Ecology

Overview

• “Although barren of organic flora, the Reaches are no wasteland. Crystalline inclusions grow rampant like plants or fungi. Vast spires replace the trunks of trees, crowned with mineral extrusions resembling fronds and leaves but for their unyielding firmness. Veins of strange alloys and living cables grow like tangled kudzu in other places, covering walls in ropy masses akin to the most overgrown jungles of Creation.”
• “The rats and cockroaches that came into exile with humanity do not flourish apart from it, as even these tenacious scavengers find little to sustain them. Colonies that defy expectation tap conduits with relentless gnawing until life-giving oases burst forth. In other places, adaptive mutations make the scavengers hardier, such as roaches whose probing antennae draw sustenance from errant sparks and iron-toothed rats that suck oil from the Great Maker’s veins like bloated, hairy ticks. Human beings and those who were once human comprise the remainder of flesh-based organisms.”
• “Most fauna within the Pole of Metal is both mechanical and divine. The exmachina are the body of Autochthon made manifest within him in pantheonic splendor, devas crafted for specific purposes and supremely specialized to those ends.
  • Most of these spirits appear reminiscent of arthropods and/or cephalopods with six legs and a head protruding from a central body. Where other anatomical templates serve better, function defines form. Though the vast majority of exmachina span a diameter of 1-12 feet, the outliers flit about like jeweled mosquitoes or barely squeeze through mile-wide corridors, scraping the walls clean with thunderous shrieks of grinding metal. Many function like gods and demons, existing in a default immaterial state. Lesser counterparts with strictly material duties correlate more to elementals, solid absent use of the Dematerialize Charm.
• As travelers leave familiar areas, the behavior of custodians turns more violent. Eventually, intruders find themselves enemies of nature itself, as all things flee or give battle in accordance with their design. Where this is not immediately so, indifference may mean an inaudible distress beacon has summoned the destroyers or the custodians are doing something so critically important they cannot stop for any reason. It may even be that an explorer stumbles upon a place the Great Maker meant for humans to find, but what are the odds of that?”
• “Where Creation’s magics make such distinctions, Autochthonian spirits are considered to be demons with the following exceptions: They are immune to all magic that summons or commands demons, and Holy effects do not recognize them as creatures of darkness. Yet, Alchemical Charms and weaving protocols, as well as the Charms of the Mountain Folk, treat Autochthonian spirits as gods.”
• Gunstar: Autochthon, though willing to work with the Deliberative, cannot control all of his subconscious impulses, so many exmachina in the wild are still a threat.
• Autochthonian spirits have access to unique charms, detailed on p. 77 of Alchemicals.

Custodians

• “To human observers, most of the exmachina seem to assume a caretaker role for the machinery of the Reaches, and so most are called custodians. In areas near human settlements, these spirits are indifferent to intruders unless they are interfered with or perceive a threat to their charges. Tapping veins is generally acceptable, but blasting through walls brings the wrath of roaring, saw-toothed warrior spirits called destroyers.”
• “Indigenous to the Far Reaches where even Alchemical Exalted almost never visit, a custodian is a breed of mechanical god custom-designed to perform some specialized function within those areas where humans and Exalts cannot easily go. Few custodians are effective combatants, but the largest custodians don’t really need to be, as they can simply roll over attackers like a speeding avalanche. Generally though, custodians are low-intelligence machine spirits designed to perform specific rote tasks and are dangerous only to those Alchemical Exalted who venture into the Far Reaches and unwittingly interfere with their operational parameters.
• Although they are technically gods, custodians rarely have many Charms. Most commonly, a custodian will have some version of Landscape Travel and one or more Excellencies appropriate to the Ability most often used in the performance of its duties.”
• “While each custodian and biomechanoid is designed for some customized job, many possess an array of special tools and devices built into the custodian’s very form, some of which might also be useful in combat.” Detailed on p. 64 of Alchemicals.

