My preference is for 'slice-of-life' type gaming rather than full-on space opera, so war as a theme is less interesting to me than life aboard a space station where there's a truce, however uneasy: more Babylon 5, or even Absalom Station in the Starfinder universe, than Battlestar Galactica. In terms of my character, I don't see them as someone who wants to rise to the top - they're a peacekeeper of sorts, trying to ensure both that resources are shared around and that none of the squabbling gangs do too much collateral damage to the community (or communities, tbc) around them.
The sort of story you want to tell is up to you and the group as a whole, it's very collaborative/guided. When someone plays their character in a scene, you can essentially respond in three ways: "yes, and..." or "yes, but..." or "rewind."
YES, AND
"OK, I think my character is going to visit the local fixer, Squillex, to get a read on where they stand in this situation."
"Yes, and when you get there they're clearly torn between glad to see you and annoyed. 'What kept you?' they snap. 'I've got a job for you.'"
YES, BUT
"OK, I think my character is going to visit the local fixer, Squillex, to get a read on where they stand in this situation."
"Yes, but when you finally get admitted to see them, they are not happy to see you. 'You've got some nerve coming back here after last time!' they snap. What did you do that pissed them off so badly?"
REWIND
"OK, I think my character is going to visit the local fixer, Squillex, to get a read on where they stand in this situation."
"Wait up. Didn't we previously establish that your character doesn't know Squillex?"
The Rewind is also used if the scene goes in a direction you aren't happy with, for whatever reason. "Nope, no snakes. Make it a spider and I'm fine."
As for Tokens, it's generally done by consensus: "OK, this seems like a good time for my character to give in to their Weakness here, how do you think that plays out?" Someone else might throw in an idea, you tweak it slightly and the scene moves forward.
(sorry for delayed reply, btw - I did some off-grid pre Christmas travel)
Alright, this is a bit wall-of-text but should provide you with some ideas on what the game is about and how it is played - feel free to ask questions!
Flotsam is part of the Belonging Without Belonging genre, and the No Dice, No Masters school of gaming.
When you play, sometimes you’ll focus on portraying your PC and making decisions for them. Sometimes you’ll play a constellation of problems and threats, called a Situation, and focus on making that Situation feel real and putting pressure on the other players’ PCs. And whichever of those you’re focusing on, you’ll also help describe the world, making it feel real and colourful; and you may sometimes frame scenes, deciding where and when they happen and what they should focus on, and take on NPCs, bringing them to life.
Basically, you share the GM duties with the other players, each of you taking responsibility for portraying a particular Situation. Therefore, unlike in most RPGs, there is no GM – everyone plays a PC and the responsibility for running the game and deciding/agreeing on what happens is shared.
PCs are created using Playbooks:
—— The Thunder, a gang leader or law enforcer.
—— The Spider, a trader, spy, or criminal.
—— The Voice, a cultist, community leader or demagogue.
—— The Cast-Off, a drifter and freelancer.
—— The Sybil, a prophet with uncanny powers.
—— The Hybrid, a blend of human and something else (AI, alien, god).
—— The Scum, an ordinary person with connections in the community
—— The Outsider, someone from outside the station now trapped here.
—— The Vapour, an AI, spirit or demon.
When you choose a Playbook, you get to choose three Strengths and two Weaknesses. For example, the Thunder could choose the Strength "empowered with official authority" which makes them more than just a gang leader; and/or they might choose the Strength "skilled warrior" and the Voice could choose the Strength "can bind and banish spirits"
The Thunder might choose a Weakness "a rival gang disputes your territory" or "you love your gang like a family" and the Voice might choose a Weakness "you are arrogant and overconfident" or "you passionately believe your own rhetoric"
Situations are:
—— The Community’s social strife and internal divisions
—— The relentless effects of Poverty
—— The Gangs who run things down here
—— The Above, a more prosperous and powerful society
—— The Spirits who inhabit this place
—— The people and things that come and go from Outside the station
—— The Resistance to forces oppressing the Below.
—— The effects of a War that is raging near the station.
When you choose a Playbook, you should also choose a Situation that you would like to be responsible for. When that Situation comes into play, you will act as the GM in that case and will be mainly responsible for dictating what happens and/or asking questions from the other players so that everyone gets to chip in.
Conversely, if there is a particular Situation you would like your character to experience and struggle with, you should ask one of the other players if they are willing to be responsible for that Situation – it’s difficult to play a Situation and your PC at the same time!
Instead of dice, the game runs on Tokens. If you really want to get something done without complications, you leverage a Strength and spend a Token. You can leverage a Strength without spending a Token, which will allow you to get stuff done but other players may suggest complications that occur as a result. If you spend a Token, you bypass the complications and showcase your character’s awesomeness.
You gain Tokens either by (i) being vulnerable, opening your character to their Weaknesses and Flaws; or (ii) by asking something of another character – what you ask of them will depend on their Playbook. For example, if you rely on the Thunder to protect you from a dangerous threat, you gain a Token and the Thunder player gets to mark the relationship (effectively a form of XP). If you act in the name of the Voice, or in support of their cause, you gain a Token and the Voice player gets to mark the relationship.
