For my scenario I am trying to build an NPC Jedi Sentinel with the Shien Expert specialisation. However, I have to admit I am a little bit stumped on what characteristics to increase. Now I know brawn increases physical capabilities and make characters more adept in close combat. I was thinking of at least raising Intelligence to 3 as well as Willpower, cause I want the character to be a decent techie, but also have some use with his Force abilities. Should I go for Agility or Brawn if I also want to make him a capable duelist?

Are you starting at standard play or knight level play(+150xp after character gen)

What species are you as that could give you the advantage of having one of your characteristics automatically at 3.

You should think about what you want to add more dice to your pool do you want it to be your characteristic that way you have large pools for everything that uses Agility or do you want it to be your Lightsaber Skill which is a lot easier to upgrade as the game goes on but only for lightsaber.

Also you should look at your character back story and what not if he has a lot of experience with things that use Ag like coordination, stealth, piloting and using guns then i would go with Agility at three if he has a lot of experience using thing that use Br like Brawl, Melee, Athletics and resilience then go with Brawn.

That's how I would look at things anyway personally I tend to put most of my character gen xp in to characteristics as they are relatively hard to upgrade after character gen.

I like Sentinel - lots of fun stuff, good in a variety of situations.

Will is good for all force users (and I don't think Sentinel's get Discipline as a career skill unless from Well Rounded).

Intelligence is good for your techie guy, as you point out (Artisan as an early purchase?).

Agility is good if you're going to focus on the sneaky side (though my current character started out as a Shadow and only had 2, here - Enhance has helped).

Cunning is good for both sneaky sentinels and, of course, Shien Experts specifically.

Brawn and Presence are less mechanically important than these, but don't skimp if these are important to your concept, of course.

Get the stuff that matters to you at 3 to start and you should be fine.

If you're going to get Improved Reflect, I really, really, really, really, really recommend buying the Sense force power (left column).

I recommend it anyway - powers that ask you to commit force dice are really useful to you when you have a low force rating - but it's especially good here as it helps generate the threat or despair you'll be hoping for.

Are you starting at standard play or knight level play(+150xp after character gen)

What species are you as that could give you the advantage of having one of your characteristics automatically at 3.

You should think about what you want to add more dice to your pool do you want it to be your characteristic that way you have large pools for everything that uses Agility or do you want it to be your Lightsaber Skill which is a lot easier to upgrade as the game goes on but only for lightsaber.

Also you should look at your character back story and what not if he has a lot of experience with things that use Ag like coordination, stealth, piloting and using guns then i would go with Agility at three if he has a lot of experience using thing that use Br like Brawl, Melee, Athletics and resilience then go with Brawn.

That's how I would look at things anyway personally I tend to put most of my character gen xp in to characteristics as they are relatively hard to upgrade after character gen.

Thanks for the quick reply. The NPC would start at Knight level. Mostly building the character in case my players get certain ideas. I went with Sentinel because it fits his backstory the most (in terms of the career skills). From your message I get the idea that lightsabers work differently from melee weapons, so I will have to put a little more effort in reading the book.

The character (human) would be good with repairs, deception and stealth as sort of a secondary thing. I don't want to give him piloting.

If you are considering Shien Expert, Raising your Cunning to a 3 would be a good start.

Beyond that, Intellect sounds like a good secondary choice, and maybe Willpower for decent Strain Threshold and to help in Force powers.

I like Sentinel - lots of fun stuff, good in a variety of situations.

Will is good for all force users (and I don't think Sentinel's get Discipline as a career skill unless from Well Rounded).

Intelligence is good for your techie guy, as you point out (Artisan as an early purchase?).

Agility is good if you're going to focus on the sneaky side (though my current character started out as a Shadow and only had 2, here - Enhance has helped).

Cunning is good for both sneaky sentinels and, of course, Shien Experts specifically.

