Horizon Zero Dawn RPG

before everything started, the world was in a bad shape. environmental catastrophes happened one after another, resources started to run out, the ice caps almost fully melted. this created climat refugees who fled their home countries because of this. in 2032 where a massive flood happens. in 2036 New Zealand gets completely flooded, and a rebellion in one of the UK’s climate refuges, which caused deaths of countless climate refugees. in 2040, a clawback decade begins where humanity desperately tries to survive. thru a green technology, advances in development of robots and AI, slowly things started to look better. in the same year, doctor Elizobeth Sobek, a robot engineer and child prodigy who graduated from Stenford university at twelve years old, and got her PHD at 20 starts working for Ted Faro’s company, called Faro’s Automated Solutions. and Ted is less concerned about ethics, and loves to exploit. fortunately, Faro got into spaceflight and not military, but that would change soon. Sobek started to create green robots, having passion for robotic engineering, designed to help with environmental issues. in 2045, 60-70% of all US military was replaced by robots. and, three years later, in 2048 Faro’s Automated Solutions expands into military sector. Soon, the company creates the chariot line of machines, designed to enforce various measures with violence. the type of machines were called peacekeepers and used by governments and companies alike to enforce peace. and the line consisted of Scarab, Khopesh and Horus. Scarabs are used for swift all-terrain reconnaissance, able to repair themselves and other machines, resembling a scorpion, with black body and a tail with sharp end, four legs and on red eye. Khopeshes are enforces in the chariot line, with immense firepower, looking like basically walking guns, with flat top, six legs with special metallic spikes that go into the ground when they fire their weapons, armed with countless missile launchers and a minigun in the front. Lastly, Horus is considered the queen bee of the horus, having the ability to repair and create other machines, and new Horus units, resembling a massive mix between a spider and an octopus, with sleek, chitin like body and eight long spindly legs on the bottom with drills on each end. also, Faro makes a decision to not install any and all backdoor access to the machine, which makes them impossible to hack. but at the moment, for Faro it was just another selling point. at this moment, the global tension is at it’s zenith, as the countries start competing for now sparse resources. and with the end pretty much nigh, chariot robots are sold to the militaries all around the globe. now, chariot line has a failsafe. if the fuel ever runs out, it will deploy special nanomachines that use any organic matter in the radius, to use as fuel. meaning that the chariot machines can consume plants, trees, animals and even humans. they can also hack into any enemy military equipment that isn’t Faro’s. and Sobek, disgusted by the Faro’s choice to go into military leaves the company and makes her own company called Miriam Technologies. she continues to build and design environmental robots and other equipment. soon, Faro’s Automated Solutions becomes dominant provider for military equipment and robots. by 2052 the entirety of UK army is automized, and three years later in 2055 US military follows suit. in 2062 a glitch occurs in the chariot system (swarm), and all machines go rogue one after another, becoming independent entity hivemind. and to feed themselves, the machines use their biofuel failsafe, rapidly consuming any organic matter they can find. it’s quickly surmised that to crack the almost impenetrable coding Faro insisted upon, it would take decades. Faro, of all people, calls Sobek to help him find out how bad the situation really is. 15 months, that’s how long humanity had left, before everything biological gets wiped out. but Sobek comes up with a plan and forces Faro to sponsor it. Sobek starts the Zero Dawn project, but it was never meant to stop the plague, but to ensure humanity’s survival after the machines shutted down. the project is run by an AI called GAIA, and GAIA is in charge of nine sub AIs tasked with their own goals in rebuilding Earth, HEPHAESTUS, AETHER, POSEIDON, DEMETER, ARTEMIS, ELEUTHIA, APPOLO, MINERVA and HADES. MINERVA is an AI created to break the code of the swarm and shut it down. AETHER detoxifies the atmosphere. POSEIDON does the same with water. HEPHAESTUS creates the machines that allow other AI carry out their duties. HADES is the failsafe of the project, designed to allow GAIA to start the process over again if something bad happened. ARTEMIS is responsible for restoring fauna. DEMETER restores flora. ELEUTHIA restores human population. APPOLO is waiting in the background to teach the newborn humans about humanity’s history so that they wouldn’t repeat the mistakes done before them. GAIA also feels emotions, and has her own personality, meaning she not only