The Mark IV "DETHTRAP" (Dynamic Encapsulated Total-Environment High Tolerance Robotic Assault Project) Bio Battle Bot is R&D's attempt to update the current model Mark III. Perhaps the most frightening thing about the bot is that it actually works, and is just a few bugs short of full production. It is those very bugs, however, that make the bot dangerous and which have forced the folks at R&D to use the "troubleshooter" method of removing them.

Part 1: The Parts
The bot is essentially power armor. The troubleshooter climbs into the hatch (1) via the retractable ladder (2) and arrives in the "cockpit" (see the red man?). His arms and shoulders fit into the base of the arm units, and his legs lock into the feet. By moving his arms or legs, the bot's arms and legs move, amplified by hydrolic drives. This gives the pilot an effective strength of 15 for carrying capacity and hand to hand damage. Once inside, the pilot has at his command the entire robot's system. The bot has an armor of ALL5 and is very tough. There are joysticks in the arm units that control the robots multi-function "hands" (9) which consist of large, three fingered pinsors. Although these are removable and can be replaced with other types of grips and tools, R&D hasn't finished any yet. The pilot can also move his hands towards his face (close enough to almost scratch his nose) where there are 8 green and 3 red buttons. More on these later. By "walking" the pilot gets the big bot moving forward, which it can do at a decent pace.

Part 2: Buttons Buttons Buttons or What's this button do?
Ahh, the buttons. Since there is no instruction manual, and any R&D dweeb will be far away when they are getting in this monster, those pesky buttons will be a complete mystery to the lucky pilot. Usually the party will argue profusely over who the pilot will be for a few minutes until the team leader or equipment guy steps in. So here, in no particular order, are what the buttons do:

• Red 1: Ejection switch. Pressing the button causes the emergency GTFO system to kick in. The dome over the pilot's head will whip open (a la Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story) and the pilot will be forcably sent airborn. Remember that the bot itself is nearly 10 feet tall (3 1/2 meters) so the pilot is very likely to be near the ceiling when sent up and out. The damage depends on the distance to the ceiling (ouch number 1) whether or not the pilot misses the bot on the way down (ouch number 2) whether or not he grabs and hangs on (dex check) or if he falls and slams into the floor (ouch number 3).
• Red 2: Emergency attack. This enables the emergency autofire system. The system should be usable from the joysticks in the arms, but has been disabled by R&D. The emergency version, however, was left online. The system will identify as many heat-producing targets as it can (up to 12) and will fire on them for a full round. The guns (5) will pop out automatically and fire, target by target, until spent. Each shot does 10AP and the system will fire at least one shot at each target in order, repeating as necessary, for 20 shots. The system cannot be controlled, the bot will not turn when firing and it will not stop firing until every single round is spent, even if it simply drills the corpses into oblivion. This, obviously, works only once. There is no obvious way to reload the guns and tampering with them too long will set off the self-defense system (see below).
• Red 3: Emergency Evac. The bot, to protect itself and it's pilot, will fire off emergency thrusters in the boots (11), sending it upwards for up to 30 feet (10 meters) at which time huge 10 foot long sharp poles will eject from the belt area (10) and attempt to drill into any nearby surface. The bot will dangle from any pole that finds a solid surface it is capable of drilling into. Standing near (behind) the bot when this goes off will result in 8E of burn damage, and standing too near when and if the bot comes down results in 10B of "it landed on your head" damage. The bot will eventually drop, either by pushing the button again or by waiting the 5 turns for the system to reset (or by turning the bot off, read on). The thrusters only work once, since R&D hasn't figured out exactly which fuel to use and how much space to allocate and so forth, so the current amount is "demonstration" fuel that works once (when they show the bot off to bigwigs).
• Green 1: This turns on the Rear Camera (3) which appears in the HUD (heads up display) which is the thing on the top of the bubble (4). The image is small, but somewhat in the center top of the pilot's view. Pushing the button again zooms in, pushing it again zooms in again, and so on until there is 10X magnification. After that, it doesn't work anymore. The display will not go away unless the bot is powered down (read on).
• Green 2: This turns on the roller skates. The skates aren't perfected, but they do work halfway well. A dex check is required or the bot falls over, look out below. Pushing the button again makes the skates retract.
• Green 3: This turns on the drill (8). It's mounted on the tip of a 4 foot pole which will unfold and whip out in front of the bot. The drill is small (approx 2 inches or 5 cm in diameter) and loud. It whirrs and buzzes along nicely, and will put a 5cm hole in almost anything. It's also darn sharp. Pushing the button again does zip. A joystick will pop up in the center of the console (4) which will control the drill, allowing it to be turned 45 degrees up, down, left, and right (just the bit, not the pole). Turning it off requires powering the bot down. Stabbing someone with this thing is right near impossible, since it can't be controlled, but if they do manage, it'll do 15AP.
• Green 4: This turns on the flood lights (6). These are white, bright (no brighter than that.. even brighter... think blinding. There ya go!) These will light up (in a tight cone) anything. They work well, but you have to turn the bot to see anything outside the beam. If anything IS outside the beam, the huge difference in light will make it almost invisible. Pushing the button again does nothing.
• Green 5: This (get ready) turns on the thrusters (look under the arms) and extends small stabilizer wings from just above the belt (10) area. It also pushes the skates (11) out. The thrusters will not fire until the button is pushed again, which will send the bot hurtling forward at breakneck speed. The controls will be unresponsive and the pilot will likely be knocked out from the G-forces. The burst is quick and over with, but it will very likely send the bot into a wall, injuring the pilot (5B). There is enough fuel (seperate tank from above) to do this twice, and enough left over to sputter out the third time. In theory the bot will be able to fly once up to speed, but the wings and thrusters aren't ready yet. These are, again, the demo models.
• Green 6: This activates the red flood beams (7). The beams are very bright, but not brighter than the flood lights. They will give everything a nice red glow to it. They are, however, prone to failure due to cheap bulbs. R&D has fixed them on the next production model, but this one is still using the old versions. They will work for a while. Pushing the button again turns them off.
• Green 7: Magnification. This one is the same as the rear camera, it will continue magnifying a HUD display of what's in front of the bot until 10, and then stop. Nothing else will happen if the button is pushed beyond that.
• Green 8: The big on-off switch. Pushing this button powers the bot off or on. If on, the bot will shut down NOW. Every system will reset and the bot will sink to it's knees. Note that there is NO POWER. The hatch, requiring power, will not open when the bot is down. Neither will the air system. There's enough air for about 5 rounds in reserve. The same event happens if the bot's power is sabatoged or damaged. Pushing the button again starts the bot up... slowly. The bot is designed to run through every sub system thouroughly and run tests and retests before it comes up fully. The HUD will show the system checklist as it goes on. The drill will pop out momentarilly, as will both sets of thruster pods, the skates, the wings, the camera will activate, the HUD will go through a huge series of display tests, and so forth. This will take no less than 3 rounds to complete, and it is noisy. Anything in the vicinity will immediatly know that something mechanical is going nuts nearby. This is the only way to reset some of the systems (noted above) that don't turn off on their own.

