An unofficial supplement for Lancer, the mech RPG by Miguel Lopez and Tom Parkinson

Morgan
The Field Guide to Castor and Pollux is not an official Lancer product; it is a third party work,
and is not affiliated with Massif Press. The Field Guide to Castor and Pollux is published via the
Lancer Third Party License.
Lancer is copyright Massif Press

By
Miles Mellott (@hellaspooks#2744 on Discord or @robo_cicadidae on Twitter)

Art By
GenTrigger (@GenTrigger on Twitter) (Lemongrass and Sicklewing mech art)
Crixler (PI-OF logo)

Cover Art
“Killing an Enemy” - Robert Blyth, 1779

Special Thanks
Reconus, Ru, Delilah, Kojima, Ikiryo, Briar, Crixler, Melon, CYAN, and Alaen on PilotNET for your help,
inspiration, and support in making this guide a reality

Thanks for Playing!

1
Field Guide:
CASTOR & POLLUX
Compiled For: DoJ/HR - UBM
Reference Name: TIDAL MONUMENT

Union Administrator Shao Altan-Huan,

Impulse//Vertigo (UDoJ/HR REG: 005008UAD, CYCLE 14)

Original: UniGal Common

Distribution: TOWER GOLD

2
RING 8, SPINDLE STATION
OBSERVATION DECK ‘ROSEWATER’, FILLED WITH NEW ARRIVALS WAITING TO
PASS THROUGH CUSTOMS

05:08, D26/M5 STANDARD, 5016U

The wide glass dome of the observation bubble curves down below the concourse, revealing the
pale mint continent and deep blue oceans of Pollux below. Just beneath his feet Shao can see the
infinitesimal thread of the space elevator that he’ll soon be riding down. He picks at the collar of
his newly printed suit while the view slowly spins. Planets always look peaceful from above – but
he knows not to be misled by appearances.

“Administrator Altan-Huan?” He turns to see a young woman in a pristine white uniform with
golden trim, a circular gold pin on her lapel. He recognizes the icon from the briefing he received.
She waits expectantly, a cleanly molded smile frozen on her face. He steps between the
subalterns that not-so-subtly interposed themselves between them and extends a hand. She
takes it slightly too quickly for comfort.

“My name is Cassidy, and I am honored to be the first to welcome you to Quetzal’s Flight! I’m sure
you’ll be very impressed with our humble home. If you’ll come this way, we’ve prepared a
welcome package for you.” Her voice is like a mirror, polished and perfectly self-effacing. He
takes one last look down at the planet below. Beside him, a man in worker’s clothes calls a family
member from a terminal. Cassidy is already beckoning him to a – he grimaces – velvet carpet
bypassing the customs line. He can see at least two bouquets from here. Somehow, live fire in the
empire-city of Tantamount was easier to navigate. He wonders when he’ll see his Saladin again.

As he rides down to Pollux’s surface, he hopes only that it will stay as beautiful as the view from
above.

3
 SECTION 0: SECTION 1:

CASTOR AND POLLUX CASTOR AND POLLUX

PLACES AND PEOPLE 2 RULES 27
CASTOR AND POLLUX 5 NARRATIVE ACTIONS 27
A Campaign in Quetzal’s Flight 7 Earn Your Wings 27
Get An Upgrade 28
FACTIONS FOUND IN QUETZAL’S FLIGHT Modules 29
8 Complications 30
POLLUX 9 Quirks 31
CASTOR 11
EXTERNAL FORCES 12 TALENTS 32

NOTABLE PEOPLE 13 SECTION 2:

Adika Tef/Shao Altan-Huan 14
Samara Al-Altaw’m/Jura Harlem
Duster Cain/Kyon Winters
15
16
CASTOR AND POLLUX
Bethany Klein/Deluge Solomon 17 MECHS 35
Himiko Arasawa/Weile Kodyne 18 COUATL 36
Citadel Correa 19 PHAROS 40
SICKLEWING 45
LAY OF THE LAND 20 TAMETOMO 50
Pollux 21
Castor 22
Tinplate 24 PINNACLE INDUSTRIES –
Jian’s Well 24 ORION FACTION 54
Extra-Planetary Bodies 25 BASIL 56
FENNEL 59
MISSION HOOKS 26 LEMONGRASS 62
PEPPERCORN 66
ROSEMARY 69
SPEARMINT 72
STAR ANISE 76

Quetzal’s Flight NPCs 81

Architect 77
Grenadier 83
Interceptor 85
Packmaster 87
Vector 89
Virtue 91
Pyre Template 93

4
Castor and Pollux
The Wheel Turns
Even in the final days of the Second Committee,
the all-encompassing wave of expansion never
ceased. Union sought not only to broaden its
borders but to deepen them, filling in the gaps
that it’s rapid efforts had left between blinkgates
as new planets were identified and scouted. The
Laurel Rush was a final wave of colonization for
these inner-ring worlds, a lottery of colonization
rights to mineral-rich worlds for any party with
the capital to take them, scattered across Union
space. Theirs was a mad dash to colonize and
establish the next lucrative wave of SecComm
success and ideology – blind to the revolution
brewing on the Core Worlds.
Laurel Rush colonies found that mere decades
after settlement, Union went dark. While the
Omninet was never silent, their patron was
gone, and they had been left with only the
dream of a gilded future to guide them. Now, as
the Third Committee reaches out to it’s lost
brethren, they have found bastions of the
capital-driven ideals they sought to circumvent,
and integration has proven itself rocky and
difficult.1 The wheel of the galaxy continues to
turn.
1
See reports Redwood Grove, Augusta-4 (BLUE
EXCLUSION), and Westcoat’s Reach (TOWER
GOLD) for previous Laurel Rush contact
conflicts.
Goldilocks Twins
Hidden in the Sierra Madre line, twelve
lightyears from the nearest blinkgate, is a jewel.
Quetzal’s Flight: a system with two habitable
planets. Pollux and Castor are goldilocks twins,
a stellar rarity. Sister colonies were seeded and
developed on both worlds. While they grew in
relative peace, as each became industrially
stable it became strained. The system was also
home to a mineral-rich planet, and a gas giant
ripe to be skimmed; whichever twin came to
control them would ensure it’s economic
prosperity and a place in the galactic stage, and
the resulting gold rush blossomed from a cold
war into active skirmishes as each planet tried
to plant its flag.
In the early days, each planet only sent
unmanned probes to survey and identify likely
landing spots on Tinplate - a rocky, sunward
world - and several larger asteroids. As these
missions became more frequent and
semi-permanent satellites were established, the
twins began to sabotage each other’s machines
- first as deniable ‘accidents’ with colliding
debris, and eventually escalating into active
defense nets that prohibited any launch.
The transition to manned missions created a lull
in the conflict as neither side wanted to make
the first strike. However, when Castor created
the first permanent living quarters in Teapot
Crater, thus claiming it as incorporated territory,
Pollux lashed out at the threat. Threats became
missile bombardments and each planet sent
small fightercraft and dumb kinetics to meet in
the gulf of space between them. Smaller
skirmishes with infantry and chassis spread
across Tinplate and orbital platforms, although
they never reached either twin’s surface. These
forces were a mix of corporate mercenaries and
active military as economic interest merged with
national identity. Before these conflicts could
ignite into outright planetary war, disaster
struck:
5
The Flare
Castor’s orbitals gave them only a few hours
notice: a one-in-a-billion event, a massive solar
flare set to erupt from their host star. On a path
to engulf the planet in a wave of radiation and
heat, Castor’s government scrambled to form a
response. Even with immediate global
redirection of resources to evacuation, only a
fraction of the population would ever make it
offworld – and of those, even fewer would
escape the coming flare’s radius. Frantic
messages were sent to Pollux – pleas for refuge
for their citizens, and for desperate recognition
in their final moments. Before sunset, Castor
was scoured and silent2.
20,000 survivors arrived on Pollux - 18,000 from
the lifeboats, and a scattered 2,000 from
off-planet combatants and expeditions in the
asteroid belt. The last gasp from a colony of 3.7
million. Pollux mourned it’s sister – and claimed
the riches of their home system. Castor lay
quarantined and desolate, a radioactive tomb
world.
in the few bunkers and other underground safe
havens they were able to find before the flare
came. The lingering radiation and
electromagnetic storms destroyed most
technology and made surface travel almost
impossible, leaving them with no way to call out
or make their presence known3. Instead they
survived – scrounging in a wasteland and
growing embittered by its hardships.
As the cataclysm slowly wanes, they have finally
re-established a fledgling nation and reawoken
old machines. Secrecy – once lamented, now
inherited – is a weapon for them as they strike
against the planet that abandoned their
still-breathing corpse. Their attacks are growing
in number and intensity, and it’s only a matter of
time before the source is uncovered, and the
war begins again in earnest. Old wounds are
being reopened and the battlelines drawn as
once again the system seems on the brink of
war – and to the victor, survival, and a galaxy’s
worth of wealth.

A Corporate Kingdom
Now, 122 years later, Pollux is a hub of
commerce and industry. Made rich by the
exploitation of the system’s natural wealth, it
has garnered the attention of powers
Union-wide, and only continues to grow.
However, all is not well. With money comes
greed, and there are countless actors within the
cutthroat mercantile hegemony that would do
anything to see themselves come out on top.
The populace enjoys wealth and excess, but
behind closed doors their lives become
bargaining chips for the desperate and powerful
alike. Wealth and political power are the new
twins of Pollux, and in 5008u they applied to
become the host system of a new blinkgate - an
act that would skyrocket their galactic
prominence if approved. The request is under
examination while they undergo a probationary
Union review, and the merchant dynasties that
rule Pollux grow restless as each vies for power.
Grimmer still, Castor stirs.

Survivors of a ruined world, the descendants of

those left behind in the exodus have remained

2
Many Polluxite historians theorize that the
Flare prevented what could have become a far
greater conflict leaving both planets barren; the
3
topic is still under debate in academic circles. It is unclear what efforts were made to search
The Orbit’s official stance mourns the Flare as a Castor after the Flare. Surveillance records from
tragedy. the era are highly classified, if they exist at all.
6
A Campaign in Quetzal’s
Flight
One way or another, war is coming to Quetzal’s
Flight. The first strikes have already begun, and
leaders on both sides view the other as an
existential threat for reasons both past and
present. Uninterrupted it will drag their planets
into a deadly conflict – one that will only end
with the annihilation of one or both colonies,
and untold losses for the survivor. Pollux is
driven by a corporate hegemony, ever greedy
and monopolistic in its attack on competition –
and supported by generations of exponential
success. Castor’s council has become an
authoritarian cult, driven by rage, pain, and the
extremely present threat of dwindling resources
and the instability of their position as they are
backed into the corner. For each twin, fratricide
is preferable to death.
So, where do the players come in? They are an
unknown variable in the orbital dynamics of
Quetzal’s Flight – even if they cannot prevent
the collision of its major powers, they may be
able to slow it, soften the blow, and manage the
fallout. They could be militia for the Gilded
Orbit, mercenaries from greater occupied
space, or the timely arrival of a Union Navy or
DoJ/HR team to back up the newly appointed
administrator.
In the dawn hours of the conflict they may aid or
interfere in the machinations of Himiko Arasawa;
defend the Tinplate installations from early
skirmishes; or chase intrigue and their own
wealth in the neon streets of Punta Caridad.
As the skirmishes escalate to war and
knowledge spreads to the citizens of Pollux, any
armed force will either be looked on in suspicion
or as a tool by those with an agenda. Who will
they fight? Who will they save? Will they side
with someone, willingly or by force, or will they
try to forge a third option? Will the war be a hot
and deadly path to destruction, or become a
brutal siege between planets as each digs its
heels in?
The war between Castor and Pollux is centuries
in the making – but its ending is still unwritten.
This moment now, when leaders tilt nations to
war and cast their citizen’s lives like dice, is the
moment when everything can change. The story
of who, and what, remains, is up to you.
7
FACTIONS FOUND IN
QUETZAL’S FLIGHT
Himiko Arasawa, CEO and Head Chairwoman of the Keyhole Geologic Interest, sits beside a plate-glass
window looking out over the lights of Punta Caridad. The warm glow of storefronts is gradually being
replaced by the harsher neon of after-hours entertainment, though it is all softened by the time it reaches
her nearly a mile up the point from the city proper. She is the picture of peace; a loose summer blouse,
wide-legged cotton pants, gently reclined in a custom-made ergonomic office chair with a cup of tea
cooling at the table by her side. A report that would tear the city apart lies idle on the slate on her desk.
Instead, she enjoys her evening in a quiet contemplation.

Ten million twinkling lights. A constellation of her own that illuminated the night. There was so much still
to be done before it would be complete – even in these quiet moments, Himiko mused, she never truly
escaped her work.

Competing companies were an irritation as always; none had the standing to challenge her, but she still
disliked the drain on her focus. There were elections upcoming, and while she was certain of her seat the
rising upstarts seemed to get louder every year. A smear campaign would be clumsy, but perhaps when
candidates were announced she would begin to gather suitable persuasive material for her own personal
conversations. Squawking birds that clawed at their own nest like a cuckoo, endeavoring even impotently
to upset stability. They irked her like the unexpected stink of rotten fish from a formal dinner. Himiko
noticed she was frowning and took a moment to breathe. Tonight was a good night and she wouldn’t
spoil her complexion over reactionaries.

She would plan her steps carefully, of course. The dance was new but the rhythm all the same as the
waltz she’d walked since she could talk. Above the cityscape, the lights washed out the real stars and left
only the thick black veil of space behind. She knew what was waiting out there – but they had no idea
who she was, or that she had already won.

She made another cup of tea.

8
POLLUX
The Gilded Orbit Seats of the Syzygy
The ruling body of Pollux, the Orbit is the
consensus body of the merchant dynasties Agriculture Sharuk Ondo,
based on the planet. Membership is historically representing ShonCo
by trade: separate registered companies each
send a single representative, and each field then Health and Maria Quijano,
elects a single representative (ex: one Medical representing BeneCare
spokesperson for all robotics factories, one for Science
all mining companies, one for all agricultural
Mining and Himiko Arasawa,
efforts, etc.), that represents that industry in the
Refining representing Keyhole
Syzygy. The ten-year election cycle of the
Geologic Interest
Syzygy is a matter of intense focus as it
represents a brief opportunity to shift the
Transportation Sloan ‘Ocho’ Ruiz,
balance of power and trade in one’s favor. The
representing Aurora
monopolization of Pollux’s economy has
SkyTram
created a plutocratic system where some
businesses have held power for over a century. Construction Deirdre Rose,
The Syzygy, and by extension the Orbit, decides representing Pinnacle
national and civilian policy, as well as holding a Industries
tight grip on all economic and trade decisions.
Manufacturing Marlon Ferreira,
The Grapevine representing 4th Ward
A worker’s collective of seven spinsat mining Factories
rigs around Jian’s Well - White Orchid,
Entertainment Qadiya Castillo,
Faraday-4, Jian’s Memoriam, Anchor, Jack/Jill,
representing Pollux
Free Faraday, and The Birdsnest. In 4943u, a
Publishing
revolt over working conditions (beginning in the
stations that would become Free Faraday and
Robotics and Weile Kodyne,
White Orchid) led to the partial collapse of
Software representing POLARIS
Faraday Ventures, and the formation of The
Grapevine as an independent enterprise. Defense and Duster Cain, representing
Security Kshatriya Security
Now worker-led and owned, the Grapevine is a Services
theoretically self-sufficient ecosystem; only Free
Faraday and The Birdsnest have the capacity for Finances and Pakne Keshap,
hydroponics, but all stations can draw water Insurance representing The Spring
and fuel as byproducts of their mining. Harbor Treasury
Faraday-4 is technically still a functional office of
Faraday Ventures (and it’s only office). Jian’s
Memoriam is the newest station, completed in
4966u.

9
Keyhole Geologic Interest
The largest mineral mining conglomerate in the
system. Their operation is centered on Tinplate
and spans the length and depth of the planet.
Solidly established ever since the Flare, KGI has
had a long time to accumulate wealth and
political influence. They represent close to 40%4
of the trade out of Quetzal’s Flight. The current
CEO Himiko Arasawa is the unofficial leader of
the Syzygy, and thus the planet as a whole.
Most of their operations are focused on
Tinplate, which has remained under KGI control
since the Flare.
Kshatriya Security Services
KSS is a ubiquitous sight across Pollux - they
dominate the paramilitary market and are under
contract by every individual with assets to
protect. Their forces range from night watchmen
to mechanized cavalry squads. As the heavily
armed enforcers of the highest bidder, many
Polluxites view their officers with suspicion.
Pollux’s lack of a standing military requires that
all armed contractors must be on-call for
circumstances of national defense. Of these,
Kshatriya is the largest and most influential,
which has garnered it leeway from the Syzygy in
certain operative discrepancies.
Wicker-Mulligan Corporate
Surveyorship
The runner-up mining corp in the system. KGI’s
monopoly on Tinplate has forced them to make
their money from the asteroid belt - equally rich
in material, but far more difficult and dangerous
to mine. WM-CS is comparatively new, being
founded in 4970u, but their cutthroat tactics
have allowed them to rise to the top of Pollux’s
markets nonetheless. The Orphan’s attacks on
KGI sites have only served to increase this
momentum.
4
This record fails to account for Pinnacle tariffs
which, between monetary, mineral, cultural, and
labor profits, actually represent a majority share
of all industries.
The Ratpack
The Ratpack is a loose term for the anarchist
movements that have developed in Punto
Caridad over the last few decades in response
to both the Faraday revolt and a widely disliked
change in KGI benefit policy. The original
protests were organized through Omninet
boards and anonymous manifestos. Nowadays,
the individual spinoff cells/members differ
greatly in message and method, though they all
agree that the current system is flawed. Some
argue for the dismantling of the plutocratic
Gilded Orbit system, while others say that the
democracy of the current Orbit disrespects the
meritocracy of economic success; these beliefs
are expressed mainly as protests in the public
eye, but carry links to corporate espionage,
terrorist attacks, and gang violence in the
uninhabited outskirts of the city when cells
clash.5
The lack of cohesion between groups leaves
public opinion poor and has prevented them
from gaining significant political ground, instead
forming a caustic, self-defeating underground in
the city. None of the current affiliates are aware
that the original movement was orchestrated by
Castor in a metastatically successful attempt to
destabilize the populace and sow unrest.
Slatestone Lending Co.
SLCo (or ‘Slick’s’) is little more than an
organized crime family that bought a business
license to keep their loansharking aboveboard.
While they are an investment firm on paper, in
practice their influence extends into all manner
of illegal activities that are hidden behind that
veneer. Predatory lending, protection rackets,
and trade of illicit contraband are their usual
MO, and their debt collectors are more feared
than any KSS officer. KSS will defer to the
highest bidder; Slick’s boys won’t stop until
blood is spilled.
5
CLEARANCE LEVEL: WHITE WATER ONLY An
increasing number of these clashes have
involved esoteric and/or paracausal methods
indicating possible infiltration/education by
known external groups. See Breaking the
Looking Glass: Civil Subversion by Xeno-State
Actors for possible remediation approaches.
10
CASTOR
The Emergency Council
The Emergency Council is the leading coalition
of the surviving habitats of Medallion’s
Undercity. Each habitat elects its own
representative to the Council, which then directs
the labor, rationing, and development plans of
the entire Undercity. Of the 34 seats on the
council, 22 are currently held by vocal
adherents of the Ultraviolet Dawn.
The greater society of the Undercity is
predicated on labor. The razor-thin margin of
their survival requires all citizens to contribute
as much as they are able to the maintenance
and production of the community. The
Emergency Council assigns tasks and roles to
population clades, and all development plans
must be approved by them as an appropriate
expenditure of resources.
The Orphans
Castor’s military strike force. The Orphans
command a sizable wing of space-capable
chassis and a small number of refurbished
fightercraft and intra-system slowboats. In
attempts to maintain the advantage of their
secrecy, the Orphans have limited their actions
to stealth reconnaissance and occasional
live-fire sorties bearing false pirate markings6.
While they are ostensibly subservient to the
Emergency Council, the difficulty of
communicating to and from Castor means they
are usually operating on their own decision
making.
6
A pattern has emerged despite the variation
between attacks; Orphan frames tend to be
taupe to bone-white, outfitted for zero-g
combat, and hardened against environmental
hazards. All attempts to capture or salvage
individuals have resulted in manual
self-destruction by the targeted pilot.
Ultraviolet Dawn
In the wake of the Flare, Castor’s citizens were
forced to adopt strict discipline and endurance
in order to survive. The Ultraviolet Dawn was the
first coalition of disparate shelters that led the
reunification of the Medallion Undercity and the
formation of the Emergency Council. Their ethos
was founded on the survival of their people, by
any means – and through grueling work and
sacrifice, they have seen their home rise from
the ashes (for all of them now, the only home
they’ve ever known). As the Undercity stabilized
and survival was no longer so tenuous, the UD’s
thoughts began to turn upward; to their drifting
twin, oblivious and prosperous.
A radical realignment occurred following the
rediscovery of intact military storage hangars,
casting out the more moderate members. The
UD seeks revenge on the planet that
abandoned them, and their control over the
Emergency Council and popular rhetoric has
granted them ample support. It is because of
the UD that Castor has not made contact with
Pollux to ask for assistance, as their
self-sufficiency has bloated into a seething mix
of pride and envy.
Their motives are based in pragmatism too –
they fear that exposing themselves to Pollux
without bargaining power will result in them
becoming a slave-state for the foreseeable
future, dependent on and beholden to the
stronger planet’s whims. There are many in
Castor’s tunnels that disagree with the UD’s
scheme for vengeance – but the UD controls
Castor’s burgeoning industry and military, and
open dissent could lead to a one-way trip to the
radioactive plains of the surface.
11
EXTERNAL FORCES
IPS-N Quartermaster Office 328
This office handles customs, tariffs, and taxes
for all material goods passing in or out of the
system through Shepherd Station. They also
grant official IPS-N charters and documentation
for outgoing ships. Any ship that doesn’t see a
Quartermaster before leaving the system runs
the risk of being flagged for potential piracy and
seizure7. They have a strong relationship with
the Gilded Orbit on Pollux as a middleman
between the various megacorps on the planet,
predicated on a mutual economic benefit. The
Quartermasters themselves are sometimes
disparagingly referred to as ‘The Lazy 8s’ due to
the long periods of bureaucratic processing
some ships face – and how those periods can
be alleviated through the careful application of
funding.
The Sargasso Sirens
A small Free Company from the House of Water,
founded and led by Captain Deluge Solomon9.
The Sirens have bounced between planets and
jobs as the wind takes them, rarely staying in
one place for long. They are currently hired as
private security by Keyhole Geologic Interest at
both their Pollux headquarters and Tinplate
mines after a slew of attacks by an as-of-yet
unidentified party. The Sirens are guns-for-hire;
they have no loyalty beyond who’s writing their
checks, though they do also care about
maintaining a reputation of skill and efficiency.

Pinnacle Industries
Pinnacle Industries is a well-established
terraforming and colonial supply corporation
that was contracted for the initial terraforming,
construction, and colonization of Quetzal’s
Flight. In return they hold a portion of all mineral
rights to the system and exert a significant tithe8
. Every building was made by Pinnacle, every
farm uses their seeds, and the land itself was
shaped by their machines. Pinnacle equipment
is still widespread - most industrial equipment is
from the Pinnacle catalog, and the newer
Non-Civilian Hardware project is seeing
popularity as tension grows between factions.
Though they usually maintain a laissez-faire
policy in their colonial holdings, a potential
threat to their image – or resource pipeline –
could engender a more hands-on approach.

