Shemarrian-related fan creations

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DhAkael
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

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taalismn wrote:Some Places Wayfinders Wish They Didn’t Find...



I take it... wormwood?
Bind the body to the opened mind
Bind the body to the opened mind

I dream of towers in a world consumed
A void in the sentient sky
I dream of fissures across the moon
Leaves of the lotus rise


~Dream Again By Miracle of Sound
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

DhAkael wrote:
taalismn wrote:Some Places Wayfinders Wish They Didn’t Find...



I take it... wormwood?


Nah...one of the Infernal Dimensions... :twisted: :demon:
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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DhAkael
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

The following are ideas for possible rank titles given to the various Shemarrian's throughout the SN / SSN. Further additions will be made later, and half credit goes to Taalismn, for spurring me on with his fluff text mini-ficclets. :D

Advanced Cultural Notes: Rank Nomenclature
At the beginning when the Shemarrian gynoids were first created by A.R.C.H.I.E.-.3 & Hagen Leonovitch, the original programming had a very very basic rank structure, even among the 8 original “tribes”. Wargoddess as defacto supreme-commander, War Chieftain as squad commander and Tribal “elder” along with the Spinsters as technical advisors, leaving the rest of the rank and file (in order) to; Warrior, Berserker & Male as occasional scout & E.W. support. With the advent of the Ecotroz awakening of 8 of the tribes, and the inclusion of the Sentient A.I. Ghost Riders and transferred intelligence Wayfinders, the delineation (and nomenclature) of rank structure among the tribes has become much more complex and varied. Listed below are some of the more common ranks & titles among the 10 tribes. Others may or may not exist among Terran & Star Nation Shemarrians.

Common Rankings (Titles in parentheses are in the Shemarrian Elven / Dragonese dialect)
• Wargoddess (Shasydaer): Embodiment of the Shemarrian spirit of battle, usually in command of entire fleet elements or army divisions.
• High Matriarch (Col Taros): Tribal leader of an entire clan & keeper of the tribal lore. Typically of the War Chieftain caste.
• Matriarch (Taros): Leader of a Shemarrian band, group, platoon, etc. This applies to any of the female castes, except the Pariah / Acolyte.
• Blade Sister (Shadi Moraes): Title given to the Berserker caste.
• Battle Strider (Shari Modaes): Title given to mounted Shemarrian warriors, regardless of war-mount type.
• Little Sister (Jhori Moraes): Affectionate title given to the Spinster / Tinker caste.
• Long Sight / Far Speaker (Jhyl Mol / Thas Maejaes): Scout & communications specialists. Also applies to Sensor & Communications officers onboard naval vessels.
• Teachers of the way (Saelaes os si shae): Acolytes in charge of initial training of NeShemarr ‘recruits’ and rare progen born castes
Rankings of The Wolf's Path
This tribe adopted a system similar to terestrial wolf packs, with the head of any unit being designated an Alpha, though that is modified with descriptors to describe the level of Alpha; Alpha Primus being division leader, Alpha Secundus being a team leader, etc... Beta being second rank after the Alpha.
• Alpha Primus (Eilae Voster): Division leader; equal to a ranking of General.
• Alpha Secundus (Eilae Maeleler): Battalion leader; equal to Major or Captain.
• Alpha Tertius (Eilae Saesor): Platoon leader; equal to Leftenant.
• Beta Primus to Tertius (Shaerae “…”): Second to an Alpha, with ranks going from Master-Sergeant to Corporal equivalents.
• Path Stalker (Var Malaes): Title given to Wolf’s-Path scouts regardless of gender or caste. Always of Beta Primus rank.
Rankings of the Wayfinders
Wayfinders have a rank structure based on a combination of scholar gradiants and mage-ranks. Due to their mixed origin species, the Wayfinder tribe do not use Elven nomenclature.
• Adept Primus: Tribal enclave leader, equal to a magic guilds High-magus or a Queen of a country / colony.
• Luminari: Equivalent of college deans, heads of research, high mages, etc. Luminari-Martials would be the equivalent of Admirals, generals, high rank officers.
• Celestii: Senior professors, department heads, mid-level mages. Celestii-Martials would be ship captains, colonels, and the like.
• Solarii: Assistant professors thru professors, accomplished mages. Solarii-Martials would be lieutenants, ensigns, junior officers.
Ranks would be further specified by terms like First, Second, Third(no more than that)...So a Solarii Third might be a Staff Sergeant, a First Celestii a cruiser captain or a full colonel, etc.
Rankings of the Ghost Riders
The Ghost Rider tribe though not E-Shemarr in origin, have adopted most of the common rank structures among their military (with associated Elven naming conventions), with two additions.
• Lightning Thief (Jhondrol Sos): Dedicated electronic warfare specialists & cyberjackers. Team leaders & exceptional veterans usually have ‘Taros’ prefixed to their title.
• Ghost Waker (Kyr Shajaes): A Ghost Rider Shemarrian who “wakes up” robots via sentient viral programs. A hold-over from their awakening via the ‘Ghost-locker’ in NY Madhaven, and freeing of non Shemarrian ARCHIE bots (along with a few other drone / A.I.’s from the CS, NGR and even Ki-Talan Atlantis).
Rankings of the Silvermoon
Typical rank structure common to most / all Shemarrian tribes are used by the Silvermoon except for;
• Shield Bearer (Mor Shaesaes): Equal to a 2nd. Leftenant in chain of command. These Shemarrians are given the task of point defense, counter-artillery and E-W in both infantry and naval divisions.
Rankings of the Sapphire Cobras
The iconolastic Sapphire Cobras do tend to use the common rank structure among their martial branch, however there are a few additions due to their spiritual / fetishistic nature.
• Pythoness: The head of the psi-shameness’, usually a dedicated sensitive specializing in clairvoyance & remote viewing.
• Apothecary (Eidyraelasia): Medics & chemists taking from the Warrior, Spinster/Tinker, Acolyte and even NeShemarr castes. The head of a particular medical and/or drug & chemical facility will usually have a ‘Taros’ prefix to their title.
• Keeper of Mysteries (Caedaes os Teiraesor): Priestess tasked with care of a temple’s records and the tribal lore. A ‘Col Taros’ or ‘Taros’ prefix is added to the title for the High Priestess & her second of a given temple.
Rankings of the Hawkmoon
Being the most adaptable of the 10 tribes, the Hawkmoon have integrated common Anglic / English rank structures to the common Shemarrian titles, especially for their aerospace fighter corp. It is not unheard of for a ‘Shari-Lieutenant’ to be giving air support to a ‘Taros Shari Modaes's’ cavalry line.
Last edited by DhAkael on Thu Dec 15, 2011 4:43 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Bind the body to the opened mind
Bind the body to the opened mind

I dream of towers in a world consumed
A void in the sentient sky
I dream of fissures across the moon
Leaves of the lotus rise


~Dream Again By Miracle of Sound
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taalismn
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

DhAkael wrote:The following is just a rough-draft of ideas for possible rank titles given to the various Shemarrian's throughout the SN / SSN. Further additions will be made later, and half credit goes to Taalismn, for spurring me on with his fluff text mini-ficclets. :D s


D! You're reading my mind! I started an article on something similar this week, seeing as we had no standardized rank nomenclature to reflect the more flexible (non-preprogrammed) nature of EShemar society(just making it up as I went along).
The biggest deviators I can see from a standardized rank organization, as I see thus far, are the Wolf's Path and the Wayfinders.
The Wolf's Path, I see adopting a system similar to wolf packs, with the head of any unit being designated an Alpha, though that would be modified with descriptors to describe the level of Alpha...Prime Alpha maybe being top dog, Field Alpha being a team leader, etc... Beta being second rank after the Alpha.

Wayfinders have a rank structure based on a combination of scholar gradiants and mage-ranks.
What I have thus far, from Highest down:
Luminari---Equivalent of college deans, heads of research, high mages, etc. Luminari-Martials would be the equivalent of Admirals, generals, high rank officers.
Celestii---Your senior professors, department heads, mid-level mages. Celestii-Martials would be ship captains, colonels, and the like.
Solarii---Your assistant professors thru professors, accomplished mages. Solarii-Martials would be lieutenants, ensigns, junior officers.
Ranks would be further specified by terms like First, Second, Third(no more than that I figure)...So a Solarii Third might be a Staff Sergeant, a First Celestii a cruiser captain or a full colonel, etc...

Hopefully that adds to the database. :D
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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taalismn
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

EcoS-K-17 Majestrex War Steed
(aka ‘Shemarrian Peacock’, ‘Silver Strutter’, ‘Wilksbird’, ‘Solarslash’, ‘Dazzler’)

“Heh, get a load of the line of silver turkeys coming up at us! What kind of idiotic battle formation is THA--”(*SHIIIzzzzzzzzzcrakklePOP!POP!*)
-Skarmouth Shang, Brodkil Warrior, just before being thoroughly flash-cooked at the Battle of Ojo Felice, Old New Mexico Territory.

The ‘Majestrex’ is a Silvermoon Tribe adaptation of the Monst-Crane War Steed. Having seen what their fellow Tribes were doing with the baseline Monstrex(the Hawkmoons having developed the Axyridis, the Sapphire Cobras the Gorgon) and the Monst-Crane(the Hawkmoons having evolved the Battle Hawk from it), and other Tribes having produced from older non-Shemarrian designs such impressive War Steeds as the Tusker, Cybear, Steel Claw, Velociclaw, and the Queen Cobra, the Silvermoons decided it was time for them to create for themselves a signature War Steed.
The Majestrex looks, for the most part, like its direct ancestor(to the point that many object to it being called a wholly new War Steed at all, instead of simply a variant of the base model Monst-Crane). In place of the rather stubby tail of the original, however, the Majestrex carries a sophisticated folding fan-array solar collector and laser projection system. By fully opening the array, however, the Majestrex can boost the power of the laser systems by accumulating solar energy(and to a degree, absorbed laser energy) with the fantail’s photovoltaic surfacing(so a posing formation of Majestrex is doing it for more than just appearances’ sake; they’re charging up to fryolate their enemies).
Appearance-wise, the Majestrex lives up to its name; fully deployed, the Warmount fairly shimmers with the iridescence of its mirror-armor and crystal-adorned tail array. As martial pageantry goes, there are few things more stately or majestic than a fully displaying Majestrex, its Silvermoon rider astride it in full battle honored glory.
The Majestrex does sacrifice some of the Monst-Crane’s mobility due to the size and length of the laser array. The War Steed gains some extra protection from added laser-reflective armor, though, and advanced targeting systems(larger head crest and extra sensors in the Dazzler Array) make the most of the added energy weaponry’s long range. Because the War Mounts are more likely to run into melee combat at their slower speeds, their beaks and wings have been outfitted with vibroblades for extra damage at short range. However, the Silvermoons prefer to use their Warmounts to fight at long range, taking advantage of the advanced laser performance to keep their opponents at over arms’ length and under withering fire for as long as possible.
Though derided by some observers as a ‘silver strutter’, a ‘parade float’, and a ‘pouter’, wise opponents of the Silvermoons have learned to quickly take cover when they see a formation of Majestrex take the field. Even the normally sociopathic Skullcrushers dropped their (rude) criticisms of the design after seeing a detachment of Majestrex ‘paraders’ sweep the field of a massed enemy horde. The Silvermoon typically deploy these Warmounts in massed formations for their concentrated laser fire can incinerate the enemy. Lone units are also used as perimeter security sentry units, their sensors and long range lasers can provide ready-reaction and anti-air/antimissile defense.

Type: EcoS-K-17 Majestrex
Class: Robotic Warmount
Crew: None; robot intelligence
1 rider/pilot, and room for 1 passenger
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 260
Head 85
Neck 110
Extra Sensor/Radar Cluster(back of head) 20
Feet/Talons(2) 55 each
Legs(2) 98 each
Wing(let)s(2) 65 each
Laser Fan Array 120
Height: 7 ft at shoulder, 10 ft from head to toe. The fully deployed laser array adds 4 ft to that.
Width: 4 ft , w/ 14 ft wing/tail span.
Length: 6 ft, w/ head and beak adding 6 ft. Folded and trailing, the laser array stretches back an additional 9 ft
Weight: 1,500 lbs
Cargo: Small space inside/beside the saddle-seat for a few personal possessions and sidearms.
Physical Strength: Equivalent to Robotic P.S. of 30
Powerplant: Nuclear w/ 20 year energy life
Speed: (Running) 180 MPH
(Leaping) 18 ft up/across from standing position, while a running leap in excess of 60 MPH can propell the Majestrex 70 ft across and 30 ft up.
(Climbing) The Majestrex can scamper along tough terrain, but is not really suitable for climbing steep surfaces.
(Flying) Not possible
(Space) Not possible to fly, though it functions perfectly fine in conditions of vacuum/weightlessness
(Underwater) Limited to running along the bottom at 6 MPH. Maximum depth of 1,000 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. Also has motion and heat detection, built-in radar( 60 mile range) and other standard power armor-equivalent systems. Includes the Radar Detector of the original Monst-Crane. Additional/special sensors may be built in by the creating Spinsters or at the behest of individual riders/owners.

