9 hours ago, Tramp Graphics said:

Being a clone isn't a problem, being a Vader clone or a genetic chimera is.

Who said anything about him being a Vader clone? He's just some weird looking creepy kid with white hair from Kamino who crash landed in a field somewhere on a Mandalorian planet. He just happens to have the voice of Matt Lanter speaking with a New Zealand accent. But he sounds absolutely nothing like Hayden Christensen of course, because Hayden's tone and enunciation make him sound too... well, to quote Obi-Wan, "He's more grognard now than man. "

If anything I was suggesting that he might possibly maybe be Luke & Leia's half brother from an alien mother, and was secretly created in an artificial womb. But there's no way to prove that it's true! The truth is strictly need-to-know and you definitely do NOT need to know. Just ask Vader, he's the only one that would be able to verify, and he would say, "Fake news, totally untrue!" and then ask, "Who told you such crazy things?" and "What's their address?" Then after writing down your answers he'd promptly force-choke you and put you out the airlock. Lol

3 hours ago, Mychal'el said:

Just ask Vader, he's the only one that would be able to verify, and he would say, "Fake news, totally untrue!" and then ask, "Who told you such crazy things?" and "What's their address?" Then after writing down your answers he'd promptly force-choke you and put you out the airlock. Lol

Too true.

7 hours ago, Tramp Graphics said:

Well, "grognard" or not, those are the standards that were set right at the very beginning. All characters have to be of a species from the books or USM. Making a character based on yourself is one thing. A Mary Sue/Gary Stu is another and something to be avoided; especially when the game system doesn't support such chimeras, and the canon (which this campaign will be set in) specifically doesn't support Vader cloning himself in any form, given his deep self loathing. That's why I say that being just a normal clone, or a Force sensitive kidnapped as an infant is fine, but not a genetically engineered chimeric Darth Vader clone. That's as Gary Stu as you can get. That's not good. Even Mychal'el admitted the character concept was a bit of a Gary Stu.

imo "Gary Stu" status is determined by build/game-mechanics not flavor text descriptions of a character that don't impact game mechanics. I also have zero or near-zero problems with "label swaps" on RAW allowed character options to get game mechanics that fit desired flavor text.

An example of something I would consider a Gary stu, a PC-RAW-built gmpc that far out classes PCs because of either having boatloads more XP than the PCs or gm fiat. Does that remind you of any character in the zeltron entanglements campaign 12 years ago?

On 6/19/2017 at 10:16 PM, EliasWindrider said:

this should get you a mostly up to date list of playable species http://swrpg.viluppo.net/character/species/ , which will help you target your google searches at species, or if you could give me a description of the kinds of stuff you'd like I cut put together a short list for you.

but generally speaking my first thoughts are you should look at Pantorans (they're in endless vigil), green nikto (lords of nal hutta), Sakiyan (lords of nal hutta), klatooinians (dangerous covenants), Mirialan (FaD core rulebook), and transdoshans (eote core rulebook), if you were going to try to pull this off without your character having a force rating, I'd recommend a Kyuzo (sp?) but if you have a force rating steer clear of Kyuzo (forged in battle)

On 6/20/2017 at 3:18 AM, Mychal'el said:

I was Looking at the Character Abilities.

If Diathim was used as an in-game race it definitely should be NPC only. They would have way too many advantages as a PC, plus in-universe they are supposed to be so rare that they are believed to be legend.

