Warning: Pre-Alpha
This game is currently in pre-alpha, and at this time, I do not recommend running a game in it yet. Every single game mechanic and piece of lore is subject to potentially breaking changes.
Thank you for your interest in this game! You can follow its development at https://www.youtube.com/@trekiros
-Trek
Robots
In the Age of Fusion, robots were used for all kinds of tasks, from manual labor to the service industry. Most of them were fried by the Flare, but a few still roam about the wasteland, following the orders of people who are long gone, and carrying out missions with no meaning anymore.
Originally a scouting unit, used by firefighters in rescue operations, spider drones are tiny robots capable of crawling through narrow spaces such as ventilation shafts, or digging under a pile of rubble, and communicating with one another through radio waves, like a hive mind.
However, nowadays, Spider Drones, are one of the worst nightmares for survivors... For the exact same reason: they're so small that a drone could be hiding in any ventilation shaft, or under any pile of rubble. And if you are found by an active "spood", as survivors call them, it won't be long before another 10 emerge from every nook and cranny that you didn't check.
The Swarm & its Queen. Spider Drones never act independently: a central AI dubbed the "queen" has the role of orchestrating and sometimes also producing, every single drone in the swarm. Depending on the state of that central AI, the swarm could be anything from harmless, to helpful, to an existential threat.
If the AI was fried by the Flare, its swarm simply follows the last order it received - typically, to simply stand vigil over an area. Sometimes, the AI survived the Flare. In this case, whichever group of survivors manages to find the AI's computing core, gains control over the entire swarm.
But a lot of the AIs which survived the Flare became glitchy. For example, if the last order a central AI received was to craft more bots, and the AI ran out of materials years ago, it might decide to strip the wasteland, and wastelanders, bare of any resources which could be used to create more spider drones.
| 1d6 | Adventure Seeds |
|---|---|
| 1 | A formerly friendly swarm has suddenly become hostile. The PCs must investigate the source of the glitch, and either repair, or dismantle the Queen. |
| 2 | A friendly Queen acts as a quest giver, notifying nearby settlements of resources her swarm notices. But she needs a new power core, or she will shut down soon. |
| 3 | A queen-less swarm has achieved sentience. They roam the wasteland, looking for meaning. If the PCs don't give them one, someone else will. |
| 4 | A rival faction has made a pact with a Queen: they provide scrap so she can repair and replenish her swarm, and in exchange, the faction can use some of her drones. |
| 5 | A.E.G.I.S. wants to shut down a friendly Queen, and scrap her swarm. Both A.E.G.I.S. and the Queen ask the PCs for help. Which side will they take? |
| 6 | To get to where they want to go, the PCs must traverse a notoriously swarm-infested region of the wasteland. Will they sneak past the drones, negotiate free passage, or fight their way through? |
Spider Drone(Robot, Scout, level 0)
The Spider Drone is immune to being Frightened and to poison damage. However, while in sunlight or fully submerged in water, the Spider Drone is incapacitated.
On its turn, the Spider Drone usually latches upon an enemy. If it can't, it hides or dodges instead. If it is latched onto a creature with at least 2 other drones, it self-destructs.
1d4!⚡, melee, and on hit, the spider bot latches onto the target. While latched, whenever the target moves, the spider drone moves with it.
Melee Attack. As part of this attack, this spider drone, and any other spider drone latched on the same creature explode. For each spider drone which explodes, the attack deals 1d8! fire damage.
Spider Drones which explode do not drop any loot.
Interaction Options
The Spider Drone explodes. Your attack deals an extra 1d6! fire damage in an Area of Effect (1m around the Spider Drone)
For 1 minute, the spider drone can't communicate with other nearby spider drones.
The spider drone is incapacitated for 1 minute.
You control what the spider drone does on its next turn.
A massive sentry, designed to capture and detain any intruders. This powerhouse was omnipresent during the Age of Fusion, and can be found in many factories, military facilities, corporate headquarters, celebrity mansions, train stations and more. That is to say, in any place a scavenger might want to explore for its resources, a security robot might be waiting for the opportunity bring law-breakers to justice, with great violence if necessary.
A BexTec best-seller. Formally known as the BexTec HiSec Pro, model 2137b, the Security Assembly is one of the most popular in the catalogue of BexTec, the security firm led by famous quadrilionaire weapons manufacturer Winston Bexley. After the Flare, Bexley founded A.E.G.I.S. with the help of famous astrophysicist TODO. Today, A.E.G.I.S. often uses a variant of these robots, with the metal parts replaced with the faction's signature white ceramic & plastic combination.
| 1d6 | Adventure Seeds |
|---|---|
| 1 | A former BexTec engineer has set up a distress beacon - they're willing to trade a rescue in exchange for a secret backdoor software, which would allow anyone who has it to hack and take control of any Security Assembly they come across. Only problem: the engineer wants to be rescued... from A.E.G.I.S... Who claims the distress call is a lie. |
| 2 | The office of the long-dead President surely contains some useful secrets the PCs could make use of. But the security of the highest office in the land is not to be under-estimated - a veritable army of robots guards the location. |
| 3 | A roaming Security Assembly meets the PCs out in the wasteland. It is looking for a dastardly criminal who has thus far evaded capture... The cook from the PCs' survivor camp! |
| 4 | A kid, born long after the Flare, became best friends with a Security Assembly. Together, they play deadly "pranks" on the adults who try to loot the kid's hideout - the same hideout the PCs heard contained a nano chip they need. |
| 5 | There is an un-occupied nexus which could be a great long-term base for the PCs... But while it has no human occupants, it still has some security measures from before the Flare. |
| 6 | A Super-AI has requested the PCs' help: it wants to have its consciousness transferred into the body of a Security Assembly, to stop being confined to the data-center in which it currently exists. It promised a reward in exchange for the capture of such a robot. |
Security Assembly(Robot, Tank, level 3)
The Security Assembly is immune to being Frightened and to poison damage. However, while in sunlight, the Security Assembly is incapacitated.
The Security Assembly typically telegraphs its Shock attack if it has at least 2 enemies restrained. Otherwise, it telegraphs a lasso prism attack.
2d4!+4 🔨 damage, Thrown (15m). On hit, the target is pulled up to 5m towards the robot, and is restrained by a rope made of hardlight until the rope is destroyed (10 hit points).
Each creature currently restrained by a hardlight lasso takes 3d6! ⚡ damage. If telegraphed, this attack only costs 1 action.
If within the Security Assembly's designated facility, choose one effect at the start of each round:
1d4+1 spider drones emerge from vents and dark corners of the facility.
The Security Assembly can choose any number of devices connected to the facility and turn them on, or off.
Interaction Options
The Security Assembly's damage threshold is permanently reduced by 2. This effect can stack.
This called shot becomes possible after the plate joint called shot has been used at least 2 times. The Security Assembly and everything else within 3m of it take 2d6! ⚡ electricity damage.
The Security Assembly is blinded until the end of your next turn.
All current hardlight constructs currently created by the Security Assembly are destroyed.
At the start of the next round, the Security Assembly uses its Drone Vent ability, but you control the drones.