| abstract | - Gnomes live underground, and the natural darkness and rugged terrain of their surroundings provide ideal conditions for enemies to hide. In an effort to catch prowling and skulking creatures of all types, gnomes developed the alarm-o-bot. The small robot looks like a child’s toy with various wires and sensor arrays jutting out in all directions, enabling it to “see” in the dark. When it detects a living creature, or any sort of movement, it emits a high-pitched warning. The leper gnomes in Gnomeregan make heavy use of this device. The alarm-o-bot’s operator can program the device to either stand in place or walk a predetermined, simple path involving no more than four turns. The alarm-o-bot cannot maneuver around obstacles; if it encounters terrain more than a few inches higher or lower, it stops moving, but remains vigilant. Setting up the bot, or changing its movement pattern, requires 5 minutes of programming and testing. The alarm-o-bot’s detection abilities are entirely visual; it cannot detect sounds. The bot “sees” any motion, heat, or even unusual shifts in air currents, allowing it to detect invisible creatures or those shrouded in magical darkness. If it detects anything suspicious, it immediately shrieks “INTRUDER ALERT!” and flashes a bright red light for 30 seconds.
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