History: Your Best Freind Inc. (YBF) is a new sub company that was founded in the year 901 SD. Thier goal was to provide a product that is supurior in every way to the DAC and CAF lines that are currently being produced by Karma. The idea was formed when a popular contract killer named Red Claw, made extensive use of the CAF tiger model feline. He had it specialy trained and they both made a highly effective team. Karma saw the market for such a product and set aside a team of researchers to develope this product further. Unfoirtunatly the product came to a halt when a Dark Night contract killer managed to make a device that perfectly emulated Red Claw's voice, the result was Mort's public watched as Red Claw got mauled by his own CAF then a Dark Night subversive walked away with a peice of SLA property. The media backlash of such an incided was compounded by the fact thaty this was the special projects special model. Dozens of yellow bpns were issued before the tiger was brough back in, due to the fiasco involved the employees working on the project were fired and the project was cancled. The newly fired employees decided that they could get together and start their own buissness. All of them were extreamly wealthy and could of easly retired on the money they had. Instead they pooled it and started the project up again this time under a sub company named YBF. It took them over 4 years to get around the voice problem but now that they have and the events of 4 years ago have been long forgotten they have once again become a subsidiary of Karma and receiveing funding. One year latter thier product line debuted.

Target Group: Their target group is for high level operatives, contract killers, necanthropes, and anyone else with a ton of money that they can throw around on this fancy little pet. While there are plans to release a lower, cheaper modle that is more affordable to lower end operative squads. Finanaceing plans are also available to thouse who apply.

Products: Currently there are 4 modles to choose from, the Tiger, Wolf, Dracling, and the Snake. All the products come with a fully customizable color scheme at no extra cost. One of the main advantage of the products is that while the DAC and CAF are attempts at creating a liveing animal that will act as such, YBF's animals are built to be killing matcheins. They have no free will and they are compleatly obidiant to thier owner, or owners. The animals come preprogramed with over 500 commands and are capable of retaining 500 more. Programming in a new command takes at most 20 minuts and after that your animal will execute the command untill it is dead or a new one is given. Commands may also be automatic so that if a certain situation is encountered, such as the operative dieing, the tiger will do it's best to clear the area of hostiles so that a lad team may swoop in to the rescue.

Since out products are biogenic they regenerate just like strormers can, and if the need should arise they can even be given lad. Assumeing that they have an account of course. And with some special technological advances

GAME TERMS: Alright so what dose all that mean as far as your campain goes? As much or as little as you want depending on how rules intensive you want to be. I am not very rules intensive so when and owning player gives a command it is generaly realized and when the plaer goes down it is generaly assumed that the animal in question will secure the area. If the owner is dead with no hope of lad...well then it returns to the nearest Karma faculty. If you are rules heavy do what ever you want, okay I'll be more helpful than that, they all have a diagnose stat, if the player asks something weird of them roll against the diagnose. The bigger the failure the wose the animal misunderstands the orders. Apply modifyers as nessisary.

Tiger: The tiger is a leathal combonation of Stealth and brute strength and is currently a popular choise amongst Wraith Raiders and Shakatars. Its natural ability to lay close to the ground and sneak about carefuly, only to launch a lighting fast attack is an impressive sight.

Wolf: The wolf is power personified, with it's sleak coat and powerful jaws it can strike fear into the heards of evern the toughest of foes. While it may not be the most subtle of the animals it certainly is effective. This model has become extreamly popular in certain frother clans as well with brainwasters but it is selling nicely acrost the board.

Dracling: This small creature from the Shakatar home world has a set of extreamly powerful wings allowing it to stay afloat for hours at a time before needing a rest. The drackling is about the same size as a grown man's torso but with an extreamly long tail and neck. It's muscle mass is also extreamly dense makeing these things weigh almost 200 pounds. These are definatly no something you want dive bombing you from onhigh. This modle has become extreamly popular with both the Shakatars and the Necanthropes.

Snake: This is our own home breed of animal, it combines the size and strength of a python but with the raw speed of a cobra. They are the ultimate in both stealth and protablility, as they are able to get to places that a tiger and a wolf would not be able to. They are also able to dispose of targets scilently and without a body >_<. This modle has become very popular with the Necanthropes as well as Wraith Raiders.

Cost: See GM section

Tiger Wolf Dracling Basic Modle: 10,000 Credits

Snake: 10,500

Lad Account: Double what it would normaly be for a person.

