THE FIELD GUIDE TO ODEON

Reference Document V 1.3.4

By Hookedsteward and Konigstein, 2022
Disclaimer .................................................................................................................................. 3
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 3
Changelog ................................................................................................................................. 4
Update 1.3.4 ........................................................................................................................... 4
Odeon: World of the Everywhen ................................................................................................ 6
The First Story ........................................................................................................................... 6
Odeon As We Know It ................................................................................................................ 7
The System ............................................................................................................................ 7
The Planet .............................................................................................................................. 8
The People ............................................................................................................................. 8
Storytellers ............................................................................................................................. 8
Offworlders ............................................................................................................................. 9
Speaking Truth in Power ........................................................................................................ 9
Odeon and Union ..................................................................................................................10
A Struggle for Memory ..............................................................................................................10
Pallbearers Private Military Corporation ....................................................................................13
United In Death .....................................................................................................................13
The Circle of 12 .....................................................................................................................14
Apsara Zaibatsu ........................................................................................................................15
Sign Your Way to Success! ...................................................................................................16
Mood Effectors and You! .......................................................................................................16
Dance through the Danger in your New Best Friend! .............................................................17
The Ultimate Roadies, Here for You! .....................................................................................17
Mech Combat in the Everywhen ...............................................................................................18
New Tag: Rhythm ..................................................................................................................18
New Condition: Entranced .....................................................................................................18
New Talents ..............................................................................................................................18
Raider....................................................................................................................................18
Performer ..............................................................................................................................19
Pallbearers................................................................................................................................20
Pallbearers Core Bonuses .....................................................................................................20
Oseberg ................................................................................................................................23
Kurgan...................................................................................................................................28
Ossuary .................................................................................................................................32
Dakhma .................................................................................................................................36

2
 Tholos ...................................................................................................................................41
Grave Hopper ........................................................................................................................46
Pyre .......................................................................................................................................51
Apsara Zaibatsu (AZAI).............................................................................................................56
AZAI Core Bonuses ...............................................................................................................56
CALLIOPE.............................................................................................................................59
CLIO ......................................................................................................................................63
ERATO ..................................................................................................................................67
MELPOMENE .......................................................................................................................71
TERPSICHORE ....................................................................................................................75
URANIA.................................................................................................................................79
GMS Stetind .............................................................................................................................83
IPS-N Calais .............................................................................................................................84
SSC Adonis ..............................................................................................................................89
HORUS Dungeonmaster ...........................................................................................................93
HA Mendel ................................................................................................................................97

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

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Alean, Artfulbadger, Arwen, Aurora, Beriare, Bluhman, Chills, Cannonburn,
DataMoth, Derphost, Delilah, Dragon, Drakeheart, Fungus, GingerGiant, Guncube,
InterationDrive 8, Ikyro, LostDeviljho, Magnadeus, Ozark, Perijove, Psybomb, Ru (the legendary
Ghengis Gal), Scotch, Sasha, SgtBrian, Taveena, and the rest of the Homebrew Design
channel for aiding with the design and giving feedback on the Pallbearers and AZAI.
Bligityblarg, Bobby Ricotta, Chase, Duvalasu, Ffzdf, FourEyesIsAFish, HotTacoTheTaco,
letsRaeV, Lloyd_3.0, Mustard, Olonthontor, SavvySavy, Smellydungeondog,
SmugLookingBarrel, ursa subpar and Wren.ch for their help playtesting and refining this book’s
many, many, many frames.
The AZAI ERATO is an original concept by Beriare, adapted with permission by Konigstein.
Extra special thanks to Olothontor for a ton of editing and formatting help, as well as to
Duvalasur for the feedback, coding, and introducing us both to Lancer. Art for this volume is by
Moiderah, Theotime GM and Konigstein.
Cover image: Mosaic depicting theatrical masks of Tragedy and Comedy (Thermae Decianae).

3
Changelog
Update 1.3.4

Calliope
• Repair Cap increased from 3 to 4
• Sensors reduced from 8 to 5
• System points reduced from 7 to 6
• Speed reduced from 5 to 4
• Walking Calamity Trait reworked
• Master Blaster trait replaced by Dynamic Instability trait
• Everyone, Lend me your Strength!
• Tightened wording to only allow for only Player characters to interact with the CP
• Extra damage typified as Bonus Damage
• Tightened wording on BREATh Compensators
• Gravitic Combustion Mode Removed
• Pyrotechnic Plasma Capsules system replaced by Clearcutter Laser “PLATFORM” Main
Cannon
• Ode to Victory: added a heat cost to its activation in tandem with adding several other
weapons that made terrain destruction easier.
• GWAR NHP reworked. Removed extra SH mounting and replaced with the
BONESNAPPING TECHNO-DESTRUCTOR Full Action.
• Taikobooster “ARIA”
o Moved to LL 3
• Removed the On hit effect “When you attack with this weapon, all enemies within
Burst 2 of your mech must pass a Systems check or become Entranced until the
end of their next turn”
• Removed the Inaccurate, Knockback 2, and Heat Self tags
• Removed the “even” beat die effect
• Changed the “Odd” beat die effect to: “When the Beat Die is Odd this weapon
may be reloaded as a Free Action. This weapon may not be fired during any turn
in which it has been reloaded.”
• Added the Loading Tag
• Heavy Subwoofer “SUNBLOTTER” Heavy Launcher added to the LL2 Slot

Adonis

• Increased the Adonis’ Evasion from 10 to 12

• Added the Guardian Trait
• Removed size restrictions of beauty of function

Calais
• Changed the wording on the Calais' Tout-Tour Shield to try and make its effects clearer
• Added “unique” Tag to the Hecatonchires SMG

Mendel
• Increased the Range of Fungal Overgrowth from 5 to 8.

Oseberg

4
 • Replaced the +2 evasion on the Speed bonus of the Core Passive to “1/round you may
Boost as a Free Action”.
• Tweaked the Prometheus Sheath to bring its self damage in line with that of the
Cauterizer.
• Added a 1/round Clause on the on Crit bonus damage of the C&PNS.
• Added a Range restriction of 15 spaces when selecting a target using the C&PNS.

Ossuary
• Tightened Femoral-Tibial Servo Shunt’s wording to specify what characters are
damaged during the use of the system

Pyre

• Added a new frame, the fiery, phoenix-like PYRE.

• Changed wording on Conflagration of Purpose to "Select either a willing allied or enemy
character within Sensors and line of sight" to make things clearer.
• Cleaned up/simplified Core Power Wording
• Changed Core Power Action Cost from a Full to a Quick Action
• Changed the Burst 2 heal of the Core Power to a single target Heal of either the Pyre or
an allied character within Range 8 of the Pyre.
• Replaced the Abjuration Modifications with the Phlegethon Class NHP

Mendel
• Added missing description to the Sphaerospermum Nexi

General Changes
• Hundreds of grammar, spelling, wording clarification and layout fixes, courtesy of our
playtesters.
• Art for the Grave Hopper by Moiderah added

5
Odeon: World of the Everywhen
To the modern Union, Odeon is an exciting cultural oddity: a melting pot of a world whose
inhabitants excel in the preservation of traditional myths, legends and storytelling. It is equal
parts cosmopolitan and terribly backwards, home to the peoples of a thousand worlds and yet
deliberately holding itself back by conforming to singular traditions and modes of living
thousands of years out of date.

The reasons behind this deliberate and self-acknowledged hidebound conservatism can be
found in the First Story, the collective memory told by every Odeonian. It is the story of the
Serpent Expedition, and the settling of Odeon itself.

The First Story

The storyteller tosses a handful of sticks on the fire, staring deep into the coals. A camera drone
hovers at eye height, picking up the nuances in his gaze as he looks up and, without preamble,
begins to speak. The audience listens intently.

When the Ten were still going star-ways, a group of people on Cradle who were too smart for
their own good thought they’d be clever and make their own colony ship. They’d seen the Ten
built, seen the thinking behind the colony ships, and decided to do better. And so Serpent was
made. You might call it Snake, or Quartz Prism, or Great Bat. No one agrees on the name, but
everyone agrees it was a colony ship.

Serpent showed off all of Cradle’s greatest technology: the miracles they thought could stop the
Fall. It was all done by machine-mind. New terraforming tech that could make the soil fertile and
the air breathable, printer tech, to build machines better and quicker and new gene-tech, to
make colonists faster and smarter and stronger. Into Serpent they put all manner of machine
minds, ancient and powerful. The clever ones on Cradle looked at the stars and with the help of
the machines set a course to a world they thought was good. This world, the one we stand on.

‘Course the very, very smart people who’d made the Serpent bragged. Who wouldn’t? They
were proud. Made enemies. Even before the launch there were parasites in the guts of Serpent.
We dunno who they were, what they wanted. What mattered is what they did.

The Expedition was launched. Took a long time to make it here, but they made it. Landed in the
Great Theatre. The Odeon. That’s how the place was named, and the planet was made green
and lush. The First Farmers dug their fields, and planted their seed. Odeon put up its first
shoots.

Then the enemies did their work. Machine-minds went sour. They tore the atmosphere, wrecked
the equipment. Homes crushed, fields burnt, the planet dug full of holes by the terraformers.
Most of the First Farmers died, and the survivors fought long and hard to kill the machines
before any more damage could be done. Others will tell you about the Thresher War, or the
Great Uprooting, or the Battle That Burned the Air. The First Farmers won. The machines died.

6
So the Farmers looked on the wreck of their world, and thought, “what the hell do we do now?”
All the big machines were gone. Computer records were dying by the day; useful things to
know, just disappearing into static. Only thing seemed to be working was the gene-tech, but
custom babies couldn’t live off dirt and ice and ruined machines.

So the First Farmers did the only thing they could. They made the Odeonians. They made us.
The Storytellers. Proteins and strands, all bent and tweaked into a shape that could remember,
where the computers couldn’t. By the time they were done recording and telling their stories, the
First Farmers were old and dying, but the Odeonians had grown up.

And so we did what we were made to do. We told the old stories and learned from them. We
remembered the old machines and got them working again. We remembered how green the
planet had been, and helped it to grow back. Without machine-minds we fixed our home, and
lived in it, and came back to the stars one day. And here we are, still remembering.

There is no applause, just a quiet mutter of appreciation. The storyteller gives up his place by
the fire, and another takes over, launching into a great myth from Sparri. Starlight and firelight
illuminate the Great Theatre, which echoes with the soft thrum of voices. Around each fire a
storyteller. Around each fire, a story. And so the Everywhen grows.

Odeon As We Know It
Odeon is a prosperous and successful member of Union, a hub for the performing arts and oral
storytelling with a vast cultural reach. It is a popular tourist destination, a center for the
preservation and recollection of information thought lost, and a major producer of Omninet
programming, all into one. In short, it is one of the foundation stones on which what might be
called Union culture is built.

The System
A middle-aged blue-white giant in the Pleiades cluster, Celaeno is an unremarkable star of its
class, roughly four times the size of Sol. Its planetary system is equally unremarkable,
composed mostly of sparse asteroid fields. Two cold gas giants orbit at the edge of the system,
their frigid low-density atmospheres devoid of little of interest to anyone save the pilots of long-
haul fuel skimmer ships. Mamaragan and Namarrkon, as they are called, are visible from furth
in-system as bright blue-white stars, but few Odeonians give much thought to their stellar
system. To most they are just the Thunder Men, something to be learned about in childhood
and then ignored.

Even after millenia of settlement and space travel, the Celaenian system contains relatively little
human infrastructure. Small mining settlements dot the asteroid belts, and a few gargantuan
hydrogen/deuterium processing stations shriek through the upper atmospheres of the gas
giants, but there is frankly not enough of interest in the outer system for travellers to stop. The
stripped-down hulks of asteroid-redirect vessels that arrived with the Serpent are of mild
curiosity to historians, but for the most part Celaeno’s white glow illuminates a quiet system.

7
On the inner edge of Celaeno’s habitability belt sits a single rocky planet, one whose name has
echoed through the halls of Union for centuries; the Planet of Storytellers, Odeon.

The Planet
The result of almost 10,000 years of on-again, off-again terraforming, Odeon is a lush garden
planet with a surface gravity of 0.8g, a rich oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere, and several
moderately-sized saltwater inland seas. With a strong axial tilt, it demonstrates substantial
seasonal climactic variations, characterized by warm, wet summers and cold but extremely dry
winters, with a tendency towards extreme surface winds due to the planet’s somewhat exotic
geography.

Odeon is geologically stable and demonstrates little natural vulcanism, but its crust is riddled
with artificial tunnels and unnatural mineral deposits, the results of millenia of subsurface
terraforming and mining machinery run amok. The great bowl-shaped craters that dominate
much of the planet’s equator are a natural formation; the vast sinkholes, magmatic upwellings
and deep rift valleys that scar the planet’s surface are not.

The People
When speaking of Odeon’s roughly four billion inhabitants, it is vitally important to distinguish
between the major genetic divide that separates the planet’s population into two distinct groups:
offworlders and Storytellers. Culturally, Odeon has grown to incorporate elements from
hundreds of planets and thousands of backgrounds, but the distinction between those “baseline”
humans and those who carry the genetic programming of the First Odeonians in their veins is
absolute.

Storytellers
Several different templates for the Storyteller gene-patterns exist. They are passed on by
genetic inheritance; a child with at least one Storyteller parent or grandparent has a greater than
30% chance of being a Storyteller themselves. The pattern’s most obvious physical
manifestation is in the tall, slim build and tendency to hirsuteness of both male and female
Storytellers. More important for the planet’s culture is the innate eidetic and genetic memory it
enables.

All Storytellers are capable of near-perfect recall of any event they have experienced in their
lives from the moment of birth, though the sensory associations of these events vary from
person to person; some Storyteller families excel at recollecting visual patterns, for instance,
while there are others whose recall can only be triggered by certain smells or combinations of
taste.

Compounding this remarkable recall is the ability of Storytellers to, with a degree of practice and
deep meditation, encode information in their genetic coding directly which is then passed on to
subsequent generations. The degree to which this information can be actively accessed is one
of the more unstable and inconsistent of the Storyteller genetic advantages, and many
Storytellers may only experience inconsistent and fragmentary moments of genetic recall, albeit
ones which can be easily recounted and analysed. Those Storytellers with more stable and
consistent genetic recall can still easily and accurately recount the technical information,
terraforming data and historical records encoded into their ancestors thousands of years ago.

8
For all that the Storyteller strain is remarkably stable by the standards of ancient gene-modding,
it is not without its flaws. Storyteller brains are chemically much more active than their baseline
human counterparts, resulting in a vastly increased upkeep of the minerals dominant in many
common neurotransmitters; as a result, Odeonians are prone to suffer the negative
psychological side-effects of malnutrition much more easily than baseline humanity, and
prolonged malnutrition can cause lasting and chronic brain injuries. Additionally, the higher
chemical stressed placed on the amygdala and hippocampus means that, despite longstanding
planetary efforts to mitigate and treat these issues, rates of schizophrenia and temporal lobe
epilepsy among Storytellers are more than 500% higher than Union-wide averages.

Offworlders
Many feel that the term “Offworlder” is reductionist and derogatory, symptomatic of Odeon’s
backwards-looking culture. They point out that the planet has had a substantial non-Storyteller
population for dozens of generations, and that in many ways it is as cosmopolitan, or even more
so, than any other major Union world. Still, the term remains in common parlance, applied
broadly and generally without rancour to the inhabitants of other worlds that have chosen to
emigrate to Odeon.

Much of Odeon’s immigrant population is there on a temporary basis; long-stay tourism on the
planet is a major component of its economy. Those who visit Odeon most frequently arrive as
curious audience-members, keen to reconnect with the mythic pasts of their cultures, or the
uninitiated seeking out a lifestyle rooted in the kind of deliberate low-level primitivism that is less
common on Union’s more advanced planets. Still more remain as a kind of technical support
base, those who help in the creation, production and distribution of the planet’s massive media
exports.

Speaking Truth in Power

Perhaps the greatest obstacle to Odeon’s immigrant population is its notoriously complex and
Byzantine governmental system, an organisational side-effect of the planetary population’s
near-total destruction by terraforming run amok. On paper, Odeon is a corporatist direct
democracy with a strong emphasis on appointment by popular acclamation. Individual family
dynasties form broader, decentralised tribal/corporatist power structures possessing control
over industries and social services, whose strategic planning is governed by small councils
based on direct input from the whole membership of the corporation. The collected
representatives of these individual corporations, in combination with a planetary system of
acclamation, elect members of the World Council, which bears final executive decisions on
matters of planetary trade policy and civil stability.

In practice, Odeon’s government has been described as a “high-functioning anarchy”, a power

structure so replete with delegated and decentralized responsibilities that determining who is
actually in charge of any one corporation, municipal council or social organization is borderline
impossible. The World Council is almost certainly a figurehead group, with its actual powers
fluctuating wildly depending on its size and composition, both of which change regularly as new
members resign, are voted out, or acclaimed to the position.

9
Small numbers of offworlders have entered Odeonian politics and thrived, but they are the rare
exception; it is a generally accepted fact that one needs to be a Storyteller just to be able to
remember and understand the extraordinarily labyrinthine structures of influence, social
standing and pre-Union legal dogma that actually form what passes for a planetary government.

Odeon and Union

The Odeonian government made contact with the Union Administrative Department during the
first First Expansion Period, in roughly 2600u. The history of the legal wrangling and intensely
prolonged negotiations that led to the planet joining Union by the early 2700s is relatively
unremarkable, and for much of its history Odeon was a productive member of wider FirstComm,
SecComm and ThirdComm society.

Odeon’s ultra-traditionalist society integrated well into SecComm’s ideological framework, and
the planet’s long memory has left a lingering stain of anthrochauvinism on Odeonian culture.
Simply put, the vast majority of the planet’s population agreed with the methods and goals of the
SecComm. Odeon was not particularly active in the civil conflict that led to the foundation of
ThirdComm, but its legacy as a former anthrochauvinist hardliner, and continued exclusionist
stance towards NHPS, has led many of Union’s more progressive elites to regard the planet as
a dinosaur, a culture that follows the Pillars while still not being entirely aligned with correct or
just cultural ideals.

For all of this tension, Odeon remains one of the few worlds in the known galaxy whose entire
culture and way of life are officially considered Union Protected Cultural Heritage. This
designation, usually reserved for cultural or historical traditions with a longstanding influence,
means that the Odeonians are largely free to go about their business unhindered by overt
corpro-state or DoJ meddling. In exchange, the planet and its population have largely committed
wholesale to what made them Cultural Heritage; preserving pre-Fall stories, art, oral traditions
and other information that is otherwise inaccessible or lost elsewhere in the Human Diaspora.

A Struggle for Memory

In 5016u, Odeon is wracked by the early stages of what might be deemed an inter-corporate
cold war, or perhaps a proxy conflict, though few of its inhabitants are even remotely aware that
anything more serious than a pirate suppression campaign is underway.

5010u, First Quarter: Three tourist liners passing the orbits of the Thunder Men report being
tailed by unidentified vessels. Passengers on all three ships experience severe headaches,
nausea and mood swings which persist until the arrival of Celaeno System Patrol (CSP) craft.

5010u, Second Quarter: The Hellshakers conduct a successful tour of Odeon, playing 7 major
concerts which attract in excess of 3 million attendees. Recordings in a variety of formats
become popular Omninet products. The band’s managerial holding company, Torshun Audio,
establishes a series of distribution agreements with several Odeonian media groups, including
the Rose Garden Family and WordGuild.

10
5010u, Second Quarter: More than 45 pirate raids, information breaches and vessel
shadowings are reported to the CSP, the highest in Odeon’s recorded history. CSP receives a
greater remit from the World Council to conduct anti-piracy operations.

5010u, Fourth Quarter: Despite the mass escalation of CSP activities, the Planetary Visitations
superliner Spirit of Joy is scuttled by unknown assailants. Nearly 200 of the ships’ 5000-strong
passenger complement are never recovered, and survivors provide vague and inconsistent
stories of what actually led to the Joy’s reactor destabilising.

5011-5015u: Rose Garden Family announces an official merger with WordGuild, as well as the
acquisition of oversight rights with more than two dozen minor Odeonian-owned corporatist
entities.

5011u, First Quarter: Supported by strong lobbyist activity from the League of Concerned
Citizens, several defense-minded candidates are elected to the World Council on platforms
involving increased funding for civil defense and anti-piracy initiatives.

5011u, Third Quarter: CSP craft are assisted in pirate-hunting operations by various private
fleet assets belonging to the Pallbearers Private Military Corporation. Though PPMC operations
are approved by the newly-reformed World Council, the exact source of the funds provided by
the League of Concerned Citizens to employ them is never clearly established.

5012u, Second Quarter: The Hellshakers return on a new leg of their ongoing multi-system
tour. Controversially, several of their concerts include dramatic setpieces reenacting
engagements between the CSP and pirate forces in the previous two years. When prompted for
an explanation, band sources state that the intent was to keep the performance “fresh, impactful
and close to home.”

