drone followers

[Gnaskar]

I want to make a gadgeteer who always has four robotic drones follow him around. Followers, with +10 points for four of them, easy. The problem is that he has more, and chooses which to bring depending on the mission. The build I'm considering is:

Drones: 4x 100 point Followers, Variable Special Effects (Drones only; +1/4). 37 Points

Is this a valid build? Is there another way to do it?

[Bloodstone]

Re: drone followers

 

Summon

[Certified]

Re: drone followers

 

Run as a Evangelical Republican in the deep south?

 

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Sorry, that was a bit out of character.

 

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Alright, so can you not just take followers and have them built as automations? I don't have the book in front of me.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: drone followers

 

I don't see anything in the rules specifically forbidding taking Automatons as Followers, subject to GM approval; but typically, Followers who are killed/destroyed are permanently lost, along with the Character Points invested in them. Summon with appropriate Limitations to represent how the character replaces destroyed drones, would allow him to replace them without limit.

 

Depending on what Gnaskar wants the drones to be capable of, they might simply be the Special Effects of particular Powers, probably with the Focus Limitation. For example, if the drones block incoming attacks to protect their master, that's just SFX of Missile Deflection.

[gmurie]

Re: drone followers

 

Summon is certainly the way to go. You could add the limitation that you can only summon them at the hero's workshop, or with the right material to hand and make the power 0END and Persistant.

 

Followers tend to ring alarm bells with most GMs. They are wide open to terrible abuses of the rules.

 

There's probably a better way to do it, but off the top of my head...

 

Drone Workshop: Summon 4 100-point Robotic Drones, Expanded Class of Beings Very Limited Group (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2), Uncontrolled (+1/2), Slavishly Devoted (+1) (112 Active Points); Limited Power Can only be summoned from robotics lab (-1), Extra Time (5 Minutes, Only to Activate, -1)

 

That will allow you to create four drones (assuming most of their powers and stats are the same with weapon swaps or whatever) if you have five minutes in a robotics lab to kit them together. In effect, you get followers, but without having to put the personal investment into them that you'd have to with real followers. You could only operate four of them at any one time though.

 

0 END, Persistant, and Uncontrolled allow the drones complete independance from your character. Though they can be Dispelled or Suppressed, and some GMs may demand you provide a means of turning the power off like EM Pulse I don't think that is illogical.

[Bloodstone]

Re: drone followers

 

Summon is an Instant power. Once the Summoned beings appear, you do not have to do anything to keep them around.

[Lawnmower Boy]

Re: drone followers

 

Szygy, a 783 point robot character in Villains, Vandals and Vermin, buys 12 independent "attack orbs" as a 220 point Duplication (creates 12 400 point duplicates). The orbs fly around, gather information, and shoot people, sending info back via Mind Link.

Seems to be what you're looking for.

[braincraft]

Re: drone followers

 

In almost all cases, this is easier to do without creating new characters.

 

What exactly do the drones do? Do they hang around and be helpful? Do they go and do stuff on their own? Is a 100-point follower useful in this campaign, or so hopelessly underpowered that you might as well use Clairvoyance and an Indirect Energy Blast?

[gmurie]

Re: drone followers

 

In almost all cases, this is easier to do without creating new characters.

 

What exactly do the drones do? Do they hang around and be helpful? Do they go and do stuff on their own? Is a 100-point follower useful in this campaign, or so hopelessly underpowered that you might as well use Clairvoyance and an Indirect Energy Blast?

 

That's a good point. If you're thinking of Mr. Terrific type drones then a MPP with a restrainable or focus type limit and things like indirect EBs and fine manipulation TK would be the way to go. If you need them to scoot off and do their own thing without direct supervision then the summon is the way to do it.

 

And yes I did do it wrong, since the way I built it would probably raise alarm bells with most GMs. The drones would constantly pop into existance when one of them is destroyed so there's always four of them. I think....

 

Sometimes this game IS too complicated.

 

On a related note, if you strip away all the advantages I gave that power it will cost seven END to summon them (big deal when it takes several minutes in a lab) and some literal minded GM's will limit the drones to your character's EGO/1 in tasks with each summoning. After which they go inert.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: drone followers

 

Szygy' date=' a 783 point robot character in [i']Villains, Vandals and Vermin, [/i]buys 12 independent "attack orbs" as a 220 point Duplication (creates 12 400 point duplicates). The orbs fly around, gather information, and shoot people, sending info back via Mind Link.

Seems to be what you're looking for.

 

With the exception that, if a Duplicate is killed/destroyed, it's gone for good (barring a lenient GM). Gnaskar seems to want a deeper pool of replacements and alternates.