Who uses warbots in their gaming sessions? How frequently do you use them, and do you use other iterations of them for other races / empires?
Zhodani Warbots
- Thread starter Blue Ghost
- Start date
Current running a TNE campaign so virus infected bots are reasonably common in certain areas (promise etc.). Only some are warbots most are just general robots - all imperial designs. Also ran research station gamma a couple of times with the security bots
I did the AHL scenario with the zho take over once, that had zho warbots.
I remember a DGP adventure with a missing hiver warbot but never ran it.
Cheers
Richard
I did the AHL scenario with the zho take over once, that had zho warbots.
I remember a DGP adventure with a missing hiver warbot but never ran it.
Cheers
Richard
Timerover51
SOC-14 5K
Could a robot respond to psionic commands? If not, would the Zhodani really use them? Although if they show up in Azhanti High Lightning, that would make it canon.
I am not a fan of Warbots out of fear of "Friendly Fire" casualties, and the possibility of hacking into the system.
I am not a fan of Warbots out of fear of "Friendly Fire" casualties, and the possibility of hacking into the system.
yes. there are specif switches triggered by telepathy mentioned in AM Zhodani.
It just struck me as odd that there aren't more of them from other races, or more of them in adventures.
GypsyComet
SOC-14 1K
Aslan use them only for heavy support.
Hivers love warbots.
Imperials have the Shudusham Accords that keeps them from arming robots (legally).
The Solomani use a lot of dumbots, with no real sense in the material that they use them for war.
Some Vargr probably do, but the only broad statement you can make about Vargr behavior is that you can't make broad statements about Vargr behavior.
The K'kree are very careful with robot use, since they know the Hivers are good with robots. Even other people's robots...
Hivers love warbots.
Imperials have the Shudusham Accords that keeps them from arming robots (legally).
The Solomani use a lot of dumbots, with no real sense in the material that they use them for war.
Some Vargr probably do, but the only broad statement you can make about Vargr behavior is that you can't make broad statements about Vargr behavior.
The K'kree are very careful with robot use, since they know the Hivers are good with robots. Even other people's robots...
Supplement Four
SOC-14 5K
I used Book 8 to make some pretty cool grav drones in a game. I fitted sensors on the drones, with a comm, and had them remote controlled. Flat, triangular things that flew around a forest on patrol. A slug thrower would raise out of the nose, but the things only had room for limited ammo. They are more lightly armed scouting devices than anything else.
Well, when discussing robots on other threads, the thought occurs to me that like with all other equipment, money and tech are the limiting factors. That is to say why don't we see "Star Trek Next Generation" Data-like soldiers. I'll bet they exist somewhere, but that a Data whose got military programming probably costs (no pun intended) an arm and a leg. Or, similarly, why don't we see more NEXUS-6s (Rutger Hauer class) "combat models" running around? My guess; money, and maybe they're just hard to control. In "Hard Times" I think there was one running around on that abandoned naval depot, and he was an experimental model, but my guess is there are other variants, yet we didn't see more of his ilk in that adventure or other adventures.
John, you bring up an interesting point about Dumbots. I figured any empire worth its salt would have entire regiments of the things just waiting to be activated and mustered. Just thinking outloud here (and recalling my own real world Robot Wars experience (yes, I was part of the REAL Robot Wars when it started here in San Francisco up at Fort Mason)), there was a real worry about EMF interference from local devices, or, more cynically, that some jerk would create an ECM device and ECCM devices (and other variants of electronic warfare) to make Robot Wars bad experience for competitors and audience. Therefore, extrapolating from that, using Warbots on the battlefield in any form, may be a risky proposition. So, if that's the case (and it may not be), but if it is, then maybe you keep your forces of warbots limited to when they can support your real troops in action.
The other thing that's nagged at me is that even though Traveller was published before Blade Runner hit the threatres, there were ample examples of combat capable robots, androids and other automation, and where I actually threw some ED-209s at my players years back
devil, I'm surprised that they haven't been a slightly larger factor in Traveller's scheme of things.
