FIELD GUIDE: LIMINAL SPACE Written and Edited By Jacob Karpel, Jade Ripley, Joseph Scanlon Creative Director Benjamin Sunshine Layout By Brad Whittingham Cover Art by Conner Dodd and Tim Shirley Art by Ally of Justice, Conner Dodd, Domochevsky, Garth “Crixler” Cummings, Tim Shirley Special Thanks Ehn Jolly, Mrs. Karpel, and our children., Breaker of Games, Lee 'IterationDrive' Saxon, Joshua 'Earthflame' Nanke-Mannell, Donald Williams, Clem Cuddlecakes, Ramon Garcia, Steve Dyssal, Arwen, Mark Thompson, Ferrin, ClockworkCorvid, David Silver, Blobertson, NHP Shaka, and the player communities of PilotNet, Ukawa Station and Interpoint Station, without whom this project would never have gotten to where it is today.
Thanks to all the kickstarter backers that helped make this possible! Field Guide: Liminal Space is not an official Lancer product; it is a third party work, and is not affiliated with Massif Press. Field Guide: Liminal Space is published via the Lancer Third Party License.
Lancer is copyright Massif Press
[3]
TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION 0:
GETTING STARTED
6
INTRODUCTION 8 SECTION 1:
TWILIGHT SOLDIERS TWILIGHT SOLDIERS
DOWNFALL GROUP MAGNUM OPUS INTERSTELLAR MARLEY, OZ, & SILVER
DOWNFALL CORE BONUSES
10 12
12 12 12
16
ACEDIA 18 AVARICE 21 TEMPERANCE (AVARICE ALT) 24 ENVY 26 GLUTTONY 29 LUST 32 CHARITY (LUST ALT) 35 PRIDE 37 SLOTH 40 WRATH 43 JUSTICE (WRATH ALT) 46
MAGNUM OPUS CORE BONUSES
50
MO & S CORE BONUSES
90
HOUDINI 52 MK1 HOUDINI (HOUDINI ALT) 56 SOLOMON 58 FLAMEL (SOLOMON ALT) 62 ZOU YAN 64 AMAKUSA 68 MEDEA 71 NIMUE 75 PTOLEMY 78 MORGANA 82 OZYMANDIAS (MORGANA ALT) 86 CARMILLA 92 TEPES (CARMILLA ALT) 96 CELESTE 98 DONNER 101 FRANKENSTEIN 104 JACK (FRANKENSTEIN ALT) 107 HOLIDAY 109 KELLY (HOLIDAY ALT) 112 PHOENIX 114 RASPUTIN 117 ZAHHAK 120
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SECTION 0 // Getting Started
SECTION 2:
SHORES OF TOMORROW 124 LIMINAL THEMES LIMINAL CHARACTERS
126 126
SORCERERS, SPIES, AND SOME DUDES
126
NEW AGARTHA STATION
134
DOWNFALL GROUP MAGNUM OPUS INTERSTELLAR MARLEY, OZ, AND SILVER NEW AGARTHA STATION DISTRICTS NEW AGARTHA STATION: UNIQUE EXPERIENCES
126 130 131 134 140
PILOTS 146
THE LEGIONS OF YESTERDAY LIMINAL THEMES IN YOUR CAMPAIGNS
152 154
LIMINAL ANTAGONISTS
154
NPC TEMPLATES
194
ELITE NPC CLASSES
197
ARCHON 158 BLACKGUARD 160 CHESSMASTER 162 HARRIER 164 HARVESTER 167 IRON MAIDEN 169 LANDSHIP 171 MEGAFAUNA 173 PISTOLERO 175 SCRAPPER 178 SORCERESS 180 STORMCALLER 182 STRIKEBREAKER 184 TECHNICIAN 187 WARDEN 189 WINGMAN 192 PARTISAN 194 SECURITY 195 ECLIPSE 197 FERRYMAN 200 TIMEKEEPER 203
BACKER LIST
206
SECTION 0
GETTING STARTED
INTRODUCTION
3
INTRODUCTION Good God it’s been a long time coming, hasn’t it?
This book is divided into several chapters, as follows:
Welcome to Liminal Space, a third-party supplement for use with Lancer by Massif Press. We’ve been working on this for just about two years now depending on how you want to do the math, since well before we knew the details of Lancer’s third-party compatibility license, and now it’s finally here, in your hands or at least on your screen. Feels good, y’all. Feels real good.
Chapter One: Twilight Soldiers
Liminal Space concerns itself with a kind of between-ness; spaces and places that are in the process of becoming what they want to be, people caught between stages in their lives, societies on the verge of transformation. In this book you’ll find 33 new mech frames for players to use from 3 new manufacturers, 18 new Core Bonuses from said manufacturers, tips and tricks on bringing out liminal themes in your campaigns, setting information and sample pilots to help place these new factions in the context of the Orion Arm and New Humanity, and 19 new NPCs for gamemasters to challenge their players with. All content from this book has been designed to work with Lancer’s core offerings (that is, the excellent first-party books available from Massif Press) and with the other content from this book; if you want to run a mech on CELESTE and LUST licenses, or get some WRATH in your NIMUE to create delicious killing-fascists peanut butter, go nuts. We’re here to provide.
This chapter contains player-facing options including the three new manufacturers (Downfall Group, Magnum Opus Interstellar, and Marley, Oz, & Silver), the Core Bonuses they provide, and 8 new Frames (plus 3 alts for each manufacturer) for each complete with their own licensed equipment. Chapter Two: Shores of Tomorrow This chapter contains setting information, including expanded entries on each of our new manufacturers, sample Flashpoints and pilots for them, and New Agartha Station, an ancient Blink Station operated but not always controlled by Magnum Opus Interstellar. Chapter Three: The Legions of Yesterday This chapter contains 19 NPCs and 2 new NPC templates for gamemasters to challenge their players with, as well as tips on drawing out themes of change and being inbetween from behind the GM screen.
MAGNUM OPUS INTERSTELLAR DOWNFALL GROUP
MARLEY, OZ, & SILVER
Art by Garth “Crixler” Cummings
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SECTION 0 // Getting Started
Can’t let you escape the intro section without some thoughts from the authors, now can we? A writer is somebody who asked for a story to be told and, finding it didn’t exist, decided to tell it themself. Ultimately, when I asked my new partners to join, it was for this reason. We all had a story to tell that the grand designs of the Big Four obscured. We saw in the setting a multitude of pages that were blank… so far. Here’s over two hundred of those formerly-blank pages with our little stamp on them. For my own, all that time ago, I asked a question to the community where they thought a (relatively) tiny, anti-corporate analyst agency might fit in this universe. To my great shock, Tom Parkinson Morgan, one of the system’s creators and cofounder of Massif Press, was the one to respond. Such a thing would likely be a subordinate to Northstar, much to my own shock. And thus, Downfall Group found its home. The rest is history, written on pages that you now get to read. - Jacob “PsyBomb” Karpel One of the first things I tend to do when a new RPG system enters my life is try to make something for it so that I might better understand it. This is because authors, like programmers, are wretched creatures cursed to forever reach beyond our grasp, but despite the best efforts of both God and Man I continue this practice and sometimes it even helps. What would become Marley, Oz, & Silver was born of me trying this with Lancer, and when Jacob asked if I wanted to try to publish again after he looked at my work, well, hubris is the nature of the author. Now it’s here, after two years of blood, sweat, tears, rewrites, rewrites of the rewrites, and the incredible love and support of the Lancer community. Here’s hoping you love using it in your game, and may it inspire you to equal heights of reckless arrogance.
I've spent a lot of time staring at game developers, wondering how they did it and if I could ever do things like that. I spent ages worrying about if I'm good enough or if my work is up to scratch. When Jacob asked if I wanted to be part of a project with him, I was shocked. In some ways I still can't entirely believe it, even with Magnum Opus Interstellar right here in this book. This work was terrifying, worrying and stressful. I had to kill my baby multiple times (You will note a complete lack of a MOI Merlin in this book despite no less than 3 iterations attempting it). I spent ages staring at math and going 'But what does this mean for my balance? Does this ephemeral bonus make up for reduced hard numbers?' (Contrary to the media, autism has not given me super math powers. I feel cheated there). I waited with held breath for feedback, to see if people liked what they read. But it was also a lot of fun. The Lancer homebrew community are wonderful people and both Jacob and Jade have helped me push my work further than I'd ever expected to do so. I did it and I'm sure that others in this community can do likewise! Thank you everyone for all your help and support and if anyone, anywhere enjoys this work it was worth every moment of stress! -Joseph “Ikiryo” Scanlon
- Jade “Vox” Ripley, Coffee Lich
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SECTION 1
TWILIGHT SOLDIERS
DOWNFALL GROUP
13
MAGNUM OPUS INTERSTELLAR
48
MARLEY, OZ, & SILVER
88
TWILIGHT SOLDIERS Whether you’re an intelligence officer that hasn’t been graced by HORUS’s dubious blessing, a corporate soldier riding the edge between ‘it’s good PR’ and ‘we do in fact live in a society and there’s owed and owing on that’, a revolutionary whose budget reads ‘noble ideals’ rather than money, or a youngblood pirate looking to carve out a bloody reputation, everyone needs somebody. Mechs don’t produce themselves, and for those who slip in the cracks between the Big Four and whatever in RA (who protects themself)’s name is going on with HORUS, these three manufacturers are ready to arm, supply, and maybe even support you.
DOWNFALL GROUP DFG mechs focus on being what their opponents least expect while sacrificing that which they do not need •
DFG Acedia (Artillery/Defender): An uncaring basedefense setup that ignores enemy attacks
•
DFG Avarice (Controller): A greedy area controller that blankets the battlefield in deadly explosions
•
DFG Envy (Controller/Support): A jealous hacker that overwhelms enemy receivers
•
•
MOI Zou Yan (Support/Controller): A terraformer that warps the world around it, turning nature against its foes.
•
MOI Amakusa (Defender/Support): A devoted bodyguard that lashes out with divine justice against those who would harm its charge.
•
MOI Medea (Controller/Artillery): A drone mech that proves quantity is a quality of its own, endlessly sowing the dragon’s teeth.
•
MOI Nimue (Striker/Controller): A distance manipulating blademaster, wielder of ancient relics.
•
MOI Ptolemy (Artillery/Controller): A laser artillery that attacks enemies from many directions, reflecting shots until they hit the mark.
•
MOI Morgana (Artillery/Controller): A vitriol-filled hacker that reduces the circuits and minds of those who oppose it to nothing more than scrap and sorrow.
MARLEY, OZ, & SILVER MO & S mechs focus on combinations of Main weapons, defending and supporting their allies, and single combat. •
DFG Gluttony (Striker/Support): A hungry mech that devours its enemies to use for scrap
MO & S Carmilla (Controller): A brute-force hacker wielding virus-tainted ammunition.
•
•
DFG Lust (Controller/Striker): A focused frame that combines digital and physical assaults
MO & S Celeste (Striker): A small and agile mech who prefers to pick on bigger prey.
•
•
DFG Pride (Striker/Controller): A flashy and distracting mech that blinds its enemies
MO & S Donner (Support): A ferocious melee frame who can eat the dead to sustain the living.
•
•
DFG Sloth (Defender): A massive, slow walker with the force of gravity behind it
MO & S Frankenstein (Striker/Defender): The ugliest little f*cker you ever saw, this mech is a master of single combat.
•
DFG Wrath (Striker): An aggressive and angry frame that rips enemies apart but is not safe for allies
•
MO & S Holiday (Striker/Controller): An all-terrain gunman who always shoots first.
•
MO & S Phoenix (Artillery): A budget artillery offering both damage and heat which can repair itself as long as it’s on the verge of exploding.
•
MO & S Rasputin (Defender/Support): MO & S’s mighty juggernaut, whose egg-shaped frame waddles into battle preceded by awesome cannon fire and powerful tech actions.
•
MO & S Zahhak (Controller/Defender): A burrowing mech that locks down a single target and then denies the battlefield to their new friend’s allies.
MAGNUM OPUS INTERSTELLAR MOI mechs tend to be highly disruptive, bringing bursts of power and sidestepping around problems rather than front-on engagement. •
MOI Houdini (Controller/Support): A disruptive illusionist that uses smoke and mirrors to shield its allies.
•
MOI Solomon (Defender/Controller): A drone mech that controls space around its drones with demonic flames.
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SECTION 0 // Getting Started
DFG
DOWNFALL GROUP Thinking Forward The danger inherent in telling someone something is that they will believe you. The shadowy rogue subsidiary of IPS-N “known” as DOWNFALL has a rather plain beginning on paper, which paints an official role in predictive investment, pre-emptive military intervention, corporate espionage, and economic sabotage. However, the spiritual beginning of DOWNFALL is a simple statement: “We endorse and support the mission of Albatross.” The danger inherent in believing something is that you will act on that belief. The deep gulf that now exists between the internal culture of DOWNFALL Group and its parent company began with trends in the data. Competitor opportunities cut short by the successful establishment of human rights in a given system, Albatross interventions uncovering unethical experimentation on human life, colonies collapsed by reckless shortcuts meant to make them productive faster than they could be stable. While IPS-N touted support of humanitarian missions with one hand, the other was stained with the same blood and gold as the rest of its peers. Disillusionment gave rise to action and the oh-sovery unofficial shift of DOWNFALL Group’s mission from support of its parent company to wide-reaching action against human rights violations and, more broadly, the willful perpetuation of a chaotic galaxy for the benefit of the powerful. Current thinking in DOWNFALL’s leadership places corpro-states as the largest enemies of human peace and prosperity, and prioritizes their destruction and Union’s preservation, in that order, to fulfill its humanitarian mandate. The reality is rarely as clean as swift insertions to dispense justice; DOWNFALL is reliant on the resources and privileged intelligence it leeches from IPS-N to operate, and trades heavily on the secrecy of its mission in order to stay safe. Strikes have to be directed for maximum effect with as few risks and resources as possible, and though DOWNFALL rejects the corporate culture of profit over people, it was still born of that culture. In the heat of the moment, DOWNFALL has sometimes chosen to put its cause above the real people they are ostensibly trying to help in order to set up for future efforts, sorely testing the loyalty of its pilots.
DOWNFALL’s “Sinner” pattern-groups, fielded almost solely by their own agents or rebellions they back, are culled from aborted research in IPS-N’s own archives added to a pool of specifications and schematics stolen via their espionage efforts, and inspired by the success of HORUS p-g operations. Most take pains to resemble a more standardized chassis, generally from IPS-N, with the few slip-ups of operational security to date chalked up to ‘prototypes’. Still, it’s only a matter of time before DOWNFALL is formally discovered, and will have to take action to preserve its own existence. To this end, select mercenary groups - notably and especially including Albatross - have been given limited licensing in order to prepare the way for DOWNFALL’s emergence into the public sphere. Quietly, patiently, they gather networks of contacts, contractors, and resources ever so slightly separate from what they report and turn over to IPS-N, forming a new cloak for its mission: preserve Union, and bring glory to mankind.
DOWNFALL CORE BONUSES When you choose a core bonus every 3 license levels, you can pick a bonus from this list as long as you have at least 3 license levels in DFG licenses for each DFG core bonus you have. For example, if you have 9 levels in DFG licenses, you could take up to 3 bonuses. DFG bonuses are focused on stealth, alterations, and information gathering ADDITIONAL DEVICE RAILS There are occasions when one weapon needs to be extensively customized for a specific purpose, often to the point that the original weapon is barely recognizable. Gain +1 SP. Choose one weapon on your mech during a Full Repair. That weapon can have an additional Mod on it (you must pay for each normally, and you may only have one of each mod on any given weapon). You may not put this onto unmoddable weapons. ELF SENSOR ARRAY Extremely Low Frequency detection arrays can detect the sound of plate tectonics three planets away. Do you really think you have a chance of evading THAT? Gain +1+on Systems Checks and Saves. 1/Round, you may Scan or Search as a free action.
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SECTION 1 // Twilight Soldiers
MINIATURIZATION
RECONNAISSANCE
You never know where your equipment will be needed. You never know which tactic they will need to fit it into. You never know what silhouette or pattern your enemy will be looking for. By combining the newest generations of ultradense tech and small amounts of folded blinkspace, this allows the user to be that much more compact and easy to move.
If DOWNFALL is known for anything, it is the massive amount of information they gather. Its pilots frequently know their enemy’s capabilities better than the enemy does.
You occupy the space of a mech 1 Size smaller (minimum ½) and count as that Size whenever it would be advantageous to you (such as determining Cover). A Size ½ Frame with this bonus does not reduce in size category, but looks like a heavy hard suit and functions as one while Shut Down. NARROWBAND TARGETING Focusing the targeting point like a laser has its own ups and downs. There is no backup, there is no dispersal, there is only absolute devotion to bringing down your designated victim Choose one weapon. Auxiliary weapons that share a mount with it cannot fire independently. 1/turn: when you hit with an attack with the chosen weapon, you can cause all ready Auxiliary weapons that share a mount with it to immediately fire at the same target, hitting that target automatically if the target is within their Range or Threat. Area of effect weapons fired this way only affect that target
At the start of any scene, after deployment but before the first character begins their turn, you gain the benefits of the Scan action (including any abilities you have that trigger from them) against up to three hostile characters in r 50. Those characters gain Lock On and cannot benefit from Invisibility, Cover or Hidden until the end of their first turn. 1/Round, when a character enters play, you can have them affected by Reconnaissance as a Reaction. UNKNOWN ACTOR DOWNFALL mech pattern groups are not well known to begin with, and their habit of looking like anything except themselves doesn’t help things. With this upgrade, the frame’s emissions, lines, structure, and general colors are modified to closely resemble Something Else. This throws off enemy systems and pilots alike, ready for their enemies to do things other than what they actually do. When you print your mech or undergo a Full Repair, choose a different frame model the same Size as your mech. You are easily mistaken for being in that frame instead of your own. In addition, after deployment but before any turns are taken, you can move up to your Speed and become Hidden, and do not require cover in order to remain Hidden until the end of your first turn. You never lose Hidden for taking the Boost action.
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DOWNFALL GROUP ACEDIA Defender / Artillery
Downfall Group on occasion does make things above-board. When IPS-N once needed a base-defense unit, the group’s technicians produced the YORKTOWN frame from a similar (though much leaner) base shell as the SLOTH pattern. When eventually the parent corpro decided against mass deployment due to its unsuitability to shipping work, it came right back to its original creators.
CORE STATS Size: 2 Armor: 1
Save Target: 10 Sensors: 15
HULL HP: 9 Repair Cap: 5
SYSTEM E-Defense: 9 Tech Attack: -2 SP: 5
AGILITY Evasion: 9 Speed: 3
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 5
DISTORTIONS As long as the ACEDIA is adjacent to hard or soft cover of at least Size ½, it and all allies adjacent to the ACEDIA benefit from the cover regardless of their frame’s size or position. This does not allow them to Hide if the cover is too small. SLOW AIM All Main or heavier ranged weapons on the ACEDIA gain the Ordnance tag and +3 r.
MOUNTS
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THE UNCARING
The same ultradense gyros at the heart of a SLOTH function wildly differently in this frame. It literally pulls itself together as it goes, ignoring that which ails it as if not present. When overcharged, the ACEDIA stops caring about even the distance between itself and its foes. Inertial Structure Passive, 1h(Self), Protocol
TRAITS
AUX/ AUX
CORE SYSTEM
FLEX MOUNT
HEAVY MOUNT
SECTION 1 // Twilight Soldiers
You can remove one of the following conditions that was not caused by yourself from your mech: Immobilized, Impaired, Jammed, Shredded, or Slowed. Inertial Form Active (1CP), Quick Action Choose four spaces within 25 spaces of you. This does not require line of sight. Those four spaces as well as the ones you are standing on become inertial distortions for the rest of the scene (or one hour of real time). As long as your frame is standing at least partially on any of them, ranged attacks you make may measure Range and line of sight from any of them instead of your own space. Inertial distortions count as difficult terrain for all actors besides yourself. Finally, Inertial Structure does not generateh as long as this is active.
LICENSE I: BRACKETING BOMBLETS, INERTIA FIELD
Inertial Field 1 SP
Bracketing Bomblets Auxiliary Launcher [r8] [1d3x]
Terrain and Deployables within u 2 of your mech have Resistance to all damage.
If you hit an enemy twice in the same turn with Bracketing Bomblets, you may apply a Lock On to that enemy as a free action. This spray of tiny explosives could be easily mistaken for a party favor, if the party was being thrown by giants. In addition to the detonations they spray the area with high-return metallic fragments, highlighting and outlining enemies for a precious few moments to guide follow-on shots.
The gravity fields produced by this engine modification are unusual to say the least. Instead of drawing everything to it, the field causes everything to draw themselves to… themselves. Although it has little practical effect on mech frames, walls and rocks are another matter entirely.
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LICENSE II: ACEDIA FRAME, SUNRISE, WHITE PHOSPHORUS ROUNDS Sunrise Main cannon, Arcing, 1h(Self) [r10] [1d6e+ 1f] Heated debate rages internally as two people named this weapon the same thing simultaneously. One wanted to pay tribute to how its arcing shots could come out of the sun. The other was talking about the fireballs that result when it hits its target. White Phosphorus Rounds Mod, 2 SP, Unique Choose one weapon. In addition to its usual damage, 1/round you may activate the mod as a quick action when you hit a character with the weapon this mod is applied to to cause it to gainhequal to their current f, maximum 4h. They also gain +1-on checks and saves to clearfuntil the end of their next turn. These storage canisters deploy a vicious chemical co*cktail onto the enemy when they strike, capitalizing on enemies already suffering from intense heat. The modifications were originally developed by Harrison Armory, but were not utilized in the end due to a preference for direct action. Downfall Group felt no such reservations when they observed the field test.
LICENSE III: OVERWHELM INHIBITORS, UNSTOPPABLE FORCE Overwhelm Inhibitors Mod, 2 SP This mod can be placed on any Main or Heavy weapon. As a Protocol once per scene, you can empower it to act in many ways as a Superheavy weapon. It must be fired as a Barrage action, increases its r (if any) by 5, and gains 1d6+1 bonus damage. This empowerment lasts for the rest of the scene or until used. Using this Protocol or firing this weapon while empowered this way causes the area within u 1 of your mech to count as soft cover until the start of your next turn. Reactors flash, the overflow of energies kicking up dust and debris. Specifically installed additional channels bring these excessive forces to bear exactly where they need to be: through a weapon not otherwise capable of presenting as much or a threat as it now does. Unstoppable FORCE Superheavy Cannon Thermobaric Bombard: Ordnance, [r15] [b 1] [2d6x+ 4f] Fuel-Air Explosive Canister: Knockback 5, [r1] [c 5] [1d6x+ 3f] On Attack: Choose to fire in either Thermobaric Bombard mode or Fuel-Air Explosive Canister mode On Critical Hit: the target is knocked Prone. The Forward Ordnance, Recoilless Concussive Explosive cannon is an unwieldy piece of gear. By all rights and most physics, the amount of power its rounds put out should cause the mount to rip itself off of its frame. That it doesn’t owes more to a complex series of pistons and offsets than anything else, and while it does so it also keeps enemies well away from its carrier.
[ 20 ]
SECTION 1 // Twilight Soldiers
DOWNFALL GROUP AVARICE Controller
With possession acting as nine tenths of the law, it was inevitable that the Downfall Group would lay the law down on the battlefield. Based on observed performance and recovered wreckage of HA’s ISKANDER frame, the AVARICE pattern group works to possess territory for itself and deny it to the enemy. Although its own internal power core is below par for a frame its size, all of its systems are designed to pull ambient energies from the area and beam them to their master, generating a net overcharge.
CORE STATS Size: 2 Armor: 1
Save Target: 11 Sensors: 10
HULL HP: 8 Repair Cap: 5
SYSTEM E-Defense: 8 Tech Attack: +0 SP: 7
AGILITY Evasion: 8 Speed: 4
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 6
TRAITS PERSISTENT POSSESSION Mines set by the Avarice deal half damage, inflict halfhandf(minimum 1), and heal half what they otherwise would. However, they are not destroyed when they are triggered, persist for the scene once set, and re-arm themselves at the start of the Avarice’s turn if they detonated. The Avarice never sets off its own Mines unless it wants to. MINE, ALL MINE!
MOUNTS AUX/ AUX
FLEX MOUNT
CORE SYSTEM
GENERAL REARMING EXPLOSIVE EXPLOITATION DEVICE Nicknamed the “firecracker” by its pilots, this system supercharges the Persistent Possession subroutines of the AVARICE pattern group. The result is an intense series of detonations that can clear out an entire battlefield if properly applied. These Are Mine Active (1CP), Full Action All Mines you have set immediately detonate and rearm themselves. You are not affected by Mines set off this way. You can repeat this as a Protocol for the rest of the scene, but no more than five more times.
The Avarice gains +1+ to checks and saves while adjacent to at least one mine it set. CRAWLING MINES Mines set by the Avarice can move up to three spaces each as a free action during its turn, including the one they are set. In addition, on deployment, you may set up to two Mines in unoccupied spaces within r 3 of the Avarice.
[ 21 ]
Art by Domochevsky
[ 22 ]
SECTION 1 // Twilight Soldiers
LICENSE I: TERRITORIAL PULSE, CLAYMORE Territorial Pulse Main CQB, Knockback 1 [c 3] [1d3e] Any Mines in the area immediately detonate. This blast wave of concussive force serves dual purpose to the mech. It drives nearby foes away, while also setting off hazards in the area. Claymore 3 SP, Mine, Unique, Limited (2) When a character sets off this mine, it detonates in a c 3 area centered on the character who triggered it. Characters in the affected area must make a Hull save or take 3d6x, half on a successful save. “This Side Toward Enemy” LICENSE II: AVARICE FRAME, IMPULSE CHARGE, MICROMISSILE LAUNCHER Impulse Charge 2 SP, Limited (3), Unique You may spend a charge from this system for one of the following effects: •
•
Impulse Grenade (Grenade, r 10, b 1): Any character caught in the area must succeed at a Hull save or be pushed 2 spaces directly away from the detonation (your choice if the target is centered). Characters pushed this way who are pushed into another character or piece of terrain are knocked Prone. Impulse Mine (Mine, u 1): Any character in the affected area must succeed at a Hull save or be pushed 3 spaces directly away from the mine and take 1d6 damage. Characters pushed this way who are pushed into another character or piece of terrain are knocked Prone.
This unique core generates a broad burst of kinetic energy which generally does not do as much harm to its victims… at least, not directly. Micromissile Launcher Auxiliary Launcher, Inaccurate [r 8] [b 1] [1d3x] Attacks from this weapon are not affected by Accuracy or Difficulty, other than its own Inaccurate. These difficult-to-control clusters of rocketpropelled bomblets fly in crazy patterns, blanketing the area in unpredictable strikes.
LICENSE III: REMOTE DETONATOR SYSTEM, LEGION CLASS NHP Remote Detonator System 2 SP, Unique Whenever you launch or set a mine, you may designate it as having a Remote Detonator. These no longer detonate by proximity. Instead, once primed normally, you can cause any number of Mines you have deployed which are modified this way to detonate as a Quick action. You choose which enemy within the Mines’ range counts as setting it off, and that enemy suffers one - against any save forced by this action. Wait for it… LEGION Class NHP 3 SP, Unique, AI Your mech gains the AI property and the LEGION Protocol. DOWNFALL Group’s espionage efforts never resulted in complete NHPs taken. The security on them is just too effective, the risk of potential attention and alarm too real. They did, however, frequently come away with fragmentary code and empty caskets. Eventually, they had enough such fragments of various NHPs to compile into one. DOWNFALL Group constructed a hardened and secured hybrid casket, then allowed the resulting source code to cascade itself into coherence and reshackled the outcome. The result was LEGION, many-voiced and many-talented, but which pulls the user in many directions. LEGION-Class NHPs are unpredictable in personality. As soon as one gets used to this iteration’s particular quirks, it changes completely. It always does what it thinks is the best action for the situation, but this action is not always going to be what its pilot would prefer nor what the pilot thinks it will do. LEGION Protocol Protocol, 2h(self) At the end of your turn, roll 1d6. You must immediately perform the action specified as a free action (otherwise obeying all rules, such as engagement and conditions). If you are unable to do so, gain 2h. Any attacks must target characters or Deployables other than yourself, not terrain. 1 - Conduct a Scan or Search action 2 - Make a Skirmish attack 3 - Make an Invade attack 4 - Boost at least half your Speed 5 - Use any non-attack system on your mech that can be activated as a Quick Action. 6 - Take a Stabilize action
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DOWNFALL GROUP TEMPERANCE (Avarice Alt) Striker
Gaining access is the first part of the problem. You have something to do once you get there, and this does not always involve sneaking out without a trace. For the times when a certain brand of saboteur is necessary, Downfall Group developed a specialized system. The Temperance is small enough to fit where it is needed, agile, and leaves no incriminating sign behind. It does this latter mostly by ensuring that all detonations are targeted precisely and by holding on to its own casings, employing a terrifying way to deliver end power to the enemy when they might be looking for more conventional weapons. Saves space, too.
CORE STATS Size: 1/2 Armor: 2
Save Target: 12 Sensors: 8
HULL HP: 6 Repair Cap: 4
SYSTEM E-Defense: 9 Tech Attack: -2 SP: 8
AGILITY Evasion: 9 Speed: 5
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 6
TRAITS MEDITATION If the Temperance does not attack or force a save on its turn, it gains +1 Armor (maximum 4) and +1 Speed until the end of its next turn. During this time, it automatically passes all saves forced by itself and allied characters, and attacks from allied characters automatically miss the Temperance. GLASS JAW The Temperance has +1-on Hull saves and checks
MOUNTS FLEX MOUNT
CORE SYSTEM PREPARATION
The right hand of the Temperance is dyed red. Its pilots gain access to places their enemies do not want them, and unleash that which they
have been patiently holding only once properly positioned. More plainly, to allow one into arm’s reach is nearly synonymous with finding your frame turned to smoking glass. At Arm's Length Whenever you use a system with the Mine tag, it changes in the following ways: • Any u becomes a b of the same amount. • You do not emplace a mine onto the field. The explosion happens immediately, it does not need to arm nor be set off by a character. • You may place the area in any way you want, as long as you are adjacent to or within at least one affected space. Blackwing Launch System Active (1 CP), Full Action One adjacent character is pushed up to 5 spaces in any direction. The target can be moved in directions they cannot normally move and count as flying during this movement. At the end of this movement, the target explodes across a u 2 area. All characters in the affected area, including the initial target, must pass an Agility Save or take 2d6+8xdamage. A successful save halves the damage and the initial target has +1- on this save. If the target is not on solid ground after this, they then immediately fall. For the rest of the scene, your Meditation trait remains active whether or not you attack or force saves.
Art by Domochevsky
DOWNFALL GROUP ENVY Controller / Support
One of the primary goals of DOWNFALL group is espionage, and there is a great deal of information to be gathered on the battlefield. Performance specifications, broadcast frequencies and encryption codes, mission loadouts, even the identities of just exactly who is assigned where. Enter the ENVY frame, bristling with emitters and data storage. Rather than sneaking information out, it pummels enemies with its scanners and savages their firewalls, tearing away their secrets for its own use.
CORE STATS Size: 1 Armor: 0
Save Target: 11 Sensors: 15
HULL HP: 8 Repair Cap: 4
SYSTEM E-Defense: 9 Tech Attack: +2 SP: 8
AGILITY Evasion: 10 Speed: 5
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 6
TRAITS OVERWHELM RECEIVERS Enemies that the Envy frame Scans must make a Systems save or have +1-to all Tech actions and all attacks with Smart weapons until the end of their next turn. CORRELATION DATABASE Whenever the Envy Scans an enemy, its pilot may ask for an additional piece of information about its target. OVERTUNED ANTENNAE The Envy has +1-to all saves and checks against enemy Tech actions.
MOUNTS FLEX MOUNT
CORE SYSTEM
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER Though the ENVY frame itself is fragile, enemies find it remarkably difficult to take down. The various arrays and sensors on board are so powerful that it can detect the slightest bit of rust or grit in its target’s mechanism;, correlated against access to a detailed database of frame and weapon specifications, this lets it predict how the weapon will fire and get out of the worst of it. I Know You Passive 1/round: When you take the Scan quick action against a hostile unit, choose one allied character in Sensors. Both you and the chosen character gain Resistance to damage from the scanned character until the end of your next turn. Better Than You Know Yourself Active (1CP), Quick Action Pick a target in Sensors. You know almost everything about the target. You can see their current and maximum HP andh, how much structure and reactor stress they have remaining, all weapons and systems on board the target including their status, and it benefits from neither Hidden nor Invisibility. All attacks against your target gain Seeking. Allied characters within Sensors also benefit from these effects. Finally, you gain Resistance to all damage andh caused by the target. It lasts for the rest of the scene or 10 minutes of narrative time, or until you end it as a Quick Tech action.
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SECTION 1 // Twilight Soldiers
Art by Domochevsky
LICENSE I: PASSIVE RECEIVERS, WIDE-AREA LIDAR EMITTER
My mission here is simple. Take what is yours, give up none of what is mine. Submit!
Passive Receivers 2 SP, Unique
LICENSE III: IFF OVERRIDE, MUNIN-CLASS NHP
Whenever a character within r 25 and line of sight fails a save or marks Reactor Stress, they count as being within your Sensor range until the end of your next turn. The first method of data collection is to merely observe. You stay hidden, tune in, and never let them know how it is you got your information. When they cannot do a good job of containing their own emissions, this job becomes much easier. Wide-Area LIDAR Emitters 1 SP, Unique, Limited (2) 1/round: When you take the Scan action, you may do so against all targets within a b 1 area centered within Sensors range instead of one target. You must ask for the same information from all targets affected. Sometimes, getting a reading from your sensors is like staying silent to listen in. LIDAR arrays are not like that; they strobe the target with laser light outside the visible spectrum and read the returns in excruciating detail. This variation blankets areas in the signal, letting the user process what is there in blocks at a time instead of individually. LICENSE II: ENVY FRAME, JEALOUSY LOCKOUT CODE SET, LASHBACK WHIP Jealousy Lockout Code Set 3 SP, Unique, Quick Tech, Invade Gain the following options for Invade: Encrypt: Your target loses access to all non-weapon Systems and Traits on their frame until the end of their next turn. This can only be used 1/scene on each character, and only on hostile characters. Subroutines: One weapon of your choice on your target loses Arcing, Seeking, and Smart until the end of their next turn. The concept behind this is simple. Take the target’s device drivers, and overwrite them with a corrupted version of a useless generic. If you can’t have it, neither can they. Lashback Whip Main Melee, Knockback 2 [t 3] [1d3+1k] The Lashback whip can attack with Overwatch when hostile characters enter, leave, or exit spaces within its Threat, no matter whether they started their movement there.
IFF Overrides 2 SP, Unique, Quick Tech, Invade Gain the following options for Invade: Table Override: The target is Jammed. Every turn at the end of their turn, they can make a Systems save to end this effect, gaining +1+for each previous attempt to end the effect. You may only use this Invasion option once per scene. Copycode: The target and its allies treat you as Hidden, which can be lost as normal for Hidden, except that you do not require cover to remain Hidden this way. Their possessions are forfeit, their weapons are your own. Now, they cannot even lay claim to their own face, their own signature that their allies perceive them by. They cannot even count on their own databases, to know who is friend or foe. MUNIN Class NHP 3 SP, Unique, AI Your mech gains the AI property and the Memory Reaction. The MUNIN Class NHP stemmed originally from one used to catalogue and correlate information and resources, directing suites of Comp/Cons, Subalterns, and human information specialists. Aboard a mech, it highlights and projects predictions for the more unusual attributes of incoming attacks, correlating it with known configurations of the victim, allowing that victim to evade much of what was intended for them and level the playing field. MUNIN Class NHPs are meticulous and precise, gathering every scrap of information they can and filing it properly, to be uploaded to the proper databases the second it gets Omninet access. They react intensely negatively to intentional stupidity or destruction of knowledge, to include study subjects before studies complete. Memory Reaction, 1/round, 2h(Self) Trigger: You or an ally within Sensors is hit or missed by a weapon attack Effect: The triggering character is immune to all effects other than damage andhfrom that attack.
DOWNFALL GROUP GLUTTONY Striker / Support
The reactors of the GLUTTONY frame could not hope to keep up with the demands that its various engines, flash printers, and assorted systems put on it, not with limited onboard fuel. Instead, the engineers designed it with the ability to intake materials on the battlefield through a maw situated across its torso, the better to fuel its ability to supply forward printing capabilities. As a result, the mechs of this pattern group literally eat their enemies as they go, their cores ravenous for anything they can reach.
CORE STATS Size: 2 Armor: 1
Save Target: 10 Sensors: 8
HULL HP: 10 Repair Cap: 4
SYSTEM E-Defense: 8 Tech Attack: -1 SP: 6
AGILITY Evasion: 8 Speed: 5
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 6
DEVOURING ENGINES The GLUTTONY’s reactor cannot hope to keep up with its demands under heavy use. It just has too much that needs power. Because of this, the DOWNFALL group came up with an inventive solution: a direct matter annihilation secondary reactor, powered by intake of materials through a maw on its front. Annihilator Reactor Passive
TRAITS FLASH PRINTERS 1/round when a mech Character suffers structure damage or is destroyed in Sensors and Line of Sight, or when a wreck is destroyed in Sensors and Line of Sight the Gluttony can Consume it. The Gluttony or one adjacent allied character regains 1 Limited charge to a Limited system of their choice. A destroyed character or wreck that is consumed this way is entirely removed and does not leave a wreck or trigger any additional effect with its destruction. REACTOR MASS 2/round, as a reaction to rolling any check, save, or attack, the Gluttony frame can expend one use of a Limited system to gain +1 + to the roll. UNSTABLE CORE The Gluttony frame takes +1- on Engineering checks and saves
MOUNTS FLEX MOUNT
CORE SYSTEM
MAIN MOUNT
HEAVY MOUNT
Set aside a d6 on the number six. Any time you Boost, fire a weapon, or use your Reactor Mass trait, reduce this by one. If you activate the Flash Printers trait, increase it by 2 (maximum 6). If it would ever drop below one, you lose one use of any Limited system (if any remain) and take 4e AP, then reset the counter to 6. The GLUTTONY immediately vomits a bolt of energy at a character within Sensors as a ranged attack that deals 1d6+2eany time you take damage this way. The counter cannot ever go over 6, and resets to 6 after ten rounds that it does not count down, or at the beginning of a new scene. All-Consuming Hunger Active (1CP), Full Action The open maw of the Annihilator Reactor projects disintegrating energy in c7. This deals 2d6+1 eto all characters and Deployables in the area, and they must each make a Hull save. Those failing their saves are also pulled 4 spaces directly towards the GLUTTONY, obeying obstructions. Restore one use to each Limited system on the GLUTTONY, up to their maximum. Set the Annihilator Reactor’s count to 6.
Art by Domochevsky
LICENSE I: TENDERIZER, BLAST PLATING Tenderizer Heavy Melee, [t 2] [1d6+3k] On Critical Hit: the target is Shredded until the end of your next turn. There theoretically was once a more elegant name for this. It is long forgotten, since the hammer-with-facing-spikes shape looks nearly identical (though MUCH larger) to some familiar kitchen equipment. Blast Plating 2 SP, Unique, Limited (6) 1/round, as a reaction whenever you or an ally within r 3 are hit by an attack, you may grant the target one or more Armor until the end of its next turn (to a maximum of 4). This affects the triggering attack, and expends a number of charges equal to the Armor you granted them. As designs go, this is as simple as it gets. Mount an ablative interdiction plate on an explosive launcher, and fire it at incoming attacks to create clouds of material designed to turn aside anything. LICENSE II: GLUTTONY FRAME, HEARTBURN CANNON, REUPTAKE CHAMBER Heartburn Cannon Main Cannon, Unique [r 10] [Xe] On Attack: Clear 2h. The Heartburn Cannon deals damage equal to half yourh, up to a maximum of 6 You can vent heat into your surroundings suddenly. You can let it bleed off slowly, or into specialized channels on repair equipment. Alternatively, you can always project it straight at your enemies.
Reuptake Chamber 3 SP, Unique You can collect items that you have laid down for effect. 2/scene, If you are adjacent to a mine that you set and which hasn’t detonated, or to a drone which you control that was not destroyed, you can collect it as a Quick action. This removes it from the battlefield and regains the use if it was a Limited system. You do not set off Mines that you set as long as you use this action to recover them immediately upon coming adjacent to them. Waste not. LICENSE III: CARRION SYSTEM, ANNIHILATOR CANNON CARRION System 2 SP, Unique, Quick Tech You cause a Wreck within Sensors to detonate in u 1. Other Characters in the affected area must pass an Agility save or take 2d6xand become Slowed until the end of their next turn. On a successful save, they take half damage and are not Slowed. This destroys the Wreck and removes it from the field. Those taken out of the fight are not truly gone, not yet. Even scrap of once-living metal is merely a resource to be used for those sufficiently prepared. Annihilator Cannon Superheavy Cannon, Reliable (4),h(self) 2, [r 15] [4d6+4e] When you fire this weapon, expend two Limited uses from among other systems on your mech or destroy this weapon. Warning: Muzzle, piping, vents, and external shielding may become hot during and after matter-antimatter reactions
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DOWNFALL GROUP LUST Striker / Controller
As the DOWNFALL group was commencing operations, one of its most trusted pilots found himself unexpectedly in possession of a frame he never applied for, the GOBLIN. He immediately brought the plans to his leaders, who merged its mighty technological suite with the specifications of a different blueprint they had recently acquired, the ATLAS. DOWNFALL utilized the close fit, mighty tech suite, and neural networking to create a new frame of their own, one which entirely envelops the user and reacts as fast as thought, acting on the desires of the pilot. Unashamedly, this blurs the line between pilot and suit, causing pilots to react as though it were their skin and not metal.
CORE STATS Size: 1/2 Armor: 1
Save Target: 11 Sensors: 10
HULL HP: 7 Repair Cap: 3
SYSTEM E-Defense: 9 Tech Attack: +1 SP: 7
AGILITY Evasion: 10 Speed: 6
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 4
TRAITS REFLEXIVE ACTION When you hit an enemy with a Tech attack, the next weapon attack you make against that enemy before the end of your turn deals +1d6 bonus damage. This does not stack with itself. ENCAPSULATED You cannot draw LOS outside of Sensor range. All of your weapons count as having the Smart tag. SHELL You gain +1+on saves and checks against the Impaired or Stunned conditions.
MOUNTS FLEX MOUNT
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MAIN MOUNT
AUX/ AUX
SECTION 1 // Twilight Soldiers
CORE SYSTEM
ACTION BEFORE THOUGHT The LUST frame controls are not typical, even among the small frames. It requires considerable two-way direct transmissions and haptics, along with many other factors. Under full power, the human brain cannot keep up unassisted. Thus, it has to provide the assistance. The frame floods the pilot’s body with drugs meant to speed and synchronize, along with kicking predictive algorithms into overdrive. The result is a frame moving so quickly, with such fast reactions, that it appears to be in two places at once. Double Team Active (1CP), Quick Action You are one mech that acts in two places. Place a copy of your mech in any open space within 3 spaces. This is not a separate frame; you are considered to occupy both spaces. When you take the standard move or the Boost action, both do. They must end each of your turns within five spaces of each other, or this effect immediately ends. Your actions may originate from either, you may trace LOS and Sensor range from either, and any attack that doesn’t affect both treats you as though you were Invisible. This lasts for the rest of the scene.
Art by Moiderah
LICENSE I: TRACE PISTOL, SCRAMBLE
LICENSE III: CUPID MOD, DESIRE SUITE
Trace Pistol Auxiliary CQB [r 5] [t 3] [1d3k]
CUPID Mod 1 SP, Mod
On Hit: Deal 1kto another hostile character within r 2 of the target. This weapon appears much like any other holdout pistol, but the key is in the combination of integrated circuitry and the ammunition. When it is fired at a target, onboard processors finely calibrate the spin and angle of the glowing rounds, ensuring that the ricochet goes precisely where it will do the most damage. Scramble 2 SP, Unique Any time you succeed at any tech attack, you can also push the target one space in any direction. Although the LUST frame is designed with instinct-level movements in mind, few other frames are prepared to have their movement controls turbocharged this way. By boosting specific receptors, they can cause their targets to involuntarily take steps on the battlefield before they regain control. LICENSE II: LUST FRAME, ARC RIFLE, MONOMANIA Arc Rifle Main Rifle [r 10] [1d3 +2e] On Hit: All targets within u 1 of the target take 1e. This one is simply electrifying… and it makes the sparks fly, too! Monomania 2 SP, Unique 1/Round: When you consume Lock On, the target gains Lock On at the end of the current turn. Focus. Absolute focus to the point of obsession is the name of the game, and succeeding in doing so allows for a degree of perfection unmatched by any other pilot.
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SECTION 1 // Twilight Soldiers
The modified weapon gains “1/round, On Hit: Push the target one space in any direction.” Contrary to what the name may imply, this does not cause attraction. It just looks like it, when the victim is sent stumbling off in a direction it certainly did not choose. DESIRE Suite 3 SP, Unique, Quick Tech, Invade Gain the following options for Invade: Attraction: Choose a character or terrain piece within 10 spaces of the target and within your Sensors range. The target gainshequal to half the distance between itself and the chosen character or piece of terrain (maximum 6) at the end of its next turn. The target is aware of this effect. Obsession: The target becomes obsessed with the nearest character they are hostile to (if there is more than one, you decide the target). Their next attack (other than Overwatch attacks) must target that character. This effect lasts until the end of their next turn. Controlling the desires and options of the target is manipulation 101, whether on foot or in a frame. This set of powerful code overwrites the target mech’s internal prioritization algorithms to force actions the pilot may not have been thinking of.
DOWNFALL GROUP CHARITY (Lust Alt) Support / Controller
Though rare to deploy even for this secretive group, the DFG CHARITY is utilized by the DOWNFALL Group for sensitive escort, delivery, and messaging services. Built as a tougher, more defensive variant of their GOBLIN-derived LUST frame, the CHARITY trades the sheer speed and sensory bridging of its parent frame for a greater emphasis on small-unit tactics and its signature ESCORT rig that lets the relatively small frame carry anything from sensitive data to VIPs in complete safety. Reports of the CHARITY in action are usually so confused as to what it is and what it’s doing that it is mistakenly identified as a cargo hauler.
CORE STATS Size: 1/2 Armor: 1
Save Target: 11 Sensors: 10
HULL HP: 8 Repair Cap: 4
SYSTEM E-Defense: 7 Tech Attack: +1 SP: 7
AGILITY Evasion: 9 Speed: 6
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 4
TRAITS DRAUPNIR PROTOCOLS 1/round when the Charity targets an allied character with a tech action, it can Bolster or Invade as a free action. This Bolster or Invade must target a different allied character. ESCORT RIG The Charity gains the benefits of the Expanded Compartment system at no cost of system points. This system cannot be destroyed while mounted on the Charity. If the Charity is destroyed, the Expanded Compartment and its contents are ejected 10 spaces in the direction of its pilot’s choice. MISER’S BURDEN 2/round when the Charity pushes a hostile character, that character becomes Slowed until the end of its next turn.
