When switched on, a maxiscreamer has three radii of effect. These radii are a radius centred on the operating vehicle or device.
When activated, EVERYTHING within the radius of the maxiscreamer is effected. This includes vehicles, but mainly includes pedestrians and unprotected people (which included bikers, cupola and pintle gunners).
A maxiscreamer has an immediate effect when it is first activated (taking a shoot action), and then at the beginning of every turn that it is left on (which doesn't require a further action).
Note that the vehicle or pedestrian using the maxiscreamer is not effected by their own maxiscreamer. The sound waves are travelling outward and there will be a relative calm where the screamer is located. However, also note that the screamer cannot differeniate between friends and foe and thus can not ever be selective above whom it targets.
Unprotected personnel includes anyone not in a building or shielded car. For purposes of this, a Renegade may or may not be a shielded vehicle depending on whether or not players determine whether it is open or not, but a bike or trike is most certainly not. Any occupant hanging out of a vehicle (like a cupola gunner) is not a protected target.
Against these targets, roll 1d6, add the modifiers and then consult the table below.
| Die Roll | Maxiscreamer effect |
|---|
| 6 or less | No effect |
| 7,8 | Roll for stun |
| 9,10 | -1 to all skills, roll for stun |
| 11,12 | -2 to all skills, roll for KO, if failed, roll for stun
Roll for ammuntion explosion |
| 13+ | -3 to all skills, -1 CON, roll for KO, if failed, automatic stun
Roll for ammuntion explosion with a +1 modifier |
Modifiers:
| if in Inner maxiscreamer radius | +2 |
| if in Middle maxiscreamer radius | +1 |
| if in Outer maxiscreamer radius | +0 |
| per turn in any maxiscreamer radius (after the first) * | +1 |
| if lightly protected (such as sealed light armour) | -1 |
| if heavily protected (such as sealed heavy armour) | -2 |
* this modifier stacks, so if a pedestrian has been in a maxiscreamer radius for four turns (it doesn't matter which radius, and this can have changed), then on that turn there will be a +3 modifier.
Skill penalties do not stack with one another - take the worst penalty. However, if the maxiscreamer is turned off or moves on, these penalties do not disapear until at least the end of the combat.
Pedestrians can hide behind objects like cars, but if the active maxiscreamer can trace any direct line to the target, then they will be effected. Cars, having space under them, aren't the best cover. A gamesmaster should be on hand to make any spot judgements as needed.
An example. A US Cavalry cruiser has just driven up to a rowdy pedestrian and switched on the maxiscreamers. Currently, the pedestrian is 4 cm from the cruiser. On the firing action that the screamers are switched on, the pedestrian suffers from the effects and rolls 1d6. A 3 is rolled, with a +2 for being in the inner radius of the maxiscreamer. A 5 on the denotes no effect. The pedestrian runs for cover and moves to 12 cm away. At the beginning of the next turn, the screamers are still on, so the ped must make another d6 roll. This time the modifiers are still +2 (1 from the radius, 1 for the the fact that the maxiscreamers are still on). Luckily a 4 is rolled, and a six has no effect. On the third turn, the cruiser decides to follow the pedestrian and thus the range is still 12 cm. However, a 6 is rolled, with a +3 modifier (1 for the range, 2 for the third turn within the screamers), and a 9 means that the pedestrian must roll for stun as they attempt to try to block the sound with their hands, and all their skills are at -1 due to the pain and disorientation. We'll leave our hapless victim for now...
Vehicles, while a lot tougher than an unprotected pedestrian are not immune to the effects of a maxiscreamer, and given enough time, a maxiscreamer can literally shake a vehicle to bits with its ultrasound. Characters inside a vehicle can shield themselves from the effects better, but only for a time.
A vehicle suffering the effects of a maxiscreamer has 1d6 rolled for it. Use the following modifiers. Treat a maxiscreamer as a direct fire weapon, and thus trace a line from the active screamer to the target to find the effected armour side.
| if in Inner maxiscreamer radius | +2 |
| if in Middle maxiscreamer radius | +1 |
| if in Outer maxiscreamer radius | +0 |
| per turn in any maxiscreamer radius (after the first) * | +1 |
| of vehicle side effected | - AV |
| sound resistant protection | - rating |
If the total is above the AV of the effected vehicle, then it takes damage equalling the die roll - AV. If any occupants are inside the vehicle when it takes damage, then they must use the same die roll result and compare it with the table above for unprotected pedestrians. Hopefully the extra armour of the vehicle will help shield them some more.
Any and all occupants of the vehicle share the same die roll.
If the result of the maxiscreamer against the vehicle is 11+ (after all modifiers), then roll for an ammunition explosion. At 13+, add +1 to the ammunition explosion roll.
When ultrawave sounds get to a certain pitch, then they can start to effect ammunition carried. The way they effect this, is by detonating the ammuntion, which if you're carrying a lot of it, is likely to lead to fatal results.
Whenever an ammunition explosion is called for, roll 1d6 adding any modifiers if mentioned above. On a 6+, the ammunition does indeed explode. This is not good. The target takes an automatic hit and must roll damage once for each type of weapon they are carrying. If you're tooled up with an automatic pistol, you take a standard 1d6 damage roll. If, however, you're carrying a heavy pistol, an assault rifle and an RPG for safe keeping, then you'll take three hits - 1d6+1 for the heavy pistol, 1d for the assault rifle, and 1d6+6 for the RPG. Include any ammunition bonuses.
The character (if they survive), now has no ammunition for their weapons.
Vehicles take the same damage. The weapon carrying the ammunition is now gutted and destroyed as well.
Lasers do not explode, but passives can.
For those manic moments when you have to have every maxiscreamer switched on at one time, the following rules apply. A maxiscreamer never stacks their effects with another maxiscreamer. If two layers overlap, any targets inside take the worst effects, not all the effects.
Maxiscreamers are supposed to be illegal for anyone other than security forces to be able to buy and use. Unfortunately, like anything, where there's a will, there's always a way, and maxiscreamers have long since been available to the wrong hands for the right money.
A vehicle may be mounted with a maxiscreamer (or several if they like in the case of battle damage). They cost $15,000 and weigh 10 each. They do not take up weapon mounts.
They are destroyed on weapon critals (simply destroyed, do not roll for the actual critical result) and can be hit from any angle expext the underside of the vehicle.
Pedestrians may also carry maxiscreamers. They cost $8,000 and weigh 2. Unlike vehicle maxiscreamers, a pedestrian model is designed so that the activation switch has to be held down at all times. This requires a shoot action every time the maxiscreamer is used. If weapons fire is required as well, then you'll have to use the two weapons rule.
Vehicle armour can have sound resistance built into it. Each rating of sound resistance will reduce the die roll by 1, which is stackable with normal armour. Sound protection does not provide any other bonuses though, so it is not effective against weapons fire.
Sound resistance costs $5,000 per rating ($2,000 for bikes), and will provide rating 1 protection from all sides. This weighs an additional 10 (5 for bikes) per rating of sound resistance. It's light. A vehicle may carry an amount of sound proof armour equalling 6.
Sound resistance is lost when the armour on that side is destroyed.
Bikes may carry sound proof armour, but remember that while the bike may be protected, the rider won't be...
Pedestrians can also carry around sound proof armour. This is based on light or heavy armour, and costs an additional $2,000 per rating of sound proof armour, with a maximum rating equalling the armours AV. It adds 1 to the weight of the armour per rating.
