I haven't been playing long enough to feel like I have a style of play but, when I read things like this, I guess I know a few things about what my style isn't. That isn't saying my way is better, though. It's just different. I'm not even terribly sure, beyond the definition, what min maxing is so that's not the concern.

I guess I look at your message and see all these choices made so far in advance and it makes me wonder about why I would play that charactter. All of the decisions are made. It's just a matter of plugging them in when it seems appropriate. It ends up seeming like something glued on rather than a part of the story... To me, anyway. I prefer letting the game shape my choices as I go. I have a few goals but nothing nearly so specific as you describe.

And our characters are sorta similar! We're both playing Force Sensitive Doctors. I just started as a doctor, though. No plans for Force Sensitiivity. The story took us that way and it has been a natural evolution - similar to your own character down to the fact that mine has an uneasy feeling about Jedi, at best. I just don't care about knowing if light sabers are in her future, which style she'll use, exactly where her points will end up, etc. If she never has cause to draw a light saber, then I won't force the issue (no pun intended!) by putting xp there. She doesn't have one and isn't pursuing one so it's only going to happen if the story takes me that way.

So, I guess the point of all this is so I can ask what happens when your GM's story doesn't support your plans? Do you change them? Do you ask the GM to fit your plans in? How collaborative is all this? How do you deal with things the game is obviously saying you need but aren't in your plan?

It's hard to tell, have you been playing this character? If so, how was those first few sessions without a lot of XP in characteristics?

I think you were smart not to raise that 4 to a 5. A character is really going to shine with a 4 in a characteristic. There's a lot more value in rounding out a deficiency than making something you are already amazing at just a hint more amazing.

Theres a thing I do to decide on skill ranks after we are awarded XP for the session. If there is a skill or two that I have used more than others, I have to boost that one. For me, I see it as "what has he learned more about this game?" question rather than "Whats the logical next step for the best character ever."

*shrug* usually it turns out working just fine. Though sometimes you get XP spent in random bits, but then again, I just think of it as spice for the character.

I prefer to see characters grow organically. I think it's a problem with a video-game mentality, where the chaacter is designed with a 'build' that stats them from levels 1-30 in advance.

That said, I can't see anything wrong with Verdantsf's concepts.

And in general, this system seems to reward a spread of decent stats rather than maxing one out and having everything else at 2.

I don't see anything particularly wrong with how you're planning that character. The stats seem sound, without being too powerful.

I will agree with others that the only issue is that it might not come to pass the way you intend. I know my players can be pretty disappointed when they plan for a character to do something, or to develop a certain way, and by the actions of the other players, they never quite get that opportunity. I think a safer way to build the 'future' of a character is to give them a personal, in-character goal, that pushes them in that direction. That way, the development of that character feels more like their story, and less like someone in the clouds is pushing them in a direction.

As a side note, when I hear "Force Sensitive Doctor", "Agility-Based Lightsaber Combat" is not the first thing that comes to mind.

I guess I look at your message and see all these choices made so far in advance and it makes me wonder about why I would play that charactter. All of the decisions are made. It's just a matter of plugging them in when it seems appropriate. It ends up seeming like something glued on rather than a part of the story...

When I usually make characters, I have a clear goal in mind. This character would've been created with a template to maximize his status as a Force Sensitive Healer with the ability to also use a lightsaber effectively. The quickest xp path would've been a Consular Healer, with a beeline toward Dedication in each tree to push Intellect to max. Soresu Defender would've been key, so that his Intellect would also be his lightsaber stat. While I would roleplay, all the big choices would've been made. However, with Jasper, things changed according to who he actually met in the course of the story.

He doesn't know any Soresu Defenders. So I dropped that plan. He's a doctor that often takes shortcuts by using the Force, rather than his medical training, so his Intellect wasn't raised when I got to Dedication. In combat, he generally hangs back and uses covering fire to help boost the chances of a hit for his allies, so I envision him slowly becoming a better with pistols and more comfortable in combat in general, thus raising his Agility. Of his two force sensitive allies, it would make mechanical sense to choose the Niman Disciple for him to train under, since the martial tree has a Force Rating talent, unlike Ataru Striker. But Niman Disciple is a style based on Willpower... and as a drug addict, Jasper isn't exactly a model of restraint. So that leaves Ataru Striker. It's a path I never would've chosen for if it were not for the story my character has found himself in. Usually my characters have a set destiny when they're created, but this one stepped away from my usual xp and characteristic/talent plans .

So, I guess the point of all this is so I can ask what happens when your GM's story doesn't support your plans? Do you change them? Do you ask the GM to fit your plans in? How collaborative is all this? How do you deal with things the game is obviously saying you need but aren't in your plan?

I run a series of connected one-shots (that probably sounds contradictory, but here's the thread explaining it), so the group that I play with changes. However, there is a regular cast of characters. Jasper is my GM-character, who has been involved in each session, though I've been careful to make sure he doesn't fall into the trap of all-knowing, all-powerful GM avatar.

I conceived the character with a rotating group of GMs in mind, but for a while, it's just been me. The team's doctor has been leveling up alongside the other PCs and this weekend I get to play him fully. Two GMs have come on board for the campaign, with a third in the wings. That said, if story elements change due to characters coming and going from the story, Jasper's story might change as well. But the whole point is that he's been influenced so much by the current campaign that things I usually take as gospel, I've been willing to set aside. All things considered, he still makes a decent healer, though I haven't maximized him for it and his allies have been pretty happy with him, except for the times when stimpacks have gone missing .