So, is this game PvP or collaborative? Yes.
The way Situations work, and the way the game plays out is based on the struggle for survival and the allocation of scarce resources. Each of your characters may have differing ideals and ideas on how that works in the Below - and that may well lead to conflict.
However, that conflict should be agreed between the players and needs to be played out collaboratively. If the other player isn’t interested in having conflict with your character over that particular issue, you will need to find another way to resolve it (possibly by introducing an NPC who acts as a shared enemy you can join forces against, or possibly by another player stepping in to be the focus of the antagonism).
Just as you wouldn’t have your PC pursue a romantic relationship with someone else’s PC without getting that player’s buy-in, you shouldn’t pursue a conflictual relationship with their PC without getting buy-in.
If I were to do this, I would start in January -- the holidays are just too wacky.
That makes sense - holidays are for in-person gaming, reading rulebooks and theorycrafting!
(on that point, I'm leaning heavily into the Witch playbook at the moment; can't decide whether it'd be more fun to play it as someone who actively revels in the chaos, or someone who causes chaos without meaning to...)
Yes, I'm half-convinced that BoB is some sort of Kobayashi Maru given life in an RPG in order to test your gaming group's capacity for failure - I'm not entirely sure it can be beaten (with that said, Christmas at mine tends to be fairly alcoholic so not every decision made was entirely optimal). But a good time was had by all, which is what counts!
I'm really liking what I've read so far of A Nocturne. I hope you get enough interest to run it.
I've read somewhere (or maybe this is just a very common houserule) that aside from certain spells that have specific visual effects-- fireball, color spray, summon monster, etc.-- the visual representation of your spell can kinda be whatever you want so long as the mechanics are the same. Like, verbal and somatic components have to be words and gestures that are recognizable in-universe as spell components (you can't just say "My verbal components are in Elvish so it just sounds like I'm talking") but the actual words and gestures your character performs are up to you.
In fact, describing how your components and effects manifest themselves can be a very fun part of roleplaying a spellcaster. Is it a quick Magicians-esque finger gesture? Is it a flamboyant, artistic sweep of your arms? Does your voice change to mimic your god/dess when you chant a divine ritual? Etc.
If you're over a certain age, you may have had a copy of the D&D Gazetteer Principalities of Glantri which afaik was one of the first supplements to suggest that how different wizards cast certain spells told you who they'd trained with: Etienne d'Ambreville cast Teleport Other with a few mutterings and a distinctive finger-shake, whereas the Bela Lugosi/Dracula expy (can't remember his name) used dramatic gestures of dismissal and a swirling of his cape.
Apologies. None of this is relevant to your recruitment. But a memory was jogged.
This is an interest check to see if there are any players out there who might be interested in playing an indie game called Flotsam by Black Armada Games.
The game designer wrote:
Flotsam is a roleplaying game about outcasts, misfits and renegades living in the belly of a space station, in the shadow of a more prosperous society. The focus of the game is on interpersonal relationships and the day-to-day lives and struggles of a community that lacks the basic structures of civilisation.
Imagine the Belters of the Expanse watching as Earth and Mars shape their lives; the civilians in Battlestar Galactica living with the decisions made by the military; and the folk of Downbelow in Babylon 5, abandoned to destitution and squalor by those who built the station.
This is very much not a ‘hard’ sci-fi game – it has mystics and psychics and weird AIs and spirits and in fact is more about exploring the social side, with a hard emphasis on role-playing.
It’s a fun game and I’m hoping to find a few players willing to play it with me.
That is very weird: I just came back to this forum to post an interest check of my own for a sci-fi indie game, to find there is one already here!
Count me interested, I love the FitD system and played Band of Blades one Christmas a while back (there were no survivors) - but I'm not familiar with A Nocturne. I'll pick up a copy of the rules and read through.
Thanks. Rigel is definitely guilty of the crime she's charged with - she's a follower of Asmodeus, after all. I just thought it would be more amusing (to Asmodeus, I mean, not to Rigel) if she was charged and convicted of the correct crime, but for the wrong reasons (if you see what I mean). But I can re-write if that's preferred.
Also: I wrote the 'I don't remember what happened' to be vague in case you want to use it as a GM hook for something later on. If you want me to fill in the blanks, I can do that as well :)
I've put in an NPC section to answer your questions about her family.
Interesting. Apologies if you've posted on this point and I've missed it, but how would you rule on the VMC for an anti-paladin? Would it just be same as paladin but reversed (smite good, touch of corruption, cruelty)?
Galorit: seems to me that most Envoy abilities require a standard action or a move action, so the chances of you using a full-round action to attack look pretty small. In other words, getting longarm proficiency, versatile specialisation etc looks like a non-optimal tradeoff, but it is of course your character :-)
Trying to come up with a class for my pilot, and it looks like Operative, but I don't want to tread on Lessah's toes. That said, the Operative class is varied enough that you could have a whole party of them and they'd all be slightly different.
