New to the game, 5 sessions in with current character. G2-2T, the "Goose" droid re purposed for ship aid and maintenance. Is a mechanic, with minor skills in piloting and astrogation. should not be near combat unless safely with in the hull of a moving monstrosity.

-Any resources on playing a droid? or acting out a droid PC? i know not all droids are submissive servants but i cant seem to shake that while role playing. G2 is not very combative in nature... but i doubt he'd be taking garbage from someone "unwilling" to pay the crew's droid. And his primary concern is keeping the crew alive cause they are the only chance he has at freedom, i can see him thinking rushing in helping would be his only "real" chance at surviving.

-Any interesting ways mechanics (or Technician, which ever is the specialization) could affect the field or the opponents in non vehicle combat? from a distance? Bad motivator i keep thinking could help, but never a good opportunity to use it. Can i break stuff with normal mechanic checks?? Imagine that little goose droid just getting up in your face and breaking tools, weapons, etc. Possible?

- our GM has been trying to get us to be involved in the narrative. This game feels more 50/50 (GM/PC) when describing the world and interacting with it. Far more involving than any game i have played thus far. Our group is pretty bad at using the Destiny points for narrative purposes... any pointers (or threads) that could help get a grasp on what to look for or when to use em? GM said y'all and others he has read about can get pretty crazy with the points, and i just can't get past the "this is too crazy" and "what can i do" thoughts.

Is he "owned"?

If no, there should be no problem with him asking for a full of any profits. He's a sentient, free entity.

If he is owned, perhaps talk it over with the group. Out-of-Character, ask that the ship's Captain (presumably your owner) be given two shares of profits and perhaps that character will be spending half of this on buying upgrades.

If that's not a happy solution, does he have a restraining bolt?

Then perhaps take ship components and sell them. Or just tell the captain you need money for repairs that aren't actually necessary. Or sell them for the bounty if they've been up to no good.

-I get that the droids are seen as property by most, but pointers in working through/around that would be great. Player at 0 credit 3 sessions straight is a little frustrating.

Ignore it. Tell the story you want to tell - and if that story doesn't involve Droid Emancipation and/or a droid civil rights movement, just skip it. He's just another PC at that point.

-Any interesting ways mechanics (or Technician, which ever is the specialization) could affect the field or the opponents in non vehicle combat? from a distance? Bad motivator i keep thinking could help, but never a good opportunity to use it. Can i break stuff with normal mechanic checks?? Imagine that little goose droid just getting up in your face and breaking tools, weapons, etc. Possible?

You might want to glance over this thread or this thread (provided you don't mind slogging through the naysayers telling you it's overpowered) for some ideas.

Is the GM not letting you have money? or are other players not letting you have it? If it is the GM, take him aside, and state your unhappiness. As a GM, I know that I would definately let you have money if you told me you want it. If you wont accept it, then... accept it. If they still don't let you, start sabatoging them in fights and the like. fixing the ship? fix it nice and slow and do a really shoddy job.

As for role playing, be outgoing. Don't be afraid to sound kinda crazy. Most role players are after all A good thing to do is look at things in life. You miss the bus? Were you running for it? Darn, you failed the roll on athletics. Did you drop your coffee on the way? well there goes 2 threat. Now your kinda stressed (one strain) so that was another threat.

That's role playing the dice rolls, and that will help. Still in school? wow! You got a A+ on that test! Your must have rolled a triumph on Knowledge (education!)

For roleplaying walking down the street detail some things that aren't in the GMs description.

GM: "It is 1 mile to the cantina, and its busy foot traffic right now."

You: "I walk among the crowd, staying in the thick of it, while working my way toward my destination. Oh I can't wait to plug into a power port."

At the cantina

GM: "the Air is cool, and refreshing for organic life forms, x people wander around tables, and X species bartender hands drinks to the patrons. what do you do?"

you: "The first thing I do is go ask the Bar tender if I can plug in."

GM: "sure right over there, in the back."

You: "I walk over, reach down, plug in, and... Ahhhhhhh. Muuuuch better."

Role playing is like telling a story as detailed as possible, without making it boring.

Is the GM not letting you have money? or are other players not letting you have it? If it is the GM, take him aside, and state your unhappiness. As a GM, I know that I would definately let you have money if you told me you want it. If you wont accept it, then... accept it. If they still don't let you, start sabatoging them in fights and the like. fixing the ship? fix it nice and slow and do a really shoddy job.

