A group that consists of myself, my wife and three friends are going to be playing this for the first time with one of the friends working as the GM. All but one of us have RPG experience. What would you guys recommend to new players in terms of building characters and other tips?

In terms of what the party makeup will be, so far we have the following:

myself as a Trandoshan bounty hunter

my wife as Twi'lek smuggler pilot

the totally new to RPG player said she wants to play some kind of healer

and I have no clue what the other person is thinking

We are going to meet up to discuss what each of us want to play and how to decide how our group came to be.

I would really appreciate any advice esp. any you may have to a player that has never played any RPG either table top or online. She is familiar with the concept and is a fantasy/sci fi in general and is really looking forward to trying this out.

My advice is to figure out what everyone's Obligations and Motivations are, and then go and figure out how you all fit together based on that.

It's a lot easier to come up with story ties based on "Kerrebuck owes a debt to Black Sun and Jakys is a bounty hunter with a secret past" than it is to finagle something between "he uses a vibro-ax and she's good with a medkit."

First. Devoting an entire session to creating characters, coming up with backstory and throwing around ideas for what you all want have happen in the game is a great idea.

Second. For building your characters, use most of your starting XP on characteristics. After character creation, there are only a few ways to permanently raise your characteristics.

Third, try and not put all you XP into one characteristic. Some players go for a 3/3/3/2/2/2 model which allows their character to be very versatile. If I am playing a species that doesn't support a 4/3/3/2/2/2 spread, I'll go with a 4/3/2/2/2/2 arrangement. Usually I like to fill niches that aren't already covered by someone else in the party, and usually I will put a 4 in the characteristic associated with that niche. This allows me to really shine when the spotlight is on me.

Aside from that Rikoshi has got the right of it. Really think about your motivation. It shouldn't be a throw away decision.

Edit: I meant not put all your XP into one characteristic.

The 'healer class' would be colonist doctor, usually with a focus on intellect and presence. Intellect is mainly for skills that focus on keeping people alive (namely medicine) and presence is for keeping her cool (a skill) and a pleasant bedside manner. Frau Doktor usually can be saddled with 'face' duties along with keeping people alive if there isn't a politico or scoundrel in the group. Brawn isn't bad to have if she is playing more of a battlefield medic, so you can haul the wounded in a hurry. Also have her focus more on med supplies (Stimpacks, Medpacs, bacta) than weapons, unless she is going for mroe a battlefield medic.

A basic idea of what people want to be is fine, like healer or Joe Gun, etc. Really putting the effort into character concept, history, and as much additional detail as you can think up increases people's ownership of the character which only leads to more a immersive experience which in turn leads to fun.

I agree with K on characteristic costs and xp expenditure strategy. Some concepts lend themselves to one better than others, really depends on what you think will be your most used core skills. It's easy to focus on Agility as it can be so central to so many high use skills. Intellect is another one that spans a large number of skills and checks as well. Some careers are broad and work better by spreading characteristics out. Once you know what career you can get a better idea on that

you can start with a 333322 if you take some obligation.

Just a note that mechanics are a sort of healer class in Star Wars since ships and vehicles play a prominent role... and droids love a friendly mechanic.

you can start with a 333322 if you take some obligation.

Depends on species. And it's fun to have a weakness. It builds character...literally.

EDIT: Also depends on the number of characters, since you can't take additional Obligation greater than your starting Obligation value.

It may have been clear with my explanation, but I meant try and not put all your XP into a single characteristic. I leave out a single word and it completely changes my point.

I ask new players at my table to pick a human, or at least a near-human. It's just easier for most people to learn how to roleplay by leaning on the elements familiar to their own lives...without having to account for a wildly alien culture, through a creature that lacks the ability to speak the party-common language, or around the limited motivations of a programmed droid.

you can start with a 333322 if you take some obligation.

Depends on species. And it's fun to have a weakness. It builds character...literally.

A 2 is not that great. Eh, I just have a thing against many-3s jack of all trades stuff.

Pick the right alien and focus on the right skill/talent set, a smidge of Obligation, and you can start with a pair of 4s.

