When using this ability does it allow you access to any weapons equipped to the drone or is it purely Armor/Flight/stealth as stated?
It says you can't access any of the Drone's other abilities so I'm pretty sure you are limited to the Armor/Flight/Stealth abilities as listed.
It states the drone cannot use any of its abilities. I'm asking if the mechanic can use the drones equipment, while melded, on the next action?
Or if it really is just "I now have stealth/more armor/can fly!" and while I can see them being kind of useful, I'm not certain its worth spending a level on since you can just buy/build the equipment.
Unless your DM is really into surprise attacks while you're in the shower or what have you.
Well, "spending a level" is an odd way to put it, since you're just using the Mechanic Trick.
It takes an hour to remove the weapon from the weapon mount and the ability says you can't use any of the Drone's abilities when it is melded so it seems that unfortunately you can't use the weapons.
Some things are traps. Drone Meld is one of them.
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I wouldn't call it a "trap" but simply "a situational feature" or Style - you know role play is not all about optimization. ;)
Cathulhu wrote: Some things are traps. Drone Meld is one of them. Nah, it's got uses. Amongst other things, it's a great way to protect your drone when it's low on health until you can repair it. Stealth seems like the best choice, since it lets both you and your drone get in somewhere.
you gain either the drone's flight system mods if you have a hover drone, reactive camouflage (and an invisibility field if your drone has it) if you have a stealth drone, or reductive plating if you have a combat drone.
So with a hover drone I gain any flight mods, and a stealth drone I get camouflage (and an invisibility field if it has it), but the combat chassis I just get DR and nothing else?
Would be pretty awesome if the combat one got an extra attack or bonus on their secondary full attack.
I do like it a lot for the utility. Seems pretty useful for sneaking in haha.
So in essence. This trick is just a "free" armor mod that doesn't take a mod slot.
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It also is nice if your drone is really really beat up to wear it for a bit until you have some time to effect repairs and still get some use out of it.
Yeah, it sounds like it may well be a trap, but it's more interesting if you look at it as an option for the drone to hide than as utility for the mechanic.
Out of curiosity, would you even get any benefits if you could use the drone's weapons as your own? You'd still be limited to using your own attack bonuses and your own actions to fire them with rather than your drone.
You wouldn't even save any credits, since your drone's weapons need to be purchased by you in the first place.
Its more just convience.. also you could in theory have a weapon while having free hands.
Say.. had a grenade launcher (or what have you) on my stealth drone that is made mainly to hack.
i wear it.
it'd be pretty great if i could use the grenade launcher it's got equipped while having my hands free for doing.. whatever.
Well, having the stealth bot have a sniper rifle seems more likely with how I might be playing though.
or a flame thrower on my shoulder would also be very good.
I don't remember the wording for unwieldy.. but depending on the wording you would get folks who want to full attack.. fire with a long arm for the first one, adn target a square with the heavy weapon to make up for the issues in "to hit"
can't remember if unwieldy restricts to one attack with that weapon, or one attack at all per round. or if its a full action or anything for it.
Perpdepog wrote: Out of curiosity, would you even get any benefits if you could use the drone's weapons as your own? You'd still be limited to using your own attack bonuses and your own actions to fire them with rather than your drone.
You wouldn't even save any credits, since your drone's weapons need to be purchased by you in the first place.
Its more of a where do the weapons go when its mounted as armor/backpack? And can I use them with my own two hands?
Zwordsman wrote: Its more just convience.. also you could in theory have a weapon while having free hands.
Say.. had a grenade launcher (or what have you) on my stealth drone that is made mainly to hack.
i wear it.
it'd be pretty great if i could use the grenade launcher it's got equipped while having my hands free for doing.. whatever.
Well, having the stealth bot have a sniper rifle seems more likely with how I might be playing though.
or a flame thrower on my shoulder would also be very good.
I don't remember the wording for unwieldy.. but depending on the wording you would get folks who want to full attack.. fire with a long arm for the first one, adn target a square with the heavy weapon to make up for the issues in "to hit"
can't remember if unwieldy restricts to one attack with that weapon, or one attack at all per round. or if its a full action or anything for it.
