Well-Known Member
X E R X E S
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: To create a birthday present for Vicelord Metus of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
[Photo edits by Gerwald Lechner]
Canon Link: N/A
Permissions:
- Locke and Key Mechanics Permission [x]
Primary Source:
PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Manufacturer: Visanj T’shkali
Affiliation: Closed-Market
Model: “Xerxes”
Modularity: None
Production: Unique
Material(s):
- Beskar Laminate
- Laminanium-coated Ultrachrome Circuitry
- Diatium-Pyronium Battery
- Phrik Skeleton
- Agrinium Mesh Liner
- Chromium Trim
- Reinforced Stygian-Triprismatic Duraplast Mono-Molecular Armor
- Absorbital-infused Reflec-based Shadowskin (Paint)
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Classification: Second / Fourth-class
Weight: Very Heavy (136.08kg)
Height: Very Large (2.43m)
Movement: Bipedal
Armaments: None
Misc. Equipment:
- Myomer Actuation System
- Droid Parabolic Guides
- Endosystem
- Heavy-Duty Suspension System
- Micro-processing Module
- Electric Defense Grid
- Mimetic Combat Processor
- Droid System Fortification
- Encephalon-34 Droid Brain
- Droid Singularity Projector
- Wampa Droid Cooling System
- Personal Deflector Shield (Hybrid Verpine / Sentinel-droid Type)
- Sith-imbued Crushgaunts
- Droid Preservation Unit (DPU)
- Nabu Droid Sensor Suite
- Battlemaster I Droid Combat Programming Suite
- Battlemaster II Droid Combat Programming Suite
- Battlemaster III Droid Combat Programming Suite
- Battlemaster IV Droid Combat Programming Suite
- Xerxes’ Armored Cape
- Slicer's Curse
Resistances (Optional):
- Energy (And other blaster-type weapons): Very High
- Kinetic: Very High
- Lightsabers: Very High
- Other, Sonic: Average
- Other, Radiation: Average
- Other, EMP/Ion: Extreme
- Other, Thermal: None (due to vulnerability to extreme heat)
- Other, Elemental: Very Low
- Other, Acid (And other corrosive substances): Average
- Other, Pressure: Average
- Other, Force Abilities: Average
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Droid possesses excellent military command-and-control abilities, rivalling the galaxy’s very best strategists, administrators, and tacticians past and present.
- Droid’s exceptional durability, athleticism, and individual combat capabilities make him a fearsome and terrifying foe that even for some Force-using masters might prove a difficult challenge to say the least.
- Droid’s myriad of advanced systems grant him capabilities far and away beyond those of most conventional droids, i.e. intelligence, sensory perception, self-repair and sustainment, physicality, and intense loyalty to its Vicelord and the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
STRENGTHS:
- Brilliant and Tough - Exceptional intellect, physicality, and combat droid training package make this model a brilliant strategist, tactician, and fearsome foe in combat, able to not only simultaneously command fleets and ground forces both with terrific acumen but also more than proficient at individual combat enough to be a match for even trained masters in the Force.
- Hard to Kill - Significant durability, powerful sensory capability, solid defenses against various types of damage, and extensive internal damage control and repair systems combine to make Xerxes incredibly hard to stop, though not impossible it would require tremendous damage before this model could be effectively countered.
- The Future Belongs to Me - Pre-cognitive ability allows droid to accurately predict and forecast an enemy’s actions and reactions, calculating for and even being able to direct accordingly to ensure they play to its favor.
WEAKNESSES:
- Sneaky It Ain’t - Large size and weight make stealthy actions by this droid unlikely to happen, as any attempt to conceal itself or move about unnoticed would be rather difficult to perform. Its stealth elements are limited to confounding sensors and targeting systems, not line of sight and close-proximity.
- Is It Hot In Here? - This model is especially vulnerable to extreme attacks from heat, such as a direct close-range assault with a flame-thrower, which might cause its cooling system – already working at near-maximum – to rapidly overheat. Even prolonged exposure to very hot environments, such as the wastes of Tatooine, would possibly begin to cause alarm unless internal cooling system is working at peak rates.
- Head Wounds Are the Worst - Encephalon-34 Droid Brain, although immune to EMP/Ion damage and encased in a highly durable casing, becomes considerably more vulnerable if that casing is breached, potentially resulting in malfunction or worse.
- Power Is Everything - Potent collection of onboard systems and components require an equally potent power supply for them to operate at peak performance levels; any sufficient damage or interruption to internal power systems can compromise droid functionality in potentially serious ways, creating diminished performance and possibly catastrophic weaknesses.
DESCRIPTION:
The droid’s exterior appears like the iconic armor of the Mandalorian culture, called beskar’gam in Mando’a, a word which loosely translates to “Iron Skin”. Visanj collected scores of these suits, trophies taken from the corpses of slain Mandalorian warriors at the Battle of Tanaab, where her forces – fighting alongside the victorious Confederate military – claimed the highly-prized battle armor in her name, receiving a bounty for every one taken made from real beskar, the famed Mandalorian metal whose imperviousness to most types of damage is legendary throughout the galaxy. While sifting through her trophies, a strange notion overtook her, a way to pour salt into the wounds of those defeated foes, who soon after watched as the arrogance of their rulers cost their homeworld and scattered the survivors across the stars.
