Driver

Of the 8 Career Skills, choose 4 to get a free rank. Of the 4 Specialization Skills, choose 2 to get a free rank.

Ace Career Skills: Astrogation, Cool, Gunnery, Mechanics, Perception, Piloting (Planetary), Piloting (Space) and Ranged (Light)

Driver Specialization Skills: Cool, Gunnery, Mechanics and Piloting (Planetary)

On or above the ground, the Driver becomes a part of the machine he drives, and he attempts maneuvers no design engineer ever intended his vehicle to do. Most Drivers are handy with a hydrospanner, and able to maintain their vehicles—which is a good thing, considering how much abuse their toys take.

Mastery of his machines is a primary focus for a Driver. In addition, so many things can go wrong on a planet, especially when piloting a vehicle at insane speeds, that being prepared for the worst is a major part of training for most Drivers.

Most Drivers are well aware they never get the glory or thanks a starhghter pilot does, but it rarely matters. The bite of atmosphere on the wings or the feel of every bump and groove on the road speaks to them in ways the vacuum of space never could. The sheer variety of vehicles a Driver can control on a planet is a huge draw, each representing yet another opportunity to push a machine to its limits and beyond.

Within the Alliance, Drivers are highly valued, both for their capacity to get the most out of the limited planetary combat vehicles available as well as for their knack for keeping such machines in one piece (or at least limited number of pieces). In most cases, commanders in the Rebellion know to give a Driver a destination and a goal, and then to get out of the way and let him figure out the best way to get there and get it done.

Potential Backgrounds

  • Entertainer: Drivers possess a competitive nature, having participated in racing circuits where they push the limits of technology to cross the finish line first. If not keen on racing, Drivers might have instead been part of the entertainment between races or in holovids, showing off their creativity in performing a variety of tricks and stunts to keep the crowd cheering while awaiting the next heat. Drivers from an entertainment background control their vehicles with a signature finesse that makes them stick out in traffic.
  • Prototype Tester: Test Drivers help break in new swoops, speeder bikes, landspeeders, and walkers. The Rebel Alliance modifies a number of civilian vessels for combat duty. Individuals with a test Driver background are essential in making sure new systems and mod kits are functioning properly, and making changes to operating manuals that take additional weapon systems and armor plating into account. These Drivers are often the first to take these new vehicles into the field.
  • Bush Pilot: Drivers who have a background as a bush pilot might have a history of drag racing swoops and landspeeders with their friends, or may have even been part of a swoop gang. The wide-open spaces of backwater agriworlds provide an outlet for the contagious boredom: demolition derbies using landspeeders cobbled together from scrap heaps.
  • Clone Wars Veteran: Drivers with Clone Wars experience might have been officers commanding an AT-TE, S-PHAT, or Juggernaut crew, or leading mechanized infantry mounted on AT-RTs or AT-PTs. They might have even been biker scouts for a local defense force like Praesitlyn. Because the Empire still uses many of the same ground vehicles and tactics, Drivers with Clone Wars experience have expert knowledge in the weaknesses inherit to Imperial ground assault plans.
  • Imperial Defector: Drivers with an Imperial background trained to handle Imperial walkers, repulsorcraft, and speeder bikes. Drivers are acutely aware of the specifications and tactics used by Imperial armored divisions and mechanized infantry and cavalry. They are able to use this tactical knowledge to help plan and executing daring raids.
  • Criminal: Drivers are a natural fit for a criminal background, and might have operated getaway speeders for crews of thieves. Others might have been members of swoop gangs. Either way, a Driver from a life of crime is skilled at evading authorities and getting his crew home safe. Once recruited to the Rebellion, these individuals often join Alliance Intelligence or Special Forces, where they can work as extraction specialists.