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Starting off Characters
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Hellstorm
Commander
Commander


Joined: 22 Dec 2003
Posts: 253
Location: Montreal, Canada

PostPosted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 8:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"Humm! Max hasn't been helping the group lately"...BLAM!..."in a week diner will be served." Smile

What I meant was that I boost their character a little more (and I don't tell them and they usualy don't notice). 8)
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Volar the Healer
Jedi


Joined: 04 Aug 2003
Posts: 664
Location: Arizona, USA

PostPosted: Thu Mar 04, 2004 12:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

LoneStar wrote:
For example, I had a player playing an alien species that has wings. To balance the fact that he could fly, I proposed a more vulture-like species that eats dead corpses only.


If the players write a cool background, I have no difficulty allowing them special abilities: eg. flight, nightvision, ultrasonic hearing, whatever. I charge them one attribute die for these special abilities.
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Maximilian Bernas
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander


Joined: 18 Mar 2004
Posts: 149
Location: So Cal

PostPosted: Fri Mar 26, 2004 3:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I usually give them more character points if the game calls for a bit more "seasoned" chars.

And, it also matters in what time period the game is set. More Force early on and really late, little Force during the IV, V, and VI times...
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Kabal
Cadet
Cadet


Joined: 17 Mar 2004
Posts: 15

PostPosted: Fri Mar 26, 2004 11:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Son of Fire wrote:
I took the opposite route.
My player’s start of pretty standard, and I just upped a bunch of the NPC’s and everything else.

They will never underestimate Stromtroopers again. Twisted Evil


Hehe. I do that too. I'm tired of them turning into cannon fodder. I usually up their stats by 1D and skills by 2, and ignore the give them an additional action per round for free. That usually evens it up. Plus the fact that I dont put them in groups under 5 means that the PCs are usually jumpy at the sound of armoured feet.
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Maximilian Bernas
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander


Joined: 18 Mar 2004
Posts: 149
Location: So Cal

PostPosted: Fri Mar 26, 2004 12:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah, the movies allow the "feared across the galaxy" to seem like so many keystone cops with blasters.

I just ignore the DEX penalties. I mean, c'mon... They practically live in their armor; they are going to get used to it and be able to function in it accordingly. The same cannot be said with characters who 'borrow' said armor: ("I can't see a thing in this helmet" -Luke Skywalker)

Don't forget the MFTAS system in their helmets!
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obidancer
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander


Joined: 20 Mar 2004
Posts: 230
Location: New York, NY

PostPosted: Fri Mar 26, 2004 3:09 pm    Post subject: veteran stormtroopers Reply with quote

Page 132 of Far Orbit Project:
Veteran Stormtroopers
DEXTERITY 3D
Blaster 7D, brawling parry 5D, dodge 6D
KNOWLEDGE 3D
MECHANICAL 3D
PERCEPTION 3D

STRENGTH 3D
Brawling 5D
TECHNICAL 3D
Special abilities:
Enhanced perception: Veshiv's bodyguard detail has been specially trained to read the body language of potential opponents to determine if the opponent is about to attack, they receiv a +1D bonus to Perception rolls for initiative. If the troopers believe a target to be hostile, they receive a +2 bonus to initiative.
Character Points: 10
Move: 10
Equipment: Standard for stromtroopers.
Note: These stromtroopers atre hardened veterans and not subject to the usual stormtrooper armor Dexterity penalties.


Now those rocks, I should have my player face them more often.
Note: Veshiv is one of the Emperor's Advisor...
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Son of Fire
Captain
Captain


Joined: 03 Sep 2003
Posts: 554
Location: Rose City Canada

PostPosted: Fri Mar 26, 2004 3:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I just think that people tend to latch on to idea in ANH where the stormies miss all the time…yet they casually forget that Tarkin and Vader WANTED Han, Luke, and Leia to escape so they could track them to Yavin. So it would only make sense that they miss…they where told to!
Yet once we get a bit later on in the films, like ROTJ for example, we see stormies nail two main characters (R2 and Leia) with shots “from-the-hip” at about 30 meters.
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obidancer
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander


Joined: 20 Mar 2004
Posts: 230
Location: New York, NY

PostPosted: Fri Mar 26, 2004 4:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

plus the heroes do have quite a high dodge skill, even with veteran troopers, hitting them wouldn't be easy.
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Ray
Commodore
Commodore


Joined: 31 Oct 2003
Posts: 1743
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, North America, Western Hemisphere, Earth, Sol, Western Arm, Milky Way

PostPosted: Fri Mar 26, 2004 5:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

And, of course, the Rebel Alliance using the superior tactic of taking cover!

It comes in real handy.

Plinking a Wookiee-Sized target is easy if you can shoot at all of it. If all you can see is a rapidly moving head and forearms (The last of which is carrying a weapon that's shooting back at you), and you start having problems.

The Empire also uses this tactic, but they prefer living shields, as one Imperial Officer shows in ESB. Laughing
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Maximilian Bernas
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander


Joined: 18 Mar 2004
Posts: 149
Location: So Cal

PostPosted: Mon Mar 29, 2004 12:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So, let's all get Defel characters that can effectively be invisible. That will take care of those precious stormtroopers!

Unless of course, their MFTAS gear can see into that light spectrum (and I believe it can).

