The HallMonitor
(Spider)
These machines were made by Orbital Industries as a means of keeping H.I.V.E. occupants under control and enforce curfew. Their design features voice boxes, and monitors for heads to maintain a friendly demeanor towards those that were doing nothing wrong.
After the disaster on the moon they started to malfunction as a result of lacking maintenance and outdated assignment parameters. With their voiceboxes spouting erratic messages, they attack everyone they identify as H.I.V.E inhabitant should they be encountered in low light environments.
B-Class Hall Monitor
(Cave spider)
The B-Class Hall Monitor is the successor to the common A-Class Hall Monitor
Development of the B-Class Hall Monitor began before the Event when numerous security officers complained about the A-Class Hall Monitor's bulky size which rendered them unable to fit in certain areas throughout the Cocoons. This lead to O.I.'s engineers reducing the size of the Hall Monitor which had the positive side effect of cutting production costs by 45%. To compensate for the less intimidating outer appearance 2 extras were installed in the B-Class.
Firstly: An inbuilt Barbed Wire Reel in the abdomen part of the Hall Monitor which allows it to lay down barbed wire in corridors to act like a barricade/road block to slow down those disobeying curfew,
Secondly: An injector on the Hall Monitor's head containing a poison similiar to "Corrosive poison". While extremely painfull the poison would never kill a curfew breaker on its own.
Curfew breaking went down by 40% with the introduction of these new Hall Monitors.
After the Event B-Class Hall Monitors still lurk in the Cocoons but are highly uncommon when compared to their more common predecessors and can be nasty surprise for any unwary scavenger.
The Lost
(Zombie)
Originally people who were denied acces to the H.I.V.E.s or attempted to set forth to find pure land again, these creatures are the result of radiation induced mutations. Little is known about them, but they are considered to be the creators of the scrap-shack villages that litter the badlands .
Desperate survivors might feed of their flesh, but will find out that it's heavily contaminated by radiation.
Bandit
(Skeleton)
Hungry, sick, cold and fighting for survival. These men are just as afraid of you as you are afraid of them, except they have a Fire Arm and they are not afraid to use it.
A huge majority of these bandits were once residents of the Cocoons (all the people who were denied access to the Cocoons became the Lost) and wear gear that’s strong enough to repel desert storms or other harsh climates.
Due to the their fears they have become paranoid to the point where they will shoot first and ask questions later, although sometimes they can overcome their fears and band together in groups of 3 to 4 bandits.
Hall Riders
(Spider jockey)
These men were once residents of the Cocoons, however these bandits used to work in the maintenance department and are more technically inclined. By simply opening up a panel on a Hall Monitor's abdomen, cutting a few wires, a quick reprogram of the Hall Monitor's memory and hey presto! they have a metal steed. Unfortunately not many people have the knowledge of the Hall Monitor's circuitry.
Huggatron
(Creeper)
One of the now most disturbing remnants of Orbital Industries, they were originally made as children's babysitters, with the trademark "hugging arms." They were exceptionally popular, but when the Huggatron 2 was released, it was just the same thing with a music player and minor design differences, which caused the sales to plument.
During the war the Huggatrons were repurposed as suicide bots, with their trademark arms and voicebox removed, filled with explosives and programmed to explode their nuclear core when close enough to their target.
The mocked Huggatron 2 proved to be more resilent than its predecessor, and so they still roam the wastes, searching for enemies to hug.
If you are lucky, a Bandit might fluke and destroy a Huggatron, but leave the music cartridge inside intact.
Experiment
(Enderman)
These twisted cyborgs are former humans who were sujected to a torturous upgrading process, supposedly by Hypophysos H. Crocopolous. The malformed product shows no signs of higher cognitive abillities apart from manical laughter.
The first reported appearance of an experiment was in 1 BE when one teleported into an Orbital Industries office building and ripped appart ist foundation and column supports, killing two hundred office workers in the resulting collapse.
The experiments are not necessarily aggresive but their killing instinct is triggered when eye contact is made. Contact with water is known to damage their mechanical implants, among them the Croc Co power core which replaces their spine and allows them to teleport short distances.
