Hunter: The Reckoning 5th Edition edge
Drone Jockey
Drone Jockey is an edge in Hunter H5: Aptitude Edge for running remote drones as the cell's eyes, scouts, and delivery system.
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Key facts
- Category
- aptitude
Overview
Drone Jockey is expertise with remote-operated aircraft and ground units. It gives the cell aerial reconnaissance, sustained surveillance of a location, and a way to put something breakable into a dangerous space instead of a person. In play the Edge changes the shape of a scene before anyone walks into it. A cell with a drone already knows how many vehicles are at the house, where the loading door is, and whether the thing inside reacts to noise. That intelligence is worth more than firepower against creatures that are dangerous mainly when they surprise you, which is why Drone Jockey suits the Inquisitive creed and its aptitude affinity.
How it works
Category: Aptitude Effect: Operate drones for reconnaissance, surveillance, and remote support Benefits: Scout a site from the air, hold overwatch during an operation, record evidence from a distance, deliver a small object into somewhere nobody should walk, and with Perks add better sensors or armed platforms Advancement: No dot rating. Buy the base Edge, then Perks at 5 XP each for improved sensors, weaponized units, or running several drones at once
Tips and playstyle
Best For: Surveillance-led cells, support characters who prefer to work from a block away, chronicles where the threat is fast in close quarters. Playstyle: Put dots in Technology, since that is the skill that carries the roll when the signal drops or a unit needs repair, and in Awareness for reading what the camera is showing you. Remember that the operator is a person sitting still holding a controller: while you are flying, you are not defending yourself, so tell the cell where your body is. Range, battery life, and line of sight are the limits a Storyteller will reach for. Character Concepts: Hobbyist who films real estate, former military UAV operator, wildlife photographer, roofing inspector, teenager who is better at this than anyone else in the cell.
Frequently asked questions
Can drones fight?
Not at the base Edge, which is built for surveillance and reconnaissance. Weaponized or modified units come from Perks at 5 XP each, and even then a drone is fragile against anything that can reach it.
What stops a drone from solving every scenario?
Range, battery life, noise, weather, and walls. Drones are excellent outdoors and poor inside structures, plenty of supernatural threats do not record in a way that survives review, and Storytellers can let a creature hear the rotors.
Is Drone Jockey redundant with Sense the Unnatural?
No. The drone reports what is physically there, including people, vehicles, and layout, while Sense the Unnatural reports whether something present is not human. A cell holding both scouts twice and is rarely ambushed.