Possible Diathim Abilities :

• Vacuum Dweller : Can survive in vacuum without penalty, and can move in a vacuum environment. - A-BGR:47

• Force Mimic : At the GM's discretion, the ([SPECIES]) may make and opposed Charm or Deception versus Vigilance check as an action to pretend to be a friend, companion, loved one, or of the same species as its target. - F-CRB:416

• Force Power Battle Meditation : Telepathically guide allies. - F-CRB:284

• Telepathy : ([SPECIES]) can communicate with other beings at short range using a simple form of telepathy. This communication is akin to broadcast, and anyone within short range "hears" the ([SPECIES]) speech. ([SPECIES]) can only "whisper" privately to beings they are engaged with. - SoR:99

• Photonic Burst : Once per encounter as an action, [SPECIES] can unleash a pulse of light from its body; all targets within short range are disoriented for two turns . - LoNH:60

• Airborne : [SPECIES] can exist in an atmosphere without ever needing to land on solid ground. - JoY:51

• Flyer : [PLURAL_SELF] can fly. - A-BGR:47

My Character is a Diathim-Human Hybrid so he might have a less impressive form of these Abilities like:

• Glider : [SPECIES] can suffer 2 strain to count as a flyer for the remainder of the turn. - SoT:89

Alternatively: I could try to buy Force Powers & Equipment that emulates the effects of these abilities and just give flavor text that describes them as emerging genetic traits.

Enough bickering, I want to start playing this year people. Please help!

13 hours ago, Tramp Graphics said:

Well, "grognard" or not, those are the standards that were set right at the very beginning. All characters have to be of a species from the books or USM. Making a character based on yourself is one thing. A Mary Sue/Gary Stu is another and something to be avoided; especially when the game system doesn't support such chimeras, and the canon (which this campaign will be set in) specifically doesn't support Vader cloning himself in any form, given his deep self loathing. That's why I say that being just a normal clone, or a Force sensitive kidnapped as an infant is fine, but not a genetically engineered chimeric Darth Vader clone. That's as Gary Stu as you can get. That's not good. Even Mychal'el admitted the character concept was a bit of a Gary Stu.

10 hours ago, Mychal'el said:

Who said anything about him being a Vader clone? He's just some weird looking creepy kid with white hair from Kamino who crash landed in a field somewhere on a Mandalorian planet. He just happens to have the voice of Matt Lanter speaking with a New Zealand accent. But he sounds absolutely nothing like Hayden Christensen of course, because Hayden's tone and enunciation make him sound too... well, to quote Obi-Wan, "He's more grognard now than man. "

If anything I was suggesting that he might possibly maybe be Luke & Leia's half brother from an alien mother, and was secretly created in an artificial womb. But there's no way to prove that it's true! The truth is strictly need-to-know and you definitely do NOT need to know. Just ask Vader, he's the only one that would be able to verify, and he would say, "Fake news, totally untrue!" and then ask, "Who told you such crazy things?" and "What's their address?" Then after writing down your answers he'd promptly force-choke you and put you out the airlock. Lol

So Tramp, how would you stat my character for your game? Just omit what you find absolutely unacceptable and chalk it up to mysterious unknown origin. I don't want my character to be banned by anyone. I'd like to believe that you aren't nearly as unyielding, rigid, and unimaginative as Elias' teasing implies.

On 6/19/2017 at 4:59 AM, ExpandingUniverse said:

1 - Welcome to the madhouse.... you'll fit right in!

2 - I still scratch my head sometimes after 20+ years rpg experience... I'm looking at you FFGSW roleplaying dice

It's starting to feel like herding cats...

...But not nearly as adorable.

And I haven't even been able to start playing yet!

1 hour ago, Mychal'el said:

So Tramp, how would you stat my character for your game? Just omit what you find absolutely unacceptable and chalk it up to mysterious unknown origin. I don't want my character to be banned by anyone. I'd like to believe that you aren't nearly as unyielding, rigid, and unimaginative as Elias' teasing implies.

I can help you stat your character, no problem. But the first thing you'll need to do is register on SWSheets.com . That's where you'll actually build your character.

7 hours ago, Mychal'el said:

Enough bickering, I want to start playing this year people. Please help!

You'll probably want the consular ascetic for the meditative trance talent (decreases damage when you can't breathe), and if tramp would allow it (doubtful) i'd choose the refluffed/relabled sathari species stats

Brawn 1, agility 3, intellect 2, cunning 2, willpower 2, presence 2

Wound threshold 8+Brawn

Strain threshold: 10+willpower

Starting experience: 100 xp

Special abilities: sathari begin with one rank in coordination, they still may not train coordination above rank 2 during character creation.

