[Revised 6/20/98]

     On a faraway alien world, a great battle was fought between the Autobot
and Decepticon forces, over an energy source which later turned out to be 
impossible to tap safely.  However, such was the scope of the battle that 
dozens of disabled on both sides were left behind when the battle shifted to 
the nearby asteroid belt.  And the side-effects of the final conflict would 
make the world unapproachable for nearly a revolution.
     Among the disabled left behind were a group who were caught in the seismic
battle between Rumble and Sludge.  Many simply died upon falling into the 
crevasses, but some only fell in halfway before the fissures resealed, 
suffering severe damage to their lower extremities.
     For a time it seemed like they would die there.  For, although they 
managed to dig themselves out with time and patience, their legs were too 
damaged to be repaired with the tools and resources they had on hand.  The 
Decepticons considered cannibalizing the Autobots for parts and walking out on 
their foes' hands, but Suzerain's (the ranking Autobot in the group) guns said 
otherwise.
     Then help arrived from an unexpected quarter.
     Local TechNomads, roaming the deserts and hills in search of salvage to 
incorporate into new vehicles, came across the crippled Transformers.  After 
being convinced that these damaged vehicles were in fact alive, the TechNomads 
did their best to help.  Experts at improvisation surpassed only by the 
Junkions, the TechNomads managed to rig legs for the Transformers using some of
their own vehicles.  Unfortunately, the cybernetic and electronics skills of 
the TechNomads were lacking, and these new legs were almost useless until one 
of the drivers hit upon the idea of staying in the vehicle and piloting the 
legs, freeing the Transformer to concentrate on operating the rest of his body.
A quick session of Binary Bonding later and these makeshift pairs were working 
well in concert.
     Of course, those who paired with the Decepticons shared their views and 
immediately tried to take over the TechNomad tribe, but Suzerain and his forces
drove them off, along with the other TechNomads who had supported them.
     And thus were born the....

                         THIGHMASTERS!

SUZERAIN
Function: Leader of the ThighMaster Autobots
Quote: "Feel the burn!"

     Suzerain's legs used to form the front end of his armored halftrack
combat mode, and they still can, although he's since been modified so that he
can drive along in a modified form without them.  He's armed with twin 40000
Watt Plasma Projectors with an accurate range of over 2000 meters, as well as
several secondary laser guns for close defense.
     He's a Double ThighMaster, with pilots in both legs.  Each leg is
capable of independent movement as a high performance vehicle (two wheels and
a balance skid), and each carries with it one of the close defense lasers.
The legs can also merge to form a four-wheeled ATV with more power end better
performance than either leg alone.  Nomads Grim and Gritty pilot his legs and
enjoy spending time driving their vehicles over sand dunes, although their
absence leaves Suzerain stuck in vehicle mode.

STR 8  INT 7  SPD 5  END 9  RANK 9  COUR 9  FRP 10  SKL 8


TOTE
Function: Repair and Salvage
Quote: "You still need that?"

     Tote and his partner Scav are well-paired.  Both love the challenge of 
making something out of almost nothing...Tote had almost repaired himself 
already before the TechNomads had arrived.  Scav's minijet becomes the winch 
rig of Tote's towtruck mode, in addition to being reinforcements to Tote's
spindly legs.  Tote is the only Thighmaster who can walk in robot mode without 
his partner, but he doesn't do it well.  Tote's arc-welder can be used 
offensively in close combat, and Scav's jet is armed with magnetic grapples.

STR 7  INT 8  SPD 4  END 6  RANK 5  COUR 7  FRP 4  SKL 10

SPRINT
Function: Rapid Deployment Fighter
Quote: "I'm THERE!"

     Sprint's robot form looks like it's all legs.  And that's close to the 
truth.  When he was rebuilt, this smallish robot was fitted with replacement 
legs far larger than his original.  These legs are super-charged and let him
run at speeds in excess of sound when working in concert with his partner 
Swifty.  The legs merge to form a souped-up dragster, and Sprint's vehicle form
of a flying wing can either attach to that as a spoiler or fly free.  Sprint
carries four cluster bombs for use in covering escape, but isn't a combat
monster.  Swifty is far more pugilistic and has installed particle accelerators
in his half of the pair.

STR 4  INT 6  SPD 10  END 7  RANK 6  COUR 7  FRP 6  SKL 7


Decepticon ThighMasters
=======================

SUMMIT
Function: Leader of the Thighmaster Decepticons
Quote: "It's lonely at the top, but less things get dropped on you."

     Summit's legs formed the landing pontoons for his helijet vehicle form, a
Cynertronian vehicle capable of space and atmospheric activity.  When they're
detached he relies on jury-rigged skids which sometimes crumple on landing.
His helicopter blades can generate a vortex that will sweep all but the largest
Transformers off their feet, and his chaingun can penetrate 2m of steel with 
its special ammunition.
     Summit is a Double Thighmaster, and his pontoons serve as high speed water
craft for his pilots, Skid and Slalom.  They also are capable of antigravity 
flight at speeds of up to 50 meters per second, but have a range of only a few 
kilometers before they start to run out of energy in this fashion (unless 
operating in space).

STR 9  INT 7  SPD 8  END 8  RANK 9  COUR 7  FRP 8  SKL 9


MUDFLAP
Function: Scout
Quote: "If there's already a road, why go there?"

     Mudflap's happiest when he's tackling the toughest terrain out there, and 
his rugged 4WD pickup truck form is well suited to the task.  His legs used to 
form a camper shell, but have been extensively rebuilt and now combine to form 
a bizarre looking ATV which is driven by his partner Dirtball.  Dirtball's ATV 
fits snugly in the pickup bed when not in use, and can also convert to a 
vehicle-mounted laser cannon (the main part of which is a pistol in robot 
form).

STR 10  INT 5  SPD 7  END 9  RANK 5  COUR 9  FRP 6  SKL 6


AZIMUTH
Function: Long-range Gunnery
Quote: "The only way I see my targets is long after they're dead."

     A mobile gun platform, Azimuth's legs formed not only his robotic mode of 
movement, but also carried the hoverskirt that let him move as a vehicle.  
Thus, when his partner Spotter takes off, Azimuth is totally immobile.  
However, he makes up for it by not needing to be anywhere near the action.  
Acting on coordinates supplied by Spotter, Azimuth can use a variety of 
munitions in his cannon and deliver them up to 25 miles away with an accuracy 
of ten meters in either direction.  Explosives, incendiaries, gas and smoke 
shells...all of them get where he wants them.  His main weakness aside from 
being immobile is that his barrel can overheat and he has only a small laser 
pistol for defense while it cools.

STR 5  INT 8  SPD 3  END 7  RANK 6  COUR 6  FRP 10  SKL 10