T.W. “Iron Mark” Battle Tank:

Techno-Wizards create many unusual designs and the Iron Mark tank is among the most retro looking creations produced by them. This includes reproducing World War Two Lightning, Mustang, and Spitfire fighters. The Iron Mark tank is designed to look like World War One British style tanks and the late World War One German A7V/U style tank. It is believed that no specific historical sources were used and the fiction tank in the movie "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" was one of the inspirations. Even so, the Iron Mark is highly capable and has many powerful techno-wizard augmentations. This appearance even includes the appearance that rivets hold the tank together. The Iron Mark tank is becoming popular with many techno-wizards who are not aviators or are nautically inclined.

While the appearance of the tank is of crude iron plates that have been riveted together, the tank is actually covered with high tech alloy and composite armors plate. This is not liked by some who wanted enchanted iron plates in the name of authentically but the modern plates were much cheaper and easier to replace. The tank is available with two different systems. One is that a mini rift is open in the engine between the elemental plane of water and the elemental plane of fire. The two elemental forces combine in the engine and produce the power needed to drive the tank. The rifts will slowly close and the magic rifts need to be recast every ten years. The other uses a captive Undine (Lesser Water Elemental) and Salamander (Lesser Fire Elemental) to generate the power needed to power the tank. This power sources have a virtually indefinite durations and the lesser elementals do not mind being used in this manner as they get to travel around the world contained in the tank. Demons were considered for a power source as well but it was decided that a demon could be released when a tank was badly damaged or destroyed. The Iron Mark's treads are designed to look like those of World War One tanks with external tracks. This makes the tracks much easier to hit than in most advanced tank designs the are operated on Rifts Earth. The old tank designs had speeds of less than ten miles per hour and the Iron Mark is much faster although it is slower than new designs like the Iron Hammer main battle tank. In addition to the treads, the Iron Mark has twin propellers which enable it to travel through the water. The Iron Mark has magical life support which allows is to operate in virtually any environment in comfort. The tanks also carry automation which allows the reduction of the tanks crew to five. The tank carries a driver, three gunners, and a commander. There is no space for additional passengers. The Iron Mark carries all the standard sensors of a Robot Vehicle and has a periscope for looking over terrain.

The weapon systems are mostly magical. Mounted in the top of the main chassis is a square turret which mounts a powerful cannon which fires magical projectiles using telekinesis. The projectiles are based on those fired from the Thunderball Cannons carried on the Windjammer T.W. class sail frigate although the cannon is breach loaded instead of muzzle loaded and have a greater rate of fire. The cannon is controlled by the main gunner of the tank. To the sides of the tank are two Techno-Wizard Gatling machinegun mounts which are each controlled by a separate gunner. Each mount looks similar to casemate mounts carried on many older naval vessels and is called a sponson. Each mount has a larger arc of fire than might be expected. Each mount can be fired from directly forward to 45 degrees to the rear and can be fired at up to a 60 degree angle upwards. To complete the weapon systems are purely technological weapon in the form of missile launchers. A mini-missile launcher is mounted on the side of the turret and between the trailing edge of the rear of the treads are medium range missile launchers.

The Iron Mark has many interesting magical features that make it more powerful than might otherwise be expected. The tank is protected by a magical force field than can be used up to three times per day and is very useful to absorb damage before the armor of the tank takes damage. The Iron mark has a magical decoy system to trick missiles and has a magical smoke generator. Augmenting the standard sensors are magical sensors. The tank also has the standard techno-wizard enchantments of chameleon, impervious to energy, and invisibility superior but these require magical energy from the crews.

