CWK-HX Series
Comparative Attributes of the Hexapod Classes
| Attribute | Hex | Dasher | Gremlin | Wrangler | Blitz |
| Dexterity | 1/3 | 2/5 | 1/4 | 1/3 | 2/5 |
| Knowledge | 2/4 | 1/4 | 1/4 | 1/4 | 1/4 |
| Mechanical | 1/4 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 1/4 |
| Perception | 1/3 | 1/4 | 1/4 | 1/4 | 1/4 |
| Strength | 3/6 | 1/4 | 1/4 | 2/5 | 1/4 |
| Technical | 1/3 | 1/4 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 |
| Move (Bipedal) m | 8/12 | 10/14 | 10/12 | 10/12 | 11/13 |
| Move (Multilimb)m | 12/15 | 14/18 | 12/16 | 13/16 | 13/17 |
| Length (nose-tail) m | 5-6.5 | 3-3.5 | 2.5-3.5 | 4.5-5 | 1.4-1.9 |
| Mass kg | 600-900 | 80-120 | 90-120 | 125-300 | 50-80 |
Comparative Skills of the Hexapod Classes
Skill Bonuses: At the time the character is created only, the character gets 2D for every 1D placed in the
| Hex | Running | Brawling | Intimidation | Lifting | Stamina | Survival |
| Dasher | Running | Acrobatics | Jumping/Climbing | Stamina | Melee | 1 mechanical |
| Gremlin | 1 mechanical | 1 technical | running | stamina | search | scholar |
| Wrangler | First Aid | Lifting | Stamina | Search | Space Transports | Capital Ship Repair |
| Blitz | Acrobatics | Dodge | Hide | Pickpocket | Demolitions | Jumping/Climbing |
Special Abilities
Six on the Floor:
- Dashers and Gremlins When they have all six limbs open, they have +2D to climbing and running. When bipedal, they can +2D on brawling checks
- Wranglers When on all six legs, Wranglers increase their lifting limit on their backs by 2D. When bipedal, they have a +2D to grapples and holds.
- Blitz units have all limbs available, they have climb speed equal to their multi-limb speed and they reduce their climbing difficulty by one level. When bipedal, they gain +1D to pickpocket and hide checks.
Dasher Salvo: Time: Full Round. Must be declared and no other action can be taken this round. Requirement: Dasher must have multiple ranged weapons (i.e. blaster pistol) in its hands up to four (if they fit in one hand each) Restriction: Usable only once per scene. Effect: The Dasher makes four attacks without multiple attack penalties. As soon as one shot hits, all following shots automatically hit. Example: The first shot hits then all four hit. If the third shot is the first hit, then only shots 3 and 4 hit. Damage for each weapon is rolled and resisted normally.
Gremlin Scramble: Once per scene, a Gremling can use all four limbs to coordinate mechanical or technical feat. The Gremlin rolls their check twice and uses the sum of the results. This requires that a Gremlin have four limbs available for the feat and it must be declared before use.
Wrangler Surge Wranglers can experience a massive adrenal boost in times of emergency action. Activation is a free action in situations of emergency repair or when involved in rescue work. Once per scene, wranglers gain a +3D boost to all strength, search, repair, and first aid rolls. After the first round, the Wrangler must make a moderate stamina check or the surge ends. This check is repeated every round with a +5 modifier added each round.
Blitz Rush Blitz are both quick and spring loaded. Once per scene, the Blitz can declare a rush. During a rush, the blitz moves either its biped or multilimb speed, declared ahead of time. If multilimb is chosen, the blitz can roll a moderate difficulty acrobatics check to weave through enemy squares.If the acrobatics roll fails, the Blitz is stopped on the square it made the acrobatics roll. If biped speed is chosen, then the blitz can make one pickpocket attempt against a target they pass while running. If they fail the pickpocket roll, they are stopped on the square they made the attempt.
Unit Comparisons
Production
The Ripley-Heavy Feliform Hexapod, now known more commonly as Felyxa, are a Chimera Core icon. As one of the largest units produced, the demand for the unit was countered by a slow production process due to limited initial cloning and long maturation times. While Felyxa mature at 2-3X that of a human, but that still demands at least 4-5 years for adult units. They are slower to train because they lack the hyperlearning system which is countered partially by their earlier age at initial training. Attempts to make Felyxa via the wildkin pathway resulted in a nightmare predator that had to be terminated soon after creation.
