Drones

A drone is a special construct that allows for remote control. By itself, a drone is nearly worthless, a drone must be relayed into a handheld or terminal to allow for any control. Without someone controlling the drone, the drone will not act.  Drones are different from other constructs, in that they are custom built and purchased. Each drone is made up of 4 components:

• The body size
• The brand of the drone
• The material of the drone
• The attachments

Under-Licensed Use. If you attempt to pilot any drone that you do not have the license for, your inexperience makes it difficult. You cannot pilot any drone that you do not have the construct licensing for, and you can not use any attachments that you do not have the secondary licensing for.

Quicklinks: Body Size | Drone Brand | Drone Material | Drone Battery | Weight | Cost | Using a Drone | Drone Attachments

Body Size

The size of a drone is determined by its body size. The maximum and minimum size of a drone available to you is based on your construct licensing level.

• Construct License I: You can purchase a small or medium drone.
• Construct License II: You can purchase a tiny, small, medium, or large drone.
• Construct License III: You can purchase any size of drone.

Each drone size has some innate properties and costs associated with it:

All drones have 0 Wisdom, Intelligence, and Charisma but automatically succeed on all related saving throws. The drone is only able to make fortitude and dexterity skill rolls, assuming it has attachments that make those skill rolls possible. The modifier for these rolls is equal to the drones related ability score – 10.

Drone Brand

The brand that a drone is made by has various effects on its potential. Each brand has a special property, and offers limited body sizes. You can purchase a drone from any of the following brands:

• Automal: This drone is shaped and made of materials designed to look like a natural animal. It has a credibility score of 15, and creatures with an awareness less than this are unable to detect that the drone isn’t the animal.
• Cinemech: The duration of this drone is able to last before draining a cell of energy from its battery is halved. The final price is reduced by 10%.
• Mechani: This drone ignores the effects of intense heat, cold, and pressure. It is able to function fine at the bottom of an ocean or when submerged in lava.
• Zumios: The duration this drone is able to last before draining a cell of energy from its battery is doubled.

Drone Material

A drone can be made from a variety of materials that determine its potential. The material also determines the base cost of your drone (this is detailed more under the cost section). The following materials are available:

Drone Battery

A drone requires a battery to operate. The size of the drone’s body determines the number of battery ports the drone has and what size of batteries it uses. Lastly, the duration this drone is able to last before draining a cell of energy from its battery is also determined by its size.

Weight

The weight of a drone is determined by its body size and material. The formula is listed below:

• Drone Price = Body Size Weight × Material Weight Multiplier

Cost

The cost of a drone is determined by its material, body size, and possibly brand. The formula is listed below:

• Drone Price = Material Base Cost × Body Size Cost Multiplier

Once the price is determined, it can be modified by the brand if needed (i.e. Cinemech providing a 10% discount).

Using a Drone

In order to operate your drone, you must relay the drone to a handheld, terminal, or visor.

You can choose to operate your drone as an action. When you operate a drone on your turn, your awareness in regards to your surroundings is decreased by half until the start of your next turn. When you use the drone, you can have the drone move, perform an action, and perform a bonus action (if one is available). Drones can not take reactions.

When you are controlling a drone there are three ways you can perceive the drone’s actions and movements: you can physically perceive the drone with your own senses, you can see through the drone’s senses (if it has the appropriate bugs or sensors attached), or you can ghost control the drone through a bio-channel.

If you can perceive a drone with your senses, but can not see through the drone’s senses, you have disadvantage on all attack rolls and skill rolls you make through the drone. If you can not perceive the drone at all, you can still issue commands, but the results are unpredictable as you can not perceive the target of the command.

