Leroy's Traveller™ Campaign Rob(ot) Rules

Last updated 18 May 2003.

The Two Empires Campaign

a Traveller™ Universe variant

Copyright © 2002-2003 Leroy W.L. Guatney

Disclaimer

As I have contemplated Robots (specifically, what are called RoBs in my campaign), I have always had a desire to revisit the original Robots rules presented in the Best of the Journal volume 1 and from issues 2-4. Book 8: Robots took development in a direction I wasn't interested in. I think a slight overhaul of the BOTJ rules is all that is needed.

I have done some smoothing in some places, and completely revised the power plants as hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells, adding batteries from Striker, and capacitors adapted from High Guard. I have made the gravitics locomotion more consistent with the rest of the game (see Gravitics Notes below). The CPU has also been reworked. See also the background on RoBs in my campaign.

Revised Tables from BOTJ v1: Robots Ref's Notes

Design Checklist

  1. Determine function of RoB
  2. Select basic components
    • CPU (or SLL)
    • Chassis
    • Locomotory equipment
    • Basic Sensory package
  3. Select additional components
  4. Select any special modifications
  5. Add a sufficient number of power units
  6. Determine final mass of components, and cost of unit, and revise as necessary
  7. List final characteristics and cost of RoB
Chassis
Type Total Unit Mass (kg.) Chassis Mass (kg.) Cost (Cr)
I 50 5 750
II 75 8 950
III 100 10 1,000
IV 200 20 2,000
V 400 40 3,000
VI 1,000 100 4,000
VII 2,000 200 5,000
Power Units
Add as many of each type as needed
Hydrogen Fuel Cells Unit Mass (kg.) Unit Power Output Unit Cost (Cr)
2 1 100
Capacitors Unit Mass (kg.) Unit Power Output Unit Cost (Cr)
1 27 4,000
Batteries
Tech Level Endurance (hrs.) Unit Mass (kg.) Unit Power Output Unit Cost (Cr)
12 1 3 1 850
13 2.5 3 1 3,000
14 4 3 1 5,000
15 6 3 1 10,000
16 8 3 1 20,000
Locomotory Apparatus
Wheels
Chassis Type Mass (kg.) Power Requirement Cost (Cr)
I 7.5 4 400
II 12 7 500
III 15 9 500
IV 30 16 600
V 60 30 700
VI 150 75 800
VII 300 140 1,000
Tracks
Chassis Type Mass (kg.) Power Requirement Cost (Cr)
I 10 5 500
II 15 8 600
III 20 10 800
IV 40 20 1,000
V 80 40 1,200
VI 200 80 1,400
VII 400 150 1,600
Mobility Manipulators
Chassis Type Mass (kg.) Power Requirement Cost (Cr)
I 15 8 600
II 23 12 800
III 30 20 1,000
IV 60 28 1,200
V 120 60 1,400
VI 300 90 1,600
VII 600 200 2,000
Gravitics
Chassis Type Mass (kg.) Power Requirement Cost (Cr)
I 6 10 10,000
II 9 15 15,000
III 12 20 20,000
IV 25 40 40,000
V 50 80 80,000
VI 125 200 200,000
VII 250 400 400,000
Compact Gravitics (TL 14)
Chassis Type Mass (kg.) Power Requirement Cost (Cr)
I 2 5 100,000
II 3 8 150,000
III 4 10 200,000
IV 8 20 400,000
V 16 40 800,000
VI 40 100 2,000,000
VII 80 200 4,000,000
Ship's Gravitics
Chassis Type Mass (kg.) Power Requirement Cost (Cr)
All 2 1 100,000
Central Processing Unit 1,2
Tech Level Space Mass (kg.) Cost (Cr)
12 2 8 100,000
14 3 6 500,000
15 5 4 1,000,000
16 7 3 2,000,000
Core Memory
Tech Level Space Maximum Space Unit Mass (kg.) Unit Cost (Cr)
12 +1 4 +3 40,000
14 +1 7 +1.5 150,000
15 +1 11 +0.667 170,000
16 +1 16 +0.333 240,000
Sensory Logic Loop 1
Tech Level Minimum Space 3 Mass (kg.) Cost (Cr)
12 2 2 20,000
14 3 1.5 50,000
15 5 0.667 150,000
16 7 0.667 320,000
Additional Components 4
Armaments Mass (kg.) Power Requirement Cost (Cr)
Body/Snub Pistol 1 1 700
Auto-Pistol 2 1 700
SMG 5 1 800
Auto-Rifle 5 2 1,500
Laser Carbine 8 5 3,000
PGRP-12 10* 10 11,000
PGRP-13 18* 10 70,000
PGRP-14 27* 15 325,000
FGRP-14 12* 10 125,000
FGRP-15 30* 15 450,000
LAG 4 3 820,000
Light MG 60 2 1,400
Auto Grenade Launcher 7 2 1,000
RAM Grenade Launcher 7 2 1,000
all weapons above are specially modified for use with RoBs
* - These weapons may only be installed on chassis types VI and VII
Sensors Mass (kg.) Power Requirement Cost (Cr)
Basic Sensor Package 2 1 200
Enhanced Night Vision 1 1 200
Passive IR 1 1 200
Active IR 2 2 300
Passive Ultra-Violet 1 1 200
Active Ultra-Violet 2 2 300
Subsonic Audio 1 1 200
Ultrasonic Audio 1 1 200
Telescopic Visual 2 1 200
Low-level Audio 1 1 200
Magnetic Sensor 0.5 1 1,000
Radiation Sensor 0.5 1 1,200
Mass Sensor 1 2 1,000
Neutrino Sensor 4 5 1,200
Communications Mass (kg.) Power Requirement Cost (Cr)
Standard Frequency Radio 1 1 100
Multi-Frequency Radio 1 1 200
Counter-ECM package 2 2 300
Televisual Camera 3 4 200
Voder/Vocorder 1 2 200
Remote Master unit 2 3 400
Work Manipulators Mass (kg.) Power Requirement Cost (Cr)
Light 5 2 500
Medium 20 5 700
Heavy 50 10 1,000
RoB Software
(very tentative, Space/Cost subject to change)
Basic Level Additional Level
Programs Space Cost (Cr) Space Cost (Cr)
APRedundancy 1 1,000 — —
APAnswer * 1 1,000 — —
Audio/Video/Position - Remote Sensing 1 1,000 — —
DocentKno * 1 1,000 — —
GuideKno * 1 1,000 — —
NurseKer ** 1 1,000 — —
Profile 1 1,000 — —
RoBCtrl ** 1 100,000 — —
SentientOps 1 1,000 — —
Shutdown ** 1 1,000 — —
Speech ** 1 1,000 — —
Tamper/Alarm ** 1 1,000 — —
TransID 1 1,000 — —
TutorKno * 1 1,000 — —
WaitKer 1 1,000 — —
Footnotes:

1 - any CPU or SLL, regardless of size or tech level, requires one power unit to function properly

2 - StdROB CPU are hard-wired for their tasks and may not be substituted into another RoB performing another function

3 - to be made into a CPU

4 - items appearing in dark blue and underlined are adapted from Book 8: Robots

* - requires extensive configuration, usually attaching a knowledge base

** - requires some setup/configuration

Power Options

All power sources produce their rating for a one hour period in terms of consumption by other systems, and in accordance with the details below. So an item that requires one or more power units, has that requirement on a per hour basis.

Fuel Cells require refuelling every ten weeks of continous use. Interrupting the output (shutting down) for sufficient periods of time will increase the time between refuellings.

Batteries require twice their endurance hours of charging from a powerplant, and discharge their rated point value for endurance hours of continuous discharge. If the points are not discharged after 30 days from being charged, they become useless, and the battery must be recharged.

Economies of scale are lost on the small scale required for RoB energy capacitors.

Capacitors require six hours charging from a powerplant, and discharge their rated point value in one hour once discharged. Any points not used at the time of discharge are lost. If the points are not discharged within six hours of being removed from charging, they become useless. Unused capacitance, when discharged, contributes to the noise profile for sensing the RoB.

The powerplant used for charging batteries or capacitors must dedicate one EP for the duration of the charge, or full-time for capacitors. It is not likely circumstances will ever require more than this single EP, but it is possible. It would take many, many, kilograms of batteries or capacitors.

Repeatedly failing to fully charge batteries will eventually require their replacement.

Sensory Logic Loop

Sometimes called the Sensory Logic Unit (SLU), the SLL is the portion of the CPU that remains when Core Memory is removed. In the old days, B43333 (before 3333), this would have been called the RoB's central nervous system.

The installation of an SLL is required if a CPU is omitted, for purposes of control by (more commonly) a zone computer or (much rarer a) master RoB.

Armor

The following types of Armor may be applied to a RoB to help protect the internal systems and parts. Some worlds and/or law levels will prohibit such Robs from being deployed, for reasons which should be apparent. Costs on the list below must be multiplied by the chassis size (I-VII = 1-7):

Units which often see firefights will require periodic refitting of armor, cost and frequency determined by the referee.