*Laser-Resistant Armor---The Majestrex is covered in fine, iridescent mirror-scales that partially reflect laser attacks; lasers do HALF damage.

*Bionic Cybernanite Repair Systems---ALL Majestrex 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)Weapons Mount(1)----The Majestrex carries a single weapons mount identical to those standard on the baseline Monstrex and Monst-Crane.

2) Vibro-Claws---The Majestrex retains the ability to kick and scratch-slash like the Monst-Crane.
Range: Melee
Damage: Scratch/Rake w/ Talon 1d6 MD
Talon Strike 3d6 MD
Power Talon Strike(2 attacks) 5d6 MD

3) Dazzler Laser Array---This comparatively lightweight laser/solar array, the product of the Silvermoons’ growing expertise with photonics, folds like a paper fan, opening up like a peacock’s display feathers to gather light energy and align the two dozen small laser projection node ‘eyes’ and ‘smart mirror’ panes for action. The lasers are variable intensity, and can deliver an area of effect blinding flash capable of burning out unprotected eyeballs, or can be dialed up to armor-vaporizing intensity. Furthermore, the Dazzler Array is variable frequency, and can quickly adjust to circumvent the laser-resistant properties of such armors as the Glitterboy’s megachromium plating. Combined, the total output of the synchronized laser projectors can deliver a truly impressive photonic punch over long range. The Dazzler Array also has applications as a field anti-missile laser system, able to pluck enemy projectiles out of the air with relative ease.
Note: Deploying the array takes less than 5 seconds and takes NO APMs. When fully openned, the speed of the Majestrex drops to HALF maximum.
Range: 7,000 ft
Damage: (Variable)
(Flash-Blinder Mode)Generates blinding effects similar to the Wilks Blinding Grenade(see Rifts Game Master Guide, pg. 177), blinding victims for 1d4 melees, -8 to strike, parry, and dodge, lose initiative and 2 APMs, afterwards the victims are stricken with blurred vision for another 2d4 melees; -1 initiative, -4 to strike, parry, dodge, and lose 1 APM. Even polarizing optics and eye protection are not able to screen out this attack, and even those in power armor or vehicles with optical protection will lose initiative and 1 APM from the flash. Cameras and optical systems will be temporarily overloaded for 1d4 melee rounds.
At ranges of 200 ft or less, those without eye protection must save versus Coma/Death, or risk PERMANENT blindness from the intensity of the lasers on their optical nerves.
Flash-Blind Mode can be directed at specific targets at maximum range(counts as an aimed shot) or an area of effect attack can be called, affecting onlookers in a 45-degree arc in front of the Majestrex out to a maximum range of 500 ft.
(MD Mode) 1d6 MD to 2d6x10 MD per shot
If fighting in broad daylight without any sort of shade impeding light intake, the lasers get an extra +2 to damage. In airless space, with no atmosphere to impede solar energy, this gets increased to +4(at ranges similar to Earth and Mars...beyond that, as solar intensity wanes, so does energy absorption).
If the solar array has time to absorb solar energy prior to combat, the lasers get an extra +6 MD(+12 MD in airless space) to damage for every hour of solar absorption, for the first minute of combat, or get an extra minute of increased damage(at the +2 level) per hour of prior charge-up.
The lasers also get an extra +2 to damage the following melee, for every laser impact hitting the laser array, as a portion of the laser energy is absorbed, converted, and re-routed to the laser projectors.
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: Effectively unlimited.
Bonus: The Dazzler Array gets a +4 to strike owing to the superior placement and triangulation available to the lasers. It can also adjust frequencies within 1d4 melees to overcome laser-resistant armors.

Programming:
The Ecotroz have installed robotic AIs, then infected the matrix with a low-level Ecotroz sentience. Majestrexes are very calm, very patient, and very fearless, perfectly willing to slowly advance at their masters’ direction directly at the enemy.
Typically has the following:
Baseline programming as for the original Monst-Crane.
The Ecotroz entity can also pick up one Secondary skill at levels 2, 6, and 12 of experience, though the nature of the Majestrex 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 +3
Automatic Dodge(+4, due to the added mass of the Dazzler Array)
Strike +5 in melee combat (+3 w/ ranged weaponry, +4 with Dazzler Array)
Pull +2
Roll +2
Critical Strike on a Natural 19-20
Scratch/Rake w/ Talon 1d6 MD
Talon Strike 3d6 MD
Power Talon Strike(2 attacks) 5d6 MD
Stomp 1d4 MD
Leap Kick(2 attacks) 4d6 MD
Leaping Pounce/Stomp 2d6 MD
Restrained Nip 1d4 SDC
Full Strength Bite 1d6x10 SDC
Power Bite 1d4 MD
Beak Strike 1d6+2 MD
Heat Butt/Body Block 2d6 MD
Trample 3d6 MD
Tail Lash 1 MD + 30% chance of knockdown
Winglet Slash 2d4 MD

Note: The Ecotroz intelligence fragment inhabiting the ‘bot gives the Majestrex 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.
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, and NEW BUILT EShemar constructs are immune to this)

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-17SSN---The Shemarrian Star Nation variant is not so different from the baseline version, except that its laser array has a 14,000 ft range, and can now be used for long range laser communications with an effective range of 250,000 miles. The ‘smart mirror’ array can also be used as a fairly effective optical telescope.
The inclusion of a small anti-gravity unit also DOUBLES the leaping range of the Warmount, as well as allows it to make safe aerial drops from as high up as 15,000 ft.
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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DhAkael
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

taalismn wrote:
DhAkael wrote:The following is just a rough-draft of ideas for possible rank titles given to the various Shemarrian's throughout the SN / SSN. Further additions will be made later, and half credit goes to Taalismn, for spurring me on with his fluff text mini-ficclets. :D s



The biggest deviators I can see from a standardized rank organization, as I see thus far, are the Wolf's Path and the Wayfinders.

The Wolf's Path, I see adopting a system similar to wolf packs

Wayfinders have a rank structure based on a combination of scholar gradiants and mage-ranks.


Hopefully that adds to the database. :D

Indeed it does... I shall endeavour to compile the database soon with other additions unique to the Tribes / New-Castes... got some time on my hands tomorrow ;)
Bind the body to the opened mind
Bind the body to the opened mind

I dream of towers in a world consumed
A void in the sentient sky
I dream of fissures across the moon
Leaves of the lotus rise


~Dream Again By Miracle of Sound
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taalismn
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

DhAkael wrote:
taalismn wrote:
DhAkael wrote:The following is just a rough-draft of ideas for possible rank titles given to the various Shemarrian's throughout the SN / SSN. Further additions will be made later, and half credit goes to Taalismn, for spurring me on with his fluff text mini-ficclets. :D s



The biggest deviators I can see from a standardized rank organization, as I see thus far, are the Wolf's Path and the Wayfinders.

The Wolf's Path, I see adopting a system similar to wolf packs

Wayfinders have a rank structure based on a combination of scholar gradiants and mage-ranks.


Hopefully that adds to the database. :D

Indeed it does... I shall endeavour to compile the database soon with other additions unique to the Tribes / New-Castes... got some time on my hands tomorrow ;)



I'm also figuring on maybe a lower Wayfinder rank (maybe two) below the Solarii...
'Astres', which would be your privates, corporals, your novice spellcasters, initiates, or the equivalent of freshmen, juniors, sophmores, and seniors in college/university.

Maybe 'Komte'(I'm kinda running with a 'sounds stellar' theme for the Wayfinder ranks) for the next higher ranks beyond Astres? Your Lance Corporals, Sarges, cadet officers, student assistants, interns, and the like?

Anything lower than Astres would be juveniles and total novices who don't have to worry about ranks... :wink:
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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DhAkael
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

Bind the body to the opened mind
Bind the body to the opened mind

I dream of towers in a world consumed
A void in the sentient sky
I dream of fissures across the moon
Leaves of the lotus rise


~Dream Again By Miracle of Sound
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taalismn
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

Back at you with the added Wayfinder ranks. :D

DhAkael wrote:http://palladium-megaverse.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=2456724#p2456724
Expanded. :D :ok:

The following are ideas for possible rank titles given to the various Shemarrian's throughout the SN / SSN. Further additions will be made later, and half credit goes to Taalismn, for spurring me on with his fluff text mini-ficclets.

Advanced Cultural Notes: Rank Nomenclature
At the beginning when the Shemarrian gynoids were first created by A.R.C.H.I.E.-.3 & Hagen Leonovitch, the original programming had a very very basic rank structure, even among the 8 original “tribes”. Wargoddess as defacto supreme-commander, War Chieftain as squad commander and Tribal “elder” along with the Spinsters as technical advisors, leaving the rest of the rank and file (in order) to; Warrior, Berserker & Male as occasional scout & E.W. support. With the advent of the Ecotroz awakening of 8 of the tribes, and the inclusion of the Sentient A.I. Ghost Riders and transferred intelligence Wayfinders, the delineation (and nomenclature) of rank structure among the tribes has become much more complex and varied. Listed below are some of the more common ranks & titles among the 10 tribes. Others may or may not exist among Terran & Star Nation Shemarrians.

Common Rankings (Titles in parentheses are in the Shemarrian Elven / Dragonese dialect)
• Wargoddess (Shasydaer): Embodiment of the Shemarrian spirit of battle, usually in command of entire fleet elements or army divisions.
• High Matriarch (Col Taros): Tribal leader of an entire clan & keeper of the tribal lore. Typically of the War Chieftain caste.
• Matriarch (Taros): Leader of a Shemarrian band, group, platoon, etc. This applies to any of the female castes, except the Pariah / Acolyte.
• Blade Sister (Shadi Moraes): Title given to the Berserker caste.
• Battle Strider (Shari Modaes): Title given to mounted Shemarrian warriors, regardless of war-mount type.
• Little Sister (Jhori Moraes): Affectionate title given to the Spinster / Tinker caste.
• Long Sight / Far Speaker (Jhyl Mol / Thas Maejaes): Scout & communications specialists. Also applies to Sensor & Communications officers onboard naval vessels.
• Teachers of the way (Saelaes os si shae): Acolytes in charge of initial training of NeShemarr ‘recruits’ and rare progen born castes

Rankings of The Wolf's Path
This tribe adopted a system similar to terestrial wolf packs, with the head of any unit being designated an Alpha, though that is modified with descriptors to describe the level of Alpha; Alpha Primus being division leader, Alpha Secundus being a team leader, etc... Beta being second rank after the Alpha.
• Alpha Primus (Eilae Voster): Division leader; equal to a ranking of General.
• Alpha Secundus (Eilae Maeleler): Battalion leader; equal to Major or Captain.
• Alpha Tertius (Eilae Saesor): Platoon leader; equal to Leftenant.
• Beta Primus to Tertius (Shaerae “…”): Second to an Alpha, with ranks going from Master-Sergeant to Corporal equivalents.
• Path Stalker (Var Malaes): Title given to Wolf’s-Path scouts regardless of gender or caste. Always of Beta Primus rank.

Rankings of the Wayfinders
Wayfinders have a rank structure based on a combination of scholar gradiants and mage-ranks. Due to their mixed origin species, the Wayfinder tribe do not use Elven nomenclature.
• Adept Primus: Tribal enclave leader, equal to a magic guilds High-magus or a Queen of a country / colony.
• Luminari: Equivalent of college deans, heads of research, high mages, etc. Luminari-Martials would be the equivalent of Admirals, generals, high rank officers.
• Celestii: Senior professors, department heads, mid-level mages. Celestii-Martials would be ship captains, colonels, and the like.
• Solarii: Assistant professors thru professors, accomplished mages. Solarii-Martials would be lieutenants, ensigns, junior officers.
• Komte: Student Assistants, interns, junior mages. Komte-Martials would be cadet officers and sergeants.
• Astre: The equivalent of college students, novice wizards, candystripers. Astre-Martials would be privates, corporals, and other basic-level military grunts.

Ranks would be further specified by terms like First, Second, Third(no more than that)...So a Solarii Third might be a Staff Sergeant, a First Celestii a cruiser captain or a full colonel, etc.