EDIT: Oh yes, homeworld. Actually not fussed about this aspect, I'm assuming it doesn't really come into play except as a place to have come from. Post-Gap, I can imagine that a distrustful portion of Tian society basically went its own way (see RL 14th/15th Century isolationist Japan/China) and colonised its own planets/solar system, trying to recreate what it could remember of the glories of Ancient Tian Xia (now lost).
I loved The Expanse, if we have a story half as compelling as that I'll be delighted.
Thoughts on my character follow. Confession one: I'm not particularly inspired by the alien races (other than the Ysoki, which I've already played; and possibly the Android, which I might play another time), so I'm going to play a Human... In Spaaace! Not so glamorous, I admit, but hey.
Confession two: this isn't so much character creation as it is an exorcism - this character broke into my imagination around 4 a.m. and I'm hoping that committing them to the written word will help with the eviction process.
I’ve kept it to 2 NPC’s. Sincere apologies to anyone who suffers injury from the wall-of-text that follows.
The Story so Far:
====================
THREE YEARS AGO
====================
“Do you know why you are here?”
I remain kneeling in the traditional posture: forehead pressed firmly into the expensive carpet, arms stretched out, palms down, in front of me. A thousand possible answers run through my head: good excuses, bad excuses, pleas for mercy; I mentally wave them away. No. If I am to die, I will not go before the Oni having angered them with cowardice.
Besides, my mouth is too dry for anything except a simple answer: “Yes, Nikkura-san.” Damn. My voice is a hollow whisper.
“You have nothing to say for yourself?” He sounds mildly surprised – and amused. “The ashigaru I sent reports that were most vocal about where he could stick the money he was to pay you for throwing the race – and that you cut him with a knife when he wouldn’t leave.”
I say nothing. It is true, after all; denying it would be pointless. Also, stupid.
Almost as stupid as attacking one of Nikkura-san’s errand-boys.
The voice continues. “You race well, they tell me; excellently, in fact. You were a favourite to win. Coming in third would have made you very, very, wealthy.”
This time I raise my head, looking him straight in the eye. “I race to win, Oji-ma.”My prince.“Anything less would anger the Oni.”
He smiles, even white teeth flashing in a youthful grin, and I blink in surprise. He’s younger than I expected. Much younger. Barely older than me. His clothing is sharp, expensive, but modern. “I am not a prince. At least, not yet. You follow the Old Ways, then. Tell me of the Oni.”
I do. I can no more not tell him than I can disobey gravity: his eyes lock with mine, holding me, seeing all there is to see. I tell him of the Oni, the demons that seek to devour each of us, and how they must be fed; that I feed them by throwing myself at death, over and over, that the exhilaration and terror nourishes them, that as long as they are kept fat and happy, they will bless me.
In my nai-nai’s hut, surrounded by the shrines, the icons, the idols, it made perfect sense; here, surrounded by chrome and glass, it sounds like the ravings of an illiterate peasant.
Yet still, I believe.
Eventually I fall silent. The next question comes out of nowhere: “You have been seeking to join the… Fellowship, have you not? For quite some time, I understand. But nobody would accept you, fools that they are.” He waves at me impatiently. “Oh, do get up. I’m not going to execute you. I’m offering to be your sponsor into the Fellowship. I need gifted pilots, after all.”
My jaw drops open. I close it. I open it again. “Nikkura-san, I-”
He interrupts me with another glowing smile. “Please. My allies in the Fellowship call me Nikki. Unless it is a very formal occasion.”
================
ONE YEAR AGO
================
The hoverbike was never meant to go this fast, or make turns that sharp; the grav-motor whines, threatening to burn out. I grin. This is where I belong, where the gap between life and death is indivisibly small, where every lurch and thrill is meat and drink to the lurking Oni… I send them a fleeting thought: Keep me alive, and I’ll keep you fed!
The air around me is split by gunfire: the three SecuriBots chasing me are catching up. I frown with disappointment: only three? Not much of a challenge. I have run this route dozens of times in my head, and up ahead is where I can lose them-
The limo appears out of nowhere, a hundred yards dead ahead, as its stealth field evaporates. A window opens and a gun pokes out. Serious hardware. I don’t recognise it. Behind it, Nikki’s face, sighting down the barrel, winks at me, flashing that trademark smile of his and a single word: “Duck.”
I’m no more than 10 metrons above the ground: if I go into a dive with the grav-motor in this state, I won’t recover in time. I pull up instead, missing the limo by no more than a lick of paint, yawing into a loop-the-loop, watching as Nikki’s gun opens up beneath me, the destructive autofire tearing the SecuriBots apart in seconds.
