The Engineers who serve the Rebellion come from myriad backgrounds. Research labs, academia, metropolitan speeder shops, and everything in between are fertile grounds for the practical and theoretical training required to literally and figuratively build a resistance to the rule of the Empire. Someone needs to design the equipment that someone else needs to build that someone else needs to repair that someone else needs to salvage for parts to reassemble their light freighter that got half its hull blasted off while running a blockade of Star Destroyers. At every point in the lifetime of a piece of equipment, there is an Engineer there ready to put it to good use.

In today's preview, we'll take a closer look at just how resourceful these Engineers have to be, especially when working on behalf of an underfunded rebellion that's severely lacking infrastructure. Just as much as the Rebel Alliance's success was dependent upon the courage and determination of its brave soldiers, it needed the creativity and elbow grease of its Engineers. Fully Operational, the Engineer sourcebook for Star Wars™: Age of Rebellion provides the tools you need to build a Rebellion from nothing.

More than Metal

For thousands of years, galactic civilization has been aided by droids. War, medicine, construction, diplomacy, and countless other aspects of society exhibit these artificially intelligent individuals. While the legions of Separatist battle droids have soured the perception of utilizing a mechanized army as a primary fighting force, both the Empire and Rebellion have found the assistance of droids to be invaluable. This service, however, often goes unnoticed and underappreciated—but not to the Droid Specialist.

The Droid Specialist aids the Rebellion not merely by constructing or maintaining droids; they are front-line operatives whose expertise bolsters their robotic companions in the field. The nature of the relationship between a Droid Specialist and their droids can be as varied as the individuals who employ their skills. To some, droids are highly sophisticated tools; while eminently useful, not philosophically different from a spanner or starship. Others, however, may view the sentience of droids as evidence of a personhood largely overlooked in galactic society.

Featuring many talents that may be used once per encounter, the Droid Specialist’s abilities shine when accompanied in the field by either another Player Character who is a droid or by the Specialist's own personal droid companion. Combat Programming can enhance the battle capabilities of the target droid, providing an additional rank in one combat skill for the entirety of an encounter. This talent’s efficiency is perhaps its strongest selling point as it does not require a dedicated action to accomplish; the Computers check required can be made as additional roll on top of any other repair or action made on the droid.

Sometimes in battle, a nemesis-classified droid may become incapacitated due to ionization damage or the simple stresses of combat. The Desperate Repairs talent essentially “reboots” the droid, removing all acquired strain and getting it back into the fight. Reroute Processors, on the other hand, ratchets up a droid’s effectiveness in one characteristic at the expense of another whether it is to enhance their combat capabilities, social acumen, or technical know-how.

Under Pressure

Hailing from the politically and environmentally isolated Core World of Skako, Skakoans were happy to enjoy their lives of relative peace while the machinations of galactic politics churned around them. Skako’s atmosphere is highly pressurized and saturated with methane gas, which has proved to be a boon for industrial advancement. Due to their world being one decidedly hazardous for most other lifeforms in the galaxy, few have visited Skako or seen a Skakoan elsewhere in their robotic-looking pressurized suits.

Most in the galaxy would know of Skakoans from the influential Techno Union headquartered on Skako. The Techno Union was a very important supporter of the Separatist movement against the Republic and, as such, were branded enemies of the Empire when the Emperor seized power. Thus, their world has suffered as much as anyone from political and economic isolation, though some Skakoans see the enforced separation from the rest of the galaxy as beneficial.

Skakoan culture has arisen to be a mixture of tradition and technology. Skako itself is a planetwide city, and the mechanical and physiological requirements of an inhospitable world have taught Skakoans to value technological advancement as being intertwined with biological evolution. Consequently, they do not see technology as an intrusion on the ‘natural order.’

Skakoan player characters will benefit from an increased Intelligence score, with complementary ranks in Mechanics and Knowledge (Education), two skills that feature very prominently in Fully Operational. Additionally, the physical requirement of a methane-supplying pressurized suit is accounted for at creation at no additional cost to the character. While the suit is absolutely required to sustain their lives in peace, the Skakoan ethos of technological improvement is reflected in the fact that the suit also provides supplementary martial protection and mechanical flexibility.

Nearly Operational

Skakoans and Droid Specialists are very close to being available for your Star Wars roleplaying campaigns, whether you are playing an Age of Rebellion campaign against the Empire or pursuing any other multitude of adventures among the stars!