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I'm not of the opinion that to be strong you need be a bodybuilder, I Laris is being strong and fit but not covered in rippling muscle mass.
I don't know how much you looked at the sheet, but I've given her an interest in duelling and her only treasued possession of a family crested vibro-blade. I'm tempted to drop the skill focus and give her another combat feat - but can't really decide eitehr way.
Given her new stat range I find myself once more frustrated by class skills (which I feel SWSaga should have dropped, given the higher difficulty of cross-classing) as I'd have been sorely tempted to pick up some physical skills otherwise to play on her Strength.
She's female because it added this extra maginality to her claim to any actual power (Starwars is probably all equality of gender anyway but whatever), that's probably less important now, but she's cemented herself in my mind as a girl, I don't see higher strength as a particularly necessity to change that.
Regarding a Ship (presuming I'm captain unless/until someone else steps in), I don't know what you'll let me get away with but I think it would be in character to have a small, light personal transport, not really designed for more than the pilot/copilot. Laris wasn't really thinking when she picked up the ship and was going in terms of getting herself away rather than taking on future crew.
From an if I was Gamesmaster point of view, it's nice to play up on tensions further by limiting people's living space.
I'm not at home at the moment, but I've got the starships book and I'll take a look at it and post some suggestions. I'm not sure how PM's work on this board, I can't see any option to use them?
Laris certainly seems like a viable choice for a Captain, but I think the background and motivation requires more discussion in the meantime. This may, in turn, help to illuminate the choice in starship.
There's a good reason for her to run, but what keeps Laris running? And why be the Captain of a ship? What does Laris stand to gain as a ship's captain? What is she trying to achieve?
I originally envisioned this in the KotOR era, with a Dynamic-class ship. When it moved to the Rebellion era, I was thinking a Corellian light freighter (nevermind the lack of cargo space on a supposed freighter like Han Solo's ship). Why? This is mainly to enable freight and trading. A "freighter" like the Millennium Falcon or Ebon Hawk is my preference as gamemaster, but this is your game too, as players.
(Some discussion regarding the ship with Quandary & any other potential players would be helpful)
Now, Laris may "fit" in a yacht or a "courier" type of vessel if she is simply on the run. How about other motivations? How complete is Laris' other identity and what would that role/identity require? What ship would fit best with her motives & those of the others on board?
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Laris runs because she doesn't know what else to do, without putting too fine a point on it, she's somewhat self absorbed and thinks that she's important enough to be hunted whether she is or not.
Her current goals are to return and secure her homeworld, but she's no clear idea on how to go about it, for now she's aware that money = power and until she can work out a better solution, hence her alternate identity as a merchant.
Maeris Gaille is sketchy at best, Laris presumed that many records would be lost in the disaster on Gaulus, and has worked out the Maeris' holdings were heavily contaminated, leaving her with ship she's on-board, and a small amount of credits.
I'm happy to discuss ships, a frieghter would make sense to go with her cover story, though I'm still more than open for someone else to take a Captain role and Laris to just be a hanger on.
Just because every Star Wars game I've played in we've had a YT-series or derivative I was trying to mix things up a bit. How about a Gymnsnor-3 Frieghter (SW:Scum & Villany, Floorplan v.1 or floorplan v.2)?
Darn thing ate my last post... so let me sum up.
The Gymsnor-3 is fine as long as you're entertained. It's an appropriate ship for the game, and I have no real interest in the YT-series. My only concern would be the lack of Emplacement Points, especially compared to CEC-made YT freighters.
Perhaps the acquisition of something bigger, fancier, or shootier might be an aspiration if a Gymsnor-3 is the starting ship. It would take Laris a while to build up the funds for a Republic Cruiser...
And the acquisition of the ship is something I'd like to discuss further, along with the crew (whenever we get a crew)... I'd want the story moved further along than just starting out, if only to get past the awkward player character introductions & into the middle of things. Finding out where the ship came from, who its previous owner might have been (if it's a used ship), where the funds came from in order to acquire the ships (if it's not just from a pile of credits that Laris had stashed away, then the Hutts are the next obvious choice, but only through Maeris Gaille... which then sets up a "Yojimbo"/"Fistful of Dollars" situation, should Maeris want to get close to the Hutts).
Of course, we seem to be in the doldrums of player interest again. I don't want this to drag out forever, but I also do not want to compromise on the overall storytelling approach. While I have a great respect for the rules & the dice, those are not the reasons why I like roleplaying.
spinningdice & Quandary, I guess my question to you is: what types of Star Wars games do you like to play? If we have to call it a day on this one, what would the ideal game look like?
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To be honest, I'm not that fussed about what ship we're on, it's just that every star wars game I've ever played has has a player YT-series, and I was trying to break the mould, but then in a lot of ways they're ships made for a adventuring team... so on reflection I'd be quite fine with one of them.
I'm not sure about ship acquisition, it doesn't want to be tied to Laris in any obvious way.
I too am worrying about the lack of other player interest in this. I wonder if it's just the length of the thread that's putting people off?
