So I got an itch to put together a Performer spec for the Colonist career until they get around to doing an official one. I would like to be able to use this spec to make the following types of characters:

• Singer
• Dancer
• Musician
• Actor
• Circus Performer (Acrobat, Clown)
• Magician / Street Performer
• Comedian
• Sports star
• Others - have I missed anything?

Given that list of possible professions, I was thinking of Athletics, Charm, Coordination and Skulduggery for spec skills. Here's my reasoning for including those:

• Athletics - For sports stars, acrobats, dancers and even actors. These people are good at doing athletic things.
• Charm - I wanted to double up on at least one career skill, and Charm seems like the skill every performer needs to impress the audience and make 'em like you.
• Coordination - For dancers, acrobats, musicians, sports stars depending on the sport.
• Skulduggery - This is for a magician, escape artist or sleight of hand type performer.

Are there any important skills for performers that I'm missing? For reference, the Career skills are: Charm, Core Worlds, Deception, Education, Leadership, Lore, Negotiation, and Streetwise.

As for Talents, I was thinking of splitting the tree into a "physical" half and a "mental/social" half. I like the Jump Up talent for a dancer / acrobat. Convincing Demeanor could work for an actor or a magician, but I'd want something that helps Charm (maybe Kill with Kindness) for an actor or comedian. What talents available in other talent trees do you think would make sense for a performer?

For top-tier talents, I was thinking something like this: "FAME: Add [bOOST][bOOST] to your Charm, Negotiation, and Leadership checks, and [bOOST] to the skill checks of anyone trying to identify or dig up information on you." Maybe two of those on the final row for 25xp each. What do you think?

[edit: spelling]

Here is a screenie of the talents I whipped up in OggDude's character generator program (which is awesome, btw) for a home brew Performer spec for Colonists. I made up 3 new talents for the spec, and filled the rest in with what I thought might be reasonable. The left hand side is the "mental/social' side, and the right hand side is the "physical" side.

The Fame talent's full text is: "Upgrade your Charm, Cool, and Negotiation checks once per rank of Fame. Anyone trying to identify you or dig up information on you receives 1 boost die per rank of Fame on related skill checks."

The word "Presence" is also cut off in the Soothing Presence descriptive text, but you can see the rest.

Tell me what you think!

Does your Fame talent require strain per upgrade? That's nearly universal for upgrade type talents that buff a player in some fashion.

Intentionally boring track for someone bee-lining for Dedication?

I really think it would be better to split the specialization between athletes and entertainers. They're really going to be quite dissimilar in many ways.

Does your Fame talent require strain per upgrade? That's nearly universal for upgrade type talents that buff a player in some fashion.

Well, I'll cite the Stalker talent which just gives you a boost die per rank to two skills with no downside. Fame is better in that it gives you an upgrade to three skills, but worse in that it gives your enemies a boost die when they're trying to find you. The talent is supposed to represent how people react more favorably to celebrities, but also the Papparazzi effect. If upgrading three skills is too strong, I could change it to two boost dice instead, but I get the feeling that'd be about the same (except for the possibility of an additional Triumph I suppose). I feel like giving just one boost die would not be good enough with the downside there, and fame should have a downside IMHO.

Focus more heavily on Lore and Xenology. Entertainment is all about context. One race's mother joke could be another's dueling challenge.

I do think that Lore is important for a performer, so it's good that it's on the base career list. I feel like Xenology would be stepping on the Scholar's toes. I did steal Intense Focus from the Scholar tree, mostly because it works for any skill, which is good for a spec where I'm trying to cover different types of performers.

Intentionally boring track for someone bee-lining for Dedication?

Not intentionally. I wanted people to be able to skip the more physical talents if their performer concept didn't warrant getting them. So if I'm playing a comedian for example, I can skip Jump Up, Brace and Dodge and still get access to the other stuff.

I really think it would be better to split the specialization between athletes and entertainers. They're really going to be quite dissimilar in many ways.

I feel like a twi'lek dancer is pretty a iconic type of performer in Star Wars, and dancing is a very athletic pursuit. Plus, pro sports stars are entertainers. I'm not sure there's enough unique stuff to put into two different talent trees for a separate physical and mental/social performer. I'd love to see someone else's take on talent trees for that, though!

I still think it should require strain. Is there anything stopping an entertainer from putting on a helmet? Two upgrades are much better than 2 boost dice at generating positive results.

I still think it should require strain. Is there anything stopping an entertainer from putting on a helmet? Two upgrades are much better than 2 boost dice at generating positive results.

Hm, I'm not sure about that. I know YGGG is widely regarded as being better than YYG, but how does YGGGBB compare to YYYG?

