Obscure Character Archive!

[Telsij]

A one-night-only engagement! My illustration gig was expanded into mid-April, after originally being scheduled to wrap end of February, so the hiatus continues until *at least* end of April, unfortunately.

However! Today, OBSCURE CHARACTER ARCHIVE returns with one of my favorite characters from the current Marvel line of Star Wars comics:

Inspector MAGNA TOLVAN from the Doctor Aphra series, a quite capable Imperial whose plight and (spoilers!) tragic arc are sympathetically written and well-developed, even as she begins to fall for Aphra herself.

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MAGNA TOLVAN
Type: Introspective Inspector



Quotes:

• "Sloppy."
  
  
• "My mentor — Inspector Thanoth — he always said for some people, order is just control. Power, plain and simple.
  
  Others crave order simply for the chance to break it. Adventurers. Criminals. Hypocrites with a secret crush on the jackboot...
  
  But when he considered the most strident disciplinarians of all, he proposed a theory — they crave order because they have none in their hearts. And it scares them."

DEXTERITY 4D
Blaster 7D, brawling parry 7D, dodge 7D, grenade 5D, melee combat 7D, melee parry 6D+2,
missile weapons 6D, pick pocket 5D, running 5D+2, thrown weapons 6D, vehicle blasters 5D
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Bureaucracy 7D, bureaucracy: Empire 10D+1, intimidation 4D, law enforcement 7D,
planetary systems 5D+2, scholar: Imperial doctrine/protocol 11D+1, survival 6D+1,
tactics 7D+2, value 5D, willpower 8D
MECHANICAL 2D
Astrogation 5D, beast riding 4D+2, communications 5D+2, communications: Imperial Informant System 7D,
repulsorlift operation 5D, sensors 4D+2, space transports 5D, starfighter piloting 5D, starship gunnery 5D+2,
walker operation 4D
PERCEPTION 4D
Bargain 5D, command 7D, con 5D+2, con: disguise 6D+1,
hide 5D+2, investigation 8D, search 7D+2, sneak 6D+2
STRENGTH 3D
Brawling: martial arts 7D, climbing/jumping 5D+2, lifting 4D, stamina 6D+1, swimming 4D
TECHNICAL 2D
Blaster repair 4D, computer programming/repair 5D, computer programming/repair: Imperial databases 7D,
demolition 4D, equipment repair 4D, first aid 4D, security 6D

Species: Human
Gender: Female
Force Points: 2
Character Points: 22
Move: 10



Special Abilities and Story Factors:

• Cybernetics: Tolvan has cybernetic prosthetics/braces, for heretofore unknown reasons. Her neckbrace-like cybernetics reach from her collarbone to the back of her head, and she has partially-cybernetic hands and arms. When she was first under the mentorship of Inspector Thanoth, Tolvan did not require any cybernetics, and it is possible that she incurred injury in the line of duty. Tolvan secretly feels shame about her cybernetics and regards them as deformities.
  
  
• Discipline — and Disdain for a Lack of It: Because Tolvan lives her life by imposing strict order upon it, and by learning Imperial rules and regulations by heart, inside and out, she has little patience for those who do not hold themselves to the same high standards, deeming them "sloppy."
  
  
• Electro-tattoo: Tolvan has had an electro-tattoo which matches that of Doctor Aphra's, etched into her flesh reaching up from her left forearm and ending appropriately enough, above her "heart." The tattoo enables communication through secure energy barriers, but may have other uses as well.... One of these heretofore unknown uses was discovered only recently (Doctor Aphra, issue 39), wherein the synchronization performed by Tolvan and Aphra to facilitate short-range communication wound up creating biofeedback that enabled the duo to perceive — in varying degrees — one another's thoughts.
  
  
  
  In game terms, if within 40 meter range of Aphra, Tolvan "feels" her presence — a sensation she described as akin to her "skin crawling." When within 20 meters range, Tolvan and Aphra may "sense" the other's thoughts on a successful opposed Willpower roll. If the rolls are within 5 of one another, Tolvan and Aphra each perceive an accurate but generalized sense of what the other is feeling, as specific information may still be withheld by the whomever rolls the highest. If within 1 meter of each other, Tolvan and Aphra are able to perceive accurate information regarding the other's thoughts if the rolls are within a difference of 5, though specific information may still be withheld by the whomever rolls the highest. If touching, no roll is required for each person to perceive a precise understanding of the other's thoughts and feelings, though specific information may still be withheld by an opposed roll. However, the person who wishes to keep their thoughts private must be conscious in order to do so....
  
