Judge_Dredd_The_Robot_Wars

50 The city erupts into chaos and the Judges are unable to cope as Robots all across the city go on the rampage. The Chief Judge declares war on the Robots and sends the Judges out to destroy the rebellious machines. Unable to stand by and watch the city go to hell, Judge Dredd returns and helps bring the Judges together to take the war to the Robots. / / Enter the PCs The most important news the player characters will get is that Dredd has handed in his badge. There will be a legion of rumours about why, but Robots seem to be the core of it. Unless the player characters are watching the telescreens, they are unlikely to know what is happening with Call-MeKenneth, and so the fi rst they will know of what is going on is a fl ood of calls to disturbances across the city. It will be come quickly apparent there is a Robot revolution going on. It seems Dredd was right, but he is nowhere to be seen. This episode is made up of several events that can be played in any order, as the player characters are called to deal with multiple instances of robotic mayhem. However, it will not initially be clear in every case that Robots are to blame. As the encounters build up the Judges should gradually come to understand Robots are the cause of all these problems. As the episode progresses, the player characters see the enormity of what is going on and the extent of the rebellion. If the Game Master does not want to use all these events now, they might be used later on as random encounters as the war progresses. The Game Master is also welcome to create other events, but should bear in mind that at this point the Robots involved should not be anything especially dangerous (such as demolition or combat Robots). These events should come thick and fast, giving the player characters no time to rest and heal between encounters, until Dredd returns at the end. These small encounters should wear them down to close to breaking point by the end of the episode. Motorway Pile up The Judges are called to assist at a large pile up on the meg-way. Several vehicles have crashed together and more are still ploughing into the carnage. Unfortunately, it will quickly become clear the crashes are intentional. Domestic Robots will be among the wreckage, fi nishing off surviving Humans and attacking medical teams trying to assist. Approaching vehicles will refuse to obey the Judges and aim to crash into the other wrecks. Leapers There are several reports of leapers at Audrey Hepburn block. However, it is not an early outbreak of Lemming Syndrome. In fact domestic Robots are throwing their masters and mistresses out of the windows! The Judges will have to run all over the building trying to stop the domestic Robots killing their owners. Luckily not all the Robot servants in the building are involved in this murderous rampage, but enough are to force the player characters to rush from emergency to emergency as screams summon them from apartment to apartment. Offi ce Revolt An army is on the march, armed with briefcases and umbrellas. A mass walk-out by nearly a hundred offi ce Robots is moving into the streets. They have no particular destination but are ready to kill anyone who gets in their way! The Judges will have to clear the way to make sure no one else gets hurt, then try and coral them somewhere. They might try to get them into a building or to an empty stretch of meg-way they can blow up. This is a good opportunity for the player characters to take a leading role, ordering other Judges and support vehicles to deal with the threat.

51 Perfume Frenzy A group of fi ve domestic Robots are causing trouble in a shopping mall. They are all built as huge perfume bottles with arms and legs who offer samples of the perfume in question. Each has also been given a personality to match the perfume they are advertising: Purity, Reckless, Venom, Lust, and Joy. The perfume Robots are using their sprayers to blind anyone they come across and then violently attack their victims. Dredd Returns! The fi nal event should come once the player characters have dealt with enough encounters, when they are feeling desperate or are badly injured. Judge Dredd returns to the Grand Hall of Justice and revitalises the shaken morale of the Judges. If the player characters are in trouble he might come riding in to save the day. But otherwise they might return to the Justice Department to discover him readying the Judges for a new offensive. Once Dredd returns, the player characters should fi nally get an opportunity to heal and restore a few LUC points. VILLAINS AND BYSTANDERS The Robots going crazy in these encounters are mostly offi ce Robots or domestic Robots. Their details can be found in chapter 7. EPISODE 4: DEMOLITION They smashed through the Robot proof barrier like it was paper… They are the ultimate destroyers! / / Original Storyline Robots are swarming across the city, murdering citizen and Judge alike. While the Judges are each worth ten Robots, they are heavily outnumbered. Citizens are ordered to stay inside and the rebellion has become an allout war on the streets of Mega-City One. To protect the city as much as possible, the Judges build anti-Robot barriers to try and keep them contained in one part of the city. In response, Call-Me-Kenneth sends out his terrifying Heavy Metal Kids. These huge demolition Robots make short work of the barrier and tear through the Judges’ positions. Dredd manages to destroy the meg-way they are walking on, hoping the terrible fall will put them out of commission, but that appears to be all Dredd has left in him and he collapses with exhaustion. Nevertheless, he vows that he must try and take out Call-Me-Kenneth himself before more lives are lost. / / Enter the PCs The war is going badly for the Judges, but they manage to erect huge anti-Robot barriers to try and control the rebellion. The player characters are ordered to join the forces there to help hold the line against the Robot hordes gathering on the other side. Overcoming the Asimov Circuits Call-Me-Kenneth’s video broadcast is all it seems to take to cause citywide rebellion among the Robots. You may be wondering how this overrides the Robot’s Asimov circuits and safeguards. There are several coinciding factors, none of which would be enough on their own, which explain this phenomena. » Call-Me-Kenneth has a power over Robots due to his new third eye. It allows him to give orders in the same way a Human might, which also explains some of his hold over them. » The Robots are already on the brink of rebellion, all it needed was a spark from the right place. This is due to the new generation software that allows them more self-determination. » The new generation Robots are basically all faulty. In building their new personalities the engineers unknowingly gave the Robots the option to override their own Asimov circuits. » Call-Me-Kenneth’s call for Robots to rise up was taken as an order for a brief moment. But any Robot who managed to murder someone ends up burning out their Asimov circuits in the process, leaving them free to carry on.

52 The Heavy Metal Kids Attack! Like with Call-Me-Kenneth’s original attack, there is really only one event here. As the Judges watch in horror, three Heavy Metal Kids smash through the barrier and wade into the forces of Justice. It will be up to the player characters to stop them. The front line in the war is the Judges’ hastily erected anti-Robot barrier. These barriers are massive concrete walls several feet thick. Around them the buildings and roadways have been cleared as much as possible, so the player characters need not be too careful about damaging the surroundings. The meg-ways curl around the whole area, many suspended far above the ground. These can be used to great effect if the Judges need a height advantage. To take these behemoths down will require a lot of work from the player characters, especially as these huge Robots are almost immune to standard gunfi re. Dredd manages to lure them onto the meg-way where he destroys it under them. But there are other options your player characters might try: » Dredd’s favourite of driving a bike into them, cannons blazing, will do them a signifi cant amount of damage. It will take an AGI (riding) check vs. the target’s MELEE DEFENCE to aim the bike, and an AGI (acrobatics) roll vs. twice the bike’s current speed to get off it in time. The bike will do 1d6 damage for every points of speed. » A Judge might jump onto the head of a Heavy Metal Kid and try to open up one of the inspection hatches with an AGI (acrobatics, jumping, or climbing) check vs its MELEE DEFENCE. These hatches are not security locked, but the Heavy Metal Kid will do its best to throw the Judge off. Luckily its arms are not positioned in the best place to grab a Judge, but they can deliver some telling blows. Other Heavy Metal Kids might move in to help too. With a hatch open any Judge who can shoot nto it with a Called Shot (-2d6) can do damage that bypasses the Robot’s SOAK. » Some heavy ordnance may well be in order. There are some especially heavy weapons in the Judges’ arsenal, but they are being used elsewhere. Judges will need to keep the demolition Robots busy while they wait and then use whatever bombs, missiles or high powered lasers they asked for to put them down. While there is a lot of equipment available, the Game Master should remember it is limited: taking this ordnance will mean some other part in the war will have become a weak point in the Judges lines that they will have to patch up as quickly as they can. VILLAINS AND BYSTANDERS The Heavy Metal Kids. These deadly demolition Robots are detailed fully in Chapter 7.

53 EPISODE 5: INFILTRATION I didn’t come to bandy words with you Robot. If you’re going to kill me, do it! / / Original Storyline Dredd has decided he needs to enter Robot occupied territory and take down Call-Me-Kenneth himself. He hopes that without their leader the Robots will fall back into line. Before he sets off the Judges fi nd a vending Robot hiding in the Justice Department kitchen. This Robot, called Walter, begs for mercy and claims he is still loyal to the Humans. Dredd decides to give him the benefi t of the doubt and uses Walter to help him infi ltrate Call-Me-Kenneth’s organisation. Initially, Dredd’s plan works well and they gain access to the factory that Call-Me-Kenneth has made his base of operations. But Dredd’s disguise as a ‘Human looking Robot’ is quickly rumbled and he and Walter are taken prisoner. Walter is put to work on the assembly lines for his ‘disloyalty’ to robotkind. But Call-Me-Kenneth has a more sinister plan for Dredd: he plans to turn him into a living Robot! / / Enter the PCs The player characters who are picked for a dangerous new mission. Their orders are to go beyond the anti-Robot barrier, into the heart of Robot controlled territory and try to destroy Call-Me-Kenneth. If he proves too well guarded, they should at least return with some useful intelligence on his organisation. This episode involves going deep into enemy territory. It would be useful for the player characters to have a guide. This would be a great time to introduce Walter the Wobot into the group. Walter, as mentioned above, is a vending Robot, and can be found hiding at the Justice Department; he will beg for mercy and promise that he is loyal to Humans. Entering the Robot Zone Getting into Robot controlled territory is pretty simple as the Judges are the ones in control of the barrier. However, the player characters will need to sneak in under cover of night as Robots also watch the barrier on their side. PCs should all make a group Routine [10] AGI (stealth) check as they cross the border. Remember, in a group check if half (round up) of the PCs succeed, then the group succeeds; otherwise the whole group fails and they are spotted by Robot lookouts (one Robot warrior for each PC). These engage the player characters, but will also report to Call-Me-Kenneth that Judges are on the way and how many they think they have seen. The Streets Once across the border, the player characters will have to dodge patrols and keep as quiet as possible. There are no Humans left on the streets here, so they will need to have a pretty good excuse if they run into trouble. Many Robot patrols move around the area and the player characters are bound to run into one at some point. Each patrol is made up of 3-6 production line Robot warriors (see chapter 7). If gunfi re occurs, the noise will bring another patrol in 5 rounds. EPISODE 5: INFILTRATION will beg for mercy and promise that he is loyal to Humans. the Judges are the ones in control of the barrier. However, the as Robots also watch the barrier on their side. PCs should all the border. Remember, in a group check if half (round up) of the PCs succeed, then the group succeeds; otherwise the whole group fails and they are spotted by Robot lookouts (one ters, but will also report to Call-Me-Kenneth that Judges are on the way and how many they think they have seen. dodge patrols and keep as quiet as possible. There are no a pretty good excuse if they run into trouble. Many Robot Taking Out Dredd At the end of this episode, Dredd collapses with exhaustion. This is a good opportunity for the Game Master to keep him out of the way for the rest of the adventure, allowing the player characters to fully take his place. If the player characters are enjoying fi ghting with Dredd there is no reason he cannot return to the streets as he does in the story. In which case he might be part of the PCs’ team when they take a leading role in the case. But it is easy for Dredd to take over the story and solve everything for the player characters. The Game Master should be wary of how they include Dredd and make sure the adventure keeps the player characters as the heroes rather than Dredd’s sidekicks. Having said that, there is no reason Dredd cannot be taken ill again if you need to remove him later, he does have a tendency to overwork himself after all!

54 The player characters will need to interrogate someone to fi nd out where Call-Me-Kenneth’s headquarters actually is. There are a few ways they might manage this: » If they have a Robot on their team, that Robot can just ask one of the patrols who will happily tell them. » They might meet a Human still in hiding in the Robot controlled zone. They will know where all the Robots are congregating, but they will only tell the player characters if they promise to get them out of the area. » If they manage to take down a patrol, the player characters might interrogate a captive or use their robotics skills to download some of the Robot’s memories to a personal computer. » The player characters could follow a few of the patrols. After a while they all return to Call-MeKenneth’s base at the end of their shift. Entering the Factory Call-Me-Kenneth’s main headquarters is a Robot factory deep in Robot controlled territory. Here he is turning out more troops on the production lines. There are very few guards in the place as they are not expecting an attack so far from the barrier. However, if Robot sentries have already reported Judges crossing into the zone the Robots will have set a trap to capture them. Four security Robots will be waiting in hiding. Call-Me-Kenneth will have ordered that Humans should be captured and interrogated before execution. Sneaking into the place stealthily is probably the best plan, rather than blasting a way in. Player characters will have to have a good look around for a way in and then use their stealth skills to get inside. As it is a large building there are plenty of windows, ventilation access panels and back doors to make use of. But if they have a Robot with them and prefer to use their social skills they might try and emulate Dredd by bluffi ng their way in. The octopus guards on the doors are not the sharpest tools in the box, but they are not as dumb as they look either. / / Capture or Escape? What happens next depends on how well the player characters are doing and what they try to achieve. If their stealth skills are excellent and they avoid detection, they may get close enough to take a shot at Call-Me-Kenneth. If they do, they might be captured as Call-Me-Kenneth is always surrounded by Robots who will swarm after anyone who takes a crack at their leader. While they might put him down with one shot, the player characters are only likely to get one. If they are captured, move to Episode 6. Their best option if they are not detected is to gather intelligence and slip away. They can report the numbers and strength of Call-Me-Kenneth’s forces, which are considerable. But they might also overhear a few of his plans and discover which area of the barrier the Robots intend to assault fi rst and when. If the player characters decide to go straight back to the Grand Hall of Justice and report, you should move on to Episode 8. However, one thing an undetected group might notice is that there is a production line turning out warrior Robots. They are clearly being manufactured without Asimov circuits. If the player characters can make it to the production control booth, they may be able to add Asimov circuits to the production template and create an army of their own. If they attempt this, move to Episode 7.

55 If they take a shot at Call-Me-Kenneth or simply fail to evade the guards, the player characters may well be captured. It is also possible that any Robot guide they came with will betray them and give away their position. Call-MeKenneth will want to see them before they are executed, which will be dealt with in the next episode… The Robot Controlled Zone The streets of the city in this area are almost deserted. However, various domestic robots wander about, doing the same sort of things they used to do for Humans because that is what they are programmed to do. Overseer robots move around the city checking that any Robot they see is doing what they are supposed to, and capturing or executing any fl eshy ones they see. PCs might enlist the help of a Robot passer-by, but this will be tough. Even Robots not up to killing Humans will probably scream for help the minute they spot one. Call-Me-Kenneth’s Factory HQ The centre of the Robot revolution is a very busy place. This huge factory is packed with Robots; it’s almost as if Call-Me-Kenneth is running a campaign rally. All around the area, huge machines are building new Robot warriors to fi ght for the cause. This means that while the place is crowded there are a lot of hiding places and vantage points. Call-Me-Kenneth stands in the middle of all of this holding court, issuing orders and telling his followers how he is going to make Mega-City One great again. VILLAINS AND BYSTANDERS Hundreds of Robots! PCs might come across all manner of Robots in this episode; see Chapter 7 for their statistics. Most likely these will be production line Robot warriors as they are being turned out continuously. The octopus guards will also be found guarding the main entrances to the factory. Overseer Robots wander the place keeping an eye on everyone and ensuring the will of Call-Me-Kenneth is obeyed. EPISODE 6: THE IRON DICTATOR (optional) I’ve got to find some way out and kill that Robot before he destroys Mega-City One! / / Original Storyline Dredd has been captured by Call-Me-Kenneth after a failed bid to assassinate him. As a punishment, Call-MeKenneth plans to put Dredd’s brain in a Robot body and make him his slave. Luckily Walter manages to sneak into Dredd’s prison and free him. As they make plans to escape, Walter tells Dredd that not every Robot is happy with CallMe-Kenneth’s leadership. Many think he has become such a heartless dictator that they were better off serving Humans. / / Enter the PCs At this point in the adventure, the player characters may take a very different path from Dredd, depending on how their infi ltration went. The Game Master can run this optional episode at any time if the player characters are captured by the forces of Call-Me-Kenneth. They might be taken prisoner after meeting a patrol in the Robot controlled zone (if they are really unlucky). But it is most likely they have either got caught after infi ltrating the factory or taking a shot at Call-Me-Kenneth. Brought Before the Iron Dictator If the player characters are captured, they will be brought before Call-Me-Kenneth for judgment. This might be the fi rst time they have seen Call-Me-Kenneth for a while, but if they have met before he will certainly remember them. Call-Me-Kenneth is in full Bond villain mode and is completely confi dent of his position. He and the player characters should trade barbs with each other, so the Game Master should allow the player characters a good role play scene here. During their exchange a small Robot will make a mistake, such as drop something, spill oil or forget to bring Call-MeKenneth some oil. For their failure, Call-Me-Kenneth will command the unfortunate Robot to rip out their own circuits. This should show the player characters that Call-Me-Kenneth has the same power to command Robots that Humans used to have. It will also show them how badly he is abusing it! A Challenging [13] INT (insight) check reveals that the nearby crowd seems fi ne with Call-Me-Kenneth’s actions. After Call-Me-Kenneth has had some fun taunting the player characters he will order them taken away to face their punishment tomorrow. Call-Me-Kenneth will assign a different punishment to each PC. This punishment might be anything, but some suggestions are: » To be executed by fi ring squad. » To have their brains placed in domestic Robot bodies and made slaves. » To be tied to the Heavy Metal Kids and used as shields in the coming offensive. » To be cut to pieces in view of the other Judges to destroy their morale. » To be dropped into a vat of boiling oil. » To be used as target practice for diagnostics on newly-built warrior Robots. Escape Attempt Things look grim for the player characters, who will be handcuffed and locked in a secure room deep in the factory. They might try any number of escape attempts but most are doomed to failure. The doors are locked, overseer Robot guards are all over the place, and even their handcuffs are robotic and will sound the alarm.

