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 Recent Posts 
OK, I'm sortof bummed because I wanted to chat and hang out with this guy more, I couldn't really swap ancient duro poetry quotes with him, but i like his attitude somehow... but what with armed thuggery, cinder pulling on my hand (essentially), and... Soz... I'll just have to leave it up to the Force if I see him again (I don't know how long we'll be on Phloeron). So after saying thank-you's, good bye's, we'll head out...
Ulula steps out from behind what appears to be a Mon Cal interior panel, re-adjusting a concealed holster. After nodding thankfully at Soz, I bow slightly again to the shop-owner:
If the shop-keeper's still cool, I'll have him look over the parts list I compiled from looking around (to confirm the price), and send the info over to Mayvar/Maeris to confirm the purchase/ request secure payment from their accounts. I'm also curious to talk to the shop-keeper more, he seems an interesting and intelligent sort, but I'm not sure how to segue the conversation after the 'visitor'...?
Hmm...
Looks like ol' Mayvar didn't explain all the details on this deal of his. Though as he never exactly claimed to, I can't hold it against him. ...I DON'T get the feeling this is your typical hold-up/kidnapping of rich off-world spacers, even if this guy's packing a V-blade... Still, that old shop-keeper seemed a nice type... if the Core-Worlder seems set to use actual violence against the shop-keeper, I'll pull my gun (Quickdraw) and blast him: 9 to-hit (8 if > 20m) for 6 dmg (i guess i would have it set to stun by default, don't want to piss off local security over an attempted mugging). if he's alerted to our position/ seems like he's coming our way, same deal and I'll try to retreat with Cinder towards any exit I can scope out... (Perception: 18)
I bow slightly towards the proprieter in the Durese manner
(in Durese) "...But don't let us interrupt your afternoon tea with your companion. I'll just browse the shelves - Major overhaul here, so no quick rush-job. And don't worry, the little one (Cinder) knows her way around stuff like this - HEY! hands off that!" (in Common)
I'll be holding Cinder's hand, both because of "dense crowd on poor, dangerous planet" and to keep her more "together", being outside. If she really freaks out, I guess I'd step inside whatever enclosed building is at hand or jump in a cab.
I guess we'll find that Urchin Fix first. As we do this, I'll discuss our landing here with Soz, wonder where those transports full of scabs are coming from, etc...? I think we all speak Durese, though unless Cinder uses it, I may assume she doesn't.
I will first try to find a place with my favorite Durese dish, live Urchin Delight.
BTW, do we all have a security/door code to the ship (& hangar?) or what?
Hey, I was taking a while writing up those background contacts, so I thought I'd post the 2 I already had: Spoiler:
"(Aste)'Roid Rats"
"Bad Rep" Pirate Crew (w/ Mayvar) This crew was the same one that mutineed/ turned against Mayvar, though I have no experience with that incident, we would be able to figure out it's the same crew from their names/ aliases/ looks/ personalities/ etc. (I would recognize all the crew except captain) They actually became well known within space-pirate circles because of their complete lack of even "thieves morals", and eventually could not find anybody willing to work with them, if not actively seeking them out for revenge, as word spread of their reputation and they could no longer function within the black economy. (Sharing our bad experience with pirate/smuggler types would probably elicit grudging sympathy/mutual disgust from other pirate types almost certain to at least have heard of this gang). I was almost screwed over/killed by them after thinking they were trust-worthy partners on some smuggling deal and having them try to turn on Ulula's crew - Ulula saved the day by quick thinking and turning the ship security system against the Bad Rep crew: one of their crew died (and one of Ulula's crew as well), though that isn't really the biggest motivator to them. Though not particularly trying to seek out Ulula for revenge or anything, if they run into her they would automatically be antagonistic given Ulula fought against them. They're antagonistic to about anybody they figure is weaker or can be tricked, they're usually just deceptive about it - their experience with Ulula would probably just make them "fast forward" to this stage - Unless their Captain has other plans (see below). WHAT I DON'T KNOW: Captain got cosmetic surgery & fake ID once too many cops and too many crooks were gunning for his head. Corrupt Imperial Intelligence faction paid for and arranged the whole thing, and now uses the captain/mercenary crew for projects, though has no real interest in their welfare beyond as an expendable tool. His crew often splits up, infiltrating other ships with just enough muscle & guns to take control of the situation, which is also a pragmatic tactic since the chances of being recognized as Roid Rats increases when they're all together. Scum of the Scum.
