Automaton and Sentinel Automaton
450
Automatons and Sentinel Automatons are the level 4 creatures of Factory. They are recruited from the Manufactory.
"The legacy of the Time of Wonders is truly priceless. Rulers and warriors yearn to find armor and weapons dating back to those times, but they are not what matters to someone who wants to change the whole world in time. I've spent a long time gathering tiny scraps of ancient secrets to build something of my own from them... and I've gotten somewhere. My machines are still very vulnerable, their propulsion systems are unstable and inefficient, but they are reasonably autonomous and capable of making simple decisions on their own—and that's something, wouldn't you agree!
The Automatons and the assembly line await!"
"Frederick was now fully devoted to the energy sector, and had no time to pursue his other old projects. Many of those, however, saw development in the hands of newly arrived artificers. One, a somewhat odd-looking gray-haired man named Todd, took it upon himself to put automatons into mass production. He spent a good month locked up in a hangar with the prototypes Frederick had brought from Eeofol, a few assistants, a variety of tools, and a huge basket of armadillo jerky. When he finally emerged from this voluntary confinement, he looked as if he had never slept a wink in a month—but he was glowing with joy. Beside him, two fully assembled models presented their gleaming, polished sides, and he leaned proudly with his elbow on a pile of blueprints and flow charts. It’s funny to remember how at that moment, my takeaway started and ended with the fact that the pile of papers was noticeably taller than I was—even if I'd stood on my tiptoes.
I had, of course, already seen the automatons preparing our airships, but the other residents of Burton were very impressed when they were put on display in the square. Imagine a metal contraption on six mechanical legs, almost the size of a full-grown armadillo, looking like a mix of a crab, a common sight on the shores of the Ravage Roaming, with a carnivorous spider from the Murmurwoods. There was a gurgling sound coming from within the mechanism, and thin jets of vapor escaped from the numerous valves; its steel frame trembled and its joints creaked slightly. The automaton seemed as hot as a water boiler—although it was, in fact, very much a boiler itself; the powerful grip protruding from a sort of head had a very menacing appearance, and the Burton youths, eager to impress their girls, kept running up and putting their hands into the metal spidercrab’s jaws. Little did they know that its superheated steam-based powerplant in itself posed much more danger to others than any kind of jaws or extremities... Frederick told me in confidence that Todd hadn’t been able to fully solve its little reliability problem—he only limited the machine’s standard power, but kept the option of switching to the supercritical mode. It was, however, impossible to turn off once engaged. Naturally, the assembly responsible for this feature was taken off the model on display, but I still preferred to keep my distance."
Dwellings & Portraits[edit | hide | hide all]
Heroes with a specialty[edit | hide]
Special Ability: Detonation[edit | hide]
If Detonation is on when the stack dies, the Automatons explode, dealing 90 + 5N damage to all adjacent creatures (where N is the number of Automatons in the stack at the time of detonation). Detonation removes the corpse from the battlefield, making the Automatons impossible to repair. Detonation can be turned on without using a turn. Once it is turned on, it cannot be turned off.
Detonation works on 
Cloned Automatons. 
Protection from Fire doesn't reduce damage.
Sounds[edit | hide]
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Note: Clicking the icons will play the corresponding sound. Volume control in left side panel.
Gallery[edit | hide]
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Automaton early concepts
(art by Don_ko) -
Model by Dmitriy Gravchenko -
Model by Dmitriy Gravchenko
Trivia[edit | hide]
The first concept for the automaton was a flying creature. This design can still be seen on the top-left corner of the Factory's puzzle map.
User Commentary
The Clone spell may be the best way to use the Detonation ability, as a clone stack is guaranteed to be entirely destroyed at the first hit, provoking the best explosion damage the stack can provide. It may even be useful to keep a stack of non-upgraded Automatons so that their clones can attack, provoking retaliation and subsequent detonation. Eovacius, with his Cloning specialty, provides an especially interesting synergy.