Rust roach
(Silverfish)
Scientist prophecied that roaches would outlive man and humanity is well on the way to prove them right. While the number of humans on earth declines the roaches find new ways to adapt for example by growing imensely large and eat metal. This life form is called “Rust roach” and lives inside the walls of some H.I.V.E.s
Masked Outcast
(Witch)
Once in a while one of the Masked submits to madness which isn’t suprising considering their daily lifes. Being clothed from head to foot almost 24 hours a day, struggeling for food and clean water while threatened by diseases, monsters and robots takes its toll on the psyche. The Masked are very tolerant towards extravagant behaviour, but their sympathy ends when you saw open your fellow Masked, harvest their brains and defecate into their eviscerated guts (which is considered improper behaviour in most cultures).
This is where a gruesome tradition of the Masked comes into play…
The offender is branded by getting a (damaged) traffic cone nailed to his head and shunned from the village.
The cone serves as a symbol of shame and as a warning to others not to trust the Outcast. The nails are dipped into the village’s hazmat vats to cause slow and steady radiation poisoning and often the victim mutates into one of the Lost.
Trying to pull the cone off the head means risking severe brain damage and massive loss of skin tissue.
There are 7 different known cones that are used to brand outcasts, each of these cones has a meaning to. The perpetrator gets knocked out first with a Knock-o-Matic before having the cone nailed onto their head.
Masked children also get coned, but since they are innocent and naive the cones are not nailed down, instead they have to wear on their head for few days/weeks so that others can ridicule them.
The “Seven sins cone code”:
Green with black base: Green cones with black bases are used to mark villagers who do dangerous alchemy or who are quacks. Village doctors mostly get coned when they accidentally kill their patients with an overdose or the wrong medicine.
Green: Green is used to brand outcasts who are lazy. Why should the village bother feeding someone who doesn't contribute to society? Food and water are already scarce enough as it is.
Orange: Orange is for those who have been branded as thieves, stealing hydrazine is a big no-no among the Masked.
Orange with black base: This particular cone is used to brand Masked who are selfish and greedy. Hiding hydrazine in stashes and keeping it away from the others village folk is not a kind thing to do, sharing is caring after all.
Red with black base: These cones are used to mark Masked who have committed rape and or debauchery. Nobody likes a pedophile
Red: Red is used to brand outcasts that are violent or murderers, killing is never a good thing in Masked society.
Scrap metal: These crudely made cones out of scrap metal are nailed to Masked that display odd behavior. Most Masked fear that these particular types have started to mutate into the Lost so, just to be safe, they kick them out of the village.
Outcasts have a tendency to retreat to pre-war field labs that were established in the swamps after the Event to study the effects of the radiating moon fallout. Thanks to their basic knowledge of chemistry to create the tuberculosis medicine they are always able to use the equipment left there to create potions for themselves. The side effects of those experiments include, among other things (like long tentacle like noses), a very fast body regeneration which makes Outcasts dangerous foes for an unprepared survivor.
Mutant Scientist
(Zombie pigman)
Unlucky scientists left behind by Orbital Industries on the moon. Their prolonged exposure to hazardous waste and cosmic radiation has left them heavily mutated despite their hazmat suits.
They communicate via short-range radio equipment.
SecurAll
(Ghast)
These flying machines were intended for hazardous waste recycling and security duty in the moon mining areas. Armed with concealed weaponry they'd give of a siren warning before opening fire on any potential intruder. The sirens have since malfunctioned, but the explosive charge launching mechanism remains intact.
P.W.C
(Magma cube)
The Portable Waste Collector (P.W.C) was deployed by Orbital Industries to speed up the clean-up the destroyed the Moon. The quad-springs underneath the P.W.C let it jump to an extensive height and prevent damage to vital parts from falling. This enables the P.W.C to jump out of the hazardous pools of waste with ease.
After the O.I scientists had met their awful fate, the P.W.C's had no one to mantain them. Unaware that their storage units are filled to the brim, they seek to compress everything they deem waste, in an attempt to to collect it.
-Freely adapted from Spiffycat, Orbital Industries engineer
He 3-Excavator
(Blaze)
The Helium-3 Isotope Excavator was one of Orbitals cash cows before the Event. They would harvest Helium out of the lunar soil and centrifugalize it in small containers lifted by them through rotating magnetic fields. The collected He-3 isotope would be compressed and stored in rods. Upon the explosion of the moon the Excavators were left on their own, collecting helium until they were full to the brim and subsequently start to go haywire. Ejecting superheated helium plasma at anything that walks by they can only be deactivated through destruction or a hand full of dust and snow which leads to the explosion of their already overfilled helium reservoirs.
