Designed to serve the role of a special security force by the Big MT research company for the Big Mountain Research and Development Center, the original robo-scorpion was created before the Great War by the human who became Doctor Mobius[1][2] and his team in the X-42 robo-warfare facility in Big MT, basing the design off that of the Southwest's indigenous bark scorpion. In their capacity as robotic guardians, every robo-scorpion is powered with a fission battery and equipped with a tail-mounted energy bolt blaster, optical systems allowing controllers in the X-42 robo-warfare facility to see through them with monitors, and a self-destruct sequence upon catastrophic damage that causes a localized electrical explosion. Additionally, their public address systems allow anyone in the X-42 robo-warfare facility to speak through them. According to their maker Mobius, they are capable of autonomous self-construction and/or repair via pulling up and using old floor panels as well as any other random parts lying around.[3] X-42 giant robo-scorpions, unlike the others, were a project for the US military.[2][4] The entire robot from stinger to pincers is forged from Saturnite and is fitted with lasers that damage at the atomic level, but remains susceptible to electromagnetic pulse discharges.[5] Despite several prototypes being requested, certain kinks in design and programming prevented them from reaching battlefield deployment and only one functional prototype was completely finished, remaining idle in the X-42 robo-warfare facility.
Sometime after the Great War, realizing that his fellow Big MT executives were growing more dangerous in their experimenting, Mobius resorted to hacking and altering the Think Tank's personality matrixes, chronometers, geometers, cartographical programs, and plenty more in their think tank chassis to engineer and enforce a cognitive recursion loop to keep them contained in Big MT.[6] However, disgusted by his own actions against his former friends, Mobius erased some parts of his own memory to ease his conscience, including the knowledge of his robotic creations. Mobius later relocated to the X-42 robo-warfare facility, renamed the "Forbidden Zone," and began attempting to "re-create" the robo-scorpion, now based on the structure of the radscorpions which occasionally wandered into Big MT. To distinguish between his original model and the revisited one, he added the suffix "b" onto his new creations while retaining all features of the pre-War model. Those left of the previous models of robo-scorpions were also retained under his control, forming the "terrifying" army of the Think Tank's enemy Doctor Mobius.
Unaware of the truth, the Think Tank eventually came to see the robo-scorpions as evil minions that Mobius was utilizing in an attempt to steal their intellect and stupefy them as a result of his bio-gel negligence and insanity.[7] The group came to rely on Dr. 0's findings that they drained intelligence, due to lack of actual experimentation and an inability to "comprehend Mobius' Robo-Schematics," though the reality was that the self-destruction sequence rendered any captured specimens useless for study.[8][9] The lack of evidence fostered doubts in some of the Think Tank about the robo-scorpion's intellect-draining abilities, seeing them more as nuisances to annoy or irritate them, but none had the courage to risk becoming live test subjects themselves if it were true.[10]
Characteristics[]
The common variants of the robo-scorpion are very durable, being highly resistant to small arms fire and boasting considerable protection against pulse weaponry in comparison to other robots. The unique X-42 giant robo-scorpion is a special model adorned with Saturnite armor plating, making it virtually impervious to small arms fire, but it is vulnerable against pulse weapons.[5] Its tail is equipped with a powerful atomic laser that draws its energy from an internal generator. The laser is capable of causing severe damage and leaving residual radiation of about 30 rads per second for one second, as well as having a blast radius of about 3 yards. It is also equipped with a self-destruct system like other robo-scorpions, but it detonates a small nuclear device instead of an electrical explosion. The X-42 giant robo-scorpion's self-destruct explosion leaves radiation of about 15 rads for the first second, which decreases every subsequent second, stopping after five seconds.
Variants[]
Robo-scorpions appear in Mk. 1–5 and Mk.1b-5b (data for Mk. 2 and Mk. 2b exist, but both are unused) and come in pincer, blaster, and bomber variants, as well as different sizes relative to their Mark. Their appearance in the game depends on the player character's level and the importance of the location in which they appear.
Regular series[]
The normal robo-scorpions without any special attributes.