So if I'm a Trandoshan bounty hunter assassin spec what would I ideally like to start with in terms of starting stats? The only character we know for sure that is a definite is my guy. I already know his obligation will be trying to rack up points for the Scorekeeper.

I'd get 3 in Agility at least, which will be 50 points. The maybe either Willpower or Presence maybe. You could also just dump it all into Agility and go 4 Agility for 90 points with 10 xp left on the extra Obligation bonus to get a little more, like a couple first row talents or more starting skills.

I already know his obligation will be trying to rack up points for the Scorekeeper.

Think of Obligation as "a monkey on your back"—less of a "wind in your sails" and more of a "kick in the ***" sort of thing. Earning jagganath points is something your Trandoshan is going to want to do anyways so it's not really much of an obligation, now is it? It does, however, make a pretty easy Motivation (either Status or Religion, depending on how your character sees it) and you can even earn extra XP if you play up your motivation well—how meta!

You can really expand your character's dimensionality by picking an Obligation that goes in a different direction. Perhaps, during a hunt, a clan mate sacrificed him or herself in a time of peril so that you could avoid being captured and now you feel you owe a debt of Responsibility to his or her orphaned children (could also be played as a Family obligation). Maybe you took special skills training (perhaps that's how you got the extra starting XP) and are now Dutybound to your deceptively evil master and must assassinate his enemies when he orders you to—no matter how inconvenient his timing may be. What if you left your betrothed for a life of exploring and adventure on the edge of the galaxy and that Betrayal comes back to haunt you every now and then?

The more imaginative you get with your obligation the more your GM will be able to weave really interesting stories around you. Your entire group will cheer when your obligation gets rolled for the session because it'll be like finally getting to watch the next episode of a long-running arc in your favorite TV show but mostly they'll be cheering because it gets to happen to you and not to them.

I already know his obligation will be trying to rack up points for the Scorekeeper.

Think of Obligation as "a monkey on your back"—less of a "wind in your sails" and more of a "kick in the ***" sort of thing. Earning jagganath points is something your Trandoshan is going to want to do anyways so it's not really much of an obligation, now is it? It does, however, make a pretty easy Motivation (either Status or Religion, depending on how your character sees it) and you can even earn extra XP if you play up your motivation well—how meta!

You can really expand your character's dimensionality by picking an Obligation that goes in a different direction. Perhaps, during a hunt, a clan mate sacrificed him or herself in a time of peril so that you could avoid being captured and now you feel you owe a debt of Responsibility to his or her orphaned children (could also be played as a Family obligation). Maybe you took special skills training (perhaps that's how you got the extra starting XP) and are now Dutybound to your deceptively evil master and must assassinate his enemies when he orders you to—no matter how inconvenient his timing may be. What if you left your betrothed for a life of exploring and adventure on the edge of the galaxy and that Betrayal comes back to haunt you every now and then?

The more imaginative you get with your obligation the more your GM will be able to weave really interesting stories around you. Your entire group will cheer when your obligation gets rolled for the session because it'll be like finally getting to watch the next episode of a long-running arc in your favorite TV show but mostly they'll be cheering because it gets to happen to you and not to them.

Those are outstanding ideas. I was going to have his duty part be that while he treats the rest of the group as insufferable warmblood nuisances what he actually believes is that the Scorekeeper put them in his life to help him on his hunts and as a result he'll do anything to keep them safe or resolves their own obligations ...while never telling them how he really felt about them because, after all, they are still warmblood meatbags.

I agree with most of what has been suggested (i.e. use most starting xp on characteristics, etc.).

I'd definitely encourage your group to do a session just where you figure out how your characters know each other and how they got together. If they don't know each other before the beginning of the first sessions you should figure out why they will be getting together. This will also give you GM some great stuff to help pull your characters into whatever adventure they have planned.

Those are outstanding ideas. I was going to have his duty part be that while he treats the rest of the group as insufferable warmblood nuisances what he actually believes is that the Scorekeeper put them in his life to help him on his hunts and as a result he'll do anything to keep them safe or resolves their own obligations ...while never telling them how he really felt about them because, after all, they are still warmblood meatbags.

