HITMarks: The Chaingunning

Basics

HITMarks are generally autonomous, unenlightened magical cyborgs used by Iteration X. The current known varieties of HITMark and their statistics are given below. This assumes using the armor rules from Magical Gun Porn. If not, 'H' armors give automatic successes, so double them and roll them as dice instead.

Models and Variants

Mark I

The Mark I is a large (2 meter tall), slow machine resembling an armored knight which is (according to the Technocracy at least) the first semi-autonomous Iteration X HITMark. Capable of following orders in a limited fashion without supervision, it is strong, tough, and incredibly stupid. It's only seen in decommissioned caches dating back to the Victorian era now, or used for very special purposes.

Introduced: 1790

Obsolete: 1880

Power Source: Hypertensile primium spring driving multiple cam shafts (Mechanical)

Musculature: High-precision clockwork

Armor: Solid-cast Primium Plating

Cognitive Core: Miniaturized Difference Engine.

Special Rules:

Slow-Witted: The Mark I's initiative is Dexterity (1) + Wits (1) + 1 (for a total of 3), not +1d10. It may not take multiple actions.

Steady Grasp: The Mark I has +1 Dexterity for melee and ranged attacks.

No Self Will: The Mark I is immune to all Mind effects unless the caster has valid Technocratic passcodes, at which point the Mark I automatically obeys orders if the Mind effect is successful. Both Etherites and Virtual Adepts do, in fact, have valid Mark I passcodes, as both left long after they were obsoleted.

Strength 4/Dexterity 1/Stamina 3
Charisma 0/Manipulation 0/Appearance N/A
Perception 1/Intelligence 0/Wits 1
Important Abilities

Alertness 1

Archery 3

Brawl 3

Melee 3

Firearms 3

Armor 4d (7d total soak), 2d Primium Countermagic
Health Levels: -0/-0/-1/-1/-2/Disabled/Destroyed
Inbuilt Weapons: Retractable Blade (Str + 3L damage), Volleygun (6L damage, Range 50, RoF 5 [fires bursts/full-auto], Magazine 20)
Paradox: 0

Mark I Upgrade

Taking old concepts and renewing them with cutting-edge technology, the Mark I upgrade (Mark IU) is designed for environments with persistent high-grade electromagnetic interference or other forms of interference with the more complex systems of advanced HITMarks. Replacing the original clockwork with precision nanoscale engineering, the Mark IU is faster, stronger, and significantly tougher, with attributes comparable to a Mark V. Standard armament includes a segmented monoblade (a "Progressive Blade") that is hypersharp and easily cuts through armor and flesh that breaks after multiple uses, retractable claws, and a diamondoid flechette dispenser.

Introduced: 1930

Obsolete: Never

Power Source: Nanoscale flywheel array

Musculature: Micromechanical pulleys

Armor: Primium Nanocomposite Sheathing with Reactive Gel Backing

Cognitive Core: Nanomechanical Computer

Special Rules:

Hyperhardened: The Mark IU's simple and multiple-redundant construction counts as coincidental under almost all paradigms (even inside Chantry Realms normally hostile to technological paradigms). Furthermore, all attempts to shut it down via magic require double the normal amount of successes.

Strength 5/Dexterity 2/Stamina 5
Charisma 0/Manipulation 0/Appearance N/A
Perception 2/Intelligence 2/Wits 2
Important Abilities

Alertness 2

Brawl 4

Dodge 2

Melee 4

Firearms 4

Strategy 1

Armor 3H (5d [3] total soak), 4d Primium Countermagic
Health Levels: -0/-0/-0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-5/Disabled/Destroyed
Inbuilt Weapons: Progressive Blade (Str + 5L damage, enemies soak at +3 difficulty, breaks after 10 uses), Claws (Str + 2L damage), Flechette Launcher (6L damage w/AP 4, Range 50, RoF 5 [Bursts/FA], Magazine 200)
Paradox: 2

Mark II

The first fully electrically powered HITMark, the Mark II was a significant leap in capability and complexity. Mark IIs without the primium are still more than within the means of Virtual Adepts and Etherites to build, meaning that you can still see some of them in Etherite constructs, especially as they often fit the steampunk/electropunk aesthetic of old-school Etherites. These Mark IIs are almost always aftermarket customized designs capable of taking on Mark Vs in single combat.

Introduced: 1860

Obsolete: 1900

Power Source: High-density lead-acid battery

Musculature: Electrical servomotors

Armor: Solid-cast Primium Plating

Cognitive Core: Analog Computer

Special Rules:

Steady Grasp: The Mark I has +2 Dexterity for melee and ranged attacks.