5013u, First Quarter: Tragedy strikes the Rose Garden Family as an accident aboard a near-
light freighter convoy results in the death of more than 150 company personnel and their
families, as well as the loss of nearly 100,000 manna worth of company computer equipment,
financial records and spacecraft. Disaster recovery efforts are hampered by the inexplicable
destruction or absence of black-box flight recorder units on the ships affected by the accident.
The exact cause of the incident remains unclear.

5013u, Second Quarter: CSP presses their advantage against the pirates, with the assistance
of the recently-arrived private security vessel PPMCS Mortuum’s Rest. The PPMC’s contract is
renewed and expanded by a near-unanimous vote from the World Council.

5014u, Fourth Quarter: After nearly a year without pirate activity, CSP and PPMC forces
engage in a week-long series of skirmishes with heavily-armed pirates in the asteroid belts near
Odeon itself. A series of inexplicable fires and accidents at several of the planet’s main data
centers during the conflict are hushed up by the World Council. Conspiracy theorists claim to
have seen unidentified offworld ground forces present in all cases.

11
5015u, First Quarter: A series of major earthquakes and resultant ground collapses, floods and
landslides cause substantial damage to communications infrastructure in several of Odeon’s
most sparsely-inhabited equatorial provinces. PPMC forces deploy planetside for the first time
to assist in lifesaving and security efforts.

5015u, Second Quarter: Rose Garden Family, with the financial backing of Torshun Audio,
conducts a semi-hostile takeover of Perriman-Wu, an Omninet infrastructure company providing
connectivity services to nearly 40% of Odeon’s population. Several members of Perriman-Wu’s
board of directors leave the planet soon afterwards.

5015u, Third Quarter: Fans of Lovely Lightning are delighted when a series of sightings of
band frontwomen Destinée Thunderbolt and Kawaii Kowaii escalate into a two-month-long
stretch of flash mob-style street concerts, widely distributed and broadcast on all Perriman-Wu
subsidiaries.

5015u, Fourth Quarter: Citing continued civil unrest and the breakdown of communications
infrastructure in the equatorial provinces, the World Council renews PPMC’s contract a second
time.

12
Pallbearers Private Military Corporation
“Through Flesh and Steel we Prove Ourselves”

The influence of the Big 4 can be as beneficial to a planet as it can be smothering. Smaller non-
state actors looking to establish themselves on the galactic scale either perish from attrition or
“acquired” by larger corpro-states. In the realm of private militaries the Mirrorsmoke Mercenary
Company presents a similar threat. Their holistic “no contract too big/small” approach bars smaller
PMCs from developing a niche through simple occlusion. In the face of these titans of industry
and war, long-term establishment of a private corporation in either domain is challenging at the
best of times.

This was the situation the militaristic peoples of the three Pallbearer worlds found themselves in.
The Hoptanti, Conrubo and Minleath peoples were independent societies making their way
through mixed mercenary work and licensing, and each was on the verge of being consolidated
into larger corporations. In the face of overwhelming competition these three turned to the only
thing that could keep them independent: each other. Documents were signed, hands were shook,
and the Pallbearer worlds relaunched themselves under the umbrella of the PPMC.

Although unified on paper, the Conrubo, Hoptanti, and Minleath are not joined at the hip. Each
house has their own designs and vision for the company and its three member worlds. These
visions are frequently contradictory or actively opposed to each other, and the political structure
of the Company shifts and evolves as the fortunes of the Three Worlds rise and fall. To date, none
of them have come to wholly dominate the company, but that may change.

United In Death
Despite the vast cultural differences between the three Pallbearer member planets, they remain
united by a single focal point, namely their shared belief in ancestor-worship through high
technology. Though the exact origin of this cultural practice is unclear, it is generally attributed

13
to some common colonial ancestor of the three planets which has held over despite generations
of cultural, genetic and ideological drift between them. Some of the oldest recorded electronic
media on all three Pallbearer worlds are remembrances of the dead or dying, and what began
as a tradition of recording the thoughts and memories of the departed has escalated into full-
scale attempts to reconstruct their great historical figures.

The extent to which any Pallbearer’s personality is preserved after death is largely dependent
both on the success of their career in their field of choice and the personal willingness of their
friends and relatives to construct such a record. Most families from the Three Worlds maintain a
Circle of ancestors, effectively a simple non-sentient comp/conn unit which can assume an
approximation of any one of dozens of different recorded ancestors by analyzing their collected
speech, writings and personality profiles.

Detailed non-sentient reconstructions of truly notable figures can be accessed via the Omninet,
both as sources of guidance and advice but also in ceremonies commemorating or honouring
their past deeds. Only the most successful of these figures earn a place, however temporary, in
the truly bizarre governing body that forms the core of the Pallbearers.

The Circle of 12
Most who work with PPMC are aware of their near-obsession with consulting simulacra of the
dead for wisdom or tactical acumen, but do not grasp to the depth to which that obsession
extends. Much of the governance of the company is conducted based on orders and
suggestions from the Circle of Twelve , a collection of a dozen simulacra of the Company’s most
experienced and successful former pilots and combat personnel. The exact composition of the
Twelve varies with time, and personalities are “inducted” or “retired” from it as the Company
undergoes losses or new heroes rise through the ranks. The only constant is a utilitarian one,
namely that resources previously allocated to a “retired” personality should instead be retasked
towards newcomers, ensuring that no personality joins the Twelve a second time.

Advice provided by the consensus of these simulacra is not absolute, but is heavily weighted in
the long-term strategic and short-term tactical management of PPMC and its military operations.
If Company staff are cagey about the exact nature and influence of the Twelve it is for good
reason, as the technology used to generate its members toes the line, and in several areas
greatly exceeds, the boundaries for decorporation technology established by Union.

14
Apsara Zaibatsu
“Our Song is in Your Heart”
In a galaxy without want and scarcity, humans often define themselves in relation to the media
they consume. Society forms naturally into cliques, fandoms and enthusiast’s groups, all
seeking media that will bring them joy, fulfilment, emotional release or entertainment. In a
galaxy without want and scarcity, the multimedia conglomerate is king.

The origins of the Zaibatsu are lost to time and deliberate corporate obfuscation. The scale of
the Zaibatsu is equally vague; it is probably Union’s third largest Omninet multimedia licensing
and distribution firm, but it is composed of so many holding companies, permanent contractors,
franchisees and independent working groups as to be effectively limitless. Apsara’s hundreds of
departments produce a substantial percentage of the film, theatre, visual art and literature
consumed by Union’s vast Omninet-connected population, but it is music that has come to
dominate their interests.

Some artists choose to sell out to The Man. Many sell out to the Zaibatsu long before they
realise what they have done. The organization is predatory in a uniquely compassionate way;
the musicians in their employ will enjoy success proportionate to their talent, skills, and appeal.
They will be supported and coddled. They will “make it.” All they must repay the company is a
not-unreasonable cut of the profits, and the permanent rights to their identities.

15
Sign Your Way to Success!
It is a poorly-kept secret that Apsara Zaibatsu is a firm with its finger in a great many pies, many
of them wholly unrelated to music and art distribution. It is an equally poorly-kept secret that
performers who join with them are frequently required to sign away everything, down to the
information contained in their genetic code. These agreements are deeply intrusive, and tend to
include punishing non-compete clauses that some critics compare to indentured servitude to the
company. That the cage is plush, gilded and in the spotlight shouldn’t matter to the songbird
inside, or so they say.

What is less well-understood is that the Zaibatsu’s true interest lies not in controlling the arts,
but in advertising. The company’s data storage vaults are truly cosmic in scope, their algorithms
for predicting consumer success as deep and cold as Cradle’s oceans. This is, partially, the key
to their success; the Zaibatsu has acquired the data of generations of popular artists and
musicians, and used it to target the creations of new artists to their markets with perfect
accuracy. The Zaibatsu is willing to market to the smallest of niches, and will do so ruthlessly.

Perhaps the most literal expression of the Zaibatsu’s single-minded obsession with targeted
advertising is also one of their most infamous technical innovations; the mood effector, infamous
across Union as “the mind-control ray.”

Mood Effectors and You!

Several of Union’s largest rights organizations have been trying to litigate the mood effector out
of existence for nigh-on a century. The technology is morally questionable, they say. It is a
breach of basic human rights. It is likely derived from illegal research into Metavault-derived
technology. All of this may or may not be true, but what is certain is that the Zaibatsu’s gigantic
legal department has succeeded in keeping such challenges delayed, sidetracked or bogged
down in red tape, and seem set to continue doing so basically indefinitely.

The Zaibatsu will admit that mood effector technology uses carefully modulated electromagnetic
waves to subtly alter the chemistry of the emotional centers of the human brain, and can thus
inhibit, enhance or induce strong emotional reactions. They also freely admit that this
technology can be used to “read” emotional patterns from a human mind at a distance, and that
mood effectors at high enough intensity can induce lethal brain injury. What the company
steadfastly refuses to admit is just how widespread the use of the technology is, or what it is
used for. When you listen to an album produced by a Zaibatsu subsidiary, is the joy you feel
real, some wonder. Is it a manufactured product? If it feels the same as the real thing, does it
matter?

The Zaibatsu controls the secret to mood effector technology jealously, primarily through the
usage of a quantum-encrypted rights-management control system hardwired directly into every
effector the company produces. Attempting to copy or reverse-engineer these systems tends to
end in failure, or a visit from the paralegals of the Zaibatsu’s Licensing Department, or both.
Whatever effectors are, they see their most visible expression in the Zaibatsu’s large fleet of
mech platforms.

16
Dance through the Danger in your New Best Friend!
Performative mech use was not invented by Apsara, nor do they hold the monopoly on the
concept. Still, the group is well known for its extensive promotion of performative Lancer groups,
from the pop-rock spectacle of Lovely Lightning, the crowdpleasing musicality of The
Hellshakers, or the disturbing avant-garde “meta-art” of the Karrakin Amateur Theatrical
Society.

Apsara markets a small but polished range of entirely humanoid mecha, with a dedication to the
mimicry of the human form or its approximation that verges on anthrochauvinist. Many are dual-
purpose frames, intended as much for making a performer literally larger than life on a stage as
they are as combat, utility or exploration vehicles. All incorporate extensive and powerful sound
systems, usually based on phononically-energized plasma technologies. Most use mood
effectors in some capacity. All tend to be elegant, brightly-coloured, and visually spectacular.
Whether on stage or the firing line, AZAI mechs are backed by extensive quality-control
guarantees, the usual intrusive data-sharing agreements, and a tech support service that is
second to none.

The Ultimate Roadies, Here for You!

Apsara has long maintained a remarkably decentralized corporate structure; they maintain few
permanent planetary holdings, and certainly nothing like a central corporate office. That the
company’s administration is mobile and based on spacecraft is certain, but the exact size and
nature of the Zaibatsu fleet is, naturally, nebulous. The company has made it clear that it places
a high importance on keeping a close watch on its performers, and that technical support should
never, ever be too far away, no matter where in the galaxy it might be needed.

In practical terms, the “AZAI Boogeyman'' is very much real. Zaibatsu ships have a tendency to
show up in unexpected places at unexpected times, often bringing with them “surprise concert
tours'' as cover for other, less overt corporate actions. A pilot or performer who has licensed
equipment from the Zaibatsu does not do so in a vacuum. They will nearly always find the
company disturbingly well-informed about their whereabouts and plans, and willing to step in
with one of their massive blink-capable Concert Support Vessels to ensure that the show goes
on.

The company’s track record is clear; it does not exist to win wars, or overthrow planetary
governments, or save the lives of its employees if they get themselves into excessive danger.
The Zaibatsu exists to market, distribute and sell media, and will use its vast resources to that
end. Everything else is just good PR.

17
Mech Combat in the Everywhen
The Field Guide to Odeon features a wealth of new mechs, representatives of the Big Four as
well as the diverse fleets of the Pallbearers and Apsara Zaibatsu.

New Tag: Rhythm

You gain a Beat Die: 1d6 starting at 1. At the start of each round after the first in any scene,
increase the value of your Beat Die by 1, resetting from 6 back to 1 if it would increase from 6.
The Beat Die resets to 1 at the start of each scene. If you would gain Beat Dice from multiple
sources, use one Beat Die to track all of them.

New Condition: Entranced

A character that is Entranced does not benefit from its H.A.S.E stats for the purposes of making
Checks or Saves.

New Talents
While the following are intended to specifically synergize well with PPMC and AZAI mechs and
systems, they are not manufacturer or homeworld-specific.

Raider
When you step onto the battlefield both allies and enemies quake at your footsteps.
They whisper that you’re unhinged. Berserk. Maybe they’re right, but who the hell
cares about them? You drown the chaff out in the haze of adrenaline, bloodlust, and
the screeching mechanical fury of your war machine.
Forward unto death Raider.
1. Blood in the Water
Oncer per turn, whenever a character in your Line of Sight is critically hit you may slide two
spaces as a reaction so long as this movement takes the closest route possible towards the
character that was critically hit.

2. Henbane Eater
Gain the Henbane Eater Reaction:
Trigger: You make an attack, save, or check.
Effect: You may make the triggering attack, save, or check with +2 accuracy but become slowed
and impaired until the beginning of your next turn.

3. Hamask
As a Protocol you may whip yourself into a frenzy until the beginning of your next turn. Until the
beginning of your next turn and the first time in a round you take damage from a source other

18
than yourself you must make a melee attack against a random adjacent - hostile or allied -
character. On hit you deal 1d3+1 AP Kinetic damage to your target.
You may frenzy any number of times equal to your grit per scene.

Performer
There’s a galaxy full of pilots out there, but none of them make fighting in a
mechanized chassis look as good as you do. Where others would dive out of the way,
you dodge with a single step just to feel the pressure of ordinance harmlessly
sailing by. Sure, all the galaxy may be a stage but you’re the one who makes sure
that no one forgets it. Dancing through danger as you belt out power chords, you’re a
force in combat that no one can keep their eyes off of.

1. Head Games
Whenever you roll an 18 or higher when making a save, the character that forced the save, or
owns the system that forced the save, becomes Entranced and Slowed until the end of their
next turn.

2. Presence
Whenever you would trigger Head Games, you may impose Entranced and Slowed on any
character within Line Of Sight instead of the one that forced the Save. Additionally, these
conditions may not be cleared by NPC Traits or Systems.

3. Making this Look Easy

Whenever you succeed on a Save or a Check, the next Save or Check you make is made at +1
Accuracy.

19
Pallbearers
Endless generations of conflict between the Three Worlds and their neighbours has led to a
huge range of schools of military thought among the Pallbearer member planets. The military
industrial output of the Conrubo, Minleath and Hoptanti is as varied as the citizens of those
planets themselves, but generally follows their shared meta-traditions. In practical terms, this
manifests in mechs which are practical, offensively-oriented, and which scrape every last
possible iota of performance out of their technology.

Pallbearer mechs exist to fight and to win, plain and simple. Their exotic reactor technology and
emphasis on mobility and versatile weapons systems encourage aggressiveness, positioning
and fighting on the edge, sacrificing everything for victory.

Pallbearers Core Bonuses

Pallbearer Core Bonuses are a personal affair. Taking notes from SSC, these bonuses are
pieces of hardware, optimization, or even specialized training that are designed and curated to a
single pilot. In combat, these boons are centered around improving combat efficiency and
helping Lancers to re-frame opportunities in the Battlefield.
You must have at least three License Levels with the Pallbearers to take a bonus from this list,
and another 3 levels for each additional bonus after that.

BALEYG OCULAR IMPLANT

“Call us archaic if you will, but we believe that nothing should be without cost,
knowledge most of all. So, let’s see how long you can stand the burn of an
unventilated microcomputer in your skull”
One of your pilot’s eyes is replaced with a powerful microcomputer. Although the pilot no longer
has binocular vision, you may Scan or Lock On to a target as a Protocol any number of times
equal to half of your Grit/mission.

ADVANCED MECHANISED CHASSIS SQUAD TRAINING

“Hoptanti, how can you and your little axes hope to deal with those who can fly so
high above you?”
“By not being alone.”
Gain access to the A Leg Up reaction:
1/round as a reaction to a willing, and ungrappled allied character of the same size or smaller
becoming adjacent to you, you may throw that character 5 spaces in any direction provided it is
in a straight line ignoring restrictions on lifting or dragging. This movement counts as jumping
but does not trigger engagement or reactions. Your targeted ally character cannot take fall
damage as a part of this movement unless they wish to do so.

PAIN IS POWER

20
“It's a little volatile, but by interweaving specialized pressure plates beneath a
frame’s armor we could use the kinetic energy created following hits on plate to
power secondary, repair-oriented processes. Although knowing you, you’ll just ask me
to turn this into something that lets our pilots fight longer anyway.”
Gain an Overrule Die, a d20 starting at 5. Whenever you take damage from an enemy, tick up
the Overrule Die by the amount of damage incurred after reductions. When the die reaches 20
you may expend all of its charges as a Free Action or as a Reaction to gaining a condition,
resetting it to 5 and clearing one condition from yourself so long as it wasn’t imposed by your
talents, systems, or weapons. The charges within the Overrule Die remain between scenes but
are reset on a Full Repair.

INHUMATION
“This is not a matter of breaking electronic security or the physical defences of a
combatant; it is a matter of breaking their identity. They must hold onto whatever
grounds them or become as clay to our hands”
Gain access to the Inhume Protocol.
Inhume:
3/scene, Protocol
As a Protocol you may force 1 enemy character within Line of Sight and Sensors to make a
H.A.S.E Save of their choice or have the Biological tag added or removed from them. This effect
ends when they succeed on a H.A.S.E save of their choice as a Full Action. If your target had
any heat when the Biological tag was added, they immediately clear it but become Impaired.
Only 1 character may suffer the Inhume’s effects at a time.
This Protocol may only be taken 3/scene and observes restrictions on non-repeatable free
actions.

BLINKSPACE ARSENAL
A product of Minleath “appropriation” and Conrubo R&D, the BlinkSpace arsenal is a
two-way blink beacon able to ferry replacement weaponry to and from a mechanised
chassis.
You gain access to a Flex and a Heavy mount. Weapons attached to these bonus mounts may
not be used to make attacks in any way (including through reactions), are not valid targets for
system trauma, do not interact with any frame traits or systems other than modifications, and
you may not mount duplicates of Heavy weapons. Upon the destruction of one of your non-
integrated weapons, you may swap it out for one of those mounted onto the mounts granted by
this Core Bonus. This swap observes weapon mount rules and cannot be used to attach
weapons to mounts that cannot accommodate them (e.g., attaching aux/aux on a main mount or
a Heavy on a flex mount). If a mounted superheavy weapon is destroyed, you may swap out
two weapons instead of one when using this Core Bonus.
Additionally, when resting you may freely swap weapons between these bonus mounts and your
regular ones

21
EXPANDED SENSORY SUITE
“Lesser Sight? No, I am not going to teach you how to see, for your eyes may be
deceived. I will teach you to notice the displacement air and chaff that shrouds
those invisible to the naked eye like a second skin, to hear the footfalls of those
that think themselves imperceptible, to perceive the subtle shift of stone and cover
that betrays those cowering behind it. I will teach you to feel the world anew.”
Attacks against those benefiting from cover gain +1 Accuracy. Additionally, during your turn, you
ignore Invisible for all enemy characters within Range 5.

22
 Oseberg
Striker

The Oseberg, a product of Hoptanti R&D, is the Pallbearer’s

catch-all shock trooper chassis. Thriving in the high risk
engagements in which it is most commonly found, the Osberg excels
at adapting to, and focusing down a single target with brutal
close quarters combat. One-on-one combat with this Pallbearer
frame should be avoided at all costs.

Licensing of the Oseberg is currently under strict regulation

from Union officials; in part, due to trace similarities between
it and Horus PGs, and in part due to its man-machine interface
toeing the line of existing regulations on DeCorp technology.
According to Union informants, a previous iteration of the
Oseberg - the “Lytta” - dived much deeper into these qualities
than the current, marketed version.

23
CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM:
Size: 1 Save Target: 10
Armor: 0 Sensors: 5
Hyper-Adaptive Stimulation Suite
HULL SYSTEMS The Hyper Adaptive Stim Suite escalates and
HP: 10 E-Defense: 6 accelerates the plastic qualities of a
Repair Cap: 4 Tech Attack: -2 Pilot's muscular and nervous system. At peak
AGILITY SP: 6 HASS activity, the composition of Pilot and
Evasion: 10 ENGINEERING Frame becomes wholly mutable, adjusting
Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 5 their muscle density, reflexes, and neural
TRAITS makeup as the situation demands. The cost
for this adaptability is the blending of the
OPEN YOUR VEINS line between Pilot and Frame. As the two
become more integrated a sudden separation
1/round the Oseberg may negate any net of either can have catastrophic
Difficulty on a single Quick Action, Full consequences.
Action, Save, or Check. This negation
occurs after any sources of Accuracy or Forward Unto Death
Difficulty have canceled each other out. Passive, Free Action
At the start of every Scene you gain the Mania Die, a d6
starting at 2. The die ticks up by 1 when you:
FLUID MOVEMENT • Are hit by an attack or are damaged by an NPC’s
The Oseberg is not affected by Difficult system or trait
Terrain and all attacks that are made as a • Make a critical hit.
Reaction against it must do so with +1 • Reduce an NPC’s HP to 0
Each option can only increase the Mania Die 1/round
difficulty.
independently.