  "Didn't you wonder how I knew you were aboard? It's because my flesh crawls whenever you're near."
  
  "Tolvan, 'flesh crawls.' That's weirdly poetic for you-- Wait. You mean literally -- don't you? The electro-tattoo... you... you got one just like mine to help me bust out of Ackressker. We synchronized for short-range comms. Back when... when we were... uh.
  
  "Together..."
  
  "Biofeedback. I can feel little bits of your thoughts. You're really close aren't you? And -- really angry."
  
  "On the contrary, I'm as serene as a fireball in space. Tell me Aphra, what am I thinking now?
  
  "'I hope this hurts.'"
  
  — Tolvan stalking a fleeing Aphra through the bowels of the Unnamed, Rebel Intelligence starship.
  
  
• In Love: Tolvan would — and has — risked her life and her Imperial career to save and protect rogue archaeologist Chelli Lona Aphra.
  
  
• Need for Order: Tolvan is plagued by self-doubt, inner turmoil, and thus, a strong desire to exert control over events in her life. Her inner turmoil is kept concealed beneath a veneer of calm and discipline. Once she joins the Alliance, Tolvan later tells Aphra that the Rebels have given her "hope" — though Aphra refuses to believe it... or at least claims not to.

Martial Arts Techniques Known:

• Flying Kick: Tolvan has trained to leap in order deliver a crushing kick. Difficulty: Difficult; Effect: Tolvan adds +2D to her damage roll if her skill roll exceeds the difficulty number. Failure to beat the difficulty number indicates she is off-balance and her opponent may make an additional attack this round with no multiple action penalty.
  
  
• Instant Wound. Tolvan knows how to strike to maximum effect, and inflict severe damage upon her target. Difficulty: Difficult; Effect: If her attack is successful (and is not parried or dodged) and if her skill roll meets the required difficulty number, Tolvan's attack against the target character suffers a wound immediately. The wounded target then fall prone and can take no actions for the rest of the round. (Effects of the wound are cumulative.)
  
  
• Silent Strike: Provided that Tolvan can successfully sneak up on a target, she is capable of immediately killing him or rendering him unconscious. Difficulty: Difficult; Effect: The character must be within arm’s reach of the target. The character must declare if this is a killing or stunning attack prior to making the attempt. A successful skill roll indicates the target is neutralized. Note: If this technique is used against major NPCs or other PC's with lethal intent, the attacker must still make an opposed damage roll in order to determine a "kill" result; in such cases however, a success bonus is granted: The attacker gains a damage bonus equal to the margin by which she exceeded the technique's difficulty number. However, the minimum damage result she can achieve with this technique is Incapacitated, with the target character falling prone and unconscious for 10D minutes. And if the attacker has at least a 6D die code in melee combat, she may use a melee weapon — and the damage bonuses it grants — to deliver the killing/neutralizing blow.
  
  
• Spinning Kick: Tolvan has trained to perform a powerful, roundhouse-style kick. Difficulty: Moderate; Effect: Tolvan can add +1D to her damage roll if her skill roll exceeds the difficulty number. Failure to beat the difficulty number indicates sje is off-balance and her opponent may make an additional attack this round with no multiple action penalty.

Background: Magna Tolvan was considered a "candidate for greatness" and in many ways, she attained such heights. With a peerless knowledge of Imperial doctrine and protocol, tactical expertise and strong combat and survivalist skills, Tolvan's well-honed abilities had already made her an exemplary Imperial. Her adherence to Imperial dogma only served make her all the more so. However, the galaxy found a way to confound even those voted "most likely to succeed" at the Imperial Academy.

Tasked with overseeing security at Eadu, for the Tarkin Initiative's research and development facility, Tolvan could not prevent the Rebel attack on the base. And it only got worse from there. Thanks in very large part, to rogue archaeologist Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra.

After Eadu, Tolvan was assigned the punishment duty of combing the abandoned Imperial base at Yavin 4. There, Tolvan first encountered Aphra and her then-partner the Wookiee Black Krrsantan, the latter of whom made short work of Imperial forces. Pursuing Aphra to the Citadel of Rur, Aphra's party — with the unintended aid of technopathy-controlled droids — overcame Imperial forces once again. And Tolvan was left to ponder her fate, as well as Aphra's parting words that the silver-haired, partially-cybernetic Imperial was "cute."