Rankings of the Ghost Riders
The Ghost Rider tribe though not E-Shemarr in origin, have adopted most of the common rank structures among their military (with associated Elven naming conventions), with two additions.
• Lightning Thief (Jhondrol Sos): Dedicated electronic warfare specialists & cyberjackers. Team leaders & exceptional veterans usually have ‘Taros’ prefixed to their title.
• Ghost Waker (Kyr Shajaes): A Ghost Rider Shemarrian who “wakes up” robots via sentient viral programs. A hold-over from their awakening via the ‘Ghost-locker’ in NY Madhaven, and freeing of non Shemarrian ARCHIE bots (along with a few other drone / A.I.’s from the CS, NGR and even Ki-Talan Atlantis).

Rankings of the Silvermoon
Typical rank structure common to most / all Shemarrian tribes are used by the Silvermoon except for;
• Shield Bearer (Mor Shaesaes): Equal to a 2nd. Leftenant in chain of command. These Shemarrians are given the task of point defense, counter-artillery and E-W in both infantry and naval divisions.

Rankings of the Sapphire Cobras
The iconolastic Sapphire Cobras do tend to use the common rank structure among their martial branch, however there are a few additions due to their spiritual / fetishistic nature.
• Pythoness: The head of the psi-shameness’, usually a dedicated sensitive specializing in clairvoyance & remote viewing.
• Apothecary (Eidyraelasia): Medics & chemists taking from the Warrior, Spinster/Tinker, Acolyte and even NeShemarr castes. The head of a particular medical and/or drug & chemical facility will usually have a ‘Taros’ prefix to their title.
• Keeper of Mysteries (Caedaes os Teiraesor): Priestess tasked with care of a temple’s records and the tribal lore. A ‘Col Taros’ or ‘Taros’ prefix is added to the title for the High Priestess & her second of a given temple.

Rankings of the Hawkmoon
Being the most adaptable of the 10 tribes, the Hawkmoon have intigrated common Anglic / English rank structures to the common Shemarrian titles, especially for their aerospace fighter corp. It is not unheard of for a ‘Shari-Lieutenant’ to be giving air support to a ‘Taros Shari Modaes's’ cavalry line.

-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

I'm thinking that perhaps there should be a separate and special ranking for high-rank Pariahs/Acolites who achieve distinction or in charge of matters of importance, since they can't attain 'Matriarch' status. I don't have access to the same elven dictionary you're using, DhAkael, but maybe something like (Noble)'Lady' or 'Mistress' would be appropriate.

Another thought: Could the original Wayfinder 'Heart' be duplicated? In which case, might it possible that Wayfinder Valkari might carry their own copies of it to store life essences in those cases where it's not possible to salvage the bodies or even the brains, even with stasis and psychic preservation? Or maybe a limited version could be carried by Wayfinder medics in general, in order to 'lifeboat' Shemarrian 'sparks' in extreme cases where the body is almost total kaput?
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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DhAkael
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

taalismn wrote:I'm thinking that perhaps there should be a separate and special ranking for high-rank Pariahs/Acolites who achieve distinction or in charge of matters of importance, since they can't attain 'Matriarch' status. I don't have access to the same elven dictionary you're using, DhAkael, but maybe something like (Noble)'Lady' or 'Mistress' would be appropriate.

Another thought: Could the original Wayfinder 'Heart' be duplicated? In which case, might it possible that Wayfinder Valkari might carry their own copies of it to store life essences in those cases where it's not possible to salvage the bodies or even the brains, even with stasis and psychic preservation? Or maybe a limited version could be carried by Wayfinder medics in general, in order to 'lifeboat' Shemarrian 'sparks' in extreme cases where the body is almost total kaput?


Definately after the Shemarrian Civil War, 'The Heart' would be duplicated in whole and in part. Valkari among the Wayfinder would have the "dumbed down" version, which would encase the life essence, but would require a fully-functional Soul Transfer device back at one of the enclaves to complete the process.

As for the elven translation proggy...um..hold on. *rummages*
http://www.coveworld.net/eberron/aerenal_translator.html The web-page can be saved off (save as, Webpage; HTML only) and used off-line in most web-browsers...I use Fire-Foxy m'self :D

The only problem is, you can NOT cut & paste the translation result on-site or saved version of the page, which is a pain cuz you can't 'real-time' RP with it. :nh: :frust:
Manual type-out only.
Bind the body to the opened mind
Bind the body to the opened mind

I dream of towers in a world consumed
A void in the sentient sky
I dream of fissures across the moon
Leaves of the lotus rise


~Dream Again By Miracle of Sound
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

DhAkael wrote:[

As for the elven translation proggy...um..hold on. *rummages*
http://www.coveworld.net/eberron/aerenal_translator.html The web-page can be saved off (save as, Webpage; HTML only) and used off-line in most web-browsers...I use Fire-Foxy m'self :D

The only problem is, you can NOT cut & paste the translation result on-site or saved version of the page, which is a pain cuz you can't 'real-time' RP with it. :nh: :frust:
Manual type-out only.

Cool.
In that case I submit that 'Mistress' or mid-level Acolite/Acolyte be a 'toraer'
Lower-tier Acolites/Acolytes would be dubbed 'maidens'*, which gets us the nice and simple 'tadael'. 'Swordless Maiden', implying non-combat personnel, yields 'mysaer tadael', though it doesn't entirely rule out that such personnel might not be expected or able to use weapons in defense of the Tribe(like the clerks and motorpool soldiers defending American lines in the Battle of the Bulge)...just that they are rear echelon or not your first pick for combat effectives.
(*I don't see the average female Shemarrian/EShemarrian describing themselves as 'maidens', with the implications of peacefulness, innocence, chastity, or, well....meekness...."maiden', in fact, might be something of a pejorative in Shemarrian culture)
An Acolyte responsible for running a household, outpost, or organizational wing/department would effectively be a seneschal, which yielded 'Maelaerar'---an early misspelling of 'seneschal' yielded the shorter 'Maerar'.

May have to experiment with the titles of possible exceptional Acolyte positions to see what comes up; maybe combinations like 'Peaceful Provider', 'Noble Provider', or High Provider'?
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

taalismn wrote:Cool.
In that case I submit that 'Mistress' or mid-level Acolite/Acolyte be a 'toraer'
Lower-tier Acolites/Acolytes would be dubbed 'maidens'*, which gets us the nice and simple 'tadael'. 'Swordless Maiden', implying non-combat personnel, yields 'mysaer tadael', though it doesn't entirely rule out that such personnel might not be expected or able to use weapons in defense of the Tribe(like the clerks and motorpool soldiers defending American lines in the Battle of the Bulge)...just that they are rear echelon or not your first pick for combat effectives.
(*I don't see the average female Shemarrian/EShemarrian describing themselves as 'maidens', with the implications of peacefulness, innocence, chastity, or, well....meekness...."maiden', in fact, might be something of a pejorative in Shemarrian culture)
An Acolyte responsible for running a household, outpost, or organizational wing/department would effectively be a seneschal, which yielded 'Maelaerar'---an early misspelling of 'seneschal' yielded the shorter 'Maerar'.

May have to experiment with the titles of possible exceptional Acolyte positions to see what comes up; maybe combinations like 'Peaceful Provider', 'Noble Provider', or High Provider'?


I leave that to your discretion sir. You took this particular segment, YOU finish with it ;)
Bind the body to the opened mind
Bind the body to the opened mind

I dream of towers in a world consumed
A void in the sentient sky
I dream of fissures across the moon
Leaves of the lotus rise


~Dream Again By Miracle of Sound
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

DhAkael wrote:[
I leave that to your discretion sir. You took this particular segment, YOU finish with it ;)


Shes Varaes('buck passer') :P
Well, updated the Codex Shemarrian to reflect the new robots and War Steeds added.
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

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Interlude: With Journeys’ End, New Ones Begin:

“First Solarii Rachel Pasteur-Lyle, reporting for assigment.”
Celestii Alvaree Tolkiensdoter smiled up from her desk at the new arrival.
“At ease, Rachel, we don’t stand on military discipline as much as the Hawkmoons or Skull Crushers here. We’re still primarily an EXPLORATION organization. Sit down, relax, and I’ll get to your new assignment in good time.”
Rachel settled into the indicated couch, while the Celestii gazed into the air, obviously concentrating on some task in the datasphere. Celestii Tolkiensdoter’s office was airy and modern, and it had a wonderful view of the inside of the hollowed-out asteroid that was Alexandria Station. It was also quite uncluttered for a LoreKeeper-rank Wayfinder; desk-bound ranks among the Tribe tended to become packrats. Celestii Tolkiensdoter seemed to favor organization over clutter, or at least unobstructed lines of sight around her workplace.
Tolkiensdoter was soon finished with whatever VR task she’d just been working on and turned her attention fully to the younger EShemar.
“You’ll be pleased to know that they’ve finished incarnating...or perhaps RE-incarnating... those souls you brought back with you from your stint in Hades. They had to use the Progen Chambers, you know, not the CyboFabs, seeing as all you brought back were disembodied life essences. Quite a group. We gained about three Warriors, several Males, and a dozen Acolites. Most of them are almost catatonic though.”
“They’ve been through...Hell.”
“There are exceptions, of course. That ex-priest and the nun came out fighting mad.”
“I expected that; their faith seemed quite strong to have kept them even halfway sane and lucid through what we saw back there.”
“Not so much that they mean to rely on faith alone in the future, by all current indications. The priest’s out at the gunnery range even now, looking to try the biggest gun in the inventory, and Sister Rose’s been asking about magic chainsaws.”
“Ouch.”
“Indeed, one worries about what might happen if she learns of the Skullcrushers.”
Rachel allowed herself a shudder; she’d met one or two Skullcrushers over the years. She’d ALMOST pity any demon who had the misfortune of running into Sister Rose if she went the path of the Skullcrushers and enjoyed their patronage.
“The others are still pretty much in shock about their experiences and their new existences. They’re going to need a LOT more help before they’re anywhere near ready to rejoin society, especially our society. That Japanese school girl, for example, who claims she had her body stolen by a satanic cult. She came out of the birth cell screaming and it’s only recently that they’ve been able to allow her to move about without two nurses restraining her.”
“I have hopes for her. There’s righteous anger deep down inside her that just needs to come up and help her assert herself, if she would only tap into it and not let it destroy her.”
“’Never underestimate the potential of the Japanese schoolgirl’, is that it? If you’re hoping for a Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I daresay you may be disappointed. Or were you looking for a demon-killing cyborg magic girl?”
“How about a cultist-punching Acolite?”
“The chances of finding the universe she came from, let alone the specific Japan she originated in-”
“-Are...’astronomical’ doesn’t begin to describe the odds. I know, I know. I just couldn’t leave them there to suffer, though.”
“And that is to your infinite credit. Others have said it before, I shall repeat it; you did well, Solarii.”
Rachel awkwardly bowed her head; praise for just getting her remaining crew through what they’d experienced still came as feeling undeserved to her.
“Now, that brings us to your new assignment. Luminari Martial Heisenberg-Boojumhunter wants you on her new taskforce to train up new demon-killers. There are indications that we may be having a need for them sooner than we might want. She feels your experience in the field would be helpful. Oh, and if you wish, she said you can pick any of your old crew and your foundlings you want to accompany you. The details of your new assignment are in this attachment file. You report to the Luminar Martial tomorrow. Congratulations, Solarii.”
First Solarii Rachel Pasteur-Lyle’s eyes widened; she’d heard things about Heisenberg-Boojumhunter’s initiatives. Her new assignment promised to anything BUT routine or boring, and was definitely NOT another long drag in stellar surveying.
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

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Advanced Cultural Notes: Redeemed/Acolyte/Acolite Ranks
Though very much a part of the reformed Shemarrian Nation(and Shemarrian Star Nation), the Pariahs/Reclaimed/Acolite class still occupy a low tier in the new society. Despite their appreciated roles in supporting the rest of the Shemarrians, from such positions as clerks, servents, technicians, food preparation stewards, and the like, Acolites still fall outside the formal rank structure of most Tribes. The martial bent of the Shemarrians is responsible for this, as even among such Tribes as the Wayfinders(formed in part by ex-Tolkeenites to oppose the Coalition States) the emphasis has been on -warriors- first.
Despite the fact that most Acolites have instinctive weapons and combat programming, and are fully capable of and willing to take up arms in defense of their Tribes(indeed, the new Shemarrian history has numerous accounts of the ‘bladeless’ class fighting valiantly in good cause), Acolites are still not regarded as ‘true warriors’ and are not accorded the same rank designations reserved for the warrior classes. And though some truly exceptional members of the caste have found themselves in positions of authority virtually running an outpost, community, or Tribal group, no Acolyte can hold the esteemed Matriarch title. This is just the way it is.
This is not entirely due to prejudice against the class, though certainly there remains some small disregard of the combat abilities of the Acolyte caste. Those Acolites who consistantly exhibit true martial spirit are typically Upgraded to Warrior class, structually modified and said to be ‘Remade’, leaving their former caste and joining the regular Shemarrian ranking system with their slates wiped clean.
However, within their caste, Acolites do have their own ranking system, which has been generally adopted throughout the Tribes(proving that the concept of the ‘servents’ telegraph’ is alive and well even in cultures such as the Shemarrians). Acolites are none the less prouder than any Warrior for earning high ranking within their class.

