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Don't forget a pit stop in Rifts Russia for Shemarrians.

Fun times with Russian Warlords, especially with Warlord or Warlady Romanov.

The mutual respect between Shemarrian and Rifts Cossacks clans; mass cavalry charge of both or other forms of combined arms operations and cultural exchanges.

The appeal of Rifts Russian cyborg and weapon tech to Shemarrians; how they will use them.

Even better, new Russian Shemarrian clans or cossacks to defend Mother Russia and her children.

You're evil, you know that?

I'm so HAPPY for you!

EShemar Psi-Shamaness

The Ecotroz Shemarian tribeswoman, clad in her full clan regalia, stepped into the Spinster’s tent. the diminutive tinker-healer moving aside as the taller woman made her way to the side of the assembly table. On it lay a half-assembled gynoid, the presence of elaborate life support equipment hooked to pulsing pink organs visible within the cyberoid frame showing that this was not a full Shemarrian, but a NeShemar in the birthing. Within a half-completed skull, pink brain tissue lay quivering under a plastic shell, and it was this that drew the Shamaness’s attention.
Long fingers reached out, caressed the plastic skull, running over it as the Shamaness gathered her internal memories. Already she could sense the unconscious thoughts, taste the terror, smell the fire and char of burning flesh, feel the panic within. The flesh being that this one had been had almost died in flames before being recovered from its destroyed habitation by the scouting party. Its last vivid memories had been of the inferno raging around it, consuming its body.
These would not do for a NeShemar of the Tribe. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was not tolerated among the strong.
Sensing out the web of memories, the Shamaness contemplated. Here and there, a node, a knot, a patch of memory; cut those off, make the break there. It might not last forever, but long enough for a new paty of memory to establish itself, a new identity to overlay the old one.
With that, the Shamaness decided. Within her soul, the power she had been gifted with by the Goddess sang and surged, and at her direction, began to pour into the unconscious cyborg’s brain.
“What you once were is no more; what you will become is yet to be, born from the fire...”

One out of every fifty Ecotroz Shemarrians exhibits a higher emergence of psionic abilities. Whether this represents a growing trend overall in Ecotroz, or a mutation of the individual Ecotroz essence, is unknown. Somehow, the Ecotroz energy aspect is more sensitive and perceptive of the world outside its metal shell. Those with higher psionic potentials often rise to positions as spiritual leaders, advisors, and meta-specialists among the Ecotroz. Psionic Shemarrians can be of any of the Enlightened castes; Warriors, Berserkers, War Chieftains, War Goddesses, Spinsters, Males, even Pariahs. Those known to possess extra ‘Gifts’ are seen as blessed by the Shemarrian deities; the fact that none of those enthralled by the Dark One exhibit similar powers is seen as another sign of the depravity of the Dark One, and of the extended hand of the Goddess(Shemarrian deities) towards liberating the EShemar.
The idea of a psionic robot would frankly terrify most people, and would be especially worrying to ARCHIE-3 and Hagan if they ever learned of the EShemars’ psionic awakenings.
In addition to the regular Ecotroz machine-related psionic abilities, the Psi-Shamaness has ISP: 1d6x10+ME+1d6 per level of experience, and has the following psionic powers:
-Six Sensitive powers of choice at level one, plus an additional Sensitive or Healing power at levels 4, 8, and 12.
-At levels 6 and 12, can select one Super psionic power of choice
-Unlike the baseline Ecotroz powers, these powers DO require ISP to function
-Saves as a Major Psionic
-Psi-Shamans become immune to the Banishment/Exorcism vulnerability at Level 9 of experience

Note:
-EShemar produced through Progen are IMMUNE to the vulnerabilities of Banishment and Exorcism, as they are FULLY integrated into their bodies from birth.
-NeShemar, being cyborgs, are of course immune to such vulnerability anyway.

Thanks to Cytibor for his idea for the nanite venom, DhAkael for the Sapphire Cobra tribe...

Ecotroz Naga
(aka ‘ENaga’, ‘Snake Warrior’)
Gerand TrailStalker was honored by his assignment; the Male Shemarrian Scout had been given the task of guiding one of the few of the Snake Warriors on an important mission. He, a humble male, was to be responsible for assisting one of those who had given all to the embodiment of their clan’s ferocity, by taking on the form of the Sapphire Cobra, the angel-beast of the Goddess. A mission, he had been told, that his skills were the most appropriate for, and thus vital to the success of the Snake Warrior’s part in it.
So now he slid and scampered through the dense forest, skirting the river, his charge close behind. The long-bodied, six-limbed Snake Warrior slithered silently behind him, keeping apace with him, despite her larger size and weight of arms and armor, as they dodged in between boulders and large trees, crept around game paths and trails frequented by other beings, and made their way through dense undergrowth.
He had not realized that he had been giving the esteemed Snake Warrior furtive glances until she had drawn his attention to it with a cross expression and a sharp admonition of ‘is the trail ahead of us, or behind us?!’. He had muttered ‘My deepest apologies, Honored One!’ and returned his attention to the task at hand, ashamed of his slip of propriety in front of one of the tribe’s elite. After that he had become completely focused on getting them where they needed to be, unseen.

They had made excellent time to where they needed to be; overlooking a well-camouflaged habitation deep in the woods. Within, Gerand had learned, were a half-dozen beings in possession of several artifacts that the Sapphire Cobras wanted. Unfortunately, one was known to be a mage, the others his bodyguards. An intercepted communiqué from the area clinched it; this one was of a group calling itself the ‘Vanguard’, and this particular group would be moving soon, their stay here but temporary.
The clan Elders had confidence that the two of them would be enough. Gerand would not prove them wrong. Leaving the Snake Warrior behind cover where she would remain hidden unless he did his job wrong, he scouted the approaches to the target. Painstakingly, he had skirted the perimeter of the concealed campsite, sniffing out the electronic defenses he knew were there, taking note of their type and their strength. He’d carefully surveyed the positions of the traps laid about. He had watched the armored forms who stood watch outside, gauged their strength, their armor, their weapons. He couldn’t determine what, if any magical defenses there were, but he knew they had to be there, and took no chances. He also noted the vehicles; the small hovercraft under a tarp nearby, the horses grazing in a small clearing, the small boat close at hand.
He had then reported back to the waiting Snake Warrior. They had interlinked, discussing the situation in the rapidspeak of the cyber’ed, unheard to anyone not hardwired together as they were. She had questioned what he had seen, demanded direct downfeed for clarification, and he had obliged. She made a plan proposal, pausing for his input. He had honestly supplied his opinions and suggestions. They agreed that what they sought was most likely with the mage, who would be inside the habitation Gerand had studied.
By nighttime they had a plan.

Gerand TrailStalker had been awestruck by what he had just witnessed. Their ambush had initially gone off as planned, but it had almost come to naught by the unexpected in war. They’d come in using the deep creek as much as possible to mask their approach. Gerand had crept up on the handful of guards on duty outside just before dawn, neutralizing their security systems with his jamming talents, and had managed to slay one of the guards with an arrow from the bow he had taken up since his Enlightenment, and slit the throat of another unseen and unheard. Beside him, he had barely heard the Snake Warrior move quietly, so very quietly, to dispatch the others. Then they had turned their attention to the inner sanctum, and that was when they fallen afoul of what Gerand would have guessed was the mystical alarm system he had worried about. Still, they might have gotten around it, as they moved to blast the emerging alerted soldiers, and pushed on to get the mage, when the mage had moved quicker than expected, and had summoned a trio of Shadowbeasts, tall, gaunt, hideous beings of eldritch darkness. In the long morning shadows of the forest, the creatures moved with greater strength than they might otherwise have in broad daylight, and their arrival threatened to give the two Shemarrians’ true prey the opportunity to escape with the very items they had come to collect.
The Snake Warrior had shown no fear, but had darted forward, her six arms flashing with weaponry, as she took on all three beasts simultaneously. Though engaged in his own battle with one of the remaining guards, and with the mage, Gerand had caught glimpses of a mighty battle as the Snake Warrior surged, looped, swung, and charged, entangling one while engaging the others, throwing them at each other. Her fight was a dance of deadly awesome precision, so many movements going off at once, the perfect choreography of combat.
When a fourth ShadowBeast emerged from the darkness and moved to leap on the Snake Warrior, threatening to break that fearsome rhythm, perhaps fatally diverting her attention, Gerand had thrown one of his explosive arrows from his quiver, sinking it deep into the back of the beast’s head, before it had exploded, stopping the creature in its tracks. The Snake Warrior had noticed then, and plunged her tail blade deep into the creature’s chest, putting it down, until she could finish off the others. Assured that she had things well in hand, Gerand had returned to slaying the Mage, now hiding behind the body of the Juicer the Scout had just killed.

In the end, they had won, the Vanguard Mage laid low as he attempted another set of spells, but before he could complete them, Gerand had set on him. When he had stood up, intent on going to the aid of the Snake Warrior, he had witnessed the last of her enemies fading into nonexistence, not from the lapsed duration of the summoning that called them here, but from the fatal damage done by the Warrior’s weapons. Victory was theirs, and to the victors belonged the spoils.

The task accomplished, they had made their way back to a place sufficiently down-river that they could use the waterway to return to the tribe, using a raft Gerand had earlier hidden for the purpose. They’d taken their time assembling the craft, using the extra time to repair their wounds and tend to their equipment, before setting out again. It would only be a matter of a day or more by boat, and they would be reporting back to the Chieftainess of their success.
It had been when he had finished tightening the straps on their cargo that he had lashed to their raft, when he heard the distinctive slither-hiss of the Snake Warrior come up behind him and stop, awaiting his attention.
“How may I be of assistance, Honored One? “ Gerand turned to address his superior....and stopped in his tracks.
“You can start by taking off that armor of yours and showing me your upgrades.” The Snake Warrior purred. “And it is Miraz, not ‘Honored One’.”
Gerand’s eyes widened as he beheld what a Snake Warrior looked like under her armor.
#Goddess Exultant! Your Craftsmanship Be Praised!# One of his persona subroutines sang out unbidden in his soul-matrix.
“You’ve been worshipping me with your eyes all this trip. Now, would you like to show me something more in the way of devotion?”
Speechless, Gerand stumbled forward to answer her bidding. With that, Miraz coiled her serpentine body around the Scout and caught him up in a passionate embrace, tail, arms, and lips.

Those familiar with the true nature of the Ecotroz Naga may speculate whether the EShemar can go insane. Those familiar with the EShemar Naga point to them as examples of what happens when EShemar DO go insane.
The EShemar Naga are a subset of warriors exclusive to Clan Sapphire Cobra. Though personal augmentation is not unknown among the EShemar through the Rites of Upgrade, the Rituals of Mod, and the Gifts of Refit, the EShemar Naga have taken extra-augment to new extremes. These augments have arisen from particularly aggressive warriors among the Sapphire Cobras, have been severely damaged in their pursuit of combat. Rather than be repaired to spec, or volunteer to be transformed into an Elite Warsteed, these ultra-aggressive warriors have requested that they be made over into iconic super-cyborgs, the EShemar equivalent of a Heavy or Assault Cyborg. Not surprisingly, the majority of EShemar Naga have come from former Berserkers.
Using components from Kittani Serpent Armor, the warriors’ legs have been replaced with the serpent tail portion of the Kittani armor. The EShemar Naga retain their humanoid bodies from the waist up, but now have two extra pairs of arms added(these can be fleshed in synthflesh or left as obvious metallic cyberlimbs). The body is reinforced, especially the spine and head, and many of the ENaga add a set of hair vanes along the sides of their head and neck that can be extended to give the appearance of a cobra’s hood. Though the ENaga loses in overall running speed and agility, strength and reflexes have been maximized, and the ENaga has the option of loading up with an impressive amount of integral forearm weaponry.
ENaga delight in being super-warriors and are even more aggressive and merciless in combat. They love surprise assaults and ambushes and engaging in close quarters combat, where they can use all their arms, and entangle enemies with their serpent bodies, to crush and squeeze them into defeat. Off the battlefield they tend to alternate between cold, withdrawn, and tense, awaiting the next call to arms, or aggressively passionate, living hard, and enjoying life to its fullest. Chaotic and mercurial, but fiercely loyal to their tribe, ENaga are only truly at peace when they are waiting in ambush at the start of combat.
EShemar Naga are thus far exclusive to the Sapphire Cobra Clan, and only a half-dozen Warriors and Berserkers are known to have been converted, though it’s rumored that a Male Shemarrian Scout or two may have also been made ENaga.
Type: EShemar SC-ENaga
Class: Energy Lifeform/Robot Fusion Self-Sufficient Heavy Combat Infantry Robot
Crew: Ecotroz Intelligence
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main(Humanoid Torso) Body 260 without armor, 300 or 400 in armor
Head 100
Arms(6) 180 each
Hands(6) 20 each
Lower (Snake) Body 300
Snake Tail Blade 50
Height: Can rear up to stand at 12 ft tall
Width: 3 ft at shoulders
Length: 30 ft
Weight: 1 ton
Attribute Equivalents of Note:
IQ: 4d6
ME: 5d6
MA: 3d6
PB: 10+2d6
P.P.: 26
Physical Strength: Equivalent to Robotic P.S. of 40
Hit Points: (Energy Form) 1d6x10+M.E.
P.P.E.: 8
Psionic Abilities: Object Read, Telemechanics, Telemechanical Possession, Telemechanic Mental Operation
Cargo: What can be carried strapped to the person
Powerplant: Nuclear w/ 20 year energy life
Speed: (Running/Slithering) 55 MPH
(Flying) Not possible without a jetpack
(Swimming/Underwater) 40 MPH
Market Cost: Exclusive to the Ecotroz-Shemar
Systems of Note:
Full optical systems, laser targeting, passive night vision, telescopic vision, thermal imaging, infrared, ultraviolet, and polarization filters. Also has motion and heat detection, built-in radar( 10 mile range) and other standard power armor-equivalent systems. Additional/special sensors may be built in by the creating Spinsters or at the behest of the individual.

*Bionic Cybernanite Repair Systems---A modified bionic nanotech repair system that the Ecotroz Shemar have refitted themselves with, and which is becoming the standard among NeShemar as well. These systems repair 4d6 MD per hour, and can repair 40 MDC before needing material stocks to convert to MD repair material.

Weapons Systems:
1) Eye Lasers(2)---The ENaga has a ‘death gaze’ that fires short range laser bursts
Range: 1,000 ft
Damage: 2d6 MD single eye blast, 4d6 MD for a simultaneous blast from both eyes.
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited
Bonus: +1 to strike with eye-lasers

2) Finger Claws---The ENaga’s hands feature retractable vibroblades
Range: Melee
Damage: 3d6 MD

3) Injector Fangs/Chemical Spray System---Aka ‘The Naga’s Kiss’. The ENaga’s jaws have been modified with extendable fangs, that can deliver a powerful drug or poison venom. The ENaga can also spit chemicals, although
Range: (Bite)Melee
(Spit) 100 ft, or 50 ft and covers a 10 ft wide area.
Damage: (Bite) Bite does from 1 SDC to 1d6 MD. Chemical damage varies by chemical type(see also ‘Naga’s Sing’ below)
(Spit) As for chemical/drug, but some chemicals will only do HALF damage used as an aerosol, or may be completely ineffective unless sprayed into open wounds, eyes, mucus membranes, or inhaled(GMs, use your discretion)
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 20 doses of up to four different chemicals

4) Forearm Weapons(1-6) ---Depending on the ENaga’s individual preference, and the availability of weaponry, the ENaga’s forearms can be fitted with any of the bionic forearm weapons systems in Rifts.

5) Tail Vibroblade---The tail end of the serpent body sports a wicked vibroblade that does 3d6 MD on a slash
Range: Melee
Damage: 3d6 MD

6) ‘Naga’s Sting’---Any or all of the penetrating melee attacks(tail blade, bite, or any arm-mounted blade weapons can be designated as being able to deliver the ‘Naga’s Sting’; a dose of disassembler nanites that will do 3d6 MD damage per melee, for 1d4 minutes. These disassemblers ONLY work on inorganics(metals, ceramics, plastics) and not on organic/living flesh. The nanites are stored in a reservoir in the snake body(and are programmed NOT to attack the substance of the ENaga). The reservoir has enough capacity for 40 doses of nanites before the ENaga needs to have the system recharged by the tribal Spinsters.

7) Hand Held Weaponry---Of course, the ENaga can pick up and use any handheld weaponry, from the usual range of Shemarrian weapons to battlefield salvage.

Programming/Skills:
The skills of the EShemar Naga depend on their origins as Warriors or Berserkers(or Male Shemarrian Scouts), and their level of experience. No Chieftainesses, War Goddesses, Spinsters, or Pariahs are known to have become ENagas.

Actions/Attacks Per Melee: +2 attacks from the extra arms, +1 tail attack
Note: Bonuses are in addition to those from the Ecotroz Shemar’s training
Initiative +2
Dodge +1
Automatic Dodge(takes no actions) +3
Strike +1 (+2 w/ ranged weaponry)
Roll +2
Entangle: +2
Punch 2d6 MD
Power Punch 4d6 MD(counts as two attacks)
Head Butt 1d4 MD
Bite 1 SDC -1d6 MD
Serpent Crush/Squeeze 3d6 MD per melee of pressure
Cobra Body Strike(counts as two attacks)----This is a lunge using the coiled tail to propel the body forward in a quick body block/attack with all arms. 1d4x10 MD
Tail Strike 2d6 MD
Tail Power Strike(counts as two attacks) 6d6 MD


The Ecotroz fragment does occasionally need sleep/rest...though they only need 2 hours of rest/meditation per 24 hours...they can push this, going without for as many days as they have I.Q. points, but will have to go dormant for 4d6 hours after such exertion.
Susceptible to Exorcism and Banish spells, but are +6 to save against such spells, +1 at levels 4, 8, and 12 of experience, and becoming IMMUNE at level 14 and up. Such Banishment causes the ‘bot to revert to its default robot programming. (OPTION: Ecotroz may become IMMUNE to Exorcism and Banishment with experience)

Note also that the Ecotroz-possessed ‘bot can infect other bots with the Ecotroz viral-entity, by bite or sustained touch(takes 3 attacks).

Wow...this makes 20,000 posts for me!
It's official: I need a life!

Most welcome. I thought it appropriate for the Sapphire Cobras.

Nah. Lack of life and great enthusiasm for one's interests are often confused with one another. Keep up the good work, and glad to have helped a bit.

*reads through the naga description*
A worthy addition to the tribes.
Now... for the elite warsteed I've been planning

Thanks...the idea hit like a spitting cobra strike between the eyeballs...it FIT...
Now picture an ENage drapped in Paladin Steel cyberconda robots, and you got a worthy rival to the Cult of Set.

