Daughter of Nexus, automatas and the First Age

[Requiem of Forgotten Lore]

So I'm seriously thinking of taking my one (hopefully three total in two weeks time) player (which makes two characters right now) through DoN - which btw I would like some feedback on that if anyone has been an ST and ran that one and if there should be a minimum number of characters for it - mostly for the mass combat part.


Anyways, while I was reading through it, it states that the group will run into automatas right before they find Arvia; they're suppose to be left from the First Age, reprogrammed to kill their Solar masters and also tainted by the Wyld during the Great Contagion, so they're going to attack any person who is an essence user - which the players will be using if they want to see anything until they reach the front of the underground manse since it's pitch black. So I did some reading on the Brass Legionnaire automata (which the book recommends), and this is where I'm starting to question WW and the (almost seeming dichotomy of their) idea of how awesome the First Age truly was.


The Brass Legionnaire reminds me of a warrior version of Steal Angel Karumi or Chobits, which is pretty nice humanoid looking yet still a robot, and while still pretty awesome and rare for the Age of Sorrows, it's just not the quite the level of the First Age I keep envisioning when I read about that era.


So I'm going to tweak this fight a little, while still using some Brass Legionnaires, I'm going to place one (maybe two) walking tanks.


I'm going to use the legs from one of either of these two (I'm leaning on the quadruped):

and the torso from this one (mainly for the cannon which I might shoulder mount).

Now here's my idea with this bad boy: the cannon (which was my main focus for this automata) uses burned essence to charge the cannon. So anyone using charms and spells close enough to this guy will in turn help charge the fuel cell for the cannon (whether they or not they know it), and the number of motes spent on spells or charms will be a 1:1 ratio - I'll have to figure out how big the fuel cell will be and what is minimum firing capacity and what's the max. Once it reaches minimum firing capacity then it'll do just that (unless it wants to charge to max capacity for a bigger bang) and I'm thinking about playing the look of the shot up which would be one color or a mixture of colors depending on who "fed" the fuel cell and what their anima color is.


And this is where I'm asking for help, apart from the looks and what it can do I have nothing, I really don't have an idea on what the stats would be besides looks. These will stand about 10 feet tall for the quadruped or 4.5 to 6 feet tall for the bipedal - which I might just use the bipedal almost as is, throw on a top mounted (smaller) cannon and put retractable blades on the arms; however these are made to be tanks so I'll probably use the former idea since tanks are there for big guns but no up close fighting (unless it's big enough to step on you). So if you all have references I could use for stats or just some idea on what you would put the stats at that would be great. I'd also like some general feedback on what you all think of this idea.


As always: Thanks in advance!

 

[strawberryleaves]

Figure out the PCs' combat capabilities first, then tailor the automata's stats to it. Realism can come into play later; the important thing is to provide a challenge for the PCs.


What are the characters' stats?

 

[Requiem of Forgotten Lore]

Well the actual PC (Solar) is starting, one somewhat experienced NPC (only really there to help keep the Solar from getting killed in the very beginning and help show the ropes of playing - like stunts) and when I run it with the two hopefuls (one for sure) then they will be starting PCs as well. To be honest though I'm looking for the more to realistic stats (for possibly later on) then will probably back it off myself.


The PCs will be lucky in the fact that the automatas will be taking internal penalties due to them being badly corrupted, so the calculating commands for attacking will be reduced from what they should be - obviously unbeknownst to the PCs. So how about this? What would be realistic stats and what would be the stats you all would recommend?


I'm going to run this game pretty gritty so they get a feel for a good struggle, but these are all good friends of mine so I know at least two of them love a good triumphant struggle for victory (or at least to be able to get away without dying) and I'm pretty sure the third does too; for example some of the botches for the storyline will be gritty - if they don't find any clues when Arvia gets kidnapped by the Abyssal, then as they leave the city they will hear the entire city itself grown and shriek from Arvia being sacrificed and they'll watch it start to turn into a shadowland, same thing if Lily and Lilac get a hold of her and turn the city completely into the Wyld.


I've got quite a few ideas that "are not in the scope of the game" book that I want to have available just in case (and it would make the game interesting for later on), just got to build the flowchart for it.

 

[Lairian]

I like the idea you have going for the cannon. Drawing ambient exalt anima essence flow for use against them is great usurpation First Age tech in my mind. That said, do you really want to open the game "punishing" your players for using essence? Players are easily trained, and hard to untrain.


As for a productive reply, if you want to showcase a good amount of First Age tech and have a "commander" for the brass men, make a heroic moral NPC as an "AI", and suit him in a Celestial Battle Armor. Due to heroic mortal stats, he'll have a bear of a time actually hitting (but they'll feel it when he does...), and the armor's soak and hardness will definitely give him anti-Exalt staying power. Slap large on for extra health levels and to match your desired description; after all, you'll just be using the armor as a faux stat block.


For the gun, CBA can come with an essence discharge cannon if I recall correctly. If you really want to scare the shards out of them (AND if they all have a perfect defense to render it cinematic only), replace it with a Light Implosion Bow. After that, just don't fire the essence discharge cannon until they've used 10 peripheral motes, or the light implosion bow until they've used 20.


Disclaimer: I ST for larger groups (full circles) and so my quick-fix thinking may be too harsh for two players, so I'll recommend you follow strawberryleaves advice and tailor to the characters in question.

 

[Requiem of Forgotten Lore]

Good stuff, thanks for your input. I've been thinking about it for a while, and if it "accidentally" hits (they screw up a roll, don't have any good dodge charms and the tank rolls pretty good for being messed up already) who ever gets hit is pretty much done for.


That doesn't mean I'm throwing the idea out the window, it just means I'm going to move where the idea is implemented; and as far as I see the tank won't have any internal penalties to hinder it unlike this DoN fight where the automata are going to be a little screwy from the Great Contagion.


So that being said, stats are still welcome.


To be honest though I was pretty curious as how starting characters could do against the tank and the rest of the automatas, I mean the Solar in my group took down a Tyrant Lizard in basically two hits; of course if he would have been hit he would be dead (probably seriously injured though), yet he picked all the right charms starting out. Could have been all those D&D Dragon Quest game that run pretty gritty starting out and only get grittier - he did spend a lot of time choosing his charms.


Anywho, thanks again for the insight.