Example Custodians

Oil Slick Herders: (Alpha-2)

• “An oil slick herder is a simple custodian indigenous to the great petroleum ocean that makes up Autochthon’s upper third. Each oil slick herder has a squid-like body with four whip-like tentacles and stretches about 50 feet from tip to end. The herder swims through the jet-black ocean of oil propelled by the undulation of its tentacles and guided by Essence-sensors within its forebrain. The job of an oil slick herder is to seek out a patch of the ocean that has a particularly pure quantity of a particular type of oil. Once it finds a suitable oil slick, the herder extrudes a large bubble of congealed Essence that is permeable only to the specific type of oil required. The bubble filters out any impurities, then the herder tows it down to the ocean’s floor and attaches it to a pumping station. In this way, oils of different types and grades are shipped throughout Autochthon’s infrastructure to be tapped as needed. Oil slick herders typically have no offensive capabilities.”
  • Alchemicals: Stats on p. 61

Temple Guardians: (Alpha-6)

• “A temple guardian is a more powerful custodian stationed as a security guard over sensitive locations such as the personal sanctums of the Divine Ministers or their functionaries, or secret research installations. Temple guardians come in a variety of designs, but the most common types have arachnid bodies resembling metal spiders or scorpions of great size (often 10 to 15 feet across). Unlike most custodians, temple guardians are highly skilled at combat and often have Essence-based powers and/or attack Charms, most commonly either Essence Bite or a projected Essence attack comparable to Dragon’s Suspire.”
  • Alchemicals: Stats on p. 61

Design Weaver: (Gamma-5)

• “Design weavers represent the much-improved second generation of the pattern spiders that regulate the Loom of Fate in Yu-Shan. Each design spider is identical, with an arachnid carapace of adamant and orichalcum and eight slender legs. All design spiders collectively form a gestalt intelligence that is in constant telepathic communion with the Core and the Divine Ministers.
• While the Maker slumbers, the design weavers effectuate his subconscious dreams of design and construction. When cooperating on a joint project, each design weaver gains a cumulative one-die bonus on all relevant Craft checks for every two design weavers who assist it in the project. Thus can design weavers accomplish legendary feats of craftsmanship with ease when large numbers of them participate in a project. Design weavers are rarely found outside the Core and almost never more than five miles away from it.”
• Alchemicals: Stats on p. 63.

Destroyer

• “The term “destroyers” is one of convenience, used to describe the spiritual manifestations of powerful weapons from the Maker’s arsenal. Some destroyers actually represent weapons that do not even exist except within the dreaming imagination of Autochthon. Most destroyers, however, are quite similar to animating intelligences save that unlike AIs, a destroyer is capable of both operating the machine to which it is bound and manifesting outside of it. Regardless of their individual natures, all destroyers are spiritual reflections of the deadliest inventions of history’s greatest weapons designer.
  • Destroyers exist to destroy, and at the moment, their destructive energies are focused on gremlins and blights. The destroyers delight in fighting against the mad gremlins and relish the opportunity to sterilize blights the size of small nations when allowed to do so. All destroyers are unique beings. The smallest might look like an automaton forged of the magical materials whose fearsome gaze reflects its true nature. The largest resemble oversized royal warstriders more than 20 yards tall. Most destroyers rely on artifact weapons, whether daiklaves, moonsilver whips, implosion bows or more exotic devices, but all destroyers are equipped with deadly slashing talons capable of cutting through all but the sturdiest of metals with ease. Depending on the destructive potential of the weapon it represents, a destroyer may have an Essence rating ranging from 3 to 8.
  • In addition to a wide variety of spirit Charms, each destroyer typically has up to (Essence x 3) Alchemical Charms. Some esoteric weapons have access to specialized Charms that duplicate the effects of damaging Solar Charms or First or Second Circle sorcery spells.”

Example Destroyers

Final Hymn of Judgment: Spirit of the Mark IV Heavy Sonic Cannon (Gamma-5)

• “A representative of one of the more impressive weapons the Mountain Folk provided to the Solars at Autochthon’s command, the Mark IV heavy sonic cannon saw considerable use during the Primordial War. Most famously, it was used to cripple the Nightmare Dancer, defining soul of the nameless Primordial who would become the Neverborn Abhorrence of Life. Later, during the earliest internecine wars between the Solar Exalted, entire villages were vaporized by a single shot from a Mark IV. Several working models of the sonic cannon reside in a hidden ammunition dump concealed near the Elemental Pole of Smoke. Each of the cannons weighs about 50 tons and has an adamant barrel more than 100 yards long.
• Final Hymn of Judgment is the destroyer spirit of the Mark IV. A towering humanoid figure of gleaming orichalcum and translucent adamant standing 30 feet tall, Final Hymn fights on the front lines of the never-ending war against blight and gremlinization.
• In addition to his Charms and other powers, Final Hymn carries an orichalcum grand daiklave named Dissonant Coda.”
  • Alchemicals: Stats on p. 65.

