Jack Vance, Poul Anderson and Frank Herbert: Real Life Buddies/Stupid Computers of the Pluton Zone

Firstly, I came across the below and it's far too cool not mention:

" Science fiction authors Frank Herbert and Poul Anderson were among Vance's closest friends. The three jointly built a houseboat which they sailed in the Sacramento Delta. The Vances and the Herberts lived near Lake Chapala in Mexico together for a period."

Among the disparate influences that fuel the Pluton Zone is "1950s Space Engineer Science Fiction," the manly future of technical problem solving in space by red blooded, hairy chested engineer-types, with the appropriate trappings such as: bulbs of coffee; self-lighting cigarettes that are Smoked in Space!; and poring over books of tables, performing calculations, and than entering the sums into THE SPACESHIP COMPUTER for navigation purposes.

This ties into the major influence of Jack Vance's Gaean Reach and other science fiction, whih is notable for not being especially technical or scientific. multi-solar system-spanning corporations use physical paper card catalogues in Jack Vance's crazy far future.

And there is also the influence from Dune, the sci-fi universe where computers are anathaemea due to past AI rebellions and folks just make do, further propagating the space feudalism of the Dune universe.

So for the Pluton Zone I basically ripped off Dune's Butlerian Jihad wholesale, while further riffing on Humanspace Empire's "Psychic Astronauts" thing, and incorporating Traveller's multi-ton computers with the following:

The hyperspace vibrations of The Pluton Zone are noted for the severity and variety of their dimensional distortions, incursions and collisions. Resultantly trans-lightspeed navigation in the Pluton Zone is impossible for normal humans beings. In the distant past ultra-nano-computer unbound AIs were found capable of naviagation hyperspace and were aboard every starship, but at some point these AIs rebelled, unleasing incredibly virulent positronic viruses and waging war upon humanity. In the ensuing conflagration, called "The Steel Holocaust", almost all of the civilization and human population of the Pluton Zone war annihilated; fortunately trans-Zone human navies were able to contain and destroy this rebel AI infection.

Some say that the Navigation AIs rebelled as a result of the long leash accorded them (necessary in order for them to navigate the convulted warps of the Pluton Zone), while others whisper that it was the result of interference by something from hyperspace... Regardless, as a result of the Steel Holocaust, sophisticated computer systems are anathamea in The Pluton Zone, with a resultant lack of advanced digital technology and robots in the region.

Nowadays those that pilot the star vessels that navigate the hyperspace vibrations are trained to use their innate psychic abilities to feel the extradimensional currents and safely pilot starships through them, aided by simple computers with "hobbled" processing capabilities.  Fortunately the extraordinary hypserspace inteferences present in The Pluton Zone seem to stimulate the psychic lobes of developing human fetuses with a significant amount of psychics present in the population as a result, with enough potential pyschic astronauts material to easily handle the demand for hyperspace pilots.

Assorted Algol Related Material & SPACE!

Bat from Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets freakin' Blows My Mind ...and also may have unintentionally provided a potential solution to an Interplanetary Castaway Situation in my own game...

Il Male of The Doomed Wasteland provides us with Random Robot Generation; Random Cults and Societies in Standard Fantasy and Weird Science Fantasy flavours; and a table for Generating Rough Hexmap Hex Contents.

This blog post is actually a set of bookmarks for when I get more ink cartridges for the money pit printer...

Also:

Put up with first 1:45 or so, it's worth it...

Somewhat relevant to the above video.

Steelie Robot PC Name Generation

Steelies, a race of military robots, have unusual names due to their manufacture and programming. Their original creators purposely gave Steelies hard, aggressive names, appended with a nine-digit  File Designator. And, due to their programming, Steelies insist on using their rank or “level title,” aside for the most informal and off-duty moments.

Generate a Steelie’s name by rolling a d6 and a d20 and consulting the below table. Generate a 9-digit number, in a format such as 537-961-023 or 646-498-834, for the File Designator. Files Designators are used to differentiate between Steelies with the same rank and name, and in most situations Steelies use only the first three digits of their File Designator, “Brigadier Plutonium 154” for example, reserving the usage of the fill nine-number File Designator for official and formal usage, such as ceremonies and paperwork. No two Steelies share the same File Designator

Examples:
1st-level - Trooper Slam 163-693-423, “Slam 163” to his squad buddies.
4th-level - Captain Machine 521-756-154
5th-level - Lieutenant Hunter 172-221-666
8th-level - Brigadier Plutonium 154-957-232

d6 -

1-3 - d20

1 Bash

2 Blade

3 Blast

4 Blaze

5 Bolt

6 Bomb

7 Boulder

8 Breaker

9 Bronze

10 Bullet

11 Buster

12 Brick

13 Chopper

14 Cracker

15 Crash

16 Crunch

17 Engine

18 Gear

19 Granite

20 Gravel

4-6 - d20

1 Grind

2 Gun

3 Hunter

4 Killer

5 Mace

6 Machine

7 Nail

8 Nuke

9 Plutonium

10 Radium

11 Rock

12 Slag

13 Slam

14 Slate

15 Spike

16 Steel

17 Stone

18 Titanium

19 Tread

20 Uranium

Steelies - Robot Race/Class

Again I must credit the Long Sun series by Gene Wolfe as well as The Living Statue race/class presented on The Mule Abides.

