Flight of the Resistance (Star Wars)

[Quickleaf]

Rex (R3-X20) is an R3 series astromech droid who once belonged to a smuggler. Rex has had numerous after market upgrades and has not been wiped for a very, very long time. Working with a smuggler, it was important for Rex to be able to splice so they could avoid trouble (and cause a little from time to time) and work as a back-up pilot when things went sideways. He also needed to be able to repair the ship after their more dangerous jobs. With each upgrade, he became less and less like the base model and gained more personality quirks.

On a previous mission, Empire forces caught his companion off-guard and there was little that Rex could do to stop it. They killed his companion and confiscated all of his illicit goods, to include the highly modded R3 unit. R3's processes were disrupted by a restraining bolt and they would have wiped him, but they wanted to recover what information they could from him first... big mistake, they didn't realize he was equipped with a Data Breaker. He managed to disable the restraining bolt, steal a large swath of data, and send the few imperial forces into the vacuum of space.

He probably could have gotten away with it up to that point, there were no survivors and he could wipe the ships data, but a data loop kept reminding him the empire was responsible for his companions death. He couldn't help himself as he siphoned off their credits, his companion had always said the best way to hurt someone was by hitting their credit stick, and he needed to hurt the people who had ended his companion. His splicing didn't go undetected, and now Rex is known to the empire for the splice and the murder of the ships crew.

Realizing a lone droid was unlikely to survive very long with the Empire against it, he flew the freighter to the vicinity of a known rebel activity. The ship was shortly captured and the R3 unit offered his services to the rebels, it was also another way to hurt the Empire. The rebels too tried to wipe him, afraid it was an imperial ploy. One of their technicians wound up crumpled on the ground and their systems became flooded with the imperial data he had stolen, to include the imperial bounty on him. They seem to have come to a silent agreement of sorts, Rex will support the Rebels, but they aren't touching his memory core.

Unless KahlessNestor objects:

No-one gives much thought to the droids in their life unless they are personal servants. So it is no surprise that Arsinoe hasn't taken particular note of the droid in the background. Piloting the resistance ship, plotting their hyperspace coordinates, making repairs and being useful in general. Of course they haven't interacted much, the girl probably doesn't even speak binary, but that doesn't mean that Rex hasn't taken note of the girl. She seems so out of place, but at the same time she belongs wherever she goes, naturally the center of attention.

The resistance, while overall good intentioned does not always contain the best people. Rex keeps a watch over the girl ever in the background, an odd little guardian as he goes about his duties on the ship.

I like how Rex fits the classic astromech slicer role – your writeup really had me imagining R2D2 in the Cloud City. Bravo!

1. You mention the Empire in a couple places. Do you actually mean the pre-Battle of Jaku Empire that was depicted in the original trilogy? Or are you using "Empire" as shorthand for The First Order? I'm trying to figure out the timeline you're picturing Rex operating on.

2. A couple opportunities for other PC connections to Rex (and I suggest someone in the party be able to speak Binary so you can actually have the option of verbally communicating):

• A surviving member of the smuggling crew led by the smuggler Rex was owned by.
• Someone Rex inadvertently freed from Imperial / First Order captivity during his getaway.
• A former Imperial / First Order agent who was burned by Rex's data smuggling.

3. It sounds like during Rex's getaway from the Empire? First Order? he outsmarted some high-ranking military official. Do you see his Criminal Obligation as being some very personal to one NPC or a blanket "arrest that infamous droid!" mentality?

4. If you go with the link to Arsinoe as her personal astromech droid (perhaps salvaged from the wreck of the slaver ship that was bound for Hutt Space), that answers the question of what Rex is doing on Kabal where the game begins. If not, you'll need to come up with a reason for Rex to be on the forest planet Kabal (which I'll writeup in the OP shortly).

5. What is Rex's attitude toward the Resistance? You mention "Rebels" in your background, but I'm not sure if that was meant to specify that Rex was operating with the Rebels who fought the Empire during the original trilogy? Or if it was just a catch-all term for the Resistance as well? Do you see Rex as currently working for the Resistance or not? Or is it ambiguous (and if so, explain)?

6. "Realizing a lone droid was unlikely to survive very long with the Empire against it..." That seems like very higher-order unusual thinking for a droid. Can you elaborate on that? Why did the droid go to the Rebellion? Resistance? specifically, and not to anyone else?

