The final volume of the Iron Gods Adventure Path, Pathfinder #90: The Divinity Drive, is soon to depart the spaceport... I mean, our warehouse. In this volume, the adventure reaches its exciting conclusion, and it also marks the finale of Amber E. Scott's excellent story in the Pathfinder's Journal.
Not too long after working up the initial general plot for the Pathfinder's Journal with Amber, I got her first chapter in my email. I really enjoyed the two protagonists and how they worked together and wanted to see how she'd go on to develop their relationship. Then after the second chapter showed up in my inbox, I met a new favorite character—Tryg, the little robot that Eirian and Sidek rescue.
I liked Amber's description of the robot and I couldn't wait to see how Rodrigo Vega would draw it. When the first sketch came back I was delighted. He looked weird and cute at the same time, which is always a win for me. When the final art for that first illustration of Tryg came in I printed it out and pinned it to the wall of my cube. Like the protagonists in the story, I ended up falling in love with that little guy, so I figured I'd go ahead and stat him up since he's one of the few robots that we've illustrated in Iron Gods that doesn't have stats.
While I was working on the robot's stats, I took the chance to get Amber to talk a bit about her adorable robotic creation. She had this to say:
"What was most important to me was for Tryg to be more than just a mindless automaton. He had to have a personality and some free will; otherwise there would be no reason to care about his eventual fate. To me, Tryg was clever and curious and playful, too. He learns eventually that he's gonna get grabbed and tied up every night and first he tries to outsmart Sidek and later he's resigned to it." (My intent, even though I never said so explicitly, is because Tryg has a sense of what awaits him at the signal's source and he knows Sidek is trying to help him get there).
I also selected the name 'Tryg' as an alternate spelling of the Norwegian name ‘Trygg/Tryggr,' which means faithful/trusty, to reinforce the image of Tryg the robot as a loyal canine companion.”
Here's what this a lovable robot companion looks like in Pathfinder stats.
Tryg CR 1/2
XP 200
N Small construct (robot)
Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +3Defense
AC 13, touch 11, flat-footed 13 (+2 natural, +1 size)
hp 15 (1d10+10)
Fort +0, Ref +0, Will +1
Immune construct traits
Weaknesses vulnerable to critical hits and electricityOffense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee 2 slams +0 (1d3–2) or integrated laser torch +0 touch (1d4 plus fire)
Special Attacks integrated laser torchStatistics
Str 7, Dex 11, Con —, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 1
Base Atk +1; CMB –2; CMD 8
Feats Alertness
Skills Climb +2, Disable Device +4, Knowledge (engineering) +3, Perception +3, Sense Motive +3; Racial Modifiers +4 Climb, +4 Knowledge (engineering)
Languages Androffan
SQ toolsEcology
Environment any (Numeria)
Organization solitary or crew (2–5)
Treasure noneSpecial Abilities
Integrated Laser Torch (Ex) As part of its built-in toolkit, Tryg is outfitted with an integrated laser torch it can use to cut through minor barriers. When activated, the torch emits a beam of highly focused light, cutting and burning through surfaces up to 6 inches away. Attacks from a laser torch resolve as touch attacks and deal 1d4 points of fire damage. This damage is not modified further by Strength. Tryg's integrated laser torch is mounted inside one of its appendages. When the laser torch is used as a tool or as a weapon to sunder, its damage bypasses hardness up to 20 points, and damage is not halved (as is normally the case for energy damage applied to objects) unless the object is particularly fire-resistant. A laser torch's cutting beam passes through force fields and force effects without damaging the field. Invisible objects and creatures can't be harmed by a laser torch.
Tools (Ex) Tyrg has tools built into its body that can reconfigure themselves into nearly any cutting, grasping, or drilling device. Tryg is always considered to be using masterwork tools for any Craft or Disable Device checks.
Stay tuned next week for a wrap up of some of our favorite art from the Iron Gods Adventure Path!
Adam Daigle
Developer
Illustrations by Rodrigo Vega.
