The title pretty much sums it up. I'd like to have a dissassembler swarm as an obstacle, but I'm not sure my group would stand much chance against it. If you were caught in the open by one, how would you evade, escape or defend yourself? Is it best to make the threat less lethal, and just have it take their weapons and armour apart and then leave them naked and defenceless?
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Escaping an airborne dissassembler swarm
Tue, 2013-10-15 16:43
#1
ottomancer
Escaping an airborne dissassembler swarm
Tue, 2013-10-15 18:27
#2
NewtonPulsifer
Airborne dissembler swarms
Airborne dissembler swarms are magic tech. They wouldn't work in a universe that respects physics.
So you'd probably have to combat them by simply avoiding them or using magic tech (counter swarm of airborne disassemblers to disassemble the disassemblers - or in game, a guardian swarm). Flamethrower, quick hardening foam, radiation, fire hose (water), or ultrasound should work pretty good too.
The game has EMP working well against swarms but that doesn't make sense as the nanites are too small to use radios. Oops. Not to mention it is really easy to make EMP-proof radios with EP tech.
So in short make it up for whatever is most fun (hand wave it) - it's impossible to "hard sci-fi" reason it out unfortunately.
—
"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."- Isoroku Yamamoto
Tue, 2013-10-15 22:29
#3
thezombiekat
Looking at the rules for
Looking at the rules for nanoswarms they can be defeated. Plasma and EMP grenades work best but the party may not have them. Any AOE attack deals 1d10 damage, so it would take about 10 attacks to take out a standard 10m cube nanoswarm.
If the party lacks any AOE weapon then they are in real trouble.
The information on nano swarm mobility simply lists any movement type other than ionic. Suggesting they can potentially move quite fast, the programming of the swarm will greatly affect its threat level. swarms can’t really be detected without entering them but the party could easily scatter after the first damage tick (earlier if they have the right detection gear) at which point the swarm will ether remain stationary, guarding its location, and cause no more damage, or chose one PC to chase while the others remain at a distance. In either case the PCs have greatly reduced the swarms ability to harm them and can take it out in relatively short order.
Ofcause Tight terrain could limit the ability to scatter. And you could send them up against more than one swarm unit. How deadly do you want the encounter.
Wed, 2013-10-16 06:27
#4
ottomancer
Cool thanks for the advice. :
Cool thanks for the advice. :-)
I may leave some equipment in an earlier encounter that might help them when they encounter the swarm. I like the idea of them defeating it, but in doing so they end up losing equipment, eaten by the nanobots.
Wed, 2013-10-16 08:28
#5
Baalbamoth
Just spray surface with Pam cooking spray oil...
Er ah...
—
"what do I want? The usual — hundreds of grandchildren, complete dominion over the known worlds, and the pleasure of hearing that all my enemies have died in highly improbable accidents that cannot be connected to me."
Fri, 2013-10-25 12:46
#6
kaid
Hehe as it recommends in
Hehe as it recommends in transhuman always pack a few emp grenades for nano swarms. Even if you have no skill at throwing them the penalties for just pulling the pin and dropping them at your feet are a lot less than being ripped into your component molecules by a nano swarm.
Fri, 2013-10-25 15:44
#7
Wyvernjack
Any ecto or mesh inserts can
Any ecto or mesh inserts can be turned into a radio jammer, and if they don't have laser or microwave, you'd have effectively a bubble around you.
Sat, 2013-10-26 17:21
#8
Skelshy
house rule
You'll want to heavily house rule around this, or create a weakened variant. An encounter should be winnable, preferably through more than one means (cleverness, brute force, skill tests...)
Redshirt mechanic is also useful in introducing deadly dangers to the party. A redshirt (nameless NPC) death introduces the deadliness of a danger to the group without actually killine someone. This also teaches them the properties (visibility, speed etc.) so they can plan for it.
"a dark cloud, barely visible against the evening sky, moves silently towards the guard in the watchtower. you want to warn your ally, but he is so intent on his binoculars, he does not notice in time. As the dark cloud envelops him, he begins to curse, then scream, ... "
I have a variant that is visible from a distance and can be fought with grenades and guardian bots, and a variant that tapers off damage (4D10 first round, 3D10 second round ...). this can be pretty effective especially when the players don't know yet it tapers off :)