Part 3: *** Deleted for Security Reasons ***

Part 4:Other systems or surprise! The bot, being valuable, has several built in systems that may or may not be activated when leaving R&D. They are:

• A security system: Trying to open, prod, poke, or unlatch any of the bot's many panels will result in an electrical charge around the superstructure. The pilot is immune, anyone within a few inches takes 10E.
• A homing system: The bot emits a radio frequency pulse allowing it to be found if lost or stolen.
• A lockdown system: If the security system is bypassed, or if the remote system is activated, the bot will drop to it's knees, open it's gun ports, erect the electrical shield and begin firing. The system is very hard to set off, but once it does, it's very dangerous. The pilot is helpless, but safe.
• Remote camera: R&D, the Computer, and IntSec can all see what the pilot sees by remote, if they want.
• Remot control: R&D, the Computer, and IntSec can take over the bot's movement by remote. This is difficult to do by remote, so the bot's motions are jerky and unpredictable.

Part 5: What to expect or those wacky troubleshooters The bot is designed to inspire fear in troubleshooters, no questions asked. It's big, it's mechanical, it's complicated, and it comes from R&D. There should be a big void in the volunteer department when this thing rolls out. Once some sucker is put into it and his pleas for mercy are ignored, he may be interested in pushing buttons. This tends to provide great amusement on the part of the group, unless they happen to be standing behind the bot when certain buttons are pressed, or in front of it when others are pressed. The pilot may begin to get a sense of security, which is deserved considering the thing is a TANK, but fortunately the bugs and glitches are such that any attempts to abuse the bot are likely to result in miserable failure. Beware of standoffs where the bot's pilot has gotten himself in the position of him vs the party. These can be bad for the party since even unarmed the bot can hack and bash it's way out of a fight. Failures in the battery department will usually suffice. A suffocating troubleshooter in the cockpit is a good warning. Also, remember that if the bot is powered off (ie the battery is dead) the hatch cannot be opened. This will render the bot useless except as cover. Also remember that troubleshooters can't reach anything on their person while inside the bot. This includes getting things out of their pack, turning on/off recording equiptment, or drawing a weapon. A troubleshooter who tries to run the bot with a gun in his hand will not be able to control one of the arms becuase the gun will be in the way. There is no manuvering room inside. Also, the bot is nearly 10 feet tall, and 4 feet wide. Trying to get the blasted thing through tight areas is impossible. The bot does offer full environmental protection, including radiation, vacuum, gas, heat, cold, gamma/x/y/z rays and so forth. Unless the bot is destroyed or powered down, consider it nearly impervious to outside factors.