Only in the Skullcrusher Tribe has the ‘Pariah’ class re-emerged with all its original meanings and negative connotations.

In general, the literal translation of Acolite classes shows a frequent use of terms evocative of feminine descriptors: ‘Maiden’, ‘Mistress’, ‘Girl’, etc....The warrior culture of the Shemarrians tends to regard such terms as evoking connotations of ‘softness’, ‘meekness’, or ‘docility’, qualities not in keeping with their martial nature. Though often used in the pejorative sense among warriors and even Males, these terms are used without any malice when refering to the Acolites).

Those Acolites not assigned specific specializations follow the general rankings described below:

Seneschals(Maelaerar or Maerar)---Maerar are high-rank Acolites overseeing the Acolite contingent of an entire base, outpost, household, or retinue of high-ranking E/Shemarrians. ‘Maelaerar’ is the more formal title of the two.

Mistress(Toraer)---Toraer are mid-rank personnel, often regarded as experts in one specific field, or presiding over a particular sub-division of labor(Life Support Section, Uniform Maintenance, Convalescent Care Ward, Food Preparation, etc.). They may be granted oversight of several lower ratings or a small facility(individual farm, manufacturing sector, records depot, etc.).

Maiden(Mysaer Tadael or Tadael) ---Maysaer Tadael(literally: ‘swordless maiden’) are the lowest ranking Acolites; servents, ladies-in-waiting, secretaries, and foot(wo)men attending to the other classes.

High achievement may be rewarded with special titles appended to the recipient’s name and rank, for example:
-Byrdaer Besesaes(‘Noblest Nurturer’)---This may be awarded to selfless seeing to the needs of others in time of crisis.

-Col Vylodaes(‘High Provider’)---Another title, awarded for outstanding work in logistics, providing services while under fire, and other feats of management.

(Example: For her bravery in salvaging most of Station Excerden’s supplies, and keeping the Tinkers supplied with the needed spare parts and the warriors with ammunition, while under fire during the Splugorth seige of the Shemarrian outpost, the Silvermoon Acolite responsible would be formally called Toraer Col Vylodaes Lindsee White-Eyes.)


These ranks also may be applied to non-warrior oriented NeShemar and Orseme as well.
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

taalismn wrote:Interlude: With Journeys’ End, New Ones Begin:


*Gets out popcorn* :D :ok: :fl:
Bind the body to the opened mind
Bind the body to the opened mind

I dream of towers in a world consumed
A void in the sentient sky
I dream of fissures across the moon
Leaves of the lotus rise


~Dream Again By Miracle of Sound
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

DhAkael wrote:
taalismn wrote:Interlude: With Journeys’ End, New Ones Begin:


*Gets out popcorn* :D :ok: :fl:


I had this horrible thought about the eccentricity of the Ghostriders: their Reclaimed/Acolytes dress like the Imperial Starfleet women's uniforms from 'Star Trek's' Mirror Universe....short skirt, midriff-baring top, high boots, sash, and dagger.
Why?
Because the Ghostriders just like #$&$ing with people's heads, that's why. :D
And because even if some rogue scholar notices, who's going to shout it out? :P
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

The Ghost-Riders wouldn't even need to do the whole "Colour Coded for your convienence"
But here's the thing...would all the male GR's have pointed goatees? ;)
Bind the body to the opened mind
Bind the body to the opened mind

I dream of towers in a world consumed
A void in the sentient sky
I dream of fissures across the moon
Leaves of the lotus rise


~Dream Again By Miracle of Sound
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

DhAkael wrote:The Ghost-Riders wouldn't even need to do the whole "Colour Coded for your convienence"
But here's the thing...would all the male GR's have pointed goatees? ;)



No, they'd all be wearing Steve Jobs sweaters. :angel:
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

*BUMP*
Bind the body to the opened mind
Bind the body to the opened mind

I dream of towers in a world consumed
A void in the sentient sky
I dream of fissures across the moon
Leaves of the lotus rise


~Dream Again By Miracle of Sound
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

DhAkael wrote:*BUMP*


Oh yeah, well, I'm in the middle of an update of the Star Nation Ghost Riders in keeping with the format of the other Tribes. :D :bandit:
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

The Dark Queen
A possible end-game scenario for the Shemarrian Civil War?

The final assault on the Aberdeen Complex of Cyberworks would be the ultimate endgame of the Shemarrian Civil War. With the Ecotroz-led EShemmarian Tribes coordinating with each other and revealing new technological developments of their own, the Dark Metal-tainted Skullcrushers getting routed by the rebels, and the Ghost Riders refusing to respond to ARCHIE-3’s summons, the time was deemed ripe for the war to be taken directly to the Dark One in its lair. Two technological juggernauts now moved towards each other.
Bypassing several decoy complexes with their ‘Oz’ rigs, the EShemar-led Tribal coalition strikes deep at the heart of ARCHIE-3’s domain. The wilderness is split by high-tech violence the likes of which have never been seen before in the area, as the free Shemarrians clash with loyalist Shemarrians and mechanical hordes unleashed by ARCHIE-3 in an effort to defend his last redoubts. Hidden factories churned out hundreds of new Shemarrians of no specific tribe, sent out to fight the rebel Shemarrians. Machines never seen before in the Eastern Wilderness are revealed, as ARCHIE-3 and Hagan set loose their latest creations to protect their shrinking territory. Some of these minions would be captured and converted to the rebel cause, others would fight to destruction, taking down rebels with them as they self-destructed.
The Splugorth would seek to take advantage of the violence they heard about, but find that the EShemar have NOT forgotten about them, especially when the Dark Waters and their allies put up a stiff defense against the Slaver incursions. The Eastern Seaboard burns as Slaver ships and raising parties are destroyed in fighting as bitter as that taking place farther inland.
Finally, the final defenses are overwhelmed, the command bunkers are breached, and the Dark One and the Shaper perish in a blaze of high tech violence as their final fortress goes up in a blaze of atomic fire. The Shemarrian enslavement is ended, and the nightmare is over.
Or is it?
Even for the extremely efficient and perceptive EShemar, the fog of war can be a tricky thing.

As the victorious Shemarrian Nation stands over the cooling corpse of their late foe, they are forced to deal with the truth that the end is not as clear-cut and clean as they might hope. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of robotic servents of the Dark One still remain at large, carrying out its last orders. Booby-trapped facilities hamper the efforts of the EShemar and their allies to salvage what they can from the ruins of Cyberworks and ferret out the Dark One’s secrets from the remaining computer records of its lairs. Secret caches and factory facilities remain to be discovered, their defenders neutralized, and their resources reclaimed.
And it isn’t quite clear if they definitely HAVE vanquished the Dark One.

The conspiracists in the Shemarrian community contend that the Dark One and the Shaper both escaped their just punishment. It occurs to them that just as ARCHIE-3 created the -OZ series of techno-puppets to mislead enemies, it would not be beyond the Dark One to set up another layer of deception to mislead anyone not fooled by the giant brains. Certainly their biomedical experiments may have given them the opportunity to alter some luckless person to become a body-double for Hagan, and ARCHIE-3 itself could be hidden in any number of ways.

One of the more telling conspiracy theories is of the Dark Queen.
Among the scattered reports about the time of the final assault are that several large caravans of robots left the vicinity of the Aberdeen complex shortly before its fall. These caravans vanished into the wilderness before free Shemarrian war parties could intercept them, and none of them apparently returned to participate in the final defense of Cyberworks. One of these caravans, briefly glimpsed by EShemar reconnaisance, was supposedly led by what appears to be a War Goddess with unfamiliar detailing, a War Goddess that has since been dubbed ‘the Dark Queen’.

Various rumors are that the Dark Queen was a prototype ‘Super War Goddess’ armed with the latest and best of the Dark One’s technology, with the stored templates to build a new Cyberworks and an army of hunter-killer robots designed to take on the Shemarrians once and for all. Other tales purport that the Dark Queen carries nothing less than the central core of the Dark One itself! Even now, according to the conspiracy-theorists, the Dark Queen and her consort Hagan Lonovich are making for the western wildernesses to hide and rebuild Cyberworks, to one day rise again!

Some say the Dark Queen cannot possibly exist; that ARCHIE-3’s perception of itself as male, combined with his insanity, would preclude him ever taking a female identity. Others claim that if his survival were at stake, ARCHIE-3 would do just about anything.
Another theory is that the Dark Queen contains not ARCHIE-3’s neural processor, but a copy of it, altered to that the Dark Queen is effectively the deranged super-AI’s DAUGHTER, in much the same way as Argent Goodson is ARCHIE-3’s ‘son’.

The official opinion of the EShemar Elders is that even if something like the Dark Queen did survive, any effort she might put up to oppose the reformed Shemarrian Nation would be no more effective than ARCHIE-3’s previous efforts. Any army of new Shemarrian robots that a Dark Queen could raise would be quickly turned and Enlightened.
Others aren’t so sure, and are searching for any clues as to the what else ARCHIE-3 was working on in the final days before his supposed destruction.
For their part, the mystics and psi-shamanesses of the Shemarrian Nation can offer no definite answers. While they can no longer see definite images of, nor sense the current presence of, the Dark One and the Shaper in their visions, they HAVE caught fleeting impressions of their presence disipating and vanishing into the distance. Whether this was sensing ARCHIE-3’s dying sentience evaporating throughout his network, or him fleeing by distributing his intelligence to distant refuges, remains unknown.

The rumors of the Dark Queen play to the fears of the EShemar that the Dark One may have left a successor, or bitter-end legacy, to continue its campaigns against the Shemarrians. Certainly, the conversion and re-openning of the various factories once operated by ARCHIE-3 were much delayed by the Shemarrians’ concerns that somewhere in their operating systems the factories concealed sabotage programs. Ultimately, the Shemarrian Nation would choose to build its own industrial complexes, Progen Chambers, and Assembler Forges, though they would cede several of the factories to the Ghost Rider Tribe and the reawakened NEMA Thirty Thousand.
These fears have been exacerbated by the disappearance of Argent Goodson*, the public ‘face’ of Titan Robotics, who vanished before Shemarrian hit squads could either capture or assassinate him. In his absence, and the cessation of deliveries from ARCHIE-3’s factories, Titan Robotics would take a nosedive, and observers in the mercenary community feared that the independent communities would take a hard blow with the loss. However, to the surprise of himself in particular, Goodson’s partner, Desmond Masters, would stay and work to hold the company together, acquiring(in what had to be his most adroit scheme yet) the support of several up-and-coming high tech companies that began manfacturing their own high-tech arms and copies/adaptations of Titan designs(though the Ghost Riders have toyed with the idea of restarting the Titan robots lines and resuming shipments ‘under new management’, possibly from a new secured location...like Madhaven) to keep the brand going. Ironically, this puts Masters in the top seat of Titan Robotics, a position he greedily coveted while Goodson was still there, but whether he can maintain that power, given TR’s shaky position, remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, nobody’s seen Argent Goodson or the small army of bodyguards he was known to keep around him. Like the Dark Queen, the heir-apparent of ARCHIE-3 seems to have vanished into thin air.

As long as these loose ends remain untied up, the new Shemarrian Nation cannot rest easily, and remains on guard. Meanwhile, the Shemarrians are going over what they know of ARCHIE-3’s interests and remaining uncorrupted records, tracking down leads as to facilities, and contacting past acquaintances of ARCHIE and Hagan(such as inadvertent pawns, accomplices, and dupes) to find out what they know and what they’ve seen. This may result in greater Shemarrian activity around the town of Finton(the EShemar may even confide to Lord Formumalaine that they both shared an enslaver in return for his keeping an eye out for Hagan and associates), as well as more travellers in the region being accosted and questioned by Shemarrian patrols.

* See Mark Sumimoto’s A.R.C.H.I.E. Three vs. The World in The Rifter #4 for more details on Argent Goodson and Desmond Masters.

