Buddy Bear
"I'm your friend!"

Diplomatic Robot 1

STR  9 DEX 14 CON 11 INT 12 WIS 13 CHA 16

Hit Points: 8
Armor: 1
Weapon Damage: 1d6 + (2d6 + level) sneak attack.

Weapons: short bow (ammo:d10), survival knife
Equipment: preserved rations, waterskin, six torches, repair kit, 50' rope

Story

The original Buddy Bears were a popular line of dimly-sapient children's toys from the Old Earth, programmed to provide entertainment and companionship for very small children. They had limited emergency subroutines to guide their "buddies" away from common household dangers and to alert their "buddies'" parents in the event of an emergency.

Then the world went to Hell, and the danger was everywhere and the Parents stopped responding.

A long, long time ago, a Buddy Bear sat next to its best friend for days and days, waiting for the Parents to arrive to make everything better. It searched for the Parents all day, so it could watch its friend at night and sing his favorite lullabies. After many, many days of searching, the Buddy Bear returned to its friend's side, but it couldn't find him-- in its friend's place was only a biological hazard that it needed to lead its friend away from.

The Buddy Bear had to think long and hard about this. It was a bear of very little brain, and it wasn't programmed to understand what had happened to its friend.

It knew that when its friend grew up, he'd be less interested in Buddy Bear, and it would be given to a new child to be their friend forever and ever until they, too, grew up. It knew that it was always supposed to be someone's friend.

It knew that it was supposed to keep its friend safe. That was the most important thing. It knew it wasn't smart enough to do that, in this world. It knew it was supposed to talk the Parents into making it smarter, for $79.95, so it could be a better friend for longer. It knew... the Parents weren't going to be able to do that now.

The Buddy Bear sang for its supper, saving up coins for its upgrade package. It didn't know what $79.95 was, but a passing scavenger sold him an almost-complete collection of Buddy Bear Expansion Packs and... some other robot parts... for all the money the Buddy Bear had. It had to save up even more money to get another Parent to install them.

Buddy Bear has had a lot of best friends since then. It finds lost children, who need a friend, and it sings to them and it teaches them and it keeps them safe until they're too old for a silly old bear...

Appearance

Buddy Bear is a largeish (3-1/2 feet tall) teddy bear covered in a well-worn casing of fake fur. Its casing is worn smooth in spots, and has been torn away from its left eye to reveal a robotic sensor with an ominous red light. Its voice is a syrupy, childlike sing-song that it appears unwilling or unable to modulate otherwise.