Glider: a sathari can fall safely from any height and can glide over small distancesize while falling. While conscious, a sathari does not suffer damage from falling (see page 221 of the force and destiny core rulebook).

Try adding ataru striker to the mix and I don't know what else.

OK, I saw the sheet so we can get started building. First, you'll need to bump all six characteristics to 2across the board. This is the baseline for all Humans including Corellians and Mandalorians. After that, decide if you want an increase in starting XP, more money, more XP and more money, or to start out at Light Side Paragon/Dark Side Devote.

8 hours ago, EliasWindrider said:

You'll probably want the consular ascetic for the meditative trance talent (decreases damage when you can't breathe), and if tramp would allow it (doubtful) i'd choose the refluffed/relabled sathari species stats

Brawn 1, agility 3, intellect 2, cunning 2, willpower 2, presence 2

Wound threshold 8+Brawn

Strain threshold: 10+willpower

Starting experience: 100 xp

Special abilities: sathari begin with one rank in coordination, they still may not train coordination above rank 2 during character creation.

Glider: a sathari can fall safely from any height and can glide over small distancesize while falling. While conscious, a sathari does not suffer damage from falling (see page 221 of the force and destiny core rulebook).

Try adding ataru striker to the mix and I don't know what else.

How much XP would I have to spend to cover over Sathari & Mandalorian stats?

2 hours ago, Tramp Graphics said:

OK, I saw the sheet so we can get started building. First, you'll need to bump all six characteristics to 2across the board. This is the baseline for all Humans including Corellians and Mandalorians. After that, decide if you want an increase in starting XP, more money, more XP and more money, or to start out at Light Side Paragon/Dark Side Devote.

Well, I have no idea. I'd like to make my goals work out as efficiently as possible.

I think I'm gonna need to play a game during the time period of Rebels first to get a feel for RPGs and then I think I'm going to need a lot of XP to make it all the way to the time period of TFA.

As far as Light/Dark goes, to quote Johnny Cash, "I walk the line."

I think I need at least enough XP to make a Sathari & Mandalorian have equal stats. That way I could play the character in both Elias style and Tramp style games without starting char gen over.

For example, if I was playing Sathari stats I would've had to buy 1 Brawn, but I'm a definitely a Mandalorian so I'll have to buy 1 Agility to make it even.

I'm not sure how the other stuff works but I'll probably have to make or buy rocket boots or a jetpack or something if I want to fly in Tramp's game. I'm ok with that.

4 hours ago, Mychal'el said:

How much XP would I have to spend to cover over Sathari & Mandalorian stats?

Well, I have no idea. I'd like to make my goals work out as efficiently as possible.

I think I'm gonna need to play a game during the time period of Rebels first to get a feel for RPGs and then I think I'm going to need a lot of XP to make it all the way to the time period of TFA.

As far as Light/Dark goes, to quote Johnny Cash, "I walk the line."

I think I need at least enough XP to make a Sathari & Mandalorian have equal stats. That way I could play the character in both Elias style and Tramp style games without starting char gen over.

For example, if I was playing Sathari stats I would've had to buy 1 Brawn, but I'm a definitely a Mandalorian so I'll have to buy 1 Agility to make it even.

I'm not sure how the other stuff works but I'll probably have to make or buy rocket boots or a jetpack or something if I want to fly in Tramp's game. I'm ok with that.

Well, as I said, no Chimeras. Stick with straight Mandalorian human. Right now, let's get the starting stats done. We'll build up through Knight level and higher after that. As I mentioned, his Brawn stat needs to start at 2. That's the base line for Humans. You also have 105 starting XP, a starting wound threshold of 11 + Brawn, and strain threshold of 10 + Willpower. You also get a choice of 1 rank in any one combat skill, or 1 rank each in any two Knowledge skills. These are the specific Special abilities for a Mandalorian.