“I hope I didn't leave my Giant Robo-Scorpion on. That thing eats power like no tomorrow.”— Doctor Mobius
Encountered in the Forbidden Zone dome during the Old World Blues final quest of the add-on, the X-42 giant robo-scorpion is a unique robo-scorpion and Doctor Mobius' ultimate guardian. It is armed with a powerful atomic laser capable of dealing heavy damage and radiation damage at a rate of about 30 rads per second for one second, as well as having a blast radius of about that of a pulse grenade. It sometimes fires while one is behind cover and still causes radiation damage at about 2–15 rads per second.
It is initially claimed by Doctor Klein that robo-scorpions can drain intelligence, though additional context implies that this information seems to just be Doctor 0 covering for his own incompetence.[8][11] However, it is later revealed that draining data is an actual function for them.[12][13]
All robo-scorpions can be disabled with the Robotics Expert perk, including the X-42 giant robo-scorpion. However, the X-42 giant robo-scorpion will restart itself after a set amount of time has passed, a unique feature compared to all other robots.
The X-42 giant robo-scorpion cannot be deactivated with the Robotics Expert perk if it has been put into emergency shutdown.
When they spawn, robo-scorpions are normally found in groups of up to four.
Mobius stops speaking through them after the completion of Old World Blues.
Even if one finishes the add-on by pacifying the Think Tank and allying with Mobius, robo-scorpions continue to spawn in Big MT and are still hostile to the player character.
The legs of a giant robo-scorpion, much larger than the X-42, can be seen poking out of the ground next to the waste disintegration platform. Later, the player character learns through terminals and Mobius' declarations that once a bigger version of the X-42 giant robo-scorpion became frenzied and left the Forbidden Zone and started consuming a lot of energy, so Mobius had to disable and dispose of it.
The X-42 giant robo-scorpion explodes upon death in a similar manner to how Gabe explodes, should he be killed in A Brain's Best Friend. The explosion leaves radiation around and lowers at the same rate as a Fat Man.
As seen in the trailer, the X-42 giant robo-scorpion was going to appear as a combat encounter in Higgs Village, but that encounter was removed in the final release.
The X-42 giant robo-scorpion is the largest enemy found in the game without using console commands.
The robo-scorpion will explode even if melted or disintegrated by plasma/laser energy weapons.
At level 50, the X-42 giant robo-scorpion's max HP is higher than any other creature in the game.
Notable quotes[]
Quotes are from the robo-scorpions, but are transmitted to the Courier by Mobius through the robo-scorpions' public address systems connected to the X-42 robo-warfare facility.
The robo-scorpions are a reference to the scorpitron of Wasteland, reusing its color scheme to pay homage to Fallout roots. The giant roboscorpion is the most direct parallels, except it moves on legs, rather than wheels (Wasteland sequels released after Old World Blues would introduce ambulatory, leggy robscorpions).[Meta 1]
Bugs[]
PCPlaystation 3Xbox 360 Sometimes, when encountering the X-42 giant robo-scorpion, it will not make hostile contact with the player, making the fight a whole lot easier.[verified]
Xbox 360 Some robo-scorpions may continue to quote Mobius if the player completes Old World Blues without killing him.[verified]
Gallery[]
Pre-release image of Old World Blues, showing robo-scorpions
Robo-scorpion self-destruct system
The X-42 giant robo-scorpion
Remains of a giant robo-scorpion in Old World Blues.
