1) Tell me a memory, something unrelated to their main backstory.
As a child, Rhea almost bankrupted her family by picking up a box filled with Rainbow Gems of Gallinore - overseeing the mining of the gems had been part of House Varn's duties since near the inception of the Hapes Consortium, and even a small number held near-incalculable worth. Of course, as a child, Rhea didn't know this - she just thought they were pretty and wanted to play with them. Fortunately, the family managed to track down the case and get it delivered on time.
2) What's a talent, unrelated to their class abilities?
Rhea is particularly familiar with non-combat technology; while not as experienced with things like mines or military computers, she has extensive knowledge of various species' everyday technology and a keen eye for detail.
3) A personality quirk?
Rhea tends to be a bit more cheerful than people expect, even in dangerous situations. It's not entirely sure why she acts this way, but she's not the type to lose hope. She's also been known to be easily distracted by interesting technology and art.
4) Distinguishing physical feature?
Not so much a feature as features - the Hapes Consortium specifically breeds for attractiveness, so Rhea tends to stand out in crowds of other humans. The highlights in her vividly-colored hair are artificial (not that coloring technology is especially rare or strange in the Galaxy).
5) A goal, short or long term.
To support the general safety and advancement of the Hapes Consortium, especially by collecting technology for research and otherwise promoting its interests as necessary. Rhea's primary job is similar to that of a spy - she has access to the Hapan intelligence network - but in many cases her job is as straightforward as literally buying current or old tech and having it shipped to a collection station. Advanced military technology is neat, but the many worlds of the Hapes Consortium require all sorts of technologies, most of which are considered fairly mundane.
6) Why were they arrested and brought aboard the Deception? What reason could the Imperials have for being so sure that the PC is a member of the Rebellion (e.g., political connections, smuggling, being a mercenary or anarchist)?
Most likely, someone managed to intercept some of Rhea's communications and mistake it for Rebel plans. At this point in time, the Hapes Consortium had yet to open its borders through the Transitory Mists and was basically an afterthought - a place that people just didn't really go to or think about all that much because people didn't publicly come out of it. (Of course, the Hapans had spies out the entire time to gather information and watch for threats... but the average person didn't know that.)
Build and Plans:
Rhea is built from two parts. Class-wise, she's essentially a reflavored Jedi - most notably, replacing the Lightsaber with the Force Pulse, as follows:
Force Pulse: A character with this ability has learned to channel the Force through their body for offensive and defensive purposes. Treat the Force Pulse as a regular lightsaber (including for damage), except that it can only damage or affect things the user can physically touch and cannot be used with any abilities that require throwing or otherwise moving away from the user's body. You may apply any valid effects that use a Lightsaber to the Force Pulse (such as the Block or Deflect talents, but not the Lightsaber Throw talent).
The plan is basically for a character whose usage of the Force is all internal because, honestly, Rhea's not that good at tapping into it (she only manages it at all thanks to a focus that boosts her abilities). So, for example, you won't see telekinesis or force lightning or mind-affecting stuff from her. Maybe replace the other weapon proficiency with Force Training, including the limit on external effects....? It's a lot closer to "unarmed martial arts combatant channeling the Force" than it is to "Jedi Knight", really, but this is the closest I can figure out for making my concept work. XD
Fluff-wise, she's basically a technology nerd. She's not an expert at making or using technology - I can only do so much with a build - but that's where her non-mechanical interests lie.
Notably, the tech aspect is more plot than anything else - a thing the character personally does that probably doesn't interact with their statistics too much. The idea being that collecting tech from different cultures can enhance the Hapans' not-quite-galactic-standard tech if they study it, so it could be as mundane as farming gear, starship parts, and so on. If nothing else, they want to be able to receive ambassadors in environments hospitable to whatever species, so knowing how environmental systems work is important for maintaining their image. XD I don't expect the character's "day job" to be much of a problem.
I'd love to play a version of this character - basically a sort of Hapan technology collector slash spy slash Force sensitive who gets a boost from some of their equipment to access powers at all. The general idea is a character who does some interesting things by channeling the Force (deflecting blaster bolts with their hands, etc.) in both offensive and defensive ways, but really isn't a master of the Force in any sense of the term. Would that be possible to make in this system?