Boost dice are 6 sided and have two blanks, a G and a Y are 8 and 12 respectively and have 1 blank each. Maybe someone with a calculator can put that out numerically but you have a much higher chance of throwing two boost dice and coming up with nothing than 2 upgrades. Even 1 Y is going to have a lower chance of generating nothing alone than a pair of boost dice.

I have a few mechanical/crunchy-bits issues with the whole idea of adding a fourth spec to an existing career.

In this particular case, a few of these problems become highlighted.

You will now get to stay "in career" for a whole tree longer than any other career (thus saving you the 10-pt. cross training fee). This not only gives you another shot at peak talents (like Dedication) at a discount, but you are also picking up 3 choice career skills otherwise unavailable to the other Colonist specs (Athletics, Coordination or Skullduggery).

Plus you want to populate half the tree with "physical" talents (something none of the current Colonist trees focus on).

I have a few mechanical/crunchy-bits issues with the whole idea of adding a fourth spec to an existing career.

In this particular case, a few of these problems become highlighted.

You will now get to stay "in career" for a whole tree longer than any other career (thus saving you the 10-pt. cross training fee). This not only gives you another shot at peak talents (like Dedication) at a discount, but you are also picking up 3 choice career skills otherwise unavailable to the other Colonist specs (Athletics, Coordination or Skullduggery).

Plus you want to populate half the tree with "physical" talents (something none of the current Colonist trees focus on).

Presumably, this will replace one of the bonus three specializations from the Colonist book. Otherwise, yes a career with an extra specialization will have an edge over others. Lets keep in mind though that only two of the careers have books at the moment, and Colonist isn't one of them.

I look at the skills and talents in the same way the Enforcer from DC bridges the gap between Thieves and Hired Guns. I am AFB, but they get social / sneaky skills and talents unlike any of the other Hired Guns.

<SHRUG>

You assume the splat books are at play at the table. That's something each table decides.

I tend to base my rules opinions and weigh things off the core book(s) alone. Then go from there.

On Fame, I'm wondering if it'd just be easier to have it provide a Boost die per rank to all Presence skill checks (figuring that the bonus when applied to Cool checks also reflects that by being in the public eye so often, you're better able to keep calm), but that the difficulty to conceal yourself is upgraded by one per rank.

Soothing Presence seems kind of blah, particularly with the range restriction. I'd say either drop the range requirement entirely, or if kept allow the allies to add a Boost die to their Cool/Discipline check to recover strain after an encounter. Alternatively, you could scrap the Row 1 instance (replace with Kill With Kindness) and instead simply have the talent restore extra strain equal to the character's Presence to allies after a fight, as well as making the talent non-ranked. It does tread a bit on Inspiring Rhetoric, but not excessively so.

Not entirely sold on Athlete, and I think HappyDaze has a point when saying that you're trying to cram too much into a single specialization. ccarlson101 too in that there seems to be a lot of physically-orientated talents, almost to the point of making this a "why wouldn't a Colonist take it?" type of specialization.

Well, the whole reason I got onto this idea in the first place was because I had an idea for a "circus acrobat droid" character, but there was no existing combination of career and same-career-spec in EotE that can get me Athletics and Coordination as career skills for a starting character. Either you have to be an Archaeologist and get Well Rounded, then pay more XP to get some skill ranks (tough on a starting character's XP budget), or you have to buy a second spec (e.g. start as Explorer/Fringer for Coordination and pick up Scout for Athletics) in addition to skill ranks, which is really hard for a starting character's XP budget. Assuming the FFG folks released a book with a performer spec, or something reasonably close where I could fake it, I would never use a home-brewed spec like this.

Minor rant incoming:

This issue highlights the whole problem with a class-based system like EotE has. If I could alter reality to suit my whim, I'd get rid of careers and specs and just let players buy the skills they want for their character concept. Talents could then be given prerequisites, like X ranks in Y skill or Z other talent, and you would naturally find them being picked by characters that they are suited for. Plus you could set a maximum talent rank limit to avoid things like a Scout/Big Game Hunter/Assassin having 7 boost dice for Coordination and Stealth checks.

Rant over!

For Soothing Presence, I was imagining something like in Star Wars Galaxies, where you'd have to come back to the cantina and watch an entertainer for a while to heal up after being in the field. Maybe a comedian tosses a quick joke that lightens the mood, or something like that. Doesn't work great for an acrobat to my mind, but then I probably wouldn't take it for that character concept. I like the idea of boost dice for others' checks to recover strain, but I was modeling the talent off of Rapid Recovery, but selfless instead of selfish.