7
Due to a long-standing contract between
Pinnacle Industries and IPS-Northstar all trade
through Shepherd Station must also abide by PI
restrictions.
8
The deed to the colony is available for
re-purchase by its inhabitants beginning at 100
years post-landing. It is continually readjusted
to match relative local GDP, continued Pinnacle
investment, and projected colonial Manna value.
9
The Sirens - perhaps owing to their ignoble
origin - are small for a Free Company, and
mostly operate as mercenaries outside of
Baronic space. Their full cohort is carried by a
single ship and has a total of thirty registered
pilots. UDoJ/HR lists them as a Mid
Risk/Negligible Priority Tertiary Actor.
12
NOTABLE PEOPLE
It is late at night in Crater City, though that meant little when a day lasted only four hours. Still, Adika Tef
cannot remember when she last slept. The LCD screen affixed to her desk blinks impotently in dusty
green: SIGNAL DROPPED. It is the fourth time this week that her communications have failed. Practical
as always she sent teams to check antennae, rerouted her messages through radio rather than omninet,
changed and checked and rechecked every authorization and encryption ID. She ran a tight ship – too
tight for this to be a mistake.

They were alone.

Several of the automated rigs on the far side of the planet had already gone dark. For weeks, shipments
on and offworld had been going missing – and their crews along with them. Now the assailants came in
broad daylight, raiding runs on the outer mines that came and went before her security could respond.
She’d considered pirates at first but it was all too much, too coordinated, and there had been no
extortions or demands like she would expect. Every new report came closer to Crater City and they
showed no signs of slowing down.

She’d already begun to clear out the old caverns below the city – long abandoned for richer seams, now
they may be the only shelter the city’s residents had left. She’d tried to keep the news quiet to prevent a
panic – but they would find out soon enough, and better they hear it from her than from the screaming of
missiles through pressure seals. If Keyhole Geologic would only answer her, their resources could furnish
a fortune in mercenaries. Or, just safe evacuation for her people. Instead she was digging for scraps.

From her office window she could see the silhouette of a frame on the crater rim, matte armor against the
tarnished mirror of Tinplate. It was sheer luck that there were any mercenaries outside of Pollux in the
system that she could contact but she trusted the ‘Sirens’ and their captain as far as she could throw
them. Which would break first? Their line, or the dwindling funds of a city cut off from its umbilical? Adika
didn’t know the answer. She didn’t want to.

The sun was rising again. She made another call.

13
Adika Tef, Vanguard
Biography: Forewoman Tef is the current
representative and administrative head of the
Teapot Crater Mining Colony. Born and raised
in the Crater, her primary interest is the
smooth operation of KGI mining across
Tinplate – because any interruption puts her
home and family at risk of being replaced by
the board back on Pollux. Her teams have
been on the frontline of the first Orphan
attacks, and she is now desperately seeking
both answers and protection from a KGI that
has suddenly become reticent to answer her
messages.
Motivation: To make Crater City a home for
generations to come.
Interactions: Adika needs help, and KGI is
not sending it. Crater City has the
independent resources to hire mercenary
guards for a short time, but nothing of the
quality necessary to stave off pirates or the
Orphans for long. She may not like relying on
outside forces, but she’s pragmatic enough to
take assistance if she can – or, to stonewall
anyone that might threaten the city.
Shao Altan-Huan, Admin
Biography: Shao is the first Union
Administrator to Pollux. He began his career
as a UDoJ/HR Liberator, then UBM project
lead before being selected for
Administratorship. He and his NHP partner
Vertigo were assigned to the planet despite
this atypically late start in response to Pollux’s
5008u request for Core World status. The
position is expected to be temporary while a
full-term administrator is trained using his
insights, and he finds the corporate
backstabbing and high commerce of Pollux a
far cry from the unified clarity of the
Department of Justice/Human Rights.
Motivation: To build peace and justice in his
time.
Interactions: Shao needs boots on the
ground – he does not have the resources to
face a war, and Union reinforcements will take
years to arrive once alerted. He knows he
likely can’t trust the corporate militia, so a
third party option might be his best chance at
mitigating the conflict and protecting the
citizens of both planets. He’s an experienced
enough commander, more comfortable in a
chassis than a desk chair, and in many ways
happier to talk to pilots than politicians.
14
Samara al Altaw’am, Speaker
Biography: The Grapevine does not have a
formal leader, instead resolving policy and
disputes through open forum debates.
However, participation in the Gilded Orbit
requires a single representative, which has
since been voted on every 3 standard years.
Samara is a firm believer in the communal
beliefs and anarchic origins of the Grapevine,
and has been a troublemaker in the Orbit
since she was first elected 12 years ago.
Motivation: To find freedom from the gears of
profit and power for all.
Interactions: Samara is a voice of dissent in
the Gilded Orbit, and her name carries weight
further from Pollux, out in the periphery
stations. Samara refuses to ratify a
declaration of war – with some support or
new developments, others might join her
cause; or, pro-war actors might stifle it.
Jura Harlem, Critic
Biography: Over his long life Jura has
watched his hope for Castor wither. When his
term as a councilmember began the
Ultraviolet Dawn was a loose philosophy of
survival and sacrifice. He watched their
radicalization and thought nothing of it – until
the Daisy-Chain was found and it was too late
to save them. Jura’s protests have fallen on
deaf ears as the Dawn seized the council, and
now he watches in horror as their nation slips
ever closer to all-out war instead of the
escape he envisioned.
Jura’s hands are tied. Outward rebellion could
lead to him being kicked off the council,
removing what little power he had to protect
his constituency. As the UV Dawn also
controls Castor’s limited off-world platforms,
he has no easy way of calling for help – but if
circumstances become desperate he may
take that chance.
Motivation: To keep his people safe.
Interactions: Jura is cautious – the safety of
Castor comes first – but he’s actively looking
for alternatives to the Ultraviolet Dawn’s
crusade, and is open to working with
someone that can present a clear plan.
15
Duster Cain, General
Biography: After his service in the nascent
Tinplate War, Duster Cain left Quetzal’s Flight.
He hired on with IPS-N Trunk Security for
close to fifteen subjective years, and returned
to a Pollux forever changed from the world
he’d left – war turned to the gilded cage of
corporate conflict. KSS was a small time
security contractor that he joined,
commandeered, and militarized as it rose in
prominence and popularity among the elite.
Now the self-styled general of Pollux, Duster
stares at most obstacles down the barrel of a
gun, as he continues to lead patrols
personally.
Motivation: To chase the feeling of his finger
on the trigger.
Interactions: Duster sees himself as the
general of every conflict, and everyone else is
a soldier beneath him. If they won’t follow
orders, they have to either get out of the way
or get ready for a fight.
Kyon Winters, Vengeant
Biography: Kyon was born in the concrete
tunnels and recycled air of Medallion’s
undercity. Their tenacity is matched only by
their rage at the struggle of their people. This
fervor was recognized with an opportunity –
lead Castor’s first mech pilots in generations.
Kyon left their home, now commander of the
Orphans – a name they chose personally.
Their history, their home, their hope had been
stripped away, and Kyon will take it back. But
they have never seen the green slopes of
Pollux or the gentle ease of life with clean air
– and despite their fury, a life of peace for
their home is all they truly want.
Motivation: To fight for Castor’s future.
Interactions: More likely than not, Kyon will
be on the other side of the fight from players,
and they distrust any non-Castorans. Getting
through to them would require great effort.
16
Bethany Klein, Quartermaster
Biography: For Quartermaster Klein,
Shepherd Station is just one more step in the
corporate climb. She’ll serve her term until a
promotion presents itself, dutifully managing
the station to IPS-N’s exacting regulations.
Her motivation is wealth and power with the
least possible effort. As long as affairs in the
station don’t interfere with her professional
record, she’ll happily turn a blind eye rather
than get her office involved.
Motivation: To take one step closer to
executive bliss.
Interactions: Bethany is an intermediary, and
every conversation with her is a transaction.
Pay well and she’ll help you accordingly – but
she tracks her debts too.
Deluge Solomon, Captain
Biography: Born to a humble farming family
on Umara, Deluge grew up in peace and
solitude. As soon as he was old enough he
ran away from his future as a crop-tender -
brash and youthful. Determined to finally see
the exciting galaxy he’d long heard of, he
hitchhiked from station to station before
finally finding work as a deckhand with a
minor mercenary corp.
In five years he made his way from cabin boy
to captain with an unprecedented talent as a
Lancer and a natural charisma that inspired
his comrades. He rebuilt the crew from the
ground up, returning to his home and
incorporating as a free company of the House
of Water - The Sargasso Sirens. His
brashness and devil-may-care attitude
haven’t changed with age, but are now
accompanied by the experience of hundreds
of hours in-chassis and a deadly eye for
detail.
Motivation: To keep moving – ever forward,
never back.
Interactions: If the players aren’t Sirens,
Deluge isn’t interested in working with them -
Barons are bad news, Union is too nosy, and
corpro goons are usually bottom of the barrel
chaff. He does have a wary respect for other
mercenaries, but it won’t be much more than
a foot in the door without more of an
incentive.
17
Himiko Arasawa, Plutocrat
Biography: Scion of the Arasawa family,
Himiko is the current CEO of KGI and the
representative of all mining and refining
companies as a part of the Syzygy. Her family
made Keyhole what it is today through
aggressive business acumen and rumored
underworld dealings. Pollux’s economic pulse
rests under her finger - a fact that she and
every other would-be merchant family knows
all too well.
Himiko does not see herself as part of the
system – she is above it entirely. KGI reports
have already confirmed activity above Castor,
and tied it back to the attacks on her
facilities. Castor’s ancestral claims and new
power represents a threat to her hegemony
that she would greatly like to see removed –
but a preemptive war is too likely to end in an
appeasing treaty. Instead, her aim is to
engineer a position of victimization where the
only solution is an all-out war of annihilation,
removing Castor’s influence and opening an
entirely new planet for exploitation in one fell
swoop. To this end, she has been using her
influence to stall, obfuscate, and generally
cripple Pollux’s response until she deems it
appropriate to allow open war.
Motivation: To keep her hold at the top of the
food chain
Interaction: Everyone Himiko meets is a
potential tool (though she rarely interacts in
person). Even if players are staunchly
opposed to her, she will use her fortune and
web of connections to bribe and manipulate
them to achieve her goals.
Weile Kodyne, Oracle
Biography: POLARIS is a new firm for Pollux,
both in age and purpose. Rather than
focusing on the rich mineral wealth of the
system, Kodyne built POLARIS across the
omninet to leverage their intellect on equal
footing with the other merchant dynasties.
Their focus is on subaltern design and
collective dynamics, and their work
spearheads Pollux’s automated labor force
despite the relative recency of their rise to
prominence. Despite this investment in
Pollux’s infrastructure and corporate
edification, Weile has been implicated in a
multitude of scandals tied to whistleblowing
espionage and anti-Orbit sentiment groups.
They have seen how the winds of change are
blowing – their connections through the
omninet revealed a world far beyond Pollux, a
world Union-built and clinging to the edge of
Utopia. It is not perfect, not yet. But Weile
can see the potential, and is already working
to shape that future.
Motivation: To be ready, when the time
comes.
Interaction: Weile is a fairweather friend; they
have been biding their time for years for the
chance to change Pollux’s future, and while it
is unexpected the chaos of war may provide
that opportunity as much as it risks
everything. Players could easily find
themselves allied or opposed to the
technocrat as Weile assesses which side is
most likely to provide the future they want.
18
Citadel Correa, Demagogue
Biography: Citadel took risks long before he
joined the Emergency Council. He was a
runner – one of few – that left the shielding of
Castor’s bunkers to scavenge and scout the
ruins above for necessities and technology
that they were unable to produce. His
success and ease of leadership bought him a
seat on the council, and his hardscrabble
experience and unforgiving attitude saw him
quickly to a charismatic position in the
Ultraviolet Dawn. He organized the expedition
that rediscovered the Daisy-Chain facilities –
one of many popular and successful
hunches. He is the one of the loudest voices
of the Dawn in the council through personality
more than volume, and has instated himself
as the de facto general of their newly fledged
military. Braving the wastes of Castor time
and again, for Correa, the distant dream of
Pollux was always unwelcome. Their brother
had abandoned them – Castor would have to
rise and survive alone, and when the time
came, ensure they would never be at
another’s mercy ever again.

Motivation: To pull Castor back from the

brink, no matter the cost.

Interactions: Citadel leads Castor, guiding

the Orphans from afar while managing the
crowded population as a talented orator and
shrewd survivalist. There is little way to reach
him short of going to Castor directly, and he
is suspicious if not outright hostile to any
representative of Pollux.

Citadel’s war is for survival – for him, it is the

only way to truly protect Castor’s people, and
to force Pollux to atone for their sins.

19
LAY OF THE LAND
The tunnel-city of Xibalba is never truly quiet. The passage of day and night is unmarked, with time
measured in shifts such that there are always people busy and awake. The air filters hum and cough, the
layercake of levels echoes with distant footfall and conversation; in the upper levels there is an electric
frisson you can hear from the walls, and in the lower rooms the steady heartbeat of pumps keeps a
neverending rhythm. All along the height of the city, a wind that has never seen the sky whistles through
the axial shaft. Silence would mean death.

Citadel Correa stands at the height of the shaft, a well that bores to the bones of the planet and carries
up whispers of a hundred thousand living souls. Beneath his thick, asymmetrical poncho sits the
anodized star of the Ultraviolet Dawn. The careful regalia of the Emergency Council has been set aside
for the working-clothes of Castor – today he is a man, not a message. Or, he is both. The line is thin for
him. He steadies his hands on the railing and carries the intent to the rest of his body. This is not the first
long day that he has lived in his long life, nor will it be the last. The keening void beckons, challenges,
whispers and goads. “Step forward” it says “see where your foot falls. Come learn what it is like to land.”
He’s heard it his whole life, the omnipresent threat of survival at life’s edge. It is not special to him – every
citizen of Castor can hear it, keeps it in their heart like the pit rests in Xibalba’s center. Today, they step
back from the edge.

Dawdling loses its appeal. He sets himself to his task. The city busies itself with existing as one shift
returns wearily, and another begins to trickle from hab-rooms bleary-eyed. People part for him without a
word; recognition, not fear. His path takes him down ring after ring in a conscious tour. Watching,
surveying, retreading a rote pattern of review. It is an exercise in presence; both present for himself, and
for those whose lives he cradles. Each step is counted and remembered.

He reaches his destination: an olive-gray door in an olive-gray wall. 7-Bravo-23. It opens at the third
knock to reveal a middle-aged woman in a plain smock, black hair tied back in a plait with an
incongruously bright ribbon. Her tired glance gives way to a wide stare as she registers his presence.

“Mrs. Jemsyn Vanderhelt? I apologize for the intrusion, but do you have a moment to talk?” A nod, and
an invitation inside. As a mug is placed into his hands, he finally breaks the silence. His news is an affront
to her hospitality but there is little else to be done.

“This must stay between us, you understand. Your family has a right to this information. Several hours
ago, your daughter and over a hundred other brave soldiers began a very dangerous mission…”

When he finally leaves, the hallways outside are still lit the same. There is no night to rest in Xibalba, and
there are many more doors to visit.

20
Pollux
Walk the Azure Boulevard, where the finest and
most exciting imports from Union space come
to rest on pretty porcelain shelves. Bury your
toes in the warm white sand while the sun kisses
the sea. Tour Orion’s Rest and Pueblo Nuevo;
tower-arcologies with their boutiques and
floating parks. Dive into the evening rush of
Cassius Plaza – a new party every night, a new
delight to tickle the senses, a new whisper to
lead you further. From the height of the Aurora
Circuit you can watch the lights dim in the
distance, the factories disgorge, the outer rings
grow tired, but here the splendor is unending.
Pollux shines eternal in the night; eager and
hungry.
A garden world, Pollux’s mainly off-planet
industry has preserved most of its environment.
It has 4 continents with an overall temperate
climate (ranging from tropics at the equator to
small ice caps at the poles), and ~65% of the
surface covered in water. Pollux has a less
severe tilt than Cradle, creating less seasonal
difference. It weighs in at 0.93g at the surface,
and has no moons.
Punta Caridad
The original colony landing point, which has
since grown into a massive metropolitan
arcology housing most of Pollux’s population.
Located close to the equator, it is bright and
sunny with a fresh sea breeze that transitions to
a humid and stale morass as you descend from
the towering skyscrapers to the urban valleys in
between. Despite the rapid growth over the last
century, large portions of the city remain
unoccupied - the product of successive waves
of prefab habitation that the population hasn’t
caught up with yet. The city is organized into
concentric semicircular Wards centered on the
harbor at the inner curve of the eponymous
point.
Ward 1
Setting the eastern boundary of the city and
gliding up the eponymous peninsula where it
reaches the sea, Ward 1 combines luxury
amenities and high politics – lavish villas border
marble-clad government offices along the
harbor.
Ward 2
Composed of office buildings, small
manufacturing facilities, restaurants and stores,
Ward 2 is the beating heart of Punta Caridad’s
urban life.
Ward 3
Largely residential, Ward 3 is a mix of prefab
and modified housing and apartment complexes
that contains the majority of the population.
Ward 4
Large-scale manufacturing, refining, and
storage are relegated to Ward 4’s mechanized
factories and warehouses, which employ many
of the lower-income brackets of the population.
Wards 5 and 6
These Wards are still officially unoccupied
except for use as temporary storage.
Unofficially, many factions make use of the lack
of monitoring and abundant prefab floorspace
to manage clandestine affairs, and they contain
the hideouts of many gangs and criminal
groups.
The Spindle
Located in the mountains north of Punta
Caridad is the Medallion Memorial Spaceport:
the terrestrial end of Pollux’s space elevator: the
Spindle. It is easily accessed by maglev trains
that run under the mountains and sees a
constant flow of both cargo and people as the
easiest method offworld. Spindle Station is held
at the orbital end and handles all transport up or
downwell along with a constellation of other
nearby geostationary orbital complexes,
including a modest shipyard.
The Medallion Spaceport was built on the site of
Pollux’s pre-Flare military complex. It’s
construction marked the end of any official
military program with most assets recycled or
decommissioned, and the issue of national
security passed to the hands of independent
armed contractors.
21
Castor deep rail transit lines, which have since been
dug out and expanded into a connected
People still go down there, now and then. honeycomb of tunnels and caverns.
Treasure hunters and glory hounds. Fools, the
lot of them. They say the dust is so thick, you
can’t see your frame’s hand when the arm is
The Undercity
Medallion’s Undercity is organized and ruled by
outstretched - and you’d best stay in the frame.
the Emergency Council, which is currently held
The air is so toxic, it’ll make you grow extra eyes
in the iron grip of the Ultraviolet Dawn, an
just so you can watch yourself melt. They say
authoritarian survivalist group that has directed
radiation blocks the radios, and all you hear
Castor’s actions for decades. In the first years
instead is the whispers in the static of all the
after the Flare, the Undercity was a scattering of
ghosts trapped in the planet’s magnetic field,
disconnected shelters varying in size and
crying out for someone to save them. The ones
resources. Travel and trade between them
who make it out, they say they find riches - old
required braving the hostile surface, and many
vaults, secret caches, their long-lost
smaller facilities were starved out before they
grandpappy’s ashes. Most don’t make it out.
were able to receive help.
Official word is the storms get them: they’re
stranded, lose power, and gasp out their last
Within the first decade, tunnels were dug to
breaths of recycled air. That’s assuming it
connect the largest and most centrally located
doesn’t just blow their reactor wholesale, and
areas, creating the basis of what would become
add their remains to the clouds. They say no
the Undercity. Early survival was predicated on
one should ever go there.
scavenging the remaining supplies from the
You don’t seem like the type to listen.
surface – food, medicine, and raw materials. As
these were depleted, development turned
Once Pollux’s twin in natural beauty, Castor is
inwards. Less than 50 years after the Flare, the
now a desolate and scorched wasteland. Castor
Undercity had a self-sufficient agricultural layer,
has 5 continents, though they are now all
a small battery of reclaimed printers and
partially merged due to the retracting seas. The
salvaged manufacturing equipment, and a
oceans partially evaporated, leaving shallow,
slowly but steadily growing population. This
radioactive seas, deep trenches, and sweeping
stability is tenuous – ancient filtration systems
deserts. The surface is devoid of life and the
and aging electronics create a constant risk of
atmosphere has become thin, though not
deadly mechanical failure, and their production
enough so to prevent the rolling dust storms.
chains could fail if the population’s demand
Electromagnetic disturbances and shifting
exceeds their resources. This constant tension
radiation belts make communication over long
is a powerful factor in maintaining the grip of the
distances difficult and prone to failure. It has no
Ultraviolet Dawn.
moons, and weighs in at 1.1g at the surface.
The present Undercity has a population slightly
Medallion under half that of Punta Caridad, though much
The original colonial landing point; once a more densely packed. It is centered on
burgeoning arcology, its skyscrapers are now ‘Xibalba’; a tiered cylindrical shaft that was
empty shells, and its streets are littered with originally the shielded underground hangar of
rusting vehicles10. The nature of the Flare meant Medallion’s primary spaceport, and that has
that most physical infrastructure was left intact, since been expanded to hold two-thirds of the
even while organic and electronic systems were Undercity’s population in ever-growing rings.
decimated. Thus, the sprawling footprint of Aside from several closely adjoining bunkers,
Medallion has remained largely unchanged – the rest of the Undercity is a radial growth of
though it is periodically ravaged by sandstorms caverns and outposts that vary from a few
and aberrant electric phenomena. While the dozen to several hundred residents. They are all
surface is barren, the remainder of Castor’s connected by railways, both those original to
populace now lives under the city. Their the city and new construction by the Emergency
ancestors survived in emergency bunkers and Council. Prior to the rediscovery of the
Daisy-Chain complex, the next largest facility
10 was the Rootway, a mine-turned-farm that
It is currently unknown if the colonial NHP
supplies most of the Undercity’s food through
(desig: Symphony, Sidewalk-Class) was
hydroponics and rudimentary organic waste
destroyed in the flare. Identification and
processing.
recovery of the casket is of top priority following
the release of public report Evergreen Crisis.
22
Daisy-Chain Complex
Prior to the Flare, a number of military
installations were built underground in the area
surrounding Medallion. Intended to protect them
from Polluxite surveillance or attack, the
Daisy-Chain facilities inadvertently served to
protect late-war ordnance from the devastating
effects of the flare. They were rediscovered by
the Emergency Council in 4980u, triggering a
generation-long effort to refurbish and reactivate
the facilities and their machines. Most of the
Castoran populace knows very little, if anything
of their existence, as the only route to the DCC
from the undercity is over the surface.
The Scorch
The point of the flare’s impact; a hostile,
blighted plain that’s nearly impossible to enter
due to magnetic disturbances, radiation, and
unstable ground. The center of the Scorch is
5,000 miles from Medallion, and it’s border
extends approximately 2,000 miles in every
direction (though this is imprecise as there is no
clear delineation, only an exponential increase in
severity of disturbances as you approach the
center). The region has shown no signs of
improving despite predictions to the contrary.

Currently, 5 out of 8 facilities are operational

and represent the vast majority of Castor’s
military infrastructure. They house chassis,
spacecraft, and personal weapons that far
outnumber the active military population. The
Daisy-Chain complexes have limited
manufacturing capability that the Emergency
Council has slowly been adding to using
salvaged Pinnacle machinery that has been
recovered across the city. Despite the
Undercity’s smaller population, this supply of
materiel far outweighs the decentralized
reserves on Pollux.

