Party Creation

[SavageBob]

Hey, DS, hope it's OK I started this discussion.

Is the idea that we start out on Hoth during the evacuation? Or are we already out in the Anoat sector when the Empire strikes? I ask because it's pertinent to one of my character concepts. Here's what I'm thinking:

1) I could migrate the character I didn't get to use in Rider's game to this game. She's a Soldier/Medic, but she's brawny enough to fight, and I was thinking of moving her into Vanguard down the road. (I realize she'll start as a beginning character in this game.) She'd be a healer to start, moving into more tank-y stuff down the road. Or vice-versa, I guess.

2) The Hoth connection made me think it would be cool to play one of the base's tauntaun wranglers. This would be an Ace/Beast Rider. The character would be a Cunning-focused ranger archetype, which would allow him or her to cross-spec into another outdoorsy spec down the road (like Trailblazer, Survivalist, or Scout). Alternatively, this character could have been a tauntaun veterinarian, with the spec going later into Medic to make an outdoorsy healer.

3) Some sort of pilot. I'm thinking he used to be a luxury cruise-ship pilot who joined the Rebellion when the clientele on the luxury liner got more and more Imperial.

4) Finally, I could play a crusty protocol droid stationed at Echo Base. This would be a Diplomat/Advocate to start, moving into Agitator or Analyst down the road. Kind of a mean face, so I'm not as enamored of the concept, since I'm a face in Trip's game.

What are other people thinking?

[DeepSpacer]

Is the idea that we start out on Hoth during the evacuation? Or are we already out in the Anoat sector when the Empire strikes? I ask because it's pertinent to one of my character concepts. Here's what I'm thinking:

We start on Hoth, have relationships, develop connections, then go. We will be sent out for supplies on a discrete mission. The Empire strikes sometime before we get back and we must deal with the aftermath. I would prefer that PC's have some background developed so that the Rebellion is deeply meaningful to them (as in, Luke's friends). It WOULD be possibly for a Han Solo-type to have connections to the Anoat Sector and be a "Local" resident who joined up. [Note: there is an Anoat Sector and an Anoat System]

[DeepSpacer]

1) I could migrate the character I didn't get to use in Rider's game to this game. She's a Soldier/Medic, but she's brawny enough to fight, and I was thinking of moving her into Vanguard down the road. (I realize she'll start as a beginning character in this game.) She'd be a healer to start, moving into more tank-y stuff down the road. Or vice-versa, I guess.

Vesper Reshari? I like the idea! She has a good 333232 starting build. Very flexible. Medic is good. They get Well-Rounded at 15xp. It will be good to get that post-creation, after some adventuring, so you can pick the most useful skills to acquire. What is "Vanguard"? Can you give me details? Just curious.

EXCELLENT Vesper Reshari background!!! Great reason to join the Rebellion. Also, to get supplies, she would know what to get (medical supplies).

[DeepSpacer]

2) The Hoth connection made me think it would be cool to play one of the base's tauntaun wranglers. This would be an Ace/Beast Rider. The character would be a Cunning-focused ranger archetype, which would allow him or her to cross-spec into another outdoorsy spec down the road (like Trailblazer, Survivalist, or Scout). Alternatively, this character could have been a tauntaun veterinarian, with the spec going later into Medic to make an outdoorsy healer.

They have a good skill-set. Piloting skills and doubling up on Perception, you could be the de facto pilot. The Beast-focused talents on the tree are in such a way that you don't have to get them all to still get the good stuff. I can see where you may have an opportunity to use some of those beast skills a few times early-on. Downside is that those talents are so narrowly-focused. I can't promise their long-range usage. It's one of those things the GM has to intentionally place things in there for just one character. not against the idea. Let's see what other come up with and how this idea fits.

[DeepSpacer]

3) Some sort of pilot. I'm thinking he used to be a luxury cruise-ship pilot who joined the Rebellion when the clientele on the luxury liner got more and more Imperial.
4) Finally, I could play a crusty protocol droid stationed at Echo Base. This would be a Diplomat/Advocate to start, moving into Agitator or Analyst down the road. Kind of a mean face, so I'm not as enamored of the concept, since I'm a face in Trip's game.

Our initial starship will only be a discrete shuttle. Nothing with anything to make us stand out. Piloting isn't the biggest need, but can fit a role. What else, beside piloting, can he/she do?

Protocol droid. It could work. Diplomat/Agitator/Advocate is well-needed. I understand not wanting to play the same type of PC in two games. I always imagine droids being like IV-V-VI movies. Clunking, slow, more like tools than beings. Han and Leia never treat 3PO as anything more than a machine. They don't have personal conversations, and such. I do like the RotJ with 3PO doing things. With droid XP, they're often one-trick ponies with glaring weaknesses.

