I was waiting for a movie to start and enjoying the music. One piece was very fitting as I imagined my character. He was taking shelter in an underground shelter, frightened innocent men, women and children around him. Dust falls from the ceiling as explosions and blaster fire are heard. His eyes meet those of a terrified crying child and he can't take it anymore. Rising to his feet, he walks up the stairs to the horror and confusion of the others.

Tie fighters swoop across a sky filled with smoke and lit by the flames of a burning city. As he reaches the top of the stairs, companies of stormtroopers firing on civilian and militia alike, he reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a lightsaber. Red blade flashes from the hilt and he throws himself into the midst of the stormtroopers. Most are cut down, others force pushed away. Reaching to the Tie fighters terrorizing the populace, he crushes one cockpit using the Force and causes another to smash into a third.

Turning off his lightsaber, his hands shaking, he finds a quiet corner to calm down. That music ended, but then another began.

He's standing in a battle scarred city street; a mob of vigilantes, soldiers, militia and angry civilians behind him. Before him is a fortified Empire position around one of their buildings. Again his lightsaber goes on.

"Follow the Jedi!" Shouts one of the mob's leaders.

He turns to them and shouts back: "I am not a Jedi!"

Despite this, everyone cheers, roars and when he starts running they run too.....

It ended there. Thus is how some of my ideas start. I'd like to point out that my F&D core rulebook is arriving next week. I don't have the beginner game and didn't participate in the Beta. So this is all ideas and background with no reference.

He's not a Sith. He's just a former Jedi Padawan trying to find his own way in a galaxy that wants to kill him. Here is some of the things I've got for him so far:

He was a youngling during the Clone Wars, and I'd like to include him in this scene from Attack of the Clones:

Putting a little real life ME into him, at that age I probably knew the answer but doubted myself so I'm not the one who answers. Not sure of the way things are done, but if before I get my Kyber Crystal then my version of "The Gathering" story would involve learning to trust my abilities. Alone in the ice cave, I'd reach out with the Force to direct me to the Crystal then have to overcome some obstacles to get it.

But this happy story ends with Order 66. I know he'll be aged about 10, and I doubt he'll be in a warzone, so I'm guessing he'll be on Coruscant. Still debating whether to start the character there, and roleplay his escape from Coruscant, or give him background up to his teens.

Feel free to add some input.

I'm really keen to determine how he has a red lightsaber. Does his crystal go red? Or should a Sith/Inquisitor be confronted in his future before the scenes I imagined?

Any ideas on how he goes from "just a child" to Jedi youngling. How young do you need to be? Does he become a Padawan by age ten or will he be a youngling still? Is there an age for finding the Kyber Crystal?

And of course, should I roleplay: Escape from Coruscant?

Have you read anything of or seen Rebels? Cause that is basically the story of Kanan. I'm sure there could be others like him though

Have you read anything of or seen Rebels? Cause that is basically the story of Kanan. I'm sure there could be others like him though

No.

I've been too busy buying X-Wing to get that. Might get the comic books though if he's like my character.

Wow! That is great to know!

As of the old Legends material, a red lightsaber doesn't mean a darksider, just that the crystal is synthetic, ie not a natural Kyber crystal. So maybe that's something you want to include- for whatever reason he never accomplished his Gathering, and somewhere along the way he found the resources and the knowledge to create one?

And as for your escape from Coruscant, I'm not sure when your game starts but if it's after that, I'd definitely have an idea in mind as to how your character accomplished it. I'm not really sure if you're asking for ideas on that or whether your game should start with that happening. If you go that route, I hope your GM goes easy. Something that crazy would probably demand more than the typical starting character could pull off, but it would be a fantastic roleplaying and storytelling opportunity!

I did read that red crystals were synthetic, I was hoping there were reasons for it to turn red instead of blue or green. I read in another topic that it can be silver, using a Durinfire crystal from Tatooine. But, if I wanted to be different, I could always discover a yellow lightsaber.....

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT3NLXP0fUxlngE8pfZPbS3SrI8Ax3ZZndd9TcBi3ZJJiz92h0tT_FJ-70x

Looks rather cool, but I've only seen it associated with the Old Republic, so might have to do some digging to find out. Perhaps after fleeing Coruscant, he is drawn to some backwater world of no importance and finds himself in an ancient temple. Force Ghost of an Old Republic Jedi appears to him and offers him his lightsaber.

