Deathwalker/ Death Knight: Necrotic Mechs

Raptor · **Posted:** Mon Mar 10, 2008 3:30 pm

These 2 mechs were made the rules for Necrotic Steel & Necrotic Engines from Steam Warriors. These mechs are not pure necromantic mechs, but use negative energy to run an alternate version of the steam engine. I am going to post the Deathwalker first even though it is the larger of the two, because I recently realized I had an error in the Death Knight (Huge mech), and I haven't fixed it yet. Here are the stats for the Death Walker.

Size: Colossal
Power Source: Necrotic engine
Payload Units: 24
Height: 35 ft.
Space/Reach: 15 ft. by 15 ft./ 15 ft.
Crew: 4 (weapons 5)
Firing Ports: 13
Hit Dice: 24
Hit Points: 132
Critical Thresholds: Green; Yellow 59; Orange 26; Red 7
Base Initiative: -1
Speed: 40 ft.
Maneuverability: Average
AC: 2
Hardness: 15 (Necrotic Steel, Armor Plating, Colossal)
Base Melee Attack: +4
Base Ranged Attack: -1
Unarmed Damage: 1d12+12
Trample: Largest large; Safe medium; Damage 4d6
Saves: Fort +2, Ref -2, Will -
Abilities: Str 34, Dex 8, Con -, Int -, Wis -, Cha -
Mechcraft DC: 41
Base Planning Time: 82 days
Base Cost: 8,447 gp
Total Cost: 46,600 gp
Labor Time: 5,120 man-hours
Construction Time: 48 days (10 avg. laborers + 5 undead laborers +1 overseer) plus magic item creation time
Special: Armor Plating, Extra Wpn Mounts (+8 PU), Gearwright Maintenance, Necrotic Engine, Necrotic Steel

Payload Usage

Code:

PU       Use 
4        Crew 
20       Onboard Weaponry

Onboard Weaponry - Deathwalker

Code:

Location  Arc of Fire     Weapon(dam, range, Other)                                    PU Crew 
Right Arm  melee       +1 Frost Gargantuan Steam Ripper (2d12+13(slash)+1d6 Cold or    8  1
                                                        2d8+13(Bldgn)+1d6 Cold/x4) 
Torso     180 Forward     Linked Large Shredder (1d8, 150)                             2  1
Torso     180 Forward     Linked Large Shredder (1d8, 150)                             2  1
Left Arm  180 Forward     +2 Chain Tentacle (2d8+2,100)                                8  3

The big advantage of the necrotic engine is that its negative energy heals undead tissue it built into, Which the Necrotic Steel of which this mech is built counts as. It heals 24 hp (equal to HD) every day. It also does not need fuel to run, only water. The disadvantage is that the # of HD of the mech is limited by the amount of HD of undead that could be created by the Caster when casting Animate Dead to create the engine. That is why this mech only has 24 HD, as this is the minimum for a mech of this size. A caster with a CL higher than 12 could produce a version with more HD. Also the Necrotic steel has special properties its self. In direct sunlight the mech strength is reduced to 30, while in natural darkness is raises to 36. This is a good mech for a Necromancer who has taken levels in the Steam Mage prestige class.

Arek · **Joined:** Thu Oct 18, 2007 12:05 pm **Posts:** 189

Raptor wrote:

These 2 mechs were made the rules for Necrotic Steel & Necrotic Engines from Steam Warriors. These mechs are not pure necromantic mechs, but use negative energy to run an alternate version of the steam engine. I amgoing to post the Deathwalker firster even though it is the larger of the two, because I recently realized I had an error in the Death Knight (Huge mech), and I haven't fixed it yet. Here are the stats for the Death Walker.