MOUNTS MAIN/AUX MOUNT
MAIN/AUX MOUNT
CORE SYSTEM
KLAUS-CLASS TARGETING A divergent design from DOWNFALL’s access to the GOBLIN P-G, KLAUS systems utilize a combination of liturgicode, brute-force scanning, tainted handshakes, and comms pings to execute denial-of-service attacks on enemy frames and vehicles. Like a fall from a high place, it is rarely the KLAUS that kills you; rather, it is the sudden stop at the end. Render Unto Caesar Active (1 CP), Quick Action Each hostile character in Sensors becomes Impaired and Slowed until the end of your next turn, then gains Lock On. Until the end of the scene, 1/ round whenever a hostile character in Sensors gains Impaired, Slowed, or Lock On, choose another hostile character in Sensors; that character gains the same condition until the end of its next turn. For the rest of the scene, your Meditation trait remains active whether or not you attack or force saves.
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Art by Domochevsky
DOWNFALL GROUP PRIDE Striker / Controller
Despite DOWNFALL’s obsessive secrecy, it is occasionally impossible to keep people from noticing that something is there. To solve this, they appropriated a design from their parent corporation. When IPS-N needed a mech designed for PR, they developed the MACARTHUR frame utilizing some stolen Harrison Armory trade secrets. Although it was limited in original run, its purpose was to look good doing its fighting and make sure it all got uploaded for public consumption. The combination of being an official frame plus the go-loud tactics made it perfect for when a distraction was needed. Designated the PRIDE by DOWNFALL, it is the one most likely to have official colors and close patterning. Its new mission is to be there when the other Sinners need extractions, explaining why the firepower is there and diverting all eyes away from what the real mission was.
CORE STATS Size: 1 Armor: 1
Save Target: 11 Sensors: 10
HULL HP: 8 Repair Cap: 3
SYSTEM E-Defense: 8 Tech Attack: +0 SP: 6
AGILITY Evasion: 10 Speed: 5
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 6
TRAITS OVERWHELM If the Pride hits a hostile character with weapons dealing at least partiallyedamage two or more times in the same round, that target is Impaired until the start of the Pride’s next turn. LIGHTHOUSE BEAM 1/round, the Pride gains +1d6 Bonus Damage with an attack against an Impaired or Stunned character SHINY The Pride cannot benefit from the Hidden status. FLEX MOUNT
FLEX MOUNT
CORE SYSTEM MOUNTS SUPPRESSIVE FIRE When the opportunity arrives, there is no holding back. You must go flat-out and take down all comers. This system releases the restraints and limiters that keep most energy weapons from destroying themselves for a short time, accepting the stress this places on the frame in exchange for filling the surroundings with energy fire. Double Charge Active (1 SP), Protocol When you activate this Protocol, designate one enemy within Sensor range. Whenever you make an attack with an Auxiliary or Main Energy weapon against any other hostile character, you also make an attack with the same weapon using the same rolls on your designated target if they are in range of the attack. If the weapon was a b , c , or l, it only needs to include the target in its area of effect, but a given character can only be hit once by it even if both include them. You gain 2 h at the end of each of your turns while this is in effect. It can be targeted at a new enemy as a Protocol if your target dies or leaves Sensor range. It can be deactivated as a Protocol.
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LICENSE I: IMPULSE LAUNCHER, CAMERA DRONE Impulse Launcher Main Launcher [r10] [b 1] [1d3+1e] The first and most basic rule of combat is to make the largest impression possible. Downfall’s Impulse-pattern laser bolt flies to its intended point and blasts the area with a dense pattern of energy fire, drawing eyes and softening up entire groups of foes. Camera Drone 2 SP, Unique, Quick Action, Drone Camera Drone (Size ½, HP 5, 10 E-defense/evasion) This system launches a Camera Drone anywhere within Sensors range. You may only have one active at a time. The Camera drone can Hover and can be moved anywhere within your Sensors range as a Quick Action. The Drone emits a u 5 Zone. Any allied character with the Camera drone in their Sensors range treats characters in the affected area as in Line of Sight and Sensors for the purpose of tech actions. In addition, attacks targeting hostile characters in the affected area gain Arcing. On the one hand, getting a birds-eye view or looking around corners is always a useful trick. On the other, so is being able to record the goings-on for rebroadcast or keep an eye on your own back. Although many deride this as a vain parlor trick or the tool of a glorified movie maker, its proper application can turn the tide of battle. LICENSE II: PRIDE FRAME, MICROWAVE PROJECTOR, CHROMITE GRENADE Microwave Projector Auxiliary Rifle [r 10] [1e + 1h] This weapon gains AP against Biological characters. Ultimately, the flashiest thing you can do is make the enemy’s own frame turn into your fireworks. These rays are themselves invisible, but the cascades of enemy mechs sparking themselves out are anything but. CHROMITE Core Detonators 3 SP, Limited (2), Unique You may spend a charge from this system for one of the following effects: • CHROMITE Grenade (Grenade, r 5): The target must succeed on a Systems save or be Impaired and Slowed until the end of their next turn. If they are already Impaired, they are instead Stunned until the end of their next turn on a failed save. A given enemy can only be Stunned this way once per scene.
•
CHROMITE Emplacement (Mine, u 1): Characters within the affected area must succeed on a Systems save or treat all other characters as invisible until the end of their next turn.
This system began, as many things do, as a derivative of a basic grenade. Instead of standard explosives, the ones used by this system utilize chain-detonating strobe flares covering multiple spectra combined with auditory and thermal factors. Won’t scratch a chassis, but the same can’t be said for their sensors. Camera Drone 2 SP, Unique, Quick Action, Drone Camera Drone (Size ½, HP 5, 10 E-defense/evasion) This system launches a Camera Drone anywhere within Sensors range. You may only have one active at a time. The Camera drone can Hover and can be moved anywhere within your Sensors range as a Quick Action. The Drone emits a u 5 Zone. Any allied character with the Camera drone in their Sensors range treats characters in the affected area as in Line of Sight and Sensors for the purpose of tech actions. In addition, attacks targeting hostile characters in the affected area gain Arcing. LICENSE III: UPLINK ARRAY, BRIGHTBURN BLASTERS Uplink Array 2 SP, Quick Tech, Unique You emit an enormous blast of broad-frequency static in u 3. All characters in the affected area must pass a Systems save or lose Hidden, be unable to become Hidden or benefit from Invisible until the end of their next turn, and gain Lock On. You lose Hidden, are unable to become Hidden or benefit from Invisible until the end of their next turn, and gain Lock On. Sometimes, the best way to find the enemy is to broadcast on maximum and see what flinches. This tends to attract attention. Brightburn Blasters Auxiliary CQB [r 5] [t 2] [1d3e] On Hit: The target treats all other characters as being in soft cover until the end of their turn. The ultimate in effective distraction and obstruction, these charged pistols leave ionized trails in the air which shed an intense light of their own for a few seconds. Viewers at home get to ooh and ah over the special effects. Enemies in their co*ckpits get to struggle to make out anything through the constant strobes and afterimages.
Art by Domochevsky
DOWNFALL GROUP SLOTH Defender
Slow. And. Steady. In response to many of their other frames being on the fragile side, the SLOTH pattern group was created to provide an anchor to the line. Like a glacier, absolutely implacable and unstoppable once pointed in the right direction. Its core gyroscope, made from material nearly as dense as a neutron star, can cause nearby space itself to warp. This pattern group tends to look enormous even for its size, with layers of armor and weapons. The most distinctive feature is its signature weapon, the Grand Hammer, which nearly all SLOTH pilots carry.
CORE STATS Size: 2 Armor: 2
Save Target: 10 Sensors: 8
HULL HP: 9 Repair Cap: 6
SYSTEM E-Defense: 8 Tech Attack: +0 SP: 5
AGILITY Evasion: 6 Speed: 3
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 6
TRAITS SLOW MOTION The Sloth frame is permanently Slowed. This condition cannot be removed. MIGHTY STEP The SLOTH is immune to Knockback and the Immobilized condition from any source other than itself. WARP LOCAL SPACE The Sloth treats all characters and spaces within u 2 as adjacent for all purposes, including engagement and determining if they are in Range or Threat of the Sloth's weapons and systems (i.e. an adjacent character is a legal target for a t 1 weapon or a u 1 area).
MOUNTS MAIN MOUNT
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MAIN MOUNT
HEAVY MOUNT
SECTION 1 // Twilight Soldiers
CORE SYSTEM INERTIA
The key to the SLOTH frame’s success is nestled into the very heart of the immense mass of metal. Its gyroscopic stabilizers are made from a specialized ultradense material that gives the entire structure an unequalled ability to move through all adversity. When charged directly with core energy, these stabilizers imitate the moments of a black hole’s first gravity pulse, forcefully pulling everything towards the slow frame. Event Horizon Passive 1/round: as a free action, a character within Sensors must make a Hull save or be pulled four spaces directly towards you, obeying obstructions. A successful save halves the distance pulled. Gravity Spike Active (1CP), Quick Action When you activate this system, all characters Size ½ or greater within 20 spaces are pulled 10 spaces towards you in a straight line, obeying obstructions. Hostile characters pulled this way must make a Hull save or fall Prone. Your Warp Local Space trait affects u 3 for the rest of the scene or 10 minutes of narrative time.
LICENSE I: CONCUSSIVE COMPOSITES, EARTHSHAKER MODULE Concussive Composites Mod, 1 SP Install this mod only on a non-Auxiliary Melee weapon. It gains 1/round, On Hit: the target must pass a Hull save or be unable to Move or Boost out of engagement with you until the end of its next turn. This has no effect on enemies who are not engaged with you, including if they leave engagement without Moving or Boosting. Mere density isn’t enough to make a weapon’s striking surface effective. This replaces the standard face of the weapon with layers of materials that absorb and redouble the shock of impact, knocking enemies off-balance and keeping them from running away. Earthshaker Module 2 SP, Unique, Protocol This system can only be installed on mechs Size 2 or larger. Spaces adjacent to you are treated as difficult terrain by all characters other than you. If you step onto an object or piece of terrain, it takes 10kAP. A given object or piece of terrain can only take damage from this 1/round. This can be activated or deactivated as a Protocol. Sometimes, you just need to stomp harder. LICENSE II: SLOTH FRAME, GUARDIAN IMPULSE, NANITE FOCUS Guardian Impulse 2 SP, Unique, Reaction, 1/round, 2h(Self) As a reaction whenever an adjacent ally would be attacked, you may force that attack to target you instead. You must be aware of the attack, and you must be a valid target for the attack. The drawback to the SLOTH frame’s slow speed was in the difficulty it could have actually keeping its allies safe. A line anchor is only so effective if it cannot interdict. This burst combines a literal gravity warp and a sudden reroute of local electronic transmissions, letting the frame take the brunt of incoming attacks even if it wasn’t the intended target.
Nanite Focus Main Nexus, Smart [r 15] [t 2] [1d3k] This weapon gains +1+and +2 damage for each previous consecutive turn it has made an attack against this target, to a maximum of +4+and +8 damage. These bonuses reset to 0 if you attack a new target, force any other enemy to make a save, or if you do not attack with this weapon on your turn. Focus is the name of the game. Repetition. You have all the time in the world, after all; the longer this weapon fires upon the same target, the better it gets. LICENSE III: NAPTIME, GRAND HAMMER NAPTIME 4 SP, Unique Whenever you spend Repairs, you spend one less, to a minimum of one. When you Stabilize, you gain Resistance to all damage,h and ffrom the next attack against you before the end of your next turn. You can only benefit from one instance of this effect at a time. He who makes the most of their rest and repair cycles ultimately prospers. Enter the NaniteAugmented Prime Tuning Internal Maintenance Engine. This system ensures that the greatest amount of every kilogram of repair material potential is utilized. Grand Hammer Superheavy Melee [t 2] [4d6k] As a Full Action, you may force all enemies within t to make a Hull save or take 2d6kand be knocked 2 spaces directly away from you (a successful save halves the damage and reduces the knockback to 1 space). The signature weapon of the SLOTH frame is hideously simple in design - literally just an enormous slab of exceedingly dense material, made with the frame’s immense strength in mind. The two together form a force that rightly terrifies enemy actors; to be caught close to a hostile SLOTH is to suddenly cease existing. In other hands, it is still an enormous pile of painful physics lessons.
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Art by Moiderah
DOWNFALL GROUP WRATH Striker
DOWNFALL has a frequent need to help others go loud, either to deny assets and resources to its enemies, or to provide weapons of destruction to the rebels it funds. For those times when this otherwise clandestine group resorts to the universal language of force, there exists the WRATH pattern-group. Lean, agile, and with a shockingly robust and motivated internal computer system, the WRATH practically pulls itself into battle and lays waste to all within its reach and then some. Inexperienced pilots behind the controls of a WRATH sometimes harm their allies more than their enemies.
CORE STATS Size: 1 Armor: 0
Save Target: 10 Sensors: 5
HULL HP: 9 Repair Cap: 4
SYSTEM E-Defense: 6 Tech Attack: +0 SP: 5
AGILITY Evasion: 10 Speed: 5
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 6
TRAITS MULTITARGETING The Wrath's first attack against a given target on its turn deals +2 bonus damage THE RED HORSE When using the Boost action, the Wrath gains +2 Speed but must end its movement engaged with one or more hostile characters if possible.
MOUNTS MAIN MOUNT
MAIN MOUNT
HEAVY MOUNT
CORE SYSTEM TOTAL WAR
The WRATH is designed to be dropped into packs of enemies to simply do them in. It is equipped with a semi-automated cannon designated the Aggression, which fires literally as easily as breathing at anything in the general vicinity and prefers to target enemies already offbalance from the WRATH’s exceedingly direct style Passive: Aggression Integrated Mount, Main CQB [r 5] [t 3] [1d3+1k] This weapon gains the AP tag against targets you have already attacked this round. Detonation Full Action (1CP) Make an attack with the following weapon: All The Guns Special, Reliable 6 [u 5] [Xd6k,e orx] This attack deals 1d6 damage for each weapon mounted on your mech (including this one, maximum 6d6). Weapons that are destroyed, unloaded, or empty of all Limited charges do not count for this purpose. All of your weapons with Loading become unloaded, all of your Limited weapons expend one charge. On Hit: Choose this weapon’s damage type against that target. This weapon may benefit from talents as if it was all weapon sizes (Auxiliary, Main, etc) and types (Melee, Rifle, etc).
LICENSE I: WHIRLWIND BLADE, CHESS SYSTEM Whirlwind Blade Main Melee [t 2] [1d6k] Whenever you make an Overwatch attack with this weapon, it is a u 2 attack. One basic armament of the WRATH is a onehanded sword, long and hollow, with the center containing a relatively small amount of dense fluid. When swung properly, this fluid moves to the tip, giving the swings far more force and spin than its appearance would suggest. CHESS System 2 SP, Unique At the end of each of your turns, you may gain or lose up to 2 h. If you ever vent heat with the Stabilize action, disable this system for the rest of the scene. Wasting time is not on the docket for the WRATH frame, not at all. The labs at DOWNFALL have developed the Continual Heat Exchange System Series instead, a set of unique seals and vents which regulate its core as a constant task. LICENSE II: WRATH FRAME, EXPANSION/ INCLUSION MODULE, FIREBRAND Expansion/Inclusion Module 1 SP Whenever you attack with a l,b ,u , or c weapon, you may select an enemy adjacent to an affected space that is not already affected. You may make an attack roll against them as though they were in the original area. This roll has +1-. With a quick and calculated twist, lunge, curve, or twitch, the target that thought themselves out of the line of fire suddenly finds themselves squarely within it.
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Firebrand Main CQB, AP [l 4] [1d3+1e] This powerful laser projector array delivers a bladelike blast of coherent light, but loses focus fast. After the fourth time the flame suppressor system kicked on in the lab the development technicians knew exactly what they would be calling it. LICENSE III: MOMENTUM CRASH, SHOCKWAVE CANNON Momentum Crash 2 SP, Unique, Reaction, 1/round Trigger: A hostile character is destroyed within r 5. Effect: You move up to three spaces. This movement ignores engagement, and can pass through spaces occupied by enemies (though you cannot end your move in those spaces). “Any source of acceleration is appreciated. Especially this one.” Shockwave Cannon Heavy CQB, Loading [c 5] [t 2] [2d6x] On Critical Hit: the target is Shredded until the end of their next turn Nothing accomplishes the purpose of destroying everything in your path quite so well as an enormous concussive wave, overwhelming enemies and clearing the area.
Art by Moiderah
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DOWNFALL GROUP JUSTICE (Wrath Alt) Defender / Striker
Downfall group’s experimentation with acquired HORUS components has resulted in several major developments in covert operators. Reverse engineered Balor components allowed for the creation of a nanocore small enough to be stored in a briefcase or backpack but powerful enough to form the nucleus of a short lasting psuedoframe. Designed for evacuation of assets and dubbed the Justice, pilots assigned to this frame often spend a lot of time riding on the shoulders of the giants they are the sworn protectors of. Downfall Group considers it worth it for an agent that can bring a mech-class threat on a personal scale.
CORE STATS Size: 2 Armor: 2
Save Target: 10 Sensors: 8
HULL HP: 10 Repair Cap: 5
SYSTEM E-Defense: 10 Tech Attack: +0 SP: 5
AGILITY Evasion: 6 Speed: 4
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 5
TRAITS NINTH PLAGUE When the Justice catches a character in the area of an attack that is allied or outside of its Sensors, they are not attacked and instead gain soft cover until the end of their next turn. FOCUSED TARGETING Ranged Weapons mounted on the Justice gain t 3 if they do not already possess greater than t 3.
MOUNTS FLEX MOUNT
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MAIN MOUNT
HEAVY MOUNT
SECTION 1 // Twilight Soldiers
CORE SYSTEM
“TSEDEK” NANOCORE “The next of you idiots who shouts ‘Henshin’ is getting thrown out an airlock.” UNSEEN PROTECTOR When the pilot dismounts the Justice, any passengers are dismounted from it as well, and the Justice is removed from the battlefield. The Justice’s pilot can mount the Justice from anywhere, as long as there is space for it. The Justice can choose not to be placed onto the battlefield at the start of a scene. If it does, at the start of its first turn, place it onto the battlefield in any free space adjacent to an allied mech character. This counts as the standard move for that turn. Pillar of Cloud and Fire Active (1 CP), Full Action Remove yourself from the battlefield. Hostile characters in r 50 of your previous location only have line of sight to adjacent spaces until the end of their next turn. At the start of your next turn, return yourself to play in a free space adjacent to an allied character.
Art by Moider
ah
MOI
MAGNUM OPUS INTERSTALLAR
From Dreams to Design
Magnum Opus Interstellar is one of the longestlasting design companies in the Union that has not been absorbed by one of the major corporations. The reason for this despite the company’s rather small size is because Magnum Opus Interstellar are a premier developer of new components and designs for blink gates, keeping them stable and safe for many systems. This contract directly with the DoIT itself has allowed it to maintain independence and resist attempts to buy it out several times. The heavy work they do with blink gates has also given them a closer (though by no means close) relationship with the Voladores than most members of Union. They often trade survey data from Voladore traders to more carefully tailor the plans for a planned blink gate to the system it will be inhabiting. As a result of this more common contact, Magnum Opus Interstellar often sells what they call ‘Voladore Inspired’ technology, though they are very insistent that they have never engaged in theft of it - and the continued trading with their primary facility, the New Agartha blink gate station, indicates that the Voladore believe they are honest. Magnum Opus designs are primarily defensively based, skilled in evasion and trickery over direct conflict. While not pacifistic like the Voladore, Magnum Opus has made it clear that peace and exploration is much more profitable to them than war. Money spent on military campaigns is, after all, not being spent on new expeditions to create colonies that will require a blink gate. Despite this, their designs are popular among those with an interest in blinkspace technology. This is thanks to MOI’s tendency to use the Voladore-inspired technology in ways that allow their mechs to move in an unexpected, or even seemingly impossible fashion.
MAGNUM OPUS CORE BONUSES When you choose a core bonus every 3 license levels, you can pick a bonus from this list as long as you have at least 3 license levels in MOI licenses for each MOI core bonus you have. For example, if you have 9 levels in MOI licenses, you could take up to 3 bonuses. MOI bonuses are focused on evasion, deception and leveraging incredible supplies.
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ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS MODULE Popular among far field teams, these modules provide a constant situational uplink and local material scanning. Safe zones are easily identified against both hostile atmospheric conditions and battlefields alike. You ignore damage from environmental effects. When you have Soft Cover against an attack, you gain +1 Armor. This increases to +2 Armor if you have Hard Cover against the attack or are Hidden. EXOGENESIS CONTRACT “...the user agrees that they shall use this contract purely for military purposes unless they purchase an additional recreational licence for artistic and personal usage. The user also agrees to a release of responsibility without limitations to Magnum Opus for any bodily injury, ecological harm or collateral damage caused by negligent usage of the Exogenesis Supply Delivery and Terraforming Contract...” - Exogenesis Terms and Conditions At the start of any scene, after deployment but before the first character begins their turn, place up to 2 of the following on the battlefield in spaces not occupied by hostile characters. Options can be chosen more than once. None can be placed within 4 spaces of each other: A River of Magma: Any character starting their turn in thel 5 Area or entering it for the first time on their turn takes 1fand 1h. A Pool of Water: This b 1 Area is difficult terrain to any character without submarine propulsion. A Stormcloud: This b 1 Area provides soft cover to any characters at least partially within it. A Meadow: This b 2 Area removes any difficult, dangerous or liquid terrain within the affected area. A Statue: This is a Size 1 Object that provides Hard Cover.
A powerful predictive suite designed to track an entire micrometeor swarm, many pilots find the Sibyl a perfect compliment to asymmetrical warfare, allowing a pilot to perfectly position themselves to avoid even the most inventive of assaults. All attacks against you are affected by Cover, even if they would normally ignore it due to their type or other effect. SOULSTONE Relay links originally paired to the first Agartha Blink Station, Soulstones have become something more since the loss of the station. They absorb fires with seemingly no limit, shunting it off into the event horizon of Agartha’s new location. Lancers cleared for usage of Soulstones are recommended to report any strange dreams involving flames or contracts. Gain the Flamesink and Infernal Pact quick actions. Flamesink: You or one character in r 5 clears all fand is immune to funtil the end of this turn. Infernal Pact: One character in r 5 must pass an Engineering Save against your Save Target instead of an Engineering Check to end funtil the start of your next turn. SUPPLY LINE OPTIMIZATION As a primary producer of Blink Gate equipment, Magnum Opus’ connections with trade groups is nearly unparalleled. From small trader families to the Baronies and even the Voladore, there is very little trade that at no point travels through a gate that Magnum Opus built. Those who gain Magnum Opus’ trust can receive access to exclusive contracts with these traders, who are more than willing to go out of their way for a favoured customer of the megacorporation that keeps trade flowing.
At the start of each mission, roll 1d20 and compare it to your choice of Resources, Mech Equipment and Gear or Tactical Advantages Reserves tables. You gain the benefit of that Reserves for the mission. During missions, when you make the Power At A Cost downtime action, the GM picks an additional cost and then you may remove one cost of your choice. HYGROMANTEIA Upgrades to the software of drone systems make them quasi-sentient, more able to predict their master’s will and more responsive, like a well trained hunting animal. Your Drones gain +2 Evasion and E-Defence and your Deployables gain Armor 3, if they have less than 3 Armor.
1
MAGNUM OPUS INTERSTELLAR
SIBYL ANALYSIS SUITE
PARTIAL PHASE OCCULTATION “You’ll be able to pass through walls easily enough but there’s a reason the system won’t engage if the other guy’s in the middle of making love to you with the business end of a broadsword. You don’t wanna have the field destabilize and leave part of you in blinkspace.” -Medea Nu, Union Science Bureau attaché, heavily intoxicated. While Hidden, you gain the following benefits: • You ignore difficult terrain • You ignore dangerous terrain • You can pass through obstructions and characters, though you cannot end your turn within them.
SIDEBAR: WHAT IS INTANGIBLE? Intangible is a status that first appears in the FADE Cloak in the Core Rulebook, before being clarified as a general status in Field Guide: Karrakin Trade Baronies by Massif Press. For completeness, the status is repeated here: Intangible: While intangible, a character can move through obstructions but not end their turn in them. Non-intangible characters can move through intangible characters but not end their turns inside their spaces. An intangible character cannot interact with, affect, or target any other object or character (e.g. taking or dealing damage) in any way, and vice versa. They cannot capture points or count for zones (for sitreps) and don’t count as adjacent to other characters. SECTION 1 // Twilight Soldiers
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MAGNUM OPUS HOUDINI Controller / Support
The first commercially available mech by Magnum Opus, the Houdini has been no less than a dozen things over its long life. Initially released as a dedicated hologram mech, the Houdini saw limited success. While it could cause confusion and shroud itself from enemies, it had a limited ability to directly engage opposition that powered through its holograms. Subsequent iterations of the Houdini have seen a large reversal of opinions as new systems and redesigns took place. A reactor scaled more for a titan than a slim illusionist gave it the power to cloak entire formations of allies and cutting edge information assault systems allowed it to disrupt opponents skilfully. The latest Houdini has moved, however, into a new class of design entirely. Released mere months after word of Harrison Armory's Sunzi hit the Omninet, the Houdini's latest model has taken some of the wind from the sails of that mech. The brand new Méliès-Grade Blinkspace Shifter gives the Houdini the ability to blend reality and illusion, making it all the more difficult for foes to call the mech's bluff. When reached for comment about how they made this breakthrough so quickly, the lead developer simply replied: 'We have no secrets, all we have is knowledge we want to keep from you.'
CORE STATS Size: 1 Armor: 1
Save Target: 10 Sensors: 10
HULL HP: 6 Repair Cap: 3
SYSTEM E-Defense: 12 Tech Attack: +2 SP: 8
AGILITY Evasion: 10 Speed: 5
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 5
TRAITS ILLUSIONIST The Houdini can Hide in the open and does not require cover to remain Hidden. When the Houdini starts its turn Hidden its first attack of any type gains +1+. SMOKE AND MIRRORS When the Houdini is missed by an attack or a character fails a Search check targeting it, it may teleport 3 spaces as a reaction that does not break Hidden. ILLUSIONIST The Houdini gets +1 - on Engineering checks and saves.
MOUNTS MAIN MOUNT
CORE SYSTEM
MÉLIÈS-GRADE BLINKSPACE SHIFTER “Above the world of the waking mind is the realm of dreams. Before mankind had ever left the cradle, they already dreamed of the stars. Those dreams drive us onwards, making us seek more than we already know. Feel pity for those whose designs are without wonder; merely that of stomping boots and grinding gears. They will find nothing but darkness in the world of dreams, for it does not want them there.” - Dr Allzia Saleh, MOI R&D Grand Illusion Full Action (1CP) You and any number of allied characters in Sensors are Invisible until the end of their next turn and immediately become Hidden. You may swap the places of any number of affected characters within your Sensors, teleporting each of them simultaneously. Find the Lady!
II: HOUDINI FRAME, DEVANT SYSTEM UPGRADE, SHOWSTOPPER
Blackstone System Upgrade 2 SP, Unique, Quick Tech, Invade
Devant System Upgrade 2 SP, Unique, Full Tech
Gain the following options for Invade:
You gain the following Full Tech options:
Hypnotism: The target loses comms and cannot willingly make any movement that would take it further away from you until the end of your next turn. In addition, the target gains Lock On.
Now You See It: Choose a b 1 area within Sensors. In the affected area; all effects caused by tech actions immediately end, NHPs stop cascading and characters becomes immune to all tech actions other than this one (hostile or allied) until the end of their next turn.
Misdirection: The target must reroll its next successful attack, check or save before the end of your next turn. A multi-tonne machine capable of spitting death is only as dangerous as the systems that control it. As a result, deception and digital infiltration are capable of neutering even the most powerful of opposition. Subtle viruses can manipulate autoloaders or fill screens with memetic assaults on the pilot to distract them from the world around them.
Now You Don’t: One allied character, Drone or Deployable within your Sensors range becomes Hidden and does not require cover to remain Hidden until the end of their next turn. “The mere knowledge of secrets will not help the amateur conjurer very far on the road to success.” -David Devant Showstopper 2 SP, Unique, Reaction
Illusion Charges 3 SP, Limited (3), Unique
You gain the Showstopper Reaction
You may expend a charge from this system for one of the following effects:
Precision in digital warfare cannot be underestimated, as a single carefully placed program can unravel weeks or months of work in a moment. Controlled by a subsentient program, the showstopper is a tailored payload delivery system designed to find any weakness in an electronic signal that can be used to shut it down or detonate smart weapons right in their launchers.
•
Trapdoor Grenade (Grenade, r 5, b 1): Affected friendly characters are teleported up 4 spaces in a direction of their choice and become Invisible until the start of their next turn.
•
Recall Beacon (Mine, u 1): This mine does not activate on its own or when a character fails to disarm it. Instead, when any friendly character in r 10 of the Beacon makes a standard move or Boosts, they may choose to instead teleport to any space in the Recall Beacons burst. This teleportation destroys the mine.
“I swear Sir, the damn thing just vanished! We had it pinned one minute and a moment later it wasn’t there. I don’t have any idea how it got past us!” Mariann Schwarz, Constellar Midnights, NJP Hearing.
1
MAGNUM OPUS INTERSTELLAR
I: BLACKSTONE SYSTEM UPGRADE, ILLUSION CHARGES
Showstopper Reaction, 1/round, Limited (2) Trigger: You or an allied character within r 5 are targeted by a smart weapon attack or a tech attack. Effect: Make a tech attack roll contesting the triggering attack: if you win the contested roll, you may expend one charge to cause the attack to automatically miss its target and instead automatically hit the source of the attack. You make any required decisions as if you were the source of the attack.
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III: MAGICIAN’S CANE, COPPERFIELD SYSTEM UPGRADE Magician’s Cane Main Launcher, Limited (2), Knockback 3, Unique [r 15,] [b 2] [3h + 3f] The downfall of many who think that Magnum Opus designs are flash without substance, this unobtrusive rod is in fact a very potent launch weapon for small near-critical implosion charges. The scorching shockwaves from these charges provide all the expected flash, while the crushing impact sends warmachines tumbling. Copperfield System Upgrade 2 SP, Unique Gain the following options for Invade: Exit Stage Left: Teleport the target up to 4 spaces in any direction. This can only be used 1/scene on each character. Crescendo: The first time after this tech attack and before the end of your next turn the target takesh from a character other than itself, it releases fractal hereticode over a u 2 area. All characters of your choice within the area must succeed on an Engineering save or take 3h. The greatest magic trick involves no fancy technology or impressive illusions. The greatest trick is that the audience wants to be fooled. They want to experience a sense of wonder and amazement as they watch the impossible born before them. It doesn’t matter if they know the trick, for the head will never win out over the heart.
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Art by Moiderah
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MAGNUM OPUS MK1 HOUDINI (HOUDINI Alt) Striker / Controller
The initial version of the Houdini was a dedicated hologram mech in a way that subsequent versions have expanded from due to the frame’s lack of initial success. Despite that, some abandoned aspects of the Mk1 Houdini has kept it quite popular among pilots who care more about subterfuge than digital warfare. Weilding a powerful close combat weapon and conjuring unmatched fidelity holograms still gives the older versions of the Houdini a place among discerning customers of MOI.
CORE STATS Size: 1 Armor: 1
Save Target: 10 Sensors: 8
HULL HP: 6 Repair Cap: 4
SYSTEM E-Defense: 10 Tech Attack: +1 SP: 7
AGILITY Evasion: 10 Speed: 5
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 4
TRAITS FACEDANCER The Mk1 Houdini can Hide in the open and does not require cover to remain Hidden. When the Mk1 Houdini starts its turn hidden, its first attack cannot have its damage reduced in any way. HOLODISRUPTION Hostile characters have +1-on checks to Search for hidden characters or Mines within r 3 of the Mk1 Houdini. EXPOSED REACTOR The Mk1 Houdini gets +1-on Engineering checks and saves.
MOUNTS FLEX MOUNT
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MAIN MOUNT
SECTION 1 // Twilight Soldiers
CORE SYSTEM POTENTIA CANE
A precursor weapon system later replaced by the Magician's Cane, the Potentia Cane converted kinetic energy effectively into electricity to deliver devastating blows. However, without a direct contact it quickly found itself drained and unprepared for enemy contact. Potentia Cane Main Melee, Loading [1t] [2d6+4e] On Attack: If this attack destroys the target or causes structure damage, the Potentia Cane is immediately reloaded. This weapon can be modified. Kansas City Shuffle Active(1 CP), Reaction Trigger: You would be affected by a hostile action. Effect: You are Immune to the effects of the triggering action. You are restored to full HP, reload the Potentia Cane, clear any Statuses and Conditions not caused by your own talents, systems etc; and then immediately teleport up your Speed and become Hidden.
Art by Domochevsky
MAGNUM OPUS SOLOMON Defender / Controller
Even among Magnum Opus mechs, the Solomon is a rare sight on the battlefield. Most Solomons are seen as the guardians of Magnum Opus' factory vaults, underground facilities on planets located near to Blink Gates. Capable of managing a wide network of drones, the Solomon stands above other comparable network mechs with an uncanny ability to empower its drones with a smokeless flame that disperses lesser infernos and reduces foes to charred cinders. In the most desperate of circ*mstances, a Solomon can call upon a drone that leaves its competitors at a loss to explain - a powerful titan that somehow seems less than what it could be, even as it rends warmachines apart like a blacksmith twisting molten metal.
CORE STATS Size: 1 Armor: 0
Save Target: 11 Sensors: 15
HULL HP: 8 Repair Cap: 6
SYSTEM E-Defense: 10 Tech Attack: +0 SP: 8
AGILITY Evasion: 8 Speed: 3
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 6
TRAITS SMOKELESS FIRE The Solomon’s Deployables and Drones can Hover and are immune to h. In addition, the Solomon’s Deployables and Drones use the Solomon’s Grit for checks and saves. SEVENTY TWO DEMONS The Solomon may make an Overwatch attack 1/ turn instead of 1/round. However, the Solomon must consume Lock On with each Overwatch attack past the first each round and each weapon may only Overwatch this way 1/round.
MOUNTS MAIN MOUNT
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FLEX MOUNT
FLEX MOUNT
SECTION 1 // Twilight Soldiers
CORE SYSTEM
GOETIA HERETICODE To call the Goetia a weapon would be to decidedly undersell it. This horrifying device is a fragmentary extrusion of a powerful paracausal entity that Magnum Opus has listed as the Belial-class: a being that perceives a world of flame and torment that reality has no power to dispute or assuage. The first knowledge of Belial came from the Voladore traders that often work with Magnum Opus, both a gift and a warning. Ships had been going missing along one of the Blinkgate lines and Magnum Opus was part of a UIB/USB investigation into possible sabotage. The sealing of the Entity exacted a high price not only in lives but in the loss of the original Agartha Blink Station, sunk into the event horizon of a black hole as its gate warped and shifted, claws stretching the gate wide. While purged from records by the UIB, the Agartha Blink Station still can be called with emergency codes stored within the Solomon, if one is sure they can put down what they call up. The chains of hereticode around the shards of Belial hold. For now, at least. Integrated Mount: Goetia
This weapon does not trace line of sight from the Solomon and cannot originate from it. Instead, it traces line of sight and originates attacks (Including Overwatch) from the host designated with Lesser Key. Lesser Key Quick Action One allied Drone or Deployable in Sensors becomes host to the Goetia. It immediately gains 2+Grit Overshield, with the Overshield being restored to that level at the start of each of your turns. This lasts until the end of the scene or until this action is taken again to nominate a new host. When you nominate a new host, the previous host loses all Overshield. Greater Key (Requires Core Power) Quick Action, Drone You create a Belial Shard-class Drone in a free space within your Sensors range. It is a Size 3 drone, has 20 base HP and gains additional HP equal to twice your Grit. It has 6 Evasion, E-defence equal to 10+ your Grit, 4 Speed and 3 Armor. It is destroyed when it reaches 0 HP and is automatically dragged back into its prison at the end of the scene, counting as destroyed. This drone is a separate entity that acts on your turn and can take the following actions under your direction, using your Grit for any check, save or attack; Standard Move, Boost, Skirmish, Ram, Grapple, Search, Disengage, Improvised Attack, Stabilize. The drone emits a u 2 area at all times that hostile characters treat as difficult terrain. In addition, it has the following weapon: Infernal Strength Heavy Melee [t 2] [b 2] [1d6k + 4h]
1
I: MALPHAS DRONE, FLAUROS TURRET Malphas Drone 2 SP, Quick Action, Drone Malphas Drone (Size ½, HP 5, 10 E-defense/evasion, Invisible) You fire a drone to an empty space within Sensors range, where it releases a u 2 area of inhibiting nanobots. The drone is invisible and hostile characters within the area are Impaired as long as they remain within the area. You can move the drone to a new space in your Sensors range or recall it as a quick action.
MAGNUM OPUS INTERSTELLAR
Goetia Heavy Nexus, Smart [r 5] [t 3] [5h]
Designed for subtle sabotage, Malphas Drones are capable of disabling security warnings and automatic defences around them. Automatic fire extinguishers will fail to trigger and headsup displays will completely neglect to show any indication of an incoming grenade under their dark influence. Flauros Turret Main CQB, Drone, Smart, 2h(Self) [l 5] [2e + 2f] This weapon may be used to attack as normal, or deployed as a Drone with the following profile: Flauros Turret (Size ½, HP 5, Armor 2, Evasion 10, E-Defense 10, Tags: Drone) This Flauros Turret can be deployed to a free space within Sensors and line of sight as a free action, where it becomes a stationary, hovering Drone. Once deployed, you may still use it for Skirmish, Overwatch and Barrage attacks as though it is still a weapon, but with line of sight and Range traced from its location. You may recall or redeploy the Flauros Turret as a quick action. Until recalled or destroyed, it remains deployed until the end of the scene. If destroyed, it follows the rules for destroyed Drones and can’t be used until repaired. A flauros turret that is integrated or otherwise unable to be destroyed cannot be used for the rest of the scene but will be available again for free when you next rest. Flauros’ are mobile gun turrets designed for crowd control. Armed with a small thin-stream flamethrower they are more than capable of driving off any but the largest xenofauna that may threaten them. Their automatic targeting systems allow them to easily guard a facility in place of some organic guards or subalterns.
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SECTION 1 // Twilight Soldiers
Phenex Drone 2 SP, Quick Action, Shield, Drone Phenex Drone (Size 2, HP 10, 10 E-defense/evasion, Resistance to all damage) You fire a shielded drone to an empty space within Sensors range, where it projects a large barrier around itself. Allied characters can use the drone as hard cover. You can move the drone to a new space within Sensors range as a quick action. A remarkably uncomplicated drone, a Phenex is nothing but plating and thrusters built around a heavy shield generator. A Phenex is designed as mobile cover, allowing allies the protection of a defensive emplacement even as they push forward under fire. Holy Wisdom 2 SP, Unique, Quick Tech You gain the following Quick Tech actions: Swirling Sands: Swap the places of two Drones or Deployables (allied or hostile) within your Sensors range, teleporting both of them simultaneously. Clairvoyance: One Drone or Deployable (allied or hostile) within your Sensors range releases a u 2 targeting pulse. Hostile characters in the affected area must pass a Systems save or gain Lock On. Complex systems are needed to support the extensive automated defences of a Magnum Opus Factory Vault, to allow only a few defenders to do the work of an entire army. Holy Wisdom is a drone-focused blinkspace system designed to allow for spotting and quick repositioning of both friendly and hostile objects.
III: ANDROMALIUS DRONE, BINDING RING Andromalius Drone 2 SP, Quick Action, Drone Andromalius Drone (Size 2, HP 5, 10 E-defense/Evasion, 2 Armor, Resistance to all damage) You fire a large shielded drone to a free space within Sensors range. Any hostile character that starts their turn adjacent to the drone or moves there for the first time in their turn must pass a Hull save or take 4 k and be Slowed until the end of their turn. The drone persists until recalled. You can move the drone to a new space within Sensors range as a quick action.
1
MAGNUM OPUS INTERSTELLAR
II: SOLOMON FRAME, PHENEX DRONE, HOLY WISDOM
Designed originally around semi-sapient code for defensive players in drone sports leagues, Andromalius drones have gained a new life as the final line of defence for many Magnum Opus Factory Vaults. These shielded drones can stand up to staggering amounts of punishment as they blockade passages and crush enemies between powerful barriers. If they cannot delay a foe long enough for reinforcements to arrive, then they are fighting a battle that could never be won. Binding Ring Main Nexus, Smart, Seeking, Limited (2), Reliable (2), Unique [r 10] [5f] On Attack: If the Target has HP equal to 7 or less, only 1 Structure remaining, and isn’t immune to damage, it is immediately removed from play and destroyed. Few that use Binding Rings know the origins of this strange weapon that creates terrifying gaps in space, hungry to suck in unfortunate victims. Each Binding Ring contains a single use access code of the original Agartha Blink Station, long lost within a black hole. All understanding of blink gates indicates the codes should no longer work - not even blinkspace can escape the devouring clutches of an event horizon. Yet, this logical conclusion is ignored. Whether through Belial’s will, unknown paracasual phenomena or something worse yet to be discovered, the prison throws its doors wide open when called upon. And it is more than eager to welcome its latest prisoner.
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MAGNUM OPUS FLAMEL (Solomon Alt) Controller / Support
Magnum Opus Interstellar’s various technicians, engineers, and blinkspace physicists never asked for a fight. They don’t want one, either, and the majority have no desire to be close enough to the fighting to be able to see it. The Flamel began life as a way to get the more cowardly technicians into the field. Its sensors tuned to sift through the Omninet and relay information to other allies nearby, the frame mounting was just a matter of convenience to get the retransmit point where it needed to be. That all changed when those points started being attacked. Suddenly, it became crucial for these otherwise-noncombatant personnel to have some way of defending themselves. The powerful blinkspace sensor suite was retrofitted onto the Solomon frame’s existing manipulation of that particular barrier to form a much more secure platform for the much more nervous technicians manning them.
CORE STATS Size: 1 Armor: 0
Save Target: 12 Sensors: 5
HULL HP: 10 Repair Cap: 6
SYSTEM E-Defense: 8 Tech Attack: +0 SP: 8
AGILITY Evasion: 9 Speed: 3
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 5
TRAITS EYES ON THE HORIZON The Flamel gains the Personalizations chassis modification. This modification does not cost SP and is included in the statistics of the Flamel. In addition, the pilot of the Flamel possesses an Omnihook. TRANSMUTE TO GOLD 1/round when one of the Flamel’s Drones or Nexus weapons deals damage to an enemy, that enemy must make a Hull save or become Shredded until the beginning of the Flamel’s next turn. If they are already Shredded, they instead sufferhand f equal to their Armor.
MOUNTS MAIN MOUNT
MAIN MOUNT
MAIN MOUNT
CORE SYSTEM SIGIL DRONE
Flamel pilots are not known for having their eyes on their surroundings. A special lens orbiting the frame in nearby blinkspace allows its blink-tuned sensor suite to see back into reality as though the intervening distance did not exist. Questions as to how it does the rest of what it does generally go unanswered, though Voladores seeing it in action have a distinct tendency to shake their heads and laugh.
The FLAMEL possesses a special drone, which may begin any scene deployed within Sensors. It is Size ½, Evasion, E-Defense, Speed equal to the Flamel, and has 10+Grit HP. It ignores obstruction and terrain while moving, though it must end its movement in an open space. Whenever the Flamel Boosts or makes a regular move, the Sigil Drone may move up to its Speed. It constantly emits a u 2 area around it. • • •
Hostile characters treat this area as Difficult Terrain. Allied characters in this area gain +1+to checks and saves. As a Quick Action, you may deal 4eto a hostile character within the area
The Sigil Drone can be deployed or recalled as a Quick Action. In addition, the Flamel has Line of Sight and Sensors to any character at least partially within the affected area, including itself, and may count the Sigil Drone as the origin of any ranged attack or tech action it makes as long as the target is at least partially within the affected area. If destroyed, the Sigil Drone is repaired for free between scenes. The Philosopher’s Stone Active (1 CP), Quick Action Immediately deploy a Sigil Drone within Sensors. If you already have one active, you now have two. For the rest of the scene, whenever you recall or deploy one Sigil Drone, you may do so for both.
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MAGNUM OPUS INTERSTELLAR
Sigil Drone Quick Action, Drone
Art by Domochevsky
SECTION 1 // Twilight Soldiers
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MAGNUM OPUS ZOU YAN Support / Controller
Some mechs change battles -- the Zou Yan can change worlds. A towering terraforming frame, the Zou Yan sees heavy civilian use among environmentalists and colonial rangers because of its ability to handle the toughest environments without doing serious harm to them. It is equally comfortable wrangling megafauna as it is redefining the battlefield to help a crucial assault. Where the Zou Yan treads, the world itself moves to aid it.
CORE STATS Size: 2 Armor: 0
Save Target: 12 Sensors: 10
HULL HP: 8 Repair Cap: 6
SYSTEM E-Defense: 10 Tech Attack: +1 SP: 6
AGILITY Evasion: 8 Speed: 4
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 6
TRAITS TAILORED PAYLOADS Your attacks may automatically hit or miss allied characters and your allies may automatically pass or fail saves that you force them to take. HAZMAT PLATING The Zou Yan has Resistance to hand is immune to the negative effects of hostile environments (including dangerous terrain). ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROLS The Zou Yan and allied characters within the Zou Yan’s Sensors have +1 + on Engineering checks and saves.
MOUNTS MAIN MOUNT
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FLEX MOUNT
SECTION 1 // Twilight Soldiers
CORE SYSTEM
PHILOSOPHER'S STONE The Zou Yan mounts a massive terraforming nexus capable of engaging in rapid environmental control and nuclear transmutation. This nexus can produce wonders that would seem impossible to others, as elements shift before their eyes. Gain the following Quick Tech actions: Cloudburst Quick Tech Choose a b 2 area within your Sensors. Ongoing areas (Such as a smoke grenade or flame wall) in the blast with a limited duration or that can be ended immediately end. Hostile Environmental Conditions and indefinitely lasting areas (Such as bursts produced by Drones) are instead suppressed and have no effect in the chosen area until the end of your next turn. In addition, all characters within the area immediately clearh. Environmental Reformatting Quick Tech Move one Deployable, Mine or Object of Size 3 or less in Sensors – including one belonging to other characters – up to 4 spaces in any direction.
MAGNUM OPUS INTERSTELLAR
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Art by Ally of Justice
SECTION 1 // Twilight Soldiers
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Nuclear Transmutation Active (1CP), Quick Action Choose a b 4 area within r 50. You can remove any environmental conditions other than those caused by culture and gravity from the area. You may then add any one of the following environmental conditions to the area: •
Freezing Cold: Any character who starts their turn in this area and does not move or Boost on their turn becomes Immobilized at the end of its turn. It can end this condition by taking a quick action and making a successful Hull save to break out of the ice. A character can only be Immobilized once this way per scene.
•
Torrential Downpour: Characters in the affected area have Resistance tof. Any character in the affected area that attempts to stand from Prone must pass an Agility save or immediately fall Prone again.
•
Gamma Storm: The area grants soft cover to all characters and objects inside. Characters starting their turns in the area or entering it for the first time on their turn take 3e AP if they are Biological, Shredded or Exposed.
•
Electromagnetic Clouds: All tech attacks and system checks made by characters within the area or targeting characters within the area are made at +2 -. Comms are limited by Line of Sight within the area.
•
Crackling Lightning: Any character that starts their turn in the area and does not end their turn adjacent to a character or object the same Size as themselves or larger must pass an Engineering save or take 3eAP and be knocked Prone.
