D&D 3E/3.5 Converting monsters from Mayfair Games Role Aids product line

[Cleon]

Yes. Make it roll 1d6 and give even odds for each possible breakdown?

Clearly the best solution is using a d12 and giving even odds to each possibility!

You're not a dodecahedrophobe are you?

 

[freyar]

I'm a big fan of dodecahedra but only when they make a difference.

 

[Cleon]

I'm a big fan of dodecahedra but only when they make a difference.

You're not that big a fan if you're not able to use them superfluously.

 

[Cleon]

...but I suppose the Guardian Droid Working Draft can suffer without a d12.

So we just need tactics, a description, a bit more background info and a weight.

 

[freyar]

Tactics: The superiority of their laser to other ranged attacks combined with their formidable damage reduction leads guardian droids to maintain position and fight at range as long as possible. In fact, they may risk attacks of opportunity to attack with their laser even when in melee.

 

[Cleon]

Tactics: The superiority of their laser to other ranged attacks combined with their formidable damage reduction leads guardian droids to maintain position and fight at range as long as possible. In fact, they may risk attacks of opportunity to attack with their laser even when in melee.

That raises a good point.

Shouldn't it be able to use it's laser without provoking AoOs?

The Guardian Droid's laser-eye is build into its head and it only needs to "look" at its target to zap them. It's not like its waving a crossbow around an enemy can grab hold of.

 

[freyar]

Yeah, that's probably a fair ability to include. Just add it to the laser SA, I guess.

Anyone have thoughts on the weight?

 

[Cleon]

Yeah, that's probably a fair ability to include. Just add it to the laser SA, I guess.

Updating the Guardian Droid Working Draft with "The droid does not provoke attacks of opportunity when it attacks with its laser, despite it being a ranged weapon".

Anyone have thoughts on the weight?

I reckon they ought to be pretty heavy despite their short size.

They seem a similar size to an iRobot 710 Warrior (21.2" to 30.2" wide, 18" to 29.8" tall, 365 to 500 pounds depending on extras)

The BigDog robot (3 ft long, 2.5 ft tall, 240 pounds) is a similar size but lighter, but it doesn't have arms and tracks and armour like the Guardian Droid.

Maybe 400 pounds?

 

[Cleon]

I reckon they ought to be pretty heavy despite their short size.

They seem a similar size to an iRobot 710 Warrior (21.2" to 30.2" wide, 18" to 29.8" tall, 365 to 500 pounds depending on extras)

The BigDog robot (3 ft long, 2.5 ft tall, 240 pounds) is a similar size but lighter, but it doesn't have arms and tracks and armour like the Guardian Droid.

Maybe 400 pounds?

Further on that, the Gladiator TUGV seems only a bit bigger and weighs 725 kilos - or roughly 1600 pounds! - while the Foster-Miller TALON is around 115-150 pounds, presumably not including the weight of the armament the weaponized SWORDS version can carry.

I'm still liking 400 pounds for them.

 

[Cleon]

This entity is obviously not a living creature, but a metallic construct of some sort. Its body is a thick cylinder topped by a dome-shaped head and a two arm-like limbs with hinged joints. Instead of legs, it stands upon a pair of corrugated metal strips that wrap around a row of wheels on either side of a flat rectangular base. A cluster of glassy lenses or eyes is set into its hemispherical head – one is ruby red, the rest are crystal clear.

A droid is an artificial creature manufactured by nonmagical technologies far more sophisticated than exist in most known worlds. The guardian droid is a common design built for security duties. It is normally found patrolling high technology installations, such as outposts built by an extraterrestrial centauroid species who call themselves the masters.

Droids can speak a special language of buzzes and beeps called Code. There are many dialects of Code, most of which are mutually unintelligible. A guardian droid speaks Code Standard (the droid equivalent of Common) and Code Security (a dialect that encrypts the speech with a password). A message sent using Code Security can only be understood by a listener who speaks Code Security and knows the password the message was sent with. A creature can figure out the password of a Code Security message with a DC 35 Decipher Script check.

In addition, most droids are capable of normal humanoid speech. A standard guardian droid speaks Common.

A guardian droid's squat body stands 2 feet tall and it weighs 400 pounds. It can elevate its head and arms to reach as high as a normal Medium sized creature.

Combat
If a guardian droid encounters intruders, it follows whatever "engagement protocols" it has been programmed with. A guardian droid could be instructed to kill intruders, capture them, or issue a warning (e.g "Leave immediately, or I will attack") and attack if the intruders fail to comply. A group of guardian droids constantly uses their radiospeech ability to coordinate their actions against intruders.

Guardian droids will act to preserve themselves if it would not contradict their orders, but will emotionless fight to the death or self-destruct if instructed to do so. They are intelligent creatures, so are able to adapt their behavior to some extent to cope with unexpected situations, although only a highly defective one would actually disobey its orders.