Sobla the Hutt
I frequented this station often during my time smuggling/ salvaging/ etc with (my former salvage/smuggling crew). It was run as a 'neutral' station where the "grey" (well, dark-grey) economy could function no questions asked, off a space station in a non-habitable system. The Hutt generally maintained her neutrality, content to make a large mark-up profit on the various services offered at the station, which everybody was content paying because there wasn't the normal planetary/Imperial police (much less taxes) to worry about. She also ran multiple side businesses of her own (usually similar to that of other residents here: smuggling, piracy, salvage) some of which benefitted from her good relations with (X noble house/faction), but unless someone was an out-and-out enemy of Sobla, other businesses and operations were free to operate on Jotraxa, and Sobla generally respected her customers' privacy. Overt Rebel operations were seen as a danger to the station, but nosing into customers' business was bad for business, so as long as people were discreet and didn't cause a problem, Sobla didn't make a problem either. Large-scale contra-band operations also weren't allowed on the station itself (as it would draw too much attention), but the large operators still found Jotraxa convenient to use as an intermediate staging point, re-stocking their own factories and capitol ships thru multiple smaller ships which blended in more. Most everyone aboard was armed and looked out for their own - Bars with more effective (lethal) security charge higher prices.
Sobla happens to be personally familiar with Ulula (if superficially) because of the 'Roid Rats, who had been targetting ships to hijack (like Ulula's) out of Jotraxa itself: Sobla is one of the many parties who would kill the Roid Rats on sight (or smell). Since she views the Roid Rat incident involving Ulula as an affront to Jotraxa's reputation as a "safe" place of business, she's probably inclined to a small gesture of good will to make up for her "failure" of tolerating the Roid Rats previously - Not much of substance (i.e. effecting the bottom line), but she's sensitive of any rumors about Xabul's reliability getting around. WHAT I DON'T KNOW: allied with X noble faction in X business?
I grimace at the deteriorating situation, and clearing my throat add:
It's rather the Doctor's own fault if he can't keep the time & place of his deliveries secret on a planet like this, much less arrange for some gun slingers of his own to be securing the cargo. I don't see why these guys would even mind if you give the Doc a buzz, he'll know his cargo is missing soon anyhow, it's not OUR fault if we got held up at the arranged landing point. If they already killed/captured him, what exactly would we we be planning to do if they DO just holster their blasters and skee-daddle?
Oh, I also try to nudge Cinder back up into the ship, or if she's uncooperative, at least get her into better cover behind me.
I fiddle around with the ship diagnostics on my data pad,
Spoiler:
I don't know if I can actually target and fire the ships weaponry by using my datapad to interface with the weaponry system, but could I at least get the weapon turrets to swivel and face the direction of the two "outsiders" (in 'diagnostics' mode)? If either is possible, I'm not swivelling the turrets ASAP, but might be navigating the computer so I can do so immediately if the heat gets turned up. Use Computer: 25. If necessary to alay suspicion... Deception: 17
Spoiler:
Ulula is impressed enough with your ability to invite you to work alongside me on the drive system. Anyways, working alongside someone else seems alot more enticing than slaving away in the drive bay all by myself while everybody else in on "shore leave", so I look forward to it. We'll probably have to look around town to find a good deal on what we need, so you can come along for that too. Though affecting disinterest at "just another slag-heap planet" up until we arrive, touching down actually sparks me to go investigate, at least to get a change of scenery for a bit. The floating accents of Durese and beckoning smells spur me on... Perhaps I'll delay getting to work on the drive systems for just a bit, after all... As I step out the ramp, the sight of the three armed men (that we didn't expect) slows me down. I don't make a move to ready myself (I'll say I'm holding my datapad with the drive info in my off-hand, looking engineer-like), but keep my eyes peeled and stay partly behind the ramp machinery. I'm not saying anything because it's Maeris' deal and I'm not familiar with all the details anyways, but I can't help but wonder if this group really are agents of this Doctor...
