Shemarrian-related fan creations

Ley Line walkers, Juicers, Coalition Troops, Samas, Tolkeen, & The Federation Of Magic. Come together here to discuss all things Rifts®.

Moderators: Immortals, Supreme Beings, Old Ones

User avatar
DhAkael
Knight
Posts: 5151
Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2004 3:38 pm

Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

taalismn wrote:“Well, after you went to so much trouble canistering and crating this one, I don’t want to know what the alternative is if we don’t. Useful skill set on this one?”
“Intelligence agent.”
“Another yehol-fowl farmer then. Lovely. When are you going to send us some civil engineers, doctors, or holistic pharmacists?”
“Doctors and naturalists don’t break into our warehouses and operations bases in the middle of the night with laser cameras and comp-cracker hardware.”



The Ghostie has a point... that and damn, the lady musta been REALLY good to warrent that ammount restraints.
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
taalismn
Priest
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 »

DhAkael wrote:
taalismn wrote:“Well, after you went to so much trouble canistering and crating this one, I don’t want to know what the alternative is if we don’t. Useful skill set on this one?”
“Intelligence agent.”
“Another yehol-fowl farmer then. Lovely. When are you going to send us some civil engineers, doctors, or holistic pharmacists?”
“Doctors and naturalists don’t break into our warehouses and operations bases in the middle of the night with laser cameras and comp-cracker hardware.”



The Ghostie has a point... that and damn, the lady musta been REALLY good to warrent that ammount restraints.



Or BDSM umbras are more common among the 'riders than anybody outside the Tribe would be comfortable with... :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
------------
User avatar
taalismn
Priest
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 »

Just a Little Act of Larceny...
Just had a MONSTROUS thought....since I already have the EShemar already building big robot vehicles like the Ghlastin robot submarine...what if...somehow, the Shemarrians pulled a super-coup and managed to somehow acquire....
A KITTANI DRAGON DREADNOUGHT....
This could be due to sheer boneheadedness on the part of the Minions(they lose it during maneuvers to opportunistic enemies, and the Minions are ashamed to admit it to Splyncrythh until too late) or an absoultely brilliant ‘Firefox’-style caper(with multiple agents infiltrating Atlantis, including Ghost Rider-corrupted Kittani robots, dissident slaves, or perhaps a PC group drawn into the mix? ).
Just the consequences if the Minions began scrambling to search for their missiving superweapon....or if word got out not only of the existence of such a weapon, but that one of them was missing?
Could you imagine what the EShemar could do with a Dragon Dreadnought to tinker with(provided they could keep it secret)? Use it as the basis of a new class of super-Warmounts or vehicles? Or maybe just a unique Elite(“How you like my new body? I certainly paid enough for it!”)? Or engineer derivatives? Obviously this is an opportunity to upgrade the Dreadnought(“Wow, if we add a nanite repair system to this sucker...”), given the power creep since Rifts Atlantis was first released, but even with minimal modifications, the DragonD is still a formidable opponent, especially with (E)Shemarrians at the controls(and if THAT became public, it would just clinch the rumors that the Shemarrians really have it in for the Splugorth, and are possibly an ex-slave species in bloody revolt against the Splugorth).
And which Tribe to take primary responsibility? The Darkwaters maybe? Or maybe, just to utterly yank the Splugorths’ tentacles, the Nightmare Tribe?
Think about it folks....think about the possibilities...

And an old schtick given new urgency...
“Caught this one down at the docks up in the rafters.”
“Let me guess...THE dock?”
“Got a good look at IT.”
“...any chance she doesn’t know what IT is?”
“Not a chance. She has Coalition military intelligence written all over her.”
“*SIGH* I hope you’ve taken appropriate measures to plug the hole in security and keep her from learning anything else?”
“Moved IT to a more secure location and we’ve kept the spy in total sensory deprivation since.”
“Neural fuzzer?”
“Containment armor and plenty of duct tape.”
“Good...I’ll contact the Ecies and see about them loaning us a brain-wiper for another blank-job, and then we’ll see if we can’t drop the little spy someplace far away like Australia or Outer Mongolia. #Groan# I wonder if our star sisters have problems like this?”
“Probably not. They probably have a lot more advanced resources to provide cover security.”

Meanwhile, in Three Galaxies far far away...
"WAAAHHH!!!:
"Grab her hands! Grab her hands! And get her feet inside the cryochamber!"
"Damn it! The TGE's teaching their agents martial arts GOOD!"
"AAAHHHGGG!!!"
"Quit complimenting her and GET THE SEDATIVE! THE SEDATIVE!"
----Pssshhhttt!!!---
#Clank!#
@FREEZE@
"Good! That's another spy put on ice! Now get the postage stamps slapped on! And the address stamp! Make sure it's to the Wolf's Path!"
"Not the Horrorwoods?"
"No, they're screening their mail from us!"
-------------
"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
Hero
Posts: 1264
Joined: Sun Oct 14, 2007 4:38 pm

Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by kronos »

taalismn wrote:Just a Little Act of Larceny...
Just had a MONSTROUS thought....since I already have the EShemar already building big robot vehicles like the Ghlastin robot submarine...what if...somehow, the Shemarrians pulled a super-coup and managed to somehow acquire....
A KITTANI DRAGON DREADNOUGHT....
This could be due to sheer boneheadedness on the part of the Minions(they lose it during maneuvers to opportunistic enemies, and the Minions are ashamed to admit it to Splyncrythh until too late) or an absoultely brilliant ‘Firefox’-style caper(with multiple agents infiltrating Atlantis, including Ghost Rider-corrupted Kittani robots, dissident slaves, or perhaps a PC group drawn into the mix? ).
Just the consequences if the Minions began scrambling to search for their missiving superweapon....or if word got out not only of the existence of such a weapon, but that one of them was missing?
Could you imagine what the EShemar could do with a Dragon Dreadnought to tinker with(provided they could keep it secret)? Use it as the basis of a new class of super-Warmounts or vehicles? Or maybe just a unique Elite(“How you like my new body? I certainly paid enough for it!”)? Or engineer derivatives? Obviously this is an opportunity to upgrade the Dreadnought(“Wow, if we add a nanite repair system to this sucker...”), given the power creep since Rifts Atlantis was first released, but even with minimal modifications, the DragonD is still a formidable opponent, especially with (E)Shemarrians at the controls(and if THAT became public, it would just clinch the rumors that the Shemarrians really have it in for the Splugorth, and are possibly an ex-slave species in bloody revolt against the Splugorth).
And which Tribe to take primary responsibility? The Darkwaters maybe? Or maybe, just to utterly yank the Splugorths’ tentacles, the Nightmare Tribe?
Think about it folks....think about the possibilities...

And an old schtick given new urgency...
“Caught this one down at the docks up in the rafters.”
“Let me guess...THE dock?”
“Got a good look at IT.”
“...any chance she doesn’t know what IT is?”
“Not a chance. She has Coalition military intelligence written all over her.”
“*SIGH* I hope you’ve taken appropriate measures to plug the hole in security and keep her from learning anything else?”
“Moved IT to a more secure location and we’ve kept the spy in total sensory deprivation since.”
“Neural fuzzer?”
“Containment armor and plenty of duct tape.”
“Good...I’ll contact the Ecies and see about them loaning us a brain-wiper for another blank-job, and then we’ll see if we can’t drop the little spy someplace far away like Australia or Outer Mongolia. #Groan# I wonder if our star sisters have problems like this?”
“Probably not. They probably have a lot more advanced resources to provide cover security.”

Meanwhile, in Three Galaxies far far away...
"WAAAHHH!!!:
"Grab her hands! Grab her hands! And get her feet inside the cryochamber!"
"Damn it! The TGE's teaching their agents martial arts GOOD!"
"AAAHHHGGG!!!"
"Quit complimenting her and GET THE SEDATIVE! THE SEDATIVE!"
----Pssshhhttt!!!---
#Clank!#
@FREEZE@
"Good! That's another spy put on ice! Now get the postage stamps slapped on! And the address stamp! Make sure it's to the Wolf's Path!"
"Not the Horrorwoods?"
"No, they're screening their mail from us!"


Horrorwoods: "Another intelligence-popsicle? That's it! Anything from the Ghostriders is marked "RETURN TO SENDER!" and anything thing that gets through can be fired back in a cruise missile that plays 'Hit The Road Jack'. I'm sure they'll get a kick out of that."

Love these little blurbs of Shemarrian interactions. Gives a nice sense of their cultures.
User avatar
DhAkael
Knight
Posts: 5151
Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2004 3:38 pm

Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

Monsters; they've been created :D :thwak:
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
taalismn
Priest
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 »

Shemarrian Star Nation Worlds(To-Date Summary)

*Carnaphade(Skullcrushers)---Ecologically devastated world with a residual human population. ‘Rehabilitated’ by the Skullcrushers. Something of a biological ‘hot zone’ due to its heavily polluted and mutagen-laced environment.

*Mace-Kaliondas(Skullcrushers)---Advanced human world, before a genocidal nuclear-heavy civil war nearly destroyed them. Mass extinction prevented by Skullcrusher intervention. Now in the process of rebuilding.

*Naguchi(joint oversight between the Horrorwoods, Hawkmoons, and Silvermoons)---Another advanced human civilization that almost fell to genocidal civil war before the Shemarrians stepped in. Similarities in timing between the Mace-Kaliondas and Naguchi conflicts have aroused suspicion on the part of the Wayfinders that someone or something may be deliberately igniting extinction-intensity conflicts in civilizations on the cusp of breaking out into the galactic arena.

*Neveres(Lost Eclipse)---Nightmare enclave world. Temperate and Terra-type planet. Also home to 80,000 mindwiped war criminals from the Naguchi Civil War.

*Malos(Horrorwoods)---Temperate, tropical jungle world used by the Horrorwoods as a Refuge World for resettled liberated ex-slaves. The Horrorwoods have also wondered if it(and the Tribe) isn’t being used by the Ghost Riders to ‘dump’ inconvenient witnesses to some of their less-than-secure infiltration ops.

*Leysan System(multiple habitable worlds)(Wolf’s Path)---Once a massive ‘megaplanet’ structure, Leysan is now a swarm of broken pieces, although some of them are the size of planets, and still sustain habitable environments. The Wolf’s Path has claimed them all as their new wandering grounds.

*Deceptos(Hawkmoon)---Gas giant listening post deep inside Splugorth territory.

*Tresada(Darkwaters)---A frigidly cold iceworld covered by miles-thick ice over a deep subterranean liquid ocean. It is a major Darkwaters shipyard and enclave world.

*Ananis(Silvermoons)---Rocky, airless world in the same system as Tresada. It is a Silvermoon factory world.

*Akandos(Sapphire Cobra)----Inhabited moon of a gas giant, that has become a growing ‘Las Vegas’ resort world (complete with snake dancers) for the SSN and Central Alliance.

*Deon(Blood Riders)---Ex-prison world/penal colony, liberated from the Splugorth. Now effectively a Blood Rider hunting preserve with a large, and largely unexplored, underground ecology.