I’m in the descent from the loop when the grav-motor finally sparks out, turning the machine into dead weight. I let it go and it plummets beneath me as I activate the ’chute, and Nikki reaches out from the limo and grabs me as I tumble past, bundling me inside, and I laugh, out of breath, ribs bruised, but alive, so, so alive…
Nikki allows himself a satisfied nod as the limo drives us to safety. “I have news. Business is good. I’ve acquired another ’ship.” Wait – a Starship?!“The Far Star. She’s a small thing, but she’ll carry the packages I need delivered off-world. It’s dangerous work, but I assume you’ll accept?”
I grin with delight, shrugging off my top before fumbling with my belt. “Help me out of these and I’ll show you how much I accept...”
Such intimacy with one’s superior is dangerous. But that’s part of the fun. Besides, the Oni aren’t the only ones with appetites.
==================
ONE MONTH AGO
==================
My descent in the Far Star is violently resisted: re-entry is a battle between my skill, my ship, and the planet’s gravity and atmosphere. Alarms blare as I fight to stay awake, with the G-forces involved almost knocking me out, sending me spiralling helplessly down to a fiery death.
Almost. And in that almost, the Oni feed.
There’s no emergency: this is just how I prefer to land. I spot the landing pad and make a perfect 3-point touchdown, springing the cockpit canopy open and sliding out with a grin on my face-
-which promptly evaporates at Nikki’s expression. And that of Shotokayo-san, his bumptious little secretary. We have a history, him and me – and not a good one: a few months back he seemed to think he could help himself to anything that belonged to his boss. Including me. I disagreed, strongly. Now Shotokayo looks smug, and Nikki… Nikki looks blank. My stomach lurches with dread. “Wh-what’s wrong?”
Nikki doesn’t answer, he just stares at me, unblinking. Shotokayo’s greasy voice pipes up: “It seems, Dearest Child, that the crates you just delivered were empty when opened. Making Nikkura-san look like he has reneged on an agreement.”
Another time, I’d make him pay for that ‘Dearest Child’ crack. But I let it pass, in my confusion. “That’s not possible.” I state it as flatly as possible, although my brain is whirring. “I loaded those crates myself, and they were sealed. Nobody touched them since.”
Shotokayo-san almost purrs with satisfaction. “I’m so glad you grasp the realities of the situation, Dearest Child. So. To whom did you sell them, and for how long have you been betraying Nikkura-san?”
I look at Nikki, helplessly. I have a code: I don’t take what isn’t mine, and I don’t backstab those who are loyal to me. There’s more, but that’s the important bit right now. His face gives nothing away. I am on my own. Time to think.
“Wait. Wait. Those crates were sealed – they could have been empty when I loaded them! Who sealed them?” I see the spark of something in Shotokayo’s sallow face and I jump to a conclusion. “You! You did – and we both know already that you have difficulty keeping your filthy hands off our boss’s belongings...”
His face creases with fury: “You little b+$#!!” A cruel-hooked knife gleams in his hand. “I’ll cut the truth out of you: you jockeys aren’t so tough outside your machines-”
He looks down in astonishment as the first shot tears into his gut; a second swiftly follows it and he collapses to the ground. The pistol seemed to leap into my hand of its own accord, and now it pivots to point straight at-
“Nikkura-san.” I haven’t called him that for a long time. But it seems appropriate somehow. I try to keep my voice and face steady. Another part of my code is that I don’t shoot people who aren’t armed and able to defend themselves (especially – even? – if they’re my sponsor/sometime bedmate/it’s complicated), but if he sees through my bluff and calls the guards, I’m dead.
He gives that smile of his, and looks straight through me. I can’t fool him, not for a moment. But – to my astonishment – he puts his hands behind his head, and kneels.
I could live a thousand, thousand lifetimes and never understand that man.
The gun falls out of my trembling hand, and he rolls his eyes. “Oh, do pick that up. You’ll need it. Space is not a friendly place for the loner. Now, you’ll have to sell the Far Star obviously, once you get to safety. But I’ve grown rather fond of her and I’d prefer you not to sell her for parts. Or scrap.” He looks at me, and smiles once again. “You need to get moving: I’m sure someone heard those shots and is on their way here. Be safe, Fi-hana.”My flower.“May you keep your Oni happy and fed.”
I will never understand that man. But I take his advice. It’s the best.
==================
THREE DAYS AGO
==================
I didn’t get much for the ship on the black market – it was obviously stolen – and what credits I earned were spent making connections, seeing who wants a pilot. I have no credentials: I can’t exactly admit I spent the last three years driving for the yakuza, the Fellowship.
The Starfinder Society is my last hope, but even they are barely returning my calls. Finally, today, my comm-link pings: there may be an opening. I’m to go to Absalom Station and meet a dwarf named Duravor Kreel.
I have little choice in the matter.
Of Books & Covers:
Fianh (pronounced "fee-ONG" with the emphasis on the last syllable; also known as ‘Fi’) is of just below middling height for a Tian, which makes her considerably shorter than most people she encounters. This, together with her features and her long, straight, jet-black hair make her ancestry unmistakable.