Elementals

• “Like the exmachina, Autochthonian elementals live within the Reaches as native inhabitants and do not find the terrain nearly as hazardous as mortals. The Great Maker’s concentrated Essence spawns elementals as an indirect byproduct of existence, rather than expressing some part of the Primordial. Elementals perform useful world-sustaining functions because it is their nature to do so rather than because they are programmed for obedience to the hierarchy of the Divine Ministers.
• Because of these differences, elementals offer a broader range of encounter possibilities than other spirits. Machine gods are gods in form, but often machines in outlook. Their capacity and/or willingness to interact with travelers is limited to simple responses like attack, flee and ignore. By contrast, elementals act as individuals and communities. The intelligent ones can bargain or threaten or even offer friendship. Even bestial elementals can be domesticated or disturbed without risking divine sanction.”
  • Alchemicals: “The elemental structure of Autochthonia is quite different from that of Creation. Although the processes by which Creation was forged are little understood, even by the gods themselves, it appears that Gaia used the metaphysical characteristics of her offspring, the Five Elemental Dragons, as building blocks for nearly everything that exists within Creation’s borders. Having observed how Creation’s elements interacted, Autochthon resolved to improve upon this process by forging his new world-body from a set of elements more appropriate to his interests and milieu. Eschewing the five elements of Creation (possibly out of fear that including them would allow Gaia some insight into his future whereabouts and activities), Autochthon crafted six new elementals to serve as the foundation for his world-body: crystal, lightning, metal, oil, smoke and steam. Although a limited population of Terrestrial elementals can be found within Autochthonia (mainly air and water elementals), they have no elemental poles of their own and are essentially slave labor used to keep Autochthonia inhabitable for its mortal populace.
  • As a result of Autochthon’s choices, the environment of Autochthonia differs dramatically from Creation, especially with regard to its habitability by humans and other life forms. There is no naturally occurring plant life in Autochthonia, and no arable soil within which imported plant life can grow. Air and water exist, but the air is stale and the water stagnant, and neither would be present in sufficient quantities to support the Autochthonian people without special filtration systems.
  • The elemental poles of Autochthonia are intrinsic parts of Autochthon’s own body, and the indigenous elementals are all the progeny of six primal forbears who dwell in the Far Reaches near their respective elemental poles. Six of the Eight Divine Ministers serve as chief regulators for the Autochthonian elements, and each of those six has carte blanche to forge new elementals to regulate the functioning of the Autochthonian environment.”
  • Eventually, after enough time, an elemental can evolve into a draconic form like lesser elemental dragons. However, Autochthon realized the dangers of greater elemental dragons, and the Chief Regulators monitor for such advancement, putting down those who approach it under some trumpted-up charge so as the other dragons do not realize.
  • “The last such execution was more than 700 years ago. Several of the more powerful lesser elemental dragons probably should have been put down by now. Yet, given their personality conflicts with one another, none of the Divine Ministers is willing to remove any of his most powerful servants from his retinue and thereby disadvantage himself in any conflict with the other Ministers. And so, a half-dozen or so lesser elemental dragons edge ever closer to evolving into engines of incredible destruction capable of inflicting untold damage on the Maker’s body.”

Example Elementals

Lapidairies: Minor Crystal Elementals

• “Most lapidaries monitor the growth of crystalline deposits in the Reaches. A few serve as diplomats, liaising between the Crystal Courts and the Autochthonian people. Lapidaries with diplomatic assignments have the power to pass harmlessly through the wards that protect Autochthonian cities, and when one arrives to deliver a message from her elemental court, the locals often view her as an angelic figure come to deliver the words of the Maker himself. That said, lapidary sightings are rare, and it is a rare mortal who sees more than one in a lifetime.
• Lapidaries appear to be large flying gemstones with highly polished surfaces. When a lapidary speaks, its crystalline body vibrates in response, producing a ringing sound that is strangely pleasing to the ears.”
  • Alchemicals: Stats on p. 68.

