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RANGER ARCHETYPE: Mechromancer

One of my players, my son actually, wanted to play something that was robot orientated considering the setting I thought it was a good idea.  Decided to take the ranger and add a new archetype called mechromancer heavily influenced by Gaige from Borderlands 2.  It also fits really well with the fact he is an android with the archaeologist background.  So far it’s working well in the game.  You can see D374-TP for an example robot I built which my son ended up using.  It’s essentially a re-skinned boar with robotic traits.  The mechromancer uses the spell-less ranger option as its base with the following additions and changes.

RANGER ARCHETYPE

MECHROMANCER

Ranger’s have access to a new archetype – mechromancer.  The mechromancer archetype embodies a love (obsession?) between the Nimmerian natives and the artificial denizens of the crashed starcraft.

United in focus, machine and man work as one to fight the monstrous foes that threaten civilisation. Emulating the mechromancer archetype means committing yourself to this ideal, working in partnership with an acquired or constructed robotic companion.  The favoured terrain choices of a mechromancer are initially limited to urban and wasteland (i.e. Nimmeria, post-apocalyptic).

IRON MAN
At 3rd level, you gain a robotic companion that accompanies you on your adventures and is programmed to fight alongside you. Choose a robot that is no larger than Medium and that has a challenge rating of 1/4 or lower (an example is listed below). Add your proficiency bonus to the robot’s AC, attack rolls, and damage rolls, intelligence, as well as to any saving throws and skills it is proficient in. Its hit point maximum equals its normal maximum or four times your ranger level, whichever is higher.  The robot obeys your commands as best as it can. It takes its turn on your initiative, though it doesn’t take an action unless you command it to. On your turn, you can verbally command the robot where to move (no action required by you). You can use your action to verbally command it to take the Attack, Dash, Disengage, Dodge, or Help action. The robot is intelligent but not creative so it can be expected to act logically but not necessarily with initiative. Once you have the Extra Attack feature, you can make one weapon attack yourself when you command the robot to take the Attack action.  While travelling through your favoured terrain with only the D374-TP, you can move stealthily at a normal pace.  If D374-TP is destroyed, you can rebuild it by spending 8 hours working on repairs.

BOOSTED AI
Beginning at 7th level you may choose one upgrade.  You may also take an upgrade at any time in lieu of an ability increase.

ROBOT RAMPAGE
At 11th level, you may pick another upgrade. See D374-TP for details.

CALL ROBOT ALLIES
Starting at 13th level, when you are in an area of your favoured terrain (only city or wasteland), you can signal robotic creatures from that terrain to fight on your behalf, using your attunement to the apocalyptic or urban landscape to convince them to aid you.  The DM chooses robots appropriate to the terrain to come to your aid from among those that could hear you and that are within 1 mile of you, in one of the following groups:

  • One robot of challenge rating 2 or lower (example Collector)
  • Two robots of challenge rating 1 or lower (example Repairbot)
  • Four robots of challenge rating 1/2 or lower (example arachnid robot)
  • Eight robots of challenge rating 1/4 or lower (example mechanical viper)

These robots approach you from their current location and will fight alongside you, attacking any creatures that are hostile to you.  They are friendly to you and your comrades, and you roll initiative for the called creatures as a group, which takes its own turns.  The DM has the creatures’ statistics.

After 1 hour, these robots return to their previous location.  Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again in the same general area for 24 hours, since the same robots will not repeatedly heed your call.

TWO POINT O
When you reach 15th level you may select the final upgrade for Deathtrap.

Additionally, unlike other archetypes, Mechromancer is chosen at level one as its assumed to be a lifelong obsession for the Mechromancer.  The Mechromancer starts with a lasgun and 20 charges instead of a longbow as well as proficiency with energy class weapons.  Animal Handling is replaced with Cybertheurgy (Intelligence) and is considered a class skill.

LASGUN
This ancient family heirloom has been passed down for generations and lovingly maintained and cared for.  UnlikeScreen Shot 2015-03-04 at 18.14.05 many other tech artefacts, this item is not timeworn and it is worth a king’s ransom to the right person.  It has a matte green finish with a strange icon emblazon on muzzle in gold – a winged skull.  Its meaning is lost to time.

Screen Shot 2015-03-04 at 22.31.05

Burst Fire. A weapon that has the burst fire property can make a normal single-target attack, or it can spray a 10-foot-cube area within normal range with shots. Each creature in the area must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take the weapon’s normal damage. This action uses ten pieces of ammunition.

Under the right circumstances, the latent AI of the weapon can become self-aware and turn into a legacy item.

Screen Shot 2015-03-04 at 18.14.14

Art credit for Gaige and Deathtrap.

 

 

 

 


Here is a more refined version after years of use:

Ranger Archetype – Robomancer

The robomancer archetype embodies a love (obsession?) with the arcana of the Ancients, in particular robots and their ilk.

