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EShemar Darkwater Scylllan Elitehttp://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp164/taalismn/ShemarrianScyllaElite_zpsb2fc65d5.jpg“Ever see one of them Scyllar gals going one on one with a Splugorth Slaver? It’s incredible! All punching or kicking tentacles, grappling for a grip, each one o’ them trying to twist the other’s limbs or head off! At the time, though, I didn’t realize one of them was trying to rescue me from the other! I thought them both wuz fightin’ to see who got to eat me! I didn’t know if I was to be rightly amazed at the sight, frightened to hell, or plain motion sick from trying to watch all that action going on at the same time!”
The Sapphire Cobras aren’t the only Tribe with a knack for radical and arguably frightening Elite classes, as anyone who has seen the Scyllan Elite can attest. Those who have, ascribe the design to the so-called ‘Monster Tribe’, though they would be surprised to learn that the Scyllans are found in BOTH the Darkwaters and Horrorwoods Tribes(although it is fairly rare).
The Scylla resembles a Warchieftain(ess) from the waist up; below, the body splits into eight long octopus-like tentacles. Hydrojets in the hips help push the Elite through the water, just like a squid. Ponderous on land(the Scyllan needs at least three intact tentacles to stand up, and four to actually move), the Elite is pure murder underwater and in zero-gravity, able to launch multiple melee attacks. Coordinating all of these attacks fairly taxes even the psionic-positronic nervous systems of the Scyllans, so they have some of the best developed secondary ‘hind-brains’ of any Shemarrian/EShemar, and even then, feedback overload is said to give the Scyllans’ personality an edge of madness.
The Scylla is believed to have first appeared during the latter stages of the Shemarrian Civil War, but was not known of outside the Tribe for many years afterwards, on account of the two-front war the Darkwaters were fighting, ashore against their Loyalist sisters, and at sea against the Splugorth. Nicknamed ‘Mother Squid’(but never ‘Octomom’) or ‘Sea Witches’, Scyllans often commanded the handful of submarine warships the Darkwaters managed to acquire/rebuild for power projection against the Splugorth, campaigns they pursued with zeal. It was rumored, for instance, that the Scyllans feasted on the bones of vanquished Horune pirates, and drank from the skulls of Splugorth Slavers. Other claims have been made that these Elite amuse themselves by hunting giant squidStidjron, Naut’Yll, and Devil Kraken for sport.
As noted before, the Scyllan is found in the ranks of both the Darkwaters and Horrorwoods. This transmigration of Elite designs is indicative of the close ties between the two Tribes when it came to the Horrorwoods of the Shemarrian Star Nation taking over many of the amphibious warfare roles that the Darkwaters conducted on Rifts Earth.
Scyllan Elites are rare, but being based on War Chiefs, they are typically assigned high command positions in charge of DeepWatch bases or deep space facilities.
Type: EShemar Dw/Hw-Scyllan
Class: Energy Lifeform/Robot Fusion Self-Sufficient Amphibious Operations Gynoid
Crew: Ecotroz Intelligence
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 325(body armor adds 150 MDC)
Head 90 (armored headdress adds 100 MDC)
Head Antennae(3) 10 each
Upper Arms/Shoulders(2) 120 each
Forearms(2) 106 each
Hands(2) 20 each
Leg-Tentacles(8) 100 each
Height: 8 ft; the tentacles can raise the Elite up to 12 ft tall
Width: 4 ft at shoulders; the tentacles can extend out 12 ft to each side
Length: 2 ft front to back; the tentacles can extend out 12 ft to each side
Weight: 2,800 lbs
Cargo: Whatever can be carried
Physical Strength: Robotic P.S. of 42, tentacles each have a Robotic P.S. of 35
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion
Speed:(Running) 40 MPH
(Leaping) 15 ft up/ 40 ft across
(Flying) Not possible without specially modified jetpacks or use of magic
(Flying---Space) Not possible(see Variants)
(Underwater) Can run along the bottom at 5 MPH, swim at 45 MPH, and survive depths down to 5 miles
Market Cost: EXCLUSIVE to the Darkwaters Tribe and Shemarrian Star Nation Darkwaters and Horrorwoods 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 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.
*Sonar---Range: 3 miles
*Underwater Motion Detection---This consists of a skin network of temperature and pressure sensors that pick up changes in the immediate surrounding environment. As long as the gynoid is wearing little or nothing in the way of coverings that would interfere with the sensors, they give the Scyllan a +2 to Initiative, Dodge and Roll underwater.
*Buoyancy Regulator---The Scyllans can control their own buoyancy through the use of special internal varying-state gel ‘organs’.
*Depth Gauge
*Tentacles(8)---12 ft reach each, Robotic P.S. of 35, +15% to Climbing skill, -2 to strike w/ melee weapons, -3 to strike w/ ranged weapons.
*Molecular Adhesion Pads---The octopus legs are studded with multiple molecular adhesion pads, allowing the Scylla to cling to just about any surface, get a grip on such about anything, and do extra damage tearing multiple silver dollar-sized swaths of skin off a target.
Weapons Systems:
1) Blue-Green Frequency Wrist Lasers(2)(no penalties for firing underwater)
Range: 2,000 ft in air and underwater
Damage: 3d6 MD per single blast
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited
2) Forearm Ion Blaster(2)---In place of the War Chieftain’s light plasma ejector, the Scylla mounts an ion blaster. The ion blasters also have an area of effect ‘spray’ mode for dealing with multiple targets.
Range: 1,600 ft (1,000 ft underwater)
Damage: 5d6 MD single shot
(Ion Scatter-Shot Mode) Reduce range to 400 ft, but does 4d6 MD to a 12 ft wide area.
