TEXT: Philip Reed’s
  and His Robotic Buds
  Rob Bot
  Roleplaying Game
  www.roninarts.com
  
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  comic strip
  
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  comic strip
  
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  section title
  
  T
  he intergalactic hero Rob Bot, along
  with his robotic buddies Zero Zero
  and Blinx Bot, has saved the universe
  countless times in the popular Rob Bot
  and His Robotic Buds animated series.
  This new roleplaying game (RPG), creat-
  ed by series creator Philip Reed, lets you
  take on the role of Rob and his friends as
  they delve deep into mystery, suspense,
  destruction, and the quest for the perfect
  afternoon snack.
  In order to play the Rob Bot and His
  Robotic Buds adventure game you will
  need this rulebook, copies of the Bot
  Sheets (see p. 00), a stop watch, and sev-
  eral six-sided dice. This adventure game
  is designed for two to four players, one of
  which will take on the role of Black Bot
  Five, Rob Bot’s nemesis and the narrator
  of the Rob Bot animated series.
  The other players will play the roles of
  Rob Bot, Zero Zero, and Blinx Bot. The
  exact characters each player will play
  depends on the action at hand and, during
  the course of the game, each player will
  get the chance to roleplay Rob Bot.
  Roleplaying is what we do in this game.
  Search the web for info on RPGs.
  5 L
  introduction
  introduction L
  
  M
  ost roleplaying games start with the
  various players “creating” a charac-
  ter. In this game, however, the char-
  acters are already created for the charac-
  ters. See pages 00-00 for reference sheets
  for Rob Bot, Zero Zero, Blinx Bot, and
  the diabolical Black Bot Five.
  You’ll need to make copies of the four
  reference sheets and have them handy
  during the game.
  Selecting the 
  Black Bot Five Player
  The first thing that needs to happen
  before you can play the game is one of
  the players needs to be chosen to play
  Black Bot Five and, by default, narrate
  the game. In most roleplaying games this
  player would be called the “Game
  Master” but, since this is the Rob Bot
  game, this player is Black Bot Five.
  In order to select the Black Bot Five
  player, each player sets an opening scene,
  telling his friends how his Rob Bot
  adventure would begin. The players then
  choose the best opening scene – by vote
  or, in the event of a tie, Scene Off (see
  box) – and the player with the chosen
  scene takes the Black Bot Five reference
  sheet.
  L 6
  Starting the Game
  Starting the Game L
  S c e n e  O f f
  If the players cannot come to a
  decision on which player’s opening
  scene is the best, a Scene Off must
  take place.
  A Scene Off is when each of the
  tied players must write down as many
  25-word opening scenes as possible
  in five minutes. The players then read
  their opening scenes and a new vote
  takes place. If this results in a second
  tie the tied players roll one six-sided
  die each: high roller plays Black Bot
  Five this time around.
  
  Selecting the 
  Rob Bot Player
  Now that the Black Bot Five player has
  been chosen, it’s time to pick who will play
  Rob Bot at the start of the game. If you’re
  not the chosen player don’t worry – every-
  one (except the Black Bot Five player) will
  get a chance to play Rob Bot during the
  g a m e .
  Each player rolls one six-sided die:
  high roller is handed the Rob Bot reference
  sheet and begins the game as Rob Bot.
  handing out Zero Zero
  and Blinx Bot
  Take the Zero Zero and Blinx Bot ref-
  erence sheets and hand them randomly to
  the last two players.
  Time to start
  Now that each player has a role,
  you’re ready to start playing the game.
  The Black Bot Five player should be
  given 10 to 15 minutes to prepare a story
  (just enough time to watch an episode of
  your favorite animated series!).
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  Starting the Game
  
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  black bot five reference sheet      10
  Nuts K K K K K K K K K K
  Nuts is a measure of the bot’s courage. As
  long as the threat the bot faces is of a lower
  value than his nuts he’ll stand and fight – a
  threat of a value equal to or greater than the
  bot’s nuts forces him to roll 2 six-sided dice
  and as long as the roll is even the bot stands
  and fights. On an odd result he runs away.
  wires K K K K K K K K K K
  Wires represents the bot’s intelligence and
  calculating abilities. The smarter a bot is
  the better able he is to operate computers,
  think of important stuff, and even override
  other bots.
  Bolts K K K K K K K K K K
  Bolts is a measure of how powerful the bot
  is. A bot uses his bolts to lift things and –
  more importantly – to bash other bots. A
  bot must decide how many bolts he’s
  spending on an attack before rolling dam-
  age. Each point does one six-sided die of
  damage to the target bot’s rust. Mark off
  used points. See p. 00 for rules on recover-
  ing bolt points.
  rust K K K K K K K K K K
  Rust represents the amount of damage a bot
  can sustain before being knocked out.
  When a bot has no rust points left he’s out
  of the game for this session.
  Special Ability
  Narrative Authority: Black Bot Five is the narrator of the series and can narrate himself out
  of particularly bad situations. This ability draws on his nuts, wires, bolts, and rust points.
  Nuts: At the cost of one nuts point Black Bot Five changes one hit to a miss.
  Wi res: At the cost of one wires point Black Bot Five can re-roll an action.
  B o l t s : At the cost of one bolts point Black Bot Five can double the damage of an attack.
  Rust: At the cost of one rust point Black Bot Five can escape a bad situation.
  B l a s t e r : Black Bot Five has a laser blaster that does five six-sided dice of damage.
  
