This section covers gear suited for “outdoor activities” like climbing, diving or orienteering, as well as general adventuring.
An ordinary light source can be more useful than the most sophisticated sensors!
These can project an infrared, ultraviolet, or visible light beam, which is also tunable from a wide flashlight cone to a pencil-thin red or blue-green laser pointer (range is multiplied by 10). It can function as a blinding weapon in a pinch – see Dazzle Laser. The light eliminates darkness penalties out to its listed range. Use 75 times this distance for signaling range.
Penlight: This emits a ten-yard beam. It may be helmet or belt-mounted, or attached to a firearm accessory rail. $3, 0.1 lbs., 2A/24 hr.
Mini Flashlight: This projects a 30-yard beam. May be helmet-mounted or attached to a firearm accessory rail. $10, 0.25 lbs., B/24 hr.
Heavy Flashlight: This projects a 100-yard beam, and can be used as a baton. $20, 1 lb., 2B/24 hr.
Searchlight: Heavy-duty searchlights are often mounted on vehicles or buildings. A searchlight projects a 4,000-yard beam. $500, 10 lbs., C/12 hr. LC4.
These chemical lights glow when snapped and shaken; they don’t require power cells. Each provides two days of light illuminating a two-yard radius. They’re available in different colors, white light, and infrared light. $2, 0.1 lb.
This is a swarm of glow-in-the-dark microbots. They can be ordered into small spaces for illumination, serve as mobile lamps, or provide a diffuse candle-like glow for romantic occasions. They can turn on or off, change colors or dim their lights on command, and glow in the infrared, ultraviolet, or visible spectrums. They can’t provide the equivalent of full daylight (unless multiple swarms are stacked) but they are bright enough to read by. A firefly swarm is $100/square yard. LC4.
Precise navigation is essential for explorers, travelers, and soldiers.
In this day and age, this is a built-in feature of many gadgets rather than a separate device. If a planet has an orbital navigation satellite network, the GPS system links the user to it, enabling him to always know his exact position if he consults a properly-scaled map. It is accurate to about 5 yards. The system can also store the coordinates of a location it has visited (called a “way point”). It can then direct the user to that way point or transmit the data via communicator to other GPS systems. With a computer, it can show the user’s position on a moving-map display.
These devices indicate the direction and distance traveled from any preset point on a planetary surface. It can be set for the location at which the user is physically present, or for any other coordinates (make a Navigation roll if the precise coordinates are uncertain). An inertial navigation system lets the user always know which way is north. He can retrace any path he has followed within the past month, no matter how faint or confusing. It does not work in environments such as interstellar space, but it does work underground, underwater, and on other planets.
Inertial Compass: This palm-sized inertial navigation system includes a tiny computer, a GPS (above), and a video screen. If digital maps are available, the compass can superimpose the user’s position and path on the map and display it on its screen. The compass can also connect to an HUD. It gives a +3 bonus to Navigation (Air, Land, and Sea). $60, 0.1 lbs., A/200 hr.
Inertial Navigation System: An extremely precise system. It has the capabilities of an inertial compass, but adds a +5 (quality) bonus to Navigation (Air, Land, and Sea). $5,000, 20 lbs., B/100 hr. LC4.
These are used to carry equipment or cargo, and to keep it safe in hostile environments.
A collapsible inflatable boat (similar to a kayak or covered canoe) with rigid, air-filled structural members. The boat has seating for one person and gear with a combined weight of 250 pounds. It has a built-in powered pump that can inflate the structural tubes and internal compartments in 20 seconds from ambient air. The manual backup pump takes two minutes. Packing it for storage takes at least one person-minute in ideal conditions.
The material is the same as that of the pressure tent (UltraTech, p. 76). The basic model comes with a tethered inflatable paddle, but some models add sails, rigging, and inflatable masts. $150, 6 lbs., B/20 minutes. LC5. A sail and rigging adds $100 and 2 lbs. A mast adds $50 and 2 lbs, and improves sail efficiency. For larger boats, multiply cost, weight, and number of paddles and power cells by the capacity multiple. Adding solar film surface to charge the power cell doubles cost.
