IG-100 MagnaGuard
DR 4.5Droid · Medium·Recommended levels: 7-9
Abilities
Saves
- STR +6
- DEX +6
- WIS +5
Skills
- Athletics +6
- Acrobatics +6
- Perception +4
Languages
- Binary
- Basic
Equipment
Traits
The MagnaGuard has Vulnerability to ion damage. If it takes any ion damage, it must succeed on a DC 14 WIS saving throw or become Disabled (incapacitated, speed 0) until the end of its next turn.
Lightsaber damage against the MagnaGuard is halved. The first lightsaber hit per encounter additionally deactivates the attacker's lightsaber for 1 round (the blade shorts and must be re-ignited). This trait does not affect other energy weapons.
The MagnaGuard's electrostaff has a reach of 10 feet. The droid can make attacks of opportunity at this range.
When a creature within the MagnaGuard's reach moves out of that reach without using the Disengage action, the MagnaGuard may make one Electrostaff attack against it as a Reaction.
When an adjacent ally is hit by an attack, the MagnaGuard may use its Reaction to intercept: it becomes the target instead, and the damage is halved. Cannot be used the same round as Combat Reflexes.
Actions
The MagnaGuard whirls its electrostaff in a wide arc. Every creature within 10 feet must make a DC 15 DEX saving throw, taking 10 (2d6+3) bludgeoning damage on a failed save or half on a successful save. The MagnaGuard cannot use Combat Reflexes on the same turn.
Lore
IG-100 MagnaGuards were General Grievous's elite personal escort — bodyguard droids designed from the ground up for one task: killing Jedi. Every design choice reflects that purpose. The chassis is woven through with cortosis, a rare lightsaber-resistant ore. The signature weapon is the electrostaff, two-meters of cortosis-cored melee with electrified ends. The combat conditioning is built around the seven classical lightsaber forms — MagnaGuards know what a Jedi will do before the Jedi does.
A single MagnaGuard is dangerous. Four MagnaGuards, deployed in their canonical diamond formation around a high-value target, are an existential threat. They communicate silently through tactical networking, anticipate flanking maneuvers, and use their Bodyguard Protocol to ensure that whatever they're protecting can't be reached except by going through them all first.
In SWURPG encounters, MagnaGuards are the anti-Force-user pick. They turn a party's Jedi/Sith member from the most powerful asset into the most challenged one. Energy-resistant melee, deactivation on first lightsaber hit, and stunlock potential all combine to teach a careless lightsaber duelist some hard lessons. Non-Force-user party members usually fare better against them — vibroblades and slugthrowers cut through cortosis fine.
In Play
MagnaGuards fight as a unit. They form up around their protectee, use Electrostaff Reach to control approach lanes, and Sweeping Strike when more than one enemy comes into range. The leader of the formation (always the highest-spec unit) gives silent commands; the others coordinate movement and attacks of opportunity through the same network.
At the table, lean into the silence. MagnaGuards don't speak, don't taunt, don't even hum — they simply move, with mechanical precision. Have their electrostaffs hum and crackle constantly to fill the audio space their silence creates. When a Jedi engages, have the MagnaGuard ride the deactivation effect: as the Jedi's blade flickers out, the MagnaGuard advances calmly into striking range. The encounter is psychological as much as mechanical — competent players will adapt, change weapons, change tactics. Reward that adaptation.
Adventure Hooks
- The Last Bodyguards — A war criminal in hiding on a neutral world has been protected by his MagnaGuard quartet since the end of the Clone Wars. The party is hired to extract him alive — bypassing the droids first. The criminal would prefer death to capture.
- Cortosis Cache — An archaeologist has uncovered MagnaGuard schematics and a small stockpile of unprocessed cortosis ore. Crime lords are bidding aggressively. The party is hired to either secure the find for a museum or destroy it before it reaches the auction block.
- Honor Guard — A planetary government has acquired four restored MagnaGuards as ceremonial guards for their head of state. When a coup attempt fires off, the MagnaGuards do exactly what they were programmed to do — and the party has to navigate a palace whose every corridor is being defended by ancient anti-Jedi weapons.
- The Schism — A single MagnaGuard has gone rogue, severed from the network, and is hunting old Separatist commanders across the galaxy for reasons no one understands. The party encounters it mid-mission. It does not engage them — unless they get between it and its target.