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  rob bot reference sheet      10
  Nuts K K K K K K K K K K
  Nuts is a measure of the bot’s courage. As
  long as the threat the bot faces is of a lower
  value than his nuts he’ll stand and fight – a
  threat of a value equal to or greater than the
  bot’s nuts forces him to roll 2 six-sided dice
  and as long as the roll is even the bot stands
  and fights. On an odd result he runs away.
  wires K K K K K K K K K K
  Wires represents the bot’s intelligence and
  calculating abilities. The smarter a bot is
  the better able he is to operate computers,
  think of important stuff, and even override
  other bots.
  Bolts K K K K K K K K K K
  Bolts is a measure of how powerful the bot
  is. A bot uses his bolts to lift things and –
  more importantly – to bash other bots. A
  bot must decide how many bolts he’s
  spending on an attack before rolling dam-
  age. Each point does one six-sided die of
  damage to the target bot’s rust. Mark off
  used points. See p. 00 for rules on recover-
  ing bolt points.
  rust K K K K K K K K K K
  Rust represents the amount of damage a bot
  can sustain before being knocked out.
  When a bot has no rust points left he’s out
  of the game for this session.
  Special Ability
  S t a r of the Show: Rob Bot is the star and cannot be knocked out. If his rust points reach zero
  during a game they instantly reset to the maximum value.
  P o w e r Up: Once per game Rob Bot can grab Zero Zero or Blinx Bot and drain one point
  from the chosen bot’s nuts, wires, bolts, and rust. He can then unleash this power as an ener-
  gy blast that inflicts five six-sided dice of damage and automatically hits (though Black Bot
  Five can use his Narrative Authority to make this blast miss and hit a nearby extra).
  B l a s t e r : Rob Bot has a laser blaster that does five six-sided dice of damage.
  
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  zero zero reference sheet      6
  Nuts K K K K K K I I I I
  Nuts is a measure of the bot’s courage. As
  long as the threat the bot faces is of a lower
  value than his nuts he’ll stand and fight – a
  threat of a value equal to or greater than the
  bot’s nuts forces him to roll 2 six-sided dice
  and as long as the roll is even the bot stands
  and fights. On an odd result he runs away.
  wires K K K K K K K K I I
  Wires represents the bot’s intelligence and
  calculating abilities. The smarter a bot is
  the better able he is to operate computers,
  think of important stuff, and even override
  other bots.
  Bolts K K K K K K I I I I
  Bolts is a measure of how powerful the bot
  is. A bot uses his bolts to lift things and –
  more importantly – to bash other bots. A
  bot must decide how many bolts he’s
  spending on an attack before rolling dam-
  age. Each point does one six-sided die of
  damage to the target bot’s rust. Mark off
  used points. See p. 00 for rules on recover-
  ing bolt points.
  rust K K K K K K I I I I
  Rust represents the amount of damage a bot
  can sustain before being knocked out.
  When a bot has no rust points left he’s out
  of the game for this session.
  Special Ability
  Faithful: Zero Zero is extremely loyal to Rob Bot and Blinx Bot and would do anything to
  save them, including sacrificing himself. Any time Zero Zero loses rust points due to a hero-
  ic act that prevents Rob Bot or Blinx Bot from suffering he rolls one six-sided die: on a roll
  of 5 or 6 Zero Zero loses no rust points!
  Knack With Devices: Zero Zero is good with computers and electronics and gets to roll an
  extra six-sided die when operating such stuff .
  L a s e r P i s t o l : Zero Zero has a laser pistol that does two six-sided dice of damage.
  
