A Watcher in default state.
The watcher is a crude, yet brilliant, autonomous security camera invented by the Mechanists and was prominently used during The Metal Age. Watchers are stationary devices that rotate and scan a given area continuously, looking for any sign of intrusion. When a watcher discovers an unknown entity it will start to focus on the person and, if the visual contact between the illegal person and the watcher is not immediately broken, activate an alarm. If prevented, the watcher will resume its normal behavior but if alarmed, the watcher will remain sounding the alarm (and focusing on the intruder) until it is out of its sight for a moment of time.
The state of the watcher can be observed by a small light underneath it. Default, this light is green, but should the watcher catch a momentary glimpse of an intruder, the light will turn yellow. If the presence is confirmed to be an intrusion, the light will turn red and an alarm will go off.
Names[]
Other names for the watcher include:
- Eyes of Karras
- Watchful Eyes
- Metal Faces
- Eye Cameras
- Eyes
Security Device[]
A Turret.
Even tough watchers lack a direct form of attack, there are three ways in which they can nonetheless make life difficult for an enterprising thief or other criminal. Firstly, should they confirm an illegal presence, they will set off an alarm, sometimes localized, sometimes connected to a system alerting everyone in the building to their awareness. Secondly, they sometimes can control the lock of a door or the movement of a portcullis, and can block off avenues of escape or entrance. Finally, they may be connected to a Turret on standby, and will activate it should they detect an intruder.
Tactics[]
Watchers can be dealt with in one or (possibly) two ways: destroying or disabling. A Watcher requires a constant power supply and they can often be shut down by finding and disabling their power source or (more easier) finding a switch, sometimes located near it, or in other instances in distant room — that is often locked and secured — and flipping it. Watchers can be easily destroyed with explosives such as Fire Arrows and mines, but be aware that this method is very noisy and can attract unwanted attention. It is also possible, though not advised, to send a Cannonball from a nearby Turret or Combat Bot to the Watcher which will also destroy it. Watchers can also be temporary blinded with a Flash Bomb.
Weaknesses[]
It is worth noting that the only thing Watchers will react to is visibly spotting an intruder. They do not hear, nor will they react to corpses, blood, alerted enemies, etc. They will, however, be able to detect any other type of undesirable persons (Thieves, Pagans, etc).
Every Watcher has one major weakness: they are unable to look under them, equipping them with a big blind spot.
Popularity[]
During the Metal Age, the Mechanists created alliances with the City Watch and the city's Nobility, to whom they sold their technology, in favor of support. Many guardsmen and police officers were concerned, to say the least, that their jobs would be replaced.[1][2]
After the fall of Karras, their technology and Watchers fell out of favor with the City Watch and Nobility.
Periscope Eye[]
A Hammerite Eye
The Hammerites had a crude periscope device that effectively functioned similarly to a Watcher. Two of these crude eyes hung outside the guard stations leading to the cell blocks of the infamous Cragscleft Prison. The Mechanists likely built upon the old technology.
Behind the Scenes[]
When a Watcher is destroyed, the game actually replaces the head with its broken variant along with debris. If the player looks carefully, they will notice that the destroyed head has shifted slightly compared to before it was destroyed.