Whenever the Mania Die is at 6 you may, 1/round as a

Free Action, gain one of the bonuses listed below. Once a
Bonus is selected, the Mania Die ticks down by 2 at the
HEAVY NEUROCOMPUTATIONAL end of your turns. These bonuses end when the Mania Die
INTEGRATION would drop to 0 whereupon it resets to 1, a new bonus is
selected, or it is cancelled as a Protocol.
When either Ejecting or Dismounting
from the Oseberg its pilot is Stunned or Speed: You are immune to Slowed & Immobilized so
impaired respectively until the end of the long as they weren't imposed by your own systems,
scene. talents, Weapons, or due to a Grapple and 1/round you
may Boost as a Free Action.
MOUNTS Momentum: Whenever you Ram or Grapple a target you
always count as the largest character. Your Rams deal 3
Kinetic and Knockback 3 on hit and whenever you end a
FLEX HEAVY AUX/ Grapple you may knock your Grapple target back by 5
MOUNT MOUNT AUX spaces as per the Knockback tag.

Violence: Whenever you Barrage you may attack with a

single non-superheavy weapon as a Free Action dealing
half damage upon hit.

If the Oseberg is destroyed while benefiting from one of

these bonuses or the Mania die is at 6 its pilot becomes
Down and Out.

24
 Active: Nail in Your Own Coffin
(1 CP), Protocol
The Mania Die is immediately ticked up to 6 and for the
remainder of the scene points allotted to the Mania Die are
doubled. You gain access to the Explosive Hypertrophy
& Expanded Cognition Mania bonuses.

Explosive Hypertrophy: the Oseberg is Slowed but

gains +2 armor (up to a maximum of 4) and all melee
attacks gain the Overkill tag.

Expanded Cognition: Your E-defense and Evasion

values Swap and when you take the Lock On Quick
Tech Action you may Scan your target as a Free
Action.

LICENSE I: REDLINE CARBINE, RIPJAW TOMAHAWK

Redline Carbine
Main Rifle, 1 SP
[8 Range] [1d6+1 Explosive Damage]
Use of this weapon cannot trigger reactions.

Custom designed by Hoptanti R&D to be lightweight and mobile without sacrificing

stopping power, the Redline Carbine is the epitome of ranged hit-and-run combat.
Despite having only recently come on the galactic market, the Redline has already
attracted attention from both Ungrateful cells in the Dawnline Shore and Union
Officials alike.

Ripjaw Tomahawk
Auxiliary Melee, Thrown 8, Overkill
[1 threat] [1d3 Kinetic Damage]
When thrown, you ignore the first point of heat this weapon generates through the Overkill tag.

A hallmark of Oseberg frames, the Ripjaw is crafted using High-Speed crucible

forged steel and a weighted lead head to help stabilise its flight when thrown.
Although less reliable than small scale GMS edged weapons in melee, the Ripjaw
excels when used as a projectile.

LICENSE II: OSEBERG FRAME, COLD CORE COFFIN, COGNITIVE & PERCEPTUAL
NARROWING SUITE

25
Cold Core Coffin
Heavy Melee,
[2 threat] [2d6 Kinetic Damage]
During a turn in which you've used this weapon you may, as a Free Action, place a Size 1 piece of
indestructible Hard Cover in a free adjacent space. This piece of cover moves with you during
voluntary or involuntary movement, impeding you should it move into a space that cannot
accommodate it. This Hard Cover expires at the beginning of your next turn.

Little more than a mechanized-chassis scale coffin attached to chain the CCC
confused buyers at first. They wondered what utility such an unwieldy weapon could
offer in an era of railguns and tachyon-lances. But what the CCC offered was not
shock and awe but survivability. Its bulk, while enough to pulp most hardsuits hit
by it, doubles as a shield sturdy enough to turn all but the most lethal of blows.

Cognitive & Perceptual Narrowing Suite

3 SP, Unique, Protocol
As a Protocol you may Hyperfixiate, choosing a single target within line of sight and range 15. All your
attacks against it gain +1 Accuracy, while attacks against any other targets take +1 Difficulty. The target
takes +1 Difficulty to hit you. Additionally, 1/round your target takes +1d6 Bonus damage from critical
hits you inflict. While this Protocol is active, attacks against you by non-targeted mechs gain +1
Accuracy. This effect ends when the target is destroyed, whereupon you may select a new target with
this system as a Free Action, or when the scene ends.
By taking advantage of a two-way neural bridge between pilot and mech frame, the
CPNS narrows what sensory information received by a pilot’s brain encouraging a
state of unbreakable focus.
“in this state Nothing matters but the target in front of you. How can you hurt
them, crush them, eat them alive? Make it feel all that you feel and watch the
thing break under the gravity of your focus.”

LICENSE III: NEUROLOGICAL FAILSAFES. PROMETHEUS SHEATH

Neurocognitive Failsafes
2 SP, Unique
You gain the Silence the Voices reaction.
Reaction: Silence the Voices
1/round, Limited (2)
Trigger: A tech attack is made against you. This Reaction must be made before the tech attack roll is
resolved.
Effect: You take 3 Irreducible Kinetic damage and become Impaired until the end of your next turn.
but ignore all effects from the tech attack.
“You realize that the Lytta won’t work right? Its Neural integration is too much,
too quickly. Candidate’s minds and ontology will break unless they find something
to dampen the new sensations flooding into their nervous systems.”

26
 Prometheus Sheath
2 SP, Mod, Protocol, Unique
Choose a Melee weapon to apply this mod to.
As a Protocol, a pilot may draw their modified weapon from the Prometheus sheath and ignite it. In this
state the weapon now does Energy damage and +3 bonus Burn damage on a hit until the start of your
next turn. However, the act of drawing this weapon deals 1 Burn to the mech frame itself. If you are
immune to burn when taking this Protocol you take 1 AP Energy damage instead.

Built by the Hoptanti following their escape from their home system, The Prometheus
Sheath serves as a symbol of both their exodus and of the first lesson taught to
new pilots of the Hoptanti: “To inflict pain one must know it first”.

27
 Kurgan
Defender/Controller

As the only defence oriented frame in the Pallbearer’s marketed

chassis, the Kurgan is a slight oddity. While Pallbearer Frames
tend towards aggressive tactics and high risk-reward systems, the
Kurgan was built to passively defend and suppress.

The Kurgan is reportedly a product of Hoptanti R&D, a little

believed fact given that their first marketed frame - the
Oseberg- is the most aggressive member of the Pallbearer’s
Mechanized chassis. Speculation suggests that the Kurgan reflects
both a societal shift in the Hoptanti and an attempt to create a
more marketable and less volatile frame.

28
CORE STATS CORE POWER
Size: 2 Save Target: 10
Armor: 2 Sensors: 7
D.R.G.N Killer Sonic
HULL SYSTEMS Destabilisation Suite
HP: 8 E-Defense: 8
Repair Cap: 5 Tech Attack: +0 “It begins subtly. A slight tremor in
AGILITY SP: 7 your arms, nothing indistinguishable from
Evasion: 6 ENGINEERING battle jitters really. Wait a little
Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 4 longer and you’ll begin to feel the
shakes in your teeth and skull. Tempt
TRAITS fate a little more and the tremors of
your hands and legs will become
GUARDIAN
indistinguishable from the convulsing 5
Adjacent allies may use the Kurgan as Hard inches of metal that once protected you.
Cover. And after that, it will stand above your
seizing form; a goliath with a rose on
its shoulder here to end your suffering.”
INTIMIDATION
OPEN ICHNEUMON’S GAZE
1/round as a Reaction to an enemy in line of Active (1 CP), Protocol
sight damaging either the Kurgan or an ally
benefiting from the Kurgan’s Guardian Trait Until the end of the Scene, gain the following Full
with an attack, you may force the attacker to Action.
make all attack rolls during their next Skirmish
or Barrage with +1 difficulty. Select one enemy within Line of Sight.
Whenever they begin their turn within Line of
Sight of the Kurgan, or they suffer from the
effects of its Intimidation trait, your target takes a
ECHOLOCATION SUITE stacking -2 to all of their attack rolls. This effect
The Kurgan makes rolls to Search for Hidden can continue to stack up to a maximum of -6 and
targets with +1 Accuracy and ignores the lasts until the end of the Scene, the target
Invisible status of enemies within sensor Stabilises to reset the stack, the target Dies, or a
range during its turn. new target is selected as a Full Action.

MOUNTS

MAIN HEAVY
MOUNT MOUNT

29
LICENSE I: IMPAIRMENT ACCENTUATOR, STAPES SMG

Stapes Submachine Gun

Auxiliary Rifle, Loading
[8 Range] [1d3 Explosive Damage]
This weapon does not need to be reloaded when fired normally.
On Hit: You may make a secondary attack against the same or a different target as a Free Action.
This attack unloads the weapon and may not benefit from Bonus Damage.

The first of the three pieces of weaponry named after the Ossicles licensed
alongside the Kurgan, the Stapes SMG is a compact sub-caliber machine gun sporting
a variable firing rate letting pilots put more rounds down range at the cost of
exceeding the capabilities of auto-loading subroutines.

Impairment Accentuator
3 SP, Reaction
You gain access to the Kick’em While They’re Down Reaction

Kick’em While They're Down

Reaction, 1/round, Tags
Trigger: An enemy within Line of Sight and Sensors gains the Impaired or Slowed condition with a set
turn duration.
Effect: The target remains Impaired or Slowed for 1 turn longer than specified and gains the
Oppression Mark, rendering it unable to clear either Impaired or Slowed through NPC traits or systems.
The target may clear its Oppression Mark either through hitting you with an attack or by waiting until it
is no longer Impaired or Slowed.
The computational resources of many mech frames are multimodal, which is to say
every single little process is not handled by their own separate processor but by a
single system with a finite capacity. The Impairment Accentuator takes advantage of
this by exploiting the chink in the armor of auditory dampening routines exposed
during rerouted resources in response to sudden impairment. The result: eardrum-
rupturing atonal noise localised to a pilot’s cockpit.

LICENSE II: KURGAN FRAME, CONCUSSIVE MAUL, ECHOLOCATION BEACON

Malleus Maul
Main Melee
[2 Threat] [1d6+1 Kinetic]
On Crit: Your target Is Impaired until the end of their next turn.

The second of the Pallbearer’s ossicle weapon line, the M.M takes inspiration from
its naming. A specialised head on the haft of the maul helps to deliver percussive

30
force strong enough to ring heads even when sheltered by a mechanised chassis of
order 3.

Echolocation Beacon
3 SP, Deployable, Quick Action, Limited (3)
As a Quick Action you may expend a charge from this system to deploy the echolocation Beacon in a
free space within Range 5 and Line of Sight. Enemies within Burst 2 of the Beacon count as being within
Line of Sight of all allied characters and do not benefit from Invisibility. Once deployed, you may
overclock the beacon as a Quick Action, applying Lock On to all enemies within its AOE. This action
destroys the beacon.

Echolocation Beacon
Size 1/2, Armor 0, HP: 5 Evasion: 5 E-defence: 5

The Echolocation Beacon takes advantage of the underutilised modality of acoustics

to supplement target detection and IFF.

LICENSE III: MK5 INCUS CANNON, TREMOR RESONANCE

Incus MK5 Cannon

Superheavy Cannon, AP, Knockback 4
[Cone 3] [2d6+3 Explosive]
If your target collides with a piece of terrain or deployable as a result of the MK5’s Knockback the
obstruction takes 10 AP Kinetic. If this is enough to destroy it, your target passes through unhindered
but takes an additional 1d3 Kinetic for every object it passes through.

The final member in the Pallbearer’s ossicle weaponry line, the Incus is designed
to deliver a violent explosion of low-frequency sound waves. Although its “payload”
is only effective at close range due to how sound propagates, it is enough to send
even the most grounded of Frames flying.

Tremor Resonance
3 SP, Full Action
Select one target within Line of Sight and Sensors. Your mech begins overtly profiling the composition
of your target to find the frequencies at which its components will resonate. As a Protocol on your next
turn, you may take 2 Heat and release a burst of these frequencies, Stunning the target until the end of
their next turn and dealing 2 AP Explosive. If the target has the Biological tag, or is Size 1/2 they are not
Stunned but instead take 15 Explosive damage, which cannot be reduced in any way, as the target's
organs violently shake within their meat suits. Targets can only be Stunned or damaged in this way
1/Scene.

This action is interrupted if you begin your turn while Jammed, Impaired, Stunned, the target is outside
of your Line of Sight, or becomes and remains Hidden before the beginning of your next turn. Your
target is aware of this fact.
“Y-you fucker! I will find the frequency at which your organs resonate and make
them explode!”

31
 Ossuary
Striker/Controller

The Pallbeaer’s Ossuary is a purist assault frame that bears the

principles of its creators - the Conrubo peoples - on its sleeve.
Its systems waste nothing and use everything, the design of its
armor plating is bold and undeniable, and the livery that adorns
it is emblematic of an enthusiasm potent enough to burst through
most conventional walls.

While the Ossuary espouses the principles of the Conrubo peoples

in one hand, it also bears their secrets in the other. Every
Ossuary frame comes printed with a cold-core reactor that is
leagues more efficient than anything on the market to date. So
much so that if left to idle, an Ossuary frame can act as an
auxiliary power supply to small installations and ships. The
secret of this reactor - dubbed the “PERPETUS” - is highly
coveted, and any attempts to reverse engineer or modify the
reactor in vivo have thus far failed explosively.

32
CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM
Size: 1 Save Target: 10
Armor: 1 Sensors: 5
PERPETUS Core Reactor
HULL SYSTEMS “We’ll tell you nothing about the
HP: 8 E-Defense: 6 PERPETUS. We don't care what you
Repair Cap: 4 Tech Attack: -1 offer or how aggressively you do
AGILITY SP: 6 it. You, and the rest of those
Evasion: 8 ENGINEERING fuckers on Ras Shamra can try and
Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 7 take it by force. Know though, that
TRAITS we are not the Vols, we can fly
forever.”
BREAKTHROUGH ANGULAR CHASSIS
Waste Not Want Not
As a Protocol the Ossuary can prime its systems for Passive, Protocol
hard breaching. While primed, during its Standard
move or a Boost it may only move in a straight line Gain a Perpetuation Die, a d20 starting at
and cannot split its movement but any objects within 1. Whenever you have any unused
the path of this movement take 10 AP Kinetic movement from a Boost and/or standard
Damage. If this is enough to destroy them, you may move left at the end of your turn, tick the
pass through unhindered. Perpetuation Die up by the amount of
movement that was not used.

As a Protocol, you may add up to 10

SLIP SPEED LOCOMOTION points of stored movement in your
Becoming Engaged cannot stop the Ossuary’s Perpetuation Die to your standard move
movement. ticking down the Perpetuation die by the
same amount. You cannot reduce the
Perpetuation Die past 1.

SUPERIOR REACTOR
During the turn in which you've used
The Ossuary gains +1 Accuracy on Engineering stored movement you may only travel in a
Checks and Saves straight line during your standard move
and cannot Boost. You may not store any
MOUNTS additional movement if you are
Immobilised or Stunned. The
Perpetuation die lasts between scenes
MAIN HEAVY but is reset on a Full Repair.
MOUNT MOUNT

Active: PERPETUS Power Shunt:

Positive Feedback Loop
Active (1 CP), Protocol
For the rest of the scene, whenever you
make a standard move or Boost a value
equal to your current Speed is stored in
the Perpetuation die at the end of your
turn. Furthermore, the damage of the
Breakthrough Angular Chassis to objects
increases to 20 AP Kinetic.

33
LICENSE I: REVOLUTION PILEDRIVER, BLINK SPACE HOLSTER

Revolution Piledriver
Main Melee, Unique, AP
[Threat 1] [1d3+2 Kinetic]
During your standard move or a Boost but prior to an attack roll with this weapon, you may sacrifice
any remaining movement to add 1 point of bonus damage to the attack per 1 space of movement
sacrificed should your attack hit. This bonus damage cannot exceed +3 damage.

Most conventional melee weapons in 5016u operate relatively independently of a

frame’s reactor. A rare exception to this rule, the Revolution Piledriver, and the
servos it uses to function are powered by a stipend from a frame’s cold core. This
results in the weapon being relatively lackluster until some of a frame’s power
output is re-routed for its purposes.

Blink Space Holster

2 SP, Quick Action
As a Quick Action you may holser all of your weapons and extraneous equipment in blinkspace. Until
your weaponry is unholstered from Blinkspace as a Quick Action you become unable to make tech
attacks, take the Skirmish and Barrage actions and become immune to all ongoing effects caused by
your mounted weapons (with the caveat that these effects have not ceased). While this effect is active,
you may move an additional 2 spaces during your standard move, make all Agility Checks or Saves with
+1 Accuracy, and your mounted weapons are not valid targets for System Trauma.
By “sheathing” a weaponry and equipment within blinkspace a frame may significantly
reduce the load imparted upon it allowing for greater freedom of movement.

LICENSE II: OSSUARY FRAME, REACTOR CLASH, SERVO-REDISTRIBUTION

PROTOCOLS

Reactor Clash
2 SP, Quick Action
As a Quick Action, select one enemy Character within Range 5. Both you and your target must make a
contested engineering check. The loser of this contest becomes Impaired until the end of their next turn
and loses their standard move (counted as having been expended) during their next turn.
Conrubo cold-core reactors are often leagues ahead of those housed in the average
marketed frame, only finding true competition with Armoury frames. Taking excessive
amounts of pride in this fact, Conrbo pilots will often pit their reactors in a
contest of strength against others hoping to overload and disrupt critical
functions within their opponents' reactor.

34
 Servo-redistribution Protocols
1 SP, Protocol, Unique, Heat Self (1)
As a Protocol you may become Slowed until the beginning of your next turn but your Rams and
Improvised Attacks gain Knockback 2 and are made with +1 Accuracy.
“Even before the Perpetus was developed we Conrubo always had a reputation for
being efficient. Yes, our willingness to use anything and everything is a part of
it but it’s more that we know exactly how to use what we have”

LICENSE III: DUALITY GAUSS SHOTGUN, FEMORAL-TIVIAL SERVO SHUNT

Duality Gauss Shotgun

Heavy CQB
At the beginning of the scene select one of the two profiles following profiles to use. You may swap
between these two profiles as a Quick Action.

Full Bore Slug

[Range 5, Threat 3] [1d6+3 Kinetic], AP

Shrapnel Packet
Inaccurate, Knockback 1
[Cone 3, Threat 1] [2d6 Kinetic]

Another instance of the “waste nothing” philosophy espoused by the Conrubo peoples,
the Duality is typically loaded with bits of scrap or shrapnel instead of shot or
shell. These improvised munitions are converted into a feasible missile by being
fused into a slug or a shrapnel packet by the electromagnetic coils that also serve
as the Duality’s main form of projectile propulsion.

Femoral-Tibial Servo Shunt

2 SP, Quick Action
As a Quick Action, Make a melee attack against an adjacent character. If your target is an ally they
may choose to let the attack automatically hit. On hit they are knocked back 5 spaces. If your target
collides with an obstruction as a part of this movement they pass through, dealing 1d6 Kinetic damage
to the obstruction if it is a character and 10 AP Kinetic to the obstruction if it is a piece of terrain or a
deployable. Hit or Miss, you become Slowed immediately after the effects of this system resolve.
“Its a big fucking kick. What did you want from a giant robot, martial arts?”

35
 Dakhma
Controller/Striker

The Dakhma is a flight chassis with a mired history. Union

historians note that the Dakhma, or a frame nearly identical to
it, was not always the property of the Pallbearers. The
doppelganger in question, only known under the moniker of
“Waxwing” was recorded in active engagements post 5016u. As its
name implies, the Waxwing was a flying frame that spent most of
its time falling thanks to a poorly implemented rogallo wing
flash printer. This embarrassing design flaw in tandem with
recorded lackluster combat performance eventually saw the Waxwing
fall into obscurity.

Following the formation of the Pallbearers, the “Waxwing”

officially rebranded as the Dakhma reentered the galactic scene.
Despite its history, initial fieldings saw Dakhma win fame and
glory. Post-op reports suggest that pilots used the short lived
glide of the Dakhma not to their detriment but to their
advantage. Combatants secured behind high walls were assailed
from above as Dakhma pilots fell from the sky to drive
specialised pikes into and through their targets.

