Drone Commander

All armies need an established hierarchy to ensure that objectives are achieved successfully. Even drones, with their network connection to each other and possibly even centralized control, must sometimes have specific movements dictated to them by a separate drone designated as a field commander, or by someone with a neural interface so that they can operate ‘at the speed of a drone.’ The drone commander, through the course of its career as a soldier for its organization, proves itself through its actions and is promoted to lead others of its kind to support the unit’s mission and the organization’s cause.

If on the battlefield, drone commanders are usually quite easy to spot. They bear command colors and are positioned within the ranks to receive maximum protection from the enemy. Although they might be easy to find, they are rarely easy to eliminate. Because these drones or field-deployed commanders are prized by their superiors they are augmented or provided with equipment to increase the likelihood of their survival and continued service to their superiors. Better weapons, armor, and equipment make the drone commander a formidable foe on their own. Their ability to effectively lead troops on the battlefield make the drone commander and its squad a force to be reckoned with.

Drone commanders are also found controlling their forces from off the battlefield. Well-trained Glorious Imperium soldiers can directly control hordes of drones from the safety of their armored command vehicles. Terran Alliance Wireheads utilize drones to maintain at least the illusion of mobility while they are in their interface tanks, giving them numerous sets of hands inside their ships or buildings. Combat Engineer Corps soldiers often carry a small drone or two on them for reconnaissance and infiltration purposes. Lissonians have been remotely controlling drones via neural interface since they developed their first small radios. And a portion of the Warriors that contract out their services as mercenaries have eschewed the ‘big gun’ tactics of their brethren to turn themselves into drone carriers, destroying their clients’ foes through overwhelming, massed-drone assault.

REQUIREMENTS


To qualify to become a drone commander, a character must fulfill the following criteria.

  • Minimum Level: 7th
  • Trained Skills: Knowledge [Tactics], Use Computer
  • Talents: At least one talent from the Leadership talent tree (Expert base class) or the Commando talent tree (Soldier base class).
  • Special: To enter this prestige class you must meet one of the following requirements:
    • You are an Artificial Intelligence, Hive, or Lissonian. Mechanically speaking, the Warriors also meet this prerequisite, but they’re ludicrously outside the scope of a ‘playable species.’
    • You have one of these feats: Neural Interface Training, Wirehead Neural Interface
    • You have the CEC Neural Implant nanoaugmentation

GAME RULE INFORMATION


Drone commanders have the following game statistics.

HIT POINTS


At each level, independent AI gain 1d10 hit points.

HERO POINTS

Independent AI gain a number of Hero Points equal to 6 + one-half their character level, rounded down, every time they gain a new level in this class.

LEVEL BASE ATTACK BONUS CLASS FEATURES
1st +1 Defense bonuses, talent
2nd +2 Networked mind (1 drone)
3rd +3 Talent
4th +4 Networked mind (2 drone)
5th +5 Talent
6th +6 Networked mind (3 drone)
7th +7 Talent
8th +8 Networked mind (4 drone)
9th +9 Talent
10th +10 Networked mind (5 drone)

CLASS FEATURES

The following are features of the elite trooper prestige class.

DEFENSE BONUSES


At 1st level, you gain a +2 class bonus to your Reflex Defense, Fortitude Defense, and Will Defense.

TALENTS


At every odd-numbered level (1st, 3rd, 5th, and so on), you select a talent.  The talent can be selected from the Drone Commander talent tree presented below, the Inspiration talent tree (Expert base class), or the Leadership talent tree (Expert base class).  You must meet the prerequisites (if any) of the chosen talent. No talent can be selected more than once unless expressly indicated.

DRONE COMMANDER TALENT TREE

You have learned the quirks and intricacies of commanding drones, and you can get the most out of even the least sophisticated programming.

  • Automated Strike: As a swift action, you can make a DC 15 Knowledge [Tactics] check. If successful, all drone allies able to hear and understand you gain the benefits of the Double Attack feat for one weapon group with which you are proficient until the end of your next turn.
    • Prerequisite: Double Attack with the chosen weapon group
  • Drone Defense: As a standard action, you can transmit tactical information to all drone allies that can hear and understand you, granting them a bonus equal to your Intelligence modifier to one of their defenses (your choice) until the beginning of your next turn.
  • Drone Mettle: As a swift action once per turn, you can designate a single drone ally within your line of sight. That drone ally gains bonus hit points equal to 10 + your class level.
    • Prerequisites: Drone Defense
  • Expanded Sensors: If you or any of your drone allies has line of sight and is aware of a target, you are also considered to have line of sight (but not necessarily line of effect) to that target.
  • Inspire Competence: As a swift action once per turn, you can grant one drone ally within your line of sight a competence bonus on its next attack roll made before the start of your next turn equal to half your class level. Additionally, any drone designated as the target of your Networked Mind class feature is considered to have your class bonuses to its defenses if your’s are better than the drone’s.
    • Prerequisite: Expanded Sensors
  • Maintain Focus: As a swift action once per turn, you can grant all drone allies within your line of sight the ability to take the Recover action as a two swift actions (instead of three swift actions) until the start of your next turn.
  • Overclocked Troops: You push the limits of the drones under your command. You can spend a swift action once per turn to allow each of your networked allies (see the Networked Mind class feature below) to immediately move up to their speed.
    • Prerequisite: Droid Defense
  • Reinforced Commands: When you use an ability that grants a drone ally a morale or insight bonus, increase the value of that bonus by 1.
    • Prerequisite: Droid Defense

OVERRIDE TALENT TREE

You can take direct control over your drone allies for brief periods.

  • Directed Action: As a standard action, you allow one drone that can hear and understand you to make a Deception, Mechanics, Persuasion, Pilot, Ride, Treat Injury, or Use Computer check immediately as a free action. The drone can use your bonuses to that skill including training, traits, and so on, but it must use its own ability score modifier for Pilot and Ride.
  • Directed Movement: As a move action, you allow one drone that can hear and understand you to move up to its speed. The drone can make Acrobatics, Climb, Jump, Stealth, or Swim checks during this movement using your bonuses to those skills except for your ability score modifier (it must use its own).
  • Full Control: As a full-round action, you allow one drone that can hear and understand you to take the full attack action. The drone can replace its relevant ability score modifier with your Intelligence modifier.
    • Prerequisites: Directed Action, Directed Movement, and Remote Attack
  • Remote Attack: As a standard action, you allow one drone that can hear and understand you to make a melee or ranged attack. The drone can replace its relevant ability score modifier to its attack roll with your Intelligence modifier.

NETWORKED MIND

You can designate a number of your drone allies equal to one-half your class level as being networked with you. Drones networked in this way can receive beneficial mind-affecting effects from you if they could not receive them normally. Once you designate a drone ally as the recipient of this benefit, you cannot change the drone beneficiary until after the encounter, and designating a drone to benefit from this class feature is a free action. Additionally, you are considered to have line of sight to a networked drone as long as both you and the drone have an active comlink (if the comlinks are subject to communications jamming, you lose this benefit).

You can directly control (sometimes called ‘puppeting’) multiple drones networked in this way. While controlling multiple drones in this way, you can use your standard and move actions to do things with them. However, you suffer penalties based on the circumstances. For each different type of drone you are controlling in this manner, you take a -1 penalty to attack rolls and skill checks made with all of your directly-controlled drones.

When attacking with multiple drones controlled in this fashion, you can make a single attack as a standard action and receive a +1 bonus to attack and an extra die of damage with the attack for each networked drone that participates in the attack. To receive this bonus, the drones must all be equipped with the same weapons system, and if that weapon uses ammunition it is consumed as normal when firing the weapon.