1988 Autobot Roster (Transformers Essence20 rpg)

This article is based on my Transformers: MASK '88 campaign and is not indicative of anyone else's standard G1-themed Transformers scenario.

AUTOBOT ROSTER

Being a list of the Transformers known to currently occupy Earth as of the Earth Standard Year 1988.

The Ark has 300 Autobot crew and passengers aboard during its initial launch. To conserve their dwindling resources, most of the passengers are placed into stasis-lock and stored in stasis pods, while the remaining crew take rotating shifts between stasis-lock and active status during the 73,000 years of travel between Cybertron and Earth.

Several dozen Autobots suffer permanent off-line during the voyage, as well as the irregular attacks by the Decepticon starship Nemesis. Many of these fatalities occur during the battle over Earth, as the two ships plunge into the atmosphere. The Ark crashlands into the side of Mount St. Hilary, while the Nemesis crashlands somewhere in the mountains of South America.

In 1984, the crew awakened after the 1980 eruption of St. Hilary includes:

Command

Optimus Prime (commander)

Prowl (second-in-command and head of military strategy)

Trailbreaker (defensive strategist)

Military Engineers

Brawn (demolitions)

Huffer (construction engineer)

Wheeljack (mechanical engineer)

Military Intelligence

Bumblebee (espionage)

Bumper (strategist)

Jazz (intelligence operative)

Mirage (spy)

Soldiers

Bluestreak (gunner)

Cliffjumper (warrior)

Hound (scout)

Sideswipe (warrior)

Sunstreak (warrior)

Windcharger (warrior)

Specialists

Gears (transport, reconnaissance)

Ironhide (security)

Ratchet (medic)

Between late 1984 - 1987, the Autobots spend most of their time on the Ark, digging through cooled magma to access the crew stasis pods. Some of the pods have been melted by magma, and others by crushing rocks over the ensuing 4 million years. Despite these setbacks, the Autobots continue to recover stasis-locked Transformers over the next several years.

April 1985 sees the arrival of the Lightning Strike Coalition, who have chased Shockwave to Earth. They are renamed as “Dinobots” by the Witwicky humans.

Dinobots - Special Forces Combat Unit

Grimlock (commander)

Sludge (warrior)

Slug (flamethrower)

Snarl (desert warrior)

Swoop (bombardier)

September 1985, “Dinobot Island” is discovered, and Optimus Prime assigns the Dinobots to protect the local inhabitants and resources from being exploited by the Decepticons (also used as a means to keep the unruly Dinobots from destroying the Ark with their violent antics).

By October 1985, the following Autobots have been recovered from Ark stasis pods:

Command

Elita One (reconnaissance specialist)

Communications

Blaster (communications)

Cosmos (communications, reconnaissance)

Greenlight (communications)

Military Engineers

Grapple (architect)

Lancer (engineer)

Science Division

Beachcomber (geologist)

Perceptor (head of science division)

Skids (theoretician)

Soldiers

Chromia (infiltrator, warrior)

Jetfire (air force)

Powerglide (air force)

Seaspray (naval defense)

Smokescreen (diversionary tactician)

Tracks (warrior)

Warpath (warrior)

Specialists

Firestar (search and rescue)

Flip Sides (historian, instructor)

Hoist (medical maintenance)

Inferno (search and rescue)

Red Alert (head of security)

With the excavation and reactivation of Cosmos on October 1985, Optimus Prime sends out his famous “We Are Here” transmission to the Autobots scattered across the galaxy. The first to arrive after the transmission is the guardian Omega Supreme, who carries upon his starship alt-mode a number of Autobot refugees.

Between late 1985 and August 1986, the Autobot roster expanded to include:

Command

Ultra Magnus (military commander)

Communications

Blurr (data courier)

Eject (electronic surveillance)

Hubcap (communications)

Science Division

Swerve (metallurgist)

Soldiers

Air Raid (air force)

Arcee (warrior)

Blades (air force)

Fireflight (air force, reconnaissance)

Groove (scout)

Hot Rod (warrior)

Kup (warrior)

Outback (gunner)

Pipes (warrior)

Ramhorn (warrior)

Silverbolt (air force)

Skydive (air force, strategist)

Slingshot (air force)

Steeljaw (tracker)

Tailgate (scout)

Specialists

First Aid (medic)

Hot Spot (search and rescue)

Rewind (archivist)

Streetwise (interceptor)

The third group of Autobots to arrive from outer space are the Wreckers. Arriving in September 1986 on the starship Xantium, the Wreckers were already infamous as a special forces team from their days on Cybertron. Two of their members (Impactor and Whirl) perished while rescuing three of their comrades. Finally, the Wreckers were placed under the command of Ultra Magnus, to help curb their more violent tendencies.

The Wreckers - Special Forces Operatives

Broadside (navy)

Moonracer (gunner)

Rack’n’Ruin (warrior)

Roadbuster (ground assault commander)

Sandstorm (reconnaissance)

Springer (air force)

Topspin (navy)

Twin Twist (demolitions)

January 1987 would be the turning point for the Autobots. While investigating a new energon signature, the Autobot reconnaissance team ran afoul of the GIJoe special science division codename M.A.S.K. This team of humans were utilizing vehicles and special weapons powered by energon and armed with Cybertronian t-cog technology. MASK believed the Autobots to be new robot technology created by VENOM (the special science division of the terrorist organization Cobra) resulting in several battles between the factions over the next few months.