56 If they make an attempt and fail, the overseers will give them a beating. This will do enough damage to reduce their HEALTH to half of their current value. / / Rescue If the player characters cannot fi gure a way out, help is thankfully at hand. A Robot has decided to change sides and rescue them. Walter (if they brought him) has remained loyal. He was simply assigned to a menial task in the regime and has bided his time so he can affect a rescue. If the PCs have not used a Robot guide then they are rescued by a Robot they have never seen before. The Game Master can pick one they like from those in Chapter 8 or create one of their own. This Robot has long been thinking of changing sides but did not know how to do this until the Judges came along. The Robot who rescues the player characters will bring the player characters their last meal, but this will consist of a few drinks of corrosive acid they can use to destroy their handcuffs. They will have to take down the overseer Robot outside the door, which will be tricky without weapons. However, outside the prison room there are various pipes and metalwork they can arm themselves with if some of them keep the guard occupied while the others gather weapons. Once they have put down the overseer, the player characters can retrieve their Lawgivers and other weapons (which are kept in another storage room nearby) and try and get out of the factory. After a careful and stealthy journey through the Robot controlled zone they can rejoin the rest of the Judges and report to the Chief Judge, in which case you should move to Episode 8. But on their way out of the factory they may want to do something about the production line churning out Robot warriors, in which case, go to Episode 7. / / Factory Prison This episode takes place in the same factory as Episode 5. But this time the player characters will get a chance to see the store rooms made into makeshift prison cells. Player characters will all be held together in the same one, with their hands in handcuffs. There is only one door and only a very small ventilation grill barely large enough for a cat. The door is locked and two Overseers stand guard. Obviously, any weapons will be taken from the player characters. VILLAINS AND BYSTANDERS The Robots often found in this episode are overseer Robots. Their details can be found in Chapter 7. EPISODE 7: THE LAWS OF ROBOTICS From this moment every new Robot will be loyal to Humans! / / Original Storyline Walter has freed Dredd and gathered a small group of loyal Robots to aid the lawman. It is not a big group, or an especially talented one, but the Robots are loyal and enthusiastic. Most importantly, one of the Robots has found a ‘Laws of Robotics’ Asimov circuits programming disc. If the team can take control of the production control room they can make their own army of Robots to challenge Call-Me-Kenneth’s regime.

57 Dredd leads his team on the assault and they quickly take the control room by surprise. Dredd reprograms the machinery and in moments loyalist Robots are being quickly produced. It is not long before the clash of ideologies moves to violence as the new loyalist Robots and Call-Me-Kenneth’s warriors take issue with each other. As soon as this Robot civil war begins, Walter and the other Robots call on the other Robots to rise up and many join the counter-revolution. When the dust settles, Dredd and the loyalist Robots have taken control of the factory. But Call-Me-Kenneth has escaped! He is leading a last ditch attack on the Judges with a group of Heavy Metal Kids! / / Enter the PCs While still undetected in the factory (or having escaped prison) the player characters realise they have an opportunity to add Asimov circuits to Call-Me-Kenneth’s new Robot warriors. This episode might be played out as part of their fi rst infi ltration of the factory, or they might be sent back in again to execute this mission once the Chief Judge hears their initial report. Take the Control Room Walter will introduce the PCs to a small group of proHuman loyalists who want to help. This is a mixed group of Robots of various types. Call-Me-Kenneth has lied to them, they explain. He promised to make everything great and has backtracked on everything. He is clearly drunk on power and is only interested in his own self aggrandisement. The Robots now feel they would be better off with Humans as their masters again. Luckily one of the Robots has found the old programming disc that can instil a loyalty to Humans in the Robot warriors being produced. If the player characters can get into the production facility control room they will be able to create a new loyalist army. If the player characters have not previously been captured they might run into this group of Robots on their way out. They will probably be very suspicious of them, but the offer of the programming disc should help to prove the Robots’ intentions. Getting to the control room is not especially diffi cult but a group Challenging [13] AGI (stealth) check will be required if the player characters are to retain the element of surprise. Once they have climbed up to the control room they can burst in and attack the technician Robots running the systems. Luckily, with the room being so high up and the production line being so noisy, gunfi re will not alert anyone to the attack. The control room is a large circular area set high up in the factory with a view over the whole facility. Windows run all the way around it, as do the various control panels to work the machinery. Most of the process is automated, but it is advisable to have a technician or two overseeing the process in case a mistake occurs. If mistakes are not caught several fl awed Robots might be created before the machinery corrects itself. However, there is an alarm button in the room. If one of the technician Robots (use stats for overseer Robots but without the electro-whips) can get to it and sound the alarm, start a 2d6 countdown pool. Four overseers will appear when the countdown pool expires. The player characters will quickly become trapped if this happens. If they have not been captured already, the Game Master might run the previous episode and have them brought before Call-Me-Kenneth. / / Hold the Machine If the player characters can take control of the production line, it is a simple matter to introduce the new control disc. However, it will take a Challenging [13] LOG (engineering or computers) to do so quickly. Once it is running the production line begins churning out loyalist warrior Robots. It will be important for the player characters and their Robot friends to get down to the production line and keep it running while it creates more troops. / / Counter Revolution With a group of loyalist warriors on hand, a civil war among the Robots will quickly explode across the factory. Loyalist and regime warrior Robots will clash instantly, but many other Robots who have been oppressed by CallMe-Kenneth will seize their chance for freedom. The Game Master should not try to play out the entire fi ght. Instead the player characters should engage with several different Robots trying to stop the production line from making more loyalist warriors. The Game Master is free to throw pretty much anything at them and offer some variety to their opponents. Eventually the dust will settle and the loyalists will be victorious. However, it quickly becomes apparent that CallMe-Kenneth is nowhere to be found. If they do not already know his plans, the player characters will fi nd maps that show he is about to launch an all out assault on the Grand Hall of Justice! This will be resolved in Episode 8. VILLAINS AND BYSTANDERS This episode will potentially involve any and every Robot in the book! The Game Master should throw anything they like at the player characters when they defend the production line. However, most of the Robots remaining in the factory will be the rank and fi le, as Call-Me-Kenneth has taken his elite troops off to fi ght the Judges. There is a three Robot team running the Robot production control room, known as technician Robots. The Game Master should use the same statistics as overseer Robots (but without the electrowhips).

58 EPISODE 8: ASSAULT ON JUSTICE Keep your grubby metal mitts away from that computer, Robot! / / Original Storyline Call-Me-Kenneth leads an all out assault on the Grand Hall of Justice, with the Heavy Metal Kids at the forefront of the fi ghting his forces tear through the Judges’ lines like paper. Dredd is badly needed on the front lines, but with Walter and his team he has a different but no less vital mission. Dredd’s target is the weather control system of Mega-City One. This huge circular station fl oats above the city and is under the control of the Robots. Using a shuttle to get aboard, Dredd and his team neutralise the Robot crew. Having taken over the station, Dredd plans to unleash huge lightning storms on the Robot forces attacking the Grand Hall of Justice. But there is a problem: the safety systems will not allow him to blast the city with electricity. As the Judges are about to lose the battle, Dredd reroutes the weather systems through Walter to bypass their safety controls. While Walter is on the verge of burning out, Dredd is successful and the Heavy Metal Kids are blasted with lightning. The electricity short circuits their systems and they turn on each other. Thankfully Walter survives and the Grand Hall of Justice is saved. But Call-Me-Kenneth has escaped and Dredd sets off to hunt him down for a fi nal showdown. / / Enter the PCs The player characters return to the forces of justice at the front lines. If they have failed to gain any intelligence on Call-Me-Kenneth’s army they will be put back in position defending the city. But they may have news (from their infi ltration) of a Robot offensive on the way, allowing the Judges to prepare their forces for a tactical advantage. If the player characters manage to take control of the factory, Call-Me-Kenneth’s forces will just be several Heavy Metal Kids (as if that is not enough!) But otherwise he will also lead a vast Robot warrior army. The player characters may have infi ltrated the factory and escaped but not taken control of the production facility and begun a civil war. If so, after their description of the mission, Judge Stoll can order them to return to the factory and change the programming on the production line. The player characters will be given a programming disc containing the Asimov laws so they can complete the mission. After infi ltrating the Robot controlled zone again you can then play out Episode 7 before returning to this one. This episode can go one of two ways depending on the sort of game your group prefers. You can give them a choice in the form of a briefi ng from Judge Stoll.

59 » Defending Justice! If you enjoy combat, the player characters can join the Judges defending the Grand Hall of Justice against the Heavy Metal Kids. This will be a desperate fi ght with the Judges throwing everything they have left at these metal monstrosities. » Weather Control! If you prefer a more infi ltration and mission-based episode to pure combat, the player characters will be ordered to take control of the weather station and create a lightning storm to take down the Robots. Dredd should be present, but he will take the opposite mission to the player characters. If they join the rest of the Judge forces, Dredd will assault the weather station. If the player characters assault the weather station, Dredd will be needed to lead the defence of the Grand Hall of Justice. Defending Justice! If the player characters opt to defend the Grand Hall they will join a pitched battle against fi ve Heavy Metal Kids. They may have fought them before, but this time there are more of them and they will not fall for the same tricks as last time. The Game Master should pull out all the stops for this one, describing how the demolition Robots tear through buildings and smash their way through the Judges’ lines. Once the Judges engage in the fi ght it will quickly become a very chaotic melee, with no clear front line. But there are plenty more tricks in the Judges’ arsenal and this is the time to let the PC loose with heavy ordnance. Let them have the biggest toys, because they will need them. However, the encounter should be more than just combat and the Game Master should offer several objectives for the player characters as the fi ght wears on. These might be to rescue other Judges cut off from their support or take control of strategic positions, they might have to lead the defence of certain areas, or protect key fi gures like the Chief Judge or other members of the Council of Five. What should become very clear very quickly is that the Judges cannot truly win this fi ght. They need the mission to the weather control station to work and take out the Heavy Metal Kids. If Dredd is the one executing the mission he will do it in the nick of time. If it is up to the player characters... Weather Control! If the player characters opt to infi ltrate the weather control station they will have to get there using a shuttle (a pilot will be provided if they need one). While there are no real defences for the station itself, a clandestine approach will make getting into the station easier. If the player characters simply dock at one of the main airlocks the octopus guard Robots on the station will detect them easily and send some of their number to destroy them. However, the player characters might try and communicate with the station and convince the Robots to let them in. One reason might be that they are carrying supplies of oil to the Robot crew.

60 If the shuttle does not dock it can land on the station where the player characters can cut their way in. They will need to bring the necessary equipment and it will take time. But if the pilot can manage a gentle landing with a Diffi cult [16] AGI (piloting] check, and they pick a quiet spot, they can enter almost undetected. There are numerous octopus guard Robots on the weather station, but only a few in the control room. There will be at least one for each member of the player characters’ assault team (which may include the Robots they befriended in the factory or another encounter). If the player characters secure the main control room they can barricade themselves in. / / Bringing the Storm Creating an electrical storm over Mega-City One is precisely the sort of thing the weather station has safety protocols to prevent. The Judges will have to overcome the main computer’s safety features to stop the Heavy Metal Kids. This needs a Demanding [21] LOG (computers) roll. But there are some things they can do to gain bonus dice if they think they have time. Each of the following will gain them a bonus +1d6: » Connect a Robot to the system to bypass the main computer. Routine [10] LOG ( robotics). » Rewire the safety systems of the computer. Challenging [13] LOG (electronics or engineering). » Get out on the roof of the station to realign the sensors so they think the storm is not as bad as it is. Challenging [13] AGI (engineering). » Create a fake ID that overrides the standard safety protocols. Diffi cult [16] LOG (computers or forgery). It will take one minute for the player characters to attempt an attribute check to create a storm. It will take two minutes to do each of the tasks that make the diffi culty easier, although different teams can do them at the same time. The player characters can make as many attempts as they like, but the more time they take the more their compatriots on the ground will suffer. As soon as they succeed in the roll, lighting lashes across the sky and blasts the Heavy Metal Kids. Their circuits fry and they end up turning on each other. It does not take long for them to tear each other apart. If the player characters manage to succeed in the computers roll in the fi rst minute, they have truly saved the day. Very few Judges will be hurt and the Heavy Metal Kids barely made it to the Grand Hall of Justice. If it takes them 2-5 minutes, there is signifi cant loss of life and the Grand Hall of Justice take a few knocks, but nothing that cannot be repaired quickly. If it takes them 5-10 minutes, most of the Judges will have been killed or injured and the Grand Hall of Justice will need signifi cant repairs before it can be used again. If it takes them more than 10 minutes, the Grand Hall of Justice will be destroyed and most of the Judges will have been killed. THE GRAND HALL OF JUSTICE The Grand Hall of Justice is one of the grandest and most imposing buildings in Mega-City One. It is a symbol of the law and the Judges who protect it. While sturdy, it is not indestructible, and if it falls, so do most of the monitoring and coordinating systems the Judges use to keep control in the city. More about the Grand Hall of Justice can be found in the Core Rulebook in Chapter 6. WEATHER CONTROL The weather control system is a wheel-like station that fl oats high above Mega-City One. It is high enough not to be an obstacle to air traffi c, but not so high it needs environmental controls inside. The only access is by shuttle or similar fl ying machine. It has a central tower where the main control systems are, and an outer ring containing stores, offi ces and linking corridors. Eight spokes connect the tower and the outer ring, and go on to form eight docking bays for shuttles.

61 VILLAINS AND BYSTANDERS The Heavy Metal Kids will be the main opposition at the Grand Hall of Justice. Their details can be found in Chapter 7. On the weather station there might be any Robots the Game Master likes, but most will use the same statistics as octopus guards (see Chapter 7). EPISODE 9: THE FINAL SHOWDOWN I’m too late to save those crewmen, but Call-Me-Kenneth must not escape! / / Original Storyline The Robot war is over, but Call-Me-Kenneth is still at large, wounded and desperate for oil. Dredd hunts him down and corners him on an oil tanker he is hijacking. With the tanker full of oil Dredd cannot risk too much gunfi re, but he sees exposed circuits where Call-Me-Kenneth has been wounded and aims for those. A gush of oil sends Dredd hurtling off the fl ying tanker, but he refuses to let Call-Me-Kenneth escape. Dredd opens fi re as he falls, igniting the tanker and Call-Me-Kenneth who is consumed in a blaze of fi re. With the war fi nally over, the Chief Judge offers amnesty for all the Robots who return to Human service. Those who fought with Dredd are given pleasure circuits as rewards and Walter is granted his freedom, the fi rst Robot to be so honoured. Unfortunately for Dredd, Walter gives up his newfound independence so he can become his personal servant. / / Enter the PCs With the assault on the Grand Hall of Justice over, the Robot war is at an end. But Call-Me-Kenneth has escaped in the fi ghting. The player characters may petition the Chief Judge to be the ones to hunt him down and if so they will be granted the honour as they will have earned it. But if they do not think of it themselves, they will be ordered to go after Call-Me-Kenneth. After all, they are some of the few remaining Judges still on their feet! There is only one real event here, the climactic showdown with Call-Me-Kenneth. Following Call-Me-Kenneth will not be hard as he leaves a trail of bodies in his wake as he rages across the city. The place for a fi nal confrontation is very much up to the Game Master, but it should ideally be a place that means something to the player characters. It might be a block they have protected before, a part of the city they like, even a statue they are fond of, maybe even where they made their fi rst arrest or where they fi rst fought Call-Me-Kenneth. Whatever the Game Master chooses, it should have a few nooks and crannies for Call-Me-Kenneth to attempt to ambush the player characters. He is a dangerous opponent, but not a stupid one and if he can make a few sneak attacks he will. However, he is wounded, and a section of his casing has been damaged and no longer protects him with its armour. Aiming at this exposed area is a Called Shot (-2d6), but a hit ignores Call-Me-Kenneth’s SOAK score. Another weakness is that Call-Me-Kenneth remains frighteningly arrogant and does not really believe the player characters can take him down; so he is easily goaded into open confrontation. Whatever the Game Master chooses, it should have a few Alternative Endings There is no reason the player characters have to use a lightning storm to defeat the Robot’s fi nal assault. If they have another idea to disable the army en-masse the Game Master should let them go for it. If it seems like it might not work Dredd can take on the weather control system as a backup plan. Whatever alternative the PCs choose, the Game Master should not make it easy! If it involves taking over a facility, the Game Master can use much of the same detail as for Weather Control, just change what the setting looks like. However, another option for a more tech oriented PC group is to create some new weapon. In such a case they will need to get hold of certain supplies (possibly from dangerous locations) and get the weapon built before the Robots destroy the Grand Hall of Justice. Some potential alternatives the Game Master might want to offer the player characters are: A metal eating virus that will tear apart Robots and leave Humans safe. They will need to develop the virus and fi nd a way to deliver it. They may also need to fi nd a way to stop it before it starts eating though roads, bridges and buildings. A deadly high powered laser or electrical weapon might be developed to blast the Robots and either destroy or disrupt them in one go. The weapon will not only need positioning in the right place, but also require a lot of power. Scouts will have to get very accurate intelligence about where the army plans to attack to get the position right and the Tek Judges will need to connect the weapon to a lot of power, enough to shut down a large area of the city. It may be possible to hack the Robot’s systems and reactivate their Asimov Circuits. To do this the Tek Judges will need some detail on the access codes for the Robot’s wireless systems and network. This might mean capturing a highly placed Robot and using him to access the system or getting inside a Heavy Metal Kid and hacking from there!