A series of unfortunate events followed once Tolvan was demoted to Lieutenant. Each subsequent defeat came at the hands of Aphra, and through no genuine fault of Tolvan's. But by then, Tolvan had become enamored with the archeologist. At Someilk, the two women even shared their first quiet moment, perhaps first forging a bond, where Aphra opined that Tolvan's cybernetics spoke of an interesting life and were not the deformities the career Imperial saw them as.

Sentenced to death by firing squad at Someilk for receipt of her third demerit, Tolvan was spared by the posthumous action of her mentor Inspector Thanoth, who named Tolvan as his legatee. Granted capacity for a fourth demerit because of her transfer to the Inspectorate, Tolvan stalked out alive, admonishing her colleagues' belated realization of this order as "Sloppy."

"Investigative branches operate on a four-demerit punitive system, not the three of the field corps. Basic training, Sergeant Major. Article 3, section 9, Memorization is mandatory."

Using the Inspectorate's resources and her expert knowledge of Imperial protocol, Tolvan discovered Aphra was a person of interest to none other than Darth Vader. And still it was at this point, that Tolvan began her obsessive pursuit of Aphra in earnest, a woman whom she knew only as Aphra's hastily-conceived alias, "Joystick Chevron." Burdened by the self doubt that her series of perceived failures had brought about, Tolvan had found renewed focus. This new investigation and pursuit promised not only an ability to secure order for her inner turmoil as well as return her to a position of good standing with the Empire, but also, perhaps something more.

Chasing Aphra to Wat Tambor's lab on Skako Minor, Tolvan would share her first kiss with the archaeologist, when both believed they were on the verge of being killed by the Chthonic worm god. Though allowed by Aphra to escape, Tolvan instead stowed away with Aphra's crew, killing and skinning the Defel mercenary scout Glashst Ombra in short order, then using her pelt and clothes as disguise.

And it would not be the last time Tolvan used disguise to effect an escape. After gaining control of an Allliance flight school headquartered inside a captured Trade Federation capital ship, Tolvan then used her expertise in Imperial officer's doctrine to bypass a suicide order given to her at Hivebase-1. And while Aphra survived the loosing of failed Imperial experiments upon her and her crew — thanks to morally reprehensible actions on her part — Tolvan spirited Aphra away from Rebel custody, disguised as the principled lawman, Tam Posla.

Sharing evenings of intimacy at a secluded locale, Aphra would also share her real name with Tolvan, but only upon leaving her, telling her to forget about her, lest harm come to the Imperial. Tolvan had her wits about her, however, having planting a microtracker on Aphra's person. Tracking Aphra to the crime syndicate Sontuul-Pride, Tolvan crippled the criminal organization and regained her rank of Captain. She even captured Aphra herself, sending her to Accresker Jail, but in the company of Aphra's droid Dek-Nil, thus allowing Aphra an avenue of escape.

In the end, however, the escape Tolvan sought would be from Aphra herself. Blackmailed into rescuing Aphra from Accresker Jail, Tolvan again risked life and career to spare her lover's life. Tangling first with Aphra's former flame Sana Starros — even downing Starros' Volt Cobra starship using a well-placed rocket — Tolvan discovered that they were both there to ensure Aphra's safety, with Starros acting at the behest of the Rebellion. At Accresker too, Tolvan admitted her love for Aphra. And in a moment most dire, Tolvan summoned Darth Vader to the prison, in the hope of his arrival effecting their escape from the prison, as it plummeted to planetfall, using Aphra's knowledge of Vader's plan to ovethrow the Emperor as leverage to bring the Dark Lord to Accresker Jail.

As Vader bore down upon them and seeing no hope of escape, Aphra volunteered that her own memory be wiped by the Mairan Bor present at the prison, but in the end, it was Tolvan who sacrificed herself, saying tearfully that "Vader's only here because of me. M-make me forget you. No more leads to follow. No one to blame... because I love you... And it's ruined my life."

Sadly, Aphra did not think forgetting was enough.

With her memories altered in a horrific fashion, one which changed Tolvan's memory of a noble sacrifice to one wherein she was made to believe she killed Aphra in a jealous rage, Magna Tolvan survived her encounter with Darth Vader, for the moment. Bound for further interrogation and likely eventual death at Vader's hand, Tolvan was then rescued by the timely arrival of Sana Starros and the Rebellion, who were again in search for Aphra, and for the encrypted information she had earlier secured.

