So I've been thinking about a character who is Cerean Artisan/Shien Expert, who could negate a lot of damage in combat, and be good with astrogation, computers and mechanics out of combat.

Weapons and force powers is where I get stuck, the skills and talents would seem to work for the idea, but I can't get any further. My second thought was a lightsaber, with a Lorrdian gemstone, and a blade breaker for when a lightsaber would be too conspicuous. Since the blade breaker is defensive, has sunder and allows parry. But would this do enough damage? Would a blaster be better?

For force powers I was thinking move and sense to start off with.

I would hope to play this character at knight-level start

What are you thinking of in terms of characteristic loadout?

Oops, forgot that.

probably along the lines of 3/1/3/3/3/2 or 2/2/3/3/3/2

IF you're going with Artisan, I would also suggest the Manipulate power from Endless Vigil.

On 28.2.2017 at 4:05 AM, Imperial Stormtrooper said:

Would a blaster be better?

2 HH-50s with paired, superior, BAM and laser sights sounds like a nice little investment later on to make proper use of the two free hardpoints on repairs.

If you're thinking of fighting with a blaster or blade breaker, and your respective characteristic is at a 1 or 2, you'll want to increase your respective combat skills to rank 3 at the start of Knight Level play. Fighting with just two positive dice is not a great move for Knight Level.

One problem here is that those two skills (Melee and Ranged [Light]) are nowhere to be found on your class skill lists, so either one will be a real XP sink.

Might I suggest the Ancient Sword if you're gonna be training in the Lightsaber skill anyway? That way, you won't be completely all over the map with non-career combat skills and can have more XP to improve your core skills with.

Other things to watch out for: Artisan and Shien Expert have about zero synergy. Combined with a decent but unimpressive base characteristic spread (maximizing the 3's—not a terrible move, but uninspiring) and you will have no real definition, not to mention anything solid to do during combat.

If you're looking for damage negation, have you considered Soresu Defender? It had at least one big synergy with Artisan going for it: it allows you to use your primary characteristic (Intellect) to perform lightsaber checks. And it is also a very defensive spec, allowing you to protect not only yourself, but your allies as well.

Finally, note that Soresu Defender does a great job of adding some vital skills to your skill list, among then Vigilance, which you've already got 1 free rank in from your species, and Discipline, which is the bread and butter of many a Force user.

23 hours ago, Tramp Graphics said:

IF you're going with Artisan, I would also suggest the Manipulate power from Endless Vigil.

I don't have that one, I'll have to see if it would be useful.

19 hours ago, awayputurwpn said:

If you're thinking of fighting with a blaster or blade breaker, and your respective characteristic is at a 1 or 2, you'll want to increase your respective combat skills to rank 3 at the start of Knight Level play. Fighting with just two positive dice is not a great move for Knight Level.

One problem here is that those two skills (Melee and Ranged [Light]) are nowhere to be found on your class skill lists, so either one will be a real XP sink.

Might I suggest the Ancient Sword if you're gonna be training in the Lightsaber skill anyway? That way, you won't be completely all over the map with non-career combat skills and can have more XP to improve your core skills with.

Other things to watch out for: Artisan and Shien Expert have about zero synergy. Combined with a decent but unimpressive base characteristic spread (maximizing the 3's—not a terrible move, but uninspiring) and you will have no real definition, not to mention anything solid to do during combat.

If you're looking for damage negation, have you considered Soresu Defender? It had at least one big synergy with Artisan going for it: it allows you to use your primary characteristic (Intellect) to perform lightsaber checks. And it is also a very defensive spec, allowing you to protect not only yourself, but your allies as well.

Finally, note that Soresu Defender does a great job of adding some vital skills to your skill list, among then Vigilance, which you've already got 1 free rank in from your species, and Discipline, which is the bread and butter of many a Force user.

Melee uses brawn in my book, and the book from the beginner game. The ancient sword might be a good idea anyway since it does more damage, even though it doesn't have sunder, and it uses lightsaber as its skill.

I was mainly thinking about, Shien Expert since it was cheaper to get to improved reflect, and it has supreme reflect, even though it lacks supreme parry and defensive circle.

That's a good point that Soresu Defender uses intellect, am I correct in thinking that Soresu is better at melee defense and protecting allies, and Shien is better at ranged defense, while having a few offensive talents?

If I went with Soresu and Artisan, what's the difference between the signature abilities? I don't have either of those books yet.

5 minutes ago, Imperial Stormtrooper said:

I don't have that one, I'll have to see if it would be useful.

Melee uses brawn in my book, and the book from the beginner game. The ancient sword might be a good idea anyway since it does more damage, even though it doesn't have sunder, and it uses lightsaber as its skill.

I was mainly thinking about, Shien Expert since it was cheaper to get to improved reflect, and it has supreme reflect, even though it lacks supreme parry and defensive circle.

That's a good point that Soresu Defender uses intellect, am I correct in thinking that Soresu is better at melee defense and protecting allies, and Shien is better at ranged defense, while having a few offensive talents?

If I went with Soresu and Artisan, what's the difference between the signature abilities? I don't have either of those books yet.

The Manipulate power allows you to manipulate machines at the molecular level, and therefore allowing you to do seemingly impossible repairs (or even tear a machine apart) through the Force.

The Guardian signature abilities focus more upon defending others (Unmatched Heroism) and engaging in an epic duel in single combat (Fated Duel). The Sentinel Signature Abilities, by contrast, focus on the character's connection to urban environments (My City), and his preparedness and how it affects him and his allies in combat, particularly initiative during the first round(s) of combat (Unmatched Vigilance).

31 minutes ago, Imperial Stormtrooper said:

Melee uses brawn in my book, and the book from the beginner game.

Yeah. You were looking at a possible Brawn of 2, so I was thinking you'd wanna shore that up with skill ranks, if you wanted to use the Melee skill (as opposed to the Lightsaber skill).

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That's a good point that Soresu Defender uses intellect, am I correct in thinking that Soresu is better at melee defense and protecting allies, and Shien is better at ranged defense, while having a few offensive talents?

Soresu Defender is more about melee defense, yes, but has a good number of Reflect-y talents as well. Important to note that Strategic Form and Defensive Circle, while Lightsaber checks, are not combat checks, and can therefore allow the activation of Supreme Parry while doing something incredibly useful in combat.

@Tramp Graphics already outlined the differences between signature abilities, which is an important consideration if you're thinking whether to go Guardian or Sentinel—you can only ever have one Career, and your career determines which two signature abilities are available to you.

Soresu Defender / Armorer is much more defensive than Artisan / Shien Expert, but a little less "sophisticated" where out of combat tasks are concerned.

49 minutes ago, Aetrion said:

Soresu Defender / Armorer is much more defensive than Artisan / Shien Expert, but a little less "sophisticated" where out of combat tasks are concerned.

Very true...but I think that Armorer/Soresu Defender combo puts Computers & Astrogation off the career skill list for the OP?

Yea, hence why it's less sophisticated. You're still going to have high intellect though, so you'll be decent enough at Astrogation and Computers. Depending on how long the game runs and how high of a rank in those skills you're shooting for you can pretty easily buy the ranks at non-career price, or just pick up another specialization later.