This first installment of the Asylum will cover the available upgrades, repair, recharge, and reload costs and penalties as well as the very few items that the Asylum produces.
It is important to realize that while the Asylum is capable of repairing and reconstructing most equipment to it's original specifications this RARELY happens, even if it is requested by the owner. This is because everyone at the Asylum is proud of their handi-work and want to show it off, they also have an obsession with leaving their mark on anything they do. This often means that the owner of a particular piece of equipment will have it returned to them in PERFECT working order, just a little different. i.e. If you are having e-clips recharged then they will be returned to you painted neon yellow with the words 'inspected by #15' written on the side. If the character wishes to complain about the condition of the returned equipment he/she must go to the complaint department, at which time the characters should notice that all of the employees have '#15' emblazoned on their jumpsuits.
Repairs to the M.D.C. are done at roughly 75% of the cost listed in Source Book #1 however, the real deal is the Armor replacement upgrades offered at the Asylum which are done at 90% of the costs listed in Source Book #1.
Laser Resistant: This upgrade does not increase the overall M.D.C. of the equipment but, it reduces damages from laser weapons to 1/10th and no advantages are gained over ballistic weapons. Due to the high level of conductivity necessary to reduce the damage from lasers the armor is particularly vulnerable to plasma weapons and particle beam weapons increasing the damage taken from each by tenfold.
Ablative armor: This upgrade does not increase the overall M.D.C. of the armor but, it does provide substantial protection from ballistic weapons reducing the damage by 1/2. This armor is inter woven with tiny explosive devices that redirect the energy of the projectile and of explosions from missiles. While the explosives are unusually stable and will not detonate in the presence of electrical energy (read: no penalties or bonuses against energy weapons of any sort) they become extremely dangerous in the presence of certain proteins found in eggs. When egg is applied to the armor a highly explosive chain reaction occurs and 50% of the M.D.C. remaining in that location will be destroyed with odd numbers rounded up.
Double Strength armor: This armor provides double the M.D.C. for the piece of equipment so armored. There is no special protection from any type of attack. Unfortunately the armor is extremely vulnerable to citric acid. The armor turns black and changes to S.D.C. when it is brought into contact with citric acid. This change is permanent, well, not quite, the only way to reverse the damage is to replace the damaged armor with the M.D.C. stuff. Note: Citric acid is the stuff found in orange juice, lemon juice, etc.
Energy Resistant armor: This upgrade does not provide increased protection but, it does reduce damage taken from electrical discharges, particle beam and plasma weapons by 1/2. Ballistic and laser weapons continue to do normal damage. This armor has the unfortunate tendency to melt and run like water when it is brought into contact with sugar water. The sugar water does damage to the armor in the same increments that water does damage to a vampire.
Armor Notes: The flaws in the above armor are inherent in the way the armor is produced and cannot yet be eliminated. All armor on a vehicle SHOULD be of the same type however, I will leave it up to the GM's as to how to apply the armor.
RADAR:
- The range can be doubled allowing identification and tracking of targets at extended ranges however, as long as the radar is active the targeting system is inoperable. This means that all strike bonuses are lost (in some cases negative modifiers might be appropriate), missiles will not be able to acquire target locks but, the pilot will receive a +5 to initiative.
- The 'sensitivity' can be increased to the point that so-called 'stealth' craft can be tracked and Identified however, while the radar is in use the communications system will be off line. This is due to the radar taking control of the communications array to amplify incoming signals thereby allowing targets that would normally be invisible to radar to be seen. The good news is that the pilot cannot be ambushed while the radar is active. While the targeting system is not off-line missiles will continue to have trouble locking on to a 'stealth' target and there is a good chance (85%) of the missile losing the lock after it is fired.
Communications:
- The range of built-in communication systems can be doubled but, the radar system becomes inactive while the communication system is active. This is due to the communication system taking control of the radar array to boost signal strength. The lack of radar translate to a -2 on initiative.
- A 'secured' link can be established between friendly units, this link cannot be listened to by anyone but other unit members with the 'secured' link equipment. On the downside once this feature is installed into your communication system it is the ONLY channel that can be received by the units with the secure link.
