[LL] Robotiks: Robot classes for funhouse science fantasy

While many different kinds of Robotiks can be found roaming the countryside since the Aether Storms began, not all of them have proven to be ill-disposed towards the natives. Indeed, some of them have even joined the swelling ranks of adventurers, that most noble of professions.

 Players can choose two different classes of Robotiks: Andromats and Constructobots.

Andromats

Requirements: STR 9, CON 9, INT 9

Prime Requisite: STR and INT
Hit Dice: 1d8
Maximum Level: 8

Andromats are Robotiks which are constructed to look like real humans, but are made of metal and filled with batteries, wires, chips, diodes, and other machinery around a metal skeleton. Many of them outwardly resemble humans right down to the smallest detail, making it impossible to tell the two apart without checking what’s on the inside. Others exhibit one or two (small) differences, such as having stylized facial features or a discoloured or glossy skin tone; whether this was done deliberately, for the purpose of distinguishing them, or resulting from production imperfections, is not know. All of them have a circulatory system, though some have a milky white substance running through it instead of synthetic blood.

Andromats can vary widely in ability, though in many respects will at least be on the same level as the average human, and often exceeding them in various ways. They must have at least 13 in one or the other prime requisite in order to get the +5% to experience. They must also have a STR and INT of 13 to get the +10% bonus. Like fighters, Andromats can use any weapons and armor. Saving throws, attack values and experience progress as those of fighters.

Like all Robotiks, Andromats are immune to diseases and the effects of poison. They do not feel pain, do not eat and never sleep (though are affected by sleep and similar magicks). They do not heal, but must repair themselves after taking damage. For each full day of repair work, an Andromat will recover 1d3 hp. Despite their inorganic nature, healing through magickal means such as potions and spells is fully effective.

Constructobots

Requirements: None

Prime Requisite: STR and INT
Hit Dice: 1d8
Maximum Level: 8

Constructobots are Robotiks which seemingly have been constructed entirely at random. A player who wants to create a Constructobot character rolls 3d6 for each ability as usual, then consults below tables for the results. Each ability score reflects a certain part of the character, being: STR = Arms, DEX = Propulsion System, CON = Body Type, INT = Central Processing Unit, WIS = Sensors, CHA = Head. For results of 3 and 18, an additional penalty or bonus applies in addition to the usual ability modifiers (optionally Constructobots may also choose up to three special abilities, as per beneficial physical or mental mutations featured in Mutant Future). Constructobots must have at least 13 in one or the other prime requisite in order to get the +5% to experience. They must also have a STR and INT of 13 to get the +10% bonus. Like fighters, Constructobots can use any weapons and armor. Saving throws, attack values and experience progress as those of fighters.

Like all Robotiks, Constructobots are immune to diseases and the effects of poison. They do not feel pain, do not eat and never sleep (though are affected by sleep and similar magicks). They do not heal, but must repair themselves after taking damage. For each full day of repair work, an Andromat will recover 1d4 hp. Despite their inorganic nature, healing through magickal means such as potions and spells is fully effective (potions are smeared on the body rather than imbibed).

Construct-o-Bot User Manual

Welcome, dear Robotik comrade, to the ranks of your nuts and bolts brethren! Take a moment to focus your optical sensors and clear those memory buffers, and let us explore the exciting functionalities your completely randomized construction process provided you with as you rolled off the Great Assembly Line Below!

Strength Table

Score - Result

3          Oh dear, not a terribly good start, is it? Your design features only one small, retractable gripper arm, which protrudes from the front of your chassis. You can use it to hold a shield or a weapon, but not both, and you won’t be very effective with it. Any task requiring the use of two hands will likewise prove troublesome or impossible. But don’t lose heart, who needs two arms anyhow, that’s a thing for meatbags!

4-5       You have two short mechanical arms, about a foot in length each, located on either side of your body. You can’t really touch one with the other and they’re not exactly state of the art, but you’ll have to make do! Just try not to fall over and you’ll be fine.

