In the setting for Rogue Trader - there is the Void-Master Career...

Coming from a PNP perspective - this build, class, or archetype (whatever your preference) may present problems for the GM or PC in the form of playability - i.e. what situations fit?

Let me explain:

One one side; you have a player who wants to survive - so they decide the best way to do so is to never leave the ship or a ship (LOL). The same could be said of the Astropath & Navigator of course, but that's not our focus here. Now outside Piloting or manning the ship's Guns or Sensors - the Void-Master isn't built per say for action like other Career types and may turn off some PCs from even engaging in "adventure".

On the other side you have the GM, who wants to Void-Master's participation but has found it lacking due to the constraints of their RPG build, class, career, or archetype. This then leaves a GM with a handful of options in order to either trick the PC or entice them onward off of the ship or away from said "station" or "cockpit".

As in my other posts if you couldn't tell by now I'm a Cyberpunk / Shadowrun fan, due to their fluff and playability of all the classes therein (i.e. things just seem to make sense and work well in those futuristic game settings/mechanics).

From that vein I've incorporated "Rigging" into the options available for Void-Masters...

Without certain caveats put in place, like no internet (aka Matrix) or hackers to normally have to tackle or contend with rules wise - we're left with a good system that makes a PILOT or DRIVER type have more to offer in a "Strike Force" or "Warband" capacity (aka the classic RPG Group known as the PARTY).

Now this may go on to ask fluff wise - but then how come "rigging" isn't seen elsewhere in the Galaxy?

Fluffwise - it is explained as "Noise Bane"

<homemade fluff / background explanation>

If you’re rigging via wireless, all of your actions suffer from a Noise interference. If you’re using a direct connection, you don’t have to worry about Noise bane at all.

A rigger’s data cable gets a lot of use for this reason. Otherwise the Imperium of Man has enacted an active policy of carrier squelching – where broadcasted bans and channels are flooded with occupying signals that serve to congest any attempts to communicate on the following frequencies strategies; Binary Channels, Cavitation Bypassing, Encoded Parallax Enciphers, and Variable Frequency Pulsation amongst the few openly known identified carrier types.

This act was ordained after the 25th Millennium in order to curtail and censure any attempts at the machine mind communing with itself.

FLUFF SUMMARY: This then explains and serves to limit the frequency of occurrence to that of the Koronus Expanse without breaking the Canon of the Imperium itself!

Plus, as a form of Tech Heresy this "special career advantage" has this built-in Career Drawback that serves to balance play...

A complete draft of the idea / guide is available BELOW:

Void-Master Rigging

Otherwise - as always; these house rules aren't intended to break your game or ruin your 40k experience - rather they are an exploration of variant play for those interested in such concepts...

What does that mean?

If your going to post a Complaint or Criticism then please follow that up with a Solution that's better or a Concept that's constructive - that I can respect 100%!

Stay Gaming

Morbid

Having a good progression for both ballistics and agility, and decent progression for all the other combat stats, access to a number of gun play and melee talents, heavy weapons, pilot personal, etc, I really can't see where you're coming from. The Voidmaster does just fine outside of a ship. I'd say the problem is more with the player attitude than the class abilities.

“Rigging” exists and is the domain of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Leigo cybernetica and cyber familiars are examples of this.

Had a quick look through it and the first thing that comes to mind is "Why can only the voidmaster install the implant?"

Seems like something the Tau might do, but way too high tech for the Imperium.

The system itself also seems a bit over complicated. Why call scrutiny clearsight? Why not just call it Scrutiny? Etc. It really doesn't read in the idiom of WH40k. Shadowrun is good, I played the heck out of 4th ed, but I don't really see the flash tech attitude having a place in WH40k. Programs? You mean machine daemons? Electronic Warfare? Yes that's the Ad--mech right there, and well beyond the ability of some hive dwelling peon who offers prayers to his elevator to keep it happy.

"I'm trained to fly and run a 5km vessel, why would I want to use a bunch of drones servo-skulls and servitors?"