Model Type: “Iron Mark” Techno-Wizard Tank
Vehicle Type: Magical Battle Tank
Crew: 5 (Driver, Commander, and three Gunners)

M.D.C. by Location:

	Weapon Turret:	250
	Thunderball Cannon (1, in turret):	150
	Mini-Missile Launcher (1, in turret):	65
	TW Gatling Cannons (2, sides):	65 each
	Medium Range Missile Battery (Rear):	180
	[1] Tractor Treads (2):	120 each
	Propellers (2):	40 each
	Magical “Armor of Ithan” Force Field (3 times per day):	200
	[2] Main Body:	525

Notes:
[1] Depleting the M.D.C. of a tread will immobilize the tank until it is replaced. Replacing a tread will take 1D6x10 minutes by a trained crew (2 replacements are carried on board) or three times as long by the inexperienced. Changing the tread is only advisable when the vehicle is not under attack.
[2] If all the M.D.C. of the main body is depleted, the vehicle is completely shut down and unsalvageable, but crew and troops may survive in their reinforced compartments.

Speed:
Ground: Cruising speed on land is 40 mph (64.4 kph) on roads and 35 mph (56.3 kph) off road maximum. The vehicle is designed to traverse virtually all terrain and can climb at up to a 60% grade although at a much slower speed (About 10% of maximum road speed). It can also climb barriers and ford trenches. The vehicle can also handle side slopes of up to 30%.
Water: On the surface at 12 mph (19.3 kph)
Maximum Range: Effectively Unlimited (Special magical power source)

Statistical Data:
Height: 10 feet 6 inches (3.2 meters)
Width: 15 feet 6 inches (4.7 meters)
Length: 27 feet 6 inches (8.4 meters)
Weight: 76 tons (68.9 metric tons)
Power Source: Magical; Rifts from engine to the elemental plane (Duration of 10 years) or used a water and fire elemental to feed power system (Indefinite duration).
Cargo Capacity: Minimal storage space; about four feet (1.2 m) for extra clothing, weapons, and personal items. Four Combat Rifles and three hand held Missile Launchers with 5 loads each are stored in a compartment behind the driver's seat.
Black Market Cost: 35 million credits for 10 year duration engine and 45 million for indefinite duration engine.