"OK, let's play 'pretend the captain knows nothing about hyperdrive operation and/or maintenance' again. What are you telling me?" "Yoopza, I'm sayin' this ship's gonna need a double heart regen surgery before it's hittin' hyperspace again... Basically you're looking at a couple days minimum, maybe a galactic week, who knows? Just don't be pressing me to hurry, 'cause if you had listened about this back on Troophon, it would have been twice as easy. ...Same mechanic's rate applies for planetside work, y'know...
"Good eyes kiddo", I comment at Cinder's diligent work on the sensor board, then grimmacing slightly at my bad choice of words. I punch up several sensor view-points on my computer console, hoping to get a clearer picture of what this shuttle's doing. "Actually..." I'll also see what communications signals I can pick up off the Imperial ships as well as anything else in the area. It's not often Rim Scum like us encounter Imperials of this class and are let off the hook, so it should be a learning experience at the least.
Mayvar, switching my comms switch on as I spin my chair around,
Like I warned of before we left Troophon, the warp unit just blew out it's containment field, which is usually what happens when you drive these things past their expiration date, meaning we'll need to replace the warp ion transducement coils before we can leave this system. AND, since we didn't manage to take care of that back in Troophon, the incidental warp ionic variance when we dropped out of hyperspace partially overcame the containment field, meaning the control unit interface to the coils is itself quite ionized, so besides replacing any processors that blew out, I'll have to re-calibrate the whole thing.
Hey, sorry not to have posted in a while, I've been working up Ulula's background more, but it was hard to keep it short & sweet. Here it is (nothing set in stone, of course): Spoiler:
Parents left their homeworld Velusia when Ulula was very young due to 'problems' with the Velusia Mining Corporation. Ulula doesn't necessarily know all the details, for her protection and because she didn't need to.
Her parents worked here and there across the galaxy, applying their science and engineering background from working for the Corporation towards a series of jobs ranging from terraforming to maintaining environmenal systems for orbital stations. On occasion they had to relocate at a moments notice because the Corporation had apparently discovered them (a bad thing). They had settled into a small aquatic colony, a 'beach head' composed of many Mon Cal as well as Humans and other species, where her parents' skills were appreciated setting up aquaculture/life support and researching the planet's ecology to learn how a larger population might best be integrated. When mineral finds in near-by systems draw hordes of independent miners, their planet suddenly becomes "strategic territory" for factions aiming to control the mineral trade. Tax evasion and allegations of terrorist (Rebel) activity in the area shortly drew in the Sector Authority, who federalized the colonists' planet under the Emperor's new edicts. The newly appointed Sector Authority was largely composed of Planetary officials, who unbeknownst to Ulula's parents were well-esconsced with Plaxtem Holdings , the controlling investor in Velusian Mining Corporation. Her parents were lured in with a request by the SecAuth Political Liason to discuss operational matters related to the colony, but once they realized the situation, they were able to activate an encrypted beacon alerting Ulula to hide and activate 'the emergency plan'. Ulula hasn't heard anything of her parents since, though the checks she's done have indicated they were never officially arrested by any Sector Authority or Empire agency. She was left with a data-crystal of large capacity, containing masses of statistical data and timelines of exploration probes and the like, with instruction that such information should only be revealed to a geologist whose independence and morality is assured. With her parents disappeared and the colony under martial law, she decides to leave along with some friends ready to ditch the SecAuth-occupied planet, alongside a Mon Cal freighter they had helped re-stock against SecAuth orders - Which turns out to be part of the just-developing Mon Cal Rebel navy, though currently only involved in guarding convoys of factory machinery and contraband goods. From her background fixing repulsor lifts and knowledge