NPCs

NPCs, or *Non-Player Characters,* are characters found throughout your run that aren't able to be selected on the class screen, nor do they (typically) make any attempt to harm you. There are three types of NPCs found in Roboquest. Those being Max's deployable bots, Max herself, and the variety of sidequest bots. Max, as well as her deployable bots, spawn only in the checkpoints in each area (with a single exception), but have varying degrees of spawn rates dependent on upgrades and intrinsic spawn values. Sidequest bots, on the other hand, have fixed locations and typically reward the player with a Gadget upon quest completion, though there are some exceptions to this rule.

## Max

Max is the secondary protagonist of Roboquest. She is the only character to have a speech bubble with dialogue inside of it and usually gives insight into the current situation when approached. This dialogue does not loop, and she will not talk again once she is through with all her given dialogue.

She is the only NPC to have a guaranteed spawn rate at each checkpoint, with Repair-O-Bot and Lottery Luke coming in a close second and third respectively. Repair-O-Bot due to his lack of a spawn in the starting room of Canyons, and Lottery Luke due to his spawn being fixed to the starting room of each stage.

Max is the only non-robot NPC, and the only human shown in the game at all up until the final cutscene.

## Max's Deployable Bots

### Repair-O-Bot

Repair-O-Bot is one of Max's deployable bots. He appears at every checkpoint (besides the starting room of Canyons). When the player interacts with him, he will grant them a one-time heal. After healing the player, the green light will turn blue and he will be unable to heal them again. Repair-O-Bot will heal all of your scratch damage, as well as some extra health dependent on your current level. This extra health can be increased through the Gingerbread Jeremy item (+20%), as well as the Improved Repair-O-Bot I and II upgrades (both increasing by 15%) for a total of 150% of whatever the original healing value might’ve been.

When encountered in one of the corrupted stages (Waste Station, District XIII, etc.) there is a chance for Repair-O-Bot to sport a sideways red cap instead of his normal blue one. When interacted with, he will damage the player with an explosion instead of healing them. And, just like the blue-capped Repair-O-Bot, his green light will turn blue and he will be unavailable to interact with again. Be careful, not only does the blast harm the player, but it's still able to knock them out if their health is too low, so make sure to check the bot's headwear before interacting.

Repair-O-Bot is the only NPC that can be shot and damaged. He doesn't react to being shot besides flinching and is unable to be killed. However, this is a great way to test the effectiveness of a weapon obtained in a checkpoint room before fully committing.

He is the only deployable robot that can be encountered outside of a checkpoint room and can be found in the Lunar Cache on The Moon, which is only accessible after obtaining the green power crystal. He and Lottery Luke seem to share the same base as one another, having the same stature and limbs, but having different accessories, hands, and “heads.”

### Bazaar Bob

Bazaar Bob is one of Max's deployable bots and is unlocked in the first row of upgrades. He's able to spawn in every checkpoint besides the starting room of Canyons. The spawn rate can be increased through the Friendly Circle I and II upgrades. He offers 2 items in exchange for Powercells, and unlocking the Big Bazaar upgrade increases it to 3. These items can be Uncommon, Superior, and Fantastic. Some of these items are locked behind co-op due to the items themselves being useless otherwise. The items that Bob sells increase in average price the higher the rarity is:

Average Powercell Price Based on Rarity

Bob is also able to sell the Brush, which is used for a sidequest in Haven City. The brush costs 8 Powercells and is kept permanently until given to Leonardo Brushido. He has a chance to sell 10 Wrenches in exchange for 6 Powercells, however the odds are very slim.

His design is based off of an enemy, just like most other NPC bots. Bazaar Bob is based off of a Light Rover, just wearing a different type of hat and a slightly different paint job.

### Smithing Joe

Smithing Joe is one of Max's deployable bots and is unlocked in the first row of upgrades. He can spawn in any checkpoint besides the Canyons starting room and gets a spawn rate increase with the Friendly Circle I and II upgrades. He offers a weapon in exchange for Powercells or Smithing Tokens and can offer 2 weapons once the Big Smith upgrade is unlocked. These weapons can come from either Act 1 OR Act 2, meaning he is the only way to acquire Act 2 weapons early.