Lastly, if you are bio-channeled into the same device the drone is relayed into, you can choose to ghost control the drone. You lose all of your senses and become completely unaware of your current surroundings. In exchange, the following effects occur:

• Your soul is directly placed into the drone. Devices or creatures able to detect souls or life will be able to detect this.
• Your natural senses are replaced with any bugs attached to the drone. If duplicate bugs are placed, you can use them simultaneously.
• You perceive as the drone indefinitely, and this effect only ends when you use an action to sever this connection, or the drone is unable to gain energy.
• The drone gains your Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma, and all related skill modifiers and saving throws, it no longer automatically succeeds or fails on these rolls.
• Any psychic damage is done directly to you, and not the drone.
• If the relay between you and the drone is severed, your soul becomes stuck in the drone, and can only get out once the relay is repaired. If the drone battery runs out while you are separated from your body, you die. If your body is destroyed, your soul loses its anchor to the material plane and is also destroyed.
• You are able to use any Ioun devices on the drone as simple object interactions.
• The drone is now able to perform reactions.
• Once the drones battery is empty, you can choose to keep it functional at the cost of 1 mana whenever it would require another cell of energy.
• Whenever the drone makes a skill roll or attack roll related to fortitude or dexterity, you can expend 1 mana and give the drone a +5 bonus to the roll.

Drone Attachments

Attachments are components that can be inserted into a drone to give it functions. You can insert one attachment per port available on your drone.

Installing an attachment requires both the necessary license for the attachment and 10 minutes of labor while using mechanics tools. After an attachment has been successfully installed, any creature operating the drone can command it to use the attachment or have the drone benefit from the attachment’s functionality, if they have the appropriate licenses.

For convenience, drone attachments are broken into categories.

Mobility Attachments: Automal Arachnid Legs | Automal Flutter Wings | Automal Propeller Fins | Golemworks Bipedal Legs | Mechani HyperTreds | Mechani Responsive Wheels | Neurobuild Astral Propulsion Field | Scrypher HoverRing

Utility Attachments: GolemWorks Integration Plate | Golemworks Precision Hands | Mechani Heavy Arms | Mechani Reinforcement Support | Mechani Storage Bay | Scypher Reconnaissance Attachment | Thunderhawk Explosive Core | Zumios Battery Cache

Mobility

Automal Arachnid Legs. The Automal arachnid legs are an attachment with eight hook-like legs that allow for the drone to easily walk and climb on a variety of surfaces. Once installed, the drone can stick to and climb on any surfaces, including a ceiling, without falling. Additionally, the drone ignores difficult terrain when walking or climbing with these legs. However, the surfaces it climbs or adheres to must be able to support its weight and have enough surface area to support its size.

When using its movement to get it from prone, it requires all of its movement instead of half. When the cups are wet (such as walking across a puddle or a rain-coated surface), it loses its climbing speed until the drone is manually dried, or at least 10 minutes pass.

The drone also gains the ability to use the Acrobatics and Stealth skills.

Automal Flutter Wings. The Automal Flutterwings are an attachment that gives the drone a pair of wings and the ability to fly. Once installed, the drone gains a fly speed and can fly to any altitude but it cannot operate in astral space. Flying with the drone must be done with careful piloting. The drone’s flight becomes unstable when it flies near a surface or object. If the drone flies within [wing span] feet of a solid surface (such as a building, cliffs, or tree), the drone falls prone. Surfaces directly below the drone do not cause this to occur.

The drone also gains the ability to use the Acrobatics skill.

Automal Propeller Fins. The Auto Propeller Fins are an attachment with several small propellers that allow the drone to swim through liquids. Once installed, the drone gains a swim speed.

The drone also gains the ability to use the Athletics skill.

Golemworks Bipedal Legs. The Bipedal legs are an attachment with two legs that allow for it to easily run, jump, walk, and keep itself upright. Once installed, the drone can be commanded to sprint or to jump to clear obstacles.

The drone also gains the ability to use the Athletics and Acrobatics skills.

Mechani HyperTreds. The Mechani HyperTreds are an attachment with two sets of continuous track treds. Once installed, the treds distribute the weight of the drone, allowing it to ignore difficult terrain when moving with these treds. Additionally, a drone standing on these treds can not be knocked prone.

