by Tom Stephens
Robots are a common feature in the Frontier. You practically can't turn around without finding some sort of robot working at some task. From security, to receptionist, to mining, to translation, robots fulfill many roles. They are often employed as support to the Frontier races or in areas where it is dangerous or less desirable for the races to go. In this article we list a few specific robot types that you might run into as you travel around the Frontier.
Obar Enterprises Robots
The OEx robots are custom build robots designed and built for Obar Enterprises, a small private company that engages in trade, mining, and exploration. The robots themselves were built by Tachton Industries. Each robot series has its own designation depending on its role (S-security, M-maintenance, etc.) These robots are used by Obar Enterprises on its spacecraft and at its various facilities both on the ground and in orbit in the various systems around the Frontier where it has operations.
OES-01 Security Robot
The OES-01 SecBot is designed primarily as a facility defense robot assigned to guard duty at the various OE facilities and on-board OE ships. The OES-01 has a humanoid limbed body for maximum flexibility on both ground and in space. The body is in no way anthropomorphic and would never be mistaken for one of the core four races. It is fully functional in weightless environments.
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OES-01 |
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Level: |
4 |
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Body Type: |
Standard |
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Movement: |
2 legs |
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STA: |
100 |
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Attack: |
70 |
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IM: |
7 |
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Programs: |
Restrain, Attack/Defense, Computer Link, Security Lock |
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Equipment: |
|
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Cost: |
13,925 cr |
OEC-01 Combat Robot
The OEC-01 ComBot is designed to work directly in a support role with OE personnel. Capable of independent missions, it carries a variety of weapons and defenses to adapt to any situation. The OES-01 employs the same body type as the OES-01. In fact, the only outward difference between the two is the selection of weapons carried by the OEC-01.
The OEC-01 can use only one of its three weapons each round but may change weapons each round without penalty. Its two defensive screens are connected to a single 100 SEU power pack which is independent from the power pack that powers the laser rifle. Only one screen may be active at any time but the OEC-01 can switch the active screen during its movement phase as desired.
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OEC-01 |
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Level: |
5 |
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Body Type: |
Standard |
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Movement: |
2 legs |
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STA: |
100 |
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Attack: |
80 |
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IM: |
8 |
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Programs: |
Restrain, Attack/Defense, Search & Destroy, Computer Link, Security Lock |
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Equipment: |
|
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Cost: |
22,025 cr |
OEM-01 Maintenance Robot
The OEM-01 is a basic maintenance robot designed for standard gravity operations in support of a skilled technician. The robot can perform basic repairs as directed by a central computer or supervising technician. With standard wheeled movement, the OEM-01 is not capable of working in low gravity or on rough terrain.
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OEM-01 |
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Level: |
3 |
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Body Type: |
Standard |
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Movement: |
Wheeled |
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STA: |
100 |
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Attack: |
60 |
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IM: |
6 |
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Programs: |
Self Defense, Computer Link, Maintenance, Security Lock |
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Equipment: |
Various accessories and storage compartments equivalent to a Techkit |
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Cost: |
10,500 cr |
OEM-02 Maintenance Robot
The OEM-02 is very similar to the OEM-01 but is designed to work on-board spacecraft and in zero-g environments, again in support of a skilled technician. The robot can perform basic repairs as directed by a central computer or supervising technician. Instead of standard wheeled movement, the OEM-02 has two legs with built in magnetic boots and is fully capable of working in low gravity or in rough terrain. This is the standard maintenance robot typically seen on-board Obar Enterprises starships.
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OEM-02 |
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Level: |
3 |
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Body Type: |
Standard |
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Movement: |
2 legs, built in magnetic boots |
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STA: |
100 |
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Attack: |
60 |
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IM: |
6 |
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Programs: |
Self Defense, Computer Link, Maintenance, Security Lock |
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Equipment: |
Various accessories and storage compartments equivalent to a Techkit |
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Cost: |
10,600 cr |
OEX-01 Mining Extractor Robot
The OEX-01 Extractor is built around a large heavy duty body with tracked movement and is capable of negotiating most terrain. It has four arms used for moving, cutting, pounding, crushing and collecting rock to extract ore. If attacked it can defend itself and gets four attacks per turn, one with each arm.
