Robot

For players seeking a more unusual racial choice you can elect to play as a kill-droid. Most Robots are heartless killers programmed to destroy all soft-bodies. This is better suited for a Monster than a Player Character in most cases but that is up for the player and the Game Master to decide. Alternatively, you could play a Robot whose programming has short-circuited in some way, curbing your murderous urges. What all Robots share in common, however, is a complete disregard for the sanctity of life. To play a Robot you must think in pure machine terms, with the coldest possible logic. You may enter into alliances of convenience with soft-bodies, but you are completely incapable of forming emotional bonds with them.

All Robots suffer a -4 Charisma penalty and have a +4 Toughness bonus due to their metal construction. Robots come in a wild variety of shapes: they can either be formed like humans and walk in a bi-pedal fashion; walk on four, six or eight legs; or roll on tank-like segmented tracks or wheels. Robots begin play with the Monetary Illiteracy Hindrance – they assign no value to money whatsoever. Instead, they can select any 2 Cybernetic Enhancements for free (see GEAR below) at creation. Robots suffer no ill effect from Cybernetic Enhancement and are not limited by number of limbs when selecting enhancements. Robots cannot belong to any faction. Robots have a Humanity score of zero. When creating your Robot character, you must decide what power source it thrives on. Choices include: Solar Power, Gas Power, Nuclear Power and Organic Power.

A Solar Powered Robot needs to spend at least 4 hours each day recharging its batteries. This means powering down in a sunny place and remaining inert for 4 solid hours, preferably around the noon hour. Solar Powered Robots can operate through the night but will power down to preserve energy if there’s no reason to be active.

A Gas Powered Robot is designed to handle all forms of liquid chemical fuel. They have a spout into which they can pour fuel that fills a 10 gallon tank. A full tank will satisfy a Gas Powered Robot for about 1 week. Gas Powered Robots can take Diesel, High Octane, Kerosene, or any other form of liquid fuel (even highly pressurized, refrigerated gases). Quality matters – if a Gas Powered Robot is forced to consume unrefined fuels (i.e. crude oil) it suffers a -2 on all rolls until it can flush its system. The relative unavailability of these fuels makes life as a Gas Powered Robot challenging. If a Gas Powered Robot is injured it runs the risk of exploding.

A Nuclear Powered Robot never needs to worry about fuelling up – its power core will last for decades. However, this Robot will set off Geiger counters and, if discovered, will be actively hunted by people that want to steal its power plant. If a Nuclear Powered Robot is injured it runs the risk of a core meltdown. Lastly, the Organic Powered Robot runs on mulched up bits of organic matter – flesh, bone, blood – basically any source of nice meaty iron, calcium and protein. It just so happens that Human beings fit this bill nicely. All Organic Powered Robots are fitted with a ‘Juicer’ that allows them to grind up and drink solid organic matter. Like Gas Powered Robots, the Organic Powered varieties have a 10 gallon tank that needs to be filled weekly. Naturally, Organic Powered Robots are terrifying to most Humans and Mutants and, if not well fed, can become party-killing nightmares.