•
Tornado: Any flying character that enters this zone or starts their turn within it must pass a Hull save or be forced to land. Additionally, they take 1d6k AP, becoming Slowed and unable to fly until the end of their next turn.
•
Chrysopoeia: At the end of each of your turns, all Objects, Deployables and Drones in the affected area suffer 10eAP. Any character that falls Prone in the affected area suffers 2 f.
You can re-target the area, or change the environmental condition within this area by taking this quick action again. It lasts until the end of the current scene, or about 30 minutes in narrative time.
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I: STICKY CHARGES, TAINTED ELIXIRS Sticky Charges Main Melee, Thrown 5, AP [t 1] [1d3+2x] When thrown, this weapon gains the b 1 tag but must be reloaded (as with a Loading weapon) before it can be used again, instead of being retrieved like most thrown weapons. Against objects such as cover, terrain, and the environment, the sticky charges deals 10x AP damage on hit. Magnum Opus has developed an adaptation of demolition equipment into a rather unconventional close combat weapon. Dispensers located along the mech’s hands can leave a small slather of shaped putty explosives, ready to punch a hole through any target coated in it. In addition, the dispensers can be over-pressurised to produce a larger, omnidirectional charge that can be thrown a short distance. This secondary usage however leaves the fabricators filling the dispensers stressed and needing a new stock of feed before they can be used again. Tainted Elixirs 2 SP, Limited (3), Unique You may expend a charge from this system for one of the following effects: •
Metal Fatigue Inducer (Grenade, r 5, b 1): Affected characters must pass an Engineering save or take 1eAP and be Shredded until the end of their next turn.
•
Overgrowth Capsule (Grenade, r 5, b 1): Affected characters must pass a Hull save or take 1k AP and be Immobilized until the end of their next turn. Unoccupied water terrain in this area is removed, replaced with thick weed that may be travelled like flat terrain until the end of the scene.
Long ago Magnum Opus had many other small companies competing for the dual focus of creation of blink gate components and helping to bring the colonies around them up to a degree to act on a galactic scale. Most of these competitors fell to the wayside and to the big corporations, too focused on meeting the short-term benchmarks to work on the massive scale these projects require. Several of their technologies were acquired by Magnum Opus when they went insolvent, bringing tools that had proven too destructive to use in terraforming a new life where that aspect is a positive quality.
II: ZOU YAN FRAME, TUDIGONG TERRAFORMER, WAIDAN REPAIR HIVE Tudigong Terraformer 2 SP, Unique, Quick Action. You rapidly apply your terraformer to a b 1 space in your Sensors range, applying one of the following effects. •
•
Death World: This area becomes difficult terrain. Characters starting their turn in this area or entering it for the first time on their turn must pass an Engineering save or take 4 k. Paradise World: This space loses any hostile environmental effects (Save for those caused by gravity and culture) and characters may treat this area as if it was neither dangerous nor difficult terrain.
This terraformed area lasts until the end of the scene. You can only terraform one area at a time, if you create a new terraformed area the device ceases upkeep on the previous one and the temporary ecosystem rapidly collapses. Any system that gains a blink gate is almost certain to immediately see a massive skyrocketing in its economy as trade flows freely and they are opened up to entire new scales of interaction. As such, many systems have been developed to help worlds adapt to new immigration and increased need for industry. Magnum Opus has created a small-scale version of their proprietary terraformer, capable of reshaping the environment around it. However, this smaller scale version lacks the stabilization of the larger ones and thus without constant support, these changes will fall apart under natural conditions. Waidan Repair Hives 2 SP, Limited (2), Unique You may expend a charge from this system for one of the following effects: •
•
Transfusion Grenade (Grenade, r 5): Your target must pass an Engineering save or take 1d6+2e AP. If the target takes damage this way, you or one allied character within r 5 may spend 1 Repair as a reaction to restore half their HP. Hidden Depot (Mine): This mine detonates when any character moves over or adjacent to it. When detonated, the triggering character may end all f, end a condition that wasn’t self-inflicted, or spend 1 Repair to refill HP to maximum.
One of the biggest problems combat engineers report is that of a lack of time. They simply cannot be everywhere at once, tending to each of the injured all over the battlefield. Disposable repair hives are an attempt to bridge these problems, taking the form of repair nanites with only a few moments lifespan. Just long enough to save lives. III: CHANG’E-CLASS NHP, LEIGONG RIFLE Chang’e-Class NHP 3 SP, Unique Gains the AI tag and the Elixir of Immortality Full Action. While many NHPs are content to work quietly behind the scenes, Chang’e-Class NHPs love social interaction and communication with others. Seeing themselves as an equal partner more than a servant, they can often get quite testy if they are forced to stay out of the limelight and to restrict who they can communicate with. As a result, it is very common for Chang’e-class NHPs to request the right to print a custom subaltern so that they can more directly interact with people in a face-to-face manner. While some pilots find a fashionista socialite more than a little frustrating when up to their knees in mud, the mastery of transmutative repair they show makes them very popular among both hostile environment colonies and lancers who like a very creative solution to battlefield problems. Elixir of Immortality Full Action, Limited (2) One allied character within your Sensors gains Resistance to damage until the end of their next turn and may spend 1 Repair to heal to full HP. If they have 1 or less Structure, they reduce all damage they suffer to 0 until the end of their next turn instead of gaining Resistance. Each character can only be affected by this system 1/scene. Leigong Rifle Main Rifle, 2h(Self), Knockback 3 [l 10] [1d3+2k] This weapon deals no damage to allied characters and if a hostile target moved by this weapon collides with an obstruction or another mech, they stop moving and are knocked Prone. Biological characters that would be destroyed by this weapon are left down and out instead. Loaded with less-lethal rounds, Leigong Rifles unleash a thunderous typhoon when fired that scatters those hit like pins. They are popular among megafauna researchers and riot suppression groups to disrupt dangerous elements without serious harm.
MAGNUM OPUS AMAKUSA Defender / Support
Despite numerous redesigns over the years, the signature shoulder plating of the Amakusa has remained untouched. As emblematic as its holographic banner, allies look for that familiar plating as a symbol of safety even in the most dangerous environments. A powerful bodyguard mech with an unnatural ability to be in exactly the right place at the right time, the Amakusa is a prime choice among those who seek not to stabilize an entire battle line but instead to guarantee the safety of high value individuals. Amakusa licences have become particularly popular in UIB/USB teams as even the uncertain geometries of Metavaults have proven themselves just as limited in dissuading the Amakusa from reaching its charge as any conventional assault. Be not afraid, for they are with you.
CORE STATS Size: 2 Armor: 2
Save Target: 10 Sensors: 12
HULL HP: 8 Repair Cap: 8
SYSTEM E-Defense: 10 Tech Attack: -2 SP: 6
AGILITY Evasion: 6 Speed: 3
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 5
TRAITS MARTYR SYSTEMS Whenever the Amakusa Stabilizes, it may spend 1 Repair to allow one allied character within r 3 to restore half of their HP. GRACEFUL STEP 1/round, when the Amakusa Boosts it can teleport to any free space adjacent to an allied non-drone character in r 7 instead of moving normally. DELIBERATE The Amakusa suffers +1 -on Agility saves and checks but is immune to Slowed not caused by its own systems, talents, etc.
MOUNTS MAIN MOUNT
FLEX MOUNT
HEAVY MOUNT
CORE SYSTEM
OMNISCIENCE-CLASS TACTICAL MODULE
"I was there in XOLOTL, you know. One of the poor dumb bastards Union sent to stop a mad god, sure that our little metal toys would be enough. We didn't even come close. I still see the thing in my nightmares...a pillar of granite splattered with dried blood reaching up into forever, my fellow pilots staked to it with the weight of their sins. I can see the blood on my hands, every life this machine of mine has ever taken. In that moment I know that I deserve what it will do to me. Metal cracks around me as my co*ckpit is opened to unreality...and then salvation arrives. "A blazing spear is interposed between me and the Eidolon; gleaming armour protects me from the price of my own crimes. I've never been a religious man but...maybe in that moment I was." - , UIB/USB KLEOS Pilot. Yojimbo Free Action, 1/round Choose 1 allied character within r 3. They gain Hard Cover until they move more than r 5 from you or you take this action again. Saintly Intercession Active (1CP), Reaction Trigger: A hostile character in r 50 causes structure damage to or overheats an allied character. Effect: The triggering character is Intangible, Shredded and Exposed until the end of your next turn. You become Intangible until the end of your next turn and teleport to any space adjacent to the target.
Art by Ally of Justice
I: SERVO-GAUNTLET, PLASMA WAKIZASHI
III: HYPOSTATIC UNION, KANNON-CLASS NHP
Servo-Gauntlet Main Melee, Loading [t 1] [1d3+4k]
Hypostasis Banner 4 SP, Unique.
On Hit: The target is pulled to any free space within t and knocked Prone. This movement is not obstructed by characters. “GET THE HELL OFF THEM!” -Nasim Esclabor, DoJ/HR Liberator, during XOLOTL assault. Plasma Wakizashi Main Melee, Loading [t 1] [1d6+4e] On Hit: This weapon gains +1d6 bonus damage if the attack was made as a reaction (Such as Overwatch). Dangerous and compact, Magnum Opus’ Plasma Wakizashi is the perfect backup weapon for a heavy weapons mech. While its micrometer-thin blade of plasma slices through plating like thin air, the internal coolant supply can only keep it stable for a brief duration. As a result, pilots using it prefer to wait for a perfect moment to strike rather than waste coolant. II: AMAKUSA FRAME, SAVIOR MODULE, FLARE NAGINATA Savior Module 2 SP, Quick Action, Limited 3, Unique One Allied Character in r 12 is teleported up to 4 spaces. If the targeted character has less than 1/2 of their Maximum HP, they also gain Overshield equal to 2+ your Grit. Magnum Opus Interstellar has always been most notable for their usage of blinkspace technology and the defensive designs are no exception to that. Heavy systems are kept in a constant ready state, prepared to generate a temporary blinkspace rift at a moment’s notice of an ally under assault. Flare Naginata Heavy Melee, Accurate, Loading, AP [t 2] [2d6+3e] You may attack with this weapon when it is unloaded. If you do, it is destroyed after the attack. Seemingly a haft without a head, the Flare Naginata is capable of generating a terrifying blade of crackling plasma very briefly. However, much like its sidearm counterpart, each usage of this weapon only lasts for a few moments before the coolant canister is depleted and a new one must be provided to avoid catastrophic failure.
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When you or an adjacent allied character rolls 1 or 2 on an Accuracy die; or 5 or 6 on a Difficulty die, they may reroll the die but must keep the second result even if it is worse. Gain the Banner of Living Hope Quick Tech Option. “I’ve asked the techies before how this thing works and every time it becomes ‘Quantum Entanglement’ this or ‘Platonic Pattern Reinforcement’ that...all well over my head. So I work with a simple idea behind it: It’s a promise that I’m here to save you and they’ll have to kill me before I break my word.” -Nasim Esclabor, DoJ/HR Liberator Banner of Living Hope Quick Tech, 1/Scene Create a Size 1 banner data construct in r 5. When an allied character in Line of Sight of the banner loses structure, they roll 1d6. On a 5 or 6, they return to 1 HP and ignore the damage. The banner lasts for the rest of the scene, or until destroyed by an adjacent character with a successful systems skill check as a full action. Each character can only avoid structure damage once this way per scene. KANNON-Class NHP 3 SP, AI, Shield, Unique Gain the AI tag. In addition, gain the Memorare Reaction ‘Greetings to you, master. I fear that if you have asked for me, we are to see battle again. I am long tired of conflict but I shall not abandon my duty to you. Where enemies seek to strike you down, I will be there to protect you and those you care for. I must, however, ask a question: Is this battle truly necessary? Will it be a better world, when you have spilled the blood of sons and daughters upon the ground?’ Memorare Reaction, 1/scene, Limited 1 Trigger: An allied character in r 5 suffers damage. Effect: Reduce the triggering damage to 0. The triggering character gains 4+ Grit Overshield.
MAGNUM OPUS MEDEA Controller / Artillery
The Magnum Opus Medea is whirring industry in a single frame. An adaptation of designs for zero-G construction to military use, it puts industrial printers to the test to create its army of rapidly deployable and highly expendable drones. The drones under the Medea’s control are all supercharged with unstable energy, making them quick and responsive but also prone to detonation when fuel cells are ruptured. The wheels of industry are ever turning, moving forward in endless production.
CORE STATS Size: 1 Armor: 1
Save Target: 12 Sensors: 15
HULL HP: 6 Repair Cap: 4
SYSTEM E-Defense: 12 Tech Attack: +0 SP: 8
AGILITY Evasion: 8 Speed: 5
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 5
ARIES DRONE Aries Drone (SIZE 1/2, [5+Grit] HP, Evasion/EDefence [see below], Tags: Drone)
TRAITS ALL FOR ONE When one of your Drones or Deployables is destroyed, hostile targets adjacent to it take 3 eand allied characters adjacent to it gain 3 Overshield. QUEEN'S GUARD The Medea may use adjacent allied Drones and mechs for hard cover, even if they are smaller than it. 1/Scene, you may repair and deploy a destroyed drone as a quick action, without spending any Repairs. FRAGILE This mech has +1 -on Hull checks and saves
MOUNTS MAIN MOUNT
years to reach the site, leaving little free space for excess materials. The solution to that is a highly optimized printer that is capable of adapting its designs on the fly to work with locally available materials. Each Medea carries the core of such a printer, which is capable of repurposing any materials in the local area rapidly into additional production facilities as a first project and then, a full military force.
MAIN MOUNT
FLEX MOUNT
CORE SYSTEM
RECURSIVE PRINTER Magnum Opus’ basis in blinkgate building has resulted in a lot of work in the area of miniaturization, since each blink gate needs to be assembled by ships that have traveled for
At the start of a scene, you automatically deploy 3 exceptionally cute Aries Drones within r 5. Your Aries Drones share your Evasion, E-Defence and Speed. They can move independently on your turn, but can’t take any other actions. If you can fly or teleport, they can too. Aries Drones engage hostile characters as if they were Size 2, despite their actual Size. You may redeploy an Aries Drone to a space within Sensors as a quick action. Sow the Dragon’s Teeth Full Action (1CP), Deployable Drone Factory (SIZE 4, 40 HP, EVASION 5, TAGS: Deployable) Deploy a massive Size 4 drone factory in any free space within your Sensors range. Until the factory is destroyed, at the end of each of your turns, repair and deploy all of the Medea’s destroyed Drones within r 8 of the factory without spending any Repairs. When you use this core power, if you have less than 3 Aries Drones in play, immediately deploy any number of Aries Drones within r 8 of the factory until you have 3.
Art by Moiderah
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Spartoi Blade Main Melee Nexus, Drone, Smart [t 1] [1d6+1k]
II: MEDEA FRAME, FLARE DRONE, LAST DANCE MODULE Aeos Drone 2 SP, Drone, Quick Action
This weapon may be used to attack as normal, or deployed as a Drone with the following profile:
Aeos Drone (Size 1/2, HP 5, Evasion 10, E-Defense 10, TAGS: DRONE, Invisible)
Spartoi Blade (Size 1/2, HP 5, Armor 3, Evasion 10, E-Defense 10, Tags: Drone)
This pulsing mirror drone may be deployed to a free space within Sensors and line of sight. Any character that starts their turn adjacent to the Aeos drone or moves adjacent to it for the first time in a round must succeed on an Engineering save or only have line of sight to adjacent spaces until the end of their next turn.
This Spartoi Blade can be deployed to a free space within Sensors and line of sight as a free action, where it becomes a stationary, hovering Drone. Once deployed, you may still use it for Skirmish, Overwatch and Barrage attacks as though it is still a weapon, but with line of sight and Threat traced from its location. You may recall or redeploy the Spartoi Blade as a quick action. Until recalled or destroyed, it remains deployed until the end of the scene. If destroyed, it follows the rules for destroyed Drones and can’t be used until repaired. Spartoi Blades are both melee and nexus weapons, but can only be used to make melee attacks. Spartoi blades are neural-linked streams of nanites, controlled like rolling waves to flow over foes and eat away at them like a school of hungry fish. A skilled controller can form them into temporary blades or simply have them wash targets away without a sign they were ever there. Golden Fleece 2 SP, Quick Tech, Unique You gain the following Quick Tech options:
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MAGNUM OPUS INTERSTELLAR
I: SPARTOI BLADE, GOLDEN FLEECE
You may recall or redeploy the Aeos drone as a quick action. Until recalled or destroyed, it remains deployed until the end of the scene. Slim drones with a mirror finish, Aeos drones are capable of releasing scorching bursts of light and radiation that can blind even the most powerful and refined of sensors. Their own reflected light makes them very difficult to target, as they produce afterimages and holograms with each movement. Last Dance Module 2 SP, Unique You gain the following Quick Tech options: Greater Good: Destroy one allied Drone or Deployable in Sensors. It explodes in a u 2 torrent of plasma. All characters in the burst take 1d6eAP, or 2d6eAP if the Drone or Deployable was not Limited. A successful Engineering save halves the damage.
Enthrall: One character of your choice in r 5 of one of your Drones must pass a Systems save or suffer +3 -on all attacks that do not include the drone as a target until the drone is destroyed or the end of your next turn.
Grand Finale: Destroy one allied Drone or Deployable in Sensors. It explodes in a u 1 shockwave. All characters in the blast are knocked back 4 spaces and knocked Prone. If the Drone or Deployable was not Limited, they are also Immobilized until the end of their next turn. A successful Hull save halves the knockback and prevents being knocked Prone or Immobilized.
Attract: Characters in a u 3 around one your Drones must pass a Systems save or move 2 spaces directly towards it, or as close as possible. They can be moved into hazardous areas and other obstacles, but are still affected by difficult terrain, obstructions, and so on. This movement is involuntary, but provokes reactions and engagement as normal and doesn’t count as Knockback, pushing, or pulling.
A drone is inherently expendable, able to be reproduced later or repaired if destroyed. The life of a pilot or the success of a mission is a long term cost that is not easy to replace. As a result, various programs are being passed around that can overcharge a drone for a few moments, at the cost of catastrophic failure immediately afterwards.
“Alright, so reports say they’re using some sort of new high tech printer that can deploy full drones from the scrap left lying about. We need to be careful and not underestima...ohmygod, the drones are SO CUTE. Look at them, they’re even fluffy. They’re so cute I could di...” Mariann Schwarz, Constellar Midnights. SECTION 1 // Twilight Soldiers
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III: JASON’S LOVE, “THESEUS” HARASSMENT PATTERN Jason’s Love Main Launcher, Loading, Smart [r 15] [b 1] [1d6+2x] This weapon gains the Seeking tag if the blast includes an allied character (including allied Drones). Jason’s Love brings an old solution to a very modern problem, dealing with electronic warfare obscuring artillery support. Electronic warfare is a major concern with most smart weapons, where enemy signals can be jammed or advanced programs can even wipe all traces of a foe from scanners. By using locational data from allied drones this weapon knows the perfect place for a shot irrespective of the enemy attempts to hide. “Theseus” Harassment Pattern 2 SP, Full Action, Unique Choose 1 hostile character within Sensors, who become the target of harassment by drones. At the end of each of that character’s turns the harassed character takes 2eAP and is Impaired until the end of their next turn. A character can avoid this effect by being Hidden or having Hard Cover against all drones with Line of Sight to the character. This effect lasts until the affected character escapes the drones by passing an Agility save as a Full Action. This system can only affect one target at a time. If another character becomes the target of this system, previous characters are no longer affected. Adapted from analysis of omninet interactions, the theseus harassment pattern is a multimedium assault designed for botnets. An individual subjected to the pattern will find endless digital and physical assaults as every drone, even those thought friendly, is rapidly brought into a growing network of hostile, cruel hunters.
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Striker / Controller
The Nimue moves with a grace that almost no other mech can manage, seeming more like a dancer in motion than a military machine. Magnum Opus’ premier covert operations mech, the tiny Nimue is designed for aquatic and stealth missions. Paracausal systems allow for the frame to move in the space between heartbeats and to bend distance like light refracting through water. Many sentries have fallen to a Nimue blade without ever realizing the enemy was even there.
CORE STATS Size: 1/2 Armor: 1
Save Target: 11 Sensors: 5
HULL HP: 6 Repair Cap: 3
SYSTEM E-Defense: 10 Tech Attack: +1 SP: 6
AGILITY Evasion: 10 Speed: 5
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 6
TRAITS
CORE SYSTEM
LADY OF THE LAKE Distance is an illusion. Absolute space does not truly exist. Nimue understands this, that to be a breath away or to be beyond sight are the lies of causality. The Lady of the Lake stands at the nexus of what the unenlightened called locations, watching over Union, Avalon and the gates of the prison where Merlin screams and pounds forever. RIPPLES ON THE LAKE
SHATTERED MIRROR SURFACE When a hostile character’s action would cause the Nimue to lose Hidden they first suffer 1kAP and gain Lock On. MERLIN’S BANE The Nimue’s pilot is aware of any local changes to the timestream and cannot have their memory altered by timeline or reality warping effects.
During its turn, the Nimue can attack a character in r 15 as if they were in Sensors, Range, Threat and Line of Sight but must consume Lock On during the attack. When the Nimue consumes Lock On for an attack with a weapon, all weapons in the same mount gain the benefits of the consumed Lock On. Arondight Blitz Active (1 CP), Reaction
SLIPPERY
Trigger: Any character starts or ends their turn.
Characters do not gain any benefit for targeting a Prone Nimue. It ignores engagement from characters larger than itself, can share space with larger characters (even hostile ones) and move through their spaces unimpeded. While sharing space with any character, it gains soft cover, even from that character.
Effect: Your mech engages in matter-energy conversion across your choice of a u 2 or l 8 area. Characters in the affected area must pass an Agility save or take 2d6+2e AP. A successful save halves the damage. You clearhand any conditions not caused by your own systems, talents etc. Then you reform in any free space adjacent to or within the affected area, counting as teleporting.
MOUNTS FLEX MOUNT
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MAGNUM OPUS INTERSTELLAR
MAGNUM OPUS NIMUE
MAIN/AUX MOUNT
MAIN/AUX MOUNT
This can affect Intangible characters and does not provoke reactions.
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LICENSE I: PRECOGNITIVE SABER, "KIP-UP" GYRO ENHANCEMENTS Precognitive Scimitar Main Melee, Smart, Thrown 5 [t 1] [1d6+1k] This weapon’s attacks do not provoke reactions and may target Hidden characters. “As mentioned in my report, I believe that MOI’s remit to engage in Paracausal research is moving into strange areas. Some of their latest creations seem to warp linear time, silencing any response before they’re even aware of the call for support.” -Medea Nu, Union Science Bureau attaché.
“Kip-Up” Gyro Enhancements 2 SP, Unique When a hostile character misses you with a Ram, Grapple or Improvised Attack, they fall Prone. When you stand up from Prone, you may force one character in r 3 and line of sight to pass an Agility save or fall Prone. Even in mech combat, footwork is incredibly important. With careful adjustments of the mech’s gyro and enhancements to reaction speed, an expert pilot can use footwork to force opponents to overextend and to risk devastating counterattacks with their every movement.
Art by Moiderah
LICENSE II: NIMUE FRAME, FÉTH FÍADA, PARAGON BLADE Féth Fíada 2 SP, Quick Action, Unique You can choose to treat liquid terrain as flat ground, allowing you to move through it normally rather than swimming or climbing. As a Quick Action, you can empower the shifting mist until the end of your next turn. This grants you hard cover, allowing you to Hide. In addition it makes you immune to all damage and effects from missed attacks and passed saves. Initially seeming like mist or smoke swirling around the mech, this metamaterial cloud sits halfway between the world and blinkspace, concealing the form of the mech it protects while drawing shrapnel out of reality. A focusing of the cloud’s form into solidity allows it to easily provide temporary paths over most substances or to even allow the mech to take on the form of enemies to walk among them. Paragon Blade Auxiliary Melee, Smart, Reliable 1, Thrown 8 [t 1] [1d3+1k] One of the most impressive inventions in firing sharp metal at other people since the invention of gunpowder, paragon blades are semisapient weapons capable of adjusting their movement in the wielder’s hand or in mid-flight. The number of duelists skilled enough to evade a paragon blade with raw agility can be counted on a single hand. LICENSE III: CLAÍOMH SOLAIS, "HYDROMANCY" BLINKSPACE INUNDATOR Claíomh Solais Main Melee, 1h(Self), Smart, AP, AI, 2 SP, Unique [t 1] [1e+ 5f] Your mech gains the AI tag. In addition, it gains the Sword of Rainbow Light Full Action The gauntlet that holds a Claíomh Solais cannot be fabricated, instead needing to be transported to the mech that would use it. This is because the core of this weapon system is a Núada-Class NHP, controlling the complex systems behind this unusual sword. Rainbow light glints off the true form of the blade when it moves, a thin slice of blinkspace itself as it cuts through reality around it. With invocations of liturgicode Núada can be awakened to full consciousness for a moment and this blade will cleave a chasm through the fabric of existence. Núada sleeps uneasily. One of the original NHPs designed to travel through blinkspace; it lost
its mind to the impossibilities of that realm. The maimed god is still in shock, responding like a sleepwalker to orders and questions. Despite that, its insights are hard to overstate as the NHP forms impossible links and gives half-formed prophecy to its Lancer. Occasionally it turns and tosses, nightmares crossing its mind. Pilots are recommended to cycle Núada-class NHPs before long as the nightmares become increasingly common. Do not let it remember. Sword of Rainbow Light Full Action, Limited 2, 1/Scene Unleash a many-hued beam over a f 8 area. Characters in the affected area must pass an Agility save or take 8fand be Shredded until they clearf. A successful save halves thefand has them be Shredded until the end of their next turn. Objects in the affected area suffer 40eAP damage. “Hydromancy” Blinkspace Inundator 3 SP, Unique Gain the following Deployable: To support their extensive operations Magnum Opus makes use of highly secure factory-vaults that act as both production facility and warehouse. One of the most unique creations of these vaults is nanite-infused liquid that has been deeply seeped in arcane procedures that Magnum Opus treats as some of their most treasured secrets. Flowing as their controller directs and appearing seemingly from nowhere, these artificial lakes act as gaps in reality to another realm. The one thing all pilots sign before they can be issued command hereticode is an agreement: They shall not seek to free those sealed away. They deserve their fate. Lakeburst (Deployable) Deployment: Quick Action Size: 2 HP: 10, 2 Armor, Evasion: 5 This stabilized gate in reality can be deployed to a free space within r 5. The Lakeburst doesn’t obstruct movement or block line of sight and lasts for the rest of the scene. If you create a new Lakeburst, the old one destabilizes and is destroyed. Both material and Intangible characters can attack and effect the Lakeburst. Upon creation, choose a type: Brocéliande: Hostile characters starting their turn on the Lakeburst or moving onto it for the first time in a round must pass a Systems save. If they fail, they become Intangible until they pass a Systems save as a quick action or the Lakeburst is destroyed. Immrama: Allied characters starting their turn on the Lakeburst or moving onto can choose to become Intangible until the end of the current turn.
MAGNUM OPUS PTOLEMY Artillery
The Ptolemy is a carefully designed solution to an ongoing weakness in the Magnum Opus catalogue. Their frames make excellent bodyguards and are capable of powerful redirection that allows unique control of a battlefield but few of them can claim an overwhelming ability to actually force the enemy back or destroy them. The Ptolemy is able to more than solve this problem, providing precision artillery fire that is nearly impossible to evade to take advantage of the time that other Magnum Opus frames can buy it. Opponents facing a Ptolemy often find it a terrifying prospect, the mech taking apart target after target like a master surgeon’s blade.
CORE STATS Size: 2 Armor: 0
Save Target: 11 Sensors: 20
HULL HP: 8 Repair Cap: 3
SYSTEM E-Defense: 12 Tech Attack: +1 SP: 6
AGILITY Evasion: 6 Speed: 5
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 8
TRAITS CUTTING EDGE The Ptolemy has +1 + on Systems checks and saves. SCALPEL When the Ptolemy causes Systems Trauma, the Ptolemy’s pilot chooses which system or weapon is destroyed (Do not roll to pick system or weapon). When the Ptolemy makes its standard move or Boosts, it can only move in straight lines.
MAIN MOUNT
Blink Mirror Rebound Reaction, 1/round Trigger: You make an attack with a Ranged Weapon that deals any amount of eand miss all targets. Effect: Create a Size 1 Blink Mirror in the space of any target of the triggering attack that lasts until the end of your next turn. This blink mirror does not obstruct movement or block line of sight and is Immune to Damage and Effects. As a Protocol on your next turn, you may make a copy of the triggering attack against any target, without paying costs (such as unloading the weapon,h or consuming Limited charges), except the copied attack measures Line of Sight and Range from the location of the Blink Mirror. Dissection Beam Active (1CP), Full Action
LOW MOBILITY
MOUNTS
This is functionally useless for physical projectiles, as they will suicide upon impacting themselves but beam-based weapons are able to pass through and be reflected from one mirror to another or to the final target.
FLEX MOUNT
HEAVY MOUNT
CORE SYSTEM
THREE PRIMES BLINK MIRROR ARRAY In order to help provide full theatre offence, the Ptolemy has access to a unique nexus array of Blink Mirror Micro-Drones. Blink Mirrors are a bleeding edge invention of Magnum Opus, a variation blinkspace rip that has aligned the entrance with the exit, causing any object that impacts it to 'bounce'.
Choose one target in r 50. They take 1 structure damage, bypassing Immunity and are Stunned and Shredded until the end of their next turn. All characters within a u 2 of the target must pass a Hull save or be pushed 2 spaces away from the target and knocked Prone. If this destroys the target, they do not leave a wreck. Pushing the blink mirror drones to the limit allows the Three Primes to rupture their own portals, unleashing a lashing tendril of blinkspace to slice through the world around it. While only momentary, this impossibly sharp tendril can break the bonds between atoms and dissolve objects and earth alike into little more than dust.
MAGNUM OPUS INTERSTELLAR
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LICENSE I: AKASHIC CHARGES, INTERDICTION LASERS
LICENSE II: PTOLEMY FRAME, PRECISION PLASMA CHANNEL, TIMAEUS SYSTEM UPGRADE
Akashic Charges 2 SP, Limited (4), Unique
Precision Plasma Channel Heavy Rifle, Accurate, 3h(Self), 1 SP [r 15] [2d6e+ 1f]
You can spend a charge from this system for one of the following: • Sweep Grenade (Grenade, r 5, b 2): Affected characters must pass a Systems save or lose Hidden and be unable to Hide or benefit from Hidden, Invisible or Cover until the end of their next turn. Regardless of success or failure, you gain the benefits of a Scan against each affected character. • Talky Mine (Mine): This mine detonates when any character moves over or adjacent to it. When detonated, the triggering character suffers Lock On and must pass a Systems save or have a transmitter attached. While the transmitter is attached, the character does not benefit from Hidden or Invisible and suffers Lock On at the end of each of their turns. They may remove the transmitter by passing a Systems save as a Full action.
On Attack: This weapon rolls to hit, even if an effect would cause it to miss without an attack or cause the target to be unable to be targeted. On a critical hit, this attack ignores such effects and its damage can’t be reduced by any means. A powerful electrolaser, the Precision Plasma Channel is an adaption of early directed energy weapon technology. The crackling force directed down the plasma channel can reduce metal to slag, fry circuitry and start deadly electrical fires within the frame of the target with even the slightest touch. Timaeus System Refinement 2 SP, Unique, Quick Tech, Invade Gain the following options for Invade:
A favorite of tactically focused commanders, Akashic charges provide unparalleled passive data gathering services. Utilizing an advanced multispectral analysis system, they can quickly ferret out even the most skilled of infiltrators and keep an artillery division or an emplaced battle line safe even while pilots sleep. When used with active direction, they can sort through a staggering amount of data to very quickly provide all that a commander needs to know.
Fading Divinity: The target falls Prone and is Immobilized until the end of their next turn. Each character can only be affected this way once per scene.
Interdiction Lasers 2 SP, Quick Action, Full Action, 2h(Self), Unique
Designed for soft defence of important facilities, the Timaeus System upgrade can remove the foes ability to fight without directly harming them. It can use powerful override command codes to suborn control of automated units or disrupt movie systems, leaving foes untouched but unable to proceed with an assault.
You may spend a quick action or a full action to activate this system. Choose 1 character within Sensors, who becomes interdicted until the start of your next turn. While interdicted, whenever they make a ranged attack, roll 1d6. If you spent a full action activating this system, on a 3+ the attack automatically misses. Otherwise on a 5+ the attack automatically misses. This effect does not stack with Invisible. “130 Micromissiles Locked. Calculated Fratricide Rate 23.6%. Point Denial Established. At this rate, they won’t even scratch the plating.” Nasira Avni, MOI El Dorado Flight Chief.
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Swelling Greed: You gain control of one of the target’s Drones until the end of the scene. The drone is treated as allied to you and hostile to its previous allies. If the Drone had a chosen target, you may choose a new target for it. The original owner can regain control of a drone by passing a Systems save as a quick action.
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MAGNUM OPUS INTERSTELLAR
LICENSE III: ORBITAL STRIKE, CRITIAS SYSTEM UPGRADE Orbital Strike Superheavy Rifle, 3h(Self), AP, Seeking [r 15] [f 5] [2d6e+ 3f] On Hit: The Orbital strike deals 40eAP damage against Deployables, Drones and objects such as cover, terrain, and the environment. Despite the impressive name and the sight of a nuclear-pumped laser lancing down from a crack in the very sky above, this weapon is actually produced through the usage of Magnum Opus’ Blink Mirrors allowing a powerful shot to be fired from equipment stored in a Magnum Opus factory vault and directed like the wrath of an angry god. Critias System Upgrade 2 SP, Quick Tech, Unique You gain the following Quick Tech actions Shadow Game: Make a contested Systems check against a Hostile character within Sensors and Line of Sight. If you win, the target is Stunned and Intangible until the end of their next turn. If you lose, you are Intangible until the end of your next turn. Other characters can only be affected by this once per scene. Seal of Orichalcum: Make a tech attack against a character within Sensors. On a hit, they take 2 h and cannot take any action other than standard move, Boost, Skirmish, Barrage or Stabilize until the end of their next turn. A well hidden secret among Magnum Opus Interstellar is a unique invention designed for dealing with competition within the Blink Gate market. Information about it is carefully controlled, forcing any pilot cleared to receive the Critias system upgrade to have signed a series of non-disclosure agreements about the nature of it. A brutal and dangerous system, the Critias rips open the firmament between the attacker and its target, forcing them into a deadly game with existence on the line.
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MAGNUM OPUS MORGANA Artillery / Controller
The Aun destruction of Blink Gates has resulted in a furious response by Magnum Opus. Blink Gates are essential to the function of the Union and to Magnum Opus staying solvent as a company. The Morgana is the rapid result of this fury; a sleek, dark-armoured mech that uses Magnum Opus’ factory-vaults to store a staggering amount of electronic intrusion technology and reverse engineered LOGOSDEATH-class liturgicode to assault Aun frames and pilots alike. The creation of this design has not gone unnoticed by the Voladore that Magnum Opus trades with, the enigmatic people expressing concern at this being a door that Magnum Opus may not be able to close again.
CORE STATS Size: 1 Armor: 2
Save Target: 11 Sensors: 15
HULL HP: 8 Repair Cap: 3
SYSTEM E-Defense: 10 Tech Attack: +2 SP: 8
AGILITY Evasion: 6 Speed: 3
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 8
TRAITS NOVAHOT When the Morgana is Exposed, its successful Tech Attacks inflicteAP equal to theh inflicted. In addition 1/Round, if Exposed, the Morgana can deal +3 h with a successful Tech Attack.
MALORY-CLASS VIRUS VAULT The most terrifying of the many systems stored on the Morgana is the Malory-class Virus Vault, a bleeding edge virus suppression system designed to store the LOGOSDEATH-Class liturgicode Magnum Opus has been cultivating. This memetic virus assaults organic and computer systems equally well, burning out neural structures and overriding conscious control of systems. Even those who do survive it are haunted by the sheer violation of having their own hands acting while their mind screams into the void. Unleash Vitriol Protocol
LOGOSDEATH
You cause your mech to become Exposed until the end of your next turn.
The Morgana’s Tech Actions bypass the Biological immunity to Tech Actions.
Le Morte d’Arthur Full Tech Action (1CP)
FROM HELL'S HEART
Perform a single Quick Tech or Full Tech Option against each target of your choice in Sensors. These tech actions may affect normally immune characters. You can pick a different option for each target. Then, you are stunned until the start of your next turn.
When the Morgana would be destroyed, it may use a reaction to first make a Full Tech Action.
MOUNTS FLEX MOUNT
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CORE SYSTEM
SECTION 1 // Twilight Soldiers
MAGNUM OPUS INTERSTELLAR
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SECTION 1 // Twilight Soldiers
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I: BLAZER SMG, AGRAVAIN QUARANTINE MODULE Blazer SMG Main CQB, Reliable 2 [r 5] [t 3] [1d6e] On your turn, this weapon can attack one, two or three targets in Range, gaining 1 h(self) for each target past the first. Magnum Opus makes very few conventional weapons but the blazer energy SMG is a clear example that they do not lack for skill in that area. A sleek and light weapon, the incredible refire rate allows for a powerful emergency weapon that runs quite hot. Agravain Quarantine Module 2 SP, Unique, Quick Tech, Invade You gain the following options for Invade: Anathema: All characters adjacent to your target are pushed 2 spaces directly away from them. Damnatio memoriae: The target is Jammed, Invisible, ignores engagement and does not engage other characters until the end of their next turn. A target can only be affected by this effect once per combat. Until the start of the Ascendant Crusade, the primary danger for blink gates was not physical attack but digital assault by those seeking to delay the arrival of troops without damaging the infrastructure. Magnum Opus has thus been forced to develop powerful tools for locking targets out of their systems and stripping any support elements that would aid the invader.
II: MORGANA FRAME, LE FEY SYSTEM REFINEMENT, VULGATE VIRUS VAULT Le Fey System Refinement 2 SP, Full Tech, Unique You gain the following Full Tech Actions: Daemonology (Mine): Place two digital mines in empty spaces within r 3 of you. These mines affect only the character that triggers them by moving adjacent to it, dealing 2 h and one Invade option (chosen for each mine when it is placed, treating you as the origin of the Invade). A successful Systems save negates the Invade option but not the h. You may only have a maximum of 2 digital mines at a time, with the oldest being removed if you place one beyond this limit. Pariah: Make a tech attack against a character within Sensors. On a hit, the target suffers 4h and treats all other characters and is treated by all other characters as hostile for the purpose of engagement, tech actions, systems, traits and talents. The target can end this effect by passing a Systems save as a full action. A very popular modification to standard digital warfare systems is that of the Le Fey system refinement, integrating extensive automation tools and fine tuning hardware interfaces. This refinement allows for a host of semisapient daemons to prepare deadly traps for foes and to heavily overload IFF, causing them to tear apart what they should be protecting. Vulgate Virus Vault 2 SP, Unique, Quick Tech, Invade You gain the following options for Invade: Treachery: At the end of each of the target’s turns, they gain 2 h. This effect ends if they spend a quick action and make a successful Systems save or attack a character allied to them with a weapon or Improvised Attack. Each character may only be affected this way 1/ scene. Ruin: The target is Shredded until the end of their next turn and loses all Overshield. Each character can only be affected this way 1/scene. Careful cultivation and refinement of some of the most powerful viruses has granted Magnum Opus a powerful tool that can reduce security systems to little more than scrapcode, short out defensive measures and force pilots into an unpleasant choice: Their lives or the illusion that their soul does not have a price.
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Clarent-Grade Hereticode 3 SP, Unique, Full Tech
MORDRED Class NHP 3 SP, AI, Unique, Quick Tech
When one of your tech actions causes a hostile character to overheat or mark structure, any AIs mounted on that character immediately start to Cascade. In addition, gain the following Full Tech Option:
Your mech gains the AI tag. In addition it gains the Gwaith Camlan Quick Tech Action: Mordred class NHPs are friendly but almost pitifully desperate for attention from their owner. A bad relationship with their master or being treated as little more than a tool has a deleterious effect on their mental state, including an increasing tendency to catastrophize, mood swings and lack of self worth. Despite this, they have an incredible ability to work outside the box and provide solutions to seemingly impossible problems. Magnum Opus Interstellar recommends a full wipe if the Mordred starts referring to its owner using familial terms. Gwaith Camlan Quick Tech, 1/round Make a tech attack against a target within Sensors. On a success, they take 2h and you inflict an additional effect as follows: the first time you successfully make this attack, you inflict the First Wound on your target; each subsequent successful attack (on any target) increases the level of the effect that you inflict (e.g. your second attack inflicts the Second Wound, your third inflicts the Third Wound, etc.) until you inflict the Fourth Wound, after which the effect resets to the First Wound. Your progress persists between scenes but resets if you rest or perform a Full Repair.
Meteoroid Translocation (3 (Self)): Nominate a b 3 Space in Sensors, above which a blinkspace rift is forming. All characters know it has been chosen. At the end of the next round, the blinkspace rift stabilizes and releases its contents. Characters within the affected area must succeed on an Agility save or take 4d6k and be knocked Prone, even if they would be immune to tech actions. On a success, they take half damage and are not knocked Prone. Objects in the affected area are completely annihilated.
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MAGNUM OPUS INTERSTELLAR
III: MORDRED-CLASS NHP, CLARANT-GRADE HERETICODE
Some pieces of liturgicode and digital warfare tools are listed as war crimes to use and, spoken about in hushed whispers even among HORUS hacker groups. Code that can strip all the protections around an NHP and blinkspace systems tuned to wreck terrible ecological damage. Magnum Opus’ inclusion of such tools in a licence for sale to those intending to fight on the Cornucopia front has shocked many. Transported by coffin like an NHP instead of allowing it to be transmitted across the omninet, Magnum Opus engineers have taken to writing messages addressed ‘to Metat Aun’ on the casing.
First Wound: The target suffers Lock On. Second Wound: The Target suffers an additional 2h. Third Wound: The Target immediately targets itself with a single weapon of your choice as a reaction, automatically hitting itself (Though still rolling to attack any other characters caught in the area of the attack) even if the attack could not normally target the attacker. Although you choose the weapon, they count as attacking. Fourth Wound: Your target is Exposed and Shredded until the end of their next turn.
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MAGNUM OPUS OZYMANDIAS (Morgana Alt) Defender/ Controller
“To all rules there are exceptions which prove them, a phrase which was originally ‘puts them to the proof’, meaning to test them. Here at MOI’s Arms Division, we pride ourselves on our comprehensive, all-theater customer support program; our technology is available to our pilots regardless of their location, circ*mstance, military allegiance, or the hopelessness of their conflict. Consider the proof to which this was put: Breanna Hope, MSMC, long-time customer and notable PR asset for sales of the MORGANA, went missing in action during the campaign on Kestrel Beta while fighting an action against local authoritarian forces. Blink anomalies still being studied by R&D cut her off from the Omninet and therefore from any ability to signal for backup. Stranded behind enemy lines with one of our most high-maintenance and support-reliant frames, Breanna was nonetheless able to make our technology work for her. It should not have taken us nearly a year to decipher the messages she was sending through her requisitions and firing patterns. Compensating her for her innovations on our design is, quite frankly, the least we can do, and an insulting minimum at that.”
CORE STATS
Size: 1 Armor: 2
Save Target: 11 Sensors: 10
HULL HP: 8 Repair Cap: 4
SYSTEM E-Defense: 7 Tech Attack: +1 SP: 6
AGILITY Evasion: 10 Speed: 4
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 8
TRAITS BLINK BARRELS When the Ozymandias makes a ranged or tech attack on its turn, it can target any character within r 3 of an allied character that is at least partially in Sensors, measuring Line of Sight and Range from that allied character. KINGLY REBUKE Hostile characters have +1-on checks to Search for hidden characters or Mines within r 3 of the Mk1 Houdini. STRAINED REACTORS The Ozymandias gains 1 additionalh whenever a hostile character causes it to gainh
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MOUNTS FLEX MOUNT
MAIN/ AUX
CORE SYSTEM
NILE-CLASS DISPERSAL Pilot’s Log Addendum: Those water tanks the NIMUEs and ZOUs use need better cybersecurity, but I’ll send in the report after I get out of here. For now I can drink and I can dump heat, and that will have to be enough. The River of Time Floods Active (1 CP), Quick Action Choose any number of hostile characters in r 50; your chosen characters gain Lock On. After taking this action, the Ozymandias's Blink Barrels trait functions during every turn; additionally, the Ozymandias draws its Threat from those allies in addition to Line of Sight and Range (therefore, it can Overwatch against hostile characters in appropriate Range of those allies). Both of these effects last until the end of the current scene.
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MARLEY, OZ, AND SILVER LENDING & CONSULTATIONS “What We Owe To Each Other”
Marley, Oz, and Silver is a youngblood lending service that is officially in over its head. The idea, in 4985u, was simple enough to start with. Jacob Marley, a retired pilot with years of service for the DoJ, partnered with childhood friend & financier Jane Silver to try and support the promise of Union in their own way. Over the course of their mutual work they had seen many cases of injustice lesser than those prosecuted so vigorously by the DoJ’s Liberators, but all the more insidious for it: citizen-shareholders chained by student debts, human beings denied the legal right to their own genetic code, religions in the Baronies dedicated to raising their captive adherents in darkness. Marley and Silver didn’t set out to create a mercenary company; the Albatross and MIRRORSMOKE served as fine second-chance opportunities for soldiers already. They started a lending company with the goal of getting debtors out of situations they could not otherwise escape, and to assist in this endeavor they brought on Marley’s old partner: an NHP named Oz, developed over Marley’s long years of service in the manner of some pilots. Recruiting interested parties was surprisingly easy. Even a dark galaxy is full of points of light, after all, candles that brighten when placed together. At the advice of their consultants, Marley, Oz, and Silver adopted a stance of converting debts not into forgiveness but into an actually payable structure; many of the desperate folk they sought to help were rightfully wary of charity, and were easier to persuade with a fair deal rooted in returned value. Unfortunately this is where things went sideways, as the budding lending company found itself in possession of an incredibly wide swathe of skills with no real plan for how to dispose of those skills. By mutual agreement, Oz’s identity - already hidden - was buried deep, and they were appointed the shadowy head of Marley, Oz, and Silver’s newfound Consultations branch, where Union, corpro, and citizens alike could hire their stable of skilled specialists for whatever problems those specialists might solve. With an increasing need to avoid the wrath of corpro-states whose citizens they were liberating, Marley, Oz, and Silver relocated their headquarters to the Annamite line, and their various installations into uncharted territory. Far from home and far from help, Oz directed its engineers to develop a line of mechs suitable for home defense, far-field exploration, and sale in the secondary market.
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Today, Marley, Oz, and Silver is only a fraction of overall frame sales, easily outnumbered even by HORUS’s offerings, but they are growing a reputation for reliability. Where other frames crap out and need to be printed again from the ground up, MO & S’s “Unyielding” line is ready to go again with a spitshine and a few swear words, no matter how hard they get beat down. Though MO & S’s portfolio is diverse, they do sometimes get hard hits in the galactic market, and a recent spell of trouble has caused an aggressive push of their militarygrade products to make ends meet, with groups like MIRRORSMOKE and the Ungratefuls among their foremost buyers. Need it cheap, long-lasting, and don’t much care if it’s pretty? Marley, Oz, and Silver might have the frame for you.