Slacstag: 'The Shogun of Crystal and Glass,' Lesser Elemental Dragon of Crystal

• “The mighty Slacstag dwells in a distant cavern in the Far Reaches. More than 200 yards long when fully unfurled, this great crystal dragon has served Autochthon since the Primordial War, when he was first created to perform stealth reconnaissance missions against the enemy. Not only is the dragon’s body nearly transparent, but he also has a battery of customized stealth Charms. Despite his age and personal power, Slacstag has not yet evolved into a greater elemental dragon, and there is some suspicion on the part of the Divine Ministers that he is aware of what would happen were he to attempt to do so. His superior, Kadmek, has thus far resisted pressure from the other Ministers to put him down. He does so in part because of the dragon’s heroism from the Primordial War, in part because of his beauty and grace, and in part simply because he is the most powerful elemental dragon in Autochthonia. Kadmek is loath to sacrifice such a powerful servitor despite the risk he poses.
  • Because of Slacstag’s glassy form, it is extremely difficult to spot him (-5 internal penalty on all Awareness rolls to see him). Yet, his body does have three visible structures: a glob of molten pink glass that represents his brain, a set of luminous amber eyes and a ruby the size of a small house that serves as his heart. Those capable of seeing Slacstag clearly claim that his features are decidedly feline. When Slacstag goes into battle, he extends to a length of nearly a quarter of a mile, as his body transforms into a mass of whirring adamant shards. Highly intelligent, the dragon has perfect recall of every memory he has ever held since long before the Departure, and his encyclopedic knowledge of occult matters is yet another reason why Kadmek is reluctant to dispose of him.
• In personality, Slacstag is refined and contemplative. He is not, by nature, violent, but he is terribly dangerous if provoked. His talons are razor-sharp adamant, and he can exhale a great blast of razor-sharp crystal capable of flensing armor as easily as skin.”
  • Alcheimcals: Stats on p. 69.

Arc Tenders: Minor Lightning Elementals

• “Arc tenders are minor lightning elementals charged with maintaining electrical connections between cathodes and anodes of electrical devices. Arc tenders enjoy their work, perhaps too much. The act of connecting cathode to anode is apparently pleasurable to an arc tender to the point of being orgasmic, and especially weak-willed arc tenders sometimes become petulant or even irate when someone attempts to shut down devices being powered by the connections formed by the elementals.”
• Most common Arc Tenders are around Essence 3, but those tasked with maintaining Autochthon's ancient components rise higher than Essence 6.
  • Alchemicals: Stats on p. 70.

Cogwheel Dragons: Metal Elementals, associated with brass

• “Although huge in size and draconic in appearance, [the relatively common] cogwheel dragons are not truly dragons in the sense of being lesser elemental dragons. That is, while cogwheel dragons resemble such luminaries externally, very few cogwheel dragons have attained the degree of enlightenment necessary to become true elemental dragons. Any who have done so have also ceased to be cogwheel dragons in any real sense.
• In appearance, a cogwheel dragon is a huge biomechanical creature with a serpentine body stretching a few hundred feet in length. The dragon consists of scores of articulated joints powered by gleaming brass pistons and whirling gears, with an exterior of polished brass and enormous crystal eyes. Beautiful but terrible, cogwheel dragons usually serve as guardians for key nodes in the metal-rich zones of Autochthon’s body.”
  • Alchemicals: Stats on p. 71.

Gezlak: Metal Elementals, associated with iron

• “Gezlak are iron giants standing more than eight feet tall and moving with the lumbering gait of oversized gorillas. Often mistaken for automata, the gezlak typically serve as guardians and bodyguards, frequently fulfilling the role that blood-apes play for Creation-born sorcerers (although mercifully free of the erymanthoi’s unwholesome natures). Usually, a guardian gezlak remains in a state of quiescence until someone intrudes into its territory. Any gezlak can attach itself to one of the conduits carrying molten metal that are pervasive in Autochthonia. When it does so, molten metal fills the gezlak, and it merges seamlessly and invisibly into its surroundings until it is moved to act.”
  • Alchemicals: Stats and mechanical details on p. 72.