Now in Alliance custody, but having ensured her lover's survival, Magna Tolvan may still be armed with knowledge of Vader's secret, though she believes her beloved, Chelli Lona Aphra, to be dead....



Were the truth only so straightforward.

Tolvan took to her new surroundings better than even she could have imagined. For rather than simply serve as prisoner with the Rebel Alliance, Tolvan joined their ranks instead. Greeted personally by Mon Mothma upon her arrival at the Rebel base, Tolvan fast became one of its most proficient — and deadly — soldiers, as leader of a new Alliance covert operations group, Extraction Team Misericorde.

With the Alliance, her skills were truly allowed to shine, despite the turmoil that had driven them to these new heights. Wielding blasters and deadly daggers, as impressively as she deployed techniques of unarmed combat and stealth — she would later even best the fearsome Wookiee bounty hunter Black Krrsantan single-handedly — Magna Tolvan proved herself invaluable to the Alliance. As Rebel General Airen Cracken and the RA-7 protocol droid Teezee-Too later told Doctor Aphra, after her capture at Tolvan's hand:

"You know Doctor your girlfriend's quite the go-getter. She put that squad together within days of joining up."

"Burying herself inwork one supposes. I'm told humans do that when they're emotionally devastated."

"Extraction Team Misericorde's foiled three assassination attempts — and sent home two double agents — in bags. Lots and lots of very small bags."

Indeed, it was cruel but poetically just turn for all involved. For upon encountering Aphra two months after her defection, Tolvan quickly deduced what Aphra had done. "You used Bor Ifriem — that brain monster on Accresker Jail — to change my memories. I've spent the last two months believing I murdered you. A petty, jealous, murderous tantrum. Me...."

Tolvan did then admit her love for Aphra and for the bond they shared... before declaring that she would never again permit such a fate to befall her. "I missed you Doctor Aphra. I mourned you. Never again."

Whether or not Tolvan truly believes these words remains to be seen. For she did allow Chelli to escape with the "Farkiller" lightsaber / sniper rifle hybrid weapon of Jedi Oo'ob the Apostate, which the rogue archaeologist had uncovered before being captured by Team Misericorde. While the notion of the Alliance creating an "Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon" akin to the Death Star was revealed to be a ruse in the end, Tolvan's parting exchange with Aphra was anything but false. Instead, Magna Tolvan's words ring true to this day:

"I love you, Doctor Aphra."

"I know."

"I hate you, Doctor Aphra."



Description: Magna Tolvan is a female human with pale skin and pale silver-blue eyes. She currently has her silver hair styled in a mohawk, with the sides of her head shaved in closely-cropped fashion. Though the reasons are not widely known, at some point after joining the Empire and meeting her mentor, Inspector Thanoth, Tolvan came to require the use of cybernetics, a head and neck brace that extended to her collar and arms. Though called "cute" by Doctor Aphra and regarded as "hot" by Sana Starros, Tolvan nonetheless feels insecure about her appearance and refers to her cybernetics as deformities.

She is highly intelligent, driven and disciplined. Her expertise in Imperial protocol, combat strategy and tactics mark her as an outstanding officer, but it is only through rigorous discipline that she keeps her self doubt at bay. She seeks to create order where there is none, in the hope that doing so will settle her own inner turmoil. Tolvan carries herself with an aloof, superior air and she regards those without discipline with contempt.



Equipment: Code cylinders, cybernetics (braces cover neck and back of head, collarbone, shoulders and arms), E-11 blaster rifle (5D damage, range: 3-30/100/300, ammo: 100, game notes: If the retractable stock and scope are used for one round of aiming, the character gains +1D bonus to blaster), EC-17 hold-out blaster (3D+2 damage, range: 3-10/20/40, ammo: 15), holo-communicator, holster, Imperial long-coat and uniform, rank badge.

Additional equipment acquired post-defection: Alliance rank badge (pips indicate rank of captain), comlink, dashing scarf, datapad, duster coat, heavy blaster pistol (5D damage, range: 3-7/25/50, ammo: 25), and spacer's vest.

