The Division of Ebb Attack and Defence is a Karma/Department of Biogenetics section. It was founded with the express mission statement to develop biogenetic solutions for combating Ebb using opponents.
As such, the DEAD is something of a gray project, constituting a thinly veiled threat to Karma’s sister subsidiary Dark Lament and the Department of Ebb.
This is further compounded by the appointment of Dr. Hagen as leader of the division, one of Karma’s top design consultants who has never made a secret of his loathing of Ebons and the other Ebb using races. Still, official funding of the DEAD at least is kept to a minimum and its developments are not highly publicized in an attempt to limit the antagonism. Nevertheless, over the short time since its inception, the efforts of the DEAD have already resulted in a number of effective biogenetic countermeasures against the previously unassailable powers of the Ebb, both offensive and defensive in nature.
Six products have entered an extended evaluation period in an attempt to forestall expected legal action by Dark Lament if these DEAD systems are released on the open market. Until then, none of these products are available for sale to operatives, though some selected squads, typically with close ties to Karma, have been awarded with versions for field testing, and the Department of Biogenetics is said to have already accumulated a significant stockpile of all of them.
Dead Matter
The most basic application of many of the principles researched by the DEAD and allegedly what caused the division to be formed in the first place. Severe incompatibilities between Ebb powers and biogenetic implants had long been known and led to Ebons avoiding implants to preserve their ability to harness flux and control the Ebb.
It was a major publicity coup for Karma, when they were able to reveal the Bondsman, their latest contract killer, as an Ebon who had foregone his Ebb powers to embrace the potential of biogenetic enhancement. The transformation of the Bondsman also gave them the opportunity to confirm the rapidity and completeness of the destructive effects implantation had on Ebb abilities.
Dead Matter allows for the replication of these effects without biogenetically empowering the subject at the same time. It is a set of inert implants which destroy Ebb abilities and do nothing else. As such, Dead Matter functions as an effective if brutal containment and neutralisation option for Ebon terrorists and prisoners.
Mind/Break
This biogenetic brain implant induces subtle shifts in brain wave patterns, distorting Ebb equations trying to target these patterns. It renders the recipient completely immune to the effects of communication ebb effects. This immunity is permanent and irreversible, preventing also beneficial uses of such abilities from affecting the bearer of the implant.
Skeleton Warrior
This shield has an outer surface of impact resistant ceramic laminates. Its interior though betrays its biogenetic construction. A series of independent layers of living bony tissue are used to absorb the harmful energies channelled in gore cannon attacks.
The shield offers PV 4 and ID 12.
With a successful use of the Shield skill, a user may block a gore cannon attack, which then causes no damage to the user instead destroying one of the bony layers within the shield. A Skeleton Warrior can be used in this fashion a total of six times before the destruction of its internal organisms renders this function permanently unavailable (this does not affect the Skeleton Warrior’s use as a shield against purely physical attacks).
Flow Spike
The Flow Spike is a light melee weapon, its short stabbing blade is lined with disruptive tissues similar to those employed in Dead Matter implants. Without integration into the victim’s organism this is unable to cause lasting damage to Ebb abilities, but a solid penetrating hit from a Flow Spike can cause temporary disruption of flux channelling via biogenetic infection of the caused wound.
The unpowered Flow Spike is a one-handed blade causing DAM 1 PEN 0 AD 1. An Ebb user loses 1 point of Flux stored in his deathsuit for every point of armour damage caused by a flow spike and 1 point of his personal Flux for every wound caused by a flow spike.
Dead Skin
Performing a similar function to the Skeleton Warrior shield system, Dead Skin is a living self contained layer of biogenetic tissues which can be worn as a literally skin-tight full bodysuit and which then stops gore cannon attacks on the wearer. Dead Skin is available in several versions, either as plain covers whose nature is readily apparent and which can also be worn over other articles of clothing or even light powered armours, or as mimic sheaths, which are duplicates of the wearer’s skin tone and features and thus are difficult to spot.
Dead Skin stops one gore cannon attack before being destroyed. It can also be destroyed by physical attacks, possessing PV 0 and ID 2 in all locations.
Mimic sheath versions of Dead Skin are prized by manchines and the cultists worshipping them.
Cancer Bullets
The crowning achievement of the offensive systems group of the DEAD, the so called ‘cancer bullet’ (official designation DSDR – DeathSuit Defeating Round) is a standard 12 to 12.7 mm calibre bullet delivering a biogenetic payload to its target.
The cells contained in the bullet are specifically engineered to attack the Science Friction compounds used in deathsuit construction, quickly growing and multiplying across the surface of the armour and eating their way through it like a tumour seen in time lapse.
Cancer bullets deal half DAM, PEN and AD in comparison to a standard bullet of the same calibre.
A deathsuit hit by a cancer bullet takes normal AD, and continues to take damage during each subsequent bookkeeping phase. This damage starts at 1 point at the end of the round in which the bullet hit, and the rate doubles every round thereafter (i.e. 2 points on the second round, 4 points on the third round, 8 points on the fourth round, and so on). If the location hit is completely destroyed, the adjacent location continues to take damage. Once the torso location is destroyed, the whole deathsuit is considered destroyed and cannot be repaired any longer. The extra damage can only be stopped by fully healing the deathsuit of all damage sustained.
Necanthropes, after fusing with their deathsuits during turning, are especially susceptible to cancer bullets. Once a necanthrope’s deathsuit has been destroyed by the effects of a cancer bullet, the necanthrope himself continues to take damage at the same increasing rate as his deathsuit. This damage can only be stopped by successful use of the Regeneration 3 (Healing rank 13) Ebb power.
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SLA Industries und alle verbundenen Namen (mit Ausnahme der DEAD und der gelisteten Ausrüstung) sind Geistiges Eigentum von Dave Allsop und/oder Nightfall Games und urheberrechtlich geschützt. Diese Elemente wurden inoffiziell und ausschließlich als Referenz zitiert ohne die Absicht damit verbundene Rechte anzufechten und ohne eine Billigung durch den Rechteinhaber zu implizieren. Andere Inhalte dieses Artikels werden unter folgender Lizenz veröffentlicht:
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