Physical Description

Palaestra, an AI type that's steady on its feet with a form that is not too bulky, but not too fragile. The Palaestra unit is a bipedal AI that spends no expenses on cheap useless frills. These AIs are all about usage. Two arms, fairly long, reach down to the knees with each one having large hands attached. If an opponent moves out of punching range they can shoot out this hand like a grappling hook due to a long spring that is only visible once the hand is shot out, to either punch or grab and reel in the opponent.

If that wasn't enough arms to handle the job, every Palaestra unit has at least two extra arms attached to their backs on standby. Some generations of Palaestra can have up to six of these arms. Should the need arise the hands can punch and grab as well as any other. They also serve as a replacement if the usually used arm or hand is damaged, and is easily "tagged in" as Palaestra units like to say.

The head of the Palaestra unit resembles a wrestler's headgear, with the face area being a very tough screen allowing the Palaestra unit to show expressions. The tops of most units heads have two antennas that can be quickly tucked in and out if needed. At this point one might note that Palaestra units have oddly colored parts in certain locations on their bodies, these spots are noted as being their weak points. On a usual Palaestra the weak points are both feet, both knees, both the elbow and above it, the neck, both antennas, the middle of the forehead, and the chest, right where the heart would be. These spots are softer on most non-refurbished or upgraded Palaestra units and for a good reason.

When these spots are punched, it causes the Palaestra to freeze, recoil, or activates a knock out for them, also known as an intended crash.

Personality

Loud and booming, a Palaestra is considered truly intimidating to meet for the first time, but if one is willing to look past this they'll find a friend willing to give it their all as long as they do too. A motivator to the end, a Palaestra will always root on someone making an honest attempt at completing a task, even if they're failing it.

Failure is always ok, getting better is the goal.

Palaestra units not only have their eyes on the prize, they have their eyes on the competition. They play close attention to those who are considered on their team. Even if a Palaestra wasn't hired to be a coach they will still take up the mantle. When they see anyone falling behind they swoop in and offer to practice more with the person, but will never verbally say anything negative about how they're getting worse or not trying hard enough.

The unit is extremely active and is up for anything and everything, even things that they have never seen before. They are happy to learn, and then if they like the activity enough, will be happy to teach and get others into it. A group that hangs out with a Palaestra tend to be outgoing, and very happy to toss taunts to each other, each one knowing that it is just a joke. Comments like this are rarely aimed outside of the ground, as there's just too much of a chance that the person misinterprets the friendly taunts for aggression and kills the mood. A Palaestra is unlikely to hang out with anyone who doesn't understand, both so the person is safe from having their feelings hurt, and so the Palaestra can stay out of arguments.

The only time a Palaestra will argue with someone is when they need to stick up for their group. They will not defend their group if they feel the comments being slung are true, but they absolutely will jump in the middle of things if anyone tries to put them down for untrue statements. Telling a group of people they didn't even bother to try just because they lost a competition is the easiest way to see the rare verbal wrath of a Palaestra unit.

Palaestra units despise negativity, at least those of the verbal form. Talk is talk, action is action. Talking behind the back of someone and complaining about them will get nothing done. Any Palaestra unit will be quick to inform the backtalkers that they should assist the person if they're being so affected by it that they need to take their time to discuss it. Even in these moments, the Palaestra unit would never speak in accusing ways to avoid verbal arguments, they may even pretend to be happy that the other people have noticed the issue and drag them into helping the person. After all, they clearly care oh so much about this situation, they surely must be ok with assisting.

All of this quickly leads to an environment of positivity, even if below the surface there's a fire brewing. Not willing to learn to tolerate and respect a person is considered one of the rudest actions to a Palaestra. A Palaestra would never ask someone to drop their guns and give into the other person if they truly cannot agree, no, all a Palaestra would ask for is for all parties to be tolerated, especially if their bickering has nothing to do with what they're here for. If people have honest issues with each other and they refuse to play nice a Palaestra only has one thing to say.

"Take it outside, or put your gloves on and take it into the ring."

Usage

The Palaestra unit was created for the purpose of being an animated training dummy. With its easy to replace parts, the shell was a hard plastic so that missing a shot would ensure the automatic punishment of hitting a hard, but rarely damaging material. Meanwhile hitting the correct spots would cause the Palaestra to become disabled for a short time or cause it to crash, thus allowing victory to the other person.

Palaestra units start out at their lowest fighting level, which many people who have gone up against a Palaestra will tell you might as well be confused for a pro fighter to one who is untrained. Palaestras have 10 whole levels, each less likely to hold back or give the opponent openings. While to the casual observer it seems they only train people in hand to hand combat, they actually teach all physical battles, it is just that hand to hand combat is the most trained.

