Why Droid Bounty Hunters

[sbk1234]

This may have been answered in Star Wars legends or books or something, so forgive me if this is already common knowledge. One thing I don’t understand is why are there droid bounty hunters/mercenaries like IG-88, IG-11, and Q9-0? I mean, what’s a droid going to do with money?
Thanks.

 

[Tosk]

what’s a droid going to do with money?

Either spend it, or give it to their owner who sent them out in the first place. Depends on the droid.

 

[fireproof78]

Upgrades, ship fuel, weapons, escaping former masters.

Droids are an interesting aspect the SW universe.

 

[Qonundrum]

In theory:
* they aim better, both in terms of direction and intensity of the pew pew beam
* don't get tired and are relentless, they just react as programmed
* they don't have emotions
* have sensors that can assist directly
* the people otherwise needing to be trained to hunt can be repurposed for other things


In reality:
* one robust EMP would trash 'em with ease (and anything else around them indiscriminately, depending on shield levels any computer might have)
* they can run out of fuel, which is why that's never brought up - apart from the one or two times when they drink an analogue of fuel or have self-regenerating hamsters spinning in their chest cavities
* they can look more formidably as well as more functionally scary
* and yet they sure do look cool, do they not?
* are science fictioney
* prior to the 1980s had stilted staccato robot voices that were sometimes cool
* they sell more collectible toys (as opposed to being thrown away)
* have an aim worse than stormtroopers (never mind the one-off where it's implied the rebels were allowed to escape)
* used for loooooooooooooove in some shows and lead to jokes in sci-fi comedies like Red Dwarf how machines are better than people in "other" ways LOL

 

[Ithekro]

Most cases that I recall were droids that were programmed as assassin droid or bodyguard/combat droids. In these cases they tended to lose their employer and had nothing to do, yet a program that was running. he assassin droids decided to go crime lords or the bounty hunter's guild to get jobs that suit their programming.

In the case of the bodyguard/combat droids, they tend to be hunted for a time by the winners of a war, if they were not just turned off. At some point they tend to look for some form of employment that suits their programming in order to maintain their functions.

Both cases can also be attribute to them not getting routine memory wipes and they start to become more aware than what is typically desired in a droid by the public at large. These types of droids are programed to kill and to defend. What they defend or kill is a matter of programming priorities.

I know of one case of a protocol droid becoming a bounty hunter (4-LOM), but it seemed to have been tampered with, first to make it a thief, and later it took up bounty hunting as a result of its self-preservation program kicking in to kill those after it. It took the killing skill and decided to get money with it (it could also steal bobbles off those it hunted).

 

[JD]

* they can run out of fuel, which is why that's never brought up - apart from the one or two times when they drink an analogue of fuel or have self-regenerating hamsters spinning in their chest cavities

Star Wars droids need fuel? In all of the movies, and shows I've watched and all of the games I've played, and books and comics I've read, I don't remember ever seeing any references to droids needing fuel.

 

[Reverend]

I think there was a comic featuring IG-88 that got a little into it's motivations and it basically boiled down to the same motivation almost any droid in the Star Wars universe has: fulfilling it's designed function the the upmost of it's ability.

It doesn't care about getting paid, it only cares about increasing it's reputation, so it'll get hired onto the most prestigious jobs, proving it's the best at what it does and increasing it's reputation...rinse & repeat. Sure, the money pays for it's overheads, but it's not out for profit.
IIRC I think in the story it actually lets a mark go so the bounty will increase, not because it wants more money but it wan't the bounty to get to a point where it judges it'll be worth it's time in terms of how much it's reputation will go up.

This seems to also apply to IG-11 since when Dyn offers to team up it's only condition is that it receives the credit for completing the contract.

Like I said, this applies to most droids we see (L-3 and maybe Chopper being notable exceptions.) Threepio is never happier than when he's performing his function as a protocol droid (which is hardly ever) and never more distressed when he's force to perform outside of his prescribed programming (which is almost always.)

 

[Qonundrum]

Star Wars droids need fuel? In all of the movies, and shows I've watched and all of the games I've played, and books and comics I've read, I don't remember ever seeing any references to droids needing fuel.

It's an offscreen thing.

That and Star Wars, being on the fantasy side of sci-fi/fantasy, has everything running on magic anyway; it avoids anything technical and gets on with it. But if light sabers have kyber crystals or what not, some technobabble is used. Just technobabble of a different sort.

 

[kitik]

Triple-Zero is the best murder droid!

 

[Ithekro]

B1 Battle Droids were seen running out of power during the Clone Wars. R2 needed power from time to time (Luke plugged him in just before Yoda showed up). How long a droid can function off a charge seems to be a fairly long time, though high energy use can drain them faster.

Fuel is probably the wrong word, though I imagine some droids have internal processors to convert different things into power they can use. They need power.

