Lego Rock Raiders

Products

Lego sets

Books and comics

• Rock Raiders: An Interactive Puzzle Storybook – An illustrated storybook published in 1999 by Dorling Kindersley, every scene in the book is accompanied by a puzzle relating to something a character said or saw, with solutions to the puzzles in the back of the book. Written by Anna Knight, illustrated by Roger Harris.
• Rock Raiders: High Adventure Deep Underground – A graphic novel published in 2000 by Lego Systems Inc. The novel told, in Jet’s point-of-view and in greater detail, the events on Planet U. There are a few puzzles on certain pages. Written by Alan Grant, illustrated by Robin Smith and Lego Media.
• Race for Survival – A short novel published by Dorling Kindersley in 2000, aimed at kids in Grades 2-4. At the side of each page is a small article on Geology. The story takes place six months after the events in the other books and the video games. Written by Marie Birkinshaw, illustrated by Roger Harris.

Video game

Theme

Characters

• Axle – 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, making him one of the fastest in the galaxy.
• Bandit – The Rock Raiders' greatest sailor, he is happiest when 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.
• Chief – 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, from which he commands his team, and is always ready to teleport them out if something goes wrong in a cavern. Years ago he lost his left arm while rescuing miners from a cave-in on Pluto; it was replaced with a mechanical 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. He is rumored to have encountered a rock monster in his youth.
• Docs – The Rock Raiders' head Geologist and Commander. Docs is a very calm person, and fully assesses a situation, covering every possible plan, though sometimes he spends too much time thinking.
• Jet – 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. She is ready for any challenge she always approaches her missions with a level head.
• Sparks – An expert on all things mechanical and electrical, though unfortunately he is also very clumsy. He is always taking things apart, but sometimes he forgets to put them back together. He is credited with designing most of the Rock Raiders’ equipment

  Energy crystals

Planet U

Vehicles

• Cargo Carrier - A large catamaran used to ferry equipment across underground lakes and rivers. It has a large cargo hold that is able to carry small vehicles and Rock Raiders across water. It only appeared in the Windows version of the video game.
• Chrome Crusher - A massive vehicle has everything a Rock Raider may need in the dangerous caverns. It's equipped with a powerful drill and a high-energy mining laser to plow through any kind of rock, as well as a large scanner dish and a giant cargo hold.
• Floating Platform - An unmanned platform that floats across bodies of water or lava, used when no other vehicles that can cross those are available. It only appears in the North American PlayStation version of the video game.
• Granite Grinder - A two-legged walker with a giant drill for quickly grinding through rock, as well as boosters to help it jump over crevices and obstacles. Its unique "walker" legs allow it to cross rubble and rock debris safely and easily. A different vehicle also called a Granite Grinder later appeared in Lego Power Miners.
• Hover Scout - A small, floating vehicle designed to make long-distance reconnaissance over land easy and quick. It uses hover propulsion technology to travel at high speeds over rubble and debris that would slow down a Rock Raider on foot.
• Hoverboard - A vehicle similar to the Hover Scout, but able to carry a passenger. It does not appear in either version of the video game, and is only named in An Interactive Puzzle Storybook.
• Large Mobile Laser Cutter - A large six-wheeled vehicle with a high-energy laser used for blasting through rock. It did not come in any sets, and only appears in the video game.
• LMS Explorer - A massive space ship that houses all of the Rock Raiders and their equipment. It has an energy shield, protecting it from space debris, powerful scanning equipment, a teleportation system between the ship and the planet, and engines capable of reaching light-speed. The Rock Raiders must repair the ship using resourced from Planet U in order to return home.
• Loader Dozer - A heavy-duty bulldozer good for clearing large areas of rubble quickly. It can also be used to carry raw materials, and can break through masses of spider web.
• Rapid Rider - Also known as the CAT, this vehicle is a small catamaran used to travel across underground lakes and rivers. It can carry a small amount of cargo, making it more useful as a reconnaissance craft.
• Small Digger - A small four-wheeled vehicle that uses two chainsaws to cut through rock quicker than a Rock Raider could, though slower than any other drilling vehicles.
• Small Mobile Laser Cutter - A small six-wheeled vehicle with a high-energy laser used for blasting through rock. It did not come in any sets, and only appears in the video game.
• Small Transport Truck - A small truck designed to quickly transport raw materials from an excavation site to Rock Raider HQ much more efficiently than a Rock Raider could.
• Tunnel Scout - A small helicopter ideal for more advanced reconnaissance, as it can fly over water, lava and land. It gives the Rock Raider team greater flexibility over mixed terrain and its high speed keeps the pilot out of trouble.
• Tunnel Transport - A giant helicopter with tandem rotors that can haul cargo and vehicles through tunnels very quickly. In the PlayStation version of the video game, it can even carry the Chrome Crusher, as well as being able to lift stranded Rock Raiders safely aboard. The Hoverboard can be stored in the back compartment.