The campaign is roughly set between 19 BBY and 5 ABY. So plenty of breathing room. But the plan was to start at Order 66, or a day or two after. Glutton for punishment that I am, I was going to start in the Jedi Temple and either fight or sneak my way out. Perhaps the Clones were dealing with my character when Obi Wan and Yoda turned up, but for whatever reason chose to make his own way.

It would be easier to write the background up to making the jump to light speed away from Coruscant. But like you said, it would be a fantastic roleplaying and storytelling opportunity. Certainly get a starting character some experience before the real campaigning begins.

According to the GM Guide, the kyber crystal takes its color when it is attuned / harvested by a force user. Just because synthetic crystals are red doesn't mean you couldn't harvest a red kyber crystal. It is a naturally occurring color so should be fair game. Until discussions on this board, I had not realized how much my thinking was influenced by Knights of the Old Republic. In this system, kyber crystals do not have a natural color and you do not get a color based on what career path you take. Choose what you want, just have a story to go with it.

Synthetic red crystals were normally used by the Sith, it's traditionally the hallmark bad guy lightsaber colour and represents anger/hate/fear. No reason your character can't have one.

My Force and Destiny Core Rulebook has arrived! Huzzah!

Just waiting for the dice.

I look forward to giving you a glimpse of my character.

But red for anger/fear does seem to fit, since my initial imaging of my character had him getting angry over the ruthless tactics of the Empire so he goes to stop them.....with extreme prejudice. On the other hand, he doesn't trust his own abilities which could be a form of fear. Some good suggestions of emotional reasons for his crystal turning red.

Like I said earlier, worried Yoda is.

Now I've got 448 pages to read through. Seriously how big and heavy is this book! As my first steps into Star Wars roleplaying, I can already see I'm going to enjoy this. When I know the career and specialization of my character, I might know better how to write his background. Perhaps also a reason for a red or yellow lightsaber.

Not sure if you'd be interested, but while you wait for your dice you could download the dice app on apple/android.

We don't even use the dice for SWFFG as we've all downloaded the app and it works out all the cancellations for you

Just a thought.

P.S: And it has awesome sounds

I did read that red crystals were synthetic, I was hoping there were reasons for it to turn red instead of blue or green. I read in another topic that it can be silver, using a Durinfire crystal from Tatooine. But, if I wanted to be different, I could always discover a yellow lightsaber.....

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT3NLXP0fUxlngE8pfZPbS3SrI8Ax3ZZndd9TcBi3ZJJiz92h0tT_FJ-70x

Looks rather cool, but I've only seen it associated with the Old Republic, so might have to do some digging to find out. Perhaps after fleeing Coruscant, he is drawn to some backwater world of no importance and finds himself in an ancient temple. Force Ghost of an Old Republic Jedi appears to him and offers him his lightsaber.

The campaign is roughly set between 19 BBY and 5 ABY. So plenty of breathing room. But the plan was to start at Order 66, or a day or two after. Glutton for punishment that I am, I was going to start in the Jedi Temple and either fight or sneak my way out. Perhaps the Clones were dealing with my character when Obi Wan and Yoda turned up, but for whatever reason chose to make his own way.

It would be easier to write the background up to making the jump to light speed away from Coruscant. But like you said, it would be a fantastic roleplaying and storytelling opportunity. Certainly get a starting character some experience before the real campaigning begins.

Yellow Lightsabers were used by the Jedi Temple guards per The Clone Wars (canon) BTW. So that is totally an option just like a green or blue if you want to steer away from the red.

Before rules etc I did a sweep of the character creation up to motivation. This is the result of my initial reading:

BACKGROUND

Comfortable with Tech:

No matter where he was born, his youth up to about age ten was spent on Coruscant.

EXPERIENCING THE FORCE

I'm torn between "An Ancient Religion" and "One with the Force". Being a former Padawan, either of those could apply. I'm leaning towards the latter.

HEEDING THE CALL

Fleeing the Empire

This one was 100% a no brainer. He is a wanted man, with agents of the Empire seeking him dead or alive.

MORALITY

I'd like to keep this 50. I'm thinking to write "Escape from Coruscant" into his background and I can imagine the experience has taken a toll on him. I also think +10 XP is an appropriate indication of this.

