RPG - EC

Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLA THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLA Authors: Mercedes Acosta, Joseph Blomquist, Michael Bramnik, John Curtin, Chesley Oxendine, David Schwartz, Jim Sorenson, Bryan CP Steele, Diego Valdez Developers: Jason Keeley and Megan Boatright, with Ben Heisler Producer, RPGs: Kevin Schluter Art Director: Sarah Robinson Cover Artist: Setiawan Fajareka Illustrators: Peejay Catacutan, Beto Lima, Lyss Menold, Mary Jane Pajaron, Pixoloid Studios, William O’Brien, Alberto Saravia, John Stone, and Hasbro provided art Graphic Designer: Sarah Robinson Editor: Shawn Banerjee Essence20 Designers: Ryan Costello, Ben Heisler, Gabriel Hicks, Paige Leitman, JF Sambrano, Bryan C.P. Steele, TJ Storm, Elisa Teague, Eddy Webb RENEGADE GAME STUDIOS President & Publisher: Scott Gaeta Vice President Sales: Andrew Lupp Controller: Robyn Gaeta Director of Operations: Leisha Cummins Associate Project Manager: Katie Gjesdahl Sales Assistant: Sophia Gambill E-Commerce: Nick Medinger Marketing Manager: Jordan Gaeta Marketing Assistant: Anais Morgan Senior Producer, Board & Card Games: Dan Bojanowski Associate Producer, Board & Card Games: Kane Klenko Associate Producer, Heroscape: Lee Houff Producer, RPGs: Kevin Schluter Associate Producer, RPGs: Ben Heisler Lead Developer, World of Darkness: Juhana Pettersson Senior Game Designer: Matt Hyra Game Designers: Dan Blanchett, Christopher Chung, & Sarah Rowan Playtest Coordinator: Marcus E. Burchers Director of Visual Design: Anita Osburn Creative Director, Games: Jeanne Torres Creative Director, RPGs: Sarah Robinson Creative Production: Noelle Lopez & Gordon Tucker Customer Service Manager: Jenni Janikowski Customer Service: Bethany Bauthues Finance Clerk: Madeline Minervini THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION Game Rules are © 2023 Renegade Game Studios. All Rights Reserved. TRANSFORMERS and HASBRO and all related trademarks and logos are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc. ©2023 Hasbro. Made in China. Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLA TABLE OF CONTENTS JOIN TOGETHER! 5 CHAPTER 1: THE SUM OF THEIR PARTS 7 What are Combiners? 7 A Brief History of Combiners 12 Combiners in the Modern Era 14 Decepticon Combiner Data Files 16 Autobot Combiner Data Files 18 CHAPTER 2: COMBINER CHARACTERS 21 Influences 21 Origins 25 Role Focuses 28 General Perks 39 Combiner Rules 41 CHAPTER 3: COMBINER ARMORY 47 Upscaling Weapons 47 New Equipment Options 49 New Other Equipment 55 Cybertronian Artifacts 56 CHAPTER 4: THREATS AND ALLIES 59 Cybertronian Features 59 Combaticons 60 Commandos 66 Constructicons 70 Misfire & Aimless 78 Predacons 80 Scorponok & Lord Zarak 86 Skullcruncher & Grax 88 Stunticons 90 Weirdwolf & Monzo 96 Aerialbots 98 Brainstorm & Arcana 104 Chromedome & Stylor 106 Protectobots 108 CHAPTER 5: COMBINER CAMPAIGNS 115 Using Combiners in Your Game 115 Campaign Seeds 120 Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

4 TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME: THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION Transformers roleplaying game Enimga of Combination Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

5Transformers roleplaying game Enimga of Combination Welcome to The Enigma of Combination, a Transformers Roleplaying Game sourcebook. This book contains everything a Transformers Roleplaying Game player needs to create a character that can join with other beings to form a whole new personality, as well as everything a GM needs to run a Combiner-focused campaign. Players interested in playing Combiner characters will find new rules options, including: • 4 new Influences, such as Binary Bonded and Gestalt Member, that give any character the chance to be part of a Combiner team right away. • 3 new Origins, such as Pillar and Speaker, that showcase different ways a Cybertronian can contribute to the team. • 8 new Focuses, one for each of 6 Roles from the Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook and 2 for the Modemaster Role. • A host of General Perks, as well as detailed rules for joining together to make a combined form. • New equipment options, including weaponry scaled for larger combatants, armor upgrades and gear for Combiner team members, and a pair of Cybertronian artifacts. Additionally, this book contains the following information and advice to help GMs run a campaign where the characters play a Combiner team (or go against one!): • Ways that the existence of Combiners might impact your campaign world. • Threats and allies for Combiner characters of both factions. • Campaign seeds for all tiers of play. The Enigma of Combination assumes your game group already has access to the Transformers Roleplaying Game core rulebook. JOIN TOGETHER! Devastator. Menasor. Superion. Defensor. These names evoke towering entities striding across the battlefields of Cybertron and elsewhere, war machines and defensive guards used by both sides of the Autobot-Decepticon war. But what allows these Gestalt forms, comprised of several other robots who willingly subsume their own personalities to create a greater whole? And what of the volunteers to the Headmaster, Powermaster, and Targetmaster programs? Was the allure of greater skill in battle and in the laboratory enough to agree to be permanently bonded to another, sometimes organic, being? This truly is the Enigma of Combination. Some might say that the phrase merely refers to the ancient Cybertronian artifact whose very presence created the first Gestalt entity. But others know that it can also signify the mysteries behind how these combining processes work, as well as why Cybertronians subject themselves to such changes. Come with us now on a journey into those long-asked questions in search of answers that might very well be within you. INTRODUCTION Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

6 TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME: THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION Transformers roleplaying game Enimga of Combination Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

7Transformers roleplaying game Enimga of Combination What are Combiners? From Termagax’s Lecture at Autobot City Autobots, human hosts, and assorted dignitaries, thank you for your warm welcome. A recently deceased Earth philosopher, Aristotle, wisely observed that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” This is a universal and profound truth, equally applicable to the nuclear fusion that powers the heart of your sun as it is to the social, economic, and military organizations that drive both our worlds. But perhaps nowhere is it as true as when talking about the surprisingly rich and varied topic that is Combiners. Yes, Boulder? Ah, I suppose twenty-five hundred stellar rotations could be considered quite a long time for a species that only lives for a handful of decades. But please, save all further comments until the end. Where was I? Oh, yes, Combiners. When two or more Cybertronians fuse their bodies and commingle their Sparks, something extraordinary happens. The resulting form is invariably stronger, faster, more alive than the individual components. Given the many, many millions of years of conflict, it is perhaps unsurprising that this unique characteristic of our cyberbiology has been largely harnessed for military applications, although it’s not hard to imagine a peaceful future where we select a handful of scientists and philosophers who combine into a single supercomputer for the purposes of unlocking the mysteries of the universe, rather than trying to make the biggest warrior thug with the most capable fists and most potent guns. Stop trying to get my attention, Afterburner, I’m well aware of Computron and will get to your team in just a moment. There are two main applications of Combiner technology, the enormous Gestalts towering above the battlefield, and the shrewd and capable Bonded Masters. Although there are any number of corner cases, such as mitotically Sparked individuals capable of splitting their awareness into multiple smaller bodies, we shall confine our discussion to the primary applications. If you are truly interested in outliers, please see me after the lecture for some recommended further reading. Gestalts A Gestalt is typically a giant, usually comprised of four to six individuals of approximately the same size. The individual members who make up a Gestalt are often referred to as a Combiner Team. The power of the combination process often, although not always, allows a form that has a significantly greater mass than that of the sum of the individual components. Aristotle’s observation writ large, as it were. Although not quite the size of the walking cities that are Titans, few other Cybertronians approach the size or bulk of a proper Gestalt. Hand down, Neo-Wheel, I promise you I’m well aware that smaller Gestalts exist. Your fellows, Bumble, certain Recordicons, Cog, and so forth. May we proceed? I have personally had opportunity to witness the awesome destructive potential of a Gestalt many times over the eons; their capabilities in battle simply cannot be overstated. A single Gestalt is more than a match for an entire platoon of trained warriors. The enhanced capabilities of the Gestalt form nearly always manifest in terms of extraordinary strength, armor, and firepower. Some especially capable Gestalts may have enhanced speed and reflexes, and in at least one observed case, Computron, it was indeed the intellect that received the largest boost. A Gestalt is a new individual, a separate identity from the individual components. It has its own name, a distinct personality, and may even have a CHAPTER 1: THE SUM OF THEIR PARTS CHAPTER 1: THE SUM OF THEIR PARTS Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

8 TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME: THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION Transformers roleplaying game Enimga of Combination different agenda or indeed morality from individual team members. Sometimes one member of a Combiner Team may hold inordinate sway over the combined form, and sometimes decision-making may be performed by something approaching democracy, with individual members able to make their concerns felt. More often, however, individual awareness is completely subsumed in the new collective experience. Once separated, Combiner Team members generally do retain full memories and awareness of actions taken while in Gestalt form under most circumstances. There have been observed cases of a single Gestalt with multiple team configurations. In nearly all such cases, the combined entity has a sense of continuity despite the change in the makeup of its members. Perhaps no Gestalt better ex n, emplifies this capability than Devastator, the combined form of the Constructicons. There are reports, albeit unconfirmed, that Devastator has at various times contained Decepticons Sledge, Gravedigger, Hightower, or Buckethead as alternate team members or leaders. More incredibly, I’ve heard whispers suggesting that even Autobots have occasionally been components of Devastator, with Wideload, Hauler, Scoop, Quickmix, and, somehow, Prowl all mentioned to me by one bot or another in hushed tones. And yet amidst all of these rumors, shrouded in the fog of war though they may be, Devastator was always recognizably Devastator, little different than the Devastator comprised of the six most well-known Constructicons that I myself mentored so many millennia ago. To me this psychological continuity is at least as impressive as their massive scale and martial prowess. Not every Cybertronian is equally suited to the combination process, especially psychologically. Some, including the Multiforce of Planet V and many inhabitants of Devisiun, effortlessly combine in spontaneous pairs. But less compatible Combiner Teams generally result in a Gestalt that is prone to indecision and therefore less effective than any member of the Combiner team would be on their own. Many Gestalts seem a bit slow in terms of processor speed. Take Bruticus, the combined form of the Combaticons, who seems to be made up of a particularly ill-suited group of mechanoids. The idea that the tactical genius of Onslaught or the financial acumen of Swindle is reduced to monosyllables seems nothing less than tragic. This limitation hasn’t stopped Bruticus and others like him from being deployed in battle, primarily by the Decepticons. The ethical implications of this tendency are outside the bounds of this lecture. Bonded Masters The other main application of Combiner technology is Bonded Masters. A Bonded Master is the combined form of what is usually, for want of a better term, an ordinary sized Cybertronian with a much smaller being who forms some component of their body. The connection between these two individuals is called a Binary Bond. Binary Bonding often imparts a telepathic or empathic link between participants, although this is not always consciously perceptible. Please, Quickmix, I’m aware that sometimes there are more than two individuals involved. As with Gestalts, the process of Binary Bonding results in a significant power-up, although generally speaking, there are no mass effects involved in such a combination. Instead of physically growing larger, a Bonded Master may find themselves enhanced in any manner of ways, with enhancements to agility or mental acuity much more common than we observe in Gestalts. Bonded Masters with the smaller partner forming the head of the larger robot are called Headmasters, or sometimes Titanmasters. There are a truly staggering number of powers and abilities that a Headmaster team can unlock, including but not limited to teleportation, cloning, gravity control, super speed, shrinking, self-cloning, and invisibility. Moreover, a truly well-trained Headmaster team can switch partners to redistribute abilities on the fly, although this is not necessarily sustainable over the long term. When the small partner forms the weapon of a larger partner, we call this a Targetmaster pair. Targetmaster weapons possess the ability to draw power directly from the Spark of their larger partner, greatly enhancing the potency of their blasts as well as the accuracy of their targeting subsystems. The Targetmaster process, perhaps more than any other form of Binary Bonding, has found applications among Transformers of nearly all sizes. Even the Gestalts Piranacon and Devastator have plausibly been described as such. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Powermasters, who have sentient engines capable of Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

