The following material is from THE THIRD INVID WAR, a fan supplement by Dave Deitrich and Chris Meadows. Please feel free to use, copy, and distribute it as you see fit. All we ask is that you give proper credit to us and do not claim that it is your own work. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Mecha design and illustration by AMY BORDEN (borden@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu).

THE HELLCAT MARK II

BACKGROUND

The original Hellcat (a.k.a. Cougar) inorganic was probably the most successful robotic design of the Invid Regent. The inorganic was inspired by a predatory feline the Regent observed on Praxis after conquering the world prior to the arrival of the REF and the First Invid War. Once the Praxian cat had detected the scent of its prey, it would follow the scent relentlessly for hours or even days, eventually attacking the startled target when it least expected it. Impressed, the Regent designed a similar robot that could sense and track both protoculture emissions and trails left behind by humanoid life forms and then follow them back to their source. Fast, silent, and deadly, the hellcat was the perfect scout/exterminator mecha, and was widely distributed on all worlds under control of the Regent. However, the Hellcat was unarmed and lightly armored, which were great liabilities when facing armored or mecha-sized opponents. Although the Hellcat's claws could carve through the hardest of metals, the inorganic first had to approach the mecha and was usually cut down by defensive fire long before it could engage in melee combat. Usually the only time Hellcats ever won against organized REF forces were when they were encountered in superior numbers and could overwhelm their opponents.

Although most of the original Hellcats were destroyed when the Invid Regent was defeated at the end of the First Invid War, the original concept of the inorganic impressed some of the Stage 6 Invid on Earth. Several leader Invid tried to improve on the design themselves, since an independent mecha design that could track resistance fighters back to their bases was an ideal weapon to use against human rebels that hid in the many ruined cities and bases of Earth. They initially started with an in-depth study of fast open-land Earth mammals such as cheetahs, antelopes, and pronghorns, which led to radical redesigns of the old Hellcat design, especially in the feet and head area. The resulting inorganic is a synthesis of the best observed traits of both Earth and Praxian predatory mammals.

The feet of the Hellcat Mark II are specially designed to provide the robot with superb speed, traction, and shock absorption characteristics. The basic foot is a cloven hoof surrounded by four hook-shaped claws (two front, two back) for gripping and breaking. When not in use the claws retract upward into the feet so that they do not interfere with running or climbing, but when needed for extra traction or gripping they can be instantly deployed. All of the claws have built-in vibro blades which allow them to slice through steel and high-tech alloys.

The head of the Hellcat has also been extensively redesigned. The most notable facial feature of the new inorganic is the large black eyes that curve around the head almost to the neck. The eyes provide both excellent stereoscopic vision for precision tracking and aiming, as well as near-360-degree vision making it extremely difficult to sneak up and surprise the Hellcat. The eyes of the Hellcat can see both the infrared and ultraviolet spectrum, allowing it to see heat emissions and colors outside of normal human vision. In addition its eyes, the Hellcat also has multiple sensors that provide it with highly detailed senses of hearing and smell. Finally, the Hellcat has an echo-location system which allows it to use sound waves to determine its surroundings, similar to sonar. With this system the Hellcat can see in total blackness, sense movement, and even locate hidden doors and passages.

The Hellcat Mk. II design does not have the mouth or fangs of the older Hellcat. Instead, the head of the mecha is equipped with two vibro-blade tusks that are constructed out of super-hard materials. In addition, the Hellcat 2 has two blaster cannons mounted on extendible arms providing it with a long-distance attack. The arms the cannon are mounted on can pivot and rotate in any direction, allowing the Hellcat to fire to either side or directly behind itself. When not in use these cannons are folded away in compartment on either side of the torso, near the shoulder blades. The Hellcat's advanced sensors combined with the cannons wide range of motion makes the inorganic deadly accurate in a firefight.

The overall structure of the Hellcat 2 gives it a very thin, almost emancipated appearance, somewhat resembling a skeleton of one of the great predatory cats of Africa. The large black eyes, tusks, and claws give the inorganic a devastating psychological impression, and resistance fighters who have survived being stalked by these creatures report having nightmares about them even months after their encounter. The new Hellcats are usually released in packs of 5 initially into the countryside, although they may split up and operate solo, or combine with other Hellcat groups to form larger packs during their travels. The Hellcat Mk. II was initially developed and released in central Africa, though it quickly spread to the jungles of Asia and South America, as well as the forests and plains of North America. Designed to operate independently for years, the Hellcats continued to plague resistance fighters throughout the latter half of the Third Invid War, and even for decades after the war ended. The last known Hellcat Mk. II was hunted down and destroyed in 2049 in the Rocky Mountains of North America, but it is unknown if more are lurking in the wastelands and jungles of post-Invid Earth.