As for why a colonist would not pick this spec, I'd say because others are better for what they want to do, depending on what that is. Again, I'd love to see somebody else come up with a spec that makes sense for a dancer type character (acrobat is close enough to dancer for my purposes). I just didn't think it would be different enough from a singer or musician or other kind of performer to warrant an additional spec, but show me how it could work!

<SHRUG>

You assume the splat books are at play at the table. That's something each table decides.

I tend to base my rules opinions and weigh things off the core book(s) alone. Then go from there.

So you would allow one career to have three, while another may have four? Assuming you approve it of course. Or do you simply ban everything except for the core rules?

Honest question: Why does "dancer" or "acrobat" require an entire spec at all?

Almost every character I've built has had at least a few ranks of non-career skill early on. With a decent Agility and a rank in Coordination, a starting PC is going to be just fine as either (or both).

<SHRUG>

You assume the splat books are at play at the table. That's something each table decides.

I tend to base my rules opinions and weigh things off the core book(s) alone. Then go from there.

So you would allow one career to have three, while another may have four? Assuming you approve it of course. Or do you simply ban everything except for the core rules?

No one at my table has bothered to try hacking together a homebrew spec. So I'm not sure what you're asking.

<SHRUG>

You assume the splat books are at play at the table. That's something each table decides.

I tend to base my rules opinions and weigh things off the core book(s) alone. Then go from there.

So you would allow one career to have three, while another may have four? Assuming you approve it of course. Or do you simply ban everything except for the core rules?

No one at my table has bothered to try hacking together a homebrew spec. So I'm not sure what you're asking.

No, I meant more the ones from DC and EtU. How do you keep the balance with new stuff as it appears? It would seem to be a binary all or nothing for official FFG specializations to keep the careers balanced.

No, I meant more the ones from DC and EtU. How do you keep the balance with new stuff as it appears? It would seem to be a binary all or nothing for official FFG specializations to keep the careers balanced.

How we play at our table is irrelevant to my point. I said, when I review something for value/power level, I prefer to weigh it against the core ruleset(s). That seems the best baseline. Not only because splat books should not be assumed in play, but because they do skew value/power. DC and EtU have put Hired Guns and Explorers above others. That’s a given. You need look no further than Signature Abilities. So by extension, anything that mirrors, or begins to follow along a similar path as one of the splat books, is increasing value/power.

I look at the skills and talents in the same way the Enforcer from DC bridges the gap between Thieves and Hired Guns. I am AFB, but they get social / sneaky skills and talents unlike any of the other Hired Guns.

There is nothing sneaky (no Deception, Skulduggery, or Stealth) about the Enforcer. He's a fearsome street-level warrior (gaining Coercion, Knowledge [underworld], and Streetwise). He doesn't really fill the gap as a hybrid specialization - he's very much a Hired Gun in every way.

So I got to thinking last night that being famous and being a performer shouldn't be intertwined. You could have a(n in)famous bounty hunter or a famous archaeologist or whatever. I think I'll work on a universal specialization for famous people and keep that separate from the performer spec. I'll think about it over the weekend and report back once I come up with something.

But again, I have to ask, why is "being famous" some kind of power tree? Why can it not just be an aspect of roleplaying and the shared setting between GM and players? I can't grasp why you need a bunch of crunchy bits to justify being well known.

Will Darth Vader have this new universal spec? Everyone knows who he is. Luke? He blew up an entire moon-sized battle station, fer cryin' inna bucket. That's pretty name-making right there. Sure the Emperor must not only have this new tree, but have bought it full out wholesale, right?

I've been somewhat curious about this as well. I'd like to have a group of characters doing Josie and the Pussycats on the outer rim. "We gotta make it to the gig, but first, we need to solve this mystery!"

I'm not sure that I want to make a whole career out of it though. I'm thinking it would be more of a custom skill. I'd really want it to be pretty simple.

Being famous shouldn't be a skill or talent. Fame is a product of luck, hard work, luck, talent, luck, being at the right place at the right time and luck. I would make a roll per performance to see if it was a good gig or a bad gig. If it's a good gig, you may make some new fans. A triumph may be a great gig, with the right people in the audience who can help boost the pcs career.

But again, I have to ask, why is "being famous" some kind of power tree? Why can it not just be an aspect of roleplaying and the shared setting between GM and players? I can't grasp why you need a bunch of crunchy bits to justify being well known.

I see Respected Scholar and can see other talents based off of it for other interactions. In fact, I was somewhat surprised that the Enforcer didn't have something similar regarding criminal organizations (although Street Smarts is close, if not mechanically identical to Respected Scholar).