[SWD20] Why can't I play a Battle Droid?

[LostSoul]

After reading through this entire discussion, I have come to one conclusion: Now I want to play a Battle Droid.

Me too. Although mine is going to be so ridden with droid-rot, he thinks he's a pimp.

"Don't make me stick you, Conan."

 

[AmorphousBlob]

Operator, you officially have my respect, and I would allow you to play a B1 in any of my games (if I was any good at GMing, which, based on past experience, is unlikely). Of course, I have a history of altering things in the Star Wars universe just to make things interesting (I once considered doing an entire campaign in which the characters usurped Palpatine and took over the empire for themselves).

George Lucas could film an Episode VIII in which all the main character dance the can-can...

Now that would be funny.

 

[Khorod]

There's no such thing as Absolutely Convincing Someone of anything in gaming. Its all in your mind, so every person has a different experience and expectation. The question here is convincing someone a given interpretation is good enough that they can work off it. And if you can't convince someone... then its not a concept you can work with as a group.

My personal understanding from the movies was that the control ships were handling very broad commands- largely strategic management, and the troops on the ground managing how they went about discharging those broad assignments.

Control Ship blows up, and they have lost that strategic assignment and no longer have any task to perform, so they shut down.

In the case of C-3PO, I consider that largely to be a successfully funny joke. Any reasonable explanation should do the trick. Mine is that the AI of a droid is typically kept in the head-region, and the independent nature of the 3PO's body meant it was able to go about the functions it recognized it was built for. In 3PO's AI case, his body (via control ship) was directing him to act as a battle droid and the resulting conflict between this directive and 3PO's actual programming gave rise to the comedy of his behavior.

An independent B1 has somehow managed to retain a sense of functional purpose despite the lack of a Control Ship- in other words, he became entirely self-motivated. Maybe it was hit on the head then mildly electrocuted. Maybe it was in the middle of a maintenance cycle that was suddenly deactivated, leaving the last control-message in a feedback loop. These definitely seem like enough to mess up a droid in Star Wars.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

I am not a SWd20 player, but I love a discussion of HTHDTH moments in the movies. As network administrator of a MS Windows shop, it occurs to me that the easiest way (and surely non-cannonical) to explain the battle droid behavior is that the Droid Crontrol Ship is important not because it contains some sort of droid control central (although it probably does), but is important because it contains the Droid Licensing Server. The Neimodians built these droids and cheap mercenaries, not as their own army (IIRC). One way to make them cheap is to rent them rather than sell them. If they planned to rent the droids out on a per-battle basis, then they would keep a Droid Licensing Server on the Droid Control Ship. After one battle, the droids would shut down unless the buyer had purchased a licsense for the next battle as well. Thus distroying the control ship would cease the licensing signal, causing the army to shut down, believing that they were now out of licensure. Of course, this feature was not installed on battle droids produced later, as the Nemoidians would have built these for their own cause.

I like this idea!

 

[Drew]

I'm probably totally off base here, but I just assumed that the control ship basically powered the droids and had the means to control them when needed, but they were otherwise independent. This would explain the need for commanders, why they react to outside stimuli, why they talk to each other, etc.

The droids are basically bare bones AI and skeleton, with an external power source / command source. The movies didn't imply the kind of hivemind mentality that would be present if the control ship was thinking for the droids. The control ship can give commands, but not on any kind of microcosmic level. Its more like a general in a real army. The general tells his forces to capture the Mendurian Port, and gives them a plan for doing so. Once the battle begins, he isn't down there pointing out every enemy and yelling "Shoot him! Shoot him!" If there is a change in plans, however, such as the need to retreat, he can convey that to the soldiers.

 

[Rogue765]

Ankh-Morpork Guard - Although I respect your fine work with Cmdr Vimes, and I don't really want to be tossed into the Ankh...

But the whole point of my rant/essay is that the stock B1 droids seen in the final two (and possibly all three) films are just as indeendant as any other droid. And that wonky excuses such as a 3PO brain, D2 droid brain, or other extensive tinkering with the background are not needed.

None beyond the typical background you would give a droid character: name, designaton, history, personality, et cetra.

As an aside, if anyone feels the name 'Roger Rodger' isn't creative or characterful, I direct to the stars of the Rouge Squadron novels, the R2 droids named 'Whistler' and 'Mynock'. Y'see, astromechs can't speak and they cling onto the backs of starships. That's creative.

The droids we see the most in the canon are never named, and for the most part are only refered to by there model number not even there individual designation... Artoo/R2 not R2-D2; Threepio/3PO not C-3PO; and the pluckly little R4 that saved Obi Wan.

I think my hardest part will be conveining my newest SW GM to allow droid PCs at all. Jedi, exotic aliens, Sith, even Clone Troopers... He makes everyone welcome, and he makes everyone fit into the story. But he won't allow droids!

This guy doesn't run a bar in Mos Eisley by any chance, does he?

 

[wingsandsword]

I dug up my copy of Secrets of Naboo. Remember that old one? The first suppliment published for d20 SW, Feb 2001 I think. The sourcebook for the blockade of Naboo from Episode I.

It has a fairly lengthy write up of Battle Droids, their technology, and the control system.

How it's described there: Battle Droids do have very low-grade droid brains, however they are not permitted much autonomy. The control signal from the Droid Control Ship gives an updated stream of new directives, orders and authorization codes the droid needs to remain opeational. The ship doesn't directly control them like a puppetteer, it instead sends them the authorization codes they need to remain activated, and sends them major directive updates (like activating them at the beginning of the invasion). Each droid sends a brief update of it's status and location to the central ship, giving the Neimodian commanders a general overview of the battle, which they use to give broad commands to Commander Droids, which execute them in the field.

The Commander Battle Droids have slightly upgraded droid brains and have the ability to issue direct commands to other battle droids without immediately consulting the central control computer so that they can operate quicker (and operate for at least a short time in the event of signal disruption). The sourcebook says that the droids shut down 3 minutes after the signal is terminated abruptly. During that time, the Commander droids are in full control of their forces, executing directives and orders recieved until the signal is restored.

 

[The_Gneech]

My campaign has a "modified B1 droid" NPC named B-0-B ... he's built as a Soldier 1 with the same base statistics as the B1 writeup and no "species abilities" other than those inherent in being a droid. Somewhere along the line his remote processor was deactivated and he was given a brain upgrade. He has identified the rebel heroes as "separatists" and has declared that he will fulfill his (mostly unknown) program functions by guarding them from Republic forces (i.e., the Empire).

The entire party had fits when he showed up and spent a whole session trying to decide whether to blast him or not -- except for the fringer, who declared that B-0-B was now his personal droid and has adopted him wholeheartedly.

-The Gneech

 

[SweeneyTodd]

Oh, to live in a world where "It's a cool idea, and would be fun in play" is sufficient reason to allow something.

I hated those stupid little droids in the prequels, but the original poster's writeup has officially changed my mind. I hope you get to play him.