These weapons can be Uncommon to Fantastic and the level correlates with the guns in Max's Chest, and can therefore scale quite nicely into the late game with no real falloff. The Powercell price increases depending on weapon rarity and level, but still only requires 1 Smithing Token as an alternative.

His design is based off of an enemy, just like most other NPC bots. Smithing Joe himself is based on a Small Bot, just painted orange. He and Smithing TED share the same design and bot origin, just different colors.

### Chef Paul

Chef Paul is one of Max's deployable bots and is unlocked in the first row of upgrades. He can spawn in any checkpoint besides the Canyons starting room and gets a spawn rate increase with the Friendly Circle I and II upgrades. He offers to upgrade the level of your weapon in exchange for Powercells. Once the Chef Double Star upgrade is unlocked, there is a 15% chance for the weapon to be leveled up twice, allowing you to go over the current cap in some circumstances, The level that you can increase your weapon up to is displayed on Paul's chef hat. The prices (as shown in the image) increase the higher rarity of the weapon. After unlocking the Gun Bakery upgrade, Paul can reroll weapon affixes with a separate cost to upgrading. The cost for both can be decreased by 1 Powercell once the Cooking Gloves Gadget is unlocked. If an Uncommon or Superior weapon has its card unlocked, the price to reroll affixes is free.

Prices to Level Up -> With Cooking Gloves or Card -> With Both

Prices to Reroll Affixes -> With Cooking Gloves or Card -> With Both

Chef Paul is the only deployable bot that serves two functions, that being weapon leveling and re-rolling. He is also the only deployable bot that can give out his services for free (excluding the Smithing Token for Joe). His design is based on an enemy, just like most other NPC bots. Chef Paul himself is based on a Pawn, similar to Heisenbot, with his cooking glove covering his gun hand.

### Heisenbot

Heisenbot is one of Max's deployable bots and can be unlocked by obtaining the Red Power Crystal. He can spawn at any given checkpoint after Act 1 and gets a spawn rate increase with the Friendly Circle I and II upgrades. He serves as an alternative to Bazaar Bob in that he sells Items for Powercells. The difference is that Heisenbot exclusively sells Corrupted rarity items for 6 Powercells. He also sells the Key to the Fusion Core door for 9 Powercells.

He, just like most other NPC bots, is based on an enemy. In this case, Heisenbot is based off of a Pawn, much like Chef Paul. He is the only deployable bot to not be accessible before Act 2. Compared to Bazaar Bob, his item pool is much smaller to justify his later appearance, having 24 items as opposed to Bob's 91.

### Lottery Luke

Lottery Luke is one of Max's deployable bots and can be unlocked with 99 Wrenches in the final upgrade row. He is guaranteed to spawn in the starting room of each stage. He was introduced in the January 2024 update as the main new feature. Unlike all other deployable bots, Luke takes Wrenches to function. When given the desired number of Wrenches, Luke's lottery machine will begin to spin and will reward the player with different things. The reward is one of the following:

-Instant Level-Up Token

-An item of any rarity

-A Fantastic weapon

-A Perk Reroll Token

-Wrenches

-Powercells

-A Smithing Joe's Token

-An unobtained Weapon/Enemy Card

-Nothing

The Powercell and Wrench amounts are equal to double the number of Wrenches paid for the spin. Luke can be used a total of 7 times before shutting down and being unavailable for the rest of the run. The starting price is 6 Wrenches, and goes up by 2 for each *consecutive* play, this means that upon reaching the next stage, Luke's price will drop back down to 6. However, new stages do not reset his maximum number of plays, and he will still power down after 7 total uses. Using all 7 times consecutively costs a total of 84 Wrenches. Luke has a bar on his right that shows you how many more plays are left until he shuts down for the run. He and Repair-O-Bot seem to share the same base as one another, having the same stature and limbs, but having different accessories, hands, and “heads.”

## Sidequest Bots

### Papy Pawn

Papy Pawn is a sidequest bot found in the checkpoint of Canyons. When approached, he asks the player for 5 Data Logs. Once you obtain enough, interacting with Papy Pawn again will complete part 1 of his sidequest and the player receives the Roller Gadget, Papy Pawn will then ask the player to obtain 40 Data Logs. Returning to Papy Pawn with the required number of Data Logs will complete the second and final part of his sidequest, rewarding the player with the Metal Detector Gadget.

