OK... so I have a droid character that has proposed something, and I'm looking for input on how to handle it...

Attachments - specifically Armor Attachments... we'd like to apply them directly into the droid, but...

I was hoping to get some ideas from Special Modifications, but no dice.

It even added to the issue, with Ion Shielding, which every self-respecting droid is going to want. It even says, in the description:

"Rarely encountered in body armor and more commonly (and usually illegally) applied directly to droid chassis, ion shielding provides protection against ionization blasters"

Hard Points Required: 1

Base Mod: increase Soak by 3 vs Ion

Modification Options: 1 increase ranged/melee Defense by 1 vs Ion mod.

Naturally, there's no discussion about doing this kind of thing anywhere else in the book.

So here's my question -

Do I:

just charge said droid the cost of the Attachment and mod away? What about hard points?

require said droid to purchase integrated armor, and use the hard points normally?

apply attachments against the cyberware cap? (this feels crap to me, on some levels)

allow droids to purchase hard points? ideas for cost? hard limit?

come up with some house rule about how many Hard Points a droid chassis has? (I like this... but equal to Brawn? same as the cyberware cap? So a droid has 6 Hard Points to play around with?)

Help me Obi Wan Kenobi... you're my only hope.

require said droid to purchase integrated armor, and use the hard points normally?

I think you have it.

The rules are pretty clear: for droid PCs, their gear may be "flavored" as being integrated, but in all rules respects it is treated normally. In this case: buy any armor with at least 1 Hard Point, then purchase and install the attachment, and later mod to your heart's content.

Is it part of the droid, or is it bolted on and can be removed?

Box on p. 47, "Droids and Equipment": "For example, if a droid purchases and wears armor, the player can simply say his character has upgraded armor plates on his body, or a reinforced outer covering."

So I would just treat the droid's armor of choice as its chassis. In a mechanical sense, the player is applying ion shielding to armor that the droid is wearing. In a narrative sense, the droid is applying the shielding directly to its body.

Using a rank of Tinkerer on themselves to give their standard chassis a hard point would be the other option. But reqiring them to purchase some kind of modifiable armour would be the easiest way for them.

Personally, as a GM house rule I'd allow the droid to purchase the armor attachment and treat it as a cybernetic upgrade. I've got an assassin droid pre-gen for a con module (essentially a modernized HK-series droid) that uses the enhanced optics attachment as his "assassination protocols" to make him quite adept at finding and eliminating his targets.

Thanks for the tips, all... going with my first instinct, and the general consensus - armor it is.

Cheers...

Buy armor. Put it on. It’s integrated.

might be a wild throw but just incase you dont allow them to switch out their integrated armor or w.e. you could throw it in as a cybernetic imo. the likelihood of him getting all 6 cybernetics is slim anyways. could fill one of those slots

Attachments are forbidden. Possessions forbidden. Compassion is central