Reputation - protector of innocents, on an 11 or less - Cost -10
Conversion Notes: This package is based on the cyber-knight occupation from Rifts role playing game. I based this package on the absolute minimum of abilities of a first level cyber-knight. This write-up uses Champions 5th edition rules.
Nobody knows exactly where they came from or why, but about 80 years ago the cyber-knight emerged. Some believe the cyber-knight came into being to oppose the ever growing and corrupt Coalition. Others say that they came to fight the hordes of supernatural beings that terrorize the land. The truth is that they are the champions of all who are oppressed, weak, and innocent, whether they be threatened by the Coalition or monsters from a rift.
As to the knights' origin, not even they seem to know for certain. Legend has it that a group of great and noble warriors, who called themselves the Defilers, came to the land. Their group was composed of many different manner of men and monsters, yet they showed by example of their courage, honor, and actions, that all people were equal and meant to be free. When the group left, years later, they had made a great impression on the wilderness people. One, in particular, a tall, dark haired male, by the name of Coake, stayed (by the people's request) to train others in the way of the knights. It is said that Coake too, would leave, but not before creating the legacy that is the cyber-knights.
Today, being a cyber-knight is a way of life, based on the ideology and code of ethics. It is not an actual organization. One becomes a knight only if he or she is accepted as an apprentice and is instructed in the ways of knighthood by an accomplished master. After years of tutelage and training, the dedicated apprentice may achieve knight status as well. These knights in turn, teach others and the tradition continues. Rumor has it that there exists a monastery that teaches the way of the knights and that of Lord Coake, himself, is its spiritual teacher, but if it exists, the Coalition has yet to find it. Nor does anyone else seem to know its location.
The cyber-knights are living legends. The great heroes of the North American wastelands and wilderness. A knight answers to no authority other than the callings of his own heart and the code of chivalry. It is the code of the knighthood that keeps the champions on the true path of honor, nobility, and goodness. They are obsessed with the protection of innocent life, both human and non-human, and the freedom for the oppressed. They do not go looking for trouble, but in the endless struggle for survival in the rugged lands of the Rifts world, trouble never seems far. The warriors rarely travel in groups larger than a pair. A troop of five or more can only mean that some horrible danger is near. Instead, they disperse, each roaming the land on horseback or vehicle, seeking and righting injustice wherever it is found. They will oppose injustice and evil in all its forms, from demon or dragon to the Coalition or a fellow knight gone bad. Like self-appointed sheriffs in a wild land, they deal out justice as
judge, jury, and executioner. Although their methods are extreme, these are extreme and unusual times.
In this autonomy of action, their legendary hero status, and phenomenal combat skills, that make them a threat to despot kinds and would-be tyrants. The Coalition takes a keen interest in the knights' activities. Officially, the Coalition has little to say about the folk heroes, negative or positive. However, the powers that be see the knights as a threat and secretly eliminate them whenever the opportunity avails itself.
The training of a cyber-knight is fastidious and strenuous. It builds both the mind and the body, becoming a way of life, not just a simple philosophy. In that respect, it is similar to the ancient martial arts of pre-Rifts Earth. Although not a hard and fast requirement, most cyber-knights possess some degree of psychic abilities. Mental disciplines include learning to use their psionic powers, meditation, literacy, the pursuit of truth and knowledge, and master over their emotions. The hero is taught to understand and control himself. To recognize one's emotions, but not to let emotion overcome reason. ake, for example, this cyber-knight proverb: "It is easy to give oneself to fear and hate, and therefore destroy that which you fear and loathe, but striking out at darkness does not eliminate it. Destruction out of anger, without reason of purpose, is simply destruction. One must learn to control fear and anger for they can blind you to the truth. One must rechannel emotion, and learn to see in the dark.
Become a builder, not a destroyer. Yet remember, one must tear down that which has become infested with rot in order to let the good live."
Physical training involved years of study and practice with numerous weapons, body building, gymnastics, horsemanship, and martial arts.
Other areas include an understanding and appreciation for all life forms, an openness and tolerance to all ideas and philosophies, and an openness to magic and the unknown. The cyber-knight recognizes magic to be just another energy source that can be tapped and used for good or evil. This open mindedness makes them one of the few O.C.C.'s which can intuitively understand and use items created through techno-wizardry.
The cyber-knight is one of the few occupations who can create a psi-sword! A psi-sword is an energy weapon that the warrior can mentally will into existence! The sword appears as a shimmering blade of energy that resembles a glowing sword. The sword's actual appearance will generally reflect its creator. A character who is impressed by strength and power will create a huge claymore-like weapon. A character who prides himself on speed and agility is likely to create a rapier or saber type blade, while a hero who enjoys cunning and subterfuge may create a short sword. Each is equally powerful regardless of its form and size.
The creation of the psi-sword is a very personal thing and requires years of training, study, and conviction. Once a shape has been decided, that is how the sword will always appear. When a knight in training can create a psi-sword, he or she is ready to become a full knight errant.
It is important to note that the cyber-knight's psi-sword is quite different from the mind melter's super psi-sword. First, the knight can create the weapon in an instant; in many respects it is a living part of the hero. Second, there is no expenditure of psychic energy in the conventional sense, the knight's will and conviction is the driving power behind the blade. Third, there is no limit as to how long the sword remains in effect not any limit as to how many times a day the weapon can be created.
Lastly, the cyber-knight's psi-sword is not quite as powerful as the mind melter's, but it is weapon to be feared. A true knight will NEVER use a psi-sword against a foe unarmed or not equipped with an equivalent weapon, or who is not a supernatural creature or dragon.
The cyber-knight occupation is generally limited to humans and extremely human-like mutants and dimensional beings. They have trained through meditation to create a psi-sword which they use in combat, and live by a knights code of conduct. Cyber-knights all have cybernetic armor grafted to their torsos for increased protection.
Psionics are common among cyber-knights. If they start with psionic abilities they should buy three of the following powers: Empathy, Mind Block, Object Read, See The Invisible, Sense Evil, Sense Magic, Sixth Sense, Speed Reading and Summon Inner Strength.
Occupation created by Palladium Books.
Champions rules conversion by Mathew R. Ignash - mathewignash@comcast.net.
Last Updated - July, 2003