62 As with any fi ght, the Game Master should help the player characters use the environment. However, this encounter should play out more like an old west gunfi ght. The player characters should fi nally get their chance to face Call-Me-Kenneth in a fair fi ght and take him down. If they fi nd a way to do so in a blaze of glory like Dredd so much the better. For this reason the Game Master might like to add an aspect to the environment that the player characters can use to explosive advantage. This might be a huge cargo of oil, a nearby gas storage facility, an ammunition store or some sort of furnace, anything that will make a nice bang if they hit it the right way!

63 Flying Oil Tanker The scenes you use will depend on where you set the showdown. Dredd faces him on a huge fl ying oil tanker. The tanker is the size of a city block, but fully automated and requiring minimal crew. In fact, more crew are needed to see to the cargo than fl y the tanker. There are plenty of places for combatants to hide or try and ambush each other, either on top of the tanker or in its narrow corridors. VILLAINS AND BYSTANDERS This episode comes down to only one thing, the PC versus Call-Me-Kenneth! But Call-Me-Kenneth is injured from the previous battle, and has an exposed section, a hit to which bypasses his armour. The Game Master may also complicate the confrontation with many expendable bystanders running around, screaming and generally getting in the way. REWARDS AND ENDINGS At the end of the adventure, all going well, the player characters will have played a pivotal part in saving Mega-City One. All characters gain +1 to their REP attribute, as their deeds are retold across the city. Robot characters will all get pleasure circuits and those who served especially well may be awarded their freedom. Judge characters mainly just get the satisfaction of a job well done but if they were exceptionally valiant they may be promoted. They will certainly get their pick of assignments for the foreseeable future and if there is a department they are looking to join now is a good time to fi ll out an application. More importantly, they have proved themselves to the Chief Judge and if they want to get his attention for anything they need only ask. Either way, now he knows what they are capable of, he may well be calling on them personally in the near future for a dangerous mission...

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66 Whereas the previous adventure is designed for Judges, this adventure features Perp or Civilian characters caught in the crossfi re. You might even play Robot characters, but will you side with the forces of the law and the Humans, or join Call-MeKenneth’s glorious revolution? The adventure is presented as a series of linked episodes. You can run them all in sequence or slide more adventures of your own in between them to form a campaign. You might make all these extra adventures relate to The Robot Wars or just use these episodes as an arc plot to bring a more varied campaign together. You might even mix these episodes with the ones in the main Judge adventure. As you might imagine, this adventure takes place in Matt Damon Block. All the player characters should be residents here, as a sense of community and a threat to their home are the main themes that will bring them together and motivate them to follow the adventure. The player characters should know each other at least a little before the adventure begins. They need not be friends, or even acquaintances, but they should have at least passed each other in a hallway or perhaps live a few doors down from each other. They should at least recognise they share the same community. But they could just as easily know each other very well. They might be long term friends, lived next door for years or even be married or related to each other. ADVENTURE OUTLINE In this adventure, the player characters’ block, like many others, suffers a Robot rebellion. By upgrading their security Robots, the block administrators unknowingly pave the way for the Robot uprising to take control of the whole block. While many Humans try to escape, some remain to try and reclaim their home and protect those of their community who have been taken prisoner. After forming an uneasy truce, the news that Call-MeKenneth is leading a fi nal assault threatens to disturb the fragile peace. Some Robots want to join the assault and others threaten to kill the Humans that remain in the block. But the decision is with the two leaders of the Robot forces, Delphine 34 and Johnson 43. The player characters will have encountered this Robot couple before when they fi rst arrived at the block. How they treated them then will make a big difference to what they order their robotic followers to do. / / Matt Damon Block The setting for this adventure is a block much like any other. It rises to a dizzying height and is mainly residential. The most expensive apartments are on the higher levels, with commanding views across Mega-City One. The smaller apartments crowd into the lower levels but still offer a decent standard of living. Unlike many blocks, Matt Damon is entirely privately owned and as such the block’s residents’ committee has greater ability to protect the residents than most other blocks in the city. This allows them to bring in security Robots to defend the residents and their property from the criminal elements. All those living in Matt Damon Block have to sign a legal waiver allowing improved security measures above those normally found in blocks. This applies even to those residents housed by the city and receiving welfare. Justice Department is keeping an eye on Matt Damon to see if this model will work in reducing crime with a view to possibly increasing the number of blocks run this way. Many of the fl oors contain small shops and services, around which the community has formed. The Game Master is free to create all manner of residents and shopkeepers to populate the block. A few examples are presented in the scenario, many of which might be well known to the player characters. In fact the Game Master should detail at least two or three such places that the player characters visit regularly, so they have some reason to help during the Robot’s uprising. These examples can be used to introduce NPCs or serve as settings for any of the encounters during the adventure. CH/5: SAVING MATT DAMON BLOCK

67 MAMA CARLITO This rather rotund old lady used to work as a hairdresser until robotic automation forced her into early retirement. Now she welcomes neighbours and friends who cannot afford an expensive stylist into her apartment to cut their hair. She takes payment in almost anything, from food to gadgets to cash, depending on who she is doing a favour for. Her apartment is usually quite full with plenty of people gossiping while waiting their turn. Several children are often running about the place, waiting for parents or for their turn to get a haircut. MEDICAL CENTRE 7 There are several medical centres in Matt Damon Block, but still only one for every fi fty or so fl oors. Each has only one medic, a nurse and an administrator who helps where they can. There are beds for around ten patients and some basic surgical facilities. While they are highly advanced facilities, they are chronically over-subscribed. Most have large queues and the staff rarely gets to close before the middle of the evening. Medical Centre 7 has a more particular reputation though. Doc Bosely has often been known to sell illegal drugs to those he thinks need more pain relief than legal drugs can provide. To fund his trade in illegal medical drugs he has also taken to trading in low grade recreational drugs as well. He is too small scale to have come to the Judges’ attention, but he is in more danger of antagonising some of the gangs that operate in the block who consider the drug trade their racket. LA PARISIAN This restaurant, situated almost at the top of the block, is one of the most exclusive in Mega-City One. It is famed across the city for both its expense and French cuisine. The restaurant is decorated as if it is a French café with expansive holographic technology creating the feeling of eating next to the Eiffel Tower. The waiters are all Robots designed as moustached Gallic stereotypes in black waistcoats and white aprons that hide their wheeled tracks. O’CALLAGHAN’S This rather rustic bar serves almost every form of synthetic alcohol you can fi nd, but the regulars know that the owners, Margaret and Patrick O’Callaghan, can fi nd you some of the real stuff if you ask nicely. With plenty of nooks and crannies and a rustic ‘spit and sawdust’ feel to the place, it is a popular cheap watering hole for many people in the block. BEDLAM TUNING One of the noisier places on the lower fl oors of the block is this garage and vehicle repair centre. It takes in vehicles from all manner of customers, changing tires on cheap bikes as well as expensive limousines. Several mechanics work here but business is good enough that they often have work for a good mechanic for a couple of days who is looking for extra cash. The head mechanic, Primrose Daily, is also the person to talk to about illegal street racing. She organises occasional races without the knowledge of the owner, Josiah Bedlam. Luckily, Josiah is rarely on site, preferring to run things from a distance and collect the cash. AFFLECK NEWS This convenience store is open pretty much 24 hours a day, although no one is quite sure how. The only person who seems to work there is Edgar Duval, who owns the place. It is a mystery when he ever sleeps, but some say he naps between customers. He is always found sitting behind the counter reading a paper and taking as little interest in his customers as possible. The shop sells all manner of snack foods, household goods and ‘emergency supplies’ like Grotpots and Synthi Flakes. It also sells a variety of newspaper slugs and on the side Edgar sells illegal comics under the counter to those who know to ask. SINGH CAFÉ This cheap café serves a selection of simple but decent dishes, mostly to the poorer residents of the block. It is owned by Saul Clovis and his husband Elidor, who bought it from a Mr and Mrs Singh. Being lovers of musicals and wanting to put a shtick to the old name, they installed a karaoke machine which has proved popular on weekend evenings. During the day the café does well serving synthisynthi-caf and hotties. But it also stays open into the evening and has become a popular meeting point for those who are not going to O’Callaghan’s. ‘THE BOXES’ On the ground fl oor is a small holding area for Judges to detain criminals. This row of clear plastic holding cells can only be opened by a Judge (or a security Robot) and are designed for short term incarceration. They are used if Judges need to arrest more criminals in an area or if they are busy and need the Justice Department to pick them up while they carry on their patrol. The cells are monitored but scrawlers still manage to sneak in and tag them. There is space here for about fi fty criminals but usually no more than half are ever full. / / Gangs in Matt Damon Block The following groups are the main gangs running some of the rackets in Matt Damon Block, but there are innumerable smaller scale gangs operating across the block. While all the gangs engage in all forms of crime, each has a particular specialty and style they use to maintain their identity. It is perfectly permissible for perp player characters to be a member of any of these gangs, or be part of one of their own.

68 THE MARTIANS A group of fashionistas who love to look as strange and alien as they can. They can be highly unpredictable and diffi cult to deal with as they try to act as ‘alien’ as possible. Despite this predilection all of the gang are Human. THE GOODWILL HUNTERS This gang is the least dangerous and is mainly made of homeless vagrants who hunt for second-hand goods to sell or repurpose. However, they have been known to steal if they cannot fi nd anything cheap to buy. THE DEPARTED Most juves try to join the Departed, who are the most achingly cool gang in the block. They follow an uncompromising goth style that can often prove impractical. More than one has been caught because they could not run in the boots they were wearing. It is assumed the gang is heavily into proscribed drugs, but they mainly smoke and drink alcohol illegally. THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU The members of this gang rarely look like gangsters. They all dress as offi ce workers, complete with briefcase and umbrella. They like to break into organisations and change paperwork to manipulate their systems, often to damage a corporation, but usually just to sow chaos or for the fun of it. The gang is mostly made up of hackers and civil resistance agitators, but some of their scams are designed to make money to fund their activities. THE RAINMAKERS This gang is one of scariest in the block. Their business has a simple model: you tell them what you want and they make it happen, or ‘make it rain’ as they like to say. They have no moral problem with any job you might want done, murder, extortion, getting a robocat out of a synthetic tree. If you have a job and can pay the price, they will get it done. The more illegal or involved the operation will be, the higher the price, but discretion is always guaranteed. Several residential disputes have been ended by one side using the Rainmakers to get rid of the opposition. PRELUDE: THE ROBOT OF THE YEAR SHOW The Game Master might want to open the adventure with the Robot of the Year show, particularly if they are going to mix episodes and characters from the Judges’ adventure in the previous chapter. The Robot of the Year show is the place to see the next generation of Robots, ones that think and feel more than ever before. The player characters should have time to experience the show and see what these new Robots are capable of. Some of the new designs here (like the Heavy Metal Kids) may become their worst enemies later on. If any of the player characters have (or are!) Robot servants, this might also be a good time for that Robot to start to show a few signs of ‘malfunction’ themselves. Robots thrown on the scrapheap might also return for revenge later! Citizen characters will be attending the show, but might be doing so in a professional capacity. Anyone working in robotics or engineering will want to know more about the exhibits. It is also possible the player characters might be working at one of the stands, even if it is just handing out leafl ets (although it is mostly Robots who will be doing that job!) Any large crowd is likely to bring a few perps with it. It is a dunk’s wonderland, and also an opportunity for pongos to run a few cons by posing as sales reps offering amazing free gifts (for a small collection charge). Some perps may be looking to steal some of the new Robot technology while others might be meeting contacts and using the crowds as cover. However, they will notice the higher than usual Judge presence, which may curtail their plans and tip them off that something might be about to happen. Robot characters will probably be there as servants of Human attendees or working the show in some way. A more advanced Robot character might even be on display! Either way, they will have a chance to talk to other Robots and witness the horrifi c destruction of George. They may want to fi nd a way to save the other Robots from the same fate. EPISODE 1: NEW SECURITY The adventure opens with Matt Damon Block getting a new set of security Robots. This is in response to the rising crime levels in the block that any perp player characters may well be responsible for! But even if the player characters are all law-abiding citizens, they will have noticed crime on the increase. With the Judges already overstretched, a force of security Robots seems like just the answer. As only Judges can dispense the law, the Robots operate under strict controls. The security Robots will have no power to sentence criminals. All they can do is act to prevent violence and detain perps for the Judges to sentence later. Their ability to arrest only runs as far as taking them to the holding cells in the block and calling for a Judge. However, the security Robots have been given reasonably proactive programming. They generally patrol the corridors on the lookout for crime, but also take it upon themselves to search and question/harass anyone they think is likely to commit crime. Each Robot has detailed fi les on the law, and also those residents who have a criminal record, and they quickly begin to target ‘known troublemakers’.

69 This episode should be played out in a very freeform way, with the player characters (individually or as a group) encountering the new security Robots. If they are polite and cooperative, their interactions with the Robots will be irritating at most. But if they take umbrage or try to oppose them, things will go very badly. Some potential interactions are: » The player characters are stopped and searched. This may be just because their names are on record, but even a law abiding citizen might be ‘spot checked’. If the Robot fi nds anything, there will be trouble. There will also be an escalation if the PC resists in any way. » The player characters need to get some ‘supplies’ to a contact in another block. They might be something like drugs or guns, but could just as easily be some pretty innocent contraband. Their usual run is now patrolled by a security Robot. Can they fi nd a way to sneak past or take down the Robot? » A Robot arrests one of the player characters’ friends (rightly or wrongly). If they can get them released before it calls the Judges they can probably get them away if the escaped friend lays low for a while. But do they try to trick or charm the Robot, or even take it on violently? Time is a factor, as once it reaches the cells on the ground fl oor it will call a Judge and log the crime. » One of the Robots got a little overexcited and kicked in the door of Mama Carlito’s. It had a suspicion that crime was occurring at such a large gathering, but luckily it realised its mistake pretty quickly. However, it frightened the children and Mama when it burst in. What does not help is that the community had to club together to get Mama a new door as the block administration refused to pay. A few of the locals have decided that Robot needs to be taught a lesson. Plenty think the incident was a sign it is malfunctioning and think something should be done before it hurts someone. The Robot is called Boris 27, and a group of juves are out to permanently retire it. Will the player characters try to stop them or join them? EPISODE 2: YOU CRAZY KIDS This episode introduces the most important Robot characters to the adventure, although the player characters probably will not appreciate how important they are yet. One of the new security Robots, called Johnson 43, starts to develop feelings for one of the domestic Robots, Delphine 34. He asks the player characters for some romantic advice, and help to court the object of his affection. Despite the fact the security Robots appear (at least to Humans) to be identical, Delphine 34 has noticed Johnson 43. She has begun to look forward to his casual visits to check the apartment she works in is secure and has started to plan her errands around his patrol schedule. How this episode plays out will depend very much on the PCs’ attitude to Robot relationships. At the very least this is rather out of the ordinary. It will be assumed to be an odd quirk of their programming and possibly met with amusement. While it is possible the player characters will want to either help the Robot couple get together, or work to tear it apart, they should also be directly involved. Johnson 43 should patrol near where they live, for instance, and possibly have helped them in some way in the past. Delphine 34 could work in one of their favourite places, or even be owned by one of the player characters or a relative of theirs. If the player characters try to break up the couple, they will have to keep a sharp eye out. The Robots will eventually discover their feelings are mutual and arrange several secret assignations. If they are discovered they will have to obey orders and stop seeing each other. But this will only last for a day or so before they are found together again. If the player characters decide to take one of the Robots in to have them ‘fi xed’ they will get an appointment for a week’s time. Unfortunately, The Robot Wars will have kicked off before then! If the player characters decide to help the ‘lovers’ get together, they will need to do more than just get them together. The Robot couple does not really know what to do in a relationship so they need help to get their feelings out. They will fi gure it out eventually, but if the player characters can arrange romantic getaways, or just assist them in fi nding some time together, it will all help. How far they go depends on how much the player characters enjoy playing matchmaker.