Always have a clear goal for your character in mind and go along with it. And don't be afraid to alter it if it suits the way the character is naturally developing.

While I do love optimizing, I rarely pass up the opportunity to add some flavor.

My Bounty Hunter is not particularly intelligent, but I make up for it by being very cunning. Hence why I quickly snapped up 2 ranks of Convincing Demeanor. Sure, its not particularly useful, but I think its a nice flavor for a guy who makes up things on the fly and weasels his way out of situations.

Honestly I've lost track of the number of times I've invested in skills, talents, feats, or in a couple of cases class levels that I was certain I would rarely, if ever use because they fit my character's backstory. And the cases where I've ended up investing in areas I never anticipated the character using when I made them because of events that have taken place in a campaign are just as numerous if not more so.

And the times those abilities do come up feel sooooo good.

As a side note, when I hear "Force Sensitive Doctor", "Agility-Based Lightsaber Combat" is not the first thing that comes to mind.

Hahah, same here! I never would have seriously considered it had it not been for the Ataru Striker in the campaign.

Most of our characters have been pretty two dimensional. The Pit Droid Thief (the group's Slicer) was real hit however. As he got experience he just started building more and more communications/slicer gear into himself. "Need a tight beam laser communication link to the ship? What frequency?" This is the guy who cannon balled out of the back of the ship, with a grav chute, to plant thermo detonators near the imperial palace.

Painted imperial black, and looks like he belongs.

So, this is an interesting question.

I have a Wookiee Marauder. And he’s pretty bad-ass in melee combat. But I wanted him to be more than that. It fit the character concept for me to grab Heavy as my second specialization, but I’ve avoided as much of the ranged combat stuff because that doesn’t fit. He’s now a very burly and tall Wookiee, and he already had maximum normal level of Brawn.

I was going to go into the Technician line next, but then the party dynamics changed — a couple of old characters got shuffled off and became dark-side force users, and their players got new characters in exchange. So, when looking for the next thing to do, I realized that Doctor made a lot of sense — we had lost the player for the Two-One-Bee droid that had been our chief healer, so I picked up the reins. I started out as his assistant, and I think he’s still around as an NPC, but now I’m the main healer for our group.

I was thinking that maybe I might actually go into Technician next anyway, but making sure to avoid stepping on any toes of any of the other players. But then F&D came out, and most of our group decided that we wanted to be Force users, or we wanted new Force-sensitive characters.

So, my Wookiee is going to be a Force user. He’s going to start out as Force Sensitive Exile, but when it comes time to picking specializations from F&D, I’m not going to go with anything from the Warrior class. He’s already plenty good enough in melee and brawl combat, and I don’t really need to get better in those areas. I’m actually thinking that I will send him down the Niman Disciple route, and explain that as his mentor believing that will be the best thing for him to learn, precisely because it is the area in which he is weakest.

But I won’t be boosting Will, not any time soon. I’ll boost skills related to Will, but this is a signature part of being a Wookiee, so Will itself is unlikely to be boosted any time soon. I’ll most likely boost Agility and Intelligence before anything else, and maybe Presence or Cunning next.

But regardless of what happens in the future, I want my Wookiee to be a very well-rounded character concept, and while he will pick up one or more Lightsaber specializations, the primary way that he will end up using the Force is almost certainly going to be through Talents, and powers like Sense, Foresee, Heal, etc….

i usually figure out the rough concept of what I want to play. then i look at what it takes to get my concept to work. Those paths will be highlighted. I will use that as a guideling for how to spend my XP while adjusting things as I play based on what fits the game.

I'm kind of playing it out as we go. I didn't really have an idea of what I wanted to do, being brand new to the game. My GM said the group could use a technician. So I made a slicer. Not a big fan of a lot of the talents, mostly though because the situations to use then haven't happened.

My group had an NPC doctor they convinced to follow them around, but with a party of 7 now, everyone kept forgetting about her. So the GM decided she will no longer be with the group. Not sure if he will address it in game. We haven't referenced her in around 3 sessions.

Anyhow, we just started working with a group of Rebels on a space station. I have an intellect of 4 and my initial plot reason for joining the group mid campaign just wrapped up. So I figured if the doctor is leaving, I'm smart, and I "need" an in-game reason to stay with the group, it would make perfect sense for my character to pick up a medical specialization. Since we are with Rebel forces, Medic makes more story sense. So here I am, a Slicing Medic Wookiee.

If you ever play a version of the technician in SotB, let me know which talents have been bugging you. I'll make sure situations come up that use them!

If you ever play a version of the technician in SotB, let me know which talents have been bugging you. I'll make sure situations come up that use them!

Thanks. I appreciate that. I'll probably avoid playing a Slicer outside of my current real life group, not because I hate it but I'd rather try other stuff! I'm still really new to the game.

As far as the Slicer talent tree, its lack of use for my Wookiee is a combination of factors. Half the tree is dedicated to reducing time or removing setback dice, two things my GM hasn't used very much in the 4-5 sessions I've been to.