This doesn't really solve the problem you set out to solve. The Void-Masters already have a fairly solid (if not exceptional) array of ground combat talents & skills, and they can gain the same highly-advanced combat equipment available to every other non-exploritor character. Adding access to this unique cybernetic isn't going to suddenly make them want to get off the ship, particularly if the Void-Master in question doesn't even buy it. After all, being on the ground with few servitors might be safer than being on the ground alone, but it's still way more dangerous than being on a 5km cruiser.

Realistically, there's no reason for Any of the PCs to leave the vessel for the majority of away missions, but thats simply not interesting. Its what our group calls the Star Trek effect: the bridge crew go down because that's who the story is about. The Void Master has a reason to be in the group - because the captain told him to be. Or because he craves excitement, or has other skills that could be useful, or the captain simply needed somebody to fly the shuttle down., and ****-it I'm not paying you to sit around all day.

Getting players off the ship and into the game is an often discussed and complex issue, and not one I'd try and fix in isolation or with a toy.

Now onto the second part - the rigging idea itself.

The use of remotely controlled robotic or semi robotic units is already quite existent in 40k - but it's primarily a Mechanicus activity. I can't see any logical reason why this ruleset should be restricted or intrinsically tied to the Void-Master career. If anything it should be a 1) rare cybernetic for general use or 2) an alternate career class open to Exploritor, Void-Master, Arch-militant. Indeed, it might make for quite an interesting alternate career class option.

Looking at the rules, it's painfully apparent you essentially copied Shadowrun. I have two issues with this. The first is primarily on feeling/fluff. The general populous, and specifically the operators, have a much more scientific and systematic knowledge basis of the computer-programing basis behind drone operation. This is not the case with their counterparts in the 41st millenium. All "drones" are either servitors or robots with machine spirits. There is no large-scale hacking, no associations of Augmented or Virtual Reality, no local area networks, etc. At the very least the rules need to be re-fluffed to fit in with the nature of 40k lore - and that means a lot less knowing why you're doing what you doing.

This rolls into my second issue, which is with the complexity of the rules. Rigging is a major part of Shadowrun, it is the way you operate vehicles and the like. Digital operations is also a large part of Shadowrun - runners are constantly hacking and counterhacking each other's equipment. Turning on and off Programs, individual upgrading segments, these are all very Shadowrun activites. Digital combat is an integrated part of the system, echoed in the Matrix. None of this is true for 40k.

There is no reason for these rules to be this complex for what is essentially an optional piece of equipment used to control what is common or uncommon but not unheard of in normal society. There is no reason why these robots or servitors shouldn't use standard Servitor/NPC/Minion rules.

Yeah... the Void-Master can already do most of those things anyways. Give one an MIU and a good Piloting score and/or Agility, and they could very well control a vehicle with their mind.

As was mentioned already, there is absolutely no reason to make a certain implant (that is already present in the game mind you) both different than it was initially written, and then restricted to a certain career class. The only restricted implants are Ad-Mech ones, but even then, if a player doesn't mind their character being a criminal, anyone can get these implants by becoming an Arch-Heretek.

As far as getting one off of the ship, as was also said above, Rogue Trader isn't about realism, it's about adventure. Realistically, the core crew would almost never leave, and send down swaths of Red-Shirt Ratings whenever they find a new and interesting planet, but 40K was never about realism. Also, how does the party get down? Unless the ship has a Teleportarium, somebody needs to fly them down, and the Void-Master is it. Any given ship is going to have many of them, what is one Void-Master off of the ship anyways? An Astropath is seldom the only Astropath aboard, there are often numerous Seneschals, Tech-Priests (which all Explorators are), come standard with any big spaceship, the only one that there is a rarity of is the Rogue Trader (which typically only numbers one), everyone else is found in bulk, the players are just special versions of these, destined by fate to become great (or die horribly in the attempt).

Lastly, the Void-Master can become a formidable combatant if advanced properly, and is certainly not pigeon-holed as the guy who stays aboard the ship and does nothing else. If you have a high agility, WS, and pilot (person) skill (which is standard for Void-Masters), you have all the attributes of a Raptor at your disposal. Just get a Powersword (which all Void-Masters can get as starting gear) and a Jump-Pack. This can make them incredibly valuable to bring along with any away mission if trouble might be expected.