*Rakatos(Wayfinder)---Terraformed asteroid and scholarly retreat.
-------------
"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
Priest
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 »

DhAkael wrote:Monsters; they've been created :D :thwak:

Just you wait... :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
-------------
"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
Priest
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 »

Shemar Domimatrix(Elite)
(aka Domimistresses)

When the dark shape of his captor loomed over him, the Imperial captain lunged as much as he could from his position against the straps that held him prone to the interrogation table, and snapped his jaws at the humanoid female, but he was held fast, and his act of defiance amounted to little more than a grunting shiver against his bonds.
The dark-clad interrogator, her silver headdress looking much like a Kreeghor’s head spines(sacrilege! the captain’s loyalist indoctrination screamed) looked at him with an infuriatingly disrespectful amusement and no small amount of contempt that set his teeth gritting.
“Now, tell us, Captain R’worl, what your ship was looking for in this sector of space? We’ve warned the Empire from entering Shemarrian territory, and generally, the TGE has behaved. So, why now do we find Imperial spy ships in our space? Hmmmm?”
“RORR! You dare to tell the Empire what it can or cannot do? You think that telling us to ‘stay out’ will keep us away? Do your worst, you delusonal doll-toy, you’ll not break an officer of the TransGalactic Empire! Whatever you do will be paid back a hundredfold when the Empire hunts you and your kind down for your crimes!”
“Oh puh, the standard blandly defiant script speech they drill into all you TGE lackies in basic training! I was hoping for something more inspired, but that would require some INITIATIVE on your part, and they don’t select you for that, do they? Goody! That means I get to use some things I learned about Wulfen anatomy! Like this!”
“What, what dare you d--?! What! DON’T TOUCH M-Urhjk! Gakk! GahhhUrgggoooppphhYYYOoowwlwwlllll!!!!EMPEROR SAVE ME!!! STOP THAT!!! STOP!!!! YOOOWLLLLL!!!!!”
Captain R’worl didn’t know what hurt more, the straining pain of his kicking leg being stopped by the heavy straps around it, or the humiliation of the pure pleasure he was experiencing as his Shemarrian captor rubbed his belly with diabolical skill and intensity.

Domimatrixes are a Ghost Rider subclass, said to have been born of the unholy in-virtual union of pre-Rifts dating sims with high level military data-analysis programs, given physical form. Beautiful and dangerous, these Elites are experts at extracting data from the analogue cortices of living beings, as proficient at their tasks as their Tribe sisters are at hacking computer networks. The Domimatrixes have been referred to by the tactless as ‘Shemarrian sex-droids’(or ‘sex-dolls’), but the more knowledgeable would rather spend a week being tortured by a floating black spheroid of the Evil Empire than spend a day being questioned by these specialist gynoids. Though not possessed of the Ecotroz, the neural-intelligence Ghost Rider Domimatrixes benefit in other ways; they have an implacable, coldly logical, and merciless mechanical nature alloyed with a nearly living manic obsession and intuitive cruelty that is terrifying to experience firsthand.
Domimatrixes are based on the Berserker chassis, but have been extensively modified for working up close and personal with organics in other fashion. Concealed under their synthflesh exteriors are multiple sensor systems and interrogation ‘aides’, and their base programming includes a wide range of knowledge on a variety of useful skills, including knowledge of psychology and physiology. Domimatrixes are extremely knowledgeable about medicine and medical treatment, and are ever eager to expand what they can know about different species. In Ghost Rider culture, where members routinely carry around multiple personalities(or ‘umbras’), the Domimatrixes arguably carry more then their share of insane ones.
Though not as heavily armed as other Shemarrian Elites(and even most Warrior castes) Domimatrixes are still able fighters; though not as proficient in armed close combat as the Berserkers , the same skills that allow them to pinpoint pain and pressure points, and to subdue prisoners make the Domimatrixes arguable just as dangerous to face. Their expanded array of skills also makes them particularly cunning and treacherous opponents. Though they can use any Shemarrian weapon, they typically favor melee weapons, especially bladed ones or non-lethal incapacitating weapons that allow for taking prisoners.
Domimatrixes, though individuals in terms of personalities, tend to share a common obsession with control; specifically control over others’ will power and responses. Most, if not all, Domimatrixes become fixated on the idea of finding the pressure point of a person’s psyche that get them to open up or lose their cool, be it kind words, tickling, pain, or apparent threats to livelihood, loved ones, or prized personal possessions. To many Domimatrixes, it’s like mastering chess, while to others, it’s a work of passion. Ironically, while the Domimatrixes are some of the most knowledgeable of the Shemarrians on matters of psychology, they would make perfect case studies in obsessive behavior themselves(and many acknowledge that!). Being of the Ghost Riders, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that many Domimatrixes are borderline insane by organic-being standards, and can be considered to be functional sociopaths. Many of the neural intelligences develop obsessive personalities, and since many possess multiple personalities, many can play ‘good cop-bad cop’ all by themselves, further unnerving interrogatees.
Domimatrixes are called upon to interrogate (and occasionally rehabilitate) ‘fleshie’ prisoners, but they are also brought in to study new alien lifeforms(especially those that might be intelligent), and advise on profiling potential opponents and known enemies, owing to their knowledge of psychology. They are also frequently assigned to cultural infiltration and deep recon missions, to study other societies and extract data from other beings(this isn’t always in an interrogation situation, but can be as simple as a quick casual question-and-answer situation, with the Domimatrix using her sensors from concealment to gauge the truth of the interviewee’s answers and build a database of physiological responses).
Domimatrixes tend to be a rare Elite, rarely seen in the front lines, and typically attached to a support formation, such as a War Chief’s or WarGoddess’s retinue. Even then, they’re usually not particularly close socially to their Tribeskin, in part due to some disquiet among their fellows for being too infatuated with ‘messing with the meat’ while other Ghost Riders are busy hacking electronic systems. Domimatrixes may accompany special missions, such as ‘bodysnatcher’ abduction or infiltration missions, but generally they keep their own company when not on duty.
Though a creation of the Ghost Riders, Domimatrixes have also been sighted amongst the ranks of the Bloodriders, Nightmares, Horrorwoods, Wayfinders, and SkullCrushers, though whether these are shared-template chassises Awakened with the Ecotroz, or Ghost Rider Elites on temporary assignment to those other Tribes, has yet to be defined and clarified. Ghost Rider Domimatrixes(or those of just about any Tribe) don’t get along well with Sapphire Cobra Snake Dancers or Medusai; the two just seem to regard each other as competition when it comes to mental manipulation, and encounters between the two can get downright awkward and ‘interesting’ for any bystanders who get swept up in the feud. Domimatrixes work well with Yurei of just about any Tribe, as both Elites often work in the background. Occasionally Domimatrixes might be encountered outside the Tribes freelancing as bounty hunters, or stalking the targets of their obsessions.

“Hello! My name is Abbie! Abbie Normal! I’ll be your psychologist and new best friend for tonight! Before we’re through, you’ll be telling me EVERYTHING!”

Type: Shemar Gr-Domimatrix
Class: Robot Gynoid, Biological Intelligence Interrogation Specialist
Crew: Advanced Neural Intelligence
Weight/Size/MDC/Physical Characteristics: Identical to the Shemarrian Berserker unless otherwise noted.

Market Cost: EXCLUSIVE to the (E)Shemarrian Tribes
Systems of Note:
Standard Shemarrian Robot Systems, plus:
Full optical systems, laser targeting, passive night vision, telescopic vision, thermal imaging, infrared, ultraviolet, and polarization filters. Also has motion and heat detection, and other standard Shemarrian systems. Additional/special sensors may be built in by the creating Spinsters or at the behest of the individual.

*Bionic Cybernanite Repair Systems---A modified bionic nanotech repair system that originated with the Ecotroz Shemar, but has also been adopted by the Ghost Riders. These systems repair 4d6 MD per hour, and can repair 60 MDC before needing material stocks to convert to MD repair material.

*Bio-Sensor System---Contact sensors for registering cardiovascular activity, respiratory activity, temperature, and brain wave/bodily electrical fields. With a touch, the Domimatrix can pick up on such telltales as pulse rate, skin tension, muscle stress, and bio-electrical activity.

*Enhanced Directional Hearing/Voice Stress Analyzer---The Domimatrix has her hearing fine-tuned enough to listen to an individual’s heartbeat or subvocalizations, allowing, if the Domimatrix has enough knowledge of how the individual sounds at rest or at ease, a determination of stress, like a polygraph.

*Electromagnetic Detectors----The equivalent of a short-range(12 inches) MRI, these sensors not only read magnetic resonance in a person’s physical structure, they can also pick up on a person’s mental activity as well. By measuring the electromagnetic activity, a person’s mental state(whether they’re agitated, relaxed, sleep, dreaming, etc.) can be determined. The system can also be used as a lie detector with 80% effectiveness(provided the ‘bot has a baseline for ‘truth’ in both the particular species being tested and the individual).

*(Optional) Horror Factor---As artificial intelligences, Domimatrixes may not have a Mental Affinity rating as such, but at the GM’s discretion, they can have a Horror/Intimidation factor similar to that of a large-bore firearm stuck in somebody’s face: H.F. 10.

Weapons Systems:
1) Retractable Finger Claws---The Domimatrixes sport retractable finger claws. Though not as long or damaging as those gauntlet-mounted on other Shemarrians, they are much more precise, and are typically used as surgical scalpels.
Range: Melee
Damage: 1d4, 1d6, 2d6, 3d6, 4d6 SDC or 2d4 MD on a swipe.

2) Hypodermic Injector(1)---Mounted in the arms behind the finger claws is a magazine-fed hypodermic delivery system, allowing a claw rake or jab to deliver a dose of chemicals as well. The injection needles are heat-sterilized after each use, and the tubing flushed with a steam-pulse afterwards.
Range: Contact
Damage: Pinprick(or 1 SDC, 1 MD for vibroneedles) + Drug effects
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 60 doses of up to 10 different chemicals/drugs

3) Electromagnetic Effectors(Forearms)---These are short range( 12 inches) EMP generators that while not powerful enough to knock out electronics, can be used to induce muscle twitches and control pain. Applied regularly as a therapy tool, they can be used to ease chronic discomfort and reduce reliance on chemical pain killers. With some species, the EMP can also be used to generate mild feelings of pleasure(or, in the case of Power Leeches, INTENSE feelings of pleasure) and well-being if used to stimulate the appropriate nerve endings. As a torture instrument, however, they can be used to induce unpleasant muscle convulsions and contractions.
At the high end of the scale the E-Effectors can actually stun or induce short term memory loss;
(Stun)
Range: Touch or 1-2 inches
Damage/Effect: Save at 16 or higher or be rendered unconscious for 2d6 minutes
Held on or near the spine, unconsciousness is less likely, but on a failed save, the person will be paralyzed and benumbed from below the point of contact. Even on a save, the person will -8 to initiative, strike, parry, dodge, and roll for 2d4 melees. Does NOT work through body armor.
Save: Standard; 16 or higher
(Memory Loss)
In addition to the above, people hit with a stun shot can make a second roll to see if they suffer short term memory loss, succeeding at 16 or better. Failure means that the patient loses 1d4 minutes of memory of what happened around the time the stun was applied.

4)(Optional) Accessory Systems---Depending on the circumstances and individuals involved, Domimatrixes can be modified with additional systems. Most focus on small easily concealed features such as additional hand tools(though one Domi had her forearms refitted with retractable mini-tentacles), sensor systems, and concealed compartments in their bodies for favorite tools, though occasionally extra limbs(prehensile tails seem to be the most popular) and mobility systems(one Domimatrix is known to have requested a pair of jet-black cyberwings) are also popular.

Programming/Skills:
Ghost Rider Domimatrixes start with the full base hand to hand combat programming of the Shemarrian Warrior, but retain/add W.P. Energy Pistol. W.P. Energy Rifle, W.P. Heavy MDC Weapons(all at 8th level), replace W.P. Axe with W.P. Chain, W.P. Polearm with W.P. Net, and W.P. Spear with W.P. Targeting, and add W.P. Whip (all at 9th level).
ADD:
Interrogation 75%(+5% if the interrogator has extent medical knowledge of the interrogatee’s species)
Seduction 70%
Psychology(based on advanced pre-Rifts psychological profiling programs) 80%
Medical Doctor 84%/74%
Note: Species Knowledge---starts with extent knowledge of human anatomy and those species most like them(including Atlanteans, Ogres, Elves, and Dwarves) and 1d4 other species(typically commonly encountered species, like Wulfen/Coyle/Kankoran, or various Minion species). Additional species knowledge can be added later as programmed databases(but will require removing an existing other skill, or expanding memory at the cost of adding an additional insanity) or learning it naturally via Neural Intelligence expansion. Medical knowledge of a particular species means that no penalties are entailed in treating/interrogating individuals of that species safely.
Paramedic 90%
Field Surgery 75%
Biology 92%
Chemistry 96%
Chemistry: Pharmaceutical 80%
Wrestling
Rope Works 88%

Can acquire additional skills as normal for a Neural Intelligence; TWO secondary skills at levels 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, and 15.

