Shambulator

*“Yheyyyyyyy!!! We’re going on a field trip!”*---Anonymous Lollipoper

*“Once you convince the villagers that the buses aren’t going to eat them, get them moving east as quickly as you can! We have reports that two parties of Hell Lord Rune’s forces are moving in this direction! If we move quickly, we can set an ambush for them, but not with civilians in the way! If the Infernals get to the ridge there and stop the pass, the fleshies won’t be able to get through with what they have. Goddess’s harddrive, but we’d have trouble getting through if they hold the pass!”*“---I have twenty-five Shambulators. You really think they’re going to be stopped by a scouting party of Infernals standing in their way? Those demon scouts will be road-smear.”

---Clan Motron Wargoddess ‘T’, and a lieutenant, in the field.

*“Why is it that, whenever we find a zombie-infested world, you insist on Shambulators being among the first warmounts we send to explore?”* “Don’t you know? Zombies HATE school buses. And they’ll FEAR Shambulators.”

----Wayfinder Astre-Martial First Margo Veil-Lifter and Clan Shelley Taros Alice Romero-Darkteaser.

## EcoS-K-98 Shambulator Warmount

aka ‘Terrabus’

The ‘Shambulator’ is another sign that Clan Motron designs more Warmounts than it can actually currently produce and use with its own relatively small numbers, with an eye towards trading their designs to other tribes. This arguably puts it in competition with the much larger Horrorwoods Tribe as ‘Warmount breeders’. The Shambulator, for all its apparent simplicity, shows signs of being a cooperative effort between the Motrons, the Steel Gaians, and the Lost Eclipse, and has been adopted by a larger number of Tribes.

### Description

The Shambulator looks like a cross between a pre-Rifts yellow school bus and a rhino-buffalo. A large enclosed cabin runs the length of the spine, but is actually part of the body, as its snake-scaled side walls, carapaced roof, and transparent scale windows(these scales can lever open or be covered by an armored ‘lid’ of the main body skinning) attest. The rider’s seat is forward, behind a heavily armored windshield, but the head is actually on a short neck jointed just ahead of the windshield. The Shambulator is carried on four powerful legs, but they also retain the Motron signature of attached and powered wheels, allowing the Warmount to run or drive as terrain permits. A large heavy rear bumper unfolds into a powerful combat tail.

Besides the large cabin, the Shambulator shows its spiritual public service ancestry in other ways. The Shambulator is scaled in bright gold and black scales, and two folding octagonal flaps at the front can open for territorial displays or for stunning opponents in conjunction with powerful flashing strobe lights.

An interesting feature is a ‘door tongue’, tentacles adjacent to the two doors that can extend to assist passengers in boarding(though this can be extremely frightening to first time riders who aren’t expecting the ‘bus’ to suddenly tentacle-grab them and pull them inside.

Another feature that separates the Shambulator from being simply a ‘rhino buffalo with a tin shack on top’ is the presence of an inertial damping or localized gravitational manipulation field centered around the spinal cabin. Whether this is technologically generated, or the result of some sort of psionic ability (such as a Telekinesis power), passengers are buffered from being thrown around and injured even as the Warmount gallops over rough terrain, and rear up, buck, or tumble.

### Purpose

Shambulators are meant as transports, not front-line combat units, and are only lightly armed. Despite this, they are heavily armored, and can prove quite vicious in self-defense if attacked, or impeded. Those who seek to stop a Shambulator, especially one loaded with passengers, from escaping a combat zone, will find the creature a savage almost-unstoppable force that will ram, chew, and claw its way through obstacles to reach safety.

Shambulators have proven surprisingly popular since their introduction, adding further credence to the idea that the Motrons meant the design as an economic move with the other Tribes. They are becoming one of the more popular choices of mass people-transporter, especially for moving the dependents and less-combat capable members of the Shemarrian tribes. They first appeared in Clan Motron territory during the evacuation of several communities in the path of Infernal armies. They have since appeared as well in the ranks of the Steel Gaians (who have used the frames of GAABuses for theirs), Lost Eclipse (a nightmarish school bus---whuuuhuuuu!!!), Clan Shelley (something about school buses and zombies), and the Lollipops (who have adopted more outrageous color schemes into theirs). The type has also been sighted in the ranks of the Horrorwoods (who collect different types of Warmounts as a matter of course), Wayfinders (who inevitably added technowizardry to make ‘magic school buses’), Sapphire Cobras (it’s the snakeskin hides) and Ghost Riders (riders on ghost buses, get it?), though these are more likely to be traded-for examples, rather than indigenously-produced.