accepts her duty, but does it enthusiastically. doctor Sobek and GAIA were very close, treating each other as equal. Sobek also hires people to work on each of the AI subfunctions, calling them Alphas. soon Sobek, alongside Alphas, Betas and Gammas who flesh out the staff, are sealed in GAIA prime, that once was Faro’s Automated Solutions facility, now covered for the needs of Zero Dawn project. outside of the facility, operation Enduring Victory begun, aimed to buy the Zero Dawn enough time. as month ticked by, people started to suspect that they won’t be saved. the civilians were evacuated to an Elysium facility, where they are hidden from the machines. but the project wasn’t done in time. Faro’s who hid in his private bunker, started to have a mental breakdown, requesting updates from the Alphas on every subject, even those he did not understand. but, unfortunately, one of the seals on Gaia prime didn’t close properly, allowing the machines to detect the heat coming from the inside. while everybody argued who should go and close the seal, Sobek done the suit and slipped out of the bunker, closing it from the outside and sacrificing herself, later dying next to the home she grew up in. Faro who had complete mental breakdown, manages to get security clearance and deleted entire APPOLO’s library containing all of human history and knowledge. Faro, then calls the Alphas into a meeting, tells them what he had done and kills them. fifteen years later, MINERVA figures the deactivation code for the swarm. after roughly two centuries, DEMETER and ARTEMIS to repopulate earth with flora and fauna, leaving the machines buried. the people who were born in the cradles, were taken care of by their robotic caretakers, but because APPOLO couldn’t teach them, they didn’t get any education past kindergarten level. when the first generation of humans grew to young adult age, resources begun to run out, forcing them to get outside of the cradles into a world they didn’t know anything about. the humans started to primitive tribes, learning how to survive by themselves. so, Carja, Banuk, Nora and Oseram. migrating to the hotter drylands region, Carja makes themselves known for being merchants and using enslaved people in various businesses, and to construct Meridian, the capital of their society. in the wilds, are the Nora. hunter gatherers who live in matriarch society where the mother and your matriarch lineage is placed above all else. deep in the snowcovered mountains live the Banuk, being very spiritualistic and communicating with the new machines that now inhabit Earth alongside animals. Oseram embrace smoke, coal and metal to smith weapon and armor and invent gadgets that amaze the other clans. in what used to be America live Tenakh and Ultaru. Tenakh are fierce and bloodthirsty warriors who prioritize strength over literally anything else. and Ultaru who are agricultural experts who’s farms stretch far away. at exactly 8:45 AM, 26 of August in 3020 something odd happened. a signal from unknown source was send to GAIA, which makes all of her AI subfunctions self-aware. the AIs start to become erratic and GAIA is unable to control them. HADES who’s now completely independent goes to it’s primal programing of purging any organic matter on Earth. it tries to seize control of the terraforming system, and GAIA just like her own creator sacrifices herself by destroying the GAIA prime facility in a massive explosion to prevent HADES from taking control over it. but HADES creates a virus that separates the other AIs from GAIA, escaping the facility and saving itself. the HADES who’s now alone, not connected to GAIA or any other sub AIs who also got away, sends a signal, attracting Sylens, an amoral researcher who’s obsessed with finding out about the old ones (the human that lived on Earth before them) at any cost. Now, in the ravine in a mountainous region where Nora live, is Rost. Rost is prideful Nora outcast, meaning entire Nora society shun him. tragically, he became an outcast willingly after his loved one and daughter got kidnapped and murdered in a raid by outlanders. and to pass beyond the border of the ravine the Nora call Cradle, is to become an outcast for Nora, as it is forbidden. Rost became what Nora call a Death Seeker, somebody who is declared ritually dead. Rost then hunt down every and all outlanders who killed his family, but was wounded in the proccess. he was later brought back in by a compassionate Nora woman who’s family also died in the outlander’s raid. Rost instead of being rejected from the land once again, become and outcast, allowing him to stay in the sacred land, although being ignored by everyone for the rest of his life. back to GAIA, in the last moments before she sacrifices herself, she sends special instructions to ELEUTHIA 9 cradle that is located in the mountains in the Nora sacred land. Nora, having forgotten their origins, believed that the door to the cradle their settlement is build around with it’s female automated voice is the All-mother, their goddess. using