RobotSource Alien Archive 2 pg. 108
Robots serve a variety of functions. They’re often employed in situations where the risks to living beings are too great or emotional responses are a hindrance—notably murder and war.
Assassin robots are killing machines useful for stealthy slayings or gruesome public displays. A user can program targets into the robot, dispatch the unit, and rest assured. The robot relentlessly pursues its quarry, fearing nothing and using microfiber setae on its hands and feet to traverse vertical and horizontal surfaces with ease. Whether it succeeds, fails, escapes, or suffers destruction, the robot leaves little evidence behind—an assassin robot that is captured or destroyed automatically purges its memory and burns out its sensitive hardware components, making tracing the robot’s mission and origin extremely difficult.
Typical assassin robots are 6 feet tall, weigh 300 pounds, and use the weapons detailed in the stat block on page 108, but they can be outfitted with other armaments as a mission requires. In particular, assassin robots on missions where more subtlety is called for use needler pistols stocked with poisoned darts.
There is nothing subtle, however, about a siege robot. These machines serve as artificially intelligent assault vehicles, and many rightly fear these engines of war. Merciless and efficient, a siege robot is as effective at unloading massive damage against a single target as it is at mowing down enemy troops en masse, and its vehicle form makes it difficult to escape from on an open battlefield. Most siege robots are outfitted with large reserves of ammunition, enough to sustain a constant barrage for minutes at a time. Siege Robots As VehiclesA siege robot can be used as a vehicle in vehicle combat or vehicle chases. In such cases it acts as its own pilot and has the following additional statistics: item level equal to its CR; drive speed 60 ft., full speed 500 ft., overland speed 60 mph, (hover); hardness 8; collision damage 16d10 B (DC 19); –3 attack roll penalty (–6 at full speed). A siege robot acting as a vehicle can carry up to 4 Medium passengers but provides them no cover.Aliens in the "Robot" FamilySource Alien Archive 3 pg. 86Keeper Robot CR 18 XP 153,600
N Large construct (technological)
Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +31
DefenseHP 380
EAC 32; KAC 34
Fort +17; Ref +17; Will +14
Defensive Abilities integrated weapons, unflankable; DR 15/adamantine; Immunities construct immunities
Weaknesses vulnerable to electricityOffenseSpeed 40 ft., spider climb
Melee slam +33 (13d6+29 B)
Ranged avalanche-class zero rifle +30 (7d8+18 C; critical staggered [DC 23])
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Offensive Abilities falling crush (13d6+29 B), redirect power (40-ft. cone, 19d6 E, Reflex DC 23 half, usable every 1d4 rounds)StatisticsSTR +11; DEX +8; CON —; INT +5; WIS +6; CHA +0
Skills Acrobatics +31, Athletics +31, Stealth +36
Languages Common
Other Abilities nanite repair, unliving
Gear avalanche-class zero rifle with 1 ultra-capacity battery (100 charges)EcologyEnvironment any land
Organization solitarySpecial AbilitiesFalling Crush (Ex) If a keeper robot is at least 20 feet directly above any number of Medium or smaller creatures in a 10-foot square (usually due to its spider climb ability), it can release its grip on the surface as a move action and fall onto those creatures. The keeper robot takes falling damage as normal, but each creature it falls on takes 13d6+29 bludgeoning damage and is pinned. Each crushed target can attempt to escape the pin as normal on its turn, and the pin ends automatically if the keeper robot moves off the target’s square. A target of falling crush can’t take the falling crush damage more than once, unless the keeper robot moves fully off that creature and then falls on it again.
Nanite Repair (Ex) A keeper robot’s nanites heal it, restoring a number of Hit Points per hour equal to its CR. Once per day as a full action, the robot can regain 12d8 Hit Points.
Redirect Power (Ex) A keeper robot can leech power from nearby batteries to recharge its own weapon or unleash the stolen electricity at its foes. A keeper robot can activate this ability once every 1d4 rounds as a full action; when it does, each battery within 30 feet of the robot (excluding the one in its own weapon) loses 2d4 charges. The keeper robot can redirect this power to recharge the battery in its integrated weapon with the same number of charges. Alternatively, the keeper robot can amplify this power, releasing it in a weaponized arc of electricity, dealing 19d6 electricity damage in a 40-foot cone (Reflex DC 23 half).DescriptionOne of the many functions robots can serve is protection, whether for a single person or a large property. Several robot models have been created for just this purpose.
Guardian robots have become something of a status symbol among business leaders and politicians in the Pact Worlds, and a whole range of defense-focused robotic bodyguards of all shapes and sizes are available. Most guardian robots are crafted to appear as unassuming humanoids of a certain species and usually have a quiet and deferential virtual intelligence. They constantly scan for potential nearby threats and endeavor to stay close to their handlers, engaging opponents from a distance using grenades or weighted nets.
The desire to create autonomous defensive constructs can sometimes lead to unfortunate results, however, especially when time or a natural disaster alters a robot’s programming. A collection of massive drones known as keeper robots stalk the wild and forgotten areas of Castrovel seeking to destroy intruders, their original directives clearly corrupted into a surprising ferocity. Usually nonhumanoid in appearance, keeper robots are dangerous and implacable opponents. Some stand about 14 feet high on eight legs and weigh several tons.
Scholars believe these keeper robots were designed to protect lands and resources from would-be scavengers at some point during the Gap. Interestingly, the Xenokeepers have led a campaign to keep Castrovel from amassing a small fighting force to destroy the keeper robots, arguing that the constructs provide a natural deterrent to poachers and others who would pillage the natural resources or archaeological finds of an area, since keeper robots are known to ignore the surrounding native wildlife. Recent reports have noted the existence of keeper robots on other planets outside of the Pact Worlds, looking as new as if they had just rolled off the factory floor, and sporting more modern weaponry. This has sparked a flurry of speculation about these robots’ origins. One of the more outrageous theories bandied about various infospheres is that keeper robots weren’t created during the Gap but at some point in the far future and were sent back to secure (or even destroy) some mysterious objective.Extra ContentThe following extra content was found for this creature:
- Robot (Summoning) Graft Template
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