Ranking them: 1,2,4,3 is my preference without seeing what others have to offer.

[SavageBob]

Vesper Reshari? I like the idea! She has a good 333232 starting build. Very flexible. Medic is good. They get Well-Rounded at 15xp. It will be good to get that post-creation, after some adventuring, so you can pick the most useful skills to acquire. What is "Vanguard"? Can you give me details? Just curious.

EXCELLENT Vesper Reshari background!!! Great reason to join the Rebellion. Also, to get supplies, she would know what to get (medical supplies).

The Vanguard is in the Soldier book. It's a frontline, tank-y spec, with several ranks in Body Guard, Toughened, Suppressing Fire, and Moving Target. It'd make Vesper particularly good at protecting downed allies in battle and defending them if the enemy got up close to where she was treating them.

[Trip]

A Shistavanen Explorer Big Game Hunter

Still working on a couple more.

[SavageBob]

They have a good skill-set. Piloting skills and doubling up on Perception, you could be the de facto pilot. The Beast-focused talents on the tree are in such a way that you don't have to get them all to still get the good stuff. I can see where you may have an opportunity to use some of those beast skills a few times early-on. Downside is that those talents are so narrowly-focused. I can't promise their long-range usage. It's one of those things the GM has to intentionally place things in there for just one character. not against the idea. Let's see what other come up with and how this idea fits.

This concept could actually start as a Medic, I think, and just be narratively explained as a tauntaun vet. The Well-Rounded you mentioned for Vesper would come into play to do this, as well as the Human's two free skills. Later, Beast Rider would be a secondary spec, as it's generalized enough to be a good general-purpose outdoor/survivalist character. The character would presumably need a dedicated mount eventually, even if the critter has to stay on the ship a lot of the time. I think the long-term utility of Medic would be obvious, so the difference between this character and the Medic/Vanguard would be that this would be a "cleric/ranger," whereas the other would be a "cleric/fighter."

Trip mentioned wanting an animal friend in Rider's game, so he may want Beast Rider. I'll wait to see what he comes up with.

[DeepSpacer]

This concept could actually start as a Medic, I think, and just be narratively explained as a tauntaun vet. The Well-Rounded you mentioned for Vesper would come into play to do this, as well as the Human's two free skills. Later, Beast Rider would be a secondary spec, as it's generalized enough to be a good general-purpose outdoor/survivalist character. The character would presumably need a dedicated mount eventually, even if the critter has to stay on the ship a lot of the time. I think the long-term utility of Medic would be obvious, so the difference between this character and the Medic/Vanguard would be that this would be a "cleric/ranger," whereas the other would be a "cleric/fighter."

Vesper's background only fits the medic spec, and it's a VERY good background. Vesper's toughness fits the cleric/fighter. You're just itchy to play a beast rider, eh? In Uprising, the beast rider opportunities would come into play 'early' in the game, not later (though, some creative). Even then, you can't ride beasts inside of most buildings. It is SO restrictive. I am thinking: wild beast encounters, horse races....two BM-focused things to do. Any others?

[SavageBob]

I think something about an Echo Base veterinarian hits me in the nostalgia center of my brain. The rest of his utility would come from outdoor survival, tracking, that sort of thing. As a veterinarian, he wouldn't be as out of place in a city as, say, a Beast Rider without the medic stuff. But if Trip goes with a Shistavanen Big Game Hunter, the Medic/Beast Rider would be redundant.

All that's to say, I'd be happy to port Vesper over, but the fact that we'll be in Echo Base really set my imagination running wild on this tauntaun thing.

[DeepSpacer]

But if Trip goes with a Shistavanen Big Game Hunter, the Medic/Beast Rider would be redundant.
All that's to say, I'd be happy to port Vesper over, but the fact that we'll be in Echo Base really set my imagination running wild on this tauntaun thing.

There's a planned "Return to Hoth" portion in which you would likely apply those skills. Beyond that? Non-existent. In the Anoat system, I have looked at most of the planets on Anoat Maps. A great many are devoid of wild beasts, and such. Most are either polluted, mining colonies, or trade centers. There's 2-3 primitive beastial planets in there. Still, as you say, 90% of those talents and skills apply to other things. Thus far, the BM has no background behind him (neither does Trip's BGH).

