Roy Hinkley, or “The Professor” (Driver +1, Cyclist, Gunner +1, Trucker, Computer +2, Tech +2, Weapons Tech +4) as he is known by the Marauders of Ballard, OK (see map #9 for more details), is a master weapon-smith. A former employee of Uncle Albert, Roy was actively recruited by the Marauders to relocate from Uncle Albert’s Texas headquarters to Ballard, OK. He has continued his weapons research in Ballard and developed some very interesting weapons.
Presenting The M.U.T.A.N.T. (Mobile Universal Terrain Armored Nexus Transport)
The MUTANT walker is a behemoth of a war machine, standing at a height of 22.5 (about 74 feet) meters tall, 25 meters long (82 feet) and approximately 8.7 meters (28.5 feet) wide . This quadrupedal walker closely resembles mythical beasts of war. Professor Hinkley designed the MUTANT as a nearly invulnerable transport for gang members and light vehicles, as well as mobile command post for overseeing any ground battle (hence the “Nexus” part of it’s name).
Professor Hinkley set about to develop a transport for the Marauders to get gang members, cycles, and the occasional car or truck to a raid without having to fight off rival gangs, raiders or someone who thinks taking down a transport big rig would be a good idea. The MUTANT is not limited to traversing the Oklahoma countryside via the deteriorating roadway system. As a result the gang members arrive on the scene of the raid fresh and with no battle damage.
Standing high above most of its attackers, the MUTANT is only vulnerable to pedestrians, universal turrets and airborne combatants. That is a limited vulnerability as the distance to hit is increased because of its height and the MUTANT is heavy on the armor.
One serious disadvantage the MUTANT has in combat is its speed and maneuverability, or more specifically, a lack thereof. On flat open terrain it can reach speeds of 60 mph. That speed is cut in half (30 mph) To turn the MUTANT must slow to 5 mph and it can then pivot clockwise or counter clockwise 0.25″ every turn. Once oriented on its new heading it can begin accelerating at 5 mph/turn. Decelerating is also 5 mph/turn
When walking the MUTANT will start with the left front foot which is a circle 11.25′ in diameter (.75″ CW 2ed scale) and move it forward until the back “toe” is even with where the front “toe” (See Fig 1.). Then the left rear foot (Fig 2.) will move forward. The body and the right front foot will move forward (Fig 3.). Lastly the left rear foot will come even with the new position. *NOTE* Only one foot is ever off the ground at any given time. The foot will be raised to height of 8′ – 10′ and will crush anything underneath the foot when it comes down (whether the item is moving or not, crushing damage will be listed under damage). The MUTANT will move in this manner at the speed it is moving forward. If the foot comes into contact with a moveable object taller than 10′, a vehicle will immediately suffer a D10 collision (roll against the collision table). A non-vehicle will be knocked over and out of the way. If the MUTANT is traveling at speed with a half inch movement phase, only Fig 1. and Fig 2 will be done on that phase. Fig 3 and Fig 4 will be completed after all other movement on phase 10 has been completed and then start the next turn again at Fig 1. on uneven ground or a battlefield littered with obstacles. When the MUTANT is moving forward it can “drift” left or right of its present course by 0.25″ in every turn. Fig 5-8
The “head” of the MUTANT is a movable command section containing the command cockpit, with room for the commander, pilot and gunner. The pilot or driver is concerned with where the walker is going and any potential threats. At his position the pilot has an on board computer, radar, IFF, Long Range Radio, and Ground Station link-up. His systems keep a lock on the direction of travel regardless of the orientation of the “Head” The gunner controls the twin heavy lasers mounted in z-axis turrets at each side of the head. Targeting for the lasers is achieved on the X & Y axis by moving the head and the Z axis by rotating the turret. The head has a 150 degree arc of fire (75 degrees each side of the center line of the vehicle) and can target anything within that arc of fire. The lasers and head are cyber-linked to the gunner and move as fast as the gunner can move his/her own head. The vehicle commander keeps an over-all view of the battle and controls the firing of the front mounted, linked twin VMGs. The VMGs are mounted in semi-universal turrets. They have a firing arc of 75 degrees each side of the center line of the head and can pivot down to target anything at head-height to ground level. The head can pivot up, giving the VMGs a limited arc of fire at on-coming aircraft. The Ref will need to use judgement about where the gunner has targeted the head if an in-coming aircraft is within the target range of the VMGs or not.
In addition to firing the twin VMGs, the MUTANT commander can keep an eye on the tactical aspects of the battle and stay in communications contact with every member of the Marauder’s ground forces using the MUTANTS sensor platforms and communications gear. Each member of the Marauders has their comm gear pre-tuned to the same scrambled frequency. Without the scramble key, outside listeners will not understand the transmissions.
The MUTANT is powered by the Professor’s Nuclear Power Plant
Behind the Command Head connected by a flexible armored tunnel/support structure is the cargo body. The body is capable of bringing up to 40 armed Marauders to the battle site via a two deck cargo area. The upperdeck is capable of carrying 20 armed and armored pedestrians a/o the equivalent amount of weapons a/o supplies. The lower deck again can hold the same quantity. However, the lower deck with the addition of the rear assault ramp can contain 2 (two) vehicles, or 8 (eight) motorcycles, or 4 (four) trikes (or cycles with sidecars). *NOTE* or combination thereof assume 1 vehicle = 4 cycles or two trikes *end note* Pedestrians can rappel out of an assault door on the left or right side. (rules for rappelling?) When the assault door is open Marauders inside the mutant are open to attack using normal distance and line of sight rules. However they can also now open fire on the battle.
