*EcoS-K-28 Draxos Heavy Aerial Warmounthttp://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp164/taalismn/img294copy.jpg “You ever seen heavy armor plate run like sand? That’s what I saw meters-thick marcuge metal that was meant for shrugging off proximity nuclear blasts do...the ‘crushers just parked their dragon-sleds over the shielding and rained hell on it. The stuff held for a minute or so, and then ...well, the Warleader made good on her oath to drown the necroloving man-demons in their own blood after that.” The Draxos is a new War Mount that has appeared in the ranks of the Skullcrusher Tribe. Its introduction, so soon after the emergence of the young WarGoddess Nerys Night-Sunder to prominence in the Skullcrusher leadership, suggests that the new War Mount, like the recently-debuted Tartog Battleship, is part of Night-Sunder’s efforts to revitalize the pride of the Skullcrushers and secure the favor of her Tribeskin.
The Draxos bears a superficial resemblance in configuration to the Hawkmoon Axyridis(or ‘Shemarrian Griffin’) in that it is a winged quadraped, but the Draxos is MUCH more massive with its weight of shielding and ordnance. The Draxos is pure unadulterated firepower; it’s essentially a flying gunship meant to terrorize and pulverize the Shemarrians’ enemies. Relatively slow in normal flight, it is heavily armored and armed, meant to loiter over a battlefield, soaking up damage, while raining hell on enemies below.
The Draxos sports a heavily armored chest or thorax section concealing a battery of heavy energy cannons, while a pair of Shatter cannons are mounted in the wingroots. Towards the back of the Draxos are two large capacity short-range missile launchers. In addition to its ranged attacks, the Draxos can claw and bite like any other Warmount. The broad back holds enough space for the rider and a half-dozen armored Shemarrian warriors, although they are exposed to the elements and not fully enclosed. The massively-armored ‘wings’ serve to shield both the riders and the additional weaponry on the main body. The Draxos mounts very heavy armor and is able to survive considerable damage, being hardened against even close-proximity nuclear strikes.
The Draxos first debuted on Night-Sunder’s birthworld of Carnaphade, where the first of the new Warmounts were used to crack open the fortified strongholds of the cyber-extremists who held sway there. It has since been seen on other Skullcrusher fronts in support of their troops. The Draxos has yet to appear in any great numbers, given the expense in terms of materials and energy needed to make each individual one. It is currently deployed with senior or elite combat formations on the front lines of the Skullcrushers’ campaigns against the Splugorth.
The Draxos remains exclusive to the Skullcrushers.
Type: EcoS-K-28 Draxos
Class: Robotic Warmount
Crew: None; robot intelligence
1 rider/pilot, and room for 1-8 passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 960
Head 300
SkullShatter Cannon(2) 250 each
Chest Plasma Cannons(4, only susceptible to damage when exposed for firing) 60 each
Wing Shields(4) 320 each
Short Range Missile Launchers(2) 110 each
Tail Fin 200
Legs(4) 200 each
Height: 11 ft at top of neck; the wings can extend up another 12 ft
Width: 14 ft , 55 ft w/ wings at full extension
Length: 20 ft
Weight: 6 tons
Cargo: Small space inside/beside the saddle-seat for a few personal possessions and sidearms, plus whatever can be lashed to the back.
Physical Strength: Equivalent to Robotic P.S. of 40
Powerplant: Nuclear w/ 20 year energy life
Speed: (Running) 50 MPH
(Flying) 300 MPH, maximum altitude 18,000 ft
(Space) Not possible
(Underwater) Limited to crawling along the bottom at 5 MPH, maximum depth 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( 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.
*Bionic Cybernanite Repair Systems---ALL Draxos have the same bionic nanotech repair system that the Ecotroz Shemar have refitted themselves with, and which is the standard among NeShemar as well. These systems repair 4d6 MD per hour, and can repair 400 MDC before needing material stocks to convert to MD repair material.
Weapons Systems:
1) ’SkullShatter’ Cannon(2)---This is a heavy weapon based on the Wolf’s Path ‘Goddess Hammer’ cannon, which was essentially several Shemarrian carbine rail guns bundled into a gatling gun arrangement for rapid fire. The Skullcrushers, after much effort, managed to acquire the schematics for the weapon so they could make their own, but also went about producing an even heavier long-barreled version using standard 6000-series rail guns instead of the shorter 4000-series carbines. The resulting half-ton weapon is too heavy for individual foot soldiers to carry, but it can be hefted by Skullcrusher Necriants, or vehicle/War Steed-mounted. The Draxos mounts TWO of the weapons in its wingroots, giving it the ability to lay down hellacious damage that can reduce tanks , robots, and fortifications to waste in seconds.
