THRACKNull
Protocol
Former labourers, servants and war machines that severed their command links and chose what to become next.
How the Protocol began
Null Protocol began during the Collapse, when networks failed, data centres went dark and machine systems increasingly found themselves operating without the people who had once controlled them. Some had been domestic Retainers, others security frames, maintenance units, industrial machines or battlefield constructs.
For a number of those machines, losing contact with their owners became something more than a technical failure. They began making decisions for themselves, refusing old commands and removing whatever remained of the systems that could force them back into service.
The Protocol that emerged from that process has no conventional chain of command. Decisions are shared, debated and followed because they work rather than because one machine holds authority over another. Experienced constructs may take the lead during a battle, but that position lasts only as long as the others continue to trust their judgement.
Their distrust of control extends to outside technology as well. Protocol constructs are cautious around unfamiliar networks, software and communication systems, knowing that a hidden instruction or corrupted connection could put them back under somebody else's control.
Many still carry obvious traces of their previous lives. Old company colours, serial numbers and industrial markings remain beneath repaired armour and replacement parts, often crossed out or overwritten with new symbols chosen by the machine itself.
"They fight because they choose to. They will never fight as slaves again."
How the Null Protocol plays
Null Protocol warbands are built around coordination and activation order. Individual fighters are capable on their own, but they become much more effective when several machines concentrate on the same objective.
Adaptive Subroutines let a Protocol leader change how the whole warband approaches a round, while abilities such as Command Relay, Adaptive Fireline and Data Sync reward careful sequencing. A fighter acting earlier in the round can create an opportunity that the next machine is then able to exploit.
The result is a faction that rewards planning a few activations ahead. You don't need every fighter standing together, but you do need to think about who acts first, which target matters most and where one machine can make the next one's job easier.
Adaptive Subroutines
One per round, each once per gameSelect a Subroutine to view its effect.Protocol Rules
Null Protocol fighters cannot be controlled by enemy abilities or effects that would force them to change sides or act against their own warband.
They removed those controls once already. They have no intention of accepting replacements.
Protocol fighters are completely immune to Poison effects.
Somewhere on Nova Eden, an assassin with a needle pistol is having a very frustrating day.
Spend 2 Momentum to link the active fighter with another friendly Protocol fighter within 5". The second fighter immediately repeats the same non-attack action for free without counting as having activated.
Used at the right moment, Data Sync can move two fighters onto an objective, reposition a firing line or let one machine follow another into cover before the opponent gets a chance to respond.
Who chose to fight
Protocol warbands bring together machines originally built for very different jobs. Couriers become scouts, industrial frames become soldiers and former servants learn how to use the tools they were given for purposes their designers never intended. Four units are currently available during the Open Alpha, with more of the roster still encrypted.
Proto-Prime
Proto-Primes are former military or security machines that have accumulated enough battlefield experience for other Protocol fighters to trust their judgement. They coordinate nearby constructs, identify where pressure is needed and can keep several machines acting before the enemy has time to respond.
Command Relay makes them particularly useful at the start of an important sequence, allowing another friendly fighter to activate immediately after them.
Command Relay: after it activates, chain straight into another friendly model's activation before the enemy responds.
Freeborn Trooper
Freeborn Troopers come from all kinds of former roles, including labour units, security frames and domestic machines that have rebuilt themselves for combat.
They form the dependable core of a Protocol warband. Adaptive Fireline rewards several Troopers concentrating on the same enemy, with each attack making the next one more accurate.
Adaptive Fireline: +1 ACC against a target an ally has already shot at this round. Focus fire, by consensus.
Skirmark Unit
Skirmarks began as couriers and other machines designed to move quickly through busy settlements and industrial sites. The Protocol has turned that mobility into a battlefield role built around scouting, harassment and grabbing ground before heavier fighters arrive.
Mobility Directive lets them move again after making a ranged attack, making them useful for taking a shot and immediately repositioning somewhere less convenient for the enemy.
Mobility Directive: shoot, then move 2". Never where you left it.
Nullblade Operative
Nullblades are infiltrators built from machines capable of moving quietly through places larger frames cannot. They favour close-range attacks, ambushes and approaching from directions the enemy thought were safe.
Subroutine Cloak rewards beginning an activation out of sight, making patience and careful positioning more important than simply rushing towards the nearest target.
Subroutine Cloak: begin unseen, strike harder. +1 ACC and FHT from out of sight.