RPG STATS

Invid Name: "Iiutyug"; REF Nicknames: "Seeker", "Hellcat 2", "Cougar 2"
Vehicle Type: Reconnaissance/Combat Inorganic
Crew: None.

M.D.C. BY LOCATION

[1]  Head                        60
     Legs (4)                    45 each
     Blaster Arms (2)            25 each
     Tail                        30
[2]  Main Body                  120

NOTES:

Destroying the head will knock out all major sensor systems of the inorganic. The creature will thrash about blindly and wildly for 2D6 rounds before suffering major system failures and "dying".
Destroying the main body will completely destroy the Inorganic. The smoking remains will fall to the ground and crumble into scrap metal.

SPECIFICATIONS

Running: 200 mph (320 kmph)
Climbing: Excellent; equal to a skill of 90%, reduce speed by 1/3.
Leaping: 100 ft (30.5 m) high or lengthwise
Swimming: 50 mph (80 kmph)
Space:: The Hellcat can operate in space or without air. However, it has no means of propulsion, and if knocked loose it will drift helplessly in zero gravity.

Height:: 4 ft (1.2 m) at the shoulders, 7 ft (2.1 m) with shoulder cannons.
Width:: 3 ft (0.9 m)
Length:: 8 ft (2.4 m)
Weight:: 1,000 lbs (453 kg)
Cargo:: The Hellcat can drag up to 3,200 lbs (1,452 kg) of weight if necessary.

Abilities:
Standard invid sensors and capabilities, plus:

Tracking: Humanoid, Mecha, or Land Vehicle - 80%
Tracking: Protoculture Powered Mechanism - 90%
Land Navigation - 90%
Prowl - 75%
Detect Ambush - 60%
Detect Concealment - 70%
Thermal (passive infrared sight) - Range: 1000 ft (305 m)
Nightvision (passive night sight) - Range: 2000 ft (609 m)
External Audio Pickup - Range: 300 ft (91.5 m)
Echo-location - Range: 500 ft (153 m)

WEAPON SYSTEMS

BLASTER CANNONS (2): The main offensive weapons of the Hellcat are a pair of cannons mounted on extendable arms on the shoulders of the inorganic. These cannons can pivot to fire in any direction around the mecha. The Hellcat's advanced sensors make it extremely accurate when firing its blasters.
- Primary Purpose: Assault
- Secondary Purpose: Defense
- Range: 2000 ft (609 m)
- Damage: 4D6 M.D. per blast. Bursts are not possible, but the laser can be fired in a continuous stream for cutting/demolition if necessary (3D6x10 M.D. per round).
- Rate of Fire: Five attacks per cannon, per melee. Both cannons can be fired simultaneously at the same target; counts as one attack. The cannons can also be fired in a full melee continuous beam, but suffer a -4 to strike a moving target.
- Payload: Unlimited
- Bonuses to Strike: +3 to strike, plus protoculture targeting bonuses.
HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT: The Hellcat is of course well-designed to engage in hand-to-hand combat, even against armored and mecha-sized opponents. In combat the Hellcat will try and rush its target and use its vibro-claws to tear the target to pieces. If attacking a mecha, the Hellcat will try to claw its way into the cockpit and kill the pilot.
- Attacks Per Melee: 5
- Hand to Hand Bonuses: +5 to strike, +5 to parry, +7 to dodge, +4 on initiative, +3 to roll with impact.
- Damage:
  - Vibro-claw Swatting Blow: 2D6 M.D.
  - Vibro-claw Jab: 3D6 M.D.
  - Vibro-claw Power Jab (counts as two attacks): 1D4x10 M.D.
  - Leap attack, clawing with all 4 claws (counts as four attacks): 2D6x10 M.D.
  - Skewer with Vibro-tusks: 4D4 M.D.
  - Charge & Ram: 2D6 M.D.

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deitrich@mcs.net Last Updated: Friday, 18-Jan-08 02:59:13 PST