I play a Void-Master. He regularly pilots the party down to adventures, controls the ship during ship battles, and tears things apart with his sword and jump-pack so savagely that even a Chaos Raptor from the Night Lords Legion would nod his head in approval. As soon as I can get him an MIU (and I've been trying), he's going to be able to do pretty much all the things you want a Void-Master to do without any unnecessary homebrewing of extra rules.

If you want Drone Control, there are actually specific rules for that found in two sources, the Navis Primer, and the Tau Character Guide (the latter of which mentions the possibility of allowing the Tau-only Drone Handler to be selectable for non-Tau at GM discretion).

I find this a common attitude in almost every game I've run or played in...few newcomers want to play a Voidmaster. It's always the person or people who've played in a game or two that immediately gravitate to this career. I can only guess (it's been too long for me to say) that the Voidmaster looks weak on paper. It must be since I hear this opinion voiced so often.

Let me state it in no uncertain terms. Voidmasters are the action heroes of the Rogue Trader game. If you don't have one in your party, you'll wish you did once the campaign gets moving. If you have one in your party, and it's not you, you'll wish it were. They can do anything and everything, and do it well.

If your party gets a second ship, the VM will probably be its captain, and your primary ship will miss him big time. VMs make great Warrant Holders, even. I often use them as NPC Free Captains and it's no coincidence that those are the rivals that the party doesn't want to cross paths with again. Rogue Traders of rival dynasties can be challenging. Void Masters of rival dynasties can be devastating.

At Rank 1 there isn't a single bridge position the VM can't fill (unless you're talking about those extra tasks designed to give Astropaths and Navigators something more to do). They get a steady stream of solid shooting talents. They are arguably the best Tech after the Explorator. By Rank 4 they can alter the ship just as an Explorator can, even design the things. They can alter ship components (other than weapons) a full 2 ranks before the Explorator! They also have a good choice of Knowledge skills, including some that fill critical holes in these categories that other careers don't have.

Now drawing up a VM can be tricky. Int and Fel are expensive to raise, and a good many of the VMs skills are based on those two characteristics. You'd be wise to make them among your highest starting characteristics. One thing I'm never certain of is which special ability to take. If you have a maneuverable ship, you probably won't need Master of Space. If there's an AM in the party, you probably won't want Master of Gunnery. If your GM doesn't use lots of Detection checks then Master of Augurs becomes a waste. Likewise a teleportarium can negate Mastery of Small Craft on a regular basis. They are all excellent abilities.

Aye, Void Masters are incredibly versatile. That's sometimes a problem for new players, because they don't have that one thing that's their primary schtick, so it's not as obvious how to build a good one as it is for certain other careers.

The VM special ability is tricksy, any of them can be useful, but can also be made irrelevant fairly easily. Unless you're running a Carrier, and are going to lead the fighter/bomber wings in person on a regular basis.

Let me state it in no uncertain terms. Voidmasters are the action heroes of the Rogue Trader game.

I felt the same way! My own VM was pretty much inspired by this sort of stuff:

It really depends on what sort of image you have of your character, though, or how you define "hero". I was perfectly fine with playing a part-snobbish, part-roguish, semi-exiled Imperial Navy vet who valued his pistol and uniform more than the soldiers under his command, and who loved big game hunting so much that it was his Lure of the Void - that way I managed to talk the GM into giving me a hunting rifle, and needless to say this isn't only good for killing animals! It all depends on how you can make things fit together.

Here comes the completely unnecessary, and also possibly silly, idea I just had, and the best part is, this is Rogue Trader; that's more than half of what they do.

If you, or your player of a Void Master, think that they have said deficiency, and the above stuff doesn't persuade otherwise, perhaps grab Colchite Servo-Master from Navis Primer, and then get the best servitor you can find. The advance is open to any class, and is relatively easy to get into. There's a Rogue Trader in this mess somewhere, and that means Rogue Trader money, which means splurging and pimping, especially when most expenses don't actually decrease the RT's money (i.e. Profit Factor). While you might not be able to get your mitts on a Crusade Combat Servitor (LotE, p.82, might have spoilers, if not the GM), or something a Techmarine would bring into the fray, resources should be able to get you a pretty beefy servant, kitted out with the best weapons you don't use (give it the servo arm/power fist, a plasma cannon, or any other cool weapon that either helps out your party, or keeps enemies off of you, and maybe shell out for a field defense of some kind for it, and you'll have a very durable minion, one that can use your WS or BS, while you do what you can with Half actions, or stay behind it, and let it kill, maim, and absorb fire in your name. I still have a little dream of lucking out, and playing a ColSM who "happens" to find the above named servitor, aboard the Light of Terra , just because it would be cool.

