Droid Tech Specialization

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

Technician Career Skills: Astrogation, Computers, Coordination, Discipline, Knowledge (Outer Rim), Mechanics, Perception and Piloting (Planetary)

Droid Tech Specialization Skills: Computers, Cool, Mechanics and Leadership

Droids are prevalent across the galaxy, from the shining spheres of the Core to dingy backwater worlds far from the center's light. To most inhabitants of the galaxy. droids are little more than particularly complex tools. However, some organic sentients find a kinship with these mechanical beings, seeing a spark of life in them beyond their shells and circuitry. Whether or not they treat the droids around them as mere objects or as sentient beings, Droid Techs possess an unparalleled skill at inventing, repairing, and dealing with droids.

Technicians who become Droid Techs gain access to a wealth of abilities that make them better at creating, repairing. and directing droids. On the edges of society, droids often constitute much of the labor force due to their low cost-and for the same reason, these droids are often poorly maintained. A Droid Tech can keep droids functional and organized better than anyone else, whether this means meticulously performing upgrades and customizations on a trusted droid partner or keeping a team of pit droids working at maximum efficiency. Far from official factories and even from well-stocked garages where replacement parts can be found, a Droid Tech can be incredibly valuable.

Some Droid Techs are not satisfied to merely main tain mechanical beings, but actually want to create new, unique droids with unprecedented abililies and features. Custom-built droids are not as common as standard models, but they are not especially rare, either. The most skilled Droid Techs can bring extremely complex creations to life, building droids that perform a single task with mechanical precision or versatile models capable of handling any situation the galaxy throws at them. The deep philosophical and ethical ramifications of creating sentient beings for a purpose weighs heavily on the minds of a few, of course, but most citizens of the galaxy do not dwell too long on such matters.

In addition to having abilities that facilitate building and repairing droids, Droid Techs are gifted with a knack for convincing droids to actually do things for them. While some droids are well mannered and helpful, others can be ill-tempered, capricious, or even downright cruel-but also too useful to dispense with entirely. Getting difficult droids to work toward the group's common good can be quite a task, but a skilled Droid Tech is better equipped for this task than anyone else. To this end, in addition to benefiting from a high Intellect, Droid Techs might also find a high Presence characteristic and ranks in the Leaderst1ip skill useful. These have has the added benefit of making it easier to deal with organic beings-though if some Droid Techs prefer to avoid dealing with organics entirely.

Potential Backgrounds

Antiquarian: Like starships and many other common technologies, droids have existed since time immemorial. However, unlike most other advanced constructs, droids are capable of self-modification. A Droid Tech with an interest in antiquity might seek out unique droids that pushed their own evolution in strange and innovative ways. Finding even a fragment of such a being might provide months of work for the character in dissecting the surviving hardware and code to understand the being’s ideas, motives, and thoughts. An organic being might pursue this path, but so too might a droid, especially one who wishes to understand the complexities of its own existence as a being of artifice.

Born Engineer: People born with exceptional skills sometimes find themselves isolated from others in spite of their abilities, or even because of them. An up-and-coming Droid Tech might have decided to tackle the problem of making friends in a literal fashion, crafting a droid companion to understand the character as others did not. Whether or not these efforts were successful, such a Born Engineer might feel considerable respect and empathy for droids in memory ofthat early companion.

Tech Designer: To most organic beings, droids represent a strange sidestep in evolution—most see them as simulacra of intelligent beings rather than as entities in their own right. However, some organic Droid Techs (and more than a few droids) believe these mechanical beings to be the logical successors to the concept of “life.” After all, droids are theoretically immortal, their intelligences can be untethered from their bodies, and they can adapt both their bodies and minds dramatically to new circumstances with incredible speed; few organic species can boast such qualities. And while droids have rarely occupied places of galactic prestige, evolution can be a slow process followed by explosive change. A few eccentric droid designers even believe that in pushing the development of droids forward, life grows ever closer to perfection.

Underworld Tech Expert: A Droid Tech can keep a syndicate’s security droids operational, repairing these mechanical servants after they are damaged in turf wars (or by a wrathful boss who dislikes receiving bad news from droid messengers). However, seeing the droids damaged and abused again and again might drive a compassionate Droid Tech to flee, taking these mechanical charges with along for the ride. Running away from a crime syndicate is never easy, but having a loyal army of customized droids to help does improve such a fugitive’s chances of survival dramatically.