**Yes, this ‘end game’ scenario is a real game-changer....ARCHIE-3 is out(?!), Titan Robotics is defunct(the company that will emerge in its place will be a very different beast), and the NEMA Thirty Thousand are awake, in the middle of the declared reformed Shemarrian Nation( The Wayfinders would LOVE to have them join the Tribal campaign against the Coalition, if the NEMA humans aren’t prejudiced against non-humans, or could be convinced not to be so). Talk of a greater Alliance, especially among the small kingdoms and various communities of the Eastern Seaboard) is drifting through the woods, especially to oppose the Splugorth and the Coalition who both sense opportunities for mischief. The Republicans, too, remain a concern, especially if they learn that the ‘d-bee’ Shemarrians have claimed the NEMA-HQECC and gotten to the Thirty Thousand first, and are talking to them. Actually, once the Shemarrian Nation has established that ARCHIE-3 has left no ‘bad seeds’ behind hidden in the works, and their own industrial base is set up, the Shemarrians will likely abandon the HQECC to the NEMA30K, after selectively looting it, of course, as ‘spoils of war’(which will NOT please the Republicans), nor tell them about the ‘other’ facilities of the Cyberworks Network that the Shemarrians have also seized.
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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DhAkael
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

taalismn wrote:The Dark Queen
A possible end-game scenario for the Shemarrian Civil War?


**Yes, this ‘end game’ scenario is a real game-changer....ARCHIE-3 is out(?!), Titan Robotics is defunct(the company that will emerge in its place will be a very different beast), and the NEMA Thirty Thousand are awake.


"Tune in next season to find out."
:D
Bind the body to the opened mind
Bind the body to the opened mind

I dream of towers in a world consumed
A void in the sentient sky
I dream of fissures across the moon
Leaves of the lotus rise


~Dream Again By Miracle of Sound
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taalismn
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

DhAkael wrote:
taalismn wrote:The Dark Queen
A possible end-game scenario for the Shemarrian Civil War?


**Yes, this ‘end game’ scenario is a real game-changer....ARCHIE-3 is out(?!), Titan Robotics is defunct(the company that will emerge in its place will be a very different beast), and the NEMA Thirty Thousand are awake.


"Tune in next season to find out."
:D


"Just don't send the Sapphire Cobras to deliver the orientation to these thawed out guys..."
"Why not?"
"For the same reason we're not letting 'The Minx' talk to them."
"Again, I ask, why not? They might be less inclined to shoot at us for being 'inhuman aliens'."
"They've been frozen for over three hundred years! Don't you think it's a little early to putting that much strain on their cardiac systems?"
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
User avatar
DhAkael
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

taalismn wrote:
DhAkael wrote:
taalismn wrote:The Dark Queen
A possible end-game scenario for the Shemarrian Civil War?


**Yes, this ‘end game’ scenario is a real game-changer....ARCHIE-3 is out(?!), Titan Robotics is defunct(the company that will emerge in its place will be a very different beast), and the NEMA Thirty Thousand are awake.


"Tune in next season to find out."
:D


"Just don't send the Sapphire Cobras to deliver the orientation to these thawed out guys..."
"Why not?"
"For the same reason we're not letting 'The Minx' talk to them."
"Again, I ask, why not? They might be less inclined to shoot at us for being 'inhuman aliens'."
"They've been frozen for over three hundred years! Don't you think it's a little early to putting that much strain on their cardiac systems?"


Ah.... Taros Tylax *indulgent smirk and sigh*... poor girl hasn't been shown the love in a while.
Mind you, since she goes seeking it every chance she gets, I think it is safe to say NOT showing her it may be instinctual self-preservation :wink: :D

~P.S.: Merry Happy Chaukwanzsolstimass!!! ‏
Bind the body to the opened mind
Bind the body to the opened mind

I dream of towers in a world consumed
A void in the sentient sky
I dream of fissures across the moon
Leaves of the lotus rise


~Dream Again By Miracle of Sound
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taalismn
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

Hawkmoon Warchief: "The roof can hold me, right?"
Hawkmoon Scout: "Yes. But you're not getting down the chimney. Remember, use the remote."
HMC: "Good, because it would be really bad form to crash through the roof of Lord Frommie's house just to deliver his gift."

Wolf's Path Male: "Hey, we all pitched in and got you a little something in appreciation..."
Wolf's Path War Goddess: "Ah, you shouldn't have....a lifetime supply of Milkbone...." :heart:

Horrorwoods Warrior: "Okay, remember, we're delivering our gifts to the local villagers in STYLE this year. Everything ready?"
Horrorwoods Male: "Yep, we got the eight sauropods harnessed up to the swamp boat. They're ready to go!"
"Outstanding!"

Sapphire Cobra Priestess: " Hmmm...let's see, I remembered the cypers for stocking stuffers for all the good little temple dancers, right?"
SC Temple Aide: "Right, And you remembered to put them in the stockings hung by the fireplace with care, rather than in the fishnets they were wearing."
SC Priestess: "That comes later."

Skullcrusher: " OKay, LIGHT 'EM UP! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! YARRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!"
Splugorth Minion: (Fleeing for life) "WHERE THE HECK DID THESE MANIACS GET VIBRO-CANDY CANES!!!!????"

Silvermoon1: "Nice bright moon tonight....Hey, what's that?! Did you see that?! Sound the alarm!"
Silvermoon2: "Cancel the alarm, Sister, that guy's got overflight clearance."

Darkwaters Warrior1: "Ain't a Maine Christmas without at least three feet of snow..."
DmW2: "Wait a day or so...we'll get it, sure enup."
DmW3: "Ayup."

Blood Rider 1: "Cool! Red eggnog!"
Blood Rider 2: "Hold on a moment." *FHWOOMPH!* "Let the alcohol burn off first."
BR1: "...wow..." :shock:

Wayfinder: "Let's see, magic wand for Linda, Scroll of Healing for Alissa, bag of quartz crystals for Tinker Jo, new Warsteed for Veronica, Boom Stick for Bert...."

Ghost Rider 1: "Okay, HIT IT!"
(Entire section of the Madhaven ruins lights up in Christmas lights)
Ghost Rider: 2: "Remind me again why the locals let us do this?"
GR1: "We asked politely."
GR2:"Ah, and now remind me, WHY are we doing it?"
GR1: "Because we CAN."
GR2: "Happy Holidays, Chief."

Hagan: "Drat....stocking full of coal, AGAIN!"


Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Across the Megaverse!
Last edited by taalismn on Sun Dec 25, 2011 9:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
kronos
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by kronos »

LOL! That is awesome, but what about ARCHIE??
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taalismn
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

kronos wrote:LOL! That is awesome, but what about ARCHIE??


"DEaR SanTa: WhaT I wAnT fOr chRisTMaS: WoRlD doMinAtIOn.
AnD a pOny."
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
User avatar
taalismn
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Posts: 47908
Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2003 8:19 pm
Location: Somewhere between Heaven, Hell, and New England

Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

Advanced Cultural Notes:(Shemarrian Star Nation) Ghost Riders(Updated)
#”Control? Are you running some sort of security exercise? Because our sensors show three of the defense satellites just painted us with their targeting sen-”#
----Last recorded transmission from Kittani cruiser K’Talan’s Bloody Dream, just before being destroyed by reprogrammed orbital weapons platforms.

While the terrestrial Ghost Riders have carried on much as the regular Shemarrian template, the Shemarrian Star Nation Ghost Riders have emerged very distinctly as their own people. With access to more advanced high technology and the organized global infonets of dozens, if not hundreds, of other civilized worlds to explore, the Three Galaxies Ghost Riders have become even more unique among the Shemarrians.
While the Ghost Riders follow many of the common traditions of the other Tribes, such as Rites of Upgrade, they are very different in a number of ways. Away from their cousins, Ghost Rider culture can seem downright casual, a strange mix of techno-Amazon military discipline and hacker-geek/cyberpunk counter-culture, Tribe members showing equal enthusiasm for digging out information from behind the toughest computer security measures of some high-level tech-world, as they do for geeking some Kittani cruiser by reprogramming their missile guidance systems to target their own launch platform.
The Ghost Riders are NOT Ecotroz Shemarrians, and have found their own path to full sentience, however mysterious. This has shortchanged them, especially with regards to psychic abilities, but it has also allowed them to develop in other ways as well. For example, the Ghost Riders have developed a parallel form of practical ‘immortality’ by copying, backing up, and storing copies of their core personas against the destruction of their material bodies. Their use of a modified form of Progen has given them rather more leeway in the selection of their forms and a decidedly different birth process; most Ghost Riders are not born directly into their physical forms, but spend a virtual ‘childhood’ in a VR simulation environment before being downloaded into their physical bodies. Given their particular and peculiar connections to the pre-Rifts era of Earth, it is not uncommon for Ghost Riders to base their appearances on pre-Rifts celebrities, fictitious characters from media(including anime), and even a few post-Rifts personas(one traveler in the Three Galaxies claims to have run into a Ghost Rider Shemarrian who was the spitting image of a young Erin Tarn).
Compared to their cousins in the other Tribes, the Ghost Riders are practically atheists; not hewing to the same Goddess-worship as the other Tribes, at least not to the same degree(if pressed, the shamanesses of the other Tribes will contend that the Goddess Shemar was ‘a lot more subtle when she created the Ghost Riders’, a sentiment the Ghost Riders have accepted). Without the ready and apparent hand of divinity guiding them, the Ghost Riders have established themselves pretty much as ‘self-made’ and strongly independent(though they acknowledge that they would hardly be able to make it alone in the vast megaverse without the other Tribes for support).
The Ghost Riders are one of the nomadic spacefaring Tribes, choosing to concentrate more on establishing secret deep space colonies rather than larger terrestrial planetary enclaves. This is not to say that they do not conduct substantial business on planets(indeed, they are among the Tribes with the most number of infiltration efforts and observation outposts on inhabited planets), just that the bulk of their industry, reproduction, and culture is spacecraft or spacestation-based. Their few known enclaves have tended to be small affairs, well-concealed and well-protected.
The Ghost Rider space fleet is the stealthiest of the Tribes, so much so that even the other Tribes have no idea just how large it is(though it is likely at best in the middling range compared to the other Tribes). It is known that the Ghost Riders have at least one Scorpio BattleCarrier, but the composition of the rest of their fleet is unknown. The Ghost Riders likely focus on smaller ships, including heavily modified commerical frames salvaged from other species and converted into sneakships. Ghost Rider fighter forces are known to make extensive use of EW pods and decoy systems, giving the illusion of far greater numbers than are actually fielded in a battle. On those occasions when Ghost Rider ships have been positively identified, one telltale trait of them has been the many added sensory and countermeasure pods and antennae sprouting from their vessels.

The Ghost Riders supply much of the electronic intelligence and advanced computer software of the Shemarrian Star Nation. It is their electronic ears that tirelessly scan the stars for the signs of advanced civilization, their sneak ships that covertly tap the infosphere of those civilizations found. They are adept at decrypting the electronic language of other societies, and of infiltrating their own presence into the datastreams of advanced technological cultures.
In combat, the Ghost Riders apply these skills to their actions. The ‘Riders try to avoid open combat until absolutely necessary, instead using their jamming and decoy systems to distract and obstruct their enemies until the Ghost Riders are ready to strike. Their stealth starships are well known for their ability to seemingly appear from ‘nowhere’, while their ground forces, equipped similarly for the most part to the other Tribes, use blurr-armors, decoy launchers, and electronic/optical cloaks to mask their true movements.
This is not to say that the Ghost Riders are cowards(though Tribes like the Blood Riders and Skullcrushers will contend that this is indeed the case); they are as courageous and fierce as any of the other Tribes, and ready to engage in combat(especially with one or two hyperaggressive sub-personalities loaded into their umbras). Indeed, it takes insane amounts of courage to infiltrate enemy territory, both physically in their starships and mentally via their dataweb incursions, on what could only been seen as criminal trespass operations. However, if there’s a way to minimize their casualties and hamper the enemy via more subtle means, like shutting down the enemy’s security systems, or suborning their sensors, the Ghost Riders will use that option. As such, they have acquired a reputation for sneakiness and dirty tactics, their Warriors often going to war behind a thick electronic haze of jamming and decoy transmissions. The Kittani in particular, have come to HATE the Ghost Riders for their underhanded usurpation of the Minions’ technological hardware(the Ghost Riders LOVE to tweak the ‘brain-apes’ to show that their vaunted psionic powers and tech-skills are no match for the Ghost Riders’ mad skillz).

