Scout Ants

Scout ants (aka “Scants”) are a commonly used reconnaissance system. Less sophisticated than a CATS, they are a fraction of the price. This may result in relatively large numbers being used at once.

As might be expected, a scant resembles an ant approximately 30 cm long. Number of legs may vary from four to eight, with the hexapod configuration being most common. The head contains sensors, including cameras, microphones and sometimes olfactory pick-ups. The abdomen protects a retractable antenna. When retracted the communication systems have some resistance to EMP attacks.

Lacking the speed and agility of a CATS, the scant is typically tasked with missions such as the surveillance of a stationary site. To do this the scant will typically select a vantage point under a bush or up a tree, where they are easily overlooked. A scant can climb the sides of most buildings, but this often exposes them to observation. In urban environments beneath parked vehicles is a more popular observation position.

Scants negotiate water obstacles by attempting to traverse the river bottom.

Many models of scant are not equipped with any armament. Some include an electric “crackler”, which is mainly intended to discourage predatory animals with adventurous appetites. The crackler can be a nasty surprise for human enemies that try to handle a scant. The victim of a crackler discharge must make a HT-3 roll to avoid being stunned (at +1 per 10 points of non-conductive DR); if the roll fails, the victim takes 1d fatigue and remains stunned for as long as the crackler-equipped scant is in contact, and for (20-HT) seconds after it is removed, before any recovery rolls are permitted. Some operators have found more inventive uses for a scant crackler, using it to disrupt electrical devices or ignite flammables.

Scants are deployed in a variety of ways. They may be allowed to simply walk to their objective. They can be dropped from aircraft or inserted by larger cybershells or vehicles. Several scants can fit in a briefcase.

Weapons: EMP Projectors and Warheads.

Version 1.4

“...then in ’59 the Luddites wiped the regional tax records with an EMP.”

EMP (electromagnetic pulse) weapons have been used by terrorists, saboteurs, activists and malicious pranksters. Criminals have used them to disable robots for later resale. As a consequence, most modern fifth and fourth-wave electronics are designed with some resistance to EMP attack. Military hardware of third-wave or higher has even greater resistance. Older equipment and that manufactured in the developing nations will probably be more vulnerable. Knock-off technology will vary in resistance, as it will in other qualities.

The smaller an item is, the less practical it becomes to effectively shield it.

Any equipment designed to receive radiowaves or similar transmissions will have some vulnerability, however. Radar or communications antennas are vulnerable. Power lines and some communication cables will act like antenna. EMP has no effect on optical devices and fibre-optic cables but may effect equipment they serve. Many military cybershells and vehicles only expose their antenna when using them. Firing an EMP weapon is often the initial move of a surprise attack. This has led to some military forces making more extensive use of laserphones and coded signal lights for communication.

Cyberswarms are very vulnerable to EMP weapons. Most use wireless recharging systems, so each microbot is a tiny receiver. Even when other power systems are used, microbots are too small to shield and rely on transmissions to co-ordinate. (THS 3e p.100: “Counter-attacking cyberswams often involves defense swams or EMP munitions.”)

Holographic storage media such as cubes, wafers and holodiscs are not vulnerable to EMP. An EMP permanently erases software and data stored on magnetic media. Perhaps an extortionist with an EMP weapon will hold the millionaire’s antique VHS collection to ransom! 

An EMP attack affects anything electrical (or anyone with the Electrical disadvantage). Robots become unconscious, while total cyborgs suffer the Seizure incapacitating condition (4e p. B429), ignoring FP loss if they have the Machine metatrait. The GM should modify these effects accordingly. A critical hit, critical failure or a success by a margin of 10 or more will affect the effect. For resistant items the effect may be temporary, and the device be able to be brought back on line, possibly at limited capacity. Other systems may need extensive repairs or may be permanently disabled. In THS implants are relatively common and these may be affected by EMP attack. Repairs or replacement may require surgery or an equivalent medical procedure.

If no HT is given, assume a device has a HT of 10. The GM may rule a device has a lower of higher value. Hardening against EMP adds +3 to HT when resisting EMP attacks.

EMP Projectors.

EMP projectors project ranged cone attacks (see Area and Spreading Attacks p. B413). Any target in the cone is struck by an affliction attack. This only afflicts electrical systems and those with the Electrical disadvantage. Make a HT roll or be shut down (or unconscious) for minutes equal to the margin of failure. Add +3 to resist beyond 1/2D range. The target’s SM adds to the HT roll to resist.