United in focus, machine and man work as one to fight the monstrous foes that threaten civilization. Emulating the robomancer archetype means committing yourself to this ideal, working in partnership with an acquired or constructed robotic companion.  The favored terrain choices of a robomancer are initially limited to urban and wasteland.

IRON MAN

At 3rd level, you gain a robotic companion that accompanies you on your adventures and is programmed to fight alongside you. Choose a robot that is no larger than Medium and that has a challenge rating of 1/4 or lower (or select a Beast as your base creature but change its type to Construct (robot) and add the following traits:

  • Gift of the Machine Gods. As a creature of technology, the robot gains the following benefits:
    • Has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight or sound and has double proficiency bonus in the Perception skill as it constantly scans its surroundings for danger.
    • Is combat-hardened and has a damage threshold equal to half its CR rounded down, that is, it reduces all individual attacks by the threshold numbers damage (minimum of 1).
    • All robots have a weakness to lightning based damage. They have disadvantage on saving throws against attacks that do lightning damage and on a natural 1 are stunned until the end of its next turn.

Add your proficiency bonus to the robot’s AC, attack rolls, and damage rolls, intelligence, as well as to any saving throws and skills it is proficient in. Its hit point maximum equals its normal maximum or four times your ranger level, whichever is higher.  The robot obeys your commands as best as it can. It takes its turn on your initiative, though it doesn’t take an action unless you command it to. On your turn, you can verbally command the robot where to move (no action required by you). You can use your action to verbally command it to take the Attack, Dash, Disengage, Dodge, or Help action. The robot is intelligent but not creative so it can be expected to act logically but not necessarily with initiative. Once you have the Extra Attack feature, you can make one weapon attack yourself when you command the robot to take the Attack action.  While travelling through your favored terrain with only your robot companion, you can move stealthily at a normal pace.  If your robot is destroyed, you can rebuild it by spending 8 hours working on repairs.

STEEL BEATS FLESH

Also, at 3rd level you gain proficiency in Firearms and the Intelligence (Arcana) skill. If you are already proficient in the Arcana skill your bonus is doubled. Finally, whenever you cast a conjuration spell to summon a creature, that creature is mechanical, change the creature type to construct (robot). In addition, you gain the following additional benefits if you cast the spell at a higher level:

  • +1 spell level – your summoned creature gains the following condition immunities – charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
  • +2 spell level – your summoned creature gains the following damage immunities -necrotic, poison, psychic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren’t skymetal (adamantine)
  • +3 spell level – your summoned creature gains a damage threshold of half its CR (minimum of 1).

BOOSTED AI

Beginning at 7th level you may choose one upgrade for your robot.  You may also take an upgrade at any time in lieu of an ability score improvement.

  • 2nd Prize at the Science Fair: Your robot is now immune to being charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
  • Explosive Clap: Your robot creates an explosion that damages all nearby creatures.   This acts as a force based fireball effect with a DC of 8 + your robot companions Dexterity bonus + your proficiency bonus.  You may select this feat multiple times for a cumulative benefit of one extra die of damage.
  • Force Fields: You add a flickering force field to your robot companion sheathing it in a thin layer of shimmering energy that grants a number of bonus hit points equal to quadruple your proficiency bonus. 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 regenerates a number of points per round equal to your proficiency bonus, but once its hit points are reduced to 0, the force field shuts down and does not reactivate until you complete a long rest.   You may select this feat twice and get the added benefit of Explosive Clap whenever the shield is exhausted.
  • I, Robot: Your robot companion is now immune to necrotic, poison, and psychic damage.
  • Make it Sparkle: Your robot companion may now imbue its adamantine claws with a particular element.  Add an additional 1d6 elemental damage of any type you wish to your robot companion’s claws.  You may add further elemental types by picking this upgrade multiple times.  If your robot companion has more access to more than one element the type of elemental effect the robot companion uses can be determined by you round-to-round as a free action.  However, your companion is also intelligent enough to select the appropriate type under most circumstances.
  • Merely a Flesh Wound! Your robot gains damage resistances to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons that aren’t skymetal (adamantine).
  • Panzer: You bolt on some rusty plates improving your robots armor class by +2.  You may select this feat multiple times for a cumulative benefit.
  • The Stare: You add an integrated laser rifle to your robot companion (you must have a laser rifle or similar weapon available to use as material for this upgrade).  It has unlimited charges and never depletes.

ROBOT RAMPAGE
At 11th level, you may pick another upgrade for your robot companion.

BEST FRIENDS FOREVER

At 13th level, you may pick another upgrade for your robot companion.

TWO POINT O
When you reach 15th level you may select the final upgrade for your robot companion.

Posted in Adventurer's Vault, Class, Dungeons & Dragons, Iron Gods, Lords of Rust, The Ninth World