ATR-5 "Atty"

ATR-5, also known as Atty or Atreus, is a recurring character in the Cataclysm mythos, typically appearing as a main or supporting character. He was introduced in the non-canon Wyrd West continuity.

ATR is a rogue Archangel-class mech, adventurer, knight-errant, and vigilante. Standing at exactly seven feet tall, he is a formidable threat to those he deems as villainous. In 1869, ATR was briefly a member of the Deadwind Raiders and fought alongside them against the Templar siege on their camp. In 1870, ATR is a vigilante in Sanctuary City, disrupting the ensuing gang war between the Deadwind Raiders and the Born Kings. After fighting gangs for several months, he joined Aisling in her quest to find her home.

Discovery by the Deadwind Raiders
During So'hinn Bloodsinger's brief rule of the Deadwind gang, a ATR-5 was severely damaged and trapped in a cave just south of the Deadwind camp. A small party of Deadwind scouts explored the cave only to be attacked by the damaged ATR-5, who tore the arm off of one of the scouts. The scouts fled the cave and reported the incident to So'hinn and Susie Hagfish, who decided to investigate the attack themselves. Susie climbed into the cave on her own, where she encountered the mech. With no memory except his designation number and the name "Bloodsinger," ATR apologized for maiming the scout and asked to join the Deadwinds until he could recover his memories. So'hinn reluctantly agreed, and the mech was brought back to the hidden camp.

As a member of the Deadwind Raiders, ATR often assisted the gang in their criminal operations, usually serving as muscle. Though he had little issue with committing crimes, he drew the line at harming innocents, and found he was physically incapable of harming priests. He was with the party during the jailbreak plan as well as their first encounter with The Redeemer. As part of the inner circle, ATR provided the gang with tactical expertise and was assigned to help fix the gang's broken machine gun. During this time, ATR was given the nickname "Atty" by Zach.

Fall of the Deadwind Raiders
ATR was inadvertently one of the primary causes of the Deadwind Raiders' fall, as it was his presence among the gang that led the Vindicta Templars to finding them. A small army of Templars laid siege to the hidden camp, and ATR joined in the defense. During the battle, ATR acted on instinct to protect Susie from a Templar firing squad, and activated his wings, using them as a shield to protect the witch. It was then that Edward Cruft relayed a plan to him and Susie. ATR took flight, carrying Susie with him, bringing her up above the Templar army so that she could rain acidic bombs onto the enemy. The plan was effective, but the tides soon turned against them once more. Upon confirming ATR-5's presence on the battlefield, the Grand Paladin dispatched the other six Archangels, who immediately set upon ATR-5, beating him into submission.

When the party was captured by the Archangels, ATR-5 was shocked to learn that he was of Templar origin. Fortunately for him, the Templars never got a chance to bring him back to the Monastery. When the Other Zach appeared and slowed time, ATR was able to help So'hinn and Edward kill the Grand Paladin. As the dust settled and the party convened to decide what to do next, ATR left the Deadwinds to search for more answers.

Fighting Crime in Sanctuary
After surviving the attack on the Deadwind Raider base, ATR-5 made his way to the city of Sanctuary, where he immediately began working on dismantling the local gangs and crime syndicates. It wasn't long before urban legends and tall tales began springing up among the criminals of Sanctuary, with many calling him "The Yellow Eyed Giant" or simply "the Metal Man." However, the local criminal leaders did not perceive him as a threat to their operations at first, disregarding reports from their subordinates telling of "an enormous battlemech wielding a sword the size of a man."

For a brief time, ATR-5 steered clear of So'hinn Bloodsinger and his Deadwind loyalists, choosing instead to focus his efforts on fighting the Born Kings. Things changed quickly, however, when the Deadwinds used ATR-5's interference to their advantage to snatch up territory. Putting aside their past partnership, ATR-5 shut down one of the Deadwind Raiders' gun running supply lines, using the gang's own explosives to destroy their carts, weapons, and safehouse. It was then that So'hinn started taking ATR's actions seriously. A bounty was placed on the Metal Man, and soon ATR found himself being hunted by the Deadwinds, the Born Kings, and several other small time gangs.

One day, while running from a group of Born Kings, Atty took shelter inside of a large barn in the outskirts of Sanctuary. There, he met a young girl named Janie, who rather than being frightened was delighted at the appearance of the seven foot tall mech. Once the Kings had given up, Atty sat in the barn with Janie for some time as the girl told him stories and asked him questions. The two became fast friends, and Atty started staying in the barn every night to recharge. Unknown to Atty, the child had neglected to tell her mother about the machine man in the barn. The mother, Robyn, was shocked to discover Atty resting in the barn late one night, but was quickly convinced by her daughter that he was harmless. After Robyn told him that her husband had died in the Unification War, and that no one in her family had the means to defend themselves against bandits, Atty offered to be the family's protector in exchange for shelter in the barn. He used the barn as his hideout for several months, and soon he was considered a member of the family, especially by Janie, who saw him as a big brother.