picked up from her technically minded parents, she quickly learns the ropes of starship operation, from warp drive maintenance to shield operation and comms, but though she sympathisizes and loves the MC as friends, eventually she parts ways: She just doesn't feel like she fits in their close-knit military organization, enmeshed with their entire species history which she just doesn't share. She continues to try and keep a low-profile as far as the authorities are concerned, crewing various tramp freighters, often moving certain goods that the Squib find too hot to handle themselves (like salvaged ship weaponry), and even getting into salvage operations herself, where she learns the ins-and-outs of bypassing starship security mechanisms. Unfortunately, this business seems to attract others whose proclivities to violence is too far from Ulula's morals and sense of self-preservation, so when the opportunity to get out appears, she takes it. Thru a friend's connections, she takes a maintenance engineer position on the newly relocated orbital pleasure station of AquaEden Plus. Built from a mined-out asteroid, and combining a galactic cruise ship/ vacation condo development/ tropical aquatic paradise, AquaEden was noticeably popular with Aquatic species due to the prominence "wet" environs played within it. Making almost as good of money, but without violent criminals one bad deal away from slitting her throat, it seems like her life has turned the corner: She even gets a promotion once her technical skills are recognized, and she soon finds herself involved with a very charming Human also working on the station. Unfortunately, her new-found security is quickly turned upside down: Ulula discovers the true extent of the drug and slave trade going on just beneath the surface of AquaEden when her lover loses a horrendous amount of credits in some deal gone bad, and frantically must find some way to re-pay his employers, the crime syndicate who is the true interest behind AquaEden, before they decide to kill him. Ulula pulls every favor she's owed, and blows her savings to save him, but after his deception their relationship is no more. She decides to clear out of AquaEden, both because she doesn't want to chance dealing with the crime syndicate she now knows is running the show, and because it reminds her of her failed relationship. Back to square one, she is now at large amongst the stars...
Her trained skills would probably look like:
Just to comment on everybody's characters so far: Spoiler:
Mayvar: Sounds good, Epic Loser cum Survivor :-) It would be interesting if he isn't AWARE he is Force Sensitive per se, he has just rationalized these abilities another way, and maybe even sees them as a curse of sorts, like reading peoples minds but this info not helping him in reality, catch-22 style, or failing just when it would do the most good (mind-reading just being an example). Cinder: I think your character can definitely work with Ulula... Being especially young sets up a certain type of relationship right there. I think having some Skill over-lap is fine, we can differentiate with our Feats & Talents, like you taking Jury-Rig and me not (if I have another 'job' during ship combat like manning a turret or shields or sensors/etc, you specializing in 'keeping things up' with Jury-Rig would work great I think.) Me having Skill Focus: Mechanics (racial) so you maybe not doing that but perhaps taking Skill Focus: Use Computer (and/or Acrobatics for squeezing thru tight spots) would easily keep us well distinct... I'm not planning on speaking Binary (Droid), so taking that as one of your languages would be another differentiator. With your high INT you obviously get alot of Skills, but having so many Knowledge Skills seems slightly off to me for such a young character with a background like yours without access to academic sources - it might be better to have stuff like Climb/Jump/Swim/Acrobatics/Stealth/Initiative (survivally stuff) which would let her deal with all sorts of terrain & wierd interior spaces. Also, between you and Mayvar, I think it might be best for there to only be one Force Sensitive character... ??? Cato/Wade: Interesting. I had been thinking some kind of "former dirty space cop who left because of bigger corruption" character would have been an interesting addition to the group, but your concept has similar attributes, though more of a "goody good" feel. If the rest of us figure out your background, I'd expect plenty of paranoia