Random Automaton Thought

[CrosshairCollie]

Something just dawned on me (and I'm probably really wrong). When you're building a full Automaton, whether it be robot or zombie, most of the builds I've seen have Full LIfe Support and Zero Endurance on everything, including strength.

 

Why? If they have Takes no Stun, even if they have no Endurance, it doesn't slow them down. If they run out of END, they would start burning STUN ... but they can't burn STUN, so nothing would happen, right? Same with Life Support ... most of the things that LS defends against are NNDs, which are Stun Only ... which means they do nothing to an Automaton that Takes No Stun.

 

Is there a rule I overlooked that prevents this point-mongery?

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Random Automaton Thought

 

Well, as I understand it, automatons are usually depicted as being tireless and unrelenting, hence having powers bought to 0 END (and Endurance bought back since it's not used). There's nothing about the Automaton Powers that affect END - it's just game mechanics reflecting genre conventions. The "Takes No Stun" Power has no relationship to Endurance, so if they ran out of END and had no Stun I would expect them to simply be unable to function until they regained END points.

 

As for Life Support: on the one hand, some NND attacks can do BODY damage, so it could still apply for defense. More to the point, though, Life Support is intended to reflect most automatons' ability to ignore conditions that are harmful to living organisms: environmental extremes of heat and cold, lack of food, sleep or air, disease, aging, etc.

[Vorsch]

Re: Random Automaton Thought

 

They burn stun as end, hence no stun ( as in NA rather than 0) no power.

[Dust Raven]

Re: Random Automaton Thought

 

They burn stun as end' date=' hence no stun ( as in NA rather than 0) no power.[/quote']

This is exactly how I see it. Takes No STUN doesn't reduce STUN damage to zero, or give you infinate STUN. It removes that Characteristic completely. Since such a character wouldn't have any STUN to use as END, being brought to zero END means the zombie (or whatever) can't take any actions requiring END.

 

As far as LS is concerned: I think most of what LS protects a character from are things that do BODY. If you were to march naken into the icy north, do you think you'd only freeze to unconsciousness? Sure, you'd pass out long before you died, but you still die. Same thing with the heat, the vacuum of space and high radiation. Then there are diseases, which, if they don't kill you, they certainly hinder other Characteristics (ever try to fight a super battle with a 106 degree fevor and hacking cough?). Same things with poisons. Many don't knock you out or even come close. Breathing has the rules right in the main book. If you need to breathe and can't, you don't get recoveries and start burning END. So a zombie won't fall unconscious from lack of air, but being completely immobile because he can't take actions is pretty much the same thing (though, by the rules, he can still maintain his full DCV, block and dodge). Eating, sleeping and aging are pretty easy to figure out, though there aren't any specific rules for what happens if you don't (or do, in the case of aging).