Oh well, just going to have to surprise them until they clue in to the tactics against them.
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Firehawk0220
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander


Joined: 22 May 2005
Posts: 151
Location: Dallas, TX.

PostPosted: Mon May 23, 2005 11:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Most of my players are generally advanced, so I give them more complex story lines to work with and pit them against fairly tough challenges, I also generally enjoy higher level characters to start with.

So I am pretty liberal with what they can start with. Although I definatley leave them room for character growth in stats abilities and of course wealth.

Sometimes I do have charactes start out rock bottom. Like the drunken failed Jedi a friend of mine is playing. He started out with whiskey and 7 credits to his name. He was forced to stowaway on a freighter to get to where he was going.

He's also forced to use his force skills and Jedi mind tricks to allow him to rent a room for 2 credits a night.

He usually trys to gamble for the money he needs. Its pretty damned funny as he's pretty much a worthless character other than his entertainment value.

Even thought he's by far the most powerfull PC I've got in the group.

Kabal wrote:
Son of Fire wrote:
I took the opposite route.
My player’s start of pretty standard, and I just upped a bunch of the NPC’s and everything else.

They will never underestimate Stromtroopers again. Twisted Evil


Hehe. I do that too. I'm tired of them turning into cannon fodder. I usually up their stats by 1D and skills by 2, and ignore the give them an additional action per round for free. That usually evens it up. Plus the fact that I dont put them in groups under 5 means that the PCs are usually jumpy at the sound of armoured feet.


I don't mind the cannon fodder, but to shake things up a bit I usually put one serious and high level NPC in the group. They don't know which one or if they'll be one, but it does surprise them when they get a whoopin from some standard looking Stormtrooper. Twisted Evil
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garhkal
Sovereign Protector
Sovereign Protector


Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 14030
Location: Reynoldsburg, Columbus, Ohio.

PostPosted: Mon Jul 18, 2005 2:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Normally, 7/5. But on rare occasion i have upped the game 'level' by having them start out at 10d/12cp. No more than 2d+2 in any one skill.
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Trusty
Commander
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Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 273
Location: North Little Rock, AR

PostPosted: Mon Jul 18, 2005 3:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

18D/7D/5D

Though, I am very, very giving of character points after each adventure. I play the "one-pip-only" rule between adventures though. As for handing out character points, I am silly with it, I know, but I need the characters to get good on all their skills and limiting the "one-pip-only" rule between adventures forces them to increase the "other skills" besides blaster/dodge/etc... I will leave my characters dumbfounded and lost is they can;t beat the difficulty roll for something like Cultures...

Until my characters are at 7D on the least of their skills, I give them 10 times awild die roll. If they roll a 1, they get no character points, if they get a 4, they get 40, if they get a 6, they get 60 and roll again. Sounds ike a lot, but right now the characters are trying to balance between spending them during the game to survive, increasing skills, and also increasing attributes to their max. To go from 3D to 3D+1 on technical, it costs 30 points...so I give them out freely for now. After they reach the 7D mark and the attributes are maxed, I will cut it to 5 times the 1D roll. When they get to 10D on all their skills, it'll be roll 1D Very Happy to get 0,2,3,4,5,6+ and that's it.

Seems like a lot, but upping attributes takes a lot, and they improve all their skills, which is a plus, so that our campaigns are just combat, but not to silly and easy when trying to make an Alien Species that they couldn't reasonably know and them only having 2D+2 in Alien Species.
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Jedi Knight Jael Weiss
Ensign
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Joined: 07 Dec 2003
Posts: 33

PostPosted: Sat Jul 23, 2005 1:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's an interesting way of handing out CPs. Up to 60 and more! That actually doesn't sound like a bad way for me to do my current game, since we only play about once every three months nowadays.

When I started my game a few years ago, I started everyone with 14D in skills, with one skill of the player's choosing at +3D above the attribute, and all the others a max of 2D above.

I tend to be pretty liberal with the CPs, too, because of our rarity of playing (three years, and still only up to Episode VI).

Jael...
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Trusty
Commander
Commander


Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 273
Location: North Little Rock, AR

PostPosted: Sat Jul 23, 2005 11:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jedi Knight Jael Weiss wrote:
That's an interesting way of handing out CPs. Up to 60 and more!


Well, we play once a week, but think of it this way, At one pip increase between they can only allocate so much to Baster, dodge, etc... And in our campaigns they usually need ten per night to survive the adventure. And I am so tired of them failing basic streetwise, alien species, culture, etc. rolls. Even with only a moderate difficutly at the highest. Rolling Eyes And I am not about to lower the difficulty just to move the story along when it is something obviously more difficult than Easy or Very Easy. Otherwise, the players will call me on it when simpler things get a higher difficulty when they get better as me doing it ONLY because they are better. So I feel I need to be consistant. So this outs an end to that. But, they usually don't roll a six and re-roll more and sometimes they roll a one and would have just finished seven hours of gaming and got ZERO points (when this happens I give a force point though).

When they are tring to buy skills, specializations, increase attributes, etc.. it takes more than 7 or 8 points at the end of an adventure to get any use out of the stuff WEG has came up with to use in the game. I think they got the character point thing wrong in their adventure modules, because at no more than ten per game, it is hard to get the characters anywhere. And since I have forced them to use a lot of skills other than combat/space skills, they know to increase those.

So I think it is fair.
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