Like the title says I'm going to be an astromech. Our whole group is new to EotE (most are not new to Star Wars)

I haven't read the book cover to cover but, with astromechs is there specific equipment for us? or does it fall on myself and the GM to get creative with how to out fit me with tools, minor defensive weapons?

I plan on being a mechanic/slicer so hacking turrets and turning opponents defenses against them will be my main focus, so weapons aren't my focus, but an arc welder shock may not be enough sometimes lol.

So any advice astromech players can give me on being more than just the guy who fixes the ship and opens the locked doors would be greatly appreciated.

Gear wise, buy a toolkit. Droids can have gear incorperated into their chassis.

If you need insperation rewatch the movies and any artoo focused episodes of the clone wars. There is a character preview for Star Wars Rebels that showcases 'Chopper' a cobled together astromech. Could be inspirational

I would suggest a few ranks in deception, cool and pilot. The deception and cool are to make it look like you aren't the droid anyone is looking for - just a random astromech going about their business. The pilot is self explanatory. Just interface with a ship and assume control - if its an enemy ship, you may have to do some slicing to take control.

If you can afford it somehow, get a jetpack. This could let you go outside a ship or vehicle and get into some mischief.

The Astromech droid in my game has a med kit, tool kit, glow rods, and a bunch of other gear "built in". The more amusing bit of kit is a wrench used in removing restraining bolts taken during the introductory module in the core rules.

He is more than a little interested in droid rights.

If you're going to be a slicer, the baseline kit needed for that costs your entire standard credit allotment. A toolkit is another 400. Yeah, again I think that's ridiculous. However with Bad Motivator you can ruin someone's day, and in combat you just have to get more creative than point and shoot.

Astromechs are funny, because just by saying you are one, provided the GM accepts, awards you the possibility to have a lot of "built-in" functionality, since all Astromechs comes with a toolkit, a SCOMP-link, an Arc-welder, a retractable circular saw, etc, etc. Depending on model, you will also have infra-red sight and whatnot.

I'm playing an Astromech droid myself (R3-P90), and you're going to have to wing it a fair bit. There's no droid-specific gear that I know of, let alone for Astromech droids, so it's all up to you and your GM to work out or fluff out.

For example, I grabbed a backpack on creation, and we fluffed that as being my internal storage space. I also have a Long-Range Communicator, which is fluffed as being completely integrated, and a Comm Jammer. Grabbing some Electrobinoculars on creation, they are likewise fluffed as being "Electrobinocular Lens Upgrade"; a fairly minor upgrade to my pre-existing systems.

We ripped the Built-in Arc Welder from the Core Rulebook, from the Astromechs there, and made the Circular Saw a "Retractable Circular Saw", Melee, Dam 1, Crit 2, Range Engaged, Enc n/a, HP n/a. Special Vicious 1.

As a Thief, one of the first Talents I took was Hidden Storage 1.

I now have a Hidden Storage.. in myself. I have since used this hidden storage for Death Sticks.

Also, don't forget that some (like the R3-series) comes with a built-in blaster. I missed that myself, but the GM pointed it out. We just used the profile for the Holdout Blaster for it.

I'm interested in hearing about the background of a "player" droid. It is something I struggle with as a player character...is it possible to be a r2-d2 character..I'm just curious and look forward to any thoughts on it.

I'm interested in hearing about the background of a "player" droid. It is something I struggle with as a player character...is it possible to be a r2-d2 character..I'm just curious and look forward to any thoughts on it.

Depends a lot on the droid, really. How did you become a freelancer or whatever you are now?

R3-P90 just decided to roll off the Imperial ship he was on one day, and spent his days stealing **** and building a low-grade criminal empire. He's convinced the galaxy would be better off without the Empire and the Republic both, and support criminal enterprises on principle, while also aspiring to be the best **** criminal there is.

Apparently he just wasn't wiped often enough.

I'm interested in hearing about the background of a "player" droid. It is something I struggle with as a player character...is it possible to be a r2-d2 character..I'm just curious and look forward to any thoughts on it.

Depends a lot on the droid, really. How did you become a freelancer or whatever you are now?

R3-P90 just decided to roll off the Imperial ship he was on one day, and spent his days stealing **** and building a low-grade criminal empire. He's convinced the galaxy would be better off without the Empire and the Republic both, and support criminal enterprises on principle, while also aspiring to be the best **** criminal there is.

Apparently he just wasn't wiped often enough.

