Fair enough

At our table, my policy is that a PC is generally entitled to use either of the two initiative skills (their choice) during "standard" encounters where it is reasonable something is going down. Under circumstances where they are genuinely surprised or caught off guard, it goes to Vigilance.

Sure, this does give Vigilance a bit more oomph during the course of play. But I find Cool overall to be the more useful skill*, so I think that's okay.

(*recovering strain after encounters, gambling, resisting charm and negotiate, etc.)

I was looking to do this myself, and besides the aforementioned Scoundrel, the Bounty Hunter: Gadgeteer stood out to me. A lot of that is because blaster pistols are generally on the lower end of the damage scale. The Gadgeteer can tweak them out to do near rifle-level damage.

Plus, I liked the extra story potential of being a gunslinger-via-gun nerd.

I would consider it as a great pair with Scoundrel.

Plus, I liked the extra story potential of being a gunslinger-via-gun nerd.

I was going to object to you calling my character a nerd, but they have precisely 1 skill above 3 - Mechanics 5 - so yeah, nerd.

Plus, I liked the extra story potential of being a gunslinger-via-gun nerd.

I was going to object to you calling my character a nerd, but they have precisely 1 skill above 3 - Mechanics 5 - so yeah, nerd.

Great minds think alike.

... except when you steal my ideas, you idea thief! Your game is based on a lie!

(The OP is, of course, free to steal that idea)

@ 2P51...So w/ my PC say since I am a Pilot 1st, Big Gun 2nd, you would use the 2nd Specialization for Scoundrel?? Or wait until the Smuggling book comes out?

Whats your Range(L)? You could raise that. Work on a Dedication and raise Agility if you need to. To me Quickstrike isnt great and Rapid Reaction not indispensable.

@ 2P51...So w/ my PC say since I am a Pilot 1st, Big Gun 2nd, you would use the 2nd Specialization for Scoundrel?? Or wait until the Smuggling book comes out?

Whats your Range(L)? You could raise that. Work on a Dedication and raise Agility if you need to. To me Quickstrike isnt great and Rapid Reaction not indispensable.

4 Agl, Pilot Space - 5, Range Lt - 4...No other gun type skills, but lots of Pilot skills.

At our table, my policy is that a PC is generally entitled to use either of the two initiative skills (their choice) during "standard" encounters where it is reasonable something is going down. Under circumstances where they are genuinely surprised or caught off guard, it goes to Vigilance.

Sure, this does give Vigilance a bit more oomph during the course of play. But I find Cool overall to be the more useful skill*, so I think that's okay.

(*recovering strain after encounters, gambling, resisting charm and negotiate, etc.)

I could be mistaken, but isn't recovering strain after encounters a cool or discipline check?

I could be mistaken, but isn't recovering strain after encounters a cool or discipline check?

Yes it is. But I'm not sure how that invalidates my list of useful things Cool can do...

@ 2P51...So w/ my PC say since I am a Pilot 1st, Big Gun 2nd, you would use the 2nd Specialization for Scoundrel?? Or wait until the Smuggling book comes out?

Whats your Range(L)? You could raise that. Work on a Dedication and raise Agility if you need to. To me Quickstrike isnt great and Rapid Reaction not indispensable.

4 Agl, Pilot Space - 5, Range Lt - 4...No other gun type skills, but lots of Pilot skills.

My goal was not to invalidate that list, just to clarify, that this is not an application only for cool.

@ 2P51...So w/ my PC say since I am a Pilot 1st, Big Gun 2nd, you would use the 2nd Specialization for Scoundrel?? Or wait until the Smuggling book comes out?

Whats your Range(L)? You could raise that. Work on a Dedication and raise Agility if you need to. To me Quickstrike isnt great and Rapid Reaction not indispensable.

4 Agl, Pilot Space - 5, Range Lt - 4...No other gun type skills, but lots of Pilot skills.

For all practical purposes you are a gunslinger then Id say. Probably just best to wait for a specific spec if we get one.

