What do the stats mean for a droid?

[tetsuoh]

Say I got two droids - both are cybot galactica 3PO models - but they got two different stats in their mechanical.

What is determining that Mechanical Die Code?

See I have an issue.

My Bot Builder has a R2 unit - and they just found the cone and legs to an R4

now if the processors are intact then imo that means its Knowledge stat would be.

It stands to reason that its knowledge skills are all facets of its databanks.

Strength and Dexterity would probably be a facet of servos mostly - armor would be of the plating.

Perception would be sensors of course.

Move would be a facet of its form of locomotion obviously.

But what are the Mechanical and Technical?

Would Mechanical be a facet of its ability to interface with vehicles?

Would Technical be the number and availability of its tools?

I understand this is of course a complex issue. But really it seems that in terms of droids, this especially would be one complication that many folks would run into sooner or later (I do believe I even started a similar topic before that I can't locate). Just what would my player be able to pull out of this other wrecked droid and be able to use as parts to fix theirs?

I understand that of course this would often lead to quirks and the like, but still - we are also facing the facts of this as in the terms of advanced models being used to upgrade their predecessors.

[dicemauler]

If we're correlating the stats to various components, then Mechanical might be a function of servos the same as it for Strength and Dexterity. Technical would be related to the processors.

[tetsuoh]

Actually after reading up - I came to an understanding.

It appears that Astromechs interface with the vehicle through ship/droid interface or at least scomp link.

http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100519191605/starwars/images/3/39/ArtooBlueprints-SWBTUC.jpg

https://www.google.com/search?q=scomp+link&biw=1366&bih=633&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAmoVChMIgaWFkf2mxwIVBTU-Ch30hg57#imgdii=2S8oYxqikr54UM%3A%3B2S8oYxqikr54UM%3A%3Bv2e3GtdPfhagJM%3A&imgrc=2S8oYxqikr54UM%3A

So effectively the stat is represented by their ability to interface with a vehicle and how well they can interface with them.

Now this of course this is also true of all droids that pilot - and many of them also have manipulators (hands, feet, etc) similar to humanoids in order to do so - but not all.

Whats interesting is that basically no piloting droid has more than 4D Mechanical and that droids that utilize the humanoid style of interface are actually not attributed with more or less than the computer control interface style of pilots, in fact the astromechs are more prone to both having less and more than these style of droids as we know them.

So the computer interfaces of astromechs can be slower or faster in response depending on the quality of their hardware.

This makes sense in that the new models and the military models tend to be the ones with higher die codes. Except the R5, which was a complete failure anyway.

So in game terms this means the mechanical stat is represented by hardware for vehicle connections - what ever form that takes.

The skills are of course programmed databanks of how to handle certain kinds of vehicles and how to handle circumstances while piloting.

[Pel]

I agree with all of the above. To take it just a bit further, Fantastic Tech Droids lists Traitware (Droid Attributes) with a separate cost for each droid degree (1st - 5th). Mechanical and Technical are cheapest (50 credits per pip) for 2nd degree droids because their chassis is designed for those sorts of tasks. From that, one can infer that specific droid chassis (yeah, it's its own plural) contain dedicated hardware directed toward the droid's basic intended function.

Now that's not to say you can't trick out a protocol droid with a navigation buffer and a grenade launcher (plus the skillware to use them) but it's going to cost you more than if you did the same with 2nd and 4th degree droids respectively.
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Aha!

[tetsuoh]

These have worked out nicely as representations of the Stats in game as compared to the very generic - the books says this stats costs this -.

Strength - Servos and Frame (Armor is armor or Chassis)
Dexterity - Actuators and Motivators (actuators are their locomotion - motivators are the hardware that fuels the droid)
Knowledge - Processors (aka Droid Brain)
Perception - Sensors (Many makes and Models)
Mechanical - Adapters (Such as scomp links - comp jacks - and slave circuits)
Technical - Tool Mounts (doesnt matter the kind - the more universal they have the better they can handle any skill.)

I have started referring to associated stats in game as being attribted to the above and it has worked well and gotten some of that 4th wall out of our teeth.