Development: Urrlikon

War rages across the Galaxy. Both the brutal Galactic Empire and the desperate Rebel Alliance reel in the face of terrible losses. A tabletop RPG campaign set after the Battle of Yavin. Star Wars: Edge of the Empire (Fantasy Flight Games)

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nemarsde
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Development: Urrlikon

Post by nemarsde »

Almost 20 sessions in, creation of a new character for Dark Tide was going to be dictated largely by what what would fit.

My back story would be lightweight, as always, and would have to segue with a reason to join the crew.

Pretty simple, so I decided to take a scattergun approach.

Create as many, varied character builds as came to mind, then whittle them down to the one easiest to slot into the existing story.
nemarsde
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Builds

Post by nemarsde »

Each build was made up of a species + career + spec combo that had particular synergy.

Building with 510 XP, I wasn't entirely sure any interesting synergies would exist, since species has less mechanical impact the more XP is spent on a character.

But I found some, and list them here as curios:

Trandoshan Doctor
Trandoshans have a reputation as bloodthirsty slavers. A saw-toothed reptiloid with a gentle bedside manner is a fun image, made all the more interesting by Trandoshans having regenerative powers that other species do not. There is synergy between Trandoshan's claws-enhanced Brawl attacks, Intellect and Medicine ranks, and the Doctor's Pressure Point and Anatomy Lessons Talents, that culminates in probably the best non-Force Brawl attacks in the game... that bypass Soak. No equipment needed.

Karkarodon Enforcer-Agitator
This is another natural weapon-enhanced Brawl attack build, using Karkarodon's bite. Streetwise ranks increase damage and Fearsome Talent forces engaged enemies to make a Fear check. The numerous Talent boosts to Coercion checks get really interesting when you add Agitator's Supreme Scathing Tirade Talent, that uses Coercion checks to inflict Strain damage and Setback dice on enemies as a manoeuvre. A sort of light appetiser pre-attack before you take your action. Karkarodons are shark-headed humanoids and I can't think of anything more intimidating than a black-eyed shark grin.

Gank Cyber Tech-Sharpshooter
Ganks get $5000 worth of cybernetics at the start, and Cyber Tech has Cyberneticist Talent that halves the price of cybernetics for 5 XP. So you can have a $10K cybernetic at start. Ironically, that 5 XP will probably cost you a characteristic increase anyway, so the net gain is nil but it does allow your starter character to have Implant Armour, increasing their Soak without having to increase their Brawn and a Retina Tracker to add automatic Advantages to Ranged-Heavy checks. Add Sharpshooter spec that has Talents for increasing damage, range bands and crit severity of Ranged-Heavy attacks and you have a sniper that can use a Medium Range carbine with Auto-Fire, out to Extreme Range. Gank faces are hidden behind their cybernetic respirators, so a touch of Mandalorian.

Gigoran Mechanic-Gunner
There are some species that have penalties to Mechanics checks. Gigorans are one of them, and they also have low base Intellect. In a switch-around to my previous builds, the aim here is anti-synergy. A Gigoran Mechanic will still have Mechanics as a career skill and can buy cheap ranks. Their Talents also improve the effectiveness of vehicle and starship repairs. The downside is, they also roll Mechanics with a Challenge (red) dice. That makes rolling actually worthwhile! Add the Gunner spec and you have a very capable turret-gunner for your starship. Synergy creeps in with Gigoran high base Brawn, allowing them to also wield portable-Gunnery weapons.
nemarsde
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Shortlisting

Post by nemarsde »

They were all solid builds but I wanted to be able to rejoin the story asap, with minimum contrivance.

The Gank and Karkarodon could have been former Underworld contacts of any one of the crew. The Gank would contribute Mechanics, some Medicine and long-range firepower. The Karkarodon didn't need any weapons, so would always be armed, and was strong in Coercion. But in the crew's time of greatest vulnerability, it didn't feel right that they'd bring someone sinister and unnerving on board, let alone someone downright scary.

The Trandoshan could be played wholesome but would be even more creepy because of it. Like the Karkarodon he would always be armed. He would have strong Knowledge skills, but not in Lore, and such a maxed out Medicine skill wouldn't be much use to the crew. If this game was Firefly, and the characters were constantly in danger of bleeding out, maybe, but player characters in FFG's Star Wars don't reach that point until 91+ in the Critical Table. And even then, some common equipment can reduce the difficulty of the Medicine check and add Boost dice.

So even before considering back story, I had narrowed down my options to the big white rug, the Gigoran.

Image

The Gigoran would contribute Mechanics and Gunnery, and have a high Soak too. An all-round useful crew-mate that they wouldn't have to worry about too much. (Until they realise he always rolls Mechanics with a Challenge dice, anyway. :lol: )

A Gigoran does not look scary. It looks cuddly, even with a rotary cannon, which is no mean feat. Unlike Wookiees, Gigorans aren't prone to frenzy. Also unlike Wookiees, Gigorans use Vocoders to allow them to speak Galactic Basic.

I looked at the Gigoran and heard a synthetic voice in my head, as if I'd heard one speak before. But the Gigoran in Rogue: One (its sole appearance) doesn't speak and it was a while before I realised I was hearing Baymax from Big Hero 6, another big, white cuddly giant.