Felyxa continue to be produced by natural breeding and cloning with breeding rates to eventually surpass cloning rates. Successful breeders have also been successful mentors, and learning in free-born Felyxa promises to decrease the initial learning age even more and appears to be solidifying their characteristic skill set.
Three new series of hexapods were envisioned to come from the Felyxa: a lightweight foot soldier, a diagnostics unit, and a heavy rescue and repair unit with the latter two having both military and civilian applications. By reworking the biology to include some of the Wildkin production capability, a hybrid Chimeric Wildkin (CWK) series came into being. The initial stocks have been produced by generating a semi-feral precursor. Because CWK are not stock of a wild species, they behave differently. They are easily housed, raise litters in large collective groups, and they bond rapidly to species other than their own. Like wildkin, they experience a powerful growth and hyperlearning period, but this curve is shallower than the wildkin curve, an effect compensated by the much earlier onset. AS a result, CWK systems mature physically and mentally as fast as a wildkin but do so on a slightly different trajectory.
Plans for natural born specimens are also in place, and this is expected to proceed much like the Felyxa rearing and skill transfer has proceeded.
Training
All three CWK series learn fast. The natural energy and competition in the Dasher class lend themselves well to combat training both as close as melee and as distant as starship combat. Gremlins are less frantic and more curious leading them to more technical fields. Finally, Wranglers, have powerful nurturing and protective instincts that lend themselves to caring for crews. In each case training begins the same. Once they are able to move on their own and recognize the trainer, all three species are imprinted on the trainer. This occurs naturally and will last until adolescence. Until that time, the young treat the trainer as family and learn languages and interaction skills first followed by techniques suitable for their targeted fields. At adolescence, hyperlearning continues but is allowed to proceed on directed self discovery.
As a safety note to personnel, if you are approached by an untrained or feral of any species, stand your ground and let it approach. If you do this, they will drop their head in a bow to you when close. Place your right hand on the unit and hold it there until it lifts its head again. The unit may sniff at you, but it will now be temporarily bonded and will follow peacefully. Return them to the nearest containment suite. This is very important in the case of gremlin and wrangler units which are built to access locations and retrieve injured persons. In the case of multiple units, proceed with one and others will wait in turn to be acknowledged. If you are in the presence of Dashers, waiting units may get boisterous. It is important to ignore them until they have their turn.
At the end of training before release, they are given a special training session regarding their chips. Unlike wildkin units. CWK systems have a similar kill system with a more interactive interface. They have fully functional two way radios including emergency beacons and the ability to self terminate. They are instructed that these things are there to protect the company, to protect their kin, and that such methods have been used in human soldiers. They are also instructed not to speak of these chips to anyone but PS staff that have them in medical.
Personality
The behavior of all four hexapod units seems to follow the gentle giant principle in that the larger the units, the less need it has to prove itself. This is not a hard rule, but it does have some relevance. Most felyxa are even tempered and cautious with their strength with ferocity only present when needed. Wranglers, smaller than Felyxa but relatively large otherwise, are generally helpful but not openly subservient in nature but powerful and commanding in an emergency. Dashers and Gremlins are comparable in size but quite different in personality. Below each group is broken down in more detail
Felyxa
They know they are large and powerful, and they also know that this can be intimidating. Sometimes that is good, but when it comes to your allies it can be counterproductive. Felyxa are the only hexapod that uses the old version of the pair bonding system. While not as heavy as the system used in PIXC, the system still causes the Felyxa to form close bonds to those around them swiftly when cloned. This works less well with natural born felyxa, but because they learn from childhood from their elders and trainers, they form more natural bonds that run deep.
While the original Ripley 4 are a mystery to most, June, August, and one of the Ripley unit children, Keene, provide some evidence of personality. Felyxa tend to be very honest, and while they are not blunt, they will speak their minds even if contrary to what one wants to hear. They have a strong sense of devotion to their work and their allies. Some suggest that units like August keep up some of this persona in order to give strength to others feelings of safety and security. June is more reclusive, and as the only female, we cannot be sure if this is a trait of the gender or just isolated to her. Keene is attentive and devoted to his force training, properties that highlight how young felyxa are made to behave.
