Ahav

Ahav (Autonomous Heavy Assault Vehicle) CR 12

XP 19,200
N Huge construct (robot)
Init +12; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, sensor suite; Perception +28 (+38 with sensor suite activated)

DEFENSE

AC 29, touch 17, flat-footed 20 (+8 Dex, +1 dodge, +12 natural, -2 size)
hp 156 (18d10+40+17)
Fort +11; Ref +21; Will +15
Special Defenses fast healing 5, hardness 15; Immunities construct immunities

OFFENSE

Speed 60 ft.
Melee 1 slam +23 (5d6+5 bludgeoning)
Ranged machine gun burst +26 (3d10 piercing) or flamethrower +26 (4d6 fire)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks flame-thrower, machine gun

STATISTICS

Str 21, Dex 27, Con —, Int 10, Wis 19, Cha 12
Base Atk +18; CMB +25; CMD 43
Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Skill Focus (Perception), Skill Focus (Stealth), Toughness^B
Skills Perception +28, Stealth +32
Languages Common
SQ Model, unliving
Gear flame-thrower with 2 high-capacity petrol tanks, machine gun with 420 bullets

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Flame-thrower (Ex)

The Ahav’s flame-thrower projects a 60-foot-long line of fire, and makes a separate attack roll against each creature within the line. Each attack roll takes a cumulative –2 penalty after the first target, and its attack damage cannot be modified by precision damage or damage-increasing feats such as Vital Strike. Effects that grant concealment, such as fog or smoke, or the blur, invisibility, or mirror image spells, do not foil this line attack.

If any of the rolls threatens a critical hit, the Ahav confirms the critical for that roll alone. All affected creatures take 4d6 points of damage, and any creature hit by the flaming stream must also succeed at succeed at a DC 21 Reflex save or catch fire, taking an additional 2d6 points of damage each round until the flames are extinguished. A burning creature can attempt a new save as a full-round action, and dropping and rolling on the ground grants a +2 bonus on this save. An Ahav is equipped with 2 high-capacity petrol tanks to fuel the flame-thrower. Each tank holds enough fuel for the AHAV to use the flame-thrower 6 times. The tanks have hardness 10 and 5 hit points, and if a tank is ruptured, a mighty conflagration erupts, the AHAV takes 6d6 points of fire damage, and all creatures within a 20-foot radius take 3d6 points of fire damage (Reflex DC 21 for half ). Any creatures who take damage must succeed at a DC 21 Reflex save or catch on fire.

Machine Gun (Ex)

An AHAV’s machine gun fires a burst of bullets, attacking all creatures in a line. This line starts from any corner of the AHAV’s space and extends to 100 feet or until it strikes a barrier it cannot penetrate. When the machine gun attacks all creatures in a line, it makes a separate attack roll against each creature in the line. Each creature in the line can only be attacked with one bullet from each burst. Each attack roll takes a cumulative –2 penalty after the first target to account for recoil, and its attack damage cannot be modified by precision damage or damage-increasing feats such as Vital Strike. Effects that grant concealment, such as fog or smoke, or the blur, invisibility, or mirror image spells, do not foil the machine gun’s line attack. If any of the attack rolls threaten a critical hit, confirm the critical for that attack roll alone. A single attack with the machine gun fires 10 bullets and an AHAV typically carries 420 bullets. An AHAV’s machine gun cannot fire single bullets that target one creature, unless it has the Sniper MODEL loadout (see below).

Model (Ex)

An AHAV is created with one of the Mission Dependent Loadouts, or MODELs, listed below. MODELs are intended to allow AHAVs to serve in a variety of roles.

This list is not exhaustive; the GM is free to design other MODELs at her discretion.

• Advanced Maneuverability: The AHAV has an extraordinary fly speed of 60 feet (perfect maneuverability) and the Spring Attack feat.
• Autoloader: When the AHAV makes a full attack with its machine gun, it can make up to three attacks instead of two attacks. It takes a –5 penalty to these attacks instead of a –4 penalty.
• Camouflage Plating: The AHAV gains a +20 enhancement bonus to Stealth checks.
• Sniper: As a move action, an AHAV can toggle between settings on its machine gun choosing either the standard machine gun burst attack setting or a single-shot sniper rifle setting. When fired as a sniper rifle, the weapon makes a single ranged attack at a target with an attack roll of +26, a range increment of 200 feet, and deals 3d10 bludgeoning damage. When the AHAV makes a sniper attack against a target who is within 200 feet and is completely unaware of the AHAV’s presence, the attack deals an additional 5d6 points of sneak attack damage.

Ram (Ex)

If an AHAV hits with its slam attack after a charge, the target is also knocked back 30 feet. If the target is blocked from moving the full distance, it takes an additional 1d6 bludgeoning damage per 10 feet it can’t move.

Sensor Suite (Ex)

As a full action, an AHAV can gain one of the following benefits for 1 minute: blindsight (life), blindsight (vibration), sense through (vision), or a +10 enhancement bonus to Perception checks. It can change which benefit it receives as a full action. At the GM’s discretion, an AHAV might have access to more options, such as blindsight (emotion) or blindsight (thought).

ABOUT

Environment any
Organization solitary or unit (1 Ahav plus 10–12 soldiers)
Treasure standard

This massive war machine glides above the ground, hovering and propelling itself with powerful jets. A humanoid torso arises from this transport base, bristling with weaponry as it regards the battlefield.

Military marvels of advanced weaponry and artificial-personality programming, AHAVs are ruthless machines of war, bound by their programming to follow their objectives without pause. The acronym AHAV stands for “Autonomous Heavy Assault Vehicle,” reflecting the constructs’ ability to operate independently and make basic decisions on the battlefield. While the term originated with a specific and popular early model, the name quickly spread in colloquial use to refer to all robotic war machines of similar designs, and these days many corporations on many different worlds use the term to market their own proprietary models. AHAVs are built to appear intimidating: sturdy armor-plated tanks that float on hovertreads, armed with various heavy weapons and bristling with antennae. AHAVs have a full complement of sensors, capable of detecting heat, vibration, and sometimes other signatures, though they don’t usually have enough processing power to activate every available sense at once.

Unfortunately, since AHAVs’ basic programming leaves little room for independent thought and nuance, many of them can be easily tricked by those who can figure out the literal outlines of their objectives and work around them. As such, AHAVs have dropped off in popularity over the past few decades, though the corporations invested in building them are continually working to improve on this limitation.

Before they are programmed, AHAVs are outfitted with Mission Dependent Loadouts (MODELs for short), which are special abilities and equipment that aid a robot in its particular mission. An AHAV focused on reconnaissance might have an advanced sensor suite or stealth capabilities, while one intended to go head-to-head with a superior enemy force might have augmented weaponry. A sufficiently astute observer can use the MODEL of an AHAV to puzzle out its objective.

AHAVs are built to last—a feature that sometimes means their objectives fail before they do. For instance, an AHAV programmed to guard a particular site will continue to do so even though its handlers have long since perished. While such a construct might seem to be a sad sight, it pales in comparison to those AHAVs whose objectives have become unachievable or internally inconsistent over time. Such a state introduces subtle errors into the AHAV’s programming, which can result in behavior that would be called insane if exhibited by a flesh-and-blood creature. A technician who can uncover that robot’s original purpose might be able to speak with the machine, convincing it of the error of its ways or the irrationality of its objective, but AHAVs have an inherently confrontational worldview and are difficult to reason with. AHAVs that successfully confront such a misalignment are most likely to shut down entirely, becoming nothing but inert metal and circuitry.