I have been using SPARKs way too often in XCOM 2 and therefore I am here to give the old, 1E Iteration X Exoskeleton a new, AI controlled update. The MALR costs 4 points because although yes, it is a deadly shit-kicking machine it is probably not nearly as good as, say, a combat homonculus and it is also dumb as a box of rocks and obvious as fuck. That, I think, is worth the additional 6 points the homonculus costs. You can probably adjust the cost up or down as you feel like.
Iteration X Multirole Autonomous Light Robotic (MALR/"Mauler") (4 pts)
Halfway between a robotic vehicle and a robotic infantryman, the MALR is a quantum leap in low-cost semi-autonomous battlefield robotics. Radical advances in cost-effective AI design have allowed for an autonomous war machine that can truly be mass produced. Ever since its introduction in 2010, the MALR has become a solid competitor to the HITMark V series. Although the HITMark is undeniably more effective-it is more agile, intelligent, requires less command micromanagement, and can learn from its mistakes in a way the MALR cannot, the MALR is far cheaper and more expendable. As more and more Iterators realize how valuable HITMarks are-and more and more HITMarks become people rather than war materiel-something which is not nearly as cuddly has its advantages in expendability. Standing 2 and a half meters tall and massing a quarter-ton, with a half-dozen multispectral lenses for its face, the MALR cannot pass for human at all, but easily passes for a mundanely advanced military weapon. The MALR is almost as tough and deadly HITMark but not nearly as intelligent or adaptable, and its silicone actuators are significantly weaker than the HITMark's synthetic musculature. That said, a single HITMark costs as much as a squad of MALRs, and with a proper overseer, the latter are at least as dangerous, if not more.
Using very few hypertech components, the MALR is designed for cost-effectiveness. Its titanium endoskeleton and composite shell are incredibly advanced and difficult to produce by the technology available to the Masses, but Iteration X nanofabs allow its creation in job lots. Its silicone actuators are also largely the work of Exceptional Citizens rather than true Enlightened Scientists, and only its AI template is truly the work of Iteration X's most prized researchers-a template which now can also be reproduced by Exceptional Citizens with minimal supervision. Its sensors are, although powerful, largely off-the-shelf designs with off-the-shelf protection. Even its powerplant-an advanced hydrogen fuel cell-is something that the Exceptional Citizens of Iteration X can build relatively cheaply-no more than a million dollars per pop.
The MALR is common for Iteration X or NWO amalgams with military covers-and in fact has been introduced as top-secret prototypes to the US military and the
United Nations Extraterrestrial Contact, Monitoring, and Containment Group, both of which have made careful use of this weapon in various conflict zones. This not only allows Iteration X to deploy its heavier, more capable robotics and have them confused for MALRs-an often fatal mistake-but also increases the acceptance of autonomous battlefield robotics.
The Traditions have leaked some knowledge of the MALR's existence to anti-war and anti-drone groups, in hopes that increasing concern about unmanned warfare may weaken Iteration X's current position. Should they be able to use the MALR as a test case to force a drone ban into existence, it may have significant repercussions to both Iteration X's strength in the Technocratic Union and the Technocracy's ability to advance and deploy increasingly cheap and lethal unmanned robotics.
MALR
Attributes:
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Strength 7 (Brute Force)
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Perception 2
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Dexterity 3
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Intelligence 1
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Stamina 6 (Relentless)
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Wits 2
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Abilities:
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Firearms 3
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Alertness 2
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Strategy 1
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Heavy Weapons 3
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Athletics 3
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Stealth 1
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Brawl 3
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Technology 2*
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*For demolitions only. The MALR has basic programming on how to avoid and disarm mines.
Soak: 12d (Reinforced Exoskeleton 6d). The MALR soaks lethal and aggravated damage with full Stamina.
Health Levels: -0/-0/-0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-5/Destroyed
Attacks:
- Fist Strike: Difficulty 5, Damage + 3L (10L)-the reinforced metal fists and high-strength myomer actuators of the MALR make its hand to hand attacks fast and brutal. This attack uses Dexterity + Brawl to hit.