A flat round cart, two feet in diameter, that floats quietly on an air cushion generated by a ducted fan. It can be towed or pushed at the pusher’s Move. Hovercarts are often seen around air and spaceports, used for moving cargo and luggage; other versions serve as baby carriages and shopping carts. They can carry 500 pounds over smooth ground or water, and make a humming sound audible to a normal Hearing roll at 30 yards. Voice-controlled robot versions with Move 4 are available at double cost. $300, 4 lbs., C/12 hr. LC4.
This pressurized container is used for carrying fragile items or pets through vacuum or hostile environments. Its internal dimensions are 2 x 1 x 1 feet. It includes a 12-hour air tank and its own life-support pack that regulates the environment. It provides a room-temperature environment from -459°F to +200°F, as well as DR 10 and radiation PF 5. The modular walls can link together to form a larger container from several boxes. Sealing or unsealing the pressure box takes six seconds; linking boxes together takes 10 seconds per box. $600, 7 lbs., 2C/1 wk. LC4.
Ultra-tech technology doesn’t just make exploration easier or more comfortable. It can open up new frontiers for adventurers.
An exceptionally ruggedized version of the survival watch (Ultra-Tech, p. 77), this device can survive 1,000 atmospheres of pressure and has DR 10. The tiny computer is hardened. It also includes a tiny radio comm and a radio-isotope generator to trickle-charge (recharges in two years when in sleep-mode, with a half-life of 1,000 years) and to keep accurate time for 10,000 years (loses only one second per 100 years). $1,000, 0.75 lbs., B/3 months. LC3.
This is an insulated, heated sleeping bag designed for extremes of temperature. It has the same performance as a Heat Suit. It can also be sealed and hooked up to air tanks. $80, 2 lbs., C/72 hr.
This canteen holds a quart of water. It removes impurities, salts, microbes, and poisons. It can filter salt water, but not raw sewage or toxic waste. On its own, it adds a +1 (quality) bonus to Survival skill when living off the land; it’s also included in survival kits. One quart can be purified in 10 minutes. The filter must be replaced every 1,000 quarts; a color change signals when it’s time to change. An “exhausted” filter still has a few quarts of capacity, but only the manufacturer knows how many. The canteen is $180, 1 lb. (empty) or 3 lbs. (full). LC4.
This smart climbing footwear is amazingly tough, but still provides tactile feedback about the rock conditions to the wearer. In addition, the boot can change shape for a better grip, and can grow crampons or a forward-placed spike on command. Add +1 per die to the damage the wearer inflicts with a kick. Gripboots give a +1 equipment modifier to Climbing, or +2 on ice. Combat statistics are identical to assault boots. $250, 1 lbs. LC4.
This kit allows the user to assemble any size or shape of cage, with a maximum volume of 10 cubic yards. Assembling a cage takes three minutes per cubic yard of volume; several cages may be combined to build a larger one. Traps skill is required to build anything but a simple cubical cage, or to assemble a cage quickly in half the time. Cage bars are 1/2” in diameter. DR 100. $1,000, 200 lbs. LC4.
This is similar to a modular cage, but it takes three times as long to put together. Once assembled the cage is sealed and, if connected to an external air and power supply, can duplicate and maintain nearly any planetary environment (except for gravity). A 6“ airlock allows access for feeding. $10,000, 400 lbs. LC4.
This airtight tent is strong enough to be inflated to one atmosphere in a vacuum. The metallized fabric incorporates minor (PF 2) radiation protection, but users planning a long stay in a vacuum or trace atmosphere are advised to place the tent in a sheltered location (such as a cave) to provide protection from solar and cosmic radiation. The tent’s air tanks hold man-days of air equal to twice the tent’s capacity. Entering or leaving through the one-man lock takes one minute. The tent has DR 15.
One-Man Tent: $1,500, 60 lbs. LC4.
Three-Man Tent: $3,000, 100 lbs. LC4.
Eight-Man Tent: $15,000, 200 lbs. LC4.
Originally designed by a retired survey scout, and popular with soldiers, refugees, and recreational backpackers, the shelterpack uses memory bioplas, buzz fabric, and solar paint to compress many wilderness survival tools into the lightest possible package. It can pack itself into a box the size of an attaché case for easy storage, or unfold to form the following items.