X-42 robo-scorpion up-and-close, performing a tail attack
↑The Courier: "What minions?" Doctor Mobius: "Whoa, have they not constructed themselves yet? That's a bit premature of me. The Robo-Scorpions, of course. They can assemble themselves from floor panels and parts scattered about, quiet inventive - never really know when they might suddenly appear." (Dr. Mobius' dialogue)
↑Doctor Mobius: "Dr. O... which is actually not his real name multiplied, since you can't multiply his real name in the first place... Ouro-bor-ous, Klein... They have all forgotten themselves. And not only themselves, but the world, sense of time, and history. All that is left is what's here. I reprogrammed their chronometers, geometers, and cartography programs. This is now their world, here, Big MT. It was a merciful lobotomy, really, thinking back. They were my friends, but... sometimes they would take things too far.And the world isn't ready for that kind of too-far-thing-taking. That's my professional opinion, anyway, and I am told I was once quiet professional." (Dr. Mobius' dialogue)
↑The Courier: "Why would Mobius want my brain?" Doctor Klein: "WHY DOES HE SEEK OUR DESTRUCTION? WHY DID HE BUILD ROBOT SCORPIONS WITH INTELLIGENCE-DRAINING STINGERS? IT IS BECAUSE HE HASN'T CLEANED HIS BIOGEL IN... A LONG TIME. CLEARLY, HE'S GOT SOME SORT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL CORROSION. HE'S MAD." (Dr. Klein's dialogue)
↑ 8.08.1The Courier: "These mechanical Robo-Scorpions 'consume' intelligence? Are you certain of your findings?" Doctor Klein: "[SUCCEEDED] DR. O IS CERTAIN OF HIS FINDINGS. AND NO ONE ELSE IN THE THINK TANK IS WILLING TO TEST THE RESULTS. LOSS OF BRAINIAL POWER - TERRIFYING. O HAS SAID ON MANY OCCASIONS HIS INABILITY TO COMPREHEND MOBIUS' ROBO-SCHEMATICS IS BECAUSE OF REPEATED ROBO-SCORPION STINGS." (Dr. Klein's dialogue)
↑The Courier: "Tell me about Mobius and these monsters of his." Doctor 0: "*That 'genius' Mobius somehow cobbled together these really impressive-looking robot scorpions with spare parts. Even painted them.* *Tried to see what makes them tick. Can't even examine them without them detonating all over me. Left with shrapnel and burns. Every. Time.* *Supposedly, he has even larger models, even a Giant Robot Scorpion hidden deep within the Forbidden Zone. Yeah, right. Giant monsters. Sure.*" The Courier: "A Giant Robot Scorpion?" Doctor 0: "*Yeah, crazy right? Something right out of a Midnight Science Fiction Feature. Ridiculous. What are the odds?*" (Dr. 0's dialogue)
↑The Courier: "Robo-Scorpions drain intelligence from living creatures - how? Chems?" Doctor Klein: "[SUCCEEDED] I AM NOT CERTAIN. PERHAPS IT ONLY AFFECTS MACHINES. IF SO, YOU MAY BE IMMUNE. IF IT IS CHEMS, THEN WE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR. SINCE WE ARE AFRAID, IT MUST NOT BE CHEMS AND YOU NEED NOT FEAR, WHICH MEANS YOU CAN TEST IT. LOGICAL." (Dr. Klein's dialogue)
↑Doctor Borous: "-BEWARE Dr. Mobius' army! His Robo-Scorpions crawl everywhere, in SEARCH of intelligence to devour and stupify!-" (Dr. Borous' dialogue)
↑Doctor Mobius: "Go, my mighty Robo-Scorpions. Crawl in search of intelligence. Then, sting said intelligence, yes, sting it." (Doctor Mobius' dialogue)
↑The Courier: "Can you tell me about your Robo-Scorpions?" Doctor Mobius: "Well, every scientist needs an army. Mine came to me after these rather large scorpions kept coming in from the dessert. Like poisonous frosting. How scary, I thought! But they had survived when nothing else had. Perfect candidates for improvement, as a reward for their tenacity. Then I thought, what if they shot energy bolts and acted as walking eyes and data-drained computers and acted as bullhorns? Then I made them bigger. Then, I thought about... custard. I do so love custard. Or was it mustard? Mustard custard. Mmmm. I miss sugars and salts." (Dr. Mobius' dialogue)
Meta
↑Chris Avellone's Twitter (archived): "During development of New Vegas, were there plans to incorporate more Desert Ranger/Wasteland references, like the 'fat freak mobster' Tycho mentioned in F1? And later on, was Wasteland 2 to feature NV references, but were cut/decided to be unfitting for the game?" "No, we only tried to do it with Old World Blues, because part of OWB was supposed to be an homage to Fallout's roots (ex: Giant Robot Scorpitr- er, Scorpion)."