Just some musings. I should be writing and cleaning, but I'm feeling lazy and have a hankering to post about stuff that I think is cool
John, you bring up an interesting point about Dumbots. I figured any empire worth its salt would have entire regiments of the things just waiting to be activated and mustered. Just thinking outloud here (and recalling my own real world Robot Wars experience (yes, I was part of the REAL Robot Wars when it started here in San Francisco up at Fort Mason)), there was a real worry about EMF interference from local devices, or, more cynically, that some jerk would create an ECM device and ECCM devices (and other variants of electronic warfare) to make Robot Wars bad experience for competitors and audience. Therefore, extrapolating from that, using Warbots on the battlefield in any form, may be a risky proposition. So, if that's the case (and it may not be), but if it is, then maybe you keep your forces of warbots limited to when they can support your real troops in action.
The other thing that's nagged at me is that even though Traveller was published before Blade Runner hit the threatres, there were ample examples of combat capable robots, androids and other automation, and where I actually threw some ED-209s at my players years back
devil, I'm surprised that they haven't been a slightly larger factor in Traveller's scheme of things.Just some musings. I should be writing and cleaning, but I'm feeling lazy and have a hankering to post about stuff that I think is cool
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GypsyComet
SOC-14 1K
CT's design systems for robots came too early, then too late. MT's was frankly pretty slapdash and scattered. TNE's was almost the last thing out GDW's door (Vampire Ships), and there wasn't another until Mongoose, which was an odd but interesting book.
Robots have been part of the rules, but only rarely have they made the leap to sit plainly in the setting. AB-101 and the adventure on Shudusham are about as integral as they have gotten in the Imperium. NPCs are not presented with Robot servants, they don't show up as or with patrons, or on most encounter tables, and they don't get into world descriptions. They are effectively invisible while apparently being ubiquitous.
My gut reaction is that they seem like a neat idea and were included in the game based on that alone, but in terms of operation, they seem like a very expensive unit to operate in terms of credits and power consumption.
Patron Zero
SOC-13
IMTU robots have served in different roles to supplement-support both PCs and NPCs.
The employment of droid and drone style robots aboard the starship the PCs were based was a good fit for filling in niches and providing adventure hooks.
The ship's engineer had a pair of maintenance and repair drones that gave him more than one pair of hands and additional 'eyes' to handle damage control and day-to-day ship operations, while not fully self-aware AIs this didn't prevent such from being found playing poker when 'off-duty'.
The bridge had a droid that assisted as an 'interface' to the ship's computer and operating systems as well as could act as an 'smart' auto-pilot when situations so demanded.
For purposes of physical housekeeping and acting in the role of ship's steward and medic, another droid was so programed but all the robots aboard had 'paramedic' and 'field surgeon' capacities in both software and hardware venues.
To me it makes sense to 'farm-out' support roles to robots to as free up the PCs for tasks other than mundane chores of doing the crew's laundry or monitoring radio chatter. Simply said, a resource often overlooked or avoided but one offering many advantages when properly utilized.
The employment of droid and drone style robots aboard the starship the PCs were based was a good fit for filling in niches and providing adventure hooks.
The ship's engineer had a pair of maintenance and repair drones that gave him more than one pair of hands and additional 'eyes' to handle damage control and day-to-day ship operations, while not fully self-aware AIs this didn't prevent such from being found playing poker when 'off-duty'.
The bridge had a droid that assisted as an 'interface' to the ship's computer and operating systems as well as could act as an 'smart' auto-pilot when situations so demanded.
For purposes of physical housekeeping and acting in the role of ship's steward and medic, another droid was so programed but all the robots aboard had 'paramedic' and 'field surgeon' capacities in both software and hardware venues.