Oolorongs: Oil Elementals

• “An oolorong is a species of oil elemental with the domain of lubricating oils. Oolorongs are the species of oil elemental most commonly encountered by Autochthonians. They are typically assigned to assist in the maintenance of piston-heavy machinery that has been judged essential to the functioning of either a patropolis or of the Maker himself.
• Although there is a certain grudging respect afforded to oolorongs, the work is mind-numbingly tedious, as the elemental’s job is usually just to slide over the pistons and gears constantly for hours on end. To prevent utter boredom from destroying an oolorong’s morale—possibly to the point of driving it insane and thereby risking the integrity of the machinery it is assigned to lubricate—all oolorongs are assigned to squads of five. Each squad works for a five-hour shift, while the other four are free to do as they wish for the other 20 hours of the day. While this represents a life of luxury as far as most of the Populat would be concerned, it still represents both a menial job for the elementals and a form of banishment from the society they love. Consequently, oolorongs are often bad-tempered and prone to getting into fights with mortals who provoke them. Lower-ranking Alchemical Exalted are often required to bring such truculent elementals to heel.”
  • Alchemicals: Stats on p. 73.

Oberashti: 'The Shogun of Genocide,' Lesser Elemental Dragon of Smoke

• “Born long ago from Malancari’s venomous hate, Oberashti has battened himself for untold millennia on death. Ku’s chief attack dog and the most potent weapon in his arsenal, Oberashti is one of the most efficient killing machines in Autochthonia. Normally, his skills are reserved for blight zones and gremlin armies, but every now and then, the Divine Ministers judge that the Maker’s long-term health demands the sacrifice of some small city whose faulty geomancy or social policies threaten Autochthon in some obscure manner. Then is the Shogun of Genocide unleashed, and nothing survives his passing.
• Oberashti normally appears as a great serpent of coal ash, stretching a quarter-mile, and usually wrapped around the base of Ku’s sanctum like a coiled cobra. He can assume the form of a man, but rarely deigns to do so save when he must murder a whole city. Then, he chooses the form of a man of exceptional beauty and boldly walks into the city’s heart, attracting adoring fans as he goes, until it is time for his followers to die by his hands.
• No one but Ku knows how much irrational joy Oberashti takes from mass murder. If the other Divine Ministers realized how close to becoming a gremlin the dragon was, they would insist that he be put down. Even worse, not even Ku himself realizes just how much dark enlightenment Oberashti has obtained through his meditations on the nature of murder, nor does Ku have any idea just how close the dragon is to ascending into a greater elemental dragon. If fate is particularly cruel, it is quite possible that both these disasters will strike simultaneously, unleashing a gremlin of limitless destructive power into the very heart of the sleeping Primordial.
• Oberashti is one of the few elementals that has a cult. Specifically, he is venerated by a debased colony of several hundred Lumpen who eke out a living in the Far Reaches where they pray that the dragon will arise and slay all those who have oppressed the cult’s members throughout their history.”
  • Alchemicals: Stats on p. 74.

Dreselles: Minor Steam Elementals

• “Dreselles are most commonly found in and around steam conduits, monitoring the gas exchange rates. They are very common, to the point that Runel does not object to Alchemical Exalted capturing them by the dozen and training them to perform other functions, provided that the Exalts make the proper prayers and offer an appropriate Essence tithe. Trained dreselles are typically used either in kitchens to facilitate the use of boiling water for cooking or in communal bathhouses to regulate steam rooms and the like. Although a dreselle is very weak, the elemental benefits from its near-invisibility, its small size and its general unobtrusiveness. Alchemical spymasters have had some success training the more intelligent dreselles to serve as spies or reconnaissance drones.”
  • “Dreselles are minor steam elementals assigned to regulate the properties of steam vapors at the lower end of the temperature spectrum. When steam erupts from the vents within the Elemental Pole of Steam, it is initially super-heated to well over 2,000 degrees, hot enough to kill almost any living thing instantly. Yet, from the second it escapes the pole, each steam eruption immediately cools and condenses into water vapor and then liquid water. Dreselles regulate water vapor ranging in temperature from twice the normal boiling point of water down to just below the condensation point. As such, dreselles are directly responsible both for making sure that water brought to a boil turns to steam and that cooling steam condenses back into water. In this capacity, dreselles play an essential role in how steam is used by Autochthonian mortals. Without the dreselles, the boiling and condensation points would be unpredictable and inconsistent across Autochthonia. Such inconsistencies would seriously hamper the ability of mortals to use either steam or boiling water safely.
  • Dreselles are difficult to spot even when materialized. A dreselle usually appears as a tiny cloud of mist whose shape vaguely resembles that of a hummingbird. Almost transparent to human eyes, the dreselle is usually visible only by the distortion it causes to light that passes through it. Dreselles are rarely very intelligent and usually are single-mindedly focused on their duties. A few have evolved to the intelligence level of a well-trained dog, though, and can even be trained to perform relatively sophisticated tasks.”
  • Alchemicals: Stats on p. 76.