9Transformers roleplaying game Enimga of Combination regulating their metabolisms and greatly increasing fuel efficiency. For the sake of completion, I must mention that these three forms of Bonded Masters are not the only possible applications of this technology. I’ve read of mechanimals becoming armored chest-plates or helmets, non-sentient Transtectors controlled entirely by a smaller partner, and full-sized robots able to download into an ambulatory brain module. However, I don’t wish to get too far into the wire-weeds. It’s been a long conflict and the many innovations can be quite overwhelming, so we’ll keep a narrow focus. Having discussed the what of Bonded Masters, it behooves us to discuss the who. Who exactly is doing the bonding? Most often, a Binary Bond is between a Cybertronian and an organic being, usually a Nebulan or a human. The partner need not be fully sapient either; mechanimal partners such as Fistfight or Tyrannitron who become weapons are as much Targetmasters as any Nebulan bureaucrat. Yes, General Blaze? Ah, fair question. Nebulans are organic beings from the planet Nebulos, of similar height and basic biology and metabolism to Humans, albeit slightly more advanced on the T-20 developmental scale. You may or may not notice some cosmetic differences between them and your own species. I shall refrain Combiner Lexicon The following terms are vital to understanding Combiners. Binary Bonding: The process by which a Cybertronian and another, much smaller, being are permanently linked. A Cybertronian may have multiple Binary Bonds, such as a Targetmaster with two weapons or a Headmaster who is also a Targetmaster. Bonded Master: Any Cybertronian who has been Binary Bonded with another being, or any being who has been Binary Bonded to a Cybertronian. Bonded Masters include Headmasters, Targetmasters, and other less-common variants. Combiner: A Cybertronian made up of two or more smaller sentient beings. The most common varieties are Gestalts and Bonded Masters. Combiner Team: A dedicated team of multiple Cybertronians who can come together to form a Gestalt. Teams may have a specific name, such as Combaticons or Protectobots, and often share compatible functions. C-State Transformation Cogs: A Transformation Cog that is capable of supporting the Gestalt process. Enigma of Combination: An ancient and mysterious artifact from Cybertronian pre-history. It is purported to be able to turn ordinary Cybertronians into Combiners through modification of their Transformation Cogs. Gestalt: The combined form of two or more Cybertronians of similar size. Often enormous, Gestalts tend to effortlessly dominate a battlefield unless confronted by another Combiner Team. Headmaster: A Cybertronian whose head is another living being, often a Nebulan or a human. Said smaller being is also referred to as a Headmaster. This relationship can enhance intellect, reflexes, or provide special powers. Headmasters are the most common variety of Bonded Master. Nebulan: An organic humanoid species, the dominant life-form of the planet Nebulos. Nebulans average 6 feet in height and have technology nearly on par with Cybertron. They are especially biologically compatible with the surgical aspects of Binary Bonding. Powermaster: A Cybertronian whose engine transforms into another living being, often a Nebulan or a human. Powermasters are more energy efficient and able to process a wider variety of fuels safely. This is a relatively infrequent form of Bonded Master. Targetmaster: A Cybertronian whose weapon transforms into another living being, often a Nebulan or a human. This relationship is an example of the Bonded Master relationship. Targetmasters have enhanced aim and firepower compared to their more prosaic counterparts. CHAPTER 1: THE SUM OF THEIR PARTS Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

10 TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME: THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION Transformers roleplaying game Enimga of Combination Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

11Transformers roleplaying game Enimga of Combination CHAPTER 1: THE SUM OF THEIR PARTS Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

12 TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME: THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION Transformers roleplaying game Enimga of Combination from commenting on exactly what my own opinion is of the morality of involving Nebulans, or indeed humans, in our conflict in such an invasive way. The Seeds of the Future The central fact of Cybertronian existence for the past several million years has been war. War is many things, most of them tragic, but it is an astoundingly good catalyst for change. Teams of soldiers welding themselves together to form a super warrior may not have been the kind of unity we might have sought under kinder circumstances, but it is a form of unity, nonetheless. This quite literal meeting of the minds has been largely, lamentably, used for devastation, but I remain optimistic that this could be a key to our evolution as a species. An old rival of mine, a Headmaster these days actually, used to push a tired idea of efficiency through self-sufficiency. But no ‘bot is an asteroid; we all exist enmeshed in the web that is society. What are Combiners, in all their variegated permutations, but the ultimate form of inter-connectedness? Thank you for allowing an old Cybertronian the opportunity to address this esteemed body. I believe we’ve barely tapped the potential of Combiner technology, and hope I’ve given you much to dwell on. A Brief History of Combiners I’ve curated a handful of files that will hopefully shed some light on the past. —Termagax Goliaths of Yesteryear Excerpts from Bombshell’s personal files The further I delve, the less I know. How frustrating. How glorious. The recent reemergence of Gestalt technology has prompted something of an arms race. We deploy the Stunticons, they create the Aerialbots; we unleash the Terrorcons, they counter with the Technobots. How droll. Megatron has Shockwave doing all he can to pump out more of the things, bigger, tougher. He never was any good at seeing the big picture. To truly understand the potential of Gestalts, one must look to the past. And beetles are very very good at burrowing deep, as Needler and I know quite well. Our mythology is replete with ancient tales of Gestalt warriors, mighty Combiners whose footsteps shook cities and whose weapons tore gaping wounds in the surface of Cybertron, chasms that persist to this day. Which of these behemoths came first, I wonder? Some would have us believe it was one of the mythical Thirteen. Others, the Knights of Iacon joined together. My circuits scoff at such pedantic notions. No, it was a savage time, our prehistory. The first Gestalt must have been truly a truly monstrous devil, perhaps predating Cybertron—and thus the universe— itself. I dwell on this notion, and it feels right. There’s nothing natural about fusing a half dozen Sparks into a single life for the span of a battle; we tap primal and utterly alien forces ill-understood by so-called scientists like Shockwave and Perceptor. But millions of stellar cycles passed and the technology, whatever its antediluvian provenance, was lost. Our conflicts became smaller. We became smaller. Until the Great War reignited all of that, of course. Megatron and Optimus clashed, their struggles pulling first cities, then continents, and finally entire planets into never-ending war. War is a hungry master, and to feed its maw we rediscovered all the old eldritch horrors, having forgotten why they were abandoned. And so, Gestalts walk among us again. What fools we are. So much the better for one such as me. All that power, just waiting to be harnessed, to be directed, to be controlled. And I am truly the master of control. Combiners: Moving Beyond Rumor, Legend, and Innuendo Article by Brainstorm originally published in Alt2Day After millions of years of quiescence, Combiners have once again burst into our war. The tactical and, indeed, strategic implications are no doubt enormous, although I’ll leave that to other minds more interested in such pedestrian problems. I am much more interested in exploring the fundamental mechanics of it all. What is it about Cybertronian physiology that gives us this ability? Is it some ancient secret locked in our cogs? The conceptual history is long, fraught, and shrouded in mystery and pointless mysticism. Physiologically, the potential for combination is inherent in all Cybertronian life. It seemed incredible to me at first, but I delight in the Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

13Transformers roleplaying game Enimga of Combination symmetry of it. All Transformation Cogs contain within them the potential for multiple forms; this is orthodoxy. But indeed, they also carry within themselves the potential to shift from N-State to C-State and configure their bearer into a limb or torso or otherwise any smaller component of our anatomy. This is a potentiality that dates back to the earliest remains still available for study and is indeed consistent with our most ancient (and least scientific) writings. Our Sparks, as well, seem almost designed to facilitate Combination. Two or more Sparks can merge and separate with no loss of quantum resonant cohesion, returning to their original states unmarred. These emergent neogenic properties are truly remarkable when one considers the incredibly intricate and fragile nature of these animating balls of positrons. Perhaps even more incredible is how Sparks can form permanent bonds with the innermost essence of non-Cybertronian life, including organic life. I myself am linked to Arcana, the Nebulan genius who helped me (re?)create the Binary Bonding process. That my Spark can be synced with whatever organic metabolic processes power his consciousness fills me with both skepticism and awe, and yet I cannot deny the evidence of my own senses, the feel of his thoughts even when we are by circumstances separated by planetary distances. How indeed have Cybertronians come to possess such latent capabilities? Could there be some kernel of truth to the old Primus myth? Perhaps, though surely a more prosaic truth than would be found in scripture and tall tales. But whether these capabilities are there by design or some natural offshoot of our unique cyberbiology, present they are. There are even reports of ancient partnerships that could be analogous to the Headmaster process as far back in our history as the Battle of Aegiax, and then of course there are the anomalies found in G-Nebula 88. Though it pains one such as me to admit it, there is much about my species that defies easy explanation. But though I have not found the scientific explanation behind these myriad baffling phenomena, that doesn’t mean one is impossible to find. I refuse to take the black box of my own momentary ignorance and fill it with mysticism and nonsense. Binary Bonding and the Gestalt process must be explored with rigor, by unbiased scientists guided by reason. Only by truly understanding these processes will we ever be the master of them. A final thought. The prehistoric rallying cry of the Autobots and their precursor factions—’Til All Are One—has long been thought to refer to some kind of mystic afterlife. But given our innate ability to combine with others, both physically and mentally, perhaps it’s much more literal than that. Perhaps Primus is not an ancient creator deity from our past... but a potential future of a united Cybertronian race once we finally set aside conflict and pursue genuine and unalloyed unity. Such a being might even be free of such petty constraints as causality and linear time. Something to ponder. The Enigma of Combination From the research files of Vorath Why do I get the feeling Mindwipe is holding back on me? In theory, I have access to the sweeping vistas that are his memory banks. In practice, I fear his dabbling in the mystic arts allows him to cloud certain avenues from my scrutiny. No matter. I have resources of my own. Intelligence Minister Murk and Homeworld Security Director Chasm have been putting out their own feelers, conducting their own interrogations, and generally doing their somewhat sinister jobs quite well. And Hi-Test is quite brilliant, if difficult to work with. With their help, my research proceeds apace. How surprising it was for me to discover that Binary Bonding is merely the latest in a long line of technologies, apparently stretching back many millions of years. Bonded Masters and Gestalts are very much of a kind. But key differences exist too, differences with one foot in the world of the rational and one foot in the realm of the mystical. Indeed, is there a Nebulan more suited to research such avenues than myself? With my scientific genius and Mindwipe’s mastery of necromancy, I may be the only being suited to unlocking such secrets. Secrets that begin and end with an artifact called The Enigma of Combination. Even the name suggests arcane whispers exchanged in sepulchral darkness. Cybertronian religious texts such as the Covenant of Primus and The Way of the Ultimate Warrior make mention of such an artifact, although they are woefully short on details and many reports are contradictory. What they tend to agree on is that the Enigma was passed from Primus, the living god of the Cybertronians, to his children. CHAPTER 1: THE SUM OF THEIR PARTS Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

14 TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME: THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION Transformers roleplaying game Enimga of Combination Was it a gift to Nexus Prime, who some texts refer to as the Nexus Maximus? Was it forged by Primus himself, or his creation Solus Prime? Unclear. I find the concept of Primes to be opaque, not based in the realm of the rational. But what is clear is that the artifact has resurfaced only recently after being lost to the eons. The Enigma of Combination has no one set physical appearance. It has alternately manifested as an orb, a staff, various geometric shapes, even by one measure, a chalice. It tends towards symmetry, but it is likely impossible to identify by pure visual inspection. I speculate that such an artifact must radiate a tremendous amount of energy, and that scanning for objects manifesting nigh-infinite on the combinatronic spectrum might help to locate this relic. As for its capabilities, they seem to be about creating and enhancing the bonds that link a Combiner Team together. The Enigma can transubstantiate an ordinary Transformation Cog into a C-State cog instantaneously. It can be utilized to integrate new components into existing teams or enhance preexisting bonds both physically and mentally. Quite simply, it can make new Gestalts, and make existing Gestalts better. It’s difficult to overstate the advantage such an artifact would confer upon its bearer. I can imagine Mindwipe at the heart of some sort of Decepticon god-emperor. Let’s call him... Galvatronus. Oh, I could get behind that plan! On the other hand, I shudder at the carnage the Autobots could inflict upon our territory if they were to fuse the Dinobots into some kind of Beast, or the tactical advantage they would enjoy if their leadership were melded into an “Optimus Maximus” configuration. Cybertronian Gestalts are the future, that much is inarguable. Given the enormous, unrivaled power they possess, we must spare no effort in locating and securing the Enigma of Combination to assure Hive/Decepticon interests over Nebulos, Cybertron, Earth, and, in time, the entire galaxy! Combiners in the Modern Era Of course, we must also discuss recent events to fully grasp the import of Combiners. —Termagax The Return of Gestalts Entry from Onslaught’s war journal What I would have given to see the look on Optimus Prime’s face when Devastator first strode across the battlefield. The Great War betwixt Autobots and Decepticons has been an absolute marvel of military technologies, a renaissance of tactics, a masterpiece of weapons both ancient and modern. The Gestalt form of the Constructicons somehow manages to be all the above and more, much more. Devastator. The name itself strikes fear into the Spark of the unprepared or superstitious. While I wasn’t there to witness the battle, my Spark locked away in a photonic containment vessel at the time, I’ve pored over all relevant reports time and again. My battle computer has mapped the contours of the fight, every blast and punch and agonized scream. I can see, in my mind’s optic, the terror writ upon the faces of the Autobots as their lines were torn asunder, their fortifications smashed, their comrades rent limb from limb. Glorious. How the calculus of battle changed after that. In that halcyon period the Autobots must have scrambled to protect their most critical assets, pinning down their few Titans such as Omega Supreme or Rails, and allowing Megatron’s forces to dominate battle after battle. Alas, such periods of tactical dominance don’t tend to last, and soon the Autobots could bring to bear their own Combiner Teams, the secret of Gestalts having been pried from us by their crude machinations. Military conflicts do abhor complacency. Which brings us to the now. Move and countermove. A marvelous problem with no simple solution. The strength of a garrison is no longer necessarily linked to the number of defenders, not when four innocuous-seeming Autobot laborers may combine so that instead of a squad our forces must fight against the Build King or somesuch. Now more than ever our species is more than meets the optic. And how to best counter such giants? How to best support them? Do you send six Seacons alone to achieve the objective, or assign a squadron of Seekers for air support? If two Gestalts are equally matched, the battle may well be decided by unaugmented troops. And, of course, victory in battle is only half the struggle. Having achieved some tactical goal through Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