Sources: Doctor Aphra comicbook series and Wookieepedia. Images: In order of appearance in post, Doctor Aphra issue 22 (artwork by Kev Walker), issue 16 (Emilio Laiso), issue 39 (Caspar Wijngaard), issue 4 (Kev Walker), issue 38 (Caspar Wijngaard), issue 35 (Andrea Broccardo), and Empire Ascendant issue 1 (Caspar Wijngaard). Stats and text by Telsij.


*********

PS: Tolvan has even shot-down a blasted starship (Sana Starros' Volt Cobra)
in dramatic fashion — thusly (Doctor Aphra issue 22 artwork by Kev Walker):

[Pel]

Superb writeup! Great to see a Doctor Aphra mainstay. Thanks, Telsij and congrats on the job extension!
_________________
Aha!

[Telsij]

[Pel]

[Telsij]

[Telsij]

OK, finished one more already-in-progress entry before having to go back underground! Stats and write-up for the absolute unit that is BOLZA GROOL, from Star Wars: Resistance. Instantly liked this character and the idea of a mob enforcer (what with that Black Sun tattoo and all) who had gone legit to run a little fishmarket. And for a food vendor, it's pretty great that his name is a play on words for "bowls of gruel." Included revised species stats for the KLATOOINIANS, not only to allow for a higher peak in physical strength (at the cost of some footspeed), but also to add story factor and game effects for the Klatooinian Trade Guild, which incorporates aspects of its EU history for new canon.


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BOLZA GROOL
Type: Lumbering Muscle



A Quote: "Step aside! I've fed people to the fish for less than that!"

DEXTERITY 3D+2
Brawling parry 4D+2, melee combat 5D
KNOWLEDGE 1D+2
Alien species 2D+2, business: Gorgmongery 4D, intimidation 5D+1,
planetary systems 3D, streetwise 3D, streetwise: Black Sun 3D+2,
survival 4D, value 2D+2, value: Gorg 4D+1, willpower 3D+1
MECHANICAL 2D+2
Machinery operation 3D+2
PERCEPTION 3D+1
Beast handling: Gorg 4D+1
STRENGTH 4D+2
Brawling 5D+2, lifting 6D+2, stamina 5D
TECHNICAL 2D
Equipment repair: aquatic livestock gear 3D, security 3D+1

Species: Klatooinian
Gender: Male
Character Points: 4
Move: 8

Special Abilities and Story Factors:

• Burliest Brawn: Bolza Grool is amongst the largest and strongest of Klatooinian specimen, able to lift and pitch people into the air easily, as well as able to punch an imprint of his fist into a metal plate without batting an eye. However, the sheer size that affords him such physical strength comes at the cost of a lumbering gait. In game terms, every +1 that Bolza Grool exceeded 4D in Strength, incurred a -1 loss from his species' typical Move score of 10.
  
  
• Growl: Due to their canine evolutionary heritage, Klatooinians will sometimes express their displeasure or anger via low, guttural sounds. In game terms, these vocalizations grant Klatooinians a +1D to their intimidation attempts, when used.
  
  
• Klatooinian Trade Guild: Originally conceived as an organized way to provide Klatooinians the opportunity to work on planets far from Klatooine, the Trade Guild has felt the Hutt Cartel's heavy influence upon the Klatooinian species and over the Outer Rim overall. Although known to hire freelance smugglers and them fairly — half the fee up front if negotiated, the Trade Guild has become a two-edged sword for the Klatooinians themselves. While the trade organization is still included by smuggling luminary Platt Okeefe, on her list of potential clients in the Smuggler's Guide, a number of the Guild's branches have become a front for shady Hutt endeavors — including smuggling, loan-sharking, and slaving. Worse yet, because of the Klatooinians historical ties to the Hutts, after a few wrong moves, many Klatooinians found themselves indentured to the Hutt Cartel. In game terms, Klatooinians gain a +1D bonus to their bureaucracy and streetwise skills rolls when dealing with the Klatooinian Trade Guild. However, because of the now long-entrenched influence of the Hutts, their bargain attempts with the Guild suffer a +1D penalty to their difficulty, and failed bureaucracy rolls come with greater, often hidden consequences.