Construction Robot
(Wither skeleton)
The binary load lifter and construction robot Mk-8 (LLC-8) was one of Mr. Historys early works. This useful work robot was both deployed all over earth for construction and lifting purposes and also were vital in the construction of the laboratories on the moon.
After the Event the stranded scientist on the moon developed paranoia and equipped their work robots with voice boxes and rocket launchers to shoot down alien crafts which they believed were invisible and bent on invading the moon labs. Over time however the robots ran out of rockets since their demented masters staged too many maneuvers. Overall the armature project was a success since no alien craft remains to be seen on the moon... at least that's what they want you to believe!
Ever since the LLC's roam the moon labs attacking anything they deem "alien" with their construction arms and whatever construction material they can get their manipulators on.
The greatest danger they pose stems from leaking chemical ducts. The excreted chemicals posses corrosive and almost disease like properties, rapidly spreading throughout ones body should they ever come into contact with the skin.
Grenade Operating Robot Terminator
(Wither)
The GORT was created by O.I. for military use. The prototype was equipped with 2 grenade launchers using new chemical rocket-propelled grenades.
The grenades that were used to hold the new chemical which was called “wither” turned out to be insufficently sealed. The wither leaked onto some of the GORT’s circuits, destroying its IFF system.
In 5BE the GORT was transferred to the “Belly” for testing. Over a hundred scientists and investors watched as it was turned on, but instead of only attacking the training dummies the GORT shot at and murdered almost everyone in the room watching.
In 4BE the project was officially shut down and all records of its existence were to be destroyed.
Around 3BE there was a rumour flying in the OI research facilities that some of the drones on the moon had the data and were compatible to be used to make GORTs.
SKUL
(Snow golem)
The SKUL waste collection robot was devised to collect waste of all kinds and compress it into neat little cubes. In the aftermath of the Event a design flaw made itself known as the SKUL units overencumbered themselves with moondust. Filled to the brim they would leave trails of dust whereever they they walked. Wastelanders with minimal knowledge in robotics can program them to eject balls of compressed dust on targets designated by its owner.
Giant Rat
(Pig)
Large rats, which make a good source of food, if you don't mind the smell, taste, potential diseases and the mystery cartilages growing within their muscles.
It might be for the best if you don't think about what you're eating.
Giant Rats, being the monstrous vermin that they are, will readily reproduce with one another in order to multiply their numbers and ensure their survival. This process can be greatly sped up by the use of fresh vegetables such as carrots, which are hard to come by after the Event and the subsequent war.
Vegetables are also useful for taming these wild vermin: by carefully attaching a saddle to the back of one and luring it with a carrot tied to a makeshift fishing rod, one can create a surprisingly speedy steed out of these creatures.
Stoneback
(Cow)
The result of heavy breeding and mutation experiments on cows, their name is slang for Bos primigenius lapis. Originally intended as tough livestock that could survive in extreme environments , the resulting creature had meat that was declared "unfit for consumption," as it tasted terrible.
During the war it escaped into the wild, and high radiation led to the stonebacks loosing their fur but gaining hardened bone-like plates on it's back, and caused some to grow a third (or fourth) eye.
Their hide can be used as armor, and is commonly fashioned into makeshift protective gear.
Despite their wild habitat, Stonebacks stay true to their farming origins and will readily breed with one another. They have all been mentally conditioned to do as long as they have access to enough food and especially clean water.
AWR
(Sheep)
The AWR was an invention of the Lost. They were programmed to search the wastes and attract metal scrap and machine parts with an electromagnet and deliver them back. With the Lost no longer capable to remove the collected metal the AWRs continue to roam around until they are relieved of their burden which can be done using a simple pair of pliers.
As a result of an interesting design flaw that involved a programming glitch with its rudimentary A.I., the AWR will short circuit and dump a sizable collection of metallic parts off of its exterior when exposed to purified water. This scrap heap actually synchronizes its electromagnetic signature with that of its parent, which results in the spontaneous construction of a new, smaller AWR. The new unit will then begin gathering resources in order to expand itself into a full-sized AWR. This process requires two different AWRs to produce the required amount of material for construction, and it was never fully taken advantage of by the Lost due to their descent into disease-ridden madness.
Mobile Munitions Machine (3M)
(Chicken)
These little guys were made carry extra ammunition and supplies for soldiers during the war. Orbital Industries purchased a great quantity for use on the H.I.V.E.'s. While the war is over now, these things (inexpensive and inefficient as they were) can still be found wandering about the wastes.
They carry a small propulsion system which is instrumental in making your ranged weapons.