Ok so when droids take to the streets, that first hour or day must be dangerous...I mean anyone could just "take" them? I mean do they understand danger..both R2 and C3p0 within "hours" were captured in a remote desert..imagine if they were in a populated area...they would be stipped for parts in minutes lol.

Do contemplate built ins. Convert gear to 'cybernetics' and build it in. When I do that I remove one encumbrance. Our Slicer is a Pit Droid, and he's virtually a mobile electronic warfare machine. Jammers, Slicer, imperial decrypters,etc.

Oh! Don't forget to buy "How to Speak Droid"! Sounds effects can be memorable.

Having played an astromech in the past, I will say this, you'll certainly be thrusting your apparatus into a lot of strange machines.

Keep a repair kit and have some defensive slicing, you never know what kind of virus you'll get from those filthy terminals.

Having played an astromech in the past, I will say this, you'll certainly be thrusting your apparatus into a lot of strange machines.

Keep a repair kit and have some defensive slicing, you never know what kind of virus you'll get from those filthy terminals.

My company just got hit by a virus and I was sent home early today.

Astromechs are funny, because just by saying you are one, provided the GM accepts, awards you the possibility to have a lot of "built-in" functionality, since all Astromechs comes with a toolkit, a SCOMP-link, an Arc-welder, a retractable circular saw, etc, etc. Depending on model, you will also have infra-red sight and whatnot.

Yeah that's part of the problem, and the problem is huge. "Astromechs start with about 1000+ credits of gear for free" Is total BS. The player either needs to pay for everything installed, or everyone else needs more credits. It's only fair.

Astromechs are funny, because just by saying you are one, provided the GM accepts, awards you the possibility to have a lot of "built-in" functionality, since all Astromechs comes with a toolkit, a SCOMP-link, an Arc-welder, a retractable circular saw, etc, etc. Depending on model, you will also have infra-red sight and whatnot.

Yeah that's part of the problem, and the problem is huge. "Astromechs start with about 1000+ credits of gear for free" Is total BS. The player either needs to pay for everything installed, or everyone else needs more credits. It's only fair.

I'm not sure where this idea is coming from, the Core Rulebook is quite clear on page 98: "Characters do not start the game with any items save what they purchase with their starting credits..."

Saying all astromechs start with free toolkits just because the NPC Astromech Droid has one is like saying all bounty hunters start with a free heavy blaster pistol just because the NPC Journeyman Hunter has one.

Having purchased starting gear be mounted internally is fine. If players want to upgraded, remember that Medicine and Mechanics attempted on oneself increase Difficulty by two (page 219).

As for an idea of how an Astromech PC might look, check out R2-BO8, courtesy of the Gamer Security Agency:

http://gsa.thegamernation.org/2013/02/15/heroes-on-demand-r2-b08-independent-astromech/

He's based upon an actual PC that a friend of mine played in a one-shot, and is designed to fix things with a side order of slicing due to his 2 ranks in Computers. The arc welder I included as a freebiee as part of the cost of purchasing a tool kit. The circular saw is just a re-skinned vibrodagger.

As far as back story, my brother and I are going off the same back story. He's making himself a Bounty hunter / pilot. I'm his astromech partner R2-L5 or "snap" (due to my eagerness to snap someone with my ark welder)

It seems the GM is going to be nice and say what comes factory standard on R2 astromechs is gear i get to start with (arc welder, fire extiguisher, 2 extendable arms and the 2 or 3 things wookipedia lists as factory standard)

I want my character to be able to unlock and shutdown what we need to get in to trouble, then make sure we have a clean escape from it lol things like that.

Astromechs are funny, because just by saying you are one, provided the GM accepts, awards you the possibility to have a lot of "built-in" functionality, since all Astromechs comes with a toolkit, a SCOMP-link, an Arc-welder, a retractable circular saw, etc, etc. Depending on model, you will also have infra-red sight and whatnot.

Yeah that's part of the problem, and the problem is huge. "Astromechs start with about 1000+ credits of gear for free" Is total BS. The player either needs to pay for everything installed, or everyone else needs more credits. It's only fair.

I don't see the problem. It's an incredibly narrative system, and playing an astromech that isn't an astromech would be ridiculous. I don't see any GM not letting a Technician start with a toolbox, or a slicer with his kit. Throwing credits either way doesn't help, and would only promote cookie-cutter purchases pre-game.

I'm not sure where this idea is coming from, the Core Rulebook is quite clear on page 98: "Characters do not start the game with any items save what they purchase with their starting credits..."

Saying all astromechs start with free toolkits just because the NPC Astromech Droid has one is like saying all bounty hunters start with a free heavy blaster pistol just because the NPC Journeyman Hunter has one. [...]