"Nyahahahahaha~ well, looks are part of it, see?" Rhea said, gesturing down to her finery - which was, admittedly, much better than what most people wore. She looked like she'd fit in better at a great casino than scuffling around space stations. "A lot of people rely on their first impressions - and it's true across most species, too. If they think you're wealthy, they're much more willing to talk business with you. It helps that a lot of the technology I'm looking for isn't what anyone would consider special. I mean, it's not like I'm trying to uncover national secrets or anything. The best stuff is often found in common gear, even some broken and old tech. The real trick is figuring out how and where to use it once you have it. It's really not as hard or money-intensive as I make it look, but a girl has to keep up appearances."
A smile twitched across Rhea's face as Kreshell inquired about her activities. "I was meeting some people." she said mildly, reaching out to pat the control panel in front of her. "Do you know how few people know how the major parts of starships work? I mean, really know it, enough to duplicate the technology from total scratch? It's not very high. Most spacers know how to do basic repairs to technology while they're in-flight, especially the stuff known to fail on a regular basis, but anything significant needs a visit to a compatible dock. The same goes for a lot of other technologies, too. Weapons, communicators, terraforming, shielding, building construction... there are countless races out there, many with their own unique approaches. I don't know of a single person who truly understands even a fraction of the technology that galactic civilization relies on."
"So... I talk to people. I learn what inspires them, how things perform, and when I can, I like to get samples so I can understand their technology better. Just imagine the kinds of things you could do if you figure out how to take all the best parts of different species' technology and bring them together into a unified whole. It's exciting, don't you think?"
*Peeks in* I'd recommend against Gunslinger, myself. There's an archetype for that, but the Gunslinger's real strength is in maximizing their number of attacks per round, and that doesn't too play nice with the Practitioner focus on standard actions. Conscript is good if you want to be a full-on martial character, though Technician is good if you fancy tinkering with your gear (they can noticeably improve firearms of all kinds).
*Rubs chin* If you plan to multiclass into Spheres of Power rather than blending them from the start, I recommend going for 3/4ths or (preferably) full BAB class, with or without a Champion archetype. Martial talents grow based on your BAB, and that would provide you reasonable progression in them even if you stop getting martial talents and go entirely into magic.
Armigers are all about swapping fighting styles to suit the matter at hand. For example, you might have a vibroblade or lightsaber as your normal weapon, then change to a blaster for foes you can only hit at range. Just like swapping weapons/ability bars in a video game, really. XD
Conscripts can be pretty much anything, so no worries there.
Strikers are all about Tension - building up points and then going nova for a powerful impact. I should note they're a little harder to pull off in PbP - it's doable, but you'll want to be very clear about what your actions are and how they affect your Tension.
Absolutely. o wo~ It's not too hard to make characters feel genuinely distinct in Spheres, even if they have the same role. And if they have different roles, well...... XD Waaaaaaay different. Do any of you have thoughts on what role(s) you'd like to be?
Question: Are Blasters and the like going to target Normal AC or Touch AC? If it's the latter, I think I should take Deflecting Shield instead, and I can do actual redirected attacks later.
No worries. XD Rhea should be pretty different otherwise unless you also want to go for an unarmed monk style. Spheres of Might is really, really good about allowing martial characters to create a distinct combat style that plays - and feels - genuinely different from what other people are doing. It's not just "I make an attack roll to do damage".
Actively deflecting stuff hasn't actually come up much - yet - and in-combat, Rhea basically just sends shockwaves into people's bodies from close range.
The fact that one person can do it shouldn't stop you from wanting to do it as well if it's part of your character concept. I mean, let's face it, that's a pretty core ability for a lot of Force users. XD And who knows? Maybe our ability to deflect them is a good nudge for the GM to throw a fair few blaster-using foes at us so we can have some cool firefight scenes...
If anyone else wants to deflect stuff with their bare hands, I can explain the mechanics and how to be able to do it consistently. o wo/ (There are a few talents that require a physical shield of some kind to work, though, so you can't quite do everything. Not a huge issue, but something to be aware of.)
@Keante: Hmm... do you want to be a full martial type, or someone who blends the system well and genuinely does both at full BAB? Also, do you prefer to get class abilities, or would you rather pick more talents (spells/martial powers, chosen similarly to feats)?
