Lollipop Tribe

*“You forgot the fundamental rule of dealing with children...NEVER turn your back on them...not even for a second.”*

*"Considering they only took your SAMAS and left you in a clown suit, I’d say you got off easy, Murchison. I heard about some hardass colonel with one of Lyboc’s crews who got-”*

--Anonymous
Coalition States Captain, to a recent victim of a Lollipop ‘action’.

## The Lollipop Tribe

 Where First Encountered
 Tribe Size
 Tribe Organization
 Male %
 Kildren
 Vatfather
 Innannan
 Highest Caste Class
 Technology Level
 Relations With Outsiders
 Relations With Other Shemarrians
 Prefered Mode of Combat
 Prosperity

The Lollipops are believed to be a spin-off of the Lost Eclipse, formed by Eccentric Kildren Elite of the Tribe who got dissatisfied with the ‘gloomy gus’ attitudes of the Tribe and wandered off to play. At least that’s what’s rumored.

### Culture

The Lollipops seem to have no other agenda than having fun, and can be found haunting shopping malls, arcades, and playgrounds across the Megaverse. They are also pranksters, much to the dismay of more staid types in the Shemarrian Nation, and seem to delight in pulling off disruptive pranks, and then enjoying the chase afterwards as their victims attempt to ‘discipline’ them. As fun loving as they may be, however, they reserve their nastier pranks for the traditional enemies of the Shemarrians, and many Splugorth Minions have suffered utter humiliation at the hands of the Lollipops.

### Relations

Though friendly and happy, the LolliTribers have learned that all they need to do to be left alone by the other Tribes is to break out into a cutesy song-and-dance number, and other Tribes will back off in a hurry. Blood Riders refuse challenges from them because of the lack of glory in ‘seeming to beat up a child’, although the rumored REAL reason is said to be a humiliating defeat suffered by a Blood Rider Warchief at the hands of a Shirley Temple-lookalike. Skullcrushers have been known to chew their own arms off to escape a forced hand-clasp sing-along with the Lollipops in full-on 'happy-fun-happy' mode.

About the only Tribe with really close relations with the LolliTribe is the Wayfinders, and even they find negotiations with the Lollis strained by the latter’s easy distracted
natures.

Of interest is the fact that the Lollipop Tribe seems to get along quite well with Faerie-Folk. The Tribe’s enclaves (or ‘clubhouses’) are almost inevitably situated near Fay-territory.

## Statistics

### Motif

A giant pink lollipop radiating rays of light (some have compared it to a ‘sugary morningstar’)

### Origins

Splinter Tribe. Rogue hooky-players from the Lost Eclipse.

### Tribe Size

The ‘poppers have grown slowly, as most aren’t interested in Progen (those who do, typically Upgrade to a more adult form), but they get enough in the way of defectors from other Kildren-using tribes (especially the Lost Eclipse) that their numbers are roughly about 900 currently. The recent sighting of several Lost Eclipse Innannan in the company of the Kildren may signal a future growth spurt in the tribe.

### Tribe Organization

Anarchy. If there’s any order in the Lollipoppers it would take a team of experts in chaos physics and heavy duty pattern recognition computers to ferret out. Lollipoppers drift from one pursuit to another, and follow whoever they want, usually the one at the moment who is ‘the most fun’.

### Composition

90% Kildren Elite

Interesting enough, the Tribe has attracted several Skullcrusher Pariahs and, it is rumored, at least one Vatfather as ‘toymaker’. Several Lost Eclipse Innannan have also been sighted in the company of the Kildren.

Typically the non-Kildren are support staff or ‘camouflage’ (serving as apparent ‘responsible adults’ when dealing with outsiders).

### Highest Caste Class

VatFather and Lost Eclipse Innannan Elite, although that means little, as the Kildren are known to run circles around them.

### Home Environment

Lollipoppers like temperate terrestrial worlds with plenty of ‘play space’, and resident populations of sentients that provide a supply of playmates and targets to tease and prank. They can be found around playgrounds, amusement parks, park lands, malls, and other places appealing to juveniles, but just about any place that attracts their attention with the prospect of something fun to see/find can draw the Lollipoppers (like military testing grounds, in several spectacular, and spectacularly embarrassing, incidents).

### Technology Level

Megadamage Age. Equal to the average Rifts Earth Tribe, although the Lollipoppers seem to focus their attention on making their equipment ‘sparkly’ and harmless-looking (or turn harmless-looking things into lethal weaponry).

#### Known Warmount Types associated with the Lollipoppers

* A-001/002 Monst-Rex
* A-003 Monst-Rex “Pack Mule”
* A-006/007 Monst-Crane
* Robo-Rhino-Buffalo
* EcoS-K-11 Cybear
* EcoS-K-31 Brightmare
* EcoS-K-98 Shambulator
* EcoS-K-110 Bunnibopper

The Lollipoppers are also known to be fond of keeping Kintori Wolfpups and Vorpal Bunny Slippers.