Outskirts and Badlands

Not every survivor of the Flare was lucky
enough to end up in the Emergency Council’s
bunkers. Scavengers and bandits roam the
blasted wasteland and crumbling cityscape in a
desperate struggle for survival. The Council
sees them as a threat to its slim resources and
there is little love lost between neighbors. One
of the largest ‘Dustwalker’ camps is located in
the old Medallion City Hall, which has been
gradually built into a perennial shantytown and
fortress. This and other surface settlements are
impermanent and migratory to avoid the cyclical
storms and radiation spikes11. The difficulty in
creating a stable population on the surface
means that many of these transient groups are
composed of exiles (willing or otherwise) from
the Undercity and their direct descendants.

11
Rumors abide about a permanent settlement
far from Medallion under the mountains of
Castor, surviving in a verdant utopia created
with old Pinnacle terraforming engines.
Frequently told as a fairy tale to Castoran
children, most adults interpret it as a
heaven-analogue. If they exist, they have yet to
contact any other group to-date.
23
Tinplate
Tinplate is the closest planet to the star in the
system, and the smallest planet. Its surface is
metallic and jagged, broken up by craters and
spiraling valleys theorized to have formed from
long-dead tectonic activity. Rich in osmium,
titanium, and rare earth metals, Tinplate is also
the single densest concentration of wealth in
Quetzal’s Flight. It holds a barely-there
atmosphere, lacks any moons, and weighs in at
0.58g at the surface.
Teapot Crater
The center of KGI’s industry on Tinplate. It
began as their first mining site, and has since
grown into a massive refinery and spaceport
that processes the minerals harvested across
the planet. A permanent population of over
10,000 people live in the crater as it gradually
develops into a fully fledged colony, colloquially
referred to as Crater City. While its mines are
long exhausted, the rest of Tinplate’s surface is
speckled with newer facilities and massive,
automated walking rigs that together create a
constant flow of material.
Jian’s Well
A large gas giant rich in helium and other
valuable compounds. It is the furthest planet
from the sun and has a strong tilt that creates
intense seasonal changes in climate. It has 3
moons: Rose, Laurel, and Hyacinth. Rose is the
largest, with a thick, cold, methane-rich
atmosphere that is occasionally mined
alongside Jian’s Well, Laurel has a frozen
surface covering a core of liquid water with a
hardy xenoflora ecosystem. Hyacinth is largely
unexplored due to its acidic atmosphere, high
temperatures, and jagged, crystalline surface.
Free Faraday
Originally Faraday-1, Free Faraday was the
flashpoint that began the Faraday Workers
Revolt. Sparked by a combination of low wages,
dilapidated conditions, and lax safety regulation,
the workers of Free Faraday severed all ties with
Faraday Ventures in 4943u, leading to a legal
and social battle that grew to encompass the
other 6 habitats over the next two years.
Now, Free Faraday, along with the other
habitats, is a stable worker-owned company
that harvests the gases of Jian’s Well. Free
Faraday is a cramped and claustrophobic place
to live; space is a premium in orbital living. Still,
it’s inhabitants have taken the time to add
personal touches and small comforts - a small
library, distillery, and small observation bubbles.
As one of only two habitats with a hydroponics
ring, Free Faraday holds a great deal of sway
over the other habitats.
Faraday-4
Faraday-4 is all that remains of Faraday
Ventures - the loss of profits from the revolt
forced them to declare bankruptcy and liquidate
their assets until it was all that remained as the
only non-revolting station. Since then it has
been their corporate office, locked into a
begrudging partnership as another part of the
Grapevine. Their loss of financial gain was
echoed by a loss of power in the Orbit, and their
grudge extends to the rest of the Pollux elite
that they feel abandoned them.
24
Extra-Planetary Bodies Shepherd Station
Tracing a wide orbit at the edge of the system,
A wide assortment of temporary and permanent
Shepherd Station (IPS-N Crossroads
satellites, ships and stations dot the empty
Habitat-328) is the last stop for any ship leaving
space of Quetzal’s Flight. Merchant havens,
the system - the next stop for most of them is
research outposts, pirate lairs, all in an
twelve light years away at Orizaba Station, the
ever-shifting orbit, provide plenty of opportunity
nearest blinkgate in the Sierra Madre line. A
for new ideas and secret agendas outside the
combination of rest stop and traffic terminal, the
watchful eyes of the Syzygy.
station is a neutral party in the system. All
industries that wish to participate in the galaxy
Asteroid Belt beyond the Quetzal’s Flight need to stay in their
The WMCS holds the majority mineral rights to good graces, making it a meeting point for
the asteroid belt of Quetzal’s Flight that sits just otherwise contentious parties - and making
outside the orbit of Jian’s Well, but many other them all subject to the navigational and cargo
minor mining corps also find their home here. tariffs the station’s management might levy.
Some of the larger asteroids have actual
habitats built on them, but the majority are
transiently mined by ships and automated
drones. The isolation of the belt leaves it ripe for
piracy and crime, with no official law
enforcement present to prevent it. Instead, the
belt’s population has developed a rugged sense
of frontier justice that maintains a relative, if at
times brutal, order.
Unable to regularly return to Castor’s surface,
the Orphans have made a temporary base
somewhere within the belt. It is sustained with
pillaged supplies and frequently moved to avoid
detection.

25
MISSION HOOKS
JUDGEMENT DAY
Castoran forces have redirected an ancient
derelict from its orbit to a killcourse straight
towards Pollux – If you can gain control of its
engines you might be able to stop it, but it's
Orphan guard won’t make the job easy.
RATS IN THE STREETS
A terrorist offshoot of the Ratpack has
emerged on Pollux, claiming descendancy
from the survivors of Castor. They are
attacking government buildings as part of a
separatist attempt, and the Orbit needs boots
on the ground to protect civilians – and just
how did they get their hands on such
advanced hardware….
CLEAN-UP CREW
One of the Grapevine stations has been
attacked by saboteurs – unless someone
stops them, it will fall into the gas giant below.
CORPORATE RETREAT
An important trade deal is being negotiated
through the Gilded Orbit, with whoever comes
out on top of the weeklong affair defining the
next decade of Castor’s market. You’ve been
hired as security as rumors of corporate
espionage – or worse – threaten to unsettle
the conference.
THE MILK RUN
The Sirens needed work and thought this
would be another boringly simple bodyguard
job – at most you’d be slapping away some
two-bit pirates. Instead, on your first day on
the job, the mining stations of Tinplate come
under attack by an unknown assailant. They
are organized and well-armed, and your
contract has suddenly become much more
complicated.
JUDAS STATION
Wicker-Mulligan needs security on one of their
distal mining rigs – the asteroid belts are ripe
targets for enterprising pirates because of how
far they are from any other occupied area.
Something about this job seems off though –
you can’t shake the feeling the rig is hiding
something – or someone.
ANTIQUES ROADSHOW
Descendants of the survivors of Castor on
Pollux have hired you to find an old family
heirloom left behind on the planet. Radioactive
sandstorms aside, it’s a simple mission - until
a mysterious military force opens fire as you
invade their airspace.
BREATH OF FRESH AIR
You grew up in the tunnels of the Undercity –
all your life you were told that this is all there
was. One day, that changed – the Emergency
Council told you and your squad that there is
a world beyond, and that they stole your
future. You will leave your home for the first
time, and take it back – by any means
necessary.
GOLD RUSH
The dying head of a merchant clade has
unleashed chaos with his will - all of his
fortunes and titles have been withheld from his
descendants. A week later, a system wide
scavenger hunt was announced through a
series of anonymous Omninet posts. The rules
are simple: the first team to reach each post
and complete the task set to them gets
everything. Fame and fortune to the bold,
pilot.
26
QUETZAL’S FLIGHT NARRATIVE
ACTIONS
EARN YOUR WINGS
This is a new downtime action that opens
opportunities for narrative development. When
you Earn Your Wings, you become the brand
new owner of a space-capable ship.
Getting a ship doesn’t need a roll. It uses your
downtime action, but you’ll always get one.
When you do, work out how you got it, who or
where it came from, and what its name is. Every
ship comes with 2 Complications and 1 Quirk
(either choose them with your GM or roll on the
tables below). You may take 1 extra
Complication to start with an additional
upgraded Module, or offset 1 Complication by
paying a sufficient narrative cost upfront after
determining the Complications. For example, if
you roll the Complications ‘Owe Some Money’
and ‘Bad Reputation’ and your character comes
from a wealthy family, you could remove ‘Owe
Some Money’ immediately by paying off your
debt from the family account – but now you
won’t have that cash later.
Once you have a ship, you can improve it by
GETTING AN UPGRADE with future downtime
actions.
Every ship starts with:
● A basic nearlight drive capable of
system-to-system travel and sublight
travel between planets
● Basic accommodations – 4 bunks to a
room minimum, and probably not
comfortable ones.
● Basic medical supplies and repair tools
for the ship.
● A basic canteen with limited storage,
designed to handle pre-formulated
high-density nutrient blends that last far
beyond the point you’re willing to eat
them.
● A basic management comp/con; they
can’t pilot the ship, but they keep the
lights on and the doors opening.
● Basic communications gear; you can
send and receive signals within a
system, and connect to a local
omninode.
● A small cargo hold. Most ships you’ll
find are running cargo, and will have
room for mechs or other objects with a
combined Size of 4.
27
GET AN UPGRADE
When you GET AN UPGRADE, you are given,
make, barter, or steal better equipment and
facilities for a ship you obtained by EARNING
YOUR WINGS. Each upgrade is an individual
Module as listed below. A ship can hold up 8
Modules. Some modules have a Rank. To
acquire a Rank II or higher module, you must
first acquire it’s Rank I equivalent. For example,
you must first obtain a Schedule 1 Printer (Rank
I) before you can obtain a Schedule 2 Printer
(Rank II). When you replace a Module this way,
it does not count against your total number of
Modules - the Schedule 2 Printer replaces the
Schedule 1 Printer entirely, and having both
only counts as 1 module.
Name the Module you want, how you’re
getting it, and roll:
On a 9 or less you get the Module, but choose
one:
● You have to make a sacrifice right now
to get it.
● Your ship gains a new Complication.
● It’s broken, malfunctioning, or otherwise
damaged.
On a 10-19 you get the Module but choose
one:
● Your ship gains a new Quirk.
● You swap one Complication for a
different one.

On a 20+ you get the Module and a little bit

extra – choose one:
● You gain a narratively appropriate
Reserve for your next mission.
● You can remove one Complication or
Quirk from your ship.

Modules
When you Get An Upgrade, choose from one of the Modules below. You can also come up with a new
Module that isn’t on the list with your GM. Modules are rooms or specialized subsystems that help to
improve your ship in some specialized capacity, and provide new narrative opportunities or benefits.

28
MODULES
Atmospheric For maneuvering in-atmosphere or downwell without difficulty.
Thrusters

Brig For holding prisoners and rowdy guests more securely, or for extended stays.

Commercial For the enterprising merchant (or Barbarossa pilot), this supersized cargo hold can
Cargo Hold carry a combined Size of 10.

Comp/Con Can steer the ship in a pinch, NHP As good as a human pilot – if not
Co-Pilot though they struggle with Co-Pilot better – an NHP also opens up a
Rank I unexpected variables. Rank II new frontier of E-war.

Drop Pods One-way orbital insertion pods for chassis and infantry.

Improved This high-end sensor array lets you detect, analyze, map, and intrusively scan ships
Scanners and planetary surfaces – although some may take offense to the invasion of privacy.

Full Mess For storing, preparing, and comfortably consuming real food.
Hall/Kitchen

Omninode With your own omninode you always have a connection to the omninet (barring
unexpected circumstances), and have FTL communications to any other node.

Personal Gives every crewmember their own modestly sized room, with a few spare for
Rooms guests.

Schedule 1 Can print a Size 1 mech in Schedule Taking up several rooms of space,
Printer approximately 8 hours, with 2 Printer this can print a Size 2 mech in 10
Rank I the appropriate feedstock. Rank II hours or less.

Smuggler’s This hidden compartment is shielded from most handheld scanners and visual
Hold inspection, with enough room and internal air supply for several people.

Stasis These tubes can hold a person in suspended animation for up to 100 years
Chambers (although serious rehabilitation is required after 50+).

Stealth Drive True stealth is impossible in space – any heat is visible from thousands of miles
away. Still, through clever signal jammers and waste-heat shrouds, you can disguise
your position for a short time, and a temporary cloak protects you from visual
targeting.

Subaltern Immune to cold and vacuum, these subalterns can diagnose and repair nearly any
Technicians mechanical issue or damage given time.

Upgraded With subaltern attendants, homeostatic nanites, and a miniaturized pharmasynth

Medical Bay printer, this module can treat even serious injury or disease, or stabilize someone
until you can find better care.

Weapons For basic self-defense (or Spinal These tera- to petajoule weapons
Battery offense). These could be Spool Gun can take hours to charge on a ship
Rank I kinetic turrets, laser projectors, Rank II your size – make it count.
missile silos, or more esoteric
measures.

29
Complications
Complications are exactly that – dangers, burdens, and risks that are tied to your ship. You can gain or
lose Complications when you Get An Upgrade, as well as through other narrative actions as
appropriate. When you gain Complication, you can roll on this table, choose a specific one, or make up
a new Complication that best fits your situation. If you roll or pick the same Complication multiple
times, you can reroll on the table for something new, or you could worsen that Complication, doubling
down to make it more serious. For example, ‘Owe Some Money’ could become ‘Owe a Fortune’ as you
blow your savings, or ‘Stolen’ might become ‘Wanted’ as law enforcement or the previous owner hunts
you down.

COMPLICATIONS
1-2 Owe Some Some things don’t come cheap – however you got this ship, it cost you
Money more than you had, and eventually someone will come to collect.

3-4 Hunk of Junk There’s no nice way to say it – this ship is a piece of garbage. Systems
glitch, pipes leak, and panels fall off the walls.

5-6 Company You got this ship at a great rate – because it isn’t yours. You just have it
Property under contract, and whoever owns it gets final say in all matters.

7-8 Bad Maybe it’s the paint job, the prior owner, or the communication ID you
Reputation can’t seem to change; whatever the reason, ports eye your ship with
distaste, and lawmen tend not to trust you.

9-10 Stolen It might not have been you that did it, but this ship didn’t change hands
willingly.

11-12 Unwanted Maybe it was the terms of the trade, or you found a stowaway after your
Guest first flight, but you have a passenger with their own agenda you can’t
seem to shake.

13-14 No-Fly List Maybe whoever owned this ship before you got on the wrong side of the
law – whatever the reason, it’s banned from blink travel unless you make
an appeal.

15-16 Hangar Queen Experimental tech or just fancy licensing, this ship requires custom parts
and trained technicians to repair or upgrade.

17-18 Unlivable Life support is broken, the reactor is unshielded, the hull leaks, or any
other mechanical threat makes it unsafe for human life that isn’t
constantly wearing protective gear.

19-20 Haunted There is someone, or something else on this ship with you – maybe you
haven’t seen it, but you’ve noticed it’s presence with unease. Tread
lightly in the engine room.

30
Quirks
Quirks are the little idiosyncrasies and irritations that take a ship from a pile of metal to a living thing that
grows and changes with you. Quirks may be gained or lost through narrative actions, using either the
table below or by inventing your own to add texture and character to your ship.

QUIRKS
1 Your spingrav is locked at 0.3g. 11 Someone has hooked a distillery into the
ship’s boiler.

2 No matter how often you replace it, the 12 A persistent leak has created a small but
coffee machine adds a shot of blueberry hardy floral/fungal ecosystem between decks
syrup to everything.

3 You’ve picked up a pest infestation - 13 There’s a weird melodic hum in the

nothing serious, but certainly noticeable. background of any communications you
receive.

4 It always runs at least ten degrees hotter 14 The ship’s augmented reality overlay is stuck
or colder than you want. on the ‘Alpine Birthday’ theme.

5 You have a ship cat! Or krait, or any 15 You have acquired a very aggressive cleaning
other xenofauna mascot. drone.

6 A ship wide alarm sounds every day at 16 There is a corridor in the ship that is much,
0327 Cradle Standard Time. much longer than it should be.

7 A hacker collective has decided to use 17 Your ship keeps showing up as a non-existent
your IP to host their weekly meetings. HA subline vessel on scanners.

8 The vents smell overwhelmingly of 18 You’ve found a massive store of discontinued

pesto. ‘Tropical Sylph’ candy behind a false wall in
the cargo hold.

9 You can never find an open docking bay. 19 Whenever you use a blinkgate it takes
minutes to an hour to re-enter realspace.

10 Whenever and wherever you dock, you 20 Through some misfiled paperwork, your ship
always run into the same ship. is now your legally adopted child.

31
TALENTS
The following talents can be chosen by players
when spending talent points.
BRICKLAYER
You are the wall. Behind you: a nation, an
ideal, a home. Ahead: everything that would
tear it down. You engineer your own
schematics, tune your own printers, build a
citadel on the battlefield. Stay tall, pilot
– you’ve weathered far greater storms.
I WEATHERPROOFING
Your Deployables gain +5 HP. As long as
they have full HP they also have Resistance
to all damage.
II AMBITIOUS ARCHITECT
When you place a Deployable system you
can choose to make it one Size smaller or
larger (max Size 4). If it occupies a Line it can
be up to 2 spaces longer or shorter.
III BRICK BY BRICK
1/Scene as a Protocol you may repair an
adjacent Deployable, restoring ½ its max HP.
Any leftover HP becomes Overshield instead.
CYBORG
Some mechanics claim they can talk to their
machines - but you take it literally. More than
just cosmetic changes, your augments mean
your mech is like an extension of your body.
Was it a back-alley surgeon or a blacksite
engineer? Did you pay in manna or blood?
Was it your decision, or someone else’s?
Either way, there’s no going back now.
I NEURAL LINK
When a hostile character attacks you as a
reaction on your turn, roll 1d6. On a 4+, the
attack misses.
II VOLITION OVERRIDE
When your mech is Stunned or Jammed,
you may still move up to ½ your Speed as a
standard move, and still take the Skirmish
action. All attacks made this way have +2
Difficulty and cause you to take 1 Heat.
III FULL CEREBRAL SYNC
When your mech is destroyed, you may
choose to keep it active through sheer force
of will. You are instead reduced to 1 HP. You
can not recover or lose HP while this effect is
active. At the end of each of your turns, and
whenever you take damage, roll 1d20+Grit.
On a 10+, your mech remains active,
otherwise it is immediately destroyed. At the
end of each of your turns while this ability is
active you gain +1 cumulative Difficulty on
subsequent rolls. You may only use this ability
once per Full Repair.
32
SAPPER
You’re like a gardener planting seeds – only
yours bloom into brilliant explosions. Even
when it makes your hands reek of accelerant
or singes off your eyebrows, you’re never
happier than when you’re sealing your new
mix…. as much as your shipmates might wish
otherwise.
I SMART TRIGGER
You and your allies cannot trigger your own
mines unless you choose to, and have +1
Accuracy on saves to avoid their effects.
Hostile characters have +1 Difficulty on
checks to disarm your mines.
II CUSTOM CASING
You have a supply of custom-designed mine
casings that can be used with all of your mine
systems. Gain the following system:
III EXPERT DEMOLITIONIST
At the end of a scene, you regain limited
charges for any mine you deployed that has
not detonated. You also gain the following
options for your Saboteur’s Toolbox:
● Limpet (2 charges): You do not deploy the
mine, instead priming it with an adhesive.
The next time you hit a character with a
melee attack the mine sticks to them,
sharing their position. They cannot cause it
to detonate, but it otherwise acts as a
normal mine. If it detonates they
automatically fail any save it forces.
● Wandering (2 charges): When you deploy
this mine, pick a character. The mine moves
three spaces towards them at the end of
each of your turns by the most direct path,
though it will avoid obvious hazards. If it
moves into their space, it detonates, but
otherwise acts like a normal mine. If that
character is destroyed the mine stops
moving.

Saboteur’s Toolbox
0 SP, Limited 4
1/turn when you deploy a mine you may
also expend a charge from this system for
the listed effect.
● Remote (1 charge): This mine does not
detonate by adjacency. Instead, you may
detonate it as a quick action after it has
armed. Saves to avoid a mine detonated
this way gain +1 Difficulty.
● Sparrow (1 charge): This mine floats in
the air and ignores height when
calculating adjacency. When it explodes,
all characters above it are considered to
be in the blast radius.

33
WASTEBORN
What was left, after the Flare? Howling wastes
and scorching dust, and the invisible needles
of radiation that drilled into the soil to sow a
slower death. How many thousands died in
those first days? The count has long been
lost. But you know that you survived. You
never knew the land before the wastes. The
danger is an old partner, one you’ve learned
to hold at bay – and when the softskins come,
fumbling and ignorant – how to let it loose.

I LEAD COFFIN
When you Stabilize you clear all Burn. If your
line of sight or Sensors would be reduced
below Range 5 by a hostile effect, they are
instead reduced to Range 5.

II LIGHTNING ROD
You have resistance to all damage or Heat
you take from an environmental effect
(dangerous terrain, dangerous storms,
extreme sun, etc). When you clear Burn, you
can take 1d3+1 Heat to force a character in
Range 3 to make an Engineering save or
take Burn equal to the amount you cleared.

III GAMMA FLOOD

1/Round when you hit a character with a
weapon that deals at least partially energy
damage or Burn, you overwhelm their
reactor. Until the end of their next turn they
have +1 Difficulty on checks to avoid
environmental effects and terrain, and if they
would clear any Burn they only clear half as
much.

If they are destroyed or melt down before the

end of their next turn they leave behind a
Hazardous Wreck their size in their space.
Hazardous Wrecks project a Burst 2 zone of
harsh radiation. Characters other than you in
the affected area have +1 Difficulty on
attacks against characters outside the area,
and take 1 Burn and 1 Heat if they enter the
area for the first time on their turn, or end
their turn in the area.

34
QUETZAL’S FLIGHT MECHS
The wheel of the galaxy turns inexorable.

Quetzal’s Flight is one grain of sand amidst millions; one spark of humanity in the great bonfire of Union.
It teeters at the edge of oblivion, of washing away into the great rushing darkness. There is no certain fate
– only the unknown, the moment, the weight of one foot on the scales before the collapse.

Where do you stand, pilot?

35
 HORUS
COUATL
Defender
Unlike most HORUS pattern-groups, COUATL p-gs are universally and
deliberately recognizable. Coated in a shimmering multi-layer polymer,
they are constantly projecting a hypnotic memetic pattern across their
surface to draw the eye of combatants. Once they draw a target under
their thrall, they unleash wild bursts of energy and plasma to tear them
down. COUATL frames are designed to draw attention, and have been seen
to deliberately call both the public and private eye to various criminal
enterprises and abuses of power across Union space, just as often as
they’ve been used to run decoy missions to protect covert paramilitary
infiltrations.

A small but significant percentage of arrested pilots show symptoms of

hagiomania and obsessive narcissism after forcible dismount, notable in
that they are transient and fade without recollection at a rate
proportional to time spent piloting. As such they are under
investigation for distribution of an unidentified and unlawful
manipulative memetic agent. More worrying to both the UIB and local
inquisitors is that the appearance of a Couatl in a region often
correlates to a spate of data-thefts, system blackouts, and missing
persons cases seemingly unrelated to any action or goals of the pilot.
Whether this is coincidental or whether it represents a deliberate
smokescreen via inflammation of local unrest by a third party is
unknown.