For a complete new campaign idea, I think Star Wars games have always been best either as Rebellion or the Scum and Villainy concept like this one. I'm not sure I'd do anything different.
KOTOR era has always seemed popular in my group, but I'm not sure how that translates and I've never managed to pick up the KOTOR RPG book (not sure if that's relevant or not?)
To be honest, I'm not that fussed about what ship we're on, it's just that every star wars game I've ever played has has a player YT-series, and I was trying to break the mould, but then in a lot of ways they're ships made for a adventuring team... so on reflection I'd be quite fine with one of them.
I'm not sure about ship acquisition, it doesn't want to be tied to Laris in any obvious way.
I too am worrying about the lack of other player interest in this. I wonder if it's just the length of the thread that's putting people off?
For a complete new campaign idea, I think Star Wars games have always been best either as Rebellion or the Scum and Villainy concept like this one. I'm not sure I'd do anything different.
KOTOR era has always seemed popular in my group, but I'm not sure how that translates and I've never managed to pick up the KOTOR RPG book (not sure if that's relevant or not?)
I'll think about some plausible ideas for ship acquisition... it's slightly more complicated with Laris involved, as you point out.
It could be thread length that's putting people off. If people don't read, I don't know what to say, though. Maybe I should make it clear at the end of each post.
KotOR era is good because it's "green pasture". Even the Jedi/Sith schism isn't as black & white. Besides the video games, there are comic books & some novels, I guess, but it's not defined like the movies are. And with the video games (where you, the player, are the star), you can still redefine everything since the player of the video game is at the heart of it... it's okay to go down a different path because you choose your own pathways in the video games.
Anyway, I suspect that if I'd throw down a Jedi game concept (which I have in my back pocket), we'd be full up in no time, especially with the Jedi sourcebook coming out soon.
Jedi game concept would be based in the Mandalorean Wars, before the first Knights of the Old Republic video game... players will eventually get to fill the roles of Malak & Revan, and suffer the consequences of that (just finished Jacqueline Carey's "Banewreaker" & "Godslayer", so the "anti-hero as hero" idea is fresh in my mind).
I also love the Rebellion era, though. Can't wait for that sourcebook to come out, but I have tons of older Star Wars RPG stuff between my d6 & d20 library...
/2 slots filled, looking for 2-4 more.
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I am still interested in this game. I've just been thinking for a while about a good background and more solid concept for the character. I'll spoiler what I have so far for a character idea, let me know what you think.
I am still interested in this game. I've just been thinking for a while about a good background and more solid concept for the character. I'll spoiler what I have so far for a character idea, let me know what you think.
** spoiler omitted **
I like it. Got a nice history to him, and fitting for the environment since he seems like "damaged goods". It sounds like Soz could be handy in a gunfight, as well as potentially a good Co-Pilot for the ship... and in that case, it probably would be good to work out some degree of history with spinningdice/Maeris(Laris).
First point of commonality - neither Soz nor Maeris/Laris has a great love for the Hutts. That could be the starting point for your two characters' cooperation.
Other next steps...
There's a character generation post somewhere on the first page... just the basics for setting up your character's stats.
/3 character concepts approved... looking for 1-3 more.
One thing to add...
Some obvious functional roles are filled/near to be filled, so that might cause some to say, "What else could I play?"
Look at things in terms of character. The Serenity didn't need all those people in it, for instance. And just because Mal was the Captain doesn't mean Jayne was a happy camper back there.
I'd like you all not to look at things & say something along the lines of, "I want to be the Assassin" or "I want to be the Magic-User." How about, "I want my character to be a nasty outlaw rifleman like the Ramon Rojo guy in Fistful of Dollars, mixed together with Jayne from Firefly."
Maybe in terms of roles, some big ones are snapped up. In terms of character, the field is wide open.
/looking good on 3 slots so far, looking for 1-3 more
Okay here is the character after rolling his stats. (I rolled once and chose to lower my highest score, Wisdom from 17 to 9 so I could raise my Dexterity from 7 to 15.) Let me know if there is anything I need to change.
spinningdice/Maeris(Laris): We could maybe have met during my character's battle to become sober. Maybe I helped you fight off some thugs before passing out from the pain of my withdrawal. What do you think?
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spinningdice/Maeris(Laris): We could maybe have met during my character's battle to become sober. Maybe I helped you fight off some thugs before passing out from the pain of my withdrawal. What do you think?
I've not looked behind your spoiler or at your stats page (I'd rather not, I'm assuming you'll let me know what I should know about your character), but I'm assuming your good in a fight from that little tidbit...
To add to your story...
Laris was laying low in Rhudor, trying to get her bearings. Perhaps the Gammoreans that attacked her were after a Hutt bounty, perhaps they were simply enticed by this woman wearing clothes a bit too well tailored and a little much jewellery, but talking her way out of the situation wasn't working. She was just about to draw her blade, though feeling outclassed, when a mysterious stranger burst out of the shadows - dropping the thugs in a quick shower of blaster fire.
Her mysterious hero then collapsed in aheap and started to snore... Laris decided the least she could do was drag him back to her room while he recovered...
