Electro Halo (must be earned-or stolen) Considered to be the greatest honor bestowed upon or by many deep space marine veterans (besides sacred weapons and armor), the electro halo is a metallic laurel that rests on the brow and is considered always activated (it uses a tiny amount of a living person’s bio-electricity to power itself). An electro halo allows the wearer to re-roll any failed rolls twice per day and grants +2 to Presence while worn.
Gear: Plague Sword
Plague Sword (1000 credits) Considered a magical device among superstitious societies, a Plague Sword is actually a simple biological weapon-a sword with tiny needle-like points that run along the tip of the blade. Anyone struck by this blade takes 1d6 points of damage and must make a Physique save at -1 to avoid catching any of a dozen nasty and sometimes deadly diseases. Some swear that praying to elder gods of disease and plague will make the sword more potent and deadly, but this has never been proven.
Gear: Electric Eye
Electric Eye (1000 credits) Recreated from ancient technology, an electric eye is a wonder to those who have been blinded. About the size of a tangerine, an electric eye is placed on the forehead and connects directly to the brain when activated, sinking into the skull and resting against the frontal lobe. Modified electric eyes can see into other spectra and even, it is rumored, into other planes of existence. Some people with normal vision have one implanted for this reason and sometimes become seers or prophets to obscure faiths.
Gear: Laser Bow
Laser Bow (400 credits) Laser bows range in design from ancient looking wooden limbed bows to the latest in hi-tech duro-plastic. The bowstring appears to be missing from this weapon, but the savvy archer knows that a small but activates this bow, which will fire up to forty energy arrows up to 250 meters with accurately (+1 to hit) on a single charge. Sometimes overlooked by those who only think of guns, laser bows command a variety of prices in different locales.
Gear: Disk Gun
Disk Gun (600 credits) These weapons fire sharp disks up to 100 meters with deadly accuracy (200 meters for the rifle version) and deal 2d6 damage (2d6+2 for the rifle). Thought to originally be created by the Ancient Ones, these nearly silent weapons are quite deadly (granting a +2 to hit) although finding ammunition is sometimes a challenge in out of the way places. Disks come in clips of 50 and can sell for as much as 200 credits per clip where these weapons are rare if they are even available.
Gear: Phase grenade
Phase Grenade (500 credits) A phase grenade, when activated and thrown will cause all who fail a Physique save to become “out of phase” for four rounds, but no physical harm is dealt. Those out of phase appear ghostly and cannot affect the physical world in any way during this time. After the four rounds expire those affected “pop back” into the current space-time continuum and may go about their business as usual.
Encounters: Astral Wolves
Astral Wolves
Versk looked over at X2413 and scowled.
“It irritates me when you do that because you know I cannot,” said the robot.
“Well too bad. It irritates me when you fire that autocannon at every bounty we have before finding out what sort of backing they have. We are in serious trouble,” replied the human.
“I am confident that we can fire our way out of this,” X2413 said.
“There are now over a dozen Astral Wolves hunting us down in this small town and we…” started Versk, but the robot raised a finger and click the safety off of his autocannon. The robot raised the weapon up and fired a half a dozen shots instantly.
“Now there is one less to contend with,” X2413 stated as they both heard a body thud to the ground.
Versk shook his head and flipped the safety mechanisms off his laser pistols with a thumb on each hand. More Astral Wolves would be coming soon.
What started out as a band of desperate mercenaries and thugs has, over time, grown into a virtual army of space pirates and smugglers known as the Astral Wolves. Threats and intimidation are the rule of the day as these villains run countless cons and scams on dozens of worlds at a time. The mysterious leaders of the Astral Wolves have few rules, but enforce them without hesitation. The main rules being that: 1) An Astral Wolf may never betray another Astral Wolf and expect no retaliation. 2) Betrayed Astral Wolves may call upon others to mete out swift and merciless justice and 3) Focus on fleecing those in power and only steal or con the downtrodden if no other recourse is available.
In the game: The Astral Wolves commonly travel to an area in “packs” of up to twenty members, setting up various cons and smuggling operations immediately. Each Astral Wolf has a specialty and will back up fellow ‘Wolves in any number of ways.
Gear: Drop Pod
Drop Pod (2500 credits, installed) Often found on galactic battleships and heavy freighters, a drop pod is a small orbital spaceship that has a limited amount of fuel (usually just enough to get to the nearest planet or space station) but holds a lot of food and water in addition to other survival gear. A typical drop pod can carry eight to ten comfortably with two weeks worth of rations. Once a drop pod lands on a surface it can extend mechanical legs, digging them into the ground of possible for stability in harsh climates.
Gear: Stun darts
Stun darts (300 credits each) Small and easily concealed, stun darts are tiny weapons that are generally non-lethal. These can be thrown with accuracy up to 4 meters and will prick the skin of anything with human-like skin or less protection. A Physique test is required, those failing this test are stunned for three rounds. Unscrupulous types replace the stunning chemical with a more lethal poison. These tiny darts are favored by assassins that cannot or prefer not to use guns.
[Gear] Vox recorder
Vox Recorder (200 credits) An essential part of the smart scholar or technician’s field gear is the Vox Recorder. This simple device records speech and transfers these words into a journal format that can be printed out at a later time. Great for hands-free writing during an investigation or while exploring dangerous planets when it is wiser to be carrying a raygun over a stylus. This handheld device also has different settings, including one that will only record the voice(s) it is programmed to and filter out all others or a setting which will allow for limited transmissions of this information to other similar devices.
A Thousand Psychic Wars, an X-Plorers Blog 