The statistics below are adapted from Ultra-Tech 4e p.121, where they are called “Microwave Disruptors”. Note that despite the names used in the table, EMP projectors do not have to look like guns. They may be built into innocuous items such as a briefcase or portable terminal. The scrambler is a pocket holdout device and will commonly be disguised as something else. For larger projectors, decide if a projector is small, medium or large and base it on the pistol, carbine or heavy EMP.

The heavy EMP projector can take the form of a tripod-mounted, crew-served weapon but is more usually used mounted on a vehicle or large cybershell. Weight given does not include the weight of the D cell (5lb) or the tripod (23lb). A mounted projector will use the vehicle or cybershell’s power supply. It may or may not have a D cell as auxiliary power.

Beam Weapons (Projector) (DX-4, or other Beam Weapons-4)

Name	Damage	Acc	Range	Weight	RoF	Shots	ST	Bulk	Recoil	Cost	LC
Scrambler	HT-2 aff (1 yd)	3	40/120	0.3/B	1	11(3)	3	-1	1	$120	2
EMP Pistol	HT-3 aff (1 yd)	6	90/270	1.8/C	1	33(3)	4	-2	1	$650	3
EMP Carbine	HT-4 aff (1 yd)	12	160/480	5/2C	1	28(3)	5†	-3	1	$2,000	2

Gunner (Beams) (DX-4, or other Gunner-4)

Name	Damage	Acc	Range	Weight	RoF	Shots	ST	Bulk	Recoil	Cost	LC
Heavy EMP Projector	HT-8 aff (3 yd)	18	600/1,200	70/D	1	50(5)	18M	-8	1	$32,000	1

EMP Warheads

EMP warheads use explosive power or an energy cell to energize a non-nuclear electromagnetic pulse. Anything electrical (or anyone with the Electrical disadvantage) in the radius of the special effect (below) must make a HT-8 (2) resistance roll or be knocked out of action for seconds equal to the margin of failure. As for other EMP weapons, the GM can modify the effect accordingly to suit the vulnerability and nature of the affected item.

In THS EMP warheads are not available in 15mm or smaller rounds, although perhaps someone to make a special custom item could be found. Use 20-30mm for 30mm mini-missiles and 20mm projectiles. 40mm for hand grenades and 40mm mini-missiles. The EMP hand grenade is bulkier and more complex than a TS-era explosive grenade, so weighs 1lb.

Grenades and satchel charges inflict the damage shown below. Missile and other projectiles replace their normal piercing damage with the damage shown below.

The explosive damage is for EMP warheads powered by an explosive power cartridge. Alternate models use an energy cell that is used to charge a capacitor. The capacitor is capable of being fully expended in a single use. These do no explosive damage, so are safer if the user needs an EMP against a nearby threat. Energy cell-powered EMP grenades are designed to be one use, but can sometimes be reused if the energy cell is replaced. For obvious reasons, capacitor grenades use non-rechargeable cells, so if rechargeable cells are used, twice as many, or a larger size will be needed. Some models use non-standard sizes of energy cell. Sometimes an expended capacitor grenade is beyond repair, however.

Warhead	Damage	Explosive Damage
20-30mm	HT-8(2) spec(2 yard)	+1d-2 cr ex
40mm	HT-8(2) spec(4 yard)	+1d cr ex
64mm	HT-8(2) spec(8 yard)	+2d cr ex
100mm	HT-8(2) spec(16 yard)	+4d cr ex

EMP Swatter.

The EMP swatter is technically a projector, but resembles a non-explosive EMP warhead in operation and construction. Effectively it is an EMP warhead connected to an exterior power supply. Some models are also connected to a nearby C or D cell to permit limited operation in the event of power failure.

In high-security installations swatters are as common a sight as fire extinguishers or alarms. They are also found in conference rooms and anywhere else that cyberswarms and surveillance dust might be a concern.

An EMP swatter station includes a control to manually activate it. It may also be triggered remotely, from a control room or security office, or linked to cyberswarm detection systems. There may be slight delay before firing while a warning sounds so those with implants or sensitive equipment may get clear.

After firing a swatter will take several seconds (1d+3) for its capacitors to recharge. If used frequently (several times in a minute) there is a chance it will temporarily shut down or even burn out. During rapid use roll 3d for each firing after the first. It Malfunctions on 16 or higher.

