
Tail Slap: 3d8 M.D.C.

Standard Bio-E Enhancements: Gills, Floating Air Bladder (can naturally take 6,000+ feet, but upgrade can double this), Bio-Com/Translator, and Acid Blood.
Bio-E Available for Enhancements: Standard amount and rate for the Biotics, can choose from any of the available enhancements.

Orca Aqua Biotic Bio-Weapon Systems:
1) Bone-Scythe tipped Tentacles: Each flipper is bracketed by a tentacle (tent, flipper, tent), and each tentacle has a large bone blade on the tip. These 20 foot tentacles are dexterous enough to grab robots, or to flip switches and push buttons. They typically start at 6 or 8d6 damage each, and each tentacle can attack independently of the Orca or Wave-Rider (mind of their own).

2) Bio-Energy Vents: Those white spots above their eyes are actually the BEV, and both come standard with either the Ultra or Omni upgrade; can fire at one target with both or just one. Everything else is standard.

3) Heat Projector Cannons: On each side of the dorsal fin, they have a HPC mounted on a ball-mount, allowing them to shoot at any target on their sides or above them, these can also fire in tandem or one at a time.

4) Organic Rockets: The Orca Biotic comes standard with 6 OR on each flipper, and four on each side of the dorsal fin (20 total), Orcas can mount more in other areas at their discretion.

5) Tentacle Harpoon: Under the ‘chin’ area of the Orca Biotics mouth is the TH. They usually use this to snag a robot and either blast it while pinned, or to fling it into another robot.

On a side note, Mighty Killer of Many-Arms has gone FAR beyond what is described here, and has dual triple barreled HPCs, Horned Defense, maxed out Bio-Force Field and Bone Blades, Horned Defense, and Super Regeneration. He is truly the King of the Sea, and has wreaked such havoc upon the coastal machines that the Wave-Riders and Dreadguard assigned to his escort consider him to be the wrath of the earth made flesh. They have begun to offer prayers to him as well as their Ancestors (this essentially makes him a demi-god by their reckoning), and the LAE are subtly encouraging this, having harvested enough of his DNA to resurrect him if they must, or to breed a line of absolutely terrifying War Mounts.

Roscoe Del'Tane · Sat Mar 27, 2010 11:48 pm

With their alliance of House Belloq with the Iron-Delver Technojacker clan, the LAE began to experiment with replacing the technology of the ancients with the organic version produced by the gene-pool. The first of these devices to be completed is the Organic Data Storage System, a way to pack massive amounts of data into a golf ball sized mass of organic crystal. The crystal acts as a tiny flash drive, allowing the user to scan CDs, discs, and computers and use the information back at the Seedling (or wherever there are ODSS players). This breakthrough, while not seeming to be huge, is of massive importance, and used by nearly all of the patrols sent out, no matter if they’re a ‘Jacker or Splicer. The ODSS are made by a special plant controlled by the Belloq LAE; they are perfectly willing to allow the other Houses to use their creation, but for the time being, they want to make sure that they are the only supplier.

The ODSS uses an organic laser to both scan the data and burn it into the crystal, unless the organic scanning device given to the Iron-Delvers’ been hooked up to a computer (in which case it has an organic USB jack). Each crystal has roughly a 50 gigabyte storage capacity, and can be linked up to 6 times (allows for up to 300 gigabytes to be accessed at once). The organic scanning device can only be used by one of the Iron-Delvers, as it has to be hooked up to a computer or database (the scanner and jack’s were built to the exact specifications of the Iron-Delvers), as they are the only ones who can use computers without triggering the nano-plague. The scanner is built so that anytime that its hooked up to a computer it will automatically try to download any file that is opened, so the Iron-Delvers will access the computer first and find any pertinent files, then hook up the scanner and its ODSS to minimize any contact with the computer.

As important as defeating the NEXUS entities are, recovering as much of humanities past is of equal importance. There is so much information that is inaccessible, that many of the LAE despaired of ever even knowing how much they had lost; now with the ODSS, they can begin to make a catalog of the lost sciences and art that is slowly being rebuilt. Besides sciences, there are the millions of books, songs, movies, and plays that were transcribed to disc before NEXUS unleashed the nano-plague, and those are slowly being collected, cataloged, and distributed to the Houses. While they might not be of immediate help in fighting the war, they are an essential part of human history, and the LAE are determined to recover as many of them as possible.

