I recently purchased the Cybot Exploration Droid (EtU 55), and had a few questions about upgrading it.

It has a Brawn of 1, and based on its weapon's stats, it appears to have the Blaster Carbine from the core rulebook, which has an Encumbrance of 3. I assume this encumbrance is not deducted, correct?

Well I was wondering first off if it was possible to replace that weapon, and secondly, if the new weapon's encumbrance either wouldn't be deducted, or would be reduced by the difference (in this case, by 3).

I was also wondering if it was possible to purchase gear for it, and how that would work. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

Anyone?

As it's not humanoid, I'd say it's unlikely that one could add basic purchased gear to the droid. However, replacing the weapons system and upgrading its cybernetics should be possible, but it would require mechanics skills and some "customization." Outfitting what is essentially a small AT-ST is significantly different than what would be involved in outfitting a more "standard" droid.

As it's not humanoid, I'd say it's unlikely that one could add basic purchased gear to the droid. However, replacing the weapons system and upgrading its cybernetics should be possible, but it would require mechanics skills and some "customization." Outfitting what is essentially a small AT-ST is significantly different than what would be involved in outfitting a more "standard" droid.

Would its encumbrance still be treated like normal? As in, with it's Brawn of 1, it has 6 Encumbrance? And would its current loadout subtract from that or just be considered part of its base weight? Thanks!

Droids don’t necessarily have to follow the standard rules for Encumbrance. Talk to your GM. If you are the GM, then you can decide to not follow those rules in this case.

Or, if you do want to follow the standard rules, they can incorporate the equivalent of various cargo-carrying equipment, so that their maximum Encumbrance is higher than the Brawn would otherwise indicate. In effect, having a built-in backpack or something.

If you want to do upgrades, then I would assume that relative encumbrance of the upgraded equipment would be factored into whatever Encumbrance rules you do end up following.

As it's a self-contained droid, I'd consider its current equipment loadout to not count against any encumbrance limit. That would leave the standard encumbrance threshold (of 6) still available. If it were ruled as silouette 2, I could certainly see increasing that by a factor of 2 or so within reason. Not to mention any custom load-bearing modifications one could make to the chassis. The sky and your creativity are really the limit.

Me and my GM have worked it out that implemented items don't weigh anything since your just putting the vital components in, not the bulky outer casing, batteries, etc.

For stock droids, I think it's totally reasonable to assume that none of their installed equipment counts against their Encumbrance.

However, for making modifications, it sounds like this could be a good use of advantages & triumphs on a mechanics check to install the gear. For example, if you install a weapon with 3 encumbrance on a droid's chassis that doesn't have a weapon mount, then that would affect the encumbrance, but you could spend 1 advantage from the install check to reduce the encumbrance by 1, because you did an exceptional job of installing the components.

If you are removing a weapon, or other piece of equipment, your GM could reasonably decide to increase the droid's carrying capacity, but the amount should be decided by the GM.

Because it's not a PC there is a bit more narrative flexibility. Some rolling will be required for modifications as your not fitting off the shelf parts, but have a chat to your GM and discuss your ideas. Remember that armed droids are frowned upon due to the clone wars. Having a powerful one will be great, but should come with an expectation of customs trouble.