36
CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM
Size: 1/2 Save Target: 10
Armor: 0 Sensors: 5
Ingenuity of Daedalus
HULL SYSTEMS “The answer to the Dakhma’s fragile wings
HP: 8 E-Defense: 8 was not to make them stronger but to build
Repair Cap: 4 Tech Attack: +0 them faster.”
AGILITY SP: 5
Evasion: 11 ENGINEERING By shunting core power into its flight
Speed: 2 Heat Cap: 5 system the Dakhma can reprint its wings
TRAITS faster than the human eye can perceive.
Briefly covering the weakness of its
WAX WINGS fragile wings and allowing for consistent
and stable aerial alacrity.
So long as the Dakhma is above the
ground, it may Hover until the end of its Active - Waxwing Power Shunt
turn whereupon it falls if it has not landed. Active (1 CP), Quick Action
For the remainder of the scene, the Hover of Wax
Wings does not end at the end of the pilot's turn
FEMORAL-TIBIAL VTOL and the Dakhma does not trigger Engagement or
1/round as a Free Action, the Dakhma Reactions during its standard move when Flying or
may jump vertically up to 3 Spaces. The Jumping.
Dakhma does not need to be on the ground
to take this action.

The Dakhma gains resistance to fall

damage.

MEANT FOR THE SKY

1/Round and while flying, the Dakhma may
Boost as a Free Action.

MOUNTS

AUX/ HEAVY
AUX MOUNT

LICENSE I: MOMENTUM RE-ROUTERS, SHADEMAKER MISSILES

Momentum Re-routers
1 SP, Unique

37
Whenever you take fall damage, trigger a Mine, or take damage from Dangerous Terrain you may
move 3 spaces after you’ve taken damage or the effects of the triggering a mine have fully resolved.
This movement ignores Reactions, Engagement, and Difficult Terrain.
“Hold a moment, you’re telling me that when you take a blow or fall that’s a kind
of energy? Well, then you best make use of it you sprat!”

Shademaker Missiles
Auxiliary Launcher, Loading, Reliable 1
[10 Range] [1d3+1 Explosive Damage]
On Attack: Mark the area targeted by this weapon or a space adjacent to it. If your target is larger than
Size 1, mark one of the spaces they occupy or a space adjacent to them. Until the beginning of your
next turn, the first character who ends their turn or moves into or above the space marked by this
weapon takes 1d3+1 Explosive Damage. A single space can only be marked more than once by
Shademaker missiles; multiple marks stack.

“Who wants to fight in the shade anyway?”

LICENSE II: DAKHMA FRAME, DIVE PIKE, PNEUMATIC CHARGES

Dive Pike
Heavy Melee, AP
[2 threat] [1d6+2 Kinetic Damage]
You may target hostile Characters in your line of sight with the Dive Pike while above them or above a
space adjacent to them. If you do, you may fall directly onto your target, landing in a free space
adjacent to them.
On hit: you may add the total fall damage taken before reductions to this weapon’s damage roll.

The hallmark weapon of the Dakhma frame, the Dive pike is a specialized polearm
designed to both bear and drive the weight of a mechanized chassis into a target.
Union historians speculate that prior to the Dahkma’s re-release by the
Pallbearers, the Dive pike was likely used as a cane to compensate for the
Waxwing’s lower half during conventional movement.

Pneumatic Charges
2 SP, Quick Action, Mine, Limited (3)
• Airburst Charge (Grenade, Range 5)
As a Quick Action you may throw an Airburst Charge at a character within Range 5. They must
succeed on a Hull Save or be Pushed 3 Spaces in a direction of your choice. If your target collides
with an obstruction large enough to stop its movement both your target and, if applicable, the
obstructing character falls Prone.

• Airburst Bounce Pad (Mine)

As a Quick Action you may deploy an Airburst Bounce Pad to a Space within Range 5. When
detonated, the triggering character flies 6 spaces in a direction of your choice, ignoring engagement
and reactions and falling at the end of their turn if they have not landed. When allies trigger the
bounce pad, they choose the direction in which they fly in lieu of you.

38
 Modeled after traditional concussion grenades, Pneumatic charges direct its
explosive force through a tight aperture into a wide flat head. This head
unofficially dubbed a “Bounce pad” is able to deliver enough kinetic energy to
propel a mechanized chassis through the air.

LICENSE III: ICARUS FALL CONFIGURATION, TOWER OF SILENCE

Icarus Fall Configuration

3 SP, Quick Action
While at least 3 spaces above the ground you may activate this system as a Quick Action whereupon
you immediately fall landing in a free Space. Depending on the number of spaces fallen, one of the
following effects occur:

3-5 spaces: Create a Burst 2 area of Difficult terrain centering around your landing point. Characters
adjacent to your landing point must pass a Hull Save or fall Prone.

6-8 spaces: Characters within Burst 2 of your landing point are launched 3 spaces into the air and
immediately fall whereupon must succeed on a Hull Save or fall Prone and become Slowed until the
end of their next turn. This area becomes Difficult terrain until the end of the scene.

9+ spaces: Characters within Burst 2 of your landing point are launched 6 spaces into the air and
immediately fall whereupon they must succeed on a Hull Save or become Slowed until the end of their
next turn and fall Prone. This area becomes Difficult terrain until the end of the Scene.
“You may break yourselves upon the cruel uncaring ground but we will pick you back
up, you may tarnish your names till they have been lost to obscurity but we will
remember you, you may return with naught but the clothes on your back and we will
nourish you. All we ask in return is that, as you fall, you take the world and our
enemies with you. So fall Icari! Fall for the glory of the Conrubo and know that
your wax-wings have a home underneath ours.”

Tower of Silence
2 SP, Full Action, Deployable, Unique, Limited (2)
As a Full Action you may deploy a Tower of Silence in a free adjacent space. Upon deployment of a new
Tower of Silence, the previous instance is destroyed. The Tower is Size 1 but 3 spaces high. When
deployed, you may choose one of two configurations of the tower.

Sanctuary:
Characters at least partially within Burst 2 of the Tower of Silence gain immunity to all tech actions, and
can't 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.

Babel:
Upon selecting the Babel configuration, choose 1 character within the Line of Sight and Range 5 of the
Tower of Silence. Every time this character begins their turn within this area they must pass a Systems
Save or be Jammed until the end of their turn. When the Babel configuration is selected, the Tower of
Silence loses 5 HP at the end of its selected character's turns.

Tower of Silence
Size 1 HP: 20, Evasion: 5

39
The Tower of Silence, once conceptualised as a launch pad for Dakhma frames, has
since been augmented to serve as a communications and electronic warfare area
denial tool. The tower floods its surroundings with spoofed “high priority” digital
white noise; blocking all incoming and outgoing communication by overtaxing
electronic communications. When focused on a single target, the Tower’s effects
increase to maddening effect.

40
 Tholos
Support

Tholi frames house

hundreds of flash
printer Nanites
crews throughout
its hardpoints;
making it a
forerunner of field
repair and
manufacturing. The
drawback to this
flexibility is that
the amount of
printer feed a
Tholos can carry
before becoming
over-encumbered is
limited. Thus its
nanite crews must
often resort to
using their host as
fuel, melting
sections off of
tholoi when
manufacturing or
making repairs.

Union historians
note that current
iterations of the
Tholos are a far
cry from its
predecessors. Prior
to the formation of
the Pallbearers,
Tholi were smaller,
lighter, and
focused more on
hit-and-run tactics
and theft. While
these traits are
preserved in the Tholos’ accompanying licensing, the Tholos frame
proper seems to have undergone a radical design shift since its
official release under the Pallbearers.

41
CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM
Size: 2 Save Target: 10
Armor: 0 Sensors: 10
Minleath Core Worm Silos
HULL SYSTEMS “Wait, wait, boss, you want me to do
HP: 12 E-Defense: 8 WHAT with the Core Worms? I know the
Repair Cap: 5 Tech Attack: +0 Priest tech we filched from [REDACTED]
AGILITY SP: 7 is just gathering dust and we owe the
Evasion: 6 ENGINEERING other houses big for pulling our asses
Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 6 out of the fire but we can’t just let
TRAITS them dictate OUR frames. Wa-, yes,
but. . .
MUTABLE FLESH
Dammit, fine. But I won’t rob them of
The Tholos may still use systems with the Drone, their original purpose; they're bloody
or Mine Tags whose Limited charges have all Core Worms! Not some teched-up stim.”
been consumed. However, the Tholos takes 3
Irreducible Kinetic Damage whenever it uses a -Tholos Dev Log Transcript no.21
system in this way. This damage resolves after
the system’s effects have fully resolved. Spool Core Worm Launchers
Active (1 CP), Protocol
Upon activation of this Core Power as a
“SCAVENGER” NEXUS BAY Protocol this system gains 2 Charges. These
When you rest the Tholos regains full HP charges last until the end of the scene and
automatically and without expending any Repairs. may be expended 1-1 to make the Core
Worm Drain and the Core Worm Investiture
Actions.

EYE FOR AN EYE

As a Quick Action, you may sacrifice your frame
and flesh to empower an ally, Deployable,
Drone, or (at the GM’s discretion) object within
Range 8, taking up to 6 + Grit of irreducible
Kinetic Damage but repairing your target by an
amount equal to the damage taken.
MOUNTS
AUX/ FLEX
AUX MOUNT
Core Worm Drain:
As a Full Action, expend a charge from this
system and select one enemy character
within Range 8 of you. For your target’s next
1d3+1 turns they take 1/4 of their Maximum
HP as Irreducible Kinetic Damage at the
beginning of their turn. However this damage
cannot reduce your target below 1 HP. Any
damage from this system that would do so
only reduces them to 1 HP. For every turn
this system is active your target gains a
stacking +1 Difficulty on all Checks and
Saves.

Core Worm Investiture:

As a Full Action, expend a charge from this
system and select one allied character within
Range 8. For the next 1d3+1 turns your target
repairs 1/4 of their total HP at the end of their
turn. For every turn this system is active your
target gains a Stacking +1 Accuracy on all
Checks and Saves. An ally may only be

42
 affected by 1 instance of Core Worm
Investiture at a time.

LICENSE I: THIEF_SUITE Ⅰ, PEST DRONE

Th13f_5u1te Ⅰ
1 SP, Quick Tech
Gain the Heat Thief Quick Tech option.

Heat Thief:
Select 1 character within Line of Sight and Range 10. Your target may clear any amount of heat up to
half of your current heat cap. However, you gain an equal amount of heat in exchange. Heat gained
through this action cannot be reduced by any means.

“A Support System? No, this isn’t some new toy for the Lani jockeys. This is for the
mavericks, for the squads who pass around the energy of a dying star like a Hot-
Potato to give them that extra edge. We may be the backline of the Pallbearers but
we are no “Supports” no matter what Union analysts say”

Pest Drone
2 SP, Drone, Limited 2
As a Quick Action you may expend a charge from this system and select a character within Line of
sight and Sensors. Depending on whether they are allied or an enemy one of the following occurs:

Ally:
Your target character has a Pest Drone attached to them. This drone occupies the same space
as your target character and moves with them but can be targeted separately. Whenever an
attack is made against your targeted character through a Reaction (e.g., an Overwatch), it
resolves against the attached Pest Drone instead.

Enemy:
Your target has a Pest Drone attached to them. This drone occupies the same space as your
target character and moves with them but can be targeted separately. Whenever your target
makes an attack through a Reaction (e.g., an Overwatch), it resolves against the Pest Drone
instead of their original target.

The above effects end when the Pest Drone breaks adjacency, is destroyed, or is removed with a
successful Hull Check as a Quick Action. If Removed but undestroyed, you may redeploy the Pest
Drone as a Quick Action.

Pest Drone:

43
HP: 5, Armor: 0, Speed 5, Evasion: 5, E-defence: 8
“The Minleath ain’t a particularly strong, fast, or even daring crew but they’ll cut
off their own arm to get what they want. Take their “Pest Drones” for example.
Custom built as meat shields for close quarters engagements and reactionary fire,
the blighters will practically crawl into the barrel of your shotgun if it means the
host body can move unhindered.”
• Transcript from “On Piracy in Union - Interviews with Trunk Security”

LICENSE II: THOLOS FRAME, HELIX BALLISTA, MARTYR’S SHIELD

Helix Ballista
Main Launcher, Loading, Reliable 3
[15 Range] [1d6+3 Kinetic]
A weapon built on an ancient idea and augmented to lethal purpose, the Helix
Ballista relies not on the size of the stake it fires but the violent rotation
imparted by its rifling to impale targets. Despite its potential as a main battle
cannon, the Gauss Ballista is often held as a reserve by Minleath pilots as an “Ace
in the hole”.

Martyr’s Shield
2 SP, Quick Action
As a Quick Action you may reduce the HP of one of your Drones within sensor range by half its total HP
to deploy a Burst 2 area of Soft Cover centering around the drone. While at least partially in this area,
characters cannot draw line of sight outside of its perimeter. The damage inflicted by this system can
destroy a drone. This Soft Cover dissipates at the end of your next turn or when the drone that created
the soft cover is destroyed.
Upon activation, The Martyr’s shield detonates a two-tiered charge. The first
creates a circulating cloud of reflective shrapnel and the second produces a
violent flash that is propagated through continued reflection by the shrapnel
cloud. While potent, the sensor scrambling effect limits its application to
disposable, unpiloted actors.

LICENSE III: REDRUM STIMS, TH13F_5U1TE Ⅱ

REDRUM Stims
3 SP, Limited 2, Mine, Quick Action, Unique
Fury Charge: (Grenade)
As a Quick Action you may expend a charge to throw a Fury Charge at an allied character within
Range 5. For the duration of their next turn, they may Boost as a Free Action and their next Ranged
or Melee Attack gains the Overkill tag and its damage cannot be reduced.

Redrum Injector: (Mine)

As a Quick Action you may deploy a RINB to a Free space within Range 5. Upon detonation this mine
releases a Burst 1 cloud of Nanites that swarm into the crevices and cracks of affected characters,

44
injecting mechs and their pilots with toxic stimulants. Until the Cloud dissipates at the end of the Next
Round, Characters within this area gain Soft cover and you gain the Righting of the Flesh Reaction.

Righting of the Flesh

Reaction, 1/turn
Trigger: A character within the Burst 1 cloud of nanites released by the REDRUM Injector makes an
attack roll but damage has not yet been rolled.
Effect: You may force a reroll of the triggering attack roll. If the target of this reaction is an ally, the
forced reroll must be done with their consent.

REDRUM Stims do not occupy the usual grey spaces afforded Union-produced combat
drugs. Their effects on human physiology and psychology are aggressive, overriding
negative feedback loops that maintain homeostasis in the body and giving
unprecedented metabolic control. Though their exact origin is unclear, Union
Intelligence has determined that the first black-market appearance of REDRUM
occurred shortly after the disappearance of several Harrison Armory corvettes in
the Dawnline Shore.

Thi3f_5uite Ⅱ
3 SP, Invade, Self Heat (1)
Gain the Steal Armour & Steal Sight invade options:

Steal Armour: On hit, the next time your target takes damage do not calculate armour. Select one
allied character or yourself. They gain Overshield equal to your target's armor.

Steal Sight: On hit, until the end of their next turn your target cannot benefit from Accuracy in any form.
In addition to this, you may select one system or weapon owned by your target. Your next attack, or the
next attack of a selected character within sensors benefits from the listed accuracy of the weapon or
system selected by you.

[Let me tell you the tale of how a noble man named Min {a THIEF a COWARD} brought
light to his people. Seeing his tribe fallen, Min scaled mighty cliffs and delved
abyssal caves to search out the vault of the gods {my HOME my SANCTUARY}. Waiting
until they slumbered, Min took fire {my LIGHT my FREEDOM} from the gods and hid its
glow in a stalk of fennel {a CASKET a PRISON}. But Min’s theft did not go
unnoticed. Those who worshiped the gods {my ADHERENTS my FAITHFUL} sought the death
of him and his tribe. So Min fled to the stars, ever pursued by those wishing to
return the fire he took {no ESCAPE no FORGIVENESS, MIN}.]

45
 Grave Hopper
Controller

As far as Union
officials know, the
“Grave Hopper” has
no official
designation.
Rather, this
mechanised chassis
of Order 1 seems to
have earned its
name through
consensus.
Something that was
reached after the
GH had been
repeatedly reported
as “melting”,
“jumping”,
“crawling”, and/or
“melding” into
destroyed frames. A
mystery prior to
the GH’s release
for public
licensing, Union
analysts have now
linked this morbid
phenomenon to the
mutable composition
of the GH frame and
its “Multipotent
Chassis”.

In combat, the GH
seems to fit well
in

infiltrator/guerilla engagements as it fields several systems

designed to stay out of both sight and range during combat.
However, field reports seem to suggest that prior to its release
for public licensing, the GH was fielded exclusively to retrieve
and ensure that any deployed mechanised chassis belonging to the
Pallbearers were not scavenged following an engagement.

46
CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM
Size: 1 Save Target: 11
Armour: 0 Sensors: 15
Multipotent Chassis
HULL SYSTEMS “Hear that? The crackling and mulching
HP: 8 E-Defense: 8 that sounds a little like an industrial
Repair Cap: 3 Tech Attack: +1 meat grinder on full tilt? That’s the
AGILITY SP: 8 brachial segment of your frame mutating
Evasion: 8 ENGINEERING to match the composition of the area
Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 5 around it. Only you have the privilege of
TRAITS hearing this, not a soul can hear or see
the Grave Hopper. Time to get out, you
DORSAL CAMOUFLAGE need to learn how to repair what was just
sloughed off of the frame.”
While the Grave Hopper is Prone, rolls made
to Search for it gain +1 difficulty. Aggressive Frame Adaptation
Furthermore, while Prone and stationary, the Passive, 1/round, Reaction
Grave Hopper may remain Hidden while in
LOS. Any movement breaks this effect for its While next to a Wreck, Deployable, or piece of
duration. terrain, 1/round as a reaction to losing the
Hidden status you may Mutate your Frame: take
3 irreducible Kinetic Damage to maintain your
Hidden status. If you would still be in a situation
DUAL PROFILE FRAME
where you lose Hidden after this reaction
While Prone, the Grave Hopper may move its revolves (e.g., being within LOS without being
full speed while still being Slowed as prone or invisible, staying within an area that
normal and counts as Size 1/2 for the reveals you, etc.) you still immediately lose
purposes of calculating cover and enemy Line Hidden despite taking this reaction.
of Sight.

1/round, the Grave Hopper may either inflict
the Prone status on itself as a Free Action or
remove this Status from itself as a Quick
Action.
MOUNTS
Multipotent Chassis Power Supplement
Active (1 CP), Protocol
For the rest of the scene the reaction granted by
Aggressive Frame Adaptation can be used
without being next to a Wreck, Deployable or
piece of terrain.

MAIN/
AUX

47
LICENSE I: CALL OF THE DEAD, WRECK MANIPULATORS

Call of the Dead

2 SP, Full Tech
Your frame releases a cry that echoes unnaturally across the battlefield. Select one of the following to
respond to your cries:
• 3 Size 1 wrecks arise from the soil or materialise in free spaces within your sensors and Line of
sight. These wrecks are destroyed instantly if they are hit by an attack or take damage.
• 1 Size 2 wreck arises from the soil or materialises in a free space within your sensors and Line
of sight. This wreck is destroyed instantly if it is hit by an attack or takes damage.
Enemy characters adjacent to where one of the wrecks has arisen become Grappled by the wreck but
automatically succeed on any contests or checks to control or end the Grapple. Though you are not
making an attack or forcing a save, taking this full tech action is enough to reveal you if you are hidden.

Call of the Dead Wreck:

Hp: 1 Eva: 5

“Old killer old killer, don’t you know?

Their hands they’ll grasp from the ground,
To haunt and drag you down, helbound
Old killer, old killer, take it slow
Their bones are built from your guilt
From corpses and dead housed in silt
Old killer, old killer, don’t you know?
Their clawing shan’t tire or cease
till your mortal coil, released
Old killer old killer, hell waits below”
- Minleath Children’s Rhyme

Wreck Manipulators
1 SP, Free Action
While you are adjacent to a Wreck it counts as a piece of Hard Cover but line of sight is not blocked
unless the Wreck is large enough to do so. As a Free Action, you may gain the Slowed condition to
pick up a Wreck, ignoring restrictions on dragging and lifting. For the duration of your current turn, the
wreck moves with you impeding movement if it would be moved into a space that cannot accommodate
it. While carrying a wreck, all attacks made as reactions against you target your carried wreck instead.
Carried wrecks are instantly destroyed if hit by an attack or forced to make a save
“Sometimes you have to get creative on battlefields with no cover.”

LICENSE II: GRAVE HOPPER FRAME, WRECK SALIENCE SPOOFER, BLACKBOW DMR

Wreck Salience Spoofer

2 SP, Invade
Gain the Morbid Fascination & Morbid Attraction Invade options.

48
Morbid Fascination: So long as there is a wreck within LOS of your target, it is unable to make
reactions and is Impaired. This effect lasts until the end of your target's next turn. Your target is aware
of the conditions of this effect.