15Transformers roleplaying game Enimga of Combination the overwhelming power afforded by combination, can the primitive Predacons then hold and utilize the objective effectively? And how can one provide oversight and discipline to the unruly components of Monstructor or the witless conscripts of Dinoforce when they can overshadow the firepower of even one such as Megatron? These problems and more now confront every military commander in the war, from the lowliest sergeant to the loftiest of generals. Old dogmas have been cast aside and new stratagems developed. As I’ve said: glorious. My own status as a leader of a Combiner Team has afforded me a truly unique perspective, and Megatron values my counsel. As well he should. Under my new and revised doctrines, Combiners are going to win him the war. So do I swear. On Bonded Masters From Nebulan industrialist Hi-Q’s private correspondence I’ve always considered myself to be apolitical. You would chide me on it, Kari, say that my privilege was on display. Perhaps. But I’ve always been more interested in the challenges of science and industry than in who gets to make the rules. As long as they’re more or less consistent, Nebulans of talent and ambition tend to rise to the top, or so I thought. I ignored the curtailment of liberty, was oblivious to the death by a thousand cuts of the body civic as ambitious and amoral grifters hawked their dubious grievances and overly simplistic solutions to incredibly complicated problems. That all changed, of course, when the Cybertronians made planetfall on our blue-green gem of a world. All the old points of fracture were magnified; people chose sides, eventually even me. We fought side-by-side because the alternative seemed worse. Working together with the Autobots, factions who hold freedom and autonomy and dignity dear developed the Headmaster process, and we too could change our shapes, becoming the heads of our allies and merging our perceptions and insights with theirs. The Decepticons and their Hive allies didn’t sit still for this of course. They reverse engineered our processes, putting their leadership inside Decepticon warriors, though I’m to understand that their relationships tend to be more adversarial. (Or is that just propaganda? Who can say.) But war is a great driver of innovation, and soon the Decepticons were partnering with Nebulan marksmen, fighters, Hi-Q CHAPTER 1: THE SUM OF THEIR PARTS Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

16 TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME: THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION Transformers roleplaying game Enimga of Combination and saboteurs who could convert into weapons. Targetmasters had joined the conflict. I am of course culpable myself. I was the principal inventor of Powermaster technology, allowing a Nebulan, or indeed any appropriately sized being, to convert into the engines of Cybertronians. Energy has always been the limiting reagent in the alchemy of the Cybertronian wars, and now they could fight with a fraction of the energon or other fuels entirely. The technology spread, as technologies do. Not just to the Decepticons, though of course that did happen, but to other worlds. It shames me to say that there are now Bonded Masters who hail from Earth, Dominus, Planet X, Gorlam Prime, and certainly others. And then I consider my friends and allies dragged into this conflict: Stylor, Flintlock, Galen, Leinad, Recoil...Llyra. The price they’ve borne in their bodies, in their souls. And though my own Binary Bond provides me with an almost indescribable sense of satisfaction and purpose, I have to wonder if the cost was worth it. To my world. To myself. To the universe as a whole. I can only hope and pray that it was. Decepticon Combiner Data Files Combiner teams are among the most impressive and dangerous weapons that the Decepticons have at their disposal. These curated dossiers contain a brief overview of all known Combiner teams that Autobot forces may encounter on the battlefield or elsewhere. Some Combiner teams have extra members that can step in, so watch out for them. New Combiner forms are popping up with alarming frequency. If you come across a Combiner that doesn’t show up in this database, please alert the current curator immediately. —Termagax COMBATICONS Gestalt: Bruticus Team Combaticon is a dangerous military unit of Decepticons. While their leader Onslaught prefers to watch as his meticulously designed plans are carried out, he’s not above joining the battle himself, especially when those plans are disrupted. He uses his smarts to keep Swindle’s greed and Vortex’s sadism in check, and his status as a high-ranking Decepticon officer to command the unruly Brawl and the arrogant Blast Off. The Combaticons can combine to form Bruticus, whose impervious armor and destructive temper strike fear into the Sparks of the Autobots. Bruticus isn’t very smart, but with the ability to lift and pulverize massive structures, he doesn’t need wits to unleash havoc in combat. COMMANDOS Gestalt: Ruination The Commandos are a group of elite Decepticon warriors. When combined, Ro-Tor, Armorhide, Rollbar, and Movor work seamlessly under their leader, Mega-Octane, in the powerful Gestalt Ruination. Ruination is not only physically strong, but has an anti-grav unit that allows him to fly under his own power. Unlike some other Decepticon Combiners, he also manages to keep his wits about him because of the discipline among the team. This deadly combination of brawn and brains makes Autobots and Decepticons alike wary of the Commandos. CONSTRUCTICONS Gestalt: Devastator The first known Combiner team, the Constructicons can build and break anything. Under their leader, master designer Scrapper, they work as the Decepticons’ premiere designers and engineers. The rest of the team includes the engineer Hook, the supplier Scavenger, the chemist Mixmaster, the sturdy Long Haul, and the destructive Bonecrusher. The Constructicons are not just skilled builders but fierce warriors as well. They can all combine to form the massive Combiner Devastator. While he may not be the smartest Combiner, Devastator is terrifyingly good at doing what his name implies: devastating! Sometimes the Constructicons host other members, like the dump truck Gravedigger or the crane Hightower. MISFIRE & AIMLESS Misfire is a Decepticon Targetmaster who is partnered with the Nebulan Aimless. While their accuracy leaves much to be desired, when these two are united as gun and gunslinger, they can create havoc on the battlefield. The impressive Targetmaster technology allows Misfire to use Aimless as a gun, though the infamous laziness of Aimless often makes him as much of a hazard to Misfire as he is to the Autobots. Their goals Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

17Transformers roleplaying game Enimga of Combination do sometimes align, however, and that’s when Aimless and Misfire work together to destroy their mutual enemies! PREDACONS Gestalt: Predaking As savage as they are powerful, the Predacons are a Decepticon faction that can turn into fierce animals. The team is made up of five members: the patient leader Razorclaw, the stubborn Headstrong, the upbeat Divebomb, the violent Tantrum, and the energetic Rampage. These ferocious Cons can combine to create Predaking. The five Predacons are united by their animalistic love of the hunt and can pursue prey in harmony when combined. This unity makes Predaking all the more dangerous to any Autobot he is stalking, and with his refined sensors and fiery breath, it’s rare for any target to elude this savage Combiner. SCORPONOK & ZARAK Scorponok and Zarak are a Headmaster Combiner team, though they don’t always work particularly well together. While the Cybertronian Scorponok is both clever and cruel, the Nebulan Zarak’s own agenda sometimes interferes with Scorponok’s plans. The constant vying for control makes them one of the less stable Combiners, but when psychically and physically bonded as a single Headmaster unit, the result is incredibly dangerous. SKULLCRUNCHER & GRAX Skullcruncher and Grax are a Binary Bonded Headmaster team. Skullcruncher is a terrifying Cybertronian who loves sinking his sharp teeth into Autobots. His Nebulan partner, Grax, is a former businessman who lends his shrewd wit to the Decepticon’s attacks. This mismatched team sometimes finds themselves at odds with each other, but they both take vicious delight in destroying any competitors, whether in business or on the battlefield. Together, Skullcruncher and Grax can tear through their enemies and devour them with ease. STUNTICONS Gestalt: Menasor The mortal enemies of the Aerialbots, Team Stunticon is a rebellious group that even Megatron has trouble bringing to heel. The Stunticons are made up of a team of five Decepticons: the cruel leader Motormaster, the paranoid Breakdown, the competitive Drag Strip, the melancholy Dead End, and the unhinged Wildrider. They can combine their bodies and minds to form Menasor, but they don’t function well as a team due to conflicting personalities. This makes him a danger to enemies and allies alike once he’s loose on the battlefield! Sometimes, the dubious Offroad joins the Stunticons in place of Wildrider. Blackjack, a clever and resourceful Decepticon, also occasionally joins Team Stunticon to form Menasor’s chest. WEIRDWOLF & MONZO This bizarre duo is a Headmaster team. The eccentric Decepticon Weirdwolf is both a warrior and a poet, which sometimes puts him at odds with Monzo, his Binary Bonded Nebulan partner. Monzo is a brute who simply prefers to fight, and fighting CHAPTER 1: THE SUM OF THEIR PARTS Razorclaw Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

18 TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME: THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION Transformers roleplaying game Enimga of Combination is where they find common ground. Somehow, Weirdwolf’s bizarre manner of speaking doesn’t prevent him from combining to form a Headmaster unit with Monzo, and Monzo’s brutal efficiency lends itself well to their work in battle. Autobot Combiner Data Files While the existence of Autobot Combiners is no secret, these files are to be treated with standard security protocols. This curated database includes a summary of each known Autobot Combiner, its components, and their skills and personalities. Note that some Combiner teams have alternate members that can stand in when necessary. AERIALBOTS Gestalt: Superion The mortal enemies of the Stunticons, the Aerialbots are the first known Autobot Combiner team. Individually, they take the form of various aircraft and are skilled warriors; together, they can form the powerful Superion! The Aerialbots consist of their leader Silverbolt, the fearless Air Raid, the absentminded Fireflight, the tactician Skydive, and the boisterous Slingshot. As Superion, the Aerialbots remain focused on a single goal: destroying Decepticons. While his one-track mind might cause him to struggle with change, Superion dedicates his impressive power completely to the Autobot cause. The Autobots Alpha Bravo and Powerglide sometimes join the Aerialbots. Powerglide may serve as Superion’s gun, and when Slingshot isn’t available, Alpha Bravo joins in his place to form Superion’s left arm. BRAINSTORM & ARCANA Brainstorm is the brilliant Autobot technologist who is responsible for the creation of the Headmaster process. He works together seamlessly with his partner Arcana, the oldest and wisest among the Nebulan scientists. Both inventors are clever enough when apart, and once their bodies and minds combine into a single Headmaster unit, their intellect is unmatched. CHROMEDOME & STYLOR Chromedome is an academic before all else, and he puts his intelligence to use working on technological advances in weaponry and medical advances in mnemosurgery. He’s Binary Bonded with a Nebulan named Stylor, and they combine as a single Headmaster unit. While the superficial Stylor is more preoccupied with looking good and having fun, Chromedome helps bring out the Nebulan’s more practical side in the name of intellectual pursuit. In return, Stylor’s cavalier attitude influences Chromedome to be more social on the rare occasion. PROTECTOBOTS Gestalt: Defensor The Protectobots are a human-allied Autobot faction on Earth and provide emergency response support to anyone in need, be they human, Cybertronian, or something else entirely! Operating under their lively leader, Hot Spot, this Combiner team consists of the mischievous Blades, the medic First Aid, the good-natured Groove, and the savvy Streetwise. These bots are dedicated to helping in any way they can, and they can combine to form Defensor, whose sole purpose is to safeguard the lives of others. Defensor is one of the most well-adjusted Gestalts, allowing him to make tactical decisions in emergency situations, and his forcefield projection power makes him a force to be reckoned with. Defensor is specially modified to allow substitutes when combining if one of his main components isn’t available. These substitutes include four other Protectobots: Heatrock, Medix, Rook, and Skyfeather. TECHNOBOTS Gestalt: Computron The Technobots are a faction of temperamental Autobot scientists who can combine to form the Gestalt Computron. The team consists of the leader Scattershot, the irritable Afterburner, the dreamer Lightspeed, the ever-patient Nosecone, and the high-strung Strafe. Despite their many differences as individual components, these bots can merge their minds better than most other gestalts, rendering Computron unusually intelligent for a Combiner. This high intelligence comes at a price; while it serves him strategically when planning tactics prior to a battle, Computron’s processing is so complex that making a single decision can take longer than is advised in active combat. Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

