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Post by Zulgyan on May 16, 2008 20:52:41 GMT -6
Hey there those who Fight On!
Some may know I'm working on an article on Random Battle Robot Generation for OD&D.
It's something that looks like the random demon creation tables from AD&D's DMG but for robots.
Maybe you guys can have some cool ideas to join some of the terrible weapons and systems I have devised such as the Polymorph Beam, Life-Form Detection Radars and the Black Pudding Cannon!
Any ideas for weapons, defenses, systems, and just anything related to what OD&D Robots could be are welcome!
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brianm
Level 1 Medium
Posts: 17
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Post by brianm on May 16, 2008 22:12:35 GMT -6
This is for playing in fantasy games, yes?
Oil Slick - A nozzle extends from the robot's carapace and sprays a slick oil across the floor. Anyone standing in a 10'x10' area in front of the robot who does anything other than stand perfectly still must roll under their DEX score on a d20 or fall prone to the ground. Any character who takes damage while on the slick must roll under half their DEX score to remain on their feet.
Greek-Fire-a-pult - An arm extends behind the robot's shoulder, pulls back, then releases, lobbing a bottle of greek fire at an opponent up to 90' away.
Cat-a-pult - An arm extends behind the robot's other shoulder, pulls back, and then releases, lobbing a common adult housecat at an opponent up to 90' away. (This is especially deadly against 0th level commoners and low level magic-users. ;D )
- Brian
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Post by Zulgyan on May 16, 2008 22:21:43 GMT -6
Yes. The robots come from "another world" and are intended to be pitted against the regular D&D party.
Thanks for the contributions!
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Post by calithena on May 17, 2008 5:51:56 GMT -6
Hi Zulg!
I think rules for attacking creatures with force fields would be good. Some robots have force field defenses. It could be an extra screen of hit points a la gamma world, or maybe something tougher that requires special tricks to bring down. Also % force fields are fun...so you roll % dice to see if you get past the shield or not, or alternately if characters figure out where the gaps are they can try called shots to bypass them.
Lasers and grenade and missile launchers are also good. With weird different kinds of grenades and missiles. Seems like I'm channeling Gamma World again.
Sounds like you're already thinking beyond this sort of thing but I guess I wanted to hit the basics....
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Post by Zulgyan on May 17, 2008 10:40:46 GMT -6
Nice ideas for the shield.
to all: if you someone recommend me old-school games for inspiration, those are welcomed.
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Post by thelizardofoz on May 17, 2008 11:59:10 GMT -6
What about kits in the robots that house tiny repair robots that can be released to repair (heal) damage? They have just enough energy to make a few repairs to get the robot back up and fighting then they are done. Kinda like one shot heal spells. There can also be multiple kits for multi "heals" and more effective kits that repair more damage before they go inert. They can repair 1dx+y, the next better kit 2dx+2y, then 3dx+3y for the tougher bots. Some kits may even be reusable.
A limited invisibility ability. Similar to the Predator's camoflauge. Attackers get a penalty to hit, the robot gets a bonus to remain undetected, etc.
Gotta have a self-destruct option. Or an all or nothing final attack, where it takes its remaining energy(hit points) and just goes for it. Kamikazi robots.
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jrients
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 411
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Post by jrients on May 17, 2008 17:50:28 GMT -6
Arneson's robots included lightning bolt emitters. Please make sure to include those.
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Post by Zulgyan on May 17, 2008 18:23:40 GMT -6
Thanks jeff!
.......
The aim of the article is to help the referee at creating robots that make for a tough but not totally overpowering encounter. Parties bewteen levels 4 and 7 should be have a hard but winnable fight against them. Levels 8 to 10 still make for interesting encounters.
Everything according to a LBB power level game. That means, smaller than all the rest of the versions of D&D.
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Post by dwayanu on May 17, 2008 19:00:08 GMT -6
I prefer Greek fire sprayed (as it was used historically). Lightning variation: electric field between two robots. Equivalents of other dragon breath weapons (cold, gas, etc.) are also good. Slime grenades, too. Nets/webs/hardening foam/grappling lines. "Disintegrators" (maybe really teleportation/etherealization rays). Sonic blasters. Force fields and tractor/repulsor beams. Mining/construction/deconstruction gear. (Robot goes through wall, which is rebuilt in its wake.) Mine layers. (Pursued by Pac-Man-like mine sweepers, chased in turn by Blinky and crew ...?  ) Polymorphing/transmuting/shrinking "rays" or far-out nanotech. |
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Post by dwayanu on May 17, 2008 19:12:25 GMT -6
Rockets (offensive uses as well as mobility).
Coin-op dispensers of whatever suits your fancy (no change given, and getting what was ordered is not guaranteed).
Shape-shifting a la Transformers.
Holograph projection. ("Help me, Obi Wan!") Natch, that suggests Linguistics and Protocol Droids and an R2D2 style "interface arm."
METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA robot types/features are almost required reading!
You might skim Traveller Book 8 (or the JTAS article) if you've got it -- but I don't think it offers very much inspiring stuff.
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Post by dwayanu on May 17, 2008 19:37:22 GMT -6
Achilles Heel ("Aim for the reactor core!").
Superhuman sensors of all sorts.
Cyborgs (biological-mechanical hybrids). There's a great Doctor Who episode with clockwork men bent on "harvesting" a CPU for an adrift spaceship from Madame Pompadour via time/space warps. The Doctor's best-known foes are the Daleks and Cybermen -- and there's always the pulp/Lovecraftian brain in a jar.
This being D&D, there are probably undead cyborgs.
Clockwork itself seems a fine fit for fantasy robots.
Power cord (and wall sockets for it, of course).
