Character Building - The Star Wars RPG for Sunday Dinner and Gaming

Since the Swords of the Kegasus began gathering over a year ago, we have talked about a casual, monthly game with little obligation and lots of people. We were looking for a place for folks who were interested in trying out a roleplaying game (specifically our brand of rules-light, not taking ourselves too seriously gaming).  Our playtesting of DND Next got us started in a pretty good way.  Though Carly was the one who vocalized it, we had all wanted to play the Star Wars D20 RPG at some level.  It was unofficially settled pretty quickly. 

Ever since I was made aware of a Star Wars role-playing game (all the way back to the D6 pre-Wizards of the Coast versions) I have wanted to play a Slicer.  Not a Jedi, not a Smuggler, but a Slicer.   I have wanted to play a character that new almost nothing about shooting a blaster or using the force, but could work magic and wonders with a datapad and a computer terminal.  I guess now is my chance. 

The hardest part so far in the creation of the character has been trying to decide what race I should play.  I always start down this road with grand and noble ideas. For instance, I wanted to play a Rodian - because, lets be honest, they are one of the coolest races next to Wookies on a purely aesthetic scale. Then I start to think about that bonus feat that Humans receive at first level.  The Mon Calamari, with that +2 to INT seems like a much wiser choice of race over the Rodian +2 DEX.  Then there are Sullustians - again, cool as shit - Bothans.  It gets frustrating fast.

So in a way to balance all this problem solving, I have decided to roll my character stats first and then see how I can fit them into the races that I want to play.  The Mon Calamari is just a tech powerhouse.  It’s hard not to just pick them.  With the INT and the bonuses to craft, its just plain difficult not to go ahead and play one.  I am going to roll the stats and then look at what it is I can do with what I get.  I secretly hope that I don’t succumb to the Calamari - but they are pretty damn sweet.  Let’s roll some dice.

First roll out of the gate is a 15, which is a pretty sweet and strong start. Then a 14. Then an 8.  Ouch.  That is going to be pretty damn painful no matter where I choose to put it. Followed by a 7?!?  What the fuck random.org?  This character already has some serious flaws no matter how I try and spin it. Then 11. And for the last one...8.  Jesus Christ. 15, 14, 8, 7, 11, 8.  Nope.  There is no way that I can spin three scores in the minuses and still play a fun character. Now don’t get me wrong, I love a low ability score.  There is something inside me, some narrative engine, that loves to look at a low score and weave that into a story.  But that is a lot of low score.

Let’s try this again. 12, 16,  6, 17, 12, 10.  Ok this is something a bit more workable.  The six is super low and its going to be a handicap, but a single handicap is a fun and interesting thing to build a character around.  That sixteen and seventeen are pretty sweet as well.  With the sixteen and seventeen I think that I am going to steer away from the Mon Calamari - as tempting as it is, I think I want to take a crack at one of the other three races that seemed like a bit of fun. Initial placement is going to look like this:

STR - 6
DEX - 16
CON - 12
INT - 17
WIS - 10
CHR - 12

I like this - I am already starting to figure out some ideas for how I want to play this guy. Now I am considering making my character an older one, which would bump my intelligence up to 18, which is awesome, at the cost of dropping my strength to a 5.  A 5.    That is a -3.  I would be shit at climbing and jumping. I could not swing a punch to save my life. But I would be fast, and I would be smart.  The fast part not so much.  All rodian, Bothan, and Sullustians get +2 DEX, so starting out at adult as opposed to middle age would give me an 18 DEX.  I would be fast, quick, and hard to hit, while missing out on that 18 INT which is the bread and butter of my entire character.  Fuck it.  I am not making this guy to dodge shit.  He is going to pretty much be a genius, lets ditch min/maxing for some good story elements and the fact that I historically like to play older characters. Let’s apply the age modifiers before finalizing a race:

STR - 5
DEX - 15
CON - 11
INT - 18
WIS - 11
CHR - 13

That is what my un-racial character looks like at middle age.  It’s time that I am going to have to settle on a race, to choose between Rodian, Bothan, or Sullustian.

Bothan could be fun - being older with that terrible STR could mean that I was a skilled member of the SpyNet that was crippled somehow.  Ulterior motives and old connections could make for some fun playing. 

The super hunter nature of the Rodians really doesnt give me much to work with.  Likewise the subterranean Sullustan only sort of lends itself to the idea of working in a small dark room as a hacker. No Rodian.  Sullustan or Bothan.  I think that I am going to go with a Bothan.  A crippled Bothan ex-SpyNetter.  So lets apply those racial ability adjustments.  Then I hear that Rob is going to play a Bothan.  Perhaps its something silly in my play style, but I prefer to be “the” Bothan rather than “a” Bothan.  I guess I finally have my excuse to play my Sullustan.  Upper echelons of the SoroSuub Corporation tech facilities gone wrong makes for a nice beginning as well.

STR - 5 (-3)
DEX - 17 (+3)
CON - 9 (-1)
INT - 18 (+4)
WIS - 11 (+0)
CHR - 13 (+1)

That strength really hurts, and I was not expecting the minuses to the constitution after the racial modifiers. I am going to stay with it, however, it adds well to my idea of a cripple.  He is quick, but very, very weak.  That weakness will make for a decent backstory.

Bauxton Sree is born.  I will spare our loyal audience the methodical and calculating distribution of skill points into pedantic and erudite knowledges for the sake of a game played with very little attention to explosions or experience points.

Now it is just a matter of talking with the other guys, getting some story leads, and weaving a thick background that Jay and Eric can use in their storytelling.  Look out for more to come.