During the reduction of fortifications on Carnaphade, observers described the effect of the paired heavy autocannon on meters-thick heavy armor as ‘liquification’.
Range: 6,000 ft
Damage: 2d6x10 MD per round, 6d6x10 MD for a three shot burst, 1d6MDx100 for a six shot burst(!)
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 820 shot drum per cannon.
2) Chest Plasma Cannons---Mounted behind sliding plates in the chest is an array of plasma cannons that fairly bristle from the thorax of the Draxos when deployed. The cannon array has a 45-degree arc of fire, allowing the cannon to be ‘fanned’ over an area. A favorite tactic of Skullcrushers is to hover over a target and barrage-fire directly under them in the so-called ‘hell rain’ attack; few opponents can stand up for long under the fiery deluge.
Range: 4,000 ft
Damage: 2d4x10 MD per single blast, 8d4x10 MD for all four cannons firing simultaneously.
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited
3) Short Range Missile Launchers(2)---Mounted at the rear of the Draxos, behind the passengers and to either side, shielded by the wings, are two short range missile launchers.
Range: Varies by Missile Type(Short Range)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type(Short Range)
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-8
Payload: 32 SRMs each launcher, total of 64
4) (Optional) Underwing Hardpoints(4-6)---The Draxos can mount underwing ordnance if so desired.
a) Mini-Missiles---9(3x3 shot tubes) per hardpoint
b) Short Range Missiles----Three per hardpoint
c) Medium Range Missiles---Two per hardpoint
d) Rotary Laser Cannon---Identical to those available to the Monst-Rex
Range: 2,000 ft
Damage: 1d6x10+4 MD per rapid-fire burst
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited
e) Plasma Ejector---Identical to those available to the Monst-Rex.
Range: 1,600 ft
Damage: 4d6 MD per shot
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited
f)Bombs---Up to 750 lbs of ordnance can be mounted per hardpoint
*250-lb Bomb----2d4x10 MD to 50 ft blast radius
*500-lb Bomb----4d4x10 MD to 60 ft blast radius
*750-lb Bomb----4d6x10 MD to 65 ft blast radius
Payload: One bomb(up to 750 lbs)
Note: The Draxos can engage in divebombing maneuvers; doing so means that the Warsteed approaches the target in a dive(45-degrees or better), releases its bomb(at 5,000 ft or less distance from the target), and then pulls out. A successful dive-bombing attack requires a Piloting roll at -10%, but the dropped ordnance is +2 to strike, and gets a +2d4 MD for the extra speed assist in penetration.
Programming:
The Ecotroz have installed robotic AIs, then infected the matrix with a low-level Ecotroz sentience. The Draxos has a personality that has been described as ‘vulture-like’ by outsiders; it is quiet and patient, and willing to wait/loiter for long periods of time between combats/kills. Once it senses imminent battle, the creature is all too willing to pounce and kill mercilessly. The Draxos are often rewarded for good combat by being allowed for feed on battlefield wreckage, so part of their eagerness in battle is hunger. Its metallic screeching during battle has been described as nerve-wracking to anybody except a Skullcrusher; a squadron-wing of them chorusing their impatience to feed is a death-dirge to the enemies of the Shemar.
Typically has the same basic programming as for the Monstrex.
The Ecotroz entity can also pick up one Secondary skill at levels 2, 6, and 12 of experience, though the nature of the Draxos’ 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, Identify Plants and Fruits)
Actions/Attacks Per Melee: 5
Initiative +2 (+1 from the Ecotroz entity for a total of +3)
Dodge +1 on land, +4 in flight
Strike +1 (+2 w/ ranged weaponry)
Roll +2
Bite 3d6 MD
Blunt Claw Strike 2d6 MD
Claw Strike 5d6 MD
Power Claw Strike(2 attacks) 1d6x10 MD
Pounce/Drop-Stomp 2d4x10 MD
Note: The Ecotroz intelligence fragment inhabiting the ‘bot gives the Draxos an aura and behavior more befitting a sentient being than a robot.
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.
Note also that the Ecotroz-possessed ‘bot can infect other bots with the Ecotroz viral-entity, by bite or sustained touch(takes 3 attacks).
Variants:
*EcoS-K-28B---This variant does away with the ability to carry passengers on its back, instead adding a large hump immediately aft of the rider’s saddle, holding a forcefield generator that provides 400 MDC of protection.