I have to ask then...

If/when much of the game is focused on warband-esk activity (as expressed above as Star Trek), how does the Voidmaster get to shine when essentially the PC builds a Fighter Pilot as his concept?

Dont get me wrong - I could force said player into said warband - but then comes the proverbial lack of uniqueness when the Void-Master wants to shine...

Also - like the Decker in SR, the Voidmaster Pilot by design has periods of time where they are solo - doing their Pilot-thing...

In SR the Decker gets their solo play when jacking into the Matrix (both seem to be the weak points to each game system - if - we are playing a team based game)...

To get back to the fluff I introduced; sure a Mechanicus is all technological; but that doesn't make their brain synaspes (i.e. the connectors in our brains associated with learning skills) honed for Piloting...

I like to think of it like the Tony Hawk effect:

Tony's brain its to be assumed has created over his years of skating specialized connections which enable his body to coordinate and balance and react the way it does when he skates; now a scientist studying the finer points of motion, physics, and applying that to understanding skating - wont perform as well or even as good as Tony...

That's the example that came to mind when I created the whole exclusiveness to the game addon.

Dare I call the Void-Master's Piloting ability an art; like Tony hawk's skating ability - I can't see the Mechanicus achieving "art" in this way? Mechs becoming proficient and even great pilots sure, but not artists of the craft is my thought.

Servitors if I'm correct have a brain in em - the drones and vehiles presented herein for Rigging - DO NOT (thus the Tech Heresy aspect introduced to its background fluff).

Then there's the whole - is a Voidmaster just a pilot or rather an expert in Technical systems, without having to be Mechnicus? At the same time - Mechanicus aren't supposed to actually understand "how" technology works - rather they are mired in dogma and superstition, why would this give them license to being the ONLY body able or allowed by GMs to possess, dabble, or actually understand something - cmon how many people are there in the whole Imperium?

The odds are someone or some body of organization somewhere did something different, we'll thats what this is/was...

Heck many novels introduce new devices all over the place with new concepts and fluff to back it; why is it contriversal to have Void-Masters have this caveat?

At the end of the day - does Riggging by Void-Masters give an unfair advantage (aka game creep)

Finally - Summary

The Void-master might be a helmsman, master gunner, or the warden of the ship’s sensors, but
whichever position he holds, he controls the vessel’s systems as if they were
an extension of his own body and, in a crisis, the ship’s survival depends on
his skills.

Let's think about the evolution of Rigging - if the Void-master's ship is an extenstion of their body, well hey that sounds ALOT like Rigger, lets say it started off like this and then graduated over time into drones, small vehciles, and turrets - whats wrong with bridging this divide?

Good Stuff Guys!

Keep the ideas a coming

Morbid

If/when much of the game is focused on warband-esk activity (as expressed above as Star Trek), how does the Voidmaster get to shine when essentially the PC builds a Fighter Pilot as his concept?

I see this question with almost every class. The Voidmaster gets to shine the same way a Seneschal and Navigator and Arch-Militant, and everyone else does - by the GM putting in a challenge based around their skill. You ever notice how when ever Bones is in the away team, there's a medical emergency? It's the same thing.

When it comes to drone rigging, you are still arguing sideways. If the PC's concept is Fighter Pilot giving him access to a unique cybernetic that has nothing to do with being a fighter pilot isn't going to make Fighter Pilot a more useful concept for the game. Instead, the game needs to include sections where Fighter Pilot is a useful focus.

As people above have noted, the system already includes an alternate career for mechanical minion operator , which is essential what a rigger is. There is no reason to build a whole new complicated and unconnected system to do the same thing. If the player wanted to play Mechanical Minion Operator they can. But there is no logical reason to try and shoe-horn all Ship Operations Personnel (Which is what void-masters are) into that mold. Because they're not just pilots, they're everyone on the bridge.

