The Cobra Turbo is not your typical street hovercycle. In fact, it is banned from most civilized communities, including the Coalition States. It is a big, powerful-looking machine with an obvious nose gun that says, “don’t mess with me,” and a long, sleek body that ends in jet thrusters built for speed and power. The Cobra Turbo is heavily armored for a hovercycle and has excellent speed and good handling, making it perfect for adventuring and combat. It, like its cousin, the Magnum-Turbo, is a well armored beast – loud, showy and arrogant in its design. It is also extremely reliable and is able to take a pounding and requires very little maintenance to keep it work- ing at peak efficiency. The Cobra Turbo has Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) capabilities, can hover in mid-air and handle dead drops and leapfrogging like a dream. Its size, M.D.C. and dynamic design have made it attractive to Combat Cyborgs, Crazies, Juicers, Headhunters, Robot Pilots, Mercenary Soldiers and anybody looking for a true combat hovercycle that can handle some heat.
Vehicle Type: Hovercycle.
Crew: One rider; one passenger can sit behind the driver, but will
not be comfortable on long trips.
M.D.C. by Location:
Nose Gun Turret – 65
* Jet Thrusters (2, rear) – 35 each
* Rear Pivoting Thruster (1 in tail, large) – 140 * Undercarriage Hover Jets (5) – 25 each * Concealed Directional Jets (8) – 6 each * Landing Skis (2) – 15 each
* Forward Headlights (2) – 5 each * Radar Dish (rear, right side) – 15
* Optional Weapons – 2D6+20 M.D.C. each (a side laser is shown in the art).
Windshield – 18 ** Main Body – 150
* A single asterisk indicates a small and/or difficult target to hit and requires the attacker to make a Called Shot, and even then the attacker is -5 to strike. The rider(s), hunched down, low to the body of the hovercycle, is equally difficult to hit.
** Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body shuts the vehicle down completely, making it useless. Note: No additional M.D.C.
can be added.
Special Bonuses: Its unique feature is a large rear thruster jet that
can be angled up and down to perform better jumps, leapfrogging, wheelies (drive forward with the nose pointing up at a 45 degree angle), sudden bursts of speed that City Rats call “rocket launch,” and VTOL up to 200 feet (61 m) in the air. It can also do a “tornado donut spin” by positioning the thruster straight down while keeping the brakes on. This enables the pilot to spin the vehicle 360 degrees while stationary to change direction or turn around in two seconds at any speed! +1 on initiative, +1 to dodge, and reduce penalties for sudden stops, jumps, leapfrogging, and dead drops by half.
Penalties: -10% on piloting skill under the best of conditions due to
its nose gun, weight, size and power. Apply an additional -10% pen- alty when taking evasive action or performing tricks and elaborate stunts. Reduce the speed and altitude of the Cobra Turbo by 5% for EACH additional optional weapon that may be added to it.
Maximum Speed: 235 mph (376 km).
Maximum Altitude: 100 feet (30.5 m) and can handle drops from
Maximum Range: 850 miles (1,360 km) with a fuel engine or elec-
tric battery. Unlimited with nuclear.
Engine: Typically a combustion or electric engine, but nuclear is
also available.
Height: 4 feet (1.2 m). Length: 12 feet (3.6 m). Width: 3 feet (0.9 m).
Weight: 1,350 pounds (607.5 kg).
Cost of Hovercycle: Gasoline Engine: 255,000 credits. Electric:
375,000. Nuclear with a 10 year life: 1.3 million credits. Additional weapons cost extra. Note: This vehicle is never purchased or used
by the CS.
Weapon System Exclusive to the Cobra Turbo:
The latest wave of NG Combat Hovercycles includes models that have weapon systems exclusive to them.
1. NG-424 Stinger, Triple Barrel Nose Gun; Medium Laser (Ex- clusive to the Cobra Turbo): New with the release of the Cobra
Turbo hovercycle. The nose is replaced with a somewhat experi- mental three-barrel laser built into a ball turret that can rotate 45 degrees forward, up, down and to the sides. This is a big departure from the standard “fixed” forward weapons of most hovercycles.
Range: 2,000 feet (610 m).
Mega-Damage: 2D6 M.D. per single shot, 4D6 M.D. per double blast and 6D6 M.D. per simultaneous triple blast at the same target. Rate of Fire: Single, double or triple blast counts as one melee attack. Payload: 40 triple beam blasts. Each laser has its own E-Clip. Unlim- ited if tied to a nuclear power supply.
2. Additional Weapon Systems: Optional. Any. As many as one in
the back and one on each side can be added to the Cobra Turbo. Each additional weapon reduces speed by -5%. Additional weap- ons are never part of any special discount offers, the full price applies even during sales.
3. Radar Tracker: A radar dish and simple communications array
is built into the Cobra Turbo. Radar can track 42 airborne targets such as incoming missiles, aircraft, power armor, Xiticix and oth- er flyers up to 40 miles (64 km) away. The communications array can pick up commercial radio signals and police band transmis- sions, as well as function as a short-range (5 mile/8 km) two-way radio. All can be linked to helmets with radio and HUD systems (Heads-Up Displays).