the DNA GAIA send to ELEUTHIA, a clone of Elizabeth sobek was made. as GAIA knew only a clone of Sobek would be able to destroy the HADES, being as smart as Sobek, able to access old ruins due to the DNA, and be resilient enough. and so, a perfect clone of Sobek was discovered at the door to the cradle by the matriarch of the Nora. but, without a mother, she was a blasphemy for Nora. not knowing what to do with her, and with some people cursing her, the clone was given to Rost to take care of. he later named her Aloy [A-loi]. when Aloy was a child, and having an oddly large head, she tries to help a mother from the Nora tribe to collect berries with the children, but she was swiftly cast aside by the tribe members, just like her father, Rost. recognizing her by the unmistakable red hair and likely having heard of her, the Nora mother pulls the children back and returns to the settlement. but not everybody hates Aloy. one of the matriarch, Teersa thinks Aloy is a gift from the Allmother. where as second matriarch Lansra thinks she is a curse. when the Aloy fled in anger, sadness and shame, not looking where she’s going, she fell into one of the old bunkers. and going into any and all ruins left from the old once is strictly forbidden by Nora. as Aloy tries to find a way out, she finds something interesting. a rotten body of one of the old once with a focus. a small, flat triangular device the size of a coin placed above the ear in mandibular area. and Aloy, like any child, plays with this device, experiencing the technological marvels of 21 century after centuries. unlike other Nora, Aloy isn’t scared of the technology of the old once. now, Nora thinks that the old once got wiped away because they turned away from the Allmother, surrendering to the temptations of the metal devil. believing that the metal devil brought the downfall of humanity, which isn’t all that far away. Rost, concerned about his daughter, finds and gets Aloy out of the ruins. and after Aloy tells Rost about the incident with the Nora mother, Rost decides to teach Aloy of the proving. a competition held every year by the Nora, the winner of which can get his single wish fulfilled. and Aloy, wanting to know more about her mother, decides that she will win the proving and become Brave (Nora Warrior). and as the time passes, Aloy becomes old enough for the ceremony (being 18 years old), she also becomes extremely skilled. After Hades finds Sylens and Sylens figuring out that HADES is a remnant of the Old once, Sylens, decides that he will do literally Anything HADES tells him, in exchange for HADES telling more about the old world to Sylens. such as, capitalizing on the Carja civil war to leverage a secret cult cold Eclipse which belongs to Shadow Carja. Shadow Carja are Carja who still believe that the tyrannical king of Carja was right and want to overthrow the new, good king to take control of the entire clan. And Sylens makes Shadow Carja believe that HADES is actually Buried Shadow, god for Shadow Carja and a devil for other Carja. and Shadow Carja helps HADES dig out the Faro machines as they think HADES will use the machines to help them reclaim control of Meridian and put the rightful king in place. the Shadow Carja split from Carja during a civil war between the tyrannical king Jiran and his son Avad who wins and becomes the new king, restoring the relations with other clans since Jiran was kidnapping people from other clans to bring as a sacrifice for their god. the Carja warriors that were send to capture and enslave other clan members were called the Red Raids since the warriors of Carja wore black armor with red cloth with golden lining. Jiran was killed by his son and now widowed wife and son become puppets for Shadow Carja. the Shadow Carja are led by Helis. back to Eclipse, they are the cult born from what was left of Jiran’s military after the war, and are basically Carja religious extremists. they share the same attitute as Jiran for human sacrifices, and enslavering. ruled by Helis, they believe the god had given Jiran right to rule and must put his youngest son as the rightful king. the machines that inhabit Earth are build by HEPHAESTUS to still rebuild Earth, but they weren’t aggressive towards humans. until the incident resulting in GAIA’s sacrifice, and during which the other AIs got free, HEPHAESTUS takes controls of the certain factories called Cauldrons where the machines are made, he quickly realizing that humans are hunting his beloved machines. so it decides to tweak the programming of the machines, turning them more hostile towards humans. it also created brand new predatory machines that were especially good at killing, while still doing their part in terraforming Earth.

when the Eclipse started to obey HADES, he orders Sylens to be killed since it doesn’t need him anymore. but, Sylens build a backdoor into the focus that were provided to the Eclipse, being able to tap in confidential order that put the death warrant of his head, and decides it’s time to make himself scarce.

