Upgrade Cost:
65 tons
150 Base Armor
Starts with 4 Weapon slots +1 every 6 levels
Minimum Level 35
Manufacturer: Talbus Armaments
Starting Weapons: 2 Rail Gun, 2 Particle Slate
Level 1 bonuses: -3 Speed, Shield (5), 5% Trample shield, 5% Splash Shield
Level 88 equipment: 3 Cockpit, 2 chassis, 3 Engine, 5 Shield
Level 88 bonuses: +13 Speed, Crit-kill 1%, Dodge (?), Shield (15), Trample Shield 50%, Splash Shield 25%
Star Factories planned to dominate the market as usual with its reverse engineer replicas of ancient alien mecha but not everyone is willing to pay Star Factory prices especially on the fringe. An “acquired” Aspis and some corporate espionage later and Talbus Armaments began work on new forms of shielding as well. They were able to replicate the effects of the trample and splash shielding with a combination of area defense systems, electromagnetic fields and high density armors.
These new defensive systems were placed on a short humanoid test bed mecha chassis for system testing. During a fringe technology showcase demo one of these sprinted forward and took a defensive stance as it activated its defense suite and provided cover for a Bishop that was able to fire unhindered by incoming area effect weapons meant for both of them. Against the protests that it was a technology test bad and not even a prototype, watching Cog-Marshal Taggert announced, “They are the perfect Pawns for your Bishop and Rook, I’ll take them.”
Many fail to understand the true purpose of a Pawn, they see it simply as something expendable, nothing more than cannon fodder. Unfortunately that has become one meaning of the word, but in a game of chess a Pawn is so much more. It is mobile terrain and a shield dictating where you and your opponent maneuver and protecting others around and behind it. Above all it is potential, which when made the best use of and kept alive can truly devastate an opponent.
Then came the work of turning a technology test bed into a full combat mecha prototype and then production models. They had to sacrifice some weapon mounts for the point defense system and its offensive firepower is less than other heavy mecha. However it is sturdy and can take a beating like nothing else and protect other mecha in the process.
The armor used had been designed for heavier mecha and the electro-magnetic field generators required reinforcing all the actuators especially in the shoulders. This gives the Pawn a squat, stocky appearance. The arm shields are the primary offensive weapon mounts but also heavily armored and house sensors for the point and area defense systems as well as the shield generators for energy based defenses. The two shields allow the pilot of the Pawn to defend mecha behind and to either side of it and communicate targeting information to other units. This inter intercommunication allows several Pawns to be even more effective than a single one and also allows them to spot for artillery fire and counter- artillery from mecha such as the Rook and Queen.
(Unfortunately my scanner is out so my illustrations for this are not available I'll have to try another way. Looks like a short stocky Bishop with a similar black paint job and point defense weapons on its shoulders and a shield on each arm. The three most commonly used colors for Chess pieces are Black, White and Red, the Bishop is Black, the Rook red a color often used to designate artillery units, the Pawn, Knight, Queen and King should be colored so that there are two mecha of each color. Also all numbers in the statistics are subject to change to make the mecha playable and balanced.)
Submitted by Sean Wadey#356579