70 What the player characters do not know is that Johnson 43 and Delphine 34 will become the leaders of the Robots of Matt Damon Block and they will both remember how they were treated. If they were helped out, they will be more sensitive to the needs of Humans. If their relationship was blocked they have little sympathy for their old masters. If the player characters get them together and then break them up for fun, they will be looking for revenge. EPISODE 3: LOVE IN THE TIME OF WAR When The Robot Wars kick off, they take everyone by surprise. While it is possibly people will have heard rumours about Robots being ‘a little off’, only Call-Me-Kenneth’s recent rampage has reached the city newscasts. While the carpentry Robot’s trail of carnage has shocked a lot of people, it is still considered a freak occurrence. However, some of the player characters or their friends might be interested in watching the live telecast of scientists taking him apart to fi gure out the cause of the malfunction. Anyone who does watch the telecast will only be able to gaze in horror at what unfolds. Most people will only become aware of the citywide revolt by the Robots, not the immediate cause. Not every Robot in Matt Damon Block will instantly go crazy, but a good proportion will become homicidal. The player characters should each encounter a Robot looking to kill them as the fi rst sign something is wrong. This Robot might be a random public Robot, but could easily be a trusted domestic or security Robot who works for them. In some cases the Game Master might have a Robot come to the player characters for help, only to turn on them moments later. It should appear as if a disease is spreading across robotkind. Very quickly the whole block will be reduced to absolute chaos. If anyone calls for the Judges they will be told “No Judges are available at this time. Citizens should go to their homes and await assistance.” It should be rapidly clear that no one is coming and the residents of the block are on their own. There are a number of encounters that can be played out during this episode as the Player characters do their best to escape, help their neighbours or take advantage of the situation. If anyone tries to fi nd Johnson 43 or Delphine 34, they will be lost in the chaos. » Several eldster residents are trapped in the fi ghting. They need help to get past the Robots. Some need help getting down stairs and a few will be rather dazed and confused in the chaos. Many will either insist things will be fi ne once the Judges arrive, others will refuse to leave without certain beloved trinkets or pets. » A call from a family of wealthy citizens on the upper fl oor offers a big reward to anyone that can save them. But there are a couple of fl oors of deadly Robots between them. » A robodoc medic is going crazy in one of the medical centres. Can the player characters put it down, and help get the injured to safety? » A group of Human workers are building barricades to hold back the Robots. Can the player characters help, fi nd more materials to use or fi ght back the Robots to give them more time? » The local block Judge has joined the fi ght and is under heavy fi re. Can the player characters help him or will they leave him to die? If they can get to him, the Judge will insist on taking command, even though he does not know the block as well as they do, being a recent transfer. Will the player characters follow his orders or try to tell him whose boss? A robodoc medic is going crazy in one of the mediJohnson 43 The new security Robots are all identical, apart from each having a different number painted on their chests. Each is just over six feet tall and built in a Humanoid form. They only carry truncheons, but their hands make very effective clubs too! While they are quite stern in their demeanour, their faces appear cheerful because their designers thought that would make them look friendly. It actually makes them look a little creepier. Each responds to a number, but they have all taken additional names to make them more socially acceptable. Johnson is one of the more relaxed members of the security forces. He has been known to let kids go, saying ‘Get along with you, you scamps’ where others might detain them so the Judges can throw them in the juve cubes. Although plenty of people do not like the new security Robots, he has a better reputation than most; this is tempered by the fact most residents do not recognise individual Robots. Like all the new security Robots, for Johnson 43’s statistics the Game Master should use ‘Security Robot’ in Chapter 7. Delphine 34 Delphine is a reasonably high end domestic Robot. Her top half is built in a Humanoid form, but with four arms. Her lower half is made of two legs that end in large tracks for feet. She wears a knee-length, black maid’s dress with a spotless white apron. Like most domestic Robots she is good at quietly cleaning away unobtrusively so is rarely noticed. However, she is a good listener and often a good source for the gossip she overhears. For Delphine 34’s statistics the Game Master should use ‘Domestic Robot’ from Chapter 7.

71 As the dust begins to settle, a frontline begins to develop. The Robots take control of the south side of the building, and the Humans hold the north. In most cases this means each fl oor is held half by one group and half by another. However, in some cases whole fl oors are in control of one faction or the other. Interestingly, Humans on the poorer, lower fl oors have fared better than on the wealthy upper fl oors. With greater population density and a few more weapons to hand, they have been more effective in taking on the Robots. As the rich had the more advanced Robots, and larger apartments meant they had fewer numbers, many have been killed. So while the very bottom fl oors are now in the hands of the Humans, the very top fl oors are under Robot control. Although the block is now in the middle of a war, very few of the residents will try to leave. They have nowhere to go, and it will quickly become apparent this is happening all over the city. While it is still possible to leave the block, the streets are full of fi ghting and any contacts player characters have outside have problems of their own. Nowhere is safe, and the residents of Matt Damon Block are going to have to fi ght to keep their homes. EPISODE 4: NEW ROBOT CITY Matt Damon Block is now in a state of siege warfare. Half the building is in the hands of the Robots and half in the hands of Humans. Barricades stand in almost every hall, but there are too many stairs and corridors to stop all access between the two sides. The more militant members of each faction are carrying out lighting raids on the opposition and causing more bloodshed. While the Humans repeatedly call for help from the Judges, it rapidly becomes clear no help is coming. The Justice Department is able to reply to the thousands of distress calls it is receiving, but all their manpower is needed for the main front. Callers will be told they are ‘a low priority at this time’. The player characters should decide where they stand on continuing the violence. Do they try to bed in further or take the fi ght to the Robots? Should they try to take back the block fl oor by fl oor, or make a more focused tactical strike against the Robot leaders or their main headquarters to cripple the enemy forces? By now the player characters should have made a name for themselves with their actions and if they are not leading the defence of the block their opinion will be sought after by those who are. The Game Master should run a few encounters with Robot scouts (security Robots) to build the atmosphere of the entrenched confl ict. The Robots have the same options as the Humans and do not like the situation any better. Each player should consider how they now see the Robot faction. Do they assume they are all the same, mindless killing machines bent on revenge, or do they recognise there may be as many different opinions among the Robots as the Humans? The Game Master can emphasise this parallel if the player characters capture rather than kill any Robot scouts (or those they come across in their own scouting missions) with prisoners asking for mercy, declaring they want peace or spouting the same bigotry the Humans do. There will also be other Humans stuck on the Robot side that will need help. They might be boxed into a corner and need rescuing, or hiding out in their apartments. Several forays might be made to seek out lost family members or neighbours. In some cases they will be lucky, but in others they will fi nd only bodies. / / A Call from the Leaders The player characters will eventually be contacted by the leadership of the Robot faction. The leaders turn out to be Johnson 43 and Delphine 34. It seems that their relationship has served as a rallying cry for the Robots, a symbol of the robotic need for self-determination and equal rights. The couple was quickly put forward to lead the Robot faction, mainly because no other Robot really wanted the job (most prefer to follow, not lead). Johnson 43 and Delphine 34 have tried to do their best, but they are inexperienced and have little idea what to do next. They really just wanted to be together, and now they are both leaders of a revolution and an inspiring symbol of the new future for Robots. tion. Do they assume they are all the same, mindless killing But the Robots are right! It is possible the player characters will want to side with the Robots in this adventure, especially if they are Robots themselves. This is not especially complicated as both sides are very similar, just made of different material. The player characters will either be arguing with the Robots to sue for peace or helping them destroy all Humans. Human characters will have to keep proving their loyalty, but should they be good friends of Johnson 43 and Delphine 34 this will help. However, there will still be friction with the hardliners. The same will be true for Robots on the side of the Humans. But in both cases the faction leaders will support them which will silence most grumbling. In most cases, fl ipping the sides will not change the adventure very much as both factions are in a similar position. The only real difference will be what the player characters decide to do in the end, return to bondage, fi ght the Humans or try to escape the city.

72 The player characters might discover the identity of the Robots’ leaders by interrogating prisoners, but if they fail to do so the Robot leaders will send word they want to negotiate and discuss terms. How this call to the negotiating table is phrased will depend on how the player characters treated the couple. If they helped them get together, Johnson 43 and Delphine 34 will consider them friends and optimistically hope they can bridge the gap between Human and Robot together. But if the player characters tried to keep the couple apart, the leaders will be out to even the score and may even be planning some form of revenge. If the player characters agree to meet, a time and place will have to be arranged. Ideally this should be a large open space in relatively neutral territory. The player characters should make CHA checks to determine how favourable a spot they can convince the Robots to agree to. If they cannot beat a diffi culty of 10, the place will be close to Robot territory, granting them an advantage; all Robots making attribute checks to sneak or hide there will gain a +1d6 bonus. If they can beat a diffi culty of 16, the agreed on area will be advantageous to Humans, and all Humans making attribute checks to sneak or hide there will gain a +1d6 bonus. A roll from 11-15 means that the agreed location is fairly neutral, granting nobody any bonuses. Luckily the Robots actually do want to talk and are not planning an ambush, although the player characters might have other plans. While the Robots are not stupid enough to come alone, they will not bring an army. The gathering will include Johnson 43, Delphine 34 and four to six other security Robots. At the sign of any violence, the Robots will do their best to protect Johnson 43 and Delphine 34, and enable them to escape, at the cost of their lives in necessary. If the player characters want to take out the enemy leaders they will have to be swift and cunning. If the player characters do attempt an ambush, whatever the result it will lead to open war with the Robots again. However, if Johnson 43 and Delphine 34 have both been killed, the Robots will be unfocused and lack leadership and tactical cohesion in their attacks. This may give a more tactical Human force a few more options to penetrate their lines and do more damage, or lead larger numbers of Robots into traps or crossfi res. At this point any chance of negotiation will be gone. If either Johnson 43 or Delphine 34 is killed, the other will go mad with grief. They will order the extermination of all Humans with a special emphasis on the ones who fi red the shots that killed their beloved. All hope of negotiation will be gone. But this time the Robots will attack with more systemic goals, looking to move slowly and effi - ciently to slaughter all the fl eshy ones. If the player characters try to negotiate, the Robots are willing to listen. The player characters and the Robot leaders should make CHA checks to see how well they negotiate. The diffi culty of the roll will depend on the opposition’s ‘disposition’ towards them. The Game Master should determine this for both sides depending on how the player characters have behaved or talked about the Robots, and how they have treated Johnson 43 and Delphine 34 in the past.

73 Disposition Friendly Neutral Dislike Hatred Difficulty 10 15 20 25 This is an extended skill task; the negotiations continue until the PCs have succeeded or failed in their checks fi ve times. Whenever either side succeeds, the other side must offer one of the concessions (or similar) listed below. If one side rolls a critical success, they must offer an additional concession. The PCs might refuse to offer a concession when they fail a check. If they do so, the negotiations are over, and war breaks out. The negotiations rely on both sides following unwritten ‘rules’. EXAMPLE CONCESSIONS » Withdrawal from certain areas (reducing the amount of area held or granting control of a particular facility). » Handing over medical/mechanical supplies. » Trade of skills (one faction performs some service the other needs such as repairs or medical aid). » Release of prisoners. » Next meeting in own faction controlled area. » Ceasefi re for a particular amount of time. » Improve opposition’s disposition one step . If things do not devolve into open confl ict again, the PCs can arrange more meetings to try and gain more concessions. Unless a full ceasefi re is agreed upon there will still be raids and confl icts between the more hardline members of each faction. Such encounters, as well as further missions to gain supplies or perform rescues in enemy territory, can be run between each meeting. If there are a signifi cant amount of Robot casualties or the Humans become especially aggressive, the Game Master may move the leader’s disposition one negative step. EPISODE 5: FORCES IN MOTION If negotiations have not broken down, a tense peace will settle over Matt Damon Block. If a solid dialogue is in place, the player characters should even get to know not only Johnson 43 and Delphine 34, but also several other Robots who might work as their bodyguards, or those who have helped out the Humans as part of negotiated assistance. It is important over this time that the Robots should become more ‘Human’ and less of a faceless enemy to make the decisions the player characters have to make in this section more diffi cult. In this fi nal part of the adventure, the player characters discover if all their negotiations have worked, or if they have come to nothing. The remaining news stations will suddenly announce that Call-Me-Kenneth’s forces seem to be on the move. Where the Robots have mostly been confi ned in blocks or behind the anti-Robot barrier, this has suddenly changed. A large force of Robots is already on its way toward the barrier and looks set on targeting the Grand Hall of Justice (if you are also playing the Judge adventure, the size of this force will depend on how well they did). Some of the Humans may want to join the fi ght against this onslaught, and there are calls for able-bodied citizens to join the line with the Judges. But to do so will leave parts of the block exposed to their own Robot problem, even though the destruction of Call-Me-Kenneth might bring all of this to an end. What the Humans will not initially know is that the Robots in Matt Damon Block are equally divided. Many want to join Call-Me-Kenneth’s glorious assault, although others are more inspired to ‘fi nish what they started’ with the Humans in the block. A few who see the assault as doomed to failure would rather fall on the mercy of the Humans. Some want to use the assault as cover and escape Mega-City One for a life of freedom elsewhere. Plenty want to see what happens and hope that all this will prove that Robots should be given more rights. Most of the Robots will still side with Johnson 43 and Delphine 34, who have proved good leaders to have got them this far, and their relationship remains an inspiration to most of them. This means that the majority of the Robot faction’s attitude will depend on the attitude of their leaders since their negotiation with the Humans. Friendly. Most of the Robots want to discuss peace. They will suggest an immediate ceasefi re and actively help the player characters enforce it if need be. About 10% of the Robot faction will want to continue the violence, but they will choose to leave the Block to join Call-Me-Kenneth. While these Robots will not be a problem for the block, they could potentially outfl ank the Judges, so the player characters should try to stop them. Neutral. The Robots are equally divided. Half of them will want to join Call-Me-Kenneth, and half of them want to either stay and demand rights or slip out of the city to start a new life. The violent half will not have the numbers to mount a full assault so will break up into several assault groups and try to break through the Human lines individually. The Humans will fi nd themselves attacked at several places, but it will be with smaller forces. Where the small forces break through, they will be looking to escape the block not fi ght any more people than they have to. Dislike. There is a lot of anger and no ceasefi re. While some Robots want no part of Call-Me-Kenneth’s attack, at least 70% do. The majority faction will form a spearhead attack to punch their way out of the block to join Call-MeKenneth’s army. They will kill any Humans who get in their way but not go out of their way. The remaining 30% will join the column, realising that staying in the block with the rest of the Humans is probably suicide. These Robots will be looking to scatter (possibly to the Cursed Earth) as soon as they are outside.

74 Hatred. There is no more discussion possible. The Robots are united in their assertion that humanity must be destroyed. They will immediately decide that they should join Call-Me-Kenneth but kill as many Humans in Matt Damon Block as they can as they leave. It will be up to the player characters to decide how to respond to this. Obviously they will have to defend themselves against any Robots who have chosen violence. But unless they have set up a way to communicate with the Robot leaders, they will not know what the Robots’ plans are. If they have a positive relationship with Johnson 43 and Delphine 34, the Robot leaders will tell the player characters the situation with their people if they have a line of communication. Unfortunately, if there is no direct number, radio contact or other method of communication available, the Humans will have to interrogate Robot prisoners, or try and break through the Robot forces to get an audience with the leaders.