back to Aloy, she is treated like garbage when she arrives at the Nora settlement for the proving. but before that, she befriends an Oseram named Erend, accompanying a Carja priest who tries to make amends for the red raids, and notices his companion Olin who also has a focus. and Olin was an Eclipse spy, send to find Aloy. HADES recognizes that Aloy is clone of Sobek and has focus, making her a danger to it. and it decides that Aloy needs to die. and it contacts Helis who organizes an attack on the Nora to take the red haired woman out. Aloy wins the proving, ready to confront the matriarch. but the Eclipse arrive and start a massacre of the young Nora who were at the proving. Rost comes to save Aloy, but Helis gives him a mortal wound, and Rost dies after the explosion set by Eclipse to destroy the evidence. Aloy though, survives. Aloy then wokes up in the sacred mountain, where the Cradle 9 is located, being brought by the matriarch who though she’ll die, but she’ll at least do it next to her mother. but Aloy survives. she finds out about doctor Sobek, but when the door scans her to allow her to enter, due to the system being corrupted, she is denied the entrance. Aloy though doesn’t give up, wanting to find out who Sobek is, and is granted the title of a Seeker by the matriarch. and Seeker is the only person allowed to exit and enter the Cradle at will. she finds out that the Eclipse used Olin’s focus to find out about her and to try and kill her, and she wants to have her revenge. she finds out that Olin lives in Meridian and goes there. but, before she steps out she is forces to fight a corrupted Scarab that corrupted other machines. after killing it and taking it apart, she removes the override component, attaching it to her spear so that she can take control of other machines that are not a part of chariot line. alongside, she finds Varl, son of the Nora war chief Sona, who’s leading a war party to hunt down every last Eclipse member. when she sets out towards Meridian, she passes thru a Daytower gate, Carja border pass between Nora and Carja lands. when she arrives at Meridian, she mets drunk Erend, who got himself drunk because of the death of his sister Ersa, who’s also the Captain of the Oseram Vanguard, and he had taken her role. Aloy tells Erend about Olin’s connection to the eclipse. they investigate Olin’s house to found out more about him, and they found out that he is working as a spy because Eclipse holds his wife and son as prisoners. they found a mentioning of a location called Rockwreath. when she arrives, she finds Olin and two recently dug out Scarabs, but Sylens contacts her and decides to help her, disabling the Eclipse focuses and allowing her to slip by to Olin. and Sylens knowing that she is a threat even HADES fears, he figures out she could be a key to find more about the old once. Aloy interrogates Olin and finds out everything she needs to know about Eclipse. Olin also tells her he seen familiar woman in an old ruins called Maker’s End. Aloy then goes to rescue his family. after that, Erend opens to Aloy, telling her about his sister, and they decide to find whoever killed Ersa. as they go to the place Ersa was ambushed, they get attacked by who they think at first are Shadow Carja. but, they find out that those are Oseram soldiers who are led by a warlord who wants to genocide all Carja in revenge for the red raids, who’s name is Dervahl. after that, Carja captures Dervahl as Aloy and Erend found out about a planned attack from Ersa who was tortured to the bring of death and dies in Erend’s arms, Aloy heads out to the Maker’s End. as she finds out, Maker’s End are ruins of the Faro’s Automated Solutions HQ. at the foot of the ruins of the skyscraper, Aloy first encounters the Khopesh who they called Dethbringer. right at the top of the skyscraper, Aloy finds Faro’s boardroom, and she sees a recording of his meeting with Sobek where she tolds him that humanity is doomed. that’s where she finds out about the swarm, that was also dubbed The Faro Plague, and about what happened to the old once. Sylens, who also found out about it, sends Aloy to Grave Hoard, a ruined US Military robot command. with the US army being 100% automated, the few human generals would direct the automaton forces from there. at the depths, she finds the Eclipse found a destroyed Horus unit with stuck Khopesh inside. that is her second meeting with the Khopesh unit. finding more about the Zero Dawn project, she moves to the old spaceport where the Zero Dawn was located before being moved to GAIA prime in 2066. but, the spaceport is buried under Sunfall, the capital of Shadow Carja. after finding a demobilized tallneck, HADES first meets Aloy and taunts her, but she stabs the module, silently telling HADES where to shove it. sometime alter, Aloy manages to defeat HADES, but not actually kill him as she thought. Sylens who helped her multiple times helps HADES survive.