Does adding this system make the void master who chooses to use this particular unique item overpowered? Who knows - it's so divergent from what already exists its hard to tell. Probably not, because everyone else can do similar with existing career options (see above posts) or just hiring dozens of skilled minions.

But it's not the power thats the problem, it's the fact that it's so divergent from existing mechanical RPG system, doesn't follow from existing fluff, is restricted ad-hoc and oddly, duplicates existing options, and adds unnecessary unrelated complications that's the problem. All for a problem that it doesn't actually address.

OK I looked over the TWO otpions you mentioned - Tau Drone Handler & the Colchite Servo-Master...

I do agree with you statement about not shoe-horning the Void-Master into these roles by default - that points good with me

Seeing this options again and cross referencing it all has been a good solution for me and this whole Rigger Business LOL!

Moving Forward:

I will run the VM (VOID-MASTER) as defaulted by the CORE rules then, granted my version of the Drone Handler (for Humans; you said it was optionally allowed) would be associated to the Void-master Career - I guess thats where I differ in opinion herein... (again supported by my whole brain-synapse fluff from before)

An added flavorful benefit to this route would be the double exposure - being Tau tech, I imagine some Tau not liking Humans stealing drones for the black-market and humans adapting themselves in order to use them... And on the other end you have the Imperium not liking the usage of Xenos technology!

Hows this sound?

being Tau tech, I imagine some Tau not liking Humans stealing drones for the black-market and humans adapting themselves in order to use them...

Some Tau are quite happy to trade, if you can offer them something of interest.

*coughSpyrerscough*

I looked up the reference you made - pretty interesting...

Also looks way powerful LOL (game creepy)

http://forum.lexicanum.com/printthread.php?tid=306

The name bits are quite interesting, thanks!

I actually only knew the connection due to a report on an Imperial investigation into these matters.

As an aside, javcs, I find the VM least important when running a carrier. Yeah, they can lead the fighter or bomber wings, but is that really adding significance to the RTs already overwhelming 100+ command roll? And carriers have little need of maneuvering in the meantime, having no guns to aim. Heck, they'll just go to evasive maneuvers the whole time.

being Tau tech, I imagine some Tau not liking Humans stealing drones for the black-market and humans adapting themselves in order to use them...

Some Tau are quite happy to trade, if you can offer them something of interest.

*coughSpyrerscough*

Yeah no tau/spyrer doesn't click in my canon. If the tau have invented spyrer hunting suits why don't they use them? Now In the imperium its quite common for the wealthy and powerfull to own cool advanced toys they don't share with others, but if the tau had those suits they'd be mass produced and given to the fire caste so they could further the greater good.

That said spyrers were my fave gang back in the days of necromunda.

Maybe they were invented by the Dark Tau! Don't laugh: once upon a time there were no Dark Eldar in the TT game.

Making suits to stalk and kill sentient prey does seem like something an evil tau faction would do.

Now i wonder what the Dark Tau castes would be: Radiation, Ice, Cyclone, Diamond and void (ethereals).

The V-22 Osprey is hands down better than normal helicopters, why aren't they used more often? Why didn't the US Army adopt the XM8 and/or the AA-12 as their new standard weapons? Why did the Russian Defense Ministry reject the BMPT even though it was clearly superior to their existing APCs?

Or, to keep it 40k, why don't Guardsmen get to wear power armour?

Just because the Water Caste tends to keep a number of gizmos around to buy the influence of corrupt Imperial nobles with doesn't mean this stuff is widely available to Fire Caste infantry. Besides, spyrer suits are close combat, something that doesn't really suit Tau military doctrine ... for all we know the politicians Ethereal Caste could be considering it a failed investment, only good for export!

No worries, though - the "canon" is what you make of it! As far as I know, Dark Heresy ignores this bit of GW writing, too. Or at least they've given similar hunter harnesses a different origin (Jokaero, iirc?).

