We have been rather inactive on our website recently so to make up for slacking we have released a blueprint of a "Firefly" hoverbike: http://www.malleus.dk/ordo/Firefly.aspx

Hope you like it...comments and suggestions, especially on the Game mechanics are most welcome.

Enjoy

Krauze

Cool Troels - I particularly like that you have included a link to the group of NPCs making up the gang.

Thomas

Fluff-Text:
In your text it reads like such an item is "commonly available" on a Hiveworld like Tarsus as it so "popular". To me, it always seemed that anti-grav technology is among the more "arcana" of the learning of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Thereby, I would see it more of an time for the military, the Adepta, the Government Officials and those who are rich and affluent. A complete GANG outfitted with this is a little "much" for my taste. But since I have no "source" to back my claims up, that is just me

Rules:
Under arment, the possibility for two autocannons is mentioned. I think that is a little much, especially if you consider that you are talking about something "bike-like" (okay, it is the size of a micro-car, but never the less). I would suggest "two heavy stubbers". Could still be enough power for "Hauler Raiding" (again, I shudder about the thought of a GANG having dozens of this priced vehicles!). Of course, not enough to blow parts of a hauler... but what would be a action scene with a "train raid" where nobody has to jump from a bike to wagon to bring in the explosives?

Fluff-wise this is unfortunately jarrs badly. Anti-grav technology in the Imperium on a personal/vehicle scale is limited to three applications:

Grav-chutes for Stormtroopers and Drop-Trooper regiments;

Land Speeder variants, restricted to Astartes Chapters;

Imperial Jetbikes. One remaining, in the posession of the Master of the Dark Angels 2nd Company (Ravenwing). Possibly one or two more held by those in equivalent positions in the Dark Angels sucessor chapters.

The Imperium is quite handy with vector thrust, but this seems limited to bigger craft, smallest probably being the Lightning fighter.

First of all thanks for commenting. It's pretty nice to get some argumented feedback and comments....

@Gregorius: You have a good point. A craft like this should be a rare thing. Even though mankind is able to traverse time and space and make artificial gravity (two phenomena’s that modern physics don’t even have made far-fetched theoretical models for) it should not supersede the fact that it must be 10 times easier to make a standard wheeled bike. The text has been corrected accordingly (the raid-image will have to wait )
Armament: Autocannons was a simple typo on the blueprint – it has been corrected to autoguns

@Lille Dave: Interesting comments – however, it was never my intension to make any parallel to the armament at the Astartes or any other major Imperial instution. It’s was jut thought as basic transport and not a military craft used by the genetically modified elite of mankind. As it is presented here I don’t hope its compromising the overall concept of technology(?) The Drive skill in the DH rulebook refers to Hover Vehicles which indicates at least some availablility of this technology.

Regards

In older 40k material, grav-technology was a lot more common. It's one of many of those little things that GW has changed/retconned over the years. It's perfectly reasonable to say that some Calixis Forgeworld was lucky enough to re-discover the ancient texts detailing the construction of grav-bikes (or whatever you want to call them). After all, grav-chutes are common enough and servo-skulls are flying around all over the place.

Besides, the "rule of cool" holds sway in most of the published 40k material, and flying bikes are cool.

Little Dave said:

Here it comes again: the old "what is canon?" argument.

While (as mentioned) I agree that such things should not be common, there where some mentionings of anti-grav bikes, barkes and speeders in "Eisenhorn" Novells.

- Eisenhorn rode a hoverbike in a major city to follow a hover drone
- by-the-way: ServoSkulls are antigrav as well!
- An infantry regiment used lots of hoverbarkes for parade
- I think I remember some-one fleeing from Eisenhorn used antigrav speeders
- said infantrie had "landerspeeder-types" in there arsenal

As already said: they should not be "common property", but I think you can but them into more hands then the three mentioned.

I'd always forget something, servo skulls and similar are another 'common' form of small anti-grav.

The other main point is that canon has changed a lot. I vaguely recall reference to Imperial Guard Land Speeders in the 2nd ed. of 40k. Compare that to the most recent info on Imperial jetbikes, which comes from the most recent Dark Angels Codex.

Rediscovered relics is of course an option if you are trying to stick close to 'current canon'.

As for the Drive(Hover) skill. A bit rare to apply form the basic setting perspective I suppose. Land Speeders and certain Xenos vehicles. I always thought driving such craft would be more like piloting at extreme low altitude.

Don't forget the speeder carriage (land speeders of the rich) which are incredibly popular in the hives of Solomon and elsewhere. For being such a rare technology, it sure as heck dose get around.

As for a gang of hiver bikers, i can see it. Even if they didn't get them from raiding a macro hauler, all they'd need is a cult of hereteks, nets to go on skull hunts for a bit, and a cult of hereteks who will strip the anti-grav from the skulls and be able to rewrire them onto some turbine engines with handlebars (and some kind of steering system), and, presto, crazy heretic gang hoverbikes ;-)

One thing to remember is that 'hovering' doesn't inherently have to mean 'anti-grav technology'. Anti-grav is the pinnacle of such technologies, barely understood by the Imperium and only truly mastered by technologically-advanced alien races (the Eldar use it extensively, the Necrons seem frequently unconcerned by gravity, and the Tau make considerable use of it, though not to the same level of sophistication as the two older species mentioned). Use of magnetic levitation or ground-effect technologies are appropriate alternatives to the more advanced anti-grav technology in regards to the majority of the Imperium.

Graver said:

The thing about the speeder carriages is that the Vehicles Apocrypha says that they are manufactured by the AdMech exclusively. Although that limits how common they are, it makes the heretek option even more credible. What heretek wouldn't want to reproduce such potent tech, especially if they are a fallen techpriest.

Also, to Little Dave, t was my understanding that the Imperial Guard don't use hover vehicles because of policy and not because of technology. The Imperial Army's equipment was standardized by the Emperor, IIRC, and before that was done all sorts of odd hover vehicles and the like were used. That probably made production and shipping of supplies very hard indeed.

Little Dave said:

You've missed Yeld armour, Grapplehawks, Cherubs, Skysurf boards, Aerial Mines, Flightpacks, Suspensor Gondalas and Floats [and weapon suspensors], just to mention a few more of the things not yet mentioned.

Oh and the Rogue Trader army list has Bullock Jet-cycles, Landspeeders and Grav-Attack Tanks. And hasn't yet been updated. Making it one of the two lists [space Pirates being the other] most due an update.

I'd also point out the Bullock has a larger rear engine block than the design shown above and mounts a pair of linked bolters.

One might be tempted to read the statement in the DA Codex as actually meaning this is the last jetbike in the Imperium to try using a giant book for a windscreen.

Dahak said:

Fitting the concept into the setting is the hardest part, especially when you get to hover stuff. It certainly fits from the Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader (aka 1st ed 40k) era, but it has been pointed out before canon setting has changed quite a bit. For example, suspensors are rare enough 'now' that Space Marine chapters cannot get widespread access to them, such as enough to equip all their heavy weapons. I admit I do not recognise most of the stuff in that sentence off the top of my head, cherubs being the only other one.

Perhaps another problem is a lot of the setting comes skewed from a military point of view due to the origins in a tabletop battle game. The anti-grav for things such as servo-skulls/cherubs and grav-chutes seems a lot more common that vehicle grade stuff, allowing things less massive than people to fly as such using it.

This doesn't stop the original concept we are discussing being great, and if the setting you are using is more like the earlier one, I think you have the background down well.