4. Optional Ride Armor. Sales people always try to sell purchasers
of the Cobra Turbo the Viper ride armor (as shown in the illustra- tion).
NG-424 Hornet (new)
those exact weapons to victory in numerous hovercycle and gladi- atorial contests. The gladiator’s well known wit and popularity was exploited in advertisements and commercials to promote the Hornet hovercycle. A campaign that has made the Hornet one of NG’s best sellers and Todd “The Hornet” Spencley something of a mythic fig- ure.
Part of that myth is the fact that Spencley mysteriously disap- peared one night after defeating a hot-shot from the Federation of Magic in an illegal street race. When the losing mage refused to pay up, rumor has it that the Hornet kicked the snot out of him and three of his goons, and then taunted and belittled him in front of a couple The NG-424 Hornet hovercycle is a not so distant cousin to the
Stinger. It has a similar appearance and shares a number of design elements but it uses new, lighter M.D.C. materials, is faster and has a bit more “sting.” The recommended weapons combination is a dual weapon system built into the nose (one heavy energy weapon and one light), and a pair of missile pods (eight mini-missiles each). This combination is so common that many believe it is the standard loadout for this combat bike, but the Hornet can be purchased with any hovercycle weapon systems. One of the reasons this combo is so common is because of wisecracking RoboDome gladiator, Todd “The Hornet” Spencley. Spencley rode a souped-up Hornet with
hundred spectators. When Spencley was done embarrassing the men in public, he took what was owed to him and walked away laugh- ing. The sore loser vowed vengeance and three nights later, Todd “The Hornet” Spencley vanished. His favorite NG-424 Hornet was found on the street a short distance from one of his favorite sports bars. The bike was tipped over, battered and the word “Loser” spray painted across one side. Plenty of rumors abound about what might have happened, and there is a large list of possible suspects – people who might have a reason to do him harm – but Spencley’s fate and who might be responsible remains a mystery. For NG it is a mystery that continues to keep interest in the Hornet hovercycle alive and as popular as ever; maybe even more so than before.
Note: The Ishpeming Police have a souped-up version of the
Hornet that is a high-speed interceptor capable of actual flight and a speed of 300 mph (480 km), but it is NOT available on the open market. It is exclusive to the police force in Northern Gun.
NG-424 Hornet
Vehicle Type: Combat Hovercycle. Crew: One rider; no space for a passenger. M.D.C. by Location:
* Rear Hover Jets (2) – 30 each
* Concealed Directional Jets (6) – 6 each * Undercarriage Hover Jets (4) – 15 each * Forward Headlights (2) – 5 each
* Mini-Missile Box Launcher (2; sides) – 25 each Tail Fin (1) – 35
Windshield (1) – 15 ** Main Body – 122
* A single asterisk indicates small and/or difficult targets to hit and requires the attacker to make a “Called Shot,” and even then the attacker is -5 to strike. The rider, hunched down, low to the body of the hovercycle, is equally difficult to hit.
** Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body shuts the vehicle down completely, making it useless.
Special Bonuses: Low profile makes it a bit more difficult to hit: +1
to dodge.
Penalties: -5% on piloting skill rolls when making sudden stops or
elaborate stunts. Speed penalties from two of the mini-missile pods -20% piloting skill penalty and maximum speed is reduced by 20%. The hovercycle is not designed to be a flyer and suffers a -10% pilot- ing penalty for every 50 feet (15.2 m) above the ground; the higher it goes the wobblier it gets.
Maximum Speed: 200 mph (320 km).
Maximum Altitude: 60 feet (18.3 m) and can handle drops of up to
800 feet (244 m).
Maximum Range: 1,000 miles (1,600 km).
Engine: Typically a combustion or electric engine; nuclear is avail-
able.
Height: 3.9 feet (1.19 m). Length: 12 feet (3.7 m).
Width: 3.3 feet (1 m) without weapons. 5.7 feet (1.7 m) with the
commonly suggested eight shot mini-missile pods.
Weight: 942 pounds (424 kg).
Cost: 195,000 credits gasoline engine, 255,000 credits for electric,
735,000 credits for Solid Oxide, or 995,500 for nuclear with a 10 year life. Note: This vehicle has been purchased for use by the CS
military and ISS police.
Common Weapon Systems for the Hornet. Weapons are an ad-
ditional cost. The standard combination is an NG-HI16 Medium Ion Blaster (1,200 feet/366 m range, 3D6 M.D. per blast) and the NG-HL20 Medium Laser (2,000 feet/610 m range and 2D6. M.D.
per blast) in a basic turret mounted to the nose section, and a pair of
NG-MM68 Mini-Missile Pods on each side of the hovercycle (one
mile/1.6 km range, damage varies by type, and 8 mini-missiles per each of the two launchers for a total of 16). Each diminishes the aero- dynamics and reduces speed by 5% per extra weapon. Weapons are
never part of any special discount offers, and the full price applies