Size: Colossal
Power Source: Necrotic engine
Payload Units: 24
Height: 35 ft.
Space/Reach: 15 ft. by 15 ft./ 15 ft.
Crew: 4 (weapons 5)
Firing Ports: 13
Hit Dice: 24
Hit Points: 132
Critical Thresholds: Green; Yellow 59; Orange 26; Red 7
Base Initiative: -1
Speed: 40 ft.
Maneuverability: Average
AC: 2
Hardness: 15 (Necrotic Steel, Armor Plating, Colossal)
Base Melee Attack: +4
Base Ranged Attack: -1
Unarmed Damage: 1d12+12
Trample: Largest large; Safe medium; Damage 4d6
Saves: Fort +2, Ref -2, Will -
Abilities: Str 34, Dex 8, Con -, Int -, Wis -, Cha -
Mechcraft DC: 41
Base Planning Time: 82 days
Base Cost: 8,447 gp
Total Cost: 46,600 gp
Labor Time: 5,120 man-hours
Construction Time: 48 days (10 avg. laborers + 5 undead laborers +1 overseer) plus magic item creation time
Special: Armor Plating, Extra Wpn Mounts (+8 PU), Gearwright Maintenance, Necrotic Engine, Necrotic Steel

Payload Usage

Code:

PU       Use 
4        Crew 
20       Onboard Weaponry

Onboard Weaponry - Deathwalker

Code:

Location  Arc of Fire     Weapon(dam, range, Other)                                    PU Crew 
Right Arm  melee       +1 Frost Gargantuan Steam Ripper (2d12+13(slash)+1d6 Cold or    8  1
                                                        2d8+13(Bldgn)+1d6 Cold/x4) 
Torso     180 Forward     Linked Large Shredder (1d8, 150)                             2  1
Torso     180 Forward     Linked Large Shredder (1d8, 150)                             2  1
Left Arm  180 Forward     +2 Chain Tentacle (2d8+2,100)                                8  3

The big advantage of the necrotic engine is that its negative energy heals undead tissue it built into, Which the Necrotic Steel of which this mech is built counts as. It heals 24 hp (equal to HD) every day. It also does not need fuel to run, only water. The disadvantage is that the # of HD of the mech is limited by the amount of HD of undead that could be created by the Caster when casting Animate Dead to create the engine. That is why this mech only has 24 HD, as this is the minimum for a mech of this size. A caster with a CL higher than 12 could produce a version with more HD. Also the Necrotic steel has special properties its self. In direct sunlight the mech strength is reduced to 30, while in natural darkness is raises to 36. This is a good mech for a Necromancer who has taken levels in the Steam Mage prestige class.

Okay, I have to talk about this one...

For the record, what is considered natural darkness? Because the nights tend to be pretty bright, what with the giant moon hanging in the air and all.

I'm pretty disappointed with necrotic steel and its counterpart, actually. They're designed for steamborgs and constructs and mechs, but they've got a spectacular price while not providing correspondingly spectacular benefits, and you're not told about what happens if you make armor or weapons out of them.

Likewise, some of the technical details are questionable (It takes 6 months to grow the mold for organic steel? Really? But there's only 6 months in the year anyway!)

Now, necrotic steel might be onto something if you could make a mech of it and then cover the mech in magical darkness so you can have the Str bonus even during the day. But as it stands, it's got more penalties than it does advantages, and I question the pricing. In fact, I have a lot of questions for any designers who see this.

-what is this 'terrible ritual' involved in making necrotic steel that makes it automatically Evil (TM)? Do I bleed a bunch of creatures dry and quench the properly-enchanted steel in the accumulated blood? I assume there's some sort of malicious sacrifice going on.

-what effects does it have if I make weapons and armor out of this stuff? If I had to ad hoc it, I'd say necrotic steel wants to be a weapon, and gives some necromantic goodness to slashing/piercing weapons, while organic steel makes incredible armor--probably easier to wear, lighter, and very accomodating--possibly as accomodating as only a living creature can be.

-why are these substances so expensive? The bonuses they give aren't that spectacular. They're very cool materials, yes, but last time I checked, 'cool' didn't add onto the price tag, and there's not really much of a way to use them.