Rate of Fire: Standard
Payload: Effectively Unlimited
3) Retractable Tentacle VibroBlades(8)---Each tentacle conceals in its end a retracting harpoon-like vibroblade.
Range: Melee
Damage: +2d4 MD to a tentacle punch/slash
4) Retractable Tentacle Vibrospikes---The multiple molecular adhesion ‘sucker’ pads hold a small extendable ‘tooth-spike’ in their centers, that provides additional anchoring traction, but which also add to the damage on a punch, by ‘biting’ into a struck target and removing silver dollar-sized swaths of skin and flesh when the tentacles pry loose.
Range: Melee
Damage: 1 MD each, but adds +2d6 to a punch/slap/pry with the tentacles.
5) Ink Jet---A modification of the chemical sprayer system, this system can be used to release a dark, clouding chemical that obscures vision and also has some effect on sonar systems. In air, the system can also be used to spray a jet to blind targets, but a call to strike must be made to aim the fluid at eyes or optics. In the alternative, the ink can be replaced with Gill Clog chemicals, the formula for which was stolen from the Kittani(see Rifts: Underseas. pg 174).
Range: 20 ft radius. In air, the jet can be sprayed 80 ft away.
Damage: Creates a blinding cloud in the water that’s virtually impossible to see through(-5 to strike, parry, dodge, disarm, and entangle). Even sonar effectiveness will be degraded 50%(HALF bonuses if using sonar targeting to shoot through the cloud).
In air, an accurate hit in a target’s eyes will cause them to be temporarily blind; -10 to strike, parry, dodge, disarm, and entangle for 2d6 melee rounds. Those with eye protection will suffer only HALF penalties for 1d6 melee rounds, as the oily chemical tends to stick and smear.
Rate of Fire: ECHH. Depending on water currents, the cloud persists for 1d4 minutes.
Payload: Has enough for 10 applications before needing to recharge(basic ink)
6) Use of Handheld Weapons----Scyllans can use any handheld weapon, especially Shemarrian weapons. Many Scyllans favor bayonet-equipped rail guns(firing modified supercavitating underwater ammunition) or large spears/harpoons/polearms.
Hand to Hand:
The following bonuses are in addition to any the Scyllan gets from additional skills/modifications
Actions/Attacks Per Melee: 9 +4 tentacle attacks, + 1 additional attack at levels 3, 6, and 12
Initiative +3
Strike +7
+4 Strike with ranged weapons
+7 Strike with Shemarrian/EShemar weapons
Dodge +7
Parry +7
+1 from tentacles
Roll +4
Pull Punch +4
Disarm +2
+2 from tentacles
Entangle +2
+3 from tentacles
Critical Strike on a Natural 18-20
Paired Weapons
Restrained Punch 1d4 MD
Full Strength Punch 2d6 MD
Power Punch(2 attacks) 6d6 MD
Tear/Pry with Hands 2d6 MD
Body Block/Tackle 4d6 MD
Tentacle Kick/Punch 1d6 MD
Tentacle Tear/Pry 2d4 MD
Tentacle Squeeze/Crush 2d6 MD
Programming/Skills:
The skills of the EShemar Scyllans depend on their origins and their level of experience.
Progen-born Scyllans will start with the full base hand to hand combat programming of the Shemarrian Warchief, 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. Harpoon & Spear Gun, W.P. Targeting with W.P. Grappling Hooks. W.P. Polearm with W.P. Tridents (all at 9th level).
ADD:
Swimming 98%
SCUBA 94%
Wilderness: Undersea and Sea Survival 75%
Pilot: Boats(Two of Choice) 88%
Pilot: Military(Submersibles OR Warships/Patrol Hydrofoils) 88%
Pilot: Water Scooters 90%
Demolitions: Underwater 90%
Wrestling
Can acquire additional skills as normal for an Ecotroz Nueral Intelligence.
Psionics: As for the Ecotroz. About 30% of Scyllans are also Psi-Shamanesses.
Options:
-Tentacle Mail----A set of segmented applique armor sections that can be added to the Scylla’s tentacle-legs, adding +60 MDC to them, but restricting mobility somewhat: -1 to strike, parry, and entangle with them.
Variants:
*EShemar Dw-Scyllan-Astra---This is the dedicated deep space variant exclusive to the Shemarrian Star Nation Darkwaters Tribe.
-Repulsor Tethers---One Upgrade that is unique to the Darkwaters is the Repulsor Tether. Darkwater members are modified with implants that allow them to fly effortlessly inside and around their spacecraft when in zero-gee without the need of kicking off surfaces or wasteful reaction jets, but by alternate attraction/repulsion between their own bodies and the structures of their ships. With the RT system, Darkwaters crewmembers can flit about their ships at running speed, effortlessly. The RT system also provides a safety net when performing EVAs; the crewmembers can fly about (at up to x4 times their maximum running speed) their spacecraft like orbiting satellites(effective range; 12-15 ft for ships of 15 tons mass or less, up to 50 ft for ships of up to 6,000 tons mass, and up to 200 ft for ships of 50,000 tons mass or more), making them deadly adversaries in close combat about their spacecraft.
-Space Propulsion System: A system of jets and a mini-CG jetpack that allow the Scylla to fly through space at roughly Mach 1.3
-Programming: Replaces the above exclusive programming with the following:
Movement: Zero Gravity
Combat: Zero Gravity(Advanced)
EVA 98%
Pilot Spacecraft: General 90%
Navigation: Space 90%
Space: Depressurization Training 98%
Wrestling