- Override system. This is a broad range system that allows the pilot to break into any comm line that he/she wants except for the secure link described above. The biggest problem is that except for those with secure link EVERY communication system within the range of the unit's communication system will be 'locked' onto that frequency. In other words yes, you can now hear what the bad guys are planning but, you can also hear what every transmitter in the area is broadcasting (this includes remote missile guidance systems), and everyone with a transmitter/receiver in the range of your equipment is also on the line.
Targeting System:
- Spotter links allow any one in your unit to target from any one else's targeting computer. i.e. If Bob cannot see the bad guys and Jane can, then Bob can fire at them indirectly using Jane's targeting computer. That's the good news. The bad news is that while Bob is using this option Jane no has to use Bob's targeting computer which does her very little good. Now the worse news, while the spotter link is active both units communication systems are off-line.
- Audio Targeting system, this system actually tries to help the pilot correct his/her aim by giving audio suggestions. i.e. If Bob has his cross hairs too low the ever helpful targeting computer might pipe up and say something like "HEY! BONEHEAD! You might try aiming at HIM instead of the GROUND!" or "If you cared about me you would clean up that pilots compartment once in a while." The system takes some getting used to and doesn't seem to help a whole lot but, its a lot of fun for you GM's out there.
- Automatic lock on, this system automatically locks onto the nearest hostile target and will not break it's lock on unless the target is destroyed or the system is rebooted.
The employees at the Asylum firmly believe that if a part needs to be replaced it was too small in the first place. This means that if you take a car in to get the tire changed the chassis will be adjusted to accommodate larger wheels (read Monster Truck wheels), or if the arm on your PA falls off then maybe you need a larger arm (much larger, read robot vehicle arm), etc.
E-clips: The Asylum can repair and recharge 90% of all e-clips and e-clip canisters. The cost of a recharge will be about 60% of what is listed in the main book. The Asylum has a swap policy when it comes to e-clips, you bring your old depleted e-clip and you leave with a genuine neon orange, Asylum charged, e-clip.
Reloads: The Asylum carries and sells standardized ammunition for most ballistic weapons. This includes railguns, rifles, handguns, and missile launchers. The Asylum also produces specialized ammunition for those weapons listed above. i.e. The Asylum will NOT sell specialized ammunition for specialty weapons (Naruni (tm)plasma-cartridges, micro-missiles, and similar).
Railguns:
- Anti-vampire rounds. These are rail gun slugs that have been hollowed out and filled with highly compressed water. These things explode with force when they hit anything more solid than wet tissue paper. This can be taken literally, as the slugs have a tendency to explode when dropped, banged, or sneezed at. The exploding slugs do 2d6 S.D.C. to a radius of three feet and have a 70% chance of setting off any other slugs within this radius. However a railgun loaded with the slugs will do whatever standard burst damage + 10 pts to Vampires and their ilk but, the gun will only do 1/3 it's normal damage to targets that suffer no ill effects due to water.
- Tracer belts. The Asylum sells railgun belts that have phosphorus slugs in them. The phosphorus slugs burn on contact with air and can be used to tell where the rest of the slugs are going. Things never being easy at the Asylum, the only problem with the belts is that while the belts have a uniform ratio of 1 tracer to 5 normal slugs the tracers are not uniformly spaced in the belt. This means that it is possible for all or most of the tracer slugs to be fired in one or two bursts. The slugs provide a +2 to strike for the burst they are present in and no bonus if the burst has no or few tracers in it. Roughly speaking 40% of the time the tracers are correctly positioned in the belt, 30% of the time a burst will have no or few tracers (no bonus), and the rest of the time the burst will be predominately tracers (only 1d6 damage for entire burst). Tracers do no provide any additional bonuses to damage unless they hit a flammable object in which case there is an 80% chance of it bursting into flame.
Ammunitions: The Asylum sells and produces special ammunition similar to those produced by Wellington Industries (tm). They also have a few rounds that they make.
- Jelly Rounds. These rounds look just like your standard ammunition for S.D.C. type weapons except that the bullet is either a black or transparent plastic and filled with a 'jelly.' These are ideal for training purposes, 'mock' assassinations and other places where actually killing people could put a damper on the situation. They are available in two colors: red (strawberry jelly), and blue (orange marmalade).
Missiles: All missile type are available, and 'standard' missiles cost 33% more then the list price when bought from the Asylum while the 'specialty' missiles cost only 80% of list price.