now, aforementioned, the Earth is inhabited by terraforming machines made and controlled by HEPHAESTUS. the machines also commonly found in herds, guarded by combat oriented machines, but the machines do not attack each other unless corrupted. the machines are in two categories, those build with killing in mind, and those that aren’t build with killing in mind. the first are: Broadheads are reminiscent of cattle, especially the Longhorn breed, displaying a pair of long, straight and horizontal horns likely used as tools and defense. A pair of rotary tools located below each horn help it convert plant matter into biofuel.The Broadhead seems to share a nearly identical chassis design with the Strider and Charger, with its main difference being the head design. Unlike the other two, the Broadhead has two Blaze canisters on its back instead of one. A Charger’s chassis very closely resembles that of a Strider or Broadhead. However, its head resembles that of a bighorn sheep. Two large, forward-curving horns, similar to the horns of a bighorn ram, are located on its head. Both horns are equipped with a tool that resembles a chainsaw. An optical sensor array consisting of a sensor partially surrounded by four smaller sensors is located at the end of the snout. A single Blaze canister is located between the haunches. The chassis is composed mainly of synthetic muscle, with white armor plating partially covering the head, neck, shoulders, hips, forelegs and hind legs.

A Glinthawk has a distinctly avian appearance, resembling a vulture. Its wings, tail, legs and feet armor plating that resembles feathers and avian wings, tail, legs, and feet. The general appearance of the chassis resembles that of a vulture. The beak is composed of an upper mandible equipped longitudinally with an array of rotary cutting tools, a lower mandible equipped with a longitudinal saw-like cutting tool, and a pair of lateral mandibles, each equipped with a rotary cutting tool. This complex mechanism is highly efficient at cutting, grinding and processing parts and resources from the chassis of destroyed machines. A pair of optical sensor arrays is located in the same position as a vulture’s eyes. An armored Freeze sac containing Chillwater, is positioned on its breast, presumably as part of a cooling system that prevents excessive heat buildup in the beak’s cutting tools during scavenging. Some Glinthawks have a Blaze sac rather than a Freeze one.

A Grazer is cervid in overall appearance. It has a long neck with a pair of metallic antler-like structures atop its head, each composed of a long, angled base tipped with a set of four rotor blades.

The Grazer uses these to cut grass which they then consume and convert into Blaze.[2] A single optical sensor array composed of one sensor is located at the tip of the snout. Four blaze canisters are located on its back. Grazers are quadrupedal, with legs similar to those of a Watcher, though longer. White armor plating partially covers the synthetic muscle that comprises the bulk of the chassis, on the underside of the neck, the back, the shoulders and the hips. A Grazer's chassis is similar in appearance to that of a Lancehorn. The Lancehorn bears a resemblance to a very large antelope or gazelle, possessing a pair of parallel horns, four slender legs, and a long neck. The horns are corkscrewed in appearance and rotate longitudinally like drill bits, to channel soil up into the machine for processing and mining of minerals. There is a single optical sensor at the end of the snout. Twin Chillwater canisters are positioned atop the lower back; this likely helps cool the drill bits on the machine's head. Twin containers are positioned above these, likely to store processed materials. A Lancehorn's chassis is nearly identical to that of a Grazer. A Rockbreaker’s chassis closely resembles the body of a badger or a mole, though unlike these animals, it has a tail whose length is approximately one quarter of the length of its body. Its most prominent feature is a massive mouth, composed of an enormous roller-cone drill bit. Each cone is set in a hinged jaw. This configuration allows the bit, and therefore the mouth, to expand as needed. Twin optical sensor arrays are located in the same position on the head as a mole’s eyes. However, while a mole has very poor eyesight, a Rockbreaker’s optical sensors are fully functional. At the end of each of its four short, stout, powerful limbs is a large extremity called a digging arm that resembles an excavator’s shovel. Under the machine's belly are twin Blaze sacs, and twin exhaust ports are positioned atop the body at the base of the tail.