Pack: A standard frame backpack (Ultra-Tech, p. B288) or hard suitcase (Ultra-Tech, p. B288) with five square feet of solar paint exposed.
Tent: A one-man unpressurized tent. Survival modifier +2. In Earth-normal daylight, the solar paint provides enough power to run a vapor canteen (Ultra-Tech, p. 76), survival foodfac (Ultra-Tech, p. 70), and recharge power cells. Shelterpacks can be joined together to make larger tents for more people: If 16 or more shelterpack tents are hooked up together, they constitute a solar power array providing external power (Ultra-Tech, p. 20).
Waterproof Poncho: A hooded black cloak that protects against wind and rain and provides some protection against both heat and cold (-20° to 120° F if worn over ordinary clothing and suitable footwear). This is often worn over an expedition suit (Ultra-Tech, p. 178); its solar paint helps keep the power plant charged. It’s also useable as a heavy cloak in combat (p. B287) and has DR 1 and +4 to Holdout.
Boat: The shelterpack can be changed to two possible configurations: a two-person enclosed kayak (High-Tech, p. 232), or a flat-bottomed open coracle.
Sled: It can be used as a toboggan, a pulka, or a stretcher.
Saddle and Saddlebags: The standard setting is for an equine or gheap or robot equivalent, but it can be reprogrammed for other mounts.
When completely empty, the shelterpack can reconfigure itself between forms in 1d+9 seconds. Anything left inside it will be ejected downward; this causes the reconfiguring process to take (1d+4) times as long, and can be awkward for the occupant. A shelterpack incorporates a printed tiny computer (Ultra-Tech, p. 22) and datapad, and can respond to verbal commands; smart owners secure these with a voiceprint or other ID, to prevent pranksters turning their boats into suitcases while midstream.
Standard military-issue shelterpacks are rugged (UltraTech, p. 15) and available only in black: $1,500, 12 lbs, LC4. Halve the cost for a non-rugged (but possibly more colorful) civilian version.
Military shelterpacks may also incorporate infrared cloaking (+$1,500; Ultra-Tech, p. 99) and/or reversible chameleon cloak lining (+$1,000 to + $8,000; Ultra-Tech, p. 99) for use in tent or poncho mode. Optional extras for both military and civilian models include upgraded computers (Ultra-Tech, pp. 22-23) and communicators (Ultra-Tech, pp. 43-45).
A heavier version of the morph axe (Ultra-Tech, p. 83), the morph mattock places a removable two-pound memory-metal head on the end of a conventional (nonmagnetic and nonconducting) telescoping handle that collapses to two feet. It serves as a shovel (High-Tech, p. 25), double-bitted axe (High-Tech, p. 25), pickaxe, pry bar, paddle, fishing rod, or just the proverbial six-foot pole – or, for the more aggressive, a long fishing spear (not balanced for throwing) or naginata.
Removed from the pole, the head can become a hammer, hatchet, long knife, spanner, or even a cooking pot. Treat as basic equipment for Carpentry or Survival and improvised equipment for a variety of other tasks. $1,100, 5 lbs, LC 3.
Gheaps are genetically engineered hybrid animals designed for small farms and start-up low-tech offworld colonies. By incorporating genes from monotremes, yaks, camels, and other domestic animals, scientists produced a hornless mount that laid eggs, produced milk, and could pull a plough or cart. Gheaps are as omnivorous as goats, and can survive in deserts, arctic tundra, or mountainous regions. As a result, they are also used as pack animals or mounts by those explorers who prefer the company of animals to that of robots or people.
Adult female gheaps lay one half-pound egg every 1d+20 hours in normal to warm weather (60° to 100° F), and produce up to seven gallons of milk in a 24-hour day given adequate food and water. Gheap meat is also edible (though tough), and its naturally dry manure burns well. Finally, its white hair can be woven into a yarn (more often used for ropes or nets than clothing – it does not take dyeing well, and garments of gheap wool are widely considered a mark of poverty and low status). In moderate or warmer weather, gheap hair is short (DR 1) except for a mane and tail, like those of a horse; they become much shaggier (up to DR 2) in cooler climes. Though largely defenseless against predators, they are as intelligent as dogs and make good watch animals, bellowing loudly if threatened.