Among people she doesn't know, Fianh keeps her daredevil attitude and speech repressed, confining herself to an inner monologue – more of which is expressed on her face than perhaps she realises; although among strangers she tries to play up to the 'inscrutable Tian' stereotype, saying very little while noting everything. Plus, she has learned that being short and outspoken means you get called 'feisty' - a word that makes her want to release the safety catch on her Mitsuyoba heavy pistol.
However reserved Fi has learned to be in her speech, her actions are still those of the irrepressible daredevil. The Oni are ever-hungry, after all.
Faces Past & Present:
Nikkura - A man who plays 3-dimensional chess in a galaxy where everyone else seems to be playing checkers, Nikki is now a daimyo in the Fellowship, the youngest to make that title in over ten generations. He let Fi go partly out of sentiment, because she wasn't guilty - but mostly because he never removes a piece from the board unless he's sure it is of no further value.
Shotokayo - Fi was correct in her guess: Shotokayo was indeed responsible. His attempt to frame Fi out of spite backfired badly. He was allowed to live because he was in the pay of a rival daimyo; Nikkura extracted a number of highly advantageous concessions in exchange for letting Shotokayo go, but not before removing both the little fingers of his hands (the traditional Fellowship penalty). Unwilling to return to his boss carrying these marks of shame, Shotokayo has slunk away to the Diaspora, where he has quickly become a lieutenant of one of the more unsavoury Free Captains. He harbours a festering grudge against Fi, blaming her rather than his own actions.
Quick question: how does being on Absalom station affect the weapons we're allowed to carry? If I'm making a sniper for example, are the station guards going to harass us every few metrons for carrying around visible weaponry?
There are a lots of types of Princesses out there... best hope there are more Princess What's-Her-Name types rather than Queen Slug-For-A-Butt types.
Seems lke we're leanng more towards Neutral at this point. That's good, because I aim to flush at least one sentient creature out of an airlock before the adventure path is over.
"They said shoot for the stars - they didn't say what (or who) I should shoot at them with..."
Thinking of a Lawful type, ex-gangster with a code (like the Hollywood mafiosi).
Or... Inspired by Firefly, where half the galaxy was colonised by Asia (and everyone used Mandarin swearwords as a way to bypass the censors at Fox) I'm thinking that Tian Xia must have been involved in colonising the Pact Worlds.
Hm. Now I'm thinking some sort of ex-yakuza type. Which is annoying, because I don't have any obviously Tian aliases already.
Is there a general assumption of party "alignment"? Goody-two-shoes rescuing space princesses from death stars? Carefree mercs doing it for the money? Evil pirates attacking anyone straying too far from the safe lanes (I assume not this one)?
Rogar!!! Hey, great to see you.
Agree that alignment is critical - not so much the specifics of L vs C/ E vs G but in terms of the flavour/atmosphere we want.
I think my character is going to be a thrill-seeking daredevil pilot; more concerned with the adrenaline than the cause or the cash (although don't try short-changing them, 'less you wanna walk home...)
Happy to tie in backstory with anyone, but I need to develop it first!
GM Stargin wrote:
@DR: By RAW I don't think it works. But I'll allow it. Two feats is a pretty hefty investment and it should be enough to support a TWF concept in that fashion. So you'll be able to draw two weapons as a swift action if you have both feats.
Thanks! Appreciate the flexibility, although I may not go this route
I played a Ysoki Envoy (who'd trained his whiskers into a handlebar mustache and was fond of twiddling it in stressful situations; and yes, of course he had a monocle...) last time round. I know there's some skepticism on these boards about the Envoy, but I thought it was fun; but then I'm not really into ultra-optimising or powergaming, so I'd be the last person to know whether or not it really is underpowered.
OK, another question, O mighty and imperious DM: are you going to allow the quick draw feat to draw 2 weapons if you have the multi-weapon fighting feat? (This would be equivalent to how the 2-weapon fighting feat works in Pathfinder, where the feat allows you to draw both weapons as one action)
Gotcha, one dead dwarf coming up... Oh wait, there's a pesky "don't" in the middle of that sentence.
Hi GM Stargin, Hi everyone else!
I've played a test game of Starfinder (I'll send a link to the after-action report for anyone who's interested, lemme know) and it rocked.
Should probably think about character generation/roles. Quick question, GM: how much starship combat is there? If starship combat plays a reasonable part, then we definitely need the following: pilot, gunner, engineer, science officer. A captain is nice but not actually mandatory(!), if I read the rules right(?).
I'm thinking of playing a hotshot pilot but if there's no place for those skills then I'll re-think.
Will you be using the rules for teams? Thinking of making a Shelynite "priest" [read: Bard] with the Natural Born Leader campaign trait but just wanted to check.
any problem with us taking the Force Adept PrC, and the like? Or is it too similar in the end to a full Jedi? Because most GMs really mean 'no Force users' when they say 'no Jedis'.
Most, if not all, of the characters applying have taken some Force related powers/feats/talents so I'd be surprised if there's a total ban on Force users (and to be honest, the special forces are where you'd expect to find a disproportionate number of "lucky" individuals).