Well, you could also use Destruction to lift the earth and smack people with it, providing a Telekinesis-like effect. And the entirety of the Telekinesis sphere, of course, fits in pretty darn well. XD You can reflavor the Warp sphere as a rapid 'jump' to any location, especially with Quick or Emergency teleport. The War sphere is a good choice for representing Battle Meditation in a variety of forms, and would combo well with the Gladiator martial sphere for that theme.
For Rhea, I actually took "Stone Blast" for a destructive ability that works with my class, but I'm flavoring it as a physical shockwave created by the Force (for that sweet, sweet defense-bypassing property).
Let me put it this way: What do you WANT to be able to do? I can give more specifics when I know what your angle is. XD
I'm Rhea, one of the characters currently in this game. o wo/ I specialize in smashing stuff in melee with monk-style powers, and I also provide some healing.
I'm also quite familiar with Spheres of Power and Spheres of Might, the systems being used for characters (they work better for Star Wars - and most other things, really), and I'm happy to answer questions if you'd like some input. ^^
Rhea finally got back to the ship, stepping inside a few minutes after Kreshell got to hear someone else darting past. She held up a brightly-colored box as she did so. "I picked up some food if anyone's hungry." she said. Starships tended to have hefty reserves - for good reasons - but she felt it was always best to keep those as high as possible.
Once she was out of the meeting, Rhea pulled out her com device, pinging the ship to see who was there at the moment. If everyone was out, it might be better to go and meet up with them fast - she did have a new mission to get to, and the sooner she started, the better the paperwork would look later.
Rhea curtsied slightly to Lady Valmay. "Of course. He's affable enough, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find a reason to stay around." She wasn't ignorant to the value of having insight into the leadership of a major galactic power. Besides which, people back home were experts at putting together scraps of information and making startlingly-accurate dossiers of figures of interest. Getting technological and political information at the same time was well worth doing. "Was there anything else you wanted to bring up, or shall I commence the mission right away? Some of my current vessel's crew seem... a bit likely to be found by trouble."
Rhea's pretty straightforward. XD If she sees interesting tech, she wants it. That could prompt at least some quests, especially if we hear things like "A good buddy of mine is working on some prototype blasters, but he wants to get some field tests done. If you pick them up and try them out, he's willing to let you keep them as long as you give a good report after."
I'm pretty chill about letting you tell the story you want to tell. XD If you'd like some specific directions, though... I'm hoping for a fair bit of action once we get past the early levels and our builds really get going. Maybe a series of short missions would work well? Fairly focused, couple of "rooms"?
Rhea sketched out the details of the attack, noting the characteristics of where it had occurred, the weapons used, and the fact that they hadn't quite stuck around to see the end of everything. She also noted that she'd seen the droid during all this, making it a very hot lead to pursue.
"As for the machine itself, I'm fairly sure it's one of the HK-50 series - quite effective units, and worth learning things from if we can. I suspect it's had a few modifications, too, which is all the better. It's following Hayden, the Corellian, although I'm not sure what the full extent of their relationship is. It's not a wild murderer, at least, so its espionage protocols are clearly working."
"As for my cover, I'm maintaining the one I established at the start of this trip - R3FLT-" literally, Rhea #3 Flexible Long-Term, which suited her data-gathering mission quite well "-and the itinerary is currently in progress. The ship's crew hasn't fully decided on our next course of action, but I should be able to send that before we leave orbit."
Heh. Waiting for the group to post is something of a habit of mine, I guess. XD A lot of it is due to the complications of PbP - it tells me how many posts are new, but if I check every time someone posts, I might forget how many people I'm waiting on and wait longer than I should. This is especially true with all the games I run.
For what it's worth, I just thought enough people hadn't posted after my last post, so I hadn't added anything else yet. o wo/ But I'm definitely here.
"Alas, unless it's quite mild, I'm afraid I'll have to pass." Rhea answered courteously. House Varn had influence, but mostly because it had money. A single one of the gems they mined was worth a fortune in its own right, and they'd worked to be scrupulously neutral in their political leanings aside from serving the current Queen Mother. That meant they didn't have a lot of allies... but they could also usually get by without too many enemies, especially because Gallinore didn't have that many families to begin with. That made this woman's reaction all the more curious. A personal grudge? A front to test her? It could be any number of things, really - and the sage's correct response was to remain herself. "It really was quite a fascinating chain of events." With that, she gave a brief outline of the fight that had broken out at the diner and the way she'd noticed a very rare type of droid - one that wasn't supposed to be around - in the vicinity. "So, naturally, I decided to follow along. As I'm sure you already know, my mission has always had a very broad scope, and a change of plans is always worthwhile when it brings the possibility of rare technology."