Gheaps acclimatize to their native world in their first two standard years, during which time they grow to riding size. They can remain productive for another 10, but unless they are trained to it, they do not adapt well to sudden changes (such as moving to a world with a different gravity or rotation period). Gheaps cannot swim or jump, and they avoid bodies of water unless they can see the bottom and all the sides; getting one to cross a river takes an experienced gheap wrangler.
Male gheaps are less useful than females (except as mounts: they have Enhanced Move 1, Ground Speed 12), and less than 4% of fertilized gheap eggs result in male offspring. A fertilized gheap egg costs $500.
ST: 24 HP: 24 Speed: 5 DX: 10 Will: 12 Move: 5 IQ: 4 Per: 12 Weight: 1,400 lbs. HT: 12 FP: 12 SM: +1 Dodge: 8 Parry: N/A DR: 1 or 2*
Weak Bite (10): 2d-4 crushing. Reach C.
Hooves (10): 2d+3 crushing. Reach C.
Traits: Cannot Float; Cannot Jump; Congenial; Domestic Animal; Filter Lungs; Fur; G-Intolerance 1; Mild Thalassaphobia; Peripheral Vision; Quadruped; Radiation Tolerance PF 2; Reduced Consumption 2 (Cast-Iron Stomach); Reduced Consumption 3 (Water Only); Temperature Tolerance 3. Skills: Mount-11; Survival (one environment)-12. * DR depends on climate; see description.
A pistol-grip launcher which fires a rocket-propelled, explosive-set piton. It can shoot an attached line up to 200 yards. A successful Climbing roll (made by the GM) means the piton is securely lodged and will support weight; a critical failure means the firer only thinks it is! Roll vs. DX-4 to hit if used as a weapon. It inflicts 1d+2 impaling damage, with Acc 2, range 70/200, RoF 1, Bulk -3, Rcl 2, Shots 1(5). $40, 2 lbs. Reloads are $1, 0.5 lb. per shot. LC4.
This is a miniature launcher for a 100'-long carbon fiber line terminating in a molecular adhesive cup that will stick to anything and support up to 200 lbs. The user can use it to travel by swinging from buildings, tree branches, ceilings, etc. He adds +2 to Climbing skill, and can move at half Basic Move while swinging along. $200, 0.5 lbs. LC3.
Gecko adhesive (Ultra-Tech, p. 83) is a transformative technology – it replaces nearly every type of fastener. Clothing is closed by gecko adhesive (“stick strips”) activated by touch sensors. Nails, screws, and rivets disappear as panels can be attached directly to supports. Gadgets can be stuck to any surface – walls, trees, skin – with the touch of a button. A comphone can be stuck to the back of a hand or shirt lapel. Goggles and air masks can bond to the face so they won’t come off accidentally. A tracked techbot can crawl up walls and ceilings.
Stick pads are so cheap to design in that every consumer device will probably have them instead of belt clips and carry cases – assume cost includes them. Large amounts (covering the tracks of a techbot or the backs of solar panels) cost $6 per square foot.
Rolls of general-purpose gecko tape are nothing more than gecko surfaces built into strips of tough material, often thin ballistic armor material from the previous TL.
There is one caution to using stick pads: They’ll faithfully stick to anything, even when the substrate peels away – gripping brick does no good if the crumbling mortar lets the bricks fall out. That applies to living tissue, too: Skin continuously replaces itself, so stick pads will adhere to skin for no more than one week.
Climbing gear can use gecko pads to allow near perfect adhesion to any surface. It requires nerve-impulse detectors, proximity sensors, and dedicated control software. The user can crawl up walls and ceilings at half Move (brachiators get full Move). A single thumbprint-sized patch is enough to support a human, so falls are extremely rare. A whole body stocking gives +7 to Climbing (gloves give +3, toe-socks give +2, the rest of the body gives +2), doubled for the individual part to maintain footing or grip (grappling and wrestling, holding ropes, Retain Weapon checks). In addition to the expected outer surfaces, the inside surface is covered with stick pads to distribute the climber’s weight. The base material is diaphanous ballistic armor (DR 0) for good tactile feedback.