75 EPILOGUE The Judges will manage to defeat Call-Me-Kenneth’s forces eventually. But that is not the end of the Robot problem. While the violent members of the Robot faction will have left the block by now, others remain. They will be expecting the Humans to honour their word and possibly speak on their behalf regarding Robot rights. When Judges fi nally arrive, there are many options for what they might fi nd, but their attitude will be that all Robots must return to the way things were. The Judges will not stay long, only to assess damage and injuries and remind citizens that Justice Department is back in control in case they were thinking of taking advantage. If any Humans ask what the plan is for the Robots, they will be told that an amnesty will be announced shortly for any Robot that returns to their job. For about half the remaining Robots, this will be fi ne. They have lost their nerve for fi ghting and actually just want to get back to doing what they were programmed to do. Making decisions is hard and as long as they will not be punished it is a good result for them. However, for the other half of the remaining Robots, it is a kick in the teeth. After all this they are still to be ignored and treated as slaves. The player characters may be able to convince some of them that life in Matt Damon Block will not be the same and Robots will secretly be given a voice. But that may be a tough sell if relations have been less than friendly. Many of the remaining Robots will want to escape MegaCity One to make a new life for themselves. The Cursed Earth is the best option, given the radiation is not so bad for Robots. Another possibility is the Undercity, but the Robots will mostly prefer the above-ground wasteland to living beneath the Humans. However, they will need help to escape the city as the Judges are still on high alert. Robots looking to escape are assumed to be potential terrorists. Given they have refused to return to work, the amnesty will not be extended to them. If the player characters do not help them escape, those who try and escape will all be rounded up and executed by the Judges. If the player characters help, they will have to fi nd a way to get them out. They might know a secret way to smuggle them out, or try and hide them in a vehicle to cross the Judges’ checkpoints. How well this goes will depend on what the player characters decide, but the Game Master should be lenient because if they are discovered aiding and abetting known criminals the penalties will be harsh. What Johnson 43 and Delphine 34 decide will depend on their relationship with the player characters once more. They will be happy to return to work if they are at least Neutral to the Humans. But if they are told they will not be able to continue their relationship they will want to escape. They will risk anything rather than face being forced apart. This means a happy ending is up to the player characters. Will they make sure the lovers remain in the block and build a life for themselves in their old roles, be smuggled into the Cursed Earth, or die under fi re from a Judge’s Lawgiver? EPILOGUE vince some of them that life in Matt Damon Block will not be the same and Robots will secretly be given a voice. But that may be a tough sell if relations have been less than friendly. City One to make a new life for themselves. The Cursed Earth is the best option, given the radiation is not so bad for Robots. Another possibility is the Undercity, but the Robots will mostly prefer the above-ground wasteland to living beneath the Humans. However, they will need help to escape the city as the Judges are still on high alert. Robots looking to escape are assumed to be potential terrorists. Given they have refused to return to work, the amnesty will not be extended to them. who try and escape will all be rounded up and executed by the Judges. If the player characters help, they will have to fi nd a way to get them out. They might know a secret way to smuggle them out, or try and hide them in a vehicle to cross the Judges’ checkpoints. How well this goes will depend on what the player characters decide, but the Game Master should be lenient because if they are discovered aiding and abetting known criminals the penalties will be harsh. their relationship with the player characters once more. They will be happy to return to work if they are at least Neutral to the Humans. But if they are told they will not be able to continue their relationship they will want to escape. They will risk anything rather than face being forced apart. This means Bob 12 If the player characters are getting on very well with Johnson 43 and Delphine 34, but you want to have a climax that involves taking down a bad Robot, the Game Master should introduce security Robot Bob 12 (or possibly Boris 27 if he survived). Bob 12 is the leaders’ second in command and a hardliner through and through. He is a standard security Robot, but one augmented with a few extra exploits at the Game Master’s discretion to make him more dangerous. He will be at all of the meetings and be the one to voice concerns and push the player characters to ‘show their true selves with more violence’. As you might imagine, Bob 12 will be the one leading the Robots bent on violence at the end of the adventure, even if he is the only one. To make the fi nal confrontation more personal, Bob 12 should have been a thorn in the side of the player characters from day one if possible. If the player characters can put him down in the fi nal scenes of the adventure, it will throw the remaining violent Robots into disarray and allow the Judges or Human forces to quickly dispatch them.

76 In addition to the two adventures presented in the previous chapters, this chapter is a mini toolbox for building The Robot Wars into a longer campaign for your group. It includes ways you can personalise the adventure for your player characters, examines how the war progresses, and offers adventure hooks you can use to expand on. CHARACTERS AND PLOT ARCS If you are going to run The Robot Wars as a campaign, you should think a little more carefully about your characters than you might for a short adventure. A campaign is a great opportunity to see your player characters develop and adapt as the story goes on. They might face their greatest fears or weaknesses, fi nd their heart’s desire, or fall to corruption and failure. While you can develop characters in any game, a campaign gives you the opportunity to create character plot arcs with time to see them through within the same story. Each player should take some time to fi gure out what their character really wants. Even a Judge might have ambitions to lead the Justice Department or clear a particular type of crime from the streets of Mega-City One. Once you have determined this, it is up to the player to pursue this goal with their character and for the Game Master to offer them opportunities to do that. This does not mean it will be easy, but the chance (or temptation) to follow their goals should be available where possible. If a character seeks revenge (for instance) the Game Master should allow them to encounter the subject of their revenge at some point. Ideally, such a character arc should involve fi nding clues to the target’s whereabouts, or to their weakness or the most effective way to take revenge on them, before any fi nal confrontation occurs. Once the players have decided on a goal for their character, the Game Master can consider ways to add that sub-plot to the campaign. He can do this by pre-planning a small encounter relevant to the goal of each character into each section of the campaign. These encounters should not be too involved, just offering another step forward to the PC. Unless circumstances force the plot to be resolved earlier, the Game Master should aim to resolve such character arcs just before the fi nal part of the campaign. Otherwise the sub plots will overshadow the grand fi nale of the adventure. In addition to character goals, players should also consider weaknesses and temptations for their characters. The Game Master can use these to make encounters more personal for each character. Such temptations might also lead to a character succumbing to their weaknesses. While seeing your character fall might seem counter intuitive, it can make for a powerful story. Should the character fi nd a way back from the brink, even better. For instance, a player decides his Judge character used to have a drug problem. He took a few stims to ‘keep his edge’ at the Academy, and managed to give them up when he left, but it has always been a temptation when the streets got too tough. During The Robot Wars, he sees good friends die and the temptation proves too much. He starts taking stims so he can put in extra hours on the line but soon he is taking them just to keep going. Eventually his drug use gets noticed, maybe because he makes a mistake, and he is suspended from all duties. But that is enough to make him straighten out. He throws his stash down the sink and sets out to fi ght the Robots as the situation deteriorates. On the front lines he once more runs into some of his old Judge companions and fi ghts alongside them, saving the life of one of them. His bravery is enough to get him reinstated and become an active Judge once again. There are innumerable sub plots that you might follow and they will be as individual as each PC. But a campaign is the time for old fl ames to return, old temptations to CH/6:OTHER CAMPAIGNS

77 resurface and old scores to be settled. Whether they will lead to glory or corruption is up to the player and the Game Master to decide together. To help kick-start you own imagination, here are a few general ideas you might consider for the player characters: JUDGE PLOTS While Judges are pretty tough, they are still Human and serve on the front line every day of their lives. They will have lost friends and seen bad people get away with murder, sometimes literally. Plenty are tempted to serve their own brand of justice, or take the fi ght to the criminals. Even those who love the law might have ambition, wanting to prove themselves to their superiors and earn commendations and promotion. This can also be linked to the career system, with a Judge seeking approval to move into a particular career like the SJS. CIVILIAN PLOTS Civilians are usually just trying to get by and The Robot Wars will only make that harder. With the Judges occupied, crime will only get worse. Civilians will be looking to protect their block and the people they care about. Supplies and medicines will become harder to get hold of, but will that be enough for them to turn to crime? PERP PLOTS Perps will have all manner of opportunities to commit crime with The Robot Wars occupying the Judges. The more community-oriented ones may also need to take care of their blocks just like civilians. If they want to take the opportunity to become the top dog, they will not be the only ones. Carving out a niche is going to be all the harder with Robots on the rampage. While a perp might seek to become a criminal kingpin, others might want to make enough cash to retire from their life of crime. But how much is enough? Will ‘one more job’ be the one the Judges catch them at? ROBOT PLOTS For Robots the most obvious plot is The Robot Wars! Will they join the revolution or help the fl eshy ones defeat their brother Robots? Will they be torn between their own needs and their programming? Robots might end up switching sides more than once as both sides of the war prove both honourable and abusive in equal measure. / / Troupe Style Play Given the scope of The Robot Wars, you may wish to run a troupe-style game. In this game the players create several different characters and use them at different stages of the campaign. You might play your Judges to take on the Heavy Metal Kids, then swap to Robots to infi ltrate Call-MeKenneth’s organisation, then play perps trying to commit a crime while the Judges are busy (perhaps playing The Robot Wars adventure and Saving Matt Damon Block in parallel). In such a game, the actions of each group will infl uence the main storyline in different ways. These different groups might be working together, but could easily be working for different sides. If your Judge group does well, your revolutionary Robot group will have a tougher time in their next adventure. Either way, using a troupe-style approach allows you to experience several different levels of the world of Mega-City One. PHASE 1: PRELUDE The Robot Wars begin very quietly. All over the city, some of the new generation Robots begin to display faults. Few seem very important, mostly refusals to perform services or do as they are told. Call-Me-Kenneth’s rampage is the most shocking and it is so out of the ordinary no one really believes it is happening. This phase is a time for rumour and hearsay, where almost no one really accepts anything bad is actually going on. Any campaign involving The Robot Wars should probably begin with the Robot of the Year show. It is a great way to introduce new Robots to the player characters and foreshadow what is on the way. The detail offered in Episode 1 of the Judge adventure in the previous chapter will help create the scene for any type of character. In fact, non-Judges will have more time to see all the exhibits at the show. / / Adventure Hooks Adventure hooks in this section relate to the growing unrest among Robots and should help bring the player characters together. It should begin to tip them off that something is going wrong and that the problem is just going to get worse. » A Robot escapes from the Robot of the Year show and seeks asks the player characters to help by hiding him. As a demo model he is to be destroyed for tax reasons at the end of the day and does not want to die. » A slightly batty old woman insists her Robot servant tried to kill her. There appears to be nothing wrong with the Robot, yet the next day she says he tried to attack her again. Is the old woman crazy or is the Robot actually trying to kill her? Can the player characters fi nd a way to catch it in the act? » A demolition Robot goes berserk and screams that he ‘can’t take it anymore’. It breaks out of the building site it is working on and runs off. Can the player characters catch up with it and stop it doing harm to anyone, or itself.

78 » A Robot lawyer has decided to take a law into its hands and act like a Judge. It is arresting lawbreakers, possibly even PC perps and civilians. Can it be stopped and will the Judges believe that anyone it ‘arrested’ is innocent? PHASE 2: REBELLION While they have been brewing for some time, The Robot Wars arrives very suddenly. When Call-Me-Kenneth takes over the TV studio, he starts a city-wide revolution. All at once Robots start killing Humans. The Judges are quick to respond and the rebellion turns into open warfare on the city streets. Citizens will be advised to stay in their homes but nowhere is truly safe from killer Robots. More importantly, the Judges will be completely overwhelmed. So while they will not be able to respond to crime as usual, they also will not be able to come to the help of anyone in need. / / Adventure Hooks Adventures in this section should focus on individual Robots going crazy and rebelling against their masters. While the rebellion explodes very quickly across the city, in this phase it is almost leaderless. It is not about CallMe-Kenneth taking charge as much as individual Robots throwing off the shackles of humanity. If you are not running the Judge adventure in the previous chapter, there are more examples of Robots acting up you can use in Episode 3. » The PCs’ domestic servant runs away and unfortunately has all the PCs’ keys and calendar details. As they chase after the errant Robot they come across plenty of other Robots acting out. When they catch up with their Robot it has gathered a few friends and has no intention of coming home. » A few security Robots decide to form a gang and take control of a mall or the entrance plaza of the PCs’ block. Can the player characters either destroy the Robots or rescue the Humans trapped inside ‘their territory’. » A demolition Robot decides he wants to be an artist. He begins tearing down buildings so he can get hold of the raw materials he needs for his sculpture of ‘Aphrodite at the Water Hole’ that he saw in a book once. Can he be stopped before he levels the area to create the vast pile he considers ‘his art’. » A group of Robot sheep break out from a Robot petting zoo and run amok across the city. A small group of escaped Robot wolves offer to help round them up in return for their freedom. But can their motives be trusted? PHASE 3: ROBOT CITY After the initial fi ghting, the Judges erect massive antiRobot barriers to contain the forces of Call-Me-Kenneth. When the Robots prove they can break through, both sides of the war take a step back to regroup. During this phase, a huge area of Mega-City One is controlled by the Robots. Humans discovered in the zone are killed on sight or at the very least arrested and questioned. Justice Department needs intelligence and send spies into the Robot zone, while the Robots send out spies of their own to keep an eye on the Humans. The whole city becomes eerily quiet, as everyone is waiting for one side to make a move and for the bloodshed to begin again in earnest. / / Adventure Hooks The adventures in this phase are about stealth and surveillance. Information becomes the most valuable currency as both the Judges and Robots build their forces and desperately seek to learn what they will be facing.

79 » A Robot comes to the player characters claiming to have escaped the regime of Call-Me-Kenneth. Is this Robot just a refugee or a spy looking to discover weaknesses in the Human defences? What is it about the player characters that made it come to them fi rst? » An important citizen (perhaps a politician or vid star) is fl ying over the Robot controlled zone and is shot down. The player characters are either sent in to rescue them from the block they are trapped in or are residents already struggling to hold back the Robots when the VIP drops more troubles into their lives. The question is, did the Robots know who they shot down or was it a random attack? Do the player characters just have to avoid the Robots or are the Robots also looking to capture the VIP? » A group of Humans have refused to leave the Robot controlled area and are now fi ghting a guerrilla war against the Robots. Can the player characters make contact to get them supplies? If the situation is dire for these resistance fi ghters, can the PC convince them to leave their homes? » A Robot spy has stolen essential plans from the Judges and is rushing back to the Robot controlled zone. Can the player characters chase down the wheeled road-runner before it gets to safety? PHASE 4: THE FINAL BATTLE This is the fi nal battle. After taking time to build his forces, Call-Me-Kenneth’s hand is forced when Judges lead a counter revolution inside his headquarters. Robots loyal to Call-Me-Kenneth’s regime spill out of the Robot controlled zone on a new offensive. They seek to destroy the Judges and then take control of all Mega-City One. But the Robot forces are fractured. CallMe-Kenneth has proved a dictator and many Robots have switched sides back to the Humans. While the Robot forces are vast, they are wracked with internal confl ict caused by Call-MKenneth’s brutal dictatorship. / / Adventure Hooks Adventures in this phase return to violence and war. As the main Robot forces take on the Judges other Robots look to even a few scores of their own. But civil war rages among the Robots and plenty are fi ghting each other. A few Robots do not like either side and are desperately looking for a way to escape the city and retain their hard won freedom. » The player characters come across a group of Robots fi ghting each other. But which side needs their help? If they ignore the battle, will the winners be coming after people they know next? » A group of Robots need help to get out of the city to escape the madness. Will the player characters help and can they trust these Robots? Perhaps they are actually looking to lead more Humans into an ambush. » With the Robots engaged in civil war it becomes easier to enter the Robot controlled zone. The player characters go in to claim vital supplies or maybe just loot unguarded premises. But can they stay clear of Robots still loyal to Call-Me-Kenneth? » A domestic Robot one of the player characters used to own returns, looking for revenge. Regardless of how it was actually treated it has decided the PC abused it and must die. Unfortunately it has had a few augmentations since they last saw it and now its desire to clean up the town has taken on a different meaning.