Stat Boost: The Maximum Stat Per Animal is 15

up to 10: 500 credits per increas

after 10: 1000 credits per increase

Skill Increase: 500 per increase

GM Section: That was conveint wasn't it. This company started out as a request from one of my players when he asked me if he could have a pet tiger as a major freind. He got the idea from reading that main peice of fiction in the MRB. I thought it over and this is what resulted more or less. After the idea behind this company matured, materialized, and actualy it went through a couple of drafts I realized that it had two major purposes. One was to keep money under control. Sometimes I tend to be overzelouse when handing out credits this will help counter blanace that. This is the reason why there are no prices listed, because they are technicaly marked as expensive. What expensive is to one WOP may be very diffrent in my WOP. So I decided to leave it at that. The prices that I will have listed are extreamly rough guidlines, and should be taken with a shaker of salt. On another note this also allows non combative squads a shot in combat, which is nice.

Tiger Stats:

Str. / Dex. / Dia./ Phys/ Hitpoints

7/10/5

Claws/Teeth

Pen/Dam/AD

2/5/2

Wolf Stats

Str. /Dex. /Dia.

10/7/5

Claws/Teeth

Pen/Dam/AD

2/5/2

Dracling

Str. /Dex. /Dia.

8/8/5

Claws/Teeth

Pen/Dam/AD

2/5/2

Snake

Str./ Dex. /Dia.

10/10/5

Damage is Special

Skills:

Tiger:

Unarmed Combat (7), Gymastics (6), Acrobatics (9), Sneaking (10), Hideing (8), Running (5)

Wolf:

Unarmed Combat (10), Gymastics (7), Acrobatics (6), Sneaking (5), Hideing (5), Running (8)

Dracling:

Unarmed Combat (8), Areial Combat (8), Acrobatics (8), Hideing (8)

Snake

Wrestleing (10), Sneaking (10), Hideing (10)

Addtional Skills:

Any Skill not listed for the animal may be purchased, as well as the following skills for the standard price.

Wrestling, Climb, Intimidation, Survival, Evaluate Opponent, Demoltions/Drug Sniffing, Good Vision, Good Hearing, Blind Fighting, Extream Violence, Telegenics, Zero-Gee Manuvers, WillPower (use phys).

Special Rules:

The Tiger, Wolf, and Dracling all get three attracks, every phase, two with the claws and one bite.If they roll double on the bite attack, they latch on and do an addtional +4 damage next turn on top of the base bite damage. If the person is wearing powered armor and the animal has the shock attack and rolls doubles the armor is automaticly shocked.

The Dracling can fly. This is it's main form of locomotion, in fact the only time it ever lands is to eat and sleep. To see one walking for any other reason is a very rare occurance. When it fights it will often swoop through the air and make run by attacks with its claws or sometimes if the target is weaker it will swoop down barrleing it's whole body weight into the target knocking it into the ground. It is to small to ride on so don't get any ideas.

The snake, is based around the perfect mix of a python and a cobra, fast and strong. This breed fights much like a python, it will wrap it's body around a target and break every bone in his body. If the snake gets a drop on someone then all it has to do is make a wrestleing roll in order to imoblize it's foe. It will take a round to eat the foe and three rounds afterwards to digest it. Yes I know it is fast it was desighned that way. In combat it is a little bit less effective because the person fighting it is aware of the snakes presence and is activly trying to kill it. The snake, in this case may use a combonation of a wresteling and bite attacks. If it rolls a double during combat it managed to break something on the target. Otherwise it dose its best to keep it is best to keep the targe still and pinned.

Addtional Upgrades:

Double Threat Atachment: Much like the Quad limb domination for stormers this allows for an addtional head. The sugical process involved in this matter but when Your Best Freind is able to stick an extra pair of jaws into a Dark Night Scum, or look both ways simutaneouly to spot threats you will be glad you did. Recovery Time one week.

Tiger/Wolf 8,000

Dracling/Snake 6,000

Triple Threat Atacment: While this is avaliable to only some of our modles it is truely a ferociouse sight to behold nothing stikes terror into the heart quite like a three headed wolf chaseing you down, or a dracling swooping down from the sky. Also since thier most effective attacks are the bite you will be signifigantly increaseing their power in combat. Recovery time two weeks. NOte double threat attachment must be purchased first.

Wolf/Dracling: 4,000

Toxins: Sometimes a target needs to be taken alive, and sometimes he needs to be killed quietly, and sometimes poison is just fun to use. What ever your reasons are our new agreement with Tinicure Inc. (ooers I have a new sub company idea) now allows thier full line of poisons, and toxins for use by your best freind. With a special venom sack put into the animal all you have to do is give them a few tablebts and for next 48 hours they will produce the poison of your choise. Recovery time is one day.