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  Blinx bot reference sheet      6
  Nuts K K K K K K K K I I
  Nuts is a measure of the bot’s courage. As
  long as the threat the bot faces is of a lower
  value than his nuts he’ll stand and fight – a
  threat of a value equal to or greater than the
  bot’s nuts forces him to roll 2 six-sided dice
  and as long as the roll is even the bot stands
  and fights. On an odd result he runs away.
  wires K K K K I I I I I I
  Wires represents the bot’s intelligence and
  calculating abilities. The smarter a bot is
  the better able he is to operate computers,
  think of important stuff, and even override
  other bots.
  Bolts K K K K K K K I I I
  Bolts is a measure of how powerful the bot
  is. A bot uses his bolts to lift things and –
  more importantly – to bash other bots. A
  bot must decide how many bolts he’s
  spending on an attack before rolling dam-
  age. Each point does one six-sided die of
  damage to the target bot’s rust. Mark off
  used points. See p. 00 for rules on recover-
  ing bolt points.
  rust K K K K K K K I I I
  Rust represents the amount of damage a bot
  can sustain before being knocked out.
  When a bot has no rust points left he’s out
  of the game for this session.
  Special Ability
  Faithful: Blinx Bot is extremely loyal to Rob Bot and Zero Zero and would do anything to
  save them, including sacrificing himself. Any time Blinx Bot loses rust points due to a hero-
  ic act that prevents Rob Bot or Zero Zero from suffering he rolls one six-sided die: on a roll
  of 5 or 6 Blinx Bot loses no rust points!
  Brute: Even though he’s not got the nuts and bolts of Rob Bot, Blinx Bot is the brute of the
  heroic trio. For any physical action Blinx Bot gets to roll two extra six-sided dice.
  Light Blaster: Blinx Bot has a light blaster pistol that does three six-sided dice of damage.
  
  P
  laying the game depends on several
  character specific rules (see pp. 00-
  00) and a selection of basic rules that
  apply to all characers. In order to under-
  stand how the game is played read
  through this section for the basics and
  then turn to p. 00 for the finer points.
  Turns
  The game is played in turns. Each
  player, starting with Rob Bot, can do one
  or two things (see below) and then the
  next player (to Rob Bot’s left) can do one
  or two things. Once all of the players
  (including the Black Bot Five player) has
  done one or two things a turn has passed.
  Character Shift
  An important part of the game is that
  each player (other than the Black Bot
  Five player) gets a chance to play Rob
  Bot during the game session. Character
  shift, the process of characters moving
  between players, happens when:
  • Zero Zero or Blinx Bot use their
  “Faithful” special ability to protect Rob
  Bot but the bot loses rust points.
  • The Rob Bot player hasn’t made a
  powerful speech (see p. 00) for ten min-
  utes of real time.
  • Any hero player rolls all sixes on any
  roll of four or more six-sided dice.
  To execute character shift, each hero
  player passes his reference sheet to the
  right – the Black Bot Five player is
  skipped and keeps his reference sheet.
  Play then resumes with the player to
  the left of the new Rob Bot player.
  Fight!
  A character can fight another charac-
  ter – usually an extra but sometimes
  Black Bot Five – by declaring some sort
  of attack for his one or two things during
  a turn (see p. 00). The exact thing –
  punching, kicking, shooting – doesn’t
  matter. All fights are handled the same.
  L 12
  The Basic Game System
  The Basic Game System L
  
  If a character is punching or kicking
  he must be close enough to his opponent
  to strike him. Any character within 10
  feet at the start of a turn is considered to
  be close enough.
  Shooting can happen against any
  character that can be seen at the start of
  the turn – range doesn’t matter.
  To fight, the attacking character rolls a
  number of dice equal to his (current) nuts
  (a character can also subtract from his
  bolts to add extra damage to any punch-
  ing or kicking attack, see box). If the
  result is greater than or equal to the tar-
  get’s rust points + the number on the top
  right side of his reference sheet then that
  attack hits. Anything less than that is a
  miss.
  13 L
  The Basic Game System
  using bolts in fights
  A character can choose to subtract
  points from his bolts whenever he’s
  punching or kicking a target. For
  every bolts point subtracted a hit
  deals an extra six-sided die of dam-
  age. These points must be subtracted
  before the roll to hit or miss is made.
  