## Abilities

### Cargo

Large space inside the spinal cabin. However, the ability to carry large bulky cargo tends to be impeded by the installed seating. Additional cargo can be strapped to the roof, although this would be exposed to damage and the elements, and may interfere with the firing arcs of any roof-mounted weaponry.

### Climbing

The Shambulator is a surprisingly good climber. Can scamper up 50-degree slopes without any difficulty.

### Trailer Hitch

The Shambulator can haul trailers and wagons.

### Door Tongues (2)

Both the rear and side access doors have extendable tendrils that can reach out to assist passengers in boarding. These are ‘soft’ appendages and cannot be used to inflict damage, though they can be used to push unwelcome boarders away (any more persistent trespassers would presumably be dealt with by other passengers or a tail smack/kick). Each tendril has a reach of 9 ft and a P.S. of 18.

### Weapons Systems

#### Laser Headlight Eyes (2)

 Damage
 Damage2
 Rate of Fire
 Payload

Standard robotic eye lasers, common in the Shemarrian arsenal.

#### Stop-Blinders (2)

By quickly deploying the two octagonal laser-illuminated ‘cheek flaps’ in conjunction with a rapid strobing of the headlights, the Shambulator can momentarily stun and paralyze opponents.
Note: Some Shambulators sport a second pair of these blinders on their rear end as well.

* Range: 400 ft, 100 ft radius
* Damage: Everybody in the area of effect has a 75% chance of being affected; roll versus non-lethal poison (16 or better) or be effectively paralyzed for 1d4 minutes. Those with polarized goggles are +5 to save. A successful save means the person is only stunned, and loses initiative and 1 APM for that melee round.

#### Smog Dispenser

The Shambulator can spew a dense, choking, corrosive vapor from its rear tail pipe(s) to inconvenience pursuers and cover its retreat.
Range: Each blast covers a 100 ft area.

* Damage: Anyone caught in the cloud of thick, obscuring smoke is unable to see, except with thermal optics. Inhaling, or exposure through unprotected soft tissues like the eyes, the vapor does 1d6 SDC/Hit Points per melee of exposure, and victims are -4 to dodge, strike, and parry, even for 1d4 melees after being removed from the cloud. Smoke persists for 1d4+3 melee rounds.
* Rate of Fire: ECHH
* Payload: Has enough smoke-matrix for 12 clouds. Regenerates them at a rate of 1 every six hours (1 hour if fed petrochemicals).

#### Jaws

 Damage

The Shambulator sports an impressively large mouth with mandibles that can deliver a vicious bite

#### Battler Tail

 Damage

The rear bumper unfolds and extrudes spikes, becoming a powerful bludgeon for sweeping the rear arc free of pursuers.

#### Optional Modular Weapons (2-4)

The Shambulator has provision for head-mounting TWO weapons similar to those standard to the Monstrex, plus two cupola-turrets on the roof can also be outfitted with one each of these weapons modules (or can be equipped with a pintle for infantry weapons).

#### Optional Passenger Weapons

Passengers can lever open the windows and use their own weapons, although the window openings limit arc of fire: -1 to strike.

### Programming

The Ecotroz have installed robotic AIs, then infected the matrix with a low-level Ecotroz sentience.
Has the basic Monstrex programming. The Ecotroz entity can also pick up one Secondary skill at levels 2, 6, and 12 of experience, though the nature of the Shambulator intelligence and design is such that it is limited to skill selections from Technical: Language (understanding) and Lore (Cattle & Animals, Indians, Juicers, Magic, Demons & Monsters, D-Bees, Faerie---at least with regards to identifying their relative threat level), and Wilderness (Hunting).

### Combat

 Dodge
 Parry
 Auto Dodge
 Roll
 Pull Punch
 Disarm
 Body Block/Ram (2 attacks)

Shambulators are generally not used in combat, but when provoked, or when attacked when protecting civilians, they are vicious creatures. Some have compared them to rapid honey badgers protecting their young when they are protecting civilians. Otherwise, Shambulators avoid combat.

#### Body Block/Ram

85% chance of knocking targets 20 ft tall or smaller off their feet and back 1d4x10 yards/meters, and lose initiative and 2 APMs.