The notion was…wickedly exciting. Since the Confederacy is known for its premier development and utilization of synthetic warriors, vast droid armies which have trod hundreds of worlds beneath their steel feet, and since Mandalorian armor – some master-crafted suits dating back a hundred generations – is a symbol of Mandalorian culture, heritage, and tradition, the idea was just…perfect. To build a droid using some of her trophies, making the beskar’gam live up to its name, and to make that droid the greatest general in Confederate history and a birthday present to the Confederacy’s Vicelord, who was himself raised in that culture.
Moreover, the blood that stained that beskar would perfectly suit the requirements for the Sith rituals, alchemy, and magick which Visanj was going to employ in making this droid. So very much the better, Visanj thought, holding a shattered helmet in her hand, so very much the better. The process of design was painstakingly slow, and when Visanj failed to find suitable components, she simply made what she needed. As a result, the new droid represents a bleeding-edge advancement in droid technologies. It was planned to move like a Galactic-level athlete, imbued with a terrific physicality of strength, speed, and agility, which when coupled with combat programming and droid training, would produce a droid who – but for the ability to use the Force – would stand a dueling match even to a Jedi or Sith Master. But going toe-to-toe with Sith Lords and Jedi Council members was not this droid’s chief purpose. Instead, it was meant to command and lead the iron legions of the Confederacy in battle after battle, to victory after victory. To accomplish this, Visanj created one of the most intelligent droids in the galaxy, endowed with thousands of years of the collected tactical and strategic brilliance of the galaxy’s finest generals, admirals, and conquerors. Thrawn, Visanj thought grinning, version 3-point-oh-my-gods!
A walking, talking monument to Confederate military supremacy and accomplishment, Visanj dubbed the ‘technological terror’ as “Xerxes”. Using armor which, given the ornate patterns and designs found in the helmet, breastplate, and pauldrons suggested a particularly glorious history, Xerxes embodied the zenith of Visanj’s design aesthetics. By any account, Xerxes was an impressive sight to behold. Imposing in size, impressive in movement, what a piece of work is he? Visanj thought.
Equipped with a broad range of powerful systems, this would be no run-of-the-mill droid. From exceptional sensors and virtually unparalleled intelligence to remarkably efficient self-repair and sustainment to impressive programming, Xerxes was everything she’d hoped for. However, Visanj could not counteract the fact that these systems demanded incredibly efficient and high-yield power supplies, and no matter what, she couldn’t keep it from running ‘hot’, its cooling systems pushed to the limits of safety and performance. Furthermore, the droid’s hulking physique meant that it could never be stealthy, and even with Xerxes’ sensor-masking coating – which made it hard for enemy sensors and targeting systems to locate or get a ‘fix’ on him – there is nothing else stealthy about him. Yet for these flaws, the droid is remarkably tough, able to endure a terrific amount of punishment and keep coming back for more.
Able to command entire armies in planet-wide invasions, or to lead whole fleets in battles spanning entire systems, even to plan and execute the campaign for an entire sector, Xerxes is a terrific general. Battlemaster-series programming, heuristic processing, vast memory and expansive databank of strategy, tactics, and campaigns going back centuries, all combine to see Xerxes emerge as a strategist with few, if any, peers. Moreover, his ability to perform innumerable calculations at near-instant speeds allows him to operate an entire planet’s, even a star system’s, logistics and infrastructure seamlessly, and more still, this immense computing power also enables him to calculate and predict future events with almost precision accuracy and to formulate plans to ensure that future events will, in most cases, work out to his favor. This translates even to individual combat, giving Xerxes near pre-cognitive abilities akin to those of Force-users. Coupling this pre-cognitive ability with the durability of its armored body and its skills in marksmanship, unarmed, and lightsaber combat, the droid is a duelist par excellence. In combat, he uses the personal shield installed within himself, and for those who do get ‘their hands on him’, the electric grid defense system is a terribly painful surprise. Still more, his Sith-imbued crushgaunt hands can even (briefly) intercept a lightsaber, or tear and crush a super-heavy battle droids armor with ease. Armored sheath, with its beskar laminate, absorbital-infused coating, agrinium mesh, reinforced duraplast body, and internal repair systems makes him incredibly hard-to-kill.
Ruthless, relentless, aloof, and cunning to the extreme, Xerxes’ personality programming is every bit the cold, unflappable sort embodied by Grand Admiral Thrawn, upon whom it was modeled. His rumbling low voice, enough to strike fear even into the toughest opponents, is a far cry from the higher-pitch like those of B1 Battle Droids. An imposing figure, he is defiant and proud. However, Xerxes’ extreme fidelity and devotion to the Vicelord is absolute, and his dedication to the Confederacy’s ideals and mission is unbreakable.
So what do you give the Vicelord who has everything? The Grand Archon of the Confederacy, a commander who will ensure he never loses any of it.
Voice Sample: [x] (Credit: Kevin Grevioux)
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