Next, since you want to start with a Morality score in the middle (50 Morality), you have a choice between 10 extra starting XP, 2500 additional starting credits, or 5 extra XP and 1000 extra starting credits. Take. Your pick. The 3 in Agility takes up 30 of those starting XP.

3 hours ago, Tramp Graphics said:

You also have 105 starting XP, a starting wound threshold of 11 + Brawn, and strain threshold of 10 + Willpower. You also get a choice of 1 rank in any one combat skill, or 1 rank each in any two Knowledge skills. These are the specific Special abilities for a Mandalorian.

Next, since you want to start with a Morality score in the middle (50 Morality), you have a choice between 10 extra starting XP, 2500 additional starting credits, or 5 extra XP and 1000 extra starting credits. Take. Your pick. The 3 in Agility takes up 30 of those starting XP.

I'd say from a roll playing perspective, as a vagrant orphan he would start with nothing but XP on his back.

1 extra Agility is worth 30 XP? That's expensive!

If I'm starving for XP why would I not pick 2 free knowledge skills over only 1 combat skill?

That being said, Sathari begin with one rank in Coordination so I feel obliged to pick Coordination.

I'm frustrated

My goal is to start my character as a pre-teen or teen and make it to this by his early 20s

1 hour ago, Mychal'el said:

I'd say from a roll playing perspective, as a vagrant orphan he would start with nothing but XP on his back.

1 extra Agility is worth 30 XP? That's expensive!

If I'm starving for XP why would I not pick 2 free knowledge skills over only 1 combat skill?

That being said, Sathari begin with one rank in Coordination so I feel obliged to pick Coordination.

I'm frustrated

The reason for the choice between a free rank in one combat skill or a free rank in any two knowledge skills has to do with the difference between the more combat oriented Old Mandalorians (and Death Watch), and the pacifistic New Mandalorians. If you were raised in the traditions of the Old Mandalorians or Death Watch, you'd typically take the free combat skill rank whereas if you're a pacifistic New Mandalorian, you'd want the knowledge skills. It has nothing to do with the lack of XP. It's all about the concept of the character and which sect of Mandalorian the character is a part of.

Given your imagery and concept, this character was likely adopted into an Old Mandalorian clan. Therefore, taking a free rank in a combat skill would be more appropriate to match your concept.

OK, I just looked at your updated sheet. Coordination is not one of the skills you can get a free rank in, nor is it currently a career skill, so it will cost you 10 XP from your starting XP. As a Guardian Armorer, you haveBrawl, Cool, Discipline, Merle, Resiliance and Vigilance, along with Lightsaber, Knowledge Outrr Rim, Mechanics, and Resiliance from Armorer. Your free skill ranks from you species has to be a single combat skill (Brawl, Lightsaber, Melee, Ranged Light, Ranged Heavy) or two Knowledge skills (Core Worlds, Education, Lore, Outer Rim, Underworld, Warfare[AoR] Xenology). If you hold off, you can get Coordination as a career skill later in the build by taking another specialization which includes it as a career skill.

1 hour ago, Tramp Graphics said:

The reason for the choice between a free rank in one combat skill or a free rank in any two knowledge skills has to do with the difference between the more combat oriented Old Mandalorians (and Death Watch), and the pacifistic New Mandalorians. If you were raised in the traditions of the Old Mandalorians or Death Watch, you'd typically take the free combat skill rank whereas if you're a pacifistic New Mandalorian, you'd want the knowledge skills. It has nothing to do with the lack of XP. It's all about the concept of the character and which sect of Mandalorian the character is a part of.

Given your imagery and concept, this character was likely adopted into an Old Mandalorian clan. Therefore, taking a free rank in a combat skill would be more appropriate to match your concept.

Yeah but Im commenting on the fact that it's 2 to 1. Are knowledge skills half as valuable as combat skills?