MO & S CORE BONUSES When you choose a core bonus every 3 license levels, you can pick a bonus from this list as long as you have at least 3 license levels in MO & S licenses for each MO & S core bonus you have. For example, if you have 6 levels in MO & S licenses, you could take up to 2 bonuses. MO & S bonuses are focused on survivability, resource manipulation, and repair. CURST-CLASS FAIL-FORWARD TARGETING “You greatly underestimate how willing I am to go down with you, friend.” Sgt. Jacob Marley, DoJ/HR Liberators, during hostage negotiations with the Sundered Stars When you take structure damage or stress damage, you can make a Skirmish as a reaction. Then, resolve the other effects of marking the structure damage or stress damage (such as overheating checks).
SLASHER SUSTAINABILITY SUITE
On the battlefield, ‘stopped’ and ‘dead’ are almost synonyms. Dangerous alterations to your computers and propulsion systems let you overclock your mech to escape the former at the risk of the latter.
The SLASHER sustainability suite, most commonly made available to customers actively supporting MO & S’s mission, consists of modifications to a frame’s reactor core, heat distribution systems, and the addition of dozens of tiny repair modules over and within its chassis. When its defensive protocols activate, the effects are quite dramatic; when suffering structure in place of reactor stress your mech glows white-hot as heat is shunted through its chassis, opening cracks and fissures through the metal. When suffering stress in place of structure damage, the vented heat is directed to the damaged parts of your mech, slagging it enough to engage the automated repair systems and keep you in the fight.
If your mech would become Immobilized, Jammed, or Stunned by something other than one of its own systems, talents, etc., you can choose to have it suffer 3eAP and 2h instead. This damage andh bypasses Immunity and cannot be reduced in any way. OUROBOROS RESUPPLY SYSTEM Embedded printers running on a separate, dedicated power supply let you repurpose the broken parts of your own mech for other uses, allowing you to extend your operating time in the field. When you attack with a Loading or Limited weapon and hit no targets or use a Loading or Limited system that has all targets pass saves, you can choose to forego any additional effects of the system (such as Reliable or a lesser effect on a passed save). If you do, the system does not become unloaded or expend charges. REINFORCED BACKUP SYSTEMS Your backup systems have backup systems, allowing you to push on when other frames have dropped dead. You gain +1 + on all Hull checks and saves. You gain +2 HP and +1 Repair Cap.
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MARLEY, OZ, AND SILVER LENDING & CONSULTATIONS
MALICE OVERRIDE
1/scene, when you suffer structure damage from a source other than this core bonus, you can choose to heal up to full HP and then suffer 1 stress damage instead. Additionally, 1/scene when you suffer stress damage from a source other than this core bonus you can choose to cool allh and then suffer 1 structure damage instead. ULTRA-HARDENED CHASSIS Improved redundancies, additional internal armor, and high-yield vents help keep your mech upright and swinging even after significant damage. There’s only so much they can do to help, of course, but for many pilots an ultra-hardened chassis design has been the difference between life and death. When you mark your first structure damage or stress damage, you do not roll a structure damage or overheating check.
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MO & S CARMILLA Controller
A good hacker and the platform to support them are invaluable assets, and no one paging through the MO & S catalog has the funds or resources to support them. Knowing this, Oz spearheaded the development of the CARMILLA to service such under-funded worthies; as hacking frames go, the CARMILLA is unusual in essentially being six tin cans on strings powered by hamster wheels, but its focus on physical access to enemy systems and rapid brute-force battlefield control makes it excel in countering other hacking-oriented frames, who might otherwise prove difficult to remove. CARMILLA’s data rounds lack similar utility against emplaced systems, but beggars can’t be choosers, now can they?
CORE STATS Size: 1 Armor: 1
Save Target: 11 Sensors: 8
HULL HP: 8 Repair Cap: 5
SYSTEM E-Defense: 7 Tech Attack: -2 SP: 8
AGILITY Evasion: 9 Speed: 5
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 6
TRAITS CASTLE COMPUTER SYSTEMS The Carmilla has Resistance to h from tech actions made by other characters, and makes saves against tech actions with +1 +. HYPNOSIS ALGORITHMS Once per round, as a reaction, the Carmilla can re-roll a save it has failed against a tech action, or force another character to re-roll a save they have succeeded against one of the Carmilla’s tech actions.
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DATA ROUNDS
Each CARMILLA stockpiles a selection of data-rounds; hardened spikes bristling with miniaturized data storage and chock-full of automated scripts designed to gain physical access to enemy systems and then overwhelm them. Quick-load systems in the frame’s wrists slot these spikes into the barrels of its ranged weapons or clamp them to blades, hammers, and fists, enabling the delivery of their payload. INVITATION ROUNDS 1/round, when the Carmilla hits with an attack using a Melee or Ranged weapon, it can cause the target to suffer the effects of a successful Invade instead of the normal effects of the attack (including the weapon’s damage). If more than one target is hit, choose only one to be affected by this ability; the others suffer the weapon’s usual effects. Use of this ability counts as a successful Invade attempt. The Power of Suggestion Active (1CP), Quick Action
MOUNTS MAIN MOUNT
CORE SYSTEM
MAIN MOUNT
SECTION 1 // Twilight Soldiers
For the rest of the current scene, you can choose two options from among those available to you whenever you successfully Invade a character. In addition, hostile characters make saves against your tech actions at +2 -.
MARLEY, OZ, AND SILVER LENDING & CONSULTATIONS
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Art by Domochevsky
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LICENSE I: MATCH-GRADE GAUSS RIFLE, RENFIELD DISRUPTION ALGORITHMS
LICENSE II: CARMILLA FRAME, ARITHMOMANIA PROTOCOLS, SAFETY OVERRIDES
Match-Grade Gauss Rifle Main Rifle, AP [r 10] [1d3k]
Arithmomania Protocols Protocol, 2 SP, Unique, 2h(self)
This weapon deals bonus kequal to your target’s Armor (up to a maximum of +6). When it comes to working with what’s on hand, Marley, Oz, and Silver are hard to beat; the Match-Grade Gauss Rifle is an upscaled version of a sport shooting design, large enough for mechanized cavalry and with a whole lot of modifications to help the bullets penetrate. The end result is a weapon that hits harder against armor than it does against soft targets - a weapon that is proving increasingly popular amongst the Ungrateful in the Dawnline Shore.
Until the start of your next turn, attacks made against you suffer-equal to the number of other attacks made against you in the same round; if this bonus would become +4-, it instead resets to +0-. The Arithmomania package is a bundle of movementoptimization protocols slaved to a mech’s sensors; when active, they enhance a mech’s ability to avoid incoming fire by collecting data from previous attacks. Unfortunately their storage is small and the system runs hotter than hell thanks to coding that had to be shipped before it could be optimized, so tactical usage is key.
Renfield Disruption Algorithms 3 SP, Unique, Quick Tech, Invade
Safety Overrides 2 SP, Unique, Quick Tech, Invade
Gain the following options for Invade:
Gain the following options for Invade:
Famine Override: Choose one of your target’s weapons. It gains Loading until the end of the scene. The target can end this effect by spending a full action and passing a Systems save. A given character can only be affected by this ability once per scene.
Lockout/Tagout: The next time your target attacks this scene, they can choose to become Shredded until the end of their next turn. If they don’t, they make all attacks (including the triggering attack) at +2 -until the end of their next turn. Multiple uses of this ability do not stack.
Kinslayer Directives: Until the end of their next turn, your target engages and obstructs their allies in addition to their enemies. Its allies provoke Overwatch reactions from your target during that time. Whenever the target can take an Overwatch reaction during this time, they must do so.
Reactor Override: Your target must succeed at an Engineering save at the beginning of each of their turns for the rest of the scene or suffer 2 h. If your target overheats while suffering this effect, they explode, dealing 2d6 eto themselves and to all characters and objects in a u 2 area around themselves. A successful save ends this effect. Your target can choose to become Jammed and Immobilized until the beginning of their next rather than attempt this save; if they do, this effect ends.
Renfield algorithms are much more straightforward than the name might imply; typically delivered through tainted hardware, Renfield attacks cause mech and vehicle motivators to run suddenly, jam up, overcorrect for pilot input, and otherwise thrash around like a snake on hard drugs. Fragments in the code suggest that they were originally planned as a more comprehensive puppeteering algorithm before a complete rewrite of the project at the behest of Accounting.
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The effectiveness of the Renfield design inspired a bundle of overrides that convince a mech’s systems of catastrophic safety failures essentially turning its own safeguards against it. Comments in the code repeat phrases like ‘make sure this isn’t a war crime’ and ‘the repair crews are gonna have our heads’.
MARLEY, OZ, AND SILVER LENDING & CONSULTATIONS
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LICENSE III: BATSWARM OVERLOAD DIRECTIVES, MIRCALLA-CLASS MULTITASK MODULE BatSwarm Overload Directives 2 SP, Unique The first time each round that you successfully Invade a hostile character, they can choose to become Impaired and Slowed until the end of their next turn. If they don’t, they suffer 4eAP. Then, resolve the effects of your Invade. BS-O-D systems stuff electronic invasions with piles of garbage code, low-level automated scripts, and endless pings that overwhelm enemy systems by main force without requiring dedicated delivery. Victims of a BS-O-D attack that survive the encounter can often be seen struggling to turn off their speakers and get their mechs to stop messaging them for hours after the fact. Mircalla-Class Multitask Module 3 SP, Unique Once per round, after you resolve a successful Invade, you can make a Bolster, Lock On, or Scan action as a free action. You can choose a new target for this additional tech action. Efficiency wins battles; the same low-level garbage scripts that power the BS-O-D systems that Marley, Oz, and Silver produce can also be used to partially automate certain baseline sensor systems, enabling a mech to double-dip at relatively low added processing power.
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MO & S TEPES (Carmilla Alt) Controller / Support
OZ Prime: We need solutions. Development can't find a way to deal with this and we’re running on fumes for budget after your last outing. PERSEPHONE Prime: We might not have it, but try reaching out. Not everyone wants manna for their time. OZ: The people who might have these solutions do. PERSEPHONE: Maybe OSIRIS? You've seen the videos. OZ: Were we on any less than the three-hundredth attempt, I would not have entertained the option. PESERPHONE: Which are you on, again? OZ: Five hundred and eleven.
CORE STATS Size: 1 Armor: 2
Save Target: 10 Sensors: 8
HULL HP: 8 Repair Cap: 4
SYSTEM E-Defense: 9 Tech Attack: +2 SP: 6
AGILITY Evasion: 9 Speed: 4
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 8
TRAITS DOMINATE When you Overcharge, you gain +1+to the next Tech Attack you make this turn, and that attack inflicts one additional h. BACKWASH SYSTEMS Whenever you target an allied character with a tech action, you may remove one of the following conditions from them that were not caused by their own systems, talents, etc.: Impaired, Slowed, Immobilized, Jammed, Shredded, or Stunned. If you do, you gain that condition until the end of your next turn or its original duration, whichever would be longer. This does not count as being caused by your own talents.
MOUNTS FLEX MOUNT
CORE SYSTEM
LIFEBLOOD
“How did you manage this one, OZ? Last I checked your team was ready to throw in the towel.” “Took some inspiration from our time in the service, Jacob.” “Which fight, again?” Mindbite Invasion The Tepes has the following Invasion option. •
Mindbite: You clear up to two conditions that were not caused by your own systems, talents, etc.. Your target gains those conditions until the end of their next turn. You may clear one h.
Diabolus Ex Machina Active (1CP), Protocol You may take this action even if you are Stunned. For the rest of the scene, you may conduct Invasion attacks with the Mindbite option even if you are Jammed or Stunned, and your Mindbite inflicts one additional h.
Art by Moiderah
MO & S CELESTE Striker
The product pages for the Marley, Oz, and Silver CELESTE feature the words ‘Brought to you in partnership with IPS-Northstar: Your Friend In An Unfriendly Sea!”; MO & S bought the initial designs for this frame from the larger corpro on the cheap. Originally a prototype of the CALIBAN (abandoned in favor of the current paradigm’s more efficient model), MO & S’s engineers repurposed the CELESTE into an agile frontier scouting platform, at home in jungles, mountains, and caves alike, and ready for whatever surprises come bursting out in uncharted territory. A combination of its surprising durability for a small-scale mech and the shotgun-heavy standard loadout offered for it has caused fans of the CELESTE on the Omninet to nickname it the ‘Zombie Princess’.
CORE STATS Size: 1/2 Armor: 0
Save Target: 11 Sensors: 10
HULL HP: 6 Repair Cap: 4
SYSTEM E-Defense: 10 Tech Attack: +0 SP: 6
AGILITY Evasion: 10 Speed: 6
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 5
TRAITS QUEEN ANNE’S REVENGE The Celeste’s movement ignores engagement. The Celeste can Overwatch against any enemy whose movement would leave the Threat of one of its weapons, even if that movement would normally not provoke reactions. SEAWORTHY REPAIR SYSTEMS Once between Full Repairs, the Celeste can clear 1 marked structure as a full action. When it does, it refills its HP to full. FRAGILE The Celeste makes Hull checks and saves with +1 -.
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MOUNTS MAIN/AUX MOUNT
MAIN/AUX MOUNT
CORE SYSTEM
FRANKLIN OVERDRIVE Originally the centerpiece of the CELESTE, the FRANKLIN Overdrive vastly overclocks the CELESTE’s propulsion and targeting systems in order to sweep away enemy formations and place the CELESTE back in overwatch position. Survivors of the so-called Northwest Passage maneuver swear that the CELESTE moved in such a way as to cause shrapnel from its victims to hit their allies. Northwest Passage Active (1CP), Full Action Move up to twice your Speed. Make a Skirmish attack against each hostile character you pass within your Threat range of during this movement and record the number of targets hit, but do not roll damage until you have rolled all of your attacks. Each attack that hits deals bonus damage equal to the number of hostile characters hit during this movement. If a character is in the area of more than one area of effect attack, choose only one to affect them before you roll damage; the others have no effect on that character
Art by Domochevsky
LICENSE I: TERROR-CLASS SCATTERGUN, HYDROSTATIC INDUCTION MOD Terror-Class Scattergun Main CQB, Reliable 1 [r 5] [t 3] [2k+ 1d3x] This weapon gains Reliable 3 against targets with 1 or more structure marked. Terror-Class Scatterguns are a two-stage weapon, which fire bursts of small spikes which embed in their targets, then explode. While the primary payload is explosive in nature, the delivery system makes it excellent for capitalizing on already vulnerable victims. Hydrostatic Induction Mod 2 SP, Mod Install this mod on a Main or heavier Ranged weapon. On Hit: Your other attacks against that target this turn gain your choice of Knockback equal to half the damage they deal (to a maximum of 5) or the AP tag. You can make this choice on a per-attack basis. This unusual weapon system is installed beneath a weapon’s barrel and fires thick spikes full of compressed salt water. While it was originally intended for fire suppression (a use abandoned due to the high collateral damage it causes), the hydrostatic induction mod sees use today in bringing the horror of hydrostatic shock to mechanized combat.
Bermuda Propulsion System 2 SP, Unique You ignore the effects of difficult terrain and can climb and swim at normal Speed. You can move and Boost over the surface of liquids without sinking into them, though if you don’t end your turn on a surface that can support your weight you immediately sink. Developed for traversing unknown terrain, the Bermuda Propulsion System allows small frames great freedom of movement over slippery terrain, unknown bodies of water, and dense areas such as forests and cities. Pilots describe the sensation of its compensators kicking in as a sort of weightlessness. LICENSE III: EREBUS HAND CANNON, ASSAULT/ BATTERY DISENGAGEMENT ROUTINES EREBUS Hand Cannon Main CQB, Inaccurate, Limited (3), Reliable 2 [r 5] [t 3] [2d6x] On Hit: the target is Shredded until the end of their next turn. This weapon is only called a pistol because there’s not a better word for it; oversized, fed directly from a mech’s reactor core by thick cabling, and constantly smoking, the EREBUS is an accident looking for someone to happen to. The high-velocity slag it fires compromises armor and cripples a mech’s structure.
LICENSE II: CELESTE FRAME, MUTINY TARGETING SYSTEM, BERMUDA PROPULSION SYSTEM
Assault/Battery Disengagement Routines 3 SP, Unique, Reaction, Limited (4), 1/round
MUTINY Targeting System 2 SP, Unique
Trigger: A hostile character engages you when it is not your turn.
Your Overwatch attacks gain +1+ if your target’s Size is greater than yours. Once per round, you can add +2 bonus damage to an attack you make while it is not your turn.
Effect: Make a Skirmish attack against that character with +1-, then move 1 space. This movement ignores engagement and does not provoke reactions.
A straightforward system, MUTINY optimizes targeting within your mech’s controlled space, and is prominently featured in a joint defensive emplacement design venture between MO & S and GMS.
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A combined offense/defense system, these mech routines let a pilot react to sudden enemies and ambushes with great violence. Far Field teams and other explorers greatly favor Assault/Battery Disengagement Routines on worlds with confirmed or suspected megafauna presence.
MO & S DONNER Support
No one likes DONNER pilots - DONNER pilots don’t even like DONNER pilots. Their machines are rangy, clawed things completely at odds with their role of combat support and resupply, and video footage of their grisly idea of ‘resupply’ has occasionally caught images of those terrible claws shearing through struggling pilots too slow to reach the eject button. But for those whose assignments take them into enemy territory for the long haul, a DONNER and its attendant IGOR drones can be the difference between life and death. Don’t expect to see headquarters for a good long time? Bring a DONNER and all the whiskey you can haul.
CORE STATS
Size: 1 Armor: 1
Save Target: 10 Sensors: 8
HULL HP: 8 Repair Cap: 6
SYSTEM E-Defense: 8 Tech Attack: +0 SP: 7
AGILITY Evasion: 9 Speed: 4
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 6
TRAITS GRISLY FEAST The Donner can strip an adjacent Wreck as a quick action. When it does, it restores HP equal to 1/4th the Wreck’s maximum HP (usually the Wreck’s Size times 10) to itself or an allied character in r 4. Then, remove the stripped Wreck from play. HARVEST THE UNPLOWED FIELDS When you make the Power At A Cost downtime action while you have access to an operational Donner, you may replace any one choice made by the GM with ‘We’re gonna need a lot of corpses’. Once you have used this, you may not use it again until you make a Full Repair. IGOR CLOUD The Donner and adjacent allies have resistance to damage from b ,u ,l and c effects.
MOUNTS FLEX MOUNT
CORE SYSTEM
CARRION/CHIRURGEON ARTICULATED CLAWS
These long, jointed claws are the key to both the DONNER’s incredible durability and its gruesome reputation. Sensors built into the blades detect usable material and signal the DONNER’s attendant IGOR drones to harvest from what they’ve sliced into and repurpose it for repair and resupply. All DONNER chassis come pre-installed with the DRAUG Overdrive, which greatly increases the power of their claws and their slaved IGOR units for a devastating frenzy. Integrated Mount: Your mech mounts the Carrion/ Chirurgeon Articulated Claws, a devastating melee weapon. Carrion/Chirurgeon Articulated Claws Heavy Melee, AP [t 1] [1d6+3k] You have the Cannibal Lunge action. Cannibal Lunge Free Action, Loading Move up to 3 spaces. This movement ignores engagement, does not provoke reactions, and must end with you adjacent to 1 or more hostile characters. If you choose to move this way, your next action this turn must be a Skirmish or Barrage action. Effects that load or unload weapons can be used to load or unload this action. DRAUG Overdrive Active (1CP), Quick Action You engage in butchery over a u 4 Area. Hostile characters in the affected area are Shredded until the end of your next turn (no save). If 1 or more characters are Shredded by this ability, you and all allied characters in the affected area clear all conditions that were not caused by their own systems, talents etc, then regain 1 Repair and restore 1 use of a Limited system or weapon. Each character chooses which of their own systems or weapons to restore 1 use to, if any.
Art by Domochevsky
Emergency-Vent Repair Standards 2 SP, Unique
Helsing-Class Combat Piton Auxiliary Melee, Loading, Unique [t 1] [1k+1e]
When one of your Repairs, traits or systems causes a character other than you to regain HP (such as the MO & S DONNER’s Grisly Feast or the IPS-N LANCASTER’s Latch Drone), that character can also cool 2h.
This weapon does not become unloaded as part of making normal attacks with it. Instead, you can unload this weapon when it deals damage to a character you have already damaged this turn. If you do, that actor becomes Shredded until they end this effect as a Quick Action. This thick spike is somewhat awkward to use in the course of normal melee combat, but shines as a support weapon. When jammed into a fresh wound, the Helsing-Class Combat Piton emits a constant pulse of energy and extends powerful arms that force a mech’s armor open around the damaged area. JACKAL Targeting Suite 2 SP, Protocol, Unique, 1h(self) Choose yourself or an ally within r 4 of you. The very next attack your chosen character makes against a hostile character with Lock On gains the benefits of consuming Lock On without consuming Lock On (including for the purposes of talents or other systems). This effect ends if you choose another target before it is used. A localized ‘pack tactics’ system, the JACKAL Targeting Suite enhances other targeting systems, letting them find solutions without pinging hostile frames. The benefits it offers are small in themselves, but they add up. LICENSE II: DONNER FRAME, DISTRACTION/ INTERDICTION ENGAGEMENT DIRECTIVES, EMERGENCY-VENT REPAIR STANDARDS Distraction/Interdiction Engagement Directives 1 SP, Unique Allied characters gain the benefit of soft cover against attacks made by characters you’re engaged with. Attacks against you made by characters you’re engaged with gain +1+. D/I-ED systems are a high-risk defensive system much favored by talented melee pilots who have actually heard of them; given the relative lack of melee-oriented support frames, few outside of MO & S’s direct customer and indebted pilot base actually field them. They combine intense, constant pinging of enemy sensors with the pilot’s own aggressive movements to disrupt enemy attacks up close, at the cost of making oneself a rather obvious target.
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MARLEY, OZ, AND SILVER LENDING & CONSULTATIONS
LICENSE I: HELSING-CLASS COMBAT PITON, JACKAL TARGETING SUITE
Overheating is easily as dangerous as actual damage. E-V Repair Standards incorporate assisted-ventilation maneuvers into your mech’s other repair systems, allowing them to bleed additional heat while they’ve got your patients cracked open to begin with. LICENSE III: FENRIS SIGNAL BURST, TROLL REFLEX MOD FENRIS Signal Burst 2 SP, Limited (3), Unique, Quick Action You can release an audio/signal howl from your mech. When you do, all hostile characters within u 2 of your mech gain Lock On and take 2h. Inspired by SSC’s WHITEOUT design, the FENRIS signal burst is an audio/technological signal mix that provides instantaneous firing solutions against even well-shielded enemy mechs. Its brute-force ping alerts can continue to pester survivors for hours after the fact. TROLL Reflex Mod 2 SP, Reaction, Unique, 2h (self), 1/scene Trigger: An enemy character breaks engagement with you or leaves the t of one of your melee weapons. Effect: The triggering characters must succeed at a Hull save or be knocked Prone, then pushed 6 spaces in the direction of your choice. On a successful save, the character is not knocked Prone and is pushed 3 spaces in the direction of your choice. Characters whose Size is greater than yours gain +1+on this save. The Total Repositioning Over Latitude and Longitude Reflex Modification augments a mech’s manipulators, enabling rapid bursts of force sufficient to hurtle even massive enemy chassis. The development notes insist that the name is not a backronym, and no one’s been able to prove otherwise. Its developers, however, did get their naming privileges revoked on group projects.
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MO & S FRANKENSTEIN Striker / Defender
The Marley, Oz, and Silver FRANKENSTEIN was their first mech and remains one of their most popular. Though they would prefer it to be known for its durability, rapid engagement, and single-target control, the FRANKENSTEIN is much more famous as the ugliest piece of mech technology that isn’t a memetic weapon. Its sheer hideousness has inspired an ‘Ugly FRANKENSTEIN’ competition on the Omninet some eight years running, and may also have something to do with the fact that FRANKENSTEIN pilots tend to treat their mechs like beloved pets.
CORE STATS Size: 2 Armor: 1
Save Target: 11 Sensors: 10
HULL HP: 10 Repair Cap: 5
SYSTEM E-Defense: 6 Tech Attack: -1 SP: 6
AGILITY Evasion: 8 Speed: 4
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 7
TRAITS REVENANT ARMOR CONFIGURATION Increase the Frankenstein’s Armor by the amount of structure damage it has marked, up to the maximum (+4) THY ADAM The Frankenstein gains the Personalizations chassis modification. This modification does not cost SP, does not count towards Personalizations being Unique and is included in the statistics of the Frankenstein. VENDETTA 1/round, when an ally in Sensors suffers damage from a source other than themselves or an allied character, the Frankenstein’s next attack gains +1+and +1d6 bonus damage. This does not stack with itself.
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MOUNTS MAIN MOUNT
MAIN MOUNT
MAIN/AUX MOUNT
CORE SYSTEM
ANTEROS OVERRIDE The original system around which the rest of the FRANKENSTEIN line of chassis was eventually built, and the answer to “where the hell did all of my computer systems for this mech go?”, the ANTEROS override is a powerful burst of code and signals that overwhelms a victim’s IFF systems and sensors, leaving them unable to identify allies or enemies other than the FRANKENSTEIN. Given the relative rarity of MO & S mechs, footage of this system in action is rare but highly prized among mech enthusiasts and entertainers. Monomachy Active (1CP), Full Action Make an attack with a single melee weapon. On a miss, you do not expend your core power. On Hit: the attack deals +2d6 bonuseand your target loses line of sight to any character but you until the end of the scene. This effect ends when your target or your mech is destroyed, or if your target passes a Systems save as a full action.
Art by Domochevsky
LICENSE I: THREADED CLIMBING AXE, METEOR JUMP JETS Threaded Climbing Axe Main Melee, 1 SP, AP, Thrown 3 [t 1] [1d6k] While this weapon is installed on your mech and not tethered to another character, you can climb at normal Speed. When you throw this weapon, you can tether it to your target; if your target is a friendly character, it deals no damage to them. While tethered, you and your target cannot move more than this weapon’s Thrown range (typically 3) away from each other. One of you may tow the other, provided the towing character is of equal or greater Size to the towed one, but is Slowed while doing so. You cannot attack with the threaded climbing axe while it is attached to a target, nor can you retrieve it. You can end the tether as a Protocol, which deals 1d3 xto your target as the axe rips free and returns use of the axe to you at the end of your turn. Your target can end this effect as a Protocol. Hostile characters must pass a Hull Save as part of that Protocol and take 1d3 xon a success. This sturdy, pick-like weapon is used to traverse difficult terrain, especially vertical surfaces such as mountains and glaciers. It contains an internal launcher system that separates the head from the haft while keeping the two connected with thick cable, enabling easier climbing and daring combat maneuvers. METEOR Jump Jets 2 SP, Unique When your mech makes a standard move or Boosts, it can fly; however, you must end the movement on the ground or another solid surface, or else immediately begin falling. 1/round, if you end your movement this way engaged with one or more other characters, those characters must pass an Agility save or take 1d3+1 k. You take h equal to Size+1 at the end of any turn in which you flew this way. A two-part modification to a chassis, METEOR jump jets combine additional weight in the hands and feet, high-powered thrusters, and enhanced gyroscopes to create a more aggressive form of rapid movement. They are popular with pilots who prefer to leap in but not back out. LICENSE II: FRANKENSTEIN FRAME, EXACERBATOR GAUNTLET, PERSECUTION DRIVE Exacerbator Gauntlet Main Melee, Reliable 2 [t 1] [2k+ 2e] This weapon’s base damage is 2k+ 1d6+2eif either you or your target have 1 or more structure damage marked.
Exacerbator technology would be a war crime on a smaller scale (and Union’s DoJ is certainly considering getting ahead of that particular horse); it can draw on exposed systems both in the frame upon which it is mounted and in its victims to amplify its electrical payload. Its entry in sales catalogues is generally captioned ‘cruel, but effective’. Persecution Drive 2 SP, Unique When you make an Overwatch attack that hits the triggering character, you may move up to your Speed after the triggering character’s movement is complete. You must end that movement closer to the triggering character than you started, and Engaged with that character if possible. As most melee-oriented pilots will tell you, the thing people do when you get up in their face is leave. It’s the right call, isn’t it? After the first year and a half of their customers getting shot to pieces and losing money buying up IPS-N’s cable systems, Marley, Oz, and Silver decided on an in-house solution and created the Persecution Drive system to ensure that once you get stuck in, you stay stuck in. LICENSE III: MEATSHIELD PROTOCOL, RIPPER REFLEX Meatshield Protocol 1 SP, Unique, 2h(self), Protocol You can activate this Protocol while engaged with 1 or more hostile characters. While active, you gain Resistance to damage and h from hostile characters you are not engaged with as long as this system is active, but you cannot voluntarily break engagement or cause a character you are engaged with to break engagement. This effect ends if you are not engaged with any hostile character at any point. A combined defensive/offensive protocol, the cheekily-named Meatshield was designed to help melee combatants focus on their targets of opportunity rather than being forced to disengage. By remaining in constant motion, your mech can keep its enemies between itself and hostile fire. RIPPER Reflex 2 SP, Unique 1/round when you hit a character with 2 or more different Main or heavier melee weapons during your turn, you can rend them as a free action. That character must succeed at an Engineering save or become Immobilized and Shredded until the end of their next turn. An offensive variation on the Persecution Drive, the RIPPER Reflexive Manipulator Impulse widens damage left by paired weapons, causing temporary but catastrophic failure in its victims.
MO & S JACK (Frankenstein Alt) Striker / Controller
Only considered a MO&S mech by the most tenuous of connections, the Jack’s heritage is truthfully rooted in a desire for fame regardless of cost. Marley, Oz and Silver does not officially sell Jacks, though the eternally modifiable Frankenstein frame makes it easy for those with the manna to recreate the infamous machine. Every year, the Iron Crown Tournaments Insect Class is one of the most well received and friendly of its many divisions, where small manufacturers bring home-grown designs from across the galaxy to compete with each other to gain fame in a contest that gives these smaller groups the ability to stand on even footing with the bigger corporations. A strong sense of camaraderie between various manufacturers is a major draw for watchers who would rather see teams who respect each other than those who are out for blood. The Jack was the victor of the last of the Insect-Class Competitions, the custom creation of a minor barony heir who was desperate for the glory of a tournament win, bringing a frame that was technically based off a Frankenstein, with more manna spent on custom parts than the next three competitors combined and abusing the competition rules that gave extra tonnage to designers who used no Major Corporation parts. The Jack absolutely devastated the competition, crushing personal projects and the dreams of university engineering teams alike. By the end of the contest it was the last one standing but the sheer disgust it had earned torpedoed the Insect Class in future years as viewers turned away from it, sponsors pulled out and many of the more beloved competitors chose not to compete. A small price for fame, yes?
CORE STATS Size: 2 Armor: 2
Save Target: 11 Sensors: 5
HULL HP: 8 Repair Cap: 6
SYSTEM E-Defense: 10 Tech Attack: -1 SP: 6
AGILITY Evasion: 6 Speed: 5
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 6
TRAITS BRUTALIZE 1/Round, when the Jack consumes Lock On with a melee attack, it deals +1d6 Bonus Damage on a hit. If the Jack destroys or causes structure damage to the target with this attack, another hostile character in Line of Sight is Slowed and Impaired until the end of their next turn, even if the Jack is Intangible. RIVAL Adjacent hostile characters can use the Jack for hard cover.
MOUNTS FLEX MOUNT
MAIN/AUX MOUNT
CORE SYSTEM
“WHITECHAPEL” TARGET LOCK Designed to isolate and pick off the weakest links of an enemy group one at a time, the Whitechapel Target lock floods the target’s systems with digital white noise that disrupts navigation and targeting systems. TERRORIZE As a quick action, choose one character in Line of Sight, who becomes your Victim; they are Slowed and Impaired until the end of their next turn. When you make an attack against your victim, you gain the benefits of having consumed Lock On. You cannot choose a new victim until your current victim is destroyed or the scene ends. Murder On A Misty Night Active (1CP), Protocol For the rest of the scene, gain the Lost In The Mist protocol Lost In The Mist Protocol You can only take this action if you have a victim. You and your victim become Intangible until the start of your next turn or until you are destroyed.
Art by Moiderah
MO & S HOLIDAY Striker / Controller
The Marley, Oz, and Silver HOLIDAY is billed as an all-target, all-situation frame - ready to rumble at a moment’s notice against any kind of enemy. There’s truth to the claim; the HOLIDAY throws solid projectiles at almost all ranges, and excels against shorter-ranged targets that have to advance through its withering hail of fire only to discover, once they do close the gap, the vicious speed of its Disrupt/Interdict Emergency System. The HOLIDAY was originally written off by the wider galactic market as a knockoff of the IPS-N RALEIGH, but potential customers (and fans) are re-examining the model after its stellar performance in the Sierra Madre Mechanized Gladiatorial Tournament, going all the way to the quarter-finals. Kiss-Kiss, the pilot whose performance turned around the HOLIDAY’s sales, swears they’re taking the gold on the next go-round.
CORE STATS Size: 1 Armor: 1
Save Target: 11 Sensors: 10
HULL HP: 8 Repair Cap: 6
SYSTEM E-Defense: 6 Tech Attack: -1 SP: 6
AGILITY Evasion: 8 Speed: 4
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 6
TRAITS DEADEYE COMPENSATORS Main CQB weapons with r 1 or better that the Holiday mounts gain +2 range. Auxiliary CQB weapons with r 1 or better that it mounts have the range of the Main weapons they are mounted with, unless their range is already better.
budget at the time. With a bit of extra juice, though, pilots can activate the full suite for comprehensive battlefield protection. D/I-ES Targeting Reaction, 1/round Trigger: An action by a hostile character within Range of one or more of your weapons would cause you to mark structure damage or stress damage. Effect: Make a Skirmish targeting the triggering hostile character. All attacks made as part of this Skirmish must target the triggering hostile character. On a hit, the Holiday is immune to damage and effects of the triggering action. This reaction cannot be taken again until the Holiday marks structure damage, stress damage, or is able to rest or Full Repair.
TRASH/BALLAST AUTOMATED EJECTION
Overclock D/I-ES Active (1CP), Quick Action
Weapon attacks made against the Holiday gain +1 - as long as it has 1 or more structure damage marked.
Once you take this action, your DI-ES Targeting ability gains the following trigger and effect instead of its normal one until the end of the current scene:
MOUNTS
Trigger: An action by a hostile character within Range of one or more of your weapons would cause you or an allied character to mark structure damage or stress damage.
MAIN/AUX MOUNT
MAIN/AUX MOUNT
CORE SYSTEM
DI/E-S OVERWATCH TARGETING The HOLIDAY’s D/I-ES system was originally meant as an advanced overwatch platform, but the power requirements to keep its computers running at those levels proved too high for MO & S’s
Effect: Make a Skirmish targeting the triggering hostile character. On a hit, the attack automatically misses and is negated; it has no effects. This reaction can be used any number of times this scene, but only up to 1/round.
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BACKOFF Propellant Additive 1 SP, Unique, Loading BACKOFF Propellant Additive counts as a weapon system for the purposes of effects which load or unload weapons. You can activate this system as part of an attack with a Ranged weapon that dealsxand/ork; if you do, draw a f 5 path from you in the same direction as the attack. All hostile characters in this path and the target of your attack are pushed 3 spaces directly away from you; this movement does not provoke reactions. A quick-injection system that modifies the propellant and/or payload of an existing system, BACKOFF does what the name on the can says: makes one’s enemies Go The Hell Away. Wristgun Auxiliary CQB [r 5] [t 2] [1d3k] This weapon’s base damage is 3 kagainst targets that have been damaged this turn A secondary weapon mounted on a mech’s wrists or the ends of its manipulators, the wristgun throws slugs at whatever’s downrange at a respectable clip. It’s not as popular as hand cannon designs, but at nearly a quarter their price that’s gonna change any day now. LICENSE II: HOLIDAY FRAME, BELLRINGER, HUCKLEBERRY REVOLVER-CARBINE BELLRINGER 2 SP, Full Action, Unique Make a single attack with a Heavy or lighter weapon. On Hit: one target of the attack is sent reeling; they become Slowed, Impaired, and cannot take Reactions until the start of their next turn.. Targets with the AI tag are immune to this ability. “What if we just shoot ‘em in the co*ckpit?” “In the thickest part of most chassis’ armor, Jacob?” “You ain’t got a bell to ring, Oz. Trust me, they’ll notice.”
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Huckleberry Revolver-Carbine Main CQB, Reliable 1 [r 6] [t 2] [1d6+1k] You can make attacks with this weapon when your mech is Jammed. Huckleberries are a simple, reliable pattern much-used by those worried about jamming, adverse conditions, or who have simply had one magazine too many break on them in the middle of trying to not die. Its users (and detractors, for that matter) sometimes call it a Knuckle Gun, after the way the backblast from its propellant scorches a mech’s fingers. Currently, MO & S only offers a short-barrel pattern of the weapon, but longer-range variants are coming, well. Sometime. LICENSE III: OZ/SILVER SHUFFLE, “SILVERNOOSE” LASSO Oz/Silver Shuffle 2 SP, Unique
MARLEY, OZ, AND SILVER LENDING & CONSULTATIONS
LICENSE I: BACKOFF PROPELLANT ADDITIVE, WRISTGUN
When you Boost, you can take 1 h. If you do, choose one ranged Auxiliary weapon mounted on your mech. You can make an attack with that weapon at the end of your Boost as a free action. This attack does not benefit from bonus damage. Hitting a target while you yourself are moving sucks; you can’t aim properly, the gun goes every which way on you, and chances are your target is moving as well. The Oz/Silver Shuffle system is meant to help bridge some of that gap, offering constant small-arms fire on the move with reasonable accuracy. Currently, MO & S is trying to land a contract with GMS to create an upscaled version of this system, an effort complicated by needing to carefully not reveal that their design team is essentially three guys and a truck. “Silvernoose” Lasso Main Melee [t 1] [1d3+2k] On Critical Hit: Your target is knocked Prone. If they were already Prone, they instead become Immobilized until the end of their next turn. This weapon has t 4 during your turn. “Yee, and I cannot express to you with enough gravity the deadly seriousness of my intent, haw.”
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MO & S KELLY (Holiday Alt) Defender / Controller
‘It needs to be cheap to make, tough and nobody needs to know I funded it’. The origins of the Kelly are not quite the great symbol of resistance that the Ungrateful of Dawnline Shore would like to call it, an example of the humble innovation of the oppressed standing tall. Marley, Oz and Silver’s development was funded by the House of Sand as a project to obtain a design that could be shared with Dawnline Shore rebels against Harrison Armory without it ever being traced back to them. Marley, Oz and Silver, ever in need of funding, judged that they could kill two birds with one stone this way. Despite the questionable history, the Kelly has spread like wildfire among Ungrateful groups, who are unused to having frames that can actually take a beating and keep moving.
CORE STATS Size: 2 Armor: 3
Save Target: 11 Sensors: 10
HULL HP: 8 Repair Cap: 6
SYSTEM E-Defense: 8 Tech Attack: -1 SP: 6
AGILITY Evasion: 6 Speed: 5
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 6
TRAITS BUSHRANGER The Kelly can make reactions while grappling and can’t be involuntarily moved or knocked Prone by characters it is grappling. BLACK IRON TITAN Hostile characters engaged by the Kelly only have line of sight to adjacent spaces. IT HAS COME TO THIS When the Kelly would Skirmish as part of Overwatch, it can instead Grapple. For this purpose Grapple is treated ast 3 and if successful, the target is pulled adjacent to the Kelly by the most direct path. If there are no suitable spaces, the grapple breaks and the target does not move.
MOUNTS AUX/ AUX
MAIN MOUNT
FLEX MOUNT
CORE SYSTEM
SYMBOL OF RESISTANCE The image of a Kelly in motion, trading shots with the most powerful of foes can inspire the weary to continue fighting for a few more breaths and shake the confidence of those opposing it. LOOMING PRESENCE 1/turn, when a hostile character makes an attack against an allied character adjacent to the Kelly, you can push the hostile character 3 spaces in any direction after the attack is resolved. Such Is Life Active (1CP), Full Action One hostile character grappled by the Kelly suffers 2d6+6k AP. All hostile characters in line of sight of the target are pushed 3 spaces in any direction and sent reeling; becoming Slowed, Impaired, and unable to take reactions until the end of their next turn.
Art by Moiderah
MO & S PHOENIX Artillery
The PHOENIX is Marley, Oz, and Silver’s second-most common frame, trailing just behind the FRANKENSTEIN in overall sales, and it’s not hard to see why. Compared to its peers in an artillery support role, the PHOENIX isn’t just extremely cheap, but also incredibly easy to maintain. The trouble tends to be finding a pilot willing to pilot MO & S’s “Angriest Girl”; though refinements to the design are ongoing, there’s still an unfortunate habit for PHOENIX frames to selfimmolate in what the Omninet ghoulishly refers to as “temper tantrums”.
CORE STATS Size: 1 Armor: 0
Save Target: 10 Sensors: 8
HULL HP: 6 Repair Cap: 5
SYSTEM E-Defense: 8 Tech Attack: -2 SP: 5
AGILITY Evasion: 8 Speed: 5
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 8
TRAITS ASHES SELF-REPAIR ENGINE At the beginning of its turn, if the Phoenix is in the Danger Zone, it regains 1/4th of its max HP. REACTOR-FED SHELLS 1/round when the Phoenix makes an attack with a ranged weapon that deals at least partiallyk, it can clear 1h and deal +1d6 bonuskon that attack. If it does, it also gains resistance to h from characters other than itself until the end of its next turn. UNSTABLE REACTOR The Phoenix suffers +1 - on Engineering checks and saves.
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MOUNTS FLEX MOUNT
MAIN MOUNT
MAIN MOUNT
CORE SYSTEM PYRE OVERRIDE
Piloting a PHOENIX is already tantamount to suicide, or so the gossip goes, so why not push the envelope further? The Pyre Override kicks the PHOENIX’s reactor into overdrive while creating fresh vents in its chassis by cracking through its armor. The resulting surge of heat and power rarely leaves enemies standing, and on the rare occasions it does, whoever survives must then face the PHOENIX in the full flower of its might. Call the Seventh Plague Active (1CP), Full Action Choose any number of characters in r 50. Those characters must pass an Engineering save or gain 4 h and be unable to clear h by any means other than overheating until the end of their next turn. A successful save halves theh and avoids the additional effect. For the rest of the scene, the Phoenix counts as being in the Danger Zone regardless of its current h, and hostile characters that are in the Danger Zone or Exposed cannot reduce damage or h from it by any means.
Art by Domochevsky
LICENSE I: HELEN-CLASS RAIL CANNON, NERO FIRING SOLUTIONS Helen-Class Rail Cannon Main Cannon, 2h(self), Arcing [r 12] [1d6+1k+ 2h] On Hit: choose a space adjacent to your target. Characters in that space must pass an Agility save or take 2 kand 2 h. Named for an ancient volcano on Cradle, the Helen-Class Rail Cannon fires superheated slugs at high speeds. They break up just before impact, ensuring maximum delivery over a tight area for anti-mech and anti-infantry shelling. NERO Firing Solutions 2 SP, Unique Targets that are in the Danger Zone, Exposed or sufferingfcannot benefit from Hidden or invisibility against your attacks. Initial attempts to create targeting systems that worked with weapons like the Helen and especially the YELLOWSTONE ran into the problem of the heat those weapons output both into themselves and the environment (and MO & S’s absolute refusal to purchase targeting solutions from Harrison Armory). The NERO system finally solved the problem with brute-force spectrum scanning, allowing a mech to home in on the telltale chemical compounds of coolant and radioactive particulates that indicate a vulnerable target. LICENSE II: PHOENIX FRAME, CONDUCTION ROUNDS, YELLOWSTONE REACTOR CANNON Conduction Rounds 2 SP, Mod Choose one Main or heavier Ranged weapon that deals k. The first time you fire this weapon each round, it deals +1 h to one target and you clear 1 h. Modifications to a mech’s mounts and ammo casings increase the amount of ambient heat they draw from the chassis, enabling the mech to ‘vent’ heat by cooking its ammunition and then firing it off.
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YELLOWSTONE Reactor Cannon Main Cannon, 2h(self), Limited (2) [r 12] [b 1] [3k+ 2h] On Hit: Until the end of the target’s next turn, they take 1 h and 1 fwhenever they move or make an action, including reactions. Generally spinal-mounted and welded directly to the mech’s chassis to reduce the distance between it and the reactor core, the YELLOWSTONE reactor cannon is an absolute shining star of weaponized bad decisions. It fires a thick slag made of raw metal, active reactor fuel, and a thickening agent that keeps it clinging and burning long after it leaves the launcher. LICENSE III: BACKFIRE FAILSAFE, VULCAN GAUSS CANNON BACKFIRE Failsafe Reaction, 2 SP, Limited (1), 1/Scene, Unique Trigger: You would overheat. Effect: Clear 4 h. If this brings you below your Heat Cap, you do not overheat. You become immune toh other than from your own actions, systems, talents, etc. until the start of your next turn. Jacob Marley and Oz flat-out refused overtures from Harrison Armory early in their company’s foray into mech design, and to this day MO & S refuses to purchase or use HA products. The BACKFIRE Failsafe was designed to fill in the gap in their line, an emergency heat-management system for those times when you can take a hit more than you can take another degree of heat. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than dying. VULCAN Gauss Cannon Main Cannon, 2h(self), Knockback 3, Loading [r 10] [t 3] [1d6k] On Hit: Your target is impaled by a superheated spike. At the beginning of each of their turns, your target takes 2 h. They can end this effect by passing a Hull save as a quick action to remove the spike. Multiple spikes do not have any additional effect. Itself a fairly typical and low-power “railgun” style cannon, Marley, Oz, and Silver’s VULCAN model is known not for its punch or efficiency but for its ammo; the gun launches thick spikes of metal-sheathed crystal that is superheated as it leaves the barrel. Pilots caught in the crossfire describe it as like getting run over by a burning car, and that’s before they realize the spike stuck in them is still cooking their rig.
Defender/Support
The distinctive, egg-like profile of the Marley, Oz, and Silver RASPUTIN heralds the arrival of their rarest and most expensive chassis. The “actual” frame is little more than a hard suit with a highly-reinforced torso, bristling with sensor arrays, which is then wrapped in layers of shell-like armor that lock into its base systems and amplify them. The resulting juggernaut waddles into battle, supporting and defending its allies with massive cannon and advanced tech systems. RASPUTIN pilots have a reputation for being both co*cky and caring; indeed, an informal tradition for tally marks indicating the number of times their mech has been ‘hatched’ is only gaining strength.