Strength 5/Dexterity 1/Stamina 4
Charisma 0/Manipulation 0/Appearance N/A
Perception 1/Intelligence 1/Wits 2
Important Abilities

Alertness 2

Brawl 3

Melee 3

Firearms 3

Armor 4d (8d total soak), 2d Primium Countermagic
Health Levels: -0/-0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/Disabled/Destroyed
Inbuilt Weapons: Rotary Saw (Str + 3L damage), Electrical Gatling Gun (8L damage, Range 100, RoF 3 (Burst/FA), Magazine 500)
Paradox: 1

Mark II Upgrades

Mark II upgrades are generally installed after the base chassis is built. Old-style Technocratic Mark IIs will generally have at most 1 or 2 upgrades, while Etherite versions, although they lack the Primium, can have multiple upgrades. Higher-tech versions of the Mark II's upgrade modules can be employed on all later marks as well, save the Mark VI, which possesses most of them innately.

Digital Computer Upgrade: Refitting the Mark II with a superior processor gives it +1 Paradox, +1 Perception, +1 Intelligence, and +1 Dexterity.

Electromagnetic Rams (Arms): +2 Strength for damage and feats of strength. +1 Paradox.

Electromagnetic Rams (Legs): Double ground movement speed. +1 Paradox.

Heavy Armor: Can only walk or jog, +2d armor, +1d countermagic.

Heavy Machine Gun: Replaces Gatling Gun (and 1 arm!) with a HMG dealing 10L damage, Range 150, RoF 5, Magazine 200.

Rocket Launcher: Replaces Gatling Gun with a rocket launcher dealing 15L damage, Range 150, RoF 1, Magazine 3.

Tesla Coil: Tesla Coils have an "Arete" of 4 and deal Forces 3 Lethal damage. They are mostly coincidental today.

Optimized Software: +8 ability dots total, no ability may go over 4.

Mark III

The Mark III is the first of the 'modern' HITMarks. Still fully robotic and unconcealable IIIs are still used as low-priority security units, and the IIIB upgrade variants are still employed on operations today.

Mark IV

Many people confuse Mark IVs and Mark Vs. The difference is, the Mark IV is built on a (generally) willing human donor, while the Mark V is a fully artificial construct. This gives Mark IVs a much broader range of attributes, makes them much better-suited for infiltration missions and long-term operations, and means that they're often more skilled and more capable. On the flipside they're also much rarer. Often a unenlightened HITMark assault is a few Mark Vs led by a Mark IV.

Introduced: 1940

Obsolete: Never

Power Source: Bioelectrical

Musculature: Human muscle tissue + joint motors

Armor: Subdermal primium plating

Cognitive Core: Augmented Human Brain

Special Rules:

All Too Human: Mark IVs behave just like human beings, which makes them vulnerable to things like 'mind control', 'defecting', and 'being possessed by horrible alien spirits'. On the flipside it gives them a level of lateral thinking and unpredictability all other HITMarks lack.

Mark V

The most well-known HITMark version, the Mark V is by far the most common HITmark design currently used, with a balance of lethality, subtlety, maintenance requirements, and cost.

Introduced: 1960

Obsolete: Never

Power Source: Hydrogen fuel cell

Musculature: Silicone artificial actuators

Armor: Primium endoskeleton w/subdermal polymer plates

Cognitive Core: Neural Network

Special Rules:

Run Robot Run: The Mark V, although not particularly dextrous or agile, can make extremely high ground speeds and chase down cars. Mark Vs can run at easily 60 km/h.

Modular Weapon: The Mark V uses a modular weapons system that can be swapped in or out either in a dedicated cradle or in the field. Dedicated maintenance creches allow the use of Intelligence + Hypertech or Intelligence + Science (Cybernetics) to swap out the systems. Field-swaps require Life and Matter 3 (and, obviously, the weapon itself). The Modular Weapons System can be installed into an Enlightened Cyborg for the 8-point background cost as the Implant Chain Gun, with 2 choices of weapon. Additional choices cost 2 background points each.

