So, IIRC, Yermeyahu and maybe some others often state that drones are destroyed frequently and are expendable. What is your logic there? Here's the way I see it:

• Combat drones* have a condition monitor about as extensive as a sammy's (10).
• Combat drones can get 9-12 armor and ignore any damage below that.
• A large Combat drone can resist damage with more dice than a typical sammy (16).
• Drones can be repaired to some degree or another.
• Shouldn't you be allowed to repair a drone that overflows its physical damage monitor? I don't see any rules either way, but metal is rarely reduced to vapor (so you should be able to repair any damage).
• People tend to generate more threat than drones in our sessions. How about you guys?

*I define combat drones as medium and large, since those are the most frequent sizes used for combat.

Its most likely that they are destroyed frequently *because* they are expendable - ie, you can throw them into a suicide situation that a sammy would quite rightly balk at.

1st through a door that might have armed guards on the other side, first into a possibly mined/trapped area, abandoned to fight a rearguard action whilst a team escapes, or flown into the engines of the oppositions VTOL...

That sounds like a very good reason. I've found myself adopting that train of thought quite often recently (my dragon obsession). I'd really prefer to mod my serious drones though.

When in doubt, DGIF (Drones Go In First). Right up there with not making a deal with a dragon.

I don't think I actually said that, but… sure, to a certain extent they are expendable, and therefore get expended. I wouldn't say they die 'a lot', but given that players *never* die… They're cheaper than dying, after all. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

There's a big difference, of course, between a cheap spy drone, and a bloody Large Combat with maxed armor. If you're narrowing your question just to 'combat drones', don't be surprised it that changes the answer. You might as well ask if vehicles die a lot.

A lot is philosophy. If you think drones are expendable, then you're going to have several cheap unmodified drones and a couple will be destroyed. If you think of drones as a serious investment, you'll have a few loaded out with heavy weapons, max armor, and plenty of autosofts and you'll rarely lose one.

I used to have to remind people of this in WoW when I played a hunter or Warlock. "Why did you try saving my pet?" "It was going to die." "Yes, but now you AND it are dead, and IT doesn't lose money or pick up debt."

I frequently healed and saved pets because sometimes, sometimes mind, they were more useful than their masters.

They're expendable because... they're expendable. I mean, they're robots! Sure they cost nuyen but no amount of money can bring you back to life (yet). And ironically, the non-lethal SnS ammo can (and does by RAW at least) be lethal against Drones.

Drones can also make a deniable op even more deniable. If you find out who your Mr. Johnson is working for, and have the drones contain extensive parts from subsidiaries of their competitors (Or, be even more insulting, the Corp you're running against!), all bought on the black market to prevent tracking (Of course)... Leads to even bigger questions as to who is responsible.

Or, as a double-blind, the Mr. Johnson might provide drones that were stolen (publicly acknowledged and investigated thefts, too!) from their own Corp and use that as "An example of an attempt to darken the name of the Mother Corp and make us loose face."

Or, even worse, it's filled with so many secondary and aftermarket parts that you'd think every Corp got together to make it in the first place...

unless it's otherwise in errata, electric damage just has a risk of shutting down the drone for a number of rounds

Depending on where, and for how long, they are shut down, it could end up being lethal (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

Wait, what?

At least the autosofts are a one time investment; keep the original somewhere safe and copy to your drones as needed.

Dragons are the worst offenders in the awakened group, so I they're one of the groups I focus most on when I rant against awakened.

Most good shadowrunners will only engage in combat if they are sure they will win, but a rigger is more likely to send their drones into a situation where the odds are not as sure, or even the odds are against them.

The flipside is that Drones are easier to repair than the Street Samurai.

We have the technology, we can rebuild them. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

Personally i usually assume that once a drone is destroyed it's non repairable. I will look at vehicles and vehicle sized drones on a case by case basis.

I would think that a middle of the road approach would be better. Have some tricked out drones as your main support, but have some cheap ass drones as expendable bullet shields/suicide units.

Shouldn't you send in the spirits first in uncertain situations? They're even more deniable, since they cost jack squat.

Actually spirits are way less deniable then drones in many ways I believe they have traces of your magical signature and if banished and rebound could then be ordered to fess up all your nasty little details, lead someone back to you or just flat out attack you secondly for most "normal" mages spirit drain is nothing to sneeze at and using your spirits as canon fodder might get you a poor reputation on the metaplanes making further uses problematic.

You mean besides the summoning / binding drain? And beside the possibility of having your GM saddle you with the Spiritbane quality for abusing your spirits?



Ah, I see. Although I take your opinion with a grain bag of salt, due to some of the Weird Shit you've tried here on the forums.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) He just trying to learn the rules, Draco18s… while also indulging in a pretty odd obsession with magic.

Which is interesting, since you cannot actually play a Dragon, and they are mostly there for Plot Device. They have no other real impact on a player at all... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

He's like this in every RPG. Spellcasters are something he will never play.

He is the author of such threads as "How to Kill a Great Dragon" and "The 42 DP Sharpshooter."