Seasonal villainy today in celebration of my favorite holiday. To date this thing's been used in a two different Halloween-themed story arcs. One saw it working for a secret outpost of alien hemovores, while in the other it was a lackey of a scientifically-inclined vampire who preferred not to risk his own neck for a meal. I'm sure it will make a return at some point in the future, its semi-annual appearances having become something of a tradition for me at this point. I'm sure others out there can find a use for it as well during the spooky season of the year.
Vampirobot
The Vampirobot's exact origin is a mystery, but its observed behavior is quite clear - it exists to hunt down human beings, exsanguinate them, then carry the stored blood to its master in internal tanks. How it selects its targets is unclear, sometimes taking any available victim and sometimes concentrating solely on members of a specific sex, age, blood type, or even lineage. It's even been known to target super-beings, although never ones that are sufficiently exotic to be considered truly inhuman.
There have definitely been multiple Vampirobots over the years and several have been destroyed, but to date no more than one seems to be active at any one time. Nothing conclusive has been learned from studying their remains. The technology used in their construction is advanced but could be terrestrial, otherworldly, or even alien in origin. There appear to be supernatural energies employed in its creation that further complicate scientific examination.
Description: A skeletal figure made of gleaming steel, wrapped in a flowing bat-winged cloak made of dark segmented metal. Its optic sensors give off a pulsing red light. Voiceless and surprisingly stealthy, the thing is easy to lose track of in the shadows. It sometimes carries specialized gadgetry given to it by its creator, which usually take the form of gothic jewelry and similar ornamentation.
Gender: None Age: Unknown Height: 6'2" Eyes: Glowing Red
Hair: None Skin: Chromium Steel Build: Artificial
Approach: Leech Archetype: Indomitable
Health: 35 + (5 x H)
Powers: Suggestion d10, Robotic Body ("Power Suit") d8, Gadgets d6
Qualities: Alertness d8, Bloodsucking Automaton d8, Imposing d8, Stealth d8
Status: Always d8
Abilities:
Hypno-Gaze (A) Hinder multiple targets using Suggestion. Recover Health equal to your Min die. If you roll doubles, Attack one of those targets using your Max die.
Made of Metal (I) Reduce damage dealt to you by 2.
Neural Paralyzer (R) When Attacked, Defend yourself by rolling your single Suggestion die. If this negates all the damage of that Attack, Hinder the Attacker and Boost yourself with that same roll.
Seize Prey (A) Attack one target using Robotic Body. Either Hinder the target using your Max die, or Defend yourself using your Min die and you and the target end up elsewhere in the scene.
Upgrades & Masteries (optional):
Hypno-Field (I) +10 Health. The heroes act as being in the Green zone for status die, ability access, and all abilities. Heroes may remove this ability with three Overcome successes. If a hero takes a minor twist while attempting these Overcomes, you may use a reaction to Hinder them by rolling your single Suggestion die.
Loyal Mechanical Servant (I) If you are in a situation involving harvesting blood, automatically succeed at an Overcome to do the bidding of your dark master.
Tactics
The Vampirobot's principle goal is to collect blood for its masters and avoid any pursuit if caught while out hunting. Its deceptively powerful robotic form lets it Seize Prey with ease when facing lone targets, while its Hypno-Gaze deals with groups of foes. Being Made of Metal makes it quite durable, and it can further defend itself with a focused glance from its Neural Paralyzer eyes.
With its upgrade its innate suggestive abilities are greatly amplified, and its "mastery" reflects better programming or direct communication links with its shadowy creator.
Its Robotic Body power is treated like a Power Suit and grants it superhuman strength, durability, and immunity to most environmental concerns and weaknesses of the flesh. Its primary Gadget is its bat-winged grav-cloak, which allows it fly slowly but in complete silence and achieve a degree of stealth that seems wholly unreasonable for a shiny metal skeleton-bot. Other devices are issued it on a case by case basis, usually to aid with specific infiltration or escape schemes.
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