Mechanic Drone - Limited AI and Master Control interaction

[Josheva]

Limited AI (Ex) states that as long as you can communicate with the drone, it may take a move action or a standard action to attack at the end of your turn. Master Control (Ex) states that you may use your move action to control your drone, allowing it to take both a move action and any standard action this turn.

If I use master control, does this mean that the drone gets 1 move action + 1 standard action + 1 (move or attack) action? To rephrase, do the drone actions from master control stack with that from limited AI? The wording of the abilities allows me to read it either way. Here's the RAW:

Limited AI (Ex)
1st Level
Each round on your turn, after you have acted, your drone can take either a move action or a standard action to attack (your drone doesn’t make a separate initiative roll). You must be able to issue simple commands to your drone, but you don’t have to spend actions to issue these commands. To receive these commands, your drone must be able to see or hear you or be within range of your custom rig. If you become unconscious or otherwise unresponsive, or if your drone is ever out of range, your drone cannot take any actions until you are again able to command it or it is once more within range.

Master Control (Ex)
1st Level
As a move action, you can directly control your drone. This allows the drone to take both a move action and any standard action this turn (one from your control, and one from its limited AI). If you also take a swift action, your drone can take a swift action as well, or it can combine its actions into a full action. Your drone must be able to see or hear you, or be within range of your custom rig, for you to directly control your drone.

[Iceman1077]

Josheva wrote:

Master Control (Ex)
1st Level
As a move action, you can directly control your drone. This allows the drone to take both a move action and any standard action this turn (one from your control, and one from its limited AI). If you also take a swift action, your drone can take a swift action as well, or it can combine its actions into a full action. Your drone must be able to see or hear you, or be within range of your custom rig, for you to directly control your drone.

Based on the bolded part, the drone gets a move and a standard. Basically, you are giving up your move action to give your drone one.

[Josheva]

I tend to agree. That interpretation is also consistent with the language used in other abilities as the drone's AI becomes more complex.

I'd sooner say, however, that you're giving up your move action to give your drone a standard action. I say that because the standard action is not limited to attacks when using Master Control.

Thanks for your response =]

[Bickler]

The book is pretty clear. At no point does the book suggest that your giving up a move to give him a standard. It specifically reads that you control him directly, allowing him to make a move and a standard act in the same turn. It then clarifies that the drone has a standard action (from Limited AI) and you can use your move to give the drone a move.

To simplify, a drone mechanic gets two characters. one gets a standard action and one gets a full round (standard, move, swift). You choose who gets which one.