WarStriders/Modules

Module Overview

So how do modules work? Well WarStriders come fitted with "expansion slots." These represent bits of the warstrider which don't do much else and could be used to, say, place giant frickin' essence cannons.

Scout = 2 slots (thinner limbs, more intricate controls)
Common = 3
Noble = 4
Royal = 5
Juggernaught = 3 (may be larger, but they'll need larger components to move the limbs and they're not as well constructed as a Royal or Noble, just bigger)

Modules

Warstrider Monkey Leap Module

Artifact: 2
Slots: 1
Additional Attunement Cost: 2 motes
Activation Cost: 1 mote
Duration: One Turn
Type: Supplemental

Lets user leap up to the warstrider's strength * 10 yards vertically, twice that horizontally as per the Solar Monkey Leap charm. This counts as the wearer's charm for the turn. The module requires maintenance every 100 uses, each 100 without maintenance halves its efficiency. Repair requires a technician with Occult 3, Lore 3 and Craft (First Age Weapons) 3 and Resources 2 of materials and reagents.)"

~ YerMum on rpg.net

Warstrider Essence Shield

Artifact 2 (add 1 to the cost of a warstrider with this installed)
Slots: 1 or 0
Additional Attunement Cost: 2 motes
Activation Cost: 3 motes
Duration: Scene

This unit is designed to provide some extra protection to a warstrider from both ranged attacks. It comes in two varieties, a lightweight shield made from one of the magical materials designed to be gripped by a warstrider gauntlet, or specialised plating and components installed within the arm of the warstrider itself. The only difference between the two is that the external version is vulnerable to attack when not activated, while the internal version takes up an expansion slot.

Upon activation a sheet of essence springs into being about the arm of the warstrider, resembling a regular shield scaled to the appropriate size.

The shield adds a difficulty of 2 to any ranged attack made against the warstrider, and is fully capable of defending from elemental blasts, implosion bows, falling yeddim etc

Additionally the shield adds 5L/7B to the warstriders soak, which is not counted for hardness purposes.

Warstrider Essence Shields include various magical materials in their construction and as such provide no specific MM bonus.

Repairs are required per 20 hours of normal use, each turn of combat counts as 1 hour towards maintenance requirements. Any attack that pierces the shield also adds 1 hour to the maintenance as well. Repair requires Occult 3, Lore 3 and Craft (First Age Weapons) 3 as well as resources 3 in materials.

~ YerMum on rpg.net

Celestial Wings of the Golden Forge

Artifact: 3
Additional Attunement Cost: 3 motes
Activation Cost: 2 motes
Duration: One Scene
Slots: 1

With this module, a warstrider gains the ability to soar to the skies and travel like the gods of wind and heaven. The player requires a Dexterity + Ride to control the flying warstrider, at a difficulty 2. The flight speed depends on the type of warstrider using the wings: Scout and Common fly at 100 miles per hour, Noble and Royal fly at 85 miles per hour, and the Juggernauts fly at 60 miles per hour. A Juggernaut's wings are much larger, and require a lot more maintenance and cost to lift the immense armor aloft (Artifact 4, Attunement 5, Activation 4).

When flying, all attacks made against the warstrider are made at a +2 difficulty. The wings have 12 health levels (15 for Juggernaut), with 12L/16B soak.

~ Kenshiro on rpg.net

Blessed Fury of the Unconquered Sun

Artifact: 5
Slots: 2

One of the last inventions the Solar Deliberative created towards the end of the First Age was this immense weapon. It resembled nothing so much as a warstrider-sized Essence Cannon, only far more intricate and complex. The exact details for the purpose of creating this weapon are unknown, though some speculate that the Solar who requested this powerful artifact meant to use it against the Celestials themselves...Needless to say, she never got the chance. As the weapon as being installed, her Dragon-Blooded retainers attacked her manse. That was the only time the weapon was used, and the evidence to its might is shown by the blasted landscape that has yet to recover. Only a few signs of her ruined manse remain, as she was buried inside it when the weapon misfired. Some say she is still alive, and continues to work in perfecting it.

