ARTISANAL SWARM
An even more "tame" variant on the TITAN Nanoswarm than the Fabricator Swarm (p. 15 Zone Stalkers) these swarms appear to be something similar in function to Engineer or Gardening swarms for the TITANs. These units do not directly make "useful" objects, but rather seem determined to build small "artistic" objects or even directly draw or carve images into a surface. Most commonly seen scattered in long-lost areas of TITAN activity, Artisanal Swarms usually appear in small canister hives, and will find unremarkable surfaces to "draw" on. If no surface is present, they will gather raw materials like a Fabricator and build small objects, such as Effigies (see below) instead. They appear relatively harmless to most, and are valuable for research purposes, but X-Risk groups do note their haunting and highly detailed artworks can sometimes be gateways to visual Basilisk Hacks. [Expensive (Min 100,000]
COLDSTONES
Coldstones are an extreme oddity, found randomly scattered in areas where TITAN agents have operated, such as the TQZ. They are small, vaguely round objects which have an uneven number of geometric faces - always a prime number between 71 and 97, and otherwise generally about the size and mass of a golf ball. Coldstones appear to be some kind of experiment of the same nature as a Cyrokinetic Anomaly (p. 9 Zone Stalkers) a small device which denies physics and drains heat from the immediate area - with the stones themselves hovering around 0 C. They appear to serve no other purpose, and so are prized by the ultra-rich as "trophies" or treasures - used as an extremely risky and expensive paperweight or parlor trick. A biomorph without adequate protection who handles a Coldstone takes 1d10/2 DV per turn. [High]
EFFIGY
An effigy is mostly a creepy artifact, a perfect to scale replica of a transhuman, usually made by an Artisanal Swarm. The exact scale varies, but most effigies are between 15 to 40 cm in height. They are made from whatever materials are to hand to the swarm, usually carbon or metallics, but occasionally form into stone or glass. Effigies have a certain collector's value, but Zone Runners and other such groups generally consider finding your own Effigy a bad omen. Seeing the Effigy of someone you know is a Stress Test which costs 1 SV, seeing your own Effigy is 1d10/2 SV. [Moderate] to [Expensive] for an effigy of someone famous.
FRACTAL RINGS
Also called "Thorned Manacles", these devices appear as rings in sets of one or pairs, which can unfold. They appear to be a restraint mechanism for Exsurgents, as they are placed around the neck, or around limbs - and on a wireless command they extrude tiny fractal blades into the skin and muscle of the target, directly locating and "poking" any available nerve cells inside their limited reach. This is anywhere from "itchy" to intensely painful depending on certain settings which Transhumans have been unable to decipher. The "thorns" of these rings are small enough that damage closes up and heals fairly quickly - but due to use on Exsurgents "used" rings may be a potential infection vector. [High]
SPEECH ZAPPER TURBO
A small, black box about the size of a 21st Century smartphone, with a small screen and no other visible interface. These objects appear sometimes at the sites of TITAN attacks, and their purpose is unknown. Whenever a person holding the SZT attempts to speak, the display will show their complete sentence - in the speaker's native language - instantaneously. It is named after a piece of software designed to shut down communication - playing back audio of a person speaking at a slight delay as to "lock up" the brain. They have no use apart from a party trick - though seeing one complete a particularly complex thought may be 1 SV. These boxes are seamless, and breaking them open renders them inoperable, exposing highly delicate and detailed circuitry of TITAN make. [Moderate]
WHITEBOX
These mysterious items take the form of a block of whitish metal, roughly the size of a brick - but fairly light. As far as anyone can tell, they must be some form of metamaterial - but proving this is incredibly difficult as except for physical manipulation and the visible spectrum, Whiteboxes are completely invisible to sensor systems. Particles and waves appear to pass clean through them, which makes the fact that one can still see and touch it incredibly astounding and off-putting - good for 1d10/2 SV once you know what it does. Whiteboxes are thankfully rare, and quite prized by certain labs to attempt to futile study them [Expensive]