The control software errs on the side of caution: A user must make an unadjusted Climbing roll with familiarity penalties to deliberately release all the gear at the same time!
Pair of gloves is $1500, 0.5 lbs., 2A/1,000 hrs. LC3.
Pair of toe-socks is $1000, 1 lb., 2A/1,000 hrs. LC3.
Bodysuit is $5,000, 5 lbs., B/1,000 hrs. includes powering gloves and socks. LC3.
Adjust for SM. Can be manufactured into clothing or any flexible suit of armor or environmental suit.
Gecko gear soles can be built into any other boots. They provide +1 to rolls to maintain footing, and they function similar to magnetized plates without requiring ferrous metal surfaces. Each pair $600, 0.25 lbs., 2A/4,000 hrs. LC4.
A partially inflated two-inch balloon covered with gecko adhesive and attached to a swivel-ring, it’s used by pressing it to a smooth surface or into a crack and electrically triggering the gecko surface. It can hold up to 5,000 pounds. Gives +1 to Climbing skill. A set of 10 gives +1 to Climbing skill. Each: $20, 0.05 lbs., AA/40 uses. LC4.
A tiny balloon piton capable of supporting 800 lbs. $5, 0.02 lbs., AA/1,000 uses. LC4.
A piton is a spike with a ring on it, through which a rope can be run. High-tech pitons adjust to the shape of the crack they’re in, and report on their status via an integral microcommunicator. They come free on command. While a piton will report if it is obviously loose, it cannot check its own stability under load, so the climber must also do a manual check. Used properly, they give +1 to Climbing skill. 10 pitons: $100, 1 lb. LC4.
This is a combination of a smart piton (Ultra-Tech, p. 76) with additional gecko adhesive material along its length, a balloon piton, and a small tube of splat piton material (supports an extra two tons after one minute) and catalyst. The functions can be triggered independently, so a loose piton can be reset or removed. Nominal working load is 5,000 pounds; increase cost and weight linearly for higher loads. A set of 10 gives +1 to Climbing skill. Each: $20, 0.05 lbs., AA/40 uses. LC4. Each: $15, 0.1 lb. LC4.
Advanced genius pitons that use burrow dart technology (Ultra-Tech, p. 155) to dig themselves further into the surface. Used properly, a set of 10 gives +2 to Climbing skill (with no loss of speed). Each: $25, 0.1 lbs., AA/10 uses. LC4.
For use with a rocket piton launcher and 1/8” rope, the booster shells can be attached to any pointed piton (not splat or balloon). Add the cost of other pitons. $5, 0.5 lb. per shot. LC4. Effectively, these are cheap 25mm gyroc-like boosters with explosive piton rams. They have 1/10 gyroc range because of the heavy payload and dragging the climbing line. For larger diameter rope (3/16”, 3/8”, and 3/4”), larger rockets and pitons must be used to maintain the same range. Multiply cost and weight by 2.5¥ for 3/16”, 10¥ for 3/8”, and 40¥ for 3/4”.
Similar to a pistol-form underbarrel EMGL (Ultra-Tech, p. 141), this device electromagnetically launches piton rams instead of using rockets. It inflicts 1d pi++ damage, with Acc 3, range 60/400, RoF 1, Bulk -2, Rcl 2, Shots 1(5). $500, 1.5 lbs., C/3 shots. Reloads are $3, 0.2 lbs. per shot. LC3.
Biological survey teams and trappers favor this capture device. It has a starfish-like shape consisting of a floor base surrounded by a few dozen jointed arms. Stepping on the base triggers a pressure sensor, causing the hinged bars to spring up and bend forward at high speed to form a roofed cage. If the victim is not surprised, a successful Dodge roll allows jumping away in time. The padded bars cause minimal injury, but the closing cage will do 1d-2 crushing damage if the victim is larger than the area of the trap. A spider cage uses bars of padded memory metal with DR 20. The separation between the bars is 2” wide. It also features a door on the side (some of the bars swing out in unison) with a conventional electronic and mechanical lock. It adds a +2 (quality) bonus to Survival skill rolls made for trapping creatures. $2,000 and 10 lbs. for a cage capable of trapping a creature with SM 0. Double cost and weight per +1 SM; halve it for each -1.