They don't have Knowledge (Warfare) listed on SWsheets btw

I see that I can switch the attribute of Lightsabers to Agility. I'd like that!

2 hours ago, Mychal'el said:

Yeah but Im commenting on the fact that it's 2 to 1. Are knowledge skills half as valuable as combat skills?

They don't have Knowledge (Warfare) listed on SWsheets btw

I see that I can switch the attribute of Lightsabers to Agility. I'd like that!

Combat skills are definitely more valuable in that they increase your ability to survive. Personally, I don't fully understand the developers' reasoning for the discrepancy myself, but that's the rule by RAW.

As for using Lightsaber with Agility, you'll need to take Ataru Striker as a second etc spec, and work down to the Ataru Style talent.

Also, so far, before buying any skills, it is recommended that most of your starting XP be spent on raising characteristics. You've already spent 30 to boost Agility. You have enough it increase two more characteristics (Brawl, Agility, Intellect, etc.) to 3 (at thirty a pop) or one more to 3 and one of those two (in this case your Agility or the second one) to 4. Increasing two more characteristics to 3 will cost another 60 XP, leaving you with 25 XP to spend on starting skills, talents, specialization, or Force powers. After starting character creation, the only way to increase characteristics is through the Dedication talent. Therefore spend most of your starting XPon characteristics.

As for Knowledge Warfare being missing from SWAheets, it only appears in your list if you're playing an Age of Rebellion character.

also, none of your specializations are Warrior specs. You have a Seeker spec (Ataru Striker), a Guardian spec (Armorer), and a Sentinel spec (Racer). Your starting specialization must be from you chosen career. So, you need to either start with a Warrior specialization or choose one of your current choices and take that specs career as your career.

Now, my advise would be to boost your Willpower and Brawn to 3 each. This is because your Brawn determines your Wound Threshold, which, after character creation, only increases through the use of the Toughened talent. The same with Willpower and your Strain threshold. IF you do that, you'll have 25 XP left for other things.

How can I summon Atticus Havelock? That guy would know exactly what I should do to get where I want to be.

Just now, Mychal'el said:

How can I summon Atticus Havelock? That guy would know exactly what I should do to get where I want to be.

I don't know. You could probably PM him. However, all you need to do is take things one step at a time , don't rush it. Let's just get the starting build done first. After that, we'll advance him through Knight level and on to Master level. You need to learn this anyway to build a starting level character as well.

21 hours ago, Tramp Graphics said:

Combat skills are definitely more valuable in that they increase your ability to survive. Personally, I don't fully understand the developers' reasoning for the discrepancy myself, but that's the rule by RAW.

As for using Lightsaber with Agility, you'll need to take Ataru Striker as a second etc spec, and work down to the Ataru Style talent.

also, none of your specializations are Warrior specs. You have a Seeker spec (Ataru Striker), a Guardian spec (Armorer), and a Sentinel spec (Racer). Your starting specialization must be from you chosen career. So, you need to either start with a Warrior specialization or choose one of your current choices and take that specs career as your career.

I'm thinking of taking Lightsaber as my first free combat skill since that's basically the only training he received from being in the Saber Guard Program from infancy.

Then Br 3, Ag 3, Will 3

As far as Specs go I'm torn between Warrior, Seeker, Guardian, & Sentinel

7 hours ago, Mychal'el said:

I'm thinking of taking Lightsaber as my first free combat skill since that's basically the only training he received from being in the Saber Guard Program from infancy.

Then Br 3, Ag 3, Will 3

As far as Specs go I'm torn between Warrior, Seeker, Guardian, & Sentinel

Atura striker has the strongest offense and it keys off of agility which is also useful for piloting and shooting and stealth

*POOF*

I am flattered that I have been asked to contribute my two cents to this discussion. Others on this thread have bandied about a lot of great ideas, so I'll gladly expound upon what has already been presented.