Besides their historical importance, the LAE have found that many of the old songs and movies make for fantastic entertainment, and have rigged up some projectors to take the citizens minds off of their problems. These projectors are available to the public (considered a premium item, but is well worth it), and at theaters; each family is given a voucher for one showing a month, and if they want to see another show they have to cough up the dough for another ticket. The movies and shows are regularly rotated, and many of those with personal projectors sell tickets to movies at their houses. The citizens are happy, they aren’t making trouble, and their spending their money on things that contribute directly to the war effort, every bodies a winner. It isn’t a perfect solution, but it does ease the problem of a society in a never-ending war; they are much happier with this solution, they’d rather have their citizens watching movies and having fun than doing drugs and contributing to social anarchy. They’ve seen too often what that leads to in other Houses, and they are determined to stamp it out as much as possible within their own.

Blank ODSS cost 20 credits a piece, but can be copied by anybody who has a full crystal and a scanner, the scanner is 250 credits, and the home-theatre projector /speaker system is 600 credits. The ODSS themselves are essentially immortal (they are lumps of dead crystsal after all), but the scanners and projectors are still alive, so they only have a lifespan of 2 years for the scanner, and 5 years for the projector. The LAE and the Iron-Delvers have come out with an organic version of the iPod that consists of a headband with two flaps and a socket; you insert the crystal/s into the socket, loop the flaps down behind both ears (like an old hearing aid), and sends music directly into your ears without ruining your ambient hearing (can’t overwhelm background noises). The ODSS and scanners are provided to assigned personnel before they leave on their missions, and are expected to be returned, no keeping them after the mission is over.

Roscoe Del'Tane · Mon Mar 29, 2010 2:30 am

Ahhhh! I've hit my mark, and on time (my time, at least) everyday! Will post other ideas as they occur, but expect a slow down from now on. I might go back and edit some of the first posts, after coming up with a bit of a more cohesive idea for House Belloq, make things flow a bit smoother from post to post. I have to admit, my Hosue was origonally just a place to dump ideas for a game I've only played a few times, but I really found myself liking the outlines I've come up with. Once I get it fleshed out a bit (okay, a lot) better, I might even send it in to the Rifter for publication. Hope you all enjoy this latest offering to the Forumites. The Splice must flow! :mrgreen:

After working with the ‘Jackers from the mountains, the LAE of House Belloq have come up with an experimental upgrade to the HA and Biotics that should be very useful out in the field. An Electromagnetic Sheath that covers their entire body; tests have show this to be effective at preventing the nano-response, or at least in severely retarding its speed and lethality. This will not stop the response, it will only greatly retard the response time and lethality, allowing the user a greater amount of survivability in the harsh wasteland that is their world. The response is impeded enough that the user can travel across and handle simple metal objects with near impunity.

During a scouting mission that turned into a fight, a Dreadguard with Stealth Field and Electrical Discharge noticed something odd. One of the Steel Troopers had seen through his Stealth Field and shot him, and though it hurt he powered on through it and killed all the robots. At the end, he realized that it had been almost 3 minutes since being shot and the bullet was still in him without twisting around to kill him. When he got back to the House, he talked to the LAE, and they had him walk through the whole scenario in as much detail as he could manage. Apparently the ability the Stealth Field, when combined with Electrical Discharge, allowed for an unprecedented amount of delay between the touching of metal and the painful consequences it normally brings. Then he was hit with a whopper of a migraine and passed out for two days, coming to in the infirmary of his House.

After gathering all the information they could, the LAE sent the Dreadguard away and began to consider this new conundrum. After they refined the process they knew that it could be a great asset if it could be harnessed properly, but with all the lengthy (and expensive) prerequisites it might not be worth it. Just the prereq’s alone equaled the average Biotics BIO-E supply, and if that’s all they got, it would be nigh-useless as anything other than a target and mine-sweeper. After much deliberation, they decided to allow the refinement procedure to be available to anyone who meets the criteria, and the user acknowledges that they spent the BIO-E knowing they would have a reduced combat role. Due to this severe specialization, they are encouraged to volunteer for those jobs that the Skinjob’s are unavailable for (or require more combat than their comfortable with).

Electromagnetic Sheath:
Prerequisites: Stealth Field and Electrical/Lightning Discharger, all of which are kept but are combined into EM Sheath.
Bio-E: 15
When active, the EM Sheath will form a buffer around the users body/HA, protecting them from the Nano-Plague for a short time. Cut the Hostile Response Table rolls in half while the Sheath is up, and triple the maximum time it takes for a nano-response. Each round this is used the pilot takes 1d4 S.D.C. damage, once that is gone they begin to take H.P. damage; damage inflicted in this fashion takes twice as long to heal, even with Slap Patches or the healing touch of a Saint. This upgrade could save your life if you get it, if it doesn’t kill you if you overuse it, so make sure to use it sparingly.