The Blessed Fury of the Unconquered Sun projects a focused beam of white-hot essence. While a smaller version would've been more efficient and easier to use, Blessed Fury was meant to destroy, and destroy alone. While the Big Blast can be parried, it's almost impossible to dodge without a stunt or Charm if you're caught in the blast.

Big Blast:
Accuracy +3, Damage: 100L at ground zero; with a radius of 300 yards; then 60L at 400 yards; and 30L at 600 yards, Rate: 1, Motes: 25, Commitment: 10, Minimum Strength: 14

Focused Beam
Accuracy +1, Damage: 50L, Rate: 2, Motes: 15, Commitment: 5, Range: 400, Minimum Strength: 12

~ Kenshiro on rpg.net

Full Metal Immersion

Artifact: varies
Additional Attunement Cost: 3 motes
Activation Cost: 4 motes
Duration: One Scene
Slots: 1

One of the biggest problems with sitting in 15ft of giant killing machine is the difficulty you have looking through the very small slit provided for viewing what you are about to destroy. The Full Metal Immersion unit removes the visibility problem for good, connecting your sensory inputs into the local essence flows, allowing you to see beyond the hard metal jacket that you wear. This modification allows the wearer to have normal vision at artifact 1, which is not penalised by wearing the War Strider. This is extended to 360 degree vision at artifact 2 or normal vision with Essence Sight. At artifact 3 the user has 360 degree Essence Sight.

The Clandestine Shroud of Essence

Artifact: 3
Additional Attunement Costs: 5 motes
Activation Cost: 1/5 motes
Duration: Scene
Slots: 1

This upgrade was common on scout and common 'striders toward the end of the first age, especially those that served in ranger groups. By harmonizing the 'strider with local essence flows, and using bound air spirits to cloud the visual appearance of the warstrider, it becomes virtually invisible to both mundane and magical vision, as long as it remains stationary.

Mechanically, this negates any stealth penalties the strider has for its size and general obvious nature. This costs 1 mote.

For 5 motes per scene, the warstriders pilot can render it virtually invisible, benfitting from the 1 mote version, and adding a number of automatic successes equal to the exalts essence to any stealth rolls as long as the strider is stationary.

~ Ubermonkey on rpg.net

Scales of the Golden Dragon

Artifact: 4
Additional Attunement Costs: 6 motes
Activation Cost: 2 motes, 1 WP
Slots: 2

One of the most powerful and sought after upgrades mounted on Warstriders, this was almost universally placed on Royal and Juggernaut 'striders. Initially created at the height of the Solars reign, the warstriders mounting this upgrade were only used against the most powerful enemies: Behemoths and powerful fey creatures.

Activated before the strider is struck, a golden glow covers the outer shell of the warstrider, absorbing the force of any blow short of a strike from one of the Celestial Incarna.

Activating the unit is a free reflexive action, costing 2 motes and one willpower point. The next attack to strike the warstrider is absorbed completely, although any lingering effects (such as being submerged in magma or the like) will effect the warstrider on following turns.

~ Ubermonkey on rpg.net

Unfailing Locator of Foe and Fiend

Artifact: 3
Additional Attunement Costs: 2 motes, level 2 hearthstone
Duration: Scene
Slots: 1

This complex aray of lenses, backed up by an impossible knot of starmetal of orichalum wires, picks out local essence disturbances, illuminating them in the user's vision. In effect, the user can see invisible beings, and recognise possesions and shapeshifted Demons for what they are.

Dispite the name, the Unfailing Locator doesn't pick out the wearer's enemies: just those not in his uniform, an image taken from his mind. This often leads to mistakes, but ever such mistake is denied by the Unfailing Locator: to it's rudimentay mind, it has found assassins and traitors. It's designer never questioned this, a testament to the paranoia of first age Solars.