Capsule: Racers who dodge their commitments are likely to encounter the lumbering Klatooinian muscle Bolza Grool as he's tossing them off the side of the Colossus refueling platform, head first. The burly, broad-shouldered Grool makes his living selling gorgs in the marketplace, though he's also counted upon to act as bouncer at Aunt Z's Tavern — though more so as enforcer for the gambling that goes on within. And while Grool does not appreciate being mistaken for a(n albeit massive) holo-dart board, his rage at the errant throw of Kazuda Xiono — self-proclaimed "best pilot in the galaxy" — did not prevent him from seeing the sense in Kaz's offer to advertise Grool's logo on his racer... in exchange for the Klatooinian not crushing him, of course.



Equipment: Apron with hand-drawn Gorg logo, assortment of live Gorgs, aquatic livestock gear (three large water tanks, cylindrical open-topped fountain-like vat), black vest, cobalt-blue shirt and pants, shinguards and metal-toed boots (+1D vs. physical, +1 vs. energy; covers lower legs and feet only), shoulder pads (+2 vs. physical), various tattoos (Black Sun symbol on inner right forearm, Exogorth — aka "giant space slug" — on outer left forearm, Rathar on inner left forearm, et cetera), "sponsorship deal" with Team Fireball, "To go" Gorg containers, vendor's stall in Colossus marketplace (located at the very end of the Colossus' A Quadrant marketplace, right next to several refuse dumpsters), work-gloves with forearm bracers and comlink (+1D vs. physical, +1 vs. energy; covers forearms only).


Sources: Star Wars: Resistance animated series and digital shorts, starwars.com, and Wookieepedia. Capsule Text expanded from starwars.com databank entry. Stats and text by Telsij.


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KLATOOINIAN
Homeworld: Klatooine
Attribute Dice: 12D

DEXTERITY: 2D/4D+1
KNOWLEDGE: 1D/3D
MECHANICAL: 2D/4D
PERCEPTION: 1D/3D+2
STRENGTH: 2D/4D+2
TECHNICAL: 1D+2/4D

Move: 8-10 (see Special Abilities below) / 12
Size: 1.8 meters tall (height of average adult)

Species Special Abilities and Story Factors:

• Burliest Brawn: The largest and strongest of Klatooinian specimens are able to lift and pitch people into the air easily, and punch imprints of their fists into metal plates without difficulty. However, the sheer size that affords them this physical strength comes at the cost of a lumbering gait. In game terms, at character creation, for every +1 that a Klatooinian PC exceeds 4D in Strength, he incurs a -1 loss from his species' typical Move score of 10.
  
  
• Growl: Due to their canine evolutionary heritage, Klatooinians will sometimes express their displeasure or anger via low, guttural sounds. In game terms, these vocalizations grant Klatooinians a +1D to their intimidation attempts, when used.
  
  
• Klatooinian Trade Guild: Originally conceived as an organized way to provide Klatooinians the opportunity to work on planets far from Klatooine, the Trade Guild has felt the Hutt Cartel's heavy influence upon the Klatooinian species and over the Outer Rim overall. Although known to hire freelance smugglers and them fairly — half the fee up front if negotiated, the Trade Guild has become a two-edged sword for the Klatooinians themselves. While the trade organization is still included by smuggling luminary Platt Okeefe, on her list of potential clients in the Smuggler's Guide, a number of the Guild's branches have become a front for shady Hutt endeavors — including smuggling, loan-sharking, and slaving. Worse yet, because of the Klatooinians historical ties to the Hutts, after a few wrong moves, many Klatooinians found themselves indentured to the Hutt Cartel. In game terms, Klatooinians gain a +1D bonus to their bureaucracy and streetwise skills rolls when dealing with the Klatooinian Trade Guild. However, because of the now long-entrenched influence of the Hutts, their bargain attempts with the Guild suffer a +1D penalty to their difficulty, and failed bureaucracy rolls come with greater, often hidden consequences.

Sources: Star Wars: Resistance animated series and digital shorts, starwars.com, and Wookieepedia. Revised stats and text by Telsij.

[Telsij]

OBSCURE CHARACTER TUESDAY presents NALEY FRIFA of Solo: A Star Wars Story,
along with some game mechanics for electro-tattoos!

(There were two WEG Outlaw Tech templates with differing attributes,
this uses the one printed in issue 2 of the Star Wars Adventure Journal.)