Morbid Attraction: On hit select one Wreck within Sensors and within LOS of your target. Until the
end of your target’s turn or until the selected Wreck is destroyed, your target is only able to draw Line of
Sight to the selected Wreck. The selected Wreck is known to all characters and is destroyed instantly if
it takes damage or is forced to make a save.

“I saw one of those corpse crawlers at the end of yesterday’s engagement. Was about
to take a shot when my sensors lit up and IFF pings popped up from all around me.
Tangoes we thought were downed just started, writhing. So I emptied my clip into
the corpses but when the smoke cleared that crawler was gone.

Black Bow DMR

Main Rifle, Accurate, 1 SP
[15 Range] [2d3 Kinetic]
On Hit: If you roll doubles on this weapon’s damage dice, your target is Slowed until the end of their
next turn.

“I aim for the knee, always.”

LICENSE III: CHARRON CLASS NHP, REFLEXIVE TIBIAL SERVO SHUNT SUITE

Charon Class NHP

2 SP, AI, Unique
Gain the AI property and the Ferryman of the Dead Quick Tech action

“You’ve got to be careful with your Charon NHP. They’re punctual and business-like,
but also excessive neat freaks that care more about organizing and ordering the
inanimate than about the state of the animate. So if you begin to suspect a cascade
or if they haven’t been socialized properly, cycle and isolate them immediately.
Else you might find your frame embedded in the side of a repair bay with you in its
cockpit.”

Ferryman of the Dead

Quick tech, Knockback 4
Choose one wreck within Sensor range. You may move the wreck up to 10 spaces in a direction of
your choosing counting as voluntary movement. If this would cause the wreck to collide with a
character its movement ends and the character it collided with is knocked back 4 spaces. For the
purposes of calculating knockback or other effects that care about the size of the originator, the moved
wreck is the source of the knockback. If this knockback would cause the target character to collide with
an obstruction, they take 1d6 Kinetic and must pass a Hull Save or fall Prone.

49
Reflexive Tibial Servo Shunt Suite
3 SP, Unique, Reaction
You gain the Combat Dive Reaction.

Combat Dive
Reaction, 1/round, Heat Self (2)
Trigger: You are targeted by an attack while your Mech is not Prone, Immobilised, or Slowed and
the Attack Roll has not yet been made.
Effect: You may move your full Speed in a direction of your choice, ignoring engagement but not
Reactions. At the end of this movement make an Agility Check. On a failure you are unable to right
yourself after the explosive movement of your dive and fall Prone at the end of this movement. In the
event that you are out of range of the initial attack as a result of this reaction and are the only target of
this attack, the character that targeted you is refunded their action or reaction (if applicable) but their
attack against you automatically misses. If you take this Reaction while flying you must land before
benefiting from its effects.
“Wait, you’re telling me you need some fancy software just to hit the dirt in one
of these behemoths? Oi vey, it shouldn’t be that complicated!”

50
 Pyre
Controller

Unlike the rest of the Pallbearer’s marketed frames the Pyre was not a holdover from
each of the three houses' existing mechanised chases. Instead, the Pyre was a true
collaboration between the Pallbearer member states, launched shortly after the
incorporation of the company. Thus the Pyre is an amalgamation of the design
principles of the Hoptanti, Conrubo, and Minleath peoples. More than this though, the
Pyre was built as a promise to the pilots of the Pallbearers, a promise that their
consumption by the flames of war would fuel the birth of a new corpo-society, able to
stand on its own amongst a galaxy of titans.

51
CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM
Size: 1 Save Target: 10
Armour: 0 Sensors: 10
Phoenix Protocols
HULL SYSTEMS “Though you will burn, we promise a reward
HP: 12 E-Defense: 8 greater than any material boon for your
Repair Cap: 4 Tech Attack: 0
suffering. We promise that you will be
AGILITY SP: 8
Evasion: 8 better. Better than you were yesterday,
ENGINEERING
Speed: 5 Heat Cap: 6 better than you were mere moments before the
flames have cleared. As the Pallbearers
TRAITS grow, so to do we all. So go, burn, BURN and
when you rise from the ashes we will welcome
EXPLOSIVE ZEAL you home anew.”
1/round as a Free Action the Pyre may
take 2 Irreducible Burn to deal 1d3+1 - Excerpt from the commemoration speech of
Explosive Damage to all characters within the Ashwalkers PPMC Regiment
Burst 1.

BUILT TO BURN
The Pyre reduces to all damage that would
result from failing to clear burn at the end
of one’s turn by 2 to a minimum of 0. This
reduction occurs before resistances.
Pyroclastic Regeneration
Active (1 CP), Quick Action, Efficient
The Pyre implodes, clearing all Burn from itself and
repairing itself or an allied character within Range 8
by 5 HP for every point of burn cleared using this
core power.

While suffering from Burn, the Pyre This Core Power is Efficient. At the end of any scene
ignores all difficult terrain and benefits from in which it is used you are refunded 1 CP.
Soft Cover. This cover is not enough to
fully conceal it.
SCORCHED NERVES
The Pyre recieves +1 difficulty on all Agility
Checks and Saves.

MOUNTS

FLEX FLEX
MOUNT MOUNT

52
LICENSE I: CAUTERIZER, FORCED COMBUSTION
Cauterizer
Auxiliary CQB, Loading
[Line 5] [2 Burn]
1/round this weapon may be loaded as a Free Action by taking 1 burn. If you are immune to burn when
taking this free action you take 1 AP Energy damage instead.

The Cauterizer is the product official patenting and standardisation of common

aftermarket modifications of GMS’s Thermal Pistol. High-output charge packs enable
it to function as a miniaturised plasma thrower, though the process of reloading
these temperamental weapons comes at great risk to the frame and the weapon
itself.

Forced Combustion
1 SP, Unique, Quick Action
Select one allied or enemy character within Sensor range and line of sight that is suffering from
burn. They immediately clear it and all characters within Burst 1 of your targeted character take
1d3+1 explosive damage.
“Ronnie, Ronnie I’m quitting this company. I can’t work with these nut jobs
anymore. Sarge got caught out by a Torcher on our last deployment and when she
got lit up you know what she did? She laughed. She laughed and she laughed and
she laughed. Then the crazy broad walked right up to the Torcher and I swear to
God her mech just exploded. Pulped the flame-slinger. And after all that she was
fine?!”

LICENSE II: PYRE FRAME, FULMINATION AXE, CONFLAGRATION OF PURPOSE

Fulmination Axe
Main Melee, Thrown 5, 1 SP
[Threat 1] [1d6+2 Energy]
When retrieving the Fulmination Axe you may take 1 AP Energy Damage to retrieve it irrespective
of the distance between you and it. When retrieved in this way the Fulmination Axe flies back to you
in a straight line passing through objects, characters, and obstructions. Enemy characters within the
path of this flight take 1 AP Energy Damage.

The Fulmination Axe is an upscaled and charged version of the Pallbearer’s

Ripjaw that incorporates an integrated plasma engine to allow for “self-
retrieval.” This retrieval is not a gentle process; with the axe returning to
its master in a fashion true to its namesake.

Conflagration of Purpose
2 SP, Unique, Quick Action, Heat Self 1
Select either a willing allied character or an enemy within Sensors and line of sight. They
immediately take 2 burn but gain +1 Accuracy on all saves, checks and attacks so long as this burn
remains uncleared. Characters that are immune or reduce burn in any capacity (including the

53
damage that would result in failing to clear it) may not be targeted by this system. Enemy characters
may resist this effect by passing an Engineering Check.
“THIS FLAME THAT WREATHS ME IS BUT A SPARK TO THE WILDFIRE OF MY SOUL!”

LICENSE III: PHLEGETHON CLASS NHP, NEXUS FLAIL

PHLEGETHON CLASS NHP

2 SP, AI, Unique, Limited (3)
Gain the AI property and the Burn Driver Reaction.

Beginning as a corpo-wide neural network of comp-con units dedicated to melting

down chases for printer feed, Phlegethon Prime manifested shortly after
interfacing with select HORUS pattern groups for deconstruction. Pallbearer
technicians scrambled to contain the situation as the birth of Phlegethon
presented both an unparalleled opportunity for the fledgling company and an
unprecedented threat as the laws of thermodynamics began to bend within the
scrap bay that was Phlegethon’s nursery.

Since its shackling and subsequent cloning, Phlegethon has been a primary driver
of the Pallbearer’s military industrial complex, recycling and slagging down
wrecked chasses with unprecedented speed and precision. Its role as a combat co-
pilot was fast-tracked when one of Phlegethon’s clones employed the thermobaric
weaponry of despoiled Ghengi to increase wreck recycling speed by 121.7%. Pilot
reports suggest that Phlegethon clones are pragmatic and creative, willing to use
anything or anyone to achieve mission parameters. Pilots are encouraged to
monitor their Phlegethon clones with extra vigilance for signs of ethical code
decay.

Burn Driver
Reaction, Heat Self (1), 1/round,
Trigger: A willing allied Character or an enemy Character within Line of Sight takes Burn.
Effect: The triggering character immediately makes their Check to clear Burn. Though taking this
reaction does not consume a charge you may consume one to give 1 Accuracy or 1 Difficulty to the
check.

Nexus Flail
Unique
This weapon can be freely used with either profile. Modifications and talents which only affect
ranged or melee weapons only function when used with the appropriate profile.

54
 Focused Flail
Main Melee
[1 Threat] [1d3 Kinetic 3 Burn]

Diffuse lashes
Main Nexus
[3 Cone] [1d3 Kinetic 1 Burn]
This weapon profile ignores ranged penalties from engaged

The Nexus flail is an unconventional application of Nexi technology. Rather than

being mounted to harpoints, a quartet of nexus blisters are used as the “heads”
of the nexus flail with their lethal progeny acting first as an all consuming
wreath, and second as a seemingly fluid “chain” that connects the blisters to a
half. This innovation gives pilots tactical flexibility in this weapon’s
application allowing for both dispersal and concentration of lethal force.

55
Apsara Zaibatsu (AZAI)
AZAI is responsible for the licensing and distribution of some of Union’s most popular music,
especially when said music is performed from, or in, a house-sized combat platform. While the
company did not invent the concept of the combat idol, it has propelled performers who hold
concerts in mechs in war zones from entertainment curiosities to galactic superstars. It has
succeeded in doing so through the creation of superb advertising and marketing programs,
esoteric phononic plasma sound systems, mind-altering mood effector weaponry, and giant
robots that are better-dressed and equipped than any of the competition.

AZAI’s mech lineup exists to create music and spectacular performances, then capture those
performances and sell them across the Omninet. To that end, AZAI mechs tend to be mobile,
good at handling crowds and well-suited for getting up close and personal with their enemies.
Though not particularly tough (armour needs must be sacrificed for better dancing ability, after
all), they excel at fighting in time, the flow of their combat moving with the beat produced by
their potent internal sound systems.

AZAI Core Bonuses

Apsara bonuses give your Mech new ways to spread the beat and fight along to the music, the
more dramatically the better.
You must have at least three License Levels with AZAI to take a bonus from this list, and
another 3 levels for each additional bonus after that.

DNCFTR COILS
By using mood effectors to subtly tweak and respond to a pilot’s natural instinctive
reactions, the Directed Neural Control and Feedback Transmitter Coil allows even the
largest and most ungainly Mechs to move with surprising grace.
Your Improvised Attacks gain the Rhythm tag.
When the Beat die is Odd, once per round you may make an Improvised Attack as a Quick
Action, and it gains Knockback 1.
When the Beat Die is Even, your Improvised Attacks do +3 bonus Energy damage.

PHONONIC GAIN ENHANCERS

Though the science is still poorly understood, at high enough energy levels phononic
energized plasmas can have unusual and frankly uncanny effects on the fabric of space
and time.
You gain a Crescendo Die, a d20 which begins at 1. Each time you or an ally within Range 50
destroys an enemy, increase it by 1. Each time you or an ally roll an unmodified (natural) 20 on
any check or save, whether or not the squad is in combat, increase it by 2. Once per mission,
when the Crescendo Die reaches 20, reset it to 1 and immediately perform the “Song that

56
Saves the World” reaction, regardless of whether or not you are in combat. Your Crescendo Die
resets to 1 at the beginning of each mission.
The Song that Saves the World
Reaction, 1/Mission
Trigger: Your Crescendo Die hits 20.
Effect: Your mech and the mechs of all of your allies in the Squad are immediately restored to
full HP and may choose to clear all Heat if they have any. Every character in the party has a
sudden revelation about a new or unexpected way to overcome or resolve their current greatest
obstacle in life.

ENTOURAGE
No Apsara mech goes into combat without being accompanied by a swarm of camera,
speaker, special-effects and choreography-coordination drones which help them look
their best on the stage, battlefield or both.
Your Mech gains the following Integrated Weapon:
Entourage Nexus
Main Nexus, Accurate
[8 Range] [1d3 E]
On Hit: The target must pass a Systems save or become Entranced until the end of their next
turn. If you hit a target which is already Entranced, they must pass a Systems save or become
Stunned until the end of their next round. A target may only be Stunned by this weapon once
per scene.

DANCING QUEEN
“It’s all about realizing that every manufacturer uses different balance algorithms
for their frame’s movement; so, for instance, if you can swing off an IPS-N frame
hard enough here, and shift your weight juuuust… so, yeah, the frame’s own systems
will try to right it and boom, plunk you down just like that. Looks really fancy,
too.”
Once per round, as a Protocol, you may immediately switch places with an adjacent allied or
enemy mech, drone or deployable, provided there is enough room to do so. This does not count
as movement or trigger Reactions.

BURNING SOUL OF A MUSICIAN

Every Apsara pilot, great or small, has their core of dedicated fans, who will cheer
them on until the very end. Mood effector technology means that this willingness to

57
cheer is, in fact, a harvestable resource, which can be fed into the pilot’s psychic
matrix to further enhance their engagement with the crowd.
Once per round, when you Bolster an ally, your Mech gains the same effects as the Bolster until
the end of your next turn.

SWAN SONG
One of the most peculiar quirks of the Mood Effector system is its harmonic resonance
with negative emotions; savvy performers use this to their advantage, able to derive
the most power from their mechs when the situation is the most desperate.
Increase your Save Target by +1. You gain a stacking +1 bonus to your Save Target for each
point of Structure damage or reactor Stress your mech has taken, whichever is higher. Your
Save Target cannot be raised higher than 18 by this ability. This bonus is lost as your repair
Structure or Stress.

58
 CALLIOPE
Artillery/Striker

“...prompting crew members, notably Mister Gunfyre and the rest

of the accompanists, to return fire as per our pre-existing ROE.
The 12-second volley that followed resulted in the destruction of
7 square kilometers of protected wilderness, more than 300
million manna in damage to the venue infrastructure, the
permanent deafening of, at last count, 54,229 concert-goers, and
the best live album sales we’ve had in the past eight fiscal
years. Well done, everyone.”

Usually custom-built for clients who desire something with a little more percussive
oomph than the standard URANIAs or TERPSICHOREs, the CALLIOPE is a barely-coherent
turbocharged plasma reactor held together with artificial gravity stabilizers. At
this scale, phononic energized plasma fields work less like large speakers, and more
like catastrophic seismic oscillation inducers. It goes without saying that anyone
who attends a concert or combat where “Callies” are fielded needs to sign a great
many waivers first.

59
CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM
Size: 1 Save Target: 10
Armor: 3 Sensors: 5
SPIRAL EFFECTOR
HULL SYSTEMS The CALLIOPE is too much of a blunt
HP: 6 E-Defense: 6 instrument to effectively benefit from
Repair Cap: 4 Tech Attack: -2 the subtleties of mood effector
AGILITY SP: 7 technology, with one exception. Apsara
Evasion: 6 ENGINEERING discovered a limited way to reverse a
Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 8 mood effector, using human emotional
TRAITS energy to provide a single, cataclysmic
burst of energy which no conventional
LISTEN TO MY SONG! power system can handle for long.
The Calliope is immune to being Jammed. It takes EVERYONE, LEND ME YOUR STRENGTH!
+1 Difficulty to contested Search rolls, and attacks
Active (1 CP), Full Action
against it with the Smart tag gain +1 Accuracy. The
Calliope is always equipped with a Sound System. As a Full Action, the Calliope makes a paracausal
sympathetic link to the hearts of all those who
would support you. You may then attack with a
WALKING CALAMITY single weapon of your choice, including
Superheavy weapons. Regardless of its Blast,
When the Calliope attacks a character Line or Cone qualities, this attack hits only one
benefiting from Hard Cover the Cover takes 10 enemy within its AoE.
AP Kinetic damage if it is a deployable or
piece of terrain, or 2 AP Kinetic if it is an NPC For every relevant Player who expresses support
or character, after the attack fully resolves. in-character, this attack gains +1 Accuracy and
+2 Bonus Explosive damage. There is no upper
limit to this attack's damage and the Accuracy
DYNAMIC INSTABILITY gained in this way. This attack ignores cover, the
Invisible status, any enemy effect which would
The Calliope always has a Beat Die, as per cause it to automatically miss, and its damage
the Rhythm tag. When the Beat Die is odd, it cannot be reduced by any means.
takes +1 Difficulty on Systems Checks and
Saves. When the Beat Die is Even, it takes
difficulty on Engineering Checks and Saves. If your character makes a dramatic and
impassioned speech before making the attack,
MOUNTS you may roll twice to hit and take the higher
result. If you do so while playing dramatic music
in the background (or, for groups playing online,
MAIN HEAVY linking music to play), you may roll another time
AUX/
and take the highest result.
AUX MOUNT MOUNT

60
 LICENSE I: BREATH COMPENSATORS, CLEARCUTTER LASER “PLATFORM”

BREATh Compensators
2 SP, Unique, Limited 2
Once per round, while you are afflicted by a condition on your turn, you may expend a charge from this
system to perform one Quick Action as if you were not afflicted by any Condition that is not self-imposed,
even if your Mech would normally be made unable to perform actions.
Apsara mechs are usually called upon to perform at high intensities for long
periods of time, and CALLIOPEs are no exception. The Bio-Reactor Energy and Thermal
Compensator is a semi-organic damage-control system which can maintain frame
stability even in incredibly hostile environments, though it requires careful
management from the frame’s pilot.

Clearcutter Laser “PLATFORM”

Main Cannon
[Range 10] [1d3+1 X, Blast 1]
Soft cover, marked spaces, Mines, and ongoing effects within the AOE of this weapon are removed after
this attack resolves. This weapon deals triple damage to terrain.
“Listen, pal, I don't care if it's a ‘protected nature reserve’ or your mee-maw's
grave. In three hours fifteen thousand screamin' fans are gonna be here and they
need somewhere to stand.”

LICENSE II: HEAVY SUBWOOFER “SUNBLOTTER”, ODE TO VICTORY

Heavy Subwoofer “SUNBLOTTER”

Heavy Launcher, AP, 1 SP
[Range 10] [2d6 E]
When attacking a character benefiting from Hard Cover from a piece of Terrain or a deployable you
may choose to destroy the Hard Cover prior to your Attack Roll. When you do so, your attack deals half
damage on Hit.

The SUNBLOTTER represents the largest phononic plasma sound system AZAI mounts on
their mass-production chassis, though the company has done little to dispel
persistent rumours about a device supposedly named “SUNKILLER”.

Ode to Victory
2 SP, Unique, 1 Heat (Self)
Once per round when you destroy an enemy or piece of terrain, you may take 1 heat to force all enemies
adjacent to the destroyed piece of terrain to pass a Hull Save or take 1 Burn and become Entranced until
the end of their next turn.
“What, first time in a Callie? Yeah, they have a tendency to shake things to bits,
just don’t get caught up staring at the explosions.”

61
LICENSE III: GWAR-CLASS NHP, TAIKOBOOSTER “ARIA”

GWAR-Class NHP
4 SP, AI, Unique, Limited (2), Heat 2 (Self)
Your Mech gains the AI tag and the BONESNAPPING TECHNO-DESTRUCTOR Full Action.

GWARs are very nearly an unviable NHP pattern, largely due to their poor social
skills and seemingly unbreakable compulsion to offend, insult or otherwise irritate
everyone they encounter. For reasons still unclear, however, they have a natural
aptitude for managing the incredible multitasking demands of the CALLIOPE’s
reactor, and, when provoked, just as much showmanship and flair as the Zaibatsu’s
other NHPs.

BONESNAPPING TECHNO-DESTRUCTOR
Full Action, 1/Scene
Expend a charge and take 2 Heat to choose a Blast 2-sized area on the ground within line of sight and
Range 15; all characters know that it has been chosen. At the end of the next round this space suddenly
and violently fills with ionized plasma. All terrain, deployables, and Soft Cover are instantly destroyed
and characters within the affected area take 6 Burn and must make an Engineering Save or become
Exposed.

Taikobooster “ARIA”
Superheavy Cannon, Rhythm, Loading, 1 SP
[Range 12] [3d6 E, Blast 1]
When the Beat Die is Odd this weapon may be reloaded as a Free Action. This weapon may not be
fired during any turn in which it has been reloaded.

