Robotics
"But although it was a woman, it was not human. The body seemed as though made of crystal, through which the bones shone silver. Cold streamed from the glazen skin which did not contain a drop of blood"
Futura wasn't the first robot built, but she was the first that was dexterous enough to perform the mundane duties that Joh Fredersen needed below in the machine rooms. Other robots included those found in manufacturing plans that are scattered throughout the lower city of METROPOLIS. Household bots which made housekeeping an effortless delight for the elite can be found zipping hither and yon, picking up dust and washing windows. The mail in METROPOLIS is handled by postal bots who roll about the cities building depositing it's possessions in specially designed mail boxes.
Besides the basic construction, there are other things that make Futura special when compared to other robots. Futura's skin was a photogenic material laid out over her mechanical components. With a special process, the transference of a human's personality, memories and looks could be transferred to the robot.
To build a robot for your game follow the steps prescribed below.
1) Pick Frame Size
The Frame is the foundation on which all robots are built. there are four different sizes available starting with the largest there is the Industrial, Worker (android), Mundane, and Spy.
The Industrial is the workhorse in METROPOLIS, a lumbering behemoth that is used in construction, or on assembly lines, performing one or two mundane tasks. They have been programmed in security measures, but the extent of their ability is "Kill Intruders" or "Stop Vehicles"
The Worker is the newest creation in robotics, with Futura being the first (in other words they didn't exist before 2026). This class of robot has the ability to interface with humans on a more natural level, the memory units are large enough to allow for an AI like condition where the Robot could actually learn.
The Mundane are the most common class of robot in Metropolis, they are the ones delivering packages & Mail, cleaning the flats & patrolling the upper city.
The Spy class are the smallest of the robots, their size and surveillance capabilities make them perfect for use in corporate espionage
Industrial Worker (android) Mundane Spy Body 15 10 6 3 Ref 5 8 6 10 MA 5 8 5 7 Memory 20 30 15 20 SDP (options) Head* (if applicable) 40/50 (4/2) 20/30 (4 & 4/2) 10/15 (4/2) 5/10 (4/2) Torso 50/60 (6) 30/40 (4) 20/30 (2) 5/10 (1) Motivation 40/50 (4) 20/30 (3) 10/15 (2) 5/10 (0) Arms (if applicable) 40/50 (3) 20/30 (2) 10/15 (1) 5/10 (1) * first number listed are SDP disabled/destroyed, those in the parenthesis are Options (Optic/Audio for the head)
SP (Base, all locations) 15 10 5 1 base cost 45,000 M 50,000 M 15,000 M 45,000 M
2) Pick Movement Options
There are three movement options available to Robots.
Legs: these are what you find on most humans and borgs, they are standard on Worker Bots, and available to the 3 other classes of robots as well, they must be bought in pairs of two up to 4 pair (Workers may only have one pair) for each pair on the Mundane and Spy classes, the robot gains 2 MA, while the Industrial gains one
Track: what can be found on 20th century tanks. This option comes standard on Industrial and Mundane Robots, and can be micronized for the Spy class. Tracks add a +5 to the SDP of the Spy class but reduce its movement by 3
Wheels: these are added to bots to increase their speed, they come standard on the Spy class, and are unavailable to the Worker Class (look instead at the skate Foot in Chrome pg 33). wheels add + 5 to the MA of Industrial and Mundane Classes of Robot, but reduce the SDP of the Motivation area by 5.
Industrial Worker Mundane Spy Legs + 5000 M Standard + 5000 M +1000 M Halftrack Standard NA Standard +1000 M Wheels + 1000 M NA + 1000 M Standard
3) Memory, Skill Programs & Transferring a "Soul"
Memory is the unit in which skills can be programmed into the Robot. A robots memory can be increased for 1000 M per unit up to double the base Memory listed above. to Transfer a "soul" an android requires a 60 Memory. Skills are purchased one for one
All robots have the following skills preprogrammed into the CPU at no cost, they are required for the Robot to function Mathematics 10, System Knowledge (self) 10
All INT based skills must start at a level 3, unless programmed externally
4) Pick Options
as with Borgs, you may add cyberware to enhance the abilities of the Robot, obviously Bioware is not an option.
New Options:
"No one will be able to tell a Machine-man from a mortal~~!"
PhotoSkin: a 3/4 inch layer of formable plastic. Cells on the underside of the skin expand or contract the plastic up to 1/2 inch, allowing for the modification of the shape of the bots physical shape, then photocells under the surface send preprogrammed information to the surface, changing the color of the skin. 10,000 M
Soul Transfer: a process that takes the memories, personality, skills and physical looks of a person converts them into raw digital data then any or all parts copied can be transferred to a robots databanks. All parts of the data received can be modified before transference. a 60 MU is required to do the process. 150,000 M