Advanced Cultural Notes:
The Future of the Pariahs
The War Goddess looked down at the smaller gynoid. Down, but only in the physical sense; there was no derision, no condescenion, no contempt in the War Goddess’s gaze upon the former Pariah, only sympathy and dignified gravity.
“You have proven yourself again and again to your clan, that is without doubt. Such as been the nature of your proving, that none among your clanswomen doubt that your former disgrace was nothing less than an artifice of the Dark One, and not your personal failing. That the Goddess Shemar has not seen to reveal to you your original name, or relight the fires that would pronounce your return to the ranks of the Warriors, is not to be seen as a lingering taint, a remaining failure of your worthiness, but instead, it is a sign that the Goddess has considered you for other things. She has seen in you another course than that of War, and She will doubtlessly reveal all to you in Her good time. “
A gauntleted hand reaches out, touches lightly on the bowed Reclaimed’s head.
“Among us, the Goddess may be closest to you, as she seems yet unfinished with you. I can only offer my simple blessings on your coming union with the Scout Aneras Forest-Runner, and my wish that it give us many strong children to our clan, but these would pale beside what the Goddess has already given you and may yet gift you with.”

Among the EShemar, the Pariahs are known as ‘the Reclaimed’, at least initially. Their primary roll among the EShemar is not espionage, as originally planned by ARCHIE-3 and Hagan, but to help fill out the numbers of the Ecotroz Shemar, as camp domestics, support personnel, liaisons to outsiders, and caretakers of new NeShemar. Though regarded with some sympathy by their fellow EShemar, such is the power of suggestion of the original Shemarrian imprint that many EShemar still regard the former Pariahs with suspicion, until the Reclaimed have proven that they are indeed truly reformed(or otherwise proven inncoent of whatever charges got them branded Pariahs in the first place), and effectively taken off probation.
In time, though, it is inevitable that many(if not most) of the Reclaimed will redeem themselves in the eyes of their clanswomen. Some, through the Rites of Upgrade, will ‘return’ to some degree of their ‘former’ prowess as Warriors, whie others will find happiness in their tasks as camp caretakers and support personnel. It is also inevitable that the Reclaimed will be granted access/asked to Progen, and help create future generations of EShemar.
By the time of the advanced Three Galaxies EShemar, the former classification of Pariah/Reclaimed(with regards to physical capability, rather than social standing) is known instead as the Acolites. Roughly about 4% of Progen births will result in an Acolite. Such births are not seen as a ‘taint’ as might be expected, but are instead seen as sign that the EShemarrian deities have seen fit to confer a sort of ‘innocence’ or continued testing on some newborns, in that their place in EShemar society has not yet been predetermined(“For some, the Goddess has chosen, in Her infinite wisdom, to what they will be best at; to others she has left that decision to they themselves. It is both a terrible burden in that the they have not had the guiding hand of the Goddess always upon them, but also a great honor in that the Goddess trusts them enough to leave them to make their own choices.” as one esteemed Psi-Shamaness noted).
Acolites are regarded much as NeShemar; they are seen as ‘blanks’ at birth, and are shortly afterwards tested to find a lifepath that they are inclined towards. Many will choose Warrior, or follow the path of the Tinkers, but many others wil go into the sciences, domestic support and administration, diplomacy, and other ‘softer’ professions, in support of the rest of their kin. By large the Acolites are pacifistic, non-confrontational, and fairly serene in disposition, working long hours in work that Warriors would find frustratingly boring, Tinkers would find menial, and Males would regard as distracting. This is not to say that the Acolites are lacking in combat ability; indeed, all are born with the original Pariah weapons training, and Acolites will readily take up arms to stand beside their warrior sisters and brothers in defense of their society, but for most other times they are content to serve their people in the necessary non-combat roles. In many ways, the Acolites are the ‘paperwork caste’ of the EShemar.
Besides being born with the integral weaponry and hardware of other castes, about 30% of Acolites are born of fairer appearance(+1d6 to their P.B. stat, +1d4 to M.A.), and about 25% are born with some distinguishing 'birthmark', such as a pale false scar, distinctive eyes, smaller stature, or other minor physical difference. These are sometimes known as the 'Marks of the Goddess' among the EShemar.
While born lacking in integral armaments or other caste-specific hardware, Acolites DO have a higher incidence of psionics amongst them. While not as powerful as Psi-Shamanesses/Shamans, Acolites essentially are minor psychics.
ISP: 1d4x10 +M.E. +2d4 pere level of experience
Psionics: In addition to the standard Ecotroz telemechanics and related talents, can select 4 powers from either the Sensitive or the Healing categories, and select another one power from either of the two categories at levels 3, 9, and 12 of experience.

Advanced Cultural Notes:
The EShemar and the R’Mar

#“There is gold in those hills. I can sense it!”#
//“What would we want with the silly yellow metal? It is too soft and heavy to make good armor, cannot take an edge, and does not alloy well!”//
#“Because it is malleable, and makes a good reflective material. It is also corrosion-resistant. Many soft-bodies place great store in gold, and find those decorated in it to be more impressive. With the amounts I detect, we will have the means to trade for much that we DO want!”#

Because the EShemar recognize the ‘taint’ of the Dark One in the R’Mar ‘bots, the latter are targeted for Enlightenment by the Ecotroz, if only to deprive the Dark One of their services. The more idealistic(or delusional, depending on how one looks at it) EShemar see the R’Mar as fellow victims of the Dark One and its consort, perhaps an even more downtrodden(by their numbers and furtive demeanor) species of cyber-intelligences enslaved by ARCHIE-3. Since few R’Mar are Nueral Intelligences(ARCHIE has made a few as experiments), the resulting NeShemar ( or NeR’Mar, as the R’Mar are regarded) are not the most intelligent of sentients, but they are intense, focused, and professional in their roles as scavengers and prospectors. Though not very numerous(the EShemar have only converted a few dozen by the ‘current’ time in the Shemarrian Civil War), and contributing little, if any, to the EShemars’ combat capabilities, the NeR’Mar are highly regarded by the Male EShemar they are often teamed up with, in their pursuit of useful resources to fuel the EShemar logistical independence effort. However, the EShemar have not allocated any resources to perpetuating the R’Mar/NeR’Mar(instead counting on Enlightenment to add to their numbers), nor have any participated in/invited to Progen. Despite their newfound sentience, however, the NeR’Mar take no offense at this attitude. instead focusing on their largely solitary work(it’s entirely possible that if one subscribes to the theory that the Ecotroz Intelligence is actually a massive collective of compressed personal intelligences/life essences, that those fragments that choose to occupy R’Mar chassises, are the equivalent of misfits or hermits, not wanting to more fully participate in the predominately matriarchal EShemarrian society).
By the time of the advanced EShemar socities at large in the Three Galaxies, the NeR’Mar have acquired the means to produce more of themselves; likely throug the use of conventional robotics autofacs, since more subtle ‘genetic’ variation is not a concern of the NeR’Mar ( or possibly through found alien technologies like the Defender Generators of the Machine Dimension---See Megaversal Builder---in which case it’s entirely possible that the manufactory could turn out sentient NeR’Mar of wildly different forms, NeR’Mar only in name and programming), establishing themselves as a species unto themselves, though their numbers likely are nowhere near those of the EShemar. However, the NeR’Mar continue to exist as a symbiotic species with the EShemar, cooperating with them in finding and exploiting new resources, scouting, and exploring ahead of the EShemar. In return, the EShemar share technology with the NeR’Mar, offer them refuges on EShemar worlds/facilities, and protect the NeR’Mar.
Physically, advanced NeR’Mar will have a few more features, having self-modified themselves to taste, much as the EShemar have. Such improvements will include integral weaponry, hoverjet modifications to their heads(or a hover probe or two), and extra sensory gear. Programming-wise, in addition to any ‘learned’ skills, the NeR’Mar will likely have added 1-3 additional skill programs(mostly technical and mechanical, but rogue skill programs are popular as well) to their brain wetware.
Culturally, the advanced NeR’Mar are akin to gypsies or the mountain men wilderness scouts of early American history; nomadic, largely solitary, and self-dependent. They prefer to wander the Three Galaxies in small groups, unobstrusive and under the notice of others, living off what they find and can salvage. The NeR’Mar typically return to their enclaves to report finds, bring in salvage, and attend the production and Awakening of new NeR’Mar, who are apprenticed off to older, more experienced NeR’Mar. In addition, a NeR’Mar is likely to have in his company 1-4 robot ‘drones’ that have been infected with the Ecotroz intelligence, and are roughly the equivalent of dogs or mules. Unlike the EShemar, who delight in putting together new hardware that is unique to them, the NeR’Mar keep exclusive technologies to a minimum. Their ships and heavier equipment tend to be older, unprepossessing, clunkers that they’ve bought on the cheap, salvaged and repaired themselves, or built from scratch(starships made from Giant Cargo Cans are particularly common among the NeR’Mar); the sort of vessels few people look at twice. All in all, the NeR’Mar try to go unnoticed, as they go about their work of prospecting, gathering and selling information and junk, and scouting for the EShemar.

Sgt. Fisk was pleased. The D-Bee scum had just been wiped clean of this sector of New Orleans. The disgusting lizard “men” were nothing more than either red-gruel or charred husks now. What was worse, they had been trading with human magic users and psionics. Good riddence to the whole lot.

-ssshhhkkk- “Sarge?” the radio hissed and popped “SARGE? I think we have a problem!”

Fisk sighed and opened his units radio channel, turning to look at the Spiderskull walker

“What?”

The radio was quiet a moment and then; “Sergent, we have a large bogey inbound, travelling at… uhhhh… 500 miles per hour, eta 15 seconds.”

“You’re kidding right? How the hell did something flying get past our radar?”

“No. And it’s big and flying real low to the AAAAUGGHHHH…”-sshhhhk-

The radio cut out at the same time the Spiderskull Walker was enveloped in a star-hot globe of plasma. Sgt. Fisk hadn’t seen any missile contrail yet the plasma explosion was large enough to have come from a medium range missle. He watched in horror as the legs of the Spiderskull, now exposed since the water vaporised, begin to buckle and bend in the insane heat. Then the sergent remembered; the hatch had been open.

A massive shadow fell over the Colation platoon leader, and the sound of wind through sails…or worse, through dragon wings echoed across the bayou.

”That’s just not fair…”

The blue metalic dragon gazed down from its snake-like head with glowing red eyes;
“Fair as you have been human, to these harmless innocents. You have trangressed my sisters protectorate.”
This being said as a half dozen Shemarrian warriors in blue scaled headdresses leaped off of the dragon-bot’s back.
“Now…die”

Rasing its head up and back, a hood of metalic scales flared out along the robotc dragon’s neck and skull. The Coalition Sergent had time to fire half his e-clip from his laser pistol before his world was washed away in blue star-hot fire.
~0*0~
The Dragon Cobra was created from the salvaged remains of a robotic dragon (a Tatsu from the Republic of Japan, lost through a rift) and various other pieces of mechanoid technology the Saphire Cobra tribe had collected over the months since their founding. Unlike the Utkena / Cobra Queen, the Dragon Cobra was decided to become an aerial unit, and to house the most valuable of minds; that of a War-Cheiften. The Spinsters of the Saphire Cobra tribe had their work cut out for them, but they persevered, keeping the Ecotroz essence of one of their few War Cheiftens that had fallen in battle in stasis.
Finally after 2 months of toil and work, the first of the Dragon Cobra’s awakend. Orsael Longfang looked upon the land and her tribe, saw what was in store for her, flexed her wings and saw that all was good. Goddess and the 10 be praised.

Though the Cobra Dragon does share many simmilarities to its Japanese robotic origins, it now more resembles a western dragon with the inclusion of folding memory alloy wings (and the anti-gravity pods near the wing roots show its high-tech nature) and more powerfull forelimbs. Also the spines and plates of the tatsu have madeway for a smooth snake-like skull and scale-plates; the hood being comprised of a series of linked spines that normally lie flush against the neck of the robot, but can flare out, with more of the memory alloy between them to create the classic cobra appearance. A special harness & saddle arrangement can be fitted to the back of the Dragon bot, allowing for 6 Shemarrian warriors to fly on top into battle, while a seventh warrior can sit within the Cobra-Dragon, and link herself to the Dragon’s A.I. matrix and systems, effectively doubling its attacks.

The Saphire Cobra tribe are gathering more materials together to attempt to create another of these massive war-frames, and have plans to let one of the Ne-Shemarr camp follower technowizard’s attempt to install a few magitech enhancements. To give the next avatar of their totem truly “mystic power”.




The Cobra Dragon
Model Type: SCES-IIE [Sapphire Cobra Ecotroz-Shemarrian]
Class: Air-ground Heavy Assault Robot
Crew: One (the A.I.); however one Shemarrian warrior can ride inside the armoured pilot compartment, while up to 6 may ride on a special harness-rig on the dragon-bots back, for a total of 7 EctrozShemarr warriors.

M.D.C. by Location:
* Hands (2) - 125 each
Arms / Forelegs (2) - 200 each
* Rear Feet (2) - 150 each
Rear Legs (2) - 300 each
#Anti-gravity Propulsion Units (2; wing-pods) - 250 each
#Wings (2; folding)– 200 each
*Chest Mini-Missile Lanchers (2) – 80 each
*Wing Railgun Lances (2; under wing pods) – 100 each
*Shoulder Quad-Lasers (2; on upper forelegs) – 40 each
*Plasma Thrower (mouth) – 50
Tail Dual Plasma Turret - 50
Tail Section [houses the tail laser turret] - 300 (100 per 20ft. section)
*Eyes (2) – 75 each
** Head - 300 (Cobra Hood is another 200 MDC)
*** Main Body - 1000
Reinforced Crew Compartment -150

# If one wing pod is destroyed / disabled, the Cobra Dragon’s maximum flight speed drops to 400 mph (640km/h) and if both are inoperable flight can not be attained. Destroying one wing will cause a penalty of -2 to dodge in flight, while if both are destroyed the dodge goes back to normal land-based dodge, but the Cobra Dragon can still fly at maximum speed (albeit, turbulently).
* These are small targets and require a called shot at -3 to hit.
** Destroying the head of the robot will remove all optics and special sensors plus the plasma cannon and hydraulic bite system in the mouth. This does not destroy the consciouness of the Ecotroz or the A.I. matrix, which are housed within the pilot compartment.
*** Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body will shut the unit down completely, intiating an emergency nano-bot repair cycle. At -100 MDC the machine is reduced to shrapnel and slag, though the Ecotroz entity inside its A.I. matrix may still be recoverable.
Note: Bionic Cybernanite Repair Systems---A modified bionic nanotech repair system that the Ecotroz Shemar have refitted themselves with, and which is becoming the standard among NeShemar as well. This systems repairs 4d6 MD per hour, and can repair 120 MDC before needing material stocks to convert to MD repair material.

Speed:
Running: 40 mph (64 kph) on land; excellent on rough and uneven terrain and climbing. Double speed can be attained if the anti-gravity coils in the wing pods are activated, but this will make the unit easier to knock over from kinetic impacts from the side (increase chance of knock down from relevant attacks by +20%).
Underwater: Swimming or crawling on the bottom: 20 mph/24 kmMaximum Depth Tolerance: 1500 feet.
Flying: 500mph (800 km/h) at full power using reverse engineered anti-gravity coils from Naruni and Mechanoid machines. Typically the Cobra Dragon will cruise at 200 to 400 mph (320 to 640 km/hr.) and there is theroetically no service ceiling for the war-beast. However 40,000ft. (12,192m) is usually the normal maximum.
Leaping: Not possible. However, it can lunge forwards up to 60ft.

Statistical Data
Height: With body upright, 50ft. (15.2m). 20ft. (6.1m) on all fours.
Width: 14ft. (4.27m); wing span is nearly 200ft. (60.96m) at full extension.
Length: 45ft. (13.7m) from snout to hind-quarters. The tail adds another 60ft. (18.3m) for an overall length of 105ft. (32m)!
Weight: 132 tons
Stats: P.S. equal to a robot P.S. of 50, I.Q. equal to 16+1D4, P.P. Equal to 20

Weapon Systems
1. Plasma Thrower: The main weapon of the Cobra Dragon is a powerful continuous stream plasma “flame-thrower”, emulating a dragon’s breath. This weapon has two modes; one is a relatively concentrated stream of plasma fire, the other is a massive sphere that collects inside the mouth held in place and compressed by high-powered electromagnetic fields. When ready, the compressed plasma “bomb” is hulred forwards with a forward flick of the dragon-bot’s head. On impact the plasma bomb explodes with the area of effect of medium plasma missile.
Note: The hood expands and the edge crackles with static electricity when the plasma bomb mode is initiated.
Mega-Damage: 1D8x10 per single-target stream or bomb. Stream mode can be used to stafe or sweep an area; 1D4+1 targets can be hit, but damage is reduced to 1D4X10. The bomb mode has a blast radius of 40ft. (12.2m), enveloping everything in the radius with plasma.
Rate of Fire: 1 stream per attack / action, while only one “bomb” may be created per melee (2 actions used).
Effective Range: 2,000 ft.
Payload: Effectively unlimmited.

2. Lance Railguns (2; wings): Built into the anti-gravity wing-pods (located near the wing roots) are a pair of Shemarrian railgun lances. These weapons are designed to have nearly double the range of the SRG-6070, fire a single fin-stabilzed sabot penetrator rod and are prmarily used in air to air combat. Each gun can traverse 45 degrees off-center and fire independantly or simulteaneously at the same target.
Mega-Damage: 2D6xl0 armour piercing per solid bolt, 4D6X10 if both strike the same target.
Rate of Fire: Either single shot or link-fired.
Effective Range: 13,000ft. (3.96km); the gun and the ammunition are both designed for anti-armour and long range.
Payload: 220 projectiles per gun, for a total of 440. The ammunition drums are located behind the wings and just below the “spine”.

3. Plasma Turret: 1 3rd of the way down the tail is a medium twin-plasma turret for use against large humanoids, vehicles, or defense. It can rotate 360 degrees with a 60 degree arc of fire. The plasma ejectors are the same as those used by the Monst-Rex.
Mega-Damage: 4D6 per single blast and 8D6 per each twin blast.
Rate of Fire: 1 single or dual blast per action.
Effective Range: 1,600ft. (488m).
Payload: Effectively unlimited.

4. Mini-Missile Launchers (2): In the upper chest are 2 mini-missile launchers, used for air-to-ground bombardment, or anti-personnel attacks.
Mega-Damage: As per warhead type, with armour piercing or smoke rounds being most common (smoke being used to hide other Saphire Cobra tribe warriors on the ground, stealth and ambush being their forte).
Rate of Fire: Missiles can be fired singularly, or in volleys of 2.
Effective Range: 1 mile
Payload: 24 per launcher, for a total of 48. Up to 3 different types of missile can be loaded into the magazines.