Secret weapon programs are a staple of any fictional genre. Operation Treadstone created Jason Bourne. Weapon X gave us the Wolverine. In the Star Wars setting, clone troopers themselves are the result of a similar "secret weapon program." And they were bred from the genetic template of the Mandalorian bounty hunter Jango Fett. And so the concept begins to come together; keywords "clone" and "Mandalorian."

Saber Guards are the product of the Saber Program, itself based on the planet Kamino, home of clones. The Saber Program is also a "secret weapon program." Cliche? Maybe. But it's a beloved one, because everyone loves a badass.

The Saber Guard was introduced in The Force Unleashed II, the plot of which revolved around Darth Vader making Force-sensitive clones. Next keyword; "Vader." So your idea is already part and parcel of Star Wars lore. Now to hone your character's story.

It's expressly stated that there had been numerous attempts to create Force-sensitive clones, but all such attempts had failed. Or so the Kaminoans thought...

No sooner had the Clone Wars ended than Darth Vader began looking for an apprentice. Galen Marek was taken in by Vader probably around 14 BBY, yeah? Maybe Galen wasn't the first attempt Vader made at producing an apprentice. Maybe Vader began the process 5 years earlier, right on the heels of the Empire's birth. Maybe he went to Kamino, in secret, and commissioned the creation of a clone made from a combination of his own DNA and that of the finest warrior out of a whole race of warriors. A clone born of the genetic template of a Sith Lord and a Mandalorian.

This clone would be trained under the Saber Program, so as to distance the clone from Vader, lest the Emperor discover Vader's teachery. The clone would be relegated to Plan B, in case Marek was a wash. The Kaminoans, hedging their bets, didn't make just one such clone. They made many and accelerated their growth. All were then submitted into the Saber Program, training alongside other Force-sensitive recruits.

The project was a failure. The clones were overly aggressive. Training "accidents" were unacceptably high. And all of the clones invariably went mad. Vader gave up and focused on Marek. The Kaminoans put down the clones, systematically killing off their failed project. However, one clone was secretly spared, rescued by a group of Kaminoan dissidents who were opposed to the ongoing Imperial occupation. And in time, the child's mental condition stabilized. He was a success.

As a human child would raise suspicion on Kamino, especially a discarded clone trained by the Saber Program, these Kaminoan rebels gave the child to the only family he had. The only family who would understand him. The child was given over to the Mandalorians.

The Mandalorians as a people have long had issues with the Jedi and Sith. His adoptive parents struggled to understand their adopted child's powers. However, as members of the old Mandalorian ways, they did understand the child's aggression. Moreso, they understood how to hone it. And so the child's training continued and he grew into a fearsome warrior.

The child's life began to change as the Empire tightened it's grip on Mandalore. The planet was garrisoned and strip-mined. Large numbers of the Mandalorian population were enslaved. A resistance was born and the child (now a young adult) saw his parents killed during fighting with Imperial forces. At this time, the character dedicates himself to fighting the Empire.

Now to the mechanics and to craft the character's abilities according to your vision. Start with the race. He's a human and a Mandalorian. Me personally, I'm okay with the Mandalorian race. It fits the theme and works just fine here, so I'll go with the warmonger variant that gives you a rank in a combat skill. Tight.

Looking at the Wookieepedia entry for a Saber Guard, a few things jump out at me. Yeah, they're Force-sensitive, but they aren't focused on cool powers. They're lightsaber combatants, first and foremost. They also learn how to throw their lightsabers. So I want to pick a lightsaber-focused specialization that will eventually give me the Saber Throw talent. I'm looking at Armorer, Ataru Striker, and Shien Expert. Each of them can play well to your concept, but I like one more than the others; Ataru Striker.

Seeker Ataru Striker scratches several itches for you. It does lightsaber combat very well. It has access to the Saber Throw talent. It gives you the piloting skills you wanted. It's got Perception! And Ranged (Heavy) for when you need to engage from a distance or avoid drawing attention with the lightsaber. Lastly, it synergizes very nicely with the second specialization I've selected.