7. It sounds like Rex had a very close relationship to his former smuggler owner, since the smuggler's death precipitated his motive for vengeance against the Empire? First Order?. I'm thinking that you might want to actually name the smuggler and come up with a bit of information about him (or I can do it if you prefer); the important thing is to figure out what influence the smuggler had on Rex's behavior/personality? Why did Rex care for the smuggler so much? Did he look up to the smuggler somehow?

8. Do you already have a trajectory for Rex's character development/arc in mind? Or is that something you want to discover during play? Or do you see the droid as the "straight man" who is pretty much consistently the same good old Rex?

9. There are a lot of R3 units out there. Do you see Rex as having any unique identifying features that the Empire / First Order might put in wanted posters for the droid? Or is his appearance looking like "and old R3 unit" precisely the difficulty in finding him? Or are you seeing R3 units as being so expensive as to be pretty rare outside of military or government use?

10. Did you have a picture of Rex you wanted to use? Here is one possibility.

 

[xynthoros]

1. Sorry, I'm not used to the new terminology for stuff. I did mean the resistance and the first order instead of empire/rebellion... My time with Star Wars was more in line with the original trilogy. Need to watch that.

2. Any of those options works for me if anyone wants to use them.

3. I hadn't detailed it out that far, but I like the idea of someone having a personal vendetta. Could have something to do with the stolen data and would give him more reason to turn to the resistance for protection.

4. I would not mind being Arsinoe's personal astromech.

5. I was referring more to the resistance, and he is currently working for them. They are undermining the First Order with aligns with one of his main directives after the death of his companion.

6. One, they could protect him from the First Order, at least as much as they could protect themselves and they were not likely to turn him in for any bounty that the First Order may be offering. Few other havens would offer such protection. Also, the resistance is working to undermine the First Order, which as I mentioned aligns with his "desires".

7. I can flesh out the smuggler. The smuggler treated Rex as more of a partner than as a servant, he spoke binary and genuinely cared for Rex. He added numerous upgrades to Rex, putting him in his current configuration. The smuggler's statements of morality and reasoning have been partially integrated into Rex's personality and directives, giving him a rather strange outlook on the world for a droid. Rex admired him as much as a droid can admire anything.

8. I want to let him develop organically, see how he plays and what role he takes on in the group and go from there.

9. Rex is highly modded, his chassis welded and bulging in places to make room for some of his more powerful mods. He is quite distinctive for an R3 unit, and would have several features that could be added to a wanted poster by the First Order.

10. That picture works fine as I doubt I can find a picture of a modded R unit that more fits my imagination.

 

[xynthoros]

View attachment Rex.pdf


[sblock=Rex]Rex (R3-X20) is an R3 series astromech droid who once belonged to the smuggler, Sarn Doree. Sarn had Rex fitted with numerous after market upgrades and chose not to wipe Rex for fear of losing the droids quirky nature. Working with Sarn, it was important for Rex to be able to splice so they could avoid trouble (and cause a little from time to time) and work as a back-up pilot when things went sideways. He also needed to be able to repair their ship after their more dangerous jobs. With each upgrade, he became less and less like the base model and gained even more personality quirks.

Sarn hated the politics of the New Republic almost as much as he hated the remnants of the first empire. There was money to be made moving illicit goods for the resistance (and other less reputable organizations), but it was not unheard of for Sarn to take on the odd job for the resistance. Sarn may not have been the most reputable individual, but he had a strong personal code that guided his "business" decisions. He freely shared his outlook with Rex, and those outlooks became woven within Rex's directives. It was one such delivery for the resistance that would be their final mission together.

On his final mission with Sarn, the First Order caught wind of their black market tech they were smuggling and there was no amount of splicing Rex could do to avoid their forces. The boarding party took an ask no questions policy and as far as Rex is aware killed their small crew. They caught Sarn off-guard and there was little that Rex could do to stop it. That didn't stop him from trying until they fitted him with a restraining bolt. He watched as their officer in command killed Sarn and confiscated all of the illicit goods, to include the highly Rex himself. R3's processes were disrupted by the restraining bolt and they would have wiped him, but they wanted to recover what information they could from his databanks first... big mistake.

