This is an idea that I came up with a while back for my next campaign (which, admittedly, won't be for some time--we've a long way to go on the current campaign). The premise is that each of my players would roll up a few random characters just to get their creative juices flowing. I wouldn't require them to play such a character (they could, of course, if they wanted to). Rather, it would be an exercise in creativity--to get them to think about species and specializations that they might otherwise overlook.

I've found that it's amusing as a GM to make up some random characters. It might even inspire some NPCs! So here it is, with my personal slant for the type of game that I'd be willing to run next. One could easily tinker with what core mechanic to use (Obligation, Duty, Morality) and the odds of any result. You need access to the books and a d6, d10 and d%.

Step 1: Species

As of this being written, there are 71 species spread across numerous products (including the variant humans). Assemble the species in alphabetical order and roll d% (re-rolling results of 72-100) to determine species. If you own fewer books, you'll have fewer species to select from.

Step 2: Core Rulebook

For non-Droids roll 1d6: 1-3 = Edge of the Empire, 4-5 = Age of Rebellion, 6 = Force & Destiny

For Droids roll 1d10: 1-6 = Edge of the Empire, 7-10 = Age of Rebellion

This distribution is obviously slanted toward Edge of the Empire. You could do an even chance of any CRB or exclude specific lines altogether.

Step 3: Career

Roll 1d6 to determine your career from the CRB determined in Step 2.

Step 4: Specialization

Roll 1d6 to determine your specialization from those available to your career. If you don't have the career book for a particular career, then 1-2 = the 1st specialization, etc.

Step 5: Obligation

Roll on the obligation table that most closely matches the career or specialization (or the main table in the EotE CRB). You could instead (or in addition) roll for Duty.

Step 6: Motivation

Roll on the motivation tables that most closely match the career or specialization (again using the main table in any of the CRBs as desired).

Step 7: Emotional Strength & Emotional Weakness

Roll separately for emotional strengths and then emotional weaknesses using any appropriate table from the Force & Destiny line. Do this for all characters, even if they aren't Force-sensitive. This will give them some more roleplaying depth, and works well for characters should they become Force-sensitive later.

Step 8: Morality

If the character is Force-sensitive, I would start their Morality at 50. As I would be using Obligation as the main mechanic in my game, extra credits/XP would be gained by increasing Obligation.

The first time I generated a random character, I didn't have all the books, nor did I think to roll for emotional strengths and weaknesses. Still, my character was intriguing.

He was a Verpine Colonist/Marshal. His Obligation was Contracted and his Motivation was Crime. I decided that he had started out a relatively good law-enforcement officer, but eventually realized that the government was corrupt. He resigned his position and became a free-lance investigator for a criminal cartel.

I never would have thought to create a Verpine Marshal, so I really like the concept and I thought that I would share.

Enjoy!

Is the weighting towards EotE because you think those careers are better/more interesting, or because of party balance, or just because that's the setting of your campaign?

My next campaign will be Edge-focused, that's why.

You could easily change that to be weighted evenly, as such:

Step 2: Core Rulebook

For non-Droids roll 1d6: 1-2 = Edge of the Empire, 3-4 = Age of Rebellion, 5-6 = Force & Destiny

For Droids roll 1d6: 1-3 = Edge of the Empire, 4-6 = Age of Rebellion

Or weight it towards Age of Rebellion. Or remove Droids from the possible species and weight it towards Force & Destony.

Cheers!

I just rolled this up this morning:

1) d% = 30 (Gotal, from Fly Casual )

2) d6 = 2 (Edge of the Empire)

3) d6 = 6 (Technician)

4) d6 = 1 (Cyber Tech)

5) d% = 03 (Obligation: Crew, from Special Modifications )

6) d10 = 6 & d% = 60 (Motivation: Relationship, from Special Modifications/EotE CRB )

7) d% = 33 & d% = 13 (Emotional Strength: Compassion; Emotional Weakness: Jealousy)

Hmm... Let's see what I can make of this:

Nassesk became a Cyber Tech because he couldn't bear to stand by while seeing the many victims maimed by the fighting during the Clone Wars. His mentor, a fellow Gotal named Rassim, took Nassesk under his wing.

