AnaciteSource Alien Archive pg. 10
Anacites are native to Aballon, the Pact World closest to the sun. A race of machines left behind by eons-departed masters, these constructs developed the capacity for evolution and self-improvement, creating an entire mechanical ecosystem.
The most common design for anacites is a basic arthropodan form of silvery metal, with multiple legs for efficient travel and claws or manipulators for accomplishing their assigned tasks. Depending on their role, however, an anacite might be anything from a bulldozer-sized mining specialist to a floating electronic brain designed for advanced problem-solving, and even those anacites who fit the stereotypical metal-insect design usually have a modification or two, and almost all anacites can reconfigure parts of themselves to adapt to their circumstances.
In the uncounted millennia since the departure of the so-called “First Ones,” anacites have not been idle. The two primary factions of anacites, Those Who Wait and Those Who Become, have very different ideas of their purpose in life, yet the two are more alike than different. While they variously wait for the First Ones to return or work toward taking on their progenitors’ mantle, anacites endlessly strive to acquire wealth and influence in preparation for their great goal’s fulfillment.
While “anacite” officially refers only to the sentient varieties of Aballonian machines—those capable of learning and participating in Aballonian society—many offworlders use it as a catchall term for the world’s mechanical life. Dragonflylike wingbots are an example of Aballonian technobiology. These artificial creatures lack basic sentience yet nevertheless reproduce and fill one of the planet’s ecological niches. These 4-foot-long machines whir from ridge to ridge on wings glittering with solar panels, feeding on the blazing light of the sun. Wingbots can be territorial, and they occasionally attack offworlders or other anacites.Aliens in the "Anacite" FamilySource Alien Archive 2 pg. 10Anacite Ambassador CR 6 XP 2,400
LN Medium construct (technological)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +13
DefenseHP 90
EAC 18; KAC 20
Fort +3; Ref +3; Will +7
Defensive Abilities retractable laser; Immunities construct immunities
Weaknesses light dependencyOffenseSpeed 40 ft.
Melee slam +13 (1d6+6 B)
Ranged retractable laser +15 (1d6+6 F; critical burn 1d4)StatisticsSTR +0; DEX +3; CON —; INT +4; WIS +1; CHA +4
Skills Bluff +13, Culture +18, Diplomacy +18, Sense Motive +13
Languages Common, up to four others; shortwave 100 ft.
Other Abilities language assimilation, unlivingEcologyEnvironment any (Aballon)
Organization solitary or pairSpecial AbilitiesLanguage Assimilation (Ex) An anacite ambassador can spend 1 minute accessing a planet’s infosphere to learn any language commonly spoken on that planet. Alternatively, the anacite can learn a language by spending 1 day listening to it and reading it. An anacite ambassador can store knowledge of up to four languages at a time in this way, and it can choose which language to replace when it wants to learn a new one.
Light Dependency (Ex) An anacite ambassador can acquire power from dim or brighter light, and it can store power generated in this way. The anacite can operate in darkness for 2 hours. After this time, the anacite gains the sickened condition until it returns to an area of dim or brighter light.
Retractable Laser (Ex) An anacite ambassador’s retractable laser has a range increment of 90 feet. When not in use, this weapon is folded inside the anacite’s arm and hidden from sight. A creature unaware of the anacite’s hidden weapon must succeed at a DC 24 Perception check to find its compartment. The anacite can deploy or retract this weapon as a swift action or as part of making an attack or full attack. The weapon is mounted and leaves the anacite’s hands free, and the anacite can’t be disarmed of it. While deployed, the laser can be sundered as an item with a level equal to the anacite’s CR.
Shortwave (Ex) An anacite can communicate wirelessly. This acts as telepathy, but only with other creatures with this ability or constructs with the technological subtype.DescriptionAnacites have varied general designs, but some have evolved for specialized tasks. Two such specialists are the ambassador and the predator drone.
Anacite ambassadors travel to foster diplomatic relations. Most often members of Those Who Become, anacite ambassadors serve on Aballonian seedships as emissaries. Anacite ambassadors can easily learn languages. Further, although they are not warriors, ambassadors can protect themselves with built-in lasers. To avoid tension during diplomacy, ambassadors keep this weapon retracted until it’s needed, though they usually notify their hosts about the laser unless there’s a good reason to keep it a secret.
An anacite predator drone resembles a rhinoceros beetle made of silvery metal with a reddish shell that opens to reveal enormous wings. The drone’s weapons are part of its body, leaving its wings and appendages free. Countless drones police the megaplexes of Aballon. Others serve as soldiers for anacites that have greater authority, fighting in places such as the Midnight Trenches.Anacite Powered ArmorArms manufacturers in the Aballonian megaplex of Pursuit produce powered armor that mimics the versatile and customizable capabilities of anacite laborers. Anacites who subscribe to the philosophy of Those Who Become promote this powered armor as a good way for non-anacites to experience the superiority of the constructed form.
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