Robot, Reclamation RobotThis complex-looking automaton’s multiple arms end in gripping talons. It moves about on a set of four legs and has a strange bell-shaped head.Reclamation Robot CR 12Source Pathfinder #88: Valley of the Brain Collectors pg. 84
XP 19,200
N Large construct (robot)
Init +11; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +18DefenseAC 27, touch 16, flat-footed 20 (+7 Dex, +11 natural, –1 size)
hp 168 (16d10+30 plus 50 hp force field)
Fort +7, Ref +12, Will +7
Defensive Abilities hardness 10; Immune construct traits; Resist cold 15, fire 15
Weaknesses vulnerable to critical hits and electricityOffenseSpeed 30 ft., climb 20 ft.
Melee 5 claws +21 (1d6+6/19–20 plus grab)
Ranged integrated laser rifle +22 touch (2d6 fire)
Space 10 ft., Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks combined arms, constrict (1d6+6), efficient grapplerStatisticsStr 22, Dex 25, Con —, Int 14, Wis 15, Cha 1
Base Atk +16; CMB +23 (+31 grapple, +27 sunder); CMD 40 (48 vs. grapple, 42 vs. sunder, 44 vs. trip)
Feats Blinding Critical, Critical Focus, Great Fortitude, Greater Sunder, Improved Critical (claws), Improved Initiative, Improved Sunder, Power Attack, TechnologistB
Skills Climb +34, Disable Device +23, Knowledge (engineering) +22, Perception +18; Racial Modifiers +4 Climb, +4 Knowledge (engineering)
Languages Androffan, Common
SQ item creation, salvage, scalingEcologyEnvironment any
Organization solitary, duo, or work gang (3–5)
Treasure standardSpecial AbilitiesCombined Arms (Ex) When taking a full-attack action, a reclamation robot can attack with its claws and its integrated laser rifle simultaneously. It does not provoke attacks of opportunity with its integrated laser rifle when using combined arms.
Efficient Grappler (Ex) A reclamation robot takes only a –10 penalty on its combat maneuver check to make and maintain a grapple on a foe when using only its claw rather than its whole body to grapple. It receives a +8 bonus on combat maneuver checks to start and maintain a grapple rather than the normal +4 bonus granted by the grab ability. A reclamation robot can make an attack with its integrated laser rifle against one creature it is grappling as a swift action—when it attacks in this way, the robot has a threat range of 18–20 for critical hits with the laser rifle.
Item Creation (Ex) Reclamation robots are known for their startling creativity in repairing damaged technology. A reclamation robot ignores all of the item creation feat requirements for creating a technological item, but must have access to a sufficient amount of scrap metal and spare parts in order to create or repair an item (the robot must still expend materials equal to the item’s cost).
A reclamation robot can attempt a Knowledge (engineering) check to restore a timeworn technological item to full functionality—the DC of this check is equal to the item’s Craft DC + 5, and requires an expenditure of technological components worth a total amount of money equal to the timeworn item’s cost (half the cost of the object in its pristine condition). Failure results in the destruction of the item. When a reclamation robot restores a technological item to full functionality in this manner, if the robot exceeds its DC by a result of 10 or more, it improves the item in some way—choose one of the following improvements or determine one randomly. - The item’s capacity permanently increases by 50%.
- If the item is a weapon or armor, it becomes masterwork.
- The item becomes hardened (increase its hardness by 2).
- The item becomes fortified (increase its hit points by 50%).
- The item becomes lightweight (weight is divided in half).
Force Field (Ex) A reclamation robot is sheathed in a thin layer of shimmering energy that grants it 50 bonus hit points. All damage dealt to a reclamation robot with an active force field is deducted from these hit points first. As long as the force field is active, the reclamation robot is immune to critical hits. A reclamation robot’s force field has fast healing 10, but once these hit points are reduced to 0, the force field shuts down and does not reactivate for 24 hours.