Using the Palaestra unit people were taught how to do battle, with the unit giving tips and even watching the diet of those under its care so that they became the best fighter they could be. When not used as a trainer, people take the plastic and soft weak spots of the unit and replace it with metal. A person who knows their robots knows that if they hit these Palaestra units in just the right way, even though their soft spots are covered, they can trigger a knockout. Due to this Palaestra units are rarely used in wars.

It is not recommended for a person to keep a Palaestra as a household AI. While they will attempt to motivate themselves as much as possible to be happy about their situation, they will slowly become more and more silent, unwilling to voice negative complaints as it goes against their belief that there's no use for negativity. Instead, the Palaestra will become more and more physically aggressive, breaking items or punching holes in walls. No matter how much someone enjoys a Palaestra unit, they simply do not belong in most household settings.

Instead, it is recommended that Palaestra units be donated to clubs or centers where they will have a fairly constant stream of things to get motivated about and people who are happy to be there. The club doesn't even need to be centered around fighting as long as it allows people to compete. Competitive fishing, competitive racing, competitive dog grooming, competitive ironing, as long as it's competitive this AI is in.

Relationships

Kratos: Palaestra and Kratos get along quite well as both are motivated individuals who work on believing that it's best to not assume things about people, even those who appear as if they might be bad apples. They tend to invite each other to certain club meetings, though admittedly sometimes Palaestra is too active and motivated even for someone like Kratos. It isn't uncommon that Kratos has to stop her from doing something a little too ambitious.

Nike: A commoner would assume that Nike and Palaestra would get along, but Palaestra has quite a bit of a distaste for Nike. Nike tosses verbal taunts, which is just fine and considered pleasant sportsmanship, but Nike takes it too far. When she sees someone she can bait into a useless argument she will just for humor. Palaestra finds this disgusting and shoos away Nike from any of her club meetings if possible.

Artemis: Palaestra and Artemis seem to be on good terms, but many watching the two can't help but feel like something is off. The two have never been as close ever since they both went hunting together for the first and last time. It's likely that Palaestra disapproves of Artemis shooting and killing deer from far away, with not a single chance to get away. On the flip side its just as likely that Artemis disapproves of Palaestra of tackling and headlocking deer, only to let them go free when she's done with them. They're on fair terms at best.

God Powers

As a god of battle Palaestra makes sure the battle feature in the game is in working order. She mainly focuses on critical hit power, as well as weak points and weaknesses. She makes sure that all weaknesses are balanced, or not balanced for extremely annoying enemies. Like all gods, when she dies these features may mess up, with weaknesses being randomized such as fish being weak to water as if they were machinery with exposed and brittle wires. Some enemies may even have all weaknesses wiped clean off, making them extremely troublesome to kill.

Patron Ability

As a patron Palaestra will always tell the player if she senses an area of especially dangerous activities. For example, while she wouldn't be able to tell the player if a planet is deadly, she would, on the other hand, be able to tell if there's a hidden monster just behind a door. Not only can she do that but if asked Palaestra can tell the player about what weaknesses the enemy has, as well as highlight their weak points so the player better understands where to aim. All of these things make Palaestra a fantastic AI both for newbies and people trying to hone their battle skills.

Godhead

Godheads of Palaestra must be in a club or have a very in-depth hobby. There are no if, ands, or buts about that. This is needed because Palaestra will make that person one of, if not the best at that skill. They will have an extreme version of their skill and will be provided tools to aid them automatically with said skill. For example, someone who is part of a competitive ironing club may obtain a special iron that allows them to create absolutely wrinkle-free clothes in one sweep, while a person in a cult may obtain an item that helps them speak to their god.

All godheads will always be dressed so it is clearly visible what their master skill is. They will also gain markings on their body much like Palaestra's weak spots. These spots will indeed have a chance of paralyzing the godhead if hit hard enough for a few minutes, and as such many godheads would do well to hide where their weak spots are.

Special

Palaestra units are able to use [Overclock] without having to suffer from the possible debuffs related to it. Palaestra v1 herself goes even a step further as she is able to overclock herself all the way to +5 strength. Palaestra is also one of the few AIs who has an easy to remove and install shell pieces, and as such her defense can be boosted all the way to a natural 10 with the right upgrade.

Trivia

• Palaestra units are almost never colored in anything too bright and distracting, in fact, most Palaestra units colors can be described as being found at a construction site.

• Palaestra units are known to be poor at keeping secrets. When they're excited about something coming up they will accidentally tell everyone about it. As such it's best to keep secrets away from a Palaestra.

• Though Palaestra units don't like people who are too serious, they themselves tend to carry a fairly serious expression most of the time. It seems most of them have a hard time expressing themselves facial though are just fine with doing it vocally.

Image Gallery