Showing posts with label TITANs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TITANs. Show all posts
Monday, December 26, 2016
Thursday, December 8, 2016
TITAN Traps v1
BONE ASH
Concealment: Only visible with nanodetectors
Disarm: None
Effect: 2d10 DV per action turn (ignoring armor)
"Bone Ash" is a TITAN nanoplague which appeared late in the period of the Fall, and was detailed by some late-term evacuations or reports, and much more commonly seen by scavengers and Zone Runners in regions of TITAN attacks. This nanoswarm reacts with biological material, causing an exothermic reaction which rapidly carbonizes the tissue, turning it to ash and cinder. This results in brittle, hardened shells of ash or charcoal around any cybernetic implants the victim has. A biomorph or pod exposed to Bone Ash takes damage and any Wounds they take have a high chance of indicating a portion of the body has burned off. Damage continues until the morph is destroyed, though it can be stopped by removing the burning portion of the body or exposing the Bone Ash nanites to something which would harm them, such as an EMP or other intense radiation - and they are damaged by Nanophages or Guardian swarms as normal. A character who is going to come into contact with Bone Ash can roll MOXx10 to avoid it (or perhaps REFx3 if they are aware of what they are about to touch). Synthmorphs are not directly targeted by Bone Ash, but may take damage if they touch an active swarm (this DV is reduced by armor). Because this weapon leaves intact cyberbrains, cranial computers and cortical stacks, it is believed that TITANs use it for mass pacification, or to capture intelligence from scavengers - as the swarm is not fully airborne and is usually transmitted by contact with a victim. Bone Ash is particularly dangerous as it gathers energy from the reaction it causes, meaning it can lie dormant for months or years after claiming a victim.
CRYBABY
Concealment: -10
Disarm: Hardware: Electronics, 1 Action Turn
Effect: 1d10/2 SV, more if imitating a person the target knows personally
The crybaby isn't a proper trap, but more of a lure to a more deadly or insidious trap. The principle is sound, but wasn't ever used in a large scale until the Fall - use of sound or other forms of communication to attract new victims. Early crybaby systems were fairly simplistic; they made sounds of domestic animals, small children or even adult humans in distress to draw in others nearby. But, over the course of the Fall and contact with TITAN facilities since, this system has evolved. Most commonly, crybaby systems are invested with weak AI who can gather small amounts of intelligence and adjust their patterns - they will gather data on nearby targets and tailor their responses for maximum effect, even impersonating people a target knows if they can identify them. Some can even falsify mesh communication. A person who is lured in may even be targeted by a digital version of the Exsurgent Virus, but more commonly Crybabies are paired with other conventional booby-traps. The onboard AI version comes with relevant social skills at 40, Academics: Psychology 80 and Perception, Interfacing and InfoSec of 40. It's quite telling that many Exhuman predator clades have started using their own versions of the Crybaby tactic since the Fall.
DRAGON'S TEETH
Concealment: 0
Disarm: None
Effect: 1 DV (ignoring armor) to touch/2d10+2 DV AP -4 falling or running, Fray to avoid further damage
The Dragon's Teeth are a dangerous TITAN area denial weapon. Normally, they have an almost "lightning bolt" shape, with two mirrored wedge-shaped blades up to a meter in length on a "side" - but more commonly only one half is seen as they tend to be embedded in the ground or objects. Dragon's Teeth are notoriously hard to examine, because they are effectively fractal blades, the interior structure is made of a TITAN smart material with effectively infinitely nests monomolecular blades which can extend at any angle or direction from the main "tooth". Damage is minor (but guaranteed) on contact as the teeth "bite" or scrape, but serious damage is inflicted if one falls into them, or is pushed. The victim must make a Fray test to remove themselves or take the damage a second time as the blades further unfold in their body. A third test means the tooth fully "blooms" filling a majority of the victim's body with it's unfurled blades - all that remains is a MOXx10 test to see if their Cortical Stack is shredded as well. Luckily, Dragon's Teeth are fairly recognizable, and relatively fragile if attacked (though melee is not recommended), having an AV of 10 and a DUR of 20 per tooth.