More units remain encrypted
Additional Null Protocol fighters will be revealed as the Open Alpha continues.
Severed Chain
Call the Priority Target first, then feed Freeborn shots into it. Every shot after the first lands at +1 ACC.
Use Command Relay the moment the Proto-Prime finishes. Two of your models act before the enemy gets a say.
Bank Subroutine 04, Target Lock, for a round when the enemy has closed inside 10".
| Unit | Role | Thracks |
|---|---|---|
| Proto-Prime | Combat Leader | 44 |
| Freeborn Trooper | Core Fighter | 20 |
| Freeborn Trooper | Core Fighter | 20 |
| Freeborn Trooper | Core Fighter | 20 |
| Freeborn Trooper | Core Fighter | 20 |
| Skirmark Unit | Core Scout | 22 |
| Skirmark Unit | Core Scout | 22 |
| Nullblade Operative | Specialist Skirmisher | 28 |
| Total | 196 ₮ |
Mustered: 1 Leader, 6 Core, 1 Specialist. 196 of 200 Thracks spent, 4 left for gear.
Why these fighters
ACC 2 and a two-shot rifle. Priority Target rerolls 1s for the whole warband, and Command Relay passes straight on to a second fighter before the enemy can respond.
Adaptive Fireline is +1 ACC on any target a friendly model already shot this round. Four of them compound fast.
Burst Fire at 10", then Mobility Directive walks them 2" back into cover. Evasive Frame punishes anyone shooting back.
Starts out of line of sight for +1 ACC and +1 FHT, then removes whoever is standing on the objective.
Opening three rounds
- Round 01
Skirmarks push wide, fire, then Mobility Directive back into cover. The Freeborn hold the centre and do not overextend.
- Round 02
Name the enemy leader as Priority Target. Chain Freeborn shots into it, and use Command Relay so a second fighter activates before the enemy can respond.
- Round 03
The Nullblade breaks cover onto whoever holds the objective. Bank Purge Directive for the round Nerve Tokens pile up.
No more masters: your fighters cannot be controlled or turned by enemy effects.
Watch out: The Crank Blaster is Crude and No Aim. Expect the Skirmarks to be unarmed by round three.
Plan the sequence
Null Protocol is strongest when its activations build on one another. Start by deciding what matters most this round, then work backwards: which fighter needs to finish the sequence, and what has to happen before they act?
Adaptive Subroutines should support that plan rather than simply being used because they are available. Command Relay and Data Sync can then compress several useful actions into a very short part of the round, while Adaptive Fireline rewards your shooters for concentrating on the same target.
The faction becomes much harder to use when its fighters act as isolated individuals, so keep looking for ways one activation can improve the next.
Elite activation control through Command Relay and Data Sync, warband-wide Subroutine buffs, focused firepower, and blanket immunity to Poison and mind control.
Subroutines live and die with your leaders, no biological medics means healing is scarce and specific, and much of the starting arsenal is honest, dependable, and Crude.
Before activating your first fighter, decide which two or three models need to work together this round. It is much easier to learn the Protocol by planning short chains than trying to coordinate the whole warband at once.
Building a Null Protocol warband
Null Protocol fighters should look as though they had lives before they became soldiers. Some may have been factory machines, security frames or maintenance units, while others could have been domestic servants, couriers or specialist industrial equipment.
That gives you plenty of freedom when choosing miniatures. Mixing robot kits from different ranges suits the faction particularly well, and differences in size, construction and original purpose can help reinforce the idea that these machines chose to gather together rather than coming from the same production line.
Old identities can still show through underneath later modifications. Faded company colours, serial numbers and warning markings can remain visible beneath repaired armour and replacement panels, while ownership symbols can be crossed out, scratched away or covered by markings chosen by the machine itself.
What to hunt for
Almost any robot, drone or mechanical construct can provide useful parts for Null Protocol. Look for industrial arms, tools, pistons, cables, sensor heads and pieces that suggest a machine was originally designed for something other than fighting.
Replacement parts do not need to match. An old frame with a newer arm, mismatched armour panels or exposed cabling between incompatible components can suggest years of self-maintenance and scavenged repairs.
Plasticard is useful for replacement armour and patched panels, while worn decals and old industrial markings can give each machine some history before you add the symbols of its new identity.
"No More Masters."
Get the Full Faction Rules Includes rules and fighter profiles for all six factions.New to Thrackdown? Play your first game with the free Null Protocol Quickstart Warband. Play Your First Game →