My guess would be that the one Jedi limit is more of an "I'm going to implement Order 66 and don't want to stretch disbelief by having too many Jedi still running around afterwards" thing.
If it is 'no Force users' then I'll need to modify my character slightly.
Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide (page 75).
Thanks, F.Castor! What would I do without you :)
Aviri’savron (Rissa) is now mostly complete; I've tweaked appearance/personality slightly but background is the same.
Ability Score Point Buy:
28 points:
Str 13 (3 points)
Dex 16 (10 points)
Con 14 (5 points)
Int 14 (5 points)
Wis 10 (0 points)
Cha 14 (5 points)
+2 Cha (racial)
-2 Wis (racial)
Lvl 4 stat increases: +1 Dex, +1 Int
Lvl 8 stat increases: +1 Dex, +1 Int
Crunch:
Female Twi’lek Scoundrel 8
Force 9
Init +13; Senses Lowlight Vision; Perception +12 (Use the Force)
Languages: Basic, Binary, Bocce, Huttese, Ryl
--------------------
DEFENSE
--------------------
Reflex 25 (10 Base + 8 Level + 4 Dex +1 Feat +2 Class) Fort 23 (10 Base +2 Race +8 Level +2 Con +1 Feat) Will 19 (10 Base +8 Level -1 Wis +1 Feat +1 Class)
HP 76 (18+7d6+16) Threshold 23
--------------------
OFFENSE
--------------------
Speed 6 squares
Melee
Dagger +7 (d4+1)
Ranged
Holdout blaster pistol +10 (3d4+4)
Blastech DT-12 heavy blaster pistol +11 (4d6+4), Inaccurate (cannot fire at long range); Hair Trigger; Improved Accuracy Modification
Blastech DLT-20A blaster rifle +11 (3d10+7), Improved Energy Cell, no Stun setting, Improved Damage, Accurate (no penalty for firing at short range)
Micro grenade launcher +11 (varies), Inaccurate (cannot fire at long range), reduced damage (grenades take -2 damage), Capacity: 4 grenades (reload is full-round action)
8 Concussion grenades (8d6-2)
8 Frag grenades (4d6-2)
4 Gas grenades (4d6-2) STUN, attacks Fort Defence, successful attack moves -2 down condition track
4 EMP grenades (4d6-2) ION damage, moves droids etc -5 down condition track if would take to 0 damage
4 Explosive charges (10d6), 1 square Burst Radius
BAB +6 Grapple +12
Combat Options: Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, Personalised Modifications,
--------------------
STATISTICS
--------------------
Str 13, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 8, Cha 16
Special
Enslaved background: +2 to Grapple checks, trained in Athletics
Deceptive: Twi’lek may re-roll any Deception check but must abide by the results of the re-roll even if the result is worse.
Talents
Damage Reduction: You can spend a Force point as a standard action to gain Damage Reduction 10 for 1 minute.
Force Perception: You can use a Use the Force check instead of a Perception check to avoid surprise, notice targets, sense deception, or sense influence. You are considered trained in the Perception skill for the purposes of using this talent.
Knack: Once per day, you can re-roll a skill check and take the better result.
Personalized Modifications (SotG p.17): As a standard action, you may tweak the settings, grips, and moving parts of a powered weapon you wield, tailoring it to your needs. For the remainder of the encounter, you gain a +1 equipment bonus on attack rolls and a +2 equipment bonus on damage rolls with that weapon. You can use this talent only on powered weapons (those that require a power cell to operate), including weapons connected to a larger power source, such as vehicle and starship weapons.
Feats
Starting feat - Point Blank Shot: You get a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons against opponents within point blank range.
Starting feat - Weapon Proficiency (pistols): You are proficient with that type of weaponry.
Starting feat - Weapon Proficiency: (simple weapons): You are proficient with that type of weaponry.
Lvl 1 feat - Force Sensitivity: You can make Use the Force checks, and Use the Force is considered a class skill for you. Whenever you gain a new talent, you have the option of selecting a Force talent instead.
Bonus Lvl 2 feat - Skill Focus (use computer): You gain a +5 competence bonus with the selected skill.
Lvl 3 feat - Improved Defences: You add +1 to each of your Reflex, Fortitude and Will defences.
Bonus Lvl 4 feat - Skill Focus (mechanics): You gain a +5 competence bonus with the selected skill.
Lvl 5 feat - Weapon Proficiency (rifles): You are proficient with that type of weaponry.
Bonus Lvl 6 feat - Tech specialist (SotG, p.21): You can modify a device, suit of armor, weapon, droid, or vehicle so that it gains a special trait. You may perform only one modification at a time. Unless noted otherwise, you cannot grant more than one benefit to a single device, suit of armor, weapon, droid, or vehicle, and you can't apply the same benefit more than once. Before beginning the modification, you must pay one-tenth the cost of the device, suit of armor, weapon, droid, or vehicle you wish to modify or 1,000 credits, whichever is more. Completing the modification requires 1 day per 1,000 credits of the modification's cost. At the end of this time, make a DC 20 Mechanics check; you can't take 10 or take 20 on this check. If the check succeeds, the modification is completed successfully, and the object gains the desired trait. If the check fails, you lose all credits spent making the modification, and the object doesn't gain the desired trait. However, you may start over from scratch if you wish.
