One of my players wants his new rigger character to have a pair of 4 legged drones designed to look like dogs. I know practically nothing about riggers, so I've got a couple questions.

1) What skill will he need if he wants to operate them directly?

2) What B/R skill would they fall under?

3) For designing these, what chassis type are we looking at?

The class of Vehicle is "Articulated". So just like Car and Car B/R, there is a corrosponding Articulated Vehicle and Articulated Vehicle B/R. For the chassis to base it on look for the Articulated Drone section in the Chassis table at the back of the R3 book.

EDIT: Doh, they could very well be called Walkers. I haven't looked at that portion of the R3 in a while, and i it is out on loan.

1) Mechanical Legs

2) Walkers B/R

3) Frankly I don't think they are possible given SR technology, the sheer movement type, drooling, panting, etc. require a seriously complex computing system. However I'd start with a Med. Walker Chassis for large breeds like German Shepherds or Great Danes. For smaller breeds use the mini and micro-walker chassis, which get down to large-insect size.

One of the books has a drone cat....

Sprawl guide: the "Ares Felix the SynthCat"

small walker chassis 9,500 pricetag, but that includes its AI (robot pilot) and the basic accessories.

That reminds me. This guy wants to put an ejection seat in his van, sans parachute. We need to know how high the seat flies so we can calculate damage, but it doesn't say in the section on ejection seats.

I like dog drones. The Doberman rolls, and the Dalmation flies.

Edit: nevermind.

for the dog behavior (drooling, panting, etc.), i'd just require a custom-programmed vehicle performance profile autosoft.

So, an ejection seat without a chute doesn't have to boost the character up so high. Smaller, cheaper device. Less likely to injure his spine during ejection. No weight for a chute. Less distance to fall. Arrives on the ground without giving anyone time to shoot him as he floats through the air. Hmmm... all fine until that ground part.

If the rigger is a dwarf, you might get by with a spring under the seat, that a Troll sits on to compress it. Cheaper than explosives, less expensive to reuse, and no electronics or detonators to have checked and certified every year. An old axle spring from a large truck might do.

Sure sure, but toss a dwarf 15 feet in the air, its still gonna suck comming back down.
Your doggie drones are all in SSG. I gotta say, one of the most usefull none core book I have run across.

gah. thanks for rubbing that in, lindt. i pre-ordered the damn thing from amazon last september; first it got lost, then they sent me the wrong book! and now, it's out of stock.

The SynthCat section in SSG mentions comparable products that include psuedo-dogs. Apparently, someone thinks that to match dog behavior needs a robot pilot as well.

That 9,500 is for a non-pet that is very convincing and has no room for a SMG. If you don't mind it being obviously fake when on autopilot, you can make something cheaper that also has a heavy pistol or more built in.

Heavy pistol? Nah, go for a rear transverse undermounted Ares Narcojet.

GM: The GM RoboFido humps your leg fangoriously. Resist 6D stun damage.