Do yourself (and your GM) a favor and start thinking about what it means to be Dutybound to your own party. If your obligation is triggered for a session, what does that mean? Write out one possible outcome of your obligation being triggered.

Now write two more. Remember that your obligation has an affect on both you and your entire party—your Duty to them stresses everybody out. It drives narrative conflict within the greater metaplot and acts as an external force that pushes the story in unexpected directions.

Captain: "We were supposed to patrol this village under contract and keep it safe this evening and what are you doing? You pick now to break down, clean, and polish all of our blasters? (mockingly) 'Better for the hunt,' you say. 'Increased blasting efficiency,' you say? How efficient is a rifle when it's in fifteen pieces?! How 'bout if I just go gather some sticks and rocks. Hm? We'll use those to fight off the renegade gangs!"

Think about what would cause such obligation to increase. Under what circumstances would your obligation to your party ever decrease?

When obligation is wholly internal to the party, it lends itself to certain styles of storytelling—Slice of Life being the one that pops off the top of my head but I'm sure there are others. Make sure your obligation works well with the rest of the party's choices. If too many players pick intra-party obligations you may risk ending up with many sessions of what amount to "filler episodes" which might not be what everyone is expecting.

A good rule of thumb is that Obligation is generally something that you as a player would want to explore but your character would prefer to avoid. It doesn't have to be that way, however, and if you find something that works and you think is exciting then by all means, run with it.

One suggestion that I might give to spice that obligation up is instead of being Dutybound to the entire party pick just one PC. Now you have a possible hook (or hooks) for some backstory between you two—you can reminisce about old stories and adventures you've been on together and it might give you two something to riff on from each other which can spur some incredible role-play sessions. It also invites narrative conflict that becomes intensely personal if the target of your Duty becomes threatened or harmed. The mechanical effects of the reduced Strain Threshold from your obligation being triggered could narratively reflect self-doubt or even something less obvious like the effect of letting your guard down during a period of inaction. I'm sure you could come up with others.

If you want to keep the Duty to the entire party then think about why you got here in the first place? Maybe you lost your previous clan due to very unfortunate circumstances, you are the only survivor (or so you think) and this Duty reflects your defense mechanism (pick: postponement of affect, displacement, or something else) from the trauma of that event. Now you've got a way for external forces to affect your internal torment and still have it apply within your group. Plus, it lets the GM do really wicked things like trigger an anxiety attack (hooray for Fear Checks!) in the middle of combat.

I know a lot of people have chimed in on stats and where best to spend your XP during chargen and yes, stats matter but do not discount your Obligation. If you follow the rule book you'll notice that obligation is the first thing (or at least one of the first things) that you choose before all else because it is simply that important. Your Obligation is what drove you to the edge of the Empire and it is what keeps you there.

As a side note, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how quickly your new players will get into the swing of things with this game. Experienced roleplayers, especially those enmeshed in d20 systems, will sometimes have difficulty with the concepts and flow of the game, and will be tempted to treat it like it's D&D in space. It can sometimes be difficult to "unlearn what you have learned", rather than just coming at it with a clean slate. The game really encourages character concept over metagaming your "build", and players with characters that are competent at a wide variety of tasks will ultimately find the game more enjoyable than players with highly specialized or "min/maxed" characters.

This reminds me of a Lazarus Long quote from Robert Heinlein:

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."

Was that from "Time enough for love"?

Was that from "Time enough for love"?

You are correct, sir.

Was that from "Time enough for love"?

You are correct, sir.

Heinlein is one of my Big Three, other two consisting of HP Lovecraft and Tolkien. Absolutely love his books and agree mostly with his philosophy.

Was that from "Time enough for love"?

You are correct, sir.

Heinlein is one of my Big Three, other two consisting of HP Lovecraft and Tolkien. Absolutely love his books and agree mostly with his philosophy.

He really popularized libertarianism with books like "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress". Heinlein and Asimov are two of my favorite golden-age science fiction writers.