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
Spider Drone
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.