[Star Wars] Tech Specialist too weak?

[Darkness]

I just got SW revised yesterday...

And is it just me, or is the Tech Specialist much less powerful than the other classes?

I mean, they get:
1d6 Vitality per level
4 skill points
only one weapon proficiency feat
1 poor (Fortitude) and 2 average saves
an average BAB
no bonus feats (except for one Skill Emphasis feat at level 1)
not too much Defense bonus
and only a few very specialized class abilities

So what do you all think - too weak or not? I'm especially concerned about the number of skill points, BTW...
Thanks!

 

[RodneyThompson]

Well, it is supposed to be a noncombat class.

The low skill points are in there for 2 reasons: 1) he is the Tech Specialist and specializes in one field or another, and 2) a Tech Specialist should already have a high Int, meaning that a higher number of skill points could get out of hand fast.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Ah, they are meant as a NPC class. I didn`t know that, but why the heck did they a Tech Specialisit - they had the expert, that would have been sufficient...

Starwars seems to me as one of the most horrible done D20/OGL ruleworks...

Mustrum Ridcully

 

[Ranger REG]

They are noncombat PC classes who are expert at things the other classes are not good at: engineers, field scientist, medic/doctor, etc.

You want horrible? Buy Foundation.

AFAIC, the SW Revised is greatly improved. It's not perfect, but greatly improved.

 

[RodneyThompson]

Ah, they are meant as a NPC class. I didn`t know that, but why the heck did they a Tech Specialisit - they had the expert, that would have been sufficient...

Starwars seems to me as one of the most horrible done D20/OGL ruleworks...

No. Noncombat does not mean NPC. Though it may be hard for some players to understand, a character class does not have to excel in combat to be a valid, useful class. It is simply not meant to go head to head with, say, the Soldier in combat.

And I disagree with your opinion on Star Wars. I think it's a much better ruleset than D&D, and one of the best ones out there.

 

[dpdx]

I don't think it's too weak, but I'd say 6 + Int bonus skill pts per level for that class is at least workable. If you're DMing, you can experiment with that pretty easily. If it seems like your TS is breezing through even the most difficult Computer Use and Repair checks, you can adjust that pretty easily on the spot (or better yet) at level time.

My first PC I ever rolled up for Star Wars Revised was someone I wanted to be a Han Solo-type. Pilot ships, fix stuff, maybe even at some point build droids in between cargo runs. He wasn't going to blaze forth into combat, but I thought he should at least help the party by lobbing the occasional blaster bolt from behind cover. I ended up choosing Scoundrel as his first level, but TS might have worked, too.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Oh, excuse me - I only read "non", and ignored the combat

Anyway, I don`t think the class works well. The Mechanist class of Dragonstar seems to be more useful (though I don`t like everything of that class). I have no real problem with a noncombat class, but I think every class should be useful in combat - even if only for buffing... A Tech specialist that would maybe work as some kind of "Drone Master" (Shadowrun Rigger?), or boost the weapon systems, greatly helps in a space combat (redirecting Energy fron Life Support to Shields) is okay...

We currently play Tempest Feud with newly created characters, and I play a Noble/Scoundrel/Crimelord. When I look at some of the Noble`s special abilities, I want to cry about the bad design. If I look at the abilities of the Jedi characters (luckily, we have none in our game), I wonder why not everybody plays one of them. Probably the only thing they can`t do is disarming a trap... Nothing which couldn`t be dealt via multiclassing...

But to each its own. (And I must admit - currently I am having fun ...)

Mustrum Ridcully