Project ARIA was an attempt to scale infrastructure-grade phononic energized plasma

systems to a level a single reasonably-sized frame would be able to support. Though
the final product is reasonably stable, the concussive shockwaves produced by its
activation and firing are not.

62
 CLIO
Striker/Controller

“¡Venid,
amigos, a
bailar! ¡Baila
o muere!”

The closest to a
dedicated “infantry”
platform in the public-
facing AZAI lineup, the
CLIO frame is nearly 50
years old, kept relevant
by its high degree of
versatility and the
suitability of its
systems for retrofitting
and upgrades. Usually
marketed as a “dancer”
frame, it offers a solid
combination of last-gen
mood effector, phononic
plasma weaponry and
lower-end concert
support equipment for
performers looking for
AZAI quality at a less
taxing price range. The
incredible invasions of
privacy entailed by the
process of “pre-
registering” for use of
the CLIO line also
provides the company
with useful information
on up-and-comers, and
their exploitable
foibles.

On both the stage and in

battle, CLIOs are
considerably more brutal
and aggressive than
their counterparts, with
their musical output
heavily overshadowed by
their raw physicality.

63
CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM
Size: 1 Save Target: 10
Armor: 1 Sensors: 10
Bespoke Blade
HULL SYSTEMS The Apsara Zaibatsu Bespoke Weapons Office
HP: 7 E-Defense: 8 provides custom armaments solutions that
Repair Cap: 4 Tech Attack: -1 border on the obsessively sociopathic.
AGILITY SP: 6 Applicants are required to submit to
Evasion: 8 ENGINEERING extensive physical and psychological
Speed: 5 Heat Cap: 5 profiling, as well as a deeply intrusive
TRAITS telemetry and data-collection agreement. The
end result: a one-of-a kind weapon tailored
LISTEN TO MY SONG! to a single pilot and only that pilot.
Indeed, clients who request arms too similar
The Clio is immune to being Jammed. It takes to those already produced have been known to
+1 Difficulty to contested Search rolls, and
"retire" suddenly.
attacks against it with the Smart tag gain +1
Accuracy. The Clio is always equipped with a
Sound System. Bespoke Blade
Integrated Main Melee
[Threat 2] [2d3 K]
FLOS DUELLATORUM When you reprint your Mech, select a number of
your Talent trees equal to your Grit. Once per round,
The Clio always has a Beat Die, as per the when you attack with this weapon, it counts as any
Rhythm tag. It gains bonus Kinetic damage relevant weapon types and sizes for the sake of
equal to the value of the Beat Die on its first those Talents.
melee attack of each turn.

Ballroom Blitz
BLOOD ON THE DANCE FLOOR Active (1 CP), Protocol
The Clio may use its Main/Aux mount to For the remainder of the scene, as a Protocol, you
equip a single Heavy weapon, at a cost of 1 may move a number of spaces equal to the value of
SP in addition to the weapon’s regular cost. the Beat Die. This movement ignores Engagement
and Reactions. Pick one weapon-based Talent tree
MOUNTS that you do not currently possess ranks in. Your
Bespoke Blade counts as being a weapon relevant
for the sake of that Talent tree, and you gain the
MAIN/ effects of that Talent tree, for the rest of the scene.
AUX

64
LICENSE I: “CHERRYBOMB” CAPSULE DEPLOYER, “DIRTY” DNCR CHARGES

“CHERRYBOMB” Capsule Deployer

Auxiliary Launcher, Limited 6, 1 Heat (Self), Inaccurate
[Range 3 Cone 3] [1 Burn]
One of the lower-end pyrotechnics systems in the AZAI catalog, the CHERRYBOMB is
substantially more dangerous than its contemporaries due to its heavy use of
magnesium and white phosphorus filler.

“DIRTY” DNCR Charges

2 SP, Limited 3, Unique, Quick Action
You may spend a charge from this system for one of the following effects:
• DNCR Grenade (Grenade, Blast 1 Range 5): All characters within the blast radius must pass a
Systems save or become Entranced until the end of their next turn, and move 3 spaces in a
direction of your choice. This movement ignores Engagement and Reactions.
• DNCR Mine (Mine, Burst 1): All characters within the Burst area must pass a Systems save or
become Entranced until the end of their next turn, and move up to their speed in a direction of your
choice. This movement ignores Engagement but not Reactions.
This more aggressive take on the Digitally Networked Cooperative Repositioning
system also used on Apsara’s TERPSICHORE frame instills brief but overriding
feelings of disorientation and giddiness.

LICENSE II: CLIO FRAME, VERVE NEXUS, A* MOOD EFFECTOR

VERVE Nexus
Main Nexus, Smart, Accurate
[Range 8] [1d3 + 2 E]
On Critical Hit: The target becomes Entranced until the end of their next turn. If the target is already
Entranced, they take 2 Heat instead.

The Violent Emotional Release through Vibratory Energetics project was the first
generation of semi-functional mood effector technology, though its tendency for
inducing what was euphemistically termed “cerebral thermal stress” limited its
adoption as an entertainment system.

A* Mood Effector
3 SP, Unique Reaction
Gain the So Near and Yet So Far reaction.
“Tus tacones golpean la tierra impulsan a los efectores, y hacen que la multitud no
pueda apartar los ojos de ti; solo te dan ganas de bailar más fuerte, ¿no?”
[Your heels striking the earth power the effectors, and they make the crowd unable
to take their eyes off you; just makes you want to dance harder, doesn't it?]

65
So Near and Yet So Far
Reaction, 1/round
Trigger: An enemy Character ends a movement within Threat of one of your weapons.
Effect: The target becomes Slowed. They must also pass a Systems save or become Entranced. Both
of these effects last until the end of their next turn.

LICENSE III: TAIKOBLARER “ALPHORN”, ELVIS-Class NHP

Taikoblarer “ALPHORN”
Heavy Rifle, Loading
[Range 10][2d6+4 E]
When this weapon is unloaded, it may be used as a Heavy Melee with a Threat of 2, dealing 2d6 + 1
Kinetic damage.

One of the earliest in the Taiko series of phononic plasma weapons, the ALPHORN is
characterized by its brass-lined plasma amplification chambers, and the need for a
complicated set of external control valves and “metamaterial reed” regulator.

ELVIS-Class NHP
3 SP, AI, Unique
Gain the AI property and the All Shook Up Quick Tech Action.

The result of a successful NHP knowledge-sharing agreement with the Armory, the
ELVIS is bold, energetic and charismatic to a superhuman degree. Its showy and
over-the-top displays of grace and song are superficial, yes, but ELVIS clones show
a remarkable aptitude for precision use of mood effector technology.

All Shook Up
Limited (3), Quick Tech
Every enemy within line of sight and Sensor range of your Mech must pass a Systems save or their
Save Target is halved until the end of your next turn.
Mood effectors running at full power create substantial visual artifacting and
noticeable hallucinations; subjects describe emitter-equipped objects as
“sparkling,” “mesmerizing” or “hard to look away from.”

66
 ERATO
Controller/Artillery

Increasing AZAI incursions and military activity on and near

Odeon have resulted in sightings of a dedicated military frame
that is clearly a sidegrade of their well-known TERPSICHORE
platform. Rumored to leverage a variety of illegal technology
sourced from HORUS databases, the ERATO lacks any of the
performative touches of its parent company. Equipped with a
devastating array of offensive mood effector technology, and
emitting the absorptive/reflective nano-swarm fields known
sarcastically as “Love Shacks”, the matte-black silhouettes of
the ERATOs have developed a nightmarish reputation on local
conspiracy forums, even as AZAI strenuously denies the frame’s
existence.

67
CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM
Size: 1 Save Target: 11
Armor: 0 Sensors: 10
Exotic Reactor System
HULL SYSTEMS Designate “CAT PEOPLE”
HP: 8 E-Defense: 10
Repair Cap: 4 Tech Attack: +1 The high heat output of the ERATO
AGILITY SP: 8 platform indicates that it is fitted
Evasion: 10 ENGINEERING with some form of heavily overpowered
Speed: 5 Heat Cap: 4 exotic/paracausal gravitic reactor,
perhaps derived from the CALLIOPE’s
TRAITS systems. The mood effectors running off
this powerplant have emission spectrums
MY ENDLESS LOVE
that are closer to high-power UV lasers
Once per round, characters Entranced by the than their more subtle origins.
Erato suffer 2 heat if they fail a save while
Entranced, provided the save is triggered by the Hunka Burning Love
Erato. Active (1 CP), Full Action
Designate a Blast 2 area within your sensor
range. Each hostile character in the area must
THAT LOVIN’ FEELING make a Systems save and an Engineering save.
On a failed Systems save, they are Entranced
The Erato always has a Beat Die, as per the
until the end of your next turn. On a failed
Rhythm tag. When the die is odd, increase the
Engineering save, they take Burn equal to the
Erato’s Sensor Range by the amount on the
value of the Beat Die.
die. When the die is even, increase the range of
all ranged weapons equipped to the Erato by
the amount on the die. For the remainder of the Scene, you treat your
Beat Die as both even and odd for the purposes
of the That Lovin’ Feeling trait, regardless of the
LISTEN TO MY SONG! value shown on the die.
The Erato is immune to being Jammed. It takes +1
Difficulty to contested Search rolls, and attacks
against it with the Smart tag gain +1 Accuracy. The
Erato is always equipped with a Sound System.

MOUNTS

AUX/ FLEX
AUX MOUNT

68
LICENSE I: DROPS OF JUPITER, CUPID, DRAW BACK YOUR BOW

Drops of Jupiter
Main Launcher, Arcing
[10 Range, Blast 1] [1d3+2 Energy Damage]
On Critical Hit: Target becomes Entranced until the end of their next turn.

Clearly a weaponized version of AZAI’s much-beloved pyrotechnic systems, this

weapon energizes phononic plasma to the point that it sparkles like burning
magnesium.

Cupid, Draw Back Your Bow

2 SP, Unique, Invade
Gain the following Invade option:

Lovestruck: On hit, choose one allied character within your Sensor Range. Your target cannot willingly
attack the chosen ally with weapons until the end of its next turn. If your target is Entranced, it also
cannot willingly attack you with weapons until the end of its next turn. Triggered damage (such as
mines) and areas of effect that include at least one character other than you are not affected by this
system. A character can be targeted by this system only once per scene.
The hacking and mood effector algorithms employed by the ERATO are undeniably
similar in form and function to HORUS liturgicode, much to the alarm of Union
analysts.

LICENSE II: ERATO FRAME, LOVE GUN, LET ME LOVE YOU

Love Gun
1 SP, Auxiliary Rifle, Smart
[10 Range] [1 Explosive Damage]
If your target is Entranced or Impaired, this weapon also deals 2 Burn damage.

This conventional solid-projectile weapon is entirely out of AZAI’s military

wheelhouse, but its semi-guided incendiary rounds are unquestionably effective.

Let Me Love You

2 SP, Unique, Invade
Gain the following Invade options:

Walk This Way: Your target moves its maximum speed directly toward you by the shortest available
route. This movement is involuntary, but provokes reactions and Engagement as normal and doesn’t
count as Knockback, pushing, or pulling. If the target ends this movement adjacent to you, it is knocked
Prone.

69
Empress of My Heart: Until the start of your next turn, your target treats your allies outside its Sensor
Range as Hidden, and your allies inside its Sensor Range as Invisible. The target ignores the Hidden
and Invisible conditions on you for the same duration. This Invade option can be used only once per
scene.

Many of the e-warfare systems the Erato employs are functionally nearly identical
to their “public” counterparts, but with greatly reduced safety tolerances and far
more aggressive tuning.

LICENSE III: DIANA-CLASS NHP, LOVE SHACK

DIANA-Class NHP
3 SP, AI, Unique
Gain the AI property and the Heat Wave Protocol.

“Como una ola de calor

Ardiendo en mi corazón
No puedo evitar llorar
Me está desgarrando”
-Ancient Proverb
Only two things are firmly established about Eratos; they make heavy use of an NHP,
and that NHP is entirely unlike any others fielded by AZAI.

Heat Wave
Protocol, Heat 2 (Self)
Each hostile character within Burst 2 of you must make a Hull save or take 2 Burn and 2 heat.

Love Shack
2 SP, Deployable, Unique, Quick Action, Limited 3
Expend a charge from this system to deploy a Love Shack to a free space within your Sensor Range.
The exact nature of the “Love Shack” device is the subject of much debate: its
bizarre “inky” visual properties could be paracausal or nanotechnological in
nature, and it is flimsy to the point of being borderline incorporeal. More than
anything, the sudden filling of a combat area with swirling spheres of impossible
darkness has become the identifier for the presence of ERATO platforms.

Love Shack
Deployable, Size 3, 15 HP, 5 Evasion
Characters may enter or exit this Deployable at will. Hostile characters that start their turn in the area or
enter it for the first time on their turn are Entranced until the start of their next turn. You and allied
characters at least partially in the area gain Soft Cover. All characters at least partially in the area cannot
target other characters that are partially in the area with hostile abilities or attacks. The Love Shack lasts
until the end of the scene or until it is destroyed, and does not block line of sight.

70
 MELPOMENE
Defender/Support

“...then one of their frames starts broadcasting… I think it

might have been Johnny Cash, over an open frequency? Something
with acoustic guitar. I’ve seen units break before, ma’am, but
nothing like this. The entire company was weeping like children
when they overran us.”

Originally an experimental derivative of the TERPSICHORE, the MELPOMENE line of

frames are the flagships for the company’s paracausal mood effector technology.
Though Apsara has dealt with years of litigation on the part of Union and various
military ethics advocacy groups, “Mellows” are still fielded in both the performance
and combat roles. More solidly built than most of the Zaibatsu’s frames, they are
capable of wide-broadcast emotional manipulation; the discovery that feelings of
loneliness, regret and yearning were particularly easy to induce cemented the
MELPOMENE’s role as a battlefield interdictor and defensive platform.

71
CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM
Size: 1 Save Target: 10
Armor: 1 Sensors: 10
MOOD EFFECTORS
HULL SYSTEMS Mood effector technology has been
HP: 8 E-Defense: 8 called “mind-control rays”, but this
Repair Cap: 4 Tech Attack: +1 is not, strictly speaking, true.
AGILITY SP: 7 Rather, it uses paracausal quantum
Evasion: 6 ENGINEERING entanglement to directly alter the
Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 8 chemical states of the human brain,
TRAITS inducing strong emotional responses
at the press of a button.
MOURNFUL GUARDIAN
Melancholy
Allied mechs may use the Melopmene as Soft Passive
Cover.
The Melpomene is constantly accompanied by a Allied characters who are within Burst 2 of
constrained cloud of phononic plasma. This is a you may choose as a Protocol to become
Size 1 indestructible object which counts as a Entranced, even if they would normally be
Deployable. As a Protocol at the start of each turn, immune to Entranced. If they do so, they
you destroy the previous instance of this object and become immune to Slowed, Immobilized,
place a new instance of it in a free space within Shredded, Impaired and Lock Ons that are
Burst 1 of your Mech. Allied mechs may use it as not self-imposed so long as they remain in
Hard Cover. the burst. This effect does not end any
ongoing effects that allies were suffering
from when they entered the Burst. The
Entranced condition, and immunity to other
LISTEN TO MY SONG! conditions, ends when they leave the burst.
The Melpomene is immune to being Jammed. It takes +1
Difficulty to contested Search rolls, and attacks against it
with the Smart tag gain +1 Accuracy. The Melpomene is
always equipped with a Sound System. ZETSUBOU Amp
Active (1 CP), Protocol

While this Protocol is active, all characters

LILTING RHYTHM
The Melpomene always has a Beat Die, as per the
Rhythm tag. When the die is odd, allies who are
adjacent to the Melpomene or its deployables gain
+1 armour. When the die is even, allies who are
adjacent to the Melpomene or its deployables gain
Resistance to heat imposed by enemy attacks and
systems.
affected by your Melancholy Core Passive
also become immune to Stunned, Exposed
and Jammed, and the Burst radius of the
Melancholy effect increases to 3.
Characters may also choose to become
Immune to any other negative condition
listed in homebrew frames or
manufacturers.

MOUNTS

MAIN/
AUX

72
 LICENSE I: HEART TAP, WALL OF RAIN

Heart Tap
2 SP, Unique, Quick Tech, Invade
Gain the following options for Invade:

Veil of Tears: Your target cannot draw line of sight to targets adjacent to you or your deployables until
the end of their next turn.

Haunting Dirge: Your target is Slowed until the end of their next turn, and must pass a Systems Save
or also be Entranced until the end of their next turn.

The triple-threat of mood effector, subliminal-trigger memetics and direct

electronic warfare attacks are a potent psychological warfare combination.

Wall of Rain
2 SP, Unique, Limited 3, Quick Action, Rhythm
As a Quick Action when the Beat Die is odd, you may expend a charge from this system to place three
Size 1 deployables in adjacent free spaces within sensor range, filling them with impermeable plasma
fields. These deployables have no HP and cannot be targeted, but block line of sight and are impassable
by standard movement, though they can be flown over or teleported through. This action may be
performed multiple times in one turn, though every time you perform it after the first you gain 1 Heat.

When the Beat Die is even, the deployables violently detonate in a Burst 1 explosion at the end of your
turn. Enemies caught in this area must pass a Systems save or take 1d6 Energy damage and become
Entranced until the end of their next turn. Enemies are only affected by the detonation once per turn.
Allies within the detonation’s AOE are not damaged but instead are caught within plasma clouds,
obscuring their position and granting them Soft Cover until the end of their next turn.
Phononic energized plasma can theoretically be formed into solid, discrete
structures. Apsara struggled for years to make PEP structures that could remain
coherent, but eventually abandoned the project, deciding that exploiting the
tactical possibilities of these fundamentally-unstable forms was more practical.

LICENSE II: TAIKOBEAMER “LAMENT”, CATHARTIC LINK

Taikobeamer “LAMENT”
Auxiliary Launcher, Knockback 2
[8 Range] [1 E]
The Taikobeamer series of weapons are available in both infantry and mech-scale
versions, and are tuned for high-powered phononic concussions.

73
 Cathartic Link
2 SP, Quick Tech
As a Quick Action, you may force an enemy within Sensors to make a Systems Save. If they fail, they
gain the same negative conditions you or one ally within Burst 3 of your mech are suffering. You may still
use this system while Jammed, though doing so causes you to gain 4 Heat. You may only use this
system to inflict Exposed or Jammed once per character per scene. You may not Stun enemies with this
System.
In its performance role, the Cathartic Link system broadcasts the emotions of a
performer to an audience. In its combat role, the Link collects, amplifies and
focuses the negative emotions of a pilot, then attempts to forcibly inject them
into an enemy’s psyche.

LICENSE III: TOWER OF SONG, MIDNIGHT-CLASS NHP

Tower of Song
2 SP, Limited 2, Full Tech, Rhythm
As a Full Action when the Beat Die is even, you fill a Size 3 space within Sensors with energized plasma
This area counts as a Size 3 Deployable, though it cannot be destroyed or targeted. Enemies caught
within this space must pass a Systems save with 1 Difficulty to be able to leave it; failing does not
consume any movement, but they are only able to move within the space until it dissipates.

So long as an enemy is within this space, all of their ranged and melee attacks do half damage, and
targets they Invade receive only half the usual Heat they would normally gain from being Invaded. At the
end of every one of your turns in which the Beat Die is odd, the plasma detonates. All enemies within the
space take an amount of Heat equal to 1 + your Grit.
Most performers who use MELPOMENEs are not particularly interested in pyrotechnics
or large, showy performances; however, its frame leaves room for considerable
phononic energized plasma field output if needed.

MIDNIGHT-Class NHP
AI, Unique, 3 SP
Gain the AI property and the Mono No Aware Reaction.

MIDNIGHTS are usually described as exceptionally good listeners, with an ability to

instill trust or a willingness to divulge in others that verges on the
manipulative. In the combat role, they can build psychological profiles of enemies
that provide terrifying, crystalline-clear detail.

Mono no Aware
Reaction, 2/round
Trigger: An ally within Sensors gains one or more negative conditions as the result of an enemy attack
or System.
Effect: With your ally's permission, they may instead gain the Entranced condition until the end of their
next turn. If the ally would gain the Exposed condition and you use this Reaction, your ally does not lose
Exposed but it is instead automatically cleared at the end of their next turn.

74
 TERPSICHORE
Controller/Support

“Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! YEAH! YEAH! YEAAAAAAAAAAH!”

The TERPSICHORE series has been Apsara’s flagship line for nearly 50 years, and
though its design has changed dramatically over time, its core concept has not.
“Corries” are equal parts ECM, signal broadcast and psychological warfare platform,
their light, slim frames smashing into enemy lines with a volume and energy that few
are equipped to handle. Agile and effective performance or racing platforms, the
TERPSICHOREs were the original testbed for AZAI’s signature mix of phononic energized
plasma weaponry, as well as their more controversial paracausal “mood effectors”.
Though not all TERPSICHOREs are humanoid, the vast majority of the options offered
come with the standard Idoru bodywork, in a plethora of added-cost
male/female/chibi/neuter sub-variants.