The second specialization addresses two other aspects of your concept; keywords "bounty hunter" and "sneaky." So I'm going with Assassin. This specialization will give you additional ranks of Dodge and Quick Strike. Jump Up and Quick Draw are duplicated in Ataru Striker and so you'll be able to move into the third row cheaper. You get access to Melee, which can be used in conjunction with several Ataru Striker talents. Likewise, several of the Assassin talents can be used with Lightsaber. Your Ranged (Heavy) combat improves too. You also get access to Stealth and the Stalker talent, which works well with your Coordination skill from Ataru Striker. And you get Skulduggery, great for espionage and sabotage.

For abilities go with Strength, Agility, and Cunning at 3. Those abilities cover a wide array of skills useful to your concept; Athletics, Melee, Coordination, Lightsaber, Piloting, Ranged (Heavy), Stealth, Perception, and Skulduggery. Thanks to Mandalorian, you'll start with a wound threshold of 14. And your free rank in a combat skill can bump up your starting Lightsaber to 2.

All in all, you'll have your sneaky super-killer, running amok with a lightsaber and cutting Imperials down left and right. Infiltration and combat are your specialties and you'll be pretty good at both.

The Empire birthed you. They trained you. Then they killed you. And killed your parents. You're a living ghost. Your Motivation is Vengeance and your Duty is either Counter-Intelligence or Sabotage.

That's how I would do this. Your mileage may vary, of course.

42 minutes ago, Atticus Havelock said:

*POOF*

I am flattered that I have been asked to contribute my two cents to this discussion. Others on this thread have bandied about a lot of great ideas, so I'll gladly expound upon what has already been presented.

Secret weapon programs are a staple of any fictional genre. Operation Treadstone created Jason Bourne. Weapon X gave us the Wolverine. In the Star Wars setting, clone troopers themselves are the result of a similar "secret weapon program." And they were bred from the genetic template of the Mandalorian bounty hunter Jango Fett. And so the concept begins to come together; keywords "clone" and "Mandalorian."

Saber Guards are the product of the Saber Program, itself based on the planet Kamino, home of clones. The Saber Program is also a "secret weapon program." Cliche? Maybe. But it's a beloved one, because everyone loves a badass.

The Saber Guard was introduced in The Force Unleashed II, the plot of which revolved around Darth Vader making Force-sensitive clones. Next keyword; "Vader." So your idea is already part and parcel of Star Wars lore. Now to hone your character's story.

It's expressly stated that there had been numerous attempts to create Force-sensitive clones, but all such attempts had failed. Or so the Kaminoans thought...

No sooner had the Clone Wars ended than Darth Vader began looking for an apprentice. Galen Marek was taken in by Vader probably around 14 BBY, yeah? Maybe Galen wasn't the first attempt Vader made at producing an apprentice. Maybe Vader began the process 5 years earlier, right on the heels of the Empire's birth. Maybe he went to Kamino, in secret, and commissioned the creation of a clone made from a combination of his own DNA and that of the finest warrior out of a whole race of warriors. A clone born of the genetic template of a Sith Lord and a Mandalorian.

This clone would be trained under the Saber Program, so as to distance the clone from Vader, lest the Emperor discover Vader's teachery. The clone would be relegated to Plan B, in case Marek was a wash. The Kaminoans, hedging their bets, didn't make just one such clone. They made many and accelerated their growth. All were then submitted into the Saber Program, training alongside other Force-sensitive recruits.

The project was a failure. The clones were overly aggressive. Training "accidents" were unacceptably high. And all of the clones invariably went mad. Vader gave up and focused on Marek. The Kaminoans put down the clones, systematically killing off their failed project. However, one clone was secretly spared, rescued by a group of Kaminoan dissidents who were opposed to the ongoing Imperial occupation. And in time, the child's mental condition stabilized. He was a success.

As a human child would raise suspicion on Kamino, especially a discarded clone trained by the Saber Program, these Kaminoan rebels gave the child to the only family he had. The only family who would understand him. The child was given over to the Mandalorians.

