Hey, I just barely got the beginners game and played it through as GM. I was just wondering if anyone had a suggestion on this issue I had that came up:

In the Junk Shop, one of my Players wanted to go outside and reprogram the droid (R5-K3) to make him steal the HMRI for him. I told him he would probably have to subdue the droid first, then he could reprogram it, and he decided against it (ended up just talking to the droid and the droid stole it anyway).

But my main question was how to handle that if he does want to reprogram a droid in the future. He plays Mathus (one of the downloaded characters) and according to his back story: "he introduced some new code into one of Teemo’s droids, 41-VEX, to encourage the droid to try to escape". So I see no reason to prevent him from doing this.

Maybe a stealth check to attempt to sneak up on the droid and turn it off? Then a computers check to reprogram it?

I was just looking for suggestions on how this might be handled.

Thanks

There's no hard-and-fast rules (at least not in the Beta), but introducing the new code would fall under a Computers check, and would probably have it's difficulty based on eithe the target droid's Intellect, with Challenge dice added based on drastic a change it would be to the droid's programming; turning a medical droid into a 4th degree combat droid is a hell of a lot harder (worth at least three difficulty upgrades) than convincing a 5th degree droid to betray a master it arleady doesn't like (no difficulty upgrades).

How the droid reprogrammer goes about introducting the new programming can vary wildely. Stealth to sneak up on the droid, followed by a Brawl check to restrain it before cracking open it's processing core would be one means. Convincing the droid through deception that you're just installing a simple "update package" would be another.

I would think something like that would take time, having to wipe the droid then insert the new programming. Probably more time than what was needed. Your player was smarter doing what he did all things considred with that particular droid.

mouthymerc said:

This is a good point.

Namely, the longer-lasting a change to the droid's personality/programming the PC is after, the more time it will take.

Mathus's backstory element of reprogramming 41-VEX probably occured over the course of several hours, and possibly not even all at once. Tricking a droid into doing something that's not blantantly against it's programming would likely take a few minutes if done on the fly. Forcing a droid to change loyalties is probably tricker, and would require more time if the PC really wants that loyalty change to stick. After all, how embarrasing would it be if that combat droid the party still and re-wired to be loyal to them suddenly overcomes that programmign hack in the midst of a fire-fight with the droid's former/'proper owner?

I think what I would do would have the player make a skill test, perhaps computers, to determine how long it would take, this is like a general knowledge check estimate by the player. I'd add difficulty and/or setback based on how invasive the re-prgramming attempt will be. More successes= less time, threats = longer.

The result of this roll would then determine how long it would take, and would require another roll to actually re-program the driod. Difficulty or set back added based on the character of the driod/ if equiptment used or not etc. I remember there being a blurb in the book that that type of r5 driods are notoriously difficult and stubborn towards their masters.

Either way I wouldn't reasonably say that such a modification could be done ad hoc in the middle of the junkyard, it would require a workstation with an amount of interupted time to focus on.