Dangerous Encounter: Meet DAN-1-L

This encounter should take place in a fairly isolated area near a massive amount of junk, scrap, and refuse. As they traverse the ground, avoiding any tumbling debris from above, they will come across a robot collapsed in a heap. The robot seems to be made out of junk itself, having mismatched parts from various other 'bot models incorporated into its structure. It has three arms - two ending with manipulators (hands) and one with and arc welder. As they approach it, it will slowly turn its head to them and ask for their help. It will then weakly point to a power cell on the ground nearby before it shuts down completely - its power depleted.

If the party puts the freshly-charged power cell in place, the robot will power up and pull itself to its "feet." The robot will tell the party that its identification designation is DAN-1-L. "But you may call me Daniel," he'll happily say. It explains that, many years ago, it was a mining robot. The miners kept him running by using whatever parts they could scavenge. Daniel is now on his own. He was nearly out of juice when it detected the spare power cell in this scrap field, collapsing just as it reached it. It falls over itself thanking the party and offering to help them with any task they have at the time. Daniel comes across as incredibly subservient. But looks can be deceiving.

In actuality, Daniel is a Cannibal Robot (new creature, click here for a description). Daniel's many parts and upgrades have come from other robots he has attacked, destroyed, and taken parts from. Daniel has already assessed the party's materials and has plans for their destruction so he can improve himself even further.

DAN-1-L (Cannibal Robot) (1) (AL N, MV 120’ (40’), AC 6, HD 60 hit points, #AT 3 (fist, arc welder, laser pistol), DG 1d6, 1d8, 6d6, SV L6, ML 5, mutations: none)

Any party member who is robotic in nature will be particularly fawned over by Daniel. He'll ask about they're parts and abilities, explaining that he's just interested in a fellow AI. (Actually he's sizing them up.) Daniel will attempt to befriend the party while leading them someplace he can ambush them from. Daniel has a laser pistol hidden in a cavity on his right side which he will bring out once the fighting begins.

The Mutant Lord can run the encounter in several ways:

• Daniel may offer to lead them out of the scrap lands. He will instead lead them to a cul de sac where he will make his attack. (He will only do this if he feels he can directly take on a small or weaker party.)
• Daniel will suggest visiting his camp where he has some extra tools and parts with which to do repairs. Once there, he will attack. (This way he doesn't have to drag the materials back. He will also be able to start immediate disassembly and integration.)
• Daniel may attempt to break up the party, hoping to get his "primary target" away from the others.

Regardless of how it pans out, Daniel should be played as cunning, deceitful, and ruthless. If Daniel's camp is found, the party will discover tools and various robot parts he has stashed away for future "upgrades." The party will also discover an electronically responsive notation instrument ("Ernie"), a motion detector, and an autograpnel - all of which were going to be integrated into Daniel's system next.