that you're still working for the Empire :-) Soz: Good flavor, at first I thought he was going to be more of a gladiator-bouncer-muscle-bodyguard type, but he seems more like "artillery" from glancing at his profile (which probably has a longer life expectancy than muscle types). ...Probably a great pilot too with the duros racial and fairly good DEX - if you end up being "2nd Pilot" probably don't want to take Skill Focus: Pilot or else you'd outshine the main pilot. Maris: Your character makes me think about how all our relationships will work. For one, if someone else owns the ship, Ulula would be wanting to have a decently-compensated position as engineer, and would not be wanting to put herself into combat positions regularly in any case. If you want to be the "main" entrepeneur running some smuggling business that could work, or perhaps your character would see that level of business as below her but for the moment is happy to trade your skills/contacts as a service to someone else "owning" the business, leaving you with less liabilities while you eye your next move...??? Anyhow, it looks like we're finally getting a group together now... BTW, I like how SAGA seems to de-emphasize "Classes", or that same class-characters could be TOTALLY different, and different-class characters could still have similar roles. If we're thinking of starting above 1st level, like at 2nd or something, it might be nice to allow people who are 'multiclassing' to allocate their INT bonus skills using their COMBINED class-skill list, not just based on their "1st level Class" (though that still defines base HPs, Starting Feats, etc) About the ship, I'm not at all attached to being the ship owner, but if the plot hook under my background spoiler (at the end) interests everybody, I don't mind being the one up to her neck in debt to the Hutts :-). I don't plan on training the Pilot skill, so having a Pilot or 2 would obviously be necessary. And if others want to involve themselves in setting up smuggling deals, etc, it seems like it could set up a viable 'partnership' between everyone.
Great. re: anti-Alien prejudice, she's more of a 'modified' Human (C&CW mentioned 'evolution', but other sources I saw mentioned 'gene splicing', which would be more my interpretation for how humans got gills). So while I expect the biggest Human supremacists would certainly give me some attitude, Imperials would realistically be alot more comfortable around me than say, Wookies or Duros.In the game I had thought I was starting, we were starting on Coruscant for some reason, but she had essentially just arrived there FROM outer/mid rim doing "grey" technical work... So the only thing I should need to change would be switching out Yuzhan Vong references to ones more appropriate to Rebellion era events. BTW, are you familiar with the Squib? They're mentioned in her b/g and she speaks their language. They seem to fit right in to this sort of campaign, but I wanted to make sure you're familiar with them, otherwise it's a waste of character b/g. (Otherwise, I think my c-sheet is very clear, but let me know when you have time to check it out)
...Working on it. I put up a better physical description for now. With everyone getting their skills all finessed, I decided I'd replace Acrobatics with Galactic Lore. I really only took the Acrobatics for the "squeezing thru tight spots" aspect rather than ninja-combat-tumbling, so it's not that big a deal to drop, and Galactic Lore just seems like the sort of knowledge you get from travelling around and talking with spacers of every species.
@Hunter: Aquar synopsis on SW Wiki
Don't worry Cordal... There's gotta be some nice Bothan girls here, it's CORUSCANT, right?
OK, well if anybody wanted to buy a ship, I could be available to "suss it out" and figure out what really needs replacement (thus saving some creds on your freighter mortage), and I could even do the repair work, too... Guild Mechanic's rates, right? We *are* on the Big C though!, and there's all the wierd leftover Yuzhan Vong stuff to see... If a certain Mandalorian would have probably let slip uncouth (and pathetic) cheese-ball lines like how he loves aquatic "positions", I'd certainly be much more inclined to go exploring with our other companions, Cordal or Xarra. I *do* only have 300-odd creds to my name, so I will be soliciting any ideas for "cheap/free fun in Coruscant"...
Good ideas space-monkeys, we can't stay on Coruscant forever!
@KC: Spoiler:
OK, speaking Squib & Duro then.