19Transformers roleplaying game Enimga of Combination TORCHBEARERS Gestalt: Victorion The Torchbearers are a traveling Autobot faction from the colony world Caminus, but they only nominally pay homage to Optimus Prime. These Camiens take their duty as protectors of sacred Cybertronian artifacts very seriously. They are always six in number, to represent the six sides of Solus Prime’s Creation Lathe. The Torchbearers are led by the tough Pyra Magna. The rest of the team includes the stubborn Dust Up, the loyal Jumpstream, the bubbly Rust Dust, and the twins Skyburst and Stormclash. They join together creating the Gestalt Victorion. Victorion can fly on her own and has unique gravity-control powers, and the superb discipline among the Torchbearers grants her mental stability and clarity of thinking that many other Combiners cannot claim. Should one Torchbearer fall, another one must take her place. CHAPTER 1: THE SUM OF THEIR PARTS Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

20 TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME: THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

21 CHAPTER 2: COMBINER CHARACTERS TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination The shapechanging robots from Cybertron can take multiple forms, which includes the possibility of joining with others to form even larger robots. This chapter presents new character options for those Cybertronians who want to form Combiner teams with other mechanoids or enter into a Binary Bonded relationship with an organic being. Players who want to be a part of a Combiner team create their characters the same way as any character in the Transformers Roleplaying Game. However, such players will want to take advantage of the four new Influences, three new Origins, and eight new Role Focuses presented in this book. These options will help flesh out any characters focused on teamwork, but especially those who join their forms with other beings. Players with already established characters can look to the new General Perks in this chapter for ways their Transformers can gain the power to combine. Of course, either group of players will need the rules for creating and playing Combiner forms, which can be found at the end of the chapter. Influences The four new Influences presented here follow the same format as the Influences found in the Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook and have been designed with Combiner-based characters in mind. However, with a little tweaking, they can be used by other characters as well. POTENTIAL HANG-UPS These new Combiner-focused Influences have several potential Hang-Ups listed for each one as normal. These Hang-Ups are a combination of choices from the Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook and those listed on page 25. Binary Bonded You have a symbiotic relationship with a smaller life-form, often an organic one. This relationship has allowed you to interact with your bonded being in a way that seems almost like you share a Spark, mind, and soul. One’s strengths often complement the other’s weaknesses and vice versa. CHARACTER EXAMPLES Brainstorm, Misfire, Weirdwolf INFLUENCE PERK Your bonded connection to another life-form goes beyond just a common friendship. You gain one of the following General Perks: Alien Companion (page 39), Headmaster Body (page 40), Human Companion, Powermaster (page 40), or Targetmaster (page 41). POTENTIAL HANG-UPS Co-Dependent, Mode Attachment, Vainglorious SUGGESTED CHARACTERISTICS This Influence is a great way to design a Headmaster, Powermaster, or Targetmaster at character creation, but it also can be used to simply create a powerful connection between a character CHAPTER 2: COMBINER CHARACTERS Brainstorm Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

22 TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME: THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination and a narratively important non-player character. There have been many different beings that found themselves binary bonded to various Cybertronians over the many Transformers stories. When you choose this Influence, you must decide which kind of being you are bonded to, why they joined with you in this way, and what manner of relationship you have created. In some cases, this will require answers related to your choice of Perk gained from this Influence. TABLE 2-1: BINARY BONDED BONDS D12 BACKGROUND BOND 1 I never expected to find myself bonded to anything. Ever. 2 I will go to extreme lengths to keep my bonded being involved in our missions. 3 My bonded being and I argue like an old married couple. 4 When my bonded being and I are in the same conversation, we often finish each other’s sentences. 5 I become annoyingly proud when my bonded being succeeds at something. 6 My bonded being and I have a secret code‑language between us that no one else is privy to. 7 I almost lost my bonded being once, and now I’m very overprotective of them. 8 I tell my bonded being everything, including all my secrets and other people’s too! 9 My bonded being is a little troublemaker, especially for me! 10 I love to relax and let my bonded being run around doing my light work. 11 I cherish being alone, and I try to make “me time” as often as possible. 12 Nothing angers me faster than someone talking down to my bonded being. Gestalt Member You are a component member of a Combiner Team or have been in the past. A piece of the mysterious Enigma of Combination has left its mark upon you and your Spark, and you are completely at home lending your entire body to become part of a whole new being. CHARACTER EXAMPLES Bonecrusher, Fireflight, Tantrum INFLUENCE PERK Your body and Spark have what it takes to convert into a combined form. You gain one of the following General Perks: Gestalt Combiner (page 39) or Matched Combiner (page 40). POTENTIAL HANG-UPS Co-Dependent, Subordinate, Supporting Cast SUGGESTED CHARACTERISTICS This Influence helps a character be part of something larger, both figurative and literal. Depending on what manner of Gestalt you are a component part of, you need to determine if you are a member of a specific Combiner Team or a paired duo or matched trio. Perhaps you are just a being whose Spark is malleable and ready to join with other Combiners to become more powerful. Firefight Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

23 CHAPTER 2: COMBINER CHARACTERS TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination TABLE 2-2: GESTALT MEMBER BONDS D12 BACKGROUND BOND 1 I take great pride in the piece of the whole I represent. 2 I sometimes take on the personality traits of those whom I combine with. 3 When I’m not combined, I try too hard to be important. 4 If I have combined with you, we are like family. 5 I am secretly afraid that I’m the weakest part of our Gestalt. 6 Protecting my friends and teammates is the reason my Spark still shines. 7 I feel like my contribution is the strongest within our Gestalt’s personality. 8 When I fail my team, I overcompensate with a fiery temper. 9 I am almost always the first member to call for a combining. 10 When my teammates are nearby to have my back, my mouth can get us into trouble quick. 11 I sometimes take personal credit for things my teammates or our Gestalt achieved. 12 I pity those who do not know the feeling of the Enigma within them, and the loneliness they must feel. Morale Booster You are the social glue that holds a team together, and just a few words from you can persuade your friends and comrades to do greater things. Whether it is with heartfelt gestures, thrilling speeches, or even just a few well-timed jokes or wisecracks, you can keep up their spirits better than most. CHARACTER EXAMPLES Rattrap, Streetwise, Wheeljack INFLUENCE PERK Whether it is with speeches, jokes, or snarky commentary, you can always lift the broken spirits of your allies. As a Standard action, you can remove the Frightened or Impaired condition from all allies within 30 feet that can hear you; you can do this a number of times per day equal to your Social Essence Score. POTENTIAL HANG-UPS Brutally Honest, Idolizer, Whimsical SUGGESTED CHARACTERISTICS This Influence is perfect for a team member that wants to keep up their group’s good spirits. A few well-timed words or a clever phrase is enough to turn around the feelings of your allies. You must decide exactly how you boost morale, and whether you do it by accident or through a talent you have honed. Wheeljack Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

24 TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME: THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination TABLE 2-3: MORALE BOOSTER BONDS D12 BACKGROUND BOND 1 I get uncomfortably chatty when I sense sadness or depression. 2 My ideas are not always the greatest or the most logical, but I mean well. 3 When I get a laugh, or even a smile, I call it a personal victory. 4 I don’t take failure lightly and could really use some kind words when I’m down. 5 I’m my own worst critic. 6 It’s okay for me to talk back to my superiors, so long as it is for laughs, right? 7 My voice pitch changes dramatically when I get serious (which is rare). 8 I hate long silences and will likely be the one to awkwardly break them. 9 Nothing short of the apocalypse can get me down. I always find the silver lining, no matter how thin. 10 I collect trophies and keepsakes to remember the good moments and recall them frequently. 11 I often misquote our heroes, use mixed metaphors, and recall anecdotes wrong, possibly on purpose. 12 If I haven’t given you a clever or charming nickname, I haven’t known you for very long. Titanspark You have been touched by the ancient strain of Spark shared by the gigantic Titans. This has strengthened your body as well as your presence. This brush with the giants of Cybertron’s past has made you taller and larger than others from your same walk of life. CHARACTER EXAMPLES Broadside, Deathsaurus, Scorponok INFLUENCE PERK Your connection to the old Titans is physically apparent, as your Bot and Alt Modes are one Size Class larger than your Origin normally allows, and you start with +1 Health. POTENTIAL HANG-UPS Arrogant, Impulsive, Violent SUGGESTED CHARACTERISTICS This Influence can be a double-edged sword. While it makes you larger and more imposing, you likely find it more difficult to blend into a nonCybertronian environment and interact with such surroundings. Whether you have a personality as large as your chassis, or you overcompensate by acting meek and quiet, your size will likely be an issue from time to time. Broadside Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

25 CHAPTER 2: COMBINER CHARACTERS TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination TABLE 2-4: TITANSPARK BONDS D12 BACKGROUND BOND 1 I have a little bit of a height-based superiority complex. 2 I get unnecessarily angry when I find the world around me to be too small. 3 My size always seems to come up in conversations about my worth in a mission, often by me! 4 I don’t like to raise my voice, but when I do, people take notice. 5 I often put myself in harm’s way to protect those smaller than me. 6 There isn’t a situation where I won’t stand up for my commanders or team leaders. 7 I’ve always taken my larger size for granted and forget that not everybody is like me. 8 I am a bit of a showoff, especially if strangers are watching. 9 My weapons are built for me and my size. I never let anyone else use them. 10 I’ve been called a bully in the past, but I don’t think I am. 11 I hate being the center of attention, even when it is just me and friends. 12 I yearn to understand the ancient Titans and how they are reflected in me. New Hang-Ups These new Hang-Ups reflect some of the quirks of Combiner-based characters but could be used by other characters for whom they might fit. ARROGANT You think of yourself as better than most beings, and it shows in your behavior. On your first turn of a combat, after you test Initiative, you can’t attack enemies whose Threat Level is lower than your level, though you can make an area of effect attack that includes such enemies if it also includes at least one enemy whose Threat Level is equal to or higher than your level. BRUTALLY HONEST You are a terrible liar, and you often “tell it how it is” no matter how bad it might be. Whether it is from a lack of aptitude or some internal code of honesty, you always suffer Snag on Deception Skill Tests. CO-DEPENDENT Clever enemies can use your connection to someone who’s close to you. Choose a life-form to whom you are Binary Bonded, a teammate, or a similar being. Anytime this person suffers from a condition (Defeated, Grappled, Unconscious, and the like) when in your line of sight, you suffer 1 to all Skill Tests. SUPPORTING CAST Always ready to help prop up those more outspoken than yourself, you are used to always being the background helper or supporting player in someone else’s story. You are never comfortable being in the limelight and suffer 1 on non-combat Skill Tests in front of a large audience (ten or more people who aren’t your allies) who might be potentially judging your efforts. Origins The three new Origins presented here follow the same format as the Origins found in the Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook. Though they work well for characters who are part of a Combiner Team or are Binary Bonded to another, they can be taken by any other Cybertronian character. Charger You’ve yet to encounter a bot you can’t knock down a peg or three. Your chassis contains reinforced structural segments, dozer blades, or even piledrivers that make you a force to be reckoned with in both Bot and Alt Modes. You’ve trained to master these tools, often tasking them to help you take on opponents much larger than you, to their surprise and dismay. You live by the mantra “the bigger they are, the harder they fall,” be they obstacle, building, or opposing bot. You relish being in your Alt Mode more than most of your teammates, partially because you can use some of your favorite features designed to knock others back or away. Your Alt Mode can appear as nearly any vehicle, but it’s fashioned with an implement of destruction perfect for ramming or flybys. With ground-based Alt Modes like bulldozers or trucks, your choice of ramming tool is often a dozer blade, cow catcher, or even a massive drill. In an Alt Mode that flies, like VTOL Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

26 TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME: THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination jet planes, short-range shuttles, or other aircraft, most chargers choose to have reinforced nosecones or wing-mounted blades to make flyby attacks particularly damaging. Examples of Charger Characters: Air Raid, Heatrock, Scoop, Twin Twist Essence Score Increase: Increase your Speed or Strength Essence by 1. Origin Skill: Through training, conditioning, and reinforcing your chassis for your particular style of vehicular combat, you’ve learned a lot about using your strength and momentum to your advantage. You gain an increase to your Athletics, Brawn, Driving, or Initiative Skill. This Skill training must be in the Essence taken in your Essence Score Increase. Starting Health: 3 Languages: Cybertronian, Adopted Earth language, plus one additional language for every 3 points of Smarts you possess. ORIGIN BENEFIT: WHEN PUSH COMES TO SHOVE You know how to take down bots that are larger and tougher than you, often by going nose to nose in your Alt Mode. You may not always win the fight, but you’ll make sure you can remain standing when they can’t. The strongest barricades and defenders know to fear your charge when it comes. When Pushing or Shoving, you are considered one Size Class larger. CHARGER BOT MODE Movement: 30ft Ground Size: Large Fine Motor: The additional joints and opposable digits gained in Bot Mode allow you to use tools and manipulate objects in ways that are impossible in your Alt Mode. CHARGER ALT MODE Movement: 45ft Ground or 45ft Aerial Size: Long Crew: 2 Firepoints: 2 Limited Articulation: For all its advantages, this aerodynamic shape limits how easily you interact with the world around you. You cannot use Skills Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