"Absorbo-field" and capacitor to store energy drained from spells (or whatever). Something unleashed after energy reaches 100%.
Big digital countdown display for "megablast" or whatever.
Forcefield that changes color along spectrum as its capacity wears down.
Even a mostly malignant robot might have a compulsion to fulfill a more utilitarian function (a cross between Ultron and The Brave Little Toaster).
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Post by apeloverage on May 17, 2008 22:03:11 GMT -6
magnetic rays which mean that those wearing metal armour have to roll under their STR to approach the robot.
Also, anyone with a metal weapon has a penalty to hit, and if they fail too badly the weapon might fly out of their hands altogether.
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Post by apeloverage on May 17, 2008 22:05:24 GMT -6
Beams of pure logic which cause magic not to work.
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busman
Level 6 Magician
Playing OD&D, once again. Since 2008!
Posts: 448
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Post by busman on May 17, 2008 23:10:36 GMT -6
magnetic rays which mean that those wearing metal armour have to roll under their STR to approach the robot. Also, anyone with a metal weapon has a penalty to hit, and if they fail too badly the weapon might fly out of their hands altogether. You're assuming it's low-nickel steel. =) |
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Post by dwayanu on May 17, 2008 23:19:41 GMT -6
Just "fantasy physics," I think!
IIRC, at least one villain used a mighty magnet to wrest Conan the Cimmerian's blade from his hand.
A fantasy robot might have such a strong magnetism that armored men get stuck to it.
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busman
Level 6 Magician
Playing OD&D, once again. Since 2008!
Posts: 448
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Post by busman on May 17, 2008 23:27:55 GMT -6
Just "fantasy physics," I think! IIRC, at least one villain used a mighty magnet to wrest Conan the Cimmerian's blade from his hand. A fantasy robot might have such a strong magnetism that armored men get stuck to it. Not just fantasy, the vast majority of steel is magnetic. It's really only high nickel stainless steels where you find non-magnetic steel. Which is interesting because nickel is magnetic. It's just that in the stainless steel compound the nickel changes the structure sufficiently that it becomes non-magnetic. |
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Post by apeloverage on May 18, 2008 2:01:11 GMT -6
This being D&D, there are probably undead cyborgs. Since the undead look less human, maybe the 'unalive' look more human than normal robots. But you can turn them if you have a remote control. |
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Post by dwayanu on May 18, 2008 3:09:12 GMT -6
By "fantasy physics," I meant that real-world metallurgy can be irrelevant. A magical/super-science "magnet" might attract metal of any sort. Think of the X-Men's nemesis Magneto (IIRC).
A more realistic approach can also be fun, but I think it's a departure from the main stream of D&D.
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Post by grodog on May 18, 2008 10:32:21 GMT -6
A fantasy robot might have such a strong magnetism that armored men get stuck to it. And then the vivisectionist appendages come out to play!  |
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Post by thelizardofoz on May 18, 2008 11:10:04 GMT -6
A fantasy robot might have such a strong magnetism that armored men get stuck to it. And then the vivisectionist appendages come out to play! You are a sick sick man. Keep up the good work.  |
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Post by dwayanu on May 18, 2008 11:10:48 GMT -6
Oh, yeah -- I picture something like a cross between a giant turtle and Edward Scissorhands.
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Post by apeloverage on May 18, 2008 14:55:27 GMT -6
Oh no, a Swiss Army Battledroid!
That gives me an idea - it could have a giant magnifying glass which focuses the sun and starts fires (obviously only useful outdoors).
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Post by Zulgyan on May 18, 2008 15:31:36 GMT -6
I got 30 weapons by now, including the "Insanity Ray" that messes up with the enemy's "neuron configuration". Another weapons is the "ultra-sonic sound emitter", that emits a sound of a frequency so high that may have your very head explode!
I've also incorporate rules for robots "gone wild" after some circuit malfunction.
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Post by grodog on May 19, 2008 20:14:27 GMT -6
How about you post your consolidated list Zulgyan so we can suggest other variants?
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Post by Zulgyan on May 22, 2008 8:47:47 GMT -6
To all: share ideas on "perception systems" for battle robots. How the robots percieves it's envoiroment and interactacts with it.
So far, I got many ideas, such as "night-vision", "life-form detection radars", "X-ray vision", "Long sight" (see in detail up to 2d6 miles), "vibration detector", among others.
Post you ideas!
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Post by coffee on May 22, 2008 9:04:45 GMT -6
Motion detector
Chemical sniffer
Geiger counter
Regular Radar
Sonar (?) (Not sure if that would work in air; they use it in water).
I'm not sure if this is what you want; these are all things we already have.
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tank
Level 3 Conjurer
Posts: 58
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Post by tank on May 22, 2008 9:18:19 GMT -6
Magic Sight - only able to perceive items/beings that radiate magic
Alignment Sight - only able to perceive emanations of Law/Chaos.
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Post by dwayanu on May 22, 2008 9:24:50 GMT -6
Ethereal and Astral Plane sensoria
ESP
Seismic
Laser-web motion detector
(Ha! Google popped up an ad for Applied Magnets. Support our sponsors, you mad scientists!)
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Post by Zulgyan on May 22, 2008 10:18:07 GMT -6
Excelent suggestion people! keep em' comming!
Also... defensive devices and systems are welcomed!
I'm also working on guidelines for robot AI.
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Post by coffee on May 22, 2008 10:22:35 GMT -6
Also... defensive devices and systems are welcomed! * Armor * Force Field * Illusion generator (makes robot appear to be 3 feet to the left) * Magic Resistance * Smoke screen generator * Darkness generator (which the robot can see through using infrared sensors...) etc. |
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