Of course, we seem to be in the doldrums of player interest again. I don't want this to drag out forever, but I also do not want to compromise on the overall storytelling approach. While I have a great respect for the rules & the dice, those are not the reasons why I like roleplaying.
Alright, this is dragging out too long now.
One week's time, and that will be it. I understand that holiday weekends sometimes have less traffic, so I will wait.
If we have four good player characters, then we can make a go of it. If by next Friday May 29th, there are not enough players, then I will not pursue this further at this point in time & will move on to the next idea (which I have a plenty).
/3 character slots near to complete, with 1-3 open
Can I fill a spot? character was already done but another game never took off. This guy wanted to be a medic/support guy.
Can I fill a spot? character was already done but another game never took off. This guy wanted to be a medic/support guy.
What's your character like? And what will your character bring to the table? What's his story?
Looks like my other game may be picked up, so I'm bowing out. Good luck!
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Maybe in terms of roles, some big ones are snapped up. In terms of character, the field is wide open.
/looking good on 3 slots so far, looking for 1-3 more
I just thought I'd drop in and say I'm interested. I need to read through the many posts to figure out what's been done - more so I know I"ll have a character with something unique to bring to the table than because I have to find the party role I'm going to fulfill.
Just wanted to let you know I"ll try to come up wit something interesting tonight.
Looks like my other game may be picked up, so I'm bowing out. Good luck!
No worries. Hope your other game turns out well!
I just thought I'd drop in and say I'm interested.
Just wanted to let you know I"ll try to come up wit something interesting tonight.
Interesting first, party role second :)
As far as role goes, I don't care if everyone wants to play a Fighter in D&D, and if more than one character wants to be captain of the ship, that makes for an interesting party as well. (i.e. Just because Princess Leia was a princess didn't mean that Han Solo took orders from her... and just because Han Solo was captain of a ship didn't mean Leia took orders from him... or we can go as far as Jayne/Mal dysfunction as well)
Let us all know. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. I'm all for interesting, and if interesting isn't accomplished, then none of us should be in this one.
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Interesting first, party role second :)As far as role goes, I don't care if everyone wants to play a Fighter in D&D, and if more than one character wants to be captain of the ship, that makes for an interesting party as well. (i.e. Just because Princess Leia was a princess didn't mean that Han Solo took orders from her... and just because Han Solo was captain of a ship didn't mean Leia took orders from him... or we can go as far as Jayne/Mal dysfunction as well)
Let us all know. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. I'm all for interesting, and if interesting isn't accomplished, then none of us should be in this one.
Mostly I want to have something unique to bring vis a vis party role simply so I don't always feel like I have nothing interesting as a character to offer the party. It's something necessary for my own ability to enjoy a game. :) It could just be an odd skill that I'm good at, or the ability to help the team be better at something, but if I feel like I can't do anything well as a character, it usually dampens my ability to enjoy myself.
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Well at the moment I think it's just my noble, a pilot and a fighter (to put things in the broadest possible terms).
I'm not sure on the actual rules make-up of the other two as I prefer not to look unless I'm directed to, but if you really want to fill a role, I'd say either Tech-Specialist or Scout-Survivalist?
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Cinder
- Albino Human Female
- Age 16
- Height 1.5 m
- Weight 40 kg
Past
Cinder's parents owned a small cargo ship and made their living making cargo runs around the galaxy. While out on a run between frontier worlds, their ship was boarded and captured by pirates. Her parents died in the defense of their small ship, and Cinder was taken as a slave at the age of 7 when she was found in the small cubby she'd hidden in during the battle. The pirates intended to sell her at a smuggler's port, but her agoraphobia made her difficult to transfer outside the ship and nearly worthless on the slave market. Her knowledge of ships systems and mechanical aptitude made her useful enough to the pirates that they didn't kill her out of hand, and by age 14 she had surprisingly free run of the ship as a mechanic and general techie.
Though she was small for her age and race, Cinder was finally hitting her growth spurt, and she knew her usefulness as a mechanic that could fit into impossibly small spaces was coming to an end - she had to get off the ship. She knew the pirates let her have run of the ship becuase they considered her a helpless child too afraid of the outside world to venture from her prison, and as she approached adulthood that freedom might disappear. She planned her escape carefully and hid herself with a tool kit in a large crate of freighter engine parts made from valuable alloys when the pirates next touched down on an unterraformed planet. She waited until the crate stopped moving and used the toolkit to let herself out of the crate. A nearby freight transfer droid was easy enough to disable and crudely reprogram, and she had it transfer her and the crate she'd hidden in again outside the shipyard.