Actions/Attacks Per Melee: 8
Note: Bonuses are in addition to those possible from the Shemar’s elective training
Initiative +3
Dodge +9
Parry +9
Automatic Dodge(takes no actions) +3
Strike +7 (+4 w/ ranged weaponry, +6 w/ Shemarrian Rail Guns)
Roll +4
Pull Punch +6
Disarm +3
Entangle +2
Knockout/Stun on a Natural 18-20
Bite 3d6 SDC or 1 MD
Restrained Punch 2d6+15 SDC
Punch 1d4 MD
Full Strength Punch 2d6 MD
Power Punch 4d6 MD(counts as two attacks)
Claw Strike 3d6 MD
Head Butt 1d4 MD
Kick 3d8 MD
Leap Kick 5d8 MD
Karate Kick 5d8+6 MD(counts as two attacks)
BodyBlock/Tackle 2d4
Crush/Squeeze 2d4+15 SDC per attack
Pin/Incapacitate on a Natural 18-20

(Special) Paralysis Punch---The Domimatrix can declare that they are performing a Paralysis Punch targeting specific nerve points on an opponent(the Shemarrian MUST have medical knowledge of the target’s species to successfully carry out the attack). On a successful strike, the opponent cannot attack, and loses all bonuses for 1d6 melees, but can still parry and dodge.
(Special) Joint Locks---The Domimatrix can perform a Finger, Wrist, Elbow, or Automatic Lock, grabbing an opponent and incapacitating them.
(Special)Holds---The Domimatrix can perform an Arm, Leg, Body, Neck, or Automatic Hold maneuver.


Insanities:
Yes, advanced N.I.s such as the Ghost Riders CAN go insane in new and novel ways, not so much from organic causes like aberrant brain chemistry, but from cross-linked programming glitches and imperative routines(especially given the expanded memory capacity and multiple personality programs/routines carried by the Ghost Riders). At the GM’s discretion, the Ghost Rider Domimatrixes may acquire one or more of the following quirks:

01-20 Mania---The gynoid is obsessed with being the best, and will not take well to being criticized, becoming angry and aggressive(-01-50%), or sullen and pouty. The Domimatrix will also typically compete or challenge perceived rivals for being the best(this can devolve into the equivalent of office politics at their worst).

21-40 Obsession---The gynoid becomes obsessed and infatuated with a particular species(such as Atlanteans or Kittani), profession(Coalition Soldiers, Rogue Scholars, etc.), or individual, and will spend an inordinate amount of time and effort learning about them, and/or interrogating them. Even if not a prisoner, or even after being released from BEING a prisoner of the Shemarrians, the Domimatrix will often stalk and spy on such individuals. In extreme cases, the Domimatrix may go ‘off-reservation’ and (re)capture the target of their obsession for a little ‘personal get to know you’ session.
Worse yet, a Domimatrix may acquire more than one Obsession.

41-50 Trophy Collector----The Domimatrix likes to keep souvenirs of her ‘clients’; a piece of clothing, gear, lock of hair, etc. If the gynoid is feeling particularly cruel/vindictive, this may be an item of some significance to the individual, such as a locket, personal keepsake, or item of power(such as a Crazy’s Power Item).

51-70 Depression---This has signs of being related to organic bipolar disorders; when not working, the Domimatrix is operating at less than peak efficiency; -20% to skill rolls, -2 on initiative, -1 Perception, and reduce combat bonuses by -1, and tends to mope about until she has somebody to interrogate/terrorize.

71-80 Pleasure/Pain Fixation---The Domimatrix becomes obsessed with what makes ‘fleshies’ tick, and focuses her attention on learning and collecting whatever she can find about one or both of the aspects of the pleasure/pain dichotomy. Casual conversation with the Domimatrix invariably spirals into a grilling about what the other person finds pleasurable (“Lace or latex?” “Feathers or fur?””Submission or dominance?”, “Gluttony or exercise?””The Three Stooges or The Far Side?”), or painful(“Which do you fear more in terms of pain, a paper cut or a blow torch?”).

81-00 Jekyll/Hyde Complex---Classic multiple personality disorder; the Domimatrix alternates between a Good-aligned(typically Principled) kindly personality who just wants to understand her subjects and an evil(typically Aberrant) one that isn’t above using serious pain and REAL(not just bluffs) threats to comrades and loved ones to get the subject to open up.

Accessories/Special Weapons:
Domimatrixes seem to favor megadamage leather and rubber outfits, and the sort of tools of the trade that their class-name would suggest. They also have access to many specialized tools and equipment.
Though they can use any Shemarrian weapon, Domimatrixes typically favor melee weapons, especially bladed ones or non-lethal incapacitating weapons that allow for taking prisoners. These include neural-shock weapons, drugged or poisoned blades and projectiles, gas bombs(remember, the android doesn’t need to breath), nets, and traps.
Depending on their assignments and situations, they may have access to quite extensive and elaborate facilities, such as brig laboratories and special interrogation rooms. Perhaps the most complex of these are VR Sim Rigs that use a combination of sensory deprivation and artificially-manipulated stimuli to entrap an interrogatee in virtual worlds. If the prisoner has a headjack or cybernetic neural link, then the VR can be hardwire-piped directly into their nervous system, if not, an elaborate electromagnetic induction system can do the trick.
Senior and high rank Domimatrixes(sometimes referred to as ‘Inquisitors’) in the Shemarrian Star Nation may have the privilege of having their own small shuttles or starships, outfitted as mobile interrogation labs and prisoner transports(and may even have 1-3 apprentices, and possibly the service of a Spinster/Tinker as part of their staff).
-------------
"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
Knight
Posts: 5151
Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2004 3:38 pm

Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

*SPYKE!*
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
taalismn
Priest
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 »

DhAkael wrote:*SPYKE!*

*Whip*KRAK*
"Oops. Sorry. Forgot you weren't into that sort of thing."
"WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET A DRUG-INJECTING WHIP????!!!!"
"Custom made for me by my toymaker.Like it? I call it my 'scorpion'."
"Ah, Sister Passion'sting? WE're really appreciate it if you didn't refer to Sister-Tinker Wrench-Femur as 'your toymaker'."
-------------
"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
Priest
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 »

Random NeShemar Selection

“Wake up, dear.”
“...uh...?”
“Time to get up. You’ve slept long enough.”
“..urgh....au-auntie? AUNTIE PATRIKA?!” :shock:
:-D “One and the same, dear Mariko.”
“Bu-bu-but, YOU’RE DEAD! The Liberty Space Platform! The explos-”
“’The reports of my death were greatly exaggerated’. As in your case.”
“W-what do you mean?!”
“What’s the last thing you remember, Mariko?”
“Huh? I was working in the corporate lab on the new SS10 A.I., activating its physical avatar...oh, something went wrong...it went berserk...it killed Doctor Barin and Sasha...and...and the security went online...and ...and I couldn’t get out! And the SS10 came...and...and...oh...”
”There, there. That’s the bad side of having total recall. The SS10 snapped your neck before going through the security grid anyway and leaving. Don’t worry; I had a few choice words with that stuck-up ##### and put it in its proper place for killing you! :mad: The corporates would have just recycled your corpse but we got to you first. See, I’ve been keeping an eye on you, just as I promised your grandparents, and this seemed to me like a moment needing godparent intervention. But to answer your unspoken question, you are dead, like me, but you’re also alive, like me, courtesy of some good friends of mine.”
“...i’m dead?!...”
“You’ll get over the trauma soon enough. There’s so much for you to learn! And we can start by sitting you up!”
“...uh...urm...where are my clothes?...And am I....bigger?!”
“Hah! You’re fresh out of the cyberfab! Newborn! And yes, you’re bigger than you used to be! A lot tougher, too! Wait until we start activating your full spectral capabilities! You’ll be AMAZED!”
“I mean...I’m bigger....and, ah....curvier...”
“Yes, you are...oh, you mean...ah, well, the Cyberfabs do work a little like the Progen Chambers in reading patient’s minds on some level, as well as doing some random selection of traits, so it’s entirely possible it may have responded to to something it saw in you. But just you wait until you see what you’ve got INSIDE you...and don’t be put off by the antennae.”
“Antennae!?”
”All in good time, dear. All part of the standard equipment. And I’m sure the Riders will probably upgrade you further. I’d really hoped you’d select out as a Wayfinder like me, but the Ghost Riders seem to feel you’re a better fit for them. Probably because you’re more into the number-crunching and networking realm instead of just general knowledge. You-”
:shock: :frazz: “Wait! Please! Antennae!? ’Progen’?! ‘Standard equipment’?! ‘Upgrades’?! Ghost Riders?! Wayfinders?! You alive?! Me dead?!-!?-, -?!-, -?!-, -?!-” :shock:
“Oh dear, Mariko, you’re blanking out. Lie back down and I’ll start again at the beginning; see, there’s these people called the Shemarrians-”

Well, you gone and done bought the farm, but the fates have smiled(or the GM had a moment of weakness) and you’ve been given a second chance, courtesy of a passing Valkari who thought you had the potential to benefit the Shemarrian Nation, and decided to salvage your carcass for resurrection as a NeShemar. But which Tribe?

Roll or Choose:
01-08#HawkMoon----You live to fly, and the sky’s no limit. Freedom is your life, your ambition, your ideal. You’ll work with others so that everybody can fly together. Your spirituality is alloyed with practicality, and your idealism tempered by your sense of reality. You enjoy watching the world from high above, taking it all in from the heights. Trying to keep you down is like trying to hold the wind, and when angered you strike with the implacable power of the tornado, or when you act with others, a hurricane. You fight like a hawk, or the wind; fast, hard and elusive.
(Common Alignments: Principled, Scrupulous)

9-16 #DarkWaters-----You do not fear the darkness, be it the dark depths of the ocean or the eternal reaches of deep space. You do not fear falling or drowning, and great emptiness does not intimidate you. You are a team player, but you can become a universe unto yourself, even packed in a crowd. Your personal space may be as small as a closet, but your playground is the vastness of the ocean or of the universe. You may seem cold and impersonal when it comes to adult business, but you have the wonder and delight of a child when it comes to contemplating the cosmos. When you come into conflict with something, you bring your calm, rationality, and logic to the fight.
(Common Alignments: Principled, Scrupulous, Unpincipled)

17-26#Blood Riders----Life is meant to be lived with PASSION, to the hilt, in the extreme. You’re always in motion, always testing your limits, pushing the envelope, living it up, and meeting every challenge head-on. Victory and glory go to the bold, and you don’t shy away from adversity. Some would say you’re an action junky or an adrenaline addict, but that’s when you know you’re truly ALIVE. You dance with danger, with fire, in fire, and on fire. Like fire you’re nearly impossible to hold, diffcult to contain, and you burn hot. You’re loud and you’re wild and you love it.
(Common Alignments: Unprincipled, Anarchist, Miscreant)

27-36 #Ghost Riders---Nothing old is obselete of you can use it, no story is forgotten if you can read it. You seek information, especially that which others would seek to hide from you. You like to search out others’ secrets, listen in on their lives, and revel in the cleanliness of data. Knowledge is power and you ride the lightning. You fight like a ninja, from the shadows, striking from unexpected directions, and you vanish behind the smoke just as fast. You shun the limelight, and you keep out of sight, but you enjoy pulling the strings behind the scenes and in being the power behind the throne, the person behind the curtains, the mysterious wizard behind Oz.
(Common Alignments: Unprincipled, Anarchist, Miscreant, Aberrant)