THS Cities of the Edge (4e) p.8 has a section on EMP weaponry:

E-Weapons: Microwave disruptors (GURPS Ultra-Tech, p. 121) are “non-lethal” weapons that disrupt electronics and communications. These Ultra-Tech weapons can be assumed to exist in the Transhuman Space setting, although they may not be widespread; military cybershells and equipment will generally be sealed and shielded, making these things less than useful on the battlefield, and their only “civilian” uses would be for crime and sabotage. Getting hold of such a device may be an adventure in itself unless one happens to have contacts in the right kind of organization, a skilled technician-armorer for a friend, or some possibly illegal minifac templates. Nonetheless, they are practical weapons for striking against enemy infrastructure and communications, and China and the TSA used “E-weapons” in the Pacific War, causing high economic costs but few fatalities. Unfortunately, terrorists can also acquire them, and they tend to damage advanced nations more than poor nations. Hardening is easy for important equipment, but the real damage is the effect on the myriad ubiquitous, small civilian systems: doors, cybershells, clothing, virtual interfaces, v-tags, implants, cameras, lamps . . . Problems can easily cascade out of control. In a city, the effect on nearby traffic, businesses, tourists, and infrastructure can easily climb into stratospheric costs. Even optical systems typically have enough vital electronic parts to cause problems.

Sticky Foam, Marker Foam and Gum-guns.

GURPs Ultra-tech 4e has a number of interesting foam-based tools, including blast foam, construction foam, survival foam and ablative foam. THS Cities of the Edge describes “Slidefoam”, which is used for both crowd control and leisure activities. There is, however, a real world, less-lethal foam weapon that is not covered in GURPs.

Sticky foam came to public attention in 1995 when it was used by the USMC in Somalia. Whilst it was used successfully, there were reports of the delivery devices used clogging. It was also reported that some targets moved so fast they were able to prevent their feet sticking together.

THS-era technologies have improved the usefulness of sticky foam. Microbots in the dispenser systems greatly reduce the likelihood of clogging. Microbots in the foam itself aerate the foam, increasing its rate of expansion but also reducing the chance of a target being suffocated by foam. Tangler technology has also improved sticky foam.

Sticky foam shares some features with tangler weapons, but is a distinct system with some different applications. The distinction is often not appreciated by journalists, who due to ignorance or sensationalism often report the use of sticky foam as the employment of tanglers.

Compared to tanglers, sticky foam can fill a greater volume of space. Sticky foam expands to about 40 times its stored volume. A user can rapidly generate several cubic yards of foam that it would be inadvisable to enter. As a general rule of thumb, a pound of contained sticky foam will produce about five cubic yards of expanded sticky foam.

Sticky foam releases heat as it expands. This is not enough to cause injury but an inventive player may find an application for this property.

Sticky foam sets in a few seconds to form a lightweight, but hard material. Sticky foam floats on water, even when set. A target covered in sticky foam will be buoyant unless very dense or the quantity of foam is relatively small. Solvents can soften set sticky foam but chipping it away is still a time consuming job, and can take several minutes or more.

Sticky foam dischargers range from small spray cans or tubes to backpack systems that resemble flame-throwers. Grenade and satchel charge configurations are also available.

A tube weighing a ¼ of a pound would have a spray range of only 2 hexes and fill one cubic hex with foam. Such a small volume device would be rather specialized and consequently rare. Such a device might have medical applications and would therefore may also have aseptic properties.

A larger spray can with about ½ a pound of foam would be more common, and might be carried by individuals such as law enforcement or prison guards. Range 3 yards, three cubic yards of foam that can be released in up to three bursts.

A one-pound container would be a typical sticky foam grenade. This would resemble a typical 20th century “bean can” smoke/ chemical grenade such as the AN-M8, rather than the tiny grenades described in the THS rulebook. A grenade contains five cubic yards of sticky foam and weighs 1.5 lb. Some versions can be used either as a grenade or as a hand-held sprayer. (2 yards range as spray, producing one cubic hex of foam per burst). Sticky foam grenades and warheads are treated as biochemical liquids as according to [Ultra-tech 4e p.153]

Larger sticky foam dispensers (“Gum-guns”) resemble 8lb or 20lb fire extinguishers and should be treated as such for range and effect area. [HT p.29] Bigger systems should be modelled on flame-throwers or similar devices such as the Slidefoam systems in Cities on the Edge p.44.

An interesting (real world) application of sticky foam is a proposal to incorporate it into high-security doors. Attempting to force open or damage the door triggers the release of sticky foam, possibly immobilizing the would-be burglar or vandal. The released foam may seal the door shut, which may or may not be desirable. Gunfire directed at the door may also trigger the release system. The occupant of a room may do this to deliberately release foam against marauders.

Pursuit denial is another possible application of sticky foam. Drop a grenade or satchel charge in a corridor to slow down the pursuing security guards.

As noted above, sticky foam had trouble adhering to fast-moving objects such as a runner’s legs. There may have been some improvements by 2100. The GM may wish to reserve a bonus for escaping foam to targets that are moving at least 5 yards/sec. Attempting to gum-up a fast spinning fan with sticky foam may end up sending foam everywhere but where you wanted it. 

