District Attorney's Clerk

**Preceded by:**

None

Chief Justice

“*It keeps everything in 'mint' condition down in the Mints. You'd be hard-pressed (like the coins the Mint produces) to interrupt its work at any time.*”
―*The Cogs Volume 2*, Lullaby Library
The **District Attorney's Clerk**, also known as the **D.A. Clerk**, is a special Cog on the Lawbots corporate ladder, acting as a mini-boss fight for Toons. They appear at the end of a District Attorney's Office run in the Lawbot Headquarters.

The District Attorney's Clerk is a tall and lean Skelecog sitting in a hovering control panel that is 3 Squares long x 2 Squares wide. It sits immobile until the second phase of its battle, at which point it hovers in the air. The D.A. Clerk wears a white short wig, and its control panel is embossed with one of the letters "A", "B" or "C", depending on the D.A. Office type that the party has challenged.

The difficulty of the battle with the D.A. Clerk depends on the party's Variable Difficulty rating. When defeated, the D.A. Clerk rewards anywhere between 100 to 300 Jury Notices. Occasionally, the D.A. Clerk battle will be interrupted by the entrance of the Public Defender, which will be a separate mini-boss fight.

## Overview

There are two guaranteed stages, and up to three stages if the Public Defender spawns, to the District Attorney's Clerk's battle at the end of a Lawbot District Attorney's Office run.

### Stage 1

The first stage is a typical Cog Battle. This is a relatively easy battle between the player and several Cogs, comprising 1 x Level 10, 2 x Level 11 and 1 x Level 12 Lawbots.

* During the entire battle, the District Attorney's Clerk cannot be targeted by any Gags, and will not interfere with the battle.

### Stage 2

The second stage of the battle is a battle with the District Attorney's Clerk itself. The battle's actual difficulty is determined by the D.A. Office that players are clearing and the Variable Difficulty. The higher the VD rating, the more health the District Attorney's Clerk has and the more damage it deals with its attacks.

The following sets out a chart comparing its health in the various District Attorney's Offices:

**District Attorney's Clerk Health**
 Office B
 Office C

The District Attorney's Clerk will don an energy shield around it that grants it 40% damage resistance from the front, and 20% damage resistance from the sides, but takes full damage from the back. Once the shield is depleted, the D.A. Clerk crashes down to the ground and is stunned for 2 turns.

On the D.A. Clerk's control panel, it can summon either a Sprocket or a Signal Tower on either side, which deal damage to the players or give passive buffs to the D.A. Clerk or debuffs to the players accordingly. Players can damage them independently without factoring in any damage resistance from the D.A. Clerk's shield - however, if the D.A. Clerk is stunned, any Sprockets or Signal Towers will still be active until destroyed. The D.A. Clerk will respawn these 2 turns after they are destroyed and if the D.A. Clerk is not stunned.

 Paper Plane Sprocket
 Watercooler Sprocket

 Damage Dampener
 Gag Blocker
 Retaliator
 Toon-Up Dampener

#### Passive Abilities

* **Above the Law**: While shielded, the D.A. Clerk hovers at an Elevation of +1, and is immune to all Trap Gags.
* **Diplomatic Immunity**: While shielded, the D.A. Clerk is randomly immune to one type of Gag every turn.

#### D.A. Clerk Attacks

 Injunction
Toons hit take damage and lose access to one random Gag track for 1 turn.
 Stomp
The D.A. Clerk crashes to the ground. Toons not currently on an Obstacle and on the same Elevation as the D.A. Clerk take damage.
 Throw Book
If the Toon collides with an obstacle, deal additional 10 damage.
 Throw Files

#### Public Defenders

*Main article: Public Defender*
When the D.A. Clerk drops to 75% HP, or 8 turns after the battle if it hasn't had its shield depleted at all, there is a small chance the Public Defenders will spawn, and the D.A. Clerk exits the battle.

If the D.A. Clerk exits the battle this way, it grants half of the total amount of Jury Notices it would have given. If the D.A. Clerk is sufficiently damaged, it will also drop two Level 6 Gag barrels refilling five of two random Gag tracks.