Meeting Aisling
Around the time that Aisling arrived in Sanctuary, ATR heard rumors that the Born Kings were holding an artifact of impressive power. After viciously interrogating several members of the gang, he tracked the artifact, a supposedly magical sword, to an abandoned church roughly two miles outside Sanctuary. Upon arriving and killing the guards, he found that the sword had already been taken. He soon found the thief, Aisling, and quietly tracked her back to a saloon in Sanctuary, where he saw her deliver the sword to a Deadwind Raider. After Aisling turned in to her room, ATR tried to take the sword from the Raider, but the Raider fought back. ATR threw the Raider through the window and ran him through with his sword, unaware that Aisling had seen the whole ordeal. When the curious Aisling followed him to the edge of town, ATR warned her against following him and advised her not to investigate the sword or the gangs.

After hiding the sword where he was confident the Kings and Raiders wouldn't find it, ATR returned to his hideout at Robyn's farm. Unbeknownst to him, Aisling had gotten a new job from So'hinn Bloodsinger to steal a valuable rifle from Robyn's house. While investigating the barn late at night, Aisling walked in on Janie reading stories to ATR (as she did most nights when ATR was recharging). ATR sent Janie back into the house and spoke with Aisling, reprimanding her for following him despite his warnings. Aisling was in the middle of explaining herself when the pair were interrupted by a Templar squad approaching the farm. Knowing that she was able to move silently, ATR asked Aisling to return to the house and help the family escape into the fields. While the sylvan helped the family, ATR attacked the Templars, killing several of them before sustaining heavy damage to his arm. Barring the barn doors to slow them down, he was attempting to repair the damage, when Aisling returned to the barn, hoping to help him escape. ATR refused, however, believing that he would only endanger the family with his presence. After repairing his arm to his satisfaction, he charged out the back of the barn, leading the Templars on a chase and leaving Aisling to help the family hide.

After successfully fending off the Templars as well as rescuing Robyn and Janie from bandits, Atty thanked Aisling for her help. Upon learning that Aisling was searching for her home, Atty related with her struggle and offered up his services as a body guard to accompany her in her travels.

Encountering the Redeemer
While traveling North of Sanctuary, Atty and Aisling encountered the Emissary Redeemer, who at the time was disguised as a man dressed in black and carrying a coffin. After determining that someone was inside the coffin, the pair attacked the man, distracting him long enough for Zach to free himself from the coffin. Zach thanked the duo and briefly caught up with Atty before heading West to continue his personal mission.

A day later, the pair arrived in Chugwater, where they discovered that Redeemer had corrupted the human townsfolk and was using them for dark rituals. They disrupted the ritual, which was being held in the town church, and sparked a revolt among the kazin and sylvan townsfolk. A brief battle ensued, with most of the humans being killed. Atty and Aisling, with the help of the metakind and a mysterious dire wolf, escaped Chugwater before Redeemer could defeat them.

Skills and Abilities
Atty is highly skilled with a greatsword as well as in hand to hand combat. His chassis makes him resistant to many forms of physical damage. Small arms fire typically inflicts little more than dents to his armor, but high-caliber firearms, magic, and enchanted weapons can harm him greatly if they hit their mark. He is vulnerable to attacks from enemies around his size and strength or greater, including other Archangels, Battlemechs, Kazin, and large Sylvan.

Outside of his combat prowess, Atty possesses several seemingly holy abilities. He is able to heal his allies with his hands, which emit a soft, crimson glow that mends wounds. He is also able to "smite" his enemies by driving his blade into the ground, creating a blinding flash of light that demoralizes his foes and weakens, if not outright kills, undead and demons.

Appearance and Design
Standing at exactly seven feet tall, Atreus is an imposing figure. His metal chassis, once clean and possibly even painted, has long since been stripped of most decorations and is now rusted and dented.

Trying to hide that he is, in fact, a mech, Atreus typically wears large human clothing, customized to fit his large frame. When fully disguised, his getup includes a large, blue poncho, a wide-brimmed hat, a bandanna, and goggles. He usually lets his forearms pass off as regular metal bracers.

Atreus was not designed by his creators to look human in the slightest, so his face is completely expressionless, save for the color of his glowing eyes, which change color and brightness to reflect his mood.

Trivia

 * ATR-5's faceplate design is intended to evoke the appearance of a medieval knight or viking helmet.
 * ATR-5 stands for Archangel-class Tactical Robot, Unit Five. The other Archangels are similarly named.
 * In early concepts, ATR-5's weapon loadout went through several iterations, including; two short swords, a sword and shield, a battle axe, a minigun arm, and simply the ability to shoot lightning from his hands.
 * ATR-5 has a dot pattern engraved into his chassis - a small nod to his origins as an Overwatch fan-character.