36
CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM
Size: 1 Save Target: 11 PSEUDO-STELLAR
Armor: 2 Sensors: 10
HULL SYSTEMS MEMETIC ENGRAM
HP: 8 E-Defense: 8 The pseudo-skin of the COUATL consists
Repair Cap: 5 Tech Attack: +1 of an undefined number of layers of tiny
synthetic scales. Each scale has
AGILITY SP: 6
integrated circuitry linked to the
Evasion: 6 ENGINEERING onboard computer, which synchronizes
Speed: 3 Heat Cap: 6 them to project a unified pattern. In
extreme scenarios, several layers can be
TRAITS shed at once to create an incandescent
I RISE cloud, greatly amplifying the memetic
power as each scale burns through its
The Couatl may fly when it moves or boosts. internal batteries in a rush of heat and
light.
LOOK AT ME I AM AS THE BRILLIANT SUN
The Couatl cannot become Hidden. Active (1 CP), Full Action
You erupt into empyrean pseudo-flame and
MY PLUMAGE IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL blinding memetic radiance. Hostile characters
within a Burst 2 cannot draw line of sight
1/Round when a hostile character within beyond that area, and if they end their turn in
Sensors and line of sight, the Couatl may use the area they take 2 Heat and must pass a
its reaction to force them to make a Systems Systems save or become Jammed until the
save. On a failure, they cannot draw line of end of their next turn. A character may only be
sight to any character other than the Couatl Jammed this way 1/scene. If a hostile
until the end of their next turn. The Couatl character outside this area ends their turn
always counts as being in their line of sight for within your Sensors and line of sight they must
the same duration, regardless of obstructions. pass a Systems save or immediately move up
to 3 spaces directly towards you. This aura
lasts until the end of the scene, you are
MOUNTS destroyed, or you dispel it as a quick action.

37
LICENSE I: OBSESS.RECURSE(T),
RADIANT PLUMES
OBSESS.RECURSE(T)
2 SP, Quick Tech, Invade
Gain the following options for Invade:
Entrance: Your target treats any movement
that takes it away from you as taking twice as
much movement (2 movement for 1 space).
They may end this effect by passing a
Systems save as a quick action.
Fascinate: Until the start of your next turn,
whenever your target takes an action that
targets any of your allies, you may move 2
spaces directly towards them. This movement
ignores engagement and does not provoke
reactions.
LOOK ON ME, OH DAEMONS, AND DESPAIR
AT MY BEAUTY MOST HOLY
Radiant Plumes
2 SP, Quick Tech, 1 Heat(self)
Gain the following Quick Tech option:
Burning Halo: Designate a Blast 1 in line of
sight and Sensors. Any hostile character that
makes an attack against an allied character in
the zone first takes 1 Heat, and hostile
characters treat the zone as difficult terrain.
The zone lasts until the end of the scene or
you use this ability again.
STAND BACK, OH DAEMONS, FOR THEY ARE
UNDER MY PROTECTION
LICENSE II: COUATL FRAME, DEMISOLAR
LENS, PALADIN DEFRAGMENTATION
SUBROUTINE
Demisolar Lens
Heavy CQB, 2 Heat(self), 1 SP
[Range 8, Cone 3, Threat 3] [2d3+2
Energy Damage]
This weapon deals an additional +3 Burn
against targets that have damaged you since
the end of your last turn.
>\\ RE:RE:RE: ‘Subj. Magnifier DEV
Q/A’
>\\ K: so uh
>\\ K: just try to close your eyes
next time you fire it I guess
>\\ K: not really our problem
PALADIN Defragmentation Subroutine
2 SP, Unique
Whenever you successfully Invade a hostile
character, gain 3 Overshield.
Keep your path righteous, little
flame, and we will always provide for
you. You are safe in our bosom. You
are safe in the fire. It will not burn
you.
38
LICENSE III: CORONA PURGE, IRIDESCENT HOLO-SCALES

Corona Purge Iridescent Holo-Scales

Main CQB, 6 Heat(self), Limited 1,
Unique
[Burst 3] [9 Energy Damage]
The damage from this weapon decreases by
3 for each space between you and the target.
On a hit, characters must pass an
Engineering save or choose between either
taking Heat equal to the damage they took or
becoming Jammed until the end of their next
turn.
2 SP, Unique, Quick Action, Limited 2
Until the start of your next turn, hostile
characters in Sensors that have line of sight
to you take 1 Heat for each space they move
that is not directly towards you, and reduce
their Heat by 1 for every space they move
directly towards you.
I SHIMMER AND SHINE – BASK IN MY
LIGHT, OH DAEMONS, OR BURN IN THE
SHADOWS

>\\ PRIVATE MESSAGE: ENCRYPTION

ENGRAM %#*FLSGD++
>\\ I: are you really sure about this
one i thought this was just for fun
>\\ I: you said we were doing a dummy
run to buzz the graycoats
>\\ I: the hell do we need a
subnuclear vent for????
>\\ K: dont worry.
>\\ K: they’ll never see us coming
>\\ K: all sins will be forgiven

39
 IPS-N
PHAROS
Artillery/Support
The IPS-N catalog offers a wide range of chassis for every tactical
layer of mech-based ship combat - the Caliban and Blackbeard to lead the
charge, the Tortuga to guard their advance, and the Drake to hold the
hull breach they enter through. Floating beyond is the Pharos; where a
breach team can only see the next hallway, the Pharos watches the entire
ship and delivers pinpoint guidance and support fire. The Pharos’ are
truly the first chassis on the battlefield - they direct the first
charge, breaching hulls and aiming the electromagnetic sling rails that
launch insertion teams. Once the initial clash is finished, they orbit
in the gulf of space between warring ships to offer tactical support and
eye-in-the-sky live intelligence reports. A highly developed sensor
suite more akin to a ship’s than other chassis gives them an edge in
coordination at a distance, beyond the reach of onboard defenses.

40
CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM
Size: 2 Save Target: 10 DAEDALUS OPTICAL SUITE
Armor: 2 Sensors: 20 A combination of direct sensor clusters
HULL SYSTEMS and live-feed tactical uplink drones,
HP: 8 E-Defense:8 the Daedalus is a comprehensive
Repair Cap: 5 Tech Attack: +1 information gathering system both in and
AGILITY SP: 6 out of atmosphere. The key component is
Evasion: 6 ENGINEERING a lossless open feed to allied targeting
Speed: 3 Heat Cap: 4 infrastructure, that keeps a constant
stream of all-angles data flowing
between each linked frame.
TRAITS
SPACEWALK Palisade Orbit
Active (1 CP), Protocol
The Pharos has an integrated EVA system,
allowing it to fly in zero-g environments without Your mech’s EVA system kicks into overdrive,
being Slowed. allowing you to Hover whenever you move.
You do not fall when Immobilized or Stunned.
You and all allies in your Sensors count as
EYE IN THE SKY Eyes for your Eye In The Sky trait.
As a quick action the Pharos can designate an
allied character in Sensors as an Eye. The Additionally, you gain the Backseat Spotter
Pharos and its allies may trace line of sight reaction as long as this core is active.
from the Eye's position for the purpose of You may deactivate this core as a protocol,
determining cover for Ranged attacks they otherwise it lasts until the end of the scene.
make as long as they are both within your
Sensors. You may only choose one Eye at a
Backseat Spotter
time. A character ceases being your Eye if you
Reaction, 1/Round
choose a new character or if you become
Jammed or Stunned. Trigger: An allied character attacks a target in
your Sensors and line of sight and misses.
Effect: Roll 1d6; on a 4+, the attack hits
PAYLOAD GUIDANCE instead, dealing half damage. On a 1-3 it still
When the Pharos hits a character that does not misses, but you may apply Lock-On to the
have cover from it, that character gains target.
Lock-On.

MOUNTS

41
LICENSE I: BLOODHOUNDMK3.3 PACKET-SNIFFER, THRESHER DRONE
BLOODHOUNDmk3.3 Packet-Sniffer
2 SP, Unique
When a character in Sensors and line of sight
inflicts Lock-On to you or an allied character
in Range 3, roll 1d6. On a 4+, the inflicting
character also gains Lock-On.
IPS-N understands that total
battlefield superiority requires full
electronic superiority as well.
Rather than bloating existing frames
with refurbished e-war suites, they
turn their target’s strength against
them with an easy to integrate
‘sticky’ firewall that IDs and tags
incoming sensor probes. Installation
includes mandatory after-action
reports to collate tagged
individuals.
Thresher Drone
2 SP, Drone, Quick Action
Thresher Drone (Size 1/2, HP 5, EVASION
10, E-DEFENSE 10, TAGS: DRONE,
RESISTANCE to all damage)
You may deploy this drone to a point in
Sensors and line of sight as a quick action.
When you do, and at the end of each of your
turns after this one, it emits a Burst 1 pulse.
All objects and terrain in the affected area take
10 AP Explosive damage, and characters
must pass a Hull save or be knocked Prone.
You may recall or redeploy the thresher drone
as a quick action. Until recalled or destroyed,
it remains deployed until the end of the scene.
’Thresher’ pattern CAVALCADE Boarding
Subalterns are the first in a new
line of autonomous offensive options
offered by IPS-N. Outfitted with a
variety of explosives and grav-amp
melee deconstruction tools, they
excel in close-quarters offensives
where they can be sent ahead of a
breaching team to clear opposing
fortifications with extreme
prejudice.
42
LICENSE II: PHAROS FRAME, ‘RIPTIDE’
BALLISTIC HARPOON, SKIP DRIVE
’Riptide’ Ballistic Harpoon
Main Cannon, Loading, Reliable 2,
Knockback 2
[15 Range] [2d3 Kinetic Damage]
If the Knockback from this weapon causes
your target to hit an object or terrain, they
become pinned to it. They become
Immobilized until they remove the bolt with a
Quick Action, taking 3 AP Kinetic damage.
Many an IPS-N asset reclamation team
has been saved by a ‘rod from god’
fired by an orbiting Pharos - and
many a pirate dreads the day their
chassis will be punctured by an
unreachable arbalest.
Skip Drive
2 SP, Quick Action
Choose a character in Range 8 and line of
sight. Gain the Nearlight Sling reaction until
the end of your next turn. An unwilling
character may attempt an Engineering save
to avoid this effect.
Despite their name, skip drives are
actually a heavily modified and
stripped down nearlight gravitic
compensation module, not an engine.
Normally employed to counter the
g-forces of nearlight acceleration,
when applied at a smaller scale the
point gravity well they generate can
accelerate targets at a considerable
fraction of the speed of light, while
still applying a compensatory force
to prevent significant injury.
Nearlight Sling
Reaction, 1 Heat(self)
Trigger: Your chosen character or another
character in Range 3 of them ends their turn.
Effect: Move your chosen character up to 4
spaces in any direction. This movement
ignores engagement and does not provoke
reactions. This reaction can be taken as many
times in a round as it is triggered as long as
your target remains in line of sight.
LICENSE III: BULKHEAD AUGER, INGRESS
RAIL
Bulkhead Auger
Heavy Rifle, AP, Knockback 1,
Ordnance, Loading
[Line 15] [1d6+2 Kinetic Damage]
This weapon deals 20 AP Kinetic damage to
objects and terrain in the target area when
fired, before you roll to attack.
On Hit: Targets must pass a Hull save or be
knocked Prone.
On Crit: Targets that fail the save become
Shredded until the end of their next turn.
Augers are defined by ammunition
rather than firearm — upscaled
Throughbolt shells with two-stage
ignition to first puncture hard
targets with a plasma lance before a
liquid-mass kinetic delivers the
actual impact.
Ingress Rail
2 SP, Quick Action
When you activate this system, pick a
direction. You become Immobilized until you
deactivate it as a quick action. While it is
active, any allied character adjacent to you
that is the same Size or smaller than you may
use the Ingress Rail as a quick action,
launching them 10 spaces in the chosen
direction or until they hit an obstruction. This
movement ignores engagement and does not
provoke reactions. If they hit another
character, that character must pass a Hull
save or be knocked Prone and take 1d6
Kinetic damage. If they hit terrain or an
object, they may choose to deal 10 Kinetic
damage/Size to it. If this destroys the terrain,
it does not obstruct them.
When two ships meet in combat, long
before the probability gap closes
swarms of chassis are shot across the
void. The first squads may travel for
a day or more; in the final hours
they are launched with only minutes
to impact. Mounting EM sling rails on
a mobile platform allows dynamic
repositioning; this ensures that new
breach teams are always inserted at
points of maximum vulnerability.
43
 SSC
SICKLEWING
Controller/Support
Only scheduled for internal release, the Sicklewing is an honorary, if
unofficial, member of the LUX-Iconic line of bespoke chassis. These
frames are veiled in secrecy, intended for covert deniable operations
both within Constellar space and beyond, and have never been publicly
registered as Smith-Shimano chassis, instead being assigned to various
shell corporations. As fully deniable assets licensing is frequently
accompanied by a thorough expunge of public records that both protect
handlers and reduce options for an operative to go rogue.

The Sicklewing in particular was designed to facilitate direct corporate

information retrieval and asset recovery, especially in urban
environments. It is armed with the finest in infiltration technologies
from SSC, including a cutting-edge code suite intended to subvert
hostile digital architecture to damage itself, all focused through the
arcane lens of the INSIGHT neuro-amp module. The Sicklewing excels at
tearing down hardened targets, as well as disrupting hostile
coordination.

44
CORE STATS BLACK CAT
Size: 1 Save Target: 12 BLACK CAT DRONE (Size ½, [10 + Grit] HP,
Armor: 0 Sensors: 10 Eva/E-Def [see below], Tags: Drone, Hover,
HULL SYSTEMS Invisible)
HP: 6 E-Defense: 8 Your mech has a companion drone with
Repair Cap: 3 Tech Attack: +1 Evasion, E-Defence, and Speed equal to
yours that can move and act independently on
AGILITY SP: 8
your turn. If it is within Sensors, you may recall
Evasion: 12 ENGINEERING it as a quick action, integrating it into your
Speed: 6 Heat Cap: 5 mech’s body where it cannot be targeted. You
may redeploy it to a space within Sensors as a
TRAITS quick action. When you rest or perform a Full
SPRING-HEELED Repair, your drone regains all HP and is
automatically repaired if it was destroyed.
The Sicklewing treats all solid surfaces as flat
ground for the purposes of movement; it can Hostile characters adjacent to the Black Cat
move across them normally instead of have +1 Difficulty on all checks and saves, and
climbing, although it begins to fall if it is take 2 AP Kinetic damage on a failed check or
knocked Prone. It is also immune to fall save. As a quick tech action you can force a
damage, and when making a standard move, character adjacent to the Black Cat to pass a
can jump horizontally up to its full Speed and Systems save or suffer an Invade option
upwards up to half its Speed (in any available to you.
combination).
Targeted Harassment
FRAGILE Active (1 CP), Protocol
The Sicklewing has +1 Difficulty on Hull The Black Cat is restored to full HP, and
checks and saves. repaired if it was destroyed. Until the end of the
scene, hostile characters adjacent to it roll
twice whenever they make a check or save,
MOUNTS taking the lower result. Additionally, if they fail
you may choose one of the following options in
addition to dealing damage:
● They are pushed 3 spaces in any direction.
● They take 2 Heat.
CORE SYSTEM ● They become Slowed and Impaired until
the end of their next turn.
‘BLACK CAT’
INTERFERENCE DRONE
The Sicklewing OS comes standard with a
paired ‘Black Cat’
Interference/Interdiction/Infiltration
Drone. These drones are further
customized to imprint on individual
pilots, creating a predictive
partnership that allows them to work in
concert either as an individual
operative, or members of a larger team.

45
Sicklewing Art by @GenTrigger on Twitter

46
LICENSE I: LENSMAKER CODEX V.08, SONIC CHARGE
Lensmaker Codex v.08
2 SP, Quick Tech, Invade
Gain the following options for Invade:
NULL_POINTER: Your target has +1 Difficulty
on the next attack they make before the end
of their next turn. If it misses or they don’t
make an attack on their next turn, they
become Stunned at the end of their turn until
the start of their next turn. A character may
only be Stunned by this effect 1/scene.
STACK_OVERFLOW: At the end of your
targets next turn they take 1 AP Energy
damage and you may push them 1 space in
any direction for every character within Range
3 of them (maximum of 6).
The Constellar Codex is the work of
generations of SSC programmers and
digital architects – a living,
breathing archive of radical new
patterns and algorithms. It is
constantly updated, mutated, and
refined to ensure that no defense
against it can remain effective. Even
trusted operatives are only granted
access to a small partition at any
given time, which fragments into junk
data if not regularly refreshed.
Sonic Charge
2 SP, Unique, Limited 2
You may expend a charge from this system for
one of the following:
● Ventriloquist Grenade (Grenade, Range 5):
The affected character must pass an Agility
save or have the grenade attach to them.
While it is attached, they treat all characters
beyond Range 3 as Invisible, and cannot
Search beyond that range. They may
remove it by passing an Engineering check
as a Quick Action.
● Banshee Mine (Mine, Burst 2): All
characters within the affected area must
pass a Hull save or be knocked Prone. After
detonating, this mine creates a persistent
area of shrieking sound; characters in the
area are Shredded as long as they are in it.
The area lasts until the end of the scene, or
until a character adjacent to the mine
passes a contested Systems check as a
quick action to destroy it.
The ideal mission plan does not
involve discovery by hostile forces –
however, no plan survives initial
contact. Sonic disruption devices
provide a non-damaging method of
dissuading and distracting
interceptors without risking head-on
conflict; and if conflict should
occur, they ensure that SSC is always
the victor.
47
LICENSE II: SICKLEWING FRAME, POINT-FLICK MANIFOLD, SHRIEK RIFLE

l
Point-Flick Manifold Shriek Rifle
2 SP, Quick Action Main Rifle, Accurate, Loading, 1
Choose up to 3 free non-adjacent spaces in Heat(self)
Sensors. For each space, choose a direction; [12 Range] [1d3+2 Explosive Damage]
the first character that passes over one of
On Hit: Your target must pass a Hull save or
these spaces is pushed 3 spaces in the
become Shredded until the end of their next
direction you chose. An unwilling character
turn. If your target is Shredded this weapon
may attempt a Hull save to avoid this effect. A
deals maximum damage instead of rolling.
given character can only activate one space
per round.
Rather than firing a projectile, the
Grenades, deployables, or other loose objects
Caracara Mk.2 Sonic Rifle creates a
size 1 or smaller that are thrown or deployed
thin beam of hyper-pressurized
into a space are pushed in the same way
atmosphere shaped by intense sonic
before activating or detonating (they activate
emitters, visible only as a faint
or detonate early if they are forced to stop by
distortion to the air accompanied by
another character or object). Once a space is
a flash of sonoluminescence. The beam
activated it disappears, and all spaces
is incredibly short-lived but the
disappear at the end of your next turn.
pinpoint force it exerts can bypass
An early-term development from the typical defenses to pulverize fragile
Exotic Materials branch developing internals.
the Black Witch, the Point-Flick
Magnetic Manifold was dropped from
official dissemination due to the
inherent instability of the
short-lived magnetic distortions it
created. It was revived with the
Sicklewing program, serving as a
combined tool of position control,
maneuverability, and objective
acquisition.

48
LICENSE III: INSIGHT PARA-MIND, JUDAS EXPLOIT
INSIGHT Para-Mind
3 SP, AI, Unique
You gain the Cosmic Eye Quick Tech
options. INSIGHT is not a full NHP and cannot
enter cascade.
Decades after the Codex was created,
its fastidious attendants began to
notice strange patterns in its data
archives. Authorless files, new edits
without timestamps, and unlabeled
cross-server communiques that
couldn’t be decrypted. Over time,
they came to realize that this was
not the work of an intruder in the
Codex - it was the Codex; the binary
library grown so titanic and
convoluted it had begun to evolve
without human interpellation. It
rewrote itself in shapes they never
would have planned, and they pruned
its dead-end algorithms into fresh
innovation. It was dubbed INSIGHT,
and cloned into a neural net implant.
When overlaid on to a human
subjectivity, it grants unparalleled
hyperspatial synchronicity and
enables a-topological network access.
User experience is frequently
described as feeling as though
they’ve developed ‘eyes on the
inside’.
Cosmic Eye
Quick Tech, 1/Round, Limited 3
Gain the following Quick Tech options:
Alcubierre Needle: Choose yourself or a
character in Sensors and line of sight. They
teleport to any free space adjacent to a
character allied to them within your Sensors.
An unwilling character must pass a Systems
save to avoid this effect.
Submerge Topology: Choose a Blast 2 area
in Sensors and line of sight. All characters
and objects in the area become Intangible
until the end of your next turn. An unwilling
character must pass an Engineering save to
avoid this effect.
Judas Exploit
2 SP, Unique, 1/Scene, Limited 2
When you use a Quick Tech option that
makes a tech attack against a hostile
character or forces them to make a save, on a
hit or failed save you may expend a charge
from this system to repeat the action against a
character in their Sensors and line of sight as
a free action. You may continue to expend
charges to keep repeating the action but a
single character can only be targeted by the
same option once.
What the Sicklewing lacks in direct
offensive hacking power, it makes up
for in flexibility. The Judas Exploit
is a colloquial street-hacker term
for piggybacking aggressive code
through your target’s own signals,
allowing it to bypass firewalls in
its ally’s communication arrays. The
Sicklewing code-suite has canonized
this practice with a highly
infectious virus that rapidly
propagates hostile code through these
unprotected channels. Most systems
will shut down access once the
intrusion is detected so it rarely
works more than once against the same
target — but often, once is all you
need.
49
 HA
TAMETOMO
Striker
Hell’s Angel, The Tower, Harrison’s Last Dance, The Temperate Summer –
the Tametomo is known by many names. It’s near-mythical status is
bolstered by its very real scarcity: Tametomo licenses are not granted
except in exceptional circumstances. The tales tell of a towering figure
wreathed in flame, of the hiss and crackle as the air dries and sparks
fly, the bitter ozone coating the battlefield. They tell of arrows of
raging plasma that burst and scream through the air from a titan’s bow
– and of the scorched field that remains after, bereft of life
forevermore.

This is the legend of the Tametomo: they are the ace in the hole, a
martyr’s bargain. When all hope is lost and the Legion is overrun, when
the Shermans falter and the Saladin’s shields fail, before the final
bastion falls the printcodes are sent. It is a beacon to the damned —
those destined to die — a candle that burns at both ends. Without hope
of retreat or escape, the Tametomo offers a choice: die with your back
to the wall, huddling and scared, or die with your reactor in your heart
and fire in your hands. The lucky few who survive these last stands are
lauded as heroes of the Armory – with the Social standing to prove it.

