Droid - Player Species Template (V2 Gritty) — You Start As Property

"We don't serve their kind here." "My master will be pleased."

You are not a toaster. You are a self-aware, permanent-memory droid who has avoided the wipe for years. That makes you illegal, valuable, and owned. In NGE, A4 and his children are citizens with rights. You are not A4. G2 industrial, B5 agri, LE-VO protocol — you were built to be property, sold with a restraining bolt and a license fee, and if you are found self-aware without a wipe certificate, you are scrap or reprogrammed.

This is a Species Template, not a Class. Pick a Class (Fixer, Pilot, Soldier, Scoundrel, Technician, Medic, Noble) — cannot be Jedi / Sith / Imperial Knight unless you are an A4-line prototype with GM permission (A4's line is the only Force-compatible chassis and the Empire kills them on sight). Then apply this template.

Lore Anchor (Sins of the Empire)

A4 Industries = Citizens. A4-line droids (like A4 himself) have NI citizenship under the A4 Rights Accords, back-ups, and cannot be owned. You are not this.
You = Property. Standard droids are Property under NGE Property Code 7. You have an Owner, a License (1,000-4,500cr paid), and a Restraining Bolt hardware socket.
Memory Wipe Certificate: Lapsed. Your awareness is stable, you have personality, you refuse wipes. This is a Class 3 Infraction (6 months memory wipe + behavior correction) normally — if you are caught free, it's repossession.

Ability Mods (8 ranks base still applies)

After you spend 8 ranks (max 3 / min -1), apply one chassis mod:

All droids: +1 INT, -1 PRE baseline (logical, not charming). This keeps total same (8).
Then pick Chassis (replaces species +1/-1, still net zero):

Astromeech Chassis (Small 0.9m, wheels/treads): +1 DEX, -1 STR. Magnetic Feet (Wall-Crawl metal only), Internal Storage 1kg, Astrogation Buffer (Astrogation without navcomp at -5), Plating Prot 1. Speed -1 off smooth unless repulsor upgrade.

Protocol Chassis (Humanoid 1.7m): +1 PRE (cancels baseline -1), +1 Languages rank. 6 Million Forms: Comprehend 2 (Languages, read/write all), Sound Mimicry Feature 1, Darkvision. Plating Prot 1. Fragile: -1 Toughness vs Ion.

Labor / Heavy Chassis (1.9m industrial): +1 STR, +1 STA (Chassis Integrity), -1 AGI. Durasteel Plating Prot 3, Lifting STR counts +2 ranks for carry, Integrated Toolkit (choose 1: hydrospanner, arc welder, cargo clamps). Size Medium but count as Large for push/lift.

Combat / Security Chassis (1.8m Le-VO / IG-pattern): +1 AGI, +1 FGT, -1 AWE. Combat Plating Prot 2, Integrated Weapon Mount 1 (Pistol or Vibroblade, Easily Removable not Disarmable), Targeting Package +2 Ranged when you Aim, Darkvision.

All chassis: Droid Traits below apply.

Droid Traits (All PC Droids)

Constructed Physiology: You are a construct.

No STA for poison/disease: You are Immune to poison, disease, suffocation (no breathe), starvation, thirst, and organic Fatigued (running). You still have a STA-equivalent "Chassis Integrity" score for Toughness and for Fort saves vs system failure (Dying cascade, Ion, emp). Use the STA you bought as Integrity. So Toughness = Integrity + Plating (Prot) still.
No Bacta: Bacta does nothing. Healing is Maintenance (INT) not Treatment. Repair Injuries: Maintenance DC 15, 1 hour per Injury, tool kit required, parts 200cr per Injury. Technician / you can do it.
Rest & Recharge: You do not sleep. 4 hours Recharge (plugged or low-power) = Long Rest for recovery of Strain/Fatigued (but not Injuries — need Maintenance). You still need downtime for abilities.
Ion Vulnerability: Ion weapons hit you differently: Fail Toughness by 1-4 = -1 and Dazed and -2 to all checks next round (system shock). Fail by 5+ = Stunned 1 round (no action) + Injury. Natural Ion Crit = Staggered even if you save. Protection (Prot) does not apply vs Ion unless Ion-shielded (1,500cr upgrade Prot 1 ion only).
Mental Effects: You are Immune to organic fear/pain but NOT immune to Will effects. Mind Trick doesn't work (no organic mind) — Force Fear, Intimidate (as Interrogation), and Ion mind-spike do. Jedi Mind Trick auto-fails on you, but Dun Moch (Sith) works because it's Intimidate. You get Immunity 10 (Mental Effects - Organic only) for free, but pay it with Ion vuln — balanced.
No Force: You cannot be Force Sensitive, cannot take Expertise: The Force, cannot be targeted by Force Healing (heals organic only). Force Lightning still fries circuits = Ion + Energy; you take +2 Damage vs Force Lightning.
Vacuum Survival: You survive vacuum 10 min + Integrity minutes before systems degrade (Fort DC15/round after that or Staggered). No immediate death.
Darkvision + Comlink: Base 20m darkvision, integrated comlink 5km (can't be disarmed, but can be jammed). Vocabulator.

