I'm working on adapting a long-running Saga Edition game to the FFG system. The PCs are high level, so I'm giving them 1,000 earned XP to play around with.

One of the PCs is a Wookiee Jedi. Wookiee seems like a difficult species to build into a good Force-user and lightsaber combatant, due to the low Willpower and very low Strain Threshold.

The concept for the character is equal parts warrior and naturalist/outdoorsman, so I was thinking Pathfinder is one obvious specialization to capture the outdoors part. Anyone have advice about which other specialization to choose, how to customize the character to be a decent Force user, etc? The character doesn't rely heavily on the Force, so Force Rating 2 should be sufficient. The player and I were wondering about Makashi as a way of helping out with the strain problem, but of all the forms that's the one that fits the concept least. The character ought to have Reflect, and the idea of a Wookiee Makashi master just seems a bit absurd overall.

Anyway, would love to hear your suggestions!

At 1000XP a wookie can easily have any willpower score he wants if he spent his starting XP on stat points and got a few dedications.

You don't actually need high willpower to build a successful Jedi character though. You can rely entirely on committed force dice and never actually roll discipline. It's only when you want to use offensive powers to directly influence your enemies that you'll be rolling a lot of discipline. Even in terms of defending yourself against enemy force users, getting Suppress is much stronger than just having a high willpower/discipline rating.

For example, a really strong 1000XP Wookie Jedi build would be something like Guardian: Armorer, Soresu Defender, Protector, with the force powers Enhance, Suppress and Misdirect.

Make your main stats Brawn and Intellect, construct a powerful suit of armor that gives you 4-5 soak with your armor master and superior customization. Together with your high strength you can easily have 8-10 soak. You'll have 5 ranks of both parry and reflect and be able to use them to defend anyone close to you, so it takes at least 15-17 damage to even inflict wounds to you unless the opponent has breach. (Put cortosis weave on your armor if you're worried about that, or use the Armorer special ability to invest force dice to give your armor the cortosis quality)

Invest your force dice in enhance when you're fighting powerful creatures to get more soak and deal more damage (you can always make lightsaber brawn checks, even if you have Soersu technique), or to boost various other abilities. Force leap is also extremely powerful.

When you're fighting against a force user who's going to attack you with the force use suppress to add failures to their rolls, you can also commit the dice to this, so no discipline checks needed to make them fail all of theirs.

When you're fighting against large numbers of minions commit your force dice in the misdirect control upgrade that lets you add automatic setbacks to enemy attacks, then parry/reflect to simply make them kill themselves with improved parry/reflect.

I would recommend picking up as many ranks of grit as possible though, because you do take strain when parrying or reflecting, but you should be able to see yourself through most fights even without having monstrous amounts of strain. Being light side also gives you bonus strain, and you can enhance that further if you find a meditation focus.

That character will also have a bunch of mechanics and crafting skill, which is an extremely useful and versatile skill to have.

I guess it's important to know what else the character is supposed to be good at?

1. Some kind of Social

2. Piloting

3. Technology

4. Other combat

5. Sneaking etc

6. Knowledge

7. Healer

Armorer from Keeping the Peace is a good option, it's a Brawn based Lightsaber spec with a bunch of talents for Mechanics as well as the Armor Master series. If you dive deep it's also got a Force Rating and the Saber Throw talent, no Reflect though.

Sentry from Endless Vigil is another good one. A couple of ranks of Reflect as well as the Improved Saber Throw talent make the central top of the tree a good foundation.

If your player is wanting to be a pilot as well then a high Agility and the Ataru spec is a solid choice, it's in career with Pathfinder too, but no Grit talent

For a tank of a character there is Soresu, either allowing a high intellect character or skipping that and going down the right side of the tree to get to the Reflect talents.

I guess it's important to know what else the character is supposed to be good at?

1. Some kind of Social

2. Piloting

3. Technology

4. Other combat

5. Sneaking etc

6. Knowledge

7. Healer

Really none of the above, except some decent stealth ability. Survival/naturalist skills and lightsaber combat have been the two focuses of the character. He's also a solid Force user, but not as strong in the Force as the other Jedi PC.

So, I don't think Armorer would fit well with the concept. Maybe Ataru is the best choice.

Interesting thought, though, about relying on committing dice...

What about Pathfinder or Hunter with Shien Expert. If the wilds is his home then Cunning is supremely important, I would say more so than Brawn.

If you have the Savage Spirits book then Hermit and Shien would work well too. It's a Specialisation with the Bond Animal talent like Pathfinder, but with different ways to then interact with the Animal. Hermit has the only talent called Force Connection which is the only way so far of adding your Force Dice to all Survival skill checks. It also has a talent that lets you recover strain in the wilderness using Survival... an awesome combination.