With the alloy in the crate as a nest egg and the pleasing knowledge that the cheated customer who'd paid for the alloy had chased her captors off planet for quite a long time, if not for good, Cinder tried to settle into planetbound life on the rocky planet she'd landed on. Her hope had been that an artificial environment, even thought planetbound, would allow her to leave her agoraphobia behind, but it proved more difficult to overcome than she'd hoped. She was able to function on the outpost world, but missed life on board a ship, and decided after a few weeks that one of the myriad freight ship captains might have room for technical personnel. With no official experience onboard a ship she had little to recommend her to a reputable freight ship captain except the stubborn set of her jaw, but her strange coloring inevitably drew attention and her tenacity made her a common fixture at the spaceport until she finally found a small ship that had a captain willing to take her on. Incredibly happy to be onboard a ship again, Cinder realized what most realize as they grow older - as soon as one goal is achieved, a being begins to search for a new goal to strive toward. Cinder finds herself thinking back to her childhood, and her memories of her parents. It's becoming an obsession to find her origins and hopefully a family she could belong to.
Future
She's trying to overcome her agoraphobia and trying to find out about her parents. She's not concerned with interstellar politics or money, except to meet her own necessities, and has poor interpersonal interaction skills, given her past.
I could see her developing into more of a technical person, or becoming a manipulative type of criminal (hacker, con man). I could see her becoming a Force Adept or jedi, even, struggling to overcome the darkness of her past. Her path will undoubtedly be shaped by her experiences as the story progresses.
Other Note
Pictures of Cinder drawn for the other game:
Original character concept drawing
Character in disguise, manifesting powers (her roots are showing!)
With other characters (evidently, with that stiff breeze, the heroes are taking time to pose as the space station experiences some catastrophic decompression!)
Stats to follow later.
Quandary has a tech character. Tech is a broad canvas, I think, but setting lore is kind of different. Spaceships are one thing, Droids are another type of tech, although the practical applications seem to be blurred in Star Wars. Those who can repair starships can also repair droids, as if the tech knowledge is easily transferable.
Of course, technology could be at the heart of the game, so contrasting tech styles (the learned engineer versus the gritty fringer) can have a place. Not everything is solved with a fight, and adapting/resolving tech to solve situations is also within the genre. So this can work if you all would like.
As for other character issues...
As for the psychic technology... I'd have to consider how that might be implemented in Star Wars lore. The essential premise is good, but the Force is the mystical thing in the setting. Engineered Force beings are a bit of a stretch.
Maybe your character might be some sort of human hard drive, with info in her head that she can't access... but maybe this is too cyberpunky.
I'll think about it & post more when I'm at an actual computer, and not on my crackberry.
Quandary has a tech character.
yes, and this concerned me. As the latecomer, I'll guide my character to not step on Quandry's toes. As a young whipper snapper of 16, it'd be okay if Cinder is considered an apprentice and/or gopher.
Of course, technology could be at the heart of the game, so contrasting tech styles (the learned engineer versus the gritty fringer) can have a place. Not everything is solved with a fight, and adapting/resolving tech to solve situations is also within the genre. So this can work if you all would like.
I've taken jury rigger, I seem to remember Quandry was a scoundrel, so hopefully I've taken a slightly different techie route. And I can guide her development in any one of a number of directions as things progress.
As for other character issues...
** spoiler omitted **
that's perfectly fine, I don't think the idea fits well within the Star Wars ethos, and would hate to mess with that stuff for no good reason. It was a fun idea, is all.
My stats are on the profile. Maybe I missed it, but what's starting money? Max? Average? Some flat rate?
Shades of the history that might have been may still filter into the game. I will do my best to weave in character history since it's easier to take ideas and interests from everybody instead of manufacturing it all in my head.
As for money, roll for it as in your character's class description. Don't worry if the result is too low.
If you want an extra piece of common gear and your character can't afford it, go ahead and add it to your character's stuff.
If your character wants multiple "illegal" and/or rare items, then use some judgment. I'm not much of a worrier over equipment, but I will find a way to remove items from the game if they prove to be anti-entertaining.
I'll check out the character sheet in the meantime & prep for a beginning.
/4 characters mostly there, 1-2 slots remain.
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This seems to have piqued my interest, and I have a basic idea for a character.
Wade Macton
Human Male
Age: 25
Height: 183 cm
Weight: 69 kg
Build: Slim but athletic
History:
Much of his naïveté was shed in his early missions as he learned of the greater grey areas, until on one such mission he came across a data transmission which implicated the Empire in some horrible deeds. His last act was to complete the mission, then disappear, making it seem as if he'd been caught after a success, tipping the odds in his favor for his chance at disappearing.
Kinda going with the sneaky yet combat capable type, probably looking at a Scoundrel/Scout type character.
What's the starting level for this campaign? Also, if you think this is acceptable, send me an email at CatoNovus -at- gmail *dot* com, 'cause I have a few minor ideas for this character that might be fun, but wanna run them by you first.
Random thought: I really, really, really want a "multipurpose tool" - i.e. a swiss army knife. It's sort of a "this sucks compared to a toolkit, but is better than nothing" thing. I see Cinder, with no formal education, as the ultimate spitball mechanic. Lots of mesh tape and random wires the niggling extra part that came out of the machine but you don't know where it's supposed to go now that the machine is "fixed" sort of thing...