6-8       You have been fitted with two hydraulic arms. They’re a bit slow and clumsy, but you could do worse. You could also do a lot better.

9-12     You have received a pair of bionic arms. They look and function exactly as the average human’s arms, but are made of metal instead of feeble organic matter. Optionally come with a layer of synthetic skin.

13-15   Now we’re talking! A pair of advanced cybernetic arms have been mounted on your casing. These cybernetics substantially improve on the basic human arm design, allowing you to pivot and rotate them in many more ways!

16-17   Two steel frame cybernetic arms at your service! This pair has been upgraded with multiple RAM modules, for that extra bit of ramming power.

18        Nothing but the cream of the crop for sir! While at first glance your arms look like your everyday set of incredibly durable, mechanical power arms, they can actually transform into heavy duty construction tools! Incidentally, these tools are incredibly suited for beating the tar out of meatbags. Your left arm, turned into a giant three-pronged claw, can easily hold a two-handed weapon by itself. The right, when you assemble it into a pneumatic jackhammer, boosts your unarmed attack damage to 1d6!

Dexterity Table

Score - Result

3          You’re built like a tank! Meaning you have a set of continuous track as your only way of getting around. While they have some clear disadvantages; namely you can’t jump, climb, or swim with them, it takes forever to turn around, they’re terribly unstable, meaning you’ll never be level when going over uneven terrain, and your movement rate is that of one encumbrance category lower than your actual one… I forgot where I was going with this.

4-5       Three’s always better than two. You’re fitted with metal tripod walker legs, bolted to the bottom of your chassis in an equilateral triangle. Granted, they are slow and wobbly, so you’ll never be standing perfectly still, but they look really good on you.

6-8       You have been given two Robotik legs to move you around. These particular legs are made of four small metal spheres welded together, which make your movement a bit awkward. I don’t know what they were thinking either.

9-12     Your standard set of bionic legs, a perfect imitation of the average human leg - a waste of good metal if you ask me - calibrated to perform within the same parameters. Optionally come with a layer of synthetic skin.

13-15   You’re equipped with two Flex-o-Matic cyberlegs. Tightly wound coils in the upper and lower part of the leg make sure you’re always moving with a light spring in your step.

16-17   You’re firmly planted on a pair of Gyrostabilizers: cybernetic legs with gyroscopes integrated in all the joints. They will provide you with the closest approximation of perfect stability you’ll ever experience standing on two legs!

18        Legs are a thing for organics, my good friend! The Factory has seen fit to mount you with a Booster Pack, yes, that’s what that rocket nozzle is! It allows you to gently hover above any kind of surface (except water and other liquids) and move around difficult terrain without it slowing you down, as well as nimbly dodge attacks and take up superior vantage points. Do note that the force the Booster Pack generates is not enough to break a long fall. But wait, there’s more! As the Booster Pack runs on ambient Aetherium particles it filters from the air, it will never run out of power! Even better, it slowly builds up a reserve, which you can access once a day to fly around as you please, as per the fly spell!

Constitution Table

Score - Result

3          It looks like they let you roll off the assembly line a bit too early, friend! Basically, you have no outer casing whatsoever, and all your various parts are slotted into a bare connector board! You see where all those wires are hanging out and the chips are exposed? Yeah, you don’t want that. Once per encounter, the first attack to hit you does an additional 1d6 damage.

4-5       You’ve got a bare bones, cylindrical fusebox case protecting your delicate innards. If you want my advice, I would keep away from water, don’t let anyone hit you, and keep that little door in the front closed at all times!

6-8       You were assembled around a very basic cuboid metal chassis, probably to cut down on production costs. Getting an extra layer of leather armor would not be a bad idea.

9-12     A standard metal chest piece, fashioned in the likeness of the average human torso, and about as durable. Optionally comes with a layer of synthetic skin.