Yeah, that's what I think as well...I just don't want to invest 20xp on Scoundrel just for 3 or 4 talents, when if they make a Tree (Gunslinger) I can get a lot more talents. Cuz then I waste 16 other talents I don't want for the 3 or 4 that I do. Best to stay w/ Pilot and make him badass in that respect, and wait. Thanks

I was looking to do this myself, and besides the aforementioned Scoundrel, the Bounty Hunter: Gadgeteer stood out to me. A lot of that is because blaster pistols are generally on the lower end of the damage scale. The Gadgeteer can tweak them out to do near rifle-level damage.

Plus, I liked the extra story potential of being a gunslinger-via-gun nerd.

I would consider it as a great pair with Scoundrel.

In addition, I had a custom mod fitted to dueling pistol to give limited ammo 6 (2hp), thus a firm backup that can at least hit for 10,15 if I lessons, with 3 boost dice if i chose to aim. Not the greatest dam in party ( a well kitted blaster r can outperform in range and probably damage) which is why you should either carry lancer/rifle. Even in the Wild West, pistols were a sidearm, so either you need to do something else or carry a rifle.

That being said, being a slinger is just part of my characters I'd, the dueling pistols is my social weapon, as I like to call it, I have no ranks in point blank, or any additional points. In fact both disapline and cool are fairly weak checks, something I chose to playout as a nervous nature. I am also a Rodien. I almost never shoot first, but with pistol power and def dice/dodge, I often tend to somehow survive long enough to finish the fights I start.

That being said, make no illusions about it, if you are a gunslinger, you must be able to do something unrelated to that, as likely there are more reliable ways to be a combat character. Generally bigger guns, so smuggler likely has social benefits I not observed yet

@ 2P51...So w/ my PC say since I am a Pilot 1st, Big Gun 2nd, you would use the 2nd Specialization for Scoundrel?? Or wait until the Smuggling book comes out?

Whats your Range(L)? You could raise that. Work on a Dedication and raise Agility if you need to. To me Quickstrike isnt great and Rapid Reaction not indispensable.

4 Agl, Pilot Space - 5, Range Lt - 4...No other gun type skills, but lots of Pilot skills.

For all practical purposes you are a gunslinger then Id say. Probably just best to wait for a specific spec if we get one.

Yeah, that's what I think as well...I just don't want to invest 20xp on Scoundrel just for 3 or 4 talents, when if they make a Tree (Gunslinger) I can get a lot more talents. Cuz then I waste 16 other talents I don't want for the 3 or 4 that I do. Best to stay w/ Pilot and make him badass in that respect, and wait. Thanks

I've been altering my outlook on buying specs more and more and I am becoming less interested in talents and more so in the skills it will add to my repertoire counting as career skills. I like Scoundrel a lot for that reason, you get a lot of good skills when you start Scoundrel I think.

@2P51, Being a Scoundrel isn't bad, but we already have one in the group. Besides, as I learned in our last session, I am NOT the charmer...I am the Deceiver. But even then I pissed off a Hutt w/ 2 Despair on a roll. So I know what I am good at...Flying Starships & Shooting people. My social skills? I am a Battleship in a Bathtub.

I've been altering my outlook on buying specs more and more and I am becoming less interested in talents and more so in the skills it will add to my repertoire counting as career skills. I like Scoundrel a lot for that reason, you get a lot of good skills when you start Scoundrel I think.

Yeah, I've been an advocate of spec-buying for a while. I think there is a cost/benefit up to the second new spec (third total) if you can get at least 3 new career skills in each that you plan to enhance. The first new spec pays for itself after 6 ranks, the second after 8 (assuming both are out of career). Plus a lot of the good day-to-day talents are in the first and second rows. You can end up with a very capable resilient jack-of-all-trades type of character by getting 2 ranks in a lot of skills, and a few cheap Toughness, Grit, and Enduring talents.

I was speaking more to what a Scoundrel has access to in starting out. Both initiative skills, a bevy of social skills, a combat skill, thieving and underworld skills, Pilot(S), lots of good stuff imo, probably the most all around I think.

Plus a lot of the good day-to-day talents are in the first and second rows. You can end up with a very capable resilient jack-of-all-trades type of character by getting 2 ranks in a lot of skills, and a few cheap Toughness, Grit, and Enduring talents.