I see Cinder as quiet and unassuming - a small young girl that looks incredibly incapable of being dangerous - and she's not a real combatant yet - but she's also hyper paranoid. All her weapons are hidden, and the multipurpose tool would also be hidden in a concealed holster - in case her toolkit was taken.
I have 3 swiss army knives in real life. There's nothing more amusing than being out in the middle of nowhere and having a random person ask "does anyone have a screwdriver?" with that hopeless look of someone who knows nobody has any tools of any sort, and then I pull out the swiss army knife and ask "Phillips or flathead?"
Okay, I've been thinking about ships... and while this doesn't particularly affect the type...
As somewhat rulers of Calder, the D'Vagne family occaisionally reposses or impound certain items (not directly - down many levels of administration), when looking for a ship for a quick escape Laris remembered this little factoid and used her credentials to take one.
Unfortunately all the ships worth anything are quickly refurbished, re-registered and sold, so Laris had to be content with an ancient freighter that's flyable, but has lacked maintenence for a few too many year.
While the ship being de-registered and beat-up looking is a bit of a problem on highly regulated worlds, the fringe isn't so bothered, and it's pretty nearly untraceble back to her family, unless someone recognises the ship in question.
Laris' has been quick to get mechanics on board and the ship is now in servicable condition - though still throws up complications when pushed.
OOC: Reasoning. We seem to have 2 mechanics now, give them something to do and a reason to be on-board, beat up old ships are always better RP elements than shiny new ones (see Millennium Falcon, Serenity, Battlestar Galactica) and also adds a little bit of mystery. There's no debt attached, but Laris never checked where the ship originally came from or it's heritage, maybe we'll have a run in with it's owners sometime.
Anyway, glad to see interest in this game.
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If that's the route you're taking, you may want to consider having the ship be a Citadel-Class Cruiser(page 70, SotG) with the Junker template(page 104, SotG) applied. This gives the may-break-down-if-you-sneeze-hard property, while the ship itself comes with 3 unused emplacement points and docking space for two fighters(or similarly sized craft). Plus its an out-of-date ship which is rarely made any more, if at all.
Yes, good to see the interest. I guess I can set aside my other game ideas now and get back to the statistical back-end behind this one.
Regarding starships, there's a rule in Scum and Villainy, I forget the name. "B**** to Maintain" or somesuch (not the real name, but you get the idea). It's needlessly punishing, IMO, but I think it works if the ship isn't purely stock. If you have credits sunk into it, then you'd put up with the bad rule.
So I'm thinking that the ship should also have a certain additional % of its base cost as a bonus amount of modifications.
Having capacity for snub fighters... I'm not opposed to it. It somewhat changes the character of the game, but there's also genre to support it (Chris Roberts' Privateer games for the PC, back in the day?). I don't know about launching snub fighters, and there are hyperspace-capable fighters & rings to dock with. But then the opportunity to interact gets limited if a character doesn't live on-board.
It merits further discussion & consideration, I think.
(I'll punch out another response after this. Did not have the opportunity to get on the computer last night)
I like the idea of Cinder and multitools. I guess there aren't item quality rules in this Edition anymore? A pity...
If we have multiple techs, then everyone should have something "important" to maintain aboard ship. The hyperdrive (the obvious system), the life support system (also obvious, more fun to personalize), the food/beverage system, whatever. Make the relationship with the ship and its parts more characterful.
Wade's backstory is good. Additional details would help, and I can provide some. Certainly, his history will eventually come back to haunt him, as it will for others aboard ship. You can't hide from the things you've done, as they say.
Character level. I don't think I defined it, but it's always been assumed to be lvl 1. I don't put much stock in character level being a gauge of character worth/history. Heroic 1 is already superior to a Nonheroic 1. Lvl 1 just means we have more room before the 20 cap & a couple less generic mooks per encounter. We can always push up the starting level if everyone agrees. You could all be lvl 20 if you like, although the game probably would end quickly that way.
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I'd like to tentatively put my hat into the ring here. My schedule is just open enough to allow me to try this sort of thing again. Here's hoping I can keep it that way.
Only real thing I have down for concept right now is something akin to Simon from Firefly, maybe with a sprinkling of the other characters thrown in. Medic, and all that. I'll try to put something together tonight after I dig my books out again, and remember how it all works.
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OK, so I have two ideas, the first one is:
And the other:
As you can see, these ideas aren't fully formed, but I've got some ideas on where I'd like to go with them. I chose two because the first one seemed more like a captain sort of role, and I'm not sure if that role is filled or not. Either way, I'm really interested in this idea!
I'm current makeshift captain. Happy to stand aside if someone actually wants the role though.
Owner vs. Captain friction is always nice...
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I'm current makeshift captain. Happy to stand aside if someone actually wants the role though.
Owner vs. Captain friction is always nice...
Oh, I *really* like that idea. My character would have been incredibly desperate for a ship, so he would agree to any terms if your character was willing to put up the credits...
If you're cool with this idea, feel free to come up with any rules you like, after all, my character would agree to anything in order to restart his budding smuggling business. :)
You were here first, though, so it's all up to you!
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That's pretty awesome right there.