Sticky Foam and Vehicles.

Large volumes of foam can be used to immobilize vehicles. Sticky foam “mines” might be installed at a vehicle checkpoint and triggered on command. How effective foam is against a vehicle will depend on a number of factors, including vehicle speed, type and the volume of foam. A slow-moving or stationary vehicle will be easy to gum. If the wheels of a vehicle are moving fast then sufficient foam may have trouble adhering. Perversely, what little does adhere may increase traction and road-handling! Foam that does not stop the vehicle may still stick to it, making it obvious foam has been fired at it. Sticky foam may obscure the windscreen/ cameras/ vision blocks. Gun mounts or turrets may be unable to move if gummed. Hatches or doors may be sealed.

How effective sticky foam will be against a vehicle engine will depend on how easily the foam can enter the engine compartment. For example, against a typical 20th century civilian vehicle with a water-cooled internal combustion engine, the foam will have trouble penetrating through the radiator grill and past the radiator. However, the underside of the engine compartment is usually open. Fast-moving parts of the engine will be difficult to gum, and the cooling fan will probably spray the foam all over the interior, ensuring everything is well coated with any foam that does enter. Many vehicles in 2100 use other means of propulsion, however. Often an electric “tractor” motor serves an individual wheel, and may even be built into the wheel hub. Such motors are little affected by sticky foam, even if they can be reached. Power for the motors comes from an engine or battery bank. Foam is an insulator so other than encasing them it has little effect on electronics. It will not cause shorts. The GM will have to determine how accessible the engine of a hybrid-electric system is. Modern military vehicles have countermeasures to reduce the chance of cyberswarms entering their internal spaces. The vehicles of wealthy, security-concious or paranoid civilians may also have these. Such systems may also counter the penetration of sticky foam.

Marker Foam

Marker foam is another useful tool of law enforcement. Marker foam is harmless, but contains a persistent dye. This dye stains clothing and skin and is very difficult to remove. Some varieties contain a malodorant, making a marked individual even more obvious. Some marker dyes contain a scent that is distinctive, but the victim might not notice. Dogs or electronic sniffers may be used to find an individual that has been scent-marked.

Marker foam can be used in traps. An attempt to break into a filing cabinet may result in the snooper covered in marker foam. Marker foam also sees applications in wildlife control.

The dyes and scents used in marker foam may also be incorporated into some sticky foams. Even when the chunks of foam are removed the skin and clothing beneath might be stained.

Weapons: More 4mm Weapons. Pocket Pistol and Rip-Gun.

In a previous blog I described a number of 4mm caseless weapons. Here are two more, not found in official publications. 

4mm Pocket Pistol.

The pocket pistol is intermediate in size between the service pistol and the mouse gun. Outside of military circles they are one of the most commonly encountered 4mm weapons.

4mm pocket pistols vary considerably in price and quality. They range from utilitarian models, carried for self-protection, to highly decorated presentation pieces, owned by politicians, senior executives and staff officers. Fitted for a suppressor, they are the weapon of choice of many agents and assassins.

Guns (Pistol) (DX-4, or most other Guns at -2)

Name	Damage	Acc	Range	Weight	RoF	Shots	ST	Bulk	Recoil
Pocket Pistol, 4mm	2d pi-		200/2,000	1.3/0.15	3	15(3)	7	-1	2
4mm Subsonic	1d+1 pi-		140/1,200
4mm Plastic Subsonic	1d pi-		70/600

4mm Rip-gun.

The 4mm rip-gun is a weapon system that was inspired by the 20th century American-180 weapon. 4mm ammunition is low bulk and low recoil, so well suited to a weapon with a high rate of fire and large ammunition capacity. Many of the components of the rip-gun are common to PDWs or assault rifles.

The rip-gun resembles a PDW or assault rifle with a heavier barrel. The barrel assembly has a heat sink, cooling fans, muzzle brake and other features consistent with its intended role. The weapon takes a large capacity drum but can also use the smaller magazines designed for 4mm PDWs (100rds, 0.56lb). Use of subsonic ammo in such a weapon would be unusual and it would be prudent to have the weapon tuned by an armourer before such use. Using plastic ammunition would be even more unusual. Plastic ammunition affects the reliability of the very high rate of fire mechanism. If using plastic ammo Malfunction drops from 17 to 16. Jams are most likely, so reverse the occurrence of misfires and stoppages on the table on p.B407 [HT 4e p.81]. If Malfunction was already lower than 17 due to effects such as dirt or abuse it drops a further -1 with plastic ammo.