They had loaded the cargo to include Rex on a small shipping frigate, but they didn't realize Rex was equipped with a Data Breaker. He managed to disable the restraining bolt, steal a large swath of data as to the nature of First Order operations in the region, and sent the few First Order forces on the Frigate into the vacuum of space. He probably could have gotten away with it up to that point, there were no survivors and he could wipe the ships data, but a data loop kept reminding him the First Order was responsible for Sarn's death. He couldn't help himself as he siphoned tracked down the Commanding officer's digital presence, his companion had always said the best way to hurt someone was by hitting their credit stick, and he needed to hurt the people who had ended his companion. He drained the officers credits, and did his best to do some damage to the man.

His Splicing didn't go unnoticed and the First Order placed a bounty on Rex. The commander taking personal insult the fact that he had been outwitted by a mere droid. Rex piloted the freighter to resistance space, realizing that on his own he was more or less going to be destroyed. Anyone else would turn him in for the bounty, if nothing else the resistance would not turn him over to the First Order. The Resistance was more than happy to receive the confiscated cargo, but questioned the droid's authenticity, believing it to be a ploy by the First Order.

The resistance technicians tried to wipe Rex, but after one of their technicians wound up crumpled on the ground and their systems became flooded with the First Order data he had stolen, to include the bounty on him. They seem to have come to a silent agreement of sorts, Rex will support the resistance, but they aren't touching his memory core.

With the resistance having attempted to wipe his memory core, Rex was rather weary of their technicians and preferred to go on some of their more lonely missions away from the main fleet, it was on one such mission that his ship gained a passenger, Arsinoe. It started with Rex merely observing the girl, taking note of the way she seemed so out of place, but still belonging wherever she went, somehow the natural center of attention. A particular scene replaying in the little droids processors: Sarn at one of the space ports while waiting on a client, dragging away a man who had "gotten handsy" with a girl despite her protests. "Keep an eye on the girl, I'll be right back."

Arsinoe likely takes Rex's presence for granted, but he follows her around, guarding her against the less than savory types that often wind up fighting in wars on either side. She doesn't understand his beeps and boops, but Rex feels compelled to keep her safe. An underlying chivalry that he inherited during his time with Sarn. While Rex doesn't see himself as her personal astromech droid, it is likely how his association with her has come to be viewed by any who witness the droid following her around. He is merely keeping an eye on the girl...[/sblock]

 

[Quickleaf]

Looking good [MENTION=6788545]xynthoros[/MENTION]!

I just updated the OP with details on the wild trade outworld Kabal, the starting point of our story...

Kabal
Astronavigation Data: Kabal system, Mayagil sector, Outer Rim region
Orbital Metrics: 341 days per year / 23 hours per day
Government: local councils under a Premiere
Population: 3,240,000 (human 92%, squib 3%, houk 2%, krish 2%, others 1%)
Languages: Basic, Houkese, Kabalian, Krish, Squibbian
Terrain: forests, oceans, islands, reefs
Local Fauna: giant arthropods (centipedes, crustaceans, water spiders), saltfish
Local Flora: arboray tree, bambooi, cordgrass
Major Cities: Shoribus (capital), Spirepoint*, Palisade
Areas of Interest: Bwimb Bwimb’s Cantina*, The Count's Junkyard*, Docking Pad P13, Kabal Central Citadel

Major Exports: raw materials
Major Imports: food, technology
Trade Routes: Sanrafsiz Corridor, Sharlissian Corridor
Special Conditions: “Cloudbursts” of thundering rain exceeding 100 mm (4 in) per hour can cause severe flooding. “Lightstorms” occur in the upper atmosphere, where luminous plasma is created from a coronal discharge lighting the night sky up with hues of green and aquamarine reflecting the oceans and forests below. “Green tides” occur in the oceans due to biolumininescent bacteria blooms, causing the shorelines to faintly glow green on nights when the pull of Kabal’s twin moons is strong.
Background: Few planets have embraced neutrality on the galactic stage as tenaciously as Kabal. No matter the suffering or betrayal the Kabalian people endure, they demonstrate a resiliency to rival the voracious forests and reefs dominating the planet. A small rough-and-tumble trading outworld, Kabal was crippled by food shortages and riots when the Trade Federation abandoned the Trade Corridor in protest of the Galactic Republic’s taxation. In truth, it was part of Count Dooku’s scheme to otherthrow premiere Jan Dovu and his Jedi allies; when Dooku sent Separatist ships to deliver food drops to Kabal, he won the hearts and minds of the people.
During the Galactic Civil War, Kabal remained neutral and hosted the Conference of Uncommitted Worlds. Despite Imperial reprisals from which the capital Shoribus is still recovering, the Kabalian people refuse to take sides. Both the Resistance and the First Order have received a unwelcome reception on Kabal.