FALSE DOORS/FLOORS
Concealment: -30
Disarm: Hardware: Electronics/Industrial, 10 Action Turns
Effect: Characters will fall through false floors, taking damage accordingly/Characters who run into a false door may take impact damage
False Doors or Floors are not an exclusively TITAN tactic, but their advanced technology and capabilities with holograms, metamaterials and even Basilisk Hacks mean they do them some of the best in the business. Similar to the practice of Invisible Doors (p. 164 Panopticon) a false door or floor utilizes chameleonic or metamaterials, or HD holograms to generate the false image of a door or floor space which is not really there. Doors are the rarer version of this tactic, usually used as a security measure or herding tactic in some facilities subverted by TITANs, to make people think there is an exit when in reality there is a dead end. False Floors, on the other hand, are often paired with other traps or even created by some TITAN made bots or other hostiles to hide under. Visually, a False Door or Floor is impossible to detect without physically contacting it. However, use of Radar, X-Rays or T-rays can detect that a door is actually a wall, or a floor is not present without too much trouble. Another conventional tactic if one is not sure is to utilize water, sand or some other function (like cheap Dust Repellant) to make physical material contact the area in question. This will cause minute disruptions in holograms, and reveal a passage is not actually there.
FRACTAL SNOW
Concealment: Only visible with nanodetectors
Disarm: None
Effect: Reduced visibility, contaminated atmosphere, possible 1-1d10/2 DV
Fractal Snow is not properly a "trap", though it can be artificially induced as an area denial or suppression tactic. Rather, this phenomena occurs when weather-maintenance nanotech or utility fog goes awry, either being directly subverted by TITANs or just left to its own devices too long. Instead of forming snow from ice crystals, the system artificially forms crystals using ceramic or metallic compounds, which snow much heavier and faster than normal. This presents a number of difficulties. First, this snow not only inhibits visibility, but may damage sensor and radio range, presenting -10 to -30 penalties to visibility, and reducing the range of radio transmission by half. The second is that breathing in these sharp crystals can be harmful or distracting, presenting a -10 to -30 to all actions as if from contaminated atmosphere, and if the snow is particularly intense or the morph is breathing hard, may suffer 1 DV per action turn (ignoring armor) while they are in it. Fierce winds might also blow the fractal snow hard enough to abrade or harm exposed areas of morphs, inflicting 1d10/2 DV per Action Turn. Under close examination, these microscopic crystals often have bizarre or alien structures of fractal patterns.
FREEZERBURN
Concealment: Only visible with nanodetectors
Disarm: None
Effect: 1d10+5 DV per action turn or -10 to all actions for 10 minutes
This nanoplague, also sometimes called "Ice-9" is an inverse of the "Bone Ash" weapon. It generates a technically endothermic reaction, artificially removing energy from water to force it to form ice crystals. Luckily, unlike the sci-fi it's secondary name comes from, Freezerburn seems to only react with water in living tissue, through some means of identifying we are not sure of. It has frozen over small bodies of water with large presences of algae or other plants, however. Ultimately this effect causes extreme pain and tissue damage, resembling frostbite into extreme necrosis. Unlike Bone Ash, however, Freezerburn is slightly more manageable, as the body has natural ways to try and protect itself from being cold. Exposure to Freezerburn triggers an opposed test of SOMx2 (+10 with Medichines, +30 with Nanophages) vs the plague's Infection Rating (which normally should be 50-60, but a GM may adjust). Failure means the plague takes hold, and the morph begins damage. Wounds may indicate permanent damage which cannot be naturally healed and requires advanced medicine to fix. At GM's discretion, Temperature Tolerance implants may halve this damage. Passing the test still means the morph suffers some negative effects, taking -10 to all actions for 10 minutes, minus 1 minute for each full 10 MoS. Once infected, like Bone Ash the only way to remove the infection is to remove the infected tissue or damage the nanoswarm directly.