Raptor · **Posted:** Tue Mar 11, 2008 2:20 pm

Well Arek, most of your questions went to the designers so I won't address them, I just thought these would be cool, flavorful mechs for a bad guy who combines necromancy and steam. I've updated the Death Knight, which is more of an individual mech for a necromancer who has just gained the ability to cast Animate Dead at 7th lvl. Here are the stats.

Size: Huge
Power Source: Necrotic Engine
Payload Units: 7
Height: 15 ft.
Space/Reach: 5 ft. by 5 ft./ 5 ft.
Crew: 1 (weapons 2)
Firing Ports: 2
Hit Dice: 14
Hit Points: 77
Critical Thresholds: Green; Yellow 35; Orange 15; Red 4
Base Initiative: 0
Speed: 30 ft.
Maneuverability: Good
AC: 8
Hardness: 14 (Necrotic Steel, Armor Plating)
Base Melee Attack: +6
Base Ranged Attack: +0
Unarmed Damage: 1d8+1d6+8
Trample: Largest small; Safe small; Damage 2d6
Saves: Fort +2, Ref -2, Will -
Abilities: Str 26, Dex 10, Con -, Int -, Wis -, Cha -
Mechcraft DC: 35
Base Planning Time: 70 days
Base Cost: 2,112 gp
Total Cost: 13,824 gp
Labor Time: 1,147 man-hours
Construction Time: 11 days (10 avg. laborers +5 undead laborers + 1 overseer) plus magic item creation time
Special: Armor Plating, Combat Spikes, Extra Wpn mounts (+2 PU), Gearwright Maintenance, Necrotic Engine, Necrotic Steel

Payload Usage

Code:

PU       Use 
1        Crew 
6        Onboard Weaponry

Onboard Weaponry - Death Knight

Code:

Location    Arc of Fire     Weapon(dam, range, Other)                        PU Crew 
Right Arm    Melee         +1 Huge Keen Barbed Swordblade (2d8+9/17-20/x3)   4  1 
Left Arm     180 Forward   Large Focused Flame Nozzle (2d8 fire, 30 ft cone) 2  1

As noted on the Deathwalker, The necrotic engine heals the mech 14 HP per day.

Arek · **Joined:** Thu Oct 18, 2007 12:05 pm **Posts:** 189

Sorry for derailing your thread for a post, by the way. You gave me an opening and I jumped at it.

walrusjester · **Posted:** Tue Mar 11, 2008 9:05 pm

As before, I'm really enjoying these mechs! Necro-mechs are probably my favorite kind to design, and they're very easy to use as the center of an adventure. Keep 'em coming.

walrusjester · **Posted:** Tue Mar 11, 2008 9:16 pm

Arek wrote:

Okay, I have to talk about this one...

For the record, what is considered natural darkness? Because the nights tend to be pretty bright, what with the giant moon hanging in the air and all.

Natural darkness would be whenever the sun is below the horizon. The moon is closer, so it has a larger reflecting surface, but the environment is also full of lunar dust that reflects light back, so it roughly evens out.

Arek wrote:

I'm pretty disappointed with necrotic steel and its counterpart, actually. They're designed for steamborgs and constructs and mechs, but they've got a spectacular price while not providing correspondingly spectacular benefits, and you're not told about what happens if you make armor or weapons out of them.

Likewise, some of the technical details are questionable (It takes 6 months to grow the mold for organic steel? Really? But there's only 6 months in the year anyway!).

Well, we didn't design it with the intent of making it equally balanced compared to all the other material options. Necrotic steel allows players who want "more creepy death stuff" to have another option. Some players will pay the extra cost for the relatively small game-mechanic benefits, because the flavor is worth it to them. Others won't, for a variety of reasons. Not everything has a price equal to its value. And having a disproportionate price does help keep this uncommon, which makes it cooler when it appears.

Oh, and technically, the calendar of Highpoint has 7 months. Nobody likes to talk about Jealo, but it's still there. :wink:

I'll try to get to your other questions in the next day or two, unless one of the other DragonMech developers beats me to it. I might start a new thread for it, for Raptor's sake.

Goodman Games

Deathwalker/ Death Knight: Necrotic Mechs

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