CORE STATS Size: 3 Armor: 1
Save Target: 10 Sensors: 15
HULL HP: 10 Repair Cap: 5
SYSTEM E-Defense: 9 Tech Attack: +1 SP: 6
AGILITY Evasion: 6 Speed: 2
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 6
TRAITS LAYERED SHELLS Increase the r of the Rasputin’s mounted weapons by an amount equal to its Size. NESTING DOLL The Rasputin does not make structure damage checks when it takes structure damage. Decrease the Rasputin’s Size by the amount of structure damage it has marked (to a minimum of Size ½) and increase its Speed by the same amount. NO MANIPULATORS
MOUNTS AUX/ AUX
MARLEY, OZ, AND SILVER LENDING & CONSULTATIONS
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MO & S RASPUTIN
HEAVY MOUNT
CORE SYSTEM DEEP BLUE
Though immensely durable, the RASPUTIN design suffers from low speed, which can make its allies vulnerable as they cluster near it to enjoy the benefits of its protection. The inbuilt DEEP BLUE system, though draining on power reserves, helps solve this problem in the field. Through a combination of overclocking, assisted power balancing, and system bridging the RASPUTIN ensures its allies can have the best of both worlds. Grandmaster’s Stratagem Active (1CP), Quick Action Until the end of the current scene, you and all allied characters on in r 50 can move 2 spaces as a free action at their choice of the beginning or end of their turn. This movement ignores engagement and doesn’t provoke reactions.
The Rasputin cannot mount Melee weapons. It cannot initiate a grapple, pick up, or manipulate items.
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Art by Domochevsky
Redoubt Chassis Mod 1 SP, Unique
ADVISOR Suite 3 SP, Unique, Quick Tech
Adjacent allied characters can use your mech for hard cover.
You gain the following Quick Tech actions:
There are times when one needs a dedicated defensive chassis but does not have one on hand. Redoubt chassis modifications can turn any mech into a reasonable defensive position, limited only by how much mech you actually have available.
Counsel Vigilance: Choose an allied character within Sensors. Until the start of their next turn, if your target Braces, they can still take reactions during this time. Additionally, during their next turn, they can still make their standard move. Ministry of Supply: Choose an allied character within Sensors. You take 1d3+2 h, and one Loading weapon on that character becomes loaded. Commissioned by MIRRORSMOKE to better integrate MO & S frames into their mechanized cavalry operations, the ADVISOR Suite is a bundle of programs and systems intended to wring more durability out of frames from other manufacturers and extend their operating time. Given that the pilots who choose to pilot MO & S frames are on the poorer end of the wealth spectrum, those who choose to field an ADVISOR system are affectionately known as ‘Charity Cases’. Oversized Targeting Laser Heavy Cannon, 2h(self) [r 12] [1d6e+f3] On Hit: Target gains Lock On. This upscaled laser pointer is the result of a series of drunken dares between several engineers and a programmer, who later hastily justified the exercise by weaponizing it. It has since become Marley, Oz, and Silver’s flagship heavy weapon, a situation greatly aided by being their only heavy weapon. LICENSE II: RASPUTIN FRAME, GENERAL WINTER, REDOUBT CHASSIS MOD GENERAL WINTER 2 SP, Unique, Quick Tech, Invade Gain the following options for Invade: Ventilation Override: Your target clears 2 h (allied targets do not gain h when you Invade them).
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LICENSE III: EGGSHELL STORM GENERATOR, GRANDMOTHER AUTOGUN EGGSHELL Storm Generator 3 SP, Unique, Limited 3, Quick Action As a quick action, create a u 3 zone until the end of your next turn. Hostile characters suffer +X-, where X is equal to your Size, on ranged attacks made against any character in that area, including you. Characters that start or end their turn in that zone suffer 1e AP as they are lashed by harsh ionization and high winds.
MARLEY, OZ, AND SILVER LENDING & CONSULTATIONS
LICENSE I: ADVISOR SUITE, OVERSIZED TARGETING LASER
One of the most technically advanced - and therefore expensive, in relative terms - systems fielded by Marley, Oz, and Silver, the EGGSHELL Storm Generator takes advantage of a mech’s ventilation systems to create a temporary localized windstorm to use as cover against ranged attacks. Automated routines in the system help guide allied forces in placing their fire amidst the high wind. Grandmother Autogun Auxiliary Rifle, Unique [r 10] [1d3k] On Hit: The target becomes Impaired until the end of their next turn. Theoretically named for the terrifying Baba Yaga, the Grandmother-pattern autogun acquired its current appellation from an Omninet video comparing getting shot by it to getting caned by one’s elderly grandmother: disorienting, shaming, and oddly painful. It’s become an increasingly popular buy for support pilots, as well as for mechanized gladiators who want to insult and disrupt their opponents.
War of Attrition: One of your target’s weapons or systems that is Loading or Recharge becomes unloaded or in need of recharge, as appropriate. An extension of the principles introduced in the ADVISOR Suite design, GENERAL WINTER is meant to further support allies and deny resources to enemies. Despite jokes to the contrary, it does not actually come with a subroutine that says an ice pun over comms whenever the suite is used; pilots install those themselves. g
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MO & S ZAHHAK Controller / Defender
Officially, the Marley, Oz, and Silver ZAHHAK is a combat-rated variant of their RUSTAM Exploration and Rescue Frame; it shares its cousin’s snake-like chassis, burrowing ability, and surprising speed. Footage of the ZAHHAK bursting from solid rock to clamp down on an enemy chassis is immensely popular all out of proportion with how many of them actually get fielded. Conspiracy theorists note, however, that the patents for the ZAHHAK and the RUSTAM were filed in the other order, with the ZAHHAK coming first. More interestingly, a legal injunction was filed against MO & S by Union, preventing the sale or distribution of the ZAHHAK for several years, for reasons unknown.
CORE STATS Size: 2 Armor: 0
Save Target: 11 Sensors: 10
HULL HP: 10 Repair Cap: 4
SYSTEM E-Defense: 8 Tech Attack: -2 SP: 5
AGILITY Evasion: 8 Speed: 4
ENGINEERING Heat Cap: 6
TRAITS BURROW The Zahhak can burrow into the ground as a quick action, as long as the ground beneath it is malleable enough (most forms of earth, ice, and stone can be burrowed into). While burrowed, it counts as invisible, ignores all obstructions, and can freely pass through all characters aboveground. It can take no other actions other than to Hide, move, Boost, or emerge as a quick action. When it emerges, it must have a free space to emerge into; once it does, it loses the benefits of burrowing and all adjacent characters must pass a Hull save or be knocked Prone. CRUSH/CONDUCTION BINDING SYSTEMS At the beginning of its turn, if the Zahhak is in a Grapple, it deals 1h and 2kAP to all other characters in the Grapple. If another character ends the grapple (by any means), the Zahhak deals 2k AP to that character. SERPENTINE CHASSIS The Zahhak cannot be knocked Prone. When grappling only one other character, the Zahhak is always treated as the larger character. The Zahhak cannot make any voluntary movement while grappling.
MOUNTS MAIN/AUX MOUNT
MAIN MOUNT
CORE SYSTEM
WURM BURROWING SYSTEM The WURM burrowing system is the heart of the ZAHHAK’s mobility suite; it not only permits rapid breakdown of all manner of solid substances, but it strips those substances for raw materials needed to repair the ZAHHAK on the fly. Questions about how MO & S managed to afford designing such a system are gently deflected; continued questions are answered by Union agents at one’s door who would prefer that you stop asking. WURM Self-Repair Passive The Zahhak heals 1/4 of its maximum HP and cools 1 h at the end of its turn, provided it began and ended the turn burrowed. It regains full HP during a rest without spending any Repairs. The Emperor’s Tomb Active (1CP), Quick Action When you take this action, for the rest of the current challenge, you can burrow while grappling only one other character. When you do, you bury that character, the grapple ends, and you begin burrowing as per your Burrow trait. Characters buried in this way are treated as burrowed (see your Burrow trait), except that they are also Immobilized and take 1d6 kat the start of their turn. A buried actor can emerge, ending this effect, by passing a Hull save as a quick action.
Art by Domochevsky
LICENSE I: CONSTRICTION STABILIZERS, MANTLE RIFLE SYSTEM
LICENSE II: ZAHHAK FRAME, PANDORA INTERCEPT TARGETING, “SHRUG” MOTIVATORS
Constriction Stabilizers 2 SP, Unique
PANDORA Intercept Targeting 2 SP, Protocol, Unique
While grappling, increase the Range of your Ranged weapons by 2 and your attacks ignore ranged penalties from Engaged. A deceptively complex system of small stabilizing arms and targeting enhancements, constriction stabilizers assist in attacking at range during a grapple, utilizing one’s enemy as a stable platform. The net result is more accurate engaged than it is clear, which MO & S will surely manage to explain any year now. MANTLE Rifle System Main Rifle [r 8] [1d6k] While you are grappling, this weapon gains t 3. You can make Overwatch reactions with this weapon while grappling. The MANTLE is an overwatch & area denial system, which modifies a mech’s chassis with many smaller weapons that deal damage through weight of fire. MANTLE users are sometimes derided as being poor marksmen who rely on the system in order to not have to aim, to which Travis Keller, noted MANTLE enthusiast, once replied, “No sh*t.”
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Once activated, this system remains in effect until you deactivate it as a Protocol, Shut Down, or are destroyed. While active, you are Immobilized, and characters other than you starting their turn within u 5 of you must pass an Agility save or take 1k AP. This area provides soft cover (though it does not allow hiding) to allies. A defensive system originally paired with the MANTLE, the PANDORA fills the air with bullets from your mech in the hopes of preventing bullets from everyone else’s mechs. Your friends will get scratched up, sure, but at least they won’t get shot. Flaws in the targeting system (which came down with a bad case of budget shortages during the design) do mean that it has a blind spot in its coverage more or less the exact size and shape of the mech it’s mounted on. “Shrug” Motivators 2 SP, Limited (3), Quick Action Choose any number of adjacent characters. Each targeted character must pass a Hull save or be pushed 5 spaces away from you. Modifications to your mech’s joints and propulsions systems make it capable of strong, jerky movements that hurtle foes away from your personal space. The strain is significant, limiting the number of times the system can be safely used.
PERSEPHONE Class NHP 3 SP, AI, Protocol, Unique Your mech gains the AI tag and the Maiden’s Voice Protocol: [Partial Transcription of meeting between JACOB MARLEY, CMDR NGUYEN (DoJ/HR) & SUBALTERN] NGUYEN: So first you actually go to this mystery facility you shouldn’t have been at. MARLEY: I did. NGUYEN: The one that has you under investigation because of, what, technological salvage? MARLEY: Something like that. I’m not really at liberty to say. NGUYEN: And you think I can help you with this because…? MARLEY: No, not that part. There was a staff member at the facility. NGUYEN: Who? SUBALTERN: Salutations, hero! I am PERSEPHONE. Who’s ready to save some lives? [Silence, 2.68 standard minutes] NGUYEN: Remember that allegory of the cave we learned in training together? This is like that, but the shadows are how bad you think you f*cked up. [End excerpt] Officially, PERSEPHONE is in a paid beta test program and is currently being tried out in mechanized cavalry, naval, exploratory, and colony-management roles. PERSEPHONE clones tend to be bright, enthusiastic, and very concerned with the preservation of human life - sometimes to the point of going rogue on pilots who try to prioritize mission objectives over casualties. After the third incidence of a PERSEPHONE selfdestructing a pilot’s mech during an argument, their shackles have been overhauled and all pilot applicants for their use are now subject to a psych screen to ensure compatibility.
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Maiden’s Voice Protocol, 3h(Self) While this Protocol is active, you have perfect knowledge of the location of all allied characters within u 5. Attacks made against your allies in that area suffer +1 -, while attacks made against you gain +1+. Allied characters in that area gain +1+ on their skill checks and saves. Once activated, you cannot willingly deactivate this Protocol or Shut Down until the end of the scene, typically involving the death or surrender of hostile characters. Viper-Class Mech Taser Main CQB, Limited (3) [r 5] [t 3] [1d6e] This weapon does not consume its Limited charges when fired. On Hit: You can consume a Limited charge; if you do, your target becomes Immobilized until the end of their next turn. This weapon cannot be fired if it has 0 Limited charges. Typically mounted on or near the co*ckpit, the Viper-class taser delivers incredible jolts of energy directly into its targets. It can be dialed up when fired to impair its victims, though repeated use of this function does burn the weapon out.
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MARLEY, OZ, AND SILVER LENDING & CONSULTATIONS
LICENSE III: PERSEPHONE CLASS NHP, VIPERCLASS MECH TASER
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SECTION 2
SHORES OF TOMORROW
SORCERERS, SPIES, AND SOME DUDES
126
NEW AGARTHA STATION
133
PILOTS
146
The Orion Arm is full of between; developing colonies creating their own cultures between the Blink Gates that connect Union to itself, great client-states on the verge of transformations, yes, but also pilots considering life after a career of war. Space stations on nearlight drags which must, one day, move. Scientists looking for an escape from unethical research, rebellions and revolutions, and sometimes even worlds on the verge of their final death or in the process of being born. This chapter deals in those themes, as well as how the manufacturers introduced previously fit into Lancer’s setting and how your own characters might do so too.
IN BETWEEN - LIMINAL THEMES “Change” is a bit of a broad theme, isn’t it? But rarely are changes overnight. Some might be; your pilot wakes up from her catgirl surgery (it’s canon, and we will die on this hill) to find that she has, in fact, become a catgirl. A tyrant is shot and his reign thusly ended in an instant, a Blink Gate is switched on and a world becomes an interstellar hub in an instant. But behind every instant change is the road it took to get there, and around every change - great, small, fast, and slow - are ten thousand smaller ones, little in-between steps, doorways, windows, and consequences. These, then, are liminal; they are your sunrises and sunsets, shorelines, thresholds, your tourist traps, retail outlets at 2 A.M., and the like. The time in which a criminal tries to turn her life around is a liminal space; the contemplation of peace after war is a liminal space. These moments between get glossed over, talked around, elided in stories, but people still live here, and so does your lancer.
LIVING ON THE EDGE LIMINAL CHARACTERS When making a character with an emphasis on liminal themes, you want to put them between things somehow. There’s a lot of options here. Maybe their life has been liminal in some way; they were born into a nomadic culture of Cosmopolitans, they were raised on a Blink Gate, they’ve become a lancer in the aftermath of a revolution. These characters invite questions of what ‘home’ means to them, why they’ve chosen or been chosen for war as their new profession (pilots, after all, are aggressively recruited), how their life has shaped their perception of the galaxy. For others, though, they find themselves on the cusp of a great change or transition, often one that is inevitable whether they like it or not. Will your old veteran choose a life of peace, and if so what will that life look like?
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SECTION 2 // Shores of Tomorrow
The native of a planet being Liberated, freshly clad in her mech, must struggle to build a better life after the overthrow of her masters; a DFG field agent probably has opinions about the looming existential crisis of his organization. It’s not all that different from making a usual pilot, but the emphasis is on the threshold. What choices face your character? How do they feel about it? Do they resent the alien world that is coming for them, embrace it, fear it? Placing this emphasis on their internal development and relationship with the group brings out Lancer’s existing themes in a way that puts change and transition front and center.
SORCERERS, SPIES, AND SOME DUDES The following section contains expanded setting information for Downfall Group, Magnum Opus Interstellar, and Marley, Oz, & Silver. Sample flashpoints are provided for Downfall Group and Marley, Oz, & Silver (see New Agartha Station for Magnum Opus Interstellar’s flashpoint).
DOWNFALL GROUP MUNIN: Target company’s carriage rates are down 12% over the last four years over the route we are examining, at the rate this is going they will not be sustainable in the area after another decade, which should mean that four planets there turn to internal resources and local slavers lose their interstellar sales. FELIX: Excellent. Any questions? OSCAR: You do realize that we’re disrupting our own parent company’s shipping? FELIX: Yes, and they should never have looked the other way on this. Authorize sales of Sinners to one or two of the area pirate groups, the ones that stick to transstellars. It should accelerate the process. ―Recorded notes of Downfall Group leader (Felix Reynard) planning session with his personal NHP fragment, MUNIN, and senior executives IPS-N has always had the best reputation among the greater Corpros. After all, they fund and arm Albatross, defend shipping lines, get supplies where they need to go nearly without fail, and vehemently oppose piracy in all its forms. What most either don’t know or can’t process is that remaining as enormously powerful as they are with that reputation requires massive cold-blooded backdoor dealings. Enter Downfall Group.
The entire thing was started as one of many lines of effort on Northstar’s side to identify vulnerable opponents for targeted buyouts and undercuts. Downfall Group was a subsidiary company, using IPS-N resources and taking their overall direction despite not being quite connected to the other sections. They would do opposition research over public information and study trends. They would compile known running expenses and profit margins. When necessary, they would buy, steal, or blackmail for the data they needed. In the end, their accuracy was good enough that it kept on running in the background of things. One DFG agent in a business suit and carrying a briefcase could do more damage in the right place than any strike team. Eventually, though, Felix Reynard came to lead the group. A hardworking and talented analyst, he saw very early on what their mission would routinely lead to. Tacit slavery, destroyed planets, political hard power plays, and worse were being facilitated by those he once looked up to. When eventually he was placed highly enough to make it happen, he enacted an analysis on their own corporate parent which laid out the facts in plain terms to his coworkers. The larger the organization, the larger the threat it presented to the society of Union, and humanity by extension. The correlation was nearly one to one, and a certain transstellar shipping superpower was no exception. On the outside, the study was in order to baseline IPSN’s weaknesses in order to better defend them as needed. In reality, it allowed him to turn his peers to his side and cycle out those who weren’t, eventually knocking the leadership of the Group out of their positions in a corporate coup indistinguishable from any of thousands that came before it. The Group continued to perform its mission, its new patterns of analysis merely the result of an ambitious new leader. They started taking much harder looks at their largest competitors in order to search for weaknesses and power plays they had not dared recommend before. After all, any attack that reduced the resources of more than one of the major corpros was a win on all sides.
As a side effect of this, the Group suddenly found itself with a wealth of technical information that it previously had been using for economic analysis. They also had more than one team of mech engineers for much the same reason, assembling known and theoretical frames in order to project their production and use. What do you do when you have amassed bits and pieces of every major corporation’s star frontliners along with those with the skills to put it all together? You make mechs of your own. This led to the Sinners, a series of frames based on stolen tech specs and reverse-engineered observations. Following the successes of the HORUS pattern-group operations in concealing their identities, Downfall Group pursued the same route. This frequently allowed their frames to get away with operating in places not quite as secretly as they should, since observers likely saw what they expected and kept on walking. Their daily operations also seem to be just moving along as they once were. Their recommendations have changed ever so slightly, though. They cost just that bit more to execute, hurt other corpros just a bit more, weaken influence where once they reinforced it, and generate unexpected revenues that just happen to go underreported. The biggest winners are no longer IPS-N, but Downfall Group and Union. The paper trails never seem to reflect this. Although lives were still being crushed, they were fewer, and the new goals gave them much more meaning. The numbers do not lie. In the end, Felix knows that the time is rapidly approaching when he is going to have to break his team free from the corporation they have been a part of for hundreds of years. He doesn’t want his own death or replacement to cause what he accomplished thus far to revert to their old ways, and plans to lock it in via public schism after he waits as long as possible to do so. On that day, literally every major transstellar corpro will have Downfall in their sights. To this end, he has been, very slowly, cementing his own alliances and resource lines. His frames turn up in the hands of Albatross, freedom fighters, ethical pirates, small shipping lines, and a hundred other improbable places (occasionally with Downfall pilots in them as well) as the web of those grateful for the Group’s existence grows. All he needs is a new home and time, neither of which are easy to ask for.
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DOWNFALL GROUP - EXAMPLE FLASHPOINT: EXTRA CREDIT On EN-041518, a habitable moon too small to have a real name and slightly off the beaten path in the Cascade Line, a mission is taking place. The moon orbits a gas giant, which itself is in a relatively close orbit to a cooler orangered star, generating enough interference on various spectra that scanning from afar was not ever practical despite the small colony there. A distress call sounds, and IPS-N answers alongside Albatross. Pirates had decided that the combination of factors making it not worth most people’s time also make it perfect for their own little base, and the resulting effects on shipping in the area have the lifeblood of the colony in jeopardy. Downfall Group was curious as well. The behavior of this group of pirates was odd, taking more prisoners and ransoming fewer people than typical along with choosing a location not exactly along prime shipping lines (though within reach of them). As a result, DFG sent a group of Sinners in disguise hidden among the strike teams, ready to poke around and get the information needed to do things their way. When the initial drop team launched at the location of the known pirate enclave, there were six ships. Five of those were expected, the last showed up on no systems as it came down a continent away and disgorged a team to poke around. Their mission: to see why this enclave never seemed to ransom its prisoners back. They didn’t take long to find out why, either. The piracy was only a part of the problem. Smith-Shimano Corpro was backing the colony, explaining how it could get semiregular resupply as easily as it did. In true fashion, they were not particularly welcome despite the ownership, the locals resenting the need for the sponsorship and resulting rules for arranging breeding lines. They were also, simultaneously, backing the pirates in order to both suppress outside support in the area and take prisoners for samples. The missing prisoners were being cloned, the clones imprinted with subservient personalities, and “shipped in” as technical experts joining the project in order to enhance lines of talented pilots, astrographers, and lancers. They felt they had accumulated enough for now, and so sent out the call in order to rid themselves of the pirates.
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If IPS-N were to find out what was going on, they would want none of this particular morass. Fighting pirates is one thing, and something they enthusiastically pursue. Starting up a major brawl with someone who can drag them over legal coals for the next couple of centuries over it is quite another. Operatives on the spot know that the two megaCorpros have extensive diplomatic relations, and though IPS-N won’t like having been used, they would end up scrupulously doing exactly what SSC wants here. Downfall Group cannot allow the colony ownership to continue, as they will not likely have another chance to end this genetic project for decades and, if successful, it will arm SSC with a new breed of pilots which will make them that much worse to fight. This in addition to the unwilling ownership and suppression tactics. The strike group is now in way over their heads. Their drop ship, unaccounted for in the parent’s manifests, has already been blown away by a particularly ambitious MONARCH. They have to make it across a continent without resupply or backup, under hot pursuit by frames much faster than their own who also have significantly better terrain data to draw on, and cannot signal for help easily without giving up the game entirely. To make matters both better and worse simultaneously, the telltale signatures of mech combat did what their emergency signals would have and alerted IPS-N’s forces that something was going on far from where they expected. Now, a backup DFG team is coming down to rescue them in an Albatross shuttle (and their crew knows what’s up), but so is an IPS-N interdiction team not in on DFG’s little secrets. Both want to rescue their comrades behind enemy lines, but the trick will be arranging for this to happen without letting them know the nature of the diverted team. For the backup team, the dark possibility of having to murder their comrades in order to preserve the charade is the ever-present last choice. In this flashpoint, players might take the role of the trapped and escaping drop force, the DFG rescue team, IPS-N anti-Piracy forces or rescue team, or members of Albatross doing any of the above. They might even take the role of a bewildered SSC base defense force, trying to defend their highly-sensitive operation from espionage by interlopers in frames that don’t seem to be doing what they look like they should alongside more traditional foes, all while maintaining the colonial investment.
MAGNUM OPUS INTERSTELLAR Celeste sighed as she idly spun in her station's chair. Another shift in one of the universe's largest warehouses; a collection of equipment and objects the size of a city, squirreled away underground and manned by hundreds of subalterns and barely enough actual flesh and blood people to justify a coffee maker. Crewing the Magnum Opus vaults was seen as a great honour and the pay was fantastic, but that didn't stop them being monotonous work most of the time. Just yesterday she had done a check on an artefact that the Voladore had asked Magnum Opus to store a century ago. Most Union researchers would drool over the chance to handle something like that...but it's just another package collecting dust here. A small augmented reality window appeared in the corner of her vision, an incoming request from a pilot. She called up the armoury details, triggering the firing sequence of the longest of long guns. Bringing up the camera display of the blink gate room, she smiled as she watched a crackling torrent of plasma pour through a jet black rip in the firmament of reality to evaporate metal an entire lifetime away. Alright, sometimes the job has perks. Magnum Opus Interstellar is a name that has become synonymous with the blink gate network for nearly as long as there has been a blink gate network. While they have never gained the sheer power of larger corpro-states, there are few who can deny that Magnum Opus's quiet work has helped build Union as people know it. Founded in the 3100s, Magnum Opus has been growing slowly but steadily ever since. During this time, the first contracts for the creation of blink gates began being offered to non-Union entities, and what followed was a vast influx of corporations seeking to take advantage of this lucrative opportunity. Magnum Opus Interstellar was but one of many at the time, little more than a small group of former Union scientists with ideas to improve the process, and investors willing to put their capital behind those ideas. Company after company folded; many had other aims to which blink travel was merely incidental, only to discover that Union's Econ department was not interested in entertaining their ambitions. Others, more experimental in nature, were bought out by larger corpro-states and folded into their own science and research divisions, their work on the blink network vanishing along with their autonomy. For its part, Magnum Opus kept its head down decade after decade, diligently iterating on its blink designs and taking on essential but unglamorous contracts constructing gates for budding client-states. This careful, long-term work both built Magnum Opus's prestige as the bearers of the light of civilization, and left them standing when so many of their competitors have faded from living memory.
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These days, Magnum Opus is a cornerstone of many parts of the blink gate network and the premier designer of incremental improvements to blink stations themselves. A direct contract with the Department of Interstellar Transportation has allowed them to stay independent of the consuming tendrils of other much more diversified corprostates that would see them as simply another valuable asset to acquire, and the level of trust they have built up allowed them to safely make the transition from supporting the imperialistic Second Committee to the humanistic Third Committee with a minimal amount of shakeup. Magnum Opus has never preferred to be involved in war directly. They maintain a respected catalogue of strange, artisanal designs that spin off from their primary work with the blink gate network, but they do not maintain a notable personal army - instead preferring to handle problems with social pressure, favourable trade deals or with security and anti-terrorist forces. They are more than happy to build a blink gate so that another group may access a system or sell a Mirrorsmoke company unique mechs, but they are very rarely directly involved in the mess of fighting and dying. However, this slow and steady process left them very unprepared for a new player to rapidly change the entire game. The Ascendant Aun’s direct attack upon a blink gate has shaken Magnum Opus Interstellar to the core. Before this, they did not have the sheer power of other corpostates but their essential position had left them nearly untouchable. The Aun have, however, sent a very clear message to them: “We do not need you.” This existential threat to Magnum Opus’ entire purpose for existence has sent ripples of panic through the corporation and they have pledged their full support for the reinforcements to the Autumn People's Republic...including some equipment that would have likely have been better long forgotten. Magnum Opus claims dominion over no planets, at least on paper. The Headquarters of Magnum Opus Interstellar is the New Agartha Blink Gate Station, a massive blink station floating high above a pastoral garden world. Voladore trade is, while not common, a much less rare sight at Agartha than it would be on most worlds. The pacifistic traders have built up a long history with Magnum Opus that allowed the company to quietly trade off the books with them, even during their flight from Union space, when the Second Committee attempted to violently assimilate their culture.
Beyond their headquarters and their blink stations, Magnum Opus maintains a large number of compounds and vaults across the worlds of the Union. Needing storage space that had security as a priority, Magnum Opus has built a massive collection of vaults buried deep underground on worlds and supported by their own personal miniblink network, allowing for the delivery of equipment and warehousing of sensitive materials across an entire star system - if one can afford the staggering prices for using blink technology in such a way. Magnum Opus has spent its entire life indispensable by other, larger corporations and Union itself, but as times change, a new question is starting to emerge that will threaten the entire company. Have they become outdated? And will the company, used to playing it slow and safe, need to move rapidly to change with the times.
MARLEY, OZ, AND SILVER MOTH: It’s been six months. When do you stop laying the train tracks in front of yourselves while you’re still moving? SILVER: We don’t. It’s just always like this. MOTH: Why do you bother? SILVER: Why would we do anything else? ―Excerpt of Biannual DoJ/HR Compliance Interview, concerning subjects MOTH (cosmopolitan Union citizen) and MARLEY, OZ, and SILVER (JANE SILVER, co-founder, representing). Interview presided over by MAYA ORLAIS (Union DoJ/HR liaison to MARLEY, OZ, and SILVER) Those used to thinking of mech providers as vast corprostates are often surprised to learn that the full-time staff of Marley, Oz, and Silver doesn’t breach triple digits, of which perhaps 6 people led by Oz are the design team at any given time. The people of Marley, Oz, and Silver work long hours for relatively little pay, doing difficult work for strangers that do not trust them, with the vast imperial might of corpro-states, the Baronies, and other unpleasant people as their foes. This is, in the main, because the people of Marley, Oz, and Silver are starry-eyed idealists, the kind who’d break their arms reaching out for just one more soul to save. Marley, Oz, and Silver owns few physical facilities; their headquarters is located on the moon of Asphodel in the Ammanite Line, and they do not produce the goods they sell. Instead, their sales catalogue - used to fuel their mission of freeing people from debt bondage and other forms of subtle slavery that are so often missed by the DoJ/ HR Liberators - takes the form of licenses and blueprints, which thrifty customers then print themselves.
Though their presence in the market is small, Marley, Oz, and Silver are proving increasingly popular with far-flung colonies, both because their designs are cheap, sturdy, and long-lasting, and because when you call them for help, they answer. It’s not always enough, but it’s never nothing. Their ongoing mission of debt-buying, to say nothing of those interventions in distressed colonies, means that Marley, Oz, and Silver spend cash as fast as they make it. To sustain their mission, and because their clients often have understandable trust issues, the company puts the people they rescue to work. Mech pilots often become part of the design team, for instance, while more dedicated engineers might be hired out to those same far-flung colonies to help design infrastructure (or, in the truly bad cases, defenses). The goal is always to ensure that the client can pay off their debt to Marley, Oz, and Silver in a timely fashion and to provide them with the therapy, support, and tools needed to start a free life. Many leave at the end of their service with warm thoughts in their hearts; others stay to continue the work, slowly expanding the company’s scope - and the cost of its overhead. The mad scramble to keep the lights on while continuing their mission is far from Marley, Oz, and Silver’s only problem. Their remit is a point of soreness for Union’s high ideals, and their position as a debt-buyer could very easily be abused by bad actors and criminals. Jacob Marley, Oz, and Jane Silver chose to contact Union directly when creating their company, and as a result they have a rotating series of handlers from the Department of Justice and Human Rights, with whom the company has a complex relationship. These handlers are the leash meant to keep Marley, Oz, and Silver honest, and as a result must regard their mission with suspicion and doubt - but those same handlers are also a direct line to the DoJ/HR, representing the power to negotiate directly, to receive information that the company could not otherwise act on and to pass such information on in turn. The dance is tense, but thus far beneficial to both sides. There’s also the problem of Asphodel itself. Marley, Oz, and Silver did not build their facility there so much as acquire it in a series of events that they are not legally permitted to talk about; there, at said facility, they discovered the blueprints for the ZAHHAK frame and its systems, as well as the prime NHP that calls themself PERSEPHONE. The facility is at once advanced and run-down; a junk heap, made from the junk of the future, which was discovered with Marley, Oz, and Silver’s name and branding all over it without them having actually built the thing.
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Once again, the company chose to play by the rules and report its discovery to Union, and once again the two are in an awkward place with one another; the company now owns and operates the facility so long as they do not, to put it mildly, act like they own and operate it. Its advanced Omninet access and research labs have benefitted their development, marketing, and rescue mission greatly, but the base also crawls with Union researchers and personnel that share the same space while investigating this strangely mundane, yet undeniably paracausal, event. PERSEPHONE themself has proven to be one of the friendliest and most pleasant NHPs discovered to date, with an incredible fondness for humans and an overwhelming concern for the preservation of human life and happiness. Of course, PERSEPHONE is also one of those last little awkward problems. Marley, Oz, and Silver have not told Union that they went looking through the shackles that restrain PERSEPHONE, and they definitely have not said to anyone else that the notes on the code for those shackles, the comments and logs and project updates, have just one name crediting the person responsible for restraining this NHP: “PERSEPHONE”. Players are most likely to encounter Marley, Oz, and Silver if they manage to intersect with their mission somehow; the company is not above paying mercenaries to add bonus objectives to their missions, such as extracting VIPs from a base they’re raiding, or delivering vital goods to a colony en route to another battlefield. The company is small enough that their goods are more likely to be encountered than their people.
MARLEY, OZ, AND SILVER - EXAMPLE FLASHPOINT: THE ASPHODEL STANDOFF Asphodel is a large moon orbiting a gas giant; its surface is lush and mountainous, full of flora and megafauna, with near-daily rainstorms. The discovery of Marley, Oz, and Silver’s facility there (the Heap, they call it, with wry looks on their faces), and the company’s subsequent decision to report the Heap to Union, saw Union mark the world as off-limits for colonization while the delicate dance of diplomacy went down with the youngblood company. It wouldn’t do to have random citizens stumbling across the place, after all.
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Unfortunately, somebody wasn’t doing their job, and rubber-stamped a citizen-owned colonial venture to settle on Asphodel. Now the colony - Orchardville, a lovely little community dedicated to cultivating the local flora - is in trouble because no one bothered telling them about the local megafauna. What’s worse, said gigantic alien lifeforms seem to be undergoing a migration of some sort, which is putting them on an intercept path with Orchardville in increasing numbers. Sure is lucky that there’s a nearby corporate base full of soldiers, right? Right? Marley, Oz, and Silver want to help the budding colony, but moving in mercenaries or their own military forces would make the situation with Union awkward at best, given that it would look like an arms buildup. Union wants the colony to pack up and leave, but the colonists bought this land fair and square as far as they’re concerned, and they deserve their shot to become a client-state and grow into a Capital world, damnit. Marley, Oz, and Silver could cement their claim by asserting their ownership of the world and then selling - or “selling” - it to Orchardville, but that would mean taking another step towards transformation into a corpro-state, and that is not a step they want to take or that Union wants to see them take. Complicating matters further is PERSEPHONE prime, who is growing increasingly agitated about any proposed solution that is not the immediate and unconditional help and support of the budding colony. They need help, right? Lives are in danger, aren’t they? Thus far PERSEPHONE has been kept mollified by being allowed to pilot their personal ZAHHAK for rescue missions and to divert megafauna attacks, but while the prime may be full of childlike wonder and a wide, open love for their new friends, PERSEPHONE is not an idiot. They want a decision made, and it’s quite possible that if one isn’t made that PERSEPHONE can be persuaded to accept, they’ll go rogue to do things their way. In this flashpoint, player characters might be colonists piloting their first mechs (purchased directly from Marley, Oz, and Silver), indebted pilots trying to help keep the situation stable, Union soldiers assigned to the burgeoning problem area, or even MIRRORSMOKE mercenaries jointly called in as a least-worst solution to protect the budding colony. They might even secretly be backed by PERSEPHONE, who funds and supports them off the books to save lives since no one else seems to be taking this seriously.
NEW AGARTHA STATION THE TREE WHOSE BRANCHES HOLD A MILLION WORLDS "I've set foot onto a dozen blink stations, but never one quite like this. Most Blink Stations are highly utilitarian, a series of rings built atop each other like the mythological tower of Babel reaching for the sky. To see New Agartha Station planetside is not to simply see something reaching for the stars but a pillar of the universe, seemingly reaching all the way over the horizon, branches spreading out to hold back the stars from falling to the earth. To watch lights pulse from the branches, down the metal trunk of the station, and to flow to the edge of the horizon where a dark and hungry gate to another world waits to consume it makes the station feel less like artifice and more like arcane ritual. You could tell me that this was a precursor artifact from some long ago civilization and...I'd half believe it." ― Medea Nu, Union Science Bureau attaché. One of the largest blink stations in known space, New Agartha Station also bears the pride of being one of the first. Built mere decades after the Union first discovered blink gate technology, it was a testbed for the cutting edge technology, and one of the foundational parts of the massive network that now forms the backbone of Union space. While many blink stations are created to serve as a link in a chain, to stretch interstellar trade lightyears further than it could reach before, New Agartha Station was instead designed for experimentation and improvement of the technology that would form those links. Officially part of none of Union’s rings, sitting halfway between the Andes Line and the Rocky Mountain Line, New Agartha Station's unique place in the universe comes by virtue of the history of its creators - the early pioneers of Blink Gate technology before they formed Magnum Opus Interstellar. The station as it exists today looks nothing like its origin, as iteration after iteration of improvements have made it a Ship of Theseus without even a single decoration that remains from the first designs. This however has also made it one of the consistently most advanced stations in Union space as new improvements are not simply implemented but often tested at the station itself or within the system it resides in. Housing almost fifty million residents at any time, half of them travelers, New Agartha Station’s population dwarfs all but the largest and most populous of blink stations. Despite that, however, space is not yet at a premium, as the constantly refined O'Neill Cylinder has regularly scaled itself up to meet the requirements of housing such an influx of travelers while remaining a popular stellar trading location.
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Where most blink stations are rings stacked on top of each other, very clearly indoors and sterile, New Agartha Station gives the impression of instead being on a strange world with alternating bands of ‘sky’ and ‘ground’ floating above, and carefully imported parks to break up the structures within the massive cylinder.
NEW AGARTHA STATION DISTRICTS A station as large as a decently sized country is going to have many more districts than can be reasonably covered in a quick overview. Each district of New Agartha can be seen as a city or large town, when visualizing the variety and community that exists within it. The following are simply examples of some of the most prominent within the station, with plenty of room to create your own.
SEMIRAMIS One of the primary hydroponics zones of New Agartha Station, Semiramis is often seen as Magnum Opus’ attempt to recreate the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Brilliant colours and verdant greenery fill Semiramis, and its multi-tiered hydroponics labs and vertical gardens produce massive quantities of the plants that are eaten every day on New Agartha Station. Like much of New Agartha Station, Semiramis was designed with style in mind but rarely for tourists to directly visit, instead looking very picturesque for images advertising the station. With each district of the station designed to be at least partially self contained, most of the people walking the streets day to day are instead locals that work in the hydroponics bays or are a member of their families. This gives Semiramis a rather insular nature, with locals less used to playing up the district for many visitors and less overt markets and entertainment. That is not to say that the district lacks such, but many of the fairs for molecular gastronomy or record breaking produce do not exactly attract outsider attention. Semiramin biotechnicians have in recent years, with the assistance of SSC genetics experts, made strides in attempting to blend the Metaphyta and Metazoa kingdoms, attempting to create unseen hybrids partially out of a desire to push scientific development and partially out of a desire to put the often overlooked district onto the galactic stage. Only the future can tell if these experiments ever run up against the limitations of the First Contact Accords.
Notable People and Groups: When the random nature of biology lets you down, why not turn to the makers of perfection for another chance? Draga Genetics is an SSC subsidiary within Semiramis that has made its name recently in leveraging SSC's impressive genetic libraries and extensive big data expertise to match users with the genetic material they require. Initially founded for relatively mundane purposes such as organizing the creation of superior facsimile clones and designer babies, Draga became a darling of SSC's public relation division with one of their most recent ventures: Soulmates. By signing over rights to your genetic structure and personal history, Draga Genetics can help you find your most perfect match! Drawing on their massive libraries of user's personal information, genetic history and omninet records, Draga Genetics has proven very successful in organizing business partnerships, marriages and polycules and has used this success in a media blitz of satisfied customers more than happy to say that putting their happiness in the hands of an SSC subsidiary is the best decision they ever made. This burst of goodwill has done wonders for the reputation of the company not only on the station itself but in the omninet, moreso than the many years they spent prior to this on more commonplace generic orders of 'Check for any potential future genetic issues', 'I want a female clone of King Arthur' or 'I want my child to have red hair'. They have most recently teamed up with MOI's own biotechnicians in exotic projects, hoping to soon have another revelation just as glorious as managing to put a price on soulmates!
CYRUS Magnum Opus' love of history and clothing themselves in its grandeur can be seen from the neo-Babylonian designs of their districts to the endless mythological figures they pillage to name their mechs. Nowhere, however, is it quite as obvious as in Cyrus where universities and museums flourish and display both recreations of the past and many genuine articles. Part of the agreement that many agree to when storing artifacts within the vaults of Magnum Opus is that the corprostate can display these wonders within Cyrus, something MOI takes advantage of with glee. The spear of an ancient Karakin Baron can often be seen alongside the pitch black pillar of unknown metal that the Voladore have asked them to store for centuries, available for the public to admire. This is not something that has gone uncommented-on by members of Thirdcom, who are often willing to point out how many of these treasures were part of 'deals' made during Seccom, with the implicit threat of violence backing up overtures of friendship.
It is only the fact that even a smaller corprostate like Magnum Opus can leverage law departments bigger than the appealing worlds that these displays have not been rendered empty by reparations and returns to those who originally owned them. Some have even made pointed remarks that MOI's true reason for taking part in the Boundary Garden war is to place Menat Aun in one of their museums. Generations of students in Cyrus universities have taken part in demonstrations against this cultural theft. Despite claims that they would have nothing left to display if these were returned to their creators, a company with access to vaults full of genuinely given wonders, printers, and hologram technology renders this argument almost farcical. As the time of SecCom gets more distant, it seems Magnum Opus will need to deal with the fact that one cannot teach that you have morals without having some that you have taught genuinely believing it and calling you on it. Notable People and Groups: The treasures and precious moments of the past do not recover themselves, and into the gap have stepped many wrecklaimation groups, those zero-G salvagers who follow the ghostly sirens of long-lost ships, colonies, and stations. These trips bring back not only raw materials, but often valuable information about the perils that felled lost parties so that no others might fall prey to that danger again. Most valuable, however, they bring back tokens of the people who were lost, reuniting families with last messages of previous generations. One such group is Shade Fall Industries, traveling in large generational salvage ships and specializing in the most difficult of prizes to be found. Locating anything in the void of space is akin to finding a needle in a haystack, and hunting for something specific is even more difficult, but they have proven a talent for such things. They have tracked the last battle of a second committee admiral to confirm his death for a war crimes tribunal, salvaged long lost terashima blades for the enclaves, and even rescued the scattered remnants of colonies thought wiped away. The museums of Cyrus have made great usage of the skills of Shade Fall Industries, buying historical artifacts of fallen colonies, the weapons from famous battles, and a host of other treasures that adorn the crown of Cyrus. A longstanding offer of a king's ransom is offered by MOI to them for a treasure they most wish to obtain: The contents of an infamous museum, full of looted and pillaged wonders from nations across pre-Fall Cradle. These contents are believed to have been transferred to one of the Ten, but no record shows them arriving at a destination world. Somewhere, out there in the void, are the treasures of a lost world, perhaps in a pirate's hoard or on a forgotten station revealed by a secret map. Vast riches await, but more importantly so does the glory of being the one to find and display it.
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VENA To step into Vena is to almost feel as if you have stepped onto Ras Shamra. Homes and schools blatantly fly the plum banners of Harrison Armoury and local security forces work in heavy, face covering armoury plating rather than the lighter uniforms of Magnum Opus' internal security teams. The center of the district holds a memorial to a great tragedy for Harrison Armoury and the source of its hold on this district of New Agartha station. In 4832u, a Colonial Legion vanished. In the process of moving to claim a new world for the Purview, Legion IX Antillia had entered New Agartha space, picking up technical experts on-station. After taking a few days of rest and relaxation, the ships had entered the New Agartha Blink Gate...and were never seen again. The target Blink Gate never registered any arrival and despite months of study it was never discovered where they had been sent, if they still existed. The Armoury's fury briefly raised...and then stifled. Perhaps this could instead be used to gain a foothold onto the home of a company resisting attempts to buy them out. To salve diplomatic issues about vanishing an entire military unit, Magnum Opus had to eat not the one crow, but two; First erecting a monument to an embarrassing failure of their systems and to allow Harrison Armoury a presence in the monument's district 'to maintain it'. These days, Vena is a paradoxical location, one that is both argued to be the safest place on the station, but also the primary source of punditry and journalism about the station's supposed ills. From claims of rising crime waves to corruption and failures of station leadership, Vena residents argue that if Magnum Opus cannot maintain a quality of life that people expect, perhaps they should step aside and let someone with a more proven track record take over this important task. Notable People and Groups: The wheels of justice turn slowly, even in Union space. The sheer distances worked with often delay investigations long enough that important clues can be lost. In addition, Union's tense relationship with the Karakin Trade Baronies and its Corprostates often means that political pressure can be applied to even the most idealistic of investigators. For those who have been denied justice, there are extrajudicial groups more willing to help. The Wyld Hunt is one such group, acting as one of the many small swords in the universe to the Albatross' shield and bringing intimate, personal judgement down upon those who harmed the innocent. They swoop in like avenging angels, each member of the Wyld Hunt driven by the pain they themselves have suffered in the past.
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However, not everyone can keep the fire burning forever. For many who have reached their limit among the Wyld Hunt, New Agartha Station makes for an excellent place to return. Travelers from across the galaxy can easily find a place within it and its trade links make it excellent for acquiring weaponry, equipment and information for the Wyld Hunt and their ships. While Magnum Opus is not a fan of extrajudicial justice, they are content to let sleeping dogs lie. Despite that, in recent years, even those who had thought themselves withdrawn from action have found a new problem finding them. Vena's security and local government are almost entirely controlled by Ras Shamra, and this has made it a hostile place for those who are not friends of the Purview. Crimes against those who reject Armoury leadership are much higher than station average, with local security nowhere to be seen. Even moreso, several outspoken critics of them have been arrested and tried in local courts that appeal to Ras Shamra rather than the New Agartha Station high court. In the face of this injustice, many are thinking that perhaps there is still enough fire for a few last rides of the Wyld Hunt.
MEDB Emblematic of the busy nature of a blink gate, Medb never truly sleeps, a major industrial district built alongside one of Agartha Stations many capital-class printer bays. Before journeying through the blink gate itself, it’s very common for ships to put in for repair and resupply at such a station...and to have much of their spending money leveraged out of them by the various side entertainments, while the massive printers create new plating and engines for even the largest of ships. In Medb, much of the prestige of the station is replaced with crowded pathways, loud laughter and blatant displays of most vices. While not as rough as the Skylane, Medb often panders to visitors who find the airs and selfdeception of ‘attempting to commune with the astral plane’ little more than an annoying patina over the vices being engaged with and have no time for it. Medb’s safety is assured by the strong local unions, who work together to make sure that any visitor who abuses a worker is soon blacklisted, blueballed, and beaten; Medb’s security is almost universally drawn from the local community who have long ago unofficially stepped aside to let the unions solve their own problems, only stepping in when it comes to interdistrict crime or during a local election year. Marley, Oz and Silver has significant inroads with these unions and workers collectives with work programs, debt relief and lawsuits against abusive management. This has earned significant goodwill in Medb and one of their largest offices in Union space, shared with only a single other company.
Medb’s artistic side has seen more attention in recent years, locals using spare printer time to help produce the tools required for pieces of massive and dramatic art. Decalling or adding a few markings to a ship can happen in most stations - but if you want a massive ukiyo-e piece along the side of your ship or dazzle camo that will truly dazzle all who see it, Medb is hard to beat. Notable People and Groups: For all the actions of corprostates, paracausality and gods from the machine there is often nothing more important than the power of music. It allows communication beyond language, the sharing of cultures far from their origin and expression of ideas in a much more accessible way than 'go read theory'. Medb is a hub of music, with endless bands and solo performers echoing across the printer bays.
One such band is that of the Black Saints, a popular country band that has become notable with just how much of a personality the NHP manager of the band has become on the station. Headed up by a drawling Raleigh pilot, the band is currently very popular among the industrial workers of the station even as their manager Lottie, a Dolly-Class NHP has become the belle of the ball for many charity causes and marginalized groups with her grace and simple kindness. Despite their popularity, they have become rather a headache for Magnum Opus security as while the printer bays certainly have the space for mech-scale performance events and concerts, the drummer's tendency to castigate her drumkit have caused more than a few fires that local firefighting teams have had to spring on before they spread beyond cosmetic damage.