If any of Hermit, Pathfinder or Hunter work then the actual Saber Form he chooses really depends on the characteristic choices they make. Soresu is cool but unlikely. Makashi the same. Niman is possible but we are talking about a character with lower Willpower here so No. Armour sounds out too. Which leaves:

1. Agility and Ataru

2. Cunning and Shien

3. Brawn and Shii-Cho

4. Brawn and Sentry

5. Brawn and Shadow (using the well rounded talent, but with no Reflect etc)

Ataru can recover Strain nicely using the Advantage generated from Hawk Bat Swoop.

Shien has Supreme Reflect which really makes getting into Engaged range much less risky. Then there is Falling Avalanche which lets you add your presumably high Brawn to your Lightsaber hits for 2 Strain.

Sentry has Improved Saber Throw as well as the Impossible Fall talent for cliff diving etc.

Honestly I think Shien is the way to go, add it to Hermit, Hunter or Pathfinder depending on the particular combination of other talents the PC wants. A Brawn of 4, Cunning of 4, everything else 2. For around 500-600xp they can be rather good at Lightsaber Combat and Survival and have a Force Rating of at least 2, 3 if their Hermit. Then a couple hundred on Force Powers depending on their actual preference and a couple hundred on skill ranks. Personally I wouldn't go much over 3 Ranks in skills, it will give you a nice pool of dice but keep the cost down for ranks in other skills. (0-3 costs 30, 0-4 costs 50)

Oh awesome! I have Savage Spirits, but haven't really pored through it yet. Hermit looks like it might be perfect.

I was thinking one option might be to pump Agility, go for Ataru, and just take care of Survival with skill points (so leave Cunning at 2 and just get 5 ranks). I really like the idea of recovering strain with Hawk Bat Swoop.

If you leave Willpower at 1 then a Wookiee can start with 3,4,2,3,1,2

the idea of a Wookiee Makashi master just seems a bit absurd overall.

Why? A Wookie can master Makashi just as well as anyone else and I see nothing inherent about Wookies or that form that is absurd. It's one thing if it simply does not fit the fighting style of the character .....but a wookie is just as functional as a Makashi duelist as anyone else.

Fair enough, I just think of Makashi as "the way Count Dooku fights," and imagining a Wookiee fighting that way seems quite un-Wookiee-like to me.

I passed on it for you because of the lack of Reflect, and the outdoors focus works better with Cunning than Presence.

Sort of goes back to the whole thing about everyone in the movies having ranks in reflect and parry well beyond what your average character in F&D is capable of. The main character I play is a Makashi duelist who wields a Dragite lightsaber, and that makes him an incredibly powerful duelist, he only needs to hit once with two advantages and the fight is basically over. With the way Makashi works though he's essentially defenseless against blaster fire and the Dragite gem doesn't have the crit rate to shred minion groups. I actually really like how much you can actually build a character that's very strong against some types of enemies and very weak against others, but as an all purpose lightsaber wielder I really wouldn't recommend the duelist. It's a great talent tree for a character who can talk his way around the average stormtrooper, but needs some kind of skill to deal with the big bads who can't be easily convinced, cowed or cheated .

Okay. Now I want to play a Wookiee Makashi duelist. That sounds like fun.

If I don't want to go full walking carpet, I could reskin it as a Lasat. Yes. This pleases me.

Sort of goes back to the whole thing about everyone in the movies having ranks in reflect and parry well beyond what your average character in F&D is capable of. The main character I play is a Makashi duelist who wields a Dragite lightsaber, and that makes him an incredibly powerful duelist, he only needs to hit once with two advantages and the fight is basically over. With the way Makashi works though he's essentially defenseless against blaster fire and the Dragite gem doesn't have the crit rate to shred minion groups. I actually really like how much you can actually build a character that's very strong against some types of enemies and very weak against others, but as an all purpose lightsaber wielder I really wouldn't recommend the duelist. It's a great talent tree for a character who can talk his way around the average stormtrooper, but needs some kind of skill to deal with the big bads who can't be easily convinced, cowed or cheated .

Makashi and Shii-Cho are my favorite styles conceptually, but the no-reflect weakness is does give one pause. Its a big investment in points, but one option is to sink a chunk of points into the Protect force power. You could double this up, perhaps counter-intuitively, with the Protector spec. This way, if you catch a stray blaster bolt, you can pull a Vader-style palm block. IIRC, there is also a pair of gauntlets that allow you to block a blaster bolt, which costs credits but saves on points! Another option is to pair Makashi with Aggressor and buy the fearsome-intimidate-terrify combo with a high coercion skill roll. Staggering foes and striking before they get a shot off is another way get around the blaster-bolt-bait problem.

Okay. Now I want to play a Wookiee Makashi duelist. That sounds like fun.

If I don't want to go full walking carpet, I could reskin it as a Lasat. Yes. This pleases me.

Or Shistavanen: Wolfman with a laser sword!