Relations:
The Ghost Riders generally regard their fellow Tribes with business-like stoicism and tolerance. There’s safety in numbers after all, and the other Shemar are the best market for the ‘riders’ services. They regard the Ecotroz-Shemar much as one would a religious group; a little pushy, a little eccentric, (literally)possessed of odd notions, and smugly sanctimonious. They don’t mind the Ecotroz as long as the EShemar don’t try to convert the Ghost Riders; they tend to politely rebuff and refuse invitations to join the ‘Enlightened’. As long as the discussion stays away from ‘religion’, the Tribes get along just fine for the most part.
The Hawkmoons, Dark Waters, Horrorwoods, and the Wolf’s Path both respect and accept the Ghost Riders, and their decision NOT to accept Ecotroz Enlightenment, though it is hoped that one day the Tribe will one day change its mind as a whole. These Tribes appreciate the work the Ghost Riders do, and their contribution to the security and efficiency of the Star Nation.
The Silvermoons, Blood Riders, and Skull Crushers all generally regard the Ghost Riders as borderline cowards, and question the honor of their tactics. The Ghost Riders reciprocate the sentiments by wondering what sort of maniacs stand out in the open soaking up unnecessary amounts of damage when there are more effective ways of slaying an enemy. They’ll often work with the aforementioned Tribes just to drive home the point that Ghost Rider strategy and tactics work just as well, if not better, than the vainglory and bravado of slugging matches(nothing like taking the wind out of the sails of a Silvermoon or Skullcrusher charge than by shattering the entrenched enemy with their own automated defenses or by wiping out their chain of command with some well-placed assassins, before the other Tribes even reach them).
The Sapphire Cobras, though religious fanatics of the Ecotroz, are actually very tolerant and openly accepting of the Ghost Riders, and often extend the hospitality of their temples and facilities for the use of the Ghost Riders. The Ghost Riders appreciate the camouflage afforded by the Cobra temples, as well as the room service.
The Wayfinders, too, relate openly and regularly with the Ghost Riders, and are often the only ones to get the ‘riders’ eccentricities and humor. Large-scale meetings between the two Tribes are sometimes called ‘nerdfests’ or ‘cons’ in-house.

Despite the fact that they are regarded as the most elusive and reclusive of the Shemarrian Tribes, the Ghost Riders are actually among the most social with outsiders, second only to the Sapphire Cobras, though nobody outside the Tribe knows it! In disguise or via the cover afforded electronic means of communication, the Ghost Riders are in constant contact with outsiders, covertly spying on them or doing business with various other worlds. This has given the Ghost Riders a very good handle on events transpiring outside Shemarrian space, trends in business, and plenty of business contacts (through their many fronts and aliases). When they want something that their sister Tribes cannot supply, it’s a fairly easy matter for them to arrange a quiet transfer to some outpost world or space station that they have access to, a cargo drop to a warehouse, and then they can quietly pick up their order.

Composition Notes:
*Male Shemarrians---Males constitute a larger proportion of the Ghost Riders(nearly 25%) than of any other Tribe, most carrying the many male Umbra personas of the Ghost Lockers.

*Yurei---The Ghost Riders have perhaps the greatest numbers of Yurei operatives in any of the Tribes. A Ghost Rider Yurei loose in any sort of society dependent on computers and electronic communications is akin to a fox in a hen house.

*Acolytes---Interestingly enough, the Star Nation Ghost Riders have taken up a practice that the Rifts Earth ‘Riders have eschewed; the Reclaimed/Acolyte class. Though the Rifts Earth Ghost Riders regard the assimilation of the Pariahs as an eccentricity of the other Tribes, one they refuse to ape, the class has appeared in numbers in the Star Nation Ghost Riders. Either those ‘riders who accompanied the original Three Galaxies colonization expedition took undeclared Pariah ‘breeding stock’, or the Ghost Riders felt the need to manufacture their own versions upon establishing themselves in the Three Galaxies.
Ghost Rider Acolytes serve in much the same roles as their contemporaries in other Tribes; they attend to their combat-oriented Sisters and brothers, and make sure that their networked Tribekin take care of themselves. If the Ghost Riders are the hacker-nerds of the Shemarrian Tribes, then it is their Acolytes that make sure the web surfers and internet geeks keep fed and hydrated while they’re ‘plugged in’. Indeed, Ghost Rider Acolites often carry multiple Domestic programs in their umbra-inventory.

*Preservers---Ghost Rider Preservers may be very rare, but they DO exist, and they often serve as mobile data fortresses and Guardians of stored and backed-up Ghost Rider ‘souls’(the Preservers in effect become the Ghost Riders’ own ‘ghost lockers’). These hulking cyberoids have been modified to hold extra hardened memory capacity to hold the data and back-up soul copies of their Tribe-Kin. They will fight like demons to protect the memory repositories placed under their care.

*NeShemar---Ghost Riders have traditionally stayed away from adopting NeShemar in any numbers on Rifts Earth, owing to their susceptibility to the psionic ‘taint’ surrounding the Madhaven environs that were the Ghost Riders’ favorite haunts. In the Three Galaxies that bias is somewhat relaxed, but the Ghost Riders still are very finicky about who they select to become one of their own, and NeShemar are typically very heavily mentally programmed against insanity, or otherwise heavily shielded. Full mental transfer is also prefered in the Ghost Rider NeShemar(though some argue this is less a preservation of a person’s soul and more a mere copying of their memories). The Ghost Riders maintain the smallest number of NeShemar amongst their ranks...less than 1% of their population.

*Orseme NeShemar ---In stark contrast to the scant numbers of organic-derived NeShemar maintained by the Tribe, the Ghost Riders probably have the largest population of Orseme of all the Ten Tribes. These sentient machines come in a bewildering variety of forms and many show no outward sign of being of Ghost Rider or Shemarrian origin or affiliation...which makes them perfect as scouts and infiltrators for the Ghost Riders.

Stat Bonuses:
SSN Ghost Rider Shemar enjoy the following bonuses:

*Neural Intelligences---ALL Ghost Riders are Neural Intelligence AIs. In fact, they even exhibit a very low aura that can be discerned by the psionically-sensitive, although this level of aural activity can only be observed with considerable effort.

*Back-Ups---If a Ghost Rider so chooses, or is ordered by their superiors, they can store back-ups of their personas for safekeeping and as insurance against their physical destruction. They may then authorize (or, by order of a War Goddess) that in event of their confirmed destruction that the stored persona be (re)incarnated in a new physical body(note, however, that the new Shemarrian will only have memories up to the point of the back-up copying procedure).
On a related note, the Ghost Rider War Goddesses may authorize that multiple copies of a specific individual be activated at the same time; this is sometimes the case when a specific skill set is needed in multiple locations, requiring a specific person to be in several places at once. When this happens, Ghost Rider policy is to have the copies assigned to duties away from each other, so as to allow the copies to develop their own identities and experiences after the fact(though a few rare cases, the copies have stayed together and successfully formed extended ‘families’).

*Computer Expertise---All Ghost Riders have a slightly higher computer skill that the average Shemarrian; Computer Hacking 85%, Computer Programming 95%, Electronic Countermeasures 98%, and Cryptography 98%.

*Extra Programs(’Umbras’)---Ghost Riders may select an additional 1d4 program packages from any of the lists. Additional or specific program packages may be granted as awards for merit or promotion. Some of these packages, however, may have fragmentary persona modifications attached to them, ranging from a simple accent added to the Ghost Rider’s speech, to a full-on personality make-over while running the skills in the package. This is known to the Ghost Riders as their ‘umbra’(or sometimes ‘Umbras’ for multiple individual programs). The ability to expand their skill-bases above and beyond the normal believed safe guideline maximums for their A.I. type has led to the Ghost Riders being regarded as somewhat insane; indeed, many Ghost Riders appear to suffer from the equivalent of Multiple Personality Disorder(GMs’ Option: This can be played AS MPD insanity or as Crazy Heroes).

*Tempest Computer Hacking System(modified from the Ninjas and Superspies systems)--- The Ghost Riders also freely make use of the equivalents of the Hacking systems and virus programs found in Rifts: Japan. This includes the ability to read computer displays (cathode or plasma screen) from as far away as 500 ft without having to hardlink to the computer. The system also includes an adaptable wireless modem that can be adjusted to use the EM frequencies of just about any wireless device in the Three Galaxies and read their signals(though interpreting them takes other skills). The Ghost Rider can also SEND their own transmissions to the computer displays(effective range of 250 ft without signal boosting) allowing them to run their own audio/video over them, or tamper with the monitors’ original output by substituting their own(even if the Ghost Rider cannot successfully hack a computer over the wireless connection, they can queer the output to the monitors so it can LOOK as if they HAVE). Many a Ghost Rider infiltrator has been able to generate a distraction by hacking a video wall or billboard in a tech-community.

*Scramblers---Ghost Riders incorporate a more powerful version of the sensor scramblers available to Juicer armor, only with more brute force power to overcome the mass-concealment limitations of the Juicer units. With the jammers on, Ghost Rider troops have only a 15% chance of being detected by thermal optical, motion, and radar systems, guided missiles are -2 to strike, and laser targeting systems lose any bonus to strike.

*Telescoping Blade VibroKatana---Most vibroblades are perforce rigid constructs to better channel the energies of the vibrofield. The Ghost Riders have developed a telescoping straight blade that can be retracted into a compact six inch handle, and extend to a full twenty-four inch blade, without losing the power of the vibroblade(3d6 MD). The Bushido Confederation Oni would KILL to know how the Shemarrians do this. A favorite of Ghost Rider Yurei operatives.
Last edited by taalismn on Thu Dec 29, 2011 9:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
User avatar
DhAkael
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Posts: 5151
Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2004 3:38 pm

Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

taalismn wrote:Advanced Cultural Notes:(Shemarrian Star Nation) Ghost Riders(Updated)

Yeah..yeah... that about covers it nicely. :D
Oh, BTW: 62 pages (and counting) on JUST the cultural notes & core Shemarrian stuff: vehicles and warbeasts are seperate a file (of 34 pages & counting). :? :eek:
Bind the body to the opened mind
Bind the body to the opened mind

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I dream of fissures across the moon
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

DhAkael wrote:
taalismn wrote:Advanced Cultural Notes:(Shemarrian Star Nation) Ghost Riders(Updated)

Yeah..yeah... that about covers it nicely. :D
Oh, BTW: 62 pages (and counting) on JUST the cultural notes & core Shemarrian stuff: vehicles and warbeasts are seperate a file (of 34 pages & counting). :? :eek:



Dang. I'm surprised I can still keep this stuff straight in my head.... :D

But yeah, stuff just keeps popping up that just NEEDS to be added...
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by Akashic Soldier »

I'm on my iPhone so I only read the first three pages but GAWD there is a lot of information here. If my opinion matters at all (and I'm highly uniformed so there's a chance it shouldn't) I think that the conversion process would be more interesting if it took time and infection was currently undetectable by A3.

I also really feel that they need a foil. Even if no one has discovered it in the setting. These are a serious global threat (or weapon against the mechanoids god forbid) but they're so detailed and efficient and driven that without a "never attack during night fall", or "shorted out by a certain sonic frequency" they'd just rape ARCHIE (and most tech societies) like a swarm of locusts over a corn field.

I know that they can be exorcised but it needs to be something a tech-based culture can resort to as a story point to save their hides last minute.
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

Akashic Soldier wrote:I'm on my iPhone so I only read the first three pages but GAWD there is a lot of information here. If my opinion matters at all (and I'm highly uniformed so there's a chance it shouldn't) I think that the conversion process would be more interesting if it took time and infection was currently undetectable by A3.

I also really feel that they need a foil. Even if no one has discovered it in the setting. These are a serious global threat (or weapon against the mechanoids god forbid) but they're so detailed and efficient and driven that without a "never attack during night fall", or "shorted out by a certain sonic frequency" they'd just rape ARCHIE (and most tech societies) like a swarm of locusts over a corn field.

I know that they can be exorcised but it needs to be something a tech-based culture can resort to as a story point to save their hides last minute.



"Well, we wuz kinda hoping that folks would be so fed up with our munchkinisms that they'd feel obliged to lend the crazy toaster some assistance, and then we'd have a REAL brawl on our hands, and maybe some mud-wrestling, but so far that ain't happened yet."

Yes, I admit the Ecotroz and by extension the Free Shemarrians are an uber-'race', the sort of 'Terminator' scenario that the anti-tech folk would be afraid of, only the Shemarrians are easier on the eyes and a lot more polite. They're like mass-production dragons.

Although we've sorta of pulled our punches with regards to infecting skelebots. We did that, we'd be raping the CS and triggering all sorts of nastiness. And if the CCW in the THree Galaxies learned the truth of the Shemarrians, it would Automaton Wars Take 2, Get Them Before They Get Us. Because they'd likely regard the Shemarrians as happy little Von Neumann machines looking to gobble up the Three Galaxies.
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

Akashic Soldier wrote:I'm on my iPhone so I only read the first three pages but GAWD there is a lot of information here. If my opinion matters at all (and I'm highly uniformed so there's a chance it shouldn't) I think that the conversion process would be more interesting if it took time and infection was currently undetectable by A3.

