Hell Bike

By Rupert Smith

If H.R.Giger had drawn the bike scene in Akira, this would have been Kaneda's ride.  

This motorbike looks like a grotesquely distorted racing bike, with ribcage-like engine, chitinous farings, pulsating muscle-like hydraulics, skeletal forks and clawlike hubs. Fronting it all is the headlight, a single, eerily glowing, baleful eye.   Worse than the appearance, perhaps, is the sound. The bike doesn't sound like a bike: it sounds like an animal. When the engine growls it really does growl, when the throttle is gunned, it roars like some demonic lion, and when it's driven at speed, the scream of the engine drags its claws down your spine. Gunning the engine and/or having the bike in its true form is often enough to scare off particularly cowardly mooks.

The bike is driven with your Arcanowave skill, and can only be driven if you're plugged in. There is the semblance of controls, but they don't work (except as noted in "bike schticks"). When you're plugged in you can see what the bike sees, which is just as well as the headlight doesn't actually shed much light.

The bike itself has a pep of +3, and a wreck of 2.

Mutation.

In a combat situation, receive one MuP per sequence, as with any arcanowave device. Outside combat, receive one MuP for each activation of a bike schtick, and for each hour during which you're plugged in.  (this means that you could do a solid stint of driving without being turned into Bob the mutant)

Bike schticks.

For your initial arcanowave schtick your Hellbike gets three bike schticks. You can buy more bike schticks on a one for one basis with arcanowave schticks.

• Turbo boost: as specialised form of blast, used either as a speed boost or to jump big gaps. adds +2 to pep, but only when going in a straight line. Don't even think about cornering or stopping suddenly, even with super grip (see below)

• Super grip: the tires of the bike secrete a sticky goop, dramatically increasing the grip of the bike, and hence its cornering and braking ability. At the GM's option, the goo may be slightly flammable, leaving small trails of fire behind the bike. For each schick spent in this manner add +1 AV where skidding is a danger. If two schticks are spend, the bike can drive up or along vertical surfaces. If three schticks are spent, the bike can drive across water, along telephone cables, and over other implausible surfaces.

• Transformation: with one schtick, the bike can appear (sound and vision) as a normal racing bike. Note, the controls still don't work so you have to plug in, and any use of bike schticks will force a transformation into it's true form. With two schticks, the bike can use it's supernatural powers in it's disguised form. With three schticks, the bike can actually become a fully working normal bike, with working controls and a petrol engine. While you don't need to plug in to drive around, you still do to use any powers. Oh yes, and you use your drive skill when unplugged.

• Faithful Friend: your bike seems to be at least semi-sentient. Same as Signature Ride, but you don't get the drive bonus. You could, of course, buy both . A good investment, especially if you have/plan to get more bike schticks.  In addition, if you make an arcanowave check with a difficulty of the distance between you in tens of metres, you can whistle and your bike will try to come to your location. Note, you have to whistle loudly, preferably by putting your fingers in your mouth.

• Shockwave: the Hellbike creates a shield of force in front of it, enabling you to crash through obstacles without taking take the one point of wreck for ramming or sideswiping.

• Roadkill: for each person you run down and kill while plugged in, get a temporary magic point (for desperate efforts and suchlike. maximum extra points is your Mag). Goes well with shockwave. The bike should have teeth on the front faring somewhere.

• Remote Helmet: This helmet looks as if you're wearing some kind of demonic skull (funny, that..). As well as making you look like a reject hell's angel, this helmet forms a link with the bike; when you're plugged into the helmet, you're considered to be plugged into the bike. This means that you can see what it sees, drive it and activate its powers. Range is your arcanowave AV x 20 metres.

Quick Schtick Pick: Shockwave, Transformation I, Faithful Friend.