VelociClaw

*“It seemed like a good idea!”*

*Last words of Grennal T’Dul, Kittani Hunter-Master, just before being bisected by a VelociClaw in the Georgia Marsh.*

## VelociClaw WarMount

When the Minions of Splugorth began a more serious exploration of the wilds of the Horror Swamps, they decided to try deploying several of the systems that had served them in good stead in their campaigns in South America. This played right into the hands of the renegade EShemar of the Horrorwoods Tribe, many of whom had taken sanctuary in those very same wilds. Starved for supplementary technology and replacement Warmounts in the days before they were able to develop their own extent techbase, the Horrorwoods EShemar quickly managed to capture or salvage several Kittani warmachines and convert them to their own use.

Already familiar with the replica Ostrosaurus warmounts, Horrorwoods Tinkers managed to make necessary repairs and modifications to several Kittani Raptor power armors. The ‘Frankensteeds’ were quickly put to work, shoring up the ranks of the Tribe against both Splugorth and Loyalist forces.

The VelociClaws aren’t all that different from their Raptor predecessors; the main differences are that the crew compartment is now taken up by a Robot AI CPU and extra power equipment, the head and main body sport extra armor in the way of Shemarrian-style frills and scaling, and the former power armors often feature a patchwork ‘skin’ of various monster hides stitched together and applied like camouflage or horse barding. The weapons systems have also been adapted to use whatever is available, from original parts to systems cobbled together with parts from from Coalition, Northern Gun, Triax, and other sources. The tail and head have been adorned with extra spikes and spines, including extra vibroblades implanted into the armor.

VelociClaws are mean-tempered, cantankerous, aggressive War Mounts that only very even-tempered or strict EShemar can manage to ride, but the cybercritters are hellions in combat, making them popular mounts with the more aggressive Horrorwoods warriors. It is very agile, especially in dense forest, where its ability to leap and bounce off terrain features allows it to quickly avoid counterstrikes, while flanking a target. Even with improvised weaponry on place of many of the original weapons, the VelociClaw proved to be a very lethal cavalry unit.

Once the Horrorwoods acquired their own Assembler Forges, they began producing their own WarSteeds in quantity. Though they produced additional wholly new units of the VelociClaw, rather than assemble them from salvage, production tended to favor the more staid and easily produced Monstrex, Monst-Crane, and Repli-Ostrasauri. VelociClaws became more of a ‘custom’ or ‘status’ Warsteed for their speed, maneuverability, and the expertise needed to properly handle them. By the time of the formation of the Shemarrian Star Nation, the VelociClaw makes up only a tiny percentage of the total numbers of WarSteeds produced/’bred’ by the Horrorwoods, but the ‘breed’ is still held in high esteem, similar to a champion thoroughbred line.

## Abilities

The VelociClaw shares many of the same systems as the Raptor Power armours originally, but with time newly produced ones have some improvements. Notable the modular weapon mounts.

### Weapons Systems

#### Eye Lasers (2)

 Damage
 Damage2
 Rate of Fire
 Payload

Retained from the original design. mainly because the Raptor PAs’ heads were spared damage as the Shemarrians aimed for the main body in hopes of achieving pilot-kills.

#### Forearm Blasters (2)

Retained from the original design, but since many of the original salvaged Raptors suffered serious damage to the forelimbs, working forearm laser blasters of the original type weren’t always available. The Shemarrians have had to improvise with a number of replacement weapons.

##### Pulse Laser Blasters

 Damage
 Damage2
 Rate of Fire
 Payload

Original pattern weaponry

##### Ion Blasters

 Damage
 Damage2
 Rate of Fire
 Payload

A common alternate weapon to the original lasers. Fairly common due to ease of available parts.

##### Plasma Blasters

A heavy weapon alternative option to the laser or ion blasters. Not as common in early models.

##### Rail Guns

 Damage
 Damage2
 Rate of Fire
 Payload

A common alternative due to Shemarrian knowledge of railgun technology.

#### Shoulder Hardpoints (2)

Because of the unavailability of reliable supplies of Kittani mini-missiles, the Horrorwoods Tribe has instead made these neat concealed mini-missile launchers into external mounts that can be adapted to use a variety of other weapons types.

##### CS-style Missile Launcher ‘Rifle’

20 mini-mini-missiles per hardpoint, plus laser.

##### 90mm Recoilless Rifle

 Damage
 Damage2
 Rate of Fire

A cheap weapon usually used against soft targets or massed foes, such as zombies.

A Shemarrian gunner with W.P. Heavy can get off two shots per melee.

##### 40mm Automatic Grenade Launcher

 Damage
 Damage2
 Rate of Fire
 Payload

A common heavier weapon, easily acquired from local sources.

##### Heavy Machine Gun

 Damage
 Damage2
 Rate of Fire
 Payload

A common early mounting due to easy of manufacturing or purchasing from local sources.

The Shemarrians also have bullets fabricated from MDC materials (mainly ruined and re-milled armor) that do 1 MD per single rd, or 1d10 MD per ten-round burst at ranges of 3,000 ft.

##### Wire-Guided Anti-Tank Missile

 Damage
 Rate of Fire
 Payload

This is a crude stopgap guidance system that relies on commands relayed down a thin command wire that plays out behind the speeding missile. Highly accurate under ideal conditions, but it requires the operator to keep the missile fixed in a bullseye on the target, using a joystick to keep the missile on course. The Shemarrian wire-guidance system is somewhat easier and more accurate to use because the Shemarrians can ‘jack into’ the control system and use their superior reflexes to keep the missile flying true, but it still takes 2 APM for attacks under 4,000 ft, and 3 APM out to maximum range of the missile. 1.2 mile range, bonus to strike: use the Shemarrian’s hand to hand ‘To Strike’ bonus). 1 SRM per hardpoint

##### Rail Gun

A Shemarrian-pattern 6000- or 4000-series rail gun can be mounted instead (and can be dismounted for personal use). Other borg-scaled rail guns can be substituted, depending on availability.