The mission the crew has taken is to clear a crime syndicate out of town. The NPC that hired the group said that he wasn't interested in paying a 2'6" repair droid for what he saw as a combat mission... The pilot of the ship said he was a member of the crew, and the NPC compared him to the pilot's ship, or a toaster. She immediately gave up, and no other member of the group tried to help. They very well could have tried to convince the NPC that G2 was a valuable member of the crew, but the smuggler was happy to have him compared to a toaster.

They have also taken whatever base payment has been offered to them for jobs, without negotiating for more money, and without any demands whatsoever. As the GM, I figure that a quarter of the group not getting paid might bring a few group members out of their shells.

And your example of roleplaying is exactly what I'm looking to bring to my table.

Strylith: No, the GM made it a way to get me or the group to role play: The NPC Isn't willing to pay the droid, but the droid should have spoken up or the crew should have done so. I'll be finding a way to get my cut... but with how the jobs have been going, it might be a little more up hill than it would have been. Gm has been helping me out a lot through this and made that clear start of these missions, to clarify. And thank you for the explanations.

Other than that: yes he is owned, not by the crew though. Debt is his obligation. Owned by a Hutt the crew works/worked for... missed a session and have no idea what happened on Narsshida (memory wipe... lovely mechanic when you missed a session or two.) But other then that he considers the hutt vile and wants to stay away so he may actually work. This crew being his 8th attempt at this. (no worries: 5 out of those 8 are still alive... as far as G2 remembers)

Desslok: I have been reading those, boy they are helping.

If that's not a happy solution, does he have a restraining bolt?

Then perhaps take ship components and sell them. Or just tell the captain you need money for repairs that aren't actually necessary. Or sell them for the bounty if they've been up to no good.

This has come up on multiple occasions in brainstorming... yes, this droid suddenly has motivation and is willing to "extort" if necessary. In a way.

I do feel for you. playing a droid in a group that know a lot of the Star Wars universe is rough. they forget about characters such as R2 and IG-88 who are willing to do whatever they want. your a PC and the CRB makes it clear your a cut above the rest, your a droid who is more than most, and should be treated similarly to the rest of the crew. it doesn't help that droids in this system require a Player to Role-play them very well.

Since your a mechanic your GM needs to drop some situations on your group that only you can solve, repairs to the outside of the ship in deep space is a good one. so is sleep deprivation, find ways that the other PC's are taking constant strain due to being awake for much longer than they should have been, meanwhile your just fine.

Statistically Droids definitely get the raw end of the stick, with the lowest possible Characteristics, but the advantages they have need to become part of the story. In the long term you need to be getting more Cybernetics than everyone else. so rather than the GM giving you cash they could give you a cybernetic enhancement your wanting. NPC: "I'll give you 2k each, and i have this cyber enhancement for your droid ill throw in too". its clear thats your reward and if others claim it instead of sharing then tell them to sod off!

IMO, “Chopper” from “Star Wars: Rebels” is a much better example to point people at.

He is a full-fledged character, with real personality, holds his own with all the other characters in the group, and makes material contributions to the story and the plot.

From there, you could branch out to examples like R2 being willful and splitting up from C3P0 soon after they land on Tatooine, or going off into the desert to find Obi-Wan, or any of the myriad things that he has done.

There are other droid examples from the EU that could also be good references.

IMO, the player should play his character, and should be prepared to do that to the best of his/her ability. It doesn’t matter what their skin is made out of, what color it is, what their species is, or any of those other things.

They should be able to take examples from the movies, TV shows, EU, etc… and incorporate those as appropriate into their character concept, and then play that to the hilt.

And if your protocol droid winds up sounding and acting more like Kryten from Red Dwarf, maybe that’s not such a bad thing. So long as that fits the character concept and personality that the player has in mind, and they’re playing that concept and personality to the best of their ability, then that should be okay.

Speaking only for myself, I would only discourage someone from playing a droid if I knew them well enough to know that either they wouldn’t be able to do the job well, or I knew that they would wind up taking the game in a direction that I definitely did not want to go.

Everyone else should be encouraged to play whatever type of PC they want, so long as it fits within the overall story the GM wants to tell, and they can help bring more awesome to the table.

There are other droid examples from the EU that could also be good references.

Galechan, are you OfTheNorth's GM?

The Mechanic droid is decent, and can be a really powerful character, because they can specialize into certain characteristics, like brawn, intelect, and agility.

When you roleplay, the game becomes more fun, and sometimes really good roleplay can equate to boost dice.

As far as the NPC not counting the droid as part of the crew for the job, that is a fair attituide for an NPC to have. I mean after all would you pay extra for a car or the group's ship?