I'm also a double strength and weakness:

STRENGTH: Love and Justice

WEAKNESS: Anger and Fear

Love and Justice are the ideals he strives to live by, but he has been through a lot of terrible events no child, not even a Jedi Padawan, should ever experience. It has left him with a quick temper, especially when witnessing injustice and the brutal treatment of others. His fear is both the fear of his anger leading him to the dark side and fear of one day being caught by the Empire.

Plenty of roleplaying opportunities with these conflicting emotions.

SPECIES

I want to be human. But I like the idea of a Nautolan. Fact that I can't swim makes it a little ironic to be aquatic, but I really feel the pull towards being an alien.

CAREER & SPECIALIZATION

Guardian: Soresu Defender

Guardian

Discipline

Melee

Vigilance

Soresu Defender

Lightsaber

Vigilance

I went for a double dose of Vigilance due to having to survive on, and subsequently escape, a Jedi hating Clone Trooper swarming Coruscant.

His story is Justice

This could work with a Nautolan due to the homeworld background. Though how much time he spent there I don't know.

INVESTING EXPERIENCE

If I choose Nautolan, I'd like to up his Willpower from 1 to either 2 or 3, to help with Discipline and Vigilance. Brawn is already 3 for lightsaber and Melee. I've not looked into this much, so I might find better ways of spending experience. Humans get to choose two skills, but I will need to purchase extra skills for a Nautolan. One skill should be Computers.

MOTIVATION

Do you need to be told? You've already guessed haven't you?

Cause: Justice

That is what I have from a quick glance. Consider it work in progress.

Oh yeah!

DANTARI CRYSTAL

My character will gain his lightsaber crystal on Dantooine. From the egg of a giant cave dwelling venomous spider. I don't care about colour, that is awesome!

Species: Nautolan

This gives him a rank in Athletics.

Name: Trek Eelon

I won't repeat everything I've already typed above. His history is now looking like this:

Born on Glee Anselm, where he spends his first years as a squid. Aged 4/5 his Force Sensitive nature is noticed and he goes to the Jedi Temple.

Age 7/8 he goes to Ilum and finds his Kyber Crystal for a green lightsaber. Shortly after returning, while Yoda is training him with other younglings, Master Kenobi enters having lost a planet.

Aged 10 Trek becomes a Padawan to a Jedi Knight.

Around age 11, Order 66. His mentor is killed trying to protect others from Anakin Skywalker. Trek Eelon manages to survive and escape the Jedi Temple.

More story to come, but I might post the background on my blog and post a link here.

Adding to what I've already got listed above, here's how I'm thinking of spending his 110 XP:

Raising characteristics from 1 to 3 would require a 50 XP investment. So I'll kept that on the maybe pile. See how far 60 XP goes first.

Force Powers:

Enhance, a useful ability when running from enemies.

Heal, for when an enemy manages to cause some harm.

Influence, for avoiding confrontation by relaxing others. I hope to destress opponents enough to make them sleep.

Sense, for making sure no hostiles are nearby and protection from ambushes.

Other Force abilities will be added later. For now the Force is used in a hidden, personal manner, with Enhance being a last resort when he really needs to get away from danger.

This leaves 20 XP

That gets him the top talents from the Soresu Defender:

Parry

Parry

Toughened

Defensive Stance

Now I just have the 500 credits to spend.

This is a solid character concept. I like that you've grounded him into that scene from the movie. That's awesome.

And now I want to watch Attack of the Clones again...

IIRC, Soresu is the Intellect-based form, so boosting that to 3 would go a long way if you're aiming to be a saber jockey.

IIRC, Soresu is the Intellect-based form, so boosting that to 3 would go a long way if you're aiming to be a saber jockey.

I might just do that.

I was thinking that, for character creation, I should concentrate more on making him ready for being an all Force and Lightsaber user. Any remaining XP will then go on Force abilities.

So his Willpower boost is 60 XP

To boost his Intellect is 30 XP

That gives me the choice of using the remaining to either (1) Get the four top talents or (2) get some Force abilities or (3) go 50/50 on 1 and 2.

It was brought to my attention that my character has a "Mentor", and that means his starting Force Abilities during character creation are actually half cost not full cost.

Soooooo

Parry and Defensive Stance: toughened for a character starting young does seem unbelievable, and two parries is likewise overkill.

