Sherak

“Pray, if you ever encounter Sheraks, that they have riders. Then you just might have a chance of surviving. If you don’t see a rider, you’re well and truly ####ed. Those things have a sadistic streak longer than a devil-unicorn’s.”

## EcoS-K-61 Sherak

aka ‘Catboard’, ‘Landsurfer’, ‘Tigerrug’, ‘Battle-slinky’

The ‘Sherak’ is another new Horrorwoods Warmount that came to them courtesy of the feline-obsessed Clan Pantheron. The EcoS-K-62 is based on the Dragoncat; a long, sleek, highly intelligent six-legged feloinoid predator. The head is wide, flat, and sleek, with two large triangular ears. A long tail trails behind, and can be used to swat opponents, or steer like a rudder in the water. Two upper arms sprout from the back and end in modular claws or weapons pods.

Sheraks are used by the Pantherons as scouts and raiders; their fast speed, low profile, and great agility make them good strike-and-fade cavalry mounts. Their low, sleek, appearance, running low to the ground, rider perched atop them, has earned them such nicknames as ‘catboard’, ‘landsurfer’, and ‘tigerrugger’. The ride is decidedly uncomfortable (even for robots!) though, as the rider is perched atop a narrow, undulating chassis (one cyborg passenger compared it to ‘riding a giant slinky’), and the rider has to be well-secured to the saddle during hard maneuvering such as leaping and climbing.

The major complaint about the Sherak is its light weight, low armor, and comparatively light firepower. Compared to its Monstrex cousins, however, the Sherak is more agile, stealthier, and has better firepower (at least until other tribes began copying the Pantherons’ use of modified rifle armaments as modular fitouts). The Sherak isn’t designed for standup/knockdown combat, and is fairly fragile compared to other Warmounts. Smart Sherak-riders keep out of tangling in close combat and try to stay always on the move.

Sheraks are used primarily by the Pantheron tribe, though the design has also apparently been adopted in small numbers by the Horrorwoods as well.

## Abilities

### Climbing

The Sherak is an accomplished climber; can climb at a skill of 80%.

### Special Systems

#### Variable Optical Camouflage Suite

Based on reverse-engineered Naruni and other alien ‘invisibility’ systems, this highly sophisticated system option renders the Sherak effectively invisible to eyeball and sensor detection. A folding ‘smartfabric’ canopy can be erected around the rider to allow them to be camouflaged as well.

Bonuses: -20% to opposition Detect Ambush and Detect Concealment rolls; heat sensors are useless.

This system is ineffective when the Sherak is in motion.

### Weapons Systems

#### Eye Lasers (2)

 Damage
 Damage2
 Rate of Fire
 Payload

Standard robotic eye lasers, common in the Shemarrian arsenal.

#### Armature Weapons (2)

The Sherak sports two upper arms that can end in slashing claws or in weapons pods. The latter are of particular note; rather than mount the common modular weapons systems introduced on the Monst-rex and common throughout Shemarrian Nation designs, the Pantherons instead elected to adapt the common Shemarrian long arms to the hardpoints. The weapons tended to have better range and damage than the common-mount weapons modules, had equal MDC, and were often lighter in weight. Though slightly more expensive to produce per unit, the modified long arms allowed the heavy-industry-strapped fringe tribe to use their existing infantry weapon production capability to outfit both their own people and warmounts, without having to set up and maintain separate production capability for inferior Warmount accessory weapons. This simple move is being studied with great interest by other tribes, who have started to adopt it.

##### Grappling Claws

Four-clawed paw that can pick up, carry, and throw objects (but cannot use hand weapons), or extend vibro-claws to rip and tear. They can tear for 2d6 MD.

##### Scythe Claws

Large scythe-like blades that deal 3d6 MD.

##### Plasma Scythes

Copied from d-bee designs; can perform an un-powered strike of 2d6 MD, an energized plasma strike of 6d6 MD, or can fire a plasma blast out to 500 ft, that does 4d6 MD per blast.

##### Rail Gun Pod

 Damage
 Rate of Fire
 Payload

Shemarrian ‘Short’ Rail-Gun. Rather heavy for the small weapons armatures, but the alternatives under consideration were knockoffs of heavier, and less effective Northern Gun weapons. Again, shopping home industry was the more viable option.

##### Pulse Laser Pod

 Damage
 Damage2
 Rate of Fire
 Payload

Slightly modified E/She-LPP80 Laser Pulse Rifle

##### Ion Blaster Pod

 Damage
 Damage2
 Rate of Fire
 Payload

This is the only new energy weapon type developed for the Sherak. Good damage for relatively short range.

##### Plasma Blaster Pod

 Damage
 Rate of Fire
 Payload

Slightly modified E/She-PLR25 Plasma Rifle

##### Particle Beam Pod

 Damage
 Rate of Fire
 Payload

Slightly modified E/She-PB20 Particle Beam Rifle

##### Assault Gun Pod

 Damage
 Damage2
 Damage3
 Rate of Fire
 Payload

Slightly modified Shemarrian Assault Rifle

### Programming

The Ecotroz have installed robotic AIs, then infected the matrix with a low-level Ecotroz sentience.

Typically has the following in addition to normal Monst-rex programming:

* Camouflage 50% (+5% per level of experience for Ecotroz entity)
* Prowl 65%

The Ecotroz entity can also pick up one Secondary skill at levels 2, 6, and 12 of experience, though the nature of the Sherak intelligence and design is such that it is limited to skill selections from Technical: Language (understanding) and Lore.

### Combat

 Dodge
 Parry
 Roll
 Pull Punch
 Disarm
 Restrained Claw
 Full Strength Claw
 Power Claw (2 attacks)
 Punch with Weapon Arms
 Pounce/Leap Attack (2 attacks)
 Tail Slash

Although not heavily armed or armoured, the Sherak is deadly, favouring quick hit and fade attacks, luring prey into traps, tiring them out, playing elaborate games of cat and mouse. Once in melee, they bite, tail slash and claw with six legs, using their agility and great leaping ability to pounce and rake, leap away before any counter attacks, then pounce again.

Ecotroz Fragment

The Ecotroz intelligence fragment inhabiting the ‘bot gives the Sherak an aura and behavior more befitting a sentient being than a robot. Sheraks are aggressive, cunning predators with tigerish attitudes. They love the stalk and hunt, and may toy with targets they have already crippled. Though warm and affectionate with their riders and tribesmembers, they are hunters of just about everybody else, if only in practice.

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).