Combat Damage

Using the Book 1 combat system, unless the builder has decided upon using armor on a RoB, the roll is as if it were human wearing cloth. If combat determines that the RoB has been hit, consult the Hit Location table below.
Hit Location
2D6 Area
2 CPU
3-4 Locomotory Apparatus
5-6 Work Manipulators
7-9 Power Units
10 Armaments
11 Sensors
12 Communications
Damage to Locomotory Apparatus
Type points of damage to Loc. app. causes
-50% speed -75% speed destroyed
Wheels I-III 2-4 5-8 9+
Wheels IV-V 3-5 6-9 10+
Wheels VI-VII 4-6 7-10 11+
Tracks I-III 3-5 6-9 10+
Tracks IV-V 4-6 7-10 11+
Tracks VI-VII 5-7 8-11 12+
M. M. I-III 1-3 4-7 8+
M. M. IV-V 2-4 5-8 9+
M. M. VI-VII 3-5 6-9 10+
Gravitcs I-III 1 2-5 6+
Gravitcs IV-V 2 3-6 7+
Gravitcs VI-VII 3 4-7 8+
C. G. I-III 4 5-8 9+
C. G. IV-V 5 6-9 10+
C. G. VI-VII 6 7-10 11+
Ship's Gravitics — — any hit

Any damage to the RoB's CPU, or Ship's Gravitics unit (in the RoB, not the Ship's, but Ship's Gravity must be functioning), these components are destroyed and the Rob ceases to function, or move, respectively.

If hit location is Work Manipulators, but none are installed, apply damage to Locomotory Apparatus (lower portion of the table above). If hit location is Armaments, but none are installed, apply damage to Power Units.

If more than one type of Power Unit is installed, roll a 1D6 giving each type an equal chance of being hit.

If Hydrogen Fuel Cells are hit, one hit per five kilograms mass reduces that five kilograms of cells to 50% power output. Three hits per five kilograms mass, its output is reduced to 10% of normal. Four hits per five kilograms mass, destroys the RoB. If there are more than five kilograms of fuel cells total, distribute hits equally across multiple blocks of five kilograms (perhaps one block will be less than five). Less than five total kilograms of fuel cells is treated as if it were five kilograms for purposes of damage determination and rolls for destruction of the RoB. With each hit to fuel cells, there is a chance that the RoB will explode. Roll 11+ on 2D6.

If Capacitors are hit, with any successful hit, all Capacitors in the RoB are destroyed, but there is also a chance that the CPU and any Sensors/Communications are also destroyed. Roll 9+ on 2D6 for each, treating all Sensors and Communications devices to the same result of the single roll.

If Batteries are hit, keep track of the cumulative number of damage points versus the total endurance of all installed batteries. Each time the quantity of points equals or exceeds the total battery endurance, the output is reduced by 20% unit power. Upon reaching -80% output (four times the total battery endurance), the batteries are destroyed, and must be replaced.

If Work Manipulators are hit, they are reduced to 50% capacity when they take 3 points of damage (for Light), 6 points (for Medium), or 9 points (for Heavy), and 10% capacity for 6/9/12 respectively. Additional points, beyond the 10% level destroy the W.M.

In the event that multiple items of the same general type, such as Armaments, are hit, the referee should roll appropriate to the individual circumstances. For instance, if a hit on a RoB calls for a Work Manipulator, and two, one Heavy, one Light, are available, the referee might choose to roll 1D6, with 1-4 assigning damage to the Heavy W.M., 5-6 to the Light W.M.

Integration with Traveller™

I have attempted to integrate all related Traveller™ rules as best as possible with an eye toward consistency. I developed RoB-sized capacitors extrapolating from High Guard, adopted batteries from Striker, and my gravitics are purely a basic Traveller™ extrapolation.

Gravitics Notes

I introduced the concept of compact gravitics which become available at TL 14, and have ignored the gravitics from the Striker design sequence. The only change to published fact is the Grav Belt listed in basic Traveller™ (The Traveller™ Book, and second edition basic set of rules). Just consider the Grav Belt to be a TL 14 item now, instead of TL 12.

The RoB Ship's Gravitics Locomotory Apparatus is really just a local anti-gravity field controller utilizing the Grav plates integral to all starships. It allows the RoB to move about in all areas of a starship with Grav plates.

Line

Last Update: 18 May 2003
by LeRoy W.L. Guatney

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