Papy Pawn, as his name implies, is based on a Pawn, with elderly features and a rusty pipe for a cane/staff. He is the only sidequest bot to appear in Canyons, and is therefore the first one the player will encounter.

### Smithing TED

Smithing TED is a sidequest bot found in the Secret Base in the starting room of Oasis. He is hidden behind a locked door obscured by a waterfall. The only way to unlock this door is by holding the Buddy Bot and interacting with the lock. This causes the door to permanently open up and allows you to access Smithing TED as well as a pair of Swim Trunks and a Data Log.

Smithing TED shares a very similar design to that of Smithing Joe, except while Joe is painted orange with a flame-patterned mask, TED is painted blue with a zig-zag pattern as well as a 'T' branded on his mask. Both NPCs are based on the Small Bot.

Smithing TED functions as an upgrade bot, but with a catch. Ted will gladly upgrade your weapons to Fantastic for free, but he is only able to upgrade the 3 starting weapons. Those being the Fox Gun, Shovel, and Buddy Bot. Each weapon gets a specific secondary fire.

Notable Upgrades for Each Weapon
- 10% elemental damage buff

Smithing Ted is the only way to acquire a version of these weapons that isn't a Common rarity, making him essential if you plan on using one of these weapons for the majority of the run. And due to his Buddy Bot affixes, he can help you build into your desired elemental build in exchange for one weapon slot since the buff is still applied while in your pocket.

### Wallstreet Slim

Wallstreet Slim is a sidequest bot that appears in the starting room of Ruins. He asks the player for a single Powercell when approached, and then does nothing. A Powercell can be gifted to Slim once per run, and upon 3-4 gifted cells, he will reward the player with the Business Briefcase Gadget. His sidequest will then be completed and he no longer asks for Powercells.

Taking the interaction and trade into consideration, the Wallstreet Slim sidequest could be you effectively investing your Powercells into him, due to the Gadget he gives you being one that rewards Powercells on level up, ending up "turning a profit" in a sense. He is also the only sidequest bot to actually be seen with the Gadget he rewards you with, holding likely the same briefcase that he gives you.

Slim's design is based off the Guard Bot enemy.\

### Snapshot Sam

Snapshot Sam is a sidequest bot found in the checkpoint of Fields. When approached, he asks the player to bring him a Blunderbuzz, and takes a picture of it once obtained. Afterwards, he asks the player to see a Junk Rifle and once again snaps a picture of it. His third and final request is to see a Sheriff's Carbine, and will give the player the Cooking Gloves Gadget and his sidequest will be completed.

He is the only bot to ask for a specific Weapon rather than another sort of object, and the only one to ask for something but not take it in the process.

Snapshot Sam's design is based on that of a Pawn.

### Leonardo Brushido

Leonardo Brushido is a sidequest bot found in the Art Gallery in Haven City, which can be unlocked by obtaining the Art Gallery Ticket. When first encountered, he will ask the player for a Brush, which can be obtained through Bazaar Bob for 8 Powercells. Once Leonardo is given the Brush, the sidequest is completed and he does nothing. However, on repeat visits to the Art Gallery, he will offer the player a selection of both Enemy and Weapon cards for a total of 3. Each card, regardless of which type, costs 10 Wrenches to buy. Once all cards have been obtained, he no longer sells anything.

He is the only sidequest bot to not immediately reward the player with something after quest completion and is one of three sidequest bots to offer a service to the player. The others are Smithing TED and Johnny Waterfall.

Leonardo's design is based on a Pawn.

### Randy Marshmallow

Randy Marshmallow is a sidequest bot found in the Cinema in Haven City, which can be unlocked by obtaining the Cinema Ticket. When first encountered, Randy doesn't have his nose, and he asks the player to fetch it for him. The nose can be found in the checkpoint of Fusion Core after completing the obstacle course. After Randy is given the nose, the sidequest is completed and he places the nose on his face. The reward for quest completion is the Jetpack Gadget, which allows the player to fly in the air when holding jump, the duration of which can be increased with the Cheese item.

Randy's design is based on a Small Bot.