Seeming quite relaxed, Rhea strolled through the doorway. It took a certain kind of determination to really fix the lines in any sort of larger settlement. The kind of determination usually accompanied by guards carrying blasters and thick walls. In many of the places she'd been, the rulers didn't care too much what happened as long as it happened where they didn't have to care about it. The split was their loss, though - it was often in the underbellies where you found true insight and creativity, things kludged together to work. Those, in turn, could often be developed into genuinely better technology.
"Hello, cousin." Rhea said, peppy and cheerful as she made her way into the designated room. "Despite what some of my aunts might think, I'm still not a disappointment to our family."
Rhea would prefer to use her own method of transportation. XD It's supposed to be a more secure meeting, after all, and she doesn't like giving out information on things like that.
Rhea's mouth just twitched in amusement as she got her instructions. Besides, if you panicked, people tended to assume you'd done something wrong. She hadn't. She'd availed herself of an interesting opportunity, just like she'd been taught to do - and she was a traveler to begin with, not terribly concerned with staying in one place once business was done. The galaxy was big, its technologies diverse, and she wanted to get value from as much of it as possible. Some time before her appointment, she noted to everyone still around that she'd be out for a bit, but was coming back - and with that, she headed off to the rendezvous.
It's always good to have more allies - especially once we get through Level 1 and start to really develop our characters and what they can do. XD
Also, for the caster types, the Spheres Wiki just added the content from the Protection sphere expansion. Lots of new options there if you're interested in ways of warding off various dangers. ^^
Rhea watched Stevral, and her mouth twitched in amusement when he was finally out of sight. Once things seemed like they were finally calming down, she made her way back onto the ship and took out a communicator. The first thing she really wanted to do - now that she had the time - was get in touch with the assets on this planet and see if they had anything to offer her. It was always a bit hit-or-miss on whether there'd be something valuable, but checking in was one of her biggest jobs.
"Hiccups are known to happen from time to time in this industry." Rhea answered Ossifson, smiling pleasantly at him. "What's most important is that the shipment is, in fact, being delivered - which means no significant loss in profit." People like this tended to focus on the money when worried - if you could convince them they were still going to profit and things would be fine for them, they generally stopped worrying.
"It is prudent to be sure your escape route is good..." Rhea agreed as she focused on the controls and managed the ship with practiced ease. "I'd like to make a few calls once that's set up, myself - see if my friends have anything to say that might be useful." Useful to who, of course, was the big question...
"I wonder if they let frequent visitors in with less hassle." Rhea mused, grimacing slightly as the customs officials finally left. Maybe she could find some kind of diplomatic cover to let them through other inspections... things that were long, tense, and boring were not her favorite way to spend a day.
Rhea watched with something that faintly resembled amusement as the guards fanned out and began to search things.
"What's the normal turnaround time on inspections, anyway? I'd like to get a bit to eat later, but I'm not sure if it's going to be lunch or dinner at this rate..."
Rhea is fairly heavily people-oriented herself - most of her effectiveness in her job comes from making connections with other people and some creative thinking. XD She and Kreshell could probably do quite a lot together...
Rhea yawned slightly, then poked a few things on her datapad to call up her cover information. It was all fake, of course, but her home was fairly insistent on agents having a free hand and not being too obvious. They got good covers.
Rhea focused for just a moment, then tapped at the controls. "Sending the data now." she said, quite familiar with this sort of process after all the practice she'd had flying transports. Admittedly, she usually let other people do the work, but her employers were of the opinion that a well-rounded person could do more things on their own if need be. You never knew what wild situation you'd get caught up in.
When she wasn't reading in the cockpit, Rhea often wandered over to the medstation to put a few kits together - some of the chemicals involved involved a complex process using a discreet implant, and while she couldn't have many available at once, she liked to keep them active just in case.
Really, it never hurt to be prepared.
"All right, we should be getting close..." she murmured as she checked the computers.