Biomechanoids

• Alchemicals: “Biomechanoids are essentially a form of “divine automata.” Each biomechanoid is forged by one of the Ministers as an automaton that is then fused with a minor, alpha-class god. These biomechanoids exist solely to effect the will of the Maker, and due to the Maker’s current somnolent state, they act mainly as Autochthon’s autoimmune system, purging his body of dangerous materials and harmful substances. In this manner, they oversee those processes essential to the Maker’s functioning that require physicality but are too sensitive to leave to a true automaton, even one armed with an AI.”
• “Although independently-animated automata artifacts would seem to be a natural fit into the artificial ecology of Autochthonia, they are actually quite rare outside of the war machines developed and fielded by the Divine Minister Debok Moom. Although infinitely more efficient as laborers than mere human beings, such artifacts cannot emulate the prayers embedded in the labor of mankind and yield no sustenance for the Great Maker through their work. That the Machine God frowns on mechanized labor is an irony not lost on some Theomachrats, though the doctrine is generally presented as proof of humanity’s intrinsic value.
• The exmachina eschew true automata for different reasons, viewing the resources requisite to such self-powered entities as wasted. It’s far more efficient to craft equivalent entities as inert frames in which specialized exmachina receive implantation as animating intelligences. The resulting biomechanoids are functionally automata and golems. All life and Essence they generate provides a battery for the frame, making them no longer truly alive. This also precludes Essence pools and Charms and restricts them to the simplest behavioral programming (manifest in the absence of Virtues).
• Within the spiritual hierarchy of Autochthonia, biomechanoids are tools rather than entities in their own right. Even the lowliest custodian receives more dignity and consideration, as a biomechanoid’s animating spirit is tied to its shell and perishes when that shell breaks down.
• From the perspective of human and Exalted travelers, there is little difference between narrow-minded exmachina and biomechanoids. Both appear as mechanical entities which react to intruders in exacting accordance with programming. Fortunately, when that programming proves hostile, biomechanoids are seldom more dangerous than wild animals in Creation.”

Example Biomechanoids

Crystal Flies: (Alpha-1)

• As their name implies, crystal flies are small biomechanoids that appear to be tiny fruit flies made of trans-parent glass. Crystal flies are designed to act as internal sensors for Autochthon. Were he active, they would report their observations directly to the Core. While he sleeps, the crystal flies report to Espinoquae, and they represent one of his most subtle forms of information gathering. Espinoquae has no power to direct the flies to spy on a particular destination. Instead, the flies congregate automatically at any location where important work is taking place or where any sort of significant malfunction has occurred. The crystal flies are nearly invisible, and noticing even one requires a successful (Perception + Investigation) roll at difficulty 3 for bright light, 4 for normal light or 5 for low light conditions.”
  • Alchemicals: Stats on p. 61

Fix Beetles: (Alpha-3)

• “Fix beetles are biomechanoids that appear to be beetle-like insects ranging from two to five feet long and possess from six to ten arms. These arms are not used for locomotion. Instead, different varieties of fix beetles might have wheels, treads or even hover jets. Fix beetles are used by all of the Divine Ministers for different missions, but are most commonly found in the service of Domadamod and Noi. Most cities maintain wards to keep fix beetles out, but a fix beetle sent by a Divine Minister can override this defense.
• The reason most cities try so hard to exclude fix beetles lies in their purpose. Fix beetles are repair units designed to converge on the site of damaged or malfunctioning pieces of Autochthon’s infrastructure and repair the fault with whatever materials are available. In fulfilling this role, fix beetles are no respecters of property, and they are inclined to snatch nearly anything left lying around unattended, even for just a few seconds, to recycle into building or repair materials. Fix beetles particularly prize magical materials. While they will not attempt to steal artifacts currently being used by a mortal or Exalt, more than one Alchemical has woken up in the night to discover that his armor has been spirited away, melted down and used to patch some hole in a power conduit.
• In addition to repairing faults in Autochthon’s own body, fix beetles often attempt to perform the same service for mortals they come across. The beetles are programmed to ignore Alchemical Exalted, even dying ones, but a fix beetle who comes across an incapacitated or dying mortal might attempt to “repair” the individual with biomechanical enhancements that might be beneficial or horrific to the person in question. The beetles are just as likely, however, to scavenge such unfortunate mortals, snatching the eyes out of a wounded mortal, for example, to use as replacement lenses for a biomechanical sensor unit.”
  • Alchemicals: Stats on p. 61