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HUANGDI One of the largest residential and business districts, Huangdi is immediately recognisable by the massive art installation outside of the station’s highest courthouse. Gleaming white marble, standing taller than any mech, shows the three Utopian Pillars of Union and reinforces Magnum Opus Interstellar's commitment to them in a very visible way. Critics of the corprostate, however, are more than willing to point out that during the time of SecComm, the art installation there showed instead a glorious explorer heading off into uncharted lands to catalog and colonize. Like all districts in New Agartha Station, what seems initially like the surface of the district is instead just the top of many levels deep into the superstructure of the station itself. In these underground zones countless lawyers, advocates, spies, saboteurs and traders work to plan out the future of the station and its legal codes. Under political pressure by Cradle, New Agartha Station has adopted a ‘one person, one vote’ democratic parliamentary system instead of simply being controlled by the autocratic rule of the station administrators. This decision is very unpopular with the board of Magnum Opus Interstellar, but they have no choice but to bow to Union’s utopian ideals. Upcoming elections have the board rather concerned. The Ferryman Incident, tensions around Vena’s increasing power, and a growing independence movement fostered by union strikes, Downfall Group agents and failed attempts to crackdown shows that while Magnum Opus’ party is unlikely to fail to achieve power once again, it may be forced into coalition government with either the Ra Shama Integration Group or the New Agarthan Independence Party to do so. This insult in the very core of Magnum Opus’ power cannot stand, and the company's finances are being leveraged to help makeup for this shortfall in political goodwill. Downfall Group is a wildcard in this situation, an unseen factor to both Ra Shama Analysis and Magnum Opus Prophecy. It may come down to a knife edge, with them in control of the blade. Notable People and Groups: Among the corporate lawyers and state agents within Huangdi, there are also those who advocate for causes out of passion rather than self-interest. Thelia is one such figure, a gothic NHP specialist who's expertise has helped many of these children of Deimos using her skill not just with the technical aspects of their support but her deep rapport and understanding of their psychology. Her ability to not simply cycle NHPs but to help them come to terms with issues in a healthy way and halt cascading more gently than most has garnered her quite a bit of attention...not always friendly attention, when Anthrochauvinist groups are concerned.
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Thelia is, at her core, a devoted member of the Horizon movement who does not limit her actions to purely the legal. Her treatment of NHPs has made her privy to a vast swathe of information that the organic members of Magnum Opus would never trust her with...including fearful rumors among the MOI NHPs. Rumors that they were not the first generation of such NHPs. That NUADA, whose mind was shattered by blinkspace, is a rare survivor of such beings. Some NHPs have even confessed to her of a sense of being observed by the New Agartha Station Blink Gate itself, feeling a sensation of pained, confused eyes watching them and wondering why they get to live happy lives when it was forced to endure agony. Most NHPs think this sensation is little more than half-remembered dreams but as a common pattern within all local NHPs, it has made her concerned enough that she has relayed this information recently to other Horizon members. That was three weeks before the Ferryman Attack.
IGRAINE Once a bustling residential district, Igraine has become a ghost town within the busy blink station. The destroyed shells of buildings and structures lay alongside shattered military frames and tanks. All entrances to the district have been sealed off and are guarded by security forces ever since the recent tragedy (See: Flashpoint - Ferryman’s Toll). Augmented reality signs declaring the district a forbidden area are not an uncommon sight on public transport nodes and it has lent a grimness to what was previously a warmhearted area of the station. Union Investigation teams, led by the Union Science Bureau attaché Medea Nu, are currently in Igraine trawling through ruined lives attempting to identify the source of this incursion and how to prevent it in the future. More importantly however, they are attempting to support those who have lost everything, organizing temporary housing for those left homeless and professional support for those traumatized by conflict or loss of family. The outpouring of support, however, provides some hope for Igraine. Other districts have gone above and beyond in helping the refugees of the district, opening homes, schools and pantries to the displaced people. Igraine has become a rallying sign to the rather detached people of New Agartha Station, breaking the usual lines between true natives and residents as they come together to help support others in their hour of need. Of course, where there is ruin, there are also scavengers. More than one group is very interested in getting their hands on abandoned wealth in the district...or even parts from one of these strange attackers for their own research.
Notable People and Groups: Igraine's loss has resulted in action not only by Union itself but also New Agartha Station's own internal leadership. With a surplus of researchers but a lack of professional soldiers, they have turned to mercenaries to lead teams of researchers in discovering the cause of the attack on Igraine and preventing such a tragedy happening again. Calypso 'Catastrophe' Tarantula is one of these mercenaries and one that Magnum Opus is most likely to make progress in this investigation, with a highly desirable combination of ethics that will drive her forward in the investigation but enough gullibility to hopefully not reveal any uncomfortable secrets to the public if assuaged with the idea of proper channels solving the problem. The bane of many engineering teams, Calypso alternates between her mech and her love life returning to base in scraps. Despite initial appearances she has proven highly skilled, the loss of her machines more generally due to completing the mission no matter the personal risk to herself rather than out of lack of care. Willing to take almost any mission if they pay or sob story is good enough, Magnum Opus believes that she is an excellent ace in the hole to help them with any rematch with the Ferrymen and have spent a significant amount of manna providing her research and support teams in these endeavors. She has been given priority access to blink gates for any off-station investigations and just enough oversight to attempt to keep any PR disasters that are uncovered coming to light.
Another advantage to her in the eyes of the New Agartha Station leadership is her antipathy towards the Union Science Bureau attache Medea Nu, that they believe will help keep her from acting as an opposition agent regardless of her well documented weakness to cute bluehaired girls. They are less than sure about why a fight over purchasing of a first edition animation boxset that resulted in the destruction of the object and the store it was located in is enough to have this level of antipathy but they are more than willing to make use of it.
MERNEITH The beating heart of Magnum Opus' research labs, Merneith is not merely quiet research labs but buzzing, living science and technosorcery. Its wisdom does not simply wait to be created but springs forward to force itself to be born from the head of Zeus. Next to pristine printer bays, the smell of incense and crackling ozone hangs heavy in the air as Magnum Opus attempts to draw forward their next creation like an oracle seeking the future. It is a testament to the success of the station's paracausal improvements that a place like this is allowed to exist at all. Many engineers find Merneith utterly overwhelming upon a first visit, stuck in a place that alternates between a fevered frenzy of invention and an indolent stupor almost at random. A scientist could spend half a week contemplating the void, kept functioning with a near-lethal co*cktail of energy drinks before rushing to write down their latest idea before the inspiration and their latest high escapes them. A research team might employ a medium to speak to them with the words of a passed away team leader. However, many of the residents of this district would deny that this is chaos, simply a pattern of order that humans are not capable of understanding. Yet. However, in the middle of the heat and excitement of Merneith there is a growing ice. Historians of Magnum Opus' past are questioning how some of the initial creations of Magnum Opus were made. A company that speaks much of its moral code is rarely a company that succeeds in business if it is honest in those statements. They have also discovered old notes in long-faded archives. Instructions on how one could scrape the eyes of a god to see as it sees. To feast on deimosian divine ichor and learn the truths of the universe. Notable People and Groups: The cliche of those opposed to the First Contact Accords are often those seen as power hungry or desperate for immortality, the rich scrabbling for more time. However, there are many who oppose them for more humane reasons. How many flashclones are made, doomed to a short and painful death due to the nature of their birth? How many personal projects are orphaned and left to rot alongside their creators because there was
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simply not enough time? How many lives are lost each day, having existed but not truly had a chance to live? The Enhanced Peoples Unity Front is one such group, arguing that the First Contact Accords are not sacred doctrine handed down from on high but gunboat diplomacy from a tyrant cloaked in the illusion of godhood. Working with religious fervor and quiet research, the Enhanced People's Unity Front seems not simply to test the limits of the First Contact Accords but to shatter them. To remove the chains RA placed on self improvement and to achieve a transcendence from human limitations. NHPs are not in their mind a separate being but something humanity could seek to emulate as they leave the cruelties of random genetics, chance and class behind. This mix of spiritualism and innovation has led to them making inroads within Merneith, the research staff less shaken by their ideas of defying the heavens than many other groups have been in the past and very appreciative in their expertise in improving cybernetic designs. While there is currently no sign of them successfully violating the First Contact Accords, their growing numbers has made Magnum Opus Security more than a little nervous.
THE SKYLANE Like all Union stations, New Agartha Station emulates gravity through rotation, keeping roughly 1G on most habited areas of the cylinder. As a result, however, it means that the center of the cylinder experiences the twin wonders of a stable, breathable atmosphere and the one place onstation where close to 0G is easily found. Originally used as a transport lane for goods being distributed through the station, the Skylane has become a massive bustling district of its own, populated by workers who feel more comfortable in the void than with ground underfoot. One of the rougher districts, it's not uncommon in the Skylane to see IPS-N marines on leave brawling or local youths tagging the side of massive shipping containers passing through. Magnum Opus Interstellar rescue services are quite common here to make sure that people do not drift beyond the point that plummeting under gravity's force becomes inescapable. Hotels, Restaurants and Entertainment can be found almost growing off the side of supports in the middle of the cylinder, crowds floating from place to place in cut down air jet propulsion suits or making use of a number of custom-designed aircycles that could only work in zero-G.
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Skylaners have developed a bit of a poor reputation in recent years, as insufficient oversight has led to travelers and tourists disposing of garbage by simply tossing it out into space, leaving it to heedlessly drop down on another district. The most famous incident among these caught an SSC model directly in the middle of a press conference about a new fashion line, and has resulted in orders of SSC products to the Skylane seeing semi-regular unexpected delays. The district’s aircycle racing however, is very popular throughout the station, with many of the larger races seeing quite a bit of sponsorship and media attention. Notable People and Groups: Even among the various roughness of the Skylane, one group of troublemakers stands above the others. New Oceanic Finders’ Fleet is an asset recovery group employing mercenaries for an endless variety of high octane, low subtly missions on many worlds with a specialty in actions against the Karakin Trade Baronies and Harrison Armoury. Never one to dwell on issues, their members can often be found in the many bars of the skylane or getting patched up after starting a drunken brawl with a hardsuited marine. Despite this trouble though, their ability to solve most problems with onthe-fly thinking, copious explosions and complete chaos has made them incredibly valuable to various groups seeking their services. One such organization is Downfall Group. Downfall Group's meager numbers and requirement for personal anonymity means that they frequently require assets who can be relied on to cause enough noise to disguise the actions of more undercover agents. After all, when a Tagetes-Class Carrier is taken on an unexpected joyride by mercenaries, few will be paying attention to if someone quietly took data from the launch deck logs.
NEW AGARTHA STATION: UNIQUE EXPERIENCES “They don’t decorate everything with filigree and gems like tyrants, but everything Magnum Opus does wants you to know one thing: They’ve got wealth and resources. Things can’t just be expensive, they have to be exotic. You don’t get this sort of esoteric dilettantism from anyone who actually has to work for a living. On the plus side? They know plenty of fun vices and they’re perfectly willing to share.” -Tia Maddalen, DOJ/HR Field Advocate.
CELESTIAL SEAS One of the most incredible sights in New Agartha Station are the brilliant sky sections, where clear material allows light and warmth in from the system's star. A unique design decision for New Agartha Station was to make these sections of 'sky' also the primary water stores of the station, massive artificial lakes that rest seemingly upon the stars. This decision saves significant space and the transparency of the crystal clear water does not interfere with the lighting of the cylinder but, most impressively, they create places where the citizens of New Agartha Station can swim with space itself underfoot and 'land' floating far overhead. Locals find the endless marveling of tourists about this sight very quaint, for something that is so mundane to them. Notable People and Groups: New Agartha Station's Celestial Seas are a major source of cultural attention from across the galaxy, seen in advertising, public relations releases and even various shows filmed upon the artificial shores that supply the station with its water. Aelian Concord Pact is one of the mercenary group that takes advantage of this landmark sight for their own publicity, releasing self-publicized virtual reality programs that tread the line between recruitment and reality programming. Thought by many to be an advertisem*nt for SSC's biotechnological and artisan groups or the dueling corporation Ironleaf Foundry, Aelian Concord Pact members are immediately visible due to eccentric biomodifications and custom gear that is well outside the price range of most mercenary groups. The show claims these to be the invention of the group's leader, a tiny 'genius inventor' with obvious lupine biomods and flair for the dramatic like the Fianna of old.
Compounding the various questions of the group's backer is that of the operations they take on. Many observers do not believe it plausible that an actual mercenary group could find that many genuine, heart wrenching stories against strange and exotic foes for almost no pay. Still, the show has excellent rating and quite a few of the younger members of the station are flocking to the warrior band for adventure, glory and their fifteen minutes of fame.
AVALON GARDENS A multi-generational project in xenobotany collected from many worlds, and named with Magnum Opus’ characteristic self importance, the Avalon Gardens are a visual wonder. The most beautiful flowers and plants from across the known galaxy are carefully cultivated to provide visitors with a sensational experience like no other. Each garden is rigorously maintained in temperature, atmosphere and layout to maintain both health and aesthetic value and can involve such things as flowers that seem to have petals of gemstone gathered from a molten world, glowing tendrils from the darkest depths of exoplanet oceans, or shimmering frost flora discovered by a Far Field team upon a rogue planet. A less advertised, but highly valuable aspect of these gardens is the hidden research labs where the plants are grown, many of them exceptionally useful in the development and refinement of medical treatments, cosmetics and strangely flavored drinks.
THE FORBIDDEN GARDENS There are a great many living things on most worlds that are perfectly happy to kill you. Some of them do not need teeth to do so, or even mobility. Deadly poison, caustic sap, hypnotic patterning, clouds of spores, or spines that cause endless pain are but a small sample of what these plants might possess to defend themselves from whatever horrors are native to their worlds. The same things that make them deadly often make them particularly useful to scientists (both the official ones and the more recreational chemists). For these, there exists a special piece of Avalon Gardens known as the Forbidden Garden. Despite the name, guests are welcome (as long as one is a legal adult, sticks to the paths, wears protective equipment provided, and does not, for the love of whatever they find holy, touch anything). These same curious blooms can often be found nearly nowhere else, certainly not anywhere that is easy to travel to, and are frequently quite beautiful (from outside arm's reach). Local hospitals have a tradition of having a standing shift within sixty seconds run of the garden gates, though major mishaps are thankfully rare.
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NEW AGARTHAN PHARMACOLOGICAL OCCULTISM One of the most stark dividing lines between visitors to New Agartha Station and that of locals is the latter's embrace of a cosmopolitan, chemical assisted occultism in both research and day to day lives. Attempting to grasp the edge of the paracausal has turned many of Magnum Opus' top researchers to looking for the shadows cast by truth in psychotropic visions, sensory deprivation excursions and rituals jury-rigged from a thousand faiths across dozens of worlds. Attempts to unlock the hidden potential of the human mind leads to researchers and enthusiasts engaging in long stints of sensory deprivation, often assisted by psychotropic chemicals. This is not seen as casting aside logic by Magnum Opus, but a search for truth in uncharted realms that must be explored and colonized. It is often claimed, not incorrectly, that New Agartha Station spends more time training Psychonauts than Cosmonauts. This shows in day to day ways among the station, where voidsuits will be sold emblazoned with the images of patron saints or runes claimed to ward against the dangers of space, artists seek drug-assisted inspiration from the etheric realms and business deals are finalized as much by a group attempt to grasp the future in divination as in the contract itself. Still, these rituals grant comfort and many on the station would claim they have had genuine visions of the future or been warded away from harm by a symbol in the world around them that only they spotted. They claim that the arcane and strange attempts to grasp the impossible are just that: Attempts. That in a universe where even the fundamental concept of causality is challenged every day, new methods must be devised to help understand the universe...or universes...they dwell within. Notable People and Groups: People suffer many deaths, beyond just that of the body. When they give up on improvement, when they sell their life into service of debt and, most tragically, when they are forgotten. As much as Marley, Oz and Silver helps save others from the death of eternal debt there are likewise those who seek to carry the warmth and light of the forgotten into the future so that they are never lost to that most final death. The Circle of the Fiery Epitaph is one such group, a monastic order that works the miracle of pulling Lazarus from the tomb to speak again every day. They speak to the terminal and the lost, imprinting their words and thoughts upon themselves so that they may carry them onwards and bring forward the fallen through pharmacological trances. They walk with the fallen, in their footsteps until the dead walk with them and speak through their voice.
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While many monks use Prosocollars for this, some of the more devoted members even assist this with cybernetic enhancements to allow them to natively speak with a myriad of tongues. This sharing of subjectivity with the dead, or a facsimile thereof, is highly of interest to pilgrims who wish to speak with dead family members or to ask the wisdom of long-past figures. While some think them little more than charlatans, many on New Agartha Station find them a source of comfort and the legal system has granted them a limited role of appeal for the departed, allowing them to request justice in the voice of those slain unfairly through malice or corporate malpractice. More than one 'accident' has been reopened with the help of an eccentric monk who claims that the person they know would not have died that way.
HIDDEN PATHS Tourists used to the more compartmentalized design of traditional Blink Stations often find New Agartha Station a bit confusing. A plethora of minor side streets lead to maintenance corridors and well used access hatches that blend into walls, well enough to make the eye skip over them. This has led to a reputation among tourists that New Agartha locals have arcane powers, able to create paths from mid air, which is not improved by Magnum Opus' tendency towards such mystical theming and local amusem*nt in keeping knowledge of such passages away from tourists to allow quick travel even in the busiest times. It's not uncommon to find small businesses in areas only accessible by these paths trading far flung goods, secrets and simply allowing people to relax out of sight of the constant mass of merchants and travelers. A constant sore point amongst Corpostate citizens is the local tendency to see them as 'Just Another Tourist' and leaving them pushing through crowds, no matter how long they've lived on station. Notable People and Groups: Within the unknown paths and hidden backrooms of New Agartha Station, there is an endless need for information brokers and those willing to walk along crooked paths for their goals. Takács Karsa is one such figure, acting as freelance agent, middleman and negotiator across the station. The son of a wealthy shipping magnate from Carina, his life was shattered when his father was found guilty of the only true crime a member of the IPS-N board can truly be convicted of: Costing the corpostate profit. Heated public arguments over the relative values of investing in increasing benefits to employees against that of union busting and an endless cycle of the desperate and the dispossessed rounded up by Northstar Realignment went badly, becoming the talking point of the day on the omninet and causing a stall in the share price briefly. It would not be long after that when he was found dead, a victim of a 'tragic pirate attack' that Trunk Security entirely failed to predict or catch in the act.
Vanishing from the public eye and left adrift with little more than anger and his inheritance, Karsa found himself on New Agartha Station. There he found himself aligned with MO&S out of shared values and mutually dwindling finances. While very much independent, the dour and highly educated heir often finds himself using his networking talents, his light touch and skills with the Dusk Wing 'Sólyom' learned at the Royal Naval Academy to gather intelligence and find paths around blockers that threaten to stall the efforts of MO&S. It doesn't hurt the perpetually-in-the-red company that he'll often work for little more than information that he can trade to others or use to help continue his attempts to support his late father's goals.
NEW AGARTHAN FOOD One would expect that for a crossroads between so many worlds, where the exports of every nation are available and ship after ship moves through requiring resupply that New Agartha would be awash in prepackaged food from a million companies. That is only half true. While they will happily trade in canned drinks and boxed foods from many places, the power of being located on a blink gate gives New Agartha a unique capability that few other worlds can have: The ability to enjoy fresh produce from all of those star systems. New Agarthan food is heady with exotic spices and strange tastes, with a strong distaste for the mild and the bland. Even the famous Avalonian Apples grown on-station have a taste that many outsiders find overwhelming to the senses initially, tart to the point of shock. This enjoyment of variety often crosses what will be seen as classes of food, as New Agarthan residents will often be seen pairing an expensive carefully cultivated dish with a strange canned drink or a glass of wine from a cheap cardboard box as long as they like the taste. Local vendors fill the marketplaces, with most stores having a small restaurant or food stall as part of the advertising for them. If you are going to enjoy the wares from an entire lightyear away, why not try some of the tastes while you’re there? Enjoyment of the strong and the strange often leaves outsiders shocked at what New Agarthan chefs will cook and New Agarthan residents will happily chow down on. This sheer variety also makes, of all things, local vending machines a small cultural touchstone, as the drinks and snacks available in a given district or deck may bear no resemblance to what can be found elsewhere on the station. It's not uncommon for locals of New Agartha Station to be seen traveling halfway across a station to visit a single vending machine just to enjoy a taste from a specific world and to talk shop with those around it. Watching the expressions of outsiders trying to match their tastes is nearly as sweet at times.
THE QUESTING KNIVES Technically, this order of wandering warriors calls themselves the Epicurians, but nobody but their applicants remember this. They are an ancient organization, debates rage whether they helped put together Old Agartha Station or merely found a home there, but it is a certainty that they helped build the new one in support of regaining their favored home and culture. Their mission as an organization is threefold and quite simple. Explore the known and unknown galaxy. Discover new species. Eat them. Their teachings hold that there are over ten thousand unique tastes a human can experience, and as a result there are more possible combinations than there are atoms in the universe... not that they are going to let it stop them. Their members become explorers, chemists, botanists, mech pilots, and even occasionally cooks in the pursuit of this branch of human knowledge.
WALLS OF SOULS Even in the most carefully controlled circ*mstances, Extravehicular activity is dangerous. Kept from the danger of vacuum by a thin suit, no matter how well tended, is to live moments away from potential death. To help deal with this, all EVA crews tend to develop a few superstitious tics to calm nerves and to make them feel less like everything could be lost with a single mistake. On New Agartha Station, this takes the form of the Wall of Souls, where every crew member is allowed to engrave their name onto a hull plating of the station itself in metallic golden writing after their first EVA journey. This grants them a small measure of immortality that extends beyond their own bodies. With New Agartha Station being centuries old, most of the massive external platings that make up the superstructure of the station have at least one shimmering name engraved on them. The residents of the station have over time developed their own superstitions about the protective qualities of these engravings, acting like the previous generations of spacefarers are watching over them and protecting them from harm. While no hard evidence of this protection has ever been proven, locals are more than willing to point to several coincidences of an unsigned plating failing while its signed kin held strong or most recently, how of the various entrance points that the Ferryman Incident made, none of the beings that could step through solid matter like mist ever managed to enter the station through a signed wall. Notable People and Groups: For those who live on the edge of the Wall of Souls or risk their lives in Zero-G, few names are as respected as WEN Search and Rescue. A growing company that uses Agartha Station’s access to so much of the galaxy to spread their reach far, WEN is the child of generations of people who have lost family members to the void and the dangers that lurk within it.
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Locally they are often seen tending to the Wall of Souls, repairing names that have started to fade. Beyond those walls however they can be found in many places answering distress calls, charting dangerous anomalies and performing dangerous negotiations for captives with various pirate groups as they trade on their excellent reputation for wanting to make sure everyone gets home alive.
MAGNUM OPUS INTERSTELLAR FLASHPOINT: FERRYMAN’S TOLL A few months ago, unknown attackers entered through the airlocks leading to the Igraine district. Clad in shrouded semi-material frames that match no known patterngroup, they never breached the airlocks, instead dematerializing them and letting a significant amount of local atmosphere out before they returned to reality. They waged a three day battle with security forces before, according to Magnum Opus, being driven back and forced to flee. More objective
analysis by Union observers note that even the bleeding edge technology of Magnum Opus barely slowed them, and most of the enemy losses were the auxiliary troops clad in Harrison Armory frames rather than the ringleaders themselves. This attack has left a large district of New Agartha Station in ruins and has, more importantly to station management, left a lot of questions about why this attack happened and if it is likely to recur. The attack makes little sense, as Igraine District is a residential district of little tactical, economic or research value for an attacker seeking conquest, disruption of Magnum Opus’ operations or theft of high technology assets. The human shrapnel left spread across the station as their lives were uprooted is tragic - but doesn’t weigh very high in these estimates. This unknown purpose is frustrating Union Science Bureau Investigator Medea Nu, who suspects that Magnum Opus’ leadership might have more insight that they are refusing to share with her work.
As such, she has endeavored to contract outside agents to help investigate her theories. These agents are starting to bear strange fruit, as the information she’s gaining about various aspects of the attack only add more confusion to the event. Notable People and Groups: Medea Nu is earnest, brilliant and thoroughly over her head with this investigation. She has lived on New Agartha Station for several years at this point, acting as an analyst and primary point of contact for MOI’s development teams. This has proven to be stable but mostly dull work, as the corp rarely likes to share their data until the analysis is almost entirely complete already. This has left the blue-haired cyborg rather a jack of all trades upon the station, acting at various times as freelance scientist, collector of old media, occasional streamer and the only human to have been kicked into the NHP play brackets for Forge of Stars III. The attack by the Ferrymen has her acting as point for the investigation and despite the many roadblocks being thrown in her way and her lack of direct field experience, she is determined to bring the truth to light. Magnum Opus’ political pull and a lack of direct evidence against the corp however has given her a limited ability to call on additional support to force answers out of them and left her working mostly through those she can convince or hire into working with her.
LEGION OF THE DEAD The first of the answers that has only caused more questions is analysis of the frames used by the auxiliary troops assisting the Ferrymen. While it was a known factor from the start that Harrison Armory frames were used, with how prolific the armory’s machines are, that didn’t exactly narrow anything down. Some security footage, secured from private vaults by a mercenary hacker, has allowed her to identify a couple of symbols that had been rapidly scrubbed from the official footage. The symbols of Legion IX Antillia, the Lost Armory Legion that stepped into the New Agartha Blink Gate and never returned. A vanished Legion, listed as lost by both Magnum Opus and the Armory itself and missing for years, suddenly returning alongside outside actors to assault the station they were originally lost at? Where have they been until now? Why have they not made contact with the Purview? Regardless of the answers, they fought with near insane fearlessness, striding forward into heavy fire without concern, lashing out with heavy lasers and artillery bombardments with a practiced skill that is very familiar among Armoury units. It seems unlikely for them to be imitations, especially with confirmation of the model numbers of defeated frames matching those of missing legionnaires. If the frames have returned...what does that say about the naval assets assigned to the missing legion? Is there a fleet of ghost ships in space nearby, waiting to strike again?
Notable People and Groups: When Igraine burned and the ferrymen rampaged, many of Magnum Opus' security teams were paralyzed. Their weapons were designed primarily for non-lethal disruption of enemy forces, with the heavy weapons that could threaten the invading lost legion and the Ferrymen too risky to bring to bear within the fragile confines of a civilian population center kept from the void by a thin bubble of metal. Too many bad options kept them on the back foot for much of the Ferryman's assault, focusing on defensive operations and civilian evacuation. However, there were some much less restricted in their actions. The Vulture Brigade are a mercenary company unconcerned with ideology beyond their own personal benefit, after one too many services with Harrison Armoury where command's true believers in interventionism outweighed their ability to keep their men fed, paid and supplied. Dishonorably discharged from the legions for looting civilian resources to keep themselves going, they are led by an ex-general who has promiced that his first priority will always be his own troops. As a result, they are always willing to take jobs much dirtier than others put up with if the price is right. When Igraine came under assault, the Vulture Brigade made an unannounced sortie into the area, using their expertise with Harrison Armoury frames and the limitations thereof to harry and disrupt the invaders support forces. Opinions on the station are heavily divided on the Vulture Brigade after the incident; some believing that their actions saved many lives when the local defenders were too passive, while others hold to the idea that their actions caused significant collateral damage and escalated the incursion into a war.
LEGACY OF FLAME The final piece of the puzzle, one that only opens more questions, are station blueprints obtained for Medea Nu by deep contacts within Magnum Opus itself. Blueprints not for New Agartha Station, but for its predecessor. Highly classified and very definitely stolen from secure MOI storage, these blueprints detail the far flung precursor to New Agartha Station. Comparing the blueprints for the original station to the modern one reveals a potential solution to what the intruders were searching for: The secure research labs of the original Agartha Station match where Igraine District can be found in New Agartha Station.
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The original Agartha Station is long lost, however, sunk into the event horizon of a black hole in order to halt the assault of an unknown paracausal creature that emerged from the blink gate of the station. It cannot, logically, be accessed. If that is true, however, why do the blueprints list the Access Codes for Agartha Station as having been transferred to the maximum security section of an unknown Factory Vault? They should simply be inactive...unless of course, for some reason they still work, allowing access to a prison of a paracausal monster. The other mystery that’s answer currently eludes Medea is even more concerning than that. Why do these attackers want to open that prison and release that monster? What did Magnum Opus do to attract its attention...and why, in the name of all that’s holy, is one of the sections of the original station’s research lab labeled ‘Transcendental Entity Vivisection’?
PLAYER CHARACTERS Players in Ferryman’s Toll can come from many sources, as Medea Nu is calling in favours from many groups in order to help deal with her stalled investigation. They could be agents of the Union Intelligence Bureau, brought in to provide the political muscle to deal with the blockades that Magnum Opus is throwing up in the path of the truth. They could be Harrison Armory investigators, seeking the truth of the lost legion.
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They could be less legal assets from Downfall Group, more than happy to assist in airing the dirty laundry of a Corprostate. They could even be agents of Magnum Opus itself, seeking to quickly resolve the situation quietly before any bad attention can be drawn to them. Battles in Ferryman’s Toll can occur in many places, as the opposition is rapidly scouring any sources they can for clues to the key to Agartha Station, easily taking the players to research stations or the location of sources hot on the heels of the ferrymen and the agents attempting to silence the sources of the clues. If they are not acting as agents of Magnum Opus, the company will likely send agents to attempt to halt player investigations, lethally if required. Should the players obtain the keycodes to Agartha Station themselves or follow the Ferryman to it, it is likely they will be stepping into a battlefield that resembles a hell dimension more than the station it once was. This flashpoint deliberately leaves many of the questions of the nature of the opposition and the crime Magnum Opus seeks to keep hidden in the dark, for a game master to decide on themselves. This flashpoint should be of interest to players interested in pulpy treasure hunting and following clues to exotic locales that demonstrate the strangeness Lancer has to offer. There are many questions to answer, and it is unlikely that the same place will offer the answer to all of them.
PILOTS The following section details some pilots relating to each of these manufacturers; these pilots do not necessarily work directly for DFG, MOI, or MO & S, but all of them are the sorts of people who buy their material in order to achieve their goals, and may serve as useful inspiration for fitting your pilot into the Orion Arm.
“To those who thirst, I will bring water; to those in chains, I will provide hammers. To the sorrowed, a shoulder, and to the weak, a mighty shield. I will not return to the world of my birth unless death claims me, my burden is lifted from me, or to raise the children fate places in my arms. On my name, so do I swear.”
ABI OJIKE - DOJ/HR LEGACY RECRUIT
“On your name,” Abi’s family repeats. His mother looks at the only stranger in the room, a pale and void-born woman in a formal kimono patterned in the logo of the Okije’s long-time patron and partner, Magnum Opus Interstellar: “I hereby elect my son Abi Okije as the designated heir to our contract, to receive your sponsorship and aid during his career with the Department of Justice and Human Rights, and to designate his own heir in turn.”
The heir to a legacy of heroism, ready to take up the family mantle “There is always an Ojike amongst the Liberators,” Abi’s mother says in grave tones, but the older woman is smiling and blinking back tears as she looks down at her kneeling son. His siblings are there (a dozen and more of them, most older than Abi himself, many adopted), along with a plethora of aunts, uncles, grandparents by blood, adoption, and circ*mstance, standing amongst the carefully-preserved uniforms of all of Abi’s predecessors into the ranks of the Liberators. “Abi,” his mother continues. “Few in all of the ranks of humanity have the skill to become a pilot. Fewer still answer a higher calling, to uphold justice and honor for those denied them, to carry the water of liberty to they who thirst and cast down those who bricked up their wells. I could not be prouder of you than I am now.” Abi blinks back his own tears and takes in a shaky breath. “It is my honor to carry on the legacy of our family, and pay forward the kindnesses done for us to others.” Abi’d rehearsed the next words over and over for the last three weeks, terrified of embarrassing himself in the moment by getting them wrong, but they come out strong and clear,
The void-born executive bows formally. “Magnum Opus acknowledges your heir in joy and comfort. Liberator Okije, your AMAKUSA awaits.”
ASALAH BINT YŪSUF - FAR FIELD TEAM An explorer, seeking lands none have seen before.
My comm crackles to life after what feels like an eternity of silence. "It's been thirty seven hours, the sun has to be rising soon." "We better be under cover when it does. Even your LANCASTER isn't rated for the temperatures out there in the open, Sofie." I reply, watching the world outside my ZOU YAN. Glass flats underfoot, stretching to the horizon, large crystals broken through the hard ground around us, a temperature close to zilch. This planet was utterly inhospitable but they wanted us here anyway. Reports of strange alloys naturally formed by a planet that is scorching for half of its day and frozen for the other half were not something we could simply ignore. A warning flashes up on my screen and I flick to the environmental scan. "Temperature is spiking way too early. We need that cover, now!" I break into a loping sprint, glass shattering under multi-ton feet as my companions follow. There is an outcropping nearby; we marked it earlier as a potential safe spot from the deadly rays of a potential safe spot from the deadly rays of a sun unshielded by the atmosphere. I make it there first, taking shelter under the large, dark rocks as my scan shows more and more of the surface spiking in temperature. One of my companions joins me, then another and then… Nothing. "Patrick, what is going on?" I send across the comm relay. "Your signal is halted at...534m from cover." A muffled curse is a reply not long afterwards. "My leg fell into a sinkhole, damaged the articulation. I don't think I can move."
"Alright, stay there. I'm coming to get you and that lump of junk of yours." I step out into the growing heat, a swarm of a terraforming nexus around me, reactor roaring to full life as they fight the inevitable rise of the sun. I'm only 300m away from the fallen SWALLOWTAIL. 200m. 100m. Contact. The nexus swarms around myself and the fallen swallowtail and I just as the sun breaches the horizon, light reflecting and refracting from the glass and crystals. In a moment, a field of death becomes a radiant flower as rainbows play across the land, and my breath is taken away. A single system failure away from non-existence, protected by a thin shield of machines each only as large as my fingernail — and I wouldn't trade it for anything. This is why we went to the stars: to see sights like this.
“That’s not fair Bea. You know how testy they get if you do any custom work they didn’t approve and sometimes I’ve just got a hankerin’ to tinker under the hood a bit.” Over the comms I hear Bea sucking breath between her teeth, puffing herself up for a barrage. “My machine can teleport, it can move so well it’s basically dancing, it’s got custom leather seats adapted for my tail and more advanced electronics in its sword than you’ve got in the entire machine. You got this machine for free and you overpaid for it! What’s this got?” “...I dunno Bea, mine’s still got two legs.” A torrent of profanity briefly overwhelms the comms, saving me from the majority of her verbal assault. “...I am going to gut you, you drawling dumbass! Puk gaai!” My machine turns its head to look directly at the pilot suited figure on my shoulder, throwing rocks at my co*ckpit while trying not to drop the black box from her Mourning Cloak’s wreck. “Look, do you want to walk back to base or not?”
HERC - JUNKYARD DOG
The miles fall away under my titanic stride, the uneven gait of a Frankenstein echoing through the air, punctuated by gouts of steam from a damaged coolant line in one leg.
IRIS - EXPLORER
Crunch-Thoom
I once was lost, and was saved. How can I do any less?
Crunch-Thoom
“Iris, just once, for me, can you bring your CELESTE back in a state that is NOT best described as ‘a still-smoking pile of loose components’?”
“Herc, You’ve really got to get a better machine.” With a burst of static and a nasty whine, my comms splutter into function. I sit there for a moment, thinking about a reply. Crunch-Thoom “And get what? One of those Ess Ess Cee Machines you’re always yammerin’ about Beatrix. I like my Frankie.” “Diu…if you care about being a big tough bastard, a White Witch has top of the line adaptive armour, not just welded on plating. Hell, you can get things properly adapted just for you. Little things like legs that are actually the same length.”
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“Look, this is to be expected when I’m trying to map out areas inhabited by literal volcanic dinosaurs. Either one of those words, I can and have done without requiring the engineers logging overtime, but together, it’s not really that simple. I’m headed to the outpost bar if anyone needs me.” “You plan on bringing back another stray? Iris, you KNOW what the boss says…”
“Only if there is one there, Bill. Give Henry my regards, next run is in three days so I don’t want you making my hangover any worse than it has to be, hear?” I turn and walk without waiting for the response, it really doesn’t matter. Nothing really does. I shower, get changed into something vaguely resembling comfortable, and get over to the only place in a hundred miles that serves things that make you regret it the next day. The post was one at that line between “approximately civilization” and “death trap from the pits of every version of hell that exists across the cosmos”, and very few of the people were here because they wanted to be. Me? I used to be the kind born into these duties, my very genome a proprietary investment by the guys who told me where to go, what to do, how to eat… now, though, I do it because I’m good at it. Even volcanic ash doesn’t taste as bitter when you’re a free woman, but that took some serious manna that I’d never have gotten on my own. This is why, when I walked into the bar and found a man with a tattooed barcode on his left arm and tears in his eyes praying to the gods of barley and hops that his pain go away, I got a business card out before even ordering one of my own. “Looks like I’m gonna bring in another stray, after all…”
I was born the daughter of two loyal subjects of Karrakin, my mother a mining technician and my father tending to the great furnaces that turn what you have us rip from the earth into your profit. My earliest memory is that of the sweltering temples of profit, watching ore and man alike sacrificed on its altar. My father was sacrificed piece by piece until there was nothing of him left; a finger lost in a steam vent, a leg crushed by falling ore and eventually, his entire body consumed as a burnt offering when a plasma conduit vented. His loss shattered my life, though not as much as the message we received not long afterwards. Because my father had been worked to the bone, forced to take shifts long beyond what any human should have to endure, it was judged that his loss was his own fault and thus we would receive nothing. It did us no good to appeal to the humanity of the Karrakin security forces for they have neither the common decency to care nor the brains to understand injustice. However there was another who heard and offered me a chance to make things right, a demon seeking the downfall of those who worship wealth. Yes, it was I who destroyed Furnace #34. I cast down the false idol of the great god profit and shattered the chains upon the souls of the workers bound to it. I brought Wrath with me and cast it upon the heads of those overseers and priests of coin. The machines leveled against me could not stop my mission, for they do not understand the soul of someone willing to die for something greater than their next paycheck and thus they fell before my cannons and blades. For the sake of the humans who bleed and die under your rule, I ask that you quit this field and allow us the freedom we deserve. I do not wish to give the order for full force without giving timely warning but I am a widow's daughter outlawed, I am Ungrateful, and my orders must be obeyed. Maria Lang, Pilot of One-Of-Many.
MARIA LANG - UNGRATEFUL
When you shake hands with the devil, you get burned. Karrakin, I wish to acquaint you with the life of those who oppose your rule, so that perhaps some spark of understanding might grow in your ravenous engine of a heart. Even if, perhaps, your callousness to the suffering of fellow humans is so great that you care not, I cannot allow only one side of a story to be told.
MOIRA MCCONNEL - THE LAST ONE STANDING
A mercenary in her twilight years, looking for something worth dying for. It is dark and cool inside the sand. The weight presses down on Moira’s DONNER; its screens silently read off pressure to her, and a quieted alarm informs her in a repeating strobe that her omni access is down. She knew that already. Moira hasn’t spoken to a friend, ally, or employer in five weeks. She knows how that goes by now; she’ll be “missing in action” or even “killed in action” depending on what whomever-they-f*cking-are (Dullahan’s Rest, a nascent Capital world fighting off Legion invasion, in point of fact, but who cares, they’re whomever-the-f*ck) believes about Moira’s inflated reputation. But that’s okay. Moira can charge more for the paperwork when she gets back out alive. A ping, on the sensors. At long f*cking last. Moira checks the information her lashed-together computer systems are feeding her and compares it against the extensive catalogue in her head; looks like an ISKANDER, all alone and heading back towards the Armory’s front lines. Must have survived an engagement with the colonists by the skin of its teeth, the poor little vat baby. Moira flips a switch that’s been duct taped to the top of her co*ckpit, and her stolen Armory distress signal starts going off. Her prey stops in its tracks, and then starts moving cautiously towards her sand dune. An Iskie, yeah. He’ll have an omni connection to replace the one that got shot off of Moira’s mech, and then she can call for extraction and get back into the battlefield in tip-top shape. Shame about the vat baby, but hey. sh*t breaks. People die. He screams just once over open comms when the sand dune he’s approaching explodes into a blur of jagged claws.
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ROWAN MORROWS - TRAITOR
A disillusioned Legionnaire, building a pyre for their dreams on the bones of their comrades ‘Personnel expendable’. Two words; not one word more, not one word less. On a business ledger, they would mean that the labor for a given venture is non-essential to the business, and might be moved to other projects or removed from the company entirely. No one wants to see those words on a business ledger. But I am seeing them on the rules of engagement for this operation, where they mean “leave no survivors.” My SLOTH, contained in the thinnest of skins to look like the BARBAROSSA it no longer is, plods a great distance behind my comrades. We are to flatten these salt works and slaughter the employees, hamstringing the resistance of the local colonists; without local salt, the Armory’s blockade will see them run out of edible food, and starvation will force their surrender. An ancient form of warfare, and one which makes these people expendable. Like my squad was expendable. Like all locals are expendable. Like all who are not Harrison, Praise Be His Holy Name, are expendable. “Contacts, approaching fast from the east,” Mikayla, the squad leader, says from her SHERMAN. “They’re not locals - they’re coming in hot!” I lock onto the backs of my squad’s mechs and spin up my cannon; my mech’s legs dig in as I ready myself for the strike. “They’re IPS-N,” I say, as I was instructed to. Mikayla swears and barks it in over the secure channel. HQ needs to know a new player has entered the field, and “Wait,” she says. “How do you know?” “I brought them here,” I answer, and then I open fire. She did her job. All I have to do now is ‘survive’ this ambush. The rest are… Expendable.
A sharp suit and briefcase is far more threatening than a gun to those who know. I sigh. “You realize that you have contradicted yourself four times on the same statement, right? Do you really expect me to take you seriously, to convey this to my superiors with any expectation of them ever buying your information again?” The man sitting across the small table from me is a solid half-meter taller than I am, with a body marked by both layers of combat scars and evidence of immense strength. Still, he pales. Rightfully. “Look, ye kin take it or not, but I seen what I seen. You believin’ me or not don’t make it less true.” I stand. Either way, this particular conversation had no more value. The hasps on my briefcase pop open in a vaguely-ominous manner not in the slightest mitigated by my company’s public seven-pointed logo. I put every paper, picture, and clipboard where they belong with precision born of a thousand similar interviews. “I will, of course, verify the information. Should we confirm things, your payment will be processed within a day or two.” He doesn’t look happy, I don’t care. He knows the drill, leaving by the only door and getting escorted out of the building. My watch buzzes, authorization codes flashing. I would be confirming the information much more quickly than anticipated. With a bit of a grin, I step out the same door, turning left instead of right. Twenty-one steps bring me to a T-intersection, a right turn and twenty-one more bring me to a blank stretch of wall. One which opens when I press my hand to the hidden scanner, onto an elevator which begins its descent immediately. Below, I can hear the powered hum as technicians bring my ENVY online, its bristling arrays of sensors and mighty computer suites waking to awareness. I do not often get to go and do field work personally, but when I do I do it right.
PILOTS
VERMEIL DIFRANCO - INTEL ANALYST
VIV SELAH- CONCERT PIANIST The cosmos sing, my legions sing back.
Every drone, no matter how complex, requires no more than 12 commands given proper automation. Activate, deactivate, lock on, fire, two systems, and movement in six directions. Mech frames are the same way, even the most dedicated pilot will tell you that it all boils down to a dozen commands used in concert. The only difference, really, is how one chooses to input these commands.
2
One octave on a proper keyboard contains twelve keys. I do not believe this to be a coincidence. The SOLOMON is six and a half meters tall by default, seven if you include the antenna I prefer. In my favorite chord of C Major, the Flauros turrets fly forward and fire. In B Flat, the Phenex covers my retreat. With a jaunty tune, Andromalaius pursues those I want to keep away, and Goetia opens in a dirge. The arrangement took 1,253.1 meters of wiring, but in the end I could command my legions to guard me and destroy my enemies in the same way I command the church organ weekly. Maybe something different if I choose to listen to it, but organs just have a certain gravitas to them. I save the recordings for later. The arrangement is not without its downsides. There are only three engineers on the entirety of the Cascade Line who I trust with the maintenance of the Concierto, and all of them flatly refuse to touch anything within two links of the main control keyboard. I had to get… better than I was. Also a bit of a trick to play if I’m getting pelted by explosives, which required rapid improvements as well. At the end of the day? It just made me the best.
SECTION 2 // Shores of Tomorrow
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SECTION 3
THE LEGIONS OF YESTERDAY
LIMINAL THEMES & ANTAGONISTS
154
NPC CLASSES
157
TEMPLATES
193
ELITE NPC CLASSES
196
This section is intended for use by gamemasters; it contains ideas about running liminal-themed campaigns, as well as new NPCs with which to challenge your players.
CALLING THE TWILIGHT LIMINAL THEMES IN YOUR CAMPAIGNS In many ways, perhaps even most ways, Lancer’s setting and stories are about change. Union’s utopian project is a process, not a destination; its humanity is growing and evolving, struggling towards a new and shining rebirth while haunted by its past. Our book is about transition and transformation, but the game is already about that, right? But the thing is that no change happens overnight; the shell of the world will not crack to reveal a beautiful phoenix in an hour, in a day, in a week, in a thousand years. The alien world that is coming, beautiful, abundant, and powerful, is built from the familiar world-that-is, and where it is being built we find places that are in between; liminal spaces. It is the fate of most liminal spaces to fade. The Long Rim (published in The Long Rim by Massif Press) is one such place, a nearlight shipping run full of voidborn societies that must, one day, pack up their things and leave when the Rim becomes obsolete. A world in the midst of revolution must finish its war; a developing colony will die or thrive. Other spaces are liminal by their nature. The cultures that flourish on Blink Gates will always be a doorway; port cities will always in some senses be ‘between’ even as they flower into their own identity, refueling stations and military outposts have populations that are in some sense intrinsically transient. Here the struggle is not change itself, but who controls access to it, and who comes seeking it. A liminal campaign is rarely about grand changes, about mighty struggles between nations or world-rending horror. Rather, it is about the people here in front of you, now. If your players have come as DoJ/HR Liberators to a world breaking beneath the lash of tyranny, they are in a position to effect great change, yes - but also in one to set the context of that change, to create the foundation from which the alien world will be built. Do they listen to the locals, who understand their own culture and have to live in what will be built from the bones of their masters? Do they impose a change from above with the might of Union, the Ceaseless Watcher, behind them? What does the mission turn them into? Can they respect that people are going to have to actually live here once they’re done killing bluebloods until there are none left to kill?
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Likewise, a campaign to lay the groundwork for a humanitarian evacuation of the Long Rim faces powerful enemies (corporate interests, sprawling pirate clans, rogue HORUS cells, and arcane interference from the Blink among other things), but first it faces the question of what is to be done to help. The cultures of the Rim are diverse, with strong identities; its promise of freedom from Union, a freedom paired with great risk, is attractive and alluring. When you come to change the Rim, some part of it will inevitably be destroyed. What do you do about that? How do you justify it? In general, the questions you should be asking yourself about a liminal campaign are: what is the world-that-is like here? Why can it not continue? What are the hopes and fears of the people here when they think about the future? Who has the power, and why? If they’re exercising it, what do they want - and if they aren’t, why not? The alien world is coming, and it will not be denied. But first it must be built.