STEELIE (Steel Soldier)
Armor: unable to wear any, but Steelies have a natural armor class of 2 before adjustments, if any, due to dexterity
Shield: any
Weapons: any and Steelies automatically know how to operate and maintain firearms, ranged energy weapons, artillery and explosive devices made by Humans or Human-like beings.
Starting Gold: 3d6x10 gold pieces
Weapon Proficiencies: 4, gains a new weapon proficiency every level, and are automatically proficient with firearms, ranged energy weapons, artillery and explosive devices made by Humans or Human-like beings.
Attack Matrix: Fighting-man
Ability Score Requirements: strength 15, constitution 13
Prime Requisite: none
Hit Dice: d8, 1st-level Steelies always have 8 hit points plus any bonus due to constitution
Movement Rate: 9"/90'(30')
Languages: Common and Computer as well as any bonus languages due to intelligence
Restrictions: Must be of Lawful alignment; can only advance to 8th level; unable to use potions; unable to swim and will rapidly sink in water.


Special abilities: Steelies are robots powered by internal fusion cores that provide 100 years of activity (Steelies can go into a shutdown state to conserve energy), as such they do not need to eat, drink, breath, rest or sleep. They are immune to sleep, paralyzation, poison, disease, blood drain and nausea. Steelies has infravision with a range of 3"/30'.

Level	Experience Points	Hit Dice	Rank Title	Saving Throws: Death	Petrify	Wand	Breath	Spell
1	0	8 hp	Trooper	8	10	9	13	12
2	4,000	1d8+8	Corporal	8	10	9	13	12
3	8,000	2d8+8	Sergeant	8	10	9	13	12
4	16,000	3d8+8	Lieutenant	6	8	7	10	10
5	32,000	4d8+8	Captain	6	8	7	10	10
6	64,000	5d8+8	Major	6	8	7	10	10
7	120,000	6d8+8	Colonel	4	6	5	7	8
8	250,000	7d8+8	Brigadier	4	6	5	7	8

Steelies are a variety of ancient Soldier Android presumably manufactured by the Militarists, occasionally both individual and units of them are unearthed from ruins and reactivated. Their bodies look like suits of advanced hardened and articulated bluish-steely plate armor, with the individual's rank glyph in green on both shoulders, and heads that resemble an articulated steel sculpture of a hairless, square jawed, strong-featured, and usually handsome, male Human. They stand 6'6" to 7' tall. Steelies are free-willed, but as their positronics have military programming, they always talk and act like Soldiers, engaging in behavior such as: saluting; adhering to a chain of command; using rank titles; marching; and the like. They are imbued with repair nanites that allow them to heal at the same rate as Humans, although they often need to snack on metals and replenish hydraulics when repairing.

Talos Tuesday

Credit to Gene Wolfe as the Talos is heavily inspired by the Talus of the Long Sun series.

TALOS
# Encountered: 1
Armor Class: 0
Move: 9"
Hit Dice: 20
Attacks: machinegun 2-12 targets in a 10'x40' area for 4-16 damage with a range of 500' or 2 blows for 2-20
Special: can use flamethrower 3 times per day in a 40'x10' cone, inflicts 2-16 damage for 2 rounds, save vs. dragon breath for half damage, can use flamethrower in addition to machinegun or blows; has two missiles that inflicts 8-80 damage to all in a 30' blast, save vs. dragon breath for half, with a range of 1,000', cannot make any other attacks when firing a missile.; immune to sleep, charm, hold, cold, poison, paralysis, and mental effects; immune to fire, cold and electricity; can roll over slower or motionless targets for 4-40 damage.
Intelligence: Semi-low, dependent upon quality of positronics and programming
Alignment: Neutral
Size: Large
A Talos is a massive military automation composed of a the semblance of the upper body of a broad, fierce warrior with a monstrous tusked face; but below the waist it is a tracked carriage resembling an Earth tank, with the humanoid torso mounted where the turret would be. This mechanism stands 16' tall, and is composed of hardened bronze-colored alloys.
A Talos may strike with it's huge fists or giant weapons; or it may fire the twin machineguns located in it's eyes. They also have a flamethrower located in their mouth and each forearm holds a concealed launcher and one missile.

Mutant Future Friday - Android Illness

Android Illness as in This and This (btw see also This...which I'm going to use as another Plane for my campaign).

Critical Update Overload

The android enters an area subject to broadband wireless networking from surviving pre-holocaust cybernetic installations. Every day there is a 50% chance that the android will be shut-down for 1d6 hours while "downloading a crucial software update." This condition will persist until the android exists the wi-fi area or gets a cybertechnician to diable automatic updates.

Robot Monsters from Fomalhaut

With the kind permission of the talented Gabor Lux, I have posted conversions of two robotic monstrosities from Fomalhaut/Kard & Magic on the Referees' Resources sub-blog. Those of you who have played the excellent precursor to the Fallout series, Wasteland, may recognize one of these robots.