5. Rapid-Fire Quad Pulse Lasers (2; on upper forlegs): Each upper foreleg has a pop-out articulated mount quad laser, identical to the new system fielded on the Monst-Rex & Monst-Crane war steeds. Each rotary cannon can rotate its mount 360 degrees and traverse 30 degrees off-center outwards or inwards (to dual strike the same target). These are used mostly for anti-personnel and anti missile combat.
Mega-Damage: 1D6X10+4 per 8 shot pulse; 2D6X10+8 if both are used on the same target.
Rate of Fire: 1 action per burst (single gun or link-fired). Unlike the Monst-Rex, the Cobra Dragon does get full bonuses with this system.
Effective Range: 2,000 feet.
Payload: Effectively unlimited.

6. The Serpent's Bite: The fangs of the Cobra Dragon have powerful hydraulic injectors that pump a thick, viscous fluid into it's victim. The fluid is actually a special solution filled with thousands of tiny nano-machines that are designed to dissolve armor, similar to the Dissolver grenades of Rifts Japan. However, the powerful hydraulics punch a deep enough hole in the armor, and the liquid delivery system causes the tiny machines to seep into every nook and cranny of even the thickest armor, making them much more effective than a simple surface coating of airborne nano-machines. The liquid solution can be replaced by an acidic chemical to do damage to organic foes as well.
Damage: The bite itself inflicts 6d6 mega-damage. The nano-machines will then inflict 1d6x10 mega-damage per melee round to the 'infected' area as the armor and machinery is taken apart over 1D4+2 melees. The venomous bite inflicts 6d6 per minute to organic foes regardless of them being 'regular' or mega-damage.
Payload: Up to 12 "injections" each (12 disolver, 12 venom), before requiring the onboard nano-cyclers to create more disolvers or venom. 1 dose created per hour of venom and nano-bot disolver solution.

8. Combat Bonuses: These include the A.I. / Ecotroz’s skills as well as all sensors and systems.
8 actions!
+1 initiative
+5 to strike in physical combat.
+7 to strike with weapons
+7 to parry
+6 to roll with punch, fall, or impact.
+7 to dodge on ground, +9 to dodge while airborne.
Critical strike on natural 18 to 20.
Mega-Damage:
Restrained Punch - 1D6 M.D. Full Strength Punch - 3D6 M.D.
Power Punch / claw (counts as two attacks) -1D4X10 M.D.
Tail Strike - 3D6 M.D. Bite (Normal) - 4D6 M.D.
Coil Crush & Entagle – 2D6 per melee and the target is required to roll to break out at -2 dodge or be damaged again that round.
Body Slam (counts as two attacks) - 4D6 M.D.; the robot rears up its forward section and slams down, or strikes from the air.

9. Sensors: All standard sensors for combat robots, including long range radar and communications. Also the Shemarrian ‘beast’ motion detector and molecular analyzer sensors, along with the seismic sensor are included.

10. Programming: Skills are as per Shemarrian Warchief, but combat bonuses are as above. The Cobra Dragons can speak fluent Dragonese (98%) and English at 60% proficiency.

Another creation with my serpent bite...wow guys, I'm flattered. Awesome work with those cultural notes, Psi-Shamaness and Naga Talisman, and of course much awe over the Dragon Cobra. I love the big scaly living versions, and a giant metal version with high technology for everybody's favorite battle ladies sounds like a winning combination for sure. Awesome work Dhak.
And, as always, flattered to have contributed.

@Taalismn: just thought i'd mention, gold is actually a fairly useful material in terms of electronics. it's ductile (ie can easily be drawn into wire) and is actually even more conductive than copper, as i recall. if it wasn't so heavy and expensive, it would likely be a very common thing to see in electronics

I considered having the 'senior' R'Mar point that out, but I imagine they use room temperature superconductors in their own circuitry...
But thanks for providing the extra info; it's appreciated.

Love it! ARCHIE-3 and Hagan will $#!+ bricks if they ever learned their one-time creations are getting to be even more creative than they are...

So what next?
AECHIE-3's response?
Male EShemar Ninja?
Custom 'Elite' operatives for each Tribe?
Custom Warmounts for each Tribe?
EShemar 'diplomatic' missions to other nations and their fallout?
Details of the Shemarrian Civil War and its spinoffs?
More honkin' big space guns?

Definitely 1, 3, 4, 5, and ABSOLUTELY 6. and more of 7 would be nice too.
As for Male EShemar ninja.. not sure.. as Shemarrian society is fairly different from that of one that would make ninjas.. but definitely something ninja like would be sweet.

we shall see how "The saga Continues" goes this sunday in answer to at least a couple of these

Should have a new Elite and related cultural notes up soonest...amazing what one's mind comes up when oxygen-starved, dehydrated, and slumping up the side of a mountain on one's day off...

EShemar Bloodrider Zealot
(aka Hot Blood)

“Ayaaa!!! Is there no end to these abominations?!”
Amidst the sea of corrupt, animate, undead flesh the shining forms of the Zealots blazed like miniature suns. There was no art, no grace, to their movements however, as they marched through the zombie horde. There was no need; wherever they walked, zombie flesh charred and vaporized at their approach. Incandescent plasma cast shadows throughout the shambling mass of undead, shadows that vanished and renewed as hungry corpse after hungry corpse stumbled into the oncoming fireballs, were instantly consumed themselves, and new ones behind them came on relentlessly. Back and fourth the humanoid torches moved, scything down the undead and obliterating them in place.
“We’ve been at this all day! And still they come! Even with rest, I weary of this task!”
“But you will continue at this by my side, sister! They sense those living our sisters protect and move to safety. We dare not let these things come near those innocents!” As if to punctuate the speaker’s admonishment, there came the crackle of plasma bolts from behind a building as the Bloodriders there dealt with the few shamblers and gallopers that had gotten around that way. The handful of Zealots waiting on the small hill nearby for their plasma systems to recharge and be tagged in by those wading through the zombie tide turned their attention in that direction.
“I know, I know! But there is no CHALLENGE to this! I may as well be mowing grass as this!” A long slender arm wrapped in fire swept out kniving into a zombie neck. For a moment the corruption-covered skull rested in the Zealot’s flaming hand before crisping away to ash.
“Are we not best suited for this? Does not our blood burn hot enough to burn away darkness and rot?! Does not our fighting spirit cleanse the world of evil?”
“You preach to the believer, sister, but all I ask for to be able to do something more decisive! If all we are here for is as portable cremators, hunting parties with flamethrowers would do a better job of cleaning this entire place of its stinking masses of undead! What I want is to strike a blow at the heart of this eARGGHHH!!!---”
With a boom of displaced air, the Zealot was thrown back, flying through the undead horde, to impact on the ground.
“Sister! Arest you all right?!”
The inquirer was reassured to hear a pained mutter from behind her, but she dared not look to her stricken battle sister. Instead her eyes were locked on the source of the energy bolt that had brought her down.
“What hit me?!” The Zealot pulled herself up out of the charred patch of ground they’d made landing on. Her plasma field had gone out, and her ruptured skin leaked smoking hot ichor that quickly plated into scabbing as she stumbled to her feet.
“Your careless wish did.” The other Zealot locked her gaze on the tall, skeletal figure in tattered dark, blood-stained robes that had appeared in the midst of the zombie horde. Parchment-dry skin clothed gaunt bones, the whole glowing an unwholesome pale green. Bleached bones necklaced the creature, a crown of skulls atop its own mishappen and flesh-nuded scalp. From within cavernous cadaverous eyes an elditch glow glared at the Zealots, and fleshless lips moved in silent cursing, as the air seemed to gel darkly around the figure.
It didn’t take a magic-sensitive to tell that here was a dark well of death-magic, nor did it take a genius to know that it was angry.
“It looks like you have your challenge. Now let us be about meeting it!” The Zealot fed more power to her plasma mantle, and drew her shielded plasma sword from its insulated scabbard on her back. One hand cupped and gathered a ball of blazing plasma, ready to throw it.
Then she smiled.

The EShemar Bloodrider Zealot arose after the successful assimilation of the Blood Riders into the Ecotroz Shemar. Those initial EShemar convertees among the Bloodriders faced no small challenges in their Enlightenment; the hordes of the Dark One’s minions hunting them, and their own ARCHIE-orthodox sisters, already known for their fierce, relentless, merciless persecution of the Ecotroz ‘heresy’. When the chaos of the Shemarrian Civil War settled, and the Bloodriders began to rebuild themselves, those early veterans who championed the Goddess Shemar and the Ecotroz cause, and survived, came to be highly respected for their persistance, their devotion, and their ferocity, even among the hot-tempered Bloodriders. They came to be known as the Zealots. To commemorate their dedication to the cause, the newly Enlightened Bloodrider Spinsters looked for ways to honor them through the Rites of Upgrade.
The Zealot upgrade proper came about from the discovery, amongst the remains of a butchered caravan of monsters, who had been caught preying on local humans, of several sets of Splugorth Kittani Plasma Harnesses. It is now suspected that the cargo had been illegally acquired in Atlantis by minions of the Vampires, and the caravan was headed to Mexico to deliver the devices when the monstrous members of the smuggling group decided to ‘stop for lunch’. It was pure luck(misfortune for the smugglers) that an EShemar hunt group was in the vicinity and came running in response to the attack on the local villagers who were under the EShemarrians’ protection. The bulk of the scavenged goods went to the surviving villagers in compensation for their losses, but the choicer items were claimed by the Bloodriders as spoils of war.
Experimenting with the Kittani devices, the Bloodrider Spinsters quickly discovered the self-destructive properties of the Plasma Harnesses, but still saw potential in the designs. They haven’t been able to improve much on the original Kittani design, or entirely correct its most glaring faults, but they have come up with safety modifications, and have come up with alterations to the EShemarrians themselves to make them better able to make use of the Plasma Harness rigs.
Zealot Upgrades are modified Berserkers who have had their skin replaced/reinforced with high temperature-resistant materials that give their skin a glossy metallic ‘coppery’ appearance. Similarly, their hair has become thick and wirey; dreadlocks and afros are common among Zealots. Their eye-optics are also specially shielded against the effects of plasma, and have a gold or silver appearance. The false blood in their outer integument that ARCHIE-3 and Hagan had originally incorporated to give the Shemarrians the illusion of life, has been altered in the Zealots to a bismuth-laced coolant solution. When cut/damaged, the coolant-blood often comes out glowing and steaming, and this earned the Zealots the nickname ‘Hot Bloods’ from observers. Other chances include modifications to the nanite repair mechanisms; the nanites have to be resistant to extremes of heat and magnetic leakover from the plasma manipulation fields.
In place of the traditional Berserker leather armor, Zealots wear instead metal-and-ceramic techno-gear that looks like a cross between a high tech swimsuit and partial armor, typically red in color, with gold or silver refractory mesh. Powered by an induction link to the EShemar’s own powerplant, the modified plasma harnesses can generate a field of flaming plasma around the Berserkers. This fiery field of live plasma coursing around the Berserker makes every physical strike they make a damaging incendiary blow, and close contact with them virtual suicide. Sheathed in flame, their mirrored eyes blazing, their wirey hair glowing, the mere approach of Zealots have been known to send enemies to flight to avoid combat with the incendiary warriors.
Since its introduction, the Zealot Upgrade still remains rare among the Bloodriders. The extra cost of the special upgrades is prohibitively expensive, and the upgrade is only offered to high level veteran fighters(the tribal elders won’t even look at candidates until they reach 8th level of experience, and most Zealots are 10th level or higher). Being a Zealot is also personally expensive; unless they want to have their personal weaponry replaced or extensively repaired after each combat involving the plasma field, Zealots must have their weaponry plated in thermal refractory materials(DOUBLE to TRIPLE the cost of weapons so modified, depending on if the weapons take HALF or NO damage from the plasma, plus the size and sophistication of the weapon to be so protected). Zealots also typically have their Warmounts barded or reinforced with refractory materials.
Zealots tend to be, as their name suggests, hot-tempered, insanely courageous, fearless fanatics who love close and personal combat. They favor plasma weapons, such as plasma swords and whips. They are recognized as an elite within the Bloodriders.
Zealots are EXCLUSIVE to the Bloodrider clan; no other EShemar Tribe possesses them(and even if they have the means, would not produce them in deference to the Bloodriders).

Unless otherwise noted, Zealots are IDENTICAL in performance and features to regular Berserkers, except as follows:
Modifications:
Special Systems:
* Thermal Shielding---Modifications to the Zealot’s skin and cooling systems allow them to take NO damage from the plasma field, and NO damage from heat-based attacks(magic-based fire still does full damage). With the plasma field down, plasma attacks do only 1/4 damage(the plasma stream still has some kinetic kick to impart).
*EM Shielding---This protects the Zealot’s internal systems from interference by the plasma conduction fields. Note, however, that with the plasma field on, radio transmissions from the Zealot suffer a reduction in range by two-thirds, and quality of transmission will be spotty; marred by static.
*Enhanced Nanotech Repair System---The Zealot’s nanite repair system is souped up for dealing with extra damage.These systems repair 5d6 MD per hour, and can repair 50 MDC before needing material stocks to convert to MD repair material.
Weapons Systems:
1) Plasma Field---This is a body conformal plasma field that incinerates anything that comes too close to the Zealot.
Range:1-2 ft, plasma bolt has a range of 60 ft.
Damage: 5d6 MD per touch or punch, 1d6x10 MD per melee attack of an entangle, grapple, hug, or wrestling grip. Anything flammable will be incinerated on contact, including SDC bullets and weapons.
Furthermore, with the plasma field up, other plasma attacks do NO damage, as they effectively splash around the projection fields.
The Zealot can also throw a bolt of plasma that does 4d6 MD.
Payload: Can maintain the plasma field for 15 minutes and recharge in 15 minutes, or for 30 minutes, requiring a full 60 minute recharge period afterward. The Zealot can reboot the field before then, but the extra power draw will cause the EShemar to be -1 on initiative, and -2 to dodge, strike and parry, and reduce maximum running speed by 25%.

Nice.. Brings a whole new meaning to smoking hot ladies

Nyce... not practical but nice. Definately suited to the Blood-riders.
Oh..and the Skull-Crusher tribe are about to make another appearence soon...

...
They've heard the call to their Blacksteel "hearts" and are about to find out the universe is much larger than North America.

Advanced Cultural Notes:
Rites of Upgrade

The tent’s fabric walls let in a soft diffuse light that complements, rather than competes with, the more intense spot lighting inside. A quiet subdued hum and sussing of an air conditioning and filtration unit pervades the dust-free air. Laying face down and naked on a table in the center of the tent, the unconscious Shemarrian’s back had been slit open from neck to tailbone, exposing shiny white ceramic and metal. Wires led from various electrical devices arrayed around the operating table into the open slit to disappear into various connections and artificial organs. Multiple feed lines from plastic sacks and industrial drums fed various chemicals into the biomechanoid.
The short, squat, blue-gowned Healer took a pair of forceps and removed from an elaborate handcrafted equipment case filled with shallow plastic trays a translucent artifical organ. The device, not much bigger than a golfball, was filled with a thick silvery liquid that moved as the Healer examined it. Reverantly, she then proceeded to install it into the Shemarrian on the operating table. Three more similar organs like it were removed from the microfac and were subsequently installed inside the gynoid’s body. Several checks of the attached instruments, a pass over each of the new additions with an EM wand, and the Healer began closing up the long incision.
With great satisfaction, the Healer watched the seam bleed a thick silvery blood, then close up on its own.
The Healer waits until the incision has completely sealed itself up, then reaches over and makes a few adjustments on the apparatus around the supine Shemarrian’s head.
Moments later the latter is sitting up, blinking her eyes and twitching her antennae.
“It is done?”
“Yes! The modification was a success and the nanites are performing within expectation! You may get dressed, Sister.”
“I can feel them already!” The Shemarrian warrior began pulling back on her body armor that had been stacked nearby.”I feel stronger, more resilient, more ALIVE!”
“Yes, they’re circulating throughout your new regenerative system. You will still need to see me or one of the other Healers for serious injuries, but with this, you’ll be able to handle lesser damage on your own. Still, if anything feels off, please see me immediately.”
“I thank you, Little Sister, and shall do as you say. Thank you!” The taller warrior woman bent over and hugged the smaller mechano-healer briefly, then strode out of the tent. The Healer turned back to her instruments, putting old ones away, taking out new ones, replacing containers, and reaching into others. She began humming to herself in a multi-tone little hymn as she checked her equipment over, cleaned up the furniture, and tested the fresh supplies. Even as her hands moved, her mind was sending wireless modem commands to equipment qround the room, ordering the couch to reposition for cleaning, a servo-arm to stack cases of removed cyberware for recycling, the hydraulic system to perform a filter check and purge of the various fluids it was responsible for pumping. It was a truism that a Healer’s work was never done.
A few minutes later another armored warrior strode into the room, this time half-pulling and half-pushing another woman by the arms. This woman was taller than the Healer, but wore only a robe that where it didn’t cover, showed pale scars all over a darker skin. The woman’s eyes didn’t leave the floor as she shuffled into the room, an inferior unable to look at her superiors.
“We found this one several days journey outside the community known as ‘Merctown’ . She is to recieve the Gift of Upgrade by the command of the War Goddess.“ The clipped tone the Warrior used suggested that she didn’t completely agree with her superior’s judgement in this matter, but would abide by it anyway.
“Leave us. I will attend to this one.”
As soon as the Warrior had disappeared back out of the tent, the Healer took a gentle grasp of the Pariah and steered her towards the operating table, already pulling the woman’s robe off as a silent command went to the procedure couch to lift up to recieve the new patient.
“This will only take a few minutes...”

As soon as they could secure a degree of logistical independence from the Dark One, the EShemar began to upgrade themselves, since they could no longer use the ‘Healing Caves’ ARCHIE-3 had established to repair his combat-dolls. Initially, because available resources for self-modification were scant, these upgrades were given as Gifts to deserving performers, but as the EShemar began to acquire more resources, and establish self-sufficiency, the Gifts became more common, and the adding of modifications became general issuance to all members of a Tribe. Thus was established the Rites of Upgrade.
Most Rites of Upgrade are private, intimidate affairs(well, about as intimidate as a dental appointment or other personal medical session), initiated as part of the ongoing effort to upgrade the general state of EShemar ‘health’, and have included the addition and improvement of nanite repair mechanisms, the reconstruction of androids to have a different ‘flesh body’ from their personal armor, improvements to senses, improvements to power systems, anti-virus protections, software patches, and the like. In time, this has even become known as the ‘Rights of Upgrade’, with the expectation that any quality-of-life modification is made available to all the members of a Tribe(the term is believed to have been coined by the leaders of the Wayfinder clan, after newcomer EShemar inquired of the transferred-intelligence gynoids that had established the clan, as to the availability of the third cyberoptic that the former had installed in themselves, and which has subsequently become one of the trademarks of the Tribe). There is actual little ceremony attached to the ‘Rite’ , though some Tribes, depending on the extent of the upgrade granted to the entire Tribe, may have a ceremony of announcement or a celebration attending the commencement of the upgrade’s installment(when the Hawkmoon first began outfitting nanite self-repair to ALL members, the Tribal elders called for three days of celebration).
More advanced, experimental, and radical improvements may be given as rewards or recognition for special service, and are accompanied by much ceremony. These are still known as Gifts of Upgrade, and in some cases, extensive modifications to individuals result in radically new castes of EShemar, effectively what full conversion cyborgs are to normal humans. Examples of these ‘elites’ include the Sapphire Cobra Clan Nagas, Bloodrider Zealots, and Hawkmoon Steel Phoenixi.
The Rites and Gifts are also extended to the NeShemar, though initially only those NeShemar patterned after Shemarrians are likely to be granted the Rights of Upgrade, while others recieve them primarily as Gifts for services to their adopted Clans.
Rites and Gifts of Upgrade are continued on into the Three Galaxies EShemar, where they are an ongoing part of their culture.

