I recently got the chance to play a Shistavanen Trailblazer, and that was a pretty nice setup. Being able to use Survival for Initiative is nice, but then you get Cunning Snare and it sets the difficulty for enemies trying to avoid your trap, and eventually you can use it as your strain recovery in the Wilderness. Buying Cunning up to 3 is a virtual necessity, and increasing Willpower to 2 is a definite help as well. The starting 3 Int Shistavanen get isn't terribly useful for this build, but it leaves open some options once you finish out the tree.

Hi need some pantoran advice/clarification

several posts on this thread mention that the pantoran is the one race that can start you with 4 3 3 2 2 2 stats with your 4 in any characteristic. But my math adds up to that spread costing 120 XP instead of the 110 XP that they are granted. please explain what I am missing. thanks

On 10/20/2019 at 9:06 PM, kyle.newman said:

Hi need some pantoran advice/clarification

several posts on this thread mention that the pantoran is the one race that can start you with 4 3 3 2 2 2 stats with your 4 in any characteristic. But my math adds up to that spread costing 120 XP instead of the 110 XP that they are granted. please explain what I am missing. thanks

10 bonus xp for duty table 2-2 AoR core or obligation table 2-3 EotE core or page 49 player character starting morality values FaD core equals 120 with Pantorans 110 starting xp.

Has anybody ever played a Pantoran simply because they think Pantorans are cool rather than because they're mildy broken?

I kinda hate how this game treats species as nothing but a min/max opportunity.

11 hours ago, micheldebruyn said:

Has anybody ever played a Pantoran simply because they think Pantorans are cool rather than because they're mildy broken?

I kinda hate how this game treats species as nothing but a min/max opportunity.

I have a Pantoran Mystic, I was mostly influenced by the clone wars episodes they are in. He’s not min/maxed he started with 2 3 2 3 3 3 and he has three lightsaber forms. Niman, makashi, shien, also Seer.

I suspect the Pantoran stat spread is because George Lucas played a Pantoran in a cameo.

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Notluwiski_Papanoida

I just assumed that the extra 10XP were due to the setback dice Pantorans take in warm climates. A sufficiently harsh GM might rule that this applies to what most of us would consider just a pleasant sunny day. Gotta negotiate with the queen of Naboo in spring? Well, you’re sweating through your diplomatic robes. A fire breaks out on your ship? Whew, better loosen a few buttons.

Of course, given that there are a gagillion talents to remove setbacks to your particular area of expertise, maybe that isn’t such a hindrance, even with a heavy-handed GM.

Side note: I only discovered Pantorans were mildly overpowered after I tried making one. “Oh, huh. I’ve got more stat points than usual.” But I also built him as an Ace:Gunner, so that presence isn’t really doing him a whole lot of good at the moment.

I don't really have a species favorite, as that usually isn't something I worry about too much, unless it ties heavily into my background.

Spec wise though, I really enjoy the specializations that focus on Force Rating, like Mystic or Sage. I've always found that more fun than lightsaber stuff, so I tend to gravitate towards those specs as they let me start to more effectively utilize the Force more quickly.

I also like slicers, and sneaky boys.

16 hours ago, micheldebruyn said:

Has anybody ever played a Pantoran simply because they think Pantorans are cool rather than because they're mildy broken?

I kinda hate how this game treats species as nothing but a min/max opportunity.

I have been playing a Pantoran in a weekly Edge game. It was only after were were about 2 months in that I found out that people on the interwebz thought they were "broken".

My GM wanted a PC that could have human romantic entanglements and I always prefer to play alien characters so I decided to split the difference and play a near-human. I liked the few episodes of Clone Wars that Patorans were in so I took the information gleaned from that, made my own extrapolations and came up with my Skip Tracer/Charmer who was thrown out of the Pantoran Navy for disobeying a direct order when he felt a strange feeling like he had never felt before. His family banished him (a fate worse than death), his long term relationship broke down and now he wanders the space lanes, drinking his days away to drown out the voices in his head, flying from planet to planet with his Whiped and Farghul shipmates, thankful that the Jedi and the Senate keep some sense of order in this chaotic galaxy.