The rip-gun is a short-range weapon, but within this range it can be highly effective. Its high rate of fire and low recoil effectively create a stream of bullets that can be accurately directed to chew through targets, light armour and cover.

Stats given are for the basic model. A laser-sighting system is a common addition, and the weapon even more potent when used with laser-homing or gestalt ammunition. 

Guns (SMG) (DX-4, or most other Guns at -2)

Name	Damage	Acc	Range	Weight	RoF	Shots	ST	Bulk	Recoil
Rip-gun, 4mm	3d+2 pi-	3	380/2,700	10/2.2	25	400(5)	8†	-3	2
4mm Subsonic	1d+1 pi-		150/1,280
4mm Plastic Subsonic	1d pi-		75/630

Tracers for Smart Ammo.

Light Up The Night!

Pan-Pacific Arms is excited to announce that many of their ammunition ranges are now available in selectable tracer format.

What is selectable tracer? Selectable means that tracer mode can be switched on or off just before firing. The same round can be used as either a tracer or non-tracer round. Just tell your weapon software what you want.

Dark Ignition. Selectable tracer has dark ignition as a standard feature. Rounds can be programmed to ignite at 20, 100 or 200 metres for greater tactical flexibility. Or you can select muzzle ignition if you want the attention.

Dual Wavelength. Most of our new tracer ranges have the dual wavelength option as standard. Visible trace is produced by a pyrotechnic composition that burns for several seconds. If this is not selected the rounds can be used as “Dim Tracers”. A chemical reaction that generates most of its light as infra-red can be initiated. (Note that dim tracers will only be visible to suitable equipment. Tracers in visible mode may have an incendiary effect and their use may be restricted in certain locations. It is the user’s responsibility to check local laws and ordinances.)

Pan Pacific Arms selectable tracers are available in a wide variety of homing and non-homing formats. They are available in all common calibres with the current exception of 4mm. We are working on that!

Each second and subsequent shot after the first tracer shot adds a non-cumulative +1 to skill. Using visible tracer mode beyond ignition distance adds the incendiary (inc) damage modifier (p.B105, B433). Dim mode is only visible to Infravision, Night Vision, and Hyperspectral Vision.

Low Tech Spying in TS

“We got really lucky, and found this!”

The small pad was only a few centimetres to each side. It appeared to be made from something thin and semi-transparent, like tissue paper. On each sheet were printed small letters, arranged regularly in groups of five.

The back of Kent’s mind insisted he knew what this was, that in the distant past he had been shown something like this before. The answer refused to come.

Danny watched him. His moustache hid any sign of a smirk, but Kent knew it was there. With the slightest movement of his head he admitted defeat.

“It’s a one-time pad.” explained Danny. Again, the nagging feeling, but the answer refused to come. He would have to search it later.

“Forensics are really excited about the paper.” Danny continued. “It dissolves completely in any mild acid. Vinegar, lemon juice, soy. Probably in many drinking sodas. Also highly flammable! One touch of a flame and fsst! It’s gone.

We were really lucky she didn’t manage to destroy it.”

In a previous post, “Blackcollars in TS” I floated the idea of a deliberately low-tech approach to secret missions in TS. I was therefore interested by the following passage (p.214) from Keith Melton’s book “Ultimate Spy” He also notes that such spying is often for economic or commercial purposes rather than military:

“One country bucking the trend towards ever more technical intelligence-gathering seems to be China. As China’s economy burgeons, so its government increasingly seeks to learn about foreign industrial and military technology, but in a low-tech way. China’s primary intelligence agency is the Ministry of State Security (MSS), which conducts counterintelligence operations within China and HUMINT (human intelligence) operations abroad. The MSS conducts traditional agent operations, recruiting “volunteers” from among the many Chinese citizens working abroad in universities, in businesses, and in the military. Instead of employing clandestine gadgetry, dead drops, or the internet, volunteers report verbally—often during return visits to China.Volunteers from overseas frequently work for the MSS for only a few weeks of their entire careers. This very simple but highly effective set-up makes MSS operations very difficult indeed for foreign counterintelligence agencies to intercept or monitor with much degree of success.”

As the movie “Body of Lies” notes:

...because our enemy...realized that they are fighting guys from the future. Now, ahem, it is brilliant as it is infuriating.

If you live like it’s the past, and you behave like it’s the past...then guys from the future find it very hard to see you. If you throw away your cell phone, shut down your e-mail...pass all your instructions face-to-face, hand-to-hand...turn your back on technology and just disappear into the crowd...

No flags. No uniforms. You got your basic grunts on the ground there. They’re looking going, “Who is it we're fighting?”