Wrangler
While wranglers are large, though no where near the mass of a felyxa, they are rarely aggressive. A case report of one prototype kidnapping a trainer eventually came back as a defensive response to the wrangler smelling something wrong with his breath, a side effect of an infection it detected despite the trainer's use of over the counter treatment. Wranglers rarely charge, and cone coming for you usually means you are in danger from something else. With some manifesting senses of smell so keen as to find bodies in rubble or disease on someone's breath, these creatures are best called the gentle giants of the series. Most wranglers voluntarily enter medical training and sometimes advanced engineering so that they can better handle emergencies. Built specifically to for space, their size and extra limbs are aids in movement what gravitational failure has occurred. They are also prone to tearing up bulkheads to get to those trapped in the wreckage. Luck Dragon is their common nickname.
Wranglers form strong bonds to others of their kind and alien species. It would be wrong to called them eager to please but more accurate to say ready to protect. While they are devoted to people, they can be a little self conscious based on their size, and a common minor fear of wranglers is others fearing them. They love to interact with others, and they are often proud of the ships they serve. While they have lifting capabilities that can at times even outclass a felyxa, they are not prone to shows of strength or showing off. Wranglers like to keep busy, and they like doing jobs for others. Close interaction is important in keeping wranglers, and is likely to be worthwhile over time.
Dasher
Energy. Dashers have this in excess. Second smallest of the hexapods, they are incredibly active, and they are the only species that appears to take on a swarm like movement. Generally one dasher becomes the leader, typically one that the others look up to, and all others follow. This behavior raised alarms early on when dashers came to be in sufficient numbers for them to swarm and surround trainers. The innate safety system still worked with bonding to the leader being sufficient to lead the rest. As the same troupe of dashers matured, this behavior continued with a leader of the swarm and rather fearless follows with them.
Dashers take all their emotions and crank them up. They love to play, they want to be physical sometimes and tinker with machines the next. They love new people, but they can rapidly become violent if a new entity appears that threatens allies. Control training is critical in making sure they don't go off the proverbial chain until commanded. Dashers also appear to like media including holovids and music, and they will often try to imitate what they see. In that way they are very much like most children.
Unlike the others dashers are made for combat in vehicle and in melee. Because of this, they have sharper teeth and claws, and in training they follow a felyxa regimen with more focus on speed than raw strength. Martial arts often does well for self control, but even the most self controlled dasher is going to be bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and ready to go on a moment's notice.
Gremlin
The second smallest hexapod, gremlins represent a smaller version of the wrangler with a much stronger, more diverse focus on technical skills. At roughly human size, gremlins are easy to speak to and work with in normal conditions and environments. Their extra limbs give them excellent command over some mechanical and technical tasks. Gremlins work best in teams either of their own or mixed species. A team of gremlins may all have specialized in different tasks, but they will mesh well together. Two of three prototypes were dispatched to hangar bay where they worked with many species on vehicles of all kinds. Most crews reported their interaction as pleasant and professional.
Gremlins are quiet when off duty, and they can often be found reading data slates or digging through technical manuals. While they are quiet, they prefer to be housed together or at least with other species, and they are not at all averse to contact. While gremlins are cozy with allies, if crossed they become incredibly distrustful. Though they might not act out on it, they will have their attention on the source of aversion and likely try to warn others of it. Testing has been insufficient, but gremlins may be prone top silent grudges which could be dangerous if they are repairing your ships.
Blitz
The blitz, sometimes called a micro-dasher, was developed after the original four hex series in response to the need of a smaller unit than the gremlin. The base composition of the Dasher was taken and modified for a smaller frame. These new units combined Dasher speed with some of the Gremlin and Wrangler technical expertise. The resulting unit was often referred to as 'rocket powered' and 'spring loaded' due to their speed and incredibly high energy level. Most dasher handlers could also manage the new blitz series, but there were notable differences. First, Blitz had almost no issue working under zero g conditions, and that was attributed to their habit of bounding off the walls and ceilings of the ship even under normal conditions. Their ability to climb was extraordinary, and they had a nasty of bum rushing folks to get past them. Furthermore, they are the sticky finger hex given their propensity for walking off with things, usually tools, and not being noticed. Finally, their primary offensive mode is that of a saboteur in which they can plant demolition charges with great skill and then run away.
