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

[Pbartender]

The humble Trade Federation Battle Droid... I want to play one in Star Wars D20.

Maybe I'm missing something, but... What says you can't, assuming the proper droid brain has been installed into the body?

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Maybe I'm missing something, but... What says you can't, assuming the proper droid brain has been installed into the body?

Exactly.

The BASIC MODEL battle droid is not playable. However, there's nothing saying you couldn't play a modified droid.

 

[Breakdaddy]

And, on another note, I just realized what a HUGE NERD I am for reading and enjoying that entire original post (and followup post).

 

[DnDChick]

And, on another note, I just realized what a HUGE NERD I am for reading and enjoying that entire original post (and followup post).

You probably felt as nerdy as I did when (spoiler):

Spoiler

I saw the "Corellian blockade runner" from the opening scene of EpIV appear in EpIII ... and got to see the bridge ... and made my non-nerd guy roll his eyes because I could tell him the name of the ship ...

Ah well ... [yoda]ashamed am I not of my nerdiness ... revel in it I do! Proud of it I am![/yoda]

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

"Corellian blockade runner"

Psst...the name of the ship is Tantive IV.

 

[Operator]

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!

 

[DnDChick]

Psst...the name of the ship is Tantive IV.

Yeah, I know ... that was the point!

Me: Kewl! The Tantive IV! (giggle)
Him: It's a spaceship.
Me; Yeah but its the Tantive IV! (big grin)
Him: (Eye roll) ... how could you possibly know that?
Other people in the theater: SHHHH!

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

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.

Well, I avoided commenting on your rant/essay before, so I guess I can do that now. While its well written and a good read, it doesn't actually prove all that much for the B1 droids being independent. The ONLY thing that could possibly work towards that is the whole 3P0/Battle Droid thing, but that doesn't really make sense anyway. It wasn't done to make technical sense...it was done for humour.

Of course, since we don't know EXACTLY how droids work, we can't say what shows them to be independent or not...or even the location of their heuristic processors, which is what makes them 'independent' of a center control device. B1 droids are NOT built with these processors, and recieve all information from control ships/facilities. This can still explain the supposed 'individual' behavior, as we don't know how exactly the control ships work. For all we know, there's an individual part of the control ship dedicated to each of the droids, which would allow for the thing we see in the films. All of the droids thinking is NOT done by the droid, but at the control ship/facility.

The Battle Droids are, essentially, walking remote control blaster rifles. They can 'think' and react to individual circumstances because of how the control ship/facility relays the information. And there wouldn't be a time factor, as the SW Galaxy instantaneous communication.

As for Theed...its very possible that one control ship/facility only controls a certain amount of droids. Therefore, the droid control ship that was destroyed took out the majority of the troops on the planet, which 80-90% of were out fighting the Gungans. The others could have been under the control of another ship/facility. We've got no information that can prove or disprove this, just as we can't say exactly how things work.

Remember, Battle Droids HAVE no independent processors of their own, so it could be that the entire droid is a reciever for the control signal. That could explain the whole 3PO thing, as the droid head would have taken control of 3POs body, acting like a restraining bolt with the control signal taking command through the head. This would work in reverse, too, if the entire body's are, essentially, recievers for the signal.

Again, while you've definitly put some thought into this and its very well written, I can't agree with you. Your evidence is much more contradicatory to what we've seen in the movies, and when it comes to the d20 rules...the simple fact is that B1 Battle Droids don't have Heuristic Processors built into them, so they can't think, learn, etc. without a control ship/facility. Which is why I suggest just having a B1 droid with a Heuristic Processor(droid brain) built in. Remove the remote reciever, and put the processor in its place. That wouldn't be hard for a techie to do at all.

 

[Khorod]

The GM might have more than a bias against Droids.

Was there any main heroic character in Star Wars who was a droid? No. R2-D2 comes close, as one of the best cohorts in Star Wars. Droids are supposed to be very useful, until they fade into the background as completely unimportant. Because at the end, they are amusing tools.

Or at least, this is one of the primary ways to interpret the role of droids from the movies. If your GM is playing up on the Force end of the spectrum, he might also prefer to place technology-social-justice themes in the back of the closet.

If you're talking about a one-shot or a single adventure I would have no problem with it. But any campaign in which I allowed Jedi would cause me to resist droid PCs except the most exceptional. (I.e., Level-adjusted prototypes that are not about the themes of the everydroid in the universe, but about the progression of technology and what that means to mystics and the course of the galaxy.)

 

[HellHound]

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!

Good luck.

In our campaign, the protocol droid got fed up with the way he was being treated as the only non-force sensitive character in the party, and being (a) disposable and (b) the party beyotch "yo, droid, plug into this computer and ...".

Now, said droid is a crime lord. He's been slowly picking up contacts and leverage over them during the campaign, and his master died early in the campaign, so when we are doing downtime, he is basically independent from the group. So he's picked up a bunch of levels of Crime Lord without the party being any the wiser. (well, the players know, and love the story line, but the characters don't).