The drone also gains the ability to use the Destruction and Overpower skills.

Mechani Responsive Wheels. The Mechani Responsive Wheels are an attachment with four wheels that allow the drone to move at fast speeds. Once installed, the wheels allow the drone to use the dash action as a bonus action and the wheel’s brakes can stop the drone’s movement instantaneously. Additionally, the drones safe fall is doubled.

The drone also gains the ability to use the Stealth skill.

Neurobuild Astral Propulsion Field. The Neurobuild astral propulsion field is an attachment that enables a drone to propel itself through astral space. Once installed, the drone gains a flying speed in astral space but it loses this speed when exposed to the atmosphere of a fragment, station, or astral vessel. When passing through planar anomalies, the drone becomes unstable and moves randomly until it leaves the disturbance.

Scrypher HoverRing. The Scrypher HoverRing is an attachment that allows the drone to hover and levitate. Once installed, the drone gains a fly speed as it hovers off of the ground. The drone can reach a maximum height of [maximum height] feet. Once it reaches the maximum height it can go from the ground, the drone continues to fall a distance equal to the distance it has already fallen as it tries to stabilize. Assuming the drone is not destroyed by an impact with a surface, the drone will stabilize at its maximum height.

The drone also gains the ability to use the Stealth skill.

Utility

GolemWorks Integration Plate. An integration plate allows you to integrate a device to the drone. The device must be one that can normally be integrated into an armor. The integration slot offered by the plate is dependent on the size of the drone. If a weapon is integrated into this plate, the drone is able to perform Might and Accuracy skill rolls with the integrated weapon.

Golemworks Precision Hands. Golemworks precision hands are an attachment that gives the drone a pair of arms with dexterous hands capable of performing intricate tasks. Once installed, the drone gains the ability to perform Accuracy, Assembly, and Sleight of Hand skills with these arms.

Mechani Heavy Arms. Mechanic heavy arms are an attachment that gives the drone a pair of powerful arms that are able to apply a tremendous amount of force onto an object. Once installed the drone gains the ability to perform Destruction, Might, and Overpower skills with these arms. These arms can break devices.

Mechani Reinforcement Support. A Mechani reinforced support is an attachment that supports the overall strength and structure of a drone. Once installed, the drone has an increase of [carry capacity boost] to its carry capacity.

Mechani Storage Bay. A storage bay is an attachment that installs a compartment inside the drone. Once installed, it allows the drone to store things within itself. The items inside the storage bay can not be heavier than the [maximum weight]. The items must also fit inside the drone and cannot be larger in volume than the drone. As an object interaction, the drone can place an object inside the storage bay or retrieve an object from it. Similarly, as an action, a drone can deposit all items from its storage, dropping it directly beneath or beside the drone.

Scypher Reconnaissance Attachment. A reconnaissance attachment allows you to attach bugs and sensors to a drone. The amount of bugs and sensors that can be attached is based on the drones size.

Any inserted bug or sensors remains attached to the drone for its standard duration before dissolving. However a bug’s duration doesn’t begin until the drone is turned on for the first time after their installation. The operator can also eject inserted bugs or sensors prematurely, ignoring any duration and dissolving them instantly.

A drone’s hidden value can never extend beyond the covert DC of the bugs or sensors attached to it.

Thunderhawk Explosive Core. An explosive core allows you to attach an explosive device to your drone. The core encases the explosive and enhances its explosive radius to all points of the drone. Any inserted charge remains inside the drone until it is triggered for denotation. You can use an action to trigger the explosive or it can be relayed from inserted bugs or sensors. The charge will also denote if the drone is destroyed.

A radius around the drone equal to the inserted explosives blast radius suffers the effects of the explosive. Any devices attached to the drone with a break value less than the damage of the explosion are destroyed alongside the drone.

Zumios Battery Cache. A battery cache is an attachment that allows you to install additional batteries into your drone. These batteries are connected to the drone’s main power unit.