I wasn't asking if I could use them hands free, its more of a where does the thing go when its in armor form? And can I use it in place of my weapon?
For instance, we get into a fight, someway or another I end up without a weapon, and my drone is damaged enough that I'm worried, but combat is still going on.
Can my mechanic use the drone meld, to co-opt the drones weapon as his own? I'm not using the drone as a drone, its armor now it gets no actions as specified, but on my attack action can I use its weapon?
Not sure how to explain what I picture in my head. But like iron man, the suit can operate independently. But when he is in it, it is him, his attack action uses its weapon systems.
Oh that case is a bit more clear to me.. You'd have to equip that weapon. Which is not like any weapon in your inventory. Which is where the issue comes in
"Swapping out a weapon in a weapon
mount requires use of your custom rig and 1 hour of work."
meaning the weapon is heavily fixed into your drone.. doesn't matter if its now your armour. It is still fixed into your drone. You can't take the weapon away without the 1 hour of work.. so you can not equip it when it melds to you.
(hell by some of the wording on the upgrade sounds like you couldn't even replaces the battery/ammmo, as it switches that inside the weapon mount and retains that and the spares inside of the mount).
also. the iron man example you're specififying is pretty much exactly what I was getting at. Because you can not remove it from the weapon mount, it would have to be hands free because you can not override the weapon mount's control on it. So I was referring to it allowing you to use your action to fire it (just not in your hands).
Which I think would be appropriate honestly. Or at least it should be an option to use your move action to fire it's gun using your aim. (standard yours move theres as a psedu full attack).
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But this leads to another question though
"You
can end the meld and return the drone to its normal form as
a full action.Though it normally acts on your turn just after
you, the drone can take no actions on that turn other than
transforming back."
Earlier it specifies that you spend the full action to unmeld.. but then it also mentions that your drone can take no action other than transforming back.
Is this just to say that it does not get an action immediately after unmelding? Or is this to say that it can unmeld, bypassing the full action?
I assume the former, just written weirdly... there should be no need to specify the normally acts on your turn just after you portion if they just mean it can't take action after unmelding. Adding that just makes me think it can spend its action to unmeld after you do something entirely else. (Giving you the option of either or. which would be a nice benefit)
I picture the weapon mounts to be included along the arm. Small arms would become the classic blaster gauntlet. Long arms and heavy arms would be along the whole arm, meaning you'd have to brace it with your other arm to handle it thereby keeping handedness and whatnot. Your hands wouldn't be free to pick your nose or whatever. You'd still be aiming and firing just the trigger would be in the glove and the barrel would be along the wrist.
Again this is just the way I'd picture it working. RAW doesn't cover it so it's all conjecture anyway. Which is the basis of my question.
Necroing this since it came up at my table just this weekend.
My take is that, since the weapon part of a weapon mount mod, and therefore using the weapon via the mod is a drone ability, and you can't use the weapon because you can't use drone abilities aside from the one specified by chassis.
I think the best way to look at this is: the control system of the weapon is integrated into the weapon mount, can you can't use the weapon mount, and therefore can't actually control the weapon. You might say the weapon is on your arm, but you have no actual way to fire the that weapon because the control system is controlled by your drone an is therefore inactive.
Since the thread is up and shambling around, I'll point out the mechanic's trick Melded Mod that was added in the Armory. It lets you use a basic mod while melded(at level 14), which reinforces you not being able use mods while melded otherwise.
been a long time. so my memories fuzzy..
but if you have melded mod, for weapon port that would in theory let you use the weapon?
Not super useful but could still be useful for artillery sorta thing. Since its only one mod to operate the weapon (but you still need another to hold it. That could cause trouble though)
Zwordsman wrote: been a long time. so my memories fuzzy..
but if you have melded mod, for weapon port that would in theory let you use the weapon?...
Yes, you could use a 1-handed weapon as 1 weapon mount mod is essentially 1 arm. The question there is are you making the attack or is the drone? If you're ranged and your drone is melee, or vice versa, it's an important question.
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