So I've got a character idea I like, but I'm having trouble with the mechanics of it. She'll be a sidekick to a mandalorian bounty hunter, in more of a support role, and will likely pick up gunslinger later in the campaign. For now, She'll be the pilot and gearhead. My issue is so far that means pilot, mechanic and outlaw tech. Obviously too bulky to start. I want a decent pilot who can keep up the ship and do some kitbashing for the bounty hunter, and her own, gear and weapons.

Short version of the character background, her estranged (and now deceased) father was the land's pilot and was saving up to get his daughter out of. . . Here I'm split between racer who lost big and is now owned by a Hutt over the debt, or stuck as a mechanic for a swoop gang. The mando will show up with her little inheritance, and help her recover the rest (ship was repoed after dads death, low level crime boss was plyed off but figures dead men can't dispute). Hijinks insue and if the first session goes well, she becomes the mando's new pilot and sidekick.

I'e been cleared to use specializations from any of the three lines as long as my justification is good. Anyone see a combo I'm missing?

You're agonizing over spending xp you won't have for like 20+ sessions. Pick the one you like best, play that. By the time you acrue enough xp it's just as likely your tastes will have changed and not even be interested in your original plan.

Rigger is kind of the pilot/mechanic hybrid.

I agree with 2P51. Pick a starting tree and see what happens. Either pilot tree with a couple levels of mechanics skill or a mechanic tree with a couple levels of piloting, depending what you want to start with.

I would also see how much vehicle combat your game is gong to have. If it isnt much then go with a mechanic-ish tree.

3 hours ago, Yaccarus said:

Rigger is kind of the pilot/mechanic hybrid.

This

There's also shipwright

Could always have your Mandalorian friend turns up to support your claim that the ship was paid off so you owe them for that and also developed an occasional enemy in that minor criminal who actually holds a grudge with your new mentor but you're the easier target?

What ship does the main character use and what ship did your character's father use?

On 5/31/2018 at 1:30 PM, 2P51 said:

You're agonizing over spending xp you won't have for like 20+ sessions. Pick the one you like best, play that. By the time you acrue enough xp it's just as likely your tastes will have changed and not even be interested in your original plan.

This. Concepts are great to get you started, but unless you plan on mapping out your character and only sticking to the plan, your character WILL take on a life of its own as the campaign evolves. Do what is fun in the moment.

In one campaign I'm in, I started out wanting my character to be the best pilot and best gunslinger around. 3 years later, he is neither. Maybe the best one at overselling just how good he really is, but he ended up being an overall generalists. Not what I planned for him, but for the campaign, definitely more fun than sticking to the plan... just means I still sweat bullets on almost every roll.

On 6/1/2018 at 3:07 AM, TheShard said:

There's also shipwright

This! Will give you what you want in a single spec

Just now, GrimmSqueeker said:

Anyone see a combo I'm missing?

My only advice? I have found that spreading outwards with too many trees is not as satisfying as of going upwards on a couple. Now I'm not saying that you should race to the bottom of the trees or anything, but to strike a balance. My coreworld princess politico expanded to Entrepreneur, picked up one of the universal force trees plus a saber tree and Quartermaster. I don't think I got around to buying tiers more expensive than 20 let alone actually fully filling out one trees. Yeah, you can eventually spread out that much - I had a Mechanic pick up outlaw tech, the universal soldier tree, and Rigger and she was a blast to play, but you have to reach for that brass ring very slowly!

Explorer: Driver does most of what you want, and dovetails nicely into the things you would like to develop with the character later on. We have a PC playing one in our current game who is the best pilot and the best mechanic of the group.

Generally, I've found that buying more than one Tree to start a campaign leads to characters that are a little starved for actual abilities and statlines. If you want the best of both worlds, Rigger would be the best bet.

And if you really just want to be a tech oriented PC who can fly stuff, you can always buy the Pilot skill outside of your career. A single point into the career is doable for a beginning character without breaking your starting XP.

And generally, just view the flavor text of a career as a potential interpretation of the career, they can represent many other things. Like my "Assassin Droid" character is represented by a Gadgeteer instead of Assassin, because I'm an Astromech that had some rewiring to add concealed weapons and combat protocols, but still had all the basic Astromech gear inside him.

Talent Trees are VERY expensive, and the system doesn't really reward a character trying to go down multiple trees at once. Pick one, any of the ones you picked will do you good service, and once you've gotten down to dedication than you can think about getting another tree.

My advice: worry about the character's high concept, aesthetic, and personality. Distill your descriptions down to one line. That's right. One line. No more.

And in terms of a build, don't plot out all the mechanics or try to do too much right at the beginning. Go the opposite route. Where is this character beginning? Distill it. Pick one tree. Work that tree hard.

A dozen or score of sessions down the road, branch out if its appropriate.

Here is a fantasy character as an example:

Name: Clodya se Sigwif.

Concept: Fierce & Beautiful Shield Maiden.

Story: Hrothgar One-Eye's Half-Sister.

Trouble: Sybarite - Revelry! Ribaldry! Riches!

Heroism: Do-Gooder - Big Damned Hero!

Bond: Crazy in Love - Will do anything for Ritz!

Style: Dashing! Daring! Devil-May-Care!