- Riot control foam. These missiles spray a large amount of super sticky foam over a large area to help restrain, and restore order to large groups of people. Unfortunately there is a 25% chance that the missile will explode before it is fired. If the missile explodes there is 50/50 chance that it exploded either in the launcher, or in the missile bay. If the missile detonated in the bay then all of the missiles will become jammed and be unable to fire with no further damage being done until the bay is cleaned out. However, if the missile(s) detonated in the launcher then the next missile loaded into that tube will become stuck in the tube and may also detonate in the tube (30%). Whether or not the launcher is destroyed will depend on the next missile into the tube.
- Water missiles. These missiles warheads were replaced with plastic 'warheads' in a manner similar to that of the jelly rounds explained previously except that instead of 'jelly' they are filled with water. The water warheads are much more unstable then the riot missile and will explode 40% of the time before they are fired with a 60/40 ratio of missile bay and launch tube. If the missile is in the launch tube when it explodes no problem, the 'empty' will fire with the rest of it's flight but will not do any damage to Vampires. If, however, the missile detonates in the missile bay there is a 30% chance that some or all of the electrical systems in the vehicle have been shorted out! What systems are shorted out are left up to the discretion of the GM and the forethought of the player. The damage to vampires is the following:
mini-missile =1/2 gallon of water
short range = 1 gallon of water
med. range = 4 gallons of water
long range = 10 gallons of water
The following equipment is produced by the Asylum for sale to the general public please note that this does not mean that the Asylum does not have other specialized equipment that they can produce (i.e. PA, Giant Robots, robots, etc.) just that what is listed here is all they are willing to put on the open market.
Indestructible Body Armor:
By using an EXTREMELY difficult and complex process (did I mention
secret?) the geniuses at the Asylum have come up with a nearly indestructible
material suitable for use as body armor. This extremely dense and rigid
composite is immune to nearly every form of physical punishment appearing
to take no or very little damage from most common weapons. In fact the
armor is so tough that it must be form fitted to the wearer. On the up
side this means that usually the owner is the only person who can wear
the armor, on the down side there is no way to modify the armor nor room
for any padding. In fact while the armor itself is indestructible the wearer
is not. Every time a hit is scored on the armor, the person wearing the
armor takes equivalent damage in either S.D.C. (if an S.D.C. being), or
M.D.C. (if an M.D.C. being) once all of the characters S.D.C. points are
gone then the hit points start to go in a 1:5 ratio of HP to SDC. This
SDC damage reflects the fact that the energy is passed on through the armor
instead of absorbed by the armor while the HP damage reflects the internal
concussions, and bleeding that the character is experiencing. The Armor
has good maneuverability giving it a -10% on prowl.
Cost: 100,000 credits.
*note: there is NO way to avoid taking personal damage in this armor.
**note: Attaching this armor to a vehicle or other armor will only save
you from the first damage, the damage absorbed will be passed through the
armor to whatever is holding in place causing it to break off and fall
free.
***note: This armor is available from the Asylum in the colors of Hot Pink,
Neon Yellow, Puke Green, or Red with Pink Polka-Dots.
Vibro-Spatula
Yes, this is the standard weapon of the Asylum Enforcer. Yes, it looks
just like a regular spatula and can be used to make pancakes. I would say
that this weapon falls underneath the W.P. Knife category. However, the
Enforcer gets a special W.P. Kitchen Utensils which allows both combat
and domestic use of most weapons.
Mega-Damage: 1d6 M.D.
Cost: 10,000 credits
Duck Call
It's just like one you would fine in one of those pre-rift hunting
catalogs, they make great gag gifts to antagonists of all kinds.
Cost: 5 credits
Solar Cells
The Asylum has almost out done themselves this time with the creation
of their ultra efficient solar-cells. These cells have a biological component
that allows efficiency close to 99%. A square meter cell will have a power
output on a cloudy day equal to that of an e-clip, while on a sunny day
the power output would be equal to an e-clip canister. On the downside
this wonderful device must be kept in light for 22 hours a day or the bio-component
will begin to die. Starting at three hours and for every hour afterward
until the cells receive light (artificial light will work) 10% of the cell
will die and power output will drop by 10%. However, the cell will regenerate
at a rate of 10% of power per every two hours of light.
Cost: 1,000 credits per square meter
The Laughing Lunatic