Mantazee

*“How the hell are the rebels getting their guns?! We have their territory surrounded, and the shore is covered with those vicious creatures breeding! Not even our own stormtroopers dare go near the beaches for fear of being eaten alive, and those peasant-rebels would be devoured even faster! No, we have the insurgents locked up and locked in, and yet somehow they are being supplied with heavy weapons and ammunition!”*

## EcoS-K-56 Mantazee Aquatic Warmount

The Mantazee is an aquatic Warmount meant as a support-transport for amphibious operations. It has appeared in the ranks of the Dark Waters, Horrorwoods, and Wayfinders.

### Description

The Mantazee is clearly an amphibious development of the Shemarrian robotic version of the Fury Beetle, sharing the blunt head, large foreclaws, heavily armored shell, and multiple legs, but has a more streamlined body, fewer overall legs (and those modified into flippers), and a long fluked tail. Overall, the Mantazee looks to many like a giant marine copapod. The Mantazee also sports a large watertight cargo compartment inside its shell, typically used to transport supplies and the occasional passenger (though it is decidedly claustrophobic and uncomfortable for CONSCIOUS passengers).

Though slower on land than its Fury Beetle cousin, the Mantazee is a fast and powerful swimmer in the water. It has exceptional depth-diving capability, allowing it to go deep where the Dark Water DeepWatch maintains its hidden bases.

The Manatzee is heavily armored, but relatively lightly armed; ‘relatively’ meaning that its eleven laser optics in its head do SLIGHTLY less damage than its’ cousin the Thunderbeetle’s twelve.

### Use

Mantazees are found throughout Dark Water aquatic communities and Horrorwoods coastal tribes as beasts of burden. The Wayfinders also employ them as schleppers in their aquatic expeditions and adventuring parties.

A ‘feral’ version of the Mantazee also exists, often deployed in wandering ‘schools’. These schools (10-100 strong, typically) are often escorted by Sea Swords, Shebu Warmounts or other ‘ferals’, and act as wandering supply convoys for Shemarrian naval forces.

## Abilities

A small space inside/beside the saddle-seat for a few personal possessions and sidearms.

Large cargo compartment inside its armored ‘hump’ can hold up to 2 tons of gear (or several sedated/stasis-locked/unconscious passengers).

Additional cargo can be hauled through the water in buoyant pods.

The Mantazee is not very good at leaping, managing only a modest 10 ft up/15 ft across, using its tail to push off with.

If the surface can accommodate the weight, the Mantazee is a fair climber, using its forelimbs and many smaller legs to find purchase and haul itself up steep grades, even small cliffs and buildings, with a climbing proficiency of 55%.

### Sensors

#### Sonar

The Mantazee has a sonar with a 80 mile range.

### Special Systems

#### Stealth

The Mantazee can move exceptionally quietly underwater, and its shell materials absorb sonar energy, affording it a degree of stealth underwater. -50% chance of detecting the Warmount with sonar. Sonar-guided wepons are -3 to strike.

### Weapons Systems

#### Eyeball Lasers (11)

 Damage
 Rate of Fire

The Mantazee’s multiple eyes sport blue-green lasers of standard Shemarrian design.

The eyes can all be fired to attack the same target, 3d6x11 MD per all ELEVEN eyes firing on the same target simultaneously.

#### Sonic Disruptor Blast

 Range2
 Damage
 Damage2
 Rate of Fire

The Mantazee can emit a powerful blast of sonic discordance that can temporarily knock out sonar systems and stun sea creatures and swimmers.

Deals double damage and range underwater.

Sonic weapons do HALF damage through light ‘soft’ armors like MDC barding and padded armor.

The sonic vibrations can also be used to set up a resonance in hard armor that can stun or disorient living beings. Humans (and those most like them) will find these subsonic vibrations particularly irritating, the barely audible buzzing setting up painful discordance in their eardrums and auditory apparatus. Beings with enhanced hearing/natural sonar are particularly vulnerable to this attack (DOUBLE all penalties). Cyborgs and those with baffled hearing implants will NOT be affected by this.

Save versus psionic attack (12 or better) or be -1d4 to initiative, HALF all bonuses to strike/parry/dodge, and -1d4 to Maintain Balance. Roll under P.E. or fall unconscious for 1d6 melees.

Power Armor and EBA-wearers will be more susceptible to the effects of resonance, owing to their close proximity to the materials being affected. The effects are greatly diminished to occupants on a vehicle owing to the many interior structures that serve to disipate and insulate the sound waves.

#### Optional Modular Weapons (2)

The Mantazee has provision for torso-mounting two weapons similar to those standard to the Monstrex.

#### Optional Internal Torpedoes

This option replaces the cargo bay with a dedicated internal torpedo launcher capable of firing underwater projectiles; 2 Heavy Torpedoes OR 5 Medium Torpedoes, OR 8 Light Torpedoes, OR 24 mini-torpedoes can be carried and fired.

### Programming

The Ecotroz have installed robotic AIs, then infected the matrix with a low-level Ecotroz sentience. Has an effective animal-I.Q. of 11.

Typically has the same programming as for the Monst-rex and Monst-crane, plus the following:

Underwater Navigation 50% (+5% per level of experience for Ecotroz entity)

The Ecotroz entity can also pick up one Secondary skill at levels 2, 6, and 12 of experience, though the nature of the Mantazee intelligence and design is such that it is limited to skill selections from Technical: Language (understanding) and Lore, Espionage(Detect Ambush, Detect Concealment), Wilderness (Track Humanoids, Track Animals, Hunting, Identify Plants and Fruits).

### Combat

 Dodge
 Parry
 Auto Dodge
 Roll
 Pull Punch
 Disarm
 Foreclaw Strike
 Leg Slash
 Tail Lash
 Bodybock/Ram

Mantazees fight primarily with their multiple eye lasers, or any modular weapons installed before closing to use their foreclaws and bite, but are generally peaceful, happily working as beasts of burden.

## Ecotroz Fragment

The Ecotroz intelligence fragment inhabiting the ‘bot gives the Mantazee an aura and behavior more befitting a sentient being than a robot. Mantazee have normally placid, peaceful attitudes, and work well in large groups, but when provoked or ordered, they can turn vicious and bloodthirsty. They are effective pack/herd predators, especially in the water.

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 (most Warmounts, unless otherwise noted, have an effective IQ rating of 8), but will have to go dormant for 4d6 hours after such exertion.

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

## Variants

EcoS-K-56F

The ‘Feral’ version of the Mantazee, which looks more organic, has only 570 Main Body MDC, and swims at only 35 MPH. It retains only the optical lasers, and those are rarely ever used in the ‘wild’, except when the Shemarrians decide that masquerading as wild animals is not advantageous. The Shemarrians even manufacture half- and quarter-sized ‘juveniles’ to accompany the EcoS-K-56Fs, furthering the illusion of wild animals.