FUGUE FOG
Concealment: 0
Disarm: None
Effect: -10 SOM and DUR while in the fog
Similar to the phenomena known as "Blue Fade" (p. 8 Zone Stalkers), this is an unusual, greyish-white fog which clings to the ground even in conditions which do not normally form fog. Analysis of this fog is limited, but it appears to contain minute microbes. Unlike Airborne Feed, Fugue Fog does not seem to react with reagents directly and the fog is visually opaque and thus prevents LIDAR, but is not picked up by radar, chem sniffers or nanodetectors. The fog has a simple effect, all morphs which physically pass through it (including Pods and Synthmorphs) immediately take the -10 penalty so long as they are within the fog. A character reduced to 0 SOM this way collapses and cannot move under their own strength, and a character reduced to 0 DUR passes out as normal. No one is sure of long-term effects of Fugue Fog exposure, but it does seem to make victims more tired than they were, possibly requiring more sleep in the aftermath. Asyncs are unaffected by the Fog, and may in fact feel more alert and refreshed while passing through it.
SMART RAZORWIRE
Concealment: -10
Disarm: SOMx3 -20, 1 Action Turn
Effect: 3d10 DV -8 AP per turn, 30% chance a Wound removes a limb, can't move
"Smart" Razorwire was originally a transhuman area denial and perimeter defense mechanism, similar even to Smart Mines (p. 138 X-Risks) which was subverted and even made better by the TITANs. The normal form is of a shape-adjusting wire which is edged or flanged with sharp blades, which approach a single molecule, making them very sharp. If a character comes into contact with the wire, it automatically stretches and coils around them, preventing them from escaping and inflicting the associated damage. It is a SOMx3 test with a -20 to break the wire and escape. This conventional wire is usually strung atop fences or other barriers, or rarely trails along the ground as a particularly nasty tripwire. The TITAN variant is more insidious, as it is directly attached to a device similar to a spindle, a spool generator which gradually extract complex webs and lines of the material in non-standard patterns to entrap those who approach. Not only does this variation heal damage to the lines over time, but it may be equipped with wireless capability to signal when it traps someone. The razorwire "hub" has a DUR of 20 and an AV of 3.
Concealment: Only visible with nanodetectors
Disarm: None
Effect: 2d10 DV per action turn (ignoring armor)
"Bone Ash" is a TITAN nanoplague which appeared late in the period of the Fall, and was detailed by some late-term evacuations or reports, and much more commonly seen by scavengers and Zone Runners in regions of TITAN attacks. This nanoswarm reacts with biological material, causing an exothermic reaction which rapidly carbonizes the tissue, turning it to ash and cinder. This results in brittle, hardened shells of ash or charcoal around any cybernetic implants the victim has. A biomorph or pod exposed to Bone Ash takes damage and any Wounds they take have a high chance of indicating a portion of the body has burned off. Damage continues until the morph is destroyed, though it can be stopped by removing the burning portion of the body or exposing the Bone Ash nanites to something which would harm them, such as an EMP or other intense radiation - and they are damaged by Nanophages or Guardian swarms as normal. A character who is going to come into contact with Bone Ash can roll MOXx10 to avoid it (or perhaps REFx3 if they are aware of what they are about to touch). Synthmorphs are not directly targeted by Bone Ash, but may take damage if they touch an active swarm (this DV is reduced by armor). Because this weapon leaves intact cyberbrains, cranial computers and cortical stacks, it is believed that TITANs use it for mass pacification, or to capture intelligence from scavengers - as the swarm is not fully airborne and is usually transmitted by contact with a victim. Bone Ash is particularly dangerous as it gathers energy from the reaction it causes, meaning it can lie dormant for months or years after claiming a victim.
