272. Mars Wagon

Made obsolescent by new buggy designs, but too useful to die out, Mars wagons have been present for almost as long as Mars has been a permanent colony. Their design is simple and robust, virtually fail-proof and possessing strong self-repair capabilities in the form of a dedicated repair hive. Magrails will get there smoothly, rocket buggies get there faster, but a wagon always gets there.

Nomadic rednecks attach special habitat trailers to their wagons and live on the road, pulling two or more cargo trailers behind them to form road trains. Often they travel in convoys, for mutual protection, and are not usually averse to some casual smuggling. Barsoomians also use wagons, indistinguishable from commercial trucks, to smuggle people and heavy weapons.

Wagons use an older, tougher, but less efficient model of smart wheel, allowing for speeds of 90 kph on roads, 65 kph on relatively flat terrain, and up to 40 kph on jagged and rocky terrain. The cab seats 6, or 2 plus 2 cots and a maker. The life support system of the cab can provide a breathable atmosphere for six people for 64 hours. The heavier and more sophisticated gear used by habitat trailers can work indefinitely, however, provided it is supplied with a kilogram of water-ice per person per week.

Mechanics

Mars Wagons are vehicles [High]

Passenger Capacity 6 Handling - Movement Rate 6/24 Max Velocity 40/70/100 Armor 30/20 Durability 180 Wound Threshold 36

136. Gliders

The guns of Tharsis fire biomorphs and pods in one type of glider, and synths in another. The version for biomorphs and pods is an enclosed capsule with extendable wings, while the synth version has the same extendable wings but is a bolted-together framework. Both versions are used in the same way: first they are fired from the guns at up to 10,000 km/h, and second, at the apex of their ballistic arc, they extend their wings to gain distance and control. By the time they near their destination, they should have decelerated sufficiently to safely deploy their parachute and make a safe landing.

The single-use, fragile nature of the gliders makes arming them mostly pointless, but there have been successful experiments mounting racks of single-use seeker launchers on their noses. Just before landing, the seekers can launch themselves at nearby targets, or else deploy a smoke screen, in either case helping to ensure a safer landing.

Mechanics

Glider Capacity: 1 Armor: 8/8 Durability: 50 Wound Threshold: 8

Often augmented with reduced signature and chameleon skin enhancements.

135. The Guns of Tharsis

The Mars Authority, with the support of the Planetary Consortium, are embarking on a great project to ensure the security of Mars against TITAN remnants and Barsoomian terrorists. Located at the equator, the tips of great guns emerge from the sides of Pavonis Mons, into which they have been built. The promise of the guns is rapid deployment of soldiers from the air; the authority maintains QRT teams around the clock, and even saves time by conducting briefings in midair.

The guns are massive railguns, with a one meter bore.  Biomorphs and pods are can be fired while within specially designed disposable pods, while synths can simply be bolted into a special framework. The pods and frameworks contain expandable wings allowing them to glide and control some of their flight, as well as drogue parachutes for landing. Once landed, the pod/framework is blown apart by explosive bolts, allowing a soldier to get into action immediately.

A morph launched from the guns travels at ~10,000 km per hour, or 1,000 km every 6 minutes. At any given time, a Mars Authority quick response team is ~6 minutes from Noctis, ~9 minutes from Olympus, ~18 minutes from Valles-New Shanghai, Pathfinder City and the Martian gate, ~25 minutes from Elysium, and between 2 and 24 minutes from any point within the TITAN Quarantine Zone.

Mechanics

If the players have earned a fast response from the Mars Authority, roll 1d4 to represent the number of minutes it takes the QRT to prepare, and add that to the travel time. Even the shorter, 6 minute travel times gives players key preparation time, but keep in mind that if the Mars Authority are using the guns, they will also devote some of their powerful surveillance to the mission, and the team won't give up without tracking down whatever called them out.

Plot Hook: The Barsoomians are obviously very unhappy about this sword of Damoclese hanging over their heads. They are willing to pay the players a very large amount of credits, rep or favors if they sabotage or destroy the guns. Of course, the guns are one of the most important and well protected military sites on Mars. One of the Barsoomians suggests baiting a remnant warmachine out of the TQZ and drawing it towards the base as a distraction, or infecting the base with an exsurgent virus sample. Firewall, however, would not be happy about the possibility of exsurgents gaining control of the guns and raining down on Mars.

109. Octosuit

One of the best successes of the open-source design and fabrication movement, and a symbol of the ability of anarchic and open-source principles to produce results as good or better than the hypercorps, the octosuit is the work-horse of the outer system. From transportation, to maintenance, to combat, the octosuit and its variants can be found in any space-based habitat.

The octosuit is so named because it provides its wearer with eight additional limbs, in the form of synthetic-muscle tentacles. Four limbs are mounted at human center-of-gravity, on the hips. On the tips of these limbs are mounted miniaturized metallic-hydrogen rockets that provide propulsion, which, because they are mounted on the ends of strong flexible tentacles, they can be quickly re-positioned, providing great agility in addition to speed.

The four other limbs act as arms, mounted one pair each at the shoulder blades. These can be controlled by AI, taking cues from the wearer to grab handholds, hold and use tools, aim and fire weapons, and more. For those that are up to it, the arms are best controlled directly, with the most dexterity the ego is capable of.

The remainder of the suit consists of scaffolding designed to redistribute uneven and omnidirectional acceleration throughout the body, and a purpose-made, treated as a standard vacc-suit.

Prototype octosuits distinguished themselves during the Planetary Consortium attack on Locus. They are unarmored, but fast and able to maintain speed while maneuvering through complex environments. In locations offering cover, they excelled at high speed hit-and-run attacks and surprise raids.

Mechanics

Octosuits are exoskeletons [High]

Octosuits provide +20 to freefall tests, 4 extra arms, and the internal rocket enhancement with x2 or x4 duration, and 8/8 armor.

Combat variants include armored plates, bringing armor up to 12/12, and have weapons attached to their arms, typically rail machine-guns and seeker rifles for vacuum warfare.

62. HARM Suits

A battlesuit type exoskeleton empowers its human wearer with increased strength, armor, and environmental sealing. A soldier's performance can expect to be improved in every way, but mostly when doing things a human can already do.

A HARM (Heavy ARMament) suit is designed to bring a soldier into a new role on the battlefield. The suits operate in a careful equilibrium: small enough to be operated intuitively, by echoing a body's movements (like most exoskeletons), and large enough to carry multiple heavy weapons, but not so large as to present a easy target. They occupy a middle ground, between infantry and vehicle, and are most effectively treated as highly mobile heavy weapons platforms.

The first HARM suits were tested on Ragnarok's desolate landscapes in the war. They have become popular as support for long range patrols, where their mobility allows them to keep a light-infantry pace while providing heavy fire support. They commonly form the strike element of screen and strike patrols

Mechanics

HARM suits are exoskeletons [Expensive]

A HARM suit is typically fitted with two weapons, including autocannons, x4 standard seeker launchers, x24 mini seeker launchers, plasma rifles, sprayers, buzzers or torches. They are unsuited to melee combat and provide no bonuses.

They provide 16/16 armor, but are not enclosed; simultaneous use of vacc suits is typical.

Notes

Inspired by the image Harm Suit Mk3 by Elliot Lilly.