50
CORE STATS These channel’s outlets are capped with
a magnetic containment field across the
brachial armature that stretches the
Size: 1 Save Target: 11 plasma into a high-tensile fluid loop.
Armor: 1 Sensors: 8 The loop builds elastic tension as more
HULL SYSTEMS and more energy is poured into it, until
HP: 10 E-Defense: 6 the field snaps out as a directed bolt.
Repair Cap: 4 Tech Attack: -2
AGILITY SP: 6 The Tametomo thrives on fire, on anger,
on pain — fuel for the last and only
Evasion: 8 ENGINEERING
war, to burn forevermore.
Speed: 3 Heat Cap: 10
PT3 Flare Bow
TRAITS Main Rifle, Overkill
HIGH-PERFORMANCE [10 Range] [1d3/charge Energy Damage]

Whenever the Tametomo rolls a 1 on an This weapon’s profile is determined by how

Accuracy die or a 6 on a Difficulty die, it takes
1 Heat and rerolls the die. Additional 1s or 6s
continue to trigger this effect.
PLASMA HALO
The Tametomo has resistance to Burn, and
has soft cover as long as it suffers from Burn,
though it is not sufficient to Hide. Burn cannot
reduce the Tametomo below 1 HP.
UNSTABLE SYSTEM
When destroyed, the Tametomo explodes as
per Self Destruct at the end of its next turn.
many charges it has; for every 5 Heat you gain,
or cool by stabilizing (combined; do not track
separately), this weapon gains 1 charge (max
4). It begins with 1 charge, and resets to 1
charge after each attack. Charges persist
between scenes, but are lost on a full repair.
On Hit: Count each time the Overkill tag
triggers on an attack; after the attack resolves,
all characters in a Burst 1 centered on your
initial target must pass an Agility save or take
that much + the number of charges expended
Burn, or half on a success. Your target
automatically fails this save. You then take an
equal amount of Burn.

Ship-Sinking Shot
MOUNTS Active (1 CP), Protocol
Your PT3 Flare Bow immediately gains 4
charges. Until the end of the scene, If you
expend 3 or more charges on an attack with

CORE SYSTEM
MK3 PLASMATIC FLARE
BOW
The Tametomo chassis is distinguished by
a unique VESUVIUS class reactor core –
an experimental design that circulates
superheated plasma through hardened
channels that permeate the entire body
of the mech.
the bow and hit, your target begins to suffer a
critical reactor leak; they become Impaired
and take 2 Burn and 2 Heat at the start of
each of their turns. They can end this effect by
Stabilizing.
If they are destroyed while it is active, they
explode in a Burst 2, forcing all characters in
the area to pass an Agility save or take 2d6
Energy damage (half as much on a success),
and leaving a blast cloud until the end of your
next turn that grants soft cover and causes
any character that starts their turn in the area
or enters it for the first time in their turn to take
2 Burn.

51
LICENSE I: EXTINGUISHING CELLS,
IONIZER CHARGE
Extinguishing Cells
1 SP, Unique, Limited 2
You may expend a charge from this system
when you Stabilize to clear all Burn currently
affecting you. When you do, you may fly a
number of spaces equal to ½ the Burn cleared
this way. This movement ignores engagement
and does not provoke reactions.
These highly pressurized canisters
provide a stable-state containment
for a proprietary HA blend of
insulators and extinguishing
compounds, pre-portioned to quickly
coat a frame when punctured.
Ionizer Charge
2 SP, Unique, Limited 2
You may expend a charge from this system for
one of the following:
● Polarizer Grenade (grenade, range 5, blast
2): All characters in the affected area must
pass a Hull save or take 2 Energy damage
and be pulled as close to the center of the
blast as possible.
● Discharge Mine (Mine, burst 2): The
affected area becomes difficult terrain until
the end of the scene, and mechs and
characters made mostly of metal that start
their turn in the area must pass an
Engineering save or be Slowed until the
end of their turn. Additionally, the first time
each turn a character in the area takes
Energy damage or Burn, all characters in
the area take 1 AP Energy damage.
The Armory’s forward bases have very
clear directives should they
experience catastrophic control loss;
salt the earth, burn all records and
equipment, and time charges for a
maximal retaliatory strike. Any
aggressor facing the Legion will pay
in blood for every inch of burning
ground they take.
LICENSE II: TAMETOMO FRAME,
INDUCTION WELDER, TYPHOON-PATTERN
ION CHANNEL
Induction Welder
2 SP, Quick Action, 3 Heat(self)
Choose two characters within Range 5 no
more than 3 spaces apart that have a clear
path between them. The smaller character (or
character of your choice if they’re the same
Size) must pass a Hull save or be pulled
directly towards the other until adjacent. They
then become fused together; they can no
longer move relative to each other or leave
adjacency. If one character is larger than the
other, the smaller character is Immobilized
while they are attached; otherwise each
character is pulled with the other character
whenever they move. This effect ends if either
character is destroyed, or if either of them
passes a Hull save as a quick action.
”Combat-Grade Atmo-Agnostic Arc
Welder Safety Manual:
1. Leave prong caps on AT ALL TIMES
when not in use.
2. INSULATION IS INEFFECTIVE:
Triple-A welders induce a voltage
channel REGARDLESS of medium or
intervening shielding.
3. DO NOT DIRECT AT SOFT TARGETS:
Electromagnetic shearing can
result in both acute and chronic
injury.”
Typhoon-Pattern Ion Channel
Main Cannon, 5 Heat(self), Arcing
[10 Range] [3 Energy Damage + 4 Burn]
On Attack: If you or your target are suffering
from Burn, reduce the Heat cost for attacking
by 2, or by 4 if you both are.
”Lo! How the clouds themselves part
for Harrison! By His will we are made
stewards of the Natural Law! His is
the name Fearkiller, and by His works
even death holds no terrors! Ride
Valkyrie, Ajax, Beowulf, and strike
your name to His legend!”
- Creed of Legion Platoon 514
“Storm Kings”
52
LICENSE III: EVAPORATIVE COOLING PLATES, IMMOLATION BOLT
Evaporative Cooling Plates
4 SP, Unique, Danger Zone, Reaction
Reduce all Heat you take from external
sources by 1, to a minimum of 1. 1/Round
while you are in the danger zone you may
activate this system as a reaction when you
take any Heat to first take 1d6 Burn, then
reduce the Heat taken by your current Burn.
Designed to harden a chassis’ reactor
against adverse environments through
the use of microfluidic
self-directing coolant channels,
these plates have seen greater than
expected battlefield use thanks to
their unintended psychological
effect. When in active use, the high
exchange rate wraps the frame in a
roiling cloak of wailing steam and
fire. While Legion command strongly
advises against self-immolation as a
combat tactic, no disciplinary action
has been administered.
Immolation Bolt
2 SP, Unique, 3 Heat(self) Quick
Action, Limited 1, Danger Zone
This system can only be used in the Danger
Zone.
Expend a charge and choose a character in
Range 5, marking them with an ionizing
charge. At the end of their next turn they are
struck by a bolt of energy. Take Burn equal to
your current Heat, ignoring resistance or
other reductions. Your target and all
characters adjacent to them then take Burn
equal to your current Burn. Objects and
terrain adjacent to them take 10 AP Energy
damage instead.
You can feel the arrival of a
Tametomo before you ever see it on
the ground; the air fills with
static, and radios hiss and pop with
the screech of stranded electrons.
Every flash of laser fire or damaged
circuit becomes brighter as the gap
between potentials is drawn taut,
tense. The battlefield hangs by a
thread, awaiting the tumultuous
release.
53
PINNACLE INDUSTRIES – ORION
FACTION
Give no ground.
Pinnacle Industries is well known in the fields of
terraforming and colonial development, with
products ranging from building materials to
seed banks to agricultural equipment. Their first
foray into mech design was intended for this
same purpose, building frames that could carve
out forests and mountains, shaping the land for
new settlement.
Colonies can be ripe targets for piracy however,
and it became increasingly clear that they
needed new methods of self-defense, without
relying on expensive or unreliable third parties.
The development of their Non-Civilian Hardware
branch signaled a new era for Pinnacle, with a
sudden and unexpected increase in profits as
they broke into a new market: warfare.
The rampant growth of this new branch led to
several disparate development branches from
troop munitions to vehicles and ship design.
The Orion Faction development shell was
tasked specifically with updating their existing
civilian mech designs to combat ready models,
a task they’ve taken to with extreme zeal.
PI-OF FRAMES are a mix of simple, sturdy
designs that reflect their blue-collar
background, and more experimental military
hardware developed de novo by the Orion
Faction. Licensing contracts are all managed
through Pinnacle Industries’ main branch, with
most of their sales coming from colonial
administrators and regional governments
looking to protect their assets from instability
and assault.
PI-OF CORE BONUSES
PI-OF bonuses increase your destructive
potential, resource longevity, and survivability.
You must have at least three license levels in
PI-OF licenses to take a bonus from this list,
and another three levels for each additional
bonus. For example, with six points in PI-OF
licenses, you can have up to two bonuses.
BUILT TO LAST
Pinnacle Industries takes pride in their work;
they build homes, grow food, expand the
dream of humanity to distant stars. Pinnacle
hardware must withstand every test the
universe can offer, as life itself rests on their
shoulders. Against the everpresent demons of
time and disaster, Pinnacle only has this to
say: Give No Ground.
Your Drones and Deployables have
resistance to all damage originating outside
Range 5.
”CURVEBALL” BRACHIAL TUNING
Wide-vector microexplosives are Pinnacle
Industries' first tactic for clearing rough terrain
in order to begin construction - and when
time is money, the faster you throw, the more
you get paid. Many legacy PI frames contain
belt-fed seeder modules, with a variable
random-scatter nozzle, for greater efficiency
and terrain saturation, which the Orion Faction
easily adapted to accept military grade
munitions.
Your systems that grant grenades gain 2
additional charges and the Range of all your
grenades increases by 3. 1/round when you
throw a grenade you may throw one
additional grenade from the same or a
separate system as a free action. They may
not target the same character, and their areas
may not overlap.
54
EXPLORATION/EXCAVATION RUGGEDIZING SLOW-CYCLE SHIELD CANOPY

Scouting expeditions on pre-colonial planets Pinnacle Industries’ mechanized construction

can sometimes last for months, or even years,
with prospector teams living off of only
minimal resupplies from an automated orbital
platform. To obviate wear-and-tear on
prospecting frames, Pinnacle outfits
long-cycle teams with treated and reinforced
plating to resist extreme heat, cold, pH, and
abrasion, as well as sub-sentient predictive
algorithms attached to mobility and balance
systems.
You have +1 Accuracy on all checks or saves
to avoid the effects of dangerous terrain,
harsh climates, or other environmental
effects. While you are in difficult or dangerous
terrain, you are Immune to all forced
movement and gain +1 accuracy on all Hull
checks and saves. If you start your turn in it,
you may move 2 spaces as a protocol,
ignoring the effects of the terrain.
crews regularly employ a proprietary high-flux
shielding system guaranteed to obliterate
incoming micro-meteoroids and other debris
in construction environments. This technology
has been easily adapted to intercept and
disintegrate live fire and shrapnel.
Whenever you Stabilize, gain 4 Overshield.
As long as you have this Overshield you have
immunity to Shredded and damage you take
can’t ignore your armor.
”WOODSMAN” FORAGING UNIT
While it is not fiscally practical to outfit every
Pinnacle expeditionary force with a scheduled
printer, concessions have been made to
instead provide industrial-grade recycling and
refurbishment units, capable of stripping any
damaged parts at a negligible loss rate.

IMPACT AMPLIFIERS You gain +1 Repair Cap. At the end of any

rest during which you spent at least 1 repair,
Through a combination of underslung regain 1 repair.
launchers, shaped charges on brachial
plating, and hydraulic armature, Pinnacle
frames are capable of clearing mountain
ranges in a matter of days. PI-OF has also
seen great success in marketing these
adaptations as siege-breaker gear, without
any significant alterations.

1/round when you hit with an attack and deal

damage you may deal 10 AP kinetic damage
to an object, terrain, or drone within Range 3
of your target as a free action. If you destroy
something this way, adjacent
objects/terrain/drones take 5 AP explosive
damage, and adjacent characters must pass
a Hull save or be knocked Prone.

55
 PI-OF
BASIL
Striker/Support
The Basil was the first frame adapted by the Orion Faction project. It
had a long evolution - first a hardsuit sized logging frame, then
upscaled for planetary-level work, then upgraded with a symbiotic OS to
link and manage entire teams for improved safety and workplace
efficiency. It was Pinnacle Industries’ most widespread and well-known
frame, and the obvious choice to be turned to warfare. Armor built for
on-site accidents was toughened for high-caliber fire. Logging tools
were repurposed to cut through ceramic and metal. It is a builder turned
soldier; overseer turned general. It’s release saw immediate popularity
in colonies without the capital for higher-end frames, and they are now
a common sight in the cities they set the foundations for.

CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM

Size: 1
Armor: 2
Save Target: 10
Sensors: 8
VERTEX SYSTEM LINK
HULL SYSTEMS The VERTEX OS uses short-range comm
HP: 8 E-Defense: 8 bands to greatly increase team
Repair Cap: 6 Tech Attack: +0 efficiency by sharing processor cycles
AGILITY SP: 6 and system data. It can be offloaded
Evasion: 8 ENGINEERING into a stand-alone beacon to enhance
Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 4 this ability even further, fusing all
friendly systems in its signal radius.
Neural leak is uncommon but expected as
TRAITS a positive externality for cohesion.
FOREMAN OVERRIDE
Pioneer Beacon
1/Round the Basil can give +1 Accuracy to a
Active (1 CP), Quick Action
check or save made by itself or an allied
character in Sensors and line of sight as a You deploy a Pioneer Beacon (Size ½, 10 +
reaction before the roll is made. Grit HP, 10 Eva/E-Def, resistance to all
damage, Tags: Deployable) in a free adjacent
DIVINE SENSOR SUITE space. The beacon projects a Burst 3 field.
You and your allies that are at least partially in
Hostile characters that end their turn within
the field have +1 Accuracy on all checks and
Range 3 of the Basil must pass a Systems
saves. If you or an ally end your turn at least
save or lose Hidden and Invisible, and hostile
partially in the area you may clear one status
characters cannot attempt to Hide or become
(Impaired, Jammed, Shredded, Slowed,
Invisible while in that area.
Immobilized, or Stunned) that is not
MOUNTS self-inflicted. The beacon lasts until the end of
the scene or until it is destroyed.

56
LICENSE I: OVERGROWTH CHARGE, TT.7 LICENSE II: BASIL FRAME, DISPERSAL
SNOWBLIND BOW, ‘HEALING HANDS’ GREENWASH
SUITE
Overgrowth Charge
2 SP, Limited 2, Unique Dispersal Bow
Expend a charge for one of the following Main Launcher, Arcing, Knockback 1
effects: [10 Range] [1d3+2 Explosive Damage]
● Bramble Grenade (Grenade, range 5): Your On Attack: You can expend 1 Repair to
target must pass a Hull save. On a failed attack a Blast 2 area instead, and knock
save they become Immobilized until the targets Prone on hit.
end of their next turn, and take 1d6 Kinetic
damage at the end of each of their turns Keeping in line with their standards
until they make a successful Engineering of high-efficiency/low-cost supply
save as a quick action. On a successful paradigms, many PI-OF munition
save they are Slowed instead. schematics can be easily supplemented
● Overgrowth Mine (Mine, burst 1): with available low-grade materials
Characters in the area when the mine for increased impact and effective
detonates must pass a Hull save or be spread.
Immobilized until the end of their next turn.
The area remains difficult terrain until the
end of the scene. ‘Healing Hands’ Greenwash Suite
2 SP, Unique
The Basil represents growth: the
beginning of a colony, a home, a When you Stabilize you may expend a Repair
city, a nation. Taking the wild and to grant yourself or an adjacent ally 8 + Grit
the unformed and shaping it into Overshield.
safety and society. To a Basil pilot, Field repairs can be extremely time
the battlefield is a garden, and they consuming when there’s a quota to
are tender gardeners who prune and meet for the day. To maintain maximum
guide. Power and responsibility, in efficacy and minimal recovery time,
equal measures. Pinnacle Industries provides work
teams with short-stage single-use
TT.7 SNOWBLIND ‘greenwash’ nanite hives that repair
2 SP, Full Action, 1 Heat(self) damage using a limited stock of raw
Until the start of your next turn you emit a materials.
Burst 2 field of obfuscating transmissions.
Characters at least partially within the affected
area gain Immunity to all tech actions, and
cannot make tech actions. Existing conditions
and effects caused by tech actions are not
cleared but characters have Immunity to them
while they are in the area, and they can be
saved against normally.
Upon entering the field of military
supply, Pinnacle Industries found
that they were already on the losing
side of an electronic arms race.
Rather than exorbitant spending on
new information security R&D, they
sidestepped the problem completely.
SNOWBLIND transmitters flood every
available network and channel with
random noise, deafening even
cutting-edge incursion systems.

57
LICENSE III: DAGGER AUTO-MISSILES, ‘GRIM HARVEST’ PLASMA SCYTHE
Carbonized Auto-Saw
2 SP, Quick Action, Unique, Full
Action
When you activate this system, choose an
adjacent character as you Rev Up the
Auto-Saw. If you start your turn with the
Auto-Saw Revved Up, you may cut into them
as a Full Action while they are adjacent to
you. They take 2d6+2 kinetic damage and
must pass a Hull save or become Shredded
until the end of the scene, or half as much
damage on a successful save. The Auto-Saw
then ceases to be Revved up. It also ceases to
be Revved Up if you end your turn not
adjacent to your target, or at the end of the
scene.
The Basil is a revenant in its client
colonies. Here, the rusted wreckage
of builders long past prime,
precursor titans. Standing before
them is a metal ghost, a copy raised
in anger and violence that is bound
to protect its holdings. A promise
broken, and a promise forged.
‘Grim Harvest’ Plasma Scythe
Superheavy Melee Nexus, Overkill
[1 Threat] [2d6 Energy Damage + 6
Burn]
This weapon counts as both a melee and
nexus weapon, but only makes melee
attacks. This weapon may be used to attack
as normal, or deployed as a Drone with the
following profile:
Scythe Drone (Size ½, HP 10, Armor 2,
Eva/E-Def 10, Speed 4, Tags: Drone).
The Scythe Drone can be deployed to an
adjacent free space as a free action. Once
deployed you may attack with it as though it
is still a weapon, but with Threat traced from
the drone. You can recall the drone with a
Quick Action if it is adjacent to you. Until
recalled or destroyed it remains deployed
until the end of the scene. If destroyed it
follows the normal rules for repairing a drone,
and can’t be used until repaired.
Most terraforming work by Pinnacle
Industries is automated; a variety of
proprietary subaltern and drone
designs are offered depending on
climate and scale. Local flora is
usually clearcut before other work
begins, ensuring that the land is
available for Pinnacle-approved
seedstock. The tools responsible were
exceedingly easy to convert by the
Orion Faction.
58
 PI-OF
FENNEL
Controller/Striker
Pinnacle Industries has long maintained several proprietary lines of
personal, industrial, and commercial drones – from minuscule
swarm-patterns to the towering terraforming giants that accompanied
their pre-colonial missions. A collaborative effort between the
Cassiopeia and Orion Faction development branches resulted in the
Fennel-pattern chassis line as a manned companion to a new line of
militarized drones under the Pinnacle name. The Fennel takes the rugged,
flexible survivorship ethos of Pinnacle expeditions and pairs it to the
savage high-impact Behemoth-Class drone patterns to create a synergistic
hunting team; the Fennel scouts targets and seeds traps across the
battlefield, while their drone partners rush in to wreak havoc.

CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM

Size: 1
Armor: 1
Save Target: 11
Sensors: 8
BEHEMOTH-CLASS ‘SABER’
HULL SYSTEMS ASSAULT DRONE
HP: 8 E-Defense: 7 Across the myriad stars and twinkling
Repair Cap: 5 Tech Attack: +1 stations in Union’s embrace, machines
AGILITY SP: 6 bear the weight of humanity’s labor.
Evasion: 8 ENGINEERING They fashion tools, build houses, carry
Speed: 5 Heat Cap: 4 messages, tend to the sick – every task
needed to keep society running.
TRAITS Behemoth-Class assault drones are not
IRON DEFILADE needed for society. Revised first from
logging automatons to xenofauna defense
At the end of your turn you and all Drones you drones, then adopted by the Cassiopeia
control gain Overshield 3 until the start of your Faction and reforged into powerful,
next turn. You and your Drones have soft savage weapons of war. The newest
cover as long as you have this Overshield. ‘Saber’ line towers over most chassis;
the machine minds that command them are
mainly occupied with keeping the massive
LIGHT TOUCH
pistons and complex electrosensory data
1/Round when the Fennel critically hits with a within operating limits. This leaves
Rifle it is pushed up to its Speed in any little processing power for
direction. human-approximate cognition - or
restraint. They are mandatorily paired
with human pilots to direct their
MOUNTS actions instead, forming strong
instinctive bonds that only deepen with
time and shared combat experience.

