Haywire Field

Haywire weapons make use of microwaves or electromagnetic radiation to destroy the inner workings of machines and tech. Everything within the field’s radius, indicated by the number in parentheses, is affected: Haywire (3) would affect an area with a three metre radius. Roll 1d10 on Table 6–8: Haywire Field Effects (adding any modifiers from the weapon) to determine the strength of the effect. As the field slowly dissipates, the strength lessens one step in severity each Round until it becomes Insignificant (i.e., a result of Major Disruption would become Minor Disruption the following Round and then cease to have an effect the Round after that). Additional Haywire attacks in the same area do not stack but instead create a new effect that is either ignored if lower than the current effect or replaces the old one if higher.

Table 6–8: Haywire Field Effects

Roll Field Strength
1–2 Insignificant: There is no noticeable effect on nearby technology.
3–4 Minor Disruption: All actions utilising technology, including firing Ranged weapons without the Primitive Quality, Tech-Use Tests, and any physical actions attempted while wearing power armour or employing cybernetics, suffer a –10 penalty. The Base Movement of anyone in power armour is reduced by 1.
5–6 Major Disruption: All actions utilising technology, including firing Ranged weapons without the Primitive Quality, Tech-Use Tests, and any physical actions attempted while wearing power armour or employing cybernetics, suffer a –20 penalty. The Base Movement of anyone in power armour is reduced by 3. Melee weapons with technological components function as a Primitive weapon of the analogous type.
7–8 Dead Zone: Technology within the affected area completely ceases to function. Power armour becomes unpowered reducing the wearer’s move to 1. Characters with cybernetic replacements to any internal organ(s) suffer one level of Fatigue each Round they remain in the Dead Zone. Melee weapons with technological components (i.e. power swords) function as a Primitive weapon of their type.
9–0 Prolonged Dead Zone: As Dead Zone.
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