## Strategy

* The D.A. Clerk itself has a relatively low damage output, but it can increase its damage potential greatly with Sprockets or Signal Towers.
* There are two main strategies to take out the D.A. Clerk:
	+ The first is to take out the Sprockets/Signal Towers if they are of a great disturbance to the players, e.g. the Watercooler Sprocket or the Retaliator or Damage Dampener Signal Tower. Once they are disabled, the players can go directly for the D.A. Clerk's shield and health.
	+ The second is to ignore the Sprockets/Signal Towers - e.g. if the players are not affected by reduced healing or any of the Sprockets, and damage the D.A. Clerk directly.
* Trap Gags will be largely ineffective against the D.A. Clerk as it is hovering in the air, and its console does not take damage when falling to the ground. Gags must be targeted at the D.A. Clerk directly.
* One risky method of damaging the D.A. Clerk's shields and Sprockets/Signal Towers at the same time is to get close and use Sound. However, this will usually cause that Toon to aggro the D.A. Clerk and the Sprockets (if any), and cause them to take hefty damage.

## Dialogue

### General Taunts

* I'll read you your last rights.
* I'll show you a cease and desist.
* I'll show you the true meaning of submission.
* Unauthorized entry into the D.A.'s chambers? Seize them!
 **Battle Start (Phase 2)** | * Looks like it's time for me to rise to the occasion.
* My legal career soars.
* Prepare for a trial... by combat!
* You aren't above the law, but I'm above you!
 **Defeating a Toon** | * Case closed.
* Come back when you have a stronger case against me.
* I owed you no duty of care.
* I rest my case.
* Motion dismissed.
* That is my out-of-court settlement to you.
* You can't handle the truth!
* You get nothing. You lose! Good day, sir!
 **Leaving Battle Early /**
**Summoning Public Defenders**
* I've had enough of you. Public Defenders, get them!
* Right. I don't have time for this. It's time I call in my associates.
* They say a good defense is a good offense. In that regard, I'll bring in my colleagues specializing in defence.
 **Defeated** | * Consider this my dishonorable discharge.
* Disbarred? It can't be...
* I guess I'm struck from the rolls now.
* Is it too late to consider mediation?
* Looks like I'll be putting the 'corpus' in 'habeas corpus'...
* That's it, I'm withdrawing from the case.
* The D.A. will have my head for this...
* You Toons are simply lawless...

### Battle Taunts

* Don't mind me. Just bringing in my litigation support.
* I always come prepared for meetings like this.
* I'd like you to meet my litigation team.
* It's time to even the scales.
* Lawyers never work alone, you know?
* Time for some additional firepower.
 **Using Injunction** | * "I order you to cease and desist!"
* "I've got quite the stopping power."
* "It's prohibition for you!"
* "Let me just stop you right there."
* "Now hold up just one second..."
* "Stop in the name of the law!"
* "Stop that right this instance!"
* "Stop, you violated the law!"
 **Using Throw Book** | * "I'll book you for an appointment with me!"
* "I'm bound to eliminate you."
* "Limited edition, leather-bound, and headed straight for your face."
* "Oh, this one is a real classic."
* "This is a novel point of law."
* "This one's impossible to put down!"
* "You can only blame this attack on your-shelf!"
* "You don't have the spine to withstand this!"
* "You'll wish you had a hardback to withstand this!"
* "You're going to need the self-help section after this!"
 **Using Throw File** | * Better have a filing cabinet at the ready.
* Better watch that file load of yours.
* File this away, would you?
* Have you had a look at these papers?
* Here's a little light reading for you!
* I want the executive summary to these on my desk by Monday!
 **Smashing a Toon** | * Don't you have plenty of space on your own?
* I can't work with distractions, you know?
* I'm going to need you to step back.
* Keep at least six feet from me.
* You are to stay at least six feet away from me.
* You're going to respect my personal space.
 **Shield Depleted / Stunned** | * And I'm free... free-falling.
* Is it fall already?
* Looks like that argument came crashing down.
* No!! That desk is mahogany!
* Stop crushing my hopes!
* This is truly breaking and entering.