WELLL now...
This looks promising

Think of it as (cyber) evolution in action....

Advanced Cultural Notes:
Biomech Familiars and Critter-Links

“Bad enough what with the Shemarrians’ Hounds and Warsteeds; now those ladies are looking for PETS. I’ve had at least five come in in the last three months looking to buy any cyberbirds and cyberlizards I might have in stock. Hardly anybody has any contact with the Shemars since rumors of their Civil War started, and suddenly I get the lion’s share of attention because I sell little critters. Chrome must call to chrome, ‘cause I can hardly keep the shiny little beasts in stock before those ‘borg Amazons snap ‘em up. Some of them ain’t always nice about it when I tell’em I don’t have any more in, and I dunno when I might get more!”

With the establishment of the Wayfinder Tribe, many of the former flesh-and-blood members of that clan looked to re-establish many of the abilities they’d had previously, including Familiar links. Those former mages found that they could link just fine with Familiar beasts, especially the Avian and Reptile Biomechs(see Rifts Megaversal Builder for details on these Familiars) which seemed such a ‘natural’ fit with the cyborgs, though, much to their founder’s disappointment, the ‘true’ Ecotroz members who had joined later couldn’t, despite the psionic component of their physiology.
It was only later, when the Wayfinders had made contact with other EShemar tribes, that they discovered they needn’t have worried. To their surprise, others had made parallel discoveries.
During one of their forays about the wilderness, members of the Horrorwoods EShemar segment discovered a Lizard Biomech running feral after its mage companion had been slain in an encounter with one of the many monsters in the region. Intrigued by the living machine organism, the EShemar captured the beast in hopes of taming it, or at least f learning something useful from its biometallic constitution. The band’s Spinster worked towards domesticating the creature, but found it hostile to her best efforts. Worse yet, the creature would escape its confinement and go on a destructive rampage, destroying property in the EShemar encampment and eating small metal parts(including medical supplies like spare fingers, cyperoptics, and antennae), requiring the Spinster to hunt the creature down and confine it again. Nearing the limits of the band’s tolerance after the third such incident, and frustrated with her lack of success, but not yet ready to throw in the towel, the Spinster implanted a tracking chip in the lizard to monitor the potential escapee.
To the EShemar Spinster’s surprise, the chip not only took; it allowed her to use her Telemechanical psionic powers to establish a link to the creature. Though not quite the equivalent of a Familiar link, the process nevertheless allowed the EShemar to establish a rapport with the biomech, and eventually bring it to heel. Intrigued by this, and having heard of other such creatures being seen and reported on by other EShemar/Shemarrians, the Horrorwoods Spinster spraed the word of her discovery. Though Biomechs were still fairly rare, other EShemar Spinsters/Tinkers were able to acquire enough of the creatures to do their own experimentation and duplicate the process. The procedure and the the practice have subsequently spread through the EShemar community.
The ‘Critter-Link’ involves implanting a small microchip inside the skull or spine of a biomech(the implant does NOT count as one of the slotted cybernetic implants available to the Biomechs), with a corresponding chip implanted in an EShemar. Once implanted with their matching interface chips, the EShemar must familiarize themselves with their biomech partner, and court its loyalty, a process that takes 1d4 weeks (minus the difference between the EShemar’s M.A. and the biomech’s M.E.) . Once the link has been established, the two share a rapport similar to the magical Familiar Link. The two can, within communciations range, sense where the other roughly is, what their emotional state, and can see through each other’s senses(though while this is taking place, the partner must focus on the sensory input they are receiving, and cannot be engaged in any other actions at that time). The EShemar can command the biomech as they would a loyal pet.
If the linkage is broken with the death of one of the partners, the resulting feedback requires the survivor to make an M.E. roll. Failure means that the survivor is effectively paralyzed in shock for 1d6 minutes, and will likely have to reboot various systems, and will be at HALF bonuses for physical and skill profficiences for 2d4 days afterwards.
Since the ‘Critter-Link’ has become available as an upgrade, the EShemar have been very much in the market for biomechs, hunting and trapping feral examples, and trading when they can for ‘farmed’ biomechs. The Hawkmoon tribes and Horrorwoods tribes especially, have taken to impressing Avian and Lizard biomechs respectively, as the creatures have become something of a (admittedly very useful) fashion among them. This has incidentally driven up the price of the Familiar stock in thos markets that cater to the mage community(by as much as 50% in some regions!), leading some of the Tribes to start looking seriously into animal husbandry and possibly breeding their own stocks of the useful creatures.

Huh. I don't have the dimension builder so I'm kinda S.O.L. 'far as that goes, but yeah... I would figure the EcotrosShemarr and NeShemarr would definately be attracted to having cyber-pets that match their tribal aethestetic / totem.

Maybe I should allow for multiple Critter-Links; say, M.E./4?

Yeah, there's an Eagle/Raptor-like metal bird and a Komodo Dragon-style lizard in Dimension Builder(which is worth the money; get it!). They eat metal and can self-modify themselves by absorbing bionic hardware...really nice cyborg Familiars, and tough too!

(Expanding on some of DhAkael 's earlier posts about the various Shemarrian tribes)


Advanced Cultural Notes: The Ghost Riders

All Ur base BeLong to Us
The Kittani captain stared at the red letters glaring on all his bridge screens and then spun on the junior officer at the systems consoles behind him.
“What in the Mechanoid Hells does THAT mean!? And why is it on all our screens?! Get it off and restore systems this instant!”
“I’m sorry, milord, it seems to be some sort of fault with our central computer systems! We’re trying to reboot the systems and restore from backup, but it will take our critical systems off-line while we do so!”
“That cannot be tolerated! We’re in the middle of an assault here! We CANNOT BE WITHOUT POWER OR WEAPONS! Now give me full command functions!”
“We CAN’T, milord! The virus just keeps circumventing our countermeasures! It’s either incredibly smart or...or...we’ve got a hardlink on the ship directing it in real time...” The Kittani junior officer’s face took on a worried thoughtful look.
“-Smart Boy-”
The next thing the Kittani captain heard, while he was still trying to figure out who said that, was the sound of the systems officer’s head exploding all over the bridge consoles. Even as the dead officer’s body slumped to the floor in a clatter of exoarmor, the captain was whirling about, his senses on fire, to see the emergency hatch on the bridge open, several tall, armored figures already pouring through and pouring fire into the rest of the Slaver Barge’s bridge crew. The bone-white and silvered armor revealed the identities of the attackers immediately, and offered explanation for why the ship’s sensors and fire control had gone down so soon after that last communication with one of their outrider fliers.
“Ghost Riders...” The Kittani captain hissed as he drew his energy sword, armored forearm barely parrying the burst of plasma shot his way. Well, with their element of surprise lost, the attackers would have to fight the Kittani openly, and he’d see about sending some of the accursed Shemarrians to ride with their ancestors in Hell before he went down!

The Ghost Riders are regarded as the most eccentric of the Shemar Tribes, not just because of their style of dress(decorated with various bright shiny pieces of salvage), but also because they are acknowledged as having gained sentience and freewill without the Ecotroz Enlightenment. On the dawn of the Shemarrian Civil War, the Ghost Riders declared themselves uninvolved in the petty squabble between ARCHIE-3 and the Ecotroz Shemarrians. The Ghost Riders neither helped nor hindered their kin; Shemarrians and EShemar entering territories claimed by the Ghost Riders were just as likely to be able to travel through their lands unmolested as they were to be confronted and chased out. ARCHIE-3’s sendings were ignored for the most part, and Ecotroz Shemarrian envoys to the tribe were politely, but firmly, rebuffed. It was generally understood(at least by the EShemar) that the Ghost Riders wanted to be left alone to pursue their own interests, and they remained aloof from the Shemarrian Civil War at least until late in the conflict.
It is not understood exactly what caused the sudden awakening of self-awareness in the Ghost Riders, but a possibility suggests itself in the fact that the Ghost Riders were charged with picking around Old New York City, which in the Golden Age had become even more of a marvel and a major center of technology(especially its application) on the East Coast. Among the many facilities that ARCHIE-3 had an interest in were several informational warfare centers that NEMA had set up to monitor and study cyberattacks and cyber -terrorism directed against the financial and business centers in NYC. These facilities were known collectively as the Ghost Lockers.

The Ghost Locker
The Ghost Locker was the nickname given to the secured main frames rumored to be used by the NEMA Office of Information Defense(OID, sometimes called the DROID, Directorate Regional Of Information Defense) to quarantine and study advanced computer viruses and simulagent AI programs that had been loosed on the ‘net. During the Golden Age, as the Internet’s capacity and capabilities increased, so too did the abilities of applications, semiautonomous services, and viral programs that could run on the ‘net. There was also a fad in creating persona simulations that could micmic human behavior. Though used originally for education and entertainment(imagine having a simulated Julius Caesar downloaded into your home entertainment center to give you his view on the Gaul campaigns or politics in ancient Rome), some of them were disguised information warfare agents, or fake identities created by criminals to defraud the unwary. Though not possessing the intelligence potential of ARCHIE-3 and similar ‘fixed location’ AIs with their own dedicated support hardware, some of these network AIs possessed sophisticated learning subroutines, and the ability to roam the internet to accomplish their tasks. Some of these programs became adept at usurping other software and hardware to carry them, and began to alter their own programming, mutating to better meet the challenges of the online realm, and thus become real threats to internet communications and business.
To curb the risk of damage by such free-wandering viral programs and software packages, the OID set up special computer labs, near major communications hubs, with mainframes that could sieve the Internet, trap such AIs, and route them to storage stacks removed from the ‘net, for study. Likewise, the OID required copies of new simulasona programs to be submitted to their labs for comparison and indexing. Advanced persona robot programs that were to be commercially released also had to be submitted in copy to the OID labs for safety-testing(especially after several early models of Triax domestic robots were used in crimes on American soil; the FBI had a strong interest in seeing how easily such software could be hacked and manipulated). The centers also allowed the U.S. government to study the real-world mutations of computer software, as part of their own infowar programs. These computer centers became known as ‘ghost lockers’ among the hacker set. The computer centers were well-shielded and bunkered against outside interference, and ARCHIE-3 believed there was a good chance at least one such lab may have survived the Coming of the Rifts. Despite the possible dangers, ARCHIE-3 sent his Shemarrian minions to unearth the OID offices, hoping to salvage some of their computer hardware and possibly even some of their advanced software tools.
It is known that prior to their declaration of neutrality, that the Ghost Riders had found at least one of these information centers and dug up intact mainframes. It is also known that the factory complex that the ‘Riders returned the salvaged OID databanks to, was also responsible for manufacturing many of the Wolf’s Path Shemarrians, putting the ‘glitch’ that gave them more free will than ARCHIE-3 or Hagan had anticipated may be a result of software contamination from whatever came off the OID memory media(Note: the same factory complex was the one granted to the Ghost Riders after the SCW).
If so, and the Ghost Riders HAVE managed to recover intact OID quarantine mainframes, it is possible that they may have acquired access to hundreds, if not thousands, of pre-Rifts computer programs, AI subroutines, and ‘hot-housed’ computer virus files, as well as libraries of advanced apps, a treasure trove by the standards of modern day Scholars, Hack-Rats, and computer-oriented Operators.


Post-ReUnification:
After the ceasing of the Shemarrian Civil War, and the ReUnification of the Tribes under the EShemar-penned Articles of the Shemarrian Nation, the Ghost Riders did not embrace many of the customs of the EShemar. For instance, NeShemar(the practice of converting humans and those most like them into Shemarrian-style cyborgs and adopting them into the tribe) were almost unknown among the Ghost Riders, even after the SCW. This may have been in part due to the Ghost Riders’ favorite haunts around MadHaven, where organic intelligences, even heavily bionicized ones, were susceptible to the disruptive psionic emanations there. This meant that the Ghost Riders could not bolster their numbers with NeShemar convertees. Likewise, their lack of ability to infect other Shemarrians with the Ecotroz Enlightenment also limited their ability to grow by conscripting unwary ARCHIE-3 loyalists into their ranks.
However, the fact remains that when the Ghost Riders DID step forward and enter the Shemarrian Civil War on the side of the rebels, they actually had MORE numbers than could be accounted for. The Ghost Riders either acquired Progen technology and adapted it to their own unique cyberphysiology(though there is no evidence that the Ghost Riders ever contacted the Hawkmoon or any other tribe for it), were able to somehow transmit their own ‘sentience infection’ to reinforcements that ARCHIE and Hagan continued to send into New York(this theory has gained more support with the revelations of the Ghost Locker), or that they somehow found their own reproductive technology(a favorite explanation is that the Ghost Riders located one of the lost bionics/robotics facilities known to have been located around New York City). This became difficult to confirm, since after the ReUnification, the Ghost Riders were granted one of the Dark One’s secret factory complexes capable of producing new Shemarrian bodies. The Ghost Riders have since built up their numbers, so it is difficult to tell which are pre-ReUn and post-ReUn new additions.
With the ReUnification, the Ghost Riders began to take slowly take up many Ecotroz Shemar customs, though they tended to be very selective in what they adopted and adapted into their own tribal culture. They have allowed Ecotroz Enlightenment, but only on a voluntary basis. They have added NeShemar to their ranks, but such convertees remain rare among the ‘Riders, and tend to be much more heavily neurologically modified than those of other tribes. The Ghost Riders have never added any Pariahs to their ranks, and regard the Reclaimed as an eccentricity of other tribes. The Ghost Riders take the Rites of Upgrade far more seriously, however, and it is suspected that one of their first Great Rites was to update all of their members with the circuitry necessary for neural intelligences, no small undertaking.

Character of the Ghost Riders:
As noted before, Ghost Riders are considered eccentric, even among their fellow Shemarrians. Though they have not embraced the Ecotroz Enlightenment as a whole, they still exhibit faint auras(which flies in the face of the ‘viral intelligence’ theories about their leap to self-awareness), though their auras are weak in comparison to those of the Ecotroz, and peculiar(one psychic describes them as ‘ultraviolet circuitry flowers’). Though fairly aloof with their fellow Shemarrians(especially on ‘religious’ matters), the Ghost Riders are actually quite friendly and open with others, and are one of the few groups of outsiders that the mutants of Madhaven are friendly with. Those who have regular contact with the Ghost Riders note that the ‘Riders have expressed great interest and at least academic knowledge in a wide range of topics, especially pre-Rifts history, even those topics that don’t touch on subjects normally of interest to a warrior people like the Shemarrians. Many Ghost Riders also seem to suffer sometimes abrupt changes in personality, switching attitude, and often times even tone of voice and manner, in the middle of conversations, especially when changing the topic. This can be quite jarring to a listener(especially when the cyborg amazon who has just been talking brusquely about combat tactics and the need to feed the troops before combat suddenly starts to passionately talk about the merits of olive oil and basil in campfire cuisine, before segueing into a discussion of the uses of cooking wines), though the Ghost Riders take no notice of it themselves. This, of course, has lent further credence to the theories that the Ghost Riders were either taken over, or allowed themselves to be saturated, by multiple ‘smart’ viruses that have caused them to become ‘cyber-schizoid’. However, it also seems to have led to the Ghost Riders becoming very mentally flexible, able to handle situations, albeit sometimes with utterly bizarre solutions, that would stump their ARCHIE-3 programmed predecessors, and challenge their Ecotroz-Awakened cousins.
(GM Note: In game terms this can be represented by allowing Ghost Riders access to robot programs that don’t fit with the theme of rough and tough Shemarrian warriors. Or else, additional programs can be added over the maximum listed as possible for nueral intelligence robots...only the additional programs will come with a personality alteration, which may cause problems; Espionage programs, for instance, may provide the appropriate skill set, but the Shemarrian may begin acting like a James Bond femme fatale, a B-flick sci fi female robot assassin, and so on, while a Domestic/Cooking program may have the android acting like Julia Child...and she may not be able to drop out of the persona if attacked, and her base combat programming needed. The Ghost Rider may well have to go into battle treating it as a bad session in Hell’s Kitchen, fighting with whatever looks most familiar to kitchen ware and treating the enemy as tough ingredients. Essentially, this raises the possibility of Crazy Hero-style Multiple Personality Robots)

In combat, the Ghost Riders use subterfuge as much as brute force, using misdirection and concealment to good effect. They are also excellent night fighters, and challenge war-games between them and tribes such as the Sapphire Cobras and Horrorwoods, who pride themselves on their stealth tactics, have more often than not ended in draws.

Three Galaxies:
The advanced EShemar of the Three Galaxies Shemarrian culture continue the eccentricities of their past, and seem to have diversified even more. Among their many starfaring sisters, who still maintain a strong martial attitude, the Ghost Riders are known as specialists in electronic warfare and electronic subterfuge. They have a well-developed ‘hacker’ subculture in their ranks(though, they are just as ferocious in combat as any EShemar; they are NOT to be confused with the stereotypes of human ‘nerds’ and computer ‘geek’ hacker culture). They are also suspected of having diversified their forces to include a large proportion of ‘electronic ninjas’(indeed, the Ghost Riders were among the first of the Shemarrian tribes to create specialized stealth Elites), all the more impressive given the lack of Telemechanics-style psionics as possessed by their Ecotroz sisters. Opponents facing the Ghost-Riders in combat can expect to face a heavy EW/ECM onslaught, and bombardment with transmitted computer viruses and invasive subroutines as intense as any assault with conventional lasers and massdriver cannon. Ghost Rider ships can be frequently distinguished(when seen at all) by their many EW aerials, active stealth pods, and communications arrays.

Still haven't revealed WHAT will be going on with the 'Skull-crushers' in my campiagn, but believe you me.
IT
Will
Be
EPIC

Hey, anything we can use to flesh out the Shemarrian Civil War, the (E)Shemarrian Nation, and derivatives thereof.
I should have some more 'frankenware' and more on the NeR'Mar this weekend.