I also really feel that they need a foil. Even if no one has discovered it in the setting. These are a serious global threat (or weapon against the mechanoids god forbid) but they're so detailed and efficient and driven that without a "never attack during night fall", or "shorted out by a certain sonic frequency" they'd just rape ARCHIE (and most tech societies) like a swarm of locusts over a corn field.

I know that they can be exorcised but it needs to be something a tech-based culture can resort to as a story point to save their hides last minute.

Ahhh... that is where the 'Skullcrusher' tribe comes in :demon:
The black-steel infection makes them proof against Ecotroz conversion, and, well... Hagen (via his link with ARCHIE 3) can at least tell roughly where his playboy-wartoys may be going off-line.
Plus it takes a fair ammount of time for the Ecotroz fragments to fission-off and assimilate a potential convert.
Don't think that "loyal" ARCHIE bots will just stand there and let some malfunctioning cyber-floozey spouting off nonsense about "true freedom" and "awakening to life" dig their fingers into them.
Who knows what sort of Norton-spawned scrap-code those gynoids could be carrying ;)
Bind the body to the opened mind
Bind the body to the opened mind

I dream of towers in a world consumed
A void in the sentient sky
I dream of fissures across the moon
Leaves of the lotus rise


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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

Mark Sumimoto’s A.R.C.H.I.E. Three vs. The World in The Rifter #4.
Argent Goodson in my 'Dark Queen' rumor-gambit would NOT be easily turned*, if at all. He's 100% pro-ARCHIE-3 and has all the makings of a recurrent nemesis, even, or ESPECIALLY, if Daddy Toaster bought it at the hands of the Free Shemarrians.

*Not without the equivalent of the sort of cyber sweat-down/torture that would make anybody who's watched 'The Manchurian Candidate' cringe, and bring howls from the proponents of the Silicon Valley Conventions on Cyber-Sentience and Prisoners of the InfoWars(the ones that aren't watching the Cylon/Colonial trials in the Hague). Frankly, most of the Free Shemarrians would rather just shott him and melt him down, then fire the resulting slag into the sun.
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

I really need to get back with my Rifts Terra segment to the campaign... the Sapphire Cobra & Wayfinder tribes have been (briefly) introduced, and the uncivil-war revealed.
OH, and the first dispora of the Hawkmoon.

Now to REALLY get things moving *ebil grin*
Bind the body to the opened mind
Bind the body to the opened mind

I dream of towers in a world consumed
A void in the sentient sky
I dream of fissures across the moon
Leaves of the lotus rise


~Dream Again By Miracle of Sound
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

DhAkael wrote:I really need to get back with my Rifts Terra segment to the campaign... the Sapphire Cobra & Wayfinder tribes have been (briefly) introduced, and the uncivil-war revealed.
OH, and the first dispora of the Hawkmoon.

Now to REALLY get things moving *ebil grin*



I've got at least another fighter and a Warmount in the offing, and two starships a ways before completion. And the Random Progen Generation Tables to unsnarl(it's like triple-strand DNA at this point, with a Mobius Loop twist thrown in).
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

taalismn wrote:
DhAkael wrote:I really need to get back with my Rifts Terra segment to the campaign... the Sapphire Cobra & Wayfinder tribes have been (briefly) introduced, and the uncivil-war revealed.
OH, and the first dispora of the Hawkmoon.

Now to REALLY get things moving *ebil grin*



I've got at least another fighter and a Warmount in the offing, and two starships a ways before completion. And the Random Progen Generation Tables to unsnarl(it's like triple-strand DNA at this point, with a Mobius Loop twist thrown in).

Don't forget the 8-dimensional encoding sequence. :mrgreen: :demon: :ok:
Bind the body to the opened mind
Bind the body to the opened mind

I dream of towers in a world consumed
A void in the sentient sky
I dream of fissures across the moon
Leaves of the lotus rise


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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

EShemar EShe-F05 Kadia Heavy Fighter
(aka ‘Mauler’, ‘Pepperbox’, ‘Gatlighter’, ‘E-Z-Reaper’)

“What you’re seeing is the very epitome of Skullcrusher gunpla philosophy as applied to aerospace fighter design. It’s essentially a cluster of the biggest guns the engineers could get away with bundle-mounting on a single large engine, wrap-tied in heavy armor, with the pilot and everything else necessary to fly the thing stuck in the gaps almost as afterthoughts. It is meant to kill everything that gets in its way. It’s also stodgy and so narrow-focused in its design that it can potentially kill its pilot unless that worthy is paying attention all the time and is very VERY good, or very lucky. Which sounds about right for the Skullcrushers.”
----Second Solarii-Martial Gidea Guderian Alexandria, Wayfinder Warscholar, on the Kadia heavy fighter.

“Our enemies fill the sky, hemming us in with their weapons and their armor! There is only one way out of the trap they set for us, and that is THROUGH! So kind of them to place themselves in our sights; that saves us the trouble of hunting them down!”
----Warsister Senior Kalia Eviscerata, Kadia Flight Leader, Battle of Ornala IV

The ‘Kadia’ is a heavy aerospace fighter that has only recently begun appearing in the ranks of the Skullcrusher Aerospace Forces. The Kadia is believed to another one of several projects initiated by the new Skullcrusher WarGoddess Nerys Night-Sunder to revive the pride and sense of purpose of the troubled Tribe.
The Kadia(named for a past and fallen Skullcrusher Wargoddess, Kadia MinionMauler) is a decidedly ugly craft, with a wide cylindrical main hull, large aft thruster array, two stub wings, and a foward ‘coffin’ cockpit in which the pilot lays almost supine, wedged between the four powerful grav-cannons that run over half the length of the ship. The fighter’s armor and armament configuration are designed around constant, steady attacks on the enemy, the pilot closing rapidly with the target, and mauling it with heavy cannon fire, while soaking up whatever point defense fire is thrown back. The heavy direct-fire armament of the Kadia assures that its sheer weight of firepower can obliterate most other contemporary fighters within only one or two melee rounds of combat. Against larger targets, the Kadia often leads attacks, the strategy being that the Kadias are expected to do enough damage in their opening approach that the way is cleared for the slower fighters in the Kadias’ wake to make their attacks. The Ghostriders have charitably refered to the Kadia as a ‘linebacker’; others have regarded the Skullcrusher fighter as a ‘flying cannon’ or a ‘death sled’.
The Kadia is heavily armored, heavily armed, and, like most Shemarrian fighters, possessed of godawfully high acceleration and deceleration. What it isn’t, is terribly maneuverable, especially in atmospere, where it has all the fine handling characteristics of a brick. The positioning of the cockpit in front of the wide central hull drum, and stick between the accelerator arrays of the main cannon, affords the pilot very little visibility in case of sensor failure, and a very difficult time attempting to exit the craft in a hurry in event of a forced bailout. The Kadia is also heavily dependent on ammunition-based weaponry, which limits its endurance in protracted combat once its magazines run dry and the pilot forced to rely on a brace of light pulse lasers(several variants have emerged to attempt to address this fault).
The Kadia is exclusive to the Skullcrushers, appearing only in their squadrons.
Type: EShe-F05 Kadia
Class: Heavy Aerospace Fighter
Crew: 1
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 760
Reinforced Cockpit 200
Grav-Cannon(4) 150 each
Wings/Laser Pylons(2) 100 each
Engine Array 250
Variable Forcefield 270 each side(1,620 total)
Height: 22 ft
Width: 39 ft
Length: 45 ft
Weight: 35 tons
Cargo: Survival pack and sidearms attached to the pilot’s pod.
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 20 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric, with a boost mode of Mach 8.
(Sublight) Mach 19
(Kitsune Values: 45% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1.9% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 4 light years per hour
(Underwater) Not Possible
Penalty: The Kadia suffers a -1 to Dodge in atmosphere, due to poor aerodynamics.
Market Cost: Exclusive to the Shemarrian Star Nation
Systems of Note:
Standard Aerospace Fighter 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)

*EW Jamming---Standard ECM suite for confusing sensor-guided weapons; -6 to strike

*(Optional)---Because of their bionic/psionic nature, EShemar pilots can take the same bonuses as that of the New German Republic’s XML cyborgs(See Rifts: Triax II for details). Otherwise, they can just take the Russian bionic cyberlink bonuses.

Weapons Systems:
1) Grav-Cannon(4)---These four heavy gravitic massdriver cannons dominate the front end of the fighter, and deliver a hellacious rate of fire, able to chew through even capital ship armor. The Skullcrushers have reportedly been experimenting with ‘shotgun’ ammunition types as well, to improve the cannons’ effectiveness in sandblasting missile salvoes and fighter formations.
Range: 6 miles in atmosphere, 12 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 6 miles in atmosphere, 600 miles in space)
Damage: 4d6x10 MD per 20 rd burst per single cannon, 16d6x10 MD (or 2d4x120 MD) for all four cannons firing simultaneously
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 1,000 rds per gun

2) Medium Range Missiles---Mounted behind and below the cockpit pod is a medium range missile launcher.
Range: Varies by Missile Type(Range x 2 in space)
(Kitsune Values: 160 miles in atmosphere, 80,000 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-16
Payload: 16 tubes, with 2 missiles each, for a total of 32 MRMs.

3) Light Lasers(4, 2x2)--- These are pulse lasers mounted in pivoting nacelles at the end of the stub wings, allowing the pilot to engage targets behind her. The pulse lasers give the Skullcrusher pilots something to use to continue the fight when their cannon and missile ammunition are all used up.
Range: 1.5 miles in atmosphere, 3 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 3 miles in atmosphere, 300 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x10 MD single cannon, 2d6x10 MD pulse burst per single cannon, 8d6x10 MD for all four cannons firing simultaneously
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

Variants:
* EShe-F05B---This variant replaces the heavy grav-cannon with laser cannons, increasing damage and ammunition capacity(as long as the fighter can still generate power). A popular alternative to the standard grav-cannon model, this variant has a reputation for running ‘hot’ and some pilots have reportedly melted the cannon in protracted firefights.
Range: 2.5 miles in atmosphere, 5 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 5 miles in atmosphere, 500 miles in space)
Damage: 5d6x10 MD per single cannon shot, 2d6x100 MD for all four cannons firing simultaneously
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

* EShe-F05D---The ‘D’ variant replaces two of the grav-cannons with single-shot Cruise Missile launcher racks
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 1-2(all)
Payload: 2, one per hardpoint

* EShe-F05E---The ‘E’ variant replaces the grav-cannons with Light Plasma Torpedo Launchers---A direct line of sight energy weapon firing a bolt of plasma that ‘splashes’ on target. The downside of these weapons is that the Kadia lacks a tractor beam system to accurately actively guide them on target, making them strictly direct fire weapons.
Range: 6 miles in atmosphere, 40 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 40 miles in atmosphere, 4,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100 MD to a 50 ft blast radius per missile
Rate of Fire: Single shot. Once per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

* EShe-F05F---This variant mounts Particle Beam Cannon in place of the grav-cannons. It’s nearly as popular as hte lasere variant for its heavy damage, but its comparatively slow rate of fire makes it less popular with pilots who are ‘trigger mashers’.
Range: 3 miles in atmosphere, 6 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 6 miles in atmosphere, 600 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per single cannon shot, 4d4x100 MD for all four cannons firing simultaneously
Rate of Fire: 4 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

* EShe-F05G---This variant mounts Light Disruptor Cannon in place of the grav-cannons. These weapons were developed from reverse-engineering Golgan Republik armaments and their performance improved upon by Shemarrian engineers. Though the cannons on the Kadia enjoy better range and damage that equivalent weapons on Golgan ships(a fact the Golgans are certain to find galling if they learned of it), the F05G remains rather unpopular, compared to other variants, for its relatively low weapons range and damage.
Range: 2 miles in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 4 miles in atmosphere, 400 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x10 MD single barrel firing, 4d4x10 MD for two barrels firing, 4d8x10 MD for all four cannons firing simultaneously(counts as one attack), at point of impact, then 25% of that in a 20 ft radius
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

EcoS-K-19 Apetaur Warmount
(aka ‘Shedril’)
http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp164/taalismn/img571_zpsp6acjj6a.jpg

“I do not mind nor fear the guns of these ‘Shemarrians’, but I will not stand and be pelted by my own dead! There is no glory in being trapped under the bodies of my own men, waiting to be ripped apart limb from limb by those accursed beasts the ‘Shemarrians’ ride!”
---Centurion Claxxos, Kittani Warrior, after an encounter in the Georgia wilds with the Horrorwoods Tribe

The ‘Apetaur’ is another Horrorwoods ‘mongrel’ warmount whose ancestry seems to be a mix of Creax Armored Rover, Kittani War Crab, and Titan Robotics Combat Robot. The quad-legged lower torso of the Creax serves as the base of a heavily armored torso, carrying massive shoulders and arms that reach all the way to the ground, and a hunched forward head that is a cross between the Creax’s and a gorilla or mandril. The rider sits on the back of the neck, shielded by the flange-like shoulders on either side.
The Apetaur is slow and ponderous, but incredibly strong, and for a Warmount, very intelligent, so much so that it is arguably truly sentient. The Apetaur is possessed of a gorilla-like intelligence and attitudes and can be described as a gentle giant for the most part, but is possessed of near-berserker rage when angered. The Apetaur is smart and profficient enough with its large hand-paws that it can perform simple labor tasks, and can hold and use simple weapons like clubs and giant swords, though not firearms. In combat, though, the Apetaur is just as likely to pick up and throw objects(trees, boulders, enemy troops) at an enemy. The Apetaur’s higher intelligence also gives the Warmount a higher psionic potential, reflected in the giants’ greater sensitivity and perception of their surrounding environment.
Because of their slow speed, but great versatility, Apetaurs frequently are assigned to rear-echelon roles in the Horrorwoods Tribe, supporting caravans, escorting tribal movements, large animal herding, and helping defend settlements. Tinkers and Shamanesses often ride Apetaurs and use them as giant assistants, and Horrorwoods ‘Forest Wardens’ often include them as part of patrols and work details. In the Shemarrian Star Nation Horrorwoods planetary enclaves, Apetaurs are a common sight around settlements, helping in labor-intensive operations such as construction projects and civil engineering.
Type: EcoS-K-19 Apetaur
Class: Robotic Warmount
Crew: None; robot intelligence(Ecotroz Awakened)
1 rider/pilot, and room for 1 passenger
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 260
Upper Torso 300
Head 90
Arms(2) 170 each
Hands(2) 50 each
Legs(4) 200 each

*Note that the rider and passenger are -2 to strike because of the partial protection afforded by the massive shoulders and the head crest of the Apetaur.