That being said, it was poor planning on the GM's part. If I were running, I would have included the droid's share in the cuts for the other players. So if I wanted to award the group 5k per player and there were 5 players, instead of saying that he would pay you 5k per biologic head and directly cut the droid player out, I would have either said the job pays 25k regardless if you have 1 PC or 1000000 OR that the job pays 6.25k each and state OOC that this assumes the droid's share divided up among the other 4 PCs.

Wow, seems that a couple of people really need to talk about what it is they want from this game...

Well, my 2 cents worth. I hate Droid PC's. I have never been a big fan of them from back in the WEG days. As the GM, I don't say that Droid PC's are not allowed, but I do discourage them. I am not interested in telling the story of a refrigerator or walking generator. Sorry, I'm not. I don't see droids as that interesting. This is not an invitation for a debate either, sorry, it is my opinion, lets leave it at that.

For those that want to play a droid, great! I'm happy for you. Best of luck.

Now what the GM did here I can not fault them on their logic at all. I follow and prescribe to the same logic. If a team has four members and is hired out, but one member is a droid, then the droid does not get a cut of the money. As an NPC Employer, I am not paying your ship or your blaster, why should I then pay your droid.

Now here is where the Group needs to revise their ideas and tactics. They should not ask to be paid 1,000 credits each. They should negotiate a deal to be paid a fixed amount. Lets say 4,000 for a job. Then the Group will decide how to divide up the money. The Group can then decide how much goes where. I have had many groups where the Ship also got a cut of the money to pay for upgrades, repairs and docking fees, etc.

The Group needs to take care of the Droid, not the GM. If the Group is not doing it, then they need to be talked to.

I have used my droids as great NPC's and can make life for the PC that much more interesting. They once had an R2 that was addicted to gambling. He would play "internet poker" all the time, and was quite good at it. He even made hologram of a PC so he could play in a game that required you to be in person, or present in holo form. Needless to say the R2 unit lost, and soon debt collectors were looking for this PC, and he had no idea what was going on!!! That was a fun little complication!

And while I love Chopper, I have to say that he would make a less than ideal Player Character. His main interactions are with the crew of The Ghost. To me, that is a great NPC, not something for a Player.

In Space Opera, androids and robots are living beings(but sadly not everyone in universe see it that way)... After all, the human brain is just a very advanced computer.

Now what the GM did here I can not fault them on their logic at all. I follow and prescribe to the same logic. If a team has four members and is hired out, but one member is a droid, then the droid does not get a cut of the money. As an NPC Employer, I am not paying your ship or your blaster, why should I then pay your droid.

Because the droid is another player and to exclude a player from resources is being a world class richard. There's what would actually happen in-universe and then there's making concessions to the real-world so you don't come off like an ass-hat to one of your friends.

Now what the GM did here I can not fault them on their logic at all. I follow and prescribe to the same logic. If a team has four members and is hired out, but one member is a droid, then the droid does not get a cut of the money. As an NPC Employer, I am not paying your ship or your blaster, why should I then pay your droid.

Because the droid is another player and to exclude a player from resources is being a world class richard. There's what would actually happen in-universe and then there's making concessions to the real-world so you don't come off like an ass-hat to one of your friends.

Yea.. I`m pretty sure 4-LOM got paid...

Love or loathedroid PCs - they should be getting paid or it's not in the spirit of the game. 'Sentient' slave race... our droid PC is 'owned' by my pilot - registered licence, restrainig bolt (fake/deactivated), part of the crew, some NPCs will acknowledge it as an entity others as an owned object. If my PC dies I've left him (it?) the ship.....

.... maybe I shouldn't have told him (it?) the last bit. The lost memory may kick in and he'll go on a murderous, IG-88esque rampage just to get a ship.

Wow, seems that a couple of people really need to talk about what it is they want from this game...

Well, my 2 cents worth. I hate Droid PC's. I have never been a big fan of them from back in the WEG days. As the GM, I don't say that Droid PC's are not allowed, but I do discourage them. I am not interested in telling the story of a refrigerator or walking generator. Sorry, I'm not. I don't see droids as that interesting. This is not an invitation for a debate either, sorry, it is my opinion, lets leave it at that.

Not interesting? That's a shame really, our droid PC has pulled us out of some scrapes because he WAS a droid - completely overlooked by most NPCs, given a disguise (well a new paint job), walked into the Crime boss property as the 'new maintenance droid', hacked the system, took control of the hangar bay defense system, blew the crime boss and goons away..

I agree in part to your view on droids,,, give me R2-D2 any day, C-3PO just annoys me :

'....Human-cyborg relations!

Can you weld, cut, fly or navigate like your R2 counterpart?

Oh my, no!

