You can’t keep a good cyborg down. Despite changing fashions and fluctuating budgets, there always seem to be a few techs from the Progenitors and Iteration X who want to pump new blood into a rather shopworn hulk. Besides, even when those pesky Tradition wizards have gone into hiding, there are always were-monsters, alien creatures, and other threats to humanity lurking around in dire need of a Primum beatdown and a few hundred rounds of heavy firepower. Thus, the Hyper-Intelligent Tactical units (detailed further in Mage 20, pp. 624-626) continue to defy resource reallocations, thumb their cybernetic noses at obsolescence and the conceit of a “kinder, gentler Technocracy,” and kick down doors, walls, and anything else that stands in their way when Reality Deviants need to be taught a high-velocity lesson.

Mark VI: “The Mercury”

Attributes: Strength 6, Dexterity 4, Stamina 7, Charisma, 1, Manipulation 1, Appearance 1-3, Perception 2, Intelligence 1, Wits 2

Abilities: Alertness 3, Brawl 3, all Skills and Knowledges 3 (save Cosmology, Esoterica, Meditation, Occult, and Stealth, all of which are 0)

Willpower: 5

Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, ‒5, Terminated

Armor Rating: 4 (11 soak dice, total)

Powers: The Mark VI employs hyperflexible memory alloys that allow it to shift its physical form into almost anything of roughly human mass and size; its weight, of course, is significantly heavier — roughly 200 kg — which limits its tensile possibilities. Each shift demands an Intelligence + Subterfuge roll, with difficulties ranging from 6 (minor cosmetic shifts) to 9 (radical alterations of form). Creating weapons from its own body requires a difficulty 7 roll; failed rolls reflect a flawed shift that must be corrected the following turn, while botched rolls “freeze” the metal in an awkward — and usually terminal — state. Despite the popularity of certain films among the Masses, these shifts remain extremely vulgar, which causes a Mark VI to break down or “freeze” after five failed rolls. In high heat or cold, or under dusty or sandy conditions, this drops to three failed rolls. As a result, very few Mark VIs remain functional by 2018. Body-forged weapons typically inflict (Strength + 1 to 4) damage, depending on the nature of the weapon forged. That damage is usually lethal, although blunted weapons inflict bashing damage instead. As with other HIT Mark models, the Mark VI can use human weapons and Technocratic Devices too, and features IR and UV sensor arrays in addition to its “normal” sight, plus audio and radio capacities.

Countermagick: Five dice worth of Primum countermeasures.

Image: Oddly inhuman and uncannily flexible, a Mark VI has a faint sheen to its skin. When shifting forms, it “pours” itself into shimmering rainbows of color that settle into the desired shape; those colors, however, seem to be slightly “off.” When “frozen,” a Mark VI appears to melt into a nightmarish figure whose blended colors and metallic shine seem all the more disturbing.

Roleplaying Notes: Typical HIT Mark implacability.

Given the high attrition rates of the classic Mark IV and V models, the Union’s innovators spent the later years of the 20th century exploring alternatives to the hefty “blast through the doors and start shooting” mode of HIT Mark design. Those attempts, once deployed in practical situations, often proved to be more trouble than they were worth. Although the Mark VI designation was initially assigned to a primitive attempt at nanotech, those original models proved unsuitable for long-term field work. Therefore, the designation was later assigned to an upgraded application of that idea.

Experimental models employing “liquid metal” and nanotech innovations, respectively, the Models VI and VII proved unsatisfactory for field work. Although many of these systems saw action in the savage strikes of the late 1990s and early 2000s — reportedly deployed in the Middle East against Awakened, Sleeper, and vampiric targets in various theatres of engagement — their intrinsic instability and vulnerability to the Paradox Effect (also sand, heat, and extreme cold) rendered them unfit for duty in all but the most stable Technocratic environments.