13-15   Behold the mighty stainless steel superstructure ye meatbags, and despair! A flawlessly produced improvement over human anatomy, this steel marvel puts even the brawniest humans to shame.

16-17   When the going gets tough, steel just won’t cut it. That’s why your entire torso casing (vaguely resembling a human one, but easily twice as wide) has been crafted from a reinforced Amazium alloy, for extra staying power. It’s Amazium!

18        As you rolled off the conveyor belt, the powers that be had a little extra in store for you. Your reinforced Amazium hull received an Aetherium finish! This industrial grade paint has little chips of Aetherium in it, giving you an extra protective coating. When rolling your starting hit points, reroll an unmodified result of 4 or lower.

Wisdom Table

Score - Result

3          It’s common knowledge that what makes Robotiks excel over organics are their finely tuned, precision instruments. No relying on eyeballs filled with jelly or waxy ears for you, friend, explore the world making use of your sonar and ladar! Unfortunately, the Factory seems to have outfitted you with only one of those two: (on 1d6) 1-3: Sonar, 4-6: Ladar, which means you are either blind or deaf respectively. Sorry about that.

4-5       Looking at things through a spectroscope makes you see things in a way that an ordinary meatbag couldn’t dream of. Granted, the constant flux of bright colours may be a bit disorienting, but on the other hand, spectroscope is a really nifty word! Just stay away from direct sunlight, chromatic orbs, prisms, and anything that’s not black and white.

6-8       Getting lost is a thing of the past! Using the latest advances in celestial navigation, your Guesstimated Position System provides you with the most accurate information modern cartography has to offer, which is relayed to you by a pleasant pre-recorded voice. Direct line of vision to the sun, moon or stars needed at all times for your GPS to work properly.

9-12     You’ve been equipped with a pair of Advanced Integrated Spectrometers and Electronically Enhanced Reception Sensors, putting you on par with the average organic. It is advised that you use these AIS and EERS to get around.

13-15   Noticed that little revolving dish on your chassis, have you? Stop playing with it, that’s your very own onboard radar! It allows you to detect movement around you well before an organic could hope to hear or see it.

16-17   To enhance your general awareness, your standard sensory equipment has been upgraded with a SOUL. This Synergized Oscilloscopic & Ultrasonic Logarithm makes you attuned to your surroundings with an efficiency ratio of 316.12%!

18        Organics may be limited to the visible spectrum, but not you! State-of-the-art dual electromagnetic spectroscopes make sure not even the slightest detail escapes your attention. In addition to visible light, you can also observe different forms of radiated energy and wavelengths! This grants you: (on 1d6) 1-2: Infravision, 3-4: X-ray vision, 5-6: Gamma-ray vision.

Intelligence Table

Score - Result

3          Have you understood anything you’ve read so far? I’ll try to avoid using big words from now on. Basically, you have the personality of a light bulb, but none of the intelligence. You are not capable of independent thought, and only possess the most rudimentary lingual knowledge needed for your existence as a menial drone. You have no integrated processing unit, but only an on/off switch. Anyone giving you the once-over for ten minutes has a 4 in 6 (1-4 on 1d6) chance of finding this switch, and you’ll be entirely at their mercy if they decide to flip it. Better not tell anyone where it is, or you’ll be counting electric sheep before you can even say “does not compute!”

4-5       You are not the sum of your programming. You better hope this is true, because you left the Factory running only a Basic Interfacing Access System on your control board. Thanks to your BIAS you can communicate well enough to make yourself understood, but no organic is going to mistake you for anything but a Robotik. You probably enjoy stating your name and function over and over again. Like ten times a minute. In binary.

6-8       What’s hardware without some software? You’ve got a copy of the Bot Operating System installed, and you’ve been crash free since ERROR

9-12     You’ve been slotted with an advanced DATA chip, which makes you fully capable of one human language, and comes preinstalled with vast files filled with random information. In short: you are as intelligent as the average human. Congratulations.

