I Can Want Have Robot Walker!

[INoKnowNames]

Excuse the Engrish title; I've had Lolcats on the brain and just finished admiring the most amusing shenanigans from a strangely titled pub; might have caught a wiff of something that made me sillier. :smalltongue:

There's a concept I've had in the back of my head recently. One I actually saw done in the first game I'd ever played on the forums (though I'd no idea how to dredge up a thread from over... at least 4 or 5 years ago at this point). And one that I'm almost sure can be done, but I don't know how, even with all my book-learning.

But it has to be doable. If we can build Bruce Banner and Iron Man and everything else we're capable of, this has to be functional. I know I saw it once; I played alongside it even!

I'd sooner not refluff it, because that's boring (a Warforged just pretending to have a little man in them, or the Astral Construct thing that's a bit dodgy without getting into 3rd party and doesn't last very long at low levels anyway), and because I swear it's doable. And I suppose I could homebrew it if I wanted to, but that's only if it turns out I'm just dreaming or there were other circumstances allowing it to happen.

No, I want the real thing:

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/metroid/images/d/db/Gohr2.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/800?cb=20140921161310

http://static.icy-veins.com/images/overwatch/dva-skin-classic.jpg

http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/6700000/The-Egg-Walker-dr-ivo-robotnik-eggman-6703727-320-409.gif

A Halfling Artificer or Wizard who's resources mostly go into the maintenance of their personal defense system, who's uses range from being able to grab things off of the top shelf to being used to engage enemy Giants in melee combat.

Pre-emptive honorary mentions include the Clockwork Armor, Custom Armor of Legacy, the aforementioned Astral Construct Bit, Mindswitch Shenanigans, and Homebrew.

Got anything else?

[WbtE]

Glad to see you're in good spirits. :smallsmile:

I can't help feeling that the robot walker theme is something for other games, like Mechwarrior/Classic Battletech RPG or Exalted. But if you wanted to bring it in, the Synthesist Summoner could be back-ported from Pathfinder...

[Morphic tide]

Well, it depends on how low level you want to work with. At level one, I can't think of anything outside the Astral Construct thing.

A bit of houseruling regarding Symbiotic Creature with some construct might work out fairly well. Namely, having the Symiote be the one getting the levels and being able to leave. If you do this, the Clockwork Creature template on something that can increase in size work out fairly well.

If you are willing to work towards it, you can make the items to be used as parts for the mech as an Artificer. Ability score boosts, natural attack improvers, Flight items, the materials used to make the thing and the items for other abilities wanted. Then, when you get either Craft Construct or access to Animate construct and Permanency, you take all the "parts" and then integrate them into the Construct. If you use Animated Objects, you will likely need to integrate considerable strength enhancement into the part for the legs. Although one of the advantages of the Animated Construct setup is that you can have a rather large number of attacks, as each one gets an attack. Legs kick, each arm gets a punch and the torso can possibly use a headbut.

[ATHATH]

What about that crab-thingy?

[Doctor Despair]

You could invest all your resources into boosting your will save sky high and start applying as many half-golem template body parts as you can. That would be walker-esque.

You could build a golem with a chamber in the chest cavity, climb inside and close it, and then cast a supernatural spell'd Magic Jar on the golem and order them to fail the save

[Deadline]

Heavily customized Apparatus of Kwalish?
Techpriest of Gond Prestige class?
Final Fantasy D20 Engineer (http://www.finalfantasyd20.com/ffd20/engineer.html)?
Maybe build something with the Stronghold Builder's guidebook?

[Kelb_Panthera]

What about that crab-thingy?

Siege crab.


Also, apparatus of kwalish basically is a mech. It's a precedent at least.

[The Viscount]

The Aforementioned siege Crab is good if you want an absolutely huge thing to walk around in.

For Astral Construct I'm not sure exactly what you mean. Skin of the Construct is from CPsi and, true only lasts as long as the power, but it is legal.

Consider Techsmith from Faiths and Pantheons. It creates a permanent assistant construct of up to Medium size, and it gets stronger with more levels. You could surely make a space for yourself as a Small character.

Alternatively, a Blade Guardian as a familiar from CWar could also house a Small creature.

[Morphic tide]

Maybe build something with the Stronghold Builder's guidebook?

Colossal Animated Object on said building?

[Zaq]

For a lowish-level start, you might use a Clockwork Steed (MM4 pp. 32-3) as a jumping-off point? It's not really a walker (well, it walks, but it's quadrupedal), but it's a mechanical thing specifically designed to be ridden (and upgraded!), and it's available for just 2,150 gp for an unupgraded one, which is pretty darn cheap. You can technically afford it with level 3 WBL, it's less than 50% of your level 4 WBL, and it's less than a quarter of your level 5 WBL, so it's affordable a lot earlier than some of the other options might be.

[icefractal]

Any construct/undead with a hole in the middle + Anklet of Translocation = mech suit. Not sure about clockwork stuff, but most Golems don't have any internal anatomy, so making one with a hollow space should be fine. If you want LoE to the outside, make a hole to look out of - you could even put a glass-steel window on it to close when you don't want to be targeted yourself.

[Doctor Despair]

Any construct/undead with a hole in the middle + Anklet of Translocation = mech suit. Not sure about clockwork stuff, but most Golems don't have any internal anatomy, so making one with a hollow space should be fine. If you want LoE to the outside, make a hole to look out of - you could even put a glass-steel window on it to close when you don't want to be targeted yourself.

Make it one-way glass with an alchemy check or craft check to block both LOE and LOS. As part of the golem, it will also be immune to magic.

With that said, I still think it's more elegant to Magic Jar yourself, but to each their own flavor I spose :p Yours is probly available at a lower level?

[Telonius]

I think I'll go with ... Advanced Shrapnyl Raggamoffyn (36HD), Incarnate Construct. :smallcool:

[Thurbane]

This web article has some (questionable, IMHO) rules for mecha in D&D: Future Tech Meets Fantasy (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/20061020a)

[finaldooms]

Might be the wrong thing cause i personally never played it...but doesnt the dragonmech ( i think thats the name) books work for an idea like this? I recall an old dm saying he had a walker that he stuck quad fireball wands on the arms as weapons

[Vizzerdrix]

Maybe see if wayback machine can dig up the thread?

Otherwise, what else can you remember? How it attacked, or moved?