Favorite species: Drall

Favorite Specialization: Doctor.

Funny enough, I've never played a Drall Doctor.

Favorite species build I've made so far (other than Clone ARC Trooper [332232]) is a Kyuzo Sharpshooter/Commando (dual wielding heavy blaster pistols, also a vibroaxe) with 342321.

I like a green nikto martial artist or steel-hand adept.

I like a pantoran 242323 sentinel:racer/hot shot/padawan maybe tack on sage because it only takes about half the talents in each spec for a force sensitive but otherwise stereotypical smuggler (pilot/gambler/gunslinger/erstwhile face)

For a jedi I like a jedi:knight/niman-disciple/padawan survivor.

Mine would be Humans, Mandalorians, and Zeltrons. My favorite career is Guardian or Jedi.

I like mirialan, because they are good spieces for ranged combat builds (you can start with 3 Brawn, 4 Agility and either 2s in rest or 3 and 1. I don't mind 1s in some dumb stat (one should always have weakest side) and they also look great and I prefer nice-looking characters :).

So far my fav specs are Soldier: Sharpshooter (so many True Aims so fast!) and Gadeteer.

In my current (and first) game, we have a Rodian Ace-Pilot moonlighting as a gunslinger. Yes, of course we bumped her starting Agility of 3 up twice to Agility 5, knowing full well it was stupid good and totally broken. Basically, everything the character is supposed to do to fill her post -- piloting, fighting, stealthing, escaping, jumping -- she does insanely well, and it is quite funny. We knew we were breaking the game in some respects, but it has been a fun experiment thus far

Experiments are fun! 😜

I prefer Correlian or Mandalorian humans.

For force users, I like Niman Disciple into Jedi Knight into Jedi Master. This comes with the caveat that I would rather swap out Draw Closer and Force Assault for two levels of Inner Peace and, if I'm pushing my luck, Nobody's Fool for constant vigilance. I've found being deep in the foresee, seek, and sense trees with a dollop of move and force leap hits makes for a very Jedi-feeling character. And, Foresee boosts initiative, the Master for Seek adds automatic triumphs, and sense upgrades your defense. If I wanted to emphasize the combat I'd go Niman Disciple into Jedi Knight into Executioner.

For EoTE I like Gunslinger-Charmer.

On 11/25/2019 at 5:53 PM, Vondy said:

I prefer Correlian or Mandalorian humans.

For force users, I like Niman Disciple into Jedi Knight into Jedi Master. This comes with the caveat that I would rather swap out Draw Closer and Force Assault for two levels of Inner Peace and, if I'm pushing my luck, Nobody's Fool for constant vigilance. I've found being deep in the foresee, seek, and sense trees with a dollop of move and force leap hits makes for a very Jedi-feeling character. And, Foresee boosts initiative, the Master for Seek adds automatic triumphs, and sense upgrades your defense. If I wanted to emphasize the combat I'd go Niman Disciple into Jedi Knight into Executioner.

For EoTE I like Gunslinger-Charmer.

Why not start jedi knight with the short path to power rule from cotr (30 xp to raise starting FR to 2 to qualify for knight as starting spec, so can get the jedi signature ability, also raise brawn willpower and intellect to 3) then go niman and I like capping it off with padawan survivor. The three specs mean you could have a 6 in willpower, with constant vigilance and forsee (and uncanny reactions) you will probably be going first. Would also have FR 5, so a pretty well rounded build (with 3 ranks of mechanics and secrets of the jedi + improved you will be able to craft an awesome saber with 10 or so tries, I like having 2 triumphs to get the +1 damage and +1 advantage upgrades, and later putting superior on top of that) good at knowledge skills (especially lore because of the 5 ranks to make improved secrets of the jedi maximally effective so you get all the crystal upgrades) agility is a 2 but with enhance you can commit 4 of your 5 force dice to bump agility to 6 to pilot or act as a gunner.