Strength 6/Dexterity 3/Stamina 6
Charisma 2/Manipulation 2/Appearance 3-5
Perception 2/Intelligence 2/Wits 3
Important Abilities

Alertness 3

Athletics 3

Awareness 1

Brawl 4

Drive 2

Melee 3

Firearms 4

Stealth 2

Armor 3H (6d [3] total soak), 3d Primium Countermagic
Health Levels: -0/-0/-0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/Disabled/Destroyed
Inbuilt Weapons: Primium Claws (Str + 3A damage), Modular Armaments Subsystem
Paradox: 5

Mark V Security Variant

The exponentially increasing cost of the Mark V program led to Syndicate Financiers going to the Biotechnicians and asking for a low-cost alternative to the full-up Mark V, as there were a lot of Technocratic operations which rated a bit more protection than sleepers but didn't rate full-spec Mark Vs. As a bonus, they wanted a design that was lower-maintenance and significantly more subtle.

The MkV (S) uses the core book HITMark rules and either use an automatic shotgun (as a shotgun but RoF 5A, Magazine 200) or a Multistack Rifle. Mark V (S) designs have a 'mere' Paradox of 3.

Mark V Armament Submodules

20mm Chain Gun-the IX-22 chaingun is a high-velocity short-barrel 20mm autocannon using electrothermal-chemical rounds. Although innately not magical, fitting it into a human body is.

12L Damage, AP 4, RoF 5A, Range 200, Magazine 200

Anti-Armor Railgun-trading off close-range effectiveness and automatic fire for incredible lethal force, railguns are an increasingly common HITMark weapon.

16L damage, AP 8, RoF 1, Range 300, Magazine 20. Attacks at Difficulty 8 if character does not 'brace'

Grenade Launcher-it shoots grenades.

12L damage (frag) or grenade damage, RoF 3B, Range 100, Magazine 50

Hypervelocity Gauss Rifle-the HGR is the cutting-edge of coincidental firepower. Firing an inert projectile at enormous velocities the railgun is capable of taking on werewolves, tanks, and other hard targets.

Arete 5, Forces 3/Matter 3 armor-piercing damage. RoF 1, Range 300. Quintessence 15, uses 1Q/shot. Coincidental in the developed world.

Multistack Rifle-the MSR can spray out hundreds of small-caliber rounds a second. Although not quite true magick it does cause paradox backlashes if it botches. A man-portable version with 'only' 600 rounds exists.

6L Damage, RoF 10A (full-automatic only), Range 100, Magazine 1800

Smartgun-Smartguns are medium or heavy machine guns with self-aiming and gyrostabilization.

8L Damage, AP 1, RoF 5A (bursts/full-auto only), Range 200, Magazine 500. Attacks at difficulty 4.

Plasma Caster-the last word in high-power weapons. It's like a miniature nuclear bomb in your arm! Normally, plasmacasters are only used in Constructs as defenses or for Chantry assaults.

Arete 6, Forces 3/Prime 2 Aggravated damage. RoF 1, Range 200. Vulgar. Quintessence 30, uses 1Q/shot.

Rocket Launcher-A semi-automatic rocket launcher firing 60mm laser-guided HEDP rockets.

20L damage, AP 10, RoF 1, Range 400, Magazine 12

Scatter Laser-the scatter laser has limited hitting power but is often coincidental in high-tech areas and is exceptionally accurate.

Arete 4, Forces 3/Prime 2 Lethal damage. RoF 3B, Range 100. Quintessence 20, uses 1Q/shot. Attacks at Difficulty 3.

Mark VI

Yeah that's about right. With various Etherite mad science projects running around, the Garou still as nasty as ever, and the Ascension War in full swing, Iteration X got together and decided to make themselves a weapon to reassert dominance in the Umbra by kicking in the face of everything inside it. A single Mark VI costs almost as much as a small Void Engineer battleship or Spirit Nuke but is undeniably at least as effective as either, and causes slightly less collateral damage. Slightly.

Introduced: 1998

Obsolete: None

Power Source: Antimatter Reactor

Musculature: Carbon Nanotube

Armor: Primium-Infused Reactive Ceramic Armor

Cognitive Core: Acausal Hypercomputer

Special Rules:

Finicky: The Mark VI requires a significant and dedicated support bay to deploy, and requires several hours to warm up. Not exactly a weapon you can use without significant preparation.

MAXIMUM STRENGTH: The Mark VI gains 5 automatic successes on all Strength rolls (like a vampire with Potence 5).

MAXIMUM SPEED: The Mark VI has an additional 5 extra actions. Like a vampire with Celerity... yeah, okay look it can murder a minmaxed combat monkey vampire. Just deal with it.

Self-Destruct: Because of how powerful a Mark VI is, when killed they immediately self-destruct, vaporizing their bodies and dealing 10A damage to everyone in the area. This damage may not be soaked without Forces 4.

