Craft: Ssi-ruuvi Swarm-class Battle Droid
Type: Alien drone fighter
Scale: Starfighter
Length: 2 meters
Skill: Special (see below)
Maneuverability: 4D+2
Space: 10
Atmosphere: 415; 1,200 kmh
Hull: 1D
Shields: 1D+2
Sensors:
Passive: 20/2D
Scan: 40/2D+2
Search: 60/3D
Focus: 3/4D
Weapons:
4 Laser Cannons
Fire Arc: Turret
Skill: Starship gunnery
Fire Control: 2D
Space Range: 1-3/12/25
Atmosphere Range: 100-300/1.2/2.5 km
Damage: 3D
Game Notes: When controlled directly by Ssi-ruuvi cruisers, battle droids use the following skill die codes: starfighter piloting 4D, starship gunnery 3D+1, starship shields 3D+2. When acting on their own – and merely relaying on data back to Ssi-ruuvi Cruisers – Battle droids have the following skill die codes: starfighter piloting 5D, starship gunnery 4D+1, starship shields 4D+2.
Weapon Damage: A single laser cannon does 3D damage. Two or three of the cannons may be linked together to do 4D damage, while all four cannons may be linked for 5D damage. Fire-linking these weapons can be accomplished automatically.
Energy Absorption: If a battle droid is hit by an incoming laser or Turbolaser blast (does not apply for ion cannons, tractor beams, concussion missiles or proton torpedoes) and the intelligence controlling the shields makes a Moderate starship shields roll, the micro-filament grid has been properly aligned to absorb part of the incoming energy. If this is successful, on the next round an extra 1D may be added to either shields or weapon damage or the droid’s speed can be improved to Space: 11, Atmosphere: 435; 1,250 kmh for one round. If the ship is heavily damaged or worse, the micro-filament grid is overloaded and the energy is not absorbed.
Sensor Tracking: The highly-radioactive exhaust of Ssiruuvi battle droids makes them east to track. Enemy sensor operators get a +2D bonus to sensors when searching for and tracking these ships.
Gamemaster Notes: Ssi-ruuvi battle droids are extremely agile and move erratically in combat. The first time a character battle Ssi-ruuvi droids, he suffers a -1D penalty to starship gunnery (or -2D penalty for capital ship gunnery) for the first five rounds of combat. After this period of time has elapsed, the character has “accustomed” to the odd movements of battle droids and can use his or her full gunnery skill.
Background: The Swarm-class battle droid was the Ssi-ruuk equivalent to a starfighter. Swarm-class droids were about two meters long, making them some of the smallest known starfighters. Because of their size and low production costs, Ssi-ruuk vessels could carry hundreds of them into battle—at least 1,500 were present at the first Ssi-ruuvi invasion of Bakura in 4 ABY.
They were tetrahedral and armed with four laser cannons, one at each vertex. These laser cannons could be turned through 360 degrees, giving the droid a wide field of fire, including the ability to fire backwards when chased.
Powered by entechment—which utilized the drained life sources of sentient beings usually P’w’ecks and occasionally even Humans—each droid used two life-forces. One operated the shields while the other piloted the fighter and operated the laser cannons and sensors. The life-forces in the battle droids received their commands from the Ssi-ruuk command vessels via sensor arrays located on thrusters on each side of the vehicle.
Though they had fairly fragile hulls, the shield system had a unique ability to absorb and redirect incoming energy, similar to the Vangaard Pathfinder. The fusion thrust technology they employed was somewhat less advanced than equivalent Imperial systems and was more easily detected on sensors than many other fighters.