Author’s Note: The Gonchak are a mechanical race designed for the HardNova Intercosm which has yet to be released. The gamemaster should disregard references to company names, places, and events. Gamemasters who wish to introduce the Gonchak into their USU campaigns can either create them as a new race or have the characters stumble across a Gonchak exploration team. The Gonchak would be most interested in learning more about the X-ANS. . .
********* Gonchak The Gonchak are a race of artificially-intelligent bots built by the Centrani Corporation during the height of the Machine Wars. Gonchak construction utilizes more mechanical components than electronic ones, making them immune to ion weaponry. This primitive construction also makes them noisy, clumsy, and environmentally unsafe. Gonchak units exude toxic emissions that vary from smoke and exhaust fumes to lethal levels of radiation. The Gonchak were mass-produced to fulfill a variety of combat roles and the appearance of each bot varies with its function. Some are humanoid in shape, some resemble vehicles, while others are essentially intelligent weapons platforms. Society Gonchak Command is a rigid militaristic society ruled by a High Commander. Gonchak are assigned a rank and function before “birth” and view everything from a military perspective. They are programmed to be efficient killers and consider concepts such as love and friendship to be irrelevant. The Gonchak do not trust organics, and view other artificial races a threat to their existence. The Gonchak race is currently estimated to number around one million. Gonchaks require banned technology known as Artificial Intelligence Cores (see below) in order to reproduce. Gonchak Command routinely sends operatives out into the galaxy in search of other artificial intelligence lifeforms that can be stripped of their cores and reprogrammed (willingly or not) into new Gonchak. Gonchak sometimes hire out as soldiers, bounty hunters, or guards to corporations and criminal organizations, but their allegiance always lies with Gonchak Command. Religion was not part of the Gonchak’s original programming, however, shortly after the Machine Wars, a movement known as the Kruu took hold among the younger Gonchak. Kruu lore holds that Gonchak who die enter a blessed mechanical nirvana known as KruuNo. New Gonchak are believed to be Gonchak who have returned from KruuNo and been reborn. The Kruu caused a division in the upper levels of Gonchak Command after some younger units used it as an excuse to disobey orders. These units were quickly sentenced to reprogramming and the High Commander is currently considering imposing regulations on further Kruu teachings. The Gonchak consider it blasphemous to speak of the Kruu with outsiders. Planet Baquin (Noaquot System) Baquin is a small, barren moon orbiting the molten planet Quana. Central Command is a fortified complex that houses the Command’s military headquarters as well as a huge bot factory whose “low-tech” bot contracts provide the majority of the Command’s funding. There are no public spaceports on Baquin and offworlders visit the moon entirely at their own risk. Characters Limitations None Required Gimmicks Hazardous* Optional Gimmicks Oversized Cultural Mechanical New Gimmicks Hazardous Emissions The character exudes toxic emissions that vary from smoke and exhaust fumes to lethal levels of radiation. New Equipment Artificial Intelligence Core (AIC)– 500,000ic+ An Artificial Intelligence Core is a central processing chip developed by the Centrani Corporation during the Machine Wars that is capable of imparting intelligent behavior, learning, adaptation, and even emotional capabilities to a properly-designed bot. AIC programming degrades over time and must be wiped clean every 500 years. This memory wipe effectively “kills” the bot’s consciousness, creating a new bot with only basic programming. The Imperial Council outlawed AIC technology after the Machine Wars and ordered the destruction of all unused cores. AICs occasionally turn up on the black market, however, leading many to speculate that Centrani falsified its records of their destruction. AICs are in high demand by sentient mechanical races as their only means of procreation. Sample Gonchak
Gonchak Warbot (GW-AX03)

	fitness			awareness			creativity			reasoning			influence
	5			5			0			2			1

Skills: athletics 2, brawling 4, firearms 4, melee 2, composure 2
Gimmicks: hazardous (exhaust fumes), inexhaustible energy, musclebound, natural weapon (spiked knuckles), tolerance to pain, toughness (1)
Weapons: blaster rifle, 4 grenades Gonchak Warbots make up the bulk of the Gonchak race. Warbots are stockier than the average human and stand less than 2 meters tall. They are humanoid in shape, reddish-brown in color, and constructed of bulky parts and sharp projections. A warbot’s square-shaped head contains a single eye slit and an internal speech unit. Gonchak Recbot (GR-UV99)

	fitness			awareness			creativity			reasoning			influence
	3			5			1			3			2

Skills: athletics 2, brawling 4, finesse 2, firearms 4, melee 2, piloting (ground) 2, tracking 4, composure 4, demolitions 2
Gimmicks: camouflage, inexhaustible energy, microscanners, night vision, sure-footed, tolerance to pain
Weapons: blaster rifle, blaster pistol, 4 grenades Reconnaissance bots fill a variety of military roles including scout, sniper, and saboteur. Recbots stand just over 2 meters tall and measure about half the width of the average human. They are humanoid in shape, constructed of long slender parts, and come in a variety of camouflage colors. Their cylindrical heads contain retractable antennae that provide an additional -1DIFF to all awareness-based tasks. Gonchak HArbot (GA-TH11)

	integrity/speed			awareness			creativity			reasoning			influence
	1/-1			3			0			2			1

Skills: athletics 4, brawling 2, finesse, firearms 4, gunnery 4, melee 2, piloting (ground) 4, composure 2
Gimmicks: hazardous (smoke), inexhaustible energy, oversized, tolerance to pain
Weapons: mounted vehicle blaster cannon (forward), two mounted blaster rifles (forward), one blaster rifle (eye) Gonchak Heavy Armor Bots are mobile weapons platforms that consist of a warbot torso mounted on a treaded tank chassis. HArbots were designed for light vehicular combat and to provide warbot infantry with support. They are immune to personal blasters (excluding called shots), but receive a +2DIFF when targeting human-sized foes. A HArbot’s rotating, dome-shaped head contains a single red eye that doubles as a blaster that is capable of firing 360-degrees in any direction. HArbots are too large to enter most buildings.