Integrated Laser Rifle (Ex) A reclamation robot has a built-in laser rifle in its chest. This weapon has a range of 150 feet and deals 2d6 points of fire damage on a hit. The weapon can fire once per round as a ranged touch attack. A laser attack can pass through force fields and force effects, such as a wall of force, to strike a foe beyond without damaging that field. Objects like glass or other transparent barriers don’t provide cover from lasers, but unlike force barriers, a transparent physical barrier still takes damage when a laser passes through it. Invisible creatures and objects are immune to damage from lasers. Fog, smoke, and other clouds provide cover in addition to concealment from laser attacks. Darkness (magical or otherwise) has no effect on lasers other than providing concealment.
Salvage (Ex) A reclamation robot is designed specifically to salvage technology for further use. All Craft skills are class skills for reclamation robots, and they gain a +4 racial bonus on Knowledge (engineering) checks and gain Technologist as a bonus feat. A reclamation robot can repair 2d6 points of damage to a robot within reach (including itself) as a standard action.
Scaling (Ex) Reclamation robots are expected to work at great heights or while clinging to immense ships. They gain a +4 racial bonus on Climb checks. Once every 1d4 rounds, a reclamation robot can increase its climb speed to 40 feet as a swift action for 1 round.
Vulnerable to Critical Hits (Ex) Like all robots, reclamation robots are vulnerable to critical hits. In addition, when a critical hit is confirmed against a reclamation robot, roll a d8. On a roll of 1, instead of suffering additional damage from the critical hit, the robot suffers damage to essential processing units and memory modules that it cannot itself repair (although another reclamation robot could repair this damage). While such damage is not readily apparent on the exterior—and the robot itself is essentially unaware of it—this kind of injury can have a number of different effects. When such an injury occurs, roll d% and consult the following chart to determine the nature of the damage.
| d% | Result | | 01–20 | The robot takes a –4 penalty on all skill checks. | | 21–30 | The robot’s integrated laser rifle now glitches each time it is fired as if it were timewornTG. | | 31–40 | The robot loses its scaling ability (including its bonus on Climb checks). | | 41–60 | When it attempts to repair damage to a robot via salvage, it only repairs 1d4 points of damage. | | 61–70 | Movement is reduced by 10 feet. | | 71–95 | One of the robot’s claw attacks becomes nonfunctional. | | 96–100 | The robot goes berserk, functioning as if under the simultaneous effects of a confusion spell and a rage spell. |
DescriptionReclamation robots, or “reclamators,” are masters of salvage and construction. These robots were originally designed to build structures and repair all manner of technology with speed and precision. Construction of these robots was difficult and time consuming, but they often repaid those spent resources swiftly with their ability to rebuild and repair other robots or technological items. Their truly remarkable programing surprised even those who originally developed them, as these machines can salvage items thought to be far beyond hope of repair.
Over time it’s not uncommon for a reclamation robot to develop a unique personality akin to that of an artist, with something that almost approaches pride in its work. On some occasions, reclamation robots have even been known to make improvements to items and constructs that they repair.
Though a reclamation robot is generally quite adept at repairing damage to itself as well, injury to certain processors and memory modules deep within the robot can cause significant problems. Some of the resulting malfunctions can be quite noticeable (see the table above), while others are subtler, such as a tendency to add baroque and unnecessary embellishments to constructions and repairs. Reclamation robots with this type of damage are largely unaware of their condition and actively resist efforts to repair them, requiring intervention with a robojackTG or the like. There are even recorded incidents of damaged reclamators going rogue and setting off on their own to build whatever outlandish structures their flawed processors dictate. Though they were originally designed to create things for humanoids, such rogue robots typically design structures and devices of no apparent use to organic beings... which isn’t to say that these creations don’t have a place in some unknowable automaton agenda.Creatures in "Robot" CategorySource Inner Sea Bestiary pg. 42
Products of technology advanced far beyond even those of the gunsmiths of Alkenstar, robots represent constructs animated by engineering and advanced science rather than magic. The people of Golarion think of robots as “automatons” or “metal men”—their proper nomenclature is known to only a few.
