Drones.A tool for the whole table

01 · The idea

A pilot without a cockpit

The original idea behind drones came from two things: giving pilots a chance to shine even when they aren't in a ship or vehicle, and tapping into the popularity of drones themselves.

These tools have become so common in civilian and military life that I couldn't imagine a future where they didn't play an important role. In a world like VeilFarers, it made sense for this kind of technology to be part of everyday life.

But I also wanted a drone to feel like something you could make your own. Each player or group should be able to put together the one that best fits the way they play.

DRONE OPERATIONSPILOT // FIELD DUTY

02 · Building a drone

Simple to build. Yours to customize.

I went with a simple, modular approach:

1. Buy a chassis. This determines how tough the drone is, how many expansion slots it has, and which kinds of technology it supports.
2. Buy the modules you want to install.
3. Your drone is ready to use.

Modules cover things like flight, armor and tools, along with limited weapon options depending on the kind of drone you've bought.

That lets you build a spider drone for infiltration, able to climb walls almost silently. Or a reconnaissance drone that buzzes through an area, feeding information to the group in real time.

I could picture someone guiding their drone through an infiltration or espionage mission, or using it for tactical and logistical support. There were plenty of possibilities. The question was what those possibilities would feel like at the table.

DRONE OPERATIONS01 // STEALTH

DRONE OPERATIONS02 // SCAN

DRONE OPERATIONS03 // CARGO

03 · The problem

One player playing. Four checking their phones.

This brought back some bittersweet memories. I remember Cyberpunk sessions where the hacker needed to get into a system. As a player, my problem was watching one person spend an hour solving little hacking puzzles with the GM while everyone else sat there, bored, looking at their phones.

There was another danger: the drone could replace the character altogether. The character stays in a safe room while the drone goes off and has the entire adventure.

Neither of those sounded fun or exciting for a table. So how did I deal with them? With a few fairly simple rules that give the Keeper a way to manage the adventure, grounded in the logic of the world.

DRONE OPERATIONS1 ACTIVE

4 WAITING

04 · Fragility

Useful, agile—and very easy to lose

One of the ideas that helped me balance drones was making them particularly fragile. Even the toughest drone can be taken out by one or two good shots. It can be agile, mobile and useful, but it is still fragile.

That gives you a reason to think before using it for everything. A drone is expensive. It has a serial number. If someone shoots it down, you've just lost a lot of money and left behind something that can incriminate you.

I deliberately gave drones very few HP because I wanted using one to be a strategic decision.

Drone weapon damage also does not scale with the character’s Proficiency. That matters: a drone can provide tactical support, but it should never replace a competent character or NPC.

DRONE OPERATIONSPATROL // SEARCHING

05 · Signal

Getting in takes a plan

Another rule I introduced was coverage, or signal. Drones are enormously popular, so the defenses around sensitive areas have evolved to account for them. Most secure areas have signal jammers to keep drones from getting in.

Communication is also limited by the sheer volume of traffic on the planet's networks. Electrical storms, radio-suppressing emissions, Veil events and other anomalies can affect the signal, too.

For a drone to work at its best, the players need to get involved and prepare a plan. If you want to enter a protected area, perhaps you need access codes that identify your drone as one belonging there. Perhaps you need to find an authorized communications frequency, or install signal repeaters to keep the connection working despite the defenses.

For a particularly creative group, the possibilities are almost endless. Getting the drone into position can give the whole group things to work out and accomplish.

DRONE OPERATIONSSTABLE

PROTECTED AREAACTIVE JAMMER

OPERATOR

SIGNAL

Stable

RANGEClose

The drone works normally.

An active jammer worsens signal by one step. With no preparation, the drone freezes when the link is Lost.

Corebook 12.06 · pp. 137–140 ↗

06 · Shared control

The crown jewel: everyone gets a turn

And finally, the crown jewel. This is what addresses the biggest problem for me: one entertained player and four others looking at their phones.

The cheapest, easiest module to install is the neural link. It costs 1 cr and takes up no slots. It acts as a control hub, letting several people control the drone during their own spotlight.

Suddenly, everyone can take part in that drone infiltration. Each player can bring their class abilities and specializations to the problems the drone encounters along the way.

The Scoundrel guides it through the infiltration. The Pilot takes over for difficult maneuvers. The Engineer hacks the access to a door. The Diplomat sends a believable message to the guard watching an entrance.

The drone is still one gadget, but the mission belongs to the group. That was the missing piece for me.

DRONE OPERATIONSTHE WHOLE CREW

NEURAL LINK1 CR0 SLOTS

Crew connected.

07 · At the table

A gadget that brings the group in

Taken together, these choices solved the problem in a way that I feel fits the fantasy of the gadget. You get a drone you can customize and use creatively, with enough limitations to make planning matter.

And, most importantly to me, everyone has something to do during the session.

DRONE OPERATIONSTHE WHOLE CREW