Hello! I'm asking for some help identifying Silhouette 0 species from FFG published sources, and Unofficial Species Menagerie. Our playgroup (5 PCs) has been tasked to create Silhouette 0 species PCs for an upcoming published adventure. Our GM historically enjoys dwarf-themed FRPG campaigns, and has decades of experience running various games.

Have I missed any small species from this list?

Aleena

Chadra-Fan

Defel*

Ewok*

Gossam

Jawa*

Ortolan*

Snivvian*

Squib*

Toydarian

Ugnaught*

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* = Unofficial Species Menagerie

Are there any other variables about these species to consider? Are these species well-balanced; only 4 of them are officially-stat'd species. Despite what Yoda says, does (species) size matter in any significant RAW way?

Thanks for your assistance. I welcome any suggested character ideas, too. We have no additional XP or credits aside from Duty/Morality/Obligation choices. All FFG published resources (plus USM) are available for character creation. Our (published) adventure will be selected by our choice of careers. We begin play in February 2017.

There's also droids if you choose to create a droid PC that is silhouette 0, such as a Pit Droid or an Astromech (or a Gonk).

Review the silhouette rules in personal combat. P. 212 EoE. They benefit in attacking and defending.

Review the silhouette rules in personal combat. P. 212 EoE. They benefit in attacking and defending.

Thanks for the rules clarification! It looks as though our party will do favorably against Silhouette 2+ adversaries. Our GM is known for his love of dwarves, so size advantages play to his strengths.

There's also droids if you choose to create a droid PC that is silhouette 0, such as a Pit Droid or an Astromech (or a Gonk).

I found pit droids from Endless Vigil (p. 45), and astromechs are well known as a droid choice from the CRBs.

Are there any suggestions about making a PC DUM-Series pit droid? If three or more of us played as one (unlikely, but one PC droid tech + 2 or more droids), we'd have nice boons to computers, mechanics, and perception checks. We'd also have built-in comms suite.

---or am I wrong?

Would a PC's droid simply have the same starting options as an assassin or protocol droid? Would I lose Enduring for Fine Tuning 2 (or 1)?

1) Am I misunderstanding droid creation rules for DUM-series pit droids?

2) How might you adjudicate a PC DUM-series pit droid?

3) How would you assign characteristics, skills, and talents for a PC Pit Droid (using only Duty/Obligation XP or credit options)? Note: Pit Droid may also cost 450 credits, Rarity 1.

A DUM-series pit droid Droid Tech, who starts with a bought pit droid, suggests a small swarm of pit droids. Given Special Modifications' droid crafting rules, I don't think building more pit droids would be too difficult, and has inherent advantages to the PC as well. This feels a bit overpowered, aside from being a DUMmy.

EDIT: Also, many droid tech tools can also function as weapons, or visa versa. This duplicity can help add more utility to these droids.

Thanks for sparking some creativity! I wouldn't have thought much about pit droids, but I'm glad we can revisit it!

IMO, you can’t apply the Minion rules to PCs, because PCs are not Minions.

I can see potentially being a PC of a particular type, and be the leader of a Minion group of other droids of that same type.

But otherwise, I can’t see Minions being PCs or PCs being Minions.

IMO, you can’t apply the Minion rules to PCs, because PCs are not Minions.

I can see potentially being a PC of a particular type, and be the leader of a Minion group of other droids of that same type.

But otherwise, I can’t see Minions being PCs or PCs being Minions.

Thanks for clarifying.

Are you suggesting I could make a DUM-series Pit Droid Droid Tech PC who leads more of his "species?"

This path gives us a droid PC with 175 XP (+Obligation), Enduring talent, Silhouette 0, and the standard droid features and career/specialization skill ranks.

Would the DUM series PC pit droid also lose its comms suite? Would my DUM-series Pit Droid count as one of the three minions needed for their collected boosts to computers, mechanics, and perception (even if the PC doesn't get those same rewards)?

Are you suggesting I could make a DUM-series Pit Droid Droid Tech PC who leads more of his "species?"

This path gives us a droid PC with 175 XP (+Obligation), Enduring talent, Silhouette 0, and the standard droid features and career/specialization skill ranks.

That would most likely work in my game, if you were a player and I was your GM.

So, you would need to talk to your GM about whether or not that would be allowed in their game.

Would the DUM series PC pit droid also lose its comms suite?

A commlink is pretty cheap. In my game, you could buy one, call it your “integrated DUM-series pit droid comms suite” and be done with it.

Would my DUM-series Pit Droid count as one of the three minions needed for their collected boosts to computers, mechanics, and perception (even if the PC doesn't get those same rewards)?

In my game, your droid wouldn’t be a Minion, so you wouldn’t be part of the Minion group. So, none of the Minion rules would apply to your character.

Are you suggesting I could make a DUM-series Pit Droid Droid Tech PC who leads more of his "species?"

This path gives us a droid PC with 175 XP (+Obligation), Enduring talent, Silhouette 0, and the standard droid features and career/specialization skill ranks.