Hello I am Baymax

Gigoran Baymax. A lovable giant who exists to help others. Who is fascinated by technology, even though he's ponderous and has sausage-fingers. This would be a character with heart, who the crew could instinctively trust, who could be slipped into the story with the least fuss.

Based on the Gigoran entry on Wookieepedia, an anti-slavery/insurgent back story wrote itself without any finessing.

All I needed was a name.

Turret-gunner. Rotary cannon. Anti-aircraft. The Swiss anti-aircraft artillery manufacturer Oerlikon sprang to mind.

In good old Star Wars fashion, I took the real world name and tweaked it, to give a name with a subliminal meaning:

Urrlikon, or Urrly for short
nemarsde
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Blackbirded

Post by nemarsde »

Urrly started out as an experiment with the FFG Star Wars system. But after a long break from playing last year, how can we distill this character down into his essentials?

Could a conversion to Blackbird help? Defining Blackbird Traits helped me create Major Hare.

Taking a blunt approach, Urrly's headline Traits could be converted directly from FFGSW to Star Wars.
  • Gigoran (Species)
  • Gunner (Specialisation)
  • Mechanic (Specialisation)
Blackbird characters shoud have four Traits, mind you, and each Trait needs a gamut of related Tags.

John Harper's original Lady Blackbird is the obvious source for developing Tags, but a set of more formal rules can be found in Jamie Fristrom's Blackbird Pie (and we used these for Crisis Point).

Lady Blackbird has two characters with Traits similar to Urrly's.

KALE ARKHAM
Mechanic

Repair, Engines, Efficiency, Spare Parts, Sabotage, [Enhancements], [Ship Weapons]

SNARGLE
Goblin
(Not a Gigorran but still a distinct species)
Warp shape, Glide, Nightvision, Agile, Quick, Tumbler, Teeth & Claws, [Mimic Shape], [Reckless], [Connections]

We can see that these are adventure-orientated Tags. They aren't just thesaurus entries/alternate terms for the same thing. The Tags suggest different, exciting things that a Trait might be used for. They're trying to spice up the story not just the character.

So Gigoran Gunner Mechanic could work. What about a fourth Trait?

May the fourth be with you?

Is John Harper doing something subtle with his four Traits? Why four?

If we look at FFG's End of the World system, it categorises all attributes as either Physical, Mental and Social, used offensively/proactively or defensively/reactively.

Hard to argue with that, so I went through every Lady Blackbird character and categorised each Tag as Physical, Mental or Social. A fourth category immediately emerged that I'll call "Super". Taking Snargle as an example, the Tag Nightvision could be used for Physical, Mental or even Social challenges. It's a super power.

The Traits all have a mix of Physical, Mental, Social and Super Tags. But if you consider the Tags under each Trait as a complete set, they do tend to be either offensive/proactive or defensive/reactive.

So the Traits might be polemic. Four Traits, two offensive/proactive, two defensive/reactive.

Also, for each character the four Traits could be categorised as Background, Profession, Skill, Talent.

Harper seems to use four Traits to give each character the same level of depth and two poles of action.

Re-reading the FFGSW character, I did write a short background and it reveals one important Trait I'm missing. Urrly is a freedom fighter, an insurgent, a partisan.

Since Urrly's motive is anti-slavery, "Freedom Fighter" seems the most appropriate. The pictures of Gigorans with rotary blaster cannons and missile launchers also reminds me that Urrly isn't just a gunner, he's a support gunner. That gives me my four Traits:
  • Gigoran
  • Support Gunner
  • Mechanic
  • Freedom Fighter
It's a good start!
nemarsde
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Risussed

Post by nemarsde »

The greatest gift Risus has given to role-playing gaming must be its character sheet.

Some pointed questions and a few Cliches and wham-bam, you have the essentials of a surprising cogent character.

I have Urrly's Blackbird Traits which I'll convert into Cliches with a touch of Risus humour. The questions are the fun part.

Admires: Tenacity and determination.
Careful about: How he says things
Careless about: Messing with and taking things apart
Curious about: The Core Worlds, technology and advanced civilisation
Dislikes: The Empire, slavers
Embarrassed by: Lack of "sophisticated" vocal chords
Enjoys: Meeting new species, learning how things work
Favourite kinds of excitement: Jawa Juice and watching pro Nuna-ball
Favourite way to relax: Tinkering. Obscure, long dead HoloNet comedies. Ice baths
Proud of: Planet Gigor. Time serving under the Nightswan. Personal kill count
Remembers: Defeat at the Battle of Lansend 26. The Republic's failure to abolish slavery
Scared of: Dying without hope of victory.
Wants to: Rescue squad-mates, kill Imps, win
Worries about: Not trying hard enough. Rebel Alliance being as useless as the Republic

Primary Cliché: Big, Cuddly Gigoran
Tools of the Trade: Amiable Vocoder Mask, Puppy Dog Eyes

Cliché: Heavy Support Gunner
Tools of the Trade: Rotary Blaster Cannon, Catch Vest, The Baggage

Cliché: Sausage-fingered Mechanic
Tools of the Trade: Valid Excuses and Repair Patches

Cliché: Freedom Fighter
Tools of the Trade: Combat Utility Knife
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