CRYBABY
Concealment: -10
Disarm: Hardware: Electronics, 1 Action Turn
Effect: 1d10/2 SV, more if imitating a person the target knows personally
The crybaby isn't a proper trap, but more of a lure to a more deadly or insidious trap. The principle is sound, but wasn't ever used in a large scale until the Fall - use of sound or other forms of communication to attract new victims. Early crybaby systems were fairly simplistic; they made sounds of domestic animals, small children or even adult humans in distress to draw in others nearby. But, over the course of the Fall and contact with TITAN facilities since, this system has evolved. Most commonly, crybaby systems are invested with weak AI who can gather small amounts of intelligence and adjust their patterns - they will gather data on nearby targets and tailor their responses for maximum effect, even impersonating people a target knows if they can identify them. Some can even falsify mesh communication. A person who is lured in may even be targeted by a digital version of the Exsurgent Virus, but more commonly Crybabies are paired with other conventional booby-traps. The onboard AI version comes with relevant social skills at 40, Academics: Psychology 80 and Perception, Interfacing and InfoSec of 40. It's quite telling that many Exhuman predator clades have started using their own versions of the Crybaby tactic since the Fall.
DRAGON'S TEETH
Concealment: 0
Disarm: None
Effect: 1 DV (ignoring armor) to touch/2d10+2 DV AP -4 falling or running, Fray to avoid further damage
The Dragon's Teeth are a dangerous TITAN area denial weapon. Normally, they have an almost "lightning bolt" shape, with two mirrored wedge-shaped blades up to a meter in length on a "side" - but more commonly only one half is seen as they tend to be embedded in the ground or objects. Dragon's Teeth are notoriously hard to examine, because they are effectively fractal blades, the interior structure is made of a TITAN smart material with effectively infinitely nests monomolecular blades which can extend at any angle or direction from the main "tooth". Damage is minor (but guaranteed) on contact as the teeth "bite" or scrape, but serious damage is inflicted if one falls into them, or is pushed. The victim must make a Fray test to remove themselves or take the damage a second time as the blades further unfold in their body. A third test means the tooth fully "blooms" filling a majority of the victim's body with it's unfurled blades - all that remains is a MOXx10 test to see if their Cortical Stack is shredded as well. Luckily, Dragon's Teeth are fairly recognizable, and relatively fragile if attacked (though melee is not recommended), having an AV of 10 and a DUR of 20 per tooth.
FALSE DOORS/FLOORS
Concealment: -30
Disarm: Hardware: Electronics/Industrial, 10 Action Turns
Effect: Characters will fall through false floors, taking damage accordingly/Characters who run into a false door may take impact damage
False Doors or Floors are not an exclusively TITAN tactic, but their advanced technology and capabilities with holograms, metamaterials and even Basilisk Hacks mean they do them some of the best in the business. Similar to the practice of Invisible Doors (p. 164 Panopticon) a false door or floor utilizes chameleonic or metamaterials, or HD holograms to generate the false image of a door or floor space which is not really there. Doors are the rarer version of this tactic, usually used as a security measure or herding tactic in some facilities subverted by TITANs, to make people think there is an exit when in reality there is a dead end. False Floors, on the other hand, are often paired with other traps or even created by some TITAN made bots or other hostiles to hide under. Visually, a False Door or Floor is impossible to detect without physically contacting it. However, use of Radar, X-Rays or T-rays can detect that a door is actually a wall, or a floor is not present without too much trouble. Another conventional tactic if one is not sure is to utilize water, sand or some other function (like cheap Dust Repellant) to make physical material contact the area in question. This will cause minute disruptions in holograms, and reveal a passage is not actually there.
FRACTAL SNOW
Concealment: Only visible with nanodetectors
Disarm: None
Effect: Reduced visibility, contaminated atmosphere, possible 1-1d10/2 DV
Fractal Snow is not properly a "trap", though it can be artificially induced as an area denial or suppression tactic. Rather, this phenomena occurs when weather-maintenance nanotech or utility fog goes awry, either being directly subverted by TITANs or just left to its own devices too long. Instead of forming snow from ice crystals, the system artificially forms crystals using ceramic or metallic compounds, which snow much heavier and faster than normal. This presents a number of difficulties. First, this snow not only inhibits visibility, but may damage sensor and radio range, presenting -10 to -30 penalties to visibility, and reducing the range of radio transmission by half. The second is that breathing in these sharp crystals can be harmful or distracting, presenting a -10 to -30 to all actions as if from contaminated atmosphere, and if the snow is particularly intense or the morph is breathing hard, may suffer 1 DV per action turn (ignoring armor) while they are in it. Fierce winds might also blow the fractal snow hard enough to abrade or harm exposed areas of morphs, inflicting 1d10/2 DV per Action Turn. Under close examination, these microscopic crystals often have bizarre or alien structures of fractal patterns.
