You have crafted an exoskeletal framework powered by an Aether Core that wraps around you and enhances your physical frame, turning you into a mobile weapons platform with devastating melee and ranged capabilities.

Exopilot

• Keystone, Tier 1, Combat
• Prerequisites: INT 14 & Trained in Aethertech Lore
• Toughness: +4 ranks

You gain +3 ranks of the Aether Core ability.

You gain the Channel Aether ability if you did not already have it.

You gain +1 rank of either the Boundless Inspiration ability or the Aether Capacitor ability. You must choose which you gain when you take this Keystone.

You have created or obtained a powered Exoskeleton that you use in combat. It fits over any armor you are wearing, and is treated as armor by any effects that would change your shape or size. It immediately stops functioning if you somehow lose your Aether Core.

You gain +1 rank of the Hardpoint ability.

You gain +1 rank of the Crafting Formulae feat, which you must use to learn schematics for Aethertech Devices. If this is your Tier 1 Combat Keystone, you start the game with one of each Device that you know how to create.

The exoskeleton grants the following effects while you are wearing it:

• All melee weapons you wield (including your Unarmed Strikes) gain the Massive tag and the Vital Strike ****weapon ability.
• You can wield two-handed weapons (except for bows) and Devices in one hand. This does not allow you to Reload weapons, such as a crossbow, one-handed if they normally require two hands to Reload.
• The Speed Penalty imposed by wearing Medium or Heavy Armor is reduced by -5 feet (to a minimum of 0).
• You use the higher of your STR or INT for the purposes of calculating your Carrying Capacity and satisfying the Required STR of a suit of armor.
• Your Carrying Capacity increases by +3 Bulk.

The Exoskeleton packs down into a Bulk 4 package when you are not wearing it. While you are wearing it, it and all of the Devices mounted on its Hardpoints have an effective Bulk of 0.

If you take the Bind Armor feat, the Exoskeleton and all of its mounted Devices count as part of the suit of armor you Bind with that feat. This means that you can summon a (for example) suit of full plate and your Exoskeleton onto yourself with the same 2 Minor Actions.

Maintaining the Exoskeleton is a part of your normal downtime activities, like maintaining your weapons or armor, and takes no additional time out of your day.

The Exoskeleton is much more durable than you are, and is designed to remain functional through more damage than your squishy organic form can safely withstand. Any damage to the Exoskeleton should occur strictly for narrative purposes, not game-mechanical ones. Repairs to the Exoskeleton are made over the course of healing your own Wounds, and do not require any Crafting Lore checks unless the narrative of the game demands it.

The Exoskeleton does not directly enhance your offense or defense in combat; instead, it acts as a weapons platform, letting you use larger and more powerful weaponry and wear heavier armor and shields than you would normally be able to use. While it may take more setup to put together an effective Exopilot character, it can be as much of a force-multiplier as some of the more straightforward Keystones like Weaponmaster or Defender.

Dwarves developed and deployed the first Exoskeletons, but humans and orcs have taken the design and added their own spins to it, using wood and bone respectively instead of steel for the machine’s framework.

• Scrap