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Human Planetary Bonuses
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Kytross
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 02, 2015 5:05 pm    Post subject: Human Planetary Bonuses Reply with quote

I have mentioned in other threads that I will give humans a 2 for 1 skill point bonus based on their planet of origin. I treat this like the Duros bonus, you can only use the 2 for 1 once per skill. Any further advancement is done at the regular cost.

Corellia: All space piloting and weapons skills, as well as sensors and shields

Naboo: Business, Law Enforcement, Cultures, Languages, Alien Species, Planetary Systems, Value

Alderaan: Value, Bargain, Con, Persuasion, Command

Tattooine: Survival, Blaster, Melee Combat, Repulsorlift Ops, Beastriding

Fondor: All space related repair skills.

Toprawa: Survival, sneak, search, hide, primitive construction


Last edited by Kytross on Fri Jan 02, 2015 7:58 pm; edited 1 time in total
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garhkal
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 02, 2015 5:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So taking the 2 for 1 rule, i could say make a human from Corellia who has a base 4d mech, and 7 skills all at 6d vice that rule.. Fighter piloting, cap ship piloting, astrogation, shields, starfighter weapons, capital ship weapons and sensors.
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Kytross
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 02, 2015 6:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yup. Just like a Duros. Or repair skills like a Jawa, etc.
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Barrataria
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 02, 2015 7:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I kind of like this idea, but as I think garkhal is suggesting I'd allow a 2 for one on any ONE skill from that list. I've done something similar in a d6 Space game that might someday make it from a binder to my game table.
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Kytross
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 02, 2015 7:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I see what you're saying. The inherent disadvantage to specializing is how low your skills will be in other areas. Put all your skills in MEC and you'll be lacking in other areas, but that's a player's prerogative.

I created these cultural bonuses in response to people picking alien races they don't like to get an advantage in game mechanics. My players felt like they were being penalized with ugly characters or lower stats, and I wanted to make them happy. These still aren't as good as some other species bonuses, but we felt it was a good compromise.

There is precedent in the Lorrdians and Hapans who are both baseline humans, but have different stats because of culture and environment.
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garhkal
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 03, 2015 4:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

But then rather than having players take alien species to be the best at x, they would just switch to being human (no issues of racial bias from the empire afterall) to be the same. I really see no benefit to this.
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Zarn
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 03, 2015 7:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

We already know from the Legends continuity that Socorrans can have a particular facility with languages, too, which in addition to Hapans (result of eugenics, arguably) and Lorrdians (environmental changes) further strengthens that view.

I also seem to remember a template of sorts for a "heavy worlder" and a "light worlder", but I can't remember whether it was for Buck Rogers, a homebrew for WEG Star Wars, or Adventurer's Journal Star Wars (or something similarly published in a magazine once).
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atgxtg
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 03, 2015 10:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think if you want to create a human bonus per planet of origin you should probably come up with some sort of drawback to offset the bonus. Most alien species with bonuses either have some sort of drawback or some reduction in thier stat ranges or in starting dice.
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tetsuoh
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 03, 2015 11:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

And what of wookies born on high graity planets?

What of twileks born on a planet without slavery?

If you go too deep and away from the core of the race - then you have to choose where you draw lines - because you were already given lines for the Base of the races - you take that away for one and then you can't complain when your players want more depth on the other races as well.

Like a Twi'lek getting a bonus Seduction, because their entire race is stated through numerous sources as being naturally alluring. And thats a statement for the base race.

So yeah I'm not agaisnt your idea but just giving you fair warning that making small changes can usually need to making larger ones than you intended to be involved in.
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Raven Redstar
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 03, 2015 3:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I like the idea in theory. I'm not sure how well it'd pan out in practice. I have a lot of players who like to play humans, I have some who like to pick alien races. I'm sure the players of humans would be ecstatic about getting additional bonuses for their characters. I think some players who pick aliens might be a little miffed that a human can be just as good as they are without the xenophobic stigma against them.

One way to offset this would be to give alien characters a free die or so in skills to reflect general galactic prejudice.
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garhkal
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 03, 2015 3:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

And that no xenophobia is why humans in general don't get racial bonuses. Loordians and Hapans are only near humans.
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 03, 2015 4:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

No, technically Loordians and Hapans are not near-humans. They are baseline genetic humans. Loordians have a culture-based bonues, and Hapans are a distinct human gene pool in that their night vision has atrophied, but not to the point of evolving into a separate species than baseline humans.

Kytross wrote:
I see what you're saying. The inherent disadvantage to specializing is how low your skills will be in other areas. Put all your skills in MEC and you'll be lacking in other areas, but that's a player's prerogative.