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

Thunderball Cannon (1): The large cannon is mounted in a square turret on the top of the tank. The turret can rotate 360 degrees and has a 45 degree arc of fire. The cannon is surprisingly powerful and uses a special magic ball that inflicts large amounts of damage. The cannon use telekinesis to throw the rounds and does not use any gunpowder. Unlike the naval vessels that fire these rounds, the cannon is a breach loader and has a much higher rate of fire. The rounds look like old style iron cannon balls but in reality come in two different types. The first is Thunderball which inflicts considerable damage and creates a thunderclap that affects everyone within 10 feet (3 meters) of the cannon balls impact. The second is called Thunderfire and it erupts into fireball and inflicts greater damage than Thunderball ammunition but does not have the Thunderclap. The cannon is controlled by the main gunner.
Maximum Effective Range: 5,400 feet (1,645.9 meters)
Mega-Damage: Thunderball Ammunition: 2D4x10 per round. Each Thunderball will also release a thunderclap as per the spell (thunderclap effects a 10 feet (3 m) radius. Thunderfire Ammunition: 4D4x10 per round. The Thunderfire will often also ignite flammable materials.
Rate of Fire: A Maximum of three attacks per melee round regardless of the gunner's hand to hand combat numbers.
Payload: 50 rounds with 25 rounds of Thunderball ammunition and 25 rounds of Thunderfire ammunition.
Notes: If the cannon is used against small targets (personnel, aircraft, missiles, etc) the cannon has a -2 penalty to strike with no bonuses to strike to strike for hand to hand or physical prowess
TK Gatling Cannons (2): The Iron mark carries two Gatling cannons in mounts on either side of the tank in a similar fashion to the way older naval vessels carried some of their weapons in casemates / sponsons. The cannons can be directed completely forward and up to 45 degrees to the rear of the tank. The cannon can also fire up to 60 degrees upward as well. Each mount is controlled by a separate gunner. Mounts have been enchanted by a series of spells so the cannons act as a more powerful version of the TK Machine gun (Not as powerful as those carried on the Merlin fighter and techno-wizard naval vessels. This increases the weapons damage and instead of being reloaded, the cannons must be recharged by the spell Telekinesis and 50 P.P.E. once per month. The cannon does full damage to targets that are impervious to energy. Special optics and fire control have been added to enable the system to track and target aircraft and missiles
Maximum Effective Range: 3,000 feet (914.4 meters).
Mega Damage: 6D6
Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the gunner (usually 4 or 5).
Payload: Unlimited, although the spells (100 P.P.E. each cannon) on each must be renewed every month whether the cannon have been used or not.
Medium Range Missile Launcher: Mounted on the top rear of the tank between the trailing edges of the rear treads are a series of missile tubes that fire missiles. There is a total of six tubes that load in rotary/revolver style system. Each launcher has a total of 3 long range missiles for a total of eighteen medium range missiles. The launcher can be controlled by either the gunner of the main turret or the commander. All missiles are normally considered to be Smart missiles.
Maximum Effective Range: Varies with medium range missile type; Usually armor piercing or plasma are carried (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)
Mega Damage: Varies with medium range missile type; Usually armor piercing or plasma are carried (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)
Rate of Fire: Can fire missiles one at a time or in volleys of two (2), four (4), or six (6) missiles.
Payload: 18 medium range missiles.
Turret Mounted Mini-missile Launcher (1): Mounted on the right side of the turret near the top in a box style launcher. The launcher is designed for rapid fire use to engage heavy tanks and giant robots. The weapon is designed to be able to destroy enemy vehicles quickly. The launcher is controlled by the gunner which controls and operates the main cannon.
Maximum Effective Range: Varies with mini-missile type; Usually armor piercing or fragmentation are carried (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)
Mega Damage: Varies with mini-missile type; Usually armor piercing or fragmentation are carried (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)
Rate of Fire: Can fire mini-missiles one at a time or in volleys of two (2), four (4), eight (8), or ten (10) mini-missiles.
Payload: Launcher carries 20 mini-missiles.
“Fireworks” Anti-Missile Chaff/Flare Dispenser: The system is mounted on either side of the tank behind the Gatling cannon mounts. In many ways this system is similar to technological versions of the Chaff/Flare system. When the system fires, it looks like fireworks firing. The anti-missile system works by combining three spells. The three spells are Fire Bolt, Apparition, and Telekinesis. The physical effects of the system are similar to the Triax Anti-Missile chaff but instead of being reloaded, it is recharged by spells.
Effect:
Also note that the chaff cloud will also blind flying monsters that fly through cloud. They will suffer the following penalties: reduce melee attacks/actions, combat bonuses, and speed by half.
Duration: 1D4 melee rounds.
Payload: 10 Uses before being recharged. Each launcher is recharged by the spells Apparition (20 P.P.E.), Fire Bolt (7 P.P.E.), and Telekinesis (8 P.P.E.). The cost for all launchers to be recharged is 280 P.P.E. All launchers must be activated at the same time to operate correctly.
Magical “Cloud of Fog” Generator: This system is built into the exhaust of the tank and unlike most magical systems, does not require magical from a spell caster and instead uses the steam exhaust from the engines to produce the cloud of fog.
Maximum Effective Range: 600 feet (183 meters) in all directions
Effect: Produces a fog bank that obscures vision. Visibility is reduced to 60 feet inside the cloud and even with thermal sensors, a penalty of -2 to strike parry and dodge
Payload: Effectively Unlimited
Techno-Wizard Modifications: The Iron Mark has the following Techno-Wizard Modifications built into the tank. These require P.P.E. or I.S.P. from the pilot or crew
Special Features:

Sensory Equipment:
The tank carries all standard equipment of a robot vehicle plus this special equipment:

Magical “See the Invisible” Optics: The tank has special optical systems with see the invisible on them. Same as spell and used at will. 2,000 feet (610 meters) range. Can see forces, objects, and creatures which can turn invisible, or are invisible. Can also see vaporous beings and astral bodies.

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Drawing by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

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