Looking for feed back on a boss NPC I have been working on, thoughts mechanically and thematically.

My group of players include several players able to use the force. I have warned them that excessive use of force powers will bring the Empire down on them. However they have been really resourceful in foiling my Inquisitor's plans so far. So I have decided that one of their current business partners is going to sell them out for some easy cash and to reduce some punishments coming their way.

I have been working on stats for Mara Jade for this purpose. My intention is to make her a force of nature and to remind the force users of their place in the galaxy. Our session count is in the double digits so my party is very well equipped in abilities and gear. I don't intend to kill them, I know my players will run when they see how hard it is to hit her and really the session will be a cat and mouse game as they attempt to escape the complex.

Brawn 3

Agility 5

Intellect 3

Willpower 3

Presence 3

soak:6

w.Threshold 18

S.Threshold 20

m/r defense: 1/2

Skills:

Athletics 2, Brawl 2, Charm 4, Cool 3, Deception 3, Knowledge (core worlds) 3, Lightsaber 4, Melee 3, Ranged(light) 3, stealth 3, Vigilance 4

Talents:

Defensive Stance, Defensive Training, Drive Back, Hawk Bat Swoop, Parry 5, Reflect 5, Saber Swarm

Abilities:

Harm force power, Lightsaber Mastery (Agility), Move force power, Terrifying

Equipment:

Light blaster pistol, Lightsaber (From Edge of the Galaxy), armored robes.

My plan is to use move to separate the non-force users from the group so she can hawk bat swoop the force users. I tried to stick to the adversary and Inquisitor rules, but added some ataru skills to better represent the fighting style she uses.

For your stat block, ditch Defensive Stance. You don't need it, she should have Adversary 2-3. You also left out Force Rating.

But unless you're ready to stack the deck against the PCs, there's no reason to believe they won't take her out and get even more emboldened once you limit her by giving her full stats to begin with. Remember the old adage about gods in AD&D; "the moment you give something stats, it can be killed". And your stats are "takeable". It'll be rough, but 4 PCs can win vs that NPC if they decide to stand up and fight her.

You want to scare them? Send in Vader. Don't give him stats, just have him appear and start mauling PCs. Comment that any attacks from the PCs are being blocked by his armor (Cortosis Weave Mod) and that the damage they are inflicting is minimal. Have all his rolls start with 5 Proficiency dice. Have him maim a PC. Kill one if you have to. Make them RUN.

Or, alternately, you hit them where they live. If they're flashy about their Force Powers, you have the Empire arrest, torture, and kill their known associates for conspiring with a known outlaw (Force Users/Jedi). You have the ISB make their lives a living hell indirectly. You start giving them Bounty obligations, and Criminal obligations, and then their more public allies have to start disassociating with them. "You're too out in the open! You're going to get me/us in trouble! I can't be seen with you, I have a family to think about!"

There are ways to bring them to heel without giving them a chance to kill it.

Yeah, if you wanna make an Emperor's Hand, the Inquisitor rules aren't gonna do her justice.

Also, Emperor's Hands didn't really do the job of Inquisitors. They were directed more at political enemies and running stealth missions...they had different skill sets to do the Emperor's work.

Sorry, in my rush to write it up on my break I forgot to add Adversary 3 and force rating 3.

I definitely don't intend to allow them to KO her. I see the health as how much she can take before she breaks off only to attack from a different direction. Stats are there to give them something to roll against. I want this to be less "fight the big bad" and more "GET TO THE CHOPPA!". I want to play up the feeling of being hunted as they flee the complex while also trying to drag the mcguffin to their ship. I want to make the players feel epic for fighting of waves of stormtroopers and an apex predator far more powerful than them individually.

So I think ditching defensive stance is the right direction. It is to static for what I want to do with the battle. Is there something else I can add to make the build more tanky? I was trying to add more talents to represent that, but perhaps I am over thinking it and should just increase on the defense values.

Fluff wise I assumed that the Hand did Jedi hunting too, but I can make this a person of my own creation if it is a conflict. That would allow me to do more with it later down the road too. I just picked Mara because she is a powerful character, while still allowing me to save Vader if I need him.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Emperor%27s_Hand

For the good of the order

I wouldn't worry about "conflicts," per se, but if you've got some Star Wars nerds at your table, I can appreciate the desire to be thematically appropriate. And since Hands aren't really "dark siders" or "Jedi hunters," they are better off using a different ruleset than the Inquisitor building method, IMO.

Yeah, if you wanna make an Emperor's Hand, the Inquisitor rules aren't gonna do her justice.

Also, Emperor's Hands didn't really do the job of Inquisitors. They were directed more at political enemies and running stealth missions...they had different skill sets to do the Emperor's work.

Now see, when I ran Beyond the Rim, I had Jade show up in the final encounter on Cholganna using the inquisitor build. Made her in 5 minutes before the session. It worked perfectly for the scenario: she deflected everything the crew threw at her, killed one major npc, almost made off with another, and made a dating escape with a destiny point. Lots of shock and awe for the crew, it was their first real Force User encounter.

So I guess you could say how badass do you want/need her to be?

Vader shows up in Rescue at Glare Peak.

They don't give him stats. If he enters the room, everyone dies in narratively creative ways.