Still trying to figure out who this guy is: not sure if he's a noble doctor from the core, naively trying to 'help the less-fortunate', a retired battlefield medic who is low on creds, or a former Jedi turned medic, seeking forgiveness for his 'sins'. I'm rather partial to the Force, but I've also never played a straight up non-Jedi, non-Force character before. Could be interesting.
Anyone have any opinions, admittedly based on tiny descriptor phrases in this case?
(Captain?) Mayvar Rolston at your service!
I wrote my background in this profile, but here it is again for convenience:
Realizing as he grew up that he would never get ahead in life working as a thug for a crime lord, Mayvar eventually cut loose (much to the Hutt's chagrin) and, along with the help of some local spacers, invested in an old hunk of junk transport to begin his budding smuggling enterprise. It wasn't long after, however, that his crew decided they didn't like some of his philanthropic ways and abandoned him on a rock somewhere in the Outer Rim.
Surviving with nothing but his wits and a few minor pieces of equipment, what kept Mayvar going was knowing that one day, he would exact his revenge on the ones who did this to him. After a year, Mayvar was starting to give up hope. But lo and behold, in an incredibly unlikely turn of events, a transport flew into the planet's atmosphere, close enough so that Mayvar's comm could connect and make a cry for help.
A member of that old religion of the Jedi might say that the transport passing by was no mere coincidence, but part of Rolston's destiny. Of course, Mayvar wouldn't believe in that mumbo-jumbo. A month later he had been dropped off yet again in the Outer Rim (but on an inhabited planet this time), ready to return the favour to his old crew, and looking to once again do what he does best: smuggling.
Here's the stuff going on that Mayvar DOESN'T know (let me know if this is alright):
The old crime lord that Mayvar worked for as a teenager could still be holding a grudge, after all, Hutts have long memories...
The crew that mutinied him I'll leave up to the GM to use as he likes! I can come up with some names, but other than that, they can fill whatever role you like in the story you're crafting.
I have some more stuff to write up about Mayvar, but I'll get to that tonight!
I have to say, I'm really excited about this game, it's exactly what I've been looking for for a while!
Still trying to figure out who this guy is: not sure if he's a noble doctor from the core, naively trying to 'help the less-fortunate', a retired battlefield medic who is low on creds, or a former Jedi turned medic, seeking forgiveness for his 'sins'. I'm rather partial to the Force, but I've also never played a straight up non-Jedi, non-Force character before. Could be interesting.
Anyone have any opinions, admittedly based on tiny descriptor phrases in this case?
Seeing as you seem to play Force-users often, maybe your instinct to try a non-Force character is a good one. Have you thought about playing an alien? Just looking through the Species often gives me some inspiration when I'm having a tough time thinking of a character. The doctor idea is fab though... I think we'll need one. :)
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):
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:
Deception, Know: Tech, Know: Galactic/Social (their results seem to overlap alot...?), Mechanics(+Skill Focus), Perception, Persuasion, Use Computers (maybe Gather Info instead of Know: Tech?)
and my Languages are: Basic, Duro, Mon Cal and Squib (dropped the Huttese with lower INT... though often living/working in the "grey zone", she prefers not to associate with out-and-out mafia types)
Just to comment on everybody's characters so far:
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.
Mayvar has a good story to him, if maybe a bit disconnected from the sector setting. He's the right type of scum, I think.
What Mayvar doesn't know is fine, and it's one of those Star Wars things that should be in the game. How it plays out, I would have to consider. Most probably, it will work itself out in one of the least ideal ways possible & I'll probably draw on some d6 Star Wars ideas for inspiration.
Wandslinger, the question is, what drives a right respectable Doc out to the Fringe?
(And certainly Firefly/Serenity is an inspiration here, along with some themes from the new Battlestar Galactica, with less crying... Plus whatever else seems interesting to me at the time)
Reasons for a Doc, I can think of many, both simple (love, family) and complicated (old promises, botched the wrong operation, unethical biomedical research). Some of these reasons might parallel other character's storylines, which would be a bonus in some ways, but not necessary.
Okay, my fingers are tired of typing on this tiny keyboard. I will try to respond more when I am at home & actually on a computer. Good to see the interest & everyone coming back.
Hehe. That DM alias is great.
@Wandslinger: What if your character was a med student/ neophyte doctor but had a "secret life" that you were "into" full-on bloodsport combat in underground mafia-linked fight arenas? You end up killing some one and are linked by the police, and have to flee to the outer rim, where you ply your medical trade however you can and/or play the muscle-type bodyguard with your strength and melee fighting skills...?
...Just an association that popped out at me...
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Revised character information.
Wade Macton
Human Male
Age: 28
Height: 183 cm
Weight: 69 kg
Build: Slim but athletic
-Stats-
11 STR 0
17 DEX 3
13 CON 1
16 INT 3
16 WIS 3
13 CHA 1
Hitpoints: 19
Skillls: 7(Pilot, Deception, Stealth, Know: Social Sciences, Know: Tactics, Initiative, Gather Information)
Feats: Martial Arts 1, Melee Defense or Vehicular Combat
Talent: Sneak Attack 1
(I'm holding off on making a new alias until I'm certain everything is okayed.)