Ziggurat the Eternal · Mon Mar 29, 2010 11:23 am

This, and the ideas above, are pure gold.

Roscoe Del'Tane · Mon Mar 29, 2010 7:48 pm

Ziggurat the Eternal wrote:This, and the ideas above, are pure gold.

Glad you liked it Ziggurat, have some more!

The Iron-Delvers, while bound by both marriage and word of honor to House Belloq, were slightly resentful that their ‘allies’ were withholding their most powerful weapons in the trading between the two groups. Food and medicines were coming in plentiful loads, as well as clothing and discs. M.D.C. leather and barnacle armor was traded for often (and often at a significant markdown), as well as many melee-weapons and explosives, but the long range weaponry wasn’t forthcoming. The Iron-Delvers were somewhat miffed at that, they wanted Bio- Rocket Slingers, Acid Scorchers, and Bi-Energy Rifles, darnit! The Warlord, upon hearing these complaints, invited emissaries to come to his House, and he would show them why they weren’t getting those weapons.

When the delegation showed up, they were given several examples of the high-powered bio-weapons, fresh from the gene-pool. He told them to do what they wished with them, even shoot him, and there would be no consequence for the results. After several minutes of frustrated attempts at assassination, the Iron-Delvers asked why the weapons weren’t working. The Warlord replied, “because that which makes you so powerful in this time of strife is preventing the weapons from registering you as a human. If the weapons can’t make a strong neural connection, they won’t work, period; I’m sorry that you are unable to use them, but it was designed as a safety feature, to prevent NEXUS from turning our own weapons on us.” He even called in some of the House’s Technojackers to verify this, with testimony from those who worked with the LAE, and some of the LAE themselves stating that it was not intentional, but was also a deeply integral part of the weapons creation process (one that couldn’t just be cut out and have the weapons work properly/survive). They had even been working on making weapons that could be used by anybody, based off of the traditional metal-weapons. Upon hearing this, the Iron-Delvers felt mighty foolish, because they had thought the shortage of weapons was an attempt to keep them weak and off balance in the battles with NEXUS. They might be able to power energy weapons indefinitely, but they were scarce in their area of operation, and missile launchers and rail-guns only work as long as they have ammo (which was scarce).

Though they were disappointed in their answers, the Iron-Delvers were invited to stay for the time being, and to examine the efforts the LAE had made in changing the bio-weapon designs for ‘Jacker use. Intrigued, the delegation sent back word that they were in ‘negotiations with the House’, and they might have the makings of an answer. They went down into the Gene-Vaults (where the LAE live and work) and dove into the work with great enthusiasm. The process took several years, but they managed to hammer out an organism that was, in many ways, a miniature Gene-Pool. While it was not nearly as powerful or diverse, it was capable of creating a near-continuous supply of altered living weapons capable of being used by both ‘Jacker and Splicer. Not only were they able to get MDC weapons, but ceramic armor identical to the barnacle-type as well, and even environmentally sealed versions.

Dubbed the Gene-Forges, these miniature gene-pools function like an assembly line; raw materials go in one end, they’re broken down and rebuilt, and the completed item comes out the end, ready to go. They may function like an assembly line but they look like a heating vent that’s been laid out on the ground; open end on one side, long ‘pipe’ in the middle, and then a bulbous growth on the end where the weapons and armor come out of. The whole thing is about 6 feet wide, and 25-30 feet long, and must be set up on a flat, straight line. Each Rifle takes about one week and 50 pounds of dirt/clay to produce, each shotgun takes TWO weeks and 80 pounds of dirt/clay, each pistol takes 5 days and 35 pounds of dirt/clay, and body armor (regardless of type) takes 10 days and 100 pounds of dirt/clay to make. Each shot takes one pound of dirt/clay, regardless of its intended weapon. The discrepancy in weight of material used and the final object is simple, the Gene-Forge is a lithovore construct, and it uses the extra materiel to feed itself and transform the matter into weapons and armor. In addition to firing normal ammo, the weapons were given veins of synthetic crystals running from the grip and along the barrel, most thought this mere decoration, but it serves another purpose. The Gene-Forge, while a mighty organism, is still alive, and has a life-span of about 50 years once set up. They are rather expensive too, a single unit being 250,000 credits, plus transportation and set up-fees. Despite being based off of the Gene-Pools, they are unable to be given additional designs once they sprout, so the buyer must give specific technical details of what they want their weapons and armor to look like.