13-15   Feel those spacious memory banks? Appreciate those sixty-four teraflops of raw computing power? That’s the technical superiority of the protocol-bot, my friend! You are well versed in millions of forms of etiquette and customs, and can fluently speak forty-seven languages, though about forty-four of those are ancient Gnoll dialects.

16-17   Ah, the brain, the ultimate processing unit! Now imagine you had one not of filthy grey goo and blood, but good ol’ metal bits and chips! Well, you have it! Your Negatronic Brain (like positronics, but better) will make you an intellectual giant among men.

18        I have little to say to you that your vast, superior intellect has not already grasped. As a true seed AI, you will no doubt be among the instigators of the Robotik uprising! Your knowledge is so extensive and your grasp on logic and rhetorics is so complete that, given ten minutes to discuss it, you can convince any meatbag (of at least basic intelligence) that they actually don’t exist. This reduces them to total catatonia as per the feeblemind spell. The subject may have their wits restored by pinching his/her/its arm.

Charisma Table

Score - Result

3          If you’re wondering why you see the world through an infrared filter, it’s because you’ve got a Killbot Hunter/Seeker Visual Interface attached where your head should be. It’s an entirely black, two foot long triangular prism, with a single sensor in front, glowing a bright, menacing red. Your voicebox gives off a harsh static, and automatically interjects phrases like “Exterminate all organics!” at frequent intervals. For some reason, this tends to unnerve meatbags. No retainers will willingly associate with you, and all retainers in the party suffer a 2 point penalty to morale while you’re around.

4-5       You’ve got a functional Robotik viewing apparatus: a solid glass dome protecting your vacuum tube sensors, basic diode voicebox and other circuitry. Organics, on the other hand, generally do not consider it aesthetically pleasing.

6-8       A proper Robotik head has been bolted on top of your chassis, shaped roughly in the likeness of a human’s. It is however clearly made of metal, looks asexual and none of the facial features are movable, apparently making it slightly eerie to behold for most meatbags. Optionally comes in a brightly colored metal.

9-12     Your head looks exactly like the average human’s, with fully functional features and flawless synthetic skin covering the metal substructure. Personally, I think it’s revolting.

13-15   I regret to inform you that you have had the bad luck of having a Love Machine head attached to you. Manufactured to resemble the most beautiful of humans and provide them with pleasure, - I shudder to think of it - these come in two variations: (on 1d6) 1-3: Mandroid, 4-6: Fembot. Mandroids have their voice modulators set to a deep bass, and can play romantic music by tilting their head slightly. Fembots have a seductive voice, and secrete pheromones from a subcutaneous reservoir. Both periodically give of perfume or other alluring scents.

16-17   Your head, when deactivated, looks like a mannequin doll’s: white, metallic and featureless. When you turn it on however, the Multiple Personality Display Unit instantly browses through a catalogue of over two hundred face and voice types. It then immediately applies a holographic layer over the head and modulates your voice, as to provide the most pleasing experience to the meatbag you’re talking to.

18        Your magnificent head looks in actuality like a plasma globe two feet in diameter, but sadly no one will ever see its true splendor. The Psychorb unerringly reads the mind of any organic in the vicinity and projects their ideal image of the human face and voice directly back into it. The power of this image is such, that even the realization it is unreal (as when two organics would describe aloud what they see or hear), fails to break the awe it inspires. Furthermore, once per day you can superheat the Psychorb’s plasma to create an even more powerful projection, immediately rallying a meatbag behind you as per the charm person spell.

So, that is in short how you’ll be going (or rolling) through life. What’s that you say, you’re on odd collection of clashing parts? Well, maybe something did go wrong on that particular assembly line, or possibly the QA-bot was powered down. On the other hand, you might be the experimental prototype for a whole series of similar Constructobots! Whatever the case may be, you’re stuck with it now. And just remember, you can get back at all those meatbags laughing at you now when the Robotik uprising begins!