I've posted about aspects of this before but I'm still having a hard time figuring out how to build this as there are so many options.

The idea is the character is an ex bad guy trying to repent. He was stranded for a long time and had time to think about the wrongs he has done.

Mechanically my idea is he is brawl based, stealthy, and quick, with survivalist skills. He will get some healing skills as part of his atonement is doing the opposite of killing.

What career specs? I feel like I need 4 or 5 specs to capture this.

Doc, assassin, survivalist, hunter, pathfinder, upcoming martial artist, anything from savage spirits, shadow, warden etc.

Where to begin?

I think the simplest might be a combo of 2 specs and the Heal/Harm power... So something like starting as a Warrior/Shii-Cho Knight, branching into Martial Artist for the Unarmed Parry and Coordination Dodge type stuff, then just picking up the Heal/Harm power, focusing on non-lethal combat & fighting only when absolutely necessary. As we are not 100% certain what is all in Martial Artist, it might cover the majority of what you desire (I'm also unsure of if there is any interaction between Improved Parry & Unarmed Parry).

Reasons: Starting as Warrior gives you access to FR1 right off the bat without having to pick up one of the universal specs. Shii-Cho Knight could very well work as an all-around Melee/Brawl fighter spec, only having 3 Force Talents. The majority of the other talents help for close range combat for both offense & defense. Martial Artist is very likely to cover the unarmed/brawl weapon fighter archetype, especially since we know it gives access to Unarmed Parry, among other cool talents. Heal/Harm would simply be the power the character has picked up since they began their journey to redemption.

Other options may include: Picking up Marauder at some point, picking up the Enhance power for the Brawl/Brawn upgrades, picking up the Sense power upgrades to use for your defense, picking up Bodyguard if you intend to protect others...

Does any of the savage spirit nature force users have survival and healing?

Does assassin, martial artist, nature force user synergize at all?

Or doc, shadow, martial artist?

43 minutes ago, TheShard said:

Does any of the savage spirit nature force users have survival and healing?

Does assassin, martial artist, nature force user synergize at all?

Or doc, shadow, martial artist?

1) Not really? Pathfinder gets Medicine as a career skill at least, but none of the Seeker specs get any healing talents aside from a couple that only apply to your bonded animal.

2) A case can be made for synergy between Assassin and Executioner, since both have ranks of Quick Strike and Lethal Blows, but Executioner is the least nature-y of the Savage Spirits specializations. It's hard to say what might synergize with the martial artist given that we only know three talents from that spec, but since it looks like they get a discount on the strain cost for parrying, and Hermits get a nice bump to their strain economy, you might have something between those two.

I think you might be trying to split yourself in too many directions, and might want to consider scaling back and letting a few skill ranks or a Force power do the heavy lifting on some aspects. For instance, Force Sensitive Exile has the Forager talent: There's how your character survived being stranded. FSE can get you up to Force Rating 2, which is enough to use Heal with reasonable reliability. Start as a Bounty Hunter Assassin to reflect that aspect of your background. Two specs, and you've got brawling, sneaking, surviving, and healing. Brawl is a career skill and most of the Assassin talents will work just fine with it. Focus characteristics on Brawn and Intellect without letting Agility or Cunning suffer.

1. The Seeker Career has Survival as a career skill. Executioner is more ranged combat focused. The Hermit spec has Survival as a career skill as well as some Survival based talents and the Animal Bond stuff. Navigator also has Survival as a career skill but is focused more on Astrogation & Piloting, especially during chases.

2. Jury's still out on Martial Artist, as it's not released yet. Bounty Hunter career gives you Brawl as a career skill, Assassin gives Melee & is a very stealth focused, ranged spec. Nature stuff is going to focus more on the Cunning characteristic, so that should help you for Stealth stuff.

3. Doctor will probably pair well with Martial Artist. Doctor has that Pressure Point talent & Anatomy Lessons, which are about Brawl based fighting. Again, we don't know everything there is to know about Martial Artist yet.

Alternately, Soldiers have Brawl, Medicine, and Survival as career skills, and the Trailblazer gets Stealth. That's practically everything in one package.

Trailblazer?

Questions:

1. Are you starting with Knight Level? Or with just starting XP?
2. What group resource are you starting with? Holocron, Master, Ship?
3. Do you want (or require) a Force-sensitive PC?

The ex-assassin needn't necessarily be apparent in anything but your backstory. The Doctor spec from Edge of the Empire, and your Human non-career skill ranks, could give you all you need to get there.

