Pretech Marvels

There is no possibility of aerial rescue or travel on New Earth due to the catastrophic activation of the Bright Mirror defense system. This system, originally meant to protect the Sol system, has malfunctioned and turned hostile. As a result, the entire Sol system, including New Earth, has become a dangerous battleground with deadly defenses, including particle lances and antimatter mines. Any spike drive ships attempting to reach the system are quickly destroyed by the malfunctioning Bright Mirror. Additionally, even true aircraft are considered threats, making air travel perilous. However, there are rumors of certain ships or aircraft that have gained authorization from the defense array, potentially allowing for rapid continent-spanning travel, but such privileges are rare and mysterious.

The Net was a global communication matrix in the world before the Scream, connecting individuals through Link nodes implanted at birth. Controlled by Mandate AIs, it provided augmented reality visuals, virtual environments, and constant surveillance. Rebels accessed the "black Net" for illicit communication, while prosthetic Links allowed those unable to use natural Links to connect and interact. After the Scream, the Net's functionality collapsed, leaving only remnants of its once-powerful communication and control system.

The Link was a cutting-edge communication implant in the pre-Scream era, seamlessly integrating individuals into the global network known as the Net. It provided users with augmented reality visuals, language translation, expert system assistance, and thought-actuated communication within a five-kilometer radius. This technology fostered constant connectivity, social integration, and cultural preservation, fundamentally shaping the way people interacted with their environment and each other.

The Broadcast Power Modulator is a compact device equipped with advanced technology that can transmit power to remote equipment. It connects to an available electrical generator and can transmit power within a one-kilometer radius. Technicians with the right tuning codes can configure TL4+ devices to draw power from it, effectively providing a continuous power source as long as there's enough power generation. In remote areas, a TL4 converter can be built to establish a lower-tech connection. However, if the modulator codes are changed, any device relying on it will become inactive until retuned or connected to an alternative power source. Military facilities using BPMs keep the codes secret to prevent unauthorized access and potential misuse.

The Nanofusion Generator is an advanced technology that combines microscopic metadimensional tap nanites with conventional cold fusion technology to generate vast amounts of power. Despite their small size, often no larger than a fist, these cells can provide power to hundreds of homes or recharge A+ and B+ power cells without limits. By using the right control systems and power infrastructure, even higher power outputs can be achieved with these innovative generators.

Stims were widely used devices in the pre-Scream world, containing advanced nanotechnology and alien pharmaceuticals to offer effects like healing, mood alteration, and physical enhancement. They were one of the few accessible remnants of advanced Mandate technology. Stims followed a common medical framework, but their usage added System Strain, and they came in various types, including Cure Stims for illness, Cyst Stims for healing in a coma, Patch Stims for minor ailments, and others like Lifestyle, Morph, Purge, Rage, and Rush Stims, each with unique effects and risks. These stims were highly valued relics in the post-Scream era.

This small adhesive slab is used to temporarily take control of a robot. When affixed to the robot's casing, it requires either a successful hit roll to connect or direct contact with the bot. Once attached, the bot must save against Tech or obey the user's verbal commands for 1d4+4 rounds. It won't engage in self-destructive activities and doesn't work on bots controlled by an AI. The tag burns out after one use.

Typically found in Mandate medical facilities, the clone vat can create perfect duplicates of living subjects over 1d6 months, retaining their memories and experiences at the time of the scan. Clones can be updated and maintained by subjects with an active Link, but they come with a mental debility from the Mutation chapter. The chance of clone failure increases with each use and requires maintenance to reset.

Originally designed for deep mental connections, the Invasive Crosslink allows direct neural connections between two users with Links. It enables the exchange of memories and thought patterns but can lead to permanent mental damage if used excessively. Each round of use allows users to ask questions about each other's memories, with possible consequences for both parties.

Shaped like a fist-sized cylinder, the Microfac interfaces with a Link or a standard dataslab with Tech/Pretech-1 skill. It uses nanites to transform a small object with low Encumbrance and Tech Level 4 or lower into another object, excluding items with unique data. The transformation is permanent, and the Microfac can be used only once.