Drones

• Alchemicals: “A phenomenon disturbing to many Autochthonians, drones are mortals who have voluntarily allowed themselves to become possessed by machine spirits so as to achieve a closer relationship with the Great Maker. Drones begin life as mortals, usually devoted members of the Sodalities who feel compelled to seek communion with the Machine God. Drawn to the Reaches of Autochthonia by the siren song of divinity, these mortals willingly merge with machine spirits and become strange hybrids of flesh and machine. Such merged entities are powerful but sacrifice their free will in the process.
• Drones have no officially designated purpose among the Great Maker’s religious hierarchy. Rather, those who choose the path of the drone serve as wandering agents of Autochthon’s revealed desires. Many enter into the service of the Divine Ministers, performing whatever duties are required. Others travel the highways and byways of the Far Reaches, led only by their intuitive understanding of the Maker’s wishes and needs. Even the Divine Ministers themselves often seem uncomfortable in the presence of drones, some of whom seem almost closer to Autochthon than his own component souls.
• Most drones serve for the entirety of their mortal lives (and beyond, for drone status is often accompanied by a greatly extended life span), but some fulfill their purpose and, after years or decades, unplug from the Machine God and return to mortal society. Such rare individuals are valued for their knowledge about the mysteries of the Great Maker and the Far Reaches. An unplugged drone loses the innate magical powers associated with drone status but usually retains a keen understanding of thaumaturgy and magitech.
• As living extensions of Autochthon’s sleeping mind, drones are without free will of their own and are not suitable as players’ characters. Drones will never leave Autochthonia for any reason and, if one is compelled to do so, the possessing spirit will flee the mortal body before he can cross the Seal of Eight Divinities. No Exalt of any type can ever become a drone.”
• “[D]rones are a fusion of exmachina and human. Unlike the joining of automata bodies with divine consciousness to create biomechanoids, drone unions are temporary. However, there are similarities in the process. For the duration of possession, the spirit does not exist as a distinct entity, but rather as a set of powers and irresistible directives conferred upon the host.
• Drones are holy beings, but their existence as “independent” agents of the gods leaves the Olgotary uncomfortable. It’s hard to argue with a prophet, and so society treats them like an oyster treats an irritant in its body, giving them beautiful temple-quarters and isolating them from the sensitive Populat as much as possible. Fortunately, a good many drones care as little for humanity as the spirits that create them. Instead, they often minister to the tunnel folk, ensuring that faith does not degrade in the absence of proper civilization. In other cases, drones are demiurges called to service in the secret Adamant caste cities and fortified by possession so that they might arrive safely. Wandering drones in the Reaches invariably have a mission, and wise travelers leave them to it.”
  • Drones gain many passive powers, detailed on p. 79 of Alchemicals.

Behemoths and Beyond

• “The Great Maker is first and foremost an inventor, and his hands have given life to untold multitudes of beings from the dawn of time and up until his slumber. So deeply embedded is this urge that he likely creates as he dreams, stirring fitfully now and again to fashion some new species or progenitor behemoth in hidden laboratories scattered throughout the Reaches.
• The Realm of Brass and Shadow is home to many behemoths not beholden to the Divine Ministers and yet protected by the same geas that wards his souls against internecine warfare. Thus, the mightiest of exmachina can only gnash their mechanical teeth in sparking frustration and authorize repairs when such creatures prove troublesome and destructive. Still, the progeny of the Great Maker’s hand are not wicked so much as they are devoid of purpose and given to wandering in search of one. In this, their pilgrimages trace the steps of other creations Autochthon made incomplete and forgot.
• While some of the unique denizens of Autochthonia possess flesh or an approximation thereof, others are entirely mechanical and some span the two. Not all have their genesis with the Great Maker himself. A few are the unholy offspring of Voidtech genesis wombs, birthed by Apostates as living weapons and sometimes discarded experiments. Though pitiable, their origins make them inherently monstrous and valid prey for destroyers.”
• There's a named behemoth briefly mentioned in the 'Life on the Razor's Edge' section of Yugash.