### Relations with Outsiders

The Lollipoppers would claim their relations with non-Shemar (especially children) are Friendly, but some outsiders would claim it’s Aggressive. Lollipoppers freely associate with outsiders they regard as ‘fun’ or ‘kid-friendly’, but will scam, tease and prank (sometimes to the point of injury) those they dislike. Slavers, child-abusers, and other monsters are tortured and killed, often in some humiliating manner (showing some of the tribe’s Nightmare origins).

### Relations with Other ‘Shemarrians’

Friendly; the Lollipoppers are generally on good terms with the other Tribes, on a case-by-case, and individual-by-individual basis. As with non-Shemar, those people they find interesting will gain their (sometimes unwelcome) attention, while those who annoy them will be mercilessly teased and pranked. Generally those who are too stoic, authoritarian, and demanding will draw their ire. Those who are good sports may earn themselves a reprieve after being ‘tested’. Virtually EVERY Tribe that has meet the Lollipoppers has had members regard them as ‘adorable little tykes’ or ‘insufferable little $#!\*s”.

The Lollipoppers have also taken a shine to the ‘goddess’ Ava, who dotes on them when they encounter each other. Anybody disparaging Ava within earshot of Lollipoppers has just drawn a target on themselves for pranking.

### Purpose

Enjoyment. The Lolipoppers exist to play and enjoy perpetual youth. ‘Young at heart’ is their philosophy.

### Preferred Mode of Combat

Sneak Attack. Ever been ambushed by elementary school brats? The Lollipoppers are EXPERTS at juvenile guerrilla warfare. Whether it’s from a bunch of helpless-looking kids (and occasionally their harmless-looking minders), or from concealment, Lollipoppers are good at getting the drop on people. There’s also the element of Terror involved, especially if the targets are amongst those the ‘poppers regard as natural enemies. The occasional Lollipopper psychic may cloud minds, while the rest of the rugrats take the victims for all they’re worth.

### Unique Attributes

Unique Rituals. Kids seem to speak a language all their own and live in worlds of their own creation, and the Lollipoppers are no exception; that’s what makes them so unpredictable. Of course, when a call for a game of ‘kick the can’ becomes a wholesale assault on the power armor or cyborg in an enemy group, it suddenly becomes not so endearing or funny.

### Prosperity

Self-Sufficient. The Lollipoppers scam enough, save enough, scavenge enough, and make enough (from lemonade stands, animal walking, and other minor jobs) to meet their needs, plus just enough for the occasional toy give-away to deserving children.

### Origin Tribe

Lost Eclipse. The Lolis left the Nightmares because they were too dour and bitter. The Lost Eclipse accepts this, but many members regard the rogues as ‘ungrateful punks’ or ‘unruly children’ who want to exist in a perpetual happy adolescent daze. The conservative elements of the Lost Eclipse don’t press this, though, because the Lollipoppers are one of the few groups that can actually successfully out-prank the Nightmares and make THEM feel uncomfortable (or, as the Wayfinders have observed, ‘growing up with the bogieman, one knows what the bogieman is afraid of”).

### Notable Technology

LolliTribers use the same weaponry and equipment as might be expected of Kildren, but often highly decorate and ‘cutesy’ them up, sometimes with aesthetically frightening results. They favor Brightmares as their steeds of choice, but have been known to use Cybears and other appropriately modified Warsteeds.

#### Blur-Armor

Lollipop body armor and dress seem to incorporate a variant of ‘blurr- camou, only instead of distorting shadows, Lolli-armor is blindingly bright colors and sparkles.

Bonuses: The faster the wearer moves, the greater the distortion; at speeds of 3 or less, no bonus, 4-10; -1 to strike the wearer, 10-16; -2 to strike, 16-22; -3 to strike, 23 or greater, -4 to strike

#### Cotton-Candy Gun

Sprays a variant of Naruni Capture Foam. It’s edible only to Shemarrian cyborgs, though.

#### Happy Glitter

Thrown in the air, it acts as an anti-laser aerosol.

#### Sparkly Sprinkles

A variety of nanite weapons with varying effect; fear the Sparkly.

#### BattlePop

A massive (inedible) lollipop used as a megadamage pole arm. The surface can be made sticky on a molecular level, making it an effective entangling and capture device. LolliTribers have been witnessed to lick the BattlePops’ bashing surfaces after battle, suggesting they are assimilating molecules of material picked up from struck enemies.

#### Candy Cane Gravity Spear

A candy cane shaped spear with a built-in powerful gravity generator.