In April 1987, the Autobots were able to arrange a ceasefire, where they revealed themselves to MASK and GIJoe alike. After realizing the MASK technology was based on adapting the living cyber-organs of a sentient alien species, MASK founder Matt Trakker retired from service to focus on raising his son. The Boulder Hill facility was shut down.

Meanwhile, more Autobot would be recovered from the Ark stasis pods or arrive from the depths of outer space. By the end of 1987, the Autobots added the following members to the Earth-based roster:

Military Intelligence

Punch (agent)

Science Division

Brainstorm (biomechanical engineer)

Chromedome (computer programming)

Firebolt (atomic physicist)

Highbrow (electronic warfare)

Soldiers

Cloudraker (air force)

Crosshairs (gunner, weapons supervisor)

Duros (soldier)

Fastlane (warrior)

Hardhead (heavy gunner, ground assault specialist)

Pointblank (gunner, enforcer)

Spoilsport (gunner)

Sureshot (gunner, sniper)

Specialists

Arcana (medic)

Gort (civilian)

Haywire (civilian)

Peacemaker (security)

Pinpointer (logistics)

Recoil (athlete)

Stylo (socialite)

1987 is also the year when the Autobot player characters of the current campaign are released from their stasis-pods and acclimated to Earth.

1988 is the current year of the campaign.

Not counting the 5 Autobot PCs of the campaign, there are only 96 Autobots currently operating on Earth. Most, but not all of the stasis-pods have been recovered and opened, restoring the original Ark crew to function.

(Canonical, 47 Autobots will be discovered his year, 13 of which are Mini-Cons)

Thus, as of the start of the Transformers: MASK ‘88 campaign, the current Autobot roster appears as such:

Command

Elita One (reconnaissance specialist)

Optimus Prime (commander)

Prowl (second-in-command and head of military strategy)

Trailbreaker (defensive strategist)

Ultra Magnus (military commander)

Communications

Blaster (communications)

Blurr (data courier)

Cosmos (communications, reconnaissance)

Eject (electronic surveillance)

Greenlight (communications)

Hubcap (communications)

Dinobots - Special Forces Combat Unit

Grimlock (commander)

Sludge (warrior)

Slug (flamethrower)

Snarl (desert warrior)

Swoop (bombardier)

Military Engineers

Brawn (demolitions)

Grapple (architect)

Huffer (construction engineer)

Lancer (engineer)

Wheeljack (mechanical engineer)

Military Intelligence (commanded by Prowl)

Bumblebee (espionage)

Bumper (strategist)

Jazz (intelligence operative)

Mirage (spy)

Punch (agent)

Science Division

Beachcomber (geologist)

Brainstorm (biomechanical engineer)

Chromedome (computer programming)

Firebolt (atomic physicist)

Highbrow (electronic warfare)

Perceptor (head of science division)

Skids (theoretician)

Swerve (metallurgist)

Soldiers

Arcee (warrior)

Bluestreak (gunner)

Chromia (infiltrator, warrior)

Cliffjumper (warrior)

Crosshairs (gunner, weapons supervisor)

Duros (soldier)

Fastlane (warrior)

Groove (scout)

Hardhead (heavy gunner, ground assault specialist)

Hot Rod (warrior)

Hound (scout)

Kup (warrior)

Outback (gunner)

Pipes (warrior)

Pointblank (gunner, enforcer)

Ramhorn (warrior)

Sideswipe (warrior)

Smokescreen (diversionary tactician)

Spoilsport (gunner)

Steeljaw (tracker)

Sunstreak (warrior)

Sureshot (gunner, sniper)

Tailgate (scout)

Tracks (warrior)

Warpath (warrior)

Windcharger (warrior)

Soldiers - Air Force

Air Raid (air force)

Blades (air force)

Cloudraker (air force)

Fireflight (air force, reconnaissance)

Jetfire (air force)

Powerglide (air force)

Silverbolt (air force)

Skydive (air force, strategist)

Slingshot (air force)

Soldiers - Navy

Seaspray (naval defense)

Specialists

Firestar (search and rescue)

Flip Sides (historian, instructor)

Gears (transport, reconnaissance)

Gort (civilian)

Haywire (civilian)

Hot Spot (search and rescue)

Inferno (search and rescue)

Pinpointer (logistics)

Recoil (athlete)

Rewind (archivist)

Stylo (socialite)

Specialists - Medical

Arcana (medic)

First Aid (medic)

Hoist (medical maintenance)

Ratchet (medic)

Specialists - Security

Ironhide (security)

Peacemaker (security)

Red Alert (head of security)

Streetwise (interceptor)

The Wreckers - Special Forces Operatives (commanded by Ultra Magnus)

Broadside (navy)

Moonracer (gunner)

Rack’n’Ruin (warrior)

Roadbuster (ground assault commander)

Sandstorm (reconnaissance)

Springer (air force)

Topspin (navy)

Twin Twist (demolitions)

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