Lvl 7 feat - Weapon Focus (rifles): You gain a +1 bonus on all attack rolls you make with the selected weapon group.
Bonus Lvl 8 feat - Rapid Shot: You may fire 2 shots as a single attack against the target. You take a -2 penalty on your attack roll, but you deal +1 die of damage with a successful attack.
Don’t be pretty – be useful. The Twi’lek slave girl learned this lesson when her best friend was killed just because their owner (a Hutt crime-lord) decided her performance was less amusing than her agonised pleas for mercy. That day, Aviri’savron stopped being a passive witness of her circumstances and turned to active efforts to escape her life on the Outer Rim. Instead of dancing and courting rich clients, she focussed on gaining favour with the other lackeys of her owner: technicians, mechanics, those who kept the machines running and who could, for a few favours, teach her to do the same.
The girl was lucky in finding teachers and learned fast, and was soon able to repair and rebuild almost anything from an R2’s astronav circuitry to a computer terminal to a hyperdrive. Eventually, her owner learned of her new talents and traded her to a notorious Rodian space-pilot by the name of Navikko, who was delighted to find that his new girl could be of many uses on his ship, the Reaver.
Aviri’savron has done her best to forget what passed during her time on board, but the occasional nightmare still surfaces.
Her luck saved her again when Navikko took one risk too many and ventured into the fringes of Republic space. He sought rich pickings but found only his end: the ship he tangled with initiated a boarding action with him. It was carrying a Jedi Knight, a Human called Matesh, who decided that he had the time to rid the Galaxy of one pirate lord and still complete his mission. Seizing the moment, Aviri’savron managed a lucky hack into the Reaver’s weapon systems, disabling them; she was almost beaten to death by an enraged Navikko before the Jedi’s lightsaber cut the Rodian down.
Aviri’savron’s brief time with Matesh changed her greatly, as he explained to her that what she had thought of as ‘luck’ was something called ‘the Force’ at work. Although too old – and frankly uninterested – to begin training as a Padawan, the young woman listened to what Matesh had to teach her, and has since then continued to try to develop her talents. The Jedi Knight dropped her at the nearest civilised world, with some possessions and enough credits to buy passage into the Core Worlds, refusing any offer of payment – in any form – with a warm smile.
Aviri’savron goes by the name of Rissa these days. Humans (and there seem to be a lot of them around in the Republic) have trouble with her longer name; and the new name goes well with her new life, as a loyal - and useful - member of the Republic’s special operations branch. Signing up to help protect and defend something that (through its Jedi) gave her freedom is her way of acknowledging a debt she cannot repay.
Appearance & Personality:
Rissa’s deep blue, almost purple, skin makes a striking combination with her wide, green eyes and her dark eyebrows (tattooed on during her time of slavery). Other tattoos and more unsavoury marks of her former owners are hidden by her dusk-grey clothing – now that she’s no longer a slave-girl, she dresses in practical garb which hides the scars of her servitude under layers of grime and oil.
Never without her beloved utility belt (modified to carry her computer gear as well as her tool kit), whenever possible Rissa also wears a heavy blaster on her hip: a perhaps unsubtle way of warning onlookers not to touch, however much they might admire. Those who get close enough to look beyond the obvious will note the deeply-ingrained grease under her fingernails, and may also see the look of nervousness if contact looks likely – Rissa has a pronounced flinch reflex, another legacy of her past.
She is also rarely without her beloved – and heavily customised – Blastech heavy rifle, which is her pride and joy and perpetual engineering project. Like every pet project of every engineer across the whole of space and time, the thing has spent far more hours in various states of disassembly than it ever has in combat; people who point this out to Rissa find that they have dropped to the bottom of her priority list when it comes to servicing their equipment.
Rissa is both skittish, and impulsive, but is bright enough to know that she usually needs to take advice before she acts. She is not hugely conformist (in particular, her habit of sweet-talking inanimate objects that she’s tinkering with can be disturbing to those who haven’t heard it before), and her transfer to the special ops wing of the Republic’s forces was the perfect move for her: enough leeway that her unpredictability is an asset, while having superior officers who will protect her from her worst instincts. Her time in service has honed her talents, so that in addition to her technical skills she is capable of defending herself in a firefight. Any commanding officer of a unit she is attached to has gained a valuable asset for unconventional warfare, whether breaking open locks, slicing through enemy computer systems, or laying down sabotaging explosives.
Wary of her past experiences with humanoids, Rissa generally prefers the company of her beloved computer programs, machines and droids: whatever demands they make of her, she can attend to without revisiting memories best left sealed. One of her few true friendships is with Matesh, the Jedi Knight who rescued her and showed her a larger universe than she could ever have imagined. With her duties and his, they meet infrequently at best, perhaps 2 or 3 times a year. In his company, Rissa feels not only at ease, but safe; she knows that she can endure whatever the Galaxy throws at her, so long as she has that friendship to fall back on.