FREEZERBURN
Concealment: Only visible with nanodetectors
Disarm: None
Effect: 1d10+5 DV per action turn or -10 to all actions for 10 minutes
This nanoplague, also sometimes called "Ice-9" is an inverse of the "Bone Ash" weapon. It generates a technically endothermic reaction, artificially removing energy from water to force it to form ice crystals. Luckily, unlike the sci-fi it's secondary name comes from, Freezerburn seems to only react with water in living tissue, through some means of identifying we are not sure of. It has frozen over small bodies of water with large presences of algae or other plants, however. Ultimately this effect causes extreme pain and tissue damage, resembling frostbite into extreme necrosis. Unlike Bone Ash, however, Freezerburn is slightly more manageable, as the body has natural ways to try and protect itself from being cold. Exposure to Freezerburn triggers an opposed test of SOMx2 (+10 with Medichines, +30 with Nanophages) vs the plague's Infection Rating (which normally should be 50-60, but a GM may adjust). Failure means the plague takes hold, and the morph begins damage. Wounds may indicate permanent damage which cannot be naturally healed and requires advanced medicine to fix. At GM's discretion, Temperature Tolerance implants may halve this damage. Passing the test still means the morph suffers some negative effects, taking -10 to all actions for 10 minutes, minus 1 minute for each full 10 MoS. Once infected, like Bone Ash the only way to remove the infection is to remove the infected tissue or damage the nanoswarm directly.
FUGUE FOG
Concealment: 0
Disarm: None
Effect: -10 SOM and DUR while in the fog
Similar to the phenomena known as "Blue Fade" (p. 8 Zone Stalkers), this is an unusual, greyish-white fog which clings to the ground even in conditions which do not normally form fog. Analysis of this fog is limited, but it appears to contain minute microbes. Unlike Airborne Feed, Fugue Fog does not seem to react with reagents directly and the fog is visually opaque and thus prevents LIDAR, but is not picked up by radar, chem sniffers or nanodetectors. The fog has a simple effect, all morphs which physically pass through it (including Pods and Synthmorphs) immediately take the -10 penalty so long as they are within the fog. A character reduced to 0 SOM this way collapses and cannot move under their own strength, and a character reduced to 0 DUR passes out as normal. No one is sure of long-term effects of Fugue Fog exposure, but it does seem to make victims more tired than they were, possibly requiring more sleep in the aftermath. Asyncs are unaffected by the Fog, and may in fact feel more alert and refreshed while passing through it.
SMART RAZORWIRE
Concealment: -10
Disarm: SOMx3 -20, 1 Action Turn
Effect: 3d10 DV -8 AP per turn, 30% chance a Wound removes a limb, can't move
"Smart" Razorwire was originally a transhuman area denial and perimeter defense mechanism, similar even to Smart Mines (p. 138 X-Risks) which was subverted and even made better by the TITANs. The normal form is of a shape-adjusting wire which is edged or flanged with sharp blades, which approach a single molecule, making them very sharp. If a character comes into contact with the wire, it automatically stretches and coils around them, preventing them from escaping and inflicting the associated damage. It is a SOMx3 test with a -20 to break the wire and escape. This conventional wire is usually strung atop fences or other barriers, or rarely trails along the ground as a particularly nasty tripwire. The TITAN variant is more insidious, as it is directly attached to a device similar to a spindle, a spool generator which gradually extract complex webs and lines of the material in non-standard patterns to entrap those who approach. Not only does this variation heal damage to the lines over time, but it may be equipped with wireless capability to signal when it traps someone. The razorwire "hub" has a DUR of 20 and an AV of 3.
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