The Bloody Cards
By Eric Tolle Jul. 1995These strange and unpredictable techno-Talismans have a reputation out of proportion to their actual use. Though they are deadly, the side effects have kept them from being common. Their origin is unknown, though legend does link them to a pair of female Euthanatoi who fail to get the point. Editor's Note: This is a reference to the Dirty Pair. It is more likely they were a product of an Iteration X mage who was deep into Quiet, or they were New World Order prototypes that failed to make the cut. In any case, the standard recommendation is to threaten to use them, not actually use them.
Description: The Bloody Cards are in fact cards, the size of a large business card, and about twice as thick. The edges, however, are razor thin, with microthin slots above the edge. The cards are heavy for their size, and generally imprinted with a logo. A patch on the card is actually a touch-sensitive keyboard.
Operation: Though easy to operate, the cards are difficult to operate accurately. Basically, the user activates the card and throws it. The micro-vectored thrust engines on the edges of the card will sustain it in hovering flight for up to two hours at a time. A combination of pressure on the touch pad on the card, combined with wrist angle can cause the card to go through a number of pre-programmed flight patterns — though it always returns to the thrower.
As was stated before, accuracy is a problem. It takes much practice and skill to get an accurate flight (a specialty is a good idea) and due to the sharpness of the card, incidental damage can be considerable. Caution when using is advised.
Level 4 Talisman, Arete 20. Forces 4 lets it stay in the Air, Matter 3 lets it ignore armor, Correspondence 1 lets it be thrown in various pre-programmed area-effect patters (need three activation successes). Damage is 7 dice.
However, a to hit role using Melee or Thrown Weapons is necessary to hit all targets. Another roll is needed to catch the darn thing. It can be programmed to return the next turn, or you can split your dice pool to catch it in the same round. If you miss, it will loop around and "try again" unless you botch or the next rule comes into play.
Side Effect: An incidental Entropy 2 flaw is built in. When activating, role Arete against a difficulty of 7. If successful, the Bloody Card will deviate in some unfortunate manner, ranging from missing the target or the return, to accidentally splitting open a natural gas tank or canister of Sarin. Caution is advised...