Hello everyone, and welcome back to You Build the Character, FFG Edition!

This is the fourth installment of the monthly competition in which FFG community members can compete to build their versions of famous characters from the Star Wars universe. The winner is decided by popular vote, and will receive all the honor and glory that comes with peer approval! The winning build will also be eternally enshrined in the YBtC Hall of Fame .

In honor of the upcoming Saint Valentine's Day, this month's challenge is to build a Player-Character version of the astromech that everyone loves, the quirky, plucky, and heroic R2-D2 .

The following rules apply to your submissions:

1. You may use as much XP as you like to build Artoo-Detoo, but attempts to be both thematic and reasonable are highly encouraged. Since Artoo is a droid, his starting XP is 175 (plus any amount of additional XP that his starting Obligation or Duty might allow) and you can grant him any amount of additional XP as "earned XP” to be spent on talents, skills, and specializations.


2. All builds MUST adhere to the Rules As Written (RAW) for Player Character creation (Steps 1 - 9) and advancement. No skipping talents in trees, no homebrewed rules. You may ignore Step 10 of character creation, or include it in your builds, at your discretion. If you choose to use Step 10, simply select one of the RAW options available from Age of Rebellion or Edge of the Empire .

3. R2-D2 is an astromech droid (Class Two / Second-degree) , and as such cannot start with or ever be granted a Force Rating, nor have Force Sensitive Careers or Specializations. This effectively means that his Career and starting Specialization must come from Edge of the Empire or Age of Rebellion , not the Force and Destiny Beta . He also gains all the qualities and benefits of being inorganic and being able to integrate "virtually any piece of equipment an organic would need to carry" ( AoR 53-54, EotE 45-47).

4. Given the caveat of Rule #3 above, all FFG-published material for the Star Wars RPG is fair game for advancing your character: Edge of the Empire, Age of Rebellion, and the Force and Destiny Beta (using the latest errata available), including any supplements or other officially published material from these lines, may be used.

5. Your build may represent Artoo at any point in his life, complete with any gear & equipment. The Legends universe is open, as is anything from the Star Wars canon . Including a picture with your build is encouraged!

7. All entries must include full stat blocks, which should be presented in a fashion similar to the stat blocks found in official material, and should contain a minimum of the following:

Character Name/Title, Droid type/classification, Career

Specialization(s)

Background text

Duty, Morality, and/or Obligation score

Characteristics (Brawn, Agility, etc)

Soak, Wound Threshold, Strain Threshold, Defense

Skill Ranks

Talents

Abilities

Equipment

You have until 8am PST on Tuesday, February 24th (4pm February 24th GMT) to enter/edit your builds, after which entries will be closed. Any entries edited after the deadline will be disqualified.

Voting will commence as soon as entries close! The voting period will run through the end of February, and the winner will be determined by popular vote at 12am PST on March 1st (8am GMT)!

I triple-dog-dare you to make a version of R2-D2 that incorporates a specialization from FaD

Ataru Striker is an obvious specialization for R2 ,

R2 is so good at it, that Yoda give up his/its lightsaber

R2D2 mechanic/slicer extraordinair

R2 is a mechanic (AoR) that has gone over into the field of slicing during his career.

He is a cunning little guy that seems to be the real hero behind many scenes and is a very personable droid while we are at it.

Some of the scenes I thought about when building him:

• Artoo is brave. He holds his position while under fire, he keeps slicing into computer panels in the middle of fights and is able to hold of bigger enemies then himself. This is why I gave him a high willpower.
• He is cunning. What he lacks in strength he more than makes up for in cunning. He pushes people of skiffs, he uses built-in jets to light his own oil to take out large enemies, he hides messages and light sabres. This is why I gave him a high cunning and the skullduggery skill.
• He has a lip. He ticks off overseers, Jawa’s, etc. He has a larger presence than a droid of his stature and make should have (but still not more than 2.)
• He is a good mechanic and has built-in tools to do a lot of repairs.
• He is able to hack into most of the computers he tries to.
• He tries hiding from larger droids (only to be given away by Obi-Wan on the comlink (hence the 1 stealth)
• R2 is responsible for one of the coolest talents in the game; Bad Motivator

BR 1

AG 1

INT 4

CUN 3

WILL 3

PR 2

Astrogation (3)

Computers (3)

Coordination

Discipline (2)

Mechanics (2)

Pilot (Planet)

Pilot (Space) (2)

Skulldugery

Stealth

Talents

Mechanic

Fine Tuning (2)

Gearhead

Bad Motivator

Dedication (INT)

Slicer

Codebreaker

Defensive Slicer (2)

Natural Programmer

Impr. defensive slicer

Skilled slicer

Master slicer

Tool kit (built-in), Slicing gear (built-in), Jet-pack (built-in), holoprojector (built-in)

Duty: Assistance (everything Artoo does in the movies is in service of his fellow rebels)

Also, there is this...

i just blew my motivator

Bleedle deep. Beewooee!*

*Translation: Just over 5 days left. Get your builds up while you can!