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NALEY FRIFA
Type: Outlaw Tech



DEXTERITY 2D
Blaster 3D, dodge 4D, melee combat 3D+1,
melee combat: needles 4D+1, running 3D,
thrown weapons: needles 4D
KNOWLEDGE 3D
Alien species 4D+2, artist: tattooist 6D+2,
bureaucracy 4D, business 4D, cultures 5D,
planetary systems 4D+2, streetwise 5D+2,
value 4D+2, willpower: pain tolerance 5D
MECHANICAL 3D+1
Communications 4D+1, machinery operation 4D, sensors 4D+1
PERCEPTION 3D+2
Bargain 4D+2, con 4D+2, forgery 4D, hide 5D, sneak 4D
STRENGTH 2D
Brawling 3D, stamina 2D+2
TECHNICAL 4D
Blaster repair 5D, computer programming/repair 6D+1,
equipment repair 6D+1, first aid 4D+2, security 6D,
space transport repair 6D+1, starfighter repair 5D,
starship weapon repair 5D+2

Species: Human
Gender: Female
Character Points: 5
Move: 10

Special Abilities and Story Factors:

• Electro-tattoo: Depending upon the purpose and complexity of the design, electro-tattoos can carry data, complete circuits, or carry out security-overriding, sensor-baffling effects — though the latter capabilities are not widely known to the law-abiding public. For example, the electro-tattoo on the right arm of rogue archaeologist Doctor Aphra’s once allowed her to circumvent and/or short-out electronic security measures, while a matching tattoo, though on the left arm, acquired later by Imperial Inspector Magna Tolvan, allowed the couple to communicate securely through a prison’s energy barrier.
  
  In game terms, electro-tattoos can carry data, can complete circuits or disrupt currents, and can facilitate transmission of signals. If the desired effect is a security measure or countermeasure, the tattoo is given a die code effectiveness. Creation of electro-tattoos requires that the tattooist have at least 5D in the following skills: Artist: Tattooist, and communications, or computer programming, or security (depending upon the specific effect desired, and if electronic security measures come into play). The maximum die code of an electro-tattoo’s effects is the artist: Tattooist skill level. Successful creation of the effect is determined by an opposed roll of the Tattoo artist’s skill against the die code of the desired effect.

Capsule: The multi-talented Naley Frifa was rarely short of work. As an outlaw tech, Frifa frequently made illegal modifications or repairs to starships and equipment — but she was a skilled tattoo artist as well, adept at crafting both gang symbols and data-carrying electro-tattoos. She herself bore a stylized depiction of a hyperspace simu-tunnel along her neck, collarbone, and right arm.

Equipment: Blaster pistol (4D damage, range: 3-10/30/120, ammo: 100), electro-tattoos (including stylized hyperspace simu-tunnel along neck and collarbone, and the words “Hiro” – thought to be the name of her son — on her left forearm; for electro-tattoo rules sidebar/below), hooded jumpsuit, tattooist equipment (disinfectant, hypo-needles, inks, etc), toolkit, utility belt, work gloves.

Sources: Solo: A Star Wars Story film, Solo: A Star Wars Story: The Official Guide (p.86), Doctor Aphra comic book (issue #21), and Wookieepedia.
Stats by Telsij. Capsule text adapted from Solo: A Star Wars Story: The Official Guide (p.86).

[CRMcNeill]

Nice. I've seen other ideas for high-tech tattoos in sci-fi settings, such as tattoos that can be turned on or off, and are used as "membership cards" for elite organizations. In the WH40K Inquisition War novels, the Inquisition used "electoos" that were invisible when deactivated as proof of membership to the various Ordos of the Inquisition.

Other uses included things like a functional "digital watch" implanted in the skin of a forearm, or decorative "ripple" effect tattoos that pulsed in time with the wearer's heartbeat.
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[Telsij]

[Pel]

"I'm your huckleberry. That's just my game".

Another outstanding writeup, sir! Props for using legerdemain, a word we don't employ often enough.
_________________
Aha!

[CRMcNeill]

[Whill]

[CRMcNeill]

[Telsij]

HAPPY (QUITE BELATED) MAY THE 4TH !

As well as happy (also belated though less so) birthday to the Maker himself —
and (at least on-time) 20th Anniversary of The Phantom Menace.

In honor of that, am reposting my write-ups for the two onscreen Lucas-homage characters:

PAPANOIDA, Arrogant Pantoran Noble and Playwright
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-7Q2Dm1-OcIZEMwcDlzZnhudjQ/view

JORG SACUL, Even-keeled Commander and Alliance Flight Instructor
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-7Q2Dm1-OcIeTdHeDNfLXNWeG8/view


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[CRMcNeill]