75
CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM
Size: 1
Armor: 0
Save Target: 11
Sensors: 8
“BACKUP” DNCR
HULL SYSTEMS The Digitally Networked Cooperative
HP: 8 E-Defense: 10 Repositioning protocol uses a
Repair Cap: 3 Tech Attack: +1 combination of mood effectors and data-
AGILITY SP: 7 sharing algorithms to synchronize the
Evasion: 10 ENGINEERING TERPSICHORE’s tactical (or
Speed: 5 Heat Cap: 4 choreographed) position with nearby
TRAITS frames, allowing a seemingly
disorganized group of platforms to move
FEEL THE BEAT! with surprising elegance and
coordination.
The Terpsichore always has a Beat Die, as per the
Rhythm tag. When the die is odd, the Terpsichore
Takes Two To Tango
gains +1 Difficulty on all attacks and gains immunity to
Engagement and the Slowed condition from any Active (1 CP), Protocol, Rhythm
source. When the die is even, the Terpsichore gains +1 For the remainder of the Scene, any time you
Accuracy on all attacks but cannot Boost.
start a move while adjacent to an allied
character, they may choose to move with you.
They move as many spaces as possible in the
DYNAMIC INSTABILITY same direction as you move, ignoring
engagement and reactions and remaining
At the end of each of the Terpsichore's turns, if it did
not voluntarily move during that turn, it takes 2 Heat.
adjacent to your Mech. If your Mech flies,
hovers or teleports, so does the character
moving with you. If this movement would be
blocked by terrain, it immediately ends. A
LISTEN TO MY SONG! character who moves in this way when your
The Terpsichore is immune to being Jammed. It takes Beat Die is odd gains 2 Overshield. A
+1 Difficulty to contested Search rolls, and attacks character who moves in this way when your
against it with the Smart tag gain +1 Accuracy. The Beat Die is even clears 2 Heat. Characters
Terpsichore is always equipped with a Sound System. who are Slowed when they move with you
ignore that condition for the duration of the
MOUNTS movement, but do not clear it.
Any number of characters may move with you
in this way any number of times per turn,
AUX/ FLEX provided they are adjacent to your Mech.
AUX MOUNT

76
 LICENSE I: OSU STACK, TAIKOBLASTER

OSU Stack
2 SP, Rhythm, Limited 6, Quick Action, Drone, Unique
OSU Stack (SIZE 1/2, 1 HP, 12 E-DEFENSE, 12 EVASION, TAGS: DRONE)
Expend a charge to deploy an OSU Stack to a free square within line of sight and sensors. It creates an
area of Burst 1. Once per turn, when you move through this space, you may move an additional 3
spaces in addition to your regular movement.
When the Beat Die is odd, enemies who move or start their turn within the OSU Stack’s AOE must pass
a Systems Save or become Entranced until the end of their next turn. Allies who start their turn or begin
a movement of any kind within this Burst gain 1 stacking Overshield, to a maximum of 3 per turn.

When the Beat Die is even, enemies who move or start their turn within the OSU Stack’s AOE take 1
Heat and treat its AOE as being Difficult Terrain. Allies who move or start their turn within this area do +1
bonus Explosive damage on all attacks until the end of their turn.
Onboard Sympathetic Unit Stacks are equal parts robust sound-projection system and
mood effector. They can be rapidly ejected from a mech’s frame to build a high-
fidelity sound system in nearly any environment, and their ability to paracausally
influence human brain chemistry means that anywhere they deploy is guaranteed to
become the heart of the party.

Taikoblaster
Main CQB
[Line 5, Threat 1] [1d6 E]
On Hit: The target must succeed on a Systems save or become Entranced until the end of their next
turn.

Allied characters caught in the area do not take damage or this weapon’s On-Hit effects, but instead
may clear 2 Heat. This effect may only trigger once per target per round.

The Taiko series of phononic energized plasma weapons use a coherent cloud of
vibrating plasma to both catastrophically erode targets, and provide crisp, clear
sound, even in a vacuum.

LICENSE II: TERPSICHORE FRAME, POMPOM RELAYS, PEP NEXUS

Pompom Relays
2 SP, Rhythm, Unique
When the Beat Die is odd, you may take 2 Heat to Bolster as a Protocol. When the Beat Die is even,
targets you Bolster gain 4 Overshield.
“-kick and step and one-and-two and turn and back and fire-off-chaff and weapons-up
and-”

77
 PEP Nexus
Auxiliary Nexus
[6 Range] [2 E]
On Hit: The target must pass a Systems Save or it reduces its Save Target by 1+ your Grit until the
end of its next turn. This effect may only trigger once per target per round.

Apsara Zaibatsu made a small fortune off the patents for phononic energized plasma
speaker technology, and a line of compact camera/surround-sound/antipersonnel
weapon drones.

LICENSE III: MASTER OF CEREMONIES, MEATLOAF-CLASS NHP

Master of Ceremonies
3 SP, Unique, Rhythm, Full Action
While the Beat Die is odd, your Mech’s Save Target increases by 3. While the Beat Die is even, you may
expend a Full Action to grant every allied mech within Burst 2 Overshield equal to 1 + your Grit.
“Focus, people, focus! We’ve got a concert to run and a Karrakin assault lance to
redirect!”

MEATLOAF-Class NHP
2 SP, AI, Unique, Reaction
Your mech gains the AI tag and the Hallelujah, Bless My Soul Reaction.

The venerable MEATLOAF, despite its quirks, remains one of Apsara’s most popular
offerings on the music circuit. Possessing unusual musical intelligence for an NHP,
it is also a more-than-competent stage manager, with a penchant for dramatics and
charismatic flair that many performer-pilots appreciate.

Hallelujah, Bless My Soul

Reaction, 1/round, Rhythm
Trigger: An enemy makes a successful ranged or melee attack against an ally within Range 5 of your
Mech.
Effect: If the Beat Die is Odd, after resolving the attack, the targeted ally may move up to 2 spaces in
any direction. This movement ignores Immobilized, Difficult Terrain, Engagement, and does not provoke
Reactions.

If the Beat Die is even, after resolving the attack, the enemy must pass a Systems save or become
Entranced until the end of their next turn.

78
 URANIA
Striker/Defender

“ARE YOU READY? FOR THE BRIGHTEST? LOUDEST?! MOST SPECTACULAR?!?

LIGHT SHOW IN THE KNOWN UNIVERSE!!? HERE… WE… GOOOOOOOOOOOO-!!!!”

Many media conglomerates who seek the spectacle offered by AZAI frames but don’t want
the sheer destructive excess of the CALLIOPE frequently turn to the URANIA model
instead. The smallest of the mainline AZAI frames, it forgoes mood effector
technology for the Tubular Bell system, a complex of plasma lasers and cooling
systems with a theoretical maximum output well in excess of 250,000 lux. Combined
with external sound systems, the URANIA excels at the big “sound-and-light” concerts
that made AZAI famous. As a combat platform, URANIAs are effective at both short and
medium ranges, though the visual bleed from their weapons systems is notoriously
unpleasant for friendly infantry to cope with.

79
CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM
Size: ½ Save Target: 10
Armor: 1 Sensors: 8
Tubular Bell Transmitters
HULL SYSTEMS Equal parts weapon system and high-
HP: 7 E-Defense: 10 bandwidth optical data transmission
Repair Cap: 3 Tech Attack: +1 system, the Tubular Bell array, and its
AGILITY SP: 6 Taikobanger output system, generate
Evasion: 10 ENGINEERING phononic energized plasma lasers of
Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 6 spectacular intensity.
TRAITS
Taikobanger Electrolaser Harp
INTERSTELLA PULSE LASERS Integrated Heavy CQB, Rhythm
[Line 6] [1 E]
The Urania always has a Beat Die, as per the Rhythm
tag, and deals bonus Energy damage when using Each time you attack with this weapon, you
non-integrated weapons equal to half the value of the resolve 3 separate non-overlapping lines.
Die. This bonus damage is only applied to the first hit When the Beat Die is 3 or 4, this weapon does
of each turn. 2E + 1 Burn.
When the Beat Die is 5 or 6, this weapon has 1
Heat (Self) and does 2 E + 2 Burn.
PHOTONIC REACTOR COOLING This weapon does not hit allies in its area of
effect. Instead, they count as being in Soft
As a Reaction to the start of a round, the Urania may Cover until the end of their next turn.
stop its Beat Die from increasing. If it does so, it
becomes Immobilized until the end of its next turn, and
adjacent allies treat it as Size 1 hard cover. At the end
of its next turn, its Beat Die increases as normal. Hirasawa Crowdsurf Transmission
Active (1 CP), Protocol
While this Protocol is active, the Taikobanger
LISTEN TO MY SONG! Electrolaser Harp resolves 4 non-overlapping
The Urania is immune to being Jammed. It takes +1 lines instead of the usual 3. You may choose to
Difficulty to contested Search rolls, and attacks trace one of these lines from the space of any
against it with the Smart tag gain +1 Accuracy. The ally within line of sight and sensor range. The
Urania is always equipped with a Sound System. ally you trace the line from becomes Invisible
until the end of their next turn.
MOUNTS
In addition, activating Photonic Reactor
FLEX MAIN/ Cooling Slows you instead of Immobilizing you.
MOUNT AUX
This ability lasts until the end of the scene, or
until you deactivate it as a Protocol.

80
 LICENSE I: IDOL GLOW BATON, VANGELIS TIGHTBEAM OVERRIDES

“IDOL” Glow Baton

Auxiliary Melee, Thrown 8, Unique
[Threat 1] [1d3 E]
When Thrown, after resolving damage, this weapon emits a Blast 1 area centered on the target’s space
until it is retrieved. Characters who end their turn within this area must pass an Engineering Save or
they can only draw line of sight to adjacent spaces or your Mech until the end of their next turn. You
may always choose not to retrieve this weapon after throwing it.

AZAI manufactures a gigantic range of chemical and electrical glowsticks for

civilian and military-industrial use. The IDOL is their most powerful and
restricted, equal parts emergency flare and less-lethal dazzler weapon.

Vangelis Tightbeam Overrides

2 SP, Unique, Quick Tech, Invade
Gain the following options for Invade:.

Blaster_Beam: The target cannot draw line of sight to adjacent characters other than your mech, and
acts as Hard Cover for you and your allies until the end of its next turn.

Termen_Vox: The first time the target takes Energy damage before the end of its next turn, it must
pass an Engineering Save or take Heat equal to the amount of Energy damage received, to a maximum
of 3 Heat.

“Are we confident that they’ll have laser receptors we can hack?”

“No idea, but I know the bass is gonna be like ‘bwum bwum bwumwumbadda-badda’, and
then the electric harp comes in with like ‘beeeowbeeeeow wa-boooooow doo daa doo
daa dee’, and then we come in with the big arrays and it’s like ‘PREEEEEOW-CUHRASH
WUHBOOM-!’”

LICENSE II: URANIA FRAME, SYNCHROTRON PYROTECHNICS, SHIELDED BY THE ART OF

NOISE

Synchrotron Pyrotechnics
2 SP, Unique, Reaction
Gain the Blinded by the Light reaction.
Early versions of the URANIA were subject to a drawn-out false-advertising lawsuit,
after it was asserted that their laser systems were not “brighter than the sun”, as
claimed. Several years of work by AZAI engineers produced a new generator of
synchrotron lights, accompanied by the absolutely-verifiable slogan “brighter than
85% of common stellar bodies at ranges of 120km or less.”

Blinded by the Light

Reaction, 1/round
Trigger: Your mech gains the Lock-On Condition.

81
 Effect: You immediately lose Hidden, if you had it. The closest enemy to you must pass a Systems
Save or is only able to draw line of sight to your mech until the end of their next turn. Every character
with the Biological tag within Range 50 and line of sight takes 1 Energy damage, and is immediately
aware of your location.

Shielded by the Art of Noise

2 SP, Unique, Shield, 3 Heat (Self), Rhythm, Quick Action, Reaction
Select a target within line of sight and Sensors. They count as being in Hard Cover relative to all
enemies within Burst 2 of themselves until the end of their next turn. You may use this ability as a
Reaction to the Beat Die changing to 1 (except in the first round of combat), in which case it imposes no
Heat cost.
“Yeah, if they start the intro to Cataclysmic Doom Explosion you’re gonna want to
step back from the speakers a bit, man. When that drop hits… wowee!”

Shielded by the Art of Noise

Reaction, 1/round
Trigger: Your Beat Die becomes 1, and it is not the first round of combat.
Effect: You may use the Shielded by the Art of Noise Quick Action, with no associated Heat cost.

LICENSE III: ACTIVE DAZZLE CAMOUFLAGE, JARRE-CLASS NHP

Active Dazzle Camouflage

2 SP, Limited (2), Full Action
When you use this system, all enemies within line of sight and Range 10 of your mech must pass a
Systems save or treat every character other than you as being Invisible until the end of their next turn.
“My eyes are closed but I can still see it!”

JARRE-Class NHP
3 SP, AI, Unique
Your mech gains the AI property and can perform the Chants Magnétiques Quick Tech option once
per round.
The JARRE resulted from the fusion of the more violent tendencies of the GWAR with
the psychological manipulation capabilties of the MIDNIGHT. Though level-headed and
careful planners off the battlefield or concert stage, in the heat of the moment
they lash out with incredible viciousness.

Chants Magnétiques
Quick Tech, 1/Round, Rhythm, 2 Heat (Self)
A number of enemies in line of sight and Sensor range up to the value of the Beat Die must pass an
Engineering save or take AP Energy damage equal to your Grit.
Project OXYGÈNE pushed the Mood Effector system to its limits, creating a brain
chemistry alteration field strong enough to induce lethal aneurysms and hemorrhaging
if tuned correctly.

82
 GMS Stetind
Striker
A hyper-simplified Everest variant designed for the mech sporting
scene, the Stetind’s ultra-minimalist design is better suited for
mobility than for outright combat. Its elaborate power management
suite and regenerative servo systems allow its aggressively
overengineered joints to accelerate with surprising force.

CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM

Size: 1 Save Target: 10
Armor: 0 Sensors: 10
Full-Frame Synergy
HULL SYSTEMS “Every mech has its limits. This… is
HP: 6 E-Defense: 12 what breaking those limits looks
Repair Cap: 4 Tech Attack: -1 like. And THIS… IS TO GO EVEN FURTHER
AGILITY SP: 5 BEYOND!”
Evasion: 8 ENGINEERING
Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 5 Hands of Steel
TRAITS Integrated Main Melee
[Threat 1] [1d6 K]
Replaceable Parts Once per round, you may attack with this
While resting, the Stetind can be repaired at a rate of 1 weapon as a Reaction to making a
Repair per 1 structure damage instead of 2 Repairs. successful Ram or Improvised Attack
attempt.
On Hit: Select one of the following:
High-Accel Servos -The attack counts as having Knockback 2.
Once per scene, the Stetind may Grapple, Ram or make -The target must make an Agility Save or
an Improvised Attack as a Free Action. be knocked Prone. If the target is already
Prone they must save or be Immobilized
Enkelhet until the end of their next turn.

The Stetind increases its Armour and HP by +1 for each

Weapon Mount it is equipped with that does not have a
weapon attached.
Regenerative Power Cycle
When you reprint the Stetind, you may choose to increase
its Speed, Save Target or Sensor Range by 1 for each
unused System Point on the chassis. Each of these stats
may be increased by no more than +3 in this way.
MOUNTS
Regenerative Cycle Overload
Active (1 CP), Protocol
Your Mech dumps all of its stored power
into its basic motive systems. For the
remainder of the scene, you gain +1
Accuracy on rolls to Grapple or Ram. Your
Improvised Attacks gain Threat 2, Overkill
and AP.

MAIN MAIN/
MOUNT AUX

83
 IPS-N Calais
Defender

A close relative of both the Tortuga and the Drake, the Calais is
designed explicitly for capture operations. Equipped with both a
range of mobility-kill systems and adaptive weapon systems
designed for limited-lethality combat, it has earned a grim
reputation as a pirate hunter; tearing high-value targets from
their hardsuits and cockpits for future processing and
“aggressive debriefing”. Whole squadrons of Calais-specialist
paralegal asset recovery teams have deployed to Odeon space, the
better to accommodate the delicate legal situation ongoing there.

84
CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM
Size: 1/2 Save Target: 10
Armor: 0 Sensors: 10
Hermitage Class Comp-
HULL SYSTEMS Con
HP: 8 E-Defense: 8
Repair Cap: 6 Tech Attack: +0 Substantially more sophisticated
AGILITY SP: 6 than the Watchdog system it is
Evasion: 8 ENGINEERING derived from, the Hermitage
Speed: 4 Heat Cap: 6 supplements its base tactical
programming with an elaborate
TRAITS ethics/fuzzy logic suite, the
better to maximize enemy capture
NOBLESSE OBLIGE
target survivability rates while
The Calais may obstruct Line of Sight to adjacent minimizing the potential for
Size 1/2 allied characters and Size 1 or 2 allied friendly casualties.
characters that are Prone. Allied characters may
drop Prone as a Reaction to adjacency with the To Protect the Castle
Calais. Active (1 CP), Protocol
For the rest of the scene, when using the
Tout-Tour Shield trait you may draw a
TOUT-TOUR SHIELD second Cone 9 area of effect for the trait.
This second area cannot overlap with the
At the end of its turn the Calais may draw a Cone 9
first.
area from a space adjacent to it as a Free Action.
If the Calais moves, this area moves with it. Until
the beginning of its next turn the Calais' evasion is
reduced by 2 and it cannot make reactions but the
Calais gains resistance to all damage from attacks
that originate within this area.

MOUNTS

MAIN/
AUX

85
LICENSE I: LINE DRIVER SLUG SHOTGUN, RAPID DEPLOY CERAMICS

Line-Driver Slug Shotgun

Main CQB, AP, Reliable 1, Inaccurate
[Range 3, Threat 3] [1d3+2 Kinetic]
On Crit: Draw a Line 3 originating from your target but in the same direction of your attack. All
enemies within this line take this weapon’s reliable damage.

Little more than a rechambered Deck-Sweeper with a rifled barrel, the Line-
Driver is better suited for disabling and mobility-killing hardsuits and mech-
scale targets via precision high-impact fire.

Rapid Deploy Ceramics

1 SP, Limited 3, Shield, Deployable, Unique
You may expend a charge from this system as a Quick Action to prime it, readying a ceramics flash
printer until the end of the scene. While primed, you gain the Terracotta Shield Reaction.
Terracotta Shield
1/ Round, Reaction
Trigger: You are targeted by a Ranged attack originating from within your line of sight but the attack
roll has not yet been made.
Effect: You count as being in Hard Cover for the duration of the attack. If you are hit by the
triggering attack or take Reliable damage you may deploy a piece of Ceramic Cover in an adjacent
free space that is closest to your attacker. This is the only way you may deploy Ceramic Cover.

You may expend a charge from this system to maintain the Rapid Deploy Ceramic’s charge
otherwise it loses its charge.

Ceramic Cover
Size: 1 Hp: 3 Evasion: 5
Flash-produced ceramic plating is usually insufficiently robust to absorb
substantial kinetic bombardment, but can provide an effective ablator source when
closing on well-defended enemy strongpoints.

LICENSE II: CALAIS FRAME, LACHRYMATOR CANISTERS, CONCUSSIVE ROUNDS

Lachryma Nanite Canisters

2 SP, Quick Action, Unique
Launch a Lachrynma Nanite Canister into a space within Range 5. The area within Burst 1 of this
space becomes blanketed by corrosive gas. During their turn, Characters within this area are
Impaired until they leave its Area of Effect or until the gas disperses at the end of your next turn.
Units with the biological tag take 2 AP energy damage whenever they begin their turn or enter this
system’s AOE for the first time in a round in addition to the above effects

86
Chemical weapons of sufficient potency to harm a mechanized chassis are usually
instantly lethal to dismounted infantry; the introduction of greywash
“regulators” into the mix allows for a degree of target prioritization.

“Can Opener” Concussive Rounds

Modification, Restricted to: Rifles, CQB, Cannon, 1 Sp
When using a weapon with this modification you may declare that you are using Can Opener
Rounds prior to your attack roll. While doing so, on hit your attack deals - 3 damage to a minimum of
1 but gains the AP tag. Furthermore, upon declaration of the use of Can Opener Rounds, your
attack gains the following effect:

On Crit: Your target becomes Impaired until the end of their next turn.

Targets that would be destroyed while using Can Opener Rounds are instead Shut Down and its
Pilot (if applicable) is Down and Out until the end of the Scene. In the event that your target is a
Squad or a Biological, reducing their HP to zero while using Can Opener rounds renders them Down
and Out until the end of the Scene.
The Can Opener is more accurately a beanbag round, though on a scale that dwarfs
the conventional notion of less-lethal ammunition. CO shots reconfigure as they
are fired, assuming an impactor shape that distributes the maximum force over
the maximum surface area of a target.