On a little point, this can happen a lot. If you play Star Wars, for instance, it can be good to ask your GM if this will be a space game, or if it will be a ground game. You certainly CAN build a fighter pilot to also be good on the ground, as high Dexterity is always good, and knowledge of systems is useful with other systems, but if you want to play a great Ace Pilot, you won't build them the same as you might build a Jedi Master, and many of the abilities one can get don't as often correlate well into the other. There's a big difference between going into a battle knowing you will have your ship, its extra health, big guns, and Talents focused on making your ship-piloting godlike, blah, and fighting other ships, and having to land that X-Wing, hop out, and go shoot Mandalorians on the ground, with just your crappy armor, and some pistol or rifle you certainly know how to use, but not that you've maybe learned trick shots with, and a hit to you might actually HURT, right from the get-go.

What I'm babbling here is, if you have a Void-Master, and they haven't built themselves as well for ground-pounding, are there ship engagements, where he feels important, and the AMil is manning a huge cannon, killing thousands with each shot, while the RT is doing the same coordinating job he usually does? I won't agree that there are certain Careers that are only good for one thing, but I've seen numerous threads that sort of reverse this. You are on a ship, battling Ork Roks, or something, and the Astropath, the Navigator, and the Missionary might be standing around saying "what are WE supposed to be doing?" The Void Master is maneuvering, keeping the worst guns off their weakest side, and helping line up the choicest shots for the Arch Mil, who is firing a gun so big even she can't rest it on her shoulder, in between hits, the RT is boosting whatever he wants to, reminding everyone that they are doing so awesome because his money and sponsors bought the stuff they were using, and the Explorator might be manning a weapon, increasing an output, fixing something the Orks have damaged, or what have you. You're fighting though, so in realspace, and not boarded yet, so the AT and Missionary aren't repelling boarders, but that will come. Certainly, there are other things they can do, and either Into the Storm or BFK even stops to spell some of it out; Navis Primer might for Navs and Ats, too. Sometimes, the game doesn't favor your character choice, that episode, but you'll come around, again.

Another thought, did the GM ever make a little grimace when your player said "Void Master for me!"? IF the GM didn't intend for much space action, and you don't want to be a "glorified shuttle pilot", maybe they should have commented. I built a character for story who is an Ace Pilot, has the Flight Marshall Alternate, and everything. Then I remembered fighter pilots are crap in 40k. The military rarely uses them, favoring more big guns, and less fragile beer cans that need to be replaced after each engagement, and they are so big even a fighter is a 6-12 crew size thing; the Passage of Judgment's a dedicated carrier, and her attack craft EACH have a greater crew size then the Millennium Falcon, or the Ebon Hawk. That sort of takes the fighter ace swagger and panache out for me. Still, I do like him, and he has proven to have other uses, all of which would work for his Void Master character, too.

I don't know. I guess the big question is, in a firefight, what else does the group bring? Who else has so much thunder that the VM feels they could've stayed on the ship, beyond "the ship is where I belong" mentality half the classes can pull in RT? Give him some decent guns, maybe some okay armor (all things any RT coterie has access, and expectation for style, to), and he should be probably as good as anyone who ISN'T the Arms Militant, or maybe the Missionary, in melee. Te Explorator might twink-build into an amazing warrior, but everyone CAN do that. Maybe he's just an Elite Advance away from being as good as the RT (there's a whole thread on how the RT is the worst class in game, barring you NEED them for the Acquisition rules), the Seneschal, and on. What did everyone else take to leave him in the dust? Maybe they could advise him on a good "little bit later" addition to bring him up to speed, if he's dragging. I still see the class as good, with wonderful access to BS, Agility, Dodge, SCon, and several other things. Have him spend some of his benefactor's wealth, and come into his own. If land battle just isn't what he wants, then he may have to stomach it, as a choice he made, in the game he plays. "Your Tech-Priest doesn't ever want to leave the ship? There's no cool tech out there, to find, or he's scared of bullets? Too bad, he's part of this GAME (crew), and is expected to go, do his part. Otherwise, he'll wonder why the XP is so light." This is a paraphrase of a player some years ago, on the forum, who had an Explorator that never wanted to leave the ship, and tried to justify it with his backstory, as his backstory. He also tried to invent remote drones, that he intended to send with the party, so that he could talk, see, and even interact remotely, like he was there, but from the safety of the ship. He, too, got a lot of virtual looks from the forum.