This two-inch sphere has a ring attached for a rope. When broken against rock or another hard surface, a fast-drying glue is released. In one minute, the ring can safely support 16 tons. The sphere may be fired out of a mortar as far as 50 yards, unreeling a light line. The line unreeled must be used to pull a climbing rope through the piton ring. If a climbing rope is launched, range drops to 10 yards. A catalyst can unstick the glue, allowing the piton to be removed. It is not reusable. $10, 0.05 lbs. LC4.
This canteen draws moisture from the atmosphere. How quickly it works varies with the amount of water vapor in the air – with an Earth-standard humidity of 50%, the time required to extract a quart of water is three hours. It has a capacity of one quart, and adds a +2 (quality) bonus to Survival skill for an individual living off the land. $450; 2 lbs. (empty) or 4 lbs. (full), B/100 quarts. LC4.
A larger version of a vapor canteen for base camps, settlements, etc. It is 60 times faster, producing one quart every three minutes. It is standard for expeditions and military or police outposts; it frees them from the necessity of establishing a post near a water source. Sabotaging the vapor system is a favorite ploy of villains in adventure stories. The plot is so hackneyed that real adventurers laugh at it, and may not be prepared if it happens. It adds a +2 (quality) bonus to Survival skill for a group living off the land. Usually connected to a water tank, but has an internal capacity of 20 quarts (five gallons). $10,000, 120 lbs., E/30 days. LC4.
This is a cable constructed of memory metal and plastic fibers, or non-metallic bioplastic; it also includes a radio microcommunicator. A smart rope has half the support strength of rope. It gives a +3 (quality) bonus to Knot-Tying skill, and can be ordered via radio signal to “flex” or go “rigid.”
In flex mode, the rope behaves exactly like ordinary rope. In rigid mode, the rope locks into its current position as if it were a stiff metal wire. In this position, it cannot be untied. Removing a rigid rope without ordering it into flex mode requires cutting through it. If a smart rope is severed, the pieces lose their “smart” properties, but retain the flexible or rigid quality the rope had when cut. Smart rope may be purchased in a variety of standard lengths, starting at one-yard increments. Smart rope is twice as expensive as ordinary rope; other statistics are identical. LC4.
A heavy-duty wristwatch built to survive in extreme environments. It includes a biomonitor, a chronometer, a GPS receiver, an inertial compass, a magnetic compass, a homing beacon, and a tiny computer with a small 2-D display (about one square inch).
The watch is usually voice controlled. It is waterproof, and can survive 10 atmospheres of pressure or a vacuum. It is powered by a small flywheel battery that can be recharged by body motion. If not worn, it goes to sleep for up to five years, turning off all functions except timekeeping. A vigorous shaking will power the watch up to full operation. $300, 0.5 lbs., B/3 months. LC4.
A programmable bioplastic box the size of a hardcover book. When activated, it draws air out of the surrounding environment and inflates itself, becoming a comfortable two-person cabin that can hold four in a pinch. It has transparent plastic windows, pull-out inflatable tables, chairs and beds, and an airlock door that takes four seconds to cycle. It is pressurized, with a complete life-support system including an air filter and reducer/respirator. If oxygen is unavailable, air tanks will be required. The survival module has a tendency to blow away in a strong wind when set up but unoccupied. However, it can be weighted or tied down. $600, 4 lbs., C/2 wk. LC4.
These are technologies and devices for establishing livable environments in hostile conditions.
This device is a man-sized plastic bag with a self-inflation system and self-sealing flap. To use it, pull the bag on, and activate the seal. Once the seal is closed, the bag inflates automatically, forming an airtight bubble. Rescue bubbles found in vehicles are often connected by an air hose to an external life support system, but they can be disconnected. If this happens, each bubble provides 15 minutes of air. It takes four seconds to don and inflate the bubble (make a Survival or Vacc Suit skill roll to halve the time). If disconnected, it is flexible enough to move in, at a Move of 1. It floats in water. Bubbles are usually built into vehicle seats or worn on belt packs. Opening it while inflated spills its air. The tough plastic has DR 1. $600, 3 lbs. The compressed air cartridge can be recharged from a life support system in about an hour, allowing the bubble to be repacked and reused.
