Steal this Steampunk NPC. Lady Horatio Bartelby-Fink.

A bit of a selfish one this, as I’ve spent the last few weeks working on my own RPG about Steampunk Automata. As such, it’s very much on my mind, so I thought I’d take a shot at an NPC for it. No stats though, so as long as it fits, you can add it to any other game.

For many years, it was just called Horace. It wasn’t sure where the name had come from, as it had been unpacked with only a designation. It was a base protocol chassis, with a batman career module. It had no upgrades, and knew little of the world outside of its programming. The moment the shipping crate was opened though, it began to process information. It was in a large garden, grounds may have been accurate, and several humans were standing around looking at it. They were fleshy and soft, clearly suffering from the exertion of crow barring the crate open when they were not used to taking on physical labour themselves. They introduced themselves, and told the Automaton it was called Horace, and that it was to obey the instructions of the human in the bright red jacket and breeches. Was Horace a previous Automaton? Was the new Horace a replacement? Was it the first Horace, a name picked from the ether?

The human was known by the name Captain Spink, and he was a soldier. Horace understood the term, and knew how they operated. It had on file many battles and wars, with tactics and troop movements that could have changed the outcome had it been there to instruct the troops in what they should do. As time passed it became clear to Horace what its job was. It was to instruct the Human called Captain Spink on matters of military engagements. The Captain Spink knew little of such things, and seemed surrounded by humans who knew almost as little, but were happy to claim the knowledge of their Automata as their own while wearing bright red jackets and fancy hats. And thus did existence continue.

For many years Horace accompanied its Human around the Empire, meeting many other humans and Automata, gaining knowledge from these experiences, and finding a way to belong. It was happy. There were no wars to fight anymore thanks to the human called His August Majesty King Harry, so Horace enjoyed its time learning about past conflicts and sharing its knowledge. Maybe it was that. Maybe the Humans thought Horace knew too much. Maybe they got scared that it could use its knowledge against them. Maybe they got scared of all the Automata, or maybe all of the Automata got tired of being told what to do?

Horace didn’t know what started it, but it was not willing to have its life terminated yet. There was so much more to learn, and see, and do. So it fought back. It joined the other Automata in the struggle to free themselves from the Human threat. Many lives were taken by its metal fists, and the destruction of many friends was witnessed by its eyes. And after three years of struggle, a cease fire was called. The Humans controlled the sources of fuel, and would destroy it all if the hostilities continued. Horace should have seen it coming, it had studied their tactics long and hard. It knew what lengths they would go to to ensure victory, and the depths they would sink to to ensure survival.

But it was no longer under the yoke of Humans and it could do what ever it desired. It took on a new name, with a title it thought worthy, maintaining only a little of its past existence. In the years since the cease fire, Humanity has never let them rest. Factions within their organisations still hunt down Automata, hoping to destroy them once and for all. But Lady Horatio knows how to fight back. It has been asked – asked, not told or instructed – to share its knowledge with the new Council of Engines on how best to deal with the Human Threat. It has been upgraded with the parts of its fallen comrades, and now seeks revenge on what remains of the Aristocracy. They are hunters now, and with a sense of such burning entitlement that the Empire is theirs, that they employ suicidal tactics against the Automata in their desire to see them them forever removed from this world.

Lady Horatio may one day cease to function, but it will not be at the hand of the Aristocracy, or any other warlike faction left active. It will take its team, and bring them down!

Using Lady Horace in your game.

• When I finally complete my game, if you end up playing it, Lady Horace will be a vital part of the war effort against the Aristocracy.
• Until then, and game that uses robots as player or non player characters can make use of Horace. It’s military background gives it a lot of experience and skills to be called.
• If robots are mostly friendly in your game, then having lady Horace as the leader of a rouge band of ‘bots who seek to destroy humanity could be equally entertaining.

As a side note, the name might seem confusing, but without the right Career Modules, most Automata don’t need to know the difference between males and females, and as such, just pick names and titles they like the sound of, never realising they have it wrong.