The OEX-01 has optical, IR and radar sensors allowing it to operate in any environment including complete darkness. In addition, the body has an open ore carrying "basket" capable of carrying 150 kg of material in a 1 cubic meter volume. The robot is about 1.5m tall, 1.5 m wide and about 2 m long.
The laser cutter and rock drill are powered by an extra type 1 parabattery built into the body of the robot. For combat purposes, assume each use of the rock drill or laser rock cutter users 4 SEU and that, unless determined otherwise by the Referee, has 1d100x5 SEU remaining in the parabattery which powers that equipment.
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OEX-01 |
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Level: |
4 |
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Body Type: |
Heavy Duty |
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Movement: |
Tracked |
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STA: |
500 |
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Attack: |
70 |
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IM: |
7 |
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Programs: |
Self Defense, Computer Link, Mining, Security Lock |
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Equipment: |
Two heavy duty arms with rock pinchers (6d10 damage each), Two heavy duty arms, one with rock drill (10d10 damage) and one with laser rock cutter (5d10 damage range 10m). |
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Cost: |
23,800 cr |
WarTech Robots
While not well known for their robot designs, being greatly overshadowed by Tachton Industries in the modern Frontier, WarTech still maintains a small robotic development division. Here are a few of their more recent designs.
Multipurpose Universal Terrain Turret (MUTT) MK I
| Big Dog by Long Ouyang |
The MUTT-1 (commonly referred to as BigDog) is a large 4 legged mobile gun turret. This robot is typically deployed in groups and can be assigned to guard specific areas or as roving patrols. They also are commonly assigned as perimeter patrols for moving convoys and groups. The MUTT-1 also has a built in radio to allow remote communication with its controller. This also allows them to be used as advanced scouts and report back an audio and video feed from their sensors. The quadruped design of the robot allows it to traverse almost any terrain. The MUTT-1 has IR sensors in addition to standard optical sensors to allow for full functionality at night or in dark locations as well.
The MUTT-1 can be armed with any rifle type weapon but are typically armed with either a laser rifle or autorifle. Regardless of weapon type, the robot is equipped with enough ammunition for the mount weapon to fire for a minimum of 50 combat rounds. Laser rifles are typically set at the 10 SEU damage setting (although this can be adjusted) and autorifles are typically used in burst mode.
The MUTT-1 comes equipped with an albedo coating that provides 100 points of laser damage protection and an inertia screen that is powered by a 100 SEU power pack. Like all WarTech robots, the albedo coating can be applied as a subsurface coating beneath an alternate painting scheme and still remain effective.
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MUTT Mk I |
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Level: |
4 |
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Body Type: |
Standard |
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Movement: |
4 legs |
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STA: |
100 |
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Attack: |
70 |
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Weapons: |
Laser rifle (500 SEU), AutoRifle (500 rounds), Gyrojet Rifle (150 rounds), or Sonic Disruptor (100 SEU) |
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Defenses: |
Albedo body coating, 100 point protection, Inertia Screen (100 SEU power pack) |
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Programs: |
Attack/Defense, Search/Destroy, Security Lock |
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Other Equipment: |
radio, IR sensors |
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Cost: |
16,000 cr |
Security & Personnel Defense Robot (SPDR) MK III
The SPDR (or Spider as they are more commonly called)-3 robot is designed for personnel security and area defense in all types of terrain. It's six insectoid like legs are modeled on those of a Vrusk and are designed to allow the bot to maneuver on all different types of terrain. Retractable spike-hooks on the tips of its feet allow it to climb many steep and even vertical surfaces. The SPDR-3 has no problem scaling ladders and walls to get a tactical height advantage.
