Joe Pasani, Starfinder Lead Developer Wrote:The rules published in Alien Archive 3 for creature companion mounts present some clarifications to the Ride a Creature task of Survival and mounted combat in general.
This has raised the question of whether drones use these rules, so let's clarify!
A mechanic's drone with the riding saddle mod follows the rules printed in Alien Archive 3 under the "Creature Companion Mounts" heading (pages 140-141), with the following exceptions.
• A drone is not considered a creature companion.
• The size requirements of the riding saddle mod override the size requirement for creature companions.
• The "Speed and Movement" section does not apply to drones. Instead, a drone-mounted creature replaces their own speeds with the drone's speeds. In addition, a creature mounted on a drone that uses an action that includes movement (including using abilities that allow the creature to move its speed) uses one of the drone's available move actions for the turn. In addtion, however it's controlled, each turn a drone can at most take a standard, move, and swift action, or take a full action.
In addition, the final sentence of the riding saddle mod (Starfinder Core Rulebook 77–78) should read:
"You no longer need to attempt the fight from a combat trained mount task of Survival when directing your drone mount in battle."