The first robots arrived untold years ago, when a ship from beyond the stars smashed into Golarion. The metal vessel entered the atmosphere in a blaze of fire and broke apart, scattering fragments across the plains of Numeria. Over the following centuries, several varieties of robots emerged or were recovered from some of these ruins. A few still follow the alien dictates of their original programming, while others run amok, their directives corrupted or forgotten. Perhaps the best-known robots are the fabled gearsmen, a veritable army of humanoid robots found stored and awaiting orders in a massive hold in Silver Mount.
The means of commanding robots vary from model to model, a source of endless frustration for Numerian artificers. Some obey orders from any humanoid, some bond to a specific master until her death, and others yield only to the command of brooches or rods recovered from Silver Mount. Still others submit after mechanical surgery, or not all. A surprisingly large fraction of uncontrolled robots already speak Common or Hallit. Most models exhibit considerable linguistic talents, and the robots train each other in their new home’s languages. Despite comprehending Numerian languages, most robots rarely speak save for terse acknowledgments and orders. The Robot Subtype “Robot” is a special subtype that can be applied to any construct without changing its CR. Robots share some features with clockwork constructs (The Inner Sea World Guide 256), and as with clockworks, you can simply remove the robot subtype and its traits to transform it into a typical construct animated by magic. A construct cannot possess both the robot and the clockwork subtypes. All robots gain the following traits, unless noted otherwise. - Intelligent: Robots are intelligent, and thus have skills and feats as appropriate for their Hit Dice. Unless otherwise indicated for a specific robot, all robots have Intelligence scores of 10. The following are class skills for robots: Climb, Disable Device, Fly, Knowledge (all), Linguistics, Perception, and Sense Motive.
- Vulnerable to Critical Hits: Whenever a robot takes extra damage from a critical hit, it must make a DC 15 Fortitude save to avoid being stunned for 1 round. If it makes a successful saving throw, it is staggered for 1 round. The robot remains immune to other sources of the stunned condition.
- Vulnerable to Electricity: Robots take 150% as much damage as normal from electricity attacks, unless they are immune to electricity via other special defenses.
- Difficult to Create: Robots are crafted via complex methods hidden and well guarded in Numerian ruins or other technological bastions. While the Technic League has developed magical solutions to some of these requirements, actual details on creating robots are beyond the scope of this book.
Numerian Technology Miraculous and deadly treasures lie in wait in Numerian dungeons, and the robots that dwell there often utilize these technological arms and tools themselves. A robot’s weapons and defenses are fueled by its central energy core, and unless otherwise indicated, a robot’s weapons and defenses have infinite ammunition and power.
Force Fields: A force field sheathes a robot in a thin layer of shimmering energy that grants a number of bonus hit points that varies according to the robot (typically 5 × the robot’s CR). All damage dealt to a robot with an active force field is reduced from these hit points first. As long as the force field is active, the robot is immune to critical hits. A force field has fast healing equal to the robot’s CR, but once its hit points are reduced to 0, the force field shuts down and does not reactivate for 24 hours.
Integrated Weaponry: A robot that has a technological weapon (such as a laser rifle or chain gun) built into its body treats such weapons as natural attacks and not manufactured weapons attacks, and cannot make iterative attacks with these weapons. Integrated weaponry can still be targeted by effects that target manufactured weapons (such as magic weapon spells or sunder attempts), but as a general rule cannot be harvested for use outside of the robot’s body once the robot is destroyed. A robot is always proficient with its integrated weapons. Integrated ranged weapons do not provoke attacks of opportunity when fired in melee combat.