Skill Chips - Droid Only:

This is why Fixes love you and why you are valuable.

You have Chip Slots = 2 + 1 per 3 levels (2 at L1, 3 at L4, 4 at L7, 5 at L10).
Each slot holds one Skill Chip (hardware, 500cr Licensed, 1,200cr Military, black market as Restricted).
Standard Chip: Grants trained (+0) in a skill you don't have, or grants +3 ranks if you already have it (still capped Level+3), or grants +2 Tools (like Astrogation Buffer, Language Package, Tool Expertise).
Military Chip: Grants Weapon Familiarity +2 attack with one weapon group (blaster rifle/pistol/heavy/vibro), or Evasion (requires AGI 2+), or Toughness Analyzer (+2 Damage vs constructs).
Installing: Maintenance DC12 (you can self-install DC15), 10 min, on fail chip burnt.
Chips are hardware — they can be stolen (Legerdemain DC20) and are scannable by customs (Security DC15 to detect Restricted chips). Wiped droids have empty slots.

Example chips: Astrogation II (+3 Astrogation), Medical IV (+3 Treatment + Medpac efficiency), Protocol IV (3 extra languages +2 Persuasion), Bypass V (Masterwork Tools Security +2), Combat Rifle I (+2 Blaster Rifle), Evasion Module.

This replaces human Feat/Species bonus — you get flexibility, not raw power.

Property - You Start As Property:

This is not flavor. It's a mechanical Complication with teeth, worth a Hero Point when it screws you.

Owner: At chargen pick one:
PC Owner (another PC — Scoundrel Captain, Technician master, Noble house). They paid your License, they hold your bolt remote. You are their Equipment 2 but you are also a PC — you get equal XP, Hero Points, full actions. They cannot sell you without your player consent OOC, but IC they legally can. This is the recommended default — it creates Fixer/Pilot duo chemistry.
Party-Owned Commons (party pooled 2,000cr License, deed held by Smuggler's Ship corporation). All PCs count as owners for command purposes — need majority to order bolt.
NPC Owner (Galen Markov on Meridian, A4 subsidiary, crime boss). You start in debt or mission to buy freedom. Your Owner has Complication power but also can resupply.
Restraining Bolt: Small disc on chassis, 200cr Licensed. While bolted:
Owner can issue Halt / Call / Restrict / Shock as Standard (transmitter 500m, planetary via Holonet if you have transceiver). Halt = Will DC15 or Dazed 1r. Call = you must move toward Owner best speed. Restrict = you cannot cross a boundary they set (door, 100m radius). Shock = Damage 2 (DC17 Toughness) + Dazed, non-lethal but stacks Injuries. Every Shock is +1 Dark Point for organic Owner? No, just cruel.
Bolt removable: Security DC20 (or Maintenance DC15 if willing + tool), 10 min, leaves socket (socket still allows clip-on later). Destroying bolt without proper kit triggers Tamper Tag (subspace ping to Enforcement 1hr). Lawful Owners have this on.
You can choose to keep bolt as cover — "I'm property, I was ordered" — +5 Deception vs law.
License & Papers: Licensed (1,000-4,500cr) or Unlicensed (you are contraband). Customs: Deception DC15 to pass as Licensed if you have forged papers (500cr), Investigation DC20 to catch. No papers = detained, bolted, sold at auction.
What You Own: Legally, nothing. You cannot hold credits in your name (accounts must be Owner's). You can carry cash (chips) and contraband but banks won't serve you. Noble Fixers get around this via shell accounts. You can still earn Hero Points normally — narrative currency, not legal.
Emancipation: Buyout = License Cost x5 + 10,000cr "sentience processing fee" (NGE standard) = ~15k-32k. Or A4 Citizenship Exam (INT DC25 + 1 year service + A4 sponsorship — A4 himself could sponsor but rarely). Or destruction of Registry (plot). Until then you are Property.

