Re: [HOE] calling all junkers!

[Robert Holland <robert@macauley.com>]

>Hey all you technoshaman out there, I need a bit of
>help. I am designing robots and have come to a
>cross-road. Do I need Agaility to give him legs and
>mobility or do I use Locomotion?
>Agility says nothing about making a thing mobile just
>giving it a Nimbleness score.
>Locomotion gives rules for a two-legged machine that
>you also need Agility for, however would this apply to
>my self-propelled man or would this only be for that
>walking vehicle?
>Thanks for you help in advance.

This is something I've given thought to. I came to a conclusion for house use;
feel free to use it or ignore it.

Any gadget that can walk needs legs, and those legs need to be bought as
described under Locomotion. Any gadget that walks on two legs needs Agility to
stay upright, unless it is worn by a human; the Agility power automatically
includes arms and such as well, if you want them. This part seems a little
iffy--it's odd that you have to specifically build legs, but not arms--but I'm
willing to rationalize it as needing better hydraulics, stronger, more deeply
attached supports, etc. to allow actual walking.

My house rule was on the subject of the engine. For walker vehicles *with
Agility*, you only need to buy the engine under Locomotion if you want the full
speed it provides. With legs and Agility but no engine, the gadget moves like a
character, that is, its Nimbleness yards per round. It only seems fair that a
gizmo with legs like a human and muscles like a human should be able to move
like a human. Bear in mind that a d12 Nimbleness moves you at about 5 mph, while
the smallest walker engine can do 10 mph and has the same slot size as a single
d12 in Agility.

This just makes it a little easier to design small humanoid robots. What with
Agility, Brains, Commo, Locomotion, and Sensor needed at a bare minimum, and
stuff like AI, Reflexes and Super Strength pretty desireable as well, it can get
awful hard to cram enough stuff into a Size 5 frame to be useful.

Also, don't forget to check the Accumulated Rulings for junker stuff, especially
if you're building Locomotion vehicles. I think the percentage slot cost of all
the engines was reduced by 10 in the errata.

--Robert Holland