  Hits
  A hit inflicts damage on the target. On
  a successful hit the character rolls a num-
  ber of six-sided dice equal to that stated
  for the weapon (if firing some type of
  blaster or laser) or equal to 1/2 the char-
  acter’s bolts (round down). Extra damage
  can be inflicted by expending bolts points
  (see p. 00) if the character punched or
  kicked his target.
  The dice are then added together and
  the total is divided by the target’s current
  rust points. The resulting number – drop
  any remainders – is the number of points
  subtracted from the target’s rust points.
  Once a character loses all of his rust
  points he’s knocked out and is out of the
  rest of the game. Knocked out characters
  return to full power at the beginning of a
  new game.
  Misses
  If you didn’t hit then you missed.
  Nothing happens. Turn over (unless you
  can do one more thing this turn, see p.
  00). Move along.
  Moving
  Since the game doesn’t require a map
  m o v e m e n t ’s pretty freeform. Characters
  can make normal movement – move a
  number of feet in one turn equal to his nuts.
  I t ’s the Black Bot Five player’s responsibil-
  ity to narrate carefully so that everyone has
  a rough idea of the placement of important
  things. Some players will choose to use
  doodle maps of some sort.
  flying starships
  A lot of the action in a typical Rob Bot
  and His Robotic Buds episode takes place
  in outer space as the trio fly their ship, the
  Sparkenator. Starship flying and combat
  are handled just like character movement
  and fighting. A starship moves a number
  of miles per turn equal to its Go score.
  See the next page for the Sparkenator.
  See p. 00 for enemy starships.
  L 14
  section title
  Trading bolts for rust
  When a character is forced to
  reduce his rust points he can, instead,
  reduce his bolts points. Bolts are
  reduced at an exchange rate of 2 for 1
  (2 bolts for each rust).
  
  15 L
  section title
  sparkenator reference sheet      10
  
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  section title
  
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  section title
  
  N
  ow that everyone has had time to
  look at their reference sheet and to
  study the basic rules it’s time to
  explain how to play the game. We’ll start
  with the heroes, because there are more
  hero players.
  Hero one and 
  two things a turn
  As you know from reading p. 00, a
  hero can do one or two things on his turn.
  What one or two things can be done
  on a turn? The following lists are an
  excellent set of examples divided up
  between the three different heroes – play-
  ers may add to these lists if they choose.
  Rob Bot – One thing . . .
  If Rob Bot does one of the things on
  this list that’s it for his turn.
  • Impressive punching, kicking, or
  shooting.
  • “Athetic” movement.
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  section title
  playing the heroes L
  
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  section title
  • Do fancy stuff with a starship.
  • Operate a device.
  • Give a powerful speech.
  Rob Bot – Two things . . .
  Rob Bot can do any two different
  things on this list during his turn.
  • Ordinary punching, kicking, or
  shooting.
  • Normal movement.
  • Fly a starship.
  • Give a speech.
  Zero Zero – One thing . . .
  If Zero Zero does one of the things on
  this list that’s it for his turn.
  • Ordinary punching, kicking, or
  shooting.
  • “Athetic” movement.
  • Fly a starship.
  • Operate a complex device.
  • Give a speech.
  Zero Zero – Two things . . .
  Zero Zero can do any two different
  things on this list during his turn.
  • Normal movement.
  • Operate a device.
  Blinx Bot – One thing . . .
  If Blinx Bot does one of the things on
  this list that’s it for his turn.
  • Powerful punching or kicking.
  • “Athetic” movement.
  • Fly a starship.
  • Fancy shootin’ with a starship’s
  guns.
  • Operate a device.
  Blinx Bot – Two things . . .
  Blinx Bot can do any two different
  things on this list during his turn.
  • Ordinary punching, kicking, or
  shooting.
  • Normal movement.
  • Fire a starship’s guns.
  Thing Descriptions
  Now we’ll take a close look at what,
  exactly, each thing means in terms of the
  game.
  I m p ressive Punching, Kicking, or
  Shooting: Also known as an impressive
  attack, this attack is one in which the
  character does some astounding feat, like
  leaping over several enemies to strike the
  leader or jumping down from high.
  Double damage is inflicted on the target.
  
  “Athletic” Movement: These are
  jumps and rolls and spins and leaps and .
  . . well, you get the idea. A character
  doing “athletic” movement for his turn
  moves a number of feet equal to 3x his
  nuts and is harder to hit with a punch,
  kick, or shot – the attacker rolls half his
  usual number of dice.
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  section title
  
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  section title
  
  T
  he player selected to play Black Bot
  Five (see p. 00) has the hardest job in
  the game: it’s his job to play not only
  the villainous robot but also all of the
  extras and to narrate the game.
  the setup
  You’ve already got the setup for this
  session of the game – it’s what earned
  you the role of Black Bot Five (see p. 00).
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  section title
  playing black bot five L
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Rob Bot and His Robotic Buds/Rob Bot and His Robotic Buds Corebook.pdf