Four days left!

I present, R2-D2

Some of the philosophy behind this creation:

1) He's based on the idea that R2 wasn't built as an exceptional Astromech, but rather became one as a result of never having his memory wiped. To represent this, I started with the default Astromech's stat line.

2) I'm assuming that A New Hope was his first 'game', and that his encounters in the Prequel timeline were backstory. As such, he has no adventuring experience. Continuing the 'starting character' idea, I used his obligation to buy the gear he needed.

Oh, in theory you went the same route I went... However those statistics end up extremely low. Why did you chose to go that route?

For me R2 is one of the most important characters in all of SW but your build makes him below, below average in his characteristics. I understand the philosophy as him starting as an astromech but I have always imagined the starting stats are not the stats you are "born" with but are you jump off point after having had somewhat of a career...

Edit: not saying your build is "wrong" or anything like that. Just curious about the thought process.

Just two more days to post/edit your builds, and then on to voting!

Artoo as at the Battle of Yavin, assuming 40 xp added after the initial generation for a few game sessions. Total 215 XP. His actions in Episode IV suggest a focus on computers, with some limited mechanics ability. As astromechs are both civilian and military, I ended up going EotE Technician so he could have Slicer and Mechanics as career specializations.

Career : Technician Slicer + Mechanic (bought Mechanic from earned XP)

Characteristics : 1 Br, 2 Ag, 3 Int, 2 Cun, 3 Wil, 1 Pre

Skills : 1 Astro, 2 Comp, 2 Disc, 1 Edu, 2 Mech, 1 Outer Rim, 1 Pilot Space, 1 Ste

Talents

+ Slicer : 1 Bypass Sec, 1 Tech Apt, 1 Codebreaker

+ Mech : 1 Gearhead, 1 Redundant Systems

Oh, in theory you went the same route I went... However those statistics end up extremely low. Why did you chose to go that route?

For me R2 is one of the most important characters in all of SW but your build makes him below, below average in his characteristics. I understand the philosophy as him starting as an astromech but I have always imagined the starting stats are not the stats you are "born" with but are you jump off point after having had somewhat of a career...

Edit: not saying your build is "wrong" or anything like that. Just curious about the thought process.

I don't think importance and ability are connected - after all, Obi-wan is a more skilled Jedi, but Luke is more important to the story. R2 is certainly the driving force behind the plot of the E4 as a rolling McGuffin and a kick to move Luke along, but he actually takes relatively few actions.

I disagree with (your perfectly valid interpretation of) attributes though, I think "Natural Ability" is exactly what they are, as opposed to skills & talents which are learned. He is "jumping off" from a long line of experiences that have taught him a number of tricks and talents, rather than, say, Luke who is "jumping off" from few skills or tricks, but a wealth of natural ability.

Also, there were a number of talents I specifically wanted - Bad Motivator, for one, and enduring for the other after his survival at Yavin IV. (I'd of preferred durable, but couldn't find a good way to get it.)

Less than 12 hours til entries are closed!

Loving what I'm seeing so far.

Just to be clear, the ladies in swimsuits are not acceptable builds, since they do not conform to the rules for entries

I think their builds are fabulous....

And boy, do they conform. Maybe not to the rules, but...

R2-D2 (Artoo-Detoo)

Career: Ace (Driver)

Brawn 1 • Agility 3 • Intellect 3 • Cunning 2 • Willpower 2 • Presence 2

Soak Value: 2 • Wound Threshold: 11 • Strain Threshold: 12

• Duty (5): Support (aid allies in achieving their duties and objectives)

• Obligation (5): Oath: Deliver the Death Star plans

• Motivation: Connection: Family (serve the Organa family in their anti-Imperial endeavors)

• Skills: Astrogation 1, Computers 1, Cool 1, Gunnery 2, Mechanics 2, Perception 1, Piloting (Planetary) 1, Piloting (Space) 1.

• Talents: Enduring 1, Full Throttle 1, Fine Tuning 1.