The Mandalorians as a people have long had issues with the Jedi and Sith. His adoptive parents struggled to understand their adopted child's powers. However, as members of the old Mandalorian ways, they did understand the child's aggression. Moreso, they understood how to hone it. And so the child's training continued and he grew into a fearsome warrior.

The child's life began to change as the Empire tightened it's grip on Mandalore. The planet was garrisoned and strip-mined. Large numbers of the Mandalorian population were enslaved. A resistance was born and the child (now a young adult) saw his parents killed during fighting with Imperial forces. At this time, the character dedicates himself to fighting the Empire.

Now to the mechanics and to craft the character's abilities according to your vision. Start with the race. He's a human and a Mandalorian. Me personally, I'm okay with the Mandalorian race. It fits the theme and works just fine here, so I'll go with the warmonger variant that gives you a rank in a combat skill. Tight.

Looking at the Wookieepedia entry for a Saber Guard, a few things jump out at me. Yeah, they're Force-sensitive, but they aren't focused on cool powers. They're lightsaber combatants, first and foremost. They also learn how to throw their lightsabers. So I want to pick a lightsaber-focused specialization that will eventually give me the Saber Throw talent. I'm looking at Armorer, Ataru Striker, and Shien Expert. Each of them can play well to your concept, but I like one more than the others; Ataru Striker.

Seeker Ataru Striker scratches several itches for you. It does lightsaber combat very well. It has access to the Saber Throw talent. It gives you the piloting skills you wanted. It's got Perception! And Ranged (Heavy) for when you need to engage from a distance or avoid drawing attention with the lightsaber. Lastly, it synergizes very nicely with the second specialization I've selected.

The second specialization addresses two other aspects of your concept; keywords "bounty hunter" and "sneaky." So I'm going with Assassin. This specialization will give you additional ranks of Dodge and Quick Strike. Jump Up and Quick Draw are duplicated in Ataru Striker and so you'll be able to move into the third row cheaper. You get access to Melee, which can be used in conjunction with several Ataru Striker talents. Likewise, several of the Assassin talents can be used with Lightsaber. Your Ranged (Heavy) combat improves too. You also get access to Stealth and the Stalker talent, which works well with your Coordination skill from Ataru Striker. And you get Skulduggery, great for espionage and sabotage.

For abilities go with Strength, Agility, and Cunning at 3. Those abilities cover a wide array of skills useful to your concept; Athletics, Melee, Coordination, Lightsaber, Piloting, Ranged (Heavy), Stealth, Perception, and Skulduggery. Thanks to Mandalorian, you'll start with a wound threshold of 14. And your free rank in a combat skill can bump up your starting Lightsaber to 2.

All in all, you'll have your sneaky super-killer, running amok with a lightsaber and cutting Imperials down left and right. Infiltration and combat are your specialties and you'll be pretty good at both.

The Empire birthed you. They trained you. Then they killed you. And killed your parents. You're a living ghost. Your Motivation is Vengeance and your Duty is either Counter-Intelligence or Sabotage.

That's how I would do this. Your mileage may vary, of course.

You could go plain human, lose a point of wounds, gain a 4th skill starting at 3 (brawn agility cunning and willpower) which means you gained a point of strain which is harder to come by than wounds. You also get 2 ranks in non career skill. Since your starting ataru striker it can'take be lightsaber but one could be ranged light or whatever else.

That would work too!

4 hours ago, Atticus Havelock said:

*POOF*

That was awesome! Thanks Atlock!

I threw a lot of puzzle pieces down, some from different sets, and you guys really are helping me piece it together.

Im gathering that there's no fans of the Diathim hybrid idea, I understand. I was going for a flying half-elf concept but I guess the game mechanics just don't support it without extensive hacking.

Also, I realize now that I was asking for a stealthy offensive & melee tank. I like being able to switch between both roles in video games but I understand that I shouldn't expect to be everything at once.

I appreciate the help very much!