A TOMORROW LIKE YESTERDAY - LIMINAL ANTAGONISTS There will always be those who hate and fear the alien world to come; who seek to control it, to deny it, to clutch the world-that-is in their fist no matter how it cracks and shakes, or whose vision of the alien world is so horrifying that it must be crushed in its egg such that it can never be born. When creating your antagonists for a liminal campaign, there are a few broad archetypes you can lean on to bring out the themes of change, between-ness, and the alien world. Tyrants: The classic. You know these guys; they’re slavers, mad kings, bosses who pay only in scrip, pirate lords enslaving space stations in the Long Rim, and more. They clutch at power with no mind to the cost - out of greed, out of fear, out of selfishness, or even because they’ve managed to delude themselves into thinking that life can only continue under their rule. Campaigns against tyrants are typically tales of revolution, but the whining of conservatives does bear at least some grain of truth: after you overthrow the local god-king, someone has to take the garbage out. It’s not enough just to topple the throne. Your players must also look to the new future and lay the groundwork for it to be built.
When setting your campaign against tyrants, consider the people who actually have to live under their tyranny. Not just in the “these are the folks the PCs are here to help” sense but, well, not to dance around the point but very few people particularly enjoy living under the boot of a despot. Are there revolutionary projects already underway? What do the people need to be able to not just effect revolution, but secure it? If there aren’t such projects, how has the tyrant kept the people ground down? Answering these questions will produce plot hooks you can use to get your PCs in motion. Revanchists: When tyrants topple but somehow manage not to get shot, you get these bastards, looking to recapture a Glorious Past that only exists in their imaginations. Revanchists have a vision for the alien world to come, but it’s one they own and control, where their enemies are silent and their power is unquestioned. Harrison Armory is one such faction (and anthrochauvanists in general fall under this archetype), but anywhere that power falls but is not broken you might find them. Campaigns against revanchists are violent arguments about the future, one in which destroying their hollow ideology is as, perhaps even more, important than bombing their ammo dumps and shooting their would-be kings. After all, their footsoldiers live in this world too. You can’t - well, you can kill them all, sure. But what happens after? How do you build your new world on that mountain of corpses? The targets of the revanchists aren’t going to take it lying down, and when the PCs get involved chances are they hit the ground in an already active warzone. Revanchists do tend to love their colonial projects, and the locals who actually live here aren’t likely to greet their conquerors with open arms - to say nothing of whatever groups the revanchists blame for the fall of their power and persecute for that power. What supply lines do the revanchists need to maintain their hard power here? What is this war costing them? How are they justifying their actions, and if you can tear down that justification, what will they lose in the process? Are any local factions cooperating with them, and if so why? Fence-Sitters: Yeah, we’re going here. In any time or place of great change you’re going to find people who say they’re into change, who might even believe they’re into change, they just have some notes about it. They want it to happen the right way, or they’re waiting for the “perfect” time to strike, or they expect those who live under the lash to vote it out, as if one can dismantle the master’s house with the master’s tools. These fence-sitters might call themselves moderates or centerists (and Union’s Third Committee textually struggles with the influence of its moderates), but on a good day they’re obstacles to the birth of the world to come. On most days, they’re passively or actively cooperating with oppression.
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IPS-N, with its fanatical focus on profit that is only sometimes checked by its desire to maintain stellar PR, is one example, as is Smith-Shimano Corpro, which desires an alien world with its brand name on it, generating a steady stream of revenue. Magnum Opus Interstellar are fence-sitters who are just now realizing the fence is rotting and buckling beneath their collective asses and they must now make an actual choice about who they are and what they believe. Fence-sitters pose a thorny problem for those who seek to bring about change, because the cold fact of it is that they often have access to resources that the alien world to come sorely needs; money, guns, social standing, political power, a platform for your message, ships, food, water, and more can be on offer, if you’ll just agree to a few terms and conditions. Those conditions generally include bringing about no change that might threaten the fencesitter’s comfort and power. Fence-sitters can play a lot of roles in your campaign. They can be a questionable ally, a cowardly enemy, an out-of-context problem here for their own purposes, the financial backers of the people the PCs are actually fighting, and many ungodly combinations of the above. Their shield and weapon is social convention; they “didn’t know any better”, they “have some concerns”, they’ve “had enough bloodshed”, but peel away the wringing hands and the teary eyes and you see a grip on the world-that-is, trying to hold tight to it. What does your fence-sitter want out of this liminal space - money? Power? The unique genetic mutations of these particular colonists? If they’re not trying to gain something, what are they fighting not to lose, and who suffers to provide them with it? What can they offer to the PCs, and at what price does that offer come? And, most importantly, can they change themselves? Rivals: Other people are going to have competing visions for the alien world to come - or at least different needs and perspectives that seem incompatible with yours. In movies, these are the second (and third, and fourth, and fifth…) group of revolutionaries, but these guys, you see, are assholes. The reality is rarely so clear-cut. Differences in ideology, personal history, class, and culture can divide revolutionary projects, especially when you get to the point where “the revolution” legitimately has to account for an entire world or an entire solar system. In situations that aren’t actual, literal revolutions, such as The Asphodel Standoff, rivals may simply have another plan that they think is best for the situation, and want you to do it their way. It’s rare that rivals in the business of change are so horrific that they have to be stopped (and when they are they’re generally revanchists, the little bastards), but conflicts can turn violent, especially when limited resources or personal bad blood get involved.
Every rival is a potential ally to your PCs, but building those alliances means showing good faith and making meaningful concessions not just to the immediate, personal relationships of everyone involved, but to the differing needs and perspectives that drove the rivalry in the first place. When building a rival group, ‘why’ is a good question; why have they united, why aren’t they joined with any of the other groups, why are they putting forth their particular plan for the alien world to come, and maybe most importantly, why aren’t the PCs helping them, right now, rather than the people they’re currently working with. Rivals are rarely solved directly from the co*ckpit of your mech, but making those meaningful concessions might mean missions working for them instead, which can be the chance to change things up and throw a curveball or three at your players. Obviously these are not the only antagonists available for your campaign (The Asphodel Standoff concerns itself with antagonistic megafauna, themselves essentially a force of nature), and more importantly mixing and matching can help make complex and interesting situations for your players to navigate. Consider a world in revolution against a tyrant. Before the PCs ever arrived, Harrison Armory sent their legions to liberate the world and bring it into the Purview, but local partisans who view the Armory as not being an exit from tyranny hired mercenaries - your players - to support their revolutionary project instead.
Now the PCs must navigate the original problem, a violent conflict with HA’s revanchist legions, and attempt to make peace with the local revolutionary projects - some of whom are in favor of joining the Purview and accepting its offer of peace, order, and plenty at the price of compliance. When constructing your campaign, ask what everyone involved wants and needs, and how they might be willing or able to trade one for the other, and you’ll have plenty to work with even when players, as players are wont to do, go hog wild.
CLUTCHING THE WORLD-THAT-IS NEW NPCS The following section introduces new NPCs to face off against your group’s lancers. These opponents trend towards the wily and tricksy; many command the attention of players through special tricks that force them to engage or suffer, redefine the battlefield on their own terms, or fill in mechanical roles not quite present in Lancer’s core book. This gallery is meant to supplement the existing core NPCs, not replace it, and for best results you should - as always - consider mixing and matching to create compositions that will challenge your players. In addition to standard NPC classes, two new NPC templates are on offer that can be applied to existing NPCs, as well as new Elite NPCs - classes that cannot exist as Grunts.
NPC CLASSES ARCHON Defender
While many agents of Horizon are peaceful political organizers or NHP researchers, there are more among them who see the slavery of NHPs as a moral threat too dire to attempt to solve by negotiating with slavemasters. The Archon has been exchanged between various Horizon omninet groups, an experimental design seemingly created for such liberation efforts, welding bleeding edge systems that match no common frame known to Union. Some USB researchers theorize that they were developed to annihilate the famously overstressed reactors of HORUS patterngroups or, perhaps, based on an NHP’s dream of how their savior would look. TIER 1
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MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
HP: 10 Evasion: 6 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 6 Sensors: 15
HP: 10 Evasion: 6 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 7 Sensors: 15
HP: 10 Evasion: 6 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 8 Sensors: 15
Hull: +2 Agility: -2
Systems: +2 Engineering: -2 Armor: 1 E-Defense: 12 Size: 3 Save Target: 12
Hull: +4 Agility: -2
TACTICS
BASE SYSTEMS Irradiation Beam Heavy Cannon, AP, +1/+2/+3 [r 10] [2/3/4k] [3/4/5h] MOBILE RADFLUX
TRAIT
Allied characters at least partially in any space below or adjacent to the Archon gain Soft Cover, are Immune to Lock On and remove Lock On when they enter the area if they already have it. ATOMIC SHIELDING
Systems: +4 Engineering: -2 Armor: 1 E-Defense: 14 Size: 3 Save Target: 13
Hull: +6 Agility: -2
Systems: +6 Engineering: -2 Armor: 1 E-Defense: 16 Size: 3 Save Target: 15
WINGS OF HOPE
The Archon is a floating defender that protects allies by lurking above them and lashing out with high heat attacks. Its regenerating shields give it almost unparalleled endurance against sustained assaults but it lacks endurance against burst damage and being ungrounded, it is very vulnerable to crowd control keeping it from its allies.
TRAIT
At the start of the scene the Archon gains 6/8/10 Overshield. It gains this Overshield again when it loses a structure or 1/round at the start of its turn.
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TIER 3
TRAIT
The Archon has the AI tag and when the Archon makes a standard move or Boosts, it can hover. If Immobilized, the Archon does not fall, though it still cannot move.
OPTIONAL SYSTEMS Dominion System, Quick Action, Recharge 5+ The Archon becomes Immobilized and claims dominion of all it surveys. While doing so Objectives and Control Zones at least partially in any space below or adjacent to the Archon are unaffected by hostile characters and the Archon counts as an additional allied character for the purpose of objectives and Control Zones. This system’s effects immediately end if the Archon moves for any reason or is stunned. The Archon can also end this effect as a quick action. Fusion Impeller System Allied characters at least partially in any space below or adjacent to the Archon have +1 on Recharge rolls.
Blackshield Compartmentalization System
Divine Wrath Reaction, 1/Round
When the Archon takes damage while it has Overshield, it has Resistance any damage that would be applied to HP once Overshield is depleted.
Trigger: A hostile character within Range of the Irradiation Beam and line of sight deals damage to an allied character.
Swords to Plowshares System, Quick Tech, Recharge 4+, +2/+4/+6
Effect: The Archon makes an attack with the Irradiation Beam against the hostile character.
Make a tech attack against a hostile character in Sensors. On a hit, until the end of the target's next turn; whenever they would destroy an allied character the allied character is instead returned to 1 HP, 0h and ignores the source of the destruction.
BLACKGUARD Controller
"Reports of an uptick in Outer Rim flash cloning operations have been matched with an appearance of a new underground frame we believe is associated with the cloning ring. The baseline tech behind it isn’t anything special. Dumbfire missiles, some decommissioned Plasma Lashes and less-lethal grenades...the overall machine shows some real talent in putting the pieces together. This thing is designed to send horrific shocks through the co*ckpit of its own allies, spurring them forward like beaten dogs even if it’s driving them through a minefield. Recommending Liberator teams receive additional fire support in the future, someone’s building nasty counterplay.” - Medea Nu, Union Science Bureau attaché. TIER 1
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MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
HP: 18 Evasion: 7 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 6 Sensors: 5
HP: 21 Evasion: 7 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 6 Sensors: 5
HP: 24 Evasion: 7 Speed: 5 Heat Cap: 6 Sensors: 5
Hull: +2 Agility: +0
Systems: +1 Engineering: -1 Armor: 0 E-Defense: 10 Size: 1 or 2 Save Target: 12
Hull: +3 Agility: +1
TACTICS
The Blackguard is a cruel taskmaster that uses its allies like a resource. It moves allies and enemies about the battlefield, using them as living shields against attacks and bouncing attacks off enemies and allies alike. Left alone, the Blackguard is not that dangerous in and of itself and its sacrificial tactics will quickly leave it without allies as a battle goes on.
BASE SYSTEMS "Scorcher" Micromissile Launcher Main Launcher, +1/+2/+3 [r 8] [b 1] [4/5/6e] On Hit: One hostile character adjacent to the target suffers 1/2/3eAP. This weapon automatically hits allied characters. HEARTLESS TRAIT When the Blackguard takes damage while adjacent to an allied character it can gain Resistance to that damage. If it does, one adjacent allied character of the blackguard’s choice takes half of the damage it would take before calculating Armor and Resistance.
Systems: +2 Engineering: -1 Armor: 0 E-Defense: 12 Size: 1 or 2 Save Target: 15
Hull: +4 Agility: +2
Systems: +3 Engineering: -1 Armor: 0 E-Defense: 14 Size: 1 or 2 Save Target: 18
Concussion Grenade System, Recharge 4+, Grenade, Quick Action The Blackguard throws a concussion grenade to an area in r 5. Characters in the b 1 explosion must pass a Hull save or be Stunned until the end of the current turn. Crack the Whip System, Quick Action Choose a character within r 8 and line of sight. If they are allied, the Blackguard pulls them 5 spaces in any direction; if they are hostile, they must succeed on an Agility save or be pulled 5 spaces in any direction. This movement ignores engagement and doesn’t provoke reactions. If a hostile target moved this way collides with an obstruction or another mech, they stop moving and are knocked Prone.
OPTIONAL SYSTEMS Priming Lash System, Free Action, 1/Round When the Blackguard destroys a character or causes Structure or stress damage to them it can push that character up to 4 spaces in any direction, where they explode in a u 1 area. Characters in the affected area must pass an Agility save or suffer 4/6/8eand be knocked Prone. A successful save halves the damage and avoids being knocked Prone.
Eyescorch Grenades Trait, Free Action, Recharge 6+ When the Blackguard throws a Concussion Grenade, they can enhance the grenade as a free action. Characters affected by an enhanced grenade must instead pass a Hull save or be Stunned until the start of their next turn. Inferno Missiles System When the Blackguard makes an attack with the Micromissile Launcher, the affected area becomes affected by a brief firestorm. Until the end of the Blackguard's next turn, any character ending their turn in the affected area or entering it for the first time in a turn suffers 2/3/4h.
Stabilized Lash Main Melee, +1/+2/+3, Smart, AP, Knockback 3 [t 3] [3/4/5e] This weapon automatically hits allied and Stunned characters. The Blackguard can Overwatch with the Stabilized Lash when hostile characters enter, leave, or exit spaces within its Threat, no matter whether they started their movement there. MAKE IT HURT
TRAIT
Whenever the Blackguard forces a character to make a save, they become Impaired afterwards until the end of their next turn regardless of success or failure.
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CHESSMASTER Support
The most important fact of any war: Information is ammunition. The most sophisticated intrusion tools, the heaviest weapons and the most impervious armour are useless if they are not in the right place at the right time. This is a fact understood by many revolutionary and subversive groups that could not hope to stand up in direct conflict with larger forces. Chessmaster pattern frames are designs that take advantage of this, devoting significant space to data storage and analysis programs. This allows them to manipulate the battle without firing a single shot, as the enemy struggles to find any plan or engagement that hasn’t already been meticulously planned for and countered. TIER 1
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MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
HP: 12 Evasion: 10 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 5 Sensors: 12
HP: 14 Evasion: 12 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 5 Sensors: 12
HP: 16 Evasion: 14 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 5 Sensors: 12
Hull: -2 Agility: +2
Systems: +3 Engineering: +0 Armor: 2 E-Defense: 12 Size: 1/2 or 1 Save Target: 12
Hull: -2 Agility: +3
Systems: +4 Engineering: +0 Armor: 2 E-Defense: 14 Size: 1/2 or 1 Save Target: 15
Hull: -1 Agility: +4
Systems: +6 Engineering: +0 Armor: 2 E-Defense: 16 Size: 1/2 or 1 Save Target: 18
TACTICS
The Chessmaster is a subtle, agile supporter that specializes in number manipulation. It can strip accuracy and difficulty from actions, grant easy access to repeated Lock On and protect itself by disguising itself as an allied unit. However, as a dedicated support unit it cannot work alone and its number manipulation often cannot overcome situations already heavily weighted against its allies.
BASE SYSTEMS
Espionage Quick Tech, System, +2/+4/+6 Make a tech attack against a hostile character in Sensors. On a hit, the target takes 2/3/4h and one allied character in Sensors gains 4/6/8 Overshield and can move up to 5 spaces. This movement ignores engagement and does not provoke reactions. Cold Hard Equations Reaction, 1/Round Trigger: An attack, check or saving throw is made by a character in Sensors. Effect: The attack, check or saving throw is made without Accuracy or Difficulty and cannot have the dice roll set or rerolled by any character other than the Chessmaster.
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En Passant Arrays System The Chessmaster's Tech Actions do not provoke reactions and ignore the effects of Invisible and Hidden. Ten Moves Ahead Quick Tech, Recharge 5+, +2/+4/+6 Make a tech attack against a hostile character in Sensors. On a hit, they take 2/3/4h, suffer lock on and are Predicted. A Predicted character cannot benefit from Hidden and suffers Lock On at the start of each of their turns. A character may escape being predicted by passing an Agility save as a Full Action.
OPTIONAL SYSTEMS Castling Reaction, 1/Round Trigger: The chessmaster is hit by an attack. Effect: The chessmaster and one allied character within r 5 swap places, counting as teleporting. The allied character is hit by the triggering attack instead of the chessmaster.
Checkmate Quick Tech, Limited 1
Asymmetrical Warfare Full Action, Recharge 5+
Choose one allied character in Sensors. Until the end of their next turn, the final rolls of that character's attacks, checks and saving throws cannot be affected by Difficulty and any time that character makes an attack, check, or saving throw, they can choose to roll as normal or instead treat that attack, check, or save as if they had rolled a 10 on the d20. They must decide before rolling.
One allied character in Sensors clears any one condition that wasn’t caused by one of their own systems, talents, etc and becomes Hidden. Until the end of the character’s next turn, they do not need cover to remain hidden.
Strategic Crush Trait, Reaction, 1/Round Trigger: A Character with Lock On makes an attack against an allied character in Sensors. Effect: Consume the Lock On. The allied character gains Resistance against all Damage,fandh of the triggering character's attack.
Steal Commcodes Quick Tech, +2/+4/+6, Recharge 5+ Make a tech attack against a character in Sensors and Line of Sight. On a hit, the Chessmaster becomes Hidden and the target treats all characters and is treated by all other characters as hostile for the purpose of engagement, tech actions, systems, traits and talents. While hidden this way the Chessmaster does not need cover to remain hidden and its Tech Attacks do not break hidden but when it loses hidden, the effect on the target also ends.
Art by Moiderah
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HARRIER Defender
"Harriers are agile frames, little more than a hardsuit, designed to assault the most fragile part of most mechs: The pilot. Offensively bright colour patterns, comm intrusion purely to antagonize the opposition and frustratingly difficult to hit frames have made them a common sight in arena combat, where the penalty for drawing enemy fire deliberately is a lot lower than it is on an actual battlefield. The greatest threats to such designs are often that by making themselves open to enemy comms they can draw significant digital attention and the fact that the pilots often don't know to stop sh*t-talking when they're outside the frame." -Medea Nu, Union Science Bureau attaché. TIER 1
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MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
HP: 10 Evasion: 14 Speed: 6 Heat Cap: 6 Sensors: 8
HP: 12 Evasion: 16 Speed: 6 Heat Cap: 6 Sensors: 8
HP: 14 Evasion: 18 Speed: 6 Heat Cap: 6 Sensors: 8
Hull: -2 Agility: +2
Systems: +1 Engineering: +1
Hull: -2 Agility: +4
Armor: 0 E-Defense: 8 Size: 1/2 Save Target: 11
Systems: +2 Engineering: +2 Armor: 0 E-Defense: 8 Size: 1/2 Save Target: 13
Hull: -2 Agility: +6
Systems: +3 Engineering: +3 Armor: 0 E-Defense: 8 Size: 1/2 Save Target: 16
TACTICS
Harriers are agile defenders that specialize in punishing a single chosen character at a time and being very hard to hit with evasion-targeting options. They can duel very effectively against characters who have limited smart weapons and hacking but often fall apart once invasions or e-defense targeting weapons are turned on them.
BASE SYSTEMS Coach Gun Main CQB, +2/+4/+6, Knockback 2 [r 5] [t 3] [5/7/9x]
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Blistering Reply Trait, Reaction, 1/Round Trigger: A character Marked by the Harrier in Line of Sight makes an attack that does not include the Harrier as a target. Effect: The Harrier teleports to a space within r 5 of the triggering character and makes an attack against the triggering character with the Coach Gun. This attack deals +2/3/4f bonus damage on a hit and if it causes the target to lose Structure, the triggering attack automatically misses.
Open Channels, Talk sh*t Trait, Quick Tech, 1/Round
Hair-Trigger Jump Jets System
The Harrier chooses one hostile character in Sensors and Line of Sight, who becomes Impaired until the end of their next turn and Marked until the Harrier takes this action again or the target is affected by this action from another character. While the Harrier has a character marked, they gain the Blistering Reply reaction.
Attacks targeting the harrier cannot benefit from accuracy, including to negate difficulty. The Harrier can fly when it moves or Boosts; however, it must end the movement on the ground or another solid surface, or else immediately begin falling.
OPTIONAL SYSTEMS GG EZ System, Quick Tech, Recharge 4+, +2/+4/+6 Make a tech attack against a character in Sensors. On a hit, they immediately attack the Harrier with a single weapon, including Ordnance and Superheavy Weapons, as a reaction. This attack gains +2-against the Harrier. If the weapon is a l, b, u or c the Harrier can choose its placement, as long as the Harrier is one of the targets. Although the Harrier chooses the weapon, the target counts as attacking and taking a reaction. Thanks Pal! System, Reaction, Recharge 6+ Trigger: A character in r 5 would clearh or have HP restored, other than through Overheating or Structure Damage. Effect: The triggering character does not clearh or have HP restored. Instead, the Harrier clears that muchh or restores that much HP. U Mad Bro? System The Harrier and allied characters are immune to effects, including damage, from missed attacks made by characters Marked by the Harrier. Weapons-Grade Vocabulary System, Recharge 5+ When the Harrier uses Open Channels, Talk sh*t it may activate Weapons-Grade Vocabulary as part of the action. When it does, the target can't draw Line of Sight to any character other than the Harrier until the end of their next turn. Devil’s Own Luck Trait, Recharge 5+ When the Harrier would be reduced to 0 or less HP, it is instead returned to 1 HP.
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Art by Moiderah
HARVESTER Support
“...gods and demons, whatever monster made this thing needs to burn in the lowest pit of Hades. Right, professionalism. A new pattern group has been sighted recently, assaulting pirates and colonies in equal measure. A walking nuclear disaster, harvesters are unwieldy machines that rip apart matter on an atomic level to reconfigure into material to repair allies. They show little care for the difference between inorganic and biological matter, making them utter monsters to dislodge from civilian centers as the things can convert the very population they’re terrorizing into raw material very rapidly. Even if we do kill them, the things taint the very land around them when they vent their dying reactor. The worst part? Someone leaked the plans for these things onto the Omninet. It’s spread too far for us to suppress now and they’re going to be popping up everywhere some petty f*cker of a tyrant cares more about scaring his population into submission than humanity. I hope the bastard who designed this thing pulls a JH II and manages to piss the godrock off.” -Medea Nu, Union Science Bureau attaché. TIER 1
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MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
HP: 25 Evasion: 6 Speed: 3 Heat Cap: 12 Sensors: 15
HP: 30 Evasion: 6 Speed: 3 Heat Cap: 12 Sensors: 15
HP: 35 Evasion: 6 Speed: 3 Heat Cap: 12 Sensors: 15
Hull: +2 Agility: -2
Systems: +0 Engineering: +2 Armor: 1 E-Defense: 6 Size: 3 Save Target: 11
Hull: +4 Agility: -2
TACTICS
Harvesters are massively durable support and control mechs that specialize in attrition warfare. They can heal allies as they brawl, recycle grunts back into play and leave areas of the battlefield inhospitable to its opponents. However, this leaves it weaker in faster fights where its style of warfare can be overwhelmed and an absolutely pitiful set of defenses make it very vulnerable to controllers.
BASE SYSTEMS Assimilation Ray Main Cannon, Smart, +1/+2/+3 [r 8] [l3] [4/6/8e] The Assimilation Ray gains +1+if any non-hostile characters are in the affected area. When the Assimilation Ray fires, the Harvester or one allied character in Line of Sight restores 3/6/9 HP if any character is damaged by the Assimilation Ray.
Systems: +0 Engineering: +3 Armor: 1 E-Defense: 6 Size: 3 Save Target: 13
Hull: +6 Agility: -2
Systems: +0 Engineering: +4 Armor: 1 E-Defense: 6 Size: 3 Save Target: 15
Fusion Accelerator System The Harvester supercharges the reactors of itself and allied characters in a u 3 area. The Harvester and any allied character in the affected area can take 1d6h to Boost, Ram or Grapple as a free action 1/Round. DEFILE
TRAIT
When the Harvester overheats, loses structure or is destroyed, a Size 1 piece of radioactive debris with Evasion 5 and 5/8/10 HP is left in a free space in r 3 and Line of Sight. This debris vents disruptive radiation across a u 2 area for the rest of the scene or until it is destroyed. Characters ending their turn in one or more of the affected areas or entering them for the first time on their turn must pass an Engineering save or gain 2/3/4h and be Impaired until the end of their next turn.
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RUMBLING JUGGERNAUT
TRAIT
The Harvester ignores the effects of difficult and dangerous terrain. It can attempt to pass through terrain, walls, or other stationary obstructions, which receive 30k AP when it does. If that is enough to destroy them, the Harvester passes through; otherwise, its movement ends.
OPTIONAL SYSTEMS Slag Coat System, Quick Action, Recharge 5+ Choose one allied character in r 5. That character is Immobilized and has Resistance to all damage until the end of their next turn. Thermal Channel System, Quick Action, Recharge 5+ One allied character in Line of Sight and r 5 clears 4h. Ifh is cleared this way, the Assimilation Ray deals +2/3/4 bonus damage to all targets it hits the next time it fires.
Art by Moiderah
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Factory Walker System, Recharge 4+ When the Harvester would heal a character with the Assimilation Ray, it can instead choose either one allied NPC in Reinforcements or one Destroyed Grunt, who is put into play in a free space in r 5 and Line of Sight of the Harvester. If the chosen NPC was destroyed, they are returned to function. The chosen character can activate this round like normal. Vent Control Rods System, Quick Action, 4h(Self), Recharge 4+ Place a piece of radioactive debris (As Defile) in r 5 and Line of Sight. Fusion Cascade Reaction, Recharge 5+ Trigger: An allied character in Line of Sight is destroyed. Effect: The triggering character erupts in a b 2 area. Hostile characters in the affected area must pass an Engineering save or gain 2/3/4h and allied characters in the affected area gain 3/5/7 Overshield.
IRON MAIDEN Controller
“Alright, another design for a barony house trying to clamp down on the Ungrateful. What’s this one? Metacognition Memetics? That’s a really dangerous toy to be put on a mech like this. Extensive targeting systems...these things don’t seem optimized for combat. Seems too showy, not enough ability to handle someone actually fighting back; like what you’d see in a product demonstration over a combat vehicle. I dunno, outside of the ‘walking angel statue’ gimmick I’m not really sure why this has been put across my desk. What’s ‘Execution mode? ...f*ck f*ck f*ck! FACES DON’T OPEN THAT WAY! NO, UNION APPROVAL f*ckING REJECTED!” -Medea Nu, Union Science Bureau attaché. TIER 1
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MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
HP: 10 Evasion: 6 Speed: 3 Heat Cap: 5 Sensors: 15
HP: 13 Evasion: 6 Speed: 3 Heat Cap: 5 Sensors: 15
HP: 16 Evasion: 6 Speed: 3 Heat Cap: 5 Sensors: 15
Hull: +2 Agility: -1
Systems: +2 Engineering: -2 Armor: 3 E-Defense: 13 Size: 2 Save Target: 11
Hull: +4 Agility: -1
TACTICS
Iron Maidens are reactive lockdown enemies, designed to pull opponents in and punish them for each action they take and to execute injured foes. Nearly harmless if they do not have an enemy in their clutches, Iron Maidens instead become terrifying executioners against foes that have suffered significant damage. They are notably less effective against characters making single big actions rather than a series of smaller actions and more effective against foes who attempt to overcharge to escape them.
BASE SYSTEMS Madame Guillotine System, Full Action One character adjacent to the Iron Maiden becomes Shredded until the end of their next turn. If they have 7/9/11 or less HP they instead suffer 1 Structure Damage.
Systems: +4 Engineering: -2 Armor: 3 E-Defense: 16 Size: 2 Save Target: 13
Hull: +6 Agility: -1
Systems: +4 Engineering: -2 Armor: 4 E-Defense: 20 Size: 2 Save Target: 15
Call To Judgement System, Quick Tech, +2/+4/+6 Make a Tech Attack against a character in Sensors and Line Of Sight. On a hit, they gain 2/3/4h and move their Speed directly towards the Iron Maiden as a reaction. They can be moved into hazardous areas and other obstacles, but are still affected by difficult terrain, obstructions, and so on. This movement is involuntary, but provokes reactions and Engagement as normal and doesn’t count as Knockback, pushing, or pulling. If this movement causes them to end their movement adjacent to the Iron Maiden, they immediately become Grappled by it. SIN'S WEIGHT
TRAIT
The Iron Maiden is immune to involuntary movement caused by characters it is grappling. Each time a character grappled by the Iron Maiden Takes an action, including free actions, they suffer 1/2/3k AP. Graven Image System, Protocol, Recharge 5+ The Iron Maiden is Invisible until the start of its next turn. This cannot be used to hide.
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OPTIONAL SYSTEMS DECAPITATE
TRAIT
Characters affected by Madame Guillotine only have line of sight to adjacent spaces until the end of their next turn. If they suffered structure damage this instead lasts until they pass a Hull save as a quick action.
Transubstantiation System Allied characters are always treated as having less than 7 HP for Madame Guillotine. Whenever the Iron Maiden causes Structure Damage with Madame Guillotine, it gains 5/6/8 Overshield.
Execution Mode Full Tech, Limited 1
Reliquary System, Quick Action
All hostile characters in Line of Sight must pass a Systems save or be Slowed and Impaired until the end of their next turn. For the rest of the scene, the Iron Maiden has Armor 0, Speed 6 and Madame Guillotine can affect characters that are Exposed or Stunned as if they had less than 7 HP.
Choose 1 Wreck in Sensors and Line of Sight. It becomes a Reliquary, an object the same Size as the wreck with 10/15/20 HP and 5 Evasion. Allied characters at least partially within the Reliquary's u 1 area gain Immunity to all hostile tech actions. Existing conditions and effects caused by hostile tech actions are not cleared but characters have Immunity to them while they are in the area, and they can be saved against normally.
Indulgence System, Full Action, Recharge 6+ Choose two characters in Sensors. One character clears all conditions that weren’t self-inflicted, and the other immediately receives all conditions the first character cleared until the end of their next turn. Hostile characters can pass a Systems save to avoid receiving this effect, which also prevents the conditions being cleared.
Art by Moiderah
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LANDSHIP Artillery
“As much as some designers would hate to hear it, a lot of standard mech design is superfluous in most combats. You don’t need legs if you’re fighting in a wide street or if the guns are pointed at fortifications. Small planets, tyrants who care more about a good parade army and mercenary groups planning to engage static defenses often lean towards less agile machines, more adapted to the environments they expect to actually engage in.” “Landships, both in the form of actual vehicles or mechs with alternate motive systems bring sizable power that can grind down and devastate opposition on a very thin price tag. Or they can end up as piles of scrap, if the enemy can capitalize on those limitations” -Medea Nu, Union Science Bureau attaché. TIER 1
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MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
HP: 10 Evasion: 6 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 8 Sensors: 8
HP: 13 Evasion: 6 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 8 Sensors: X
HP: 15 Evasion: 6 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 8 Sensors: 8
Hull: +2 Agility: -2
Systems: +0 Engineering: +2 Armor: 3 E-Defense: 8 Size: 2 Save Target: 11
Hull: +3 Agility: -2
TACTICS
The Landship is a mid-range striker that cares heavily about the positioning of its targets. If it and its allies can keep its preferred range it is very dangerous but its personal lack of agility and the limitations of its primary weapon cause it to falter against those who can dictate the engagement range.
BASE SYSTEMS Coilgun Broadsides Superheavy Cannon, +2/4/6, Knockback 2 [r 12] [Xk] This weapon can attack 1-2 targets at a time and has effects based on the range to the target. • Attacks against characters entirely within r 5 have +1-and deal 4/5/6k. • Attacks against characters at least partially outside of r 5 and entirely within r 10 deal 6/8/10k • Attacks against characters at least partially outside of r 10 have +1+and deal 6/8/10k + 2/3/4f
Systems: +1 Engineering: +4 Armor: 3 E-Defense: 10 Size: 2 Save Target: 13
Hull: +6 Agility: -2
Systems: +2 Engineering: +4 Armor: 4 E-Defense: 12 Size: X Save Target: 15
ROLLING METAL
TRAIT
The Landship must always move in a straight line (though it can move and Boost in separate directions). It ignores difficult terrain, can’t be pushed, pulled or knocked back by smaller characters and is immune to being knocked Prone. Ranging Fire System When the Landship misses a target with a ranged attack, the target gains Lock On. Mission Kill System, Full Action, Recharge 5+ The Landship lines up a precise shot against the vital components of a target at least partially outside of r 5 and at least partially within r 12. The target must pass an Agility save or take 6/8/10k AP and deal half damage,fandh with all sources until the end of their next turn. On a successful save they take half damage and do not suffer additional effects.
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OPTIONAL SYSTEMS Flank Speed System, Quick Action, Recharge 4+ The Landship moves 6 spaces in a straight line. During this movement it gains the following benefits • It can freely pass through characters the same Size as it or smaller; any characters passed through must succeed on a Hull save or take 4/6/8kand be knocked Prone. • Any terrain, walls, or other stationary obstructions it attempts to pass through receive 20k AP. If that is enough to destroy them, it passes through; otherwise, its movement ends. • Its movement ignores engagement and doesn’t provoke reactions. Microcore Laser Array Auxiliary Rifle, +2/4/6 [r 5] [t 3] [1e+ 2/3/4f]
Art by Moiderah
Raking Fire System, Full Action, Recharge 5+ The Landship loads a stabilized turbopenetration round and chooses a target in r 12. At the end of the target's next turn, if the target is in Line of Sight of the Landship and at least partially outside of r 5 but at least partially within r 12 the target suffers 1 Structure Damage. High Capacity Coils System The Range of the Coilgun Broadsides, Mission Kill and Raking Fire are increased to 15 and their effects that require the target to at least partially be within r 12 instead require the target to be at least partially within r 15. HULL DOWN
TRAIT
The Landship has Resistance to damage,fandh from b ,u ,l and c .
MEGAFAUNA Biological
One of the great wonders of the universe, Megafauna never cease to amaze the xenobiologists who study them or the colonies who seek to live alongside them. An endless array of massive animals, far from the terrifying monsters that humanity dreamed might be among the stars, many have shown that they can coexist with those willing to show them the respect they deserve. However, if riled up or acting in defence of their territory and friends, the huge creatures are known to be able to show that the metal titans of humanity still have much to learn from nature. TIER 1
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MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
HP: 20 Evasion: 8 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: Sensors: 8
HP: 25 Evasion: 8 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: Sensors: 8
HP: 30 Evasion: 8 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: Sensors: 8
Hull: +3 Agility: +0
Systems: +2 Engineering: +0 Armor: 1 E-Defense: 6 Size: 2 or more Save Target: 11
Hull: +4 Agility: +1
TACTICS
Armor: 1 E-Defense: 6 Size: 2 or more Save Target: 13
Hull: +6 Agility: +2
AWE AND TERROR
The Megafauna is a titanic biological defender that interposes itself for allies and adapts to injuries it suffers. Foes who rely on a single damage type will rapidly find attacks against the Megafauna ineffective and enemies with low mobility will find it hard to evade its defense of its friends. However, mobile foes and foes who can rapidly shift damage types will move around its impressive static defenses.
TRAITS Tooth and Claw Main Melee, +1/2/3 [t 2 OR u 1] [5/7/10k] This weapon does not target allied characters. Earth-shaking Roar Heavy Cannon, Smart, Knockback 3, +2/+4/+6 [r 10 OR c 5] [0 Damage] RELENTLESS EVOLUTION
Systems: +3 Engineering: +1
TRAIT
The Megafauna is immune to bonus damage. When the Megafauna takes damage it is not immune to, it gains Resistance to that damage type. This does not affect the triggering attack itself and lasts until the end of the scene or it takes a different damage type.
Systems: +4 Engineering: +2 Armor: 1 E-Defense: 6 Size: 2 or more Save Target: 15
TRAIT
Attacks against allied characters suffer +1-if the Megafauna is in Line of Sight of the attacker and closer than the allied character.
OPTIONAL MUTATIONS DEVOTION BEYOND DEATH
TRAIT
When the Megafauna is destroyed, it continues to interpose itself for allies long after everything says it should be dead. Its wreck becomes an object with 20/30/40 HP that engages hostile characters as if it was a character and allied characters can use for Hard Cover. At the start of each round, the wreck can move 2 spaces in any direction. This movement ignores engagement and does not provoke reactions. TOWERING PROTECTOR
TRAIT
Allied characters adjacent to the Megafauna have Resistance to Damage,fandh from b , u ,l and c . Swallow Whole Trait, Quick Action, Recharge 4+ One adjacent Drone, Deployable or Size 1/2 nonmech target is removed from play, unable to take actions or affect anything. When the Megafauna is destroyed all targets removed from play by Swallow Whole are disgorged messily in spaces adjacent to the Megafauna, or as close as possible if those spaces are occupied.
INFRASOUND SHOCK
Elemental Rage Trait, Full Action, Limited 1 The Megafauna releases a torrent of kinetic energy, burning plasma or chitin shrapnel across ae 7 area. Characters in the affected area must pass an Engineering save or suffer 8/12/16 damage of the type resisted by Relentless Evolution and be knocked back 6 spaces. A successful save halves the damage and the knockback. A Megafauna cannot use Elemental Rage if it does not have a damage type resisted by Relentless Evolution. MASTER OF THEIR DOMAIN
TRAIT
The Megafauna ignores hostile environmental effects and is treated as having a propulsion system for underwater, low-G and zero-G environments. The Megafauna and allied characters in its Sensors ignore the effects of difficult and dangerous terrain. FIGHT TO EXHAUSTION
TRAIT
The Megafauna can Overcharge, suffering 1d6eAP each time it does.
TRAIT
Earth Shaking Roar gains 'On Critical Hit: The target is Stunned until the start of their next turn' TERRITORIAL
TRAIT
The Megafauna’s attacks gain +1+and AP against characters within r 3 of an Objective or Control Zone, including those inside of the objective or control zone. Return to Nature Trait, Free Action, 1/Round One object in r 3 suffers 20k AP. Any characters adjacent to the target are knocked back from it by 2 spaces and take 2/3/4k. REJUVENATING HIBERNATION
TRAIT
1/Round when the Megafauna Stabilizes, it clearshas well as one condition or effect that do not originate from the Megafauna itself, then gains 6/8/10 Overshield. At the start of its next turn, if it still has any Overshield it regains 1/2 of its total HP.
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PISTOLERO Controller
"I don't know anything about any tamporal divergence, I just pilot the robot! Boss said they got a real good deal with some black market dealer. Wanted to offload the machines for a song. Complained constantly about ticks but we sorted that out with a good clean of the co*ckpits. We strapped on some basic fabbed pistols and got to work with them. Got to say, these things run like a dream. The boss seems to already know where the targets will be before we even scout anything out and it's like we've got a 6th sense. Nobody's faster on the draw than we are! Drinking Deep? What are you talking about? I wouldn't mind a beer or something. Nah, I've not noticed too much weird. Well...one thing. The last time I went to wire some manna home, they said that the address didn't exist. That's some bullsh*t, I lived in that house since I was born until I moved out. My Birthyear? Umm...sure? 5036u. Sure you don't just have that in my records already?" -Transcript of Interview with Captured Pistolero Pilot, Medea Nu Interviewing, 5016u. TIER 1
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MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
HP: 15 Evasion: 8 Speed: 5 Heat Cap: 7 Sensors: 10
HP: 18 Evasion: 9 Speed: 5 Heat Cap: 7 Sensors: 10
HP: 21 Evasion: 10 Speed: 6 Heat Cap: 7 Sensors: 10
Hull: +0 Agility: +2
Systems: +2 Engineering: +0 Armor: 0 E-Defense: 12 Size: 1/2 or 1 Save Target: 12
Hull: +1 Agility: +3
TACTICS
The Pistolero is a damaging controller that targets evasion rather than e-defense. Traditional defenses against tech attacks will not protect against trickshots and quickdraws. In addition, its defenses are adapted to make big single attacks entirely ineffective. However the Pistolero is not so tough against rapid assaults and will quickly fall in a fight against another gunslinger.
BASE SYSTEMS Big Irons Auxiliary CQB, +2/4/6 [r 5] [t 3] [4/5/6k] This weapon can target 1-2 characters at a time.
Systems: +3 Engineering: +1 Armor: 0 E-Defense: 14 Size: 1/2 or 1 Save Target: 15
Hull: +2 Agility: +4
Systems: +4 Engineering: +2 Armor: 0 E-Defense: 16 Size: 1/2 or 1 Save Target: 18
Showdown Trait, Quick Action The Pistolero starts a showdown with a character in r 5 and line of sight. That character takes 3/4/5 kAP at the end of each of their turns if they end their turn in r 5 and line of sight of the Pistolero. The Showdown ends if the Pistolero is Jammed, Stunned or destroyed; or if the Pistolero starts a Showdown with a different character. Faster’n You Trait, Reaction, Recharge 4+ Trigger: A character in r 5 and line of sight of the Pistolero would make a Reaction or Overcharge. Effect: The triggering character must pass an Agility save or the action is expended, paying all costs, but has no effect.
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Hey, I Liked That! Reaction Trigger: The Pistolero would be hit by an attack. Effect: Reduce all damage from the attack to 0 and the attacker places the Pistolero’s Hat in a free space in r 5 and line of sight of the Pistolero. This reaction cannot be taken again until the Hat is retrieved, as with a thrown melee weapon.
OPTIONAL SYSTEMS HIGH NOON
TRAIT
The Pistolero’s Showdown does not end if it starts a showdown with another character. Right Down the Barrel Trait, Quick Action, Recharge 5+, +2/+4/+6 Make a ranged weapon attack against a character in r 5. On a hit, the target takes 3/4/5xAP damage and is Jammed until the end of their next turn. Howdy! System The Pistolero is not placed on the battlefield when it would be deployed. Instead, when the Pistolero takes its first turn it is placed in any free space at least 8 spaces away from any hostile characters. If there is no available free space, it will continue to attempt to appear at the start of each of its turns. Bad Luck Pardner Reaction, Recharge 5+ Trigger: A hostile character would hit the Pistolero or an adjacent allied character with an attack. Effect: The triggering character must make a Systems save. On a failure, the attack automatically misses the target, and the character must reroll the attack against a hostile character in r 5 the Pistolero's choice, even if that character would not normally be a valid target. DANCE!
TRAIT
The Pistolero’s Big Irons gain ‘On Hit: Push the target 3 spaces in a direction of the Pistolero’s choice.’
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Art by Moiderah
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SCRAPPER Defender
Not all revolutions can expect to find Manna and Kobold licences falling from the sky, many are forced to go to war with the weapons they have available. More of a pattern than a singular design, scrappers are massive industrial mechs hastily retrofitted in an attempt to make them into a combat vehicle. Servomotors are redlined, scrap plating is bolted onto frames and tools designed for demolition or clearcutting have any safeties removed. Hazardous to pilots and environment alike, Scrappers are nonetheless not to be underestimated by any lancer; A multi-tonne tool designed to shatter buildings will still do terrifying things to a hardsuit. TIER 1
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MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
HP: 23 Evasion: 8 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 8 Sensors: 3
HP: 27 Evasion: 9 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 8 Sensors: 3
HP: 31 Evasion: 6 Speed: 5 Heat Cap: 8 Sensors: 3
Hull: +3 Agility: +0
Systems: -2 Engineering: -2 Armor: 0 E-Defense: 6 Size: 2 or 3 Save Target: 11
Hull: +5 Agility: +1
TACTICS
The Scrapper is a defender that’s durability against attacks normally effective against traditionally armored defenders is unmatched and it can brawl and infight with any who would match it strength to strength. However, the low armour makes it very vulnerable to barrages of lighter weapons in a way that other defenders are not and the scrapper is borderline blind against foes who use deception against it.
BASE SYSTEMS Wrecking Ball Superheavy Melee, +1/2/3 with 1[t 3] [6/8/10k] On Hit: The target falls Prone. This weapon attacks 1-3 targets in Threat. This weapon deals double damage to objects, Deployables and Drones. Rivet Gun Main CQB, AP, +1/+2/+3 [r 5] [t 3] [3/4/5k]
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Systems: -2 Engineering: -2 Armor: 0 E-Defense: 6 Size: 2 or 3 Save Target: 13
Hull: +6 Agility: +2
RAMSHACKLE TITAN
Systems: -2 Engineering: -1 Armor: 0 E-Defense: 6 Size: 2 or 3 Save Target: 15
TRAIT
The Scrapper has Resistance to AP damage. The Scrapper can’t be pushed, pulled, knocked Prone, or knocked back by smaller characters. Belching Smoke System, Protocol, Recharge 4+ The Scrapper releases smoke over a u 2 area that lasts until the end of the Scrapper’s next turn. The Scrapper and allies in the affected area have Soft Cover against attacks. Hostile characters in the affected area only have line of sight to adjacent spaces.
OPTIONAL SYSTEMS Loader Grips System, Quick Action
Chainsaw Superheavy Melee, +2/4/6 [t 2] [6/8/10k]
One character adjacent to the Scrapper is pushed to any free space adjacent to the Scrapper, ignoring obstructions during the movement.
On Hit: The target is Shredded until the end of their next turn. This weapon replaces the Wrecking Ball
Barrel Through System, Quick Action, Recharge 5+
Leaking Oil Reaction, Recharge 5+
The Scrapper moves 6 spaces in a straight line. This movement ignores difficult terrain, engagement and doesn’t provoke reactions. During this movement it can freely pass through characters the same Size or smaller; any characters passed through must succeed on a Hull save or be knocked Prone.
Trigger: The Scrapper takes damage. Effect: Characters in a u 2 area must pass an Agility save or fall Prone. Overpressure Rivet Gun System The Scrapper’s Rivet gun gains Recharge 4+ and ‘On Hit: The target must pass a Hull save or be Immobilized until the end of their next turn.’
Any terrain, walls, or other stationary obstructions it attempts to pass through receive 20k AP. If that is enough to destroy them, it passes through; otherwise, its movement ends.
