View source for Fromm Tower Droid

{{Top|fa|leg}}
{{Ground_vehicle
|image=[[File:ToweringTowerDroid-FF88.jpg]]
|name=Fromm Tower Droid
|manufacturer=[[Fromm Gang/Legends|Fromm Gang]]<ref name="EGD">{{EGCite|D|Fromm Tower Droid}}</ref>
|line=
|model=Fromm Tower [[Droid/Legends|Droid]]<ref name="EGD" />
|class=[[Fourth-degree droid]]<ref name="NEGD">''[[The New Essential Guide to Droids]]'' identifies armed droids used for security and military purposes as class four droids.</ref>
|cost=
|modifier=
|sysmods=
|length=
|width=
|height=4 [[Imperial standard meter|meters]]<ref name="EGD" />
|mass=
|max accel=
|speed=100 [[Kilometer per hour/Legends|km/h]] (on flat terrain)<ref name="EGD" />
|velocity=
|engine=
|poweroutput=
|power=
|shield gen=
|hull=
|sensor=*[[Audio sensor/Legends|Auditory]]<ref name="EGD" />
*[[Magnet/Legends|Electromagnetic]]<ref name="EGD" />
*[[Infrared/Legends|Infrared]]<ref name="EGD" />
*[[Radionics|Radionic]]<ref name="EGD" />
*Seismic<ref name="EGD" />
*Visual<ref name="EGD" />
|target=
|navigation=
|maincomp=
|countermeasures=
|armament=*[[Laser cannon/Legends|Laser cannons]] (4)<ref name="EGD" />
*[[Repulsor ball]] launchers (2)<ref name="EGD" />
|complement=
|bays=
|escapepods=
|crew=Integrated [[Droid brain/Legends|droid brain]]<ref name="EGD" />
|skeleton=
|passengers=
|capacity=
|cargohandling=
|consumables=
|lifesupport=
|communications=[[Broadband antenna/Legends|Broadband antenna]]<ref name="EGD" />
|othersystems=
|availability=
|role=*Military<ref name="EGD" />
*Perimeter [[sentry]]<ref name="EGD" />
|firstuse=
|retired=
|affiliation=*[[Fromm Gang/Legends|Fromm Gang]]<ref name="EGD" />
*[[Confederacy of Independent Systems/Legends|Confederacy of Independent Systems]]<ref name="BFP">''[[Boba Fett: Pursuit]]''</ref>
|modules=}}
{{Quote|Intruder alert. Dispatch guardian droid.|Announcement at Tig Fromm's base on Ingo|<ref name="TWW">{{DroidsCite|The White Witch|The ''White Witch''}}</ref>}}
The '''Fromm Tower Droid''', also known as a '''guardian droid''' and '''sentry droid''', was a heavily armed [[Droid/Legends|droid]] designed by [[Tig Fromm]], the son of the noted [[Annoo-dat]] [[Crime lord/Legends|crime lord]] [[Sise Fromm]], and manufactured at his [[Tig Fromm's base|secret base]] on the [[Planet/Legends|planet]] [[Ingo/Legends|Ingo]]. Four [[Imperial standard meter|meters]] tall, with a cylindrical tower extending from an [[Armor/Legends|armored]] chassis, the Tower Droid could travel at speeds up to 100 [[Kilometer per hour/Legends|kilometers per hour]] on six large pneumatic [[wheel]]s. The Tower Droid was fitted with numerous [[Sensor/Legends|sensors]], and could respond to nearby threats with its arsenal of four [[Laser cannon/Legends|laser cannons]] and two [[repulsor ball]] launchers. Tower Droids were primarily used by the [[Fromm Gang/Legends|Fromm Gang]] as perimeter [[Sentry|sentries]], but they were also used by the [[Confederacy of Independent Systems/Legends|Confederacy of Independent Systems]] at the [[Battle of Xagobah (Clone Wars)|Battle of Xagobah]] during the [[Clone Wars/Legends|Clone Wars]]. In [[15 BBY/Legends|15 BBY]], many Tower Droids were destroyed during the [[Mission to Ingo|rescue]] of the captive [[Landspeeder/Legends|speeder]] racer [[Jord Dusat]] from Tig Fromm's base, leading Fromm to increase production to cover the losses. Soon after, both Tig and Sise Fromm were captured by the [[Bounty hunter/Legends|bounty hunter]] [[Boba Fett/Legends|Boba Fett]]. The Fromms' rivals seized their assets, and the remaining Tower Droids were dispersed around [[The galaxy/Legends|the galaxy]].

