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griff
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Joined: 16 Jan 2014
Posts: 507
Location: Tacoma, WA
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 Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 12:38 pm Post subject: |
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| I agree. If there was a military protocol skill, stormtroopers would have that skill stacked, and never need to use it. But it fleshes them out more and makes them a more completed NPC. |
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Centinull
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 30 Sep 2013
Posts: 156
Location: The Outer Rim Territories
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| Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 1:38 pm Post subject: |
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| garhkal wrote: | | Or do you feel npcs only need to be statted out for skills they will eventually use against any PCs they encounter.. ? |
99% of the time I don't need to know if a particular Stormtrooper happens to be good at Sabaac.
For Nameless NPC's that most of their interaction with the PC will involve talking tough followed by combat rolls it's pretty much uneccasary.
There are countless other skills that nameless NPCs would acquire due to routine life, but if they are not likely to come up during their limited interaction with PC's then they are wasted space on the page.
It's a minimalist view, but sometimes all the fluff proves to be nothing but clutter.
If I were to use these Bounty Hunters against my players, and they survived and re-occur to be memorable characters, I could see fleshing them out with more skills. |
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garhkal
Sovereign Protector
Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 14034
Location: Reynoldsburg, Columbus, Ohio.
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| Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 2:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Centinull wrote: | | garhkal wrote: | | Or do you feel npcs only need to be statted out for skills they will eventually use against any PCs they encounter.. ? |
99% of the time I don't need to know if a particular Stormtrooper happens to be good at Sabaac.
For Nameless NPC's that most of their interaction with the PC will involve talking tough followed by combat rolls it's pretty much uneccasary.
There are countless other skills that nameless NPCs would acquire due to routine life, but if they are not likely to come up during their limited interaction with PC's then they are wasted space on the page.
It's a minimalist view, but sometimes all the fluff proves to be nothing but clutter.
If I were to use these Bounty Hunters against my players, and they survived and re-occur to be memorable characters, I could see fleshing them out with more skills. |
Fare enough.. I just prefer having them statted out ahead of time. But i understand others may not.
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DougRed4
Rear Admiral
Joined: 18 Jan 2013
Posts: 2259
Location: Seattle, WA
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| Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2014 12:41 am Post subject: |
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I have always been one of those more 'completist' people as well. But I've learned (and adapted) over the years, realizing that sometimes my efforts at being thorough and precise ends up meaning a lot of work on my part for no (or very little) use.
Nowadays I'm more likely to just make what I need off the top of my head. So if I need a pilot character, I might say that he's got a 4D+1 in Space Transports (pulling that completely out of my you know what), jot that down on a piece of paper), and not even bother to make anything else about the character.
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griff
Captain
Joined: 16 Jan 2014
Posts: 507
Location: Tacoma, WA
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| Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2014 1:55 am Post subject: |
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I guess there is a difference between a good antagonist, and blaster fodder.
Dun, dun, dun another bites the dust. All that back story down the drain. |
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Centinull
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 30 Sep 2013
Posts: 156
Location: The Outer Rim Territories
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| Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2014 3:26 am Post subject: |
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| DougRed4 wrote: |
Nowadays I'm more likely to just make what I need off the top of my head. So if I need a pilot character, I might say that he's got a 4D+1 in Space Transports (pulling that completely out of my you know what), jot that down on a piece of paper), and not even bother to make anything else about the character. |
I do that quite often.
Bargaining with a random merchant ? 4D Bargain
Trying to con someone who is shady themselves ? 4D Con
Anything they have no reason to be skilled at ? 2D |
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Lane Arroway
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 02 Feb 2013
Posts: 153
Location: Taris, Outer Rim
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| Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2014 5:58 pm Post subject: |
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With me it depends if I'm writing down a mook or a named adversary. These guys sound like named villians and I would give them more background skills the flesh them out. Especially if I plan on using them more than once. I would probably be more humble with their attributes since I could make their skills whatever I wanted anyway.
Kinda reminds me of a pair of bounty hunters I use. A barabel and a zehethbra named Dooma and Kruz. Dooma, the barabel, wasn't too bright but he was strong and tough. He favored missile weapons and getting close and personal. Kruz, the zehethbra, was the marksman of the pair and operated/flew the vehicles they used. Both of them were pretty brutish and lacked any tactical thinking. Recently I teamed them up with Aurra Sing, but that's a story for another time...
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DougRed4
Rear Admiral
Joined: 18 Jan 2013
Posts: 2259
Location: Seattle, WA
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| Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2014 7:37 pm Post subject: |
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They sound like a neat pair, Lane. Since the recent post (on the Google+ Group) about Aurra Sing, it caused me to look on Wookieepedia, and now I'm considering using her in my game, being as she's still around in the Rebellion era (and later!)
