Rogue DroneSource Alien Archive 3 pg. 88
Many mechanics and their drones are inseparable companions. Each drone is the unique expression of a mechanic’s genius, arising only after endless hours of tinkering, experimentation, and hard work. If separated from their creators, most drones simply stop, waiting for directives that might not ever come. However, due to outside influences or a glitch in their AIs, some gain autonomy. These freewilled robots are known as rogue drones.
Among the most common rogue drones are those that are lost or orphaned. Sometimes, a dying mechanic can transfer a fraction of their consciousness to a beloved drone, with one final set of instructions to follow. A complex drone, already on the verge of sentience, may find its mechanic’s body and attempt to integrate their custom rig into its circuitry. In a few cases, when the mechanic is imprisoned or kidnapped, a determined drone gains independence in its search for them. Whatever the cause, rogue drones are often confused and seeking answers and may cause harm to creatures they encounter.
Some rogues drones have even more traumatic origins. With noble but misguided intentions, agents of the more extremist cells of organizations like the Android Abolitionist Front will sometimes try to “liberate” a drone from its mechanic, regardless of the consequences. Other times, a drone can become magically corrupted or possessed by spirits and end up murdering its creator. Such rogue drones often become bent on destroying any humanoids and other sentient beings who cross their path. Occasionally, a rogue drone is created when a hostile AI hacks into the robot’s programming, creating a deadly agent in the physical world.
The existence of rogue drones has caused legal conundrums in the Pact Worlds. Some experts see a rogue drone as a newborn SRO whose complex programming and sophisticated interfaces are on the verge of attracting a soul. Others consider a rogue drone to be an unpredictable piece of equipment that has outlived its primary purpose and should be destroyed. With no clear answers forthcoming, these legal battles will probably continue to rage on for years. Creating a Rogue Drone When creating a rogue drone, choose a chassis from those listed on page 75 of the Starfinder Core Rulebook. This determines the rogue drone’s main function and size. Then, build the drone as normal for a technological construct NPC, using the combatant array for a rogue combat drone, the expert array for a rogue stealth drone, and either array for a hover drone. However, instead of the listed number of special abilities and skills in the array, give the rogue drone a number of feats (chosen from the list on page 76 of the Core Rulebook) and drone mods as if building a drone for a mechanic whose level is equal to the rogue drone’s CR. As usual, if you give the rogue drone a feat that adjusts the creature’s statistics, simply include that adjustment and don’t list the feat in the stat block (but do count it against the number of feats it should have).
As with a player building a mechanic’s drone, you must take into account all of a rogue drone’s proficiencies and weapon mounts when deciding what kind of weapons it wields, using mods where needed to suit a particular weapon. A rogue drone receives Perception as a master skill for free, but to receive any other skills, it must take the skill subroutine mod. A drone using the combatant array receives those skills as good skills, while one using the expert array receives them as master skills. All of a rogue drone’s mods are listed in its stat block, including those it received from its chassis.
Like other NPCs, a rogue drone adds its level to all damage it deals with weapons.Aliens in the "Rogue Drone" FamilySource Alien Archive 3 pg. 88Rogue Combat Drone CR 14 XP 38,400
CN Medium construct (technological)
Init +6; Senses blindsense (sound) 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +30
DefenseHP 250
EAC 30; KAC 32
Fort +14; Ref +14; Will +10
DR 3/—; Immunities construct immunities
OffenseSpeed 30 ft., burrow 15 ft.
Melee zero-edge dagger +27 (6d4+22 S)
Ranged obscuring absolute-zero hailcannon +24 (6d8+14 C & P; critical staggered [DC 20])StatisticsSTR +8; DEX +6; CON —; INT +2; WIS +4; CHA -1
Feats Cleave, Great Cleave, Lunge, Mobility, Sidestep, Spring Attack
Skills Athletics +25
Languages Common
Other Abilities drone mods (echolocators, enhanced armor, excavator, melee weapon arm, reductive plating, skill subroutine [Athletics], weapon proficiencies [2+2], weapon mounts [2]), unliving
Gear obscuring absolute-zero hailcannon with 1 super-capacity battery, zero-edge dagger, mk 3 nanite patchEcologyEnvironment any
Organization solitary, pair, or defection (3–6)Special AbilitiesDrone Mods (Ex) A rogue drone has a number of mods equal to the number it would have as a drone built by a mechanic of a level equal to the rogue drone’s CR.
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