The chassis of a Scrapper bears some resemblance to the body shape of a hyena.[28] It is quadrupedal, with a humped posture, clawed feet, no tail, and a thick, ridged neck. The machine’s mouth assembly is composed of 3 circular grinders, primarily used for grinding machine parts as part of their recycling function. However they are also used by the Scrapper in melee attacks. Two optical sensor arrays, each composed of four sensors, are located on its head, in the same positions as a hyena’s eyes. A radar scanner is located on its dorsal side between its shoulders, and a power cell is located between its haunches. An energy weapon capable of firing both energy bursts and laser beams is located in its mouth assembly. Snapmaws are classed as medium-sized machines, but compared to a human they are quite large. A Snapmaw's chassis resembles the body of an enormous crocodile such as the extinct Deinosuchus, with a long, crocodilian snout, a heavyset reptilian body, four crocodilian legs and feet, and a long, stout, powerful tail. Its gait exactly mirrors that of a crocodile. The snout’s upper mandible is long, tapered and toothy, while the lower mandible is actually a chainsaw-like blade with a system of small grinders at its base. There are two optical sensor arrays in the same position as a crocodile's eyes. In Horizon Zero Dawn, Snapmaws have an armored Blaze canister sitting atop each shoulder. In Horizon Forbidden West, the Blaze canisters are replaced with Purgewater canisters. The gullet is composed of a sac-like reservoir of Chillwater, called a Freeze Sac. Presumably this is used as a coolant. An array of resource containers that resemble armor plating line its back.[13] Solar panels line its back beside the containers, acting as armor. Apex Snapmaws resemble normal Snapmaws apart from their black armor and purple muscles. Their gullet contains a reservoir of Metalbite, called a Metalbite Sac. Also, Apex Snapmaws have Glowblast canisters on their shoulders instead of Purgewater canisters. About the size of a common draft horse, the chassis of a Strider is very equine in appearance, very closely resembling the body of a heavy-built draft horse. It stands on four equine legs with hooves and has powerful shoulders. The bulk of the chassis is composed of synthetic muscle, with white armor plating over the head, shoulders and legs. A vertical dual optical sensor array is on the tip of the snout. Between the haunches is a Blaze canister. The Strider seems to share a nearly identical chassis design with the Broadhead and Charger, with its main difference being the head design. A Trampler resembles an enormous bison bull, with a massive head, neck and chest, thick forelegs and a relatively smaller hind section and hind legs. A pair of huge hornlike excavators, called excavating horns, are located on its massive head. These are used for digging up soil and rock. A pair of large optical sensor arrays is located in the same position as the eyes of a bovine. Its jaws resemble an insect’s mandibles, presumably to scoop excavated rock and soil into its mouth to extract the resources contained therein. A power cell array is located atop its back, between the shoulders. A glowing processing unit occupies its entire abdominal area. Like the Frostclaw, the Fireclaw is ursine in appearance, movement, and locomotion. Its chassis resembles the body and has the gait of a short-faced bear. HEPHAESTUS modeled the Fireclaw and Frostclaw after the long-extinct animal, which was native to the region during the time of the Old Ones. The head ends in a pointed, toothy snout with a three-mandible jaw containing a system of rollers. A pair of optical sensor arrays is located in the same position as a bear's eyes would be. Mounted on each forelimb are a pair of gear-like wheels. There is an armor-protected fire generation unit, known as a Fire Unit, on its chest, and power cells are located on its lower back. Fire Sacs, armored storage tanks containing Blaze, are built into its chassis, similar to Fire Bellowbacks. However, while the Fire Bellowback's tanks are prominently placed on its back and throat, the Fireclaw's tanks are seamlessly built into its shoulders and are much more damage resistant. At first glance, Fireclaws and Frostclaws are identical in appearance aside from their difference in color palette and elements, however Fireclaws are slightly larger than Frostclaws, standing several feet taller on their hind legs. In Horizon: Forbidden West, it is confirmed that Fireclaw's are classified as heavyweight machines, while Frostclaws are classified as midweight. The two machines also have different icons in the machine catalogue. Like the Fireclaw, the Frostclaw is somewhat ursine (bear-like) in appearance, movement, and locomotion. Its chassis resembles the body and has the gait of a grizzly bear. While they are extremely formidable and deadly, Frostclaws are smaller than Fireclaws, and have considerably less capacity to sustain damage. The head ends in a pointed, toothy snout with a three-mandible jaw housing a system of grinders. A pair of optical sensor arrays is located in the same position as a bear's eyes would be. Mounted on each forelimb are a pair of gear-like wheels. There is an armor-protected cryogeneration unit called a Freeze Unit on its chest, and two power cells are located on its upper back. Freeze Sacs, armored storage tanks containing Chillwater are built into its chassis, similar to Freeze Bellowbacks. However, while the Freeze Bellowback's tanks are prominently placed on its back and throat, the Frostclaw's Freeze Sacs are seamlessly built into its shoulders, are much more damage resistant, and generally have more armor.