I hope we get Sentry esq Specialisations in Warrior at least that have a portion of Reflect but more out of combat talents than the traditional forms. It would really fill the void in Warrior. Mystic probably doesn't need it, it should be focused on a much broader range.

Fair enough, I just think of Makashi as "the way Count Dooku fights," and imagining a Wookiee fighting that way seems quite un-Wookiee-like to me.

Yeah but each combatant brings something different to each form. Both Qui Gon Jin and Yoda are supposed to be accomplished Atura users. They come at the form in very different ways though. Should we limit our conception of who can use the form just because not everyone is going to flip around the field like Yoda?

but one option is to sink a chunk of points into the Protect force power.

The problem with Protect is that it can only be used as an incidental once per session, and it's a second generation force power that requires a LOT of force pips for full activation. At 3-4 force dice it's just not worth it, because you can't guarantee that you'll roll enough pips to protect your group from all incoming damage. At 5-6 it starts to become reliable, but Protect/Unleash more than any other power seems to be designed around the idea of being the power that keeps scaling when you're going into uber force ratings.

It seems to be designed as the go to power for extremely high level characters.

but one option is to sink a chunk of points into the Protect force power.

The problem with Protect is that it can only be used as an incidental once per session, and it's a second generation force power that requires a LOT of force pips for full activation. At 3-4 force dice it's just not worth it, because you can't guarantee that you'll roll enough pips to protect your group from all incoming damage. At 5-6 it starts to become reliable, but Protect/Unleash more than any other power seems to be designed around the idea of being the power that keeps scaling when you're going into uber force ratings.

It seems to be designed as the go to power for extremely high level characters.

With a requirement of FR 3 I imagine it is a high level inspired power.

I hope we get Sentry esq Specialisations in Warrior at least that have a portion of Reflect but more out of combat talents than the traditional forms. It would really fill the void in Warrior. Mystic probably doesn't need it, it should be focused on a much broader range.

Form VII perhaps?

The proposed Wookie Jedi character does fit a Seeker career in my opinion. Honestly, at 1000 xp the 10 xp surcharge to purchase Shien Expert seems the way to go. As already suggested, the Suppress power is a good defense against Force powers while living with a low Willpower. If Hunter is one of the specializations, two ranks of Side Step is a great way to bolster defense against ranged attacks, as well as plenty of natural world capability. Rapid Recovery will help with your low strain reserves. Enhance and Sense for physical prowess and more ways to help counter ranged enemies. Pathfinder and Hermit are great other survival based specs with nice abilities, especially the Animal Bond. Going for Ataru Striker and Shien Expert both adds up to 5 ranks in both Parry and Reflect. Plus another rank in Sidestep to pair with Hunter. If wanting to be a real Lightsaber beat stick, use a form spec as access to Lightsaber defenses and for offense use Executioner. Most of the abilities work with both melee and ranged, though Deathblow and Mind Over Matter are likely skips. Focus on Brawn as the lightsaber characterstic. Adding on a Seeker signature ability can make a very terrifying hunter character.

Alternatively, a Sentinel heavily focused on Sentry and Shien Expert makes a great traditional Jedi. The high Cunning and 2-3 ranks in Survival makes a very good wilderness expert even without the talents of Seeker specializations. Uncanny Reactions can shore up the Vigilance of Willpower 1.

Last idea, a Guardian with Protector and Soresu Defender is a great defensive warrior Jedi. Add in Warleader and the character can make an impressive lead from the front character that inspires allies to greatness in battle. Prescient Shot and Prophetic Aim will be skips, but the control of cover and Suppressing Fire are beneficial to allies not just the Warleader. Warleader also comes with Survival as a career skill Clever Solution to use Cunning in place of another characteristic once per session. Great for that one needed Willpower roll.

There is a solution for Makashi and Shii-Cho stylists in Endless Vigil! The Etaan Crystal can be updated to have a native parry and reflect talent as mods. Assuming brawn 4 and heavy armor that's 9 blaster damage offset. And, that assumes your second spec isn't armor master (ahem!). It also has two damage mods, a vicious mod, and a reduced critical (crit 1) mod. Slap a superior hilt on to it and you have an auto-crit monster extraordinaire. I feel giddy!

I wouldn't let the lack of willpower put you off; for a sum of 75 credits you can get 5 skill ranks in discipline that allows one to use the force relatively well; it might never be to the effect of someone who min-maxed but it is perfectly serviable to a character who otherwise isn't invested in the other willpower skills. My character did just that; his terrible displine was really kicking his arse in defence against force powers so he simply trained really hard to bypass that personal weakness.

Lightsaber forms? Go with whatever. Shien sounds natural, but then again pretty much everything works depending on what your going for.

Ironically lacking reflect is less of a issue for brawny characters then most; their naturally higher brawn means that blasters don't phase them as much as a character that completely neglects brawn.