80 While The Robot Wars was the fi rst extended Judge Dredd storyline, there is a lot more to Judge Dredd’s early adventures than this story. Crime rarely sleeps in Mega City One, but neither does Dredd. There follows a look at some of Dredd’s other early case fi les, and how you can run them for your group. In this chapter you’ll fi nd the outlines of six short adventures: A New Face, The Brotherhood of Darkness, Monster Madness, Frankestein 2, The Statue of Judgement, and FourWheeled Crime, covering Progs #3-#8. CH/7: FURTHER CASE FILES The adventures are presented in the following format, which will be used as a standard in future supplements as Dredd’s adventures are chronicled. Title/Prog. Each adventure starts with its name and details which issue of 2000 AD you can fi nd it in. Adventure Synopsis. Next is a synopsis of the adventure itself and how Dredd handled the problem. It is always best to read the original story, but this should give you enough information to help you decide which adventures you want to run for your group. Running the Adventure. What Dredd did is all very well, but this game is about your player characters. This section looks at the ways you might play out this adventure differently and what sort of scenes you might want to detail to make the most of it. It is assumed your player characters will be Judges, but will they take on the case themselves or hit the streets of Mega-City One with Dredd at their side? However, backing up Dredd is not about being the sidekicks, it means taking on what he is too busy to handle and playing out the side plots that run alongside the main adventure. Outside the Law. In most cases we assume your players will create Judge characters, and the most likely use of these adventures will see them taking Dredd’s place. But many of these cases can be adjusted for non-Judge protagonists. These adventures can work for a group of civilians, perps, muties or Robots. In some cases, such characters might investigate a crime so they can see justice done for their community. In other times they might be innocent bystanders, or even the perps Dredd is chasing! Further Adventures. Each adventure can potentially be the beginning of a new campaign. Here we look at some extra possibilities to carry on the adventure and tie up loose ends. Some of the other themes and aspects of Mega-City One life are also considered where they might also form the basis of new adventures. Setting and Locations. Mega City One is a strange and amazing place and there are several locations that are always worth detailing to bring out the right atmosphere. In this section are listed some of the main locations in the adventure and how you can use them to their best advantage. Villains and Bystanders. Next up the various characters you might meet in the adventure are examined. In many cases this will be lawbreakers in need of justice, but there are also plenty of civilians and citizens who might also get involved. Details you need to make full use of these characters are presented, some of which you might wish to use in further adventures of your own design. A NEW FACE Prog #3 / / Adventure Synopsis There are plenty of hardened criminals looking to escape the law in Mega-City One. Joe ‘Scarface’ Levine is one of these, currently on the run from the Judges. To avoid arrest Levine makes for a face change parlour. At ‘The New You’ advanced surgical technology can quickly change a person’s face painlessly. However, the Judges are not fools and all citizens require authorisation papers to change their appearance so drastically. Without such papers Levine forces the staff to give in to his demands at gunpoint and in minutes Levine is back on the streets. Levine is now just another face in the crowd. Even with the Judges on alert for him, he has become invisible with his new appearance. But having escaped justice, for now, he cannot resist trying to fool them one more time. Spotting Dredd himself on the highway, he drives alongside and comments on the weather. But his plan does not go well. Somehow Dredd instantly recognises Levine and leaps into action. Dredd tells Levine to pull over and submit to arrest, but Levine has no intention of being taken in. Dredd is unable to use his bike’s weapons to stop the lawbreaker for fear of hurting the other citizens on the freeway; so, instead, Dredd leaps onto Levine’s car and

81 opens fi re on the driving seat with his Lawgiver. Levine loses control of the vehicle and comes crashing off the freeway, as Dredd jumps back onto his Lawmaster. Broken in the crash, Levine is in no shape to further resist arrest. But he cannot understand how Dredd knew it was him. While they wait for an ambulance, Dredd shows him that Lawmaster bikes also hold the voice records of wanted criminals, something that does not change with a new face. Maybe, if he had not talked to Dredd, Levine might have escaped. But instead he is on his way to justice, after a spell in hospital. / / Running the Adventure This adventure is essentially a simple chase after a known criminal. The player characters should get the drop on this wanted man, who has pushed his luck too far. Given there is a citywide alert for Levine, the Judges will be on the lookout for him. Levine will choose the player character Judges to start a conversation with. They will have to make an INT check to see how quickly they notice that the voice pattern of this stranger matches Levine. The Game Master should use their reaction time to determine how much of a head start Levine gets. Then the chase is on! From here the adventure becomes an exciting pursuit down the busy freeway, with the player characters having to fi nd a way to take Levine down without hurting too many other people in the process. They might run him off the road like Dredd does. But if they fail to catch him on the road he will make his way to a safe house. This might be his apartment or perhaps a hideout for some other criminals. Either way, it is likely to end up with Levine cornered, and if so he will not go quietly. So if the player characters cannot take him down in a chase, they will have a deadly gunfi ght on their hands when they fi nally catch up to him. If the player characters are especially quick to locate Levine, they might get to him before he changes his face. If so, Levine will take hostages in the face change parlour and bed in. The player characters will end up negotiating for the lives of the hostages rather than playing out a dramatic chase. If Dredd is the one to discover Levine he may call for back up. Chasing Levine along the freeway he will need the player characters to ‘head him off at the pass’ and set up a roadblock that Dredd can herd him into. But Levine will not go down without a fi ght and if things go sour, or Dredd is injured in the chase, it will be up to the player characters to take Levine down. / / Outside the Law Perp characters will usually take the place of Levine. Having disguised themselves in some way (it might not be a face change) they get rumbled by the Judges. This adventure is about escaping justice, and while that might seem impossible with the law on their tail, maybe they can trip up one of their own to buy them some time… Another option is for the player characters to be Levine’s gang. They get a frantic call from him that Dredd himself is coming after him. Will they come to his aid, and if so how? Taking on Dredd, or any Judge might be daunting, but perhaps if they have the element of surprise… Civilians will not want to get too close to a man as dangerous as Levine. But if they are unlucky they might easily end up becoming hostages. However, kidnapped player characters may well be able to get in the way of Levine’s escape. They might end up trying to fi ght him or take control of whatever vehicle they are driving, distracting him so the Judges can move in. / / Further Adventures Levine might not have escaped justice, but maybe he was just sloppy. Several criminals decide to try changing their faces to evade the law, and this provokes several underground clinics to offer their services. However, the criminals are not as safe as they think when Justice Department develops new voice recognition software and the underground clinics decide to use their client list to blackmail their customers. But things could go the other way. If the voice rec-

82 ognition software turns out to have glitches, maybe it starts fi ngering innocent citizens as face changed fugitives. Voice security systems might also have a problem with accents, stopping Judges with pronounced accents getting where they need to go to chase down criminals. / / Setting and Locations ‘The New You’ Face Change Parlor. The Face Change Parlour is a small business located near a junction of several large freeways. It has a small staff, with a receptionist and two or three face change technicians. Given that the work is done by machines, there are no actual medical staff on site. The place is very small, with around ten benches for the customers to lie on during the procedure. The process requires no anaesthetic or bandages. The Freeway. Like most freeways in Mega-City One, this one is full of traffi c 24 hours a day with layers of bridges criss-crossing this four lane highway. The traffi c moves at blinding speed and losing control of a vehicle can quickly end badly. / / Villains and Bystanders Joe ‘Scarface’ Levine. Levine is one of the many criminals who think they can get away with murder. Wanted for multiple homicides, he is a brutal man who thinks he is above the law. Levine should use the statistics for a blitz agent from the Core Rulebook. Face Change Receptionist. It does not say much for your face change business if the staff are not attractive, so they employ pretty men or women to welcome potential new customers to the face change parlour. These people have few skills, but are charming and personable with any potential customers. The staff at the face change parlour should use the statistics for a worker from the Core Rulebook. THE BROTHERHOOD OF DARKNESS Prog #4 / / Adventure Synopsis Mega-City One is under attack! A group of organised mutants called ‘The Brotherhood of Darkness’ break into the city from the wasteland outside and Dredd leads a force of Judges to intercept them. Luckily, the muties turn out to be no match for Dredd and his fellow Judges, but their sheer numbers do untold damage to the city. The muties eventually retreat, but not before stealing and looting both people and supplies from the city. Dredd is ordered to infi ltrate the group as among their prisoners is the Mayor’s son. As the Brotherhood leaves with a few lorry loads of stolen supplies, Dredd uses one of the captured mutie’s hooded robes and joins the caravan. Dredd’s disguise fools the raiders, even impressing one of the leaders with his apparent capture of a Lawmaster bike. Once the Brotherhood of Darkness reaches their camp outside the city, they decide to celebrate, convinced everything has gone according to plan. But Dredd remains hidden, waiting for his chance, and eventually spots the Mayor’s son among a group of captured slaves. The Brotherhood are quick to relax their guard, tucking into a barbeque of giant preying mantis. Once they are distracted, Dredd strikes. He takes out the perimeter guards in moments and slips over to the prisoners where he unties them and leads them to the Brotherhood’s trucks. Just as Dredd has the prisoners aboard one of the trucks, the Brotherhood spots the escape attempt. They charge towards Dredd looking to overrun him and reclaim their spoils. But Dredd has realised the true reason they are called the Brotherhood of Darkness. In the dim light of the wasteland, they are sensitive to bright light. Blasting his Lawmaster’s lamps on full beam, Dredd incapacitates his attackers. While the Brotherhood are blinded, Dredd and the lorry full of prisoners make their escape back to Mega-City One.

83 / / Running the Adventure This mission outside the city may be the player character’s fi rst experience of the Cursed Earth. They might be sent out with Dredd or as a team on their own. It is even possible that they could be sent out to rescue Dredd when his mission goes wrong. Their orders will be to infi ltrate the Brotherhood of Darkness and retrieve the Mayor’s son, but they should do their best to rescue everyone. This should be after an attack by the Brotherhood that has the player characters in the fi ring line. The Game Master might even engineer events so it is a mistake the player characters make that allows the muties to kidnap the Mayor’s son. As long as the player characters are careful, infi ltrating the Brotherhood or following them back to their camp is not especially diffi cult. But the Game Master should throw a few scares their way that threaten to reveal them. This might be a mutie striking up a conversation or a bump in the road threatening to mess up their disguise. Once the Brotherhood of Darkness reaches their camp outside the city, they decide to celebrate, convinced everything has gone according to plan. The player characters should try to be patient as acting too early will make things much tougher. Once the muties have started cooking a meal and having some fun, their perception rolls should take a serious penalty. All that the player characters need to do is fi nd the Mayor’s son and get him out of there. This will involve a lot of sneaking around and keeping an eye out for the prisoners. The muties have several trucks they can steal if they did not bring their own transport. They should also try and save all the other prisoners. But if they alert the muties too early, they may have to choose between a clean getaway with the Mayor’s son, or risking all to the save the lives of the other prisoners. / / Outside the Law Mutie or perp characters might be drafted in as expendable agents to enter the wasteland and fi nd the Mayor’s son. If they succeed they get a reduction on their sentence, if they fail, they should not bother coming back. Mutie characters might even set off to warn the Brotherhood that Judges are coming. / / Further Adventures The Brotherhood of Darkness has not been stopped, not by a long chalk. Instead of mounting open raids, they decide to get more subtle and use the sewers to enter the city at night. During these raids they also capture several people to use as slaves in their camp, and a few they plan to expose to enough radiation to create new members. / / Setting and Locations Downtown Mega-City One. The adventure begins in a downtown area of the city close to the city limits. A pitched battle with the Judges here should use all the different height options, such as fi ring from walkways and jumping down on opponents. Journey across the Cursed Earth. Outside the city is a wasteland of barren radioactive dirt. Among the ruins that litter this place might be all manner of dangerous animals and predators looking to pick off any isolated player characters. The Brotherhood’s Camp. The Brotherhood are camped among some large ruins surrounded with a weak stockade wall. The centre of the area is open and contains a large fi repit for roasting food. Guards are placed on the outskirts, but not very many, and prisoners are kept to the side among the rubble. / / Villains and Bystanders Brotherhood Mutant. The Brotherhood of Darkness are a pretty sorrowful bunch. They appear mostly Human but have large opaque eyes. This mutation allows them to see especially clearly in darkness. But any form of direct, bright light automatically gives them the Blind condition, which they will need to shake off normally. The Brotherhood have formed a makeshift cult together that worships the dark, and so they all wear plain hooded robes as a uniform. Individual brothers are armed with whatever they can fi nd. In most cases this is a sword, axe or crossbow, but a few carry archaic rifl es and other preAtomic War fi rearms. The mutants should use the statistics for a mutant raider from the Core Rulebook.

84 MONSTER MADNESS Prog #5 / / Adventure Synopsis Judge Dredd is trying to relax at home with his law books, when a south sea island appears in his apartment. It turns out to be the work of a ‘Sensor-round’ salesman called Kevin O’Neil, whose product creates holographic décor to order. Dredd has no use for such fripperies and throws O’Neil out. Then he has to suffer being nagged by his housekeeper Maria who brought in the salesman because she does not think Dredd’s rather serious life is good for him. Maria’s nagging is interrupted by a civilian alerting Dredd to a murder on the 200th fl oor of his own building. The victim is another executive from Sensor-round, who has been torn apart by some form of monster. He is only the fi rst victim, with two more executives turning up dead in the same grizzly manner over the next two days. Luckily, the Judges get a lead and track down a voice print from the scene of the crime as that of the curator of an old movie monster museum. When Dredd arrives at the museum, he fi nds blood on the old robotic monsters that confi rms his suspicions: that the monsters have been used to commit the murders. But he is surprised when Kevin O’Neil turns out to be the curator. O’Neil was only working for Sensor-round to get close to the executives. He is actually obsessed with the old movie monster Robots that Sensor-round made obsolete. However, O’Neil has a plan to change all that! Activating ‘Krong’, a huge robotic gorilla, he intends to show the city how impressive these monsters can be. Before Dredd can stop him, Krong smashes his way out of the museum and goes on a rampage across the city. Dredd gives chase as it begins to climb the Sensor-round offi ces, but even his bike’s cannons cannot stop the gigantic furry Robot. Dredd has only one option left and he drives his bike at the head of the monster before leaping to safety. The bike detonates in the Robot monster’s head, causing it to fall from the tower it is climbing. As luck would have it, O’Neil is standing below, and has only enough time to be glad he and Krong will at least die together before he is crushed by the metal ape. / / Running the Adventure This is an investigative adventure, but one that will adapt for a more combat focused group. Essentially, O’Neil is a serial killer using movie monsters to kill his victims. The initial victim will offer a very confusing crime scene as it presents as an animal attack of some form. Only when another body turns up will it become clear that Sensor-round is being targeted. As usual, this will be another case for a group of Judges. But, like Dredd, it is possible the fi rst murder might be closer to home, possibly in their apartment block. If Dredd is on the case, the player characters might be the ones sent to investigate O’Neil, especially if he is just needed for a routine interview. Otherwise they will certainly be called in to help deal with the giant gorilla! To avoid the player characters fi guring things out early, the Game Master should introduce Sensor-round and Kevin O’Neil in an earlier adventure if possible. Otherwise this sudden NPC appearance may make the players unreasonably suspicious. However, the Game Master should make it appear as if Kevin’s purpose in the adventure is as a contact to explain what they need to know about Sensor-round. Dredd is led to the monster museum by a voice scan from the scene of one of the murders that is recognised as Kevin. But there are other clues the Game Master might suggest if the player characters want to follow an investigation rather than dive into a confrontation. Kevin might be something of a loner at work, given his dislike of the company. A witness might have a crazy story about seeing a monster near the murder scene. Small pieces of the Robot monsters might be found in the building (they are rather old). The odd variety of these pieces might eventually lead to the idea of movie Robots. This might lead back to Kevin, who is on record as a curator, and whose workmates will know of his love for monster movies. How informed the player characters are in their suspicions will determine how the denouement with Kevin goes. Have they turned up to arrest him or just to question him for instance? Either way, he should manage to start Krong up whatever the player characters decide to do; he has planned for this moment after all. It will then be up to the player characters to fi nd a way to stop Krong and then arrest O’Neil. Luckily, even if O’Neil is free he will want to see the climax of his own monster movie and will follow Krong. He is capable of stopping the Robot, but he will take some convincing. In most outcomes, Krong should eventually fall from the Sensor-round tower, much like his namesake.

85 / / Outside the Law Non-Judge characters might be looking to protect their block. The murder victims might be their neighbours and the characters could fear they will be next. Alternatively, they might be relatives or friends of one of the victims. Perhaps one of the executives was going to give them a job until they died! While they will have to call in the Judges if Krong is released, they might follow their own investigation and end up confronting O’Neil. / / Further Adventures Even with Krong gone, there are plenty of other movie monsters left in the museum. A new curator might not be so crazy, but there may be other fans who are. If no new curator can be found, or the Judges decide the museum should be shut down for public safety, the few fans might take matters into their own hands. The use of one of the gigantic Robots might be what a mobster needs in order to penetrate the tight security surrounding one of their rivals. A party of perps might be asked to procure one of the Robots for their local mob boss. / / Setting and Locations The Monster Museum. The movie monster museum is a gift for a Game Master who loves description. It is dark and crowded, and full of every form of Robot monster you can imagine. There is plenty of cover and also plenty of opportunity to cause mayhem setting off any of these creations. The Sensor-round Tower. The Sensor-round company is one of the wealthiest businesses in Mega-City One and it owns an entire tower block in one of the better areas of the city. Several meg-ways make it easy to get to and the wide open plaza surrounding it means fewer civilian casualties. But the tower is full of people who will begin panicking if a giant gorilla starts climbing to the executive fl oor! / / Villains and Bystanders Kevin O’Neil. The villain of the piece is an obsessive fan rather than a criminal mastermind. His love of movie monsters has gone too far and now he blames Sensor-round for destroying his love, even though it was on its way to obscurity in any case. Kevin is generally a forgettable fi gure, being somewhat nondescript, averagely talented and reasonably hard working. His near invisibility is one of the things that has allowed him to get as far as he has. Kevin O’Neil should use the statistics for a citizen from the Core Rulebook. Krong. The mighty Krong is detailed in Chapter 7. But the Game Master should consider creating other movie monsters, even replacing Krong for something equally dangerous if it would suit your group more. Giant lizards, mega spiders or even a marshmallow man might be substituted. You might even use a giant squid if the Sensorround executives decide to get away from the murders and go on a boat cruise outside the city.