Blitz are very expressive, much like Dashers, and the two species coexist well. Blitz are unnerving at first to those on ships as they move fast and on any available surface, but most have come to appreciate that speed when emergencies arise. Blitz can be pranksters, and the small size should be taken only as a means for getting into places the other hex cannot. When something needs to be sent by courier, a Blitz with a possible Dasher partner may p prove best, but if quiet and armed is needed, a blitz alone may be the best bet.
In combat, Blitz take well to small weapons, and they are very difficult to hit with a blaster or even a grenade. They prefer a mix of tools from blaster pistols to vibroblades and some grenades. Some old hands have likened the Blitz to the Kade apocalypse scenario. On escort duty, Blitrz are loyal and lethal much like their older, larger cousins.
Misc Notes
Wrangler Structure
Many have noted the relatively light frame of the wrangler compared to the felyxa despite a similar size. This comes from several changes in the wrangler design. The first is a higher output muscle fiber system in testing in the wrangler only. This produces an increased output with less mass. The second comes from a mare carefully balanced muscle and skeletal system overall meant to produce maximal lifting force with distribution of the load over the frame with higher efficiency than in the felyxa. When combines, these effects drastically reduce the mass of the unit as well as the energetic needs. This design so far only works at certain scales, and so it was not implemented in other units. The downside of the new fibers is that medical bays need to be ready to handle the specialized tissue as it can produce pushing as well as pulling force and so the attachments are unusual.
Second Generation Food Supplements
CRITICAL PRODUCT ALERT Under no circumstances must dashers, gremlins, or wranglers be permitted to consume or by any other means be introduced to the enzyme/drug control system used in second generation and later unit control. Use of these compounds on these units causes a disruption of neurotransmitters that will cause the units to fall asleep. If a unit is exposed, keep it in isolation and provide IV fluids if the period of unconsciousness exceeds six hours. Units will usually recover within a day but may experience feelings of disorientation upon waking.
Special Cases
CWK-HXG-01a Spencer
Spencer is the first stable gremlin prototype release on his own power. As a fully mature gremlins, he has focused medicine and advanced engineering as well as an extensive general knowledge. Spencer has become notable for several reasons. He has a knack for music including singing and guitar. He also has some flair for obvious costumes not limited to dressing up as a clown. Both may sound odd until his target became understood: pediatric medicine.
Spencer is routinely found in the children's hospital where he takes care of mostly PS staff and their families. He has a habit of using his skills to distract children and make their stay easier, but his utility goes well beyond entertaining. He routinely assists in general practice work, and his patient surveys have been good. He often times improvises some items used in practice including having a shop made a set of rubbery horns to match his. After sterilization, we found he had given them to a child that wished they had horns.
Spencer is not without fears. Routine monitoring of his vitals often shows elevated heart raid and cortisol in his blood during working hours. Assigning him a trusted doctor and making recommendations to him has stabilized this. There is some pressure to get him into surgery, but he appears worried he would spend less time on the wards if he did. Strategies are being drawn up to direct him otherwise.
Because of his service, Spencer has been a ready source of positive PR and evidence that this unit will do well in the civilian sector.
CWK-HXD-01b Arden
Arden was second in his set and started as a follower and later became a swarm leader. Visually and behaviorally, he is just what we have expected from the dasher baseline. However, his vitals monitoring and video evidence suggest there is something off about the prototype. Neurologically, Arden is highly over active, and his nervous system seems wrought with signaling cascades that by all other indication should be causing massive seizures. He seems to weather this condition with no apparent ill effect nor special needs. However other anomalies have occurred.
In two combat instances, Arden has reduced injuries in an ally and taken a blaster impact to an arm with no effect. While one of these factors may indicate a Force related flicker, there is no evidence of Force users directly absorbing blast to our knowledge. In both cases, chip neural noise spiked. Because there is currently no other hypothesis, Arden is under observation until we can decide what will be done if anything.