[SECTION]New Species of Kabal
Houk. Seven to eight-foot tall aliens, ugly by human standards, Houk have massively muscular bodies, thick ridged skulls, and exaggerated grim mouths. Though in principle they answer to the Lijuter Congress on their homeworld, Houks are notoriously violent, foul-tempered, and have little respect for agreements with “weaklings” lacking the power to enforce them. On the other hand, few aliens rival the Houk work ethic and many suffered experimentation at the hands of the Empire seeking slave-soldiers.
Krish. Human-sized aliens with a penchant for gaming, Krish appear as burly humanoids with brutish features and a bony ridge running from the bridge of the nose across the skull. They have pointy teeth that show due to an underbite, and the resulting toothy smile combined with their unkempt red hair causes humans to derogatorily refer to Krish as “hobgoblins” or “leprechauns.” While they show a great facility for gambling, Krish are often unreliable when it comes to honest business.
Squib. 3-foot tall insatiably curious aliens with bright colored fur, tufted ears, and vaguely vulpine features, Squibs migrated from their homeworld Skor following trade opportunities on Kabal. They have an obsession with barter and a reputation as scavengers, thieves, and con-artists throughout the galaxy. Derogatory terms for Squibs, such as “furbag” and “furball”, are common among smugglers. Even in the face of dire danger, a Squib’s first instinct is to bluff and bluster.[/SECTION]

Here's a visual reference for the new species...

 

[KahlessNestor]

Here's my understanding of each system (Obligation / Duty / Morality) in brief...

Obligation is a mechanic for the GM to introduce complications. Narratively, it helps reinforce the theme of scoundrels working in gritty conditions. In Edge of the Empire, starting with an obligation is mandatory, but there's no mechanical incentive for a player to start with one if they had a choice. However, Edge of the Empire does incentivize taking additional obligations with bonus starting XP & credits.

Duty is almost the exact opposite of Obligation; it's a mechanic for determining the PCs' morale, using an increased wound threshold to model that. Narratively, it helps reinforce the theme of pledging allegiance to a cause greater than yourself. In Age of Rebellion there's no mechanical downside to duty. In a system where a character can choose Obligation / Duty / Morality, there's no mechanical reason not to take Duty.

Morality is a measure of Light Side / Dark Side orientation, having no mechanical impact until a character goes below 30 (Dark Side) or above 70 (Light Side); beyond those thresholds there are changes to how the character works in terms of destiny points, force points & force powers, and strain threshold. Narratively, it helps reinforce the theme of the struggle between the Light Side and Dark Side that dwells in the heart of every Force-user, and also provides a "mechanic" for the GM to trigger morality, similar to how the GM can lean on obligations. In Force and Destiny, morality is just part of being a Force-user / Jedi. A non-Force user would get practically no mechanical benefit from the Morality system.

To make these all work together, here's what I'm thinking...

• You have the option of selecting ONE: Obligation, Duty, or Morality. This is decided on a per-character basis. Deciding to have none of the above is fine, so long as you have crafted a good hook/motive for your PC tying them into the adventure.
• Certain character specializations might naturally lean toward Obligation, Duty, or Morality (e.g. a Bounty Hunter is a good fit for Obligation, and a Jedi Guardian is a good fit for Morality), but I'm comfortable letting you mix that up.
• If you're a Force-user who doesn't take Morality, then you are operating in the "grey Jedi" zone... there may be rules implications for this that we'll need to figure out... I haven't gotten there yet.
• If you're a non-Force-user who takes Morality, we may want to devise a way to generate Conflict through heroic actions (or anti-heroic actions) instead of through Force powers for your character.
• If you take an Obligation, gain +5 XP or +1,000 credits for a +5 Obligation, or +10 XP or +2,500 credits for a +10 Obligation.
• If you take a Duty, there's no mechanical benefit for boosting morale / wound threshold; it's simply a part of your character's narrative. Though there may be in-game benefits to having ties to the Resistance, such as gaining information or sanctuary from Resistance NPCs. If you get captured by the First Order, of course, being a known member of the Resistance is likely to lead to being interrogated first.
• If you take Morality, we can starting by running it as is and see how that works. It looks like a fun system but seems a bit complicated on paper, so we may want to streamline it for our game. Like Duty it's mainly going to be narrative tool. I may have certain scenarios that involve using Morality thresholds to determine how certain Force-user NPCs react or how holocrons respond to your character.