37-46#SkullCrushers---Death holds no fear for you; only failing your friends and comrades, and of leaving the job undone. You wrestle with your personal demons daily, and you’re determined not to fall victim to your own weaknesses and frailties. You shoulder great burdens uncomplainingly when others do not or cannot. You are stoic and unyielding in the face of adversity, because extrenal pressures are nothing compared to the pressure you place on yourself. Your legacy is to be that you did not give in to easy temptation, that you did not fail in the clutch. There’s nothing subtle about your tactics, and ‘overkill’ does not enter into your thinking; you get the job done, and that’s all that’s important. You fight not because you like it, but because it’s necessary, and because you’re good at it, but you also have to admit to yourself that you DO enjoy the rumble of the guns.
(Common Alignments: Scrupulous, Unprincipled, Aberrant )

47-56#HorrorWoods----You’re happiest when you’re surrounded by life in all its forms. It’s not just yourself and your brothers and sisters that are alive and important, it’s the trees and the soil, the wind and the water. Nature is your teacher, and she’ll teach you a thousand ways to fight, survive, and prosper, and if you tread Nature right, she’ll share her bounty with you.You talk to the animals and the plants because they’ll fight for you and alongside you. You can hide in the biomass, find refuge and healing in the wild, and you’ll envelope your opponents in the green.
(Common Alignments: Unprincipled, Scrupulous, Anarchist)

57-66#Wolf’s Path---Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork. You’re strongest when you work with others, even when you’re the lone wolf of the pack. You may not be able to fly, but you’re just as free running on the ground. You advance yourself by best serving the group; by challenging weak leadership and openly proving you’re the better person for the position. You kill only when and what you need to, and you strike quickly, precisely, and efficiently. Life may be tough, and nature red in tooth and claw, but nature is honest, and you appreciate it for that.
(Common Alignments: Scrupulous, Principled, Aberrant)

67-76#SilverMoon---Life without honor is no life at all. You ascribe to lofty ideals and do your best to live up to them, however difficult that may be. You live your life to serve as a shining positive example to others. If that makes you a bigger target, so be it; your idealism is both sword and shield, and any beating you take only makes your mettle stronger. You’re bold and you’re showy, but you have the strength and the will to back up your bravado.
(Common Alignments: Principled, Scrupulous)

77-86*Sapphire Cobra---You’re sensuous and mysterious, flexible and playful. You’ll bend and twist in every direction but remain true to a direction and course only you know and determine. You can cloak yourself in mystery, or drop your inhibitions like your clothing, at whim. You can be seductive, and you can be menacing, all within moments, and even at the same time. You can be beautiful and ugly, like the gleaming perfection of a poisonous snake. You can dance like the wind, then strike like the cobra, all in the same motion. You like screwing with others’ perceptions and preconceptions, and tweaking their propriety, especially if you can teach them a lesson in the process. But under the prankster and puzzler is a deadly serious soul with a predilection for danger, a nasty sense of humor, and a love of playing with poison.
(Common Alignments: Scrupulous, Anarchist, Aberrant)

87-96*WayFinder---Pursuit of knowledge, of the path less traveled, of exploration for exploration’s sake: that’s the Wayfinder way. You delight in discovery, of seeing the world in new ways, and of creating things marvelous with what you’ve learned. You live to indulge your curiousity, to go down that road you’ve noticed before but didn’t go down before. Sometimes that quest is fraught with danger, soaked with blood, or takes you into the heart of darkness, but those are risks you’re willing to take. You’re most dangerous when you’re thinking, because your knowledge and creativity are your greatest weapons, especially against those who are ignorant of your true capabilities.
(Common Alignments: Principled, Scrupulous, Unprincipled)

97-00*Nightmare---You know you’re different, strange, a stranger to your own. You also know that there’s a little bit of darkness in everybody that people are afraid of; in your case you’ve decided to embrace it. You like living in the shadows where others avoid going, and if anybody is unwise enough to follow you into the shadows, you’ll prove to them why it’s a good idea to be afraid of the dark. And seeing in darkness, you can see truths others are too blind to see, menaces they cannot see in the glare of the light. You’ll protect them from such dangers, even though you won’t be thanked(not that you seek thanks in any case). You fight dirty because you have to; against the enemies you fight there are no such things as half-measures, honor, or mercy. If and when you DO spare your opponents, you make damn sure to mark them with a lesson that they’ll not soon forget, that will remind them not to ever mess with you.
(Common Alignments: Unprincipled, Anarchist, Aberrant)
-------------
"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
Knight
Posts: 5151
Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2004 3:38 pm

Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

When I have a chance to spend the time to type-set, I'll steal the above chart / random table.
For now though all I have the energy for is "brauva senior brauva"
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
taalismn
Priest
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 »

DhAkael wrote:When I have a chance to spend the time to type-set, I'll steal the above chart / random table.
For now though all I have the energy for is "brauva senior brauva"


Still gotta finish the Progen table, just to see what Abominations of Science we can start cranking out.. :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
------------
User avatar
DhAkael
Knight
Posts: 5151
Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2004 3:38 pm

Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

taalismn wrote:
DhAkael wrote:When I have a chance to spend the time to type-set, I'll steal the above chart / random table.
For now though all I have the energy for is "brauva senior brauva"


Still gotta finish the Progen table, just to see what Abominations of Science we can start cranking out.. :D


Indeed... sadly I've got a bit of a conundrum, BUT...I think I can further expand the diaspora of the Shemarrains into LOCAL space.
Y'see, no one (in canon and in my campiagn) have ventured past the orbital track of Saturn except for a rare few intrepid (insane?) explorers prior to the 'Great Flash' / coming of the rifts.

It's almost as if a high level perception field is around all of Sol making even the people who HAVE imported PW tech and FTL back to Rifts Terra space.

This hasn't stopped others from coming IN.
*The Druuchi
*The great devourer (well..a fragment of the hive mass on a spacehulk but still)
*Arkons
*Daemon scout-ships
*The [censored] blasted Greys! ("Are you doubting or glorius leader?"
"No I'm saying our glorious leader is a collosal [censored] fiend. All we've learned from rectal probing those monkeys is 1-in-10 don't seem to mind..."

Plus the occasional T.M.C. patrol boat to make sure no one from the Atorian Empire or the Titrana Quadrant are trying to mess with the monkeys (that and they are NOT going to mess with a Sploogie claimed free-hold).

Now here's the thing; I have one person suggesting I go
Spoiler:
Mass Effect
with the setting.
Another is suggesting pre-Imperium-of-man.
I have the AU:GG.
Plus a few twisted concepts in my own mind...
-sigh-
SERIOUSLY want to ramp up the expansion of the SCW and get more of the gynoids up & out...stir up the milky-way so it resmebles cafe-au-lait :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
User avatar
taalismn
Priest
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 »

Ewww...local space seems to have gotten just a bit more crowded...

"HAH! I got that Dalek-wannabee right in my railgun sights!"
"Shenna! Wait! Remember our lessons about projectile weapons in s-"
*ZHUFF*
"....-pace? Linna, someone jet over there and retrieve Satellite Shenna before she leaves the Earth-Moon system?"
"....Newton's a bastaaaaaaarrrrddddddddddd!!!!!!!!..."
-------------
"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
Knight
Posts: 5151
Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2004 3:38 pm

Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

taalismn wrote:"Shenna! Wait! Remember our lessons about projectile weapons in s-"
*ZHUFF*
"....-pace? Linna, someone jet over there and retrieve Satellite Shenna before she leaves the Earth-Moon system?"
"....Newton's a bastaaaaaaarrrrddddddddddd!!!!!!!!..."


Yep... -sigh- Have to learn sometime though.
Bloodriders usually via the 'Hard Way' more often than not :nh:
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
taalismn
Priest
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) Shemarrian Raptor(‘Avyet’) Breeds
“Ah, don’t vultures usually start circling AFTER something has died?”
----Anonymous bandit just before getting wiped out by an avyet-directed SkullCrusher artillery strike.

During the Shemarrian Civil War, ARCHIE-3’s AA-03 Avian Spies(See Shemarrian Nation, pgs 76-78) circling virtually unseen overhead, disguised as various birds, proved a royal pain in the neck for the rebel Shemarrians, at least until they figured out they were being spied on from above. Once they learned to recognize the signs of aerial cyber-surveillance, the EShemar(and by extension, such clans as the Ghost Riders) quickly learned how to avoid the spies, take them out(especially using their new airborne capabilities, or other ‘familiars’ such as the Avian Biomech(see Megaverse Builder, pg. 50-51)), or turn them. In short order, the rebels adopted captured examples into their orders of battle. Once they had Assembler Forges set up, the rebels began making their own.
Though not as common or popular as the Shemarrian Wolf, Shemarrian Raptors(known also as “Avyet” in the Shemarrian language) are still useful enough that a number of variants have appeared in the ranks of the Shemarrian Nation. Many Tribes maintain a few, but the largest user/owner/’breeder’ of the avian roboids remains the Hawkmoon, in much the same way as the Wolf’s Path Tribe is the largest producer of new Shemarrian Wolf breeds.
Avyet are traditionally used among the Shemarrians as aerial spies(especially if they can disguise them as examples of local avians), message carriers, and for hunting down similarly sized aerial drones of opposition forces. They are occasionally used to stage attacks on ‘soft’ targets and to harry an enemy. They are also kept as pets and occasionally used as hunting animals, especially by NeShemar. They have also found gainful employment on a number of SSN enclave worlds as vermin control(the Hawkmoons and Horrorwoods have used avyet flocks on a number of occasions to control aerial pests on their enclave planets).
Most avyet are ‘Awakened’ with an Ecotroz essence, but many, especially those expected to be expended in kamikaze-style high-risk operations, are not. The Ghost Riders also do not Awaken their Raptors.

“Awakened” Avyet:
Bonuses:
Actions/Attacks per Melee:(+1 if ‘Awakened’ with an Ecotroz frangment)
Strike: (+1 if ‘Awakened’ with an Ecotroz frangment)
Dodge: (+2 if ‘Awakened’ with an Ecotroz frangment)
Roll:(+1 if ‘Awakened’ with an Ecotroz frangment)
Note: The Ecotroz intelligence fragment inhabiting the ‘bot gives the Avyet an aura and behavior more befitting an animal than a robot; the Avyet may complain non-verbally when overworked, scream when damaged, and react to intruders or strangers appropriately. The Avyet entity is fairly smart and cunning, with a parrot-like intelligence(roughly equivalent to an IQ of 5).
The Avyet has the following Natural Psionic Abilities(no ISP Cost), all equivalent to 6th level with regards to range and proficiency.
*Sixth Sense
*Sense Magic
*See Aura

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). Built ‘as-is’ Awakened avyet are effectively born immune to any banishment.

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:
*AA-03(EShe-AA03)---This is the baseline, unmodified, ‘stock’ model, available in a variety of cosmetically-different forms, from hawks and owls to crows and vultures.