Feat: Quickdraw, Talent: Spacehound (NOBODY else has proficiency in Starship Weapons) -2 sounds reasonable enough for the Bolas (since that's the only way you can use them at all) About Licences, should I just pay the base amount for Licences up to Restricted, or what?
Anyhow, I should have my equipment posted by the time you read this. (no missile launchers)
OK, here's what our group looks like so far:
We're apparently in a cantina on Coruscant.
@KC: Spoiler:
All the Talents I was thinking about were from Core, the only non-Core Feat I was thinking of was "Friends in Low Places" from Scum & Villainy (letting you use Get Info instead of Know:Beaurocracy to gain Licences, and reducing the Black Market multiplier by 1).
Anyhow, if you can confirm:
On that Magna-Bolas thing,
and Grab (from Core Combat Rules)
The Magna-Bolas seem like a shorter-range/ thrown version of the Snare Rifle, so it should probably work the same way... Since they're designed to function this way, I think they shouldn't take the -5 penalty described in Grab, but it's your call. Magna-Bolas' write-up (d20 rules) also mentioned choosing Stunning OR Entanglement, but I think how the Snare Rifle works (both effects) makes the most sense - how can you wrap the cord around someone to Stun them WITHOUT Entangling them? Or like I said before, if it's too much trouble, feel free to suggest an alternative, I don't care that much to think about it too much more (though now that I know how it works, it seems nice & flavorful)
I'm here! I've put my basic stats in my profile, though I'm unsure of all my languages (+ my Feat & Talent).
So exactly what part of the galaxy are we in, anyways? (it could affect what gear i get, for one...) About gear, I had two questions actually (I haven't played SW SAGA before, so bear with me):
Also, how exactly do "Re-Roll X" Talents (e.g. "Barter": Reroll Haggling)
... Anyhow, once I figure out a couple of those things, I'll finalize my Feat & Talent and get my gear finished...
This is the closest avatar I could find to how I imagined my character to look like
Anyhow, here is what I have on the Magna Bolas: Spoiler:
Magna Bolas
Cost: 500 credits Damage 1d3 + special (see text) Stun Fort DC: 15 Critical: 20 Range Increment: 5 m Weight: 1 kg Type: Bludgeoning Size: Medium Group: Exotic This weapon is a trio of metallic, magnetic balls attached by a thin metallic cord. Although it deals little damage, the weapon is useful for entangling or stunning targets. The wielder decides whether to use the bolas to stun or entangle and opponent before the attack roll takes place. On a successful hit, the target takes 1d3 points of damage and must make either a Fortitude Save (DC15) to resist the Stun or a Reflex Save (DC15) to avoid Entanglement; If the Check fails, the victim is stunned or entangled.
For everyone else, here's a synopsis of my background:
She'll start out as Scoundrel, but probably multi-class w/ Scout to some degree. Fairly strong skill-monkey focus more than combat... I thought being able to finagle good deals on gear AND fix/customize it all (AND hack thru it) would be a useful role... With Scout I'd probably pick up WP:Rifles, so I could take up a Sniper role eventually... (and I can get Starship Weapon Proficiency thru a Talent) Perhaps I could have met some/all of you as co-crew on a vessel, or doing a 'land' job together, or we could have just met socially...? @KC: Spoiler:
I wasn't sure which all languages to know (I have 4 extra).
Besides Mon Cal, Hutt seemed common enough in "grey space"... Squib (the cute fox-like scavengers) seemed fun & useful, I mentioned knowing Tynnans from growing up (they're the smart, cultured anarcho-socialist neutrias, though their planet was enslaved/terraformed by the Vong) though I don't know if I need to bother actually knowing their language since they seem very Basic-fluent. Bocce or Duro seem very "spacer" languages but seem to be spoken in about the same areas as Basic itself, so not really that useful... If you didn't mind, I could use an extra language or two on another Trained Skill (Swim, Gather Info, Pilot?), or I'd be happy if you have any other language ideas to share. ...Otherwise, I should have my Skill/Feat/Talents figured out 100% soon :-) |
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