Welcome to the HoloNet Uplink, citizen. This series focuses on Fantasy Flight Games’ Star Wars Roleplaying Game, with content aimed mostly at the Gamemaster. Threats, adventure seeds, rules supplements, and more are all to come for those who access The HoloNet Uplink.
With the second half of Star Wars: Rebels‘ third season in full swing I thought it best to celebrate the HoloNet Uplink way: with a good ol’ fashion write up. As of the time of writing, the latest episode is “Warhead” (S3E14). So it’s only natural for me to pump out some stats for the EX-D Infiltrator Droid.
**Spoiler Alert: Minor spoilers for that episode are below!**
EX-D Infiltrator Droid [Nemesis]
Disguised as a meek protocol droid, the EX-D series Infiltrator Droid ably serves the Empire on solo search and destroy missions. Within the innocuous looking, generic humanoid frame, lurks the programming of an assassin and the equipment to match. Within seconds, the EX-D can reconfigure into Attack Mode, gaining considerable height and deploying weapon systems. Blasters, shock pincers, and combat sensors combine to make this droid a formidable foe. However, it is the droid’s core programming to report or destroy Rebel bases to Imperial Command, backed by the proton warhead failsafe installed deep within their chassis, that make EX-D Infiltrators so dangerous to Rebel cells. The installation of a proton warhead failsafe is in violation of Imperial doctrine, meaning EX-D Infiltrators are likely to be deployed only by commanders with sufficient clout or significant desperation.
Characteristics
Br 3, Ag 4, Int 2, Cun 3, WP 1, Pres 1
Soak 5, W. Threshold 20, S. Threshold 16, Def M/R 1/1
Skills: Astrogation 1, Athletics 2, Brawl 3, Computers 2, Deception 4, Mechanics 2, Perception 3, Piloting (Planetary) 2, Piloting (Space) 2, Ranged (Light) 3
Talents: Indistinguishable 2 (opposing characters upgrade the difficulty of any checks made to identify the droid twice), Convincing Demeanor 3 (remove three setback dice from Deception and Skullduggery checks)
Abilities: Droid (does not need to breathe, eat, or drink and can survive in vacuum or underwater. Immune to poisons or toxins.), Attack Mode (May spend two maneuvers to activate or deactivate Attack Mode. When active, lose all ranks of Indistinguishable and Convincing Demeanor, and gain Adversary 2, plus access to built in weapons. When not in Attack Mode may not use built in weapons per the equipment section), Anti-Capture Failsafe (Should the droid’s mission be compromised a proton warhead is armed on a timer, the delay of which is GM’s discretion, which deals damage equal to the basic damage of a starship scale proton torpedo), Cannibilize (May take the Cannibalize Action to harvest repair parts from disabled droids, success on a Hard (3 Purple) Mechanics check; repairs 3 wounds of damage and removes one Hard or easier critical).
Equipment: Two pairs of built-in blasters (Ranged (Light); Damage 6; Critical 3; Range [Medium]; Linked 1), built-in shock pincers (Brawl; Damage 6; Critical 5; Range [Engaged]; Ensnare 2, Knockdown, Linked 1, Stun Setting), advanced optics (Add one boost die to all Perception checks and remove up to 3 setback dice from low-light conditions)
Adventure Seeds
- Manchurian Protocols: As demonstrated in the Rebels episode, it is possible for an EX-D Infiltrator Droid to lose access to its core programming – in essence suffering from a droid form of amnesia. This creates several interesting character and adventure possibilities for player character droids. What if a humanoid droid PC is another lost EX-D Infiltrator without even knowing it? What if the core programming is repairing itself, and lying dormant until the right time to assert itself? The addition of a proton warhead would make for an even more explosive scenario. Great care must be taken by GMs and players seeking to use this adventure seed. At the bare minimum both the GM and player should consent to this plotline, and should sit down to discuss expectations and reach a broad agreement on how the plotline will proceed.
- Explosive Evidence: After the destruction of an Imperial Star Destroyer within Grand Admiral Thrawn’s fleet by a partially reprogrammed EX-D, the Chiss commander’s use of proscribed weapons leaks to senior officers across the military. Despite the intelligence value of Thrawn’s operation, this violation of Imperial protocol could be spun by Thrawn’s rivals against him. A loyal, Imperial strike / investigation team (the PCs) is charged by one of Thrawn’s rivals (such as Admiral Konstantine) to dig up whatever compromising evidence can be found. Capturing a deployed EX-D with an armed warhead is made a top priority for the team, forcing them to face danger from both Rebel insurgents and the infiltrator droid itself. Despite the tactical difficulties of accomplishing their mission, the PCs may face an even more challenging situation when they learn their mission is motivated by personal politics instead of a duty to the Empire’s security, potentially forcing a hard choice.
Christopher Hunt
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