[DeepSpacer]

A Shistavanen Explorer Big Game Hunter. Still working on a couple more.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

[Stneu73]

So my three rough sketches are:
a verpine techie guy. spy slicer probably
a Polis Massan sneaky street dude. probably smuggler thief
Chadra Fan driver/mechanic. Probably start ace driver then cross spec into something in the technician group

I'll hammer out more details tomorrow hopefully. have a lot to do

[SavageBob]

There's a planned "Return to Hoth" portion in which you would likely apply those skills. Beyond that? Non-existent. In the Anoat system, I have looked at most of the planets on Anoat Maps. A great many are devoid of wild beasts, and such. Most are either polluted, mining colonies, or trade centers. There's 2-3 primitive beastial planets in there. Still, as you say, 90% of those talents and skills apply to other things. Thus far, the BM has no background behind him (neither does Trip's BGH).

Yeah, now that I've slept on it, and my inner 8-year-old is rested, I'm leaning more toward the buff Medic (Vesper). Theoretically, she could be ported into a Medic/Beast Rider by replacing the grav-ball elements of her backstory with equestrian sports, but if this is going to be an urban campaign, I'm happy to shelve the beasties.

[Trip]

What does this mean?

Thus far, the BM has no background behind him (neither does Trip's BGH).

[DeepSpacer]

What does this mean?

Thus far, the BM has no background behind him (neither does Trip's BGH).

beast master, big game hunter....no backgrounds.

[Trip]

A Shistavanen Explorer Big Game Hunter

Still working on a couple more.

Clawdite spy infiltrator

Chiss or Shistavanen spy scout

[Trip]

What does this mean?

Thus far, the BM has no background behind him (neither does Trip's BGH).

beast master, big game hunter....no backgrounds.

I don’t really want to invent backstories unless I am going to use the toon.

[DeepSpacer]

@streu73.... Let's try Polis Massan, Smuggler - Thief. The skills for computers and underworld will be unique and valuable. Might I recommend a 3 intelligence?

@Trip... Let's try Clawdite, Spy, Infiltrator. Scout is not a bad choice, but probably has more overlapping with The Smuggler Thief.

@SavBob. Roll with porting over Vesper. I love her tough and competitive background.

[SavageBob]

Will do. I'll make a go at respec'ing her to beginner-level XP and beginner-level gear.

[Stneu73]

@streu73.... Let's try Polis Massan, Smuggler - Thief. The skills for computers and underworld will be unique and valuable. Might I recommend a 3 intelligence?

Awesome Polis Massans' start with 3 int so that's easy. Also they can communicate using telepathy. It costs 10xp during character creation to make them part of the sub-set of Polis Massan's that have mouths so they can speak normally. Do you want me to be able to speak normally or just use telepathy? It only really makes a difference in certain situations. And I'm totally okay with spending the xp.

[DeepSpacer]

Awesome Polis Massans' start with 3 int so that's easy. Also they can communicate using telepathy. It costs 10xp during character creation to make them part of the sub-set of Polis Massan's that have mouths so they can speak normally. Do you want me to be able to speak normally or just use telepathy? It only really makes a difference in certain situations. And I'm totally okay with spending the xp.

I don't think it matters. If I can say they use telepathy with both a single person as well as a crowd (speaking out loud, so to speak), then I think it works. The ability to speak to many at once is useful. I would interpret it so unless it states otherwise. What book are they in???Strongholds of Resistance. (I do not have it) Could you give me the stats?
Attributes XP WT ST skills/talents

[Stneu73]

Yeah the thing is if they speak everyone in short range can hear them unless they are talking to someone in engaged range then only that person hears.

I think they are in Strongholds of resistance

[Stneu73]

Awesome Polis Massans' start with 3 int so that's easy. Also they can communicate using telepathy. It costs 10xp during character creation to make them part of the sub-set of Polis Massan's that have mouths so they can speak normally. Do you want me to be able to speak normally or just use telepathy? It only really makes a difference in certain situations. And I'm totally okay with spending the xp.

I don't think it matters. If I can say they use telepathy with both a single person as well as a crowd (speaking out loud, so to speak), then I think it works. The ability to speak to many at once is useful. I would interpret it so unless it states otherwise. What book are they in???Strongholds of Resistance. (I do not have it) Could you give me the stats?
Attributes XP WT ST skills/talents

I use this website a lot for creation and just finding things in general really really useful.
https://ewebdevelopment.github.io/sw-galaxy/
It has everything even the unofficial species menagerie and you can filter by the characteristics, starting xp, wound threshold, etc.

Polis Massans are 123231, 100 xp, 8 WT, 11 ST, and start with one medicine
Talents are species specific with the vocal chord stuff and telepathy

[SavageBob]

There's a Polis Massan "voice box" in that same book, 50 credits and allows a mouthless Polis Massan to "speak" if you want to save the 10 XP. The downside, I suppose, is that it can be broken or lost, leaving you unable to call out loudly beyond Short range (unless I'm misreading the species description).