A headwrap with electrode prongs, the Neural Patterning Web replaces human tutors and allows users to learn skills up to level-3 expertise over several weeks. However, the learned skill is unstable until it integrates properly. A roll of 1d4 determines if the web burns out or becomes useful, and using the newly learned skill in stressful situations may lead to temporary skill loss until successfully integrated.

These devices are powered by solar energy and have a built-in vocal interface. When activated, they guide users through basic tasks related to the skill implanted in the system. Users willing to spend at least ten minutes with the expert system can roll the skill as if they had level-0 expertise in it, but this applies only to non-physical skills, such as knowledge-based skills.

Highshine is an emergency disaster recovery system using nanites. Originally designed for healing and decontamination during global crises, it was perverted by the Crazed psychics to mutate and harm victims instead. Corrupted nanites blend various strains, causing unpredictable and often grotesque mutations. Though the nanites rarely kill, they leave those infected with severe deformities, giving rise to a significant population of mutants in a dystopian world.

Black Dust is a hazardous substance formed from corrupted nanites, either by the actions of the Crazed or through natural decay of controls. It can appear as a dark, swirling cloud or a shadow in the air. Contact with Black Dust can harm individuals, requiring periodic Tech saves to avoid damage, radiation exposure, mutations, or other harmful effects. Sealed suits provide limited protection, delaying breach for a short time before losing durability. It's a dangerous environmental hazard in the described setting.

A few psychics are found and enlisted by the cults of the Crazed, the handful of arch-psychics that survived the Scream with their minds in tatters. Psychic abilities manifest in numerous ways,  particularly under the warping influence of the Crazed. The six traditional disciplines are Biopsionics, Metapsionics, Precognition, Telekinesis, Telepathy, and Teleportation. Psychics tend to focus on two or three of those spheres, and have little or no ability outside their specialties.

Old Terran foodstuffs were inevitably packed in sealed bags and trays capable of keeping the contents fresh and wholesome for centuries. In addition to providing a day’s nourishment, the medical nanites pervading the food remove 1d4 Toxin points from the consumer and heal 1d6 lost hit points. A person can benefit from only one Old Terran ration per day

Hellguns are advanced flamethrowers used during the final years of the Terran Mandate. They were primarily employed in guerrilla skirmishes and for clearing fortified rebel bunkers. These weapons emit highly flammable chemicals that can ignite even ice water, making them extremely destructive. Hellguns function similarly to basic flamethrowers but inflict greater damage upon impact and are capable of burning through solid barriers, eroding one meter of most materials every five rounds. Although most of the chemicals used in Hellguns become inert after 30 rounds, their gaseous byproducts can be lethal in confined spaces, requiring individuals inside to have oxygen apparatus to avoid suffering damage from caustic fumes (1d6 per round) until they escape. Additionally, Hellguns are susceptible to damage and can explode, dealing 2d8 damage based on the remaining fuel charge.

Vortex cannons use controlled gravitic shear planes to cause a target to simply fall apart into component fragments. The cannons are silent in operation, but so heavy that they can only be mounted on specialized fighting vehicles such as battlewagons or GFVs. A vortex cannon requires four vehicle hardpoints to mount.

Suppressor Cannon: An Old Terran anti-riot weapon, suppressor cannons use a combination of sonics and electrical discharges to incapacitate living subjects. Suppressor cannons can only fire in suppression mode- they cannot discharge single shots, and must use two charges and do half damage with every attack. Those who would be reduced to zero hit points by a suppressor cannon hit must make a saving throw versus Tech at a penalty equal to the shooter’s Combat/Gunnery skill. Those who save automatically avoid the damage. Those who fail fall unconscious for half an hour before waking up with 1 hit point. A suppressor cannon has an area of effect equal to a cone fifty meters long and fifty meters wide at the far end

Laser Pistol: These are small and simple energy weapons often cobbled together from salvaged parts. They can be less effective in environments with a lot of particulate matter like smoke or dust.