• Abilities: Droid (does not need to breathe, eat, or drink and can survive in vacuum and underwater; immune to poisons and toxins), Inorganic (cannot benefit from bacta tanks, stimpacks, or Medicine skill checks; must be healed with Mechanics checks and emergency repair patches and repair kits), Mechanical Being (cannot become Force sensitive or acquire Force Rating; not affected by mind-altering Force powers).

• Equipment (all built in): Datapad, hand scanner, holo-messenger.

Designer Notes

Step 1: Determine Background: Artoo's player decides that Artoo used to belong to the royal family of Naboo, and he maybe even fought in the Clone Wars alongside the Jedi. This is how he came into the service of the Republic loyalist Organa family, among whom he's been serving for the last twenty years or so.

Step 2: Determine Duty and Obligation: Artoo's player knows he wants Artoo to be important to the Rebellion, keeping in mind that as a droid, Artoo will likely serve in a support capacity. With six players in the group (Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, Threepio, and Artoo), Artoo starts with a low Duty score of 5. The player puts this Duty toward Support, helping cement the droid as an essential part of the PC party in that he aims to help the other players achieve their own Duties.

However, the GM has indicated that this will be a hybrid game, with both Duty and Obligation permitted. Artoo's player decides that the droid is on the run from the Empire, so he takes Oath: Deliver the Death Star plans, for +5 XP at character creation. What are the chances that such a small Obligation will trigger, after all?

Step 3: Determine Species: This one is easy. R2-D2 is a Droid.

Steps 4 and 5: Select Career and Specializations: Artoo's player really wants to make Artoo a jack-of-all trades so that he can bolster Artoo's Duty to support his allies in any way possible. As an astromech, it seems natural that Artoo starts as an Ace. The player contemplates making Artoo a Pilot or Rigger, but Pilot is too focused on spaceflight, while Rigger assumes Artoo will have a personal starfighter to customize, which may not be the case. The player decides that the Driver specialization is the best fit, as it offers a good selection of piloting- and mechanics-based options.

As a droid, Artoo gets to pick six starting career skills. The player picks Astrogation, Gunnery, Mechanics, Perception, Piloting (Planetary), and Piloting (Space). For his three specialization skills, Artoo's player picks Cool and another rank in each of Mechanics and Gunnery. All of these reinforce Artoo's role as a support character, making him an able copilot and mechanic.

Step 6: Invest Experience Points: Artoo's player sinks much of his initial XP into characteristics. He bumps Presence up to 2 (Artoo will not likely be a "face," but he is a likable droid with a cute personality), Cunning to 2 (not the droid's strong suit, but the player wants Artoo to be at least passable in this department, since the GM has indicated there will be some criminal elements to the campaign), and Willpower to 2 (to help Artoo face down the Empire!). Since the player wants Artoo to be good at flying and repairing ships, he raises Intellect and Agility both to 3.

The player is left with 20 XP to spend. He invests 10 points to buy a point in Computers; he wants to eventually buy into the Slicer tree for Artoo, but for now, a rank in Computers will enable R2-D2 to do some basic slicing to help the team.

With the final 10 XP, the player takes a couple of talents from the Driver tree: Full Throttle and Fine Tuning from the top row, 5 XP each. These talents will help make Artoo a better support character both in and out of an X-wing.

Step 7: Determine Derived Attributes: We find that Artoo gets 11 Wounds, 12 Strain, 0 Defense, and 2 Soak (thanks to a free rank in Enduring from being a droid).

Step 8: Determine Motivation: Artoo's initial motivation is Connection: Family, representing the droid's duty to the Organa family.

Step 9: Choose Gear and Appearance: Artoo's player chooses three pieces of starting gear, all of which are built in: A hand scanner, a holo-messenger, and a datapad. He hopes to upgrade the scanner to a general-purpose version when credits permit.

Step 10: Acquire Rebellion Resources or Starting Ship: Since his GM is running a hybrid campaign, Artoo's group is going to start with a ship instead of Rebellion Resources. They pick a YT-1300 light freighter.

Entries are now complete! Please put your pencils down. Thanks for entering, everyone!

And the contestants are...

DanteRotterdam

Quicksilver

Mariner

SavageBob

Let the voting commence!

One single vote per forum member, please

SavageBob. Good writeup!

DanteRotterdam

kinnison gets my vote.

I vote Dante!

Only one-and-a-half days to go! Vote now for your favorite build!

I'll go with Dante, since I think he accomplished exactly what he was going for, but Bob's write-up was awesome, so :D for Bob!

And the winner is...

DanteRotterdam !

Once again, thank you everyone for playing, and congratulations to Dante.

Stay tuned for March's YBtC, and until then, get yourselves a nice oil bath and clean off that carbon scoring.