The SPDR-3 has two pincer-like claws that are top mounted with a laser rifle (right claw) and an auto rifle (left claw). The laser rifle is connected to a 100 SEU power pack while the bot carries 5 clips for the Autorifle. The bot can fire one or the other rifle per turn. When the auto rifle has spent its clip, there is an auto reload mechanism that will reload the rifle in one turn. The SPDR-3 can fire its laser rifle on the turn the auto rifle is reloading. In melee, the SPDR can attack with both of its claws each round.
For defense the robot is coated with a reflective paint that acts like an Albedo suit. In addition, it has a built in albedo and inertia screen. The two screens share a 100 SEU power pack and as per the AD rules, only one screen can be active on a given turn. However, the screens can be switched every turn depending on how the 'bot perceives the situation.
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SPDR Mk III |
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Level: |
4 |
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Body Type: |
Standard |
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Movement: |
6 independent legs |
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STA: |
100 |
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Attack: |
70 |
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Weapons: |
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Defenses: |
100 SEU power pack shared between screens |
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Programs: |
Attack/Defense, Search/Destroy, Security Lock |
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Cost: |
18,500 cr |
Target Neutralization and Counterstrike (TNC) Robot MK IV
The TNC-4 (or TankBot as it is commonly called) is a heavy duty warbot designed specifically to seek out and eliminate specific targets whether they are beings, other robots, facilities, or structures. Heavily armed and armored, as well as being built around a heavy duty chassis, the TNC-4 is a formidable opponent. In addition to being used in search and destroy missions, the TNC-4 is commonly used as heavy weapon support for combat squads. It's not uncommon to see a MerCo attack squad supported by a TNC-4 to provide heavy mobile firepower.
The TNC-4 carries three main weapons and can employ two of them in a single round without penalty. The Heavy Laser is powered by a type I parabattery that supplies 500 SEUs. The parabattery is also used to power any defensive screens the robot may use. The TCN-4 carries a 600 round magazine for its machine gun allowing it to fire up to 30 bursts. Finally the warbot is equipped with a grenade rifle that has a 40 grenade magazine. The magazine is compartmentalized into four 10 grenade sections. Each section can be loaded with a different type of grenade. The robot can reload after each shot from any of the magazine sections depending on the tactical situation. The magazines hold the grenades already encased in the grenade bullets necessary for use in the grenade launcher.
For defense the robot is coated with a reflective paint that acts like an Albedo suit. In addition, it has a built in albedo and inertia screen. The two screens share the type I parabattery with the heavy laser. As per the AD rules, only one screen can be active on a given turn. However, the screens can be switched every turn depending on how the TNC-4 perceives the situation.
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TNC Mk IV |
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Level: |
5 |
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Body Type: |
Heavy Duty |
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Movement: |
Tracked |
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STA: |
500 |
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Attack: |
80 |
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Weapons: |
|
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Defenses: |
Screens powered by parabattery shared with Heavy Laser |
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Programs: |
Attack/Defense, Search/Destroy, Security Lock |
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Cost: |
30,000 cr |
Design Your own
Designing robots can be fun and an exciting way to add some variety or flavor to your game. There are robots everywhere in the Frontier and these are just a few you could run into. The robots presented here range from fairly simple to somewhat complex. They provide a wide range of different types of robots you could find around the Frontier. Hopefully they will help to provide some inspiration or templates for robot designs of your own.
I used two methods when designing the robots presented here. For most of the OEx robots, I defined a role and the built the robot up around it adding in the body, level, programs, and equipment needed to fulfill the envisioned role. For the WarTech robots, I actually had the pictures (or an actual RC robot in the case of the SPDR) before I designed them so in those cases, I wrote a description to match the image. Either way works well. Just use what works best for you.
Editor's Note: We hope that this will be the first of many articles in future issues providing new robots for use in your game. If you have robot designs you'd like to see published, feel free to submit them here on the site. We love to help you share them.