I created these cultural bonuses in response to people picking alien races they don't like to get an advantage in game mechanics. My players felt like they were being penalized with ugly characters or lower stats, and I wanted to make them happy. These still aren't as good as some other species bonuses, but we felt it was a good compromise.

There is precedent in the Lorrdians and Hapans who are both baseline humans, but have different stats because of culture and environment.
garhkal wrote:
But then rather than having players take alien species to be the best at x, they would just switch to being human (no issues of racial bias from the empire afterall) to be the same. I really see no benefit to this.

Kytross, I get where you're coming from. Star Wars has such a vast array of alien species that I have have been plagued with players who don't want to play humans. I like having some alien characters for the variety, but having no humans in your playing group really limits story possibilities in the time of the Empire. Even with including the species bias story factor in games, my players still don't want to play humans!

And in RAW there are plenty of alien species with advantages that do not have corresponding disadvantages, some are severely broken with respect to game balance. 1E didn't even have any species special abilities, and when they added that in 2E, there was absolutely no system devised to balance PCs of various races to each other. (I'm not saying all alien species evolved equally so NPCs do not need balanced - I'm just saying an attempt should be made for all PCs to be artificially balanced to each other - that is the general premise behind 18-7.)

So for the very large list of playable alien species in my game, I have species PC special ability blocks that are roughly equated to 4D worth of skills. For the species that had more than that in RAW, I reduced them or added disadvantages to balance it. For species that don't have that much advantages, then I added advantages. If nothing else, they got added skill dice for skills related to their fluff text. Humans, always being described as very versatile, just get 4 bonus skill dice that can be used for any skills (still within the normal limits of no more than two dice total to any one skill). I'm ok with human PCs starting out a little more skilled than in RAW because advancement tends to be a bit on the slow side in game, so PCs don't become overpowered too soon in my game. (I've never had any campaign that went on for more than 4 years in- or out-of-universe.). I prefer Humans not experiencing xenophobia to remain a story factor, but that is just my preference.

garhkal, this is really no different than Sparks having RAW humans as a default with a buy-in cost to play aliens based on the alien abilities. There is a cost to play aliens that are more powerful than humans, and in my version I've just boosted the default up to a certain level (and knocked a few aliens down) - giving bonus dice to the lesser powerful instead of paying dice to play more powerful ones. It's the same end result, to better balance the PCs to each other.

Yes, there are a lot of near-humans with special abilities beyond humanity, and there are baseline genetic humans from various cultures that get their own unique stat block. I've included a few of those with differing stats from RAW in my game (the ones I like), but I stop short of Kytross in adding the layer of complexity of specifying special abilities based on planet of origin, in effect making a new long list of playable humans (or aliens) that are game mechanically distinct from each other. In most cases that can be effected in my game from the 4D skill bonus that all humans get. If a player wants to play a cultural human that is not already in my game, and from the fluff he feels that the stats should include a non-skill-dice advantage, I will consider the character concept and if we can come to an agreement on the stats then we will write it up and a new cultural human stats block is entered into my game. But I will do that on a case by case basis as it comes up in the game.

But Kytross, I like the premise behind what you are doing, and if origin planet stats blocks work for you, then go for it.
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Kytross
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 03, 2015 4:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow, impressive write-ups all!

This rule was initiated in a game where all my players were new and Two of them were teenage girls who didn't want to be "gross aliens." To clarify; pretty aliens, like Twi'leks, were ok. So I was trying to find a quick solution that didn't unbalance the game.

In my experience this turns out to be worth about 3-4 skill dice at character creation. There are essential non-bonus skills that need some dice allocated, like Dodge. Whill's 4D bonus would have similar results, I'm sure. Wish I had thought of it then.

My current players didn't even consider it. They love playing aliens.
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Raven Redstar
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 11:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I might add it as an option for people wanting to play humans.

And for those who decide not to, they'll get some dice for prejudice in the Empire, if that's the time period.

I really think these have potential in an Imperial Campaign. A Corellian TIE fighter ace, or a Rhinnallian Doctor or whatever.
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garhkal
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 5:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
garhkal, this is really no different than Sparks having RAW humans as a default with a buy-in cost to play aliens based on the alien abilities. There is a cost to play aliens that are more powerful than humans, and in my version I've just boosted the default up to a certain level (and knocked a few aliens down) - giving bonus dice to the lesser powerful instead of paying dice to play more powerful ones. It's the same end result, to better balance the PCs to each other.


In which case, if you was going by spark's rule, how would you rank the 'planetary bonus' humans for buy ins?
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