==Description==
{{Quote|Activate the droid cruisers. Seal off the exits. If they do manage to get outside, my droid cruisers will be waiting.''"<br />"''As soon as your cruisers stick their noses outside, your sentry droids will blow them to bits.''"<br />"''The sentry droids? The thermal spheres! Shut down power to the sentries. Hurry!''"<br />"''This is what happens when you send a droid to do a man's job.|Tig Fromm and Vlix Oncard|<ref name="TWW" />}}
[[File:TheseAreThePartsThatKillYou-FF88.jpg|thumb|left|A Fromm Tower Droid]]
The Fromm Tower Droid was a [[fourth-degree droid]]<ref name="NEGD" /> intended for security and paramilitary use.<ref name="EGD" /> Four [[Imperial standard meter|meters]] tall and symmetrical front and aft, its [[Engine/Legends|engine]] and drivetrain were housed within a squat, [[Armor/Legends|armored]] chassis which rose to a little under half of the overall height. In addition to protecting the vulnerable components, the chassis provided the foundation for the cylindrical tower assembly.<ref name="EGD" /> Alternate sections of both the chassis and tower were [[Color/Legends|colored]] [[red]] and [[gray]]. Two thin, four-fingered [[Limb/Legends|arms]] extended from either side of the front of the base unit.<ref name="FF88">Non-Canon Ref</ref> The [[Droid/Legends|droid]] stood on six large, pneumatic [[wheel]]s, with three located on either side of the chassis.<ref name="EGD" /> The powerful engine and thick-tread tires allowed Tower Droids to easily traverse even rough terrain at high speeds. On flat ground, Tower Droids could reach speeds of up to 100 [[Kilometer per hour/Legends|kilometers per hour]], and the maximum speed adjusted automatically to the terrain to ensure that they did not risk tipping over.<ref name="FF88" /> The tires were also fitted with a self-sealing mechanism to make them resistant to punctures.<ref name="EGD" />

The tower assembly housed the primary [[Droid brain/Legends|cognitive module]] and was crowned by a saucer-shaped head that was capable of 360-degree rotation. The Tower Droid was equipped with an array of [[Sensor/Legends|sensors]].<ref name="EGD" /> Visual sensors for a range of wavelengths,<ref name="FF88" /> as well as [[Audio sensor/Legends|auditory]], [[Magnet/Legends|electromagnetic]], [[Radionics|radionic]] and seismic sensors, were located around the rim of the head, while [[Infrared/Legends|infrared]] sensors were spaced around the top of the tower assembly.<ref name="EGD" /> A [[Broadband antenna/Legends|broadband antenna]] extending from the top of the head allowed it to receive orders from a central command center and transmit guidance data to a number of [[seeker]] drones that it used to investigate suspicious sensor readings.<ref name="FF88" /> Removing the head was sufficient to disable a Tower Droid.<ref name="TWW" />

The Fromm Tower Droid was heavily armed. Four [[Laser cannon/Legends|laser cannons]] were located in pairs on the chassis, fore and aft of the tower assembly. The Tower Droid's primary weapon was a [[repulsor ball]] launcher located in the tower section. The obsidian repulsor balls<ref name="FF88" /> were kept on two racks to either side of the primary cognitive module and released from two sliding panels on the front of the tower. These [[Gravity/Legends|antigravity]] repulsor balls were small and maneuverable,<ref name="EGD" /> with an inbuilt [[Repulsorlift/Legends|repulsorlift]] engine<ref name="FF88" /> that allowed them to greatly exceed the speed of the Tower Droid and outrun a target vehicle at speeds of over 250 [[Kilometer/Legends|kilometers]] per [[Standard hour/Legends|hour]].<ref name="EGD" /> The spheres were operated remotely by the Tower Droid, which could control up to five at any one time, making them extremely difficult for a target to evade. Packed with powerful explosives, the repulsor balls were [[Programmer/Legends|programmed]] to detonate when they closed to within one meter of their target, causing an explosion that could overcome most defensive systems.<ref name="FF88" />

==Role==
{{Quote|Stay back, you&hellip;you&hellip;grease bucket!|C-3PO|<ref name="TWW" />}}
[[File:White_Witch_attacked.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Fromm Tower Droids fire on the ''White Witch''.]]
Tower Droids had no developed [[Personality matrix/Legends|personalities]] and only rudimentary [[Artificial intelligence/Legends|intelligence]] programming,<ref name="EGD" /> leaving them unable to differentiate between friendly and hostile contacts.<ref name="TWW" /> Their array of sensors, heavy armament, and ability to maneuver over rough terrain saw them primarily used by the [[Fromm Gang/Legends|Fromm Gang]] as mobile [[Sentry|sentries]]. When its scans of the surrounding area revealed an intruder, the Tower Droid could use its seeker drones to investigate and capture the target, or utilize its weapon systems to neutralize it.<ref name="FF88" /> Tower Droids also saw military use with the [[Confederacy of Independent Systems/Legends|Confederacy of Independent Systems]] during the [[Clone Wars/Legends|Clone Wars]]<ref name="BFP" /> and were later used by assorted paramilitary groups.<ref name="EGD" /> Tower Droids operating at Tig Fromm's [[Tig Fromm's base|base]] on the [[Planet/Legends|planet]] [[Ingo/Legends|Ingo]] were stored in a large [[Hangar/Legends|hangar]] when not in use. Fromm Tower Droids were commonly referred to as guardian droids or sentry droids.<ref name="TWW" />