Does that sound like a good way to balance those three things?

This is fine, and mostly how we have run it. However, a character could have all three. It could be argued a Force User MUST track Morality. But you're right, only 1 starting bonus (Morality is the easiest). And you can accrue any kind throughout a campaign. You might do something for the Rebellion that gains you Duty, but also Obligation from the Hutt lord you crossed, and you may have done something morally questionable that intersected with your Strength/Weakness to cause you to lose Morality.

Obligation is the tricky one, though, because it's a negative. It's why I asked how much we're starting with. You're only allowed to take extra Obligation up to starting (so if your group starts with 10 based on the chart, you can take 10 extra). When we were first learning the system, we messed this up and were like "Free XP! Everyone take it!" And that ratcheted up our Obligation. The problem that we only discovered later is that Obligation caps at 100 for the GROUP. If your group Obligation goes over 100, you stop gaining XP until it gets under. Not "don't get XP and it pools up until you get under", but NO XP whatsoever until you clear things up!

If only a couple of us are taking Obligation, it shouldn't be a problem. I'll take the 10+10 for the XP and be cool. Or I'll take lower Obligation to represent Arsinoe's story hooks and go with the much easier Morality and just take the 50/50 +10 XP.

 

[KahlessNestor]

Unless KahlessNestor objects:

No-one gives much thought to the droids in their life unless they are personal servants. So it is no surprise that Arsinoe hasn't taken particular note of the droid in the background. Piloting the resistance ship, plotting their hyperspace coordinates, making repairs and being useful in general. Of course they haven't interacted much, the girl probably doesn't even speak binary, but that doesn't mean that Rex hasn't taken note of the girl. She seems so out of place, but at the same time she belongs wherever she goes, naturally the center of attention.

The resistance, while overall good intentioned does not always contain the best people. Rex keeps a watch over the girl ever in the background, an odd little guardian as he goes about his duties on the ship.

I'm perfectly fine with this Though I doubt she's seen a lot of R3 units LOL

 

[KahlessNestor]

Awesome. I'll start with giving my feedback on your characters with Arsinoe

Good character background hooks!

1. Who do you see as being the one who betrayed Arsinoe to the Hutts? Her father? Her older brother? Or her husband (older brother's best friend)? If it was her husband, then is her father and/or older brother looking for her? Is she trying to avoid being found by them because she feels betrayed?

2. Tons of opportunities for other PC connections here:

• A prospective suitors who was turned down.
• Someone who has worked for (or is indebted to) the Hutt who still wants his "tiny dancer."
• Pirate who attacked the ship Arsinoe was being transported on and left her marooned.
• Resistance pilot who picked her up off the lonely planet.

3. Looking at the route from Corellia to Hutt Space, I'm thinking Arsinoe was taken along the Corellian Run and was to be taken along the Death Wind Corridor used by slave/stim smugglers bound for Hutt Space. The ship may have crashed on Tatooine or a similar planet in that region of space. OR the crippled ship may have attempted have attempted a hyperspace jump that was botched, crash landing on the forest planet Kabal where the game begins. I'll leave that detail up to you!

4. Either way, Arsinoe found her way to Kabal, a rough-and-tumble trading planet in the opposite direction from Hutt Space. What do you imagine she's been doing there? (I'll add details on Kabal to my OP soon).

5. What is Arsinoe's attitude toward the Resistance? She possibly was rescued by Resistance pilots from a lonely planet. Did she reject joining because of her own beliefs or uncertainty or mistrust? Was she eager to join but the Resistance didn't trust her due to her background? Is she currently on a Resistance mission or just getting by?