59
Saber Drone
Passive, Drone
Saber Drone (Size 2, [10 + Grit] HP,
Eva/E-Def [see below], 2 Armor, Tags:
Drone)
Your mech is accompanied by a powerful
Saber Drone that shares your Evasion,
E-Defense, Speed, and can move
independently on your turn. When you rest
or perform a Full Repair, it regains all HP
and is automatically repaired if it was
destroyed. You may command it to take
one of the following actions as a quick
action 1/turn:
● Strike: Make a melee attack using your
Grit against an adjacent character. On hit
they take 1d6+4 Kinetic Damage and
become Grappled by the drone. It uses
your Grit to maintain grapples.
● Maul: A character Grappled by the
Saber Drone must pass a Hull save or
take 6 AP Kinetic Damage and become
Shredded until the end of their next turn,
or take half as much damage on a
success
● Leap: The Saber Drone flies up to its
Speed horizontally and half as much
vertically. It must end the movement on a
surface or begin to fall. This movement
ignores engagement and does not
provoke reactions.
As a reaction to a character starting
movement adjacent to the Saber Drone
you can force them to pass a Hull save or
take 1d6 Kinetic damage and become
Slowed until the end of their next turn.
Apex Predator
Active (1 CP), Protocol
Your Saber Drone is immediately restored
to full HP and repaired if it was destroyed.
Until the end of the scene its actions are
upgraded:
● Stunning Strike: On hit, your target is
also knocked Prone.
● Vicious Maul: The grappled character is
also Jammed for as long as they are
Shredded.
● Seismic Leap: Your drone creates a
Burst 1 of soft cover where it lands
that lasts until the end of your next turn.
LICENSE I: FLINTLOCK PISTOL, SNARE
CHARGE
Flintlock Pistol
Auxiliary Rifle, Inaccurate
[8 Range] [1d3+1 Damage]
On Attack: You are pushed one space in any
direction.
Despite the ever increasing pace of
technological advancement, sometimes
simpler solutions are still better.
Many pieces of Pinnacle Industries
equipment rely on solely mechanical
action, with easily replaceable parts
and no digital interface to increase
the ease of repair and upkeep in
isolated environments. This ethos is
reflected in the lightweight and
interchangeable design of the Fennel,
making it a perfect pair for more
archaic weaponry.
Snare Charge
2 SP, Unique, Limited 3
Expend a charge for one of the following
effects:
● Bola (Grenade, range 8): Your target must
pass an Agility save or be knocked Prone,
and additionally become Slowed until they
remove it by passing a Hull save as a quick
action. On a successful save they are
instead Slowed until the end of their next
turn.
● Razor Mine (Mine, burst 2): All surfaces in
the affected area become filled with
razorwire until the end of the scene. Any
non-flying character that moves through or
is pushed through the area takes 1 AP
Kinetic damage for each space they move.
A character that is knocked Prone in the
area takes 1d6 AP Kinetic damage.
Tools passed down by hunters for
centuries; simple loops of leather or
beaten metal spikes reincarnated in
military polymer and coreforged
alloy. Time has yet to dull their
elegant efficacy. Hostile chassis are
prey of a different sort, but they
fall all the same.
60
 LICENSE II: FENNEL FRAME, TT.6
‘STRONGMAN’ SUPPORT DRONES, VIPER
DRONE
TT.6 ‘Strongman’ Support Drones
2 SP, Quick Tech, Limited 4
Gain the following Quick Tech options:
Helping Hand: Choose an allied character in
Range 8 currently in a grapple. Until the
grapple ends they count as one size larger (½
to 1, 1 to 2, etc.) for Rams and controlling the
grapple.
Iron Fist: Choose a hostile character in Range
8. They have +1 Difficulty on attack rolls for
Rams and Grapples, and on Hull checks to
control grapples, until they pass a Hull save
as a quick action.
These multipurpose cargo-loader
drones autonomously latch to a
designated surface before unfolding
multiple high-tensile manipulator
arms. The multi-ton force they can
exert has proven highly effective in
close-quarters scenarios.
Viper Drone
2 SP, Quick Action, Reaction, Drone
VIPER DRONE (Size ½, HP 5, Evasion 10,
E-Defense 10, Tags: Drone)
You can deploy this drone into any free space
in Sensors and line of sight. While it is
deployed you gain the Viper Strike reaction.
You can recall or redeploy it as a quick action.
Viper drones use a two-pronged
assault tactic of high-volume
systemic disruption and a precision
focal laser barrage to pinpoint and
capitalize moments of high
vulnerability in their targets.
Viper Strike
Reaction, 1/round
Trigger: A hostile character in Range 10 and
line of sight of the drone makes a check or a
save.
Effect: They have +1 Difficulty on the check
or save. If they fail it, they take 4 Energy
damage.
LICENSE III: ‘APOTHECARY’ MARKSMAN
RIFLE, PARVATI-CLASS NHP
’Apothecary’ Marksman Rifle
Main Rifle, 1 SP
[12 Range] [4 Kinetic Damage]
On Hit: 1/Round, this weapon deals +1
bonus damage for every condition
(Impaired, Slowed, Immobilized, Jammed,
Shredded, or Stunned) affecting your target,
to a maximum of +6.
Weighted ‘Apothecary’ rounds see
suboptimal penetration against most
targets – until they hit a stressed
plate that they shred like paper.
PARVATI-CLASS NHP
3 SP, AI, Mod, Unique
Your mech gains the AI tag and you must
choose a Ranged weapon. That weapon
gains the Nexus typing in addition to other
weapon types and 1/Round on a critical hit
you may push your target 1d6 spaces in any
direction. You also gain the Hornet Rounds
protocol:
PARVATI clones excel at path
optimization and resource efficiency
– many PI offices employ PARVATI
clones transiently to plan and
enforce seasonal right-sizing. This
same tendency to micromanage has
proven exceptionally useful in
high-stress situations, where
PARVATI’s ‘mothering’ instinct and
improvement doctrine create
high-yield results with autonomous
systems. They take great pride in
cultivating drone hives, and exhibit
(within acceptable parameters) a
vindictiveness at any interference.
Hornet Rounds
Protocol, Limited 2
Your next attack with this weapon gains the
Seeking tag. On a hit your target becomes
Marked. 1/Round when you attack another
character with this weapon, you can also
attack the Marked character as if you had
Seeking, dealing half damage, Heat, and
Burn on hit. They can clear the mark by
passing a Systems save at +1 Difficulty as a
quick action. If you mark a new character the
previous mark is cleared.
61
 PI-OF
LEMONGRASS
Defender/Controller
Unlike many other PI-OF frames, the Lemongrass was only ever intended
for combat, rather than being an adaptation of an existing civilian
model. Pinnacle Industry’s military engineers realized that their
conversion of old civilian frames still required intensive field-testing
to ensure combat efficacy, but this put their test pilots – and profit
margins – at great risk. The Lemongrass saw an extremely accelerated
development period while all other projects were put on hold, and was
expressly designed to protect other PI-OF frames. Once work on other
frames recommenced, Lemongrass frames were partnered alongside all other
PI-OF deployments to provide an extra layer of defense until all obvious
design flaws were ironed out. Utilizing potent electromagnetic
manipulation, the Lemongrass darts among allied frames to divert attacks
and punish opponents.

Lemongrass and Pilot art by @GenTrigger on

Twitter

62
CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM
Size: 1/2
Armor: 1
Save Target: 12
Sensors: 10
ZENITH ELECTROSTATIC
HULL SYSTEMS SHIELD TETHER
HP: 8 E-Defense: 8 The ZEST is the only part of the
Repair Cap: 2 Tech Attack: +0 Lemongrass that made use of Pinnacle
AGILITY SP: 6 Industry’s roots as a colony-builder,
Evasion: 10 ENGINEERING adapted from a preventative lightning
Speed: 5 Heat Cap: 4 rod used on planets with extreme
weather. The original equipment would
TRAITS send calculated electrical pulses
INTEGRATED HOVER FLIGHT directly along the path of a lightning
strike, evening out polarity between the
The Lemongrass can hover when it moves or ground and clouds. The combat-ready ZEST
boosts (it can fly, doesn’t need to move, it can instead follows the path of projectiles
move without going in a straight line, and and energy weapons, tracking their wake
doesn’t need to land). back to the source with an arc of
electricity. A portable module is
incorporated into the Lemongrass frame,
ION FIELD
granting a small radius of protection,
1/Round each at the start of its turn, when it but a full size module can also be
gets a critical hit, and when it ends its turn deployed.
adjacent to an allied character, the Lemongrass
gains an Ion Charge, to a maximum of 4 Storm Pylon
charges. When a character makes an attack Active (1 CP), Quick Action
against the Lemongrass or an adjacent ally As a quick action, you deploy the Storm Pylon
they first take AP Energy damage equal to its (size ½, 10 + Grit HP, 10 Eva/E-Def,
current Ion Charges and subtract that value resistance to all damage, Tags: Deployable)
from the attack roll. The Lemongrass then loses to a free adjacent space. It has 4 Ion Charges,
1 Ion Charge. and gains 2 charges at the start of your turn.
Allied characters within a Burst 3 of it benefit
MOUNTS from your Ion Field trait as if they were
adjacent to you, though they cannot benefit
from the pylon and your mech simultaneously.
The pylon deactivates at the end of the scene.

Additionally, until the end of the scene,

whenever a character triggers Ion Field from
your mech or the pylon at 4 charges, they and
all characters in a Burst 2 centered on them
take 1 AP Energy damage and become
Impaired until the end of their next turn as a
crashing bolt of lightning strikes them.

63
LICENSE I: CARRIER CLAMPS, DAZZLER
Carrier Clamps
2 SP, Quick Action
Flexible hardpoints and manipulators allow
you to cling to other characters. While
adjacent and non-Immobilized you may
attach yourself to an adjacent ally that is at
least one Size larger than you. While clinging
you occupy their space and move when they
move (even while Slowed). If you or your
mount are knocked Prone, Stunned,
Immobilized, or destroyed, you fall Prone in
an adjacent space. You may detach yourself
as part of any movement.
Powered electromagnet chains allow
smaller frames to cling on to heavier
mechs and transport vehicles in order
to divert all their attention to
supporting them. Once active, the
flexible chains wrap around any
nearby metal and hold fast until
powered down.
Dazzler
Auxiliary CQB
[3 Range, 3 Threat] [1 Energy Damage]
On Hit: The target has +1 Difficulty on the
next attack roll they make. This effect can
stack.
‘Dazzler’ capacitor plates use a
powerful burst of charge to induce
temporary opposing charges in their
target. Once established, a flood of
conductive ferro-chaff is released to
complete the circuit, resulting in a
flash of glittering light and signal
noise as charge arcs across the gap.
LICENSE II: LEMONGRASS FRAME,
CHERENKOV MANIFOLD, CICADA
CHATTERBOX
Cherenkov Manifold
2 SP, Protocol, 2 Heat(self), Unique
You twist air and force around your mech into
a shifting, bending lens. The first attack made
against you or an adjacent ally before the
start of your next turn treats the target as
Invisible. If the attack misses, the attacker
must reroll it against themselves, dealing half
damage on a hit.
The air around the Lemongrass
shimmers like a heat haze, shifting
densities mixing and swirling from
the constant energetic outflow - both
in realspace and deeper, thanks to
quantum quirks of the chassis. Light
passes through the warped air like a
dusty lens, emerging twisted and
changed.
Cicada Chatterbox
2 SP, Protocol, Quick Action
When you activate this protocol you gain the
Lock-On condition. While it is active, hostile
characters in Range 3 are Impaired and may
not use the Seeking property on any of their
weapons. This protocol ends if you are hit by a
melee or ranged attack.
Additionally, while it is active, you may use a
quick action and take 2 Heat to focus the
noise on a single target in the affected area,
forcing them to make a Hull save. On a failed
save they become Jammed until the end of
their next turn or this protocol ends. A
character can only be Jammed this way
1/scene.
The buzz can be heard for miles, but
it’s only dangerous up close. Banned
near population centers, Cicada
modules can shake apart loose
mechanical components and leave ears
ringing for days after deployment.
64
LICENSE III: VOLTAIC SWARM, SHOCK CHARGE
Voltaic Swarm
Main Nexus, Smart
[Burst 2] [1d3 Energy Damage]
This weapon does not attack allied characters
in its area. Instead they gain a protective
swarm of charged nanites. The next time a
hostile character makes an attack against
them or moves into an adjacent space, the
swarm activates. The triggering character
takes 1d3 Energy damage and is knocked
back 2 spaces. The swarm is then expended.
A character may only have one swarm at a
time.
Like a buzzing swarm of bees,
flickering clouds of nanites billow
from printing hives hidden in the
core of the frame. They swirl and
grow until they completely surround
the mech – and are obliterated in a
flash, tiny capacitors expended all
at once in a simultaneous electrical
shock, conducted along the metal fog.
Shock Charge
2 SP, Limited 2
Expend a charge for one of the following
effects:
● Overload Grenade (Grenade, Range 5,
Blast 1): Friendly characters in the affected
area may move up to their Speed, ignoring
engagement and without provoking
reactions, and gain soft cover until the end
of their next turn. Hostile characters in the
blast must pass an Engineering save or
take 2 Energy damage and become
Impaired until the end of their next turn.
● Sparking Mine (Mine): The character that
triggers this mine gains a disruptive charge.
The next time they make an attack or force a
character to make a save before the end of
their next turn they must first pass an
Engineering save or take 2d6 Energy
damage and become Stunned until the end
of their next turn, or half as much damage
and becoming Impaired on a success. If
they do not make an attack before the end
of their next turn, the charge dissipates.
Each battery holds enough charge to
safely power a small military outpost
for days – but when released all at
once that power melts wiring like
candle wax.
65
 PI-OF
PEPPERCORN
Striker
Louder than god’s revolver and twice as shiny, the Peppercorn straddles
a unique line between mech and vehicle. Some have been adapted to almost
resemble armored civilian motorcycles, but the official pattern is a
pilot-sized monowheel. Combining incredibly high speeds with a wide
assortment of plasma weaponry and force-multiplying deployables, the
Peppercorn excels at hit-and-run skirmishing, softening targets for the
final blow. While they were originally scouting vehicles, Pinnacle
Industries expansion into the military sector has seen drastic changes
in their design philosophy.

CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM

Size: 1
Armor: 0
Save Target: 10
Sensors: 5
MAGNA-HELIX DRIVE CHAIN
HULL SYSTEMS The Helios propulsion system forgoes
HP: 6 E-Defense: 6 typical wheel designs and materials.
Repair Cap: 3 Tech Attack: -2 Instead of a physical tread it uses a
AGILITY SP: 6 halo of circulating plasma contained by
Evasion: 12 ENGINEERING a magnetic field. This plasma wheel is
Speed: 8 Heat Cap: 6 frictionless and cannot be worn down or
damaged - its speed is limited only by
the power of the reactor containing it.
TRAITS
WHEELED Greased Lightning
Active (1 CP), Protocol
It takes a quick action for this mech to stand
up from being Prone instead of using You supercharge your mech's engine,
movement. It cannot move while Prone. When achieving impossible speed. Until the end of
it Boosts it ignores engagement. the scene you have Resistance to all damage
during your turn as long as you are not Slowed
or Immobilized, your movement ignores
DRIVE-BY engagement, and no action you take can
When the Peppercorn makes a Skirmish or trigger a hostile character’s reaction. Whenever
Barrage action, it can move between individual you move adjacent to a hostile character they
attacks. 1/turn when it Boosts it can fire a take 2 Energy Damage. A character can only
single Auxiliary weapon as a free action. take this damage 1/Round.

MOUNTS

66
LICENSE I: ‘GRINDER’ COMBAT UZI,
B.M.X. AUTOPRINT PAD
‘Grinder’ Combat Uzi
Auxiliary CQB, Reliable 1
[3 Range, 3 Threat] [1d3 Kinetic
Damage]
On Attack: Characters adjacent to your target
also take the Reliable damage from this
weapon as if it had missed them.
The Grinder is a staple of many
Pinnacle Industries combat lines
thanks to its simple design and high
ratings in the field. It operates on
a straightforward principle: the more
bullets you shoot, the more likely
you are to hit something. It’s high
rate of fire is well suited to the
Peppercorn’s high speed tactics that
don’t leave time for ‘precision’ or
‘aiming’.
B.M.X. Autoprint Pad
2 SP, Unique, Limited 3, Quick Action
You can expend a charge of this system to
deploy one of the following pad templates in a
free adjacent space. A pad remains active until
the end of the current scene.
● Boost Pad: Allows a character standing on
it to Boost as a free action, but they must
travel in a straight line.
● Jump Pad: Allows a character on it to Jump
a horizontal distance equal to their speed
rather than half of their speed.
Hostile characters cannot activate these
effects and treat the space as difficult terrain.
With the Peppercorn, PI-OF expanded
their flash-printing technology to a
new tier, creating complex mechanical
systems in the blink of an eye. The
heat from the quick-setting formula
drives simple engines to move tread
belts and store elastic force. The
result was the Boosted Movement
eXtension pads, which can be deployed
in any theater to accelerate allies
into combat.
LICENSE II: PEPPERCORN FRAME,
PLASMA CASTER, PLASMATIC TREADS
Plasma Caster
Main Cannon
[3 Range] [2 Energy Damage + ?? Burn]
This weapon deals Burn equal to its Range
from the target (up to a maximum of 3 Burn).
The Peppercorn’s plasma caster was an
inspired development during the
refinement of its plasmatic treads.
Careful manipulation of magnetic
coils allowed the plasma to be
collected and linearly repelled from
the primary corona at extreme
velocities.
Plasmatic Treads
2 SP, Protocol, 2 Heat(self)
While this protocol is active, every space you
cross while moving becomes filled with
burning flames until the start of your next turn.
Any character other than you that starts their
turn in these spaces or enters them for the
first time on their turn must pass an
Engineering save or take 2 Burn. Additionally
you ignore difficult and dangerous terrain
and do not trigger mines while this effect is
active
The plasma nozzles built into the
treads of the Peppercorn were
instrumental in making it the Orion
Faction’s frontline frame. Rather than
directly spraying plasma from the
wheel, they utilize a magnetic
loop-field structure to maintain a
consistent corona in excess of 3000ºC
around the underside of the wheel as
it rotates, turning the ground beneath
it to indiscriminate molten slag.
67
LICENSE III: GREASE CHARGE, MERCURY-CLASS NHP
Grease Charge
2 SP, Limited 3, Unique
Expend a charge for one of the following
effects:
● Oil Grenade (Grenade, range 5): This
grenade only targets a single character, who
must pass an Agility save or become
Prone. They must pass this save a second
time or become Prone the first time they
move after being hit, regardless of the
results of the first save. Additionally, the
next time they take Energy damage before
the end of the scene, they take an additional
2 Burn. This only applies to the first
triggering attack.
● Oil Slick Mine (Mine, burst 2): Characters in
this area when it detonates must pass an
Agility save or become Prone. The area
remains difficult terrain until the end of the
scene. If a character in the area takes
Energy damage, Burn, or a character
suffering from Burn enters the area, the oil
ignites, causing any character that starts
their turn in the area or enters it for the first
time on their turn to take 2 Burn. Once
ignited, the area dissipates at the end of
your next turn.
The combination of high-efficiency
gimbal lubricant and coruscating
plasma led to many accidental
detonations during the development of
the Peppercorn’s gyroscopic wheel
system. However, it also provided an
inspiration.
MERCURY Class NHP
3 SP, AI, Unique
Your mech gains the AI property and the
Perfection of Motion Protocol.
MERCURY NHPs are ubiquitous in vehicle
engineering labs as test pilots for
experimental propulsion systems. While
they have been derived into several
different clones for different vehicle
types, they are homogeneously
excitable and obsessed with pushing
the limits of the next test. Behind
their hyperactive demeanor lies an
obsessively perfectionist core that
attempts to optimize every step it
takes.
Perfection of Motion
2 Heat(self), Protocol
Choose a character in Range 5. Until the start
of your next turn, whenever that character
moves, you may move an equal number of
spaces. This movement ignores engagement
and does not provoke reactions, and you
cannot end the movement further from your
chosen character than you started it.
68
 PI-OF
ROSEMARY
Striker
The Rosemary was designed as a heavy duty terraformer/demolition frame,
intended to arrive before colonists to clear land for building.
High-pressure hydraulics and integrated pilebunker armature make the
Rosemary capable of shattering solid rock with ease, even without the
wide variety of destructive tools made available to their pilots. In the
event of colony dissolution, they are just as capable of turning those
tools on the structures they paved the way for, pounding buildings and
machines into rubble and scrap.

CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM

Size: 2 Save Target: 11 SEISMIC AGITATOR
Armor: 3 Sensors: 5 The sheer amount of force that the
HULL SYSTEMS Rosemary can output into terrain is
HP: 6 E-Defense: 8 capable of not only reshaping terrain
Repair Cap: 5 Tech Attack: -2 but even triggering latent seismic
AGILITY SP: 5 activity if their operator isn’t
Evasion: 6 ENGINEERING careful. By focusing all of its
Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 6 hydraulics on a single point, the
Rosemary can intentionally trigger a
TRAITS dangerous destabilization of the local
planetary crust.
MOUNTAIN BREAKER
Tectonic Overhaul
When the Rosemary moves past or adjacent to Active (1 CP), Full Action
an object or piece of terrain, it may deal 15 AP
Kinetic damage to it as a free action.This You must be touching a surface to activate this
action costs 1 Heat every time it is taken after system. When you activate this system, all
the first in a single turn. The Rosemary is characters touching the ground in a Burst 3
immune to difficult terrain. area must pass a Hull save or be knocked
Prone, and all objects and terrain in this area
that are touching the ground take 30 AP
DEMOLITION PRIMER Kinetic damage. The burst counts as difficult
terrain until the end of the scene. Characters in
Damage from the Rosemary’s attacks against
this terrain must make a Hull save in order to
targets that are Prone, Immobilized, or
successfully stand from being Prone.
Stunned, or targets that cannot move cannot
be reduced in any way.
Until the end of the scene, any character that
starts their turn adjacent to you or moves there
MOUNTS for the first time on their turn must pass a hull
save or take 2 Kinetic damage and be
knocked Prone. Characters in this area must
pass a Hull save to stand up.

69
LICENSE I: ALL-TERRAIN SYNTH-MUSCLE,
FURNACE HAMMER
All-Terrain Synth-Muscle
1 SP
You have Resistance to damage from
dangerous terrain, and count as having soft
cover while in dangerous or difficult terrain.
In order to function for long periods
without maintenance in rough terrain,
Pinnacle Industries outfits its
frontier frames with high-quality
nano-synth muscle fibers, studded
with carbide grain shock foam.
Furnace Hammer
Main Melee, Knockback 1
[2 Threat] [1d6 Kinetic Damage]
You may use a Quick Action and take 2 Heat
to prime this weapon. You are Slowed while it
is primed, but on a hit while primed it instead
deals 1d6 Explosive damage + 3 Burn, it’s
Knockback increases to 3, and it knocks the
target Prone on a critical hit. It is then no
longer primed. You may stop priming the
hammer as a free action. While unprimed, this
weapon deals 10 AP Kinetic damage to
objects and terrain, and 20 AP Explosive
damage when primed.
Housed within this hammer’s tungsten
shell is a flash injection furnace
powered by compressed fuel
cartridges. Once loaded and lit, the
single-use cartridges can be expended
for an explosive gout of flame and
force at the point of impact,
compounding the already weighty swing
of the hammer.
LICENSE II: ROSEMARY FRAME, PITON
DRIVER, SNAP-CRUSH MINING JAWS
Piton Driver
2 SP, Quick Action, Unique, Limited 3
When you activate this system you drive an
explosive piton into an adjacent piece of
terrain or a Prone, Immobilized, or Stunned
character. The next time they are hit with an
attack, the piton explodes, giving the attack
+1d6 bonus Explosive damage (20 AP
explosive damage for terrain) and forcing
them to pass a Hull save or be knocked
Prone and become Shredded until the end of
their next turn. A character can attempt to
remove a piton by passing a Hull save as a
quick action. Terrain adjacent to the attached
character or terrain when it detonates also
takes 20 AP Explosive damage.
Mining pitons serve both as markers
for wayfinding and focused
demolition. Even an unmodified driver
is capable of planting them with
enough force to penetrate up to three
feet of reinforced metallo-composite,
allowing their explosive payload to
shatter material from the inside out.
Snap-Crush Mining Jaws
Heavy Melee, AP, Overkill
[1 Threat] [2d3+3 Kinetic Damage]
On Hit: The target must pass a Hull save or
be Immobilized until the end of their next
turn.
Modeled after the jaw structure of
ancient aquatic fossils found on
Cradle, Snap-Crushers use a
combination of hydraulics, spring
storage, servo motion, and sheer
weight to slam closed in an instant.
The hard metal plates crush whatever
is in their way, pinning what they
don’t turn to dust.
70
LICENSE III: GEOFORM WRECKING BALL, SEISMIC CHARGE
Geoform Wrecking Ball
Superheavy Melee
[2 Threat] [4d6 Kinetic Damage]
On Hit: Draw a Cone 3 from your target in
any direction. Characters in the area of your
choice, including your target, are knocked
back 3 spaces and all characters must pass a
Hull save or be knocked Prone. This weapon
deals 30 AP Kinetic damage to objects and
terrain in the cone.
These wrecking balls are made in
special factories housed deep in gas
giants, where the intense pressure
and heat create a hardness and
density unimaginable under standard
conditions. Given time they are
capable of shattering almost any
normal planetary substrate —
utilizing wide, arcing swings to
build up even greater momentum than
is granted by their immense weight.
Seismic Charge
2 SP, Limited 2
Expend a charge for one of the following
effects:
● Tremor Grenade (Grenade, Range 5, Blast
1): Characters in the affected area must
pass a Hull save or be knocked Prone and
take 3 kinetic damage. Objects or terrain
take 10 AP kinetic damage automatically.
● Richter Mine (Mine, Burst 1): When the
mine detonates, characters in the area are
knocked Prone and objects and terrain in it
take 10 AP kinetic damage. The area
counts as difficult terrain until the end of the
scene. Prone characters in the area must
make a Hull check in order to successfully
stand up.
Despite their name, these devices do
not actually rely on tectonic
activity to function. They instead
use a miniaturized gravitic
amplifier, focused through a randomly
oscillating projector. Together, they
create a field of wildly shifting
force and direction that produces
effects similar to a localized
earthquake capable of propagating in
the absence of solid ground or even
atmosphere.
71
 PI-OF
SPEARMINT
Defender/Support
The SP-01 ‘Snowflake’ was the headliner of the colony starter-package
offered by Pinnacle Industries. Offered alongside a variety of modular
terraforming systems, the Spearmint’s civilian origin was the first
boot-on-the-ground for many a barren rock turned verdant. Their civilian
popularity made for late adaption to military purposes due to image
concerns raised by sub-departments outside of the Non-Civilian Hardware
teams. The success of other Orion Faction frames drowned out these
complaints however, resulting in a frame that could use its atmospheric
manipulators to great local effect as a stalwart mobile fortress. The
SP-04 ‘Polar Vortex’ now headlines the ‘Tried and True’ line of
new-grade military materiel on offer from PI-OF.

CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM

Size: 2
Armor: 2
Save Target: 10
Sensors: 8
CRYOSPHERE CONVERTER
HULL SYSTEMS The TT.20 ‘Snowglobe’ Canister is a
HP: 8 E-Defense: 10 mixture of chemical particulate and
Repair Cap: 5 Tech Attack: -1 shepherd nanites - when mixed, the
AGILITY SP: 6 particulate creates an intensely
Evasion: 6 ENGINEERING endothermic reaction that freezes a
Speed: 3 Heat Cap: 5 thick, self-replenishing layer of rime
across the surrounding area. The nanites
are then capable of dynamically altering
TRAITS the rime’s physical properties,
PERMAFROST including frictional constants to ensure
proper IFF activity and battlefield
The Spearmint can be used as Hard Cover by
synergy.
adjacent allies. If it does not move other than
its standard move on its turn, it gains 2 + Grit
Coolant Spray
Overshield at the end of its turn.
Quick Action
Choose an allied or hostile character in Range
VAPOR SHROUD 5 and line of sight:
Allied characters that start their turn adjacent ● Allied: They cool 2 Heat.
to the Spearmint gain soft cover until the end ● Hostile: They must pass a Hull save or
of their turn and may cool 2 Heat. This trait become Immobilized until the end of their
deactivates while the Spearmint is in the next turn.
danger zone.

MOUNTS

72
 Ice Rink
Active (1 CP), Full Action
Your mech projects a Burst 3 of freezing cold,
solidifying atmospheric vapor into ice. Hostile
characters treat this area as difficult terrain,
and if they start their turn in the area or enter it
for the first time on their turn they must pass an
Agility save or fall Prone. Allied characters
gain +2 Speed until the end of their turn if they
start their turn in the area, and their movements
in the area ignore engagement and do not
provoke reactions.

LICENSE I: FROST CHARGE, SNAP-LOCK SEEDER

Frost Charge Snap-Lock Seeder

2 SP, Limited 2, Unique
Expend a charge for one of the following
effects:
● Glacier Grenade (Grenade, range 5, line
5): All free spaces in the affected area
become size 1 blocks of ice (10 HP, 5 Eva)
that grant hard cover. Characters in the
area must pass an Agility save or take 2
Energy damage and become Slowed until
they pass a Hull save as a Quick Action.
● Blizzard Mine (Mine, burst 2): When this
mine detonates, all characters in the
affected area must pass an Engineering
save or take 1d6 Energy damage and
become Slowed until the end of their next
turn. Until the end of the triggering
character’s next turn, all characters at least
partially in the affected area can only draw
line of sight to adjacent spaces.
These explosives store an inert gas
in a point-metafold; atmospheric
pressure and topologically infinite
but with near-null volume, release
and subsequent expansion causes rapid
and extreme cooling capable of
freezing both the payload and
atmospheric vapor.
2 SP, Quick Action, Drone
Seeder Drone (Size 1/2, HP 5, EVASION 10,
E-DEFENSE 10, TAGS: DRONE)
You may deploy this drone to a point in
Sensors and line of sight as a quick action. It
emits a Burst 2 field. All dangerous and
difficult terrain in the area has no effect, and
spaces within the burst do not count as free
spaces for the purpose of hostile systems,
weapons, or traits that require a free space.
The drone suppresses but does not remove
effects; if it is destroyed or moved they will
affect characters again. You may retrieve or
redeploy the drone as a quick action.
The atmospheric Survey/Seeder drones
that the TT.12 Snap-Lock was derived
from were once used for autonomous
meteorological control, serving as
the central hive for a cloud-seed
nanite swarm. The same swarm is now
confined to a much smaller active
radius, granting pinpoint control of
pressure, temperature, and other
natural and unnatural factors within
its signal zone.

73
LICENSE II: SPEARMINT FRAME, TT.8 ‘ALPINE SPRING’ CARBINE, AVALANCHE RUSH
TT.8 ‘Alpine Spring’ Carbine
Main Rifle, Loading
[8 Range] [1d3+3 Kinetic Damage]
On Hit: Create a Burst 1 of difficult terrain
centered on the target that lasts until the end
of the scene. Characters that start their turn in
this area or enter it for the first time on their
turn must pass an Agility save or fall Prone.
Each ‘Tried and True’ product
designation is given a number
representing the number of prototypes
or iterations that came before the
final release – a simultaneous proof
of PI-OF’s dedication as a supplier,
and the resources they have available
to facilitate research.
Avalanche Rush
2 SP, Protocol, Unique, 3 Heat(self)
When you activate this system, gain 4
Overshield and become Immobilized until
the start of your next turn as you build up
pressure. At the start of your next turn the
pressure releases; you rush forward 8 spaces
in a straight line in a sheath of liquid
atmosphere. Characters in or adjacent to the
line are pushed out of it by the most direct
path and must pass a Hull save or take 2d6
kinetic damage and be knocked Prone, or
half as much damage on a success.
If you hit an obstruction, this movement ends
early and you release a Burst 1 explosion of
frigid air. Objects and terrain in the area take
20 AP Explosive damage, and characters in
the area must pass a Hull save or take 1d6
explosive damage and become Slowed until
the end of their next turn, or half as much
damage on a success.
The SP-01 was tuned for continental
and even global-scale actions; and as
such was much larger and slower. Many
systems were removed during
reconfiguration, while others were
modified for a more local effect. The
atmospheric condensers that once
built planetary weather systems over
months are now capable of brute-force
pressurizing and liquefaction of the
air in the immediate vicinity;
releasing the pressure at once
creates a surge of force that propels
it forward, while a thin bow-layer of
liquid atmosphere shields the frame
from impact.
74
LICENSE III: TT.32 ‘GLACIER LAKE’ COOLANT HOSE, SKADI-CLASS NHP
TT.32 'Glacier Lake’ Coolant Hose
Heavy CQB, Knockback 2
[Cone 5] [1d6+1 Energy Damage]
You cannot attack with this weapon if you are
in the danger zone.
On Hit: Characters must pass an
Engineering save or have their Speed
reduced by 2 (min 0) until they pass a Hull
save as a quick action.
The long development cycle of the GL
Chemical Hose was never due to a lack
of results – in fact, it scored at or
above 86% efficacy from the first
test, which was a simple junction of
an SP-01 Atmospheric Condenser and
its native coolant channel. The
delays were from a much more pressing
issue of safety; even before military
adaptation, ‘freezer burn’ incidents
occupied 78% of all on-duty injuries
for Spearmint pilots.
SKADI-Class NHP
3 SP, AI, Unique
Gain the AI property and the following
Fimbulvinter Full Tech options:
SKADI clones are used to isolation;
dispatched alongside the skeleton
crews of engineers and scientists
that oversee the mainly automated
process of turning a barren, airless
planet into a lush gaia world. The
connections they form are deep and
personal – their team is their family
– but transient: when the job is
done, colleagues are reassigned, and
the cycle begins somewhere new. With
NCH’s repurposing of existing
Pinnacle capital SKADI was marked as
a potential asset. They adapted
quickly to a combat position, their
passionate friendships turning into
fierce protective instincts.
Fimbulvinter
Full Tech
Deep Freeze: Choose a character in Sensors
and line of sight: they gain Overshield 10 as
ice covers their frame, and are Immobilized,
Jammed, and count as hard cover as long as
they have this Overshield. An unwilling
character may attempt an Engineering save
to avoid this effect, or a Hull save as a Quick
Action to remove the Overshield. A hostile
character may only be targeted by this effect
1/scene.
Winter Gale: Mark a Blast 3 area in Sensors
and line of sight and pick a direction: it
becomes a raging gale. The area is difficult
terrain, and any character that ends their turn
in the area must pass a Hull save or be
pushed 3 spaces in the direction you chose.
The area lasts until the end of the scene or
you designate a new area.
75
 PI-OF
STAR ANISE
Defender/Support
To their sustained consternation, the development and licensing for the
Star Anise line of mechanized chassis do not belong to the Orion
Faction, and are instead on a limited-contract loan to them through the
Lyra Faction, a Pinnacle subsidiary focused on colonial construction and
expansion. Anises are builder-frames; after the atmosphere is tempered
and land is laid flat, they are the final workforce that takes a colony
from bare earth to a vibrant metropolis. They build homes and streets
and retaining walls, shaping the shell that will be filled with hopeful
colonists and their new neighbors. They are well-loved, both by the
citizens they tend and the institution that maintains them.

This love is what has protected them from the OF – that, and major
public and internal outcry at attempts to transfer patent ownership. The
Star Anise is the expression of an idea as much as a machine: to build,
to protect, to find family in warm earth and craft a seat for newcomers
beside the fire. It is not meant to bear weapons. It is not meant to
destroy. Each Anise is the heart of her community – to defend, to grow,
and to cherish. Even after the work is done, they are left behind as the
other PI loan-frames leave, tended in warehouses and left gentle
offerings of spare parts and fresh mortar. Her pilots may change, but
each Anise is a member of the community all her own, housing
generations.

Her skills lie in brick and mortar, pilot, building fountains and
clocktowers and broad market squares. She can fill bullet holes and
carve a trench just the same, if she must. Treat her well, pilot, and
she’ll take care of you too.

76
CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM
Size: 1
Armor: 2
Save Target: 10
Sensors: 8
‘HEARTHSTONE’
HULL SYSTEMS ARCHITECTURAL SUITE
HP: 8 E-Defense: 6 “I was born here.” “The first place I
Repair Cap: 8 Tech Attack: +0 made baklava.” “My first kiss.” “I met
AGILITY SP: 10 my husband here.” “My wife’s first
Evasion:8 ENGINEERING daughter.” “We’d play out back after
Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 5 school.” “My mom’s funeral.” “I would
always climb out on the roof when I was
TRAITS mad. Silly kid things.” “My brother
SUBALTERN DELIVERY carved our names on the kitchen door.”
“The rain on the windowsill.” “It’s
When the Star Anise uses a Drone or still her room, even now.” “My
Deployable, it can place it within Range 3 of grandmother’s birthday.” “The garden.”
itself or any allied mech character within “A building.”
Sensors. “A family.”
“A home.”
Pinnacle.
CITY PLANNER
Homestead
At the start of any combat, before the first Active (1 CP), Quick Action
round begins and any characters are placed on
Until the end of the scene or until it is
the battlefield, the Star Anise can place up to
destroyed, your mech projects a Burst 3 zone
three size 1 pieces of hard cover, or one size 3
of Homeland. Objects, terrain, deployables,
area of soft cover in free spaces.
and drones within Homeland are immune to all
damage, conditions, and other effects unless
PERSEVERANCE you allow otherwise. When you take this action,
and as a Quick Action on subsequent turns you
When the Star Anise stabilizes, in addition to
can destroy up to 30 HP of objects or terrain
the normal benefits it may expend a repair to
entirely within Homeland, and place hard cover
repair a single destroyed system or weapon on
with an HP equal to the amount destroyed,
itself or an adjacent ally.
split between multiple size 1 pieces with a
MOUNTS maximum of 10 HP each.

77

Architect Production Module
Passive, Quick Action, Limited 4
Architect Project (Size ???, 10 HP, 5
Evasion, 8 E-Defense, Tags: Deployable)
Expend a charge from this system to
deploy one of the following projects in a
free adjacent space.
● Groundcover (1-4 Charges) - Create a
flat Size X area, where X is the number
of charges expended. Allied characters
completely within the area have hard
cover from all attacks originating
outside of it, and hostile characters
treat it as difficult terrain. It gains +10
HP for every charge expended after the
first.
● Hedgerow (1 Charge) - Create a Line 4
4 spaces tall of soft cover with at least
one space adjacent to you. Characters
that start their turn in the area or enter
it for the first time on their turn take 2
AP Kinetic damage.
● Creeping Vine (1 Charge) - Deploy two
Size 1 Vines within Range 5 of each
other, with one adjacent to you. Each
tracks HP separately. Vines do not
obstruct movement or line of sight. You
and allied characters sharing space
with a Vine can teleport to any other
Vine’s space as a free action as long as
it is within Range 5 and line of sight.
You can destroy a project as a quick
action, regaining all charges spent on it.
You regain the charges from any project
remaining at the end of the scene.
LICENSE I: CARGO DRONE, DAMPENING
AMALGAM
Cargo Walker
1 SP, Quick Action, Deployable
Cargo Walker (Size 2, 10 HP, 8 Evasion, 8
E-Defense, Tags: Deployable)
You can place the Cargo Walker in a free
adjacent space. An adjacent non-Immobilized
ally can mount it as a quick action. While
riding it, they occupy the same space as it.
The Cargo Walker can carry characters of
combined size equal to its size. Characters
can dismount it as part of any movement. If it
is destroyed while they are riding it, they fall
Prone in its space. If they are knocked Prone
or knocked back, they fall off it.
A Cargo Walker can move 2 spaces on your
turn. Otherwise it cannot move or be moved in
any way. Characters riding it move with it, and
do not count as moving for the purpose of any
system, trait, talent, etc.
Big, heavy, powerful, enduring
– whatever you need carried, Pinnacle
can handle it.
Dampening Amalgam
2 SP, Quick Action, Reaction
You can charge this system as a quick action.
It starts a scene uncharged, and can only hold
one charge. While it is charged, you gain the
Slurry Shield reaction.
PI branded ‘Ozymandias’ construction
amalgams incorporate a diverse
portfolio of architectural substrates
for any conceivable atmospheric or
structural condition.
Emergency-repair blends are
pre-packaged in high pressure
nozzles, ready to eject and harden on
contact with atmosphere to seal
cracks – or catch ordnance.
Slurry Shield
Reaction, 1/round
Trigger: An allied character in Range 5 and
line of sight takes half damage from a
successful save, or Reliable damage from a
missed attack.
Effect: They instead take no damage. This
system loses its charge.
78
LICENSE II: STAR ANISE FRAME, AMPHORA DRONE, DEPOT CHARGE
Amphora Drone
3 SP, Drone, Limited 2
Amphora Drone (Size ½, 5 HP, 10 Evasion,
10 E-Defense, Tags: Drone)
Expend a charge as a quick action to place an
Amphora Drone in a free space within
Sensors and line of sight. Allied characters up
to size 1 can use them as hard cover. When an
Amphora Drone is destroyed or you or an ally
adjacent to the drone detonate it as a quick
action, it creates a Burst 2 spray of
whitewash. Allied characters in the area gain
2+Grit Overshield. Hostile characters must
pass a Hull save or be pushed out of the
affected area by the most direct path and
become Slowed until the end of their next
turn.
TT.2 Amphora drones are a simple
supplyline solution developed long
before the Orion Faction was ever
conceived – a simple pilot mind,
all-terrain articulation, and a high
volume liquid/colloid storage tank
hardened for pressure and chemical
agitation. Amphoras are seen commonly
in Pinnacle buildsites to carry raw
materials from storage to
builder-frames; a vital circulation.
Depot Charge
2 SP, Unique, Limited 2
Expend a charge for one of the following
effects:
● Whitewash Grenade (Grenade, Range 5):
Your target must be an allied character. They
take 1d3+1 Heat and either you or they can
spend 1 Repair. They then regain ½ their
max HP, and clear one condition that was
not self-inflicted.
● Supply Mine (Mine, Burst 2) Only allied
characters can detonate this mine. When
you deploy this mine, expend up to 3
Repairs, enhancing its effects.
- 1 Repair: All allied characters in the
affected area regain ½ their max HP and
clear one condition that was not
self-inflicted.
- 2 Repairs: As above, but they recover all
HP and clear all conditions instead.
- 3 Repairs: As above, and they gain 4+Grit
Overshield.
“My great-grandmother drove her
first. She was on the construction
team, but she signed on for colonial
citizenship as soon as the job was
over – wanted someone around to ‘keep
an eye on her work’. We’ve all done
our part since then, but really she
gets it done on her own. Just needs
someone in the seat to give her
permission. It’s like she’s a part of
the family sometimes – I know the
back of her hands better than my
own.”
79
 art is lost to blood and gold. Do not
LICENSE III: EARTHENWARE OVERCOAT, believe them.
NANO-CERAMITE VESSEL
Sculpt
Earthenware Overcoat Quick Tech, 1 Heat(self)
3 SP, Quick Tech, Limited 3,
Sculpt options may only target areas and
Overshield
characters within your nano-ceramite field.
You or an allied character in Sensors gains
Overshield equal to 4 + your Grit. As long as Raise Wall: Create up to three size 1 pieces of
they have this Overshield they cannot be hard cover with 10 HP in free spaces.
pushed, pulled, knocked back or knocked
Entomb: A character of your choice must
Prone by other characters.
pass a Hull save or become Immobilized and
“When the rain fell and the Prone until they pass a Hull save as a quick
floodwaters came, I took my family action.
and we climbed for the roof. Up
there, we watched our lives about to Pave: Remove all mines, difficult terrain and
be washed away – saw our neighbors on dangerous terrain from up to 5 contiguous
their homes, and the bare roofs too. spaces in the field. Ongoing areas (such as
Then she came – Anise – waist deep in smoke or fire) are also removed. Hostile
the water, pushing forward. She held environmental conditions and indefinitely
that dam for three days and three lasting areas (such as bursts produced by
nights without sleep. She saved us.” drones) are suppressed in the area until this
system deactivates.
Nano-Ceramite Vessel Flood: Push up to 2 characters up to 4 spaces
4 SP, Quick Action each as long as the destination is within the
After activating this system, create a Burst 3 field. An unwilling character can resist this
field of nano-ceramite around your mech. effect by passing an Agility save.
While it is active you are Immobilized and
gain the Sculpt Quick Tech options. You may
deactivate it as a free action. When it
deactivates, all effects or terrain it has created
are removed.
Nano-ceramite is a proprietary
Ozymandias blend of high-silica
polymer with whitewash nanotechnology
to create a versatile and precise
structural/scaffold material, all
directed and changed in realtime
through frameside tactile direction.
The nanites rely on a constant
low-intensity survival signal to
maintain activity, atavistically
flooding back to their containment
housing within seconds of signal loss
in order to mitigate risks of an
unplanned lithopolis/lithoma
scenario.

Clay was where it all began, of

course. Before cities, before the
stars. Bare hands, deep in the
riverbed; fire, kindled so carefully.
Heart, will, and the earnest tones of
camaraderie and survival. They will
tell you that the new steel cleaves
all such warmth. That the potter’s

80
QUETZAL’S FLIGHT NPCS
ARCHITECT
Defender
Architects represent a tried and true staple of mechanized combat
– active conversion of civilian chassis into a militarized
standard. Mainly upfitted from terraforming or construction
patterns, Architects turn the tools of colony-building and repair
to combat fortifications and entrenchment, building fortresses
wherever they are deployed.

TIER 1 TIER 2 TIER 3

MECH SKILLS MECH SKILLS MECH SKILLS

Hull: +2 Systems: +0 Hull: +4 Systems: +0 Hull: +6 Systems: +0
Agility: -2 Engineering: +1 Agility: -2 Engineering: +2 Agility: -2 Engineering: +3

CORE STATS CORE STATS CORE STATS

HP: 15 Armor: 1 HP: 19 Armor: 1 HP: 24 Armor: 2
Evasion: 6 E-Defense: 10 Evasion: 6 E-Defense: 10 Evasion: 6 E-Defense: 10
Speed: 4 Size: 2 Speed: 4 Size: 2 Speed: 4 Size: 2
Heat Cap: 8 Save Target: 10 Heat Cap: 10 Save Target: 12 Heat Cap: 10 Save Target: 14
Sensors: 8 Sensors: 8 Sensors: 8

TACTICS
Architects can dynamically reshape the
battlefield using their CITADEL Combat
Terraformer – use this to create a fortified
position for their allies to fall back to, while
denying players their own. Their lack of
damaging systems means that a player that
does breach their defenses can still threaten
them easily.
BASE SYSTEMS
PROTECTOR Trait
Adjacent allied characters can use the
Architect for hard cover. The Architect
ignores difficult and dangerous terrain.
Slurry Cannon
Heavy CQB, Knockback 5, +1/+2/+3,
[Cone 5]
On Attack: Place a size 1 piece of hard
cover in a free space in the area. Spaces
adjacent to it become difficult terrain until
the start of the Architect’s next turn.
CITADEL Combat Terraformer
System, Quick Action
The Architect can use the following actions:
● Print (Recharge 4+): Place up to 3 blocks of
size 1 hard cover within Range 3, or one
block of Size 2 cover.
● Rift: The Architect chooses a Line 5 area in
Range 5. At the start of its next turn the
area collapses. Objects and terrain in the
area are destroyed. Characters must pass
an Agility save or become Immobilized and
gain soft cover until they pass a Hull save
as a quick action.
● Sharpen: A Blast 1 area in Sensors
becomes difficult terrain until the end of the
scene or you use this action again.
Characters that fall Prone in the area take
3/5/7 kinetic damage.
● Tremor: All characters in a Blast 1 area in
Sensors must pass a Hull save or be
knocked Prone. Objects and terrain in the
area take 10 AP Kinetic damage.

81
OPTIONAL SYSTEMS
GUNGNIR Laser Emplacement
System, Full Action, Limited 1
GUNGNIR Laser (Size 1, 20 HP, 5 Eva, 5
E-Def, Tags: Deployable, Resistance to all
damage)
As a full action, the Architect places a
GUNGNIR Laser in a free adjacent space and
marks a Line 20 area from it. They can choose
a new Line as a quick action while adjacent,
replacing the previous area. It primes at the
end of the round and becomes Charged.
They or any allied character adjacent to the
GUNGNIR Laser may take 4 Heat to fire it as
a quick action. The GUNGNIR must be
Charged to be fired. When fired, all characters
in or adjacent to the Line traced by the laser
must pass a Hull save or take 16/20/24 AP
Energy Damage. It then becomes uncharged.
It becomes Charged again at the end of the
next round.
Civil-Class Terrain Printer
System, Quick Action, Recharge 5+
The Architect marks two free spaces in line of
sight and Range 5 of each other. At least one
must be within Range 3 of it. Allied characters
on one space may use one space of
movement to immediately travel to the other
space in a straight line, ignoring engagement,
other characters, mines and without provoking
reactions. They stop the movement early if an
obstruction or terrain blocks their path.
SEALANT BLEND Trait
The Slurry Cannon gains On Hit: Targets
must pass a Hull save or become
Immobilized until they spend a quick action
to break free.
TRENCH WARRIOR
Quick Action, Trait, Recharge 4+
While the Architect has cover they gain +2
Armor. As a quick action it can dig a Line 4
trench 2 spaces wide with at least one space
adjacent to it. Characters fully within the
trench gain soft cover. This trench lasts until
the Architect uses this action again, or an
adjacent character destroys it by passing a
Hull check as a Full Action.
SANDBLAST Quick Action, Trait
The Architect creates an eruption of
particulate in a free Blast 2 area within
Sensors and line of sight that lasts until the
end of their next turn. Characters at least
partially in the area have soft cover and treat
all characters as being Invisible. If they end
their turn in the area they take 3 AP Kinetic
damage.