and now, are those machines that are build with killing in mind: Ravagers have a similar appearance to Sawtooths: heavyset at the front, with a large, broad chest, neck, and shoulders, powerful legs and no tail. However a Ravager’s chassis is leaner, and more closely resembles that of a large dog, although not as canine in appearance as that of the Scorcher. Additionally, instead of the metallic longitudinal crest of yellow-tipped spines seen on the backs of Sawtooths, Ravagers have a rapid-fire energy pulse cannon, dubbed a Ravager Cannon. The Ravager can swivel this weapon to aim it. The Ravager is quadrupedal, with clawed feet and a head with a toothy snout. Unlike the Sawtooth, its armor plating overlaps across its head, shoulders, back, and front legs. This increases the armor’s effectiveness. A canister of Chillwater is ensconced in its chest, in a similar manner to a Sawtooth’s Blaze canister. This is possibly used as a coolant. Similar to the Sawtooth, this canister is exposed initially, but will be covered in armor plating once it evolves. HEPHAESTUS appears to have modeled the Sawtooth after Smilodon fatalis, an extinct feline apex predator of the Pleistocene epoch, commonly called the saber-toothed cat. Like the saber-toothed cat, it is heavyset at the front, with a large, broad chest, neck, and shoulders, powerful legs, and no tail. Its mouth is equipped with a pair of curved, scimitar-like serrated spikes, like a saber-toothed cat's fangs. Two optical sensor arrays are located on its face, in the same position as a saber-toothed cat’s eyes. Each is composed of two sensors in a vertical configuration. A long, metal crest-like structure runs along the forward area of its back, and an array of three long antenna-like structures protrude from its back in a fan-like pattern, just behind the shoulders. Its paws are equipped with non-retractable claws. The shoulders, head, and neck are heavily armored. A power cell sits atop its hindquarters, and a canister of Blaze is ensconced in its chest.

The Scorcher’s chassis somewhat resembles that of a Ravager but does not have the Ravager’s tactical vulnerability to fire. Indeed, whereas Ravagers are weak against fire, this element is the Scorcher’s forte. Its head is lupine, with a long, toothy snout, a split jaw and large ear-like structures. A pair of optical sensor arrays is positioned in the same location as a fox’s eyes. Mounted on its back, between its heavyset shoulders, is a mine launcher. Positioned atop each shoulder is a heavily armored Blaze or Purgewater canister, and between its haunches is an equally heavily armored power generator. The chassis of a Stalker is distinct from that of the other known combat machines in two respects. Firstly, whereas these machines are heavyset and built for power, Stalkers are slender and streamlined. Secondly, whereas the armor of these machines consists of large, white fitted pieces, a Stalker's armor plating is black, and is composed of relatively small hexagonal plates that fit together in a chainmail pattern. Four optical sensor arrays are located on each side of their head, with the sensors arranged in a trapezoidal configuration. Each of their four feet is equipped with three claws. A dart gun is located between its shoulders, and on each hip is a proximity mine launcher. A power cell rests atop its lower back, to which four long, antenna-like structures are attached. The machine has a retractable tail that is almost twice as long as its body, equipped with a sharp spike at the tip. Finally, a cloaking device called a Stealth Generator is mounted on the belly.

