User:Peter Drake/RockRaidersDis

Lego Rock Raiders was a Lego theme started 1999, and was discontinued in 2000. Rock Raiders was the only theme in the Lego Underground series. The theme, while short-lived, featured sixteen sets and was backed-up by numerous story-related media, including several comic books and video games.

The premise of the story involves the crew of the LMS Explorer. The vessel is damaged after wandering into an asteroid field and is sucked into a wormhole, the wormhole exits in an alien galaxy, parallel to the Milky Way. The LMS Explorer’s captain orders the ship to use its reserve power and head for the nearest planet. The planet is abundant in the mysterious but powerful Energy Crystals. There the Rock Raiders, whilst repairing the ship, must venture inside the dangerous caverns of the planet to collect the precious Energy Crystals to power the ship.

Pages In Rock Raiders

 * One article about the sets
 * General information, including a list of sets
 * Two articles about the storyline and media
 * One including the plot summary, and character, technology, creatures and minerals info.
 * Another including the games, books and comics; there were only two games and two very short books, and the comics were only like two pages long each, so those could all easily fit in one article.
 * A disambig page.

Lego Rock Raiders products

 * Main Article:Rock Raiders products

Sets

 * Main Article:List of Rock Raiders sets

Axle

 * Position: Driver
 * Rank: Midshipman

Axle is the Rock Raiders' best driver. He has been seen to be somewhat impulsive and tends to dive headfirst into a dangerous situation, though he is very capable of defending himself.

Axle is happiest when he is driving the Chrome Crusher, the Rock Raiders' largest land vehicle. His ability to handle anything with wheels is second to none; he has won the Lego World Racing Champion award three times, beating Rocket Racer's record.

Bandit

 * Position: Helmsman, Navigator
 * Rank: Sub-Lieutenant

Bandit is the Rock Raiders' greatest sailor, and is happiest when is cruising the underground lakes and rapids on the Rapid Rider. He is also the Rock Raiders' head navigator, he always knows his exact location. After spending so much time underwater and on the Rapid Rider, he tends to be a little shaky on land.

Bandit cannot tolerate any tomfoolery, and therefore does not get along well with Axle. If the situation is not good, he will be in a bad mood for hours.

Bandit can easily sneak into a Monster's territory and get out with the Energy Crystals, without awakening the Monster.

Chief
thumb|Chief
 * Position: Captain of the LMS Explorer
 * Rank: Captain

Chief is the oldest, wisest and most experienced Rock Raider. He is calm in any situation and has the experience to solve almost any problem. Chief captains the LMS Explorer, during missions he stays on the ship and commands his team. He always puts the lives of his team above his own, if something goes wrong in a cavern, he immediately teleports the team out.

Chief is the only known Rock Raider to train Rock Raider Cadets. He also gives every Rock Raider team leader their mission briefings. His real name though, is never revealed.

Years ago he lost his left arm while rescuing thirty-seven miners from a cave-in on Pluto, it was replaced with an artificial arm, capable of shooting plasma blasts. Chief has never left the LMS Explorer in twenty years, he loves it so much that he has made it his home.

Chief is the first known person to have encountered an Elemental Monster. Interestingly, this is years before the Rock Raiders ever traveled to Planet U, as he said that he encountered it in his youth; though as seen in Lego Island 2, there are several Rock Monsters in the jungle and in orbit around Earth.

Docs

 * Position: Geologist, Doctor, Explosives Expert
 * Rank: Commander

Docs is the Rock Raiders' head Geologist and Commander. Unlike the other Rock Raiders, Docs is a very calm person, and fully assesses a situation, covering every possible plan. Though sometimes he spends too much time thinking.

Docs can think his way out of any problem, he is very capable of thinking on his feet.

Jet

 * Position: Pilot
 * Rank: Flight Lieutenant

Jet is the most courageous and strong-willed of all the Rock Raiders, she is a very skilled pilot and is always ready to take on new, exciting challenges. Her piloting skills are legendary, ready for any challenge she always approaches her missions with a level head.

Jet will never shirk a difficult task and has great problem-solving skills.

Her favorite vehicle is the Tunnel Transport.

Sparks

 * Position: Engineer
 * Rank: Midshipman

Sparks is an expert on all things mechanical and electrical, unfortunately he is also very, very clumsy. He is always taking things apart, but sometimes he forgets to put them back together. Sparks keeps the drills drilling, the grinders grinding, and the loaders loading.

Sparks is one of the greatest engineers ever, his skill to repair any technology is second to none. Sparks is credited with designing most of the Rock Raiders’ equipment.

Unnamed Team
This team played a vital role in storyline, though they were never named. These Rock Raiders helped many other Rock Raider teams that were trapped by a cave-in, or lost in the deep caverns. Were it not for them, many of the Energy Crystals that power the LMS Explorer would never have been found.

Chief personally trained the team's leader when he was a Cadet.

This team was only featured in the Rock Raiders PC video game.

Plot

 * Main Article:Rock Raiders Plot

The story begins when the HMS Explorer is returning from an unknown solar system, and is accidentally piloted into an asteroid belt. The ship is hit by several asteroids, but sustains little damage, until a large asteroid smashes into the ship and sends it hurling into a wormhole. The wormhole exits in a galaxy parallel to the Milky way, as the Rock Raiders see when they run a scan to find out where they are.

They use the ship's reserve power to get to the nearest planet, and send down a team. There they build a base, but soon find out that they are not alone. Large rock monsters live beneath the planet's surface, eating energy crystals, which the Rock Raiders desperately need.

Original Plans
thumb|The only known storyboard of the Rock Raiders theme On June 20th, 2000 Lugnet member Sergio Guerra discovered the original plans for the Rock Raiders theme. Many elements are different or left out in the final theme.

Different Elements:
 * A different standard Rock Raiders uniform, similar to Bandit’s uniform
 * Different hand-held drills
 * Different Chrome Crusher, with twin drills and no laser
 * Different Hover Scout, with two long antennas and pilot seat.
 * Different Loader Dozer, with a Dune buggy look, and a drill.
 * Different Granite Grinder, much sleeker look
 * Different Rock Raiders insignia, with a red cog, instead of a silver drill.
 * The Large Vehicles' windscreens are silver, instead of brown.
 * Tailed Rock Monsters

Original Elements:
 * Mobile Rock Raiders HQ
 * New insect-like vehicle
 * New six-wheeled vehicle, with two claws and three laser-like devices mount on top
 * Perhaps the biggest change, the Rock Raiders had enemies, the Insectoids

Had the theme been more successful, these elements might have been reconsidered. The website with this information can be seen here. As well as concept images and info in The Ultimate Lego book, pages 30-31.

References in other Lego themes
A few other Lego themes have shared aspects of Rock Raiders, and vice versa. Some themes have even directly mentioned the Rock Raiders characters.
 * Lego Island 2
 * Rock Monsters inhabit the jungle.
 * Rock Monsters and Slimy Slugs inhabit OGEL Island.
 * Lego Racers 2
 * The character Berg, is an Ice Monster (though his appearance is identical to a Rock Monster) that wishes to race. This is the first known intelligent Monster.
 * Legoland
 * Energy Crystals are under Legoland
 * Professor Voltage teleports to Planet U right when Docs is being threatened by a Rock Monster; his machine lands on the Rock Monster, knocking it out. The Professor asks Docs how to use Energy Crystals, then returns to Legoland, leaving Docs with a very angry Rock Monster.

Along with the above appearances, numerous Lego themes -some of which came before Rock Raiders, and others after- have featured Energy Crystals, though only a few have specifically said that they are the same "Brickonium" crystals featured in Rock Raiders.