27 CHAPTER 2: COMBINER CHARACTERS TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination that require articulation or precision, such as Athletics and Finesse. Special Attack: Flyby (Driving) or Ram (Driving): Driving Skill, Reach (2 Blunt damage), Trip alternate effect. Pillar Every team needs the one bot willing to get in the way of danger to protect their allies, able to take a hit and get back up with power and skill. That’s you. Your chassis has been designed with reinforced armor, or a bulkier, hardened frame capable of taking more damage on the battlefield than most bots. This larger size makes you far more intimidating to your foes and a rallying point for your allies. These duties often put you in similar battlefield roles as the Monolith. Like Monoliths, you are usually among the largest bots on the field of battle and draw a great deal of enemy attention. This is intentional. The more your enemies concentrate on you, the less they harass your smaller, less protected teammates. No matter your size or armored plating, you can’t be everywhere at once. Each injury your friends sustain, each time one of them is wrecked in an attack, it takes something away from you. No matter how hard your reinforced substructure may be, those are dents you will wear for all eternity. You may not be as quick and maneuverable as other bots, but if you can take the hit, you don’t really need to get out of the way. Your intimidating visage isn’t just a ruse, however; you can dish it out as well as you take it, something your enemies realize all too well as you wade into their midst. Your chosen Alt Mode speaks to your indomitable nature (military transports and heavy tanks) or less fearsome forms that hint at the power within (construction cranes and pile borers). Like your Bot Mode, your Alt Mode is rugged and powerful, making smaller vehicles move away to give you room. Examples of Pillar Characters: Hardhead, Impactor, Pyra Magna, Rook Essence Score Increase: Increase your Strength Essence by 1. Origin Skill: You’ve trained long and hard at preparing to absorb the worst your opponents could dish out. Your desire to always protect your allies to the detriment of your own frame has made you a hardened mass of metal and bravery. This gives you an increase to your Brawn, Conditioning, or Intimidation Skill. Starting Health: 4 Languages: Cybertronian, Adopted Earth language, plus one additional language for every 3 points of Smarts you possess. ORIGIN BENEFIT: FACE ME! Your stalwart nature combined with your size make for a formidable-looking opponent on any battlefield, one not only marked as a threat to focus attacks on by your enemies, but one capable of frightening damage. When you challenge an opponent, it holds some weight, shaking the confidence of your targeted foe until they engage with you. As a Move action, you taunt and cajole an opponent to attack you instead of your friends, making yourself an easy, slow-moving target, but also one that needs to be dealt with as fast as possible. You then attempt an Intimidate Skill Test against the Willpower Defense of that opponent. On a success, that enemy must attack you on their turn or suffer 2 to attack any other opponent. PILLAR BOT MODE Movement: 20ft Ground Size: Large or Huge Fine Motor: The additional joints and opposable digits gained in Bot Mode allow you to use tools and manipulate objects in ways that are impossible in your Alt Mode. PILLAR ALT MODE Movement: 45ft Ground Size: Long or Extended Crew: 2 Firepoints: 4 Limited Articulation: For all its advantages, this aerodynamic shape limits how easily you interact with the world around you. You cannot use Skills that require articulation or precision, such as Athletics and Finesse. Special Attack: Ram (Driving): Driving Skill, Reach (1 Blunt damage), Trip alternate effect Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

28 TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME: THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination Speaker You speak with confidence and experience even when you are far out of your depth, and this doesn’t go unnoticed by your allies. You’re always the center of attention, speaking for your teammates, protecting those you swore loyalty to, and leading them through danger. Like a Champion, every design element on your chassis is sculpted to get you noticed. You want to be an easily recognizable reassuring presence to your team, someone even your enemies will pay attention to. You may have trained in statecraft and public speaking, you may have concentrated on physical upgrades and paint jobs, or you may just have the raw charisma necessary to lead your teammates and persuade others to bargain, negotiate, or even retreat. As a leader, you always have the well-being of your team members in mind. You are willing to share what you’ve overcome, lead from the front, and inspire them from your example. It’s not that you don’t make mistakes, it’s that you know how to own and learn from them. Even your worst fears can help strike a note of courage in your team. Your Alt Mode reflects your confidence, savvy, or even hubris. Like a Champion, you chose an Alt Mode that gets noticed such as a rare sportscar, customized motorcycle, or Cybertronian hovercar. You may not be the fastest model on the road or in the air, but you look good getting there, and when you are as important and valuable as you know you are, the other bots will wait. Examples of Speaker Characters: Hot Spot, Silverbolt, Siren, Swindle Essence Score Increase: Increase your Social Essence by 1. Origin Skill: You’ve learned to not only speak for your allies but to inspire them to greatness. Some say that these are abilities that are inherent, but you’ve spent years honing these particular talents, which grants you an increase to your Culture, Persuasion, or Streetwise Skill. Starting Health: 3 Languages: Cybertronian, Adopted Earth language, plus one additional language for every 2 points of Social you possess. ORIGIN BENEFIT: ‘TIL ALL ARE ONE Sometimes, you don’t need honeyed words or inspiring speeches to bring out the best in your team. Under your leadership or camaraderie, your team has become aware of each other’s capabilities. You’re able to relish each other’s successes and lament each other’s failures. As a voice of reason and inspiration for your team, whenever you show remarkable ability or strength of character, you inspire the team to further greatness in your wake. Once per scene, when you roll a Critical Success on a Skill Test, the team gains a Story Point. SPEAKER BOT MODE Movement: 30ft Ground Size: Common or Large Fine Motor: The additional joints and opposable digits gained in Bot Mode allow you to use tools and manipulate objects in ways that are impossible in your Alt Mode. SPEAKER ALT MODE Movement: 45ft Ground or 30ft Aerial Size: Common or Long Crew: 2 Firepoints: 2 Limited Articulation: For all its advantages, this aerodynamic shape limits how easily you interact with the world around you. You cannot use Skills that require articulation or precision, such as Athletics and Finesse. Special Attack: Ram (Driving): Driving Skill, Reach (1 Blunt damage), Alternate Effect: Trip Role Focuses Below are 8 new Focus options for the Transformer Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook’s 7 Roles. Each new Focus centers around concepts ideal for characters with important connections to others. These Focus options are perfect for characters touched by the Enigma of Combination, but other concepts could make good use of them as well. New Analyst Focus HUB Hub Analysts are the central focal point of a team’s informational sources, both strategic and utilitarian. Such a character specializes in operating as a seamless, real-time conduit for beneficial data. Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

29 CHAPTER 2: COMBINER CHARACTERS TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination Essence Increase: Increase your Smarts Essence by 1 at 1st level, and again at 10th level. Focus Skills: Train or specialize in one of these Skills when your Focus gives you an Essence Increase: Alertness, Culture, or Science. TABLE 2-5: HUB FOCUS LEVEL PERK 1st Data Bridge 3rd Sensory Link 6th Tactical Triangulation 10th Precise Chronometrics 17th Misery Loves Company 20th Think Tank Data Bridge You serve as a wireless conduit for your team’s total base of knowledge. If you can directly see any mechanized ally with computing ability in the same scene, you can, as a Free action once per turn, act as though you possess any one Language or Skill Specialization possessed by that ally. Additionally, you can spend additional Free actions to transmit that Language or Skill Specialization to additional mechanized/computerized allies also within line of sight at a rate of 1 ally per Free action spent. This borrowed ability remains until the beginning of your next turn. Sensory Link You can form a wireless connection between you and your allies, overlaying their sensory perceptions over your own. At 3rd level, by spending an Energon Point as a Free action, you can see/ hear/feel/taste what a willing ally within 1 mile perceives. This can allow for other beings to be considered “in line of sight” for the purposes of other Perks, assets, and so on. Tactical Triangulation By putting a target into the visual perceptions of yourself and at least one other ally in your line of sight, you calculate superior firing angles and increase tactical awareness. Starting at 6th level, if you or an ally currently benefitting from your Data Bridge Role Perk makes a ranged attack, that attack gains 1 for each Data Bridged ally (including you!) currently able to see the target of the attack, to a maximum of 3. Precise Chronometrics You and your allies can time your actions down to carefully calculated moments. Upon reaching 10th level, you can grant bonuses to your own and your allies’ Initiative Skill Test results that total no more than your Smarts Essence. You can choose these bonuses after everyone has rolled. For instance, if your Smarts Essence is 8, you can grant one ally a +8 bonus to their Initiative Skill Test result; +4 to yourself and +4 to one ally; or +1 to three allies, +2 to yourself, and +3 to a fourth ally. Misery Loves Company Through the use of the Data Bridge Role Perk, you can take on or transmit not only data but current complications. At 17th level, by spending an Energon Point as a Free action, you can remove one of the following conditions from one ally and transmit it to another currently on the Data Bridge (including yourself): Frightened, Impaired, Mesmerized, and Stunned. Cosmos Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

30 TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME: THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination Think Tank Your Data Bridge has evolved into a veritable superhighway of information. At 20th level, when you use your Data Bridge Role Perk, you allow the borrowing of all Languages and all Skill Specializations known by the ally in question. Additionally, you have no maximum number of allies that can be part of your Data Bridge, as long as you have the Free actions to spend to create the links. New Field Commander Focus TEAM LEADER Team Leaders are the battlefield commanders that would never allow their team to go into a conflict without them, leading by example and fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with their peers. Essence Increase: Increase your Social Essence by 1 at 1st level, and again at 10th level. Focus Skills: Train or specialize in one of these Skills when your Focus gives you an Essence Increase: Animal Handling, Performance, or Persuasion. TABLE 2-6: TEAM LEADER FOCUS LEVEL PERK 1st On My Mark 3rd I Got You 6th Not Like That, Like This! 10th We Are One! 17th Together We Stand 20th ‘Til the Last On My Mark When you give orders to your team, they are invigorated to see you following alongside them. If you perform the same action or act in the same way as your Command given with the Issue Command Role Perk, your allies following the Command gain +2 to the chosen Defense or roll the associated Skill Test with Edge. I Got You You are always there for your team, ready to pick them up when they fall or boost them up when they are running on empty. Starting at 3rd level, you can always Lend Assistance to your teammates if they are within 60 feet of you. Additionally, once each round, you can spend 1 Energon Point to give your teammate 1 on any Skill Test. This can be performed even when it is not your turn. Not Like That, Like This! You often lead by example. Upon reaching 6th level, when a teammate within 60 feet rolls a Skill Test, you can ask them to reroll any or all the dice involved, though they must accept the second result. If you do this, you must attempt a Skill Test using the same Skill that was re-rolled on your following turn, if possible. If it isn’t possible, you lose your Move action for that turn. We Are One! At 10th level, you understand how to leverage your team’s strengths. Choose a number of allies equal to your half of Social Essence Score (rounded up); Breecher Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

31 CHAPTER 2: COMBINER CHARACTERS TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination you don’t count against this number, though you are part of the team. Then, choose two Skills from two different Essence Scores. You and your teammates can reroll 1s on Skill Dice when using those Skills. Together We Stand Upon reaching 17th level, all of your teammates (as defined by the We Are One! Focus Perk) gain 1d2 temporary Health and 1d2 temporary Energon Points at the beginning of any combat scene involving two or more team members. These temporary resources can bring the characters over their normal maximum, but each team member is reduced to their normal maximum at the end of the scene if these temporary resources remain. ‘Til the Last You would never willingly let down your team while you still have life within you. At 20th level, as long as active members of your team (as defined by the We Are One! Focus Perk) are in the same scene as you, you gain +2 to your Defenses, and you are immune to being Frightened. New Gunner Focus CANNONEER Cannoneers are the masters of big artillery, the kind that put big hurt on single targets and make them no longer part of the battlefield equation. Essence Increase: Increase your Strength Essence by 1 at 1st level, and again at 10th level. Focus Skills: Train or specialize in one of these Skills when your Focus gives you an Essence Increase: Athletics, Brawn, or Intimidation. TABLE 2-7: CANNONEER FOCUS LEVEL PERK 1st Balance and Compensation 3rd Hardware Training 6th What Cover? 10th Frightening Display 17th Dig In 20th All I Need is One Shot Balance and Compensation You have an augmented frame that allows you to handle much larger and more powerful weaponry. It is easier for you to wield a ranged weapon in your External Hardpoints. Any Skill-based requirements for such weapons are reduced by two die sizes (to a minimum of d2) and any size-based requirements are lowered by two Size Classes. Hardware Training You are ready to wield some truly impressive firepower. Upon reaching 3rd level, you are Qualified in Restricted two-handed ballistic weapons, and you can wield ballistic weapons upscaled for Gigantic characters in 2 hands even if they are four or more Size Classes larger than you (see pages 47-48). Pyra Magna Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

