The Drover is the person who walks up to a creature that should kill them and convinces it to work for a living. In the Nine's corporatocracy, the Rim's xeno-fauna is a resource: draught animals for frontier settlements, guard beasts for corporate facilities, mounts for patrol forces, and exotic specimens for the Nine's private collections. The Drover is the person who tames, trains, and manages that resource. Asset Realisation books them as "biological resource management assets" -- personnel whose expertise in animal behaviour generates measurable returns in reduced livestock losses, improved settlement security, and exotic specimen acquisition. The Kadiss grid tracks animal registrations, veterinary certifications, and xeno-fauna import permits; a Drover with an unregistered bonded companion gets flagged as a biosecurity risk. They operate on the Combat chassis (d10 HD, full BAB, Fort/Ref good, Will poor) because the job requires surviving what the animals can do. Medium armour. The Will poor save is the Drover's emotional vulnerability: the bond with a companion animal is real, and losing one hurts in ways that armour cannot protect. Prime requisites: STR and WIS.
Rules Reference
Field
Value
Armor Allowance
Light, Medium
Bab Tier
full
Base Skill Points
4
Hd
d10
Hd Sides
10
Max Level
20
Multiclass Notes
Drovers can multiclass with Scout and Survivalist archetypes. Non-human drovers use simultaneous multiclassing rules.
Primary Abilities
STR, WIS
Prime Requisites
STR, WIS
Save Tiers / Fortitude
good
Save Tiers / Reflex
good
Save Tiers / Will
poor
Weapon Allowance
All rifles, Pistol, Knife, Whip and goad weapons
Notes
Archetype Niche: The Drover is the party's beast-master. Bonded Companion provides a scaling animal ally that adds damage, tanking, and utility -- the Drover and companion together match a Soldier's damage output while splitting enemy attention between two targets. Herd Instinct extends animal control to a small menagerie, giving the Drover reconnaissance (birds, small climbers), transport (mounts), and area denial (guard animals). Stampede is the signature spectacle: a line of charging beasts that tramples everything in their path. The Drover's niche is the action economy through additional combatants -- they bring a small army to every fight.
Level Table
Ranch Hand
Field
Value
bab
1
fortitude
2
level
1
reflex
2
skillPoints
16
title
Ranch Hand
will
0
xp
0
Wrangler
Field
Value
bab
2
fortitude
3
level
2
reflex
3
skillPoints
4
title
Wrangler
will
0
xp
2250
Drover
Field
Value
bab
3
fortitude
3
level
3
reflex
3
skillPoints
4
title
Drover
will
1
xp
4500
Herd Boss
Field
Value
bab
4
fortitude
4
level
4
reflex
4
skillPoints
4
title
Herd Boss
will
1
xp
9000
Trail Boss
Field
Value
bab
5
fortitude
4
level
5
reflex
4
skillPoints
4
title
Trail Boss
will
1
xp
18000
Range Rider
Field
Value
bab
6
fortitude
5
level
6
reflex
5
skillPoints
4
title
Range Rider
will
2
xp
36000
Master Drover
Field
Value
bab
7
fortitude
5
level
7
reflex
5
skillPoints
4
title
Master Drover
will
2
xp
75000
Grand Drover
Field
Value
bab
8
fortitude
6
level
8
reflex
6
skillPoints
4
title
Grand Drover
will
2
xp
150000
Herd Lord
Field
Value
bab
9
fortitude
6
level
9
reflex
6
skillPoints
4
title
Herd Lord
will
3
xp
300000
High Herd Lord
Field
Value
bab
10
fortitude
7
level
10
reflex
7
skillPoints
4
title
High Herd Lord
will
3
xp
600000
Beastmaster
Field
Value
bab
11
fortitude
7
level
11
reflex
7
skillPoints
4
title
Beastmaster
will
3
xp
900000
High Beastmaster
Field
Value
bab
12
fortitude
8
level
12
reflex
8
skillPoints
4
title
High Beastmaster
will
4
xp
1200000
Stampede Lord
Field
Value
bab
13
fortitude
8
level
13
reflex
8
skillPoints
4
title
Stampede Lord
will
4
xp
1500000
High Stampede Lord
Field
Value
bab
14
fortitude
9
level
14
reflex
9
skillPoints
4
title
High Stampede Lord
will
4
xp
1800000
World-Rider
Field
Value
bab
15
fortitude
9
level
15
reflex
9
skillPoints
4
title
World-Rider
will
5
xp
2100000
High World-Rider
Field
Value
bab
16
fortitude
10
level
16
reflex
10
skillPoints
4
title
High World-Rider
will
5
xp
2400000
Void Drover
Field
Value
bab
17
fortitude
10
level
17
reflex
10
skillPoints
4
title
Void Drover
will
5
xp
2700000
High Void Drover
Field
Value
bab
18
fortitude
11
level
18
reflex
11
skillPoints
4
title
High Void Drover
will
6
xp
3000000
Pack Leader
Field
Value
bab
19
fortitude
11
level
19
reflex
11
skillPoints
4
title
Pack Leader
will
6
xp
3300000
Supreme Drover
Field
Value
bab
20
fortitude
12
level
20
reflex
12
skillPoints
4
title
Supreme Drover
will
6
xp
3600000
Special Abilities
Bonded Companion
Field
Value
level
1
name
Bonded Companion
description: The Drover bonds with one animal companion drawn from the local xeno-fauna, a trained working beast, or a domesticated breed. The companion has HD equal to the Drover's level, BAB equal to 3/4 the Drover's level, and uses the Drover's base saves. The companion gains +1 to attack and damage at levels 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20. The Drover and companion share an empathic link (100-foot range) and the Drover can direct the companion as a free action. If the companion dies, the Drover can bond with a new companion after 1 week of training -- the week is not for the animal; it is for the Drover to grieve and start again. The companion's base stats are drawn from the bestiary; the GM and player select an appropriate creature (Threat Rating no higher than half the Drover's level + 1).
Herd Instinct
Field
Value
level
3
name
Herd Instinct
description: The Drover can extend their Bonded Companion bonuses to additional animals. The Drover may have a number of trained or controlled animals equal to the Drover's WIS modifier (minimum 1) that follow simple commands (come, stay, attack, defend, carry). These additional animals do not gain the Bonded Companion's scaling bonuses but use the Drover's Survival skill for any check the animal would need to make. At level 7, the additional animals gain +2 to attack and damage when within 30 feet of the Drover. At level 13, the Drover can command all animals as a single move action. The herd is the Drover's army: not disciplined, not elegant, but a wall of teeth and hooves that most people do not want to walk into.
Stampede
Field
Value
level
5
name
Stampede
description: As a full-round action, the Drover directs their Bonded Companion and all additional animals to charge in a 60-foot line (5 feet wide per large creature, 10 feet wide per huge creature). All creatures in the line take damage equal to the charging animals' combined base damage dice (no attack roll required). Affected creatures may make a Reflex save (DC = 10 + Drover level + CHA modifier) for half damage and must succeed on a second Reflex save or be knocked prone. The animals end their movement at the far end of the line. Usable once per encounter. At level 12, the area becomes 120-foot line. At level 18, affected creatures that fail the save are also stunned for 1 round. The Stampede is the Drover's answer to the question 'what do you do when there are too many of them?' You send the herd through.