Stormbirds are raptorial in appearance. Indeed, while machines generally resemble some form of pre-Zero Day animal life, the Stormbird's appearance does so more than many other known machines. Its resemblance to a bird of prey is unmistakable, with raptorial wings, tail, head and beak, armor plating that resembles feathers, and taloned feet. It has two optical sensor arrays positioned in the same place as the eyes of an eagle or falcon. Above each shoulder is an armored Chillwater canister. Each wing is equipped with three feather-shaped jet engines. The wings are equipped with winglets, enhancing their aerodynamic efficiency. An armored Blaze canister is positioned above each hip. Each of the four toes on each foot is equipped with a talon. In the center of the chest is an armored electrical energy projectile weapon known as a lighting gun, with which it can fire powerful blasts of electrical energy, similar to a Shell-Walker. The Thunderjaw is a huge bipedal machine with features akin to those of a Tyrannosaurus Rex: powerful and bulky legs, a long body, and a heavy tail to maintain equilibrium. Its body features symmetrical weaponry: a laser weapon in its mouth, cannons on its jaws, a radar array on its back, and Disc Launchers on its hips. now, are machines that do no belong in any of the two major categories: The Tallneck resembles a giraffe in both silhouette and gait. They have no visible optical sensors, and their heads are broad discs, with a data node on the top center that can be used as an access point for overriding. Their chassis is covered by heavy armor plating and an energy shield. Several long antennae-like platforms project from the back of the neck, and four tail-like structures are mounted in pairs on the posterior. Their feet have ten toes in the front and three in the back. On their backs are two power converters. Redeye Watchers look nearly identical to Watchers except for the following differences: their heads are more heavily armored, their tails are more slender and point upward, and rather than one ocular sensor, Redeye Watchers have three: alongside the large main eye standard of Watchers, two smaller ocular sensors are built into its head. The Watcher resembles a small theropod dinosaur, possibly an alvarezsauroid due to their reduced forelimbs. Its chassis length is slightly greater than the height of an average adult human. Its most distinctive feature is its disproportionately large head which houses a highly sensitive ocular sensor array, all mounted on a long, flexible neck composed of synthetic muscle that allows for a wide field of vision. The Watcher's body primarily connects the neck and a flexible tail of similar design. An offset hip bearing is attached on either side of the body, each leading into a thin springboard leg. The head, body, and hips are covered with white armor plating. The Behemoth’s huge chassis has some resemblance to the body of a rhinoceros. It is speculated by some fans that it is based on some ancestor or relative of modern rhinos, such as an Amynodont. Its head is mostly composed of a very large pyramidal snout. Its jaws consist of a pair of mandibles similar to those of a Thunderjaw, An optical sensor array is located on each side of the snout, near the mandibles. Between the mandibles is a pair of rotary tools whose primary purpose is unknown, but which it can use in attacks. On each side of its very large neck are three anti-gravity generators called force loaders. Its belly has a large longitudinal circular space into which a circular cargo container fits vertically, locked in place by clamps. Between its haunches is an antenna array, and on each haunch is a Chillwater canister. On the back of its neck sits a single power cell.

The Bellowback’s chassis bears a vague similarity to a theropod dinosaur, particularly Spinosaurus or Baryonyx. Two long, sturdy hind legs with three-toed feet, similar to those of a theropod, are attached to its torso. The torso is primarily composed of a large cargo sac carrying an elemental liquid (the exact substance contained within depends on the variant), and an array of four smaller tanks longitudinally located at its gullet. Just beneath the cargo sac is a long tail, at the base of which are two antennae. Three elemental canisters are located at the base of the tail between the legs. The sac and tanks are semi-armored and made of a tough, transparent material that can withstand multiple arrow strikes before rupturing. A crest-like array of armor plates is located on its upper back. This protects the sac from frontal attacks. The head is primarily composed of a long, armor-plated snout. The Bellowback has no mouth; instead, the snout ends in an opening akin to a spray nozzle. A pair of optical sensor arrays is located near the base of the head, on either side. Although classified as a medium-sized machine, the Bellowback is actually larger than the Behemoth, which is classified as a large-sized machine. A Shell-Walker’s chassis is a hermit crab-like in appearance. It has six stout crab-like legs connected radially to a body primarily composed of a platform upon which it carries a hexagonal cargo container. On the underside of the platform is a power generator. The container is presumably fastened to the platform electromagnetically, and further held in place via structures known as Crate Holders. The head is laterally wide, with a triangular optical sensor array located at each end. Additionally, a Shell-Walker has a pair of limbs that are akin to the chelipeds of a crab. An energy shield generator is on the end on the left limb, and a weapon that fires projectiles of electrical energy, dubbed a Lighting Gun, is at the end of the right limb. A projection carrying a pair of long antennae protrudes vertically from the left side of the head.

The Control Tower resembles a short palm tree. Its constant swaying movement resembles that of certain small stationary marine fauna such as sea anemones. The chassis consists of a stout, tree trunk-like armored structure with six leaf-like structures at the apex, surrounding a central emitter. At the base of the machine are three data nodes. Near the top of the chassis is a triangular extendable cooling element, which the machine briefly extends following the release of its energy pulse.