OK, I haven't finalised the mechanics yet, but here's the concept: a Twi'lek saboteur (scoundrel with computers and mechanics). As part of the strike team, she can disable the ground defences to allow the main attack to go ahead.
Don’t be pretty – be useful. The Twi’lek slave girl learned this lesson when her best friend was killed just because their owner (a Hutt crime-lord) decided her performance was less amusing than her agonised pleas for mercy. That day, Aviri’savron stopped being a passive witness of her circumstances and turned to active efforts to escape her life on the Outer Rim. Instead of dancing and courting rich clients, she focussed on gaining favour with the other lackeys of her owner: technicians, mechanics, those who kept the machines running and who could, for a few favours, teach her to do the same.
The girl was lucky in finding teachers and learned fast, and was soon able to repair and rebuild almost anything from an R2’s astronav circuitry to a computer terminal to a hyperdrive. Eventually, her owner learned of her new talents and traded her to a notorious Rodian space-pilot by the name of Navikko, who was delighted to find that his new girl could be of many uses on his ship, the Reaver.
Aviri’savron has done her best to forget what passed during her time on board, but the occasional nightmare still surfaces.
Her luck saved her again when Navikko took one risk too many and ventured into the fringes of Republic space. He sought rich pickings but found only his end: the ship he tangled with initiated a boarding action with him. It was carrying a Jedi Knight, a Human called Matesh, who decided that he had the time to rid the Galaxy of one pirate lord and still complete his mission. Seizing the moment, Aviri’savron managed a lucky hack into the Reaver’s weapon systems, disabling them; she was almost beaten to death by an enraged Navikko before the Jedi’s lightsaber cut the Rodian down.
Aviri’savron’s brief time with Matesh changed her greatly, as he explained to her that what she had thought of as ‘luck’ was something called ‘the Force’ at work. Although too old – and frankly uninterested – to begin training as a Padawan, the young woman listened to what Matesh had to teach her, and has since then continued to try to develop her talents. The Jedi Knight dropped her at the nearest civilised world, with some possessions and enough credits to buy passage into the Core Worlds, refusing any offer of payment – in any form – with a warm smile.
Aviri’savron goes by the name of Rissa these days. Humans (and there seem to be a lot of them around in the Republic) have trouble with her longer name; and the new name goes well with her new life, as a loyal - and useful - member of the Republic’s special operations branch. Signing up to help protect and defend something that (through its Jedi) gave her freedom is her way of acknowledging a debt she cannot repay.
Appearance & Personality:
Rissa’s deep blue skin makes a striking combination with her wide, green eyes and her dark eyebrows (tattooed on during her time of slavery). Other tattoos are hidden by her dusk-grey clothing – now that she’s no longer a slave-girl, she dresses in practical garb which hides the marks of her servitude under layers of grime and oil.
Never without her beloved utility belt (modified to carry her computer gear as well as her tool kit), whenever possible Rissa also wears two holsters, one on each hip, carrying heavy blasters: a perhaps unsubtle way of warning onlookers not to touch, however much they might admire. Those who get close enough to look beyond the obvious will note the deeply-ingrained grease under her fingernails, and may also see the look of nervousness if contact looks likely – Rissa has a pronounced flinch reflex, another legacy of her past.
Rissa is both skittish, and impulsive, but is bright enough to know that she usually needs to take advice before she acts. She is not hugely conformist, and her transfer to the special ops wing of the Republic’s forces was the perfect move for her: enough leeway that her unpredictability is an asset, while having superior officers who will protect her from her worst instincts. Her time in service has honed her talents, so that in addition to her technical skills she is capable of defending herself in a firefight. Any commanding officer of a unit Rissa is attached to has gained a valuable asset for unconventional warfare, whether breaking open locks, slicing through enemy computer systems, or laying down sabotaging explosives.
Wary of her past experiences with humanoids, Rissa generally prefers the company of her beloved computer programs, machines and droids: whatever demands they make of her, she can attend to without revisiting memories best left sealed. One of her few true friendships is with Matesh, the Jedi Knight who rescued her and showed her a larger universe than she could ever have imagined. With her duties and his, they meet infrequently at best, perhaps 2 or 3 times a year. In his company, Rissa feels not only at ease, but safe; she knows that she can endure whatever the Galaxy throws at her, so long as she has that friendship to fall back on.
Looks great! What are you looking for in terms of background/non-crunch? I've used the (horribly misnamed) 10 minute background before; are you looking for something on those lines?
This will not be the recruitment thread. I will be doing a separate thread for recruitment. As a matter of fact I am going to do two games,one for Saga and one for Revised Core.
Dotting for interest. Saga would be my preference.
Do you have a thought for when you're setting it? Clone Wars? Between the Death Stars? Jedi New Order? That's likely to affect what character I submit.