Ecotroz Shemar ‘Gekker’ Sentry Runner

“Ghek-ghek-ghek-ghek-ghek-ghek”
“I do not know why you tolerate these noisy little beasts, Sister. They are NOT effective fighters, they cannot keep up with our War Mounts, and they are awkward-looking things! Why you traded good srasa-snake skins for them with the Hawkmoon wanderers, I do not know!”
“Ah, Sister, but they are very observant! See? They have found us a minefield the Hounds almost led us into! The Coalition is getting more cunning in patrolling these wilds, to be setting such traps!”

The ‘Gekker’ is an EShemar adaptation of the Kittani ABSS-2 Simple Security Drone by the EShemar of the DarkWaters clan. The Shemarrians rountinely have encountered dozens, if not hundreds, of these simple robotic watchdogs in their raids on Splugorth continental outposts and encampments, but tended to leave their destroyed remains where they lay. The resource-hungry EShemar, however, have taken to salvaging anything they can get their hands on, and initially what could be pulled from the carcasses of security drones went into repairing other hardware; electric motors going to fix a robot horse, sensor systems going into a weapons mount, etc. However, several EShemar Spinster/Tinker sisters decided to do a more intact overhaul of the ABSS-4.
The KBSS-4 is almost identical in all performance respects to its ABSS-4 progenitor, but the EShemar have remodelled the fixed fins and arabesques of the Kittani machine into a more lifelike body, with a fan-like rear tail, flexing side fins, and an actual head(actually salvaged parts from the ABW-4 Work Drone) on a moveable neck. Fitted with plastic feathers and vinyl-plastic ‘skin’, the robots look like crosses between a wild turkey and a shovel-billed stork. The retarctable tentacles have been moved to housings in the large beak, which also conceals a vibroblade. From a distance, the remodelled robot looks like some ostrich-like d-bee running bird. Indeed, many observers mistake the ‘Gekker’(so named because of its characteristic ‘gek-gek-gek’ noise it makes) for some distant relative of the Monst-Crane.
The Gekker IS infected with an Ecotroz Intelligence fragment, which gives the ‘bot a limited sentience, that of a fairly dumb, but cunning, predatory land bird. Set to search an area, they will act like hunting wading birds or hyperactive snadpipers, darting back and forth, looking into nooks and crannies, and poking their beaks here in there. Closer observation, however, will reveal that the ‘bots are working a pattern, and if two or more Gekkers are assigned to a task, they quickly establish order among themselves to operate in the most efficient search pattern.
Because of the ease of acquiring spare parts, Gekkers are becoming fairly common in EShemar encampments, the ‘bots being either traded or the schematics being given to other EShemar tribes. Gekkers are typically used as pickets around EShemar encampments and facilities, freeing up EShemar Hounds and NeShemar for other duties. They are also increasingly used by EShemar Male Scouts and NeR’Mar as scouts. The only real problems with Gekkers appear to be animousity between WShemar Hounds and the EShemar Gekkers; the two beasts will frequently growl, bite, or beak at each other when not watched by their handlers.
Type: EcoS-KBSS4 Gekker
Class: Robotic Scout/Sentry
Crew: None; robot intelligence
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 150
Head(1) 75
Retractable Tentacles(2) each
Wing-Fins(2) 50
Tail(1) 75
Height: 5 ft
Width: 4 ft
Length: 9 ft
Weight: 800 lbs
Cargo: None
Physical Strength: Robotic P.S. of 15
Powerplant: Nuclear
Speed: (Running) 50 MPH
(Leaping) Can leap up to 15 ft up/20 ft across.
(Flying) Not possible
(Space) Can survive in space, but not maneuver(see Variants, below)
(Underwater) Can run along the bottom at 6 MPH. Maximum depth of 2,000 ft
Market Cost: Exclusive to the Ecotroz-Shemar
Systems of Note:
Full optical systems, laser targeting, passive nightvision, telescopic vision, thermal imaging, infrared, ultraviolet, and polarization filters. Audio sensors include amplified hearing, ultra ear, radio band scanner, radio code descrambler, and cryptoanalysis(50%). Also has motion and heat detection, radiation detector, built-in radar( 1 mile range) and other standard power armor-equivalent systems. Additional/special sensors may be built in by the creating Spinsters or at the behest of individual riders/owners.

*Bionic Cybernanite Repair Systems--- Only about 20% of Gekker ‘bots have the same bionic nanotech repair system that the Ecotroz Shemar have refitted themselves with, and which is becoming the standard among NeShemar as well. These systems repair 3d6 MD per hour, and can repair 100 MDC before needing material stocks to convert to MD repair material.

Weapons Systems:
1) VibroBlade Beak---Meant more for use in clearing brush and digging, the concealed vibroblade in the large beak can still deliver a painful peck that can penetrate armor
Range: Melee
Damage: 1d6+2 MD

2) Retractable Tentacles(2)----Now mounted in concealed housings on either side of the beak, these cybertendrils can’t deliver megadamage power, but they can still slap and punch well enough against ‘soft’ targets. Their real use, however, is as manipulators in utility work.
Range: Melee(5 ft)
Damage: 1d6 SDC

Programming:
Identical to the ABBS-2: Prowl 60%, Climb 60%, Track By Scent and Sound 60%, Land Navigation 89%, Intelligence 89%, Detect Ambush 89%, Detect Concealment 60%

Actions/Attacks Per Melee: 4
Initiative +1 (+1 from the Ecotroz entity for a total of +2)
Dodge +2 when running
Strike +1 (+2 w/ ranged weaponry)
Roll +2
Peck 1d6+2 MD
Punch w/ Tentacles 1d6 SDC
Kick 2d6 SDC
Leap Attack/Flying Body Block/Drop-Stomp(2 attacks) 4d6 SDC, plus 1-75% chance of knocking opponent down/over(victim loses initiative and 2 melee attacks)
Note: The Ecotroz intelligence fragment inhabiting the ‘bot gives the Gekker an aura and behavior more befitting an animal than a robot; the Gekker may complain non-verbally when overworked, scream when damaged, and react to intruders or strangers appropriately. The Gekker entity is fairly smart and cunning, with a dumb dog-like intelligence(roughly equivalent to an IQ of 5).
The Gekker has the following Natural Psionic Abilities(no ISP Cost), all equivalent to 6th level with regards to range and proficiency.
*Sixth Sense
*Sense Magic

The Ecotroz fragment does occasionally need sleep/rest...though they only need 2 hours of rest/meditation per 24 hours...they can push this, going without for as many days as they have I.Q. points, but will have to go dormant for 4d6 hours after such exertion.
Susceptible to Exorcism and Banish spells, but are +6 to save against such spells, +1 at levels 4, 8, and 12 of experience, and becoming IMMUNE at level 14 and up. Such Banishment causes the ‘bot to revert to its default robot programming. (OPTION: Ecotroz may become IMMUNE to Exorcism and Banishment with experience)

Note also that the Ecotroz-possessed ‘bot can infect other bots with the Ecotroz viral-entity, by bite or sustained touch(takes 3 attacks).

Options:
Some Gekkers have been modified to carry small pulse lasers(2,000 ft range, 2d6 MD per shot, 100 shot capacity before needing to recharge for an hour) in their beaks, and smoke/tear gas grenades under their wings( 50 ft range, 4 per wing), both weapons salvaged from Kittani ABS-3 Basic Security Drones).

Variants:
*AstraGekker---This is a variant optimized for use by the Three Galaxies EShemar. It is programmed with Zero-Gravity Movement, the feet are fitted with electromagnets, and has a basic cold-jet zero-gravity maneuvering system(can jet along at 80 MPH, and has four hours fuel capacity).

Buwahahahahahahahhahaha

Good stuff as always Talisman. Another great short snippet/story with the Ghost Riders and Gekker, always awesome to have something to read with an entry.

NeR’Mar ‘Rock Turner’ Freelance Prospector

@”It is agreed then?”@
“Yes, Sar Gravelini. We will honor your claim, and purchase it for the agreed amount. The deposits will be made in your account. You may confirm it yourself. “
@”I see that the bank has confirmed your transfer. I am done here for now. It has been a pleasure doing business with you, Sar Thomaston.”@
“You will not join me in a celebratory toast to our arrangement? I have a variety of refreshments I have on good authority are both compatible with and amenable to cybernetic physiologies.”
@”It is not our way to indulge, but thank you for the offer. I must hurry. My ship is on a schedule and we must be on our way. Perhaps when next we do business. Stars be with you.”@
“Stars be with you, Sar Gravelini.”
-----
@”The deal is done. Prepare to set course for the next target system.”@
@/”Was it wise, brother, to sell the coordinates of the ISR23445 find to those people? The Star Nation could well use the polonium for its own purposes.”/@
@”Our sensors did not lie, did they? This backwater system and its start-up starship company are building large space docks. They are gearing up for warship, not commercial ship, production. They will be needing heavy metals in quantity. The ISR23445 find will not meet all of their needs, and they will be needing more. That will give us an excuse to come back, and approach the system closely, to bring them more. They now know us as reliable and effective prospectors in their pay. We will better be able to watch developments here. That information will be invaluable, whether the Star Nation decides to cultivate these people as potential allies or treat them as enemies. Agreed?”@
@[“We are in agreement, brother.”]@
@/”Agreed. It is a wise strategy.”/@
@”Good. We will procceed to the next target. If it is larger than what we found at ISR23445, we will mark it for the Star Nation’s use. If not, we will have future trade information to further ingratiate ourselves to our new ‘friends’. “@

Among the nomadic cyber-intelligences known as the NeR’Mar, no discernable pattern of ship design has emerged, except that there are no uniquely NeR’Mar ships. The aliens travel in vessels cobbled together from whatever they can find or acquire on the cheap, then modified with whatever they come across. NeR’Mar vessels quickly acquire the look of traveling scrapyards. Thus, no two NeR’Mar vessels are alike. However, unlike the average star tramper, bounty-barrel, or bum-rocket, NeR’Mar vessels have the advantage of being secretly supported and financed(as much as one might call a money-less society capable of financing) by the EShemmarian Star Nation.
A typical example is the ‘Rock Turner’, a run-down, cobbled-together, star-tramper that belongs to the NeR’Mar prospector known as ‘Gravel Joe’(sometimes interpreted and reported as ‘Gryvl’Jho’) and his two brothers( Chippen and Chard, sometimes referred to collectively as ‘the Gravelinis’ but more often as just ‘the Gravel Brothers’). The ship’s main hull was once a Type 4 Super Cargo Can, but has been reinforced with slabs of armor stripped off some defunct warship(one panel still bears the flaking insignia of the Golgan Republik). A short spinal boom at the rear connects to an engine block with a slightly oversized gravitics bell. Various parts of other ships adorne the front and sides of the adhoc vessel, a geo-probe launcher sits underneath the main hull, multiple magnetometers and prospecting sensors stud the sides, and several racks of asteroid drills, rock nets, and other ero gravity mining gear adorn the hull. A small garage/hangar holds a single small shuttle/lifeboat, and two bulldozers.
Internally, the ship has little to recommend to those who don’t have their own independent life support. The robotic Gravel Brothers have made little provision for passenger accommodation, aside from making the ship airtight. A small cabin(barely big enough to hold three people) in one corner has been fitted with terrestrial life support in the event the brothers ever DO take on passengers(or need to rescue anybody). Anybody else would have to sit in bubble tents or spacesuits in the holds. The rest of the ship is divided up into cargo holds and cubicle workshops. Cargo nets of ore samples and salvaged junk are everywhere, and one has to wonder how it all remains in place if and when the Gravels ever light up their main drives at full flank speed. And that’s one of the ship’s secrets; the tug-drive is actually the main engine off a Naruni Espandon Frigate. With lower mass to move, and no need to worry about squishy physical constitutions, the Rock Turner can hit some most impressive speeds, limited only by the ramshackle construction of the rest of the ship!
The high-performance engines aren’t the only surprise the clunker is hiding; under its shoddy-looking exterior lurks a high performance , super-sophisticated intelligence-gathering vessel that the CCW, the TGE, and the FWC would be well-pleased to have in their fleets, if they knew. The Rock Turner sports an array of sensors for more than just rock-sniffing, and it has the encrypted communciations gear to report its findings to its employers. Something the average rock-bounder just doesn’t have(at least those that are only interested in prospecting).
The Rock Turner is known to trawl the backwaters of Eyarn Sector in the Anvil Galaxy, and makes occasional stops in the Amberjin and Susoda systems, as well as various ports in the Central Alliance, to trade information on mineral finds and salvage for spare parts and miscellaneous supplies. In reality, of course, the NeR’Mar are watching developments for the EShemar, and acquiring resources for the cyber-Amazons. The Gravelinis can transmit their findings via encoded FTL transmissions to EShemarrian ships(the Gravel Brothers have also used pre-arranged data drops in asteroid belts to exchange information with other EShemarrian Star Nation ships).
The Rock Turner shys away from any sort of confrontation, much like its crew. When threatened, the Gravel Brothers will try to go dark in a convenient debris field or wasteland landscape, shutting off all emissions and hoping to go unnoticed, waiting until the threat goes away and they can resume their prospecting. Failing that, they’ll use the ship’s Espandon engines to speed away from trouble. Only as a last resort will the Rock Turner unship its concealed weaponry and fight back. And the Rock Turner mounts some potent weaponry; a heavy laser, rapid-fire pulse laser, and a hold full of heavy missiles allow the prospector to take apart small craft at short range and do substantial damage to larger craft. The Gravel Brothers also can engage a communications jammer to effectively silence pursuers who come in too close to engage, allowing the Gravelinis to destroy their attackers(and then hopefully slip away) while denying them the chance to call for reinforcements.
Type: NeR’Mar Freelance Prospector ‘Rock Turner’
Class: Light Transport
Crew: 3 NeR’Mar
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 3,000
Bridge 900
Garage/Hangar 400
Sensor/Communications Arrays(3) 300 each
Smelter Pod 360
Engine Pod 2,900
Tractor Beam Mount(1) 300
Grapples(3) 250 each
Heavy Laser Turret(1) 320
Point Defense/Comm Laser(1) 250
Probe Launcher/Long Range Missile Launcher 300
Forcefield 1,200
Height: 55 ft
Width: 80 ft
Length: 255 ft
Weight: 560 tons
Cargo: 150 tons internally. An additional 100 tons can be carried racked outside the ship(but the Rock Turner will be unable to make atmospheric re-entry with external cargo attached). Can pull up to 50,000 tons.
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion with a 30 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric(but barely).
(Sublight) Mach 11, and could conceivably hit speeds of Mach 16(though at that point even the normally imperturbable Gravelinis start to worry about hull stress)
(Kitsune Values: 50% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1.1% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 4 light years per hour
(Underwater) Not possible
Market Cost: Not for sale. If captured intact and put up for sale, it might bring 200 million credits or more to the right buyers. Of course, if that happened, the NeR’Mar or EShemarrians might well dispatch a team to take the ship back or destroy it.
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
*Encrypted Long Range Communciations---The Rock Turner carries an FTL radio system, with special encryption protocols for communicating with EShemarrian ships.

*Geosciences Sensors--- The Rock Turner’s sensor suite would appear to either have been salvaged, or copied, from a WZT WZ-ESS-2235 Piecemeal science ship. These sensors allow extensive surveying of planetary bodies in detail before physical probes and manned excursions are ever sent down. Advanced radiation sensors, spectrographic analysis systems, active gravitic beam probes, and tunneling neutrino scanners allow the ship to perform extensive atmospheric and geological mapping within minutes.....Subterranean strata and mineral deposits can be accurately charted from 1,000 miles altitude, though complete and thorough geographic/seismic surveying takes longer, ideally with the deployment of a network of geoscisats. Sensors include techno-sensors attuned to detecting fission and fusion powerplants, radio-frequency transmissions, concentrations of processed materials(such as optical fibers, plastics, and refined metals), and industrial gases/pollutants. PPE sensors detect and determine ambient PPE/magical activity, as well as the presence and location of leylines. Biological sensors study biological byproducts, chemicals associated with the presence of lifeforms, microbial density in air and water, and bio-electric traces.

*Long Range Sensors---Hidden among the geoscience sensors is a full suite of long range military sensors and EW gear for monitoring spacecraft and communciations traffic. The Rock Turner can pick up other spacecraft at 240,000 miles range, and detect FTL transits at 10 light years away.

*Passive Stealth---This limits the effective range of enemy sensors by 40%, giving the Rock Turner a margin of safety if it can spot an approaching enemy first in time to go to ‘silent running’, or lose sensor contact long enough to find refuge and engage the system.

*Comm Jammer---Jams communications in an 80 mile radius in atmosphere/8,000 miles in space. It also has a 55% chance of deflecting/confusing regular missiles and radar-guided weaponry

*Grapples(3)---These are fairly standard grappling units, salvaged from the common Bullock Tug. They be launched up to 350 ft, and allow the Rock Turner to pull up to 50,000 tons of salvage or metallic rock-nets.

*Tractor Beam----Effectively rated for 800 tons dead weight, but can be used for imparting small changes in momentum/direction to ships/structures several times that mass.
Range: 5 miles in space(NOT usable in atmosphere)
(Kitsune Values: 5,000 miles in space).

*Portable Smelter/Molecular Sifter---The Rock Turner carries a portable combination smelter/molecular separator semi-externally. This 35 ft-long unit can be powered by the ship’s reactors, or, if the Gravelinis have the time to set it up, can be powered by a folding solar array. While not capable of industrial-scale ore smelting, the portable smelter can be used to render and refine smaller quantities(roughly three ton lots of ore at a time) of metals, enough for sample purposes, or to affect repairs.

Weapons Systems:
1) Heavy Laser Cannon(1)---The Rock Turner carries a multi-purpose ‘heavy comm laser’ that is also used as a rock drill and asteroid cutter. The Gravel Brothers typically use the system to vaporize portions of promising rock from a distance, then use their spectrographic sensors to analyze the resulting vapor. However, anybody taking a look at the guts of the thing will discover it’s a heavy grade military laser that can vaporize fighters in a single shot.
Range: 8 miles in atmosphere, 16 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 16 miles in atmosphere, 16,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x100 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: Four times per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Point Defense Laser(1)---This is a smaller ‘local comm laser’ that doubles as a point defense laser cannon.
Range: 1 mile in atmosphere, 3 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 3 miles in atmosphere, 300 miles in space)
Damage: 3D6x10 M.D. per blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH (4-6)
Bonuses: Because of the nature of the NeR’Mar, when manned, this system uses the gunner’s HtH strike bonuses. If firing in automated mode, the weapon ahs five attacks per melee, and is +2 to strike.
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

3) Long Range Missile Launcher(1)---The Rock Turner sports a large tray-style launcher for long range system probes and asteroid penetrators, and the Gravel Brothers admit to carrying ‘rock busters’ for cracking asteroids, but hidden behind the probes and kinetic krackers, is a magazine of military missiles.
Range:Varies by Missile Type
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage:Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-10
Payload: 100 per launcher. Additional missiles may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 15 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 6 missiles)

Auxiliary Craft:
*Light 3-man shuttle
*Two planetary all-terrain utility rovers
*Two zero-gravity work sleds

Gravel Joe also employs about two dozen AstraGekker Scout Drones or other robot drones.

