Child Automata

LOAD "CHILDAUTOM", 8, 1
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LOADING
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No one knows where these strange machines originated, not even the machines themselves. Sages and scholars point to the significant differences between the Children and other automata on the Deadly Sands and say that they can't be from the same source, but what other explanation is there?

Each Child Automaton has a black or dark grey mechanical body that can only pass for human at a distance or if concealed. Their heads look human and are only revealed as artificial when touched, as their skin has the texture of strange, pliable metal.

Child Automata, as the name suggests, always have the appearance of children between 10 and 16, although some "younger" individuals have been reported. No "adults" have ever been seen, and the Automata do not appear to age or grow. Automata almost always have adult personalities, although if you want to play an actual child robot, that's okay too.

If your game uses forgeborn, warforged, robots, tick-tock men, or whatever, then use those to represent Child Automata, except you will probably want to reduce their size and movement speed; look at gnomes or halflings for pointers on how that works in your ruleset of choice.

If your game doesn't have artificial people as a character option, then use the following guidelines:

They are immune to disease and poison, and do not breathe, drink, or eat, although can mimic all three.

They heal like normal creatures, as internal systems knit together broken components, a process that baffles scholars. Healing magic works by overcharging these internal systems. Probably. Who knows?

Child Automata do need to sleep each day, just like their flesh-and-blood companions. All Child Automata have the same dream, one of a lush meadow full of tall grass and wild flowers, with bumblebees buzzing and butterflies flitting about. No living person has ever seen such things, so the source of these dreams is of considerable interest to these scholars I keep mentioning. How individual Automata react to these images is up to the player, and if you're running one of those trendy collaborative storytelling type games, maybe the origin of the dreams is also up to the player. Whatever works for you.

Some Child Automata display a sort of compulsive behaviour that may be the result of fragments of deep programming. A player of such an Automaton can roll on the following table.

GO$UB #1987 (d12):

1. OBSERVE RECORD REPORT (to whom?)
2. COLLECT X AND ANALYSE
3. DESTROY X
4. I WANT TO BE A REAL BOY/GIRL/WHATEVER
5. PRESERVE LIFE
6. LOCATE OTHER
7. PROTECT X
8. UPGRADE BASE UNIT
9. LOCATE ORIGIN POINT
10. CREATE ANOTHER
11. WHAT IS FUN?
12. BATHE IN THE BLOOD OF THE FLESHY THINGS

Bones

The Dead City wasn't always known by that name. Once it was a thriving metropolis full of scholars that mapped the world and the stars, and were as arrogant as they were wise.

The wizard-kings of the Dead City foresaw the End and found a way out. It will surprise no one at all that this plan went wrong, and ZAP! that's how you end up with a city full of intelligent skeleton people. These skeleton people are known as Bones.

The Dead City is somewhere far away on the left side of the world map and most Bones have either been away for so long that they have forgotten where it is, or have no desire to return.

It is, of course, full of fun things for adventurers to find, including the spells needed to create more Bones, piles of treasure, and unhinged skeleton-wizard-kings.

If using races, treat Bones as human. Bones can be of any class or profession.

Bones do not need to breathe, drink, eat, or sleep -- although can mimic those actions -- and are immune to disease and poison. Bones age, but suffer no ill effects and can live forever if careful.

Bones do not heal, and healing magic -- if used in your campaign -- harms them by the same amount it would heal a living creature. Reversed healing spells may heal Bones, at the GM's discretion.

Specialist artisans, sometimes called bonesmiths, are able to repair damage to Bones, including age-related deterioration.

If your campaign includes the turning of undead, this works against Bones, but as their life force is stronger than most undead creatures, they are never destroyed by turning, but flee instead.

Some Bones remember the End and the rituals that changed them into their current forms, and have been scarred by these memories. A Bone player can choose to roll on the following table to generate a psychological issue relating to those memories.

I SURVIVED THE APOCALYPSE AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS LOUSY PSYCHOSIS (d12):

1. "I survived, so I must be special."
2. "My grasp on life is fragile and everything is dangerous!"
3. "I survived death itself; I am invincible!"
4. "I do not deserve to live when so many others did not."
5. "I did not survive; this is some sort of hell."
6. "The wizard-kings caused all of this. No magic can be trusted."
7. "Every living thing must be made like me before another End occurs."
8. "What do you mean I look like a skeleton? How absurd!"
9. "I can return things to how they were. All I need is..."
10. "One day I woke up like this. I remember nothing before."
11. "Life is meaningless. All life. Including yours."
12. "All life is precious and must be preserved."

Update (24/07/2020): Bones cannot speak, at least not as they once did. Some have developed a complicated language of clicks and clacks; 1 in 10 dwellers of the wastes understand this language. Others make do with sign language, which is understood by 4 in 10 characters.

State of the Onion

Oh dear, I've done it again. It's been a while.

It's perhaps time for an update on what I've been doing the past few months and what better occasion than the fifteenth anniversary of the blog? That first post is not exactly premium, top-quality content -- I'm not sure anything on here is, to be fair -- but still, fifteen years!

My life has seen many, many changes over that time. I was living in the US when I started the blog, in part as a way to keep busy and sane while I was unemployed.

As of January this year, I was unemployed again. Sort of. After ten years of working in post-sixteen education, I was made redundant because of restructuring and, although I was given opportunities to stay on in a different role, I decided it was time to move on. I took the not unreasonable redundancy payment and for the past six months I have been trying to set myself up as self-employed, drawing and writing for a living.

It's a little mad and scary, but it's something I've wanted to do since I was a teenager, it's something other people have told me I could and should do, and I would never have had the courage to try if I hadn't been kicked out of my job. In a way, the redundancy was a good thing. Probably.

How's it going? Well, my second book for Lamentation of the Flame Princess did well and I am working on the next one, a project which would be challenging enough without Zak Sabbathmith popping up on social media previewing his next LotFP book and making mine look like Baby's First D&D Adventure. Damn you, Zak.

(I jest.)

(Do I though?)

(Yes.)

I've also got a few projects on the go for Mike Evans' DIY RPG Productions. I say "few" because Mike produces an insane amount of content and I lose track of where my stuff will turn up. The big project is the Forever Dungeon -- preview to the right -- which we both hope will be something new and exciting for virtual spelunkers. If all goes well it should be quite a swanky release, and I'll be able to buy a yacht pay the rent.

There's a small project on the go at Necrotic Gnome, and I have a few ideas of my own; what I've shown of Upon Deadly Sands has had a positive response so I'm going to see if that has legs, and I have what seems like a good idea for a D&D5 supplement, which will probably be finished just in time for D&D6.

I also have a couple of ideas for t-shirts and perhaps other bits of merchandise, but more on that when I've worked out the details.

On top of all that, I stumbled into a relationship, I now have a sort-of-stepdaughter, and we're all moving in together. I'll probably keep most of that side of things off the blog, but it's happening in the background so if -- when -- there's further blog disruption, that's probably why.

That's what's going on with me. I do have more time now and I suppose I have a brand -- eurgh -- to establish, so you should see more from the blog in future. Thanks for sticking around.

Watch Out!

Upon Deadly Dinner Time

Another one from Upon Deadly Sands, and another one in which I'm trying to be a bit looser with my linework. This time using a brush pen, because I seem to like making things difficult for myself.

Water Fairy

Here's another concept piece from Upon Deadly Sands.

Upon Deadly Sands

Upon Deadly Sands is an idea for a game setting that I've been kicking around for a while; one day I may even finish it.

This is a version of one of the first images that popped into my head when I started thinking about the project.