Special
Equipment
Communications and
Sensor Devices
Audio/Visual Datalink
Headset
Used by both the military and corporations, these headsets are for use
by crews of large ships with large, integrated systems. Each headset is
configured to the workstation of the person using it, so that much of the most
pertinent information can be simplified and projected onto the eye piece. Most
large ships will have a communication frequency for specific departments, such
as engineering or weapons, and everyone within that department will have their
AVD tuned into that frequency. These items increase crew efficiency and
communications, allowing rapid response to crises. Range: 1 mile.
Weight: 6 ounces
Cost: 800 credits each.
Hand-held general purpose scanner
These common scanners function similar to those on a ship. They detect
mass, motion, heat and electromagnetic energy. They are used to track living
creatures and power sources, detect motion, heat and power usage. They are
often used by the military, law enforcement agencies, and expeditions to chart
new or unexplored worlds. It has a range of one mile.
Cost: 1,000 credits.
Weight: 2 lbs.
Portable Surveyor
A much more powerful version of the general purpose scanner, portable
surveyors are sensitive geological and molecular surveying instruments that can
give detailed chemical breakdowns of atmosphere, scan and identify all
naturally-occurring elements (as well as many manufactured materials). It is
extremely useful in analyzing compounds in the atmosphere of unfamiliar worlds,
and in surveying for valuable minerals and geologic stability. It has a range
of 50 miles for general information, and 2,000 feet for detailed analysis. No
explorer would be caught without one.
Weight: 6 lbs.
Cost: 5,000 credits
Ship-to-Shore Uplink
These handy devices keep ground expeditions in contact with orbiting
mother ships or satellites, and can even, with the right codes, allow for
limited remote piloting. Besides direct communications, they allow complete
access to a ship’s main computer and many of its systems. Each one is coded to
its mother ship, and all require at least a thumbprint
identification and a 12-digit alphanumeric access code. Some have even more
stringent security. They are extremely useful when performing ground surveys,
and can be easily encrypted and secured for more clandestine use. Scouting
expeditions use them to stay in contact with ships in orbit while exploring new
worlds, Special Forces units use them to contact their command ships while in
enemy territory, and pirates loitering around star ports use them to alert
orbiting pirate vessels that a fat prize is taking off. Range: 50,000 miles.
Weight: 8 lbs. (computer), 3 lbs. (uplink dish)
Cost: 8,000 credits.
Tactical Wide-spectrum
Headset
Primarily used by the military,
mercenaries, or law enforcement; this combination optical system and radio
features nightsight, infrared, thermographic and
telescopic vision features. It also has a 200-mile range radio transceiver with pre-set decryption
capabilities for encoded channels. All optics have a
range of 4,000 feet. Magnification is x20. Also includes a targeting sight that
adds +2 to aimed shots. The “One-Eyed Jack” headsets used by the Colonial
Marines are another version of this type of device.
Weight: 1.5 lbs.
Cost: 6,000 credits
Cryogenic Systems
Cryogenic technology is a very important component of human technology.
Though it saw more extensive use before Negative Mass Drives reached their
current speeds, they are still used on long voyages, during medical emergencies,
and play a large part in keeping consumables fresh for transport from one star
system to another.
Emergency
Stasis Unit (E.S.U.)
Emergency Stasis Units are usually found in medbays
and onboard ships with limited medical facilities. Their primary use is to
stabilize and preserve injured or afflicted individuals who cannot be healed
onboard. In cases of severe trauma, exotic disease, or other life-threatening
injury; the subject is placed in the E.S.U. and quickly transported to the
nearest well-equipped medical facility. An E.S.U. can maintain a subject’s
vitals for 30-days. E.S.U.s come
with a hover system for easy transportation, an I.V. drug-delivery system, and
vital statistics monitoring gear.
Cost: 50,000 credits.
Industrial Cryotube
These cryongenic tubes use a gel immersion
system to keep items perishables from spoiling. They are not used for sentient
beings, or even pets, because the gel has been reported to cause horrible
nightmares. In some cases, subjects reported being completely aware of the
passage of time and described an intense sensation of smothering that seemed to
go on forever (presumably the duration of their suspension). The gel is
tasteless, rinses completely away with water, and is ideal for transporting
rare plants, fresh produce and fragile complex molecular structures. This
device is portable, but must be transported by vehicle due to weight. Gel must
be swapped out once every 60 days.
