Destroid Jump Packs, REF era.

[The Artist Formerly]

The Destroid Jump pack is a simple solid fuel Rocket that straps the back of any of the humaniod Destroids (Excalibur, Gladatior, Raidar-X or Spartan) allowing the Mecha to paratrooper style jumps from high altitudes. It is similar in dimention and weight to the Destroid space packs, but this unit simply burns it's fuel load and is then either discarded or refueled and refited for use again.

Jumping from a moving Horizont dropship thousands of feet off the ground is a dangerous prospect. But sometimes, it's the only way to get a team in where they need to be. To make such a jump and land successfully, the pilot needs to make three differant piloting checks. The first determines departure and falling attitude (IE, not falling cockpit first towards the ground), the second to determine how close to on target the jumper will make land fall and the third to determine how successful a landing the pilot makes. A standard jump for a trained pilot (someone who knows what they are doing and has been trained in jump proceedures) on to a normal earth like terrain (the rolling fields of south western Montana for example) should be made at a minus 15% (-15%) for all three checks. However, non-standard conditions, such as those found on "not earth" for example can complicate things. Darkness, obscuring terrain features (low fog, dense trees, granite mountains, buildings, whatever), high speed cross winds, icy ground, poor quality mapping, the site has changed since the map was made, should add an addition 5% penilty for each feature up to a maxium of -40% (the max the rules allow for such a penilty, assume that a jump that incures penilty greater then that would either be canceled or Command has found some new and ultra creative way to risk the lives of the PCs while allowing them some way to sweak out a jump). Each successful piloting check should incure a +5% bonus to the next check in the series. Each failure should add another -5% penilty to the next check in the series. Appropreately bad things should happen to PCs who fail or botch their jump checks. Including death.

Of course these are not hard rules, just guidelines. Play around with them to fit your needs and to make for good adventure.

The Jump pack carries enough fuel to slow a Destroid traveling at twice terminal velocity down to acceptable levels of stress on landing, well for a Destroid anyway. This would allow a jump onto a 2G world.

Once down the rocket motor can be removed allowing the pack to serve as a cargo container for the destroid. Extra armor patches, ammo, samples collected from the area or whatever the pilot wants. Further, the outer shell of the pack can be canibalied to make additional armor patches, up to 55 MDC can be gathered from a single pack.

Units wearing the jump pack and are under the effects of gravity suffer -1 on initive. The pack is a little bulky and does interfer with movement and combat, if only slightly.

The Jump pack 85 MDC, and requires a called shot to hit. A fully fueled pack will explode when it's MDC is depleted, inflicting 2d4x10 MDC to a 30 foot area. Reduce explosion damage by the amount of fuel used if the pack is less then full when detonated.