Insertion Catapult
System, Protocol, Quick Action
The Architect becomes Immobilized until the
start of its next turn. As a quick action it can
throw an adjacent ally that is the same size or
smaller than it to any space within Range 10.
This movement ignores engagement and does
not provoke reactions, and ends early if they
hit an obstruction or character. If they hit a
character, that character must pass a Hull
save or be knocked Prone.

82
 GRENADIER
Striker
Where the Seeder creates chokepoints and defensive perimeters,
the Grenadier charges headlong into hostile formations to
actively disrupt their advance. They present a very real threat
by bypassing expected weapon defenses and leveraging a versatile
explosive toolbox to force hostile resource consumption.

TIER 1 TIER 2 TIER 3

MECH SKILLS MECH SKILLS MECH SKILLS

Hull: +2 Systems: +1 Hull: +2 Systems: +1 Hull: +3 Systems: +1
Agility: +0 Engineering: +1 Agility: +0 Engineering: +3 Agility: +0 Engineering: +5

CORE STATS CORE STATS CORE STATS

HP: 14 Armor: 1 HP: 16 Armor: 1 HP: 20 Armor: 1
Evasion: 8 E-Defense: 10 Evasion: 8 E-Defense: 12 Evasion: 10 E-Defense: 14
Speed: 5 Size: 1 Speed: 5 Size: 1 Speed: 5 Size: 1
Heat Cap: 8 Save Target: 12 Heat Cap: 10 Save Target: 15 Heat Cap: 12 Save Target: 18
Sensors: 10 Sensors: 10 Sensors: 10

TACTICS
The aim of the Grenadier is to harass and
disrupt – the Taiko GL-16 can scatter or gather
players, while Throw Grenade gives them
bespoke options to interfere with their plans.
Sweeper Armor allows them to sidestep more
permanent defenses as well. Their short range
requires them to stay in close – a long-range
defense can prevent their advance.
BASE SYSTEMS
Taiko GL-16
Main Launcher, Arcing, +1/+2/+3, [5
Range] [5 Explosive Damage]
This weapon attacks twice at T2 and three
times at T3.
On Hit: The target is knocked back 1 space in
a direction of the Grenadier’s choice.
SWEEPER ARMOR Trait
The Grenadier has resistance to Explosive
damage, and immunity to damage from
drones, deployables, grenades, and mines.
This trait does not affect weapons with the
Drone tag.
Throw Grenade
System, Grenade, Quick Action, 1/Turn
The Grenadier throws one of the following
grenades at a space in Range 5, creating a
Blast 1 explosion.
● Concussion: Characters in the area that fail
a Hull save are knocked back 3 spaces and
if they hit an obstruction, become Impaired
until the end of their next turn and Prone.
● Incendiary: Characters in the area that fail
an Agility save take 1/2/3 Burn and cool
half as much Heat the next time they clear
heat before the end of their next turn.
● Shock: Characters in the area that fail an
Engineering save take 2/3/4 Heat and have
+2 Difficulty on tech attacks and attacks
with smart and seeking weapons until the
end of their next turn.
● Smoke: This grenade explodes in a Blast 2.
Until the end of the Grenadier’s next turn,
characters and objects in the blast area
have soft cover.

83
OPTIONAL SYSTEMS
DEATH KNELL Trait
When the Grenadier is destroyed it can
immediately throw one grenade.

HOME COOKING Recharge 4+, Trait

When the Grenadier uses Throw Grenade, it
can activate this trait to increase the Blast
radius of the grenade by 1.

Sabot Spike
System, Quick Action, Recharge 5+
The Grenadier attaches an explosive spike to
an adjacent Drone, object, or terrain. It can
detonate all Sabot Spikes as a protocol. All
affected drones or objects are each pushed 3
spaces in any direction before they explode in
a Burst 1 area. Characters in the area must
pass an Agility save or take 8/12/16
Explosive damage, or half as much on a
success.

GUERILLA DEFILADE Trait

When a character fails a save that the
Grenadier forced, they treat the Grenadier as
Invisible until the start of its next turn.

Short Fuses
System, Quick Tech, +1/+2/+3, +1
Accuracy, Recharge 5+
The Grenadier makes a tech attack against a
character in Sensors. On a hit they unload all
loading weapons and a system with the
grenade or mine tag immediately loses one
charge. They then take 2/3/4 AP Explosive
damage if a weapon was unloaded, and 2/3/4
AP Explosive damage if they lost a charge.

Smart Munitions
System
The Grenadier’s grenades do not require line
of sight as long as it’s possible to trace a path
to the target, and allied characters
automatically succeed on saves to avoid their
effects.

84
 INTERCEPTOR
Defender
Interceptors are a translation of traditional dogfight/aerial
tactics to chassis-level interaction. Their superior speed and
response time interrupts, harasses, and punishes slower frames
despite their small size. The combination of predictive suites
and hard-g maneuvers can require extensive training to handle
without serious injury, keeping Interceptors a rare and valuable
asset for any force.

TIER 1 TIER 2 TIER 3

MECH SKILLS MECH SKILLS MECH SKILLS

Hull: +2 Systems: +1 Hull: +2 Systems: +2 Hull: +2 Systems: +3
Agility: +3 Engineering: +0 Agility: +4 Engineering: +0 Agility: +5 Engineering: +0

CORE STATS CORE STATS CORE STATS

HP: 12 Armor: 1 HP: 14 Armor: 1 HP: 16 Armor: 1
Evasion: 11 E-Defense: 8 Evasion: 14 E-Defense: 8 Evasion: 16 E-Defense: 10
Speed: 6 Size: ½ Speed: 6 Size: ½ Speed: 6 Size: ½
Heat Cap: 8 Save Target: 12 Heat Cap: 8 Save Target: 13 Heat Cap: 8 Save Target: 15
Sensors: 5 Sensors: 5 Sensors: 5

TACTICS Interception Mark

Interceptors exist to deny options and force
players to focus on them. Interception Mark
lets them consistently follow and harass
high-speed targets, and the high threat of the
Interdiction SMG makes them difficult to
escape. While their extreme mobility lets
Interceptors stay close where they are the most
potent, they are very vulnerable to being Slowed
and left behind where they can be easily picked
off or ignored.
Trait, Protocol, Recharge 5+
The Interceptor chooses a hostile character in
line of sight to gain an Interception Mark.
Whenever that character moves, they can
move an equal number of spaces. Only one
character can be marked at a time; creating a
new mark removes the previous one.

BASE SYSTEMS
SSC Total Suite
System
The Interceptor can hover when they move or
boost.

Interdiction SMG
Auxiliary Cannon, Reliable 1/2/3, AP,
+2/+4/+6, [3 Range] [3 Threat] [3/5/7
Kinetic Damage]
This weapon can be fired as a reaction
whenever a character with an Interception
Mark makes an attack against an allied
character, targeting the attacker.

85
OPTIONAL SYSTEMS
ITCHY TRIGGER Trait
Reaction attacks with the Interdiction SMG
resolve before the triggering action. It gains
On Hit: the target gains +1 Difficulty on the
next attack roll they make this turn.
Point-Defense Screen
Reaction, 1/round, Recharge 5+
Trigger: A character in Range 3 makes an
attack.
Effect: The Interceptor makes a contested
attack roll. If they win, the attack automatically
misses.
CHAFF PACKET
System, Limited 2
When the Interceptor Boosts it may create a
Burst 2 explosion in the space it started
movement in. Characters in the area must
pass a Systems save or be unable to take
reactions or draw line of sight except to
adjacent spaces until the end of their next
turn.

Shard Projector
System, Protocol, Recharge 4+
Until the end of the Interceptor’s next turn,
hostile characters treat spaces in Range 3 of
the Interceptor as difficult terrain. They can
ignore this by taking 1 AP Kinetic damage for
each space they move in the area.

REFLEX/DIVE Trait
The Interceptor’s movement does not provoke
reactions and ignores engagement.

SUPERSONIC INSERTION
Full Action, Trait
The Interceptor does not start the scene on
the battlefield. Instead, at the start of a hostile
character’s turn you may place it in Range 3
of them. As a full action it can remove itself
from the battlefield, returning at the start of its
next turn anywhere within Range 50. If
multiple characters have this trait, only one
can activate it per turn.

STUNCROWN
System, Quick Action, Limited 1
The Interceptor creates a Burst 3 flash.
Characters in the affected area must pass a
Systems save or become Jammed until the
end of their next turn, or Impaired on a
success.

86
 PACKMASTER
Controller
Unlike the multitudinous legion of a Hive, Packmaster frames
cultivate a strong and solitary bond to a single, powerful
drone-mind. Guiding it from afar, the Packmaster can stay at a
safer distance while still experiencing the rush of combat
through a neurosubjective link – they reshape warfare into the
raw, bestial relation of predator and prey.

TIER 1 TIER 2 TIER 3

MECH SKILLS MECH SKILLS MECH SKILLS

Hull: +3 Systems: +1 Hull: +3 Systems: +2 Hull: +3 Systems: +3
Agility: +3 Engineering: -2 Agility: +3 Engineering: -2 Agility: +5 Engineering: -2

CORE STATS CORE STATS CORE STATS

HP: 10 Armor: 0 HP: 10 Armor: 0 HP: 10 Armor: 0
Evasion: 14 E-Defense: 12 Evasion: 15 E-Defense: 13 Evasion: 16 E-Defense: 14
Speed: 5 Size: 1 Speed: 5 Size: 1 Speed: 5 Size: 1
Heat Cap: 8 Save Target: 12 Heat Cap: 8 Save Target: 14 Heat Cap: 8 Save Target: 17
Sensors: 10 Sensors: 10 Sensors: 10

TACTICS
The Packmaster works in tandem with its
Behemoth Drone – guiding it from a distance
while the drone rushes into melee range to
aggress and immobilize targets. Use the Tracer
Rifle to mark more evasive targets. The
Packmaster itself is fragile however, and without
its command the Behemoth’s bulk is powerless.
BASE SYSTEMS
Behemoth Drone
System, Quick Action, 1/Turn
Behemoth Drone (Size 2, 15/20/25 HP, 8
Eva, 8 E-Def, 4 Speed, 2 Armor, Tags:
Drone)
The Packmaster starts each scene with a
powerful companion drone deployed in Range
3 that can move independently. It can
command the drone to take one of the
following actions as a quick action:
● Lunge: Make a melee attack at +2/+4/+6
against an adjacent character. On hit, they
take 6/9/12 Kinetic damage and become
Grappled by the drone, which has a Hull
score of +2/tier.
● Maim: A character grappled by the drone
takes 4/6/8 AP Kinetic damage and
becomes Jammed and Impaired until they
escape the grapple.
Primal Reflex
Trait, Reaction, 1/round
Trigger: A character starts movement
adjacent to the Behemoth Drone.
Effect: They must pass an Agility save or be
knocked Prone.
Tracer Rifle
Main Rifle, Smart, +2/+4/+6, [10
Range] [2/3/5 Energy Damage + 1 Heat]
On Hit: The Behemoth Drone can move 3
spaces directly towards the Packmaster’s
target. The next attack any character makes
against the target before the end of the
Packmaster’s next turn gains +1 Accuracy.
STALKER CLOAK Trait
Characters more than Range 5 from the
Packmaster treat it as being Invisible.
OVERCHARGE LINK
Full Action, Recharge 5+, Trait
The Behemoth Drone regains all HP (even if it
was destroyed) and moves up to its Speed.
The Packmaster becomes Stunned until the
start of their next turn.

87
OPTIONAL SYSTEMS
Hex Drone
System, Recharge 5+, Quick Tech,
+1/+2/+3, +1 Accuracy
The Packmaster makes a tech attack against
a character in Sensors. On a hit they have +1
Difficulty on all checks and saves and take 2
AP Kinetic damage at the end of each of their
turns. They can remove the drone by passing
a Systems save at the end of their turn, or an
adjacent ally can attempt the save as a quick
action.

Hegemony Command Imperative

System, Quick Tech
The Packmaster moves every drone in its
Sensors up to 4 spaces each in any direction.

BEAST BOND Trait

As long as the Behemoth Drone is within the
Packmaster’s Sensors and line of sight, they
both gain +1 Accuracy on all checks and
saves.

SKILLED HUNTER Trait

At the start of the scene the Packmaster
marks a character. They and the Behemoth
Drone have +1 Accuracy on attacks against
that character, and deal +2/3/4 bonus
damage on critical hits against them.

Snare Drone
System, Quick Action, Limited 2
Snare Drone (Size 2, 5/10/15 HP, 10 Eva, 10
E-Def, Tags: Drone)
The Packmaster deploys a Snare Drone into a
free space in Sensors and line of sight. When
a character starts their turn adjacent to a
Snare Drone or moves adjacent to it for the
first time in a round they must pass a Hull
save or become Immobilized and Prone until
the drone is destroyed.

BIOTIC COMPONENTS Trait

The Behemoth Drone gains +1 Speed and +1
Accuracy on Agility checks and saves. At the
end of the Packmaster’s turn it becomes
Invisible until the start of its next turn or until it
takes damage.

88
 destroyed or lose Structure, it instead only
Killshot deals its Reliable damage.
Heavy Rifle, Loading, Reliable 2/3/4,
+1/+2/+3, [10 Range] [10/15/20
Kinetic Damage]
If this weapon does not cause its target to be

VECTOR
Artillery
Vectors are an atypical design – developed by Castor for its
nascent war, but never deployed in time – and now reawoken as
they’ve been found in abandoned silos. Intended for zero-g
combat, Vectors aim to pen in opponents with a storm of dumbfire
lances. They have become the favored frame of Castor’s Orphans;
they are simple, deadly, and excel in small teams.

TIER 1 TIER 2 TIER 3

MECH SKILLS MECH SKILLS MECH SKILLS

Hull: +2 Systems: -1 Hull: +2 Systems: -1 Hull: +2 Systems: -1
Agility: +4 Engineering: +2 Agility: +5 Engineering: +2 Agility: +6 Engineering: +2

CORE STATS CORE STATS CORE STATS

HP: 10 Armor: 1 HP: 14 Armor: 1 HP: 18 Armor: 1
Evasion: 12 E-Defense: 8 Evasion: 14 E-Defense: 8 Evasion: 16 E-Defense: 8
Speed: 5 Size: 1 Speed: 5 Size: 1 Speed: 5 Size: 1
Heat Cap: 8 Save Target: 12 Heat Cap: 8 Save Target: 14 Heat Cap: 10 Save Target: 16
Sensors: 10 Sensors: 10 Sensors: 10

TACTICS On Hit: The Vector’s target must pass a Hull

Most of the damage from a Vector comes from save or immediately land (counting as falling
their Microjet Lances. Use them to force without taking damage) and be unable to fly
players to reposition even if they don’t hit, and until the end of their next turn.
use the Vector’s mobility to create an
omnipresent threat of a lance piercing their
position. The delay on the lances means that a
Vector can suffer against more mobile
opponents or more open spaces – if there’s
enough space for their targets to maneuver they
can lose out on most of their potential output.

BASE SYSTEMS
‘Widowmaker’ Long-Rifle
Heavy Rifle, AP, Knockback 2,
+2/+4/+6, [15 Range] [4/6/8 Kinetic
Damage]

89

MICROJET LANCE
Trait, Free Action
The Vector marks a Line 20 area visible to all
characters, priming a microjet lance. At the
end of the next round the lance fires; all
characters in the affected area must make an
Agility save or take 10/14/18 Kinetic damage
and be knocked back 2 spaces or half as
much damage on a successful save. The
lance stops early if it hits terrain or an object,
destroying that object. Characters flying above
the line must also make the save. Multiple
lances cannot originate from the same space.
Modified EVA Suite
System
The Vector can fly when they move or boost.
OPTIONAL SYSTEMS
Burst Silos
Main Launcher, +1/+2/+3, [10 Range]
[Blast 1] [3 Explosive Damage]
Objects and terrain in the affected area take
10 AP Explosive Damage.
At T2 this weapon can attack two targets at a
time, or three at T3. The targeted areas
cannot overlap.
REVENANT NAIL Trait
The Vector’s ‘Widowmaker’ Long-Rifle gains
Loading and On Hit: Their target becomes
impaled by a heavy stake. As long as they are
impaled they are Immobilized. They can
remove the stake by passing a Hull save as a
full action, or by taking 4/5/6 AP Kinetic
damage as a quick action.
Radar Hound
System, Reaction, 1/round
Trigger: A character in Range 20 targets the
Vector with a tech action.
Effect: The Vector boosts before the action
resolves, and places a Microjet Lance
targeting the triggering character’s location
either before or after they finish the
movement.
Talon/Rage Targeting Matrix
System, Protocol, 2 Heat(self)
Immediately fire one priming Microjet Lance.
AUTONOMOUS DEPLOYMENT Trait
When the Vector places a Microjet Lance, the
line can start from any space within Range 3.
Colossus Quiver
System, Quick Action, Recharge 5+
The Vector rolls 1d3+1/2/3. It can use the
Microjet Lance action that many additional
times this turn, and takes Heat equal to the
value rolled.
90
91
 VIRTUE
Support
Virtue-pattern frames are at the cutting edge of energy shield
deployment – technology once relegated to immobile fortifications
reinterpreted to a portable design. The extreme power draw of
these shields limits their offensive potential, but in exchange a
Virtue can guarantee the protection of their squadron through
long distance shield projection and a high recovery rate.
Inherently self-sacrificing, Virtue frames tend to draw pilots
with either extremely high team-loyalty, or extremely low
self-worth.

TIER 1 TIER 2 TIER 3

MECH SKILLS MECH SKILLS MECH SKILLS

Hull: +0 Systems: +4 Hull: +0 Systems: +4 Hull: +0 Systems: +6
Agility: +1 Engineering: +2 Agility: +2 Engineering: +2 Agility: +3 Engineering: +4

CORE STATS CORE STATS CORE STATS

HP: 10 Armor: 0 HP: 10 Armor: 0 HP: 10 Armor: 0
Evasion: 10 E-Defense: 10 Evasion: 12 E-Defense: 12 Evasion: 14 E-Defense: 14
Speed: 3 Size: 2 Speed: 3 Size: 2 Speed: 3 Size: 2
Heat Cap: 6 Save Target: 12 Heat Cap: 6 Save Target: 14 Heat Cap: 6 Save Target: 16
Sensors: 15 Sensors: 15 Sensors: 15

TACTICS
The Virtue’s Particle Barrier is an incredibly BLESS
potent defensive tool, allowing its target to System, Quick Tech
ignore all damage – use it to protect close range The Virtue takes 4 AP energy damage and
strikers that are at risk of being focused down, chooses an allied character in Sensors and
or fragile frames that suffer from reliable line of sight. That character may then choose
damage. The Virtue can only protect one target one of the following options
at a time. Their low heat cap makes them very ● Reload a single weapon.
vulnerable to being Exposed, and if their shield ● Cool 3/4/5 Heat.
is overwhelmed they are quickly destroyed. ● Immediately roll to Recharge.

BASE SYSTEMS Consecrate

System, Recharge 5+, Quick Tech
PARTICLE BARRIER
Quick Action, Trait Choose a free Blast 2 area in Sensors and
line of sight. Hostile characters cannot
The Virtue starts the scene with 10/15/20
voluntarily enter the area until the start of your
Overshield. It gains ½ as much at the start of
next turn.
each of its turns, adding onto Overshield it
has up to that value. As a quick action it can
extend the shield to an allied character in RARIFIED COMPONENTS
Sensors and line of sight. Whenever that Trait
character would take damage, the Virtue takes The Virtue cannot take the Grunt template.
the same amount before reduction, and they
take no damage. This linking effect lasts until
the Virtue chooses a new target, is reduced to
0 Overshield, is Jammed or Stunned, or
either character ends their turn without line of
sight to each other.

92
OPTIONAL SYSTEMS
IMPULSE BARRIER Trait
The Virtue and it’s linked Particle Barrier
target have immunity to being knocked back,
pushed, or pulled as long as the Virtue has
Overshield.

Blinding Shield
System, Reaction, 1/turn
Trigger: A hostile character hits the Virtue with
an attack.
Effect: That character treats all other
characters as being Invisible until the end of
their next turn.

Data-Censer Node
System, Quick Tech, 1 Heat(self,
Recharge 5+
The Virtue creates a Censer construct (Size 1,
5 HP, 10 Eva/E-Def) in a free space in
Sensors. Allied characters can use the
construct as hard cover, and an adjacent ally
can consume it as a quick action to end one
condition that was not self-inflicted and gain
4/6/8 Overshield.

Excommunicate
System, Quick Tech, +2/+4/+6
The Virtue makes a tech attack against a
target within Sensors. On a hit, they are
pushed 3 spaces directly away from the
Virtue and take 1/2/3 Heat. The knockback
and the Heat increase by +3 if the target has
any Overshield.

SYMPATHETIC METAHOOK
Trait
Either the Virtue or its Particle Barrier target
can end their link as a free action. When they
do, all conditions on the target that were not
self-inflicted are transferred to the Virtue.

ENERGIZED BARRIER
Trait
Particle Barrier lets its target fly when they
move or Boost. When the link ends its target
can move up to its speed as a reaction.

93
 PYRE
‘Pyre’ is a catch-all term for pilots
with more aggression than sense – they
burn hot, and the body inside may as
well already be dead. A Pyre’s reactor
is tuned to the breaking point,
allowing unprecedented output at the
cost of basic safety and structural
integrity.
TEMPLATE FEATURES
UNLICENSED MODIFICATIONS
Template Feature
The Pyre has +1 Accuracy on Engineering
checks and saves, and rolls twice on Stress
checks (if applicable), taking the higher result.
CAUTERIZE Template Feature
1/Round when the Pyre Boosts it may take
1d6 Heat to move that many extra spaces.
CORE CHANNEL Template Feature
The first attack the Pyre makes on its turn
while in the danger zone deals either +1d6
bonus damage or +2 Heat (their choice). This
increases to +2d6 bonus damage/4 Heat if
they are Exposed.
PYRE SYSTEMS AND TRAITS
Template Feature
When choosing optional systems, the Pyre
can also choose from the Pyre Systems and
Traits list.
PYRE SYSTEMS AND TRAITS
OVERCLOCKED BATTERIES
Trait
When the Pyre rolls to Recharge, it can reroll
after seeing the result. It must take the second
result, and then takes Heat equal to the
second result.
Redundant Systems
System, Limited 1, Quick Action
The Pyre can activate this system to stabilize
as a quick action.
UNSTABLE SYSTEM Trait
When the Pyre is destroyed it explodes as per
a Self-Destruct.
Fuel Rod Sling
Main CQB, Limited 2, +1/+2/+3, [5
Range] [4/6/8 Energy Damage + 2 Heat]
On Attack: The Pyre cools 2/4/6 Heat.
WALKING DISASTER Trait
The Pyre emits a Burst 3 environmental field.
This space counts as one of the following
environmental hazards (p278 of the Lancer
core book): Extreme Heat, Extreme Sun,
Particulate Storms, Electrical Storms,
Disruptive Storms, Dangerous Storms, or
Molten World. The Pyre is immune to this
environment.
Degradation Field
System, 1/Round
1/Round on a critical hit with any weapon,
the Pyre imbues its target with a disintegrating
aura. They cannot benefit from Accuracy on
the final roll for any attack, only regain ½ as
much HP whenever they gain HP, and cannot
gain new Overshield. They can end this effect
by passing an Engineering save as a full
action, or by ending their turn within Range 3
of the Pyre. It also ends if the Pyre is
destroyed.

GAMMA ROUNDS Trait

All of the Pyre’s attacks gain +2 Heat(self),
and bonus damage the Pyre deals is always
Burn. Weapons that attack multiple times only
incur this heat once.

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