Then just power down and don't bother rebooting

I recommend you demand your fair share as a member of the crew. If the crew doesn't go along, demonstrate just how valuable the ship's mechanic is to the crew. As a droid, there are a lot of things on the ship that don't affect you but can be major annoyances to the biological crew members. These need not be lethal and refusing to repair or maintain them could get your point across. If chance doesn't provide a good opportunity, a little harmless sabotage might be called for. Examples:

Living in an enclosed space with an vile smell gets unbearable very quickly. A dirty sock or even a little hydrogen sulfide in the right location can make it very uncomfortable for biologicals.

Toilet facilities on a spaceship need constant maintenance and a malfunction here would quickly make life on the ship unbearable, without being actually dangerous.

If the food prep system was to malfunction and all food had to be consumed cold, raw, and unprocessed the biologicals would get tired of it quickly.

If might not be possible to totally refuse to fix the problems without the threat of violence; however, you could always point out that if you were a full member of the crew you would be able to focus much better on maintaining these systems and you are so depressed by their attitude that you are having trouble focusing.

Play it however you like at your table. If you want your cantinas to allow droids, go for it. There are a few examples like IG88 who seem to be very much free-willed and even feared.

'Droid rights' was, for me, the great 'untold story' of Star Wars, so I made it central to the campaign. I discussed it with the droid player, making it clear that pretty much everyone has contempt for droids and sees them as disposable tools at best. At least two of the main factions doesn't consider them sentient or afford them any rights. (The irony here is that most droids really have very human-like emotions). The player was very happy, as the whole emancipation struggle was pretty central to the character. That PC now has a love affair with another PC from a faction that considers droids to be non-beings, so it works out very well from drama, literally a forbidden relationship.

It helps that the PC has two very good friends among the other players who see her as a person rather than a tool. But some other PCs have anti-droid attitudes.

I wouldn't allow a PC droid unless I was convinced they were trying to portray 'humanity within the machine' (or inhumanity in the case of HK47) rather than just make a personality-free murderbot. But luckily I have great players.

Space Opera = droids are alive

You just need to be more forceful in playing to these things, since by default, people will treat you like a fancy toaster

DId someone say toast?

Now what the GM did here I can not fault them on their logic at all. I follow and prescribe to the same logic. If a team has four members and is hired out, but one member is a droid, then the droid does not get a cut of the money. As an NPC Employer, I am not paying your ship or your blaster, why should I then pay your droid.

Because the droid is another player and to exclude a player from resources is being a world class richard. There's what would actually happen in-universe and then there's making concessions to the real-world so you don't come off like an ass-hat to one of your friends.

Hhhmmm, apparently you didn't bother to read everything I had written. I never said to exclude anyone. I am merely stating that most people in the Star Wars universe are gong to follow the stereotype that would not include a droid as a full member of a party. I as the GM, playing in character as an NPC would not just actomatically just make an NPC act differently because one of the members of the group is a PC. Suggesting that I should now act a certain way just because someone is a PC is plain wrong. I guess all your NPCs have rainbows they share with everyone and are super nice...

No, it is the Group that should ensure to the Droid Player is included. That is what I already said. Instead of asking for X amount of money per person, they should ask for a lump sum, then divide the money. Weird concept, I know.

Like I already said, I have my opinions, and others have theirs. I don't want or need to debate on the merits or benefits of playing a droid as a Player Character, but please don't be an ass hat yourself by only cherry picking what I had written to make negative comments on it.

Galechan, are you OfTheNorth's GM?

Yes

As far as the NPC not counting the droid as part of the crew for the job, that is a fair attituide for an NPC to have. I mean after all would you

That being said, it was poor planning on the GM's part. If I were running, I would have included the droid's share in the cuts for the other players. So if I wanted to award the group 5k per player and there were 5 players, instead of saying that he would pay you 5k per biologic head and directly cut the droid player out, I would have either said the job pays 25k regardless if you have 1 PC or 1000000 OR that the job pays 6.25k each and state OOC that this assumes the droid's share divided up among the other 4 PCs.

I'm using the modular adventure "Dirty Work" from the Dangerous Covenants book, it specifically tells me to pay by the head, and gives a guide for the players to negotiate for more pay. I'm aware that I could have changed it, but being my third Star Wars adventure (and my first module), I didn't want to change a whole lot.

I have absolutely no problem paying G2, but he himself is just now figuring out that he is allowed to speak out against other NPCs, which was exactly what I wanted him to learn. I'm not going out of my way to try and screw anybody, I'm attempting to create a conflict that unifies a group that I'm having problems keeping on track.