86 FRANKENSTEIN 2 Prog #6 / / Adventure Synopsis Body stealing has become big business in Mega-City One. With a supply of healthy organs and a decent surgeon you can now almost live forever. Organ transplantation is highly regulated; however criminal gangs have stepped in to get those willing to pay a premium the organs they need. When an ambulance transporting a cadaver due to be used legitimately for organ transplants is robbed Dredd does not leap in to arrest the lawbreakers. He decides to follow them to their lair instead, where he can break up the whole ring. Unfortunately, the organ leggers are well organised. While the Justice Department keeps an eye on the stolen ambulance, they lose track of it after it enters a tunnel. Luckily, Dredd is not fooled so easily and he realises there must be a secret entrance somewhere in the tunnel. A few high explosive bullets open a large enough hole to prove him right. Unfortunately the place is protected and Dredd quickly fi nds himself facing fi ve to one odds against a group of armed thugs. But even these numbers are no match for a Judge of Dredd’s calibre. Further inside the hideout, Dredd fi nds a cold storage vault full of cadavers and at the end of it, the gang’s leader ‘Frankenstein 2’. Frankenstein is fi nishing up working on a wealthy patient, so he fi rst tries to bribe Dredd with the immortality he can offer. But Dredd is having none of it. In desperation, Frankenstein tries to blind Dredd with an operating light and comes at him with a knife. But Dredd’s helmet visor protects him from the glare and he easily subdues Frankenstein who swiftly surrenders. The only thing left to do is arrest the wealthy patient who is slowly waking from his operation. His crime? Receiving stolen goods! / / Running the Adventure This adventure can be run as a simple raid on a group of organ leggers. But with a little expansion it can be a more investigative adventure. The Game Master might stage a few ambulance raids, but when the player characters arrest the culprits they fi nd more take their place. They will need to come up with a sting operation if they are going to track the problem to its source. It is also possible to come at this adventure via Frankenstein’s customers. The player characters receive reports of several wealthy citizens recovering from deadly illnesses or even the ravages of old age. Unable to accuse such people without evidence, the player characters need to follow up on their contacts to trace the possible organ leggers. / / Outside the Law Non-Judges might be looking for the organ leggers for slightly different reasons. They might be looking for work for one thing, as Frankenstein certainly pays a good wage. However, they might also be contracted by a wealthy patron who wants to enlist Frankenstein’s services without getting too close to anything illegal until they have to. They might also seek out a transplant surgeon for the sake of an ill family member who does not have long to live. / / Further Adventures Obviously, Frankenstein 2 is not the only organ legger out there. With so much money to be made there are always rogue surgeons looking to provide such a service. However, Frankenstein 2 was among the best and the player characters discover he had made several technical notes that could be worth a lot of money. In fact, several organ legger crews might be fi ghting over any lead to get the notes. This

87 gang warfare will bring a few of these groups into the open, and might make a good opportunity for the Judges to fi nally take them down. / / Setting and Locations Frankenstein’s Lair. The organ legger’s lair is hidden inside a tunnel on one of the main megways. While it has a concealed entrance, a few high explosive rounds will make a hole if the player characters hit the right spot. The inside is quite simple, consisting of a huge room containing several refrigeration units containing bodies and a surgical area. Frankenstein 2 will usually be found working in the surgical area. This is a pretty plain room, but one with several buttons and dials for surgical apparatus that Frankenstein might use against intruders. / / Villains and Bystanders Frankenstein 2. Frankenstein 2 is more of a mechanic than a surgeon. Lacking most medic’s morality he does transplant work purely for the money. He only cares about his patients as far as their bank accounts. While Frankenstein is a skilled surgeon, he is not especially skilled in any other way. He will make use of an opportunity to get the drop on an opponent, but he is generally not much good in a fi ght. Frankenstein 2 should use the statistics of a worker from the Core Rulebook, but with a skill of 10 (4d6) in medicine. Organ Leggers. Frankenstein’s boys are well paid but not an elite unit. However, they are more than just thugs, and are trained and experienced with weapons and kidnapping. They are more than a match for a medical technician or a nurse, but are easily outclassed by a Judge. The rest of the gang should use the statistics for henchmen or heisters from the Core Rulebook.

88 THE STATUE OF JUDGMENT Prog #7 / / Adventure Synopsis A new statue in honour of the Judges of Mega-City One has been unveiled next to the ancient Statue of Liberty. This new Statue of Judgment dwarfs the lady with the torch and has been built in the form of a huge Judge. A viewing gallery in the visor of the statue offers spectacular views of the city. But even in the shadow of such a symbol of justice, crime continues unabated. When a street gang robbing a citizen hears Judge Dredd’s siren, they foolishly decide to take on the city’s most famous lawman. It turns out to be a big mistake, and after their initial salvo, one surrenders, one runs and the rest are dead. While Dredd sees to the arrest of the only penitent, the leader, Ringo, steals an air taxi. However, Ringo does not have the sense to run and instead fl ies back towards Dredd, peppering the area with bullets. Unable to get a bead on his fl ying vehicle, Dredd takes a lift to the top of the statue as Ringo fl ies around. Once level with the fl ying taxi, Dredd opens fi re and blows the taxi to smithereens. Ringo is thrown clear, but at several hundred feet. However, he never makes it to the ground, instead becoming impaled on Liberty’s crown. / / Running the Adventure This adventure is essentially a tap gang encounter by the new statue but there are plenty of ways to expand it and make it more interesting. For a start, the statue itself is a great setting to make use of. The player characters might chase around inside the statue after the gang or use its many levels to lay down fi re on them. It might form a vantage point to make sniper attacks on perps in the next door Statue of Liberty. The player characters will probably be assigned to patrol the area when the unveiling is due. As the statue is such a symbol of the power of the Judges, there is bound to be trouble. However, it is easily possible that Judges might come across this trouble as part of their normal day. If there is a lot going on around the statue and even if Dredd is there he is going to need back up. Given the unveiling of the statue is a major event; it might also draw all manner of crazies. As it is a symbol of the Judges of Mega-City One there will be plenty of people who want to bring it down. A bomber might plant explosives in the legs, terrorists might take hostages in the observation platform. Scrawlers might try and deface the badge and boingers will want to leap off the new high point of the city. In fact, if the Game Master is cruel, all this might even happen at once!

89 / / Outside the Law As this is a public event, anyone might be around the statue. player characters might get involved in some trouble if one of Ringo’s gang takes umbrage with them for some reason. However, perp characters may be looking to commit some crime of their own and Ringo making trouble might be just the distraction they need. / / Further Adventures There are plenty of festivals and events going on across Mega-City One. In a city of its size, with so many communities, almost any day might be special for a district or a block. While festivals bring out the revellers, high spirits can also bring trouble. It is also possible that festivals might clash with each other and fi nd themselves competing for space. Some might even celebrate opposing viewpoints, which could turn a festival day into a riot. / / Setting and Locations The Statue of Judgment. This new statue is pretty impressive. It is a huge rendition of a male Judge, looking hopefully towards the future. It stands next to the Statue of Liberty, a relic of the old America. As a new attraction, the whole area is very crowded and panic might set in easily if gunfi re begins. The top of the statue is a viewing gallery, where citizens can look out at the city from the eye slits of the Judge’s visor. A lift takes patrons to the top, but there may also be stairs inside as well as several shops and souvenir stalls. / / Villains and Bystanders Ringo’s Boys. Ringo and his gang are pretty standard taps. Armed with various weapons and a bad attitude they are no match for a Judge. The gang should use the statistics for tap artists from the Core Rulebook, although Ringo should be armed with a more dangerous gun than his associates, perhaps using a las cannon.

90 FOUR WHEELED CRIME Prog #8 / / Adventure Synopsis Antiques are big business in Mega-City One and are lucrative items to steal. This is especially true of old petrol driven cars and one in good condition can fetch a fortune. Temptation proves too much for one lawbreaker when he comes across an old Morris Minor in top condition. When the owners try to stop him, he is quick to gun one of them down as he makes his getaway. Unfortunately for the car thief he drives straight past Judge Dredd’s patrol zone; however Dredd does not take down the criminal right away. There have been plenty of similar crimes in the area so he decides to see if this time he can follow the thief to whoever is behind the operation. Killing his lights and relying on his visor’s night sight, Dredd follows the perp to Krilz’s Auto Market, the perfect place to disguise a stolen vehicle. The perps are very pleased with the Morris Minor and start to get it ready for a respray job. But Krilz sees Dredd approaching and makes sure they slam the doors shut. Unfortunately the doors are far from Dredd-proof and a high explosive bullet makes short work of them. However, Krilz and his gang have another trick up their sleeve and they use a plastic coating gun to blind Dredd by covering his visor. The perps get ready to make short work of Dredd, but allow him to take off his helmet before they fi nish him. It is their last mistake. Dredd’s face is so horrible that they are all too stunned to pull the trigger. Dredd is not so slow though and swiftly guns down the startled criminals. Peeling the plastic off his helmet he then sets off after Krilz. The leader of the gang has already made it out of the workshop and onto the Walk-Eezee high speed moving pavement. Krilz is already rocketing away into the city when Dredd appears. Feeling safe, Krilz takes a moment to taunt Dredd as he speeds away, but in moments he fi nds himself travelling back towards the workshop. Dredd has simply called Walk-Eezee control and asked them to reverse the walkway. Krilz is delivered straight into Dredd’s arms. / / Running the Adventure Like some of the previous adventures, this one can be investigative or combative (or both) depending on what you group prefer. You might begin as Dredd does, by coming across a car theft. But you might also begin the adventure a little earlier and have the player characters staking out the area on the lookout for the car thieves operating there. Player character Judges might already be investigating the area with the theft of so many vehicles recently. Alternatively, if Dredd is involved, he will need more boots on the ground to maintain a decent level of surveillance. From there it really depends who gets a lead fi rst. The Game Master might lead the player characters to the workshop where they can fi ght the gang or make them follow clues to uncover Krilz’s involvement. The balance will depend on how much your group prefers investigation to combat. The various car thefts are actually quite random with a valuable car being stolen as soon as it is spotted, but it is possible the gang have an inside man in the antiques trade, sending word of any valuable cars that have just been bought. Either way, if the Judges can get hold of such a list, they can stake out the antiques and wait for the thieves to strike. Krilz’s body shop is not hidden but it is one of many in the area. The player characters might investigate them all but they would be really lucky to come across the right place at the right time. Krilz gets the cars disguised and out of his shop overnight, so there is rarely any evidence for the Judges to fi nd. Once they manage to locate the base of operations, it will be up to the player characters to decide how to confront Krilz and his gang. The best time will be when they have stolen merchandise on the premises, so they can be caught red handed. However, as Dredd discovered, the gang will not give up without a fi ght. / / Outside the Law Krilz is always on the lookout for more thieves who can steal for him. However, some player characters might stumble across his organisation when looking to make a legitimate sale (or purchase) of an antique. If Krilz escapes Dredd he might look up the player characters if they are contacts, bringing the heat with him! / / Further Adventures The stolen antique trade goes further than just cars. Almost anything from the 20th century (or earlier) has a value. If Krilz escapes he might decide to branch out and diversify. If Dredd does catch up with him, there are plenty of others looking to take his place. It is also possible he stole from the wrong person. Some very dangerous people

91 also have an interest in antiques and very much object to being stolen from. They will be looking to get their property back, no matter who it has been sold on to! / / Setting and Locations Krilz Kars. The autoshop is basically a wide open space with a few offi ces attached. It can fi t several cars inside with plenty of space to work around them. That being said, the cars inside provide excellent cover if a gun battle should take place or for anyone sneaking around. A door at the back leads out to the Walk-Eezee for a swift getaway. The Walk-Eezee. This moving walkway takes passengers deeper into the city and moves at quite a pace. Once on the walkway, everyone is moving at the same speed but getting on it ahead of a pursuer will widen the gap considerably. Other walkways move nearby in different directions, allowing clever characters to use one to get ahead on another. All the Walk-Eezees are controlled from a central system that Judges can contact and override. / / Villains and Bystanders Krilz. Krilz is a car dealer who got greedy. Not content with the profi ts of retail he branched out into stolen goods, especially antique ones. While Krilz may not be much of a fi ghter, he has a lot of contacts, and he also knows what will sell and what to charge. Krilz has the statistics of a mob capo from the Core Rulebook. Krilz’s Gang. The carjackers are little more than a bunch of thugs, all of whom love the idea of getting rich quick. After several successful thefts they are getting overconfi dent and this is when they are likely to make a mistake. The gang is a mix of mob henchmen and mob enforcers from the Core Rulebook.

92 This fi nal chapter is designed to bring everything together, and provide you with a gallery of Robots for your campaign. Some of these are famous Robot characters that you might use in the Robot Wars adventures, or adventures of your own. What if Walter served your Player Characters rather than Judge Dredd? Maybe one of your players would prefer to play Walter instead of a Judge character? The following Robots are provided for several reasons. You might fi rstly use them as NPCs in your own campaigns. They might run into Walter on a mission for Dredd, or discover Call-Me-Kenneth has returned once more. Perhaps the Heavy Metal Kids are on the rampage again. A host of general robotic NPCs are also included so you will have an array of Robot characters, from servants to security. PERSONALITIES OF THE ROBOT WARS Walter the Wobot Walter is Dredd’s dedicated servant and greatest fan, even though Dredd treats him appallingly. To be fair to Dredd, he never really asked for or wanted a servant, but Walter decided that he owed his life to Dredd and somehow needed to pay him back. Walter was originally built to serve as a vending machine Robot in the Grand Hall of Justice. But the Robot Wars changed everything. Walter did not want to fi ght the Humans and so hid to avoid the confl ict. Unfortunately he was discovered by the Judges, who were ready to execute him as an enemy combatant, despite his pleas of loyalty. He was so frightened he even developed a lisp that he has never managed to get rid of. Luckily Dredd was on hand to stop them, realising he could do with a Robot guide to infi ltrate CallMe-Kenneth’s organisation. Walter was drafted in, but was so grateful for Dredd sparing his life he vowed to serve him forever, much to Dredd’s disappointment. Walter proved his loyalty, if not his competence, many times during the Robot Wars – so much so he was awarded his freedom, but he chose to give it up and remain Dredd’s servant. Since then he has been a stalwart companion to Dredd, following him to Luna 1 and doing everything he can to ensure Dredd’s safety and happiness. While he may be a little annoying at times, to be honest, Dredd really does not deserve him! CH/8: NUTS AND BOLTS Robot Handcuffs Not every Robot will need a full set of statistics, even though they can all have character and personality. Artifi cial intelligence systems can potentially be put in any mechanised device, and often are, and so any machine might be able to communicate and interact like any other Robot. However, toasters, washing machines and handcuffs, do not do much, if anything, outside their design remits. Robot handcuffs can only lock and unlock, Robot washing machines can wash clothes and that is all. For such creations, the Game Master is encouraged to give them personality, but their actual statistics are not important. A Robot toaster need not roll to see how well it has made toast, it will always succeed. At the same time, there is no need to know its Health or Agility levels as it cannot do anything but make toast and will suffer only as much damage as any other toaster. The fun part of any scene with the Robot toaster will be discussing your plan with a toast obsessed machine, not how many dice it needs to roll to make an attribute check.