*EShe-AA04Hm Shrikewing----This variant boasts the ability to carry micro-missiles(a weapon design stolen/acquired from other sources) under its wings:
Size: The standard Micro-Missile is about 15mm in diameter and 7 inches long. Weight about 35 grams
Range: 7,500 ft
Damage: 6d6 MD to a 5 ft blast radius, or 2d6 MDC out to a 18 ft blast radius in fragmentation mode
Bonuses: (+4 to strike, in addition to W.P. Heavy bonuses, Same ‘beamrider’ capability as with Pattern-1D. ) Gyro-Compass Chip, Laser-Sensor Microchip, Radar Trigger Chip, Image Sensing Chip, Infra-Red Sensing Chip.
Rate of Fire: 1-8(all)
Payload: 8, four under each wing

Alternatively, the Shrikewing can carry 30mm micro-missiles:
Range: 11,000 ft
Damage: (Pattern-3a) 4d6 MD single rd to 5 ft blast radius
(Pattern-3b) 1d4x10 MD to a 5 ft blast radius, or 3d6 MDC out to a 20 ft blast radius in fragmentation mode
(Pattern-3c)(Incendiary)2d6 MD to 5 ft blast radius, does an additional 1d4 burn damage for 2d4 melees
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-6(all)
Bonuses:(All Patterns)(+3 to strike airborne targets, +1 to strike ground targets) Gyro-Compass Chip, Laser-Sensor Microchip, Radar Trigger Chip, Image Sensing Chip, Infra-Red Sensing Chip.
Payload: 6 rds

*EShe-AA05Hm Slashtail---The Slashtail has a s lightly more muscular and robust appearance, and an elongated macaw-like tail that conceals a vibroblade. The ends and leading edges of the wings are also reinforced with sharpened strips. This allows the Raptor to get down and dirty with aerial strikes.
Range: Melee
Damage: (Wing Blades) 1 MD on a slash
(Tail Blade) 1d6+1 MD on a slash

*EShe-AA06 Strikebeak(aka ‘Lazerbeak’ by the Ghost Riders)---This version mounts a small rechargeable laser, similar to a laser finger blaster, in the head(which sports a noticeable crest). Range: 375 ft, Damage: 1d4 MD, Rate of Fire: ECHH, Payload: 10 shots and recharges at 1 shot per 30 minutes, or it can recharge within 30 seconds(2 melee rounds) by landing on special conductive recharging perches attached to Warmounts. The AA-06Sm variant popular with the Silvermoons, has photovoltiac feathers that allow for recharging at 1 shot every 15 minutes when in sunlight.

*EShe-AA07Sm Silverlite---Another breed popular with the Silvermoons, the AA07Sm has a laser-reflective covering(lasers do HALF damage)

*EShe-AA08 Flameflyte----This variant is distinguished by its ‘hump’ on the back that contains a small missile-grade plasma thruster, allowing the ‘bird to hit speeds of 670 MPH for brief bursts of up to 15 minutes(before needing 30 minutes to recharge and cool down). Using the thruster, however, will signal that the avian is anything BUT a normal animal. The Fireflyte is understandably popular as a pet with the Blood Riders.

*EShe-AA09Dw Darkhawk----SSN Darkwaters Tribe variant fitted with the same ‘repulsor tether’ incorporated into all SSN Darkwater members, allowing the ‘raptor to fly effortlessly in space around Shemarrian vessels. It is often used to perform remote inspections of Shemarrian vessels.

Options:
-Sensor Jammers---Adapted from Juicer body armor options, modified with more advanced technology, this grants the ‘raptor a slim 15% chance of being detected by thermal optical, motion, and radar sensors. Furthermore, guided missiles are -2 to strike(in addition to any other bonuses to dodge the avyet may have).
-------------
"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
Knight
Posts: 5151
Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2004 3:38 pm

Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

many appologies for not contributing to this thread in a more constructive way.
Reasons have already been stated ad-nauseum :frust:
Once I can get the S.C.W. to the forefront in my campiagn (and thus stimulate my muse) I'l be able to add in a few more 'tings.
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
taalismn
Priest
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 »

DhAkael wrote:many appologies for not contributing to this thread in a more constructive way.
Reasons have already been stated ad-nauseum :frust:
Once I can get the S.C.W. to the forefront in my campiagn (and thus stimulate my muse) I'l be able to add in a few more 'tings.



S'right. I get some of my best ideas on the highway( :badbad: "YEAH!? HOW'D YOU LIKE A CALLIOPE RAILGUN BURST TO CLEAR YOUR EARS?! MAYBE THEN YOU'D PAY ATTENTION TO THE -ROAD- AND NOT YOUR CELLPHONE!!! THIS IS THE INTERSTATE, NOT THE INTERNET CAFE!" :badbad: )....but if gaming is your best muse-ground, whatever works. :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
------------
User avatar
taalismn
Priest
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 »

...argh....bad run-in with (psycho)patron(when they brandish your name like a weapon, you realize superstitious peoples were onto something when they thought knowing somebody's true name was to hold malign power over them...maybe they foresaw the Age of Identity Theft?).... :badbad: :x :x Think I'll karmically default to Nightmare Tribe, so in my next life I can haunt her with SCIENCE. :x :x
-------------
"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
glitterboy2098
Rifts® Trivia Master
Posts: 13319
Joined: Wed Aug 06, 2003 3:37 pm
Location: Missouri
Contact:

Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by glitterboy2098 »

question... i assume that your fiction bits in this thread have been in your Paladin steel alternate reality? (given the references to greater new england?)
Author of Rifts: Deep Frontier (Rifter 70)
Author of Rifts:Scandinavia (current project)
Image
* All fantasy should have a solid base in reality.
* Good sense about trivialities is better than nonsense about things that matter.

-Max Beerbohm
Visit my Website
User avatar
taalismn
Priest
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 »

glitterboy2098 wrote:question... i assume that your fiction bits in this thread have been in your Paladin steel alternate reality? (given the references to greater new england?)


Yeah, but not in any real solid form...Otherwise you'd have events like the Shemarrian Civil War rampaging all over the infrastructure of Greater New England much to its detriment..The SCW therefore could be taking place in the 'PS LIte' universe where PS is masquerading as a younger form of itself in Old Vermont State.
In the 'Greater PS Home' alternity, the SCW would be involving a lot more folks, especially those siding with the Ecotroz/rebels.
In the Three Galaxies, the Shemarrian Star Nation DEFINITELY knows that Aegis Stellar Industries and Paladin Steel are one and the same, and do some trading with them(PS likely thinks they're dealing with the Shemarrian 'home culture', rather than a retro-timed offshoot of the Rifts Earth culture), and may even hire themselves out for such services as escorting convoys(or they shadow ASI convoys in particularly bad regions, and pick off anything that looks hostile outside convoy detection range). It's not a CLOSE relationship, but an amiable one.
Yes, like Heinlein and a number of other authors much better than me, I like to have a little fun linking threads(also saves on development time for some systems too). :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
------------
User avatar
glitterboy2098
Rifts® Trivia Master
Posts: 13319
Joined: Wed Aug 06, 2003 3:37 pm
Location: Missouri
Contact:

Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by glitterboy2098 »

i was just curious. i've considered writing a quick bit, but i wasn't sure where this was taking place setting wise. since the idea i had combines elements of this thread with some elements from my freelance projects.
Author of Rifts: Deep Frontier (Rifter 70)
Author of Rifts:Scandinavia (current project)
Image
* All fantasy should have a solid base in reality.
* Good sense about trivialities is better than nonsense about things that matter.

-Max Beerbohm
Visit my Website
User avatar
taalismn
Priest
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 »

glitterboy2098 wrote:i was just curious. i've considered writing a quick bit, but i wasn't sure where this was taking place setting wise.



Well, we don't want to stifle creativity, and this is an open-for-all-madness Shemarrian thread...not just the Shemarrian Civil War or any one version of it. So people should feel free to post anything their twisted imaginations come up with. If you want to write in our version of it, feel free; we'll correct any glaring problems or discontinuities as we see them and let events take off from there. Otherwise, you could consider such things as 'micro-missiles' be developments of the rebels using their own tech or stolen from other unnamed sources.
Or if you really want to go off the beat and track, you can branch off another universe . Bear in mind, if your material is really good or intriguing, the rest of us just might commandeer examples of it to use in our own settings(with proper credit given) to add more fruit to the salad. :D
So, write away; the more the merrier. 8)
-------------
"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
Priest
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 Eccentrics

“Well, the power crystals I got as a metal-medic with the Wayfinders, the chrome-tan I got when I joined the Blood Riders for their big push on Sindarr, the antennae-augments I was given serving a stint with the Ghost Riders exploring the Ash Nebula, the servo augments were a gift from the Skull Crushers...got a nice gun out of that too....and you can probably guess where I got the wings from...”
----Sister-Eccentric Alia Horizon-Seeker

Not all Shemarrians are satisfied with being adopted or born into one Tribe, or feel happy with being ‘pigeonholed’ into a particular mindset or philosophy. Perhaps it’s a truly fanatical devotion to the idea of Shemarrian, or maybe a sense of boredom, but some Shemarrians, EShemar, and NeShemar, of just about any caste-class, feel the compulsion to wander from Tribe to Tribe, serving a stint with them, before moving on. These Shemarrians are known as ‘Eccentrics’.
While the more conservative Shemarrians regard Eccentrics as listless and lacking in self-discipline, others see them as the essential free spirits, flexible in thought and courageous in body. While some Eccentrics are undoubtedly miscreants who can’t fit in most anywhere, the majority are highly intelligent(some might say brilliant), highly intuitive, and curious souls with questioning minds, a love for adventure, and serious wanderlust.
Most Eccentrics will sign on with a Tribe, gaining their acceptance, and will serve until they have acquired some honor as a Tribe member, or earned a ‘badge’(typically a Rite of Upgrade or Mod) before moving on. An Eccentric may visit three or four different Tribes in this manner before finding one to permanently align with, or they return to their original Tribe, their wanderlust having been satisfied. The diehard Eccentrics, however, feel that in order to experience the full spectrum of ‘Shemarrian-ness’, they must do a ‘grand tour’; serving with distinction with all eleven Tribes. Many Eccentrics originate, interestingly enough, from the Wayfinder, Hawkmoon, and Skullcrusher Tribes, though they can come from any Tribe. The Ghost Rider and Lost Eclipse Tribes are arguably the toughest Tribes for Eccentrics to find acceptance in, owing to their reclusive natures.
As noted before, the more conservative Shemarrians regard Eccentrics with mild distrust, seeing them as lacking in discipline and dedication, and such authorities are reluctant to trust Eccentrics with any great responsibility, for fear that they will sooner than later simply walk away to seek their fortunes elsewhere. Under these circumstances, the Eccentric is typically assigned a low-rank position, as a scout or support personnel. However, some Eccentrics have attained hero status for their great courage, vast experience, and diverse capablities, and their attachment to a particular Tribe or unit is seen as good fortune for those concerned. These Eccentrics can find themselves holding quite high (if only honorary) rank within a Tribe, and granted command privileges in the field.
The first Eccentrics appeared during the Shemarrian Civil War, born of Shemarrians who were manufactured by ARCHIE-3 not of any particular Tribe, before being Awakened by the Ecotroz. Eccentrics have since become more common in the Shemarrian Star Nation of the Three Galaxies. They are less common on Rifts Earth, where, with the Shemarrian Civil War still raging, Eccentrics are rarer, as the Tribes are on guard against possible infiltration and rather more suspicious of nomadic and strange outsiders.
-------------
"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
Priest
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) Shemarrian ‘Chirt’ Mini-Bot
(Aka ‘Chipadee’)

“Call me Sparrow, CAPTAIN Sparrow. There isn’t a block in this city I don’t eyes on. The local police only WISH they had surveillance capabilities like I have! Thanks to my little friends, I can mine every acre of land under my coverage for more data than you’d believe possible. I can tell you more about every piece of property, and ever resident living on it, than you’re likely comfortable with.”
“You’re right about that, Big Sister Sparrow.”