Laser Rifle: Laser rifles are larger and more efficient than laser pistols. They can fire more powerful beams and have a burst mode that enhances their accuracy and damage output.

Thermal Pistols and Plasma Projectors: These weapons launch superheated plasma at nearby targets and are more focused than typical flamethrowers.

Shear Rifle: Rare and ancient, shear rifles use gravitic engines to create a repulsor field within a target, causing them to fall apart. They can also fire in bursts.

Whip Beam: This unique breaching weapon emits a thin plasma beam capable of cutting through barriers. It ignores some of the armor on walls or doors.

Blackout Rifle: Used by security officers, blackout rifles fire electrical charges that disrupt a living target's nervous system, rendering them unconscious if their saving throw fails.

Neutron Blaster: These weapons emit high-energy neutrons that are harmful to living tissue but not to inanimate objects. They automatically target all subjects in a one-meter-wide line, making them somewhat indiscriminate.

Mag Weaponry: Mag weaponry represents the peak of Old Terran rebel ingenuity. Most surviving mag guns are relics of the time before the Scream, devices built in secret rebel redoubts. Both pistols and rifles use magnetic accelerators to launch shaped metal flechettes at supersonic speeds. Due to the advanced tech, mag weaponry does not require a separate power cell to fire its ammo.

Monoblades are versatile tools and weapons of Old Terran origin, ranging from brush cutters to dueling swords. They are usually unpowered or self-powered, requiring no energy cells and can cut through various materials effectively. The Proton Axe emits electromagnetic force waves and is used for breaching and damaging tough surfaces.

Kinesis Wraps Commonly appearing as gloves or otherwise innocuous clothing, kinesis wraps focus the impact of a punch or kick into a knife-narrow wedge of force. Kinesis wraps are indistinguishable from ordinary gloves or boots without close inspection, and allow an unarmed combatant to harm heavily armored enemies. Attackers use the Combat/Unarmed skill when fighting with kinesis wraps.

The Terran Explorer Suit is a versatile outfit designed for outdoor activities in natural preserves on Old Terra. It resembles civilian clothing but is tough, padded, and equipped with features like nano-imbued pads to detect dangerous substances, clingy gloves and boots for climbing, and a firestarter. It runs on the wearer's body heat and movement, providing comfort and protection.

The Insurgent Combat Shell, used by rebels, is lightweight armor made from shaping devices and advanced metafabrics. It offers protection and camouflage with photomimetic materials. It's comfortable under various Terran climate conditions and can be slept in.

The Executive Protection Field is an advanced force field system for high-ranking Mandate bureaucrats and security officials. It detects and deflects threats, including falling damage, using wristbands and anklets. It requires a power cell for operation.

Powered Armor, rare on Old Terra, provides significant protection from hostile environments, radiation, and invasive gases. It's bulky and slows unskilled users but can be more manageable for those with expertise. It requires power cells for environmental sealing.

The Storm Plate is ceremonial armor intended for elite Mandate officials. It's highly durable, subtracting damage from most sources, and has environmental seals for protection. It can ignore environmental damage and includes integral blades for melee combat. However, it's energy-intensive and requires power cells for operation, or it becomes immobile.

Vacc Suit, Pretech: These suits are uncommon, as most trans-stellar traffic with the core worlds took place through the orbital habitats. Still, some have been found in equipment dumps intended for interstellar shipment. The suits are effectively skin-tight and transparent by default, though they respond to Link commands to change colors and outlines. The wearer’s head is bubbled by an unseen tension field that maintains pressure while allowing eating and drinking. The suits can be worn beneath armor and normal clothing without difficulty, and are quite comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. So long as they remain powered, they recycle air and water for the user and render them immune to gases, contact toxins, and radiation weaker than once-per-minute saves. The suits self-seal if torn. A single type A power cell fuels a vacc suit for one day.