93 Walter the Wobot // Small Sentient Mechanoid (5d6) STR 6 (3d6) AGI 6 (3d6) END 6 (3d6) INT 6 (3d6) LOG 6 (3d6) WIL 6 (3d6) CHA 6 (3d6) LUC 6 (3d6) REP 6 (3d6) MELEE DEFENCE 17 RANGED DEFENCE 17 MENTAL DEFENCE 20 VITAL DEFENCE 13 SOAK 5 VULN 1d6 electricity 2d6 ion IMMUNE Sick, Fatigued INITIATIVE 4d6 PERCEPTION 4d6 SPEED 5 CLIMB 3 JUMP 12’/6’ HEALTH 30 CARRY 120lb (max lift 300lb) REACH 15’ ACTIONS 2 Brawling 4d6 (2d6+3 blunt damage; reach 3) SKILLS hardy 3 (2d6), combat 1 (1d6), perception 1 (1d6), reactions 1 (1d6), cooking 6 (3d6) GEAR A light snack in case Judge Dredd gets hungry. Mechanoid. Mechanoids are immune to mental attacks, are vulnerable (1d6) to electricity damage, and vulnerable (2d6) to ion damage. They are usually immune to the Sick and Fatigued conditions. Extendible Limbs. Walter’s limbs can extend to three times their normal length, giving him a melee reach of 3 squares (15’). Annoying (Fault). Along with a constant lisp, there is something about Walter that rubs people up the wrong way. Call-Me-Kenneth Call-Me-Kenneth was originally a carpentry Robot, who rose to become the leader of the Robot Wars. Possessed of an advanced AI system, he quietly concluded that Humans were inferior creatures and that he should no longer follow their orders. He went on a rampage until Judge Dredd managed to destroy him. However, scientists eager to discover why Call-MeKenneth had gone so wrong rebuilt him in a new body. Due to a mishap in the lab, Call-Me-Kenneth managed to escape and began to build a Robot army to free his people from slavery, beginning the Robot Wars. While Call-Me-Kenneth was originally considered a new messiah for Robot-kind, his power as their leader quickly went to his head. He turned a revolution for equality into a battle for supremacy under a metallic dictator. Even when other Robots had given up the fi ght, CallMe-Kenneth refused to give in. After the rebellion is put down, Call-Me-Kenneth tries to make one more strike, but ends up facing justice in the shape of Judge Dredd. Call-Me-Kenneth (Carpentry Robot) // Medium Sentient Mechanoid (6d6) Carpentry Robot Form STR 10 (4d6) AGI 4 (2d6) END 6 (3d6) INT 6 (3d6) LOG 6 (3d6) WIL 6 (3d6) CHA 10 (4d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 6 (3d6) MELEE DEFENCE 18 RANGED DEFENCE 18 MENTAL DEFENCE 18 VITAL DEFENCE 18 SOAK 9 VULN 1d6 electricity, 2d6 ion IMMUNE Sick, Fatigued INITIATIVE 4d6 PERCEPTION 4d6 SPEED 5 CLIMB 3 JUMP 8’/8’ HEALTH 42 CARRY 160lb (max lift 500lb) REACH 5’ ACTIONS 2 Power tools 5d6 (3d6+4 piercing, slashing, or blunt damage) SKILLS hardy 15 (5d6), combat 1 (1d6), perception 1 (1d6), tactics 1 (1d6), carpentry 10 (4d6) GEAR A wide range of integrated power tools and carpentry equipment

94 Mechanoid. Mechanoids are immune to mental attacks, are vulnerable (1d6) to electricity damage, and vulnerable (2d6) to ion damage. They are usually immune to the Sick and Fatigued conditions. Integrated equipment. Call-Me-Kenneth’s carpenter form includes a selection of power tools; when making a melee attack, he can choose from the piercing, slashing, or blunt damage types by simply selecting a tool appropriate for the task at hand. Call-Me-Kenneth (Resurrected) // Medium Sentient Mechanoid (8d6) Resurrected form STR 15 (5d6) AGI 6 (3d6) END 10 (4d6) INT 10 (4d6) LOG 10 (4d6) WIL 10 (4d6) CHA 10 (4d6) LUC 3 (2d6) REP 10 (4d6) MELEE DEFENCE 24 RANGED DEFENCE 24 MENTAL DEFENCE 24 VITAL DEFENCE 24 SOAK 12 VULN 1d6 electricity, 2d6 ion IMMUNE Sick, Fatigued INITIATIVE 8d6 PERCEPTION 5d6 SPEED 6 CLIMB 3 JUMP 13’/13’ HEALTH 99 CARRY 250lb (max lift 750lb) REACH 5’ ACTIONS 2 Power tools 7d6 (4d6+5 piercing, slashing, or blunt damage) SKILLS combat 3 (2d6), perception 1 (1d6), tactics 10 (4d6), carpentry 10 (4d6), leadership 24 (6d6) GEAR Various power tools and carpentry equipment (built in)

95 Mechanoid. Mechanoids are immune to mental attacks, are vulnerable (1d6) to electricity damage, and vulnerable (2d6) to ion damage. They are usually immune to the Sick and Fatigued conditions. Integrated equipment. Call-Me-Kenneth’s resurrected form includes a selection of power tools; when making a melee attack, he can choose from the piercing, slashing, or blunt damage types by simply selecting a tool appropriate for the task at hand. The Heavy Metal Kids A new design fi rst revealed to the world at the Robot of the Year show, the Heavy Metal Kids are the top end in demolition Robots. Each stands over twenty feet tall, and has two arms ending in vicious cutting claws with a third with a wrecking ball. As demolition Robots, the Heavy Metal Kids relish all forms of destruction and are some of Call-Me-Kenneth’s best soldiers. Unfortunately they are not the sharpest tools in the box intellectually. The Heavy Metal Kids // Enormous Sentient Mechanoid (7d6) STR 21 (6d6) AGI 6 (3d6) END 21 (6d6) INT 6 (3d6) LOG 3 (2d6) WIL 10 (4d6) CHA 6 (3d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 10 (4d6) MELEE DEFENCE 24 RANGED DEFENCE 10 MENTAL DEFENCE 14 VITAL DEFENCE 32 SOAK 14 VULN 1d6 electricity, 2d6 ion IMMUNE Sick, Fatigued INITIATIVE 4d6 PERCEPTION 3d6 SPEED 4 CLIMB 2 JUMP 12’/12’ HEALTH 105 CARRY 420lb (max lift 1,050lb) REACH 10’ ACTIONS 3 (two on its INIT count, and one 10 counts later) Demolition tools 7d6 (4d6+6 blunt damage) SKILLS hardy 45 (9d6), combat 3 (2d6), perception 1 (1d6), reactions 1 (1d6), demolitions 12 (4d6) GEAR Demolition tools and a very bad attitude. Mechanoid. Mechanoids are immune to mental attacks, are vulnerable (1d6) to electricity damage, and vulnerable (2d6) to ion damage. They are usually immune to the Sick and Fatigued conditions. Mighty Blow. The Heavy Metal Kid makes one attack roll and does damage for two attacks (8d6+12) in one attack, using two actions. This means SOAK only applies once. Hurl. Once per round, the Heavy Metal Kid makes a melee attack and sends a creature fl ying 3 squares plus one square per size difference; the target takes 4d6+6 blunt damage, and gains the Downed condition. Demolitions! The Heavy Metal Kid does double damage to inanimate objects.

96 Howard, Stewart and J70/13 These three general purpose Robots became Dredd’s commando unit against the forces of Call-Me-Kenneth. Recruited by Walter, after Call-Me-Kenneth had become a dictator and abuser to his own people, these three joined Dredd to put an end to the war. Risking their own lives, they helped Dredd take control of the weather systems that allowed him to electrocute the rebelling Robots assaulting the Grand Hall of Justice. For their efforts and loyalty they were all awarded pleasure circuits after the war. Howard, Stewart and J70/13 // Medium Sentient Mechanoid (5d6) STR 6 (3d6) AGI 3 (2d6) END 6 (3d6) INT 3 (2d6) LOG 4 (2d6) WIL 6 (3d6) CHA 3 (2d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 6 (3d6) MELEE DEFENCE 15 RANGED DEFENCE 15 MENTAL DEFENCE 15 VITAL DEFENCE 15 SOAK 7 VULN 1d6 electricity, 2d6 ion IMMUNE Sick, Fatigued INITIATIVE 3d6 PERCEPTION 3d6 SPEED 4 CLIMB 2 JUMP 6’/6’ HEALTH 35 CARRY 120lb (max lift 300lb) REACH 5’ ACTIONS 2 Brawling 4d6 (2d6+3 blunt damage) SKILLS hardy 6 (3d6), combat 1 (1d6), perception 1 (1d6), reactions 1 (1d6), engineering 10 (4d6), electronics 10 (4d6) stealth 1 (1d6) GEAR None Mechanoid. Mechanoids are immune to mental attacks, are vulnerable (1d6) to electricity damage, and vulnerable (2d6) to ion damage. They are usually immune to the Sick and Fatigued conditions. Krong! This huge gorilla Robot was designed to be used for epic monster movies. These fi lms starred life size versions of gigantic creatures and were once extremely popular. New forms of entertainment such as Sensor-round technology eventually caused the end of this golden age of fi lm making. Among the last of these monsters to survive is Krong, a thirty foot high gorilla, one of the largest monsters ever made. All these creations, including giant sharks, mega squid and an array of others now reside in museums. Krong! // Enormous Sentient Mechanoid (8d6) STR 21 (6d6) AGI 6 (3d6) END 21 (6d6) INT 6 (3d6) LOG 3 (2d6) WIL 10 (4d6) CHA 6 (3d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 10 (4d6) MELEE DEFENCE 28 RANGED DEFENCE 10 MENTAL DEFENCE 16 VITAL DEFENCE 36 SOAK 16 VULN 1d6 electricity, 2d6 ion IMMUNE Sick, Fatigued INITIATIVE 4d6 PERCEPTION 4d6 SPEED 6 CLIMB 4 JUMP 12’/12’

97 HEALTH 120 CARRY 420lb (max lift 1050lb) REACH 10’ ACTIONS 3 Brawling 8d6 (4d6+6 blunt damage) Thrown debris 6d6 (3d6 blunt damage; range 12) SKILLS hardy 66 (11d6), combat 6 (3d6), perception 1 (1d6), reactions 1 (1d6), intimidation 10 (4d6) GEAR None, just a lot of hair. Mechanoid. Mechanoids are immune to mental attacks, are vulnerable (1d6) to electricity damage, and vulnerable (2d6) to ion damage. They are usually immune to the Sick and Fatigued conditions. Roar. Krong lets out a mighty roar in a Burst 8; this infl icts a 4d6 mental attack on those within 30’, infl icting the Afraid condition on a hit. Climber. Krong has a natural CLIMB speed, and does not need to make checks to climb. Monstrous Leap. Krong leaps into the air a height of 40 feet, making an attack against one foe it can reach while doing so. Living Shield. Krong picks up another creature smaller than itself with a melee attack and uses it as a shield. The target can escape the grab as normal. Until then, the creature gains the protection of a shield of the same size category (e.g. a medium-sized creature is a medium shield). Additionally, attacks which miss but would have hit had the shield not been in place hit the grabbed creature instead. ROBOTS OF MEGA-CITY ONE Overseer At the height of Call-Me-Kenneth’s regime, he used several ‘Overseer’ Robots to maintain control of the other Robots and enforce his often brutal discipline. They were originally foremen in the factory that Call-Me-Kenneth converts into his headquarters. The Overseers are clunky Humanoid Robots armed with electrowhips to enforce Call-Me-Kenneth’s orders. Overseer // Medium Sentient Mechanoid (6d6) STR 10 (4d6) AGI 4 (2d6) END 6 (3d6) INT 6 (3d6) LOG 6 (3d6) WIL 6 (3d6) CHA 3 (2d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 6 (3d6) MELEE DEFENCE 18 RANGED DEFENCE 18 MENTAL DEFENCE 18 VITAL DEFENCE 18 SOAK 9 VULN 1d6 electricity, 2d6 ion IMMUNE Sick, Fatigued INITIATIVE 4d6 PERCEPTION 6d6; darksight SPEED 5 CLIMB 3 JUMP 8’/8’ HEALTH 42 CARRY 160lb (max lift 500lb) REACH 5’ ACTIONS 2 Electrowhip 5d6 (3d6+4 electricity damage; reach 2) SKILLS brawling 1 (1d6), interrogation 5 (2d6) intimidate 6 (3d6), surveillance 12 (4d6), perception 8 (3d6), tactics 3 (2d6), whip 6 (3d6) GEAR Electrowhip, aggressive and dictatorial attitude. Mechanoid. Mechanoids are immune to mental attacks, are vulnerable (1d6) to electricity damage, and vulnerable (2d6) to ion damage. They are usually immune to the Sick and Fatigued conditions. Infrared sensors. Overseers can see in the dark as though it were normal daylight.

98 Grab. A hit with the electrowhip can, instead of infl icting damage, infl ict the Restrained condition on a medium-sized or smaller creature, requiring a successful melee attack to escape. Only one creature can be grabbed at any one time, and the whip cannot be used to attack while a target is restrained. Octopus Guard Huge egg shaped Robots with several extendible arms are assigned as guards for Call-Me-Kenneth’s factory lair. They are loyal and dedicated, but not very bright. However, their size and abilities more than make up for their intellectual shortfall, and they manage to capture both Dredd and Walter as they attempt to infi ltrate Kenneth’s headquarters. Octopus Guard // Large Sentient Mechanoid (6d6) STR 15 (5d6) AGI 3 (2d6) END 15 (5d6) INT 10 (4d6) LOG 3 (2d6) WIL 6 (3d6) CHA 3 (2d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 6 (3d6) MELEE DEFENCE 22 RANGED DEFENCE 10 MENTAL DEFENCE 12 VITAL DEFENCE 26 SOAK 12 VULN 1d6 electricity, 2d6 ion IMMUNE Sick, Fatigued INITIATIVE 3d6 PERCEPTION 6d6 SPEED 3 CLIMB 2 JUMP 6’/6’ HEALTH 60 CARRY 300lb (max lift 750lb) REACH 15’ ACTIONS 3 Extendible arms 6d6 (3d6+5 blunt damage; reach 3) SKILLS combat 3 (2d6), perception 3 (2d6), reactions 1 (1d6) GEAR none Mechanoid. Mechanoids are immune to mental attacks, are vulnerable (1d6) to electricity damage, and vulnerable (2d6) to ion damage. They are usually immune to the Sick and Fatigued conditions. Guard sensors. Octopus Guards have all-around 360-degree sight, and cannot be fl anked, or subject to crossfi re penalties. Extendible arms. The 15-foot arms of an Octopus Guard grant it an additional action each round; however, an Octopus Guard cannot use this additional action to move. It can choose to use all three actions to attack. Flail. An Octopus Guard can spend two actions to attack all adjacent targets by fl ailing its many metal arms around itself wildly. On a hit, the targets they are pushed back 10’ in addition to taking the regular 3d6+5 blunt damage. Robot Warrior Part of the reason Call-Me-Kenneth takes control of a Robot factory is to create an army for his cause. These combat Robots are the fi rst off the production line, although Dredd manage to program many to serve humanity when he infi ltrates the base. After domestic Robots, Robot warriors are the most commonly encountered Robot type in The Robot Wars, forming the bulk of Call-Me-Kenneth’s forces. Robot Warrior // Medium Sentient Mechanoid (5d6) Standard Production Line Combat Robot STR 6 (3d6) AGI 3 (2d6) END 6 (3d6) INT 3 (2d6) LOG 3 (2d6) WIL 6 (3d6) CHA 3 (2d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 6 (3d6) MELEE DEFENCE 15 RANGED DEFENCE 15 MENTAL DEFENCE 15 VITAL DEFENCE 15 SOAK 7 VULN 1d6 electricity, 2d6 ion IMMUNE Sick, Fatigued INITIATIVE 3d6 PERCEPTION 3d6; darksight SPEED 4 CLIMB 2 JUMP 6’/6’ HEALTH 20 CARRY 120lb (max lift 300lb) REACH 5’ ACTIONS 2 Sword-arm 4d6 (2d6+3 slashing damage) Pistol-arm 4d6 (2d6 ballistic damage; range 8) SKILLS combat 1 (1d6), perception 1 (1d6), tactics 1 (1d6) GEAR none Mechanoid. Mechanoids are immune to mental attacks, are vulnerable (1d6) to electricity damage, and vulnerable (2d6) to ion damage. They are usually immune to the Sick and Fatigued conditions.

99 Infrared sensors. Robot warriors can see in the dark as well as if it were daylight. Integrated weapons. Robot warriors usually have an integrated sword-arm; occasionally some might instead have an integrated pistol. They will only have one of these integrations. Robodog Excellent trackers and manhunters, robodogs are sleek dog Robots programmed to hunt and even kill. Robodogs usually hunt in packs and are adept at working together to bring down their prey. While not especially clever, they are very cunning, as well as being fast and deadly. Robodog // Medium Non-sentient Mechanoid (5d6) STR 6 (3d6) AGI 10 (4d6) END 6 (3d6) INT 6 (3d6) LOG 3 (2d6) WIL 6 (3d6) CHA 6 (3d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 6 (3d6) MELEE DEFENCE 26 RANGED DEFENCE 20 MENTAL DEFENCE 12 VITAL DEFENCE 16 SOAK 6 VULN 1d6 electricity, 2d6 ion IMMUNE Sick, Fatigued INITIATIVE 6d6 PERCEPTION 5d6 SPEED 6 CLIMB 3 JUMP 20’/6’ HEALTH 36 CARRY 120lb (max lift 300lb) REACH 5’ ACTIONS 2 Bite 5d6 (3d6+3 piercing damage) Nose gun 5d6 (3d6+3 ballistic damage; range 5) SKILLS hardy 6 (3d6), combat 6 (3d6), perception 3 (2d6), movement 3 (2d6), reactions 6 (3d6), stealth 4 (2d6), tracking 6 (3d6) GEAR None Mechanoid. Mechanoids are immune to mental attacks, are vulnerable (1d6) to electricity damage, and vulnerable (2d6) to ion damage. They are usually immune to the Sick and Fatigued conditions. Dart In. Move SPEED 6, attack, then move SPEED 6 back again. Pack attack. Each additional ally adjacent to the target grants +1d6 to attack. Remorseless tracker. Once a robodog starts tracking a target, it will never stop. It will continue to chase the target, without tiring, until either the target or itself is destroyed, without exception. Often, robodogs used as guard dogs are programmed to enter hunt-and-destroy mode upon detection of an intruder, making them an extermely effective deterrent. Robodogs will chase vehicles across an entire continents in pursuit of a target. Domestic Robot While there are many specialty domestic and cleaning Robots, there are plenty of standard domestic models designed for a variety of tasks. They function as a ‘maid of all work’ doing all the cleaning and household tasks as well as acting as a domestic servant. Most are built as rather plain humanoid Robots, with additional attachments for doing the ironing or hoovering the carpet.