==History==
===Early history===
[[File:TowerDroidFiring-TWW.jpg|thumb|left|250px|A Fromm Tower Droid prepares to fire a repulsor ball.]]
The Fromm Tower Droid was created by [[Tig Fromm]], the young son of the [[Annoo-dat Blue]] [[Crime lord/Legends|crime lord]] [[Sise Fromm]],<ref name="FF88" /> at some point prior to the end of the Clone Wars.<ref name="BFP" /> Sise Fromm operated a legitimate import-export business on the [[Outer Rim Territories/Legends|Outer Rim]] planet [[Annoo (Gelefil)|Annoo]] that served as a front for a criminal organization involved in extortion, kidnapping and [[Blaster/Legends|blaster]] [[Smuggler/Legends|running]].<ref name="CSWE">{{CSWECite|I|297|Fromm, Sise}}</ref> A mechanical genius, Tig Fromm chose to put his skills to use constructing droids to serve the Fromm Gang<ref name="FF88" /> in the belief that the greater loyalty, durability and firepower of droids made them superior to organic [[Species/Legends|species]].<ref name="EGD" /> The Fromm Tower Droid was one of Fromm's less ambitious projects, but it became his most successful and enduring creation.<ref name="FF88" /> The droids were created in their hundreds at Tig Fromm's base<ref name="EGD" /> in the [[Vaj Desert]] on the planet Ingo<ref name="P170">{{PolyhedronCite|170|Star Wars Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO}}</ref> and were deployed by the Fromm Gang at the Ingo base,<ref name="TWW" /> Sise Fromm's [[Sise Fromm's stronghold|stronghold]] on Annoo<ref name="FF88" /> and the organization's [[Fromm Gang facility|facility]] on [[Aaron]].<ref name="EfA">[[Star Wars: Droids (video game)|''Star Wars: Droids'' video game]]</ref>

Although they were mainly intended for use as perimeter sentries,<ref name="FF88" /> some Fromm Tower Droids came into the possession of the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars and saw action with the [[Separatist Droid Army/Legends|Separatist Droid Army]] in the latter stages of the war against [[Galactic Republic/Legends|Galactic Republic]] [[Grand Army of the Republic/Legends|forces]] at the [[Battle of Xagobah (Clone Wars)|Battle of Xagobah]].<ref name="BFP" />

===The speeder racers===
{{Dialogue|Thall Joben|If we can reactivate the sentry droids, they'll destroy the cruisers with their spheres.|R2-D2|line2=no|[R2-D2 beeps]|C-3PO|There's an emergency override control out there, sir.|Jord Dusat|So override, Threepio. Override!|C-3PO|Me, sir? Oh, if I must.|attr=Thall Joben, R2-D2, C-3PO and Jord Dusat plan their escape|src=<ref name="TWW" />}}
By [[15 BBY/Legends|15 BBY]],<ref name="15BBY">"[[Star Wars Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO]]" in ''[[Polyhedron 170]]'' states that [[Star Wars: Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO|''Star Wars: Droids'']] is set 15 years before [[Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope|''Star Wars'': Episode IV ''A New Hope'']]. ''[[The New Essential Chronology]]'' places the events of '' A New Hope'' in [[0 BBY/Legends|0 BBY]], meaning that ''Star Wars: Droids'' takes place in [[15 BBY/Legends|15 BBY]].</ref> Tig Fromm was completing work on his most ambitious creation, a powerful weapons [[Satellite/Legends|satellite]] dubbed the ''[[Trigon One]]'',<ref name="EIT">{{DroidsCite|Escape Into Terror}}</ref> which his father intended to use to take over the Fromm Gang's rivals.<ref name="TWW" /> The project came to the attention of an anti-Imperial [[Annoo resistance|resistance cell]] on Annoo, who [[Mission to Ingo|dispatched]] their agent [[Kea Moll]] to destroy it.<ref name="EIT" /> When the young [[Landspeeder/Legends|speeder]] racers [[Thall Joben/Legends|Thall Joben]] and [[Jord Dusat]], along with their droids [[C-3PO/Legends|C-3PO]] and [[R2-D2/Legends|R2-D2]], entered the restricted zone around Tig Fromm's base while racing through the [[Desert/Legends|desert]], they triggered the automated defenses. While swerving to evade an oncoming repulsor ball, C-3PO was thrown clear from Joben's landspeeder and landed near a Tower Droid. As the sentry droid prepared to fire a repulsor ball, Moll, observing from nearby, fired at the Tower Droid with her sawed-off [[Blaster cannon/Legends|blaster cannon]], destroying it.<ref name="TWW" />