  Buildings

• Docks - A building that can only be constructed on the banks of bodies of water. It's used for teleporting and mooring the Rapid Rider and Cargo Carrier, as well as training Rock Raiders as sailors.
• Geological Center - The Geological Scanner is where geologists bring rock samples for study. Its large GeoScanner scans the entire cavern. The Geological Center is where Rock Raider cadets can train as geologists.
• Mining Laser - A stationary version of the Large Mobile Laser Cutter, with a high-energy laser beam that can be used to blast through most types of rock, at the price of energy crystals.
• Ore Refinery - A processing plant that refines raw Lego ore into Building Studs.
• Power Station - The Power Station is extremely important, as it is where the power is extracted from the energy crystals and used to power the buildings at Rock Raider HQ. Once a Power Station has been constructed, the energy crystals collected are taken here and used to power the base.
• Super Teleport - The Super Teleport, also called the Large Teleport Pad, has more than double the power of the Teleport Pad. Once constructed you can teleport down the largest land vehicles from the LMS Explorer. In the PlayStation game, its landing pad can sometimes be found by itself, as a place for the Tunnel Transport to land.
• Support Station - The Support Station is extremely important, it replenishes the air supply in caverns which have limited levels of oxygen in them. It also acts as a lunchroom for the Rock Raiders. The Support Station is where Rock Raider cadets can train as drivers.
• Teleport Pad - The Teleport Pad is a very important building. Rock Raiders and the Small Vehicles use the Teleport Pad to travel into the caverns from the LMS Explorer. The Teleport Pad is also where Rock Raider cadets can train as pilots.
• Tool Store - The Tool Store is the first building needed for any Rock Raider HQ and is the starting point of every base. It is a multi-purpose building, as it not only acts as a temporary Teleport Pad, but also stores all the tools needed by the Rock Raider team. Collected raw materials are also stored in the Tool Store.
• Upgrade Station - The Upgrade Station is where Rock Raiders bring vehicles to be repaired or upgraded. The Upgrade Station is where Rock Raider cadets can train as engineers.

  Creatures

• Monsters - Very little is known about the monsters, mainly because very few have ever been seen. They are obviously the dominant species of Planet U. Their main source of food happens to be the energy crystals, so they keep a close eye on them. Monsters have been known to hide lots of energy crystals in one cavern, and conceal the entrance. There are three variations of monsters: rock, ice, and lava. Only rock monsters appear in any sets.
• Rock whales - The largest creatures on all of Planet U. Their bodies are large, long and made completely of stone. They have six legs, and two large, pitch black eyes. Like scorpions and spiders, there are two types of them: the metallic maroon type, which are capable of running incredibly fast and destroying any vehicles that get in their way, and the light brown type, which are slow and docile. In the PlayStation video game, the latter of the two types can be manipulated by Pusher Beams to jump into water, forming a land bridge for Rock Raiders to cross.
• Scorpions - There are two types of giant scorpions on Planet U: purple scorpions that attack using their claws, and green ones that are capable of firing bursts of energy from their claws.
• Slimy slugs - Slimy slugs are large, green slugs with a layer of slime to help them slither faster. Like the monsters, their main food source is the energy crystals. However, unlike the monsters they do not swallow the energy crystals, instead they suck the energy out of them. Slimy slugs are short enough to crawl under electric fences, and due to their thick hides they can withstand laser fire, though they are usually docile.
• Spiders - There are two types of spiders on Planet U: a smaller, harmless type that causes Rock Raiders to slip, and a larger, venomous type that can spin webs that can trap any vehicles; the only thing that can clear the webs is the scoop of the Loader Dozer.
• Bats - Bats seem to thrive in the deep caverns of Planet U. They live in large groups and are harmless, though they do not like to be disturbed by the noise of drilling. They are rarely seen around Rock Raider HQ. In the Windows version of Lego Rock Raiders, black bats cause some rock raiders to run in fear, disrupting mining operations.

  Original plans

• Different outfit designs for the Rock Raiders, with goggles and scarfs.
• Mysterious aliens traveling with the Rock Raiders.
• Rock monsters were larger, and some had tails and acted more like animals.
• The Chrome Crusher appears with two drills and no laser.
• The Loader-Dozer has a drill and a gun.
• A scrapped flying rocket-like vehicle which somewhat resembles the Tunnel Scout.
• A scrapped vehicle with robotic arms, a drill and laser turrets.
• A mobile Rock Raiders HQ, with crystal and ore Refineries and giant arms.
• A Hover Scout with cargo capacity.