Although removed from production by the second decade of this century, existing Mark VI and VII models still function as facility guards; disguised “surprises” masquerading as office staff, warehouse personnel, and security officers; shock troops; or occasional “experiment platforms” upon which Technocrat engineers and occasional Reality Deviants explore the possibilities of additional modifications.

Mark VII: “The Mask”

Designed for infiltration missions, the malleable “Mask Mark” appears and acts like a normal human being… until it unleashes its weapon systems, anyway. Still, the processes involved were not quite as sophisticated as those employed in the creation of Mark X units, and so the “masks” do not stand up to close, careful, or prolonged observation. Though superior in many regards to Mark IV, V, and VI units, Mark VIIs seem stiff and inhuman and remain vulnerable to Paradox-induced shutdown and “freezing” effects unless deployed outside Consensus reality.

Attributes: Strength 6, Dexterity 3, Stamina 7, Charisma, 1, Manipulation 1, Appearance 1-4, Perception 4, Intelligence 2, Wits 2

Abilities: Alertness 3, Brawl 3, all Skills & Knowledges 3 (except Cosmology, Esoterica, Meditation, Occult, and Stealth, as above)

Willpower: 5

Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, ‒1, ‒1, ‒2, ‒3, ‒5, Terminated

Armor Rating: 3 (10 dice soak, total)

Powers: More stable but less powerful than its predecessor, the Mark VII is essentially a clone loaded with nanotech enhancements. As a result, this model retains its ability to “change faces” (that is, to adopt a wide range of human appearances) without the radical shapechanging that hobbled the previous iteration. In game terms, the Mark VII can appear as a human being of any gender or ethnicity between 5’ 5” and 6’ 5” tall. The nanotech nodules allow it to shift skin tone and physical features, though without the fine details necessary to impersonate a given individual. (Attempts to do so are met with unanimous failure.) Equipped with several USB ports, these units can infiltrate a complex, crack computer systems, and upload information for later retrieval. In combat, they’re incredibly tough, and possess a limited “self-healing” function. (Heal one health level every other turn until the ‒3 level of damage is reached; at that point, the self-repair function shuts down.) Aside from the hand-claws option (Strength + 3 lethal damage), the Mark VII employs normal human weaponry or Technocratic hypertech devices. This feature allows the HIT Mark to deploy alongside normal combat troops as a sort of “super-soldier” — a capacity in which such machines have proven quite effective so long as they avoid sand, dust, and extreme hot or cold weather. In such conditions, they “freeze” on any botched roll until they can be maintained by a trained Technocratic technician. Hence, the remaining units tend to be deployed in temperate environments and Technocratic Constructs.

Countermagick: Four dice worth of Primum countermeasures.

Image: As noted above, the Mark VII is a masterful shapechanger; unlike the Mark VI, however, it cannot mimic clothing or other features, only physical features. “Frozen,” a Mark VI looks like a grotesquely deformed human being with unsettling nodules beneath its skin.

Roleplaying Notes: Social graces are not your strong suit, but you’re a bit smarter and more mentally flexible than previous HIT Marks. Dare one even call you… sentient?

HIT Mark IX: “Iron Bob”

Almost immediately obsolete, the bulky HIT Mark VIII — which returned to the “big heavy weapons platform” design of older models — proved to be too massive, vulgar, and unreliable for widespread deployment. Even so, teams of Iteration X and Void Engineer specialists co-opted the

framework and many of the parts from the Mark VIII to

create the huge and deadly HIT Mark IX.

These monstrosities are exceptionally vulgar but

incredibly lethal. Sometimes,

they’re the only things that will

work. And so, if a team of

Technocratic operatives discovers an exceptionally dangerous threat, like the gateway to a particularly hellish Realm or an attack by several dozen werewolves, the best response may involve sending in the deadliest option possible… and that’s the Mark IX. Standing almost seven-and-a-half feet tall, this model weighs over 300 kg , has a plasma cannon mounted inside each arm, and resembles a massive bodybuilder physique of a hardcore iron man… hence its nickname, “Iron Bob.”