While the Gene-Forge weapons deal similar damage as Splicer Bio-Weapons, they are not identical in form or function. The LAE, even with the Iron-Delvers help, were unable to overcome the problems of forming a strong neural connection with ‘Jackers, so they went another route entirely. Taking the recipe for M.D.C. ceramics and plastic, the LAE used that as the base for a line of rifles, shotguns, and pistols that anybody could use. The ‘Jackers are able to power them as if they were energy weapons, but the machine doesn’t have the correct power-source (or ammo) to use these weapons as anything other than bludgeons. The Gene-Forges and LAE can produce organic ammo that can be used in the ceramic weapons, allowing for those without the normal Bio-Weaponry to fight back. Unfortunately, these weapons take both a longer period and more resources to make, driving up their cost and limiting their supply outside of the Iron-Delvers. Many within the House (and those of other Houses) are distrustful of these ‘imitation Bio-Weapons’, and want nothing to do with them, seeing them as inferior weapons and unpleasant reminders of the world before NEXUS.

Rifles: Rifles made of the revolutionary organic ceramics and bio-resin use the same ammo as the pistols, but the rifles are able to channel the energy they produce better. Due to this fact, they shoot farther, do more damage, and are generally more accurate. Most come with an organically grown scope on top (equal to an Advanced Eye) mounted on top, though it’s faster and cheaper to make them without it. Range is on average about 1200 feet, and damage is 3d8+3 (powered by the ‘Jacker or organic ammo makes no difference), and have a +2 to strike (precision work on the sights and triggers). Ammo capacity for the organic bullets is 8 in the magazine max. Depending on the style of rifle, they may have a lever or bolt action, changing the loading design and ammo storage system, use the rules for reloading depending on their design.

Pistols: These close-quarters firearms are still deadly, even when made out of ceramic and resin, and they come in an even broader selection of styles and models than the rifles do. Made for close-in use, and usually as a last resort weapon, they don’t do quite as much damage as the rifles, but they can be dual wielded, and are a lot easier to conceal than a rifle. Range is 600 feet max, damage tops out at 3d6, all have speed-loaders/extra clips to make reloading a one melee action, and they get +1 to strike (well balanced weapons).

Shotguns: The ceramic shotguns have an even greater stopping power, but at the cost of range. They only come in one or two barreled designs (side-by-side or over-and-under), though all are pump action to facilitate rapid-fire shooting. The shells for the shotguns are longer and thicker, meaning that they can only be used in other ceramic shotguns, no other weapons are able to accommodate their unusual size. Damage is on average 1d4x10 for a single barrel shot, 2d4x10 for two; each shot counts as one attack regardless of barrel use. Range is a pitiful 350 feet, and they get no bonus to strike.

The Shotguns and Rifles can have a bayonet mounted underneath their barrels (2d4 M/S.D.C.), adding to their close-quarters death-dealing ability. Some of the Iron-Delvers even prefer to use their new toys with the original ammo, as it lets them play ‘bandit’; they love the image of having a couple bandoleers full of ammo crisscrossing their chests, as they blast across the shattered landscape looking for interlopers, lost tech, any high-tech gizmo they can take apart. The Gene-Forges interface is very simple, designed for the use of those without a formal education, a bunch of buttons with shapes on them; a pistol, a rifle, a shotgun (shown with two barrels, and of the break barrel design), ammo underneath each weapon, and two armor buttons, one with a + and one with a – (for environmentally sealed and not, respectively).

Ziggurat the Eternal · Tue Mar 30, 2010 12:58 am

Roscoe Del'Tane wrote:
Spoiler:
Ziggurat the Eternal wrote:This, and the ideas above, are pure gold.

Glad you liked it Ziggurat, have some more!

The Iron-Delvers, while bound by both marriage and word of honor to House Belloq, were slightly resentful that their ‘allies’ were withholding their most powerful weapons in the trading between the two groups. Food and medicines were coming in plentiful loads, as well as clothing and discs. M.D.C. leather and barnacle armor was traded for often (and often at a significant markdown), as well as many melee-weapons and explosives, but the long range weaponry wasn’t forthcoming. The Iron-Delvers were somewhat miffed at that, they wanted Bio- Rocket Slingers, Acid Scorchers, and Bi-Energy Rifles, darnit! The Warlord, upon hearing these complaints, invited emissaries to come to his House, and he would show them why they weren’t getting those weapons.