6. Do you have info. on Distracting Behavior you can share with me? Since I don't have Far Horizons, I have no way to discern whether it's a balanced talent or not.

7. There's a strong sexual exploitation vibe to Arsinoe's story. Is that something you'd like to play up or play down? If you feel it's an important aspect of the character to play up (e.g. by taking an Obligation to the Hutt), we'll need to pow-wow as a group about how mature/dark we want this game to be. I am very flexible, but I want to make sure everyone is on board.

8. Do you already have a trajectory for Arsinoe's character development/arc in mind? From victim towards something else? Or is that something you entirely want to discover during play?

9. What would you describe as Arsinoe's "party role"? Not that it's totally necessary to make that super-defined in FFG Star Wars, but I'm curious. Her skills/abilities suggest she is a bit of a "face"?

10. In regards to starting Obligation...I am OK with you going up to 20, and I think that higher Obligations make sense for Arsinoe. I am hesitant about boosting the XP bonus beyond what I've already outlined, so you could start with the bonus credits for +10 Obligation and bonus XP for +10 Obligation (netting 20 Obligation)...or if starting with the extra credits don't fit your character concept, feel free to pitch another idea to me.

11. Lastly, what's your vote for the Group Resource?

1. It was her fiance Samas who drugged and sold her. Her father and brother are probably looking for her, though Samas would have spun them a tale to put off suspicion from him. Of course, Samas is probably looking for her, too, because he's now on the hook to the Hutt again!

2. Yep, lots of hooks

3. Well, Hutts aren't only in Hutt space, but yeah, she can currently be on Kabal.

4. In Kabal, Arsinoe's probably been doing what she knows how to do to get by. Maybe dancing at a cantina? Waiting tables? Shop girl? She has no money, and no way to contact/get home. Maybe the Resistance even coerced her a little into doing a bit of work for them on planet (courier, eavesdropping on stormtroopers while waiting tables, etc).

5. I think she's led a pretty sheltered Core World life, so whatever the Republic let filter in through the news is what she knows of the Resistance. I think she personally is fairly apolitical, though her father, as a member of the CEC board, is necessarily part of the government (Corellia being a corporatocracy). His galaxy-wide cache has probably waned, though likely still respected in some circles. As I said, she could be working minor local jobs for the Resistance, or not. She certainly feels a bit indebted to them for rescuing her (not that she would admit it, or wants to be!)

6. Distracting Behavior allows me to take a Maneuver to select targets up to Cunning (2), take that much strain, and put a Threat on their next action. Not too OP. It's the equivalent of flashing them. This may go away though. Now that I have the extra XP to work with, I'm going to rejigger her.

7. As for the sexual exploitation angle, I'm willing to play that up or down as much as anyone wants. It was mostly a way to get her out on the Outer Rim alone and friendless and prey for any number of groups.

8. Trajectory. I want to see her grow into someone comfortable where she is and able to take care of herself. She's a naive, spoiled rich girl, but she's pretty, and she can talk, so she can hopefully be an asset.

9. Yes, Arsinoe is essentially the party face.

10. You only get +10 XP or the credits (or divide them). The first 10 XP you have to take for nothing. Only the second 10 gets you the bonus.

11. Holocron? LOL Probably not too useful to most of the party. The ship is always useful. It depends on the goals of the party, though. The YT is pretty versatile, but I don't have a preference. Can't remember what the other books give (besides Mentor or Holocron from F&D).

 

[KahlessNestor]

I like how Rex fits the classic astromech slicer role – your writeup really had me imagining R2D2 in the Cloud City. Bravo!

1. You mention the Empire in a couple places. Do you actually mean the pre-Battle of Jaku Empire that was depicted in the original trilogy? Or are you using "Empire" as shorthand for The First Order? I'm trying to figure out the timeline you're picturing Rex operating on.

2. A couple opportunities for other PC connections to Rex (and I suggest someone in the party be able to speak Binary so you can actually have the option of verbally communicating):

• A surviving member of the smuggling crew led by the smuggler Rex was owned by.
• Someone Rex inadvertently freed from Imperial / First Order captivity during his getaway.
• A former Imperial / First Order agent who was burned by Rex's data smuggling.