##### K-1000 Spider Guns

The Horrorwoods have been able to capture a number of these Kittani self-powered laser weapons and adapt them to their own use. One can fit on each hardpoint clamp.

### Programming

The Ecotroz have scavenged the AIs from terrestrial-make robot dogs, and upgraded them as best they can, then infected the matrix with a low-level Ecotroz sentience. The VelociClaw has a high animal intelligence of 7. The resulting Awakened intelligence has a very predatory, aggressive persona, akin to a barely-trained wolf or attack animal, and the VelociClaw will hiss and posture aggressively at anyone it is unfamiliar with, or takes a disliking to. VelociClaws are ornery and ill-tempered; if not actively on the hunt or ignored for long, they may take to chewing and clawing up local trees and rocks out of sheer boredom.

Typically has the following:

* Detect Ambush 80%

* Detect Concealment 75%
* Land Navigation 40% (+5% per level of experience for Ecotroz entity)
* Track and Hunt Animals 60%(+5% per level of experience for Ecotroz entity)
* Track Humans 70% (+5% per level of experience for Ecotroz entity)
* Tailing 70% (+5% per level of experience for Ecotroz entity)
* Prowl 40% (+5% per level of experience for Ecotroz entity)
* Climbing 50%
* Swimming 70%
* Wilderness Survival 80%

The Ecotroz entity can also pick up one Secondary skill at levels 2, 6, and 12 of experience, though the nature of the VelociClaw 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

VelociClaws are agressive creatures, using their speed and agility for ambushing and flanking maneuvers.

### Ecotroz Fragment

The Ecotroz intelligence fragment inhabiting the ‘bot gives the VelociClaw an aura and behavior more befitting a sentient being than a robot.

The VelociClaw has the following Natural Psionic Abilities (no ISP Cost), all equivalent to 6th level with regards to range and proficiency.

* Presence Sense
* Sense Magic
* Sixth Sense/Danger Sense

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, but will have to go dormant for 4d6 hours after such exertion.

Susceptible to Exorcism and Banish spells, but are +6 to save against such spells, +1 at levels 4, 8, and 12 of experience, and becoming IMMUNE at level 14 and up. Such Banishment causes the ‘bot to revert to its default robot programming. (OPTION: Ecotroz may become IMMUNE to Exorcism and Banishment with experience)

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-12F ‘Fireclaw’

 Damage
 Rate of Fire
 Payload

The Fireclaw is simply a VelociClaw with a mouth-mounted heavy flamethrower, useful for clearing brush and dealing with swarms of smaller vermin (giant insects, infantry, etc.). The Fireclaw is one of the Warsteed ‘breeds’ that has been extensively traded for with the Blood Riders.

* Gasoline/Alcohol 1d4x10 SDC, 20 blasts
* Napalm 1d6x10 SDC, plus does 5d6 SDC per melee for 1d4 minutes, 60 blasts
* MD Fluid 1d4 MD

per blast, 1d4 MD per melee for 2d4 minutes, 100 blasts

* Incendi-Gel 2d6 MD, 2d6 MD per melee for 1d6 minutes, 120 blasts
* WI Napalm-P 3d6 MD

per blast, 1d4x10+10 MD per concentrated burst (counts as two attacks). 2d6 MD per melee for 1d4 minutes, 200 blasts
Note: The flamethrower can also be used to cover an area with fluid: up to 10 ft per attack used. Used with Super-Napalm, this does 1d4 MD, Incendi-Gel does 1d6 MD, and with Napalm-P, this does 2d6 MD.

The payload can be DOUBLED if one of the shoulder hardpoints holds an auxiliary fuel tank or TRIPLED if BOTH hardpoints are used, but note that the external fuel tanks are vulnerable to enemy fire and may be ignited if the tanks take more than 75% damage (75 MDC or more). Fortunately, the external tanks can be quickly uncoupled and ejected.

### EcoS-K-12G ’Gun Tail’

 Range2
 Damage
 Damage2
 Damage3
 Rate of Fire
 Payload

The ‘Gun Tail’ is a rare experimental variant that was developed to take advantage of a stock of light artillery cannon that the Horrorwoods came across in a National Guard bunker and refurbished for use. The 76mm cannon is mounted in the tail, which is as a consequence stiff and unable to be used for slashing attacks, and also slightly impedes the VelociClaw’s balance and speed (-1 to its normal Roll bonuses, and reduce top speed by 10%). Nicknamed ‘Farting Dino’ by some observers (but not within earshot of the riders), the Gun Tail was an effective, but not terribly popular, weapons platform, as the riders had to be facing away (‘ready to run’ in the words of some of the more skeptical or catcall-prone warriors) from the action to bring the tail-gun to bear.

After the Reconciliation, the Skullcrushers would petition the Horrorwoods for the design, and it is rumored that the Shemarrian Star Nation Skullcrushers field a version with a G-Cannon in the tail, that has much greater kinetic damage, and a higher rate of fire.

Flare burns for 1d4 minutes, illuminating a 2,000 ft area.

Maximum rate of fire with two gunners is 5/melee; a single gunner/ride can manage 2-3 shots per melee if aiming isn’t an issue.

The rider/gunner can carry a number of rounds (usually 10-15) in saddle panniers to feed into the gun’s action, with additional ammunition carried by accompanying pack animals/vehicles.