When the delegation showed up, they were given several examples of the high-powered bio-weapons, fresh from the gene-pool. He told them to do what they wished with them, even shoot him, and there would be no consequence for the results. After several minutes of frustrated attempts at assassination, the Iron-Delvers asked why the weapons weren’t working. The Warlord replied, “because that which makes you so powerful in this time of strife is preventing the weapons from registering you as a human. If the weapons can’t make a strong neural connection, they won’t work, period; I’m sorry that you are unable to use them, but it was designed as a safety feature, to prevent NEXUS from turning our own weapons on us.” He even called in some of the House’s Technojackers to verify this, with testimony from those who worked with the LAE, and some of the LAE themselves stating that it was not intentional, but was also a deeply integral part of the weapons creation process (one that couldn’t just be cut out and have the weapons work properly/survive). They had even been working on making weapons that could be used by anybody, based off of the traditional metal-weapons. Upon hearing this, the Iron-Delvers felt mighty foolish, because they had thought the shortage of weapons was an attempt to keep them weak and off balance in the battles with NEXUS. They might be able to power energy weapons indefinitely, but they were scarce in their area of operation, and missile launchers and rail-guns only work as long as they have ammo (which was scarce).

Though they were disappointed in their answers, the Iron-Delvers were invited to stay for the time being, and to examine the efforts the LAE had made in changing the bio-weapon designs for ‘Jacker use. Intrigued, the delegation sent back word that they were in ‘negotiations with the House’, and they might have the makings of an answer. They went down into the Gene-Vaults (where the LAE live and work) and dove into the work with great enthusiasm. The process took several years, but they managed to hammer out an organism that was, in many ways, a miniature Gene-Pool. While it was not nearly as powerful or diverse, it was capable of creating a near-continuous supply of altered living weapons capable of being used by both ‘Jacker and Splicer. Not only were they able to get MDC weapons, but ceramic armor identical to the barnacle-type as well, and even environmentally sealed versions.

Dubbed the Gene-Forges, these miniature gene-pools function like an assembly line; raw materials go in one end, they’re broken down and rebuilt, and the completed item comes out the end, ready to go. They may function like an assembly line but they look like a heating vent that’s been laid out on the ground; open end on one side, long ‘pipe’ in the middle, and then a bulbous growth on the end where the weapons and armor come out of. The whole thing is about 6 feet wide, and 25-30 feet long, and must be set up on a flat, straight line. Each Rifle takes about one week and 50 pounds of dirt/clay to produce, each shotgun takes TWO weeks and 80 pounds of dirt/clay, each pistol takes 5 days and 35 pounds of dirt/clay, and body armor (regardless of type) takes 10 days and 100 pounds of dirt/clay to make. Each shot takes one pound of dirt/clay, regardless of its intended weapon. The discrepancy in weight of material used and the final object is simple, the Gene-Forge is a lithovore construct, and it uses the extra materiel to feed itself and transform the matter into weapons and armor. In addition to firing normal ammo, the weapons were given veins of synthetic crystals running from the grip and along the barrel, most thought this mere decoration, but it serves another purpose. The Gene-Forge, while a mighty organism, is still alive, and has a life-span of about 50 years once set up. They are rather expensive too, a single unit being 250,000 credits, plus transportation and set up-fees. Despite being based off of the Gene-Pools, they are unable to be given additional designs once they sprout, so the buyer must give specific technical details of what they want their weapons and armor to look like.

While the Gene-Forge weapons deal similar damage as Splicer Bio-Weapons, they are not identical in form or function. The LAE, even with the Iron-Delvers help, were unable to overcome the problems of forming a strong neural connection with ‘Jackers, so they went another route entirely. Taking the recipe for M.D.C. ceramics and plastic, the LAE used that as the base for a line of rifles, shotguns, and pistols that anybody could use. The ‘Jackers are able to power them as if they were energy weapons, but the machine doesn’t have the correct power-source (or ammo) to use these weapons as anything other than bludgeons. The Gene-Forges and LAE can produce organic ammo that can be used in the ceramic weapons, allowing for those without the normal Bio-Weaponry to fight back. Unfortunately, these weapons take both a longer period and more resources to make, driving up their cost and limiting their supply outside of the Iron-Delvers. Many within the House (and those of other Houses) are distrustful of these ‘imitation Bio-Weapons’, and want nothing to do with them, seeing them as inferior weapons and unpleasant reminders of the world before NEXUS.

Rifles: Rifles made of the revolutionary organic ceramics and bio-resin use the same ammo as the pistols, but the rifles are able to channel the energy they produce better. Due to this fact, they shoot farther, do more damage, and are generally more accurate. Most come with an organically grown scope on top (equal to an Advanced Eye) mounted on top, though it’s faster and cheaper to make them without it. Range is on average about 1200 feet, and damage is 3d8+3 (powered by the ‘Jacker or organic ammo makes no difference), and have a +2 to strike (precision work on the sights and triggers). Ammo capacity for the organic bullets is 8 in the magazine max. Depending on the style of rifle, they may have a lever or bolt action, changing the loading design and ammo storage system, use the rules for reloading depending on their design.