All: 2,000

Tablets are and addtional 100 over listed price

Jet of Flame: Of course due to the restrictions of such things like flamethrowers and napalm bombs your best freind won't actualy be shooting a jet of flame, he will be shooting something better. We at karma have managed to manufacter a substance that, when it gets on the skin, it acts exactly like they have just received third degree burns. The liqued is extreamly short lived and disapated after a little over a second but by then the damage has already been done, and anyone hit with it will look and feel as if they have been horribly burned. The length of the cone is linked directly to your freind's strength so that the stronger your freind the further the jet will travel. In addtion we suculpted and modified the chemical so that it actually looks like they are being hit with a jet of flame. The jet of flame addtion comes in two diffrent modles, there is the tablet formula similer to the toxins, or there it the permenacy gland. The tablet will give your freind 10 blasts of flame for a low price, or you can opt for the permenacy gland which will produce the chemical permenatly and will always be around when needed. Recovery time is one day

Tablet: 100 Gland:1,000 Modles: ALL

Shock Teeth/Claws: For nutralizeing thouse in powered armor, when your freind bites/slashes deep enough into the armor it will release a tremendouse electric shock that will cause the armors servos to freeze up leaveing the person inside helpless. Of course where an unarmered target were to be hit with this attack, the effects would be devistateing.

GM NOTE: I'm not sure what the rules would be for this, it sort of just came to me. Any way I'm thinking it would be sort of like a combonation between Hotline Ammo and the Stunner. Still I don't know what would happen for an unarmered target. So...we will put off a price for this for now.

Claw/Teeth Upgrades: There is a whole host of upgrades that can be given to your best freinds that will increase the damage done, thier ability to penetrate armor, and to damage the armor it self. These series in upgrades range from the supriseingly simple to very complex in nature. So it has been decided that it would be best of offer a flat upgradeing rate and let up worry about all the hard stuff.

Ahem. System wise this basicly means you can make the animal do more damage, et cetera. The maximum Pen 6 Max Damage 12 Max Armor Damage 6. Each upgrade costs 1,500 credits and must be purchased individualy. There is a 24 hour recovery time for each operation.

Armor Upgrades: While all of our modles are equiped with a stormer style regeneration sometimes that just isn't enough in today's violent world. So we here at YBF are pleased to offer you the armor upgrades, these will give your freind the protection it needs to take down even the strongest of foes.

Upgrade 1: Body Blocker Equivalent 1000

Upgrade 2: Exo Stormer Equivalent 3000

Upgrade 3: Silver Back Equivalent 5000

Visual Modifications: For a one time price your Best Freind can be given a whole host of new visual up grades. These upgrades include infa vision, low light vision, heat vision, along with a few others. As an added bounus we will also include the automatic command structure nessisary so that your freind will know autimaticly which vision mode it should be useing for optimum preformance.

1000 all modles

GM SECTION

Alright so you are a game master and you probley realized by now that these little animals can get to be quite good. In fact it can effectivly make a new squad memeber. Do what do you get out of all of this you ask? Well that is a good and valid question. First of all it dose give not combat oriented squads a chance of surviveing combat, if you have a play group made up of investigateing people, camera men, and finacers it kind of makes certain climatic combats somewhat difficult. An animal can change a lot of that. Not only that but there is the squad ownership option can lead to some interesting inter group conflic. After all with that option all memebers of the squad are able to issue orders to it, and that can lead to some interesting situations. Also turn about is fair play, these things are on the open market which means that mabey a soft company has some how gotten ahold of one, or two. These things make excelent gaurd animals capable of nutralizeing many threats or tripping all sorts of alarms. Also if they are on a Grey inside an actual SLA installation then they will most likely have animals on gaurd. After all they don't need to sleep and only eat once a day, and they can be very effective once fully upgraded. There could also be some interesting hunter sheets comeing from this. A squad mate has just vanished one day, and he took the animal with him, kill him and return the animial. Yes that will be fun game session.

Alright so you want even more than that. Fine, this company has three very shady operations about it. One is it's voice recognition program. They refuse to tell anyone as to how it works, it isn't published anywhere and it is the companys most closely gaurded secret, there could be something there if you want it to be. Next there is the lack of free will thing. Low Wave Stormers weren't suppost to have free will either and yet they have been found to make thier own dens and interact, what if something like this happened to the Animals? This is an avenue that leads to many possibliltys and is the one I am most likely to exploit. The last one is the inner command structure and it's memory. While everything may seem fine on the surface in some of the earlyer modles there might be no way for the animal to rid itself of data that is no longer important. As a result it's memory might oneday become full and other older data might be overwritten...this could include the diffrence between freind and foe, as well as certain other things.