All right, I apologize for ranting. I'm not feeling so hot, so maybe bedtime. I've got some players in a game who like to do goofy crap, and/or make terrible justifications, wanting the game to painfully shoehorn itself for their tastes, rather than integrate into it, themselves, and that might've come across, here, where your friend might very well NOT be that case. Maybe something in the above tirade and rambling will help, though. It's all about having fun, and I hope your VM is able to get back to that part, soon.

RPGs are in a way meant to be as close to real life as a game can be. Semi-forcing VM to sometimes be something other than fighter pilot isn't something bad - thats life.

OK I looked over the TWO otpions you mentioned - Tau Drone Handler & the Colchite Servo-Master...

I do agree with you statement about not shoe-horning the Void-Master into these roles by default - that points good with me

Seeing this options again and cross referencing it all has been a good solution for me and this whole Rigger Business LOL!

Moving Forward:

I will run the VM (VOID-MASTER) as defaulted by the CORE rules then, granted my version of the Drone Handler (for Humans; you said it was optionally allowed) would be associated to the Void-master Career - I guess thats where I differ in opinion herein... (again supported by my whole brain-synapse fluff from before)

An added flavorful benefit to this route would be the double exposure - being Tau tech, I imagine some Tau not liking Humans stealing drones for the black-market and humans adapting themselves in order to use them... And on the other end you have the Imperium not liking the usage of Xenos technology!

Hows this sound?

Drone-Handler is implied to be human-possible with GM discretion. It mentions the Drone-Handler is " only available to Rogue Traders, Explorators, Missionaries, Seneschals, and Void-Masters " (though this could be outdated info that was never cleaned up, as the chapter referencing the availability labels the alternate rank as "Drone Controller", and later in the book, it only officially mentions Fire Warrior as the sole required career, so take it for what you will).

The Colchite Servo Master is likely a more realistic option, given the prime setting of RT takes place in the Koronus Expanse, far from the Tau and within the sphere of influence of the Stryxis. It is also simpler mechanically to implement, doesn't require GM permission to be human-compatible (because it already is), and involves far less overtly xeno technology. You don't need specific Tau Drones, and can make use of any Servitor or cyber-creature you can get your grubby mitts on, from Servo-Skulls, Grapplehawks, and Cyberhounds, to full on Murder-Servitors, giving far more versatility. However, if you throw in the words "Adeptus Mechanicus" or "Ancient Archaeotech", I guess it's easy enough to take the xeno out of Tau drones and make human-centric versions of them.

Oh yeah, almost forgot, Servo Master requires a direct brain-to-minion cyber connection, unlike the Drone-Handler, which uses a hand-controlled external Drone Controller thingy, and fits the whole Rigger schtick you seem to be going for better than Drone-Handler.

Hey - I ended up agreeing with Quicksilver by not "shoe-horning" the Void-Master by default - I met the middle ground SEE ABOVE... (I ended up liking or going-with the Tau suggestion for Drone Handler)

Otherwise, if I really wanted to defend Rigging, split hairs, etc - then why can't it be a remnant technology from these people?

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Interex

Funny - how they aren't Mechnicus but are able to develop their own tech ~ go figure

Happy New Years Everyone!

Morbid

It could, though that's functionally Archeotech or Xenotech anyway. Same with something from the Diasporox. Even if it's made by "humans" it's still either maintaining something from the Dark Age of Technology, or if invented, something alien to standard imperial technology.

The inability to develop new technologies by imperials who are not Mechanicum is a matter of culture, knowledge and training, not physicality.

Unique found items can do almost anything - not to be confused what should be standard for a career.

I agree with Wincent's comment ~ go figure LOL

Again - not seeking to "shoehorn" the VM any longer... just giving them an option not found today is all.

This is support of Quicksilver's comments above!

P.S. I dont mind a pocket "blackmarket" in the Koronus - say in Footfall that deals in this type of tech and thusly offers the Alternative Career herein for Void-masters (again I am 50/50 with some of ya on here).

I would make up an Alternative Career for the VM derived from the Tau Drone Career as a template to follow.

- If/when splitting hairs: I found human-made drones in the old Necromunda material BTW

Thoughts?