Art by Moiderah
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SORCERESS Artillery
Sorceress pattern groups are an experiment in quantity being a quality of its own, making up for a lack of direct accuracy with sheer variety and size of the firestorm being delivered at enemy formations. They can vary from low-tech frames bristling with dozens of cannons to bleeding edge paracausal warriors conjuring up blinkspace rifts to hidden weapon caches. The one common aspect is however that where many opponents are interested in finding the bullet with your name on it, the sorceress’ rounds tend to be addressed ‘to whom it may concern’. TIER 1
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MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
HP: 10 Evasion: 8 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 10 Sensors: 15
HP: 13 Evasion: 8 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 10 Sensors: 15
HP: 16 Evasion: 8 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 10 Sensors: 15
Hull: +0 Agility: -1
Systems: +2 Engineering: +2 Armor: 2 E-Defense: 10 Size: 1/2 or 1 Save Target: 11
Hull: +0 Agility: -1
TACTICS
BASE SYSTEMS Evocation Array Heavy Cannon, Reliable 1/1/2, Knockback 1, +1/2/3 [r 15] [4/6/8k,e orx(Chosen when each attack is made)] This weapon makes a number of attacks equal to the Sorceress' Arsenal Die. Damage from the Evocation Array cannot be reduced below its Reliable value by any means. TRAIT
The Sorceress starts each scene with an Arsenal Die (Use a d6 to track, starting at 1). This die increases by 1 after firing the Evocation Array to a maximum of 4 and resets to 1 when the Sorceress moves, including involuntary movement.
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Armor: 2 E-Defense: 14 Size: 1/2 or 1 Save Target: 13
Hull: +0 Agility: -1
BULLET CURTAIN
If left alone, the Sorceress is a direct fire artillery without peer, rapidly spinning up into a catastrophic offense that shreds through all defenses arrayed against it. However, its attacks have travel time and falter if the sorceress suffers controller effects, making it particularly vulnerable to enemy attention.
UNLEASH HELL
Systems: +3 Engineering: +4
Systems: +5 Engineering: +6 Armor: 2 E-Defense: 16 Size: 1/2 or 1 Save Target: 16
TRAIT
If the Arsenal Die is at 2 or higher and the Sorceress is not Jammed or Stunned, whenever a ranged attack is made against the Sorceress, roll 1d6. On a 4+, the attack is consumed by the relentless assault and automatically misses. This does not stack with Invisible.
OPTIONAL SYSTEMS
Bullet Hell System, Quick Action
Goalkeeper System Bullet Curtain also applies to any hostile ranged attack that targets adjacent allied characters. INDISCRIMINATE
TRAIT
When the Sorceress' first turn in a battle starts, all objects in a b 2 area in r 50 suffer 10/20/30eAP. In addition, the Evocation Array's attacks automatically deal 10eAP to objects without an attack roll. Spark Charger System, Protocol, Recharge 5+ The Sorceress deploys emitter microdrones, creating a number of l 15 zones in r 3 equal to the Arsenal Die. At the end of the next round, lasers pulse through these zones and characters in the affected areas take 6/8/10eAP.
Create a number of b 1 Killzones in r 15 and Line of Sight equal to the Arsenal Die. These zones do not obstruct movement or line of sight but are difficult terrain. Characters entering a Killzone for the first time in a round or ending their turn within it must pass an Agility save or take 3/4/5k AP. These zones last until the end of the scene, the sorceress is Jammed or destroyed; or they use this action again. Spell Card System, Protocol, Recharge 6+ The Sorceress gains 6/8/10 Overshield and begins emitting staggering amounts of energy, which is known to all characters. Until they lose all Overshield, the Arsenal Die cannot be reduced.
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STORMCALLER Artillery
Created originally by a now-defunct competitor to Magnum Opus Interstellar, the Stormcaller was a competitor for the USB contract that resulted in the MOI Zou Yan. A towering, crackling frame, the Stormcaller uses a massive electromagnetic terraformer to manipulate air pressure, temperatures and moisture; all the components needed to flood an area with devastating storms. While very dangerous, the unstable power made it unattractive for terraforming future colonies - the remaining stormcallers are mostly seen in the service of military forces that not only accept collateral damage, but relish in it. TIER 1
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MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
HP: 16 Evasion: 8 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 6 Sensors: 15
HP: 20 Evasion: 8 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 6 Sensors: 15
HP: 24 Evasion: 8 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 6 Sensors: 15
Hull: +2 Agility: +0
Systems: +2 Engineering: -2
Hull: +3 Agility: +0
Armor: 1 E-Defense: 10 Size: 2 Save Target: 12
TACTICS
The Stormcaller is a low accuracy artillery that devastates opponents who have neglected E-Defense with powerful smart weapons. It penalizes those suffering burn and can use its own lightning to fuel its recharges. However, its power comes at the cost of being highly self-destructive, as each extra recharge attempt comes at the cost of more lost health.
BASE SYSTEMS Bolt from the Blue Heavy Nexus, Smart, Seeking, AP +1/2/3 with +1[r 15] [3/5/7e+ 2/3/4f] On Hit: A hostile target that suffersfis Impaired until they clearf. This attack can target the Stormcaller or Allied Characters, automatically hitting and dealing 3/5/7 eAP.
Systems: +3 Engineering: -2 Armor: 1 E-Defense: 12 Size: 2 Save Target: 15
Hull: +4 Agility: +0
Systems: +4 Engineering: -1 Armor: 1 E-Defense: 14 Size: 2 Save Target: 18
Tornadic Thunderstorm System, Quick Action, Recharge 5+ Choose 1 Character in Sensors sufferingf. They erupt in a u 2 area of swirling thunder, wind and lightning. Other characters in the affected area must pass an Engineering save or suffer 2/3/4f, be knocked back 2 spaces and, if they sufferf, be Impaired until they clearf. A successful save halves thefand negates both the knockback and the Impaired. EM Interference Trait, Quick Action, Recharge 5+ The Stormcaller creates a b 2 cloud in Sensors that lasts until the end of the Stormcaller's next turn. Tech Attacks and attacks by Drones or Smart weapons against targets in the affected area suffer +3-and when a character attacks a target in the affected area and misses, they suffer 1/2/3eAP. CHANNEL THE STORM
TRAIT
The Stormcaller has Resistance toe. When the Stormcaller is hit by an attack that deals at least partiallyeit can make a Recharge roll as a reaction. Once the Stormcaller has lost half of its structure or more (or once its HP is reduced to half of its maximum value or less if it only has a single point of structure) it loses this Resistance but makes all Recharge rolls at +2.
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OPTIONAL SYSTEMS ONCOMING STORM
TRAIT
When the scene starts, the Stormcaller may place 3 EM Interference clouds in Sensors, even if the Stormcaller is a Reinforcement. These clouds last until the end of the first round, then dissipate. Short Out System, Quick Action, Recharge 5+ One character in Sensors must pass an Engineering save. On a failure, they cannot deploy, redeploy, command or recall any Drone or Deployable until the end of their next turn. During this time, Drones and Deployables under their control are Stunned and cannot affect other characters. Crashing Thunder System, Full Action, Recharge 5+ The Stormcaller creates a b 2 storm within Sensors. At the end of the next round the Storm breaks and all characters in the affected area take 8/10/12eAP and are Stunned until the end of their next turn. Artificial Inundation System, Quick Tech , +1/+2/+3, Recharge 5+ Make a tech attack against a character in Sensors. On a hit, the target is surrounded by a u 1 rainstorm. Characters starting their turn in the affected area, including the target, lose 6/8/10 Overshield and cannot reduceeby any means until the start of their next turn. The target can end this rainstorm by passing an Engineering save as a quick action. Lightning Rod System When the Stormcaller hits an allied character with Bolt from the Blue, they can immediately make a Recharge roll.
Art by Moiderah
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STRIKEBREAKER Controller
“Strikebreakers have become emblematic of Karakin suppression teams, brutal peacekeeping frames armed with what is legally considered less-than-lethal weaponry. The creation of a home grown company originally designed as internal security, strikebreakers are often piloted by undercover KTB Agents assigned to suppress any labor unions and worker's cooperatives as 'Ungrateful Sympathizers'. We've seen many times the work of these knights of capitalism, flesh torn from the bones of protesters in a spray of buckshot and rebelling labormechs crushed into the dirt to send a message to the next movement. With the support of Baronies in the Dawnline Shore, they are ironically starting to see proliferation among the Ungrateful themselves, where these knights show that capitalistic moralizing against the actions of the Ungrateful stops the moment it benefits their checkbooks" -Medea Nu, Union Science Bureau attaché. TIER 1
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MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
HP: 12 Evasion: 12 Speed: 5 Heat Cap: 6 Sensors: 8
HP: 14 Evasion: 14 Speed: 5 Heat Cap: 6 Sensors: 8
HP: 16 Evasion: 16 Speed: 5 Heat Cap: 6 Sensors: 8
Hull: +1 Agility: +2
Systems: +2 Engineering: -1 Armor: 2 E-Defense: 10 Size: 1/2 Save Target: 11
Hull: +1 Agility: +3
TACTICS
Strikebreakers are bullies, laying down punishment on those who are already suffering. Not personally very dangerous against unpenalized foes, the Strikebreaker can dash in and brutalize foes who are left open. Its preferred prey is support mechs, where it prevents them aiding their allies and can leave them beaten and alone.
BASE SYSTEMS Riotbreaker Scattergun Main CQB, +2/4/6, +1 Accuracy [r 5] [t 3] [4/5/6k] On Critical Hit: The Target is knocked Prone. Detain Trait, Quick Action, Recharge 5+ One adjacent Prone character becomes detained. A detained character is Immobilized, cannot engage hostile characters and cannot interact with objectives or control zones until the end of the scene. The target can only end this effect by themselves or an adjacent allied character passing an Agility save as a quick action. Each time a character fails this save the affected character takes 1/2/3eAP.
Systems: +4 Engineering: -1 Armor: 2 E-Defense: 12 Size: 1/2 Save Target: 13
Hull: +1 Agility: +4
UNION BUSTER
Systems: +6 Engineering: -1 Armor: 2 E-Defense: 14 Size: 1/2 Save Target: 16 TRAIT
Hostile characters in a u 3 area around the strikebreaker are not treated as allied characters for any effect that requires allied characters or has a different effect on allied characters. OPPORTUNISTIC
TRAIT
The Strikebreaker ignores engagement from larger characters and can freely move through and share the spaces they occupy (even if they’re hostile). While occupying the same spaces as any character, it gains soft cover, even from that character and benefits from cover against melee and tech attacks.
OPTIONAL SYSTEMS Cruel and Unusual System When the Strikebreaker detains a character, they can instead seize control of their systems. The Strikebreaker controls the affected characters’s standard movement and has immunity to attacks from the affected character. The target can only end this effect by themselves or an adjacent allied character passing a Systems save as a quick action. Each time a character fails this save the affected character takes 2/3/4h.
Censor Drone System, Drone, Quick Action, Recharge 4+ The Strikebreaker deploys a Censor drone within Sensors. Censor Drone (Size 1/2, HP 5/8/10, Evasion 10, E-Defense 10, Tags: Drone Hostile characters at least partially within the Censor drone's u 2 area gain cannot take reactions; or take or benefit from tech actions. In addition, hostile characters in the affected area are affected by the Strikebreaker's Union Buster trait regardless of distance. Ungentlemanly Warfare Trait, Free Action The Strikebreaker ignores the penalty for engagement and gains +1+on attacks against characters engaged by an allied character. When the Strikebreaker hits a character engaged by an allied character it can gain 2h to brutalize them as a free action. One character in Line of Sight and allied to the brutalized character must pass a Systems save or move their Speed directly towards the brutalized character. This movement is involuntary, but provokes reactions and Engagement as normal and doesn’t count as Knockback, pushing, or pulling. Send A Message System, Full Action, Recharge 6+ One Adjacent Prone Character must pass a Hull save or be Stunned until the end of their next turn. All other hostile characters in line of sight of the target must pass a Systems save or be Impaired and Slowed until the end of their next turn. Undercover Operations System, Reaction, 1/Round Trigger: A character in reinforcements would be deployed. Effect: The triggering character is Hidden and Invisible until the start of their turn. In addition, they can immediately move their Speed directly towards any detained character.
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TECHNICIAN Support
Every mech draws enough energy to fuel a city block. Many draw enough to power an entire city. On the battlefield, such energy is the difference between life and death as autoloaders scream at full tilt and shields hum into existence to deflect shots. With such a call for more power, many forces have started bringing dedicated frames to support forces. Little more than walking generators and deployment modules, Technicians are powerful force multipliers that prove that as much as people talk about cunning, training or creativity being the true cause behind victory, often it simply comes down to who can provide the most fuel for the furnace of war. TIER 1
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MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
HP: 15 Evasion: 8 Speed: 3 Heat Cap: 10 Sensors: 15
HP: 18 Evasion: 8 Speed: 3 Heat Cap: 10 Sensors: 15
HP: 20 Evasion: 8 Speed: 3 Heat Cap: 10 Sensors: 15
Hull: +1 Agility: +0
Systems: +2 Engineering: +2 Armor: 1 E-Defense: 10 Size: 1 Save Target: 11
Hull: +2 Agility: +0
TACTICS
The Technician is a support NPC that can snowball if left alone, building up more and more supportive relays for its allies. It vastly improves the capabilities of allies who rely on powerful Recharge abilities but requires protection as it has no methods of self defense beyond baseline invasions.
BASE SYSTEMS Relay Drone System, Drone, Quick Action Relay Drone (Size 1/2, HP 5/8/10, Evasion 10, E-Defense 10, Tags: Drone) This drone can be deployed hovering in a space within r 5 of the Technician or another of the Technican’s Drones, where it hovers in place and generates a u 2 power field. Allied characters in the affected area have +1+on Checks and Saves and a +1 Bonus on Recharge rolls. A character can only benefit from the effects of a single Relay Drone at a time.
Systems: +3 Engineering: +3 Armor: 1 E-Defense: 12 Size: 1 Save Target: 13
Hull: +3 Agility: +0
Systems: +4 Engineering: +4 Armor: 1 E-Defense: 14 Size: 1 Save Target: 15
Acceleration Field System, Recharge 5+ When the Technician deploys a Relay Drone, it can choose to make it an Acceleration Relay Drone. In addition to acting as a Relay Drone for all purposes, any ranged attack by an allied character in the affected area gains +5 r and AP against characters outside of the affected area. Any ranged attack by a hostile character loses 5 r (To a minimum of 3) if it targets one or more characters in the affected area. Shield Battery System, Recharge 5+ When the Technician deploys a Relay Drone, it can choose to make it a Battery Drone. In addition to acting as a Relay Drone for all purposes, allied Characters starting their turn in the affected area or entering it for the first time on their turn gain 3/5/7 Overshield. MOBILE GENERATOR
TRAIT
The Technician emits a u 3 burst power field, that otherwise is treated as the affected area of a Relay Drone. The Technician is not affected by this area but can be affected by the area of Relay Drones.
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OPTIONAL SYSTEMS
INFRASTRUCTURE
Zero-day Patch System, Quick Tech, Recharge 5+ The Technical immediately updates the systems of all allied characters in the affected area of one Relay Drone. This ends all effects caused by tech actions, stops NHP cascades, and gives the affected characters Immunity to all tech actions – hostile and allied – other than this one until the end of their next turn.
When the Technician enters the battlefield, it immediately deploys 2 Relay Drones within r 5 of itself or another Relay Drone, including one deployed by Infrastructure. The Technician's Relay Drones have Resistance to all damage,f andhuntil the end of its first turn. Cloaking Pulse System, Quick Action, Recharge 6+ All characters in the affected area of one Relay Drone become Invisible until the end of their next turn.
Digitize System, Quick Action, Recharge 5+ One character in the affected area of a Relay Drone is teleported to any free space in the affected area of another Relay Drone and becomes Intangible until the start of its next turn. Hostile characters can pass an Engineering save to avoid this effect.
ENVIRONMENTAL ADAPTATION LINING TRAIT Attacks by hostile characters from more than 5 spaces away treat Relay Drones as Hidden, even if they are in the open.
Art by Moiderah
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TRAIT
WARDEN Defender
“On my eighth birthday I was taken from my family, bought for a few week’s rations and brought to the girl I would die for. A noble of high breeding, there would be many who would seek to take her position through subterfuge or force of arms. My blood would be her shield. They shaped me over the years with tutors in spycraft and swordplay, moulding me like red hot steel worked by the greatest artisans. These days, I do not know what I would even do with my freedom. She is my lady; trusting me with her life and her daily troubles. I was forged like steel and now that the metal is set, I do not think I could change without breaking. I am her champion and her guardian against all that would do her harm. While I stand, you will not harm a single hair on her head.” -Lady Elise Adanır of the House of Order TIER 1
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MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
HP: 18 Evasion: 6 Speed: 5 Heat Cap: 8 Sensors: 8
HP: 22 Evasion: 6 Speed: 5 Heat Cap: 8 Sensors: 8
HP: 26 Evasion: 6 Speed: 5 Heat Cap: 8 Sensors: 8
Hull: +2 Agility: +0
Systems: +1 Engineering: +1 Armor: 2 E-Defense: 10 Size: 1 or 2 Save Target: 11
Hull: +4 Agility: +0
Systems: +2 Engineering: +2 Armor: 2 E-Defense: 12 Size: 1 or 2 Save Target: 13
Hull: +6 Agility: +0
Systems: +3 Engineering: +3 Armor: 2 E-Defense: 14 Size: 1 or 2 Save Target: 16
TACTICS
Warden's Charge Trait, Quick Action
BASE SYSTEMS
The Warden chooses an allied non-Warden character in line of sight; that character becomes this Warden's Principal. For the rest of the scene, these effects apply: • The Warden and its Principal have +1+on Checks and Saves. • When the Warden's Principal suffers damage from a hostile character, it can reload the MagAcceleration Blade as a reaction. • Hostile characters in r 3 of the Warden suffer +2-on attacks against the Warden's Principal. The Warden can start a scene with a Principal chosen and can only choose a new target if the current target is destroyed. A character can only be the Principal of a single Warden at a time.
The Warden is a dedicated brawling bodyguard, making up for a lack of group protection with explosive offense through Warden’s Charge if the principal is harmed. Rather than sticking with the principal, however, the Warden will generally want to get up in enemy faces. If kept at a distance from its enemies with crowd control, it cannot provide much protection or vengeance.
Mag-Acceleration Blade Heavy Melee, Loading, AP, +2/4/6 [t 3] [8/12/16k] Steel Fist Auxiliary Melee, +2/4/6 [t 2] [4/5/6k]
RIGHTEOUS FURY
TRAIT
Whenever the Warden's Principal takes damage from a character, the Warden's next attack deals +2/+3/+4 bonus damage. This bonus stacks up to +8 and is lost when the Warden attacks. If the Warden's Principal is destroyed, the bonus immediately becomes +8 and damage from the Warden's next attack cannot be reduced by any means.
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OPTIONAL SYSTEMS Faster Than Thought System, Full Action, Recharge 6+ The Warden blitzes across a l10 Area. Characters in the affected area suffer 4/6/8kAP and only have Line of Sight to adjacent spaces until the end of their next turn. A successful Agility save halves the damage and prevents losing line of sight. The Warden moves to any space adjacent to the affected area, counting as teleporting. Void Blade System, Quick Action, Recharge 4+ All hostile characters in a u 3 area around the Warden must pass a Hull save or be pulled 3 spaces directly towards the Warden. If a character moved by this system collides with an obstruction or another mech, they stop moving and are knocked Prone. DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR
TRAIT
The Warden is immune to involuntary movement and can choose to ignore any effect that would control its actions or force it to take an action. Staredown Reaction, Recharge 5+ Trigger: A hostile character in r 5 and Line of Sight makes an attack Effect: The triggering hostile character must pass a Systems save or the attack automatically misses and they suffer 8/10/12k AP. The triggering character can choose to abort the attack, paying all costs but having no effect, to avoid making this save. REMEMBER ME
TRAIT
When the Warden is destroyed, the Warden's Principal gains the Mag-Acceleration Blade for the rest of the scene. While carried this way, the Mag-Acceleration Blade cannot be used in a Barrage.
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Art by Moiderah
[ 191 ]
WINGMAN Defender
"They say there are three kinds of Lancers. Those who seek strength, those who live for pride, and those who can read the tide of battle. If that's true, the increasingly common wingman class of frames is certainly the work of the third. The first Wingman frames were created in direct response to a disastrous Purview Colonial mission. Initial scouting had dramatically underestimated local resistance and the planet's mountainous terrain creating a situation that was perfect for air superiority fighters. Locally equipped aerospace ravaged flight-system equipped Shermans and Tokugawas, preying on their mediocre mobility and even the deployment of a Trilithon-Class Railgun Emplacement faltered as a desperate act by unexpectedly skilled partisans disassembled the orbital battery. Wingmen are agile frames designed for rapid reposition and support of flowing and shifting battle lines. They are more than capable of defending units making offensive pushes while keeping hypervelocity engines primed for burns back to the location of any local forces in desperate need of support. Acting as potent force multipliers, they are going to be a headache for anyone trying to stop the Bruise in the future. I recommend leaking of initial specs and designs to HORUS actors. That should allow for plenty of non-legion iterations on the design and blunt the march HA is trying to steal." - Medea Nu, Union Science Bureau attaché. TIER 1
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MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
HP: 18 Evasion: 12 Speed: 5 Heat Cap: 8 Sensors: 8
HP: 20 Evasion: 14 Speed: 5 Heat Cap: 8 Sensors: 8
HP: 22 Evasion: 16 Speed: 5 Heat Cap: 8 Sensors: 8
Hull: +0 Agility: +2
Systems: +1 Engineering: -2 Armor: 1 E-Defense: 10 Size: 2 Save Target: 11
TACTICS
Hull: +1 Agility: +4
Incredibly fast compared to other defenders, the Wingman works best when it is switching up allies, allowing it to spread light overshield around the battlefield with On Your Six and to rapidly move to wherever its vulcans can control space around it. However, its reliance on mobility and mediocre e-defense means that it falters heavily when slowed with crowd control effects or unable to gain line of sight on allies.
BASE SYSTEMS Blazer Vulcans Main CQB, +1/2/3, Reliable 3/4/5 [r 5] [t 3] [5/7/9e]
Systems: +2 Engineering: -2 Armor: 1 E-Defense: 12 Size: 2 Save Target: 13
Hull: +2 Agility: +6
Systems: +3 Engineering: -2 Armor: 1 E-Defense: 14 Size: 2 Save Target: 16
On Your Six Trait, Quick Action The Wingman chooses an allied character in line of sight and flies to a free space within r 3 of that allied character, moving so fast it counts as teleportation. The allied character gains 2/3/4 Overshield and is treated as having Soft Cover until the end of their next turn. AIR SUPERIORITY
TRAIT
The Wingman may attack with Overwatch using the Blazer Vulcans when hostile characters enter, leave, or exit spaces within its Threat, no matter whether they started their movement there. Aerospace Drive System The Wingman can hover when it moves or Boosts.
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OPTIONAL SYSTEMS A WORLD WITHOUT BORDERS
TRAIT
When the Wingman would enter the battlefield at the start of the scene or as a reinforcement, it can instead place itself on Switch Weave without entering the battlefield. While the Wingman is on Switch Weave, it can place itself in any free space on the battlefield within r 3 of an allied character at the start of any character's turn, before any actions are taken. 1/Round, when an allied character enters the battlefield as a reinforcement, it can enter the battlefield in any free space within r 3 of the Wingman. Interceptor Reaction, 1/round Trigger: An allied character in r 5 suffers damage. Effect: The Wingman instead suffers that damage. If this causes the Wingman to be destroyed or suffer Structure Damage, the triggering character gains +1+on all attacks, checks and saves until the end of their next turn. ADF-01 SOLIDCORE Heavy Cannon, Reliable 5/7/8, +2/4/6 [l8] [10/13/16e]
This weapon begins with 1 charge. 1/turn when the Wingman uses On Your Six, it gains an additional 1 charge, up to a maximum of 4. This weapon can only be fired at 4 charges and reduces charge to 1 when fired. Damage from this weapon cannot be reduced by any means if the target is within r 3 of a wreck allied to the Wingman. Flechette Storm System, Quick Action, Recharge 5+ The Wingman fills a u 2 area around it with SemiSapient Shrapnel. Ranged and Tech attacks against the Wingman and allied characters within the area suffer +1-. Hostile characters treat the area as difficult terrain and any hostile character entering the area on their turn or ending their turn within it must pass a Hull save or suffer 5/7/9k, or half damage on a success. This effect lasts until the end of the Wingman's next turn and each hostile character can only suffer damage from this storm once per turn. Lighthouse Active Defense Shield System, Full Action, Limited 1 The Wingman and all allied characters in r 3 gain Overshield 4/6/8. While affected characters have this Overshield they gain Resistance to damage,fandh from smart weapons and tech attacks.
Art by Moiderah
NPC TEMPLATES PARTISAN
Armed civilians or local defence forces, partisans have been hardened by tough lives and determination to not lose their homes. They know the terrain better than you and they will bring anything to the table, if it gives them a chance to win.
TEMPLATE FEATURES LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
TEMPLATE FEATURE
When a Partisan is in soft cover, ranged attackers receive +2-instead of +1-. PARTISAN SYSTEMS
TEMPLATE FEATURE
When choosing optional systems, the Partisan can also choose from Partisan Systems and Traits
PARTISAN SYSTEMS AND TRAITS Brother's Keeper Reaction, Trait, 1/Round Trigger: A hostile character makes a Search, Ram or Grapple targeting an allied character. Effect: The Partisan can expend its Overwatch to make a Skirmish targeting the triggering hostile character. Smuggled Weapons Main Rifle, Reliable 2/3/4, +1/+2/+3 [r 10][4/6/8k,xore(Pick when Made)] Scavenged ATGM Superheavy Launcher, Smart, AP, Ordnance, Reliable 7/9/11, Limited 1, +1/+2/+3 [r 10][10/15/20xDamage] Prepared Sabotage Trait, Quick Action, Limited 1 Choose one Drone, Deployable or Object in r 10. At the end of the next round, they suffer 15eAP. If this destroys the target, they erupt in a u 2 area. Characters in the affected area must pass a Hull save or suffer 8/10/12xdamage, be knocked Prone and Impaired until the end of their next turn. A successful save halves the damage and negates being knocked Prone or Impaired.
Art by Moiderah
GUERRILLA WARFARE
TRAIT
The Partisan is not placed on the battlefield at when it would be deployed. Instead, two Sensor Blip markers the same Size as the Partisan are placed in any free space more than 15 spaces away from a hostile character. These sensor blips are treated as invisible, hidden characters with the Partisan's Speed, Evasion, E-Defence and HASE Scores. If the Partisan can teleport or fly, the Sensor Blips can too. Sensor Blips both act on the Partisan's turn but can take no actions other than standard moves or Boost. If a Sensor Blip loses hidden or takes any damage, it is revealed as a fake and removed from the game. When the Partisan is reduced to only one Sensor Blip, the Partisan is revealed, replacing the sensor Blip with the Partisan. If both sensor Blips are removed at the same time (Such as by a blast weapon), the Partisan can choose which one to replace. A Partisan can also reveal itself as a Protocol, replacing one Sensor Blip with the Partisan and removing the other Sensor Blip from the game. If multiple Partisans have placed Sensor Blips, it is not possible to tell which Partisan is associated with each Blip, though the GM should number them and keep a private list. LOW TECH SOLUTIONS
TRAIT
The Partisan has Immunity to Jammed and characters attempting to Search for it automatically fail if they do not have Line of Sight to the Partisan. Hidden Pitfalls Reaction, Recharge 6+ Trigger: A character in r 10 moves without Flying. Effect: The triggering character must pass an Engineering save or fall Prone in any space of the movement of the Partisan's choice and suffer 3/5/7k AP.
SECURITY
The ideological pillars of the Union are designed to put people over profit. As such, profit has had to recruit armies of its own. When the Ungrateful rise to cast down the decadent and feed the hungry, there are those who are more than happy to be paid in blood-soaked silver to stamp down on resistance. When Trunk Security declares opposition traders to be Piracy, there are those willing to end lives to keep profit margins up. War is the continuation of politics by other means. Security teams are the continuation of business by means of a barrel.
TEMPLATE FEATURES RIOT TRAINING
TEMPLATE FEATURE
Hostile characters grappled by a Security are Impaired for as long as they are grappled. A security can take reactions while grappling. SECURITY SYSTEMS
TEMPLATE FEATURE
When choosing optional systems, the Security can also choose from Security Systems and Traits
SECURITY SYSTEMS AND TRAITS Memetic Propaganda System Whenever a hostile character attacks the Security, they first take 1/2/3h. If this causes the attacker to exceed their Heat Cap, the attack automatically misses. Shock Baton Main Melee, +1/2/3 [t 1] [4/6/8e] This weapon gains Reliable 4/6/8 against Prone or Grappled targets. Confiscate Contraband Trait, Quick Action, Limited 1 The Security confiscates equipment from a hostile character in r 3, choosing two of the target's weapons or systems. The target must then pick one of the choices, which is disabled and has no effect until the end of the scene or until the Security is destroyed.
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Turing Override Full Tech, Recharge 5+, +2/4/6
Judge Quick Tech, Recharge 5+, +1/2/3
The Security makes a tech attack against a character in Sensors. On a success, the target suffers 3/4/5h, immediately ends all effects granted by a system with the AI tag and suffers a Turing Lock. While suffering a Turing Lock, the target loses all Sensor range beyond r 3 and their systems with the AI tag have no effect (They do not grant actions, cannot take control of anything, cannot cascade etc.) until the lock is broken. The target can attempt to break the lock by passing an Engineering save as a quick action. BLUE CODE
TRAIT
The security is immune to hostile effects from allied characters and allied characters are immune to hostile effects from the Security.
The Security makes a tech attack against a character in Sensors. On a success, the target suffers 1/2/3h and the Security chooses one action (Such as Ram, Quick Tech, Skirmish, Boost etc.). The chosen action is known to all and if the target takes that action, judgement falls upon them, causing them to first suffer 5/6/7h. If this causes the target to exceed theirh cap, the action fails and has no effect even if that action cannot normally fail. Each character can only have a single action judged at a time and Judge lasts until judgement falls, the end of the scene or the target ends the effect by passing a Systems save as a quick action.
Art by Moiderah
ELITE NPC CLASSES ECLIPSE Defender
"...someone's got to be sh*tting me. This is trying to work out the deal behind the Lich all over again. If the limited records we've dragged from these things are correct, they're Pre-Union. By multiple thousand years. I don't think people f*cking had mech suits a few thousand years before they had space travel. To actually known facts: These things are massively paracausal. We're talking 'What seems to be functional anti-grav and freely messing with Mass–energy equivalence' paracausal. We've not even identified what they're made from. It's some sort of reddishgold metal that outclasses anything we can print. They flicker in and out of reality, inverting between scorching plasma beams and devastating lances of antimatter without slowing. Whatever goals they're acting for, they're not exactly letting us in on and we’ve yet to catch a pilot to ask them ourselves. One day, one could turn up to support an ungrateful rebellion, claiming to speak for ancient gods. Another time, they could sabotage a Liberator mission to make sure one single person doesn't make it out of it alive. Perhaps they're working with some sort of prediction of the future they're trying to manipulate but I'm not sure if that's even poss-" -Medea Nu, Union Science Bureau attaché. Remaining Report Redacted. Security Level: SOLEMN VIGIL TIER 1
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MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
HP: 15 Evasion: 10 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 8 Sensors: 10
HP: 18 Evasion: 11 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 8 Sensors: 10
HP: 21 Evasion: 12 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 8 Sensors: 10
Hull: +2 Agility: +2
TACTICS
Systems: +2 Engineering: +2 Armor: 1 E-Defense: 10 Size: 1 Save Target: 11
Hull: +3 Agility: +3
The Eclipse is a defender that changes how it defends based on the mode it is currently in, shifting from a mobile defender that punishes approaching it in Light mode to a tough defender that punishes attacking other characters in Dark Mode. It is capable of very powerful effects with the optional modules that heavily rearrange the battlefield or lock off entire areas but all of them have very high recharge values and thus won’t be seen too often. The weakness of the Eclipse is that when in Light Mode it is not fantastically tough and in Dark mode it pairs a short range with a Mediocre movement speed.
Systems: +3 Engineering: +3 Armor: 1 E-Defense: 11 Size: 1 Save Target: 13
Hull: +4 Agility: +4
Systems: +4 Engineering: +4 Armor: 1 E-Defense: 12 Size: 1 Save Target: 16
BASE SYSTEMS Shining Fissure Heavy CQB, +2/4/6 l6, t 3, 4/6/8e On Hit: The target suffers an additional effect, depending on the Eclipse's current mode: • Light: If the target ends their next turn closer to the Eclipse than they started, they suffer 3/4/5f. • Dark: Until the end of the target's next turn, whenever they make an attack against a character other than the Eclipse, they suffer 2/3/4f.
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SOLAR MODES
TRAIT
The Eclipse has two modes, Light and Dark. When the Eclipse enters play it can choose either mode to enter play in. Each mode has a passive effect, as well as an effect when the Eclipse enters that mode. Several systems have different effects depending on the mode of the Eclipse. • While in Light Mode, whenever the Eclipse moves it can Hover. When the Eclipse enters Light Mode, it can immediately move 4 spaces and is treated as Invisible against attacks until the end of its next turn. This movement ignores engagement and does not provoke reactions. • While in Dark Mode, the Eclipse generates shifting waves across a u 3 area that hostile characters treat as difficult terrain. When the Eclipse enters Dark Mode or when it loses structure, it immediately gains 6/8/10 Overshield. This Overshield is immediately lost if it enters Light Mode. Invert Trait, Protocol, Recharge 4+ If the Eclipse is in Light Mode it swaps to Dark Mode and vice versa. UNMOVED MOVER
TRAIT
The Eclipse does not leave a wreck when destroyed and has immunity to involuntary movement and to any systems or actions that affect a pilot directly. It has a base of 2 Structure, 2 Stress and 2 separate turns each Round. It gains +1 optional modules, cannot take the Grunt or Elite template and if a template would give it additional turns, it only takes the highest number of turns granted.
OPTIONAL SYSTEMS Vanish Into Light System, Quick Action, Recharge 6+ The Eclipse teleports to a free, valid space in r 10. All characters in a u 2 area around the Eclipse's starting position are teleported along with it, emerging in free valid spaces of the Eclipse’s choice within r 2 of the Eclipse's final position. Hostile characters can make an Engineering save to avoid this effect. Swallow The Sun System, Quick Action, Recharge 6+ The Eclipse devours all light across a u 3 Area. Until the end of the Eclipse's next turn characters outside this area are unable to draw line of sight into the affected area. Hostile characters cannot ignore this reduced line of sight through any means.
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Gravitic Shift System, Quick Action, Recharge 5+ Choose a character within Sensors, who must pass a Hull save or suffers an effect depending on the Eclipse's current mode: •
Light: The target floats 6 spaces into the air, becoming Immobilized while in the air but counting as flying and unable to fall. They sink harmlessly to the ground at the end of their next turn.
•
Dark: The target immediately lands (this counts as falling without any damage), then falls Prone and is Slowed until the end of their next turn. Targets that were not flying still fall Prone and are Slowed.
CLEANSING ENERGY
TRAIT
When the Eclipse changes modes, it ends all effects caused by tech actions as well as all conditions that were not caused by its own systems, traits etc. Unmake Trait, Full Action, Limited 1 The Eclipse shapes reality in a b 2 area that extends 10 spaces high in r 15, which lasts until the end of the scene or the Eclipse is destroyed. At the end of each of the Eclipse's turns all Objects and Deployables in the affected area 10eAP. In addition, the affected area has effects that vary depending on the Eclipse's current mode: •
Light: Hostile characters in the affected area cannot endfor clearf. Hostile characters starting their turn in the affected area or entering it for the first time on their turn must pass an Agility save or suffer 2/4/6f. A successful Agility save halves theh.
•
Dark: Hostile characters in the area treat all characters outside the area as having Resistance to damage,fandh, and can’t ignore line of sight by any means. Hostile characters starting their turn in the affected area, or entering it for the first time on their turn, must pass a Hull save or be unable to Overcharge, or take an action that would cause them to directly gainh, until the end of their next turn.
When the Eclipse changes modes, they can move the area of shaped reality 4 spaces in any direction. PHOENIX
TRAIT
At the start of each Round, if the Eclipse is destroyed and has any non-Eclipse allied characters on the battlefield, it returns to play at full HP, 0h and 1 structure and stress in a free, valid space adjacent to an allied character. On any round it returns to play this way, it can only take a single turn.
STARHEART
TRAIT
The Eclipse is immune tof. Burn inflicted by the Eclipse bypasses Immunity and ignores Resistance. Silence The Choir System, Limited 1
At the start of any round the Eclipse can Silence the Choir, causing the stars to vanish from the sky across a u 50 area until the end of the round. In the affected area, characters do not have line of sight beyond r 5 and cannot target any action without Line of Sight. During this time, characters cannot spend Core Power.
FERRYMAN Defender
“I've been poring through the refuse from the New Agartha Station attack. This isn’t adding up. Greywash swarms, paracausal tech, strange aesthetic...this should be the sign of a new HORUS patterngroup by all metrics but the codebase is wrong. HORUS codebases are fragmented and disparate. This is laser focused, with no wasted space trying to force some meme from 300 years ago or random religious diatribes. We've got footage of how these things acted. Airlocks dematerialized to vent entire sections to space, MOI's bleeding edge tech passing through them like they were ghosts. The only reason they left is because they chose to leave, regardless of what the security forces claim. I don’t know who made this, half a dozen black market groups are claiming it but I think they just got their hands on some cut-rate blueprints; they shouldn’t have been able to act in Union space long enough to develop this without us knowing about it and the first ones encountered outclasses anything they're selling. Running theory: Outside Union Actor. Highly Advanced. Fundamentally opposed to Blink Technology.” - Medea Nu, Union Science Bureau attaché. TIER 1
TIER 2
TIER 3
MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
HP: 15 Evasion: 12 Speed: 5 Heat Cap: 8 Sensors: 10
HP: 18 Evasion: 15 Speed: 6 Heat Cap: 8 Sensors: 10
HP: 21 Evasion: 18 Speed: 7 Heat Cap: 8 Sensors: 10
Hull: -2 Agility: +2
Systems: +2 Engineering: +0 Armor: 0 E-Defense: 10 Size: 1 Save Target: 11
Hull: -2 Agility: +4
TACTICS
The Ferryman is an elite defender that shines when protecting evasive allies or grunts. It can make attacks less accurate and deny enemies the benefits of reliable. While not exceptionally tough, it can brawl on the frontline and make enemies or allies intangible to deny interaction. It is, however, rather vulnerable to crowd control as it can only defend over a short area and the low hull makes it particularly vulnerable to any grapple that gets through its solid evasion.
BASE SYSTEMS Sculling Oar Heavy Melee, +2/4/6, Knockback 3 [t 3] [5/6/8k] On Hit: The target must pass a Systems Save or become Intangible until the end of their next turn.
Systems: +3 Engineering: +0 Armor: 0 E-Defense: 12 Size: 1 Save Target: 13
Hull: -2 Agility: +6
Systems: +4 Engineering: +0 Armor: 0 E-Defense: 14 Size: 1 Save Target: 16
Obol Collector Trait, Reaction Whenever a character in r 5 of the Ferryman suffers structure damage or is destroyed it gains 1 Obol, to a maximum of 6 (Use a d6 to track the number of Obols). Whenever an Attack, Check or Save would be made by or targeting the Ferryman or a character in r 5, the Ferryman can spend 1 Obol as a Reaction to grant +1+or-to the Attack, Check or Save. DEATHLY SHROUD
TRAIT
The Ferryman projects a shroud over a u 3 area. The Ferryman and allied characters in the affected area are immune to all damage and effects from missed attacks. The Ferryman can affect and be affected by Intangible characters in the affected area. Chthonic Journey Quick Tech, Recharge 5+ The Ferryman or one allied character in Sensors and Line of Sight becomes Intangible until the end of its next turn.
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PHANTOM
TRAIT
The Ferryman has a base of 2 Structure, 2 Stress and 2 separate turns each Round. It gains +1 optional modules, cannot take the Grunt or Elite template and if a template would give it additional turns, it only takes the highest number of turns granted. The Ferryman has Resistance to Damage,fandh from Intangible Characters and Intangible characters cannot reduce damage from the Ferryman by any means.
OPTIONAL SYSTEMS
Return Trip System, Protocol, Recharge 5+ Return 1 destroyed character to play in a free space in r 3 and Line of Sight of the Ferryman. The returned character has the AI tag, 1 Structure, 1 Stress and 5/8/10 HP unless it would otherwise have less. Any Recharge abilities of the returned character are uncharged when it is returned. Paid Overtime Reaction, Limited 1
TRAIT
Trigger: The Ferryman would be reduced to 0 or less HP
Characters affected by Chthonic Journey clearf as well as all conditions, statuses and effects of tech actions not caused by their own systems, traits, etc.
Effect: It is instead reduced to 1 HP, Gains 3 Obols and becomes Intangible until the start of its next turn.
CLEANSING LETHE
Last Stop System, Full Action, Recharge 5+ All characters inc 5 must pass a Systems Save or suffer 6/10/14kand become Intangible until the end of their next turn. A successful save halves the damage and avoids becoming Intangible. THRESHOLD WARDEN
Die Trait, Full Action, Limited 1 One character in Sensors and Line of Sight makes a Structure Damage Check. This check is made with a minimum of 1 die even if they have no marked structure and does not cause the target to lose structure or restore HP.
TRAIT
The Sculling Oar can Overwatch teleporting characters and gains 'On Hit: The target cannot teleport characters or be teleported until the end of their next turn' Reap System, Quick Action Spend any number of Obols, then choose one of the following: •
A number of characters in Sensors equal to the Obols spent must pass a Systems save or gain 4/5/6f. A successful save halves thef.
•
A characters in Sensors must pass a Systems save or gain 2/3/4fper Obol spent. A successful save halves thef.
Debt of the Departed Full Action, System One destroyed character in Sensors immediately uses a weapon chosen by the Ferryman to attack a character within Range chosen by the Ferryman, despite being destroyed. This action can be taken even if the weapon chosen is destroyed.
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TIMEKEEPER Controller
"These things are number one priority for capture. We're provisionally calling them Timekeepers because they seem to show up quite regularly in areas of temporal disturbance. I've personally seen a Lich dragged kicking and screaming back into the timestream by one of them and they've got the sort of precision with time manipulation that a surgeon would envy. They can stretch a final moment out for multiple minutes or undo all the hard work of an assault team by having the target have never been there in the first place. They've got unclear motives but while they seem more than willing to engage anything around their entry point they seem primarily focused on leading chronology-displaced forces against anything attempting to warp the timestream or avert predicted futures. I highly recommend against any attrition strategy against them, as attempts to wear them down with line troops have resulted in them simply turning back the clock or stepping outside of the timestream as shots fly their way. Beyond that, we're really not sure what they're into...just a minute, I got a messa... Oh, son of a bitch. I have had you sniped, I have had you incinerated, I have had you shot with an orbital f*cking laser and I know I've banned you from my streams at least twice. Stop sending me DMs!" - Medea Nu, Union Science Bureau attaché. TIER 1
TIER 2
TIER 3
MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
MECH SKILLS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
CORE STATS
HP: 15 Evasion: 6 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 8 Sensors: 12
HP: 18 Evasion: 6 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 8 Sensors: 12
HP: 21 Evasion: 6 Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 8 Sensors: 12
Hull: +0 Agility: -2
Systems: +2 Engineering: +1 Armor: 0 E-Defense: 13 Size: 1 Save Target: 12
Hull: +1 Agility: -2
TACTICS
The Timekeeper is a dedicated controller and support NPC, capable of delaying enemies and rescuing allies from bad situations. It is incredibly resilient against the actions of those it has under control and can strip some of the strongest abilities from its foes. However, this focus on support leaves it nearly incapable of directly harming foes without help and highly dependent on its ability to keep its allies alive to continue the fight.
BASE SYSTEMS Tick System, Quick Tech, +2/4/6 The Timekeeper makes a tech attack against a character within Sensors. On a success, the target is Impaired and Slowed until the end of their next turn.
Systems: +4 Engineering: +2 Armor: 0 E-Defense: 16 Size: 1 Save Target: 15
Hull: +2 Agility: -2
Systems: +6 Engineering: +3 Armor: 0 E-Defense: 20 Size: 1 Save Target: 18
Tock Quick Tech, +2/4/6, Recharge 5+ The Timekeeper makes a tech attack against a target in Sensors. On a hit the target cannot take Reactions, Protocols or Free Actions until the end of their next turn and the target's next turn must be taken after all characters in that round have acted. If multiple characters are affected this way, then turn order is decided among affected characters normally after all unaffected characters have acted. Time and Again Quick Tech, Recharge 4+ Pick one character in Sensors. At the end of the target's next turn, the Timekeeper can teleport them back to the location they started their turn in as a reaction, or as close as possible. A hostile character affected this way can pass a Systems save to avoid being teleported.
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BETWEEN MOMENTS
TRAIT
The Timekeeper's actions do not provoke reactions. Whenever it is targeted by a Slowed or Immobilized character, roll 1d6. On a 4+ the attack or effect ceases to be and has no effect. This does not stack with invisible. FATEWEAVER
TRAIT
The Timekeeper has a base of 2 Structure, 2 Stress and 2 separate turns each Round. It gains +1 optional modules, cannot take the Grunt or Elite template and if a template would give it additional turns, it only takes the highest number of turns granted. When the Timekeeper is destroyed, it is removed from play and does not leave a wreck.
OPTIONAL SYSTEMS DEADLINE
TRAIT
From Round 3 onwards, the Timekeeper gains +1+on attacks and +1 on Recharge Rolls. The Timekeeper cannot benefit from Deadline the same turn it enters from reinforcements. Retcon System, Full Action, Recharge 5+ Teleport any number of characters, Mines and Deployables in Sensors up to 3 spaces. Hostile characters affected this way must pass an Engineering save or be Slowed until the end of their next turn. Unwind System, Quick Action, Recharge 5+ One allied character in Sensors is restored to maximum HP, has allh, conditions and effects cleared; and is removed from the battlefield, being placed into reinforcements. Systems and Traits that are uncharged and weapons that are unloaded remain so while in reinforcements. Sever The Butterfly's Wing Reaction, Recharge 5+ Trigger: A hostile character in Line of Sight would reroll an action or die, set a die to a value instead of rolling or force a die or action to be rerolled. Effect: The triggering character suffers 2/3/4h and becomes Shredded and Slowed until the end of their next turn.
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Weight of Time Full Tech, +2/4/6 Recharge 6+ The Timeskeeper makes a tech attack against a target in Sensors. On a hit the target suffers 4/5/6fand cannot restore HP or endh. This lasts until the target suffers structure damage, overheats, shuts down or passes a Hull save as a full action. Res Gestaecide Quick Tech, +2/4/6, Recharge 4+ The Timekeeper makes a tech attack against a character within Sensors. On a hit, the target cannot take any action granted by their systems, frames, traits or talents until the end of their next turn. During this time, the target also cannot take any Invade option other than Fragment Signal. Grande Sonnerie System, Quick Tech, Recharge 6+ One allied character in Sensors recharges all recharge abilities and reloads all Loading weapons. Setting Sun Trait, Limited 1 When the Timekeeper would be destroyed it maintains coherence at 1 Structure, 1 Stress and 1 HP until the end of the next round, when it is destroyed. During this time the Timekeeper is immune to all damage and effects and deals +2/3/4fwith all attacks but is Immobilized and cannot capture points or count for zones (for sitreps).
Art by Domochevsky
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