-History-
Much of his naïveté was shed in his early missions as he learned of the greater grey areas, until on one such mission he came across a data transmission which implicated the Empire in some horrible deeds. Double-checking his mission, he discovered his true purpose was to be the empire's scapegoat.
Imperial Intelligence couldn't take back the time and training they'd invested in him, but they could sever all ties and revoke all clearance. He was being unceremoniously cut loose because of his beliefs and simultaneously used as a political tool in an attempt to trick a distant region into greater Imperial control through requested aid.
With his resources minimal and enemies on either side, he collaborated with his intended target in order to disappear. The Empire considers him MIA, presumed dead; but a few of his superiors and trainers remain suspicious. Officially, his mission was a success, due to the Empire only needed a showy attempt on the target's life, whether or not he lived or died didn't matter, unfortunately for the Empire, the plan was unsuccessful since the target managed to keep his region from requesting political aide, thus denying Imperial roots to set.
Wade's new contact supplied him with a small fighter and new identification in exchange for his life; on the agreement that if he received a call for help, he would do all he could.
-Ideas/Requests-
I'd like to have him start with an R-42 Starchaser(page 115, Force Unleashed), as its old and dependable. This wouldn't mean he wouldn't stay with the rest of the crew, just that he does things a little differently.
I thought of a way to show him being better with fighters than larger craft, if its okay. Would it be okay to grant him a +5 bonus to Pilot checks with fighters/bombers along with a -5 penalty to Pilot checks with larger ships? Sorta like a Trait in d20 Modern, maybe call it "Fighter Savant" or "Flight Jockey"?
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)...
No worries. This game has taken a while to come together. On to the new background...
Just looking at details & hammering out what might be part of the current environment and what might be part of the future game environment...
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....
This colony is within the Juiblexian Sector? Within the Goffle Subsector?
Doesn't have to be, but it can be. Your character's parents can also be imprisoned within the sector.
I had an idea for a jail break being part of the game. It's not necessary that your character's parents are involved, however.
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.
Is this within the Juiblexian Sector?
It's an interesting final piece of history. Certainly, the trade of illegal drugs will be an option for the crew. It might lead to interesting situations for Ulula, in the right circumstances.
I don't think we'd lead off with the drug trade, though. There's plenty of other things to smuggle...
As for serving as crew on other freighters... I think I'll have to create a partial history for that. Ulula should know other Captains & crew in this region of space. It might be helpful, and it might lead to other plot hooks.
If you'd like to come up with 2-5 Captain names, species, vessel, types of cargo that they favor, that would help paint the picture. (i.e. Captain Syril Caessen, Human, YT-1250, grains & alcoholic beverages)
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How 'bout I have him dropped off in this sector instead of back where he came from, explaining why he's in this region of the galaxy?
That's probably better.
Mayvar could have been dropped off on an outlying barely habitable planet in the Nenaxis system. The main world in the Nenaxis system is a barren mining planet, and there is a lot of meteorite activity in the system.
We'll have to define who Mayvar's last crew was. They'll have to come back at some point. I'll have more ideas in my next post.
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Revised character information.
Wade Macton
Human Male
Age: 28
Height: 183 cm
Weight: 69 kg
Build: Slim but athletic(I'm holding off on making a new alias until I'm certain everything is okayed.)
Hmmm...
As for how Wade met the group, I'd mostly prefer the group to be familiar already. While a deep space meeting could be set up, we also need to set up why the group might bring a fighter along.
Perhaps it is not uncommon for freighters to hire fighter escorts in this lawless sector of the galaxy... merchants can't depend on the Empire to fend off every pirate attack, so there's an economy based on fighters-for-hire. The Empire can have some sort of fighter escort license for that purpose since it alleviates some of the need for large battlegroup deployments for merchant marine missions. And it also means that old starfighters from the Clone Wars & other eras can be monitored via the licensing process, and they aren't automatically driven into service with the Rebel Alliance.
I don't have Force Unleashed, though. Just the Saga rulebook, Scum & Villainy, and Starships. (I also have the KotOR book, but that's not useful here)
As for the Empire's secret horrible deeds... I'll save that line of thought for my next post. This one is getting a bit long.
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More later... time to rest.
I'm excited to see the interest in this has exploded. :)
Ulula Sargasso
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I have no problem with letting the fighter be destroyed if things end up imbalanced, I'll post the stats in a spoiler box at the bottom. My main reasoning behind it was that most shows set up on a ship also had smaller craft along with them(Firefly's Serenity had its two shuttles; Farscape's Moya had the transports, as well as John's pod, Aeryn's prowler, and eventually Dargo's difficult to define ship)
As for the deep space meeting, if you don't want to play it out, that's fine, perhaps its part of the group backstory of how they all came together(like how Mal & Zöe met Wash, Jayne, and Kaylee in Firefly). Or not.