Pistols: These close-quarters firearms are still deadly, even when made out of ceramic and resin, and they come in an even broader selection of styles and models than the rifles do. Made for close-in use, and usually as a last resort weapon, they don’t do quite as much damage as the rifles, but they can be dual wielded, and are a lot easier to conceal than a rifle. Range is 600 feet max, damage tops out at 3d6, all have speed-loaders/extra clips to make reloading a one melee action, and they get +1 to strike (well balanced weapons).

Shotguns: The ceramic shotguns have an even greater stopping power, but at the cost of range. They only come in one or two barreled designs (side-by-side or over-and-under), though all are pump action to facilitate rapid-fire shooting. The shells for the shotguns are longer and thicker, meaning that they can only be used in other ceramic shotguns, no other weapons are able to accommodate their unusual size. Damage is on average 1d4x10 for a single barrel shot, 2d4x10 for two; each shot counts as one attack regardless of barrel use. Range is a pitiful 350 feet, and they get no bonus to strike.

The Shotguns and Rifles can have a bayonet mounted underneath their barrels (2d4 M/S.D.C.), adding to their close-quarters death-dealing ability. Some of the Iron-Delvers even prefer to use their new toys with the original ammo, as it lets them play ‘bandit’; they love the image of having a couple bandoleers full of ammo crisscrossing their chests, as they blast across the shattered landscape looking for interlopers, lost tech, any high-tech gizmo they can take apart. The Gene-Forges interface is very simple, designed for the use of those without a formal education, a bunch of buttons with shapes on them; a pistol, a rifle, a shotgun (shown with two barrels, and of the break barrel design), ammo underneath each weapon, and two armor buttons, one with a + and one with a – (for environmentally sealed and not, respectively).

I'm about to say something I have only ever said once before. Prepare yourself.

You should be getting paid for this!

Just don't tell the other guy I gave you italics and bold. I don't wanna hurt his feelings.

Roscoe Del'Tane · Thu Oct 27, 2011 12:12 am

The Librarians and Engineers of House Belloq have come up with another upgrade for the Organic Rocket, one that combines heavy hitting firepower, with rapid reloading and ease of handling. Its essentially a shoulder mounted box containing 16 OR suspended in a bone honeycomb. The honeycomb can be easily removed, allowing for another to be inserted quickly; the whole process takes only one melee round, and the Boxes can be reused almost indefinetly as long as its not mishandled/intentionally damaged. The LAE have come up with a type of hedge-like plant that will allow them to grow large numbers of OR very quickly, and an assembly line like belt-way to roll the Boxes down, allowing rapid reloading.

The upside to this form of upgrade is that the user can lay out massive amounts of damage realtively quickly, allowing them to saturate a battlefield with fire, or to concentrate on high priority targets; the downsides are that it typically takes a team of 3-5 others to ensure that ONE shooter with this upgrade can maintain their rate of fire, they can run through their ammo VERY quickly indeed, and they are down at least one shoulder mounted weapon if they get this.

When not in use (ie holding one of the Boxes), this upgrade just looks like a large lump of rough elbow skin. Those not in the know usually think that while its ugly, its not very helpful in battle. When activated, the skin springs up and out, then contracts around the honeycomb being inserted, and sprouts thin tendrils to interface with the OR, and a mesh of ligaments swings down, locking the whole kit-n-kaboodle in place. After firing its compliment of OR, the honeycomb in ejected out the front, and the mesh swings up and out of the way, allowing for rapid reloading; rinse, lather, repeat until done or dead.

So far, this is still a fairly experimental system, and the honeycombs are not in high supply at the moment; with all the irons in the fire the LAE have at the moment, it might be a long time before this system truly comes into its own. Users who have this system have mixed feelings about it, but most agree that while it is a superb ambush/defensive siege weapon (both situations where resupply is almost gearonteed), it is nigh useless for an assault mission or long term field operations. Moreover, the user cannot get any of the ranged upgrades, as the B-OR is essentially entirely seperate from the the weapon system built into the suit.

Cost is 20 Bio-E
Pre-Requisites: One open shoulder mount per unit bought, Enhanced Neurological Connections, and Reinforced Exoskeleton (needs this last to resist the recoil of the weapon firing a full salvo).
Rate of fire: Any combination of one, two, three, four, or full salvo. The Box-Organic Rocket looks like a Box with four rows by four columns of Organic Rockets.
Weight: Each Box weighs, fully loaded, roughly 50 pounds.
:Note: The LAE are experimenting with a squad-assist weapon version, but hopes are not high at this time, theory being it will take far too much time to perfect this new system. It is being kept on the 'back-burner' so to speak, with some tinkering being done in any free time, or when inspiration strikes.