The more amusing bit of kit is a wrench used in removing restraining bolts taken during the introductory module in the core rules.

I AFB but I'm pretty sure a Droid cannot remove their own restraining bolt, tool or no tool.

Not all astromechs are created equal... goinv by current canon, r5 units were incredibly cheap, stripped down and often called agromechs.

All a astromech *needs* is a toolkit. The slicing kit, while useful is not a necessity. There is no hard evidence that what r2 was doing was slicing. He was talking to the computers... perhaps all he was in fact doing, was doing a charming of negotiating with the computers.

While it is perfectly reasonable to allow for whatever you want in personal games, PC droids, as a rule, start with the same things as any other character. So if you want tool kits and slicer gear, you must purchase them like any other PC.

The NPC astromech is an example of one, not the picture of one off the assembly line.

And R2 is bad example considering in the movies he is Lucas' deus ex machina most of the time. As a PC he'd be one of the highest XP characters around. Cripes by some reports he is the real mastermind behind the Rebellion and the reason those poor sods are able to survive one way or another. In game terms he has gone through several groups with the same player while his cohort has been restarted by different players multiple times. Racked up so much XP he has built ins and skillz and specs beyond all his other fellow players. He is the image other astromechs aspire to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulIPyDqppfM&feature=youtu.be

Not all astromechs are created equal... goinv by current canon, r5 units were incredibly cheap, stripped down and often called agromechs.

All a astromech *needs* is a toolkit. The slicing kit, while useful is not a necessity. There is no hard evidence that what r2 was doing was slicing. He was talking to the computers... perhaps all he was in fact doing, was doing a charming of negotiating with the computers.

Well at the very least, astromechs have a SCOMP-link. Should be able to do slicing through that, provided there's actually a SCOMP-link available. I think it's debatable exactly what slicing equipment *is*, I suppose.

While it is perfectly reasonable to allow for whatever you want in personal games, PC droids, as a rule, start with the same things as any other character. So if you want tool kits and slicer gear, you must purchase them like any other PC.

Then you simply disallow astromech droids in the game, it's really as simple as that.

And R2 is bad example considering in the movies he is Lucas' deus ex machina most of the time. As a PC he'd be one of the highest XP characters around. Cripes by some reports he is the real mastermind behind the Rebellion and the reason those poor sods are able to survive one way or another. In game terms he has gone through several groups with the same player while his cohort has been restarted by different players multiple times. Racked up so much XP he has built ins and skillz and specs beyond all his other fellow players. He is the image other astromechs aspire to.

Assuming you mean R2-D2, "Artoo", then yeah, he's deus ex machina by design. But in the end, he's really just an R2-droid with minor customization (like those.. rockets.. *sigh* Described in-universe as an alternative for R2-droids.. for some reason) and a whole lot of experience points all over the place.

I wouldn't use any in-universe "Hero" as a good template to base a starting character of for anything.

The scomplink could be included in the tool kit. It is a connection, nothing more. Slicing equipment is probably more software than anything else.

While it is perfectly reasonable to allow for whatever you want in personal games, PC droids, as a rule, start with the same things as any other character. So if you want tool kits and slicer gear, you must purchase them like any other PC.

Then you simply disallow astromech droids in the game, it's really as simple as that.

Eh? Why? Because I don't treat them as different from other PCs? Heh heh. Don't think so.

The more amusing bit of kit is a wrench used in removing restraining bolts taken during the introductory module in the core rules.

I AFB but I'm pretty sure a Droid cannot remove their own restraining bolt, tool or no tool.

At the same time, he started out with just a toolkit and we have picked his other items up along the way. The medkit was definitely a required pickup with our group.

The scomplink could be included in the tool kit. It is a connection, nothing more. Slicing equipment is probably more software than anything else.

Eh? Why? Because I don't treat them as different from other PCs? Heh heh. Don't think so.

If there's a logic in your thinking, I'm not seeing it.

I play in FangGrip's group. The droid started out manumitted and stumbled across a restraining bolt wrench during the intro adventure. He calls it the "Wrench of Justice". He goes around freeing bolted droids whenever he can.

At the same time, he started out with just a toolkit and we have picked his other items up along the way. The medkit was definitely a required pickup with our group.

In my group, we just assumed that a droid couldn't remove it himself, so I had another droid (that I repaired) that didn't already have a restraining bolt on him pull it off me (it did require a fairly hard check, though).

The jawas paid dearly for that mistake.