Rassim captained the Restoration , a Gozanti-class freighter that he had converted into a hospital ship, and he and his crew ply the Outer Rim, providing medical and cybernetic aid.

One of the newer editions to the mostly Gotal crew, Nassesk grew quite fond of the ship's engineer, Areela. However, she was already involved with another crewmate, Jarrush. Nassesk became jealous of Jarrush's relationship, causing tension on this ship.

Eventually, Nassesk realized that he needed to leave for the good of the crew. However, he stays in contact with his mentor Rassim, and if the crew of the Restoration needs him, Nassesk will drop everything to help, even though it pains him to see Areela and Jarrush.

Coming up with stories for randomly generated characters is always a fun exercise. I came up with the following:

1. Toydarian
2. EotE
3. Bounty Hunter
4. Gadgeteer
5. Debt
6. Relationship - Droid Companion
7. Mercy/Weakness

So, meet Litto, armour-clad Toydarian badass who doesn't need a jetpack to fly, but has one anyway. Trying to make his way in a bounty-hunter-eat-bounty-hunter world in order to pay off debt to a Hutt crime lord, Litto's considerable abilities are sadly undermined by the fact that he keeps letting his quarry escape out of the goodness of his heart. His guiding star - literally - is his hunter-droid, B1-NKY, whom Litto pretends to hate but is secretly devoted to.

That is really cool!

22 minutes ago, salamar_dree said:

That is really cool!

Yeah...Litto is definitely going to be a character in an upcoming adventure!

"Well... lemme tell ya what I'm gonna do," Litto said. "Even though I really should be takin' ya in, seein' as ya have a family to provide for, I'll let ya go."

As the armored toydarian flitted away, the man just shook his head. That has got to be the strangest bounty hunter in the galaxy!

Here's another:

Aqualish (Quara) Diplomat Quartermaster.

Obligation: Criminal

Motivation: Relationship--Point of Origin

Emotional Strength/Weakness: Love/Anger

Torvo Wen has both an outgoing, caring nature and a great passion for his homeworld of Horos. He worked as a supply officer for a shipping firm based out of the planet's main starport, doing his best to help his fellow sophonts. However, when he let his anger get the best of him, Torvo unintentionally bludgeoned an Imperial customs officer to death. Fleeing the system on the first ship he could find, Torvo eventually encountered a good-hearted scoundrel that does her best to help the less fortunate. Always looking over his shoulder in case the Imperial authorities find him, Torvo none the less helps his employer and fellow crewmates by serving as the ship's quartermaster. At times, the friendly aqualish has even helped his captain broker deals. Yet his temper--a trait shared by many of his fellow aqualish--always threatens to bubble forth to the surface, even as he selflessly sends credits home to help with charities on Horos.

Weequay Sentinel Shien Expert

Obligation: Responsibility (To the orphanage he grew up in on Eriadu).

Motivation: Injustice/Hunger (The poor of Eriadu struggle with hunger).

Emotional Strength: Wonder (The sites and sounds of Eriadu always inspire).

Emotional Weakness: Guardedness (She has been betrayed too many times by those claiming to be friends).

Jira Slir grew up an orphan on Eriadu--just another victim of the Clone Wars. As the years passed and other children came and went, Jira despaired of never being adopted. Then, one day a human man named Grant Leyoon came. He ignored the other children, and even though she was older than most, Grant adopted her. Once in his care, Grant began training Jira to unlock powers that she didn't know that she had. Grant told her that he was a Jedi, and that she could be one too.

However, it was a lie. Eventually Jira learned that while he had received some training from the Jedi, he was cast out of the order for his selfish desires. Even worse, Grant was grooming her to help him take over the Shadow Runners crime syndicate.

Jira fled and hid out on the streets of Eriadu, seeing first hand the poverty of the oppressed. She fell in with a group of fellow pre-adults and was happy for a while. Yet she soon learned that they only befriended her because of her extraordinary talents. The turned on her when things got rough, and Jira had to run again--this time from the authorities.

Striking out on her own, she was eventually drawn to a strange object, which turned out to be a holocron. With it, Jira began to study what it truly meant to be a Jedi. Now, she fights for the oppressed of Eriadu with an ancient sword that she acquired from a grateful junk dealer after rescuing him from street thugs...