Authors Note: Just a little idea I got after reading Triax 2 and the entire Honor Harrington series. The Longstrike was really the practical use inspiration for the idea, with the supply and demand bits from the HH series tossed in for good measure.

Roscoe Del'Tane · Thu Oct 27, 2011 12:39 am

Several of the Librarians and Engineers have been tinkering with the combat tails that many of their soldiers use. The thinking being that while they work decently as close combat weapons, the troops should have the option of longer range assault. After a long period of tinkering, the LAE were able to come up with several versions of proto-types. The basic design for all versions is the same, a long (10-12 feet) tail with a thick bulbous head shaped like a football, with only the payload and positioning changed.

The first style of Blaster Tail accomodates up to 6 Super Light Cells arranged around the rim, all on frills that can not only raise themselves up, but swivel left and right. The second type can carry four Acid Pustules, but with an enhanced 'ammo' resevoire, 18 attacks from all Acid Pustules. The final style holds up to three Bio-Energy Vents or Spore Launchers. Each style of Blaster Tail can only fire in salvos, but can look around corners and behind the owner. If the tail is destroyed, the tail itself will regenerate over 6-9 weeks, but the weaponry and eyes will take twice as long unless 'reinstalled' by the LAE.

Cost: 10 Bio-E + the amount for the weapons (can be transplanted from other locations).
Pre-Requisites: Prehensile Tail, additional eye (for aiming).

Roscoe Del'Tane · Thu Oct 27, 2011 1:45 am

One of the most popular ranged weapons in House Belloq is the Bio-Energy Expulsion System, for the combination of relatively long range, rate of fire, and relatively high damage. A warrior with one of these does more damage per attack than with a Super Laser Cell (potentially at least), with nearly the same max range, with the only downside being total amount of shots fired in rapid succession. The Librarians and Engineers have been working for a long time to come up with ways around the 20 blasts per minute limitation and have come up with several ideas, but most are unfeasable for widespread use (requiring an obscene amount of material for one single enahnced unit).

The one that the LAE think will work the best is something they call a Bio-Node (Bin for short), that can be grown on the host armor or the pilot. Location is identical whether or not its on the armor or pilot, the armpit and inner thigh areas, with the Bin looking like a large blister or tumor filled with luminescent purple goop. When the Bin is installed on the armor, it increases appitite by 35%, and the armor tends to go for the higher end on feeding, gorging whenever possible; the parasitic metabolism is NOT possible with the Bin at this time, as it kills the user within minutes, fatally draining them to feed the growth. When grown on humans, the Bin takes one YEAR off of the lifespan of the vic-erhm volunteer, and makes them rather lethargic when out of armor, with natural pentalties of -2 to all combat rolls and -5 to initiative; these penalties are cumulative. In addition to those penalties already mentioned, there is a 5% prowl inshadows, as the light from the goop is rather bright. There is no actual limit to the number of Bins that can be installed, except the amount of penalties the user is willing to take.

Each Bin will increase the ammo pool by 10 shots, but will only recharge at a rate of 5 shots per melee per bin. Cost, besides what was explained above, is 10 Bio-E per Bin. Prerequisites: None, just the willingness to have a parasitic growth attached to part of your body, the Bin can be used with the Bio-E Rifle or pistol as well.

I'll Come back and flesh these last two out a bit more later, just wanted to get this last abmush of ideas down.

Aramanthus · Unread post by **Aramanthus** » Fri Mar 16, 2012 12:38 pm

Roscoe this is awesome material. Can we please have some more!

Roscoe Del'Tane · Tue Mar 20, 2012 4:00 am

Aramanthus wrote:Roscoe this is awesome material. Can we please have some more!

{Puts on horned Viking helmet, and glares defiantly} Certainly! :badbad:

I shall always share my treasures with worthy folk! You'll have to pry them out of my willing and unresisting hands! Wait, did we take the right medication today?

Huh. While we sort this out, have some more good sirs and ladies. I hope you enjoy our offerings!

Arial Area Denial Rounds: Amongst the Machines biggest advantages the machine has against the human resistance are ability to communicate across long distances without interception, ability to produce large amounts of units quickly, ability to move their units quickly, the nano-plague, brutal ruthlessness, willingness to sacrifice its pawns in huge numbers, and air superiority. These all give decisive advantages on their own, but all of them combined gives them almost certain battlefield command (the Machine can afford to simply toss wave after wave at the humans, while the humans have to husband their resources and balance risk versus profit). The LAE at House Belloq are making a stab at removing the machines air superiority from them.

