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Octomorph Battlesuits

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Wed, 2015-04-22 20:15

Kojak

Octomorph Battlesuits

Has anyone ever tried to build a HOPLITE-esque battlesuit for uplifted octopi? If you were going to, how would you stat it? I've been playing around with the idea but can't come up with something that satisfies me.

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"I wonder if in some weird Freudian way, Kojak was sucking on his own head." - Steve Webster on Kojak's lollipop

Wed, 2015-04-22 21:51

Chernoborg Chernoborg's picture

Hmmm...not for octopi yet.

Hmmm...not for octopi yet. Neo-avians yes, but not octopi. That may be because many of the advantages that an octopus has (extremely malleable form, camouflage) would be cancelled by armor. Of course not being killed would be a benefit, I guess :) Two references come to mind that may help get ideas flowing: Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes has a giant robot octopus mechanism featuring prominently in the opening credits here http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xxaJpUnF6xA Be warned, the theme song is not to everyone's liking! The mech is kinda giant for our purposes, but the general form is useable. Probably more familiar would be the Sentinels from The Matrix. I could easily imagine an infomorphs squeezing into the "head" as a pilot!

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Current Status: Highly Distracted building Gatecrashing systems in Universe Sandbox!

Wed, 2015-04-22 22:11

jKaiser

A cursory glance through the

A cursory glance through the rules surprised me, in that there's nothing that says having carapace armor affects movement, and by RAW anyway, shouldn't affect an octomorph's squishitude. As a GM, I would probably say it has some effect, though thinking on it, probably more in that they'd be louder in atmosphere from the plates rubbing against each other. As for a suit, yeah, it would compromise the ability to get into small places, but if you're wearing a battlesuit, infiltration's gone out the window anyway. Lazy-me thinks the stats would be based off an arachnoid with two fewer arms or a beefed up Takko morph, since the end result would be similar to one of those with the insides removed and servos repositioned. The battlesuit has armor 18/18, a +10 to strength based tests, is fully sealed, and has a nice sensor suite. The only thing that stands out to me that an octomorph version would harangle with is that it's got to be harder to amplify the strength of a tentacle than an endoskeletal limb, which makes me think the exosuit would have at least a few of the limbs be arachnoid, say four of them, which have the +10. The wearer sacrifices some strict flexibility with half their limbs for increased power and strength, but you can mount those limbs with meshlinked claws and leave the last foot or so of the tentacle exposed. Yes, the other four tentacles are less heavily armored, but that would be a very difficult called shot, and strikes me as the best compromise. Again, you lose the ability to squeeze into small spaces, but more than make up for that sheer protection and power, as well as the ability to jump, which most octomorphs lack in significant gravity. Add in a gas jet system for a microgravity version and mount a few guns on the hard-limbs or body, and you've turned your octopus into a serviceable mobile gun platform.

Wed, 2015-04-22 22:22

Kojak

If nothing else, I'm 100%

If nothing else, I'm 100% certain I'm going to call it the Kraken.

—

"I wonder if in some weird Freudian way, Kojak was sucking on his own head." - Steve Webster on Kojak's lollipop

Thu, 2015-04-23 02:44

Kojak

Ok, here's what I've got.

Ok, here's what I've got. Please throw any criticisms you have at it, because this is just the first draft. Kraken Battlesuit Octomorph ninjas may be all the rage in simulspace MMOs and big-budget action blockbusters, but in reality octomorphs aren't exactly what you'd call hardy. Feral Robot tried to solve this with the takko synthmorph, but the vulnerability of cyberbrains to hacking makes many uplifts leery about taking the takko into combat situations. Fortunately, Gorgon Defense Systems has filled this niche (the fact that they regularly employ indentured octopus uplifts as combat hackers is in no way related, or so their PR would have you believe); while more lightly armored than the HOPLITE suit used by most post-Fall militaries, the flexibility, protection and firepower it can give an octo on the battlefield is second to none. I haven't been able to verify it, but I've heard rumors that the Hidden Concern has gotten their suckers on a handful of these suits to guard their main facilities in the lower depths of Ceres' Hidden Sea. Movement: 4/20 Velocity: 6/36 Armor: 18/18 Durability: 65 Wound Threshold: 13 Death Rating: 130 Features: 360-Degree Vision, Articulated Weapon Mount (2), Chameleon Skin, Extra Limbs (8 [4 w/ Fractal Digits, 2 Pneumatic, 2 Retracting/Telescoping]), Grip Pads, Guardian Nanoswarm, Tactical Network Software, Vacuum Sealing Mobility System: Walker, Thrust Vector Mounted Weapons: Plasma Rifle (AP -8, DV 3d10+20, Mode SA, Ammo 40) with Gyrostabilizer & Smartlink Seeker Rifle (AP -8, DV 3d10+12, Mode SA, Ammo 18) with Zero HEAP Minimissiles & Smartlink