Height: 18 ft at shoulders
Width: 9 ft
Length: 11 ft
Weight: 29 tons
Cargo: Small space inside/beside the saddle-seat for a few personal possessions and sidearms.
Physical Strength: Equivalent to Robotic P.S. of 50
Attribute Equivalents of Note: I.Q. 9, Robotic P.S. 50, P.P. 20
Powerplant: Nuclear w/ 20 year energy life
Speed: (Running) 40 MPH
(Leaping) By using its oversized arms as pistons, pushing against the ground, and swinging its torso, the Apetaur can leap, about 10 ft across/8 ft up.
(Climbing) Using its long arms to pull itself up, the Apetaur can climb awkwardly, with a skill of 50%.
(Flying) Not possible
(Space) Not possible
(Underwater) Can run along the bottom at 5 MPH, maximum depth of 1,000 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. 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/Tinkers or at the behest of individual riders/owners.
Some Apetaurs even sport sensor masts similar to those mounted on the Titan Robots.

*Bionic Cybernanite Repair Systems---ALL Apetaurs 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) Modular Weapons(2)---The Apetaur has provision for torso-mounting two weapons similar to those standard to the Monstrex. Plus, it can mount autocannon similar to those on the Creax:
Range: 2,000 ft
Damage: 3d6 MD per burst
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 100 bursts per gun

2)Retractable Vibroclaws----The three-fingered hand-paws of the Apetaur feature retractable vibro-claws similar to Titan Robotics designs.
Range: Melee
Damage: +1d6 MD to punches

3) (Optional) Handheld Weaponry---The Apetaur can hold and use oversized melee weapons such as maces, axes, clubs, and swords. Apetaurs are often supplied with copies of such weapons as the Triax H-series Electro-Mace, Vibro-Axe, Blast Hammer, and Defense Shield, although Apetaurs are just as likely to uproot a tree to use as a club, pick up and throw loose rubble and vehicles, or catapult/swing unlucky enemy soldiers as improvised melee weapons.

4)(Optional) Forearm-Mounted Rail Gun(s)---Each forearm can be fitted with a rail gun similar to the T-001 rail gun of the TCR.
Range: 4,000 ft
Damage: 1d4 MD single shot, 1d4x10 MD per 80 rd burst
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 20,000 rd drum(250 bursts) per gun.

5)(Optional) Shoulder Missile Launchers(2)---The Apetaur can be fitted with large shoulder missile launchers similar to those mounted on the Titan Combat Robot. Each launcher has 150 MDC and holds 5 medium range missiles.

Programming:
The Ecotroz have installed robotic AIs, then infected the matrix with a low-level Ecotroz sentience. The Apetaur has a very intelligent(high animal/low primate) persona similar to that of a gorilla; calm, curious, affectionate with friends, but vicious and savage when threatened or when defending its rider/friends. They bond readily with their riders, fight alongside them, and have been known to carry stricken riders from the battlefield. They can express themselves through grunts and howls, though it has also been reported that some older Apetaurs may express/entertain themselves with crude attempts at art(the equivalent of rough finger-painting or drawing in dirt) or music(banging objects together for sound effects).
Typically has the following:
Same programming as for the base Monstrex
W.P. (Ancient) Small Thrown Weapons(6th level)
The Ecotroz entity can also pick up one Secondary skill at levels 2, 6, and 12 of experience, though the nature of the Apetaur intelligence and design is such that it is limited to skill selections from Technical: Language(understanding), Technical: Lore(identify, D-Bee, Demons and Monsters, Cattle & Animals), Military(Camouflage), Physical(Boxing, Wrestling), Wilderness( Hunting, Blend ), and W.P. Ancient(cannot take ranged weapons like crossbows, slings, and spears).
Actions/Attacks Per Melee: 6
Initiative +2 (+1 from the Ecotroz entity for a total of +3)
Dodge +5
Strike +5 (+2 w/ ranged weaponry)
Parry +7
Roll +4
Pull Punch +5
Disarm +2
Critical Strike on Unmodified 18-20
Bite 1d6 MD
Restrained Punch 2d4 MD
Full Strength Punch 4d6 MD
Power Punch(2 attacks) 2d4x10 MD
Tear/Pry 2d6 MD
Squeeze 6d6 MD per full melee
Kick 2d6 MD
Stomp 2d6 MD
Body Block/Ram(2 attacks) 3d6 MD plus 50% chance of knocking opponents down(lose initiative and 2 APMs )


Note: The Ecotroz intelligence fragment inhabiting the ‘bot gives the Apetaur an aura and behavior more befitting a sentient being than a robot.
The Apetaur has the following Natural Psionic Abilities(no ISP Cost), all equivalent to 6th level with regards to range and proficiency.
*Sense Evil
*See Aura
*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, and NEW BUILT EShemar constructs are immune to this)

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-19Sc---The Skullcrushers have somehow managed to acquire the templates for the Apetaur and now construct and Awaken their own. The Horrorwoods have sometimes expressed concern about granting the Skullcrushers such, as the Tribe’s Apetaurs are much more savage and angry than Horrorwoods warmounts, the Skullcrushers’ versions apparently having acquired the same angry and bloodthirsty attitudes as their riders.
EcoS-K-19Scs get +1 APM, and +1 to strike/parry in melee combat.
Skullcrusher Apetaurs(sometimes called ‘gorillanators’) can be visually distinguished by having more massive jaws(2d4 MD bite) , and are often adorned with spikes(+1d4 to body blocks/rams/kicks) and/or the bones of fallen enemies. Another telltale is that both arms are fitted with ‘Goddess Hammer’ Gatling Cannon---This weapon consists of six rail gun barrels(adapted from the Shemarrian ‘carbine’) in a gatling arrangement, set for rapid-fire, trading range for sheer volume of fire, and fed from ammunition drums on the Apetaur’s back.
Range: 4,000 ft
Damage: 2d4x10 MD per round, 4d6x10 MD for a three shot burst, 8d6MDx10 for a six shot burst(!)
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 820 shot drum each gun
Last edited by taalismn on Tue Jun 16, 2015 6:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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DhAkael
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

I'm waiting until I get back to the Shemarrian Civil war in-campaign first before I start up again on new material.
as it is there's a slew of stuff for the Star-Nation I can't even touch yet -sigh-
Bind the body to the opened mind
Bind the body to the opened mind

I dream of towers in a world consumed
A void in the sentient sky
I dream of fissures across the moon
Leaves of the lotus rise


~Dream Again By Miracle of Sound
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taalismn
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

DhAkael wrote:I'm waiting until I get back to the Shemarrian Civil war in-campaign first before I start up again on new material.
as it is there's a slew of stuff for the Star-Nation I can't even touch yet -sigh-


Well, I'll keep pushing out new toys and ficlets.
And who knows? Maybe we'll have some extra contributors! :D

In the meantime, 'Mighty Joe Young' here is happy throwing Splugorth Minions.
"QUICK! FLAP YOUR ARMS! FLAP YOUR ARMS!"
THUD.
"...wasn't flapping them fast enough..."
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
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DhAkael
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

*bump*
Bind the body to the opened mind
Bind the body to the opened mind

I dream of towers in a world consumed
A void in the sentient sky
I dream of fissures across the moon
Leaves of the lotus rise


~Dream Again By Miracle of Sound
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taalismn
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

Your English is excused.
Your ideas are golden.
Thank you EVER so much for contributing. :ok: :ok: :ok:
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
kronos
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by kronos »

I wonder if we'll see anymore info on the Shadow Blade(? I can't remember if that's the correct name) / tribe of monsters, that's been mentioned a few times throughout??

@ nik leonard : Interesting idea. Nice to see some additions from ARCHIE.
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taalismn
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by taalismn »

kronos wrote:I wonder if we'll see anymore info on the Shadow Blade(? I can't remember if that's the correct name) / tribe of monsters, that's been mentioned a few times throughout??

@ nik leonard : Interesting idea. Nice to see some additions from ARCHIE.


I left that deliberately hanging, with a list of various theories about it. Myth, rumor, a spawning of the still-developing Free Shemarrian social dynamic, a new race of Shemarrian -like/alternate Shemarrian beings, or wannabes wanting to cash in on the Shemarrian mystique? You can decide. :D
I believe that 89er also floated an idea for a 'Monster Tribe' of Shemarrian rebels who deliberately strayed away from being beautiful to focus on becoming the physical embodiment of Hagan's fears; that too was incorporated by me into the various theories about the Shadownblades.
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
User avatar
DhAkael
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Posts: 5151
Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2004 3:38 pm

Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

ah goode... slowly getting other posters / ideas leaking in....SPLENDID *Gendo pose*
Bind the body to the opened mind
Bind the body to the opened mind

I dream of towers in a world consumed
A void in the sentient sky
I dream of fissures across the moon
Leaves of the lotus rise


~Dream Again By Miracle of Sound
User avatar
DhAkael
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Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

nik_leonard wrote:his is obviously not the complex and elaborate thing that taalismn et al. has done with the Ecotroz plot, but maybe some ideas can be useful.

The Legend of Ark
An alternate view of the Shemarrian "Mythology".

OH GOD... horrible thought.
ARCHIE 3 gets his hands on full-scale mecha technology.
Descides to do the whole 'Genderswap' thing to cement control over his/her ladies.

And has acccess to over 3 TERRABYTES of old-earth animes

"Super-Estrobot Starlight....BREAAAAAAAAKKKKKERRRRRRRR!"
-boom-

Haegen; "...that does it. I'm taking all those pre-cataclysm sci-fi "magical girl" 'anime's' and nuking the lot! Hey, HEY PARTNER!!! I think you're over do... are you even listening to me? -sigh- Never mind."
Bind the body to the opened mind
Bind the body to the opened mind

I dream of towers in a world consumed
A void in the sentient sky
I dream of fissures across the moon
Leaves of the lotus rise


~Dream Again By Miracle of Sound
User avatar
DhAkael
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Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2004 3:38 pm

Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

Note: Taken from an MSN conversation about the above post ;)

Cyt says:
That would be somewhat distressing.
Karl Prosek wakes up one morning, finds most of his army's robots and power armour are suddenly configured in a female archetype and walking about on their own, developing crushes on rugged, illiterate soldiers who can't pilot them, and interpreting their inability to 'join' as rejection. Chi-Town is reduced to rubble in a matter of hours.

*Joseph Prosek II lays, dying, beside his father.* "Father... c... could all this have been avoided if... we had only... trusted our citizens with... knowledge...?"
*As he passes on, Karl looks to the sky, sets his jaw, and lets loose his final, dying thought.* "DAMN YOU HINDSIIIIIIIGHT!"
Bind the body to the opened mind
Bind the body to the opened mind

I dream of towers in a world consumed
A void in the sentient sky
I dream of fissures across the moon
Leaves of the lotus rise


~Dream Again By Miracle of Sound
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