 

[fireproof78]

Star Wars droids need fuel? In all of the movies, and shows I've watched and all of the games I've played, and books and comics I've read, I don't remember ever seeing any references to droids needing fuel.

Well, Luke refers to power for R2 on Dagobah. "You ready for some power?" and then plugs him in to some sort of pack.

 

[Imaus]

B1 Battle Droids were seen running out of power during the Clone Wars. R2 needed power from time to time (Luke plugged him in just before Yoda showed up). How long a droid can function off a charge seems to be a fairly long time, though high energy use can drain them faster.

Fuel is probably the wrong word, though I imagine some droids have internal processors to convert different things into power they can use. They need power.

Batteries. Very efficient ones, but they still drain out. The Jedi have BS batteries that are basically self-powering/self-repowering, or something like that, for their lightsabers.

 

[Ithekro]

Lightsabers do (or at least they did in the EU) have recharging ports on them. They have high efficiency power cells, and only really use power when cutting since the power arc back into the power cell most of the time. It still needs a recharge after a long battle. But they do hold a charge for a very long time. Even ancient blades found on battlefields millennia old will still turn on, if only briefly.

 

[fireproof78]

Lightsabers do (or at least they did in the EU) have recharging ports on them. They have high efficiency power cells, and only really use power when cutting since the power arc back into the power cell most of the time. It still needs a recharge after a long battle. But they do hold a charge for a very long time. Even ancient blades found on battlefields millennia old will still turn on, if only briefly.

It's interesting to note that in the novelization for TPM the reason Obi-Wan didn't fight back is his lightsaber power cell had completely shorted out due to being wet when he turned it on. So, he ran towards Qui-Gon and he took out the STAPs. The novel has Qui-Gon chiding him then stating it needed a full recharge and would be functional again.

Also, in reading up on something about R2 I discovered that 3PO shutting down in ANH was explained as him allowing his circuits to use all available power to repair his arm's severed connections. Again, both apocryphal but interesting world building details.

 

[HugeLobes]

This has probably been replaced by newer canon, but there was a short story about IG-88 that started with him gaining consciousness beyond that of an ordinary droid right after being activated. He then went on a rampage and killed all the designers, so I guess the idea (at least from that story) was that a bounty hunter droid would be more 'human' than a basic droid.So he wouldn't be using the money to buy lobster dinners or anything, but he had the same basic desire to aquire that other species would.

Of course, droids have always been one of those things you've just got to accept and not examine too carefully. One of many reasons that droid in Solo was so bad.

 

[fireproof78]

Of course, droids have always been one of those things you've just got to accept and not examine too carefully. One of many reasons that droid in Solo was so bad.

For my money I disagree. I love the different levels of depth given to different droids, as well as the general lack of consensus on their capability. You have people like Lando and Anakin who give them attention, and love and care, while others, like Obi-Wan, who are far more dismissive and utilitarian in their approach.

 

[HugeLobes]

For my money I disagree. I love the different levels of depth given to different droids, as well as the general lack of consensus on their capability. You have people like Lando and Anakin who give them attention, and love and care, while others, like Obi-Wan, who are far more dismissive and utilitarian in their approach.

But then that would kinda mean Obi-Wan is a bit of a dick. Luke gave them care, but he also 'gave away' Threepio in ROTJ without telling him that's going to happen or getting any kind of consent for the danger he was being put in. They work well as comic relief and for bits of exposition, but they're one of those concepts that you can't look at too closely.

 

[fireproof78]

But then that would kinda mean Obi-Wan is a bit of a dick. Luke gave them care, but he also 'gave away' Threepio in ROTJ without telling him that's going to happen or getting any kind of consent for the danger he was being put in. They work well as comic relief and for bits of exposition, but they're one of those concepts that you can't look at too closely.

Disagree. I think it's a fun concept that has always been played around with in different ways. Yes, Obi-wan is a dick. So are others in Star Wars.

That's fun for me.

Mileage etc.

 

[HugeLobes]

Disagree. I think it's a fun concept that has always been played around with in different ways. Yes, Obi-wan is a dick. So are others in Star Wars.

Fair enough. I guess that's kind of the same as 'one of those concepts that you can't look at too closely', just ... from a certain point of view...

Although Obi-Wan would be more than a dick, come to think of it. Maybe the next Star Wars movie should be a 2 hour courtroom drama akin to TNG's The Measure of a Man. Turns out all those beeps and whistles R2 makes have boiled down to: "Please stop putting me in starfighters. I don't want to die."

 

[fireproof78]

Fair enough. I guess that's kind of the same as 'one of those concepts that you can't look at too closely', just ... from a certain point of view...

Although Obi-Wan would be more than a dick, come to think of it. Maybe the next Star Wars movie should be a 2 hour courtroom drama akin to TNG's The Measure of a Man. Turns out all those beeps and whistles R2 makes have boiled down to: "Please stop putting me in starfighters. I don't want to die."

I mean, we already saw that with the battle droids.