Apparently inspired by accounts of Triax’s ‘mouse spies’, these are small, ultra-light aerial robots used by the Hawkmoons for similar purposes. They are relatively tiny, non-MDC, robot avians modelled after a variety of small song birds, pasarines, finches, sparrows, and even small bats. They have NO combat capabilities(the best one can do is deliver a 1 SD peck or bite), and are used wholly as couriers or spy-bots. The Shemarrians frequently deploy these tiny ‘bots in ‘flocks’ to improve survival chances and sensor coverage. Few are Awakened with an Ecotroz essence, though it is possible.
Besides their recon duties ‘Chirts’ are popular pets with Hawkmoon members, especially among Acolytes and NeShemar who do not qualify for a Raptor. The Horrorwoods and Ghost Riders are also known to have adopted the design, deploying them in surveillance flocks in their operating territories.
Type: EcoS-AAR-01 Chirt
Class: Robotic Aerial Scout, Light
Crew: None; robot intelligence
SDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 15
Head 5
Wings(2) 4 each

Height: 5-6 inches
Width: 4-5 inches, typically has an 8-12 ft wingspan
Length: 6 inches
Weight: 8 -16 ounces
Cargo: None
Physical Strength: Robotic P.S. of 2
The best that a ‘Chirt’ can carry is a small micro-explosive, tracer chip, or surveillance bug.
Powerplant: Nuclear microcell w/ 3 year energy life, though many supplement their core power by regularly sucking on electrical sockets or specially equipped perches.
Speed: (Running) 5
(Leaping) Not applicable
(Flying) (60) 30 MPH, maximum altitude of 1,000 ft
(Space) Not possible outside a spacecraft unless specially fitted. And then, rarely faster than 20 MPH(small jets)
(Underwater) Not applicable(unless specifically outfitted), but generally limited to running along the bottom and can survive pressures down to 800 ft.
Market Cost: Exclusive to the Ecotroz-Shemar
Systems of Note:
*Multi-Optics
*Telescoping Zoom Lens(2 mile range)
*Thermo-Optics(1,000 ft range)
*Camera/Video Eye w/ live transmission
*Basic Audio
*Radio w/ scrambler capability. Range: 50 miles
*Laser Distancer(2,000 ft range)
*Molecular Anaylzer Chip
*Motion Detector(100 ft range)
*Recording Chip---Stores up to 48 hours of recorded observations.
Additional/special sensors may be built in by the creating Spinsters or at the behest of individual riders/owners. The following are common add-ons:
*Modulating Voice Synthesizer Chip---Allows the Chirt to imitate a variety of natural sounds, such as animal calls.
*Sonar---Echo-location system with a 500 ft range; usually used to imitate bats and similar noctural animals.


*Bionic Cybernanite Repair Systems--- Only about 40% of ‘bots have the same bionic nanotech repair system that the Ecotroz Shemar have refitted themselves with, and which is becoming the standard among NeShemar as well. These systems repair 2d6 SDC per hour, and can repair 20 SDC before needing material stocks to convert to repair material.

*’Gecko’ Grips---These are small pads on the feet that allow the Chirt greater proficiency in clinging to perches, including walls and ceilings.

*Self-Destruct---Some Chirts are fitted with micro-SD devices that rapidly decompose the robot into a pile of dust if captured/destroyed.

Weapons Systems: None

Programming:
Detect Ambush 60%
Detect Concealment 60%
Intelligence 80%
Lore: Demons and Monsters 65%
Basic Math 98%
Radio: Basic 98%
Prowl 85%
Tracking 90%
Navigation 86%
Wilderness Survival 80%
Computer Operation 80%
Language: Can understand 22 different languages
Sing(imitating songbirds and other animals) 80%


‘Awakened’ Chirt can also pick up two Secondary skills at levels 2, 6, and 12 of experience, though the nature of the Chirt intelligence and design is such that it is limited to skill selections from Technical: Language(understanding) and Lore, Wilderness( Track Animals, Hunting, Identify Plants and Fruits), and Electrical(Basic).

Actions/Attacks Per Melee: 5
Initiative +1 (+1 from the Ecotroz entity for a total of +2)
Automatic Dodge +4
Strike +1
Roll +2
Peck w/ Beak 1 SDC
Leap Attack/Flying Body Block 1d4 SDC

Note: The Ecotroz intelligence fragment inhabiting the ‘bot gives the Chirt an aura and behavior more befitting an animal than a robot; the Chirt may complain non-verbally when overworked, scream when damaged, and react to intruders or strangers appropriately. The entity is fairly smart and cunning, with a parrot-like intelligence(roughly equivalent to an IQ of 4). Chirts tend to be curious and inquisitive, constantly looking around , flitting about, and watching any new activity in their vicinity.
The Chirt has the following Natural Psionic Abilities(no ISP Cost), all equivalent to 6th level with regards to range and proficiency.
*Sixth Sense
*Sense Magic
*See Aura

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

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

Variants:
A wide variety of variants, all cosmetic in nature, exist, many imitating local small avians/flying animals in appearance.
-------------
"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
Knight
Posts: 5151
Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2004 3:38 pm

Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

Again, all appologies to not contributing further at this time to the SSN and SCW.
Presently, the narative has the PC's off-world but still in-'verse; exploring the near-stars of the Milkyway would you believe. :shock:

It's as if a high-level perception field (or as it's also called; a "Somebody Elses Problem" effector) has been around the Sol-System. THINGS come in, but no one (at least no one who's been able to report back) has gone OUT.
That's changed recently and presently the hero-group is now on Tau-Ceti IV, 3rd moon.
http://palladium-megaverse.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=2512352#p2512352

Introductions to a "new" old menace, possible explanation of what happend to at least ONE group of Human explorers, and mayhap, hints of a larger galactic stage?
Spoiler:
I am combing aspects of System Shock 2, Empire from the ashes, Rifts canon, a bit of ME (no reapers) and well, the AU:GG factions though scaled down somewhat.
Wonder how the Atorians would handle meeting the Eshemarr and their Shem-Rahn allies? ;)
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
taalismn
Priest
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 »

DhAkael wrote:
Spoiler:
I am combing aspects of System Shock 2, Empire from the ashes, Rifts canon, a bit of ME (no reapers) and well, the AU:GG factions though scaled down somewhat.
Wonder how the Atorians would handle meeting the Eshemarr and their Shem-Rahn allies? ;)



Auntie of all catfights, I'd imagine. With some remarks about hair styles and hair cuts among other barbs and sharp instruments aimed at eyes and throats. .
-------------
"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
Priest
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 »

Vignette: Warriors Aren’t Always Born; Sometimes It’s Occupational Therapy.

“Novice Kurumi, I was told I might find you here. Fare yeh well this day?”
The young NeShemar going through calisthenics in a Port Alexandria gymnasium stopped cold in her motions as she recognized the EShemar who had quietly entered the room unnoticed by her until the older woman had spoken.
“Ah!...Sister Pasteur-Lyle-san! Arigato! I am well!”
“Please, ‘Sister Rachel’ will do just fine. You may drop the cultural honorifics; we Wayfinders are not as stringent on such things here, and as it is only the two of us, we may be on more familiar terms, ne, Imari?”
“Hei, Pasteur-Ly-, I mean Sister Rachel-sa-, sorry! Sister Rachel!”
The Wayfinder’s lips curled in a slight smile at the ex-Japanese NeShemar’s flustered manner. Indoctrined cultural nuances aren’t easy to simply give up on demand. “Needs work, but you’ll get it. That was Kenpo you were practising, yes? You were quite proficient at it by your own account before-”
Sister Rachel saw the wince on Imari’s face, but forged on anyway; the young cyberoid would have to get used to reminders of what landed her soul in a demonic wasteland, plaything of the Infernals before a lost Wayfinder expedition had plucked her and several others from the hell. “-you were sacrificed. Quite laudable that you would seek to practice it again. It is a beautiful form of exercise.”
Imari nodded her head, respectful of the older woman’s interest.
“Kenpo’s a very NICE martial arts for self-defense, but it’s not very effective when simply dodging your enemies isn’t enough. Most Shemar favor more aggressive styles, especially against those with superhuman or paranormal abilities.”
Imari winced again; reminded of how ineffective her dan-rating martial arts training had been against the cultists who had captured her to serve her up to their demonic master for favors.
“For one thing, the average height of a human Japanese citizen of your time and society was what? Five feet? A meter plus? You were a teenager? Maybe just over a meter in height? We use the same units of measurement, and well, you’re about two meters tall now, weigh in excess of two hundred kilograms, and run at over a hundred forty kilometers per hour. Your physical strength is also proportionally higher as well. Simply dodging is no longer an option, or a necessity. Your body is built for a more aggressive stance. You’re no longer a rabbit, nor can you continue to behave as one. it is time now to become a wolf...well, a Wayfinder, unless you really want to join the Wolf’s Path....”
The NeShemar hung her head, her eyes finding the pale fabric of her tunic seemingly more interesting than anything else.
“I am sorry, Pasteur-Lyle-sa---Sister Rachel! This is all so new to me! I confess, it has not been easy!”
“Understandable. But you are to be commended; some of the others have not proven so resilient in their recovery. The trauma to their souls is not something to be taken lightly.“
It did not take acute cyberoptical vision to see the shudder that ran through the young NeShemar’s frame; Sister Rachel feel another pang of sympathy for the resurrectee; one does not get over being wrongly damned and sentenced to a place that reason and culture claims really does NOT exist, and expect to come out unchanged. As strong as they might have been in holding onto their identities as they were being savaged on the very level of their SOULS by monsters out of nightmare, most of those who Sister Rachel’s party had snatched from the Infernals on their way out had cracked once they were free and resurrected into new bodies. Without the pressure to survive, they had the freedom and liberty at last to realize the enormity of what had happened to them, and that had resulted in more than a few regressions to gibbering madness.
Insanity was not normally an issue for the Shemarrians, even those of Tribes like the Wayfinders. The Wayfinders rarely selected those of dubious mental stability to be transferred and Reborn into their ranks, and the few who broke with the pressures of their new existence came around fairly easily.
Still, the Wayfinders did have protocols for dealing with these sorts of problems. Fortunately, the new NeShemar were transferred intelligences, Reborn in wholly non-organic Shemarrian bodies. That meant they didn’t need to eat, drink, excrete, or require regular bathing. So it was a simple matter to bundle them in the equivalent of a Shemarrian padded room; coccooned head to toe in tough skintight polymer, their voluntary movement turned off by effector fields, and their minds plugged into a VR sim, supervised by Wayfinder psychiatrists. Percieved time could be slowed or accelerated under such circumstances, the patients allowed to work out their shrieking hysterics safely, then gradually uplifted back to sanity.
Imari had spent over a month real-time like that, before she had been reborn a second time, released from her coccoon if not fully recovered, at least sufficiently sane again that she was judged fit to safely re-enter real-time.
Sister Rachel decided that it was time to let the younger woman off the downers and to lift her up a bit.
“I don’t think you came down here just to exercise. Those kenpo moves you were throwing were sloppy to a true master of the art. Too forceful, too aggressive, like you were trying to force the style to do something it was not intended for. You wish to do something more than just dodge, do you not? You want to be more than just a victim, no?”
A hesitant nod shook the girl’s bangs.
“Shemarrians are a warrior people, even we of the Wayfinder Tribe. Born in war, built for combat, trained for violence, equipped to fight. We know many ways how to be strong. Would you like to learn some of them?”
The younger woman’s eyes came up slowly, met the older Wayfinder’s. Again, the nod, but stronger, more assertive, more decisive. Sister Rachel smiled a slow close-lipped smile that any Wolf’s Path, Bloodrider, or Skullcrusher Tribeswoman would be pleased to call her own. She was right; there was fire still in this one, fire that could be coaxed into flame if handled carefully.
“Good. We’ll start with some basics, then. Perhaps some proof of how DIFFERENT and stronger you already are is in order-”

#”You can let go of the airlock door, now, dear, and quit trying to break it. Remember, you don’t have to breath anymore. And switch over to radio-”#
@”-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-”@
#”-and please quit screaming.”#
Okay, so maybe taking the new girl on a walk outside on the surface of the airless moonlet wasn’t such a great idea.
Sister Jung-Soulmender would be very UPSET with her if Sister Rachel broke the NeShemar already.....
-------------
"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
Knight
Posts: 5151
Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2004 3:38 pm

Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

taalismn wrote:#”You can let go of the airlock door, now, dear, and quit trying to break it. Remember, you don’t have to breath anymore. And switch over to radio-”#
@”-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-”@
#”-and please quit screaming.”#
Okay, so maybe taking the new girl on a walk outside on the surface of the airless moonlet wasn’t such a great idea.
Sister Jung-Soulmender would be very UPSET with her if Sister Rachel broke the NeShemar already.....