32 TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME: THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination What Cover? When you are packing enough heat, your targets can’t hide from your shots for long. At 6th level, reduce any penalties imposed by Cover by 1. Additionally, when you successfully hit a target benefitting from Cover, the Cover is destroyed (if possible) after the attack results are calculated. Frightening Display You and your weaponry are an imposing, terrifying sight to behold. Starting at 10th level, if you are wielding a two-handed ballistic weapon or have fired one during your previous turn, you can spend a Standard action and attempt an Intimidation Skill Test versus the Willpower Defense of all enemies that can see you within 100 feet. On a success, the enemy is Frightened for 1d4 rounds. Dig In Nothing is as feared as a cannoneer that has entrenched themselves for a long siege. Starting at 17th level, you can Dig In to any physical object at least half your size that provides Cover as a Move action. Once Dug In, the Cover imposes an additional 1 to attacks against you; in addition, you ignore the Mounted trait of your weapons, and when you spend a Free action to Aim, you gain 2 instead of 1. You no longer benefit from Dig In if you move or are moved for any reason. All I Need is One Shot Instead of laying on the trigger like some Gunners would, you take all that aggression and potential volleys of fire and put the efforts into one amazingly powerful attack. At 20th level, instead of attacking multiple times using Bang Bang or Bang Bang Bang, you make a single ranged attack that gains 2 and deals 2 additional damage (of the appropriate type). New Modemaster Focuses BONDED MASTER Bonded Masters have a special technological connection with another being, allowing it to literally serve as a symbiotic piece of itself in a variety of ways. This includes the Headmasters, Powermasters, and Targetmasters. Essence Increase: Increase any one Essence Score by 1 at 1st level, and again at 10th level. Focus Skills: Train or specialize in any one Skill tied to the Essence Score you increased. TABLE 2-8: BONDED MASTER FOCUS LEVEL PERK 1st Master Specialization 3rd Hit Someone Your Own Size! 6th Advanced Link 10th Bonded Proficiency 17th Armored Connection 20th Perfect Link Getaway Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

33 CHAPTER 2: COMBINER CHARACTERS TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination Master Specialization You are bonded to a diminutive being, whether it is an organic creature wearing a Transtector Headmaster Rig or a specialized Mini-Con. You gain the Headmaster Body (see page 40), Powermaster (see page 40), or Targetmaster (see page 41) General Perk. If you already possess one of these Perks, you and your bonded ally each gain 1 additional Health instead. Hit Someone Your Own Size! You find yourself particularly protective of your bonded ally. Starting at 3rd level, all attacks that target your bonded ally when within your natural Reach suffer a 2 penalty. Additionally, when within 5 feet of you, your bonded ally can use your Toughness Defense instead of their own. Advanced Link Your connection with your bonded ally has increased significantly. Upon reaching 6th level, your bonded ally gains 2 Essence Increases (along with associated Skills) and +1 Health. Bonded Proficiency You and your bonded ally share more than just a bodily linkage, and some of your aptitudes have begun to rub off on each other. At 10th level, you and your bonded ally can use each other’s Skill Specializations while linked. Armored Connection When you are linked to your bonded ally, it takes a massive effort to forcibly disconnect you. Starting at 17th level, you and your bonded ally gain +2 to your Toughness Defenses while linked, and nothing short of a Critical Success can break apart your linkage; even one or the other being Defeated will not separate you! Perfect Link Your connection with your bonded ally is as close as two beings can be. At 20th level, your bonded ally also gains 2 Essence Increases (along with associated Skills) and +1 Health. COMPONENT ACE The Component Ace is a Cybertronian that thrives within their exposure to the Enigma of Combination. They seem sometimes more at home as a piece of a greater Gestalt being than as a lone individual. Essence Increase: Increase any one Essence Score by 1 at 1st level, and again at 10th level. Focus Skills: Train or specialize in any one Skill tied to the Essence Score you increased. TABLE 2-9: COMPONENT ACE FOCUS LEVEL PERK 1st Combiner Specialization 3rd Efficient Combination 6th Invigorating Connection 10th Better as One 17th Keep it Together! 20th Prime Component Skydive Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

34 TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME: THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination Combiner Specialization You have focused all your efforts into performing your part of a combined form. You gain the Gestalt Combiner (see page 39) or Matched Combiner (see page 40) General Perk. If you already have either of these Perks, you gain 1 additional Health instead. Efficient Combination You are well practiced at becoming your piece of a Combiner form. At 3rd level, it costs you only a Free action and 1 Energon Point to become part of a Combiner form (see page 43). Invigorating Connection When you merge with other members of a Combiner configuration, your chassis or those of your fellow Combiners are partially repaired. Starting at 6th level, at the end of the round where you successfully merge into some kind of Combiner form, all component members of the Combiner form regain 1 Health. Only 1 Health can be regained in this way, no matter how many component members might possess this Focus Perk. Better as One Something about your Spark makes your aptitudes apply in a stronger way within the melded mentality of the Combiner form. Upon reaching 10th level, any Skill Specializations you possess are also applied to the Skills of a Combiner form you are a component of. Additionally, you may spend 1 Energon Point from your personal Energon pool to give a combined form you are a component of the normal 1 bonus to a Skill Test (instead of spending from the combined form’s Energon pool, if any). Keep it Together! Your presence in a combined form holds the team together. Literally! Starting at 17th level, while you are merged into a Combiner form, that form can remain together after suffering significant damage solely due to your presence. Unlike a normal Combiner, which falls apart when more than half of the Combiner component members are reduced to 0 Health, a combined form you are merged with will not fall apart as long as you still have Health. Prime Component You represent the best and most capable of Combiner components. At 20th level, you may choose an additional Combiner feature (see page 42) to apply to any Combiner form you merge with. New Scientist Focus COUNSELOR Counselor Scientists understand the inner workings of a bot’s mind and Spark, helping their allies overcome their mental and emotional weaknesses. They can also wield their psychological tools against their foes as weapons. Essence Increase: Increase your Social Essence by 1 at 1st level, and again at 10th level. Froid Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

35 CHAPTER 2: COMBINER CHARACTERS TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination Focus Skills: Train or specialize in one of these Skills when your Focus gives you an Essence Increase: Animal Handling, Performance, or Persuasion. TABLE 2-10: COUNSELOR FOCUS LEVEL PERK 1st Psych 101 3rd Calming Words 6th Words Can Hurt! 10th Psychological Sway 17th Powerful Suggestions 20th Dominant Thought Psych 101 You are always studying the mental and emotional workings of others through academic learning and practical research. If you have any Specialization in the Science Skill, you gain 2 on all Culture Skill Tests concerning living beings. Calming Words You know how damaging a psychological setback can be, so you’ve studied the best ways to avoid and undo them even in the thick of battle. Starting at 3rd level, if you spend at least 30 minutes with a sentient being and succeed at a Persuasion Skill Test versus their Willpower or Cleverness Defense, the target receives Resistance to Psychic damage and any attacks that would impose the Frightened or Mesmerized conditions for the next 24 hours. In addition, you can spend a Free action and an Energon Point to attempt the same Skill Test to remove the Frightened or Mesmerized Conditions from a target. Words Can Hurt! After seeing the behavioral patterns of a target, you know a way to inflict staggeringly effective damage upon a target’s mental or emotional well-being. Upon reaching 6th level, you can spend a Move action to study a living target, allowing you to make a special attack against that creature. As a Standard action, attempt a Performance or Persuasion Skill Test against the target’s Willpower or Cleverness Defense. The Range of this attack is the range of your ability to communicate, and you must use a language the target understands. On a success, the target takes either 1 Psychic damage or gains the Frightened Condition for 2d2 rounds (your choice). The target becomes immune to this attack for the remainder of the scene when you succeed or if you Fumble. Psychological Sway A few words, anecdotes, or metaphors can alter the efficiency of one’s allies and enemies, and you are artful with them. At 10th level, when you Lend Assistance, you can grant 2 (instead of the normal 1) to any ally who can hear your voice and understand your words. Alternatively, as a Standard action, you can impose a 1 penalty on the next Skill Test of a living foe who can hear your voice and understand your words. Powerful Suggestions If you can get inside a target’s mind, you can subliminally urge them to remarkable greatness or terrible failure. Starting at 17th level, if you can hold a conversation with a target who can understand you for 30 minutes or more, you can suggest a specific Skill of theirs will either excel amazingly or catastrophically fail. A target that will excel amazingly turns their next Success with that Skill into a Critical Success. A target destined for terrible failure suffers 3 with that Skill until they prove you wrong with a Critical Success using it. Dominant Thought You have learned how to fully subvert and unlock the potential of a sentient mind. At 20th level, if you can hold a conversation with a target who can understand you for 10 minutes or more, you can set up any kind of Contingency action that the target must abide by. If the target is willing, there is no Skill Test necessary. If the target is unwilling (or unknowing), you must succeed at a Persuasion Skill Test versus their Willpower Defense. If the target is Asleep or Unconscious, you gain Edge on this roll. The Contingency action implanted with this Perk cannot be used to ask the target to harm themself or violate one of the target’s core beliefs. New Scout Focus SURVEYOR The Surveyor Scout maps out an area and calculates the best ways to utilize cover, terrain, constructions, and possibly more in just a few sweeping passes of their brilliantly tactical senses. Essence Increase: Increase your Speed Essence by 1 at 1st level, and again at 10th level. Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

36 TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME: THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination Focus Skills: Train or specialize in one of these Skills when your Focus gives you an Essence Increase: Driving, Infiltration, or Targeting. TABLE 2-11: SURVEYOR FOCUS LEVEL PERK 1st Cartography Suite 3rd Lay of the Land 6th Traps and Obstacles 10th Two Steps to the Right 17th Eidetic Geography 20th Perfect Placement Cartography Suite Your awareness and understanding of a topographical area are uncanny. As long as you are given at least 1 hour to look over an area (be it using existing data, collected map programs, old texts, or even just your own optical sensors), you receive several benefits when in that area. Your allies also gain these benefits as long as they are within 60 feet of you. • All per-hour and per-day travel pace rates (see page 169 of the Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook) are doubled. • You and your allies may still take Move actions when Surprised. • You and your allies have Resistance to all terrain or environmental-based sources of damage. Lay of the Land You know how to personally make the best out of your cartographic knowledge. Starting at 3rd level, you gain the following benefits when in the terrain you scouted for your Cartography Suite Focus Perk. • Unless it is imposed by not possessing a specific Movement type (Aquatic, Burrowing, Climb, or the like), you are immune to the effects of Rough Terrain. • You have Edge on all Infiltration and Survival Skill Tests. • You ignore the1 penalty imposed on ranged attacks from terrain or environmental-based Cover. Traps and Obstacles If given an opportunity to do so, you can use a combination of energy, spare equipment, and the local environment to create unique, one-use traps to stymie and potentially endanger trespassers. Upon reaching 6th level, by spending 1 Energon Point and using one non-Integrated weapon with some local environmental terrain (scrap materials or natural detritus), you may add the Proximity Bomb Weapon Upgrade (see page 128 of the Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook) to the weapon in question, ignoring the upgrade’s Prerequisite. This process takes 2d2 Standard actions’ worth of activity. When placed, the improvised trap attacks with the weapon’s own profile when triggered, Beachcomber Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

37 CHAPTER 2: COMBINER CHARACTERS TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination using your Survival Skill instead of the normal Technology Skill of a standard Proximity Bomb. Two Steps to the Right Your ability to make the most of your mapped-out surroundings is mastered enough to allow others to benefit from your expertise. At 10th level, as long as they have open communication with you, your allies within 60 feet benefit from your Lay of the Land Perk when you do. Eidetic Geography You now have an unerring and undeniable catalog of terrain and mapping facts within your mind that rivals some digital libraries of information. Whether from actual recalled data or matching and mixing applicable similarities, you now benefit from your Cartography Suite Perk after just 5 minutes of study. Perfect Placement You know where to find the sweet spot in every terrain. At 20th level, you add an additional benefit to your Lay of the Land Perk (though this can’t be shared with others via Two Steps to the Right). • You can dictate a 25-foot × 25-foot area of the scene that is a perfectly tactical location. While wholly within this location, you always have Cover, ignore other targets’ Cover in that area, gain +2 to your Evasion Defense, and gain 1 on the first Skill Test you make each round. New Warrior Focus PUGILIST Pugilist Warriors are masters of using their bodies, in both Bot and Alt Modes, with a remarkable degree of martial expertise. While normally reserved for fist fighters, this also includes more bestial unarmed attacks and vehicular methods of attack as well. Essence Increase: Increase your Strength Essence by 1 at 1st level, and again at 10th level. Focus Skills: Train or specialize in one of these Skills when your Focus gives you an Essence Increase: Athletics, Brawn, or Intimidation. TABLE 2-12: PUGILIST FOCUS LEVEL PERK 1st Puissance 3rd Brutal Might 6th Bump & Run 10th Sucker Punch 17th Again and Again and Again 20th Smash! Mudflap Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