~ Killfalcon on rpg.net

Earth-and-Wood Spiders

Constructed with the aid of elementals of both earth and wood, these tiny alchemical spiders scurry about the warstrider's body, spinning jade silk over scratches and holes in the machine's carapace. These add 3 motes to the cost of any magical attempt to reduce the Strider's soak. Piercing weapons instead only reduce the warstrider's soak by 1/4.

In addition, for 2 motes, the user may 'undo' half an hour's use of the warstrider for maintainance purposes. This doesn't affect how often weapons need to be maintained, an occasional checks of internal systems are still needed (around twice the normal, unmodified, repair time).

Power 2, 2 dots of inefficency: Hungry little things, these spiders. Load:6.

~ Killfalcon on rpg.net

= Orb of Emerald / Orb of Sapphire / Orb of Adamant

Artifact 1/2/3
Commitment 1/2/3 motes
Slots: 1/2 slot per orb

As Warstriders were concieved as massive siege engines, it soon became clear to the Solars of the first age that some degree of magical protection was necessary. 'Striders often took the brunt of defenders magic, and many were lost to enemy spells before the Orbs were created. Studded across the carapace, these orbs shatter as the essence flows of enemy spells hit them, shattering the spell with them.

It is rumored that the Deathlords have variations on these artefacts that shatter necromantic spells, made of behemoth bone, labyrinth stone and caged oblivion.

Each orb allows the solar pilot to cast the appropriate level of dispel spell once, at no essence cost, against the first spell of the appropriate power to target the 'strider. The orb is useless after the spell has been cast, it shatters in the casting, although the socket it sits in can be refilled

~ Ubermonkey on rpg.net

Essence Pod

Slots: 1
Artifact: 4
Extra Commitment Cost: 10m, 3 dot Solar heathstone
Activation Cost: 10m, 1W

Essence Pods are hideous weapons of the first age. These huge support weapons are normally mounted or built into the sholder. They contain a thousand spherical holes as big as a fist in regular patterns going deep down into the bulk of the weapon like test tubes. These spherical tubes contain raw essence held there till the moment of release, when a deadly hail of golden essence sets the battlefield alight with the barrage of a thosand essence bolts.

By spending a round concentrating and activating the Essence Pods built into target system, the Exalt can visualize the area around him from a birds eye position. The player can visulise any one who is not hidden by magical means. The player then selects to fire the device emptying all 1000 tubes at any number of targets. This is a magically aided action and the Exalt can immediately mentally instruct the device to perform many attack patterns. Making a Perception + Awareness + Essence in automatic successes, as an attack roll that applies to all targets. The bolts of essence can only be parried by magically aided defences. The bolts have a base damage of 5L + successes of the attack roll.

These devices have one huge drawback: they can only be fired once before needing several hours to recharge themselves, meaning that the time to strike has to be chosen carefully. These terrible devices are few and far between. Their destructive power is hideous to behold on the ranks of men on a battlefield.

Abyssal Access Web

Slots: 0
Artifact: 3
Commitment: 0

By means of this tracery of soulsteel within the cockpit of a warstrider, the DeathLords ensure that no matter who uses the artifact, the cause of Oblivion is served. Whenever the warstrider is worn by someone not endowed with an Abyssal spark, the wearer gains Resonance (as described in Exalted: The Abyssals) at a rate of one dot per day or fraction thereof that the warstrider is worn. The Resonance may be dissipated in the usual manner, although the Storyteller should pick the effects if bleeding it off.

Comments

The Essence Pod needs an alternate mechanic for when it is targetting MailAndSteel units, I belive. Indeed, I generally think that there should be a general rule for massive-area effect weaponry used on MailAndSteel units.. but anyway, that's not appropriate here. I would suggest that the essence pod can make up to (Magnitude x 2) attacks on a single MailAndSteel unit, representing the fact that defense against such a multiple blast will be much harder, and also neatly encompassing it's capability to slaughter large groups of men more efficiently than small groups of better quality ones.
-- Darloth