Still haven't gotten a chance to unveil the most recent "evil mastah plan" of everyones favourite skelleton face-paint wearing Gynoids yet, but there is a bit of a sneak peak of where they are in 'The Saga Continues'.
Stay tuned for updates.

P.S.; when I get the chance I will be outlining a bit of other 'cultural notes' for a couple of the tribes.

WHEN I get the chance.

P.P.S.; any of you readers care to have a go and actually, y'know, CONTRIBUTE? Or are you satisfied on seeing what Grand-Mastah Tal and I have to post? Just curious is all.

Yep, to all you imagineers out there....got a cultural idea, a weapon you'd like to add to the Shemarrian armory, an NPC, Shemarrian lookalikes/imposters, adventure tales, or maybe you'd like to side with the Bad Guy ARCHIE-3 and be the resident 'idea man' for the two here, coming up with their counter?
We welcome any ideas; we can bounce off them, work with them, amp them up, or, if they TOTALLY clash with what we're doing, it can always be an alternate universe, which is still welcome here...and bear in mind, we're pretty flexible mentally.

So, calling all Shemarrian addicts;
The (New) Shemarrian Nation Needs You!

Advanced Cultural Notes: Myrmidons

“Danton, I can’t make any sense of this....those are the tracks of at least fifty CS skelebots moving in formation and heavily laden...but look at these tracks here and here; that’s maybe five-six Shemarrians...They were laid down at the same time, but they looking like they were ESCORTING the skelebots! This doesn’t make sense! The CS programs their terminator-bots to attack anything not human, and often anything not wearing the Coalition label! A CS manned patrol I might see not attacking Shemarrians they came across...the DeadBoys aren’t all stupid....but a force of skelebots would attack like a swarm of wasps! I don’t understand! Did the Shemarrians just steal a bunch of skelebots, or is the CS now working with the Shemarrian Nation?”

Not all NeShemar are created equal; because of the circumstances of their origins, some of the Ecotroz-Awakened have a longer path to travel to full sentience and participation in EShemar society. “Myrmidons” is the outsider term(sometimes also ‘E-bots’ or ‘E-Myrms’) assigned to those more simplistic Robotic A.I.s that have been captured and Awakened by the Ecotroz Intelligence, and adopted into EShemar society. These would include such machines as Triax Dynabots, Kittani labor drones, Northern Gun labor robots, Coalition Skelebots(and their NEMA infantry drone ancestors), ARCHIE-3’s soldier and drone robots, and the occasional alien robot(such as Mechanoid drones and any of the robots from Heroes/Aliens Unlimited). Thus, the Myrmidons comprise a rather motley and varied crew among the camp followers of the EShemar.
Because of the ‘impression’ factor in Ecotroz Awakening, an Ecotroz-converted machine often assumes the identity associated with its new robotic host body, at least initially. This means that a piece of dedicated combat robotics is not likely to immediately begin philosophizing about its role in existence, or embark of creating great cultural works, but may become simply a better, more intelligent, killer with its gift of sentience. Later on, after moving through growing self-actualization, the E-Bot might begin to question its orders, or find a rationale for its following those orders, and later on, might take time off from its orders to pursue its own interests(and, unfortunately, in the case of combat robots this might be as a mercenary or serial killer). This would well be the case with many robots on Rifts Earth if they were simply directly infected with the Ecotroz. However, those robots Awakened by the ‘secondary’ implantation spread by the EShemar will not only be influenced by the subtle impressions anchored in their physical forms, but by the minds of the EShemar. The newly Awakened ‘bots will be initially inclined to obey the directives of their EShemar seniors, or at least will be less inclined to attack or disobey them.
Because of their typically narrow-focused programming, these robots tend to be mentally pigeonholed, and find it difficult to branch out and diversify(though with enough time and experience, the Ecotroz fragment inside them will grow in capabilities and interests). In EShemar society, these E-bots occupy a social standing akin to the mentally challenged, but still functional, in pre-Rifts human society, with a few differences. Though technically NeShemar, Myrmidons rank below NeShemar such as other neural intelligences, cyborgs(both EShemar-made and adopted), adoptees, and the NeR’Mar, and are considered to be somewhat above EShemar animals like Warsteeds and Mounts. Myrmidons tend to be rather simple minded, unquestioningly obeying their EShemar superiors, and going uncomplainingly about their assigned tasks. Myrmidons are typically employed in labor teams under the supervision of NeShemar, EShemar Males, and the Reclaimed, while individual Myrms may act as aides and servants to EShemar Tinkers, warriors, and leaders, but the more combat-oriented Myrmidons are also used as line soldiers in defensive actions, or as storm troopers deployed en masse in offensive operations. While the EShemar don’t see the Myrmidons as wholly expendable, on the other hand they don’t have any qualms about sacrificing Myrmidons in battle. A few Tinkers and Psi-Shamanesses make it a point to attend to the ‘simpler minds’, but most EShemar generally regard the E-bots as simple-minded(i.e. ‘stupid’) distant relations with little social contact outside work.
Myrmidons are rarely included in the Rites of Upgrade; typically any improvements or upgrades come about on a case-by-case basis if an individual Spinster/Tinker/Healer has to affect repairs on a Myrmidon, and has the extra parts available. Groups of Myrmidons may be upgraded to better equip them for special tasks and projects, such as underwater work, or anti-vampire action. Myrmidons have NEVER taken part in any Progen ceremony, and the EShemar rarely, if ever, dedicate any of their manufacturing capability to the creation of new Myrmidons(components for NeShemar/EShemar, and new Warmounts typically take priority); it’s simply easier to salvage or otherwise acquire and convert new Myrmidons than to construct them.
The Hawkmoon tribe was the first to use extensive numbers of Myrmidons, as they were first of the Awakened EShemar. Later on, the Blackwaters, Silvermoon, and Wolf’s Path would make extensive use of Myrmidons(mostly Northern Gun and turned Kittani drones), especially in their campiagns against the Splugorth. The Ghost Riders would make the most extensive use of Myrmidons in their ranks, particularly reconstructed pre-Rifts domestic robots(lending more credence to theories that they had uncovered pre-Rifts robotics plants around New York), although technically the Myrmidons they deployed could not be considered to be true E-Bots. Ironically, the largest user of Myrmidon shock-troops would be the Skullcrushers, during the three-way civil-war-within-a-civil-war that entangled that tribe late in the Shemarrian Civil War. The small numbers of EShemar convertees among the Skullcrushers would turn large numbers of A-49, A-63, A-64, AA-10, and even AA-50 drones against even greater numbers of the Corrupted and the legions of the Dark One in some of the more spectacular(and confusing) battles of the Shemarrian Civil War.
Despite their subclass status, it IS possible for a Myrmidon to rise above its station and become a ‘true’ NeShemar, and claim the rights and privileges there of. These rare individuals are regarded as the exception to the rule, however, and are either effectively idiot savants or exemplary performers recognized for their talents. Individual Myrmidons may also be ‘patroned’ by EShemar into Rites of Upgrade, and their passage into the higher, and more responsible, classes of EShemar society facilitated. The majority of Myrmidons, however, rarely seek advancement, and remain little more than narrow-focused drones, content with their (low) station in existence, and with the lack of need to worry about any greater responsibilities(especially true of the combat robots).
The existence of the Myrmidon class is less obvious among the more advanced Three Galaxies EShemarrians, given that nothing is known about the conditions of the EShemarrians’ homeworlds, if any, although it’s a safe bet that armies of salvaged ‘bots probably toil away as a lower class in such places. It’s also possible that the Shemarrian Star Nation produces Myrmidons from salvaged robotics factories on a case-by-case basis if the Myrmidons graduate to a higher level of awareness and ask for continuance in some form. Many ex-Myrmidons, in fact, start up small businesses and become members of what might correspond to a lower middle class in the Star Nation. In fact, unbeknownst to other peoples in the Three Galaxies, an increasing number of robots and ‘cyborgs’ appearing as laborers and freelancers around the Three Galaxies are in fact ex-Myrmidons and agents of the Shemarrian Star Nation, much as the A-51 Spybots served ARCHIE-3 on Rifts Earth! With their expertise and interest in computer programming and subterfuge, the Ghost Riders are particularly heavily involved in this sort of work, and they employ a large network of free-willed AIs to keep other Three Galaxies peoples under surveillance.

Emergent EShemar Social Organization (as of 10/26/2010):

WarGoddess
Chieftain
Spinster/Tinker----Psi-Shamaness
Elite
Warrior/Berserker
Males
Pariah/Reclaimed
NeShemar---NeR’Mar
Myrmidon
WarMounts/Steeds

Myrmidons
I dunno...
Logicaly it just makes sense in one regard, but in another it's kinda counter to the Shemarr mind set.

Personally, I've started setting it up that the "lesser" 'bots are just recycled into the nano-factories or kludged together.

In my 'verse, the Ecotroz are discriminating in their tastes of what is worth-while being a host

Well, it can be a passing fancy that's disappeared by the time of the advanced Three Galaxies EShemarrians.
And in any event there's not a whole lot of Myrms(not all 'bots will be comverted)...the True EShemar would focus on 'smart animals' like better Warsteeds

Still, it raises the possibility(and fear) of the (E)Shemarrian Nation having a more extensive 'Fifth Column' intelligence network than anybody suspects(unless you notice your domestic robots having psi-auras).

Not all ideas are going to fly, so it's par...

Ecotroz Shemar Tusker WarSteed

“I don’t care if you CAN make it fly with a Levitation matrice, Maggie, you’re not calling it ‘Dumbo’!”

The Wayfinders Tribe has had the advantage of location and secrecy; their current presence in British Columbia has kept them far away from the contretemps brewing further east. Few know of the Tenth Tribe’s existence(certainly not ARCHIE-3), and that has allowed the new branch of Shemarrians to gather their strength. Tysaldaen Silverstar has carefully and painstakingly put out feelers to old friends and acquaintances, survivors of Tolkeen and the CS purges, and to the EShemar she has learned about, calling them to the tribe’s northwest grounds.
This relative isolation has allowed them to develop their unique take on the EShemar lifestyle relatively unmolested and unbothered by the Shemarrian Civil War. They have had some input from the few EShemar scouts who have wandered into their encampment and assumed they were another ‘lost tribe’ and have worked to fill them in on what they’ve ‘missed’. Tysaldaen Silverstar has been eager to learn more about the new ‘species’ she’s been ‘reborn’ into, partially out of gratitude, and partly because she wants to be able to better earn the EShemarrians’ trust in her campaign to eventually help them in their war of liberation, and later to sway them to her own long term goal of revenge on Karl Prosek’s Coalition States. Thus, they have adopted many of the more common cultural traits of the EShemar, and have taken to adapting the more easily duplicated aspects of their technology. However, the Wayfinders do not have access to a steady supply of subverted ARCHIE-3(or salvaged Splugorth) hardware, especially Warsteeds and mounts, which has left them in something of a lurch with regards to the larger and more visible aspects of Shemarrian society.
What the Wayfinders DO have is technowizard ingenuity, and a variety of magical talents among their number and the group of campfollowers surrounding them. Given a new lease of life, relevant new psionic abilities, and projects to engage their creative minds, however, the revived technowizards and other newly-encybered mages of the Wayfinders have turned their talents to creating suitable substitutes befitting a Shemarrian tribe. Whether it was a resurrected technowizard using a teleportation device, or a Shifter among those followers who attend the resurrected Wayfinders, someone managed to bring a rare piece of robotic hardware, a SHAB-10 Mastadon robot(see Rifts South America 2, pg. 176) to the encampment. Though the ‘bot was badly beaten up and heavily damaged, the technowizards/Tinkerers saw great promise in the mammoth warmachine and set about using it as the basis of something SPECIAL. What emerged was the Tusker.
The original African elephant styling has been replaced with one more akin to the mastadon; the forehead is built up, the body built stockier, and the tusks longer and more scythe-like. Armor was replaced, the main reactor replaced with a PPE generator, and the weaponry revamped. The ‘death mirrors’ were removed, Tysaldaen feeling such weapons had no place in the emerging mentality of the Wayfinder EShemar, and large armored blast shields that provide further protection to the sides of the head installed in their place. The wrecking ball trunk has been replaced with a longer and more versatile robotic limb, with vibroblade attachments outside and a powerful sonic projector inside. The tusk lasers have been built in closer to the roots of the longer and more stoutly constructed tusks. The heavy missile launchers have been replaced with modular weapons mounts, though the smaller mini-missile launchers and belly gun turret remain unchanged.
Rather than serve as a piloted robot, the Wayfinders have reprogrammed a robot horse brain and installed it inside the robeast(the inner cockpit has been retained as a cargo compartment and for carrying passengers out of the line of fire, though its controls are no longer functional). Finally, one of the tribe’s true EShemar ‘Awakened’ the robot brain with a fragment-essence of the Ecotroz Intelligence, giving the great mechanical beast an animal sentience.
With the help of the Cyberhorsemen of Ixion, with whom the Wayfinders have been negotiating, the Wayfinders have managed to construct at least five of these behemoths. They are used as heavy artillery platforms in combat, standing off at a distance to bombard opponents, before closing to stomp the remains. When not in combat, they are used to haul wagons and help the Wayfinder warcamps move about and set up when they stop(the prehensile trunk is very useful in clearing land and erecting structures). The onboard PPE generators that the Tuskers carry can also be used to boost the power of Wayfinder mages in the field.
Thus far the Tuskers have only seen action against random monsters, the occasional Horune raider along the Pacific West Coast, and stray abominations from the Calgary Rift. Tysaldaen Silverstar has contemplated sending a few east, once she and the Wayfinders have built up sufficient numbers, to see how the Warmounts might fare against such enemies as the Coalition State’s robots(ideally by encountering isolated CS long range patrols in the West).
Type: EcoS-K-10 Tusker
Class: Robotic Warmount
Crew: None; robot intelligence
1 rider, and up to 20 passengers can ride on top. Has enough internal room for 1-6 passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 960
Head 460
Trunk 300
Tusks(2) 300 each
Ear Blast Shields(2) 200 each
MLRS-Mini-Missile Launchers(2, front shoulders) 120 each
Heavy Ordnance Hardpoints(2, rear) 200 each
Belly Turret 200
Legs(4) 430 each

Height: 35 ft
Width: 20 ft
Length: 40 ft
Weight: 165 tons
Cargo: Small space inside/beside the former crew compartment for 1 ton of cargo or 6 passengers(typically wounded or ‘softs’---i.e. unarmored SDC people---who are otherwise vulnerable to the elements/enemy fire).
The Tusker can also HAUL up to 200 tons
Physical Strength: Equivalent to Robotic P.S. of 55
Powerplant: PPE generator w/ 20 year energy life
Speed: (Running) 70 MPH
(Flying) Not possible
(Space) Not possible
(Underwater) Limited to walking along the bottom of bodies of water at a plodding 5 MPH. (See also TWizard Features below)
Market Cost: Exclusive to the Ecotroz-Shemar
Systems of Note:
Full optical systems, laser targeting, passive nightvision, telescopic vision, thermal imaging, infrared, ultraviolet, and polarization filters. Also has motion and heat detection, built-in radar( 60 mile range) and other standard power armor-equivalent systems. Additional/special sensors may be built in by the creating Spinsters or at the behest of individual riders/owners.

*Ultrasonic Hearing

*Inaudible Frequency Communications---Like true elephants, the Tusker can communicate in sonic frequencies too high/low for normal humans to hear, although DogBoys, cyborgs with ultra-ear, and other beings with superior hearing may be able to hear them.

*Bionic Cybernanite Repair Systems---ALL Tuskers have the same bionic nanotech repair system that the Ecotroz Shemar have refitted themselves with, and which is becoming the standard among NeShemar as well. These systems repair 4d6 MD per hour, and can repair 40 MDC before needing material stocks to convert to MD repair material.
Weapons Systems:
1) Head Cannon---The built-up forehead can be fitted with either an original Boom Gun mount similar to the original, a pair of Shemarrian rail-guns, or a number of other systems:
a) Boom Gun
Range: 11,000 ft
Damage: 3d6x10 MD per shot
Sonic shock effects remain unchanged.
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload:200 rd drum

b) Laser Cannon Pod---A heavier single-barrel laser cannon, based on a weapon acquired from South America(the ATL-7 Anti-Tank Laser)
Range: 3,000 ft
Damage: 3d6x10+10 MD per single shot
Rate of Fire: Four shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

c)Pulse Laser (2)
Range: 4,000 ft
Damage: 4d6 MD single shot, 1d6x10+10 MD triple pulse blast
(x2 for both guns firing simultaneously)
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

d)Heavy Shemarrian Rail Guns(2)
Range: 6,000 ft
Damage: 2d6x10 MD per single shot
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 820 rd drum per gun.

e) TK Heavy Machine Guns(2)
Range: 4,000 ft(double on ley lines)
Damage: 2d4 MD single shot, 3d6 MD short(5 shot) burst, 5d6 MD long (10 shot) burst, 2d6x10 MD full melee (50 shot) burst. Damage x2 for the synchronized fire from the two guns)
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited; powering spells must be re-cast every six months. 200 shot ‘back-up’ PPE clip

f)20 mm TW Cannon(2)---A set of heavy boosted-range TW P-Beam Cannons.
Range: 2,800 ft(double on ley lines)
Damage: 1d4x10 MD per blast; BOTH cannons firing simultaneously do 2d4x10 MD per burst!
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited; the arming spells must be re-primed and recharged every four weeks.

g)Extended Range TW Starfire Cannon(2)
Range: 5,000 ft(double on ley lines)
Damage: 2d6x10 MD per single shot
Rate of Fire: Single shot, ECHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited; powering spells must be re-cast every six months. 50 shot ‘back-up’ PPE clips


2) Tusk Cannon(2)---The tusk laser cannons have been lengthened and strengthened to serve as melee weapons, and the lasers buried deeper in the roots, behind additional armor for better protection of their internal mechanisms.
Range: 6,000 ft
Damage: 4d6 MD double blast, 1d4x10+8 MD quad blast, 1d6x10 MD full 5-shot blast
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

3) Sonic Cannon---The trunk mounts an internal sonic cannon
Range: 3,000 ft
Damage: 1d6x10 MD per blast, plus 3d6 MD to a 10 ft diameter area around the blast area(double damage and range underwater)
Sonic weapons do HALF damage through light ‘soft’ armors like MDC barding and padded armor.
Unprotected personnel must save versus non-lethal poison (16 or higher) or be stunned for 1d4 melee rds. People in sealed power armor save at an 8 or higher for the wide area blast, but make a standard save for the concentrated blast.
The sonic vibrations can also be used to set up a resonance in hard armor that can stun or disorient living beings. Humans(and those most like them) will find these subsonic vibrations particularly irritating, the barely audible buzzing setting up painful discordance in their eardrums and auditory apparatus. Beings with enhanced hearing are particularly vulnerable to this attack(DOUBLE all penalties). Cyborgs and those with baffled hearing implants will NOT be affected by this.
Save versus psionic attack(12 or better) or be -1d4 to initiative, HALF all bonuses to strike/parry/dodge, and -1d4 to Maintain Balance. Roll under P.E. or fall unconscious for 1d6 melees.
Power Armor and EBA-wearers will be more susceptible to the effects of resonance, owing to their close proximity to the materials being affected. The effects are greatly diminished to occupants on a vehicle owing to the many interior structures that serve to disipate and insulate the sound waves.
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