38 TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME: THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination Puissance You are remarkably adept in using your raw body, no matter the Mode, as a weapon. You inflict 1 additional damage of the appropriate type for attacks that do not require any kind of hardpoint or weapon. This includes Unarmed strike, Claw, Bite, Bash, Ram, Fly-By, and any other attack the GM agrees should qualify. Brutal Might You are equally adept at using raw, unmitigated strength in place of skilled applications of force when in combat. Starting at 3rd level, any of your attacks that normally use the Might Skill can use your Brawn Skill instead. Additionally, these tests gain Edge if you are at least one Size Class larger than the target. Bump & Run Whether you slam foes against your fenders, topple them with the edge of your wings, or trample them beneath your hooves, your body is a fast-moving weapon. At 6th level, when using an attack that comes as standard with your Alt Mode (Ram, Fly-By, Claws, and so on), if you move at least 15 feet before making an attack, you gain 1 on the attack, and if you achieve a Critical Success, the target is Stunned until the end of their next turn. You must move at least 10 feet after making this attack, but if you cannot, you are Impaired until the end of your next turn. Sucker Punch Many combats are decided in the first few seconds, especially with your fast fists. Upon reaching 10th level, if you use any attack that is altered by your Puissance Focus Perk in the first round of a combat against a target that has yet to take an action, any success you achieve becomes a Critical Success. This Perk functions only once per scene. Again and Again and Again When you lay into a foe, your attacks become a blur of rising and falling blows. Starting at 17th level, if an attack that benefits from your Puissance Focus Perk successfully hits a target, you may choose to immediately make an additional identical attack against the same target at 1. If that attack hits, you may choose to make another additional identical attack against the same target with an additional 2 (for a total of 3). Only two additional such attacks can be taken in a single turn. Smash! You put your entire body into a devastating overhead attack, bringing all of your frame down onto a target with crater-making force. At 20th level, you can spend your Standard and Move action to make a single attack of a type modified by your Puissance Focus Perk against a target within Reach that is at least one Size Class smaller than you. On success, the attack deals 1 additional damage of the appropriate type per Size Class larger than the target you are and knocks the target Prone. Probat Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

39 CHAPTER 2: COMBINER CHARACTERS TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination General Perks Many of the following new General Perks have been designed to facilitate Combiner-based elements of play but are available to all Transformers Roleplaying Game characters. ALIEN COMPANION Prerequisite: Culture Skill d4 or higher You have befriended a non-Earthling, nonCybertronian alien being. You gain the primary language of the being in question. Also, choose two Essence Scores for your alien companion to concentrate on. Those two Essence Scores are equal to half your current level (round up) +1. Your alien companion purchases Skills and Specializations the same way as a standard PC. The Who is Your Companion to You? sidebar on page 109 of the Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook applies to alien companions just as it does for human ones. BALLISTICS PRECISION You are particularly adept at anticipating a target’s defensive movements with your ballistic weapons. Your attacks using a weapon with the Ballistic trait gain 1 at normal range. Contact Perks Contact Perks are ways for characters or teams to call upon aid in the middle of a scene. These are special General Perks that have their own rules. • Activating a Contact Perk requires the character with access to it to expend a Story Point and spend a Standard action. A Contact comes into play with a pool called Allegiance Points that fuels their abilities, usually starting at 3. • The Contact acts on initiative count 0, beginning on the turn they are summoned. • When a Contact’s turn begins, the players choose from a limited list of abilities listed specifically to that Contact. Each Contact action has a cost in Allegiance Points. • The Contact withdraws when it reaches 0 Allegiance Points or at the end of the scene, whichever instance happens first. CONTACT: COMBINER TEAM Prerequisite: 5th Level, must be of same faction as Combiner team You gain a connection to a Combiner Team that allows you to call upon their members and their Gestalt Megaform. The number of Allegiance Points this Contact has and their Contact Perks depend upon the team. Two examples—the Aerialbots and the Protectobots—are listed on page 98 and page 109, respectively. CONTACT: NEBULAN TECHNICIAN Prerequisite: Culture +d2, Technology +d2 A citizen of Nebulos is willing to lend you their gift for engineering. The Nebulan Technician has 3 Allegiance Points. Here, Let Me (1 Allegiance Point): You or an ally may ignore the Mounted or Reload trait of a weapon during the following round. I Brought a Little Something (2 Allegiance Points): All enemies in a 10-foot-radius burst suffer 2 Electromagnetic damage. Just a Little Adjustment (1 Allegiance Point): You or an ally either deal 1 additional damage with a successful attack during the following round or gain +1 to your Toughness or Evasion Defense until the Nebulan Technician’s next turn. GESTALT COMBINER Prerequisite: Maximum Energon Pool 3+ You can connect and combine with three or more specific beings, becoming equal parts of a larger, potentially more powerful, Combiner Megaform. Upon choosing this Perk, you may denote you are a member of a specific Gestalt Combiner team or that your allegiance varies. Pick a single Combiner feature (see page 42) that defines what asset your character brings to your Combiner Megaform. GESTALT HUNTER Prerequisite: Targeting d6 You are particularly skilled at picking apart combined enemy targets, focusing your attacks upon specific component members to incapacitate their combined form. Instead of suffering Snag to target a specific component in a Combined Form, you suffer 1. Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

40 TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME: THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination HEADMASTER BODY Prerequisite: Huge Size or larger You have been symbiotically linked with another sentient being (created by the GM) with access to a special Transtector Headmaster Rig. While in Bot Mode and linked to the being using the Headmaster Rig, you gain 1 to Skill Tests with Skills that being has at your Skill Rank or higher. Additionally, you possess the following Hang-Up: Headmaster Reliance: After being subjected to the linking process with the symbiotic Headmaster Rig, you can’t convert into your Bot Mode without the other member of the linked pair being adjacent to you. You must also spend an additional Free action to convert into your Bot Mode. HEADMASTER HEAD Prerequisite: Large or smaller You have been symbiotically linked with a Cybertronian using your special Transtector Headmaster Rig (see page 55). While linked to them in their Bot Mode, you grant them additional benefits (usually listed in their stats), use their statistics, and can’t be targeted directly without the attacker suffering 2. MARTIAL LEADERSHIP Prerequisite: Persuasion +d4 You are adept at using your physical skills and martial prowess to lead or dissuade others. Persuasion is a Strength Essence Skill for you in addition to a Social Essence Skill. As a Standard action, you can attempt a Persuasion Skill Test against a target’s Cleverness Defense. On a success, you can choose to either impose 1 on the target’s next Skill Test or grant Edge to the target’s next Skill Test. MATCHED COMBINER Prerequisite: Maximum Energon Pool 2+ You can connect and combine with one or two other specific beings, becoming equal parts of a larger, potentially more powerful, Combiner Megaform. Select a single Combiner feature (page 42) that defines what asset your character brings to your Combiner Megaform. OPPORTUNIST You are ready to act at a moment’s notice. Unless you are Surprised, you are allowed to set up a single Contingency action when you test Initiative at the beginning of a combat. That Contingency action stays ready for the duration of the scene or until it is triggered. POWERMASTER Prerequisite: Large Size or larger You have been paired up with another sentient being (often a Nebulan) who can, using a special Zarak Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

41 CHAPTER 2: COMBINER CHARACTERS TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination Transtector Powermaster Rig, convert into a matterto-Energon transference module, which provides the following benefits when attached to you. • You may draw upon a secondary, additional pool of 3 Energon Points created by the module per day. • If you are hit by Energy or Laser damage, the module regains 1 Energon Point, up to its maximum of 3. • Enemies can attack the module by targeting your Evasion and taking a 2 penalty. If the module suffers 4 or more damage in a single scene or 2 or more damage from a single attack, the linked being is Defeated, disconnecting from your chassis and returning to their normal form. SPARK OF THE ANCIENTS There is a bright and powerful reminder of the ancient progenitors in your Spark. Whether it is the flame of Solus’ truth, the light of Primus, or maybe even the sinister chaos of Unicron, you have untapped a powerful strain of energy inside of you. Your maximum Energon Pool is increased by 2, and you regain a single Energon Point at the beginning of any scene. You do, however, always register as having the highest amount of Energon in a scene for the purpose of scanners, Insecticon hunger, and other related effects. SYNAPTIC LINKAGE Prerequisite: Headmaster Body, Headmaster Head, Powermaster, or Targetmaster Your connection to another life form has evolved beyond a basic symbiosis. You are always aware in which direction your bonded being currently is and can roughly approximate how far away they are, as long as you are both in the same dimension or plane of reality. Once per scene, you gain Edge on any Skill Test in which both of you have at least a d2 Skill Level. Additionally, once per scene at the beginning of your turn, you can pass one Condition you are suffering from to your bonded being. TARGETMASTER Prerequisite: Large Size or larger You have been paired up with another Cybertronian Mini-Con whose Alt Mode is an alternate, more powerful weapon. When using your Targetmaster partner’s Special Attack, you always have Edge on the attack Skill Test. This Special Attack should be designed to be any kind of weapon you are Trained to use, but it deals 1 additional damage of the appropriate type. TITAN HARDPOINT UPGRADES Prerequisite: Huge Size or larger Your chassis’ integrated hardpoints have been upgraded to handle Titan-class weaponry (see pages 47-48). You ignore the Size-based requirements of any weapon installed into your Integrated Hardpoints, but each weapon requires an additional Hardpoint. UNIVERSAL COMPONENT Prerequisite: You don’t have the Gestalt Combiner or Matched Combiner General Perk. You do not need to spend a Story Point to merge with other beings with the Gestalt Combiner or Matched Combiner General Perk, allowing you to “stand in” for any normal member of a Combiner team. You must still spend the Energon Points and Standard action to merge. VOICE OF PRIMUS Prerequisite: Huge Size or larger When you speak, everyone listens. Even if they don’t want to, they cannot help but feel the weight of your words. First, you can be heard clearly, if you wish, up to a half a mile away. Second, you can attempt a DIF 12 Persuasion Skill Test to Lend Assistance to any ally that can hear your voice. Finally, as a Standard action, you can attempt an Intimidation or Performance Skill Test against a target’s Willpower Defense. On a success, you deal 1 Psychic damage or impose the Frightened Condition on them for 2d2 rounds. Combiner Rules A player who wants their character to be part of a larger Gestalt Combiner will need to take the Gestalt Combiner or Matched Combiner General Perk, depending on how many others are part of the team. These Perks are available through the Gestalt Member Influence (see page 22), the Component Ace Modemaster Focus (see page 33), or through the General Perk feature of any role in the Transformers Roleplaying Game. Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

42 TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME: THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination With one of these Perks, the character will gain the ability to merge into a Combiner form. The Combined Form’s Statistics Use the following to calculate the statistics of a Combiner form: • The Combiner form acts as one single being, unless stated otherwise. • The Combiner form’s Size Class is based on the number of component members. A Combiner duo or trio is one Size Class larger than its largest component. A Combiner Gestalt Megaform is Towering (or Titanic if at least one component is Gigantic). • The Combiner form has an array of Health based upon its component members. Instead of adding all the components’ Health together into one sum, it is divided into component pieces. For example, a Combiner trio with components who have 5, 5, and 4 Health doesn’t have a Health of 14; their Health is instead represented as 5/5/4. • The Combiner form uses the highest Essence Scores of its component members. These set the base Defenses of the Combined Form. • The component member who contributes their Essence Score to the Combiner form also sets the combined form’s Skill Ranks associated with that Essence Score. • Only specifically noted Role Perks and General Perks possessed by the components apply to the combined form. Combiner features always apply. • The Combiner form benefits from the lowest bonuses to each Defense from armor upgrades possessed by the component members. • The Combiner form uses the slowest rates of the Movement Types of its component members’ Bot Modes. • The Combiner form has a base maximum of Energon Points equal to half the number of Energon Points spent to assume the combined form (rounding up). • Other rules for how a Combiner form attacks, deals and takes damage, uses Energon, and performs other combat-related activities are found below. COMBINER FEATURES The following Combiner features can be chosen by characters who take the Gestalt Combiner or Matched Combiner General Perk to shape the collective efficacy of the combined form. Additional Movement: The Combiner form gains a second Movement Type based on your Alt Mode’s Movement Type. Armored Defense: Increase the bonus to the Combiner form’s Toughness Defense from armor upgrades by 1. Commander: You are de facto leader of your Gestalt Combiner team, and your personality shines the strongest when combined. Note your two highest Essence Scores (choose in the case of equal values) and increase each of those Essence Scores of the Combined Form by 1 (increasing two associated Skills accordingly). This Combiner feature can only apply to Combiner forms of Gigantic Size or larger, and a Combiner form can only ever benefit from this Combiner feature once. Core Essence: Choose an Essence Score. Increase that Essence Score of the Combiner form by 1 (increasing one associated Skill accordingly, though you must have that same Skill at d4 or higher). Core Body: When merged into your Combiner form, double your base Health to calculate the component Health values of the combined form. This Combiner feature can only apply to Combiner forms of Gigantic Size or larger. Enhanced Attack: Choose one of your current attacks to become enhanced while you are merged in a Combiner form, dealing twice as much damage. If the attack is used as one of the Combiner forms basic attacks, it deals 1 additional damage of the appropriate type. Enhanced Initiative: Your Combiner form gains Edge on Initiative Skill Tests. Enhanced Move: Add +10 feet to one of the Combiner form’s Movement Types. Safe Release: When you are forced to leave a Combiner form, no matter the reason, you do so with at least 1 Health, even if you were momentarily reduced to 0 Health to cause your separation. This Combiner feature only applies to Combiner forms of Gigantic Size or larger. Skill Expertise: Choose two Skills that you possess at d4 or higher. While you are merged, the Combiner form receives 1 to each of these Skills. Titan Hardpoint: Your Combiner Megaform manifests a specified Titan-class Weapon (see Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