To me it makes sense to 'farm-out' support roles to robots to as free up the PCs for tasks other than mundane chores of doing the crew's laundry or monitoring radio chatter. Simply said, a resource often overlooked or avoided but one offering many advantages when properly utilized.
This aside, ITTR whaving read somewhere (sorry, can't give specific reference) they see as unfair to use robots in war (not only warbots, but robots in general) unless the other side can also use them, and warbots are not used as it would cast doubt to the warriors courage.
As I understand that, here is carisma that does not make them attractive for the Vargr. Using charismaless robots is under their dignity.
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Lycanorukke
SOC-13
I think it's like "Any idiot can get a machine to do what they want, but it takes someone with charisma/leadership to get people to do what they want". IIRC the K'Kree were of similiar nature - people worth knowing have vassals to do their bidding, not robots.
I always though a bit of that crept into the Imperium as described - any low class peon can control a machine, but it takes a skilled leader (aka noble) to control people. Hence the lack of 'highly visible' robots - there are robots around, but they are kept discreet or out of sight by those who can privately afford them.
Like people today will spend a good chunk of money buying a 'hand made' products which are inferior to a manufactured one. But it shows off their (supposed) status, power and money by not buying mass produced items...
In the case of the K'Kree, the ship description of one of their ships in K'kree Starships: A Human Prespective (Challenge 28, pages 22-25) talks about most engineering functions being performed by slave robots tied to the master computer (quite akin the repair drones in MgT, BTW), as most this work needs to go to very enclosed and small zones, where no sane K'Kree will enter.
I use them occasionally, tho' not in recent sessions. The ones I have used were Imperial designs.
In my second traveller campaign as a player I played a comp/sci whiz that spent most of his time building and repairing expert system driven bots. The human members of our groups were always insufficient to man the critical systems on our boats so the bots filled in. On at least one occasion two of his illegally armed anti boarder bots saved the day by fighting off pirates. Those were war bots I suppose.
My current traveller campaign, the first I've ever run myself, is a riff off the Asimov robots narrative. My players are cleverly disguised robots struggling to serve humanity within the strictures of the three laws. Their purpose is to fight off regular blooms of rapacious AI and are representatives of an organization of 'zeroth law' robots that has been serving in this fashion since the early days of the Ziru Sirka.
I guess you'd call 'em warbots.
Occasional use, (maybe 10%), mainly as guards of abandoned bases so they are mainly Sindalian Empire.
Regards
David
epicenter00
SOC-13
That's pretty much all my players ever run into if they need to run into "hostile" Zhodani on a battlefield. Zhodani warbots and the odd Prole observer. While others in the thread have pointed out various "problems" with robots, it's important to remember that all that stuff is because nobody has put in the resources to harden them against unwanted interference. Modern missiles are basically robots - they're not shaped like people and can't hold a conversation about the subtleties of Bach vs. Mozart, but they're still robots. Nobody seizes control of them and turn them against you after launch, they don't get shot down by someone turning on a microwave oven, etc. Zhodani use a variety of devices, some pretty dumb (and therefore cheap) and others more expensive and flexible.
If you really play out psionics to the degree that the Zhodani should be using them, ground fighting against the Zhodani would literally be like playing a video game where the other side has installed a trojan on your computer to control it. I don't think Marines would ever fight Zhodani on the ground. Depending on the strength of the enemy psion: All of your grenades will arm themselves, all of the magazines of your weapons will drop out of your gun, your gun will always be setting itself to safe, your spacesuit helmet will always be twisting around 180 degrees, your sidearm will simply unsafety itself and start shooting in its holster. I mean there's no end to the list of Stupid TK Tricks and none of it has to deal with psionic shields and this stuff is fairly basic, easy to do at the Intendant level, not even Nobles.
I don't tnik it's as bad as that. Not very many Zhodani have psionic abilities and those who do can only use them a handful of times per day. To manipulate equipment of enemy soldiers you need a combination clairvoyant and telekinetic and, as I said, he can only peform his tricks so many times per day.
Hans