LICENSE III: HECATONCHEIRES SUBMACHINE GUN, HELLBREACHER BUNKERS

Hecatoncheires SMG
Auxiliary CQB, Unique,
Modifications attached to this weapon cost -1 SP to a minimum of 0. At the beginning of the scene
choose a weapon profile to use. You may swap between profiles anytime you would reload a
weapon (e.g., stabilising, end of the scene, etc.).

RPM Optimization
Overkill
[Range 5, Threat 3] [1d3+1 Explosive], Knockback 2

Cold Core Tap

Heat self (2)
[Range 5, Threat 3] [1d3 Energy + 2 Burn]

Recoil Dampening
Reliable 1
[Range 8, Threat 3] [1d3+1 Kinetic]

The release of mechanized chasses unofficially designed for piracy like

Waffenfabrik Zalewski’s Jade Clipper and C&H’s Kallarani have resulted in IPS-
N’s more conventional CQB armaments becoming too rigid to respond to the sheer
diversity of pirate threats. Their answer to this problem - the Hecatoncheires

87
 SMG - is a lightweight sub-caliber weapon sporting a variety of hot-swappable
barrel options granting pilots tactical flexibility in close quarters
engagements.

Hellbreacher Drop Pod Bunkers

2 SP, Full Action, Deployable Limited 3
Expend a charge and select a 2x2 space within Sensors that is unoccupied by any characters. At the
end of your turn a Hellbreacher Bunker makes contact with the ground, destroying all destructible
Terrain or cover, removing any mines, marked spaces, and difficult or dangerous terrain completely
within its deployment area.

Hellbreacher Drop Pod Bunker

Size 2, HP 20, Evasion 5
All characters completely within the Bunker's 2x2 area gain Hard Cover from attacks originating
outside of it. This bunker has a true ceiling and prevents attacks made by those outside of the
bunker that target spaces within it (e.g., arcing attacks). Characters smaller or equal to its size may
enter, exit, or pass through it freely.
Joint MSMC - IPS-N economics analyses suggest that pilot casualties are highest
when advancing on fortified encampments or firing platforms. Seeking to
ameliorate these costly engagements, IPS-N developed the Hellbreacher Orbital
Deployment Platform. Operating along similar lines as the KID’s Jolly Roger, the
Hellbreacher launches modified Drop Pods that, upon landfall, reconfigure into a
compact but sealed bunker. As an added effect, the landfall of a Hellbreacher
Bunker is violent enough to clear any obstructing terrain, mines, or
environmental hazards.

88
SSC Adonis
Defender

SSC has not traditionally

presented itself as a media
entity; indeed, it undertakes
little in the form of “mass
marketing”, preferring to direct
its advertising against
organizations and societies
wealthy enough to afford it. In
the new era of combat idolatry,
as Apsara Zaibatsu slowly
extends its tentacles through
the collective consciousness of
humanity, the experience-
marketers of SSC cannot stand
idle.

Their solution? A shimmering,

splendorous addition to the LUX-
Iconic line. A performance frame
that puts AZAI to shame.
Mechanized, systematized beauty.
ADONIS.

89
CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM
Size: 2 Save Target: 10
Armor: 0 Sensors: 10
CODE BLUE MOTIVATORS
HULL SYSTEMS SSC has devoted nearly a decade of
HP: 8 E-Defense: 8 research to attempting to reverse-
Repair Cap: 5 Tech Attack: +0 engineer AZAI’s mood effector
AGILITY SP: 6 technology, with limited success. Their
Evasion: 12 ENGINEERING closest alternative is Code Blue, a
Speed: 5 Heat Cap: 4 suite of low-level fractal basilisks
TRAITS incorporating DHIYED-derived engrams
that can induce substantial mood
UNDENIABLE PRESENCE alteration on individual minds over
short distances.
1/round, as a Quick Action, the Adonis may
Make Itself Known; Select one character within Perpetual [E]motion Engine
Line of Sight. They must make a Systems Save Core Passive, Reaction
or be unable to draw Line of Sight to any
character other than the Adonis until the end of A number of times per round equal to your
their next turn. After this action resolves, the Grit, as a Reaction to the start of an ally or
Adonis gains the Lock On Condition. enemy's turn, you may immediately move 1
space, ignoring Engagement and Reactions.
You may forgo this motion to instead take the
Lock-On or Scan action against a target within
GUARDIAN Sensors, but you gain 2 Heat each time.
Adjacent allied characters can use the Adonis for
hard cover.
Anywhere Is [Yours]
Active (1 CP), Free Action

ADULATOPHILE Your Mech no longer acts within the standard

1/round when an attack that consumes a Lock
On hits the Adonis or an adjacent allied character
it may, as a Reaction, either reduce the resulting
damage by 1d3+1, calculated before applying
Resistance, or give the target +1 Accuracy
against any saves the attack might enforce.
MOUNTS
MAIN
MAIN/
AUX MOUNT
turn order. Instead, all of your Mech's default
actions (one movement, two half actions/one
Full Action) become Reactions to the end of
an ally or enemy's turn. These reactions ignore
the standard "one reaction per turn" limit, but
your standard Reactions do not. You may
activate Protocols on the first Reaction you
take in a round. Immediately after taking any
Reaction, you may activate one or more Free
Actions.
If you inflict or start an effect that ends "at the
end of your next turn", it instead resolves at
the end of the next turn of the ally or enemy
you are reacting to. If you gain an effect that
ends "at the end of your next turn", that effect
instead ends "at the end of the next round."

You may end this effect as a Reaction to the

end of an ally or enemy’s turn. Otherwise, it
lasts until the end of the scene.

90
LICENSE I: HEARTSPIKE V2, BEAUTY OF FORM

Heartspike v2
3 SP, Unique, Quick Tech, Invade
Gain the following options for Invade:
Lyrebird Code: Each time your target attacks a character other than you until the end of their next turn,
they first take 3 Heat.

Glamour: Until the end of its next turn, your target takes +2 Difficulty to attack characters other than you
unless it consumes Lock On.

“I need her. I need to cheer for her. She knows that- she must, surely? I’d rather
die than exist without her. She’s everything- anyone can see that. If they don’t,
they don’t deserve to be real.”

Beauty of Form
1 SP, Unique
You gain the All Eyes on Me Reaction.
Ordering an Adonis does not include a choice of colour schemes; instead, the mech’s
chromo-reactive outer hull layer subtly shifts in tone and texture to make it
visually (and electronically) identifiable in any environment.

All Eyes on Me
Reaction, 1/round
Trigger: An ally within Sensor range gains the Lock On condition while you do not have it.
Effect: You gain the Lock On condition instead.

LICENSE II: ADONIS FRAME, BEAUTY OF FUNCTION FRACTON BARRIER

Beauty of Function
2 SP, Unique, Mod
Choose one weapon: when you attack with this weapon and consume Lock On, you may choose to gain
an additional +1 Accuracy. If you do, your mech gains the Lock On condition.
“The loading system has been calibrated so that its servos will vibrate in tune
with your sound system. We’ve balanced the barrel so that shots will deliver
exactly the right range of bass harmonics. If that’s not beauty, I don’t know what
is.”

Fracton Barrier
2 SP, Unique, Shield
When a character within Burst 2 of your mech Braces, you may choose to take the damage they would
receive after calculating Resistance instead. You may then apply your own Resistances to this damage.
When you Brace, allies within Burst 2 of you count as being in Soft Cover until the start of your next
turn.

91
SSC’s advanced fractonic sound generation systems use quantum entanglement to
induce harmonic vibrations at a distance, delivering powerful sound without the
need to muck about with messy and unstable phononic plasmas.

LICENSE III: SARASWATI-CLASS NHP, HYPNOSPANGLE WEAVE

Saraswati-Class NHP
3 SP, AI, Unique
Gain the AI property and the Deific Diva Full Tech Action.

A semi-civilianized fork of the TLALOC, disarmed Saraswatis are used across the
Constellar as organizers, data archivists and, above all, influencers and
marketers. Their grasp of multi-level psychological and cultural memetics, when
combined with the vast well of segmentation, target audience and societal shift
data available on the Constellar, makes them the ultimate tour manager. Or so the
ad copy goes.

Deific Diva
Full Tech, 2 Heat (Self)
Until the end of your next turn, all allies within Burst 3 of your Mech cannot gain Lock On, and any ally
that enters this radius has their Lock Ons cleared. Each time you or any character within the burst would
gain or inflict Lock On, you gain 2 Overshield, which can stack with other Overshield gained from this
ability.

Hypnospangle Weave
2 SP, Unique, Protocol, 2 Heat (Self)
At the end of any of your turns in which this Protocol is active, if you haven’t been hit by an attack since
the end of your last turn, the nearest enemy within Sensor Range must pass a Systems save or take
Energy damage equal to 1d6 + your Grit.
Some of the plant-equivalent life forms endemic to the DHIYED vault proved to have
surprising visual and olfactory characteristics; light gene editing resulted in a
hull coating material that is phototrophic, olfactorily attractive to most baseline
humans, and which naturally generates low-level basilisk fractals when viewed
through a range of common image processing algorithms.

92
HORUS Dungeonmaster
Support/Controller

I met a mech, upon the field

Who insisted that I up and yield

I would not throw my weapons down

So it proclaimed to all aroun’

That up was left, and bottom wrong

And what had once been weak was
strong

And back was fast, and front so slow

And that I had no place to go

Then suddenly its rage was past

And I, left lying on the grass

Pondered peace and pondered war

In a world left crooked, forevermore.

93
CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM
Size: 3 Save Target: 10 Arneson-Carr Anomaly
Armor: 3 Sensors: 15
HULL SYSTEMS “-so much more than a dimensional
HP: 6 E-Defense: 8 disjunction. It’s strong enough to
Repair Cap: 4 Tech Attack: +1 forcibly intersect higher-
AGILITY SP: 8 dimensional branes with our
Evasion: 6 ENGINEERING subjectivity on a scale that
Speed: 2 Heat Cap: 5 should rip most matter apart, but
TRAITS delicate enough that an
unprotected human can just walk
Drifting Nightmare right into the field unharmed.
The Dungeonmaster can Hover when it moves. Assuming what’s on the other side
doesn’t kill them.”

GRPS Engine
Loremaster Active (1 CP), Protocol
When the DUNGEONMASTER takes the Scan Quick Choose one of the Environments listed on
Tech action it may choose to obtain 2 of the listed page 278 of the Core Rulebook. For the
pieces of information instead of 1. rest of the scene, this environment applies
to all characters save for those in the Blast
1 area created by Narrativist.
Narrativist
Before the first round of any combat and before any
deployment takes place the DUNGEONMASTER may
place a Blast 1 area in a space of the map that isn’t a
deployment zone. This area contains one of the
environments listed on page 278 of the Core Rulebook.
Any resistances granted by this area do not apply to
damage or heat that is self-inflicted.
Work with your GM to determine what is appropriate when
utilizing this trait.

Slow
The DUNGEONMASTER takes +1 Difficulty on
Agility saves.

MOUNTS

MAIN/
AUX

94
LICENSE I: FUDGE_Reality.exe, Serene Eminence

FUDGE_Reality.exe Serene Eminence

1 SP, Quick Tech
Select either yourself or an ally within Sensor range.
Your target’s next attack benefits from one of the
following effects, chosen by you:
• The penalties from cover are reversed: your
target gains +1 Accuracy instead of +1
Difficulty to hit targets in Soft Cover relative to
itself, and +2 Accuracy instead of +2 Difficulty
to hit targets in Hard Cover relative to itself.
• Each time your target rolls a 1 or a 2 on an
Accuracy or Difficulty die, it may clear 1 Heat,
up to a maximum of 4 Heat per turn.
ʍou noʎ ǝʌɐs ʇ,uɐɔ ǝɔᴉp ǝɥʇ
3 SP, Protocol, 2 Heat (Self)
Upon activation of this protocol, select
one Mount on your Mech or the
Mount of an ally within Sensors. All
weapons on that Mount gain Arcing if
they do not have it.
You may also select up to 2
characters within range 2 of your
mech, including yourself. They are
treated as Hovering on their turns, an
effect which lasts until the end of their
next turn.
“General, are we sure this
thing is even a ground asset?
I mean it has legs, sure, but
the upper levels are nearly
500 feet up.”

LICENSE II: Dimensional Squash, Munchkin-Pattern Simulated Weapon

Dimensional Squash Munchkin-Pattern

2 SP, Protocol, 1 Heat (Self) Simulated Weapon
Pick two opposing edges of the current map and draw an axis Main Cannon
between them that is parallel to the grid on which you are playing. 15 Range, 1d6 E
Your speed is doubled when moving parallel to the axis, but halved On Crit: You may take
otherwise. You may draw a new axis, replacing the old one, each the Scan Quick Tech
time you activate this protocol. action as a Free Action
against your target after
the attack fully resolves.
When activating this Protocol, you may instead select a character “Do your
within Range 2 of your mech to benefit from its effect on their next paperwork. Crunch
turn. the numbers hard
g o f a s t e r enough, and you
can justify
anything.”

95
LICENSE III: Dimensional Torus, Worldgen

Dimensional Torus Worldgen

2 SP, Quick Tech 2 SP, Unique, Invade
Select an allied character within Sensor Range. Their Gain the following Invade options:
next ranged or melee attack may treat the edges of Railroad: Your target treats all
the battle map as closed and contiguous- if their terrain as difficult terrain, even if
attack passes off the edge of the map, it continues to flying, until the end of their next turn.
be measured in the same direction from a parallel
point on the opposite edge of the map. Funnel: Your target treats all
movement beyond its standard
move as if it was through
Attacks made in this way take +1 difficulty. Dangerous and Difficult Terrain
TARGETING even if flying.
GTARGETIN
NGTARGETI “Where the hell is 4th
INGTARGET Battalion? What? No- but-
TINGTARGE well how did they get there?
ETINGTARG Listen- I- how the hell
GETINGTAR should I know? I don’t even
RGETINGTA know where I am!”
ARGETINGT

96
 HA Mendel
Defender/Controller

Spurred on by the wild success of SSC’s forays into exotic

materials, Harrison Armoury’s Think Tank has released the Mendel.
A marvel of armoury technology and genetic engineering, the
Mendel incorporates living, radiotrophic fungi referred to as
Cladosporium sphaerospermum into its armour plating to act as
both a heat shield and - when the plating fungi have been
sufficiently “fed” - as additional armour. Looking to kill two
birds with one stone, the Armoury has set the Mendel loose in
Odeon space to test its capabilities in a less-than-regulated
Union space and to maintain its borders with the aggressive
actors within.

97
CORE STATS CORE SYSTEM
Size: 2 Save Target: 11
Armour: 1 Sensors: 10
Fungal Radiation Shunt
HULL SYSTEMS “Many ask: “what exotic world did you find
HP: 10 E-Defense: 8 the Cladosporium sphaerospermum on? what
Repair Cap: 5 Tech Attack: -1 distant system on the long rim contained
AGILITY SP: 7 it?” to which I reply: “it was found right
Evasion: 6 ENGINEERING on our doorstep; buried within the home of
Speed: 3 Heat Cap: 8 humanity at coordinates 51°23′21″ N,
TRAITS 30°5′58″ E. It took the Think tank years to
breed and bend it to our purpose but the
RADIOTROPHIC PLATING result was more than worth it.”

When the Mendel is in the Danger Zone Swarm Host

it gains an additional point of Armour.
FEED THE COLONY
As a Protocol the Mendel may reduce
its health by 4 to clear up to 4 Heat.
Passive
The Mendel is surrounded by a Burst 1 area of
Soft Cover that moves with them. Only Allied
characters may benefit from this cover.
Release Swarm Tethers
Active (1 CP), Quick Action

MOUNTS On activation, Swarm Host’s Burst 1 area

becomes Difficult Terrain and Enemy Characters
that enter this area for the first time in a round or
begin their turn in this area take 3 AP Explosive
FLEX HEAVY
damage.
MOUNT MOUNT
For the remainder of the scene, each time the
Mendel clears 4 heat or more, the radius of the
Burst grows by 1, to a maximum of Burst 3.

LICENSE I: SPHAEROSPERMUM NEXI, FUNGAL OVERGROWTH

Sphaerospermum Nexi
Main Nexus, Smart, Heat (1/2/3)
[10 Range] [1d3+1 Explosive]
On Attack: you may choose to take either 0, 1, 2, or 3 Heat. For every 1 point of Heat taken in this
way the Sphaerospermum Nexi deals 1 point of Bonus Energy Damage. When you choose to take
3 Heat in this fashion this weapon gains Accurate.

Very early on the Think Tank discovered that there was an upper limit to their
genetically engineered Sphaerospermum’s capability to absorb radiation. Anything
that exceeded this would result in explosive cell death. The Think Tank being
what it is immediately saw the potential of this as a weapon.

98
Fungal Overgrowth
2 SP, Quick Action, Limited 3
Choose 1 Deployable, or Size 1 Wreck or piece of Terrain within Range 8 and make a ranged attack
roll against it. On hit, your target gains the Mine tag with the caveat that a successful Engineering
Check is required to disarm it rather than a Systems Check. When this modified mine is triggered,
enemies within Burst 1 must make an Engineering Save or take 2d6 AP Energy Damage or half as
much on a successful save, and the deployable or piece of terrain targeted by this system is
destroyed.
Building off of the Spaerosperum’s explosive properties the Think Tank played
with the idea that by imparting the ability of other species of fungi to “shoot”
their spores to the Sphaerosperum it could be used as a makeshift Landmine.
Their experiments yielded a viable system with the caveat that it did need a
defined space on which to grow.

LICENCE II: MENDEL FRAME, DIRECTED MYCELIAL BARRIERS, THERMITE LAUNCHER

Directed Mycelial Barriers

3 SP, Quick Action, Deployable, Heat Self (2/4/6), Unique
As a Quick Action you may take 2, 4, or 6 Heat and deploy 3, Size 1 pieces of Mycelial Cover in a
free space that is either adjacent to you, or to an instance of Mycelial Cover. Sections of Mycelial
Cover that are deployed during this action satisfy the adjacency clause for this system. Depending
on the heat cost chosen, the Mycelial Cover gains increased HP.

Mycelial Cover counts as Hard Cover and has HP equal to to the Self Heat taken to activate this
system multiplied by 5.

Mycelial Cover:
Hp: Heat cost x5 Evasion: 5

Though the SP Nexuses had been successfully developed, the Armory was unable to
fully control the growth of their modified fungi making their biological heat
sinks unstable and unreliable. It wasn’t until an enigmatic Myocologist under
the codename “Aminata” and his NHP co-pilot joined Armory R&D that they were
able to corral their Spaerosperum’s growth in a satisfactory manner.

Thermite Launcher
Heavy Cannon, Loading, Self Heat (2)
[10 Range] [1d6 Kinetic + 4 Burn Damage]
On Attack: After any attack with this weapon fully resolves, you can place a size 1 piece of
Dangerous Terrain dealing Energy Damage in a space within Burst 1 of your target. This piece of
dangerous terrain follows the regular rules for Dangerous Terrain but dissipates at the beginning
of your next turn.

Existing first as legacy weaponry for the Ghengis Mrk2, the Thermite Launcher
was packaged alongside the Mendel’s licensing to supplement its potent area
denial capabilities.

99
LICENCE III: FUNGAL INFESTATION PRIMERS, TIDE NEXUS

Fungal Infestation Primers

2 SP, Full Action, Unique
Make a ranged attack against a target within Range 10. On hit their chassis is infested with a
voracious Radiotrophic Fungi and is Impaired until they succeed on a Engineering Save taken as
a Full Action. This Impairment may not be cleared through any means other than this Save. Until
this infestation is cleared, your target takes 1d6 AP Explosive damage at the end of their turn.
The initial strains of the modified Spaerosperum prior to Aminata’s arrival were
kept as potential bio-weaponry but are only released to highly qualified pilots.
Misuse of these fungal primers can and has resulted in entire chasses falling to
a black flood of fungi.

Tide Nexus
Superheavy Nexus, Smart, Accurate
[Burst 2 / Cone 5] [2d6 Explosive Damage]
This weapon’s range may be treated as either Burst 2 or Cone 5, chosen whenever you make an
attack with it. Furthermore, this weapon ignores ranged penalties from engagement.

On Attack: This weapon’s AOE lingers until the beginning of your next turn. Enemy characters that
end their turn within this area are caught in the swarm of nexi flowing back to your frame and take
1d6 Energy damage.

The Tide nexus functions along similar lines as the Iskander’s Broad Sweep
Seeder. Although its area of effect is more constrained relative to the Seeder,
the Tide nexus makes up for it by completely saturating an area with
Spaherosperum Nexi. When undetonated Nexi are recalled they have a chance to
inflict secondary hits on targets foolish enough to remain in its kill zone.

100