SWURPG

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Playing as a Droid

Droids are a fully playable species option in SWURPG — from astromechs and protocol units to security enforcers and assassin models. They are nonliving constructs with different strengths, different weaknesses, and a completely different relationship with healing, hazards, and the Force.

Droids are selected as a species during character creation. After choosing a droid subtype, follow the normal flow: choose a class, assign ability scores, pick skills, and gear up.

Ion Damage Vulnerability

Droids are vulnerable to Ion weapons. Where Stun weapons scramble a living nervous system, Ion does the same to a chassis — system lockups, seized servos, cascading malfunctions, and temporary shutdowns.

When a droid takes Ion damage, it makes a Strength saving throw to resist the disruption. Ion is a Constitution-type save, and droids make every Constitution save with Strength (they have no Constitution score — structural robustness is what a chassis braces with; see Hit Points and Repair below). A heavier, sturdier frame shrugs ion off better. The save DC is set by the ion source — for a weapon, 8 + the attacker's Proficiency Bonus + the attacker's governing ability modifier.

On a failed save, the droid suffers a disruption effect specific to its model — each droid species' Ion Sensitivity trait spells out its own result (Stunned, Confused, Restrained, Speed halved, lost Reaction, or Disadvantage on attacks, depending on the chassis). On a success, it shrugs the surge off.

Nonliving Construct Immunities

Droids are immune to the following unless a specific effect explicitly states it works on droids:

  • Poison and disease.
  • Radiation and noncorrosive atmospheric hazards.
  • Vacuum.
  • Mind-affecting effects (fear, charm, and similar effects).
  • Stun weapons and other effects that work only on a living nervous system. (Ion is the droid-specific analogue — see Ion Damage Vulnerability above — so a droid that is immune to a Stun bolt can still be locked up by Ion. The two are separate tracks.)

Droids can still be affected by physical Force effects such as pushes, pulls, and thrown debris.

No Force Connection

Droids have no connection to the Force. They cannot gain Force Sensitivity, learn Force Powers, or use class options that require a Force connection. Force-using classes and the Force Training trait are not available to droids.

Maintenance Instead of Sleep

Droids do not sleep, eat, or breathe. During downtime, droids enter maintenance cycles: diagnostics, calibration, cooling, and software checks. This is narrative flavor unless the GM uses maintenance as a story hook (damage, degraded parts, memory corruption, etc.).

When a class trait assumes biology — sleep, food, breathing — treat it as not applicable or reskin it as maintenance or programming, provided it does not create a balance issue.

Automatic Languages

All droids can speak, read, and process Binary, and understand one additional language chosen at character creation (typically Basic). Additional languages may be added through upgrades or programming packages.

Hit Points and Repair

No Constitution Score — STR Replaces CON for HP and Saves

Droids do not have a Constitution score. Their Hit Points come from their base class Hit Die (for player droids) or their model Hit Die (for NPC droids), and droids use their Strength modifier in place of Constitution modifier when computing HP per level. This is the canonical rule for translating chassis durability into HP: a heavier, more reinforced frame is the durable one.

The formula is otherwise identical to the organic rule: HP at L1 = max hit die + STR mod, and HP per level after L1 = (rolled, average, or max die value) + STR mod, with a floor of 1 per level. A KX-series Security Droid (STR +2) gains the same +2 per level an organic Soldier with CON +2 would; a Pit Droid (STR -3) takes -3 per level (floored to 1). HP can also be increased through chassis upgrades — reinforced frames, structural overhauls, redundant actuators — which add flat HP on top of the per-level math.

Constitution saving throws use Strength. The STR-for-CON substitution applies to saves as well as HP: because a droid has no Constitution score, it makes any Constitution saving throw with its Strength modifier — bracing a chassis against ion, concussion, sonic shock, or being physically overpowered is a matter of structural robustness, not metabolism. Save proficiency still applies normally: a class that grants Constitution-save proficiency (e.g. Vanguard) grants it to a droid too, adding the proficiency bonus on top of STR. The character builder applies this automatically.

Repair (Mechanical Healing)

Droids do not naturally heal and cannot benefit from biological healing sources such as Medpacs. They regain lost Hit Points through repairs, most commonly using the Mechanics skill. The DC and HP restored are determined by the GM based on the tools available, time spent, and the condition of the droid.

Armor Class, Plating, and Shields

Droid AC and survivability are driven by chassis quality and upgrades rather than worn armor:

  • Plating upgrades increase AC through heavier plating, specialized materials, or defensive subroutines.
  • Shield generators absorb damage before HP is lost.
  • Specialized frames may trade speed for durability, or stealth for protection.

Droid AC formula: 10 + DEX modifier + Size Modifier + base plating + chassis upgrade AC bonus. No worn-armor term — droid armor is the chassis itself.

Chassis Armaments

Some chassis upgrades install a weapon as integrated hardware — a Mini Grenade Launcher built into a forearm, a Blowtorch wired into a manipulator, an Ion Pulse Emitter mounted on a torso plate. These armaments behave like any other weapon in combat (attack roll, damage, range, ammunition — except grenade-type armaments, which use the area-of-effect save mechanic from Grenades and Explosives instead of attack rolls), with three rules that differ from carried weapons:

  • Always proficient (where proficiency applies). A droid is automatically proficient with any weapon installed on its own chassis, regardless of class or species weapon proficiencies. The integration is the training. No −5 non-proficiency penalty. Grenade-type armaments require no proficiency to begin with — same baseline as carried grenades.
  • Specialization and Expertise still apply. The player can take an ASI Weapon Specialization trait targeting a specific chassis armament for +1 damage, then later upgrade it via Weapon Expertise for the +2 expertise bonus. Mastering an installed weapon is a meaningful character investment even though the base proficiency is automatic.
  • Cannot be dropped, dual-wielded, or off-handed. A chassis armament is mounted on the droid — it doesn't occupy main-hand / off-hand slots, doesn't trigger the dual-wield −5 penalty, and remains available even while the droid's hands are full carrying gear.

See the Droid Chassis Upgrades catalog for the full list of installable armaments and their stat blocks.

Class Availability

Droids may take any non-Force class. Force-using classes and the Force Training trait are not available (see No Force Connection above). Droid subtypes should influence class roleplay: some models were built to negotiate, others to eliminate negotiation entirely.

Non-Verbal Models

Droids without vocal speech (e.g. BD-Series) cannot vocalize Persuasion or Intimidation — those skills are blocked at the table. Deception remains available — non-verbal trickery (fake malfunctions, forged holograms, mimicked droid IDs, spoofed comms, false sensor readings) is canonical droid behavior. The character builder enforces these rules automatically.

Speech-Limited Communication

Droids and certain organic species (Wookiee, Aloxian, Amanin, Gamorrean, Ugnaught, Ewok, Jawa, Yam'rii) have physiologies that comprehend but cannot vocalize Galactic Basic. They communicate via their native language(s), gestures, written messages, or a translator companion. The character sheet annotates "(understand only)" on languages they cannot speak.