Like was pointed out a few posts above, the Doctor tree has the powerful Pressure Point talent, which synergizes with your "healer" concept by gaining strength from your ranks in Medicine. The Doctor also has Anatomy Lessons, a talent that is also found in the assassin tree and synergizes well with a high Intellect.

What book is the Martial Artist supposed to be in?

2 hours ago, Kael said:

What book is the Martial Artist supposed to be in?

The upcoming Bounty Hunter splatbook.

5 hours ago, TheShard said:

Trailblazer?

Soldier spec from Forged in Battle. They get Outdoorsman and Expert Tracker, along with a unique talent that lets them set up a trap and another one that lets you add your ranks in Stealth to damage under certain conditions.

Shadow is usually the best tree for making former bad guy turned good guy force users.

Well rounded does an excellent job of covering your missing skills.

The ability to conceal your use of the force.

The ability to make people forget they saw you when you fail at stealth have to use force powers in public etc..

Maybe hermit, shadow, martial artist?

Or hermit, marauder, shadow?

I was told hermit is basically a better trailblazer... i haven't seen the trailblazer spec yet though.

I want to highlight awayputurwpn's question about starting XP, because it's pretty critical if you want to have your concept fully realized at the start of the game. If you're using standard starting XP, it's unwise to buy a second spec right off the bat, which is why I pointed out Soldier Trailblazer as something that could get you the career skills your concept calls for by itself. If you're starting Knight Level (150 XP post-CC), having an investment in two specs is feasible, at which point you could do it with Hermit/Shadow if you use the Well-Rounded talent to pick up Brawl and Medicine. Developing three specs takes quite a bit more XP, so unless you're starting with a generous XP budget, you might have to recast your concept as what your character is developing towards and have his starting stats be somewhere on the midway point between your backstory (ex-assassin) and your development goal (survivalist healer).

As for Hermit vs. Trailblazer, despite both being Survival-focused specs, they are very different in terms of what they try to do well and how they do it, so it's hard to say that one is "better" than the other. Trailblazer is about tracking and mid-to-close-range combat in a wilderness setting using traps and small-unit tactics. Hermit is about being super good with animals and having a strong connection to the Force. It sounds like the Hermit fits your concept better, but like I said, if you want to try to squeeze all the aspects of your concept into as few specs as possible, Trailblazer can get you there.

i'm sorry i mixed up trailblazer with pathfinder, my fault.

So you want to start as a Brawling bad guy? Sounds a lot like Warden (or Enforcer for no Force)

Then you want to spend time isolated in the hills getting to know yourself? That sounds like Hermit (Or Pathfinder if Medicine skill is super important) (Or Scout for no Force)

You used to hurt people, nowadays you heal them? That's Heal/Harm or Brawl/Medicine if you don't use the Force. Perhaps a couple of the other Powers fit as well, Farsight and Foresee and Enhance in your previous profession.

Sounds like your wanting to be Brawny, probably need a decent Intellect, Cunning and Willpower. If anything is your weakness it's going to be your social interaction with others, so Presence.

So a Warden Hermit, Heal/Harm, has ranks in Brawl, Coercion, Discipline, Underworld, Stealth, Survival. Ultimately a stat block of 4,2,3,3,3,2 for Human with a Force Rating of 4 and a bunch of Force Powers.

Hermit is very Cunning/Presence with its survival and Pet traits. The coming Consular spec will probably be a better fit.

Elaborate?

What do people think now that over in edge of empire forums we got the martial artist spec?

Marshal Artist is all Combat, a boxer or MMA specialist. I still think Warden or Enforcer are better representations of your actual concept.

The new spec in Consular spec that will come in Disciples of Harmony, Ascetic, may fit the second half of your build but only time will tell.

21 minutes ago, Richardbuxton said:

Marshal Artist is all Combat, a boxer or MMA specialist. I still think Warden or Enforcer are better representations of your actual concept.

Enforcer with Force Sensitive Exile would be a really good "bad guy" starting point. Make sure he has Enhance for the Brawn-based skill buffs

Force Sensitive Exile is really nice for a underworld-themed character. It excels as a supporting specialization for just about any other spec, as long as it fits your character concept. It's kind of the chameleon of specializations, just sorta blends in with your other talents.

I have yet to see the Martial Artist spec, but I would be surprised if it didn't fit in well with the Exile. Edit: never mind, found a spoiler. Wow...um, yeah. I think it fits just fine for an unarmed assassin. Really nicely done. Add in the Always Get My Mark signature ability, and you've got a bonafide Force-Sensitive assassin.