The Archangels do their best to clear the skies of enemy units, and the zephyrs do their part, but loss of life and psychological damage was quickly mounting into unsustainable levels for House Belloq. The mental health of their soldiers and citizens is of great importance, and the people were horrified at the toll being taken on their soldiers. The LAE put their brains together (pun intended), took a few pieces of current tech, slapped them together with a few modifications, and produced a (hopefully) innovative new weapon to crush the Machines. It is essentially a specially designed grenade that uses a non-explosive, non-smoke/chemical payload, carrying strands of braided carbon-nano filament wire woven into nets and coated in a glue that bind near instantly with metal and plastics. The glue can be switched out at creation for a chemical similar to that of the Acid Blood feature if so desired or requested.

The idea of the AADR rounds is very simple: take the machines out of the sky where they will pose much less of a threat. They do this by being launched into or near the air intakes and or engines of the jets or the turbines/rotors/blades of any machine aircraft. The glue adheres to the inside of the engines, and the wire binds everything up, hopefully causing the aircraft to fall, (or failing that, massive damage to the engines and propulsion system). Once the aircraft is one the ground, it will be, not precisely easy meat, but much easier for ground troops to handle.

While the AADR is technically a grenade, it is much larger than a normal grenade, and actually looks a great deal more like a pipe-bomb than what most people would consider a grenade, due to the need for a large amount of carbon fiber and glue to be effective. Its about 3 1/2 to 4 inches across and 8-10 inches long, with rounded grooves running along the length of the 'pipe', and rounded ends making the whole thing look like a mutant pain pill. The whole thing is also heavier then is practical for a grenade, with a weight of 15 pounds, making it rather impractical as a thrown weapon. It was designed to be dropped/tossed in the path of an aircraft by an Archangel, or fired by specifically designed mortars/missile launchers. The LAE have already turned out several versions of altered Zephyr with AADR launchers on them, produced an assortment of mortars, and are working on an Archangel only wing-pack add on.

The fiber netting of the AADR looks like an enormous spider web, meaning its roughly circular with spokes and descending inner circles, with the odd 'flyaway' strand and is incredibly tough. A two millimeter thread of this stuff could suspend a behemoth from a ceiling, and shape ensures that if it is picked up, it will cover the most surface are possible. The AADR has an 'explosion' diameter of 20 feet, meant more to ensure that the casing has been completely removed and the netting deployed. If the AADR is within 50 feet of an engine or air intake, there is an 85% chance of it being sucked in (the other 15% denotes a failure to make it inside, bind to the parts, or entangle them). Damage is done at 10d6 damage per melee round the machine attempts to use its propulsion systems until the engine is either completely destroyed, the netting and glue is removed, or the engine/effected area is removed and replaced.

While this all sounds great, each AADR represents a serious investment in resources and time, to say nothing of the delivery systems. Due to the rather steep price (ONE ADDR is roughly equivalent to a fully kitted out, high quality Mega-Horse), only the most trusted and experienced Archangels and Zephyr pilots are entrusted with these for the time being. If they DO prove to be an effective and viable weapon, the LAE plan on working to reduce the cost in time and materials, and then GIVE it away to all of the Houses they are on good terms with. They are doing this with the knowledge and approval of the current Warlord, who has an intense hatred (bordering on mania, decidedly unhealthy) of all things mechanical in 'his skies', and is willing to go to extreme lengths to cleanse them of the machines. The prevailing mentality is that this (if its effective and cost efficient) is one weapon that EVERYONE needs to have, and the sooner the better for everyone.

Several of the LAE have mentioned modifying avians to produce these strands and glue within their bodies. This way, they could program them to deliberately fly into the intakes/engines, and the machine would be facing low-level but constant gorilla warfare by other beings besides the Houses. So far the idea has been shot down every time, but is getting more and more of a following, and it’s only a matter of time before some bright spark decides to do simply do it anyway. “It’s better to beg forgiveness than to get permission,” right?

Aramanthus · Unread post by **Aramanthus** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 11:31 am

Very nice. Thank you for sharing them with us.

TechnoGothic · Unread post by **TechnoGothic** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 6:02 pm

Premier · Unread post by **Premier** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 12:08 am

This thread is an epic line up! Man... I hope you are conjuring up a submissions with all this awesome SPLICENESS!!!
Great Job, please continue with more!

Aramanthus · Unread post by **Aramanthus** » Wed Mar 28, 2012 1:50 pm

I guess it was a good thing I went digging for this older material.

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