Strength 6 [5]/Dexterity 8/Stamina 6
Charisma 2/Manipulation 2/Appearance 3-5
Perception 4/Intelligence 2/Wits 6
Important Abilities

Alertness 3

Awareness 2

Athletics 4

Brawl 4

Dodge 3

Melee 4

Firearms/Energy Weapons/Heavy Weapons 4

Armor 4H (6d [4] total soak), 5d Primium Countermagic
Health Levels: -0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-0/Disabled/Destroyed
Inbuilt Weapons: RAPTOR Mk II Vibroblades (Str + 4A damage, enemy soaks at +3 difficulty), Fusion Lance (Arete 6 Forces 3/Prime 2 aggravated damage)
Paradox: 10
Special Effects: "Arete" 5 for submodules, Forces 1/Life 1 multispectral vision, Dimension Science 2 Phase Generator (can touch spirits), Prime 3 Antimagic Field (roll arete to activate, each success adds +1 difficulty for all magic use)

Mark VI Submodules

Mark VIs are sometimes deployed clean, but often are deployed with submodules added on. A Technocratic operator with Life 4, Matter 4, and Correspondence 4 can hot-swap these submodules with a standard rote. Oftentimes these submodules are extraordinarily expensive and require external input as well, which is why they're Mark VI-specific ones.

Acausal Hypercomputation

A Mark VI with this submodule is given the ability to reroll any single failed or botched roll it makes in a turn.

Combat Teleportation Module

A Mark VI with this submodule can use Correspondence 3 teleportation.

Fault-Tolerant Predictive Analysis

A Mark VI with this Primal Utility 5 'submodule', taking the form of a complex set of maintenance instructions (costing a total of 4 Quintessence), may roll the submodule's Arete of 5 at difficulty 5. Each success allows it to ignore 1 paradox backlash roll for the scene due to having had potential malfunctions removed and replaced.

Non-HITMark Combat Units

CRABs

Combat Robot-Advanced Biomimetics. Yes, Iteration X likes making their incredibly bad cute acronyms. It is a spider tank. With a heavy plasma cannon on it.

Structure

Reinforced Hull (20 successes, 40 HLs)

Propulsion Systems

Ground Movement (10 successes)

Armor

Basic Hull (20 successes)

30d Armor (30 successes)

6d Countermagic (6 successes)

Armament

2 x Assault Rams (16 successes)

Uses Wits + Drive, deals 16A damage

Heavy Plasma Cannon (20 successes)

deals 12 levels of aggravated Forces damage. Aimed with Perception + Heavy Weapons

4 x HEX Missiles (40 successes)

10d attack pool, 7 levels of Forces damage

Secondary Weapons Mounts (3 successes)

2 x independently targeting heavy machine guns (10L, fire full-auto), Grenade Launcher (12L frag grenades)

Additional Features

Active Camouflage (10 successes)

AI Unit (50 successes)

Perception 6, Intelligence 1, Wits 6

Alertness 3, Drive 5, Firearms 5, Heavy Weapons 5, Stealth 3, Technology 3

Aquatic Capability (10 successes)

Jump Jets (5 successes)

Total Costs

240 successes, 13 background dots

MiniCRAB

Totally not a direct ripoff of something from anime. Totally.

Structure

Reinforced Hull (10 successes, 20 HLs)

Propulsion Systems

Ground Movement (5 successes)

Armor

Basic Hull (10 successes)

12d Armor (6 successes)

4d Countermagic (4 successes)

Armament

Railgun w/ 5 bursts (25 successes)

Perception + Drive, deals 9 levels of Forces damage + additional to-hit successes, +10d from full-auto fire, can attack multiple targets.

10 x HEX Micromissiles(20 successes)

10d attack pool, 3 levels of Forces damage + additional to-hit successes

Secondary Weapons Mounts (2 successes)

2 x heavy machine guns (10L, fire full-auto)

Additional Features

Active Camouflage (5 successes)

AI Unit (75 successes)

Charisma 4 [Moe], Manipulation 2, Appearance 3

Perception 6 , Intelligence 3, Wits 6

Alertness 3, Drive 5, Etiquette 3, Firearms 5, Heavy Weapons 5, Stealth 3, Technology 3

Aquatic Capability (5 successes)

Jump Jets (3 successes)

Total Costs

170 successes, 10 background dots

Variant with the ability to carry 1 passenger/driver costs an additional 7 successes, and the same background dot cost.