R-41 Starchaser
Init +6; Senses Perception +6
Defenses Ref 16(flat 11), Fort 24; +6 armor
hp 100; DR 10; SR 20; Threshold 44
Speed fly 16 squares(max. velocity 1,050 km/h), fly 4 squares(starship scale)
Ranged Laser cannons +6(see below) or
Ranged ion cannon +6(see below) or
Ranged medium concussion missiles +6
Fighting Space 4x4 or 1 square(starship scale); Cover total
Base Atk +2; Grp +29
Abilities Str 38, Dex 20, Con -, Int 18
Skills Initiative +6, Mechanics +6, Perception +6, Pilot +6, Use Computer +6
Crew 1(skilled); Passengers 1
Cargo 110kg; Consumables 2 weeks; Carried Craft none
Payload 2 medium concussion missiles
Hyperdrive x2, navicomputer
Availability Restricted; Cost 115 000(55 000 used)
Laser cannons (pilot)
-Atk +6, Dmg 5d6x2
Ion cannon (pilot)
-Atk +6, Dmg 3d10x2 Ion
Medium concussion missiles (pilot)
-Atk +6, Dmg 8d10x2, 2-square splash
Backstory is good. Strangers meeting up and going on an adventure works great on Adventure Paths, but this one doesn't have the same initial motivations. I'd rather have the intros all set up. Gives me more potential plot hooks as well.
As for the why of a snub fighter (for the rest of the group)... Because we can? You have things like the old Wing Commander Privateer & Freelancer games.
In this sector of space, fighter escorts for hire are not uncommon. Thrifty merchant captains can hire protection from the pirates and privateers this way.
The Imperial Moff sanctions this through the sale of licenses. The Empire has only so much ability to project power this far from the Core, and if they don't have to apply force to the merchant marine role, so much the better. Plus, officially sanctioned & licensed fighter craft are more easily monitored and less likely to defect to the Rebellion. It removes a number of old Clone Wars and other craft that could end up as Rebels, pirates, and the like.
Okay, time to shop. Will have more later.
As for the why of a snub fighter (for the rest of the group)... Because we can? You have things like the old Wing Commander Privateer & Freelancer games.
In this sector of space, fighter escorts for hire are not uncommon. Thrifty merchant captains can hire protection from the pirates and privateers this way.
Also, if anyone wants to recast their characters as we flesh out the environment, please feel free to do so. Nothing is set in stone yet.
Potentially, having player characters in snub fighters is an issue in hyperspace between destinations. It's solved either by the mystic hand wave, "Time passes", and then you jump back out of hyperspace... or it gives more reasons to have nonheroic Droid character backups within the main ship.
Of course, having a swarm of characters makes for a confusing environment, so maybe that's not the best thing. We can mess around with ideas. If it doesn't work, then we'll blow up anything that doesn't work.
Here's the very basic elements of the character I'm working up. I'm going to have the concept nailed down by the end of tomorrow.
Basic idea is an Imperial Academy trained medic from the Core, possibly Coruscant, looking for someone out in the Fringe. Don't know how long yet, or who, but something's forming. Trying to avoid involving the Force with the character: so far it's successful.
@Soz: (anyone can read, please do)
("Heavy Weapons Specialist is a good 'role' to fill, pragmatically)
I'd like to see how his story could work in better with every-else, I mean all of us kind of our own story at this point, but if most of our stories can be tweaked to include each other, that might be good - I'm not thinking of EVERYBODY having some super history, but developing different relatioships within the group, some stronger than others, some possibly antagonistic, etc... I could see having run into you previously amidst Squib smugglers/Salvage gangs/Pirates, somehow having made a good impression of you - Like it was a rare sober moment and you came off good against more homicidally inclined mercenaries in that mileu (or whatever) - Giving at least a passing familiarity/history between us, as a basis of a working relationship, in otherwords.
Looking at your profile, I also want to know WHY you AREN'T making your living as a pilot instead, since you should be great at it by all accounts... Maybe you did try your hand at for awhile, but screwed up once too often thanks to flying high off various drugs and crashing expensive ships, etc, eventually finding out nobody would hire you as word had spread far and wide you were an accident waiting to happen...???
Starship Stuff:
I don't know exactly what craft might fit that sort of spec, but maybe Darth GM does...?
For the main ship, whoever ends up being the owner should certainly choose it,
but if my b/g ship story seems interesting, I would probably be interested in something like a Baudo-class yacht, the variant with an aquatic portion/pool, maybe with a slightly larger cargo bay (and/or hidden compartments for smuggling), extra escape pod (front + rear), a ship-ship air-lock, & extra turret/weapon emplacement or 2...???
The b/g I imagined for it was basically that I would have "bought out" a mafia drug/slave smuggling ship to help a mafia lover who was robbed/double-crossed and suddenly needed to cover their loss. The idea being, I'm desperately in need of finding ways to pay back the Hutt loans I'm unexpectedly saddled with, and thus happy to hire my ship out for whatever can make profitable use of it...
What's your thoughts on that, DarthGM/ everybody???
Any more ideas on specific relatioships/backgrounds between the characters would be great...