—

"I wonder if in some weird Freudian way, Kojak was sucking on his own head." - Steve Webster on Kojak's lollipop

Thu, 2015-04-23 02:56

jKaiser

My only comments would be

My only comments would be that the off-the-shelf version likely wouldn't have any weapons built in and certainly wouldn't ship with ammunition. We make the customer buy that separately. They get to customize and we get more money. Likewise, nanotech seems to never be included in the baseline purchase of gear or morphs in the books, so I'd scratch that from the stats and mention it as a common add-on. I assume it has something to do with different regulations on nanotech on every habitat ever or limitations on what can be included in a single fabber blueprint, but I digress. Can it be run as a separate entity via AI or like a bot? I ask because it's statted like a morph rather than a gear.

Thu, 2015-04-23 03:04

Kojak

I based it off of the HOPLITE

jKaiser wrote:
My only comments would be that the off-the-shelf version likely wouldn't have any weapons built in and certainly wouldn't ship with ammunition. We make the customer buy that separately. They get to customize and we get more money. Likewise, nanotech seems to never be included in the baseline purchase of gear or morphs in the books, so I'd scratch that from the stats and mention it as a common add-on. I assume it has something to do with different regulations on nanotech on every habitat ever or limitations on what can be included in a single fabber blueprint, but I digress.

I based it off of the HOPLITE battlesuit stats found on page 9 of NPC File 1 - Prime. The HOPLITE, among other things, has mounted weapons with ammo and a guardian nanoswarm, so I figured that was precedent enough. If the customer wants to customize their weapon loadout beyond that, well, they've still got eight tentacles...

jKaiser wrote:
Can it be run as a separate entity via AI or like a bot? I ask because it's statted like a morph rather than a gear.

Can battlesuits be run via AI or like a bot? I'm honestly asking, I don't know. I intended it to be the same as standard battlesuits in that regard. So whichever is the case with the standard model, it's the same with the Kraken.

—

"I wonder if in some weird Freudian way, Kojak was sucking on his own head." - Steve Webster on Kojak's lollipop

Thu, 2015-04-23 09:09

ThatWhichNeverWas ThatWhichNeverWas's picture

Simplicity, Ho!

Honestly, for the baseline I'd just give the normal Battlesuit the Shape-Adjusting augment and be done with it.

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In the past we've had to compensate for weaknesses, finding quick solutions that only benefit a few. But what if we never need to feel weak or morally conflicted again?

Thu, 2015-04-23 09:43

ORCACommander ORCACommander's picture

Kojack its the NPC file, its

Kojack its the NPC file, its a cheat sheet for gm's :P not a shopping catalog for players. thus you are going to have tone down the entry a bit if you want it to be pc available outside of looting. But ya a weapons dealer is not going to have its product outfitted with live ammo and weapons outside of a proving ground for the customer to try. If the weapon though is highly integrated that it can not be modular its might be ok if its stock.

Thu, 2015-04-23 15:48

#10

Kojak

ORCACommander wrote:Kojack

ORCACommander wrote:
Kojack its the NPC file, its a cheat sheet for gm's :P not a shopping catalog for players. thus you are going to have tone down the entry a bit if you want it to be pc available outside of looting.

To be clear, this is as much something to give to NPCs as for players. I don't expect players to be able to acquire one of these short of looting, burning a very high-Rep favor, or having a very powerful Patron.

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"I wonder if in some weird Freudian way, Kojak was sucking on his own head." - Steve Webster on Kojak's lollipop