3. It sounds like during Rex's getaway from the Empire? First Order? he outsmarted some high-ranking military official. Do you see his Criminal Obligation as being some very personal to one NPC or a blanket "arrest that infamous droid!" mentality?

4. If you go with the link to Arsinoe as her personal astromech droid (perhaps salvaged from the wreck of the slaver ship that was bound for Hutt Space), that answers the question of what Rex is doing on Kabal where the game begins. If not, you'll need to come up with a reason for Rex to be on the forest planet Kabal (which I'll writeup in the OP shortly).

5. What is Rex's attitude toward the Resistance? You mention "Rebels" in your background, but I'm not sure if that was meant to specify that Rex was operating with the Rebels who fought the Empire during the original trilogy? Or if it was just a catch-all term for the Resistance as well? Do you see Rex as currently working for the Resistance or not? Or is it ambiguous (and if so, explain)?

6. "Realizing a lone droid was unlikely to survive very long with the Empire against it..." That seems like very higher-order unusual thinking for a droid. Can you elaborate on that? Why did the droid go to the Rebellion? Resistance? specifically, and not to anyone else?

7. It sounds like Rex had a very close relationship to his former smuggler owner, since the smuggler's death precipitated his motive for vengeance against the Empire? First Order?. I'm thinking that you might want to actually name the smuggler and come up with a bit of information about him (or I can do it if you prefer); the important thing is to figure out what influence the smuggler had on Rex's behavior/personality? Why did Rex care for the smuggler so much? Did he look up to the smuggler somehow?

8. Do you already have a trajectory for Rex's character development/arc in mind? Or is that something you want to discover during play? Or do you see the droid as the "straight man" who is pretty much consistently the same good old Rex?

9. There are a lot of R3 units out there. Do you see Rex as having any unique identifying features that the Empire / First Order might put in wanted posters for the droid? Or is his appearance looking like "and old R3 unit" precisely the difficulty in finding him? Or are you seeing R3 units as being so expensive as to be pretty rare outside of military or government use?

10. Did you have a picture of Rex you wanted to use? Here is one possibility.

It's assumed that everyone in the party is able to communicate with each other, so there are no languages to take, per se.

With that said, there is a talent "Speaks Binary" that gives you some advantages on working with computers/droids. And I will probably be playing up Arsinoe's not understanding Binary or Shyreeruk for RP purposes.

 

[KahlessNestor]

A few things that crossed my mind:

1. For players: If you're new to the system, make sure to spend as much of your starting XP on your Attributes as you can (Brawn, Agiltiy, etc). It is difficult to raise these later in the game.

2. For the GM: XP and some Talents work on the time mechanism of "session", for example, "once per session, you can reroll X roll". As PBP doesn't work in "sessions" like a live game, you need to determine how long a "session" is. XP is also given out at this time. In other games with such non-standard time tracking, we've used 1 month=1 session, but it's up to you.

3. XP issues: The generally suggested XP amount per session is 5 XP per hour (from forums/developers, I believe), plus story rewards. In my live groups, we play for about 3 hours, so we would get 20-25 XP. We found it led to some significant power creep. One of my DMs eventually went down to 10 XP per session, plus about 2 for roleplay (averaging 12/session), and we only hit 20 XP when we finished a major story reveal. It leads to slower character progression, which may not be good in PBP, but for a two-weekly game it worked.

3. Also, be careful about major XP dumps, such as when a new player enters a game, or a player makes a new character. It's just something I've noticed (but I haven't talked about it with any of my GMs), but it's tempting to say "build a character with the XP of the rest of the party". So you give them a massive dump of a couple hundred XP. While in theory this makes them "just as powerful", the reality is that it can overbalance that character in relation to the rest of the party. While the rest of the party developed their characters with dribbles of XP, this new one can do a massive dump to max out the most important skills for their characters while others in the party might only have 2-3 ranks in their most important skills. Not sure of a solution to this, but just something I've noticed.

Um...if I think of anything else, I'll let you know LOL

 

[GreenKarl]

Quick question... do you have stats for a Mirialan? I am a very visual person and I hate to say it something a picture really inspires me... and I came across this one and I am thinking about building a character around him

Mirialan

If not I could just use Human and be fine with that