To offload any vehicles, the MUTANT must come to a full stop and kneel until the body is only 10′ off the ground. Then the rear assault ramp opens and vehicles can be driven off. This takes 20 seconds from coming to a stop. Once all vehicles are unloaded, the MUTANT can stand back up regain it’s mobility. Please note the head can still fire while unloading vehicles. It will take the MUTANT another 10 seconds to stand back up and close the assault ramp.
The MUTANT as a troop transport is heavily armored in comparison to rival gangs or truck convoys but would have tough time against any rogue military unit it might happen to come across. The armor locations are as follows: Head: L, R, F, B, T, U; Neck: L, R, T, U; Body: FL, RL, FR RR, F, B, FT, RT, FU, RU; Legs and Feet are considered solid metal objects. All armor is metal and the Professor has distributed it thusly; 25 points each head position, 35 points each body position, Feet are considered 75 points of metal armor each and the legs are 45 points each.
Collisions: Ground Collisions
The MUTANT is fairly stable and can shrug off most collision damage. Any foot on the ground will be considered an immovable object of approximately 31,000 Lbs. when struck by anything weighing less than 45,000 lbs. Apply damage accordingly. If anything over 45,000 Lbs hits a foot on the ground, the MUTANT suffers collision damage to the foot in question and takes a D1 Hazard if it is the next foot to move. The vehicle takes collision damage and has a D5 maneuver.
If the MUTANT’s foot is in the air, anything shorter than an over size vehicle will harmlessly pass underneath the raised foot if it is going faster enough to not get caught by the foot coming down. If any portion the foot comes down on top of the vehicle is crushed under 65,000 Lbs of collision damage. If an oversize vehicle hits the lifted foot, the MUTANT has a D2 Hazard and collision and the vehicle has a D4 Hazard and collision calculate all damage and collisions on the appropriate tables.
The MUTANT can walk through most buildings. Hi-rise buildings with girder frames will stop it and as such most experienced MUTANT drivers avoid buildings as tall or taller than the MUTANT.
Air Collisions:
If hit broadside with 35,000 Lbs of momentum the MUTANT will be knocked over and crush anything it lands on. It will take 2 seconds to fall over from the time of impact. Anything inside the MUTANT will roll for damage as if it has suffered a 50 mph collision. If hit head on or from behind normal speed collision rules apply.
Points of vulnerability:
The MUTANT can be successfully tripped by a pre-strung wire capable of withstanding 320,000 Lbs of collision damage. Otherwise it will walk through the hazard with no problem.
Any vehicle mid-size or larger can attempt to fire a harpoon gun (harpoon gun rules) with attached wire at one of the legs (+1 to hit because of size). If the hit is successful the harpoon will then embed itself in the leg. The vehicle must then make 3 complete passes around all four legs. Once the third pass has been made the vehicle must roll a D6 on anything but a 1 the vehicle has a chance to escape the falling MUTANT. If a 1 is rolled the wire failed to detach from the vehicle and it is pulled along for the ride. The MUTANT will come to complete stop, fall forward on its face and two seconds later crush anything under the head. Anything inside the MUTANT that survives this collision can still attempt to unload via the side assault doors.
If a “knee” is targeted and takes 23 points of damage (assume the knee is 25′ off the ground,normal distance modifiers and a -2 because it is almost constantly in motion) it will seize up and be D4 maneuver for the MUTANT until it can come to a stop.
The last point of vulnerability is a bit tougher to access and exploit. Any Pedestrian, Motorcycle passenger or passenger in a vehicle with roof access can attempt to fire a grappling gun at the underside of the MUTANT body. If successfully hit, the grappling gun will take 5 seconds to pull the pedestrian to the underside. The Pedestrian must then do 10 points of damage to one of the escape hatches (attacking the hinges or lock). Once the 10 points of damage has been done an explosive device (use grenade throwing rules) can be thrown inside. The closer the explosive device gets to the Nuclear Power Plant the better. (Ref you will need to note where each item of cargo is in relation to the reactor). The attacking pedestrian can either attempt to rappel down the grapple gun rope or elect to free fall the 50′ to try and get clear of the exploding and falling MUTANT. *NOTES on this vulnerability. It is a D2 maneuver for a motorcycle or trike and D3 maneuver for a 4-wheel vehicle to avoid the feet while your passenger lines up for the shot). An oversize vehicle cannot drive underneath but can attempt to drive alongside the MUTANT at D3 maneuver every second it has matched speed, any passengers attempting from an oversize vehicle suffer an additional -2 to hit trying to avoid the legs. If a driver of a cycle or 4-wheel vehicle wants to attempt to fire a grapple gun it is a D3 and D4 maneuver respectfully and a -2 additional to hit.
Thank you to HeatDeath, Brf, MageSmiley, 43Supporter, Aleph, Sam Mitschke, and Owenmp of the Steve Jackson Forum for your assistance.
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*PLEASE NOTE* The MUTANT is being shared in Draft mode. There will be tweaks coming to these rules as well as vehicle info sheet.
This supplemental information was written for and intended to be used with Car Wars 1st – 4th Edition rules and game play. Car Wars is (c) Steve Jackson games
Ballard is a fictional town being shared with the Car Wars community. Thank you to the Commissioner of Ballard for sharing this wonderful community with us.
All counters have been customized by Alien Graphics using licensed artwork from Adobe.
If asked about the resemblance to an all-terrain armored transport from a beloved science fiction classic, the Professor will admit that he has seen Empire Strikes Back multiple times.
*End Note*
Vulcan Stev's Database 