Laser Weapons: These weapons emit beams of intensely focused light waves that resolve as touch attacks and deal fire damage. A laser can pass through force fields and force effects like a wall of force without damaging that field to strike a foe beyond. Objects like glass or other transparent barriers do not provide cover from lasers (but unlike force barriers, glass still takes damage from a laser strike passing through it). Invisible creatures are immune to damage caused by a laser weapon. Fog, smoke, and other clouds provide cover in addition to concealment from laser attacks.
Plasma Weapons: These weapons emit bursts of superheated, electrically charged gas known as plasma. A plasma weapon’s attacks resolve as touch attacks. Half the damage dealt by plasma is fire damage, and half is electricity damage.Source Bestiary 5 pg. 205
Products of advanced scientific technology, the constructs called robots are animated by engineering and advanced science rather than magic. Most people refer to robots as “automatons” or “metal men”; their proper nomenclature is known to only a few. Unlike most constructs, robots are capable of independent thought. However, they still must obey the programming instilled in them at their creation. Any robot whose creator hard-coded limitations into its programming can never be truly autonomous.
Robots almost always arise from cultures that possess technology that is leaps and bounds ahead of other civilizations, though sometimes they appear due to cultural diffusion from such a society. A wrecked spacecraft, a portal through time, or a group of robots mass-producing others of their kind could all bring robots into a world. Robots that appear from another place or time might still follow the alien dictates of their original programming, or could run amok, their directives corrupted or forgotten. Whatever the case, these robots possess technology that is beyond the means of almost anyone to reproduce, and they represent a stark contrast to other constructs, as they have nothing to do with magic.
Some spellcasters, despite lacking any real grasp on the technological principles required to create robots, have managed to create their own robots by cobbling together spare parts and broken machines, filling in the gaps and completing the design with a mixture of magic and barely understood fragments of science. These inferior designs usually lack the inexhaustible power supplies, advanced intellects, and self-repair systems found in the original robots, and the magic used in their creation can potentially render them more susceptible to techniques that work against other sorts of constructs.
Robots serve a wide range of purposes, from warfare and defense to peaceful tasks like excavation, farming, and maintenance. Small villages that find robots and somehow manage to command them will often put them to work quietly tending fields or constructing buildings all day long. Armies and warlords collect the more dangerous varieties of robots, but even the more ordinary varieties can be deadly. Most robots sport alloyed skin as hard as steel, meaning that even the lowliest worker robot presents a potent threat when altered for battle. Furthermore, since most cultures lack a means to reliably repair or understand how to command robots, even the most benign one might malfunction, or even reach a point in its programming where it changes its activity and refuses to follow orders, leading to untold death and destruction among the its former temporary masters.
The means of commanding robots vary from model to model, which can be a source of endless frustration for any who seek to control them. Some obey orders from any humanoid, some bond to a specific master until her death, and others only yield to the command of technological brooches or control rods. Still others submit after mechanical surgery or rebuilding, or not at all. Many must be given extremely precise instructions, for they are unable to process metaphors or other figures of speech, and may interpret them in unanticipated ways, much to the chagrin of those who would command them. A surprisingly large proportion of uncontrolled robots already speak Common, as most models exhibit considerable linguistics talent, and the robots train each other in their new home’s languages. Though they comprehend language, most robots rarely speak save for terse acknowledgements of orders. Their speech typically excludes words they deem unnecessary with their mechanical efficiency, leading to strange disjointed statements that convey the requisite information without emotion, although some robots programmed to interact well with humans are able to speak in a more fluid and less disconcerting manner.
Constructing a robot requires no magic, but does involve advanced and extraordinarily rare materials and technological expertise. Because almost no one possesses the skills and materials to complete the process of constructing a robot, these entries omit the construction sections provided for most constructs. A GM can add the robot subtype to a different type of construct, such as an animated object or homunculus, to create new types of robots. Typically, this doesn’t alter the construct’s CR. A character can’t create a robot from or add the robot subtype to a construct that has already been created; adding the robot subtype to an existing creature is purely a means for the GM to simulate additional robots beyond those provided here.
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