Frisson

The Frisson was a product line of Lorica built by Arsenal Magnifique in USWE France. The series has enjoyed relative commercial success; never quite reaching the same mass production level as the company's La Republique, but popular in multiple USWE militaries as Ace or Commander types. During the North African Wars the model was a mainstay of the USWE combined military; it was only during the Third World War that they fell back into their Ace/Commander role.

Model Descriptions

Able to command a premium for Frisson units due to their customization programme, Arsenal Magnifique has kept the line in production for a considerable period, introducing new models periodically to keep the overall design of the system up to date. In its stock configuration, the Frisson was suitable for use as either an Assault Type or Interceptor Type depending on additional decisions made during its loadout.

Like many such product lines the design philosophy and overall outward appearance of models in the Frisson line remained largely the same. Frisson was a highly humanoid Lorica design with a Bipedal MU. The MU was skirted with additional armour in both the front and back to protect the hip joints, and the design was noted for the geodesic rounding of the armour on the shoulder joint of the manipulator arms. Unlike many Lorica models the "head" sensor pack was elevated some distance above the shoulders on a neck (usually, it is directly lowered up against the plane of the "shoulders"), and this head unit had an antenna "fin" on the left-hand side.

Frisson 2027/Stock

Frisson 2027/stock was the default configuration that the Frisson was sold in from 2027 until the introduction of the following model, and used by USWE militaries (and PMCs staffed by USWE veterans) from about 2028 through the end of the Third World War, which ultimately saw its replacement with a more modern stock model. The 2027/stock was popular, but by the midpoint of the war was hard to get a hold of, as the invasion of France by the Eurasian Soviet saw the loss of most of AM's manufacturing capacity, and they focused their limited manufacturing capability on keeping extant units serviceable until later in the war.

Barring battle damage, the Frisson was considered extremely reliable. Even within the confines of the 2027/stock, a wide array of unit customization options were available. Most units were therefore performance tuned to the precise taste of their pilots, leading ultimately to the reputation of the Frisson as an elite unit.

The 2027/Stock contained specialist subroutines that granted certain capabilities to the system they were run against:

• Core Unit: Minor Initiative
• Manipulator Units: Double Assault
• Mobility Unit: Cover 3

Frisson 2027 Teophania Mors Type

The Frisson 2027 Teophania Mors Type was a Third World War Ace Type model of the Frisson 2027. It differed from the stock configuration in having visibly up-armoured the left arm, and heavily modified the drive carriage in the MU, replacing the tractor-assist dash with a sort of "low flying" jet dash, allowing the pilot to achieve higher straight-line velocities but requiring far greater operator skill to use effectively.

As deployed by the USWE French Army of the Republic, the 2027/TM mounted an AATO Type 4 Buckler on the left arm, a custom backpack unit that allowed on-the fly weapon changes for the right hand, and therefore either a M-22 'Funfzighander' Sword or M-19 Autocannon in the right hand. This loadout was surprisingly similar to the Lorica Prima X-04 "Defender".