- Light Autocannon: Damage 12L, Rate 5, Range 200, Magazine 25-the shortened, magazine-fed 20mm of the MALR is an offshoot of the IX-22. Its simpler magazine feed and rifle-styled design make it much more reliable in adverse conditions, while it maintains its immense stopping power and versatility. Effective against a wide range of targets and reliable in a wide range of environments, salvaged ones are often prized by extremely strong mages-and werewolves who have won fights against the Technocracy. Using the light autocannon as a handheld weapon requires Strength 6-most of the advanced recoil-compensation mechanisms have been removed in the conversion from advanced Device to something mass-produced by Exceptional Citizens.
- Heavy Machine Gun: Damage 10L, Rate 5, Range 400, Magazine 100-The US military's MALR designs are equipped with modified M2HB heavy machine guns rather than the Iteration X version's autocannon. A venerable, nearly century-old weapon, the M2HB is reliable, effective, and heavy.
- The MALR can also use any normal or crew-served weapon modified for its larger hands. It cannot use weapons designed for normal humans, seeing that it is the size of a Crinos Garou with a build to match.
Special Rules:
- Redundant Systems: With Primium being ever-more expensive, Iteration X used active defenses for the MALR series rather than passive defensive measures. An Entropy 1/Forces 1/Prime 3 effect hardens the MALR against Forces-based hacking and Entropy-based Slay Machine effects, giving it significantly better survivability against the most common threats it will face. The MALR has a 3-die countermagic pool which specifically counters Entropy and Forces magic targeting the MALR's internal systems-e.g. hacking attempts and Slay Machine casts, but not fireballs or lasers or railguns.
- Secured Comms: The communications system of the MALR is highly encrypted and secured. A minimum of 3 successes on a Forces 2/Entropy 2 effect are required to decode the communications, and an additional 2 successes are required to attempt to insert any orders through the comms network. A character using plain Int + Computers to do so requires double that number of successes, and rolls at Difficulty 9. Nevertheless, Iteration X is well aware that a mage can easily break through this security and insert false orders that MALRs will not question, and when deploying them against RDs will generally have someone who can provide real-time countermeasures against hacking attack. Military MALRs, of course, do not have this advantage.
- Advanced Sensors: The MALR has thermal imaging, lidar, and superhuman acoustic sensor capability. Normally, it makes all its Alertness rolls at +3 dice and -2 difficulty, unless the target is actively shielding itself from sensors via Forces 2 or similar linear magic. It counts all weapons as having a computer targeting system.
- Nonsapient: The MALR, although intelligent, is nowhere near human-level intelligence. It can do combat pathfinding and parse orders given in natural language. However, a MALR has several significant limitations:
- The MALR is not adaptable. If given orders, it will not be able to change its orders to deal with significant changes in events, although it is smart enough to avoid obvious hazards-the MALR will not run into an obvious minefield at full speed because it was told to move past it as quickly as possible, unless specifically ordered otherwise.
- Once its orders are completed or impossible to complete, it will go into watchdog mode until given another set of legitimate orders. In this mode, the MALR will only return fire on attackers or designated hostiles, take cover, and await further instructions.
- The MALR will carry out any legitimate orders it is given to the best of its ability, even if the legitimate orders are apparently nonsensical, allowing a hacker to take over command of a MALR unit. MALRs have no sense of self-preservation and although there is an IFF system, it is possible to deactivate it.
- The MALR has a sensory capability which is best described as 'myopic.' Although it can easily detect movement, it automatically fails any roll to see through disguises, and does not gain its Advanced Sensors bonus when dealing with someone who is largely staying still. However, an operator can watch the MALR's sensor feed and order it to take action, so a paper-thin disguise is not 100% effective.
- The MALR can only speak a very basic set of phrases. Generally, these phrases are a call for surrender, a warning that they are authorized to use lethal force, and a demand for a crowd to disperse.
