1870 War & WW I Era Mecha For Your Old School Post Apocalyptic Game -The Automatic Soldier Drone

Mindlessly they came. Over the blasted,pockmarked landscape they moved driven by the insane hunger of some unknown god on the Moon. Hunger it was all that drove their rotting gutless corpses through the straits of no man's land. German, French, the uniforms mattered little now. It was only the hunger.  The smell of flesh called to them

They shuffled just to the lip of the trench when the guns opened up on them. It was a slaughter really all three of the guns blazing away in unison.

The horror of it all was lost on the shufflers.

"Number Three  is down by 50% sir. Number five is down by 22% & climbing." 

"Correct the pitch of Number 3 & 5 " 

"Captain Fitzsimmons after your done their please set the drones on auto & get me another cup of tea. There's a good lad 

The commander turned to his German counterpart,"Sometimes tea is the only thing that makes this civilized" From someplace outside the soldier drones continued their slaughter 

The Automatic Soldier Drone

No. Enc.: 1d4

Alignment: Neutral 

Movement: Stationary 

Armor Class: 4(16)

Hit Dice: 7 

Attacks: 3 per round

                                                        Damage: 2d8 machine guns 

                                                                  Save: F8

                                                                  XP  - 125 +3 

 You can down load the original Electrical Experimenter article in pdf Here

They are the perfect soldiers never tiring, never having an unkind word, & always at the ready. The soldier drone has seen action from Africa to the Bering Straight. They were to be used on the front during 1870 Franco Prussia  War  when the God of the Moon awoke & sent its deadly undead hordes against the world! The automatic soldier was there to help balance the fight! 

The Automatic soldier is immune to illusions, mind effecting magic, & all types of control. This automatic gear & motor driven unit is directed by radio control from a command bunk up to 7 miles away. The soldier is equipped with 3 machine guns & can spew hot death from 100 yards away. 

The radio controls can pin point exactly where zombies & anti personal are coming from because of the buried pressure plates. 

These drones have been found on many other post apocalyptic worlds & are built very simple & with interchangeable parts. These drones may be assembled by a soldier in less then 6 rounds because of the interlocking mechanisms. 

The draw back of this system is the frequent downtime between deployments. These units require servicing & replacing of the firing pins every 5 weeks of use. 

They can be used in a variety of conditions & environments but the system requires a repair check each time they are placed within hostile weather conditions. They must be moved from place to place & at three hundred pounds each that's not easy 

The Automatic soldiers have also been employed by the God Of The Moon Cult themselves to guard their bases, temples, & areas of influence. Adventurers & the like must exercise caution when dealing with them. 

Automatic Soldiers & The OSR 

These mecha may be found anywhere that 1870, WWI era, or steampunk technology has been employed. The system is relatively cheap to deploy & requires specialized training to employ but these tireless guardians are perfect for guarding all types of military assets. 

For steampunk settings however there is a 60% of breakdown over long term use & a much higher gold piece upkeep.

They may also found in places like a the Franco Prussian 1870 War, WWI Mutant Future & all sort of alternative Earths. Magic may also be employed to bring these monsters to life. They make a perfect meat grinder dungeon trap but have a safe way around them. Such as a secret door or such. 

Artificially intelligent automatic soldiers on tracks or mobile might another option. In a world like Arduin where technos are available these mecha will take 5 months of tinkering & creation. The parts alone will be 5,000 gold pieces worth for each unit. The cost will be much lower in a world of Mutant Future & the like

Repairing The Automatic Soldier & A Random Fumble Chart 1d10 

Most normal repairs will take between 1d20 rounds to complete should a portable workshop be available with the correct specialty tools. Unfamiliar units may take much longer with foreign parts & such causing jerry rigging rolls (see appropriate matrix).

Random Fumble Chart 1d10 

1. Ammo box explodes causing 1d8 points of damage within a 40 yard radius. 
2. The unit's left servo motor burns out & will require 4 more rounds to fix 
3. A broken belt easy to replace 1d3 rounds! 
4. Nothing broken you luck out! 
5. The unit has a bad attitude & shocks you for 1d3 points of damage. Burning the tips of your fingers 
6. You drop a screw inside the casing requiring you to take 1d3 random covers to find 
7. The unit snaps a timing belt! This will require extensive work of 1d4 hours more! 
8. The servo ball bearing units are damaged & need to be replaced 1d3 more hours of work! 
9. You dissemble half of the unit & there's nothing wrong! Put it back together! 1d3 round of work 
10. The unit explodes in a volume of smoke equal to the area your in! No damage but you look like an idiot