The two Force Powers to start with....

I think Sense and Influence would have played a bigger part in his escape, and can choose the others as his XP increases.

@RLogue177

I like adding a little Canon in my character background. Among the history are:

Trek was among the younglings with Yoda when Obi Wan can't find Kamino

Trek was inside the Temple when Order 66 happened and his mentor died

He might have been there when Yoda and Obi Wan turned up after Order 66

and

In deciding where Trek Eelon begins gaming, we're thinking he got on a ship to Naboo when the body of Padme was taken there.

One explanation was suggested, and I like, that Yoda advised Trek to run to Bail Organa while he and Master Kenobi enter the Jedi Temple. Yoda seemed to know what Obi Wan would see in the records, perhaps he sensed the surface memory of Anakin killing Trek's mentor. Using this idea, Trek was on the ship while Padme was on Poliss Massa.

Just in case you're curious, being an aquatic race, Trek Eelon goes under the water and is a guest of the Gungans for a short time.

Meeeesa like-a this

Forgot to mention....

Player characters are being given a solo adventure first. So in the Rulebook where it says you can start with a Holo box, Mentor or Ship, it is the individual who gets it. Because of my initial background idea, it was unanimously agreed that "Mentor" was the most logical choice.

After all, owning a ship might have required some dark methods to achieve.

I should have mentioned that while talking about the "Mentor" Force Talent discount.

Who wants to read the full background of my Force and Destiny character?

Nautolan Trek Eelon has a history:

http://swaftep6.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page_30.html

Enjoy!

Day three and I now feel I have my character, Trek Eelon, ready to begin gaming. I just need to learn the rules. So after some mental tennis, helped by you who replied, this is the final Character Creation:

BACKGROUND

I've kept the Comfortable with Tech since he's spent six years on Coruscant. Though his past two years were under the water on Naboo, he still is Tech savvy.

EXPERIENCING THE FORCE

Thanks to his own reliance on the Force, and the continued presence of his mentor, Trek is One with the Force.

HEEDING THE CALL

This still remains Fleeing the Empire as it might be discovered that he was not among the dead in the Jedi Temple.

MORALITY

He starts with a Morality of 50, and with it is +10 XP.

His strengths and weaknesses remain the same:

Love and Justice

Anger and Fear

SPECIES

Nautolan: this gives him a rank in Athletics and Amphibious

CAREER AND SPECIALIZATION

Guardian:

with Discipline, Melee and Vigilance

Soresu Defender:

with Discipline and Lightsaber

Story: Justice

EXPERIENCE POINTS

110 XP

(Trek Eelon has a "Mentor" as a Resource, allowing him to decrease the cost of starting Force Powers by 5 XP)

Increase Willpower from 1 to 3 = 50 XP

Increase Intellect from 2 to 3 = 30 XP

Parry and Defensive Stance from the Talent Tree = 10 XP

Force Powers = 20 XP

Foresee = 5

Influence and Control = 10

Move = 5

MOTIVATION

Cause: Justice

STARTING GEAR

Some Gungan clothing, given to him during his stay in Otoh Gunga.

Utility Belt

Handheld Commlink

Four field rations

Three (litre) Bacta (actually six half-litre)

Datapad

Combat Knife

Holdout Blaster

405 credits

It is assumed these were given to him by those on the Tantive IV, or he's been given the Gungan equivalent of them, and that's why he starts with them.

He needs to find the parts to make a lightsaber and will have to confront a Kinrath on Dantooine to earn his Dantari Crystal. Canon is being ignored for the Kinrath, who will be giant spiders instead of the four-legged sausage-looking things I saw on Wookieepedia.

Cinematic reasons for Force Powers:

FORESEE

INFLUENCE

MOVE

Couldn't find a relevant movie clip but plenty of none violent possibilities

Synthetic red crystals were normally used by the Sith, it's traditionally the hallmark bad guy lightsaber colour and represents anger/hate/fear. No reason your character can't have one.

Especially since he's going to be dealing with exactly those themes. The Galaxy at large fears, hates , and is angry at the Jedi, because of what they've been told the Jedi did. If that can be the central theme of the character's interaction with the galaxy, a red blade would be *awesomely* appropriate. And, if/when he builds a new lightsaber, the color could be different (or not) depending on *how* he's dealt with it.