Cost: 30,000 credits. Gel costs 500 credits per unit (one unit=1 tank).
Scientific Cryonic
Suspension Tube
This type of cryogenic freezer is specifically geared for the
scientific community. It has a suite of built-in scientific sensors that allow
broad spectrum analysis and diagnosis of the subject unimpeded. The freezer, which
comes complete with internal manipulator arms, can also perform surgery on
patients in suspended animation. However, it is not fit for long-term use. The
gel used has none of the negative side effects of industrial cryotubes, but is ice cold, uncomfortable, and has a useful
period of only about one week.
Cost: 80,000 credits. Gel costs 200 credits per unit.
Sleeper Units
When most people think about cryonic suspension chambers, they are
generally thinking about sleeper units. Like the E.S.U.s
these work on finely detailed atmospheric regulators and medical injections, as
opposed to cryonic gel. They are designed, specifically, for the long-term
suspended animation of humans on long space voyages. Most ships taking trips of
30 days or more will generally have Sleeper Units installed. A subject in “deep
freeze” uses less than 1/20th of the normal amount of food, water and oxygen. Electrostimulation keeps muscles toned and fit, and the
sleep is akin to a dreamless coma. Very basic flight functions and links to the
ship’s computer can be tied into individual sleepers for emergency wake-ups.
Most Sleeper Units can also function as life pods and are set to eject from the
ship and activate a powerful homing beacon in case of catastrophic systems
failure of the mother ship. Sleeper units are not portable.
Cost: 150,000 credits for a rack of four, many ships come equipped with
enough sleeper pods for a standard crew compliment. Individual models are sold
at 50,000 credits.
Defense Systems
Centurion Plasma Cannon
This is a portable, automated plasma cannon
defense system designed to secure the perimeters of encampments. It uses
thermographic and infrared sensors, as well as a friend recognition system, to
identify enemies and allies. The computerized system can be set to acquire
targets based on mass, temperature, or even electromagnetic output. Optionally,
it can be set for very specific enemies. Because of its power and cost, it is
mostly used by mercenaries and military groups, as well as explorers on potentially
hostile and unexplored worlds. This system has a reputation for brutal
efficiency; however it also has a reputation for being fairly unforgiving,
having taken out friendlies who were running a fever
or whose identities were not properly loaded into the system.
Size: Five feet tall.
Weight: 220 lbs.
M.D.C.: 110
Damage: 1D6x10 M.D. per dual blast. Only fires dual blasts.
Rate of Fire: Four attacks per melee
Bonuses: +4 to strike
Payload:
Market Cost: 30,000 credits for the cannon, 5,000 credits for each
additional battery pack.
Defender Autoguard Railgun
This cost-effective and simple automated railgun
defense system is probably the most popular model in use. It utilizes simple
motion sensor and mass detection technology to identify targets, and friendlies carry a small badge that gives off a scrambled
signal when in range. This makes this one of the safest automated systems, but
it can also be defeated by experts in surveillance systems and cryptography. Comes with 40 badges.
Size: Six feet tall
Weight: 350 lbs.
M.D.C.: 80
Damage: 1D4x10 M.D. per dual, 10-shot burst. Only fires in bursts
Rate of Fire: Three bursts per melee
Bonuses: +3 to strike.
Payload: 2,000 rounds, or 100 bursts per ammo
pack.
Market Cost: 22,000 credits for the railgun,
2,000 credits for each ammunition load. Additional
badges can be purchased for 50 credits for a pack of 10.
Sentry-Class Hoverbot
These small flying defense systems use simple fuzzy-logic and basic
programming, flying patrol patterns around a programmed perimeter. The robots
can operate independently, or can be controlled by an A.I. They will respond to
computer programming or simple verbal commands, and have advanced
“friend-or-foe” logic-based identification systems. They can remember over
1,000 faces, relay video and audio data, have thermographic sensors, can be
reprogrammed while deployed, and operate with other hoverbots
in coordinated teams of up to 12.