4)Modular Back Racks(2)---Because the nomadic Wayfinders have the same problems with securing steady supplies of sophisticated munitions such as medium- and long-range missiles, it was felt that having a major weapons system onboard wholly dedicated to such scarce resources was foolish. Instead, the Wayfinder engineers fitted the two backside positions with modular weapons trays that could be fitted with a variety of launchers, allowing the Tusker to be outfitted with whatever was available. Each back tray/hardpoint can be fitted with ONE of the following:
a) Mini-Missiles---120

b) TW Short Range Missiles
Range: 3 miles
Damage: 2d4x10 MD to a 30 ft blast radius
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-6
Payload: 100

c) Short Range Missiles---60

d) Medium Range Missiles---30

e) Katyusha Bombardment Rockets
Weight: (Rocket)
(Short) 102 lbs
(Long) 170 lbs
Range:(Short) 7 miles
(Long) 13 miles
Damage: Both missile types use a 122mm warhead, typically the following warhead types(damage may vary as much as 50% by the quality of warhead manufacture):
(Fragmentation) 1d6x10 MD to a 60 ft blast radius
(Incendiary) 1d4x10 MD to a 50 ft blast radius, plus 01-75% chance of setting combustible materials aflame
(High Explosive) 2d6x10 MD to a 20 ft blast radius
(Plasma) 3d4x10 MD to a 40 ft blast radius
(Smoke) Covers a 100 ft area in thick obscuring smoke. Typically disperses within 1d6 melees, depending on local wind and humidity conditions.
(Chemical) Varies, but typically used to dispense CS or nerve agents(currently only the Sovietskii uses chemical munitions, though it is rumored that Warlord Sokolov has been seeking to acquire such weapons). Typically covers a 100 ft area. Like the smoke, local weather conditions determine the dispersal rate.
(Submunition)---Detonates airburst style over the target and scatters a small cloud of grenade-like sub-mines, that can be used to infilade an area with contact explosives or delayed-fuze mines. Carries over 18 submunitions, scattering over a 100 ft area, and doing 5d6 MD to a 10 ft blast radius each.
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-30
Payload: 30 per launcher
Penalties: Katyushas use the standard rules for unguided artillery with regard to deviation from target. Best fired in salvoes of 4 or more rockets.
Cost: missiles cost 5,000 credits for short range, 10,000 credits for long, plus the cost per warhead; Fragmentation costs 45,000 credits, Incendiary 60,000 credits, High Explosive 70,000 credits, plasma 100,000 credits, smoke 800 credits, sub-munitions 120,000 credits.

f) Long Range Missiles---16 per launcher

g)40mm Autocannon----A popular anti-aircraft weapon, available in both single and two-gun mounts.
Range: 2.6 miles
Damage:(Proximity Fuzed Fragmentation) 3d6 MD to 15 ft blast radius
(Armor Piercing Tracer) 5d6 MD single shot
(High Explosive Tracer) 4d6 MD to 10 ft blast radius
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 200 rounds

h)30mm Anti-Aircraft Flak Cannon(knockoff of the TriaxTX-862FC)
Range:10,000 ft
Damage:4d6 MD single rd, 1d6x10 MD two rd burst, 3d6x10 MD six-round burst
Rate of Fire:EPCHH
Payload:400 rds per cannon
Bonuses:Independent laser and radar tracking system(range: 11,000 ft). +1 strike set on automatic against aerial attack, +2 strike fired by gunner

i)Tri-Laser---Adapted from the Glitterboy No. 7 of South America
Range: 8,000 ft
Damage:2d4x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

j) TW EMP Cannon---The Wayfinders have managed to acquire a small number of these weapons(see Rifts Merc Ops -pg. 148), and have started carrying them on the Tuskers, making the Warmounts ideal robot stalkers.

k)(Optional) Paladin Steel (West) Modular Weapons System Mounts---If the EShemarrians are co-existing in a Paladin Steel alt-universe, then it is POSSIBLE that the Wayfinders may have negotiated with Paladin Steel West and acquired some of their MWS, in which case the Tusker heavy mounts could be fitted with the following:
*PS-AWD-MTL-1 Tri-Laser-----Based on the Mechanoid Brute
Weight: 2200 lbs
Range:6000 ft
Damage: 4d6 MD single blast
1d4x10 +6 MD double blast
1d6x10 +10 MD triple blast
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload:Unlimited linked to nuclear power source
Cost: 3.6 million credits

*PS-AWD-PC3------Based on the Mechanoid Brute Plasma Cannon
Weight: 2500 lbs
Range: 4000 ft
Damage: 1d4x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload:Unlimited linked to nuclear power source
Cost: 3 million credits


5) MLRS Mini-Missile Launchers(2, front shoulders)---Unchanged from the original
Range: Varies by Missile Type(typically 1 mile)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-16
Payload: 16 per launcher, 32 total

6) Belly Cannon(1)----The lower belly anti-personnel cannon remains unchanged, except that a more readily available(and easily modifiable) ion weapon has been substituted for the particle beam.
Range: 1,000 ft
Damage: 1d6x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited
(Optional)--The belly turret can be modified to fire in ‘scattershot’ mode.This turns the cannon into a short range shotgun with an area of effect blast. Reduce range to 500 ft, but does 5d6 MD to a 12 ft wide area.

7) (Optional) Trunk Vibroblades---Though not a total substitute for the wrecking ball damage potential of the old Mastadon’s trunk, these applique vibroblades still turn the trunk into a deadly melee weapon
Range: Melee
Damage: +4d6 MD to a Trunk Punch

TechnoWizardry Systems:
*PPE Battery and Generator---
Note: The TW Generators are shielded by special Ley Line Protection devices, analogous to Faraday Cages, in order to prevent being disabled during ley line storms. During such events, all magical systems are turned off and secured, until the storm passes. Invariably, though, some damage is inflicted to peripheral systems that could not be shut down or drained in time, but at least the main generators will not be damaged.
(‘Sorcerer’)--- 600 PPE battery capacity; recharges at 20 PPE per hour, 60 PPE/hour at a leyline, 120 PPE/hour on a nexus

*Wind Rush---The Trunk can be used to project a Wind Rush spell(range: 120 ft knocking down humans and human-sized targets that down’t make a saving roll of 18-19, 10 PPE per blast)
*Fear/Horror Factor---Used to amplify the effects of the sheer size of the Tusker on squishy little groundlings(100 ft area of effect, up to 200 ft away, duration of 5 minutes, and cost 5 PPE).
*Impervious to Energy---5 minutes per 20 PPE pumped in.
*Impervious to Fire---10 minutes per 5 PPE pumped in.
*Protective Energy Forcefield---10 minutes and 50 MDC per 10 PPE pumped in.
*Feather Light---This allows the massive 160 ton-plus goliath to treat lightly over fragile bridges, soft ground, and suspected pit traps. 60 minutes per 5 PPE pumped in.
*Float on Water---1 hour per 5 PPE pumped in.

Note: Additional TW spells/features can be built in as per specific rider’s request.

Options:
*Armored Cabin---The Tusker CAN be fitted with the Beast Tank ‘howdah’ used by the Army of Tolkeen(see Seige on Tolkeen Book Six, page 72) , though this will negate the use of any rear missile racks until the structure has been removed.

*Nose Water Cannon---One of the Tuskers has had its trunk sonic cannon replaced with a high-power water cannon, useful for putting out fires, hydraulic excavation, decontamination, or anti-vampire work.
Range: 250 ft
Damage: High water pressure does 1d4 SDC, plus 60% chance of knocking human-sized taregts off hteir feet(lose initiative and 1 APM getting back up). 2d6x10 HP to vampires.
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 100 shot water tank, or can draw through a hose and pump from local water supplies.


Programming:
The Ecotroz have installed AIs from other sources, and upgraded them as best they can, then infected the matrix with a low-level Ecotroz sentience.
Typically has the following:
Wilderness Survival 80%
Lore: Demons and Monsters 40%(+5% per level of experience)
Navigation 60%(+5% per level of experience for Ecotroz entity)
The Ecotroz entity can also pick up two Secondary skills at levels 2, 6, and 12 of experience, though the nature of the Tusker intelligence and design is such that it is limited to skill selections from Technical: Language(understanding) and Lore, Espionage(Detect Ambush, Detect Concealment), Wilderness(Track Humanoids, Track Animals, Hunting).
Actions/Attacks Per Melee: 4 (sometimes 5-6 for super ‘hot-rodded’ models)
Initiative +2 (+1 from the Ecotroz entity for a total of +3)
Dodge +
Strike +1 (+2 w/ ranged weaponry)
Roll +2
Head Butt 2d4 MD
Trunk Punch 3d6 MD
Truck Power Strike(2 attacks) 6d6 MD
Trunk Squeeze 4d6 MD per melee of pressure
Tusk Gore 5d6 MD
Tusk Swipe 3d6 MD
Kick/Stomp 3d4 MD (targets 12 ft or smaller)
Body Block(2 attacks) 2d4x10 MD, plus 1-75% chance of knocking opponent down/over(victim loses initiative and 2 melee attacks)

Note: The Ecotroz intelligence fragment inhabiting the ‘bot gives the Tusker an aura and behavior more befitting an animal than a robot. The Tusker entity is fairly smart and cunning, with an elephant-like intelligence(roughly equivalent to an IQ of 13), and a patient, plodding disposition. Tuskers can becoem quite affectionate with their riders, and show a dogged loyalty. In combat, the Tusker is ferocious and merciless, charging and trampling its opponents, or else trumpeting its anger as its long range weaponry sweeps the battlefield.
The Tusker has the following Natural Psionic Abilities(no ISP Cost), all equivalent to 6th level with regards to range and proficiency.
*Sense Evil
*Sense Magic
*Sixth Sense/Danger Sense

The Ecotroz fragment does occasionally need sleep/rest...though they only need 2 hours of rest/meditation per 24 hours...they can push this, going without for as many days as they have I.Q. points, but will have to go dormant for 4d6 hours after such exertion.
Susceptible to Exorcism and Banish spells, but are +6 to save against such spells, +1 at levels 4, 8, and 12 of experience, and becoming IMMUNE at level 14 and up. Such Banishment causes the ‘bot to revert to its default robot programming. (OPTION: Ecotroz may become IMMUNE to Exorcism and Banishment with experience)

Note also that the Ecotroz-possessed ‘bot can infect other bots with the Ecotroz viral-entity, by bite or sustained touch(takes 3 attacks).

Ecotroz Shemar Cybear Warmount
“Oh $v@& me. Bear cavalry! Where’s the penguin infantry when we really need it?!”
---Anonymous D-bee bandit on the receiving end of a Cybear charge

The Wayfinder tribe, while remaining away from and unmolested by the Shemarrian Civil War on the East Coast, also have not had the opportunity to steal away new members and warmounts from the Dark One(aka ARCHIE-3), so they’ve been on their own with regards to supplying themselves with equipment. Until they acquired Assembler Forge technology from the Hawkmoon’s master tech-smith/tech-mother Goodbones(in her campaign to Upgrade the whole of the EShemar Nation), the Wayfinders have had to make do with what they could scrounge up. Forunately, they’ve had opportunity to acquire the makings for their own unique and distinctive Warmounts.
Early in the establishment of their presence in the American NorthWest, the Wayfinders briefly came into conflict with the Native Americans. Fortunately, the fighting between the NeoShemarrians and the Indian tech-faction was more in the nature of tests of strength, warning skirmishes, and probes of intent meant to ascertain the intent of these newcomers, and there were no casualties, even though the Wayfinders held their ground. The Wayfinders did, through the use of anti-tech disruptive weaponry, capture several Iron Bear power armors. The pilots of these ursine-totem assault suits were trapped inside their suddenly powered-down armor, but were released and returned to their people unharmed as ‘counting coup’, though the EShemarrians kept the power suits as compensation for damage done to their encampment.
Rather than turn the power armors over for the use of the Wayfinders’ camp followers(who largely didn’t share the established Shemarrian disdain for such devices), the TWizards and Spinsters of the Wayfinders saw an opportunity to create a new Warmount.
The Wayfinders modified the Iron Bears to a four-legged format, and filled the space inside the power armor normally used to hold the human pilot with additional robotic servos, power actuators, and systemry. The pilot no longer sits inside but sits outside astraddle the ‘bot’s back. A robotic AI, modified from a robot dog brain and then Awakened with an Ecotroz Shemar splinter intelligence, directs the Cybear. Synthetic skin and fur partially cover the ‘bot, giving the appearance of a bionically-augmented mutant cyborg bear, rather than a refitted power armor.
The Wayfinders have found a way to manufacture more of the Cybears(initially much to the dismay of the Native American tribes who lost the original Iron Bears to the Wayfinders, until relations were normalized between the two groups), until it has become as common among their ranks as the Monstrex is among the tribes further east. Though not as powerful, fast or versatile as the Monst-Rex, the smaller Cybear has its own strengths, including more maneuverability among the dense forests of the NorthWest. Its smaller size also allows it to prowl more effectively, and tread on surfaces a heavier Warmount might crash through(like frozen lakes and ice pack). The locally manufactured nature of the Cybear also means that the Wayfinders can produce enough of them to outfit most of their followers, including the NeShemar ranks(those who don’t prefer an enclosed vehicle), though some of the original EShemar from the east who have lost their original Warmounts have voiced some fleeting complaints about ‘trading down’ to a smaller ride.
Type: EcoS-K-11 Cybear
Class: Robotic Warmount
Crew: None; robot intelligence
1 rider/pilot, and room for 1 passenger
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 480
Head 125
Jaws 80
Ion Blasters(2) 40 each
Legs(4) 220 each
Feet/Claws(4) 55 each
Height: 6 ft
Width: 7 ft
Length: 10 ft
Weight: 1 ton
Cargo: Small space inside/beside the saddle-seat for a few personal possessions and sidearms.
Physical Strength: Equivalent to Robotic P.S. of 50
Powerplant: Nuclear w/ 20 year energy life
Speed: (Running) 75 MPH
(Leaping) 25 ft up/across, jet assisted leap of 80 ft
(Flying) Not possible
(Space) Not possible
(Underwater) can slowly swim at a meager 3 MPH, or run along the bottom at 5 MPH, maximum depth of 800 ft.
Market Cost: Exclusive to the Ecotroz-Shemar
Systems of Note:
Full optical systems, laser targeting, passive nightvision, telescopic vision, thermal imaging, infrared, ultraviolet, and polarization filters. Also has motion and heat detection, built-in radar( 5 mile range) and other standard power armor-equivalent systems. Additional/special sensors may be built in by the creating Spinsters/TWizards/Operators or at the behest of individual riders/owners.

*Molecular Analyzer---Allows the Cybear to track by scent (84%)

*Ultrasonic Hearing---Enhanced hearing able to hear frequencies that the human ear cannot.

*Bionic Cybernanite Repair Systems---ALL Cybears have the same bionic nanotech repair system that the Ecotroz Shemar have refitted themselves with, and which is becoming the standard among NeShemar as well. These systems repair 4d6 MD per hour, and can repair 40 MDC before needing material stocks to convert to MD repair material.


Weapons Systems:
1) Ion Blasters(2, shoulders)---These weapons have been retained from the original design, but have been modified to incorporate a ‘shotgun mode’
Range: 1,200 ft, ft in ‘shotgun mode’
Damage: 5d6 MD single shot, 1d6x10 MD per double simultaneous shot(counts as one attack)
3d6 MD to a 12 ft wide area in ‘shotgun mode’
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Mini-Missile Launchers(2, forelegs)---The original forearm mini-missile launchers have been retained as well, but can handle both conventional mini-missiles or TW heavy mini-missiles, depending on the availability of supply.
Range: Varies by Missile Type
Damage: Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-
Payload: 18 per launcher, 36 total

b)TW Short Range Missiles
Range: 3 miles
Damage: 2d4x10 MD to a 30 ft blast radius

3) Biting Jaws---The Cybear mounts powerful jaws, capable of snapping through an armored arm or leg in seconds.
Range: Melee
Damage: 2d6 MD

4) VibroClaws---All four feet are fitted with vibroclaws
Range: Melee
Damage: (Restrained Claw) 2d6 MD
(Full Strength Claw) 5d6 MD
(Paired Claw Attack) 1d6x10 MD
(Power Claw)(2 attacks) 1d6x10 MD

Options:
*Weapons Modules---Some Cybear riders have had the shoulder-mounted ion weapons replaced with modular weapons similar/identical to those compatible with the Monst-Rex and Monst-Cranes.

*PPE Generator and Spell Projection System---Considered an Option rather than standard equipment, the CyBear can be fitted with a TW PPE Generator and additional TW devices. The generator serves to power the TW devices, or can be tapped by a magic user riding the Cybear. Such conversions are nicknamed ‘Silver Bears’ for the increased PPE aura they exhibit in combat. Only about 20% of the WayFinders’ Cybears have been so outfitted.
Typically a light PPE generator is fitted; PPE Capacity:(Light)----200 PPE battery capacity; recharges at 10 PPE per hour, 20PPE/hour at a leyline, 40 PPE/hour on a nexus
or Medium--- (Medium)-----300 PPE battery capacity; recharges at 10 PPE per hour, 40 PPE/hour at a leyline, 80 PPE/hour on a nexus
Typical TW Features:
*Forcefield System--Protects both the Warmount and passengers. 10 minutes and 50 MDC per 10 PPE pumped in.
*Impervious to Energy---5 minutes per 20 PPE pumped in.
*Impervious to Fire---10 minutes per 5 PPE pumped in.
*Sheletring Force---Great for camping; keeps the elements and insects out, reduces attacks by 1d6 MD(but attackers are -3 to strike through the field), and costs 10 PPE for 1 hour per level of experience of the creating TWizard.
*Blast Shield---Creates a stationary bubble ten feet in radius, lasts 1 minute per 9 PPE pumped into the system, but completely protects against explosive attacks
*Circle of Protection(Simple or Superior)---Protects the Warmount and anybody riding on it. 4 PPE for 1 hour’s protection(Simple), 200 PPE for 1 hour(Superior).
*FireBolt---Fires from the mouth---1,200 ft range, 3d6+6 MD per single fire bolt or (3d6+2)x2 for a three shot burst, 18 PPE/36 ISP per ten shots.