## Ecotroz Fragment

The Ecotroz intelligence fragment inhabiting the ‘bot gives the Shambulator an aura and behavior more befitting a sentient being than a robot. Shambulators are gentle giants, normally docile and well behaved around crowds of people and other Warmounts, but they can become fiercely protective of their riders and passengers. They’re not fond of Spiny Ravagers, zombie hordes, or slavers. They’re also not terribly fond of trains.

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).

## Options

The following are a few of the more popular add-ons to Shambulators in EShemarrian service.

### Laser Reflective Skin

This increases the reflectivity of the skin to the point where lasers do HALF damage.

### Chameleon Skin

Some riders prefer the opposite; to be as close in INvisible as they can. CANNOT be combined with Laser Reflective Skin.

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

### Rip-Scales

 Range2
 Damage

The sides of the Shambulator can be fitted with extra-large and sharp scales that normally lie flush with the warmount’s skin, but which can be ‘puffed’ out to present a razor-sharp barrier to opponents trying to grapple the Shambulator. They also give the warmount the ability to deliver a flesh-ripping or armor-scoring sideswipe.

### Morphing ‘Armadillo’ Armor

Enfolds the ENTIRE bus in articulated armor plates, increasing armor protection, but effectively immobilizing the vehicle.

MDC: +200 MDC when deployed

### Stop Arm (1-2)

This is a simple pole armature that can be swung out some 8 ft and locked in place to clothesline opponents as the Shambulator speeds by. Being hit in this fashion inflicts 1d4 MD for every 50 MPH of speed. The armature has 25 MDC.

### Chemical Sprayer System

 Damage
 Rate of Fire
 Payload

For wiping vermin, mobs, or those equally obnoxious vampires off the car.

Damage: Varies by the chemical agent used. If using water, does 4d6 HP to vampires

### Crash Control/Safety Restraints/Fire Control System

Physical restraint systems for holding those fragile fleshy passengers in place if the inertial dampers aren’t enough. Reduces the damage that passengers take in a crash by HALF.

### Stabilization Jacks

Tired of being knocked over by concussion blasts, or being rolled over by mobs of zombies before your flame-throwers can get to work? This interesting little system uses Glitterboy-style pylon technology to las and hydraulically drive four stabilizer jacks up to 5 ft into the ground, even through concrete and metal gratings, within 5 seconds, affixing the Shambulator like a barnacle, and able to stay upright in even hurricane-force winds. System can disengage in 2 seconds, for that speedy getaway.

### Mine Detector

A detection coil can be installed on the prow, and uses a variety of magnetic, chemical, and ground sonar detection systems to sniff out mines and buried ordinance. 85% accuracy.

### Flame-thrower Breath

 Damage
 Rate of Fire
 Payload

The mouth can be modified with a flame-thrower.

* (Gasoline/Alcohol) 1d4x10 SDC
* (Napalm) 1d6x10 SDC, plus does 5d6 SDC per melee for 1d4 minutes
* (MD Fluid) 1d4 MD per blast, 1d4 MD per melee for 2d4 minutes
* (Incendi-Gel)2d6 MD, 2d6 MD per melee for 1d6 minutes
* (WI Napalm-P) 3d6 MD per blast, 1d4x10+10 MD per concentrated burst(counts as two attacks). 2d6 MD per melee for 1d4 minutes.

Note: The flame-thrower 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.

#### (Slip Spray)

Rather than trap, this makes it impossible for people and many vehicles to gain purchase. A single application(a tablespoon) will cover nearly four square feet. Slipspray is very nearly water-resistant----it takes ALOT of water, roughly 6-10 gallons, to wash away an ounce of slipspray---or regular industrial solvents will do the trick. Slipspray breaks down after 1d4 hours of exposure to air.

Effects: Anyone trying to move across slipspray must make a roll under their Physical Prowess at -8 or go out of control at full speed. Vehicles, power armors, and light robot vehicles traveling in ground contact across sufficiently large patches of slipspray will be at -15% to their piloting rolls..failure means the vehicle goes out of control and takes on the characteristics of a giant hockey puck. Depending on the hardness of the surface(must be a hard surface, not a permeable surface like dirt or gravel), certain heavy vehicles and robots (like the MAC II) will be unaffected, as they simply stomp the effected surface into the subterranean. Hovercraft are NOT affected either. Cost: 40 credits per ounce (covers 8 square ft...so a gallon’s worth will cover 1,024 ft! Instant ice rink anyone?)