That would most likely work in my game, if you were a player and I was your GM.

So, you would need to talk to your GM about whether or not that would be allowed in their game.

Would the DUM series PC pit droid also lose its comms suite?

A commlink is pretty cheap. In my game, you could buy one, call it your “integrated DUM-series pit droid comms suite” and be done with it.

Would my DUM-series Pit Droid count as one of the three minions needed for their collected boosts to computers, mechanics, and perception (even if the PC doesn't get those same rewards)?

In my game, your droid wouldn’t be a Minion, so you wouldn’t be part of the Minion group. So, none of the Minion rules would apply to your character.

Am I reading this correctly?

1) Will have to double-check with the GM about inclusion of Pit Droids. Since they are Silhouette 0, this shouldn't be a hard sell, though.

2) In making a balanced pit droid PC, I would lose the comms suite, talents, skills, and minion boosts from the Endless Vigil description. Instead, retain the standard droid features, add the Enduring Talent and additional skill ranks to career and specialization, and have 175+ XP. I keep my small size, though, right?

3) I wouldn't gain for myself, nor add to the number of minions needed to trigger, the boost dice for multiple pit droids.

4) With a (likely) low Brawn, cybernetics might be difficult to add many. Would this be a good place to fit a communication device (either at character creation, or added at a later time)? I'd want to try to "look" as much like other pit droids as possible, so if adding cybernetic communications is possible, I'd do it for cohesiveness rather than munchkin cybernetics.

My friend is also playing, and sought feedback. Based on my whiff on droids, I'd welcome feedback from the community.

He theorized one published adventure will mean fewer opportunities for experience. I fear he becomes a glass cannon with his build. What are your thoughts?

1) Gossam are silhouette 0

2) Shien Expert

3) Cunning from 3 to 4 (40XP)

4) Cunning from 4 to 5 (50XP)

5) Skill ranks in Deception (2, Species + Career), Skulduggery (2, Career + Specialization), Lightsaber (Specialization), and Perception (Career)

6) +10XP from Morality

7) Talents of Reflect (5XP), Streetsmarts (5XP) and Shien Technique-Cunning (10XP)

8) Equipment includes a training lightsaber (400 credits)

BACKGROUND:

During the Clone Wars, the Jedi Council accelerated training for a young force-sensitive Gossam. The Jedi believed a lightsaber-wielding Gossam fighting against Separatist forces would demoralize the enemy and politically polarize the war. Believing himself merely a propaganda puppet, the Gossam quit his Jedi teachings prior to Order 66. Now, he wanders the galaxy, trying to find meaning with five dice for deception, lightsaber, and skulduggery skills.

2) In making a balanced pit droid PC, I would lose the comms suite, talents, skills, and minion boosts from the Endless Vigil description. Instead, retain the standard droid features, add the Enduring Talent and additional skill ranks to career and specialization, and have 175+ XP. I keep my small size, though, right?

You’d have to find a way to buy the talents, skills, comm suite, etc…, for your PC, but with 175xp and as cheap as commlinks are, that shouldn’t be a problem.

But your GM would be the final arbiter in this case.

4) With a (likely) low Brawn, cybernetics might be difficult to add many. Would this be a good place to fit a communication device (either at character creation, or added at a later time)? I'd want to try to "look" as much like other pit droids as possible, so if adding cybernetic communications is possible, I'd do it for cohesiveness rather than munchkin cybernetics.

Again, talk to your GM, and maybe talk to him about the possibility of using the Gank rules for cybernetics. Droids aren’t Ganks, and Ganks aren’t droids, but when it comes to simple things like comm suites, the Gank rules for those kinds of things make a lot more sense.

Also note that there are enhanced rules for cybernetics in the book “Special Modifications”, and there is one cybernetic in particular that lets you add on more cybernetics than your Brawn would otherwise indicate you should be able to do.

And just because you’re a “DUM-series Pit Droid”, doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t have a higher Brawn, if that’s what you want to have. If that’s where you want to spend some XP during character generation, or you want to increase your Brawn later, you should still be able to do that.

Keep in mind, droids have a cap of 6 cybernetic implants, not the typical meatbag limit of Brawn + 2.

So a Brawn 1 droid can still have 6 implants. I also house-rule that droids have EITHER 6 or Brawn + 3, whichever is higher, but that is a house rule.

Simple question: can droids take FR1 careers? Can a pit droid be an investigator, who avoids force talents?

Skip Tracer might hold the answer to this question, though.

Simple question: can droids take FR1 careers? Can a pit droid be an investigator, who avoids force talents?

Sure. IIRC, the F&D CRB discusses the issue of a non-Force sensitive person taking a specialization in a Force-sensitive career. A droid couldn’t take an actual Force-sensitive career, unless you can explain some way for a droid to actually be Force-sensitive — like maybe being host to a Shard.

The bigger question would be why would you want to do this? Is there something it gives you that you really want, that you can’t get or do any other way?

Skip Tracer might hold the answer to this question, though.

Yup.