Robot, Collector

A soft whirring noise accompanies this flying mechanical creature. Its arms and hands end in spindly, multi-jointed fingers, and four circular rotors hold the creature aloft.   Serving as long-distance scouts, trackers, and acquisition agents, collector robots see frequent use in the study and collection of alien life forms on new worlds. They can operate independently for years, cataloging unique species while enduring extreme environments that would overwhelm their biological makers. These machines may tag a captive creature with a tracker chip that can be monitored and tracked with their integrated chipfinders. They do so to observe and document the behavioral patterns of such creatures from afar, studying viable specimens for days until they eventually isolate and retrieve the studied prey again for further examination in the controlled laboratories of the robots’ masters. Among their more impressive features, collector robots possess a hardened artificial intelligence, maintaining a singular focus on their mission directives even when wandering out of communication range with their owners. They tend to react swiftly to movement and perceived threats to their physical security, either emitting loud tones or alarms as a preemptive warning, or f lying upward to gain altitude before assessing a given situation and potentially opening fire in defense of itself. Some collector robots grow more lax in their analysis protocols over time, giving way to a state similar to paranoia if left in the field for too long. This corrupted logic inevitably leads them to interpret even the most innocuous actions as proof of hostile intent. Other collectors become fixated on their directive to retrieve specimens without undue damage, interpreting it as a need to protect their targets from all possible sources of harm.

Ecology

Collector robots have no defined ecology, as they are built by others and gifted with a unique purpose and skill set. Most often, they emerge from automated factories, engineering shops, and scrap heaps under the direction of a controlling authority that activates them and assigns their missions. Thereafter, the power cores of collector robots last indefinitely. Most collector robots have fusion generators, but some have the ability to derive power from the sun, making them capable of recharging several weeks’ worth of operating power with solar energy in a single daytime “sleep” cycle. During prolonged missions, collector robots often support one another in the absence of their masters, dragging damaged units back to repair facilities and cooperating to achieve any mutual goals. Collector robots have a similar protectiveness toward other robots of various types, treating them almost like siblings.

Habitat & Society

Collector robots have little in the way of organized society, but do array themselves in a rigid hierarchy as designated by their controlling authority. Individual collectors may carry a higher rank than other robots, and thus are capable of commanding lesser machines they encounter or even overriding their programming with new directives as they commandeer aid in carrying out their assigned missions. This often leads to symbiotic relationships with servant robots capable of repairing and assisting with their upkeep. Collector robots first appeared in Numeria, but some have since wandered further afield, slaves to their dedicated programming as they go about cataloging, tagging, and occasionally tracking various life forms— sentient or otherwise. Some rogue collector robots kidnap people and creatures, and secret them away in remote caves. Others cascaded from the starship Divinity during its original descent, falling to Golarion as newly deployed probes far outside the range of Unity’s control, thus free to pursue individual interests. A few enterprising Technic League wizards and alchemists have managed to control some of these automatons, taming and reprogramming them to suit their purposes. New directives for these automatons typically involve the abduction or assassination of targets that their overseers program into them.

Variants

The chassis developed for collector robots has proven exceptionally versatile over the years, giving rise to multiple configurations and alternate capabilities. These are less likely to be encountered than a typical collector robot.