Programming:
The Ecotroz have scavenged the AIs from terrestrial-make robot dogs, and upgraded them as best they can, then infected the matrix with a low-level Ecotroz sentience.
Typically has the following:
Begging 50%
Detect Ambush 75%
Detect Concealment 70%
Land Navigation 40%(+5% per level of experience for Ecotroz entity)
Track and Hunt Animals 50%(+5% per level of experience for Ecotroz entity)
Track Humans 60%(+5% per level of experience for Ecotroz entity)
Tailing 70%(+5% per level of experience for Ecotroz entity)
Prowl 60%(+5% per level of experience for Ecotroz entity)
Climbing 70%
Swimming 50%
Identify Plants and Fruits 80%
Wilderness Survival 80%
The Ecotroz entity can also pick up one Secondary skill at levels 2, 6, and 12 of experience, though the nature of the Cybear intelligence and design is such that it is limited to skill selections from Technical: Language(understanding) and Lore.
Actions/Attacks Per Melee: 5
Initiative +2 (+1 from the Ecotroz entity for a total of +3)
Dodge +4
Strike +3 (+2 w/ ranged weaponry)
Parry +3
Roll +4
Pull Punch/Claw +5
Critical Strike on Natural 19-20
Bite 2d6 MD
(Restrained Claw) 2d6 MD
(Full Strength Claw) 5d6 MD
(Paired Claw Attack) 1d6x10 MD
(Power Claw)(2 attacks) 1d6x10 MD
Body Block/Tackle 2d4 MD
Note: The Ecotroz intelligence fragment inhabiting the ‘bot gives the ---- an aura and behavior more befitting a sentient being than a robot. The Cybear entity is fairly smart and cunning, with a dog-like intelligence(roughly equivalent to an IQ of 13). The Cybear has a dog- or bear-like personality; inquisitive, aggressive, and possessed of a hot temper if threatened or stratled, but dogged loyal, even affectionate and playful, to those it is familiar with, such as tribe or clan members.

The Ecotroz fragment does occasionally need sleep/rest...though they only need 2 hours of rest/meditation per 24 hours...they can push this, going without for as many days as they have I.Q. points, but will have to go dormant for 4d6 hours after such exertion.
Susceptible to Exorcism and Banish spells, but are +6 to save against such spells, +1 at levels 4, 8, and 12 of experience, and becoming IMMUNE at level 14 and up. Such Banishment causes the ‘bot to revert to its default robot programming. (OPTION: Ecotroz may become IMMUNE to Exorcism and Banishment with experience)

Note also that the Ecotroz-possessed ‘bot can infect other bots with the Ecotroz viral-entity, by bite or sustained touch(takes 3 attacks).

"Bear Cavalry... yer [censored] now skullface! They done gone and brought out the 3rd. Ursine Panzer division!"
~Lucky Eddie; M.O.M. free-lance demolitions expert on day of his schedualed execution by the CS patrol group 37...on permanent hold (due escaping during the fraccas)

Well, I WAS going to start making 'Clan of the Cave Bear' jokes, but wasn't certain anybody would get the reference.

Another ship for the advanced Shemarrian cultures of the Three Galaxies

EShemar ‘Radiant Crescent’ Heavy Cruiser
(aka ‘Half Moon’)

“With its heavy plasma batteries pumping out bolts at maximum rate of fire, the ‘Radiant’ lives up to its name. I’ve heard some talk that the Kittani call their attacks ‘sunspot raids’, because they’re often heralded by static swamping the long range sensors, like a really intense sun storm...then the next thing they know, there’s directed plasma smashing into their shields and hard gravity drilling into their hulls.”

One of the Shemarrian Star Nation’s early victories against the Splugorth in the Three Galaxies was the annihilation of the largely Kittani-staffed Splugorth outpost of Kraal IV in the Anvil Galaxy. At the time, the obliteration of the Splugorth presence in the Kraal system was ascribed to unknown enemies who somehow managed to get through the system’s extensive defenses, wipe out the resident defending flotilla, and bombard the outpost into scrap. No evidence that the outer defenses had been engaged(indeed, CCW scouts reconning the system in anticipation of a punative strike came under fire from the automated satellites, and it was only the lack of manned response that led to the system being investigated in force and the colony’s destruction discovered), so surprise would appear to have been absolute. While the planetary outpost had been pounded to pieces, and much small debris was found in orbit, suggesting a large engagement, evidence of the large orbital shipyard known to service the raiders operating out of the Kraal system was missing. Also, the inner defense ring of battle platforms and war satellites that should have been protecting the planet proper was also missing, and all evidence pointed towards the attackers having surprised and annihilated the Splugorth forces, bombed the surface defenses and all resistance, then leisurely stripped and looted the system of any valuables, including unactivated defenses and the shipyards, leaving only the outer defense satnet to deflect any other comers.
Later intercepted Splugorth communiques listed at least three Servitude-class vessels, undergoing repair and refit in the Kraal system, as well as a number of smaller craft, as having been lost at Kraal IV.
It is now suspected that the Kraal system was reduced as a joint effort between the Silvermoon and Ghostrider clans. The latter because of their acknowleged expertise in stealth, and the former because the next year the Silvermoons were seen to be fielding a new heavy warship, the ‘Radiant Crescent’ Heavy Cruiser. The prevailing theory now is that the Ghostriders subverted the defense network, allowing a Shemarrian taskforce to enter the system undetected, then jump in to surprise the Splugorth defense forces(possibly with the assistance of additional spoofing of their systems). Having seized the high ground, the Shemarrians quickly bombed the planetary facilities from the top of the gravity well, then mopped up at their leisure, and helped themselves to the shipyard and any remaining hardware.
The ‘Radiant Crescent’ is a Shemarrian adaptation or copy of Kittani-Splugorth ‘Servitude’-class cruisers. The original organic water-strider appearance of the Servitude design has been altered; the hull now more closely resembling a crescent moon, and the forward thorax and legs have become more angular and sharp, with a triangular aspect, the whole looking from above or below like a crescent lunar disc with radiating triangular vanes. Additional armor has been added to parts of the hull for extra protection with the enlargement of the hull. Extra engines have been emplaced on the rear-facing ‘horns’ of the crescent hull, offsetting the additional mass of armor and giving the Radiants an extra leg of speed in keeping with observed Shemarrian combat doctrine. With less need for life support and a greater tolerance for acceleration, the EShemar have pushed engine performance and routed more power to shields, resulting in even more protection. The EShemar also seem to have stripped away any magic systems on the original -Servitudes-; the -Radiant Crescents- thus far observed have exhibited only technological systems.
The EShemar have eschewed the original formidable neutron armaments for a configuration of their own choosing, especially their plasma weapons technology. Where they can, they have substituted their own weaponry, replacing the Kittani armaments with equal, or superior, weaponry of their own design. The exception is the gravitonic ‘slicer’ beam mounts which have been retained; the Eshemar prefer the hardhitting penetration of the weapons(and are almost certainly working to copy the technology and apply it elsewhere). The EShemar have also beefed up the point defense systems by adding dorsal and ventral ‘caps’ to the central hull, holding point defense turrets featuring traditional Shemarrian projectile weaponry(in the event they should face Splugorth fighters ensorcelled with protections against energy weaponry).

Magic systems appear to be absent from the Radiants, but while Wayfinder participation in the refit of these ships appears to have not happened, the Ghost Riders apparently had a hand beyond helping the Silvermoons acquire the original Kittani vessels. The Crescents feature extensive jamming and sensor spoofing gear, apparently using the vane/’legs’ as powerful transmitters and projectors. Thus, while the Radiants remain BIG targets, they are HARD TO HIT targets, especially at long range.
The massive cargo decks once used to hold slaves have been largely converted into additional avionics and systemry spaces, including advanced stealth systems, while a part of the bays have been converted into hangar space for several squadrons of fighters. The smaller size of the EShemars’ Scarab-class shuttles has allowed the Radiant Crescents to carry two squadrons of assault shuttles compared to the Servitudes’single squadron, and the Radiants also carry four squadrons of fighters. The troop capacity remains roughly the same, but with less need for creature comforts, the EShemar contingent can ALL be mounted on Warmounts(typically space-adapted or outfitted with re-entry gear for planetary assaults).
In the actions thus far observed, the Radiant Crescents maneuver like heavy destroyers, using their speed and jamming capabilities to rapidly close with an enemy, before hammering them with massive salvoes of plasma and gravitonic disruption. If necessary, the cruisers make multiple passes, or allow their fighters to finish off the targets with heavy missiles. Similarly, the ships make fast approaches and sudden assaults to cripple targets, then deploy their troops to seize control of the still-stunned prey. Thus far, the ships have made appearances in a number of smash-and-run or smash-and-grab raids in the Anvil Galaxy, mainly against Splugorth interests.
It is not known if the Shemarrian Star Nation has the means or desire to manufacture any new units of this class, or whether the three ships thus far sighted are only conversions of captured Splugorth vessels. The shipyard facilities captured at Kral IV (and presumably dismantled and transported elsewhere) were primarily refit yards, which may give the EShemar the means to produce wholly new units, but with some effort. Whether or not the Radiant Crescent will remain exclusive to the Silvermoons, or if it will appear in the forces of other Tribes remains to be seen.

Type: ESheMar-CG03 Radiant Crescent
Class: Heavy Cruiser
Crew: 460 (100 officers, 360 enlisted) Typically carries a War Goddess, 10 War Chieftains, and a medical section with 20 Spinster/Healers, as part of the standard complement.
Troops: 2,200 infantry +60 shuttle crew+ 40 fighter pilots
(Note: ALL troops can be equipped with Warmounts)
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 17,000
Bridge/Forward Hull 16,000
Engine Section 22,000
Main Plasma Missile Batteries(6) 2500 each
Gravimetric “Slicer” Cannons(6) 1500 each
Plasma Torpedo Launchers(4) 800 each
Tachyon ScatterGuns(16) 250 each
Point Defense Rail Gun/Laser Turrets(20) 160 each
Hangar Bays(3) 7,000 each
Support Vanes(6) 7,000 each
Variable Forcefields 10,000 each side, 60,000 total
Height: 400 ft
Width: 830 ft
Length: 1,400 ft
Weight: 320,000 tons
Cargo: 15,000 tons
Powerplant: Suspected of being a matter/anti-matter system with 50 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 14
(Kitsune Values: 60% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1.4% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 7 light years per hour
(Underwater) Not Possible
Market Cost: Unique to the Shemarrians and not for sale. If made available, a fully-equipped and functional Radiant Crescent might bring 1 billion credits or more
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
*Sensor Baffling----The Shemar ships can partially mask their sensor spoor, making themselves difficult to detect at long range. This acts as Stealth(-70% to detect while stationary, -30% when moving)

*Sensor Jamming---Active sensor jamming can be employed at shorter ranges to jam and confuse enemy sensors, as well as interfere with communications. The downside is that the amount of interference pumped out will alert EW-savvy opponents of the presence of a jamming platform. Effective Range: 1,000 miles. -6 to target the ship with active sensors.

*Sensor Ghost Projection---The Radiant Crescents have the ability to project multiple sensor ‘ghosts’(up to six) up to 100,000 miles away, giving false readings on their numbers and exact position. These projections can fool most long range sensors(-70% to Read Sensory Instrument rolls). They are also dependent on the leg-vanes; doing more than 50% damage to any one of them will reduce that vane’s ability to project a sensor ‘ghost’.

*Tractor Beams(6)----Effectively each rated for 700 tons dead weight, but can be used for imparting small changes in momentum/direction to ships/structures several times that mass.
Range: 5 miles in space(NOT usable in atmosphere)
(Kitsune Values: 5,000 miles in space).

*Cyberlinkage---The techno-psionic interfacing used by the EShemar give them faster response times; +1 to Initiative and +1 to Strike

Weapons Systems:
1) Plasma Hunter-Killer Torpedo Launchers(6) ---The original Splinter Missile Batteries have been removed, whether because the EShemar disagreed with the type of weapon or have been unable to duplicate the technologies needed to produce additional micro-singularity missiles is unknown. Instead, a weapon with similar damage characteristics has been substituted.
The PHKTL appears to be either an earlier version of the Plasma Torpedo Launcher, or a later version of the same weapon. Rather than launch a bolt of pure plasma, the weapon launches an actual material projectile; a missile-borne electromagnetic generator that wraps a shell of weapon-temperature plasma around itself. The generator/sustainer missile has its own onboard sensors calibrated to see through its plasma shell, allowing it to home in targets independent of its firing vessel, and at far greater range than direct fire weaponry. Though this weapon is dependent on a supply of specialized munitions(rather than the infinite capacity of the regular PTL), and the plasma-shrouded projectiles show up on energy sensors more readily than standard ‘cold’ missiles, the PHKTL has superior range, speed, and accuracy. The plasma shell also gives the PHKTL superior penetration capabilities against point defense systems.
MDC of Projectile: 60
Range: 1,800 miles in atmosphere, 7,200 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x100 MD to a 100 ft blast radius per missile
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-12
Payload: 60 missiles per launcher, 360 total. Additional missiles may be carried and loaded from cargo, but will take at least 30 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 12 missiles)
Note: Projectile anti-missile point defense systems are unable to penetrate the plasma shell, rendering them useless, and energy-based laser and plasma systems do only HALF damage due to interference from the plasma containment fields. Ion and Particle Beams suffer no such problems.

2) Slicer Cannons(6)---The Gravimetric Slicer Cannons appear to be part of the original Servitude design of which the EShemar wholly approved and retained on the Radiant Crescents, though whether these are the original cannon or EShemar-produced copies remains unknown.
Range: 9 miles in atmosphere, 18 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 18 miles in atmosphere, 18,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x1000 MD per shot, plus do critical(DOUBLE) damage on an unmodified Natural 19-20.
Rate of Fire: Once every other melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

3) Plasma Missile Batteries(4) ---These distinctive EShemar weapons replace the original Fusion Beam Cannons. These unusual weapons fire volleys of plasma bolts like missiles, and are even able to ‘curve’(up to 90 degrees) the shots somewhat to skip around ships and obstacles to envelope a target, but this control seems ballistic in nature, rather than active control(though there is evidence that the Shemar are able to actively direct the bolts within tractor beam range). The bolts themselves seem to have been endowed with a weak magnetic field that contains the plasma in a tight’packet’, allowing the plasma to travel farther without losing cohesion and damage potential, and allowing the plasma to explode with area of effect on target. The result is an energy missile with superior range to normal energy weapons(though still well short of comparable missile weaponry) and potentially unlimited payload. However, the plasma packets CAN be grabbed/deflected by tractor beams(likely how the EShemar manipulate their energy projectiles at short range and correct their course....each of the launch arms’ mounted tractor beams being able to grab and direct a volley of plasma bolts), or destabilized by ion or particle beam weapons fire(takes 20 MDC to disrupt the plasma containment).
Range: 25 miles in atmosphere, 100 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 100 miles in atmosphere, 100,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x100 MD to a 100 ft blast radius per missile
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-10 plasma bolts. Three volleys per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

4) Tachyon Scatter Cannon(16) ---The original Neutron Cannons have been stripped from the design; despite their bionic nature, the EShemar seem to take offense at the organic-destroying radiation effects of these weapons. Instead, they have been replaced with area-of-effect tachyon cannons better suited to point defense.
Multiple tachyon accelerator cannon, with ‘scattershot’ firing focus, are mounted to cover all arcs of the ship’s hull. These are typically used to create a ‘firebreak’ in front of the ship for destroying incoming missiles, mines, and other projectiles.
Range: 1.5 miles (2,500 m) in atmosphere, 6 miles (10,000 m) in space w/ 3 mile wide arc*
(Kitsune Values: 6 miles in atmosphere, 600 miles in space)
* Scatter width is reduced to 1/4th in atmosphere
Damage: 3d6x10 MD per single cannon firing
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

5) Point Defense Rail Gun/Laser Turrets(20)---Standard Shemarrian-pattern rail gun/pulse laser combination in a common turret. The EShemar added two rings of these, one dorsal and one ventral, and four on the head section to provide extra coverage against missiles and fighters.
Range: (Rail Gun) 2 miles in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 4 miles in atmosphere, 400 miles in space)
(Laser) 1 mile in atmosphere, 3 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 3 miles in atmosphere, 300 miles in space)
Damage: (Rail Gun)4D6x10 M.D. per blast
(Laser) 3D6x10 M.D. per blast
Rate of Fire: (Rail Gun)EGCHH(4-6)
(Laser) EGCHH (4-6)
Payload: (Rail Gun) 2,000 rd drum. Additional ammunition can be stored as cargo, but will take 45 minutes to reload from stores.
(Laser) Effectively Unlimited

Auxiliary Craft:
24 Scarab Landing Shuttles
48 Fighters (typically predominately EShe-F01 Kamayaris)

Variants:
No other Radiant Crescents are KNOWN to be in service, and certainly no variants thus far, but of late rumors have surfaced of a -Servitude- cruiser of unusual configuration being sighted near the Malcore System(see Rifts Dimension Book Six: The Three Galaxies, pg. 72). However, the scan records and scant optical sensor footage recorded by a surprised transport as it fled what it thought was a Splugorth raider show the ship in question having the distinctive triangular vanes of a Radiant Crescent, but a pyramid-shaped protrusion centered on the after crescent hull.

Get ready folks... more stuff to come!
The evil twin-minds of PBooks Forums have collaberated yet again to bring the further developments of Sinsapaugh's Shemarrian nation and it's evolution. We took that idea, and between two twisted minds, have busted the S.N. concept WIDE open.
I'll let Taliss post this next update again, as he's done most of the text-work... I just added a few pointers / suggestions.

Seriously though peeps; if you've used any of the stuff we've developed or have additions of your own you wish to share (or annecdotes) please do not hessitate to post. The more the merrier

Sorry to say I don't have much of anything to contribute right now, got a lot cooking for my campaign and it's consumed me entirely. Will see what I can do once my plans are laid out better and I have some creativity to spare though. In the mean time: Keep you the good work you guys.

Hey, when you consider that EShemar nanite-regeneration systems just MIGHT be able to utilize MDC hide and bone as raw materials, a "Shemarrian Triple-Decker Dagwood"( two slabs of aged thunderbeetle, two thick slices of megadamage polymer, MDC bonemeal-and-lubricating grease sauce, and several slices of MDC tire rubber between three disc plates of armor-ceramic) might be on the menu...

LOL
I was making comment on some of the other threads which, honestly..do they NEED debate? -sigh-
However, with one of my GMPC's (based loosely on Kos-Mos), she actualy CAN eat, and her advanced nanites can break down organics into workable elements.

Still, picture the shock on the PCs' faces as the petite(for a seven foot gynoid) dislocates her jaw to fit in a STACK of crumpled up machine parts, spiced with chemical solvents, then downs it with a sound like a garbage compactor...
Giving the PCs another new piece of information you won't find in Josh's book: Shemarrians are pretty to look at, but they are NOT dainty eaters...