Brawn and Presence are less mechanically important than these, but don't skimp if these are important to your concept, of course.

Get the stuff that matters to you at 3 to start and you should be fine.

If you're going to get Improved Reflect, I really, really, really, really, really recommend buying the Sense force power (left column).

I recommend it anyway - powers that ask you to commit force dice are really useful to you when you have a low force rating - but it's especially good here as it helps generate the threat or despair you'll be hoping for.

Thanks for that. I've been rereading about the Lightsaber skill, and it seems it is linked to Brawn but that many Force careers allow players to use a different characteristic for the lightsaber skill. I'll take another good look at the Sentinel skill trees. Good advice on the Cunning actually, thanks!

If you are considering Shien Expert, Raising your Cunning to a 3 would be a good start.

Beyond that, Intellect sounds like a good secondary choice, and maybe Willpower for decent Strain Threshold and to help in Force powers.

Had totally forgotten about Cunning. Thanks for reminding me! These three characteristics do seem to fit the best overall to the character as well.

Fact is, all Characteristics are important - you will have to choose.

I suggest you take a close look at the Talent Tree you wish to start with. See what talents are there that you will likely purchase, and how will they affect what your PC will be capable of doing.

Then I'd make my mind of what do I want my PC to do.

With all this in mind, you'll be able to know what Characteristics to have at a high level.

As a quick summary:

Brawn is used for Soak value and starting Wound Threshold , as well as Close Quarters Combat and some physical skills ( Athletics and Resilience ). Used also by Shii-Cho .

Agility is mostly used for ranged combat and the rest of physical abilities not covered by Brawn ( Coordination , Stealth ) and Piloting . Used also by Ataru .

Intellect is used for Knowledges and skills like Computers , Mechanics , Medicine or Astrogration . Used also by Soresu .

Willpower is used for your starting Strain Threshold , as well as skills like Discipline , Coercion or Vigilance . Used also by Niman .

Cunning is used for varied skills such as Deception , Perception , Skullduggery , Streetwise or Survival . Used also by Shien .

Presence is mostly used for Social Skills , among which Cool is usually key to Initiative . Used also by Makashi .

With this in mind, being a Shien, I would recommend you to use a high Cunning and Brawn, which would help you excel at your primary goal (being a successful lightsaber wielder). Then I'd add a third Characteristic depending on which Force Power(s) or extra Talent Trees you'd like in the future, or what role would you like to accomplish in your group.

Due to it being an NPC you can just do whatever you want, give them 3's in everything with a 4 here or there!!!! You as GM are not bound by the balancing required for PC's in the character creation rules.

Now that being said its a heap of fun building characters via the creation rules, so feel free to do it that way.

So:

Brawn 2, Agility 2, Intellect 3, Cunning 4, Willpower 3, Presence 2 would do it for me. but also what Species are you planing on using, thematically it may affect the way you want the characteristics to be, not to mention affect the starting xp?

Due to it being an NPC you can just do whatever you want, give them 3's in everything with a 4 here or there!!!! You as GM are not bound by the balancing required for PC's in the character creation rules.

Now that being said its a heap of fun building characters via the creation rules, so feel free to do it that way.

So:

Brawn 2, Agility 2, Intellect 3, Cunning 4, Willpower 3, Presence 2 would do it for me. but also what Species are you planing on using, thematically it may affect the way you want the characteristics to be, not to mention affect the starting xp?

Although what you said is definitely true, I just want to stick to the character creation rules in cause they strongarm the NPC into joining in on some tasks. They think extra people means extra soak from enemy fire. The NPC is a human.

They think extra people means extra soak from enemy fire.

That right there is a GMing gold nugget. Build that into the story, have some NPC's do just that. Then during a suitably lovely encounter rip the rug right out from under their feet!

^{You have to watch those Cunning NPCs... They might figure them out.}

^{- Mirialan Shien Expert "Aren't you too cunning to be a Mirialan?"}