[[File:FrommDroidsFighting-TWW.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Tower Droids battle droid cruisers outside Tig Fromm's base.]]
Fearing that Joben and Dusat might reveal the location of his base, Tig Fromm captured Dusat. Joining forces with Moll, Joben and his droids returned to the secret base to rescue Dusat. A Tower Droid moved to intercept them as they approached in Joben's landspeeder, the ''[[White Witch]]'', but Joben used the speeder to decapitate the droid and disable it. The group made it inside the base and rescued Dusat. In response, Fromm positioned his [[droid cruiser]]s outside the base to cut off their escape and shut down the Tower Droid sentries to prevent them from firing on the cruisers. However, C-3PO activated an emergency override control to reactivate the Tower Droids, causing them to head outside to engage the cruisers. While Fromm's droids fought each other, the intruders were able to slip away.<ref name="TWW" />

Many Tower Droids were destroyed during Dusat's escape, and Tig Fromm increased production to replace them.<ref name="EGD" /> At some point, the Fromm Gang captured C-3PO and R2-D2 and [[Prison/Legends|imprisoned]] them at their facility on the planet Aaron. However, the droids escaped their cell, and the base's Tower Droids were unable to stop them fleeing Aaron after rendezvousing with Joben and Dusat.<ref name="EfA" /> Joben eventually sabotaged ''Trigon One'', causing it to crash into Sise Fromm's strongold, destroying both the base and the [[Starship/Legends|ship]].<ref name="TTU">{{DroidsCite|The Trigon Unleashed|The ''Trigon'' Unleashed}}</ref> When rival [[Gangster/Legends|gangster]] [[Jabba Desilijic Tiure/Legends|Jabba]] the [[Hutt/Legends|Hutt]] learned of the Fromms' plan to take over his own [[Jabba Desilijic Tiure's criminal empire/Legends|criminal empire]], he placed a sizable [[Bounty/Legends|bounty]] on the heads of the Fromm organization, leading to the capture of both Sise and Tig Fromm, along with their chief of security, [[Vlix Oncard]], by the [[Bounty hunter/Legends|bounty hunter]] [[Boba Fett/Legends|Boba Fett]].<ref name="ARttF">{{DroidsCite|A Race to the Finish}}</ref> The Fromm Gang's rivals moved quickly to seize their assets, including the 431 operational Tower Droids on Ingo.<ref name="EGD" /> The droids were dispersed around [[The galaxy/Legends|the galaxy]]<ref name="FF88" /> and ended up in use by a variety of groups, including revolutionaries, [[Arms dealer/Legends|arms dealers]] and private collectors.<ref name="EGD" />

==Behind the scenes==
[[File:Escape_from_Aaron_level.png|thumb|left|250px|A Fromm Tower Droid in ''Star Wars: Droids'']]
The Fromm Tower Droid was created for the animated television show [[Star Wars: Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO|''Star Wars: Droids'']] and made its only appearance in the first episode of the series, "[[The White Witch]]", which was written by [[Peter Sauder]] and directed by [[Ken Stephenson]].<ref name="TWW" /> The episode was first broadcast on [[September 7]], [[1985]].<ref name="Insider27">{{InsiderCite|27|A Star Wars CELibration|A ''Star Wars'' CELibration}}</ref> They were later featured in the [[1988]] [[video game]] [[Star Wars: Droids (video game)|''Star Wars: Droids'']], though they appear much smaller in the game.<ref name="EfA" />

They were only referred to as guardian droids or sentry droids in "The White Witch"<ref name="TWW" /> and its picture book adaptations, ''[[The White Witch: A Droid Adventure]]''<ref name="TWW:ADA">''[[The White Witch: A Droid Adventure]]''</ref> and [[The White Witch (book)|''The White Witch'']].<ref name="TWW-book">[[The White Witch (book)|''The White Witch'' book]]</ref>

==Appearances==
{{Mediacat|imagecat=Images of Fromm Tower Droids}}
*{{DroidsCite|The White Witch|The ''White Witch''}} {{1st}}
*''[[The White Witch: A Droid Adventure]]''
*[[The White Witch (book)|''The White Witch'']]
*[[Droids (Plaza Joven book)|''Droids'']]
*[[Star Wars: Droids (video game)|''Star Wars: Droids'' video game]]

==Sources==
*{{EGCite|D|Fromm Tower Droid}} {{1stID}}

==Notes and references==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Confederacy of Independent Systems vehicles]]
[[Category:Droid tank classes]]
[[Category:Hutt Cartel vehicles]]
[[Category:Separatist droid tank classes]]