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No.
There's nothing in the rules to suggest that would be an option. And if you intended to houserule it you would still need to do something like starship gunnery checks instead actually using the skill modifier, as the numbers that you can get on a skill modifier and an attack roll are wildly out of line with each other.
Also, even that isn't something that I would describe as a good idea.
I've never seen anything in the rules suggesting that's possible. Do you have a page reference or something that suggests that's allowed?
The drone's BAB is used for the drone's attacks. The character's BAB is used for the character's attacks. There is no mechanics for substituting those.
You also use ranged attack rolls, not a skill check, for firing mounted weapons. Remember, a really accurate attack roll at level 1 is +6. A really good pilot at level 1 can be at +14. Using one of these numbers in place of the other just does not work.
That ability is only for skill checks, not attack rolls. Abilities or bonuses that apply only to the one do not apply to the other.
Attack rolls with vehicle mounted weapons of any type are made as attack rolls, unless there is some more specific rule (say, in the vehicle description) that would override it. Without some special rule described, though, there is no mechanic for this other than the normal mechanics used for a ranged attack roll, with the moving vehicle penalty from the vehicle statblock.
Its MUCH easier to increase your skills than your attacks. Skill focus is a feat and gives a +3 to a skill. Weapon focus gives +1 to an attack.
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You might have gotten this a little mixed up with starship combat, where firing a weapon from a starship is a gunnery check, not an attack roll. However, that's only in starships, not all vehicles.
Piloting is not just used for starship combat, it is also used for vehicle combat (Core Rules page 146).
"Pilot a Vehicle: When piloting a vehicle (see page 278), you attempt Piloting checks to safely race at full speed, pull off maneuvers, engage in vehicular combat, and maneuver in a chase. More advanced vehicles are harder to pilot, so the DCs of most checks for piloting a vehicle increase with the vehicle’s item level."
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That ability is only for skill checks, not attack rolls. Abilities or bonuses that apply only to the one do not apply to the other.
Attack rolls with vehicle mounted weapons of any type are made as attack rolls, unless there is some more specific rule (say, in the vehicle description) that would override it. Without some special rule described, though, there is no mechanic for this other than the normal mechanics used for a ranged attack roll, with the moving vehicle penalty from the vehicle statblock.
I agree with HammerJack:
Firing Vehicle Weapons (Core Rules p. 281)
"... Some vehicles have weapons bound to their steering devices or weapons that are operated from the same control panel. These can be fired when you are piloting, though you normally can’t fire the vehicle’s weapons on the same turn that you race (or on the same turn that you take another full action) because you don’t have enough available actions. Weapons mounted in other manners typically need to be fired by creatures on the vehicle that are dedicated gunners."
Ranged Attacks (Core Rules p. 284)
"Passengers on and pilots of vehicles can attempt ranged attacks against other vehicles or their passengers in the same zone or one zone away. Unless otherwise specified, these ranged attacks follow the normal rules for attacking from vehicles (see page 281). To determine the range between two vehicles, see Relative Positioning on page 282."
Pilots can operate vehicle weapons that are bound to their steering devices or operated from the same control panel. Attacking with these weapons should use the ranged attack modifier of the pilot, but not the piloting skill. It is also possible to fire vehicle weapons against people who are not passengers of another vehicle.
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You might have gotten this a little mixed up with starship combat, where firing a weapon from a starship is a gunnery check, not an attack roll. However, that's only in starships, not all vehicles.Piloting is not just used for starship combat, it is also used for vehicle combat (Core Rules page 146).
"Pilot a Vehicle: When piloting a vehicle (see page 278), you attempt Piloting checks to safely race at full speed, pull off maneuvers, engage in vehicular combat, and maneuver in a chase. More advanced vehicles are harder to pilot, so the DCs of most checks for piloting a vehicle increase with the vehicle’s item level."
I don't believe anyone was implying that piloting is only used in starship combat. The statement was that special gunnery rules that involve pilot ranks are only in starship combat.
The skill is otherwise not involved in attacks. It's also never involved in riding drones, where the only riding actons that involve a skill check use survival.
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The drone's BAB is used for the drone's attacks. The character's BAB is used for the character's attacks. There is no mechanics for substituting those.
You also use ranged attack rolls, not a skill check, for firing mounted weapons. Remember, a really accurate attack roll at level 1 is +6. A really good pilot at level 1 can be at +14. Using one of these numbers in place of the other just does not work.
Hammerjack, your points about not using piloting skill for vehicle attack roles are supported by the core rules, and I agree it would unbalance the game to use the piloting skill for vehicle attack roles.
However, your point about drone's BAB being used for drone attacks and character's BAB being used for the character's attacks only seems true if the drone attacking with its limited AI. If the mechanic is directly controlling the drone to fire weapons for which the mechanic is proficient, then the mechanic's ranged attack roll should be used in place of the drone's. The action economy also supports this approach, since the mechanic is using his standard action to control the drone.
Master Control (Ex) 1st Level (Core Rules p. 75)
"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 the mechanic uses the drone's limited AI to take a move action, then spends his standard action to take direct control and fire the drone's weapon, then it seems reasonable that the attack would use the mechanic's attack roll for the ranged weapon type (small arms).
Unless you see something I've missed, being able to substitute mechanic BAB for drone BAB is fully in the realm of houserules. It isn't one that will break the game balance if you choose to implement it, obviously, but it is not an established mechanic.
Am I missing something: don't drones have the same or 1 higher BAB than their mechanic at any given level (looking at pages 69 and 76 in the crb)?
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Am I missing something: don't drones have the same or 1 higher BAB than their mechanic at any given level (looking at pages 69 and 76 in the crb)?
The combat drone only has a DEX modifier of +1, so it is only +2 to hit with ranged weapons given BAB +1. My mechanic has a BAB +1 with +4 DEX modifier, for a total +5. This is the reason why I would want to use my attack roll instead of my drone's. The combat drone has STR 14, which means it can carry heavy weapons, but Ratchet (Ysoki) only has a STR 8 and he will never be able to carry a heavy weapon. If Ratchet becomes proficient in heavy weapons, then the drone could carry it around and Ratchet can fire it with his proficiency modifier by taking direct control of the drone's weapon. At some point, the drone will likely become a better shot with the heavy weapon than Ratchet, and I would likely adopt a different strategy at that time.
Am I missing something: don't drones have the same or 1 higher BAB than their mechanic at any given level (looking at pages 69 and 76 in the crb)?
That depends strongly. Mechanics are not forbidden from multiclassing.
@Gunzn,
If this were possible (which I think we all agree is only in the realm of houserules), I think your drone's abilities scores would still be used for attack roll calculations. I imagine its dexterity being limited by its construction more than its programming. No matter how deft your own hands are, the drone still has mechanical limits.
@Hammerjack,
I didn't consider multiclassing. While 4 mechanic/16 soldier could give you an extra 4 points of BAB at level 20, wouldn't your drone's stats (hp, ac, etc) still be that of a level 4 drone, and thus practically useless at level 20?
This is about whether rules interactions exist, not about whether a particular character build that could invoke them is optimal.
If a mechanic is riding his/her drone and directly controlling it, can the mechanic use his/her Piloting skill to attack with the drone instead of any Base Attack Bonus?
No. Mechanic Drones are not starships. Nor are they vehicles. So the rules for either of those in no way impact a Mechanic riding his drone.