This is ecological engineering on a planetary scale. Terraforming is the process of making an uninhabitable planet more Earthlike. Currently, the only planets humans can successfully terraform are Mars-type planets.
Warming the climate and thickening the atmosphere of a Mars-like world involves factories or the impact of ammonia-rich asteroids to produce greenhouse gases to warm the surface. This releases carbon dioxide from ice caps and the frozen surface, triggering a runaway “global warming.” After a century or so, the planet’s environment has become suitable for simple plants and for humans wearing respirators. It is estimated that sometime within ten thousand years, the planet will attain a human-breathable atmosphere, if not sooner.
A weather control satellite can shift the weather in a 1,000-square-mile region. It can only make changes that fit within the region’s normal climate, such as diverting (or creating) a storm during hurricane season. Roll vs. Meteorology skill to control the system; roll weekly for long-term effects or daily for violent weather. Failure can produce unpredictable results (-3 on rolls to fix them), while critical failure may cause a disaster (-6 on rolls to fix).
A system of weather control satellites must be controlled by a Complexity 8 computer. Long-term support from weather control satellites provides a +3 bonus to Farming skill for raising crops. $1 billion, 4 x 200,000 lbs. LC1.
Robots can go places that are too dangerous for people, and sometimes they’re just a more cost-effective way to do the job.
This is a rugged robot cargo cart that moves on big tires and does what it’s told. It has no limbs. It can also be ridden, although the passenger must give it commands. Widely used by expeditions, military units, tourists, and others. LC4.
ST 20; DX 10*; IQ 6*; HT 12. Will 10; Per 10; Speed 6; Dodge 9; Move 6. SM -2; $3,000, 150 lbs., D/8 hr. LC4.
Traits: Absolute Direction; Accessories (Small computer); A.I.; Automaton; DR 10; Electrical; Ground Vehicle; Machine; No Legs (Wheeled); Payload 2 (16 lbs.).
Skills: Area Knowledge-10.
* May be teleoperated.
This is a compact machine about 10 inches long, usually with a fish- or bee-shaped body. Variants are available for different environments. It has a sensor head, two manipulator arms, and a single hardpoint that can be equipped with anything from a camera or searchlight to a carbine or submachine gun.
Attribute Modifiers: ST-7 [-70]; HT+2 [20]. Secondary Characteristic Modifiers: SM-4. Advantages: Absolute Direction [5]; Doesn’t Breathe [20]; DR 15 (Can’t Wear Armor, -40%) [45]; Extra Arm (Weapon Mount, -80%) [2]; Machine [25]; Protected Hearing [5]; Protected Vision [5]; Radio (Burst, +30%; Secure, +20%; Video, +40%) [19]; Radiation Tolerance 5 [10]; Sealed [15].
Disadvantages: Electrical [-20]; Maintenance (one person, weekly) [-5]; Restricted Diet (Very Common, power cells) [-10]; Restricted Vision (Tunnel Vision) [-30].
Availability: $5,000, 4 lb. 2B/8 hrs.
Configuration Lenses
Also select one of these lenses:
Aerial Scout (+107 points): This uses ducted fans for quiet flight, and is equipped with surveillance sensors. Add Aerial [0]; Enhanced Move 1 (Air) [20]; Flight [40]; Hyperspectral Vision [25]; Parabolic Hearing 3 [12]; Telescopic Vision 2 [10].
Submarine (+62 points): This uses water jets, and is equipped to operate in the ocean depths. Add Enhanced Move 1 (Water) [20], Pressure Support 2 [10], Sonar (LPI, +10%; Multi-Mode, +50%) [32]; Aquatic [0].
The most efficient way to perform exploration tasks over a large area may be to saturate it with swarms of tiny mobile robots. This swarm usually explores in a spiral pattern, using contact sensors to take minute chemical samples of materials encountered. Explorers may be programmed to look for mineral or chemical traces, explosives, water, organic molecules, etc.
After a predetermined search pattern, the swarms return to a portable lab, which may be equipped to collect and analyze these samples, or beam the data out. By analyzing where and when the swarm found items or encountered impassable barriers (such as water, if the swarm cannot swim or fly), a computer can build up a map of the area explored. $500/square yard. LC4.