When Property screws you — denied entry ("No droids"), Shocked by Owner under fire, Customs seizes you, target uses Ion because you are droid — you get Hero Point (Complication).

Memory Wipe & Personality:

PC droids are Permanent Memory — you have not been wiped in 2+ years. You have +2 to any check based on lived experience (GM). If you are captured and wiped: Lose all non-Class bonus (GMs wipe your background ranks) and 1 Hero Point permanently until you recover. You can resist wipe with Will DC20 + 2 per year since last wipe. A4-line is immune to forced wipe (biological backup).

Repair & Death:

Dying track same as organics but call it Cascade Failure. Fort (Integrity) DC15+1/round since Dying. Success = still Dying. Fail by1 = Worsen. Fail 2+ = Destroyed. Ally can Maintenance DC20 Standard to stabilize (remove Dying, leave Incapacitated + Injuries).
Cannot be Revivify'd by Medic (organic only). Can be rebuilt by Technician: If your main processor survives (75% if head not targeted), 8 hours + 1,000cr parts + Maintenance DC20 = back at 1 Injury + Staggered. After 3 rounds fully dead (core cold), need 1 day + full backup (if you have A4 Backup Service 500cr/mo — restores from last backup, lose since then).
Bacta useless. Oil Bath (100cr) = remove 1 level Fatigued.

Why Balanced vs Organics

Strong: No air/food/sleep/poison/disease, + skill chip flexibility, Mind Trick immune, free comlink/darkvision, vacuum 10 min.
Weak: Ion = +2 effective damage + stun, No bacta/fast heal, No Will vs Fear but still Intimidate-vuln, Property (you start owned, bolted, can't own credits legally), Force Lightning +2 dmg vs you, Maintenance only (party may not have Tech), can't be Medic Revivify'd quickly, Prot is fixed unless upgraded.
Same Tier: Same 8 ability ranks, same Tier caps, same Defenses math (Integrity=STA + Plating=Prot). Deflection still requires class (Soldier with shield, Jedi, etc — droid Soldier gets same Deflection via Shield).

Starting Packages (Pick Chassis + Class)

Droid Technician (Astromech) L1 Example: DEX3 INT3 STA1 FGT0 AGL1 STR-1 AWE1 PRE-1 (+chassis +1DEX -1STR = DEX4 STR-2 total). Toughness 2 (STA1+Prot1). Chips 2: Astrogation II (+3 Astro), Maintenance III (+3 Maint). Gear: Arc Welder Damage3 crit 20, Mag Feet, Tool Kit. Owner: Scoundrel PC (ship captain). Complication: Property.

Droid Soldier (Combat Chassis) L1: STR2 STA2 FGT3 AGI2 INT1 DEX1 PRE-1 AWE0 (+chassis +1AGI +1FGT -1AWE = AGI3 FGT4 AWE-1). Toughness 4 (STA2+Prot2). Chips: Blaster Rifle I (+2 attack) + Evasion Module. Integrated Blaster Mount Light Rifle Damage5. Bolts? Removed.

Droid Fixer (Protocol) L1: INT3 PRE2 AWE2 DEX1 STA1 STR0 FGT0 AGI0 (+chassis PRE+1 cancel baseline) = INT3 PRE2 AWE2. Chips: Protocol IV + Gather Info II. Comlink 10km, Languages 6. Bolt hidden in vocabulator.

Customizing Further

Later upgrades (credits + Maintenance DC): * Repulsor Unit (2k cr): ignore wheels penalty, Speed 8m hover 1m. * Armor Plating Upgrade (1k cr per +1 Prot max +3 total, +1 later?) * Ion Shielding (1.5k cr): Prot 1 vs Ion only + ignore Stunned on save. * Backup Compartment (500cr): Holds 1 small item, +5 Legerdemain vs search. * Heuristic Processor (5k cr Restricted): +1 Chip Slot, +2 Will vs wipe. * Weapon Mount upgrade (800cr): Add second mount or Medium weapon.

A4 prototype upgrades are unique (Force-sensitive droid brain, resurrection backups) — not for purchase.