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Currently Running: Villains & Vigilantes (a 32-year-old campaign with multiple groups) and D6 Star Wars; mostly on hiatus are Adventures in Middle-earth and Delta Green |
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Lane Arroway
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 02 Feb 2013
Posts: 153
Location: Taris, Outer Rim
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| Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2014 11:40 am Post subject: |
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Using her was really fun. Teaming Aurra with other bounty hunters seemed appropriate since the clone wars show. As a bonus it forced the pcs to sprend their attention so the risk to her wasn't as serious as I feared. I worried about her taking a bad hit and dying, but luckily that didn't happen. Even after her band broke up and she got captured she managed to weasel out of it. 
P.S. I had another band member that was an Imperial bounty hunter. His "gimmick" if you will was technology. Thanks to his Imperial masters he had the latest prototype weapons and droids to use on the hunt. The bounty hunter team up was really fun.
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DougRed4
Rear Admiral
Joined: 18 Jan 2013
Posts: 2259
Location: Seattle, WA
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| Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2014 1:21 pm Post subject: |
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That's a good idea, Lane. I was thinking along the same lines, figuring I might have a few others working with/alongside her. Not because of the Clone Wars (as I am unfamiliar with them), but just to keep the PCs from swiftly and easily taking her out.
Good to know that makes sense with her character (the only thing I really know the character from is the various card games she's appeared in).
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atgxtg
Rear Admiral
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
Posts: 2460
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| Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2014 3:14 pm Post subject: |
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| DougRed4 wrote: | I have always been one of those more 'completist' people as well. But I've learned (and adapted) over the years, realizing that sometimes my efforts at being thorough and precise ends up meaning a lot of work on my part for no (or very little) use.
Nowadays I'm more likely to just make what I need off the top of my head. So if I need a pilot character, I might say that he's got a 4D+1 in Space Transports (pulling that completely out of my you know what), jot that down on a piece of paper), and not even bother to make anything else about the character. |
That's my approach as well. In D6 Star Wars I usually only stat out the major NPCs and reoccring characters, and everyone else uses gets shorthand stats off the top of my head. The quick mental ladder is:
1D Character doing something he is bad at.
2D Typical character using something he isn't skilled at.
3D Character working in an area that he has some skill in, but not enough to reliably make a living at. A hobby.
4D Average professional working in his field. Standard threat.
5D Expert. Serious threat.
6D Master at skill.
Anything higher than that (usually) means that the NPC merits a full writeup, although I've stretched this at times in the case of aliens with high or low averages in some areas (i.e. Woookies in STR skills or Ewoks in STR skills).
I've also "fleshed-out" an NPC's writeup if the NPC plays some sort of significant role and ends up becoming a reoccurring character. |
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garhkal
Sovereign Protector
Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 14034
Location: Reynoldsburg, Columbus, Ohio.
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| Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2014 6:08 pm Post subject: |
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Your grades seem a little off if there is only 1d difference between an average 'professional in their field' and someone who is an expert in it, and between an expert and a master.
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Leon The Lion
Commander
Joined: 29 Oct 2009
Posts: 309
Location: Somewhere in Poland
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| Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2014 6:23 pm Post subject: |
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Plus the fact that, once you look at the actual probabilities of beating specific difficulty numbers, you realise that the RAW assertion of "4D = professional" is a load of bantha poo. At least IMO.
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jmanski
Arbiter-General (Moderator)
Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 2065
Location: Kansas
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| Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2014 6:49 pm Post subject: |
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Not necessarily. A professional doesn't know everything about her craft and will do research or take her time to do it right more often than not.
If you think about a car mechanic, you leave your car and pick it up a few days later...for a repair that takes an hour or so. They have time and they use it.
If they were forced to make a repair in a short amount of time (a few rounds in-game) they would fail fairly often, just as their 4d would. But since they can take the time to research and investigate, they are effectively preparing and adding bonuses to their roll. They also get it wrong sometimes and take the thing apart and do it more slowly.
No, I'd say 4d for a professional is just right.
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Leon The Lion
Commander
Joined: 29 Oct 2009
Posts: 309
Location: Somewhere in Poland
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| Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2014 7:56 pm Post subject: |
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Hm, yes , I guess I can see that.
At lest for a mechanic or similiar professional.
But what about, for example, professional soldiers? Are they really such unimpressive shots in real battle as opposed to the range?
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Plagiarize! Let no one else's work evade your eyes,
Remember why the good Lord made your eyes! So don't shade your eyes,
But plagiarize, plagiarize, plagiarize... Only be sure to call it, please, "research".
- Tom Lehrer |
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