It's not uncommon to find a lazy lizzard within the warm and relativley secure confines of the triple M.
Each 3M unit is equipped with a self replication protocol as well as an array of small tools which allows as little as two 3M to create a so-called “4M” (Miniature Mobile Munitions Machine) within seconds. The 4M will at first be folded into a more compact and stable form until it has completed a long start-up check upon which it will unfold and be ready for service.
Despite such an efficient self-replication method greatly reducing production costs of the 3M (explaining their low price and widespread distribution), it still needs standardized construction. An empty water purifier per “parent” 3M will do fine.
The Masked
(Villagers)
The Masked are the what remains of the original Lost. Contrary to their unlucky brethren they had access to rebreathers and gas mask which prevented the radioactive contamination of their respiratory systems. After the mutating effects of the radiation became apparent,
the Masked left the Lost in order to save themselves.
Forming small settlements with thick walls against the still present radiation the Masked concentrated on keeping their surroundings as clean as possible to escape their fellow survivors horrible fate. But even though they managed to set up water purifiers and hold onto the technology they had salvaged during their time as Lost they weren’t spared by illness and mutation.
All Masked suffer from hydrocephaly which led to them never taking of their mask in pointless shame of their deformed heads.
Furthermore, due to their weakened immune system, the Masked are plagued by a strand of tuberculosis. Source of the infections are the bovine stonebacks which the Masked heavyly rely on for food and clothing.
In order to keep the illness in check the Masked require hydrazine for the synthesis of isoniazid and other chemical compounds for their medicines. Their main source for this chemical are rare finds of space debris, mainly satellites, who stock lots of hydrazine tanks as fuel. Another source of hydrazine is the trade with scavangers who salvage H.I.V.E emergency power generators.
Due to their chronic illness the Masked evade any combat if possible and rely on robotic defenders and profitable trade agreements to ensure their safety. The Lost however seem to harbor a particular grudge against the Masked and regulary bond together to raid villages.
Maybe somewhere deep down inside the Lost remember their shared past…
Guardian
(Iron Golem)
The Guardians are the Masked’s first and only line of defense against hostiles of all kind. These towering and resource-intensive robots are created in a group effort by the Masked and attack their enemies by throwing them high up into the air. The bigger the settlement, the higher the chances are for them to contain skilled robo-mechanics and therefore Guardians.
SP Eye
(Bat)
The SP eye hover camera is a robot designed to aid a H.I.V.E’s supervisor at enforcing the curfew in addition to the stationary O.I.V.E.Y system and the Hall Monitors. At day the cameras attatch themselves to the ceiling to recharge their batteries and act as stationary surveilance device, at night they swarm around in the H.I.V.E on the lookout for any rule breaker.
Dog
Many residents of the various H.I.V.E's attempted to bring their household pets with them but were forced to set them free before taking residence in the cocoon.
Left to their own devices, the now wild dogs formed packs, roamed the wastes and cross-bred with wild timber wolves. Over the years they would eventually breed into a single, strong, mixed breed.
For reasons unknown they have developed minor telepathic abbilities, comunicating their thoughts both through barks and single words directly projected into the mind of anyone in close vicinity. Despite talking, they're not too bright and will knowingly jump into various hazards.
Offering them food or entertaining toys (things that qualify for one or both of these categories might ocasionally be found within a bandits loot bag) allows you to recruit a loyal follower, to keep you company in this desolate world. Dog is after all, mans best friend.
Dogs are quite eager to breed, and simply by feeding one a few slabs of raw meat, it will immediately begin searching for a doggy companion. Because of dogs’ incredible ability to adapt to a hostile environment, they seem to be completely immune to the poisoning effects of infected flesh, making the severed extremities of the Lost ideal as a breeding catalyst.
Cat
Much has changed for the house cats since the Event. Stranded in the wastes, alone and without their walking can openers to care for them they retreated into the rubble of the antenna facilities where they’d find food and shelter. However radiation and pollution have taken their toll on the cats, leaving them riddled with mutations, wounds and most interestingly always with a third eye. The cats cautiousness has amplified over the years but so has their curiosity. If they are offered fish to which they don’t have access anymore they are likely to follow the donator in hope of more food, shelter, games and belly rubs.
Cats come in a variety of breeds, and can be cross-bred to produce different results. Raw fish are what cats like best, so feeding them some will almost always perk them up into a better mood, where they will readily breed with any nearby felines of the same mindset.