43 CHAPTER 2: COMBINER CHARACTERS TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination page 49) and an External Titan Hardpoint to wield it. This Combiner feature only applies to Combiner forms of Gigantic Size or larger. Universal Receptors: When merging with Combiner-capable NPCs, you and your allies spend 1 fewer Story Point (to a minimum of 0). Merging Into a Combined Form The Enigma of Combination alters life-forms, giving them the ability to merge into a Combiner form, sometimes into a massive Megaform! The following rules apply to different Combiner teams during a fight; outside of combat, the characters need only spend the Energon Points listed to merge into their Combiner form. Matched Combiners: Each member of a Combiner duo or trio must spend 2 Energon Points and a Standard action to begin the merging process. If, at the end of the round, all component members are within Reach of at least one other component member, they begin the next round in their combined form, which tests its own Initiative Skill to determine its place in the Initiative order. Gestalt Combiners: Each member of a Gestalt Combiner team (which should have at least four members) must spend 3 Energon Points and a Standard action to begin the merging process. If, at the end of the round, all component members are within Reach of at least one other component member, they begin the next round in their combined Megaform, which tests its own Initiative Skill to determine its place in the Initiative order. Other Cybertronians: A PC without either of the requisite General Perks can spend a Story Point (as well as the listed Energon Points and Standard action) to merge with other Combiner components for a single scene. At least one member of the combined form must have the ability to merge, and only one PC without the General Perks can join a combined form in this manner at a time. NPCs: If one or more Combiner-capable PCs merge with Combiner-capable NPCs, the PCs must spend a Story Point for each NPC they are combining with (in addition to the normal Energon Point cost) each time they combine. Fighting Combiners The one truism touted by anyone who has been changed by the Enigma of Combination is that Combiners are stronger together than they are apart. Whether through a quickly snapped-together duo, a trio stacked on top of one other, or a team full of Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

44 TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME: THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination warriors merging into a massive Gestalt titan, the concept of Combiners brings a new level to the never-ending fight between factions of Cybertronians. In a narrative sense, Combiners are formed of components who each add a piece of their personality and martial aptitudes to the Gestalt form. They give up their individuality to create a new, powerful being capable of inflicting and withstanding more punishment in combat. In game terms, Combiner forms operate under a slightly different set of rules in combat. Once their base statistics have been calculated using the Essence Scores, Skills, and Combiner features of its component members (see The Combined Form’s Statistics), there are a few notable considerations to how to fully utilize Combiners in combat. SIZE MATTERS Why don’t Gestalt teams stay in their combined state all the time? Well, being that big isn’t always a benefit. For instance, the team might need to perform a mission in an area where their normal Bot Modes can barely fit. But more importantly, in the Essence20 Roleplaying System, an attacker suffers a penalty when trying to hit a target that is much smaller than they are (see Table 9-2: Size Class Combat Adjustment Matrix on page 153 of the Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook). A GM can decide that Skill Tests for actions where size matters might also use the Adjustment Matrix, such as when a character the size of building tries to hide behind a small car. Though context does matter, as the same character could potentially try to hide in a field of redwoods without penalty. Conversely, a GM might decide not to apply the Adjustment Matrix to attacks where size doesn’t really matter, such as for the rare psychic attack. A COMBINER FORM’S ACTIONS A Combiner form is a single entity. Once you’ve determined the form’s Speed Essence, calculate the number of actions it can perform in a turn the same way as any other Essence20 character. The Combiner form uses these actions also in the same way as any other character, though who decides what those actions are depends on the individual components. If a Combiner form is made up of a single PC and an assortment of NPCs, the player character is obviously in charge of the Combiner form’s actions. In the cases where multiple PCs make up a Combiner form, the players might either decide what the Combiner form does by consensus or trade off control over the Combiner form from one round to the next. Advice on ways this could work can be found in Chapter 5. A COMBINER FORM’S ATTACKS Every Combiner form has at least two basic attacks: one unarmed strike and one ranged attack. These are calculated using the existing attack profiles of the component members as follows: • The unarmed strike of a Combiner is based on a single component member’s unarmed combat, ram, fly-by, or natural (claws, jaws, spines, and so on) attack; this unarmed strike’s reach increases to that of the Combiner form’s Size and the base damage is either doubled (for Combiner duos or trios) or tripled (for Gestalt Combiners). • The basic ranged attack of a Combiner is based on a single component member’s ranged attack with a weapon installed in their Integrated Hardpoints; this ranged attack’s range and base damage is either doubled (for Combiner duos or trios) or tripled (for Gestalt Combiners). If no components have a ranged weapon installed in their Integrated Hardpoints, the Combiner can still wield a regular weapon in their External Hardpoints (see below). • Gestalt Combiners can also benefit from Titanclass weaponry if at least one of their component members possesses the Titan Hardpoint Combiner feature. • A Combiner has two External Hardpoints, plus one Integrated Hardpoint for each component member of the Combiner form. The Combiner can wield regular weapons in these Hardpoints, usually scaled up to their size (see Chapter 3), but at least one component member must be Qualified to use the normal size of that weapon. TAKING DAMAGE AS A COMBINER FORM As mentioned above, a Combiner form has an array of Health values that represents the components’ individual Health. Whenever an enemy attacks a Combiner form, they must choose to attack the Combiner as a whole or attempt to single out a specific component member. In either case, the Combiner form’s Size is used to modify the attack in question, but an attacker that tries to focus on one component member suffers Snag on the attack. If a game effect would impose a Condition on the Combiner form, that attack or effect must target the Combiner as a whole. Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

45 CHAPTER 2: COMBINER CHARACTERS TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination If an attack successfully hits the Combiner as a whole, the total damage inflicted is divided as equally as possible between all active component members; if it can’t be distributed equally, determine randomly which component members take the damage, but each component should take 1 damage before another member takes a second point of damage. If an attack successfully hits a specific component member, all the damage is applied to that member’s portion of the Combiner form’s Health array. If a component member’s individual Health is reduced to 0, they are no longer considered active and any attacks or powers they contribute to the Combiner form can no longer be used, though their Combiner features still apply. Additionally, since that component member is no longer able to take damage for the whole, the other components of the Combiner will be more likely to take greater amounts of damage. When more than half of a Combiner form’s component members are no longer active, the Combiner is Defeated and breaks apart into its component members, each falling Prone within the space and Reach of the Defeated Combiner. Using Energon Points as a Combiner Form A Combiner form’s Energon Point pool is comprised of the Energon spent by the components to merge (see page 43). A Combiner can spend its Energon Points in specific ways. The following list replaces the Using Energon Points list found on page 105 of the Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook. • Gain 1 to a Skill Test; • Ignore Snag; • Postpone breaking apart from a Combiner form for 1d2 turns by spending 1 Energon Point per currently combined component member (whether active or not); • Activate particular Perks, equipment, or other game effects as noted in their descriptions. Note that a Combiner form doesn’t regenerate Energon in most standard ways but can still receive Energon from an outside source. Additionally, all Energon Points remaining in a Combiner form’s pool are lost when it breaks apart! Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

46 TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME: THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

47 CHAPTER 3: COMBINER ARMORY TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination Cybertronians come in a vast variety of sizes, from the diminutive Mini-Cons all the way up to the city-sized Titans. With so many different shapes and sizes found on all sides of the many conflicts these populations have and continue to endure, it makes sense that there are weapons and armor upgrades for every scale of warrior. Larger combatants, like Combiner forms, need larger weapons. And their foes need equally massive weapons to take them down! This chapter presents rules for making existing weapons larger, sections of new weapons and armor upgrades, and an examination of specialized equipment, including artifacts such as The Enigma of Combination! Upscaling Weapons Many different weapons can be found in the Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook and its sourcebooks, such as blasters, machine guns, and element jets. In game mechanics, there isn’t a difference between a blaster wielded by a Common-sized Autobot and one used by a Huge Decepticon. However, sometimes you might want the blows dealt by a Gigantic combatant to pack a little extra punch. Using the following rules, you can scale up Essence20 weapons for characters of larger Size Classes. How To Upscale Weapons Weapons used by Large, Long, Huge, and Extended characters should remain unchanged, but for armaments used by Gigantic and larger characters, consult Table 3-1: Weapon Size Class Modifications to see what changes should be made. No matter how large a weapon gets, its category, classification, and most of its traits remain unchanged. In addition, if a weapon requires any special costs to use (such as Energon Points), those values are also unchanged if it is upscaled. TABLE 3-1: WEAPON SIZE CLASS MODIFICATIONS SIZE CLASS AVAILABILITY REQUIREMENTS RANGE1,2 EFFECTS ALTERNATE EFFECTS AREA OF EFFECT2 TRAITS Gigantic– Extended II Up 1 level Size Class3 or Brawn d6 +30% +1 damage — +50% — Towering– Extended III Up 2 levels (maximum Prototypical) Size Class3 +60% +2 damage Trip +100% or add Blast: 5ft radius — Titanic Up 2 levels (maximum Unique) Size Class3 — +4 damage Trip +200% or add Blast: 15ft radius Titan-Class, Rewcker 1 Applies only to ranged weapons 2 Round up to the nearest 5ft increment 3 The Size Class the weapon has been upscaled to CHAPTER 3: COMBINER ARMORY Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.

48 TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME: THE ENIGMA OF COMBINATION TRANSFORMERS ROLEPLAYING GAME Enimga of Combination As an example, upscaling a standard blaster (page 121 of the Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook) into a weapon for a character of Towering Size would result in the following stat block. BLASTER (TOWERING SIZE) A standard one-handed blaster. Category: Weapon Availability: Restricted Classification: Targeting sidearm projectile Requirements: Towering Range: 40ft/130ft Hands: 1 Effects: 3 Sharp damage Blast: 5ft radius Alternate Effects: Trip (added from No Alternate Effects) Traits: Ballistic, Titan-class Here is another example, this time upscaling an energized close combat weapon (page 124 of the Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook) into a weapon for a character of Titanic Size. VOLCANICUS’ BROADSWORD (TITANIC SIZE) A white-hot, cleaver-like blade wielded by the rare instance where Grimlock’s Dinobots are altered by the Enigma of Combination, becoming the unstoppable Volcanicus. Category: Weapon Availability: Unique Classification: Finesse or Might sidearm element Requirements: Titanic Range: Reach Hands: 1 Effects: 5 Fire damage Alternate Effects: Intimidating, Maneuver, Trip Traits: Computerized, Fire, Reload, Titan-class, Wrecker Size and Number of Hardpoints There are some considerations when a character of a drastically larger or smaller Size Class tries to wield or attach a weapon made for a different Size Class in their Hardpoints. • A weapon that is three or more Size Classes smaller than your Modes’ smallest Size requires only 1 Hand/ Hardpoint to wield, regardless of the weapon’s statistics. • A weapon that is three Size Classes larger than your Modes’ largest Size requires 2 Hands/ Hardpoints to wield, regardless of the weapon’s statistics. • A weapon that is four or more Size Classes larger than your Modes’ largest Size can’t be wielded normally, instead requiring special modifications or GM permissions, regardless of the weapon’s statistics. Volcanicus Downloaded by Elijah Kidd on 6/29/2024 . Unauthorized distribution prohibited.