Size: 2-foot wingspan
Weight: 3 lbs.
M.D.C.: 5
Flight speed: 40 m.p.h.
Maximum Altitude: 500 feet
Weapons Systems:
Mini-laser: 1D4 M.D., range: 600 feet. Rate of Fire: four shots per
melee, unlimited payload.
Stun beam: No physical damage, save vs
non-lethal poison or be stunned for 1D4 minutes (same as knock-out punch).
M.D.C. creatures receive a +4 to save, and lose half their attacks, initiative,
and receive -8 to strike, parry, and dodge, instead of being stunned. Duration
is halved.
Bonuses: +4 to strike with ranged weapons, +5 to dodge, +2 to
initiative. Four attacks per melee.
Range: 5 miles, with a flight duration of 24
hours.
Cost: 7,000 credits per unit.
Other
Useful or Common Items
Fixerbot
Fixerbots are Xintrin-designed robots, programmed
to do basic maintenance. They can hover and are small enough to fit in small
areas. While their own technical knowledge is limited, they can also be
operated remotely by an engineer or mechanic to perform repairs where they
cannot fit. They can also function in space, and can perform dangerous external
ship repairs. Small ships may only have one or two of these robots, while
larger vessels and bases may have dozens tied into the ship’s A.I. or given
duty sectors by the ship’s engineer, a third of which are constantly roaming
the ship performing upkeep. Also great for home maintenance!
Features: Hover at a speed of 20 M.P.H., have a 48-hour internal
battery that can recharge by plugging into any standard power port, have two
flexible arms; one equipped with a multi-tool and another with a spot welder.
They have electromagnetic pads on their feet for working in space. Sensors
include full color vision, thermographic vision, mini-sonar
(for checking welds and looking for microfractures).
Skills: Basic Electronics, Basic Mechanics, Computer Repair, and General
Repairs and Maintenance, all at 80%. Note: They cannot analyze complex problems
(like battle damage) even with these skills. They will only fix one little
thing at a time and cannot see the “big picture” unless led by a live mechanic
or controlled by an A.I.
Cost: 5,000 credits per unit.
Neural Net A.I.s
Artificial intelligence systems are no longer “miracles” of computing
science, particularly in the Terran Protectorate. Their use is fairly
widespread by massive corporations, planetary governments and some large ships.
There are four classes of A.I., with Class One being the most powerful, and
generally used to coordinate Protectorate fleet activity and manage entire
corporations or star systems. Class Two A.I.s are often used to run planetary logistics, smaller
corporations and etc. A Class Three A.I. would be used to control large arcologies or buildings, space stations, and are often used
as “slave systems” to Class One A.I.s, The smallest,
and most common A.I. is the Class Four, which is used to manage colonies and
control secondary functions in medium to large starships. They are particularly
noted for their use in “seed ships” which colonize other worlds. Prices vary
wildly, with no Class One costing below 15 billion credits and Class Fours
ranging from 250,000 to a million credits. To create an A.I.’s
programming parameters, use the robot creation rules in Rifts Sourcebook One,
but limit it to just creating the intelligence. The actual A.I. itself can be
as small as a laptop, but the databanks and informational libraries they use to
make their decisions vary by class, and can be from the size of a large room,
down to that of a desk. Most have safe guards and there are A.I. psychologists
who closely monitor their behavior. Humanity is the only species that creates A.I.s, and intelligent computer technology has become a
major export to alien races.
Portable Generators
Essentially the same thing as generators
used in the 20th Century, except they are fusion-powered. The smallest can power an encampment,
and the largest can run a small town. Most run on Helium-3 exclusively, but
some models just need any hydrogen and oxygen supply.
Cost: Varies, generally from 800 credits to 100,000, depending on needs.
Portable Terminal
These are hand-held communication devices and terminals that allow the
user to control or access a larger, non-portable computer. They are often used
to control basic functions of ship computer systems, A.I. interfacing and
security suites. They also are often used by scientific teams or surveyors in
the field; allowing them to use their ship’s computer to analyze their findings
in real time. They cost about 700-1,000 credits and come in a variety of shapes
and have a range of about 100 miles.