PDA Info....a.k.a. Available Equipment, Harvester notes, etc

[maxvale76]

(Working post....will be updated as mission goes one!)

Okay, since there are several questions about it, here's some info on available equipment/weapons & support....info on the big bugs (Harvesters) and the other marine forces on-world will come soon...

Available weapons:

Enough M41A Pulse Rifles and VP 70 pistols for anyone who wants one

-2 M42 Scoped 'Sniper' Rifles (1 assigned to Shepard, 1 available)
-4 M39 Submachineguns (1 assigned to Kurosaki, 1 to Alexander, 2 free)
-2 Model 39 Pump Action Shotguns (1 assigned to Patch?)
-2 SPAS 18 Auto Shotguns (1 tassigned to Patch?)
-1 M41AE2 Pulse Rifle (For Morse)
-2 M4A3 pistols

A full complement of 'nades for all

What I mean by no heavy weapons: No M56 Smartguns, No Rocket/Missile Launchers, No Flamethrowers, No Sentry Guns

For anyone who doesn't have the link to the Excellent Wiki of weapons, vehicles and Equipment; here's the link:

http://colonialmarines.wikispaces.com/Weapons

There WILL be a Dropship carrying an APC (which you all will be in) which will transport you to within a few blocks of your target building. They ARE your immediate heavy support.....if you wish to bring the rain down on your own heads...you WILL have that option!

Equipment:

Each Marine will be carrying one Longarm weapon, one secondary weapon and will be wearing M3 Personnel Armor and a M10 Helmet. They will also be assigned a batch of 5 M94 Marking Flares. Anything beyond this is up to the Marine's choice pending NCO/CO approval.

Each Squad will have one member (Comm Tech) issued a Bypass/Electronic Tool Kit and a PRC 252 Field Radio; Each Squad will have a Corpsman (Medic) carrying thier choice of a number of Personnel First Aid Kits and/or a K52 Medical Kit; Each squad will also be assigned 1 Motion Tracker and 1 Portable Hand Welder

There will be a Company (approx. 100 marines) with vehicle and air support fighting in the streets nearby...

Info on Harvesters and another post on the main therad coming soon...I hope this clears up a few things!

[Quinn]

Yeah, this does help. previously thought that we had no armor or air support whatsoever. This does help things considerably. But unless the colony is made of flammable materials, wouldn't flamers be a better option than shotguns? Or is there some sort of plot reason that we are not currently privy to?

[maxvale76]

Quinn: Due to the narrow city street fighting, interior halls and the fact that you are to capture some of the researchers; flamers have been given the no-go since your unit(s) will be in tight quarters and flames all over the place; not to mention the risk of a tank erupting, are probably not the best idea.

Everyone: Some of the folks in the threads have asked me about weapon choices: As of now: at least one Scoped Rifle is to be assigned to the Support Team (Alexander and Shepard); and Patch had asked for a shotgun (Patch, there are 4 total, your choice of either a Pump or an Auto)

Also, Evan Alexander has an M39 SMG listed on his character sheet (which needs to be modified, I've sent him a PM).

The M41EA2 is of course, Morse's; though Morse...with your low Strength; carrying and firing this after a while is going to be a real chore for you...

Any questions/concerns? I should have some Harvester, Insurrection and marine unit info up on this thread ove the weekend. I hope everyone's enjoying things so far!

-Max

[maxvale76]

Info on Harvesters:

Harvesters were first found on the Colony world of Tarterus, where they have long plagued the inhabitants. Marines have been fighting the beasts there incessently; and to date, not much is known about these subterranean pests other than their incredible ability to burrow through the earth at a rapid pace and emerge on the surface and ravage whatever is in their path.

Looking something like a huge armadillo; harvesters are about twenty feet long and about nine feet high. They have massive front paws with deadly sharp claws that closely resemble those of a badger. They also have a large mouth filled with sharp teeth and they use both claws and teeth to viciously chop-up and tear apart all kinds of organic material when they burst up out of the ground. They then push and scoop up the material (i.e., 'harvest') into piles for consumption.

There are three known forms of Harvesters; the primary form, as described above, known as 'Harvesters'. Then there are 'Carrier' forms, which clossely resemble the primary form, though slightly smaller and with noticable 'pouches' of skin all along its back and sides. These pouches carry the last form, that of the 'Drone' form; which are approximately the size of a large boar and which have very few organs of thier own. They detach from the Carrier form and rush to the attack any living creature nearby with a singular purpose to sink their jaws onto their chosen target and bite down. They have no other form of attack, but may move quite fast and even jump up to six feet off the ground. The Drones only live for a few hours upon being released from the Carrier; which can grow new Drones over the course of a few weeks.

While all three forms are very deadly; the Harvester is far and away the most cunning and dangerous form; while the Drones are the most numerous. The Carriers are the rarest, and typically only surface to feed on some of the piles of matter the Harvesters have gathered or to release their Drones to attack nearby life forms.

It is still unknown what drives Harvesters to attack; but they do possess a primitive level of cunning and seem to adapt to situations after a time; for example, on Tarterus; for awhile, they were lured to the surface by decoy sounds and livestock animals where they were then fired on by aircraft and vehicles. After a while though, they did not respond to these tactics; though they continued to attack isolated groups of people at other locations.

Use Extreme caution when operating in known areas of Harvester activity.