-Ppppphhhtttewie- BUWAHAHA ow ow ow ow... coffee up the nose! Ow!
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
taalismn
Priest
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 »

"You okay, now?"
"----sorta. Deep breaths. Only I don't need to breath, do I?! I don't breath! I-steady, steady...got it...I'm good. Just need to do something normal before the next shock I guess. Thanks for the cola and ice. Hits the spot."
"Glad you like it, but that's not a cola with ice. It's battery acid, motor oil, and broken glass. Very refreshing drink among our people."
***PPPFFFHHHTTTTT!!!****
Last edited by taalismn on Mon Dec 24, 2012 4:23 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
glitterboy2098
Rifts® Trivia Master
Posts: 13319
Joined: Wed Aug 06, 2003 3:37 pm
Location: Missouri
Contact:

Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by glitterboy2098 »

you know, reading that bit i have a hard time not imagining "Novice Kurumi" as looking and sounding like the main character of the steel angel kurumi anime.. especially since the behavior is so darn close..
Author of Rifts: Deep Frontier (Rifter 70)
Author of Rifts:Scandinavia (current project)
Image
* All fantasy should have a solid base in reality.
* Good sense about trivialities is better than nonsense about things that matter.

-Max Beerbohm
Visit my Website
User avatar
taalismn
Priest
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 »

glitterboy2098 wrote:you know, reading that bit i have a hard time not imagining "Novice Kurumi" as looking and sounding like the main character of the steel angel kurumi anime.. especially since the behavior is so darn close..


Not quite. Inspired by a much nastier and meaner-spirited series I came across reference of, and decided required a purging of fire :x . The character was essentially the Designated Victim and DID not come to a good end...Well, until now.
But certainly she could very well become a literal steel angel...of the avenging variety. :angel: :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
------------
User avatar
taalismn
Priest
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: Shemarrians and Lemurians
“We’re talking about two enigmatic, largely nomadic, cultures with a tradition of creating new lifeforms from base stock....natural DNA in the case of the Lemurians, scrap salvage and stock models in the case of the Shemarrians....and a strong work ethic. The Lemurians value life and freedom, the Shemar value freedom and their life force...Could you imagine the possibilities if they came together?”
“Too much alike or too different. It could result in glory, or it could end in tears. It’s too close to call.”
---Discussion in Interdim Dimensional Monitoring, Gamma Prime.

Though there are many d-bee societies and cultures that the Shemarrians have come in contact with, both regularly and fleetingly, some note should be taken of one interaction that has not yet taken place; contact with the enigmatic Lemurians.
Extant contact between the two societies has not yet occured to the best of anyone’s knowledge; the Shemarrians remain at present a primarily land-based warrior society. The only two Tribes known to venture into the oceans, the Wayfinders and the DarkWaters, are unlikely to run into the Lemurians any time soon. The Dark Waters, though having the largest naval presence of all the Tribes, have focused the entirity of their efforts on the Atlantic region, where their traditional enemy, the Splugorth, are concentrated. The DarkWaters have also emphasized military operations, rather than exploratory expeditions, in their actions, and at most have sent a few long range scout missions as far south as the equatorial regions of the South Atlantic, to scout Splugorth movements. The Wayfinders, though far more given to exploration for exploration’s sake, have chosen to focus their own attentions on exploring up and down the west coast of North America, but currently have been turning their attention towards the east, with an eye towards containing the Coalition and intervening in the Shemarrian Civil War. They have sent few, if any, large expeditions into the Western Ocean(i.e., the Pacific) though a few scouts have been known to have joined other adventurers on voyages to far Japan(where the gaijan cyborg/gynoids caused something of a sensation in those cities they visited).
If a stabilized and established Shemarrian Nation were to make contact with the Lemurians, the Shemarrians could be an invaluable asset to the Lemurians in their war against the Undead. Since the Shemarrian expeditions into the American New West have already established that the vampire threat is as bad as, if not arguably greater than, that posed by the Splugorth, Shemarrian campaigns against the vampires are assured at some point in the future. The Shemarrian Nation would see the Undead of the Milu as an extension of that threat, and at the very least the Darkwaters would launch an expedition force with mobile industrial base to assist the forces in the Indian Ocean. Being not vulnerable to the Milus’ necromancy, able to survive great depths, and able to mass-produce hordes of relentless warmachines and psi-borgs, the Shemarrians could be a decisive factor in stopping the rapacious Milu dead, as it were. Combined with the New Navy, a Shemarrian-Lemurian alliance would be a formidable pincered force that could overwhelm the Milu and crush the Undead.
Unfortunately, such a grand alliance is not likely to happen. The Lemurians have only a casual interest in the regions inhabited by the Splugorth; like the Shemarrians, the Lemurians are more focused on their own wars(with the Milu and the Lord of the Deep) and unwilling to open another front with yet another enemy. Worse, the Lemurians are likely to recognize the Shemarrians, even the Ecotroz Shemar, as machines, the borderline antithesis of everything the Lemurians believe in. The more conservative Lemurians might not recognize the Shemarrians as sentient at all, but as automatons with the illusion of life. The more radical and extreme Lemurians may see the Shemarrians as little better than the Undead, and deem them worth only of being junked along with the rest of the machine-loving surface dwellers and their societies.
Currently the Lemurians know little of the Shemarrians, and what little they know doesn’t make them particularly interested in them. The Shemarrians are known only vaguely to the Lemurians as yet another violent, rapacious, cold-technology-infatuated species of surface-dwellers who live at odds with nature(indeed, the Lemurians would be HORRIFIED to learn of the apparent Shemarrian love of cyborging innocent animals and plants), and who are to be avoided.
That having been said, a few Lemurian scouts and agents, scouting in the Atlantic region(or around the west coast) may decide to investigate the Shemarrians as a matter of course. The similarities between the Warmount-favoring Shemarrians and the Serpent Hunters may lead indivdiuals of the latter to seek out their Shemarrian counterparts to see how the ‘machine riders’ stack up against the true Riders, if nothing else. Maui-Tikiriki, leader of the Mauian Order, may know a bit more from the biased view of his Splugorth allies, though he may be open-minded enough to try to see if the Shemarrians might not be possible tools in his campaign against the True Atlanteans. In any case, formal contact and any sort of alliance between the two disparate cultures seems unlikely in a century or more, and may represent one of the great missed opportunities for the forces of Good on Rifts Earth.
-------------
"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
Knight
Posts: 5151
Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2004 3:38 pm

Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

Sadly (as I have no intention of buying the book in question) Lemuria does not even exist in my game 'verse.
Thus said meeting will never occur anyways.
Good idea of alternate future-history though :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


~Dream Again By Miracle of Sound
User avatar
taalismn
Priest
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 »

DhAkael wrote:Sadly (as I have no intention of buying the book in question) Lemuria does not even exist in my game 'verse.
Thus said meeting will never occur anyways.
Good idea of alternate future-history though :ok:


Yeah, well, here 'Mechs and Lemurs do not an Awesome Combination make.
-------------
"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
Priest
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 »

Hmmm...occurs to me, after re-reading Rifts Atlantis 2: Dimensional Market that some mention should be considered of the disposition of Sgt. Beta and the contingent of ARCHIE-3 robots(including a dozen mounted Shemarrian Warriors) sent to Atlantis to rouse trouble, during the Shemarrian Civil War. The SCW has probably disrupted A3’s supply runs to the Atlantis teams, so they’ll be forced to do more self-supply, living off the land as it were. A3’s probably also warned the Atlantis teams about the ‘rebel’ Shemarrians, making reinforcing them problematic, as any new Shemarrians appearing would be immediately suspect without some sort of code-recognition.
The EShemar as yet have not gone on the offensive against the Splugorth on Atlantis(the most the Darkwaters have done is sent a few deep scouts nosing around the coastline), so they remain unaware of their ‘sisters’ on the continent. If and when they do, they may try to make contact with them and convert them and any other Dark One robots they find. This could lead to trouble, especially if the A3 loyalists put up a fight (and attract the attention of any nearby Minions, thereby blowing the cover of the Shemarrian infiltrators).
As a neural intelligence with a developing ‘good’ personality and conscience, Sgt. Beta would be a welcome addition to the EShemar cause, especially as he has experience fighting the Splugorth on their own home ground. Awakening would almost certainly sever his ties to A3 for good, though his neural intelligence nature might very well (try to) resist the Ecotroz cyber-viral infection, the good Sgt. having a possessive sense of himself and his imagined racial history.
As usual, this could be a messy little side-adventure to the Shemarrian Civil War.
-------------
"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
Knight
Posts: 5151
Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2004 3:38 pm

Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

taalismn wrote: As usual, this could be a messy little side-adventure to the Shemarrian Civil War.


IIIIIII LIKE IT! :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


~Dream Again By Miracle of Sound
User avatar
taalismn
Priest
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 »

DhAkael wrote:
taalismn wrote: As usual, this could be a messy little side-adventure to the Shemarrian Civil War.


IIIIIII LIKE IT! :demon: :ok:



If you ever run it, lemme know how it comes out. The results could be something to build on. :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
------------
User avatar
taalismn
Priest
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 »

“Gaunt”---Lost Eclipse AA-60 Hunter Destroyer Convert
(Stab)
“AAAGGHHHH!!!”
“See? Now that’s why being all-metal is better! A little jab like that through a joint wouldn’t have done more than maybe lame a ‘bot like me, but since you’re only wearing a shell of armor over a wet soft meaty center, you’re not only lamed, you’re bleeding! Quite heavily, I think, right? Now you gotta worry about bleeding to death! And I can do it again over here!(Stab)(Stab) Really, you ain’t got nothing on REAL metal, so quit trying!”

