Technomancers

The Technomancers also known as the Technologues, Technologenies, Resourcerers, are one of the most mysterious nomad packs in the entire country. They take no new members from outside the nomad population -no statics- and they have but one area of expertise: they are technical mercenaries and literal wizards of technology. Rumors of their origins are diverse; some claim they are renegades from the pre-Collapse “Shop“ (a high-tech, James-Bondian, super-secret research organization; the existence of which is conjectural at best), and others that they are outcasts from the doomed city of Alpha. Most theories have been debunked, but some can be neither proven or disproven.

Overview
These technically-oriented nomads are not directly affiliated with any of the Seven Nations, though they have very loose ties to the Jodes. The pack displays a strong disinclination to take sides in disputes, because it is bad for business.

As mercenary scientists, they travel North America looking for extremely complex problems to solve. They have been a great asset to corporations willing to pay for their services (MetaCorp, Malour, IEC, Microtech and Raven have all used them), and they have helped the nomads as well. Most of their wealth revolves around the control of patent-able technology. They license these patents to some manufacturers (like Meta-Armson for the optical assault rifle unique battery system), or sometimes sell them outright when they cannot trust the corp in question for a long-term agreement. The Technomancers can also repair or create almost any machine imaginable.

In the last few years, they have worked with the Digital Librarians more commonly referred to simply as “the Library", using their combined resources to reclaim knowledge that was thought lost in some areas of the world. They are currently working together in Chicago, somewhere near the University, to solve the problems involved in decontaminating an entire city. They are also assisting in materials research that may allow the Sears Tower to be salvaged instead of demolished. For now, the tower sits like a dark specter over the skyline. The nomads are unsure of what lives in the tower, and whether or not it is still sound structurally. A scout team sent into the structure by StormTech never came out They are seemingly content with the work they have in Chicago, and have even done some consulting for StormTech of late. In the night a few weeks ago, two of the trucks moved out of the city, but no one knows why. Some believe that they have taken a second contract elsewhere, as the trucks have not been seen anywhere near Chicago.

The Technomancers travel the roads in seven articulated, tandem, super-semi tractor-trailers of their own design. They use a closed-system steam turbine for power which is almost three-hundred percent more efficient than the average CHOOH2 engine. Within these vehicles are no less than four fully-equipped auto-lathe shops, an impressive biotech research lab, a ten-bed state-of-the-art hospital, an artificial intelligence (known simply as The Elders), and living quarters for thirty of the members. There are also several customized vans owned by members with families. There are fewer children than would be expected of a group this wealthy, but that is yet another eccentricity of the Technomancers, and is casually overlooked by other nomads. Though much of their equipment is extremely advanced, most, if not all of it, is scavenged, reworked, or modified. Their vehicles, impressive as their contents may be, appear cryptic and arcane-assemblies of electronics, tubes, wires and other apparatus crop up in all the wrong places in the eyes of outsider techs. All of the Technomancers' vehicles have air filtration equipment. With a wide-brimmed hat, dark goggles, a filter mask and heavy clothing, members of the Technomancers appear sinister and suspicious as they walk out of the wastelands on foot (as is their habit when coming into to town on small errands).

The Technomancers do not have outriders or scouts of any kind. They have traditionally hired other nomads to act as outriders for them, but lately they have had an escort of warriors and outriders provided by the Seven Nations, much as the Library does. The Technomancers have a single AV-6 they use to travel on strange errands now and then, but for the most part, it stays lashed to the roof of one of the trucks. It is armed with a collection of esoteric missiles and a large laser weapon, along with a seemingly standard chin-mounted chain-gun.

There are only about sixty actual members of the Technomancers, although their escort adds another twenty or thirty at most. Individual Technomancers commonly carry tools and machines that are too specialized for simple nomads. The average Technomancer, if the word 'average' can be applied to them, has at least two areas of technical specialty (skills of +5 or greater). Many have multiple advanced degrees, or would have if they had ever attended an accredited university.

Vehicles
Seven turbine-driven super-semis with articulated tandem-box trailers (description above), eight customized vans, one AV-6 Aerodyne. The vehicles are all heavily-armed and -armored with at least one vertical or standard launched ATGM (or other anti-tank weapon system) per vehicle. All vehicles also have composite armor of at least 30 all around. The vans usually sport a roof-mounted machine gun in a shielded ring mount, and several firing ports in the hull. The rigs also have several firing ports on each side and in the rear. Each rig has a 20mm Vulcan Phalanx with optional cyber-controlled override and a high-angle traverse system. With cyber control, these weapons can track and fire effectively on ground targets and personnel.

Weapons
The Technomancers, being adept at manufacturing, carry caseless ammunition weapons. The most common calibers are 10mm for pistols and SMGs and 6.5mm Militech for assault rifles. Any common weapons of these calibers can be found among their escorts, but the Technomancers themselves usually carry a personal weapon (see equipment section) chambered for 10mmCL (2d6+4). All other statistics for the weapon remain unchanged. Technomancers do not usually travel in groups of more than four, discounting any escorts or bodyguards.

Stats for a super-semi should be extrapolated as follows: Take the Semi found in MaxMetal and double all statistics except top speed (increase by only twenty five percent), Acc/Dcc (remains constant), Range (triple), and Maneuver Value (always -2). The crew listing should be 3 (driver, mechanic, weapons operator). Each Phalanx will have two magazines mounted under armor in the cab. The turrets are armored to SP30 with the rest of the vehicle. It should be noted that those these vehicles are articulated, they cannot be detached from their trailers like a normal semi. These trucks are also off-road capable, and are all equipped with superior (though varied) sensors and auto-pilot systems depending purely on the personal taste of the driver and crew.