Also like pantoran sentinel:racer/hotshot/padawan for a force sensitive but otherwise stereotypical smuggler (pilot gambler gunslinger erstwhile face/conman) starting wit 4 in agility 3 in cunning and presence and 2's in everything else.

23 hours ago, EliasWindrider said:

Why not start jedi knight with the short path to power rule from cotr (30 xp to raise starting FR to 2 to qualify for knight as starting spec so can get the jedi signature ability

If the short path to power rule is in play I'll use it irrespective of starting spec. I do like the Jedi Knight spec a great deal and would normally take it first, but it really depends on concept. If I'm making an iconic "in-the-field" Jedi Knight I would want the Peerless Interception signature ability. However, the group role my long-running Jedi is filling is more of an adviser and instructor so the Much to Learn signature ability seemed apropos. So, when we re-spec'd after Rise of the Separatists came out, I kept the Consular career instead of swapping it to the Jedi career. Of course, if we're open to using the short path to power rule, we might be open to letting people pick whichever FaD signature ability fits their character the best irrespective of starting career.

23 hours ago, EliasWindrider said:

, also raise brawn willpower and intellect to 3) then go niman and I like capping it off with padawan survivor. The three specs mean you could have a 6 in willpower, with constant vigilance and forsee (and uncanny reactions) you will probably be going first.

All true. And the initiative leverage from Padawan Survivor is nice, especially if you are going full Saber Monkey. But, its really a question of what you want to emphasize. I tend to go deep into Foresee, Seek (Mastery!), and Sense and wanted the abilities like Bound Together, Flows Through All Things, and Powerful Ally. Jedi Master also let's you ramp up Center of Being, which I like. Its a question of what you want to emphasize. For me that's usually more subtle "passive" abilities and general flexibility. Though often derided, Force-Sensitive Exile gives you Superior Reflexes and Sixth Sense, which with Niman Disciple would give you Defense 3.

23 hours ago, EliasWindrider said:

Would also have FR 5, so a pretty well rounded build (with 3 ranks of mechanics and secrets of the jedi + improved you will be able to craft an awesome saber with 10 or so tries, I like having 2 triumphs to get the +1 damage and +1 advantage upgrades, and later putting superior on top of that) good at knowledge skills (especially lore because of the 5 ranks to make improved secrets of the jedi maximally effective so you get all the crystal upgrades) agility is a 2 but with enhance you can commit 4 of your 5 force dice to bump agility to 6 to pilot or act as a gunner.

Well, if we're just thinking Real Ultimate Power, if I use the short path to power and go Jedi Knight > Niman > Sage I can attain FR 6! And then, when I use One With The Universe...

Short path to power is only available to jedi knight and jedi general according to a dev answer to my question on the order 66 podcast episode about collapse of the republic

I like the jedi:knight/niman-disciple/padawan-survivor build because it's good at a lot of things, it's a well rounded build that can hang with saber monkeys or force monkeys, pilots, crafters, initiative monkeys

I've always been a Rodian guy. Aesthetically, Greedo was always one of my favorite characters and I've always been a fan of 'sidekick' or Villian henchmen. Overtime and with the advent of the original KOTOR video games where Rodian's usually played thugs and mercs, it perpetuated the stereotypes. Greedo simply speaking was always fun too. As a child Greedo's voice made the world come alive for me.

For some reason I see a lot of Chiss. Maybe it is because of Grand Admiral Thrawn. They are a species people gravitate towards. Pantorans are another favorite for me. Not because of their stats, rather their aesthetics as well. One of my favorite episodes of TCW was the episode where Ventress worked with Boba and other bounty hunters to protect cargo on a speeding train. The attackers were Pantoran Ninjas.

Specialization: Sharpshooter. It feels a little broken, but they are the best at what they do.

I've always wanted to make a Marshall, maybe it it because of my fascination with space cowboys.

6 minutes ago, Sincereagape said:

The attackers were Pantoran Ninjas.

They actually weren't, they were Kage . They don't look too dissimilar though, so I can understand the confusion.