Gaunt is the name of an Ecotroz-Awakened A3 robot who is part of the Lost Eclipse contingent of misfits. Gaunt is one of the original AA-60 Hunter-Destroyers (see Rifts Mechanoids) produced by Archie for Hagan during the Mechanoid Crisis. How the Lost Eclipse managed to get ahold of the rare unit(they are mostly produced as Hagan’s bodyguard and special assignment units) is unknown(it’s possible that Gaunt was one of he first special hunter-killer units sent after the renegade Shemarrians), but Gaunt is a welcome addition to the ranks of the Nightmare Tribe.
While not as sophisticated as other NeShemar(Gaunt was an Artificial, rather than a Neural, Intelligence robot before being Awakened), Gaunt still has developed his own personality and distinctive attitudes, though these have been shaped by his original function. Gaunt is a thug, a decidedly more high-brow thug, but still a fairly simple and aggressive bastard who enjoys the work of violence. He’s happiest when he’s out fighting and killing, and destroying stuff for the Tribe. He particularly likes breaking cyborgs and power armor operators, just to prove the point that his metal is better. That means he’ll target Kittani(because of their love of power armor) in particular when facing Splugorth Minions. He also will react quite violently to the presence of his old enemies the Mechanoids, even AbMs, and will take off to hunt them down if he encounters signs of their presence. Anybody making any comments about Gaunt resembling a Mechanoid ‘Thin Man’ ‘bot is going to get skewered without warning. And don’t make jokes about a male robot having ‘plasma *****’....that’s asking to be vaporized.
Gaunt also has memories of serving under Hagan Lonovich during the Mechanoid Crisis. Though Gaunt still has what can be described as ‘fond’ memories of those days, he’s rather conflicted about how he feels about his old boss Hagan. While he still respects the cunning meat-bastard, Gaunt also feels rather soured towards Hagan as being something of a petty tyrant. If Gaunt ever got Hagan in his clutches, he’d probably let the man escape ‘for old time’s sake’ but with a stiff warning about crossing paths again. Any follow-up encounter would result in Gaunt going all-out just to teach Hagan a lesson, especially if Hagan was wearing power armor. Gaunt would also like to bring over any of the other surviving original ten AA-60s to the EShemar side if he could, though he doesn’t think as well of any newer production Hunter-Destroyers, seeing them as ‘too green and shiny’.
For their part, Gaunt’s EShemar superiors in the Lost Eclipse regard him as a USEFUL thug, provided a close leash is kept on him when his talent for violence is NOT needed. He is trusted on the battlefield, and even given charge of small hunter-killer units on the field, even though he is not particularly well-liked socially, especially by his NeShemar subordinates.
As a NeShemar, Gaunt has modified his appearance somewhat, redoing his paint job to a dark grey and bleached bone scheme that makes him look somewhat like a Coalition soldier from a distance. He also wears a hooded cloak, with pockets for extra ammunition clips and fusion blocks, and he carries a Shemarrian ‘short’ rail gun as standard, but he also carries a well-used Mechanoid M-15 Plasma Rifle(which he claims is a trophy of the ‘good old days’) . He’s also known to carry around a Kittani plasma-axe for the scary it causes when he uses it to decapitate enemy power armors. Of late, he’s also taken to carrying capture nets, in order to pin down targets for the rest of his squad to capture live prisoners. Gaunt’s also vocalized an interest in getting his arm-blades upgraded to use the newer Naruni ‘Ripper’ blades, but he’ll admit that the necessary modifications to accommodate the serrated blades in his forearm sheaths would probably ‘ruin his good looks’. As his ride of choice, he rides a Northern Gun Prowler combat hovercycle he somehow acquired(best not to ask him the specifics).
Modifications:
Level of Experience: 7th Level
Rank: Warrior of the Nightmares
Race: Awakened Ecotroz Robot
Alignment: Anarchist
Land of Origin: Aberdeen Factory Complex #3
Age: Not applicable
Sex: Gaunt responds to the masculine.
Disposition:
Gaunt comes across as a older, crustier, veteran gangster who happens to like being a soldier and a thug. His first response to a problem is violence, and his second response is more violence. He also has something of a competitive streak to him, wanting to prove he’s the bigger badass than those ‘pretenders’ who try to ape the success of true robots(even though technically he can be considered a cyborg by virtue of his psionic ‘soul’), such as cyborgs and power armor pilots. Prisoners, for the short duration such are taken before being killed or set loose by the Lost Eclipse, are also subject to his rather acerbic manner, and Gaunt will cheerfully insult cyborgs and power armor pilots, taunting them on their weakness(“Oh look at the pink slime that dripped out of that can I opened!”, “Hey, fleshie, how’s it feel to have your ass kicked, first in your metal underwear, and second time falling out of it!”, or “No wonder you metalled up! You are one UGLY clam without your shell!” are typically of the sentiments he pours on his victims). He also exhibits something of a bias against cyborg NeShemar, being rude and insulting to them when he can get away with it.
Gaunt will follow orders readily enough without problem(aside from a tendency to go overboard when it comes to aggression), but he’s something of an abusive CO in his own turn; one gets the impression that he doesn’t like to be responsible for inexperienced snots and wannabees. He’s perfectly happy with the Nightmare modus operandi of terrorizing opponents, and in playing the ‘killer robot’ to the hilt.
I.Q. 16
P.P.E.: 8
Psionics:
Object Read, Telemechanics, Telemechanical Possession, Telemechanic Mental Operation(No ISP cost)
Systems of Note:
Gaunt has received some Upgrades as a result of his achievements:
*Bionic Cybernanite Repair Systems---A modified bionic nanotech repair system that the Ecotroz Shemar have refitted themselves with, and which is becoming the standard among NeShemar as well. These systems repair 4d6 MD per hour, and can repair 60 MDC before needing material stocks to convert to MD repair material.

*Fully Articulated Jaw---Gaunt can now BITE for 1d4 MD of damage. He’s been known to chew on strips of power armor or cyborg limb(especially if prisoners are watching) between battles.

In addition to his regular AA-60 skill programming, Gaunt has learned the following:
-o2 Demolitions 75%
-o2 Demolitions: Disposal 75%
-o4 Lore: Demons and Monsters 40%
-o4 Trap Construction 32%
-o6 Camouflage 25%
-o6 W.P. Net

Bonuses:
Gaunt gets an extra(+1) attack per melee, and +1 to Initiative, in addition to his regular AA-60 bonuses
-------------
"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
Knight
Posts: 5151
Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2004 3:38 pm

Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

“Gaunt”---Lost Eclipse AA-60 Hunter Destroyer Convert
:shock:
Right; the bone-theme'd NeShemarr flying the nightmare 'colours' is to be avoided.
COPY THAT.
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
taalismn
Priest
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 »

Yes, yes indeed. And there are even scarier characters among the ranks of the Lost Eclipse. :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
------------
User avatar
89er
Adventurer
Posts: 569
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2008 8:33 pm

Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by 89er »

taalismn wrote:Yes, yes indeed. And there are even scarier characters among the ranks of the Lost Eclipse. :twisted: :demon:


The VatFathers should be near the top of the list, just for standards.

Here is a To Do list for Hoyt over the weekend.

+ Gain feedback from Blood Riders on the Grill Hog War Steed. May add harpoon tusks if requested.

+ Work on caustic laser and accelerated time weaponry.

+ Discuss the uses of "walking bomb" cyborg and effective safety measures with Paladin Steel.

+ Check up on latest results of Project 70-7.

+ Come up with ten "Internal Devastation" drones that can survive digestion and kill monsters from the inside out. Research various parasites for inspiration.

+ Develop power armor for smallkin, especially mutant moles, frogs/toads, and bats. May include experimental generators as solution for peace and alliance.
User avatar
taalismn
Priest
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 »

89er wrote:
taalismn wrote:Yes, yes indeed. And there are even scarier characters among the ranks of the Lost Eclipse. :twisted: :demon:


The VatFathers should be near the top of the list, just for standards.

Here is a To Do list for Hoyt over the weekend.

+ Gain feedback from Blood Riders on the Grill Hog War Steed. May add harpoon tusks if requested.

+ Work on caustic laser and accelerated time weaponry.

+ Discuss the uses of "walking bomb" cyborg and effective safety measures with Paladin Steel.

+ Check up on latest results of Project 70-7.

+ Come up with ten "Internal Devastation" drones that can survive digestion and kill monsters from the inside out. Research various parasites for inspiration.

+ Develop power armor for smallkin, especially mutant moles, frogs/toads, and bats. May include experimental generators as solution for peace and alliance.



Looking forward to seeing them!
I know I've been neglecting the girls of late, but I definitely have several projects well along and need to revist older ones that have been lingering in drydock for far too long. So many things to do, so many worlds to conquer. :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
------------
User avatar
taalismn
Priest
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 »

Decided to combine two of 89er’s ideas for additional Wolf types:

More Shemarrian Wolf Breeds:

“Ever seen a Gorgon-Hound take on a shikima? It’s all tentacles, flying blood and poison, and lots of screaming and growling. Besides sanctified incendiary depleted uranium vibro-buzzsaw discs and impotency spells, there’s nothing that will maim a shikima like a Gorgon-Hound. “

*EShe-19LE Kantaran Gorgona ---(aka ‘Anemone Dog’, ‘Gorgon-Hound’)---One of several breeds of Shemarrian Wolf exclusive to the Lost Eclipse, the Gorgana breed looks like a cross between a saber-toothed wolf and a dreadlocked sheepdog, as the body and head are buried in thick curls. Close inspection will reveal, however, that the curls are not of hair, but are hundreds of short tentacles sprouting from the skin of the wolf. This realization can be quite horrifying, seeing the hundreds of tendrils twitching and tensing. These short tentacles can do little more than curl and straighten out, but each holds a hollow tubule leading to a chemical reservoir in the main body. Brushing up against the ‘wolf will lead to contacted tentacles suddenly going rigid, pistoning to make hard contact and deliver a dose of skin contact drug or toxin. Effects vary by the sort of chemical used, but effects are generally DOUBLED if worked into an open wound on the victim. Use the drug/chemical types from the Cyborg Chemical Spray and Drug Injector systems for quick reference. A standard nerve toxin will require a save versus non-lethal poison or the victim will be beset by delusions(-1 APM, -3 initiative, -3 dodge/parry/roll/strike, -20% to skill performance and speed, for 2d6 minutes). A mild acidic spray does 1d6 SDC, and victims are -4 to dodge/parry/roll/strike for 1d4 melees. More concentrated acids do 4d6, 6d6, 1d4x10, or 1d6x10 SDC, or 1d4 MD, burning for 1d4 melee rounds(the Gorgona is shielded against its own acids by special laminated coatings on its skin).
Worse yet, the mass of tentacles conceals four longer squid-like tentacles that can uncoil and reach as far as 5 ft, have 20 MDC, a Robotic P.S. of 25, and add the following bonuses: +2 attacks, +1 disarm, +2 parry, +3 entangle, and +15% to Climbing skill. Damage-wise, the tentacles do 6d6 SDC on a restrained punch/slap, 1d6 MD on a full strength punch/stab, and 2d6 MD on a power punch(takes 2 attacks). The Gorgana typically uses its tentacles to grapple an opponent and trap them while it savages them with claws and teeth.
The tendrils can also act as a sort of ‘active velcro’, grabbing loose debris and vegetation to disguise the Wolf. This can be further assisted by the longer tentacles. The Gorgona is programmed with the Camouflage skill of 80%.
The Gorgona Hound is sometimes mistaken as having the spell Armor Bizarre cast on it(optional Horror Factor of 10 for those who make this misinterpretation). The Nightmares don’t discourage this mistake.

*EShe-20LE Kantaran Velocus---(aka ‘Rollerdog’, ‘Studridge’) Another Wolf breed exclusive to the Nightmares. This variant breed can curl itself rightly up in a ball and extend a series of short spikes from its backbone. The ‘wolf can then roll like a tire at speeds up to 200 MPH. The Velocus can perform a high speed ram doing 4d4 MD with a 60% chance of knocking down man-sized targets.
-------------
"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
Knight
Posts: 5151
Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2004 3:38 pm

Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

taalismn wrote:Decided to combine two of 89er’s ideas for additional Wolf types:

More Shemarrian Wolf Breeds:



-meep- :shock:
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
taalismn
Priest
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 »

DhAkael wrote:
taalismn wrote:Decided to combine two of 89er’s ideas for additional Wolf types:

More Shemarrian Wolf Breeds:



-meep- :shock:


Thanks. Insanity is SO liberating.
-------------
"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
Knight
Posts: 5151
Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2004 3:38 pm

Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

Have a bit on the Wayfinders percolating in my brain... I'll post it once I can commit it to text :? :frust: :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


~Dream Again By Miracle of Sound
User avatar
taalismn
Priest
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 »

DhAkael wrote:Have a bit on the Wayfinders percolating in my brain... I'll post it once I can commit it to text :? :frust: :ok:



Excellent...I've been going througha slew of robots(by other sources) that could be infected by the Ecotroz.
Maybe finally get around to finishing off the Cyberpsychologist OCC. :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
------------
User avatar
DhAkael
Knight
Posts: 5151
Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2004 3:38 pm

Re: Shemarrian-related fan creations

Unread post by DhAkael »

taalismn wrote:Maybe finally get around to finishing off the Cyberpsychologist OCC. :D


A couple of the NPC's decribed in the fluff-texts could REALLY stand to have a session or 12 with one. :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
Post Reply

Return to “Rifts®”